The Legendary Mechanic
Author: Qi Peijia
Date: 2022-08-03T10:41:00.995000+00:00

Chapter 1: Rebirth

"Test subject number 24. The subject lasted for two minutes and forty-five seconds after the administration of Valkyrie. Time of death: 4.22 AM."

I should be the only one at home. Who's talking?

Han Xiao opened his eyes, only to be blinded by light. The familiar hatch of his VR-capsule was no longer there—instead, he was facing a white ceiling. The walls that surrounded him were also white and reminiscent of cold, hard metal. They felt like something straight out of science fiction. The room resembled an intensive care unit, and Han Xiao lay atop a cold metal table, bare-chested and wired to all sorts of machines. His back was freezing.

Han Xiao noticed that there was a group of people in white coats surrounding him, and they were looking at him as though they had just seen a ghost.

I thought I just accepted a leveling request? Where am I?

Suddenly, Han Xiao felt as though a large amount of data was being transmitted into his mind, causing his head to throb painfully. The last thing he could remember was accepting a leveling assignment. He was in the midst of creating a new character in 'Galaxy' when he seemingly started to smell burnt eggs...

"Quickly, let Ms. Hila know! The test subject has come back to life!"

"Call the guards!"

As the researchers started a commotion, Han Xiao realized that he could understand them, even though they were speaking in a language he had never heard before. 'Test subject', 'back to life', and 'guards'—these terms unnerved him. Soon, he could hear the sound of rushing footsteps coming from outside.

Should I make a run for it or just lie still? Han Xiao decided on the former in a split second; he was not the kind of person to just lie around waiting. He abruptly sprang up, ripping the wires off him, and made a clumsy beeline for the door. The researchers did not attempt to stop him, instead, they backed off hastily to avoid being knocked into.

Crash!

He pushed his way out into a white corridor, only to be greeted by a dozen or so guards suited in black and armed with electric batons advancing upon him from both sides.

Han Xiao gasped at the sight of the crest on their uniforms. It depicted half a plant.

The Germinal Organization from Planet Aquamarine back in version one? Weren't they eliminated‽

Suddenly, a guard swung his electric baton at Han Xiao and Han Xiao unconsciously raised a hand to block it. The ensuing current caused his whole body to spasm in pain. It felt like his bones were about to split and his entire body turned numb.

Is the pain calibration at 100%‽

Galaxy's pain calibration was restricted to a maximum of 40% because any higher setting could potentially cause nerve damage to players. The VR-capsule was also supposed to monitor the player's vitals to prevent this, but it was currently malfunctioning.

It's only been seven years and the capsule is having problems? Damn it! The repairman I paid $300 to a few days ago told me that it would still be good for another six months! I want a refund!

The guards yanked him up and took him to a small room where they locked him up alone in pitch black darkness.

Han Xiao grimaced in pain as he massaged his wrist. His head continued to throb as more information poured in.

It took Han Xiao a moment to reconcile the facts and make sense of what had happened to him.

I've... transmigrated into Galaxy?

His eyes widened with amazement.

Galaxy was a fully immersive virtual reality game that ran servers worldwide and boasted a peak concurrent player count of almost 60 million.

The game was set in a vast universe with a world map and landscapes that were procedurally generated using the latest generation of quantum computers. The scale of its world was massive, and it was said to be able to run smoothly even with a billion concurrent players. There existed many organizations and companies that specialized in farming gold and running dungeons, and the best pieces of gear could even go for ridiculous prices of up to a million US dollars.

Being an extremely popular game, good balance was of the utmost important. While big spenders did have certain advantages, it was not so unfair to the extent that it displeased the casual players. Maintaining competitiveness and improving skills were key factors towards game balance, and Galaxy did a good job in these areas, facilitating its strong allure as an e-sport.

Although Han Xiao did indeed make a living out of playing the game, the term 'professional gamer' didn't fit him well. He was, instead, one of the despised power levelers and preferred to work solo.

Han Xiao had been playing the game since its very inception, and through the numerous patches, he had made a name for himself. In the last annual top 100 rankings, he placed 47th. He definitely had what it took to try his hand at going pro, but what he enjoyed most about the game was the leveling experience.

"The Germinal Organization originates from one of the beginner planets new characters were sent to back in Version 1 of Galaxy: Planet Aquamarine," mumbled Han Xiao.

Before transmigrating, Galaxy had already been operating for over a decade. Version 1.0 was ancient history.

"Have I time traveled too?" Han Xiao's expression darkened.

"Does that mean I won't be getting my three hundred dollars back‽

"Am I stupid‽ That's the least of my concerns!" Han Xiao slapped himself.

His memories were still jumbled up, and he could not recall anything about his original life—not even his name. All that he could recall were details regarding this world, such as its present era. He was currently in the year 687 of the Galaxy calendar, a year behind the updated timeline.

In Version 1, there were three universal powers that were upholding a peace that had lasted for ten thousand years, since the era of exploration. They were the Commonwealth of Light, the Crimson Dynasty, and the Arcane Church. The Silver Revolutionary Army had yet to be formed, the one responsible for the Supernatural Disaster was still fighting for dear life on some desolate planet, the World of Light had not come into existence, the civilization of the World Tree had not yet invaded from the beyond, and the Shattered Belt that contained Planet Aquamarine was still budding inconspicuously along the fringes of the explored universe.

In order to ensure that the game remained attractive, Galaxy borrowed and implemented ideas from its predecessors, such as 'WoW', where each version update revolved around a disaster or some major event. While Han Xiao enjoyed the game, now that he had transmigrated over...

"Get me out!"

While the Germinal Organization was small fry compared to the interstellar powers introduced in later updates, to the currently powerless Han Xiao, it was an entirely different story.

"Planet Aquamarine was modeled after Earth, and the Germinal Organization's aim is to overthrow this planet's government. If I'm not wrong, Valkyrie test subjects are brainwashed to serve as cannon fodder."

The body he currently possessed had experienced a memory wipe. Apart from some general knowledge, all that remained were fragmented memories of captivity and experimentation.

It seemed to be roughly twenty years old and bore a slight semblance to his original self. However, its state of health was as yet uncertain. He had heard the researchers mention that he had been injected with Valkyrie, one of the Germinal's gene altering drugs that was used to strengthen the brain. Valkyrie had a survival rate of only 30%, but this body had reacted positively to it.

Suddenly, a glowing line of blue text blue appeared before his eyes.

_____________________

You have been injected with Valkyrie!

+1 Endurance

You have learnt a new ability: Concentration

You have learnt a new ability: Low Level Willpower

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"Virtual interface!" Han Xiao jumped for joy.

_____________________

Name: Han Xiao

Race: Human/Carbon-based (Yellow)

Model: NPC (Countdown to Version 1.0 launch: 358 days 11 hours 03 minutes)

Level: 1

Experience: 0

Main Class: N.A.

Sub-class: Civilian Lv. 1 (0/50)

Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Endurance 3, Intelligence 3, Mystery 1, Charm 2, Luck 1

Unassigned Stats: 0

Energy: 0 (Lv. 0)

Energy Rank: 1~2

Grade: F (Mortal)

[Piece of trash with a combat strength of 5; pick any NPC out from the streets and he will wipe the floor with you a hundred times! A hundred times!]

Health points: 23/30 (injured)

Stamina: 36/36

Abilities:

- Concentration: +10% to learning and crafting speeds

- Low Level Willpower: +3 Resistance

Skills: None

Talent points: 0

Class Talents: None

Influence: 0

Reputation: 0

Equipment: None

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"Thank god I still have the interface!"

Han Xiao was ecstatic but quickly discovered that there were several irregularities.

NPC, not a player? Countdown timer?

Han Xiao furrowed his brows as he organized his thoughts.

First of all, although he had no idea how the interface had transmigrated together with him, he had to treat this world as his new reality, meaning that if he died, he could not bank on being able to respawn like in a game.

Secondly, he could still access the system's interface despite being classified as an NPC. This suggested that he could still level up like a player, which was good news.

Thirdly, if the countdown timer confirmed his suspicions that he had indeed traveled back in time to before the game's launch, did it mean that 'real' players would soon appear?

Lastly, and most important of all, he was currently in grave danger!

Han Xiao felt indignant. Didn't people who transmigrated normally receive perks such as resources, companions, or... at least an ex-girlfriend? At the very least, he should have started out in a safe location! The war hadn't even begun, and he was already a lone hero deep behind enemy lines. A single slip could prove fatal; he could very well end up in the Hall of Heroes... if such a place existed.

Han Xiao only had one life here. If he died then that would be the end of it. It would be a pity.

Yes, Han Xiao only felt that it would be 'a pity'. 'I want to survive!' would be a more normal line of thought. As for variations such as 'My fate is not for the heavens to decide; if the heavens want to erase me, then I will erase the heavens!' or 'Swallow an aurous core to transcend life and death', such ramblings were exclusive to people with second-grade syndrome.

"What the hell, why am I the only one SAO-ed?" Han Xiao lamented.

And while his senses confirmed that this was indeed reality, he started to wonder...

What exactly am I now? Am I an actual life-form, or am I just a bunch of data? Did my soul transmigrate, or is it something else entirely?

He sighed. I guess I'll just have to make the best out of the situation and take it one step at a time.

The essential thing was to survive.

With a year to go before launch, he had enough time to get prepared; this was the sole glimmer of promise that he could cling on to.

Clank!

Suddenly, the door opened, and several people walked in. As he could only make out their silhouettes due to the light streaming in from outside, Han Xiao could not see their faces clearly. However, he could make out from their outlines that one of them was a woman with a fiery figure.

"The subject's condition?"

Said woman spoke to her subordinate in a voice that was smooth, yet intertwined with an ever-so-faint rasp, reminiscent of a cup of rich coffee.

"It appears that the test subject has calmed down."

The experiment leader, Lin Wei Xian, answered the woman as he stared at Han Xiao passionately, as though he were looking at a prized possession.

"Who are you people?" Han Xiao asked hoarsely.

"Hmm? Amnesia...?" The woman's eye twitched.

"Valkyrie stimulates the brain, so memory loss is not unexpected," replied Lin Wei Xian, squinting.

When Han Xiao's eyes had finally adjusted to the light, he was stunned by the sight of the woman.

Boasting a headful of luscious, burgundy hair that concealed part of her face, the woman wore a tight-fitting, jet black bodysuit from which her curvaceous figure threatened to burst out at any time.

Her features were telling of her Western descent, but they were also composed of a certain softness that was characteristic of Eastern women; perhaps it was her mixed heritage that blessed her with such beauty and charm. In a different world, she could have been easily mistaken for a beautiful snake demoness.

If Da Ji had possessed such beauty, then King Zhou did not die in vain! 1 thought Han Xiao.

"I am Hila, the commander here," said the red haired woman as she looked at Han Xiao. She waved a hand and ordered, "Conduct a blood test. I want to see the report ASAP."

Two stone-faced guards walked forward to yank him away. Their massive bodies and the fact that they were carrying guns dispelled any notion that Han Xiao had of resisting.

He recognized the 'Crimson Snake', Hila, and that this was one of the playable scenarios on Planet Aquamarine, Valkyrie Experiment Lab, located in a key base of Germinal.

During Version 1, Hila was a boss who had caused beginners on Aquamarine much grief. She had many nicknames, one of which was the 'Goddess of Death'. She would eventually attain 'Celestial' class strength and rise to prominence in the Cotton Cluster.

Han Xiao laughed bitterly on the inside. The situation was bleak! Da Ji was the favorite consort of King Zhou of Shang, the last king of the Shang dynasty in ancient China. She is considered as a classic example of how a beauty can cause the downfall of a dynasty in Chinese culture.

Chapter 2: Mechanic

The blood test results were compiled quickly.

Hila went over the data she had received from Lin Wei Xian with knitted brows.

"No abnormalities detected?"

"Valkyrie mainly affects the brain. We will need to open the head up for assessment."

Open the head up? snapped Han Xiao inwardly. Open the head up‽

Hila waved a hand in dismissal of the idea.

"He is the only subject to have ever survived the experiment. We'll leave that option out for now."

Han Xiao's eyes lit up as he realized that his current status was somewhat advantageous for him.

Lin Wei Xian was not pleased by Hila's decision, but he made no fuss about it.

"In that case, we'll observe him for the time being to see if anything has changed."

"Proceed with the brainwashing," ordered Hila suddenly.

Brainwashing?

Han Xiao's heart sank. Brainwashing was a common method of subordination, and while in the game, a brainwashed character would simply become an ally of the faction, it was completely different now! Losing his sense of self was the worst-case scenario.

No way!

The good news was that memory altering technology available on the planet was still under-developed, so the organization's methods were very primitive; they made use of sensory stimuli to re-calibrate the subject. A character with at least ten points in Intelligence would be immune to the effects of the brainwash.

Valkyrie had given Han Xiao a +1 boost to the growth potential of his Endurance. Growth potential was an innate stat that affected the growth rate of the affected stat. Different races had differing starting potentials in each stat, and in the entire world of Galaxy, humans generally had a mediocre growth rate. They did, however, boast the highest Intelligence potential. As they also possessed the lowest Health, this single point in Endurance growth potential was nice to have.

[Concentration] gave him a 10% increase in mastery and crafting speeds, also increasing their success rates.

[Low Level Willpower] gave him three points of Willpower, which substituted for three points of Intelligence, so he still lacked three more Intelligence to survive the brainwash.

Leveling the Civilian class will boost a random stat by one, and also give me one unassigned stat point... but the chance for Intelligence to be boosted is extremely low...

Han Xiao knew that he could not rely on luck. In fact, he had always suspected that he was cursed. If a god or goddess did smile upon him, it would have to be the goddess of disaster. Rather than rely on luck, finding some way to learn a new class was a more reliable idea.

Although Han Xiao was incapable of moving freely, there had to be a way! After all, it was a scenario, wasn't it?

Suddenly, he thought of something.

If I'm an NPC... I should be protected by the system... right?

"Take him," ordered Hila.

Han Xiao was yanked away once again and brought to another room.

Han Xiao noticed that there was a bookshelf in this room.

<<Tom's Introduction to Machinery>>

<<A Theory on Human Genes and Lizard Genes>>

<<Randt's Hypothesis>>

...

They were all reference books.

Hold on, there's a class book there! rejoiced Han Xiao.

Han Xiao disregarded the two guards behind him as he stood up to walk towards the shelf.

His actions startled everyone, and instantly, the two guards were pointing guns at him.

However, Han Xiao steeled his nerves and continued to approach the bookshelf.

You'd better not fire! he prayed. I'm a valuable test subject!

"Hold your fire! Let's see what he's up to," shouted Lin Wei Xian all of a sudden.

The two guards hesitantly lowered their guns.

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. He had been banking everything on his status as the first successful subject.

<<Tom's Introduction to Machinery>>

This was the book that had caught Han Xiao's eye. He picked it out from the shelf and started flipping through.

Although the long paragraphs of texts and complex diagrams were hard for Han Xiao to comprehend, he patiently read on. After twenty seconds or so, the interface lit up.

_____________________

You have completed one session of self-learning in basic machinery knowledge!

[Basic Assembly] has progressed by 2.0% (based on your Intelligence).

(+0.2% from Concentration)

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As I expected! Han Xiao rejoiced. Although he wasn't able to understand the book's contents on his own, the system's automated mastery system had allowed him to directly absorb the knowledge.

Lin Wei Xian curiosity was piqued. The test subject seemed to be learning!

He allowed Han Xiao to continue in order to observe him more.

The entire room was now silent, except for the rustling of paper.

_____________________

[Basic Assembly]

Progress Rate:

15% (+1.5%)

...

29% (+2.9%)

...

48% (+4.8%)

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Han Xiao's reading speed increased with time. However, the pressure mounted on. Every second that passed could be his last.

When Hila arrived at the room, the sight of Han Xiao reading caused her to frown.

"What's going on?"

Lin Wei Xian began to explain what had happened.

"You're saying that his learning ability has been strengthened?"

"That is my initial conclusion. If you allow me to open his head up to perform a thorough assessment, I will be able to come up with a more complete answer."

Han Xiao flinched. How much does this bastard love brains‽

Hila thought to herself, If his brain has been enhanced, he could prove to be more valuable than we initially thought...

"Is the brainwashing apparatus ready?" she asked.

"Preparations are complete."

Damn it! I have to be faster! thought Han Xiao.

Suddenly, a notification accompanied with a sound popped up on the interface.

_____________________

[Basic Assembly]

Progress rate: 90% (+10%)

You have learned basic knowledge of Machinery, unlocking the Mechanic talent tree!

You have unlocked a new profession:

[Mechanic (Novice)]

STR +10, INT +1, END +1

You have gained 2 stat points.

You have gained 1 talent point.

You have acquired new skills:

[Mechanic (Novice)]

[Basic Maintenance]

[Basic Enhancement]

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As warmth surged through Han Xiao's body, he realized to his surprise that he could actually comprehend the contents of the book now!

I can gain actual knowledge from the game‽ Are you kidding me? Galaxy has been in service for over a decade! How come the Federation of Earth hasn't conquered the Milky Way yet‽

Strange...

The 'Character Information Interface' had updated as well:

_____________________

Name: Han Xiao

Race: Human/Carbon-based (Yellow)

Model: NPC (countdown to Version 1.0 launch: 358 days 10 hours 11 minutes)

Level: 2

Experience: 0

Main Class: Engineer (Novice) – Lv. 1 (0/200)

Sub-class: Civilian – Lv. 1 (0/50)

Health: 43/50 (injured)

Stamina: 80/80

Attributes: 3 STR, 3 DEX, 5 END, 4 INT, 1 MYS , 2 CHA, 1 LUK

Unassigned Stats: 2

Energy: 10/10 [Lv. 1]

Lv. 1 (10) – [STR +1, DEX + 1, END + 1, MAX STAMINA + 20]

Energy Rank: 3~4

Grade: F (Mortal)

[You still lack the combat strength to take on 5 lowly thugs.]

Abilities:

- Concentration: +10% to mastery and crafting speeds

- Lesser Willpower: +3 to focus

Skills:

[Mechanic (Novice)]

Lv 1 (0/1000) – Increases mastery of engineering

[Basic Maintenance]

Lv 1 (0/400) – Able to perform simple maintenance

[Basic Enhancing]

Lv 1 (0/600) – Able to enhance machinery

Potential: 1

Class Talents:

- Arms: Basic Assembly Lv 1 [19 talents not learnt]

- Energy: [20 talents not learnt]

- Control: [20 talents not learnt]

Influence: 0

Legend: 0

Equipment: None

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Regarding stats, Strength improved melee damage and was also a requirement for some heavy equipment.

Dexterity improved movement speed, attack speed, and evasion. It also gave a bonus to ranged attacks.

Endurance increased Health and Energy. 1 Endurance gave 10 HP and 10 Energy. Endurance also affected some abilities and skills and increased HP and Energy recovery rates.

All actions depleted Energy, be it attacking, blocking, walking, running, swimming, crafting, etc.

Endurance also affected physical defense. There were many formulas contributing to the calculation of defense. For example, even if two characters' defense stats were equal, one of them might not be wearing metal armor, so they would take more damage from a bullet than the other character.

Other factors that affected damage taken included Energy, range, bullet type, racial characteristics, and equipment material. All of these factors were taken into consideration when calculated by the quantum computer that the servers were run on. It was impossible for players to accurately optimize defense, but this wasn't that big of a deal, as having more defense could only be a good thing.

Intelligence affected growth rates and Willpower. A character with higher Intelligence could master their skills faster. It also increased mastery and crafting speeds, and it could affect the quality of any machinery crafted by a Mechanic, making it the most important stat for the class.

Mystery affected a character's talent for supernatural powers, and it affected psychic powers and magic abilities, like how Strength or Dexterity affected physical abilities.

Charm was useful when improving relationships with different NPCs and Factions. It even enabled characters to enjoy discounts with certain sellers.

Luck affected judgement and item drop rates.

These were the seven main attributes that stat points could be added to.

Then, there was also Energy, a core component of the game that functions as 'Mana' for superpowers. It could only be increased through leveling or by acquiring certain skills, and it was described as 'a manifestation of the dormant power that lies in living cells'. Energy was a requirement to unlocking superpowers, as well as latent awakening.

A character would also receive bonus stats based on their Energy level. Lv. 1 Energy was reached at 10 points, Lv. 2 at 50 points, and Lv. 3 at 100 points. Each Energy level would give random stats according to the character's class, and a character with a higher level class would benefit more from this. This bonus worked retroactively.

Energy was also the mana for superpowers, and the additional stats received from Energy were lost when the amount of Energy remaining dropped below its tier.

For example, Lv. 1 stat bonuses would be lost when Energy dropped below 10 points; the character would become fatigued after exhausting power, and this affected their combat ability. This mechanic made micromanagement in combat important.

Energy recovered automatically but at a slow rate. However, Stamina could be used to recover Energy faster. Also, when using Superpowers without sufficient Energy, Stamina could be used as a substitute, and when there was both insufficient Energy and Stamina, Health could be used. Many players ended up dying carelessly by sucking themselves dry this way.

A character's grade reflected their combat strength. Characters were ranked according to their grade. The standard unit of measurement for Energy was the Ona.

Superhumans were graded A, B, C, D, or E, based on their Ona levels.

An E-grade superhuman, such as the present-day Hila, possessed 100 Ouna.

A Celestial-class superhuman would fall under grade A. Grade A superhumans were capable of planetary-scale destruction.

Of course, grade A wasn't the limit. Han Xiao knew this, having transcended grade A himself. However, then was then and now is now.

Having gained two unassigned stat points from unlocking the Mechanic class, Han Xiao still needed one more Intelligence in order to endure the brainwash.

Apart from leveling up, there did not seem to be a way for him to obtain it. How was he supposed to gain experience? He obviously couldn't hunt monsters now or complete quests!

Damn it, is there no way?

Suddenly, an idea occurred to Han Xiao.

He abruptly tossed the book to a side and proceeded to stare at the gun on the guard's waist with a blank expression.

Hila frowned but did not act. Everyone looked on to see what Han Xiao was up to.

Han Xiao walked rigidly towards the guard. As if to make his intentions extremely clear, he reached out exaggeratedly for the gun.

The guard instinctively drew his gun, and although Han Xiao did not seem to have any intention of snatching it, he tightened his grip.

As Han Xiao was moving extremely slowly, the guard did not see a need to fire.

"Unload the gun and let him have it," ordered Hila.

She was keen to know Han Xiao's motives.

The guard obliged and proceeded to do so.

Upon receiving the gun, some information popped up on Han Xiao's interface.

_____________________

73-WASP (Small Caliber Handgun)

Grade: Grey

Damage: 28 -35

Fire Rate: 1.1/s

Power Output: 13

Key components: Spring, Slide, Firing pin, Magazine (missing)

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[Basic Assembly] automatically gave Han Xiao knowledge about many types of machines, and the blueprints for a 73-WASP appeared in his mind.

Instantly, Han Xiao understood how to assemble it. While in the game he simply needed to 'load' the gun after 'learning' it, he now had to perform some more technical procedures.

Everything was truly far more immersive than it had been in the game, confirming his suspicion that he had transmigrated to an actual 'reality'.

Han Xiao began to strip the handgun and reassemble it.

The skill icon for [Basic Assembly] lit up.

After 40 seconds, he finished the task.

To a specialist, 40 seconds was nothing. However, Han Xiao was a complete newbie!

He had only spent 10 minutes on a book!

Everyone was shocked.

Is this the effect of Valkyrie‽

Lin Wei Xian started speaking excitedly. "Such learning prowess! If I can analyze his brain, perhaps I can recreate..."

Go to hell! How much, exactly, are you obsessed with brains?

Han Xiao proceeded to repeat reassembling the handgun.

_____________________

You have succeeded at an Assembly (Basic)

69% perfection rate, 28 exp gained

You have succeeded at an Assembly (Basic)

73% perfection rate, 32 exp gained

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There were many ways to gain experience in Galaxy. Apart from hunting monsters and completing quests, skills and crafting were two key sources of experience for Mechanics.

As Han Xiao repeated the task again and again, he gradually became faster and faster. He was soon able to complete the task in a mere 20 seconds.

"Proceed with brainwashing now,' ordered Hila suddenly.

Fortunately for Han Xiao, it had been enough. He had accumulated a total of 200 experience points.

Use all experience to level up Class: [Mechanic]!

Ding!

_____________________

[Mechanic (Novice)] has leveled up.

Lv. 1 -> Lv. 2

Energy +10

Intelligence +1, Endurance +1

You have gained 2 stat points

You have gained 1 talent point

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Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

That was close.

Chapter 3: Life Is All About Acting

Han Xiao was strapped to a metal seat with his eyes forcefully pried open by extensions. Before him was a black screen with speakers on either side.

He was unable to move at all.

"How long is the procedure?"

"Twelve hours."

"Keep watch here," ordered Hila before she left with some grunts.

Lin Wei Xian activated the procedure, and the screen lit up. It began to display all kinds of geometric shapes and patterns that morphed continuously. The vivid, rapidly changing colors and harshly alternating music caused Han Xiao much discomfort. While he wanted to close his eyes badly, he was unable to, and soon, his eyeballs turned bloodshot and swollen.

Ah! This is so uncomfortable!

It was a primitive method of brainwashing. The theory behind it was to overwhelm and distort the subject's thoughts to make it easier to feed messages into their mind.

It did, however, have the advantage of not causing permanent damage to the brain, which both Han Xiao and Lin Wei Xian could appreciate.

The depraved expression on Lin Wei Xian's face enraged Han Xiao. He felt like he was a pig at the slaughterhouse.

Han Xiao added two of his four unassigned points into Intelligence.

_____________________

You are being Brainwashed (Low Level)

Your INT: 7

Your Resistance: 3

Brainwash Failed

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Han Xiao's discomfort immediately eased.

...

At the end of the twelve hours, Han Xiao's entire body was aching, and his eyes were completely dried out.

Hila returned on schedule. The boss had assigned her the task of brainwashing Han Xiao, so she had to ensure that everything went smoothly.

She undid Han Xiao's shackles, revealing bruises on his limbs. Although Han Xiao was still hurting, he continued to look at the screen blankly in order to act the part.

Hila suddenly bent forward, and her face came to within two inches of his. Her moist breath fell upon his lips, but Han Xiao was far too concerned with his predicament to be distracted.

Perfume filled up his nostrils, tickling him, and it took great effort on his part to resist the urge to sneeze.

"Who are you?" asked Hila in a soft, hypnotic voice.

Han Xiao decided to twitch his face instead of replying.

Although Han Xiao had never been a good actor, it wasn't too hard to act like an idiot.

Suddenly, Hila began to whisper into his ear. As her hair tickled Han Xiao's throat, two snowy mountains came into his view through the window of her collar. He steeled his heart with a prayer.

Between the mountains is a valley, empty like the void.

Atop the seas stands an island, straight as a tree.

I, who have seen over a hundred gourds, will not fall for your bait!

"From today onward, your name is Zero. The Germinal Organization is your home, your country, and your everything. You will forever be loyal to the organization and will forever strive to help the organization achieve its goals. You will neither hide anything from nor betray the organization. You will carry out your orders faithfully, and you will sacrifice yourself for the greater good when the time comes!"

Lin Wei Xian broke out in manic laughter.

"Your life belongs to the organization. You will do whatever you are ordered to do," he added.

"Who are you?" re-questioned Hila.

This time, Han Xiao knew that he had to reply. However, he did not reply immediately.

Hila shot a frown towards Lin Wei Xian.

"I followed the procedure! It's not my fault—"

Suddenly, Han Xiao began to speak.

"I... am... Zero..."

Lin Wei Xian's eyes lit up.

"Valkyrie strengthened Zero's learning ability. However, as a side effect, it impaired his speech."

Hila thought back to Zero's earlier behavior. He had indeed responded slowly to his surroundings.

"Seems like the experiment was not perfect after all."

"You're wrong. This is perfection! He does not need emotions."

"...Take him to recover, I will report to the boss."

I'm safe now!

Han Xiao could finally relax. He had come up with the idea of acting slow to lower their guard during the procedure.

Although I didn't transmigrate to an ideal location, at least it's not so bad time-wise.

The Valkyrie experiment was the prototype of a later supersoldier project that implemented microchips into test subjects in order to ensure loyalty.

Transmigrating to then would have been way worse. They would have been able to blow him up anytime.

At least Lady Luck is smiling upon me in one regard!

...

Hila made a call through an encrypted line.

"Boss, the situation has stabilized."

"Is the brainwashing complete?"

The man's voice was hoarse.

"I oversaw the procedure. There was no issue. What arrangements do you have for Zero?"

"The Valkyrie experiment's aim is to train soldiers, so train him."

"How is my sister doing?"

"Don't forget the deal," the man warned. "I gave you permission to visit her once every two months. Don't cross the line."

Hila clenched her fists.

...

The interior of the underground Valkyrie lab was almost entirely white. Guards constantly patrolled the grounds.

After a night's rest, Han Xiao was brought to an isolated training field where Hila awaited.

While he was not too sure of what arrangements the organization had for him, he was certain that they would value his 'learning ability', meaning he would definitely get the chance to level up his Mechanic abilities.

It was virtually impossible to escape from such a tightly guarded fortress, so Han Xiao had steeled himself for the long haul.

"Zero, you will undergo daily combat and shooting practice from today onward."

Hila tossed a suit to him.

"Put it on."

Han Xiao quickly wore it.

As soon as he put the suit on, Hila attacked, launching a vicious kick at chest level.

Bang!

Too fast!

Han Xiao was unable to react, and the kick cracked his ribs through armour. He staggered back over a dozen paces and clutched onto his chest, coughing.

As expected of a superhuman.

Although she was obviously not going all out, she was still several times faster than an ordinary person.

"30 seconds of rest," she stated blandly.

Combat training was tough, but straightforward. No words were exchanged between the pair.

They continued like this for two hours, by the end of which Han Xiao was completely exhausted and covered in bruises. He also now suspected that Hila had masochistic tendencies.

'Are all ice queen types like this?' he wondered.

_____________________

Hila (Lv. 30) has taught you [Basic Combat]

Progress Rate: 5%

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Hila left wordlessly.

A stout, burly man arrived to yank Han Xiao to the target practice field.

"I am your shooting trainer, and one of the vice-managers of this base, Baltar," introduced the scary looking man with a hideous knife scar across his forehead.

He pushed a 73-WASP into Han Xiao's hands and said, "There's ten bullets, hit the bullseye with all of them."

Han Xiao frowned. How could a beginner who had never touched a gun in real life before hit the bullseye‽ Moreover, the target was a moving dummy 30 metres away.

"I'm no Olympic champion!"

Han Xiao shrugged his shoulders and raised the gun with his aching arms.

Bang, bang, bang...!

After ten shots, Han Xiao took a look at the scoreboard. As expected, he had failed.

Suddenly, he felt a searing pain in his back. It was only with great restraint that he did not scream out.

He turned around, only to see a frenzied Baltar licking blood off a black tactical knife.

"Continue. One miss, one cut. Let's see how much blood you will lose today."

Han Xiao moved a hand across his back, and it returned bloody.

"Bastard!" he cursed inwardly.

One of the glass panels in the room was a one-way mirror. Hila and Lin Wei Xian were observing from the other side.

"Baltar is being too careless with my precious test subject! Might as well let me dissect him now," bemoaned Lin Wei Xian.

Hila cast a plain look at Lin Wei Xian and replied, "The organization will not approve of your request."

Lin Wei Xian laughed coldly in response.

"I will have my way sooner or later. I created him! He is mine!"

Hila remained silent.

...

_____________________

Baltar (Lv 15) has taught you [Basic Shooting]

Progress Rate: 5%

[Agent] Profession Unlock Rate: 1%

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Han Xiao was cut again and again. The cuts themselves might not have been deep, but there were so many of them that his clothes were completely drenched in blood.

Baltar watch the weakened Han Xiao with a grin. He reveled in the smell of fresh blood.

"Why are you not screaming?" he asked. "A good toy screams."

Damn bastard!

Han Xiao took a deep breath to compose himself. While he really felt like punching Baltar, he knew that he could not afford to act recklessly. It was similar in some sense to LoL - when you trash talk despite losing, you are only setting yourself up for a more spectacular fall.

For now, all he could do was suck it up.

'Laugh while you can...' Han Xiao gritted his teeth.

Chapter 4: 600,000 experience points!

After the blood boiling training session, Han Xiao was brought to dip in a special restorative bath for two hours. Although it healed his wounds, the pain from the cuts still lingered.

There was an unused machinery tuning room in the base, and as Han Xiao had demonstrated some talent with machines, he was arranged to reside there. In the room were materials, tools, and a vehicle bench that he was given free rein to use. There were also shelves of books lined against the wall. Although there was a surveillance camera in a corner of the room, Han Xiao paid no heed to it—he had expected to be monitored 24/7.

In the present year 687, Aquamarine was still a relatively new planet in the grand scheme of things. The planet was in the midst of a transition towards a 'new era', hence its technologies were still quite far behind for a sci-fi game, similar to that of Earth.

Mechanic talents were split into three trees. Each talent tree had over 20 talents that were divided into the five levels of basic, intermediate, advanced, expert, and master. Talents formed the core of a character's class.

Learning a class unlocks the first talent, and subsequent talents require talent points.

There are three ways to obtain talent points: through leveling, special quests, or mastering a skill.

Han Xiao decided to hold on to his two talent points. Talents were not yet a major concern for him. Many new players spent them as soon as they got them, but talent points actually became harder to come by in the later stages of the game. They were to be used wisely.

Outside of training, Han Xiao was basically free to do whatever he could, and he spent all his time on machinery in order to accumulate as much experience as possible to escape this prison.

...

Time went by quickly.

Han Xiao continued to assemble and enhance machines to gain experience, and as he improved, his perfection rate in assembly consistently hit over 90%. This gave him a lot of bonus experience.

Although assembling the same kind of machine too many times gradually decreased the experience gained—up to a point where it would not yield any experience at all—there was an armory in the base that was essentially a gold mine of machines, providing Han Xiao with all the resources he needed to gain experience through assembly.

Han Xiao kept a low profile and continued to remain quiet and docile. Gradually, the organization also stopped monitoring him so closely.

Although the organization had high hopes for him, he knew that standing out would only be disadvantageous, so he chose to accumulate experience instead of leveling up when he could.

Very soon, the research team lost interest in him. The degree of skill that he displayed in assembly was easily attainable by trained logistics personnel, and he simply did not fulfill their expectations.

They continued observing him for another month before writing him off as a failure. Instead of wasting more time on him, they chose to devote their efforts elsewhere and ceased the 24/7 surveillance.

This allowed Han Xiao to relax a little.

As the organization's attention gradually shifted away from him, eventually, only Lin Wei Xian and Baltar continued to keep tabs on him.

Although Lin Wei Xian's continued requests to dissect Han Xiao for research were still being rejected, Han Xiao knew that it was only a matter of time before they would be approved. There was not much time left for him.

As for Baltar, Han Xiao had become the sole target of his affection. As recovery pills were readily available, and the researchers believed that torture could stimulate growth, Baltar was allowed to indulge in his sadistic ways.

Han Xiao gradually grew numb to the pain.

With nothing much to do and no one to converse to, Han Xiao channeled his focus and thoughts into studying machinery. He found solace in the sense of accomplishment that crafting brought him.

...

One day, a number of armored guards came to the tuning room to move a large portion of Han Xiao's resources away. As Han Xiao watched them quietly, a person walked up to him.

"You have let the organization down. From today onward, your resources will be cut by 80%."

The person who spoke to Han Xiao was test subject No. 1.

"I heard that you are my predecessor. With so many resources, is all you can make garbage like this?

"You are a failure, and I have been chosen to replace you."

For some reason, the sight of Han Xiao irked No. 1. Han Xiao remained silent.

The organization prioritized results. Since Han Xiao was not giving them results, he was being stripped of his privileges. They planned to devote their resources to grooming the more promising No. 1.

As the research lab did not have any maintenance personnel for machinery, Han Xiao still got to keep the tuning room for himself. He was now assigned to perform maintenance and repairs.

"Tsk tsk, sad rats."

A few guards who saw the pair conversed among themselves.

"Brainwashed lab rats. Fated to be sacrificed."

"I'd rather die than end up like that."

"Shh, they can hear us."

"It doesn't matter does it? They've already been brainwashed anyway."

To them, test subjects were less than animals.

Han Xiao walked away silently.

...

Half a year passed.

In this period of time, Han Xiao managed to figure out the layout of the entire facility and the routines of the staff.

The Valkyrie Laboratory, commanded by Hila, was an underground facility that comprised of three floors. Because it was a secret base, it wasn't built to be very big, and was concealed within an uninhabited forest. Its supplies were delivered by airdrop.

A total of 60 armored guards patrolled the facility. Every now and then, the organization would send a batch of test subjects who had had their memories wiped here for experimentation.

Although there were a dozen so other Valkyrie laboratories, this base was the main one. After Han Xiao and No. 1, the Germinal Organization had managed to produce another 76 successful test subjects.

While most of them had already been transferred to other facilities, No. 1 and nine other exceptional test subjects were chosen to form a squad, and they were still awaiting orders here.

Han Xiao had grown accustomed to his life here. Aside from training, he spent all his time working with machines in the tuning room. The room had become a haven of sorts for him.

The guards gradually began to ignore his presence and when he passed by, they would simply gloss over him as though he were invisible.

This was extremely advantageous for Han Xiao, who was tirelessly gaining as much experience as he could. He also tried to memorize as many blueprints as he could.

The experience that assembly and enhancement rewarded were separate. When Han Xiao could no longer gain experience from assembling a certain machine, he would proceed to work on enhancing it. He was always careful to revert the machinery back to its original state after enhancing so as to keep his abilities a secret.

After many hours of training, Han Xiao also managed to master the two skills of [Basic Combat] and [Basic Shooting] and unexpectedly unlocked a passive ability called [Grinder], which gave him +100 Health.

He also unlocked the sub-class of [Agent], and was now at a character level of 4.

After his continued efforts, [Basic Assembly] and [Basic Enhancement] reached Lv. 4, while [Basic Combat] and [Basic Shooting] reached Lv. 2.

Mechanics required substantial amounts of resources and currency for growth, and while this would normally be a limitation to the class, Han Xiao had access to free materials from the organization.

He had used up almost 90% of the machines in the armory, accumulating a total of 600,00 experience!

Without monsters or missions, only mechanics could earn so much experience in such a short amount of time.

...

"Give Lin Wei Xian the green light. He has asked repeatedly. He may dissect Zero," ordered the boss over the line.

Hila frowned.

"You rejected him repeatedly."

"The organization has devoted so much resources to him already. We must gain something in return," said the boss plainly. "The only worth that trash has is in being recycled. That, is Zero's fate."

Hila bit her lip.

"Understood."

"What are the results of No. 1 and his team's training?" continued the boss.

"Very promising. I see potential in them."

"Very good. Send them to the Night Owl base for training, I have already sent the Night Owl squad to receive them. They will arrive in two or three days."

"That's the day I visit my sister!"

"You don't need to follow them."

"Alright."

Chapter 5: Lightweight Mechanical Arm

"Ha!" cried out Hila as her bullet-like fist connected onto Han Xiao's chest.

Han Xiao endured the pain of the blow to grab Hila by her collar. With a mighty twist, he threw Hila over his shoulder.

However, it was ineffective. Hila effortlessly nullified the shoulder throw by performing a flip.

Han Xiao paused to rub his chest.

"Is that all that you are capable of?" Hila was visibly upset.

Han Xiao remained silent. He had expected the organization to have given up on him with what little progress he had shown, but for the past six months, Hila had dutifully trained with him every single day. For some reason, though, she was going especially hard on him today.

Although Hila was the commander of this base, she did not have much work to do. Training Han Xiao was actually one of the few things that she had to look forward to. When she had learnt of the boss's intention to hand him to Lin Wei Xian, it had upset her.

Although they had never actually conversed before, it was 6 months of accompaniment regardless. A person could even develop feelings for an object if he or she spent that much time with it! Perhaps, due to having grown used to seeing Han Xiao everyday, Hila was a bit reluctant to hand him over.

"How many times has it been?" she wondered. "All those people... all those faces..."

The organization's cruel methods had not only caused her to lose many of her friends—she had also lost her sister.

The reason she had pushed Han Xiao harder today was to try and stimulate him. She had hoped to be able to draw out any latent talent in him.

However, it had clearly been too much to ask for.

"The boss has approved of Lin Wei Xian's request to dissect you..." She sighed.

Strictly speaking, this was the first time she had ever spoken of anything outside of training to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao's eyes flashed.

Finally...

Although Han Xiao had been anticipating this from the moment he decided to lie low, he did not regret doing so—his background made it impossible for him to rise up through the ranks, which meant that he would only be able to continue on as a henchman. Either way, Han Xiao did not wish to work for the organization.

Suddenly, Han Xiao noticed a photograph on the ground. It seemed to have fallen out of Hila's pocket during their fight. Han Xiao bent down to pick it up.

It was a group photo set in front of a vast, blue sea that was basking under a setting sun.

Two girls stood side by side in the center. One of them was Hila, who was smiling radiantly. The other girl had snow-white hair and seemed to resemble Hila somewhat. She looked both clever and gentle.

Hila's face changed upon realizing that she had dropped the photo. She immediately bent down to snatch for it. When she saw that it was undamaged, she let out a sigh of relief. As she pocketed it, she took a final, probing look at Han Xiao before turning around to leave.

The interface suddenly lit up with a message.

_____________________

You have initiated a D-Class Quest:

[Night Owl Plans]

Accept / Decline

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Han Xiao's eyes lit up. My first mission in six months‽

Accept!

_____________________

Quest Synopsis:

The dark and blood-stained advent of the Germinal Organization has always been a great mystery to the Six Nations of Planet Aquamarine. Hila has a secret past that no one knows about. Where do her loyalties truly lie? You now hold one of the clues to this mystery. Will you seek to uncover the truth?

(You may choose to pass this clue on to someone else for a small reward.)

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The quest had obviously been initiated by the photo.

Han Xiao knew who the white-haired girl was. She was none other than Hila's younger sister, Aurora.

While the sisters both possessed supernatural powers, their powers were of two extremes.

Aurora's blood possessed mysterious healing properties that could extend life or even bring back the dead. She had been brainwashed, and was now being controlled by the Germinal. Not only were they taking advantage of her powers, they were also using her as leverage to make Hila do their bidding.

Hila only cared for one person, and that was Aurora.

The war between the six countries and the Germinal Organization reached a climax at the conclusion of Version 1.0.

As a last resort, the Germinal Organization used Aurora's flesh and blood to create an endless supply of miracle drugs that won them the war. Hila, who had been at the front lines at the time, only learnt of what had happened a few months later.

Losing her sister tore her apart, and the Germinal Organization took advantage of her moment of weakness to capture and imprison her.

After her escape, she became cold-blooded and ruthless, going so far as to sacrifice countless of lives in order to awaken her latent powers.

She turned to the dark side and stopped at nothing to gain power, eventually coming to be known as the 'Goddess of Death' whose very name spread fear throughout the Shattered Belt.

Although the present Hila was cold, compared to the future Goddess of Death who wielded the power to wipe out entire civilizations, she was a billion times nicer.

If he had the chance, Han Xiao would definitely do his best to alter her tragic fate – not out of pity, but to prevent her from destroying his fleet of spaceships. However, he was still far too weak to do anything. Escaping the base was his primary goal.

Han Xiao knew from Hila's routine the past six months that she would leave the lab in two days.

That would be the perfect chance.

Han Xiao returned to the tuning room and summoned the interface. He currently possessed two sub-classes, and one main class: Civilian, Agent, and Mechanic (Novice).

Of the five main classes, Mechanics were weaker in the early stages of the game. They were also more intended to be a support class early on. In Version 3.0, however, they would receive new talents that greatly buffed their combat capabilities to become one of the more popular classes.

In the later stages of the game, a high-level Mechanic was akin to an entire galactic fleet.

Mechanics were well known for having many skills. Each blueprint itself could be seen as a skill, and since there were thousands of blueprints of machines, Mechanics could be played in any number of ways. The slew of skills at their disposal made them adept at all sorts of tactics and warfare.

Nevertheless, they had a glaring weakness—they needed more experience than other classes to level up.

Han Xiao contemplated for a moment before dumping all the experience he could into [Mechanic], initiating a leveling frenzy.

_____________________

Engineer (Novice) has been raised to Lv. 3

+ 10 Energy, + 1 INT, + 1 END

+ 2 unassigned stat points

+ 1 talent point

...

Engineer (Novice) has been raised to Lv. 10 (max)

+ 30 Energy, + 1 INT, + 1 END

+ 2 unassigned stat points

+ 1 talent point

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It took 130,000 experience to level Lv. 2 Mechanic (Novice) to Lv. 10. As a result, Han Xiao gained 8 Endurance, 8 Intelligence, 100 Energy, 16 stat points, 8 talent points, and was now Lv. 12.

It was usually more cost-effective to raise the level of the main class first as it gave more Energy.

As Han Xiao did not meet the requirement for class advancement yet, he could not level [Mechanic] up any further.

Most classes had a starting level cap of Lv. 10 that could only be exceeded after performing an advancement.

Han Xiao continued to use 80,000 experience to level up [Agent] to Lv. 9. He gained +12 Strength, +9 Dexterity, +3 Charm, 9 talent points, and 9 points of unassigned stats from this, and hit Lv. 20.

While a character could have any number of classes, Lv. 20 was the maximum character level before completing the special advancement mission. In the game, the maximum level was usually raised every major update. In Version 1.0, it was Lv. 60.

Galaxy had hundreds of classes and this gave players unlimited combinations to play around with. It made it common for a character to have individualized skill-sets. As there was no fixed strategy in particular, each and every character could be skilled uniquely. This was one of the game's strong points.

Han Xiao discovered an anomaly! His interface did not display a maximum level! This could mean that he was allowed to exceed the limits of a regular character!

The gameplay of Version 1.0 and Version 2.0 was mostly based around the beginner planets. Although the stronger civilizations in the universe were already implemented from the start, players were unable to interact with them. Han Xiao wondered if his NPC status would have any impact on this.

_____________________

Lv. 20 Advancement Mission:

Learn an advanced Mechanic skill.

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As one of the requirements to learning an advanced Mechanic skill was to gain advanced knowledge, Han Xiao had no way to proceed with the advancement.

He used another 150,000 experience to raise [Basic Assembly] and [Basic Enhancement] to their Lv. 10 each, thereby gaining two talent points.

He then used 10,000 experience to raise the level of his [Machinery Affinity (Novice)] to Lv. 3.

After some calculations, Han Xiao proceeded to use 60,000 experience to reach Lv. 6 in both [Basic Combat] and [Basic Shooting], and this unlocked [Grappling] and [Precise Aim].

He intended to use the remaining 170,000 experience to do some 'blueprint gambling'.

Blueprints were an important feature of the Mechanic class. The first method of obtaining them would be through leveling talents.

The second method would be through completing missions—some missions rewarded blueprints.

The third way through perform reverse engineering, done by disassembling machinery. However, on top of certain conditions and requirements, this method expended experience points.

The fourth way—and the most important one—was through combining talents. This method also expended experience points.

As there were 60 talents, and the same type of combination could yield different kinds of blueprints, the possibilities were endless. Some blueprints even had hidden prerequisites, making it hard to determine exactly how many blueprints could be derived from a certain combination.

The experience needed to perform talent combination also increased with each attempt, and if the player received the same blueprint again, the experience expended would not be compensated. This it is why talent combination was widely known as 'blueprint gambling'.

As useful as it was, it did consume a lot of experience.

Back to before he had transmigrated, players had discovered and researched thousands of combinations, and Han Xiao was familiar with many of them! As a Mechanic, he would be able to overcome the early weaknesses of the class as there were a few rare blueprints of godly equipment that could be crafted by a Novice Engineer!

Besides the four methods of obtaining blueprints above, there was also a lesser used method known as 'free creation', where players were allowed to freely create machines that they conceptualized. However, this method had an abysmal success rate.

The success rate of free creation depends on various factors such as the viability of the concept itself, the quality of the materials, the character's level in knowledge, certain abilities, tools used, and so on. Before Han Xiao transmigrated, players still had not managed to figure out the exact science behind it. It was simply too hard to succeed at this method, causing it to be largely viewed as a waste of time and effort.

As Han Xiao had gained 19 talent points from leveling his classes, and 2 points from maxing two of his skills, he now had a total of 21 talent points.

Han Xiao proceeded to pick out two books from the shelf before summoning the interface.

_____________________

Use 1 talent point to unlock the Weaponry branch talent: [Basic Mechanical Engineering]. Y/N

Use 1 talent point to unlock the Weaponry branch talent: [Basic Bio-engineering]. Y/N

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Confirm!

A large amount of information related to these two talents began to be transmitted into Han Xiao's brain, causing him some discomfort. This continued for ten minutes.

When he was done, he used another two talent points to raise them to Lv. 2, increasing his degree of comprehension for them.

"Combining these two Lv. 2 talents can yield 6 types of blueprints. Each combination will double the required experience for the next. The first combination requires 10,000 experience, so 170,000 experience will allow me to combine 4 times. I must get that blueprint in four tries!"

Han Xiao's nervously proceeded to combine [Lv. 2 Basic Mechanical Engineering] and [Lv. 2 Basic Bio-engineering].

_____________________

Proceed with talent combination of [Lv. 2 Basic Mechanical Engineering] and [Lv. 2 Basic Bio-engineering]?

10,000 experience will be used.

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Yes!

Han Xiao's vision whirled momentarily as a new blueprint appeared before him.

_____________________

Success! Congratulations on discovering [Sky Swallow Gliders]!

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Not this one! Han Xiao clenched his fists. Continue!

_____________________

... 20,000 experience will be used.

Success! Congratulations on discovering [Bionic Limb]!

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Damn it! This is the worst one!

Again!

_____________________

... 40,000 experience will be used.

Success! Congratulations on discovering [Lightweight Mechanical Arm]!

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This is it!

Han Xiao slammed the table excitedly.

Haha! Lightweight Mechanical Arm... This is what I was hoping for!

Half a year of hard work almost went down the drain.

_____________________

Name: Han Xiao

Race: Human/Carbon-based (Yellow)

Model: NPC (countdown to Version 1.0 launch: 182 days 8 hours 23 minutes)

Level: 20 (Can proceed with advancement)

Main Class: Engineer (Novice) – Lv. 10/10 (Can proceed with advancement)

Sub-classes:

Civilian – Lv. 1

Agent – Lv. 9 (0/25000)

Health: 320/320

Stamina: 434/434

Attributes: 21 STR, 17 DEX, 22 END, 15 INT, 1 MYS, 5 CHA, 1 LUK

Unassigned Stats: 27

Energy: 120 [Lv. 3]

Lv. 1 (10) – [STR +1, DEX + 1, END + 1, MAX STAMINA + 20]

Lv. 2 (50) – [STR +3, DEX + 2, END + 3, MAX STAMINA + 50]

Lv. 3 (100) – [STR +3, DEX + 3, END + 5, MAX STAMINA + 100]

Energy Rank: 48-55

Grade: F (Mortal)

[To the weakest superhuman... you are a slightly huge ant!]

Abilities:

- Concentration: + 10% to mastery and crafting speeds

- Lesser Willpower: + 3 Focus

- Grinder: + 100 Health

Skills:

[Mechanic]

Novice Mechanic Affinity - Lv. 3

Basic Maintenance - Lv. 10 (max)

Basic Enhancement - Lv. 10 (max)

Blueprint: Cloud Sparrow Glider - Lv. 1 (0/5000)

Blueprint: Bionic Limb - Lv. 1 (0/2000)

Blueprint: Lightweight Mechanical Arm - Lv. 1 (0/10000)

[Agent]

Basic Combat - Lv. 6 (0/16000) - +6% Damage when unarmed

Basic Shooting - Lv. 6 (0/16000) - +6% Accuracy

Grappling - Lv. 1 (0/3000) - +3% Parry, +2% Damage when unarmed

Precise Aim - Lv. 1 (0/3000) - +3% Accuracy, +2% Ranged Damage

Talent Points: 17

Class Talents:

Arms

Basic Assembly Lv. 1 (0/1)

Basic Mechanical Engineering Lv. 2 (0/1)

Basic Bio-engineering Lv. 2 (0/1)

(17 talents not learnt)

Energy

[20 talents not learnt]

Control

[20 talents not learnt]

Influence: 0

Legend: 0

Equipment: None

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In one shot, Han Xiao was able to reach Lv. 20 and significantly boost his combat ability.

He spent 5 of his 27 unassigned stat points to raise his Intelligence to 20, fulfilling the prerequisite to craft the Lightweight Mechanical Arm.

Now, he had one thing left to do: suit up!

Han Xiao grinned as he looked at the spare parts scattered all across the floor.

I will show you what 'raising a tiger's cub' means!

Chapter 6: Taking Action!

The Valkyrie Lab was hidden underneath an abandoned farm situated within an extremely large forest. The farm itself was enclosed by a tall electrical fence.

A Black Harrier helicopter descended on the abandoned farm. Six fully equipped agents dressed in black emerged from the aircraft.

"I am the captain of Night Owl Squad 3, Silver Blade. I've come under orders to transport the Valkyrie Squad," introduced the stony-faced captain.

"Stop wasting my time," replied an irritated Hila as she fixed her tousled hair. "There are vehicles in the hangar. I'll take the helicopter."

No. 1, who had been chosen to lead the Valkyrie squad, stepped forward.

"Test subject No. 1 greets officer!"

"Follow us."

"Yes sir!"

As Hila hopped on the helicopter, she frowned.

"Strange... It feels like I've forgotten something..."

...

Machinery tuning room.

Han Xiao was almost done with crafting the Lightweight Mecha Arm. It had proven harder to craft than expected. In the game, blueprint crafting was guided—the player simply needed to input the materials and follow a few simplified steps. Now, however, Han Xiao had to do everything manually. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing though, as it did give him the freedom to make small modifications.

Although the organization had taken away most of Han Xiao resources, there was still enough left for him to work with. He had primarily used manganese, a tough alloy well suited for making weapons and armour.

While the design of the Lightweight Mecha Arm was very basic, it would have to suffice.

Han Xiao put down the wrench in his hand. The Lightweight Mecha Arm was now complete.

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Lightweight Mecha Arm (Left)

Quality: Average

Basic Stats

- Damage: 35~58

- Defense: 13~17

- Power Level: 38

- Durability: 270/270

Equip Requirement: 25 STR

Stat Bonus: -3 Speed

Length: 0.51 m

Weight: 14.7 kg

Additional Bonus: +10 STR

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Han Xiao gained 3000 experience points from crafting the arm. Crafting generally rewarded more experience than assembly or enhancement.

Han Xiao currently had 21 STR, so he needed to spend another 4 stat points to equip the mecha arm.

After crafting the mecha arm, Han Xiao crafted a 73-WASP and enhanced it to 38-47 damage. He also forged a 10 damage carbide tactical knife.

He hid the Lightweight Mecha Arm and the enhanced 73-WASP before heading out to the canteen.

The canteen was like a recreation room of sorts for the staff in the facility. They would come here to relax and while away the time. Han Xiao had learnt a lot of information from eavesdropping on their conversations.

A groups of guards were chatting nosily.

"I want to go outside too! Being confined for so long is getting on my nerves."

"Well, Hila's an officer. Her status is much higher than ours."

"Man, I'd do anything to spend a night with her."

"Hey, watch your mouth. Do you know why she's an officer?"

"Because... she's a superhuman?"

"Of course she is!"

Han Xiao rejoiced at the confirmation of Hila's absence.

"Looks like today is the day," he murmured to himself.

Han Xiao got up and headed to basement 3. His target was the surveillance room.

There were two guards stationed outside the surveillance room. Before entering the corridor, Han Xiao slapped a piece of half-chewed bread onto the surveillance camera.

He had learnt that the guards did not take their shifts seriously, and true enough, nothing happened even after a while.

After composing himself, Han Xiao entered the corridor and approached the two guards.

"No unauthorized personnel," warned the first guard.

"It's Zero. Just shoo him away," laughed the second.

The first guard nodded. He was about to push Han Xiao away when, suddenly, Han Xiao grabbed hold of his wrist and stabbed the second guard in the chin with a knife. The knife pierced all the way into the guard's brain.

Han Xiao then immediately maneuvered around the first guard to perform a chokehold on him.

Crack!

Han Xiao had dispatched of both guards in an instant!

_____________________

You have dealt a fatal blow!

You have dealt a fatal blow!

"-162"

"-171"

You have killed a Guard of the Germinal Organization, gaining 360 experience!

You have killed a Guard of the Germinal Organization, gaining 360 experience!

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Han Xiao carefully placed the guard on the ground before checking their stats.

_____________________

Lv. 7 Agent

10 STR, 15 END

150 Health

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_____________________

You have acquired 4 bullets.

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Han Xiao re-equipped the dagger before slowly pushing the door open.

A jaw-dropping sight greeted him.

Two guards were pressed together in an extremely compromising position. The sound of the door opening had startled them, and they were staring at Han Xiao in horror.

Spicy.

Chapter 7: Panic

Well, this is awkward. Should I just pretend like nothing happened and step out? wondered Han Xiao.

Han Xiao did not have anything in particular against any group of people. He respected people's hobbies and interests. These two men before him were simply two lonely hearts who had had no way of releasing their pent-up frustrations. Over time, their common bond developed into something special...

It's not your fault! It's Tokiomi's 1 —I mean—it's just how things ended up!

Although Han Xiao's mind was dulled with such thoughts, his body was quick to act. Reversing his grip on his knife, he rushed forward to attack the closer guard.

The guard was unable to react in time, and as he fumbled to draw his gun, Han Xiao went in for the kill.

Unfortunately, the second guard kicked him to safety.

Han Xiao's surprise attack had failed, but he was not disheartened. Twirling the knife in his hand, he switched back to a standard grip and stabbed the second guard in his abdomen, followed by striking his neck with his free hand. The guard collapsed to the ground.

_____________________

Overwhelming Force!

You have 25 Strength. The target has 10 Strength.

As you have over twice as much Strength as the target, your attack dealt 50% more damage!

The target has lost consciousness.

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One down!

The other guard who had been kicked to safety rolled further away to create some space between him and Han Xiao before raising his gun to fire.

Han Xiao immediately tackled him down and slammed his hand against the floor, causing him to release the gun in pain.

It would have been disastrous for Han Xiao if he had managed to fire.

Han Xiao proceeded to head-butt the guard on his nose, disorienting him, and circled around to strangle him from behind.

Rear naked chokehold!

The guard's face turned purple as he struggled to break free.

_____________________

You have performed a [Submission].

You have 25 Strength. Your target has 11 Strength.

Your target is unable to break free.

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The guard struggled for a few more seconds before fainting.

"That was close... It would have been easier if I were a Pugilist," panted Han Xiao as he got up.

The Pugilist class was the most popular class in Galaxy for the simple reason that it was the coolest looking class. Their skills had the coolest names, such as 'Inferno Quake', 'Devil's Beam', or 'Star Breaker'. Of course, many skills were not actually as powerful as their names suggested, but the point is that they sounded cool!

Shouting out the skill's name as you used it also always seemed to make it stronger. Although most players weren't thick skinned enough to do so, Han Xiao enjoyed it.

Pugilists were also a much simpler class to play - basically, just keep on hitting the enemy. Compared to the most demanding class to play, the Mechanic, the difference was night and day.

Han Xiao used his knife to finish the two unconscious guards. He looted four magazines of bullets from them.

He then moved the bodies of the other two guards into the room, cleaned up the bloodstains in the corridor, and smashed up all the security monitors. After confirming that he had not missed anything, Han Xiao emerged from the room with his usual blank expression on once more.

Eliminating the surveillance room was important to Han Xiao's escape - it allowed him to move freely.

Han Xiao returned to the second floor where a guard suddenly stopped him.

"Mr. Lin Wei Xian wants to see you."

Han Xiao's eyes flashed.

Lin Wei Xian was one of the few people in the base who possessed a security pass that could access the main gate. He was saving Han Xiao the trouble of looking for him.

Han Xiao followed the guard to Lin Wei Xian's private laboratory. It was a dimly lit room. The walls were lined with shelves of specimen jars filled with organs - almost like the private collection of a homicidal murderer.

"The organization has finally let me have you. If I dissect you, I will be able to find out the difference between you and the other test subjects. After extracting all the valuable information your body has to offer, I will preserve your corpse as a specimen. You will be fondly remembered as the first test subject."

Han Xiao remained silent in the dark.

"You there, secure him tightly and don't let him struggle. It'll ruin my experiment," ordered Lin Wei Xian.

He then proceeded to turn around to retrieve his toolbox of oddly-shaped surgical knifes and scalpels. Before Han Xiao, how many had fallen prey to them?

Suddenly, Lin Wei Xian heard a dull thud from behind. He turned around, only to discover that Han Xiao was standing right behind him.

Before he could react, Lin Wei Xian felt a pain in his chest. Looking down blankly, he saw that a knife was stabbed directly into his heart.

His eyes widened with shock as he dropped the surgical knife he was holding

He could see the motionless guard lying on the floor behind Han Xiao, as well as the coldness in Han Xiao's eyes.

Right! This room is under surveillance!

Han Xiao seemed to have read his mind. "Give up. I've already cleaned the surveillance room."

That tone... is this really that dim-witted Zero?

Lin Wei Xian shuddered as the color in his face drained quickly.

"Half... half a year... you've been faking it all along?"

Han Xiao nodded.

"How is that possible... You've fooled everyone!" Lin Wei Xian wondered aloud, incredulous.

"Nothing is impossible in this world." Han Xiao twisted the knife viciously.

Lin Wei Xian crumpled to the ground, wide-eyed in indignation and terror.

"I... am your... creator..." Tokiomi is a character in Fate/Zero, and apparently, everything bad that happens is his fault.

Chapter 8: I Have the Trashtalk to Back Me Up

Han Xiao changed into the guard's uniform before leaving Lin Wei Xian's laboratory.

It was likely that people knew he had been taken to Lin Wei Xian, so a disguise was necessary. There were usually four people in the base that he had to watch out for - Hila, No. 1, Lin Wei Xian, and Baltar. As Hila was not in, No. 1 had left, and Lin Wei Xian was a non-factor now, Han Xiao's escape would proceed smoothly as long as he did not encounter Baltar.

The main gate to the base was a reinforced steel door almost one metre thick. Even if Han Xiao used all the explosives in the armory, it would still not be enough to blast it open. The only way to escape would be through unlocking it, and only three people possessed the security pass to do so. One of them was none other than Lin Wei Xian, and, naturally, Han Xiao had already acquired his pass.

However, as the main gate was heavily manned, and everyone knew exactly who possessed a pass, escaping was not that straightforward.

If Han Xiao so much as appeared at the main gate, he would be surrounded by heavy fire in mere seconds. One bullet would do only 10 damage to him, but add them all up and he would be lucky to last for even a second.

Mm, not a bad way to go, he thought, but I think I'll come up with a better idea.

Han Xiao's plan was to cripple their communications in order to gain a few hours of time. This was the safest option. Currently, he was heading back to the tuning room to retrieve the mecha arm first.

As the tuning room came into sight, Han Xiao was suddenly pushed from the side. To his horror, the person who had pushed him was none other than Baltar.

Why am I so unlucky‽ he groaned inwardly.

"Which squad are you from?" questioned Baltar. "Why have I never seen you before?"

Han Xiao lowered his head and pushed his cap down.

"I'm new here. I'm from squad B."

"Why was I not informed of new guards? Hold on, your voice sounds familiar. Raise your head and show me your face."

Han Xiao noticed that Baltar was slowly reaching for his handgun. Three guards nearby had also sensed that something was amiss.

What should I do now?

If Han Xiao were exposed now, Baltar would definitely send guards to look for Lin Wei Xian. That would be disastrous.

"This is a problem... I didn't want to have to resort to plan B..." muttered Han Xiao.

"What did you say?"

Suddenly, Han Xiao raised his head to reveal his face to Baltar.

"I've always wanted to tell you this: go see a shrink, psycho!"

"Zero‽"

Han Xiao took advantage of his confusion and thrust his knife into Baltar's chest.

Unfortunately, Baltar dodged on reflex, and Han Xiao's knife only grazed his chin.

"Fire!"

The three guards hastily reached out to draw their guns. Unfortunately, they were too close to Han Xiao, and Han Xiao managed to close in on them before they could fire. He sent a fist smashing into the nearest guard's face.

-48!

The punch sent the guard flying backwards into his comrades.

Han Xiao gritted his teeth as he turned around to make a dash for the tuning room.

Baltar's face darkened as he felt his chin. As he gave chase, he shouted into the transmitter on his collar, "All agents, listen up! Come to the tuning room on the second floor at once! Test subject Zero has gone rogue!"

All the guards who heard the news were stunned.

"Zero? Gone rogue? Are you sure‽"

"Wasn't he brainwashed?"

"Is this a drill?"

"Are you dumb? Didn't you hear the gunshots‽"

Han Xiao became strangely calm under the assault of Baltar's gunfire. As his brain began to process all the variables and data in his surroundings, the world before him astonishingly changed. Han Xiao's surroundings began to be reduced to 3D lines, as though his mind were filtering out all the clutter - making everything look clear to him. Somehow, he had entered a state of mind in which all his brain's functions were heightened.

"2.0 seconds to reach the tuning room. 3.7 seconds for Baltar to catch up. The three guards will not pose any threat for another 4.2 seconds. Roughly 30.0 seconds before reinforcements arrive..."

Han Xiao had been through countless battles before. Although they were all from his time in the game, it was still experience. And it was precisely experience that enabled him to tap into this special state.

He started to run in an irregular pattern to dodge the bullets.

"Interesting. The toy wants to resist," mused a frenzied Baltar. "You asked for it!"

Baltar was an elite agent with over 20 years of experience. No matter how terrifying Han Xiao's learning capability was, he had essentially trained for only 6 months. To him, the outcome was already decided.

As soon as Han Xiao neared the tuning room, he jumped inside and locked the door.

Baltar burst out in maniacal laughter as he paused to reload his gun.

"Hiding in a room? You have sealed your fate!"

Suddenly, the door was blasted into smithereens by what appeared to be a gigantic mecha arm that appeared out of nowhere. It followed through to smash into Baltar's chest.

-95!

Baltar was sent flying into the wall. 4 or 5 of his ribs were broken by the force of the impact. As he got up, he coughed a mouthful of blood and looked at the newly emerged Han Xiao in disbelief.

"What the hell is that‽" Baltar stared in shock at the gigantic mecha arm that was enshrouded by the black smoke it was pumping out.

The three guards raised their guns to fire, but Han Xiao was a step quicker. With his right hand, he drew his enhanced 73-WASP and fired two consecutive shots.

With the accuracy bonus provided from his skills and DEX, Han Xiao's current shooting abilities were extremely frightening. Each bullet hit either guard squarely in the throat.

The third guard opened fire, but Han Xiao simply raised the mecha arm.

Clank!

The bullet deflected.

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Lightweight Mechanical Arm (Left) has lost 8 durability.

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Han Xiao fired another shot.

The guard collapsed to his knees with an expression of disbelief.

The corridor quietened down. Han Xiao and Baltar faced each other off.

"The nearest guard will take another thirty seconds to arrive," calculated Han Xiao.

Han Xiao flexed his mecha arm tauntingly.

"I really feel like crushing your throat with my bare hands to thank you for all four hundred and twenty cuts."

Baltor furiously spat out some blood and laughed coldly as he unsheathed a dagger that had been concealed within his boots.

"That was quite a punch, but don't think that you can defeat me with a piece of junk like that!"

"We'll see."

"I can kill you ten times in thirty seconds!" howled Baltar as he suddenly pounced forward.

Han Xiao charged forward to meet him.

Sparks flew as Baltar's knife clashed with Han Xiao's mecha arm.

In the moment that they passed each other, Baltar bent down and aimed a kick at Han Xiao's knee with his foot. To trip the enemy from behind was an extremely effective tactic that Han Xiao had learnt from Hila, and, unfortunately for Baltar, Han Xiao had anticipated the move. Seemingly with superhuman reflexes, Han Xiao swung the entire mecha arm back to smash into Baltar's foot.

Baltar's foot was fractured by the blow. He crumpled to the gruond.

-87!

The Mechanical Arm had a power level of 38. Added onto Han Xiao's own power level, the might of blow was already at the level of an E-grade Superhuman. It had essentially doubled Han Xiao's damage.

Han Xiao estimated Baltar to have a max HP of 300. Coupled with that destructive blow from earlier on, Han Xiao knew that he was probably at half health already.

Baltar was indeed extremely weakened. However, he endured the pain and continued to attack. Unfortunately, his actions had grown dull, and Han Xiao easily caught his arm.

"Impossible... How could I... You..."

Baltar howled indignantly as he struggled to break free from the grip of the mecha arm.

Suddenly, the world before him darkened as Han Xiao wrapped the mecha arm around his head and slammed him into the wall.

Splat!

Baltar was no more.

Han Xiao dragged the already unrecognizable Baltar against the wall.

"Sorry, I lied. I didn't crush your throat. Why don't you get up so I can do it properly?"

Baltar did not reply, not that he could.

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You have killed Baltar, Vice-commander of the Valkyrie Lab, gaining 1,500 experience!

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Chapter 9: Fierce Battle

Team A and Team B arrived at the gruesome scene on the second floor.

"Vice-commander Baltar has been killed‽"

"What exactly happened here?"

"Where's the enemy?"

"Why is the surveillance room not responding‽"

"Inform Professor Lin Wei Xian immediately!"

"Team C has discovered Professor Lin Wei Xian's body!"

"Oh my god..."

All the guards gasped in fear. Was all of this really done by Zero alone? All the commanders were either out or dead, and they realized that there was no one left to give them orders.

"Wasn't he brainwashed already‽ Has he been planning this from the very start?"

The thought of it sent chills down their spines; Han Xiao could have taken their lives anytime he wanted!

"Don't panic. There's only one enemy. Proceed with a sweep of the facility. Fire at will. Team A will head to the armory, Team B, check out the surveillance room. Team C, go protect the laboratory. Team D, fortify the main gate. If Zero wants to escape he'll have to go there. Now, go!"

The Team A leader rose up to the occasion to give the orders.

There were a total of sixty guards in the base grouped into four teams. Usually, they were scattered, but this was an emergency.

Unfortunately, Han Xiao was reading them like a book.

Bang!

A loud crash came from above, and the entire facility started to tremble.

"What's going on‽" asked the panicked Team A leader through his intercom.

The sound of gunfire intermixed with panicked yelling could be heard from the other end.

"Team C has encountered the enemy in the lab. I repeat, Team C has encountered the enemy in the lab. Damn it! Zero set the lab on fire with a grenade!"

"Where did he get the grenade from‽"

The Team A leader was both enraged and horrified. His team had been standing guard outside the armory, but they had seen no one the entire time.

"Send reinforcements quickly! Which team is nearest?"

"Team B is also at basement 3. The surveillance room has been wiped. We're coming over right now!"

...

In Basement 3, Han Xiao was hiding behind a corner near the laboratory while the fire raged within. He had used three hand grenades to set the lab on fire. Presently, there were a dozen guards from Team C that had suspected his presence and were advancing on him.

After his battle with Baltar, Han Xiao had not headed for the main gate immediately. Instead, he had gone back down to basement 3, predicting that the guards would conduct a sweep of the facility from the top.

Since it was no longer possible to sneak out as he had planned, Han Xiao had to change his tactics. Here in the laboratory at basement 3 was where all the Valkyrie data was stored, making it one of the key areas of the entire facility. He knew that setting it ablaze would cause the enemy to panic.

I still have 77 bullets and 5 custom grenades.

Han Xiao reevaluated his inventory before peeking out from the corner for just an instant. Bullets were fired almost instantly.

Twelve guards. Three N9 submachine guns, Nine 73-WASP handguns. I'm outclassed in firepower.

Han Xiao's mind raced. It had been a minute since he set the laboratory on fire. Team B would arrive within three minutes, so he did not have much time left. Han Xiao knew all of this because he had been eavesdropping on a stolen intercom.

Everything had happened so suddenly that the guards did not stop to consider this possibility.

Han Xiao tossed out a grenade, causing the Team C guards to frantically jump for cover.

Bang!

Han Xiao used the smoke of the blast to sneak up onto the nearest guard. He gave him a mecha punch in the stomach, crippling him.

"Shoot! Quickly! Shoot!"

The other guards resumed shooting. Han Xiao yanked the poor guard up to use as a shield, and while this did not stop them from shooting, Han Xiao was able to close the distance, and he swiftly dispatched of another three guards.

The remaining Team C guards scattered further back to pull apart from him. Han Xiao rolled and ducked as he closed in on them. The mecha arm's durability plummeted as bullets rained upon it. As Han Xiao evaded, he pulled out his handgun to return fire and scored three more kills.

Suddenly, Han Xiao grimaced.

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You have been shot in your right arm by a 73-WASP! 17 damage taken!

You have been inflicted with a gun wound! You are now bleeding (light), and will lose 1 HP every second for 15 seconds. Quickly bandage your wound!

You have been shot in your left leg by an N9-SMG! 21 damage taken!

You have been inflicted with a gun wound! You are now bleeding (light), and will lose 1 HP every second for 15 seconds. Quickly bandage your wound!

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If not for Baltar's 'training', he would definitely not be able to endure the pain.

Han Xiao grit his teeth and threw out another grenade.

Bang!

The blast of the grenade caused Han Xiao's ears to ring in pain. He growled it off and proceeded with his onslaught.

One minute later, Team C no longer existed. Han Xiao proceeded to bandage his wounds. He had lost 110 HP - more than a third of his max HP.

"A head-on assault is too costly. If only I had active skills..."

"Team C, Team C, please respond. What's the situation?" asked a guard over the intercom.

Han Xiao pinched his throat and replied, "Cough, cough. Team C has suffered heavy losses. We have trapped the target inside the lab. The target has been shot. Please send reinforcements quickly!"

He then picked a submachine gun on the floor and casually sprayed it to create the illusion of a fierce battle.

"Roger that. Please hold on. Team B is on the way!"

The guard did not doubt him at all. As Han Xiao's silent act was deeply ingrained in their minds, the idea that he could employ such tactics simply did not occur to them.

Han Xiao proceeded to tie his three remaining hand grenades together and hung them on the door of the laboratory. He then hid behind a desk and loaded three submachine guns before firing his handgun multiple times to create the illusion of a crossfire.

Footsteps approached and the door was kicked opened.

Kaboom!

As soon as the guards began to scream, Han Xiao rushed forward under the cover of the smoke and stuck two SMGs out of the door to open fire onto either side. Although vision was limited, Han Xiao could hear his shots landing, and when he had emptied his clip, the guards were no longer making any sound.

The standard tactic to attack a room was for one person to kick the door while the others hid on either side. As the guards in the base were not an elite squad, Han Xiao had known that they would employ this tactic. Although most of Team B had been lucky to survive the first round of grenades, they were unable to hide from the ensuing storm of bullets.

His interface lit up like crazy.

When the smoke cleared, Han Xiao saw that three guards remained. When they saw Han Xiao emerge from the room, their eyes grew wide with shock and fear.

Is this really that dim-witted Zero‽

Han Xiao fired three consecutive shots to finish them off.

"What was that explosion? What's going on‽" Team A's leader shouted through the intercom.

Han Xiao randomly picked up several scattered guns and fired them around casually.

"Team B is under ambush! We are engaged with the enemy in the experiment lab. Requesting assistance! Requesting assistance!"

"Team A is coming right now!" Something seemed off about the entire situation to him, but he could not figure out what.

It was only when they reached basement 3 did the Team A leader finally realize what was bothering him, and he hurriedly ordered, "All guards, listen up. Zero might have infiltrated our comms. From now on, only take orders from me!"

It suddenly became apparent that Zero could be baiting them. After all, they hadn't heard of any other Team B member speaking since then.

An unbelievable notion occurred to the Team A leader; did Zero already wipe out both Team B and Team C?

The notion caused him to shiver.

If that was what had happened, it would mean that Zero had wiped out over half of the entire base's guards alone! Although he was unwilling to believe the idea, everything pointed to the fact that it indeed what had happened!

Was Zero baiting them? Or was he trying to divide them while he made a run for the main gate?

"Team D, any abnormalities at the main gate?" he asked through the intercom.

"None yet."

The Team A leader sighed a breath of relief. He couldn't let Zero play them for a fool any longer. The situation at present was already extremely bad. He knew that hoping to kill Zero now was no longer realistic, and that he had to inform Hila ASAP.

"Team A, listen up. Return to the main gate right now!"

He decided it would be better to gather all the remaining people to fortify the main gate. There, they could simply wait for reinforcements. This was the plan that appeared safest and surest to him.

No matter what Zero's aim was, his fate would be sealed as long as he had nowhere to run!

Chapter 10: Night Owl

Team A retraced their steps to join up with Team D at the main gate.

"Teams B and C have most likely been eliminated. I'm going to call for reinforcements. Guard the exit."

The Team A leader glanced at the present members.

There were 31 of them. With 31 guns directed at the corridor, the second Zero appeared he would be torn to shreds.

However, he suddenly realized that something was off... Hold on a second, shouldn't there only be 30 of us?

Beep beep!

The security panel flashed green as the gates suddenly opened.

As the guards turned back to look, their jaws dropped. There was a man who was wearing the same uniform as them at the gate. The man began to whistle as he pushed his cap up with a finger to reveal his face. It was none other than Han Xiao.

"Bye bye." He waved before abruptly pulling the manual lever and rolling out as the gate clamped down.

The guards continued staring at the gate in disbelief.

The veins on Team A's leader's temples bulged.

"When did Zero blend in with us‽"

On the other side, Han Xiao rejoiced.

I've finally escaped!

Han Xiao stretched as he basked in the sunlight. The sight of the clear sky seemed to evaporate all his worries. It was roughly 4 or 5 in the afternoon, and Han Xiao could discern the silhouettes of several moons in the sky. Some of them were even close enough for their craters to be observed!

Han Xiao took a deep breath. The crisp air was reinvigorating.

Since the start, Han Xiao had never planned on taking all the guards head-on. Even though the guards had already been weakened, it might not even matter if he were able to kill them all since they could put the entire facility in lockdown at any point!

Then, his expression would not be that much different from the guards on the other side of the gate.

After impersonating a Team B member to bait out Team A, Han Xiao had searched around for a relatively clean set of uniform to change into before concealing himself underneath the stairway.

The guards had failed to notice him joining their ranks as they had been panicking.

As such, Han Xiao was safely 'escorted' to the entrance where, while they let their guard down, he had crept towards the gate, and the rest is now history.

It had been a huge gamble. If anything had gone awry, he would have been torn to shreds by dozens of guns. Han Xiao would rather not have had to rely on this risky plan. However, Baltar had ruined his original plan, leaving him with no choice but to do so. It was a 50/50 all-in gamble, but there was no other choice.

Han Xiao found himself in the middle of an abandoned farm. He noticed the trails of several vehicles and traced them back to a garage where there were several all-terrain vehicles. Conveniently, their keys were all slotted in.

Reinforcements might appear any moment. I need to leave ASAP.

His escape was far from over. The Organization definitely would not let him off so easily.

Han Xiao threw his backpack into the passenger seat and got into the driver's seat.

He ignited the engine and stepped on the gas pedal, intending to leave immediately. He ran the vehicle over the electric fence and headed into the forest.

As Han Xiao knew nothing about the geography of the area, he would have to bet it all on following one direction.

...

On the Black Harrier helicopter, Hila noticed her phone ringing.

"Who?" she answered, irritated.

"Commander Hila, there's a situation. Zero has gone rogue. He's killed Vice-commander Baltar, Professor Lin Wei Xian, and over 30 guards. He's also destroyed all the Valkyrie records in the base..."

The Team A leader was dispirited. They were definitely going to be punished for having been useless—that went without saying. However, he still had to swallow the bitter pill and contact the commander as they were all trapped and needed someone to deactivate the lockdown.

Hila frowned.

"Are you kidding me? I personally conducted his brainwashing! How could he have survived the procedure? Has he been fooling even me?" she wondered.

Hila immediately contacted the boss to relay the news.

"Turn back right now and give chase," ordered the boss, enraged.

"But my sister—" Hila began to argue.

"Shut up. You have no right to bargain with me."

Hila glowered as she reluctantly ordered the pilot, "Return to base!"

"Commander Hila, the helicopter needs to land to refuel first."

"Step on it."

The Night Owl Squad had also received the order to return.

No. 1 was livid with rage at the guards' pitiful appearances.

"There are sixty of you and you can't even stop one person! Are there spies here‽"

He was unable to believe that Han Xiao could have escaped alone, not when it was impossible for himself.

The guards were terrified by his accusation. No one dared to betray the organization, and for good reason. However, they were demoralized and unable to talk back. They did secretly hope that Han Xiao could escape as it would help their case.

"That's enough. The boss ordered us to hunt him down," interrupted Silver Blade coldly.

"Hold on, the test subject team will follow,"

No. 1 was now rattled by Han Xiao's combat prowess, and this frustrated him. He felt like he needed to defeat Han Xiao in order to prove his worth to the organization.

...

Night had fallen, and the night sky was decorated by numerous blue moons.

Each planet in Galaxy had a different kind of landscape and environment. In Han Xiao's previous life, there existed players who specialized in galactic tourism. They would sell albums of beautiful scenery and landscape from across the universe.

Unfortunately, the thick canopy blocked out nearly all the moonlight, making it hard for Han Xiao to see, much less enjoy the night view.

Han Xiao drove carefully, fearful of crashing into a tree. The darkness was extremely disadvantageous for him. Not only was he unable to move quickly, the sound of his engine could also expose his location.

It's really bad to drive at night. I'd better walk.

He stopped the car and turned off the engine, deciding to abandon it.

The silence in the forest began to set in, and he noticed that the shadows around him resembled ghostly figures.

_____________________

You have obtained Combat Biscuit x5, Mineral Water x3.

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Han Xiao found some ration and water in the boot of the car. He stored them inside his bag and continued on foot. As he was unable to do anything about the trail that his car had left, he could only change his direction slightly to throw off any pursuers.

The night was his cloak.

Although Han Xiao was completely exhausted, and his stamina was almost depleted, he did not dare to stop for a break.

Suddenly, Han Xiao heard the sound of engines coming from behind. He instantly sought for shelter behind a tree before peeking out to see 3 sets of flickering headlights about 300 meters away.

He was about to creep towards a safer location when suddenly, a gunshot pierced the night.

Han Xiao's danger sense tingled, and he threw himself onto the ground. Something grazed past his shoulder. He turned to see that the bullet had narrowly missed him to pierce a tree ten meters away.

The three vehicles stopped, and 6 men alighted. They were were none other than Night Owl Squad 3. The person who had fired was Silver Blade.

Six Cyclopes‽ Han Xiao was momentarily taken aback by their appearance. Those are night vision goggles!

Han Xiao cursed his luck.

_____________________

You have been grazed by an SWP sniper rifle! 18 damage taken!

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Holy cow. Even though it was just a graze, it did as much damage as a direct shot from a handgun!

_____________________

You have entered combat and gained enemy information!

Night Owl Agent

Lv. 15

Classes: Lv. 10 Agent, Lv. 5 Elite Agent

Stats: 18 STR, 15 DEX, 25 END, 10 INT, 3 MYS, 8 CHA, 1 LUK

Energy: 0

Power Level: 40

Health: 350

Abilities:

Grinder: +100 Health

Pain Tolerance: Combat strength not affected by injury

Skills:

Lv. 4 Basic Combat

Lv. 5 Basic Shooting

Lv. 2 Precise Aim

Lv. 1 Sniper (Leader)

Equipment:

_____________________

SWP Sniper Rifle (High Caliber)

Grade: Common

Damage: 70-88

Fire Rate: 0.5/s

Ammo: 5 bullets per magazine

Power Level: 30

Prerequisite(s): Lv. 1 Sniper

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Thermal Night-vision Goggles

Grade: Common

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73-WASP Handgun

Grade: Common

Small Caliber Handgun

Damage: 28-35

Fire Rate: 1.1/s

Ammo: 10 bullets per magazine

Power Level: 13

_____________________

G-Grenade (3)

Deals 50-80 damage to all targets in a 20-meter radius. Has a chance to do bonus damage.

Power Level: 45

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Jackson Assault Rifle

Grade: Common

Assault Rifle

Damage: 36-42

Fire Rate (manual): 1.5/s

Fire Rate (continuous): 4/s

Maximum Fire Rate (burst): 10/s (3 seconds)

Ammo: 30 bullets per magazine

Power Level: 33

_____________________

Lightweight Kevlar Vest

Grade: Common

Defense: 10-12

Durability: 50

Metal Alloy Dagger

Grade: Common

Damage: 8-12

Length: 0.28m

_____________________

All six of them were elite agents, an advanced class. Although they were lower level than 　　Han Xiao, they still had high stats, and were much better equipped.

Han Xiao's face darkened.

Oh boy...

Chapter 11: Crunch Time

All that Han Xiao had in his arsenal was the enhanced 73-WASP handgun, an N9 Colt Assault Rifle, 15 magazines of ammo, and the Lightweight Mecha Arm whose durability had been reduced to 130. He was essentially outmatched in terms of equipment.

Bang!

The sniper rifle was fired again. The bullet pierced through the tree he was hiding behind, narrowly missing him. Han Xiao groaned. While the enemy had night-vision, he could only attempt to make out their position from the muzzle flashes.

The sniper rifle was too powerful. With his current health, it would probably take only 3 shots to kill him. Han Xiao decided to put the 18 unassigned stat points at his disposal to use. He added 14 points into END for additional health and 4 into STR to bolster his STR advantage. Engaging in a shootout would only be disadvantageous, so even though close combat was risky, he had to take the chance. It was virtually impossible to run away since the enemy had night vision. The only way to make it out now was to kill them all!

With the +10 bonus from the Mechanical Arm on top of his 29 STR, Han Xiao had enough STR to ensure that his blows would proc 'overwhelming blows'. With 36 points in END, he now had a max HP of 460. He had instantly gained 140 HP from adding END, which was crucial as Han Xiao was already low on health. His current HP was now close to 400, which was much more optimistic than before.

The agents were fanning out to surround him, and Han Xiao noticed that they were not very closely coordinated.

He estimated that it would take around 5 to 8 seconds for them to reach each other to help.

In other words, Han Xiao had to be sure to finish off his target in this short amount of time.

Having killed over 30 guards in the Valkyrie base, Han Xiao was now sitting on 116,000 experience points.

He dumped all of it into his combat skills.

_____________________

[Grappling] has been raised to Lv. 5

+7% Counter, +10% Damage (bare-handed)

[Basic Combat] has been raised to Lv. 8

+8% Damage (bare-handed)

As [Basic Combat] has reached Lv. 8 and [Submission] has reached Lv. 3, you may learn one of these three advanced skills:

[Special Ops Combat]

[Jiu-jitsu]

[Iron Fist]

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Special Ops focused on explosiveness, assassination, and usage of tools; Jiu-jitsu focused on grappling and submission; Iron Fist focused on strengthening the limbs and improving one's tolerance to taking damage. They were three very different styles of skills. What Han Xiao needed now was explosiveness, so he chose [Special Ops Combat].

_____________________

You have learnt the advanced skill [Special Ops Combat]

+6% Crit Rate (melee), +4% Damage (bare-handed)

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Han Xiao's melee damage was now increased by 15%, and his overall combat ability was also boosted considerably. Not only did he feel much stronger than before, he had a mysterious feeling that he had somehow acquired mastery over several fighting styles.

It's a pity that I still don't have any active energy-based combat skills, thought Han Xiao. As Mechanics had very few active skills in their earlier levels, they couldn't make much use of their Energy.

Han Xiao put on the Lightweight Mecha Arm and crouched down. He took a few moments to regulate his breathing and optimize his oxygen flow before suddenly springing forward and charging towards the agent closest to him on the flank. As soon as Han Xiao showed himself, the 6 agents opened fire.

With the mecha arm as his shield, Han Xiao weaved through the trees to evade the rain of metal while returning fire with the SMG in his other hand. The smell of gunpowder was overbearing.

In 3 seconds, Han Xiao came within range of his target. He threw the SMG at the agent's gun hand as a distraction before swinging the mighty mecha arm at him. The agent raised his arms in reflex to block the blow and endured the pain to draw his handgun. He aimed at Han Xiao's head and fired, but Han Xiao's DEX was not just for show. With seemingly inhuman reflexes, Han Xiao clipped his arm over the agent's gun hand and tugged down to make him lose balance and buckle forward before proceeding to ruthlessly smash his knee up into his groin.

_____________________

You have dealt a fatal blow! 2x Critical Hit! Your target is stunned for 2 seconds!

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Although the agent's expression was covered by his goggles, his painful scream was telling of the blow's effectiveness. Han Xiao took advantage of his temporary immobility to knee him again and again.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

-78! -81! -84!

Sorry brother, I know it must hurt a lot, but I'm not the one who decided not to include groin protection in your armour!

The agent's HP plummeted and Han Xiao finished him off by ripping into his throat with the Mechanical Arm. Before Han Xiao could celebrate his first kill, he felt a sharp pain in his back. He hurriedly dropped to the ground and dragged the agent's body over him as a shield while he crawled towards a tree for cover.

_____________________

You have been shot by an SWP Sniper Rifle! 68 Damage taken!

You have been shot by a high caliber bullet! You are now bleeding (medium)! You will lose 3 HP every second for 15 seconds.

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The pain caused Han Xiao's face to pale. Just a single shot had taken out one whole chunk of his health bar. Unfortunately, he could not afford the time to bandage the wound.

"Damn it!" The remaining five Night Owl agents were enraged that Han Xiao had killed their comrade. They rapidly closed in as they fired, cornering Han Xiao.

Han Xiao quickly searched through the agent's body and put on his Kevlar Vest. It would do well to block one or two shots. More importantly, however, he found three G-fragment grenades, one of which he immediately tossed out.

Kaboom!

The agents had to stop shooting as they frantically ducked for cover.

"Shoot more, assholes!" yelled Han Xiao furiously as he threw out a second grenade, causing the five agents to scramble back to the ground just as they were about to get up.

After the blast, a third black object was flung out in the air, and the five agents subconsciously crouched down once more. However, when there was no explosion after two seconds had passed, they looked up to see that it was just a piece of rock.

Meanwhile, Han Xiao was already charging towards the next agent while firing his assault rifle wildly. Although Han Xiao managed to kill the agent who was seeking cover in the grass, he was now out of ammo.

Han Xiao tossed the rifle away and threw the third grenade, buying himself some time to get in range. As he rammed into the third agent, knocking him down, a shot from Silver Blade's assault rifle clipped him in the calf.

Han Xiao grimaced. The calf injury affected his movement speed, so Han Xiao decided to jump into the agent he had knocked down, causing them to tumble together out of the other agents' line of sight where he made short work of him behind a tree. The agents simply stood no chance against him at close combat.

But there were still three agents left! Although the odds were against him and he had lost half of his HP, Han Xiao remained calm and spent some time to plan his next move.

"The enemy will probably..."

Meanwhile, Silver Blade was in complete disbelief. He had vastly underestimated the test subject, resulting in their number being halved.

"Bomb him!" he ordered.

They threw grenades

Kaboom!

"Is he dead?"

"Stay cautious," replied Silver Blade as he and the other two agents slowly approached.

When they reached the tree, they noticed that there was a burnt corpse on the ground. From what remained of its uniform, it appeared to have been Han Xiao.

"Finally." The two agents lowered their guns and relaxed.

"No!" shouted Silver Blade all of a sudden. "Get down!"

Chapter 12: Original Identity

Before the two agents could react, a gunshot was fired! However, the gunshot was not intended for either of them! Instead, it was aimed at the corpse, or more precisely, the three grenades that were planted on it!

As they were at point blank range, the two agents were instantly engulfed by the blast and bombarded with shrapnel.

_____________________

You have dealt 60 Damage to the enemy! x8

You have killed a Night Owl Agent! 1500 EXP gained! x2

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Han Xiao rose up weakly from a patch of tall grass. He was heavily injured, bleeding, and almost out of stamina. Fatigue was setting in, and it was taking him all the willpower and focus that he could muster just to keep his eyes open.

He had managed to survive the previous blast with 50 HP left by using the agent's corpse as a meat shield, after which he had dressed the corpse in his clothes and planted the grenades. Only Silver Blade had been vigilant enough to escape his trap.

Han Xiao limbs were shaking uncontrollably, and he couldn't even see properly due to the blood blurring his vision.

Suddenly, a black figure darted towards him.

"You asked for it!" howled an enraged Silver Blade as he thrust a knife forward.

...

The searchlight from a Black Harrier helicopter was illuminating the forest. Hila jumped down from the aircraft into what seemed like the aftermath of a fierce battle.

The test subject squad had already arrived and were collecting blood samples. No. 1 was standing silently with clenched fists.

The sight of the six agents' bodies stunned Hila for a few moments.

As unbelievable as it seemed, Zero had eliminated Night Owl Squad 3 and escaped!

She crouched down to examine the bodies, and was able to deduce that one had died by gunshot, two by explosion, and three in melee combat.

Silver Blade's entire lower body had been pulverized, and there were shards of glass from his night vision goggles embedded in his eyes. He had clearly been done in by someone much more powerful than him!

How could Zero have become so strong all of a sudden? Even if he had been hiding his true capabilities the entire time, Zero had only been training for at most half a year! It was simply inconceivable that he could take on the Night Owl Squad that comprised of veteran elite agents.

"Could he have awoken superpowers like I did?"

Hila regretted not having kept a closer eye on Han Xiao. Perhaps, she thought, she could have prevented all of this.

Also, Zero had chosen to escape on the same day that she had happened to be away. Was it luck, or had he planned it all?

"Their equipment is missing, but we managed to find this," reported one of the agents as he showed the mecha arm to Hila.

The mecha arm was drenched in blood, and there was a knife sticking out of its engine.

"Bring it back."

...

One day later, a large number of Germinal personnel arrived at the Valkyrie base to salvage any remaining surveillance footage and gather clues. The boss himself also came.

The boss of the Germinal Organization wore a black coat, black mask, black gloves... well, he was essentially covered in black from head to toe, and looked like he had come right out of 'Detective Conan'. Only five people in the entire organization had ever seen his face.

"Where is Zero?" he asked plainly.

"We failed to track him," answered No. 1 through clenched teeth. "If I have more time..."

The boss abruptly raised a hand in dismissal. No. 1 immediately stopped blabbering.

The boss was in an extremely bad mood. Just a few days ago, he had dismissed Zero as a piece of trash, and this 'piece of trash' had managed to escape while taking out so many of his men.

"Thirty armed guards killed, all the research destroyed, and one elite squad wiped. On top of that, he killed Lin Wei Xian and escaped? Are you kidding me‽" he yelled at his men.

"I want to know when he turned and how he got so strong."

A researcher hastily replied, "We have come up with a theory after going through his records."

"Go on."

"Zero's behavior and actions before and after the experiment are strikingly different. According to the original reports from his capture, Zero's original identity was Xiao Han, the third son of the Alumera family's second-in-charge."

This was shocking news even to the boss himself. The Alumera family were a powerful warring clan allied with the country of Theus.

Test subjects captured for experimentation were usually criminals or stragglers. How did someone with such background end up in their hands?

"The son of the Alumera's second-in-charge? How?"

"According to our investigations, Xiao Han was the most ungifted among his siblings. Not only was he unable to awaken any energy, he was extremely incapable at leadership and weak-minded," answered the researcher as he flipped through his report. "Our agents stumbled across him in the wreckage of a battle. He had been following his elder brother, Xiao Hai, on a transport mission when they were ambushed by an enemy."

"Continue."

"At the time, Xiao Hai was in command of the team, and the assailants' true aim was not the goods that they were transporting, but he himself. He was the most promising of his siblings, and was more or less guaranteed to succeed his father's position. According to our intel, the ambush was an inside job. Someone within the family wanted to get rid of him."

"During the ambush, Xiao Hai forced Xiao Han to swap clothes with him and he used him as bait. In the end, while Xiao Han was hit by a cannon, Xiao Hai managed to escape to safety."

"Since when was our network that well-informed?" frowned the boss.

"Erm... Xiao Hai did not bother to hide the truth, including the fact that he used Xiao Han as bait."

"The circumstances of Xiao Han's death did not hurt Xiao Hai's standing in the family. At the time, the second-in-charge even said that Xiao Hai had done well. As you know, the Alumera family values power above all. A burden like Xiao Han meant nothing to them. Even his siblings did not mourn his death."

Han Xiao's past existence was like a roadside flower that everyone trampled over without notice.

The boss laughed coldly.

"The weak do indeed deserve no sympathy. Enough of his past. Tell me what happened during the 6 months."

"We think that the Valkyrie experiment triggered a change within his body—a change greater than we could have imagined. It did not just unlock his talent for machinery; what it did was enhance his intelligence. We think that he has been planning his escape from the very start!"

"Are you saying that the brainwash did not work on him?" interrupted Hila.

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

Hila frowned.

The researcher continued, "How is it possible for a subject with no memories to develop his own will? The only explanation seems to be that Valkyrie helped him to regain his memories. However, since he was never a gifted person to begin with, Valykrie must have also awakened some kind of hidden strength within him."

"Are you sure?" asked the leader coldly.

"Not absolutely..." admitted the researcher. It was simply conjecture after all. Who the hell could be sure.

No. 1 couldn't help but butt in. "Was he just luck—"

The boss instantly silenced him with a stare.

"Oh right. The guards also brought back this mecha arm that he used," added the researcher. "Although the craftsmanship of the arm itself is not very refined, I must say that it is quite a revolutionary concept. It seems like this mecha arm played a huge part in his escape. The weapons development department would like to replicate this model for development."

Finally, thought the boss, something good to hear.

"Funds are not an issue. I just want results."

The researcher nodded, continuing. "No matter what, Zero's cunning and talents make him a dangerous person. He has high research value. Whether dead or alive, obtaining his body will undoubtedly help us in perfecting Valkyrie."

While the researchers were all terrified of Han Xiao as he could have killed them anytime he wanted, they were, after all, men of science.

No. 1 frowned.

From the moment that he was created, he knew that he had a predecessor. This fact alone caused him to identify Han Xiao as an enemy. However, just when he thought that he had surpassed Han Xiao, reality hit him like a truck.

"Before determining the exact factor behind the drug's effects, cease all experimentation. Round up all the test subjects once more for another round of brainwashing. I don't want another Zero to appear," ordered the boss.

No. 1's eyes widened in disbelief. He felt that his loyalty to the organization was being doubted.

"I wish to lead a team to pursue Zero!" he burst out.

The boss looked at No. 1 as he contemplated. He did indeed have high expectations for the test subject squad.

"Can you do it?"

"I will definitely succeed!" declared No. 1.

"Fine. Bring Zero back—dead or alive!"

Chapter 13: Wanderers

Seven days later, somewhere in a radiant, glowing forest, a frail-looking man was still trying to find his way out of the seemingly endless woods.

Han Xiao needed food and water desperately. His backpack was bulging but only with equipment.

Seven days ago, he had defeated Silver Blade with relative ease by sacrificing the mecha arm.

Losing it was not that big of a deal though, as Han Xiao still had the blueprints and could always craft another.

Although the forest was not an ideal place for recovery, Han Xiao's high END gave him resistance to wound infection. Still, he did have to withstand the pain of digging out the bullets inside him. The pain from extracting the sniper bullet lodged in his shoulder blade, in particular, had been so excruciating that it had immobilized Han Xiao for almost an hour.

At the very least, he was lucky to have not encountered any wild beasts, although he did catch a few hares. The wild beasts on Planet Aquamarine were extremely ferocious, and some of them were even intelligent. In Galaxy, they occasionally attacked human cities. Some beasts, like the amphibious orca elephant, were so massive that conventional weaponry was completely ineffective against them.

Although Han Xiao knew the geography of Planet Aquamarine well, it wasn't really of much use to him when he did not know where exactly he was. Han Xiao would sleep on top of trees at night, and if the past seven nights had taught him anything, it was that mosquitoes were the most detestable creatures in the world.

Will I ever get out of this forest?

As if in answer to his prayers, a wanderers' encampment soon appeared in Han Xiao's sights.

Suddenly, Han Xiao's expression changed and he jumped backwards abruptly. In the same instant that he had reacted, a huge net sprung up from beneath the sand. It was embedded with shards of metal.

"The bastard dodged!"

A long-haired young man carrying a shotgun walked out from behind a tree. His clothes were ragged and patched with animal skin.

"Stand still!" he shouted.

The young man was most likely one of the residents from the encampment, and Han Xiao, not wishing to create unnecessary trouble, held his hands up above his head.

"I'm just a passerby."

"A passerby?"

Han Xiao's bulging backpack caught the young man's eye.

"What's in the bag? Take everything out! "

Han Xiao sighed. No wonder the trap was so big; it was precisely meant to catch people. Morals are always blurred in times of trouble. Most wanderers were surviving citizens of the old countries who opted not to join the Six Nations. As life in the wild was harsh, killing and stealing might have been frowned upon, but they were inevitable occurrences.

"Are you deaf? I said, take everything out!" yelled the long-haired young man as he walked forward to hit Han Xiao on the forehead with the butt of his shotgun.

Han Xiao was exasperated. The only contents in his backpack were guns, ammo, and equipment that belonged to the Germinal Organisation. How was he going to explain that?

"Do you not understand me? Want me to screw you up‽"

The long-haired young man cocked the shotgun threateningly.

Suddenly, Han Xiao threw an elbow into the chest of the unsuspecting young man, sending him flying back in shock. Han Xiao grabbed the shotgun from him out of mid-air.

The young man landed heavily on the ground, and he clutched his chest in terror as he scrambled to crawl away.

Han Xiao cut out some rope from the trap and tied the whimpering young man to a tree.

When he examined the shotgun, he realized that its barrel was outright crooked and shook his head. At the very least, it implied that the young man had never killed before and that he had only been acting.

Nonetheless, the young man was so terrified that when he saw it in Han Xiao's hand, he panicked even more.

"Big brother, please spare me! Forgive me for not recognizing Mt. Tai."

Han Xiao slapped him squarely on the face, reprimanding, "So, you know that you were wrong‽"

"I was wrong. I was wrong," blurted the young man shamelessly.

"Why?"

The young man thought for a moment before carefully answering, "I… should have brought one more gun?"

Han Xiao burst into laughter.

"You're a funny one, eh?"

"Please show me mercy, Mr. Saint. Just let me go as if you're passing wind," sobbed the young man with dripping tears.

"Get lost! I've never passed such a big wind before."

Han Xiao raised the shotgun and struck the young man across his face to knock him out cold. At the end of the day, the young man was most likely a resident of the encampment, and Han Xiao still needed to obtain food and water from them.

"Count yourself lucky."

Half an hour later, Han Xiao finally reached the encampment. His appearance seemed to unsettle the wanderers.

Life in the wild was full of perils, and wanderers were often unwelcoming to outsiders. Their way of life was similar to that of the gypsies, and they were frequently on the go. There were pick-up trucks lined up outside the tent. Most of them were rusty and some didn't even have exteriors.

Han Xiao noticed that there were only a few dozen tents, making this community a relatively small one. Nevertheless, it was a miniature society in its own, and Han Xiao located the camp's merchant: a bearded westerner who conducted his business by his pick-up truck.

"Outsider?" The bearded man raised an eyebrow.

"Do you know the rules?" he asked.

"What rules?"

"Barter trading only."

Well, that's just fine , thought Han Xiao, since I don't have a single penny.

"I want a map, three buckets of water, and five kilos of food. Bread or dried meat will do." said Han Xiao as he retrieved a handful of bullets from his bag and put them on the truck.

"I'll pay with this."

"Gunpowder?"

The bearded merchant's eyes flashed with greed.

Gunpowder was extremely valuable among wanderers as hunting was a key source of food.

"150 bullets," stated the bearded merchant.

Han Xiao's face darkened.

Daylight robbery!

The items he had asked for were basic necessities. There was no way that they could be worth so much.

Han Xiao's bronze bullets were high-quality bullets that could easily go for $10 apiece, yet the merchant was asking for 150 of them, equivalent to $1,500!

"Up to you," added the merchant nonchalantly as he turned his attention to his fingernails.

Chapter 14: The Old Era and the New

As Han Xiao desperately needed food and water, he gave in to the merchant's demand.

Sighing, he aligned 150 bullets on the back of the truck.

Suddenly, the big bearded man waved a finger.

"180."

Han Xiao glared at him.

"Ohoho! Such scary eyes. Do you want to kill me or something? Quickly, people, come and see! This man wants to kill me!"

Dozens of wanderers gathered around in an instant. Some of them even came with sticks and bats.

"This is our territory. Are you trying to be funny kid?"

"Okay, okay. 180 bullets. Fuck me."

Han Xiao hastily threw out more bullets in case he jacked the price up further.

The merchant laughed shrewdly and sent someone to fetch the goods.

After confirming the items, Han Xiao raised a middle finger at the merchant before turning around.

Suddenly, the merchant spoke.

"Hey, are you planning to walk out of the forest?"

"Why, you have a problem with that?"

"I have an old pickup. Want it?" asked the bearded merchant nicely.

"Not as though I can afford your price." Han Xiao shot back.

"Oh, I think you can," said the merchant as he pointed towards Han Xiao's bag. "You have so many bullets. You must have many guns too."

Han Xiao's bag was indeed full of guns—high quality ones at that. He had looted from the Night Owl Squad. He even had the sniper rifle and some Kevlar vests. He could easily afford an old pickup.

However, Han Xiao shook his head.

A car would leave a trail. Han Xiao would rather not try racing a helicopter. Walking was safer.

Furthermore, if the Germinal Organization's agents discovered their guns here, it would be disastrous not only for Han Xiao, but for the wanderers here as well. In some sense, it would be dishonest of him to sell them.

Although Han Xiao had recently killed a big number of people, it was not out of perverseness. It was to survive.

The merchant, however, was not an easily dissuaded person.

He was about to speak again when, suddenly, a man's voice boomed out. "Kai Luo! You're taking advantage of outsiders again!"

A well-built man clad in hunter's clothes patched with animal skins appeared behind the crowd. As he strode forward to the centre of the crowd, everyone shifted to make way for him. The man seemed to command respect.

The big bearded merchant groaned.

"Hu Xuan Jun, I just painstakingly closed a deal. Don't come and interfere!"

Hu Xuan Jun grabbed the bullets on the truck up and pushed them back into Han Xiao.

"The stuff you want isn't actually worth much. Treat it as a gift. Here, take these back."

Han Xiao was stunned by the man's chivalry and stared at him in disbelief. The man was an extremely muscular Mongolian with white hair on the sides of his head, and his eyes were as sharp as an eagle. He looked very much the part of a righteous man, and Han Xiao instantly warmed up to him.

"Hey, what about me?" interrupted Kai Luo.

"Isn't it just some food? I'll give you more tomorrow," replied Hu Xuan Jun casually.

Kai Luo was frustrated. It wasn't every day that a foreigner came by for him to make a quick buck.

"He who comes from afar is a guest. You look too frail to be travelling alone. Why not recuperate over at my house?"

Han Xiao hesitated. He did indeed need a proper place to recuperate. In any case, Hu Xuan Jun had given him a very good first impression, so he nodded.

As Han Xiao followed Hu Xuan Jun, the crowd scattered. Kai Luo fumed, but there was nothing that he could do. He did not dare to offend Hu Xuan Jun.

Hu Xuan Jun led Han Xiao to his tent. As he entered the tent, he shouted, "An, we have a guest today. Cook more."

"Okay!" replied a woman's voice..

Han Xiao followed behind Hu Xuan Jun into the tent. An was a woman who looked rather ordinary and wore a simple waist skirt. Han Xiao noticed that she was blind.

"This is my wife," introduced Hu Xuan Jun with a smile.

"Nice to meet you," greeted An as she faced the entrance. She then turned back to pick up crockery, dried meat, and wild vegetables and arranged them inside a simple clay oven in the center of the tent.

Han Xiao and Hu Xuan Jun sat down and chatted away.

After a while, Han Xiao became certain that Hu Xuan Jun did not have any ulterior motives; he was simply an extremely nice person.

"I noticed earlier that most of the people in your community are white. How did you end up with them?" asked Han Xiao.

There were four races of humans on Aquamarine: black, white, yellow, and shanu.

"There wasn't any special reason for it. It just happened to be a chaotic time. I met some travelers by chance and decided to stay with them as An was sick at the time. Although we come from different countries and are of different races, we are all remnants of the old era, and have all experienced the loss of our countries. There isn't a need for distinction. We are all human after all."

Some of those who had lost their countries chose to join the Six Nations. Others opted to join the Germinal Organization. The rest could only become wanderers. Wanderers made up a third of the planet's population.

Aquamarine used to have over a hundred nations, but that all changed when an advanced civilization came into contact with the planet. The idea of advancing humanity and stepping out into space sparked a movement for sustainability, and the idea of unifying countries gained some popularity. While it was indeed far-fetched to think that that alone could change the face of the entire planet, there were people in power who supported the idea and conspired behind the scenes to make it happen. Long story short, after numerous wars, negotiations, and all kinds of peaceful and non-peaceful efforts, all the countries were united into the Six Nations in the span of a few decades.

Many things that people had once thought to be irreplaceable were simply shove aside by the unstoppable tides of change, and many lives were sacrificed in the process.

Such is civilization. People are like the sediments in the river, destined to go with the flow.

While maintaining the status quo is always easy, revolution always comes with pain and suffering. When comparing individual gain to societal improvement, it is natural for people to favor the former. Truly selfless people are rare creatures, otherwise selflessness would not be seen as a virtue. Statements such as "see, there are still good people in the world" are sad to hear.

Nevertheless, change had come too soon to Aquamarine.

"The Battle of Andrea was the nail in the coffin. Sometimes, I think about the way we took our lives for granted. I miss how life was peaceful back then. Who would have thought that change could come so suddenly? I mean, even if the planet's resources do end up being depleted, wouldn't that be in a few hundred years from now? Why do we have to answer for something like that?" lamented Hu Xuan Jun.

Han Xiao sighed empathetically.

Chapter 15: Burglary

"Who knows, perhaps it was inevitable. Societal strife was destined to reach a boiling point. Maybe short-term pain is better than long-term suffering." Han Xiao shrugged.

The Battle of Andrea set the post-unification landscape of the planet in stone.

Andrea was the name of a continent, once home to several nations. As the war developed, Andrea had, for some reason, became the proxy of the conflict. It was as though all the countries had agreed to settle things there once and for all, as though they were trying to contain the scale of damage inflicted onto the planet. However, billions of lives were lost as a result.

By the time the war ended, all that remained of Andrea was a desolate land of scorched earth and withered trees. Its rivers were left blighted, and the once fertile, lush landscape was no more. The Six Nations simply packed up and left as soon as the battle ended, ignoring the destruction that they had caused.

Han Xiao noticed an old blister on Hu Xuan Jun's palm.

"You used to be a soldier?" he asked.

"Yes, for over ten years."

"I thought that remnants like yourself would choose to join the Germinal Organization."

Hu Xuan Jun shook his head.

"My home country was peacefully annexed by Stardragon. Soldiers like me didn't have any say. We simply follow the decision that our leaders made. I do detest the Six Nations, but the Germinal Organization is no better. They popped out of nowhere to take advantage of our hatred for the Six Nations. Sigh... I'm a simple man. All I want is to escape war."

"War is cruel. My eyes were blinded by a flash grenade. My husband and I fled tirelessly before settling here. Even though life as a wanderer is not easy, it is better than war," An chimed in.

As she finished speaking, the smell of meat filled up the tent, causing Han Xiao's mouth to water.

"How do you cook without being able to see?" he asked.

An puffed her cheeks.

"Don't look down on me! I might be blind, but I can still smell, hear, and feel! It's not like I don't have any limbs."

Hu Xuan Jun smiled.

"She has a strong character. Won't even let me take care of her."

"I don't want to be your baggage," responded An meekly, prompting Hu Xuan Jun to scratch his head in embarrassment. He hurriedly changed the subject.

"Oh right, I'll let you take a look at my baby."

Hu Xuan Jun opened a storage box beside him to retrieve an old-fashioned gun.

"Let's see if you know your guns," he said proudly.

_____________________

Bayonet Musket (Old Era)

Grade: Average

Base Stats:

Damage: 38-40

Fire Rate: 0.9/s

Magazine Capacity: 20

Range: 200m Range

Power Output: 25

Durability: 5/300

Stat Bonus: +1 Dexterity

Length: 0.77m

Weight: 7.1kg

Additional Effects: Accurate

Remarks: This weapon has accompanied its master through countless battles.

_____________________

"It is a fine gun," praised Han Xiao. "Even though it has been used for so long, you still keep it well polished. The barrel is perfect. Truly a well-made gun."

"This gun is my partner. He's been with me for close to ten years," laughed Hu Xuan Jun. "It only looks new because I frequently oil it. The truth is that its workings have aged. It can't be used anymore."

The pair continued to chat until the sky darkened and An had finished cooking.

An had cooked a gigantic pot of creamy soup filled with tender meat and wild vegetables. Not only was it extremely fragrant and flavorful, it was also visually appetizing, and Han Xiao couldn't help but drool.

Han Xiao gulped at the sight of the meat. He had had nothing good to eat for the past seven days! His closeness with Hu Jun Xuan was skyrocketing on the spot. +1! +1! +1!

After dinner, Hu Xuan Jun asked Han Xiao to stay for the night.

Han Xiao decided to stay since he did not intend to travel at night anyway. They laid a mattress for him and set up a partition.

"Your bag is too big. I'll put it outside," said An.

"I'll do it myself."

Before bringing his bag out, Han Xiao dismantled all the guns in his backpack to take out their triggers. He wrapped them in some animal skin that he got from Hu Jun Xuan and set the package in a corner.

Han Xiao also loaded up his 73-WASP and placed it under his pillow. Of course, he was not being weary of his warm hosts or anything like that. It was simply important always to be prepared and alert.

As soon as Han Xiao's head hit the pillow, he instantly fell asleep.

His snoring could be heard through the curtain. Hu Xuan Jun laughed as he shook his head.

"Looks like he's beat. Let's not disturb him."

An nodded and proceeded to take the cutlery outside to wash.

"Uncle, uncle! I'm famished!"

Suddenly, a disheveled young man entered the tent. His entire face was covered in mud, and there was a swollen bump on his head. It was none other than the young man that Han Xiao had encountered this afternoon.

He was Hu Xuan Jun's nephew, Hu Fei.

"Where have you been all day? I didn't see you at all," questioned Hu Xuan Jun.

"I— I went out hunting," stammered Hu Fei.

Hu Xuan Jun could tell that his nephew was lying. He pulled Hu Fei's ear and began to scold him in a strict but soft voice, "Are you up to your pranks again‽ I told you that I would fucking chop them off if you took that broken shotgun to scare people again, didn't I?"

Tears began to flow out of Hu Fei's eyes as he filled up with indignance and pain. "Your nephew not only got bullied today, he was even tied to a tree for the entire day! I'm so tired and hungry, uncle, give me a break," he thought.

"Please, uncle, don't chop them off," he bawled.

"Which leg do you want me to chop?"

"J-just don't chop off my balls..."

"..."

"You and your dirty mind! Don't worry, I'll chop them off for you since that's what you want!"

Hu Xuan Jun was about to raise a hand to slap Hu Fei when he remembered that Han Xiao was sleeping. He let Hu Fei off with a warning.

Noticing that there was someone else in the tent, Hu Fei peered beyond the partition to see who it was. When he saw Han Xiao, his jaw dropped.

'Isn't that the devil from this afternoon‽'

"What are you looking at? Tonight, you sleep outside," Hu Xuan Jun suddenly whispered from his side.

Hu Fei gave a start and fell backwards. He quickly scrambled out of the tent on all fours, leaving Hu Xuan Jun bewildered.

'Is my face that hideous?'

...

"Why am I running away from my own home? This is the perfect chance to get my revenge!" realized Hu Fei as he stopped in his tracks.

He proceeded to turn back to return to the tent, instantly changed his mind at the thought of Han Xiao's scary face.

"Hu Fei, ah, Hu Fei, show some guts!"

As he began to formulate a plan he recalled that there was a package in the tent that he had never seen before.

"It must be his!"

...

Hu Fei waited until midnight, when everyone had gone to bed. He tiptoed into his own house and picked up the package.

"Hehe. What do we have here?"

When Hu Fei unfolded the package, his eyes widened in disbelief.

Guns!

High quality guns!

"I can't take them all..."

Hu Fei picked out two 73-WASPs.

"Forget it. Since my uncle is playing host to you, I'll only take two as compensation!"

He wrapped the remaining guns up and returned the package to its original position.

"It's only two guns. He probably won't notice."

Chapter 16: Misfortune

Han Xiao woke up the next morning fully recovered.

"Brother Han, you're awake," greeted Hu Xuan Jun, who was doing his morning exercises outside the tent.

Although Han Xiao was somewhat unwilling to bid farewell to the kindhearted couple, he knew that he had to leave.

"I am indebted to you. Unfortunately, I need to leave now. I will repay you in the future."

"I've made some pancakes; you can eat them while traveling," said An as she handed a small package over to Han Xiao.

The warmth from the pancakes flowed into Han Xiao's hands, resonating with his heart.

"I slept well last night. Thank you for everything."

"Ha ha. Don't mention it. Just helping a brother in need," replied Hu Xuan Jun sincerely.

Han Xiao went to gather his belongings. When he went to fetch the bundle of guns, he noticed that the leaf he had placed on it the night before had fallen off.

"Someone has touched my stuff."

"That's not possible!" Hu Xuan Jun was alarmed. "An and I didn't—hold on! Hu Fei! Get your ass over here right now!"

Hu Fei, who had been eavesdropping from behind the tent, walked out.

"You again?"

Hu Fei averted his eyes to the ground.

Hu Xuan Jun kicked his nephew in the butt.

"Did you steal again? Hand it back right now!"

Hu Fei bit his lips and grudgingly took out a 73-WASP handgun from his clothes.

"Brother Han, do as you deem fit! This kid deserves a beating."

"It's okay. Everything is fine as long as I get the gun back. My guns will bring you misfortune," Han Xiao sighed a breath of relief.

"May we be fated to meet again. Farewell," bid Han Xiao.

"Take care," nodded Hu Xuan Jun.

Han Xiao picked up his backpack and departed.

"I will never forget this kindness," he thought to himself.

"Bastard's finally gone," rejoiced Hu Fei. "Hehe, he didn't realize that I stole two guns."

He slipped to the back of the tent where he had hidden the other handgun in a box.

"Even if he comes back, I just have to deny that I have it."

"But... why does this gun have no trigger?"

...

The map that Han Xiao had obtained had been crudely drawn. However, Han Xiao was able to learn his current position from it and that sufficed.

He was currently in the country of Stardragon, and by his estimations, it would take him just three more days to reach the main road. There, he could hitch a ride to the city.

In the afternoon, Han Xiao found a spot to eat and replenish his stamina.

As he unpacked his guns to return them to his backpack, he suddenly discovered that something was amiss.

There seems to be a missing gun.

Han Xiao recounted to confirm his suspicions. He immediately dispelled any thoughts of lunch and hastily packed up to retrieve it.

...

No. 1 and his men arrived at the encampment right after Han Xiao had left. They rounded up the wanderers and were holding them at gunpoint.

"Has anyone seen this man?"

No. 1 projected a holographic face in mid-air using a device on his wrist.

It was none other than Han Xiao.

"No."

"Never seen him before."

Everyone denied seeing him.

They knew that the Germinal Organization would not dare to do anything to them.

Wanderers were a neutral faction, and both the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization were always trying to win their support.

Only one wanderer was trembling uncontrollably for some reason.

No. 1 was in a foul mood, having been in pursuit of Han Xiao for 7 days before arriving at this encampment. If the people here had not seen Han Xiao, it meant that he had gone in the completely wrong direction.

"Withdraw!" ordered No. 1. However, just as he was about to board the car, he noticed the shaking Hu Fei.

"Bring that kid here!"

Hu Fei was dragged to No. 1.

No. 1 squinted at him and asked, "Do you know this person?"

"No, I don't." Hu Fei shook his head repeatedly.

No. 1 noticed an out-of-place outline in his clothes and ordered, "Search his body!"

Hu Fei was pressed to the ground and watched in horror as the 73-WASP was taken from him.

"This is one of our guns!" exclaimed No. 1. He held the gun up to the crowd and shouted, "Zero has obviously been here. How dare you all try and lie! Do you want to die‽"

"Speak! Where has he gone!"

The terrified wanderers began to turn their eyes to the person who had first spoken to Han Xiao, Kai Luo.

Kai Luo was squatting in the corner like an ostrich.

"What are you guys looking at me for? All I did was sell him some stuff. Ask Hu Xuan Jun! He definitely knows!"

Hu Xuan Jun stood up slowly in the crowd.

"I don't know," he declared.

Kai Luo, wanting to cast away the suspicion on him, retorted, "How can you not know? You let him spend the night at your house!"

No. 1's face darkened.

The other wanderers began to urge Hu Xuan Jun to say the truth.

"Hurry up and say what you know!"

"Do you want us to die because of some outsider?"

Hu Xuan Jun cursed Kai Luo under his breath before taking a deep breath to compose himself.

"That person went in that direction," he said, pointing to the opposite of where Han Xiao had headed.

"You're very good, you."

Bang!

A hole appeared in Hu Xuan Jun's forehead. He fell back and landed on the ground with a loud thud.

Hu Fei shrieked at the sight of his lifeless body.

Just... just like that‽

No. 1 stared at the Hu Xuan Jun's dead body. He would not hesitate to kill anyone who helped Han Xiao.

"Old Hu?" An couldn't see, but she could hear exactly what had transpired. She stood up from the crowd and attempted to locate her husband.

Bang!

Her head exploded.

An's body crumpled to the ground, landing an arm's length away from her husband.

No. 1 sneered.

"Asked for it."

Hu Fei was torn with regret.

His one moment of greed had caused all of this.

All the wanderers were stunned, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Suddenly, No. 1's transmitter lit up, projecting a holograph of the boss's face.

"What the hell are you doing? Who gave you permission to kill?"

No. 1 instantly shrunk in fear. He hastily began to explain, "These wanderers lied to us, so I was just trying to teach them a lesson. We'll depart right now."

"Forget it. Since you've already started it, end it properly. Don't let news of this get out."

No. 1 nodded and gave a signal.

...

Dusk had fallen.

Han Xiao was finally reaching the encampment. Suddenly, the smell of blood filled his nose, causing his heart to sink.

"I'm too late."

Han Xiao entered the encampment to a gruesome sight. It was the aftermath of a bloodbath.

He spotted Hu Xuan Jun and An's lifeless bodies, causing him to shake with rage.

Suddenly, a figure began got up from the ground. It was the big bearded merchant who had attempted to scam Han Xiao.

Kai Luo had fainted at the start of the massacre, and it ended up saving his life. Before he could rejoice, however, he noticed that there was someone looking at him. When he saw that it was Han Xiao, he began to tremble in fear.

Han Xiao walked over to him and grabbed his collar.

"Tell me what happened here!"

"It was the Germinal Organization! The Germinal Organization! They killed us because we wouldn't tell them where you went! Ah! They massacred us! You must take revenge for us, for Hu Xuan Jun!"

Chapter 17: Kill

"Ugh... cough..."

Han Xiao suddenly heard another person making feeble noises. He followed the sound and found Hu Fei, who was riddled with 5 or 6 bullet holes. He was on the brink of death.

When he saw the handgun clutched in Hu Fei's hand, Han Xiao understood exactly what had transpired. Mixed emotions filled him.

"I told you the gun was dangerous... but you didn't listen..."

Hu Fei clutched onto Han Xiao's pants with a shaking hand. The sight of him crying was heartbreaking.

"I shouldn't have been so greedy! I— I regret it so much... I was wrong... I was wrong..."

Hu Fei weakly lifted a finger to point at Kai Luo.

"Don't believe him... he betrayed my uncle..."

Hu Fei spurted out a big mouthful of blood.

"I will help you end your misery," said Han Xiao, shaking his head.

Crack!

"Don't listen to h-"

Before Kai Luo could finish his sentence, Han Xiao fired a shot. A hole appeared in his head.

Kai Luo's body collapsed to its knees.

"Everyone is dead. You should join them, too."

Han Xiao closed his eyes tightly.

Although Han Xiao's killing intent was skyrocketing, it was being restrained by his logic, much like a caged tiger. The cooler he appeared, the hotter he would erupt.

Han Xiao walked over to Hu Xuan Jun's body. His finger was still outstretched, pointing towards some car trails.

The exact opposite of where he had headed to!

Hu Xuan Jun had not sold him out.

Han Xiao's heart ached.

Even until the end, Hu Xuan Jun had looked out for him, an outsider.

_____________________

You have activated a Class-E Quest

[Revenge]

Quest Hint: Eliminate the Test Subject Squad

Quest Reward: 15,000 Experience

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Han Xiao left the couple's side and walked into the tent to retrieve Hu Xuan Jun's prized bayonet musket. For a second, it seemed to glow and call out to Han Xiao.

"You want to avenge your partner, right?"

Han Xiao took all the guns in his bag and lay them beside the bayonet musket. He began to dismantle them and use their parts to remodel the bayonet musket.

Han Xiao's Basic Assembly and Basic Enhancement were both Lv. 10. Although the names of these two abilities were very simple, they were indispensable abilities of a mechanic.

_____________________

Bayonet Rifle (Modified)

Grade: Average

Base Stats:

Damage: 66-69

Fire Rate: 1.1/s

Magazine Capacity: 10

Effective Range: 450

Power Output: 37

Bonus Stats: +2 Dexterity

Length: 0.86m

Weight: 8.3kg

Additional Effect: Accurate - Wind effects reduced.

Additional Effect: Piercing - Modified to use large-caliber ammo for higher penetration.

Description: It hungers for vengeance.

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Han Xiao counted his sniper bullets. There were 25, all looted from Silver Blade.

As there seemed to have only been two cars, there was probably not more than twelve enemies.

Han Xiao began to give chase into the forest.

He knew that it would be impossible to catch up with a car, but that was not Han Xiao's intention at all.

There was a high chance that they would realize they had been lied to and head back. Hence, Han Xiao planned to ambush them when they inevitably retraced their steps.

Although if Han Xiao fled in the opposite direction he would be able to shake them off once and for all, an inner voice told him that he would regret it.

The quest itself was irrelevant. This was personal.

"Germinal!" spat Han Xiao hatefully.

...

The forest was pitch black at night, making it hard to even see one's fingers. Wolves howled in the distance.

Han Xiao had been lying in wait for almost three hours.

Suddenly, the sound of engines approached. Han Xiao's face twitched. Four headlights appeared in the distance.

"Finally..." mumbled Han Xiao calmly.

He put on one of the Night Owl Squad's night vision goggles and spotted the outline of two cars.

He then cocked the rifle and held his breath to aim.

After eight seconds, he pulled the trigger.

In an instant, the sniper bullet travelled across hundreds of meters to strike a tyre on the front car, causing it to explode.

The car crashed into a tree.

"Do you even know how to drive‽" cursed a dazed No. 1.

"Leader, the tire exploded."

"How can a low-pressure tyre explode‽"

One of the squad members knelt down to investigate the tyre.

"There's a bullet lodged in here!" he suddenly exclaimed.

"Ambush!"

Suddenly, the agent closest to No. 1 was blown up in the head by a sniper bullet. His blood splattered all over No. 1.

"Get down!" he yelled.

The agents hurriedly dropped to the ground. A suffocating silence ensued. They were all terrified. Only No. 1 was able to contain his nerves and he immediately called for reinforcements.

The Test Subject Squad was pinned. None of them dared to move.

"Who is ambushing us?"

"No idea!"

"It's so dark here. He must have night-vision goggles!"

"What do we do now?"

"Just lie in wait I think... until reinforcements arrive."

No. 1 suddenly exploded. "Are you stupid‽ Won't he escape then? The enemy is one, why are we so afraid of him? What will the Organization think of us?"

The faces of his teammates instantly changed.

"It's just one enemy! We have cars, guns, and the advantage in numbers. How can we lose?" No. 1 added.

"Right...! We need to counterattack!"

"Ascertain the sniper's position!"

One squad member plucked up the courage to reveal himself, hoping to bait the sniper into revealing his location. However, the sniper was faster than he could imagine. He was instantly shot. The force of the impact alone caused his body to fly back several metres.

No. 1 felt a chill run down his spine. Who is this godlike sniper‽

The agent's death had not been in vain. One squad member was able to catch the muzzle flash of Han Xiao's rifle.

"I've found him! 300 meters south!"

"Get in the car!"

Han Xiao could see them get up and run towards the other vehicle. He instantly understood their plan.

There were seven enemies displayed on the thermal imaging. They seemed to be betting on the slow firing rate of a sniper, and were willing to sacrifice one or two to get to the vehicle.

Han Xiao decided not to rush. He calmly fired two more shots to kill two more of them before the rest hopped onto the vehicle. The vehicle's engine roared as it charged towards him.

All of a sudden, Han Xiao's situation seemed to turn for the worse. However, he still appeared calm.

The best tactic, he mused, is also the most predictable one.

Chapter 18: Bigger Than You Imagined

"Go to hell!" screamed No. 1 as he stepped on the pedal, not noticing several grenades hanging from mid-air in their path.

The vehicle came to a sudden stop as it ran into the rope that Han Xiao had tied between two trees. The two trees were almost uprooted by the force of the crash, and, the agents in the vehicle were tossed around like rag dolls.

Immediately after, the grenades exploded, setting the night ablaze. The bulletproof windshield was heavily cracked by the shrapnel.

It was a simple, yet devastating trap.

Han Xiao tossed the night-vision goggles away as soon as the grenades exploded. The fire from the blast gave him all the vision that he needed. He began to fire. The rifle was so powerful that each shot caused Han Xiao's entire upper body to shudder in recoil.

Han Xiao was firing at the windscreen, and from the pattern that the windscreen cracked, it was clear that Han Xiao was aiming for the driver, No. 1.

No. 1 gritted his teeth and yanked the person next to him up to use as a shield. In the next instant, the windscreen shattered, and the poor guy's brains blew up in his face.

"Get out of the car!"

The remaining agents hastily jumped out of the car. In his rage, No. 1 began to spray wildly with a submachine gun. His teammates blindly followed suit.

Han Xiao ceased shooting to reload.

Bullets whizzed past in Han Xiao's surroundings, but Han Xiao knew that they did not know his exact location. They were simply panicking. He patiently waited for them to reload.

The agents soon realized that they had acted too rashly, but it was too late – Han Xiao now had the initiative.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

There was a strangely beautiful rhythm to Han Xiao's shots.

As his comrades began to fall one after another, No. 1 started to tremble. As he wildly fired, he screamed, "Who the hell are you! Show yourself!"

His confidence had been completely and utterly destroyed.

Click click click...

He ran out of ammo once more.

"Show yourself!"

Suddenly, Han Xiao walked out into the clearing.

No. 1's eyes widened in shock

"H-h-how can it be!"

Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected Han Xiao to counterattack. He had, in his hubris, thought for sure that Han Xiao was fleeing for dear life. Despite all the facts proving otherwise, he had stubbornly refused to believe that Han Xiao was better than him. Now, it finally dawned upon him.

Zero was way stronger than him.

His false sense of superiority was instantly replaced by jealousy.

"I am the better test subject! You are the failure! A failure!"

He pulled a handgun out and attempted to shoot, but Han Xiao was faster. A sniper bullet tore through No. 1's entire right arm.

As No. 1 slowly turned to look at the right side of his body in horror.

Han Xiao fired again, this time at No. 1's leg, causing him to collapse to the ground. He then took his time to reload before continuing to maim his remaining limbs.

No. 1 lay helplessly on the ground as he stared at Han Xiao hatefully.

"ZERO!" he screamed hoarsely, like a wounded beast.

"Keep quiet."

Han Xiao strode forward to No. 1 to give him a vicious kick in his jaw.

"Wanna know why I left you for last? Because I don't want you to enjoy a quick death."

No. 1 was writhing on the ground, unable to reply. Blood was continuously spurting out of his wounds.

Suddenly, the communication device on his severed arm lit up. A holograph of the leader appeared in mid-air.

"Zero, that's enough," he said.

Han Xiao frowned.

"I am the leader of the Germinal Organization," he introduced.

"Do you think you can truly escape from us? No matter where you go, the Germinal Organization will find you. However, I can give you a chance to live."

"How?" asked Han Xiao plainly.

"Return to the organization obediently. I will allow you to retain your memories. You will be given a position you deserve," answered the boss. He was truly fascinated by Han Xiao's strength.

No. 1's face grew livid at his leader's words. How could he treat Zero so well after all the men that he had killed?

Han Xiao glanced at No. 1 and replied tauntingly, "You want to rope me in even after I've killed so many of your people?"

"A bunch of failures. Their deaths are not worth mourning," the boss replied instantly.

No. 1 shuddered.

"What makes you think I want to work under you?"

"We are destined to accomplish greater things. Join us. What's there to hesitate? Oh, I know. Is it because you are still unhappy with how we treated you before? Don't be so petty, think of the bigger picture. Such things are trivial when compared to our ultimate goal."

Han Xiao replied coldly, "I have no interest whatsoever in your ideology. You killed my friends, so you are my enemy. That is all."

"If you refuse to join us, there will not be a place for you in this world!" threatened the boss.

"I will destroy you all," Han Xiao declared.

It was the only solution.

The boss burst out in laughter.

"Destroy us? What do you think you are? You are just a small, pitiful ant that we can squash whenever we want. Did killing a few lowly grunts make you think that you are invincible now? Childish!"

"Wait and see then. The world is bigger than you can imagine."

Han Xiao shook his head and raised his gun. He fired three shots aimed at No. 1's heart.

The test subject squad no longer existed!

The boss's mask could not conceal his fury.

"You'll regret this," he coldly warned before ending the transmission.

_____________________

You have killed the No. 1, the Valkyrie Experiment Test Subject, gaining 900 experience.

You have completed [Revenge], gaining 15,000 experience.

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Crack!

Suddenly, the bayonet rifle came apart.

The SWP sniper rifle that Han Xiao retrieved from the test subject squad had the prerequisite of the [Sniper] ability, so Han Xiao dismantled it to fix the bayonet rifle.

Han Xiao had gained a total of 20,000 experience tonight.

As the Germinal Organization would surely come for him, Han Xiao needed to find a hiding place. He was indeed still too weak to take them head-on. The wealth of information that he carried over from the game was his trump card.

In order to make good use of it, Han Xiao needed to seek the aid of a power as mighty as the Organization.

The Six Nations!

Stardragon, Maple, Theseus, Raylen, Hesla, and Ordina.

Since he was already in Stardragon, and they were the most peaceful of the six nations, there could be no better choice.

Chapter 19: chapterlist:chaptername ,000,000 Bounty! Class A Mission!

The next morning, the boss, Hila, and a group of staff arrived at the wreckage of the battle.

The boss snorted coldly at the sight of No. 1's corpse.

"Useless trash."

"All of them are dead," reported a researcher after they gathered all the bodies.

The leader gazed thoughtfully at the mountain range in the distance.

"Issue a bounty under the name of the Organization. $1,000,000, dead or alive," he suddenly ordered.

Hila and the rest of the group were shocked by his decision.

The Germinal Organization was the kingpin of the underworld, and they had not needed to issue a bounty for the past three years. Was it really necessary to do so for a lowly traitor?

"My leader, you seem to overrate him. Zero barely managed to escape by the skin of teeth. What threat can he pose to us?"

"Hmph. That bastard actually dared to declare war against us, so I will make him pay for his arrogance! I will crush him! If Zero is captured alive, use all available means to extract his secrets! If he is killed, then dissect his body to figure it out!"

"What about those people?" asked the researcher as he pointed towards the corpses.

The boss was about to order them to be disposed of when a thought crossed his mind.

"How's the preparation for the super soldier project?" he asked.

"The basic theory has been perfected. We are about to proceed with cell and animal testing. We should be able to remove any side effects and carry out human experimentation in eight months—"

"Skip the testing. Proceed with human experimentation immediately," interrupted the boss.

"Erm... the risks are too huge. Only Valkyrie test subjects can endure the procedure, and there aren't many of them. Rushing things might be unproductive."

"Experimentation can only create cannon fodder. Only vengeance can create true monsters," he replied enigmatically.

"He is the perfect subject," he added, pointing at No. 1. "Hatred will fuel him. No pain will stop him from his desire for revenge."

"I see."

The researcher nodded.

"Summon his soul," the boss ordered Hila.

Hila exhaled deeply before raising her hands in the air. They began to glow in a grayish light as the surrounding temperature instantly dropped.

Suddenly, ghostly wailing resonated in their surroundings, and No. 1's body seemed to respond to the cries.

A gray, misty cloud of fog began to materialize above No. 1 before flowing into his orifices.

The boss unfurled his jacket to retrieve a vial of crimson red fluid. Hila's expression changed when she saw the red fluid. Her eyes flickered with killing intent for a moment. She had to force herself to surpress her emotions.

Aurora Reviving Drug.

An extremely powerful healing drug made from her sister's bone marrow extract!

The boss poured the fluid over No. 1.

The fluid seeped into his body, and what followed next could only be called miraculous. No. 1 began to regain his color, and his wounds started to regenerate. The damage to his jaw was reversed, and limbs began to form out of his stumps.

No. 1 suddenly opened his eyes. His face was twisted in agony.

" Zero! "

_____________________

You have unlocked reputation with the Germinal Organization faction!

Your reputation with the Germinal Organization has dropped by 1000!

Germinal Organization: Hated (Traitor)

_____________________

You have triggered the Class A quest, [A Seedling in the Dirt].

Quest Synopsis: Freedom is priceless, and you have risked your life to earn it, but your troubles are not over yet. The Organization has put a bounty on your head. You will be hunted down for the rest of your day. You may have escaped, but your prison has simply grown larger. In order to to obtain true freedom, there is only one path. You know what to do!

Quest Tip: This quest is an achievement quest. You will be rewarded based on the amount of damage and destruction you cause to the organization.

Current achievement rate: 0%

Note: Your achievement rate may not be fixed. Your achievement rate may drop. You may also choose to finish the quest at any time. If your achievement rate is less than 20%, you will fail the quest. If your achievement rate is higher than 20%, you will be rewarded based on your achievement tier.

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Generally speaking, Class B and higher quests were main quests related to key events. In Version 1.0, the key event on Planet Aquamarine was the clash between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization, and players were allowed a choice of ally.

From Han Xiao's memory, there had been quite a number of players who had allied with the Germinal Organization. This meant that he would have to face up against them eventually.

Although the Germinal Organization neither won nor lost, they did suffer huge losses. Han Xiao realized that he would have to watch out for competitors – there were many factions fighting against the Germinal Organization.

Han Xiao felt that having to contribute 20% of the total damage done was asking too much. Nevertheless, he accepted the quest without hesitation—there was no harm in trying.

This is the main quest line.

In Version 1.0, the events of Aquamarine were heavily centered around the Germinal Organization. Since Han Xiao would have get stronger on the planet anyway, he would definitely become involved in the war.

During the character creation process of Galaxy, the system would ask the player to input his preferences, such as the type of planet or class they would enjoy. From their answers, they would be sent to a planet that suited them. This was a key feature of the game and attracted many players. Some people simply liked exploring the universe and experiencing different kinds of civilizations. Aquamarine was a more 'realistic' science-fiction city-style planet modeled after Earth itself.

The truth was that Han Xiao could just hide himself in the wilderness and wait until the Germinal Organization weakened. However, while this ensured his safety, he wouldn't be able to get stronger.

When the main plot of the planet unfolded, there would be an influx of quests and missions. With Han Xiao's knowledge of the game gave him an unfair advantage.

3 days later, Han Xiao finally emerged from the forest. The forest was situated within Stardragon territory, which made the fact that the Germinal Organization dared to setup a base here quite surprising. Perhaps, the safest place is where the enemy least expects them to be.

Han Xiao walked for a while more before seeing railway tracks. He hopped onto a freight train that was on its way to deliver livestock to the Western Capital.

As the wilderness was fraught with danger, and war seemed like it would break out at any moment, most of the public roads connecting Stardragon's cities had been blockaded. Resources were transported mainly by freight.

Stardragon's cities were all enclosed in giant electric metal fences.

Two days later, Han Xiao could spot the giant enclosure through the windon in his carriage.

He swept aside the hens jumping around him to make space to stand up and take a better look.

Stardragon, Western Capital. Division 13, here I come!

"Cock-a-doodle-doo—"

Chapter 20: Illegal Entry

Stardragon—one of the Six Nations. The majority of Stardragon's population was comprised of yellow people, and its national symbol was a celestial dragon.

The bad blood between Stardragon and the Germinal Organization can be traced back to the Battle of Andrea, where the Germinal Organization had colluded with other enemies of Stardragon to launch large-scale assaults on its cities during the crucial period of the war. Casualties numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and Stardragon had been forced to recall all its forces. Back then, it had severely weakened their status as one of the Six Nations.

All of Stardragon's cities were barricaded by great electric fences of barbed wire, and the only way to enter any city was through a main gate.

The freight train arrived at the open-air train station connected to the entrance of the city. The area was like a military base – there were bunkers and watchtowers guarded by the army. Troops were stationed in every corner.

Over a thousand wanderers alighted onto to the station square. They began to queue up for the inspection. Only those confirmed not to possess weaponry or carry infectious diseases were permitted to enter.

The Six Nations all welcomed wanderers. The war had caused a lack of manpower and talent.

Han Xiao needed to find a way to evade inspection. The Germinal Organization had offered a bounty for him, so things could go awry if he were to be recognized. While his aim was to get in touch with Division 13, he could not risk being exposed before then.

Fortunately, there existed a way.

Back in the game, players that were wanted by a country simply had to pay a smuggler NPC a fee to be sneaked in.

There was a very inconspicuous man in a corner of the station. He was neither queuing up to enter, nor seemed to be waiting for anything in particular.

This man was the ringleader of the smuggling business, and normally, he would only serve people who were trusted in their network.

Suddenly, he noticed a frail-looking man coming up to him. It was none other than Han Xiao.

"Is it safe?" he asked.

The ringleader looked up at Han Xiao. It was a face he did not recognize.

"Safe?" the ringleader played dumb.

"I'll pay with these - enough?"

Han Xiao tossed his backpack to the ringleader. He opened the bag up to take a look inside.

Holy shit! So many guns! Which syndicate is this young master the boss of?

As guns were prohibited in the western capital, Han Xiao had to dispose of them one way or the other.

"Enough, definitely enough."

"Where did you learn about my business?" he curiously asked.

"That's none of your business."

The ringleader took no offence to Han Xiao. He knew that he had been too inquisitive in his excitement. He got up and asked Han Xiao to follow.

Han Xiao was led to a van parked outside the station. There were already a few passengers on board, and when he arrived, he became the center of attention. Han Xiao found a spot and sat down quietly.

The windows of the van were plastered with black tape. The van would bring them to a secret military side-entrance. As long as the price was right, the officer in charge would turn a blind eye.

A short young man was sitting beside Han Xiao. Bored, and seeing that Han Xiao seemed like an easygoing person, the young man spoke to him.

"Little brother, your first time to the western capital?"

Han Xiao glanced at him and replied, "Yeah, it is. How should I address you?"

"Ma Jie, you?"

"Han Xiao."

"Hannie, since it's your first time to the Western Capital, I shall introduce you to the city. The Western Capital is divided into eight districts. District 1 is the seat of the government, and where the officials reside. No one is allowed to enter there. The other seven districts each have their own attractions, but they are all secretly controlled by big shots in the underworld. Remember, never offend any of them, or else you might lose your life."

Han Xiao sighed inwardly. The underworld referred to illegal operations like drugs, prostitution, trafficking, and mercenaries. These 'big shots' that Ma Jie mentioned were actually just small-time hoodlums. Ma Jie was clearly trying to brag.

"What about the army?" asked Han Xiao.

"Heh, what can they do? Do you expect them to raid the districts? My cousin is the right-hand man of one of the bosses in the underworld. I came here to seek—cough—help him," boasted Ma Jie.

"Wow, you're so cool," replied Han Xiao.

Being praised sent Ma Jie over the moon.

"Of course! My cousin is quite the figure in western capital. Have you ever heard of his great name, The Leopard? Oh, right, it's your first time here. Are you here to seek refuge with relatives?"

"No, I've come to find a job and settle down," Han Xiao chose a random answer.

"What do you say—wanna come with me? Follow my brother and you will have a bright future!"

Ma Jie suddenly became animated.

Han Xiao rejected his offer, but Ma Jie was not easily dissuaded.

"Let me tell you what ordinary life is like in the city. Two words - poverty and sadness! Do you want to eat spoilt food everyday? The Six Nations are just putting on a show to welcome wanderers like you. The truth is that they could hardly give a damn about you! If you follow me, I can guarantee that you'll be fed well for the rest of your life!"

"No thanks."

Han Xiao's repeated refusals clearly upset Ma Jie.

"Fool! You'll regret this. Don't come crying to me in the future."

Han Xiao ignored the idiot and turned away. Ma Jie glared at him.

...

A while later, the van stopped in front of what seemed to be a closed tunnel.

There was an officer waiting for them on the other side of the fence in the tunnel. He opened the passageway to let them in upon receiving payment from the ringleader.

"Follow the officer, he will bring you to the outskirts of the city."

The officer silently led them through the compound. When they finally stepped out into the sun, they were greeted by a line of skyscrapers in the distance.

As the group scattered, Ma Jie glared at Han Xiao one more time before going on his way.

As Han Xiao walked on the streets, he noticed that his tattered clothes were gaining a lot of attention. Without any money to quench his thirst, he had to look for a public water dispensary. All he had to his name was a seven-day stench.

Of course, none of it actually posed a problem to him.

...

Half an hour later, Han Xiao emerged from a shopping mall dressed in a white shirt and black pants. There was a cigarette in his mouth.

_____________________

You have unlocked a new ability: Lv. 1 [Steal]!

[Steal]: Increases your success rate when stealing

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In his previous life, many real life skills had practical use in the game. For example, someone who had a military background would have an easier time grasping shooting-related abilities in the game.

As the saying goes, one can never learn too many tricks. Han Xiao only acquired skills in thievery as a means of self-defense against thieves...

Me, a thief? Hey hey, don't accuse me of stealing if you don't have proof! I, the venerable Han, am a law-abiding, state-loving citizen. Back in secondary school and high school, I was always the model student! I was in the top 3 every year! People always praised me for being a righteous young man, plus I've never even peeked on a girl before, much less steal!

As for now— cough, cough —I'm just borrowing some money from a kindred soul out of desperation. You feel me bro?

Chapter 21: The Old Man Who Plays Chess

Now that Han Xiao had escaped from the Germinal Organization, he no longer had access to the resources that he would need to become stronger. Joining the Six Nations would solve this problem.

Han Xiao already had a plan in mind.

In Galaxy, there was known to be a secret encounter hidden in the Western Capital.

Han Xiao arrived at the gates of a workshop concealed inside an inconspicuous alley. The workshop was nameless, but it had a spanner for a logo.

The secret encounter will be mine in this life!

There was a chess table set up at the entrance of the workshop. Two elderly men were currently engaged in a game.

Their appearances were in stark contrast to one another. The shorter elderly man was bearded and had long, unkempt hair, while the taller old man was prim and proper. Both of them were staring at the chess board intently.

Han Xiao noticed that the tall old man had a missing arm.

Both of them paid little heed to Han Xiao as he stepped into the workshop.

Han Xiao took a look at the chess board. They seemed to be playing playing an intense game of Go.

Suddenly, Han Xiao realized that it was not Go at all! It was Five in a Row!

What the hell are you guys looking so serious for‽

A woman appeared from within the workshop. "Do you need something repaired?"

She had a fair complexion, rosy cheeks, and was around 1.65m tall. Her hair was clipped behind with a black pin, and she was wearing a black vest on top of denim shorts. Although Han Xiao wouldn't go so far as to call her a stunning beauty, she did have an extremely pleasant-looking face. She was very much the proverbial girl-next-door who had gentle eyes and a warm smile. She seemed to be in her mid-twenties—Han Xiao's personal preference.

Women at twenty can be compared to peaches—good to look at but not yet ripe.

Women at thirty, on the other hand, are like ripe grapes.

Of course, these things are always a matter of taste.

As for women at forty...

Huh, what about fifty?

Fifty-year-old women cannot be described as fruits anymore! They are potatoes!

"May I know if this place needs an apprentice?" Han Xiao asked.

For some reason, the woman was overjoyed to hear his words. She hastily grabbed Han Xiao's eblow and pulled him in, as though afraid that he would change his mind.

"Come in, quickly! You might catch a cold."

Han Xiao looked up at the blazing sun and wondered, Is catching a cold the dialect here for heat stroke?

The workshop was largely coloured in black and white, and there was a second floor.

The first floor was the working area, and it was a fairly spacious area. There were a number of vehicle platforms and workbenches equipped with various tools and machinery. Han Xiao could tell from the blemishes on the workbenches that they were relatively old. There was also quite a number of metal shelves lined up against the wall that were stacked with all sorts of metals and spare parts.

"My name is Lu Qian. I'm the boss here. You can call me Sister Qian," introduced the woman.

"Sister Qian," Han Xiao greeted. He then inquired, "I wish to take up apprenticeship here. Are there any requirements?"

"Tell me your situation," replied Lu Qian. Her first impression of Han Xiao was quite favorable. She particularly liked the dead look in his eyes—they made Han Xiao look like he was a bum.

He will probably be content with a low wage, she thought to herself.

"I come from afar. My name is Han Xiao. I'm 21 years old, and I have some basic mechanic skills. You can call me Technician Han."

Technician Han? A puzzled look appeared on Lu Qian's face.

"From afar... meaning you're not a student of the Western Capital School?"

The Western Capital School was an elite school that only a select few could enroll in. It followed a special syllabus based on the knowledge given to Aquamarine by the galactic civilization. There, students were taught Pugilist and Mechanic knowledge. Many of its graduates went on to become important figures in Stardragon.

However, as less than 1 in 10,000 people possessed superpowers, having guidance did not make it easier to awaken them.

"I've only learnt some basic Mechanic theory," Han Xiao replied humbly.

"That's a pity..." bemoaned Lu Qian.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it that way," she hastily added.

"It's fine."

"Anyway, I still need to test you. I do need a helper, but you will have to meet my criteria first."

Lu Qian went to fetch a faulty household appliance back to test Han Xiao. Before Han Xiao could begin, the shorter old man at the chess board suddenly spoke. "Kid, why did you come here?"

Lu Qian frowned in puzzlement. Wasn't it just to find work?

Han Xiao looked at the old man and replied, "I'm just looking for a job."

For some reason, his reply upset the old man, and he flipped the chessboard.

"I am the owner of this shop. Pass my test, and I will allow you to stay."

"Oi, Old Man Lu, you're being a sore loser again," erupted the tall old man.

"I have something important to do," stated Old Man Lu matter-of-factly.

"Shameless," replied the tall old man exasperatedly.

Chapter 22: Prosthetic Limb

Stardragon Strategic Defense Division, also known as Division 13.

Han Xiao's mind was racing.

Old Man Lu was none other than the key character in the secret questline, and Han Xiao had come here to meet him.

However, what Han Xiao had not expected was running into the tall old man here. This old man was an important figure in Stardragon, and Han Xiao knew that there was no point in trying to hide his identity from him.

Han Xiao's original plan had been to gain Division 13's trust before revealing himself. He intended to do so by feeding them with anonymous intel on the Germinal Organization. However, that was no longer possible.

To have to reveal himself to Division 13 so soon had certainly not been a part of Han Xiao's calculations, but Han Xiao was not rigid in his thinking.

Since remaining hidden was no longer an option, he might as well reveal himself and demonstrate his value to them. Like they say, the enemy of an enemy is a friend; Han Xiao and Stardragon shared common ground.

Fortunately, he was now in the city; if he had been exposed before entering, it would have put himself in an unfavorable position to negotiate.

Furthermore, the unexpected turn of events might prove to be a good thing instead. The tall old man was extremely influential, so gaining his trust would give him quite the head start.

"What test?" he asked Old Man Lu in response.

Old Man Lu looked around as he tried to come up with something. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Pointing towards the tall old man's missing arm, he said, "Make him a prosthetic limb. If it satisfies him, you pass."

"Why drag me into this?" The tall old man was confused, but he quickly understood Old Man Lu's intentions from his subtle winks.

"Grandpa, you're too much! What if you scare him away? Every day, all you do is drink, play chess, and go for strolls. When was the last time you actually bothered to help out with the business? Can't I even get a helper?"

Lu Qian was disgruntled, but her words fell on deaf ears. Old Man Lu ignored her as he looked at Han Xiao for a reply.

For some reason though, Han Xiao seemed amused.

"Are you sure you want me to make a prosthetic arm that satisfies him?" he asked to clarify.

"If you're scared then leave!"

"I accept," Han Xiao happily agreed to the task.

He still had the [Bionic Arm] blueprints that sat gathering dust in his inventory! Not only was Old Man Lu's request too simple for Han Xiao, it even presented him with the opportunity to curry favor with the tall old man! For some reason, everything seemed to be going well for Han Xiao, as though someone was looking out for him.

"You only have three hours; I don't have the time to wait an entire day," Old Man Lu snorted.

"Grandpa!" Lu Qian exclaimed in protest.

Creating a bionic limb was not a straightforward task. Measurements first had to be taken, followed by designing, and lastly crafting. Designing alone would take hours, and while using a workbench would speed up much of the crafting process, that would still take another two hours! It was completely unfair!

However, Han Xiao, was not flustered at all. He whipped out a measuring tape and asked the tall old man politely, "Senior, may I?"

The tall old man removed his outerwear without fuss. He observed Han Xiao thoughtfully as his measurements were taken. To remain calm and confident despite being pressed so was praiseworthy, he thought.

'But why would the Germinal Organization lay a million dollar bounty on him?'

Yes, the tall old man indeed recognized Han Xiao. The Germinal Organization's issuing of a bounty had caused a huge commotion in the underworld and this resulted in Han Xiao's face becoming well known. Such news did not escape his ears.

'Looks like there's some corrupt guards again,' he concluded from Han Xiao's presence here in the city.

'Why did Han Xiao come to the Western Capital?

'Does he pose a threat to Stardragon?'

These were the questions on the tall old man's mind. He decided to continue observing Han Xiao for now.

While Old Man Lu did not know anything about the infamous Zero, he had his reason for wanting to chase Han Xiao away. A seasoned veteran himself, he was able to sense that Han Xiao had killed before. He simply wanted to avoid trouble where he could.

"Looks like Old Lu is leaving it to me," thought the tall old man as the pair exchanged glances.

As soon as Han Xiao finished taking measurements, Lu Qian offered him her help.

"Tell me your concept. We can draw up the plans together to save time."

"No need, I already have the perfect design," declined Han Xiao unexpectedly.

"Only two minutes?"

Lu Qian's eyes were wide with disbelief.

"Your bragging might even reach the moon!"

Old Man Lu burst out in laughter. To come up with a complete blueprint in just two minutes was an impossible task even for him, what more a kid like Han Xiao?

Han Xiao passed a list of the materials and tools he needed to Lu Qian, who swiftly went to fetch everything. However, she did not hold much hope for Han Xiao as the test was simply absurd and unfair.

Han Xiao started to use the pressing machine to shape metals into shapes and parts. He planned to use an aluminum alloy as the core material of the arm as aluminum alloys were light, yet sturdy, but also easy to shape. Having parts like screws, rivets, and chains readily provided saved him a lot of time.

[Basic Machinery Affinity] gave Han Xiao keen intuition for the composition of machines. For a second, it seemed to him like the parts themselves came to life, as though they were excited at the prospect of being assembled into a machine. A mechanic's affinity and skills with machines was extremely important. Each level in [Basic Machinery Affinity] improved production quantity as well as crafting speed by 1%.

A top-class bionic limb could be operated simply by thought, and would be functionally indiscernible from a real limb. The prosthetic arm of the Winter Soldier was a strengthened version of such a limb. However, the installation of such a prosthetic would require surgery, as well as the 'Control' talents of [Basic Electromagnetism] and [Nerve Integration].

With cybernetics, it was possible to replace any part of the body, except the brain, with machines to turn a person into a cyborg that relies not on physical stamina and bio-energy, but modular upgrades and replacements instead. Although a cyborg wouldn't need to eat or drink to survive, and could live much longer than a normal human, the loss of one's human senses would gradually make a cyborg susceptible to manipulation and eventually cause them to lose their sense of self. While this could be prevented by implementing thought programming and logic parameters to immunize one against external influences, they would then lose their freedom of thought instead. More advanced civilizations used this method to produce cannon fodder.

A voice-controlled prosthetic could also be made with the 'Control' talent, [Basic Acoustics]. Mechanics were a multi-layered class that was able to utilize all sorts of knowledge to create different versions of tools for the same purpose.

Presently, though, Han Xiao was not that far advanced as a mechanic, and his concept was very simple; he was using the Lightweight Mechanical Arm as a model for his prosthetic. He planned to incorporate its dynamics and chains into his prosthetic for realistic movement. Unlike the Lightweight Mechanical Arm, however, it would run on clean batteries instead of smoke-causing fuel.

Old Man Lu watched Han Xiao as he enjoyed a bottle of beer. He couldn't wait to see him make a fool of himself.

Chapter 23: You Set Me Up!

As Han Xiao began to weld and assemble the parts he created, the prosthetic arm began to take shape. The others were surprised by the fact that Han Xiao did not create any excess parts. He had been thoroughly efficient from the start, which proved that he had actually planned everything out.

"My god, he won't actually succeed, will he?" muttered Old Man Lu, causing Lu Qian to glare at him. What a sly grandpa!

Seeing them look so amazed almost caused Han Xiao to burst out in laughter. How could he possibly fail when he already had the blueprint in his memory?

_____________________

You have created [Bionic Arm - Left (Mechanical Version)], giving you 2000 exp!

[Bionic Arm - Left (Mechanical Version)]

Special Item

A very realistic prosthetic created using the principles of machine dynamics and suspension. Adjustable to suit the user's needs, it is soft, yet extremely durable!

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The polished metallic prosthetic took Han Xiao a total of 2 hours and 33 minutes to make. One look at its structure and everyone present could tell that it was an extremely functional prosthetic.

Everyone was shocked!

He really made it!

As Lu Qian covered her mouth in disbelief, a single thought came to her mind. I've struck gold!

"This prosthetic will look realistic if you cover it with—"

"Save the bullshit, let's test it now," interrupted Old Man Lu as he swallowed his saliva. Although Han Xiao had truly exceeded his expectations, his mind was still unchanged.

The tall old man rolled his eyes at Old Man Lu and picked the prosthetic up to examine it. He instantly fell in love with it. It fit onto his stump extremely comfortably, unlike other prosthetics that had nonadjustable, rigid attachments. The reason that he did not like to wear a prosthetic arm was that they always got in the way of his movement. However, Han Xiao's creation did not give him this problem. It felt so realistic that when he moved it, it felt like he had grown back an arm! The elastic suspension enabled him to effortlessly make simple movements.

Perfection!

This was the only word that could describe how he felt about it.

"What do you think? Satisfactory?" asked Old Man Lu coolly as he sipped on his beer.

Lu Qian looked anxiously at the tall old man.

The tall old man found himself in a tight spot. Should he help his friend? Or should he say his true feelings? Which was more important?

"This thing is excellent. I'm satisfied!"

Old Man Lu spat out his beer and glared at the tall old man as he coughed continuously.

Weren't we allies‽ We had a plan!

"Since you like it, you can have it." Han Xiao was not surprised at all.

The tall old man nodded his head and replied, "I will remember this favor."

Old Man Lu was flabbergasted. The arm was made with my materials! Did you ask for my permission‽

"Then, can I stay?" Han Xiao turned to Old Man Lu and asked, his lips curling.

Old Man Lu's shock immediately turned into embarrassment. As he turned around to head upstairs, he reluctantly replied, "Whatever, if you want to stay, then stay. Let's see how long you'll last."

Lu Qian shook her fists in celebration.

The tall old man smiled at Han Xiao before leaving the workshop. After walking out of the alley, he entered a black sedan car that had been waiting for him.

The chauffeur respectfully passed a mobile phone to him. As the tall old man picked up the phone, his entire demeanor completely changed. He now looked extremely stern, a totally different person from the genial old man from before.

"The Germinal Organization fugitive has snuck into the Western Capital. These are the coordinates..." he spoke in a deep voice. "Have the intelligence department monitor him for now. I have come into contact with the target, and will slowly find out his intentions. Unless necessary, do not act."

Deserters of the Germinal Organization were highly valued by the Six Nations as they sometimes held valuable information. Unfortunately, most of the deserters were usually small fry. Han Xiao, on the other hand, was the first person to have a bounty issued for on him; it followed that it was highly likely that he possessed crucial information.

In the workshop, Han Xiao turned his eyes back from where the tall old man had left.

His performance should have let the tall old man know that he was not hostile, and laid the groundwork for a better relationship.

There were three things for Han Xiao to gain from coming to the workshop. The first was that Old Man Lu kept a very comprehensive collection of Mechanic-related basic knowledge.

The second was that this workshop was a good place to hide from the Germinal Organization. While the Germinal Organization had spies across the Six Nations, they did not know every single nook and cranny. This workshop was one of the few places that they were not aware of. And even if they found it, there was Old Man Lu. Old Man Lu was far stronger than the current Hila. Although he appeared like some carefree good-for-nothing, he was actually one of the few Class-D superhumans on the planet. On beginner planets in Version 1.0, the strongest superhumans were only Class-C.

There was a lot of discussion regarding why Mechanics were a superhuman class, such as: 'If Mechanics were limited to a normal human's standards, it would restrict their inventions by over 90%', and 'Only a superhuman can use some of the stronger machines they make.' At higher levels, there were stricter requirements for using the machines that Mechanics made. Some of them were even not usable by the other four classes, but only by Mechanics.

Mechanics were not all about big guns and giant robots! A high level mechanic could specialize in one of many things. They might prefer to wield swords, specialize in assassination, or even pilot mobile suits! These were but a few of the endless possibilities that the class had to offer.

The official information described the class as such: "Masters of combat machinery and compaction. Well balanced."

After learning [Compression Technology] and [Spatial Technology], mechanics would be able to disassemble and compress huge machinery into small capsules that they could activate whenever they wanted to reassemble them instantaneously!

After learning certain skills like [Rapid Assembly], Mechanics with a large amount of energy would be able to create machines on the fly without the need for tools or equipment. All they needed was sufficient energy and necessary materials, and they would be able to bypass the creation process and instantaneously create whatever they needed.

Player inventories were weight-realistic, and with these abilities, mechanics were the only class—apart from Mages and telekinetic ESPers—to be able to disregard weight constraints.

The third reason that Han Xiao had come to the workshop was the most important one, for the secret story line! Its rewards were some blueprints of early level godly equipment!

In the future, Old Man Lu would leave the workshop and leave behind a digital safe that contained these blueprints. He would instruct Lu Qian to pass it to her father, Lu Cheng, who was a warlord amongst the wanderers. He and his father, Old Man Lu, were always on bad terms.

Back in the game, a player managed to complete the tedious quest line and obtain the password to the safe. He then had to painstakingly search for the necessary materials to craft those equipment. However, it all proved worth it. With just that equipment, he was able to dominate the PVP arena and set the highest record of 38 continuous victories!

While all that time and effort was certainly worth it for that player, Han Xiao didn't have to go through the entire quest line as he already knew the password!

Although the secret quest line was a competitive quest, and only one person could complete it, other players that attempted it also learnt the password to the safe. Since it was not a big deal, the password was posted alongside information to the quest line in various forums.

Still, the story line only occurred after release, so there was still plenty of time before then. Han Xiao intended to foster a good relationship with them first.

For the godly equipment!

"I'll explain your apprenticeship. Your meals and accommodation will be provided for; there is an unused room on the second floor. Your job scope will consist of helping out with maintenance work, as well as orders. I'll pay you $1000 a month, is that fine?"

Lu Qian looked at Han Xiao nervously. She knew that he was skilled, but she truly did not have the money to offer him a higher salary.

"I accept!" said Han Xiao without hesitation, at which she rejoiced.

On the second floor was a full apartment complete with a living room, a kitchen, and several bedrooms.

Lu Qian brought Han Xiao to his bedroom. It was furnished simply with a wooden bed, a wardrobe, a book shelf, and a small work space.

"This is now your room," said Lu Qian happily as she passed the key to Han Xiao and began to dust the area.

She really couldn't be any happier. A thousand dollars was a very small amount of money, not even enough for an average person's monthly meal expenses! Han Xiao was a steal!

I must treat this kid well so he won't run away! she thought to herself.

Han Xiao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Shouldn't the job applicant be the nervous one, instead of the boss?

Chapter 24: What Is Weak?

Lu Qian left after tidying up the room.

Han Xiao climbed onto the bed and closed his eyes. Now, he had to wait for Division 13 to approach him.

"I am not strong enough yet."

Han Xiao understood that he couldn't just rely on Stardragon to deal with the Germinal Organization. He had to become much stronger in order to be able to take matters into his own hands. In any case, for now, he also had to be strong enough to gain Division 13's special attention.

Since there were neither quests to do nor monsters to hunt, the only way to get stronger now was through crafting. Han Xiao would need money to make machines, so he planned to find some way to make extra income. The city provided him with many opportunities. His long journey had only just begun.

With only six months left to launch, he had to treasure the remaining time.

After resting for a while, Han Xiao returned downstairs. Lu Qian was working on a household appliance at the workbench. Her denim shorts truly accentuated her perky curves, and Han Xiao couldn't help but steal glances at those slender, long legs of hers.

"The orders are in the drawer," she said to Han Xiao as she wiped her sweat with a towel.

The workshop didn't see much business and most of the orders were advance orders. Han Xiao picked out a few easy ones and began working.

At 7 PM, they closed for the day.

Lu Qian changed into a comfy white dress and let her hair down, giving her the air of a kind, beautiful sister. There were patches sewn onto her dress, implying that they weren't doing so well financially. Han Xiao wondered if the reason she wore so little during work was if she was saving fabric.

Old Man Lu finally showed his face for dinner.

"Let's eat."

Old Man Lu with his long and, messy hair certainly did not seem the type of person to do household chores. Their meals were, indeed, always prepared by Lu Qian.

Han Xiao picked up a piece of char siu 1 with his chopsticks and placed it in his mouth. It was fatty but not oily, and was extremely tasteful. Han Xiao was visibly delighted.

"Delicious, right?" smiled Lu Qian in glee.

Now this—this is proper food! What the hell have I been eating for the past 6 months?

"There's still a lot, so eat slowly," she added, pleased by the sight of his voracious appetite.

As they continued eating, Old Man Lu suddenly asked, "Who exactly are you?"

Han Xiao, stopping his chopsticks in mid-air, replied, "I'm just an ordinary person."

"Do you think you can deceive me with such a blatant lie, kid? Tell me the truth," the old man snorted.

Han Xiao's eye twitched.

"And what if I don't want to?"

"Don't want to?"

Suddenly, Old Man Lu tilted his head back as he began to release a domineering aura of strange, wild melancholy that threatened to engulf Han Xiao.

A look of seriousness appeared on Han Xiao's face. Twisting, he leapt backwards five meters, raising his arms in a cross-shaped guard to defend himself.

Old Man Lu's eyes narrowed.

"I have a skill that can kill the target's very soul in an instant. Do you want to test it?" he asked.

"Does such a godly skill really exist?" Han Xiao's face began to pale.

"The level of strength I have attained cannot be comprehended by the likes of you!" Old Man Lu snorted in reply.

Suddenly, a black, stormy cloud arose from behind Lu Qian. Lightning crackled and thunder roared. Wearing the same usual smile that she always displayed, she tapped the table with her chopsticks and ordered plainly, "Sit down and eat."

The duo instantly returned to their original positions and continued eating, as though nothing had happened at all.

The Western Capital was vast, comprising of eight districts and three citadels interconnected by military roads.

District 1 was the central district and the Western Capital's seat of government. Regular citizens were not allowed inside.

Although the Six Nations were united against the Germinal Organization, they still remained competitive with one another. After all, alliances were only temporary. The assassination of important figures occurred frequently amongst the Six Nations, and although they would always blame these incidents on the Germinal Organization or other dangerous individuals, the governments knew that 70% of them were each other's doing.

The Germinal Organization, the wanderer's army, intelligence agencies and brokers, illegal arms dealers, individual criminals, mercenary assassins, hackers, and other kinds of shady groups comprised the planet's underworld.

Dragonhorn Tower was the central building of the government, where the top brass operated from. Its walls were reputed to be strong enough to repel intercontinental missiles.

The headquarters of a secret department was situated below Dragonhorn Tower.

Beneath Dragonhorn Tower, at an undisclosed basement level was the Stardragon Strategic Defense Division.

Dozens of screens hung from the wall, displaying countless data and information. Intelligence agents typed away at their keyboards while even more bustled around. This place was the central network of the government, where information was filtered and channeled.

Division 13 served not only as Stardragon's ears and eyes, but also as a hidden knife.

"Reporting: 'Zero' has been located."

A gentle-looking bespectacled female secretary hastily knocked open the office door of the department's director. A stern-faced man was seated behind the desk. Drool could be seen on the corner of his mouth.

"Speak," he said in a low voice.

"Director, were you secretly taking a nap again?" The bespectacled secretary squinted at him.

"Cut the crap!" The intelligence director glared back. "Talk."

"Zero is currently hiding in a machinery maintenance shop in district 7."

The director swiveled away from his secretary and she could hear him sigh in contemplation with his back faced towards her. After a moment, he turned around to face her again and said, "The higher-ups want to adopt a friendly approach."

"You just turned back to wipe your drool, right?"

"I really regret promoting you..."

The secretary pushed her glasses up and ignored him. "How exactly should we proceed?"

"Since Zero came to the Western Capital alone, he must want to cooperate... Activate protection protocol immediately. We must not let Germinal's agents learn of his presence here. Have the hackers intercept any news of his trail and prevent leaks. Also, send an undercover agent to check him out; he might just be a spy they sent. Get confirmation before making direct contact."

"A traitor worth a one million dollar bounty. There are two possibilities: either he possesses important information, or he possesses great power. For now, we are unable to ascertain how dangerous he might be, so proceed with utmost caution. I don't want a repeat of what happened with Black Spider. Two streets bombed yet we failed to apprehend him. I was scolded for two whole hours by the minister as a result of that." 'char siu' is a popular way to flavor and prepare barbecued pork in Cantonese food. It's a type of 'sui mei'; Cantonese roasted meat.

Chapter 25: New Talent!

As the workshop wasn't that busy, Han Xiao had quite a lot of free time to look for the extra income he needed.

Kero Junkyard: the biggest disposal ground in District 7. Here, endless piles of trash were sorted out everyday.

This place fell under the territory of an underworld boss known as Big Raccoon. Where there is light, there will be shadows—such is society—and this holds all the more true in times of chaos.

Although the Western Capital was the main capital of Stardragon, it was certainly not a holy sanctuary for the law-abiding. It was infiltrated with spies from other nations, and plagued by criminal networks and illegal businesses. Small-time bosses like Big Raccoon may have been infamous, but they were certainly not the key players.

As Han Xiao entered the junkyard with a dust mask on, he was stopped by a few vicious-looking thugs.

"Kid, you're in the wrong neighborhood."

A bald, muscular thug blocked Han Xiao's path as he stared him down. To them, Han Xiao, with his small frame, looked like an easy target to bully.

Han Xiao, unfazed, spoke. "I want to see Raccoon."

The thugs instantly burst out in laughter.

"We don't have time to play with you, kid. Run home to mummy, or I'll break your legs," threatened the bald thug.

"Is that what Raccoon teaches his dogs to say?"

"What did you say?" The bald thug was enraged. He began to grab Han Xiao by the collar.

Han Xiao looked back at the thug calmly as he squeezed his wrist.

The pain caused the thug to let go of his grip, and when he looked at his wrist, he found that there were already bruise marks on them.

"Friend, which gang are you from?" The bald thug's expression had changed to one of caution.

Suddenly, he paused to listen to his receiver and stepped away from Han Xiao's path, saying, "The boss wants to see you."

Han Xiao followed the bald thug and was brought to a resting area inside the junkyard where a thin man sat cross-legged on a sofa as he enjoyed a glass of red wine. From his appearance alone it was hard to believe that this man was the infamous Raccoon who ruled the District 7 underworld.

"I heard that you want to see me. What's your name?" he casually asked.

"Technician Han," answered Han Xiao.

The Raccoon sneered.

"You should know what will happen to you if you're just wasting my time."

The reason why he had agreed to letting Han Xiao in was that he was curious to see what business a snotty-looking brat had with him.

Suddenly, Han Xiao reached out to steal the bald thug's gun. The bald thug felt a tug at his waist and turned around, but it was too late.

The grunts behind Raccoon hastily drew their guns.

"What's the meaning of this?" he asked nervously. The bald thug was one of his most trusted subordinates, and he was strong enough to take on ten people at the same time. Yet, he wasn't able to react to Han Xiao's speed! Who the hell is this kid?

Unexpectedly, Han Xiao began to disassemble the gun, but it wasn't a simple disassembly. The gun unraveled almost instantaneously, as if Han Xiao were performing some kind of magic; the disassembled parts fell and scattered onto the floor.

"Firearms are a sure-profit. I can help you manufacture them in exchange for a little bit of compensation."

This kid can make guns!

Firearms were hot in demand in the black market. Using a gun and making a gun were two completely separate concepts. Mechanics who knew how to create guns were rare and highly esteemed. Even though Raccoon was the leader of a gang, they were just small-time hoodlums. To be able to find a mechanic willing to make guns for them was inconceivable; yet, here Han Xiao was. 'This is my chance!' thought Raccoon.

"What arrangements do you have in mind?"

"I will make a list of materials and parts for you to gather. Manufacturing and assembly will all be done by me. I'll come here to work for two hours every morning. I want $1500 per gun, and freedom to take anything I want from this junkyard."

Han Xiao had already thoroughly analyzed the Germinal Organization's guns. He was now able to easily make simple guns.

"Since I'm providing the materials, $1000," negotiated Raccoon.

Han Xiao instantly turned around and began to walk away.

This caused Raccoon to become flustered. He had only been trying to test out Han Xiao, and did not expect such a big reaction.

"Wait wait wait—we'll follow your charges," he hastily said.

One handgun was worth $3,000 to $4,000 on the black market. Han Xiao's asking fee was still quite reasonable.

"Get a workbench ready, along with the materials. I will come from tomorrow onwards. I'll go check the junkyard out now."

A skilled craftsman always retained the power to dictate his terms. Han Xiao knew full well his own value. Furthermore, his true strength and identity was a mystery to them. This gave him the complete upper hand.

...

Han Xiao salvaged quite a number of parts from the junkyard before leaving. As he left, he noticed that someone was following him. Clearly, Raccoon was trying to find out more information about him. However, for Han Xiao, shaking him off the thug was an easy task.

Division 13 will learn of my mechanic skills... thought Han Xiao to himself. The fact that he was working with Raccoon would definitely be found out by them. In any case, it was a way to demonstrate his abilities to them, plus he also needed the opportunity to craft machinery for experience.

The reason he had chosen Raccoon was due to the junkyard's proximity.

...

When he returned to the workshop, Lu Qian questioned his whereabouts.

"I went to the junkyard," said Han Xiao, pointing to the big bag of spare parts in his hand.

"The junkyard? That place is not safe. Don't go there in the future."

Lu Qian wasn't really concerned with what Han Xiao did in his free time as long as his did his job right. In fact, she had a soft spot for people who did not demand high pay.

Han Xiao put the spare parts aside and summoned the interface. He still had a lot of unused talent points, and he decided he would dump all of them into the two unlocked 'Arms' talents.

This workshop was a treasure trove of Mechanic knowledge. It was one of the best places to level up as a mechanic. Han Xiao went to look for Old Man Lu to borrow some of his books. He found him cooped up in his room as he expected.

"I wish to borrow some Mechanic knowledge books."

"Go away, you! There's not a single book for you here."

"Don't be so petty! Think of it as investing into a promising young man and nurturing him."

"...It seems like you are more thick-skinned than me. However, I simply don't want to lend you my books. What can you do about it?"

What, indeed, could Han Xiao do about it?

...

The following day, Lu Qian entered Old Man Lu's room with a spare key and stole some books for Han Xiao. Old Man Lu was infuriated.

"Why do I have such a disloyal granddaughter‽

"Just you wait! I will make you leave this workshop!"

...

In Galaxy, each player's advancement mission was not always the same. Han Xiao's Lv. 20 advancement mission could be counted as one of the harder ones as advancement knowledge was extremely rare on beginner planets. In fact, his advancement difficulty was actually comparable to a Lv. 40 one.

Most Lv. 20 characters were usually unable to find basic knowledge for even one talent tree. Some unlucky ones would not even have a main class.

Since there wasn't any advancement knowledge in the workshop, Han Xiao could only learn more basic knowledge. However, Han Xiao was content with this. Finding knowledge books was a common problem for players. Some players weren't even able to learn all their class's basic knowledge by Lv. 40 or even Lv. 50!

Fortunately for Han Xiao, the workshop contained a complete set of basic Mechanic knowledge, which more than gave him a head start—it was an expressway to the finish line!

Inter-galactic Contact Law (7th Edition).

"When coming into contact with new civilizations, these 127 intrusive actions are to be avoided: war, gene manipulation..."

This was why Planet Aquamarine had not been given any cutting-edge technology. Advanced knowledge was the best that the planet had to offer, and even that itself was heavily controlled and treated as a top secret.

_____________________

Add 1 talent point into [Basic Weaponry]? Yes/No

Add 1 talent point into [Basic Material Composition]? Yes/No

"Confirm."

Chapter 26: Blueprint: Robot (Type: Rover)

[Basic Weaponry] contained knowledge on how to craft simple guns and conventional weaponry. It also increased mastery and crafting speeds.

[Basic Material Composition] was one of the core Weaponry talents. The quality and grade of a product was affected by that of its materials, and many of the key materials for higher level machinery were synthetic compounds that had to be crafted.

_____________________

You have learnt five Weaponry talents! You have unlocked [Novice Refining] and [Overload]!

You have unlocked the blueprint [Robot – Rover]!

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[Novice Refining] allowed one to refine materials for higher quality ones. Any skills or abilities with the terms ‘novice’, ‘beginner’, or ‘basic’ were generally the lowest versions of themselves. Most of them would have more advanced versions. For example, [Molecular Refining], that allowed the user to perform instantaneous molecular manipulation simply by expending Energy.

Materials were graded similarly to equipment. Of course, the higher the grade, the higher the value, but the two materials of the same grade could also have differing values. For example, a common iron ore was worth about $13 a pound, while a refined dark iron ore was worth about $45 a pound. Both were Common materials.

[Overload] – Active Skill

Drains Energy to temporarily increase the output of Machinery by 30-50% at the cost of durability. If Han Xiao activated this skill together with his Lightweight Mechanical Arm, its damage and defense would both be significantly boosted. However, with only 120 Energy, he would only be able to maintain the skill for 10 seconds or so.

I’ve finally unlocked an active skill! rejoiced Han Xiao. Mechanics had so few active skills in their early levels that it was quite sad. His escape from the Germinal would have been much, much easier had he possessed this active skill back then.

The [Robot – Rover] blueprint was an easy-to-obtain, early level robot blueprint. It was a low level utility robot that could be equipped with weapons and armor for combat, scouting, and defense purposes, and was also able to self-destruct. It wasn’t created for a specific purpose, but could be modified and improved. They were widely used for prospecting and mining.

Gaining so much from just two talent points, a bargain!

Suddenly, he noticed Old Man Lu creeping up towards him.

“What are you looking so excited all of a sudden?”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes at him, replying, “Aren’t you being a little too nosy?”

“Nosy? Why?” Old Man Lu took a moment to inspect himself.

“It’s working hours. If you’re not helping then go away!” interrupted Lu Qian as she slammed her welding torch down. Her face was flushed and dripping with sweat under the protective goggles she was wearing.

“Little brat,” grumbled Old Man Lu as he carried his bottle of beer outside for a walk.

“Shop owner, is this a repair shop?”

A customer arrived as soon as he left. It was a middle-aged man.

Han Xiao turned to look at the guest, and he noticed the man was looking at him. The man immediately averted his gaze.

Suspicious, thought Han Xiao. When he further noticed his above average sense of balance and solid footing, he realized that the man was most likely an agent from Division 13 who had been sent to test him.

Lu Qian walked forward to receive him with a polite smile.

“Welcome. What is it that you need repaired?”

“My car broke down,” replied the middle-aged man as he watched Han Xiao. “It’s outside.”

“Alright, no problem.”

Just as Lu Qian was about to pick up her toolkit, the middle-aged man suddenly pointed at Han Xiao and said, “I want this little brother to repair my car.”

Lu Qian was stunned. Do I not look capable enough? You’re being sexist!

“I’ll do it,” agreed Han Xiao as he took the toolkit from his dejected boss.

The pair came out of the alley into the main street, where an old sedan car was stopped by the roadside.

“This is the car.”

Han Xiao lifted the bonnet, inspected the interior, and swiftly began to perform repairs.

As Han Xiao worked on the car, the middle-aged man tried to strike a conversation.

“Kid, you’re quite young, aren’t you?”

“I’m 30.”

30? Do you think I’m blind or what‽ The middle-aged man nearly choked.

“How should I address you?” he asked.

“You should show some sincerity when asking for a person’s name,” replied Han Xiao without looking at him.

“I’m Feng Jun,” answered the middle-aged man awkwardly.

“That’s a nice name,” complimented Han Xiao, except that he didn’t sound the least bit sincere, leaving the middle aged speechless.” But you misunderstand; I just want a cigarette,” he added.

Feng Jun uncomfortably took out his cigarette pack and passed one to Han Xiao.

“You can call me Han Xiao,” introduced Han Xiao as he took a puff and returned to the task at hand.

Feng Jun continued to probe. “Han Xiao? You’re not a local, are you? Where are—”

“It’s done,” Han Xiao suddenly interrupted, cutting his words off.

What the hell? I’ve only just started to probe you! Can you not be so quick?

Han Xiao expressionlessly stretched out a hand, saying, “A pipe was broken. I’ll charge you $60. Pay up.”

Of course I know the pipe is broken, damn it! I broke it on purpose!

Feng Jun smiled as he took out his wallet and slowly fiddled around in an attempt to buy more time.

“You have pretty good skills. Where did you acquire them?”

“Natural talent.”

“Oh, that’s amazing. Where are you from?”

“From the countryside.”

“…”

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.

“Are you trying to get a discount out of me?”

At his wits end, Feng Jun coughed dryly before finally pulling out the money to pay up.

Will the department reimburse me for this? he wondered.

Han Xiao sneered. “I thought it would take you another hour to find your money. How big is your wallet?”

As he whistled whimsically, he proceeded to pack up and headed back to the workshop.

When he left, Feng Jun cheerlessly made a phone call.

“Initial observation concluded. The target is a mechanic and his threat level is still an uncertainty. Duration of contact was 4 minutes and 38 seconds. The target named himself as Han Xiao. I suggest proceeding with more testing, and to avoid direct confrontation.

“My analysis of his character? Hmm… yes… extremely annoying!”

Chapter 27: The Final Tes

The next couple of days went by peacefully. Han Xiao's daily routine now included going to the junkyard every morning to produce guns. He was paid in cash daily after each session, and was able to salvage a number of spare parts for creating the rover. He had already begun to craft some of its parts, but was holding back on assembling it.

Old Man Lu would occasionally lurk around to spy on Han Xiao as he worked. He was trying to figure out Han Xiao's background from his craftsmanship. However, because Han Xiao was self-taught, his efforts were in vain.

The tall old man frequently came over to compete with Old Man Lu at 5 in a Row, which Han Xiao found hard to understand. Is 5 in a Row that fun? The tall old man also gradually began to converse with Han Xiao more, and Han Xiao was more than happy to entertain him. Everything was going according to plan.

For Mechanics, crafting rewarded the most experience, followed by enhancement, repairing, and lastly, assembly.

As Han Xiao had no way of acquiring advanced knowledge for now, he decided to use his accumulated experience points to raise the 3 skills of [Beginner Machinery Affinity Lv. 3], [Basic Combat Lv. 8], and [Basic Shooting Lv. 6] to close to max level, and he gained quite a number of talent points from this.

The prerequisite for advancing to a [Trainee Mechanic] happened to be unlocking [Intermediate Machinery Affinity], which required Lv. 5 in [Beginner Machinery Affinity]. Machinery Affinity was one of the common prerequisites for many blueprints and skills.

Although Han Xiao now had a whopping 15 talent points, which seemed a lot, it was always better to save some for rainy days. This was something that he had learned the hard way.

To think I actually had to spend over tens of millions of Enas (universal currency) just to buy Water of Lethe to reset my talent points back then!

At Kero Junkyard, Han Xiao had been busily producing guns all morning.

When he was about to leave, Raccoon passed him a stash of money that he pocketed without counting.

"That should be enough for today. I'll make a move first," said Han Xiao.

"Thank you for your contribution. We don't need any more guns for the time being. However, our deal is still valid. You can continue to salvage any junk parts."

Now that Han Xiao had served his purpose, Raccoon planned to get rid of him. However, it was not time yet. Raccoon was an extremely cautious person.

"Fine by me," replied Han Xiao, who saw through his intentions.

He left the junkyard, remembering to make a few extra turns to shake off his tail before coming to a large mechanic market.

This market was popular among students from the Western Capital School and the Mechanic School due to the variety of machine parts and metals it offered.

Han Xiao spent all of the 70,000 Aquamarine Dollars that he had earned to buy the remaining materials that he needed for both the rover, as well as another Lightweight Mechanical Arm.

After obtaining the materials, he returned to his room to continue working on them.

...

A few days later, Han Xiao had finished crafting all of the rover's parts, and he was now assembling the robot in his room.

1.2 meters tall and armor-plated to protect its interior. Its top half was the shape of a person, except that it didn't have a neck. It ran on a basic integrated circuit.

It had two sectioned mechanical arms that could bend and rotate like a person's, and its fingers were remodeled by Han Xiao into guns. Its torso could also rotate 90 degrees, and was inlaid with magazine compartments.

Instead of legs, it moved on tank tracks.

The system prompted Han Xiao to name his creation. Adopting his past naming style, he named it "Rover 1".

_____________________

Rover 1 (Tank-style)

Type: Robot

Grade: Common

Basic Stats: 800/800 Durability, 18 Defense, 59 Power Output, 23 Max Speed, 120/120 Energy

Height: 1.18m

Weight: 64.8kg

Mode of Control: Remote (Electrical Signal)

Control Radius: 50m

Energy Source: Battery Unit

Energy Usage: 8/min

Power Capacity: 36/80 Ona

Right Arm Module: Small Caliber Machine Gun - 35-40 Dmg, 4 Firing Speed (Max 7 - for 10 seconds), 30 Magazine Capacity (+60 Belt Capacity), 40 Power Output, 18% Accuracy

Left Arm Module: Small Caliber Machine Gun - 35-40 Dmg, 4 Firing Speed (Max 7 - for 10 seconds), 30 Magazine Capacity (+60 Belt Capacity), 40 Power Output, 18% Accuracy

Skills:

- Self-destruct: Self-destruct to inflict 280-430 explosion damage in a 30m radius.

- Metal Armor: Reduces damage taken by 8% (except penetrative attacks).

Note: Don't underestimate this little fella just because he looks stupid.

The name [Rover] is not exclusive to one type of robot.

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The key materials used to craft Rover 1 were two common materials: steel and plastic resin. If Han Xiao had used a higher quality steel alloy, Rover 1 would have higher durability and defense. Nevertheless, he would be able to update or upgrade the rover with better parts when he got them to keep it relevant. This was a selling point of Mechanics.

The number of modules that could be installed on robots, vehicles, and mobile suits, was limited by their 'Energy Capacity'. Beside the quality of the energy source itself, 'Energy Capacity' could be upgraded by 'Energy' talents. Rover 1's energy source was a standard battery unit, so its Energy Capacity was low.

Completing the rover rewarded Han Xiao with 24,000 exp.

The following day, Han Xiao finished crafting the Lightweight Mechanical Arm.

_____________________

You have crafted Lightweight Mechanical Arm (Left), gaining 2,500 exp.

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His second Lightweight Mechanical Arm was still a left arm, like before. However, the materials he had used to craft it were lower in quality than before, causing it to have a lower grade.

_____________________

Lightweight Mechanical Arm (Left)

Grade: Common

Base Stats: 28-45 Damage, 8-12 Defense, 26 Power Output, 205/205 Durability

Prerequisite(s): 23 STR

Bonus Stats: -4 Attack Speed

Length: 0.51m

Weight: 6.1kg

Additional Effects: Bonus +6 STR

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Currently, Han Xiao strongest form of combat was melee combat, so the Lightweight Mechanical Arm suited him well.

Mechanics that favored melee combat were known as Mecha-warriors. Han Xiao did not intend to walk down this path as it was long-ranged capabilities that Mechanics truly excelled in, after all. However, since Mecha-warriors was the style that offered low level Mechanics the highest combat prowess, it would have to do for now.

Han Xiao hid the Lightweight Mechanical Arm before heading downstairs. Lu Qian was engaged in a conversation with a customer who kept on glancing at Han Xiao when he appeared. He was clearly yet another agent from Division 13.

Division 13 had, over the past few days, sent many undercover agents to spy on Han Xiao, but since Han Xiao was a tough nut to crack, they were now attacking from a different angle.

"Why are there so many people asking about you?" asked a puzzled Lu Qian when the agent left.

"Well, I'm popular."

"But they're all guys."

Han Xiao froze up.

"It's not what you think-"

"Don't worry! I won't judge you," replied Lu Qian as she started giggling.

Why are you giggling like that!

Suddenly, Han Xiao's turned serious. He had received a system alert.

_____________________

You have triggered the Class-E Mission, [Assailants!]. Accept/Reject]

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Han Xiao was bewildered. What could have triggered such a mission?

"Accept."

_____________________

Mission Synopsis: The bounty on your head is being eyed. Your enemies are near and they are hiding in the shadows. Meanwhile, a certain group of people has been watching you to assess your potential. What will you do?

Requirement: Avoid death

Reward: 10,000 experience

Bonus Reward: 1x Skill Level-up Card (Basic)

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Han Xiao rolled his eyes at the dramatic synopsis.

The 'group of people' referred to in the synopsis most definitely referred to Division 13. Han Xiao put the clues together and conjectured that Division 13 could have leaked intel on him in an elaborate set-up to test his combat strength. However, if that were the case, the people after him must not be too strong. After all, Division 13 wouldn't risk things blowing up in the city.

Although Han Xiao wasn't interested in typical Class-E mission rewards, the bonus reward caught his eye. A Skill Level-up Card was certainly something handy to have.

If a mission had a bonus reward, it meant that there was a secret condition to fulfill. Han Xiao guessed that this mission's secret condition was most likely to kill all of his assailants.

"Since the enemy could appear at any moment, I'd better not stay in the workshop."

Han Xiao didn't want to rely on Old Man Lu. After contemplating for a moment, he thought of the perfect location for battle.

Kero Junkyard.

Chapter 28: Jealousy

Kero Junkyard was Raccoon's territory. Han Xiao planned to kill two birds with one stone. He put down his tools and called out to Lu Qian with a request.

"I wish to take the day off."

"Okay," replied Lu Qian, blinking. "Is something wrong?"

"No, why?" Han Xiao paused.

Han Xiao always looked lethargic and bored, and Lu Qian, being the observant woman that she was, had noticed the sudden change in air about him. If she had to describe the kind of feeling Han Xiao was giving her now, for some reason, dangerous was the word that came to mind.

"If you're facing any difficulties, I'll definitely help you," she said in a serious tone.

Not knowing what to say, Han Xiao stared at her, which caused her to shift about uncomfortably. She turned away from Han Xiao and twirled her hair, saying, "Don't you know its rude to stare?"

Han Xiao turned away too and replied, "I won't be back for dinner."

"I was actually thinking of letting you try my latest creation, black pepper pineapple baked ribs stew with parsley," responded Lu Qian dejectedly.

Han Xiao shuddered. What kind of cuisine from hell is that?

Han Xiao returned to his room to get ready. After a short while, he headed out with a backpack and a trolley.

...

"Boss, is that kid the target?"

A man wearing shades was tailing Han Xiao. Every time Han Xiao turned back, he would instantly vanish by making use of his surroundings, be it a public phone booth or a magazine stand. He was clearly a professional. He was using the mini receiver in his ear to communicate with his partner who was hiding in an old van two streets away. There was a total of five masked men in the van. They were none other than Han Xiao's assailants.

They were the Bee Sting Squad, a group of mercenaries who specialized in hunting bounties. They were decently well-known in underground networks, having successfully completed numerous missions. They had by chance 'stumbled' upon Han Xiao's trail.

For them, this mission was more important than any that they had ever taken on before. Bounty aside, they were hoping to gain favor with the Germinal Organization and earn their backing.

"How could this kid be worth one million? He looks so ordinary! This will be a piece of cake," said the number two of the squad, full of confidence.

"Don't forget that we are deep in Stardragon territory. Act swiftly," reminded the leader, Kelly, as he inspected his gun.

...

"The target is on the move."

A black, plateless Jeep was following Han Xiao from afar. Inside the Jeep was a team of Division 13 field agents, led by their mission captain, Li Hui. Besides him were 8 other fully equipped agents and Feng Jun, who was acting as an advisor. They were armed with tranquilizer guns.

Just as Han Xiao had expected, his assailants, the Bee Sting Squad, were indeed being used by Division 13 to test him, and these agents were, in fact, tasked to play the role of hero.

Feng Jun brought up a video feed of Han Xiao.

"The target seems to be headed to the District 7's Kero Junkyard. The Bee Sting Squad is following him. It would be ideal if the battle took place inside the junkyard."

...

Han Xiao arrived at the Junkyard, to Raccoon's surprise.

Why is he here?

"I've come to find some spare parts," Han Xiao casually lied. It was a reasonably convincing excuse.

Raccoon then invited Han Xiao for lunch, assuming he would decline, but unexpectedly, Han Xiao agreed, causing him to be visibly caught off-guard.

Han Xiao took his dust mask off, revealing his face to Raccoon. Raccoon found his face strangely familiar, but wrote it off.

Although Han Xiao was unquestionably famous in the criminal world, small-time crooks like Raccoon were, for the most part, largely irrelevant. Hence, they were often not privy to, or bothered with, the latest ongoings.

Although Han Xiao had been wearing the mask to keep his identity a secret, it didn't matter anymore.

A banquet table was set up by Raccoon's men. Han Xiao and Raccoon sat on opposite sides, facing each other as they conversed.

"How was the last batch of guns?"

"The 73-WASP is an excellent gun. Even the Six Nations' armies are using it. One of them is worth six to seven thousand on the black market. I've earned a lot thanks to you," answered Raccoon, as he puffed on a cigar. "And the quality of your guns is way better than those shitty second-hand guns on the market."

Although a batch of mass-produced guns wouldn't vary too much in quality, there would always be minor differences from gun to gun. These differences arose from the innate composition of the materials, but they could be minimized by a skilled mechanic. A gun expert would be able to tell a hand-made gun from a mass-produced one.

"What's in there?" asked Raccoon, pointing towards the stuffed bag and the push trolley.

"Some spare parts," replied Han Xiao. Raccoon was satisfied with the answer.

They continued chatting until dusk arrived, and the sky had transformed into a gorgeous hue of orange and indigo.

One of Raccoon's thugs suddenly ran into the room, saying, "Boss, someone is looking for you."

"Can't you see I'm with a guest?" replied an irritated Raccoon.

The thug whispered a few words into Raccoon's ear that made him look at Han Xiao contemplatively. He then got up from his seat and smiled at Han Xiao.

"Please excuse me for a moment," he said before leaving.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. Something's up.

...

Half an hour ago.

"Cousin, I travelled all the way here just so I could enjoy a good life under your care. Please don't abandon me!" pleaded Ma Jie as he chased after a young man.

He had come to the Western Capital intending to join his cousin's gang, but his cousin had deemed him unworthy and given him a janitor's position. Obviously, Ma Jie wouldn't settle for it, but what else could he do but beg?

"I've told you before, don't call me your cousin!" barked the irritated young man.

"Of course, of course. My bad. I'll slap myself," replied Ma Jie, after which he actually slapped himself.

"Just look at how pathetic you are. I let you watch the door precisely because we are relatives! Do you know how many wanderers out there have only spoilt food to eat? I'm going to see a big shot now; don't follow me!"

"Big shot?" Ma Jie's eyes lit up. "Who?"

"The boss of District 7, Mr. Raccoon! Each district other than District 1 has an underworld boss. Do you know how powerful they are?"

...

Before the pair realized, they had arrived at the entrance of the Junkyard. Ma Jie tried to follow him in, but the young man glared at him, causing him to give up. Just as Ma Jie was about to leave, he looked beyond the gates and noticed Han Xiao being welcomed. What the heck?

"Isn't that the kid who sneaked in with me?"

A thug stopped the young man.

"Don't loiter here," he said.

"I'm also one of the boss's men," replied the young man respectfully. "I've come to make a report."

Suddenly, Ma Jie interrupted them.

"Who is that guy?" he asked, pointing at Han Xiao.

"Who gave you the right to talk‽" snapped his infuriated cousin who motioned to slap him. However, the thug stopped him.

"That person is an important guest of the boss," he answered.

An important guest? Ma Jie was shocked, but his shock was immediately replaced by jealousy and bitterness. This is unfair! Why is that ignorant brat having it so much better than me‽

Scenes from their conversation replayed in his mind, causing him to feel embarrassed.

"You know Technician Han?"

"Not really, but we did talk a bit when we were being smuggled in."

The thug's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Follow me! The boss will want to see you!"

Ma Jie and the young man were stunned.

Chapter 29: Fall Ou

The duo was led to a room.

"What do you want from me?" asked Ma Jie nervously.

"Relax, it's nothing. That guy is a mechanic who knows how to make guns and our boss has been thinking of making a move on him for a while, but since we aren't sure of his background, we haven't acted yet. I just want to know everything you know about him."

Ma Jie's eyes lit up at the thought of being able to gain the boss' favor. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that could allow him to surpass his cousin! He sneered and shot a scornful look at his cousin.

Who cares what happens to that bastard Han Xiao?

After waiting for about half an hour, Raccoon came to meet them. When he arrived, both Ma Jie and his cousin hastily arose to greet him. Ma Jie was so tense that he even knocked his own chair down.

"You know Technician Han's background?" asked Raccoon.

"His name is Han Xiao. He's a wanderer who snuck into the city with me. It was his first time coming here; he has no relatives."

"That's all?" Raccoon's eyes twitched.

The sight of the boss' displeasure made Ma Jie think harder to recall something.

"Oh right, he was empty-handed when he came here. His clothes were also extremely tattered, and he looked like a nobody."

"Very good."

Raccoon turned around and left.

"Anything for you, boss," cried out Ma Jie after him.

Raccoon paused and turned around to look at him.

"I like you. Join my gang."

Ma Jie's eyes widened with joy.

I've hit the jackpot!

After Raccoon left, Huang Mao began to fawn all over Ma Jie. Their roles were now reversed.

"Ma Jie, please take good care of me in the future."

"What did you just call me?" scoffed Ma Jie.

"Cou- cousin."

Both of them sure were shamelessly quick to adapt. Ma Jie put his arm around Huang Mao's shoulders gleefully.

"Brother, may I know what boss intends to do with Han Xiao?" he asked the thug.

"Isn't it obvious? We'll force him to spill out the blueprints for the guns before silencing him!"

"That's good then," replied a relieved Ma Jie.

...

Less than three minutes later, Raccoon returned to the banquet hall. Han Xiao had left all the dishes untouched. Raccoon smiled.

"Han Xiao... right?"

"Looks like you've found out my name."

Sensing the calm before the storm, Han Xiao stealthily reached for the Lightweight Mechanical Arm in his backpack.

Click!

He equipped it. Although he had already intended to do battle from the start, Han Xiao still remained as vigilant as ever. He had learnt the importance of vigilance the hard way back in Galaxy, but that's a story for another time.

Raccoon began tapping his fingers on the table.

"Hehe. I've always been curious about your true identity, but it turns out that you're just a wanderer! I must say, you have indeed been very cautious all this time."

"So what?"

Raccoon's face darkened.

"Do you understand the situation you're in? Hand over everything you know about making guns!"

"Why so cold?"

"Cold? We were nothing more than business partners!"

"Would you believe me if I said that I can slaughter all of you if I wanted to?" Han Xiao smiled tauntingly.

Raccoon snapped his fingers as he sneered. In an instant, the four thugs around him were pointing their guns at Han Xiao.

"Did you think that I wouldn't be prepared? What a joke! All of these guns being pointed at you were created by yourself!"

Other than Raccoon and the four thugs across the table, there were two more men standing guard outside the room, and there was little space for Han Xiao to maneuver in the compact room.

"Even if I tell you, you will still silence me."

Raccoon laughed coldly. It was exactly as Han Xiao said.

"I do hope that you cooperate though. At least it will save you some suffering."

"And if I don't?"

"I have some men who are good at things like torture. You will talk eventually."

Suddenly, the air about Han Xiao changed as he decided to drop the facade.

"Do you actually think that you have me cornered?"

The sudden change alarmed Raccoon, but he shook his head.

"Even if you do have some kind of trump card in that bag of yours, do you actually think you can move faster than a bullet?"

"What if I told you that there's powerful explosives in here?"

Raccoon laughed. Ma Jie's appearance had been, without a doubt, a coincidence. How could Han Xiao have made preparations? Who was he trying to fool?

"I don't know who the person who told you about me is, but he obviously knows very little. Why don't you try checking the underworld network to see the latest bounties?"

Raccoon frowned. How could Han Xiao remain so calm, and what was he playing at?

Although Raccoon did have some power in the Western Capital, he was actually just a small-time hoodlum in the grand scheme of things - too insignificant to partake in the matters of the underworld. Hence, he paid little attention to such matters.

He must just be trying to buy more time! Why should I even listen to him?

"Since you don't believe me, wanna bet? Life is always full of surprises anyway. Now that I noticed, this room is pretty small, isn't it? Perfect for an explosion. First comes the blast, followed by the shrapnel. Then, this entire place will be razed to the ground. But I guess that's fine, since we'd all have died in the initial shrapnel..."

"Enough! I have no time for jokes. Stand up, or I'll fill you up with holes!"

Han Xiao shrugged his shoulders, sighing, "Can't we talk things through? Fine, I'll give-"

Suddenly, as the last rays of sunlight dissipated, darkness descended.

Han Xiao had been waiting for this!

Vroom!

The mechanical arm roared to life, shredding the backpack apart! Han Xiao flipped the dining table, sending pots and plates smashing into Raccoon and the four thugs.

Talk things through? Ha! As if!

There were four thugs in front of him, and two behind. Han Xiao knew exactly what he had to do. He picked the table up to use as a screen and charged forward like an unstoppable juggernaut, holding the mechanical arm up in front of him.

Crash!

The four thugs were knocked aside like flies.

"Fire!" screamed an enraged, bloody-faced Raccoon.

The two remaining guards began to fire.

Chapter 30: The Mighty Rover

Bullets clinked and clanked onto the mechanical arm, causing its durability to plummet. A bullet found its mark, hitting Han Xiao in his shoulder and doing 16 damage, dying his shirt with blood. However, all it did was give Han Xiao an itch. Han Xiao's pain tolerance was extremely high, and his solid muscles halted the bullet.

Han Xiao smashed the mechanical arm into one of the thugs' chest. One loud thud, and he exploded on the spot. He then proceeded to yank the other poor thug up to use as a meat shield against the four thugs who had gotten back up and were firing at him.

Gathering all his strength, Han Xiao ripped out the door from its bolts and threw it at them before running out.

"Chase!" barked Raccoon.

Dozens of thugs throughout the entire Junkyard were alerted by the gunshots and they were rushing over to help.

Kero Junkyard was Raccoon's main base, and Han Xiao had to tread carefully to avoid being surrounded. He looted a gun from one of the thugs he encountered which made things easier for him.

With his fast reflexes, as well as [Basic Shooting] and [Precise Aim] to help auto-correct his shots, Han Xiao was able to always have the edge against the thugs in the battle of guns. If he encountered a group of them, he would tumble and duck and fire lethal shots as he evaded. The only limitation that he faced was ammo, so he would loot their magazines after each wave. The trail that Han Xiao left behind was bloody and littered with corpses, and Raccoon could hardly believe what he was seeing. Han Xiao had effortlessly taken out over 20 of his men single-handedly!

However, there were indeed way too many thugs converging on Han Xiao, making it hard for him to take the initiative.

Han Xiao hid behind the vehicle frame of a scrapped sedan as dozens of guns were fired in his direction, their muzzle flashes lighting up the night. The bullet storm was deafening, making it hard for Han Xiao to even hear his own breath, and it was extremely difficult to return fire.

"Good thing that this is my territory. No matter what, he can't possibly make it out of this alone!"

Raccoon was seething with rage.

"I will make him regret ever being born!"

Suddenly, something unexpected occurred.

Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang!

A submachine gun was being fired from the side of the battlefield! The thugs began dropping in numbers as their screams filled the air.

Bee Sting Squad was entering the fray! Under the guise of nightfall, they instantly overwhelmed Raccoon's inexperienced thugs.

"Where did these mercenaries come from‽"

Raccoon was scared shitless. Are they after me‽

However, the mercenaries suddenly changed direction and advanced towards Han Xiao instead, ignoring him.

These mercenaries are after him‽

Raccoon stared at the unfolding events in disbelief.

As a villain himself, he understood the simple fact that the stronger a person was, the stronger his enemies. The fact that these mercenaries were willing to risk exposing themselves in the capital to go after Han Xiao meant that Han Xiao must not have been an ordinary person!

He thought back to Han Xiao's words. "Why don't you try checking the underworld network to see the latest bounties?"

He wasn't just talking big‽

Who exactly is he?

...

"That's the sound of submachine guns."

His mission target had appeared! Han Xiao was able to sniff out the Bee Sting Squad's location from their muzzle flashes.

"300m to the west: six people, six submachine guns."

Han Xiao rapidly performed calculations in his head. The enemy's firepower was overwhelming. It would be unwise to meet them head on.

Lucky, I came prepared with my trusty Rover. Han Xiao sighed in relief. He whipped out the touchscreen remote control that he had created for Rover 1.

When activated, the rover's visual feed would appear on the screen. However, the display was currently reading "Out of Range". Han Xiao had to get to within 50m of the rover to activate it!

Steeling himself, Han Xiao stood up and began to run back along his original path. He was instantly assaulted by submachine gun fire.

Han Xiao made use of the heaps of scrap and junk to duck and take cover, advancing through the rain of bullets.

"Damn it! There's so much cover for him here," cursed a long-haired Bee Sting Squad member as he reloaded. "He's faster than a bloody rabbit!"

Although their original plan had been to assassinate Han Xiao, they had decided to take advantage of the ongoing fight between him and Raccoon to mask their intentions.

"He's already exhausted! Go in for the kill!" Kelly shouted out.

After the earlier bloodbath, all of Raccoon's men were either dead or had lost all morale and were unable to fight. Seeing Han Xiao running so desperately emboldened the Bee Sting Squad, and they gave chase.

While he ran, Han Xiao suddenly sensed danger and ducked down. A bullet narrowly missed him, severing a strand of his hair.

After sliding under two more scrap cars, he finally came in range with the rover!

Connection successful!

"Activate!"

In the resting area, amidst debris and dust, the cloth cover on the push trolley suddenly began to vibrate, and two red lights appeared from beneath it!

The rover's eyes!

The rover's engine started to whirl, and its wheels began to rotate as Han Xiao piloted it out of the resting area.

At this point of time, the Bee Sting Squad had come extremely close to Han Xiao. Rover 1's defenses were not strong enough to take on the collective fire of six submachine guns, so it would be too risky to send him in head-on. The sole edge that Han Xiao had over them was the element of surprise, as they would never imagine him to have a robot as a reinforcement.

Han Xiao surveyed his surroundings to find a suitable spot for an ambush.

He found two scrap cars along the Bee Sting Squad's path that were angled in a such a way that the bend they formed provided a spot of concealment! Han Xiao piloted the rover to hide inside the bend.

The noise from Rover 1's engine was masked by the ongoing chaos, and only Kelly suspected that something was off. The instinct that he had acquired from surviving through numerous life-and-death encounters told him so. Pausing, he said to his team, "Something doesn't feel right here."

"What did you find?" asked the long-haired man.

"That's the thing; I don't see anything."

"Well, it can't be. The target is already cornered. He's dead meat."

At this exact moment, his squad entered Rover 1's shooting range, and Han Xiao was quick with the command.

Du-du-du-du-du-du...!

Hell rained upon them from Rover 1's fingers!

The entire squad was wiped out on the spot.

_____________________

Your machine, Rover 1 (Tank-style) has killed a mercenary! You have gained 800 exp!

Your machine, Rover 1 (Tank-style) has killed a mercenary! You have gained 800 exp!

Your machine, Rover 1 (Tank-style) has killed a mercenary! You have gained 800 exp!

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Chapter 31: Silenced

Kai Li had managed to take cover in time, but he did not escape unscathed. A few bullets had grazed past his face, leaving him all bloody.

He had been so close to perishing with his squad mates.

"What the hell was that monster‽"

The long-haired man had also survived, but his condition was far worse. He had been shot in the abdomen and was bleeding profusely. Kai Li could hear him groaning in pain.

Suddenly, two red lights began to glimmer in the darkness, terrifying the duo who thought that some kind of savage beast was approaching. Paralyzed with fear, they could only watch on as… Rover 1 appeared!

"A robot‽"

Kai Li stared at Rover 1 in disbelief. He regretted not trusting his instinct.

What should I do now? Kai Li's immediate thought was to retreat, but the long-haired man suddenly went berserk and opened fire on the rover.

" Die! Die! Die! "

Clink! Clink! Clank! Clank!

Rover 1's thin armor was slowly dented by the barrage. Seeing that his attacks were effective, Kai Li and his other remaining teammate began to join the counterattack.

_____________________

[Rover One (Tank-style)] has lost 14 points of armor...

[Rover One (Tank-style)] has lost 17 points of armor...

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As Rover One's armor was made with inferior materials, it was not tanky at all, and its armor integrity plummeted under the trio's assault. In just a few seconds of barrage, the poor rover was reduced to a useless hunk of metal.

It couldn't be helped! As Han Xiao had to work with limited funds, all he had equipped the rover with were the finger guns.

"Damn it! Where is Division 13?"

Suddenly, as if in answer to his prayers, the sound of a marching troop began to fill up the night.

"Disarm yourselves!" someone roared out.

"Quickly retreat!" ordered Kai Li immediately.

The long-haired man emptied a final magazine onto the rover furiously before he relented.

"Okay. Let's go."

However, right as they were about to flee, the rover suddenly started to charge towards them as it began to glow!

Self-destruction!

The deafening explosion set the night ablaze, engulfing the trio.

About 50 meters away, Li Hui and his agents were shocked by the massive explosion.

"Damn it," cursed Feng Jun, "this was supposed to be a covert operation!"

He could already imagine tomorrow's headlines.

From the moment that the battle between Han Xiao and Raccoon had begun, the situation had already gone out of control; the gunshots alone had already caught the attention of many civilians. However, as they were ordered to act only after the Bee Sting Squad appeared, they could only continue waiting in anguish, and it was now too late.

Han Xiao got to his feet and brushed the sand off his hair. Things were not over yet.

Although the other two mercenaries were not as fortunate, Kai Li had managed to escape the blast in time. He hastily scrambled to his feet to make a run for it when, suddenly, someone other than Han Xiao begun to open fire on him! The shooter was none other than Li Hui!

"Want to steal my kill?" Han Xiao frowned. He had to be the one to finish Kai Li off for the bonus reward!

Han Xiao began to give chase, and he managed to intercept him effortlessly from the side.

Kai Li looked at the man who appeared before him with trepidation. The current Han Xiao felt like a completely different person than before.

"Die!"

Kai Li gritted his teeth and raised his gun to fire. However, before he could pull the trigger, Han Xiao suddenly began to sway from side to side as he closed in on him like a veteran boxer!

Flustered, Kai Li fired multiple shots, but they were all either evaded or blocked by the mechanical arm.

"Not even a single one hit‽"

Kai Li was completely overwhelmed. By his estimations, no matter how strong Han Xiao was, he would at best be at the level of an elite mercenary. Only a superhuman could possibly move faster than a bullet! However, what Han Xiao was doing was equally frightening and hard to believe; he was predicting the trajectory of his shots from just the angle of the gun! It was a feat that only the most experienced of veterans could perform, and even throughout the entire mercenary world, there were only two he knew of that were capable of it.

The look of disbelief on Kai Li's face amused Han Xiao. Compared to that time he piloted a mobile suit through the crossfire of entire fleets, this was just a piece of cake.

Click!

Kai Li inevitably ran out of bullets and he fumbled to reload. However, it was too late as Han Xiao had closed the gap, suddenly appearing in front of him.

Paralyzed with fear, Kai Li could only watch on in horror. He could hear Han Xiao's muscles bulge as he stretched his left arm back to prepare for a mighty swing.

Han Xiao twisted powerfully, transferring all the force and momentum in his body into his left arm as he unleashed a devastating hook, simultaneously shouting, "Overload!"

Black smoked billowed out as the engine of the Lightweight Mechanical Arm blared loudly, sending its gears and piston into overdrive. Its power was boosted by 30%.

And Han Xiao smashed it directly into Kai Li's face.

Critical Hit!

Crushing Blow!

Blood splattered everywhere.

Kai Li may have survived a number of close calls, but he never stood a chance against this one.

When Li Hui and his team arrived, they were greeted by a blood-curdling scene.

Kai Li's corpse lay limp on the ground beside a blood-soaked, expressionless Han Xiao, whose mechanical arm was covered in pieces of flesh. Half of his face was illuminated by the fire while the other half was grimly enshrouded in darkness.

As experienced as these agents were, they were unable to remain calm.

_____________________

You have completed the E-Class Quest [Hunted!], gaining 10,000 experience.

You have completed the bonus condition: Kill all 6 Assailants.

You have gained a Skill Level-up Card (Basic). Accept Reward: Y/N

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No, selected Han Xiao. He could accept it later on.

"Don't move!" shouted Li Hui after taking a moment to regain his senses from the initial shock. He raised his gun and pointed it at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao calmly took off the Lightweight Mechanical Arm before raising his arms in the air. Two agents slung a black bag over his head to block his vision before leading him away, presumably to bring him to Division 13.

About time! thought Han Xiao to himself.

Feng Jun gasped when he looked around to see aftermath of the battle.

"6 mercenaries taken out so easily. Is that the power of his machines?"

"Go gather whatever parts he's left behind and notify the police to follow up," ordered Li Hui sternly, after which they escorted Han Xiao to a car.

Han Xiao sat in the backseat sandwiched by two agents. Although he couldn't see, he could sense that they were on their toes.

Although one or two things didn't go exactly as planned, everything was still within Han Xiao's expectations.

It was a quiet ride. The atmosphere amongst the agents was extremely tense, and only the sound of driving could be heard. They had been ordered not to converse with Han Xiao. On the contrary, Han Xiao had looked calm from the very moment that they appeared, which bewildered them. It almost seemed like he had expected them.

...

Raccoon's face darkened as he looked at the aftermath of the battle.

"Bring me a laptop!" he barked.

As soon as he logged in to the underground network and clicked on bounties, he was greeted by Han Xiao's face.

"Zero, 1 million bounty. He's wanted by the Germinal Organization‽"

Raccoon's face instantly paled and he slammed the laptop onto the ground in frustration.

Damn it, he really did have a bounty on him! And it was issued by the king of the underworld no less, the Germinal Organization!

Sometimes, ignorance isn't bliss.

Now that the dust had cleared, Ma Jie and Huang Mao finally emerged too. Just the sight of the aftermath alone caused them to shake uncontrollably.

Raccoon erupted with anger when they came to him. He kicked Ma Jie to the ground, screaming, "Damn you! It's all your fault! I will make you pay for this!"

Ma Jie clutched his stomach in pain as he shivered helplessly on the ground. What did I do now?

Suddenly, Raccoon heard the blaring of sirens and he turned to see seven or eight police cars arriving at the entrance.

"Hmph, the ever late police."

Raccoon tidied himself a little bit before going up to receive them. He was not the least bit flustered by their appearance as, from his perspective, he was a victim and he also had connections with them.

But before he could say a word, the fully-armed officer pressed him to the ground to handcuff him.

Raccoon panicked, and as he struggled to break free he shouted, "What are you guys doing to me! I am the victim here, okay? I know your commander's secretary..."

"Stop wasting your strength," replied the officer plainly. "This is Division 13's order."

Hearing 'Division 13' caused Raccoon's eyes to widen with disbelief.

Division 13 was involved with important matters relating to the country's security, why would they come after me? It must have something to do with that damned Han Xiao!

Division 13 is helping him? Why‽

Germinal traitor... Division 13... Stardragon... Intel...

The truth dawned on him.

They want to silence me!

From the moment that Han Xiao had shown him his face, Raccoon's fate was sealed.

He set me up!

Realizing his impending outcome, Raccoon began to tremble in fear and rage.

"Han Xiao! I curse your ancestors!"

Meanwhile, Ma Jie, shocked badly by the sudden turn of events, fainted and dropped to the ground.

Chapter 32: A Load of Crap

When the bag over Han Xiao's head was finally removed, he found himself in a bright room. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the light.

He was seated on a cold metal chair in front of a table. It was a typical interrogation room with a one-way mirror to Han Xiao's side.

Two people sat across the table: Li Hui and Feng Jun.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am an intelligence officer from the Strategic Defense Division of Stardragon," spoke Feng Jun. "This is not the first time we have met. Do you remember me?"

"I remember," replied Han Xiao nonchalantly. "The man with the very big wallet."

Feng Jun was speechless. Can you not bring that up?

"Division 13, Li Hui," introduced Li Hui. Both his expression and his manner of speech were stone cold.

Stardragon's Strategic Defense Division consisted of 13 sections in total and was referred to as Division 13.

"Should we call you Han Xiao, or Zero?" Feng Jun asked.

"Whatever you like."

"Cut the crap," interrupted Li Hui. "Explain why the Germinal Organization has a million dollar bounty on you and tell us everything you know."

"Why should I tell you?" asked a bemused Han Xiao.

Li Hui laughed coldly in response.

"What do you think this place is? If we want you to talk, you have to talk!"

"So what if I don't?" taunted Han Xiao. "Shoot me?"

"Do you think I wouldn't dare?" barked Li Hui.

"Enough, enough! Calm down. Han Xiao, you should know we are with the government. If you cooperate, we won't treat you badly."

Han Xiao smiled and shifted in his seat to adopt a more comfortable posture before replying. "Good cop, bad cop. How outdated is this tactic? Can you at least try something different? I, for one, have a thing for pretty girls. Having to talk to two stern old man is such a turn off. Service with a smile, understand? Come on, smile."

Han Xiao hit the nail on the spot, taking Feng Jun aback. Feng Jun coughed dryly and communicated with Li Hui through a glance, who understood the message. He abruptly stood up in an act of anger and pointed at Han Xiao as he shouted, "This is not a place for you to try and act funny! I have the power to imprison you for as long as I want!"

"How scary," mocked Han Xiao before suddenly wiping the smile off his face and adding, "I'm from the Germinal Organization. Threats? Do you think such things will work on me? Come on, you're making fools out of yourselves. If you want us to cooperate, sure! Show me your sincerity! Get someone qualified enough to speak to me. You two aren't!" As Han Xiao finished his sentence, he tugged onto his restraints, slamming the chair so loudly that it echoed out in the tiny room.

Feng Jun and Li Hui looked at each other. Their task was only to get a grasp on Han Xiao's position, and Han Xiao knew this well, which was why he was acting fearless on purpose to declare that he still had something up his sleeve.

Suddenly, a deep voice was transmitted through the speaker in the interrogation room. "As you wish, I will talk with you."

"Who are you?" asked Han Xiao as he turned to the obvious one-way mirror.

"Division 13, intelligence director. Do I qualify to speak to you?"

"I guess you will do," Han Xiao nonchalantly replied.

Both Li Hui and Feng Jun's eyes twitched. What a shameless person!

The intelligence director let it slide and started to ask, "You just said that you are from the Germinal Organization—"

"I was." Han Xiao corrected him mid-speech.

"So, you have deserted?"

"Yes."

"What was your position?"

"A logistics research personnel."

"What did you research?"

"Machinery and weapons."

"You are lying," cut the intelligence director. "How can that explain your million dollar bounty?"

Han Xiao smiled – he had expected this very question.

"Rather than call me a liar, haven't you guys already assumed that I possess some kind of valuable intel? Isn't that why you've been investigating me from a distance?" he replied. "Intel can indeed be used as a weapon – but only in the right hands. I left my trail exposed to prove my willingness to cooperate. I am not your enemy. The Germinal Organization is. And they are my enemy too."

"Why should we even bother to cooperate with you?" asked the intelligence director in reply. "Look around you – you are in our territory. We have all sorts of tools to make you talk!"

Han Xiao paused to smile calmly for a moment before suddenly saying, "Message log: Galaxy Calendar Year 687, 14th of June. Signal location: Planet Aquamarine. Destination: Planet Blackstar's 8th base. The contents of this message are top secret."

The intelligence director remained silent for a full ten minutes.

Li Hui and Feng Jun gave a start when they realized that although what Han Xiao had spoken of made no sense to them, it was clearly valuable intel to the director who in turn had to go relay the information to the top brass for further instruction.

After the long wait, the intelligence director spoke through the speaker again. This time though, he sounded extremely serious.

"Are you sure?" he asked directly.

"How would I know of Blackstar otherwise?"

"...Fine."

The intelligence director was wearing a grave expression. If the intel that Han Xiao had given him was actually true, it was extremely crucial to not only Stardragon, but the entire planet.

Han Xiao smirked. He had obviously come well-prepared.

In the exploration era, there existed three galactic powers who had been warring for tens of thousands of year. Although it took a long time, the three powers eventually came to an agreement and ceased their fighting. They agreed to work together for peace, order, and advancement.

The universe was extremely vast; it was filled with countless stars and far more life-forms that thrived in every corner. Large amounts of data and information were constantly being broadcast throughout the universe via technology, and the amalgamation of the thoughts and wills of all life in the universe gave rise to a phenomenon known as 'the whispers of the universe'.

Although the universe did appear calm and static on the surface, it was, in fact, bustling with activity.

All kinds of civilizations underwent the same phase – from admiring space to wondering if they were the only ones. In their hubris, they would conquer their respective galaxies before entering the vast universe, thinking that they were the destined ones – only to find that they were not alone, and definitely not special at all.

The explored universe could be seen as divided into numerous sectors. For example: the Shattered Belt, the Ancient Starfield, the Silver Spiral, and the Sea of Purity. A sector comprised of dozens of star clusters, each containing numerous galaxies that in turn housed planetary systems or star systems that were number-coded, homes to the innumerable planets. Together, they formed the thrilling universal landscape of the game 'Galaxy'.

Shattered Belt – Colton Group – The Garden – 9th System – Planet Aquamarine. This was basically Aquamarine's place in the vast universe. Its precise coordinates would take a combination of words and numbers derived using complex math to describe.

The interstellar power that had come into contact with Aquamarine was an advanced civilization of The Garden, the Kedolas. The 'Blackstar' that Han Xiao referred to was originally a part of the Kedolas, but they broke away in an attempt to seize power and were now bitter enemies.

The world of 'Galaxy' was massive, and many powers and civilizations were constantly at odds with one other. A civilization's degree of advancement largely depended on its space travel capabilities. As the Kedolas could freely travel between systems without relying on wormholes or stargates created by even advanced civilizations, they were considered a galactic civilization – a few levels higher than Planet Aquamarine.

If the Germinal Organization had actually come into contact with Blackstar and gained their support, things would be extremely grim for the Six Nations. An evil power like them paid no heed to the exploration rules laid down by the Three Powers: The Universal Treaty (currently in its 7th revised edition).

The fact that Aquamarine had been contacted by an interstellar power was top secret information withheld by the Six Nations. Hence, the intelligence director believed Han Xiao to be speaking the truth, and this was what made him extremely nervous.

However, the truth was that the Germinal Organization had made no such contact with Blackstar. Han Xiao simply made it up because it was impossible to verify anyway. It was a sly tactic to get them to not only value him, but also take action against the Germinal Organization. Furthermore, it would help him complete his main quest, so why not?

All the beginner planets were situated quite far away from each other. However, there were specialized galactic tourism services that one could get in touch with as long as he had a device capable of interstellar transmission. They would automatically locate the transmission and come to the buyer. As long as one had enough money, even having a full tour across the entire universe was not impossible. After all, if players on different planets weren't able to come together, how would competitions and tournaments be held in Galaxy? Most game events were held on neutral or uninhabited planets.

"Get me a map of Stardragon and a pen," asked Han Xiao suddenly.

Feng Jun went to fetch the items and put them on the table. Han Xiao picked up the pen and circled three locations on the map, saying briefly, "These are three of the Germinal Organization's secret bases in Stardragon. Treat it as my proof of sincerity."

"You only know 3?"

Han Xiao rolled his eyes inwardly.

"Of course not. But you can go check these ones out first. We can talk more after."

"What are your conditions?" asked the intelligence director at long last. Feng Jun and Li Hui closely watched Han Xiao in anticipation.

"I just want us to work together against Germinal," replied Han Xiao with a mysterious smile.

That's all? thought the director to himself.

"I will relay our conversation to the higher-ups. Sorry, but you'll have to continue staying here for the time being."

Click!

The mic was turned off.

Han Xiao frowned as he shook around his handcuffs.

"Don't take too long. I only have a day off."

Chapter 33: His Worth

The director, vice-director, 13 section heads, and some other top brass of Division 13 quickly assembled in the conference room to discuss how to proceed with Han Xiao.

"Han Xiao possesses knowledge of vital information. With his help, we will be able to launch precise attacks on the Germinal Organization's bases. He is a mechanic, and has demonstrated combat ability on par with elite agents. He is willing to cooperate..." read the intelligence head from a compiled report.

"I believe that we can put some trust in him and work together," he added.

After a few seconds of uncertain silence, the Internal Affairs Minister was the first to raise his objection.

"No way. What if the intel he gives us is false?"

Division 13 was split into two factions: the hardliners, led by the Internal Affairs Minister, and the conservatives, led by the Intelligence Minister.

The two factions sat separately.

"That is very unlikely," answered the Intelligence Minister. "He is a deserter of the Germinal Organization, and only stands a chance to live if he gains our protection. There is no reason to doubt his willingness to cooperate."

"For all you know, it could just be an elaborate act!" The Internal Affairs Ministers shot back. "I suggest we detain him and extract the intel from him by force! Division 13 doesn't need to negotiate with anyone."

"You are being ridiculous! Such measures are uncalled for! Han Xiao has already demonstrated his sincerity to us, what we should be doing is accepting it and working together against the common enemy!"

"That is what a coward would do!"

"You are the definition of brainless!"

Under the leadership of their respective spokesmen, the other members from the two factions began to engage in an exchange of insults. Although both factions valued the intel that Han Xiao possessed, one faction wanted to befriend him and work together, while the other faction saw him as a potential threat. The squabble looked like it was almost about to escalate into a brawl.

The director and vice-director simply watched on. The director was the person with the most power in Division 13, while the vice-director was actually a bureaucrat tasked by the higher-ups to perform supervision. He was also referred to as the administrative director.

It wouldn't be unusual for there to be power struggles for the director position in an institution like Division 13, but the vice-director actually couldn't be bothered with much at all. Take now for example: he had been sitting still from the start without uttering a single word, as though his spirit had left his body and was on a tour of the world. He was probably even more concerned with what he would have for dinner later on. Well, if you consider that his ambitious predecessor had ended up mysteriously charged with treason, wanting to maintain a low profile was understandable.

The director, on the other hand, was a dignified-looking man who commanded respect. He contemplated for a moment before speaking his mind, "Since you want to both cooperate with him and control him, isn't there a perfect solution? Let's recruit him to the department."

The bickering crowd instantly broke up; silence ensued. The hardliners stared at the director blankly.

What the heck‽

"Absolutely no way!"

"What if Han Xiao's motive was precisely to infiltrate us‽"

"That goes against our secrecy policy!"

The director suddenly bellowed, "We'll settle it the way we always do; we'll have a vote!"

The conservatives rejoiced. Aside from the one neutral minister, each faction had exactly 6 people. With the director's vote, they would most likely win it. On the other hand, the hardliners were panicking.

Suddenly, the Internal Affairs Ministers spoke, "I think that the logistics department will suit him well. Not only will it maximize his usefulness as a mechanic, we will be able to keep him under close watch since he will be inside the headquarters."

He had already resigned himself to the inevitable.

For once, the conservatives agreed with him. The logistics department was indeed the best option as Han Xiao would be confined to the HQ.

However, the director suddenly cut in, "Since we are going to make use of his talents anyway, might as well assign him to the covert ops department!"

The atmosphere in the conference room suddenly froze. All the ministers turned and looked towards the neutral minister – the covert ops minister who had been in the middle of yawning.

"Ahhh— eh, what? Me?"

"Then it's settled!" decided the director as he slammed the table. "Words and actions may be deceiving, but motives are not. We'll let him join the covert ops department after verifying the locations he's disclosed."

The ministers all face-palmed themselves. Whatever makes you happy, boss.

The vice-director yawned to break the silence.

"Time to finish up already? What's on the canteen menu today?"

...

After the conference, the intelligence minister and the logistics minister proceeded to the logistics department together to examine the Lightweight Mechanical Arm.

They were interested to see Han Xiao's craftsmanship to gain insight on him.

The personnel they had tasked with conducting the examination was Luo Xuan, the 'ace' of the logistics department. He was the top machinery studies student of his year at the Western Capital University, and had been recruited directly into Division 13, where his continued excellence earned him the favor of his higher-ups. There were plans to transfer him to the covert ops department.

He was flawless – apart from being too arrogant.

"Begin."

Luo Xuan began to get to work with the Lightweight Mechanical Arm, but he suddenly stopped and reported, "It's encrypted."

Machines were commonly installed with encryption to prevent unauthorized disassembly and reverse engineering. The [Basic Assembly] knowledge that Han Xiao possessed came with the method to install such encryption. The encryption that he had installed would take an E-class mechanic to crack. Evidently, Han Xiao had anticipated this series of events.

Rover One was also encrypted—not that it mattered, since it had self-destructed.

"Can you crack it?" asked the intelligence director.

"No problem," replied the confident Luo Xuan. He didn't think that it was possible for an unknown mechanic to make a lock that he, a genius, couldn't crack.

Twenty minutes later, however, he had not made any progress, and was sweating profusely. "Four-layered encryption‽ Is the bastard who made this machine crazy or something?"

A four-layered encryption was extremely complex to crack as the slightest error would cause the machine's internals to disintegrate, rendering it useless. Luo Xuan was at a loss of how to proceed.

The intelligence director's face had long since darkened.

"Can you crack it or not? Don't waste my time."

Luo Xuan suppressed his irritation and, through gritted teeth, replied, "This encryption is too complex. I— I need more time."

"Enough. I don't have the time to wait for you. Just tell me your thoughts on the arm."

Luo Xuan face darkened in displeasure and he replied, frustrated, "The craftsmanship itself is nothing special. Only the encryption was well made. Feels like the creator is some bumpkin who treats garbage like treasure."

The intelligence director's eyes twitched, but he left without saying anything else. His men retrieved the Lightweight Mechanical Arm. His next plan was to perform actual combat testing at the Germinal bases that Han Xiao had revealed to them.

He was actually more interested in the rover; it was a shame it was burnt beyond recognition.

Division 13 may have been powerful and mighty, but one could never have enough new weapons.

"The research department is always allocated with the largest cut of the budget, yet those useless fools only know how to create useless crap like double-sided sticky bombs, curved guns that don't work at all, and fake nipples to hide poison needles! They even have male and female versions!"

The covert ops department had borne a grudge against the research team ever since two of their agents were self-poisoned due to a 'wardrobe malfunction'.

...

Meanwhile, the director was making a phone call to the tall old man.

"I have ensured that Han Xiao will join the covert ops team."

"Good work. Thank you."

"Old man, is he really worth doing all this for?" asked the director curiously.

"Heh heh. Intel is not all he has to offer. I have a feeling that he will play a crucial role in the battle against the Germinal Organization."

Chapter 34: Covert Operation

Elsewhere, ruined skyscrapers crawled with vines. Below, the streets were cold and empty, and fragments of broken glass littered the line of stores. The stores were in an utter mess; clearly, they had been plundered.

A piece of yellowed newspaper from who knows what year danced about on the streets, carried by the faint wind.

Moonlight filtered through the thick cloud of dust to lend the city some of its luster—the city's only source of light.

This was an abandoned city. It had once belonged to a great nation, but even this great nation no longer existed, and its people had moved to other places. The living conditions here were so poor that even wanderers avoided this place.

Countless other cities had been similarly abandoned over the last few decades of change. As soon as the people left though, these forsaken jungles of concrete and steel became flourishing grounds for vegetation.

According to Han Xiao's intel, the Germinal Organization had three bases within Stardragon territory. One of them was located here. The nation's top brass had been both shocked and angered to learn of the presence of Germinal bases in the country. Within 24 hours, troops had been dispatched from the nearest military bases to attack.

Currently, the city was being bombarded. Over a dozen armored military vehicles had entered the city, and the sound of gunfire and cannon fire was incessant. Screams filled the night.

However, the surface battle was just a diversion.

3 covert ops agents had been tasked to infiltrate the base. They'd just arrived at a side entrance.

Li Ya Lin was an agent with level 4 clearance. A beautiful, young woman with extremely fair skin, she wore a yellow hoodie on top of black compression tights that accentuated her sexy, nose-bleed-inducing body. She had an athletic build.

Li Ya Lin held her hands up in the air as she stretched her back, demonstrating impressive flexibility in the beautifully arced, well-proportioned body of hers. She was clearly the most carefree and energetic of the trio.

She stopped chewing on her bubblegum to complain, "I was finally able to take a break because of my leader's injury, but they call me back so suddenly for an emergency mission. Are agents not humans?"

Lambert continued to polish his dagger silently. Lambert was the 'ace' of a top-secret, unofficial squad during his time in the military, and he had been secretly transferred to the covert ops department after his 'discharge'. He wore a military-style uniform, and on top of the dozen or so daggers strapped across his waist, there was a black sniper rifle across his back.

"This... this mission... seems to be very important," stammered Li Yao, a 1.7 meters tall man who looked extremely young. He was the hacker of this three man cell, and carried a bag filled with the team's tools. He was in the midst of hacking the door. It didn't take him too long.

The trio exchanged glances before entering.

Li Ya Lin led the front while Lambert took the rear. They hacked through numerous high tech gates effortlessly as they made their way to the server room.

The Germinal Organization was very careful with its information. Once a base was compromised, they would cut off its access to their network, delete all traces of data, and activate an EMP blast to destroy the hardware. Hence, they had always remained elusive to the Six Nations – until Han Xiao arrived.

The trio swiftly arrived at Basement 2, where the server room was located. Suddenly, Lin Yao, who was monitoring the hacked feed, began to exclaim, "There are guards approaching from behind the..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a team of guards appeared in their sights!

Li Ya Lin was the quickest to react. She burst forward so quickly that the guards weren't even able to draw their guns in time. Leaping gracefully into the air, Lin Ya Lin performed a mid-air split to kick the front two guards in their heads, snapping their necks instantly.

Her power was just as impressive as her flexibility.

She landed on her hands and used them as a pivot to spin her entire body. Her legs began to glow yellow as she extended them while spinning, easily sweeping through the crowd of guards.

"Pugilist!"

The last remaining guard was about to call for reinforcements when a streak of silver flashed across the corridor. A dagger pierced his throat, ending his life.

Lin Ya Lin and Lambert had effortlessly eliminated the fully-equipped squad of guards.

Suddenly, the lights in the corridor turned red as sirens began to wail.

"We've been discovered! There is a large number of guards heading towards us. The base is being locked down!" exclaimed Lin Yao.

"Hurry up and hack the server room's doors!"

"I'm already on it! I need at least three minutes, but the guards will arrive in less than a minute! I can't bypass the firewall in such a short time. Sor-sorry..." replied a profusely sweating Lin Yao as he frantically typed away at an unbelievable speed.

Very soon, they could hear the sound of footsteps coming from both ends of the corridor. There was no place to hide in the corridor. Although Li Ya Lin and Lambert were confident of killing their way out, the mission seemed like a lost cause.

"Oh right! Didn't they give us some new equipment‽" recalled Li Ya Lin suddenly. She hastily retrieved a long black case from Lin Yao's bag and opened it to reveal a metallic mechanical arm.

The Lightweight Mechanical Arm!

"How is this thing supposed to be used? Did you guys read the manual?"

"Slide your left arm through it and activate it with your thumb!" replied Lin Yao hastily. "I don't know if it will explode though... I mean, it is the research department..."

It was well known throughout Division 13 that anything the research department produced was risky to use.

"We don't have a choice!" Li Ya Lin gritted her teeth as she slid her hand into the mechanical arm.

The mechanical arm started to whirl!

"I'm fine!" she rejoiced, a look of amazement on her face.

She smashed the mechanical arm into the steel door and discovered to her surprise that it had caused a huge dent, so she continued to throw punches at it.

Twenty seconds later, right as the guards arrived, the door was blasted open.

The trio hurriedly entered the room.

"That was close."

Li Yao immediately got to work. Digital lockdown was 57% complete. If he were fast enough, he would not only be able to make a backup of the base's data, but also use its access to hack directly into Germinal Organization's vaults.

With the room acting as a fort, Lin Ya Lin and Lambert were able to put their fearsome combat abilities to full use.

Li Yan Lin glowed with a yellow aura as she swiftly and gracefully dispatched of the invading guards with a metal baton on top of the Lightweight Mechanical Arm. Her blows were so powerful that they shattered the guards' bones through their bullet-proof armor.

Meanwhile, Lambert was throwing his daggers out from inside the room. They rebounded to find their marks with frightening accuracy.

The pair was causing a massive number of casualties. Although the guards numbered over a hundred, they were unable to do anything.

Suddenly, the network access and power supply were cut off, and the whole place turned dark.

"Charge out!" yelled Li Ya Lin.

Lambert and Lin Yao followed closely as they battled their way out.

Screams filled the base.

When they finally escaped, Lin Yao collapsed feebly to the ground, still shaking in fear. Li Ya Lin and Lambert seemed accustomed to the sight.

Li Ya Lin fiddled around with the Lightweight Mechanic Arm. She had grown fond of it.

"I wonder who invented this mechanical arm. Could it be that Luo Xuan?" she wondered aloud.

"Who knows, but I did hear that he is slated to join covert-ops. It's possible," conjectured Lin Yao as Li Yan Lin gazed lovingly upon it.

Chapter 35: Han Xiao

The battle lasted for two hours, and it was Stardragon's most successful operation to date; not only did they destroy an entire Germinal base, they also managed to collect large amounts of data. The top brass in Division 13 were pleased, and it wouldn't have been possible without Han Xiao's intel.

However, Han Xiao's past and the Blackstar issue remained a mystery as the information that Lin Yao had collected naturally had no mention of them—the Blackstar message log was fabricated, while the Valkyrie experiments were top secret.

Back at headquarters, Li Ya Lin reluctantly returned the Lightweight Mechanical Arm.

"Was the mechanical arm useful?" her superior asked.

Li Ya Lin nodded.

"It's all thanks to it that our mission was a success. Who created it?"

"That, I can't tell you."

Ya Lin's eyes sparkled.

"That will depend on the higher-ups."

Li Ya Lin gave up with harassing her tight-lipped superior and headed to the logistics department to look for Luo Xuan.

The covert-ops insignia on her chest ensured her smooth passage, ignoring the ongoing commotion caused by her very presence.

Although all the departments in Division 13 were equal in status, the covert-ops department was full of beautiful wom—cough—elite agents, so they were looked up to by all the other departments.

Li Ya Lin suddenly turned around to the crowd following her and loudly declared, "I'm looking for Luo Xuan."

Everyone looked towards Luo Xuan enviously, singling him out.

Is secret-ops here to recruit me? he wondered.

Suppressing his excitement, he answered, "I am Luo Xuan. How should I address you?"

"Li Ya Lin."

"What can I help you with?" asked Luo Xuan.

"Are you the one who invented that mechanical arm?"

Mechanical arm? Luo Xuan immediately thought of the Lightweight Mechanical Arm that had caused him to lose face.

Could it have malfunctioned? Luo Xuan celebrated inwardly.

"Was there some kind of problem?" he asked with a straight face.

"Nothing like that. I just found it very useful. I want to make a personal order."

Luo Xuan froze in embarrassment as snickers broke out in the crowd—he had been ranting loudly about how worthless he thought the mechanical arm was to the whole department.

"I didn't invent it," he replied with a forced smile.

"Then say so earlier! What a waste of my time."

Luo Xuan's face darkened.

Suddenly, Feng Jun, who had been passing by, came over and said, "The inventor's identity is top secret. Please refrain from guessing or discussing it."

Li Yan Lin was startled. Top secret?

As the crowd dispersed, all Luo Xuan could think about was the threat that this mysterious mechanic posed to him.

"I will not let him have a good time if he joins the logistics department!"

...

Elsewhere in a secret facility.

"Boss, base 45 has been destroyed."

"By whom?"

"Stardragon."

"How did they learn of our base‽"

"Not sure."

The Germinal Organization's bases were scattered all across the globe. However, only a few of them were situated within the territory of the six nations, and those key bases virtually hibernated all year round to prevent detection!

"How could they have discovered our base? Is there a spy amongst us?"

Only a handful of higher-ups in the organization knew the locations of their secret bases. It would be devastating if any of them turned traitor.

The boss decided that he would have to conduct a purge.

Of course, Han Xiao did come to his mind. However, he ruled him out as it didn't seem possible for Han Xiao to have accessed top secret information as a lowly test subject.

Still, the thought of Han Xiao caused his blood to boil. It had been a while since the bounty was issued, yet there was still no news of him.

"You sure can run fast, but I'll squash you sooner or later. Enjoy your remaining days while you can."

The boss laughed coldly.

...

"Han Xiao has been missing for three days now. Where did he go?"

Lu Qian was anxiously pacing up and down.

"Did he lose his way? It's all my fault! I should have gotten him a mobile phone. You said he's a foreigner, right? He doesn't even know this place well! What should I do!"

"Be optimistic. Maybe he just died," consoled Old Man Lu.

"..."

"Grandpa! Why are you so biased against him?"

Old Man Lu continued picking his nose leisurely.

An idea crossed Lu Qian's mind.

"Grandpa! Help me ask someone to look for him!" she pleaded.

"You wish," snorted her grandpa. "Ha! When you stole my books, did you remember that I am your grandpa?"

"That's not important at all! I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

"No way."

"You really won't help?"

"I won't help!"

Suddenly, Lu Qian smiled shrewdly.

"Then I'll help you sell all the fine wine that you've been hiding underneath the floor in your bedroom!"

"What are you talking about? Is your grandpa such a petty person? You just want to find him, right? I'll do it, I'll do it." Old Man Lu instantly changed his tune.

"Thank you, grandpa," replied Lu Qian with the widest smile.

Old Man Lu sighed. He proceeded to make a phone call to the tall, old man.

"Oi, old man, was Han Xiao taken away by you guys?"

"...You guessed?"

"What did he do?"

"He didn't do anything; we just want to work with him."

"If he didn't do anything, then let him go right now, or else my granddaughter is going to ruin my wine collection!"

"I can't. It's against the rules."

"Cut the bullshit! You are the one who sets the rules. You still owe me one for the last time, remember? I don't care! Just release Han Xiao now!"

The tall, old man rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Alright, alright. I got it."

Old Man Lu unhappily put the phone down.

"Why do I have to help that bugger?" he sighed, reminded of his own past.

Chapter 36: New Blueprints and New Terms

Han Xiao had been living in a luxurious one man cell for the past three days. He didn't seem the least bit worried about his situation; instead, he was more concerned with getting stronger.

He was currently consulting the interface. Having accumulated a total of 90,000 experience recently, he decided to level Basic Combat (Lv. 8) to Lv. 9 before redeeming the Skill Level-up Card.

A glowing bronze card appeared in Han Xiao's hand. With a thought, it dissipated into countless light particles that entered his forehead.

Han Xiao shuddered as a surge of energy welled up from within. When it stabilized, Han Xiao could feel that he had become stronger.

_____________________

[Basic Combat Lv. 10 (max)]: +10% damage (unarmed), +2 STR, +1 END

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Many skills gave stat bonuses at certain levels.

The level cap is just the beginning, eh.

Although Han Xiao's character level couldn't be increased any further for now, there were other ways to become stronger.

_____________________

[Basic Combat] has been raised to max level! You have gained 1 talent point!

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Alright! I have 16 talent points now!

Han Xiao also used some experience to raise Basic Shooting to Lv. 8, leaving him with 20,000 experience that he intended to gamble on blueprints.

While blueprints could be sold to other players for money and experience back in the game, NPC trading was monopolized by unions and guilds due to quotas.

Of course, that was not a problem for Han Xiao now, since he literally had no competitors. He intended to develop a large clientele, starting with Division 13.

_____________________

Proceed with talent fusion:

[Basic Weaponry + Basic Assembly]

Y/N

(This combination will use 10,000 experience)

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Confirm.

_____________________

Congratulations! You have discovered [Foldable Machete]!

Proceed with talent fusion:

[Basic Weaponry + Basic Material Composition]

Y/N

(This combination will use 10,000 experience)

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Confirm.

_____________________

Congratulations! You have discovered [High-Explosive Gunpowder]!

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Han Xiao's eyes lit up. [High-Explosive Gunpowder] was one of the better discoveries possible. Not only were its applications manifold, it was not hard to craft at all with the required knowledge. It had been one of the most traded goods back in the game.

The [Foldable Machete], on the other hand, was a disappointing discovery. As its name suggested, it was simply a machete with a foldable blade. It was clearly a weapon for beginners, and Han Xiao could have easily come up with something like this even without the blueprint!

If only I had discovered some long-range weapon instead of this... At least I got something decent.

Nevertheless, as it was something new to Aquamarine, it was not completely worthless. Just because all Mechanics learnt the same knowledge did not mean that they would create the same things. Before Han Xiao had transmigrated, tons of discoveries and inventions were still being made on a regular basis. Granted, not all of them were practical, but they at least gave rise to possibilities.

Han Xiao would have to make do and work with these two blueprints. During his time in the Germinal Organization, he had managed to accumulate 60,000 experience. He would definitely be able to earn much more here in Stardragon after joining Division 13.

Suddenly, the interface lit up.

_____________________

Class-A Mission: [Fall of the Germinal]

Progress Rate: 1.6%

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Looks like Division 13 has made their move!

Han Xiao was surprised by the number. Logically speaking—with how massive and powerful the Germinal Organization was—even destroying one of their bases shouldn't have that much of an impact on them as a whole.

In the game, the war between the Germinal Organization and the Six Nations had mostly been a back and forth, with neither side being able to hold a clear advantage. There was, however, a point of time in which the Six Nations were able to corner the Germinal Organization, and victory seemed all but assured. Yet, they were unable to end the war as the Germinal Organization had a trump card up its sleeve: Protocol Doomsday.

Hence, completing the mission would be impossible... unless Han Xiao could somehow shut the protocol down.

The doomsday protocol was a last resort, and although it saved the organization from destruction, many Germinal members were disillusioned and swayed as a result. Most of the people who join the Germinal Organization are people who hold a grudge against the Six Nations, and believe in the promise of a new government. However, none of them would truly want to see the world burn. If I could expose the truth...

Han Xiao shook his head. It was way too early for him to be thinking of such things.

...

A few moments later, Feng Jun finally returned. He brought Han Xiao back to the interrogation room where the intelligence minister came to talk with him again.

"The locations of the bases have been confirmed. We believe in your sincerity now. The higher-ups have decided to make you a member of Division 13!"

I did it! Inwardly, Han Xiao sighed in relief.

Looks like getting on good terms with the tall oldie has paid off, he thought to himself. He knew that the tall old man definitely had a hand in this.

"...And the department has decided that you will join covert-ops. You will be assigned to a squad."

What‽ Han Xiao's expression spoke of his grievances.

The dawn of the new era had seen the loss of countless lives, resulting in a lack of manpower and talent. While this resulted in the Six Nations having to loosen their recruitment criteria across the board, the covert-ops department could never be compromised!

This definitely has to be the tall old man's doing! thought Han Xiao. Does he like me that much?

Of course, being able to join covert-ops was a good thing. Not only would Han Xiao be able to get to know stronger, more influential people, he would also be able to directly partake in key events that would occur in Stardragon!

The interface lit up.

_____________________

You have unlocked reputation with a new faction!

Your reputation with Stardragon Strategic Defense Division has increased by 300!

Stardragon Strategic Defense Division (Division 13): Neutral (300/1000) - Level 1 Clearance

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There were 8 levels of reputation: Hated, Hostile, Opposed, Unfriendly, Neutral, Friendly, Honored, and Revered.

300 Reputation was 'Netural'. Most factions required a 'Friendly' reputation to access contribution benefits.

Feng Jun passed a black mobile phone to Han Xiao as he coughed, saying, "From today onwards, I will be your liaison. Never turn this off."

"Oh, okay. It's not actually important, right?" remarked Han Xiao aloofly.

"Why are you always so unpleasant to talk to‽"

It was a plain looking phone with a plain looking interface, and was only capable of making calls and sending messages. Han Xiao played with the phone in his hands as he asked, "It's secure, right?"

"Rest assured. It's encrypted.

"One more thing," interjected the intelligence minister. "I hope that you can give us your machinery blueprints, including the ones for the Lightweight Mechanical Arm and that rover you used."

Although giving them the blueprints would earn him contribution points, it would also result in him losing monopoly over them. Division 13 would definitely mass produce them.

Han Xiao shook his head in refusal, and the minister simply shrugged.

At the end of the day, what they truly valued was the intel that Han Xiao possessed. If he was unwilling to give them the blueprints, then so be it.

"Oh right. What if an agent makes a private order with me?" he asked.

"We have no rules against that," answered the minister, to Han Xiao's delight.

Feng Jun proceeded to pull a black bag over Han Xiao's head once more.

Chapter 37: Dirty Mind

The car stopped, and Han Xiao was pushed out with the black bag still over his head. When the car began to speed off, Han Xiao removed the black bag to find himself a few streets away from the workshop.

When he looked up, he could see several glistening moons in the night sky.

"Tsk. Why all the secrecy?" he muttered to himself.

Nevertheless, Han Xiao was feeling quite pleased for having accomplished his goal. He hummed merrily as he made his way back to the workshop. It was only when he reached the entrance that it dawned on him that going missing for 3 days would be hard to explain.

Han Xiao stepped inside the workshop to see an anxious Lu Qian pacing back and forth.

For some reason, she became enraged at the sight of him.

"Why did you only come back now‽ Do you know how worried I've been? You're a foreigner! I thought something might have happened to you!"

Han Xiao put on his 'huh, did something happen?' expression and stared at her blankly.

"What exactly were you doing?"

"Taking a stroll."

"Can you at least try to come up with a better excuse‽"

"I thought... it's quite a good excuse?"

"A gunfight at the junkyard was reported on the news yesterday. I thought you got caught in it or something and..." Lu Qian began nagging.

Being nagged at did not irritate Han Xiao at all; on the contrary, it gave him a warm and fuzzy feeling.

However, Old Man Lu appeared to ruin the moment.

"You came back alive? How disappointing."

"I'll get you a mobile phone over the next few days. The cost will be deducted from your salary," said Lu Qian.

"There's no need. I already have one," replied Han Xiao as he whipped the black mobile phone out.

Although they had told him not to share the number with anyone else, screw Division 13!

When he saw the black phone, Old Man Lu gave a start. He pulled Han Xiao away to a corner.

"This is a Division 13 phone. You joined Division 13?"

"So you know what this is."

"Hmph. Since you've joined Division 13... get the hell out of my workshop!"

"You can leave if you want to; I'm not leaving."

"How dare you talk to me like that‽ Why would you even want to-"

Old Man Lu suddenly paused.

"Are you... trying to woo my granddaughter?" He glowered.

"No!" Han Xiao hastily answered.

Suddenly, however, Old Man Lu's expression grew strange.

"Hey Little Han, now that I think about it... my granddaughter is not that young anymore. What do you think about her?"

Han Xiao immediately stiffened up.

"Old Lu, as the saying goes, a stolen melon is not sweet!"

"But at least you would have a melon! Besides, we need a boy to carry on the family name."

We‽ Don't drag me into your family tree!

"..."

"Heh heh. Strike while the iron is hot! There is only so much I can help you with," he added while patting Han Xiao on the shoulder before heading upstairs, leaving Han Xiao utterly bewildered.

Old people who want descendants are scary!

Han Xiao turned around, and to his horror, Lu Qian had been standing behind him the entire time. She stared at Han Xiao with big, bright eyes that seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"This is a misunderstanding!"

"J-jerk!" Lu Qian covered her blushing face and ran upstairs.

"It's not like that..."

...

For Luo Xuan, the next few days were restless ones. He was afraid that Han Xiao would join the logistics department and steal the limelight from him.

When it finally got to his head, he went to find a director to ask about Han Xiao.

"His information is classified," the big-bellied logistics director, who always wore a smile on his face, said when he asked. "All I can tell you is that he's joined Division 13."

Luo Xuan's heart sank when he heard the news.

"Will he join logistics, or research?"

The director shook his head.

"Neither. He's joined covert-ops. He'll start in a few days."

The news stunned Luo Xuan.

How could some unknown guy who popped out of nowhere be directly recruited into secret ops? I've worked my ass for so many years, yet I'm still in research?

This is unfair!

...

One week after the junkyard incident, the underworld bosses of the six other districts gathered together to discuss an important issue, the disappearance of Raccoon.

Through piecing together bits of the puzzle, they were able to uncover that Division 13 had a hand in it, and this shocked all of them.

What exactly did Raccoon do to incur the wrath of the mighty lion?

"Raccoon must have offended Division 13 somehow. He is probably dead already," declared the boss of District 2, who had initiated the meeting.

All of the bosses present had grave expressions. Although they usually acted high and mighty in front of their subordinates, they all knew that Division 13 could easily wipe any one of them out. They were really just small-time hoodlums.

After all, the Western Capital was the seat of the government, and they were just sewer rats hiding around. In fact, they could not even be compared to the intelligence and firearms brokers in the slums! At least those people had powerful backers.

"Who wants to take over District 7?" asked the District 2 boss.

Everyone remained silent.

"No one?"

Although the bosses usually fought amongst one another for territory, none of them dared to take over District 7 without understanding why Division 13 had taken action.

"Fine, then we will leave it open to new blood."

Now that Raccoon was removed from the picture, there would definitely be ambitious people in his gang rising up to seize power. Of course, it was not that they were willing to let a new rival emerge. Instead, as the situation in District 7 was still unclear, they were just waiting to see what would happen. It would not be too late to get rid of the new boss as soon as everything stabilized.

...

Han Xiao's life in the workshop returned to normal. After a few days, he asked for an advance of his first month's pay to order some materials from Division 13.

At present, he was examining a dark red bullet lying on his palm. It was carved with flame patterns.

_____________________

[High-explosive Bullet]: Causes an explosion in a 3 meter radius upon hitting the target.

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Although it was a very simple description, it was actually extremely powerful.

High-explosive bullets incorporated extremely flammable incendiary gels and gases that could ignite far easier than traditional armor-piercing ammunition. They would explode immediately upon coming into contact with air, and the bullet itself would also be consumed in the explosion, leaving nothing behind.

The method to craft the incendiary agents was described in detail in the blueprint, and although Han Xiao was not able to understand it well, as he had not learnt [Basic Chemistry] yet, he was still able to craft it by following the instructions.

From handgun bullets to sniper bullets, over the next few days, Han Xiao crafted dozens of high-explosive bullets.

He also used some good quality metal to craft a 2.5kg, 0.65m Foldable Knife with 13-19 Damage. It was an entirely black knife with a triangular-tipped edge, and while it was not really ideal for combat, it did have some practical uses.

Han Xiao used the experience he gained from crafting the high-explosives and the foldable knife to raise [Machinery Affinity (Novice)] to Lv. 4.

[Machinery Affinity (Novice)] had a level cap of 5, which would take Han Xiao 15,000 experience. His [Basic Shooting] was now Lv. 8, and that would take another 45,000 experience to level up. In all, Han Xiao just needed 60,000 more experience to gain 2 more talent points.

Each of the Six Nations possessed different types of advanced knowledge that they used to entice powerful people to work for them. On Planet Aquamarine, there was only advanced knowledge for three of the five main classes: Pugilist, Mechanic, and Esper.

While no beginner planet possessed advanced knowledge of all 5 main classes, newcomers were always sent to planets based on their inputted preferences.

While Division 13 possessed advanced Mechanic knowledge, it was only accessible to 'revered' allies.

There was still a long way to go before Han Xiao became revered with Division 13.

Ever since the night that Han Xiao returned to the workshop, Lu Qian had not once looked at him directly in the eye, and would blush and run away from him after just a few sentences, making Han Xiao feel extremely irked. It did not help that Old Man Lu would pop up from time to time to give him knowing looks.

As for Lu Qian herself, she actually had mixed feelings about Han Xiao.

Of course, she did not hate Han Xiao. However, it was not like she liked him either.

Instead, she was more worried that Han Xiao would pack up and leave if she rejected him. After all, where else would she able to find such a good (cheap) employee?

Suddenly, Han Xiao's mobile phone lit up.

The message read: 'The paperwork has been completed. Report today. - Feng Jun.'

"Finally."

Chapter 38: Covert-Ops Squad

Stardragon Tower was a top-secret government facility where the headquarters of Division 13 was located at. The inside of the tower was like a maze. Han Xiao followed Feng Jun through passageways and tunnels for half an hour before finally reaching the HQ. This time, he wasn't blindfolded.

"This place is so damn hard to access," complained Han Xiao.

"That's why it's safe," replied Feng Jun as he swiped his security pass over the sensor to unlock the giant automatic gate.

Han Xiao stepped through the gate into an extremely spacious hall bustling with people. To his surprise, despite being underground, Division 13 HQ was both well-lit and well-ventilated.

Feng Jun handed Han Xiao his security pass and a mouth mask.

"It's better not to reveal your face to too many people. Wear this."

Han Xiao was about to put it on when he noticed that there was a picture of a naked bodybuilder printed on it. He frowned and turned to see Feng Jun stifling his laughter.

"Why are you looking at me? Put it on quickly!"

"Hmph."

Han Xiao suddenly yanked Feng Jun's arm to rip out a piece of fabric from his sleeve.

"This thing suits you better," he casually said as he tied it over his face and threw the custom mask back at him.

Feng Jun almost broke out into tears.

"This is my newly issued uniform..."

Suddenly, Han Xiao felt someone watching him. He looked around to find an unfamiliar young man wearing a white coat glaring at him hatefully.

"What's he so angry about?" asked Han Xiao, bewildered.

Feng Jun laughed bitterly.

"He... just ignore him."

Luo Xuan had never seen Han Xiao's face before, but he knew for certain that the person beside Feng Jun was him.

...

The covert-ops department had a single floor all to themselves. It was noticeably less crowded than the other departments.

Feng Jun brought Han Xiao to a meeting room before leaving.

Han Xiao stepped through the door to see that there were already three people seated inside. They were none other than Li Ya Lin, Lambert, and Li Yao.

"You're the logistics guy that the director gave special permission to join our team?"

Li Ya Lin rose up to circle around Han Xiao as she examined him.

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. Special permission? Logistics guy? Suddenly, he noticed that the woman who had spoken to him was not only slender and perky, but extremely pretty. In Han Xiao's books, she was easily up there with Hila. She was wearing a yellow sports-style jacket on top of black tights.

"I am Han Xiao, a mechanic."

Li Yao abruptly stood up, knocking his chair down in the process.

"Ni-ni-nice to meet you. I am Li Yao, the team's hacker," he introduced, stretching out a hand.

"I am the sniper, Lambert," introduced Lambert plainly without getting up.

Han Xiao shook Li Yao's hand and casually acknowledged Lambert with a nod. He was obviously the silent type.

"Hey, why are you wearing a mask?" asked Li Ya Lin with big, bright, curious eyes as she reached out to pull Han Xiao's mask off.

Han Xiao dodged.

"Why are you hiding your face! Don't you trust us?" Li Ya Lin questioned unhappily.

"My identity is top-secret," Han Xiao replied.

Although being assigned to this team would have to mean that these people were trustworthy, Han Xiao still felt that not revealing his face would save him some trouble. He could imagine the questions they would have for him after learning of his face…

"Aren't you that wanted fugitive?"

"Why would Division 13 want you?"

"What did you do to the Germinal Organization?"

Answering all those questions would be a real headache.

Besides, Han Xiao did not plan to stay in Division 13 for too long.

"Your identity is top-secret? Hold on..." Li Ya Lin seemed to recall something, and she jumped in front of Han Xiao, asking, "Were you the one who made the Lightweight Mechanical Arm?"

Han Xiao gave a start.

"How do you know‽"

"Ha ha! So it's you!" Li Ya Lin jumped about excitedly before slinging an arm over Han Xiao's shoulder. "Make another one for me!"

Han Xiao's mouth twitched.

"It won't be free."

Li Ya Lin laughed loudly before asking softly, "Can I have a discount?"

"No."

"You miser!"

"I still don't know your name." This overly friendly pretty lady was giving him quite a headache.

"Li Ya Lin, in charge of close combat," she reluctantly answered.

"So the four of us are a team?"

"No, there's still our leader."

"Where is he?"

"He's not here. He's recovering from an injury."

"Even the leader gets injured. Covert-ops must be some dangerous work," remarked Han Xiao.

The trio exchanged awkward glances.

"The leader is sick from food poisoning," explained Li Yao.

"..."

Han Xiao was speechless.

Li Yao coughed dryly.

"The covert-ops department takes on special high difficulty missions. Each team contains 4-7 people, and other than completing the missions assigned to us each month, we are basically free to do whatever we want in our free time," he began to explain.

"Covert-ops personnel are the cream of the crop. Some of us, like Uncle Lambert, are recruited from other organizations. He was recruited in from a special forces squad. Your designation is field support. You will be in charge of equipment, scheduling, and, during operations, gathering and organizing intel. You'll be our eyes and ears from now on."

That's nice and all... thought Han Xiao, but I want to hunt monsters!

Nevertheless, he could understand why Division 13 arranged things like this - they would rather not put a valuable asset like him in the face of danger.

Well, at the end of the day, Han Xiao not only gained their protection, but also a platform to make some money, so he was satisfied.

Mechanics were really too weak early on compared to pugilists or espers, so crafting was much more efficient for them to earn experience.

"Does our team have a name?" asked Han Xiao.

"Team name? What use would that have?" replied a still displeased Li Ya Lin.

"That's true..." muttered Han Xiao.

Suddenly, Li Yao interrupted, "We were just issued a mission to take in Black Spider. Apparently, he's still hiding here in the Western Capital."

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. The timing of the mission was too sudden. It was probably deliberately assigned by the higher-ups.

"Black Spider?" Li Ya Lin wondered aloud. "I know him. He's infamous for being a solo bounty hunter. The last time those field agents tried to bring him in he blew up two whole streets. Why would he still hide here in the capital?"

"When will we depart?" Lambert asked.

"There's no rush. Since they've already confirmed his location, let's just act at night."

"Since this is your first mission, just familiarize yourself with the logistics preparation."

Although it was their first meeting, the trio did not inquire too much about Han Xiao's identity. To be assigned to covert-ops already meant that the higher-ups trusted him, and that was enough.

_____________________

[You have triggered the Class-E mission, [Black Spider]. Accept/Decline]

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Accept.

_____________________

Mission Hint: Black Spider is a notorious murderer and bounty hunter. This is your first mission with the covert-ops department. Your responsibility is to help the team succeed.

Mission Requirement: Defeat Black Spider

Reward: 5,000 experience

Bonus Reward: 40,000 experience or Mind Stabilizer

Chapter 39: First Operation Part 1

Black Spider? Isn't that a mini-boss? thought Han Xiao to himself.

Black Spider was an Esper who was regarded as one of the 'Hardest Bosses to Kill in Version 1.0'.

Normally, a mini-boss quest at Han Xiao's current level would be at least Class-D, and reward way more experience. However, in Galaxy, quests rewards were automatically adjusted according to character level and roles.

Generally, in a party quest, players who contributed the most damage or healing would earn the most experience. It was a system that prevented experience leeching.

I guess it's still better than nothing, Han Xiao consoled himself.

From what Han Xiao knew about Black Spider, this mission would be a piece of cake for his team. However, the bonus reward was a different question. Han Xiao knew for sure that the condition for the bonus reward would be to take Black Spider in alive, but it could prove difficult to accomplish as Black Spider was in fact a superhuman, and his abilities made him much harder to catch than to defeat. As of now, only Han Xiao knew about the fact that he was a superhuman. In the game, it would only be revealed later on after launch.

On the other hand, since Han Xiao had a complete understanding of the extent of Black Spider's abilities, it was still possible to catch him.

"How much will you charge me?" asked Li Ya Lin all of a sudden. She was clearly still hung up on the Lightweight Mecha Arm.

"One Lightweight Mecha Arm will cost 20,000. 10,000 upfront, plus materials, and I'll make you one in two days."

Li Ya Lin pouted. Although it was almost a month of her wage, she was still bent on having it.

"Do you have anything else for now?"

Han Xiao pondered for a moment before whipping out what seemed to be a 10 centimeter black knife handle without a blade.

"What's this for?" asked Li Ya Lin uncertainly.

Han Xiao chuckled and pressed a small switch on the handle. Instantly, a blade shot out from within it, transforming the stick into a 70 centimeter sharp knife.

"This is a retractable knife."

For Li Ya Lin, it was love at first sight. The reason she favored her baton was due to its portability, and the retractable knife took it one step further. It was as concealable, yet stronger. Just as she was about to grab it out of Han Xiao's hands, Han Xiao dodged.

"1,000 for one," he stated with a straight face. In truth, it had only costed him 300 to make.

"You stingy miser! Money-face!" Li Ya Lin scolded as she forked out the money.

As she started to play around with the knife, Lambert suddenly spoke.

"I want ten but shorter. Around 30 cm."

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

"No problem!"

"I want them ready for tonight."

"As long as I have the materials."

"I want one, too!" Lin Yao exclaimed, to Han Xiao's surprise. For some reason, this beginner weapon was turning out to be quite the hot item.

What Han Xiao did not know was that innovation was stifled in Division 13 - and it probably had something to do with the research department. Furthermore, the type of complex missions that secret-ops typically performed restricted their choice of equipment.

Most agents' preferred weapon of choice for close combat was the dagger, so Han Xiao's retractable knife was quite a game changer. Imagine if, during a mission, your enemy whipped out his 10 cm dagger, and you whipped out your meter long knife.

Longer is always more impressive.

...

After acquiring the materials from Lambert and Li Yao, Han Xiao headed over to the private workshop at the logistics department to get the knives crafted.

In one afternoon, Han Xiao earned 11,000 Aquamarine Dollars and even earned quite a bit of experience in the process: 8,000 in total.

"Not bad at all. Looks like Division 13 will be the goldmine that I expected it to be."

After getting suited up, the trio departed for the city to hunt Black Spider. Han Xiao, though, stayed behind in the HQ to provide support, intel, and instructions.

Li Ya Lin, Lambert, and Li Yao all had cameras and mics attached to them, and their feeds were directly wired to Han Xiao. He could clearly see whatever they were seeing, and in some sense, his job was to act as a director of sorts.

Of course, as Han Xiao was new to the squad, he did not expect them to fully trust his judgement. Furthermore, it was an easy mission that all of them knew the higher-ups meant as a trial. While they did not object to Han Xiao playing captain, whether they would listen to him was another matter. They would still follow their own judgement no matter what, and Han Xiao fully knew this.

Nonetheless, Han Xiao was not only quite experienced as a captain - having led 50 men raids back in Galaxy - he was basically omniscient, and this alone made him the best person for the job.

...

Night had fallen.

Three people arrived at the dirty, wet streets of District 8. As it was night, the streets were empty, and the streetlights flickered ominously.

District 8 was vastly different from the other districts. The buildings here were shabby, and some did not even have proper roofs - instead, metal sheets and cloth could be seen covering the houses. Laundry was hanging up all over the place, and the streets were uncleaned and full of litter. This was a place that could hardly be called safe. Drug dealers and the like all thrived in this district, and it was to no one's surprise that Black Spider would hide here.

The trio were fully equipped - even Li Yao. Although he was a hacker - and also a coward - he was still able to wield a gun.

Chapter 40: First Operation Part 2

"That apartment building ahead is Black Spider's hiding spot. He should be on the third floor. We need to approach silently," said Li Ya Lin to Lambert and Li Yan.

"There's no point in acting stealthy," interrupted Han Xiao through the intercom. "Black Spider has already discovered you all."

"How do you know?" Li Ya Lin frowned.

Suddenly, gunfire pierced the silence of the night as a storm of bullets rained upon the trio. They immediately jumped into the nearest alley to seek cover.

The trio exchanged serious looks as they leaned against the wall.

Since when did he notice us‽

While a simple ambush like that would never have been enough to do them in, they would not have been able to react so fast without Han Xiao's warning. Li Ya Lin put her game face on and clamped her earpiece tighter.

There was a man standing on top of the tall building from where the shots had come from smiling frenziedly upon the trio's location with an assault rifle in his hands. On the left side of his face was a tattoo of a black spider. With a wave of his hand, ten masked men armed with guns suddenly jumped out of their hiding spots in the nearby streets and alleys to converge on the alley that the trio was in.

"Our intel was wrong! Wasn't he alone‽" Lin Yao's eyes were wide with disbelief.

Li Ya Lin's heart sunk.

Black Spider began to laugh coldly.

"Did you think that I would continue staying here if I was not prepared? You guys got me good the other time, but now that you have all kindly offered yourselves up, I shall have my revenge!"

Black Spider was widely known to be an independent bounty hunter, and his modus operandi was to set up traps before the battle even broke out. The trio were akin to prey stepping into a spider's web.

Li Ya Lin suddenly turned to face the wall and, as her leg began to glow yellow, smashed it down with a powerful kick to obstruct the enemy's vision.

Low level pugilists relied mainly on their abnormally huge power. Li Ya Lin was a Lv. 25 E-class superhuman with over 300 ona.

Black Spider and his agents suppressed the trio with overwhelming gunfire as they converged onto the alleyway.

Li Ya Lin and Lambert dragged Lin Yao with them as they made use of their surroundings to evade the gunfire. While they were able to dodge all the bullets, they soon found themselves cornered in a dead end; Black Spider and his men had sealed off the alley.

Black Spider closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"My insects, you must be trembling with fear now," he said frenziedly.

"Do you think you've won?" replied Li Ya Lin tauntingly as she shot a glance at Lambert.

Black Spider turned around to face his men as he opened up his arms.

"I just need to say give the order and you will become minced meat in an instant. I do think I've won, don't you?"

"Then what are you waiting for?" glowered Li Ya Lin.

Black Spider waved a finger.

"Killing you all will do me no good. I'll ransom you for a tidy sum!" he proudly declared, knowing full well that Division 13 could hear him through the trio's intercom.

"But only one of you is enough!" he suddenly broke out in maniacal laughter.

Just as he was about to give the order to fire, Li Ya Lin jumped onto the wall, and, as her legs began to glow yellow, she sprung forward, soaring in the air like a graceful swallow to close in on Black Spider and his men.

"Kill her!" Black Spider frantically ordered. His men began to fire at Li Ya Lin, and while a few bullets managed to find their mark despite her being fast to the point of becoming a blur, they simply flattened into metal pancakes upon hitting her clothes.

Not only was the fabric of Li Ya Lin's bodysuit weaved with bulletproof ceramic fiber, her own body itself was tough enough to deflect bullets. From the start, the trio had only been fleeing to bait in Black Spider and all of his men.

As Li Ya Lin distracted them, Lambert whipped out two knives with each hand and threw them out, killing four men instantly.

Li Ya Lin drew the sheathed retractable knife from her waist and slashed at the nearest agent. The agent threw his head back slightly, thinking that it would be enough to dodge, but, suddenly, a 10 cm blade extended out to rip his throat open.

"Excellent weapon!" remarked Li Ya Lin with shining eyes.

What happens when a gunman comes into the range of a pugilist goes without saying. Thirty seconds later, there was blood splattered everywhere, and only Black Spider, with both hands chopped off, remained.

Li Ya Lin exhaled as she sheathed the retractable knife. She clearly looked pleased with it.

"Well done," praised Han Xiao. He had chosen to remain silent during the fight so as not to bother them.

"Thank— thank you," Li Yao stammered.

"Not you."

Li Yao lowered his head in depression. He had truly not contributed anything at all during the fight.

The heavily wounded Black Spider began to laugh hoarsely as he glared at Li Ya Lin without a single trace of fear in his eyes.

"Little brat, you guys can't kill me," he taunted.

Suddenly, Lambert whipped out his gun to shoot Black Spider in the head. Blood splattered across the floor as Black Spider's body collapsed to the ground.

Li Ya Lin and Li Yao turned to look at him speechlessly.

"Can't know until you try," he stated plainly.

"Ay... whatever. They didn't tell us to take him in alive anyway," said Li Ya Lin as she lazily stretched her back. "Ah! I want to go back to take a shower! All of this blood is so smelly."

Suddenly, however, Han Xiao spoke.

"Don't let your guard down. He's not dead yet."

Li Ya Lin almost stumbled backwards in her stretch.

"How can he be alive?" she fumed as she pointed at what remained of Black Spider's head.

"He is a superhuman with some tricky abilities. Unmask the corpse next to him. You will understand," replied Han Xiao calmly.

"But there isn't any piece of news on the dark web that says Black Spider is a superhuman," hesitated Li Yao. "You might be mistaken."

"Not might, he is definitely mistaken," added a disgruntled Li Ya Lin. "Hey, newbie, I know you want to earn some credit, but don't make these kind of things up!"

Han Xiao was speechless.

Chapter 41: First Operation Part 3

"Just give it a try."

Lambert cut Li Ya Lin off as he bent down to unmask the agent. To their alarm, the man did not have a face, or rather, he did not have any facial features.

"What— what is this‽"

Li Yao was horror-struck. They proceeded to unmask the remaining 9 men, and they were all faceless!

Suddenly, a change occurred in the first man that Han Xiao had asked them to unmask. As the mark of a black spider slowly appeared on his face, facial features also began to form, and it soon became clear that it looked exactly like Black Spider's face. Next, the wounds on this person actually began to heal up, and after a while, this 'corpse's' eyelids began to move!

"Blow his brains up!" Han Xiao instructed firmly.

Lambert fired without hesitation.

They proceeded to listen to Han Xiao and repeat the same procedure one by one on whichever faceless man the same signs next appeared on. Li Ya Lin and Li Yao were thoroughly shocked by what was happening, but they suppressed their doubts and carried out Han Xiao's instructions.

Although they had no idea how Han Xiao knew of Black Spider's secret; he, without a doubt, knew his stuff.

When there was only one faceless man left, Han Xiao stopped them.

"Don't kill him. Just cripple him."

When the mark of the black spider and Black Spider's face formed completely on the faceless man, he opened his eyes in horror and shouted, "How do you all know my superpowers‽"

The name of his ability was [Parasitic Copy].

It allowed him to create a faceless copy out of himself after a certain period of time. The copy did not possess intelligence and could only operate and follow simple instructions within a fixed radius of himself.

Each copy that Black Spider had was like an extra life, and he could reincarnate indefinitely as long as a copy still existed. In this manner, he was virtually immortal.

While this ability did not have any direct offensive use, what it did was alter Black Spider's very life-form and free him from the restraints of flesh and blood, turning him into a force of consciousness that could reside in any of his copies.

As long as a copy existed, he was invincible!

It was his greatest secret, and one that he would never divulge to anyone.

How could anyone have figured it out‽

Han Xiao laughed at the sight of Black Spider's dumbfounded and horrified face on the feed. If it had been some other mini-boss, he might not have been able to recall their abilities, but Black Spider had been a headache for countless players in the game, so he left a lasting impression.

At present, Black Spider had actually not even mastered his power, making it the perfect time to deal with him. Nonetheless, it was a superpower with extremely high potential. Who knows what someone who had mastered it would be capable of. Not even Han Xiao knew, as Black Spider had died early in the game as well—not this early though, of course.

How did he die?

Black Spider's power might have been tricky to deal with, but there were still ways to deal with it. Since he had transcended flesh to become purely 'soul', one could simply damage his soul directly to cripple his wings. Still, superhumans with soul-damaging abilities were far and few in Galaxy, so most players remained incapable of killing him easily. This was why he was considered one of the 'Hardest Bosses to Kill" in Version 1.0.

And of course, Black Spider considered himself so as well... until he met Hila.

Out of all the classes, Espers were the ones who possessed all sorts of extraordinary abilities. Unlike the other four superhuman classes, Espers only needed to consume gene awakening drugs instead of learning knowledge in order to unlock their abilities. Each character in Galaxy was given one chance to take the gene awakening drug, and if it failed, that character would never be able to switch classes to become an Esper again.

The success rate would depend on the type of gene awakening drug used, and as you might have guessed, this was indeed a pay-to-win feature.

Even the lowest grade gene awakening drugs went for as high as 398 dollars, and the [Ultra-Perfect-Deluxe Gene Awakening Elixir], the awakening drug with the highest success rate, was worth well over 5,000 dollars despite it only having an 18% success rate without guarantees.

It was truly a money spinner for the game's company.

Previously, Han Xiao had also tried his hand at switching to an Esper. Unfortunately, the only result that he arrived at was that Esper players were all filthy rich.

Black Spider quickly calmed down and threatened, "I have unlimited copies. Even if you destroy this body, you won't be able to kill me! Mark my words! I will definitely hunt you down for the rest of your lives!"

Lambert was about to raise his gun when Han Xiao hurriedly stopped him.

"Follow my instructions..."

As Li Ya Lin listened to Han Xiao, she suddenly began to act high and all-knowing as she replied to Black Spider, "Unlimited copies? Stop trying to scare people. You can have at most have 50 bodies! Apart from the 10 here, the rest are scattered across the globe!"

Black Spider's eyes grew wide with disbelief. Figuring out the nature of his powers was one thing, but to actually know such secret information? How was that possible‽ Black Spider's mind was racing.

Someone knows everything about my powers!

Who? Who could it be?

Could it be... an Esper who can read minds?

Li Ya Lin continued, "As long as we don't kill this copy of you, we can lock you up for as long as we want!"

Black Spider's face changed, and he immediately attempted to bite his own tongue off to avoid his impending fate. Unfortunately, Lambert was a step faster, and he managed to restrain him.

Unable to even end his own life, Black Spider could only glare hatefully at Li Ya Lin.

At this point in time, the trio had the same questions in their mind.

Who exactly is Han Xiao?

Why does Division 13 treat his identity with such secrecy?

How does he possess such secretive information?

...

A cleanup crew soon arrived to put a straitjacket over Black Spider and take him back.

At the same time, Han Xiao, who was relaxing in the faraway base, received a mission completion notification.

_____________________

You have completed the E-Class mission, 'Black Spider', earning 5,000 experience.

You have fulfilled the secret condition: "Take Black Spider in Alive", earning 40,000 experience or a Soul Stabilizer.

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

The Soul Stabilizer had the effect of raising spiritual resistance, granting the user immunity to mental and spiritual attacks. It was a piece of equipment that was particularly useful against magic users.

As there were no mages or psychics on Aquamarine, the Soul Stabilizer was not really of much use to Han Xiao for now, so he naturally selected the more practical reward of 40,000 experience.

What about Hila, you ask? That would still be thinking too far ahead.

Not bad at all. Han Xiao smiled to himself.

...

The trio finally arrived back at the secret-ops HQ. Li Ya Lin rushed into the room and asked Han Xiao with wide, curious eyes, "How did you know that Black Spider was a superhuman?"

Han Xiao laughed enigmatically.

"I'll tell you for one million dollars," he offered, frustrating Li Ya Lin.

"Whatever. Oh right, what are we going to do about him?"

Li Yao shook his head.

"I heard that the higher-ups want to send him to Death's Door Island and lock him up forever."

Death's Door Island was a maximum security prison that the Six Nations established together. It was located in the middle of an ocean, making it impossible to escape from. Only those that the Six Nations deemed the most dangerous were sent there—evil individuals, warlords of the Wanderers Army, and other important figureheads.

Death's Door Island was so named as a sentence to the island was essentially a death sentence, except that it was worse—death would actually be an escape.

Han Xiao was pleased with the arrangement, as there was truly no other way to keep him from coming after them for revenge.

At the end of the day, the team's first operation together was a perfect success, and after tidying up, everyone made their own way home.

Han Xiao, too, was about to leave when, suddenly, Feng Jun came up to him with a worried look.

"Internal affairs wants to ask you a few questions."

"Haven't I proved my trustworthiness?" asked Han Xiao.

"The internal affairs department appealed for a second interrogation. As it is within reason for them to do so, the higher-ups did not object. As you know, your previous identity is a sensitive topic."

"The higher-ups are split in two on the matter of yourself," he added softly. "While departments like intelligence and logistics think a friendly relationship is more beneficial, the hardliners led by internal affairs think otherwise."

Han Xiao sighed. Where there is people there will be conflict.

...

At internal affairs, Han Xiao had his height and weight taken again before being brought to an interrogation room, where a sole investigator awaited him.

"Name."

"Han Xiao."

"Gender."

"Female."

The veins on the investigator's temple bulged.

"Age."

"30... no, I mean 31."

Bang!

The investigator slammed the table.

"Stop playing a fool!"

"Why ask all these pointless things? Can we just go straight to the point?"

"Continue. Family relationships," the investigator continued through gritted teeth.

"I'm an orphan. No relatives."

"Where were you born?"

"Mt. Buzhou."

"Nonsense! We didn't find any record of your birth!"

"Go ask your superior," Han Xiao replied plainly.

Obviously, the higher-ups would not divulge Han Xiao's information to a normal member of staff. This interrogation was simply the internal affairs department's idea of giving him a warning.

The investigator was being given instructions through his earpiece, and he suppressed his anger to proceed with the psychological assessment.

The investigator gave Han Xiao a number of hypothetical scenarios for him to say what he would do in each of them. Han Xiao, however, was not cooperative and gave random answers.

...

Finally, the interrogation ended.

As the investigator sealed the compiled information in an envelope, he coldly told Han Xiao, "The internal affairs department is always watching you. Pray we don't find anything on you."

"So you mean you currently have nothing, and can't take any action against me?" taunted Han Xiao, before leaving the room in high spirits.

The investigator's face instantly darkened, and his hands shook with fury as he clutched the envelope.

Chapter 42: The Research Department's Greed

On his way back to the workshop, Han Xiao thought about how to go about starting his business in Division 13.

The first thing he would need to do was to get his name out there. Pulling out his phone, he made a call to Li Ya Lin to ask for her help. After some negotiation, she agreed to help him out on the condition of a lifetime 20% discount.

However, there was still a problem—the workshop was not well equipped for Han Xiao's plans, so he would not be able to carry out mass production. After thinking things through, he decided that he had no choice but to speak to Lu Qian directly.

...

"Sister Qian, I have something to say."

Lu Qian shivered.

'It was unavoidable all along,' she thought to herself, 'but now I am mentally prepared!'

"There's something I want to tell you," continued Han Xiao. "Actually, I-"

Suddenly, Lu Qian turned to face him and bowed resolutely.

"S-sorry, but I have to reject you. Please don't get me wrong, you are a good person."

The atmosphere instantly stiffened.

Han Xiao's eyelids twitched. Although he actually did not even have any intention of wooing her, being rejected in such a manner still left a bad taste in his mouth.

"..."

"You misunderstand. I just want to refit the workshop and install an independent workroom for my own use. My friend has lent me the money. What do you think? It's like a small upgrade."

Lu Qian gave a start and started to blush. She felt like she was about to die from embarrassment.

"Okay, fine. I agree," she replied before running upstairs.

"Ahhhh! That was so embarrassing!"

Han Xiao rolled his eyes. He suspected that she probably did not even hear him clearly.

...

Han Xiao drew up a proposal for his upgrades and passed it to Feng Jun to get it approved by the higher-ups.

As Division 13 valued Han Xiao highly, and it was a perfectly reasonable request, it was immediately passed, and construction workers soon arrived at the workshop.

Two days later, there was now a new mini workshop right next to the main building. As Division 13 had fully paid for it, it would be more accurate to say that Han Xiao was borrowing it, and under his request, they had also built an underground space for his convenience.

Over the next few days, Han Xiao received many orders for the Retractable Knife.

Although all of his clients were Division 13 agents, Han Xiao preferred not to meet with any of them directly just in case. He instead relied on Li Ya Lin to act as a middleman.

The materials were sent directly to Han Xiao's workshop, and he crafted dozens of Retractable Knives over the next few days, earning him quite a lot of experience, some of which he used to raise Mechanic Affinity to the highest level, thereby gaining another talent point.

Back in Division 13, word that Li Ya Lin's team had acquired a mechanic named Han Xiao—and that he was open to private orders—spread like wildfire.

As a result, the amount of orders he received skyrocketed, and Han Xiao found himself barely able to meet the demand. Nonetheless, thanks to this, he was able to earn tons of experience each day.

Unlike in his previous life, there were no competitors, so Han Xiao had the entire market to himself.

Han Xiao only intended to take orders for both the Retractable Knife, and High-explosive Gunpowder, but he made an exception to craft a Lightweight Mecha Arm for Li Ya Lin.

While the Retractable Knife was indeed selling like hot pancakes, Han Xiao knew that its popularity would soon fizzle out. After all, most people were only buying it for its novelty. Moreover, as its design wasn't really that complex at all, it wouldn't be strange for imitations and similar products to appear in the near future.

As such, Han Xiao had planned all along to only use it to earn a quick buck. Comparatively, the [High-explosive Gunpowder] had more promising potential. Not only was it inexpensive, it was extremely useful, and being a consumable, clients would keep on returning for more.

Furthermore, unlike the retractable knife, [High Explosive Gunpowder] would not be easily replicated—as soon as the bullet cap was opened, the gunpowder would react with air to combust and leave no trace. It was essentially impossible to craft without the blueprints and manufacturing process for the planet's current technology.

Han Xiao used the money he earned from the Retractable Knife each day to purchase large quantities of materials for making [High-explosive Gunpowder]. He only planned to push it out into the market after accumulating a stockpile.

...

One day, when Old Lu and the tall old man were having one of their 'chess sessions', Han Xiao saw the tall old man and came up to him.

"Is the prosthetic good to use?" he asked, smiling.

"Not bad," the tall old man laughed and rolled up his sleeve. The prosthetic arm had been fitted with a layer of artificial skin, making it seem extremely realistic.

"As long as you like it. If it needs maintenance, feel free to come to me."

The tall old man nodded and asked, "I heard from Old Lu that you joined Division 13?"

"Yes, I did."

"What a promising young lad. Do your best for the country," he applauded.

Han Xiao smirked inwardly. The tall old man did not know that he knew who he was.

Working for Division 13 was not a huge secret to keep. After all, the division had a front cover. Ordinary people had heard of a Division 13, but they simply knew it as a company.

As they conversed, Han Xiao wondered when the tall old man would come clean with him and if he should act surprised when he did.

Suddenly, Feng Jun entered the workshop in a hurry and said to Han Xiao with a grave expression, "Let's go outside for a talk."

As Han Xiao's caretaker, Feng Jun always kept a small team around the compound to monitor the workshop, mainly to keep an eye out for any Germinal Organization operatives.

As they stepped outside, the tall old man wondered what had happened.

"The research department has their eyes on you!"

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"The research department is tasked with inventing new weapons and equipment. They have the power to perform risk assessment on any equipment we use. Using the claim that your Retractable Knife is dangerous to use, they are demanding that you cough up the blueprints! As they have the right to do so, the other departments are unable to interfere."

'So they want my blueprints!

'Risk assessment? What a joke!'

Han Xiao snorted coldly. If he handed them the blueprints for the Retractable Knife, they would immediately begin mass production of it!

Feng Jun proceeded to enlighten Han Xiao on the internal strife in Division 13. The research department and internal affairs were both on the side of the hardliners, and essentially hostile towards him.

As the research department had not produced many results over the past few years, their budget was continuously slashed every year. In Division 13, their standing was even lower than that of the logistics department, which was why they were now targeting Han Xiao's blueprints. They were truly desperate.

"And what if I refuse?"

"You will be blacklisted by them, and it will reflect on your record. The good thing is that you are not an ordinary agent, and the Division values your intel highly, so it should not cause you many problems; after all, the research department can't really force you due to your position."

"Then that's fine. I won't give them the blueprints," said Han Xiao as he shook his head.

Feng Jun laughed bitterly. He had come knowing that Han Xiao would most likely refuse.

Although the Retractable Knife would end up being over-saturated in the market, it was still earning him a lot for the time being. Naturally, Han Xiao would not give it up.

The tall old man made a phone call to someone in Division 13. When he learnt of what had transpired, his face darkened.

"A bunch of greedy imbeciles! All they do is stir up nonsense!"

That Han Xiao was able to achieve an amicable relationship with Division 13 was something that the tall old man had played a huge role in. Now, however, there were people within the division itself who were clumsily undermining his efforts! What if Han Xiao became averse to the division and decided to pack up and leave‽ Then, all of his thoughts and efforts would have been in vain.

"The gall of them!"

Chapter 43: Stealing Credit Part 1

"Unbelievable!"

Li Ya Lin was enraged to hear of the research department's plot, mainly because she was worried about her 20% discount.

"This is the higher ups' game," said Li Yao. "We can't do anything about it."

"Might as well get rid of that research department head," suggested Lambert plainly as he polished his daggers.

Li Yao gave a start.

"Uncle! Don't say that kind of thing!"

"Well, that seems like one way to solve things..." mumbled Li Ya Lin in deep thought, sending Li Yao to the verge of tears.

Even if you guys don't want to live, I still want to live! he thought to himself.

Although Han Xiao had only joined them a few days ago, after the Black Spider operation, the trio had fully accepted him as their comrade. Naturally, they were displeased to hear of his predicament.

"Why not ask for his opinion directly?" asked Li Yao.

"His address is top secret, and his phone is always off!" scowled Li Ya Lin. "Who knows where he could be…"

"Then what should we do? How can we just watch him suffer at the hands of the research department?"

"Wait," Lambert abruptly interjected.

Footsteps could be heard, and a few seconds later, a woman appeared at the door.

"Hey, Lin Lin, I heard that your new teammate is quite the troublemaker."

The woman was short-haired, and a beauty in her own right. However, her voice was derisive, and she looked down on the trio antagonistically as she leaned against the door with folded arms.

The woman's skin was extremely fair, and her lips were exceedingly red, as though the petals of a rose. She possessed a flirtatious temperament, and although she was tall, the strength of her aura did not seem to pale against Li Ya Lin's. Although Li Ya Lin was unquestionably prettier, the woman was, without a doubt, more of a head turner than her.

Li Ya Lin's face immediately darkened at the sight of her.

"Vixen Su," she growled through gritted teeth, "are you looking for a fight?"

Di Su Su giggled tauntingly.

"If you dare."

Di Su Su and Li Ya Lin were well known to be hated rivals. The bad blood between them could be traced all the way back to when they were fellow disciples of a dojo in their childhood. While Di Su Su always excelled in each of their tests and fights, Li Ya Lin's performance was always average, and she was always easily defeated by her.

Even until this day, Li Ya Lin would sometimes be reminded of the way that she would put on a pretense in front of everyone and act nice to her despite them detesting each other. While everyone would praise Di Su Su and offer her guidance, Li Ya Lin's conversations with their master always end in a few sentences, and he would always just ask her to follow Di Su Su's example.

Recalling those events always dampened Li Ya Lin's mood. Her master essentially treated her like an abandoned dog in the rain.

The two would eventually both end up joining Division 13, but only for history to repeat itself. Di Su Su's always outperformed Li Ya Lin's team, and her team became the ace of secret ops. What Li Ya Lin hated most was how Di Su Su would frequently come over to mock her, and the way she called her 'Lin Lin'!

Bitch! Since when were we close?

Di Su Su was obviously doing it on purpose, and while Li Ya Lin knew this, it still got on her nerves.

"Hehe," Di Su Su laughed softly. "I heard that you guys have a new addition, so I came specially to look for him. Where is he? He can't have gone to hide, right?"

"He's not here," replied Li Ya Lin coldly. "Get lost."

"Looks like I've made a wasted trip, but I guess that's understandable, since he's busy being destroyed by the research department."

Li Ya Lin stared at her.

"Hurry up and get lost!"

"How heartless." Di Su Su pouted. "We're childhood sweethearts, after all."

She shot a look towards Li Yao before sauntering off.

Li Ya Lin was already frustrated, but when she turned around to see Li Yao all intoxicated, her anger swelled. She stood up abruptly to grab Li Yao by his collar.

"Is this beautiful woman right beside you not enough‽" she yelled. "Why are you looking at that vixen‽"

"B-b-but," stammered Li Yao, "she smiled at me..."

"You had better give me a good answer: is she more beautiful or am I?" she asked threateningly.

For some reason, Li Yao still had to take a moment to think before he replied, "I think... that Sister Su Su is gentler than you..."

"Humph, Li Yao! I think that your brain needs some adjustment!

"Reverse-avalanche-bridge-breaking suplex!"

As Lambert casually sipped on the cup of water in his hand, he picked his phone up to make a call.

"Get a doctor over here—a bone specialist, preferably."

...

The research department had expected Han Xiao to refuse their demands.

To mechanics, blueprints were like their lifeline.

They did not care about Han Xiao's personal gain, or rather, that was to be expected, as the hardliners were hostile to him from the very start. In their eyes, giving Han Xiao the chance to cooperate was a soft move, and he should have been locked up and controlled instead.

On the other hand, the conservatives thought exactly the opposite. They were willing to give Han Xiao the benefit of the doubt as he seemed trustworthy and was cooperative. Why cause unrest and animosity over a simple beginner equipment blueprint?

What if he wasn't scared of torture?

Division 13 had tried all sorts of methods on captured Germinal members before, but torture seldom worked, and nine out of ten would give false intel that was harmful instead of beneficial.

Besides, Han Xiao was a truly unique case.

As such, the conservatives, too, were outraged at the pressure that the hardliners were trying to put on Han Xiao. They saw them as a bunch of outdated, old farts. Times had changed, and talent was in high demand—Division 13 should have been treasuring him, not pressuring him.

Weren't there other mechanics in the division too? Stealing Han Xiao's work would reflect poorly on the division.

What year was it? All the talk about loyalty and what not would only serve to chase away prospects and talents seeking refuge. Don't forget that the Six Nations was the main culprit for the destruction of all the other countries! It would not be surprising if these foreign talents just up and rebelled!

Unfortunately, as Division 13 was extremely compartmentalized, only the top brass would be able to interfere with the research department's actions, but they seemed to only be interested in continuing to observe for now.

The research department was offering high amounts of cash to the agents for the Retractable Knives that they had bought from Han Xiao, which everyone saw through as a low move.

As most of the agents did not know of Han Xiao's special status, most felt that it was unreasonable to bully an ordinary mechanic so, and they decided not to turn in the knives. Doing so would also be, in some sense, disrespectful to Han Xiao.

However, there were still some who turned them in for the money.

Korat was the first agent to strike a deal with the research department. He asked for 30,000 dollars—thirty times more than the opening offer—and the research department relented.

His reasoning was simple—it was simply worth the money. While most of the agents held on to their morals, he laughed at them for being fools to pass up the opportunity.

It's just a small-time mechanic anyway, who even cares? Just wait till the research department mass produces it if you really want it.

...

In the research department, Luo Xuan and the head secretary were examining the retractable knife.

"Luo Xuan, can you reproduce it?"

Chapter 44: Stealing Credit Part 2

"Piece of cake. This thing isn't even well made; plus, it's not encrypted."

"Then I'll leave it to you. If you can figure out the blueprints, I'll pull you over into our department. Of course, your position will be higher."

Luo Xuan's eyes lit up. Since his debacle over the mecha arm, he had started to feel that he did not have a future in logistics.

If he could gain the favor of the higher-ups again, he would definitely be able to surpass that blasted Han Xiao!

...

Back at the workshop, Han Xiao had moved into the new building for convenience sake.

The arrangement brought Lu Qian some relief as things were still awkward between the pair.

"Whoosh."

Hot steam gushed out as Han Xiao, who was wearing a heat-resistant suit, opened the furnace lid. He proceeded to use a pair of iron tongs to pick up a piece of glowing hot metal from within.

For now, there were two options available to Han Xiao for making the Retractable Knives—molding or stamping.

While both methods had their own advantages, the latter allowed for mass production with a higher success rate, so Han Xiao favored it.

The selling point of the Retractable Knife was its concealability. Since practicality was more important than the quality of craftsmanship, Han Xiao did not bother to put much detail into making them.

The metal sheets that he used for stamping were provided by Division 13, so they were top grade. Han Xiao had polished the metal sheet with a chemical spray before putting it into the furnace. After taking it out of the furnace, he set it under the stamping machine. Of course, he still had to carry out a few more steps before the knives were complete.

Each Retractable Knife gave him 100-200 experience, and the level of the blueprint itself had been increased to Lv. 2, giving the final product a slightly higher quality.

When he was done, Han Xiao stepped out of the heat-resistant suit and wiped the sweat off his brow. After examining the newly made knives, he proceeded to work on some workshop orders.

Midway, Han Xiao's phone rang. He picked up his phone to see that it was Li Ya Lin.

"Something bad has happened! All the agents want to cancel their orders!"

"What happened‽" Han Xiao was shocked by the news.

"The research department has reverse-engineered the Retractable Knife, and they announced that they will proceed with mass production very soon and make it available to everyone!"

Although everyone could see how blatantly underhanded the research department was being, since they were going to be provided with free Retractable Knives, it was only natural for them to want to cancel their orders with Han Xiao.

The Retractable Knife's profitability had run its course.

Han Xiao sat in deep thought. He had not expected the research department to be so brazen. Although Han Xiao had already known that something like this would happen, he did not expect them to take action so fast.

While giving up the blueprints voluntarily would earn him some faction reputation, he would not be able to earn any experience.

In any case, they were putting a dent in Han Xiao plans to get stronger.

Han Xiao picked up his phone to make a call to Feng Jun.

"I assume you've heard?" he asked in a low voice.

Feng Jun sighed.

"The research department is really too much. The higher-ups haven't even given them permission, and they've already leaked that they will mass produce the Retractable Knife."

Han Xiao frowned.

"Fill me in on the details."

Feng Jun proceeded to tell Han Xiao about Korat and Luo Xuan.

"Has the research department given an official statement?"

"Not yet."

Han Xiao's face darkened. Looks like the research department did not even intend to give him an explanation.

How the research department dared to act was one thing, but the higher-ups definitely understood exactly what was going on. Han Xiao speculated that the reason they had not granted or denied the research department permission yet was to test how he would react. If he let the research department trample over him, it could be the green light for them to stop playing nice with him.

Of course, that was an extreme line of thought.

The top brass definitely won't side with either faction. As long as I don't push things too far, they will have to act accordingly and compensate me.

A thought suddenly occurred to Han Xiao. This could be my chance to obtain advancement knowledge!

However, as advancement knowledge was top secret, it would not be so simple to just mention it casually.

A plan began to formulate in Han Xiao's mind.

Rob me in broad daylight? I'll teach you all that I'm not that easy to bully!

...

In the Research Department…

"Heh heh. Well done, well done." The research department's head secretary was full of praise for Luo Xuan.

Luo Xuan smiled plainly, but in truth he was suppressing his delight.

"The department head thinks highly of you. We've already requested all the necessary information and documents from the logistics department. You can already be counted as our staff."

"What about the... promotion?"

"The department head specifically instructed that you will lead your own team. Your clearance will also be raised. Keep up the good work and there will be nothing to worry about."

Luo Xuan's smile widened.

"I heard that Han Xiao is valued highly by the higher-ups. Will there be any problem?" he asked.

"Relax, I have inside information. There is nothing he can do."

Chapter 45: The Last Laugh

News of the conflict between the research department and Han Xiao spread throughout Division 13 like wildfire. As everyone thought Han Xiao to be an ordinary mechanic, the outcome seemed obvious.

Over the next few days, Han Xiao showed no signs of action, so it became apparent that he had, as expected, decided to swallow it.

Nonetheless, it still remained a mystery as to why the research department would pick on a normal staff member so much.

Li Ya Lin also suffered from the incident due to her involvement with Han Xiao, and while she kept on trying to call Han Xiao to speak to him, the line always failed to get through.

Of course, Han Xiao was not going to let things end like that. While he had not made his move yet, that was because his preparations were not complete.

Han Xiao had previously made about $100,000 from selling the Retractable Knives, $30,000 of which was used to purchase materials for High-explosive Gunpowder.

Over the last few days, he had used another $30,000 of materials to make a huge batch of Retractable Knives—100 in total.

"That should be enough."

Han Xiao had just finished with the hundredth knife, and he went to look for a crate to store them all in before leaving Division 13.

As the threat of war loomed, guns were heavily regulated in the Six Nations. It was in fact illegal for civilians to possess any, which was why Han Xiao had gotten rid of his guns before entering the city.

Nonetheless, there were illegal arms dealers situated all across the Six Nations. Neutral vendors such as these were implemented in Galaxy as a way for players to purchase equipment and intel as they carried out infiltration and assassination missions in enemy nations.

Naturally, Han Xiao knew exactly where these vendors were located.

Han Xiao was headed to District 8 to look for an arms dealer named Ma Xiu Si. Ma Xiu Si was an operative for the Fabian Company, a global powerhouse in the arms market who sold everything from guns to jets. Under the table, they even did business with the Six Nations themselves and the Revolutionary Army.

...

Han Xiao easily found Ma Xiu Si, who was more than happy to entertain him when Han Xiao opened up the crate of Retractable Knives before him and began to explain their usage.

Ma Xiu Si was experienced in the black market, so he instantly recognized the Retractable Knife's worth. While conventional melee weapons were not much of a money spinner, the Retractable Knife's concealability and element of surprise would definitely be favored by many.

Han Xiao expressed his wish to sell the whole crate.

"Can you supply them long-term?" asked Ma Xiu Si.

Han Xiao chuckled.

"Would you be interested in the blueprint?"

Ma Xiu Si's eyes widened. Blueprints were extremely important items to mechanics. They essentially gave their owners monopoly over their inventions. It was extremely rare that a mechanic would offer to sell one of his blueprints, so Ma Xiu Si was not only shocked but overjoyed.

As he was a veteran salesman, however, he suppressed the excitement boiling within.

"Name your price," he asked casually.

"There's a hundred here. 5,000 each, and I'll sell you the blueprint for a million."

Ma Xiu Si gasped lightly. '5,000 each? A million for the blueprint? Just rob me, will you‽'

"No bargaining."

Han Xiao was confident that Ma Xiu Si would agree to his terms.

Ma Xiu Si frowned, but after a while of contemplation, he relented.

"Deal!"

Being able to obtain the blueprint was far too lucrative a chance to miss.

As the banks of each of the Six Nations were not connected to one another, dark web banking was the primary method of transaction in the underworld. Not only was it accessible worldwide, it was also extremely secure.

Han Xiao performed fingerprint verification for the account on the spot.

"I look forward to doing more business with you. This is a VIP card."

Han Xiao took the card from Ma Xiu Si and kept it.

Fostering good relations with these arms dealers would prove useful in the long run as he did not plan to stay in Division 13 forever.

...

Back in Division 13, the research director encountered the intelligence director in the hallway.

"Looks like you guys have chosen to support a good-for-nothing," mocked the research director. "He caved in so easily to a little bit of pressure. Take my advice—stop playing nice with him."

For some reason, the intelligence director was not enraged by his words. He simply smiled back.

"Good luck," he replied plainly as he patted the research director on the shoulder.

The research director was confused. 'Good luck? What do you mean?'

Suddenly, his phone rang. The division chief was looking for him. He hastily bumbled his way to the chief's office.

"Chief, you called?"

"Your plans were approved yesterday. The Retractable Knife will be credited to your department."

The research director was overjoyed to hear the news.

"Thank you for your trust, chief."

The chief chuckled.

"Don't be happy so soon."

The research director furrowed his brows.

"What happened? If it's about Han Xiao, there won't be a problem. There's nothing he can do."

"Oh, you think so?" questioned the chief.

The research director nodded.

"Good..."

Suddenly, the chief picked up a folder and threw it in the research director's face.

"To think that you would abuse your power to sell the division's technology for personal gain! How disappointing."

What‽

Chapter 46: Settlemen

The research director was flustered. He hastily scrambled to pick up the document on the floor, and as he went through it, he began to tremble.

The report stated that the blueprint for the Retractable Knife had been leaked, and that, naturally, the 'inventor' of the Retractable Knife would have to take responsibility for it.

"T-t-this is not my fault!" he cried out. "It must be that brat, Han Xiao! He is obviously trying to frame me! Everyone knows that the blueprint belonged to him, please help me clear my name, Chief!"

"The report clearly states that the research department invented the Retractable Knife," replied the chief coolly. "It is your responsibility."

The research director felt a chill run down his spine as he suddenly realized what was going on.

The top brass had chosen to back up Han Xiao!

The reason why the verdict on their proposal was delayed for so long was simply that the higher-ups wanted to wait and see what Han Xiao would do.

And Han Xiao had managed to play everyone.

By leaking the blueprint, he was asking the higher ups, 'Here is the excuse you need. Do you want to help me or not?'

While they had not expected Han Xiao to come up with such a brilliant comeback to frame the research department, they were more than willing to help him out to appease him. After all, they did want to continue having his cooperation.

Originally, Han Xiao's Retractable Knife would have been exclusive to Division 13, even if it meant that he himself had the monopoly over it, but thanks to the research department's greed, the Retractable Knife would now appear in the hands of others too.

While Han Xiao's actions might have been a little bit extreme, the higher-ups were willing to overlook it. The blueprint was rightfully his anyway.

Of course, if it had been a normal agent, they would without a doubt send him to court martial and expel him from Division 13. It was Han Xiao's unique identity that stopped them from doing so. The intel he possessed was truly far too valuable. In any case, he had not stepped entirely out of line yet.

Furthermore, it was important to display the Division's fairness to everyone.

At this point, the research director's face had turned completely pale. He deeply regretted having tried to pick on Han Xiao.

While the 'crime' itself was not grave to the point of a death sentence, his career was essentially over.

Han Xiao, you bastard! he screamed inwardly.

...

When news of the research director being charged with selling weapons illegally broke out, all the agents in Division 13 were filled with disbelief.

The fact that he was not immediately sentenced heavily hinted that there was more to the entire incident than met the eye.

It did not take long for the agents to put two and two together and arrive at the unbelievable conclusion that Han Xiao had orchestrated it all.

Previously, they thought that Han Xiao had kept quiet due to caving in, but in retrospect, it was simply the calm before the storm.

"Did he actually frame the research director?"

"The gall of him!"

"But doesn't that mean that the higher-ups are supporting him‽"

What everyone found hardest to believe was that Han Xiao actually got off scot-free. This caused a lot of speculation regarding his true identity to arise.

And the person happiest to hear the news was none other than Li Ya Lin, who was vindicated from all the odd looks that people had been giving here due to her connection to Han Xiao. The first thing that she did was look for Di Su Su and gloat in front of her. However, Di Su Su was not the least angered by her. Instead, she was more preoccupied with her newly found interest in Han Xiao.

"Who exactly is Lin Lin's new teammate?"

...

The research director was only given a strict warning for now, and, unable to touch Han Xiao, his men suffered the brunt of his rage. Of course, Luo Xuan was not spared. Instead of his promised promotion, what he earned was a demotion to the position of an ordinary staff member.

"Damn it!" cursed Luo Xuan.

If he had known things would turn out like this, he would have obediently continued on in the logistics department. It was also now too late, as the logistics director was not even willing to grant him an audience.

This is unfair!

Why do they want to protect Han Xiao?

How is he better than me‽

Luo Xuan was blinded with rage.

...

The next day, Han Xiao received word from Feng Jun that the higher-ups wanted to discuss the matter of settlement with him.

Finally, the chance for Han Xiao to negotiate had come. Han Xiao knew that in the future, the hardliners would not carelessly take action against him again, so it was probably the one time that he would be able to acquire advancement knowledge.

Han Xiao arrived at the HQ with his mask on as usual to meet with Feng Jun. Feng Jun led him to the chief's office where three people waited: the chief himself, the research director, and an old man who was faced against the glass window.

"Gu Hui, Stardragon Strategic Defense Chief," introduced the chief.

Han Xiao squinted. It was a familiar name, but he could not recall where he had heard it.

"Someone wants to see you," Gu Hui continued in a low voice.

The old man turned around and smiled at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao's acting skills immediately kicked in.

"Tall, old man‽"

The tall old man chuckled.

"It must be quite a surprise."

"Who exactly are you?" asked Han Xiao as he nodded blankly, similar to how he had once acted back in the Germinal Organization.

"All you need to know is that I have some power in Division 13."

"..."

"Heh. Don't be so nervous. I've already noticed you from back then. You gave me quite a favorable impression."

Mission accomplished!

As Han Xiao wiped the confusion off his face, the tall old man scrutinized him for a second before slowly saying, "Tell me, how do you want this matter resolved?"

Chapter 47: Sore Loser

"I just want some compensation," Han Xiao stated calmly.

"Isn't the money you earned from selling the blueprint enough compensation?" The research director could not resist shooting his mouth off.

Han Xiao shot a look at him.

"If not for you trying to steal my blueprint, I would have been able to make even more money. And if you had even tried asking nicely, I might have even sold it to the division! But ask yourself - did you?"

The research director could not retort.

"What kind of compensation do you want?" asked Gu Hui.

Han Xiao faked a sigh and pretended to contemplate for a moment before replying, "I don't want something like this to happen again."

"That's for sure."

In any case, even if Han Xiao only chose to sell his goods privately, he would still only be selling to Division 13's own agents. While the quantity would not be as much as if they were mass produced, they still only benefited the division. Furthermore... what if more valuable blueprints ended up 'leaking'?

"And..." continued Han Xiao as he rubbed his chin. "I want to have a look at advanced mechanic knowledge."

The tall old man furrowed his brows. Was it a coincidence, or had Han Xiao planned to ask for it from the very start?

Advanced mechanic knowledge was top-secret in Stardragon, and only accessible with a level 5 or higher clearance. In Galaxy, the equivalent requirement was an 'honored' reputation. Each of the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization possessed different kinds of advanced knowledge, but only the most trusted and deserving would have a chance to obtain them.

Although Han Xiao appeared calm and firm on the outside, he was actually extremely nervous. Such a request would normally be impossible to ask of. Now, it all depended on the tall, old man.

"Why advanced knowledge?"

"Just curious."

"..."

After five minutes of tense silence, the tall old man made up his mind. As he looked deeply into Han Xiao's eyes, he slowly spoke, "Fine, I will allow it."

Han Xiao was instantly overcome with relief and joy, but he suppressed his emotions.

Suddenly, the research director interrupted, "Hold on! Advanced knowledge requires a level 5 clearance. This is against the rules!"

Han Xiao's mouth twitched.

If this bastard dares to spoil my plans, I'll beat him into a pulp!

"What do you suggest then?" Gu Hui asked unhappily.

"Rules are rules. Although you, senior, are okay with it, I hardly think that the others will agree."

The tall old man smirked.

"Are you threatening me?"

"I wouldn't dare," answered the research director matter-of-factly.

There were two levels of hierarchy in Division 13. Besides the thirteen section heads, there existed a higher committee comprised of the chief himself and other high-ranking officials who wielded enormous influence in Stardragon.

The tall, old man was none other than one of the higher-ranking members, and he was the leader of the conservatives. Naturally, the hardliners had an equally powerful backer, which was why the research head dared to speak up.

"My word alone will suffice," declared the tall old man plainly.

The research head gritted his teeth. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

"Then, I suggest granting him only half an hour of browsing. He doesn't even have the proper clearance anyway."

Gu Hui and the tall old man exchanged looks. This was a fair suggestion. Besides, Han Xiao himself had only asked to 'take a look'.

"We'll give you one hour!" declared Gu Hui.

The research head rejoiced secretly. Even an hour would not be enough time to look through a third of the advanced knowledge.

Deep down, however, Han Xiao was laughing.

One hour? Watch me take one minute with my talent points!

He had to bite his lip to stop himself from grinning.

Calm down… calm down…

…

The advanced knowledge was protected with an extremely secure multi-layered encryption. The code to unlocking it was a combined series of over a hundred 48-digit strings that were refreshed constantly.

The contents itself were only able to be browsed by using a special terminal.

Han Xiao was brought by Gu Hui to take an elevator to a secret basement. When the lift doors opened, Han Xiao was greeted by the sight of a brightly lit metallic hallway lined throughout with surveillance cameras on either side. While there were no guards, the corridor was full of metal detectors and red lasers, and there were guns concealed behind the walls. They would activate automatically upon unauthorized entry.

It was a fortress in its own right.

"How much did you guys spend on this corridor?"

"A few billion," Gu Hui calmly answered.

Han Xiao let out a soft snort.

The terminal was Stardragon's most advanced computer. The amount of data that it could process in just one second alone could overload a regular computer. It contained all of the nation's top secrets.

Han Xiao guessed that even if he maxed his 'Computing' talent, it would not be enough to hack through the terminal's firewall.

It took an entire five minutes to walk across the entire stretch of the hallway, and, as they approached the end, a spherical room appeared in Han Xiao's view. A transparent passageway connected the hallway to the center of the sphere where a screen could be seen. There was also a panel connected with a mouse and a keyboard. This was the interface of the terminal.

As they stepped into the room, Han Xiao noticed that there were actually countless optical fibers and advanced looking computer parts laid inside the glass - the entire room was actually the terminal!

Han Xiao, however, was not impressed.

"Why is the air here so stale? Did you guys forget the ventilation or something?"

Gu Hui's eye twitched.

He calmed himself down and replied, "That is the interface. The preparations have been made. You will not be able to access any other information apart from the advanced knowledge. For the sake of protocol, I will remind you that we will be watching, and you had better not try anything funny."

Got it, I won't make you laugh.

Han Xiao nodded and proceeded to walk to the panel.

The terminal prompted him for a search input, so he typed in "advancement knowledge", and several results appeared on the screen:

Esper Advanced Knowledge: [DNA - Strengthened Energy Level]

Esper Advanced Knowledge: [DNA - Strengthened Control]

Pugilist Advanced Knowledge: [Shockwave Burst]

Pugilist Advanced Knowledge: [Wave Control]

Chapter 48: Advancement!

In Galaxy, talent trees were named slightly different for each class: Machinery Knowledge Tree for Mechanics, Qi Mastery Tree for Pugilists, DNA Tree for Espers, Spell Knowledge Tree for Mages, and Psychic Ability Tree for Psychics.

Pugilists focused on strength and combat, and they practiced the art of qi. Some of their skills included [Energy Burst], which is self-explanatory, and [Wavedash], which allowed instantaneous dodging of attacks.

Although Pugilists across the universe practiced and employed different kinds of teachings and techniques, all of them were centered around the use of qi.

Espers were far more unique, as each of them possessed different kinds of supernatural powers. An Esper's strength was determined by their DNA growth. Through leveling up their talents, their control over their powers would increase: power, speed, control, etc. For example, Magneto, when he was young, could only exert control over small objects like coins. However, as his powers developed, he became able to move entire stadiums and ultimately even control the very earth's magnetic field. With sufficient time, an Esper's potential could be said to be unlimited.

Of course, two Espers with the same superpower might not necessarily use them in the same ways. For example, not all electricity users would be able to emulate each other's feats and applications of electricity manipulation. To some extent, in Galaxy, each player had to choose to 'specialize'.

The screen before Han Xiao lit up.

_____________________

Mechanic Advanced Knowledge: Advanced Material Composition

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

"This is weaponry knowledge!"

Although it appeared that there was only one piece of advanced knowledge suited for Mechanics available, Han Xiao was happy enough to have it.

Now, no one in Stardragon will be able to stop me!

Han Xiao pressed enter without hesitation. Immediately, columns of texts and complex diagrams flashed across on the screen.

_____________________

Advanced knowledge detected.

[Advanced Material Composition]

Use 2 talent points to learn. Y/N

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

"Yes!"

Han Xiao began to grow dizzy as all the knowledge on the screen started to transmit into his brain.

_____________________

Learning in progress, do not cancel.

1%... 12%... 37%...

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Although the entire process only took a few seconds, it felt much longer to Han Xiao.

Suddenly, Han Xiao flung his head back. The 'upload' had been completed successfully.

_____________________

Success! You have learnt [Advanced Material Composition], unlocking advanced Weaponry talents!

[Lv. 20 Novice Mechanic Advancement Mission Complete]

You may now choose one of the following three advancements: Cannonmaster, Technician, or Warmachine.

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

These were the three paths available to Mechanics, and choosing one was an irreversible decision.

Cannonmasters specialized in long-ranged bombardment and heavy artillery. At higher levels, they possessed frightening firepower. It was commonly known in Galaxy that the key to winning or losing against Cannonmasters lay in range.

If the enemy Cannonmaster is within 100m, don't hesitate—charge him down!

However, if he is over 1,000m away, it would be wise to proceed with caution.

And if he is 3,000m away… well, that won't be the end of the world just yet, but any further and good luck, buddy.

Warmachines, on the other hand, employed technologically advanced combat weapons to fight at close range. From bio-armor to mobile suits, there were many ways for Warmachines to quench their thirst for melee combat.

Yet, when compared to the Technician, both of these paths steered away from the true essence of a Mechanic—invention.

Over 80% of blueprints were exclusive to Technicians, so choosing either path would mean forfeiting the ability to create many higher-level gear and machines.

The trade-off was that they were superior to Technicians in combat and, to most, more fun to play. After all, most people considered 'manufacturing' classes to be boring. Technicians were always the least popular class, until Version 3.0.

In Galaxy, Han Xiao had mained a Technician, preferring them to the other two paths, so he had already set his mind on the Technician path from the very start.

_____________________

Congratulations! You have succeeded in class advancement.

Han Xiao could feel an invisible, mysterious power wrapping around his body.

You are now a Technician (Lv. 1).

+30 STR, +1 DEX, +1 END, +3 INT

3 Attribute Points Gained

1 Talent Point Gained

You have completed the first advancement. Endurance stat-boost has increased:

1 Endurance = 15 Max HP

1 Endurance = 18 Stamina

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Although from start to end nothing appeared to have happened in the eyes of Gu Hui and the others, incredible changes had taken place within Han Xiao's body. At present, the mysterious power enveloping him was not only granting him new power—it was awakening the dormant energy lying within his very cells, causing it to resonate.

Suddenly, the interface lit up.

_____________________

You have gained Energy Affinity: Metal!

You have acquired a new ability: Presence of Mind!

You have learnt Energy Training Technique!

You have learnt Intermediate Mechanic Affinity!

You have learnt Blueprint: Special Platinum Alloy!

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

When the process ended, Han Xiao felt as though his body had been entirely remodeled.

He could now see with stunning clarity the tiny specks of dust on the keyboard, and even the previously unnoticeable buzz of the current running throughout the glass sphere room was now clearly audible to him.

"I did it!"

Han Xiao brought up the character information tab.

____________________

Name: Han Xiao

Race: Human (Carbon-based)

Model: NPC (Launch countdown: 138 days, 3 hours & 51 minutes)

Level: 21

Experience: 181,000

Main Class: Lv. 10 Novice Mechanic/ Lv. 1 Apprentice Technician (0/50,000)

Health: 670/670

Stamina: 854/854

Attributes: 31 STR, 18 DEX, 38 END, 32 INT, 1 MYS, 5 CHA, 1 LUK

Unassigned Stat Point(s): 3

Energy: 160/160 (Lv. 3)

____________________

(NEW) Energy Type: Magnetic - Gives a Bonus to Machinery Affinity

Lv. 1 (10 Energy) - [STR +1, DEX, +1, END +1, INT +1] Max Stamina +20, Damage (Machinery) +1%, Crafting Speed +1%

Lv. 2 (50 Energy) - [STR +3, DEX, +2, END +3, INT +1] Max Stamina +50, Damage (Machinery) +2%, Crafting Speed +2%

Lv. 3 (100 Energy) - [STR +3, DEX, +3, END +5, INT +2] Max Stamina +100, Damage (Machinery) +3%, Crafting Speed +3%

Energy Level: 98-104

Grade: Class E Superhuman

[You have finally taken the first step of transcendence. Don't get too full of yourself, there is still a long way to go.]

____________________

Specializations: [High Focus], [Lesser Mental Resistance], [Hard Worker]

(NEW) [Presence of Mind] - +5 INT

____________________

Class Abilities:

- Basic Machinery Affinity Lv.5

- Basic Maintenance Lv. 10

- Basic Enhancement Lv. 10

- Basic Refining Lv. 1

- Overload Lv. 1

Blueprint: Sky Swallow Gliders Lv. 1

Blueprint: Prosthetic Limb Lv. 1

Blueprint: Lightweight Mechanical Arm Lv. 1

Blueprint: Rover Lv. 1

Blueprint: High Explosive Lv.3

Blueprint: Retractable Knife Lv. 2

(New!) Intermediate Mechanic Affinity Lv. 1 - +2% Production Quantity - +2% Production Speed

(New!) Strafe Lv. 1:

Cost: 3 Energy, 15 Stamina.

Cooldown: 12s

For two seconds, enables instantaneous movement within a 3-meter radius. Grants 15% bonus firing speed for the duration of the skill. Can only be used when equipped with a gun. (This skill can be activated even if you are on your last bullet.)

(New!) Blueprint: Platinum Alloy

Grade: Green

This material is made with advanced technology. It has high ductility and is suitable for making armor and various machines.

Crafting Requirement: Basic Refining Lv. 5

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Other Abilities:

Basic Combat Lv. 10 - +10% Damage (Barehanded), +2 STR, + 1 END

Basic Shooting Lv. 8 - +8% Accuracy (Ranged)

Grappling Lv. 5 - +7% Counter (Melee), +10% Damage (Barehanded)

Precise Aim Lv. 1 - +3% Accuracy (Ranged), +2% Critical Rate (Ranged)

Special Ops Combat Lv. 1 - +6% Critical Rate (Melee), +4% Damage (Barehanded)

Stealing Lv. 1

(New!) Energy Training Technique - +10 Energy - 0/80 times (Each use costs 800 experience and 500 stamina)

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Talent Points: 16

Class Talent Tree

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Weaponry

Basic Assembly Lv. 1 (0/1)

Basic Mechanical Engineering Lv. 2 (0/1)

Basic Bionics Lv. 2 (0/1)

Basic Weaponry Knowledge Lv. 1 (0/1)

Basic Material Knowledge Lv. 1 (0/1)

(New!) Advanced Material Composition Lv. 1 (0/2)

[14 Talents Not Learnt]

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Energy

[20 Talents Not Learnt]

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Manipulation

[20 Talents Not Learnt]

____________________

Reputations:

Germinal Organization - Hated (-1000)

Stardragon SDI (Division 13) - Neutral (300/1000) - Clearance Level 1

Legend: 0

Chapter 49: Squad Leader's Return

180,000 experience—45,000 from the Black Spider mission, and the rest mostly accumulated from Han Xiao's efforts in tirelessly crafting Retractable Knives and Highly Explosive Gunpowder. Currently, both blueprints were at Lv. 2 and Lv. 3 respectively. As they were cheap and easy to craft, they were much easier to level up in contrast to other blueprints like the Lightweight Mecha Arm, or the Rover.

A month had passed since Han Xiao arrived at the Western Capital. Since then, Han Xiao had earned an overall amount of 200,000 experience, which was equal to a third of what he had earned back in his 6-month stint with the Germinal Organization. Now, with over $1,500,000 in his possession, finances were the least of Han Xiao's concern.

The first-class advancement was the biggest game changer as it granted the player an energy attribute.

Han Xiao lightly pressed his thumb towards his index finger. As soon as he did so, his index was enveloped by a sort of invisible air. It felt similar to a weak current, and Han Xiao could discern that it was magnetism. Magnetism was one of the attributes that a Mechanic could specialize in. Combat-wise, it was not as powerful as the destructive attributes of fire or lightning. Instead, its main use was in strengthening the Machinery Affinity of a Mechanic. It would eventually allow for automated crafting.

Energy Attributes were not limited to just the natural elements. Instead, they could be thought of more as 'concepts' of how each class uses energy. For example, the energy attribute for Psychics is [Spirit]. Furthermore, energy attributes could also be nurtured and changed. For example, a Pugilist who cultivated various techniques would be able to grasp the speed of wind, power of fire, or hardness of iron, etc.

[Abstract Thinking] and [Intermediate Machinery Affinity] were self-explanatory, while [Strafe] was an active defensive skill.

If Han Xiao had chosen the path of Cannonmaster, he would have gained three new skills. However, he only gained one: [Strafe], a defensive skill. Han Xiao was by no means a coward who did not dare to face the enemy head-on, but he did indeed prefer a dual-natured skill like this that could be used both offensively and defensively to other flashy and high-damage ones. Furthermore, gaining unlimited ammo, even if temporary, could prove to be useful.

[Energy Training Technique] was a common skill acquired after the first advancement.

It was a special type of 'growth' skill that did not have a level system. Instead, its effects could be improved through repeated usage/practice that expended experience, and each use increased the character's energy, up until the skill's set usage limit. The user's energy attribute played an important part in the training effectiveness.

Most energy-related training techniques utilized such a growth system.

Energy was indeed an integral part of Superhumans. It largely decided a character's grade and power level. The early levels of energy stages are as follows:

Lv. 1 -10

Lv. 2 - 50

Lv. 3 - 100

Lv. 4 - 200

Lv. 5 - 400

Lv. 6 - 1000

...

Not only did reaching the next energy level give each player bonus stats, there were also extra benefits that could be unlocked upon reaching certain levels.

Lv. 1 was the bare benchmark, and while Hila was only Lv. 30, her energy level had already reached 500 ouna, roughly five times more than Han Xiao's. One of the reasons for this was the Energy Training Technique system.

Platinum Alloy was a new material-type blueprint acquired through [Advanced Material Composition]. The alloy itself was green in color, and it was well-suited for making armor due to its sturdiness. Its crafting requirement was Lv. 5 Novice Refining.

Of the 180,000 experience at hand, Han Xiao decided to spend 25,000 to reach Lv. 10 Agent. This gave him a number of stats (+2 STR, +2 DEX, +3 END, +1 CHA), as well as 1 talent point and 1 assignable stat point.

____________________

Advancement detected! Delete [Civilian] Class?

Y/N

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The [Civilian] class was simply one of the default starting classes for new characters. It functioned as a tutorial class that could be deleted upon the first advancement. The experience that a player put into the [Civilian] class would be refunded upon deletion, unless the unknowing player had maxed it out.

"Delete, I guess," mumbled Han Xiao to himself. There was nothing to lose from deleting it.

The [Civilian] class subsequently disappeared from the information window, leaving it to reflect only a max level [Agent], as well as Han Xiao's character level of 21.

Next, Han Xiao inputted another 45,000 experience points to raise [Basic Shooting] to Lv. 10, which gave him 10% Accuracy, +2 DEX, and another talent point.

In short, Han Xiao had just spent 70,000 experience points, but he still needed to save 64,000 for the [Energy Training Technique], leaving him with... yup, give me a second...

47,000 more experience points!

"I'll keep them for now," muttered Han Xiao, lamenting how quickly the experience points vanished.

Fortunately for him, there was still the High-explosive Gunpowder that he had been stocking up on. It would ensure a steady stream of experience ahead.

...

When the time was up, Gu Hui promptly escorted Han Xiao back upstairs, where Feng Jun had been waiting.

Suddenly, Han Xiao remembered something.

"Oh right. I heard that it was a guy called Korat who stirred up this incident. Help me get word out that I won't be selling anything to this person."

Feng Jun grimaced.

"Do you think I'm a messenger or something?"

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you?"

Feng Jun opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Fine," he groaned.

...

"He says he's blacklisted me?"

Korat laughed coldly, seemingly unfazed.

All along, he had only been concerned with personal gain, and he did not see how Han Xiao could ever pose a threat to him.

...

With the resolution of the incident, Han Xiao returned to the workshop, where three days went by peacefully.

Having just advanced, Han Xiao spent the time adjusting to his newly upgraded body. With his past life's experience, he quickly got in sync and began to train with the [Energy Training Technique]. Each training expended experience points, as well as stamina. As stamina recovery rate was limited, and Han Xiao had to continue with manufacturing, he could only train up to two times a day.

____________________

You have trained with [Energy Training Technique] once.

Mastery: 81%

Stamina: +3

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Training effectiveness depended on the main stat of one's class. The main stat for Mechanics was INT, so he devoted four unassigned points into INT, raising its total to 36. Previously, Han Xiao had needed to put quite a few points into STR and END, but that was only for the purpose of escaping the Germinal facility. From now on, he could focus solely on INT.

The effectiveness of [Energy Training Technique] was divided into three stages:

+1 Stamina for lower than 40% Mastery

+2 Stamina for 40%-80% Mastery

+3 Stamina for 80% and above Mastery

Han Xiao was right on Stage 3.

As Han Xiao had no other outlet to sell the Retractable Knife for now, and a few days had already gone by, he felt that it was about time to release the gunpowder. By now, he had produced thousands of bullets.

He was just about to ring Li Ya Lin up when she beat him to it.

"Leader is out of the hospital. He's called us up."

...

Han Xiao found himself the last to arrive at the secret ops team meeting room, where, other than the trio, was another man. The man's face was extremely square, and he seemed both righteous and stern. He looked extremely reliable and currently had his lips pursed.

"So, you are Han Xiao?"

The team leader's eyes were filled with both unhappiness and caution as he examined Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was caught off guard by him. Suddenly, Li Yao tugged on his sleeve and muttered to him, "He has the final say in who can join secret ops, but since your case was special, and you had the approval from the higher ups without going through him, he's a bit—uh—unhappy. But don't worry. Leader might be strict, but he's not a bad person."

That explained things.

Han Xiao was given a second shock when he turned to look at Li Yao. Li Yao's entire body was wrapped in bandages, and he looked very much like a giant rice dumpling, with only his eyes and mouth revealed. It was an extremely pitiful state.

"Who beat you up?" asked a bewildered Han Xiao.

Suddenly, Li Ya Lin coughed.

Li Yao looked as though he was about to say something but changed his words. "I— I fell down."

Han Xiao gave him a weird look. His injuries were so serious, if he really fell, he must have done the 'fall a hundred times if you're a man' challenge.

"Let me introduce myself," interrupted the leader.

"I am the team's leader, Zhang Wei," he introduced, shocking Han Xiao a third time.

"How casual is your parents' naming sense‽ I think only Ye Qiu or Ye Fan could be worse!"

Han Xiao's response, for some reason, caused Zhang Wei to look confused.

"You know Ye Fan from Hai Xia's military affairs? Middle—cough—I mean, I worked with him a few times back in the hostel."

Heavens! There really exists someone with such a godly name? That guy's rank must be S+!

"Anyway," continued Zhang Wei sternly. "With your inclusion, our team is back to being a five man cell. Although your position is in the backline, I still have to say this: as your background is a complete mystery, and I don't trust your ability yet, I will continue to observe you for now. I don't care if it's some high-level agent who assigned you here. If you fail to meet my expectations, I will kick you out of the squad."

Chapter 50: Rescue Mission Part 1

Han Xiao's eyelid twitched.

Trust did indeed take time to be established—Zhang Wei might have been blunt, but he was, without a doubt, simply acting the part of a responsible leader. Naturally, Han Xiao was not offended at all.

However, the chances of him being kicked out were nonexistent—after all, the top brass had decided things.

Zhang Wei himself understood this fact, but, as the leader of a squad, he could not just instantly accept someone whose background was a complete mystery—the higher-ups had not provided him with any information regarding Han Xiao.

Furthermore, in his eyes, Han Xiao was still new, and it remained to be seen if he was truly capable. In their field of work, the slightest mistake could result in the gravest of consequences, so being assigned a new guy all of a sudden was not a laughing matter.

Of course, it was not that Zhang Wei looked down on newbies. However, he believed that any new agent should have to go through two or three years of training before earning the right to even be considered for secret ops.

Who the hell threw this guy to us? Do they think that we're babysitters‽

They're taking this far too lightly! Damn you all!

As Zhang Wei continued to examine Han Xiao, he made up his mind to ignore the repercussions and kick Han Xiao to another team if he proved unable to gel with the squad.

Meanwhile, Han Xiao did not know what was going through his mind, but he found that Zhang Wei's eyes were slowly filling up with animosity.

Suddenly, Li Yao's laptop flashed, prompting him to turn his neck around with much effort. His expression changed as he yelled, "There's an urgent mission! They want us to depart now!"

"Details?" asked Zhang Wei sternly.

"Ma Qing Yang's team was ambushed during their mission to assault a Germinal base. The higher-ups want us to provide assistance immediately. They'll fill us in on the plane."

"Assaulting a Germinal base?" wondered Han Xiao. He could guess roughly what had occurred, having previously given Division 13 info on three of their bases.

All three bases were situated within Stardragon territory, which was why Stardragon had been able to immediately mobilize its troops to destroy two of them. The destruction of these two bases had increased Han Xiao's achievement progress rate to 2.0%. However, the Germinal were no fools and had clearly anticipated that the third base would be attacked as well. They had clearly set up a trap.

Zhang Wei promptly headed for the door. When he passed Han Xiao, he paused for a moment and frowned before instructing, "Li Yao, you will stay behind to provide support. Han Xiao, you are new, so this is a good chance for you. Stay with Li Yao and learn well if you want to become useful."

Li Yao was about to say something, but he hesitated. Han Xiao smiled and simply replied, "Fine."

As Zhang Wei did not participate in the Black Spider mission and had only received a flowery description of events from Li Ya Lin; he did not trust in Han Xiao's ability yet. Han Xiao sighed inwardly. He understood this well.

Han Xiao pondered for a moment before holding Li Ya Lin back to pass her four magazines of High-explosive ammo.

"Consider it a gift from a friend."

Li Ya Lin's eyes lit up upon seeing them.

"Is this your new invention?"

Han Xiao chuckled.

"Don't squander them—they can start quite a fire."

...

_____________________

You have triggered the E-class mission: [Rescue!]

Mission Description: Provide assistance to the secret-ops team being chased by the enemy. Your role is to assist your teammates in completing this mission.

Mission Requirement: Successfully rescue Ma Qing Yang's squad.

Mission Rewards: 8,000 experience

Bonus Rewards: None

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8,000 experience only, lamented Han Xiao. Fitting for a backline support I guess.

"Brother Han…" said Li Yao. "Leader isn't particularly against you or anything like that, so don't worry about it."

"I know," replied Han Xiao casually, which eased Li Yao's worries.

He then swiftly popped up three laptops and worked away at them to adjust the video and audio feeds. From the first-person footage on the screen, they could see that the trio had already boarded the aircraft.

Beneath HQ was a special railway used to quickly transport agents and staff to a landing site.

On the jet followed another team of twelve secret-ops agents, and on the way, Han Xiao, Li Ya Lin, and Li Yao made small talk, while Zhang Wei and Lambert closed their eyes in rest.

An hour later, the jet arrived at their destination.

It was a cold desert filled with long stretches of dunes, and a bright, scorching sun was hanging in the azure sky, the intense heat of which caused the air to shimmer and the ground to simmer. Upon contact with the sand, the agents' boots instantly gave off a burnt smell.

"We have arrived," reported Zhang Wei in a deep voice.

The trio were fully-equipped. Li Ya Lin, still with that yellow hoodie and black bodysuit, had a retractable knife by her waist, and a black bag over her back that contained the Lightweight Mecha Arm; Lambert carried ten modified Retractable Daggers and a huge, large caliber rifle; and Zhang Wei, whose equipment gave even Han Xiao a shock.

It was a powered armor suit!

Zhang Wei's entire body was covered inside a sturdy, grayish suit of armor that spotted a few scars of battle. The helmet would have fit right in with the Middle Ages, and only had openings for vision, but the arms were modified and fitted two thick-barreled machine guns. The ammo belt was concealed within the amour, but the reload chamber was located near the thighs. On the back of the suit hung a hexagon shield of steel, reminiscent of a tortoise, and overall, the suit made Zhang Wei look like an incomparably heavy, giant clunk of iron that was designed for show.

It spurred Han Xiao's interest.

This is the prototype for the [Combatant Armored Suit], one of the few suits available back in Version 1.0.

As the Six Nations each possessed different kinds of advanced knowledge, the suits that they engineered differed from one another.

Theseus was the nation that initiated development of the armored suit, and, sometime after the game's launch, they made the [Combatant Armored Suit], a mini modular mobile suit—the first of its kind on Planet Aquamarine. At present, it was probably still under development, but although what Zhang Wei was wearing was just a prototype, Han Xiao wondered how Division 13 were able to acquire Theseusian technology.

In Galaxy, players who were 'Exalted' with Theseus could purchase the [Combatant Armored Suit] from them. They were extremely pricey, and even routine maintenance and repairs cost well over tens of thousands. It was not something that most players could afford.

As a back-line support, Han Xiao's duty included maintenance of equipment, so Zhang Wei's armored suit would probably fall into his charge as well.

Without encryption measures in place, Technicians were able to reverse engineer blueprints.

If the Technician already possessed the required knowledge, it would make the process faster, but even without any, it was still possible to reverse engineer a piece of machinery or technology—just that it would take much more time and require astronomically larger amounts of experience. Furthermore, the results would often come out as 'Incomplete'.

The required knowledge for crafting the [Combatant Armored Suit] was an advanced weaponry knowledge possessed by Theseus.

Han Xiao bit his finger. If he could reverse-engineer the blueprints of the armored suit, then even if incomplete, they would still provide him with a new means of combat and boost his combat power. However, when he thought of how he could better spend the experience on the other more valuable and useful blueprints in his memory, he gave up the idea.

Li Yao spoke into the intercom. "Ma Qing Yang's squad is about 13km away. There are 15 armored cars and one Black Harrier helicopter in pursuit. The meeting point is set on a hill 3km away. The objective will be to slow down the enemy and link up with the Ma Qing Yang's squad. Do not engage the enemy excessively. I have already sent them the coordinates. Now, get ready."

His instructions were clear, as befitting of a back-line supporter, functioning as a third eye to provide precise coordination and tactical advice.

The trio and the field team swiftly arrived at the hill, where they lay in wait for the enemy.

Soon after, the sound of engines began to approach, and on the vast desert plains appeared a single vehicle being chased by over a dozen others. The sound of gunfire was incessant, and behind the fleeing car was a continuous trail of smoke and blasts.

Aboard were none other than Ma Qing Yang's squad.

"Ready!" ordered Zhang Wei sternly as he closely waited for the Germinal vehicles to come in range. "Fire!"

Suddenly, from behind the hill, a rain of metal dense enough to cover the sky descended upon the surprised Germinal agents. Bullets rang and clattered non-stop as they hit the armored vehicles.

Upon the sudden ambush, the leading Germinal vehicle immediately spun around to avoid direct hits, almost overturning as it skidded.

Chapter 51: Rescue Mission Part 2

Zhang Wei's twin guns roared like fire-spewing dragons as they unleashed an endless stream of large-caliber bullets onto the nearest two all-terrain cars. Within the space of a few seconds, the two cars exploded into balls of flames.

Meanwhile, Lambert was showcasing his skill with the rifle. He remained still as he fired shot after shot of steel core bullets with 100% accuracy to halt the enemy's advance.

"The reinforcements are here!"

Aboard the fleeing car, Ma Qing Yang and his teammates rejoiced. Almost the entire team had sustained injuries and were lying down.

As they neared the hill, Ma Qing Yang stuck his head out from the window of the driver seat and yelled, "Old Zhang, there's too many of them! Quickly flee!"

Right at this moment, a strange gale of wind suddenly descended upon the rescue team's location. The dancing sand began to form the image of a ghostly face. The sight of it was both unnerving and ominous.

"Duck!" bellowed Zhang Wei as he hurriedly dropped to the ground to roll away. As the armored suit was too heavy, he did not have many other choices of movement. Li Ya Lin and Lambert were the quickest to react, and they managed to duck to a side.

As the gale crashed onto the ground, the blast sent a number of field agents flying.

Zhang Wei suddenly felt a sharp pain throughout his mind, and his nose started to bleed. As he looked around, to his horror, the other field agents who had not been able to run away in time were all bleeding profusely from their orifices as they twitched uncontrollably.

"Mental attack!" yelled a shocked Zhang Wei. "The enemy is a superhuman!"

As he looked towards the enemy fleet to find the source of the attack, he noticed the hood of one of the cars open up, and a slender woman in a jet-black leather suit jumped out and started running towards them at an incredible speed. Her headful of red hair floated behind her, making her seem like some kind of red and black flash of lightning.

Hila's eyes were emotionless. With a wave of a hand, another ghostly face appeared in mid-air in front of Zhang Wei. The wind wailed horrifyingly.

No, that's not the wind!

That is the screaming of souls!

Necromastery! This was indeed Hila's ability.

Zhang Wei's consciousness began to grow blurry, causing him to crumple to the ground. If it were not for his strong physique, he would probably have died on the spot.

Back at Division 13, Han Xiao furrowed his brows. Pushing Li Yao to take command, he barked, "She is the Germinal's combat commander! Quickly flee!"

Zhang Wei was about to reprimand Han Xiao for snatching command when, to his surprise, he discovered that Li Ya Lin and Lambert were unhesitatingly retreating. It appeared as though they fully trusted in Han Xiao's judgement!

'Is the new guy that reliable?'

Suppressing his shock, Zhang Wei gritted his teeth and stood up to activate the thrusters by his legs, allowing him to jump 5 to 6 meters a leap. As he bounded after the pair, he continued to fire cover shots towards Hila to slow her down.

Hila reached the hilltop in no time, and with another wave of her hand, a gray light flashed across the entire area. The remaining field agents instantly collapsed to the ground. There was no apparent injury on their bodies, yet all of them had ceased breathing.

Han Xiao's expression was extremely grave. He had known all along of Hila's true strength. It was a thing of fortune that he had not needed to face her during his escape. In Galaxy, her powers were classified as having the exceedingly rare potential of S-Class, surpassing the Heavenly level.

At present, Hila's power was still but a fraction of what she would eventually become capable of, yet even this bit was still too overwhelming.

"She's too fast! Li Ya Lin, it's up to you!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Li Ya Lin turned around to face the incoming Hila. As she kicked towards her direction, a yellow burst of energy shot out that managed to push Hila back a few steps.

"Pugilist?" Hila squinted at Li Ya Lin as she clasped both hands together, conjuring an even larger ghostly face that smashed towards her.

Maintaining her composure, Li Ya Lin ducked underneath the ghostly face with a slide and managed to avoid a direct hit. As she approached Hila, she whipped out the Retractable Knife by her waist and gave a mighty cleave.

Hila's eyes widened at the suddenness of her blow, and she did a tumble on the ground to evade.

Seizing the initiative, Li Ya Lin followed up with a series of powerful strikes with her legs: a stamp, a smash, a sweep, and a kick - the string of attacks flowing beautifully like a dancing swallow. Fast enough to create afterimages, but Li Ya Lin was certainly not just about speed. The force of her blows backed her killing intent.

Swallow Style!

On the receiving end, Hila wrapped her arms with a gray aura to strengthen them, allowing her to block each blow with them. The fact that Hila did not seem to be receiving any damage at all only went to show how far apart they were in terms of strength - Li Ya Lin specialized in close combat yet could not overwhelm her.

The exchange lasted for only a few seconds, but anything could have happened in that short span of time.

"Use the mecha arm! It'll let you help Lambert get a chance to snipe her!"

Biting her lip, Li Ya Lin quickly inserted her left arm into the bag and pulled it out with the Lightweight Mechanical Arm equipped. With a powerful strike combining her own power with that of the mecha arm, she finally managed to break through Hila's defenses by blowing her arms away, leaving her chest exposed.

The mecha arm followed through into her flesh!

A direct hit!

Hila's face flashed red momentarily, and with a low harrumph brought her palms together and rubbed them slowly, and as soon as she did so, the gray aura wrapping her arms began to revolve faster and faster. Next, she threw down both arms - palms facing the ground - and, from where she stood, powerful winds began to arise, assaulting the entire surrounding!

Li Ya Lin hastily retreated backwards, but even so, her mind was still struck by the mental attack, causing her soul to feel like it was being torn apart. The pain was indescribable, and two streams of blood trickled down from Li Ya Lin's nose as her vision seemed to turn upside-down, causing her to nearly lose her balance and fall over.

As Hila examined the familiar visage of the Lightweight Mecha Arm, she yelled in rage and shock, "How are you related to Zero‽"

'Zero? Who?' Li Ya Lin was bewildered.

Right at this moment, Lambert saw his opportunity and fired a shot! Hila's expression changed at the sound of the sniper rifle, and she immediately lunged sideways to dodge while enveloping her entire body with her gray aura. The large caliber sniper rifle bullet hit her on the shoulder, sending her spinning backwards in the air - as though hit by a train at full speed.

"Zhang Wei, quickly take Li Ya Lin and run!"

Zhang Wei did not take offense at being directly called by name. It was with Han Xiao's direction that Li Ya Lin and Lambert had managed to injure the scary woman, and he now had some trust in Han Xiao's judgement. He hurriedly lifted Li Ya Lin in his hands and turned around to leap towards Ma Qing Yang's vehicle.

As they retreated, the remainder of the Germinal fleet arrived at the foot of the hill, and they began to open fire. Sparks flew as the bullets deflected off Zhang Wei's armored suit, only leaving dents and marks. Zhang Wei did not even bother to take a look behind him. All that was going through his head was that the armored suit was truly his lucky charm this day. In the past, he had always had grievances over it being too heavy, but now, it was proving to be extremely reliable.

"Get in the car!" yelled an anxious Ma Qing Yang as he hurriedly slowed down for them.

The trio managed to board the vehicle, but it was a close shave. The concentrated fire was nearly enough to penetrate it.

Now that they were in the clear, Zhang Wei finally had time to assess the enemy's status: their fleet was not fast enough to catch up with them, and that powerful superhuman had not gotten up yet. As long as they made it to the aircraft, everything would be fine.

"We're safe now!"

Zhang Wei let out a sigh of relief.

Unfortunately, Han Xiao had bad news for him.

"Look out above."

Above?

Zhang Wei gave a start.

Right, they still have a helicopter!

The Black Harrier finally made its appearance and began to shoot down at their car.

"We have to take that out somehow!" assessed Zhang Wei immediately. "If not, our own aircraft will be in danger. Lambert, it's up to you and your sniper rifle!"

Lambert shook his head plainly.

"I'm all out of armor-piercing shells. Standard bullets won't do against the Black Harrier's thick armor. Even if I had some left, it would take more than 7 shots."

"Are we really going to die here?"

Despair was written all over Ma Qing Yan's face. They were only a kilometer away from their escape plan's extraction point, but it did not seem like they would make it.

Suddenly, Han Xiao spoke, "Did you forget my present?"

Li Ya Lin gave a start and hurriedly took out the four magazines. One of them was filled with rifle bullets.

"What does this do?"

"See for yourself."

Lambert quickly took the magazine from Li Ya Lin and loaded his sniper rifle.

As he readied to fire the shot, everyone watched on in anticipation.

This single bullet was their final hope.

In this critical moment, time seemed to slow down for all of them.

As soon as Lambert pulled the trigger, a brass shell flew out from the chamber, and the crimson bullet was ignited as it accelerated out of the barrel spinning. Whirling, it landed directly on the helicopter's bullet-proof glass.

Suddenly, the crimson bullet opened up like a blooming flower to expose its explosive contents to the air.

"Kaboom!"

The entire helicopter was instantly engulfed in a giant ball of flames. On closer inspection, the fire was actually burning off on the very armor itself - as though it had actually been ignited!

The helicopter began to spin out on control mid-air. The pilot - in his panic - decided to abandon ship.

On board the car, everyone was completely stunned by what they had just witnessed. Slowly, their attention turned towards the magazines that were full of the magic ammo.

Even reinforced armor was ignited!

What the hell is this ammo‽

"Who got their hands on such good treasure?" asked a stupefied Ma Qing Yang.

Li Ya Lin's eyes began to shine. "This stuff is good!"

She immediately loaded up her handgun with one of the magazines and fired a few shots. The pursuing enemy vehicles similarly went up in balls of flames, and even the missed shots were setting the ground ablaze.

As the vehicles' armor heated up, their interiors soon turned into furnaces, and the heat was even causing the engine and other key parts to overheat, putting a halt to their pursuit.

As the gang's car charged into the aircraft hangar, the pilot who had been anxiously observing the situation immediately took flight, and they were soon gone with the wind.

Back on the ground, Hila's face was pale. Where she had been shot at on her shoulder was only a shallow wound. She was using her gray aura to heal it up. As she grudgingly watched the aircraft leave, she made a call to the boss and said through gritted teeth, "We've found Zero's trail!"

Chapter 52: Gains

[Rescue!] completed. You have earned 8000 experience points.

+100 Reputation (Stardragon SDI)

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"Bro Xiao, you're the best!" Li Yao's eyes glowed with admiration.

"Heh, you only just realized?" replied Han Xiao with a hint of smugness.

Zhang Wei, realizing that he had misjudged Han Xiao, apologized, "Sorry for doubting your ability before. Today, we only made it out alive thanks to your guidance and your equipment. Welcome to the team."

A late welcome was better than none.

Han Xiao chuckled.

"No need to apologize over such trivial matters - I'm a gracious man."

Zhang Wei felt a shiver down his spine. Han Xiao's words sounded odd to him.

"Oh right," continued Han Xiao, "who made your armored suit?"

"Oh, this is just a prototype of the [Combatant Powered Armor]. It was among the spoils of war during the battle with Theseus a few years back. Presently, it's the only functional one we have. They tried to reverse engineer it, but as progress was too slow and maintenance proved troublesome as well, it was handed to me."

The [Combatant Armored Suit]'s crafting prerequisite was the advanced weaponry talent [Large-scale Remodeling], which was also required to craft many other power suits, machine frames, and other larger combat machinery. If Theseus had only just created the prototype, then Stardragon would definitely be much further behind.

Han Xiao saw his chance.

"You can leave the maintenance to me."

"Sure!" rejoiced Zhang Wei. He now trusted Han Xiao's ability.

"Is this special bullet a new invention of yours?" interrupted Li Ya Lin excitedly.

Han Xiao proceeded to fully explain the use of the High-explosive Gunpowder.

Regular incendiary ammunition required a flammable target to work effectively, but the High-explosive Gunpowder contained a special chemical that could activate upon simply coming into contact with the air and 'light up' anything that it came into contact with. It's temperature and power were comparable to a Molotov, but what made it scary was that this power could be harnessed within bullets! Everyone could see how this was a game-changer.

"Are you selling this?" asked Ma Qing Yang animatedly.

"Of course - 50 a bullet."

Now that they had proved effective, it was a good time to release them.

"I want 200!" replied Ma Qing Yang immediately. "20 handgun bullets, 150 submachine gun bullets, and 30 sniper rifle bullets."

"Okay," answered Han Xiao. "You can collect them in a day."

"You can start to collect orders," he instructed Li Ya Lin privately. "Like before, I'll give you a 20% discount."

Li Ya Lin's lips curled into a grin.

...

News of how the mission unfolded spread like wildfire in Division 13. Naturally, the incendiary bullets became the talk of the town.

"Han Xiao's new product?"

"I heard that that's what saved their lives!"

The Retractable Knife incident had already garnered Han Xiao a lot of attention. Upon Ma Qing Yang's order of the bullets becoming public knowledge, many agents came forward to inquire about them. As a way of repaying Han Xiao's team for rescuing them, Ma Qing Yang held a live demonstration in the practice field.

Everyone was stunned by the power of the incendiary bullets, and the first thing they did after the demonstration was look for Li Ya Lin to place orders. Everything was going according to Han Xiao's plan.

It was a revolutionary invention, and this time, the top brass knew they had to make sure that things would not end up like the previous fiasco.

They even brought the Research Director in for a warning before he even did anything.

The division offered Han Xiao numerous terms to provide both field-ops and special-ops with the new bullets, and he agreed to sell them at a slightly lower price of $20,000 for 500 bullets.

In just the first day alone, Han Xiao's stockpile of a few thousand bullets was sold out, earning him $200,000. Coupled with the $1,500,000 that he had earned from the underground network, his savings were not small.

After the class advancement, Han Xiao's production speed was raised considerably, and he focused solely on producing the gunpowder. As a show of support, Division 13 decided to provide him with cartridges and shells, which greatly sped up the process. Each batch yielded around 300 bullets, and Han Xiao was able to produce over 10 such batches a day. Crafting a bullet gave Han Xiao 5 to 10 experience points, so he was able to earn up to 30,000 experience in just a single day.

It was probably the fastest experience growth ever by a Mechanic of his level.

...

"Not selling to me?"

Korat was fuming. Initially, he had thought that a simple apology would resolve the grudge between him and Han Xiao - after all, money was money. However, Li Ya Lin actually shut the door tight on him.

"Han Xiao said that you're on his blacklist, and he instructed me not to take either your money nor your apology."

The other agents who had initially thought of reporting the Retractable Knife had Korat to thank for taking the initiative back then. Or else, they would be in the same predicament as him now.

When Korat offered to buy the bullets from his colleagues at a higher price, he found out that none of them were willing to. Even when he set his price at 200 a bullet, no one agreed - not even his closest colleagues.

He was clearly being ostracized, but he could not understand why - until one of his old friends told him, "Selling to you would offend Han Xiao. No one would want to risk being blacklisted by him, seeing as to how he probably will come up with more good stuff. Who would help you at their own expense?"

His words served a wake-up call to Korat. To think that it was the complete opposite back then - for money, he chose to trample over Han Xiao.

Unfortunately, it was too late for regrets now.

...

Meanwhile, in a workroom, Luo Xuan opened up a box before him to reveal 20 incendiary bullets. He had gotten someone to help him acquire them.

Han Xiao had only blacklisted Korat and his team, not Luo Xuan. In Han Xiao's eyes, Luo Xuan had simply been doing his job as part of the research department in trying to reverse engineer his blueprints. At the very least, he did not seem as vile to Han Xiao as Korat did. Now that the research department was being kept under watch, there was no need for Han Xiao to worry about them.

Moreover, Luo Xuan was also just support staff like him.

However, this inexplicably caused Luo Xuan to become resentful of Han Xiao.

"Damn you, Han Xiao! Do you look down on me so much that you ignore me‽"

What he did not realize was that Han Xiao did not look down on him - instead, Han Xiao had never even seen him before.

To avoid offending Han Xiao, the research director lay down an order preventing anyone from researching Han Xiao's bullets, but Luo Xuan naturally did not care, and he still thought of himself as superior to Han Xiao, and that he could easily reproduce the bullets - like with the Retractable Knife.

"If I succeed, the higher-ups will definitely value me even more! I cannot afford to fail!" The more Luo Xuan thought about it, the more perfect his plan seemed to himself.

Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Luo Xuan began to work at opening the bullet up. What he needed to do was examine the properties of the incendiary agent inside.

Clank!

Luo Xuan managed to extract the bullet case.

The next step would be to open it up and extract the contents with a special suction tube to prevent friction.

Carefully, he opened the bullet case.

"Success! Now I will just have to analyze-"

Suddenly, a blazing light filled up his entire vision.

Chapter 53: Undercurrents

Ring...!

The shrill of the fire alarm rang through the hallways as the fire spread. Thick, black smoke filled up the entire research department as the research staff headed for safety.

The sprinklers quickly put a stop to the spreading fire, but many documents were ruined, and sparks were flying out of some computers and machines. The walls and ceiling were filled with black burn marks.

"What could have caused the fire?" wondered the heartbroken research director aloud as he looked at the ruins.

Security soon arrived to begin inspection.

"The fire started from the workshop!"

Luo Xuan - his entire body soaking wet, and his entire face black - was supported out by the guards. All his hair had been burnt off, including his eyebrows, and he looked just like a soy egg - or rather, a century egg.

Being able to react quickly, in addition to having a fire extinguisher nearby, saved him from further disfigurement.

He had not expected the incendiary agent to be gaseous. It combusted the very second it came into contact with the atmosphere.

Luo Xuan had clearly overestimated himself.

"I've lost..." he grudgingly admitted.

"What have you done‽" yelled the research director.

One of the security guards opened his hand to reveal a few bullet cases. Although they were blackened, they were clearly crimson before.

"This is the bullet case of the High-explosive Gunpowder. Your man was trying to analyze it."

The research director was instantly livid. Speechless, he could only point a finger at Luo Xuan in his rage.

'Are my orders something to be taken lightly of‽

'When the higher-ups investigate, this will all fall onto me again!

'You bastards!'

Gu Hui also arrived at the scene. His face darkened upon seeing the wreckage.

"Explain yourself."

The research director yanked Luo Xuan before him and said through gritted teeth, "He did this all by himself!"

Gu Hui looked at Luo Xuan plainly.

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Luo Xuan lowered his head. He had thought that he would succeed and earn merit, but instead, he had now ended up disobeying orders on top of causing damages to the headquarters. This was probably the end of his career.

"You will go back to logistics," stated Gu Hui coldly before turning around to leave.

Luo Xuan shuddered. Before, he had left the logistics department on bad terms. A return did not bode well for him.

True enough, when he arrived at the logistics department, his past colleagues all ignored him when they saw him. Even the logistics director, who had had high hopes for him in the past, was unwilling to see him. He only sent a secretary to inform Luo Xuan of his new position in a small team.

If only he had not been so narrow-minded and full of himself, he would not have lost his path and ended up like this.

Although he deeply regretted his actions now, it was too late.

"I was immature..." lamented a bitter Luo Xuan.

...

Han Xiao was shocked to hear of what Luo Xuan had done from Feng Jun - not even he, the creator himself, would dare to mess around and open up a completed incendiary bullet.

'That guy's got some balls.'

However, the matter was inconsequential to him. All along, Luo Xuan had just been a name in the back of his mind.

Soon after, Zhang Wei's armored suit was delivered to his workroom. Upon observation, it was a truly crude prototype.

_____________________

Combatant Armored Suit (Prototype)

Type: Modular Mini-Power Suit

Grade: White

Stats: 682/1400 Durability, 35 Defense

Power Level: 86

Energy Level: 250/250

Prerequisite(s): 42 STR, 48 END

Bonus Stats: -10 DEX

Height: 1.95m

Weight: 370kg

Control Method: Manual (Full)

Energy Source: Electricity

Combat Consumption Rate: 5 energy/min

Core Power: 125/130

_____________________

Frame Module:

Spring-piston Absorber (reduces load by 65%)

Power: 20

_____________________

Right Arm Module: Large Caliber Tri-barreled Machine Gun

Damage: 105-125

Firing Rate: 5 shots/second (per barrel)

Maximum Firing Rate: 8 shots/second for 5 seconds (per barrel)

Magazine Capacity: 30 (+120 in the ammo belt)

Power Level: 75

Power: 35

_____________________

Left Arm Module: Large Caliber Tri-barreled Machine Gun

_____________________

Right Wrist Module: Knife

Damage: 12-15

Power Level: 9

Power: 5

_____________________

Leg Modules: Spring Boosters

+15 Speed

Consumes 1 energy/minute when active.

Power: 30

_____________________

Attachment: Infrared Vision

Power: N/A

Attachment: Six-tipped Shield (reduces incoming damage by 12%)

Power: N/A

_____________________

Tooltip: This abomination is a disgrace to all armored suits in the world!

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Han Xiao had to agree. It was indeed an ugly piece of work - it looked like someone had just decided to weld a few sheets of metal together.

Low power aside, it did not even run on an integrated circuit! No wonder Zhang Wei always fired volleys instead of precise shots - there was no aiming system in place! An armored suit with an integrated circuit would be able to receive and transmit crucial information to its user during a fight.

Also, the only automated part of the suit was its legs! Other than the legs, the entire suit's framework had to be operated manually, which explained why Zhang Wei had not used the shield - he wasn't able to at all!

"Come on, even though it's a prototype, at least show it some love, you assholes!"

As Han Xiao examined the suit with crossed arms, numerous ideas began to pop up. However, it was still too soon to rush upgrades. Some of the tweaks he wanted to make required knowledge that he did not currently possess. Hence, after performing just some simple maintenance, Han Xiao got Feng Jun to help him return it to Zhang Wei.

Currently, Han Xiao's primary concern was regarding the three successfully destroyed Germinal bases, and what information he should disclose to Stardragon next.

The three captured bases were indeed the only ones located within Stardragon. If Stardragon wanted to continue its assault on the Germinal Organization, they would have to take the fight to a foreign nation. While relations among the Six Nations were truly not that amicable, no one really wanted to continue fighting since a lot of resources had already been depleted during the transition to the new era. Each nation was still counting their losses.

Hence, Stardragon would have to seek the cooperation of the other nations, and that would be complicated to accomplish. Han Xiao himself would also have to be directly involved as he was the key source of information.

The question was whether the higher-ups would let Han Xiao leave the Western Capital.

Suddenly, the phone rang. It was Feng Jun, who said gravely, "Han Xiao, Germinal operatives are on the move. They seem to know that you are with us and are trying to track you down."

"I know."

Han Xiao had expected this. He had instructed Li Ya Lin to use the mecha arm while knowing that Hila would recognize it.

"Rest assured. There will be men keeping watch around you 24/7."

The Western Capital was Division 13's territory. Even if the Germinal Organization were to find out Han Xiao's exact location, they would probably not be able to touch him - not easily, at least.

Still, as there were several superhuman assassins amongst their ranks, Han Xiao knew that he could not afford to let his guard down.

'Looks like I should prepare some defensive measures.'

"Help me draw two Berserk Eagle handguns from the armory."

The Berserk Eagle was a close-range, large-caliber handgun. It had an effective range of 30m, where its power was comparable to that of a sniper rifle.

It would work wonders with Han Xiao's [Strafe].

However, Han Xiao would need more.

Over the past three days, Han Xiao had gained 100,000 experience points from crafting gunpowder. He decided to spend 40,000 to raise [Basic Refining] to Lv. 5, fulfilling the requirements for crafting the [Platinum Alloy].

"It's time for upgrades."

...

A few days ago, upon learning of the appearance of the mecha arm in the hands of a Stardragon agent, the boss came to the conclusion that it must have been Zero who leaked information on their three bases to Stardragon.

"Is he a psychic?"

The boss found it hard to explain how Zero could have accessed top secret information. In fact, he had not once suspected Zero. Instead, he had mistakenly assumed that there was a traitor amongst his ranks. As a result, he had even wrongly killed one commander.

His mind flashed back to a month ago, where Zero had declared his intention to destroy them.

The boss clenched his fist.

"I may have underestimated you, but you are still a nobody - I don't believe that you possess more intel.

"Pass down my order: recruit some wanderers to investigate Zero's trail in Stardragon. The Germinal Organization will reward those who find him!

"If found, send Norsa to finish him off."

Norsa, like Hila, was a Germinal commander. He was an assassin.

Each commander had their own specialty, but no one knew exactly how many commanders there were, not even most Germinal agents themselves.

The boss gazed into the distance.

Did you think that gaining Stardragon's protection would keep you safe?

Naive!

Chapter 54: Beta Test?

The Platinum Alloy was an alloy composed from a few rare ores. Han Xiao had to spend quite a sum of money to purchase enough of them.

After making the alloy, Han Xiao used it to craft a Retractable Knife and another Lightweight Mecha Arm. Both had above average stats - as expected - and the Retractable Knife was even of a higher grade.

_____________________

Retractable Platinum Knife

Grade: Green

Base Stats: 24-28 Damage, 355/355 Durability

Bonus Stats: +3 DEX

Length: 0.77m

Weight: 8.7kg

Additional Effects:

Retractable - This knife's blade can be retracted.

Durable - The platinum alloy in this knife makes it less susceptible to wear and tear.

Note: This knife can even be used as a shield.

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The following day, Feng Jun came over to deliver the two Berserk Eagles. The Berserk Eagle had a slight longer barrel than the average handgun, and it was much more destructive at close range. Upon testing, they proved capable of blowing a chunk out of a test dummy's head. The recoil was also extremely powerful, but Han Xiao possessed enough strength to tame the beasts.

They would serve as his protection against assassinations alongside the Platinum Retractable Knife. Han Xiao also altered his clothes to conceal several magazines - two magazines of incendiary ammo and four regular ones. For regular ammo, Han Xiao chose to use steel core bullets as their penetrative power suited the Berserk Eagle well.

Han Xiao brought up the information tab to check his remaining experience points. He currently had close to 200,000.

In Version 1.0 Galaxy, it was thought for a while that investing experience points into skills instead of leveling was optimal.

The reasoning for this was that, since the death cost was low around Lv. 20 to 30, it was an optimal level range to grind PVP. Unfortunately, it had all been someone's ploy.

When the system congratulatory message popped up to celebrate the first Lv. 60 player in Version 1.0, the entire server was first stunned, then outraged. It was none other than the same guy who had advocated the theory of self-capping one's level.

Han Xiao decided to spend 180,000 experience points to level up three times.

_____________________

[Novice Technician] has leveled up! +30 Energy, +1 DEX, +1 END, +1 INT, +3 unassigned stat points, + 1 talent point.

[Novice Technician] has leveled up! +30 Energy, +1 DEX, +1 END, +1 INT, +3 unassigned stat points, + 1 talent point.

[Novice Technician] has leveled up! +30 Energy, +1 DEX, +1 END, +1 INT, +3 unassigned stat points, + 1 talent point.

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Besides these newly acquired stats, Han Xiao had also gained 30 Energy from regular use of the [Energy Training Technique] over the past few days, so his Energy was now Lv. 4 at a total of 280.

_____________________

Lv. 4 Energy (200):

+3 STR, +4 DEX, +5 END, +4 INT, + 150 Max Stamina, +4% Crafting Speed, +4% Machinery Power

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In total, Han Xiao gained +10 STR, +10 DEX, +14 END, +8 INT, +320 Max Stamina, +10% Crafting Speed, and +10% Machinery Power from Energy bonuses, which made up nearly a third of his total stats.

Initially, Han Xiao had invested quite a number of points into STR and END in order to ensure his survival during his escape from the Germinal laboratory, but now, as he could focus solely on INT, which was all that a Technician needed, he immediately spent all 9 unassigned stat points on INT, reaching a total of 58 points.

Now Lv. 24, and also a Lv. 4 Novice Technician, Han Xiao's combat power was at 160 ona.

"At this rate I should be able to remain much stronger than the first batch of players for a while..."

Suddenly, a notification sound played.

When Han Xiao opened up the notification, he received a huge shock.

_____________________

Beta testing has been scheduled

Retrieving Information...

Retrieval Complete

Beta Test Period: 12 Days

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"Beta testing‽

"I completely forgot about that!"

Han Xiao vaguely remembered that the beta test had been a two-day event. As time was accelerated by six times in Galaxy, that translated to exactly 12 days.

The beta test period was extremely short, and only had 30,000 slots. Most of them were taken up by big corporations and gaming organizations, leaving only a fraction to be distributed through a lottery system. Han Xiao was not lucky enough to win a slot.

From his memory, the beta test was held only a week before official launch, translating to about over a month inside the game. Yet, on the system information interface the countdown still displayed 130 days!

"Could it be that the in-game clock runs differently when service is down? That must be it! Each version update takes two or three days to go live, but between updates years could have passed by in-game. It makes sense!"

Han Xiao rubbed his chin with his fingers and realized that a beard was growing. He had been in Galaxy for over half a year. He suddenly remembered a controversial version update from his past life - 'The Chosen Ones'. This version update was unlike any other. Other updates typically came with world-changing events and incidents, but this one had completely lacked a theme. No one could make sense of the version's title, nor its contents.

Suddenly, the interface lit up, giving Han Xiao a start.

_____________________

NPC functions unlocked!

Discussion board unlocked!

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"NPC functions? What's this?"

As it did not come with any further information, it seemed that Han Xiao would have to figure it out on his own. In any case, it was likely to do with the ways that NPCs interacted with players, such as handing out quests, buying and selling goods, and imparting skills.

In the beta test, the 30,000 players were distributed across over a dozen planets. Han Xiao was not too concerned over this, as one or two thousand players per planet would not really have much of an impact. Official release would be when all hell broke loose.

Nonetheless, interacting with some of them would be a good opportunity to learn more about his NPC functions.

The discussion board, on the other hand, was something that Han Xiao was already familiar with. It was an internal forum that players frequented a lot - especially while waiting to revive.

"To think that we would meet again. It's probably only unlocked now due to the time being synced up."

The button for the discussion board was located on a corner of the interface. Upon opening it up, Han Xiao was greeted by an empty forum. The account name on the top right of the window indicated 'Guest', and the registration button was grayed out.

Han Xiao clicked it out of curiosity.

_____________________

Attempting to Connect to the Dive-capsule...

No Player Detected

Registration Failed

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It took a few moments for Han Xiao to understand why - accounts for the discussion board could only be created with the unique ID of the user's dive-capsule. This rule was implemented as a measure against trolls.

"Well, I can't create a forum account, but at least I can access the forum for reading!"

There were a million questions on Han Xiao's mind regarding the state of his existence. Perhaps, this forum would be able to give him the answers if he watched out for his own username.

"Interacting with the beta testers will be a good start."

...

Character Name: Frenzied Sword

Regular Settings Selected

Character Creation Complete

Race: Human (Yellow)

Based on your preferences, you have been matched to Planet Aquamarine

Starting Zone: Big Horn Village (24.152, 182.644)

Spawning... Please wait...

Chapter 55: Our First Day Together

Big Horn Village was one of several starting zones on Plant Aquamarine.

As Frenzied Sword's consciousness slowly adjusted, he found himself standing atop a loess field. The warmth of the sun felt just like it was real and so too did the earthly smell of the soil. When he looked down to see his two arms, he was shocked by how realistic they looked and felt.

It was a small field, and Frenzied Sword noticed that there were hundreds of other players around him; they, too, were curiously examining their 'bodies'. Each player's name was displayed on the top of his head.

Following the mini-guide shown during character creation, Frenzied Sword opened up the character information window. It displayed that he was Lv. 1 and also showed the default starting equipment that he was equipped with: a shirt, a pair of pants, and a pair of shoes. They did not come with any stat bonuses.

"Damn it, I can't strip!"

A fellow player nearby was causing a commotion. He appeared to be trying to remove his pants unsuccessfully.

'What the hell are you even trying to do that for?'

The alarmed Frenzied Sword decided that moving away would be a good idea.

Frenzied Sword was a professional gamer, albeit not so well known. Aspiring professional gamer would be more accurate. He had only recently joined the scene, so he was, by all counts, a newcomer. He had been keeping a close eye on Galaxy ever since learning of its promising e-sports prospects, so when the beta test was announced, he immediately asked his association for a slot.

As the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm. Frenzied Sword was determined to succeed in this new game.

Conversation broke out amongst the crowd.

"This is so realistic!"

"What should we do now?"

"Any hints?"

Suddenly, a white-bearded, fearsome looking white elderly man appeared before the crowd and bellowed, "All of you outsiders! If you want to eat, then find yourself a job! Loafers are not welcome in our village! The crops in our farms need picking, and the shops to the south need workers! As long as you work hard, you will have food to eat!"

Beside the players' health bars were two other bars for hunger and thirst. Upon reaching 0, the player would gain a [Hungry] or [Thirsty] debuff that would cause their health to drop.

Frenzied Sword 'examined' the old man.

_____________________

Based on your level, you acquired the following information:

Xander - Big Horn Mountain Village Chief

Level: ?

Stats: ?

[I am your village chief now.]

Danger Level: Middle

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Players had an 'examine' function that allowed them to learn an NPC's name and information. However, the amount of information obtained differed based on their level difference.

"The weapons store sells guns, bullets, and other weapons, the marketplace is where people sell food and water, and the amphitheater is where you will find mounts to rent. If you wish to leave, there is a train station several kilometers north of here. If you wish to learn a craft, the blacksmith's or the tailor's are good choices..."

Xander's explanation filled in the new players on their situation. There were only a few sub-classes and one combat class - [Novice Hunter] - available in this village, and they cost money to learn.

Frenzied Sword opened up the map to find it mostly shrouded in fog. Before he explored the planet, he would have to first earn money.

"Is it possible to take on hunting quests straight away?"

Frenzied Sword recognized the man, SliceYouUp, as the guild leader of the guild 'Kill-all'. His IGN was telling of his personality.

Upon hearing his question, Xander burst out into laughter.

"You weaklings think that you stand a chance against wild beasts? See those mountains over there? If you are not afraid to die then by all means try, but it looks to me like none of you are even strong enough to even take on a Silver Hyena."

The players looked towards where the old man pointed to see a range of forested mountains in the distance. Some of the mountains stood so tall that the clouds seemed to encircle them like huge, coiling pythons, creating an extremely scenic view that stole the breaths of the players. The graphics were incredibly life-like. Galaxy was clearly ahead of the competition.

Refusing to believe the old man, SliceYouUp took his party to purchase some basic equipment with the starting money of $100 and headed for the mountains.

It did not take long for them to return.

SliceYouUp, in particular, was shaken up quite badly. The first beast that he had encountered was a gorilla larger than an adult man. As soon as he raised his dagger, the gorilla threw its excrement at him, the force of which blew up his head. And it only got better. He respawned in the middle of a stampede.

'Why the hell would that freaking monkey know how to throw its excrement‽ Must everything be so realistic‽'

For some reason, the foul smell still lingered around even after respawning. The developers were definitely trolling when they decided to add in this smell.

"WTF, aren't those monsters too strong?"

"They didn't even stand a chance!"

"He only managed to do 1 damage!!"

"Damn it, I dropped the knife I just bought!"

The amount of experience lost upon death depended on the character level. The respawn time also increased with each death. For the first death, respawning only took 10 seconds, but it would take a minute for the second, five for the third, and half an hour for the fourth, increasing up to a whopping six days.

Death was very costly in the Galaxy. Each character could also only die up to 10 times every day (6 days in-game). Reaching this limit would result in a character lock until the next day. It was an anti-addiction system that proved to be more effective than the 'exhaustion system' of certain mobile games.

The Kill-all party's sad state immediately deterred the other players from thinking of hunting monsters. They quickly dispersed to find work to do.

As Xander watched over the buzz, he stroked his beard with a smile.

"The reward is so low! I only got $50!"

"Leveling is so slow! It took me half an hour of quests just to earn enough experience to level up!"

"Everything feels so real!"

"I hit myself to test, and blood actually came out! Amazing!"

"Something is wrong with you dude."

The start was not as easy as the players had expected; everyone was at least put on a level playing field. Furthermore, there was an extremely high degree of freedom for them to choose what they wanted to do. As the players went about their quests, many started to find themselves enjoying the game. Quests were tiring yet felt so fulfilling.

'Today is a blessed day!'

...

"Are you a pro gamer, too?"

Frenzied Sword recognized the trio walking towards him. They were also famous pros: Twinkle Fried Rice, a genius lauded for his mechanical skills, Sleepy Winter, a super veteran of e-sports, and Rainy Kim, a female idol gamer with tens of millions of fans.

In the face of these big gods of the gaming world, Frenzied Sword felt as though he had shrunk a few feet.

"Is something the matter?"

Sleepy Winter laughed, replying, "I was wondering - did you notice that the map sold in this town costs $3000?"

Chapter 56: Encounter

There were three groups of beta testers. The first group were casual gamers who won their spots from the lottery system, while the second group were professional gamers or prolific personalities for whom a certain number of spots were reserved for. As for the third group of beta testers, they bought their accounts from resellers.

The casual gamer would only be interested in checking out the game, but the latter two shared the same reason for playing the beta: to get a head start.

"This beta test will only last for twelve days in terms of game time. It's quite obvious that doing the beginner quests here is a waste of time, but you should have noticed that we are not forced to do them at all. What we should do is to take advantage of our head start and start exploring this world! We can be the first to discover all of this planet's secrets and treasures."

Frenzied Sword nodded slowly.

As time was indeed limited, to dawdle around in a beginner zone did seem like a waste of precious time. Questing here would certainly give them a level advantage over the newer players, but that would be all.

In contrast, exploring seemed like a more promising - and definitely more fun - option!

"But why would you tell me all this?" he asked.

Sleepy Winter laughed.

"Those big guilds will definitely realize this soon enough. The problem is that they have the advantage in numbers, so they will easily be able to buy the map. What do you say to joining our party? It will definitely make things easier."

Frenzied Sword accepted the invitation without hesitation.

"How are we splitting the cost?" asked Twinkle Fried Rice.

"Since I suggested it, I'll contribute more," replied Sleepy Winter.

"I don't like to owe people, so I'll contribute a thousand," added Rainy Kim coldly. "My part's settled."

She immediately turned around and left to earn money from quests.

Sleepy Winter rubbed his nose bitterly.

'We've known each other for a few years already, why won't you give me a chance…'

...

With the money they earned from questing, the four of them were able to procure the map the following day. Obtaining it cleared some of the fog on their maps, and it also provided basic information on the planet's current situation. They learnt of the Six Nations, the Germinal Organization, and the Revolutionary Army, amongst other factions.

"According to this, the two biggest powers are the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization. The Six Nations seem to have quite a number of training schools and academies. It'll probably be easier to learn a main class there. Let's see... seems like Stardragon isn't a bad choice."

Big Horn Mountain was situated in Stardragon, and the public train station was not too far away.

Sleepy Winter nodded.

"We don't have much time. It'll take about 3 days for us to reach the capital."

Frenzied Sword groaned inwardly. He was starting to regret having joined the party. However, he knew that it was too late for him to chicken out.

...

The journey could not be skipped, so the party had to sit through the entire 3 days. There were some quests available on the train, but overall, it was not a pleasant trip at all. They did, however, have the forums to stifle their boredom. On the forums, players were posting about their experiences on the different starting zones.

It provided them with much amusement - except for Frenzied Sword, who could not stop worrying about the passing time.

After three days, the train arrived at the Western Capital.

Upon arriving at the great metal fences, each of them received a system message, alerting them of a new explored location.

"So, discovering places gives experience too, huh?"

"This is amazing," gasped Twinkle Fried Rice as he looked around.

Everything was extremely realistic - down to the way that people were casting him strange looks.

The group proceeded to the security checkpoint where they were scanned for weapons.

After passing the check, the guard gave them each a temporary ID card, and they received a system message notifying them that they had unlocked reputation with Stardragon.

_____________________

Stardragon

Reputation: 0

Current Relationship: Neutral (Temporary Citizen)

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"Shall we continue as a group or go our own ways?" asked Sleepy Winter.

"I'll follow you," replied Twinkle Fried Rice immediately with a grin. The two of them were from the same gaming club.

Rainy Kim also decided to join them as some company was better than none.

"No bullying me," she said flatly.

Sleepy Winter laughed. Unintentional or not, this girl said the cutest things. They exchanged a few more lines before Sleepy Winter finally turned to Frenzied Sword and asked, "What about you?"

Frenzied Sword was furious at being so blatantly overlooked, but he understood that there was no point in forcing himself to tag along.

"No- no need." He waved his hand and stammered, "I prefer playing alone."

"Alright then, good luck!"

As Frenzied Sword watched the trio of gods depart, he mumbled to himself, "Sooner or later, I'll become popular too!"

The Western Capital was obviously a first-class city. Here, there would definitely be plenty of opportunities for him to surpass them and become number one!

Renewed with ambition, Frenzied Sword began to head off in another direction.

Suddenly, he noticed a masked man watching him.

Something about the way the man was looking at him seemed odd. As Frenzied Sword felt a chill run down his spine, he instinctively used the examine function.

_____________________

Name: Han Xiao (?)

Level: ?

Stats: ?

???

Danger Level: Fatal

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Chapter 57: Quest Reward Settings

"Fatal danger‽"

Frenzied Sword gulped. Even the armored security guard just now only had a 'high' danger level. This was his most dangerous encounter yet. Who exactly was this guy whose information was full of question marks‽

"Shouldn't it be safe in the city? Will today be the first time that I die?"

Suddenly, the man spoke.

"Examining someone you just met? That's not very polite."

Frenzied Sword gave a start.

According to the official information, an NPC would know if it had been examined if it was over 30 levels higher than the player using the function.

Han Xiao chuckled to himself. He had simply predicted Frenzied Sword's course of action.

After learning of the beta test, Han Xiao had taken note of all the nearby starting zones on his map. The closest one was none other than Big Horn Mountain Village. It was only three days away, but Han Xiao did not want to leave the Western Capital as Germinal was actively looking for him.

While keeping track of the influx of posts on the forums, Han Xiao came across a thread created by a player called Sleepy Winter. It was a post about the benefits of exploration.

Han Xiao knew who Sleepy Winter was - a legendary pro gamer who was quite active in public forums. He liked to discuss strategies and create guides. He was a good man, handsome (beside the point), and naturally had a huge fan base. In the Chinese server, he had ranked consistently amongst the top 30. Han Xiao himself had only ever peaked at 47th, and during a period of time, he even fell out of the top 100. That lesson that he had learnt then was to stay away from girls (if you want to succeed).

Once, he had shared his thoughts regarding this with the 28-year-old owner of the convenience store below his apartment building who he was on friendly terms with. The bachelor had laughed him off.

"Cool story bro," he said, "but I'd rather have a girl."

To which Han Xiao had replied, "But which girl would have you?"

That was the day that Han Xiao lost his special discount at that store.

The rankings were not based purely on combat. In Galaxy, there were all kinds of competitions apart from fighting - from treasure hunts to monster killing, and even races! As Han Xiao had taken on a number of revenge assignments from other players, his combat ability was quite polished. Unfortunately, he had lacked in other areas - such as trash talking. He never forgot to practice it though.

After reading the thread, Han Xiao had guessed that there would probably be a few players who would make it to the Western Capital. As such, over the past few days, he had spent some time keeping an eye out for any at the city entrance. He was able to spot the party of four easily as their names were - to Han Xiao's surprise - clearly displayed over their heads. Furthermore, three of their names were those of famous people.

Han Xiao was not sure if the reason he could see their names was that he, too, had an interface.

Nevertheless, it was a good thing. Just like how players could see the names of NPCs, Han Xiao could recognize them on sight.

The reason that he had decided to make direct contact with a player was to test out his NPC functions.

"Brave adventurer, do you have time to help me?"

A standard line for a quest-giver.

Frenzied Sword's eyes widened.

'To think that I'd get the chance to interact with a high-level NPC this soon! This place is the best!'

He replied, as calmly as he could, "I am willing to help."

"I need a loaf of bread. Can you find one?"

A confirmation window popped up as soon as Han Xiao asked the question.

_____________________

Do you wish to issue a quest to Frenzied Sword?

Y/N

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'It really works!

'Hold on, why are there automated prompts for an NPC function? Maybe I can automate my own actions too?'

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. Now was not the time to worry about those questions.

"Yes."

A window appeared, along with some messages.

_____________________

Please set the requirements and rewards for the mission. The amount of experience that you can hand out is limited based on your level, rank, influence, and myth.

Note: You can choose to give objects that you possess ownership of as rewards: money, items, experience, skills, etc.

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The window was split into two sections. On the left side was a drop-down menu that allowed Han Xiao to select the quest type. There were a ton of quest types to choose from.

On the right side was for inputting the rewards. There were two lines: "Maximum Reward", and "Daily Reward Limit".

The Maximum Reward was currently set to 11,600 experience points. It also seemed to be provided by the system, meaning that Han Xiao would not have need to fork any out of his own pocket.

Daily Reward Limit referred to the amount of experience reward that Han Xiao could issue out in a day. Currently, it was fixed at five times the Maximum Reward (5 x 11600 = 58,000).

_____________________

Maximum Reward: 11600 exp

Level: 24 (7200 exp)

Rank: E (300 exp)

Faction(s):

Germinal - Hated (1000 exp)

Division 13 - Neutral (400 exp)

Myth Level: 0

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As Han Xiao tested the settings out, he discovered a limitation - if the current Maximum Reward did not meet the minimum amount required for a quest, he would not be able to issue it - a Rank A quest such as destroying the Germinal Organization would require a Rank A reward.

Han Xiao's maximum reward of 11,600 meant that he could only issue E-rank quests. D-rank quests required a reward of at least 30,000 exp. The reward criteria also seemed to differ among the different quest types. No further messages popped up to explain this, so it seemed like Han Xiao would have to figure it out on his own through trial and error.

Han Xiao tried to issue himself a quest, but it failed.

"If only I could have some of that sweet experience..."

Although he now had the ability to hand out experience like water, he himself was only earning about 20,000 to 30,000 exp a day. Of course, there was no way that he would help someone else.

"Seems like I could use this to my advantage though..." Han Xiao's eyes began to twinkle. It was possible to use this function to manipulate players into doing his bidding. After all, players would do any quest if the reward was high enough.

Han Xiao suddenly had an epiphany. "I have to increase my maximum reward!"

In most games, it was the key, high-level NPCs who gave the hardest missions and the highest rewards. The quest function's system made perfect sense.

Han Xiao issued a regular mission to Frenzied Sword.

Frenzied Sword stared at the mission window with his mouth agape.

'What kind of high level NPC would ask for a loaf of bread and reward only $1‽'

"Hold on... he could just be testing me!"

Frenzied Sword recalled that in some of the games he had played before, there were indeed quests like this.

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed to him, so Frenzied Sword whipped out all seven of the bread loaves he had in his possession and put them into Han Xiao's hands.

"This is all the bread I have," he added sincerely.

Han Xiao was stunned.

'What's going on? Are gamers these days so excessive with doing quests?'

Nonetheless, a completion dialogue popped up when Han Xiao received the bread.

There were too many quest types to test out, so Han Xiao decided to try out the other NPC functions.

There was an icon in the shape of a person beside Frenzied Sword's name above his head. When Han Xiao focused on it, an RPG-style meter bar popped out. The bar was half red, half green, and with a needle at the center.

[Do you want to adjust Favorability with Frenzied Sword?]

"I can even do this‽" Han Xiao was a bit scared to try. What if changing this also adjusted his thoughts?

"If I set favorability to maximum, will I... turn gay on the spot?

"No no no no no - I can't risk that."

Han Xiao decided to test it by moving the needle slightly left to reduce favorability by five. He heaved a sigh of relief when nothing else seemed to change.

"This function isn't very useful..."

_____________________

Your favorability with Han Xiao has dropped by 5.

Current status: Stranger

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'What the-‽ Why would my favorability go down after quest completion?

'What the hell?'

Chapter 58: Greatest Scam Ever

As Han Xiao was wondering if he could perform transactions with players, he began to laugh shadily.

"Hey kid, not bad. I only sell my goods to people I like, and I like you."

Frenzied Sword's jaw dropped.

'My favorability dropped, but he still says that he likes me‽'

_____________________

Do you want to open up a shop to Frenzied Sword?

Y/N

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'Confirm.'

A shop window immediately popped up. The window was divided into two sections. The left section was titled 'Item Shop', and there was a system hint saying that it was possible for Han Xiao to put up items on display even if they were not currently on his person. The right section was titled 'Skill Shop', where Han Xiao could put his own skills up for sale. Han Xiao fiddled around with the settings.

_____________________

Please set a price. You may select money, experience, or items.

You may also set buying requirements such as favorability, level, skills, class, etc.

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So far, Han Xiao had been dealing in Aquamarine's international currency—the Aquamarine Dollar. The 'Inar' was the standard universal currency. Han Xiao discovered to his surprise that the shop function allowed him to set the item price in any currency that he had ever come into contact with.

An idea suddenly came to Han Xiao. 'I can set favorability requirements to manipulate—I mean—attract players to keep coming back for quests!'

Han Xiao was reminded of how he had spent long hours grinding out high difficulty quests just to achieve exalted status with the Alliance of Light—all for the sake of a battleship.

Now, however, the tables had turned.

'This interface is the best!'

A shop interface popped up in front of Frenzied Sword. As he scanned through the items, his eyes began to widen in disbelief.

"Godly equips!" he blurted.

"[Retractable Knife], [Incendiary Bullets], [73-Wasp], [Jackson Assault Rifle], [Bayonet Rifle]…"

Frenzied Sword was shaking uncontrollably. To him, all of these were 'godly equips' that would allow him to surpass any other player!

However, his expression changed when he looked at their price tags. It was as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over him.

Even the cheapest of them, the [Incendiary Bullets], cost a hundred dollars each, while the [Lightweight Mecha Arm] required 10 favorability!

'This is daylight robbery! And how am I supposed to gain favorability with this NPC when completing his quests reduces it instead‽

'No wonder this NPC's danger level is so high. It's definitely still too early to interact with him.'

But Frenzied Sword only knew true pain when he took a look at the Skill Shop.

[Basic Combat], [Basic Shooting], [Submission]… the sight of these skills caused Frenzied Sword to start drooling… until he saw their prices.

There was also a [Mechanic Class Change Tome], and an array of Mechanic skills, but none of them were as eye-catching as the [Energy Training Technique]!

"Godly skill!"

Han Xiao shook his head upon seeing Frenzied Sword's reaction.

"You aren't a Technician, so you are unable to learn it."

By now, Han Xiao had already been solidified as a Secret NPC in Frenzied Sword's mind.

'If I can make him my teacher, I will definitely become rank 1 in no time!

'But… I really wanted to be a Pugilist…'

That much was obvious from his in-game name.

'Damn it! This had better be worth it!'

_____________________

Are you sure you want to become a Mechanic?

Y/N

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"Yes!"

…

_____________________

[Basic Weaponry] learnt. You have gained 500 exp, $100.

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Buying a skill was like paying for lessons, and Han Xiao's skill level would remain unchanged.

Of course, the skills that Han Xiao had chosen to put on display were the more common and easily obtainable ones—not that any player would know at this point.

…

Frenzied Sword's reaction to [Energy Training Technique] confirmed this. He obviously did not know that the skill was automatically given to all characters after the first advancement at Lv. 20.

It wasn't that Han Xiao was trying to scam him, though. On the contrary, he had purposely set its cost at a whopping 10,000 exp and $3,000 just to make the shop look 'nicer'. He had also placed a requirement of 10 favorability on it.

"Oh right!" Han Xiao quickly reverted Frenzied Sword's favorability back to 0, which caused him to immediately have the wrong idea.

'I must buy more things from him in order to increase favorability!'

Suddenly, the NPC began to walk away.

"Where can I find you‽" yelled a flustered Frenzied Sword after him.

Han Xiao thought for a moment before handing him a piece of paper with the workshop's address on it.

As Frenzied Sword watched him leave, he began to grow excited.

'This is my chance!

'With those skills and equips, I will definitely be able to climb to the top!'

Suddenly, his expression froze.

'I cannot let anyone find this Secret NPC!'

…

To a city as big as the Western Capital, a few beta testers were truly insignificant. For now, Han Xiao did not have any interest in them. The only reason he had come into contact with one was to test the NPC functions, and they certainly did not disappoint. Han Xiao was already thinking up ways to use them for scamming players.

'Frenzied Sword…'

As Han Xiao thought back to the player from before, scenes from another lifetime began to play out in his mind.

In his previous life, Frenzied Sword had been part of the first batch of professional 'Galaxy' players. As a Pugilist, he had taken the first competitive season by storm and won one of twenty-four spots to represent China internationally. This honor alone had cemented his status as a legend.

Unfortunately, this future Pugilist legend was now a Mechanic.

Han Xiao did not know exactly how Frenzied Sword's fortunes would play out in this timeline, but he did know one thing for sure: there would be no Frenzied Sword representing China in the near future.

The only reason Han Xiao dared to choose the Mechanic class was that he knew it would eventually become the strongest class. However, this was something that no other player could know. In fact, the class seemed so bad from the start that in Han Xiao's past life, numerous gamers, including pros, who chose the Mechanic class would give up their characters and restart in another class.

'I feel like I scammed him big time or something…'

Han Xiao shook his head.

'Scam? Nah. He made the decision himself. On the contrary, if he can endure a few patches then he'll have me to thank… yeah…'

Chapter 59: B-Class Mission Triggered?

From enlisting in the Stardragon Army to joining underworld societies, there was no lack of work opportunities for players in the Western Capital. Even just by walking on the streets and interacting with NPCs, there were plenty of quests waiting to be triggered. From the money that they earned from these common quests such as "Find the Missing Purse", "Rescue the Cat Stuck on the Tree", and other collection missions, it became clear to Sleepy Winter that exploring had been the right thing to do.

Of course, as the Western Capital was a high-level zone, there were many places that the trio found inaccessible at their current level. Rainy Kim had been rejected at the gates of the Western Capital Academy while Twinkle Fried Rice had been held at gunpoint when he'd tried to enter District 1, almost giving away his first death.

The day after, the trio enlisted in the Stardragon Army, thereby gaining their first combat class: [Recruit]. After a couple of training quests, their Faction changed from [Stardragon] to [Stardragon Army], and they earned the rank of [Private].

Out of goodwill, Sleepy Winter messaged Frenzied Sword to let him know about being able to join the army, but Frenzied Sword only replied briefly in acknowledgement. For some reason, he seemed uninterested.

What Sleepy Winter did not know was that Frenzied Sword was preoccupied with trying to win Han Xiao's favor.

In order to test out the limitations of the quest function, Han Xiao entertained Frenzied Sword and issued him with all sorts of strange quests, such as [Kick Ten People in the Ass], [Strip a Patrolling Officer of His Shorts], [Remain in a Ballerina Pose for Five Minutes], and many more.

From these tests, Han Xiao learned that as long as the maximum reward was able to match the quest's difficulty, he would be able to choose any type of quest scenario that he wanted.

Meanwhile, things were a bit different on the receiving end. Frenzied Sword, who found himself only being assigned crude and twisted quests, gradually began to develop a sense of fear toward Han Xiao.

Nonetheless, he religiously completed all of the quests as the experience that Han Xiao rewarded him with was several times more than the standard reward. That alone was enough for him to ignore his own morals.

The quests allowed him to level up rapidly, and he used the earnings themself to learn more basic skills from Han Xiao.

The beta test might have been unexpected for Han Xiao, but overall, it did not do much to disrupt his plans. The beta players were simply too scattered and few in number to have much influence on their respective starting planets. Twelve days was not enough time for them to level up significantly.

It would take longer for a breeze to develop into a storm.

In the long haul, however, the influx of players would be like a gold mine to Han Xiao.

Helping to strengthen Frenzied Sword was only the first step. Soon, his progress would definitely catch the attention of the other players and his own association. His association would certainly capitalize on it and release information on this 'secret NPC' in order to gain popularity. That was when the money and experience would start pouring in for Han Xiao. Frenzied Sword might have thought he was hogging Han Xiao to himself, but he was actually dancing in the palm of his hand.

…

[Official Launch Countdown: 126 Days 11 Hours 32 Minutes]

Aside from crafting [Incendiary Bullets], Han Xiao spent most of his free time browsing the forums.

Although it was usually buzzing with discussion and players would frequent it while their characters were dead or had set up shop, there were only beta players posting now.

"The women on Aquamarine are so beautiful!"

"Urgently looking for party members to fight the Sand Bandits. Location: Fallen Dragon Valley, Planet Longtune. Coordinates are…"

"A shot of Planet Brighton's magical floating city."

"I somehow transformed myself into some tentacled monster. How do I change back‽"

"Damn it, teach me how!"

…

Most of the threads were posted to request help or share information. Some parties also used the forums as a means to record and share their progress.

There were over a dozen beginner planets of various civilizations available in the beta—magical civilizations, scientific civilizations, and religious civilizations, to name a few. The societal structure of each planet also varied.

The most popular planet seemed to be Planet Winterfrost, which was ruled by the void demon race. The planet also served as an outpost for the Destruction Army, whose aim was to 'destroy all civilizations'. In Han Xiao's past life, they were an enemy who had given him quite a headache.

As Han Xiao refreshed the forum page, a new thread caught his attention.

"First B-class quest!"

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He recalled that the first B-class mission had only appeared after the official launch. How could someone have unlocked such a high class mission during the beta test?

Curious, he entered the thread to see that it was already erupting with discussion.

"Who are you trying to fool? I haven't even seen a D-class quest yet."

"Are you dumb? He posted pictures as proof!"

"They must be fake! Why is there only a quest name but no quest information?"

"Nice try, clown. Who would want to share their quest information with you."

"It must be super hard. I'm still at the beginner zone. Does anyone know how to get out?"

"The poster is the official account of the Throne of Gods guild. They're legit. It should be true."

"Does anyone know which planet this is?"

"All of you are noobs."

"Sorry, my dog ran over my keyboard."

…

Han Xiao chuckled. In his nostalgia, he continued reading through all the banter before finally checking out the contents of the original post. There was only a cropped screenshot of a quest name.

_____________________

B-class Quest: [Investigate Zero]

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Han Xiao scrolled up to check the poster's name.

'Throne of Gods?'

The Throne of Gods was a prestigious guild that boasted a line-up of renowned gamers. They were so big that they even had their own line of goods.

In his previous life, Han Xiao had once taken up an assignment to strip their leader and take pictures of him in various embarrassing poses. He had then posted them on the forums with the title: "Shocking! Why would the leader of the Throne of Gods…" and charged a fee for viewing. While Han Xiao had earned his money, he had also ended up being chased around by the entire guild for an entire month.

'Ah, I miss player killing…' Han Xiao sighed as he turned around to look at Frenzied Sword, causing him to freeze up.

Han Xiao shook his head.

If things went as they had previously, the Throne of Gods would join the Germinal faction to become the biggest player guild on their side. It was already looking likely.

Germinal must be hellbent on getting him this time, for even beta players to be able to acquire the mission to look for him.

For the average player, it would be impossible to evade the notice of Division 13 while trying to locate Han Xiao by themselves. Normally, it would take a large amount of people to even have a chance of succeeding. However, the Throne of Gods did not seem to lack manpower.

As he considered the situation, Han Xiao finally decided on which Germinal base to act upon next.

…

The Throne of Gods guild had 15 players in the beta test. It was a team of core members led by both the leader and the vice-leader. Before the beta test started, they had already decided to list science as a preference.

Their reasoning was simple—since the world of Galaxy had a 'galactic' setting, science would definitely be a core driving force of the game. As such, they were all able to start together on Aquamarine and had also quickly purchased a map to begin exploring.

The leader, Jupiter, was the one who decided to join the Germinal Organization. Their starting zone had also been close to a Germinal base.

Jupiter thought that the Germinal Organization was probably the strongest faction on the planet as they able to stand strong against all of the nations on their own. Choosing them had nothing to do with favoring their ideology or anything like that. After all, their only priority was to get stronger.

And reality did not betray their expectations. After joining Germinal, they were brought to the Dark Crow Valley Base where they underwent tough training to become low level grunts.

The biggest gain that they received there, however, was none other than the B-class quest, [Investigate Zero].

The only information provided by the quest was that the target, Zero, was currently residing within Stardragon.

At present, the 15 members were having a top-secret meeting to discuss how they would complete the quest.

"This is our first B-class quest," said Jupiter in a low voice. "As there doesn't seem to be fighting involved, with our level, we have a good chance of succeeding. The rewards are extremely good. With them, we will definitely be able to become the number one guild!"

"All we know is that Zero is in the country, but Stardragon is just too big," added Poseidon, a core member of the guild. "The beta test period is too short, so I think that we should only aim to complete the quest after official launch. Now, we should just do some preliminary investigation."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"The quest information only tells us that Zero is an enemy of the Germinal Organization. If we manage to kill him, will there be a bonus reward?"

"Nice thinking, as expected of our leader."

"But that would most likely be A-class difficulty," pointed out Poseidon.

"There's no impossible quest in a game. We just have to find the way," answered Jupiter matter-of-factly. "The official launch is one week after the end of this beta test. During this period of time, we will also have to discuss the matter with the rest of the guild."

"In any case," added Shiva, the vice-leader, "with the backing of our gaming organization, we are the ones with the highest chance of completing this quest."

"That is true," agreed Jupiter.

"It would be faster if we made use of the other players," suggested Poseidon.

Jupiter's eyes lit up.

"Good idea. Let's release Zero's face and put up a reward for any valuable leads."

Rich guilds had their way of doing things.

Chapter 60: Sudden Assassination!

'The Throne of Gods sure has deep pockets! If only I could find Zero…'

The reward on Zero's wanted poster was extremely alluring, but Frenzied Sword knew that as he was operating alone, it would be like trying to search for a needle in a haystack.

While it might have been a pity, it did not bother him too much. Frenzied Sword's eyes filled up with fire as he took another look at Han Xiao.

'As long as I latch onto this guy, I will level up faster than anyone!'

Initially, performing all the strange quests that Han Xiao gave him did give him a sense of aversion. However, he gradually discovered that they not were that bad after all—at the very least, they were interesting to do. Compared to hunting monsters, running around to carry out these 'errands' was much simpler. Of course, this came at the expense of his morality.

One day, he realized that his mind was becoming more open, and he had an epiphany: 'shame is but an obstacle to human evolution!'

'Me, a pervert? No no no, I have simply transcended! I have found the way!'

"Does that guy like you or something?" asked a bemused Lu Qian as she pointed at Frenzied Sword. He was staring at Han Xiao dreamily from the entrance of the workshop.

"…"

"He seems pretty sincere. Why don't you give him a chance?" she teased, giggling.

It was the first time that she had spoken normally to Han Xiao since the misunderstanding.

Han Xiao rolled his eyes and reached out to tickle her, causing her to yell out and dodge, startled. Hugging her sides with crossed arms, Lu Qian watched Han Xiao closely with puppy eyes in anticipation of his next attack.

Her grandfather's attempts at playing matchmaker had initially caused her much headache. However, she soon discovered that there was no cause for concern as Han Xiao was not particularly interested in her. To be more specific, he did not even seem to be interested in women at all! Although this eased her worries, it also raised other concerns.

A woman's heart is unfathomable. Pay her attention and she might become wary of you, but neglecting her won't do either.

Unfortunately, one's looks also play an important factor. If you are good looking enough, you won't have to worry about it.

Lu Qian's casual attire was revealing a tantalizing view of her front, but it did nothing to stir Han Xiao's heart. Having been working for up to 15 hours almost every day recently, crafting had become the only thing that he could think about.

Sometimes, he even found himself designing guns and weapons in his dreams! And the scary part was that once, when he woke up, he realized that the designs were all practical! This served as a wake-up call to Han Xiao, and he would think back to fond times with Mei Mei, Mei Mei, Mei Mei, and a dozen or so more ex-girlfriends to regain his senses. (These names all sound the same, but they are different characters in Chinese)

A man may die, but he must go down with his bird.

Han Xiao ignored Frenzied Sword. By his calculations, the beta test would end in a day. The only reason Han Xiao had chosen to make contact with a player was to test the NPC functions.

Suddenly, the interface lit up.

_____________________

You have triggered the sudden quest: [Assassination]!

Quest Hint: The assassin is closing in!

Completion Requirement: Survive the encounter.

Quest Reward: Unknown

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Han Xiao's face stiffened.

The attack could happen at any moment!

"Damn it! Old Lu is not home now!"

For the quest to have triggered despite Feng Jun and his men keeping watch in the neighborhood meant that the enemy definitely had some kind of special ability to invade without getting detected! There was a high chance that it was a superhuman!

Han Xiao immediately dashed into his room to retrieve his equipment. It was vital to avoid dragging Old Lu and Lu Qian into the mix as it could jeopardize his plans to unlock the hidden scenario that he had come here for all along.

Facing his attacker head-on was also more of his style.

Frenzied Sword chased after Han Xiao.

As they ran, Han Xiao began to feel like someone was watching him.

The temperature of the air suddenly began to drop, causing Frenzied Sword to rub his arms in fear. Even he could feel the murderous intent in the air.

As they walked down an alley, Han Xiao's sense of danger began to escalate from a tingle into an alarm.

Darkness was already creeping upon the unknowing pair. Before they realized it, they were transported into a world devoid of sight and sound. Strangely, however, this pitch-black darkness made Han Xiao feel extremely safe and comfortable, as though he were back in his mother's womb. All that remained was an overwhelming allure to fall into eternal slumber.

An illusion!

Han Xiao forced his eyes open.

_____________________

You are under the attack of an illusion. As your INT is higher than 50, you are able to resist its effects.

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The darkness around Han Xiao began to shatter as the effects of the illusion faded.

As Han Xiao regained his senses, he discovered that there was a man standing five meters away with a gun pointed directly at him. The assassin was wearing a victorious smirk.

Click.

He pulled the trigger.

Han Xiao's eyes widened.

'How am I supposed to dodge a shot at point blank range‽'

People often say that time slows down in the face of danger. What happened next was on a whole new level.

In the face of imminent death, the world around Han Xiao suddenly began to slow down. The expression of panic on Han Xiao's face was replaced by a look of absolute coolness as his mind cast aside all unnecessary thoughts and emotions in order to process the situation.

'It's not over yet!'

The flow of time resumed.

In the very instant that the bullet left the barrel, Han Xiao activated [Strafe], causing his entire body to seemingly fade and reappear.

[Strafe]'s effect allowed the user to move anywhere within a three-meter radius, but it was not exactly 'instant'. While any movement using [Strafe] would seem extremely fast, moving a shorter distance would be even faster. Han Xiao was able to dodge the fatal shot by moving just 2 inches.

The bullet grazed past the side of his face; all it caused was a searing sensation.

The assassin's expression changed.

'How could he have dodged my sure-kill shot‽'

With his illusory powers, Norsa had successfully carried out over a hundred assassinations for the Germinal Organization. So far, it had not mattered whether his targets also had superpowers. However, according to the intel given to him, Zero should at most be at the level of an elite agent! How could someone who relied on machinery to fight be able to break free of his illusion‽

The intel was completely off the mark!

As Han Xiao dodged, he whipped out both Berserk Eagles from his waist and activated [Overload] as he fired a volley of deafening shots. The recoil from the shots was so powerful that it caused his hands to shake.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

All of the shots found their mark on Norsa's chest.

A perfect counterattack. Han Xiao's skillful usage of the Strafe might not have seemed difficult, but it would not have been possible to pull off without the wealth of combat experience that he possessed.

Norsa began to stagger backwards. He had used energy to protect his body—otherwise he would have been shredded to bits. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he immediately summoned whatever energy he had left to back up and flee.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and gave pursuit as he loaded a gun up with [Incendiary Ammo] to fire a shot in the direction of Norsa's escape.

The ensuing sea of fire forced Norsa to stop in his tracks. Gritting his teeth, he turned around to face Han Xiao.

Norsa's eyes began to glow with a mysterious seven-colored aura.

_____________________

You are under the attack of an illusion. As your INT is higher than 50, you are able to resist its effects.

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Bang!

Han Xiao unhesitatingly fired a single, precise shot that drilled a hole through the assassin's throat.

Norsa clutched his neck in horror.

'My illusory powers have never failed me! Why is he unaffected‽'

Han Xiao strode forward to smack Norsa onto the ground with both guns. He then pressed them against his chest, pinning him to the ground.

Bang!

The sound of the shot was dull.

As the incendiary bullet penetrated Norsa's body, his internal organs were immediately set ablaze. He began to flail his limbs wildly—but only for a moment.

_____________________

You have killed the Germinal Organization Executor, Norsa (Lv. 25 Superhuman), earning 7,500 exp.

You have completed the sudden quest, [Assassination]. You have been rewarded with a Character Summoning Card.

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Han Xiao steadied his breath. Blood had stained his mask and was dripping down his face onto the floor.

It was silent, apart from the crackle of the flames.

Norsa's death freed Frenzied Sword from the illusion. His jaw dropped upon noticing the aftermath of the battle.

'What the hell just happened here‽'

Chapter 61: Thanks for the Gift!

Feng Jun arrived late to the party with his team of fully-equipped field agents. When he saw the blood on Han Xiao's mask, his first reaction was to feel Han Xiao's chin for any wounds.

"Are you hurt?"

"Are you blind?" snapped Han Xiao, pointing to the graze on his cheek.

"That's good…" Feng Jun heaved a sigh of relief before looking at Han Xiao apologetically. They had failed in their duty to keep him safe.

"It's not your fault," consoled Han Xiao.

"This man is the Germinal Organization's executor," he explained, pointing toward Norsa's corpse. "He's an assassin who has never failed."

"Norsa Connor‽"

Norsa was widely feared even among the Six Nations. Once, he had gunned down a high-ranking Stardragon official in broad daylight despite tight security.

Upon confirming the identity of the corpse, Feng Jun's shock turned into amazement.

"Hold on, he came to assassinate you… but you killed him instead‽ Are you really that strong‽"

"You only realized that now?"

Han Xiao glared at him as he checked the interface for the quest reward.

_____________________

Character Summoning Card: You are able to use this character's ability once.

Character: Norsa Connor

Ability: Illusory Power (E) - Only targets with more than 50 INT can resist this ability.

Usage Count: 0/1

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Character Summoning Cards were quite uncommon in Galaxy. They only dropped from special quests, and their function was to allow the player to use the ability of the NPC character stated on the card. In Galaxy, people farmed and sold these for money, but it was only the rich players, who could afford to indiscriminately use them, who bought them. Although not Han Xiao's style, it was always better to have more tools at one's disposal.

Fortunately, Han Xiao had assigned all his stat points to INT beforehand, otherwise things would have played out very differently.

'Germinal Organization, thanks for the gift!'

_____________________

Do you wish to accept your reward now?

Y/N

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'Yes.'

It was a 'use' item that could be stored within the interface, allowing Han Xiao to pull it out whenever he needed it.

Meanwhile, Frenzied Sword was still trying to comprehend the situation. When he used the examine function to learn that these mysterious men in black were aligned with the 'Stardragon Strategic Defense Initiative', he couldn't help but look toward Han Xiao in wonderment.

"You know this guy?" Feng Jun asked Han Xiao curiously as he pointed at Frenzied Sword.

"Just ignore him."

As Han Xiao wiped the blood of his face with a handkerchief that Feng Jun passed to him, he frowned.

"If Norsa has found me, then it means the Germinal Organization must know exactly where I am."

"Not necessarily," replied Feng Jun. "The intelligence department has the network locked down. Any mention of you is blocked from being transmitted out."

Han Xiao's spirits immediately lifted.

"Are you sure?"

Feng Jun nodded.

"But… Norsa definitely wasn't operating alone. He must have passed the intel on to Germinal spies hiding within the capital. It'll probably be a matter of time before they relay the information."

Han Xiao abruptly started to run out of the alley.

"Hey, where are you going?" called out Feng Jun hastily. "I still have to take you back to HQ for debriefing!"

"No time to explain! Quickly request for permission to seal all of the city's exits!"

It was possible that Norsa had learned of his whereabouts from the spies in the city, and that he had come straight for him right after. In that case, it was not too late to take action!

Han Xiao knew exactly who the head honcho of the spy network was. The reason he had not taken action against him so far was that the Germinal would simply send a replacement to take over. On the contrary, leaving him alive had its advantages.

Norsa's death would confirm Han Xiao's presence in the Western Capital, but if he could stop the intel from getting out, the Germinal would not be able to pinpoint his location.

Of course, all of this was simply guesswork; it was possible that a spy had already left the city to deliver the intel. Nevertheless, it was worth a shot.

"Li Ya Lin, tell the others to meet up with me at District 8. These are the coordinates… Remember to drive a car!"

"Of all places, the slums‽ I was expecting at least a fancy restaurant!"

"There's no time, just do as I asked!"

After hanging up, Han Xiao smashed the window of the nearest car by the roadside and jumped in.

The owner was making a phone call right beside his car when the sudden sound of shattering glass gave him a fright. He immediately ran over to the driver side and grabbed Han Xiao by the collar.

"You! Get out now!"

The next second, he found himself yanked halfway into the car with his head pinned against the steering wheel, causing the car horn to bellow noisily.

"Nice timing!"

Han Xiao immediately began to search the poor car owner's body for the car keys. Upon finding them, he ungraciously shoved him out of the window and sped off into the distance.

As the car owner sat dazed on the floor with a big bruise on his face, he wondered aloud, "Damn, since when were car thieves this brazen?"

…

As Han Xiao weaved through traffic at high speed, he soon noticed the wail of a police siren.

"The car in front, stop right now!" yelled the traffic police officer on his motorbike.

Han Xiao tossed the car owner's driving license out of the window and yelled back, "Deduct as many points as you like!"

The officer ended up tailing Han Xiao all the way to District 8, where Han Xiao quickly got off and began to stride off in big steps. The persistent police officer ran up to him to block his path.

"You! Stop right now!"

Han Xiao rolled his eyes in exasperation. With a quick chop that the police officer could never have seen coming, he knocked him out cold.

Through a series of twisting alleys—in the process, disposing of three muggers—Han Xiao soon arrived at a small, dilapidated church building. It was now used as a means of shelter by some homeless people.

In the warring period of the old era, religion had served as a means of mental support for many. At one point, this church in particular had managed to amass millions of believers.

However, the 'savior' that they believed in never appeared, so eventually, people stopped believing.

There were a number of vagrants in the building, but when Han Xiao could not see the one that he was looking for, he abruptly grabbed the nearest one up and questioned, "Have you seen a tall, bearded man with the tattoo of a red wolf on the back of his hand?"

The vagrant shivered at the sight of the blood covering Han Xiao.

"You mean Lu Gao En?" he answered meekly. "We call him 'Tongueless' because he never seems to speak. I think he went somewhere in the afternoon."

Afternoon?

Even regular citizens needed to go through lengthy checks at one of the three guard post in order to leave the Western Capital. As it was currently only 2PM, there was still a chance for Han Xiao to stop him.

He could not count on Division 13 to pass a restriction order. Even if they were willing to, it would take some time for them to come to the decision. By then, Lu Gao En would most likely have left the capital.

Han Xiao furrowed his brows. Which of the three exits was Lu Gao En at? Time was ticking.

Chapter 62: Interception

Lu Gao En left less than two hours ago, meaning that he must have received Norsa's intel just then.

Since Norsa had come directly to assassinate him, he must have tasked Lu Gao En with reporting the information back to their organization. Lu Gao En would definitely not have expected Han Xiao to know of him, so he would not see a need to deliver the intel with haste. Under such circumstances, the city pass that he would use would most likely be the one nearest to him—the Northwest Pass.

However, it was still possible that he would choose to use either of the further passes.

There was no way to tell.

"Ay, Han Xiao, we're here. What did you call us here for?"

Li Ya Lin, Zhang Wei, and Lambert arrived. They had managed to come on time thanks to Li Ya Lin's ride, a yellow convertible sports car.

"An emergency mission. One of Germinal's spies here acquired some important information. There's a chance that he hasn't left the city yet, but he could be at any of the three passes."

Li Ya Lin wiped the playful smile off her face upon hearing the severity of the situation.

"Do you have a picture of him?" she asked.

Han Xiao picked up some scraps of newspaper around him and began to draw out a rough image of Lu Gao En from his faded memory. He then yanked the homeless guy from earlier on up and barked, "Look at this, does it look like Lu Gao En?"

"The eyes should be lower… his nose is a little crooked… hair is shorter…"

With the man's help, Han Xiao was able to produce sketches of Lu Gao En with a 70 or 80 percent resemblance. He then passed them to the trio and instructed, "Let's split up and get the security officers to keep an eye out for this person. Li Ya Lin and I will take her car to the furthest city entrance, while each of you will go to the other two."

Zhang Wei's face twitched as Han Xiao gave them the orders. 'Am I still the leader of this team?'

Nonetheless, he let it slide as it was an emergency.

As they set off, Han Xiao immediately hopped into the driver's seat of Li Ya Lin's car.

"Hey, it's my car!" grumbled Li Ya Lin immediately. "I'll drive."

"You drive too slow."

"You don't trust the driving skills of a top agent‽" Li Ya Lin was so outraged that her eyebrows were almost contorted upside-down. Unfortunately, she knew that there was no time to argue, so she grudgingly got into the passenger's seat.

"Tighten your seatbelt," reminded Han Xiao.

Li Ya Lin rolled her eyes at him, replying, "You must be joking. I'm a pugilist; I'll be fine no matter how fast you go."

"Suit yourself," replied Han Xiao with a plain nod as he stamped on the accelerator.

…

Half an hour later, a yellow sports car appeared at the South Entrance. Spinning almost full-circle, the car left four sizzling, black tire marks on the road as it came to an abrupt stop.

"Bleargh—"

"Hey, hey, I thought you were a pugilist?"

"You… don't talk to me n— bleeaarrgh—"

Li Ya Lin puked non-stop as she leaned on the car door.

"Half an hour, and 27 car accidents… or was it 28? My head's spinning so much that I can't even count.

"Who taught you to drive?"

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.

"Does driving have to be taught?"

"D-doesn't it?"

"The first driver didn't have anyone to teach him, did he?"

Li Ya Lin gaped in the face of Han Xiao's perfect logic. She was about to shoot back at him when, suddenly, the urge to vomit kicked in again, causing her to throw her head back to the side.

"Really? I only drove a little fast, that's all."

"A little fast? I doubt the word 'brake' even exists in your vocabulary!"

"Fine, fine, let's stop wasting time."

As Li Ya Lin tried to get back on her feet, she lost balance and almost tripped into her own pile of vomit. Fortunately, Han Xiao was able to provide support in time. Shaking his head, he began to drag her along with him toward the sentry post.

As they neared the post, the stationed troop yelled out, "Stop! Show your ID!"

As Han Xiao reached into his pockets to take out his ID card, his expression froze as he realized that he had forgotten to bring them along. Without asking, he directly reached into Li Ya Lin's pockets to find hers.

Top pockets… none.

Bottom pockets… none.

"Where's your pass?" he asked.

As Li Ya Lin still seemed too dizzy to think straight, Han Xiao continued feeling around that dynamite body of hers for it.

'I— I'm being taken advantage of‽'

"Ah! I found it," rejoiced Han Xiao. He then held the pass up toward the guard, who had been gulping at the show.

"Oh, you guys are agents. Come on in."

As Han Xiao took a few steps forward, he discovered that Li Ya Lin was still rooted to the spot, giving him a deathly stare.

"What's wrong? Hurry up."

Li Ya Lin took a deep breath to compose herself.

"Give me my ID back," she said stiffly.

"Why so fussy?" replied Han Xiao impatiently. He then casually walked back toward her and slotted the pass back into her rear pocket.

Li Ya Lin's eyes widened.

'I— I'm being taken advantage of again‽'

Han Xiao then strode toward the sentry post to give the military officer in charge of security the sketch of Lu Gao En.

"Please wait a moment as the system performs a footage scan."

Li Ya Lin entered the sentry post still biting her lips. The way that Han Xiao had felt her up did not seem to contain any ill-intentions at all. As such, she was having a hard time even getting angry at him. She was just very unhappy, for some reason, and she continued glaring at him.

…

Lu Gao En worked for an intelligence organization known as Storm Eye, one of the many sub-groups that were secretly under the wing of the Germinal Organization.

In most cities, Storm Eye had one 'head contact' in charge of relaying information back to the Germinal Organization, as well as a few covert agents who gathered intel and only reported back to the head contact.

One of Lu Gao En's agents had reported seeing someone matching Zero's description in District 7. While at first unclear of Han Xiao's location, Lu Gao En had discovered, after repeated investigations, that there was an area in District 7 that seemed to be cordoned off and watched closely by Division 13. It was most likely where Zero was hiding.

Upon finding out that transmissions leaving the city were being blocked, he realized that Division 13 must have gotten wind of him somehow. Hence, he decided to go offline and take his computer apart in order to prevent being traced before heading toward the city entrance to leave.

At present, Lu Gao En was blended in with a crowd of people approaching one of the city's entrances.

'Norsa must have completed the assassination by now.'

Suddenly, the great metal-fenced gate before him closed up.

"What happened?"

"Why are we being stopped?"

"We have orders to temporarily seal the exits," announced a soldier, starting a commotion among the crowd.

'Why would they close the gates‽' Lu Gao En was shocked. 'Did Norsa fail?'

Still, as he had been extremely careful for the past two to three years, he was not worried of being discovered.

"He's the one!"

The sudden shout from behind caused Lu Gao En to turn around. There was a bunch of troops walking menacingly in his direction. They were obviously after him.

'Impossible!'

Lu Gao En immediately looked around him to find an escape path, but it was too late. Not only was he surrounded by the crowd, there were simply way too many troops in the vicinity. As despair filled him, he allowed a soldier to pin him onto the ground without resistance.

As Han Xiao appeared at the scene, he sighed a breath of relief.

"We made it in time."

"You really did!" Li Ya Lin was amazed.

"How did you guys know it was me?" asked Lu Gao En as he raised his head to look up at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao looked back at him plainly. In Galaxy, Lu Gao En was the primary contact for all Germinal-allied players in the Western Capital.

As Lu Gao En resigned to his fate, he decided to activate the poison sac stored in his tooth. He would rather die than divulge any information regarding the organization that he had dedicated his whole life to.

Suddenly, Han Xiao pulled out his handgun to fire a shot at Lu Gao En's head, sending a trail of blood and brain matter spurting out.

_____________________

You have killed Lu Gao En (Lv.12), gaining 3,500 experience.

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Han Xiao raised his gun up to blow off the smoke from its barrel.

'If you want to die, at least give me the experience.'

"Why did you kill him?"

Li Ya Lin was stunned by Han Xiao's sudden action. Division 13 could obviously have extracted a lot of vital information from him.

"There's poison stored in his teeth, his nails, and he even has some needles concealed in his clothes. We wouldn't have been able to stop him from killing himself."

Han Xiao shook his head.

In any case, Lu Gao En's death was truly insignificant to him; he already possessed all the information that he needed. Nonetheless, things were getting a bit dicey.

'Looks like I'd better speed things up,' he thought.

Chapter 63: End of the Beta Tes

In Black Raven Valley Base, the Throne of Gods guild had gathered together for a meeting in-game.

Things had not gone according to plan. As the other beta testers were all preoccupied with leveling up, their call for information had gone unanswered. Just as Jupiter was fuming over what to do, someone shouted, "Leader! The quest hint changed!"

Jupiter gave a start. Upon checking the quest tab, he discovered that the quest location had actually been updated. It now stated that Zero was inside the Western Capital.

"The mission was updated‽"

Jupiter scratched his head. However, while he was confused, he was not upset. It was the 12th and last day of the beta test, and they had barely made any progress thus far.

"We'll send members to search the Western Capital after the official launch."

Once the game launched, the guild would be able to make full use of its advantage in numbers. With so many members, there was no way that they would not be able to find him.

Jupiter clenched his fists.

"This B-class quest is ours for the taking!"

This was their chance to take a step ahead of their rivals.

…

In Germinal's headquarters, a report was being read out to the boss.

"Commander Rosa was last heard from in the Western Capital. Another man also disappeared along with him: Lu Gao En, our head contact in Storm Eye. Li Ruo has said that he will find a replacement for him immediately…"

"It's Zero," said the boss abruptly. "He silenced Rosa and Lu Gao En in order to keep his exact location a secret. Humph, so you are in the Western Capital. Stardragon's Division 13 must be keeping him under their protection!"

Rosa was the ace assassin of the Germinal Organization, while even Lu Gao En had given the boss a favorable impression. It was a huge loss.

That blasted Zero!

The boss was furious.

'Zero… did you think that you would be safe as long as you found protection?'

While he had at first belittled Han Xiao, over time, he had come to recognize the threat that he posed.

According to the analysis of the security footage from the Valkyrie Laboratory, Zero had never displayed any unusual behavior. Where he had gotten hold on their intel from remained a complete mystery.

"Order Storm Eye to pinpoint Zero's location. I don't care if he's hiding within Division 13's HQ, find him no matter what it takes!"

The boss' voice was filled with murderous intent.

As there was no way to know exactly what other vital information Zero possessed, getting rid of him before he caused further damage was the only option.

"Get five commanders and two hundred Night Owls ready to take action as soon as he is found. I will permit the use of guided missiles.

"Zero, you're dead meat!"

…

'The beta test is ending.'

00:00:00:30

Frenzied Sword sighed as he watched the countdown timer. If only he could have just a bit more time to train.

Of course, he was overall still quite happy with the progress that he had made. Han Xiao's quests might have been very unseemly, but they sure did give a ton of experience. Furthermore, all the equipment that he had purchased from him helped to boost his combat power significantly.

Although the skill set of the Mechanic class revolved largely around crafting, which he disliked, seeing Han Xiao's strength had given Frenzied Sword all the affirmation that he needed.

'I, too, will gradually become that strong!

'There will be a spot among the pros for me!'

…

_____________________

Beta Test Concluded. Countdown to Game's Launch: 122 Days, 1 Hour, 23 Mins.

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Han Xiao shook his head upon discovering that the discussion board button had been grayed out.

'Looks like I was right, the amount of time between version changes in the real-world is not synced with my current time.'

"Why are you shaking your head?" asked Gu Hui suddenly. "I wonder what other information you possess."

Han Xiao was currently inside a conference room back at Division 13's headquarters. There were three big shots seated in front of him: Gu Hui, the Division Director, as well as the two heads of the Intelligence Department and the Secret Ops department.

Division 13 had known all along that Han Xiao must possess some degree of combat ability, but he had completely exceeded their wildest imaginations. Yet, what was more perplexing was the degree of ease at which he had been able to single out Lu Gao En.

Lu Gao En had been operating from within the city for over two years without ever leaving a trace. Division 13 had attempted to look for him many times, but they had all ended up in failure. The fact that Han Xiao could so easily locate him served as solid proof that he knew way more than even they themselves.

And so, this meeting had begun. Simply put, Gu Hui wanted to learn more of Han Xiao's intel.

Breaking out of his daze, Han Xiao stroked his chin as he evaded the question. "My location is now exposed. Germinal might not know exactly where I live, but they will definitely send even more killers into the city."

Gu Hui furrowed his brows. Although unsatisfied with Han Xiao's reply, he followed Han Xiao's lead.

"Then what do you intend to do?"

"There's no more need for hide-and-seek. I want to participate in the next operation."

"It's too dangerous!" protested a livid Gu Hui. "If you show yourself, that will only give them the chance to take action."

Han Xiao faked a cough.

"Can we talk alone?"

The two department heads exchanged exasperated glances. 'Do we seem that untrustworthy?'

Han Xiao glanced at his surroundings before whispering, "I can change my appearance."

Gu Hui was visibly shocked.

"You have superpowers‽"

Han Xiao shook his head.

"I can create a gadget that allows me to alter my looks, so there's no way that they will be able to find me."

'A skin mask? Not a bad idea,' thought Gu Hui. However, Han Xiao sounded as though he meant something more advanced than a simple skin mask that Division 13 already employed.

"Even if you use a mask, it's still too risky. You will have to take it off eventually."

The corner of Han Xiao's lips curled up.

"My mask is more convenient than that."

"Alright, then show it to me before I approve."

There were two reasons behind why Han Xiao wanted in on the action. The first was, of course, for the experience. The second was that he did not want to remain cooped up inside the Western Capital. This was the only way that he would be able to participate in more incidents.

Ever since the assassination attempt, Han Xiao had been spending a lot of time thinking about his next move.

The Black Raven Valley Base was situated near the border of Hesla, one of the Six Nations. It was a major base on a completely different scale from the three sites that Division 13 had taken action on previously. Not only were the security and defenses extremely tight, the commander of the base was a superhuman! He was known as the Sword Phantom, Pan Kuang, a Pugilist close to reaching D-level.

Near Black Raven Valley was a gathering spot for many wanderers known as Black Raven Village Town. It was a beginner starting zone.

Han Xiao planned to destroy Black Raven Valley Base as it would prevent a substantial number of new players from joining the Germinal Organization simply because of the base's proximity. This idea had occurred to him upon discovering the Throne of God's post, after which he had given it some proper thought and became fond of it.

It was not only an act of revenge toward the Germinal boss, but it was also a preemptive strike that would have unseen but deadly impacts.

Han Xiao grinned with glee at the prospect.

Chapter 64: Accelerated Learning!

"Near Hesla's border?" Gu Hui slammed the desk. "We will need to get in touch with them before making a decision."

"I await your decision," declared Han Xiao as he took his leave.

Feng Jun was waiting for him outside with a gloomy face.

"Why didn't you tell me about the assassin immediately? Because of that, I had to endure a yelling from my superior."

"Why would I inform you? It's not like you could have helped," teased Han Xiao, causing Feng Jun to become enraged.

"We might be buddies, but I'll still get angry if you insult me!"

Han Xiao smirked.

"Perhaps I should have a talk with the director over how my location got exposed…"

"Oh you—hahahaha—you little devil. I was just kidding."

Han Xiao rolled his eyes.

Under Feng Jun's subservient escort, Han Xiao left the headquarters to return to the workshop.

Altering his appearance was an idea that he had thought up a long time ago. He had known all along that the Germinal would resort to drastic measures against him once his location was discovered.

As it was more likely than not that the operation would be passed, Han Xiao also needed to prepare new equipment. The mecha arm and the retractable knife would not allow him to keep up with the level of the opponents they were about to face. It would also be nice if his current team was able to participate in the operation.

Thinking about his team reminded Han Xiao of the need to upgrade Zhang Wei's power suit.

The cost of the upgrade would not come cheap.

As Han Xiao stroked his eyebrows, he searched through his memories for blueprints suitable for this mission.

"Looks like it's time to learn a bunch more stuff."

Suddenly, someone knocked the door. It was Old Lu, with a chicken leg in one hand and beer in the other.

"Little brat, what are you doing here?"

"I want to borrow a few mechanic knowledge books," replied Han Xiao as he turned his attention back to the bookshelf, expecting Old Lu to chase him out.

To his surprise, he instead said, "The key is in the drawer. Just remember to return it when you're done."

Han Xiao's jaw almost dropped.

"You actually agree‽"

Since when had they been on such good terms‽

Old Man Lu put down the chicken leg in his mouth and snorted. "Treat it as a show of thanks."

'Thanks?' Han Xiao frowned.

"Are you still trying to promote your granddaughter to me?"

Old Lu's face immediately stiffened. 'What's so bad about my granddaughter that's stopping you from falling for her‽'

But that wasn't why he wanted to thank Han Xiao. Instead, it was because the tall old man had told him that back then, Han Xiao had lured the assassin away from the workshop in order to prevent Lu Qian from getting involved. This alone had changed Old Lu's impression of Han Xiao considerably.

"Not bad, kid," praised Old Lu with a satisfied smile. He gave Han Xiao a pat on the shoulder before leaving him to his own devices.

As he left, Han Xiao noticed an oily handprint on his shoulder.

"That old imp."

He proceeded to unlock the cabinet with the key in the drawer, picked out seven books, and headed back to his room.

Back in his room, Han Xiao took a deep breath as he prepared to 'learn' all of them at once.

_____________________

Do you wish to spend one talent point to learn the Energy Talent, [Basic Energy Theory]?

… Energy Talent, [Basic Biochemistry]?

… Energy Talent, [Basic Optics]?

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"Yes!"

Large streams of information began to fill up Han Xiao's mind, causing him to feel like his head was about to explode. After a short period of recovery, Han Xiao gritted his teeth and continued with the other books.

_____________________

… Manipulation Talent, [Basic Electromagnetism]?

… Manipulation Talent, [Basic Mechanics]?

… Manipulation Talent, [Basic Quantum Electronics]?

… Manipulation Talent, [Basic Spatial Sense]?

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Seven sets of basic knowledge!

However, the process did not stop there. Han Xiao decided to level up these new talents.

_____________________

[Basic Energy Theory] has been raised to Lv. 3!

[Basic Electromagnetism] has been raised to Lv. 2!

[Basic Digital Electronics] has been raised to Lv. 2!

[Basic Mechanics] has been raised to Lv. 2!

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As well as some previously learned talents!

_____________________

[Basic Weaponry] has been raised to Lv. 3!

[Basic Material Composition] has been raised to Lv. 3!

[Basic Assembly] has been raised to Lv. 2!

[Advanced Material Synthesis] has been raised to Lv. 2!

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Just like that, Han Xiao spent 20 of his 21 talent points.

_____________________

You have learned a new technique: [Novice Programming]

You have learned a new technique: [Energy - Magnetism Strengthening]

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[Novice Programming] was unlocked from learning [Basic Digital Electronics]. Like Basic Assembly or Basic Enhancement, it was an integral technique for a Technician, necessary for the making of both chip sets and system interfaces.

[Energy - Magnetism Strengthening], on the other hand, was a passive ability that unlocked upon learning an Energy Manipulation talent. It did have a prerequisite, which was, of course, for the player to possess affinity with magnetism. On top of strengthening the user's control of magnetism, it also gave a boost to machinery crafting speeds and machinery damage output, 3% per level.

Han Xiao was currently sitting on 38,000 experience, accumulated from mass producing incendiary bullets. His daily experience gain was about two to three thousand. As for money, that was the least of Han Xiao's concerns; he had earned a whopping $3,600,000 thus far.

"It's time to try and get the disguise blueprint!"

Before he started, Han Xiao invested a few thousand experience to raise [Basic Programming] to level 3.

_____________________

Proceed with fusing of [Lv. 1 Basic Biochemistry], [Lv. 1 Optics], [Lv. 3 Material Composition], and [Lv. 2 Digital Electronics]? (20,000 experience will be consumed)

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Talent combination, also known as talent fusing, was not only limited to the fusing of two talents. However, the cost for adding additional talents was extremely high; adding a third would only cost 5,000 experience, but the cost of subsequent ones increased exponentially. A fourth one would cost 40,000 experience.

Generally, lower leveled Mechanics would perform talent fusion with only two talents because fusing more was not guaranteed to give better results.

However, some blueprints, like the one that Han Xiao was aiming for now, could be crafted easily with the correct talents.

_____________________

Fusion successful! Congratulations on inventing [Smart Optical Mask]!

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The Smart Optical Mask made its first appearance in Version 3.0, when players had just stumbled upon multiple-talent fusing. Not only did it require the leveling of four talents across all three talent trees, it also required [Intermediate Machinery Affinity], 55 INT, Lv. 3 [Basic Programming], and last but not least, for the player to be a Technician.

Nevertheless, the Smart Optical Mask's usefulness befitted the effort needed to obtain it.

Chapter 65: Smart Meta-Optical Mask

Han Xiao passed a list of items to Feng Jun.

"Oh my god! BOK-recombiner, Farer IV Solvent, and 12 microchips‽ Do you know how expensive these things are?"

"I'm paying," replied Han Xiao plainly, instantly reminding Feng Jun that they were not on the same pay scale.

One hour later, he arrived at Han Xiao's workshop with three briefcases in hand.

The first briefcase contained three ten-centimeter-long transparent tubes that were filled with an opaque white, sticky fluid. This was the BOK-recombiner.

The second briefcase contained a small vial of pale blue solution. This was the Farer IV Solvent.

These two materials could only be made within an equipped laboratory and were extremely valuable. These two tiny vials had cost Han Xiao $120,000.

The third briefcase contained the 12 microchips. Each one was only about the size of a fingernail, and they were extremely thin. Upon closer observation, one would find that they were jam packed with circuit lines. They were commonly used for small and complex gadgets, and the set of 12 cost $60,000.

Han Xiao immediately began working on the mask.

He started by opening holes on the thin plastic mask for his eyes, nose, and mouth. Then, he carved out 12 small holes on various locations of the mask for embedding the microchips in.

Before putting the microchips in, Han Xiao uploaded the data from a scan of his own face to his computer. Using a library of over thousands of faces, he then spent two to three hours linking them up to a simple facial recognition and projection program on his computer.

When he was done, Han Xiao retrieved some laboratory apparatus and began to work at mixing the BOK-Recombiner and the Farer IV Solvent together. After some time, he managed to produce a composite material that was neither white nor blue like its constituents, but instead, the color of flesh.

This was the key material for making the Smart Meta-Optical Mask. Not only did it possess some of the useful properties of the BOK-recombiner and the Farer IV Solvent, it had, most importantly, good conductivity.

Han Xiao proceeded to embed the microchips beneath the mask before pouring the flesh-colored mixture over it. After a few more finishing touches, he left it to set within a special freezer.

A short while later, Han Xiao opened the freezer and reached in to retrieve the mask. Apart from where the microchips were located, the mask was extremely smooth. On its thin surface, Han Xiao had installed an advanced crystal display that, upon being pressed, caused a spectrum of colors to appear on the spot.

_____________________

You have crafted [Smart Meta-Optical Mask], gaining 5,000 exp!

_____________________

[Smart Meta-Optical Mask] - Face Equipment

Allows the user to change the appearance of his face when worn, concealing his identity. Charge 5 minutes for 10 hours of usage.

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This mask had cost a whopping close to $200,000 to make.

Han Xiao picked up the mask and walked over to the mirror to test it out. A cool sensation enveloped his face when he put it on, and he pressed gently onto the micro-chip on the cheek area to activate it. The appearance of his face immediately transformed, and it continued to change into a different face with each press.

This was by no means an ordinary mask of disguise! It was a godly piece of equipment that allowed the user to change his appearance at will!

The [Smart Meta-Optical Mask] would only 'transform' into the faces of humans, as Han Xiao had only fed the program data of human faces. Apart from randomly changing, it was also able to store up to three different faces for the user to access and could revert back to the last three faces used. It also had an additional function that allowed it to scan a target's face and transform to it with a 70-80% accuracy.

After playing with the mask a bit more, Han Xiao removed it and headed back to headquarters to look for Gu Hui.

"You've created your mask?" asked Gu Hui.

Han Xiao smiled and put the mask on.

As Han Xiao did not intend to reveal the mask's transformation capabilities just yet, he had prepared it to display the face of an ordinary-looking young man beforehand.

To Gu Hui, it simply looked like an extremely realistic mask. However, while Division 13 could already make such masks, none of them were as realistic as Han Xiao's. Furthermore, not only did it seem to be extremely portable, it was clearly very easy to wear.

"Interested in selling the blueprints to us?"

Han Xiao faked a burst of laughter.

"It's just a simple mask, why would I need a blueprint to make it? You guys can make them too, right?"

'That's true,' thought Gu Hui to himself.

Inwardly, Han Xiao let out a breath of relief upon seeing Gu Hui give up the idea.

'I managed to fool him!'

"Then," continued Han Xiao, "can I join the operation?"

Gu Hui thought for a moment before nodding.

"The Hesla Intelligence Service has decided to join us for this operation. You will come along with your team."

Han Xiao had known that Hesla would agree to taking action. It was the Germinal Organization, after all.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Han Xiao asked, "When do we depart?"

"There's no rush. It will take some time to arrange our forces, plus, we will both have to work on a proper strategy first. It'll most likely be half a month before deployment."

'Half a month,' thought Han Xiao. 'That will be enough time for me to finish up my equipment.'

…

Back in his workshop, Han Xiao wrote his goals down on paper.

One, to obtain even more rare blueprints.

Two, to purchase a vehicle for his team. As a logistics personnel, a vehicle equipped with all the maintenance and crafting tools he needed would be invaluable.

Three, to upgrade the [Fighter Suit].

"Ah, so much to do. One at a time, I guess."

Han Xiao shook his head.

The most important thing was still to raise his own combat ability. There were a few ways to do this.

The first and most important way, in Han Xiao's opinion, would be to improve his defensive capabilities. After all, survival was key.

The second was to enhance his long-ranged offensive capabilities. For this, Han Xiao planned to enhance his Berserk Eagles.

While Han Xiao did prefer fighting from a distance, close-combat ability was still important on the battlefield, so he also planned to upgrade the Mecha Arm.

As for mobility, the Swallow Gliders that had been collecting dust in his inventory were finally going to see use. As the terrain around the Black Raven Valley Base was extremely rough, they might end up proving invaluable to have.

Han Xiao also decided to prepare a little something in the event that the battle did not go their way, a little something explosive.

After giving it quick thought, Han Xiao scribbled down another list of materials for Feng Jun to help him procure. The total cost of the items on the list cost around another $300,000.

Feng Jun found himself growing more and more exasperated at Han Xiao, but fortunately for him, the higher-ups had known before that Han Xiao would be a pain to deal with, so they had given him a raise. For the sake of his $25,000 monthly wage, plus insurance, he relented to act as Han Xiao's errand boy.

Feng Jun sighed as he looked up to the sky dramatically.

'With great power comes great responsibility, I guess.'

Chapter 66: Upgrades Part 1

Feng Jun immediately got the items delivered to Han Xiao, prompting Han Xiao to sarcastically praise him for being an exemplary worker. He joked that he would shower him with a pennant, among other rewards, causing Feng Jun to roll his eyes. After teasing him, Han Xiao returned to his workroom to begin work on his equipment.

Having leveled up both [Basic Weaponry] and [Basic Mechanical Engineering], the effectiveness of Han Xiao's enhancement was now much higher than before. He took out the two Berserk Eagles and began to perform modifications on them, upgrading them with better materials and spare parts.

'My days of poverty are long gone; I'm a rich man now!'

With Han Xiao's proficiency in modifications, the process was completed in no time.

_____________________

Berserk Eagle (Enhanced)

Grade: Uncommon

Base Stats:

Damage: 74-87

Fire Rate: 1.5/s

Magazine Capacity: 8

Range: 50m

Power Output: 45

Prerequisite(s): Lv. 3 Precise Shot

Stat Bonus: +2 Dexterity

Length: 0.21m

Weight: 1.9kg

Additional Effect: Backfire – The recoil of this gun is extremely powerful, requiring 30 STR to overcome.

Additional Effect: High Impact – When attacking, 10% chance to deal bonus 15 damage if the target is within effective range.

Additional Effect: Dual-shot – This gun has been modified with the capability to fire up to 2 bullets per shot (20% damage penalty).

Tooltip: Come on, we all know what gun this is based on. Desert— cough.

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With Han Xiao's current skill levels, there was a 30-40% chance of upgrading a common equipment to uncommon when performing enhancement. Although Han Xiao was now the proud owner of two uncommon guns, they came with the prerequisite of Lv. 3 Precise Shot. Even though this prerequisite did not prevent Han Xiao from wielding them, it would cause their effectiveness to be greatly diminished.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Han Xiao inputted some experience to raise Precise Shot to Lv. 3, which gave him an additional 3% Accuracy and 4% Critical Chance.

_____________________

As you have achieved Lv. 8 in Basic Shooting and Lv. 3 in Precise Shot, you may learn one of the following three advanced skills:

Sniping

Gunfighting

Suppression

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For the first time, Han Xiao found himself in a dilemma over which skill to pick.

Although shooting skills were essential to Cannon Masters, they were also important for Technicians. The three abilities displayed before Han Xiao clearly represented different styles of combat.

As the Berserk Eagle was made for close-combat, Gunfighting would make for a logical choice. However, Han Xiao also needed to think further ahead.

At end game, Technicians were strongest at long-ranged combat, so they rarely had use for risky, close-combat skills. Suppression would aid in sieging or holding forts, but it would only be effective with a partner to provide tactical support. In contrast to these two skills, Sniping was far better suited for solo action.

Han Xiao scratched his head as he thought about it.

'I'll have to work alone sooner or later anyway, plus it's better for me to keep myself far from danger, unlike a player who doesn't have to worry about his life. For me, sniping is the best option!'

In Han Xiao's previous life, the dazzling and breathtaking style of Gunfighting was a popular choice among players, and even professional Cannon Masters would learn it just for the cool factor.

However, as a pragmatist, Han Xiao could hardly give two hoots.

'Who cares about looking good during combat! It's not like I'm doing this to see the stream chat praise me.'

At this thought, the Great Technician Han finally made his decision.

_____________________

You have learned an advanced skill:

Sniping (Lv. 1)

+4% Fatal Shot

+5% Shooting Range

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Han Xiao nodded in satisfaction. Done!

Next, Han Xiao crafted the Swallow Gliders, earning 1,500 experience in the process. He also modified them to give them the 'retractability' of the Retractable Knife. Indeed, the good thing about being able to actually learn knowledge in this life was that Han Xiao could implement concepts and technology from his blueprints into other inventions.

With the added retractability, they could now be worn on the back like a parachute before deployment. Once activated, the two 1.2m long 'wings' would extend out to allow the user to freely glide in the air.

After the gliders, Han Xiao proceeded to work on his close combat gear. The Mecha Arm actually formed a set with the Mecha Leg, and their blueprints were obtainable through the same combination of talents. They were also necessary parts for creating an Exoframe. However, that would require advanced knowledge, and Han Xiao did not even have the necessary skills to craft a proper Mecha Leg yet. At best, he would be able to craft one that could travel long distances, but it would lack the mechanisms that allowed for nimble movements.

Han Xiao planned to upgrade the Mecha Arm by making it lighter and smaller. While making it smaller would cause it to lose some power, Han Xiao had something in mind to compensate for it.

_____________________

Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?

(Lv. 3 Basic Weaponry + Lv. 2 Basic Assembly + Lv. 2 Basic Mechanics)

This fusion will cost you 15,000 experience.

_____________________

Fusion Success!

Congratulations, you have discovered [Air Motor]!

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"Wow, first try!"

Han Xiao rejoiced. This particular combination of talent could yield quite a number of different blueprints, and he had not expected to obtain it using so little experience.

The Air Motor converted compressed air into vibrational kinetic energy that, when harnessed as a weapon, could essentially bypass the armor of normal armor to cause direct damage.

Han Xiao spent a good half a day working on the Mecha Arm. He refitted it to slim it down but also lengthened it to cover the entire arm. He also reinforced its casing with platinum to cover up its internal mechanics, giving it a huge durability boost.

When he was done, the Mecha Arm looked vastly different from its crude form from before - it was now a shiny, silver metallic arm.

_____________________

Lightweight Mecha Arm (Left) - Motor-enhanced

Grade: Average (White)

Base Stats:

- Damage: 30-48

- Defense: 10-13

- Power Level: 33

- Durability: 470/470

Prerequisite(s): 24 STR

Bonus Stats: -2 Attack Speed

Length: 0.87m

Weight: 5.2kg

Additional Bonus: +7 STR

Additional Effect: Vibration - Every 15 seconds, your attacks inflict an additional 23-45 direct damage onto the target. (Ignores Defense)

Additional Effect: Increased Durability

Tooltip: Realistic looking.

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Although it was only an average ranked piece of equipment, Han Xiao's modifications had given it three useful additional effects.

So far, all the upgrades that Han Xiao had given his gear were nothing too fancy, but now, he was about to craft something special, something specialized for a Technician!

Han Xiao took a deep breath.

"Amitabha… God, please let me get that blueprint in one try. This fusion is just too expensive…"

_____________________

Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?

(Lv. 2 Advanced Material Composition + Lv. 2 Basic Magnetism + Lv. 2 Basic Assembly)

This fusion will cost you 70,000 experience.

Chapter 67: Upgrades Part 2

The amount of experience required for fusing higher-leveled talents did not simply increase linearly.

An advanced talent or knowledge cost 50,000 more experience to fuse than a basic one. Moreover, fusing a basic talent with an advanced talent also caused the base cost of the basic talent itself to increase, rising from 5,000 to 10,000. If even higher leveled talents were to be used, the fusion costs would skyrocket further.

"Confirm!"

Han Xiao stared at the fusion window with bated breath.

_____________________

Fusion success!

Congratulations, you have discovered [Magnetism Armor]!

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Han Xiao jumped up with joy.

This was the blueprint that he had been aiming to get, and it was actually something that a player at Han Xiao's current level should not be able to possess. Indeed, it was a high-level piece of armor! This would help to guarantee his safety!

Of the $300,000 that Han Xiao had spent on upgrade materials, $250,000 alone went into the making this armor.

As it was an advanced blueprint, it was much more complex to craft than a basic one, so even Han Xiao, who possessed the required knowledge to craft it, needed to spend an entire hour just to fully understand the blueprint's contents. After learning it, Han Xiao lifted his head to reveal a bitter smile; by his estimations, it would take at least three days of non-stop work to craft it.

He quickly got started.

…

Three days later, the doors to Han Xiao's workroom opened. Out came a tired Han Xiao with listless eyes and dark bags under his eyes. He looked as though he were in a daze, as if he didn't even know who, or even where, he was. In fact, looking at him, one might wonder if he had just woken up from a beating.

Han Xiao received a call as soon as he turned on his phone. It was Li Ya Lin, and she did not sound pleased at all.

"Han Xiao, why were you unreachable for the past few days? You have dozens of overdue orders! You'd better not take the cash and run away when I'm putting my own reputation on the line for your business! Also, don't forget that you promised to make a set of specially tailored equipment! Oh, right, we've been given a mission! We have to leave for Hesla in ten days. Leader is furious that you didn't show up for the meeting yesterday, so you'd better keep that in mind…"

Han Xiao could barely open his eyes. Ignoring her as she rambled on, he climbed into his bed and curled up under his blanket to fall asleep instantly.

"Hey, hey, hey— why are you not saying anything? Urgh, don't think I've forgotten how you took advantage of me the other day…"

…

'What's the first thing you do when you get out of bed?

'Open your eyes?'

When Han Xiao finally woke up, the first thing he did was to make his way to the toilet in his dreamlike stupor. After washing his hands, he stretched, yawned, and proceeded to brush his teeth.

Afterwards, with eyes still half-closed, Han Xiao went over to the kitchen in the main workshop where he pushed Lu Qian off her seat at the dining table with his butt and helped himself to the remainder of her breakfast, all the while ignoring her feeble protests.

When he was done, he simply cast her an unapologetic glance before strolling out as though nothing had happened.

"Ah, such carefreeness reminds me of when I was young," reminisced Old Lu aloud as he stroked his head.

"Ahhhhh! I want to change the keys…"

"Perhaps this is love," remarked Old Lu with a profound look on his face.

"It is not!" Lu Qian yelled out in exasperation.

…

Back in his workroom, Han Xiao opened up a small box. Inside were the fruits of his labor, what appeared to be numerous thin scales of metal. They looked black, but on closer observation, they were actually an extremely deep shade of blue. Although they resembled nothing like 'armor', these tiny pieces of metal were, without a doubt, the Magnetic Armor—well, unassembled, and still quite incomplete, to be exact.

Han Xiao took a deep breath before placing his hand an inch above the case. He then began to summon the energy of magnetism within his body toward his arm.

What happened next was quite a sight to behold.

The metal scales began vibrating in response to Han Xiao's magnetism, and in the next second, they actually started flying toward his palm as though they were being sucked in! Upon coming into contact with Han Xiao's skin, they seemed to come alive and began dancing up and around his arm energetically, as though they were live fish.

"Form," commanded Han Xiao, and the metallic scales instantly spread along his arm to form a thin, scale-patterned sleeve of armor. It was perfectly smooth and uniform.

The armor appeared to be skin-tight, but as it was controlled by magnetism, there was actually a gap of a few millimeters, allowing its user complete freedom of movement.

Han Xiao drew his Platinum Retractable Knife out and viciously slashed upon the sleeve. It produced a crisp ring, but there were no sparks, and the armor was completely undamaged.

"Good defense!" exclaimed a jubilant Han Xiao.

_____________________

Magnetism Armor (Incomplete)

Type: Armor (Bulletproof)

Grade: Uncommon (Green)

Base Stats:

- Defense: 75

- Durability: 1600/1600

Requirement(s): Magnetism-affinity Energy, Intermediate Machinery Affinity

Ability: Can be controlled by magnetism to move across the user's body and transform into armor. Costs 10 energy/min to maintain shape.

Additional Effect: High Resistance - This armor is capable of withstanding high temperatures and is not easily penetrated or damaged.

Additional Effect: Magnetic Repulsion - Damage inflicted on the user is partially negated (reduces damage by 20-30 points).

Additional Effect: Unique Magnetic Field - When worn, envelopes the user in a magnetic field that attracts electricity.

Tooltip: A friendly reminder - don't use this on a rainy day.

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In Galaxy, equipment that required energy to use was known as Superhuman Equipment.

The material used to make the metallic scales of the Magnetism Armor was an exceedingly rare, naturally-occurring metal. Not even Division 13 possessed much of it in their inventory, and $250,000 was only enough for Han Xiao to make a partial version that could at best cover his entire back.

Nevertheless, although the theory behind the Magnetic Armor was simple, crafting it was an entirely different matter. Even if Han Xiao did possess enough resources, he would still not be able to craft the complete version, not with his current level of expertise in both knowledge and skill.

In spite of that, crafting the incomplete version earned Han Xiao 40,000 experience, even more than when he had crafted Rover 1.

Han Xiao proceeded to test his control over the armor.

While such high-level Superhuman Equipment would usually take a low-level player quite some time to get used to, Han Xiao, with his years of experience, was able to quickly get the hang of it.

With this armor, Han Xiao now felt much safer than before.

It was both inconspicuous and highly portable, and Han Xiao thought of it as a trump card. He planned to keep the armor a secret from everyone, including his allies. After all, who could say for sure that today's friend wouldn't become tomorrow's enemy?

Now that he had addressed the issues of mobility, defense, as well as both melee and ranged combat, all that was left for Han Xiao to do was to prepare some art.

As Han Xiao was already quite satisfied with the bombs provided by Division 13, he only planned to make some simple modifications, nothing too fancy.

Chapter 68: Upgrades Part 3

Sixty black, glossy, round-shaped objects lay neatly within the two cases before Han Xiao. These were the 'Highly Explosive Delay-action Shrapnel Bombs', known as time bombs for short, that he had purchased from Division 13, and their unnecessarily long name, if anything, was telling of their destructive capabilities.

"Each bomb costs $800, so sixty of them amount to $48,000. Hmm, yep… this calculation should be right."

Although the bombs were ready-to-use, Han Xiao decided to perform some modifications on them. With [Basic Mechanical Engineering], he made them flight-capable by installing mini-propellers on them, along with power supplies. This greatly improved their range of attack.

The only downside to this modification was that it made them look… rather comical. They now almost seemed like the kind of gadget that a certain likable, blue, robotic cat (A Doraemon reference) would pull out from his pouch.

With the additions of the enhanced Facial Simulator, Desert Eagle, Lightweight Mechanical Arm, Foldable Machete, Sky Swallow Gliders, Magnetically-controlled Armor, and last but not least, these flight-capable bombs to his arsenal, Han Xiao had finally finished with all his upgrades. Although Division 13 would definitely still provide them with more equipment, at Han Xiao's current level, his gear could be said to be semi-godly already. He was currently—without a doubt—the strongest person in his level range.

"This equipment will suffice."

Han Xiao crossed out 'Personal Upgrades' on his to-do list. The next line read 'Transport Vehicles'.

Creating an entire vehicle from scratch would take too much time, so it was better for Han Xiao to directly purchase one from Division 13 and then perform modifications on it.

Quality-wise, Division 13 would definitely not disappoint. After spending some time looking at the available options, Han Xiao decided that a detachable cargo truck would best suit their needs. It would act as a mobile warehouse and a workshop—a logistics vehicle for the team.

Han Xiao could buy the truck with either money or exchange reputation points for it, which was essentially requesting that Division 13 give him the truck.

Currently, he had a whopping $2.8m to spare. Already, the money-spending ability of the Mechanic class was starting to shine through. Of course, none of this would have been possible without Han Xiao's prior experience that helped him in accumulating money.

Without happily spending all their money and getting used to living paycheck to paycheck, one could never become an excellent Mechanic.

Nonetheless, he decided to pay with reputation points; that's what they were meant for, after all. In comparison, paying with money would set him back an unnecessary $800,000. Han Xiao rang Feng Jun up.

…

"Give me the vehicle. How long will it take for you to deliver it to my place?"

"I will need to pick it up from the military factory. About two hours."

Feng Jun's punctuality was proven time and again; exactly two hours later, Feng Jun arrived at Han Xiao's doorstep in the very truck.

A problem immediately presented itself: the truck was too big to enter the garage.

Han Xiao and Feng Jun stared at each other, dumbfounded. They had carefully accounted for every single detail except for this issue.

"What now?"

"How about you guys expand the garage for me?"

"Come on, do you think that Engineering Department staff have that much free time to spare?"

As Han Xiao rubbed his chin, his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Didn't you bring in an undercover squad to watch over this district? Where are they now?"

"Be more rational jackass! Don't you think we are grabbing too much attention!"

Han Xiao looked away from Feng Jun and began to size up the military truck. It was 4 meters tall, 3.5 meters wide, and attached with an 11 meters long container that extended beyond the width of the front of the truck itself.

"What attention-grabbing? I don't think so." Han Xiao was not at all flustered when bullshitting.

"Only the blind would not see such a huge truck!" Feng Jun basically spouted saliva all over Han Xiao's face.

"What is with the saliva-spitting when you speak?" Han Xiao grabbed Feng Jun's sleeve, wiped his face, and said with a look of disdain, "Not that I am criticizing you, but the volume of saliva that came out of your mouth is huge."

Old Man Lu walked out at this moment and exclaimed, "What a huge truck."

"Why don't we just demolish the whole garage?" Han Xiao's eyes glittered.

"Get lost," Old Man Lu scolded sulkily. He then rubbed the bald area on his head and pondered for a moment before he dug out a key from his pocket and threw it to Han Xiao.

"I have a garage a few blocks away. I will lend it to you."

Han Xiao was utterly shocked. "So generous! Old Man Lu, are you on wrong medicine today?"

"Get lost!" Old Man Lu was swearing again. He then pushed them away as they were blocking his way, and he walked out for a leisurely stroll.

…

Han Xiao drove the truck and arrived at the garage ten minutes later.

"Bleurgh—"

"Hello. Do you really have to do that?'

Feng Jun's face was as pale as a sheet as he leaned out the car window. He waved his hands hysterically while he continued vomiting.

Han Xiao could not understand what Feng Jun was trying to convey. Does he mean that he will not sit in my car every again, or is he saying that I don't have to care how he feels?

Han Xiao shook his head and threw the unimportant question to the back of his head. After he sent the nauseated Feng Jun away, he began modifying the heavy military truck.

He checked every inch of the truck and found no hidden cameras or bugs.

Products made by the military factory were of excellent quality. The truck was equipped with numerous parts, including ten cylinders and turbochargers, which enhanced its horsepower. It could move at a top-speed of 135km/hr. The truck had five heavy-duty, slip-free tires on each side. The cargo compartment was large, and it could contain quite a few pieces of equipment. Han Xiao wanted to modify it into a small workshop, so he needed to move the workshop equipment up.

The base plate of the truck was modified for multi-terrain use, with parts like spring suspension and air damping suspension, which allowed the truck to move smoothly on bad terrain. The truck was also equipped with an anti-sliding gadget, which would prevent small vehicles from sliding under the truck. The movie scenes of protagonists driving sportscar under the villain's car to fight would never happen with this truck. Hold on… why am I naturally picturing myself as the villain?

The driving cabin was not at all small—it could easily fit six people. It was equipped with a ten-gear gearshift, so there was a suitable gear for any type of movement.

Han Xiao checked the air bags. There were eight of them. As long as the passenger did not fly out of the vehicle upon collision, they would definitely not be injured. Plus, this passenger could enjoy the pleasure of being squashed in between a big 'chest'.

Speaking of car collisions, the front of the truck was not strengthened with a front bumper. Han Xiao needed to add it himself. He then looked at the truck windows—they were bullet-proof. Division 13 did not cut corners.

Overall, the truck was up to standard; it did not need any major modification. Han Xiao decided to add a few nitro-boost cylinders to the truck for additional thrust. The thought of having a nitro boost for the truck already excited Han Xiao greatly. His truck could be the ultimate king of the road.

Han Xiao started modifying the truck.

The inside of the cargo compartment was made into a small-scale workshop. Han Xiao also strengthened the base plate and the front bumper—the thick and heavy armor looked rather sturdy. Four nitro-boost cylinders were installed in the truck for additional thrust during crucial moments. Furthermore, Han Xiao bought spare tires, and he installed a radar with an antenna for receiving radio signals and sending wi-fi signals.

With these numerous upgrades, Han Xiao spent more than 10,000 dollars. He could not help but shake his head. Upgrades sure were costly.

Gazing upon the black truck before him, he rubbed his chin as the idea of giving it a name suddenly occurred to him.

Han Xiao decided to go with the simplest and most obvious one.

"Big Black!"

Hmm, not a bad name at all.

Chapter 69: Before Move Ou

"Oh my god, Han Xiao, you bought a heavy truck‽"

The four teammates were invited to the garage, and Li Ya Lin and Lin Ya's faces were soon filled with surprise and excitement. They climbed all over the heavy truck. As Lambert was particularly interested in the engine, he opened the car hood to admire it.

"Thank you," said Zhang Wei solemnly to Han Xiao.

A logistical vehicle was a very luxurious item for a team like them. Zhang Wei felt embarrassed that Han Xiao had bought it with his own money.

Han Xiao laughed it off. "Hehe. Just treat it as my way of helping impoverished teammates."

Zhang Wei's mouth started twitching as he was lost for words. Although Han Xiao was saying the truth, it was still agitating for Zhang Wei.

"I wracked my brain to come up with a name for this truck."

Zhang Wei listened expectantly.

Han Xiao cleared his throat and said in a serious tone, "Big Black."

Zhang Wei's body jerked upon hearing the ridiculous name. He gave an unwilling half-smile. "Nice… what a nice name."

"Oh. You think so too? This name is very catchy and concise. I am quite proud of myself for coming up with this name," Han Xiao said in a satisfied tone.

"I'm glad you are happy with the name."

"Wow. The driving space is huge." Li Ya Lin was having a lot of fun when she suddenly thought of something. "who is going to drive the car?"

"This is my truck. Obviously, I will be driving it," Han Xiao said.

Immediately, Li Ya Lin's face paled, and her body started trembling. "Can… can I not travel in the car?"

Zhang Wei frowned and reprimanded her. "Han Xiao spent so much money to let us enjoy some comfort and convenience. How can you reject this?"

Li Ya Lin's face was now as pale as a sheet. She felt that nothing was more horrifying than this.

"You guys will regret this," she mumbled.

Regret? Zhang Wei was puzzled. Is Han Xiao a terrible driver?

Then it's nothing serious. How bad can his driving be? Everyone here is a well-trained agent in excellent physical condition. Nobody gets dizzy on roller-coasters. There's nothing to fear about this, Zhang Wei thought to himself.

"Oh yeah. Our boss told us that we will be moving out in four days," Lin Yao said suddenly.

Han Xiao's eyes lit up. He had spent about ten days giving the truck an overhaul. He still wanted to install heavy firepower on truck. He had already mastered the knowledge required, but there was simply not enough time. He thought for a while and said to Zhang Wei, "Bring the Combatant Armored Suit to me. I will help you improve it."

Zhang Wei's eyes lit up. He had confidence in Han Xiao's mechanic skills.

Li Ya Lin overheard their conversation. She jumped at Han Xiao and nudged his shoulder. "What about me! What about me! You promised to customize some equipment for me!"

"You have to wait till I have some inspiration."

As a Pugilist, you should focus on using your fists to punch people. Why are you always eyeing my mechanic equipment? Han Xiao pushed the noisy Lin Ya Lin aside.

The original Combatant Armored Suit was brought out right away by a staff member from the logistics department. Just like the armor exhibited in museums, it was propped up with a plastic skeleton and stored in a human-height metal box.

"Since time is running out, I will have to focus on the most essential modification. Firstly, I will increase the energy capacity. Then, work on the structure will begin to reduce the weight and upgrade the skeleton of the mechanical parts. This will help to improve your overall movement."

"That will be great!" Zhang Wei's face brightened with happiness. The suit was extremely heavy for him. After every use, his whole body would ache badly, worse than after running ten kilometers.

"Next, I will modify the sensing system. I will fit a simple chip onto the suit to survey the situation outside, and I will personally donate a firepower control system, which will give your long-range weapons an auto-aiming ability.

"Lastly, if time permits, I will also add a simple close-combat weapon."

"Sounds great!" Zhang Wei was exhilarated.

But suddenly, Han Xiao changed his tone. "And, of course, all of these things are chargeable. The total cost will be $360,000."

"How… how much‽"

Zhang Wei stared him, his mouth agape in disbelief. His total saving had not even reached a million dollars.

"Do you think this is too pricey?" Han Xiao narrowed his eyes at Zhang Wei.

"Are your parents still alive?"

"Why are you asking about them? They have already passed on." Zhang Wei was startled by the strange question.

"Do you have any siblings?"

"No. I'm their only child."

"Do you have a wife or a girlfriend?"

"N…No. I'm all alone."

Han Xiao shook his head with a perplexed expression. "Then what's the point in saving so much money?"

The comment shot right to his heart!

"Fine. Fine… Stop talking. I will pay!" Zhang Wei gripped his chest in pain. He felt like his heart was being stomped on by a thousand rhinos.

…

Like an unscrupulous business man, Han Xiao received the payment from Zhang Wei's trembling hand before he commenced the modification of the suit.

[Basic Energy Theory] Lv. 3 had given Han Xiao the ability to strengthen energy mechanics. However, he didn't want to give Zhang Wei's suit a mighty modification, so there was no need for a new energy blueprint. Good stuff had to be kept for personal use.

To build in a weight-bearing mechanical skeleton and a sensing chip, one could actually use blueprints. These two were rather common.

_____________________

Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?

(Lv. 1 Basic Spatial Sensing + Lv. 1 Basic Virtual Electrical Engineering)

This fusion will cost you 10,000 EXP.

_____________________

Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?

(Lv. 2 Basic Dynamics Principle + Lv. 4 Basic Mechanical Engineering)

This fusion will cost you 10,000 EXP.

_____________________

Fusion Success!

Congratulations, you have discovered [Low Level Smart Chip]!

_____________________

Fusion Success!

Congratulations, you have discovered [K600-type Mechanical Skeletal System]!

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

These two were common mechanical blueprints, so most Mechanics would have them. Han Xiao achieved fusion success on his first try without any hiccups.

[Low Level Smart Chip] was also sold on the market. However, by unlocking the blueprint, Han Xiao could tweak it by writing his own code. The words 'low level' indicated that there would be more advance versions of it, such as highly intelligent Al for large robots or even intelligent system control for huge space vehicles and war machines.

On the other hand, [K600-type Mechanical Skeletal System] was one of the basic models of inner mechanical skeletal systems.

The outer mechanical skeletal systems were worn directly on the body, while the inner type fitted the whole body seamlessly, hidden inside of the external armor. It retained the same functions as the external skeletal system but provided extra mechanical power. The inner skeletal system was a must for making a Mechanical Armored Suit. Needless to say, the more advanced versions were applied to small, medium, large, and extremely large armored suits.

Han Xiao removed the exterior of the combat suit, exposing the intricate parts in the interior. Han Xiao observed for a moment before he began his work.

First, he increased the energy capacity, then he added in the skeletal system and the smart chip, and lastly, he purchased some imaging devices, cameras, and infrared sensor for the sensing equipment.

On dawn of the fourth day, he finally finished upgrading the Combatant Armored Suit.

Despite the same old, black, and heavy primitive suit exterior, the inside of the suit had been changed tremendously. It finally resembled a powerful and advance mechanical armored suit.

But time constraints did not allow Han Xiao to add a close-combat weapon. Han Xiao was not bothered by it. Not delivering the promised product after payment was not new to him; he had already delayed the delivery of a High-Explosive Gunpowder for more than half a month.

Han Xiao yawned and looked at his interface.

[Combatant Armored Suit: Deriving progress 2%]

Retro-derivation of equipment was one of the methods for Mechanics to obtain blueprints. The requirements were very stringent because the progress would usually halt when they could not fulfil the pre-set conditions. Sometimes, just as the progress reached 30%, it would sometimes ask for INT to reach XX before it could continue the derivation. Furthermore, even when the progress reached 100%, a huge amount of EXP would have to be consumed in order to officially master the blueprint.

The core of the [Combatant Armored Suit] was part of the Advanced Mechanic Knowledge [Heavy Machine Modification]. When the progress bar reached 50%, it looked like this knowledge would be required. Since the blueprint for the suit was not essential for Han Xiao, he was not bothered with that.

It was move-out day. The team of four gathered in the garage. Lin Yao looked at the computer screen and said suddenly, "The department has gathered. The gathering point is the East Sentry Post."

"Okay. Let's board the truck!" Zhang Wei said solemnly.

As soon as he gave the instruction, Li Ya Lin moved rapidly onto the driver's seat and stared at Han Xiao anxiously. "Can… Can I drive the truck?"

Han Xiao rubbed his eyes. He had been burning the mid-night oil for the past few days, so he was sleepy beyond measure. Thus, he did not insist on driving. He told her to drive steadily before moving to the back of the truck. He used a few backpacks as blanket and lay on the floor to sleep.

Li Ya Lin sighed in relief at once. She felt as if she had just escaped death narrowly. She didn't even have the energy to point out the irony in Han Xiao's words "drive steadily."

Upon seeing that Han Xiao wanted a good sleep, the rest all sat in the driving space to avoid disturbing him.

…

West Capital, East Sentry Post, Military Train Station.

The superiors highly valued this attack on the base at Dark Crow Valley. Division 13 sent three covert ops teams to take part in this large-scale mission.

The first was Zhang Wei's team, and the other was Ma Qing Yang's team, the one that saved Zhang Wei's team.

The last team was Covert Ops' ace team, led by the team leader, Di Su Su.

The two ops teams were waiting at the train station, accompanied by an officer from the Staff Department. His role was to give advice and supervise the operations in order to keep the agents in check.

There were instances in the past where every team had a strong-opinionated elite agent, resulting in many differing opinions that led to poor teamwork and caused many hiccups to their missions. To counter this problem, Division 13 had modified their mission procedure: when there were multiple teams working together, a staff officer would be the overall brain of the mission.

Officers from the Staff department learned how to command on various battle situations all year round. Before the mission, they would study each and every agent from the respective teams to better evaluate mission plans. Although the agents all believed that the staff officers only knew how to write mission report and take responsibility, they had to obey orders from the superior. As long as the staff officer didn't control them too much, everyone would be at peace with him.

"Why is Zhang Wei still not here? He's very late."

Ma Qing Yang looked at the Sun and took a puff on his cigarette. He was quite good friends with Zhang Wei, and their teammates had friendly relationships, too.

Di Su Su and her team waited on the other side. She was playing with a coin in her hand. The coin, reflecting beams of sunlight, was turning and moving rapidly under her agile hand. She was eager and excited to meet Li Ya Lin because it meant that she would get to bully and tease her again. Plus, she was quite intrigued by her new teammate, Han Xiao.

The leading staff officer, Qi Bai Jia, rubbed his good-looking brows. His eyes were irritated by the flickering reflections of sunlight from the coin. He had no choice but to turn his face toward the other side.

A loud engine sound travelled from afar. Everyone could hear the huge horsepower of the incoming vehicle. They felt the floor shaking as the vehicle got closer. Qi Bai Jia looked up at the source of the sound and saw a gigantic and ferocious military truck approaching.

Ma Qing Yang flicked his cigarette butt off and crushed it with his heel.

Di Su Su clenched her fingers tight, gripping the coin in her palm.

Qi Bai Jia adjusted his collar.

"They are here."

Chapter 70: On the Train

Big Black slowly came to halt. Zhang Wei and his team alighted from the front of the vehicle.

Qi Bai Jia saluted and introduced himself. "I am Qi Bai Jia, the staff officer who will be leading this mission."

"Greetings. Happy to be working with you." Zhang Wei nodded. Then he turned his head and smiled at Ma Qing Yang heartily while giving Ma Qing Yang a big hug.

On the other side, Lin Yao's eyes glittered upon seeing Di Su Su, his gaze tightly locked onto her. He waved his arm shyly. "Hello, Su Su Jie."

"Little Lin Lin." Di Su Su just ignored Lin Yao and walked past him toward Li Ya Lin while he was still mesmerized by her. She pinched Li Ya Lin's cheeks. "Tsk tsk. You have grown prettier since the last time I saw you."

"Screw off. We are not that close." Li Ya Lin frowned and shoved Di Su Su's annoying hand away.

Di Su Su was not bothered by it. She scanned around and asked curiously, "Where is your Mechanic? Where is he hiding?"

Li Ya Lin crossed her arms in front of her chest. She gave a cold look and refused to answer.

Zhang Wei answered, "He's a little tired, so he is still sleeping on the truck."

"This truck is….?"

Zhang Wei stood upright and said with a face full of pride, "Our logistical support vehicle."

Jealousy filled Ma Qing Yang and Di Su Su's teams. They gave their team leaders a bitter look.

"We want our own logistical support vehicle, too."

Qi Bai Jia clapped his hand. "Okay. Time is running out. Let's move out."

A military-use train was parked at the station. Instead of transporting the items using airplanes or regular cars, forty well-trained field personnel are loading boxes of firearms and ammunition onto the train.

Since the major expressways were destroyed, the Six Nations had focused on the development of a railway to connect various destinations. Military-use trains ran designated military railways, which made them faster than civilian trains. Three days was all that was required for the train to reach its destination.

The first five carriages comprised of the driving cabin, two bedrooms, the restaurant, and firearm storage respectively. The last few carriages were open air – specially made for carrying other vehicles. Li Ya Lin drove Big Black up onto the carriage. The field personnel locked it in place tightly and covered the truck with a dust-sheet.

Once everyone had boarded the train, it moved off. The train radiated under the fierce sunlight and drove into the dangerous and treacherous forested fields.

….

Han Xiao woke up soon after he felt the vibration of the train.

The ceiling of the carriage was installed with lamps that illuminated the room under a soft white light. The carriage was filled with lifeless, ice-cold machines and mechanical weapons, but they actually gave him a sense of security.

Han Xiao rubbed his eyes forcefully before he got his full concentration back. He opened the carriage door only to realize that he was on a high-speed train that was already on the move. The wild wind gushed toward his face, blowing his messy hair all around. The floor was vibrating non-stop and the riotous sound of the train movement rushed into his ears. The train moved smoothly along the rail toward their destination.

A galaxy of stars illuminated the dark sky.

Mountains could be seen on the distant horizon.

Have I slept for the entire day?

For a while, Han Xiao was slightly startled. He then put on his Facial Simulator and adjusted his face to that of a regular man from his memory. After which, he placed a mask over the Facial Simulator. He had always been this careful. Afterwards, he followed the trail of light and entered the carriage from the front.

The sound from the wind disappeared the moment he entered the carriage; noisy chatter filled his ears instead. He felt as if he had just transmigrated from the stone age to a modern civilization.

As soon as Han Xiao walked in, everyone stopped talking. Every pair of eyes was fixated on Han Xiao. They scanned him with curiosity.

Di Su Su was the first person to stand up. She moved her beautiful waist and moved seductively toward Han Xiao.

"So, you are Han Xiao?" she asked curiously.

"I think you've got the wrong person," Han Xiao replied nonchalantly. Han Xiao knew that he would lose a lot of face if he answered all the questions directed at him truthfully.

Everyone's face stiffened. What a blatant lie! Everyone was here in the cabin. Who else could he be‽

Li Ya Lin was instantly delighted as she saw the scheming Di Su Su getting rejected. She waved at Han Xiao. "Xiao Ge, come here and sit."

Han Xiao nodded and moved beside Zhang Wei and the others. Li Ya Lin whispered to Han Xiao, "Great job! You just embarrassed that scheming Di Su Su."

"Scheming?" Han Xiao was surprised by her description.

"That's right. Di Su Su is a scheming, cunning, and sly snake!" Li Ya Lin said with a mouth full of detest.

Han Xiao squinted. "Are you describing yourself?"

Lin Yao could not agree more. However, he dared not add anything for fear being beaten up by Li Ya Lin. He secretly looked at Han Xiao with respect. That's my Xiao Ge—full of balls—a courageous man who never filters his words.

When Di Su Su saw Li Ya Lin and Han Xiao's intimate gestures, her face turned black. Traces of angered flashed in her eyes.

On the other side, Ma Qing Yang extended his hand and smiled. "Hey, brother. Nice to meet you. I'm Ma Qing Yang."

Han Xiao shook his hand as he held back the enraged Lin Ya Lin, unflustered. "Technically, we never met."

Ma Qing Yang was dumbfounded. He surveyed around Han Xiao's mask, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Oh. You are right."

Qi Bai Jia clapped his hand. "Since everyone is here, I will now explain the details of this mission. Field personnel please take your leave."

Field personnel knew that this was the rule, so they left this carriage without hesitation. The place immediately quieted, as only the three covert ops teams and Qi Bai Jia were left inside.

"This is a joint mission between Hesla's Intelligence Department and us. Hesla's troops are stationed at the border, and they could move out at any moment. Our job here is to infiltrate the enemy base to gather information about their defenses so that we can provide the troops with intelligence support.

"Hesla has sent us a map of the Dark Crow Valley. This place is easy to hold but hard to attack, and with deep forests, we will not be able to locate the coordinates of the base with our satellites. We have zero information about their troop number and location. We can only attack from land."

Everyone was very serious when it came to their mission. Di Su Su scratched her forehead and frowned. "This sounds like a heavily-guarded base. Is it possible for Hesla's troops to storm the base on the ground?"

"They refused." Qi Bai Jia shook his head.

Everyone understood the reason; as long as Hesla could take down the enemy with two thirds of their effort, they would never deploy their full strength. Furthermore, when there was too little information about enemy's power and location, Hesla would not allow its troops to go in prematurely for fear of suffering too many casualties. The Covert Ops department would be brought in to do the dirty work like such an infiltration.

Li Ya Lin grumbled, "Then where is the infiltration point?"

Qi Bai Jia pointed at a spot on the map. "On the west side of the valley, there is a large town called Crow's Forest. The fact that they have the courage to build a town near a base of the Germinal Organization suggests that the two parties are colluding. Therefore, there must be a few scouts from the valley base stationed in the town. This is our opportunity to obtain crucial intelligence.

"And according to intelligence from the higher ups, there are three noteworthy enemies from the Dark Crow Valley base."

Qi Bai Jia gave out a folder of information sheets to everyone. As everyone was reading through the sheets, he summarized the gist of the information. "Pan Kuang—head of the base, 35 years-old, Asian, E+ Pugilist—is one of the Germinal Organization's executive officers. His weapon is a blade, nicknamed Blade-soul. His last recorded feat was three years ago, when he defeated twelve Theseus agents at the border alone. Four of them were superhumans."

The page showed an emotionless man. He looked like any ordinary man but gave off an extremely fierce vibe.

"Ji Jie, deputy head, male, 29 years-old, mixed Asian and Caucasian, limited information. We only know that he seems to be a relative of the leader of the Wind Eye Organization, Ji Nuo.

"Dormund, captain of the security force, 43, from Raylen. He specializes in different firearms, and he is an extremely elite special agent. He used to lead a whole Night Owl squad."

Doubt filled Ma Qing Yang's face. "I thought we did not have much information regarding the internal situation of the base? Where did all this detailed information come from?"

Everyone was wondering the same thing.

Qi Bai Jia shook his head. "Not sure. The higher ups said it was classified."

Everybody stopped their questioning.

Han Xiao pricked up his ears slightly. The source of this intel is sitting right beside you guys.

Qi Bai Jia added more pointers for everyone to take note. Suddenly, his tone changed. "For this combined exercise, Hesla will be sending teams of agents from the intelligence department. They will move with us when we meet at the rendezvous point."

Zhang Wei's expression became unnatural, and he questioned, "Agents from two countries working on this mission together?"

Qi Bai Jia was feeling embarrassed and coughed. "Yes."

That was just courting trouble!

Hesla was unsatisfied with the intel from Stardragon. Also, they didn't want to expend much of their own force, so they requested that Division 13 deploy manpower for this mission.

The agents looked at one another with unease. The relationship between the two countries were rather stale. The agents even seemed hostile toward one another. It seemed like the mission would turn out to be a flop.

None of this intel was useful for Han Xiao. He yawned and looked out of the window. He squinted after he caught sight of something. He immediately interrupted the discussion and shouted, "We are under attack by beasts!"

Everyone was stunned and could not react. The train vibrated violently, causing the agent to almost fall. At the same time, there was a loud and horrible cry from the field personnel in the back carriage.

Chapter 71: Burn the Damn Creature

The train rocked violently. The shaking came from the last carriage of the train. The Covert Ops agents, who were trying hard to maintain their footings, peeked out of the windows, and the sight in front of them was shocking.

Under the cover of darkness, a gargantuan black worm was coiled up around the last carriage. The worm's body spanned over tens of meters, and it had a glossy, black exoskeleton that was composed of chitin, reflecting the moonlight.

The creature looked hideous. The head of the worm housed its gigantic mouth, with sharp teeth that continued way down into its throat. The worm was chewing on the metallic exterior of the train carriage, perforating the carriage's exterior. An unfortunate agent ended up in the worm's mouth, and in a brief moment, the screaming ended as the victim turned into minced meat.

Han Xiao felt a cold shiver. The bold ideas he previously had vanished instantly.

"It is the Dark Earthly Worm!" One could see the fear on Qi Bai Jia's face.

Han Xiao drew his Berserk Eagle out from the holster and fired a shot at the worm. He tensed up the moment the stats of the worm flashed on the screen before his eyes.

_____________________

The Dark Earthly Worm

Level: 48

(Infant stage) Lv. 10, (Adolescent stage) Lv. 10, (Adult stage) Lv. 10, (Mating stage) lv10, (???) Lv. 8

Age: 71 years old

Stats: STR 80, DEX ?, END ?, INT?, MYSTERY 1, LUCK 2

Energy: 0

Energy rank: ?

HP: ?

Abilities:

- Thick chitin exoskeleton: DEF +20

- Dark: +15% darkness attributes

- Large body: HP +1000, reduction of shock by 20%)

- Metal-chewing: additional 25% damage to metallic elements

- Rare blood of the Earthly Dragon: HP +2000, +10% defense against supernatural elements

- ???, ???, ??? …

Skills:

- Kill by Strangling Lv. 7

- Slither Lv. 10

- Rotating incisors Lv. 6

- Acid-spit Lv. 5

- ???, ???, ??? …

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Han Xiao felt it was really unfair that even the monster had more luck than him.

"Fire!"

The agents fired their pistols. The gunshots were deafening. However, the bullets merely grazed the thick exoskeleton of the worm, causing almost no harm to it.

The wilderness of Aquamarine was especially dangerous. All sorts of ghastly creatures roamed in it. There were many cases from the past where these creatures brutally slaughtered towns and cities. Humans had to rely on their collective intelligence and wisdom to counter these creatures in order to stay at the top of the food-chain.

The Dark Earthly Worm had a long lifespan. Its length increased proportionately with its age. Under normal circumstances, it peacefully resided in darkness with little activity. However, it would be awakened by violent vibrations in the ground.

It became clear to the folks that the worm had been woken up by the noise of the passing train.

To prevent encounters with wild creatures, every rail line had maintenance personnel who would inspect the infrastructure and survey the traffic, which also included surveying the underground for signs of life. If the worm had come before the last survey, it meant that the personnel in charge had slacked and failed to inspect the ground thoroughly.

The agents, who were considered prey by the worm, reacted to the situation with shock by firing their pistols. However, the smaller bullets form the pistol dealt almost zero damage to the worm, whose defense points were way above one hundred.

All the explosives and Gatling guns were in the store carriage. However, the agents were unable to obtain these weapons. Their access to the store carriage was blocked by the worm. The situation was not optimistic for the agents.

Amidst the chaos, a strong gust of wind buffeted the carriage. Random items fell out and started drifting in the wind. The train tilted at an angle of fifteen degrees as sparks flew out from the base of the train screeching against the track. The carriage looked as if it would be flipped by the massive body of the worm at any moment.

"Move aside!" Li Ya Lin shouted as she leapt forward with the foldable machete in her hand. She channeled the flames of yellow energy and hacked hard into the worm's exoskeleton. A crack was heard, and a distinct cut appeared on the worm's body.

It was useful!

Pugilists could channel their internal energy to deal astonishing damage. In this case, the punches and kicks had immense power and worked effectively.

After a quick glance, Di Su Su also went forward. With the foldable machete in her hand, channeling the flames of green energy, she hacked hard and fast, like streaks of lightning. A small piece of exoskeleton fell off the worm, and a faint glow of green could be seen.

The worm showed no signs of apprehension. It had its thick flesh and armor for protection and was, therefore, especially calm. It subsequently shrank its body to give the carriage a harder squeeze.

The monsters on Aquamarine were ferocious, and many had stacked abilities that made them especially hardy. The worm was evidently a wild BOSS level creature, and without the firepower of the modern military, it would be difficult to slaughter the monster. The worm was a creature that required at least fifty players of the same level to defeat. However, there were some instances where the monster was defeated by solo players.

In two gulps, another two agents were swallowed by the worm. The flesh of humans tasted much better than that of the sandworms underground. The Dark Earthly Worm ground its teeth as if it had enjoyed the meal.

The agents were shivering, and the brutality of the predator caused many to almost collapse to the ground. At that instant, it seemed like humans had lost their intelligence and had been reduced to prey waiting for their fateful moments to arrive.

"Use fire, the worm is afraid of fire!" Di Su Su yelled.

The worm had poor eyesight and was especially sensitive to heat and sparkles of ember, which had a similar effect on the worm to flashbangs on humans.

The agents realized that if the situation remained stagnant for much longer, the train would be destroyed. The only solution was to use flames to push the worm back. Zhang Wei immediately took out the magazine housing the High-Explosive ammunition.

Bang!

Instantly, the impregnable exoskeleton of the worm started burning. The worm lost its composure and started wriggling violently. The flames and the temperature made it especially uncomfortable. It became as agitated as a restless baboon.

Han Xiao stood there steadily like a nail in a plank. The increasing magnitude of the jolts made him worry about the carriage flipping. Almost all of Division 13's agents had purchased the High-Explosive rounds, so he was confident that they could handle the situation effectively without him getting involved.

The fire started growing on the worm, and in less than a moment's time, the worm could no longer withstand the glaring ember. It gave a shriek and loosened its grip on the carriage. Following that, it tunneled into the ground. In a matter of seconds, it was deep in the ground, leaving only piles of dirt.

The agents that managed to escape the wrath of the monster were still feeling shocked and fearful. They collapsed onto the ground.

"We are saved!"

"We are not dead yet, not dead yet…"

"Mama, I miss you!"

Although the worm only appeared for a few minutes, the damage it had caused was immense. There were holes everywhere on the carriage. It was in a shambles. If the worm had not been chased away, the train along with its passengers would have… well, maybe not all of the passengers would have perished, but the train was definitely going to have been delayed.

Luckily, there was the High-Explosive ammunition. The folk all looked toward Han Xiao. One could sense the appreciation in their eyes.

Zhang Wei patted on Han Xiao's shoulder. No words could describe his gratitude.

"If you want to thank me, just say it. I can't really read minds."

"…"

Everyone was speechless.

Han Xiao's words completely destroyed the atmosphere.

The agents rested for a moment and started clearing up the mess.

The attack by the Dark Earthly Worm was ultimately a one-time incident, and the fact that only one of such accidents had occurred proved that the military rail line was safest.

The scenery outside the train's windows was mainly mountains, dense forests, and loess plains, which gradually became boring.

Along the way, Han Xiao stationed himself in the large black carriage, practicing his energy training technique and machine manufacturing skill.

Three days later, the train arrived at the Hesla Border station.

Chapter 72: The Camp-Destroyer Mission

Hesla and Stardragon belonged to the same continent. The more liberal culture on Hesla was perhaps due to the hot and humid climate. Even outside of the beaches, bikini girls and topless guys could be seen walking on the streets.

The train pulled in to the military train station. Looking through the window, a man in shades wearing a loose-fitting flowery shirt could be seen standing on the platform. He was probably the next point of contact.

Han Xiao alighted from the train together with the rest as Qi Bai Jia led the way. Qi Bai Jia walked up to the man and introduced himself. "I am Qi Bai Jia from the Stardragon's Division 13."

The man laughed and removed his shades. He had unshaven stubble and looked unkempt, as if he was a fishmonger from the market.

"I am Ye Fan from the Hesla Intelligence Department."

Han Xiao was in disbelief.

Ye Fan‽

Which Ye Fan was he?

What exactly happened!

The man looked nothing like the dashing and cool Ye Fan that Han Xiao pictured in his mind.

Ye Fan saw the hole-studded train carriage and immediately asked, "You guys encountered a monster?"

"It was just a small worm, no real threat."

Qi Bai Jia gave a dry cough. Despite of the danger caused by the worm, there was no way he would admit that the situation had been greatly perilous. He needed to maintain the reputation of the Stardragon agents and wanted the folks on Hesla to believe that they were strong.

"It must have been really fortunate for you guys to arrive safely." Ye Fan laughed. He did not further probe into Qi Bai Jia's words.

Ye Fan put his shades back on and said, "Let us quickly head to the command center and report in. Our administrative procedures here are less complicated than those in Maple, at least 90% less."

Some agents chuckled to themselves. Maple was known for its inflexible system. Apparently when the Shanuks from Theseus and Maple collaborated to wipe out the Vagrant Warlords, the short-tempered Shanuks were so frustrated with the elaborate reporting procedures of Maple that they almost fought with the officials at the Maple Intelligence Unit's Caroma headquarters.

The administrative pre-requisite for this joint operation required the commanders to submit their operation plans before the actual execution of the mission.

For this operation, the Hesla military was delegated to be the offensive force. The agents were in charge of reconnaissance missions to uncover the enemy's defense blueprints at the Dark Crow Valley Base.

Along the way, one could see the brand-new bulletproof jeeps and small tanks parked in garages. There were also honeycomb missile-launchers and groups of soldiers transporting ammunition.

Zhang Wei, Di Su Su, and Ma Qing Yang became really quiet, a stark contrast from their usual chatty behavior. It was their nationalistic sentiments affecting them. Han Xiao realized that he should not do anything overboard at that point in time.

The commanding officer was a muscular Caucasian man by the name of Colonel Carl. Colonel Carl was studying the operation plan hanging on the wall. Upon hearing the door creak, Colonel Carl, who thought that it was his assistant officer entering the room, blurted out, "Do not disturb me when I am thinking!"

Ye Fan coughed and said, "Colonel, the agents from Stardragon are here to submit their report."

Colonel Carl turned his head to face Ye Fan. The tension on his face relieved immediately. He squinted his eyes and stared coldly at the Stardragon agents with distrust. He took out a document from his drawer.

"Take them down to rest, we will set off together in an hour," he ordered.

Carl seemed unfriendly to the agents of Division 13. Ye Fan took the agents to a room and asked them to stay put at the location since they would be moving out shortly.

After Ye Fan left, the agents were left alone. Lin Yao finally dared to speak and asked softly, "Why do I get the feeling that the Hesla soldiers, especially the commanding officer, seem to not like us?"

Ma Qing Yang gave a sarcastic grin and said, "In the past, there were wars between Stardragon and Hesla. Therefore, the people of Hesla are unfriendly toward us. It is really frustrating that we have to face such situations even when we are on a collaborative mission with them. Colonel Carl definitely doesn't look like an easy figure to appease."

The different cliques within Division 13 was not unique to Stardragon. In fact, many countries faced such situations. Maple and Ordina were more conservative. Raylen and Theseus were more assertive. Stardragon and Hesla were more neutral.

Lin Yao remarked in disbelief, "Why did the department send us to Hesla then? What if they make us the sacrificial objects for the mission?"

"Nobody knows what the higher-ups have in mind. I guess we have to count on ourselves to stay safe."

Ma Qing Yang, being a seasoned member of the department, was no longer surprised or shocked by such arrangements.

Qi Bai Jia explained, "Don't worry, every command given to you guys has to gain my approval."

The agents fell silent after a series of discussions to get into the mode for the mission.

"I am going out to take a puff."

Han Xiao stood up and walked out of the room. He lighted his cigarette and took a deep puff, which went all the way down to his lungs, then out of his nostrils in two trails of smoke. He felt a sense of relief.

He ignored the unfriendly stares from the Hesla soldiers and diverted his attention to the mission plan on the screen of the tablet.

_____________________

You have activated [Operation Dark Crow Valley Base].

Mission Brief: This is a small-scale military operation. As a member of Division 13 and participant of the operation, look out for what you can do!

Hint: The mission is a part of the Camp-destroyer series and you can claim these rewards upon completion of the mission.

Reconnaissance 1: Team mission. Monitor the situation in Crow's Forest Town. 3,000 EXP rewarded.

Reconnaissance 2: Team mission. Monitor the situation in Dark Crow Valley Camp. 8,000 EXP rewarded.

Logistics member: Solo mission. Complete 20 tool repairs for your teammates. 8,000 EXP rewarded.

Assassin: Solo mission. Kill 8 sentries. 18,000 EXP rewarded.

Direct conflict: Solo mission. Kill 50 Germinal Organization soldiers. 35,000 EXP rewarded.

Assassination 1: Kill Dormund. Rewards based on contribution.

Assassination 2: Kill Ji Jie. Reward based on contribution.

Assassination 3: Kill Pan Kuang. Rewards based on contribution.

Destroy the Dark Crow Valley Camp: Rewards based on the level of completion of mission and individual contribution.

At the end of the mission, rewards will be issued based on individual stats and performance.

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Initially, Han Xiao thought that it was going to be a normal mission, but instead, the operation was part of the Camp-destroyer series, which allowed for a varied and outstanding performance.

There were many types of missions, and for those belonging to the Camp-destroyer series, as long as one completed most of the objectives, the rewards would be generous. There were also additional rewards based on one's individual performance.

As Han Xiao was smoking, a lady with short red hair approached him and asked, "Are you from Stardragon?"

Staring at her in the eye, Han Xiao nodded. "I suppose so."

Immediately, the lady drew a knife from her waist and stabbed toward the neck of Han Xiao!

Chapter 73: Acing the Tes

Han Xiao stared at the red-haired woman without flinching.

The knife was only three centimeters from his main artery when it stopped and turned away, displaying the woman's strong skill wielding her weapon. The woman gave a fierce look. "Why aren't you dodging?"

"Why should I dodge?"

"So, you think I do not dare stab you?"

"You can try."

Han Xiao's face did not change one bit. Somewhere beneath his clothes, the magnetic-controlled extendable suit had already inched near his collar. He could protect his neck at a moment's notice, and therefore, he was fearless.

Furthermore, since she was able to move freely in the military campsite, she had to be a Hesla agent. She would not really harm him like this. This would most likely be a test of his ability or to instill fear in him. However, how dare they picked him as the target! Han Xiao was slightly irritated. His eyes turned ice-cold.

The red-haired woman suddenly felt a shiver down her back and did not realize where it came from. She collected her mind, and harrumphed. "Winna, agent from Hesla Intelligence Department."

She had just finished talking when she felt something pushing onto her stomach. She looked down; a large caliber pistol was pointing right at her stomach.

Only then did Han Xiao laugh and say, "Han Xiao."

That was fast! I didn't even see how he drew his gun!

Her pupil constricted. She put away her knife. Han Xiao withdrew his gun, too.

"I will remember that."

Winna turned around and left.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. "Hesla personnel sure are hostile toward us. They'd better not drag me down."

….

After Winna walked some distance away, she gave a sigh of relief. She realized cold sweat was dripping down her hairline and became serious.

That Stardragon agent gave her… an extremely dangerous vibe.

Winna returned to the lounge to look for the rest of the Hesla agents. Ye Fan smiled and asked, "Discover anything?"

Winna took a sip of water to sooth her parched throat and replied in a serious tone, "That Han Xiao is likely very dangerous."

"Han Xiao?"

Ye Fan thought of something based on the physical description of him.

That guy had been very low profile ever since they alighted the train. He only gave a weird look when someone called his name.

"A strange person," Ye Fan concluded.

…

Han Xiao finished smoking and stepped on the cigarette butt. He walked back into the lounge.

Qi Bai Jia looked over and asked abruptly, "Nothing happened, right?"

"Something happened. I saw a female pig falling into a ditch."

Qi Bai Jia felt slightly awkward. "Can you be more serious?"

"In that case, there was nothing," replied Han Xiao nonchalantly. Since it was only a test meant to scare him, he did not want everyone to hear about it. Firstly, it was to protect the mission. And secondly, he didn't think he wanted to be strayed by emotions.

In his mind, they were three types of enemies. The first type pissed him off or violated his interests. The second type wanted him dead or endangered his life. The last type was his nemesis. There was also the type that not only had mutual hatred but also conflicting interests. One example would be the Germinal Organization. This was the enemy that was top priority for Han Xiao. The first kind was too mild for him to care about.

Qi Bai Jia gave Han Xiao a complicated look. He was sitting by the window and had seen the whole incident unfold. He had gone on a lot of field missions before, and he knew that the other country's agents would surely test their ability and show off their own prowess. This was a covert rule. All the agents were proud and arrogant. They would not get respect and power without showing off their ability. If anyone were to complain to their superior, they would actually be laughed at.

Qi Bai Jia greatly approved of what Han Xiao had done. He did not let Stardragon's reputation down, and he was glad that Han Xiao had kept his mouth shut. This guy's ability is good, and he understands the bigger picture.

…

"They didn't fight?"

Carl nodded his head in satisfaction after he heard his deputy's report.

"Good. Seems like those Stardragon people know their place on our territory."

….

Soon, it was time for them to depart. Everyone gathered at the border exit. Ye Fan, together with Winna, brought a dozen agents, armed and ready to go.

The first stop of the mission was a position far away from the Crow Valley Town. There was an abandoned secret hideout of Hesla's. They would be using it as their temporary base.

Division 13 transported the land rovers using the train. They were just regular all-terrain cars. Only Han Xiao's Big Black was unique. He drove his team off amid loud revving of the engine.

This time, he drove steadily and comfortably. Li Ya Lin was almost moved to tears. The other three teammates, cramped in the other seats, were puzzled. They didn't understand Li Ya Lin's big reaction to all this.

It was half a day's ride. Hesla's motorcade was leading, and Division 13 followed.

Suddenly, Hesla's motorcade sped up, gradually increasing the distance between the two parties. Di Su Su and Ma Qing Yang accelerated when they realized it.

Only Han Xiao, driving Big Black, followed slowly at the back.

"Xiao Ge, we need to catch up with them!" Lin Yao said anxiously.

Han Xiao's had one hand on the steering wheel while the other one was out of the window and enjoying the wind. "Why do we need to catch up? No matter how fast they drive now, they will have to wait for us later."

"Well… you are right when you put it that way."

Suddenly, Di Su Su's laughter came from the radio. "Little Lin Lin, how come you guys are so slow. Hurry and catch up with us. Unless Han Xiao's skills are not up to par?"

"I do not want to waste my petrol," Han Xiao replied briefly.

Di Su Su was instantly stunned. This was the first time she heard such a unique excuse. Agents like us need to worry about paying for petrol?

Ma Qing Yang chimed in on the radio. "Zhang Wei, this is Hesla's agents showing off. We must not lose to them."

Zhang Wei pondered for a few seconds, and he patted on Han Xiao's shoulder. "Let's catch up with them."

Li Ya Lin's face immediately turned pale. She grabbed Zhang Wei's sleeve hurriedly and urged, "Please don't. This speed is great!"

"What exactly do you fear?" Zhang Wei was really puzzled.

"Captain, is it not good to be alive?" Li Ya Lin said in a trembling and sobbing tone.

Zhang Wei was extremely baffled.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrow. "You really want to pursue them?"

"Yes." Zhang Wei nodded his head.

Han Xiao sighed and changed the gear with ease. "Okay then. You guys had better hold on tight."

Li Ya Lin was deeply fearful. She held onto the car door as tightly as she could and clenched her jaw.

"You… you guys will definitely regret this."

…

In the afternoon, everyone arrived at the destination.

As soon as they alighted their vehicles, they all looked at the big black truck with shock, horror, and disbelief. Cold chills ran down their spine whenever they thought of the scene from before.

Even though they were experienced agents who had seen many things, such as "S" and "Z" shape movements, this was the first time they had seen an "&" shape movement! And it was faster than anyone else!

This could not even be counted as drifting… more like flying!

The truck driver must have been heavily under the influence!

Zhang Wei, Lin Yao, and Li Ya Lin fumbled out of the vehicle, held onto a tree at the side, and started vomiting everything they had inside them. At that moment, they felt like they'd be better off dead.

"Blargh—"

"Oh my god… I feel like I'm dying. Blargh—"

"Told you that you would regret this. Blargh—"

Han Xiao strolled down from the car and clamped a cigarette comfortably in his mouth. He smirked and said, "Well, you guys told me to chase."

"You… Do you specialize in driving bumper cars‽"

Han Xiao curled his lips. Bumper cars? Don't look down on me. I used to drive Mechas!

Lambert got out of the car with sturdy steps, as if nothing had happened to him. Han Xiao's eyes gleamed. "See? There is someone normal enough to enjoy my driving."

Just as Lambert opened his mouth to speak, vomit came out like waterfall. Only after everything was vomited out did Lambert commented with a poker face, "If you ever touch the steering wheel again, I will just jump out of the car."

Chapter 74: Separate Operations

The cars were parked outside. After everyone moved their equipment into the secret base, they began their pre-mission briefing.

"We have two operations. Firstly, disguise as wanderers and blend into Dark Crow Forest Town to gather intel; secondly, search for sentry guards from the Germinal Organization that are left alone and force information about their base out of them.

"We will handle the sentries, your people can go to the Dark Crow Forest Town," Winna immediately stated.

Di Su Su frowned. There would mostly likely be spies hidden in the town. If they attempted to blend in, they might be exposed and be put in dire danger. If so, they would not achieve anything. Searching for sentries would be much safer and easier to accomplish.

Hesla just could not wait to throw all the dangerous and tough jobs to Division 13. This attitude annoyed them greatly, but someone had to do the missions after all. If it was not going to be Hesla then it had to be Division 13. As such, no one voiced any objection.

"To infiltrate the town, we must first disguise ourselves as wanderers and then find an opportunity to gather intel covertly. We must not act rashly and alert the enemy," said Qi Bai Jia.

After some discussion, it was decided that some people would stay at the base as backup. Four people stayed behind: Lin Yao, Qi Bai Jia, Ma Qing Yang, and Han Xiao.

Hesla also left some personnel to guard the base. Han Xiao only knew Ye Fan from their group.

It was only the afternoon. The Hesla agents decided to take a rest first. They would wait till dawn, when enemy's alertness would be at its lowest, to move off to find enemy sentry guards. They had brought infrared imaging devices, so the darkness actually provided them with an advantage. Also, they secretly wanted Division 13 to be the guinea pig to sweep away some danger first.

Once the mission plan was finalized, those Division 13 agents who were going in mixed together to form a team with Di Su Su as the leader. They were disguised in wanderer's clothes and looked travel-worn and weary. They hunched their backs to look as if they were being weighed down by stress. They carried giant backpacks and looked exactly like those real wanderers. They then headed toward the Dark Crow Forest Town on foot.

The secret base was equipped with many computer screens that were connected to agents' camera and earphones. Han Xiao, Lin Yao, and Qi Bai Jia would rotate to monitor the situation.

Di Su Su's team soon arrived at the crowded town, which was displayed on the screens. There were many different types of buildings, and despite the housing being simple and crude, there were many people there, making it look like a marketplace. Although the town was small in area, it had everything, even hotels for guests.

"Let's look for a place to stay first."

Di Su Su and the gang were questioned by the locals, but she answered perfectly. They were just 'wanderers that were migrating' and 'wanted to rest here for a while before moving off.' Afterwards, they successfully checked in at one of the hotels in the town.

As soon as they entered the room, they immediately swept for monitoring cameras and bugs professionally. They started discussing their next steps after they made sure the room was safe.

"How should we proceed now?" Li Ya Lin curled her lips and gave Di Su Su a cold look.

Di Su Su was not in the mood to banter with Li Ya Lin. Her brows knitted together as she said in a serious tone, "People in the town are still suspicious of our identity. I think we should stay put."

Han Xiao suddenly chimed in through the earpieces. "You guys had better act today."

"Give me a good reason." Di Su Su was slightly provoked.

"You guys are now foreign wanderers, so you should act your part. It is only normal to gather information about this place. It will actually look strange if you purposefully conceal yourselves, making others feel that you have an ulterior motive."

Everyone looked at one another. "That seems like a good point."

"…Let's do what Han Xiao suggested."

The town had many amenities, including entertainment facilities, casinos, a pharmacy, restaurants, and even places for one to release. As night fell, the team moved out in different groups and pretended to spend money, probe for intel, and gather information. However, they did not achieve any substantial success. The locals there were mostly ordinary wanderers, and they did not spot any people of interest.

"Our enemies must be hiding deeply. We probably won't get anything through this method." Qi Bai Jia's expression was grave.

"Actually, I know a way." Han Xiao smiled. He knew the specific spy that was station at this town. After 'real' players earned enough reputation from missions, they could choose to join the Germinal Organization through this NPC. By catching this NPC, they could get quite a lot of intel.

Han Xiao knew the exact coordinates of the Dark Crow Valley Base, but he was unsure of the specific military strength and defenses of the base. After ten long years, he only remembered a little information about the place. Furthermore, they were at the different point in time, so the changes would be different. It was essential for them to gather intel from the NPC.

"You guys should go to the southern part of town, where you will see a casino. There should be a bald-headed dude who knows the intel about the base." Han Xiao was describing the spy from the Germinal Organization stationed at the town. Those 'real' players who were born at Dark Crow Forest Town could only join the Germinal Organization through this guy.

Everyone was shocked. Di Su Su frowned. "Where did you get this information from?"

"I have my ways."

"What if the information is incorrect?" Di Su Su was adamant.

"Listen to him." Qi Bai Jia spoke up for Han Xiao. Before the mission, higher ups had told him to trust his intel. This showed that the higher ups valued Han Xiao highly.

Di Su Su had to repress her suspicion and follow to the order. She took some agents to the small casino and looked for the person quietly. Without fail, they found the bald-headed guy, who was the banker of the casino.

"What should we do now? If we act rashly, we could alarm our enemies. He might have companions from the organization around him," asked Di Su Su.

Han Xiao was speechless. "We've already found our target. Can't you just be professional and do what you usually do?"

Di Su Su felt her chest tighten, enraged by his comment. But at the same time, she realized that she had asked a dumb question. She gathered her teammates to secretly surround the guy.

Han Xiao looked at the time. He got up and let Lin Yao take over his duty. He did not feel that he needed to supervise the actual execution. If they could not even catch the guy, those agents should just knock themselves out with a piece of tofu.

At the same time, Winna and her team of Hesla agents left for their objective after she gave Han Xiao a fierce glare.

Han Xiao did not plan to rest at the secret base. He went into the trunk of Big Black and started assessing the situation. Both operations are team-based. They will most likely complete them without any hiccups. I should be more concerned with my personal mission. I will need some handy tools in order to assassinate the sentry guards in the forest.

Han Xiao took out some spare parts and began working on his interface.

_____________________

Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?

(Basic Spatial Sensing + Basic Bio-engineering + Basic Mechanical Engineering)

This fusion will cost you 15,000 EXP.

_____________________

Fusion Success!

Congratulations, you have invented [Miniature Biological Sensor (Spider)]!

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…

Winna's team sneaked among the trees silently as if they were hunters searching for prey in the dark forest. They were wearing camouflage suits and night-vision goggles.

The sentry guards were stationed right outside the base. One of the team members was a master in investigating trails. He could deduce the number of people that had walked past a location a day before based on the minimal evidence left behind.

He was called Magarnu, a tall Sharnuk. He was built like a small mountain, which made it hard to believe that he was extremely meticulous. He rubbed the soil between his fingertips, smelt it, and pondered for a few moments. "There was a man, weighing around 180 pounds, who walked past here in a northwestern direction seven hours ago."

Winna did not doubt Magarnu's deduction. She and her team walked carefully in that direction. Suddenly, they came to a halt. Night vision goggles showed a living entity on tree three hundred meters out.

"Search the surroundings!"

Winna kept a cool head and did not act prematurely. She instructed her team to search for any other sentry guards or surveillance devices in the surroundings. After about twenty minutes, they confirmed that they were safe.

Ye Fan gave the order through the radio. "Take him down!"

Winna activated her power, and immediately, a maroon energy trail flashed under her feet. She moved swiftly and quietly within a hundred-meter radius from the enemy. She always stayed in the blind spots of the enemy by using the trees to hide her body like a master-level assassin. She hopped onto a tree in a cat-like manner before summoning her maroon-colored energy. The energy allowed her to stick onto the tree branches, and she jumped constantly from tree to tree, quickly approaching the enemy.

The Germinal sentry guard felt a sudden gust of wind over his head. He looked up and saw a dark shadow accelerating toward him.

Chapter 75: Hacker

Ten minutes later…

Snap!

Magarnu twisted the neck of the sentry guard.

They had already secured the information they wanted.

Winna's voice blared out from the communication device. "From our preliminary reconnaissance activity, we discovered that the base has been divided into 6 high-alert regions. The level of defense gradually increases from the innermost to the outermost sectors. We are currently at the outermost region.

"Every high-alert region will have a sentry post manned by an officer and his troops. Based on our previous interrogation, officers have access to the intranet of the military base. Therefore, as long as we can arrive at the sentry post, we will be able to access the intranet and gather intelligence using the officer's computer.

"This sentry guard revealed the exact position of the post. Let's move out immediately!"

Ye Fan knew that even the slightest delay would change the outcome of the operation. There was a series of protocols to follow for the shift-changing of the sentry guards in the next few hours; by then, other soldiers would discover the disappearance of the sentry guard who had been killed. However, their first priority was still to gather sufficient intelligence even if that risked revealing their positions, since ultimately, the enemy would realize the impending invasion by the Hesla military. They needed to find out the military strength and defenses at the Dark Crow Valley base.

If Winna managed to succeed, the agents of Division 13 hiding in Dark Crow Forest Town would fall into the precarious situation of revealing their positions to the enemy. The agents might even be caught before they made their moves.

Ye Fan analyzed the situation rationally and made the decision.

"Operation approved! Immediately head out to the enemy base."

Winna nodded and disposed of the sentry guard's body. She then led her teammates into the enemy base.

Ye Fan heaved a sigh of relief, and his eyes moved away from the screen. He glanced at the operations' office of Division 13 and shook his head slightly. He did not know what his decision would bring, but he wanted the best for the mission. He would inform the department afterwards.

There were times when one had to take a leap of faith.

…

Before twilight, Winna and her team found the sentry post.

It was a shed camouflaged deep in the vegetation used by the hunters.

Quietly, the team moved closer to their target. Magarnu grabbed the sound-wave detector from his haversack and scanned the interior of the shed from outside. The results returned revealed three human targets: one lying on the sofa and two who seemed to be consuming their supper at the table.

Winna raised her hand and started the count.

Three, two, one! Winna leapt forward into the shed through the window. Her teammates followed behind.

The three enemy soldiers were shocked by the unexpected attack, and before they could retaliate, they were shot with the tranquilizers by the Hesla agents and collapsed onto the ground.

The Hesla agents then searched the shed and the clothing of the unconscious soldiers. They uncovered a hidden compartment behind the wall. The agents discovered that out of the three soldiers, one of them was an officer based on the identity card he carried.

"This is our target." Winna grinned to herself. This officer by the name of Roman seemed to be the one in charge of the sentry post.

The agents tied Roman up and gave him an injection to wake him up. Magarnu then slapped Roman repeatedly to speed up the process. "Tell us the password to the safe if you want to live!"

Roman was scared to death by the troop of heavily armed agents and immediately confessed the password without any sign of hesitance.

After entering the password, the safe successfully opened, and a laptop could be seen. After turning on the laptop, a sign-in page appeared on the screen, and both the identity card and a verbal password were required to access the portal.

Roman was very cooperative, and the agents managed to access the portal with his account. Following the jingle, the words 'Dang Dang Dang the Germinal assistant is at your service.' flashed on the screen.

Startled, Ye Fan choked on his coffee.

All the agents had confused looks on their faces. No one could have imagined that the portal's interface would look like that.

Ye Fan didn't know what to say. "What a cute portal…"

A couple of menus appeared on the server, and due to the low rank of Roman, he could only access a few of them. Winnie found the page that displayed the daily activity log for the military base, and the team became really excited.

There must be important information hidden in the daily logs.

"Let me do it." Ye Fan instructed Magarnu to plug the chip into the computer, which allowed Ye Fan's computer to also access the server.

There was a look of seriousness on Ye Fan's face, and his fingers started to punch the keyboard and input the codes like a butterfly dancing in the air.

Level 1 Firewall, hacked!

Level 2 Firewall, hacked!

Level 3 Firewall, hacked!

One-time-password, hacked!

Rights restrictions, hacked!

Ye Fan gave a slight smile. He was a seasoned hacker in Hesla with hundreds of viruses and bugs in his arsenal. Except for certain servers on the dark web, there was practically no server that could escape his attacks.

In less than three minutes, all the encrypted documents were decoded. At that point, the enemy technicians realized what was happening and started deleting the documents frantically while Ye Fan was copying the files.

In a brief moment, all the documents were deleted. Ye Fan's computer was too slow and only managed to copy 28% of the documents. The more confidential documents were deleted first.

However, the copied documents contained sufficient intelligence, including defense blueprints, internal structure information, and the military strength of the base.

Ye Fan felt relieved. "Good job and well done! Now it's time to return."

The attempt to steal sensitive information about the Dark Crow Valley base would definitely heighten the security of the enemy. However, it was all worth it for the intelligence reports.

But despite the success, there was still a sense of unease in Ye Fan.

It seemed a little… too easy.

…

A member of staff from the central control room of the Dark Crow Valley base reported, "Sir, our external server was hacked."

The assistant director of the military base was Ji Jie. He was a tall, lanky man with a sly appearance. He proceeded calmly to the screened and asked, "What data was stolen?"

"The daily activity logs, internal structure of the military base, the coordinates of the base, the sentry logs for the base…"

Even though so much critical information had been stolen by the hackers, there was no sign of panic within the base.

"Were the hackers actually from Hesla?"

"The bait is set; now, we are just waiting for the fish." Ji Jie gave an eerie grin. He was like a hunter, excited to see the prey he had managed to trap.

Ji Jie went into the director's office and reported the situation to Pan Kuang.

"Our external deceptive server was hacked. I presume the hackers to be from Hesla, and they will probably launch a military invasion soon."

Pan Kuang was polishing his dark, long machete with his handkerchief. The machete had an icy cold blade and a thick body with its handle wrapped with strips of cloth. There were clear spots of dried blood on the cloth. The machete had been used to slay many enemies throughout the years.

Pan Kuang was fixated on polishing his blade. He then asked calmly, "What do you think we should do?"

Ji Jie cleared his throat and said, "Although the information stolen by the enemy is false, we have unfortunately revealed the existence of the base. Therefore, I hope that the chief can evacuate the base and bring along all necessary equipment and information. In addition, I also recommend that we deal a hard and decisive blow to the existing enemy forces."

''Ok, just tell me when you need me to fight," Pan Kuang replied.

Chapter 76: Abnormalities and Assassinations

[Reconnaissance 1 completed, you gained 3,000 EXP]

Han Xiao was woken up by the pop-up message on the screen. He looked out of the car's window to see it was twilight, and the sky was a grayish blue hue and was gradually getting brighter.

The previous night, Han Xiao had been busy creating new machines and only had two hours of sleep. He took out his water bottle and splashed the water onto his face. The cooling splashes refreshed his senses. Then, he went out of the storage and headed for the base.

Lin Yao had worked throughout the night, and she was exhausted. Qi Bai Jia was next in line for the shift, and he woke up from his nap on the couch.

"How was last night's operation?" Han Xiao asked.

Lin Yao replied with fatigue, "The bald guy revealed the positions of his comrades to us in the forest, and we managed to apprehend them. Also, we discovered the exact location of the Dark Crow Valley base from the captives' statements. However, our prisoners are low-ranking personnel, and therefore, they do not have the authority to access confidential files."

Han Xiao nodded to himself. The outcome was what he expected.

"Is the operation team still in action?"

"Yes, the agents are all still hidden in the forest, waiting for new orders."

"There is no point waiting in the forest. The agents should return," said Han Xiao.

Qi Bai Jia, who was munching on his breakfast rations, blurted out, "Hey, I am supposed to be in-charge here."

"Aren't you in-charge because you are supposed to take the blame for all of us?" Han Xiao questioned.

Qi Bai Jia choked on his rations. He wanted to rebut Han Xiao but was interrupted by Ye Fan.

"Fellow agents of Division 13, our guys have successfully obtained critical intelligence of the Dark Crow Valley base."

Qi Bai Jia was puzzled. In less than a day, the Hesla agents had managed to complete the mission. Their efficiency seemed too impressive to be true!

"You guys really secured information about the base?"

Ye Fan nodded in affirmation. "Winna captured an enemy officer. Our operation is done, and we are getting our agents back. After which, we will compile the gathered intelligence and pass the critical information to the military."

Although it was claimed that the mission was completed, Han Xiao's tablet indicated that [Reconnaissance 2] was not completed. He frowned and then questioned, "Can you ensure that the information we obtained is accurate and not fake. Also, can you explain the flow of events to us?"

"Of course," Ye Fan and Winna briefly described the completed operation.

"Don't you think the mission seemed to be too smooth-sailing?" muttered Han Xiao.

"The mission was indeed easy, but there is nothing especially suspicious. Perhaps, it was a result of the enemy letting their guard down. Also, our mission this time was supposed to be a covert assault."

"I have second thoughts to the reliability of the information obtained."

"In our line of work, we must not be too trusting, but you must also back your word with evidence." The frustrated Ye Fan frowned even harder and ordered, "In any case, we will move out at dawn tomorrow."

Looking at the Ye Fan's back as he left, Han Xiao's face dimmed. He could confirm with hundred-percent certainty that there was something wrong with the intelligence gathered by Ye Fan.

Han Xiao started thinking about the events that Ye Fan had described. Although Winna and her fellow agents were a little too brash with their actions, they had not made any critical mistakes. Therefore, the only possibility was that Dark Crow Valley contained hidden traps that outsiders were unaware of.

Han Xiao unfortunately had no evidence, and even if he voiced his opinions, nobody would believe him.

A mere speculation was insufficient to convince anybody.

"Looks like I have to go and take a look at it myself."

In the morning, Di Su Su and Winna returned back to the base. Both brought with them their prisoners. Since Roman was an officer, his value exceeded that of all the prisoners brought in by Di Su Su.

Winna beamed with pride like a victor. In her opinion, the operation was likened to a battle between the two countries of agents. It was exhilarating for her that the agents from Hesla had trumped the agents from Stardragon.

The agents from Division 13 were irritated by the arrogance of the agents from Hesla. Li Ya Lin remarked, "If we were the ones in charge of your mission, we would have been winners ourselves."

Winna smirked. "Accept the sad truth that you guys lost."

Han Xiao went forward and said, "The information you guys obtained might be fake."

Even if the agents from Hesla did not believe him, Han Xiao still felt the obligation to voice that fact.

Winna's face instantly slumped and questioned, "Any evidence?"

"My intuition."

Everyone was astonished by the answer.

Winna laughed. "Then I guess you have to shut up. Who do you think you are?"

Han Xiao calmly replied, "Do you have any evidence then?"

Winna patted on the shivering Roman and said, "He is my evidence."

Han Xiao squatted down and gave Roman a thorough scan. It seemed like the Dark Crow Valley base had a master of deception.

Roman did seem to be genuinely frightened, and this showed that he was not providing fake information to the agents on purpose. Therefore, the only reasonable deduction was that the higher-ups of the enemy base had never intended to reveal genuine military information to their lower ranking officials. The sentry guards on the outer circumference of the base were merely posted as bait.

The information obtained by Ye Fan was highly likely to be deceptive.

To uncover the truth, Han Xiao needed to go deeper into the Dark Crow Valley base.

A plan started formulating in Han Xiao's mind. However, he needed to wait till nightfall to execute the plan.

All the other agents were busy interrogating the prisoners and consolidating the intelligence report. They would leave the next morning. Therefore, he could carry out his plan at night.

…

Night arrived, and the bright moon masked the twinkle of the stars.

Han Xiao told his fellow agents that he wanted to be in the truck.

Nobody replied. The agents of Hesla could not be bothered with him, and the agents from Division 13 were too lazy to say no. Only Zhang Wei said, "Go if you really want to, nobody's stopping you."

Han Xiao nodded. After which he proceeded out of the camp. He went into the container and equipped himself with Lambert's sniper-rifle. He also took other necessary equipment. After a few quick glances, he realized no one was present around the camp. Han Xiao sneaked out into the woods

He did not plan to inform his teammates. Qi Bai Jia would surely not approve of his actions, and this would only create more trouble.

After hours of trekking, he finally reached the stipulated location.

Equipped with his thermo-tracking night vision goggles and camouflage suit, after confirming that there were no enemies around him, he started digging a trench deep enough to fit himself.

After which, Han Xiao took out a small mechanical spider from his toolbox. The mechanical spider was the size of his palm. He flicked the switched, and the mechanical spider immediately stoop up before his eyes as if it was awaiting orders from its master.

[Miniature biological sensor (Spider): Miniature bug-like sensor]

This was the latest creation by Han Xiao. It was a practical tool due to its size, ability to camouflage, and ability to be remotely controlled. It also had thermo-sensors that enabled it to avoid other animals. It was like a walking surveillance camera. Han Xiao was not required to move up close to the sentry, and therefore, he was also less likely to be caught.

Han Xiao took out his tablet computer to remotely control the spiders. He was able to locate the positions of several sentries and most of them were hidden beside trees. Han Xiao pictured the location of the sentries in his mind so that he could come up with an optimal route for the assassination he was going to carry out.

Han Xiao carried the heavy sniper-rifle and trudged through the condensed vegetation. The target was now within the range of the rifle.

Lambert's rifle had a silencer that allowed it to fire out a large beam of energy at a sound that was as light as a finger knocking on wood. In this dark and condensed vegetation, a seasoned agent would able to spot the any slight movement within the range of one hundred meters. However, Lambert's rifle could be operated from a distance of eight hundred meters. It was also the main reason that compelled Han Xiao to select this weapon for the mission, which offered greater safety and convenience.

Han Xiao looked into the scope with great concentration and held his breath. The distance somehow did not matter, and Han Xiao could feel the adrenaline rushing through him.

The target was the enemy's head!

The wind was blowing in 8 o'clock direction!

Wind-speed at 1.3 m/s with a 43 mm inaccuracy!

All the corrections and modifications were completed.

Han Xiao pulled the trigger. His body absorbed all the recoil coming from the butt of the rifle, and his hands gripped the rifle to stabilize it.

Through the thermo-sensing scope, Han Xiao could see that the bullet had managed to hit the target. The target had instantly lost his head, and blood was spurting out.

Chapter 77: Forest Assassin

The bullet from the heavy sniper pierced through the target's head. Like a watermelon pounded by a hammer, the head disintegrated into bits and pieces.

Through the video feed transmitted from the spider, Han Xiao adjusted his position and stabilized himself again, before firing a shot at another sentry guard. One shot after another, the sentry guards were eliminated. The interface flashed with each successful kill made by Han Xiao.

_____________________

The sudden blast is charged up to 200% and ready to be deployed.

The enemy has been successfully eliminated by the fatal blast. You have dealt 190 points of damage to the enemy.

You have successfully eliminated the sentry guard. 500 EXP gained from the attack.

_____________________

The sudden blast is charged up to 200% and ready to be deployed.

The enemy has been successfully eliminated by the fatal blast. You have dealt 201 points of damage to the enemy.

You have successfully eliminated the sentry guard. 500 EXP gained from the attack.

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

These level 10 sentry guards were merely ordinary troops. Their fighting abilities were similar to those of the guards back at the lab where Han Xiao had once been held captive. Han Xiao had no issues wiping out the lab guards back then. Likewise, he had no problems now.

One after another, the sentry guards were killed, and Han Xiao gained 18,000 EXP from the kills.

[Forest Assassin mission completed, you gained 18,000 EXP.]

The mission proceeded smoothly. After killing so many sentry guards, reinforcements were bound to arrive… and there they came!

The Spider detected three fully-armed quick-response teams approaching in their jeeps. After the jeeps pulled up, the team members hopped down and started conducting thorough searches.

The sentry guards had their earpieces, which enabled them to connect main communications network. If a sentry guard was killed, their radio channel would fall silent. If a large number of channels operated by the sentry guards fell silent, it would raise suspicions at the Dark Crow Valley Base, which would dispatch quick-response teams to the field to investigate the situation in response.

Han Xiao predicted that once the quick-response teams discovered the murdered sentry-guards, they would start searching intensely. Through the 'eyes' of the Spider, which he shifted up the tree, he could observe that the troopers were equipped with Jackson machine guns, high-explosive grenades, and RPG rocket launchers. Instantly, Han Xiao called off the plan of challenging these heavily armed troopers

It was the perfect time for Han Xiao to flee.

Han Xiao disassembled the heavy sniper and lugged it onto his shoulders. Clad in his camouflage suit, he sneakily shuffled to the trench he had dug. He transferred all the unnecessary accessories into the toolbox and then dumped both his sniper rifle and toolbox into the trench.

At that instant, the search-teams discovered the headless sentry guards. The armed troopers immediately started searching warily, using the torchlights on their machine guns.

The tree beside the trench was Han Xiao's hiding spot. The spot had been carefully selected by Han Xiao. It was at the edge of the high-alert sector. The further away from the enemy base, the more dispersed the enemy troopers would be. It was likely that the troopers would search the area alone.

The rays of a torchlight flashed beside the tree. Han Xiao gradually lowered his body and held the thin metal wires tightly. He concentrated all the energy in his legs and was preparing to launch himself forward like a mantis.

The moment the trooper's foot crossed the tree's body, Han Xiao moved his body like a phantom and instantly went behind the sentry guard. Although the enemy had already detected Han Xiao's movement and had intended to fire at him and call for help, Han Xiao reacted faster and managed to strangle the trooper by coiling the metal cables around the trooper's neck.

Han Xiao then kicked the trooper's machine gun to one side. After which, he wrestled the trooper to the ground. The trooper's entire upper body was resting beneath his knees.

The suffocation caused the trooper's face to turn purple. It was as if the blood was going to burst out of the vessels. At this point in time, the metal cables had already pierced into the flesh of the trooper. The trooper waved his hands hysterically, trying to grab Han Xiao by any means, but it was to no avail. The trooper's eyes also flipped upwards.

Han Xiao maintained the tension until the interface indicated that the trooper was dead.

Throughout the entire process, he had managed to keep the struggling trooper silent.

Han Xiao quickly changed into the trooper's uniform. The trooper was a Caucasian of similar height to himself. He quickly used his pocket knife to trim his hair. After which, he straightened his collar and pulled the sleeves tight to ensure none of his skin was showing, since he was of a different skin tone from the trooper. He then used his finger to tap his forehead to activate the face scanner. A light beam emerged from his forehead and scanned the dead trooper's face.

Replicate the scan!

Almost immediately, Han Xiao's face morphed into that of the trooper!

That was the trump card to be used in his successful infiltration.

He dumped the dead trooper's body and the unwanted accessories into a hole and buried the contents. He then marked out the area. Han Xiao, clad in a trooper's uniform, made his way forward blatantly. He could also clearly hear the conversations on the enemy's communication channel.

"This is H103 reporting. Everything is fine in the northwest sector."

"This is H141 reporting. Everything is fine in the southeast sector."

The call-sign of the trooper that Han Xiao had killed was H223. Han Xiao made his report in a similar fashion using his suppressed voice.

"H223, what happened to your voice?" A man that seemed to be his captain spoke.

"I have a sore throat."

After 'searching' the area for a while, Han Xiao was recalled. More than twenty troopers gathered at the jeep, and Han Xiao had not yet raised any suspicions.

The captain asked, "None of you found anything?"

"No sir," the troopers replied.

The captain frowned and said, "Get in the car. Let's head back to base."

Han Xiao squinted. He had managed to infiltrate the team, and it was all part of his plan to enter the Dark Crow Valley base.

…

The car drove into a cave, and three minutes later, an unexpected sight appeared before Han Xiao's eyes.

There was something special about the cave; it was actually a mini car-park.

The jeep pulled over, and the troopers alighted from it. Han Xiao tagged along with the team and came before a wall of rocks. The captain pulled out a rock that was actually a modified metal casing that contained a card-scanner.

The captain scanned his identity card, and following a boom, the rock wall split open. At this point, Han Xiao realized that the rock wall was a metal gate in disguise. The gate was sprayed with a greyish paint, and it looked very much like a rock. One would be unable to tell the difference if he or she did not examine the wall closely.

How strange. This looks exactly like what the agents from Hesla reported.

Han Xiao was confused. All of this had actually been detailed in Ye Fan's intelligence reports. It was all accurate information. However, why did the interface claim that 'Reconnaissance 2' was not yet completed?

What was the problem exactly? Could it be something to do with the time? Perhaps the base appeared differently at different times of the day?

Han Xiao proceeded together with the rest, and they came upon a gantry. After scanning his identity card, he was finally into the base.

The base was hidden deep in the ground. It was supported by metallic structure, which added a cool greyish tone everywhere. There were winding corridors and many rooms. The troopers were busy transporting containers of items.

Han Xiao lifted his head, and he could see a surveillance camera positioned at the corner of the ceiling. He retracted his neck instinctively.

Going behind enemy lines alone was tough, and Han Xiao prayed for the success of his operation.

So, now that I am in the base, what shall I do next? Hang around aimlessly or chat someone up… better not. Chatting with someone will likely reveal my identity. What information am I hunting for exactly? Since for 'Reconnaissance 2', I am supposed to uncover critical intelligence with regards to the Dark Crow Valley base, there must be some loopholes here! Since the low-ranking officers serve merely as bait, most of the people are not likely to have access to important information. I need to find someone that looks and acts differently from the rest.

Once this thought flashed in Han Xiao's mind, he started wandering about the base, carefully examining every inch.

…

"13 sentry guards were killed?"

Ji Jie frowned in disbelief. Based on his prediction, since the enemy agents had obtained the necessary intelligence, they would not kill any sentry guards. Unless, they were suspicious of the information they stole.

It appeared that these invaders were indeed meticulous and careful with their actions.

Ji Jie shook his head and said proudly, "But they are still greenhorns."

The double-server network was the best trap Ji Jie had ever planted during his stint as the assistant officer in-charge of the base. Its sole purpose was to prevent invaders from attacking, and now, the security network's effect was finally showing.

If only false information was planted, it would only raise the suspicions of the invading agents. Therefore, to deceive his enemies, Ji Jie was willing to risk his life and included some true information in the bait. The information included were the exact location of the base, the deployment of the sentry guards, and defense mechanisms in the third and sixth high-alert sectors. To successfully trick the enemies, a certain degree of true information needed to be weaved in with the false. The final two sectors had defense mechanisms with firepower that was more than ten times stronger than the rest. There was also another trump card.

"The chief has approved the path of the retreat. Reinforcements will arrive in five days. That will also be the day for the retreat. For now, let's deliver a huge present to Hesla."

The main forces of the Germinal organization were concentrated on the continent of Andrea. The Germinal Organization had also covertly extended its influence to the other continents through setting up secret facilities and bases. These bases remained hidden, and if they were discovered, the Germinal Organization would order the retreat as it was impossible for a single facility to withstand the raids from the military forces of the six nations.

Ji Jie was highly confident of his trap. He was not afraid to expose real information and the location of the base. He had one trump card in his hand. All the other troopers, and even the base itself, could be sacrificed in order to deal a strategic and painful blow to Hesla.

Chapter 78: Multiple Hideouts

The more nervous he was, the harder it would be for him to infiltrate without being exposed. Han Xiao had many experiences infiltrating enemy bases. Thus, he was very calm and walked as fast as blowing wind, without alarming anyone.

He gradually understood more about the base after exploring it for a while. The base was hidden at the hill side, and it was about five to six times larger than the laboratory that he used to stay in. The base had two exits: one was the entrance that he took; the other was a side gate for the individual personnel to access the outside world conveniently.

Not knowing why, Han Xiao felt that some places in the base were unusual. However, he could not pinpoint the exact reasons.

Most of the personnel had a serious face, as if they were expecting an incoming storm. They were loading up important supplies hurriedly.

"Have you heard? The higher ups want us to evacuate the base. It seems like Hesla's agents have found us."

"They mentioned that the spy stationed at Crow Forest Town lost contact. I think a battle is going to happen soon."

Han Xiao heard some voices as he turned a corner. A few armed guards were gathered together and having a discussion. They looked worried. As they saw Han Xiao, one of the guards shouted, "Hey Mandela, did you guys find anything from the search inside?"

Mandela was H223's real name. He was a Caucasian. Han Xiao covered his skins fully with his uniform so that the rest would not get suspicious.

These few guards seemed to be acquainted with Mandela. "The sentry guards outside were all shot in the head by a sniper. We still haven't uncovered the enemy. I bet it was done by the Hesla agents," lied Han Xiao while innocently blinking.

The guards looked troubled. They were all armed personnel, so if the enemy were to strike, they had to be at the frontline to defend the base.

"I am so jealous of the non-military personnel. They get to evacuate the base first." One of the guards was disgruntled with his circumstances.

Light flashed in Han Xiao's eyes. Since they were up against an army from Hesla, it was predicted that the enemy was going to evacuate the base. Furthermore, this was only a supplemental base, not a main one; it was impossible for everyone to stay back and fight to their death.

However, evacuation was not an easy feat; too many people leaving at the same time risked leaving trails in the forest for the Hesla army to track. So, it was essential to leave some military personnel to stay behind and cover their tracks, while the officers and non-military personnel leave first with important supplies, which were more valuable than those armed guards. They would only get to leave after the more important personnel had evacuated safely.

The final Camp-Destroyer mission was to destroy the entire base, which included their personnel. If they only took hold of an empty base, the completion rating of the mission would be really low.

A thought suddenly occurred in Han Xiao's mind. They already know Hesla is going to attack the base; they should have evacuated by now. Ye Fan's team infiltrated the base last night, which was twenty-four hours ago. They should have had enough time to leave. This is strange.

A muscular-looking guy walked over and shouted, "What are you idling here for‽ Don't you have things to carry‽"

The guards apologized in great trepidation. It was the captain of the base's security team, Dormund, a buff Sharnuk.

A core member like him would definitely know the secrets about this base.

Dormund left after some reprimanding, and Han Xiao followed from a distance behind. After turning a few corners, Han Xiao was dumbfounded. He barely looked away for two seconds, and Dormund was already missing from his sight.

There was no one on the walkway, only a storage room.

Han Xiao walked over to the room and turned the knob. It was not locked.

He pushed the door open and walked inside. The room was about a hundred square meters, and it was filled with miscellaneous items, with no one else inside. The lamp was not switched on, and the light from the walkway shined through gap beneath the door.

Han Xiao knitted his brows as he suddenly realized something unusual.

The room was spotless, and the floor was clear of any footprints.

Normally, very few individuals would go into the storage room. Even five-star hotels would not send people to clean their storage unit like this, so it was impossible for the Germinal Organization to keep an ordinary storage room as immaculate as this.

There must be a secret door somewhere here. Otherwise, Dormund would not have disappeared so quickly. But Han Xiao could not locate the door.

What would be behind the secret door?

All of a sudden, Han Xiao pretended to cough while bending his back. He took this chance to take out the Spider from his pocket. He then threw it into the corner silently before leaving the room immediately. He took out his tablet in a spot that was hidden from the surveillance cameras, switched the Spider on, and stared at the storage room.

It took Han Xiao two hours of high intensity monitoring, during which he started to become quite weary, before that was some movement in the storage room.

One of the walls creaked open, and a secret metal door was shown. Two people, unarmed, walked out. They seemed to be technical staff.

There is my secret door.

As the two personnel left the room hurriedly, Han Xiao followed behind quietly. He suddenly sped up to bump onto the staff from the back. Three of them almost fell.

"Sorry. Sorry. I am really sorry about this," Han Xiao apologized as he stabilized the two staff with his hands.

They did not make a fuss over it and left.

Han Xiao turned around to continue following them. However, this time round, he had gotten a white card. It was an access card from the pocket of one of the two staff.

His stealing skill had come in really handy.

This card had no noticeable difference from the ordinary identity card from the base. However, Han Xiao believed that the chip inside should be different; it should have access to the secret door.

He followed the two staff for a while and arrived at the side gate of the base. The two greeted the door guard and left through the gate.

All of a sudden, Han Xiao realized what was wrong with the base.

Atmosphere!

Although most people were worried sick over the incoming Hesla attack, a small group of personnel still held on to their posts without any anxiety. They seemed to have some backup plans and were as calm as the sea—greatly contrasting the first group of personnel.

Han Xiao squinted and soon arrived at a reasonable deduction. However, he still needed some evidence to confirm his thought. He went forth toward the side gate before the door guard stopped him.

"You are not allowed to enter or leave the base without a mission."

Han Xiao took out the access card he had stolen and said, "I bumped into those two people just now, and they dropped this card. I want to return it to them before they walk away."

The door guard nodded his head before allowing Han Xiao to go.

Han Xiao walked out of the gate and saw a forested valley; it was already past midnight. The two staff were few hundred meters away, so one could only see their tiny back view. He chased them up quickly.

The staff turned around as they heard footsteps coming from behind and looked guarded.

"You dropped your access card."

As Han Xiao walked near, they realized that he was the colleague that they bumped into in the base beforehand. They let down their guard. One of the duo searched his pockets and exclaim, "Where did I drop the card‽ Thank you very much."

"You don't have to thank me. We are all comrades of the Germinal Organization, working hard to build a new tomorrow. This is just a part of my job."

Han Xiao smiled as he walked closer to them.

"You are quite an interesting guy."

The person laughed while he moved his hand over to grab the card. Han Xiao's face instantly turned serious, and he launched his attack all of a sudden. His fist punched hard onto the person's stomach, injuring the internal organs with its shear force. The person stared with astonishment, as his vomited. The other person almost screamed before Han Xiao quickly grabbed his neck to choke him. He them slammed his head onto the floor and slapped them as hard as could, knocking them out.

Han Xiao took off his belt to tie the two personnel. He dragged them behind him while taking a big detour to avoid all the sentry posts. As soon as he had moved far enough away from the base, he slapped the two awake.

They woke up with faces full of horror. "You…you are not from the base!"

Han Xiao took out his foldable machete and rubbed its blade. He was clearly threatening them. He said in an ice-cold voice, "I know the two of you know something that the ordinary members are kept in the dark about. You'd better tell me honestly now."

They gulped in fear and stuttered, "We are just low-ranking members who do not know anything."

"Low-ranking?" Han Xiao laughed before he moved his knife swiftly toward one man's crotch.

"Ahhhh…"

The person screamed as if his soul was tearing apart, like a pig that was being butchered. But he suddenly realized he was not in pain. He looked down and saw the shiny blade had grazed past his inner thigh and cut into the soil beneath. It was only three centimeters from his genitalia. His crotch could feel the chill from the cold metal blade.

"I know that is a secret door in the storage room. Tell me everything you know, or I will make you the first eunuch in the Germinal Organization," Han Xiao said in a murderous tone.

Although they did not know what a eunuch was, Han Xiao's action was quite telling. They were badly shaken up immediately.

"How… how did you learn about the secret door‽"

"I am the one asking questions." Han Xiao lifted his machete to brush his genitalia gently, as if he would just lop it off at any moment. He was so frightened that he almost peed his pants and… He really peed his pants? Damn… my machete!

The two staff looked crestfallen. Since the secret was out, there was no point in hiding. They spilled the intel as they trembled in fear.

After ten minutes…

Han Xiao's brows were knitted tightly together.

"No wonder…"

[Reconnaissance 2 completed. You gained 8,000 EXP]

Chapter 79: Suspicion

Dawn, at the secret base…

All the agents were busy packing their equipment as it was time for them to evacuate.

"Brother Xiao, Brother Xiao! Where are you?" Lin Yao slapped on the door of the truck's container. He looked frustrated. He had been trying to find Han Xiao for the past fifteen minutes, but his efforts had been futile. The rest of the agents from Division 13 were running out of patience.

"He is not in the truck. Where could he possibly have gone?" Li Ya Lin was puzzled.

Everyone looked at one another and did not have a single clue.

Last night, Han Xiao had mentioned that he wanted to stay on the truck, but now, he was not there. What exactly did he do last night?

"What is your team's plan?" Qi Bai Jia said to Zhang Wei's team.

"We are going to stay back to wait for his return," Zhang Wei replied.

"Is there a need to do so?" Di Su Su was rather surprised.

"Because the truck key is with him!" Zhang Wei was gnashing his teeth in great anger, and the vein on his forehead was about to pop at any moment.

Everyone was rendered speechless, not sure whether they were lucky or unlucky to have such a member on their team.

Qi Bai Jia was very displeased as he hated any unexpected changes during a mission. Just when he thought Han Xiao had a clear understanding of the big picture, he caused trouble like this.

I must be blind! Any team member who acts on their own accord without following any order is a rascal!

If something went haywire, Qi Bai Jia would have to assume the responsibility!

Han Xiao was such a jackass!

…

The Hesla agents stationed on the other side discovered Division 13's unusual behavior, and they started discussing secretly.

"Some of the Division 13's agents are intending to stay behind."

"I thought we agreed to move together?" Ye Fan frowned. He went to find Qi Bai Jia to get an answer on this. After which, he came back and explained the reason to the Hesla agents.

"Who is the agent missing?"

"It was the agent that was wearing the mask; his name is Han Xiao."

"It's him." Winna's face suddenly tensed up, and said, "Last night, when we received the intel, Han Xiao rejected it without any supporting evidence, and then he was gone for the whole night without leaving a message. This seems quite suspicious. Is it possible that he is a… spy?"

All the Hesla agents startled.

"Be careful of your words." Ye Fan frowned. He did not buy that deduction, but Han Xiao's actions definitely aroused his suspicion. "We will report all the facts to the commanding officer when we get back to the army camp."

….

After all the other agents left, Zhang Wei and the other three teammates stayed back at the base.

Lin Yao could not help asking, "Where did Han Xiao go and what is he going to do exactly?"

"How would I know? He did not say anything to me last night." Li Ya Lin rolled her eyes.

Zhang Wei shook his head as he felt irritated; that guy had zero respect for his team leader!

…

The other agents arrived at the border several hours later.

Winna and Ye Fan went to report to Colonel Carl immediately.

"A Division 13 agent was missing for the entire night?" Colonel Carl walked back and forth, and his brows furrowed.

"Is this 100% true?" he asked.

Winna nodded. "He left last night without telling anyone, and it was right after we uncovered the intel about the Dark Crow Valley base."

"Although it seems suspicious, this does not mean that he is a spy," Ye Fan added.

Colonel Carl nodded slowly. "I will go and clarify this with Stardragon a while later. Now, tell me more about the intel."

"The captive that we brought in passed our lie detector test, which means that everything he said was true. Furthermore, Ye Fan personally hacked their network to gather all this intel. We can guarantee its authenticity!" said Winna.

Colonel Carl's eyes turned sharp as he said decisively, "Then let's attack immediately before anything changes!"

Ye Fan was hesitant. "The Division 13 agents left at the secret base will be in danger if the army attacks now."

"To achieve our strategic objective, it is reasonable to sacrifice one or two people from Stardragon. Since they are not from our country, we need not care so much." Colonel Carl did not give it a second thought.

At the same time, after taking a long, indirect route, Han Xiao finally brought the two captives to where he had hidden his toolbox, bypassing all the detectors and sentry posts. The whole journey had been arduous and onerous; he was so tired by then that he almost wanted to puke blood. The captives were not wearing camouflage suits, so he'd had to spend hours to bypass the alert areas.

Fortunately, they were the technical staff in charge of the testing detectors and landmines, so they provided much valuable information. Otherwise, he would not have left without alerting anyone.

However, the captives had tried to lure him into a high-alert area to expose him once, but he'd realized immediately. He had punished them harshly before they cooperated fully with him.

The Sun was shining brightly above the sky. Han Xiao calculated the time and sighed. "Crap, I went beyond the stipulated time. I guess all the other agents have already left."

He dug out his toolbox and took out his radio equipment to contact Zhang Wei.

"Hello. Hello. Yangtze River. Yangtze River. This is Yellow River. Please reply if you can hear me."

"Yellow your head!" Zhang Wei's fury could be heard through the earpiece. "Where exactly did you go? You were missing for the whole night, and all the other agents left. We could only stay at the base and wait for you!"

"That's right. You'd better make up for this. I want new equipment!" Li Ya Lin chimed in on the radio channel. One could hear the annoyance in her voice and imagine her pouting; it was actually a little cute.

Han Xiao shook his head and started acting more seriously. "I infiltrated the Dark Crow Valley base and discovered top-classified intel!"

"Let me get Officer Qi for you," Zhang Wei said with a look of solemnity.

…

Qi Bai Jia received the radio message at the border army camp.

"Zhang Wei, what are you calling me for? Is Han Xiao back?" he asked.

"He wants to speak with you."

"He'd better cook up a good explanation for his actions." Qi Bai Jia was clearly displeased.

After Han Xiao was connected to the channel, he said, "I just received the intel saying that the Dark Crow Valley base has two sectors: the outer sector and the inner sector. The outer sector is where all the low-ranking personnel work, while the inner sector is where the core members stationed themselves. The inner sector is hidden deeper in the mountainous valley, and the low-ranking personnel outside are not even aware of its existence. The information about the inner sector is classified for all the low-ranking personnel, and the path connecting the two sectors is always blocked…"

The two captives had told him that the base was divided into two sectors. The inner sector was hidden deeper in the mountains, where all the important supplies were stored. It was the real core of the base. The higher ups in the base did not tell the periphery personnel anything about the inner base. So, it was a secret to many of the Germinal Organization personnel. In their previous lives, the 'real' players did not even know the existence of the inner base.

The inner base had many evacuation routes. The core members could leave without leaving a trace. They were very cunning in the sense that each of these roads was classified. Nobody knew which path they would take before the actual evacuation was decided by the top leadership of the base.

Qi Bai Jia understood the importance of this information immediately. If Hesla did not know about the existence of the inner sector of the base and the army went ahead to attack the outer base, they would simply retreat when they took down the outer base, declaring it a military success. In that case, the core force of the enemy would be entirely unharmed, and the inner base would remain safe. The enemy could move back secretly in the future, ensuring that hideout was secure from the enemies.

Qi Bai Jia was dumbfounded. He could not believe that Han Xiao's solo act could bear such critical intel!

"Cough, cough. Even though it was a move well played, I still have to emphasize that it is unacceptable to act on your own without any orders.

"Hold on for a while. I will report this to the commanding officer immediately!"

Qi Bai Jia was stopped by the deputy officer when he requested to meet Colonel Carl. He waited anxiously for five minutes before was allowed to go into the office. He realized Ye Fan and Winna were there too.

Colonel Carl looked at Qi Bai Jia and asked, "What do you have for me?"

"One of my team members just discovered some critical information that needs to be reported to you."

"Han Xiao?"

"Yes."

Qi Bai Jia nodded, but he did not realize that the other three started having a weird look.

Colonel Carl's eyes flickered. "Speak."

Han Xiao repeated what he said before, and at the end, he added, "If we attack brashly, we will only take down an empty shell. I hope we can pause the operation until our guys get hold of the enemy's evacuation time, evacuation route, and the detailed structure of the inner base. By doing so, we can directly kill their evacuating troops and prevent a direct attack against their fortification. This will greatly reduce our casualties."

Colonel Carl was expressionless after he heard everything.

"Where did you get this intel from?" he suddenly asked.

"I infiltrated the base by disguising my face, and I managed to capture two personnel from the inner base…"

All of a sudden, Colonel Carl yelled, "You are lying!"

To Colonel Carl, it was impossible for Han Xiao to infiltrate, even if he said he could disguise his face. It would take at least tens of minutes to make a legitimate face mask. During that time frame, Han Xiao would have faced all kinds of danger. At the same time, he could not predict which enemy he would encounter next, so it was impossible for him to make the face mask beforehand. So, it was an impossible situation that Han Xiao could never achieve.

Han Xiao was startled. He realized that these people did not know the capability of his Facial Simulator.

The function of the Facial Simulator was his trump card. He would not divulge such information. However, without exposing it, he could not explain the details of his infiltration.

"I have the capability to do so." Han Xiao had to give an ambiguous answer.

"Unless you can demonstrate, there is no way we can believe you."

Colonel Carl was still expressionless, but he was more untrusting of Han Xiao's words.

This person… is really suspicious!

Chapter 80: Bold Move

Han Xiao's brows furrowed.

"Do you have any evidence to support your claim?" Qi Bai Jia quickly provided a solution as he trusted Han Xiao. However, Hesla had a different position. Both parties were mutually untrusting toward each other.

Han Xiao paused and said, "I have two captives with me. You can test them with a lie detector to confirm that I am not lying."

Colonel Carl squinted. "Well then, you can bring them over."

Qi Bai Jia heaved a sigh of relief. Although he was skeptical of how Han Xiao had managed to infiltrate the base, he chose to believe that Han Xiao had his own ways.

Fortunately, he had captives to prove to them that what he said was true.

However, after the radio connection was cut off, Colonel Carl told his deputy, "Order the troops to move out. Our target will be the Dark Crow Valley."

Qi Bai Jia was stunned—it was the complete opposite of what was previously promised.

Colonel Carl was reluctant to explain his rationale. It would take Han Xiao a few hours to bring the so-called captives in, and if Han Xiao was to play tricks and delay further, the enemies from the Dark Crow Valley base might seize the opportunity to evacuate completely before his troops could reach the target. As the commanding officer, he would not simply alter his decision based on certain unverified intel.

He was more inclined to trust Ye Fan's intel; it had witnesses, evidence, and originated from reliable sources.

Colonel Carl believed that he would not risk any damage for moving out earlier even if Han Xiao was right. Han Xiao could still bring the captives to him. The only difference was that the base would be on high alert earlier, and that would cause danger to Han Xiao's team.

But, he didn't care about the lives of a bunch of Stardragon agents. Even if they were killed, the Hesla top-level officers would not look into it. Someone from Hesla would naturally block the protests from Division 13.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had already provided the information about the inner base. Colonel Carl did not give a hoot whether or not Han Xiao could prove his story. He could verify this information himself after he took down the base.

"My men are still stationed near the base. Your rash attack will put them in great danger!" Qi Bai Jia was clearly enraged.

"Such a great opportunity may pass at any moment. We cannot risk a delay because of one or two agents. Since they are agents themselves, I am sure they can understand the bigger picture," Carl replied calmly.

"Objection!"

Qi Bai Jia's face was filled with anger.

"It's not your place to disagree." Carl pressed on an electric bell to summon a section of troopers; they pointed their rifles at Qi Bai Jia. "Send our 'friends' from Stardragon to the vehicles. We will move out together later. I do not want them to communicate with anyone else as that may leak our plan, so remove all of their communication devices."

Carl emphasized the word 'friends' to stress his point.

Qi Bai Jia was so furious that his body started shaking vigorously.

"Sigh. How did things come to this stage?" Ye Fan was bereft of words. Han Xiao had suggested a conservative method, while Carl was more radical. Neither was wrong, but Carl was the commanding officer, and Han Xiao was only a subordinate. Furthermore, they were not from Hesla.

Winna watched coldly from the side.

….

After the connection was cut off, Han Xiao's face blackened.

He had a hunch; Carl was a radical commanding officer, so he would most likely attack in advance.

This guy is eager for a quick success. Han Xiao was clearly irked. It seemed like he had to complete the mission by himself since time was running out.

However, he only knew about the existence of inner base but not the enemy's evacuation route and time. He needed to infiltrate again to gather more information.

This time, Han Xiao did not plan to accomplish it himself. To achieve his plan, infiltrating alone was not the optimal option.

The best option for a partner was actually Lin Yao, a hacker that could be planted inside the base. Like a computer virus, he could cut the enemy's communication network at the critical junctures, rendering them blind and deaf.

Therefore, he had to make two facial masks based on the two captives. There were molds and make-up tools in the truck storage. Thus, he could craft the masks in an hour or so.

Han Xiao forced his mind to focus and used his remaining energy to drag the two captives toward their secret base. He reached it in the afternoon, and his teammates came out to welcome him.

"Are you alright?" Lin Yao quickly came forward to support the exhausted Han Xiao.

Han Xiao shook his head and said, "There is not much time left. We need to make two facial masks based on the captives. Lin Yao and Lambert will use their identity cards to infiltrate the inner base. I will explain the details later."

"Brother Xiao…Brother Xiao, I have no experience in spying. Can you give the job to another person? " Lin Yao's face turned pale due to the overwhelming fear.

"You are our only hacker, so it has got to be you."

Lin Yao looked petrified.

"I will take the other slot." Li Ya Lin volunteered herself.

Han Xiao peeked at her and shook his head without any hesitation.

"What are you trying imply? Are you looking down on me?" Li Ya Lin was infuriated.

"These things are too big, making them hard to conceal." Han Xiao pointed at her breasts.

Li Ya Lin was speechless.

Lin Yao anxiously grabbed onto Han Xiao's sleeve and said in a hopeful voice, "Brother Xiao, are you going in with me then?"

"Nah. I won't. This mission is too dange… cough… too simple for me. It is not challenging enough for me!"

You definitely said something fishy there! Lin Yao and Li Ya Lin were screaming in their hearts.

"I shall do it then," Zhang Wei said.

Han Xiao shook his head again. "No, you can't. No one else can operate the armored suit. And, you are the team leader."

" Oh , so you still know that I'm the team leader?" Zhang Wei gave a bitter smile. Ever since the appearance of Han Xiao, he had become a mere figurehead.

There was only one possible candidate left.

"It has been decided that it will be you!" Han Xiao pointed at Lambert.

"…" Lambert.

"Oh my god. I am definitely going to die." Lin Yao was exasperated.

Lambert slapped the back of Lin Yao's head with an expressionless look as he was unhappy with Lin Yao's attitude at the decision; he made it seem so much worse than choosing Han Xiao.

…

One of the team members drove the truck closer toward Dark Crow Valley so that they didn't need to walk so far, while the rest were busy putting on make-up to disguise the two unlucky souls. They parked the truck right outside the alert zone.

After more than an hour, Lambert and Lin Yao's disguises were completed. They looked exactly like the two captives. After putting on micro-earphones, they held the access cards and entered the Dark Crow Valley base from the side gate.

"Brother Xiao, how concrete is this plan?" Lin Yao asked Han Xiao softly.

"If you dream of its success with sincerity, you will make it."

Lin Yao felt a clot of blood stuck in his throat as he was made speechless by that answer. He turned to Lambert for more assurance.

"Are you not afraid?" Lin Yao asked Lambert in a quiet voice.

"To accomplish the mission, we must try even if there was only a slight possibility of success," Lambert said calmly.

"Well said. You seem to be very dedicated to the mission."

"…" Lambert.

Soon, the two of them arrived at the gate. Lin Yao was so nervous that his jaw was trembling.

"Will we get exposed?"

"The more nervous you appear, the easier it will be for you to be exposed." Lambert patted Lin Yao's shoulder and reassured him.

Lin Yao took out his access card after he had gathered his senses.

The security guards checked the access cards, and shortly after, they opened the gate for them.

They then walked to the storage room under Han Xiao's instruction. They found the access card reader and successfully opened the secret door using the two captives' access cards. A metal pathway appeared before them.

The pathway was long; it took them ten minutes to reach the inner base.

The defenses were much tighter in the inner base, and many computer screens were seen hung on the walls. The enemy personnel were busy moving supplies and data.

Lambert and Lin Yao looked each other in the eye.

Now, they were really deep inside the enemy's base!

All of a sudden, a screeching alarm was heard in the base, and the lights turned red.

Lin Yao was scared to death as he thought that they had been discovered. Lambert frowned slightly and held onto Lin Yao.

"Calm down. The alarm was not triggered by us," he said softly.

The personnel in the base were whispering to one another.

"What is happening?"

"Is the enemy invading us?"

Ji Jie walked out calmly and updated everyone, "Be quiet. Hesla's border troops are advancing toward the base. The military personnel in the outer base have already set up the necessary defenses. They will be able to hold our enemy back long enough for us to get ready to evacuate.

Lin Yao's expression changed, and he whispered anxiously over the radio, "You guys must leave now!"

Chapter 81: A Bug Named Giggs

As expected, Carl did not choose to wait; instead, he ordered the early deployment of his troops.

Zhang Wei violently slammed the tabled and screamed, "Damn it! It took Han Xiao so much effort to obtain the critical intelligence, but now this lot are going to leave us in the lurch!"

Such a scenario had been predicted by Han Xiao, and therefore, he looked rather calm. The rest were puzzled when they saw Han Xiao being so composed. Through the communication set, he ordered Lin Yao and Lambert, "You guys remain undercover. Always keep your safety at the front of your mind. We are going to retreat soon."

"Copy that!"

There was an air of uneasiness around Zhang Wei and Li Ya. The truck was parked not far away from the Dark Crow Valley base, and once the base entered the battle mode, more enemy troopers would be deployed. The tracks of the truck would definitely be discovered quickly.

There was no time to waste.

"Li Ya Lin, you are in charge of driving the truck!"

Li Ya Lin was a pugilist, and she would not be able to launch attacks while they were driving anyway. Therefore, she did not disagree with Han Xiao's decision.

Han Xiao and Zhang Wei stayed in the container, where they were able to carry out their strikes at the enemy.

Li Ya Lin stepped hard on the accelerator, making no effort to cover their tracks. The engine of the truck blared, and the tires started to spray the mud and soil from the ground. The truck moved forward loudly.

In a while, the sounds of approaching vehicles could be heard. The retreating party could feel the heavy beating of their hearts. Through the window, Han Xiao could see a large group of armored jeeps chasing behind their truck. The headlights of these jeeps could be seen flashing around the truck. There were more than ten jeeps around, and each had a heavy machine gun attached.

"We have been discovered." Zhang Wei's heart sank.

Han Xiao was not affected by the heavy rocking of the moving truck. He started preparing the weapons to be used for the impending battle.

"Drive fast, Ya Lin!" Zhang Wei yelled.

"I know!" Li Ya Lin replied, biting her lips. She was trying to change gear to speed up even more. The full power of the truck's engine was unleashed, and it growled like an enraged beast. The anti-slip tires left deep marks in the moist ground. The uneven, hilly terrain and winding paths caused the truck's body to spring away from its tires as a result of the shock absorbance effect created by the vehicle's suspension. Even with the suspension working well, the truck rocked violently.

Han Xiao peeked out of the window in the container and saw the enemy's jeeps closing in.

"Can't you go faster?" Zhang Wei shouted.

"This is a truck, not a sports car!" Li Ya Lin was evidently irritated by Zhang Wei's comments.

"The four buttons beside the gear lever can be used to activate the nitro boost," Han Xiao said.

"You added nitro boost to the truck‽" Li Ya Lin was shocked yet excited to try it out.

"Do not activate the boost now. We are still travelling through dense vegetation, and you may destroy the truck with it. Use this to pick up more speed once we reach the plains!"

Da da da da…

The enemy troopers from the jeeps started firing their machine guns. Thick smoke emerged from the guns' barrels. Countless enemy bullets were sprayed at them. However, the shots fired from further away were largely inaccurate. The firing encompassed a huge radius, and trees along the way were getting destroyed. Some bullets also managed to scrape the surface of the container, and sparks were created from friction.

Li Ya Lin glanced at the rear mirror, and the next moment, the rear mirror was destroyed by a bullet. She cursed in silence. The heavy truck was difficult to control; it rocked violently as she tried to evade the oncoming trees that were obstructing the path. She could feel the pain in her butt due to all the incessant vibrations of the vehicle. The contents of the truck were flying all around, and Han Xiao had to use locks to fasten the weapons and machinery in place.

The two prisoners were sitting at the corner of the container, trembling profusely.

The Sun was setting, and it looked as if the skies had been stained red with blood.

Dozens of armored jeeps were engaged in the intense pursuit of the fleeing truck. The enemy troopers were fast approaching, and bullets were fired everywhere; gunshots could be heard all over the forest. The blares of the engines sounded like the roars of a wild dragon. The Wanderers who were at Crow Forest Town could hear the sounds of battle and started to search for the source of the faint sounds.

Closer and closer… closer and closer!

Suddenly, a truck emerged from the forest and entered Crow Forest Town like an uncontrollable rhinoceros. It crashed into a building, which instantly crumbled under the huge impact. The shape of the crash barrier at the head of the truck became warped.

The truck sped past the streets.

The Wanderers on the streets were shocked and quickly searched for shelters to hide. Only after confirming that the truck had driven past did they come out of hiding. Many of them were confused and astonished. Before they could even calm down, the armored jeeps entered the town, driving recklessly. Many buildings were destroyed, and it was a complete mess.

It was raining bullets, and many Wanderers were shot by stray bullets. Screams of pain could be heard all around, and the ground was drenched with blood.

The final rays of light from the sun disappeared, and night fell. The truck was finally at the edge of the forest, and the obstacle-free plains appeared before it. The headlights from the armored jeeps illuminated the darkness like a Light Dragon.

There was no obstacle blocking the way on the plains, so it was easier for the armored jeeps to close the gap.

Nearer and near they came. Six hundred, five hundred, four hundred meters!

"Zhang Wei, change into your armor!"

Zhang Wei felt a surge of adrenaline. Even before the command, he had prepared for the moment of his 'suit up'. Upon activating the armor, he noticed an immediate difference. The internal skeletal system provided power for all movements, and therefore, there was no need for his own strength to be used. His vision was also enhanced with the analysis interface. Chains of battle data flashed on the display. There was even an enhanced scope that offered greater shot accuracy.

Zhang Wei widened his eyes in disbelief.

"It is so powerful!"

Han Xiao loaded the high-explosive rounds into his sniper rifle and replied confidently, "This is only a simple modification."

It was right to have spent the $36,000 on the suit.

Ding ding dang dang!

The clanging of the bullets that were crashing against armor became denser!

"Retaliate now!" Han Xiao growled, and following that, Zhang Wei kicked open the door of the container. He had a clear vision of what was in front of him. The head armor covered the fury in his eyes. He lifted the triple barrel machine gun and started firing.

"Tu tu tu tu––"

The high frequency gunshots created thunderous blasts. Thick ember emerged from the wild firing formed around the gun's barrel. Shells were spat out of the gun and fell to the ground. The large, long bullets coupled with traces of ember were directed at the armored jeeps.

Boom! The bulletproof windows of two jeeps were shattered, and the passengers of the jeep were crushed.

Zhang Wei held two chains of bullets tightly. The chains extended all the way behind his back and led to a box. The box contained the ammunition that Han Xiao prepared; Zhang Wei had sufficient ammunition to spray to his heart's content.

The dozens of armored jeeps dispersed from their formation to evade the shots from Zhang Xiao. The enemy troopers fired back using the machine guns mounted on the jeeps.

Zhang Wei was standing right at the opening of the container wearing his armor. The exterior of the suit was made up of the Platinum Alloy. Zhang Wei mounted the hexagonal shield before his body to shield himself from the bullets. Most of the bullets were blocked by the thick armor.

Han Xiao raised the sniper rifle and started firing the high-explosive rounds. The rounds set the jeeps aflame. The enemy drivers started panicking, and once the flames reached the jeeps' engines, they were forced to stop.

However, more jeeps were approaching, and bullet holes could be seen on the external armor of the truck.

The distance was sufficient!

Han Xiao put aside his sniper rifle and grabbed the mechanical dragonfly explosives from the box. He threw them forward as if they were free of charge. The mechanical dragonflies glided close to the ground, and they were detonated once they reached the jeeps.

Boom!

The armored jeeps were overturned by the explosions, and the momentum from the blast resulted in the jeeps tumbling in midair before landing. Once the flames reached the fuel tanks of the jeeps, it resulted in a second explosion that caused more deaths.

The never-ending death toll started flashing on the tablet's interface.

Every delayed explosion caused by the mechanical dragonfly could kill four to eight enemy troopers in the jeep. In addition to the kills, EXP was also awarded for the destruction of the vehicle. Therefore, every jeep destroyed generated 5,000 to 7,000 EXP for Han Xiao. The rewards motivated Han Xiao greatly, and he strove to cause greater damage with the explosives.

[Direct Conflict completed. You gained 35,000 EXP!]

"Ah!"

Hysterical screams were heard. Han Xiao turned back his head only to realize that the two enemy troopers who were held captive had been killed by the flying bullets. Instantly, Han Xiao's heart sank.

"The prisoners are dead!"

The firepower coming from the jeep started to lessen; the enemy troopers were afraid of the attacking abilities of the truck

A single truck had managed to destroy twenty armored jeeps. It was definitely a scary fact for the enemies.

"I can see the military forces of Hesla!" Li Ya Lin screamed in excitement.

Han Xiao looked ahead and saw the army of vehicles operated by the Hesla military.

…

"Commander, there seem to be skirmishes ahead of us!'

Carl looked at the video feed on the operation vehicle and was thoroughly shocked.

More than twenty armored jeeps were chasing after the bullet-hole-riddled heavy-duty truck. He then saw the trail of overturned jeeps that had been set ablaze.

Carl was suspicious of the situation.

These agents from Division 13 really had a substantial and fierce firepower.

There were not many operation teams that had such strong fighting abilities that could rival with those of modern militaries. A smaller team enabled greater flexibility in operations. Usually, such operation teams were considered the best of their kind. He suppressed his initial shock. Following that, he squinted and started looking back and forth.

Winna and Ye Fan were also astonished by the sight before their eyes.

A single truck had managed to survive the attack of an army of armored jeeps. Also, it had managed to wipe out half of the total enemy count.

"It's surprising that the truck can still move after withstanding a thousand shots!"

Even though the truck was almost wrecked, it could still travel freely like a wild dog on steroids. The truck had undergone some sort of modification. A grenade exploded on the armor of the truck, yet the explosion only caused minor change, barely denting the armor. In the same situation, a normal vehicle would have been blasted into multiple pieces.

What sort of metal was it made of‽

Too strong!

Even the agents for Division 13 were confused.

Since when did Zhang Wei's team possess such powerful fighting capabilities?

Could a mechanic really elevate the firepower of a team so much?

Chapter 82: The Unexpected Betrayal

The armored jeeps started to flee from the scene by turning in the opposite direction.

Carl's eyes lit up, and he ordered, "Provide fire support and blast everything in the vicinity!"

Carl's assistant understood the hidden agenda behind Carl's order. He was shocked but still carried out the order. The area of attack was locked in.

The team of vehicles equipped with missile launchers moved forward, and in an instant, the rockets were launched.

The truck fell inside the radius of the missile strike!

The agents from Division 13 were sharp-eyed and figured out what Carl was trying to do. They were enraged and astonished.

The assistant officer explained, "Damn it, we miscalculated the radius of the attack."

Such words were only sufficient to fool little kids. The agents from Division 13 were not convinced, and the enraged Qi Bai Jia shouted, "Carl, what do you think you are doing‽"

Carl did not reply. His face was expressionless, and his eyes were cold as ice.

Too bad! You guys do not belong to Hesla.

Li Ya Lin could clearly see the flaming exhaust of the rockets, which also signified the impending destruction their team was going to face. She screamed, "They want to send us up to heaven too!"

"Hesla's commanders did it on purpose!" Zhang Wei was furious.

Even though tension was bound to occur during joint operations involving different countries, nobody expected the commanding officer from Hesla to make such a brutal move. Also, he could shirk off the responsibility by conveniently claiming that it was an accident.

Only radicals would result to such despicable measures—the killing of their allies and the neglecting of consequences!

The Germinal Organization was a common enemy of the Six Nations. All the parties agreed on counter-terrorism efforts. However, the different parties involved were not allies, and some even had conflicts with one another. The higher-ups of the nations were pretentious and hypocritical. They were also willing to sacrifice those beneath them to attain their goals.

Han Xiao focused and shouted, "Nitro boost!"

Li Ya Lin immediately pressed the button. Blue flames emerged from the exhaust of the truck. The acceleration of the truck was exponentially increased, charging forward like a wild rhinoceros. Li Ya Lin was pressed hard onto her seat by the surging momentum.

The rockets began to descend quickly. Three hundred, two hundred, one hundred, fifty meters.

Boom!

Finally, the blast arrived and created a wave of heat that resulted in a mushroom cloud of dust. The flaming smoke rose on the plains. At that instant, everyone lost their senses. The sound of the blast exceeded the audible range of the human ear. It was as if the whole world had fallen silent. All that was left was a rising glow, which illuminated the night sky.

Everything within the radius of the strike, regardless of vehicles or humans, had been demolished.

After three seconds, an incessant ringing became audible.

Rage and fury were written on the faces of the agents from Division 13.

Grief could be observed from the killer eyes of Di Su Su; a green flame was burning silently in her heart.

Whoosh!

The wind started howling.

The heavy-duty truck emerged out of the thick dark smoke. Only a small section of the container had been blown apart. Some of the machinery and accessories had been reduced to scrap metal.

"They are still alive!"

The agents from Division 13 were surprised. Li Ya Lin was not yet out of her state of shock. It had really just been a matter of a few meters. They were really lucky to have escaped the radius of the strike in time. If not for the nitro boost, all of them would have vanished into thin air.

Han Xiao coughed out the blood from his throat. He'd suffered from injuries due to the shockwave of the blast. Almost 200 HP had been lost due to the blast. The second blast had sent him crashing into the hard wall of the container, costing him another 50 HP. Han Xiao was still feeling giddy from the aftershock of the blast.

After the nitro boost, the engine was overheating, but it still managed move forward till it reached the Hesla soldiers.

After seeing countless bullet holes on the container, the soldiers of Hesla could feel the chills up their spines.

What a tough battle they'd had.

"What a pity. They managed to survive." Carl frowned in disappointment.

After Han Xiao alighted from the truck, the agents from Division 13 started to crowd before him. Qi Bai Jia, who broke out into cold sweat, heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing that Han Xiao was alive and well.

Carl walked toward the agents.

Instantly, the agents from Division 13 glowered furiously at him. Zhang Wei, clad in his armor, gritted his teeth and moved toward Carl. The soldiers at the side immediately raised their weapon and pointed at the agents. The assistant officer bellowed, "What do you want? Back off!"

"I want an explanation!" Zhang Wei yelled.

Explanation? How childish.

Carl ignored Zhang Wei and glanced at Han Xiao. He asked flippantly, "Where are the captured enemies?"

"…Dead."

Carl's order to strike ahead of the stipulated time had caused immense danger for them. The two captured enemies had also been killed. More importantly, Carl had tried to kill them. It was obvious that he had done these things on purpose.

Han Xiao shut his eyes to conceal the ice-cold chill in them.

"No more evidence, I suppose?" Carl frowned with a look of discontent. His poor attitude angered the agents from Division 13 even more. However, they were rational enough to keep their cool as they were, ultimately, in a foreign land surrounded by soldiers from Hesla.

Qi Bai Jia could not contain his anger and lashed out, "Prepare to be questioned by Division 13!"

Carl couldn't care less. Division 13 had no jurisdiction over him. Moreover, what happened just was an 'accident'; there was no evidence to justify that he had done it on purpose. At most, he would be reprimanded by the foreign diplomats. He would not have to face any real punishment.

If he managed to destroy the Dark Crow Valley base, it would truly be a great achievement. With the help of his backers, he was highly likely to be promoted to the leading figure for the radicals in the government. No matter how Division 13 complained about him, the higher-ups in Hesla would be there to fend off these complaints.

Carl thought to himself. After which he pointed at Han Xiao and said, "Take him to the medic. Let them check his injuries."

Han Xiao had no expression on his face. He followed the medic to the logistics vehicle. All his injuries were due to the shock on his soft body. With his endurance, he would recover quickly with a sufficient amount of rest. Therefore, he dismissed the medic.

The logistics vehicle started its engine. Hesla's troops continued their advance.

Han Xiao shook his head, closed his eyes, and then proceeded to lie on his bed.

He had not slept since yesterday. Now was the right time for him to catch up on his sleep.

…

The sounds of gunshots could be heard. Han Xiao was a light sleeper, and he opened his eyes. He alighted from the vehicle and realized it was midnight, around 3 to 4 am.

At this point of time, Hesla's troops had arrived at the border of the high-alert sectors of the Dark Crow Valley base. The six high-alert sectors comprised not only of sentry guards and patrolling troopers, there were also large defense mechanisms put in place like ramparts and guardhouses that were fortified with enemy troops. In the event of war, Hesla's army would have to go past the six high-alert sectors before they closed in on the actual base itself.

Han Xiao, who was now with the logistics division, was far from the battlefront.

Han Xiao asked the two soldiers guarding by his side, "What's the situation of the battlefront?"

One of the soldiers replied, "Everything is proceeding smoothly. Our troops have successfully reached the fourth sector."

Han Xiao nodded, and just when he was about to proceed out, the two soldiers blocked his path.

"The Colonel wants you to rest and recover from your injuries here."

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao realized that he had been intentionally imprisoned here by the Colonel. Han Xiao frowned and asked, "Where are my friends?"

"Your officer also tasked us to look after you and ensure that you have sufficient rest."

Han Xiao understood the intentions of Qi Bai Jia. He did not want Han Xiao to risk his life anymore. Ultimately, Han Xiao had almost been killed by the flaming missiles. Qi Bai Jia wanted to keep Han Xiao away from the battlefront.

Such a move is better for my plan, Han Xiao thought.

Han Xiao turned his head and saw the truck being towed away. The escape mission had almost destroyed the entire truck. Without a full repair, the truck would surely be not usable.

Han Xiao's eyes suddenly lit up before he proceeded toward the heavy-duty truck.

The two soldiers guarding him allowed him to do so. Han Xiao was free to go anywhere as long as he stayed away from the battlefront in the logistics zone.

He entered the container and discovered that all the important equipment was still around. Only the bodies of the two captured soldiers had been disposed of. Han Xiao took out the communication set from the box and adjusted it to Lin Yao's frequency.

"Lin Yao, are you still alive?"

"Of course, I am, but don't jinx it! " Lin Yao's unfriendly voice blared out from the earpiece.

"What's the situation now?"

"We are preparing for the retreat. Apparently, according to the higher-ups in the base, the troops stationed around the base were all deployed to fight Hesla's army. I have yet to discover their path of retreat. Seems like I'll have to follow the order to locate the exact route. Oh, I also managed to find out the false information that Ye Fan collected. The defense mechanism and deployment between the third and sixth sectors were true. However, the first and second sectors were different. If Hesla's troops attack according to the information Ye Fan provided, they are bound to suffer heavy losses."

"Have you told them yet?"

"Nope, you are the first guy that contacted me."

"That's good. Don't tell that to Hesla's people."

Lin Yao was confused and asked, "Why so?"

Han Xiao told him the series of events that had happened previously. Upon hearing the incident of the misfire of the missiles, Lin Yao's blood started boiling with rage. "That is just too much!"

Carl revealed his intention to wipe out his allies, so it was no longer logical for Division 13 to continue assisting him in the operation and minimize his losses.

The intelligence that Han Xiao provided was all aimed at eliminating Pan Kuang and Ji Jie, who were high-value members of the Germinal Organization. Only the successful elimination of them would ensure the mission's success. Carl treated them like they were merely tools. Now it was time for Han Xiao to reciprocate. They wanted his intelligence reports, and he wanted their troops. Both parties were merely using each other to their advantage.

As long as Hesla's army accomplished the mission using his intelligence, he could not have cared less about the number of troops they lost.

What Han Xiao had not expected was Carl's intention to kill them.

"It is time for a change of plan."

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled brightly.

Chapter 83: The Superhumans of Aquamarine

Morning was always the best time of the day. Likewise, morning was also the best time to fight a battle.

The previous night, the Hesla troops had managed to clear the fourth high-alert sector. Carl had ordered his troops to rest for an hour before continuing their advancement at first light. They wanted to reach the base in one final attack.

As the sun rose, the Hesla troops were fighting the enemies at the third high-alert sector.

Boom, boom, boom!

The endless blasts were thunderous, and the enshrouded the battleground in smoke. The entire forest was wrecked by the hail of bullets and artillery strikes, the used shells of which were littered everywhere.

The soldiers from Hesla, coupled with the armored vehicles, managed to take down the defense mechanisms in place. One after another, fortresses, sentry-posts, and trenches were destroyed. The information Ye Fan had obtained was of great use. The enemy's defense mechanisms were practically useless against the attacks. The troops managed to secure their objectives with minimal losses. The soldiers were elated because their victories had never been so comfortable before.

"Continue to advance. Let's take down the two remaining high alert sectors in one shot!"

Carl was overwhelmed with excitement.

Once the confident troops entered the second high-alert sector, the favorable situation started to turn around.

Not long after stepping foot into the second high-alert sector, the Hesla troops faced their first enemy ambush. Two armored vehicles and dozens of soldiers were wiped out by well-hidden mines. And that was, in fact, just an appetizer. The Hesla soldiers were soon completely devastated. The death toll was rising steadily, and there were traps and ambushes everywhere.

Ye Fan's intelligence was practically useless at this stage. Following the false information provided led to even greater losses. The various platoons were at a complete loss.

The intelligence about the first four high-alert selectors had allowed Hesla's military to successfully penetrate deep and eventually enter the ambush zone that Ji Jie had marked out.

The casualties were increasing exponentially.

Carl experienced a mix of shock and fury.

The expression on Winna's face changed. Indeed, the information they had obtained was only bait; Han Xiao's predictions were right. They were indeed responsible for the huge losses.

Ye Fan shook his head and said, "The enemies are too cunning and ruthless. They were willing to sacrifice the lives of their own comrades to lure us in. It was almost impossible to see through their plot. Perhaps, that's the advantage of being on the defensive side. The Germinal Organization is not afraid to go all out. However, such a measure is not feasible for our side. Carl's moves were too radical; he should have listened to Han Xiao and been less brash with his deployments."

He looked at his remorseful teammates and sighed.

At this point, Carl saw his soldiers falling one after another. He had an uncomfortable expression. What was supposed to be a smooth-sailing situation had flipped around. The 'easy-win' had reversed, becoming a complete disaster. Even if they managed to prevail in the battle, it was going to be a costly victory.

The Hesla troops, who were facing head-on defeats, were suffering heavy losses, and their advancement proceeded at a snail's pace.

Suddenly, a grim-looking man who held a long machete in his hand emerged from the enemy side. He was surrounded by cold and transparent waves of energy that bore similarity to flames. The air beside him distorted as he dashed toward Hesla's army. The soldiers immediately started firing their rifles, but the man span as he ran and speedily slashed his machete. The approaching bullets were disintegrated by the slashes and fell to the ground.

"Pugilist!"

While the soldiers were still in shock, the man barged into the crowd. Within seconds, the combo of powerful slashes from the shiny machete diced numerous Hesla soldiers into many bits. Blood sprayed everywhere, and broken limbs, heads, and torsos could be seen all over the ground.

The man stood with conviction amid the sea of red.

"Pan Kuang!"

The agents were all astonished.

Pan Kuang was the man in charge of the Dark Crow Valley base and the executive officer of the Germinal Organization. In addition, he had managed to kill many powerful individuals and had a glorious battle record on the Dark Net.

Based on his battle record on the Dark Net, Pan Kuang was highly adept with his machete. His fighting style originated from that of Rui Lan, and he was becoming known as the 'Soul of the Blade'.

The light reflected by his shiny blade was usually the last thing his slain enemies saw.

The armored vehicle adjusted its position. Larger bullets were fired out from the re-adjusted barrel at Pan Kuang. Pan Kuang started leaping with unbelievably fast movements and dodged the incoming shots by ducking behind the trees. It was impossible for ordinary solider to accurately trace the position of Pan Kuang. More often than not, in the blink of an eye, Pan Kuang would disappear without any trace, and the fired shots would all miss.

Pan Kuang was able to move around the battleground with ease and without any substantial obstruction.

Like a life-claiming reaper, Pan Kuang slew one soldier after another. He even managed to slashed open a couple of heavily armored trucks and kill the soldiers inside the vehicles.

As long as there were shelters that offered protection against the bullets, a Superhuman could unleash his extensive power and cause immense damage. The energy he possessed protected his body, and ordinary gunpowder and bullets were unable to cause any significant harm.

A D-class Superhuman could battle a platoon on their own and escape with ease after the fight.

A C-class Superhuman had colossal strength and an iron body that could withstand the attacks of guns and canons. They could cause substantial damage on all terrains and could tear down a building with their bare hands easily. A C-class Superhuman was of the lowest-level in the galaxy. It also had the title of 'Basic Cosmic Warrior'. Different planets in the galaxy had different gravitational fields and atmospheric conditions. A C-class Superhuman would be able to set foot on most planets. It was normal for certain species that lived in harsher galactic conditions to possess C-class Superhuman bodies from birth.

However, there were very few C-class Superhumans on Aquamarine. The Superhumans on this planet were low-ranked ones.

Pan Kuang's Superhuman class was E+, one level away from becoming D-class. He was able to easily defeat groups of Hesla soldiers in the complicated forested terrain. A Superhuman possessed a powerful solo-fighting capability, and they would often swipe in to kill the highest-ranking commander of the troops or infiltrate the enemy to sabotage operations.

Soldiers in the way were being killed by the advancing Pan Kuang. It was obvious that Pan Kuang was travelling in the direction of Carl!

Carl had made it onto the radar of Pan Kuang's killer instincts, which made Carl feel very uneasy. He had no sense of security even when he was protected tightly by his troops, so he immediately commanded, "Launch the thermo-tracing rockets!"

An armored vehicle equipped with missile launchers arrived, and multiple rockets that were locked onto Pan Kuang were fired.

Pan Kuang was circling the forest speedily, and the rockets crashed into the trees. The last rocket managed to go through the gaps between the tree trunks and headed for Pan Kuang.

With a tight frown, Pan Kuang halted in his steps. He scooped up some soil and held the machete with both of his hands. There was an invisible wave of energy surrounding the blade. He slashed the machete at the rocket.

The quick slash managed to hit the side of the rocket at the right time. The force from the strike changed the course of the rocket, and its path was altered. The rocket crashed into a large tree that was twenty meters away and burst into flames. Pan Kuang was slightly disorientated by the shockwave of the explosion. If Han Xiao were there, he would have seen that the damage was more than twenty health points.

After realizing that even the rockets were useless against Pan Kuang, Carl looked at his agents. Carl's intention of deploying the agents to protect himself was clear.

"Let's go!" Winna yelled, and Hesla's agents moved forward together with her.

The agents from Division 13 were observing from one side. The joint operation no longer made sense after what Carl had done; therefore, they were not going to help.

After finding out that the agents from Hesla had entered the battle, Pan Kuang immediately sheathed his machete and retreated. He did not want to be held up by the agents.

Gunshots echoed through the forest as bullets were fired out of the agents' guns.

The shiny blade slashed past. Light was reflected off the surface of the blade. A bullet fired at Pan Kuang was cut in half. Although Pan Kuang operated at a lower speed than the flying bullet, he had managed to anticipate the path of the bullet and position his machete at the perfect spot. His reflexes were rapid.

Pan Kuang remained expressionless as he turned away and disappeared into the forest.

In this attack, Pan Kuang had managed to kill hundreds of enemy soldiers and destroy a couple of armored vehicles. The morale of Hesla's soldiers was at its lowest. They had suffered heavy casualties, and the initial fatigue accumulated from the attacks on the previous four sectors was beginning to take its toll. The situation forced Carl to slow down the attack even though he was unwilling to do so.

Ji Jie was observing the situation at the frontline from his monitor. The second high-alert sector was down, and Hesla's troops were moving toward the final sector. Even if Hesla's army suffered great losses, they still had an upper hand over the armed security guards of the base.

However, everything was under control.

After Pan Kuang returned, Ji Jie locked the doors leading to the base. Even if the enemy managed to take down the external base, they would be unable to locate the internal base. Furthermore, Ji Jie was also preparing to give a 'big gift' to the Hesla soldiers outside the internal base.

"Assistant Director, when are we going to retreat?"

"Now," Ji Jie said.

The staff of the inner base gathered at the doorstep of the third secret passageway. Lin Yao and Lambert were furthest away from the rest. When nobody was looking, they would inform each other of critical intelligence. Strangers would think that they were just making casual conversation.

…

Boom!

The final fortress was blasted into pieces by the cannon of a mini-tank. The remaining armed guards only had one choice—retreat into the base.

All the defense lines crumbled, and Carl finally loosened up from the tension.

The final two sectors had cost seventy percent more losses than expected. Carl's superiors would definitely be less impressed when they saw the battle report.

"The enemies are left with the final base, and they have nowhere to retreat to. Are we going to let the troops rest for a while?" the assistant officer asked.

Carl was sat in deep thought, and he suddenly remembered Han Xiao's intelligence report. It mentioned that there was an inner base and also a secret escape passageway. Instantly, he felt that it was an opportunity for him to improve his battle record. He did not want to waste a single moment so as to reduce the enemies' chance of escape. Therefore, he issued an order with conviction.

"Start the attack immediately. Remember to search thoroughly in the facility, especially the storerooms. There must be some hidden door somewhere that can lead us to the enemy's inner base."

The order was confirmed, and the soldiers who had still not yet recovered from the shock of the previous battle regained their spirits and entered the base to wipe out the remaining enemies. The base was very small, and the fighting took place in the narrow alleys. Endless gunshots could be heard throughout the drawn-out battle.

"We found the storeroom, but no hidden doors can be seen. There are only solid concrete walls. We also tested our explosives on the walls."

"Maybe there is something wrong with the intelligence report?" Carl frowned hard. He summoned his assistant and said, "Bring the agents from Division 13 here. Also, get me Han Xiao. I want to ask them about the intelligence report they submitted."

Chapter 84: Self-Detonation

While the battle at the frontlines was still ongoing, Han Xiao, who was at the logistics zone away from the battlefront, was observing the situation attentively.

Han Xiao had seen many high-level battles that involved the destruction of entire planets in the game. Compared to those battles, the current one, a low-level battle fought on the ground, gave Han Xiao a greater adrenaline rush. The sound of gunshots and scent of gunpowder gave a better display of the brutality and the atmosphere of war compared to those battles Han Xiao had previously witnessed, which had only involved silent energy beams and plasma canons.

Han Xiao sat in the container of the truck, while the two sentry guards were still guarding the vehicle tightly. They were highly suspicious that Han Xiao was intending to escape.

Lin Yao's voice could be heard from Han Xiao's earpiece.

"Brother Xiao, we are going to retreat together with the core team of the enemy. I have planted the virus in their system, so we can now jam their communications any time."

"Good job."

"Oh, Uncle Lambert made a new discovery. The internal structure of the base is very strong, and it is probably explosion-proof."

Han Xiao frowned, and after piecing together the bits of information, he suddenly realized that the external base was disguised as the bait, or more accurately, a graveyard. There were probably heaps of explosives hidden, and once the invaders stepped into it, the explosives would be triggered to kill all of them. Also, the explosions would be strong enough to demolish the external base and bury everything in it, thereby making the internal base more discrete."

"What an ingenious plan." Han Xiao sighed. Even if he were to report the situation now, it would be too late. Also, Han Xiao did not have any intention of doing so.

He had finally reached the final stage of his plan.

Han Xiao rose up and began to pack his belongings. He transferred all the accessories and important mechanical components from the container into his bag. The bag was completely filled. Han Xiao then said to the two sentry guards, "Could you guys help me carry some of these items? They are pretty heavy."

The two troops went up the truck unknowingly to help Han Xiao carry his bag.

The moment they bent their bodies, Han Xiao took action. With two solid punches to the necks of the soldiers, both of them collapsed to the ground without making a sound.

Han Xiao closed the door of the container, and he secretly changed into the trooper's attire and removed the mask he was wearing. After which, he activated the mask and used it to change his appearance. He carried the bag and walked out confidently. He was able to blend into the logistics team without anyone noticing.

…

Carl's assistant soon rushed back.

"Everyone from Division 13, except for Han Xiao, was present," he said.

Carl was shocked. "He disappeared‽"

"The two sentry guards that were supposed to look after him were found unconscious. I asked the logistics team, and nobody saw Han Xiao around."

Carl wanted to continue the conversation, but there a thunderous boom in the air, which made him jump up on reflex. He immediately started scouting for the source of the sound.

The mountain was moving, and it was as if an earthquake had struck. Everyone was terrified!

The Dark Crow Valley base had detonated!

The entire base crumbled, and the main entrance was completed sealed by the falling rocks. Hundreds of elite soldiers were buried!

The turn of events obviously infuriated Carl.

The troops had fallen into the enemy's trap just as victory was in sight. Countless lives were claimed, and the base was also destroyed. This greatly depreciated the value of the victory.

Carl knew that, as the commander of the forces, he would face a lot of backlash.

Carl had a gloomy look, and he thought of Han Xiao's advice. If he had heeded the advice, he could have prevented the heavy losses. But even if he had the opportunity to choose again, Carl felt that he would still make the same choice. He was completely frustrated and vented that frustration on the wall of the commander's vehicle.

The army had suffered heavy losses, and Carl could feel the pain in his heart. He then gave several orders to raise the morale of the dejected troops.

After the agents from Division 13 arrived, Carl said with a gloomy face, "Your teammate disappeared. What is going on exactly?"

"Han Xiao vanished again‽" One could clearly see the change in expression on the agents' faces.

Why the word 'again'?

Qi Bai Jia felt a blank in his mind.

Goddammit, Han Xiao always did such things.

Zhang Wei and Li Ya Lin were very calm. It was as if they had gotten used to it.

It was really the norm for Han Xiao to carry out tasks at his own will without seeking any approval. One just had to get used to it. He was probably on his way to create some new trouble.

"If Han Xiao did not obtain the critical intelligence, you would have foolishly thought that you have successfully destroyed the base, when in actual fact, you have only managed to destroy the outer region. You would not even be aware that the enemies have escaped!"

Carl pondered, and indeed, he would have thought that his operation was a complete success, and if the Dark Crow Valley base managed to reinstate itself in the future, he would the first to be held responsible.

"What other information can you guys offer?" Carl asked anxiously.

Zhang Wei, who was trying hard to suppress his detest for Carl, bellowed, "Two of our companions retreated together with the enemy. Once they confirm the enemy's path of retreat, they will send it to us."

Carl's eyes lit up and said immediately, "Inform me as soon as you receive any news."

He had not expected that Han Xiao would accomplish so much in his operation. His troops had suffered way too many losses in the previous battle, so he needed to atone for his mistakes by successfully eliminating the core of the enemy's retreating force.

…

There was a region away from everyone's attention at the outskirts ten kilometers away from the Dark Crow Valley base. Pan Kuang, Ji Jie, and over two hundred core members were exiting the secret passageway via their vehicles. The vehicles carried huge amounts of logistical items and also contained precious information about the base.

"I suppose Hesla think that they have won the battle?" Ji Jie let out uncontrollable laughter.

Pan Kuang looked and him and said, "Don't let your guard down."

Ji Jie nodded and ordered the teams to advance faster.

They needed to travel for another two hours to reach a secret hangar that housed several Black Harrier helicopters and a small cargo-plane.

Lin Yao and Lambert received Zhang Wei's orders from their earpieces. They looked at each other and knew it was time for them to strike.

Lin Yao took out a tablet and activated the dormant virus planted in the enemy communication network.

Sheela!

Everyone was shocked by the piercing shrieks in their earpieces. They immediately removed them from their ears.

Ji Jie was disgruntled. Just as he was about the order the vehicle-fleet to stop and inspect on the communication set, he heard a series of engine-hums approaching from all directions.

"Prone!" Pan Kuang expression immediately changed. He pushed Ji Jie, who had yet to react, to the ground. After Pan Kuang completed these actions, there was a wave of gunshots.

Bullets rained on the fleet from all directions. The exploding grenades overturned the vehicles of the fleet. Flames and glaring light could be seen.

Lambert dragged Lin Yao off the vehicle. They rolled toward the vegetation at the side to avoid the direct attack.

Ji Jie could not believe that his trap had been discovered by the invaders. Who had leaked the information?

"Run!"

There was no time for any disappointment. Ji Jie was dragged toward the forest swiftly by Pan Kuang.

…

Carl, who was commanding his troops from the forest, felt a great sense of excitement. His troops had encircled the core of the retreating enemy, and he knew it was a golden opportunity for him to turn things around.

A distance away, Han Xiao, who had changed his appearance, was driving the jeep alone. He held a thermo-sensor in his hand and was searching the battle zone. He quickly discovered his targets: Pan Kuang and Ji Jie, who had managed to escape the heavy encirclements. Troops who managed to catch up with Pan Kuang were mercilessly destroyed by his powerful fighting abilities.

Han Xiao was tailing both of them from a hundred meters away with the help of with his thermo-sensor.

"A jeep is approaching." Pan Kuang looked behind. He could barely see the jeep that was following them in the dense forest, and the faint sound of the jeep's engine could be heard.

Pan Kuang wanted to destroy the jeep. However, every time his distance from the jeep shortened, Han Xiao would change course and increase the distance between them again. The jeep was just like an irritant.

Pan Kuang thought Han Xiao was operating a reconnaissance jeep that reported their location back to the enemy. Also, they expected the entire army to be following them, and therefore, they were afraid to stop moving. Pan Kuang, who was dragging Ji Jie in his escape, could feel the quick depletion of his energy.

"We just need to reach the hangar. The helicopter will help us with the escape." Pan Kuang knew that was his only way to escape. Although Pan Kuang was a Superhuman himself, his fear of being surrounded by a gargantuan enemy force prompted him to increase his speed. He failed to realize that Ji Jie was deeply fatigued.

After chasing for about twenty minutes, both parties were far from the frontline.

"The time is right." Han Xiao could feel a sense of determination. He changed his course and went in front of his targets with the help of a map he had stolen from the logistics department. The jeep travelled at a very high speed, and Han Xiao drove up a ten-meter high cliff that was two kilometers away, which his targets were sure to pass by. The engine stopped, and Han Xiao took out all his gear.

He slotted his left arm into the modified light-weight mechanical arm and attached the box housing the magnetically-controlled retractable armor to his waist. He stuck his Berserk Eagle into its case and then buried ten delayed-explosion explosives in the shape of a circle with a radius of five meters. A thin thread was lined through the safety rings of the delayed-explosion explosives, so a slight pull would activate them all.

Han Xiao grabbed a sniper rifle he had sourced from the logistics team and lay prone on a rock. He had a clear view of the valley and aimed his rifle in the direction his targets were expected to arrive in. He held his breath and focused hard.

…

Ji Jie was panting heavily. His face was all pale from the running. He was not a Superhuman, so he had limited stamina. If it wasn't for Pan Kuang, he would have collapsed long ago.

Pan Kuang shouted emotionlessly, "Don't stop, the enemy could approach at any moment. We need to reach the hangar as soon as possible."

The two of them came out of the forest quickly. The mountains lay ahead of them.

Ji Jie felt his legs wobble before he fell to the ground. Breathlessly, he said, "I can't run anymore."

Pan Kuang frowned. He was slightly irritated, but he knew he could not leave Ji Jie behind. Ji Jie's sister was the in-charge of the entire intelligence network of the Germinal Organization.

"Carry me on your back, it is…"

Ji Jie was halfway through his sentence when a gun shot rang in the air.

Pan Kuang reacted quickly and ducked backwards.

However, he was not the target of the shot.

Ji Jie's head was thrust backwards as if a punch had been thrown at him. There was a bloody hole on his left cheek. The hole was so big that it allowed the bullet to tumble in Ji Jie's skull, crushing his left cheek. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere. Ji Jie's expression froze as he collapsed to the ground. He showed no signs of life anymore.

[Assassination 2 completed. 100% of energy expended. You gained 4,000 EXP!]

Pan Kuang's pupils constricted. He drew out his machete and dashed toward the source of the shot.

Chapter 85: Interception!

Pan Kuang was closing in! Han Xiao spammed the trigger of the rifle. Chains of bullets skipped out of the barrel and pierced through the air, heading in the direction of the target. It was as if Pan Kuang had the danger-sensing ability of a beast. He always changed his position before Han Xiao fired the shots. Han Xiao fired a total of thirteen shots, and Pan Kuang dodged nine of them. The remaining four bullets lost their momentum after hitting the blade. The bullets were reflected by Pan Kuang's protective energy, and their total damage was merely 80 HP.

A high class Superhuman would have a stronger defensive capability. Ordinary weapons and ammunition were useless against Pan Kuang.

The firepower of an ordinary weapon from a place indicated the general level of civilization of that place. With the opening up of higher versions and more maps, the upgrading of the ordinary weapons would follow. However, it was evident that such a day had yet come.

The distance between Pan Kuang and Han Xiao was shrinking rapid, and Han Xiao could see the deathly chill in Pan Kuang's eyes.

"Damn it, he's quick."

Han Xiao cursed softly and threw his rifle to the side. He tugged the thread in his hands and activated the delayed-explosion explosives then pretended fleeing.

Pan Kuang was much faster and went up the cliff in a few steps. He stepped into the ambush circle and sensed something was off. His face changed, and he leapt into the air. His shiny blade was spinning beneath his torso. It was as if he was riding a hurricane, pushing him up the skies.

BOOM!

The ten explosives detonated together, and Pan Kuang was engulfed by the flames!

_____________________

Your delayed-explosion explosives dealt a damage of 34 HP to Pan Kuang.

(Damage protection is taken into account.)

Your delayed-explosion explosives dealt a damage of 37 HP to Pan Kuang.

Pan Kuang is slightly torched!

…

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Ten messages appeared on the interface, and after a quick glance, Han Xiao confirmed that the series of explosions had dealt more than 400 HP damage to Pan Kuang.

_____________________

Due to your level, you gained some information about the enemy!

Name: Pan Kuang

Level: 38

Class: [Agent] LV10, [Amateur Pugilist] LV10, [Stormblader] LV10, ??

Attributes: 65 STR, ?? DEX, ?? END, ?? INT, ?? MYS, 8 CHA, 7 LUK

HP: ??

Energy: ??

Energy Rank: 687

Grade: E+

Specialties:

- Amateur Blade-Wielding Technique: +10 attack points when using blades or machetes.

- Soul of the Windy Blade: "The blade is the extension of our limbs; listen closely to the breath of the wind." ??

- ?? …

Skills: [Defensive Blade of the Wind] Lv.6, [Wind-Gliding Steps] Lv.4, ??, ?? …

Equipment:

Wind-Slicing Blade

- Grade: Green

- Damage: 44-47

- Length: 0.87 meters

- Weight: 10.2 pounds

- Description: An alloy blade manufactured by a master blacksmith, very strong.

- Additional effects: Windy Breath: smooth texture, +3% attack speed. Strong Edges: sharp blade, +3% additional damage to metallic objects.

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There was a huge difference in level. Also, much of the information was unknown. However, Han Xiao was not completely reliant on hard statistics. From the performance of Pan Kuang, it was evident that he had high attacking power and agility, and his weak side would be his limited health. It was certain that the explosion had taken away 20% of Pan Kuang's initial health. Furthermore, Pan Kuang had faced tough battles previously and spent an hour on the run from his enemies; therefore, he was not in his best condition for a fight.

I have a higher probability of winning!

Han Xiao looked at the experience that he had accumulated on the interface, and it was as high as 520,000 points. He channeled all the experience points into raising his levels! Like a rocket, Han Xiao rapidly gained four levels.

His HP was raised to 985, almost exceeding 1,000!

He had practiced the Energy Training Technique 48 times, and his energy had managed to hit 390 points. He just needed a little more to gain four continuous level-ups and raise his energy to 540 points, which exceeded the Lv.5 benchmark of 400 points. That would allow for new increases in all his other attributes. His strength, endurance, agility, and intelligence were increased by approximately 10% each.

The rest of the experience points were channeled into [Continuous Gliding Shots].

_____________________

Level 2: a slight increase in the effect of the ability.

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Woosh!

Pan Kuang emerged from the flames, and he was charred from head to toe. He looked battered, and his eyes were locked on to Han Xiao like an exasperated wolf. He growled and shifted his feet as if he was gliding. In the blink of an eye, he slashed his blade with fury in an attempt to disintegrate the scoundrel who had ambushed him!

The light from the blade flashed, and Han Xiao retreated three steps. Han Xiao's speed shocked Pan Kuang.

Han Xiao dodged the slashes from Pan Kuang and took out his Berserk Eagles. With his increased attack-speed, he fired the pistols. The bullets, which had ferrous cores, went straight toward Pan Kuang's chest.

Pan Kuang moved his machete back and forth, and the bullets were slashed apart. Only one bullet managed to hit his chest, but Pan Kuang's immense energy lowered the bullet's momentum. The bullet was stuck between his muscles.

Han Xiao realized that ordinary bullets were of little use. He immediately switched the magazine for high-explosive rounds.

Pan Kuang made use of this moment to approach closer.

"How dare you switch magazines right before my eyes! Are you tired of living?"

Changing magazine in front of a Pugilist was a sign of insufficient battle experience! Pan Kuang, with a sinister look on his face, slashed toward Han Xiao's throat. He tried to pierce through Han Xiao's neck as if it just was a piece of meat on the skewer.

Pan Kuang could tell that Han Xiao could not dodge his hack!

"Ding ––"

The edge of the blade managed to touch Han Xiao's throat, but it was blocked by metallic scales!

Pan Kuang's pupils constricted. When did this armor appear‽

Han Xiao felt a little suffocated. Although the magnetically-controlled retractable armor could withstand the shock, there was still some leftover force that landed on his body. He raised the pistol and started firing continuously. Pan Kuang blocked the bullets with his blade again. This time, the high explosive rounds detonated the moment the blade touched its tip, and the flames enshrouded Pan Kuang's body and burnt him.

What the hell is this bullet? Pan Kuang's heart skipped a beat. He channeled his energy to shake off the flames but to no avail. The orange flames could not be shaken off, and his skin burned harshly. He could only retract his energy to protect his body. That resulted in a huge amount of energy being expended.

The high-explosive rounds were highly adhesive. Therefore, they were able to cause substantial, continuous damage. Pan Kuang had a high defense, so his HP was falling at a very slow rate. However, using the high-explosive rounds was still more effective than normal rounds. At least, the former was causing a decrease in Pan Kuang's HP.

The Berserk Eagles were spitting out rounds from slanted positions. When there was a final bullet left, Han Xiao used it to initiate the continuous gliding shots. At that point in time, Pan Kuang's clothing was burnt completely, and his hair also started burning. The price Han Xiao had to pay was the endurance of the magnetic armor, which fell after the relentless, powerful slashes by Pan Kuang.

Han Xiao focused hard. At the cost of taking another powerful blow, he put away the Berserk Eagles and took out the retractable machete. He held the machete in his right hand and the mechanical arm in his left. It was as if a barbarian had taken over his body; he had the courage of a beast that was unafraid of death. He was ready to give Pan Kuang a hard fight, which was also likely to be a bloody one.

The three items that Han Xiao was equipped with could all be used as shields, and in comparison, Pan Kuang was heavily disadvantaged since he could only use his body to defend Han Xiao's strikes.

However, in reality, Pan Kuang was steadily gaining ground. For most of the time, Han Xiao could only make a strike at Pan Kuang after receiving seven slashes. The fighting abilities of the two individuals were too far apart. Pan Kuang was a legitimate pugilist, and his fighting technique was stronger than that of Han Xiao by leaps and bounds. Han Xiao's close-range combat technique was considered a joke by Pan Kuang. If not for the gear he was equipped with, Pan Kuang would be unscathed by Han Xiao's attacks.

"You want to fight me up close? Don't you think that you are courting death?" Pan Kuang could not understand how Han Xiao had the courage to challenge a pugilist in close-quarters. In his mind, he considered such an act to be extremely arrogant. Han Xiao was challenging Pan Kuang's greatest strength with his greatest weakness.

A slash toward Han Xiao's face resulted in a deep cut that bled profusely.

Han Xiao had taken off his mask before the battle as he had been afraid that it would be destroyed in the battle. He revealed his genuine appearance, and Pan Kuang recognized him. Han Xiao was the traitor that escaped from the organization not long ago—Zero.

Why did Number Zero attack him here? Pan Kuang did not know, and he did not care. He only knew that the man before him was an enemy, and all Pan Kuang wanted to do was to hack him to death!

The force from the slashes shocked Han Xiao's body a few times. His HP decreased, but he remained calm.

The reason he dared to fight Pan Kuang close up was because he had faith in himself. The previous shots, explosions, and strikes had managed to lower Pan Kuang's HP by 700 to 800 points.

Under the protection of the magnetically-controlled retractable armor, his HP only fell by 300 points. The armor managed to prevent a total damage of at least 150 points of HP.

The armor was not even meant to be worn by Han Xiao at his current level. The armor had a defense of 75 points. It was strong and useful even until higher levels of 40-50. Han Xiao depended greatly on the armor!

With the armor, he had the ability to fight opponents of much higher levels!

Han Xiao locked his hand and grabbed hard on Pan Kuang blade-wielding hand. Pan Kuang was not afraid. He twisted his arm flexibly and broke free; at the same time, he gave Han Xiao another slash, which landed on the lightweight mechanical arm. If not for the platinum alloy, the mechanical arm would have long disintegrated into pieces and shards.

Han Xiao attentively discovered that Pan Kuang had a brief moment after every strike when he slowed down. Pan Kuang was instinctively trying to conserve his energy.

He is starting to feel tired. He used up too much of his energy and lost his additional attributes. He is no longer sharp!

Han Xiao eyes started flashing, and his sharp acumen allowed him to discover Pan Kuang weakness; the moment that he was waiting for had arrived. He selected an option on his interface.

A new character—Norsa Connor!

_____________________

The summon card for character has been used. 1/1 card used. The card has been exhausted and will disappear.

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Pan Kuang saw a faint shadow at Han Xiao's back. An eerie-eyed individual appeared in rainbow-colored mist. Pan Kuang felt that the individual looked familiar.

Who is that?

He looks like… Norsa! Isn't Norsa long dead‽

What's going on‽

Pan Kuang was alarmed and wanted to move back, but it was all too late. He succumbed to the illusion and was paralyzed.

_____________________

Scanning…

The scan is complete.

The target has an INT of less than 50. The illusion is successful.

Chapter 86: A Strike of Philosophy

Pan Kuang was a Lv.38 Pugilist with high agility and attack power. Therefore, it was almost impossible for his intelligence to exceed 50. If Han Xiao was really that unlucky and Pan Kuang did have higher than expected intelligence, Han Xiao would have had choice but to resign to his fate.

The illusion confused Pan Kuang, who was totally unprepared for it. All the attacks from the illusion could deal real damage to Pan Kuang, but ultimately, Pan Kuang had a relatively high level, so he would not be defeated if Han Xiao relied on the illusion alone.

Without hesitation, Han Xiao's lightweight mechanical arm headed for Pan Kuang crotch, which housed his most vulnerable body part!

"Mega-load!"

The power of the mechanical increased by 30% instantly, and the punch landed right on the target.

Pan Kuang's wiener exploded!

Han Xiao had learned this move after observing a series of tapes. He had derived this legendary move from "The Faraway Home of the Warrior – The Third Twilight". Once the move was activated, even the skies would tremble.

Han Xiao had no time to look at the messages on the interface. He needed to make use of the period when Pan Kuang was distracted by the illusion to deal as much damage as he could.

Han Xiao immediately activated the pressure compressor in the palm of the mechanical arm. His palm went through a sudden vibration, and a shockwave was sent out. Blood seeped out of Pan Kuang skin, and a blood red triangle could be seen on Pan Kuang's crouch.

Of course, Han Xiao's right hand was also put to use. Using the machete held in his right hand, Han Xiao stabbed hard into Pan Kuang's chest without any hesitation. Pan Kuang was still affected by the illusion, and thus, the protective energy shielding his body was non-existent. The stab successfully pierced through Pan Kuang.

Han Xiao then reached out for his Berserk Eagles and stuck the barrels of the pistols right where Pan Kuang's heart was. He used his wind-gliding steps to drag Pan Kuang backwards together with him. Han Xiao fired the shots continuously, and all the bullets went into Pan Kuang's body.

Blood spurted out. There was a burning sound of the scorching ember sizzling human flesh.

Ka, Ka, Ka––

All the bullets in the magazine were expended, and Pan Kuang was finally awake. The sharp pain sent Pan Kuang into thunderous fury, and his face twisted in agony. He slashed hard at Han Xiao's abdomen.

It seemed Pan Kuang wanted an eye for an eye.

Han Xiao used his energy to control the magnetic retractable armor to shield himself from the strike. Although he was protected, the shock from the strike still made Han Xiao pale. He could sense a chilly wave of energy going all the way up to his forehead via his spine.

Enduring the pain, Han Xiao expanded the reach of the mechanical arm to press hard onto Pan Kuang's head. Pan Kuang was hurled to the ground back and forth. The back of Pan Kuang's head, after coming into contact with the ground so many times, started bleeding profusely, forming a puddle of blood on the ground. Coupled with growls of agony, Pan Kuang was desperately trying to retaliate by slashing his machete hysterically. The slashes landed on Han Xiao's armor, and his HP was steadily decreasing.

"The crack of a hundred winds!" Pan Kuang yelled manically before his blade suddenly let out a blinding glare.

Han Xiao was alarmed and moved backward immediately. At this of time, explosions of light emerged from the Wind-slicing Blade. They surrounded Pan Kuang like a tornado. Countless slash marks could be seen on the surrounding ground. Han Xiao suffered a head-on attack, and his armor was losing endurance. This move had a damage-radius that was too large for the armor to offer complete protection. Every part not protected by the armor turned bloody. There was a series of damage inflicted on Han Xiao, and each amounted to 40 points.

The light from blade continued to glare for about three seconds before disappearing. Han Xiao retreated about ten meters. He took a deep breath. Droplets containing blood and sweat were dripping down as he stared at Pan Kuang. The previous attack must have consumed much of Pan Kuang's energy. Also, the cool down period for the move was definitely long; therefore, Pan Kuang would not be able to use it anytime soon!

Pan Kuang supported his body using the blade and stood up. He looked ghastly, and his lower body was in a bloody mess. There were charred bullet marks in his chest, and the ember was still scorching his body, giving out a smell of burnt charcoal. The burning and bleeding were dealing him continuous damage, and one could not imagine how his damaged body looked from the inside. The retractable machete was still stuck in his chest. His face looked even more horrifying. His nose had broken and was dented inward, and his skull was exposed from the back of his head. He looked like a savage ghost.

A savage ghost!

The savage ghost stared hard at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao looked alarmed. He was prepared to use all his additional points to increase his endurance. That was another trump card he held.

The howling wind brought the sand along while, at the same time, seemingly bringing away the murderous atmosphere.

Pan Kuang's head drooped down, and he stopped breathing.

The final sign of life was decimated by the scorching burn. Pan Kuang was like a camel that was knocked to the ground by a piece of grass.

_____________________

You killed Pan Kuang (Lv 38), 21,000 EXP gained.

The enemy killed was ten levels above you. You gained an additional 280% experience worth 58,800 points. Your individual contribution rate was 99%.

You gained an additional 58,212 (99%) points of EXP.

[Assassination III] completed. Contribution rate was 99%. You gained 79,200 EXP.

̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄

A total EXP of 158,500!

That was Han Xiao's total gain from the successful killing of Pan Kuang!

A victory against opponents of higher levels could generate additional rewards.

To activate such additional rewards, the opponent defeated needed to be at least five levels higher. The additional EXP was in accordance to the respective contribution rates of the member of a team since most missions were team challenges. If any member of the team failed to meet the criteria mentioned, the entire team would be deprived of the additional rewards. Such a measure highlighted the importance of good cooperation, and cheating from the players was prevented. It also prevented the occurrence of free-loaders that leeched onto the efforts of others.

Han Xiao finally relaxed and sat on the ground. He then lay down, allowing the rays of sunlight to hit his face. He closed his eyes in peace and enjoyed the calm and silence after the battle, as if all the damage and destruction did not exist.

A thought suddenly flashed in his mind, and he immediately jumped up and checked his pants. The little Han Xiao in his pants was all good. He heaved a sigh of relief. Luckily, the sleeping dragon in his pants had not been damaged at all.

After a short rest, Han Xiao started to check on the damage. The endurance levels for all his equipment had dropped drastically. The delayed-explosion explosives had all been used. His HP had started to recover, and the overall damage was within his expectations.

Han Xiao walked to Pan Kuang's dead body, which was still in an upright position. He searched for any loot and found a hard object in Pan Kuang's pocket. He took it out and discovered that it was a communication device from the Germinal Organization.

Han Xiao thought for a moment and decided to activate the device. Ten seconds later, a virtual image of the chief of the Germinal Organization appeared.

"Ji Jie, have you guys retreated successfully..." The chief was halfway through his words when he realized that something was amiss with the image transmitted over from the other side.

It was Han Xiao. The chief changed his expression immediately and glared at Han Xiao.

"Why are you here‽"

Zero was using Ji Jie's communication device, and it was apparent that the base had been completely destroyed. It was also highly likely that Pan Kuang was dead.

"You have the audacity to contact me?" the enraged chief exclaimed.

"Yo, haven't seen you for a long time." Han Xiao laughed

If felt weird that Han Xiao was talking to him like a long-lost friend. The chief could not think of a reply immediately, so he paused for a moment. The chief then questioned, "Where did you obtain the confidential information?"

That was the greatest puzzle in the chief's mind.

"Why do you think I will tell you the answer?" Han Xiao replied snobbishly.

"Do you think you can damage the power of the organization with such means? What a fool!" the chief yelled back.

"I sabotaged four of your bases.

"I can destroy you easily with my hands!

"I sabotaged four of your bases.

"There are many executive officers in the organization. You won't be out there for long!

"I sabotaged four of your bases."

Ahhh! Too angry!

From the tone of the chief's words, it sounded as if he was chewing on metal and every word was filled with the utmost determination to kill Han Xiao. "Don't you think that you will be able to escape from our clutches by pledging your allegiance to Stardragon. My guys will disintegrate every bone and tendon in you once they catch you!"

Han Xiao started laughing. Following that, he blew a kiss at the chief.

"Come and find me if you can? Hahaha..."

The chief was completely enraged upon hearing Han Xiao's words of contempt. He wanted to say something, but before he could, Han Xiao destroyed the communication device. The screen blacked out.

The chief's words of fury were stuck in his throat. He was shaking in anger.

"Increase the bounty on Zero to five million dollars!"

The bounty increased by five times!

...

Han Xiao wiped his smile away. Teasing the chief was not just a random act of entertainment.

The Germinal Organization was bound to send members to the West Capital to find him. They would not rest until he was dead.

The situation seemed disadvantageous to him, but in actual fact, it was not.

Because...Han Xiao never wanted to return to Stardragon!

This was his real plan!

Chapter 87: The Real Plan!

Initially, Han Xiao turned to Stardragon to seek temporary asylum from the Germinal Organization and had the motive of advancing skills. He had long planned to use his Facial Simulator as a way to escape.

Once he had the Facial Simulator, it was almost impossible for the Germinal Organization to locate him. He no longer had to worry about being discovered and captured, which meant that he could go anywhere he wanted. He did not want to be restricted to an area where there was always a risk of angering the head of state. Furthermore, he could mislead the Germinal Organization with regards to his whereabouts. For them to focus all their attention on Stardragon...that was definitely not fun for Han Xiao! Definitely not!

Even if he wanted to borrow Stardragon's strength and resources to crush the Germinal Organization, he no longer needed to put himself under the government's control. Naturally, Stardragon did not fully trust him despite its amicable treatment of him. They had planted an extremely discrete GPS locator in his encrypted phone, which he had discovered long ago. It was finally the time for him to disarm it.

It was last three months before the open beta. He needed to level up quickly and accumulate more resources. There were countless missions on the planet, and he treasured every one of them greatly.

He had accumulated sufficient resources while working with Division 13. It was now time to drop his pretense of sincerity toward Stardragon and go solo.

He could now go anywhere he wanted on the vast planet.

His plans were meticulous and closely-linked.

In Han Xiao's eyes, his pleasant relationship with Stardragon was not enough to convince him to stay in a place that lacked the potential to become more powerful. Furthermore, once they reached Version 2.0, even the Six nations and the Germinal Organization would become feeble.

These entities were now powerful and stable and could fight with one another through both open and secret means. However, the moment a planetary-grade disaster swept the planet, they would realize that their individual interests were hollow and meaningless compared to the survival of the whole civilization. Their statuses now were like colorful bubbles flying under the Sunlight—they could easily burst with a slight poke.

Version 1.0 hasn't started. It will last for seven months in real life, which translates to about three and a half years in game time. Additionally, the time, in game, between the version updates will last for a year. This means that I am still five years away from the Undead Crisis.

The Undead Crisis was a huge disaster. It will be better for me to avoid the beginning of it at the start of Version 2.0, which will be the most dangerous and chaotic period. This means that in these five years, I will have to dig out all the things are useful for me on this planet and then find a way to leave this planet for a while.

Han Xiao was in deep thought.

Suddenly, a new message was shown on the Interface.

_____________________

[Camp mission: Destroy Dark Crow Valley Base] Completion Rate 100%. Contribution Rate 72%. You gained 36,000 EXP!

Mission Ended.

It seemed that the Heslean army just finished the battle.

Han Xiao was quite satisfied with the result. He would only have gotten a completion rate of forty to fifty percent if he did not kill Pan Kuang and gang. It had been worth the trouble to infiltrate alone and plant two spies in the base, which allowed him to monitor the enemy's movements the whole time. This was the reason he had received such a high contribution rate and reward.

_____________________

Camp-Destroyer Mission [Dark Crow Valley Base] has been completed. You completed:

- [Reconnaissance I]

- [Reconnaissance II]

- [Dark Crow Forest Assassin]

- [Direct Conflict]

- [Assassination II]

- [Assassination III]

- [Destroy Dark Crow Valley Base]

Calculating Mission Stats... Calculation Completed. Performance Rating: Excellent

Reputation with Stardragon Strategic Defense Department increased by 1,120. Current Relationship: Friendly (1370/3000)

Reputation with the Germinal Organization decreased by 500. Current Relationship: Hatred (-1500/3000)

You received an Excellent performance rating: Additional 50% EXP (18,000), Random Reward x1.

Random Reward type is being decided...

Can't believe there is a random reward. Seems like I'm quite lucky this time. Han Xiao was delighted. Large-scale missions and serial missions would release performance ratings upon completion. The probability of an excellent rating triggering a random award was only thirty percent, so it was rather uncommon. The system would decide first which type of random reward the player would receive—it could be anything, such as EXP, equipment, skills, stat points, or talent points. Then, the player could select the choices provided under the reward.

_____________________

You received the Random Reward Type: [Innate Ability]

Randomizing... Randomization complete. Please choose one option from the following:

- Strengthened Body: HP+400, Abnormality Resistance+4%

- Quick Pace: Agility+6, Attack Speed+5%

- Strengthened Spirit: Mystery+5, Willpower Resistance+8%

Han Xiao held onto his chin and started deliberating.

All three abilities had mediocre effects. [Strengthened Body] increased health points, so it was more suited for tank players. Usually, he employed long-range attacks, and he still had a magnetic suit to protect his body, so he did not require the additional HP for now.

[Quick Paced] seemed decent. Agility affected many different aspects of a long-range attacks, including accuracy, critical rate, and movement speed etc. This ability could potentially increase his attack output by eight to ten percent.

[Strengthened Spirit] was only useful for Mages and Psychics.

Han Xiao thus opted for [Quick Paced].

_____________________

You gained an innate ability [Quick Paced].

Han Xiao looked at his interface. He still had 12 Unassigned Stats that he had gained from levelling-up. He then added them all into Intelligence. His Intelligence was now his highest stat, standing at 88 points.

There was an increase of 1.8% on the A-class Quest [Fall of the Germinal]. Although it did not look like a significant increase for now, Xiao Han knew that the future potential gains would be much greater—at least ten to fifteen percent more. Because Dark Crow Valley Base was the nearest point of contact for future players to join the Germinal Organization. Without it, many 'real' players would join a camp that was nearer and more convenient for them. This would greatly contain the rate of expansion of the Germinal Organization in the near future.

The head of Germinal still did not realize the importance of this base; he was only dismayed by the loss of an ordinary large base.

Intel from Han Xiao allowed other powers an opportunity to attack the Germinal Organization. The mission progress he received from such events was less than a direct assault by himself based on the calculation of contribution rating. But if he were to insist on attacking the organization personally, the individual damage he could deal would not be sufficient to keep up with organization's rate of expansion. Naturally, his best option was to mass distribute intel that could harm the organization.

The minimum progress needed for the Camp Destroyer mission was only twenty percent. It was not required for him to chase after perfection lest he risked losing out on other missions.

It is time to change the method of supplying intel. Han Xiao squinted.

After completing the mission, it was time for him to work on other important things.

Han Xiao went onto the radio and spoke to Lin Yao.

"How is the situation now?"

"Brother Xiao! The Heslean Army has seized all the supplies in Dark Crow Valley Base. They also captured a few hundred of their members, including Dormund. Unfortunately, the two directors, Pan Kuang and Ji Jie, got away."

"Where is the army now?"

"They are still sweeping the battleground. They will probably retreat to the border tomorrow."

"Okay. Message received."

...

After the Heslean army finished sweeping the battleground, they set up camp on site and prepared for a withdrawal the next day.

Lin Yao and Lambert went on to meet up with the rest, and the Division 13 agents gathered to commend them for their excellent intel work.

"The younger generation of agents is very capable," Ma Qing Yang commented.

"Xiao Lin Lin, your teammates have done a great job," said Di Su Su.

The rest chimed in. "You guys did an excellent job. Really commendable."

"We acted under the directions given by Brother Xiao." Lin Yao was feeling slightly uneasy with all the praise.

The fellow Division 13 agents realized that it was Han Xiao who deserved all the recognition.

Qi Bai Jia decided to praise Han Xiao's contribution strongly in his report. However, he realized that Han Xiao was still not back.

"Hey, where is he?"

"He is probably delayed by certain things."

As the sky turned dark, Han Xiao was still nowhere to be seen.

"How is he still not back?" Li Ya Lin was puzzled, so she nudged Lin Yao to prompt him to contact Han Xiao.

"I tried to communicate with him more than forty times, but he still hasn't answered." Lin Yao was out of options.

It was dawn. The Heslean army was ready to move back to the border, but Han Xiao was still missing. Division 13 agents started imagining the possibilities for such an odd happening.

Zhang Wei had a sudden thought. "Is it possible that Han Xiao has already moved back to the border?"

"This is possible. Han Xiao has always moved around on his own. He may think that it is not necessary for him to meet up with them now." Everyone pondered over this possibility.

All the agents followed the army back while this worry lingered in their minds.

...

The Hesla troops looked relaxed and were rather undisciplined on the way back.

In the middle of the troops, Colonel Carl was sitting in the command vehicle. He was deliberating over a very grave problem.

In this mission, he did not have an outstanding performance. Instead, he made a critical error in his decision, which resulted in unnecessary casualties. This would most definitely lead to a poor evaluation of his ability by the higher ups.

He had to artificially raise his significance in this mission to obtain more merits for this attack.

If I could take credit for Division 13's contribution...

Carl had an idea. He could perhaps write on the report that it was him who instructed Han Xiao to take his two teammates to spy in the base that gave them critical intel. In this scenario, his significance as a commanding office would be greatly elevated.

This can work.

Division 13 will leave as soon as the mission is completed. They can't possibly come to Hesla and expose me. Furthermore, my report to the higher-ups will be kept secret from everyone else.

All of a sudden, there was a commotion coming from the outside of the vehicle, and Carl realized that the troops had stopped moving.

"Colonel, there are two corpses in front of us. They seem to be Pan Kuang and Ji Jie."

Carl was in shock. He left the vehicle quickly to check out the bodies. It was really the two directors of the base.

The troops were astonished, and they started chattering. They remembered how strong these two directors had been just few days ago, but they had been killed just like this.

"Who did this! Who left the bodies here?" Carl shouted.

Nobody had an answer as the troops looked at one another. They had just discovered the bodies.

Division 13 soon arrived at the scene upon hearing the commotion. They were too dumbfounded.

"It must be Han Xiao's doing."

"It's unbelievable that he actually succeeded!"

"But why did he place the bodies on the road? This is just giving free credit to the Hesleans."

Carl was beaming joyously; he could claim credit for killing the directors. He waved at his troops to wrap up the bodies and take them back to camp.

Just as the troops moved the bodies, the sound of landmines being activated was heard.

The troops were terrified, and they quickly jumped away in different directions.

Carl was caught off guard. He only had the time to drop on the floor.

However, there was no explosion after seconds had passed. A brave soldier stood up and went to dig out the landmines. He weighed it in his hand and realized that it was very light.

"This is not a real mine. They are all empty."

The troops were infuriated by the prank.

"This is not funny at all."

"What a wretched move!"

"I just peed in my pants!"

Division 13 agents had a weird look their faces—they did not know whether to laugh at what they saw.

"This seems like something Han Xiao would do," Li Ya Lin mumbled.

Carl stood up with a flustered look on his face. His clean and well-pressed officer uniform was now covered in mud and grass.

He was now livid. He knew it was Xiao Han who did it. He wanted to ruffle him with a prank like this.

"What a childish play!" he said in anger.

Bang!

A faint gunshot was heard faraway.

The bullet pierced through Carl's temple, and it brought a dash of blood out of his head.

Carl's eyes were still wide open. He was unable to comprehend what had just transpired, totally caught unaware. His eyes were filled with the longing for life and a pinch of disbelief. His body wobbled before it landed flat on the floor.

Just a moment ago, he had been dreaming of his military success and his bright future. He could not believe that he had been killed on the way back to claim credit for his success in the mission!

At this moment, everyone, including the Division 13 agents and the troops, was shell-shocked.

They could not believe what had just happened before their eyes!

.....

On a faraway cliff top, Han Xiao raised his head from the scope of a sniper. He was looking relaxed.

What goes around comes around.

Chapter 88: Influence

Han Xiao had gone to the road the night before when the troops were camping at the battleground. He had planted a trap using the corpses of Pan Kuang and Ji Jie to lure Colonel Carl out of his vehicle. The moment Carl stepped out of his command vehicle, Han Xiao had the opportunity to snipe him down.

Additionally, he had placed a blank landmine beneath the bodies to scare the troops out of their formation so that he could get a better shot at Colonel Carl from the distant cliff.

Killing a high-ranking Hesla officer in front of everybody was bound to raise suspicion from the Hesleans. They could probably deduce that it was Han Xiao who did it based on the use of the two bodies, but Han Xiao was not at all worried. They had no concrete evidence to proof that he was guilty. As long as Division 13 denied it, all Hesla could do was protest diplomatically. They could never hold Han Xiao accountable.

Just like Carl did not care if the enemy killed them, Zhang Wei's team could also push the blame to the escaped personnel from the Dark Crow Valley Base.

I can be just as devious as you, Carl.

Han Xiao cocked the barrel, and the smoky bullet cartridge fell out. He conveniently tossed it into his pocket, leaving no trace behind.

Carl's order had almost taken his life. He was bound to take revenge after the mission was completed. Han Xiao had once been a 'real' player who had always taken revenge when someone, regardless of who they were, harmed him. And he would avenge himself in all sorts of ways without saying much.

Han Xiao saw that the Hesla troops were in a mess through his scope. Some of the troops were furious. They boarded their vehicles and moved rapidly toward the source of the fire.

He calmly stowed the dissembled sniper into his backpack. He had handpicked the position for an easy escape after the assassination.

After turning around, he jumped off the cliff, and a feeling of freefall hit him immediately. He smacked the button on his back, and two fine, foldable metal wings expanded. He was then gliding in the air toward the forest beneath the cliff.

Sky Swallow Gliders!

When the Hesla troops arrived at the cliff, all they could see was a nimble shadow rapidly disappearing before their eyes.

.....

Division 13 agents were still dumbfounded. They could not believe that Han Xiao had the guts to kill a commanding officer from Hesla.

It was a definitely a good way to vent one's anger, but there would be dire consequences. Nothing was worse than killing a Hesla high-ranking military officer right on their land! It seemed that Han Xiao had the balls of steel!

Qi Bai Jia was greatly anxious, but when he saw that the Hesla troops had not caught anyone, he was relieved.

Thank goodness he got away. In this case, they cannot prove that he is guilty. We can still argue our case.

Wait! If Han Xiao disappears, are we going to take his place in the trials‽

Everyone's eyes were wide open. They felt it was something that Han Xiao would definitely do.

How can he just push all the troubles to us! He is such a master at shirking responsibility!

The surrounding Hesla troops raised their rifles in anger and pointed them at the Division 13 agents. They were arrested, locked up in the cars, and escorted back to the border camp. As soon as deputy officer reported the incident, Hesla's government was furious.

Hesla's agents had to interrogate Division 13 as they were the prime suspect.

However, they soon became frustrated. Division 13 insisted that they did not know anything about the incident. Winna felt a sense of defeat.

Everyone knew that Han Xiao had done it, but no one had any evidence to proof that it was him. They could not even find the cartridge, which meant the only thing they could do was interrogate Division 13 over and over again. Since they could not use torturous methods to extort information because they were up against the Stardragon agents, their efforts were in vain. Moreover, the condemnation from the higher-ups of Hesla was met with empty excuses from Division 13.

The head of Intelligence in Division 13 took a private jet to quickly arrive at the Hesla border in order to rescue his agents. Without any concrete evidence, Hesla had to release the Division 13 agents.

The head of Intelligence brought everyone out of the interrogation room and back to the jet. He ordered Qi Bai Jia to report on the details of the incident after he was certain that there was no Hesla personnel around.

"He is such a trouble-maker. Fortunately, he did not leave any trace. Otherwise, Hesla would not have rested until they found him," he said.

Qi Bai Jia was feeling embarrassed and dared not reply. Ultimately, he had to take the full responsibility as the Stardragon leader of this mission.

The head of Intelligence looked at him without saying a word. He reflected on the reaction of the higher ups in Division 13 upon hearing this news. They believed that Carl's orders were authorized by the high-ranking officials in Hesla. It was the only reasonable conclusion to explain why Hesla purposefully sent a radical officer to helm this mission. They were displeased with Hesla's insidious acts. It was actually quite a good ending. After all, Hesla failed in causing any harm to Stardragon agents, and yet, they lost a high-ranking officer. They even had to swallow the loss without catching the culprit.

"This fellow did an excellent job." The Head of Intelligence nodded quietly. This time, even the hawks in the department had nothing critical to say about this incident. In fact, they loved what Han Xiao did. If one had the audacity to plot against Stardragon, the retaliation would be swift and deadly.

Despite the appreciation, the heads of the Department unanimously agreed in the previous internal meeting that they had to impose greater control on Han Xiao and not let him escape their surveillance. As their source of valuable intel, Han Xiao was far too important to warrant any accidents or mishaps.

Because of Han Xiao's cooperative attitude, they had been too lenient with his actions, but since the incident from the joint mission, they became deeply alarmed. They came to the consensus to reject any of Han Xiao's future mission requests.

This motion was passed without any objection, even from the conservatives in the Division 13. The department was still willing to cooperate with Han Xiao, but before divulging all the intel he had, he would not leave the headquarters' surveillance.

The Head of Intelligence finished contemplating and looked at the team of agents. He then looked at his watch and said in a puzzled tone, "Why is Han Xiao still not back?"

"I have no idea." Qi Bai Jia shook his head.

"Han Xiao just contacted me." Lin Yao suddenly pressed his headphone as he became overly-excited. But the next second, his expression changed drastically.

"What did he say?" The Head of Intelligence had a bad hunch.

"Brother Xiao said... he is going to lie low until the dust settles," Lin Yao stammered.

"Lie low until the dust settles? This means...." The Head of Intelligence was slow to process the meaning of this message. Then, he quickly realized what it meant. "He is not coming back‽"

His expression turned ghastly.

Zhang Wei looked shell-shocked. Li Ya Lin was wide-eyed. Lambert was in disbelief.

Everyone was utterly shocked.

It looked as if he was really going solo!

There was really nothing he was afraid to do!

...

Twenty minutes later in Division 13's headquarters, Gu Hui called for an emergency meeting. The directors who were not stationed at the headquarters joined the video conference. Everyone had a solemn look.

"Han Xiao ran away," Gu Hui said in a sobering tone.

Everyone gasped.

"Is he defecting?"

"Unclear. Before this, he sniped a Heslean military officer. It is possible that he is afraid of the consequences, so he escaped. But this possibility is not high," the Head of Intelligence replied.

The other heads were irritated. That reason was highly improbable, unless Han Xiao believed that Stardragon was incapable of protecting him, which also meant that Han Xiao looked down at their abilities.

"What about the GPS tracker that we planted in his phone?"

"The tracker has not moved in the last twenty-four hours. Han Xiao discovered and removed it."

"He is going to defect. He must be still near us and heading toward the wilderness. We have to bring him back!" the Head of Internal Affairs thundered.

"We cannot be certain that he is defecting." Gu Hui waved his hands disapprovingly.

All the heads simmered silently. They had been planning to restrict him in the West Capital the moment he was back, but his sudden escape had ruined all their plans.

Was it a pre-meditated move, or was it just a spur of the moment decision?

Was it defection, or was it something else?

Standard protocol indicated that when an agent broke contact, and when the exact cause behind the disappearance was inconclusive, the first thing they needed to do was send people to track the agent down. Then, they would contact the agent to make a judgement based on their reaction for the subsequent course of actions.

If the agent resisted the capture or continued to run, they would have no choice but to hunt the agent down globally.

If the agent had a good reason, the protocol ensured that a misunderstanding and manslaughter were avoided.

"This is just in. The Germinal Organization has increased the reward for capturing or killing Han Xiao by five times to five million on the dark net," the Head of Intelligence said all of a sudden.

Everyone was utterly surprised. This mission had been announced as a joint exercise between the two countries. How did the Germinal Organization know that Han Xiao was the main catalyst? Was there a mole within them?

The increase in reward implied that the Germinal Organization was determined to kill Han Xiao more than ever. Furthermore, the organization had already located Han Xiao to be in the West Capital. Could that have been the reason for Han Xiao's departure?

Was he not afraid of being located by the organization in the wilderness and slaughtered? The Germinal Organization was way more unhinged in the wilderness. They could very well fire missiles to bombard the whole area.

"He came to Stardragon to seek protection in the first place. How did he suddenly have the guts to leave?"

This question lingered in everyone's mind.

Gu Hui knocked on table and concluded the meeting. "We will continue to keep his identity as our agent and file him under missing personnel. The Intelligence Department will collect the surveillance tapes, migration records, and transport records from everywhere to try and contact him. We will also send out search teams to find him. We must get hold of him first before any subsequent action!"

"Seconded."

"Seconded."

"Seconded."

...

On the private jet back, the Division 13 agents constantly peeked at the corner, where Zhang Wei's team was. It was like the center of a high-pressure vortex.

Zhang Wei pinched the bridge of his nose with a look of seriousness. The veins on his forehead were showing clearly.

Lambert was wiping his knife in silence.

Li Ya Lin was constantly shaking her legs with a look of indignation and anxiousness. Her tight black body suit outlined her beautiful and seductive long legs.

Lin Yao was sitting at the side, frightened.

He wanted to get away from his raging teammates but was afraid of doing so. He trembled in fear.

"This is too much! He just left without saying anything to us. He clearly does not treat us as his teammates!" Li Ya Lin slammed hard on the table. The thundery sound spooked all the other agents that were eavesdropping in the surrounding.

Zhang Wei's hands held onto half of his face, and he looked as if he had nothing to live for.

"He modified my armored suit... and no one else knows how to repair it," he mumbled.

"..."

It was such a tragedy. The other agents did not know how to console Zhang Wei.

"He asked me to take business orders for him, and he already collected the deposit for a few dozen orders. What do I do now‽" Li Ya Lin clenched her teeth in rage.

The other agents were startled. They realized that they had also made some orders...

Crap!

Our deposits!

"I used my reputation to guarantee to his business. He totally ruined my reputation!" Li Ya Lin now sounded like a grudging wife who was being cheated on. She pinched Lin Yao's arm in an attempt to release her anger.

Lin Yao felt an immense pain. He immediately jumped far away and said hastily, "Calm down... Calm down..."

"Do you know his real identity?" Lambert suddenly commented.

The three of them were startled.

They were unaware of his real identity even after being on the same team for so long. Han Xiao had always been rather mysterious, and he had never divulged any information related to his real identity. Even the higher ups had refused to tell the team.

At this moment, everyone was dispirited.

"When I find him, I will definitely beat the crap out of him," Li Ya Lin said in an infuriated voice as she cracked her knuckles loudly.

Chapter 89: Three Months to Open Beta

Two days later in Hesla's Morning Wind City…

A coastal city near the border, Morning Wind City had a massive seaport that handled a massive volume of transcontinental ships. The city was a metropolis with many high-rise buildings.

Hesla had the strongest maritime force among the Six Nations—it focused on developing its navy to protect its numerous coastal cities. There were four continents on Aquamarine. They were separated from one another by the massive oceans.

There was an old saying—he who controls the sea controls everything.

There were tons of resources beneath the seafloor, including petroleum and natural gasses. Extraction of fossil fuels from the sea was the main pillar of Hesla's economy.

Han Xiao remembered that Hesla had a secret military strategy called 'The Forth Contingency Plan Against Great Crisis'. The plan was to produce many thousand-meter-long motherships in preparation for the scenario that the country suffered from massive calamities, such as nuclear world war. They could transition into a drifting nation on the sea and preserve their population.

Although this strategy eventually paved way for others, their spirit of preparing for the worst in times of peace was worth emulating. As the saying went, one who prospers in worries and hardships perishes in ease and comfort. It meant that if one did not create some sort of trouble, one might as well not live.

Wait. That does not sound right… Well, it's not important.

Now, Han Xiao, with a new face, was waiting at the branch of Fabian Company in the city. He had used the black gold card from Matthews to receive VIP treatment at the place. It was his temporary rest stop.

There were three months to open beta, and moving around on his own would yield him the greatest amount of benefits. He could use Fabian Company's channels to purchase mechanical parts with the huge amount of cash that he had accumulated to make more machinery. He could then earn a lot of EXP from this and even sell his products for more cash.

Old Man Lu's secret quest would only be triggered after the open beta. He had established a good relationship with him, so he was in no rush to continue this mission.

Han Xiao wrote down the key points for personal development for this last period of time before the open beta.

- Trigger all the high-reward quests, and subsequently obtain rare skills and abilities to improve my power.

- Obtain stable supply channels for mechanical parts so as to allow myself to make machinery during the course of my quests and earn more EXP.

- Continue to cause destruction for the Germinal Organization.

- Increase my personal mission issuance's reward limit in preparation for the open beta

These are roughly the points of focus.

Han Xiao put down his pen and began thinking carefully. The first point was easy since he remembered many large-scale quests. Also, supply channels could simply be obtained from the Fabian Company with the help of the black gold VIP card.

Destroying the Germinal Organization was his A-class quest. He had some initial thoughts on how he could maximize his large reservoir of intel—he could utilize the help from all the powers that were hostile toward the organization.

As for his personal mission reward limit, Han Xiao's goal was to increase his Universal Reputation. Because there were two types of reward limits—daily limit and individual quest limit—he could increase both by improving his Universal Reputation. This was the most cost-effective method.

His Universal Reputation was now zero, but that was okay. Han Xiao would definitely increase it in due time.

There were three ways to obtain Universal Reputation. The first method was by achieving high contribution ratings in advanced and rare quests. Normally, only a planet's main quest line would reward Universal Reputation—his A-class quest [Fall of the Germinal] was one of them.

Every planet, not only limited to novice planets, had at least one or more major storylines that linked to the respective main quests. For example, in Planet Aquamarine Version 1.0, there were two main storylines and one hidden storyline. The conflict between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization was one of the main storylines; the others would only appear in the open beta. On the other hand, the hidden storyline could only be discovered by luck.

That method of obtaining Universal Reputation was highly difficult and time-consuming—he could not achieve it in a short timeframe.

The second method was rather random. It involved doing things related to one's reputation with a camp that could potentially become well-known; the things could be very varied and circumstantial. Nobody had a clear idea of how to do it, and it was quite unreliable.

Han Xiao was keen on applying the third method—getting on top of some ranking lists—the easiest way to obtain Universal Reputation.

Some factions had created publicly-recognized rankings. By climbing to the top of rankings, he could easily obtain Universal Reputation. However, if some new guys were to push him down the ranking, his Universal Reputation would decrease, making this method unreliable. That was the method employed by most 'real' players. Universal Reputation quickly helped one accumulated camp reputation, which in turn, gave players discounts on NPC items and provided opportunities to trigger rare quests.

Han Xiao's fingers on one hand tapped the table surface as he continued to contemplate on this, and with his other hand, he picked his nose.

Well, before I make a move, let me get rid all the burdens (EXP) I have now.

He looked at his Character Interface, which showed a grand total of 720,000 EXP. He directly channeled all the EXP into levelling his character to thirty. His stats consequently increased.

Mechanic (Novice) reached the maximum level. The last level-up always gave players the greatest stats increase. This time he received a ninety-point increase in his energy between levels nine and ten.

He then threw all six unassigned stats into his Intelligence, making it one hundred.

His mind instantly became much clearer, and he felt more at ease controlling all the machinery. Intelligence affected many different areas of a Mechanic, including production speed, production quality, and the damage bonuses when using Mechanic weapons. For example, when a Mechanic used a pistol that normally dealt twenty damage points, the pistol would deal more damage due to the Mechanic's damage bonus. As such, even though other classes of players could still use Mechanic weapons, the damage would be lower.

_____________________

[Mechanic (Novice)] has reached the maximum level. To advance, learn 20 blueprints.

̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄

This randomized requirement for advancing class is quite simple.

Han Xiao was delighted, and he counted the blueprints that he had learned so far. He was only short of eight.

He did not want to produce useless blueprints through random fusions. I should make full use of the EXP I have. Anyway, all the EXP is stored in the Interface, so there is no rush to advance my class.

…

At Fabian Company's Morning Wind City branch, the man in charge, Antonio, was smoking a cigar. He was built like a mountain, filling the entire space on the sofa. He exhaled a puff out and looked Han Xiao, who was sitting at the sofa across, up and down to size him up.

Han Xiao was wearing a black jacket, and his Facial Simulator simulated an ordinary unemployed, middle-age male who looked rather unassuming. This was the face that he had prepared for his new identity.

Han Xiao took out a shopping list for supplies and said slowly, "I want all the items on this list."

Antonio took the list and looked over it. "The total cost will be $100,000. After the twenty percent discount from your Black Gold Card, it will cost $80,000."

"Also, I want to buy an entry pass for The Dark Net's Blood Pact Society"

"$20,000." Antonio's eyes narrowed.

The Dark Net was the hub of all intelligence related to the underworld. It was fully controlled by the Dark Net Organization, a neutral faction that strictly followed the principles of not getting involved in conflicts and developing peacefully. Many factions were business partners with the Dark Net Organization. They provided people from the underworld many kinds of services, including, but not limited to, smuggled firearms, package transfers, safehouses, hired assassins, mercenaries, and intelligence.

The Blood Pact Society was the organization for hired assassins under the Dark Net Organization. Using the entry pass, Han Xiao could become a contracted assassin under the organization and enjoy all the services provided by the Dark Net. This meant that Han Xiao could unlock his relationship with the Dark Net just from using the pass.

Although Blood Pact Society was a lousy name, it had another world-famous name.

The Assassin Union!

Of course, one could also call it the assassin social club, which instantly degraded its class.

A player had to go through a series of complicated quests to join the Dark Net Organization. However, time was of the essence for Han Xiao, so he would rather used extra money to buy the pass instead of spending a few dozen days fulfilling the entry requirement. Although $20,000 was a big sum of money to 'real' players, it was considered peanuts to him.

"Who says money can't buy happiness?" Han Xiao muttered. When he was still a 'real' player, he had needed to be stingy and calculative about every single purchase. He had never felt the pleasure of having so much money to spend before this.

The mechanical supplies were soon transported to the private workshop that Antonio arranged for him. Han Xiao went on to repair all the equipment that was damaged during the fight against Pan Kuang.

The mechanical parts left were meant for the new machinery.

I will be moving alone without any team support. Thus, my fighting style should focus more on minimizing danger. Sniping better suits me temporarily. I need to develop more powerful snipers and new types of bullets. Also, I will need some explosives, booby-traps, and anti-vehicle weapons. Lastly, I will probably need machinery that enables me to engage in close-quarter fights, such as tiny and covert weapons that can deal maximum damage…

Han Xiao contemplated for a while before he drew out his Interface to start his talent fusion. He decided to start with new bullets.

_____________________

Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?

(Lv. 3 Basic Weaponry + Lv. 3 Basic Material Science + Lv.2 Basic Dynamics Principle)

This fusion will cost you 15,000 EXP!

_____________________

Fusion Success!

Congratulations, you have discovered [Spindle-Shaped Penetration Bullet]!

_____________________

Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?

(Lv. 3 Basic Weaponry + Lv. 3 Basic Material Science + Lv.1 Basic Biology)

This fusion will cost you 15,000 EXP!

_____________________

Fusion Success!

Congratulations, you have discovered [Hayme Bullet]!

_____________________

Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?

(Lv. 3 Basic Weaponry + Lv. 3 Basic Material Science + Lv. 2 Basic Optics)

This fusion will cost you 15,000 EXP!

_____________________

Fusion Success!

Congratulations, you have discovered [Flash Bullet]!

̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄

I still have over 20,000 EXP left, and my sniping capability is not yet up to standard. Let's continue.

Han Xiao pondered for a moment before he decided to raise the core skill [Snipe] to Lv.5, which increased his accuracy and sniping range.

He had stolen the sniper rifle named Red-Falcon from the Hesla army logistics team. The rifle was black and only a gray-grade weapon. It had mediocre quality. He soon started upgrading the weapon.

Han Xiao focused on increasing the power of the sniper rifle during this series of upgrades. The damage was increased to 92 ~ 103; the rate of fire was two rounds per second; the range was 600 meters. But with [Machinery Affinity] and [Sniping], his range could reach up to 750 meters, which was sufficient for his use.

Han Xiao was still left with tens of thousands of EXP, but he decided to hold onto it first. He started the production of the three bullets that he had previously discovered

…

Soon, batches of new bullets were produced.

Fabian Company's private workshop was primarily adapted for making firearms and ammunition, which saved Han Xiao a fair bit of time for the whole production. This also reminded Han Xiao of something.

Should I make some robot assistants to help me with the production of mechanical parts?

He already had the blueprint for smart chips and other necessary parts for the robot. All he needed to do was upgrade his [Basic Programming] before he could produce a simple robot rover that could act as his assistant. However, since he did not have a fixed base for now, it was not appropriate for him to produce the robots yet.

Antonio's footsteps were heard. Soon, he entered the workshop. He placed an intricately designed dark gold coin onto the table and said, "This is your membership pass."

Han Xiao was delighted.

_____________________

You have unlocked a new Camp Reputation!

Blood Pact Society: Cold (0/300) – [Reserve-level Assassin]

Chapter 90: First Assignmen

Hotel Victoria was a 43-floor-tall luxurious hotel, and it had branches in every major city of the Six Nations. It was owned by the Dark Net Organization, and it only permitted members of the organization to stay. The hotel would use the excuse of 'no available rooms' to deny normal people from staying in the place. While it acted as a safehouse for the members, it was also the transaction hall for people from different camps. No fighting was allowed in this place, and anyone who broke the rule would receive endless assassinations.

After obtaining the pass, Han Xiao went to Hotel Victoria. It had a classic interior, with various types of aged dark-brown wooden furniture, which had a beautiful luster. A sense of serenity was overflowing in every corner of the hotel.

Han Xiao came forward to the front desk before revealing his Blood Pact Society coin. Then he was brought to the 23rd floor by a servant.

23rd to 25th floors belonged to the Blood Pact Society. The 23rd floor was the resting and transaction areas for all the assassins—they would get employed or paid here. The floor also had numerous entertainment facilities such as a bar, café, and restaurants.

After he handed his dark golden coin to the receptionist on the 23rd floor, another server wearing a white glove came to receive Han Xiao. They sat down at a semi-private table in the corner. The server took out a notebook with black leather covers and started recording the personal information of this new member.

"What will your code name be?"

Han Xiao thought for a moment, and he decided to use an enchanting name, which might help his Universal Reputation in some ways.

"Apostle-level Observer No. 9527 from the Crimson Dynasty stationed in Couton Group."

The server was stupefied.

Assassins usually had minimalist names like 'Silver Fox', 'Devil Snake', or 'Ghost', the kind that was more appreciated in the age when reduced attention spans were the norm. Such a 'unique' name would really intrigue employers, but it way too long.

The server coughed. "Can you shorten the name?"

What? I've only ever heard of others complaining about short names. I didn't know people would dislike name for being too long.

Han Xiao pondered for a while before he came up with another name. "Black."

The server was briefly rendered speechless.

"Your name is too short now. A single-world code name is permissible, but code names that are just colors have long been taken by other assassins. All the names like 'Red', 'Blue', 'Orange', and so on were mostly names of the honored assassins of the previous generation who have passed away. The organization will not allow someone else to reuse their code names."

Han Xiao smacked his lips in irritation. It seemed him to him that naming was a troublesome affair anywhere he went. He then came up with the final name. "Mr. Black."

"Mr. Black… Alright."

This name was much more ordinary. The server quickly recorded it.

"You are now a Reserve-level assassin with a blank resume. You can only rise to Scorpion-level upon the completion of your first assignment. Employers will usually pick from our whole list of assassins. If someone chooses you, we will contact you. Until then, you can take up assignments that are open to everybody on the market or assassinate wanted personnel.

"Of course, you can also accept private jobs. We do not have any hard requirements for our assassins, but we will take five percent of the reward as our commission. If you have any questions in the future, you can always call up our reception at Hotel Victoria.

"Sounds reasonable." Han Xiao nodded his head.

There were two reasons for him joining the Blood Pact Society. First, he wanted to take on all the wanted personnel that warranted high bounties, and these missions would trigger high-reward quests. Secondly, he could earn some Universal Reputation by becoming one of the top ten ranked assassins on the Dark Net.

There were only three months till the open beta. He needed to accumulate a large base of resources using the remaining time he had.

"All of these are 'wanted' assignments."

The servant took out a tablet and opened a page on the Dark Net before passing it to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao instantly saw the most popular personnel on the list—himself.

"Zero. Five Million Dollars Reward. Dead or Alive. Location: West Capital, Stardragon. All the best."

If he had returned to the West Capital, his movements would have been heavily restrained. Fortunately, he had escaped early. Han Xiao sniggered. It would take a long time for the Germinal Organization to realize their efforts were all in vain.

He was the most popular target on the wanted list as the Germinal Organization had spent a lot of effort in chasing him down and hunting him recently, but he was not the most wanted. Some of the accumulated prices had even reached tens of millions—they were mostly impossible assignments such as stealing top-secret intelligence from a certain country. Based on the security and defense around Division 13's underground database, this mission's success rate could go as low as 0.001%, with the probability of death being 99.999%. This assignment only looked good on the list; no one would really attempt to do it.

Han Xiao scanned further down the list. He soon settled on a wanted assignment.

"Take down the Rose Militant, a group of mercenaries active in the Somar Desert, in the Southern Land."

The Southern Land was where Hesla was located, and it was also called the South Continent. It had a vast land area and tropical climate. The other continents were the North Continent, West Continent, and the Andrea Continent, which located in the middle of the other three.

Han Xiao picked this mission due its close proximity. Just as he was about to accept the assignment, the server suddenly jolted and said, "Mr. Black, you have a new personal assignment."

Han Xiao was pleasantly surprised. He received an assignment within five minutes of uploading his particulars onto the net.

"This organization's business is really thriving," Han Xiao remarked sincerely.

The server was puzzled himself. "Such happenings are actually quite rare."

"The employer hopes to speak with you personally." The server looked at the screen and continued. "Take a seat first. He will arrive in about ten minutes."

Han Xiao complied.

Ten minutes later, a middle-aged man walked in hastily. He had a head full of white hair, which made him look much older than his real age, and his expression was one of exasperation. He walked into the hall and looked left and right before he came forward to Han Xiao. "I am Cheng Shan Shui."

Before an assignment was officially accepted, the employer would not divulge the target's real name. Assassins could only ask for other basic information. "What will the bounty for this assignment be? And tell me more about the target's protection and location."

"12 to 20 body guards. The location is right in this city. The remuneration will be $10,000."

"Only $10,000?" Han Xiao frowned slightly.

That price was insufficient to employ an assassin.

Cheng Shan Shui nodded anxiously. He had immediately been turned down by other assassins when they heard the price. He lacked enough money to pay for the usual price, so he had decided to try his luck on new assassins like Han Xiao.

"I will take it," Han Xiao agreed.

Cheng Shan Shui cheered inwardly. He took out a stack of documents and passed them to Han Xiao. "Yue You Zu, located right in Morning Wing City."

Yue You Zu was a mafioso in Hesla who was always accompanied by 12 to 16 bodyguards that were made up of retired army reconnaissance soldiers. Recently, he had expanded his influence into the territory of Morning Wind City, which belonged to the local mafia head, Cheng Shan Shui. He could not guard against Yue You Zu's invasion, and so his mafia gang had disbanded. He was now left all alone and wanted to hire assassin to avenge him.

Han Xiao signed the contract after he finished reading the information.

_____________________

You have triggered an E-level Quest [Assassination Assignment (Cheng Shan Shui).

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Han Xiao already knew the quest requirement. He went on to look at the reward of the quest, and it was not much, only 5,000 EXP.

"I'm leaving." Han Xiao stood up and prepared to leave.

Cheng Shan Shui quickly stopped Han Xiao from going and asked, "How long will you need to finish this job?"

Han Xiao paused. He looked out the window and saw that it just reached noon. "I'm guessing you haven't had lunch, right?"

Cheng Shan Shui was startled, not understanding what Han Xiao was trying to say.

Han Xiao turned his head and gave him an aloof look. "He will be gone by the time you finish your lunch."

Cheng Shan Shui's heart skipped a beat.

Based on his impression, assassins would normally do some pre-assignment preparations, such as reconnaissance and escape route planning.

Was this Mr. Black really that powerful, or was he just being arrogant?

Chapter 91: Scorpion-level Assassin

"We meet again, Mr. Cheng."

Cheng Shan Shui was anxiously waiting for the result of his assignment when he heard a voice. He raised his head and saw that it was the man, code-named Lawson, who had previously turned down his assignment. He was a Scorpion-level assassin.

"Oh. It's you. How are you doing?"

"I have some free time for now. I can take your assignment," Lawson said coolly.

Cheng Shan Shui's eyes glimmered for a moment before they became gloomy again. "I'm sorry. My assignment has already been accepted by someone else."

Cheng Shan Shui gave a bitter smile.

The Blood Pact Society's rule dictated that once a contract had been established, no one could alter it.

Lawson was slightly disappointed upon hearing his words.

He had come all the way from Red Maple to visit a friend in Hesla, and he was taking the opportunity to travel around Hesla, so he had no intention of doing any assignment on this trip. When Cheng Shan Shui approached him with his assignment, he had given an outright rejection because the reward for the mission was too low.

But now, Lawson was feeling bored from the idling the past few days. Thus, he wanted to do some simple assignments, and he had planned to take up Cheng Shan Shui's mission. He was surprised that someone else had already accepted the assignment in just one day.

Lawson was annoyed at the situation, but he knew that he could not break the society's rule. He had no choice but to give up on this. He then walked toward the bar and ordered a drink.

After taking two sips from his drink, his phone suddenly rang. He looked at the incoming call—it was from an old client of his, Yue You Zu.

"Hey, Lawson." A man's voice was heard on the phone.

"Yes, it's me. How can I help you, Mr. Yue?" Lawson said nonchalantly.

"I have a job that I hope you can help with."

"Tell me more about it." Lawson's eyes suddenly turned sharp.

"I want you to help me get rid of someone."

"Who?"

"I have sent the details to you."

The rule of confidentiality did not apply here since it was a private job.

Lawson took out his tablet and looked over the information. He then raised his head suddenly and looked at Cheng Shan Shui – he was the target!

"So, what do you think?" Yue You Zu asked. A group of people could be heard going down the stairs from the phone.

"I will take it," Lawson replied confidently.

"Great. I will ask my guy to transfer the deposit to…"

Boom!

Suddenly, the sound of someone dropping onto the floor was heard through the phone. A gunshot was heard from a distance, and Lawson's body stiffened. He recognized the sound—it was a gunshot from a sniper rile. Soon after, he heard people shouting and screaming in panic. He did not bother to speak as he knew Yue You Zu had just been killed by someone.

"This sniper killed the target, who was surrounded by a dozen bodyguards, with just one shot. He's a fine sniper." Lawson's face tensed up as he immediately deduced the whole sequence of events—Cheng Shan Shui's assignment was to kill Yue You Zu. After all, they were enemies.

Cheng Shan Shui must be waiting for the sniper. Let me see who the assassin is. Lawson's eyes flashed.

…

Using the information provided by Cheng Shan Shui, Han Xiao stationed himself on top of a high-rise building a few hundred meters away from Yue You Zu's base in advance. He aimed his sniper from a high vantage point and wanted to snipe Yue You Zu through the window. However, Yue You Zu walked out of the main gate, which made Han Xiao's job much easier.

Even though he was surrounded tightly by a dozen bodyguards, they were no use in defending Han Xiao's shot.

His newly-produced [Spindle-Shaped Penetration Bullet] was strong enough to penetrate any non-metal object easily. The bullet pierced through a bodyguard's body and with no sign of slowing down, it went right into Yue You Zu's heart.

One shot one kill.

Assassinating a regular person was too simple for Han Xiao. He finished the job without any hiccups.

Han Xiao's Facial Simulator was an extremely useful tool for an escape. He changed his look and ran away easily before the commotion attracted the police.

…..

As soon as Han Xiao was back in Hotel Victoria, the troubled Cheng Shan Shui stood up with a look of anxiousness.

"The job is done."

Cheng Shan Shui's body loosened up instantly. He subconsciously looked at his watch, and he realized that Han Xiao had only spent forty-five minutes between leaving this place and coming back, which meant he had taken less than ten mins for the actual assassination after subtracting the travelling time.

That was too fast!

"It's for you to pay me."

"Yep. Okay. Okay." Cheng Shan Shui was in reverence. He took out a suitcase containing $10,000 and handed it to Han Xiao.

_____________________

[Assassination Assignment (Cheng Shan Shui)] completed. You gain 25,000 EXP.

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Cheng Shan Shui left with light footsteps, as if he was rid of a heavy load.

Han Xiao pressed the bell to call the servant in so that he could take up the Wanted job on The Rose Militant. Suddenly, he was aware of something, and he turned around.

"Someone is watching me?"

A man, sitting at the bar, looked at him as if he was sizing him up. Han Xiao did not recognize him, but the man clearly showed a hint of provocation.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, not afraid at all, but he did not want anyone to give casual provoking looks at him. He gathered his power and threw a freezing stare toward the man to send a universal message.

What are you looking at!

Lawson's whole body turned rigid as if he was being locked onto by a menacing sense of hostility. The feeling of danger was hitting his mind in waves. He hurriedly moved his eye sight away from Han Xiao, and the ill feeling finally disappeared.

In just a few short seconds, Lawson's forehead had become covered in cold sweat.

What a terrifying feeling. I should never provoke this guy again!

Lawson quickly gave up on his previous scheming thoughts and left hastily after paying the bill, refusing to stay a moment longer.

….

"We meet again."

Han Xiao smiled gently at the servant.

It was the first time the servant had encountered a newbie who ranked up to an official member of the Society so quickly. He was left in wonder. "Now you are officially a Scorpion-level assassin. Higher tiers of benefits will be available to you. Additionally, you will receive primary VIP benefits in Hotel Victoria in other cities."

"What is my current ranking on the Dark Net assassin's ranking list?" Han Xiao suddenly asked.

The servant was dumbfounded by question. "Only the top-ranking assassins will appear on the list. You are at least more than a thousand over rankings away."

After speaking, he took out his tablet and opened the ranking list for Han Xiao to see.

Han Xiao quietly nodded after scanning through the list. Right now, the top ten assassins were on average at level forty. They were not of top-notch capability. Only the top three assassins were more terrifying as their powers were near the upper-limit of Version 1.0. This ranking list was determined by the number of completed assignments and other related achievements. 'Real' players could only get on the ranking list by competing missions. The same rule applied for the ranking list of hired mercenaries.

Planet Aquamarine did not have many powerful Superhumans. Before the open beta, players could hardly meet any Superhumans above level forty. Furthermore, those powerful individuals who were level fifty to sixty had the highest combat powers on this planet. They were generally leaders of large organizations, secret weapons, recluses, or super criminals and formed their own social circles. Thus, they were hardly present before the normal people and players.

Players would only meet them through missions or by getting more powerful themselves.

After these thoughts flashed through Han Xiao's mind, he opened the wanted list and pointed at one of the assignment. "I want to take the assignment to eliminate the Rose Militant."

"Alright. Your request is now being process. Please give us a few moments."

The servant wrote down the request on some paper before placing it in a specially-made metal tube. He went forward to the reception desk and stuck the tube into a metal pipeline, which fitted the metal tube perfectly.

Swoosh.

The tube was sucked into the pipeline.

The tube travelled rapidly through the pipeline, bypassing numerous openings and other similar tubes, before coming to its new exit.

It was a spacious room decorated like a customer service room. Rows of tables were lined up neatly with a few computers on top of them. The administrative staff were busying processing the documents on their computers, and every table was connected to the pipeline.

An administrative worker dressed in an all-black suit took out the paper from the metal tube and started typing furiously on the keyboard to upload the information.

"Wanted Target: The Rose Militant (Mercenary)

"Requirement: Complete Annihilation

"Initiator: Rothschild Family

"Location: Somar Desert

"Initiated Date: Year 685, 17 November

"Wanted Amount: $3,000,000

"Difficulty Assessment: Hard

"Assignment Record:

- 685.11.27, Code name – Hall (Dark-level) [Killed in action]

- 685.12.11, Code name – Bloody Hand (Dark-level) [Killed in action]

- 685.3.10, Code name – Magic Flower (Dark-level), Freeman (Dark-level) [Killed in action]"

…

"Assignment Info Update: The strength of the militia is currently between 80 to 120 people, including four superhumans, leader Luo (Esper), instructor Dorothy (Pugilist), instructor Ghostly Fox (Pugilist), and unknown (suspected to be a Mechanic). They are active in the Somar Desert.

"Authorizing… Authorization approved.

"Assignment Info Updated.

"688.4.1, Code Name – Mr. Black (Scorpion-level) [Awaiting results]."

….

At the same time, Han Xiao triggered the corresponding quest.

_____________________

You have triggered C-level quest [Bounty Hunter (The Rose Militant)]!

Quest Information: The Somar Desert is filled with many factions, including Wanderers and hired militants… but how did a desolated land like this attract so many powerful factions? Perhaps it has something to do with certain incidents in the past. You should explore this land.

Quest Requirement: Kill all members of The Rose Militant. Time limit: 15 days

Quest Reward: 15,000 EXP

Special Reward: 25,000 EXP, unknown reward

Chapter 92: Pilgrims

"I need to use your cargo plane," Han Xiao said to Antonio. They were in a base camp of the Fabian company.

Antonio was slightly shocked.

"We only use the military cargo plane for large scale transactions. Even if you are a Black-Gold VIP, you are still required to pay the stipulated charges," Antonio stuttered.

"Ok, got it."

"Well, how many guys you want to transport. When will they leave?"

"Just myself. I'm leaving immediately."

Antonio's chubby face was shaking like waves of water. He paused for quite a while and eventually said, "What a waste."

The military cargo plane was able to reach the destination in around a day's time. There was a simple garage available on the plane, and Han Xiao was able to create new machinery and gain experience during the trip on the plane.

"A trip by the plane cost $50,000. Are you serious?"

"When can I board the plane?" Han Xiao took out a large stash of cash from his briefcase that contained a hundred thousand dollars.

"One hour."

The Fabian Organization rented a stretch of runway at the Morning Wind City's airport. There were a couple of large olive-green cargo planes parked. Han Xiao brought along all his gear and materials and boarded one of the planes. Soon, he could sense the vibrations. The plane started to accelerate and took off into the clouds.

Once the plane regained its stability in the skies after the take-off, Han Xiao was able to start his creations.

…

The glaring sun was shining brightly on the endless desert. The yellow sand was heated to a temperature unbearable for the human body.

A group of twenty was trudging through the desert.

They were clad in torn and tattered gray robes. Their robes had not been cleaned for god knew how long. Their robes were drenched in sweat, releasing a disgusting stench, and they stuck to their wet bodies. They lips were cracking, and their eyes draped down. Their fatigue was evident from the look on their faces. They were moving shakily, and it was as if they were going to collapse at any moment. The horses that they brought along also looked sick and skinny.

The Somar desert had once had an oasis. The country was rich, and its citizens lived happily. But after a war, the entire country had perished. The oasis had been destroyed by the battles and blended into the surrounding desert. The people walking in desert were the citizens of the country that had vanished.

A legend of the old nation said that ruins of over a million years old were hidden deep in the Somar desert. Beneath the ruins, there was a hidden treasure that held the power to control the entire desert!

In the wars that happened decades ago, the desert had undergone a series of abnormal changes. The sand behaved like water and transformed into a whirlpool. The whirlpool moved around the desert as if it was being controlled by someone. The whirlpool then vanished after seven days. The records of the eerie incident disappeared with the destruction of the country. Many citizens of the old nation believed that the treasure could revive their country, and they searched long and hard for it.

The Wanderers active along the border of the Somar desert were also known also as the pilgrims.

That group of twenty was the last batch of pilgrims.

"The ruins of Felonia, the power of the magic, they are sure to exist," the eldest of the pilgrims mumbled to himself.

…

A fleet of vehicles returned to the desert to defend the boundaries.

"Dorothy! Nothing again this trip?" Luo Qing, the chief of the Rose Militants, questioned.

"This time, we searched in sectors E4, E5, and D4. There are still no signs of Felonia," Dorothy replied with frustration. She was a strong black lady. Her face was disfigured by a long scar that looked like a centipede. Her strong muscular arms had tattoos that were hard to see due to her dark complexion.

Rose Militant was a mercenary organization made up entirely of female members. They were active in the Somar desert and had been searching for Felonia for years.

There were two trainers in the organization. The other trainer, nicknamed Ghostly Fox, was a petite white lady and a brilliant assassin.

"In this search, our members came into contact with the Coutonians. Wen Li and Cecil died in battle."

All the returning members of the militia suffered from injuries. Their bulletproof vests had many holes, and the ceramic tiles housed in the vests were also shattered.

Luo Qing gave a cold glance and said, "Be more careful in the next search. The Coutonians are funded by the Rothschild family, who have always wanted to wipe us out."

All the military groups active in the Somar desert had their sponsors. They all had the mission of finding Felonia. Therefore, battles between the different groups were very common. Most mercenary soldiers had at least ten lives on their hands. They were all ruthless individuals.

…

Han Xiao felt a shake in the plane. The huge force pressed his body hard on the seat. Gradually, that force pushing him disappeared.

"The plane has landed," the pilot shouted through the speakers.

Han Xiao brought his briefcase down, and he could feel a wave of heat once he alighted from the plane.

The landing site was a warehouse surround by barbed wire. There were many militias patrolling the area. It was the branch of the Fabian organization in the Somar desert. The Fabian organization was a global arms-dealing organization that had branches everywhere for more convenient business dealings.

"Welcome to Somar desert." Antonio descended from the plane. His white shirt was stretched tightly by his fat body. The chunk of meat could be seen clearly as if he was topless.

"Why did you follow?"

"Haha, the chief in charge of the Somar branch was killed in a recent battle. Therefore, I am here to take care of some administrative matters. Also, it has been a long while since I travelled."

Han Xiao nodded. He was not shy at all and asked, "I need a map indicating the different military groups that are active. Also, can you lend me a desert jeep?"

"I'll get someone to make the arrangements."

Somar desert spanned a large area. Even if he drove the jeep continuously without sleeping and followed the correct route, he would need at least ten day to travel across the desert. Since it was hard to navigate through a desert, a radar was definitely required to accurately tell the direction. Furthermore, there were many military groups active in the region.

Han Xiao felt confused as he could not understand what the different groups of forces were fighting for in the barren terrain.

"To find Felonia."

"What's that?" Han Xiao was very curious. He did not have any recollection about that word. It was probably a hidden mission that had not been activated in his past life.

Antonio yawned. "I am equally clueless."

Han Xiao realized that Antonio was trying to hide something from him. He raised his brows, collected his gear, and walked toward to jeep without saying another word. He was ready to check out the active areas of Rose Militant.

"Bon voyage." Antonio waved lazily at Han Xiao to bid farewell.

Han Xiao drove the jeep into the desert through an opening in the barbed wires.

…

Through the information on the radar, Han Xiao managed to reach a location, quite a distance away from the area occupied by Rose Militant, where he could observe the activities of the member of the organization using a telescope.

The campsite of Rose Militant was heavily guarded. It had concrete walls and barbed wire on the walls. The metal gate was the sole entrance and exit to the base.

Within the base, there was a tall sentry post. The sentry guard on the post observed the surroundings while the sentry post was also equipped with a huge search light that would be switched on at night.

Han Xiao came to a conclusion—unless he could burrow into the sand and dig a tunnel into the base, it was almost impossible for him to infiltrate the base.

Furthermore, Rose Militant consisted only of women. They had big breasts and perky asses. Han Xiao had a perky ass, but he could not squeeze out any breasts. Even if he could disguise himself as a woman, it was highly likely that he would be discovered.

The infiltration was bound to fail.

Han Xiao glanced at the weapons on the sentry post. There were several grenade launchers and dozens of heavy machine guns in addition to the tough concrete walls encircling the base.

An assault of the base was also bound to fail.

It seems like the only way to achieve success for the mission is to lure the snake out. I need to employ traps in my upcoming battles. I need to create some new items, Han Xiao thought to himself as he left.

He started his journey back to the Somar headquarters of the Fabian company. He wanted to ask Antonio if he could use the garage.

There were still seven remaining potential points. He raised [Basic Electromagnetism] to level four and [Basic Spatial Sensing] to level three, using a total of four points.

_____________________

Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?

(Lv. 4 Basic Electromagnetism + Lv. 3 Basic Energy Theory + Lv. 3 Basic Spatial Sensing)

This fusion will cost you 15,000 EXP!

Chapter 93: Ambush

_____________________

Fusion

Success!

Congratulations, you have discovered [Electromagnetic Combat Scanning Visor]!

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Oh?

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. The product from the fusion was not what he had anticipated. However, the visor was of great use to a sniper since it offered greater accuracy compared to using the thermo-scope. The new visor enabled vision through the internal compartment of concrete walls. If it was mounted onto the scope, it would allow for more accurate shots through the concrete walls at the stipulated target.

Let me try it again.

_____________________

…

This fusion will cost you 30,000 EXP!

_____________________

Fusion

Success!

Congratulations, you have discovered [Electromagnetic Pulse Interference Machine]!

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That's the one. Han Xiao nodded.

The EMP Interference Machine was a common blueprint. It was very likely to appear, and other than the EMP Interference Machine, there were a couple of other machinery blueprints that could meet his expectations. In fact, he had actually set aside sufficient EXP for a third fusion. However, he was no longer required to use the additional EXP and could save it for future tasks.

The powers of the EMP Interference Machine were known far and wide.

There was no shortage of vehicles available in the desert. However, since Han Xiao was a sniper, maintaining the distance between the target was of the utmost importance, and he needed to have some distractions for vehicles if they approached.

He was still short of some highly destructive explosives, mines, and traps.

He touched his chin, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He had a new idea.

I guess I can try creating the items and skip the fusion process!

Previously, the players could hardly utilize self-creation skills. However, they were able to absorb the knowledge from the other blueprints and fuse their knowledge and the information from the other blueprints together to create new ones. They were able use their knowledge gained to add on to the details of their concepts. Through self-creation, they were able to skip the arduous research and development process of the new machinery, and they could even create powerful new machinery ahead of the expected progression.

The core concept behind the highly explosive rounds was flammable gas. By compressing flammable gas into a container, its power would be escalated to an extent that was no lesser than the Mines of Shattering Shards.

Since he needed to create an explosive mine, he needed additional gunpowder and ball bearings. He started to consider the use of flammable gas.

He decided to split the explosive round into different sections. The flammable gas became less reactive upon coming into contact with the atmospheric gases, and they were sealed up. There was a switch in the round that also acted as a timer. Once the time was up, the switch would click, and as the flammable gases came into contact with the gunpowder, an explosion would be triggered.

Since he was going to utilize his prototyping skills, Han Xiao felt that it was a good opportunity to increase the power of his product by equipping it with additional effects. Therefore, he decided to incorporate the theory behind the Hayme bullet into his new creation.

Han Xiao quickly finalized the blueprint in his mind and started crafting the new equipment with his hands. A prototype was required to be tested in order to determine whether the new creation was a success or not. Most players employed the creation process—they merely set the blueprint and selected the materials and tools required. They did not participate in the manufacturing process, and the success of the creation depended a lot on luck.

However, Han Xiao was involved in every phase of the production process, including the hands-on manufacturing. Hence, he was able to fine tune the steps in each stage of the production, and that greatly increased the success rate of his creation.

After a while, a circular mine with a thirty-millimeter diameter emerged from Han Xiao's production. He operated the interface and did an automatic scan to determine if his creation was successful.

_____________________

Scanning to determine success of product…

Failure!

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It failed? Han Xiao raised his brows and frowned.

The reason behind the failure had to be due to the fact that the mechanical components were unable to attain the projected effects, or there were some obvious loopholes.

He found a spot to test out the power of his new creation, and he discovered that the ignition process involving the highly flammable gas, gunpowder, and the poisonous gas was awry. Although an explosion still took place, the damage caused was far below what was projected, and modifications were required.

The gases were very hard to control. A slight mistake meant that the entire process had to be repeated and modifications of the mechanical parts had to be made. The weapons-testing area of the Fabian Organization's camp was completed charred, and venomous gases were everywhere. Han Xiao had to vacate the ground, else he would suffer continuous deductions of his HP.

Finally, after thirteen failures, an angelic line emerged on the interface.

_____________________

Success!

You have successfully created a new prototype blueprint!

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A new explosive's blueprint emerged in his mind, and the interface recorded all the theories behind the machinery. After witnessing the effects of this new weapon, Han Xiao whispered, "It's too conventional to call the explosive the Highly-Flammable, Poisonous, Delayed-Explosion Mine. I shall call the mine 'Flaming Poison'."

_____________________

The naming is successful.

You have gained the blueprint of the new creation [Flaming Poison Mine]!

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After the newly-created blueprint was recognized by the interface, the usage of the explosive became a skill, and EXP could be utilized to increase the level of the explosive. Furthermore, the various requirements to create the explosive were also recorded on the interface, and by referring to the interface during the creation process, the manufacturing of the explosive could take place at a faster rate.

Han Xiao's eyes lit up brightly. Indeed, just as I expected, the self-creation blueprints can meet my needs for adaptable weapons during battle situations, and there is a huge potential in this area that has yet to be unraveled.

The next step will be to create a sufficient inventory of explosives.

…

Night soon fell.

Han Xiao drove his jeep into an empty and spacious sector. He then arranged rows of fireworks on the ground and put them on delayed ignition. After that, he prepared the Flaming Venoms and EMP Interference Machine along the path that Rose Militant had to take in order to reach the specified sector.

How did Han Xiao predict the route that Rose Militant would take?

It was based on the shortest distance between the two points.

Obviously, one could not eliminate the possibility that the enemy would take a longer path instead of the predicted one. However, it was not much of a worry as there was always another opportunity to ambush the enemy.

The EMP Interference Machine was a circular piece of equipment with a base. Han Xiao had created a portable version with a height of merely one meter and a radiation radius of 300 meters that released high frequency wave signals. The machine could interfere with the abilities of other precision electronics such as communication devices, remotely-controlled electronics, and search radars. It was especially effective against vehicles and could paralyze their communications, signal receptors, controllers, and even their movements.

Although Han Xiao did not expect the vehicles operated by the Rose Militants to be equipped with anti-interference machines, he adjusted the interference machinery to a frequency that had the highest likelihood for success. As long as there was a slight opening in the vehicle that was not equipped with anti-interference metal, the vehicle would succumb to the effects of the interference.

The drawback of such a method was that it was very draining on the battery of the machine. However, it was not much of an issue as the machine was not required to release constant interference. As long as there was one successful penetration, the vehicle would be paralyzed.

After setting up the trap, Han Xiao parked his jeep at a sand dune that was around four hundred meters away from the ambush. He then silently lay prone on ground and looked through his scope like a patient hunter waiting for his kill.

At night, the temperature of the desert plunged, and the cold gusts of wind blew the sand into the air. Han Xiao was wearing a windbreaker and had thick leather gloves on his hands to prevent the freezing cold from immobilizing his hands and thus his accuracy.

Boom!

The fireworks shot up into the sky in the marked-out sector. The fireworks were especially glaring in the dark of the night. They could be seen clearly from even tens of kilometers away.

…

"There's a problem!"

In the base of the Rose Militants, the sentry guards saw the booming fireworks in the sky and immediately reported the situation to Luo Qing.

"Dorothy, take your troops and check out the situations. Be careful of the other militias around and request for reinforcements immediately if you guys engage enemies," Luo Qing quickly ordered.

Dorothy nodded. She selected twenty troops. They suited up, equipping themselves with a plethora of magazine cartridges and grenades. They then rode out in four desert jeeps.

In the Coutonian base-camp, Couton, who was the chief, also saw the fireworks and ordered his men, "Bring your troops and check out the situation. A fight is likely to take place."

A couple of the armed jeeps drove out of the Couton base-camp into the wild.

The same scene also played out in a couple of other militant-camps.

…

The jeeps of Rose Militant were speeding through the desert. The rotating tires threw the sand into the air, and a long 'dragon' of dust trailed behind the vehicles.

"Dorothy, is this the appearance of Felonia?" a female trooper asked Dorothy.

Dorothy had a ferocious look. When she squeezed her lips, she looked like a black tigress that devoured anything in her way. She replied coldly, "If Felonia could be discovered so easily, I wouldn't have wasted two years here. This is probably some smokescreen created by others. Everyone, stay on high alert. This is probably another trap the Coutonians planted!"

Hum––

Once Dorothy's sentence ended, an eerie sound of electricity could be heard in the air. Dorothy and five other troops could sense that there was a special wave that originated from somewhere not far away.

Simultaneously, all the meters on the cars cracked, and the four Jeeps instantly lost control and collided into one another like drunkards. No matter how much the drivers stepped on the pedals, the jeeps were still out of their control.

"Enemy ambush!" Dorothy was shocked and started to scan the surroundings alertly.

What was the cause of the paralysis of the vehicles? Could it have been an EMP‽

The troops searched around, and they could only see the yellowish sand in the darkness. There was nothing strange.

The desert was spacious, and stars of the galaxy could also be seen in the night sky. The cold wind of the night howled.

The troops could feel the goosebumps on their arms. It was as if they were being choked by a gigantic hand and could hardly breathe.

Boom!

A Rose Militant was flung into the air by a large shockwave and landed hard onto the sand. She no longer had any breath, and there was a bloody hole in her body that looked ghastly.

"There's a sniper. Hide behind the vehicle!" Dorothy was shocked and angry. She immediately gathered her teammates to move behind the vehicle and requested for reinforcements by shooting the flare into the air.

Rose Militant felt a small sense of security as their base was relatively close to their current position. Within fifteen minutes, their reinforcements would arrive!

Han Xiao, who was lying prone on the sand, saw the flare and muttered to himself, "This arrow into the clouds will bring tens of thousands of enemy troops."

He then changed to the highly flammable magazine and fired a shot at the trap lined with the Flaming Poison Mines. Fire started burning at the point the bullet landed and ignited the Faming Poison Mines.

Boom!

After a thunderous sound, a sea of flames emerged, and it resulted in a chain reaction that lit up the other mines, causing continuous explosions!

The merciless flames swallowed four jeeps, and the poisonous gas was released everywhere. The damage to the enemies caused by the poison and burns appeared on the interface.

The Hayme Bullet was a poisonous bullet also known as 'The Bullet of Justice'. The effect of the damage was much greater when the theory behind the Hayme Bullet was applied to the Flaming Poison Mines.

Coughs were heard everywhere. Dorothy felt nauseous, and her teammates looked as if they were suffering worse. Their heads were spinning, and they were vomiting uncontrollably.

If all of them continued to remain at their current position, they were bound to die from either the flames or the poisonous gas.

What a sly bastard! Dorothy tired hard to overcome the nauseating sensation in her chest and yelled, "Charge toward the sniper and kill him. That's the only way we can survive!"

Chapter 94: Asking for help

The Rose Militants staggered toward the direction that the bullets originated from. The venomous gas had infiltrated their bodies, and they were clearly poisoned. Only Dorothy, who had the physical attributes of a pugilist, was able to withstand the poison. She led the troops in the charge.

Han Xiao calmly switched to the cartridge with the spindle-shaped penetration bullets. He fired the sniper, and the gunshots sounded as if they followed a steady tempo. Shot by shot, he wiped out the militants one by one. The bulletproof vests were unable to withstand the power of the penetration bullets. Coupled with Han Xiao's personal attribute, a shot fired by Han Xiao could deal a theoretical damage of around 130 damage points. Moreover, the normal troops ranged from level five to level eight. They possessed around 150 points of HP. Therefore, a single shot was enough to kill them with the damage dealt by the poison and flames. A second shot was not even needed to kill the troops. The efficiency of wiping out the enemy was especially high.

Han Xiao deliberately made Dorothy the sole survivor of his attacks. Firstly, he killed all of Dorothy's assistants, and he was only left with the strongest of them all, Dorothy, to fight.

After Han Xiao killed the last of the ordinary militants, Dorothy finally got close to him. She raised her modified machine gun and started firing hysterically at him.

Han Xiao ducked, and the bullets struck the sand dunes, spraying sand into the air.

Dorothy was running and firing her weapon ferociously at the same time. She finally came before Han Xiao after she exhausted the bullets of her magazine. She appeared to be brutal killer.

The sniper was bound to be dead if a pugilist managed to get close to the sniper.

Dorothy could not wait to smash Han Xiao's skull into pieces, just as she had done to a couple of her other enemies.

"Hunting-tiger Axe!"

Dorothy wielded her axe and slashed it at Han Xiao's head. The sound of the axe slicing the wind could be heard. She was confident that her strike was powerful enough to wreck Han Xiao's brain into pieces.

Han Xiao dodged the strike and slide backward three steps like a mudskipper. Dorothy missed her strike.

"Strafe!"

Like a phantom, Han Xiao drew the Berserk Eagles from his waist. The continuous firing by Han Xiao instantly led to countless penetration bullets piercing Dorothy's body.

Dorothy shrieked in pain. However, her eyes revealed a tinge of arrogance. She took out a shotgun from her back and fired at Han Xiao.

"Shotgun bullets are the deadliest close range. It is a sure kill—you're a dead man!"

Dorothy expected Han Xiao to be dead, but the next moment astonished her.

The scale-like armor covered Han Xiao upper body, and the bullets from the shotgun struck the hard surface of the armor, resulting in sparks. With his current skills, Han Xiao was able to create a magnetically-controlled retractable armor that covered his entire upper body.

"I have armor, you fool!"

Han Xiao then fired all the bullets in his magazine at Dorothy's body. A pugilist that reached Pan Kuang's level was able to withstand the penetration by the bullets only if he focused hard.

Compared to Pan Kuang, Dorothy was much weaker, and it was impossible for her to withstand the penetration by the high-caliber bullets. Blood spurted out from her mouth, and her bloodshot eyes stared hard at Han Xiao. She was mumbling, as if she wanted to say something.

Boom! Han Xiao blasted Dorothy's head with his pistol.

_____________________

You killed Dorothy (Lv. 25).

You gained 7,500 EXP.

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In the earlier stages, snipers possessed strong long-range combat power, and they were able to conveniently strike their targets from afar. However, snipers were trained solely by the Union. This was because of the fact that it was too expensive to train snipers. Even the lousiest sniper would require at least $10,000 of investment. Sniper bullets were expensive; every shot fried was liked to money being used up.

Furthermore, ordinary snipers did not possess the magnetically-controlled retractable armor; therefore, they were easily killed when their enemies moved up close to them.

Han Xiao search Dorothy's body and discovered that her gun was modified. From the modifications, it seemed like Rose Militant had a skillful mechanic.

After wiping out this group of enemies, Han Xiao had gained 10,000 EXP. The endless flames from the Flaming Poison Mines would soon attract more enemies.

Han Xiao retrieved the EMP Interference Machine and returned to his jeep, quickly leaving the site.

A while after Han Xiao left, a group of Couton troops arrive at the scene. They were shocked by the sight before their eyes.

"They are from Rose Militant."

"Who ambushed them?"

The Couton troops were just about to check out the scene when the reinforcements led by Luo Qing also arrived. They saw their comrades lying dead on the ground and the Couton troops standing over their bodies.

"Fire!"

The two groups had been in conflict for quite a while. Upon seeing their enemies, Rose Militant was instantly angered, and they started firing. Any form of explanation to prevent the fight was futile.

Luo Qing ordered the attack without hesitation. The Couton troops retaliated upon realizing the situation they were about to face. Instantly, a fierce battle took place, and the gunshots and explosions lit up the night sky.

Other militias also arrived at the scene. Upon seeing the ongoing battle between the Couton troops and the Rose Militants, they wanted a piece of the cake and joined in the fight. It turned into a complete chaos.

Even more militias that had bases further away from the site arrived, and they joined in the fun and started stirring more chaos before even finding out the reason behind the fight.

The fight went for almost half of the night. All the respective militias suffered damage. They retreated to their bases and started to count their losses. The last few militias that arrived at the scene did not even know why they had been fighting.

The Rose Militants brought back twenty bodies of their dead comrades. These bodies had grievous wounds created by the bullets of a sniper.

"Looks like Dorothy and the others were not ambushed by the Coutonians. They were killed by a sniper," Ghostly Fox said.

Luo Qing's face sank as she started thinking hard about the culprit behind the attack. Their enemies were all from the Somar Desert, and even if there was conflict, it was more likely to be a direct battle rather than an ambush. She immediately thought of the incident that had happened two years back. When the Rothschild family first put a bounty on their heads, many lone assassins had taken up the challenge and tried to kill them.

"Another bounty-hunter?" Luo Qing frowned. Rose Militant had not been approached by assassins for almost a year.

Perhaps after a year, some rash youngster had forgotten about the painful lesson the Rose Militants had taught the assassins.

Dorothy had suffered a painful death. She was murdered at a close range. This indicated that the sniper possessed some close-combat abilities.

A petite woman approached. She was wearing an oil-stained coat and said, "I found the killer's vehicle tacks. He headed toward the southeast. There are three distinct camps based there, and the nearest one belongs to the Fabian Organization."

"Good job, Su Li."

Su Li was the mechanic of the Rose Militants, and she was in charge of maintaining and modifying the guns, vehicles, and defensive gear.

"I found some shards of the exploded mines at the site, and I presume the incident was a well-planned ambush. The outer shells of the mine belonged to the Fabian Organization. It is highly likely that the killer is residing in the camp of the Fabian Organization. I tried to piece back the mine that was used, and it seems like a new type of explosive. The explosion involved the use of several gases."

Luo Qing squinted. They had met a tough foe this time, but she was determined to take revenge. She made an encrypted phone call to their secret sponsor.

"Mr. Sebastian, a team of twenty of our troops were hunted down by an unknown assassin."

An old raspy voice emerged from the other side of the line. "I will send someone to handle it."

Every time an assassin emerged, the sponsor behind the Rose Militants would send out other 'Professional Assassins' to punish the culprit. That was the reason Rose Militant had managed to wipe out so many assassins in the Somar Desert.

Chapter 95: Reverse Psychology

A helicopter landed on the helipad within the compound of the base camp of Rose Militant. Three cold-looking men alighted from the helicopter. They seemed to possess an air of mystery that prevented others from wanting to go near them. Furthermore, they looked almost the same, like they were made from the same mold.

Code 3, Code 5, and Code 9 were all the assassins trained in the same training camp.

"How's the situation?" Code 3, who was the captain of the team, asked directly.

Luo Qing gave him a brief of the events that had occurred.

Code 3 squinted and said, "The enemy is a sniper, and his ambush on your men was to scout on your abilities. He wanted to lure all of you out. The enemy possesses detailed information about you guys, and based on the latest information provided, the enemy is probably residing in the camp of the Fabian Organization. However, the Fabian Organization is not a party you want to mess with. We are unable to conduct assassinations in their territory."

"What are you guys planning to do then?" Luo Qing asked.

"You guys are the target of the killer. Therefore, we are going to use you as bait to lure him out. After that, the three of us will ambush him and secure the kill."

"Ghostly Fox, you will be responsible for taking our teams out over the upcoming few days," Luo Qing ordered.

Ghostly Fox nodded.

…

In the Fabian Organization's campsite, Han Xiao was scratching the unshaven stubble on his chin in his room. He was still puzzled.

It seems like Rose Militant can no longer fight as well as they did in the past…

The combat skills of Dorothy made him feel strange. If that was what Rose Militant was capable of, there was no reason the bounty had yet to be collected.

Once again, the suspicion in Han Xiao was activated, and he felt like he was missing some critical information. He then went to find Antonio to clear his queries.

Han Xiao knocked on the door of Antonio's office and looked into the room from the tiny available gap. Antonio was looking through files on his study table.

"What are you here for?" Antonio laughed.

Han Xiao sat in front of Antonio and faced him directly. Han Xiao then asked, "I want to know more about the different militias active in the Somar Desert."

"I passed you the report previously. You can find all strengths and territories of these militias on it."

"I want something not on the report." Han Xiao raised his brows and said, "You know what I mean."

Antonio lit a cigar and laughed. "I guess you realized it. All these militias are merely tools used by the rich families who act as their funders. They sponsor these militants to help them search for Felonia. If these backers are not wiped out, there will only be endless streams of militants pouring into the desert."

"The troops of Couton are sponsored by the Rothschild family, who put up your bounty. Haha, don't be too surprised, the bounties for the Rose Militants are all public."

Han Xiao was not surprised. If that was the case, in order for him to complete his mission, he had to wipe out all of Rose Militant, especially their chief, Luo Qing.

Antonio took a puff and said calmly, "Rose Militant is funded by the Ordifina Organization. The organization controls various political lobbying groups. It also manages secret facilities to train mercenaries and assassins. It is headquartered in the Western Continent, which is relatively less powerful in the Southern Continent. However, it is definitely not a small organization to be trifled with."

Han Xiao had a sudden realization. No wonder all the Dark Net assassins sent to kill the militants did not return. Rose Militant had a powerful supporter that provided them with reinforcements.

"What's so special about Felonia? How can it draw the attention of so many different forces?" Han Xiao felt that the mystery of Felonia had something to do with the rewards of his assassination mission.

Since a large number of reinforcements was expected to arrive, Han Xiao had to plan out his next steps carefully.

At first, Han Xiao had two ideas in mind. The first was to wait for the target to arrive at his doorstep, and the second was to lure the enemies out of their camp. Both methods required Rose Militant to leave their base. The reinforcements sent by the enemies were bound work out the tactics he was going to employ. Therefore, it was highly likely that they had ordered the Rose Militants to move out of their base to lure Han Xiao out and eventually ambush him.

What shall I do? Perhaps take an unexpected path?

Han Xiao massaged his temples as he contemplated his options. What if he set up a trap somewhere then acted as if he did not know about the enemy ambush? Once contacted, Han Xiao would lure the enemies into his trap and turn the situation around to his advantage.

I will need more weapons.

…

Ghostly Fox took her team out for their third patrol. They were wandering aimlessly in the desert. She felt a tinge of frustration and asked through the communication line, "Why is the assassin not appearing? Is he afraid or what?"

From the other side of the line, Code 3 replied, "Assassins are meticulous individuals. The successful ambush means that he will wait to observe your movements before making the next move."

…

It was night again. Recently, Han Xiao had often been busy at night.

He hauled the new equipment that he had created into the jeep before he drove out of the camp to the site where he would set up his tap.

The jeep moved out of the gates of the camp. The light emitted by the jeep dimmed as the vehicle moved deeper into the desert.

…

At the same time, there was a telescope that could be seen far away from the scene.

On the sand dune a kilometer away, Code 9, who was clad in yellow cloth, was observing the movement of the jeep with his telescope. He broke into a cold grin.

"The target has left the camp. He is heading north. I suppose he wants to set up his trap. He has probably discovered our existence and wants to employ reverse psychology to lure us into his trap instead."

Since they knew that Han Xiao was hiding in Fabian Organization's camp, they were naturally spying on him.

"The enemy is pretty amateur." Code 3 looked confident. He expected the upcoming mission to be an easy one since everything was under their control.

…

At dawn, Han Xiao back to the base and went to look for Antonio.

"You want me to help you drive?" Antonio looked shocked.

"Yes, I need you to drive since my hands will be tied up with firing the shots."

"Wait… This is your mission; how does it concern me? Why must I help you?" Antonio was puzzled.

"It is rare for you venture out, so how can you just stay here and do nothing? Come out with me and experience the beauty of nature."

Antonio pointed to the barren desert and asked, "What nature is there to see here?"

"This is all just on the surface. Maybe we will see a magnificent mirage? Maybe there will be hidden mountains and rivers? The desert is very big; I am sure these sights can be discovered if you explore the area with a devout heart."

"I don't think we are close enough to travel together," Antonio replied in an awkward manner.

"Then give me a chance to be friends with you." Han Xiao laughed out loud.

"… Did anyone ever tell you that you are very thick-skinned?"

Han Xiao touched his face mask. He was obviously thick-skinned. His mask alone was two layers thick.

Although Antonio looked obese, Han Xiao could sense the immense combat power that he possessed. Han Xiao had selected Antonio to be his driver as he knew that Antonio would be unlikely to commit any screw-ups or die so easily.

If it was an ordinary driver, the driver would die almost instantly upon contact with the enemy, and he would be left to fend for himself.

Antonio thought for a moment and said, "If you want me to participate in the mission, I want a share of your earnings."

"How about five percent?"

"No way! That's too little." Antonio shook his head.

"Don't argue with me. You are just going with me to drive the vehicle. Five percent is already a generous offer."

"If we meet any enemies, the driver will surely be the first target. At least twenty percent."

Han Xiao widened his eyes in disbelief. "Why don't you just go and rob someone?"

"That's precisely what I'm doing now." There was a hint of cheekiness in Antonio's tiny eyes.

After arguing for quite some time, Han Xiao finally decided to appease Antonio with $20,000. Paying Antonio with hard cash was more reliable that just making a verbal contract. The collaboration between the two became an employment contract. $20,000 for a one-time driver was no doubt an extravagant spend.

Antonio squeezed his fat body into the driver's seat while Han Xiao sat at the back of the jeep. He then handed the radar coordinates to Antonio and briefed him on the plan.

Antonio chuckled after he heard the plan.

"Interesting."

…

It was late in the morning. The sun was scorching, and mirages started forming under the intense heat of the desert.

The team that Ghostly Fox was leading only operated two jeeps. They were wandering around the desert and searching the surroundings.

"A jeep is approaching!" a trooper exclaimed.

An armored jeep appeared at the sand dune not far from their position. The jeep was travelling in parallel to their jeeps. It was the jeep with Han Xiao and Antonio.

"Enemy is approaching!" Ghostly Fox was delighted.

An eerie voice sounded from the communication device. The voice was cold and had the vibes of a killer. "The prey is finally in the trap!"

Chapter 96: Surprised and Shocked

Han Xiao stuck his rifle barrel out of the car window. A high-explosive bullet spun out of the chamber and reached accurately on one of Rose Militant's jeeps. The bullet exploded, engulfing the car in massive flames.

However, all these desert jeeps had a specially-made protective exterior that offered protection against the high heat. The destruction caused by the high-explosive bullet was limited. Han Xiao assessed the situation before he decisively changed to the penetration bullets and fired them at the bullet-proof windows of those vehicles, causing numerous cracks.

"Surround it!" Ghostly Fox's team turned around immediately, and two other vehicles followed to encircle the place.

"Where is the ambush?"

Since Han Xiao was undeterred by the dangers ahead, he was naturally vigilant about his situation. All of a sudden, he covered his face with his magnetic armor, and it deflected a sniper round that was aimed at his forehead. He raised his eyes and saw a new enemy jeep charging toward him from the side. On the back of the vehicle, a foreign enemy was operating a sniper rifle. A person who could fire such an accurate round on a fast-moving vehicle had the thirty percent chance of being a Mechanic or a sixty percent chance of being a sniper-type assassin. The last ten percent accounted for the possibility of it being sheer luck.

The shot had come from Code 3. He was slightly surprised by the fact that he did not succeed. "The target has a special protective method—could be an Esper power or machinery," he uttered in a low voice.

Han Xiao believed that there were more to this ambush. He slapped on the back of the front chair and said, "Go faster, don't slow down. Drive to our destination."

Antonio skillfully changed gear and stomped on the accelerator. The car drifted before it changed direction and sped to escape.

All of a sudden, another jeep, as if it had been waiting in place for days, appeared right in the direction of their new escape route. This time, it was driven by Code 5. He fired his bazooka at them.

The anti-tank war head, driven by the flaming rocket propeller, approached them rapidly.

Antonio's face slightly paled, and he immediately turned the steering wheel forcefully to make a sharp turn. The rocket brushed past the rear end of the car and landed on the sandy ground.

A loud blast was heard, and sand was flying all over the air.

The shockwave smashed onto the back of the vehicle, tilting it thirty degrees upward before it fell hard onto the ground. Han Xiao, who was sitting on the backseats, was bumped up and down heavily. His butt was in great pain as a result.

"Eh. They dodged it." Code 3 squinted and said, "Code 9 is waiting for them in front on Thorns."

Thorns was an armored battle vehicle modified by Su Li. It had extremely strong firepower, massive horsepower, and an ultra-thick armored exterior. It was the perfect fusion of a tank's attack and defense capability and a jeep's mobility.

Last night, Code 9 had discovered Han Xiao's tracks, and they had set up the ambush with the three assassins. Code 9 was their final insurance. He drove Thorns in the direction that Han Xiao placed his trap. They had even discovered the rough coordinates of the trap, so it was impossible for them to fall into it. They then purposefully waited in the direction of Han Xiao's escape to dash the little hope he had when he so desperately tried to escape!

"He is already dead," Code 3 whispered.

The battle caused many explosions on the road; countless bullets and rockets were chasing Han Xiao's vehicle wantonly. Han Xiao fired back as many times as he could, barely slowing the four jeeps' pursuit. The Red-Falcon sniper rifle complemented the powerful spindle bullet, causing a substantial threat to the Rose Militant. But as his vehicle was now scrambling to escape from the scene, coupled with Code 3 and Code 5's suppression, his shooting accuracy was undermined to a great extent.

Ohmmm…

A distinct engine sound thundered on the battlefield, like a tiger roaring in rage.

Han Xiao felt his heart tighten, and he quickly looked forward.

A modified battle jeep was blocking their way. Its armored exterior, thick and bulky, was covered with sharp spikes like a hedgehog.

Different kinds of large-caliber barrels were sticking out from the sides of the vehicle. Based on the sizes of the barrels, they were grenade launchers and small missile launchers. On the roof, there was a four-barreled rotating Gatling machine gun—oh wait, it must be a Gatling-type canon with that kind of caliber—powerful enough to be used on air fleets.

Thorns!

The battle jeep was right in front of their final path, circling them with the other four cars. They had no way to escape!

"We definitely cannot withstand the firepower from that damn thing." Antonio had a grievous look.

They were blocked by the enemies from all sides and surrounded. They were on the brink of death.

"Drive south. You don't have to worry about the firepower from that vehicle. I will handle it," Han Xiao said solemnly.

There was only Code 3, armed with a sniper rifle, on the southern path. He was the lowest threat.

Antonio had no choice but to have faith in Han Xiao, and he quickly turned the steering wheel to run Code 3 down.

"Too late."

Code 9's expression was icy cold, and he was about to fire the canon on Thorns to blow Han Xiao's jeep up in the air. Suddenly, Han Xiao turned around and fire a shot in his direction. The round hit the glass window and instantly flashed a blazing light.

Code 9's eyes were blinded by the light and started tearing. He shut his eyes in the moment of pain.

Flash Bullet!

Hoommmmmm…

A massive volume of flames and smoke was coming out of the Gatling canon on Thorns, but it was fired in the wrong direction. The explosive rounds landed more than ten meters away from Han Xiao's jeep.

"Crap. How did Code 9 flounder that shot‽" Code 3 was dumbfounded, and he quickly ordered the driver to block Han Xiao's vehicle.

Antonio was fearless. He stomped on the accelerator, and the vehicle collided with the side of Code 3's jeep front unyieldingly.

Both vehicles vibrated violently. However, Antonio chose an excellent angle of collision—he was able to force a path out, creating an opening for them to escape the encirclement.

"Pursue them!"

As they had fallen short of success at the last moment, Code 3 was infuriated. However, as he reassessed the situation, his mood eased up again.

They still had the upper hand in the current situation, so he had nothing to worry about. Although Han Xiao was running away frantically from the ambush that they had laid, they would soon catch up with him and blow his vehicle up with Thorns' firepower and horsepower!

Han Xiao looked behind the vehicle through the glass window—the Rose Militant motorcade was chasing them relentlessly. They were merely two hundred meters apart, and both parties were driving more than a hundred miles an hour. Additionally, Thorns was firing nonstop, erupting waves and waves of sand behind his car. The aftereffect of the Flash Bullet was still being felt by Code 9. His eyes were red and sore, and his vision was blurred. As a result, his shots had zero accuracy.

Han Xiao was not at all flustered. He peeked at his coordinates on the radar and said with great composure, "Antonio, start the nitro boost in 48 seconds."

"47… 30… 16… 3, 2, 1!"

When the moment arrived, Antonio opened a small cover beside the gearshift, which exposed the button for the nitro boost. He then pressed hard on the button.

Blue flames were gushing out of the exhaust pipe at the back of the jeep, and its speed soared, pulling their distance apart rapidly. The resultant force pushed the two in the vehicle into the back of their seat, restricting their movement.

"A futile struggle." Code 3 thought nothing of it. He believed that the nitro boost would run out sooner or later. It was just a last-ditch effort to extend their lives. They would eventually be caught up by Thorns and be blown up.

The nitro boost was exhausted when the distance between the two parties extended to four hundred meters.

"They are slowing down."

Code 5 loaded a new rocket, and he stood up through the roof window and aimed at Han Xiao's jeep from a distance.

All of a sudden, his car braked at once. The sudden momentum threw Code 5 into the backseat.

"What the hell‽"

Code 5 was shouting when he saw the driver changing gears frantically. However, the vehicle was not responding at all. His heart sank, and he turned around and looked out the window. All their jeeps had stopped moving, including Thorns. They had all lost their driving power.

"All the cars are paralyzed!"

"What is happening?"

Everyone from Rose Militant was frightened. They were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered now that they had lost control of their vehicles. Han Xiao's jeep parked a distance away.

Ghostly Fox wanted to contact the base for backup only to realize that their communication devices were malfunctioning.

"This is the effect of EMP!" she screamed.

Ghostly Fox felt a chill down her spine as she recalled how Dorothy had died.

"Run!"

The next moment, a high-explosive sniper round flew over from a distance, targeting an area beneath Code 3's feet. Then, the landmines buried underneath the ground exploded. This time, the explosives included not just the toxic explosive mines but also the good-quality ordinary landmines from Fabian Company's warehouse.

The blaring sound of the blast was heard nonstop. Glaring flames shot up into the air, creating a dazzling mixture of orange, red, and white in Han Xiao's eyes. Flames and explosions engulfed the whole hundred-meter radius of Rose Militant. There was not a single figure in sight.

Han Xiao lifted his sniper rifle on his shoulder and gave an evil chuckle. "Are you surprised? Are you shocked?"

Chapter 97: Swoop In

Antonio alighted from his vehicle and stood beside Han Xiao as he watched the explosion. He lit a cigar and took a puff before he chuckled heartily. "It has been a while since I last saw such beautiful scenery. I almost forgot what an explosion looks like after sitting in the office for so long."

"Go ahead and enjoy the scenery."

Han Xiao stretched his neck to relieve some of the fatigue as a result of the pursuit.

The flames eventually diminished. Antonio and Han Xiao cautiously approached the scene of explosion. A pungent stench, created by the mixture of smells from burning bodies and toxic gas, blew toward them.

Crap. I forgot that there is some toxic gas remaining!

Han Xiao was dumbfounded as he watched his HP drop on the Interface. He had no choice but to retreat the place, and he could only go back to sweep the battlefield after the toxic gas dispersed.

"Ugh…" A faint moan was heard on the battlefield. It came from Code 3, who was already half-dead. His four limbs had been shattered in the explosion, and his body was covered in red and dark burn marks. He raised his head laboriously and leveled Han Xiao a deadly gaze.

"You… Why…."

Han Xiao gave him a glance and used his Berserk Eagle to silence him before he could even finish his sentence.

Good guys could win battles with their words, and bad guys would always lose and die because they talked too much. There were countless similar lessons in the past. Han Xiao had wanted to try and talk to Code 3, but he believed that he did not belong to the good-guy category, so he had killed Code 3 without saying a word.

This kill has given me quite a lot of EXP. Code 3… what kind of lousy name is that?

Han Xiao looked at his interface while insulting the enemy's name.

Hold on. There seems to be an enemy missing from my kill history.

Han Xiao's eyes flashed and immediately surveyed his surroundings. He suddenly fired at the ground twenty meters away.

Fwoosh.

A shadow jumped out from beneath the sand—Ghostly Fox. She dashed rapidly and stabbed her dagger swiftly toward the nearest person, Antonio.

Her Pugilist training had taught her simple ground tunneling techniques. She had escaped the devastating explosion by tunneling into the sand the instant before the explosion. She had intended to continue hiding until all the enemies were gone, but since she had been spotted by Han Xiao, she had to fight for her life.

Sunlight was reflected off the surface of the dagger, emitting an icy glare. Antonio's eyes narrowed, and he slammed his massive arms rapidly toward Ghostly Fox. His palms were almost as large as those of bears.

Ghostly Fox ducked as her petite build allowed her to do so easily. She circled to the back of Antonio and stabbed her dagger toward his heart. Suddenly, a dark shadow zoomed in before her eyes, and a bear-like palm followed and grabbed her head. The palm was so large that it almost wrapped around her entire skull.

Antonio threw her more than ten meters away as if he was shot-putting. The sheer amount of force created wave-like tracks around her on the ground. She was badly injured from the throw. However, she gritted her teeth hard and dived toward Antonio again. With Han Xiao watching on the side, she would be sniped down if she attempted to run away. She had no choice but to continue the fight.

Poomb. Poomb. Poomb.

Antonio was about to strike back when Han Xiao fired a few rounds with his double pistols, which turned her into a sieve.

[You killed Ghostly Fox (LV29). You have gained 9,400 EXP.]

Eh. Her level was quite high. Why was she so weak? Han Xiao looked at the battle info and realized the reason: Ghostly Fox's main job was only Lv.8, and the rest of her levels were in her secondary jobs, which were mostly useless.

"You should have given me the opportunity to exercise my rusty body," Antonio groused.

"The body is still warm. You can use it for some exercise." Han Xiao nonchalantly picked his nose.

"You really are a jerk."

Once the toxic gas dispersed, Han Xiao stepped into the explosion site to retrieve his EMP Disruptor.

Han Xiao had been unaware that Code 3 knew his whereabouts, but he was used to making multiple plans at once. He had planted not just one but four traps that night, each on a different position of the road that he was circling. Unless the enemy did not pursue him, they would have fallen into at least one of the traps.

As long as you dare chase me, I will eventually kill you.

After collecting his EMP Disruptor, Han Xiao started scavenging loot from the bodies. He found a substantial number of firearms and ammunition, which could be sold for a handsome amount of money. However, his greatest loot was the modified battle vehicle—Thorns. He would be able to use it after he fixed its internal electronic components.

Next, it is time to borrow some help.

…

"Ghostly Fox lost contact‽"

They had three assassins ambushing and better intelligence, yet they fell into the enemy's trap!

Luo was heavy-hearted. She had just lost two teams and the modified battle vehicle, Thorns. Now, the base was void of any defense, which was another huge loss.

She contacted her secret sponsor again and explained the situation.

"You guys retreat first," the person said slowly over the phone.

"… Understood."

After hanging up the phone, Luo immediately organized her troops to load all the valuable assets onto vehicles in preparation of discarding the base and retreating temporarily. It was not the first time Rose Militant had faced a crisis of this magnitude. All they needed to do was seek shelter somewhere else for a few days before their secret sponsor sent down more personnel. They would gain a firm foothold again by then.

However, only half of the assets were loaded up when a blaring alarm was heard all over the base.

"Enemy attack!"

The sentry was shouting as loud as she could. Luo was astounded. She quickly climbed up the sentry post and looked far ahead, and that was when he saw a wave of sand inching closer. It was a motorcade of the Coutons approaching menacingly.

"Damn it. They are here too soon!"

Rose Militant had suffered great losses, so they were bound to fall prey to other powerful factions at this opportune time, and the Coutons were the prime candidate. The primary purpose of discarding the base was to avoid the hostility from other factions. However, the Coutons came too quickly. Someone must had had tipped them off.

Luo was enraged. Those Coutonian mercenaries were attacking the base from the frontline. If they were to brashly attempt to escape with their vehicles, it would surely become a battle in pursuit, which would make it all the more dangerous for them.

They were in a dilemma!

"Commander, what should we do now?"

"Let's strike back. Strike them hard!" Luo said unyieldingly.

The militants dropped the supplies in their hand and quickly got back into their defense positions. They began bombarding the Coutonian motorcade with machine guns and grenade launchers. However, the mercenaries were undeterred and struck back.

One could only see rounds flying back and forth between the two sides, forming a curtain of death.

Countless cartridges fell into the yellow sand, and the grenades left numerous darkened sand craters on the ground, making the place resemble the surface of the Moon. Rose Militant had excellent defenses in the base; they shouldered the attack even with insufficient manpower.

Behind the four walls of the base, Luo was seen commanding the militants tirelessly. Su Li walked over and whispered into her ears, "Due to insufficient manpower, one-quarter of our defense system is unmanned. Furthermore, as we are walled inside the base, we will face serious danger if other factions decide to butt in."

As soon as she finished her sentence, a roaring engine sound was heard from a distance. Luo and Su Li's hearts both jolted. They recognized that distinct engine hum.

On the other side of the battlefield, Han Xiao was driving the ferocious Thorns. The car jumped down from the sand-hill like a fearsome tiger, drawing a parabolic path on the sky. The repaired exterior reflected a glaring beam of sunlight, and the vehicle's tires sped furiously.

The vehicle smashed onto the ground, splashing heaps of sand to the side before it charged furious toward the base. It was unstoppable.

Don't the Thorns only belong to Rose Militant?

Couton's eyes narrowed, and he quickly ordered his subordinates to pull back their positions. He thought that the Thorns operator was from the enemy side, and he was well aware of the firepower of the vehicle. Thus, he wanted to prepare his defense before the enemy was able to destroy them from their flanks.

He did not know that Rose Militant was even more anxious than him. They were even clearer about the real firing capability of Thorns.

"Quickly stop him. We cannot let Thorns near the base!" Su Li screamed.

Luo was wailing in her heart. Thorns used to be their trump card, and now, it had been taken and was being used against them. What a despicable act!

It was like having your girl snatched by another guy, and he still dared to bring your girl… ex-girlfriend… to show off in front of you. How could anyone endure such humiliation?

Luo could never tolerate such an act. She hated the killer so much that she wished that she could grind him into sand!

Chapter 98: Secret Passageway

All the machine guns and grenade launchers in the base were immediately adjusted to face the fast-approaching Thorns.

Upon seeing their reaction, Couton knew that Thorns was an ally right away. He then shouted, "All vehicles on the flank, make a path for the unexpected guest!"

The Coutonian motorcade changed its formation, emptying a path on its flank that led directly to the front gate of the base, which allowed Thorns to conveniently charge forward.

Han Xiao was alone in Thorns. After they killed Ghostly Fox's team, they had gone back and repaired Thorns at the Farian base. This time, he came alone. Other factions in the Somar Desert would not allow such a great opportunity to pass. The main fighting force of Rose Militant had been wiped out. Han Xiao passed this piece of information to them. It gave him the ability to fish in the troubled waters.

The grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, and small-scale missile launchers had to be controlled manually using the aiming system beside the speedometer. An automated firepower control system was not installed in the vehicle.

There were many incoming rounds. Han Xiao managed to escape some, and the armored exterior absorbed the impact of the rest. He then aimed one of the cannons at the wall of the base and fired. As the vehicle vibrated violently, a few small-scale missiles and grenade explosives blasted promptly on the wall, triggering a glaring flame.

The canon exploded into thousand pieces, lingering in the air.

Inside the base, Luo was livid. She had a hunch that they would not be able to guard the base. She called in Su Li and gave her an orderly softly. "We will give up the base and evacuate using the secret passageway. Bring five people with us."

Su Li nodded her head, agreeing with the plan.

The mercenaries left guarding the base would be the sacrificial lambs while they quietly evacuated the base using the passageway. As long as they survived, they could get as many mercenaries as they wanted from their secret sponsor.

The Rose Militant mercenaries who were defending against the incoming attack did not know that they had been abandoned. They were still operating the canons assiduously to defend again the Coutonians and Thorns. The blasting sounds of canons filled their ears; smoke and flames engulfed their sight. They could not hear a word from one another. Everyone was fighting as if they were the only reef there against the ocean wave, fighting a lone battle.

Hoooomm…

After more than ten rocket rounds were fired at the scarred metal gate, it finally gave in and blew up. The gate was open!

"Charge!" Couton was overjoyed.

The motorcade entered in a single file. Following which, the Coutonians, equipped with automatic rifles, swept through the entire base. The mercenaries from Rose Militant could not set up an effective counterattack the moment the enemies charged into the base. They were shot into sieves when they tried to escape from the canon emplacements.

Han Xiao drove Thorns in. He took out his two Berserk Eagles and acted independently. The Coutonians gave him a glance him but did not hold him back.

Han Xiao's movement was as swift as could be, his black windbreaker flying like a cape. He was like a dark specter scouring the battlefield. Soon, he finished searching the entire base. In the process, he encountered two mercenaries from Rose Militant, who he pre-emptively shot in the head. One of them was rather beautiful—she would have turned many heads if she wore a bikini and walked on the beach. Han Xiao secretly regretted his decision to shoot her in the head.

After a round of searching, Han Xiao did not spot the leader of Rose Militant. His brows knitted as he knew the whole situation was not so simple.

There must be a secret passageway.

Wars were daily affairs in the Somar Desert. It would not be surprising if the Rose Militant kept a secret passageway for their evacuation.

Han Xiao soon discovered their tracks. Luo and her gang had left in a hurry; thus, they had left some footprints behind. He followed the trail of the footsteps and entered a hidden cellar beneath the ground. The cellar was dark and filled with a moist, humid smell.

A secret underground river?

Han Xiao ignited a fire pack before he threw it down. The depth was about five meters. He ensured that it was safe before he jumped down.

Beneath the base was a rocky mountain, and the cellar was actually a path dug within it. Like the passageway in a regularly mine, the walls of the path were held up by wooden frames. It was completely dark at the front of the path as there was not a single source of light. There were clear footprints in the soil.

Han Xiao raised his hand to feel the rocky walls, and he felt a patch of moisture. He suspected that there might be a secret underground river nearby.

The situation of the path ahead was uncertain. Han Xiao pondered for a moment. He then took out his spider detector and laid it on the floor. The mechanical spider stood at attention like a soldier awaiting orders as Han Xiao started controlling it with his tablet.

I will call you Spider No.1.

After coming up with an amazing name as usual, Han Xiao quickly controlled Spider No.1 to move further into the path. The vision of its camera was shown on the tablet—Spider No.1 was equipped with a night-vision camera.

After moving for a while, Spider No.1 suddenly ran into a rocky wall; it had reached the end of the path.

As the path was clear of danger, Han Xiao took out his torchlight and walked briskly to the end of the passageway. Unsurprisingly, he spotted a secret door on the ceiling. Heaps of sand fell as he opened the door.

Han Xiao stuck his head out of the opening, and he looked out of the cellar—it was a slanted cave. Sunlight was shining in through the opening of the cave along the slope, and the ground was covered in tire tracks.

Han Xiao swiftly moved out of the cave, and his view suddenly brightened. The place was a complex of weathered rocks. The silhouette of the base could be seen from a distance. A vehicles' tracks had been left in the desert, heading away from the base.

The remaining members of Rose Militant escaped using the vehicle. I'd better chase them quickly.

Han Xiao retrieved Spider No.1 and went back to the base hastily. He prepared to chase them using Thorns.

The Coutonians had eradicated Rose Militant's presence within the base. They were now unloading all the supplies to take them away. They slowed down their movement and focused all their attention on Han Xiao as he walked out. They were looking at him warily. Han Xiao's heart sank.

Couton brought a bunch of mercenaries and surrounded Thorns. Han Xiao touched his gun in secret before he walked over to them and said, "Move away."

"Who are you?" Couton looked Han Xiao up and down, thinking about something.

"Not important. Please get away from my car."

"Your car?"

Couton glanced at Thorns before a wicked smile appeared on his face. He gave his men a signal, and they quietly surrounded Han Xiao, ready to draw out their guns anytime.

"Are you sure this is your car?" Couton stared at Han Xiao and chuckled.

He was clearly threatening Han Xiao.

If Han Xiao's answer was not to his liking, he would have his whole gang of men beat him up.

Phew.

Han Xiao attacked without saying a word. He swiftly dashed three meters forward, and his Berserk Eagles were already pointing at Couton's forehead, like an unsheathed sword. His movement was as fast as that of a fox, and his gun moved rapidly like lightning.

"That was too fast!" The surrounding mercenaries were shocked. They then hurriedly raised their guns and aimed at Han Xiao. Han Xiao's sudden specter-like movement made them extremely nervous. Furthermore, their boss's head was right against Han Xiao's pistol, so they did not dare fire at him. They were in a deadlock.

Although there was a gun to his forehead, Couton was surprisingly calm and unafraid—he had always been living his life on edge.

"If you want to threaten me to disarm my men, you can save yourself the effort." He smiled coldly.

"You know who I am. Your master would not want his people to fight against each other," Han Xiao replied calmly. He seemed oblivious to all the guns pointing directly at him.

Couton's expression turned gloomy. He frowned and pondered for nearly one minute, the tension on the ground increasing all the while, before he suddenly waved his arms to ask his men to drop their guns down. He gave a half-hearted smile and said, "It seems like it is really your car."

Han Xiao held his Berserk Eagle up and remained unmoved.

Couton moved sideways to open a path for Han Xiao.

Only then did Han Xiao start moving. He brushed past Couton before going up to the Thorns and saying in a hostile manner, "Good try."

He then stepped on the accelerator and drove away.

The smile on Couton's face disappeared as he watched the car vanish in the distance. He turned around and realized that his men were all watching him.

"What are you guys looking at‽ Hurry up and carry the items away," he shouted snappily.

Although he was eyeing Thorns, he did not want to bear the possibility of infuriating his master. Couton reckoned that Han Xiao was an assassin hired by his master, so he was on his side. Thus, after Han Xiao pointed this fact out, he could no longer provoke him. If he messed up his master's plan, he would suffer dire consequences.

Furthermore, Han Xiao was an assassin that he did not know enough background information about. So, after some consideration, he decided to control his greed and made peace with Han Xiao.

Chapter 99: Felonia

The vehicle tracks left behind on the vast desert by Luo and her gang were like creases on a piece of white paper—they were as conspicuous as could be. Han Xiao followed the tracks without stopping.

His position was continuously shown on the radar coordinates in order for him remain on course in the boundless desert. He was now heading toward the outer edge of the Somar Desert. It was indicated on the weather calendar data that a sandstorm had just occurred in this place.

The plain and unchanging sight of the desert was making Han Xiao feel mentally tired. After half an hour of pursuit, a roving jeep suddenly appeared in the distance.

I am finally catching up! Han Xiao's psyche was rejuvenated instantly.

Just as Han Xiao spotted the jeep, the members of the Rose Militant on the jeep also caught sight of Han Xiao.

"It's Thorns!" Su Li cried out.

Luo's face tensed up before she anxiously surveyed the surrounding and realized that the pursuing force consisted of only a single vehicle. She was immediately incensed.

How dare you pursue us alone? Do you really think we are this easy to defeat‽

"Make a u-turn…"

Hooommm…

Thorns was firing at its maximum firepower—grenades and missiles were chasing and bombing after Luo's vehicle.

Luo was intimidated. "Cough. Cough. Let's run until he finishes his ammunition!"

She was slightly embarrassed.

The two vehicles were in a high-speed pursuit as they drove past sand dune after sand dune, scorched sand marking the course of their chase.

…

Raggedly-dressed pilgrims were seen gruelingly trekking through the desert. The leader of the group, an elderly pilgrim, was panting intensively, and his clothes were drenched in his sweat. He unloaded a water bottle from the packhorse and gulped one sip with his trembling hand, but somehow, he could not relieve his exhaustion and thirst.

The elderly pilgrim turned around and glanced at the group—everyone else was in low spirits. He then thought back to the times when he was younger. There had once been tens of thousands of compatriots who escaped from the same conquered country and embarked on this journey together. However, after years of hardships, there were only two dozen people left. Some people had died on the journey, and some had given up half way through. This small group of people were the last pilgrims.

At times, the elderly pilgrim could not help but become skeptical about the existence of Felonia. However, if he gave up, it would render his years of perseverance meaningless.

An engine sound was heard from a distance—Han Xiao and Rose Militant's cars appeared in their view, and mounds of sands thrown into the air by the vehicles.

The pilgrims were not at all shocked as such a scene was commonplace on this desert. As soon as they confirmed that the violent vehicles were not moving toward them, they released their worry. They stood at their position and waited for the two vehicles to leave.

At this point in time, a small-scale missile flew in the sky and landed on then sand.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened!

The ground vibrated abruptly, and sand fell downwards at the position where the missile exploded. As more sand fell downward, a pitch-black hole appeared in front of everyone. The hole expanded continuously, like a gigantic mouth being opened!

The appearance of the running sand implied that there was a huge, empty space beneath this desert!

…

_____________________

You discovered a hidden location [Felonia – 08]. You received 1,000 Exploration EXP.

Bounty Hunter (Rose Militant)] Hidden requirement completed.

——————————————————————

Eh? Han Xiao was so surprised that he almost overturned his car.

What the hell?

I completed the mission by accident. Am I that lucky‽

But how can I use my luck on this kind place? This is such a waste!

The sand hole was still expanding. Han Xiao reasoned that the sandstorm that had happened a few days ago must have changed the structure of the sand layers in this area. Following which, his explosions triggered a chain reaction that resulted in this opening.

Although he was very curious about what Felonia was exactly, his hunt for Rose Militant was more important at this juncture.

After he left the coordinates of this place on his radar, he continued to chase after Rose Militant.

The two vehicles soon drove into the distance.

The elderly pilgrim's hands were trembling relentlessly. With a look of exhilaration, he called out to his peers who were stunned behind him.

"This… this must be Felonia. We have to go there quickly!"

The pilgrims were enlivened. They rushed toward the hole in the ground anxiously.

"Felonia's treasures… Felonia's treasures…" the elderly pilgrim could not stop mumbling to himself. Tears trailed down his cheeks as he believed that he was finally getting rewarded for all those years of determination and perseverance.

…

After a few kilometers of pursuit, Thorns eventually ran out of ammunition, an inevitability no matter how strong its firepower was. Yet, Han Xiao sighed in relief. He was glad that this straining pursuit battle was finally coming to an end.

This bunch of sissies should stop any minute now. If they don't even stop running and strike back, they must be really cowardly.

"This guy finally finished his rounds!"

Su Li was the first person who spotted Thorns' abnormal situation. She was the creator of Thorns.

Luo was immediately relieved. She then said ruthlessly, "Turn around!"

The two vehicles were four hundred meters apart. Han Xiao already stopped his vehicle. When he saw the jeep turn around decisively, he gave a sly smiled and started point firing with his sniper rifle.

A distance of four hundred meters allowed him eight to ten shots.

It took him four spindle bullets to shatter the bullet-proof window. The fifth shot flew directly at the driver.

Luo, sitting on the front passenger seat, suddenly raised her hand and shielded the driver. The bullet, as if it had hit an invincible wall, generated a wave of reflective white light before it was squashed into a metal cake by the deflecting force and was left levitating in the air.

An Esper with forcefield type ability. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as he felt that the situation had become more difficult to handle.

Espers had all kinds of abilities, but some of them would awaken with similar or even the same abilities. Forcefield was a major type of ability for Espers. Other common types included molecular control, strengthened body, and transfiguration.

The forcefield-related abilities included remote manipulation of objects, invincible walls, and invincible strikes. It was the natural counter to gun-fighting abilities.

As he finished his thought, Han Xiao quickly stuffed Hayme bullets into his gun and fired again. Luo deflected the bullet again with her forcefield. However, as the bullet was being compressed, it released a light green poisonous gas. Everyone in the vehicle was instantly poisoned. They started feeling dizzy, their chests tightened, and their HP dropped continually.

From the battle data, Han Xiao knew that Luo was the same level as him—level 30—so she had not mastered the skill to manipulate gases.

Han Xiao then fired a high-explosive bullet, which ignited the interior of the jeep. However, the fire was quickly put out by fire extinguishers. The vehicle was chiefly used for evacuation, so it was equipped with fire extinguishers to prevent fires from breaking out.

Han Xiao had no choice but to discard his initial plan to force his enemy to abandon their vehicle. Yet, he showed no signs of being discouraged. He fired two Hayme bullets again, and now, the jeep was engulfed by concentrated green poisonous gas as if the vehicle was consumed by a plague.

After these few rounds of fire, the distance from the enemy was only hundred meters.

Han Xiao put aside his sniper rifle and stomped hard on the accelerator. He was fearlessly trying to collide with the jeep head-on!

Su Li expression changed, and she anxiously instructed the driver, "Quickly dodge. The armored exterior on Thorns is extremely thick. We cannot best it."

The driver quickly turned the steering wheel upon hearing the instruction and wanted to brush past Thorns. Upon seeing this, Han Xiao turned his vehicle in the same direction, but he was too slow; he only brushed past the rear of the jeep. He wanted to ruin the enemy's jeep by smashing into it. If he had succeeded, he could then have used Thorns to hit the enemy and run. However, Rose Militant reacted too quickly and dodged the attack.

Luo just realized that even when Thorns ran out of ammunition, it was not a vehicle to be reckoned with easily. She had no choice but to suppress the anger in her heart. "Never mind. Let's not be badgered by him."

The jeep turned around and drove for tens of meters before Luo realized that Thorns did not chase them. As she believed, for a moment, that Han Xiao had given up, she heaved a sigh of relief. She then gnashed his teeth in anger.

I will let you go for now. Your time will come once our backup is here!

Just as she finished this thought, an invisible wave travelled from Thorns in a circular motion. Their jeep suddenly lost all its power, and the vehicle skidded a few dozen meters due to the remaining momentum before ground to a halt, paralyzed. The people in the vehicle were all thrown out of their seats.

In the backseat of Thorns, Han Xiao had started his EMP Disruptor, meaning that Thorns had also lost its power.

Han Xiao sighed. That was the last resort to prevent the enemy from running away, which he did not intend to use, but he realized that Luo did not have the guts to stay and battle it out. Thus, he had been forced to resort to such a mutually-destructive method. Even if he attempted to fix Thorns, it would take him more than ten minutes.

Next, it would be human versus human!

"EMP Wave! The car is wrecked!" Luo was dumbfounded. After being repeatedly plotted against, she could no longer contain her rage. She walked out of jeep and started the forcefield under her feet, which allowed her to move a few meters with a single step. She charged toward Han Xiao rapidly like an incoming missile, and the forcefield around her was rather erratic.

"Are you so eager to die‽"

Before Luo even reached Han Xiao, her ravings thundered in Han Xiao's ears.

Chapter 100: Battle

Han Xiao turned around and started to fall back. He repeatedly fired Hayme bullets at Luo in an attempt to lure her closer.

Luo raised her hands and started pushing to release an energy shield in front of her body. The bullets were blocked by the shield, and as they collided with the shield, there were beams of white light.

Superhumans of the 'Fortified Type' possessed the innate ability to counter the powers of a sniper. However, the poisonous gases emitted by the Hayme bullets were depleting Luo's HP. Furthermore, the impact from the collisions onto the energy shield also impacted Luo's body and decreased her health. However, the impact was relatively low after a reduction of 95%.

Luo could sense the fury building up in her body. The killer in her was overflowing like water from a fountain.

After Han Xiao fired the thirteenth shot, Luo moved closer toward him. The shots fired along the way managed to reduce Luo's HP by 100 points.

If the superhumans did not possess the special defensive powers, they would have been very brittle to the attacks. The force that Luo possessed granted her the ability to both attack and defend. However, when challenging hardy magnetically-controlled retractable armor, Luo's body would be wrecked from the battle.

Once they started fighting, Luo realized the weakness of her physical body.

Han Xiao suddenly drew out his retractable machete. He held the blade in his right hand and wielded the mechanical arm in his left hand. He was unafraid of fighting Luo head-on. Luo focused on using all her strength to smash Han Xiao's head; however, she realized that Han Xiao was clad in a think metallic armor.

At that instant, Han Xiao's retractable armor extended to up to his head, protecting his face and skull. Han Xiao moved his head back slightly, and with the help of the armor, he managed to withstand the shock from Luo's strike. Han Xiao used his machete and mechanical arm to continuously penetrate the energy shield of Luo. The battle was fierce, and white sparks were emitted with each contact made.

Pan Kuang, who was Level 40, had problems defeating Han Xiao in close-range combat; therefore, Luo's close combat powers were not much of a concern for Han Xiao.

Instead, the abilities she possessed as a 'Fortified Type' superhuman were greater threats to Han Xiao. Luo was able strike suddenly at the target from almost all angles, and therefore, her attacks often disrupted the flow of Han Xiao's attack.

"Force push!"

Han Xiao could feel an invisible impact to his knees.

Luo made use of the opportunity to pull backward and created more space. She could feel tightness in her chest, as if her lungs were being scorched. The high-intensity combat had taken its toll on her body. Her stamina was running low. Superhuman abilities often required the use of huge amounts of energy. In order to replenish her energy, Luo exhausted her stamina. She was deeply fatigued and looked at Han Xiao in disbelief and shock.

How on earth is this sniper so powerful? He can fight better than pugilists!

Tu tu tu!

The last few remnants of Rose Militant finally were finally approaching Han Xiao. They immediately concentrated all their firepower on him. To retaliate, Han Xiao fired his Berserk Eagles wildly, and the militants bled uncontrollably as they collapsed to the ground.

Su Li was the only one that managed to dodge Han Xiao's attacks. She was nimble and swift. She had the swag of a pugilist. She was wearing a pair of special gloves. There were a couple of circuits on the gloves, and the gloves emitted blue light. Han Xiao sensed impending danger.

Mechanical pugilist!

Su Li was approaching at high speed. Her hand pushed toward Han Xiao. It seemed like her push was weak and flimsy, but Han Xiao focused his attention and managed to recognize the gloves Su Li was wearing. The level of threat of Su Li increased, and Han Xiao quickly rotated his body to dodge Su Li's attack. It was unwise to fight Su Li head-on. Han Xiao decided to use the firepower of his pistols to suppress Su Li. However, Luo came toward and managed to repel the bullets with her energy shield.

The three were engaged in an intense battle. The pair of gloves that Su Li was wearing managed to suppress Han Xiao's power. Han Xiao was at a loss how to counter them. The two ladies realized that and made use of the opportunity to gain the upper hand in the battle. The situation gradually turned disadvantageous for Han Xiao.

If I don't make some sacrifices, it will be almost impossible for me to kill both of them.

With a look of determination of his face, Han Xiao approached Su Li suddenly and pressed his body had on her gloves. The sudden collision shocked Su Li. The gloves were touching Han Xiao's armor. An uncontrollable current was flowing through the scorching hot armor!

The endurance of the armor depleted exponentially. It reduced by almost 100 points. In fact, it was the first time the endurance of the armor had faced such a huge reduction!

Han Xiao felt a burn to his chest. The high temperature exceeded the threshold of the armor, and the heat scorched his body. Han Xiao had no time to look at the new messages that were flashing on the interface. He employed the wind-slicing slash and stabbed the machete hard into Su Li chest. An eye for an eye!

Su Li's eyes expanded in astonishment. Han Xiao pressed the Berserk Eagles to her forehead and started firing hysterically. A Mechanic without any form of armor was very vulnerable.

Boom boom boom!

"Kill the enemy!" Luo yelled in anger and attacked Han Xiao back while he was busy taking of Su Li.

There was a sharp pain in Han Xiao's spine. He could feel his back shattering. Han Xiao endured the pain and glided forward. He turned around and fired the last of the remaining bullets. Han Xiao focused his attention on Luo's legs.

Luo used too much of her stamina in her ambush on Han Xiao. She forced her last bit of energy, but she no longer had the energy maintain the energy shield that protected her from the bullets. A bullet penetrated her knee.

There was a change in the Luo's expressions. She understood the fact that she was facing a sniper, and the reduction in her mobility would lead to fatal consequences. In her state of panic, she wanted to use all her energy and deliver one final blow to Han Xiao.

She was attempting to paralyze Han Xiao's movement by blowing up his legs!

Once Han Xiao succeeded in his attacks, he quickly pulled away from the two of them. As the energy shield collapsed, it created an explosion that resulted in a huge crater at his original position!

Luo's heart sank. Her legs went limp, and now she really was reduced to sitting duck for Han Xiao's attacks. Han Xiao fired his shots from afar, and all she could to was forcefully repel the bullets. Her energy was on the verge of depleting completely, and desperation filled her heart.

Sh*t! I'm done!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Han Xiao, who had retreated quite some distance, fired his rifle on a stable platform and expended all of Luo's energy. Finally, a bullet pierced through her head. She collapsed with fury and unwillingness in her eyes.

_____________________

You killed Luo (LVL 30).

You gained 12,000 EXP.

̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄̄

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. He could finally relax his senses. He did not have time whine about the pain from his burns. He immediately moved toward Su Li's body and retrieved the pair of black gloves form her hands.

_____________________

You have gained two [Thermo-electrical Incisor Gloves].

——————————————————————

The functioning of the gloves was based the theory of [Basic Thermodynamics], which Han Xiao had not yet mastered. There was a 'micro electricity to heat transformer' embedded within the gloves. The power source of the gloves was a high voltage battery since the gloves needed a huge amount of electricity to be powered. The gloves had immense power and was able to deal multiplied damage to metals.

Han Xiao held onto the gloves for his own use in the future. Speaking of that, Su Li was his first enemy from the mechanic class. It was also the first time he had revealed his gear to his mechanic counterparts.

Mechanical Pugilists made use of one type or a few types of close-combat machinery. They were able to add special effects and abilities to their machines. From the fighting style of Su Li, Han Xiao could infer that she was a mechanical pugilist of a lower level that relied solely on the performance of her equipment.

Some mechanical pugilists also possessed weapons that had special abilities themselves. Once they met the prerequisites, they were able to activate the use of such weapons. Out of the four machine blueprints that Old Man Lu had created, one of the blueprints created a machine that had innate abilities.

With the mission finally complete, it was time to return and collect his rewards.

The image of Felonia suddenly flashed in Han Xiao's mind, and he decided to take a closer look at Felonia before returning. Han Xiao switched off the EMP interference machine. He did a rough check of the broken components of his vehicle and estimated that the repairs would take him fifteen minutes. He started the repair job immediately.

There was a bunch of wanderers near Felonia just now. I wonder how they're doing, Han Xiao thought to himself.

…

Half an hour ago…

The entrance to Felonia was a crack in the cliff. The pilgrims scaled the cliff and managed to reach the crack. It was pitch dark in the crack, but it seemed like the crack had a passageway that lead somewhere.

A young pilgrim switched on his torch and shined the light into the alley. The scene before their eyes shocked all of them. Their mouths collapsed in disbelief, and all of them were dumbfounded.

"This… this is…"

Chapter 101: Believe in Science

As Han Xiao was repairing his vehicle, he was reflecting on the weaknesses that he had revealed in his previous battle.

His current fighting style heavily relied on his sniping abilities. The best tactic he employed was to use his shots to lure his opponents in. However, the speed of his movements was not yet up to standard; thus, he wanted to manufacture some small gadgets to increase his speed.

A mechanical leg seemed like a pretty good idea. However, Han Xiao felt that it was too bulky. Also, Han Xiao had gained new knowledge and experience to create gadgets that were more mobile.

Han Xiao was still trying to improve his fighting abilities. He wanted to create a robot army to provide him sufficient cover fire so that they could help mitigate his weakness, allowing him to fire at a relatively lower rate.

Since mechanical parts could be easily obtained by members of the mechanic class, Han Xiao could find the raw material and replace the missing parts easily.

Upon completing his repairs, Han Xiao drove the vehicle along the path, as directed by the radar coordinates, up to the entrance of Felonia. Instantly, he saw the trail of footsteps that disappeared along the edges of the cave. After a short moment of contemplation, he predicted that a group of wanderers had entered the cave.

If Han Xiao was an ordinary individual, he probably would have been worried that the valuables housed in the cave had been taken away by others. However, Han Xiao was also unique in his thinking. He felt that having others to explore the unknown territory first was in fact beneficial to him.

Han Xiao stood at the edge of the cave. He looked down and could see the distinct layers of rocks and cliffs. At the boundary between sunlight and darkness, Han Xiao could see a rusty metallic chain extending downward.

There are signs of mining on the rocks of the cliffs. There's a smell in the air… the smell of rust. I haven't explored this place before, so I should head down now.

Han Xiao grabbed all his gear, holding his torch in his mouth.

As he scaled down the rocky cliff, he shone his torch downward.

Nearer to the bottom, the sunlight gradually disappeared, and he could feel the curved edges of the rocks.

The sunlight disappeared quickly, and darkness enveloped the surroundings. The only source of light was the torchlight. The eerie atmosphere alarmed Han Xiao. He could feel a chill in his bones that was creeping toward his heart. He wanted to slow down his heart, which was thumping so quickly, so that he could ease the sense of nervousness within him.

After descending for about three minutes, the light from his torch finally hit the ground. At the bottom of the ravine was a dusty metallic floor. There were thick cobwebs in the tracks, and the place seemed like it had not been explored for a long time.

Han Xiao landed on the ground with a 'thud'. The pitch-black environment made the sound especially eerie and creepy.

The surroundings were specious and empty, and the light from the torch seemed like a lonely island in a sea of darkness. There was a mixture of sounds in the darkness, similar to the sound of his landing. That caught Han Xiao's attention.

After sweeping the area with his torchlight, Han Xiao found himself in a metallic corridor that had a design similar to a military base. There were reinforced concrete structures everywhere, and the walls were also caked in rust. There also seemed to be some weird bugs moving about on the walls.

The metallic flooring on the ground was covered with dust. A trail of fresh footsteps could be seen extending into the darkness. The footsteps probably belonged to the pilgrims who had arrived at the spot shortly before him

There probably some more compartments and spaces beneath the metallic floor.

Han Xiao pointed his torchlight in another direction and shone at his foot. He saw what was beneath him.

Below the hollow metallic flooring, there were countless dense red lights that seemed like they were emitted by the eyes of insects.

Holy shit!

Han Xiao could feel the tension in his head. He immediately dimmed the torchlight and marked out the bottom layer as a prohibited sector.

With that in mind, Han Xiao carefully followed the footsteps of the pilgrims forward. It was dead silent apart from the occasional faint sounds of crawling insects. However, if one tried to pick out these sounds individually, they would just disappear. It was very creepy and made Han Xiao uncontrollably nervous.

After walking for long while, a junction appeared in front of him. The footprints of the pilgrims led toward the path on the right.

While Han Xiao was in a dilemma over which path to take, he heard footsteps from the path on the right. He could see many people running toward him hysterically.

Han Xiao immediately moved to the other side of the junction. He switched off his torch and put on the night vision visor that Farian Company had provided.

"Run, quickly run!"

"A monster!"

The frantic pilgrims ran out of the junction as if they were escaping from some creature. Their clothing had many blood stains. Also, the size of the group was much smaller.

What are these guys hiding from? Han Xiao was puzzled.

Suddenly, from the nearby path, there was a deep growl that originated from a beast. The growl was raspy and deep, like the sigh of a giant. The instant he heard the sound, Han Xiao felt his pulse running wild, and an uncomfortable sensation began to build up in his heart.

This is a threat from a high-level beast. It is definitely above LV 40!

The pilgrims looked fearful. It was as if they had seen something unimaginable. Using their hands and leg, they were crawling hysterically backward.

However, the beast never walked out of the dark. The pilgrims fell to the ground. They were relieved that they had managed to escape from the clutches of the beast.

There were no sounds of footsteps made by the beast.

"Joel was eaten by the beast…"

"This place is too scary."

The pilgrims were shivering, and shock was clearly written on their faces. It was as if all their energy was being drained away. They said, "This place is not Felonia. We will not find the things we want here. Let's leave and continue the hunt for the real ruins."

According to legend, the magical ruins were supposed to be mysterious and archaic. There were supposed to be countless incomprehensible carving. The ruins were also a city made from rocks and boulders. However, they were in a man-made metallic base. On the walls, there were symbols that looked like the coat of arms of the ancient kingdom. The place was probably the secret military facility of the ancient kingdom.

The pilgrims calmed down. A young pilgrim said, "Maybe this place is indeed the Felonia we have been searching for. Our former country found the ruins of Felonia and decided to build a facility to study the treasure of the ruins."

The treasure of the desert was the treasure mentioned in the legend of Felonia. As long as one possessed the treasure, one would be able to control the Somar desert.

The old pilgrims shook their heads and said with a bitter laugh, "Impossible. If the ancient kingdom had the treasure, why would the regime be destroyed?"

"This is not the place we are looking for. The real ruins of Felonia must be hidden in some other corner of the desert!"

The old pilgrims sounded assertive and firm.

The pilgrims helped on another up and left the place.

After Han Xiao heard their conversations, he was also confused. Based on his knowledge, there were no magical elements present on Planet Aquamarine. The so-called treasure of the desert was probably some advanced technological weaponry.

However, people would often overthink scenarios or incidents they did not understand. They would therefore create unrealistic stories. Furthermore, they would be very firm and confident that their unrealistic imagination was in fact the reality. Han Xiao thought of the story of a man who did not escape when his home was flooded. Instead, he waited atop the roof of his house for God to send him an ark.

He could not understand why the pilgrims were so adamant about linking Felonia with magic. However, that seemed to be none of his concern… unless it was the hint for another hidden mission?

Han Xiao regained his senses, and he revealed himself after the pilgrims left. He was also unsure which path to take at the junction.

The pilgrims said that there was a monster on the route at the right. However, the path on the left was unknown territory, and it could very well be more dangerous. How should he decide?

Based on my experience, these pilgrims are bait to lure me into the Instance Dungeon. They hinted that there was a monster on the right. There are two interpretations of their words. The first is that they are right. The second is that they are leading me to the path on the left on purpose.

Han Xiao ground his teeth firmly and chose to walk the path on the right. The unknown was definitely scarier than the monster. He then remembered the bugs he had seen during his descent and their dense red eyes. If he was to run into those creepy crawlies, his skin was bound to shed from all their bites.

Han Xiao wore the thermo-electrical incisor gloves. He was not using any torchlight; he only had his night-vision visors on. After entering the path on the right, there was dark green filled his vision. He could barely see the road ahead.

There were abnormally large footprints on the ground. The footprints were the work of the monster. Like humans, the monster had two legs and five toes on each foot. The monster was estimated to be three meters tall.

Han Xiao walked for a while, and he came across a room its door wide opened. The footprints of the monster stopped there.

Han Xiao nudged closer to the door, and he could smell a disgusting stench that seemed like rotting meat. There was also a faint odor of blood.

He raised his head and looked inside of the room.

A pair of eyes, which were as large as bronze bells, was staring at him. He was only half a meter away from the monster!

Han Xiao was both shocked and frightened.

Chapter 102: The Serum

The magnetically controlled retractable armor was ready to be activated. Han Xiao was either going to fight or escape.

However, the monster was merely staring in the direction of the door. It was as if the monster had not noticed the existence of Han Xiao. It was standing there without moving.

Night-blindness?

Han Xiao felt a tinge of elation in his heart. Luckily, he did not switch on his torch, else he would have suffered the fate of the pilgrims before him.

Standing three meters tall, the monster had a human shape, and layers of muscles could be seen on his body. The muscles stacked together like little hills. However, the muscular body did not look aesthetically pleasing. Instead, the elongated muscles turned people off. The muscles were also rotting. There were even holes at certain areas, and plump maggots could be seen crawling around the rotting meat.

Compared its massive body, the head and neck of the creature were especially small. The skin of the monster was stretched tight by the muscles. The face of the creature also looked disproportionate. Looking at his face, one would automatically think of other abnormal individuals, like the Deformed Devil and the Sun Knight.

Han Xiao scanned the layout of the room. There was a bunch of medical equipment and four pods that were probably used for experiments. Two of the pods had been crushed. One of them was closed. There was only one free pod available for use.

There were liquid-delivery tubes on the pods. They were attached to a transparent container that only had stains of the neon-like liquid left.

Han Xiao moved backwards carefully. When he realized that the monster was still not moving, he heaved a sigh of relief. He walked down the corridor and quickly reached the second and third metal gates. The rusty gates were all locked up tight by another metallic barrier. The card-reader was so rusty that it could no longer be used.

Han Xiao did not give up because of that. He took the card-reader apart to check out its model.

Hmmm… I can't tell.

That's not important!

This place was a secret military facility decades ago. However, the facility was abandoned a couple of years back, and it was probably a site used for biochemical experiments. The experiments probably failed… or could they have succeeded? The muscular creature really doesn't look like a normal biological organism. Wait, the corridor can't be so long. How big is this base exactly?

There was silence throughout the dark corridor. The deeper one ventured into the corridor, the darker it got. Even the night-vision visor only had a visibility radius of five meters. The surrounding environment beyond that was a mystery to Han Xiao. Fortunately, he was lucky to not have claustrophobia or a phobia of darkness.

Han Xiao felt like he was walking on the edge of a knife; danger seemed imminent. Although Han Xiao was no chicken, he could feel cold sweat breaking out from all areas of his body. That was the innate reaction of any living being that was going to face an upcoming, unknown danger. Han Xiao knew that being too nervous would affect his ability to make good decisions quickly at stressful moments. He started chanting something under his breath to keep his nerves at bay.

"Stay calm even when the sky collapses. The breeze is so soothing. The waves are not choppy. The height of the mountain does not matter. There will be a fairy. A horse may be old, but it is still ambitious…"

In actual fact, Han Xiao was also unsure of what he was mumbling. However, after his chants, he no longer felt so nervous.

Along the way, he saw more than ten gates, but only the one leading to the room housing the beast was opened. The rest of the gates were all shut tightly. Eventually, he reached the end of the corridor, and a larger gate stood before his eyes. That was probably the main room. The metallic barrier was lower by a third of the distance, and he was able to enter the room.

That was the second room that one could enter. Based on the logic behind the Instance Dungeon, there was probably some useful information there.

The room seemed to be a gigantic lab. There were rusty machines everywhere, and experiment pods were sitting in the center of the room.

It seems like there is no danger.

The dust in the room choked him, and the pungent rotting smell filled his nose. There was a corpse on the table, and it was shriveled up. There were torn fragments of fabric on the body, and Han Xiao could faintly tell that the pieces of cloth belonged to a white lab coat.

Han Xiao found a book at the table near the body. He wiped the dust from the cover of the book in an attempt to find out some useful information. After taking a closer look at it, he realized it was a diary.

"13 July. The professor modified the Felonia serum for the 67th time and injected it into the lab rat. The effects are amazing and have exceeded our expectations. It there are no negative reactions, we can proceed with human trials."

"17 July. The lab rat is dead. It is a failure. The cause of death is organ failure. The professor is disappointed. He locked himself up in his room. I could hear him smashing things in his office. The lab report for the experiment was missing."

"20 July. The professor insisted on carrying out human trials. The higher ups approved the professor's request. This is insane! Have they all forgotten about Experiment 000? The lab report for the experiment was torn and missing."

"26 July. The base released a new set of regulations. All researchers are supposed to submit their electronic devices. We are not allowed to connect to any external networks. Are we going to be defeated?"

"5 August. This is the 7th day of experiment 008. The human subject is in a stable condition. There are no special changes in the subject. The professor is dejected."

"11 August. The higher-ups sent out orders for us to retreat. The battle is not going well for our side, and we have to preserve whatever resources are left. Everyone is feeling scared. As usual, the professor is unwilling to face the reality that we have been defeated. I have prepared myself mentally for this outcome. I noticed that the guards protecting the base have become sparser over the past few months. That is probably due to the fact that most of them were being deployed to the frontline as reinforcements. Damn it, if I did not leave my post as a military doctor, I will not be stuck in this depressing facility. Everyone looks so gloomy here. There is no life! I hate his place!"

"14 August. We will be retreating tomorrow. We are heading to Base 03 to seek shelter. There is not much time. We backed up all data related to the Felonia Serum. The guards are so rough. They want to blow the entire facility up. The professor took some serums with him. The rest of the serums were all destroyed."

The entries in the diary stopped there. Han Xiao flipped back to the front, but he could not find any more valuable information. Many pages were torn away from the diary.

The corpses at the side evidently showed that the people in the facility did not manage to escape. An accident must have happened between August 14th and August 15th that resulted in the deaths of the researchers and guards in the facility. Also, most of them had died in the basement. That explained the countless red-eyed Necro-worms active in the basement that Han Xiao had seen—the worms fed on the dead bodies!

What's a Felonia Serum? Han Xiao was intrigued by the serum. He suddenly remembered the dried-up liquid in the previous lab's experimental pod. That must have been what was left of the serum. The diary also noted that the "professor has the serum". The body of the professor was most likely in the basement. Han Xiao had no interest in entering the restricted area. Therefore, it was probably impossible for him to obtain the serum.

Seems like there will be no interesting discoveries this time round. Han Xiao shook his head in disappointment. He then looked up and took a deep breath.

He saw a block box in the center of the table. He walked toward it hastily and opened the cover of the box. There were three tubes of a fluorescent serum in the box.

At that instant, an ancient saying flashed in his mind—In times of desperation, there will eventually be light. What you search so hard for can actually be obtained so easily. In fact, it is just right before your eyes if turn back and take a closer look.

Han Xiao looked at the body on the table. He bit his lip and wondered to himself, Could the dead body be the professor?

Han Xiao grabbed the three serums and scanned through liquid in the tubes.

Where on earth do you find a serum of such a weird color?

_____________________

You gained [Felonia Serum (Incomplete)] x 3.

Felonia Serum (Incomplete): It is a serum with the medicinal ability to improve one's physical capability. The formula has yet to be perfected. After the usage of the serum, mutation is a distinct possibility.

Note, these are the last three remaining Felonia Serums.

——————————————————————

Ah a biochemical serum. A serum without a tested and proven formula is highly dangerous. The serums I possess are incomplete products. It is highly likely for mutations to occur if I injected the serum into my body. I will probably become the muscular beast I just saw…

Han Xiao felt a cold shiver up his spine.

There is probably nothing else left here. I am going to leave this place as soon as possible. This place is very creepy.

Han Xiao turned around and met the gaze of the muscular monster standing there silently.

Chapter 103: Ahead of Us

The monster raised it muscular arm and slammed his hand down at Han Xiao as if he were a fly. There was a change in the air pressure from the immense force exerted by the hand, suffocating Han Xiao.

As the rotting stench filled his nostrils, Han Xiao quickly slid to dodge the attack like a mudskipper. The monster's strike missed him by a few millimeters, the strong wind blowing his hair into a mess.

When the monster's palm hit the ground, there was a huge boom. A dent was created in the ground, and dust could also be seen rising into the air. Han Xiao immediately held his breath and squinted to prevent the dust from entering his body.

He fired the Berserk Eagles violently at the rotting flesh of the monster, sending smelly puss spurting into the air.

_____________________

You dealt 57 points of damage to Subject 002!

You have entered combat mode. Based on your current level, you will have access to the following information:

Subject 002:

Level: 42

Main Class: Low-level mutated organism (Endurance to HP conversion ratio is at 1:100)

Attributes: 65 STR, 20 DEX, 60 (90) END, 1 INT, ? MYS, ? CHA, ? LUK

Energy: 0

Energy Rank: 0

Health: 1854/7800 (Constant decomposition)

Status: Intense decomposition—Defense -25, Endurance -30—All traits are in serious decline.

Specialties:

- Physical Improvement: Strength +5, Endurance +10

- Mid-level HP Boost: Additional increase in HP from the conversion of endurance. The ration is 1:30.

- ???

Skills:

- Silent Movement LV 12

- Heavy Smash LV 8

- Collide LV 5

- ???

——————————————————————

Although for normal players, the professional level was usually capped at LV 10, there were some professions that allowed for higher levels. Low-level mutated organism was one of such special cases.

As Han Xiao fired both his pistols continuously at the target, the large diameter bullets slammed into the body of Subject 002, forming holes in the monster's body.

With every shot, a bang resounded through the base.

The commotion is too much for me to handle. I need to end the battle fast. Han Xiao had a heavy heart. Luckily, Subject 002 was in a rather poor physical state. If the monster had full HP, it would have been tough for him to escape.

Subject 002 seemed to be unable to feel pain. It lowered its head and barged toward the target. Han Xiao felt like a steam train was barging at him!

Swiftly stowing his pistols, he took out his blade. He slashed the retractable machete hard at the skull of the monster. With a 'Dang', the blade pierced hard into the skull. Puss spilled out from the monster's head. Han Xiao was also hit by the monster's charge. He only had the time to put his hands before him, and it felt like he was facing a wild rhinoceros. He was unable to keep his balance and moved backward. While moving back, he crashed into two experiment platforms and could feel a sharp pain in his hip bone. There was also an acute pain in his chest that made him short of breath.

Multiple injuries suffered by Han Xiao flashed on the screen of the interface.

Han Xiao's blade was still stuck in the bones and flesh of Subject 002. The yellowish puss was flowing out of the wound seamlessly. The monster attempted to growl in anger, but it could only make shrieks since its vocal chords were also decomposing. The monster's fists fired out rapidly, creating strong gusts of wind that brought the dust along. However, the motion of the punches thrown by the monster was easily discernable for Han Xiao.

The collision he had experienced previously was definitely a skill of the monster that could not be used repeatedly. Han Xiao also wanted to observe if the enemy had any specific weaknesses. The conclusion was clear. The monster really did not have a brain and could move its body even when its brain was being hacked.

Han Xiao dodged the fists of the monster. He quickly moved to the back of Subject 002 and activated the thermo-electrical incisor gloves. He pressed the gloves hard on the enemy, and a glaring pale-blue light was released in the darkness. The gloves were scorching, and the heat burnt through the rotten muscle tissues of the monster. There was an intense charred smell in the air.

Han Xiao managed to grab a sticky internal organ of the monster. He tried to rip it hard with his hands, and white smoke emerged in the air. Subject 002 was constantly trying to wave its hands and attack Han Xiao, but Han Xiao managed to evade the attacks.

The thermo-electrical incisor gloves were able to cause high damage to the enemy continuously. In less than ten seconds, it inflicted a total damage of around 800 HP. The heat from the gloves managed to scorch the body of the monster.

After flashing for a few times, the light from the gloves disappeared, indicating that the battery providing power to the gloves had been depleted. The battery powering the gloves could only sustain the gloves' activities for a few minutes. Su Li had used the gloves before Han Xiao snatched them from her, and Han Xiao had managed to deplete the last bit of energy left in the gloves' battery.

Han Xiao retreated quickly, and by utilizing his nimbleness and agility, he managed to evade the attacks of the monster. The monster was like a low-level creature with almost zero intelligence. Although it was physically strong, it was no match of Han Xiao's quickness and intelligence. Only the monster's charges were considered threatening.

Han Xiao made good use of the terrain and obstacles around to evade the monster's attacks and finally defeated the monster with his never-ending gunshots.

The monster swirled unsteadily on the spot like it was drunk before collapsing to the ground. The monster stopped breathing, and the puss flowed out of the monster's gunshot wounds.

_____________________

You killed Subject 002 (LV 42).

You gained 32,000 EXP.

_____________________

As you killed an enemy that is ten levels higher, there will be an addition gain of experience by 280%. The total experience gained will be 89,600. Your rate of contribution: 23.7%

You gained an additional 21,235 (23.7%) experience points.

——————————————————————

A shuffling sound could be heard. It grew louder. The sound surrounded the entire area. Limbs started to protrude out of the cracks in the metallic flooring.

Han Xiao realized that something was wrong. His expression changed drastically, and he started fleeing toward where he had come from.

There was a huge boom from afar that sounded like the collision between metallic objects. There were also roars from a beast, and they sounded as if they were heading in Han Xiao's direction.

All signs indicated that although he had successfully wiped out Subject 002, he had triggered the activity of something else.

Han Xiao had managed to kill Subject 002. However, as recorded by the diary, the last subject of the series of experiments was Subject 008, and that meant that there were a couple more monsters like Subject 002. Perhaps, these monsters were even stronger and wandering about the various corners of the base. Since Han Xiao had already obtained what he wanted, it was time for him to flee.

Ignoring all sorts of creepy sounds, Han Xiao fled the base at the speed of light. He managed to leave the area safely and started crawling back up the cliff. The light from the sun hit his body, and he could finally relax his senses. The abandoned facility had an atmosphere that was too creepy. It was as if danger was everywhere. He had felt like he was walking along a tightrope in midair.

Fortunately, he had managed to obtain the three tubes of Felonia Serum, and Han Xiao could not imagine the value of these serums. However, he had no time to check out his loot. The different military groups in the Somar desert would quickly arrive after discovering the events that had occurred in the area.

With that thought in mind, Han Xiao left the area on his jeep.

About an hour after Han Xiao left the scene, the fleets of vehicles arrived at the entrance to Felonia. They all looked at the entrance of the cave in shock. They subsequently informed their wealthy sponsors about their discovery. The different military groups were all eyeing the hidden treasure of Felonia, and they were willing to fight it out to achieve their goal.

The leaders of these militias sent out orders for their troops to explore the facility.

The militants eventually put their battles on hold and sent reconnaissance groups into the facility. The huge amount of people entering the facility made it seem less creepy and frightening.

"There are Desert Necro-worms in the basement."

"Tell someone up top to bring the flame-throwers down."

The flamethrowers started spitting fire through the metallic flooring into the basement compartment where the worms were active. The worms squealed as they were engulfed in the flames. The mixture of the smell of the burnt worms and the rotting stench of the facility was nauseating.

The Desert Necro-worms were relatively short, less than ten centimeters, and they looked like centipedes with beetle-like shells. There were antennae on the worms' heads, and their red eyes could also be seen. They had pincers that could slice one's bones and could also be used for the ingestion of their prey.

There were tens of thousands of such worms in the facility, and the waves of worms started to retaliate. The worms crawled up and approached the militants from two directions. The various militias decided to team up in a defense against these worms. They used their flame-throwers and bullets to push back the waves of worms.

Just as the situation stabilized, the worms suddenly dispersed, and a few rotting creatures barged out. They did not care about the bullets or flames and penetrated the formation set up by the troops.

The militants were all astonished.

"What's that? They look so fucking disgusting!"

"Maintain formation."

"Fuck, the worms are invading our positions!"

"Kill the monster first… wait, there are three monsters!"

"We need back up. I repeat, we need back up!"

The gunshots went on for a while before the scene fell silent.

There were burnt worms and their shells everywhere. The monsters had been battered to death by the bullets and embers. The militants had also suffered substantial losses. The only consolation was that they had won the battle.

Couton kicked the corpse of the dead monster and muttered, "They look like experimental subjects of a series of biochemical experiments."

The troops started clearing the battlefield. They ventured up and down the base to explore the area. They blew up the gates to check out the locked rooms but unfortunately did not find anything. There was only rusty equipment and a couple of documents in the facility that the troops found valuable and kept.

The most valuable discovery were the last dregs of the dried-up neon-colored serum left in the experimental pod and the dead body of the experiment subject. These items led to the secret that the leaders of these militant groups were looking for. Perhaps they could test the effects of the serum in their own labs. However, looking at the monsters that the experimental subjects had turned into, it seemed that the serum was not yet complete.

The militants went into the lab that Han Xiao had discovered no long ago, and they found another dead experimental subject—Subject 002—with fresh wounds.

"Someone came ahead of us!"

Couton looked into the case that housed the three tubes of serum, and it was empty. There were signs that someone had tampered with the case.

His eyes instantly lit up.

Chapter 104: Strengthened Life

The trip to Somar Desert was concluded.

The allocated time for the quest was fifteen days, but Han Xiao took only six days to complete it.

As Farian Company's carrier aircraft landed in Morning Wind City's airport, Han Xiao rushed to Hotel Victoria without a break to complete his quest at the Blood Pact Society's floor.

The server quickly reported it to the higher management level. Soon, the person in-charge came to receive Han Xiao.

In a private VIP lounge, Han Xiao was leaning comfortable on the sofa as he waited for the person in-charge to confirm his quest details.

On an unknown floor, a Dark Net recorder opened the bounty page for the Rose Militant and updated the activity log.

"688.4.1, Code Name – Mr. Black (Scorpion)

"Date: 688.4.7

"Assignment completed."

This report was sent to the database, so at the same time, all assassins of the Blood Pact Society received a text message about the removal of the Rose Militant assignment.

…

"Mr. Black, your bounty assignment has been verified. We will immediately transfer the funds into your account."

Ding!

Han Xiao looked at the computer—his Dark Net account had just received three million dollars, which amounted to five million dollars in his account. He realized that the rate of profit from doing bounty hunter assignments was way faster than making machinery.

It was a killing.

In the old days, this assignment was completed by a fifteen-member team, so the profit was divided equally between everyone. This time, Han Xiao took the profit alone, making it a colossal windfall.

_____________________

You have completed the quest [Bounty Hunter (Rose Militant)].

You gained 15,000 EXP.

Hidden Quest Requirement: 'Discover the Felonia Plan' completed. You gained 25,000 additional EXP; you gained a special reward [Mid-grade gene-blending potion (4.37% Low Concentration) x 1

Reputation with the Blood Pack Society increased by 550 points. Currently Neutral (550/1000) – [Scorpion-level Assassin]

——————————————————————

Han Xiao's eyes shimmered. Gene-blending potion was a very powerful game item—it was chiefly used to reduce the failure and mutation rate of biochemicals!

Biochemicals were a common type of drug for increasing character stats, but any use of biochemicals came with inherently risks, which included the possibility of a decrease in stat points and malignant mutations. Additionally, different biochemicals would have conflicts that resulted in further side effects. Gene-blending potion could remove these inherent risks of biochemicals to a certain degree.

No wonder. If I did not risk going into the abandoned base and discover the Felonia Serum, this special reward would not have been useful.

Han Xiao suddenly understood the crux of the matter. The rewards of this quest were linked closely to his actions. This potion was the extra reward for exploring the place, and Subject 002 was akin to a mini-boss that guarded the blood serum.

His cautiousness during the exploration helped him avoid many more difficult barriers. The footsteps of the pilgrims were secretly hinting the player in the correct direction. If he had ignored the hint and walked in the opposite direction, he would have been surrounded and attacked by a bunch of test subjects and Desert Necro-worms.

If he feared the monster and moved to the left side, he would have missed discovering the blood serum.

And if he had moved to the right side while using a torch, he would have triggered the battle with Subject 002 at the first gate. The small passageway would not have allowed him to evade and move forward properly. He was highly likely to have retreated.

Lastly, if he had continued exploring greedily after getting the blood serum, he would have suffered the same consequences as the first scenario.

The reward was really a pleasant surprise; Han Xiao could not wait to research it. After submitting the assignment, he got up and was about to leave. However, the person in-charge suddenly said, "Mir. Black. May I ask you to stay in the Morning Wing City for two days? An important guest wants to meet with you."

"Important guest?" Han Xiao was puzzled.

"An emissary from the Rothschild family, the client for the Rose Militant assignment. He hopes to meet up with you."

Could it be to do with Felonia? Han Xiao's eyes flashed before he said, "Please inform him that I will be glad to meet up with him."

The person in-charge was delighted. "Alright then."

Han Xiao left Hotel Victoria and went back to Antonio's base. He immediately entered his temporary workshop and took out the Felonia serum and the gene-blending Potion.

The Felonia serum had a yellow fluorescence. It was sealed nicely and thus did not go bad after so many years.

The gene-blending potion was as dense as mercury, and it had little shiny star-like sparkles that made it glitter.

To use or not to use? That was the question.

The Felonia serum was a secret game item that he had never seen before this. The gene-blending potion would greatly reduce the risk of using it, so it was rather safe.

After Han Xiao calculated his chance of success, he decided to roll the dice. With the help of the gene-blending potion, even if the serum failed, he would not become like the muscular and ugly-looking test subjects.

He took out a syringe and a catheter. He then poked the syringe into the vein on his arm, injecting the gene-blending potion first.

A cool and refreshing sensation was carried by his blood circulation and distributed throughout his body. He felt as if he had just taken a refreshing bite of ice-cream in the blazing summer heat. His mind was simultaneously calmed. The gene-blending potion was not harmful to the body, and if it was not activated by a biochemical, its effect would gradually disappear.

Han Xiao took a deep breadth before he started injecting the blood serum. The fluorescent serum passed through the catheter and entered his bloodstream.

The feeling of his body swelling was instantly felt!

"Hiss…" Han Xiao gritted his teeth. He was spasming due to the overwhelming pain he felt throughout his entire body. He felt as if the interior of his body had been blown up into a paste—bones smashed into ashes, blood vessels broken apart, and muscles melted. The insufferable pain hit his brain without a stop, and he almost fainted!

'Real' players had only needed to rely on progress bars for using in-game items and making machinery. Therefore, the maximum pain they could feel was limited.

But Han Xiao had to experience the pain in reality!

Of course, being able to experience the reality was more advantageous to him. He had already gained a lot of benefits from it. True pain was just the required cost of the deal.

After some unknown amount of time, the overwhelming pain gradually subsided. Han Xiao's eyes were filled with blood vessels, and he exhaled a heavy heap of murky air. He felt his nerves had suffered a horrifying torture.

He took a look at his body and was glad to find that it did not change. He did not become a muscular monster. It was still the same old handsome-looking body.

He did not have the energy to read his interface during the process, but now that it was over, he realized that it was flooded with lines and lines of information.

_____________________

You used a Felonia Blood Serum (Incomplete).

Mutation Progress: 12%.

Mutation succeeded! (Failure rate was reduced by Gene-blending Potion)

_____________________

You used a Felonia Blood Serum (Incomplete).

Mutation Progress: 46%; Mutation succeeded!

_____________________

You used a Felonia Blood Serum (Incomplete).

Mutation Progress: 73%; Mutation succeeded!

_____________________

You used a Felonia Blood Serum (Incomplete).

Mutation Progress: 100%.

Mutation Completed! Compatibility: Good

You gained 3 Strength and 5 Endurance!

You gained the ability [Basic Strengthen Life]!

_____________________

Han Xiao was dumbfounded. He glanced at his stat board with a look of disbelief as the new ability [Basic Strengthen Life] appeared.

I possess a Molding ability! Han Xiao was utterly shocked.

There was a special type of ability called a Molding ability. As far as he knew, he had not heard about any 'real' player obtaining this type of ability as it belonged exclusively to NPCs and Bosses, and it had very powerful effects. It was even rare for NPCs to have it.

Just by looking at its effects, one would immediately realize how powerful this type of ability was. [Basic Strengthen Life] would turn Endurance into extra Health Points with a conversion ratio of 1 to 15. This meant that with the 60 Endurance Points that Han Xiao had right now, he instantly gained 990 more Health Points to reach more than 2000 Health Points, almost doubling his existing HP.

Furthermore, the effect of this ability would increase as his Endurance increased further, providing him even more HP.

Han Xiao was only LV 30, and his HP had broken the 2,000 mark. The LV 38 Pugilist Pan Kuang did not even have as much HP as him.

If a 'real' player used the Felonia serum, they would probably only gain stat points, without the Molding ability.

This ability, my magnetic armor, and all the future mechanical armors will together make my tank ability so powerful that my enemies will vomit from trying to kill me.

Han Xiao was pleasantly surprised; he was very satisfied with the new ability as it gave him additional insurance.

He had benefited greatly from this quest.

From quest rewards, rewards from killing the enemies, and rewards from producing machinery during his free time, he had accumulated over 700,000 EXP on his interface!

He then counted the number of blueprints he had—19—just one more away from finishing the job advancement quest. Han Xiao contemplated for a moment and decided to produce some equipment that would boost his movement speed.

_____________________

Do you wish to proceed with talent fusion?

(Lv. 4 Basic Electromagnetism + Lv. 4 Basic Energy Theory + Lv. 4 Basic Mechanical Engineering + Lv. 2 Basic Bio-engineering)

This fusion will cost you 20,000 EXP!

——————————————————————

The range of blueprints he would get from this fusion was quite large. Han Xiao was uncertain whether he would get the equipment he wanted or not. He prepared himself to fuse three times, and if he did not succeed after three attempts, he would try to invent it by himself.

On his third try, Han Xiao obtained the blueprint for the item that he needed—the Skating Shoes.

Han Xiao scratched his head. He had saved the time needed to invent the shoes by himself by successfully obtaining the desired blueprint on the third try, but one of the two other blueprints was a totally useless blueprint. He was not sure whether he should consider himself lucky or unlucky.

The Skating Shoes, also known as the Electromagnetic Hover-boots, could be worn by an individual or armed on a small robot, and they could greatly enhance movement speed without hindering evading capability.

The other two blueprints were named Swarm and Heart, respectively.

_____________________

You have completed your Job Advancement Quest.

Job advancement successful!

You gained a new job [Mechanic (Trainee)]

+50 Energy, +1 DEX, +4 INT; +1 END, + 3 Unassign Stats, +1 Talent Point

You learned [Meticulous Repairs]!

You learned [Medium Enhancement]!

——————————————————————

Repair and Enhancement, the two core skills of a Mechanic, had finally evolved.

Mechanic (Trainee) was the third stage of a Mechanic's job, but the EXP required to reach Lv.1 was not much since the job had a maximum level of 15.

Han Xiao gained three stat points at once.

His total level was at 34, and as usual, he threw all the stat points gained into Intelligence.

Han Xiao still had some leftover EXP. He thought for a moment before he decided to upgrade [Continuous Gliding Shots]. This skill had helped him numerous times, and Mechanics lacked battle skills, so every single active skill was important to them. Additionally, he was not in a rush to upgrade [Overload] as its Lv.1 effect was powerful enough for now.

[Continuous Gliding Shots] was raised to Lv.4, and its effect was strengthened. However, at the same time, it would consume 8 Energy. Han Xiao now had close to 900 Energy, more than enough to spend on this skill.

He had once again spent all his EXP.

He had spent a large sum of EXP in exchange for an improvement in his fighting capability. His character's bare Energy Rank exceeded the 500 mark, and when he coordinated with his machinery, it would reach up to 700. He could now beat Pan Kuang easily if they were to fight again without the help of Norsa's Character Summoning Card.

Chapter 105: Rothschild

With a huge sum of money in his wallet, Han Xiao could spend extravagantly. He purchased a new batch of mechanical parts from Farian Company.

In one day, using the skills from his job advancement, Han Xiao upgraded all his equipment and made blueprints for new items.

The Electromagnetic Hover-boots looked like a pair of metal boots. The heels and soles had a special device that could utilize the electromagnetic field to reduce surface friction. The power for which was generated by the high-energy battery inside the boots. The user could glide and coast on any type of surface, as if ice-skating, at an extremely high speed that was comparable to that of a car. The battery could supply enough energy for the boots to run at maximum power output for twenty minutes.

Han Xiao then painted the boots in silver and black stripes, and they looked stylish. Also, he conveniently added breathable knitting, a spongy cushion, and leather exterior for the boots. The boots were now comfortable for every day wear. One did not need to change into them only during battles.

Soon, the Rothschilds' representative visited him.

In Hotel Victoria, Alphonsus was seated in the VIP lounge. He rested his hands on his knees while he waited for his guest to arrive.

As the door opened and Han Xiao walked in, Alphonsus got up and held out his hand elegantly as he said with a deep and magnetic voice, "I am Alphonsus from the Rothschild Family. I want to discuss some matters with you."

Han Xiao went on to shake his hand. He felt Alphonsus' thumb pressing firmly on the area between his thumb and index finger while he steadily shook for a moment. It was the type of handshake that was habitual for a person of authority, mostly used to exert dominance over the other person. This kind of handshake was easy to recognize for Han Xiao as his grandfather used to do it.

The principle was rather simple: just like how perverts would lightly scratch a girl's hand when they shook her hand, a person of different status, job, or identity would have different habits. Handshakes would differ greatly depending on the people executing and receiving it, such as a subordinate seeking a favor from his boss, a male trying to seduce a lady, a person meeting a stranger, or two people of high-status fighting against each other.

Alphonsus was clearly not just a simple envoy. Han Xiao could already guess at the Rothschild Family's purpose for meeting him.

As both were seated, Alphonsus said, "The assignment for Rose Militant has been on the list for nearly three years, and many assassins failed miserably. You, Mr. Black, actually completed it alone, much to my surprise."

"You flatter me. This was just a standard operation, nothing to praise."

Yet, your tone does not sound at all humble, Alphonsus quietly thought.

The two made some small talk before Han Xiao cut straight to the point. "Our relationship is only limited to that between a client and an assassin. Since the assignment is completed, we have no need for any further association. You clearly came to visit me for something else."

"You are right. I am here to ask you some questions." Alphonsus nodded. His body suddenly leaned forward, creating a hint of tension. He stared right at Han Xiao and said solemnly, "Did you visit an abandoned base in the Somar Desert?"

Alphonsus continuously observed Han Xiao's expression and eyes whilst he spoke. He would immediately know that Han Xiao was lying if he showed any hint of hesitation. The Rothschild Family knew about the research project from the experiment diary taken from the base, and they highly valued it. If they could obtain the Felonia serum, they might be able to produce unique items from it.

Much to his surprise, Han Xiao actually took out a tube of yellow-fluorescent blood serum and place directly on the table.

"Name your price," he said nonchalantly.

Alphonsus was startled—he did not expect Han Xiao to be so frank.

"This item is useless to me. Since you want it, you can pay to buy it."

Alphonsus glanced at the serum. He did not worry that Han Xiao was lying to him—those who dared to scam the Rothschild Family had all died.

"How much do you want?"

"It depends on your sincerity." Han Xiao grinned and looked unfathomable.

This attitude gave Alphonsus a headache. He had been hoping that Han Xiao did not know the value of the blood serum, but based on his behavior, it was unlikely. He hesitated for a long while before he made an honest offer, but it was not a high price considering the item's rarity.

"One million."

Every negotiator would always start low. Since they were all civilized gentleman, there was no such thing as killing and robbing; therefore, Alphonsus was ready to spend a fortune on it.

Han Xiao stared at Alphonsus for a moment before he slowly moved his lips. "This price… you didn't show any sincerity at all."

Alphonsus was just about to prepare his negotiation speech.

"I accept."

"This blood serum has been kept for a few dozen years, and I don't even know if it still works. So, the value is greatly reduced, I…"

"Hold on. You agree with this price‽" Alphonsus looked shocked.

Han Xiao pushed the blood serum toward Alphonsus and smiled. "This is for making a friend."

Alphonsus started to take a liking for Han Xiao as he had originally planned to spend a fortune on this.

He tucked away the serum and recollected himself. "The funds will be transferred to your account as soon as possible. Also, you will gain the friendship with Rothschild and myself personally."

_____________________

You unlocked a new camp reputation!

Reputation with the Rothschild Family increased by 1,800 points

The Rothschild Family: Friendly (1,800/3,000)

——————————————————————

Han Xiao smiled lightly; earning reputation points with the Rothschild Family by giving up some money was a very good deal for him. He could always earn money from other places, but the opportunity to unlock a new camp would be fleeting.

Some family conglomerates and corporations existed since the Old Age. After the baptism of war, some families died out while some became even more deep-rooted, for their influence could reach every aspect of their country, including the military, politics, economics, and mafias. Rothschild was one of such families, and Han Xiao knew that he could reap many benefits. To players, this was a support-type camp. They could buy rare items and services from such camps.

The Rothschilds were one of the Dark Net Organization's allies, and he could use their backing in the organization, which would yield him more advantages.

Without the gene-blending potion, the Felonia serum would not yield him benefits. So, he would rather sell it for some profits. Anyway, he held onto one last tube of the serum.

With another million dollars in his account, his current stash reached six million dollars. They might just be digits in his account, but to put them in context, LV 30 players in Version 1.0 were considered wealthy if they had more than twenty thousand dollars. Anything above a million dollar would be considered astronomical; only major guilds had that kind of money.

After the deal, the atmosphere became more harmonious.

"What exactly is Felonia?" Han Xiao was curious.

He was puzzled by the fact that a simple serum like this was eyed by so many different factions.

Alphonsus was in a happy mood, so he explained, "There was a country in the Somar Desert that was entangled in the wars of the Old Age. They initiated a large-scale research project called the Felonia Project. The name was taken from a legendary tale of the country, and the project involved building many military bases to conduct research in a dozen different branches of technological development. The serum was one of their research directions. "

"It turned out to be this. I really thought there was some sort of magical ruins." Han Xiao finally understood the whole thing.

Alphonsus chuckled. "There is no magic in this world. You thought too much."

Han Xiao laughed and touched his chin. Planet Aquamarine should not have any magic, but why do I have a weird feeling about this?

…

In a pitch-black cavern deep underneath the earth, fine sand dropped through the gaps of the rocks occasionally.

A gush of wind that came from nowhere echoed in the cavern, as if someone was exhaling it. Faint sounds of thunder-like thumps were heard in the background.

Suddenly, six large oval-shaped lamps lit up in the dark. They were golden in color and were divided into two neat and symmetrical rows. From the look of it, each lamp's radius was more than ten meters.

'Large lamps' started flashing rapidly, like eyes blinking.

Eyes.

Chapter 106: Second-Generation Rover Robo

Alphonsus passed his phone number to Han Xiao. "This is my number. If you need something, just give me a call."

Han Xiao knocked on the table for a few times before he said, "It just so happen that I have a question. I want to quickly raise my rank and authorization level in the Blood Pact Society. Do you have any good suggestions for me?"

Alphonsus pondered for a moment and decided to do Han Xiao a favor. He asked a sever to bring in the Blood Pact Society's laptop, and he opened a document to show to Han Xiao. The top of the document was clearly stamped with 'No Unauthorized Access'.

Han Xiao's brows furrowed as he read on.

"Internal Call-up (Not Public)

"Call-up Objective: Blood Pact Society Assassins (Dark-level and above), Contract Mercenaries (Two-star and above)

"Current Participants: 18 Assassins, 245 Mercenaries

"Assignment Location: East Stardragon, 20km North of Seagull City, River Valley Manor

"Assignment Details: Defend River Valley Manor, Protect (Redacted)"

"Internal call-up?" Han Xiao questioned.

"Only assassins of dark-level and above will receive this call-up. You are not supposed to participate in this assignment since you are only a scorpion-level assassin. However, I could give you backdoor access to this assignment, and upon completion of this assignment, you can immediately rise to dark-level. Once you arrive at the location, someone will brief you in more detail."

With so many participants, this assignment is definitely not a small-scale battle, Han Xiao thought silently to himself.

He remembered a reward-pool quest he could do in the Seagull city that was easy and yet could yield him high rewards. It was conveniently on the way.

I will go there and take a look first, Han Xiao decided. Can't believe I am going back to Stardragon so soon. Luckily, I will not be identified.

Han Xiao's brows knitted together. Although he left Division 13, the relationship status between Division 13 and him did not change on his Interface. This meant that Division 13 still did not treat him as an enemy.

There was still some time before heading off. He went back to the Farian Company base and made some machinery that he had been planning to make for some time.

_____________________

Second-Generation Rover (Combat)

Type: Robot

Grade: Dark Green

Basic Stats: 2,200/2,200, 37 Defense, 168 Power Output, 83 Max Speed, 640/640 Energy

Height: 2.1m

Weight: 300kg

Mode of Control: Low-Level Smart Chip (Programmed for automatic enemy identification)

Energy source: High-power energy pack (x4)

Energy Usage: 6/min (low output), 15/min (full output)

Power Capacity: 310/320 Ona

Brain Module: Intelligent Enemy-Seeking Firepower System (occupies 30 capacity units)

Eye Module: Electromagnetic Scanner-Scope, Obstacle-Penetrating Enemy Seeking-Vision (occupies 15 capacity units)

Arm Modules: Large-Caliber Triple-Barrel Machine Gun—70-85 Damage, 3.5 Fire Rate, 30 Magazine Capacity (+60 Belt Capacity), 75 Power Output (occupies 80 capacity units)

Skeleton Module: K600-type Mechanical Skeletal System—30 Strength (occupies 40 capacity units)

Legs Module: Triangular Wheel System and Shock-proof Suspension Frame—reduce impact of treacherous terrain, increase movement speed (occupies 15 capacity units)

Chest Module: Small-Scale Honeycomb Rocket Launcher—equipped with small-scale rockets (180-230 Damage, induces additional explosion damage), 6-round capacity (occupies 110 capacity units)

Abdomen Module: Magazine Storage—small-scale rockets x 12, additional magazine belt x 200 rounds (occupies 20 capacity units)

Skills:

- Furious Fusillade

- Titanium Armor: Reduces physical damage taken by 11%

- Self-destruct: Self-destruct to inflict 340-510 explosion damage in a 40m radius.

Note: A human-shaped tank.

——————————————————————

This Rover was made with much better technology; it was equipped with a smart chip, titanium armor, a high-power battery, and a firepower that was much more fearsome. Han Xiao was a lot richer compared to when he first entered the Western Capital, so he no longer needed to budget carefully. The cost of the second-generation Rover Robot was more than 20,000 dollar—already a discounted price with his more specialized skills in making machinery. It was a price that players of the same level could never afford. The second-generation Rover could be used as a mobile fort. However, it could not be used to work on an independent task as the processing chip did not possess the ability to make independent judgment and tactical analysis.

With such strong firepower, the combat Rover could provide firepower support and area strike. Even after the ammunitions were entirely consumed, the K600-type Mechanical Skeletal System would allow the Rover to have ample close-combat capability. It could charge at full speed to knock down enemies and had the ability to self-destruct.

I can now scale up the production of the Rover, but I cannot carry them around, so I should find a secret base to hide them. Although this type of Rover has great firepower, it does not allow for a quick and rapid change of battlegrounds. I can only use it for stationary battles, so its function is rather singular. The problems lie in areas of movement, core power capacity, and chip processing. I need more advance knowledge, which I have no opportunity to obtain as of now. Hmm, I still have to fight as a sniper for now. I should perfect my sniping capabilities.

As Han Xiao lacked money and the necessary technology, the idea of a robot army could not be realized yet.

Han Xiao stored all his larger equipment in Farian Company's warehouse to be transported by air. This time, he paid 50,000 dollars to use Farian Company's aero-transport service again. He reckoned no one would spend money as extravagantly as him.

…

The Western Capital was the capital city of Stardragon, and Seagull City was an important city in East Stardragon. It had a large area, and historically, it encountered a beast tide and suffered a great loss as a result. However, it had the aid of the entire nation, which allowed it to rebuild into an important city in the East today.

A monument tens of meters high stood tall in the city center. It was engraved with the names of all those sacrificed in the battle against the beast tide.

In the battle of the Old Age, when Seagull City was met with numerous large-scale terrorist assaults by the Germinal Organization, it received assistance from everywhere again, which made it into an even more prosperous city. The phenomenon was rather peculiar; numerous misfortunes actually allowed the city to develop more rapidly. People in Stardragon believed it was a good omen because it meant that even if Stardragon faced setbacks, it would only bounce back stronger. 'The Seagull Spirit' was repeatedly mentioned in every year's national meetings and nationwide news.

The plane soon landed at the city's airport. Anyone going in and out of each city in Stardragon had to go through the respective checkpoint. Similarly, landing from air required a permission from the air-control tower in advance. Farian Company's planes had private parking spots in the airports of the various cities in Stardragon, and thus, they were authorized to land in these airports. Players could also purchase such spots when their camp reputation was high enough.

"So, why did you follow me this time?" Han Xiao turned around and looked at Antonio at his side.

Antonio inhaled a puff of his cigar and chuckled. "Unfortunately, Farian Company does not have any assets in Seagull City. We have no choice but to provide the cargo plane as your temporary workshop and warehouse."

"I see." Han Xiao understood. Suddenly, he became frustrated because he realized it meant that Farian Company had no cars for him to borrow. He was tens of kilometers away from the River Valley Manor. Unless I should resort to some old tricks… Puh, do I really have to do the immoral and forbidden act of stealing cars?

He still had his Thorns, but if he drove the car on the streets, a few dozen police cars and special-ops vehicles would follow him in less than ten minutes.

As the old saying goes, when you have a problem, look to the public for a solution.

Han Xiao soon 'borrowed' a car from a benevolent member of the public. After he passed through the checkpoint and left the city, he headed straight toward the manor.

It was a small forest with a river twenty kilometers north of Seagull City. Only mid to small size gentle wild animals resided in this forest, so it was not particularly dangerous. Han Xiao located the manor on his map. River Valley Manor was situated in the forest by a river.

It was afternoon when the car drove into the forest. The lazy afternoon sun shone its light through the gaps between the trees, painting the forest with a peaceful ambience. The engine sound scared away a few spotted deer that were asleep.

Han Xiao suddenly snorted through his nose. He detected a light pungent smell. After quickly filtering away the scents of decomposition and bird droppings in his memory, he arrived at his memory of a similar scent.

A light flashed in Han Xiao's eyes. This is the scent of gun powders. A battle occurred here not long ago.

To avoid a misunderstanding, Han Xiao parked his car and got out his equipment before he started walking toward the manor.

He appeared to be a depressed musician who was carrying a guitar case and wandering around, but in reality, his guitar case was storing his folded sniper rifle and lightweight mechanical arm. His Berserk Eagles and magazines were hidden inside his clothes, his magnetic-controlled armor around his body, his foldable machete under his shirt, the inactive thermo-electrical incisor gloves on his hands, and the silver Electromagnetic Hover-boots on his feet.

The boots looked like an ordinary pair of boots with its leather exterior—one would not discover the metal parts inside without pressing it with one's hand.

Although he was seemed armed to the teeth, he did not bring along his Wind-slicing blade, Thorns, or the second-generation Rover.

After walking for a while, obvious signs of battle appeared in Han Xiao's surroundings. There were explosion marks, empty cartridges, tire tracks, and even ashes of more than one burnt vehicle on the ground. It had been a devastating battle. Han Xiao could already see the manor.

Just as Han Xiao was ready to walk over, he suddenly halted.

At the next moment, a bullet hole appeared on the ground in front of him—it was made by a sniper rifle. If he had stepped forward before this, it would have shot his legs.

It was a warning shot.

The shot had come from the direction of the manor.

Chapter 107: A Strange Protection Assignmen

Han Xiao bent down to dig out the bullet shell from the ground. It was an armor-piercing round.

The people in River Valley Manor were probably all friendlies, so this was just a warning shot. Otherwise, the sniper would have aimed for his vitals. As Han Xiao finished this thought, he took out an old brown coin, raised it, and waved it in the air. The sniper in the manor could definitely see it through their scope.

The coin had been passed to him by Antonio before he departed. He had said that it could be used to vouch for his identity.

After waiting for a minute or so, Han Xiao stepped forward again. Indeed, no one was firing at him this time around. He then successfully arrived at the gate of the manor and realized that the manor's outer defense had been greatly reinforced. The outer wall had many metal plates, which tightly shielded the inside of the manor. There were marks of previous explosions on those metal plates.

Han Xiao walked in after the gate opened. The layout of the manor was presented before his eyes—it occupied a very large space and was divided into inner and outer layers. The outer layer consisted of all sorts of defense structures, and armed mercenaries were busy patrolling around the area. They talked and gossiped loudly and fervently, unlike regular soldiers who were mostly silent. They were clearly lacking in discipline.

The inner layer was just the center of the manor—a mansion with a garden and a fountain. Black railings surrounded the mansion, clearly demarcating the areas between the inner and outer layers. One could see, through the railings, that no one was in the mansion or garden; it was as if no one lived there.

"Newcomer? You are an assassin, right?"

A buff black man yelled over to Han Xiao from the side. It was the person who had opened the door for him.

Without waiting for Han Xiao to reply, the black man shouted into his walkie talkie, "Chen Li, there is a new assassin here. Quickly come and pick him up."

"Wait for me. I'll be there in a minute." A person was swearing on the other side of the walkie talkie.

The mercenary named Chen Li soon arrived before the gate. He gave the black man a finger before he looked at Han Xiao to size him up. "Come, follow me."

Han Xiao followed Chen Li to the south-east side of the manor. He got a brief explanation of the manor's defense structure from Chen Li during this walk. The manor had three sides facing land, and the west side faced the river. Assailants could potentially attack using speedboats, but they would become easy targets if they appeared on the river. So, the river front was the easiest side to defend.

The other two sides of defense were at the South-east and North-east sides. The whole defense structure was triangular. Chen Li oversaw all the mercenaries stationed in the south-east side.

"What kind of assassin are you?" Chen Li asked.

"Sniper."

"That's good. We need a long-range attacker. Previously, an assassin who only knew how to sneak attack from close-range was sent here. He could not be more useless."

Han Xiao turned around and glanced at the mansion in the center before he asked three key questions in his mind. "Who exactly are we protecting? How long will we defend here? Who are our enemies?"

Perhaps every newcomer asked the same questions; Chen Li answered quickly and smoothly. "Our boss did not say how long more we have to defend. In any case, if we cannot defend anymore, I will be the first to evacuate. I don't care how much they pay me, I will not be cannon-fodder. I am not sure who the enemies are. Sometimes, we will get attacked in the day, other times, at night; we get attacked every few days. There will always be new enemies attacking us.

"And as for who we are protecting, heheheh…"

Chen Li suddenly laughed coldly before he continued.

"I heard that the target hides in the mansion, but they have never appeared before. The assignment forbids us from entering the mansion. It could very well be that the mansion is just an empty shell, and we are protecting no one. Humph! Whatever the motives of the employer, as long as he pays me, I'm fine."

An empty mansion, protecting someone who had never appeared before, an ambiguous group call-up, enemies from unknown sources. All these factors, linked together, gave Han Xiao a strange feeling that could not be expressed in words. He felt a dense fog covering this whole situation.

"By the way, which level of assassin are you? Dark or Ghost?" Chen Li asked thoughtlessly.

"Mr. Black. Scorpion-level."

Chen Li jolted his head around and looked rather surprised. "Scorpion? Why would you be here? Only Dark-level assassins and above would receive the call-up. You are not qualified, right?"

"I'm already here. My level is not important anymore." Han Xiao had no interest in explaining himself to some mercenary. I can do whatever I want and need not explain myself to you. Basically, act like you own it.

"Although you are only scorpion-level, you are a sniper that we can make do with. As long as you can hit enemies with your sniper rifle, we are fine."

Chen Li then frowned as he pointed to an area in the distance and said, "Can you see three fortresses there? You will go to the middle one. The Hornet Brothers will make arrangements for you."

Han Xiao looked at the area. The three fortresses were at the intersection point of the south-east and north-east defense lines, and they were at the top point of the triangle defense structure. This position helped snipers maximize their field of vision and, therefore, sniping range. But the disadvantage was that the position was too conspicuous. When the enemy attacked, they would try to take down the sniper first. Fortunately, the walls of the fortresses were armed with numerous machine guns and rocket launchers; they were the most well-defended place.

Han Xiao did not object to the arrangement. Before he triggered any quest on his interface, he was quite indifferent to the whole thing.

Han Xiao walked to the middle fortress and climbed to the top floor. He then spotted two men who were carrying sniper rifles in their hands and snoozing by the wall. As they heard Han Xiao's footsteps, they quickly open their eyes and looked over. One could tell that they were assassins from their ice-cold disposition.

One of them was tall while the other was short, and their faces looked similar. They seemed to be the Hornet Brothers as mentioned by Chen Li.

"Newcomer?" The tall one spoke nonchalantly. "Code Name, level, ability."

Han Xiao's brow furrowed. "Mr. Black, Scorpion, Sniper."

"What is a Scorpion-level newbie doing here?" The tall guy frowned, and he became impatient. "Go to the left fortress and be the assistant sniper—you will be responsible for taking down all the small fries that escape our shots. Can you handle a simple task like this?"

"Sure." Han Xiao nodded.

The short guy only gave him a glance before he went back to snooze. It seemed that he was prideful and not interested in talking to him.

It was only a dozen minutes in the manor, and Han Xiao had moved to three different locations. He had no choice but to walk toward the left fortress. This was the area he was in charge of, which meant that his job was to assist the Hornet Brothers.

There was already a person in the left fortress—an assassin with a large beard. He looked Han Xiao up and down, and after Han Xiao introduced himself, he cut to the chase. "Scorpion-level? You will take the left side while I take the right side."

The left side had the most limited field of vision, and therefore, it was the easiest job. The bearded assassin did not trust his ability, which was normal. Han Xiao did not give it a second thought. He was fine with taking care of his own area.

_____________________

You triggered a chain quest, [Call-up (Protection)].

Quest Summary: "First, do not probe for the identity of the protection target; second, do not leave your post; third, do not let enemies infiltrate the manor; forth, try your best to become useful."

Hint: This is a chain quest—please act according to instructions.

First Round: Beat off the first wave of enemies.

First Round Reward: 20,000 EXP

Other Causes for Quest Failure: 1. Unauthorized entry to the mansion; 2. Leaving the manor for more than two hours.

——————————————————————

Chain quest? Interesting, Han Xiao thought to himself.

A chain quest was the type of quest where the player had to complete the previous quest requirement before they would receive the next requirement. The difficulty and reward would get higher and higher with each round. Upon completing all the rounds in the chain, the player would receive an extra reward. Chain quests were usually a lot more tedious than normal quests.

I will see the reward for the next round of the quest before I decide to continue or not. If it isn't great, I will just retreat from here, Han Xiao thought. He did not feel that he had to complete the quest no matter what; he would only continue if the rewards were substantially high.

After wandering around the manor for a few hours, he deciphered the manpower allocation in the place. The mercenaries were armed with heavy firearms and vehicles. There were also Superhumans around. Mechanics were in charge of repairing the equipment, providing ammunition, and rectify defense structures; assassins were the more elite force.

By casually chatting with the people there, Han Xiao learned that they had been stationed there for more than ten days. More capable personnel, such as the Hornet Bothers, Chen Li, Volcano, and Moonlight, had already made their reputation known in the place.

…

The sky slowly darkened. Leaves were gently swept by the night wind in the evening forest, making shushing sounds. Perennial water streams flowed in the river. The whole scene was rather peaceful.

An imminently-approaching engine sound broke the serenity in the forest.

Ohmmm!

Stationed at the fortress's sniper position, Han Xiao looked through his scope. There were many headlights in the distant forest quickly approaching the manor. The mercenaries started to shout, prompting each other to quickly go back to their posts to get ready for the upcoming battle. The concentrated footsteps sounded like peas being fried.

Han Xiao stretched out his arm, and a crisp cocking sound was heard on his rifle. He was preparing himself, too.

"Here comes the first wave."

Chapter 108: Round Three

Just by looking at the headlights, Han Xiao figured out the enemies' military composition—all armored vehicles, and they were fast-approaching. Troops armed with heavy firepower were running close behind.

The next moment, the mercenaries in the manor began firing. Heavy machine guns were blasting and roaring continuously. Flashes of flames on muzzles became an attention-grabbing source of light among the darkness of the night. Han Xiao glanced over for a moment, and soon, his mind was put at ease. The enemy had limited numbers and average firepower, so they would not be able to penetrate the curtain of machine gun rounds made by the mercenaries.

Pong!

Sniper shots were heard from the central fortress; they came from the Hornet Brothers. The two shots were extremely accurate, hitting right on the targets.

Han Xiao looked over at his area and realized that it had a limited range of vision and tough angles. Most likely, only those enemies who slipped through the net would accidentally barge into this area. However, it just so happened that a small team of enemies had infiltrated this place. He raised his Red-Falcon before he aimed through the scope and fired. The shot pierced through multiple enemies' necks at once, pumping out masses of blood fog.

Big beard guy was initially skeptical of Han Xiao's ability, but after taking a few looks at him when he was not occupied, he was secretly shocked and knew that he no longer had to worry about this Mr. Black… because Han Xiao had made every single shot. Therefore, he stopped turning around to supervise Han Xiao and left that area entirely to him in comfort.

The battle only lasted for half an hour, and the enemies suffered great losses. They did not even manage to get within two hundred meters of the manor. Han Xiao managed to take down nine enemies in total.

_____________________

First round completed. You gained 20,000 EXP.

Change in Quest Requirement

Second Round Requirement: Defend the River Valley Manor.

Duration: 3 Days

Reward: 80,000 EXP

——————————————————————

The first wave was too simple, and the EXP rewarded seems to be very little. But the increase for the second round is not too bad.

Han Xiao rubbed his chin. The first round gives 20,000 EXP; the second round rewards 80,000 EXP. Based on this increment, the third round may yield me 320,000 EXP, and the fourth round would be more than a million EXP. Stop, I am just dreaming here."

But honestly, the third round would at least reward him more than 150,000 EXP.

Han Xiao felt it was a waste of time to do the second round, which would last for three entire days, but he quickly changed his thought. He could stay there and earn some EXP by borrowing the facilities and workshops from the Mechanics there to repair the mercenaries' equipment for free.

Han Xiao had always been a doer. Once he made up his mind, he immediately went to the logistics area to find the local mechanics. They were mostly pseudo-mechanics who had learned some repair skills for their secondary job. There were only two proper Superhuman Mechanics there.

"You want to help us repair equipment?" One repairman was startled. "You are a Mechanic?"

Han Xiao began proving himself directly through actions. He took a pistol on the worktable and disassembled in just a few movements before he assembled it rapidly, like he was performing magic. The whole process flowed smoothly, lasting less than two seconds. He was no longer the newbie in the Germinal Organization who took forty seconds to assemble a pistol. With the add-on effect of his various skills, his ability in making and assembling machinery had reached a level beyond that of an ordinary person.

The group of repairmen agreed to Han Xiao's request without hesitation—they were even slightly eager to welcome him.

The repair jobs were dreary and tiring, and they did not even get extra pay for it. When someone unexpectedly wanted to take on this tough job, they were all too eager to throw all the work to this legitimate Mechanic that appeared out of nowhere.

…

Before dawn, Chen Li walked into the logistics area while carrying a spoilt machine gun. He was looking for a Mechanic that he was familiar with to repair his gun.

"Wang Xi, help me repair this machine gun."

Wang Xi was a skinny middle-aged male. He wore a vest and was napping at the side. As he heard the voice, he opened his eyes and gave Chen Li a glance.

"Leave the gun there. I will repair it when I am free," he said in a rather laid-back manner.

"Would you please hurry up with this? I may need to use it in the day."

Wang Xi was getting impatient. "Alright. Alright. I will repair it for you later."

Chen Li had no choice but to leave it to him. Although Wang Xi was ill-tempered, he was a legitimate Mechanic Superhuman with excellent skills. Only he could help him since he did not want the machine gun to malfunction again at a critical moment during the next battle.

After Chen Li left, Wang Xi shut his eyes again and returned to napping.

After five minutes, he heard footsteps approaching once more. He opened his eyes impatiently before he realized it was Chen Li again.

"What are you so anxious for? Once I have time, I will repair it for you, so stop bothering me." Wang Xi was clearly irritated.

Surprisingly, Chen Li shook his head and said, "Return the machine gun to me. I will get someone else to repair it."

Wang Xi frowned. Although he was annoyed by Chen Li's repeated disturbances, he did not wish for the weapon to malfunction again. After all, he was also housed inside the manor.

"Other people's skills are not good enough. Once the sun rises, I will repair it for you, okay?" he replied.

However, Chen Li was adamant in wanting to have his machine gun back. "It's fine. The other guy's skill is better than yours."

Wang Xi was instantly infuriated by the comment. Everyone knew everyone else in a small logistics area like this. The other legitimate Mechanic was not even as good as him, let alone the bunch of repairmen.

Who are you trying to bluff?

But Chen Li was very insistent. Wang Xi had no choice but to return his gun. When he saw that Chen Li was walking to the other side of the logistics area, he deliberated for a moment before he decided to follow behind. He wanted to see who this Mechanic, who was supposedly better than him, was.

As he arrived at the scene, Wang Xi was shocked by what he saw—the bunch of low-class repairmen were crowding around a man in black, and they stared at him attentively with looks of amazement, jealousy, and curiosity.

Wang Xi was dumbfounded after he took a proper look at the man.

The man in black moved his hands at lightning speed, like a phantom, to operate all sorts of equipment rapidly. By doing so, he was repairing several weapons simultaneously in a natural and flowing style. It was so smooth that he did not even need to pause and think. Wang Xi had never seen any technique like this—he was definitely a higher-class Mechanic!

Originally, the repairmen had only the mindset of pushing their repair jobs to Han Xiao so that they could relax. But when Han Xiao started his repairing process, his technique, which was extremely speedy, quickly grabbed all their attention. They were intoxicated just by looking at it and wanted to note down his every single step. Many details of the technique were massively inspirational for them.

If they possessed an interface, the follow message would have appeared.

_____________________

You gained insights from observing Han Xiao (LV 34) repair machinery. Repair skill proficiency increased.

——————————————————————

The other Mechanic, who was of a similar standard as Wang Xi, was also observing Han Xiao with a look of obsession.

To Wang Xi, Han Xiao's technique was flawless; to be exact, his standard was not high enough to perceive any flaws in Han Xiao's technique. He felt somewhat dispirited and wanted to walk away, but he could not make himself do it. He could not resist the desire to stay there and continue watch Han Xiao's repair work. He was deeply conflicted.

Han Xiao was engrossed in his repair work and did not care about what others around him thought. As a result, his EXP increased speedily. The effect of [Meticulous Repairs Lv.1] was considerably better than ordinary repair skills—they were not skills from the same class. The more basic weapons and machinery could be repaired quickly and easily. Han Xiao could even have been more efficient if not for the lack of better equipment.

For the next three days, other than taking some rests in between, Han Xiao was continuously involved in battles and repairs. Four waves of enemies attacked the manor in this period of time through variety of methods, including a speed boat attack, an armored vehicle attack, and a stealth raid. One group of enemies wore frog-suits and attempted to infiltrate the place by diving through the river on the west side. They were spotted and killed by the snipers.

The enemy's attacks were gradually increasing in intensity. Han Xiao could sense, with his perspicacity, that the guards in the manor seemed to be getting too weak at defending against the enemy's attacks. Numerous days of continuous high-intensity battle were taking a toll on their psyche, and the effect of their accumulated exhaustion was erupting. As a result, errors and casualties started appearing on the battlefield.

The mercenaries' struggle did not have much of an impact on Han Xiao. He was feeling at ease with handling his small area by shooting down all the enemies that went into it. At the same time, he realized that there were more and more 'fishes that escaped the net' and entered his area. It seemed that the Hornet Brothers were slowly showing their incapability in handling attacks with such intensity.

Three days passed without any problems. When the first light appeared in the sky, a message was sent immediately to the Interface.

_____________________

Round 2 Complete. You received 80,000 EXP.

——————————————————————

Not bad, but the third round is probably going to get really tough.

Han Xiao was awakened from his nap.

He had received a grand total of 180,000EXP from completing the quest, working on machinery, and killing enemies. He was rather satisfied with the efficiency.

_____________________

Change in Quest Requirement.

Third Round: Defend against the next wave of attack

Reward: 150,000 EXP

——————————————————————

Han Xiao cursed; he had a bad feeling about this round of the quest.

The next wave of enemy was most likely very powerful, and there was a ninety percent chance that the mercenaries would not be able to defend against them.

Chapter 109: Turning the Tide

Booooom!

It was a thundery shower. The dark sky was repeatedly torn apart by streaks and streaks of glaring lightning. Rain was pouring down in torrents.

The curtain of rain was limiting everyone's field of vision, which in turn reduced their shooting accuracy. The mercenaries had to cover the weapons and equipment with waterproof covers against the violent storm as they were not waterproof, and they also sent their ammunition reserves to sheltered areas.

Heavy rain flooded the entire world, and its sound filled everyone's ears. The fortresses were saturated with moisture. Han Xiao placed himself far away from the window to avoid getting soaked. He looked at the weather outside and frowned. Terrible weather like that is clearly generated by the system purposefully. I bet the next wave of heavy attack will come at this time, otherwise…

Han Xiao was only half way through his sentence before stopped that thought. How could he joke around like that and risk jinxing himself?

Ohmm!

A series of engine sounds were heard in the rain. The enemy was coming at them viciously this time. Hordes of armored vehicles were driving toward the manor in the storm. Countless rain droplets smashed onto the ice-cold metal armor.

"Fire!" The mercenaries in the manor yelled furiously, and the sounds of machine guns and grenade launchers followed.

The next moment, even greater firepower erupted from the enemy's motorcade. More than a few small-scale missiles landed on the outer wall of the manor, which blew up the two machine guns and the gunner there.

Whilst Han Xiao was shooting his rifle, he heard Chen Li and the black dude yelling over the walkie-talkie.

"The enemy has rocket launchers; we must evade! Go and hit them hard with our machine guns and grenades!"

"Snipers hurry up and fire. Don't make me prompt you! Hurry up and do something!"

"More than twenty speedboats just appeared on the river. Those stationed on the west side, quickly go and intercept them. Don't let them get near the shore!"

"Shit. Helicopters!"

The sound of rotating wings was heard in the sky. Two Y5-Snake helicopter gunships were attacking from above. Flashing lightning in the dark sky highlighted the ferocious features of the helicopters. The gunner, wearing wind-shielding glasses, controlled a large-caliber six-barreled machine canon on the side of the helicopter and unleashed astonishing firepower.

The size of the canon rounds was almost like that of a small-scale missile. Their penetration capability and damage power were unmatched by the rounds of ordinary machine guns. They were even fired at a very high rate.

Da da da da da da.

The continuous canon rounds connected to form an orange line and swept the manor from above. The outer defensive walls of the manor were less than useless against enemies from the sky.

The mercenaries' casualty number surged!

The sounds of swearing, yelling, crying, raining, guns firing, and engines roaring formed a symphony of battle—as grand as it was horrifying and as messy as it was fevered.

The helicopters were their biggest threat. Some machine gunners quickly aimed their guns at them.

However, by simply flying higher, Y5-Snake helicopters easily got out of the range of the machine guns. Those stray rounds that managed to touch the helicopters could not penetrate their armored exterior.

"Snipers! Kill the pilots!" Chen Li was yelling in exasperation.

"We will handle the helicopters. Other snipers, go and stop the ground troops from coming in!" The Hornet Brothers gave an order in the communication net from the central fortress. Thereafter, they started shooting at the helicopters.

Even with the dense curtains of rain, Han Xiao could see the sparks generated when the sniper rounds landed on the exterior armor of the helicopters. The pilot's window was made high-grade bullet-proof glasses. It would require at least seven to eight rounds to penetrate.

Han Xiao suddenly felt something was wrong. He swiftly shouldered his gun and moved away from the sniping window.

"How dare you leave your post without authorization…" Big beard guy was infuriated by what he saw. However, he was only half way through his words when the sound of a violent explosion stopped him. The fortress wall exploded violently, and big beard guy was instantly struck flying by the shockwave and landed on the other wall. His arms were completely broken, and he cried in pain.

The two Y5-Snake helicopters were equipped with four airstrike missiles, which were used to directly blow up the three fortresses. The central fortress was hit the heaviest—it exploded into complete ruins, and as a result, the Hornet Brothers were killed instantly. Their flesh, together with dust and shattered bricks, was tossed out of the place by the shockwave.

The three fortresses had been blown up!

Without the threat of snipers, the helicopters became much more aggressive, like a horny wild dog. The massive firepower had the mercenaries hiding under cover, and they dared not even expose their heads.

Although Han Xiao successfully dodged the explosion, he was hit by the shockwave. He did not suffer much damage. However, the roof over his head was completely blown up, and the heavy rain poured directly into his area. As a result, he was directly exposed in the enemies' field of vision. He was in a terrible situation.

The enemy had land, air, and sea superiority. The manor was being attacked in three different ways!

He turned around and glanced at the horrifying scene of the battle.

The mercenaries cannot hold on anymore.

His eyes were looking worried.

…

"The people outside cannot withstand the attack anymore."

Two men were looking out the window at the battle from the living room of the mansion in the center of River Valley Manor. One of them had both of his hands pressing on the windowsill; he was a bald old man. He wore black-frame glasses, and his eyebrows and beard were complete white.

The other person stood behind the old man at an angle with folded arms. He appeared to be a middle age man. His short jet-black hair was slicked-back, and there was only a slight graying on the hair near his temples. The only unordinary thing about him was probably his disposition. He wore a gentle smile on his face, which made him look rather friendly.

The man with the gentle disposition chuckled. "Seems like it's time for me to act."

The bald old man nodded. "We have defended for so long. Xena should have eradicated all the traitors in the organization. My life depends on you now, my old friend."

The gentle man nodded and prepared to walk out. Suddenly, he stopped his footsteps and noticed a sudden change in the battle situation.

"Seems like there is an interesting guy who just appeared. They don't need me anymore."

"Hmm?" The bald old man was startled and looked out the window.

…

Hiding inside the defense structure, Chen Li shouted loudly into his walkie talkie, "Is there any sniper who is still alive? Without taking down the two helicopters, we are all going to die here!"

Suddenly, a crimson bullet penetrated through the rain curtain and shot the ammunition belt on one of the helicopters' machine canons with extreme accuracy. The crimson round then cracked, and a flame erupted from within it in the heavy downpour.

High-explosive round!

Homm!

The orange high-explosive gas filled every single gap it touched, and it travelled through the split between the armored exterior and ignited the ammunition belt. The helicopter, which had been acting all triumphant a moment ago, exploded in that instant as all the canon rounds exploded at once. The high-explosive round was not powerful by itself, but it ignited the fatal large-caliber canon rounds, which were as powerful as land mines. Those in the helicopter were all killed. The flying ball-bearings pierced through the pilot's neck, and the blood splashed onto the side window.

The helicopter span out of control before it dropped from the sky onto the ground. Both parties could feel the violent vibration on the ground.

In the half ruins of the left fortress, Han Xiao, who fired that shot, cocked his sniper rifle to unload the cartridge that was still smoking hot. His eyes were serious and calm. In that critical juncture, he had pumped a large amount of EXP into [Sniping] such that it rose to Lv.9! This was the reason he had managed to shoot a round with such accuracy. He had hit the canon rounds on the helicopter's ammunition belt from an extremely obscure angle!

However, this shot had also caused several bad consequences. The other Y5-Snake helicopter aimed all its firepower at the left fortress. In addition, the enemy ground troops knew that the helicopters were their trump card; therefore, they all cooperated and fired at the fortress together. A terrifying number of rounds smashed the rain curtain and exploded on the left fortress!

Big beard guy's face turned ghostly pale as he thought he was going to be blown up in pieces. How could he run faster than the canon rounds with his two short legs? Right in his moment of desperation, he suddenly felt a large hand picking him up by the scruff of his neck and a great force that dragged him along to run away at lightning speed. The next instant, the entire left fortress blew up into ruins.

If it had been a second earlier, big beard guy would have been blown to smithereens.

After escaping from danger, big beard guy felt his collar being released. His butt landed right on the ground. He quickly turned around and looked at the person who saved him. The sight of Han Xiao, who was dressed in black, standing in the heavy rain appeared in his eyes.

Big beard guy did not bother with thanking Han Xiao for saving his life before he asked in shock, "How did you run so fast‽"

"Because I am as free as the wind."

Big beard guy was completely dumbfounded. What kind of crap are you talking about‽

As soon as Han Xiao finished quipping, his both feet landed on the ground. His Electromagnetic Hover-boots then lit up with a dark blue glow, and electromagnetic force blasted out of them, causing Han Xiao to slide out swiftly as he was skating on ice. He was moving faster than a car, and so, with two to three slides, he reached the top of the raft of the outside wall. Much to the mercenaries' astonishment, Han Xiao was dashing left and right rapidly like dark-colored lightning on the wall raft—no enemy could accurately lock onto him. He dodged all enemy fire.

"See my majestic skill!"

Han Xiao started sniping whilst he was moving around at high-speed. The field of vision for sniping was a few times greater there than that in the left fortress. His Snipe skill, which had just reached Lv.9, could control the entire battlefield. The movement provided by the hover boots was smooth and steady, so Han Xiao did not spend much of his effort controlling the boots. The difficulty in controlling the boots was only as high as those commercial electronic skating shoes; therefore, the high-speed movement did not affect the accuracy of Han Xiao's shots significantly.

Rounds after rounds were fired at the enemies. High-explosive, Hayme, Flash, and Penetration rounds took turns to be fired from the sniper rifle. The most useful bullet was always used at the most appropriate time and place. For instance, when a vehicle was attempting to fire a grenade at one of the manor's machine guns, a Flash bullet appeared at the most opportune time and made the enemy fire at the wrong angle.

_____________________

You are currently sniping while on the move.

You learned a [Moving Snipe] technique (1/100).

——————————————————————

Triggered the learning of a new skill? Han Xiao's eyes brightened—this skill could only be triggered when the Snipe skill was above Lv.8. He fired a few more shots and realized, when he successfully shot a target, he gained a progress point. He immediately became more enthusiastic in sniping the enemies.

Han Xiao evaded the majority of attacks from the enemies with the help of the hover boots. However, the enemies recognized his area-control ability as a sniper. They would have much difficulty taking the next step without bringing him down.

Thus, Han Xiao soon felt their 'intense enthusiasm', and he once again received concentrated fire from the enemies. The pressure on him increased sharply, and he was frequently shot by stray rounds. He had no choice but to shield his body with his magnetic armor.

The last Y-5 Snake helicopter swayed left and right to prevent Han Xiao from sniping its vital parts. The machine canon fired consistently, causing much trouble for Han Xiao. Even with the magnetic armor, it was painful for him to take a few canon rounds.

To make matters worse, the canon rounds had a push-back effect, which already made Han Xiao miss quite a few of his shots.

The armor on his chest received three more large-caliber canon rounds. Han Xiao felt his chest tightening; he was pushed a few meters back and almost fell off the wall raft. However, the damage was not significant to him—his current HP count was more than 2000, and with the help of the magnetic retractable armor, he could suffer through much greater damage.

At this moment, the mercenaries in the manor started fighting back and actively complement Han Xiao's battle tactics.

"Oi, sniper, stop daydreaming. Continue fighting like before; we will coordinate with your attacks!" Chen Li shouted in the communication device.

Chapter 110: The Main of Planet Aquamarine

Someone once said that if one reviewed one's previous life, one would realize that one's wrongdoings in the past would come back to haunt one.

If those words were true, Han Xiao felt that he was bound to become a haunted house owner, surrounded by hateful specters, since every enemy that he killed stared hard at him with vengeful, angry eyes.

At the most critical juncture, Han Xiao used his amazing sniping skills to stabilize the battle situation. He gave the mercenaries time to regroup, and the rest of the surviving snipers also made use of the opportunity to head to new hideouts.

The mercenaries made Han Xiao the main fighter, and all of them provided support for him. The enemy's plan to suppress Han Xiao with heavy fire failed badly. The troops working with Han Xiao managed to relieve his stress and pressure. In turn, this brought out the best of his strength and made his fighting easier.

——————————————————————

You are currently sniping while on the move.

You learned a [Moving Snipe] technique. (100/100)

You successfully grasped [Moving Snipe]!

Moving Snipe Lv.1 (0/4,500): Reduction of the loss of accuracy from shooting in motion, +2% explosive firing accuracy, +1% fire rate when equipped with sniper rifles.

——————————————————————

Han Xiao realized that [Moving Snipe] did not require large sums of EXP points. He channeled his additional EXP points into the skill and raised the skill to Lv.4. He became more comfortable with operating a sniper rifle and could use the weapon to the best of its ability.

After the enemy's initial strong push, the situation was back in the defenders' favor. The incoming enemy troops were fatigued. They wanted to use explosives to blow a hole in the exterior walls of the garden and follow-up by driving their vehicles into the compound. However, the tough steel plates and concrete with the urgent repairs going on made the exterior impossible to blow up.

The enemies then changed their plans and wanted to wipe out the guards of the base directly, but instead, they were stopped by the powerful Han Xiao, who suddenly emerged before their eyes. The enemies realized their assault was going down hill. They started their retreat and left piles of dead bodies.

The Y-5 Snake helicopter turned back and flew away from the site. The helicopter did not have the audacity to fly close to the ground. The pilots were afraid that Han Xiao could fire at its fuel-tank and ammunition storage, which would limit the helicopter's fighting ability, making it less of a threat.

The battle is finally over. Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. His HP had dropped by over 600 points. The endurance level of the magnetically-controlled retractable armor was reduced by a great deal, but he had brought some mechanical parts with him, so he could conduct repairs on the damaged item.

The mercenaries by his side were all exhausted. They collapsed to the ground in fatigue. Chen Li walked toward them. He was curious about Han Xiao's abilities. He wanted to find out Han Xiao's full fighting capability and asked, "Mr. Black, are you alright?"

Han Xiao waved his hand to indicate that he was doing fine at the current moment.

Although Chen Li appeared relieved, he was in fact slightly shocked. He did not expect the Scorpion-level assassin to be more reliable than the Hornet brothers.

Shooting the enemies under such powerful concentrated enemy fire was not a feat that was attainable by a Scorpion-level individual.

Chen Li suspected that Mr. Black was a new member of the Dark Web, which would explain his rather low level. Based on his performance in the previous battle, as long as he survived, he could easily attain 'Ghost' level.

——————————————————————

Third round completed. You gained 150,000 EXP.

Change in Quest Requirement

Fourth Round Requirement: Defend against five waves of attacks.

Reward: 40,000 EXP per wave (Accumulated EXP will be kept if the mission fails.)

Special Reward: 100,000 EXP

——————————————————————

Han Xiao felt helpless. Why is it another defense mission? Can there be more variety?

Three forts have been destroyed, and many mercenary troops have also perished. Is the whole mission going to be an endless defense against enemy attacks‽

The only consolation is probably the experience and the special reward. Perhaps the special reward is the reason behind all the hidden requirements for the mission. What special tactics are they going to run this time round?

Han Xiao made his way to the logistics zone to start the repairs of the damaged equipment and replenish the exhausted ammunition. On his way there, he was met with looks of respect given by the mercenary troops. Their looks seemed like they had given the 'green light' to let Han Xiao be the leader of all the snipers in the force instead of the Hornet brothers.

Those troops with injuries spent the night having themselves treated while the troops who were not injured had a peaceful night of sleep.

The rain stopped at twilight. The ground was muddy, mixed with blood and bullet shells. A strange pungent smell was also emitted by the ground.

Han Xiao was prepared to close his eyes to take a short nap when he heard a commotion emerging out of the communication device.

"The targets have appeared!"

Han Xiao opened his eyes and looked toward the mansion.

The bald old man and a fine-looking gentleman appeared behind the fences of the mansion. All the mercenary troops were alarmed, and they stared curiously at the targets that they were supposed to protect.

When all the mercenary troops and assassins arrived before him, the bald open man started speaking. "Thank you for the protection you guys have offered for the past few days. I will now call out the names of some of the guys whom I want to speak with."

The bald old man chanted out a list of names. The names belonged to the commanders of the mercenary troops and assassins with outstanding performances in the mission. Mr. Black, which was Han Xiao's code name, was also mentioned.

"… please enter the mansion in ten minutes. I have something to discuss with you guys."

——————————————————————

The condition for the mission to fail has changed.

——————————————————————

The condition of no entrance into the mansion, which would directly lead to mission failure, was no longer there.

The appearance of the two mysterious characters created an intense discussion between the curious and puzzled troops.

Waves of unease could be felt in Han Xiao's heart instead. He managed to recognize one of the guys.

It is him, Bennett Anderson!

No flashy adjectives were required to describe Bennett. In fact, one simple sentence was enough.

Bennett was the main character of Planet Aquamarine!

Amazing, right? There was something even more amazing.

Bennett was another main character on Planet Aquamarine's main storyline that could lead the players to access missions only available on the main storyline. With that said, it meant that Bennett was an important character that many players wanted to curry-favor with.

Furthermore, Bennett… was a hidden General Skills trainer.

Han Xiao's eyes glittered. In less than ten minutes, he made a phone call to the Rothschild family.

"Alphonsus, I want to exchange for some items…"

"Er? Aren't you on the deployment mission? What do you need?"

"The Silver Defender Leaders' Saber and the Lock HOC Sniper Rifle."

"… Alright, I did not imagine that you would have such a hobby. I'll get someone to help you find the items. They will be sent to you in two days."

_____________________

You requested to exchange for the [Silver Defender Leader's Saber] from the Rothschild Family.

Minus 300 affection points. Current relationship status – Friendly.

_____________________

You requested to exchange for the [Lock HOC Sniper Rifle] from the Rothschild Family.

Minus 300 affection points. Current relationship status – Friendly.

——————————————————————

Han Xiao nodded and hung up on the phone. All the troops were looking at the selected individuals as they entered the mansion.

The interior of the mansion followed a minimalistic classical style. Other than a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, there were no signs of extravagance in the other parts of the room. The bald old man sat on his sofa, and the friendly gentleman was standing behind him.

"Sit anywhere you want."

The selected individuals took their seats on the sofas and chairs in the different corners of the room. Han Xiao remained standing. He leaned against the glass cabinet that stored all the bottles of wine. He stared intently at the friendly gentleman. That was indeed Bennett. He might have looked like a middle-aged man, but he was in fact over sixty years old. He was a powerful superhuman; therefore, he looked younger since he aged at a slower pace.

The bald elderly man pushed up his spectacles and said in a deliberate manner, "Let me introduce myself; I am Wang Yuan, and I will require the protection of you guys for an extended period of time. Today, I called you guys here so that I could meet you all. Also, the mansion will be open for you guys to visit. If you guys want to, you all can even rest in the mansion. "

"Wang Yuan… Never heard of the name before." Everyone looked at one another in confusion. They were in fact puzzled by the fact that the two mysterious guys decided to seek refuge in River Valley Manor as Seagull City seemed like a much better place to do so. Also, who were the enemies that relentlessly hunted for them?

They realized that Wang Yuan had no intention the queries they had in their hearts, therefore they could not be bothered to ask these questions. Also, asking sensitive questions was not a good practice of their profession.

"You guys are the central force defending River Valley Manor, and once the mission is done," Wang Yuan said, "I will hand out additional rewards to you guys in private."

The eyes of many mercenary commanders lit up. The stipulated reward from the mission was supposed to be shared with all the fellow troops. However, an undeclared reward privately handed out to the commander need not be shared with their men. The commander could use the reward as they wished.

The meeting was a short one. The commanders moved back to take care of their fellow troops. Some ammunition supplies were also transferred into the mansion for storage. The mansion was very big with many empty rooms that were available for the troops to rest inside.

The hustle and bustle moved into the mansion, and soon, people began moving in and out of the mansion endlessly. Wang Yuan and Bennett stayed for a while before they made their moves.

Han Xiao moved quickly up to the two of them.

"Mr. Black, what's the matter?" Wang Yuan gave a slight grin. He remembered the stunning performance by the sniper last night. It was still fresh in his mind.

Han Xiao looked at Bennett and said, "I want to speak privately with him."

Wang Yuan and Bennett both looked shocked. They looked at each other for a moment. Wang Yuan smiled and made his way to another side of the room so as to give Han Xiao and Bennett their personal space.

"Why do you want to speak to me?" Bennett was puzzled. "Have we met before?"

Han Xiao took a deep breath and spoke softly at a volume that only both of them could hear. "Bennett Anderson. You are the legendary guy who was active back in the times of the old warring period. You previously trained in the Misihorot Training Camp, which was directly under the Ordina Intelligence Agency. You were one of their best agents and a cold-blooded killing machine. Halfway through the warring period, you became the captain of the elite team of Ordina agents that went by the code name [Blue Devil]. You carried out hundreds of infiltration, sabotage, assassination, and covert operations. You left Ordina and became a traitor eventually. You head is now worth a bounty of 15,000,000!

"After you defected, you disappeared for two years. Legend says that you were undergoing some tough training in the harsh terrain of the northern continent. You were supposedly hunting beasts in the Caroso mountain range. When you appeared once again, you became the strongest man on this planet. You entered the war again, but you did not help any of the parties involved in the war. Instead, you assisted the refugees in their escapes, and through that, you built a strong organization that was the predecessor of the existing Dark Web Organization.

"You appeared countless times in the war-ravaged regions, and as more people were saved by you, you gradually became known as the hero by the people of your time. Also, you left your mark by having an amazing and almost unbelievable battle record. As the war ended, you left the world stage. You covered you tracks and disappeared. From then on, you never appeared in the eyes of the public."

All these words were the official description of Bennett that was given in the game. Han Xiao could no longer remember the nitty-gritty details and could only give a rough overview.

There were a couple of main characters on every planet. They were like the shooting stars in the sky, leaving bright trails for the people of their time and impressionable marks on the history of the planets.

Bennett was the 'main character' of Planet Aquamarine. Even Hila could not be compared to Bennett at an equal standing. The rise of the goddess of death belonged to later versions.

After listening to the words of Han Xiao, Bennett was astonished. Han Xiao was the first out of all his guards to actually point out his true identity.

Even after decades, someone could still recognize him. Bennett had looked really cold, like a block of ice, in the past, and he looked completely different now. He really did change a lot, so how was it possible for his true identity to be recognized?

The most probable speculation appeared in Bennett's heart. He asked hesitantly, "So, are you my fan?"

Chapter 111: Flaming Will

Admire you‽ My ass!

Although Han Xiao wanted to say that, he reckoned that it would be no fun offending Bennett. He still wished to extract some benefits out of Bennett.

Be serious, be serious.

Han Xian made a dry cough. "I heard of your stories, and I have always wanted to meet you."

Bennett gave a friendly smile and waved his hands. "Don't mention the things in the past. What did you want to speak to me about? It can't be for a signature, right?"

Han Xiao's eyes twitched. Alright, enough showing off…

After regulating his breath, Han Xiao gave a stern expression and said, "I heard you are the strongest human on this planet…"

Bennett's eyes flashed. He was too familiar with such an introduction. Perhaps it was another person that wanted to challenge him to a fight.

The war created power beings that emerged from the flames and bloodshed of the battles. Bennett took pride in his amazing battle record. Over the years, many strong individuals had wanted to challenge him. Bennett was too tired of the meaningless fights and his continuous victories from the easy battles. He appeared this time merely to protect his old friend, Wang Yuan. He never planned to reveal his true identity to his enemies—the traitors of the organization—else his enemies would not even dare lay their fingers on him. Precisely because of the fact that the traitors of the organization felt that the defense around Wang Yuan was weak, it allowed the baiting operation to proceed.

Bennett shook his head. If Han Xiao really wanted to fight him, he would definitely not agree to it since Han Xiao's current strength was worthless in his eyes.

Yet contrary to his expectations, Han Xiao said, "I want to learn some combat techniques from you."

"Interesting, you are the first person who has wanted to learn from me." Bennett contemplated for a moment before shaking his head. "You are a sniper. It's impossible for you to learn my combat tactics."

As expected, Bennett used the same tactic again! It was Bennett's standard line when he wanted to reject someone. As long as the pre-requisites were not met, the same line was thrown out to be used in rejections. It was always the same line.

"You are a mechanic, its impossible for you to learn my techniques."

"You are a pugilist, it's impossible for you to learn…"

"You are a superhuman, it's impossible for you to learn…"

By merely changing the noun of the sentence, large numbers of players were rejected. Han Xiao was not going to fall for this same trick. Bennett was a hidden General Skills trainer, and gifts were required for him to actually teach the skills to a player. Previously, there were players that came with gifts with the intention of just currying-favor with Bennett. They did not expect themselves to actually pick up a skill or two from just handing gifts to Bennett.

Different gifts linked to different skills.

The two items that Han Xiao had requested from the Rothschild family were meant to be presented to Bennett as gifts.

Han Xiao chatted with Bennett to ensure that Bennett actually recognized him.

Bennett caught up to Wang Yuan, who was waiting for him not far ahead. Wang Yuan asked curiously, "What did he want from you?"

"He recognizes me and wants to learn some combat techniques from me."

"What a strange dude." Wang Yuan stroked his beard and said, "He has got some skill. He is a new assassin that just joined the organization's Blood Pact Society. He has a mysterious background and is codenamed 'Mr. Black'. He is definitely a character we should pull to our side. After this mission, I will ask Xena to increase his level to Dark."

…

The mercenary troops were tidying up the rooms of the mansion. Chen Li went to look for Han Xiao and handed him a chain of room keys.

Han Xiao did not accept the keys immediately. He stared at Chen Li weirdly and stuttered, "Don't tell me… these are the keys to your room‽"

"… I don't have such an inclination," Chen Li said as the veins on his forehead bulged.

"You sound like I like such kind of things."

Chen Li coughed drily and explained, "These are the keys to the best rooms of the mansion, and I reserved one for you."

It was only then that Han Xiao came to his sense. He received the keys and understood what was going on. "Who else are those singles rooms meant for?"

"They are allocated to Volcano, Moonlight, Hunter, and a few other commanders of the various mercenary groups."

The names that Han Xiao mentioned were all the stronger fighters and leaders of the guards around the mansion.

Being allocated a single room was a privilege of the stronger individuals. The remaining ordinary troops and assassins could only squeeze into bigger rooms or sleep in the main hall.

In the fight the previous night, Han Xiao had replaced the Hornet brothers, who were killed in action. He was the core of all the snipers and was the backbone of the defense. His outstanding performance gained the respect of the fellow mercenary troops, which was also why Chen Li went over to pass him the keys. As long as one had the power and capability, one would be bestowed with special privileges.

Han Xiao gladly accepted Chen Li's offer. Han Xiao's room was on the second floor, and it had a balcony.

When he reached the corridor on the second level, Han Xiao saw the rest of the powerful figures. They looked at one another and nodded as a form of friendly gesture. Hunt left a deep impression in Han Xiao's eyes. Hunter was a firearms expert from the Mechanic lineage. His weapons were a pair of very powerful hand-held cannons. It was said that the hand-held cannons did not have any recoil when fired.

Since Bennett is here and the mission has to be carried out, as long as I can get close to Bennett and in turn come into contact with the main server at the hideout, I will be able to gain the favor of the Dark Web Organization and access its huge network of intelligence. The gains from the move will be so great.

Being on good terms with the main character of the planet could bring so many benefits.

Han Xiao used his fingers to scratch the stubble on his chin. His eyes lit up like a shrewd thief.

…

Over the next two days, the enemies carried out raids each night, as if they were a bunch of crazy monsters that could not have enough of night attacks. They extended their devilish clutches toward the manor.

Han Xiao took over the role of the Hornet brothers and was in charge of holding the ground. He used his strong sniping abilities to control the situation. While his great accuracy was one thing, what was more impressive was his astute acumen in battles.

Having previously fought in the inter-planetary wars of the galaxy, where the scale and density of the firepower was just too overwhelming, this battle was like a leisurely stroll. The two were not on the same level, and their differences were just too great.

In the madness and mess of inter-planetary wars, a minor mistake could lead to planes crashing and deaths. Every small mistake was infinitely escalated. Therefore, Han Xiao developed his acumen and instinct to search for opportunities through the slim cracks of the intense situations. That was the mark of a true master. Although Han Xiao was not humble at all, rather shameless even, he was no doubt a true master.

It was a piece of cake for him to handle battles of such a small scale that adopted low-tech equipment. His shots could always hit the targets at the right spots.

With the help of Han Xiao, there were great reductions in the casualties faced by the mercenary troops. It was shockingly amazing. Previously, the Hornet brothers had been more focused on killing the enemies, and they could hardly help the rest in the firefights. However, Mr. Black employed an all-around sniping style, which enabled him to execute the enemies and also take time to carry out defensive actions. It was like a one-man show that handled that entire southeastern and northeastern battlefronts.

Reliable and stable were the perceptions that the troops had about Han Xiao. Han Xiao's fire support allowed them to have easier fights.

A sniper who could control the entire situation of the battle was of indescribable threat. It was natural for the enemies to concentrate their firepower on Han Xiao. However, Han Xiao managed to neutralize the threat with the mobility provided by his hover-boots. Also, the low-level health strengthening module provided him with the ability to withstand attacks made by the enemy. He had almost double the HP that normal mechanics at his level would have.

Even super-humans and pugilists that exceeded LV 40 might not have more HP than him. Therefore, it was not necessary for Han Xiao to fear the enemy's attacks like the other snipers. It was also the first time that the troops saw a sniper that dared face the direct fire of the machine guns of the enemies and take on the enemy up-front. That changed the troops' initial perception that a sniper only dealt out attacks silently, away from the enemies' attention.

In those two days, Han Xiao became more respected in the eyes of the troops.

Deaths were bound to happen in a battle, and new troops and assassins arrived to replace those that were killed in action. That was to ensure that new blood was being injected and a robust fighting force was constantly present.

Golden Fox was one of the 'new blood'. She was a Dark-level assassin. Once she entered the manor, there was someone to receive her.

Golden Fox was a tall, pretty lady. She looked good and carried a sniper rifle on her back. She asked in a serious tone, "How is the situation?"

The mercenary leading the way took a glance at the perky ass of the Golden Fox. From the look in his eyes, one could tell he was aroused.

The Golden Fox had long gotten used to the perverted stares of men, so she simply ignored that mercenary's action.

"The situation is looking good. Although the enemies are attacking more frequently, our defenses are very strong and tight. Also, all the ammunition and logistical supplies are replenished daily. Plus, there are new troops joining the force. The southeastern and northeastern sectors are managed by Mr. Black, so nothing will go wrong."

The trooper laughed.

"Mr. Black?" The Golden Fox was very sure that she had not heard of such a codename. She asked curiously, "Who is Mr. Black?"

"Mr. Black is a Scorpion-level assassin. His sniping skills are unbelievably amazing."

"Only Scorpion-level?" Golden Fox felt uneasy. She locked her brows. She did not trust the ability of Han Xiao and said in a confused tone, "Isn't it too brash and unwise to let a Scorpion-level assassin to be in charge of the battle?"

After she finished that sentence, Golden Fox realized that the mercenary leading the way was no longer friendly or attracted toward her. His eyes turned cold. He pointed in the direction ahead and asked Golden Fox to go to the place by herself. The man then turned around and walked away.

Golden Fox was astonished. She had only questioned the ability of Mr. Black; was it necessary for the trooper to make such a big reaction? Was Mr. Black really that reputable?

That night, when the enemies approached, Golden Fox finally saw Mr. Black's performance and his ability to control the situation of the battle. She was shocked. It was as if Mr. Black possessed the legendary Eagle eye and could see every corner of the battlefield. There were almost no missed shots. Even if some of the shots did not injure or kill the enemy, they played other vital roles such as to limit the enemies or to support the allies.

Golden Fox realized that she had nothing to do on the battlefield. All the work was already settled by Mr. Black. The work of Mr. Black impressed the Golden Fox more than the total number of enemies he killed. As sniper, the Golden Fox realized how much work Mr. Black was actually doing.

Mr. Black took all the work away from the other snipers. One Mr. Black could replace a team of snipers.

She finally understood why the mercenary troops let a Scorpion-level assassin take charge of battlefield.

That is the surely the strongest sniper I have seen!

…

——————————————————————

You defeated a wave of attackers. (3/5)

——————————————————————

After seeing the enemies retreat, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.

It is the third wave of enemies, and the attacks are becoming stronger. However, there are also more guards in the manor. With me around, as long as there are no strong individuals in the subsequent attacks, the mission is likely to be completed. However, what is the requirement to obtain the hidden reward?

Han Xiao had zero clues about the hidden reward.

The next morning, Chen Li called out to Han Xiao through the communication device.

"Mr. Black, someone from the Rothschild family is looking for you."

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao immediately shot up from his bed and raced to the gates of the mansion. He received the items from the delivery man… or rather, the courier from the Rothschild family. The two items were the Silver Defender Leader's Saber and the Lock HOC Sniper Rifle.

The two items dated back to a few decades ago. They were no longer in production, and the countries that manufactured the items no longer existed. The two items were considered antiques. Bennett was an avid collector of antique weapons, and these items were the necessary pre-requisites to learn the new skills.

There was a total of more than ten items that could activate the learning of new skills. The types of gifts were different; therefore, they led to different skills. However, the total quantity of these items was limited, and it meant that the number of players that could learn skills from Bennett was also limited. The hidden instructors usually transferred skills to their disciples in such a manner.

For instance, there were only about a hundred of such sabers left, and with the saber, one could master a very powerful attacking ability known as [Flaming Will]. In the late stage of Version 1.0, the price of the saber was inflated to millions of dollars, and Han Xiao was able to obtain it by sacrificing some of his relationship points with the Rothschild family—it was a pretty good deal.

Han Xiao longed to master the ability of [Flaming Will], something he had failed to do in his past life.

Chapter 112: LV 60

After Han Xiao got the items, he immediately went to find Bennett. Since the mercenary troops and assassins were allowed into the manor, Bennett and Wang Yuan often appeared. Everybody knew that they lived on the highest floor.

The staircase of the villa was made of mahogany and gave out a special scent. Han Xiao walked up the staircase to the top floor and knocked on Bennett's door.

"Sit anywhere you want."

Bennett was holding a cup of herbal tea in his hand, and after opening the door, he sat on the sofa and looked at Han Xiao happily. He liked Han Xiao as Han Xiao was the first to recognize his true identity. He then asked, "What do you want? Oh wait, let's not rush into the talking. I made a pot of herbal tea; do you want to try?"

He then pointed to the cup in his hand.

The herbal tea in the cup was so thick. The tea was green in color and had freakish bubbles.

Han Xiao closed his mouth, but he finally could not withstand his urge to speak. He pointed to the herbal tea and said in a breathless voice, "So what is the tradeoff I need to make?"

Bennett had confusion written all over his face. He did not understand what Han Xiao was saying.

Han Xiao coughed and put the conversation back on track. "I want to learn fighting techniques from you."

Bennett did not know whether he should laugh or cry. "I thought I said no… eh, is that the Sliver Defender Leader's Saber?"

The Silver Defender Leader's Saber was manufactured in an ancient country that no longer existed. That country's weapons' manufacturing techniques had a history of more than hundreds of years. Every weapon manufactured was considered as a prized piece that displayed great craftsmanship. There were only about a hundred of such sabers left in the world.

The saber was truly a classic. There were carvings of scriptures on the blade of the saber. The words inscribed were aesthetically pleasing, and every saber was carved with a different paragraph. The paragraphs were joint together to form a saga of the ancient country.

Bennett stared hard at the saber. One could tell from the look in his eyes that he liked the saber a lot. However, he did not stretch out his hands to reach for it. Instead, he looked at Han Xiao in astonishment. "You want to give the saber to me? How did you know that I like collecting antique weapons? You must be my admirer!"

"I…" Han Xiao was speechless. Indeed, what he was doing to Bennett was a little out of the ordinary. It was hard to explain why he wanted to give the saber to Bennett. He thought to himself, As long as I can learn new skills, I can accept any form of misunderstanding. Maybe my actions can even improve relations with Bennett.

It's fine as long as you're happy.

After receiving the Silver Defender Leader's Saber, Bennett could not take his hands off that prized possession. He was also feeling pretty tangled up. Han Xiao had handed him a gift that he had always longed for. Also, Han Xiao seemed like a hardcore fan of his, so he could not bear to reject Han Xiao's request.

Bennett thought for a while and then raised his head. He smiled at Han Xiao and said, "Let's do it."

Han Xiao could feel his goosebumps rising, and he immediately retreated backwards. He held his hands in front of his body. His body was tensed up and prepared to face the upcoming move he expected from Bennett.

"What are you thinking about‽ I meant that I am willing to teach you some skills." Bennett slapped his hand on his forehead.

"Can you say the full sentence next time‽"

"… you should clear up all these filthy thoughts in your mind." Bennett did not know how he should react. He shook his head and contemplated for a moment. He eventually confirmed the skill he wanted to teach Han Xiao.

"In the early days when I was weak and young, I experimented and discovered many fighting techniques. One of such techniques gave me the power to make a comeback when I was down. I named the technique [Flaming Will].

"The brain is the protector of one's body but at the same time a limiting factor. If one can remove the limiting factor, even an average individual without any form of training will be able to release an immense amount of power.

"However, such a method takes a heavy toll on one's body. Once, when I was faced with danger, I unexpectedly unlocked the limiting factor, and with a few tries, I managed to uncover a way to remove the limiting factor for a short period of time without hurting my body."

Bennett started to explain the theory behind the technique and patiently highlighted the key factors behind mastering the technique.

——————————————————————

Bennett Anderson (LV 60) taught you the skill [Flaming Will]. Your intelligence exceeds 100 points and met the pre-requisite to learn the skill. Your current progress is 3%.

——————————————————————

The lesson lasted all the way from morning to afternoon. The soothing voice from the interface highlighted Han Xiao's progress up till the point when Han Xiao mastered the skill entirely.

——————————————————————

Flaming Will Lv.1 (General Skill)

The young Bennett Anderson was previously mastering his skills in the extreme wilderness of the Northern Continent. Seven Northern Leopard-Bears tried to attack him, and one of the creatures was as large as a small tank. Nobody wants to hear the roars of a Leopard-Bear. Once the creature roars, it means that it has locked onto you. Their thick skin, muscles are impenetrable even by bullets.

Bennett only had a small dagger with him when he was faced with the impending attack. He did not have any thermal weapons. In such a time of desperation, Bennett mastered the technique and used his small dagger to deal damage that was comparable to that dealt the by High-frequency Wave Blade!

The skill has both passive and active abilities.

Active ability: When the upper limit of 10% of energy and stamina is exhausted, the next attack will deal 130 to 150% of damage. There is even a small likelihood of 180 to 200% damage and a minute likelihood for 250 to 300% damage. Lastly, although super-rare, there is a microscopic chance of 500% damage being dealt! The cool-down for the ability is ten minutes.

Passive ability: When HP is less than 20%, the ability will be activated. The cool-down time is thirty minutes.

The increased attack is calculated from the damage dealt by the basic attack. It is similar to the concept of defense. The original damage received is then converted into the true damage dealt after taking damage reductions into account.

Note: Cooldowns for the active and passive abilities are calculated separately.

——————————————————————

What a solid move. Han Xiao was feeling very excited. He had longed to master the skill since his past life, and today, he finally accomplished the feat.

There was another name given to [Flaming Will] by the players. The ability was also known as the 'Explosion of the Little Galaxy'.

The skill was a general skill that could be mastered by players of all professions. The pre-requisite was that one's intelligence must exceed 100 points. There were a hundred Silver Defender Leader's Saber; therefore, about hundred individuals could master the skill.

Han Xiao was one of them.

[Flaming Will] was a perfect complement to his sniping abilities. The damage depended on his intelligence and luck. The two attributes when combined could mask the weaknesses of each other and average out.

Once the skill was activated, there was a minimum increase in damage dealt of 1.3 to 1.5 times. Together with the sudden strike, sneak attack, and sniping shots, the ability could elevate the strength of the sniper rifle to a greater extent. If there was an energy surge, it could mean 3 to 5 times additional damage. In his previous life, Han Xiao had met players who used [Flaming Will] against him. One shot from the opponent completely shattered his shied. There was no way he could continue the fight.

The ability had a relatively long cool down time so was more suited for the final shot to secure victory. There was another line of skills that a sniper could use that involved firing secret shots to ambush the enemy. Such ambush snipes hit the enemies at their weakest spots without them even knowing.

The other item that Han Xiao had, the Lock HOC Sniper Rifle, could activate more missions for the side profession he was planning to take up. His side profession involved more secretive and covert operations. Han Xiao did not plan to activate the side missions with the item yet. He wanted to do so only after he completed his mission of defending the manor so that he had sufficient time to focus on it.

After seeing the excitement in Han Xiao, Bennett felt puzzled and asked, "You finished learning?"

"Fast right." Han Xiao beamed with pride.

Bennett was shocked and could not believe what he heard. He moved backwards and said, "Give me a punch, and I will know if you have really mastered the skill."

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao, who could no longer wait to test out his new ability, threw a powerful punch at Bennett.

——————————————————————

You used [Flaming Will].

Initializing…

Initialization complete. Your next attack will deal 136% of the basic damage.

——————————————————————

The punch landed on the left side of Bennett's face. Bennett's face felt like an indestructible wall that was harder than steel. A -1 damage was shown above Bennett's head.

——————————————————————

You entered combat mode.

Based on your level, you have access to the following information.

Bennett Anderson

Level: 60

Profession: ?

Type: ?

HP: ?

State: Hidden injury (Reduction of all attributes)

Energy: ?

Energy Level: ?

Stage: D+ (C)

Strengths:

- Lucky Glow: What you wished for will come true and adversity will be turned into opportunity.

- Legendary battle techniques: With twelve attacks, there will be additional damage of up to 40-70%.

- ???

Skill:

- Strike the weakness Lv.8

- Instant shadow charge Lv.9

- ???

Chapter 113: The Unexpected Appearance of Division 13

Bennett stroked the cheek that had been hit by Han Xiao's punch and said helplessly, "Don't hit my face."

"You are lucky it was just your face."

Han Xiao stared silently at Bennett for a moment.

Bennett suddenly felt a cold wind breeze past the area between his legs. He gave a cold shiver and was puzzled. Was it an illusion?

Most of the critical information about Bennett was unknown. However, Han Xiao knew that Bennett had more than fifteen special skills, and most of them were standard skills! The scariest skill was not those that allowed for additional attacking power, HP, or attributes but [Lucky Glow]. The name of the skill probably would not convince one that it was powerful, but once the effects of the skill were revealed or the name of the skill was changed, it could probably scare one to death.

Glow of the Lead!

Galaxy was very large. The different planets and civilizations that made up the world of Galaxy would always have one of the thousands of the heroic epics. Lucky Glow was a standard skill that the main characters possessed.

For instance, if Bennett used his [Flaming Will], there would be gains in the attributes every round. That was the ability that 'Lucky Glow' bestowed upon him.

Bennett is probably secretly hurt at the current moment and will only recover in the future. Han Xiao remembered that the first time Bennett appeared before the eyes of the player, he possessed the energy of an active dragon and tiger combined. He could be described as a T-Rex forced into a human body.

At his peak, Bennett was at C stage, but he was merely D+ for now.

The energy requirement for C stage was 2,000 points, and a D+ stage meant that the character had an energy level of 1,600 points and above. The character was still very strong.

Han Xiao's current combat power was stuck at stage D, which was around 800 points. Only after the additional gains that he could obtain from his equipment was he able to reach stage D.

The stage of a character did not represent their combat power. Ultimately, different characters with different skills had different strengths in certain types of terrain and environments. However, as long as a character had a high energy level, it meant that they definitely had an aspect they were very strong in.

After bidding farewell to Bennett, Han Xiao went back to his sniper post. He suddenly felt a weird sensation in his heart and turned back. The female sniper beside him was staring deeply at him. Han Xiao did recognize the lady. She was known as Golden Fox and was a new assassin that had arrived at the site only yesterday.

Han Xiao felt his face a few times to confirm that he had a mask on his face. He was really confused. There is no way that she can see through the mask. How can she be attracted by my handsome face even when I have a mask on?

Golden Fox walked forward to him. She had a pretty smile on her face and said cheekily, "Mr. Black, I was wondering if you can teach me some sniping skills."

As she was speaking, Golden Fox surreptitiously squeezed her breasts with her hands to reveal her deep cleavage.

She's trying to seduce me? Han Xiao squinted his eyes. Regardless of her intention, Han Xiao had no interest in such seductions. He raised his hand before his body and said sternly, "Miss, please have some self-respect!"

Golden Fox's eyes flashed. She realized that Mr. Black was very resistant to sexual seductions. She immediately changed her strategy. Her expression turned from a sexy one to that of a helpless little girl who was seeking help. The sudden change was even faster than a Sichuan mask-changing show. She crossed her hands in front of her breasts and said breathlessly, "I… I just want to ask you for some guidance; I don't have any other intentions."

Han Xiao rolled his eyes and said, "Miss, don't waste your energy. I don't like ladies."

The expression on Golden Fox's face stiffened up, and she looked at Han Xiao in astonishment and stuttered, "You, you like…"

"No, I don't like men." Han Xiao touched his china and said, "Actually, I am not even interested in humans… er… or anything that is living."

Golden Fox was completely dumbfounded. She lowered her head and said, "Sorry, sorry to disturb."

She then turned around and ran away without hesitation.

Han Xiao laughed heartily. Can't believe she tried to seduce me. She is just a greenhorn. Speaking of which, I was so popular with women back then. But that is all in the past, and it really meant nothing.

After laughing to himself a couple more times, Han Xiao suddenly stopped. He then gave a deep sigh and took out a cigarette and popped a light.

At that moment, a car neared the manor. Han Xiao looked over and was instantly shocked.

The car was painted black. It had an emblem on the car's door. The emblem was a dragon that surrounded three stars.

It was Division 13's vehicle!

Why is Division 13 here?

…

Heeding the instructions given by Wang Yuan, the mercenary troops opened the gates and directed Division 13's car into the manor.

A leg wrapped in a combat tight suit emerged out of the doors of the car. The leg was slender, and it drew plenty of the troops' attention. Once the boot landed on the ground, the first person to emerge out of the car was his old friend Di Su Su.

Di Su Su had an air of arrogance, and it was as if she did not want to be approached by anyone. The other members of the team followed behind her.

Some of the boorish troops were attempting to tease her with their wolf-whistles, and they were checking out the beautiful figure of Di Su Su.

A middle-aged with wrinkles at the edge of his eyes alighted from the car. His firm presence could be felt. It was obvious that he was the leader of Di Su Su and her fellow agents. The group headed toward the mansion.

Di Su Su could feel a chill up his spine. There was also a cold feeling emerging within of her heart. She knew that she was locked onto by a very dangerous individual. She turned her head and saw a middle-aged man suited up in complete black leaning against the wall with his sniper staring at her. His look was actually pretty calming, but even with that, she could feel herself on edge and the chill in her heart as if she sensed some sort of impending threat.

Who is that person? Di Su Su was alarmed. She then felt a sense of familiarity about the man in black. Before she could even think about the issue, she entered the mansion. The doors shut, and her view was blocked.

At the edge of the wall, Han Xiao saw the agents of Division 13, and his eyes brightened up.

…

The agents from Division 13 went straight up to the highest floor of the mansion, where Wang Yuan and Bennett were waiting for them.

"Wang Yuan, long time no see," the old man leading the agents said. Although, he said it with a poker face, the tone of his voice sounded like he had finally met his long-time friend.

"Mo Ran," Wang Yuan said, "it has been more than ten years. You are one of the trump cards of Division 13, and I am the leader of the Dark Web Organization. If not for the situation this time, we probably would not have met again."

"Yeah." Mo Ran nodded. He saw Bennett at the side, and although his face was still expressionless, one could tell the astonishment in his voice. "This fellow is also here‽"

"You still want to challenge me?" Bennett replied in an unfriendly tone. "I have no interest in beating you again."

"It's all in the past, Bennet. There is no point bringing it up again." Mo Ran immediately put an end to this topic of conversation.

Bennett‽

Di Su Su and her fellow agents were shocked. Bennett was very well-known among all intelligence agencies. He was not only a hero of the old-war era but also an individual with an amazingly powerful fighting prowess. He was commonly listed in the top three threats in all case files. Upon hearing the name of Bennett, Di Su Su found it hard to keep her nerves under control.

Mo Ran frowned and asked, "In the battles of the past ten days, although they all took place outside the city, it also resulted in negative influences. The sounds of the canons and the gunshots are too obvious. What are you guys doing?"

Wang Yuan shook his head. "We, the original leaders of the Dark Web Organization want to maintain our neutral position, but some of the greedy higher ups want to give up the neutrality as they are keen on the powers they might get if they take sides. They are eyeing for our leadership positions and want to replace us to gain control of the Dark Web Organization. The attacks are all planned by these traitors.

"Xena is trying to track the location of these traitors through any clues she can find. Many of the attackers were wiped out, but we expect the traitors to make their last stand within these two days."

"Find me in Seagull City in two days. We need a proper catch-up," Mo Ran said. With Bennett around, he was not worried about the security of Wang Yuan.

After settling the important matters, Mo Ran turned and left—efficiency was Mo Ran's style. Di Su Su and the rest followed behind him.

The Covert Ops agents from Division 13 were the best of the department but definitely not the most elite of the entire country. There was a smaller elite team that was the secret weapon of the nation. They were usually guarding the outposts and commanding the situation from behind the scenes. They rarely revealed themselves and were known as trump cards. Mo Ran was one of such individuals. There were such figures in every nation.

What an intense period with so many occurances at once, Di Su Su thought to herself.

About three months back, Stardragon had faced a several important events. First, they managed to destroy a hidden base of the Germinal Organization within their own borders. After which, Stardragon made an expedition for Dark Crow Valley. The source of the critical intelligence reports was very mysterious.

Also, the response from the Germinal Organization was also very weird. The organization seemed like it was searching for someone. After the Dark Crow Valley operation, the agents of Germinal Organization were more blatant with their actions. It seemed like they did not care if their identities were exposed. They were searching hysterically within the borders of Stardragon. The situation was most intense in the Western Capital. More than a hundred of the agents from the Phoenix Eye Society—a subsidiary organization of the Germinal Organization—were caught. They were mostly small fries that did not offer any value for the interrogators.

Since the disappearance of Han Xiao, Division 13 sent out many agents to all parts of the world to look for him, but they all returned without any substantial results. All the CCTV cameras, airline records, and border entry records were monitored, but there was still no clue. Agents were even sent out to the wilderness, but none returned with a single piece of information.

The result was unbelievable in the eyes of the higher ups of the department. It was as if Han Xiao had vanished into thin air.

Where did he go?

Where could he go?

What was he going to do?

Di Su Su knew Han Xiao and had interacted with him for a period of time. In her eyes, he was a man enshrouded in mystery. She was also curious of Han Xiao's whereabouts.

After heading out of the mansion, Di Su Su tried to look for the man in black who she felt was dangerous; however, the man had already disappeared.

The agents of Division 13 boarded the car and left the manor.

After leaving the forest, Mo Ran asked the driver to pull over. He then stepped out the vehicle alone and said to the agents in the car, "Di Su Su, get some agents to monitor the battle situation together with you. Report back to me later."Bian Lian (literally: "Face-Changing") is an ancient Chinese dramatic art that is part of the more general Sichuan opera. Performers wear brightly colored costumes and move to quick, dramatic music. They also wear vividly colored masks, typically depicting well known characters from the opera, which they change from one face to another almost instantaneously with the swipe of a fan, a movement of the head, or wave of the hand. (Wikipedia)

Chapter 114: The Surprising Hidden Reques

Within the manor, Han Xiao scratched his chin and thought hard in silence.

The mask changed his facial appearance so much so that if one did not approach close to him, it would be impossible for the person to uncover his true identity.

Although he had escaped from Stardragon, the interface did not indicate a decrease in affection for him. Since his relationship with Stardragon was still relatively friendly and both parties were not reduced to enemies, there was chance for him to turn the situation around.

Han Xiao had a deep impression of Di Su Su. Although Di Su Su always teased Li Ya Lin and Li Ya Lin always tried to put her down, Di Su Su still unintentionally nudged closer to Li Ya Lin. Even the clothes she wore resembled those of Li Ya Lin. Han Xiao, who was great and very experienced at observing people, could tell with a single glance that Di Su Su and Li Ya Lin shared a very close friendship.

…

Two days later…

The bullet leapt out of the barrel of the sniper rifle and killed the final enemy sniper who was a few hundred meters away. The burnt smell of the smoky battlefield was very pungent. The enemy forces, which suffered a lot of casualties, retreated like a huge wave. Han Xiao let out a deep breath and leaned against the wall to sit down. He closed his eyes to ease the tension in his heart.

The enemies were getting stronger one wave after another. There were helicopters, armored vehicles, and small tanks; there were also a couple of strong super humans and elite soldiers that appeared on the battlefield, which posed huge threats.

The past two days in the manor had been very hectic and dangerous, as if they were all on a little boat stuck in a massive whirlpool. Han Xiao used all his effort, and together with the cooperation of the mercenary troops, the defense managed to pull through.

——————————————————————

You defeated a wave of attackers. (5/5)

The fourth round completed. You gained 200,000 EXP points.

The hidden request to prevent the appearance of Division 13 has failed.

You activated the additional fifth segment of the mission.

——————————————————————

Han Xiao was completely stunned. He did not expect the hidden request was to prevent the appearance of Division 13. He really had not thought of that possibility. After pondering for a while, he then realized why he missed out the hidden request.

If every one of his battles ended fast and decisively and created less commotion, perhaps Division 13 would not have entered the picture. However, such a request was too difficult. Even if he was able to find out about such a request, it would be very hard to accomplish it. Han Xiao was not particularly upset about such a result. Ultimately, the odds of completing a hidden request were fifty-fifty. There were times of success and times of failure. It was pretty normal for failure to occur after all.

The original mission only had four segments. However, since the hidden request was not completed, the fifth segment has been activated. Is it supposed to be blessing in disguise? What is the fifth segment exactly?

Han Xiao felt curious.

——————————————————————

Change in Quest Requirement

Fifth Round Requirement: Tag along with Wang Yuan and handle the incoming danger.

Failure Condition: Your death.

Reward: 30,000 EXP

Special Reward: 300,000 EXP

——————————————————————

At that moment, Han Xiao was shocked. He felt that the fifth segment of the mission was really confusing and weird.

The normal reward was not compatible with the current stage of the mission. Also, the special reward was ten times larger than the normal reward, which meant that there was a great deal of flexibility in the mission. What exactly was the danger that the mission offered?

The condition to fail the mission was targeted at the fact that some players could revive themselves. Since Wang Yuan was protected by Bennett, it meant that Han Xiao himself would have to deal with a great deal of danger.

It was like the mission was trying to tell Han Xiao, "Hehehe… this is going to be dangerous."

…

Two days earlier, in a dim abandoned warehouse, Bai Jin was in his hideout.

There was a bolt of lightning surrounding his arm, and the lightning illuminated his face. There was a sense of eeriness in his eyes.

Bai Jin flipped his palm, and the lightning bolt fused into his skin and vanished.

Ding.

The computer on the table in front of him lit up. He received a confidential e-mail. Bai Jin clicked on the new mail.

"Target for assassination: Wang Yuan

"Assignment Location: East Stardragon, 20km North of Seagull City, River Valley Manor

"Strength of Defense: 214 troops, 14 contract killers, Moonlight (Dark), Hunter (Dark), Volcano (Dark), Golden Fox (Dark), Mr. Black (Scorpion)… There are sufficient defensive structures and firepower.

"Bounty: 2 million"

Bai Jin's eyes dimmed and muttered coldly, "You really expect me to make a move when the bounty is merely two million? How can you put me on the same level as the other trash assassins in the market?"

He sent a mail back to reject the offer.

A moment later, another e-mail entered the inbox. The bounty had been raised to six million.

"That's more like it." Bai Jin gave a sly grin. There was an air of evilness and arrogance around him.

All along, Bai Jin had only cared about the bounty he would receive. He had no other goals in mind.

'The Raging Bolt' Bai Jin, was a heinous criminal that managed to escape countless of pursuits made by the various authorities of the six nations. His superpower could cause massive destruction. There were countless bounty hunters, agents, and executive officers of the Germinal Organization who had perished at his hand. The total exceeded three digits! He could even penetrate the intense flanks of military forces.

The individual combat strength on Planet Aquamarine was like a pyramid. There were three sections of the pyramid. The ones on the lowest level were mostly the recently awakened superhumans and normal warriors with a great deal of battle experience. The second level was mostly superhumans like Pang Kuang, who were executive officers of the Germinal Organization and secret agents of the intelligence agencies of the six nations. The third level was especially rare. These individuals were at least LV 40 and above. They were the trump cards of their respective nations or super criminals or faction leaders. Bennett could be placed at the pinnacle of the third level of the pyramid.

Bai Jin was a superhuman who could enter the third level!

…

In the evening, Wang Yuan gathered everyone.

"I need to make a trip to the Seagull City to meet with Division 13. I need to bring some powerful individuals with me for protection, and the rest of you guys will remain here to guard the manor."

Before anyone could even respond, Wang Yuan started pointing out the selected few. "Moonlight, Volcano, Hunter, Golden Fox, and Mr. Black, I need you to protect me for this trip. I will raise the rewards for you guys. If you all are unwilling to do so, I will not force it upon you."

"No problem." Hunter was the first to respond. The other few agreed to the request.

Han Xiao knew that if he rejected the request, he would fail his mission. He agreed to it and looked toward Bennett. "Is he going?"

Bennett nodded and said, "I am coming along."

Han Xiao's heart sank. Bennett was able to protect Wang Yuan. As such, the danger from the mission would be concentrated on Han Xiao and his fellow killers.

With Han Xiao's gaming experience, he was instantly able to sniff out something amiss in the mission. At this point in time, perhaps it was better not to be too complacent and stay alert. Instead of saying something to boost the confidence, it was better for Han Xiao to take a step back and say something to heighten the sense of vigilance among his teammates so that they would be able to tide through the tough mission.

The team followed Wang Yuan into the vehicle and headed toward Seagull City. Han Xiao realized that the people on the car did not speak at all. They all had an air of 'don't come and talk to me; I need to stay cool.' Han Xiao had trouble to find anyone to banter with.

Looking behind him, Han Xiao saw Golden Fox hiding in another corner, and she was staying as far as she could from him as possible. When Han Xiao looked toward her, she immediately turned to avoid eye contact with Han Xiao.

I only made a small joke out of her. Is such a reaction really necessary? Han Xiao was speechless.

At the other side of the forest, Di Su Su, who was monitoring the situation, also set off to follow Wang Yuan's party.

"The target has left the manor. They are heading toward Seagull City. There are plenty of assassins following. Continuing to monitor closely."

…

The night sky was studded with stars, illuminating Seagull City.

This city of Stardragon was a heavy industrial city. There were plenty of factories in the outskirts. The huge chimneys of the factories were like gigantic fingers pointing into the sky. Since the city was filled with factories, there was a unique sense of heaviness in the atmosphere of the city.

The sentry guard received instructions from the higher-ups and let Han Xiao and the others pass.

Once the vehicle went past the sentry post, it was met with a black car from Division 13 at the roadside. An agent approached and said, "Mr. Wang Yuan, Officer Mo is waiting for you at the base."

"Please lead the way."

The agent from Division 13 saw the heavily armed assassins and immediately fell silent. He did not say another word in the end. He went up his car to lead the way.

The two cars drove all the way to the curfew area that fell under the jurisdiction for the Seagull City branch of the department. Only at the gates that blocked access to the area did the agent mention that weapons were not allow into the cordoned sector.

Wang Yuan nodded. He then turned around and said to the assassins, "You guys will spend a night in Seagull City. Assemble here at the same time tomorrow."

After the instruction, Bennett and Wang Yuan entered the base.

The assassins were left to themselves.

Volcano was a massive Shanuk. He said in his deep voice, "What do you guys plan to do?"

Hunter grinned and said, "I'm going to the bar to have some fun."

He then glanced at Golden Fox and smiled. "Do you want to come with me?"

Golden Fox smiled and wave her hand to reject Hunter. "Forget it, I am more interested in suave guys."

Hunt was unhappy to hear the words of Golden Fox and snarled.

"Hunter, I'll go with you." Volcano laughed out loud. He looked and Moonlight and asked, "What about you?"

Moonlight was expressionless. He solemnly replied, "I will be patrolling around here."

Volcano then invited Han Xiao to join them enthusiastically. Han Xiao waved his hand to say no. Upon seeing that, Volcano did not continue to pressure Han Xiao.

The five assassins went their separate ways.

There's time for free and easy activities in the fifth round. I suppose the danger could arrive at any time…

Han Xiao thought about it. He did not want to just waste the precious free time. He then decided to complete the prize-pool mission that was offered in Seagull City.

Since danger was bound to arrive, it was better for Han Xiao to not waste the time and accomplish some other tasks. He did not need to hide and make other preparations to face the impending threat.

As Han Xiao walked on the street, he could sense someone in a black windbreaker hiding under the darkness of the night. His heart skipped a beat, and he felt that there was someone following him.

Chapter 115: The Prize-Pool Mission

Han Xiao pondered for a moment and finally realized the reason.

They should be the agents from Division 13.

He maintained his walking speed and did not reveal any sort of anomaly. He knocked into the pedestrians on the road discretely and stole the hard objects on their bodies, such as keys and cell phones. Once he turned a corner, he took out the hard objects from his pocket and threw them at all the CCTV cameras, shattering those cameras.

From afar, in the vehicle disguised as a loading truck that served as the control center of the agents of Division 13, the screens present in the vehicle suddenly blacked out. Di Su Su frowned hard and spoke into the communication's set. "The target is very alert. Follow close."

The agents in charge of tailing behind Han Xiao dashed toward the target only to find that Han Xiao had vanished into thin air.

Di Su Su's expression tensed up. Mo Ran was worried about these assassins; therefore, he had sent them to tail the assassins closely. All the other assassins were being watched. Perhaps, some of them already realized that they were being watched, but none of them excepted the man in black to try ditching the agents. Di Su Su remembered that it was the man in black that sent chills down her spine.

"Check the footage of all the CCTV cameras in the city and find that man."

The footage was quickly consolidated and analyzed using the facial recognition system. The result shocked Di Su Su.

There was no one that matched! The man could not be found.

"Wait, this scenario seems pretty familiar! I have experienced it somewhere before!"

Di Su Su thought of Han Xiao, who had vanished completely from the face of the planet.

Shaking her head, she realized that she was probably thinking too much. It was unrealistic to think that every vanishing individual was linked to Han Xiao. There were many in this world with great powers, and Han Xiao was just one of the many.

I have probably been under too much stress lately. Aye, I have to help Xiao Lin Lin hide from the debt collectors, and I have had literally no opportunity to relax at all. Di Su Su sighed.

…

The famous Street 53 located in the south section of the Seagull city was also known as the antique street.

Li Xin was locking up the doors of her antique shop. Business at the shop had been bad lately, and she was preparing to end the operations for the day.

Thud, thud, thud…

The sound of knocks on the door was heard. Li Xin lifted her head in shock, and a very charming and handsome man was standing right her eyes, merely twenty centimeters away from her.

Li Xin could feel her heart skipping a beat, and her faced immediately blushed as if she had drunk too much alcohol.

"What… what do you want to buy?"

The handsome figure knocked on the window and said, "Please let me in. I want to check out the antiques."

"Oh, ok." Li Xin immediately opened the door and stared hard at the charming man. The man looked perfect from all directions. She tailed behind the man, and her hands were fidgeting nervously behind her back.

The handsome man looked at Li Xin and smiled. He then asked, "Are you the owner of the shop?"

He smiled! The power of his smile was simply too great and irresistible! Li Xin seemed like she wanted to just scream in excitement.

Seeing that Li Xin did not speak, the man moved closer to her. Towering above her, he asked, "Are you the owner of the shop?"

The moment the man approached, Li Xin could feel numbness in her brain. She was so excited to the point that she lost control of her five senses. She could not hear what he was saying, and she was all flustered.

Seeing the look of admiration on Li Xin's face, Han Xiao felt confused. He them touched the mask on his face. He thought to himself, I wonder how I look like this time round?

Han Xiao decided not to beat around the bush and blurted out the reason for his visit.

"Where is Tang Shu?"

The expression on Li Xin's face changed drastically as she moved backward and knocked into the furniture.

Han Xiao lifted his shirt and revealed the pistol he was carrying. "Take me to him."

…

The two of them arrived at a dilapidated factory that had been abandoned for years. Li Xin knocked on the door shakily.

A skinny old man appeared before their eyes. The man looked as if he was severely dehydrated, and one could not help but worry that the old man was weak to the extent that it was highly likely for him to be blown away by a strong gust of wind. The old man looked especially creepy, like a rat. Anyone that saw how the old man looked like would lose his appetite and feel disgusted. The eyes of the old man scanned the area like he was preparing to escape at any moment.

Tang Shuwas indeed a fitting name for the creepy old man that looked like a rat.

Tang Shu was a both a robber and a mysterious businessman. The items he sold were all rather unique and out of this world. Tang Shu covered his tracks well, and the only opportunity to run into him without fail was during the prize-pool mission that was triggered in Seagull City.

The prize-pool mission was highly competitive, and it could be concurrently carried out by multiple players. Every player had to sacrifice some of their experience points to activate the mission. The experience points would be accumulated as part of the mission, and the rewards would then be allocated to the best performing players that gained to most experience points.

Han Xiao instantly went toward the entrance. Once Tang Shu saw an unfamiliar face that he did not recognize, he sprung up like a mouse in shock and wanted to flee.

"Hold it right there! If you dare move an inch, there will be another hole in your ass."

Han Xiao fired a warning shot at the area slightly in front of Tang Shu.

Tang Shu immediately halted in his steps. His body stiffened, and he was too afraid to fidget. He broke into a cold sweat stuttered, " You, did Jack send you here? After I complete my latest trade, I will definitely return the money I owe him!"

"I have nothing to do with Jack. I am here for something else."

"What?" Tang Shu thought hard about all the people he had once offended. There were too many of them, and he could not think of who exactly was before him. He was completely flustered.

"I want to be part of your latest business deal."

Tang Shu was shocked, and he looked toward Li Xin. "You found him and brought him here?"

There was a blank on Li Xin's face, and she replied, "Nope."

"The place I come from is not really an important question. I am acting sincerely." Han Xiao holstered his pistol and eased the tension on the situation.

The normal route to activate the mission involved gaining the trust of Li Xin since she was the one that would take the players to Tang Shu, who would then trigger the mission. Han Xiao took the unconventional path and instead threatened both Tang Shu and Li Xin with his brute force. After a friendly round of discussion, Han Xiao managed to convince the suspicious Tang Shu and Li Xin.

Even if Tang Shu did not trust Han Xiao, he could not say no as rejecting Han Xiao's offer would mean that he would have to face a bullet. Tang Shu knew that the best way out was to agree to Han Xiao's request without any hesitation.

"Although I do not know why you are here to help, you look really sincere." Tang Shu glanced at Han Xiao's pistol and coughed. "Anyway, we welcome you to the team."

——————————————————————

You used 2,000 EXP points to trigger the mission [Return the Antique]!

Mission Brief: Li Xin's family heirloom was forcibly taken away by the city museum. You are required to help to retrieve the treasure.

Requirement: Return ten pieces of the antique items back to Li Xin.

Participating Members: 1

Rewards Accumulated: 102,000 EXP

Mission Requirement: 10% EXP gained for every antique object returned.

Additional Pointers: The antique objects are very fragile. Do not shatter them.

——————————————————————

After the explanation and brief by Li Xin and Tang Shu, Han Xiao understood the situation that they were in and why Li Xin and Tang Shu embarked on the mission.

Li Xin's father had ten pieces of prized antiques. After the city museum got their hands onto this piece of information, the chief curator of the museum dropped by to convince her father allow for the display of these treasures at the museum's gallery. He claimed that these items were very valuable and had huge historical and cultural significance. The chief curator had a glib tongue and he managed to persuade her father to agree to his request.

After her father passed away, Li Xin tried to retrieve the antique items from the museum, but the greedy and despicable curator acted as if the items were wholly owned by the museum. The museum's authorities completely ignored Li Xin and even dispatched security to prevent Li Xin from entering the museum. It was evident that the city museum wanted to keep these prized treasures for themselves.

The city museum was directly connected with the city government, and both parties had a tight relationship. Li Xin had no choice but to engage the help of a robber. Coincidentally, she met Tang Shu and decided to hire him.

The intentions of Li Xin could be summarized with one sentence.

I would rather destroy these items than to give them to the country!

After hearing from Li Xin, Han Xiao made a dry cough and said in a solemn manner, "The ideas you have in mind are very dangerous. How can you snatch and steal from the country? You need to be more politically correct."

Li Xin looked confused. She did not understand what Han Xiao was trying to say. Wasn't Han Xiao the one that voluntarily offered to help?

Tang Shu whispered under his breath, "Is he out of his mind?"

Han Xiao's sharp ears heard the words of Tang Shu, and he immediately turned his head to stare at Tang Shu. Han Xiao stared hard at Tang Shu to the point where Tang Shu started trembling.

Tang Shu could not tell the reason, but he was feeling uneasy about what was going to happen.Shu means mouse in Chinese.

Chapter 116: Head Full of Crazy Methods

"When shall we move?"

"Anytime, as long as you're ready," Tang Shu replied.

Han Xiao nodded in agreement.

In his last life, a large guild had discovered this prize-pool quest. For the sake of maximizing profits, the guild announced news about the quest onto the forum, attracting tons of gamers. This caused the prize pool to increase to huge figures, and eventually, they managed to complete the quest, receiving the huge amount of rewards.

Now, Han Xiao was the first person to do the quest, and although he would not accumulate the prize pool to such an extent, the initial base prize was his to begin with. The main difficulty of this quest was that anyone possessing an antique would drop it the moment they were killed, making the quest a competition between the players. Thus, the quest was more difficult than usual. However, in Han Xiao's case, simply stealing the antiques from the municipal museum was a much easier task.

Han Xiao had no other competitors, so he decided to act immediately.

Tang Shu glimpsed and turned, rubbing his hands.

"How shall we split the reward?" he asked, smiling humbly in the process.

Han Xiao waved his hands. "I don't need that reward of yours. Let's act quickly—I have limited time to work with."

Upon hearing that Han Xiao did not need the monetary reward, Tang Shu immediately heaved a sigh of relief.

Hang on, if he isn't after the money, why is this uninvited guest participating in the heist?

Li Xin's heart began beating loudly, and scenes of various dominant CEOs came into her mind. Her two hands were place over her heart, and she stared at Han Xiao in adoration. "Could it be because of me that you…"

"You are thinking too much."

…

Han Xiao and Tang Shu spent over an hour traveling to the other end of the city to get to the Municipal Museum.

It was already late into the night, so the gates of the Municipal Museum had closed, and the surrounding streets were deserted. However, CCTV was surveilling the area around the clock.

The two of them hid in the alley across the street opposite the Municipal Museum. Tang Shu held onto the map and explained the plan.

"The Municipal Museum has three floors in total. The first and second floors are exhibition halls, and the third floor is the staff area. Here are the blueprints. Our goal is on the north exhibition area of the second floor. I have already surveyed the area; the showcase is equipped with laser alarms and a proximity detector. If we are one meter within the vicinity, we will trigger the alarm. There are resident guards around the museum, and we cannot alarm them. My plan is to sneak in from the window of the third floor, and then… Hey hey! where are you going?"

Tang Shu had yet to complete his sentence when Han Xiao walked toward the door of the Municipal Museum with wide strides. Tang Shu could not call him back in time as Han Xiao raised his foot and kicked the front door open and flying. The sound of the slamming doors travelled through the entire street.

Tang Shu was dumbfounded.

What on Earth! What about the plan of sneaking in‽

Han Xiao turned toward Tang Shu and shouted, "Why are you still daydreaming? Get in now."

"What on Earth are you doing‽" Tang Shu was stunned.

"That plan of yours is too complicated. It's just a museum; at the most, only a few cops will appear. Don't waste time playing Assassin's Creed; playing Berserk is the best option."

Tang Shu had already noticed residents popping their heads out of their windows, curious about the source of the boom, and someone was bound to call the cops within three minutes. Tang Shu, with a sullen look, had no other choice but to follow behind Han Xiao. He could only hold onto the that hope that Han Xiao was actual reliable, despite how unlikely that would be based on what had just happened.

The two of them ran to their target on the second floor. Han Xiao broke the showcase without much hesitation and took the ten antiques. Such extreme behavior immediately triggered the alarms, and the museum's guards, awoken from their sleep, rushed over.

"Thief!"

"Catch them quickly!"

Han Xiao ran with the antiques in his arms, while Tang Shu followed behind hurriedly.

They were soon back at the entrance of the Museum, only to see four cops already blocking the way out.

Han Xiao, with the antiques in his arms, was unable to raise a fist, so he turned to Tang Shu. "It's your time to shine."

Tang Shu pointed at himself with a look of disbelief. "Do I look like someone who can fight to you? You chose this plan, so shouldn't you be the one to fix the situation?"

While they were still conversing, the guards rushed over.

"Stop hesitating." Han Xiao kicked Tang Shu's butt, and he flew toward guards. "There, I gave you a boost!"

The guards swung their batons. Tang Shu was terrified, and he anxiously took his crowbar out to defend himself and fight off the guards. However, his head was beaten into a bad shape in one round of fighting. He could not take the pain and rushed back to Han Xiao, crying, "It's impossible. I'm just too weak."

"Tsk, let me teach you a mysterious spell that would double your combat ability. Say it after me, RUA!"

Then, Han Xiao kicked the Tang Shu back toward the group of guards while he was still confused by what was happening.

Tang Shu was not able to go against Han Xiao, and he became extremely furious. He could only vent his anger by hitting hard on the guards, and he managed to take down two guards. However, he was soon concussed by a strike to the back of his head from one of the guards, and as a result, stars started appearing before his eyes. He ran back to Han Xiao, crying out desperately, "I really can't do this anymore. I am begging you. You have a gun, and you can fight so well. Can you please finish them off‽"

"I can't help you even if you beg me." Han Xiao did not move an inch, and without a second's hesitation, he kicked Tang Shu back into the fight scene for the third time. "I'm supporting you in spirit, and if you really need, I can give you a buff to enhance your combat ability."

Tang Shu was in a tight spot. He eventually took down the guards with much effort. His face was fully battered, and he was panting heavily. Suddenly, he felt a gush of wind blowing past him—Han Xiao had run out of the door.

"You'd better wait for me!" Tang Shu followed behind closely, flustered and exasperated.

When the two of them walked through the alleys and passed by a grocery store, Han Xiao smashed open the door and searched for several large backpacks from the store. He then placed the antiques inside and stuffed them with sponges to prevent any damage. He felt much more comfortable after emptying his hands.

The alarm suddenly sounded, and the four police officers who were patrolling nearby quickly rushed over. They blocked the entrance of the alley. As they saw Han Xiao, who was carrying the bags, they immediately drew their guns and aimed him.

"Don't move!"

To the side, Tang Shu was dumbfounded.

Suddenly, Han Xiao grabbed Tang Shu's throat and used him as cover. He took out his pistol at pointed at Tang Shu's head. "Place all the guns on the floor! I have a hostage!"

Tang Shu was stunned beyond comprehension.

What kind of plan is this‽

The four cops had looks of disbelief on their faces. They were lost for words. A young cop could not help but say, "Who are you trying to kid? He's your accomplice!"

"Tsk, I guess that plan didn't work." Han Xiao pouted.

Tang Shu turned his head around and shouted at Han Xiao, "Did you actually think that could succeed‽"

"Well, I was just trying my luck. We had nothing to lose anyway."

Han Xiao then threw the bags into Tang Shu's hands and grabbed him by his collar. Within a split second, he activated his Electromagnetic Hover-boots and rushed toward the entrance of the alley. The four cops were shocked by the bursting speed, and they simultaneously fired their guns in his direction, but his magnetic armor deflected all the shots.

Han Xiao's crossed his arms, and using the extreme speed at which he is moving, he rushed toward the cops like a bowling ball.

Strike!

The wind gushed past them, and Tang Shu's mouth was wide open whilst he was being dragged by Han Xiao. The wind gushed down his throat, and his lips fluttered as a result.

Even though Han Xiao noticed Tang Shu was in a state of discomfort, he still decided to increase his speed further.

…

It was a bar in Seagull City. Lights were shining, and music was thumping. The dance floor was full of impassioned men and women moving their bodies, with a look of intoxication. The extravagant atmosphere could be felt.

Volcano and Hunter were each with a beautiful lady, caressing them all over their bodies. The table was filled with liquor bottles.

Both of them were a little drunk as they walked out of the bar with their beautiful ladies. They were intending to go to a nearby hotel for the night.

After turning into a small alley, Hunter stepped onto a pool of stagnant water. The sound of the splashing water could be heard clearly in the quiet alley.

The night wind blew, and the two of them started to slightly sober up.

Even in such a drunken state, they kept their basic vigilance, constantly observing their surroundings. They had noticed the stalker from Division 13 early on, but they had chosen to ignore it.

However, they failed to realize that, in the air behind them, a pair of eyes opened wide.

Chapter 117: The Invisible Demon Strikes

As he circled around the area where Division 13 was located, Moonlight walked on the street expressionless.

He patrolled since he had made a promise, and he did not make empty promises.

The cold moonlight shone upon him, as if his body was inhaling the energy. A silver aura seemed to form on the surface of his body, making him stand out with an elegant yet magnificent presence.

Walking past a quiet alley, Moonlight turned his head abruptly, and his ability [Power of the Moon] was suddenly activated. It formed an armor around him—his ability allowed him to use the energy from moonlight to gain physical strength.

His eyes turned white and silver, and his moonlight-wrapped fist suddenly shot into the air. It hit a body.

"Who are you‽" Moonlight exclaimed angrily.

Under the silver beams, a human figure slowly appeared from thin air.

…

Right before dawn, Han Xiao, together with Tang Shu, who was foaming at the mouth, were back at the old abandoned house. He passed the antiques over to Li Xin.

_____________________

You completed [Return antiques]!

Current number of participants: 1

Completed participants: 1

You returned ten antique pieces.

You receive 100% of the reward.

You gained 102,000 experience.

_____________________

It had not been a challenge for him since there are no other players competing in this mission.

Han Xiao looked at the interface, and it looked like the experience he had gained these few days had reached 700,000!

With the experience gained, Han Xiao waved his, turned around, and left without a trace.

Li Xin suddenly realized that she had yet to ask for Han Xiao's name. She felt a sense of sadness. Han Xiao was just like the prince in her dream, appearing when she was in trouble, offering his help when she needed it, but disappearing right after.

Tang Shu was crouching in the corner, and he was drawing monotonic circles, mutturing, "I never want see you again."

Han Xiao, who was walking along the streets, found a shop that had a glass window that he could use as a mirror. He was shocked when he saw the face simulated by his mask.

Wow, so handsome.

But it still can't beat my original looks.

Han Xiao pursed his lips as he saved the image of this appearance in his mask.

At this instance, Han Xiao saw a pair of indifferent eyes in the empty space behind him in the window's reflection.

…

Mo Ran's office of Division 13's Seagull City branch…

"Three assassins were killed last night—Moonlight, Volcano, and Hunter," Di Su Su reported to Mo Ran.

"The wounds are all very similar. They seemed to have been cut by a sharp object at an extremely high speed that either pierced through the heart or slit open the throat. Based on evidence collected from the surroundings, the fight lasted less than ten seconds. These three assassins were not weaklings, especially Moonlight; he had the ability to absorb energy, which gave him a boost in physical strength. Since the killer easily got close to the three assassins, his ability must have been extremely lethal.

"Is there any footage?"

"No. The murderer must have chosen locations where there are no surveillance cameras."

"Are there any suspects?" Mo Ran asked.

"With a hidden ability, extreme speed, and the ability to killing other elite assassins and Espers with the snap of a finger, there seems to be a matching character on the danger list… Invisible Demon!"

Wang Yuan's face turned dark. "It's him!"

Invisible Demon, a terrifying killer, used to be a convict on death row, but he was chosen as a subject for an experiment. As a result of the experiment, his whole body started to change. Other than the eyes, his entire body had an ability to adapt to the surroundings and blend in with the environment. He basically became an invisible man.

Furthermore, the Invisible Demon also awakened his own Esper ability, which was extreme reflex and speed. This gave him the ability to escape from the facility. Since then, he had been active in the underground world and became a mysterious killer that no one knew much about.

Wang Yuan's face turned expressionless, and his eyes had a cold look. It is not cheap to hire the Invisible Demon; how much dirty money have these traitors pocketed from the organization‽

Although the Invisible Demon had extraordinary assassination capabilities, Bennet was not afraid. Even when he could not see something, he could rely on his other heightened senses to visualize it. He would never allow the demon to get within ten meters of Wang Yuan.

"The demon may want to get rid of my guards first, so my people will be in danger," Wang Yuan stated. "Mo Ran, please get the people following my assassins to inform them to gather immediately."

Di Su Su was helpless. "Golden Fox is resting in the hotel, but Mr. Black has gotten rid of his tail."

Wang Yuan was dumbfounded. "Please send some people to try their best to look for him."

The demon was a sniper's worse enemy—even Bennett believed Han Xiao would most likely not survive the attack. Although he liked Han Xiao and wanted to save him, he was burdened with the responsibility of protecting Wang Yuan, thus, unable to help him. He could only pray for that Han Xiao could keep himself safe.

…

The instant the eyes appeared, Han Xiao activated his magnetic armor to cover his back and his neck. The next instant, sparks deflected off the surface of the armor, as if the armor had been hit by a sharp weapon dozens of times within the split second.

He had long known about the dangers this mission would bring, so he had always remained prepared to engage in battle. This was how he managed to react so quickly.

The impact on his back pushed Han Xiao forcefully forward into the store, shattering the glass window.

The enemy is invisible! Han Xiao immediately realized the issue at hand.

As Han Xiao fell into the store, the sense of danger followed him, and he heard someone moving through the air at high-speed. Suddenly, Han Xiao slid backward before he drew out his guns and fired at the place where the sound was heard. However, the rounds did not land on the enemy. Storage compartments were shattered instead, and bullet marks appeared on the wall.

The invisible enemy struck the armor again, giving out a harsh grating sound.

The movement is too fast! Han Xiao could only use his reflexes to preempt the strikes and then shield himself with the armor. Fortunately, his armor covered three quarters of his body. As long as he protected his vitals, the threat of the enemy was greatly reduced.

The interface displayed the damage inflicted by the enemy. The enemy was clearly a high-agility and high-attack character. Han Xiao looked at the battle info and found out the assassin's name.

Invisible Demon! Han Xiao was taken aback as he realized how tricky the situation was.

Similar to the black spider, the Invisible Demon had established his name as one of the hardest bosses to kill on Planet Aquamarine in version 1.0. With the abilities of invisibility and super reflexes on the same person, he was born to be a close-quarters assassin.

Invisible Demon, LV 44 and extremely high agility. His invisibility is only limited to his bare body, which means the weapon he used to attack me are his nails, and he is moving around entirely naked. Talk about decency…

My movement speed is not be comparable to his. His speed is higher when it comes to short distance charging and evasion, but assassinating from a distance is not his forte. I can use my hover-boots and simply escape. But if I just escape like that, there will be another chance for him to assassinate me. Let me see if I can take him down. To tackle him effective, I have to slow him down first!

In that moment, a deluge of thoughts flashed through Han Xiao's mind. His eyes turned ice-cold, and he entered a highly-focused state of mind.

Strike after strike hit Han Xiao, and he blocked each one with his armor. He then took some candy-sized electric bees and threw them into the surroundings.

The electric shock bees, also known as bee colonies, had stingers that carried a dangerously high voltage that could cause temporary paralysis upon contact. Multiple bees could even form an electrically-charged net to be used as a control ability. Han Xiao accidentally discovered the blueprint when he was making the hover-boots.

A group of electric shock bees flew inside the small shop, and their effect could be felt immediately.

The demon could escape with his speed, but the space that he could move within was heavily constrained, and as a result, his attack rate was reduced.

Bang bang bang!

Han Xiao fired non-stop, but the shots were all dodged. The demon was even faster than Pan Kuang—since Pan Kuang could dodge the bullets, the Invisible Demon could most certainly do it better.

Since you are so good at hiding, let's see who has more HP!

As his eyes turned colder, Han Xiao changed the magazine and loaded the Hayme rounds. He then fired insanely. Green toxic gas filled the air within the small space, engulfing both of them.

Chapter 118: Electromagnetic Weapon

_____________________

You have been mildly poisoned.

You will lose 3 HP per second for a minute.

You will remain in the poisoned state for as long as you are within the range of the poisonous gas, and the degree of damage will continue to increase.

_____________________

If the Invisible Demon attacked, he would be injured by the poisonous gas as well.

Han Xiao was fearless as he had brought along with him a low-level health potions. With his HP over 2,000, he turned the battlefield to his advantage and managed to defeat the opponent's invisibility ability.

The situation was in a stalemate. The Invisible Demon was unable to deal with him, nor could Han Xiao shoot down the Invisible Demon.

Even though I will not be defeated, I am also incapable of defeating this demon. If this continues, he will definitely retreat, and that will just be a draw in the end.

Han Xiao was determined to kill the demon who could threaten his life. Upon second thought, he decided to abandon on the comfortable situation he had created. He activated his hover-boots and fled from the battlefield. As expected, the demon chased after him.

He pretended to control the armor slowly, showing his flaws to the demon. Unsurprisingly, it then scratched him forcefully on his back. Despite being racked with pain from the demon's claws, Han Xiao maintained a straight face. This was all to test the impact of the demon's attack on his body.

_____________________

You have been attacked by Invisible Demon (LV 44).

You have lost 37 HP.

_____________________

Just one attack and I've lost almost forty health points. Furthermore, the attack frequency is extremely high. Lucky, I am wearing my magnetically controlled armor, or else my blood level would have depleted within ten seconds.

Han Xiao had never been more serious when he realized that the Invisible Demon was the strong opponent for the fifth mission. There were likely other challengers that had already encountered the demon before him and perished.

After numerous trials and tests using different speeds of the hover-boots, he finally estimated the speed of the demon.

If I keep the hover-boots at a medium speed, it will be the right speed for the demon to catch up, but it won't be too easy. Worth a try!

With the new plan in mind, Han Xiao instantly turned and skated toward the airport. The Invisible Demon was close behind.

Fortunately, it was dawn, and the streets were empty. If it had been rush hour, Han Xiao's path would have been full of obstructions.

Han Xiao fished out his phone and called Antonio to bring the Second-Generation Rover over. After putting down the phone, he then concentrated on 'baiting' the demon.

Baiting was not an easy technique. The key was to ensure that the enemy never realized that he had a trump card, or else it would be hard for the enemy to fall for the trick. Just like playing MOBA games, if someone suddenly became too aggressive, the enemy would know that there was backup somewhere.

The game of chase lasted for a few minutes. Suddenly, Han Xiao's sensed that he was no longer in crisis. He came to a stop before surveying the environment, when he realized that the Invisible Demon had not fallen for the trick and fled moments ago.

The Invisible Demon was always on his feet. Initially, when Han Xiao released the poisonous gas, the demon had already planned to retreat. However, Han Xiao gave up on his favorable environment and acted as though he was unable to withstand the damage caused by the gas. As a result, the demon took the bait and caught up quickly.

Even though there were no loopholes, the Invisible Demon noticed something was amiss almost instantly. This made him feel threatened, so he decided to retreat, giving up on the target decisively.

He's too alert, Han Xiao thought disappointedly, but he soon mocked himself for such a thought. If the Invisible Demon was so easy to deal with, he would not have been ranked as one of the hardest to kill.

A few problems had arisen as the ferocious battle proceeded. Facing an enemy higher than LV 40, regardless of whether the enemy was more an agility or tank type, the gun seemed powerless. The main problem was that Han Xiao lacked the skills to be a shooter. He was always missing his shots.

The problem that Han Xiao was thinking about was also a dilemma in Version 1.0 of the game. The lethality of ordinary gunpowder weapons was limited when a player was facing an enemy above LV 50. Despite being powerful, most guns were still relatively weak against the super demons unless the player had set up traps beforehand.

An electromagnetic gun was the next generation weapon. Many improvements on fire power and shooting speed had been made to the weapon. These improvements met Han Xiao's needs. With the speed of the bullets improved, it would be more difficult for the enemies to dodge them.

To build proper, complete, and stable electromagnetic weapons, one required full knowledge on the magnetism theory. Planet Aquamarine's advanced knowledge on the magnetism theory was strictly controlled.

Han Xiao frowned. If I want to create my own electromagnetic gun, I will need to construct my own blueprints. The theory behind portable electromagnetic guns is not that difficult to understand or hard to control if my basic electromagnetism theory is upgraded to Lv.5.

However, it will be difficult if I want to make it into a real weapon as there will be a lot of details to take note of. To reduce the experimental time, it is best to have a direction to work toward, such as having blueprints of existing weapons and then making further enhancements to them.

After some time, Antonio arrived with his van. He looked left and right, then asked, "Where's the enemy?"

"Ran away."

Han Xiao hopped onto the van and simply said, "Let's return to the plane. I need to fix the equipment first and then think of a new plan."

"Do you really take me for your driver?"

Antonio had no choice but to drive Han Xiao to the airport.

…

The battle between Han Xiao and the Invisible Demon created a great commotion. Division 13 investigated and discovered traces of the battle.

"A sniper, not afraid of being killed by the Invisible Demon, and even managed to force the demon to flee?"

Di Su Su was surprised as she thought of how threatening this Mr. Black had made her feel in River Valley Manor with his extraordinary strength.

Bennett's eyes shone with surprise. "Where is he now?"

"He is related to Farian Company. He is on that company's aircraft at the moment."

"He should be preparing and fixing his equipment now," Wang Yuan replied. "Let's not alert him yet. Mo Ran, can I trouble you to have someone send a message to ask Mr. Black to come to River Valley Manor tomorrow morning?"

"Alright." Mo Ran nodded.

Standing at the side was Golden Fox, who had been invited over previously. At that point, her face was pale like a sheet of paper. Mr. Black was the fourth target of the Invisible Demon while she was the fifth. Fortunately, Mr. Black had forced the Invisible Demon to retreat and allowed her to escape.

Golden Fox doubted if she would have been able to survive the attack by the Invisible Demon.

He saved my life.

Golden Fox bit her lip. Mr. Black was mysterious and good at everything. The only issue was that his preferences were a little too strange.

…

Inside the aircraft, Han Xiao was busy fixing the magnetic armor. At the same time, he thought about the construction of the magnetic gun. The most suitable type of gun would be a sniper as it could complement his movement ability and maximize the gun power at the same time.

With seven talent points, Han Xiao spent five points to upgrade [Basic Electromagnetism Theory], [Basic Weapon Theory], and [Basic Energy Theory] to the maximum of Lv.5.

Han Xiao selected [Basic Electromagnetism Theory] as the core skill and came up with various skill set combinations. He then constructed many magnetism related blueprints as he penned down his ideas, regardless of their viability. Each skill set would be incorporated at least twice.

With tons of blueprints in his hands, his brain juices were finally used up. He massaged his temples and sighed. "I think that's enough, time to construct."

Farian Company had no contacts through which to acquire materials in Seagull City. The electromagnetic materials that Han Xiao had brought along with him were limited, yet it would be enough if he removed and reused the parts from his failed products. However, some of the parts might become worn out when the products failed. With that, the recycling rate was approximately 80%.

Han Xiao predicted that it would be hard to construct a stable electromagnetic gun without failing more than ten times when he tried to build the basic structure of the gun.

If I want to succeed, I have to lower my expectations and create the prototype first with the specifications adjusted.

Han Xiao hesitated and finally decided he would first create the test product, then the prototype, and not to be too ambitious.

Chapter 119: Raging Bolt!

With a clear plan in mind, Han Xiao proceeded to create the weapons.

The updated weapons were of the utmost importance to the military force, and light weapons were the main focus.

The principle of electromagnetic weapons was not complicated as it was just using the electromagnetic force to push the bullets. The more challenging part was the actual debugging itself, as there were many variables like the number of coil turns, current voltage, limited energy, speed, distance.

By reaching Lv.5 in [Basic Energy Theory], it gave Han Xiao a new blueprint—a new form of energy battery. It was referred to as a Rubik's Cube, and it was a precise component. It could store up to 180 ouna, allowing its capacity to be several times that of an ordinary battery.

The Six Nations were experimenting on other batteries, such as power batteries, superconducting batteries, and even micro nuclear batteries, that could be used in different aspects. But the Rubik's Cube was one of the more convenient kinds of batteries used by mechanics.

The same theory could have countless possibilities as the future of science did not have a fixed road. Technology was always changing, so it was interesting to explore different possibilities.

…

_____________________

Failure.

_____________________

Failure.

_____________________

Despite his many failures, Han Xiao never gave up and kept trying, improving the details each time.

"It's getting late."

Han Xiao took a look at the sky and felt it was a pity he had to stop doing his work.

Anthony then walked in. "There were people from Division 13 who came to find you earlier."

"What did they say?"

"Your employer has changed the timing needed to assemble, so you do not have to rush over. Just get to River Valley Manor by tomorrow morning."

Han Xiao was pleased with that as he realized that would give him more time to continue his work.

…

At night, Wang Yuan and friends sat quietly in the car and made their way back to the manor safely.

Wang Yuan and Bennet then walked into the villa, went to the room on the top floor, and closed the door.

"Xena has locked away all the traitors, and the operation this time was successful. Other than getting rid of the traitors, the organization can also start to implement your ideas," said Wang Yuan.

Bennett nodded. "I have a hunch that the battle will start sooner than expected, and we need to prepare early to escape from the crisis. We will need the cooperation of other forces and organizations to complete the plan."

"One thing I know for sure is that the Six Nations will definitely help," Wang Yuan replied. "During the discussion previously, you saw Mo Ran's attitude. Getting the Six Nations' help will be highly beneficial. With his aid, we will be able to escape the crisis. I am just afraid there will be ambitious parties eyeing our resources."

Bennett's eyes flashed, and his voice was like a gush of icy wind blowing from the north. "This is a plan to save many innocent lives. I will deal with anyone who tries to get in our way!"

At that instant, Wang Yuan was about to speak when a sharp piercing sound reverberated outside the manor.

The two looked outside the window and saw a lightning shoot up into the sky. The manor gate was then struck by the lightning, and it was thrown into an armored vehicle.

Someone flashing with light walked toward the gate, and it looked like the frightening lightning earlier had been shot from him. The strong gate, which had withstood a storm of bullets, had been instantly destroyed!

The mercenaries screamed and were all frantically shooting machine guns and firing cannons. However, Raging Bolt did not give in and shot lightning from his feet. He shot up ten meters into the air and blasted his original spot on the ground.

In the air, Raging Bolt clenched his fists and lightning shot out from his chest. A strong burst of electricity flashed, burning the cornea of every mercenary on the ground.

Boom!

The area where all the machine guns were located was blasted. A few of the mercenaries who were struck by the light were electrocuted before they could even utter a word. The smell of smoke filled the entire area.

The impact of this battle left all of them shocked. A stream of frigid air that felt like death creeped up their spines.

With the death of Volcano and Moonlight, there was no one in the manor strong enough to defeat the enemy. Even Mr. Black was not around.

"We can't defeat this level of Superhuman!" A mercenary backed away fearfully.

Chen Li's eyes were fierce with determination, and he gave the order to start the attack again.

Raging Bolt was not in the least injured when he dropped down from the sky. When he saw that the mercenaries still had the will to fight, he smirked coldly. "Ha… bunch of idiots not knowing your limits."

He then raised his hands and thrust his palms forward. An invisible electromagnetic pulse spread across the manor and damaged all electronic components, resulting in total darkness.

The mercenaries were all shocked. Even the vehicles were damaged, so there was no way to escape even if they wanted to!

Despair filled the air quickly.

Wang Yuan took a look at Raging Bolt, and his face darkened. "Raging Bolt Bai Jin's power is the generation and control of lightning. He's a superhuman with great potential, and he has been very active in the criminal underworld in recent years."

"Oh c'mon, it's just a young man. Let me deal with him since the lads outside can't handle him."

Bennett maintained the same expression as he pushed open the window and jumped to the ground. Pushing aside the mercenaries, he captured all their attention as he walked toward Raging Bolt. Only then did they realize that there was someone who could defeat Raging Bolt, and a ray of hope shone upon them.

"What? There was actually a strong opponent!" Raging Bolt excitedly licked his lips and mobilized all the energy stored in his body.

"No matter how many weak opponents I defeated, the pleasure of beating a strong opponent is just incomparable."

Raging Bolt stared at Bennett with the eyes of a wolf.

…

The vehicle of Division 13 was situated in the forest, monitoring any movement in the manor.

Raging Bolt is way too powerful, thought Di Su Su as she wiped away the sweat on her brow.

I have to report this to Mo Ran quickly as such threats could cause dire consequences to our city.

Di Su Su immediately picked up the phone and called Mo Ran.

On the screens, the battle between Bennett and Raging Bolt was ongoing. Both were about to release their strongest moves any time!

It was the moment when everyone held their breath.

However…

Raging Bolt's chest suddenly burst into a bloody fog.

Following which, everyone heard an eerie gun shot from afar.

Chapter 120: Three Shots!

Two hours earlier…

"I finally succeeded!"

An excited cheer could be heard from Han Xiao on the Farian transport plane.

A brand-new sniper rifle was lying on the bench, and it looked very different from a gunpowder rifle. Its entire body was dark green. The gun was very thick while its front end was narrow. It also had sharp edges, just like a triangle.

The entire barrel was embedded in the gun body, and the exposed part of the coil was tightly wrapped up.

The gun was 0.87 meters long, and it was equipped with a multi-fold aiming rule sight. It also had an electromagnetic scanning function, so both sides could be used.

_____________________

You discovered [Ghost Sniper (Incomplete)]!

_____________________

Ghost Sniper (Incomplete)

Type: Electromagnetic Sniper Rifle

Grade: White

Damage: 183-246

Fire Rate: 2/second

Magazine Capacity: 16

Range: 1.1km

Power Output: 144

Usage Requirement: 45 DEX, Lv.6 Sniper

Ammunition Type: Electromagnetic Ammunition

Length: 0.87m

Weight: 6kg

Additional Features: Recoil is low, increasing firing accuracy.

Incomplete Limit 1: Power, fire rate, and range are limited.

Incomplete Limit 2: As the technology is not complete, the weapon's energy consumption is high. Each shot will consume 10 ouna (Battery holds 180 ouna).

Incomplete Limit 3: As the technology is not complete, some components will need to be replaced after 20 to 30 shots.

Full version requirements: Lv.1 [Advanced Electromagnetism Theory] (lack), Lv.5 [Basic Energy Theory], Lv.5 [Basic Weapon Theory], Lv.1 [Basic Energy Conversion Theory] (lack)

_____________________

What a surprise! Han Xiao was exhilarated as he did not expect to get an incomplete version of the drawing, which also meant that as long as he had the knowledge, he could directly obtain the full drawing.

The ghost sniper rifle was a stable electromagnetic weapon, but Han Xiao still lacked two important pieces of information at the moment. It was very hard to obtain the advanced information; thus, he was very satisfied with obtaining the incomplete version.

Even if the ghost sniper rifle was an incomplete edition, it was two or three times more efficient. Electromagnetic weapons usually had a shooting range of 'over the horizon', so the defects were not obvious yet.

As for the limitations, Han Xiao had thought of a temporary solution, which was to have more spare batteries. This way, he would not have to worry about the high energy consumption. The only problem was that it was very costly. But for Han Xiao, money was not an issue. It was the same method for the other rifles, and the replacement parts were already in place.

Electromagnetic weapons were different from gunpowder ones as they required electrical conductors, and this was quite a huge problem. However, given some time, he would be able to utilize the principle of special ammunition. In the short term, however, he could only use special ammunitions for his gunpowder weapons, so he would not be throwing away his Red-Falcon sniper.

Han Xiao then built two magazines with magnetic clips.

All of a sudden, his eyelids started to feel heavy, and a wave of fatigue gushed over him. He held the side of the table for support and took a deep breath.

He did not sleep a wink last night. He had first completed [Return the Antiques], and subsequently, he had battled against the Invisible Demon. He had only briefly taken care of his wounds. Then, without a break, he had begun to develop new guns late into the night. His body was able to withstand the exhaustion, but his mental fatigue had been accumulating.

That is all for today.

Han Xiao rubbed his eyes and switched off his equipment.

The surroundings quieted down.

The people on the airplane were all resting. Han Xiao did not want to stay any longer, so he took his equipment and drove back to the manor. He needed to get back quickly so that he did not miss anything while he was not at the manor.

With Han Xiao's alertness, he had smelt something fishy from Wang Yuan's instructions to return to the manor the next morning. He had a hunch that if he really went back the next morning, he might miss out on an opportunity. Therefore, Han Xiao decided to be more cautious.

…

After a long journey, he finally arrived at the manor.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning hit his windscreen, and Han Xiao rammed the breaks forcefully.

There are enemies attacking the manor? Shit, this really is a flag!

After putting out the fire, he quietly sneaked onto the tree with his equipment. He then took out a telescope to check out the battle outside the manor and was shocked by what he saw.

"Provided it's not a character I do not know, Planet Aquamarine only has four characters who possess this level of ability. They are Duss Thunder, Electric Eye, Raging Bolt, and an Germinal executive. This person's lightning abilities are so powerful, and they can release an EMP externally. This is likely Raging Bolt!"

Another famous figure from Aquamarine!

After observing for a while, Bennett finally walked out of the manor. Han Xiao's eyes flashed. He had thought that he would have to settle the problem himself.

As he thought that, Han Xiao suddenly deduced the hidden requirement for the Fifth Round. Most likely, the upper limit of the special reward—300,000 EXP—was for ensuring that Bennett did not need to get involved.

With this in mind, Han Xiao immediately picked up the rife and aimed at Raging Bolt.

"Flaming Will!" Han Xiao shouted.

Shouting was not required, but he felt that it would give him a higher chance of getting what he wanted.

_____________________

You activated [Flaming Will]!

Your next attack will cause 180% base damage.

_____________________

Han Xiao then pulled the trigger, and the exposed part of the gun glowed bright blue. The bullet flew out at such a high speed that the enemy could not react.

The recoil was minimal, and it had little effect on accuracy.

The blue light penetrated the body of the Raging Bolt, not allowing him to escape in time.

It hit the heart, which exploded into a bloody fog.

The interface flashed with the results of his move.

_____________________

You have caused 200% stealth damage to Raging Bolt.

You have caused 200% critical damage to Raging Bolt.

[Flaming Will]'s bonus caused the attack to be multiplied to 342!

Critical Strike! Damage multiplied by 4!

1,368 damage!

You have caused 1,175 damage to Raging Bolt after resistance reductions!

You have damaged the heart of Raging Bolt.

The damage has taken one third of his life.

Raging Bolt has fallen into a state of severe bleeding, losing 2% life per second for 10 seconds.

Raging Bolt is paralyzed. His defense is reduced by 30% for 3 seconds.

Raging Bolt is in a weakened state. All his attributes have decreased by 50% for 30 seconds.

_____________________

Raging Bolt spat out blood as he fell to the ground. His heart had been pierced, and his entire body was devoid of energy. He gazed in the direction that the bullet had come from, his eyes filled with pain and agony.

Bennett was shocked as Raging Bolt was a powerful character, yet he was no match for the sniper rifle? The power of the gun had indeed exceeded his imagination.

"I cannot die here!" Raging Bolt bit his teeth, holding back the pain as he was about to escape.

Han Xiao, who was hiding a distance away, shot Raging Bolt a second time, sending a bullet through his brain.

The third shot then followed, shooting the left eye, causing red and white fluids to spill to the ground.

"Fatal attack!"

Raging Bolt fell to the ground, his remaining eye full of despair.

Everyone was stunned.

Those three shots were like the god of death wielding a knife, taking away his life. The air of death had silenced the entire audience.

Bennett heaved a sigh of relief.

Three shots!

It had only taken three shots!

A criminal who had taken the lives of many could actually be killed in seconds!

The mercenaries around were shocked; the turn of the situation had exceeded their imagination.

That thunder-like enemy had been defeated in just three shots?

Impossible!

In the distance, even Di Su Su's tone trembled as she yelled, "Who shot that‽"

Chapter 121: Did Too Much Work, So I Couldn't Think of a Title

Han Xiao looked up from the scope, surprised. He was also shocked by the power of the three shots. The second shot was a critical shot, greatly weakening Bai Yu's attributes. It was as if the actual damage had doubled. The first two shots were so impactful. Han Xiao roughly estimated that a player like Bai Yu, who was at LV 48, was likely strong in offense yet weak in defense. Therefore, his HP would roughly be at around 2,500 after the second shot. Thus, he fired the third shot as the last fatal blow, killing Bai Yu in just mere seconds!

The key blow was the very first shot, which inflicted explosive damage on Bai Yu, causing him to crumble at once. He became an easy target.

_____________________

You have gained 64,000 experience points by slaying Bai Yu (LV 48).

You surmounted the fourteen-level difference. You will get 360% additional XP bonus, bringing the total to 230,400 XP.

Your personal contribution rate was 100%!

You've gained an extra 230,400 (100%) experience points!

_____________________

Han Xiao himself did not even think that he could successfully complete the leap-level killing. 300,000 XP in a matter of seconds made up for the XP that he had used up to for the fusion of blueprints to manufacture the Ghost sniper rifle. There was in fact an excess of XP.

He looked at the manor again and realized that it was all quiet outside.

Everyone stood rooted to the ground. They had originally thought that there would be an impending bitter fight and had braced themselves for it. Yet, things had happened in just a flash, leaving everyone stunned.

Pitter-patter…

Footsteps could be heard creaking through the forest, and everyone's eyes immediately veered toward the sound, full of curiosity, awe, and fear.

At that very moment, dark clouds gradually began covering the moonlight, and the silver moonlight faded into the clouds. Han Xiao, who was in a black suit, walked out of the forest with the moonlight shining on the bottom half of his face. The moonlight seemingly backed away as he advanced, and darkness was following his every step. It was as if he was bringing about nightmares with the darkness. He was a spirit concealed in the night.

This scene made him look ever so cool and led everyone to hold their breath for that moment. This very moment was deeply ingrained into everyone's memories.

"Mr. Black!"

"It's him‽"

Everyone gasped in shock, for they knew Mr. Black was extremely strong, but little did they know he was this powerful.

Bennett was surprised. He did not expect himself to be dazed by Han Xiao as well. Judging by the explosive destructive power of Han Xiao, it was more than sufficient to threaten him. And as Han Xiao walked closer, Bennett could not help but praised him. "Well done."

"It wasn't much," Han Xiao replied, modest as always.

Looking around him, there mercenaries who gathered around were staring at him in silence. Han Xiao said sternly, "Don't just stand there. Go do what you're supposed to be doing."

The mercenaries came back to reality as though waking up from a dream, and they hurriedly began to repair the fortifications of the manor. All of them accepted Han Xiao's command without much thought.

Bai Yu's body was then moved in, covered casually with a cloth. Nobody would forget that this was a supreme fighter, and every time they saw it, their respect for Han Xiao would grow even deeper.

The corpse of an enemy was a medal of accomplishment.

Han Xiao walked into the manor, and Wang Yuan came over. This time, his smile did not mean just a welcome invitation but also full of appreciation and sincerity. "Stunning three shots! This old man here was shocked by you as well."

"You're too polite." Han Xiao waved his hand and glanced at Bennett next to him. "With him around, you won't even be in any risk."

Wang Yuan smiled. "I've checked the file. The Rothschild Family introduced you to this mission. Your strength widely exceeds the level of Dark. I will raise your level directly to Ghost."

This was an obvious act to gain his favor. An immediate promotion to Ghost made Han Xiao surprised. He nodded, accepting Wang Yuan's kindness.

…

In the woods, Di Su Su had solemnness written all over her face. She reported on Han Xiao's performance.

"Mr. Black possesses immense sniping ability, and his lethality is hard to behold. I suggest that we add him to the extreme threats target file."

"Permission granted," Mo Ran responded.

Division 13 had a database for all extremely dangerous targets, and this was also called the extreme threats file. Han Xiao's performance had already attracted their attention, especially the fact that he was a sniper.

…

Early the next morning, Wang Yuan summoned all the mercenaries and declared that all guard duties were to end that instant. All the gains from the task would be directly credited to their accounts.

The traitors in the organization had already been captured. Wang Yuan's goal was completed.

As for the Invisible Demon, the owner had died, so it naturally stopped attacking.

Han Xiao checked the deposit—two million dollars, twice the initial agreement. This was likely Wang Yuan deliberately compensating him extra due to the performance of his last three shots, which was well worth the price.

_____________________

The fifth round has been completed. You gained 30,000 EXP points.

The hidden request to ensure that Bennett did not join the battle has been completed. You gained 300,000 EXP points.

_____________________

This time there was not an additional mission segment, which meant that the chain mission had ended. The level of EXP he had accumulated so far broke the one million mark! This mission's reward was way too fruitful.

Finally completed this mission.

Han Xiao felt more relaxed. He went on to find Bennett and gave him the Lock HOC sniper rifle.

"You're giving me another present?" Bennett was bewildered. Noting that this present was to his liking yet again, he could not help but ask, "What request do you have?"

"I would like to learn the art of combat."

Why is he saying this again?

Bennett's head hurt. After thinking for a while, he decided to teach a set of skills suitable for Han Xiao's sniper ability and began to explain.

"In my early years, I was once an assassin known for my stealth. Perhaps these skills can help you a little…"

After hearing Bennett's explanation for over an hour, Han Xiao was awarded with a new mission.

_____________________

You have triggered level D mission [Night Stalker (Class Change)].

Task Summary: You have learned some special skills from Bennett's explanation, but you still need practice them to perfect them.

Mission Requirements: Complete 5 assassination missions in the dark (No limit on level).

Reward: [Night Stalker] Class

_____________________

Night Stalker—this was a class that Han Xiao had long wanted to attain from Bennett to be able to learn stealth skills, critical strike bonuses from stealth hits, and other skills. Coupled with his Flaming Will and Ghost sniper rifle, he could perfect the art of stealth battles. Moreover, this would give him the chance to enable the [Fatal Shot] specialty.

This class was already extremely rare in version 1.0, and the attribute bonuses were not low. The experience needed to level up was less than the main profession, yet the sub-profession was able to be used for improving his combat skills.

After explaining, Bennett paused and said, "I can tell that your energy is not strong, but your lethality is unfathomable. Here's my number; you can find me anytime you need me. Who knows, I may need your help in the future as well, what do you think?"

"Sure."

Han Xiao blinked, promptly recalling one of Bennett's main story missions. Since he had no objection to this, they exchanged numbers.

On a side note, the phone that Han Xiao was currently using was no longer the black brick machine that Division 13 had given him.

The defense mission had finally ended. The mercenaries all heaved a sigh of relief. They proceeded to pack up, and as they were about to leave, Han Xiao walked around to collect the phone numbers of the assassins and mercenary leaders. Who knew, maybe they would be of use some day?

Golden Fox took the initiative to give Han Xiao her number. She promptly left afterward, fearing the strength of Han Xiao. Furthermore, she could not stand his strange taste.

The manor became much calmer now with the crowd having dispersed. Han Xiao drove back to Seagull City airport and departed on Farian Company's plane.

Having levelled up through two highly rewarding missions, Han Xiao had accumulated tons of experience. The big action plan that was about to start before the public testing began would likely be following the trend of reward-based missions.

I have already become a Ghost-level assassin with priorities in receiving tasks, commissions, and intelligence. Now that I have paved the way, I can definitely become a Legend if it all goes according to plan. All I'll have to do is complete this final goal…

Screw Germinal!

I hope that you all can withstand the violent love I'll be showering upon you.

Han Xiao laughed devilishly and rather coldly at the same time.

…

In the Intelligence Headquarters of Division 13, the Intelligence Minister had received a file about the application for the transfer of Mr. Black into the extreme threats target file.

"Mr. Black, of unknown source and unknown origin, is currently a serial killer. Only completed two missions, smashed the Rose Militant mercenary gang of the Somar Desert, displayed extraordinary sniping ability when guarding the valley of Manor, caused the Invisible Demon to retreat, killed Bai Yu with just three shots.

"He possesses extreme alertness and excellent stealth ability (NB: He shook off the stalker of Division 13). He is also a mechanic, has high speed boots with sliding ability, and possesses shocking killing ability. He uses a special sniper rifle.

"Requires special attention."

After reading the information sent by Seagull City, the Intelligence Minister felt a sense of looming imminent danger.

"Seems like another amazing player has appeared."

He took out his stamp and stamped firmly onto the footer of the document.

"Entry file approved!"

…

Something big had happened in the underworld. The list of killers in the Dark Net had a shocking major change. An unknown killer by the name of Mr. Black was added, and among the thousand names, he skyrocketed to number 23 on the killer list.

"I've never heard of this name before, where did he come from?"

"The Dark Net's list has always been fair. It was impossible that this is in any way untoward. Quickly, go ask around about this Mr. Black guy."

People of various strongholds were on the phone, calling each other about Mr. Black. The underworld intelligence network began to collaborate with one another to find information about him. Some mercenaries and killers who had once fought aside one another at River Valley Manor spoke up about it.

Han Xiao's extraordinary feat of killing Bai Yu in three shots sparked a commotion in the underworld.

Those who knew Bai Yu thought the news was fake when they first heard it, but the hard evidence of Bai Yu's horrible death captured by the mercenaries proved them wrong. It was those three shots that caused his death.

The killers who knew about it were shocked. Even though Bai Yu was strong at attacking and weak at defense, he was still a high-level individual on Planet Aquamarine. He was not afraid of bullets. How could he have been killed in a matter of seconds?

More and more people went to investigate the origins of Mr. Black, only to realize that this person had simply appeared out of thin air. No one knew his identity. He was like a ghost, appearing out of the blue, floating around in the underworld.

Mysterious and powerful, Mr. Black's codename became known by everyone in the underworld. It entered the list of people to take note of for many forces.

Many old-schoolers would say that the killer should be hidden in the darkness—becoming famous was equivalent to failure. However, to the Blood Pact Society, with fame came greetings, and it was also a form of deterrence. Any enemy who threatened the Dark Net organization needed to take precautionary measures—could they withstand the continuous attacks from the killer alliance?

The Blood Pact Society had been weakening as the elder killers died, those who wanted to leave had left, and those who wanted to retire did so. Ever since then, the killer alliance's days had been numbered. With Mr. Black's new fame, Blood Pact Society was out to make Mr. Black their poster boy.

Chapter 122: Let's Create Some Trouble!

Thorns was traveling alone in the endless plains of Karst. The vehicle definitely looked scary and threatening, like a spiky porcupine. The vehicle was dragging a huge container as it travelled. It looked odd as if it had a light head and heavy torso. There were huge batches of raw materials worth millions stored in the container, all of which had been purchased by Han Xiao in a single consignment.

Han Xiao was the only one on the car. As he was driving, he was looking at the radar coordinates. He was heading toward the ruins known as Graymetal Ruins.

After completing the mission at River Valley Manor, there was a large increase in the affection of the Blood Pact Society toward him. The Blood Pact Society was now 'friendly' toward him. Based on his current progress, he would be able to hit the legendary level before the public beta. Also, he could complete the Class Change mission along the way and officially become a Night Stalker.

The side-profession he planned to attain was rarer in version 1.0. He planned to not only use it to attain new skills—he also prepared himself to advance up to level 40 and start another level-advancement mission. The maximum level of an apprentice mechanic was 15. The higher the level, the larger the increases in EXP points. Based on his current efficiency at gaining EXP points, adding a side profession was a good move. Also, the side profession allowed him to improve his combat style.

Before Han Xiao carried out the plan for his assault on the Germinal Organization, he planned to create a secret base for him to deposit supplies and round up weapons and essential equipment. That was to ensure that he had a place to retreat to if his mission failed.

Based on his current situation, the Farian Company seemed like it was able to provide a reliable hideout. However, Han Xiao had cultivated the good habit of preparing alternative solutions and redundancies. Although the possibility of getting into a conflict with the Farian Company was rather unlikely, he would still feel safer if he was completely in charge of his own fate.

Anything could change in this world, and it was especially so for relationships. Han Xiao had seen too many of such cases, especially the relationships with his ex-girlfriends.

More often than not, genuine feelings lost out to tactics in terms of attracting one's heart. If there was a color to 'love', it would be the color of 'forgiveness'. The world was just too much of a mess, such that anyone could lose their footing if they were not careful. It was not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning…

Getting close to the ruins of the Graymetal Ruins.

The maroon soil looked like dried up spats of blood. Once the tires went past the dried-up hard blocks of soil, the sound of the friction between the tires and the soil could be heard. Through the window, one could also see the oddly-shaped plants that were sparsely growing on the plains. The land before his eyes indeed looked barren.

In the distance, he could see the silhouette of an abandoned city. Graymetal Ruins was a dead city that even the vagrants avoided. The only creatures that resided in the city were insects and animals.

Graymetal Ruins had once been the capital of an old regime, and green pastures had surrounded the city. When the fires of war reached the city, the place was reduced to rubble, and the green plains turned into a barren landscape.

Mighty civilizations and abandoned cities coexisted on this planet. The world was constantly changing, regardless of it changing for better or worse.

There was an abandoned base among the ruins that the outside world did not know of. The abandoned base was in fact Han Xiao's target.

As Han Xiao moved closer to the city, the scene before his eyes became more dilapidated. Vines could be seen creeping along the walls of the wrecked buildings. The streets were completely empty and covered with moss.

Only a couple of lizards hopped out from the cracks on the road.

The rumble of the vehicle's engine seemed to have awakened the city. Bugs crawled out from the buildings and cracks on the roads. They rested along the street, watching the vehicle speed past them. They used their limbs to scratch their eyes and moved their antennae.

On the south side of the ruins, there was a building that resembled a military facility surrounded by barbed wire. Fortunately, the wires were not charged with electricity. The interior of the building had collapsed.

Han Xiao drove his vehicle in and parked outside a bunker with the red label 'S-539'. There was only small entrance left into the bunker. Dust particles were floating in the air, filling his nose.

After Han Xiao alighted from his car, he took out the mechanical spider and threw it into the bunker. He had modified the camera on the spider. The spider was now equipped with thermal-vision and electromagnetic sensors. It even had hearing abilities.

Half an hour later, the spider reported that there were no signs of life in the bunker. Han Xiao then made his way into the building. He navigated through the darkness with his torch, making his way to a small room in the bunker. He found a small crack in the wall and pulled hard. An elevator well was revealed behind the wall.

The abandoned base that he was searching for was in the basement of the bunker.

Han Xiao knew this place very well. In fact, this base was also his in his past life. However, it was unfortunately taken over by a guild.

At that point in time, Han Xiao had still been a young lad who was easily bullied by others. However, when he looked at the base again now, he realized that the base had great defensive infrastructure in place. As long as he was able to supply electricity to the building, the base was practically impregnable to attacks. He only had himself to blame for giving in to his enemies in his previous life.

The underground base was very spacious and had two emergency passages. There were spider webs and dust everywhere.

I shall call this place the Graymetal Base. Han Xiao came up with a practical name for the facility.

There was no source of energy in the base. Han Xiao took out the flashlights that he had brought with him to light up the place. He then started to execute the most important task, which was the energy modification operation. The Graymetal Base previously had a cable that connected it with the power station. However, since the city was abandoned, the power station had stopped its operations.

The power station was located some distance away from the Graymetal Base.

Han Xiao entered the power station only to discover that most of the generators were faulty. However, he never planned to rely on the old generators. He had expected such a scenario to occur; therefore, he had spent a huge sum of money and bought a batch for solar-powered generators. He dragged these generators out of the container and altered the wiring in the power station. He switched out the faulty items in the power station and connected the electric cable from the military base to his new solar-powered generator.

When Han Xiao returned to his base, the base was already powered up. The lights were switched on, and the interior of the base was clearly shown before his eyes.

The base, which had been covered in darkness for so long, was finally embraced with light.

The solar-powered generators were clean, efficient, and discrete. The additional electricity that was not expended in the day would be stored in the batteries. The generated electricity would likely cover one full day of activity.

Han Xiao started to clean up the base. Due to the prolonged period of inactivity, everything was covered in a layer of filth. It was while he was cleaning that he started to miss Lu Qian, who had superb housekeeping skills. Han Xiao had not seen Lu Qian for some time, and her cooking was something he longed for.

"I wonder what her reaction is for leaving without a word."

Thinking back to Old Man Lu's repeated recommendation of his granddaughter, Han Xiao could not help but smile.

After the housekeeping session, he carried the supplies out of his vehicle. The material and spare parts were all sorted out and stored. The bottles of water and canned food were placed in in the gigantic fridge. Following which, he used some of his EXP points to raise his [Basic Programming] to Lv.10. He then modified the main control room and created a chip to organize and store the data of all the activities in the base. The main use of the system was to map out the energy usage so that electricity could be better allocated for the different activities.

For the next few days, Han Xiao was busy modifying the base, and it slowly began to take shape. The base was equipped with infra-red, thermal scanners. The defenses put in place were light machine guns and booby-traps. The bunker on the ground level was also repaired. Additionally, the large gate was fixed up so that the base was better hidden.

However, the most important point was that Han Xiao created three robotic assistants to serve as his workers.

The skill of [Elementary Programming] at the maximum level could create low-level chips that were able to store simple blueprints that the robotic assistant could follow and manufacture according to the plans autonomously. Han Xiao could also gain a part of the EXP from the items successfully manufactured by the robots. This meant that there would be incoming EXP for Han Xiao all day, every day. One robot assistant could generate 2,000 to 4,000 EXP, so three robot assistants could contribute a steady 10,000 EXP points.

There was a limit on the energy that could be used by the Graymetal Base, and the three robot assistants made it reach this limit. The stored raw materials and spare parts were also only sufficient for around ten days of continuous activity by the robot assistants. The logistical flow of the system he had set-up could not be disturbed. Han Xiao could also make use of this period of time to carry out his assassination mission and gain skills that could help him refine his process.

If the earlier players wanted to develop a base, they could only employ a team of mechanics to complete their base. That was because most players had certain gaps in experience that they could not fulfill themselves. They had different areas of specialties in terms of their knowledge, and that meant that there were also many areas they were unfamiliar with. However, my three separate branches of knowledge are upgraded together. That makes me master the different aspects of the job alone. However, my strategy has a huge flaw of requiring me to possess an especially large sum of EXP that is several times more than that of normal players.

Luckily for Han Xiao, he had his ways.

The Graymetal Base might not be the largest, but it was definitely one that had all the necessary items that were required. The base also looked new and tidy after Han Xiao's refurbishment and housekeeping. Han Xiao could feel a deep sense of achievement when he saw the fruits of his labor.

Finally, I am a man with some assets.

After completing the modification of his secret base, it was time for him to begin his assaults on the Germinal Organization. He had been left with no time to spare for the Germinal Organization lately, and that resulted in the organization recovering and growing from the previous damage that Han Xiao had caused. Indeed, the Germinal Organization had recovered by 0.01%.

However, Han Xiao was not worried in the slightest. The reason he decided to carry out his activities at the later stage was because he had set his sights far. He was no longer aiming for the smaller bases of the organization.

He wanted to do something big!

Han Xiao plan was simple and 'loud'. He released all the information he had collected about the smaller bases to the six nations!

Crazy but deadly!

The six nations were old enemies of the organization. The moment they got their hands on the weakness of the organization, they would not rest until they caused grievous damage. As long as he dared to do such a crazy thing, the Germinal Organization was bound to suffer intense damage. However, that would also destabilize the entire situation on Planet Aquamarine. It was even likely for a change in the original storyline to occur.

It was that which made the whole process exciting.

To be scared of a change in the storyline was not the hallmark of a strong individual.

A world that did not change was something a destroyer like Han Xiao was fond of.

Han Xiao clenched his fists. He could feel gushes of energy flowing through his body and confidence emerging out of his chest.

I am no longer a weakling who is afraid of everything like when I first entered the planet. I have the ability to challenge and battle most people on this planet.

Strength formed the base of one's power. To endure now was so that one could be powerful enough in the future, such that he no longer needed to endure.

Now, Han Xiao could defend himself, and he could finally accomplish the initial goal he set for himself!

Han Xiao connected his cellphone to the computer and created an anti-tracking application to disguise his actual number and address. He then dialed in a chain of numbers that he had memorized.

"Hello, who is this?"

Feng Jun's voice emerged out of the cellphone.

"Guess~" Han Xiao teased.

Feng Jun almost choked. The sly voice was too familiar to not recognize.

"You… How dare you call back‽"

Feng Jun was dumbfounded.

Chapter 123: Germinal, There Is Something I Have to Say!

In Division 13's headquarters, Director Gu Hui and the Intelligence Minister stared at the phone on the desk, while Feng Jun stood to the side with a clear look of nervousness.

"Can we trace the location?"

The technician replied hesitantly, "We can't break the opponent's anti tracking protocol. He is a highly skilled hacker."

Gu Hui's vein throbbed with anger. When did that guy become a hacker? How could I not know?

After some deliberation, Gu Hui picked up the phone and said in a grave voice, "Han Xiao, you left Division 13 without permission. You violated the code of secrecy. This behavior is abominable!"

Han Xiao chuckled and laid bare Gu Hui's thoughts. "You want to ask me when I'm coming back, right?"

"You should know better yourself!" Gu Hui said.

"I am not going back."

"Are you defecting?" Gu Hui's eyes darkened, and his tone changed.

"You misunderstood," Han Xiao slowly said. "I still want to continue to work with you guys, but the way we work needs to change."

Gu Hui frowned. "What do you mean?"

The others in the room pricked up their ears to wait for Han Xiao's reply.

With a click, Han Xiao hung up the phone.

The intelligence minister was expressionless, but the twitch at the corner of his eyes revealed the storm in his mind.

Gu Hui took a deep breath and thought to himself, I am the director; I cannot flip the table. I am the director; I cannot flip the table…

Ding!

The phone vibrated with a new message notification.

Gu Hui narrowed his eyes and opened the text message. A page of dense information was thrown into his view. He was struck dumb by the content of the message.

It was all intelligence on Germinal's bases in Southern Continent. It was very detailed and complete!

Is this what he meant by changing the way we work? Gu Hui was uncertain. Nonetheless, his anger with Han Xiao dissipated.

This was the intelligence they had always wanted, and Han Xiao had actually given it to them so easily.

He's so sincere!

Gu Hui was lost in thought. Han Xiao had demonstrated unexpected sincerity. The issue would be how he should deal with Han Xiao's identity. If he were to say that he was a defector, his action would benefit the interests of Stardragon. But to say that Han Xiao would be returning to Division 13 would be untrue. Han Xiao had personally said that he would not go back.

After some thought, Gu Hui made a decision.

"Stop searching for Han Xiao. Keep his official secret agent identity, and move his files to the field agent files."

Feng Jun was taken aback. The director's decision would mean that Division 13 was reconciling with Han Xiao. They would acquiesce to Han Xiao's solitary behavior and regard him as one of their own.

Division 13 was in charge of the formation of field agents. Field agents were employed under the department, but they could move freely. Only some meritorious agent or retired agents could get such preferential treatment.

Although Feng Jun did not have a long relationship with Han Xiao, they were on good terms. Feng Jun was a happy; at least they would not become enemies.

With the information he needed in hand, Gu Hui was in a good mood. He praised the intelligence minister lightly and was about to leave when the bespectacled secretary in the intelligence group stumbled in, panting for breath.

"Director! Minster! The intelligence departments from Hesla, Maple, Ordina, Theus, and Raylen have all sent us a request for communication!"

The look in Gu Hui's face hardened.

Only with truly urgent incidents would the intelligence agencies of each country contact another country. It had been many years since they had a meeting between the different intelligence agencies from the Six Nations. What had happened‽

With a heavy heart, Gu Hui walked to the conference room. Five individuals appeared on the big screen. They were the heads of the intelligence agencies from the other five nations. They had the same rank in their respective agencies as Gu Hui.

"What happened?" Asked Gu Hui.

As soon as he spoke, he found the five heads of intelligence agencies stare at him with a very strange look, making him feel a little confused.

The representative from Ordina took the initiative and said, "Um… Division 13 Director, you… do you know Germinal's top wanted man, Zero?"

Gu Hui stared dumbfounded. He had a bad feeling.

"What happened was, all five of us received intelligence from Zero, including maps of Germinal's secret bases across the South, West, and North Continent. We have always been cautious about information from unknown sources, but he had added a line to his intelligence.

"Stardragon's Division 13 can testify as to the credibility of my intelligence.

"So, we are here to clarify with you."

Damn you! How could you even send the information to all the other nations and expect us to testify for you! Han Xiao, you just scammed us again!

Gu Hui almost fainted from the shock. He could almost see Han Xiao's sniggering face in his mind.

…

His set of equipment—the incomplete Phantom Ghost Sniper, Electromagnetic Skateboard Shoes, facial simulator, and a full version of a Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor—would be able to fully support his variable sniping style of combat. This was a tactic that was very popular among the older Mechanics. Since the equipment he produced had properties way beyond what would normally be at his level, it was obvious that his combat capability would be way more effective.

With his enhanced equipment, his energy was about 1,100 ouna. He was considered upper-middle rank on Aquamarine. In addition, Han Xiao also had the NPC Molding Ability [Basic Strengthened Life]. He was definitely able to take some hits.

[Flaming Will] was upgraded to Lv5, and the lowest multiplier was increased to 138%. Although this did not sound like much, with sneak attacks and critical strikes on weaknesses, even with the lowest enhancement, he could boost his capability significantly.

As long as he avoided fighting someone crazily powerful like Bennett head on, Han Xiao should be able to cope with most face-offs with ease. So, the assassination mission from the Blood Pact Society would naturally not be too much of a worry for him.

Time flew past as Han Xiao completed more and more missions. He gained vast amounts of EXP and wealth, and he was growing stronger day by day. Mr. Black was also becoming feared by more and more underground forces. He had risen to the tenth position on the assassin leader board. He was finally gaining some fame.

Meanwhile, the underground world gave Han Xiao a new nickname—Black Phantom!

One could only take on a bad code name, not a bad nickname.

_____________________

Planet Universal Reputation Legend (Aquamarine): Black Phantom (Dark Net Assassin List)

Legend has it that he comes from the darkness of the night with a thousand faces. No one knows when he will come. No one knows when he will leave.

When you see him turn away, the kiss of death has already been printed on your forehead, leaving fresh bullet holes in blood. He pays a bullet and takes away your life.

_____________________

He sounds pretty cool…

In fact, when he learned that he had been given the nickname, Han Xiao did not know how he should feel about it.

Black Phantom… Why don't you call me White Yaksha?

Han Xiao had been one of the most active members in the underground world lately, and he was getting on the good books of the Blood Pact Society. They were even featuring him to attract talents. According to statistics from the Blood Pact Society, their business had finally stopped falling even since Black Phantom came around. Their business was even slightly on the rise, attracting other assassins to them. They were leading in transaction volume.

However, two months later, the attention of the whole world was on another big event!

As the last civilized countries on Aquamarine, the Six Nations were so powerful that whatever they did would affect every single person in the world. Be it the underground, rogue warlords, or various organizational forces, everyone was always looking to the Six Nations to observe their actions, especially in terms of their military operations.

After the wars of the old times, there was a delicate balance of order and chaos on Planet Aquamarine. Wars continued to break out occasionally, openly or hidden, and it was not in the Six Nations' interest to cover up and pretend it was all peaceful.

The delicate world situation tipped on this fateful day after two months. The Six Nations sent out troops almost simultaneously. The armies were sweeping across the three continents, wiping out Germinal bases one by one. It shook the whole world.

The war came without any warning!

The world fell into a turmoil. Many was starting to fear that the nightmare of a terrible war that happened decades ago would explode again. Their wounds from the war had not healed fully, and no one was too eager to be devoured by such a manmade disaster again.

Even within the Six Nations, thousands and thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the war, but the governments have turned a deaf ear. To them, Germinal was the root of a disaster. As a terrorist organization that had been created to subvert the Six Nations, the conflict between the Six Nations and Germinal could be traced back to the war of the old times. Germinal had been gathering outlaws and rebels who were determined to subjugate the Six Nations.

Until now, the two sides had been caught in a stalemate. It was such a good opportunity to crack down on the Germinal Organization; how could they possibly miss it?

For those who were more informed, they were not as surprised by the tough stance of the Six Nations as the intelligence they had gotten—why did the Six Nations act simultaneously, and how could they launch precise attacks on the hiding grounds of Germinal?

There was only one possibility—someone had provided a large amount of intelligence!

In another way, this mysterious person providing the intelligence was the real puppet master behind the war!

After many inquiries, the name of the man was leaked out from within the Six Nations.

Zero!

Germinal's traitor!

The underground world was shocked.

Among the outlaws taken in by the Germinal Organization, some were idealistic fighters while others were hooligans who had committed petty crimes. There were traitors in the past, but they had all hidden like street mice, afraid of being hunted down. Zero was the only person that had strike back on Germinal so openly, generating such chatter.

How did Zero get so much intelligence? Was he a high-level officer in Germinal before he defected?

Many were scratching their head over this.

All this was a mystery. There was no way anyone could get an answer, but that did not prevent all the major powers from adding the name 'Zero' to the threat list.

…

"A war is coming…"

Bennett looked up at the hazy sky with furrowed brows, his mood was as gloomy as the sky.

Wang Yuan whispered to him from the side, "It seems like we need to get the shelter plan up ahead of schedule."

"There are still a lot of things left unprepared…" Bennett shook his head. "I guess we can never be fully prepared. Let's roll out the shelter plan. Contact some allies and get strong independent fighters to join us. We must rally all our forces."

Chapter 124: Open Beta

In the Germinal Organization Headquarters at Andrea mainland…

BAM!

A fist covered with a black glove slammed against the wall, creating a sound like a steel rod being swung against a car window. The thick force made a large piece of the wall shatter and collapse, exposing the steel bars. His fist, however, was not injured.

The leader's body trembled with fury. His anger was obvious. His subordinates trembled next to him and dared not move an inch.

All the secret bases on the other three continents were being swept through by the Six Nations' armies, incurring huge losses every day. The Germinal Organization's base camp was located on the continent of Andrea. The secret bases on the three other three continents were intended to be the beachheads to nail the enemy in future wars. So, the loss this time was equivalent to the organization's painstaking efforts for many years being destroyed! It had severely wounded the organization.

"Zero…" The leader took a deep breath into the unfathomable depths of his lungs.

How much information does Han Xiao have? This was a question that the leader had always been suspicious about. He felt that Han Xiao was not in a position to be aware of key intelligence. He had once told the organization's hackers to check the program loopholes repeatedly, and there were no signs of hacking. He had also conducted multiple investigations on the top management. There were no traitors.

Zero's source of information was really too suspicious. It was as though he was a prophet.

In fact, the four bases that were lost, including the Dark Crow Valley base, were not of particular importance to the organization. Before the four secret bases were removed, the leader hesitated over whether or not to relocate other bases in Southern Continent, but he did not implement any action. It was not that he wanted to leave it to chance. He felt that moving other bases rashly would expose these locations and cause them to lose their secrecy. It was like abandoning the huge amount of up-front investment, wasting their finances and time. Perhaps, it was as Zero had mentioned, making a mountain out of a molehill.

However, the situation made it clear that Zero had mastered the detailed information of the organization, far more so than he had expected!

The Valkyrie experiment strengthens the brain, and awakens… Thinking of Han Xiao's performance, the leader felt as if there was a hint to the truth.

Zero has awakened the ability to predict!

No wonder he could get intelligence, escape from the lab, and avoid the tracking of the organization…

The leader closed his eyes and anger brewed in his heart. He felt that this was the only possible explanation. Zero was a monster created by the Germinal Organization, and all the organization could do was accept it.

Regret? The leader did not allow himself to have this kind of emotion. There was no room for regret.

This kind of character is too dangerous. If he is allowed to live, all the actions of the organization will be made known.

He has to be killed!

The pin drop silence continued for three minutes.

The leader's low, hoarse voice slowly sounded, and it spoke of deep savage intentions. Even though the Germinal Organization's members in the room knew that the leader was not targeting them, it still sent a chill down their spine.

"Move all the bases in the three continents. There is no need to care about the loss and damage. Withdraw whatever can be withdrawn. Start the crisis plan [Hibernation Project], and all activity is to be moved underground. All intelligence personnel are to thoroughly investigate Zero's tracks—not a single clue is to be neglected. Before we find Zero, the full-scale war plan is to be delayed… indefinitely!"

…

_____________________

[Fall of The Germinal] current progress 13.8%.

_____________________

At the Graymetal Base, Han Xiao lay on the sofa, sliding his fingers across the tablet and brushing through the information collected and organized on the Dark Net, almost all of which was related to the movements of the Six Nations.

Two months ago, he had provided intelligence to the Six Nations. Naturally, none of the Six Nations acted immediately. They first sent people to confirm the accuracy of the intelligence, then they secretly dispatched resources to prepare for the war. The military operation only became official two months later. The results were very gratifying. A large number of Germinal bases were removed. Yet, there were some secret bases that Han Xiao was not aware of. They were forces that had been preserved.

Han Xiao's mission profile had increased exponentially. Although the increment was reduced, he was winning by volume. With the actions by the Six Nations, he was progressing every day. The Germinal Organization was not a pig that would stretch out its neck dumbly to be slashed. They were determined to preserve their last breath by any means. They had evacuated all remaining bases and were trying to minimize losses. This was within Han Xiao's expectations. He was simply waiting to see how many battles the six countries could win next by chasing Germinal's trails hard.

With the momentum now, my mission progress is estimated to be more than twenty percent.

About fifty percent of the Germinal Organization's bases in the three continents had been conquered, whilst their base camp on the Andrea continent had only half its size left.

The morale of the Germinal Organization had been so badly hurt that it would not be able to declare war against the Six Nations in three months' time as per the original scenario. This had a far-reaching impact.

One such impact was that the Germinal Organization's sub-bases on the three continents had been removed, cutting off the channels for most players to join the organization. That meant that the players in Germinal's camp would be ninety percent less than originally! In Han Xiao's opinion, this was the biggest gain.

Taking advantage of the chaos, I can also personally intercept and kill countless disoriented troops and improve my mission progress.

Releasing information could only be done once, so Han Xiao was ready to make full use of this opportunity to strike against his enemy while it was at its weakest, hoping that his attacks would deal some serious damage and advance his level.

The small butterfly effect he had set off was rolling up into a storm, causing a huge mess in the quest between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization. If one of the front-line events on Planet Aquamarine was accidentally annihilated, the players on this planet would become idle and start to freely explore.

Interesting… Han Xiao's face broke into a sinister smile.

His two-month killer career had earned him a lot of EXP. He had already unlocked [Night Stalker], providing him skills such as [Stealth] and [Steady Aim]. This sub-professional upgrade bonus had a slant toward agility. With this, Han Xiao's total level had reached LV 40, and he was stuck at his advancement.

The manner in which he completed his mission was a prerequisite for his next advancement.

_____________________

[Second Stage Advancement]: Defeat three strong enemies beyond your level.

Note: Your opponent must be at least five levels higher than you.

Current Progress: 0%.

_____________________

Defeating a higher-level opponent was a common requirement for class advancements. The difficulty was not high, and the player could compete in a team. This made it easier for Han Xiao. It was a pity that his previous such assassinations were not counted for his current task.

As his level increased, higher-level killing was becoming more and more difficult. With Han Xiao's level, he had to kill opponents beyond LV 45 at the bare minimum to achieve the cross-level standard. Moreover, these LV 45 opponents were already in the third stage of Planet Aquamarine's combat power, possessing ghostly powers.

Because he was stuck at advancement and could not upgrade to the next level, Han Xiao was putting all his EXP into developing his skills. He had managed to improve his combat sniping skills.

Before building a powerful machine that could become the core of his tactics, he was not going to change his strategy of using [Moving Snipe] for the time being. In addition, he had also incorporated new blueprints, improving his personal capability tremendously.

In addition to becoming a legend in the list of killers, Han Xiao had also unexpectedly become a legend for a different reason.

_____________________

The Legend of Planet Aquamarine: The Mysterious Zero

As a traitor of the Germinal Organization, you have uprooted the solid foundations of the organization based on your sole effort. No one expected such a course of events. You have already become the arch enemy of the Germinal Organization. Perhaps you should protect your identity as there are many people who are searching for you.

_____________________

The source of my legendary status comes from my intelligence that inflicted a great loss on the Germinal Organization and caused Planet Aquamarine to fall into a state of chaos. I think I figured out how to attain such legendary status. I guess I just have to disrupt the original quest of the camp, and that means to wreak havoc… I guess that is my strength. Han Xiao touched his chin in thought.

His relationship with the Germinal Organization had fallen to -3,000. He was becoming their arch enemy; the relationship was unsalvageable.

This hatred is really deep-seated.

Han Xiao furrowed his brows.

On the other hand, the Graymetal Base was also becoming better-equipped. Han Xiao had upgraded the energy source on the base. There were already eight assistant robots working hard. It was a stable source of EXP. The cost of manufacturing each assistant robot was about 200,000 EXP.

Mechanics could create assistant-type robots, but few people did it in the early days because it was not cost-effective. These robots cost hundreds of thousands of EXP to develop, but they would only provide a few thousand XP each day. One could easily attain that by completing simple tasks. Moreover, these low-level intelligence robot assistants could only complete simple manufacturing tasks. If spare parts were needed, players could directly purchase them from the player market. Even unions were unwilling to use the assistant robot in their early stages. They had their production team and were in no shortage of manpower.

Only when the mechanics learned how to manufacture intermediate-level smart chips to enable robots to perform more precise operations would these robot assistants gradually become the standard tools for mechanics.

But for Han Xiao, money was not that important. He took a brief look at his dark net account and a bunch of zeros leaped into his eyes. All these were rewards that he had collected from completing various assassinations. Well, it seemed that there were some orders from Division 13. He had almost forgotten.

Han Xiao looked at the interface, and it was the last thirty minutes before the public beta.

This day has finally arrived!

Over the past year, he had accumulated a huge amount of capital, way more than most.

Han Xiao's eyes were beaming as he nestled in the sofa, waiting silently.

The public beta countdown was counting down to the last minute.

Looking at the time—Galaxy calendar, July 3, 688.

Countdown!

Ten, nine, eight… three, two, one!

_____________________

The public beta is now open.

Fetching data… Fetching data done!

Player Forum Open

Open beta duration: 1271 days

Welcome to Galaxy 1.0—Adventer!

Chapter 125: What Have We Missed!

Ever since Galaxy was in the research and development stage, the game had received wide attention with minimal marketing. Only basic information was provided on the official website. Even so, its popularity was continuously rising. Due to the many groundless rumors, Galaxy was shrouded with an air of mystery, fueling the players' anticipation and curiosity.

On the day of public beta, the enthusiasm of the players was exploding like the eruption of a volcano. Although the number of VR capsules in the first batch was limited and there was also a restriction on the number of purchases, the game was sold out in half an hour. Those who did not manage to grab hold of the game were utterly disappointed, whereas those who did get it could not wait to enter the game.

…

The day that the game was released, enthusiastic players rushed into the game. In Galaxy, there were dozens of players who came from different birthplaces, and this formed the first batch of players.

In the evening, more and more public beta players who had created their characters appeared out of thin air in the forest outside the settlement of Big Horn Village, looking around curiously.

"It feels so real!" exclaimed a player as he jumped around with ease.

"Quick! Look at the sky, there is actually more than one moon!" a player shouted out in excitement as he admired the scenery.

"Woah, can I take off my pants?" asked a muddle-headed player.

"Is there no novice village in this game?" Another player scratched his head, not knowing what to do.

As more and more players appeared, a huge crowd began to form. With more than a thousand people gathered, one could hardly see an end to the mass of players. There were thousands of players who had gathered. After some confusion, some observant players spotted the lights in the distance from Big Horn Village. Thinking that it was the novice village, the players rushed over en masse.

The guards at the settlement of Big Horn Village were shocked to see the group of ragged men and immediately blew the whistle to inform the rest of the population to lock their doors and stop this huge group of foreigners from entering their settlement.

The players were all stopped at the gate, and they started shouting out against the guards.

"What is going on? Why isn't the novice village open?"

"My hunger level is dropping; I will die if I don't eat something."

"The expressions of these NPCs are so lively."

Within the settlement of Big Horn Village, all the residents walked out of their house holding torches and weapons, and stood guarding the main door solemnly, preventing the mass of people from attacking the place. The village chief, Xander, gathered the few key personnel urgently.

"Where did this group of people come from? It's almost 10,000 people!" Xander exclaimed.

"Is it a group of migratory vagrants?"

"Let's just ask directly."

Xander climbed to the watchtower and asked loudly as he looked down at the huge crowd of players, "Friends from afar, why have you come to us?"

The players looked at one another with confused faces, not knowing how to respond.

Xander then shook his head. "If you all do not state where you are from, I cannot let you enter the settlement."

The public beta players were baffled. They were all new players who could not even understand the map. How would they be able to tell him their origin? Was that a joke?

Inside the settlement, the closed beta players found the whole situation amusing. It was like a show for them as they watched the situation unfold from the side. They had landed directly inside the settlement when they first arrived and did not have to go through the trouble that the public beta players who had landed outside the settlement had to face now.

Just then, they received a notification. It was a mission where they had to convince Xander to allow the public beta players to enter the settlement, and the prize was rather significant. There was a note that specified they had to make sure that their use of words would match the current game context.

"Interesting, there are no other games like this."

The players inside the settlement were surprised by the creativity in this game. They could actually use their convincing skills to influence the NPC in this game. That was new to them.

After a few discussions, the closed beta players went up to Xander to start a discussion.

After what seemed like a long time, Xander finally understood. "Do you all know the group of people outside?"

One of the closed beta players answered with a straight face. "Yes, we used to be residents in the same settlement, called Earth Village. There was a disaster, and we lost all contact. This group of people outside are all as hardworking as us. Chief Xander, please accept them."

"Earth Village? Why haven't I heard of this settlement?" After some thought, Xander seemed slightly convinced. "There are too many of them. It is impossible to accept all of them."

"That is simple. All they need is a job, some food, and basic supplies. You can think of them as cheap labor, and it is also an opportunity to expand the settlement."

The closed beta players snickered, as they could not wait for the public players to be scammed.

Xander's eyes lit up. "You are right."

Soon enough, Xander explained the situation to the public beta players, and they all received a task each.

_____________________

[The First Job]: You should earn some money through labor. Do not let yourself starve to death. Try to build a better relationship with our settlement so that you can be trusted.

_____________________

With guidance, the public beta players started their tasks. Residents of Big Horn Village settlement eagerly provided different job opportunities, and the merchants also opened up their stores to the players, allowing them to use their own money to buy some food.

With a clear goal to work toward, the public beta players started to have a good impression of Big Horn Village. The public beta players formed a ring of tents on the boundary of the settlement, adding on to the construction of the settlement.

The same scene was happening for the newcomers at other settlements on Planet Aquamarine.

On the first day of the public beta, all the players were very excited, and they soon found out that there were camera and video functions, which added on to their excitement. The number of posts on social media exploded with players posting about the most miniscule of events. The following were some of the posts.

"Poor review! How can there be no excretion function!" The owner of this post obvious had ulterior motives, and he was obviously not really complaining about excretion.

"Taking on an alien body is so fun." Another post showed a picture of a Taurus male player shaking his tail.

"Almost got killed by a wild boar. It's so fun!" The post showed a picture of a female player making a peace sign with a wild boar chasing right behind her.

…

On the first day of the launch of the public beta, millions of players joined the game, and they were assigned to different planets, with at least around 100,000 players on each planet. As the news spread, the numbers rose at a rapid rate. With the next half a year, the numbers would likely snowball into tens of millions.

The public beta players were overjoyed with the game while some of the closed beta players were not having it so well.

…

In Dark Crow Valley, Jupiter and the other members of the guild looked at their surrounding forests with a blank look.

All around them, the woods were green, the evening wind lightly caressed their skin, and the calm atmosphere was like a gentle palm, warming their hearts and making everything seem so harmonious.

The view was amazing and pleasing to the eye.

But where did the base go‽

Jupiter hesitated before he asked, "The place we are going to… should be the base, right?"

Everyone nodded in unison.

"There is no longer a connection with the camp!" Poseidon exclaimed.

Everyone then checked their interface and realized that their original [Dark Crow Valley Base Connection] was gone! Everyone was flabbergasted.

What is this situation‽

"Quick! Check the tasks!"

Waking up from the trance, Jupiter checked his interface immediately, before heaving a sigh of relief.

"Fortunately, the mission is still there. Oh sh*t!"

In the next moment, everyone was shocked.

_____________________

[Search for Zero (Level A)]: Zero, a mysterious traitor. He has caused the organization to suffer many losses. Find Zero, and you will become a great friend to the organization.

_____________________

The level of difficulty had changed from B to A!

The task instructions had also changed; the location of Zero was no longer required as it was like finding a needle in a haystack. The Guild of Gods had made a lot of preparations, and the results of the discussion could fill up an entire blackboard. This change had caused all the preparation in the past few days to go to waste.

"What have we missed‽"

Jupiter then thought of the official introduction of Galaxy and lost his voice.

"Don't tell me Zero is the main character on this planet!"

Chapter 126: What a Scam

"What shall we do now?" Poseidon asked.

"Let's go ask around."

Jupiter and his group returned to Dark Crow Forest Town, and upon hearing from the villagers that Dark Crow Valley Base had been destroyed by Stardragon, they were shocked. After getting a rough idea of what had happened, they thought to themselves, How is it possible that the base could have disappeared just like that?

Wow! Who knew this game would be so intense?

Last week's efforts had all been wasted, and their advantages from the beta-testing were almost all lost.

Now that Dark Crow Valley Base, the organization that had been issuing quests, was gone, even if they completed the quest, they had no idea who to get their rewards from.

Everyone looked at each other and cried in dismay.

How could this actually happen…

Jupiter felt terrible, but he was reluctant to give up on this Grade A quest. "The Germinal Organization definitely won't just stop here. Let's go look for other bases. There should be a way for us to return to Germinal Camp."

…

In the Western Capital…

In a blur of vision, Frenzied Sword realized that he had spawned in an alley that was not too far from the site where the beta-testing had gone offline.

Public testing has begun!

Frenzied Sword was so excited. Finally, he no longer had to worry about the time limitation and could wholeheartedly follow Han Xiao.

My dear Xiao, I'm coming!

Based on his memories, he found his way to Old Man Lu's repair shop.

"Han Xiao? That kid left long ago without even a goodbye. Who knows where he went?" Old Man Lu gulped down a can of beer, and his tone was a little depressed. He secretly doubted if his granddaughter's charm had truly lost its effects.

Upon hearing the news, Frenzied Sword's was struck dumb. He bore a sluggish face and stood rooted to the ground.

How could his master run away‽

What am I to do now‽

…

The forum's popularity continued to climb, gamers from different planets shared their own rumors. There were some gamers who were purely focused on trying and reviewing new elements of the game, and all seemed to praise it highly, even calling it a new era of gaming with true to life experiences.

It was merely a display background that was recently set, yet people were already fantasizing about it. It was a virtual game that was like no other; from the start to the end, there was only one world, so gamers all united in one place. There were different planets, which were equivalent to the different servers. Gamers very much looked forward to meeting fellow gamers from other planets.

This was not just the case in China; esports teams from other countries also flocked to Galaxy. Even though they did not communicate prior to this, among the esports powerhouses—America, Korea, France, England, and so on—all chose to develop themselves in their own planets.

Planet Aquamarine was one of the base camps that gamers from China chose.

However, this did not mean that all the gamers on Planet Aquamarine were from China. People from other countries could also choose to join Planet Aquamarine. There were leisure gamers, and there were also the European spies who came just to create trouble.

Electrolux, a retired professional gamer of America's Key Club who did not achieve anything much in his career, joined the club's studio after retiring. He joined Planet Aquamarine with such an ulterior motive.

Han Xiao was the only one who could recognize Electrolux. This scorpion was to become the first to rise up to the top sixteen in the First Professional League in the future, and in Planet Aquamarine's selection trial, the strongest sixteen that were selected to represent Aquamarine were usually all Chinese. This was going to be the Chinese professional gamers' base. Among the sea of Chinese one could easily spot the one American, Electrolux, who started the uproar with a swear word on the forum. The evil Chinese gamers all over the planet were out to kill him but all ended up dead under Electrolux's knife.

Although Electrolux had the American arrogance, his strength and vast resources gave him the courage to start in a random planet. His luck was good as well.

In one of the Germinal Organization's laboratories…

Electrolux opened his eyes wide and found himself soaking in a light blue solution. He was in a vat of nutrition fluid and was surprised that he did not need to breathe. He looked through the glass and saw a scientist holding a tablet, recording scribbles on the outside.

Realizing that he could not control his character for the time being, Electrolux waited patiently; according to his experience, this should be an intermission animation. After roughly a minute, a drainage hole appeared at the bottom of the nutrition tube, and the light blue solution disappeared. Electrolux could now move, and he saw a notification on the interface.

_____________________

You have been injected with DNA Improvement Solution. Your total attributes have increased by 3. You have acquired the skill [DNA Regulation].

[DNA Regulation]: You have a much higher chance of awakening Esper abilities, and the power will be increased by 10%.

_____________________

My God! Electrolux was overjoyed. Random openings are so awesome!

The nutrition cabinet opened, and the scientists came crowding. Electrolux did not resist, allowing the scientist to pull him over to the Golden Platform to do various instrument tests.

At this moment, Electrolux received another prompt.

_____________________

The DNA Improvement Program is a biological research program that helps to cultivate superpowers. The success rate is extremely low. And you, being one of the few successful tests, will be valued much by the Germinal Organization. You can choose to stay or leave.

_____________________

Previously Electrolux had chosen to stay, and afterward, he had become Germinal Organization's strongest player. He made a similar decision, for with such an amazing start, only a fool would leave!

This skill is specially tailored for me. Electrolux had originally planned to become an Esper, and without saying another word, he entered a shop in the interface. Using the funds given by the club, he bought an [Ultra-Perfect-Deluxe Gene Awakening Elixir]. He immediately chose the Awakening option, and after a long and nervous wait, the interface prompted that he had successfully acquired the Awakening Ability!

How smooth. Electrolux had a look of joy on his face. He felt like Lady Luck was shining upon him. He raised his palm, and his palm amassed a white whirlwind.

The scientists rejoiced.

"Eureka!"

"He's awakened!"

Electrolux knew that since he wanted to stay, it was best to show his potential. The scientists' reactions made him very satisfied. But the next moment he saw a scientist calling for the guards, leaving him puzzled. Why did he have to call the guards at such a nice moment?

Germinal Guards sped to the site, and without much effort, they handcuffed him. He was dumbfounded. Did they not say that they valued him? Why were they treating him like a prisoner?

When he entered another laboratory, Electrolux was locked down onto the brainwashing device. It was only then that he realized something was wrong. "What are you doing to me?"

The guard spoke in a chilled manner. "We have orders from above that every successful test subject must be brainwashed five times over and then observed for another month before they can move freely!"

Electrolux was stunned. What logic is that? The reaction is simply too radical!

He really was clueless. The original DNA Improvement Program did not need brainwashing. His random start was started by a European, and it was all benefits and no harm.

However, after their experience with Han Xiao, the Germinal Organization had implemented an extremely strict policy. They would rather kill than release, and no matter the research plan, the test subject was to be brainwashed and put under close observation for a month.

Little did Electrolux know that this was all because of Han Xiao. It was too late to regret, for he was soon to be brainwashed.

_____________________

You are not exempt from the brainwashing. You have joined the Germinal Organization under a special condition.

As you have been brainwashed, you are unable to rebel against the Germinal Organization.

_____________________

Electrolux panicked.

Being unable to rebel meant that he was unable to escape the one month of imprisonment, which meant a month of being locked up, not to mention levelling up. This would mean he would be much behind other gamers!

Which part of 'being valued' is this! What a lie!

He had clearly attained the ultimate awakening skill, yet he was stuck in this rot hole and had to suffer a month of being locked down and gaining no experience!

It was a perfect start, but now he was to fall behind all the other gamers!

Electrolux exploded internally.

Chapter 127: The Fangs of Capitalism

The golden rays of dawn were shining in the sky. It was a cool and refreshing morning.

Whilst driving a truck, Han Xiao made his way toward Big Horn Mountain. He had based his directions off a radar. Despite him driving all night, he was not tired at all. In fact, he was alert as he had pulled over to nap the night before.

The public beta had started a few days ago, yet the forum was already buzzing with comments. Han Xiao specially took notice of Planet Aquamarine's forum, and through the tags of the players, he managed to understand the situation of each and every newcomer. He had always wanted to join in the commotion.

The best chance to interact was when the players made their first appearance.

Just a few days back, Han Xiao had used his authority to obtain a tip-off from the dark web—there was a batch of newcomers in Big Horn Village. Hence, Han Xiao decided to advance toward Big Horn Village to get rid of them.

In the distance from Big Horn Village, one could see the silhouette of the settlements. Han Xiao could tell with one glance that the settlement was filled with countless tents, just like a refugee camp. A swarm of players could also be seen busy bustling about.

The moment Han Xiao parked his truck, he caught the attention of the players.

With a cigarette dangling from his lips, Han Xiao got out from his truck and leaned against it while puffing out a cloud of smoke. He put on an air of arrogance, misleading the players to think that he was an important character.

A deep understanding of players' mentality was Han Xiao's specialty. He had analyzed the situation. With the new game being released, all the players were thrilled. No matter what kind of tasks were given to them, they were all willing to try. This was known as the 'hunger' stage, and since there was an overwhelming number of new players, there would definitely be a few players who could not obtain any missions.

Therefore, Han Xiao knew that as an 'advanced player' character, he was influential. All he had to do was appear in front of the players, and he could definitely rile up the players. The players were all new and did not have skills yet. However, he could benefit from their large number. Han Xiao also happened to have a way to reap benefits from these newcomers, and he could take this opportunity to further test the functions on the NPC interface.

In Han Xiao's eyes, the players who were walking about resembled walking wallets.

After a while, the players were finally starting to get curious and some walked over.

_____________________

Black Phantom – Unknown (Yellow Name)

Rank: Unknown

Attributes: Unknown

Risk Level: Extremely deadly

_____________________

"What the heck? This is a high-level NPC!"

"This is the first time that I've seen one."

"Why is there such a high-level player in a novice village? Is he the Boss?"

"Doesn't seem like it though. It looks like we can trigger a mission."

The surrounding players were full of astonishment and were hesitating whether they should approach Han Xiao.

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow—he was now at LV 40, which was thirty levels higher than all the other players. This time around, he was fully aware of the players' abilities. Hence, he cleared his throat and said, "You all seemed to be a capable bunch of people, and I do need some help at the moment."

After making his statement, Han Xiao sent out the missions that he had prepared earlier on.

The dozen players received their missions.

_____________________

[Mysterious Stranger]: You have encountered a mysterious NPC, and he seems to have some work for you. Try to please him as much as possible, and you might receive unexpected surprises.

_____________________

The mission was to collect a plant known as 'Snake Venom'. These players realized that the reward given was more generous than the novice tasks that they had received in Big Horn Village. It was reaching up to a thousand EXP. Thus, the players received their missions excitedly.

Snake Venom was a relatively common plant. This plant could be collected near Big Horn Village, and it was also sold in the settlement to make poisoned arrows.

At this moment, many players could not afford firearms; instead, they used cold weapons. Han Xiao set up this mission for the sole purpose of experimenting as well as to allow his subsequent activities to not be suspected.

_____________________

The limit of my missions now is much higher than before; it has reached D-level.

_____________________

With that thought in mind, Han Xiao opened the interface, and the detailed numbers appeared.

_____________________

Highest reward limit: 36,940

Level 40: +12000 (Advancement Level Limit +300)

Rank D: +10,000

Camps:

- Germinal (Enemy): -3,000

- Division 13 (Friendly): 2,130

- Blood Pact Society (Respect): 3,950

- The Rothschild Family (Friendly): 1,300

- Farian Company (Friendly): 1,200

Universal Reputation:

- Black Phantom (Aquamarine) +5%

- Mysterious Zero (Aquamarine) +5%

_____________________

The bonuses from his Universal Reputation was a ten percent on his current limit. Different regions had different Universal Reputation bonuses, but usually, the bonus from one Universal Reputation was 5%. In addition, the bigger the area, the higher the bonus.

The main objective of the Universal Reputation was for the daily limit; one Universal Reputation resulted in double the limit, and originally, his limit was a five times addition. Now, it was at seven times the original limit, nearing 26,000 experience points.

The players who had not received any missions huddled together and were quietly discussing among themselves while looking at Han Xiao curiously.

"This is the high-level NPC? It feels like he's no different from us!"

"Black Phantom does sound very old-fashioned."

"I wonder which profession he is from."

It might not have been mentioned before, but most of public players' profession was Esper!

The other four schools of players required basic knowledge to change their profession, but Esper was capable of many things. Of course, even though their abilities were strange, none of the players had the ability to use them. Espers required a huge amount of energy, and it was dependent on the players' current levels. They were simply unable to use their powers and hence appeared very weak. The players were at most able to exert their power for around ten seconds, which meant that the players were weak and vulnerable.

Not long after, the players who had completed their mission were returning with a bunch of Snake Venom. Their faces were filled with excitement.

Once Han Xiao realized that there were enough onlookers, his eyes flashed. "I will stay here for a few days. I can provide some weapons for you should you need them."

Han Xiao then opened the window containing goods that he could sell to the players. He had only set up a few types of weapons: Foldable Machete, ordinary pistols, and submachine guns. He did not sell other machinery as he knew that the novice players did not have that much money, but he was selling many types of ammunition and special ammunition.

However, Han Xiao also had a powerful setup called 'Lightweight Mechanical Arm', the price of which was so steep that the players were unable to afford. It was actually bait that was as effective as hanging a carrot in front of a donkey.

Offering the Lightweight Mechanical Arm meant nothing to him as it was useless to him because of two main reasons. Firstly, the equipment did not match his capability, and secondly, it was not a rare product to begin with. It was just introductory machinery, and since it would be developed by other mechanics in the future, it was better to release this machinery now to earn short-term profit.

One issue was that the Foldable Machete and Lightweight Mechanical Arm that Han Xiao had created in Stardragon seemed to have a risk of being exposed, but Han Xiao was not too concerned as Stardragon and him were not enemies. Furthermore, his own whereabouts were erratic. Even if his identify was known, it did not matter as the circulation of information between the players and the organizations was very slow.

Hence, his sale of this machinery in a short period of time would not pose any problem. The profits from the players' market was too awesome for him to give up, whereas in the future…

Once I'm stronger, there will be absolutely no need to continue hiding my identity.

Not to mention Han Xiao's psychological activities, but all the players who saw the equipment put out for sale were shocked!

"This is the mysterious businessman!"

"Lightweight Mechanical Arm! Oh my God, this is an artifact!"

"This machinery costs 20,000 dollars! This is way too expensive; who can even afford it? Besides, it requires twenty-five points of strength to use it; I think you would need to be LV 10 at least to reach this attribute."

"Those firearms are cheap though. They only cost 1,500 dollars for one!"

The player then called their friends and flocked over, eager to have a look. Han Xiao was surrounded by them in an instant.

The novice players were attracted to the firearms like a moth to a flame. Since they are using cold weapons now, it would require a dozen people to even defeat a weak beast. Not only were Big Horn Village's firearms expensive, they needed money for the ammunition too. The novice players simply could not afford it.

The cost of Han Xiao making a pistol was only about 800 Aqua coins, and the selling price was twice the cost price. He was considered kind because his price was affordable; he doubted that anyone could find a cheaper pistol than his. Furthermore, Han Xiao's pistols were of great quality. It was not as if he was trying to cheat the players' money by offering inferior quality pistols.

Because there were limited firearms, the players rushed to make a purchase. Those who managed to get their hands on the guns were exhilarated, while those who did not manage to get one were disappointed.

The closed beta players had also squeezed in with the crowd. SliceYouUp, who had killed the world guild's leader, bought a pistol from Han Xiao and realized that the quality was much better than the gun sold in Big Horn Village. How regretful he was! Had he known earlier, he would not have bought his weapons from Big Horn Village.

Having sold all his weapons in the truck, Han Xiao earned thirty thousand dollars in that short period of time. Yes, the players' funds were limited, but there were at least ten thousand of players in Big Horn Village, which meant the combined purchases were earning Han Xiao big bucks. After selling the firearms, Han Xiao could use the cargo compartment in the truck to manufacture new firearms and ammunition.

The real profits from selling firearms were the sales from ammunition. Having bought the firearms, the players would have to buy ammunition as well. This was known as bundled sales, where one product generated the demand of the other because they had to be bought together. This was also what Han Xiao had realized previously when he had bought instant noodles without the seasoning from the shop downstairs.

The players loved their newly bought guns so much that they refused to put them down. Some were shooting at trees faraway; the recoil strength was so strong that the players' wrists shook, and the bullets flew aimlessly.

Those who had no shooting skills were unable to unleash the gun's power fully. A lot of the players realized they had this problem, and their excitement slowly turned to distress.

This was what Han Xiao had been anticipating. Now he could offer his after sales service!

Han Xiao smiled to himself and set up a window for shooting lessons. This time round, he did not announce it to the players. He set it in a way that to learn from him, the players would have to have a reputation of five points.

The players discovered this service almost immediately.

"We can actually learn skills from Black Phantom!"

"Oh my, there are so many abilities to learn."

"We need five reputation points to learn though. How do we increase our reputation?"

"I just discovered how; for every 500 dollars spent, your reputation with Black Phantom will increase by one!"

"It is still too expensive!"

The players only had a thousand dollars with them now, and they had accumulated this from completing missions. Han Xiao had a deep understanding of their financial status as he was, after all, once a novice player. This move was to enable the players to feel that learning a skill was not easy.

Humans are as such; they would not appreciate things that were given easily. Only when they are unable to obtain something instantly would they feel the need to upgrade themselves to get what they desired. In this case, once an ordinary player and a character developed a good relationship, it would also increase their reputation with the NPC. Of course, Master Han's main purpose was to also rake in a large sum of money from the players.

If I don't earn the players' hard-earned money, am I still human?

To continuously create demand from his customers and force them to buy products was a tactic used by businessmen. Han Xiao touched his chin and mused, Oh if only I had gone into business instead.

Chapter 128: All Linked

The players were hesitant, but Han Xiao was not at all worried. There would be someone who eventually decided to start eating the crab first.

Just as he expected, a cute girl with the ID 'Maple Moon' finally decided to do it. After she spent enough money in the shop, Han Xiao immediately raised the reputation of this player by five points. After which, he suddenly realized that Maple Moon… was someone familiar.

Maple Moon was shocked as she looked at the list of skills that could be learned.

"I can actually learn the basic knowledge required for class advancement!"

The moment she said those words, players began to chatter, and their level of excitement went through the roof.

Besides tycoons and those who were willing to spend a lot of cash in this game, most of the ordinary players had experienced problems with advancing as they still did not know to obtain the basic knowledge required. This mysterious NPC Black Phantom was willing to sell basic knowledge.

Players who were initially hesitant instantly made up their minds and were determined to raise their reputation with Black Phantom to five points. They were not willing to let such a good opportunity slip by.

_____________________

You have taught [Basic Assembly]. You have obtained 1,000 EXP and 200 Aquamarine Dollars.

_____________________

Indeed, compared to the beta testing phase, Han Xiao doubled the price of the basic knowledge, yet players were still highly enthusiastic to learn it. Although he would only gain 1,000 EXP every time the knowledge had been learned, the total amount would accumulate quickly with so many players here wanting to get the knowledge.

Originally, for Aquamarine players to advance, the most common way was to join a camp. It was rare for players to obtain the basic knowledge before joining a camp. By joining a camp and performing quests to get connections, players would be able to exchange their reputation points for basic knowledge. Of course, players could choose to purchase with cash, but it was not worth it. Han Xiao's action had saved many players from this trouble, and at the same time, it quickened their progress.

In a short while, hundreds of players had learned the basic knowledge. This meant that Han Xiao obtained hundreds of thousands of experience points. This number was still quickly climbing.

With his business booming, Han Xiao was like Jiang Taigong], calmly waiting for fish to fall for the bait.

While entertaining the players, he was casually scrolling through the forum.

All the players from the new planets were sharing this information. Players from Big Horn Village were all enthusiastically advertising Han Xiao on the forum. He was the first high-ranking character in all the new planets that ever appeared in the Novice Villages; therefore, he quickly gained popularity. Many posts about him kept being bumped up in the forum.

"This high-ranking character sells inexpensive firearms and ammunition with excellent quality. Basic knowledge can be learned from him if the reputation is raised to at least 5 points. Other than common skills like Basic Shooting and other basic combat skills, a lot of mechanical knowledge can also be learned. Mechanic players can immediately go for their class advancement by learning the basic knowledge from him."

"Woah. I haven't seen such a high-ranked character before."

"Even class advancement knowledge can be learned! Big Horn Village? I'll go over right now!"

"Damn, I'm on another planet; I can't go over at all."

"Why has such a high-ranked character not been seen anywhere else?"

"Danger Level: Fatal? Any brave souls want to test out his power? If you die, I will pay you. I am not that rich, so I can only give an airplane for compensation."

Many posts were also accompanied by images. The appearance of Han Xiao, who was in black, achieved a huge on-screen success. Many people were greatly impressed by his outfit, which included a black windbreaker and a pair of black gloves. He appeared both cool and handsome, and as long as his face was not shown, he could definitely be a male model.

Even players from the other beginner planets were discussing his combat strength enthusiastically. The forum had an automatic translation function, so there was no need to worry about language barriers.

Players are really interested in the combat power of this high-ranked character… An idea suddenly ran through Han Xiao's mind, and he thought that if he could show off his skills, he might be able to attract more people to advance as mechanics.

Even though he was willing to share his basic knowledge, many people were still on the fence. After all, there were quite a few players that were not really interested in the path of a mechanic and were doubtful about their combat strength. Naturally, Pugilist and Esper were more fun to play, and therefore, more appealing to most players.

Indeed, they were right in their suspicion. Mechanics were not as strong in the earlier stages. However, this rule did not apply to Han Xiao. He smirked and decided to mislead the players. He understood the psychology of these players too well and knew that many would simply join whichever class they thought was the most powerful.

To Han Xiao, teaching the basic knowledge was an excellent way of earning profits. There were already hundreds of players who had acquired the mechanic's basic knowledge. If he was able to trick half of the players from Big Horn Village into becoming mechanics, then he would easily obtain millions of EXP.

The profit in this market would be almost unbelievable!

Han Xiao was exuberant.

Just in time. The troops from the Germinal Organization will be arriving in a few days. This is a good time to carry out the plan.

…

In the Western Capital, Frenzied Sword felt exasperated. In the last few days, he had no appetite for anything. Days without Han Xiao were like a day without sunshine—each passing day was torture.

As Frenzied Sword randomly scrolled through the forum, he came across a bunch of posts by the players from Big Horn Village. The posts were about Han Xiao and the goods that he was selling.

"Lightweight Mechanical Arm‽"

With a look of pleasant surprise, Frenzied Sword stood up suddenly.

He remembered that Han Xiao had previously exhibited this Mechanical Arm. Han Xiao was, too, always wearing a mask. As such, Frenzied Sword hazarded a guess.

Could Black Phantom be Han Xiao?

I have to find him!

…

In order to raise the reputation with Han Xiao to more than five points, many players had moved to the assembly point at Big Horn Village to do the quests and earn money. As such, the number of players surrounding Han Xiao increased significantly.

_____________________

Your product [Lightweight Mechanical Arm] has been sold!

_____________________

Han Xiao was shocked.

He had previously set the high price of 20,000 for this item, yet someone was able to afford it. He surveyed the surrounding players and found their leader. His ID was 'Jade Green Sky'. The moment Han Xiao saw this name, he was immediately enlightened. Jade Green Sky was the chairperson of a guild named 'Sky Territory', and with the wealth of the guild, he would naturally be able to afford the item.

Jade Green Sky was wearing a set of hand-sewn leather armor, and his equipment was at least a grade better than the open-beta players. That was because he was a close-beta test player. During close-beta testing, he had brought some of the core members with him to explore the other places on the map. Through the mouths of the other open-beta players from his guild, he learned about Black Phantom, and he quickly brought the core members back to the village.

Even though Jade Green Sky had yet to advance in his class, he was preparing to be a Pugilist. He was immediately drawn to the stats of the lightweight mechanical arm. Although he was unable to equip the item as of now, he decided to purchase it first and keep it in his storage, just in case Black Phantom disappeared suddenly and the opportunity was lost.

"There are quite a lot of good items." Members of the Sky Territory guild muttered praise as they browsed through the list of items.

Unfortunately, in order to raise the reputation to five points, each member of the guild would have to spend 2,500 dollars. Despite being a large guild, the money that Sky Territory had was limited. The purchase of the lightweight mechanical had used up the majority of the guild's cash.

Out of a blue, Han Xiao spoke. "There will be a troop from the Germinal Organization passing by here in a few days, and I need some people to help me set up the traps in the forest. Are you free to do so?"

With that, he set a quest and released it.

E-Level difficulty. The description was "Set up any kind of trap in the forest, and you will gain 500 EXP." Additionally, Han Xiao offered three reputation points as part of the reward, just what the Sky Territory guild wanted.

Jade Green Sky responded decisively. "Everyone, accept this task!"

Han Xiao smiled to himself silently. By luring players to complete his quest using reputation points, he could both complete his quest and gain more business. It was killing two birds with one stone.

He could arbitrarily attribute the reputation points with a certain value. This method was like the theory behind paper currency, whereby something was made to appear valuable, but in actual fact, it was worthless. This could be effective in attracting the Sky Territory guild, Destroyer guild… any guild's players into picking up the quest.

Han Xiao had always felt that the currency system was built on a bubble. With this thought in mind, he would spend any cash he earned.

Unspent money could become a hindrance to one's motivation to work!

Most of the players went into the forest to set up traps. The traps that they could use were the more elementary ones—they were monster traps. Han Xiao took some time off and visited the forest. The forest was so full of traps that anyone with claustrophobia would have been triggered and covered with goosebumps instantly.

The retreating troops from the Germinal Organization would definitely be horrified when they entered the forest.

The monster traps that the players had set were very much useless and were mainly to attract attention. Han Xiao set up some other traps by himself, and those traps were the ones that would be the deadliest.This comes from the idiom "There are always fish willing to be caught by angler Jiang Taigong." (https://www.piscifun.com/blogs/fishing-tips/the-most-famous-angler-in-chinese-history-jiang-tai-gong

Chapter 129: Uproar in the Esports Circle

There were four continents on Planet Aquamarine and many more assembly points for novice players. There was a perennial stream of new players joining the open beta, so the total number of players kept increasing. However, compared to the entire population of the planet, it was still an insignificant number.

The players were all doing beginner quests and advancing slowly. They mostly camped in the areas around the novice villages. The players in Big Horn Village had been envied by many since they encountered a high-rank character, Han Xiao, who could teach them basic knowledge, whereas the players in other novice villages could only advance slowly through grinding for the secondary class.

Generally, players could be divided into three types: casual players, studio players, and professional esports players.

On the forum, there was a live broadcast. A godly player from the Deluxe Sanctuary Club, who was ranked 2nd in the country's esports field and 21st in the world, had officially announced that he would join Galaxy! His ID was Song.

The number of viewers had already reached millions, and yet, it was still rising rapidly!

"Song, may I ask if your work from now on would be entirely focused on Galaxy?"

"May I know why you only chose to join the during the open-beta phase?"

"May I know…"

Even when he was bombarded by questions from reporters, Song remained calm and charismatic, and he answered each and every question elegantly. He was a handsome young man who always wore a mesmerizing smile. Due to his excellent skills and dashing looks, Song had gained a huge fan base.

"Galaxy is the game of the century with unparalleled potential. It has countless possibilities, vast maps, and an incredible amount of freedom. From my personal point of view, I believe that Galaxy will become a phenomenal game. The World E-sports Association has already begun to prepare the first league for Galaxy, and it will be on a world-wide scale. Not only me, but all Chinese players will participate in this grand event to compete with players from America, France, Korea, and other great esports countries, aiming to win glory for our country.

"Yesterday, major America guilds like Key, Devil, and Thunder Snake also announced their entry into Galaxy. They chose the in-game planet with the greatest potential, Planet Winterfrost, to be their base camp. They will become tough opponents in the future. Our guild also contacted major e-sports clubs such as Long Sky and Thunder Storm to invite them to join the game. We, as a nation, will definitely not lag behind in this game!"

"Do you have any comments on the issue where your old nemesis, Lost Angel, claimed that he is going to defeat you in Galaxy?" one reporter asked.

Song chuckled before he spoke with a strong sense of self-confidence. "I will never be afraid of any enemy. I will be the best in Galaxy and lead the Chinese players to defeat every player from other countries!"

This conference was like a signal that hinted the rise of Galaxy. Its influence soared immediately after the conference. The entire esports field roared, and countless professional players announced their plans to enter the game.

With the arrangement of their respective clubs, players such as Sleepy Winter, Twinkle Fried Rice, and Rainy Kim, who joined the game during the close-beta phase, also held a press conference. This further fanned the enthusiasm in the e-sports field. The topic of the game became more and more popular, and the activity in the game forum was at a phenomenal level! Countess players were also looking forward to the sales of the second batch of VR capsules.

Just as the popularity of the game soared, Galaxy released its first official trailer. The trailer showed the different landscapes of the novice planets as if it was a documentary film. The different styles and appearances of the planets, coupled with magic and technology from both ancient times and the future, attracted countless eyes. This trailer was made from the collection of closed-beta players' clips, and they were all recorded from their point of view.

This trailer introduced the background and the environment of the world of Galaxy through moving images. Soon, Galaxy would release other similar publicity videos to introduce other aspects of Galaxy. They announced that the next video would show the battle scenes of different classes, giving players a greater insight into the variations of different classes and their fighting styles. Many were eager to watch this video.

The activity level of the forum was constantly through the roof, and Han Xiao kept an eye on the trends on the forum. Seeing the IDs of many professional players whom he had previously battled in his last life, Han Xiao felt a little emotional. He could still remember the times in his past life when he was an enthusiastic new player in the game. After many years, he had become a highly-experienced professional power leveler in the game, and then he was transmigrated. Things had changed so much for him—indeed, reality was more dramatic than a novel.

In his last life, he had been among the players who bought the second batch of VR capsules. Han Xiao was curious if there was another version of him in this world, which was why he always paid attention to the forum for any evidence of it.

Han Xiao had stayed at Big Horn Village for the last past few days, and during this time, there had been old players constantly visiting the village and new players been born here.

A group of curious new players who had just arrived gathered outside Big Horn Village. Their faces were full of curiosity. "This is the novice village, right?"

A player with a pistol around his waist walked past, and he immediately caught the attention of those new players.

"Bro, where did you buy that gun?"

"Oh, you must be newbies. You asked the right guy for this. A word of advice: never head to Big Horn Village to purchase a gun. Go straight west. There is a high-ranking character called Black Phantom who not only sells guns at a really affordable price but can also help you with class advancements," the player with the pistol said.

"Really? Let's go take a look now!" the newbies exclaimed as their eyes lit brightly.

"Go on, do not forget to thank me." The player with the pistol had a look of pride plastered on his face.

More and more players came to find Han Xiao the moment they arrived in the game before heading to Big Horn Village to receive quests. They then used all their hard-earned money from the quests to buy more items from Han Xiao to earn reputation points. They were just like hard working bees, promptly supplying Han Xiao with a large amount of money.

In just a few days, Han Xiao had earned more than 500,000 Aquamarine Dollars and close to a million EXP—such efficiency was unparalleled. It was also a much safer and more convenient way for him compared to earning money and EXP by doing quests himself.

The players now are all only newbies. Now is the best time to exploit them.

The features of an NPC offered him a tremendous advantage when facing players, but Han Xiao knew there was a prerequisite to extracting profits from them—he had to be ahead of players in all areas of advancement.

Although the current situation is really good, I cannot relax and stagnate, Han Xiao thought to himself as he took a puff of his cigarette.

Among the players in Big Horn Village, around twenty percent had chosen to switch to become mechanics while the other players were still on the fence. Only by showing off the combat strength of a mechanic would the other players start to budge.

Han Xiao glanced at the computer and read the intelligence passed from the Dark Net about the Germinal Organization. The retreating troops would be passing by Big Horn Village this afternoon.

As he was in the process of thinking, he heard a female voice.

"Black Phantom, why do you want to be enemy with the Germinal Organization?"

Han Xiao turned his head and saw a petite young female player. She was below his chin and had delicate short hair and watery eyes full of curiosity. Her face was just like an apple, which made people want to poke her cheeks. Her ID was 'Maple Moon'. She was the first female player who learned skills from him.

I can't believe we've met again… Han Xiao raised his eyebrow as old memories started appearing in his head.

Maple Moon, one of the Mechanic representatives in the third Season, was originally a casual player. She became extraordinary in the third season competition and was then signed by a club to become a professional player.

In his past life, it was revealed on the forum that Maple Moon liked to dig into hidden story plots, and all the benefits she gained from doing so accumulated and compounded until the third season where it was advantageous for a mechanic. It was only then that she really showed her true combat prowess.

Han Xiao blinked and had a new idea.

Players like this seem to be able to…

Chapter 130: The First Step in Building a Large Network

Based on the quests that Han Xiao assigned to the players, Maple Moon had guessed that Han Xiao and the Germinal Organization were enemies. Most players would just want to complete the task and get it over with, so they would not even bother with understanding any background information about the quest. However, Maple Moon enjoyed exploring the story plot and became curious about the background story of Han Xiao. Black Phantom—this name made her think of all sorts of assassins and stories of vengeance. She believed that there was something she could dig further into.

She is the first player to interact with me outside of assigning quests and selling equipment. Han Xiao's eyes lit up.

Han Xiao pondered about his relationship with the players and concluded that they were not enemies—except for the players who took on missions that targeted him. He was able to not only extract profits from players but also train players with potential and let them become his allies. By exchanging help and resources, he could make these players willingly fight alongside him.

As the players could resurrect, it was somewhat unfavorable to Han Xiao. However, looking from another perspective, it also meant that the players were best used as fighters and cannon fodder. Although most players did not have principles, and therefore, using players in such a manner could be rather chaotic, Han Xiao was clear about the players' psychology and what motivated them. As long as he manipulated them properly, he could control the players' actions to a certain extent. If he made good use of this strategy, he could gain a huge advantage when fighting against NPC forces—the advantage could be as big as his advantage when interacting with players!

What's this called again—two-timing?

Nah, it should be called focusing on both sides!

A flash of thoughts sprinted through Han Xiao's mind as he glanced at her. He then suddenly walked up to the vehicle. Maple Moon was startled momentarily before she followed.

The vehicle storage compartment was a workshop full of spare mechanical components. Han Xiao casually pointed his finger to ask Maple Moon to sit wherever she wanted. He then lit a cigarette and began smoking. The smoke created a mysterious atmosphere, and Maple Moon, upon seeing this scene, knew immediately that something exciting was about to happen to her. This caused her heartbeat to thump rapidly. She was very expectant.

Han Xiao flicked the ashes off his cigarette as he said, "The Germinal Organization is an evil organization that is using the grief the people who lost their country to manipulate them into fighting for their personal gains. They outlandishly try to start a world war and add more scars to this world that is already covered in wounds…"

Han Xiao embellished the story with many details of the evil deeds that the Germinal Organization had previously committed, but he did not twist any facts around. The Germinal Organization had indeed committed a lot of bloody acts. Han Xiao was able to know all this based on the memories from his past life and by reading the relevant case files on the Dark Net. He gave a good account of all these incidents to Maple Moon.

As Maple Moon listened to Han Xiao attentively, her emotions fluctuated up and down. Her impression of the Germinal Organization plummeted as she felt the anger brewing within her. Maple Moon was the kind of person who would get emotional from the storyline of a game, and she would always make decisions based on what her heart wanted. She had never been motivated by personal gains.

There were actually a lot of players like Maple Moon since most players were there to enjoy the game. A game was a story that people could easily immerse themselves in. However, most of such players were playing offline games, so it was rare to find players like this in an online game.

Han Xiao, in fact, found players like Maple Moon admirable. He coughed and asked a question that was clearly leading to a quest. "Would you be willing to become an enemy of the Germinal Organization?"

It was basically a yes or no question.

Maple Moon nodded solemnly.

_____________________

Your reputation with Black Phantom has increased by 5 points.

_____________________

After adjusting her reputation points, Han Xiao took out a mobile phone and handed it to Maple Moon. "Good, I have seen your courage. When you have grown stronger, contact me using this phone.

_____________________

You received the quest [Black Phantom's Invitation]. Reach LV 20, then contact Black Phantom.

_____________________

Maple Moon was secretly delighted by her correct choice. She was right—there were hidden plots that could be triggered!

Han Xiao's secretly chuckled as he saw Maple Moon's delighted face. He was planning to spread a wide net to catch all these players with good potential. However, due to the limited number of players he could train, choosing each player carefully was a very important thing. Maple Moon would be a famous mechanic in the future and could be a good assistant for him. She was definitely a good spare tire… Cough! I mean an alternative.

As for the remaining candidates, Han Xiao had to think hard about them. He was prepared to choose the players who had good principles and potential. As long as Han Xiao showed players that they could trigger hidden missions from him, the rest of the professional players would automatically come to find him by themselves, and this would allow him to have more choices in picking the candidates.

A rough plan was generated inside Han Xiao mind, and he believed that it was rather actionable, but for the time being, the players still required a period of growth before he could proceed to the next step of his plan.

…

After he sent away the excited Maple Moon, he waited till noon before creating a new quest for the players.

_____________________

[Hunting Germinal]: Follow Black Phantom to attack a troop from the Germinal Organization. This quest is a Prize-Pool Mission, and the base reward is 35,000 EXP. 500 EXP will be consumed by accepting the quest and be placed in the reward pool. The total reward will be split proportionally among the top 5 players (or teams).

_____________________

Han Xiao had the ability to release different kinds of quests including a Prize-Pool Mission. Unfortunately, the reward he could dispense for a Prize-Pool Mission would still depend on the upper limit of a single mission. However, as the players were mostly around the level of four or five, 35,000 was still an astronomical number to them.

The players wanting to join the Prize-Pool Mission had to pay an 'admission fee'. Han Xiao tried and realized that he could not manipulate the EXP that the players put into the prize pool. He felt bummed, like he had lost another way to earn—scam—the noobs.

The Kill-all Guild was the first to discover the Prize-Pool Mission. They were shocked by the sheer size of the reward for the quest.

"This must be the first Prize-Pool Mission!"

"Oh woah! 35,000 EXP! Even for the base reward, it is way too much! The quests that I can do now only give me a few hundred EXP!"

"If more players accept this quest, the prize pool will accumulate to an astronomical number!"

All the members from the Kill-all guild could not contain their excitement.

SliceYouUp's eyes flashed, and he had a different thought. "No, we cannot allow other players to accept this quest!"

Members of the guild were shocked and asked the president, "Why not?"

Slicer eighteen spoke volubly, "Only five players or teams can receive the prize for this quest. The Big Horn Village has few hundred thousand players which even include some professional players. Rather than competing with all of them and rely on luck, why not just get the 35,000 EXP into our hand! If we are the only ones to accept the quest, we can easily manipulate the ranking and distribute the reward without the rest of our guild. Also, if we only win the quest as a team, each member will only gain an insubstantial amount of EXP. If we can distribute the EXP to a few individuals, it will be a lot more useful!"

He wanted to get several core members to complete the task and earn the huge amount of EXP—it was basically transferring the EXP that other members of the guild would gain to an elite few. If everyone in the guild were to gain the EXP, each person would only average about 500 EXP, which was insignificant. However, if the EXP were to be transferred to just a few members, their growth would be greatly accelerated.

The guild members look at each other in consternation. Although they were reluctant, they did not want to lose their job. It was only a little EXP; it would not matter that much. So, everyone agreed.

"The quest only starts in the afternoon, and Black Phantom will definitely set out in advance. As long as we do not let any players come into contact with him during these two hours, we are set!"

SliceYouUp ordered his guild members to hold up pistols and guard the area around Han Xiao. He then gave an order. "Warn any person that's coming near him. If anyone defies the warning, fire immediately."

The Kill-all guild had more than twenty core members located within Big Horn Village and more than a hundred secondary members. It was the biggest player faction at the moment.

These guilds working in a studio were different from casual players. They had a presence in many games, and only when they were certain that a particular game was valuable enough to have a great investment in would they then move their members based in other games into that specific game. The Kill-all Guild had a few thousand members, but there were only about a hundred of them based in Galaxy. More players from the guild would join the game when more VR capsules were on sale.

Players in this game could kill each other. However, the more people they killed, the more Sin points they would accumulate. The amount of EXP and equipment that a player would drop for dying was proportional to their Sin points.

…

Han Xiao realized that there was a group of guild players around him chasing the other players away, preventing anyone from getting close to him. They were rather aggressive and stern—those that got driven away were afraid to speak up.

He pondered for a moment and immediately understood what the Kill-all Guild was trying to do. His face turned black. "This guild to trying to swallow my Prize-Pool Mission alone—how fearless!"

His original intention of the Prize-Pool Mission was to get more players to join in and become his canon-fodder, but the Kill-all Guild was now interfering his plan.

A large group of players gathered on the side. They were indignant.

"They are too authoritative! I just want to buy some ammunition, that's all!"

"What right do you have to forcibly occupy Black Phantom‽"

At this moment, members of the Sky Territory Guild forced their way through the crowd and confronted the Kill-all Guild.

Jade Green Sky then shouted, "What are you guys trying to do‽"

SliceYouUp was expressionless. He did not even bother to explain before he gestured with his hand; his members around him immediately aimed their pistol at Jade Green Sky. This immediately triggered the members of the Sky Territory Guild—they responded in kind.

All the other players were slightly shocked by this scene. They quickly moved backward, lest they got splashed with blood.

Jade Green Sky was hesitant. He had fewer people on his side, so he knew that he would be at a disadvantage once the battle began. He did not understand why the Kill-all Guild suddenly became so authoritative, but he was certain that something fishy was going on. Furthermore, with so many eyes around observing them, the Sky Territory Guild could not act like cowards.

Jade Green Sky and his members glanced at each other, confirming each other's thoughts.

Fight!

Tension was building on both sides.

Other players stretched their necks to watch the show—two big, famous guilds fighting against each other was not an everyday occurrence.

The battle was on the verge of starting.

Just then, every member in the Kill-all Guild received a notification on their interface.

_____________________

Your reputation with Black Phantom decreased by 10 points.

Current Reputation: -5

Current Relationship: Cold

_____________________

SliceYouUp was astonished!

Chapter 131: Bloodshed

"Oh My!"

"What's the matter?"

"How did my reputation drop!"

Players from the Kill-all Guild were all confused. They immediately turned back to look at Han Xiao, only to find him looking in their direction with a look of indifference. This time around, no matter how thickheaded they were, they could figure what was going on. They observed curiously and suspiciously from the side.

SliceYouUp was extremely troubled. How was he to know that such actions would cause Black Phantom's unhappiness? Wasn't it normal for guilds to hoard resources in the game? Why was this NPC so intelligent?

The reputation earned these few days was all gone, and it even dropped quite a bit!

The members around him gave him looks of disapproval. It was too late for regret for SliceYouUp. He could sense that his authority as a leader had decreased a level. He was stuck in a very difficult situation, and he could only quickly withdraw from the scene with his men.

The players around him were baffled. They did not know why or how the previously arrogant Kill-all Guild cowered in a matter of seconds.

Jade Green Sky thought that Kill-all was afraid of their Sky Territory.

What's happening? When did my Guild become this cool?

With no one blocking the way anymore, the players realized there was a Prize-Pool Mission. They finally realized Kill-all Guild's motive. They were filled with righteous indignation, for that was totally unfair.

"Look at them trying to claim the entire Prize-Pool!"

"Gross!"

After crusading against Kill-all, the players then turned their focus to the Prize-Pool Mission, becoming increasingly attracted to it. Everyone accepted the quest, all wanting a slice of that huge cake.

The Prize-Pool slowly amounted to over 500,000 EXP, and to those players, it was simply an unthinkable sum, to the point that just thinking of it would make them stop breathing.

There were only five people that would be entitled to the Prize-Pool rewards. The ranking depended on the energy expended. Compared to the number of participants, five was undoubtedly a small number.

But the problem was that everyone thought they would be the lucky person. Even though it was almost as unlikely as winning the lottery, there was still that glimmer of hope that shone in their eyes—if they were chosen, it would be like hitting the jackpot.

The players were not even at LV 10 yet. Their combat strength was extremely low, but the good thing about them was that they were not afraid of death. With a pistol, they could deal a bit of damage. At least with everyone around, they could combine their firepower. This was why Han Xiao thought of the quest.

…

The forest of Big Horn Village was vast, and the huge amount of information on the Dark Net helped mark the exact route of the Germinal Organization's evacuating troops.

Everyone arrived at the place where the trap was marked. Players teamed up and spread out to ambush. Among them, the players from the closed beta were obviously preferred as teammates. Of course, those with a guild would be the most advantageous.

Teaming was the best advantage one could have. Everyone knew that solely relying on one's efforts alone would never get one onto the list.

Maple Moon was a little down. Every player had a team. She was just a step slower and did not manage to find anyone to team up with.

Han Xiao noticed and called Maple Moon. He took out his modified sniper rifle, as well as several rounds of ammunition, and handed it to Maple Moon. "I'll lend you this gun, stay by my side."

Maple Moon clasped her two hands over her tiny mouth in surprise with a cute look of shock. She had thought that this was the benefit of triggering the secret quest. But upon seeing the traits of the sniper rifle, she was stuck in a difficult position. The sniper rifle required an attribute of at least Lv.1 in [Sniper].

Maple Moon pouted. "But I don't know how to use this."

_____________________

Black Phantom has imparted the ability [Sniper] to you. Do you want to expend 2000 EXP to learn it?

_____________________

Han Xiao had not taught the gamers about this sniper ability. Maple Moon was shocked and happy at the same time. She agreed without a second thought.

Since Maple Moon was worthy of training, Han Xiao naturally became biased toward her. Of course, this was a secret between them. If other players felt that it is unfair, what can they do but restrain their complaints? In this materialistic society, people without resources had no say!

…

A gust of wind whistled through the forest.

The ambushing players all had nervous yet excited faces. It was the first battle for many of them.

Jade Green Sky brought Sky Territory's members to camouflage themselves in the forest. It was a must for him to attain one of the top three prizes from the Prize-Pool Mission. He thought to himself, My biggest rival should be Kill-all. First place is bound to be either of us.

On the other hand, SliceYouUp was still extremely troubled by Han Xiao's extreme drop in reputation, but the quest still had to be done. He took a look at his dejected guild members. "Don't think too much. Just finish this quest first. We cannot let Sky Territory's members get ahead of us."

The passing time was like a sharp knife, killing any warmth in the atmosphere.

Han Xiao took out the report he had gotten from the Dark Net. He took one final look. There were two combat executives in the evacuating troops, Freire and Seiberre. The two of them had once been part of the same elite army squad, each over LV 30, but they were of no threat to him.

Woo woo—

The sound of the engine came from far away. The sniper rifle's electromagnetic scanner showed the Germinal Organization's troops on its radar.

Han Xiao reoriented his vision, becoming extremely alert.

Maple Moon followed Han Xiao's every word and action, sprawling on the ground with the sniper rifle. Suddenly, Han Xiao seemed to have disappeared. He was clearly right in front of her; how could he have vanished from her vision? This made her very uncomfortable.

_____________________

You have entered [Stealth] state. Agility stats +8%.

Your next strike will have a Sneak attack effect.

You have entered [Steady Aim] stat. Your next shot has +15% shooting power.

_____________________

[Night Stalker] had bestowed Han Xiao with many hidden skills, and accompanied with his [Flaming Will], anybody shot was bound to be destroyed.

There was the Little Li Flying Dagger in the past. Today there is my deathly blow. Haha, this sounds so good!

This shot was specially prepared for the executives. Han Xiao held his breath and aimed steadily like a patient hunter awaiting his prey.

The Germinal Organization's evacuating troops entered the trap and were almost immediately caught off-guard by the many animal traps set up. But they were also puzzled by the animal traps. Was this really a trap?

If this was not a trap, how fierce was the beast in the area to require so many animal traps? And if this was a trap, who would be stupid enough to use animal traps to deal with an armed force? It was so obvious as well.

Freire, the conductor, felt something was amiss. He said in the intercom, "Be careful, there is a possibility of an ambush. Deploy minesweepers."

The troops slowed their advancement. Carrying the metal detectors, the minesweepers overtook them.

The Germinal Organization had been shifting their bases in massive operations, and many troops had been intercepted. Their enemies were not just from the Six Nations. There were other enemies looking for revenge taking advantage of their current situation. When Germinal was still strong, these enemies did not dare make any move. But now that they were met with such a good opportunity for revenge, they all got excited.

Freire and Seiberre had been caught in an ambush during their journey, and they had all raised their alertness greatly since.

Beep beep beep.

The metal detectors flashed in red, indicating that there were mines underground. At the same time, the scouts also found traces of human activity.

Freire's expression darkened. "Enemy ambush ahead!"

Just as the Germinal troops were sweeping the field for mines, the players who were hiding in the bushes spotted their enemy as well. The heavily armed Germinal soldiers and armored vehicles looked formidable. The players dared not anger them.

But at the slightest thought of the huge reward-pool, the players were unable to resist. Some jumped out of the bushes immediately, firing their pistols from afar.

The Germinal soldiers habitually wanted to sprawl down and hide, but they realized that the enemies' bullets were almost going into outer-space. Their aim was just so bad.

"Counterattack!"

The Germinal troops returned fire without hesitation. The submachine guns fired away, the armored vehicles' machine guns roared, and some heavy firepower guns could be heard, too.

The fierce artillery instantly tore the players running toward them into pieces.

Chapter 132: A Death God

"What the hell is this damage!"

"I died instantly when the explosion blast grazed me!"

"My EXP's dropped so drastically!"

The first wave of players eliminated died tragically, leaving the rest of the players in awe of the Germinal Organization's firepower.

SliceYouUp gritted his teeth. "Task requirement is to achieve highest damage. Doesn't matter if you die, just deal damage! Go!"

The penalty in Galaxy for dying was not light to say the least. EXP was deducted proportionally to a player's level, and the player could only be revived up to a maximum of ten times within six days. With every death, the waiting time before the next revival would increase. After hitting the limit, there would be a temporary ban on the player. Despite all this, it was worth dying once or twice for the Prize-Pool Missions.

The players from Sky Territory also had the same thoughts, and all the other players followed suit and fearlessly, albeit tactlessly, made their attack on the Germinal soldiers, giving the latter a shock.

"All these enemies are rushing to die?" Seiberre was surprised; he had never seen such a fearless army, like a pack of starving wolves, dying to get a piece of them.

Their spirit and momentum were impressive, but in terms of combat ability… they were shamefully pathetic.

"They are just a motley crowd, let's satisfy them since they want to die so badly!" Freire snorted and promptly commanded the surrounding troops. Since there were mines buried in the forest, the Germinal troops stopped their armored vehicles and started using as their armored vehicles as a temporary base for their counterattacks, killing off waves of players with ease.

"Shit… Can't even touch them!"

"I already died twice! Goddammit!"

The Germinal troops was dominating the fight. The other players were being massacred, yet they refused to give up in the hope of dealing some damage to claim the quest rewards.

"I will give them a surprise." Seiberre smirked. He saw absolutely no threat from these enemies. He was itching to toy with them.

Freire frowned slightly. "Don't go crazy, we are in a rush."

"Humph! I'm always quick with my kills."

Seiberre hopped off the armored vehicle. With his strong physical attributes, all he needed was a slight push against the floor with his feet, and he was off dashing toward the players like a cannonball. His foot landed on a player and instantly caused the poor soul's chest to cave in before the player was sent flying, hitting against a tree with an explosion of blood and flesh. The shooters dealt no damage to Seiberre, since he would dodge way before they could aim. Even if some bullets did hit him, it would be nothing but single digit damage.

Seiberre went on a killing spree like a tiger among the sheep, and the players were desperately trying to retreat. However, Seiberre would catch up and kill them before they could react. Many tried to assess Seiberre's stats.

_____________________

Seiberre - ?

Level - ?

Class - ?

Threat Level – Extremely fatal

_____________________

Another extremely fatal dude! No one knew what this threat level meant until this moment, but the contrast in skill level was apparent.

The combat strength of a high-level character was indeed to be feared.

Black Phantom and Seiberre have about the same combat strength. This thought flashed across the minds of many of the players.

Seiberre was covered in his enemies' blood, like a ravaging beast. The scene looked so realistic that it scared some of the more timid players, who quickly adjusted the graphics to PG mode to reduce the gore. Some turned on the recording function to capture this highly bloody scene.

A panic-stricken player fell, and Seiberre, in the midst of his killing spree, laughed as he started to crush the poor player like a cockroach. Suddenly, blood spilled out from Seiberre's chest, and a gaping hole appeared at the place where Seiberre's heart was supposed to be.

Seiberre stopped moving, his entire face frozen. Then, he collapsed and fell to the ground without a sound.

"Is he… dead?"

"He just got killed in one shot!"

Everyone was thrown into shock and confusion. How did the blood-lusting monstrous enemy just get defeated in a split second?

Then, the electrical current buzz of a sniper rifle from afar came within earshot.

Jade Green Sky, SliceYouUp, and all the other players that were still alive glanced unanimously in the direction of the rifle. Everyone remembered that it was roughly where Black Phantom was camping.

This snipe kill was by Black Phantom!

"Even such a vicious enemy was killed by Black Phantom in one shot!"

The players all gasped in disbelief. Black Phantom was also extremely fatal in terms of threat level, but this was way more fatal than Seiberre!

Black Phantom was obviously on a higher level than Seiberre, but it was still incredible that the fearsome Seiberre got killed in a single shot. Han Xiao left a mysterious and immeasurable impression on everyone.

Nothing was scarier than a killer who could instantly kill his victims.

Seiberre is very strong in terms of Energy attributes. How could he have been killed instantly? Freire was shocked.

This shot sounds familiar… the ability to instant-kill a Superhuman… Only one person is capable of doing this.

Freire's face changed immediately.

"Must be the Ghost-level Black Phantom from the Blood Pact Society! Goddammit, why is such a high-level monster finding trouble with us? I thought he only does bounty hunting?"

Black Phantom's reputation preceded him in the Underground World in these two months because of his amazing stats. He had killed 'The Raging Bolt' Bai Jin in an instant. Even the famous Invisible Demon was running for his dear life from Black Phantom. It was no wonder that Black Phantom rose to fame as the best assassin in the Blood Pact Society and his name began to instill fear in many.

The Germinal Organization gave a command long ago, asking its members to avoid direct conflict with Black Phantom. It would be troublesome to deal with this type of super assassin, even for big organizations.

Freire wanted to retreat, and he ordered for it with no hesitation. "All force retreat!"

It was too late!

Han Xiao activated the EMP Disruptor he had buried. Some of the Germinal troops' armored vehicles were in the effective range of the disruptor, and they broke down immediately, crackling and sizzling with electricity. One third of the vehicles were fortunate enough to be outside of the effective range; Freire's was one of them.

Freire could not be bothered with the rest of the troops. He knew that he needed to retreat.

Don't even think about escaping after you have entered my sight.

Han Xiao's glaze was as cold as the frozen ice as he activated a particular program. Having max leveled [Basic Programming], Han Xiao could bind most mechanical control systems to his computer.

Three metallic plates were lying at a spot three hundred meters horizontally away from the Germinal troops. Suddenly, they all cracked open from the center and started a series of self-folding, forming a multi-barreled heavy machine gun, with the metal plate as the base of the battery. This was the foldable portable battery that Han Xiao had buried beforehand. They were equipped with automatic firing systems, and the ammunition loaded was all highly explosive and could pierce through armor. The firing range had a five-hundred-meter radius.

The portable battery was one of Han Xiao's new blueprints. It was the product from a mixture of various technology—a fixed battery combined with folding technology and many other designs. Han Xiao had spent a lot of effort and had failed countless times before arriving at the final model, which was very handy. He could have arrived at something similar by merging different ideas, but inventing the fort by himself saved him from using EXP.

As Han Xiao learned more and more blueprints, it was becoming obvious that he was capable of grasping the functionality and usage of knowledge.

Within the last two months, he already bought the last three types of basic knowledge that he had yet to acquire from the slightly friendlier camps. They were [Basic Energy Conversion], [Basic Thermodynamics], [Basic Acoustics]. To learn all fifteen types of basic knowledge was a feat even for some full-level players, not to mention players under level forty.

The multi-barreled machine gun aimed at the Germinal troops, who were a few hundred meters away, automatically, warmed up for one second, and fired away. The fiery metallic storm blew all the trees in the way to bits, and the immobilized The Germinal troops' armored vehicles could not escape the same fate!

There was nothing but screams of agony and firework-like explosions.

The cost of a small foldable battery port was high, as was the ammunition. Wars fought by Mechanics were all expensive like this, but with sufficient funds, Mechanics were capable of having dominating firepower. Only a rich and resourceful guy like Han Xiao was able to fully utilize the abilities of a Mechanic to the fullest extent.

The firepower from the battery turret gave the rest of the players a huge shock, but this shock quickly turned into a craze over Han Xiao.

"So, this is how Mechanics fight!"

"One guy soloing against the whole army!"

"He is way too strong!"

Han Xiao did not idle either, he began sniping the enemies one by one. He smiled upon seeing the excitement among the other players. He did not have to use the battery turret against the small Germinal troop, but he did so anyway for the sake of demonstrating the destructive power of Mechanics.

However, looks could be deceiving. When the players went to research about the actual cost to play as a Mechanic, they would find the painful truth behind this vocation–"Using Ona to create happiness, GTFO if you don't have money."

Mechanics would be very weak in early games because most mechanics were poor.

With the enemies mostly defeated, the rest of the players realized that it was the best time for them to deal extra damage, and they all began to rush forward to attack the army. Maple Moon also started firing. Her sniper scope was equipped with Electromagnetism Detector and aim assist, so almost every shot of hers could hit the Germinal soldiers. She gained momentum, and her damage output became steady.

Although the realistic battle scenes were too gory for Maple Moon, she got used to it quickly as she had experience with gory scenes from other games. Moreover, she could change the game setting to make the graphics less bloody.

Han Xiao shot through Freire's knees but spared his life. Then, he switched to Red Falcon and started clearing the remaining Germinal soldiers at a rate much more efficient than normal players. One shot, one kill.

The sound of gunfire gradually ceased; the battle had come to an end. Many seemed like they wanted to watch more.

The paralyzed Freire could not be bothered with his own agony but looked at the crowd of spectating players in shock. He had been watching the battle very carefully, and he noticed that many of the players, who were killed earlier on, came back.

"Are they zombies or what?"

Freire was confused.

Han Xiao, clad in full black, appeared. The players started to quieten down despite their excitement.

He stood in front of Freire, squatted down, and stared into the latter's eyes that were filled with shock and anger. "Where were you all heading toward?"

"Black Phantom, Germinal will never let you off!" Freire was furious.

"You got it wrong."

Han Xiao expressionlessly dragged Freire into the forest by his collar. Shortly afterwards, bone-chilling screams could be heard.

It was not difficult to imagine that Freire was being tortured, and everyone felt a shiver down their spine.

After ten minutes, the screaming finally ended. Han Xiao reappeared but without Freire.

He wiped his hands clean of blood using a rag. He glanced around and saw that all eyes were on him. Now that he had the information that he wanted, he was free to end the mission.

All the players received a notification simultaneously.

_____________________

[Hunt Down Germinal] has been completed. The Prize-Pool has 520,000 EXP.

Damage Output Ranking:

- No. 1 – Maple Moon (Solo)

- No. 2 – Jade Green Sky (Team)

- No. 3 – SliceYouUp (Team)

- No. 4 …

Reward pool will be allocated 30%, 25%, 20%, 15%, 10% of EXP accordingly.

_____________________

Everyone was shocked. No one expected this ranking.

"She overtook Sky Territory and Kill-all."

"Hitting the scoreboard with solo output. Incredible!"

"Who is Maple Moon? Is she a professional player?"

"I never heard of this ID before though."

The crowd was going crazy.

Chapter 133: Mechanics Are So Powerful

Jade Green Sky and SliceYouUp were shocked.

A solitary player's output was actually higher than that of a guild. The EXP earned by a team had to be divided equally among the players, but Maple Moon could keep the hundreds of thousands of EXP to herself. What this meant was extraordinary! In an instant, she had exceeded all the players to hold a safe lead, and that included the other novice planets.

Maple Moon was hit with shock by her unexpected success, her face full of disbelief as she stared at the EXP bar on the interface. She had used a sniper rifle with firm and stable output through the battle and did not expect that she would emerge as the top player. She knew her limitations well. This was only possible because she had relied fully on Black Phantom. This was obviously a benefit that came from triggering the secret quest. Maple Moon made up her mind; she had to persist in unearthing the secret quest. Black Phantom was such a powerful aide, so she had to stay on good terms with Black Phantom.

Han Xiao returned to the car, and Maple Moon immediately returned the sniper rifle.

Some players followed them and were surprised to realize that Black Phantom was actually interacting with Maple Moon on close terms.

Jade Green Sky immediately reacted. "There is a secret quest!"

"She is so lucky."

Everyone stared enviously at Maple Moon. Maple Moon was not used to the attention from the crowd, so she blushed and hid in the car. Han Xiao saw this but did not chase anyone away. Instead, he started driving his car back to Big Horn Village. The players had no choice but to follow on foot.

As he was driving, Han Xiao scrolled through the forum. Suddenly, a new post was pushed to the top of the forum—"A high-ranking NPC's combat capability!"

Clicking into the post, the battle scene that just occurred popped up on the page. Some players uploaded their recorded videos. The Germinal Organization's troops were displaying their formidable combat capability. When Seiberre was murdering players, there were a few barrages. The audience felt as if they were present at the scene—they were tensed up with nervousness. However, the next moment, Seiberre was killed in one shot. The shot blew out explosively, and blood was flying everywhere. Then, the portable battery demonstrated its prowess, crippling the Germinal troops in an instant. The scene was even more shocking.

Responses to the post were posted in the dozens every second, and it soon accumulated a few thousand responses.

"That character was so powerful, but he got killed in one shot!"

"Isn't Black Phantom the advanced NPC from Big Horn Village? What is his level?"

"Mechanic is so powerful. I think there's great prospects!"

"Damn, I'm in a planet with a magic background; there are no Mechanics"

Scrolling through the responses that were marveling at the scene, Han Xiao smiled to himself.

Faking it… bah, the idea of showing my strength really worked.

The effect was apparent. Once he got to the settlement, the players that had hesitated in switching their Class were now fervently picking up the basics. Prior to this, the entire Big Horn Village had only twenty percent of players choosing Mechanic. After the video went viral online, players' excitement for Mechanics was just breaking through the roofs. The players swaying precariously between Classes immediately switched to Mechanic.

A hundred, five hundred, then a thousand …

The EXP on the Interface was just piling up like crazy. Han Xiao kept his face straight to not smile. In the short few days at Big Horn Village, he had collected two or three million EXP just by lazing around, and that was comparable to accumulating EXP through four or five missions. This was way safer and more efficient.

The player market was indeed a market with the most potential. The NPC functions were really useful. Imparting skills was allowing him to gain great profit without any cost, and that was only possible because he owned the interface as well as the NPC functions.

Han Xiao knew that you could not be impatient in grooming students, so he only imparted basic skills. The players that were convinced to switch to Mechanic would come to be his key customers in the future. After all, Han Xiao's was a Mechanic.

After these version 1.0 players gained a deep understanding of Mechanics, they would realize that they had been scammed. By then, it would be too late. Even if they lamented to heaven and knocked their heads against the earth, it would be pointless. They could only choose to continue or start from nothing again. In this way, Han Xiao's goal would have been achieved—as long as these players wanted to improve their combat effectiveness quickly, they can only rely on him to buy advanced machinery.

You want to become strong?

How can you not spend money‽

Han Xiao took a smoke, and he thought to himself, After a few versions, you will be thanking me…

In this way, he brushed off his sense of guilt.

…

On one side, Jade Green Sky approached Maple Moon and asked politely: "Babe, I wonder if you're free now."

Maple Moon looked up doubtfully and saw a group of male players with a look of thirst in their eyes. She stepped back nervously and warned, "What are you up to? I warn… warn you, this game prohibits any sexual harassment!"

The members of Sky Territory were at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Babe, we are curious about your secret quest, not in you!

Jade Green Sky coughed. "I only want to ask how you triggered Black Phantom's secret quest. Don't worry, we'll reward you fairly."

Maple Moon shook her head, rejecting his request without a pause. She enjoyed unearthing secret quests, but that was not because of the profit, and she did not want Black Phantom to dislike her.

With no alternative, Jade Green Sky could only give up and walk away. Just then, a member suggested, "We could ask around to see if there were other players who overheard the conversation between Maple Moon and Black Phantom."

Jade Green Sky's eyes lit up, and he nodded in agreement. And there were really some results. They managed to find out 'the secret way to trigger secret quests' from a player.

Han Xiao was sending off the last few players who had come to switch to Mechanic when Jade Green Sky rushed up to him. With the question that Maple Moon had asked in mind, Jade Green Sky asked, "Black Phantom, why are you enemies with the Germinal Organization?"

Oh, someone is rising to the bait.

Han Xiao looked at him. Although Jade Green Sky was the leader of a guild, his potential was not good at all. It was better to answer directly.

"What does it have to do with you?"

Jade Green Sky was at a loss. Why was he getting a different reaction compared to the response Maple Moon had gotten? Was he cheated?

Not willing to give up, he kept on changing his lines. Han Xiao cast his eyes downward and refused to play along with him. In the end, Jade Green Sky could only give up in frustration.

"Unless it depends on the gender?"

This thought suddenly came up in Jade Green Sky's mind. He stared at Han Xiao's unattractive face for a long while, and he felt like he was enlightened.

…

The player's market potential in Big Horn Village had been temporarily exhausted. It was still only the open beta—the players were rather fresh, and their lack of unity resembled a plate of loose sand. With growth, as they completed more missions, Han Xiao would have more opportunities to exploit them.

Han Xiao had a set of 'commercial' plans for players, and this was only the initial link. As players advanced, his plan could then be gradually implemented.

He was not in a hurry to go to the next novice village. He had a friendly chat with Freire and fished out some information on the Germinal Organization's withdrawal route in South Continent. This is a large-scale war, which meant that he could probably get quite a number of A-level missions. With his character, he was sure to get a foot in. What would become of him if he did not try to get involved?

With the wistful gaze of players in the Big Horn Village, Han Xiao drove his vehicle away.

Maple Moon looked at the car driving off into the horizon and told herself that she would wait until she reached LV 20 before she contacted Black Phantom.

Just half an hour after Han Xiao left, Frenzied Sword arrived at Big Horn Village, panting furiously. He grabbed a player and asked, "Where is Black Phantom?"

"He has already left."

Frenzied Sword's face turned white. He was late by half a day because the Western Capital was under martial law to search for Germinal spies.

He felt like weeping but had no tears left! How infuriating!

…

The battle video stayed as the top post on the forum. Han Xiao was the strongest fighter the players had seen so far. He could kill a strong enemy in one shot from hundreds of meters away. Not only that, he could also deploy a portable battery turret. Players were very envious of his capabilities. Whenever he appeared, he was like a dark phantom, omnipotent and mysterious. If not for his unappealing look, due to the Facial Simulator, he would have many female fans.

The first player to upload the videos was Mu Chen. He never had received any responses for his posts in the past, but this was his first time experiencing the feeling of having ten thousand people replying to his post. He was reading through the replies enthusiastically.

Ding Dong.

He received a notification from the system.

Mu Chen was puzzled. He had not added any friends. Who would send him a message?

_____________________

Dear esteemed player,

Your video has been selected as promotional material for version 1.0. The reward will be sent to your account within one working day. Do look out for it.

- Galaxy Official.

_____________________

Mu Chen was completely caught off-guard by the pleasant surprise.

Chapter 134: Finally Found You

The vast majority of players were still busy with missions, but players in teams—essentially serious guilds or professional players—were more purposeful in their actions. They planned their developmental pathway carefully and worked steadily to advance.

But the Guild of Gods was in an awkward situation. Jupiter had dumped all the daily administrative work to the Vice President. He could not give up on the A-level mission. He had been leading a group of people to search high and low for Germinal's bases but to no avail. Without any other means, he could only focus on the forum to see if any players were in contact with Germinal.

Despite all odds, Jupiter managed to find a lead.

"Andrea Mainland is Germinal's base camp. Any player who arrives on Andrea Mainland can join Germinal's side easily."

But this lead was useless for Jupiter.

The core members of the A-level mission were all in Southern Continent, and Zero was more likely to be in Southern Continent too. However, Jupiter could not possibly bring a team over to Andrea Mainland. Most importantly, they had no access to another mainland.

In fact, they could actually take cruise ships or aircrafts, but none of the players had reached this level.

The most popular post on the forum was the battle scene recorded by the players at Big Horn Village. Jupiter had not seen it before, but he was finally opening it to take a look. He was caught off guard by shock. Just as he was about to close the post, he suddenly had an outlandish thought. He paused the video and scrutinized the scene. He finally concluded that the troop that was attacked had the Germinal Organization's emblem on them.

He had finally found the organization!

Jupiter almost burst into tears before it occurred to him that the troop had been destroyed. His face changed suddenly. He quickly read through the content of the post, but unfortunately, the user did not elaborate on the details.

Jupiter was eager to find out what had happened, so he had members contact the players in Big Horn Village.

The guild was so efficient that he soon got to know that the troop that had been attacked was in fact an evacuating Germinal Organization unit. He was dumbfounded.

"Evacuate? Why are they evacuating? Where are they evacuating from? What is the scale of this evacuation—a single unit or a full battalion?"

Jupiter gulped nervously. He had an ominous feeling in his gut… Seems like we won't be returning to the Germinal Organization any time soon.

This A-level mission was such a scam. Jupiter was so frustrated. Before the team could start on the mission, the organization that had issued the mission had run away.

…

In the evening, the setting sun covered the earth in a blood red glow. The outlines the moons were looming in the twilight sky.

In the woods outside Big Horn Village, Frenzied Sword was walking down the path, downcast in despondence.

"I must find him." Frenzied Sword quickly broke away from his despondent mood and was talking to himself to boost his own spirits.

"Are you looking for me?" A voice came from ahead.

Frenzied Sword looked up. A truck was parked a few meters ahead with a man in black standing by it, staring at him intensely.

Black Phantom!

Frenzied Sword was ecstatic with excitement.

Every cloud had a silver lining!

"You, you… Have we met?" He could not be certain that Black Phantom was in fact Han Xiao. With much worry and fear, he felt like he was almost waiting for a verdict after he had asked the question.

Han Xiao smiled, revealing a tinge of amusement in his eyes. "What do you think?"

That familiar look! The look that made his hair stand on end!

Frenzied Sword was seized by joy; he was certain that this person was Han Xiao!

I'm so glad that I didn't give up, and I finally found you! Oh, Savior!

"Come with me." With a faint smile on his face, Han Xiao gestured toward his truck with his head. Trying his best to conceal his excitement, Frenzied Sword followed closely behind and got into the truck.

He did not care where Han Xiao was taking him as long as he could stay with Han Xiao…

Han Xiao smiled to himself. After spending some happy days together, he remembered Frenzied Sword well. But this was not the reason he chose to bring Frenzied Sword along. Frenzied Sword had great potential, and he was worth grooming.

In addition, having a player by his side meant he could send him to check out unknown and dangerous areas. Frenzied Sword would not die anyway, so he could be assured and use him well.

Han Xiao could use Frenzied Sword's help in his next moves, so when he found that Frenzied Sword was following him, he stopped to wait for him.

Frenzied Sword did not realize that he was being treated as a lab rat again. He was full of excitement, checking out the truck with much curiosity. He remembered that Han Xiao was a member of Stardragon's intelligence agency during the closed beta. How did he become Black Phantom out of the blue?

But that was not important. As long as he could be with Han Xiao, Frenzied Sword would be content.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Frenzied Sword after his excitement died down.

"Something evil." Han Xiao took out a tablet and opened the map. He drew a circle around one region and threw it to Frenzied Sword.

Frenzied Sword took a brief look.

"Tedramira River, what kind of place is that?"

"A battleground," Han Xiao replied calmly. He stepped firmly on the accelerator, and the truck raced off.

…

Tedramira River was a large river in Southern Continent connected to the sea.

In the darkness of the night, a long line of boats was cruising down the river. This was a huge fleet of ships disguised as fishing boats. The boats were actually Germinal warships, well equipped with various weapons, anti-detection jammers, machine gun arrays, and so on.

As a result of the Six Nations' clean-up campaign, the Germinal Organization's bases had begun to withdraw. A small number of important personnel was taking the air route. Most of the resources, transportation vehicles, and ordinary armed personnel were evacuating via a water route.

The evacuation was nearing its end. This fleet was the last remaining unit to withdraw from Southern Continent. The outer layer of frigates was guarding the barges in the center that were ferrying vehicles and armed personnel.

The evacuation plan was to go out to the sea along a tributary of the Tedramira River and join forces with other ground troops near the mouth of the sea. The ground troops would then board the ships.

The person in charge, Lin Yu, was the Chief Officer of the largest Germinal base in Southern Continent. Now he had taken the role of a commander and was also within the fleet.

Lin Yu was a middle-aged man, yet he was also an Executive Officer that was combat ready. He was analyzing the map with a solemn face in the command room. There were many links in the evacuation plan. The fleet and the ground troops had to ensure that they arrived at the mouth of the sea at the same time because the fleet could not possibly stay put.

During the evacuation, a large number of Stardragon and Hesla fighter planes were performing aerial reconnaissance. The fleet's whereabouts had likely been exposed, and fear on the fleet was rising.

Lin Yu knew very well that Hesla and Stardragon would have set up a trap near the mouth of the sea to capture them. Their navy, air force, and army would be waiting to intercept their fleet and capture them all at once.

But from the very beginning, Lin Yu knew clearly that it was impossible to evacuate sneakily. A bitter battle was inevitable. Only by tearing past the blockade line could his troops escape alive.

"As long as we follow along the Tedramira River to the sea, we can get out of this nightmare, but don't hold the illusion of a smooth passage. Lads, we will be facing a premeditated ambush. The Stardragon and Hesla Navy will do whatever they can to sink us near the mouth of the sea!

"I've been through thirteen wars. Some of them were big battles, others small. Some of you may be veterans like me, and some of you may be new recruits. Regardless, our destiny is the same. Break through the blockade line, and we can stay alive. If you are captured, even if you can survive, you will face indefinite imprisonment by Stardragon and Hesla. You can say goodbye to freedom in the sun!

"The Six Nations are a group of hypocritical and insidious villains who speak of peace and freedom but started a war. Don't forget that your motherland was destroyed by the guns of the Six Nations. Never forget that hatred of blood!

"We have no choice but to fight till the very end!"

These words were Lin Yu's speech for his subordinates. The armed personnel on board knew that there was going to be a fierce battle ahead, and they were all ready to fight.

There was a number of Germinal Executive Officers in the fleet, and Hila was among them. She was worried and apprehensive about the impending fight. In her opinion, it was a naïve hope to think of breaking through the blockade of Stardragon and Hesla's ships.

Many of them would perish, and only a small number of people could survive.

However, Commander Lin Yu seemed to have it all worked out. Thus, Hila could only suppress her unease and conceal it from others. On the outside, she seemed the stoic person she had always been.

In fact, for Hila, even if every Germinal member on the fleet died, she could not care less. She hated the Germinal Organization, but she could only survive with the help of these Germinal soldiers.

She knew that her hands were covered in blood, and she had never shunned it. Self-reproach and compassion belonged to good people. These emotions were too costly for her. From the day of her Awakening, she knew that she could never be a good person.

To rule death meant that she was destined to be banished to hell.

But her sister, Aurora, was completely different. She was an angel who used her love for the world to touch everyone she met. The only thing Hila regretted was that she did not protect her sister well, resulting in her falling into the hands of the Germinal Organization.

No matter what, I have to live on…

Only by surviving and demonstrating her usefulness could she help to reduce her sister's suffering.

Anyone that stopped her would be an enemy.

Staring at the waves of the river, Hila was cold and stoic.

Chapter 135: Ah, What A Familiar Taste

The Tedramira River branched out into the sea. The fleet of Stardragon and Hesla ships formed a tight blockade, and the riverbed of the estuary was also planted with many mines.

Both countries knew the whereabouts of the Germinal Organization's evacuation troops. Stardragon and Hesla regarded this battle with high importance as it was an excellent opportunity to eliminate an army of the Germinal Organization.

The inescapable net had been laid. In the eyes of the two countries, Germinal was a trapped beast; even if it knew there was a hunter trap waiting, it would have no choice but to approach it.

The battlefield was divided into two areas, and each country was responsible for one of the two areas. Hesla was mainly responsible for the sea blockade, while Stardragon's forces were in charge of land interception. This method of cooperation split the responsibility and prevented command conflicts.

Considering the individual combat effectiveness of the Germinal executives, Division 13 also sent secret agents to act as an emergency team and an assault troop. They would take on special tactical tasks and were waiting at a small dock near the estuary to be dispatched by the army commander.

Zhang Wei's team was among them.

A row of boats meant for assault had docked neatly, and green military tents were hidden in the grove behind the dock.

Despite the two months, the team had not changed much. Zhang Wei was as serious as before, Li Yalin was as sexy as ever, Lin Yao still looked mistreated, and Lambert was as silent as a stone.

The only change was the addition of a young new face.

"Hou Yue, you've been with us for a month now and have been through enough training. This mission is really important, so do not make any mistakes," Zhang Wei instructed the newcomer Hou Yue in the team's tent.

Hou Yue was a thin young man. He had two guns around his waist. With long, flowing hair, he was quite handsome. He nodded and smiled arrogantly. "Leader, you worry too much! During this past month, which task have I not completed successfully?"

Zhang Wei nodded in agreement. Hou Yue was an agent trained in Division 13 and had filled the vacancy of Han Xiao by joining the team. He had been performing well and did not cause Zhang Wei any worry.

Li Yalin hugged her hands to her chest and sat one side with her legs folded. She was frowning and appeared to be in a bad mood.

The truth was, after Han Xiao had skipped town, the agents who had lost their deposits all came to get their money back, and since then, her mood had never been good.

Hou Yue came over and sat next to Li Yalin. He teased, "Beauty Li, what are you thinking about?"

Li Yalin glared at him and retorted, "Are you a curious baby? How is this any of your concern?"

Hou Yue wanted to get close to Li Yalin badly. When he first joined and laid eyes on Li Yalin, he was stunned by her beauty. It pleased him to no end that he was teammates with someone this beautiful. Hence, he frequently tried to strike up conversations with Li Yalin. However, after being fooled by Han Xiao, she had developed a strong dislike toward newcomers. Thus, whenever she saw Hou Yue she would think of Han Xiao, so naturally, she did not have a good impression of Hou Yue.

Li Yalin was so annoyed by Hou Yue that she suddenly smiled menacingly. "You love talking, right?"

While speaking, she clenched her fists and cracked her knuckles. One could almost see the anger fumes rising from within and forming in her fists.

Hou Yue recoiled immediately. He knew that once Li Yalin showed this expression, she meant to beat people up. When he first joined the team, he had experienced it first hand and spent three days in the medical department.

Lin Biao, who was watching from the side, shook his head and feigned maturity. "Little monkey, you are still too terrified. In terms of courage, I only admire Brother Xiao."

"Who exactly is Brother Xiao?"

Hou Yue was puzzled. Since joining the team, he had learned that this team's full strength was six, but there was always one person missing. It was reasonable to cross out those players who were missing, but in this team, the sixth spot was always kept.

Also, he always heard the team speak of 'Brother Xiao'. This made Hou Yue extremely curious about this sixth person.

Li Yalin exploded immediately and fumed, "Do not mention his name in front of me!"

"Do not forget that we still have a mission to complete. You can't punch me!" Lin Biao looked composed, but his legs were trembling.

Hou Yue felt that Li Yalin's reaction was slightly exaggerated. Based on his experience, this was exactly the reaction of a resentful woman who had been abandoned by her man.

On second thought, maybe a heavy debt could result in the same reaction as well.

Zhang Wei shook his head, let out a breath, and explained, "Han Xiao was originally our teammate. However, he left because of some special reasons."

"Special reasons?" Hou Yue used his imagination and probed, "Was he sent to carry out a special mission?"

Zhang Wei shook his head.

"Was he transferred to another team by the superior?"

Zhang Wei shook his head.

"Then where did he go?" Hou Yue was bewildered.

Li Yalin huffed. "He could be dead for all we know."

"Who are you kidding? Why keep his spot if he really is dead? You all speak as if you all hate him, but why do I feel like you all actually miss him a lot?"

Silence.

After a long time, Li Yalin stood and smiled slightly.

"Choose a way to die."

Hou Yue scampered off.

Lambert shook his head and kept his sword sheathed.

…

Stardragon's infantry army was lying in ambush in the valley near the estuary. The goal was to intercept Germinal's infantry troops that had come to converge. Sleepy Winter, Twinkle Fried Rice, and Rainy Kim served as backline support.

The three had joined the Stardragon Army during Beta-testing but had since changed their professions. Twinkle Fried Rice and Rainy Kim were in the martial arts line while Sleepy Winter's character had exploded and awakened his ability using the store's DNA.

As recruits, they were also appointed to act as backline support in this battle. What pleased them was that they managed to spark a Camp-destroyer series quest, [The Battle of Tedramira River].

However, they soon became frustrated. This series had more than a dozen targets. They could only complete the few backline support targets in the series, which were the simplest and had the lowest rewards. Other tasks such as killing ten Germinal soldiers, assassinating a Germinal executive, or destroying transport vehicles were completely beyond their capabilities.

"This does not seem like our level of mission," Sleepy Winter grumbled.

Both Twinkle Fried Rice and Rainy Kim agreed. They had been drawn into a difficult mission that was totally beyond their current level. Looking at their novice level, it was simply none of their business.

The three of them had no idea that the Germinal Organization and the Six Nations had a head-on conflict that happened three months after the beta game. At that time, the players had a basic understanding of the world structure, and they also possessed some combat strength. The conflict between Germinal and the Six Nations started happening on a very small scale, and bit by bit, it enabled players to become involved and have a chance to show off.

However, Han Xiao had completely disrupted the whole process. He had brought forward the conflict between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization, leaving the current players totally incapable of participating. To be exact, the players had been cheated of their original main quest.

This benefited Han Xiao as it decreased the variables bought by the players.

Whoosh!

Two heavy-duty transport helicopters bearing a Fabian logo landed slowly in a valley. The wind was so strong that the grass at the landing site swayed in all directions like a wave.

"Old Black, we've arrived," Pilot Antonio lazily called.

"I can see. Also, do not call me Old Black!" Han Xiao retorted. "Call Black Phantom if you must—foolishly calling me Old Black will affect my luck."

Antonio removed his earmuffs and puffed out a cloud of smoke. "Forget it, you don't have much luck anyway."

"Get lost," Han Xiao said irritably.

In the past two months, Han Xiao had maintained a good working relationship with the Fabian Company, and Antonio was warming up to him day by day.

Frenzied Sword hid in a corner on the helicopter, shivering while he watched the two 'extremely deadly' godfathers talk and laugh merrily. Frenzied Sword had thought that Han Xiao would drive to their destination, but with just a phone call, two helicopters came to pick them up. At this moment, Frenzied Sword thought even higher of Han Xiao.

Employees from Fabian carried down the supplies from the helicopters, and most of the items were weapons that Han Xiao had deposited with Fabian. He thought that he could use these weapons for this mission. There was also a disassembled truck that Fabian's maintenance team was working on reassembling. All the while, Han Xiao and Antonio were chatting at one side.

Antonio had always thought that Han Xiao was only interested in the bounty and asked curiously, "I heard Stardragon and Hesla are planning to intersect the retreating Germinal Troops in the Tedramira River, but what bad blood do you have with Germinal?"

"How do you know which side I'll be helping?" Han Xiao chuckled.

Antonio held a cigar in one hand while the other tucked in his jeans pocket, and he frowned. "Are you thinking of helping Germinal instead?"

Although the Germinal Organization was big in the underground world, other forces always kept a respectful distance from them. Ultimately, the underground world preferred to coexist peacefully. After all, only a stable situation would lead to profits. The Germinal Organization was seen as a group of bandits who used hatred as motivation.

Han Xiao refused to comment and walked to one side. He took out his phone and dialed another number, and the voice of Blood Pact Society's personnel could be heard.

"Mr. Black Phantom, may I help you?"

Ever since Han Xiao made it to top ten of the killer list, the Blood Pact Society valued him greatly and gave him special treatment; there was someone on standby 24-hours to answer his calls and provide special services.

Yup, decent and proper services.

Part of the status came from his capabilities, and the other part was from his good relationship with Bennett, which was valued by the Dark Net Organization.

"I need the latest movement of both the retreating Germinal Troops as well as Stardragon and Hesla's troops.

"Sure, I'm accessing the documents now. The information will be sent to your computer shortly."

"Ok, I also need a helicopter on call at the small dock near the estuary of Tedramira River."

"As you wish."

Frenzied Sword, who was listening at one side, heard everything clearly. From his tone, he could really feel how powerful and strong Han Xiao was.

After hanging up, Han Xiao noticed Frenzied Sword, who was idling at one side. He thought for a bit and decided to give him a mission that he just came up with.

_____________________

Mission: [Get High!]

Requirement: Dance sexily to brighten the mood."

_____________________

Frenzied Sword's face was full of tears.

Ah, the familiar taste of evil pranks!

Chapter 136: On the Verge of a Battle

Tedramira River divided into branches flowing through Cloud Valley and eventually reaching the sea.

The location where Han Xiao had landed was on the edge of Cloud Valley. According to the information from the Dark Net Organization, Germinal's evacuating land troops would converge with their maritime troops after passing through the valley.

Han Xiao's target was to intercept the land troops. He was clear that the two countries would have planted their land troops in ambush; it was highly possible that the troops were placed within Cloud Valley. If he got any closer, he would be discovered. At this juncture, he did not wish to be in contact with the two countries.

Looks like I'll have to choose a good spot.

With that thought in his mind, Han Xiao folded his arms and watched Fabian's team assemble the truck's front and frame. They also hung up the mechanical equipment in the cargo properly. While they were working, they were shockingly watching Frenzied Sword seductively dancing at one side.

"The item is delivered. I'll get going now."

"Alright, send Matthews my regards." Han Xiao nodded with a smile.

Antonio waved before rising into the sky on his helicopter and disappeared swiftly over the horizon. The Fabian Company was only responsible for the transport of weapons and ammunition and had never taken part in battles.

Han Xiao sat inside the truck and took a look at the detailed map that had been sent over through the Dark Net. He was about to drive off when his phone rang.

"Hello."

"Black Phantom, you're joining in the Germinal commotion?" Bennett asked over the phone, surprised.

"Yes, you should come and play, too," Han Xiao jokingly replied.

"The Dark Net has always been neutral; don't go overboard. The Germinal Organization is a crazy bunch of old hags; they'll attack whoever they see. I'm very frustrated because of them," Bennett said helplessly.

"Don't worry, I've never cheated my teammate."

Bennett doubted his words. "Forget it, anyway, I will need your help with some matters later on."

Over these past two months, Han Xiao had often called Bennett to keep in touch since he had Bennett's number. Furthermore, with Han Xiao's growing fame, Bennett was more than happy to converse with him. Hence, the relationship between the two of them was good.

After pocketing his phone, Han Xiao shook his head, stepped on the accelerator, and drove along the edge of the valley toward the area of his selected spot.

…

The river flowing through Cloud Valley provided moisture for the fertile soil. The terrain was relatively diversified; there were plains with shallow grasses, forests and hills. The scenery was beautiful; it calmed and relaxed one's mind, compelling people to put down all their hatred and troubles.

Stardragon had a massive amount of land troops lying in ambush in the area, and they were armed with all kinds of battle equipment—tanks, attack helicopters, a coverage array of medium-distance guided missiles, and also a large number of minefields.

The commander of the land troops was a Stardragon official known as Huang Qiuming who had over twenty years of military service. His style was serious and meticulous. The reason Stardragon's higher-ups had decided to use him was because they had taken a liking to Huang Qiuming's stable style. As long as this battle followed the plan, victory is assured.

In the command vehicle's position, Huang Qiuming looked at the map filled with markings and nodded expressionlessly.

"Everything is in order; the first layer of ambush is a minefield. If Germinal do not come in, they will miss their chance to meet with the maritime forces. Therefore, even if they are aware of the traps, they will still have to advance forward. The armed helicopter troops are always on standby; they can attack the minesweeper enemy troops from above, and the array of missile vehicles is always aiming at the edge of the woods. Once the enemy crosses the woods, we can strike…"

As long as everything went according to the plan, the enemy would have no way to escape.

…

The evacuating Germinal troops in the Southern Continent formed a large fleet with hundreds of different tanks; this huge army consisted of all the survivors of the retreating troops.

Lin Yu was the chief commander while the person in charge of the land troops was a white man known as Ugar.

Ugar was well aware that the troops were about to be ambushed. In order to keep up with the maritime forces, they had to pass through Cloud Valley. Hence, they were unable to avoid this confrontation. However, he had already made preparations for it; the evacuation troops of these bases carried with them new weapons, and some were rather formidable, definitely able to catch the enemy by surprise.

All these experimental weapons were important goods, and they even had some secret weapons who had undergone human experiments, specifically, the [Super Soldier Project].

…

After one big lap, the truck stopped at the edge on the other side of Cloud Valley. The tip-off had shown that this was a route that the Germinal land troops were unable to take as it was very far away.

Han Xiao did not enter the woods and took out a pile of spider detectors, more than forty in fact. They were activated through his tablet computer and started vibrating. They looked like a bunch of troops waiting for orders.

After two months of accumulation, Han Xiao's skills had improved again; thus, his existing machinery had been renewed and strengthened. The spider detector was equipped with a low-level smart chip that automatically detected threats and fed them back to the computer. Hence, there was no need for Han Xiao to constantly refer to the screen. By adding a new drawing SUI anti-radar detection coating, it could better conceal its tracks, which was suitable for designated surveillance.

Han Xiao sent most of the spider detectors into the woods and left a few to advance in the opposite direction to scout for the Germinal Organization's arrival.

While doing this job, Frenzied Sword got off the truck and noticed an extra line of words appearing in the status column.

_____________________

You've gained [Severe Car Sickness].

30% deducted from all attributes.

_____________________

"What the hell is this?" Frenzied Sword was flabbergasted. The experience feel he set was twenty percent true. He did not fully experience the thrill of the old driver's driving skills, but the interface showed his physical state truthfully.

"Need me to do anything?" Frenzied Sword asked, thinking he could trigger a mission.

Han Xiao shook his head. "Not at the moment."

Frenzied Sword's combat strength was too low for this type of battle. He would only be useful as fearless cannon fodder.

Various minefields and radar detections had been laid in the woods a long time ago. Anyone entering the area would draw attention. Patience, adequate preparation, perfect planning, and calibrating other mechanical weapons were all he needed to do for the time being.

There were still a few days before the arrival of the Germinal Organization's troops. Han Xiao had been preparing and waiting in the van. Frenzied Sword was by his side, receiving small tasks from him every day.

Even though he thought that Frenzied Sword had potential, he would not groom Frenzied Sword fully. The EXP he gave Frenzied Sword was limited compared to those players in the same period, yet Frenzied Sword was extremely satisfied.

Han Xiao was also reading the forum every day; the players were still as enthusiastic as before. He mainly paid attention to the Aquamarine section to know the progress of the players. It was still the novice phase. After they had grown, there would be a huge event that targeted the players waiting for them, and that was the prelude to the chaos.

Does me disrupting the quest mean that the player's misfortunes will be delayed… or will they be brought forward?

Han Xiao rubbed his beard stubble, silently pondering. That was the first time the players had raised the attention of major forces on the planet. He still remembered that the previous generations had caused a ruckus that resulted in an extensive discussion, which was highly praised.

…

The moon was covered by dark clouds, and there was a thick fog that made it impossible to make out one's own hand.

Spider No.1 was in the plains under the night sky, motionless, and faithfully executing the orders in sequence.

Boom!

The ground suddenly vibrated, and Spider No.1's sensor felt the tremors. The detector immediately charged toward the direction of the vibrations.

A huge fleet of Germinal Troops could be seen in the distance, and Spider No.1 was right in their path.

Spider No.1 loyally transmitted out an alarm signal in the form of electric waves.

The vehicle was nearing, yet Spider No.1 foolishly remained, not knowing to hide.

Whoosh!

The huge fleet rapidly rolled passed, leaving a cloud of smoke behind.

It was not until the smoke and dust dispersed that the appearance of Spider No.1 could be made out.

Its body was covered in dust, yet it was not damaged in any ways; it seemed like the compressed wheels surprisingly did not grind over it at all.

Spider No.1 moved its limbs and turned around before continuing to follow its orders and dumbly following the fleet.

Chapter 137: A Wild Black Phantom 1

Han Xiao's tablet received real-time alerts from Spider No.1. He immediately hopped off the driving seat of the truck and signaled Frenzied Sword, who had been waiting online for two whole days. Han Xiao remembered that the VR-Capsule of this era had yet to perfect the body analysis and nutrients-balancing functions.

No wonder he is a professional player. Guy's got great kidneys.

"Let's go," Han Xiao said.

"Okay…" Frenzied Sword was confused, but following Han Xiao would never be a bad choice.

The pitch-black truck had a layer of SUI anti-radar paint coated over it. Han Xiao came up with this using the basic theory of Spatial Sensing, and it had been effective at reducing the chance of being discovered by radars.

The second the armies from Stardragon and Germinal met each other, a massive war would break out; that would be the perfect time for a third party to take advantage of the situation.

First, they needed to find a suitable hideout to snipe from. It needed to be some distance away from the battlefield. Han Xiao had found a spot long ago, and it was a cliff along the mountainous range in Cloud Valley. That location was perfect for aiming at the barren fields beyond the forest. This meant that the moment the Germinal Organization's troops stepped out from the jungle, he could start firing away.

The only problem was that he had to arrive at the mountain range fast and avoid getting detected by the army radars in the process. The painted layer could not guarantee evading detection, so there were risks of getting exposed. However, Han Xiao was not too worried because by the time Germinal's troops drew near, the army in the valley would be too occupied to be bothered with him.

The truck sped into the valley jungle.

...

"Commander Huang! The radar is showing a suspicious target!" shouted a soldier in the Stardragon Strategic Department tent.

Huang Qiuming strode over to the radar display screen, which was showing a flashing light entering Cloud Valley region. The signal was inconsistent and weak, and it seemed that the target had a certain level of anti-radar capabilities. It only showed up because Stardragon army was using an army radar this time, which was extremely powerful.

"Only one target?" Huang Qiuming's eyebrows were tightly knitted together. He felt that it might be a Germinal scout, but the location of target was very far-off from the path that Germinal was taking.

"Whatever it is, just deal with it first." Huang Qiuming did not want any unwanted surprise elements to hinder the plan, and he was about to send out a stand-by troop when all the radar detection screens blacked out simultaneously!

"What's happening‽" Huang Qiuming shouted.

Soldiers rushed to recalibrate but to no avail.

"Reporting to you, Sir. The radars have been deactivated by very strong electromagnetic radiation, which is coming from the direction of the Germinal army. We found the Germinal army's tracks three minutes ago, and the preliminary conclusion is that they have some sort of advanced device that can destroy radars!"

"They want to take away our sight. Activate the spare radars, mute their electrical signals. Make sure they are powered on randomly once every five to twelve seconds." Huang Qiuming seemed composed and quickly issued his commands. As for the suspicious target, he could only leave it aside. It was more critical to deal with the huge Germinal army at this point in time.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a screeching sound could be heard coming from the horizon.

A dozen mid-range missiles were steadily approaching Stardragon camps, leaving fiery trails behind them. These missiles suddenly split into countless bullet heads in midair and started raining down.

...

At the same time, the Germinal army emerged from the jungle region on the edge of Cloud Valley.

Ugar's face was dead serious. The vehicles were carrying anti-radar equipment, created by the Germinal Organization, that was still in the experimental stages. It was capable of catching radar detection and emitting strong long-distance EM radiation waves that could destroy radars that were in use, all while simultaneously detecting the exact location of the enemies' radars.

Ugar decided that he had found the enemies' base, so he ordered for the beehive-type missile assault vehicle to launch attacks, firing the cluster munition missiles, which was a mature weapon that had already gone past the experimental stage.

What he did not know was that he had indirectly done Han Xiao a favor by destroying Stardragon's radars.

Surely, such attacks could not injure the Stardragon army. Indeed, the Stardragon army aimed and fired their missile intercepting machine guns toward the cluster ammunition, creating explosions and intercepting the bullets in mid-air.

Both sides were ready for the battle. The only question here was: who was more prepared?

"Enemies will soon reactivate their radars. We don't have much time left; we need to launch attacks now!"

Ugar commanded in a dead serious tone, "Bomb-detecting team, you go first!"

With the vehicles carrying portable bomb-detectors leading the way, the Germinal troops were able to quickly detect where Stardragon had planted bombs and detonate them with their machine gun. Germinal was steadily and safely advancing.

This time, when the anti-radar equipment discovered signals from Stardragon's radars, it was unable to destroy the radars as Stardragon's radar would switch off before anything could be done to it. Ugar knew that the real fight would be starting soon.

The helicopters' rotors were roaring as they flew close to the ground. The Germinal troops had to advance against the merciless firing.

Among the flames and explosions, Ugar commanded in fury, "Fire the graphite missiles!"

A handful of graphite missiles soared through the air, landing among the helicopters. Graphite missiles could cause local short-circuit, hitting the helicopter squad hard, causing many to malfunction. The enemy firepower was reduced significantly.

"Mihawks, after your troop gets out from the jungle, lead the assault troops to fight the enemies head-on! Your task is very important; you have to distract the enemies!" Ugar spoke into the walkie talkie.

Mihawks was sitting in one of the transport vehicles, and he replied with a light grunt. Mihawks was extremely well-built, and he was a master of martial arts. His strategic task was to lead a few teams of elite fighters to assault the enemy camps with bombs. His agile combat style, coupled with bulletproof vest, allowed him to dive smoothly through the bullet storm.

Superhumans were mainly assigned to assault and assassinate on the battlefields.

At the Stardragon base, Huang Qiuming stared at the Germinal army expressionlessly as they trod through the jungle. "Artillery, get ready; armored vehicles, stand by; elite team, prepare to fight the enemy assault team!"

Stardragon's elite team consisted of the strongest and the best soldiers, including Superhumans who were biologically equipped with skills to fight. Stardragon was very prepared for this battle.

This large-scale battle scene left the logistic team leaders—Sleepy Winter, Flash Fried Rice, and Rainy Kim—in awe. Judging from the intense atmosphere, hazy smoke, and deafening explosions, they knew that the battle was too high level for them to join in.

"Thought I was going to die when the missiles flew over just now." Twinkle Fried Rice heaved a sigh of relief.

Sleepy Winter laughed bitterly. "Let's just stick to delivering resources. No way we can handle any battle tasks."

Rainy Kim's expression was calm. With a hint of determination, she said, "I want to give it a shot."

"We only have a few handguns, what can we do?"

"I want to try."

"Forget it. If we go, we will just court our own deaths!"

"I. Want. To. Try."

Sleepy Winter and Twinkle Fried Rice made eye contact and relented. "Okay, okay. You're the boss; you are the prettiest. We'll follow you. Let's go together."

Expressionless, Rainy Kim started walking right away after getting their agreement, and the other two could not do anything but keep up behind her.

…

It was a party of gunfire and explosions. Han Xiao slowly drove his car to the target location on the cliff, where he could see the grand fireworks in the distance in the jungle.

There were spider detectors hidden in the jungle. Some of them had been destroyed, but some lived and were loyally updating the battle situation for Han Xiao. Judging from their location, Germinal troops were going to get out of the jungle and into the open fields very soon.

In the distance, on the Tedramira River, explosions appeared on the surface of the water as well. Han Xiao took out his binoculars, and he could see that the Germinal ships were also getting attacked, and the attack was worse than the one they were facing in the valley.

Germinal ships had yet to reach the straits, and they were already getting bombed heavily by fighter jets. The missiles rained down like a storm, and the machine gun interceptor array would not stop even for a second. Huge fiery explosions lit up the night sky and seemed just like fireworks.

"It's time to get ready."

Han Xiao took out a few foldable battery ports, came up with a task with decent rewards, and issued it to Frenzied Sword.

Tasks like setting up traps and stuff were obviously for these fresh, young players.

As Frenzied Sword rushed off to set up the traps, Han Xiao took out a mechanical neck brace and wore it around the back of his neck. It was a soft layer made from unknown material. He turned it on, and a numbing electric shock started to spread from his neck to his brain. Han Xiao shivered slightly and felt adrenaline rush through his body.

_____________________

You have entered [Excitation] mode.

All attributes +5%

Duration: 20 minutes

_____________________

This machine was called [Electromagnetic Pulse Controller]. It was a special piece of equipment that used EM waves to adjust biological conditions and improve the user's attributes. Han Xiao had gotten this blueprint from talent fusing by accident.

After getting ready, with all the needed attributes turned on, Han Xiao lay down with his Ghost sniper rifle in hand and the Red Falcon lying next to him. His eyes were sharp as eagles, and they were glued to the battlefield.

BOOM!

An area of trees was blown up. The Germinal troops had finally made it out of the forest.

"Come on, baby."

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and aimed.

Chapter 138: A Wild Black Phantom 2

"Airstrike!"

Stardragon's missile-carrying vehicles fired mercilessly at the Germinal troops. The missiles approached with high-pitched screeches, adding to the heavy atmosphere

Ugar did not panic; he commanded the troops to close up the gaps in their formation, with the vehicles carrying multi-barreled machine guns at the front, forming an assault formation. This reduced the area of target, and the machine guns destroyed all the missiles in the area in midair, forming a vacuum, allowing the troops to smoothly sail through the explosion waves.

Huang Qiuming paused.

He had just received news that the battle at Tedramira River was at a heated stage; the strategic team had primarily marked out a few locations where Germinal teams could have gathered. The strategic team advised him to change from the original plan to use Plan B. Huang Qiuming made some rearrangements and instructed the interception ring to leave a gap.

At the same time, Rainy Kim and the others made it to the front line. Large number of soldiers gathered with proper attire and equipment, armored vehicles had their engines running, and elite soldiers were standing by.

"How are we going to join in the fight?" Sleepy Winter asked helplessly.

Rainy Kim frowned and thought for a while before nodding. "I don't know."

Then why are you nodding‽ Sleepy Winter wanted to bang his head against the floor.

Twinkle Fried Rice suddenly pointed to the battlefield and shouted, "Someone is coming! Oh sh*t! It looks like a high-level player!"

The other two turned to look in the same direction. They watched as a buff man led a team of well-armed soldiers on heavy-armored motorbikes to separate from the main troop. They sped toward the Stardragon base while smoothly dodging all the bullets.

…

Mihawks dodged a series of attacks on his heavy-armored bike, but he inadvertently triggered a mine, and his bike was blown apart. He began to run, at a speed almost as fast as the motorbikes, through the bullets. His task was to deliver the bomb that he was carrying to the Stardragon base.

Superhumans usually fought in assault teams on the battlefields. Mihawks could see that the enemies had sent their elite teams toward them.

He concentrated expressionlessly and adjusted his inner energy to save up for later.

Suddenly, Mihawks instinctively felt that there was imminent danger, he reacted extremely quickly, pushed hard with his legs, and was going to change direction.

But he was not fast enough.

A bullet with blue light trailing behind it hit Mihawks' neck from the side and caused a huge splatter of blood. He was critically injured. He groaned and spat out mouthfuls of blood. There was absolutely no cover on the fields; his only choice was to keep running forward, but his wound caused him to slow down significantly.

A combat fighter, who could fight through gunfire, had been critically injured by one shot!

Huang Qiuming was shocked.

"That was not us. Who's the sniper‽"

He remembered the suspicious target that had been detected at the start and felt that this shot seems really familiar. He pondered for two seconds, and his eyes widened.

Only a monster sniper could critically damage a superhuman—the Black Phantom that only recently had become involved in underground activities.

Bullet with blue light, it must be him!

What is he doing here? Why help us?

"Commander, what do we do now?" the vice-captain asked.

Huang Qiuming considered and made up his mind decisively "He doesn't look like enemy. Don't care about him; focus on fighting Germinal."

Usually, snipers' skills would be of very limited use in this kind of battle, but when super snipers like Black Phantom came into the picture, it would be a completely different story.

The Stardragon did not know why Black Phantom was helping them, but needless to say, this helped them greatly!

…

Ugar was furious.

"One shot to critically injure Mihawks, that must be that damned Black Phantom! Not long ago, he got Freire's team too. This monster must have joined the fight at Stardragon's request!

Ugar felt immense pressure when he thought of Black Phantom's kill statistics that had been circulating on the Dark Web. He had been crowned a 'Superhuman killer'—way too dangerous. Even though Ugar was stronger than Mihawks, he did not want to have a taste of Black Phantom's strength.

Mistaking Han Xiao for someone on Stardragon's side, Ugar angrily commanded, "Team 3, locate and terminate the sniper. Take the test subjects with you; you must at least divert his attention away from us!"

One armored vehicle left the main troop and sped toward Han Xiao's location.

…

_____________________

You have dealt 1,297 actual damage to Mihawks (LV 40)!

You have critically damaged Mihawks!

_____________________

Mihawks has entered a weakened state. All attributes have decrease 50% for 10 seconds.

_____________________

Wow, this guy is quite tanky. Han Xiao was surprised. This shot's theoretical damage was 1,600. Taking combat fighters' body attributes into consideration, it would be about 1,300. This had knocked out Bai Jin, who was LV 48, in one hit, but Mihawks was still up and running. Combat fighters are indeed very tanky.

This time [Flaming Will] was not too good; it only buffed his attack by 148%. His Ghost sniper rifle had been maxed out in all its attributes after the strengthening. None of the EXP earned had gone to waste. Han Xiao either saved the EXP or used it to level up skills, talents, and equipment, which were the key to having strong firepower!

After his first shot, Han Xiao activated a new task.

_____________________

[Tedramira River Warfare (Misc.)]: You have joined in the battle between Stardragon and the Germinal Organization. Since you have chosen your side, see what you can do for your allies.

_____________________

This was a class C mission. The player had to kill Germinal soldiers and prevent them from escaping. Reward would be based on task performance.

The reward EXP shouldn't be less than three hundred thousand. Han Xiao was satisfied that he could earn EXP by being a busybody.

Han Xiao fired single shots at Mihawks, who could not escape the fate of being swallowed by the explosions and shots. His death was tragic.

This marked the end of a combat fighter who was even stronger than Pan Kuang.

Combat fighters are great in close quarters against few people, but if you want to deal with armies, even if it's not technologically advanced, you must at least be half as strong as Bennett, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Combat fighting makes use of energy. Everyone wants to be a hero, and combat fighting allows fighters to dominate whenever and wherever, without the need of weapons.

However, even though this style of fighting is very strong, one must have gone through the necessary growth. C class marks this line, the level cap for players of in the 1.0 version.

…

The snipers had greatly weakened the assault team, which had been caught by the counter troops from Stardragon. The assault plan had barely started and was already failing terribly under Han Xiao's intervention.

At this moment, he noticed that a troop had veered off from the Germinal main troop and was moving toward him. He changed his target and started firing using the Red Falcon sniper gun. Because Stardragon was also present, Han Xiao intentionally avoided using the high-explosive bullets.

A sniper rifle could only deal limited damage to armored cars, so Han Xiao activated the portable battery that had been set up beforehand.

Three hundred meters in front of the Germinal troop, four portable batteries transformed into small multi-barreled machine guns. They fired rapidly, and some of the armored vehicles exploded on the spot. The remaining soldiers had to spread out and launch counterattacks on the portable batteries.

Once the team spread out, the portable battery was a lot less effective because it had to rotate and aim instead of aiming at one spot.

The portable batteries did not have defensive mechanisms, even if Han Xiao used platinum as the surface material, and two out of four were blown to bits very quickly. Overall, the result was good. More than half of the vehicles were destroyed, and the enemies were significantly weakened.

At this moment, the troops did something that Han Xiao did not expect. The opened the rear of one of the armored vehicles. Three humanoids jumped out of the car and ran toward the portable batteries at a speed faster than car. They looked really strange, and Frenzied Sword was taken aback.

"What in the world are those things?" Frenzied Sword wanted to use detection on them but was informed that he was too far away.

The three humanoids were well-built and expressionless. There were large amounts of metallic joints and structures inside the arms, legs, and spinal regions. The metal was fixed into the bones at joints, such as in their knees and elbows. As they were running, the metallic joints would have blood seeping out. There was no doubt that every movement would inflict great pain, but the trio seemed emotionless as if they could not feel any pain.

Moreover, there was a layer of thin armor growing from the skin of the humanoids.

Han Xiao recognized the humanoids the second he saw them.

Chapter 139: A Wild Black Phantom 3

Germinal's super soldier project has been brought forward a year?

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

This project was originally intended to create humanoids with battle potential. Through exoskeletons cybernetics, they improved test-subjects' physical capabilities by experimentation. Through the pure strength of the technology, it supported their physical body, and as a result, warriors with the battle power of super-soldiers could be mass-produced.

However, the technology was still in its infancy. The process was very painful because the exoskeleton had to be directly connected to the nerves, and various mechanical parts had to be implanted into the body to strengthen the physique.

Only experimented Valkyrie specimens whose mental resilience was strengthened could withstand such modifications. At the end of it all, their sense of pain would fade away, and they would only move on instinct.

By the whole of Galaxy's standards, it was a very undeveloped modification technique and had already been eliminated long ago. But on Aquamarine, the Germinal Organization was able to develop the technique further by neglecting the physical condition of the test-subjects.

The exoskeleton was not only a piece of equipment that could be worn externally, but it could also be infused as a part of the body. Doing so would connect one's nerves to the armor, giving the person greater mobility. However, the Germinal Organization had yet to develop the technology to maturity. By experimentation, they only managed to develop to infant stages of the technology.

Aquamarine's major players each held one or a few advanced skills, and [Nerve Integration] was an advancement knowledge that was in Germinal's hands.

The advanced skill that Han Xiao had learned was only [Advanced Material Composition]. For the players on Aquamarine to obtain the advancement knowledge, they had to have a large contribution after entering the camp. Han Xiao set his sights to the very distant future. Advancement knowledge was very rare on Aquamarine, but in the long term, one could also spend some Aquamarine dollars to obtain it easily. If he were unable to obtain other advancement knowledge from Aquamarine, there would still be other opportunities to do so in the future.

In the original plan, these super soldiers had special effects, but the three experimental super soldiers before him were not yet complete. The bodies even had a large amount of heat armor equipped, and these three were only using the external exoskeletons to strengthen their physiques, which were also incomplete.

Looks like Germinal's experimental project hasn't matured yet. Exoskeletons… Come to think of it, when I was escaping the lab, I left a Lightweight Mechanical Arm behind. Seems like Germinal has been using it to experiment.

Han Xiao's eyes lit up. Such a thought was not without reason. The three test-subjects' mechanical arms resembled the Lightweight Mechanical Arm. They were very sturdy and even had extendable golden shields embedded that could block shots fired by the portable batteries.

The three test-subjects separated from the vehicles and started spreading out the firepower from the portable batteries. The three successfully drew close to the portable battery, bombarding it with countless attacks using their fists wrapped in exoskeleton armor. The exoskeleton that was rooted to the joints released smoke. As they used more power, they instantly destroyed the portable battery, causing it to fall to its side as it cracked open.

After taking down the remaining portable batteries, the three sprinted toward Han Xiao, each step moving them seven to eight meters ahead, with an overwhelming killing intent completely directed toward him.

Han Xiao's gaze remained unfazed as he pulled out his tablet, quickly unleashing another hidden weapon.

The trailer shook violently as two Second-Generation Rovers rushed out to Han Xiao's side. Instantly, they activated [Furious Fusillade]. With both hands, the machine gun released its rounds, as their chests shot out mini rocket missiles, ravaging the three test-subjects. The damage was dealt heavily but was almost entirely blocked by the exoskeleton armor, with only its endurance dropping.

The three test-subjects' stats were also exposed.

_____________________

Based on your level, you acquired the following information:

_____________________

Super-Soldier Experimental Body (042)

Level: 40

Classes:

- [Special Agent] Lv.10

- [Low-level Machine Equipment] Lv.30 (Endurance to Health Conversion Ratio 1:10)

Attributes: 51 STR, 54 DEX, 70 (80) END, 25 INT, 8 MYS, 4 CHA, 6 LUK

Energy: 0

Energy Rank: 500

Grade: E

Health Points: 534/650

Status: [Violent Modifications]: Health Point -150, Endurance -10

Abilities:

- Low-level Spiritual Resilience: +3 Psychological Resistance

- Effective Training: +100 Health Points

- Immunity to Pain: Injuries do not affect combat ability

Skills:

- Basic Close-Quarter Combat Lv.7

- Basic Shooting Lv.5

- Capture Lv.3

- Precise Shooting Lv.1

Equipment:

_____________________

Crane Exoskeleton Arms:

Lightweight Mechanical Arms, equipped with extendable golden shield.

Grade: White

Basic Stats

- Damage: 32–45

- Defense: 20–24

- Power Level: 45

- Endurance: 250

Ability effect: +8 Strength

_____________________

Predator Power Legs:

Lightweight Cyborg Legs increase sprinting speed.

Grade: Gray

Basic Stats

- Damage: 27–31

- Defense: 15–18

- Power Level: 53

- Endurance: 230

Ability effect: +8 Dexterity

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P-2 Embedded Armor Inserts:

Implanted lightweight gold in the skin, provides some defensive ability.

Grade: Gray

Basic Stats

- Defense: 15–20

- Endurance: 500

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The three test-subjects' stats were considered extremely low for LV 40. With such a high level but low-level stats, it meant that they had no potential.

Individually, their health points were very low, but the defense and endurance provided by the exoskeleton was able to reduce the damage to the body to a large extent. Han Xiao did some calculations and realized that this set of exoskeleton armor provided 1,460 endurance points, and nearly 100 defense points. This was the effect due to the equipment. If they only looked at the health points, one would think that it was just a useless clothed armor.

The Second-Generation Rovers fired several rounds, which only took off a fifth of their health bar.

Han Xiao realized that Experimental Body (044) was actually at LV 45, and his stats were at an even higher level that his two counterparts. Perhaps he was the leader of the three.

Meanwhile, Germinal's vehicle team circled back. With the two rovers' firepower, it was difficult to monitor both sides. Han Xiao immediately made a decision.

"Take the briefcase with the red-triangle marking from the trailer. I have something I want you to do!"

Frenzied Sword instantly carried out the orders, carrying the briefcase in hand. Inside it was a bomb with massive destructive power. Han Xiao quickly scribbled down the task and tossed it over.

_____________________

[Brave Sacrifice]: Take your unfulfilled dreams and explode into glorious sparks!

_____________________

Frenzied Sword unconsciously gulped down his saliva.

"Go for it, youngster. I'll leave the stage to you," Han Xiao casually remarked as he continued to barrage the test-subject with attacks.

"I… I got it…" Frenzied Sword clenched his jaw. The rewards from the task were extremely attractive and could definitely make up for the death penalty.

The strengthened Red Falcon released a series of shots, leaving bullet holes in the three experimental subjects' bodies. Han Xiao's aggressive abilities had already reached the maximum level. Through the cracks in the exoskeleton, he dealt damage straight to the flesh. His attacks were on point, restricting the three test-subjects.

Soon, No. 042 was shot in his vitals by the barrage of attacks. His health bar receded to zero as he fell to the ground, dead. The other two, however, were nonchalant to the death of their ally, continuing to charge forth.

On the other side, the other military truck closed in rapidly toward them. Han Xiao redirected the Second-Generation Rover toward it, opening fire against several military vehicles. The tightly packed firing left red streaks amid them, as though it was a rainbow that linked them together.

The rover's endurance rapidly fell. Seeing that they could not withstand the attacks, Han Xiao commanded the rover to dive into the team and execute the self-destruct function. The enemy, unable to react in time, was enveloped in striking flames that swallowed up several vehicles as a series of explosions ensued.

Both sides were decimated at once.

With the loss of two Second-Generation Rovers, Han Xiao remained unfazed. Technology-based warfare was just like that, money-burning… But he was indeed generous. If it was another player, they definitely could not bear to do such a thing. However, Han Xiao had all the money he needed.

The sniper rifle had a limit to its firing speed. Finally, both test-subject were within fifty meters of him.

Frenzied Sword remembered the contents of the task. Steadying his heart, he leaped forward, lunging onto No. 043 as a fist pierced through his chest. He spat out a mouthful of blood and clenched his teeth as he activated the bomb in the briefcase.

Boom!

A mini mushroom-shaped cloud rose up into the skies. The sweltering wave of hot air mixed with dust exploded, and the fully-equipped Han Xiao was splattered with dirt.

Through the smoke, the debilitated No. 044 Experimental Body rushed over again. In the moment when the explosion took place, No. 043 was ahead of him in the rush and exploded into nothingness. No. 044 immediately dropped to the ground and was still able to move as his gaze oozed with bloodlust.

With only the last ten meters left, in a second, he would be able to lodge his steel fist into that foul sniper!

At that moment, [Flaming Will] finished its cooldown!

Han Xiao suddenly threw aside Red Falcon, reloaded the Ghost sniper as he activated [Overload], reinforcing it with [Flaming Will], and fired.

The bullet, with blue light trailing behind it, disappeared from sight as it shot straight through No. 044's head. Blood spurted out like an arrow, leaving a thin, long streak of blood on No. 044.

No. 044 took several steps forward without losing momentum. Suddenly, his body tilted, falling to Han Xiao's feet. Just one more step, and he would have been able to reach Han Xiao. His still eyes had a trace of unwillingness.

This scene was far too familiar to Han Xiao. Fighting with a Mechanic, distance was always the determining factor between a win or a loss. Many other enemies had fallen right before reaching their target, just like this.

It's a shame. Even if you managed to engage me in close-quarter combat, you wouldn't have lived.

Han Xiao shook his head. There were still many cards that he had not shown yet. These immature test-subjects were far from his match.

_____________________

[Second Advancement]

Current Progress: 1/3

_____________________

The battle this time could be considered an easy fight. Mass-produced assembly line soldiers were the easiest enemies for him to take on.

There's still two more.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He only needed two more higher-level kills before he could increase his rank. The interface displayed a sea of EXP, and he was looking forward to advancing his skills.

Frenzied Sword sacrificed his virgin death. Ten seconds later, he was revived next to the trailer. Looking at the quest rewards and enemy kill experience, he could not hold back his grin.

The Germinal team that had come to intercept him had been eliminated. The heated battle grounds were already at the pinnacle of its battle. Stardragon's and Germinal's foot soldiers had both been massacred. The battle was at a standstill and in a complete mess. Han Xiao spared a few glances and decidedly knew that he would no longer get a chance to interfere.

After contemplating for two seconds, he quickly made a decision. He beckoned the grinning Frenzied Sword onto the car.

The vehicle continued to travel onward, circling around the heat of the battle, and headed in the direction of the Tedramira River.

…

In the battlegrounds, Sleepy Winter taunted, "Did I see that right? Is that Frenzied Sword‽"

Han Xiao's battle was very conspicuous. They saw Frenzied Sword's ID floating above his head and got a shock. Twinkle Fried Rice was at a loss; even the cold, prideful Rainy Kim had her mouth wide open.

Sleepy Winter remembered that even at the internal examinations, Frenzied Sword rejected his goodwill and did not enter the Stardragon Army. So, how could he be on the battleground now? And by self-destructing, he defeated a high-level monster; they saw all of it happen!

"If my eyes didn't play tricks on me, that black-clothed person he's following… that was the Black Phantom, who appeared a while ago at Big Horn Mountain," Rainy Kim suddenly said.

"Are you sure about that?" Sleepy Winter asked.

"I recorded the entire battle just now. Just watch it and you'll know," Twinkle Fried Rice said.

Sleepy Winter seemed to be a little depressed. Frenzied Sword and the three of them had started on the same foot, but now he seemed to have gotten way ahead of them. It made Sleepy Winter feel a little pressured… and curious as well.

No wonder he didn't want to join us during the internal beta. What exactly happened to Frenzied Sword? Why is he with Black Phantom?

Chapter 140: Backup

The battle was raging on the Tedramira River.

Hesla was responsible for securing the waters. A naval formation was stationed at the estuary, and a huge portion of them were battleships loaded with large-caliber artillery. The Germinal Navy was bombarded from a distance of over ten kilometers away. The cannons firepower could reach ten over miles, piercing through the air at high speed, forming a parabola in the night sky. This brought significant damage to the Germinal fleet.

The destroyers in the formation launched several homing missiles at the beginning of the battle, but they were intercepted by Germinal Fleet's cannon in the air. They were now useless. All they could do was maintain the defense line.

The command ship, Scyther, positioned itself in the center of the formation.

"The enemy is roughly twelve kilometers away from the water mines near the exit of the sea. Don't give the enemy any time to break out of the trap." Scyther's Admiral assigned the tasks in a swift and decisive manner. "Deer, Carp and Shark units have been preloaded with torpedoes. Await Germinal's entry and then fire away! Feed them full with a round of firepower.

"As for the offense formation, maintain the intensity of firepower; no change. Sonar scanners take note of the surrounding waters; there could be a chance for Germinal reinforcements to appear. Inform the Stardragon's men to release some infantry units whenever necessary. Delay the Germinal Navy's time…

"Transfer this message to Stardragon's Commander: We need their assault troops to be on standby!"

On the other side, the troops that were deployed to fight the battle surrounded and harassed the Germinal fleet. Using bombs as their main form of attack, this caused quite some trouble for the Germinal fleet. There were bound to be some lucky cannon balls that escaped their intercepting fire, and when this happened, three of their ships sank. As the fleet's main purpose was to evacuate, their weaponry was not sufficient to wage a war. They were not even able to lock on to the high-speed battleships, let alone trying to deal any damage.

However, Germinal still had a plan of their own!

A fighter jet poured another wave of ammunition, and while the pilot was preparing to make another round, a shroud of dark fog exploded around him all of a sudden. A figure appeared out of thin air. It was a demon with dark eyeshadow and ear studs, with a sharp blade in his hand. He quickly sliced through the pilot's throat, splashing blood upon the window.

The fighter jet crashed down in the water with the pilot's corpse. The demon smiled coldly and disappeared, leaving only a dash of black fog.

Teleportation ability! Germinal Organization executive officer, Renette.

…

Hila stepped onto the bow of the ship. The wind was blowing through that red hair of hers. She took in a deep breath, raising both her hands as though worshipping the sun. Gray air slowly flowed through from the fresh dead bodies in the battlefield. It gathered from all directions and tingled Hila's five senses.

Her face flushed as if she had breathed in God's medicine. She closed her eyes and then opened them even wider than before. An invisible sound wave rose from her lungs out to her throat, and she screamed.

"Ah—"

It was like a ghost's piercing scream.

The eyes of the pilots in the sky burst, their ears bleeding. Their brains were shaken into a state of confusion. The pilots fell one after another like broken kites, crashing onto the ground and water. They were fried into balls of fire.

A no-fly zone had formed in the sky, and the fighter jet formation had single-handedly been taken down by Hila! The remaining fighter jets received orders and hurriedly retreated!

This was the horrible threat of military operations. They required people to operate the machines. If the operator was too weak, Hila's killing threat could disrupt their mind. Aquamarine's technological advancements did not hold much against Hila's mental disruption skills.

Only a few reconnaissance drones continued to track and observe the sky.

Renette teleported to Hila's side, with one hand painfully rubbing his head. His nose was bleeding, and he had a dark, gloomy expression. "Were you trying to kill me as well‽"

Hila gave him a cold shoulder, refusing to answer. Renette could only swallow this breath, not daring to provoke her.

In the command room, Lin Yu did not really pay much attention to the battle. He looked at his watch and whispered to himself, "It's almost time."

The Germinal Organization's infantry had broken through the defense line and was now rapidly approaching their intended destination. Stardragon's army executed according to plan; they opened the gates to allow water to gush in. They wanted it to be a naval battle. Hila would take over the confrontation after the infantry units had boarded their ships. These infantry units would just be useless in a naval battle; they would also become a burden. They were reducing their death toll but weakening themselves too.

There was a new type of missile up on the destroyer ship that could cruise and split and avoid attempts to intercept it. The very moment Germinal's fleet and their infantry linked up, they would fire, and one round of it would cause major deaths to Germinal's fleet. The Germinal troops would then begin to flee. Division 13's ambush units would then board the ship and slaughter everyone aboard.

That was the next step of the plan.

However, in reality, things never went according to plan. Accidents were bound to happen.

Dududu!

The piercing sirens upon Hesla's command ship sounded. The radar detected dozens of targets approaching at high speed underwater.

Ghostly torpedo!

Where did it come from!

It was too late to intercept it. A warship near the seaport exploded, fire spurting everywhere.

Hesla's high-ranking officers had been paying close attention to the battle. The naval formations made them extremely furious.

"Anti-sonar submarines‽ How did the signal not sound anything at all? How far is the enemy's range‽"

These could only be Germinal's submarines. Where did they come from? Could it be that Germinal had planned this all along, to withdraw some troops from Andrea? Or was there a secret base on an island nearby‽

No matter the reason, the enemy had reinforcements, and they now needed to deal with the unexpected situation!

"Where are our submarines‽" Hesla's officers roared. They had planned for several submarines in the vicinity as backup and immediately activated them to search for the enemy's submarines.

The navy suffered heavy losses and were busy tending to emergency repairs. They could not proceed with the missile strikes. This caused strategic disruptions, and the situation was getting out of hand.

Germinal's fleet took this chance. They changed their formation. The ship sailed to the shore, opened up, and lowered the slats, providing a bridge for the ground troops to cross. The edge of the stern dragged along the shore of the beach. This method came with a huge risk of beaching the ship. Other ships would throw a hook to link the ship. That way, even if the ship became stuck, it could be pulled back to sea anytime.

The root of Lin Yu's confidence came from their submarine team. They were reinforcements that Germinal's forces had called for early on. They relied on this ambush, breaking Hesla's blockade and strategic formation!

In order to break through Stardragon's ambush, Ugar had lost more than half of the troops, and when this opportunity arose, he immediately ordered the team to speed up and rush toward the barge ship.

Stardragon's assault troops, which were on standby, became anxious. They followed Hesla's plan to launch a round of missiles first before rushing up. If there was no such link, rushing up would simply be equivalent to commiting suicide!

"What shall we do?"

If they waited any longer and the Germinal Organization's forces manage to link up successfully, there would be no more chances.

The assault troops were all from Stardragon's Division 13. They were all specialists and elites. They could hear their superior's command. It was only one word.

"Forward!"

There was no hesitation. The assault teams rushed forward. Germinal's Navy fired a round of missiles at once, and the ambush troops forced their way through the gunfire. Fireworks lit up beside. Their comrades fell and exploded, but they remained unfazed. They were fearless.

As a soldier, they always followed orders. Even if it was a magma in front of them, they would still have to jump. It was with this steel-like will that Stardragon stood out from hundreds of countries since the beginning, becoming one of the last six winners.

Chapter 141: Duel

Wearing his power suit, Zhang Wei stood at the front of the battleship as the barrier. Lambert dealt damage by sniping.

This assault boat did not only have Zhang Wei's team of four—as Lin Yao was not taking part in battle—there were still ten elite fighters.

The battleship surged forward through the waves, surfing through the onslaught of bullets and missiles before it collided into the Germinal ship with a loud bang. The infiltration team jumped aboard and began exchanging blows intensely with the Germinal soldiers.

The infiltration team's attack strategy only had two goals. The first was to massacre the barge's attack forces and destroy the land vehicles that were on the boat. The second was to take control of the boat. As Hesla's backup troop did not arrive as planned, the infiltration team was not in a good position. They were falling into a difficult battle.

The Germinal Organization's plans were affected, causing their progress to slow down. The Germinal executive officers set out to counter Stardragon's infiltration team.

Zhang Wei's team was struggling to get the upper hand on the barge. Suddenly, a strong gale came rushing over without warning, like a ghost. The team's internal alarms rang on high alert as they hurried to dodge it. However, they still could not dodge the shockwaves of the wind. A strong wave of dizziness overcame them.

Clenching their teeth, they looked toward the direction where the enemy was standing. There, they saw Hila whom they had once crossed swords before.

Hila had a cold expression. She still remembered she had once fought the Stardragon soldiers. Last time, she had taken a small loss because of them. Remembering that, her killing intent was more murderous than before. Both of her hands emitted a dim, gray light, as if they were balls of mysterious, sinister energy that could suck them in. Furthermore, it was continuously growing in size. It would be hard to imagine how frightening the next blow could be.

Hou Yue had a pained expression on his face as he held up both his guns with the intent to aim. But with a light sneer from Hila, her voice carried forth an overwhelming psychological suppression from the Necromastery ability. As if he had taken a hard blow, Hou Yue staggered backward as his nose spurted blood.

Hila did not even spare him a look as she turned her gaze to Li Yalin. Her killing intent was clear. This was the special female assassin that had used the Lightweight Mechanical Arm; she definitely knew Zero's whereabouts!

Li Yalin had a look of steely determination. She pulled out her Foldable Machete as she lunged toward Hila fearlessly. As the pugilist in the team, she had to initiate battles.

Hopefully I can last the first bout. Li Yalin quietly clenched her jaw. As long as she could hold out till Hila's next attack, she had confidence that she could close in to restrict Hila's movements such that she would not have time to release another one of those psychological attacks. Even though Hila's abilities were strong, she was only using the attack on a superficial level, and every release required build-up to release the skill.

"Naive." Hila remained expressionless. Flipping both her palms, she was about to use the highly-concentrated Necromancer's abilities to shock Lin Yalin into an idiot.

However, the next second, a sudden large wave of power surged toward the side of her ribs, causing her to fly off sideways as she collided into the side of an SUV, and her ribs throbbed with pain.

Hila was in so much pain that her face turned ashen. With a deep heave, the Necromancer's power on her hand suddenly dissipated. In her shock, she turned to look at the source of the attack.

There was a van driving along the shore, staying alongside the boat. From the driver's window seat, a sniper was hinged on the window as a black-gloved palm held onto this deadly weapon with its muzzle releasing thick smoke.

Han Xiao cocked the gun, and another smoking bullet was released from the muzzle. He sat in the main driver's seat, and the smart-chip system in the van began driving on autopilot. Driving at a constant speed, it drove alongside Germinal's boat. When they reached the valley, he had spotted traces that Stardragon might let Germinal troops off the hook. So, Han Xiao drove to the lake beforehand; his target to capture the Germinal executive officers.

He spotted Hila in an instant, then he saw Zhang Wei and the others. Slightly taken aback, he did not expect this coincidence. Seeing his former teammate fall into danger, Han Xiao did not say anything else before pulling out Red Falcon and firing. Hila's defensive air barrier was weakened to a large extent, and its penetration abilities dissipated, turning into momentum that pushed her away.

The interface displayed Hila's abilities. After one year, Hila had leveled up from LV 30 to LV 40, and Han Xiao was at the same level as her. He could see her stats, and her two strongest stats were Mystery and Intelligence. Her abilities were described as well.

_____________________

[Necromancer's Power]: Dictating death and capturing souls.

Potential Rating: S

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Outsiders could only see the description of the ability. Only the master of the ability could see the specific effects and the extent that it was developed.

Through her basic knowledge, where she used her genes to develop her ability, more applications for her techniques could be obtained.

Even though Hila's ability potential was high, she was only at LV 40 now. Her strength had yet to be completely used to its fullest potential, but Han Xiao did not have any interest in Hila's battling methods. Hila's special abilities seemed to lean toward attacking, but actually, it was actually a versatile ability. From Hila's abilities, he saw several textbook specialties as well.

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[High-speed Fusion]: Grim Reaper's power is able to heal flesh wounds—Under regular circumstances, +500% health regeneration speed. While using energy, +1000%–2000% health regeneration speed

[Vitals Immunity]: Scent of death supports your life—Vitals are immune to critical attacks

[Soul Disregard]: Dictators of Death fear nothing—+20% resistance to negative effects, +30% psychological resistance

[Ignore Sudden Death]: Death is like the wind, always by your side—Will not receive any fatal attacks. When health points are lower than 1%, a special status effect will be obtained

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Han Xiao was helpless; these abilities made Hila practically impenetrable. No, it should not be described as impenetrable, but rather like a cockroach that would not die no matter how much one hit it, unless one used an extremely strong attack ability to finish Hila off.

Oh, I forgot, she was even immune to instant death. Forget it, I'm probably better off just taking a nap…

Han Xiao shook his head.

As expected of the future big boss, the number of her abilities is almost as high as Bennett's. The only difference between the main roles is just luck.

Hila, the hardest person to take on, was the first person he had met, but Zhang Wei's team had fallen into a difficult situation. Since he had the means to help out, he naturally would not stand aside and not lend a helping hand. After all, they had fought together side by side before.

Taking advantage of Hila's distraction, Li Yalin closed in and slashed at her. Hila, as she staggered back in pain, was infuriated by Han Xiao's sneak attack. Meanwhile, her wounds' recovery could be seen by the naked eye. However, her being on the boat meant that she could not take out the sniper on the shore. After all, she did not specialize in speed and could only use a vehicle as a barricade against the sniper.

Yet, once Li Yalin, Zhang Wei, and the others found an opening, they instantly engaged in battle with her, forcing Hila to move out of position, exposing her to Han Xiao's sniping view.

Even though they did not know who the sniper on the shore was, they knew that he was evidently there to help. So, Zhang Wei's team took the initiative to launch a cooperative attack.

This strategy was very effective. Hila's movements were instantly restricted, and with the sniper's uncanny ability to find openings, he managed to stop her from counter-attacking at the right moment every time. This synchronized perfectly with Li Yalin, Zhang Wei, and the others' movements. Hila realized that she had actually fallen into a situation where she could not retaliate at all. Thus, she could only stay on the defensive, dodging every attack.

But from Zhang Wei and the others' perspective, it was a ray of light for them. Originally, the team of four had created a battle strategy. But after Hou Yue received heavy injuries, it rendered him unable to fight and left a hole in their teamwork. But that sniper was able to patch up that gap. At every critical moment, he managed to fire a timely shot to assist them.

It was as if he was someone who had a solid grasp of their fighting style.

Who was he?

Li Yalin and Zhang Wei began to have such thoughts.

Hou Yue, who was still suffering from dizzy spells, could only fend off regular soldiers. Watching Zhang Wei and the others coordinate with the sniper, he suddenly felt as if that sniper was actually a real team member of theirs, and it was he who was only an outsider.

"Hila is held up?" Lin Yu furrowed his eyebrows. Looking toward the van at the shore, he squinted. "Black Phantom? What is he doing here?"

They were almost at the end of the estuary. Just slightly ahead of them was the sea. Lin Yu was in dire need for Hila's abilities to deal AOE damage. She definitely had to get out of that situation. He ordered, "Ugar, get rid of Black Phantom."

Ugar had already boarded the ship. Overwhelming with his dark purple aura and without any further orders, he was about to lunge toward Han Xiao, who was in the van. But suddenly, he sensed a wave of energy from someone with pugilist powers that were equal to his. When he turned to look, a middle-aged Stardragon special agent had just stepped onto another ship. His fists, wrapped with a flaming-red aura, slammed into the side of an SUV that was parked on the deck with a force comparable to a steam hammer.

That car instantly deflated as it flew out like a bullet shell. Along the way, it collided with a few of Germinal's soldiers and another two cars as they simultaneously flew off the ship.

That fist was as strong as a missile!

Chapter 142: Teleportation Is a Double-edged Sword

"Division 13's trump card!" Ugar's face was solemn, and he no longer cared about Han Xiao. He was locked onto the middle-aged man. Both were powerful martial artists, and as their eyes met, it was as though a bomb just exploded.

Both of them were fuming, and their fists collided like two streaks of transverse lightning striking the sky. The scene seemed to freeze while the sky roared. Ripples could be seen on the surface of the river.

"What a chill!"

Martial artists specialized on controlling their own spirit, and it specialized on training body energy.

Division 13 had played their trump card. Lin Yu had no choice but to send out Ugar, who was at the same rank, to fight back. Exasperated, he ordered, "Renette, go get rid of that Black Phantom."

"Easy," Renette uttered.

As an assassin with a teleportation ability, Renette believed he was the nemesis of all snipers, even if it was Black Phantom. With a snap of his fingers, the tired Black Phantom would be gone from this world.

Renette had always seen himself as an artist.

The next second, black mist flashed, and Renette was nowhere to be seen. All of a sudden, he appeared in the driver's seat of the truck and was going to stab the sword through Han Xiao's head.

"Teleportation?" Han Xiao was alert and immediately activated the full body electromagnetic armor.

However, the sword was unable to reach even his armor. Frenzied Sword had reacted quickly. He had rushed to block the sword for Han Xiao and died on the spot.

Both were taken aback. Eyes filled with bloodlust, Han Xiao reacted within seconds. He grabbed Renette by his hand using one arm while he activated the thermo-electrical incisor gloves on his other hand. Amid the buzzing of the electricity, he slapped the gloves onto Renette's face, and immediately, a burning smell filled the air.

"AHH!"

The shrill scream was ear-piercing!

Renette was in crazy pain, and he teleported straight back to the ship. As he tried to move his arm, he realized that Han Xiao was grabbing onto his arm. Han Xiao was also brought onto the barge.

Han Xiao moaned angrily and just would not let go of Renette's face. With his five fingers penetrating Renette's skull, the damage dealt was increasing at the speed of waterfall. The pain was so unbearable that Renette let out painful beastly cry, and his expression changed. Han Xiao abruptly raised his other hand and gave him a violent slap. The strength of that slap was over fifty points and instantaneously smashed Renette's brain into a charred lump of meat.

_____________________

You've killed Renette (LV 46).

You've gained 60,000 EXP.

Target was 6 levels higher than you. Energy expended: 82%

You've gain additional 49,200 EXP!

_____________________

[Second Advancement]

Progress: 2/3

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Han Xiao panted, trying to catch his breath. Teleportation is indeed powerful but can be weak too. He is suitable to be an assassin, but he thought my weakness was close range attacks.

Teleportation was not a bad ability. If the Superhuman was careful enough, they could be unbeatable. In fact, there were small differences in various teleportation abilities. For instance, when one teleported, could another be brought along as well? How big was the range? Was it within visible range, or was it anywhere one could think of? What kind of teleportation was this; was it imagination, or was it the recombination of matter? Was the energy consumption constant, or did it depend on the distance travelled? Was it purely just traveling from place to place, or could it be aggressive too?

It was all in the details. These were the death-causing reasons.

In the past, he had encountered other characters capable of teleportation, such as a guy with recombination of matter type of teleportation ability. Once he crashed into a battleship's ionizing shield, he would instantly dissociate into powder. One with the imagination type of teleportation ability would teleport all over the galaxy and ended up overexerting his energy and become weak. Renette's teleportation seemed to be a mix between imagination and recombination of matter. When he grabbed hold of another person's body, the other party would also teleport together. This belonged to contact type of teleportation and could be dangerous once one was trapped in it.

His sniping seemed to be the reason that led to Renette's death. This was also an idea that Han Xiao liked to mislead the others. When assassins thought that close-range attacks could kill him, it usually led to their own death. This disguise instantly tricked one teleporter. If it was a normal battle, Han Xiao knew that he would be helpless against Renette.

Han Xiao stood up and finally understood the situation he was in. First, he got brought onto the ship by Renette, and then Germinal troops were all around him, with their weapons all pointing at him and preventing his escape.

Completely surrounded!

Han Xiao's eyes froze as he covered his chest with his hands.

"Fire!"

Endless bullets drowned Han Xiao.

All of a sudden, with Han Xiao in the center, a strong invisible force was released. Enemies and vehicles within the range of twenty meters all flew out and fell into the river. This area became empty.

Han Xiao was the only person left behind. His chest was not covered by the electromagnetic armor, revealing a palm size big precise device tied to his chest. The device was creaking, and slowly, it became softer, eventually coming to a stop.

_____________________

Field Repulsive Machine

Type: Extraordinary Machine

Quality: Green

Energy Capacity: 110/150 (requires charging)

Effective Range: 20m

Effect: Releases a strong repulsive field and pushes away and objects in the range

Cooldown Time: 6 minutes

Remarks: Get lost

_____________________

After experimenting for two months, Han Xiao had obtained a variety of blue prints and had already started to suit himself up.

Han Xiao pulled out his two third-generation Berserk Eagles, activated his Electromagnetic Hover-boots, and jumped onto another ship.

Since I am here, I might as well kill some people!

With Renette's blood on his body, Han Xiao started his killing on the barge.

The Berserk Eagles had bullets coming out of them non-stop, and because the recoil was too strong, he was unable to move his wrist. The bullets penetrated through every single Germinal soldier, either through their chest or head shot, leaving the floor full of corpses. It was just like a dark movie, whereby no one could stop him.

Soon enough, he arrived on the ship with Li Yalin.

Han Xiao's willful actions soon caught the attention of everyone.

Lin Yu was furious. Renette, that idiot, did not just get himself killed but had even brought the monster onto the ship. Their ship was about to leave the estuary, and yet he still made such a mess!

"Quickly, get rid of that Black Phantom!" Lin Yu demanded. As their commander, he could not attack easily. If he did, there would be no one left to observe the battle.

Hila had long discovered Han Xiao, and she was already full of anger. She clapped her hands and created a mental shock to deter Li Yalin and the others. She took a deep breath and gathered all the power of the corpses, turned, and screamed at Han Xiao. She used all the gathered power on Han Xiao, and the air rippled like a sound wave.

This was like an exploding bomb in the brain!

A sudden pain hit Han Xiao. It felt as though someone was using a spoon to stir all around his brain. The sky in his sight seemed to be tilted as he lost control of his body and stumbled to one side. Feeling nauseous, the veins on Han Xiao's temples seemed to jump vigorously as if they were going to explode.

_____________________

You have suffered 211 mental damage!

You are in a dizzy state!

_____________________

With my intelligence characteristic providing me with a mental defense, I still suffered 200+ damage! If I did not have [Low-Level Strengthened Life], I could have lost almost one fifth of my HP!

On a technologically-advanced new planet, Hila's combat strength was scary!

Bearing the pin-pricking pain in his head, Han Xiao whipped out a gray grenade from his waist and threw it out. His accuracy was compromised, and the grenade landed ten meters away from Hila.

Hila thought that this was the side effect from him being dizzy and did not pay attention to it. She decided to return with a more impactful one, but out of the blue, the grenade detonated. There was no flame nor shrapnel, only an ear-piercing high-pitched sound that rushed directly into her eardrums.

Hila's brain started hurting, and she felt the world was turning, too.

"You can make people dizzy, so can I!" Han Xiao gnashed his teeth.

_____________________

Burst Grenade: Uses high frequency sound to disrupt the eardrum.

Range: 50m

Effects: causes one to feel dizzy

Magnitude of affects determined by Endurance.

Chapter 143: I Will Recognize You Even If You Turn into Ash

Stunning enemies was a tactic commonly used by psychics. Their strong willpower resistance was their strength. However, burst grenades would cause a sense of dizziness at a physiological level because it caused ear fluid imbalances. Therefore, despite the strong willpower resistance psychics possessed, endurance was key in this case. That was the biggest weakness of all psychics, leaving them defenseless.

Hila immediately suffered damage from the attack. Agony was all over her face as she stumbled from one side to another like a wave.

No matter who Hila was, during a battle, she only had one identity—enemy! Han Xiao knew no mercy and continued shooting coldly. The bullets landed all over Hila's body. Eventually, when the bullets ran out, he set the Electromagnetic Hover-boots to the highest power, and before Hila could retaliate, he kicked Hila. She flew up into the air, knocked onto the railing, and finally fell into the river.

The river was stained with blood as Hila's body sank. Han Xiao did not believe that Hila would die so easily, and there was no news on the interface. He expected that after all these attacks, Hila would be able to recover soon enough, but there was no need to worry for the moment.

This enemy is so difficult to kill; I can't just tackle her right now.

As this thought flashed through his head, Han Xiao then had time to think about Li Yalin, a team mate from the past, who was now looking at him with shock.

"Black Phantom?" Zhang Wei asked carefully. He could not help but feel a sense of familiarity.

Zhang Wei did not seem to not recognize him, and that was great. Thinking about the feud between the Germinal Organization and Zero, it was best if he continued hiding his identity. Han Xiao's eyes sparkled and heard Li Yalin suddenly yelling, "Han Xiao‽"

"Han Xiao? Who is that? I think you've got the wrong person."

"It's you! Stop pretending! I could recognize you even if you turned into ash!" Li Yalin gnashed her teeth.

Damn, how did she recognize me? Based on my polished acting skills, how could I still be exposed‽

Han Xiao was dumbfounded.

This young lady is really unpredictable!

Members of the troops were stunned. They were doubtful about Li Yalin's judgement, but at the same time, they were a little convinced. At that moment, Han Xiao, who was in full black, holding Berserk Eagles in both hands, suddenly revealed his own face.

"Oh, that's what you actually look like…" Zhang Wei murmured as he finally understood why Han Xiao had always worn a mask in the past.

In the past, when they were working together for Division 13, Han Xiao had always worn a mask. Members of the troops never saw what he looked like and never knew Han Xiao's true identity. At the moment, they thought that the face they saw on the facial simulator was Han Xiao's actual face. They had expected him to be quite handsome.

No one expected that the famous Black Phantom would turn out to be a former comrade. Everyone was puzzled; had he been that strong in the past? Why didn't he show that, and why did he want to leave Stardragon to become an assassin? The higher-ups seemed to have acquiesced, too.

Wait, he became the Black Phantom of the Dark Net Organization, and the higher-ups were so ambivalent about it; was this actually a secret mission?

"You got it wrong. No time for nonsense now, the enemies are here!" Han Xiao said sternly.

Li Yalin raged. "It's no use even if you deny!"

Right! The higher-ups must have sent him for a secret mission; that's why he cannot reveal his identity! Could it be that Stardragon is going after the Dark Net next?

The crowd was unknowingly forming a misunderstanding about the situation.

The conversation ended quickly. On the battlefield, everyone could only suppress their doubts and focus on dealing with the enemies. It was a fierce battle between Stardragon's commando squad and Germinal Organization's troops. Superhumans were found all over the battlefield, launching attacks with their powers. A symphony of cries of agony and gunshots played through the battle.

A Germinal executive headed straight for Han Xiao. Han Xiao pointed toward the executive with his hands forming a pistol and signalled to the Stardragon team to join forces against the enemy. Zhang Wei and his team naturally had no objection and started fighting by his side.

As the Germinal executive rushed over, his body suddenly swelled up like a balloon and transformed into a four-meter-tall white beast. The white beast started running on the deck like a wolf, and his heavy body caused the deck to vibrate. He opened his big mouth and pounced over. This action was full of elegance and strength.

Transfiguration was a common branch from the Esper family. They could take different forms—some weaker, and others stronger. The forms they took on could be so strange that they could even be out of the imagination. It was said to be related to evolution and various gene mutations. Some would transform into an alien creature while some would transform into wild beasts. This Esper branch appeared most commonly on planets that were magic based. This trait could be passed down through blood inheritance or be acquired through training.

Science and magic formed different civilizations, and there were differences in the understanding of certain things. In addition, their methods of experimentation could be different, too, and each had its own unique points in terms of advancement.

The great white wolf hopped around the deck as it tried to attack. Han Xiao, Zhang Wei, and two others joined forces to try to takedown the wolf. Han Xiao felt it was no one of his business. He allowed Zhang Wei and his power suit to act as the tank while Han Xiao stood at the side and tried to launch some sneak attacks. Sometimes he would use his thermo-electrical incisor gloves to slice a piece of meat off the wolf.

Hou Yao also used his Berserk Eagles, and his action was swift as the coursing river. Initially, he was proud of himself. After witnessing how skillful and minimalistic Han Xiao was and how he would never miss a single bullet, Hou Yao felt like he was making a fool of himself.

You really live up to your name, Mr. Black Phantom, such dexterity in handling double guns, Hou Yao admired secretly.

He had joined Zhang Wei's team mainly because he had received the orders from the high-ups, and he had never ever heard of Zhang Wei's team being able to produce good results. To his surprise, the extraordinary Black Phantom had actually been part of this team in the past.

The great white wolf was beaten up badly. Realizing that it was beyond its ability to retaliate and other executives were unable to help, it turned and fled the scene. Han Xiao had already expected this, and right then, he fired his Berserk Eagles at the great white wolf's eyes, activating the [Flaming Will].

This time, the damage was increased by 3.2 times!

Boom!

The great white wolf's eyes exploded, and it groaned in pain as it fell onto the deck. The whole barge shook for a second. Zhang Wei immediately dealt another blow. With his ammunition emptied, Zhang Wei's arm armor extended into a golden sword. He leapt as his exoskeleton provided him with the energy and latched onto the great white wolf's body as he slashed it violently many times.

The others came forward to help and eventually killed the great white wolf together.

Just then, the backup troops finally arrived at the port and let off a signal flare to signal for them to retreat. At that moment, Zhang Wei turned and asked Han Xiao, "Han… Black Phantom, do you want to leave with us?"

"No, thanks." Han Xiao waved his hand.

"Alright, thanks for your help, I'll remember this. Stardragon will also remember this!"

Zhang Wei's speech had a hidden meaning. Together with his troops, he turned and leapt onto the assault boat. Lin Yalin stared in Han Xiao's direction.

As members of the Division 13 were withdrawing, Han Xiao activated his electromagnetic skating shoes and jumped onto the shore. He rushed for the truck that had been following him around automatically, jumped into the driver's seat, switched it to manual driving, and left the shore speedily.

Hila, who was wet through and through, climbed onto the ship. Fighting off her dizziness, she glared at the departing truck. She was always the one treating people like that, but this time around, she had actually had a taste of her own medicine.

"Black Phantom, I will remember you!" Hila eyes froze as her body healed quickly.

The Germinal troops arrived at the port and released a torpedo, causing the sea mines to explode. With the water exploding, they successfully entered the open sea.

Hesla's navy also came by and was not reconciled to not giving chase. Both ships were restricted by each other. In the midst of the firing the cannons, the Germinal ship sank.

Based on the battle strategies, the Germinal's forces broke free from the attacks and escaped.

However, based on the damages suffered from the battle, Germinal lost seventy percent of their troops while Hesla's losses were less than ten percent of what Germinal had lost. With that being said, victory was definitely not Germinal's.

Although they had not been able to stop all the Germinal forces, both nations were able to achieve the battle objective of damaging the enemy.

All in all, the winners of the battle were Stardragon and Hesla.

…

Through the window, Han Xiao glanced at the sea. As the destruction from the sea battle slowly went out of sight, he shook his head.

"The battle is over."

Han Xiao glanced at Frenzied Sword, who seemed to have revived and was sitting beside him, and wrote him a mission with no requirements. Frenzied Sword had taken a stab for him, and thus, he would give him some EXP even if he did not need to.

The description of the mission was actually the reward for taking a stab for Han Xiao, and that made Frenzied Sword surprised. His action was purely voluntarily as he thought it was okay for him to die but Han Xiao must not. He did not expect any reward, and he became even more determined to protect Han Xiao.

After giving the reward, Han Xiao turned to his own interface and grinned from ear to ear.

_____________________

[Second Advancement]

Progress: 3/3

_____________________

The great white wolf that he had fought against with Zhang Wei was a LV 45 character. As it was a joint battle, the additional EXP obtained was little. However, the requirement for advancement could be said to have been completed, which meant…

I can advance!

Chapter 144: Reward and Impac

Han Xiao was right in the middle of a battlefield. He decided that it was not an appropriate time for his advancement.

I should get out of this battlefield first.

He decided to look through other information first, such as the results from [Tedramira River Battle]. His final evaluation was a B. He had 450,000 EXP on hand, which was far more than what he had expected, and he had millions of EXP accumulated on his interface as well.

[Fall of the Germinal]—the progress of that level A mission had increased by two percent, and the improvement for automated destruction was even better. The evacuating Germinal troops had been a large force made up of many different troops from different settlements. Therefore, when Stardragon and Hesla crippled the evacuees, he also took a share.

The total gain had reached twenty-one percent. This meant that he had completed the requirements of this quest. The Southern Continent could not offer him any further improvements. He could go to the Western Continent and the Northern Continent next to anticipate a large battle like this again. Then he could earn more EXP. After that, he would have to go to Germinal's home base on Andrea Mainland.

There would still be more gains he could reap in the future. So, Han Xiao would not cease [Fall of the Germinal] so quickly. Since the minimum standard was twenty percent and he had already completed the task, it gave him some confidence. This meant he could try and get a higher rating the next time around since he was no longer in a hurry to complete the task.

Based on his experience, the ratings from A-level missions would be higher. The reward was special this time around and not limited to experience, skills, expertise, talent points, special equipment, or even direct rewards of attribute points.

Han Xiao arrived at the location where the Dark Net helicopter was stationed. The driver was on standby as he moved the useful machinery up onto the helicopter. He then blew up the truck without leaving a single trace behind.

The truck had cost him a sum of money, but since he had an abundance of funds, he did not feel the pinch at all.

As the saying goes, it is easy to enter the luxury lifestyle when you're poor, but it is way more difficult to go back to a pauper kind of lifestyle when you're rich.

Han Xiao was very fortunate to step on the wealthy path. The market was huge, and he need not worry about money anymore.

"Everyone says that a man turns bad when he becomes rich, and that is so true," Han Xiao mumbled as he smoked a few cigarettes before getting onto the helicopter, instructing the pilot to take off.

The wind from the rotors was strong, forcing Han Xiao to squint.

…

Waves raged on the dark sea surface, and the smell of blood filled the air.

Breaking away from their pursuers, the Germinal fleet sailed in the boundless sea. They turned on anti-detection to prevent themselves from being discovered by the satellites.

There were many satellites orbiting Aquamarine, and many were from the previous civilization who had fallen. These satellites had been taken in by the Six Nations, but some of them had fallen into the hands of other forces. Some became public satellites for some hackers, and others became space junk.

Each ship had been charred by explosions, and the repairmen were busy fixing them, riveting the steel plates and repairing the damaged mechanical components one by one. The rest of the personnel were cleaning the deck and washing away the blood stains.

Breaking through the blockade made them suffer heavy losses, including the lives of 17 executives. Han Xiao alone had killed three. When Lin Yu was reporting back to the commander, he emphasized on these statistics.

Black Phantom's intervention surprised the commander. It turned quickly into anger as the commander started to feel like the Germinal Organization had seemed to turn into a tiger without teeth. Anyone dared to bully it. At the same time, it also increased his hatred for Zero.

He had disrupted the plan that they had laid out laboriously and also put the entire organization in grave danger. The commander remembered his conversation with Zero before he escaped from the lab. It angered him more whenever he thought of how this traitor managed to fulfil his promise.

The commander then made people add Black Phantom to the watch list as he had no energy to focus on a small assassin at the moment. The main problem on the commander's mind was the next step of the plan for the organization.

All the sub-bases of three continents had been evacuated. Now that they had lost the ability to be proactive, the Six Nations had no more reservations, and it was likely that they would seize this opportunity to start the war. The commander did not wish to see this happen as it would bring about critical damage to the organization. He needed time for the Germinal Organization to recuperate. They had to eliminate Zero, who could see into the future.

Germinal had been in Andrea Mainland for a long time, and if the six Nations were to start a war with them, there was no other choice but to leave the mainland and fight from the sea.

Release the Intercontinental Nuclear Bomb? Not to mention that there are civilians living on Andrea Mainland, Germinal also had anti-missile facilities. If they were forced to their wit's end, they could just set the nuclear bomb off and destroy the world… mutually assured destruction. Of course, that would be his last choice; he could not keep that as a trump card. Even if he were to use this as a threat, the Six Nations would never allow Germinal to continue to grow.

Maybe Red Maple, Ordina, and Hesla would come to a compromise at different stages and start to launch sneak attacks behind the scene, but the rash fool from Theseus and the madman from Raylen would not hold themselves back. They would likely reject any form of compromise and would only launch more aggressive counterattacks. They were not afraid to get destroyed together with Germinal if it had to be.

In the original plot, the four continents were the battlefields for the Six Nations. The secret sub-bases bound the Six Nations and affected the war to a huge extent. Only by having luck on their side, would they have been able to break the stalemate.

When the war got fierce, Germinal troops suffered many defeats and were hugely crippled. As there were not many armed forces left of Germinal, some politicians in the Six Nations perceived their goals to be reached and were voting to compromise. From their perspective, the goal of destroying Germinal had been achieved, and the Six Nations had suffered losses too. They had chosen to allow the Germinal Organization to stay on Andrea Mainland. After all, that was a place where no one wanted to be. Although it was impossible to remove the roots, it could prevent their resurgence.

Any hindrance to the Six Nations had been removed. The Germinal Organization had lost their powerful threats to the Six Nations, such as killing of civilians and destroying cities. Only the Andrea Mainland base camp was left for them, and the Six Nations could combine their powers into one, making the situation for Germinal worse than it already was.

The most urgent task at the moment was to divert the attention of the Six Nations, not allowing them to have time and resources to start the war. The commander gave this thought some thinking again, but he could not think of better ideas.

"Commander, Base 13 has something urgent to report. It is regarding a recent successful test subject from the [Genetic Improvement Plan]. This is the observation record." An assistant handed him a report.

The moment the commander heard the words 'test subject', he felt a headache. He was stunned when he looked at the report.

The assistant then said, "Cases like this did not just happen on one person. As you can see on the following list, this phenomenon seems to have occurred on a large scale, and it is spreading like an infectious disease."

The commander stayed quiet for a while, looking as if he was digesting the information. He then made a sneer under the mask.

"There are weird phenomena, but it seems like luck is on our side. The Six Nations will have to start worrying now."

…

In a room on the boat, the light was dim and kept blinking. Hila took off her black combat uniform and faced the mirror to count the number of wounds on her body. The most obvious one was a bullet at the side of her rib, and the dark blood clot that had formed was terrifying.

Hila was expressionless as she rubbed the wound to reveal her tender flesh.

She looked at the mirror and remembered how her skin used to be smooth and fair with barely any scars. Unlike now, she had so many marks of serious injuries on her body.

Hila lowered her eyelids, and her long lashes covered her eyes. She put on her clothes again and went out to stare at the sea silently.

She had to live and wait for the next battle.

…

Zhang Wei and his team took the plane back to Division 13. Other than Zhang Wei, who had to write the report, the rest of the team closed their eyes as they were overwhelmed with fatigue from the battle.

"Say… how did Han Xiao become Black Phantom?" Li Yalin suddenly opened her eyes with a confused look.

"What, Brother Xiao is Black Phantom‽" Lin Yao was taken aback as he had not been involved in the battle and did not know about this matter.

Zhang Wei then explained the story to him.

Lin Yao was flabbergasted and could not help but ask, "You couldn't have recognized the wrong person, right?"

"I could recognize him even if he turned into ash!" Lin Yalin coldly laughed with confidence.

"Are we not going to look for him and bring him back?"

"He was embarrassed when he left. He must be on a secret mission. I will ask the higher-ups when I report to them," Zhang Wei said as he shook his head.

Lin Yalin could not help but add, "Do help me ask when he is intending to repay me as well…"

Zhang Wei was lost for words.

"Little Lin Lin, you do not seem to be hurt." Di Susu, who was in the same plane, came over. Li Yalin's face suddenly slammed down as she turned her head, ignoring her.

Di Susu was not bothered. She pushed the shy Lin Yao aside and sat down beside Li Yalin. With a playful smile, she moved closer to Li Yalin. She then moved further away hurriedly as if Di Susu was the source of a virus.

Di Susu loved Li Yalin's face of discomfort. She laughed, turning her eyes away, and asked, "Are you guys talking about Black Phantom? I met him once in the past and heard he took part in the war as well."

Chapter 145: The Road to BOSS

Li Yalin's eyes lit up. She was very certain that Black Phantom was Han Xiao. Curious about what happened to him after he left Division 13, she looked past her annoyance with Di Su Su and asked her eagerly, "What was he doing when you met him?"

"At that time, his code name was still Mr. Black, a Scorpion-level assassin, who was involved in a defense mission in Seagull City with the leader of the Dark Net."

Li Yalin pumped her intently for more information. "Have you heard anything else?

Di Su Su raised her eyebrows. "Why are you so concerned?"

"I'm curious about him," Li Yalin explained. She felt that there must have been a deeper reason for Han Xiao becoming Black Phantom. He would not have exposed his identity easily.

Curious? Oh no, that would usually be the first step to the beginning of a love story. We must kill that possibility in its cradle. Di Su Su's eyes froze but her smile remained. She said slowly, "Oh, I got some information about Black Phantom from a female assassin with codename Golden Fox…"

Five minutes later, the listening crowd was staring with glazed eyes, trying their best to process the huge amount of information.

Lin Yao trembled with fear. At some point in time, Lambert stopped wiping his blade.

Lin Yalin mumbled under her breath, "No wonder he had no physical urge when he was touching me…"

Hou Yue swallowed dryly and told himself that he would hide away if Han Xiao ever returned to the team.

"When you meet him next time, be careful." Di Su Su chuckled, got up, and sashayed away, leaving the group staring at one another.

Zhang Wei coughed. "He is our teammate after all. Don't discriminate against him."

Everyone nodded hesitantly in agreement.

Zhang Wei coughed again as he continued to write the report. However, the news was unsettling. He could not ease his mind to focus fully on his report but pushed on nonetheless. As soon as he was done, he got up to look for his Commanding Officer. After submitting his report, he requested to speak to the Secretary.

After a few minutes of waiting, his request was approved, and the video communication was put through. The bald head image of the Director of the Secret Service appeared on the screen. Zhang Wei went straight to the point and said, "We saw Han Xiao."

The Director of the Secret Service was surprised.

Since the last tip off, Han Xiao seemed to have vanished from the face of earth. He could not be contacted no matter how they tried. Although Division 13 had stopped their search for Han Xiao, they were still very curious about his whereabouts.

The Director of the Secret Service said in a serious tone, "Go on".

Zhang Wei phrased himself carefully and explained how they had discovered that Black Phantom was Han Xiao.

The Director of the Secret Service had initially thought that Zhang Wei had seen Han Xiao with his own eyes. Little did he know that it was only a speculation without hard evidence. He stared blankly for a moment before he muffled a chuckle and replied, "You… must have confused the two people."

How could Black Phantom be Han Xiao? One was a super assassin in the Dark Net Organization with an extraordinary level of combat capability. Although Han Xiao had demonstrated his capability previously, he was far weaker than Black Phantom. This guess was just too far off the mark!

The Director of the Secret Service was really amused. He almost blurted out that Han Xiao was Zero, but he stopped himself. The bureau had tight confidentiality rules that prevented him from disclosing Zero's identity to others.

Even though Han Xiao's whereabouts were highly erratic and unpredictable and the Germinal Organization was greatly undermined, hence there was probably not much of a need to conceal Han Xiao's identity, rules were rules.

After all, Han Xiao had been known as a field agent all this while. Concealing his identity could reduce the risk and lessen the trouble. Even though the Germinal Organization knew that Zero was liaising with Stardragon, they had not been able to find Zero all this while. Thus, the Director thought there was no need to let Zhang Wei in on this information.

Zhang Wei had never seen Han Xiao's real appearance, so he could not have found out that Han Xiao's true identity was Zero.

"Um, regarding Han Xiao's real identity… He cannot be Black Phantom."

Zhang Wei stared blankly. He thought, perhaps, that this was a hidden message from the Secretary, for him to stop being nosy about this issue. So… Han Xiao was most likely sent out by the higher-ups on a special mission, which would explain why he needed to conceal his identity.

"I understand," Zhang Wei replied with a knowing nod.

The Secretary was puzzled.

What do you understand? Strange…

…

Stardragon's Division 13 sorted out all the reports and intelligence information and handed the final document to the Seven-Seat Committee. The Committee held a meeting to sort out all the important issues that needed to be discussed, and finally, there was only the issue regarding Black Phantom left on the table. All six knew Black Phantom's reputation on the Dark Net. The discussion was more focused on how they should treat Black Phantom.

"He offered a helping hand, but it could have been at the Dark Net's request or because of his own personal decision."

An elder knocked on the table top and said slowly, "The Dark Net came to us previously. They are going to start the shelter program, so they are requesting our aid. So, this should be a friendly gesture from them."

The members nodded in agreement. The Dark Net had always remained a neutral party. If this was a sign that they are leaning toward the Six Nations, it would definitely be a good turn of events. The Seven-Member Committee quickly concluded that it would support the Dark Net's shelter program and approved their request for material aid. This was their opportunity to return the favor and win them over.

After the meeting was over, Gu Hui and Elder Gao pushed open the heavy door of the conference room and walked down the quiet empty corridor side by side, discussing a separate issue in a hushed voice.

"Have you gotten any other news about Han Xiao?"

"He has not been seen ever since he gave us some intelligence two months back."

Gu Hui shook his head. Han Xiao was the person who provided the information. Division 13 was eager to get in contact with him again, but he was not picking up the calls nor answering any messages. As if he had vanished off the face of the earth, he was completely off the grid. No one was aware of his whereabouts or his plans.

Gu Hui's heart sank as he recalled Han's scrupulous nature.

Please don't be wreaking havoc again…

As for Zhang Wei's speculation, Gu Hui had only heard from the Director of the Secret Service who briefly mentioned it. Without any real evidence, he would not be too bothered. How could Black Phantom be Han Xiao? His looks and combat capability were just not comparable.

Zhang Wei did not know Han Xiao's real identity, so he was blindly guessing, but Gu Hui was aware that Han Xiao was Zero. Their intel was asymmetric; that was probably why it caused a misunderstanding.

…

Information was updated on the Dark Net, and some of the information regarding the Battle of Tedramira River was circulated out. Most people were worried about the volatility of the situation, as if the dark clouds of war were looming on the horizon once again.

The information contained news of Black Phantom's involvement in the fight. Many forces were very concerned regarding the actions of this super assassin. It was apparent that Black Phantom was an extraordinarily powerful Mechanic. There were quite a number of powerful Espers and Pugilist, but Mechanics with high combat capability were rare. Black Phantom should be added to that short list of powerful Mechanics.

"He still made a high profile move."

Bennett sighed with profound resignation and sipped his herbal potion that was meant to suppress his wounds.

Out of the blue, Wang Yuan received a call. His face lit up with joy and exclaimed, "Stardragon has promised material aid!"

Bennett was surprised. That was not a small sum, but Stardragon had agreed to it so readily. He asked, "What did they say?"

"Well, they said they are very grateful for our help."

Bennett frowned in puzzlement. "Help? What did we do?"

On second thought, Bennett realized that Stardragon must have thought that they had sent Black Phantom. Black Phantom was seen as a representative of the Blood Pact Society, and his actions were inevitably labelled as representing the Dark Net Organization.

Bennett was at a loss, not knowing whether to cry or to laugh. Black Phantom had unintentionally done him a favor. He would definitely not clarify this wonderful misunderstanding. "Well, I guess I owe him a favor then. Oh, what did Hesla say?"

Wang Yuan pushed his black-frame spectacles. With a flash of contempt in his eyes, he snorted, "They are still pushing away the responsibility."

Bennett shook his head. He had long known Hesla's way of doing things, and only Stardragon was easier to talk to. If he really wanted to dig out some material aid from the five other stingy nations, it would not be without some long, tedious negotiation.

"With Stardragon's assistance, the initial resources are more or less enough. Let's start the shelter program as soon as possible. The war will break out any time now. The sooner it is implemented, the more people we can shelter."

…

Sleepy Winter and his group finally completed the Camp-destroyer series mission [Battle of the Tedramira River]. Their evaluation was naturally low, but because it was a Super-Level mission, the EXP they had gotten was considerable.

They should have been very happy with the results, but whenever the three of them recalled Frenzied Sword's performance, they immediately felt that the reward from the mission was just too meagre. Comparison always made it worse. The feeling of being far behind someone just felt horrible, not to mention that they had in fact started out at the same time. Rainy Kim was rather calm, but Sleepy Winter and Twinkle Fried Rice were really fed up.

Thinking about it again and again, Sleepy Winter finally sent a chat request to Frenzied Sword.

"Frenzied Sword?"

"Sleepy Winter, why are you looking for me?" Frenzied Sword asked in a humble voice.

"I just wanted to ask, did you trigger a secret quest? We saw you on the battlefield…" Sleepy Winter sent out the video message.

"Oh, you guys were there, too?" Frenzied Sword was surprised.

Why does this tone feel so annoying? Sleepy Winter coughed dryly and chatted half-heartedly before asking about Black Phantom. The video showed Black Phantom in action. Sleepy Winter was well aware that Black Phantom was an advanced figure who had been seen around Big Horn Village, and he was very curious about how Frenzied Sword came to know him.

Frenzied Sword kept beating around the bush and refused to talk about the main topic. Sleepy Winter knew that he was unwilling to share information about the secret quest, and he could only bid farewell and hang up the communication sullenly.

"Did he say anything?" asked Twinkle Fried Rice.

"No." Sleepy Winter shook his head. He was in fact a little envious of Frenzied Sword, but he knew secret quest was something that came with luck. Then, an idea came to his mind.

"Why don't we try speaking to Black Phantom?"

…

The sky was turning bright near the horizon. It was dawn.

At Han Xiao's request, the helicopter landed on a hilltop in the wilderness. Han Xiao asked the pilot to stand by, and stepping off the plane, he took a deep breath. The fresh air invigorated him.

After flying through the night away from the Tedramira River, he was getting ready for his Advancement when Frenzied Sword dropped offline.

A player going offline is akin to disappearing. That gave the pilot a shock. Seeing that Han Xiao's expression had remained unchanged, he suppressed his shock.

Different players had different peculiarities. Although the world had all kinds of Espers that made everyone well accustomed to abnormalities, over time, more and more people would realize the peculiar nature of the players' community, and there would definitely be some interesting developments. Han Xiao could not wait to see this happening. Then he could validate some of his guesses.

Putting aside these thoughts, Han Xiao focused his attention on the interface—the requirements for advancement had been met, so a level-up would mean an Advancement.

He looked at the EXP that he had accumulated over the past two months. Minus the EXP that he had used up for skills improvement and integration of blueprints, he still had a full 6.1 million EXP left!

Finally, a second Advancement! Han Xiao was secretly leaping in joy. His progress had been as fast as a rocket, especially since he had gotten a huge channel to reap EXP after the players appeared!

After this Advancement, he would officially become the top figure on Aquamarine, and this was only the beginning. This meant that he could set foot in areas that he had previously found to be too dangerous, to acquire those rare Abilities and Skills. Quests that could trigger dangerous situations, Abilities, Skills, and Equipment—all that would have a huge impact on his combat capability.

He was already halfway there to becoming someone like Bennett and Hila who could take on BOSS Level Quests with their template Abilities.

Advancement!

Han Xiao entered his EXP.

_____________________

[Mechanic (Trainee)] Level-Up LV 5

+50 Energy, +1 Dexterity, +1 Endurance, +4 Intelligence!

Attained 3 points Unassigned stat points!

Attained 1 Talent Point!

_____________________

You have completed your second Advancement.

Endurance and Health points ratio increased to 1:20!

Chapter 146: Skyrocketed!

After the Advancement, Han Xiao's health point conversion ratio increased from 1:15 to 1:20. It was obvious to him that his body was stronger. He could feel a ball of energy down in his abdomen, invigorating him.

This second Advancement did not unlock as many skills as his first Advancement did. His first Advancement had felt like a complete rebirth, while this second Advancement was way smoother a process than his first one.

Though not explicit as a description on the interface, Han Xiao noticed that his perception had become more acute. The world was more vivid in his eyes.

If he had to describe how the Advancement felt, it would be 'natural'. He could feel the breeze flowing around his limbs and smell the mix of particles in the air. His senses were amplified by several notches.

The second Advancement was a prerequisite to unlock many skills, and of course, the most obvious benefit was that he could upgrade to LV 60.

He had plenty of EXP on his interface, so he need not stay at his current level to accumulate EXP. He could first take [Night Stalker], which was at Lv.6, to its highest level. This would bring him a total of 30 Dexterity, 20 Strength, 10 Mystery, as well as 10 Talent points and 20 Unassigned Stats points.

Han Xiao then assigned his EXP to [Mechanic (Trainee)], a main class with an upper limit of Lv.15. As he progressed, it took more and more EXP for a level-up. He had used up a significant amount of EXP to level it up from Lv.5 to Lv.10.

His level skyrocketed by tens of level and rose directly to LV 50!

As his Energy exceeded one thousand points and reached Energy Level 6, Han Xiao received additional milestone rewards.

_____________________

+6 STR, +8 DEX, +6 END, +10 INT, +400 Max. Stamina, +8% Machinery Quality, +8% Production Speed, Energy Stats Strengthened

_____________________

As one's Energy Level grew higher, the bonus addition became more significant. Levelling up to Lv. 6 was a significant milestone. He could receive a new bonus addition of Energy Stats Strengthened that made the benefits of his attributes more prominent. To a Mechanic, Energy with magnetic properties could be used for producing and utilizing machinery. He could increase the speed, improve the quality, and amplify the power more easily. The actual effect would be far more useful than the numbers on the interface looked.

Mechanics were not like Pugilists or Espers who would require huge amount of Energy. In the beginning, additional Energy might not be very useful to Mechanics, but once he had the ability to utilize his Energy in this manner, his strength as a Mechanic would be more apparent.

[Mechanic (Trainee)] reached Lv. 10. To level up further, Han Xiao would need 800,000 EXP. Han Xiao had around 1,300,000 EXP left on his interface. He decided to save half of it as a backup to integrate blueprints and upgrade other skills.

In the last two months, he had occasionally upgraded some important skills, such as [Sniper], [Moving Snipe], [Continuous Gliding Shots]. Not forgetting his blueprints, his core [Magnetically Controlled Retractable Armor]was already at Lv 5. He was already donning on a new set of armor where his Stats were strengthened. He had also upgraded blueprints like[Ranger Robot], [Low Level Smart Chip]. These blueprints were the ones that were relatively useful.

Han Xiao took a look at the Skill List and entered his EXP into [Flaming Will]and[Fine Intensive Modification]. These two Skills had better value for EXP. After his EXP dropped to half of its initial level, Han Xiao stopped the upgrading process. These two skills were each upgraded by two or three levels.

He had accumulated thirty-eight unassigned stat points, and he threw all of them into his Intelligence stat. That was the crude yet simple manner in which Mechanics upgraded themselves.

After all this was done, his combat effectiveness soared. Without even relying on his equipment, his Energy Rank reached the standard of 12,000 Ona!

_____________________

Level: 50

Attributes: 69 STR, 94 DEX, 82 END, 200 INT, 11 MYS, 6 CHA, 1 LUK

Health: 2,970

Energy: 1,230 [Lv. 6]

Power Level: 1213 Ona

Grade: D

[Take on your equipment. You can be a Boss level figure on this planet if you work hard.]

_____________________

Han Xiao was very satisfied with the growth in his strength. Intelligence had become his strongest stat—it had reached two hundred points! He could be way more productive when he utilized his machinery now.

With the speed at which he was gaining EXP, he would rise to LV 60 in a very short period of time. This was the upper limit for a second Advancement; he was at the top among the version 1.0 players.

My combat capability now, combined with my mechanical equipment, means that I am among the top few fighters in Aquamarine.

Even at LV 50, my Stats are very strong. That is partly because of my expertise and partly because my main vocation is at a high level. This means I can take care of most superhumans without too much difficulty.

I can count on my machinery to help me win, but my expertise and skills are too limited. I'm just too far off from someone like Bennett.

Han Xiao had been busy harvesting EXP from players, and he would continue doing so, accumulating EXP and gaining exposure to increase his popularity. He would be travelling to the novice villages beyond Andrea to teach the novice players basic skills first, and after that, he could proceed to teaching the [Energy Forging Technique]. Through this, he would accumulate a great deal of EXP. With this, he was confident that he would be able to invest in rare skills and abilities very soon.

Two months' worth of EXP was just wiped out in an instant. It would not have been so easy if he was still his old self. He would have wanted to level up the moment he had gotten some EXP. Now, Han Xiao was not too worried about how he could get more EXP.

Players, they were the biggest market!

[Energy Forging Technique] was his trump card. Once he let the news out, it would trigger a frenzy. In fact, any player that had been through their first Advancement would eventually awaken this skill. But most players are unaware of this. As long as he imparted this skill to a player below LV 20, he would be able to harvest a huge amount of EXP.

But there was a condition; he needed to raise his profile so that more players could get to know him.

There are two ways. I could take the initiative to find players or create opportunities for players to find me…

Han Xiao stroked his stubble and was deep in thought.

If he chose to look for players proactively, it would be a trip like his recent trip to Big Horn Village. Other than the novice grounds beyond Andrea Mainland, he could go to the Southern Continent, the Western Continent, and the Northern Continent to harvest some EXP.

It did not seem like he had much of an opportunity to get players to come to him on their own. He could release more tasks after his Advancement, but it was still a drop in the ocean if he looked at the entire player community. There was no way he could attract all the players. He had made a good start at Big Horn Village—quite a number of players thought that Black Phantom could trigger secret quests. But that was far from getting enough players to come to him. He needed a more concrete plan.

After the battle, the Germinal Organization had withdrawn its forces from the three continents and gone into hiding. For the time being, the global situation would remain stable. At the very least, there would be no public declaration of war for some time. The tide had changed. Germinal would not declare war. However, on a second thought, the power had now come to the hands of the Six Nations. It might just bring the eminent war to an earlier date. This was not his original intention.

Resigning to his fate, he could only shake his head.

Nonetheless, the situation was not too bad. If the Six Nations went ahead to start a war and destroyed the Germinal Organization, it would not bring any harm to him. With this thought in mind, Han Xiao was relieved. After all, he was not an egotistical person; he had never felt like he could control everyone. What he had always wanted to do was to make full use of his extraordinary foresight to reap benefits from the power struggles between the different forces.

Even though the situation had deviated from its original track, war was still not avoidable. Han Xiao could not help but sigh. He was powerless as an individual to try to revert the situation. Instead, he was embroiled into the maelstrom. However, precisely because he was whirled into the situation, he could seize opportunities that came his way. This was really energizing for Han Xiao.

For any player to reach LV 20, they will take roughly two months… But now, two months is just nice for me to run a trip to all the novice villages, Han Xiao thought to himself with a smirk.

Having hammered out his next plan of action. Han Xiao began to think about another issue—his own strength.

After his Advancement, he was able to move closer to the upper limit of version 1.0. Of course, there was no real upper limit for him. He was more concerned about his combat capability. Ranks were only a part of his combat capabilities. His capabilities would be more dependent on his skills, expertise, and mechanical equipment. It went without saying that Mechanics were more dependent on their equipment than other classes.

Han Xiao was using his sniper without a hitch. Naturally, he did not want to give up on his sniper. However, he felt that it was time to develop a second combat style to deal with the increasingly complex situations that he would be going in to.

Chapter 147: Inspiration for Lightweight Mecha

Mechanics were known for having a wide range of tactics. Just like how saints would never fall for the same trick again, mechanics would never rely on a single set of tactics. To develop new tactics, one would only need to develop new tactics centered around a core gadget, just like how the core of Lurker Sniper Flow was the sniper itself. Using additional tools like electromagnetic skating shoes, special ammunition, stealth ability, and so on could further strengthen one's prowess.

To a mechanic, developing a new battle tactic was a challenging yet fun task. Brainstorming on new ideas and then being able to bring it to life enabled one to achieve a sense of fulfilment, just like role-playing games.

I have quite a few choices, Rovers, Portable Batteries, self-created Mechas. However, the rovers' attributes and intelligence are weak on their own, and besides, due to their large sizes, they cannot be easily carried around.

Moreover, even if the only model is placed into the robot troop, the outcome will still be unsatisfactory. They are way too expensive.

As for the battery… Even though there is a 'Portable' in the name, the pedestal disc is still too large. If I cannot assemble it within seconds, I can't use it with the flamethrower style. Perhaps, I can only use it as a trap ambush…

There's also the self-created Mechas…

Han Xiao had a lot of blueprints that he could use for the armor suit, such as K600 Endoskeleton, Smart Chip, Exoskeleton limbs, Electromagnetic Hover Boots, Basic Storage Cube, and other modules. In addition, he had acquired all the basic knowledges, including Bio-engineering, Mechanical dynamics, Assembly, and Energetics. He had already fulfilled the criteria for creating his own armor.

This was not a bad idea; however, some problems might still arise. For instance, to equip the Mecha, he would first need a support vehicle that could repair and replenish the materials. Prolonged battling could weaken the attack power, just like a problem every guy would face.

Besides, he did not want to run around wearing a tin can, and it would be best if he could fly. He did actually develop a jetpack, but it still needed some adjustments. When activated, the jetpack would fly away without the pilot. If the jetpack was secured tightly, one could experience what a hundred times the speed of a Ferris wheel would feel like. Han Xiao did not want to try that for the second time, and as such, apart from the small drone, none of his other machines had a flying ability.

Medium scale and large scale Mechas required advance knowledge of [Heavy Machine Modification], and he was only capable of modifying light Mechas. Nano-Muscle Suits were more classic but required advance knowledge of [Miniature Machine Modification].

Suddenly, Han Xiao had a eureka moment and came up with a new idea.

Almost made a grave mistake. Actually, I do not need armor as my tactic core. I can start from the assisting type of light armor, neglecting the firepower and focusing on my personal attributes…

He had an idea. As he recalled the armor he had used or seen before, he thought that basic light armor looked reliable and would be easy to replicate one.

As for robots and turrets, he decided to give up on them since they were inconvenient to bring around, and it was impossible to always bring along a truck. Even with airdrop support, there must be a transport aircraft, and then there was the money… No planes could fly in a country's airspace. Even Fabian Company's planes, which had licenses, had to follow a fixed route, and they were not allowed to fly wherever they liked. It would be alright to fly into the wild, but there would not be stable supply stations in the vicinity, and it would be difficult for airdrops.

As the night faded away, the golden glow of the sun reappeared, turning the sky from pitch black to a light blue.

Han Xiao stretched his neck, and from his collar bones came a cracking sound. He was re-energized and full of enthusiasm, ready for the fresh day. He felt like he could puncture the sky with just one punch.

Of course, that was just an illusion due to his overflowing energy. His senses, after becoming stronger, were also sharper. Han Xiao felt his vision, hearing, and sense of smell had all improved. As such, he was even able to see the details on the rough surface of a tree trunk from afar.

Han Xiao boarded the helicopter and ordered the pilot to take flight.

…

Han Xiao travelled on Dark Net's helicopter and finally arrived at another new village on the Southern Continent after landing several times in between to refill the fuel. This village was also a place where Vagrant Warlords gathered, and it was called Green Valley Ville.

There was a total of nineteen beginner towns for new players' on Planet Aquamarine: five in the Southern Continent, four in the Western Continent, four in the Northern Continent, and six on Andrea Mainland.

Green Valley Ville was a land controlled by the Vagrant Warlords and belonged to the Alumera family.

Alumera, a well-known Vagrant Warlord force with family style management, were headquartered on the Southern Continent. They also had a land on the North continent. In addition, they were in partnership with Theseus. The chief in command was called Darryl Alumera. Anyone with the same last name would be his immediate family member. His other top commanders were all strong players that he had been headhunted to join him, like Second Leader Xiao Jin, Third Leader Bi Qi, and so on. The force was formed by surviving members of various extinct states, and hence, they were a diverse people.

The Vagrant Warlords called themselves different names, including 'Family', 'Group', 'Financial Group', 'General', and so on. They believed that if they formed groups, they were less likely to be bullied or threatened. When the force eventually became stronger, Alumera took control of the military and became an authority in the wild. Many Vagrant Warlords chose to join them, as after all, the Aquamarine wild was not a safe place for most.

All Han Xiao wanted now was to continue searching for players and earning experience through them. Time was limited; hence, he did not stop after the battles but immediately proceed to new villages to search for players.

There were three scenarios when players went online and offline or respawn. The first was 'same spot' respawn. This required some explanation. When one went offline while being on a moving vehicle, then when one respawned, one would not respawn back at the same location, but one would be respawned back onto the same vehicle. For example, if one was travelling in space, but the location one respawned at was not on the spaceship, then that would be crazy.

The second scenario was respawning at the nearest city. That only applied to respawning players and not for those that were logged in. This meant that if one was killed, one would earn a chance to travel to a city for free, and it was either the city that one wanted or the city that one did not want.

The third scenario was binding to a certain respawn location. However, this required special conditions, including affiliation to camps, special items, or through agreements with NPCs. For example, when one joined a secret camp, one could bind to the camp and select it as one's respawn point, but others would not be able to do so.

Frenzied Sword would come online on the helicopter. As such, Han Xiao had left a phone behind and instructed the pilot to wait. He then trudged through the forest, heading for the Green Valley Ville.

After two hours, the outline of the Green Valley Ville could be seen from a distance away. It was situated at the side of the forest on a flat land. It was fortified and surrounded by barbed wire fence, and there were vagrant warlords patrolling around. As expected, all the players were gathering at the camps outside of the settlement, just like in Big Horn Village.

Han Xiao did not bother to hide himself. The sentry of the Green Valley Ville spotted him from far away and reported right away to the person-in-charge, Balsas.

Balsas was a bald black man, neither tall nor strong. Instead, he was tiny and thin. He had a pair of triangular eyes that seemed gloomy. Upon hearing what the sentry had described, he was shaken. "Sounds a little like Black Phantom."

Balsas took out his computer and searched for Black Phantom's photo. Upon getting confirmation from the sentry, Balsas' expression changed. "Didn't he just interfere with the battle at Tedramira River. Why is he here? I have nothing to do with him."

Just the name 'Black Phantom' alone made Balsas anxious. Even though Green Valley Ville was heavily armed, he still felt unsafe. Balsas then muttered, "Should we approach him and find out why he is here?"

Since Alumera did not have a previous relationships with the Black Phantom, Balsas thought that it would be impossible to clash with the Black Phantom, and there was also no one who had published a wanted notice on Black Phantom on the dark net. Balsas calmed down and called for an assistant. He ordered his assistant to take his place and approach the Black Phantom as he was afraid to do it himself.

When the assistant headed out of the gate and walked toward Black Phantom, Balsas moved beside the big gate and observed through the barbed wire fence. He seemed really careful.

However, Balsas very soon witnessed a scene that shook him. He saw that the villagers living outside were actually excited and friendly toward the Black Phantom, actually gathering around him.

Balsas was surprised. [How do all the villagers know about the Black Phantom?

…

There were fewer players at Green Valley Ville compared to the number of players at Big Horn Village.

When Han Xiao arrived at the players' camp, he was warmly welcomed by everyone. It was so crowded, and everyone surrounded him, obstructing his route.

Through the forum, the incident at Big Horn Village had spread across Aquamarine players, and all other new player villages were envious that new players at Big Horn Village had a chance to switch their vocation. With the unexpected appearance of Black Phantom, all the new players from Green Valley Ville were thrilled.

"Black Phantom is here!"

"We are going to be lucky too!"

A player with the ID 'Bun-hit-dog' was more exhilarated than the others. He was quite a well-known video game graphic designer, and his 'XX Adventure' series, which was humor-based and full of content, had gained him a lot of fans.

Chapter 148: The Wind Rises

Bun-hit-dog saw Galaxy as a potential television series. As there was limited information online about it, he keenly realized the hidden potential and decided to create a series that introduced and explained Galaxy. Moreover, he himself really liked Galaxy as well.

It was inevitable for many to start a series on a popular game. Normally, as long as the content was interesting, the first person that produced the television series would easily gain popularity through the game.

Wandering around a new player village, Bun-hit-dog had yet to find the starting point for his series. The first episode of a series was the most important, and he did not wish to do it carelessly. It would be great if he could obtain some exclusive information that ordinary players could not get easily.

Han Xiao's appearance made Bun-hit-dog feel like his chance was finally here.

Since the Black Phantom was a hot topic on the forums, many people would be drawn to his television series if his first episode was about the Black Phantom. Who was not curious about this mysterious high-level character? He would then be able to ride on Black Phantom's popularity and make the series a successful one.

Bun-hit-dog, who was among the crowd, switched on his video function, panned toward Black Phantom, and started recording. He then added his own explanation and comments into the footage afterward.

Players were clustering toward him due to the event that happened at Big Horn Village, and that helped save Han Xiao some time. Han Xiao thought he might as well not sell any items. After all, he did not bring any with him. Instead, he went straight to releasing the list of skills that he could teach. The only request was to give five reputation points, which meant….

Wish to change your vocation? Give me some money!

"Black Phantom isn't selling anything? Then how am I supposed to increase my reputation?"

"This… Giving him free money?"

Players were stunned and whispers started among the crowd.

Han Xiao was calm and thought he did not want to go through so much trouble in Big Horn Village, since the players all knew that they could advance through him. His offer seemed like he was trying to scam the players, but in reality, it was just a simple deal: 2,500 Aquamarine Dollars in exchange for a chance for advancement. Deal or no deal, it was all up to them to decide.

Compared to the normal route for obtaining basic knowledges, paying 2,500 Aquamarine Dollars was already considered a cheap price.

At the time, Balsas' assistant approached and nervously swallowed his saliva. He was trembling with fear every time he took a step closer, and he was afraid of getting too close to Han Xiao.

"What is it?" Han Xian glanced at him.

"Cough cough, may I know why you are here at Green Valley Ville?" The assistant asked as he braced himself.

Han Xiao took a puff of his cigarette and said, "I'm just walking past here. Don't worry, I'm not here to cause any trouble."

The assistant heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Oh, Alumera welcomes you, and Balsas wishes to invite you into the city so that he can give you a treat.

"No, thanks, I'll just stay here."

Han Xiao declined as it would be inconvenient to communicate with the players once he entered the town. Since there would not be anyone who dared refuse him, he would leave once he had gotten the experience. As such, he did not pay attention to Balsas.

"Al, Alright…" The assistant left hurriedly as his heart raced, and he was dripping with cold sweat. The legendary killer seemed to be emitting a scary aura. The assistant was scared stiff even though Han Xiao was just standing still.

Especially his eyes, they were like those of wolverines wandering around the dark forest. One could get goose bumps just by staring into Han Xiao's eyes.

This was one of the effects of having Universal Reputation. When dealing with certain forces, there might be additional effects.

When the assistant returned into the village, Balsas asked, "What did he say?"

The assistant then repeated everything that had happened.

"Just passing by?" Balsas frowned and pondered. He suspected that there were some secrets going on between Black Phantom and the refugees outside the village.

After contemplating for a while, he ordered, "Get someone to observe Black Phantom and report to me if anything is weird. Also, go get some information from the refugees outside. I think Black Phantom is here for them."

On the other hand, all the players had witnessed the conversation between Han Xiao and Balsas' assistant. A question then arose among the crowd.

Everyone was able to detect and know the name of Black Phantom because they had sensors in place, but why would the Balsas' assistant know of him too?

Could it be that Black Phantom was a very popular character on the planet?

The players were all still trying to figure out the structure, background, and the power balances on Aquamarine. They were only able to get a glimpse or two of the world through the maps, which was not helpful at all.

Everyone was suddenly curious about Black Phantom's background.

Exploring the story of the planet and being able to participate in it was one of the joys for this game.

Bun-hit-dog focused on recording the full situation. Hiding his excitement, his instincts told him that this was definitely the best video material. Exclusive information and the identity of Black Phantom could be used as the prelude to the background of this planet.

…

While Han Xiao was getting a windfall in Green Valley Ville, the world situation was quietly changing.

Stardragon, Hesla, Red Maple, Ordina, Theseus, and Raylen—the Six Nations' wipe out operation against the Germinal Organization had ended, and the subsequent impact was gradually emerging.

The Six Nations had only held three conferences so far. The first was held after the war in the past, when the Six Nations were first formed and the lands were first claimed.

The second conference was held two months after the war. The pollution from the war was affecting living conditions. Since it was a problem regarding the whole planet, all the nations came together to try to come out with a solution.

The third time was five years after the war, whereby the security and defense issues posed by the vagrant warlords were discussed.

The last six ruling nations on Aquamarine did not have a close relationship with one another. If it was not for a worldwide issue, they would never have worked together.

Today, the fourth Six Nations' conference was held. The topic was about the next step in their plans regarding Germinal and whether they should go to war or not.

The conference was done in the format of a conference call, and the leaders from each of the Six Nations joined in.

In a meeting room in Stardragon Tower, the metal door was locked, and the leader of Stardragon was sitting at the desk. On the other side was a big screen where the other five leaders could be seen.

The corner of the conference room was filled with people. All of them were the elders from the military, and Gu Hui was also among them. The conference had already been going on for two hours.

"So, has everyone decided?"

Ordina's leader was emotionless in his tone, and no one was able to tell his stand.

The leader of Theseus stood up confidently and said, "I, Raylen, and Stardragon have all agreed to send out our troops. Hesla and Red Maple object."

Ordina pondered for two seconds. "I give up my vote."

Everyone looked as if they had expected it.

Gu Hui, who was standing by the side, remained calm. There were two that agreed, two that objected, and one that gave up. He had already expected such results. Theus and Raylen were the toughest while Stardragon had a strong grudge with Germinal, so they would definitely not miss this chance. Hesla and Red Maple were unwilling to waste money on war. It seemed that Ordina was the greatest slimeball, always thinking about other things instead.

The six leaders discussed for another hour and finalized their direction. They all decided that the final decision was to be determined by the military forces of each nation.

The screen turned black; the three-hour meeting had officially ended.

The elders who were listening by the side seemed shocked. During the conference, it was decided that the six nations would conduct a large-scale military operation similar to the previous major war that had uprooted the political balance. The six nations would move forward and retreat together, attack the Andrea mainland from six directions, and finally destroy the Germinal Organization completely.

War is coming!

Chapter 149: Galaxy Times 1

The players in Green Valley Ville took a screenshot and showed off the arrival of Black Phantom on the forum, which sparked another round of heated discussions.

"Previously, it was Big Horn Village; now, it is Green Valley Ville. Will he move on to a new location?"

"Is this high-ranking character arranged by the game developer? The times at which he appears feels weird. If he was a mechanic instructor, his whereabouts would be uncertain. Unless he is the planet protagonist who manages the information written on the net."

"It doesn't seem like it. I think the planet protagonist and the plot should be related. It is unlikely that we could come in contact so early. Black Phantom should be another type of mysterious character. Since it is difficult to switch vocation, could it be that Black Phantom was sent by the game developers to compensate us?"

"What! Does it mean that in order to switch our vocation, we have to do it now or else we'll miss this opportunity with Black Phantom?"

The speculation regarding Han Xiao had not stopped, and the commotion in Big Horn Village had not subsided. His popularity had once again been pushed all the way to the top by the players in Green Valley Ville.

Han Xiao read up countless posts about himself with great interest and summed up the impressions that most players had of him.

The first kind—some players thought he was a mysterious businessman who would appear in the early stages to provide benefits to the novices.

The second kind—some thought he was a mechanic instructor.

The third kind—they thought he was an important character who was in charge of handling important tasks. Due to this statement, Han Xiao had to handle a group of players who wished to trigger hidden tasks every day. After reading about Maple Moon's example, some players thought that by showing hostility to Germinal, they could exploit the hidden quest.

As the statements made by these people were very strange, Han Xiao rejected all of them. However, there were still players who thought they were highly charismatic and chose to explore any backhanded ways to convince Black Phantom. Since there were more female players, the leader of Sky Territory had a post saying that that would be a benefit when they talk to Black Phantom. Han Xiao was then surrounded by female players who were trying to charm him.

Yet he remained indifferent.

You think that just because you have looks, you don't have to pay? Dream on!

However, some players were very arrogant and even tried to attack him. Han Xiao adopted the responsibility to right them of their baseless arrogance. He would kill any of these players once they resurrected to teach them a lesson. The game would only refresh the number of deaths every six days. This resurrection could also be called anti-addiction mechanism, and players who dared attack him would be forced to go offline.

These kinds of lawless players obviously played more stand-alone games. Unlike other players who were more cautious in progressing in the game, they were risk takers. No one took pity with these players. This game had been released globally, and there would definitely be a rare madman who wanted to challenge the entire game world; they were used to it.

One player after another queued to pass Han Xiao their money, and Han Xiao realized the mechanics department had attracted quite a number of players. However, as there was a request for the gifts to be sent directly this time round, some petty players were rather hesitant. As a result, the queue was also rather sparse.

Han Xiao just went with it and browsed through the forum at one side. Suddenly, a new post caught his attention. The topic was Galaxy Times.

The column is released! Han Xiao's face changed as he felt the nostalgia.

Galaxy Times was a sub-column, and the content varied. The column talked about the news on Galaxy, including all kinds of anecdotes, stories from professional players, and analysis of the game process. Han Xiao had once been a follower of Galaxy Times, and he would always have the urge to be the first to watch it. Now that he himself had joined the game, he was unsure if the content would have changed.

In the video, a male and a female host were sitting in front of the camera, like a news broadcast. Behind them was the scene of Galaxy, showing the background of the new planets.

"Hello players," the male host greeted, "this is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information. Your gaming career is our top priority."

"The public beta has been going on for ten days, and the players' enthusiasm has not changed a bit," the female host said. "Now let us first review what has happened in the past ten days…"

The first issue of the Galaxy Times was informative, and the next ten minutes was a quick review of the beta players during the ten days, introducing the various planets and the civilization background. Among them, there was a planet with an ancient civilization, where players were mostly wearing amour, carrying swords, spears, and hammers as weapons. Their background looked like a mix of Chinese and Western medieval times. It was obvious this planet was dominated by martial arts and magic. If there was a need to add a subtitle to the plot, it should be 'World Hegemony' and 'I Will Use Your Skull as a Bowl'.

There was also a highly-modern planet called Planet Brighton. The city was like a floating island with ninety-nine towers scattered on the edge of the city, forming a defense, and the main tower in the city center. The large crystal ball at the top of the tower provided magical power to suspend the city. Occasionally, there would be sightings of a dragon across the sky. New players would have a slim chance of survival in this world as it was very easy to hit the death limit.

Of course, there was an even more difficult way to start, and that would be Planet Winterfrost. The base of the Hell Demon Military Troop was also the only one where players could see the Galaxy Starships. Hell Demon Military Troop's starships were crazy powerful, and this planet was a mix of magic and technology.

The troops themselves had powerful combat power. They could also ride the cosmic creatures into space for a short while, and their level was high. Fortunately, Planet Winterfrost was just a sub-base camp for the troop. Otherwise, the American players who chose Planet Winterfrost as the base camp would not even be able to get out of the novice village.

The richer the resources were for the novice planet, the more challenging it would be at the beginning. In contrast, the difficulty of Aquamarine was moderate, and the technological background was similar to that of many years ago. Unlike other planets where even trash cans on the street could incite the player's curiosity, there were not many surprises on Aquamarine.

However, the popularity of Aquamarine on the forums was rising, and the main reason was the appearance of Black Phantom. He was the first high-ranking character to interact with the players.

The two hosts then turned around and talked about the Black Phantom.

"Next, we'll talk about an incident that happened in Aquamarine, and friends who have been active on the forum all know that Black Phantom is the first mysterious high ranking character to appear in front of the players. The players do not have much information about him. Qiu Qiu, what role do you think he plays in the plot of Aquamarine?" the male host asked.

"Based on the current information, Black Phantom seems to have a high position, and his identity is extremely mysterious as well. Furthermore, he and Germinal are enemies.

"Oh, does this mean he's on the same side as the Six Nations?"

"I am not sure. Perhaps only the developers can answer this question."

"Alright, after listening to this lame joke, let us return to the topic," the male host said. "Speaking of the Black Phantom, he seems to be a mechanic instructor and can expose hidden plots. The latest news suggests that Black Phantom has appeared in Green Valley Ville of Aquamarine. Therefore, friends who wish to transfer to the mechanic class should seize the opportunity. The Black Phantom is by far the easiest way to obtain the knowledge.

"However, there has been a different opinion on the forums recently. Some players who transferred to the mechanics department are starting to regret."

The female host feigned her surprise, "There is such a thing?"

There was a quarrel at this point, and most of the players had been simply choosing their vocation based on which vocation was the strongest. After they had switched to being a mechanic, they found out that mechanics were not up to their expectations and would naturally be full of complains.

Before the topic came to an end with the two hosts, Han Xiao looked at the responses and saw one response at the top. The ID was called 'Luzman'.

Chapter 150: 2

"I am a beta player in Big Horn Village. A few days ago I changed my vocation to mechanics with Black Phantom. Initially, I thought this is a very strong class, but after switching, I realised that being a mechanic is totally different from what I had expected. The skills are trashy and the equipment are easily damaged, but I could only repair them after I have bought the materials. My gun just died like this! I'm so mad!

"The combat power is rather weak too. One public beta test player who was 4 levels lower than me came up for a challenge. He didn't even have a main vocation, and his sub-vocation was a mere [Hunter]. We fought for 11 rounds, and yet I didn't win any of them at all! For a main vocation to lose to a sub-vocation, while being 4 levels higher, this mechanic vocation is just a pile of shit."

… I was fooled by that video of Black Phantom. Damn I was scammed. Those senior NPCs always have NPC templates as bonuses. Black Spirit is not even a player! His combat power doesn't even have much of a tingle!

… This mechanic vocation is so weak in its early stages. Maybe it would be as strong as Black Phantom's eventually, but you will be starting way behind others from the beginning. It takes even longer to reach the same level as the rest! What's more, the mechanic vocation relies on machineries, and the materials used to make the machinery costs a lot of money. This class is perfect for the local tyrants. If you don't have money, don't even try!

This mechanic vocation has no future, seems like I cannot use this account anymore. I can only restart another account and retrain. What a trash vocation!"

Luzman's response was full of resentment. He had even uploaded videos of him losing in battles. Many people had echoed him in the comments, pushing his post to the top of the responses.

After glancing through other posts, Han Xiao realised that most of the posts had traces of Luzman. That guy copied and pasted the comments so many times. Many others found his resentment to be over the top and they argued with Luzman on the forum too.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. This was not totally unexpected. The players would realise sooner or later that the mechanic vocation is not suitable for combat in the early stages. Luzman was the first one and he would not be the last. These grievous people only fell for the trap because they were attracted by his video and had simply chose whichever vocation that was strong. The moment they realise that it wasn't what they had imagined, they would feel deceived and angry.

There were also players who liked the mechanic vocation who ignored these useless arguments and complaints. Some players were in the game for entertainment while others wanted to be the strongest in the game. Luzman was clearly one of the latter.

These negative comments would definitely affect his business, and since there was only one chance to choose a main vocation, players would become more cautious, especially first-time players.

Han Xiao shook his head. He had wanted to attract more players into the pit of mechanic vocation to expand his market.

"Seems like I have to reaffirm players in the value of the mechanic vocation, I can't just rely on displaying my strength…"

The programme continued running. Off the script, the male MC said, "we have just received the unreleased promo clip on the next version of the game from Galaxy. Do take a look. "

The screen began to play another video. Just as what had announced, this promo video focused on the battle scenes of each vocation.

The heavy armoured knight appeared full of energy. The tip of his gun emitted smoke, and it hit a group of iron-shielded guards. The crash was loud like a thunder, and bodies were flying all over.

A tribe with horns controlled the elements around them. Flames slithered and wrapped around their body like a snake.

A magician stood in his cloak, and a web of light appeared beneath his feet as he chanted. Light rays of magic shone out from his fingers.

The bald-headed sorcerer used his mind to manipulate objects around him. He released an invisible strike his opponents around him, causing them to fall one by one with their noses bleeding.

The clips were all very realistic. It was gorgeous!

This was only a demo of the promotional clip. Nothing was finalised. The clips were recorded by new players from every planet, and there were only a few clips from senior players for the time being. They barely got together the battle scenes of the five main vocations. The battle scene for mechanic vocation was a clip of Black Phantom in action. Han Xiao was the first advance player to demonstrate his combat power.

There were a several clips showing the jaw dropping scene at Big Horn Village, as well as scenes of the interception battle at Tedramira River. Sniper, rifles, turrets, squadrons, and even the vicious Fury Blade was featured in the clip.

The players was all engrossed in the scenes. They were all exhilarating moments.

"I didn't know I got selected to be in the promotional video!"

Han Xiao was a little surprised. He still remembered last season's promotional video. The scene for the Mechanic vocation was just the process to produce a machinery, and most players assumed that it was a more of a support role. Hence, only a few players switched to the mechanic vocation.

According to the first version, the proportion of players in the mechanic vocation was only 9.7%! This promotional video alone attracted tons of interest from the players. Mechanic vocation wouldn't be as bleak as before. He wasn't afraid to risk players complaining and regretting on the forum in exchange for attracting more players over.

This promotional video also improved his popularity, and this was much more effective than word of mouth. Han Xiao was overjoyed. He expected his fame to shoot up in no time.

The next line-up on the programme was about professional players. The male MC said, "Within 10 days of public beta, tons of famous e-sports clubs have shifted to the game , and according to statistics, Esper is currently the most popular one. This class is a lucky draw, if you get a high level skill, it is equal to 10 million lottery tickets! The future is unlimited!

It is known that the United States, South Korea, France, Japan and Switzerland all have accounts with A-class potential rating, and the various big clubs have offered prices for these accounts, worth millions of US dollars."

The screen flashed wildly. Almost a million US dollars to buy a novice account? It was simply a lottery! Good luck would mean making a fortune immediately.

"Flashing News: The American Devil Club, Sandstorm Club, France Tulip Club, and the Korean Four Star Club have already bought the accounts. They will be used by the club's elite players.

And the God-level players will still be using their own accounts… American elite player 'King and Queen' has changed to the magician vocation and was rewarded with a rare skill through a hidden quest. French elite player 'Lost Angel' has chosen to start at random and he seems to have obtained a opportunity. South Korea…"

Foreign e-sports players all seemed to be performing very well. China's e-sports scene wasn't weak either, but only a few managed to hit the top spots. Champions of many events had long been occupied by players from the United States, France, Japan and South Korea. If you coud win a championship, local players would celebrate as though it was a festival. They would be bringing honour to their country.

"Local players are performing rather well. A player by the name of 'Feng Yue' completed the reward pool quest on her own, gaining over hundreds of thousands of experience points, becoming the biggest winner. It is extremely beneficial for her future development. Who knows, maybe the advantages would come snowballing in. This task was related to Black Phantom…

A dark horse by the ID of 'Fury Blade' was among the professional players. During a meeting at Jiang Cheng club where Fury Blade was at yesterday, they had released a video. It was the battle scene in the promotional clip with Black Phantom, and I believe everyone had also noticed Fury Blade. He seemed to have triggered Black Phantom's hidden quest…"

The clip of Fury Blade was sent in by Luminous Moon. In order to raise their profile, the club had used it for publicity, just when the Chinese professional players were feeling down about their lack of outstanding performances. This brought Fury Blade lots of attention.

"… This would be the end of this week's content, we look forward to seeing you next time! The following are details for the lucky draw. During this episode, how many times was Black Phantom mentioned? Please drop a message to the official account. We will draw 10 people…"

Han Xiao couldn't stop laughing. He then switched off the screen.

Han Xiao's name came up the most in the entire show. The audience had the perception that that everything good had some kind of correlation to Black Phantom:

Black Phantom = Opportunity!

Han Xiao didn't expect that his name to appear on the screen so many times. His plan had some good returns. His popularity rose yet again. And more importantly, after the programme was broadcasted, more players would come aboard to change their vocation, allowing him to earn more experience points.

He did a rough estimate, based on this trend, the number of mechanic players on Aquamarine would likely be two or three levels higher than previously.

Chapter 151: A Small-scale Beast Attack

There were some wild beasts spotted around the Green Valley Ville, and they had been causing problems for the town. Before Han Xiao came, Balsas had used some small sums as a bounty to incentivize the refugees to hunt down the beasts. Slowly, he had noticed something strange: the refugees would be able to hunt down the wild beasts without any casualties. After some observation, he found out to his surprise that these refugees seemed to have revival Espers and would never really die.

Balsas was shocked. It might have been normal for one person to have the revival Esper ability, but it would be a different story for an entire group. Could it be that this ability could be spread, just like the werewolf tribe in myths, where one's saliva carried the mutated genes and could turn a normal person into another of their kind in one bite?

After some observation, Balsas was excited to find out that the refugees were easily satisfied by small incentives.

If I can get these strange refugees to work for me, their revival trait will make for a formidable army! I won't have to fear anyone from Black Pine anymore.

Even though these refugees have revival abilities, they had limited combat strength. Balsas had asked them about their origins, but their answers were mostly gibberish. Despite some unresolved doubts about the refugees' background, Balsas decided it was alright to go ahead and trade with them for their services.

He was about to take action when Black Phantom arrived and was warmly welcomed by the refugees. Balsas was alarmed.

Is Black Phantom here for these refugees too? Does he know about their ability as well?

Black Phantom was not someone to mess with, so Balsas decided to stay put and observe for the moment. However, an accident broke out—the beasts residing near the town attacked.

Countless wild beasts came from the jungle and caused the ground to rumble.

Gray Devil Wolves made up the majority. Their fur was charcoal gray, and they were as big as wild buffalos. There were also giant purple-scaled pythons that were ten to twenty meters long, slithering among the wolves.

Beasts in the wild were common, and they were a threat faced by every town. Balsas commanded for the town to be locked up without hesitation and asked his soldiers to ready the machine guns on the watchtowers to fight the beasts. Players that were left outside the town became the buffer zone for them to hold off the beasts. Balsas was glad that he had refugees that could be sacrificed at no cost.

Mature Gray Devil Wolves were about LV 20. They pounced into the crowd and ripped apart a player in two to three bites.

_____________________

You have started emergency quest [Protect Green Valley Ville]!

_____________________

Besides the normal players, Han Xiao received the emergency quest, too. However, to his dismay, the reward was at a newbie standard at only a few thousand EXP. Han Xiao watched with great interest at one side as the players fought against the beasts.

Balsas realized that Han Xiao had crawled to the top of the town wall while he was not looking and was watching the battle intensely. Balsas was alarmed. Black Phantom was able to silently crawl up the wall when so many people were staring down at the town wall; this meant that he could silently creep up on anyone he wanted to as well. Indeed, he was living up to his reputation as a skilled and accomplished assassin.

The players gave it their all to protect the town. The situation was bloody and violent. The players were not in complete defeat only because of the aid from the town's machine guns. Han Xiao closely watched the players' performances. Green Valley Ville consisted mainly of players from two classes—Esper and Mechanic.

He saw many different Espers: Attribute-boosting, Superhuman Strength, Stamina, Speed, Instant Healing, and elemental controls, which included skills such as gathering rocks or fortifying armor using rocks. There was a plethora of Espers, but most were low-level and short-lasting. They were dealing some damage to the wolves, but only a few Esper players were more notable.

The fight between the players and the beasts was a rough one, so some players were live-streaming the battle on the forum.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He decided to join and end this battle quickly. With that, he jumped off the wall.

Activating his electromagnetic hover-boots, he moved as if there was ice under his feet. He dived into the battle like a bolt of black lightning, zooming through the battlefield, straight to a relatively smaller Gray Devil Wolf, which was old and had little fur left. It was the leader of the pack, and Han Xiao noticed it when he was observing just now.

Han Xiao decided not to snipe these beasts. Sniping would limit the area damage, and he had limited ammo with him. It was the perfect chance for him to see what he could do with his LV 50 attributes against these LV 20 beasts.

Beasts were common on Planet Aquamarine. When fighting against beasts in large scales, he would not dive in alone. It would be extremely dangerous because it would be exposing him to high frequency attacks from all sides.

The herd of beasts in Gray Valley Ville was very small in numbers. With more than a thousand wolves and snakes, Han Xiao could afford to show off his attributes.

A few strong-built Gray Devil Wolves immediately surrounded the Wolf King. With the howl from the old Wolf King, its guards pounced toward Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was clad full-body in his magnetically controlled retractable armor. He raised his arm to block off the sharp claws of the wolves, and the clashing sound was resounding. He was fighting off wolves, which were four to five times larger than him.

He had 69 points in his Strength attribute, way higher than the LV 20 Gray Devil Wolves. His fingers dug into the flesh of a wolf's claws and threw the wolf over his head and onto the floor like a ragdoll. But unlike a ragdoll, the wolf landed and created a dent in the ground, whimpering.

Players who saw this scene were shocked. The scene was very impactful. It was as if a dwarf was throwing a normal person over their shoulders.

Han Xiao was elated to find out how strong his body was. His fists landed on a wolf like a pile driver with solid thuds. Every punch was filled with power that dealt damage right into the wolves' lungs. A wolf was flung away, but it would get up and lunge again, only to be flung away once more. The place that was hit would be marked with a deep purple bruises.

The wolves began to crowd in to protect the Wolf King. Han Xiao's view was filled with wolves that were attacking him with claws and fangs from all angles. The retractable armor clashed with the sharp claws, and sparks were flying. Han Xiao could barely hold the weight of the wolves off from all sides, let alone move.

It's indeed very difficult to kill and get through the beast crowd. Han Xiao changed his plan and activated the Repulsive Force Generator, which sent a pushing force out and flung all the surrounding wolves into the wolves at the back.

With his path cleared, Han Xiao pushed with his foot and turned up the speed of his hover-boots. Wind was howling as he approached in the Wolf King at high speed. He blocked off the ferocious attacks from the Wolf King, grabbed the wolf's head, and twisted it, throwing it to the ground. He pressed his knee tightly against the wolf's stomach and pressed on its head with his left hand. Clenching his right fist, it landed right on the wolf's head. The Wolf King's head was crushed after a few punches. Blood spilled everywhere.

Every time he punched, the power surging through his muscles, tendons, and bones was like a tight bow that stored great strength. It was greatly satisfying to feel at ease and in control of such great strength.

A Wolf's critical region was their stomach, but Han Xiao preferred attacking the head more.

After a few punches, the Wolf King was only a few breaths away from death. The wolf pack was howling and had all abandoned the enemies to attack Han Xiao. A huge pack of wolves piled on top of him like a small hill. Han Xiao was pressed against the floor.

The pungent wolf smell filled Han Xiao's nostrils, and his face became scrunched up. He was almost choking. His sharp sense allowed him to identify the components of the smell.

Wolves' urine, soil, sweat, dried excrement, and… Eh‽

Chapter 152: A Melee Mechanic Is the Bes

Pushing on the ground with both hands, he managed to support the weight of the huge pack of wolves on his back. Each wolf weighed at least eighty kilograms. While it was very taxing, Han Xiao finally spotted an opening and quickly tumbled out, simultaneously pulling out a hand grenade from his clothes and tossing it underneath the pack of wolves.

Boom!

A muffled sound erupted, and fragments of the grenade shot out with the flames caused by the explosion. The pack of wolves howled mournfully as fresh blood gushed out from their bodies. Han Xiao's armor was also splattered red. Staggering as he stood up, his hand brushed past his side as he brandished a foldable machete that had undergone many modifications. It was newly improved and could be said to be a royal-edition.

Han Xiao nimbly sprinted through the pack of wolves, his blade slashing through his enemies, bringing waves of fresh blood along his path. The venomous poison spat out by the purple-scaled python could not catch up to his footwork. With a flash of his blade, he sliced off the snake's head. The blade wound where the snake was decapitated was as smooth as a mirror, with fresh blood spurting continuously as the headless snake convulsed uncontrollably on the floor.

All the wild beasts rushed toward him. Purely by borrowing the speed from the Skating Shoes and the defense from the magnetically controlled retractable armor, he could single-handedly massacre the flock of beasts. The players were left to the side-lines as they could only stare in shock and bewilderment as Han Xiao killed every beast that came his way.

He was a Mechanic, so how did he end up in a melee close-range fight?

The players' eyes were all drawn to Han Xiao's elegant fighting style. It was undeniable that he was really suave. He was redefining the way most of them viewed Mechanics!

It turned out that it was not true that Mechanics could only fight long-distance. Their close-quarter combat skill was also of note and could be very aggressive. Also, they had a clear style of close-quarter combat that was distinctly different from pugilists.

Frenzied Sword finally came online as he arrived at the outskirts of the town, out of breath. Seeing the situation with the wild beasts, it was also his first time watching Han Xiao display his skills. In that moment, he felt that he had found his guiding light. This was exactly the fighting style that he loved! One can tell just by looking at his ID!

Choosing to follow Han Xiao was definitely the best decision! Frenzied Sword could barely suppress his excitement; he really did make the right choice back then!

Not only Frenzied Sword, but a lot of other players were influenced by what has been going on in the forums. Players who were contemplating on whether to change classes began to take interest in Mechanics again.

After killing however many wolves and snakes, Han Xiao's field of vision suddenly cleared. He realized that the wolf pack was gradually withdrawing amid whimpers, and the group of purple-scaled pythons fled as well. Soon, the wild pack of beasts had all retreated, leaving corpses strewn across the floors, soaking the ground in bright-red blood.

He exhaled a breath and wiped off the traces of blood left on his armor. With his stats, dealing with such low-level beasts would leave them completely crushed. He still had forty percent of his stamina left.

Mechanics rarely fought their enemies by close-combat. However, doing this occasionally did make him feel refreshed. Rather than using a fighting style that relied on sniping, which would lead to an instant death with each shot, this kind of real fist fighting feeling was much more suitable for destressing.

Green Valley Ville's guards came out to clean up the battlefield, carrying the dead corpses of the wild beasts back to the town as food supplies. Han Xiao rejected Bashas' repeated invitation. Under the eyes of the excited players, he returned to his original position indifferently, pretending to rest as he closed his eyes.

The interface indicated that the mission was complete. Also, he killed over a hundred beasts, obtaining more than 20,000 EXP points in total. As his own level was much higher than his massacred targets, the EXP points he gained would be cut down by a lot, but no matter how small it was, it was EXP nonetheless. The almighty Mechanic Han would not mind it at all. The main purpose behind this fight was to test his current reflexes and to have a clearer understanding on his physical caliber. Only by doing that could he take care of smaller details in future battles and perform at his best. Another reason was that he wanted to continue to show off a Mechanic's abilities. He realized that Esper players often showed off their coolest abilities, but new Mechanic players were still a minority. He guessed that Mechanics would become a class that would be questioned, so he wanted to shift the players' focus from Espers by showing them how Mechanics could be great players too.

Opening the forum, Han Xiao realized that there were players who had uploaded a video footage of the fight just now. The title was shocking.

"Overpowered! Mechanics can actually fight like this!"

The recording showed Han Xiao almost single-handedly conquering a wild-beast fight. The visuals were very impactful. In the past, he had mainly used sniping, killing his enemies in one shot, or used his turrets' and rovers' high firepower, but he had never showed off his individual fighting ability. This time, he highlighted this, and the real-time comments and replies mostly conveyed shock and amazement.

But he realized that below the post, there was a reply that was manually pushed up. Looking at the ID, it was Luzman. His tone was as harsh as before.

"Black Phantom is indeed very strong, I won't deny that, but Mechanics are really trash. Look carefully at the start of the video. Espers are the central force when fighting with wild beasts, and those players who advanced to become Mechanics can only sit at the side and fire aimlessly without a single use for them.

"I presume this clip was probably recorded by a Mechanic. Other than the Mechanics who can be idling at one side, I guess no other players would have this kind of time in an actual fight…

"Also, stop sharing Black Phantom's videos, this asshole wants to trick me into becoming a Mechanic again!"

As he continued down the post, the replies split into those who supported Luzman and those who disagreed with him.

Han Xiao smacked his lips. He was a little annoyed. Luzman held onto that point and had been smearing his reputation. This would be a hindrance to his business. The players' attention was drawn toward this discussion. His display of abilities seemed to be less impactful now. With Han Xiao's rich experience in discussion, with one look, he could tell that Luzman was a keyboard warrior who posted derogatory comments everywhere to trigger fights online.

Scratching his head, Han Xiao did not really have a good solution to this. This was a discussion that would obviously come up, just like picking between sweet tofu or salty tofu. As long as nobody restricted it, there was no way to stop others from commenting online.

But I'm only an NPC now. Even if I showed off my abilities, it isn't enough to get more people to believe in Mechanics. There isn't anything else that I can do either; it's not like I can go in front of the players and shout 'I'm actually a player'… Han Xiao felt helpless.

The NPC template was his secret that he did not want to disclose. From the perspective of a player though, seeing an NPC shout "I'm a player" would only cause them to feel curious and amused. Not many would believe it to be true, and most would think that it was an easter egg or a character design, just like Deadpool.

There were some simulation games in the past where fictional characters inside would say that they knew of the players' existence, but who would believe it to be true? Those who really did believe it had already been corrected by Yang Technologies.

The smell of blood had yet to fade away. Frenzied Sword, who had run over from a distance away, attracted the attention of the players. Galaxy Times had announced his movements, and Frenzied Sword had gained some short-lived fame. He was recognized in a moment.

The players around them began whispering to one another, looking in envy.

"Isn't that the professional gamer mentioned by the program? He has a picture on the promotional ad."

"He really does have a special relationship with Black Phantom."

"I want to unlock a hidden quest with the Black Phantom, too."

Frenzied Sword waddled over to Han Xiao's side.

Han Xiao regarded this player, who had some potential, well. It was alright to embarrass Frenzied Sword in front of NPCs, but he did not have the heart to do so in front of the crowd of players. No matter what, Frenzied Sword was also a professional gamer, and his image was very important.

Han Xiao randomly assigned some regular mission. When Frenzied Sword received the mission, his face was overcome with disappointment.

"Collect materials? That's so boring. You might as well tell me to dance."

Han Xiao's lips curved up. Habits were indeed scary.

Just then, a player walked over. The ID above his head read 'Laughing Blade'. He asked, "Frenzied Sword?"

Once Frenzied Sword saw this person, his face fell as he dryly replied, "It's you. So, you're here to play Galaxy as well. Why aren't you playing Knight anymore?"

"Haha, it's not challenging enough," Laughing Blade said half-mockingly.

Some players recognized Laughing Blade.

"Isn't that the professional gamer, Laughing Blade?"

"I heard he was one of the top three players in Knight; he even won two championships before."

Laughing Blade enjoyed the players' surprise thoroughly. His eyes hid feelings of condescension as he looked at Frenzied Sword.

In the past, Frenzied Sword had also been a professional gamer in Knight. In official competitions, he had suffered countless defeats to Laughing Blade, and his fame was far from that of Laughing Blade.

Laughing Blade saw the rewards assigned to Frenzied Sword on Galaxy Times and realized that his old opponent was better-off than him. Feeling green from jealousy, he intentionally came to stir up trouble. After a few words, he pretended to ask casually, "Since we've met, let's have a PVP duel. I'm an Esper, what about you?"

"… Mechanic."

Frenzied Sword was slightly hesitant. Even though he was under Han Xiao's mentorship, his current Mechanic abilities were very unsuited for battle. Subconsciously, he wanted to reject the duel.

Unexpectedly, Laughing Blade suddenly said, "Since we've known each other for so many years, let's have a friendly duel. You can't possibly reject a small request like this, or do you look down on me?"

Frenzied Sword was speechless. Those words made it hard for him to reject. There was no need to have a falling out with someone in the same industry over something small like this.

Laughing Blade laughed coldly in his mind. He had said that because he was afraid that Frenzied Sword would reject the deal. He wanted to have a duel with Frenzied Sword only because he had gained some popularity on Galaxy.

Once he obtained some fame, it made him easy to become someone else's prey.

If he were to defeat Frenzied Sword, he could probably tone down the latter's popularity. For a professional gamer who had attended a program to be defeated by him, he could become a little more famous as well.

Laughing Blade was very confident. He felt that an awakened Esper was quite strong. His elementary application was a rock-earth fusion armor that was suitable for defense. It was strong against pistols, so he felt that his chances of winning were quite high.

Even if he were to lose, he could test the gap between them. Anyway, at this point, they would not die. Laughing Blade felt that this deal only had benefits to him, and he would not have any losses.

Also… he looked toward Black Phantom, who was standing at one side, his gaze lighting up.

If Frenzied Sword can unlock a hidden quest, I'll give it a try too!

Chapter 153: Controlling Behind the Scenes

Han Xiao watched with interest from the side. Laughing Blade? No impression of him. Probably not important enough in Galaxy.

Frenzied Sword would eventually become a Legendary player in the future, but right now, he was bowing his head to Laughing Blade. This scene left him feeling nostalgic. For some reason, it brought him back to those days in the past, when he first started. Back then, there was a point in time when his power-levelling business was dwindling. To find other ways to get income, he had entered a small office to help them mine gold to earn some rewards. That office often forced him to work over-time and cut his pay. Asking them about pay would only elicit answers that were nothing short of excuses.

The office's boss took advantage of being a business owner. When Han Xiao asked about his pay for the ninth time and started arguing with him, the boss told him that if he wanted to continue, he could; if he was not going to continue, he could just scram. If he continued to complain, then he would PK him until his level reached 0.

What else could Han Xiao do, he was also very exasperated. All he could do was to use his main account to show the boss why the business was doing so well. For a few weeks, he massacred all the players in the office till it suffered heavy losses and was on the verge of closing down. Then, he earned a reasonably large amount of reimbursement in exchange for his emotional losses.

In-game blackmailing was not illegal.

Aye, the happy times are gone, there's no turning back. Han Xiao puffed as he smoked. As he overcame his obstacles, he could only appreciate it now because of his past experiences.

Frenzied Sword could only accept Laughing Blade's request. Currently, he was LV 11, way ahead of average players' levels. Other than a Mechanic's repairing and reinforcement skills, he could only use basic shooting and fighting skills.

Han Xiao had complete understanding of Frenzied Sword's fighting abilities. With a flash in his eyes, he called out to Frenzied Sword. "Come here."

Frenzied Sword was a little confused as he followed orders accordingly. Han Xiao took off his thermo-electrical incisor gloves, secretly giving them to him.

With a look at the gloves' stats, Frenzied Sword's breathing stopped for a moment, his face overcome with shock and surprise.

"I'm only lending them to you; you have to return them." Han Xiao erased Frenzied Sword's unrealistic hopes.

Frenzied Sword was still very touched. It was the right decision to suck up to Han Xiao, he could even receive such a benefit! Is it because he's afraid that I'll lose, making him lose face?

Putting on the gloves, Frenzied Sword had a greater sense of confidence. Standing fifteen meters apart from Laughing Blade, both of them braced themselves, getting ready to attack.

Nearby, players began crowding around to watch the show. They were mainly curious about Frenzied Sword and wanted to see the difference between a professional gamer who had his name reported on the system and a regular player.

"Even if he is a professional player, he should be about the same level in these early stages."

"With only a few basic abilities, he probably can't show off his mechanic abilities as well."

"I think there's an advantage in these early stages. Maybe he's practiced fighting before in real-life, or he's someone who was in the military. After all, the controls here are so realistic."

The players murmured to one another.

With a low cry, Laughing Blade made the first move, launching himself forward. With every step, the sand on the ground wrapped itself around his calves and snaked up to his body, forming a sandstone armor covering his body.

His pistol can only fire at most five shots, and my abilities can definitely hold him off. As long as I close the distance between us, he's definitely finished! Laughing Blade thought.

The players were all new. The level of their control was only at a level where they understood how to use the skills and what they did. Laughing Blade's decision was correct, but Frenzied Sword's reaction gave Laughing Blade a shock. Instead of moving back and using the pistol to kite him, he rushed forward instead.

Both people quickly collided into one another. Without thinking twice, Laughing Blade sent his fist, which was wrapped in sandstone armor, flying toward Frenzied Sword, and Frenzied Sword met his fist with his black-gloved palm.

Could this glove be special equipment?

Just as Laughing Blade had this thought, he suddenly experienced a series of burning pains. Stunned, he realized that his health points were reduced to zero in that moment.

His vision turned black as he immediately died.

From the start to end, this duel only lasted three seconds!

On the battlefield, only Frenzied Sword remained. The wind blew up the edges of his clothes. Expressionless, he truly resembled a solitary professional at the top of his game.

The surrounding players watched, dazed, unable to react.

"Was… was that an instant KO?"

"That's way too fast!"

"Too overpowered! No wonder he could get on Galaxy Times!"

"Could the secret quest really have given him such a huge lead over the rest of us‽"

Everyone was a new player. Technically, their battle power should have been about the same. Using a pistol, it would take at least four or five shots before one would die, and Laughing Blade's Esper ability obviously strengthened his defense. Some players remembered Laughing Blade's performance during the wild-beast attack. When he was surrounded by two gray wolves, he was still able to hold them off. But when he fought with Frenzied Sword, he died instantly just by meeting fists with him?

What kind of godly attack power was this?

Everyone stared at Frenzied Sword's glove, envy showing on their faces.

"That is high-level equipment!"

"Mechanics can make something like that? I thought they could only make guns!"

"I really want one too…"

Not long after, the revived Laughing Blade ran over, his face looking dark as he said unhappily, "Didn't we agree that it would be a friendly battle? How could you… you…"

He originally wanted to say how could he have killed him, but he felt that saying it would be too shameful.

Having defeated an old opponent, Frenzied Sword only felt refreshed from being able to settle all the discontent from the past as he chuckled. "Sorry, I didn't know you were so vulnerable."

This sentence made Laughing Blade so angry that he could felt the heat rising up from his chest.

Calling me vulnerable for dying‽

It was a complete loss for him. Dying once cost him a lot of EXP. Laughing Blade was very upset. He initially thought that once the duel reached a certain point, they would end it, but he did not expect to be an instant-killed, not to mention he could not even blame Frenzied Sword. He was so distressed that he could feel his heart tightening up over this horrible situation.

After the crowd around them had left, Frenzied Sword obediently returned the gloves to Han Xiao, hesitating as he asked, "Han… Black Phantom, are you selling these gloves?"

Han Xiao looked at him from the side of his eye, opening up the shop listing as he added "thermo-electrical incisor gloves" at a fixed price of 80,000 with a reputation of 15 points. This set of gloves was a prize that he had seized from Rose Militant. After learning the basic knowledge upfront, he had instead experimented to create the blueprints to create the thermo-electrical incisor gloves. By spending some EXP, he could make one on his own now.

Frenzied Sword was instantly motivated. Excitedly, he clenched his fists. This close-combat equipment designed for Mechanics was his favorite. "I can't afford it now, but I will be able to, sooner or later!"

Then, Laughing Blade suddenly inched closer. His gaze lit, he stared at Han Xiao and asked, "Black Phantom, I heard you're enemies with Germinal. I want to join you."

In this time frame, the discussion board had all sorts of different guesses as to how one could trigger the Black Phantom's secret quest. They thought that as long as one showed their intention to become Germinal's enemies, there was a chance that they could trigger Black Phantom's secret quest. Many players were guessing the phrase to trigger that. In his short time in Green Valley Ville, Han Xiao had heard several of such guesses and had rejected them all. This led the players to a final conclusion—it was all about possibility when one was trying to trigger Black Phantom's secret quest.

Laughing Blade was also trying his luck.

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh… You seem to be not bad."

There's a lead! Laughing Blade grinned in surprise.

Frenzied Sword's heart fell. Getting nervous, he could feel a strong sense of discomfort welling within him for some reason.

"But you don't seem to be up to par yet." Han Xiao suddenly changed his words as he waved, rejecting Laughing Blade.

Laughing Blade had not even finished his breath and was left speechless for a while. His expression was annoyed. With his heart full of jealousy toward Frenzied Sword, he muttered to himself in anger, "This guy is really some lucky dog."

Frenzied Sword heaved a sigh of relief, regaining his composure.

Han Xiao almost laughed aloud upon seeing Frenzied Sword's reaction, as if he were a guy who had almost been cheated on…

Pfft, what kind of description was that? What would that make me? Han Xiao tossed aside this crazy idea.

On the interface, quite an amount of EXP had accumulated. For players in Green Valley Ville who intended to change their class, they all would have completed that by the next day. Han Xiao would prepare to leave after that.

While he was collecting EXP, someone recorded Frenzied Sword and Laughing Blade's battle and uploaded it onto the forum.

…

Luzman was a player who came from Big Horn Village. By luck, he had managed to get into the phases of beta-testing and had been saving his money before he switched his class. He wanted to join the strongest class.

When it was time for public testing, he saw Black Phantom's battle and was captivated. Hurriedly, he wanted to switch to become a Mechanic. Other players tried to complete tasks to improve their relationship with Black Phantom, but Luzman could not wait. He used his money to gain five reputation points with Black Phantom. From the five basic knowledges that Black Phantom taught, he learned [Basic Weaponry Knowledge] as he liked this name the most.

But Luzman quickly realized that Mechanics were not as strong as Black Phantom made them out to be. After losing continuously in the duel, he felt that he had been cheated; this class was way too weak! But he could not bear to abandon his beta-testing account and had asked the customer service if he could change his class, but that was of course not possible, leaving him infuriated.

What a waste of having this opportunity to enter the beta test! This account is useless now!

Luzman had been extremely frustrated. Going onto the forums, he had put up posts everywhere, regardless of topic. He had planned to thoroughly bash the Mechanic class by repeating how trashy it was and let all of the players know that Mechanic was a trashy class!

Players had debated after his comments. Initially, Luzman had been satisfied with what he saw. That was his original intention. He had also enjoyed the feeling of his words being taken seriously by others.

Chapter 154: Alumera's Searcher

Scrolling through the forum, Luzman realized that he had been tagged. He clicked into the post, and there was a video of Frenzied Sword and Laughing Blade dueling, and people were gloatingly asking him to explain himself.

Luzman had recently gone crazy hard on mechanics on the various forums. His stance was not the most annoying thing; him posting everywhere was what annoyed people the most. He constantly forced people to read his post as if they were not already aware of his comments. This behavior made him loathed by everyone.

"@Luzman, a Mechanic has killed an Esper. Why don't you come out and explain?"

After watching the video, Luzman immediately retorted, "This is just a rare instance. That Laughing Blade did not know how to play at all!"

"Ha, you've suffered consecutive duel losses, but how did someone else win? Just admit you're a rookie, Luzman."

Luzman stifled his anger and replied, "Frenzied Sword has triggered a secret quest. He was more advanced in rank and equipment; there is no point in battling!"

"Do you mean the equipment given by NPCs isn't enough? Then what for are you doing missions for? Taking rewards for what? Collecting money for what? Just admit you're a rookie and stand still when being scolded!"

Damn it! Luzman was fuming, he straight away came back. "What I said about Mechanics being weak was none of your business!"

"Then why are you posting that everywhere? Think before you speak, won't you?"

Luzman was exasperated. "Damn you, can you stop barking? Are you that low for you to come and be scolded by me!"

"Finally, your true colors have shown. You're a troll, stop acting. You chose this profession on your own, how can you say you were cheated? This is hilarious, who do you think you are? Why would the gaming company cheat you? Were you looking for your sense of existence everywhere?"

"I would not have chosen Esper if the Black Phantom did not lie to me!"

"Oh, it wasn't my fault; it's the world's fault. Nobody pointed a gun at you, forcing you to choose your class, did they? Are you that dumb to push the blame to an NPC? If you regret it, open a new account, and stop posting everywhere, you brat!"

"Son of a b*tch…" Luzman was seething.

At this moment, an official message appeared on Luzman's screen.

_____________________

It was detected that you frequently used insulting terms, hence your forum account will be banned for three days.

_____________________

Luzman was stunned. What the hell!

He was unable to reply. Naturally, the players on the forum soon discovered this and gloated at him.

"Haha, banned for cursing, aren't you?"

"This is great."

"Let's go, he is clearly a troll."

Luzman could only read and not reply. He was indignant and sullen, itching to smash something.

…

"That's interesting."

Han Xiao finished reading the forum's comments, and his fingers were itching to reply, but sadly, he could not. Thinking back when he was on the forum, he loved to watch people getting into a catfight; that was a great pastime.

However, there were some people who got really angry because of the catfight; these were the people who were too innocent. If you are unable to win an argument, just treat it as something to do for fun. Everything on the Internet is pointless; it is all virtual and will not affect you in real life.

Han Xiao had also once been a despised power-leveler. He had been bashed by other players. When there was nothing to do, he could get into a catfight and treat it as something to lighten up his day.

Looking at the lively players on the forum while he himself could only be a spectator, Han Xiao felt very lonely. He missed the days when he was involved in a fiery verbal sparring… even though he had always felt that the term 'verbal sparring' was filthy.

Looking at the time, it was nearing dusk, and the battlefield had been cleaned up.

Han Xiao heard an engine from afar; he raised his eyes and gazed into the distance. There were a few off-road vehicles speeding across the muddy road. Green Valley Ville opened its gates, and Balsas was standing beside the gate to welcome these few vehicles with respect.

A thought flashed through Han Xiao's mind. The vehicle has an Alumera crest.

…

When the off-road vehicle drove into the town, armed guards got off the bus and guarded a man who was dressed exquisitely.

Xiao Jin, the second leader of Alumera, had sent the emissary Xiao Rui to South Continent to find the Germinal Bounty, Zero. More than half a year ago, the Alumera family had realized that the appearance of this Zero was exactly the same as the missing Han Xiao, so Xiao Jin sent people to look for him. However, they had ended up empty-handed for a long time. Xiao Rui was the leader of the search team.

Balsas was extremely deferential toward Xiao Rui. He led everyone into the main house. The table was set with drinks and piping hot, fragrant barbequed meat. There was a cross-sectional cut on it, and the texture of the skin looked like a wave of an ocean. There was a hint of pink in the middle of the reddish-brown flesh. It was clear that the meat was tender even without biting into it. It was Gray Devil Wolf's meat that had been collected two hours ago, and it was extremely fresh. Other dishes included some vegetables and mashed potato-like crop.

In this rogue town, the expenses of the dishes were considerable, and Xiao Rui was very satisfied with Balsas' hospitality.

The group sat down around the food, and Xiao Rui, who was covered in dust, scoffed down the food. He ate three pieces of barbecue meat in one go and only slowed down after he swallowed them. He wiped his mouth and said calmly to Balsas, who waiting at one side, "I will rest for a few days in your territory and continue to find that damn bastard."

"I'll get someone to prepare the rooms," Balsas replied. "Let me know again of any requests."

Xiao Rui's status in the family was higher than his, hence Balsas' posture was awfully low.

"Okay." Xiao Rui was pleased with Balsas' attitude. He decided to stay for a few days more in Green Valley Ville. He had spent this last half a year searching for news of Zero in the South Continent, and he had enough of this aimless searching; it was a form of torture.

Ever since Han Xiao's disappearance, the family thought that he was dead and did not take it to heart. However, after finding out that he had become Zero, everyone was shocked. Alumera did not wish to provoke Germinal. Thus, to find out what exactly happened, Xiao Jin assigned him to bring Han Xiao back to the family for questioning, yet the target had not been found after six months.

Xiao Rui was filled with resentment toward Han Xiao. It was all because of this 'regenerated' guy that he could not enjoy his life in comfort at his family's headquarters.

He had met Han Xiao a few times before; he was weak and hopeless. If not for him being Xiao Jin's biological son, he would have been sent to clean the toilets. Xiao Rui was an orphan adopted from a war, and there were many orphans like him under Xiao Jin. All of them grew up competing with one another, and each racked their brains scheming to improve their status. Hence, he was extremely envious of Han Xiao as he did not have to struggle as much.

Initially, when he heard that Han Xiao had died, he was secretly very happy during his funeral. He knew that his adopted brothers felt the same way even though they were grieving on the outside.

The first impression Xiao Rui had of Han Xiao made it difficult for him to link Han Xiao and the Zero that was talked about on the Dark Net.

Why didn't you just die and leave me alone? Why must you give me so much trouble? Xiao Rui had grumbled on more than one occasion. He looked at Balsas and chatted for a while before asking casually, "Is there anything going on recently in this town?"

"Yes, those refugees outside…" Balsas told him about his findings.

Xiao Rui was surprised. "There's actually such a weird crowd? You have to report your findings to the family."

"I know… There's something else. Black Phantom is also resting in this town. His reason is unknown; he claims that it was on the way."

Xiao Rui's heart skipped a beat. "Black Phantom is here, too?"

Recently, the Dark Net's killer list had been updated. Black Phantom's rank had risen to seventh, and he was very active. To know that this legendary killer was nearby, Xiao Rui was somewhat uneasy.

"We'd better not provoke him," Balsas replied.

Xiao Rui was undecided as he knitted his brows together in a deep frown. He turned and saw Liu Cheng, his expressionless personal bodyguard who was right behind him. This eased his nervous mood.

Liu Cheng sensed Xiao Rui's gaze and reassured him indifferently. "Don't worry. Even if we face Black Phantom, I can still protect your life. He can't do anything to me."

…

The sun was setting.

Ever since the off-road vehicles entered the town, Han Xiao had felt a change in Green Valley Ville. The town's look-out had kept a close watch on him, as if they were worried about his activities. From this small detail, Han Xiao was fairly confident that the person on the vehicle that had entered the town was an important character.

"I don't have a deep impression of Alumera's family. It seems like they were not a special group in the original quest… Oh, I've recalled. I think in the secondary quest of 'The Power Struggle of Vagrant Warlords', this family was the one of the strongest powers. Yes, this secondary quest and Bennett's refugee quest had a partial conflict. The vagrants and I did not have a lot of interactions, don't think it will affect this quest."

Han Xiao had been eyeing Bennett's quest for a long time. He did not know when it started, but with his good relationship with Bennett, coupled with the positive notes from the Dark Net Organization, as well as his Universal Reputation, there was a high chance that he would be invited by Bennett to participate in the refugee plan, and that would be Aquamarine's second main quest.

Chapter 155: Fruit of Face

As a participant in the main quest mission, the mission Han Xiao would receive should be quite different from the other players', and he was very excited.

Alumera seemed like an indirect enemy. Han Xiao rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, "We'll see when the time comes. There isn't any cause for concern now. This is just a small territory."

The interface showed that he had accumulated more than one million EXP. Aquamarine had nineteen novice villages. Excluding the six on Andrea Mainland and not counting Big Horn Village and Green Valley Ville, this meant that Han Xiao still had eleven chances of earning from teaching mechanic skills to those who switched to the mechanics class. This was more than enough for him to rise till LV 60, after which he could then go to some dangerous places, collecting rare abilities, skills, and machinery. Hence, it was rumored that 'max level is the beginning'. Although he did not have a rank limit imposed by the version, the quality-price ratio to continuously increase his rank was not the highest.

Since Han Xiao possessed a huge channel of EXP, he used it extravagantly to improve his skills.

Talent points could not be used carelessly, but EXP did not really matter.

He straight away upgraded three skills to the highest level; [Flaming Will], [Overload], and [Moving Snipe]. These three combat skills were all important, and the explosive power was upgraded once again. If [Flaming Will] and [Overload] were to start at the same time, it was even possible for the Ghost sniper rifle to take over two thousand HP. The three skills were fully upgraded, and they brought along three talent points. His accumulated talent points were 24 now, and he saved them so as to not use them unnecessarily.

With the remaining EXP, Han Xiao fused his knowledge together and randomly obtained new blueprints. Fortunately, the fusion this time around was quite good.

[Sunworm Portable Flamethrower], the flame had continuous damage. The important point was that it had a small volume but a large range of impact. It could be carried with you or loaded as a small component on a vehicle or robot.

A player who took the role of patrolling in the town suddenly dashed over and shouted in fear, "I found an army. They are approaching, and they have triggered a mission!"

The players of Green Town Ville became restless and all went to check out their interface.

Han Xiao's brow jumped momentarily. He actually received a mission too!

_____________________

You have triggered a random mission, [Invasion of Green Valley Ville].

Mission summary: Green Valley Ville, which is controlled by the Alumera family, is very close to the inhabited land, Black Pine, Lu Cheng's territory. There has been continuous friction between them. Now, Lu Cheng's troops are once again invading Green Valley Ville. You can choose to help the Alumera family protect Green Valley Ville or help Lu Cheng attack. Please choose your position.

Mission requirements: Tip off Balsas and protect Green Valley Ville. Otherwise, you can choose to join Lu Cheng's troops and attack Green Valley Ville.

Note: Once you have picked a side, you are not allowed to switch.

Mission rewards:

1. By protecting Green Valley Ville, you will receive 12,000 EXP and 3,000 Aquamarine Dollars.

2. By helping Lu Cheng compete the attack, you will receive 10,000 EXP.

_____________________

I actually received the novice mission as well?

Han Xiao broke into laughter. He did not care about this small reward, but Lu Cheng, who was mentioned in the mission, caught his attention. If he remembered correctly, Lu Cheng was Old Man Lu's son, a South Continent vagrant who was a big warlord.

Old Man Lu's four blueprints could only be obtained from Lu Cheng. An idea came to Han Xiao's head, and he immediately made a decision. As long as he got to interact with Lu Cheng, he would then be able to know when the secret quest would begin.

As for those four uncommon blueprints, he had been eyeing them for a long time.

I will observe for a while, see if the leader is Lu Cheng himself or his subordinate. Han Xiao took out his sniper rifle and oiled it. He idled around and appeared as a sharp contrast to the busy players around him.

This urgent mission resulted in the players taking action, some of them immediately chose to protect Green Valley Ville, which offered a higher reward, and went to tip off the guard. There were still some players surveying the situation first.

Balsas received the information and jumped out of his lover's bed in shock. He hurriedly threw on his clothes and arrived at the town's lookout tower with quick steps. The observatory was built with stones and bricks, and the top was spread with weeds as a ceiling.

"Damn it, the bastard of Black Pine came again!" Balsas cursed with a pair of gloomy triangular eyes.

Green Valley Ville was just one part of Alumera, and Lu Cheng was actually a local vagrant warlord from the South Continent. His power was even more tremendous. Lu Cheng's headquarters were in Black Pine, and Green Valley Ville was located just dozens of miles away. Lu Cheng had eyed this strategic location for a long time and tried to invade several times. No one had expected him to launch an attack today.

Xiao Rui arrived beside Balsas and pointed at the dense mess of surrounding players and assured him, "Don't worry, don't we have cannon fodder?"

Balsas' eyes lit up. With this bunch of unbeatable eccentric refugees, they were able to counteract Lu Cheng's military advantage!

Balsas called the assistant and ordered, "Go tell that bunch of refugees outside that I need them to ward off Lu Cheng's army. As long as they completed my mission, everyone will receive money."

"Don't give too much," Xiao Rui added on. "Their lives are worthless."

"I understand." This bunch of refuges were the best cannon fodder; they were the trump card to defeating Lu Cheng. Balsas let out a sinister smile.

Luck is on our side!

…

Lu Cheng sat in the middle of a war chariot and looked serious. This unit had more than sixty off-road armored vehicles equipped with machine guns and rockets, followed by hundreds of fully-equipped elite soldiers. They were all trained and qualified soldiers; one soldier could fight at least three enemies, and the soldiers knew how to work together in different formations. They were not a common vagrant of the mob.

Lu Cheng had been coveting Green Valley Ville for a long time. There was a strategic mountain pass between this town and his land, Black Pine. Once he seized the town, there would be no worries in the future.

"We must capture Green Valley Ville this time round."

The troops were getting closer to Green Valley Ville. Lu Cheng soon noticed the crowd surrounding the town; they wore ragged garments, like a group of refugees, guarding the town.

Lu Cheng's face immediately darkened, and there was a trace of anger in his eyes. "What a despicable bastard to use refugees as cannon fodder!"

He ordered the military fleet to park a distance away from the town, just outside of the firing range of the machine guns. The smoke and dust quickly dissipated. The ruts left on the muddy road exuded a burning smell, and the heat from the friction somewhat contorted the air.

The players who chose to protect the town all held onto their weapons tightly and waited on high alert. The cold armored vehicles and the compressed gun barrels made many people nervous. They swallowed their saliva with unease. Beads of sweat on their foreheads were reflecting light under the sun.

Many observing players had some doubts. Were they not allowed to choose their camp? It seemed like that they would begin fighting any minute now, and they might have no time to choose a side.

"Balsas, are you thinking of blocking my gunfire with these pathetic fellows?" Lu Cheng took out a megaphone, and his voice travelled out. Everyone in the town could hear his voice clearly. "My men are able to tear them to shreds easily, do you want me to paint your territory with fresh blood?"

Balsas emerged above the wall and smiled coldly.

Lu Cheng frowned and looked at the group of shabbily dressed refugees. He calmly offered, "I'll give you the opportunity to leave now. There is no need to die here."

The refugees were restless for a while, but he realized that they did not waver despite that.

"Are these people unafraid of death?"

Lu Cheng was astonished. He realized that there was not the slightest bit of fear on this bunch of refugees' faces. He hesitated to give the command of attack.

Balsas faintly guessed the values of this group of refugees; what they cared about the most was profit instead of their lives. Seeing Lu Cheng hesitation, Balsas was very proud of himself and was rather scornful of Lu Cheng's indecisiveness. He ridiculed lowly, "What an excessive tendency to clemency."

To be apprehensive toward endangering the refugees' lives would only hinder his battle; Lu Cheng's choice appeared awfully stupid in Balsas' eyes.

Balsas grinned evilly and was about to order the refugees to counterattack when he suddenly realized that there was movement from the side-lines.

Black Phantom!

Han Xiao stretched his back and strode unhurriedly to the center of the confrontation. He instantly caught the attention of both sides and the players. He crossed his arms and called loudly, "Give me some face. If you all want to go to war, do it tomorrow!"

His voice was as good as a loudspeaker. Everyone was taken aback.

"Why is he intervening‽" Balsas immediately swallowed back his almost released order.

Lu Cheng froze, sizing Han Xiao up, before exclaiming hoarsely, "Black Phantom‽ Why is this fellow here?"

The commanders of both sides were afraid of the consequences, so they ordered the troops to lay down their weapons. The tense atmosphere of confrontation dissipated immediately.

The players were bewildered. They were not very familiar with Aquamarine's background. From the mission brief, it was known that Balsas and Lu Cheng were warlords of influence. Black Phantom gave out an order on his own, and the two warlords with armed forces immediately feared the consequences. This roused the players' curiosity.

With one sentence from Black Phantom, he was able to halt the war. He was able to make the two warlords overlook their feud, who exactly was he?

Just how high was his status to dare say the phrase 'give me some face'? The most terrifying thing was that the two warlords halted immediately; how much weight does he carry‽

Then the players noticed something else. These NPCs all recognized Black Phantom. Exactly how big was his reputation on the planet? Could it already be to the point where he was able to cut in anywhere he went‽

Is this Red-Hair Shanks' legendary ability, Fruit of Face?

Bun-hit-dog, who was secretly videoing the scene, was thrilled. This kind of news material was exactly what he wanted.This is a One Piece meme among Chinese followers of the series. Basically, it's about how Shanks makes people 'give him face' in certain matters. More information: https://www.reddit.com/r/OnePiece/comments/8ptr75/there_seems_to_be_a_widespread_theory_among/.

Chapter 156: One More in the Support Team

"Retreat, set up the camp!" Lu Cheng took a deep look at Han Xiao and swept his eyes across the refugees. He let his troops pitch a camp in the distance and eyed covetously.

The players became restless. Some players who had yet to choose their side were surveying the situation. It seemed like the Green Valley Ville's side had a higher possibility of winning.

The sky became dark.

Han Xiao walked over to Lu Cheng's camp, and the guards hastily raised their guns when they saw him approaching.

"Relax, I just want to have a short discussion with your leader," Han Xiao assured them.

The guards continued to hold on to their guns and did not allow Han Xiao to enter the camp.

At this moment, Lu Cheng heard the commotion and walked over. "Let him in."

If Black Phantom wanted to kill him, there was no need to inform him. It seemed like he had other intentions. He permitted the guards to make way and lead Han Xiao into the newly built tent. Frenzied Sword followed after Han Xiao.

Lu Cheng sat down casually, not worried that Han Xiao might threaten his life. With his hands clasped under his chin, he remarked, "The famous Black Phantom actually appeared in this small place. I don't know the reason of your intervention—I don't think Balsas is qualified to hire a killer of your status—so what is you purpose of visiting me?"

Han Xiao got straight to the point. "I'm here to help you."

"Help me?" Lu Cheng became suspicious. "We have not met before."

Han Xiao casually made up a reason. "You are more likeable than Balsas."

Lu Cheng felt strange and paused before commenting, "Balsas … He's a despicable fellow. He actually let the refugees act as cannon fodder. I really don't understand, why did this bunch of refugees disregard their lives? What benefits did Balsas give them exactly? Could it be that he detained their family to threaten them? I gave them an opportunity to live, yet they don't want to leave."

"They don't have much combat strength, why don't you just crush them? With your armed forces' strength, it would be a completely one-sided massacre." Han Xiao half-smiled.

Lu Cheng's face was blank. He declined to comment and changed the topic. "Black Phantom, I don't know you, and I don't know why you want to help me. What do you plan to do, kill Balsas? I believe this is an easy task for you."

"No, I don't want to kill people," Han Xiao said perfunctory.

Lu Cheng's lips twisted. A killer said he did not wish to kill people? This is more ridiculous than saying a navy can't swim!

"Then how do you plan to help me?"

"You are concerned about the refugees. I can help you resolve that."

Lu Cheng raised his eyebrows. "You can convince them?"

"Perhaps."

"… Then what do you want from me?"

Lu Cheng did not believe that a legendary killer, who was a stranger, would help for free. He was certain that the Black Phantom had a motive, but he did not understand what the Black Phantom fancied from him.

"I don't need a reward."

Lu Cheng's eyes darkened, and he stared at Han Xiao's eyes. What he saw was a dense fog, and he was unable to penetrate Han Xiao's thoughts. Generally speaking, if one did not want a reward, it meant that the person harbored other intentions and bigger ambitions.

Silence.

Frenzied Sword felt lost as he was listening to their conversation, but that did not hinder him from sensing that the atmosphere had become rigid, and his nape somewhat tightened.

After two minutes of deadlock, Lu Cheng did not say anything at the end. He nodded and said slowly, "Then I'll count on you."

…

Han Xiao petted Frenzied Sword's shoulder while walking out of Lu Cheng's camp, saying, "I've things for you to do."

_____________________

You triggered the mission [Disseminating of Information].

_____________________

The mission was to disseminate the information of Black Phantom joining Lu Cheng's camp, using reputation as a form of reward. The greater the number of people who came to know this information, the higher the reward would be, and players were surprisingly counted in as the head count. Frenzied Sword did not doubt him and diligently went to disseminate this piece of information in Green Valley Ville.

Perhaps the ordinary players would be amazed to encounter this type of real-life interaction mission, but Frenzied Sword had gone through Han Xiao's baptism of love, and hence was not shocked at any kind of mission anymore.

"Next up will be to see how much influence I have," Han Xiao said.

Frenzied Sword was really efficient, and perhaps because he had a bit of a fame now, the news spread through words of mouth quickly. Very soon, it had spread throughout Green Valley Ville. Then there was a huge commotion among the community of players.

"If we choose Green Valley Ville, does it mean we'll become enemies with Black Phantom?"

"How is it possible to beat him!"

"Is this a mission guide?"

The players were panicking. The image of Han Xiao ferociously killing the beasts was still deeply etched in their minds. Becoming enemies with Black Phantom would be equivalent to courting death. The situation of the mission was immediately turned upside down. The chances of Green Valley Ville winning had become an all-time low.

Also, choosing to protect Green Valley Ville meant that the players had to attack Black Phantom. That would result in a decline in their likeability with Black Phantom. That was too big a sacrifice for such a small mission. If they were to fight for real, should they attack him or not? If they did not attack him, how could they protect Green Town Ville? This was a thorny problem.

The players who had chosen Green Valley Ville were gloomy. They felt they had no chance of winning. If they want to complete the mission, they could only join Lu Cheng's camp, but they were unable to re-elect their camp.

Bun-hit-dog was very decisive; he was the first to advance to Lu Cheng's camp. The mission was second; his main objective was to capture more of Han Xiao's acts.

The guards had received Lu Cheng's orders and allowed the refugees to pass. Bun-hit-dog successfully joined Lu Cheng's camp, and Han Xiao, who was observing at one side, narrowed his eyes as he noticed Bun-hit-dog .

This ID seems familiar… Isn't he a video master? Han Xiao remembered Bun-hit-dog's ID; he was a rather famous video master uploader. He had done many seasons of the Galaxy series and was very well-received.

At this moment, Han Xiao had another idea…

Han Xiao strode out and stopped in front of Bun-hit-dog.

"You made a wise choice; I feel that you have potential. Do you want to become my temporary assistant?" Han Xiao asked.

Bun-hit-dog's eyes became as big as saucers. He was stupefied. Did he just trigger the secret quest?

He never had any extravagant expectations, but he did not expect himself to come upon it!

This is life; you might not get what you want, yet what you don't want could be gifted to you. This is too unexpected. Bun-hit-dog was suddenly frozen on the spot.

There was an uproar among the observing players.

"He had triggered Black Phantom's secret quest!"

"How did he do it‽"

"Was joining Black Phantom all it takes?"

"This mission was actually a chance to trigger a secret quest?"

Realizing this, the players who were still observing wasted no time in joining Lu Cheng's camp. They were enthusiastic, joining the camp like a refugee tide. The camp was filled with players in an instant. It was overcrowded and jam-packed. The guards were stunned; they were unsure whether to chase people away or not.

The players who were done choosing their camps impatiently went to find Han Xiao, wanting to trigger the quest. However, they were faced with rejection.

"Why can't we?"

"Is it only restricted to the first person who joined the camp‽"

That was the most possible guess; the players who were a step slower wanted to bang their heads on the ground. The pain they felt was as if they were notified of striking a lottery to only be told it was an error.

They had the chance of being the first, but this chance was snatched by Bun-hit-dog, just like that.

A step slower, a golden opportunity missed!

The players were full of regret.

Han Xiao brought the overly-excited Bun-hit-dog to one side and casually issued five reputation points. He secretly planned on how to make full use of Bun-hit-dog.

Bringing along a player who was a game video maker also meant that he was bringing a reporter along. He could then have a channel to disseminate news to players freely. He could choose to give players some news selectively based on what information he wanted the players to know.

After experiencing the baptism of information explosion, controlling the public's opinion was equivalent to holding a weapon. He was able to defame the opponent, guide the public's opinion, and shape his image to his benefit.

Looks like my manipulation is getting more and more high-end. Han Xiao was elated. He compiled an accompanying mission that was generous in rewards and gave it to Bun-hit-dog. Next, he took out a mobile that could be used to contact him and handed it to Bun-hit-dog as well. He urged Bun-hit-dog a million times not to lose it, so Bun-hit-dog nodded repeatedly and gripped the mobile seriously.

He had two accompanying players, Bun-hit-dog and Frenzied Sword. The limit of Han Xiao's mission was adequate.

After advancing the second time, the limit to what he could reward players increased from three hundred to five hundred per level. This also meant that at LV 40, the increment was at around twelve thousand, but after the advancement, it had doubled to twenty-five thousand. Now, the total value had reached up to fifty thousand.

Han Xiao did not think of any news to disseminate, so he first gave Bun-hit-dog his contact as it would inevitably be of use in the future.

Now I have three players that I fancy: Frenzied Sword, Maple Moon, and Bun-hit-dog. The strength is slightly low, I'd need to expand my support team. Han Xiao was thinking ahead. He would rather focus on quality than quantity; he was destined to walk the elite route. If he was able to take in China's past experts then he would have profited. However, he felt that this possibility was rather uncertain as those ultra-good players all had some strange personalities.

Having only gone to two novice villages so far, he still had ten more waiting for him. Thus, Han Xiao had tons of opportunities left to choose his men.

Chapter 157: Nemesis!

Balsas arrived hastily at the lookout tower and saw a large number of refugees flooding into Lu Cheng's camp. He was flustered.

This bunch of refugees are abandoning my town? How did Lu Cheng subdue them‽

It was at this moment Balsas realized that this special bunch of refugees valued profit over anything. The only reason they were easily manipulated by those small profits was because they had not yet been offered bigger benefits. Balsas thought that he was in control of the refugees, but that was just wishful thinking!

I'm doomed… Balsas was frantically running around in circles. These refugees were his trump card against Lu Cheng, and now that Lu Cheng had them, his advantage no longer existed.

Suddenly, he felt something was amiss. Lu Cheng should not have known any special aspects of the refugees!

At this moment, his assistant ran over panicky and reported the news of Black Phantom helping Lu Cheng.

This news was like a thunderbolt hitting him; Balsas was stood motionless in shock. He could not imagine being enemies with Black Phantom as he knew he would die miserably. Every superhuman that died under Black Phantom's gun was a reflection of his own end.

Black Phantom was of a legendary rank; why would he help Lu Cheng suddenly?

It must be because of Black Phantom that Lu Cheng was able to subdue the refugees. Why does he have so much influence on the refugees? Balsas then recalled that Black Phantom had mentioned he was only passing by.

Liar!

Balsas had the idea of retreating. If Balsas retreated along with the armed forces, there was a high possibility that Lu Cheng would not pursue and attack.

"The battle hasn't begun, and you're already thinking of running away. Have you forgotten the Alumera family's rules?" Xiao Rui arrived at the lookout tower, stood beside Balsas, and frowned.

"But that's the Black Phantom! Also, half of the refugees have betrayed us…"

"Alumera would never withdraw from a war. Get your men ready for battle." Xiao Rui's voice was firm and full of righteousness.

"There's the Black Phantom though…"

"My bodyguard, Liu Cheng, will prevent him from participating in the battle."

Liu Cheng, who was standing behind Xiao Rui, stepped out blankly. His calm, confident manner soothed Balsas' nerves.

Balsas clenched his teeth and hesitated for a while before making a firm decision and calling his assistant. "Mobilize everyone and kick that Black Pine bastard all the way back to his home! We have some of the refugees with us at least; we still have a chance at this battle."

"Yes sir!" The assistant hurried went to convey the order.

There were only three people left on the lookout tower. Xia Rui turned his head and said lowly, "Prepare the vehicle in case the guards fail. We must ensure that we are able to retreat. Don't worry, we are on the same side, the family's side. I'll vouch for you that we had went all out for this arduous battle."

Balsas heaved a sigh of relief; having some support steadied his heart. He was afraid Xiao Rui would let this news get to him, but it seemed like he was still rational. Leaving the soldiers of Green Valley Ville behind to resist, this would delay Lu Cheng's troops and aid them in escaping, and it would also be easier to account to the Alumera Family.

…

In the early hours, the sky was dark, and a thick fog had seeped in.

Green Valley Ville's guards were waiting atop the wall behind their machine guns in their bunkers. Through the wall fencing, they saw piles of sandbags in position and supporting machine guns. If they broke through the city gates, the battle would begin.

"They have decided to defend till their death, so a fierce battle is unavoidable. Fortunately, the number of stubborn refugees has decreased greatly."

Lu Cheng put his binoculars down and let out a sigh.

He did not want to massacre the refugees, and Han Xiao had done him a huge favor. Lu Cheng was flabbergasted at the fact that Han Xiao seemed to have such influence on the refugees. It only took him half a night to solve this difficult problem.

As for the refugees who remained in Green Valley Ville, Lu Cheng had given them a chance, and there was also a limit to being benevolent.

"Attack in twenty minutes."

Lu Cheng gave out a command and took advantage of the time that the troops needed to prepare to find Han Xiao to express his gratitude.

"It was all thanks to you that we managed to solve the issue of the refugees."

Han Xiao smiled in response.

There was no free lunch in the world, and the more Han Xiao did not mention a reward, the more Lu Cheng felt uneasy. He paused before saying in exasperation, "I really feel that there's nothing on me that such a character like you would be interested in."

This sentence was caught by Bun-hit-dog, who was standing at the side. He sensed the hidden meaning.

This kind of character? Another clue relating to Black Phantom's identity.

Bun-hit-dog thought of a vague outline for the first episode.

"We'll discuss again after the war ended. These refugees will fight for you," Han Xiao replied.

"The refugees are not soldiers, and I'm not Balsas; I'll not let them throw their lives away." Lu Cheng shook his head.

"Even without your command, they'll still participate in this battle." Han Xiao lowered his voice.

Are these people lunatics? Do they not fear death? Lu Cheng expressed his suspicions. However, the time for battle was approaching. He had no time to inquire more. He hurriedly went to command his troop.

Following the fleet of vehicles, a fierce battle began. Gunfire tore the darkness apart; Lu Cheng's troops launched an intense attack on Green Valley Ville. The soldiers based on the wall and the vehicle carrying machine guns and howitzers were shooting across each other, and the battlefield was flooded with the sound of engines, machine guns, and screams of agony. The night sky was illuminated with the blaze of every exploded grenade and pervaded with the smoke from the guns.

The players also began their fighting at close quarters, Green Valley Ville's players had clear commands from several small guilds' leaders. While the players on Lu Cheng's side lacked cohesion, they had a large number of players.

Han Xiao observed at one side as the situation did not require him to intervene yet. Lu Cheng had a high chance of winning.

Suddenly, a shadow traversed across the battlefield and made a beeline toward Han Xiao along the battlefield's edge; an artillery shell's flame and bullets landed on Han Xiao's body, yet he was not at all injured.

"Black Phantom, I'll be your opponent!"

Liu Cheng rushed over with giant strides.

"I can't even mind my own business now?" Han Xiao grudgingly took out and fired a machine gun. Three bullets hit the space between Liu Cheng's eyebrows, heart, and lower region of his body, but there was no expected blood splattered.

The moment when the three steel bullets hit Liu Cheng, it seemed that the kinetic energy suddenly disappeared. The bullets bounced off Liu Cheng's skin, and the might was not even as good as a slingshot. Light blue smoke showing the damage dealt could be seen floating above his head.

-0!

-0!

Han Xiao clearly saw the moment when the warhead hit, and the target's skin rippled with fine corrugation. After which, the bullet lost its kinetic energy.

His eyes darkened.

Kinetic energy absorption?

The interface showed Liu Cheng had reached LV 44. The level was not as high as Han Xiao's, but Liu Cheng's ability was very tricky. It was the natural defense against a kinetic energy weapon, and this happened to restrain his machinery.

Han Xiao was unlucky. He just had to meet an enemy who was able to restrain him.

With kinetic energy absorption, one could dissolve the various power exerted on the body. If the power could not breakthrough the ability's support limit, the power would then be absorbed and transformed into the opponent's power. Using physical property to attack was ineffective toward this kind of ability. To deal with Kinetic Energy Absorption, using either quantity or mental form to attack was the best choice. The support limit of this type of ability naturally depended on the level and strength. Unfortunately, in general, the support limit would always exceed the combat capability of the same level.

Liu Cheng stopped a few meters away from Han Xiao and said coldly, "Black Phantom, this battle is unrelated to you. Mind your own business."

A legendary killer was eyeing covetously at edge of the battlefield, so Liu Cheng took the lead to prevent the Black Phantom from participating in the battle.

Han Xiao's response was simply two bullets going for Liu Cheng's eyes, and they had resulted in zero damage still. The warhead fell to the ground disappointedly, Liu Cheng's eyes did not even blink. He was not harmed at all and said indifferently, "You're Dark Net's top killer and the Blood Pact Society's trump card. Others may fear you, but not me. I'll give you a word of advice, stay away from this battlefield."

"The Dark Net? Blood Pact Society? What power is that?" The observing Bun-hit-dog had an idea and hastily stored these two important keywords in his heart. He was finally seeing the tip of the iceberg of Black Phantom's mysterious origin!

Han Xiao's mind quickly filtered through his equipment at hand. Coming up with a preliminary plan, his feet slammed onto the ground and the Electromagnetic Hover-boots lit up. The exerted power made him recoil rapidly. He touched his waist swiftly and pulled out two Berserk Eagles. In a quick move, he changed to a Hayme bullet and opened fire. The bullets hit the side of Liu Cheng's feet, and poisonous gas began to rise and pervaded the air.

Liu Cheng detected the poisonous gas and frowned. He held his breath and charged in large strides. While he was traversing through the battlefield earlier on, he had absorbed a large amount of kinetic energy from the crossfire. The kinetic energy shot out from the bottom of his feet as he dashed toward Han Xiao. With every step he took, his footprints formed big pits. He was like an unstoppable tank as he caught up with Han Xiao. He gathered an enormous amount of kinetic energy and directed it at Han Xiao's chest.

Bang!

As if having a head-on collision with a mad rhinoceros, his body flew out uncontrollably. The remaining power was unstoppable, and he even knocked down and killed several players who were so unfortunate to be in his way.

Chapter 158: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

This blow made Han Xiao seemed pathetic. However, his Magnetically controlled retractable armor managed to reduce the impact. Hence, it only took 50 HP. He had close to three thousand HP, which was quite good among the other mechanics of the same rank. The power of Liu Cheng's released kinetic energy was not very strong, but it could easily cause repelling and flying effects, and that was the annoying part.

The interface displayed the insidious effect of the poisonous gas. The Hayme bullets were effective, but Liu Cheng's HP and resistance were not low too. He could still explode kinetic energy and rapidly get out of the poisonous gas cloud. It was unrealistic to use poisonous gas to deal with Liu Cheng. The effect of using high-explosive bullets was slightly better, but they were the same as the Hayme bullets, unable to win by just using them. Han Xiao did not give chase as the ammunition he had was limited, and there were only three magazines with high-explosive bullets left.

He took a deep breath to increase his blood oxygen content. He stomped his feet and stopped recoiling from the impact. A deep trail could be seen on the ground. He put both his guns away and put his hands in a stance to ward off the charging Liu Cheng with his iron fists. The kinetic energy of Liu Cheng's iron fists almost smashed open Han Xiao's stance.

Liu Cheng's kinetic energy was able to amplify power, and Han Xiao was vulnerable in terms of power.

An artillery shell exploded nearby; there was a glare, and both men were intertwined in a fight, one attacking and one guarding. This posture resembled a paper-cut silhouette drawing, disappearing in a flash.

Liu Cheng roared and slammed his fists onto Han Xiao's head. The kinetic energy of that action caused a tremor in the air. Han Xiao was beaten to the extent that his head became crooked and his cervical vertebrae cracked bone by bone. He grabbed Liu Cheng's shoulder and refused to let himself fly out because of the impact of that hit. His other hand started the thermo-electrical incisor gloves and aimed it toward Liu Cheng's eyes.

"High temperature‽" Liu Ching quickly raised his head in alert. The glove glided across his cheek and left a burn, exposing his flesh. The burn stung his nerves, and in that moment, Lu Cheng exploded the kinetic energy within his body, causing a tremendous force to push Han Xiao out.

Han Xiao panted and removed the mud that was sputtered all over his face. Firearms were useless, and this cost him a chance of surprise kill. In addition, it would only enable the opponent to absorb more kinetic energy. However, he still had other types of weapons such as flames and poisonous gas that both could kill and injure.

Fortunately, he is unable to absorb such energy. Otherwise, I really would not know how to subdue him.

Liu Cheng covered the burn on his face, glanced fearfully at Han Xiao's gloves, and immediately turned around to run off in another direction.

Han Xiao froze, and his expression changed suddenly. He hurriedly gave chase.

On a war vehicle, a soldier who was controlling machine guns saw a figure rapidly approaching. He instinctively turned the muzzle around to aim at the figure, and the compressed bullets were hitting the target. However, he was stupefied at the discovery that the target, who should have been shot into a sieve, was unscathed. The warheads dropped onto the ground one by one!

"Don't hit him!" Han Xiao yelled.

It was a pity that the reminder came too late; the surrounding war vehicles fired at Liu Cheng, who absorbed all the kinetic energy. Both of Liu Cheng's eyes were bloodshot, and the amount of kinetic energy was almost overflowing. Liu Cheng's muscles were twitching like those of an agitated mouse. He turned around, and the ground that he had stepped on exploded into a big hole. His whole body flew as if it was an exploded artillery shell.

This was the combined kinetic energy of a thousand bullets!

This speed is too fast for me! Han Xiao's eyes blurred, and he could not avoid it in time. The impact was like hitting a moving train. The scenery in his line of sight fell back quickly, and he resembled a baseball that had been hit for a home run, flying tens of meters. He landed and bounced countless times before falling into a ditch along the sides of the road. His body was covered with mud, and finally, he crashed into a war vehicle, overturning it, before stopping.

He felt really dizzy, and his whole body ached.

_____________________

Magnetically Controlled Retractable Armor's durability dropped by 132 points!

You received 241 points of damage!

_____________________

The enemy knew how to bring out the advantage of his ability, which in turn made Han Xiao suffer a small loss.

Liu Cheng… I did not hear of his name in my previous life. To think he would be so troublesome to deal with. Ah, he is a Crouching Tiger, a Hidden Dragon; I mustn't underestimate him… Han Xiao eyes turned cold as he entered into combat concentration mode, spat out a mouthful of blood, and leaped up once again to fight Liu Cheng.

Enveloped in the flames of war, the two fought fiercely on the battlefield. Bullets whistled passed the ears, and flames illuminated the horizon again and again. The area around the two became free of bullets. Soldiers dare not attack Liu Cheng again, but Liu Cheng could always knock himself against the gun muzzle.

This battle is greatly disadvantageous for me.

Han Xiao's eyes flashed. He abandoned Liu Cheng and rushed toward Green Valley Ville. Just like a shadow, he disappeared in a flash. Avoiding the firing by Green Valley Ville's guards, Han Xiao glided up the wall with a few steps, opened fire with both of his guns, and killed the guards wantonly.

Bullets penetrated each and every person, and blood was splattered everywhere.

Liu Cheng was alarmed and hastily pursued him.

Green Valley Ville was the fundamental point of conflict. Han Xiao had understood this point and immediately adopted the tactic of avoiding the enemy's strength and attacking his weakness. Hence, he did not continue to fight Liu Cheng painstakingly. Unless Liu Cheng did not want this town, Han Xiao would only be led by his nose. In the moments between his fight with Liu Cheng, Han Xiao thought of a strategy!

After changing the magazine, he shot down a few more guards. There was suddenly a huge gust of wind behind him, and Han Xiao twisted his body to avoid it. Liu Cheng swept past a few inches away. Having missed the opportunity, he punched the wall and smashed a huge piece off it. Broken bricks and stones spilled over the ground.

Liu Cheng's body became sluggish, as if he had fully exhausted his kinetic energy.

Here's my chance! Both of Han Xiao's hands aimed at Liu Cheng's head, the high heat from the thermo-electrical incisor gloves warping the air.

Liu Cheng did not show any signs of being flustered. Instead, there was a glimpse of accomplishment.

"You got tricked!"

The strong kinetic energy was surging again, and there were no signs of exhaustion; that was just a feint. This was a long-awaited killing strike that contained eighty percent of his kinetic energy. He soared, and with amazing swiftness, he lifted his knee to knock onto Han Xiao's chin. Once hit, the impact would smash half of Han Xiao's face and fracture it.

Han Xiao flew off the wall with his head tilted up.

That didn't feel right! Liu Cheng was shocked; his knees did not have the feeling of striking a concrete object.

Han Xiao had been vigilant. Just now, in the flash of light, he had used the Electromagnetic Hover-boots to retreat. He was only gently scratched by Liu Cheng's knee, and he was hardly injured.

While he was in midair, he withdrew his Berserk Eagles, aimed at Liu Cheng's eyes, and opened fire.

This attack was fruitless. Liu Cheng went stiff for a moment. He could not escape, yet his face did not change. He knew this bullet was ineffective against his ability.

Bang!

When the bullet was about to hit his eyes, the bullet lost its kinetic energy as usual. However, the warhead suddenly burst out a dazzling glare.

Liu Cheng covered his eyes and let out a blood-curdling scream. His vision was a vast expanse of whiteness. The stinging pain in his two eyes affected his brain's sense of equilibrium.

Flash bullet!

Oh, the thought of it taking effect right on his eyes, what a sweet feeling!

Han Xiao had been mulling over this attack for a long time!

Han Xiao's hand reached out, and with the help of the wall's chink, he climbed up the wall once again. Taking advantage of Liu Cheng losing his vision, this was the best timing to launch [Overload] and [Flaming Will]. Han Xiao's hands suddenly pressed on Liu Cheng's face. This time around, the attack was definitely the best!

Even if [Flaming Will]'s face was as black as before, the damage later on would still be off the charts!

-423!

-423!

The damage might have seemed worse than the sniper rifle, but the Thermo-electrical Incisor Gloves relied mainly on continuous damages. It was already considered formidable for a sudden explosive force that was able to reach this level. Liu Cheng was not like Han Xiao; his HP was only around two thousand. It easily reduced to eighty percent in just a short while, and the damage was still flooding the interface!

The burning smell was pervasive. Liu Cheng yelled bitterly and got up. He hurriedly exploded his kinetic energy and pushed Han Xiao away. Liu Cheng's face was severely burned and beyond recognition. His face was a mix of burnt flesh and red blood.

Liu Cheng's eyesight was damaged, and the light and shadow in his vision was distorted. He could barely identify a direction as he fled, staggering, with his teeth tightly clenched.

Han Xiao promptly gave chase, and Liu Cheng's heart sank. He was hoping that Black Phantom would attend to the battle and not chase after him. Fleeing was hopeless; he knew that he would not be able to escape death. He fulfilled his last duty as a bodyguard by holding up Han Xiao. If Liu Cheng died, the Alumera family would surely take good care of his family.

The two of them were soon a distance away from the battlefield, and they pursued each other into the woods.

Chapter 159: Family

About ten minutes later, Liu Cheng slowed down and fell to the ground. He had depleted his accumulated kinetic energy. He turned and realized that Han Xiao was following behind like a demon.

"Kill me."

The burn on Liu Cheng's face was a tragic sight as he gave a pained smile.

"I don't need you to tell me that." Han Xiao's face was apathetic. He opened wide his palms and grabbed Liu Cheng's head, his fingers penetrating his skull.

He only let out a turbid breath when Liu Cheng finally stopped breathing.

He was a formidable opponent, almost causing me to suffer a defeat.

He took one last look at Liu Cheng's corpse and activated a high-explosive bullet to protect his body from scavengers. After which, he followed the sound of gunfire and returned to Green Valley Ville's battlefield.

The battle was even more intense. Green Valley Ville's gates had been blown up, the armed tanks were hurtling past the streets, and machine guns were exchanging fire. Green Valley Ville's residents had secured their doors and windows, covered their ears, and were trembling in their houses. Lu Cheng's troops were conscious of the ordinary residents and had avoided them.

Since Liu Cheng had dragged him into the battle, Han Xiao decided to get the battle over quickly. Han Xiao set off to find Green Valley Ville's commander. He searched for the person giving commands, but he soon realized that no one was giving any commands.

There were vehicle trails on the ground on the far end of Green Valley Ville that hinted to the whereabouts of Balsas and Xiao Rui.

They've escaped?

…

The off-road vehicle travelled along in the gloomy forest, and the sound of gunfire in Green Valley Ville gradually became dimmer. Xiao Rui, who was in the back seat, could see the flames behind them peeking through the trees.

"Liu Cheng has died…" Xiao Rui clenched his fists and pressed them on his knees. He could barely restrain his trembling.

Liu Cheng had served the family for ten over years. He was loyal and devoted. Furthermore, he was the best fighter among the family's ranks. He had many stunning military accomplishments. Xiao Rui had always considered him a strong supporter—to think that he would die at the hands of Black Phantom!

Xiao Rui originally thought that even if Liu Cheng were unable to stall Black Phantom, he would still be able to retreat. However, even though he did not manage to catch Liu Cheng's last words in the earphones when Liu Cheng was escaping, he knew his supporter was dying!

Balsas and four other armed bodyguards were in the vehicle. Balsas was looking rather nervous.

"Black Phantom is a monster. I told you earlier not to provoke him! You just refused to listen!" Balsas was sweating profusely.

Xiao Rui's complexion was ashen. "Don't talk rubbish, at least we've escaped!"

"He won't catch up with us, right?" Balsas repeatedly looked at the rear-view mirror, his heart pounding.

Xiao Rui gulped. "Lu Cheng is currently attacking Green Valley Ville, and the guards in the towns will help us stall the enemy; he won't have time to chase and kill us."

He had just finished speaking when a ghost-like figure appeared in the rear-view mirror, tailing the vehicle like a shadow. Everyone in the vehicle was so shocked that they screamed!

"He's here!"

"Go faster!"

"Accelerate all the way, and don't let up!"

Everyone in the vehicle was panicking; the off-road vehicle resembled a runaway stray dog, frantically speeding up. They managed to shake off Han Xiao for a moment, but this was not the time to feel relieved. The vehicle somewhat slowed down, and the black-colored ghost, which resembled a hostile force that was difficult to get rid of, appeared in the rear view mirror once again, just like a pressing King of Hell.

Everyone's adrenaline soared, their hearts practically jumping out of their throats. They were so nervous to the point where their bodies went stiff all over. The horror movie-like atmosphere finally triggered the driver to make a mistake. In the state of panic, the vehicle rolled down the slope and fell to the bottom.

Xiao Rui's head was spinning as he struggled to climb out of the window. Suddenly, a pair of boots that flickered with blue lights appeared in his vision. He looked up and saw Black Phantom towering over him, looking at him indifferently.

"Don't, don't kill me…"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gunshots sounded repeatedly. Xiao Rui was so frightened that he shut his eyes and discovered that there was no pain. He opened his eyes and realized that the four bodyguards had all been shot and killed—only Balsas and himself were left.

Xiao Rui shivered. He knew that he had to remain calm in this situation. However, his fear of death made it impossible for him to calm down. His frightened emotions were like tides, flooding his heart again and again, so much so that he did not dare look directly into Han Xiao's eyes. "Black… Black Phantom, spare my life. I can give you tremendous returns."

Han Xiao's eyebrow jumped. The reason he had kept Xiao Rui was because Xiao Rui was sandwiched between the bodyguards. Hence, he reckoned that he was an important character.

Balsas regretted having a conflict with Black Phantom but regretted listening to Xiao Rui's opinion more so. He raised his head and looked straight in Han Xiao's eyes. "You're a liar, you had already united with Lu Cheng. You absolutely were not just passing by!"

Whatever Black Phantom had said—that he was not interested in looking for trouble—was all a lie!

Han Xiao stroked his gun and chuckled. "If I said this was a coincidence, would you believe it?"

"Landing in your hands, I already know I won't be able to live. Kill me!" Balsas suddenly grew a backbone and shook off Xiao Rui's hand, which was pulling at his shirt's hem anxiously.

"I don't know if you're really asking for death or deliberately displaying your strong-will, but as you wish."

Bang!

The bullet penetrated Balsas' temple. He fell, and the pool of blood gradually expanded.

Han Xiao's eyebrow shot up. It looked like Balsas was not pretending; he really had given up all hope and wished for a quick death. For this type of warlord who operated outside the city, even if he was usually afraid of death, when he was truly confronted with it, he would accept it calmly.

There was someone, on the other hand, who was way weaker. Han Xiao looked over and Xiao Rui was so terrified that he did not dare breathe. His face was pale, and his back was drenched in cold sweat.

Han Xiao squatted and used the gun barrel to tap on Xiao Rui's face. "You don't wish to die?"

Xiao Rui frantically shook his head.

"Give me a reason."

"I… I can give you a lot of money. I can refer you to the Alumera family!"

"Do I look like someone who needs that?" Han Xiao pointed the muzzle at himself.

Xiao Rui swallowed his saliva in alarm as he racked his brains and pondered if there was anything that could move Han Xiao. Han Xiao's eyes were sharp, and he suddenly caught a glimpse of Xiao Rui's full and bulging pocket. He reached out and fished out a stack of bounty slip. It turned out to be a wanted poster for Zero—him.

Why is this Alumera man carrying with him my bounty slip?

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows, played with the paper in his hands, and stared at Xiao Rui silently. Xiao Rui finally saw something that aroused his interest. Xiao Rui immediately felt refreshed and hurriedly spilled everything he knew frankly.

"Han Xiao? Zero? Alumera family‽"

After hearing the information, Han Xiao stiffened.

He did not know that his original self came from the Alumera family!

"… You didn't lie to me, right?"

Xiao Rui shook his head repeatedly. Black Phantom appeared to be interested in Zero; he did not care about the reason, all he knew was he now had a chance of survival. Hence, he did not dare conceal anything and struggled to take out a computer in the vehicle to pull up several photos.

The photo showed Han Xiao's younger self before he was taken away by the Germinal Organization. There was concrete proof in all kinds of photos from the Alumera family. Han Xiao did not doubt his identity.

So, this means I have a step-father and a bunch of brothers and sisters?

Han Xiao's feelings were complicated. He had always thought that he had not a worry or a concern in this world; he did not expect to have these connections.

Alumera was his family. Han Xiao took one look at Xiao Rui. This person is my family, too?

Alumera family, the North Continent's biggest warlord. The second leader in command, Xiao Jin, was my original body's biological father. Their family was considered powerful…

Han Xiao pondered in silence.

Xiao Rui's heart was nearly at his throat; he felt like he was a convict waiting for his sentence. This was the longest one minute of his life.

"You can leave," Han Xiao faintly said.

Xiao Rui did not dare to believe it. He stood up, trembling, and ran two steps away in the opposite direction. He turned his head and saw an aloof Han Xiao. Only then was he ecstatic.

His life was saved!

He did not carry any thoughts of revenge. He did not want to have any further interactions with Black Phantom at all. He stretched his legs and ran for his life.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain at the back of his head!

Xiao Rui lost his control of his body. He fell with his face down, resembling a dog eating its poop. His pupils dilated, and his face looked bewildered.

What happened to me?

So cold…

This was Xiao Rui's last thought in this world.

There was a deep bullet hole in the back of Xiao Rui's head, and blood was spilling out.

Han Xiao put the Berserk Eagle back in his holster, his face emotionless. After thinking for a bit, he had still decided to kill Xiao Rui.

Alumera was the connections that Han Xiao's original self had, but that unfortunate man had already died. Han Xiao was Han Xiao, not another person. Even if the old Han Xiao had remaining blood relations, Han Xiao would not treat the Alumera family as his family. Anyway, the old Han Xiao had been killed by his big brother.

He would not inherit the relationships that the old Han Xiao had. To him, the Alumera family was a bunch of strangers, and it was none of his concern.

I'll kill when there's a need to!

Perhaps Han Xiao could get some support from the Alumera family by using his original identity, but with his current position, he did not need to yield and rely on this kind of power.

The most important point was that he did not wish to do it this way.

My family… is not in this world.

He lit the corpse on fire, turned around, and left. The blazing flame pulled his silent shadow longer and longer.

Chapter 160: Xiao Jin

In the headquarters of the Alumera family…

"Green Valley Ville on the South Continent was ambushed. We have lost that territory. The last message from them was an hour ago. Liu Cheng died in the battle, Balsas and Xiao Rui have retreated as well. No news has been heard from them yet. I think they may be in trouble."

The exquisite crystal wine glass was smashed to the ground, and red wine splattered onto the expensive hand-made Ordina carpet, leaving trails of red roses. Darryl, the leader of the family, was breathing noisily as though he was a bear. His body was bulky like a bear, too, hence his nickname—the Alumera White Bear.

This was Darryl's study. He was rather violent by nature. His bookshelf was not for books but for displaying all kinds of guns. Firearms, ammunition, daggers, swords—his miniature arsenal collection.

"Who attacked our people‽" Darryl snarled.

In front of the desk was a well-dressed, middle-aged man. He was wearing something similar to a suit, but with minor differences in some places. It was way more refined and exquisite. He was wearing a gold-rimmed glasses, and the gold-plated chains of the glasses hanged on his ear. If one overlooked the muscle under his clothes, this person was an archetypal scholar.

He was Alumera's second in command, Xiao Jin.

Xiao Jin held the tablet with one hand and said, "There are two of them. One is the big warlord of South Continent, Lu Cheng."

"I have heard of his name. Gather the armed men in South Continent! An eye for an eye! Alumera will seek this revenge!"

Darryl patted the table and asked, "Who might the other person be?"

"He's the assassin from the Dark Net, Black Phantom."

"Bring him to…" As he said these three words, Darryl's tone changed and came to his senses. "How did we end up provoking him‽"

Darryl was very wary about Black Phantom, a legendary killer. He knew it was best not to provoke lone rangers like him. While the Alumera family was big, they were most fearful of legendary killers like him. If he wanted to start a mad killing spree to assassinate the middle-class of the Alumera family, it would be impossible to stop him.

Although Darryl was impulsive by nature, he knew who not to provoke. Dealing with Lu Cheng was an effortless decision; Lu Cheng's forces were entangled in South Continent, and he was not going to affect the Alumeras' influence in the North. Black Phantom, on the other hand, was different. He was a lone ranger who could travel up to the North. He had even slain Liu Cheng. Whether the Alumera family 's top forces could even hurt the Black Phantom was still a question in doubt.

Furthermore, Black Phantom's movements were erratic. There were not many reports on him through the intelligence network, and without an expansive intelligence network, they could not track him down. In addition, the organization he belonged to was in fact the world's largest intelligence network. If they wanted to target someone from the Dark Net Organization and requested help from the Dark Net itself, it would be ridiculous. Darryl was eighty percent sure he would be called a fool.

Therefore, becoming enemies with the Black Phantom was certainly an unwise decision. Darryl could only suppress his anger and find other excuses. "Investigate the reason the Black Phantom is intervening. Don't provoke him just yet."

Xiao Jin agreed with an expressionless face. It was hard to know what he was thinking about.

Darryl had always been an impatient man, and now that he was frustrated. He pointed to Xiao Jin's face and ordered, "Go deal with your son's business. The war is coming. I don't wish to deal with any sort of Germinal's business at this time."

Xiao Jin adjusted his glasses and said, "He's my son. Once I find him, he will come back obediently."

…

Day was about to break, and the gunfire in Green Valley Ville was finally coming to an end. The remaining enemies had all been killed.

When Lu Cheng had conquered Green Valley Ville, he ordered his troops to clear the battlefield and restrained them from harming any residents.

The worried residents who could not sleep for the entire night rushed to the streets and listened to the new master of the town, Lu Cheng, in the square. He promised to safeguard the residents' lives and property.

For the [Green Valley Ville Invasion] task, players who had chosen to protect the camp had all failed and were feeling dejected.

The battle last night had been very intense, and many players wished it had been longer.

Han Xiao also gained some experience from the task. He held his arm and leaned against a house to wait for Lu Cheng to complete his speech. He had Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog by his side.

Frenzied Sword was in bad mood as he was not able to keep Han Xiao to himself now. He was upset.

Bun-hit-dog went over to Frenzied Sword and said, "I know you. You were featured on Galaxy Times. You are a professional gamer."

"Oh." Frenzied Sword reacted coldly.

"Have you always been following Black Phantom?" Bun-hit-dog was curious.

Frenzied Sword did not want to bother with Bun-hit-dog, but as a professional player, he had to take note of his image, and he should not be too cold. He nodded.

"Do you know his origins?"

"His real name is Han Xiao," Frenzied Sword replied. He came to realization immediately and turned around to see if Han Xiao had heard him. He relaxed. "He used to serve Star Dragon. I'm not very sure about the exact details, but I do know that he is acquainted with someone in the camp called Stardragon Strategic Defense Department."

Bun-hit-dog's eyes lit up. The video he wanted to make would be an investigation about Black Phantom's origin. Frenzied Sword had been his longest follower. He was likely to know things that others did not. He was impressed. He said in a light-hearted manner, "Let me introduce myself. I am a game video producer…"

Frenzied Sword stared blankly. He only recalled now, that Bun-hit-dog's ID was rather familiar. He was the producer of the series "XX Adventure Diaries". When he was playing Knight in the past, he had come across Bun-hit-dog's Knight Adventure Diaries as well. He was a small yet famous video maker.

"It's you!" Frenzied Sword collected himself up. When he received Bun-hit-dog's friend request, he immediately accepted it.

Only status and fame would bring one recognition. If he was a plain and dull player, Frenzied Sword would not even have bothered. Thing were different when one was famous.

"I'm preparing to focus on Galaxy and start a series. I'm intending to place Black Phantom as my focus in my first episode. I would like to know more about this person's origins. I hope you can provide me with some material. You could appear on screen together with me to do a series as well."

Han Xiao never talked about his origins, so Bun-hit-dog decided to change his focus onto Frenzied Sword.

"Alright, sure," Frenzied Sword replied. This was a win-win situation. A professional gamer appearing on the program was bound to rise in reputation. This would be good exposure for him.

Listening to the two discussing behind him, Han Xiao did not stop them. Frenzied Sword had limited knowledge about him. Such information could be disclosed and made known, and this would only make more players curious. He wanted to reveal the information bit by bit. This was precisely his intention in bringing Bun-hit-dog along.

After assuring the residents of Green Valley Ville, Lu Cheng handed over the affairs to the deputy and went to Han Xiao's side. "Black Phantom, thank you for your aid. If not for you, I would not have conquered Green Valley Ville. If only Balsas didn't escape…"

"Oh, I killed him."

Lu Cheng's face went blank, and he felt a tight squeeze on his heart. "I am very grateful, but do… you really not want anything?"

Han Xiao chuckled a little and changed the topic. "Have you discovered the unique aspects of the refugees?"

Upon mentioning this, Lu Cheng was delighted. "This group of refugees can all die and then resurrect. It's simply amazing! I thought they were simple ordinary people. This world is so big, and it seems like nothing is impossible!"

Lu Cheng originally did not plan for the refugees to join the battle. But as the players took action, he soon realized that they had the special ability to resurrect. He was shocked, and he figured out what Han Xiao had originally meant. These helpers were just too special. He had looked down on them. Now he knew why they were not afraid to die. That was because they simply just do not die.

Bun-hit-dog, who was by the side, felt that something was strange. Refugees? Are they actual players? Why would the NPC think that the players resurrecting is strange? Won't an NPC not be bothered with that?

Han Xiao pulled Lu Cheng to the side. He did not want other players to hear what he was going to tell Lu Cheng.

"Black Phantom, do you know the origin of these refugees?" Lu Cheng curiously asked.

"I'm not too sure," Han Xiao replied, "but I do know that they are very diligent. They are extremely profit-driven. Didn't you destroy Green Valley Ville? You need these people to rebuild the place. These refugees are the best laborers you can find. You can use them to your liking."

"But some refugees were against me before. They are my enemies…"

"Their assistance to Balsas was not a loyal and faithful one. You can treat them as mercenaries."

When he said this, Lu Cheng understood it. "I can try… You really don't know what happened to them? They can all resurrect, is it just their special ability? We don't know where Balsas found this group of people."

Chapter 161: Order Born of Violence

Han Xiao smiled and said, "Time will tell you the answer."

Lu Cheng nodded, and he decided to suppress his questions regarding the refugees for now. He would get his subordinates to find some information regarding it.

He invited Han Xiao to his territory—the Black Pine Base—for a tour. Han Xiao said that there was no need to pay him back, but Lu Cheng did not dare take his word for it and insisted on offering his services.

Han Xiao did not resist further. His intention was to get to know Lu Cheng better anyway.

Before this, Han Xiao checked on the Dark Net. Lu Cheng was the one of the strongest vagrant warlords in the Southern Continent. Black Pine territory was so huge that small towns like Green Valley Ville would be insignificant placed next to it. Black Pine sat amid the ruins of a small city left from the Old Ages. It had been transformed into a settlement that tens of thousands of civilians resided in. There was a plethora of facilities, including even biological and weaponry research laboratories. Everything was really high end.

Territory owned by vagrant warlord and territory owned by vagrants were completely different concepts. The latter was formed with vagrants who band together against threats from the wild, with a responsible leader chosen democratically. There would rarely be hierarchies.

With vagrant warlords, they would be the leader who would use their resources to build a residential area. The area would be built such that it could take in some vagrants from the outside world, and the leaders could collect protection fees from them. The fees could be paid in the form of tax or labor. There would be purposeful usage of military power, for example to attack other warlords. Most of the soldiers were employed, but there were some who signed on voluntarily.

There were many warlords, and their territories, coming in all sizes, were distributed across every continent. Bennett's shelter plan was aimed at unifying all the warlords and creating a new mega city that stood apart from the Six Nations and provided shelter for all refugees. Naturally, this would clash with the goals of the warlords. Moreover, it would be a very large and tedious project.

Bennett's plan would provide help and shelter for all vagrants out there, not just from war but from other natural and wild dangers. It was nothing but ambitious.

Lu Cheng invited Han Xiao into his car and drove toward the Black Pine.

Green Valley Ville's players could still get quests from the town, and those who chose to defend the base were surprised and relieved to find out that their access to the town did not get revoked. They watched Black Phantom as he left.

…

There was one more person with them now that Bun-hit-dog had joined the team.

The scenery outside the window flew past. Han Xiao made a call and instructed the Dark Net helicopter pilot to wait for him at Black Pine. He told Lu Cheng about this, who acknowledged and ordered for a landing site to be prepared.

They were chatting casually while Han Xiao suddenly asked, "With your military strength, you could have attacked immediately when you came to the town, and the refugees could not have stopped you. Why did you give Balsas time to prepare?"

Lu Cheng shook his head. He had not known that players could revive at that time. He said, "Only people without faith would think that violence is the solution to every problem."

"Your soldiers' lives are lives too though." Han Xiao smiled.

"The strong ought to protect the weak." Lu Cheng paused and said, "I won't kill unarmed refugees; no warlord want to see the Tragedy of La Potter repeat itself.

"Tragedy of La Potter? What happened?" Bun-hit-dog questioned, still recording.

Lu Cheng thought Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog were Han Xiao's followers, so out of respect, he explained, "La Potter was once a huge Vagrant settlement in the West Continent. It was invaded by a Vagrant Warlord and his troops. Even though the military troops were supported by the locals, the enemies were too strong, and they were defeated. The warlord was upset that the vagrants dared fight against him, so he initiated a massacre of the helpless and unarmed civilians, raiding all their supplies and burning everything, killing countless innocent souls.

Bun-hit-dog was unimpressed. Massacres like this had occurred numerous times in history. He probed, "So what happened then?"

"Then, the warlord and all of the few hundreds of his professional soldiers died in one night twenty days after that, killed single-handedly by one superhuman. After that, no warlord had the guts to kill any innocent civilians."

Bun-hit-dog was puzzled. "Why though?"

Han Xiao answered, unfazed, "Because some people see themselves as heroes."

If it was the normal world, no one could fight against the cruel authorities. Nothing could be done. However, with superhuman powers, even in lawless lands, those with powers could technically become those in charge of upholding laws. Superhumans could easily kill those that they did not see fit, so what they chose to uphold became the standard law for everyone else on the planet.

So, what would they choose to uphold? It would be the issues that most people would agree on based on their moral compass.

Unless one could carry out genocide or murder on a massive scale without letting any news out, there was bound to be a superhuman to punish the instigator for his evil deeds. This could be seen as moral coercion. The weak had to follow the moral standards of the strong. Even though this in itself was questionable, it gave rise to a rough form of rules for the wild and indirectly protected the lives of vagrants.

Bun-hit-dog recorded all this. He loved this type of stuff that could spice up his content.

Han Xiao stroked his chin. The Tragedy of La Potter reminded him of another wild BOSS.

La Potter was a mess. The burned corpses were left unattended and attracted beasts. A new virus sprouted from the corpses and spread into the soil and water sources. All the beasts in the region mutated, and every once in a while, there would be a Beast King level wild BOSS found there, which could trigger a quest to kill the BOSS and harvest its mutated heart for a research group. This would lead to potions that could add on attributes and might even awaken potential talents.

The players could repeatedly fight the wild BOSS, but the usual process of grinding through quests would be inevitable.

In Galaxy, there were a few types of Instance Dungeons, the first being the special scene where monsters spawned endlessly, such as some magical realms or mock combat rooms in labs. Other than these special realms, in Galaxy's world, there were also important realms that were protected by military troops. Large-scaled battlefields could also be made into an Instance Dungeon. This type of Instance Dungeon was extremely random and could close anytime.

The second type would be Instance Dungeon Crystal, which was a special item dropped from special quests. Only players could use it, and it would bring the player back in time to a parallel world to experience events that had happened in the past. The Crystal would allow a player to enter different scenes based on the quest that the player came from.

The quests that awarded the Instance Dungeon Crystal would refresh once in a while, making this type of dungeon a readily accessible one. The players could also steadily grind to break the record of the shortest dungeon clearance time and other records.

Upon using the Instance Dungeon Crystal, others would see that the player had suddenly vanished. The player would enter a parallel universe and could not affect the original world. However, they could still obtain rewards from the Instance Dungeon. This type of dungeon was similar to magic teleportation and scientific time travelling. Han Xiao was not sure if he could use the Crystal as well, but he felt that it would be risky because he did not know the principles behind the Crystal. If it were to atomize the body structure, a normal player would be able to revive, but he did not have the luxury.

Some special items could be used by players only, such as the Gene-awakening Elixir that could be purchased from the vendor. A potion would appear out of thin air after purchasing it. There was also the Gene-blending Elixir that Han Xiao received as reward from the Rose Militant Quest earlier on. The Instance Dungeon Crystal fell under a similar category.

Let's not risk it in trying to get the Instance Dungeon Crystal.

Indeed, it would be a waste of time. He would rather complete main quests and hidden quests.

The car fleet drove on for a few hours, and the silhouette of the Black Pine Settlement appeared on the horizon. It was huge, almost like a small city. The scenery was very exotic; there were bricks, leather, and scrap metal lying around, and there were electric wires crawling along the walls. The path with barbed wire fences on its sides was the only path that led up to the main entrance, and there were many 'scars' of war on the metallic door, left behind by bullets and explosions.

Lu Cheng smiled and proudly said, "Welcome to Black Pine."

Chapter 162: Grouper Plague and the Grinding

"It's enormous." Bun-hit-dog gasped. "This can't be the place where newbies first enter?"

The main gate slowly opened as the car entered the gates. The first thing that came into sight was the magnificent lookout tower, sandbag barricades, and the barracks. Fully-armed soldiers were standing guard and patrolling the area. Further into the encampment, they arrived at the residential district.

The layout of buildings in the residential district was much sparser and more casual than the structured planning of cities. There were no tall buildings as well. Families were strolling through the streets, and there were even hawkers calling out and making sales. With the lively chatter in the streets, it was like a mini-market.

The car rolled to a stop as several people alighted. Lu Cheng ordered several of his men to prepare a feast. Since he had invited Han Xiao to be his guest, he brought Han Xiao and the other two around for a tour as the host. Occasionally, some residents would greet Lu Cheng. It seemed Lu Cheng was well-respected by his people.

"That's my weapon factory over there. I have a specialized assembly line to make guns and ammunition." Lu Cheng pointed to a restricted region that was barricaded with a barbed-wire fence. Behind it were his warehouse, workshop, and weaponry experimental laboratory, and smoke could be seen escaping from the chimneys.

On the other side, there was a second quarantined area. Inside, there were many tents and about a few hundred vagrants living inside them. Their exposed skin was covered in gray ash, cracked like rocks.

"What is that place?" Bun-hit-dog asked curiously.

Sighing, Lu Cheng answered, "The Terminal Quarantine Area. Any resident with Grouper Plague has to stay there to prevent infections."

Grouper Plague?

Han Xiao almost cried out in surprise. This type of illness was very infectious. In the version 2.0, it had spread and had caused some genetic mutations as well. He did not expect to find it here.

Just as he was about to say something, a sudden commotion could be heard from the Terminal Quarantine Area.

Sprinting in a frenzied manner, an infected resident rushed toward the barbed-wire fence. With all of his limbs, he tried to climb the fence to escape. However, the next second, a gunshot was heard. The security officer at the side reacted at lightning speed, firing at the man with his machine gun, turning this escaped resident into mesh as he fell to the ground. As he lay in his pool of blood, a viscous, yellow liquid could be seen pooling out from the corpse as well.

Several doctors in their white protective suits walked out and packed the corpse into a body bag. On the ground where the corpse was, they sprayed large jets of disinfectant.

The soldier who killed the escaping resident withdrew his gun, expressionless, as if he had just killed a worthless chicken.

The infected within the quarantine area watched this scene in silence, expressionless and numb. A thick atmosphere of despair hung in the air like a dark, heavy cloud.

"It is very hard to cure those who have been infected with this plague. To prevent them from spreading the plague to more people, we can only control it like this," Lu Cheng explained.

Han Xiao turned to look. Nearby, the residents looked as though everything was as usual, without a single trace of empathy on their faces.

"That's cold-blooded," Bun-hit-dog quietly said.

"At first, there were only tens of people who were infected. One infected knew that he couldn't be treated and escaped from the quarantine region, so the number of people infected increased to more than three hundred," Lu Cheng said dryly.

Bun-hit-dog was speechless.

_____________________

You have triggered the quest [Origins of the Grouper Plague].

Quest Description: Black Pine Settlement is troubled by the spread of the Grouper Plague. To control this plague, what do you think you can do?

Quest Requirements:

1. Find the source of the Grouper Plague

2. Control the plague from spreading

3. Treat all of the infected

Rewards:

Completed Requirement 1 – 20,000 EXP

Completed Requirement 2 – 40,000 EXP

Completed Requirement 3 – 60,000 EXP

All Requirements Completed –800 Black Pine reputation points, Vagrant Warrior Battle suit

_____________________

Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog both received the quest as well.

However, Han Xiao did not intend to complete this quest. He was still in a rush to find more fools… No, to bring even more new players into the Mechanic Class. He needed to go to about ten or so novice villages, and a large wave of experience was waiting for him. Time was tight, and he had many things to do. How could he afford to slow down his footsteps?

Oh right, if the players complete their quests, can I claim the rewards, too? Han Xiao's eyes lit up. Looking at Frenzied Sword, who was completely unaware, he suddenly had a new idea.

"My men have prepared a feast." Lu Cheng sent out the invitation, and the few of them arrived at Black Pine's Central Building. It was like a mini castle, and the western point was called the Lord's Hall.

The dishes served in the feast were generous in quantity, meant to fill one's stomach. Black Pine Settlement had a harvest field where they grew their own crops, and they also had their own butchery, where they raised animals, such as highland cattle, chicken, and the black-haired short-snout hog. The vagrants' encampment consumed large amounts of resources every day. If they relied only on the Dark Net to obtain their resources, they would not be able to bear the costs, especially because it was extremely expensive. So, the residents learned to be self-sufficient, building their own tiny territory.

At the feast, Han Xiao and Lu Cheng were chatting casually when Lu Cheng eventually diverted the topic to the issue of repaying the favor to the Black Phantom. Dragging it on for so long, he felt very uneasy.

"Just take it as we've become friends. In the future, if anything crops up, feel free to look for me, and I'll help you out." Han Xiao left his phone number behind. He wanted to maintain his friendship with Lu Cheng so that he could find out when the Four Blueprint Quest began. Thinking for a while, he said, "Come to think of it, I need some help from you. I want to borrow your workshop and some materials to make something."

"No problem, I'll make arrangements right away." Lu Cheng felt more at ease. He felt reassured after Han Xiao finally brought up a request for him.

"Your territory has to deal with the issue of the Grouper Plague quickly, otherwise it might become a disaster. My friends will stay behind to help you out." Han Xiao suddenly slapped Frenzied Sword's back, who spat out all of the food in his mouth, coughing non-stop.

"Are you abandoning me?" Frenzied Sword asked disbelievingly.

I'm not interested in being your mom. Han Xiao held back his biting comments as he wrote up a few quests and tossed them out for Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog to complete.

The gist of the quests was to have the two of them remain at Black Pine, resolve the issue of the plague, and improve their reputation in Black Pine. Han Xiao spent 200,000 EXP, splitting it between the both of them. The quests were all long-term ones, and he intended for both of them to stay at Black Pine.

With the remaining journey and tasks at the novice villages, there was no need to bring these two players with him. It made going online and offline inconvenient and slowed him down as well. He might as well just leave them to complete their quests in Black Pine.

For the gifted players he had selected, he was not only going to train them himself, but there was another benefit. That was, they could follow him and gain exposure to high-level fights. Compared to other players, they could expand their maps earlier, which was the main attraction in allowing players to follow him. For now, allowing the gifted players to complete other tasks and train by grinding was useful in developing their individual unique skills. It could allow them to explore and tap into their potential. It also gave him more time to himself to do other tasks.

As for the rewards that these gifted players received, sooner or later, a part of it would come back to him. If Frenzied Sword completed the plague quest, Han Xiao could get some experience as well, and Frenzied Sword would use a portion of the money he earned to buy equipment from Han Xiao.

Not only did he want to earn players' gold, but through players, he could earn NPCs' second-hand gold as well!

If Han Xiao was a mother ship, the players that he took under his wing would be akin to a fleet of fighters. No matter how many achievements they obtained, they would still have to return to their home base and repay him. Of course, that was only under the condition of him being able to achieve and attain even greater benefits. On this note, he was still very confident. Other than the players themselves, there was no other person who understood players better than him.

I'm such a genius.

Frenzied Sword could only agree to Han Xiao's arrangements, and he was actually quite satisfied. Black Pine was a high-level map, and the rewards for each quest were quite generous too. Bun-hit-dog had even less objections. The materials he had looted were already enough. Staying in Black Pine meant that he did not have to worry about losing track of Han Xiao. He could focus on making the first episode of his video.

Lu Cheng felt that Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog's abilities were very mediocre and could not help much. But on Han Xiao's account, he expressed his thanks to them anyway.

At the dining table, they settled their plans. After eating, it was already past noon, and Lu Cheng went back to take a rest. The previous night, he had been battling and had not slept. In the morning, they were on the roads, rushing to get back, and he was thoroughly exhausted.

On the other hand, Han Xiao had slept on the car for a while and was in high spirits. He could move about Black Pine freely, so he gave some orders to the pilot of the Dark Net helicopter. Then, after bargaining with Antonio for ten over minutes, he arranged to lease the transport plane from the Fabian Company.

After that, under the Black Pine soldiers' lead, he headed toward the weapon factory area. The guards there received Lu Cheng's orders. Accordingly, they opened up the workshop for Han Xiao to use.

Lu Cheng had already arranged for his men to prepare the materials. Han Xiao began his work on the lathe. He needed to make some repairs to the Magnetically controlled retractable armor, and add on a load of ammunition and some Basic Storage Cubes, then create some small parts to be built onto the 'Sunworm' Flamethrower he had developed recently.

With its intelligence stat at 200, the machine's production speed was very fast, and there were other enhancing skills such as Machinery Affinity and Energy Stats Strengthened, which would create even better stats on the device to be created.

_____________________

Sunworm Portable Flamethrower (Mini Flamethrower)

Grade: Blue (Good Quality)

Damage: 27–34/s (Fire)

Overload: 60s

Cooldown: 20s

Range: 7m

Power Output: 92

Fuel Type: HF Liquid Fuel

Energy: 210/210 (uses 1 Energy Point/s)

Weight: 9.4kg

Side Effect: Integration—Through additions to the energy box, it is assimilated with one's body, convenient to carry.

Side Effect: Concentrated Jet—Raise efficiency of fuel, +33% DMG, +25% range, one tick of Burn Damage per 0.6s and lasting 12s, uses 8 Energy Points/s. After 12 seconds, immediately enters overload.

Side Effect: Adhesive Burning—Extends target's burn state and increases effectiveness of burns

Remarks: Dancing flames, that is a warmth that is akin to romance.

_____________________

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. What kind of messed up remark is that?

Chapter 163: Exchange

Sunworm's nozzle, duct, and fuel tank were integrated as one. It looked like a heat insulating metal tube, about an arm's width. It could be tied to the arm or calf. It looked a little like a beetle, and its 'pincers' were used to stabilize the leather metal pins.

He tied the Sunworm onto the inner side of his left arm, and it seemed bloated. However, such a load could be ignored for a person with 69 Strength.

Sunworm is most suited to be used as mecha module, and it can be integrated into my self-created lightweight mecha. Han Xiao could not stop thinking of new ideas for his lightweight mecha. Since he already had ideas, as well as Fabian's transport aircraft on lease, he started fixing his mecha before travelling to the novice village.

At that time, an Asian man whose head was full of white hair walked toward him. He stared at Han Xiao's High Ghost sniper rifle and curiously muttered, "That's right. It is an electromagnetic weapon!"

He then turned and asked Han Xiao, "Can you sell this to me? I'm willing to pay 500,0… no, 1,000,000!"

Han Xiao observed him for a second and already had some gut feels. Yet, he pretended to be confused and asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Lei Zhen Yu. Lu Cheng invited me over as his Machinery Engineering consultant. You look like a Mechanic too. You should have heard of my name."

Han Xiao remained silent.

"Don't tell me you have not heard of my name. Or are you a self-taught mechanic? So unusual." Lei Zhen was surprised. He shook his head and said, "I want this electromagnetic sniper; how about you quote a price?"

"Do I look like I'm in need of cash?" Han Xiao pointed at that priceless components that were lying on the truck's seat.

Lei Zhen Yu then understood. "You are a self-taught mechanic. I can teach you some skills in exchange for this sniper of yours. You definitely need a master like me to guide you. Only through listening to the wise words of your seniors can you succeed. I can tell that deep down inside, you have always wanted to have a master to learn from. Here, the doors are opened for you. This is your chance. If you miss it, you will regret for life."

He did not know that this electromagnetic sniper rifle was made by Han Xiao. From what he knew, self-taught mechanics were often weak. Hence, he wanted to nab that sniper by teaching Han Xiao some new skills. As a mechanic master, he did not usually go around teaching other people. By giving Han Xiao the chance, he thought that it was worth it to exchange it for the electromagnetic sniper rifle, as long as the other party was humble enough.

Han Xiao's eyes twitched. It was the first time he had ever met someone who was so shameless and full of himself. With just a bit more, both of their skills would have been on par.

Actually, Han Xiao knew of Lei Zhen Yu's background. He was a well-known and skillful master mechanic in Aquamarine. So, he was not wrong about saying that he was a master. He belonged to the same era as Old Man Lu and had already retired decades ago. Both he and Old Man Lu did not have the master demeanor and looked disappointing to most.

Han Xiao knew why Lei Zhen Yu appeared at Black Pine. It was related to Old Man Lu's four blueprints mission, and coincidentally, Lei Zhen Yu happened to be part of this secret mission.

In the past, Lu Cheng abandoned his daughter, who was only a few years old, and left her in the care of Old Man Lu. He ventured into the wild and became a warlord. Because of this incident, he had a fight with Old Man Lu, who was unable to understand his choices at that time. The relationship between the father and son was so tensed that it was as though they were strangers.

Lu Cheng slowly climbed up and became the strongest warlord on the Southern Continent. He was always facing various dangers.

On the surface, Old Man Lu seemed as though he did not want any affiliation with his son. However, he was secretly following Lu Cheng closely and even requested that his old friend, Lei Zhen Yu, move to Black Pine to help and protect Lu Cheng. Lu Cheng knew nothing about the pact. He was shocked as he thought that he had managed to invite a great master all by himself.

This might be the moment for the four blueprints. Lei Zhen Yu had to leave Black Pine due to some other matters. Old Man Lu used another method to help Lu Cheng as he did not wish to meet his son in an awkward situation. He left the blueprints behind and left for the Western Capital, and his current whereabouts were still not known.

Maybe that's what they call a father. Han Xiao sighed. Why was Zhu Zi Qing's 'The View of my Father's Back' such a classic? Maybe because people with more experiences would be able to resonate with that story. Even Old Man Lu, a foul old stick, had his own worries.

Han Xiao calmed himself and said, "I can exchange with you. I want advanced knowledge.

Based on past memories, Lei Zhen Yu knew some advance knowledge. Yet, players were unable to acquire the knowledge from him. Even so, Han Xiao decided he want to give it a try.

Lei Zhen Yu earnestly said, "Kid, don't be too ambitious. You are a self-taught mechanic. Your standard is not enough for you to be able to understand advance knowledge. How about I teach you something else instead?"

"No, I only want advance knowledges."

"But you won't understand."

"That's even better; you don't have to worry that I will learn it. I'll just look at it for an hour. Take it as I am just being curious, okay?"

Lei Zhen Yu was speechless. Advance knowledge was very precious, and it could be considered a secret wild card. It was crucial that the knowledge was highly conserved. Even though he was really curious about the structure of the electromagnetic sniper, it was definitely not worth exchanging it with the priceless knowledge. Even though Han Xiao said he might not understand, he did not want to take the risk at all.

Lei Zhen Yu contemplated for a while and insisted, "I can't teach you the advance knowledge, but I can use the knowledges to create a weapon in exchange for yours."

Sure enough, it was not easy to get his hands on the advance knowledge. Han Xiao was already prepared for this outcome and was not depressed about it. Instead, he considered Lei Zhen Yu's offer. If he could create an item to exchange for another item of the same level, there was nothing to lose.

However, this Ghost sniper had only reached this level through several upgrades. Han Xiao still wanted to use it, so he decided to create a new one to exchange with Lei Zhen Yu.

Han Xiao nodded in agreement and said, "I'll create a new one for you."

"You made this sniper‽" Lei Zhen Yu shouted in disbelief. He thought Han Xiao looked like a newbie, and given that he was a self-taught mechanic, he expected the gun to be made by someone else. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the opposite.

All the six nations were secretly trying to invent an electromagnetic weapon, and none had even reached the experimental stage. If it was just creating a stable electromagnetic weapon, Han Xiao and Lei Zhen Yu were of the same standard. Lei Zhen Yu then remembered that he had portrayed himself as a 'great master' just now. Even with his old face, he felt ashamed and awkward.

How shameful to flaunt his skills in front of another mechanic of the same level.

Luckily, Lei Zhen Yu had thick skin. He corrected his attitude and treated Han Xiao as an equal.

At that time, the guards rushed over and whispered to Lei Zhen Yu that Han Xiao was also a legendary assassin.

Lei Zhen Yu was dumbfounded. He then observed Han Xiao for a while. Many mechanics were capable of experimenting. However, it was rare to find one who was also capable of fighting. His admiration for Han Xiao rose to an even higher level.

With good skills, one would be valued everywhere one went.

"Please come with me, I will show you my storeroom." Lei Zhen Yu coughed as he tried to change the conversation topic to avoid awkwardness. The way he spoke to Han Xiao was suddenly more respectful.

Both arrived at the restricted area inside of the arsenal area. This was where the high-ranking researchers lived. Lei Zhen Yu's home was a spacious suite with all sorts of daily necessities. There were even wine cabinets and bookshelves that were made of high-quality wood—all of which was not cheap. By the corner of the room, there was a small, simple bed. He seemed to be leading a great life.

Lei Zhen Yu drew the wine cabinet open and activated the secret door button. The wine cabinet slide to a side and revealed a secret storeroom. He then called Han Xiao over. Inside, there was a row of glass showcase shelves that stood by the wall and contained various weapons. Lei Zhen Yu headed straight for the innermost showcase shelf.

"I have four items that were created using the advance knowledges. Let me introduce them to you." Lei Zhen Yu pointed to the glass showcase shelf and started blabbering.

Lei Zhen Yu's advanced knowledges was geared toward miniature modifications. These four advanced weapons were all related to nano mechanisms.

'Type I Nurse' Bio-granule. It looked like a thick black substance, but in actual fact, it was able to divide into special nano-granules. They could then be inserted into one's body. When injured, poisoned, or bleeding, they would help one recover from the situation either by clearing the poison or speeding up blood clotting. It was a type consumable medical treatment.

U9 Colloidal Bulletproof Membrane. It looked just like ordinary glass on the surface. However, upon receiving any shock, it would briefly become non-solid to counteract kinetic energy and then solidify to trap any object. For instance, when a bullet is shot toward it, the bullet would be trapped, as though it was originally growing from within. Though it looked just like transparent glass, it was highly defensive and not easily damaged. It was most suitable for making bulletproof vests.

Fermi Condensate. It was a weapon that resembled the appearance of shaving foam and could be injected into a weapon to cool it down internally. It would reduce the cooldown time and then quickly degrade so as to prevent jamming up the weapon system. Sunworm's cooldown time, for example, was twenty seconds. With the use of Fermi Condensate, the cooldown time could be reduced significantly to three to five seconds. The effect was remarkable. It could also be consumed.

PE-0 Nano-synthetic Fiber. Similar to the biological tendons of a living organism, it was a black, shiny, tough nanomaterial. Twisting or stretching it would result in an unbelievable elasticity.

Han Xiao could only exchange the sniper for one of those items.

Chapter 164: Endoskeleton materials

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao made his choice.

"I want the PE-0 Nano-Synthetic Fiber."

"Wow, that's smart. I thought a warrior like you, who likes to battle, would go for the Bulletproof Membrane instead."

"To create something, I will need sufficient PE-0."

"Alright." Lei Zhen Yu nodded. He felt that out of the four weapons, PE-0 Nano-Synthetic Fiber was the most valuable one as this new material could be used for many more weapons. He realized that Han Xiao was indeed a skillful mechanic with keen eyes.

As they confirmed the exchange, Han Xiao returned to his truck and began creating a new Ghost sniper rifle. With the help of the blueprint, everything went well.

I've earned so much from this exchange!

The new Nano-Synthetic Fiber would play an important part of his lightweight mecha concept. It could be used as the tendon skeletal system of the lightweight mecha! As compared to the previous K600 skeletal system, PE-0 had huge improvements in almost all aspects. For instance, it was small, lightweight, and stronger. It was a great core material to create an outstanding lightweight mecha.

Python-Lightweight Mecha!

PE-0 should not be judged by its simple introduction. When it was used as the internal skeletal system, it would function just like muscle. Anyone who used it would understand.

As for the other three equipment, two of them were consumable—hence, they were instantly dismissed as options. The Bulletproof Membrane seemed reliable, but it contained Platinum, so it barely qualified for the bulletproof function.

To create a new Ghost sniper rifle, Lei Zhen Yu had also brought sufficient amount of PE-0 Nano-Synthetic Fiber and stored it in a golden metal box.

After the two had exchange the items, Lei Zhen Yu could not help but fall in love with the Ghost sniper rifle straight away. Even though his experimental direction was toward lightweight mecha, seeing how electromagnetic weapons could become the conventional weapon for the next generation, he had decided to study them too.

Back then, Old Man Lu had requested him to come over to Black Pine to help Lu Cheng. Since Lei Zhen Yu owed him a debt of gratitude, he had decided to help him then. Every day was boring to him, except for today, as he had encountered Han Xiao, a mechanic that was on par with him. This cheered him up to no end.

"I still need one thing, but there is no channel for me to buy it. I hope you can help me buy a 'Bonfire' Mini Reaction Furnace." Han Xiao packed his box and spoke once more. This item that he needed was a module related to lightweight mecha.

Lei Zhen Yu was a mechanic master. Hence, he knew many people from the same trade and had many connections. He wanted knowledge beyond [Advance Material Study] to build his gun, so he was using Lei Zhen Yu as a channel to help him find some things.

"That item is not easy to get. Besides, even if I ask my friend from Ordina to sell it to me at cost price, it would still cost two to three million. Not to mention, extra time will be needed to make that item."

"Money isn't the problem."

Han Xiao smirked and was full of confidence.

Lei Zhen Yu was a master in the mechanic world, so he knew many other mechanics of the same level. He was enthusiastic toward Han Xiao and agreed to help to contact the 'Bonfire' Mini Reaction Furnace seller for him. To Lei Zhen Yu, it was just a few phone calls.

After exchanging their numbers, Lei Zhen Yu took his Ghost sniper rifle and left, while Han Xiao continued with his work in the truck until midnight. After he was done with his work, he switched off the light and headed for his temporary residence with the guards.

The night was quiet. There was no night life in Black Pine settlement. When night fell, all residents would go back home to rest. In the dangerous wild, one would need to remain vigilant to know what to do in case of any possible danger. Also, entertainment was a luxury. In the wild, there were monsters, sickness, hunger, and various catastrophes. With that, warlords had already developed a vigilant attitude.

Due to certain circumstances, some people were forced into joining the Six Nations after the war, while other remained living in the wild as they could not let go of the hatred and would not give in even though their lives were harder. Some thought that it was foolish of them, while others saw it as a belief or even faith. It did not matter which country these people belonged to—patriotic people were always worthy of respect.

What was more important was that many vagrants had already gotten used to living in the wild. Even though their daily meals were not stable, and they might not know when they would ever be full, they did not have to follow any restrictions or rules. Instead, they were living freely. Despite knowing that joining the Six Nations would mean full meals every day, they were not willing to give up on their freedom.

In the age of peace, many people were numb toward life. In order to survive, they hunted like their ancestors and lived every day to its fullest. Even though most vagrants suffer from malnutrition, their physical fitness was better than that of the urban residents. They were strong and diligent.

The wild was regarded as wasteland. Many abandoned cities, battlefields, habitats of plants and animals, and even radioactive areas caused by the pollution from the war had become restricted areas. The Six Nations did not have any intentions of expanding into the wild at the moment, as the cost was too high, and its value was low. During the first few years after the war, the Six Nations decided to stabilize the situation inside their country first. As such, they did not have extra resources to expand their territory. Wild flora started growing on the abandoned land as a result, and it had become the territory of vagrants, warlords, and large groups of mercenaries. Just like the wind that blew by after destruction, the wasteland after the war was once again revived.

…

After a night of rest in his room, Han Xiao called for Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog the next morning.

"I will be away for some time. You guys can stay at Black Pine, and I will contact you later on."

Bun-hit-dog was reactionless while Frenzied Sword showed his unwillingness. He had only followed Han Xiao for a few days, and now, he was being abandoned again.

"You guys can think of ways to help solve the plague in Black Pine." Han Xiao pointed at Frenzied Sword. "I have confidence in you that you will show your true potential during this period of time. Maybe you have the ability to use better weapons."

Han Xiao took out two newly built large caliber pistols that were suitable for shooting within eighty meters. It was specially designed to strengthen the magazines and the attack damage. It was green quality and twice as powerful compared to the pistols that Han Xiao had sold to the other players. He then presented the pistols to Frenzied Sword, who was looking on with his jaw on the ground.

"Is this for me?" Frenzied Sword asked in disbelief.

Han Xiao smiled and nodded.

Frenzied Sword was overjoyed and could not help but start playing with his two pistols. He did not expect to receive such welfare. Han Xiao actually gifted him some equipment. Bun-hit-dog, who was standing by one side, was also shocked

Is this a benefit of the secret quest? As long as your performance is good, Black Phantom will reward you as and when he likes?

Han Xiao intentionally built these two pistols to aid Frenzied Sword in completing more tasks. To ensure that his workers did their best, they first needed their weapons. When giving rewards, Bun-hit-dog could also film it, and when it is aired, more players would witness the scene. Through that, many people would think that Han Xiao cared a lot about rewards and would be more eager to join his 'Secret Quest'.

All Han Xiao had to do was gift pistols that he could make easily, and with a little bit of generosity, he would be able to earn even more.

"I think you have great potential in wrestling, you should go learn some close combat skills," Han Xiao mentioned. Frenzied Sword was gifted in wrestling and should advance to become a Mechanical Pugilist. He naturally hoped that Frenzied Sword could be strong like his previous life, where as a Mechanical Pugilist, he displayed his Martial Artist talent… hopefully.

What Han Xiao said struck a chord with Frenzied Sword. That was something that he was thinking about too.

After making his instructions clear, Han Xiao boarded the Dark Net helicopter and left Black Pine.

"Black Phantom has left," the helper reported to Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng nodded as he had a great impression of Han Xiao. He then said, "Take care of his two friends, and take notice of any weird villagers from Green Valley Ville. Find out about their background too.

…

When the helicopter arrived at the Fabian Company, Han Xiao board on the transport aircraft and headed for a new novice village in the Southern Continent. This time round, he would be occupying the aircraft for a long time as he even wanted to fly across the ocean to the novice villages in the Western Continent and Northern Continent. The Fabian Company did not have much power in the other two continents. As such, it would be expensive to occupy the aircraft for such a long time. Even after a friendship discount from Antonio, the price could still be jaw dropping—plain extortion.

His Dark Net's account still had enough funds, and he had a lot of plans to accumulate more wealth. There was no need for him to worry about the funds.

Once he boarded the aircraft, Han Xiao began building his Mecha. The advantage of building his own mecha was that the different modules could be fixed separately and then combined together afterwards. This would reduce the risk, and the success rate for a self-created Mecha would be higher.

Even though he did not have the blueprints, he had his own ideas. The different functions of the self-created Mecha could be achieved just by mimicking the other Mechas from his memories. [Python Lightweight Mecha] was an advanced, more accurate, and rare piece of equipment. If anyone wished to obtain this blueprint in normal circumstances, one would need to combine four advance knowledges of different groups. Moreover, the conditions were extremely demanding. The prerequisite was that one needed to understand the functions of the various components inside the blueprints. So, all most players could do was try their luck.

Some other blueprints required the players to be able to understand the modules within the blueprints. This was common for blueprints of various robots, Mechas, armor, and transport vehicles.

Chapter 165: As Unlucky as Usual

Hopefully what I replicated is forty percent accurate—that will be enough.

Han Xiao's advanced knowledge was insufficient; hence, he could only create a prototype with less functionality, just like the Ghost sniper rifle. However, there was an advantage for the mecha. Even if his version was a castrated version, it would not have various defects that the Ghost sniper rifle had.

Self-creating a mecha was a huge project and could not be completed within a short time. Han Xiao planned to finish his work on the various modules as he moved from novice village to novice village.

In addition, he would have to combine some new blueprints to improve the power of mecha.

The core source of the power would come from the 'Bonfire' Mini Reaction Furnace, and Han Xiao needed to wait for Lei Zhen Yu to place an order for him. This was also an advanced machine, so he was not able to build it on his own. Luckily, he had met another mechanic and could use some help from the other masters.

Talking about it, Old Man Lu's four blueprints were also rare items. The opportunity for the mission would be when Lei Zhen Yu left Black Pine. Hence, he had to wait a while longer. Those four blueprints could be combined to build an attack and defense system, which could be incorporated into the mecha.

The mecha was Han Xiao's second important piece of tactical equipment, and with the four blueprints from Old Man Lu, he would be able to start on the third. Han Xiao was excited. With three pieces of tactical equipment that complemented one another, all of which would have very strong mechanical stats, there would be no need to worry in battle—even against Bennett.

After finishing the visits to the novice villages and obtaining large amounts of experience, I can finally do some big things.

Han Xiao calculated his time and suddenly frowned.

If I'm not remembering incorrectly, the Alien event should be starting soon.

…

The Southern Continent had five novice villages. Besides Big Horn Village and Green Valley Ville, Han Xiao spent eleven days visiting the other three. Most of his time was spent on travelling. When he arrived at each novice village, he need not do anything; players would quickly crowd around him. Those who wanted to advance would advance, and those who had their own things to do would engage in their own things. It was super effective.

His popularity was all thanks to Galaxy Times and the advertising through the forum. Han Xiao had left a deep impression on the players, and they knew what he was capable of.

Han Xiao did some math—round 25% to 30% of players came to him to advance into mechanics. This ratio was way greater than that in his previous life. Even though there were only three main classes in Aquamarine, the ratio was not even. In his previous life, the ratio had been 30% Esper, 50% to 60% Pugilist, and only about 10% Mechanic. After Han Xiao's promotion, the ratio was three times greater!

Apart from Basic Knowledges, he also shared [Basic Shooting] and [Basic Combat]. These basic skills had attracted many novice players, and most had approached him to acquire these two basic skills. That was the real money tree!

Han Xiao was making a small profit from each novice player, and these small gains accumulated to a veritable fortune.

Three novice villages had earned him a total of 9.023 million EXP!

The efficiency was shocking!

With these eleven days of gaining experience at a rocket-like efficiency, he had earned an amount comparable to completing ten or so high difficulty missions! Players of the same level from his previous life would have needed to to spend many months to acquire the same amount of experience!

The cumulative effect from the interface and the NPC template helped him improve tremendously. Well, at least he had found himself a steady channel for experience.

The player market had the most potential, and since he was able to monopolize it at the moment, the profit was simply amazing.

With countless experiences on hand, Han Xiao went ahead to level up his class rank [Mechanic (Trainee)] to Lv. 15!

When his level reached LV 55, he would need to advance in order to continue levelling up. In version 1, the level limit was LV 60, so he was five levels away. However, he was not restricted by the limit in this version. Han Xiao could in fact become the first character in Aquamarine to reach LV 60. Unfortunately, the advancement requirements were a real headache for him.

_____________________

[Mechanic (Trainee)] levelled up to Lv. 15 (MAX).

+120 Energy, +1 DEX, +1 END, +4 INT.

Acquired 3 Unassigned Stat Points and 1 Talent Point!

Advancement mission: Create 5 [Admirable] quality machinery with an energy rating no lower than 60.

_____________________

Damn, am I so unlucky? Out of so many advancing conditions, how unlucky am I to get the most troublesome one‽

Han Xiao was stunned.

Admirable quality meant a grade higher than blue. Since he started building his machinery, his machinery was about 15% to 20% blue, and only 1% to 2% of his machinery might have reached purple.

A machine could be compared with the same type of machinery by its quality. For instance, there would be a huge difference in the stats of a white grade Foldable Machete compared to a blue grade Foldable Machete. The blue grade would have additional effects too. However, a blue type Machete could not be compared to a white grade Rover Robot.

For example, Cold Weapons, Guns, Grenades, Robots… these weapons were based on templates of the same kind. For example, a good quality razor could be used to shave comfortably; however, it could not be used to stir fry vegetables. Different kinds of equipment have their own uses and their own specialization.

The more high-end a machine was, the harder it would be to improve its quality. The intelligence stat affected the quality, and this was also the core attribute of mechanics. High-level mechanics could easily create high-quality, simple machines.

The requirement of 'energy rating no lower than 60' for advancement limited the possibility of him using low-level machinery as a shortcut. He had to create a purple machine that fulfilled the quality requirement.

This type of advancement requirement was considered the most difficult requirement. Normally, when one reached the level limit of an attribute, it would not be easy to build a stable machine of sufficient quality. It was either by luck or by improving his skills and achieving new abilities. No matter which route he took, he would need a lot of time.

The frown between Han Xiao's brows deepened like a great ravine.

Advancement was difficult. Moreover, he would need to use his experience points to level up his skills and fuse blueprints together. This could be a bottomless pit, especially for fusing the blueprints.

Levelling up by five levels had cost him almost five million EXP. As for the remaining EXP, Han Xiao kept two million for blueprints fusion and the rest on levelling up his skills. He levelled up [Mid-Grade Machinery Affinity] and [Molecular Refining] to the maximum.

Among the skills, Mid-Grade Machinery Affinity was a core skill; hence, the cost was higher. The effect was also naturally more remarkable. Since it affected a machine's grade, it was useful in completing the advancement task.

Experience come easily but goes quickly too.

Han Xiao let out a deep sigh. As he had spent a huge amount of experiences all at once, he felt a great sense of satisfaction.

Han Xiao had completed his visits to all the novice villages in the Southern Continent. Next, Han Xiao decided to visit the Western Continent. The Nations in the Western Continent were Maple and Ordina. He had stayed in the Southern Continent for too long, and he was finally visiting another continent.

On the way, I can also start on the secret quest. The tragedy of La Potter is set in the Western Continent.

…

Because there was a need to cross the sea, the transport aircraft stopped at one of Hesla port cities' airports to prepare for the long-distance flight and top up the fuel. This was Antonio's territory. Han Xiao spent a huge sum of money, almost emptying Antonio's warehouse, and filled up his aircraft with a lot of materials.

"You are going to the Western Continent?" Antonio held a thick black cigar in his mouth. With his bear paw sized hand, he patted Han Xiao on his shoulder. "A person like you—an assassin—will definitely be blacklisted by many nations. The special agents of Maple and Ordina might find you for afternoon tea. You will have no say over there too. Our power in the Western Continent is limited as well. A piece of advice for you: try not to expose yourself."

"And so?"

"Be careful."

Han Xiao laughed and exclaimed in feigned surprise, "Oh, you can actually finish that in one sentence."

Han Xiao patted Antonio's strong arm and went up the aircraft. "Don't worry, I won't go crazy there."

Filled with fuel, the aircraft took flight and disappeared into the air.

…

As Han Xiao visited all the novice villages in the Southern Continent, it created a huge discussion on the forum. The novice players from the other three continents were all envious and jealous of the players from the Southern Continent. They wished to meet the Black Phantom, too; however, it was not possible for them to cross over to another continent. As such, they could only watch helplessly as players from the Southern Continents boasted about it on the forum. This made them feel terrible, just like seeing photos of fast food in the middle of the night. Even if you were hungry, you could not eat it.

There was no point being envious, so all the helpless players could do was vent their emotions on the forum.

"Ah, I want Black Phantom!"

"I am suffering from a disease. I will die if I don't meet Black Phantom."

"Why are there no characters like Black Phantom in the continent that I got into?"

Players from the Southern Continent started giggling as they thought they were fortunate to have a great birthplace. Looking at players from the other continents grumbling about their lack of luck, the players in the Southern Continent felt a sense of superiority.

Man, luck is also part of power. Not that I'm targeting anyone, but I mean everyone here is trash.

By this point, the players from the Southern Continent all had inflated egos.

Chapter 166: Alien 1

"The Black Phantom had gone to the Western Continent? Why is he there?" Bennett was shocked.

"I don't know. He didn't say." Wang Yuan shook his head.

Bennett had no choice but to give Han Xiao a call. He did not answer. As Han Xiao was flying across the ocean, the reception on his phone was bad.

Helpless, Bennett shook his head. Stardragon's material aid had arrived, and Hesla had loosened a little after some work. The shelter plan was about to be rolled out as a pilot project in the Southern Continent. He was planning to gather the strongest members of various organizations as the first layer of protection for the plan. Black Phantom was third on the list of people he was going to invite. However, before he could even invite him, Han Xiao had already left for the Western Continent.

The location of the first shelter had already been decided. It would be located in a large ruined city in the wild.

Bennett suddenly had an idea. "Maple refused to provide material aid, and that group of bureaucrats are not easing up no matter what we do. Luckily, Black Phantom is going to the Western Continent, so he can talk for me!"

…

The enclosed room did not seem to have a single light source and was separated from the outside world by a thick metal door. Through the darkness, there was only a streak of light peeking through a small opening. Electrolux was sitting in a corner, reading his interface in exasperation. His Esper potential rating was Grade A. However, after over 20 days of open beta, when most players had reached LV 8, he was still at LV 1.

The Germinal Organization said they would lock him up for a month, and they meant it. If it was not that Electrolux was reluctant to give up on his high potential Esper ability, he would have changed to a new account. After the members of the club learned of the situation of his account, they had all been very concerned. They told Electrolux to hold on, and they would invest resources into him when the restriction period was over. With that, he was able to persevere and come online every day to wait, hoping for a miracle.

At that moment, the golden metal door started opening slowly, and white light sprayed into the room.

Electrolux looked up and saw a man in white standing by the door. The man's stared at Electrolux as though he was looking at something precious.

"I want to perform a little test with you." A man in white smiled freakishly.

…

Cyberlos was joyous.

He was one of the top executives in the Germinal Organization. As a biologist, he had worked on various experiments for Germinal for many years. Before joining them, Cyberlos was a high-level researcher who betrayed Raylen. He was insane, and his mind was always full of crazy ideas. Even as a fellow human, it was impossible to stop his strong urge to dissect other human bodies. He also did not care about principles and would join anyone who was willing to aid him with resources. In the end, he joined the Germinal Organization.

As such, Germinal supported Cyberlos to experiment on his crazy ideas by sponsoring him with materials. He was responsible for Valkyrie, Super Soldier, and Genetic Improvement—all those projects that were totally unethical. There were even other more sinister experiments, and just by mentioning the names, it would make a normal person disgusted and the insane excited. For instance, Cross-Species Hybrid Breeding, Human-Animal Fusion…

Through years of research, Cyberlos had conducted over a hundred experiments and seen thousands of special and gifted human specimens. Among which, Cyberlos was excited about two of these specimens, and both were Espers.

One of them had bone marrow that had amazing healing functions. It could even revive thousands of dead bodies. However, since the souls were absent in these bodies, the bodies would not truly be revived. That was also the first time when Cyberlos discovered the notion of souls. He experimented more, but due to the lack of technology on Aquamarine, he was unable to gather any souls.

The other person had some power that could interfere with destiny. It was also the most incredible thing that Cyberlos had ever witnessed. This person could interfere with the course of an event just by commenting. It was something even more difficult to explain as compared to souls. This special ability could only be used when a person was clear and awake. A test proved that it could not work with hypnotism. This person was locked up around the clock and was made to wear a muzzle, which prevented him from talking. Due to negligence in the past, many scary incidents had occurred, and the most recent incident happened a year ago, when this person commented that a disaster would happen to the Germinal. With that being said, the Germinal Organization had indeed suffered a painful blow.

As for Electrolux, he was the third specimen that Cyberlos was interested in.

Cyberlos re-read and scrutinized the diary.

"Day 1: The subject was sent into the restricted room, monitored around the clock, including using night vision camera monitoring. Fed three times a day at 7am, 11am, and 7pm with no relaxation time given. Subject seemed anxious but has yet to show any after effects from the brainwashing session. Initial observation shows that subject has immunity. Recommended to perform Compliance Test on the subject.

"Day 2: 8am, went through the Compliance Test. Results shown that subject is highly obedient. Passed all the test, and the polygraph does not exhibit any abnormalities. Subject has accepted the new identity from the brainwashing. 11pm, abnormality started showing. Subject has vanished, and no signs of damage were observed in the restricted room. A search was conducted, subject not found.

"Day 4: Subject reappeared in the restricted room, the same location where he disappeared, with no warning. Footage data [Appendix -001]. We controlled the subject immediately and interrogated about the reason behind his disappearance and what he encountered after he disappeared. Subjected seemed confused, and the interrogation was recorded in [Appendix -002]. Increased the monitoring on the subject.

"Day 6: Used hypnotism to check if he was lying, and the subject spoke gibberish. Footage [Appendix -003]. At night, subject vanished again.

"Day 8: Subject reappeared. Interrogated and hypnotized, details [Appendix -004]. At 8pm, surgery was performed to observe the biology, and his physiology seemed normal. Surgery conclusion [Appendix -005]."

…

The observation diary contained observations from 22 days. Some of the vagrants in the Andrea Mainland also appeared to have similar symptoms as Electrolux. As such, this caught the attention of Germinal. They remained quiet and continued to observe secretly.

Immortal, able to resurrect, appear out of nowhere, unknown origin… If it was just one person, there was no reason to worry. However, thousands of people had shown the same symptoms, and this number was still increasing, as though it was spreading like an infectious disease. The leader was concerned and made Cyberlos in charge of conducting various experiments on Electrolux.

Electrolux was pinned down in the middle by the guards and was brought to the surgery theatre. Lying down on the surgery table, he was given the surgery task. The Germinal Organization had brainwashed him. As such, he thought all orders given were compulsory missions and violation would lead to heavy punishments.

Electrolux could only adhere to the instructions, and he was feeling frustrated.

Cyberlos suited up into his surgical gown and started dissecting Electrolux. Electrolux was given anesthesia and was unable to move. All he could do was watch the knife moving about on his body. As he realized he was being dissected, his body system started reacting when the operation started.

_____________________

You died.

_____________________

Electrolux was struck dumb, and he was revived in the room after ten seconds.

What in the world… Was I dissected and experimented on?

Electrolux froze. He had lost one revive for that week. However, his EXP did not decrease, and that might have been due to him dying under special circumstances.

This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. In the past, when he was playing other virtual online games, NPCs did not care about any special abilities that players possessed, which caused many people complained about it. Players who were more creative had even thought of dissecting these people to study them. He could not believe this was happening in Galaxy.

Cyberlos witnessed the whole procedure where Electrolux vanished and then reappeared again. It happened in a split second, and the blood stains could still be seen on the operation theatre.

"You… No, what kind of creature are you?" Cyberlos' eyes lit up.

Electrolux suddenly felt like pulling a prank. What will happen if I tell the truth?

Chapter 167: Alien 2

"The world you live in is just a game. I am just a player…"

To his shock, Electrolux realized that anything he tried to say became gibberish. He was unwilling to give up trying, but he realized that if he wanted to reveal any information about the real world, the system would change his words.

Cyberlos shook his head. "It is the same as the hypnosis record, all nonsense."

Electrolux was shocked to find out that NPC could tell the uniqueness of a player. This must have been coded by the developer in an attempt to simulate more realistic characters.

It's so real. Electrolux was shocked. It made him felt as if the NPC was a real person. Galaxy is such a realistic game.

He finally understood the name for Galaxy 1.0 edition. The developer wanted to allow the players to become Adventers, to be the first people to experience another realistic world. Therefore, they did not allow the players to reveal truths of the reality in case they ruined the realistic feeling. He then remembered an old online game. There were also two camps of players, and the players from different camps were not allowed to communicate. It seemed to be called the world of the beast.

"It must be like that!" Electrolux exclaimed.

Even if he knew that the reactions that NPCs gave to the players were simulated, he was very impressed. Aside from his responsibilities as a professional player, Electrolux had formed great interest in Galaxy. He was even anticipating what would happen next. There would be more and more players, how would these NPCs react?

The guards brought Electrolux back, and Cyberlos stayed in the laboratory and collected blood traces on the operating table. The results of the test were so different from ordinary people, causing his eyes to flicker with curiosity.

"Let's say this occurrence is the appearance of an alien phenomenon. But why is this phenomenon occurring here, and why has it spread? Most of the aliens appear out of thin air, and there are no database records, unless there is a birth of a new civilization? Could there be a projection from another intelligent species?"

Cyberlos turned on his computer and brought up a highly confidential file. He verified using his fingerprint, his iris, and a password, which was changed on a daily basis, before opening a document—The Universal Treaty (7th revised edition). Aquamarine came into contact with the Kedolas civilization and had attained more knowledge. The Germinal Organization had a copy of this treaty as well.

It was stated on the treaty that a projection from a high-level civilization would occasionally interfere with a low-level civilization. The special characteristics of not dying was similar to the description of the projection technique on the treaty. If this was true, this would be the invasion of an advanced civilization. No, for the entity to invade, it would not be so troublesome. A logical explanation would be Aquamarine had become a testing ground for a certain civilization. Cyberlos was not angry at all. In fact, he was very excited by the unexpected phenomenon.

If the number of aliens continued increasing, the pattern of Aquamarine would have a drastic change with this characteristic of not dying.

The aliens can be brainwashed and are very subservient, but when asked about their place of origin, they talk nonsense, and this could be an instinctive reaction for them. This definitely requires more experimental evidence.

The transmission of this alien phenomenon was unknown, and it was impossible to determine if it was contagious or not. The results of the test were normal, and the occurrence for this phenomenon could not be explained—it could be an unique ability, disease, or genetic mutation.

The interesting thing was that no abnormal sleeping habits had been observed. From time to time, the disappearance could be the 'sleeping mode' of the aliens. Some aliens had other abilities, their strength was weak, and they seemed to have potential for other unknown reasons.

Is the appearance of aliens long term or short term? Will the numbers continuously increase? Is there a possibility of the beast infecting the aliens? In the long run, there seems to be some danger with this alien phenomenon, and it is necessary to implement some preventive measures as early as possible.

Writing down his conclusion, Cyberlos handed the report over to his leader. His leader's worldview was also slightly affected, but fortunately, he was determined. Due to a huge variety of Espers around, even the average person was very resilient, so they were used to all kinds of strange phenomenon.

"The Six Nations will notice the aliens sooner or later. With this phenomenon occurring, the fact that they are our enemy is not as important. They will definitely contact the interstellar civilization to ask for the reasons of this occurrence and will have no time to set off a war. Which means, we'll have time to breathe."

The leader was very curious about the appearance of aliens, but he was unable to contact the interstellar civilization. However, he noticed an important problem—the aliens could actually be brainwashed, and they were very obedient!

Thus, he reached the natural conclusion.

"They are natural cannon fodder!"

Andrea mainland was the territory of the Germinal Organization, and the leader ordered people to bring back research specimens to brainwash. There were also aliens appearing in the other three continents. It was a pity that the sub-bases had been uprooted, and no one was around to capture them. The leader only realized now that they had lost an opportunity all because of Zero. He was so angry that his teeth ached, and he even wanted to make use of the 'Son of Destiny' to lock onto the position of zero, but he had not yet made the decision to take the risk.

I don't know how the interstellar civilization views this phenomenon, is this rare or common?

…

There were four new novice villages in the Western Continent, and public beta had been open for more than twenty days. The average level of the players had also reached LV 10, so Han Xiao was prepared to include the [Energy Training Technique] into the list of skills. The asking price was 10,000 experience and 3,000 Aquamarine Dollars. Some players were able to afford it.

The plane had landed in Fabian's main base on the Western Continent, and as the climate of the Western Continent was very cold, Han Xiao felt uncomfortable when he first breathed in the air.

These few days, he created the parts of the python armor using the skeleton formed by the PE-0 Nano-Synthetic Fiber. It looked like thick black tights, and the outer layer was like muscles. Han Xiao tried it on once, and it was light. He had found his physical attributes improved. For example, when throwing a punch, the fibers would stretch and twist in the direction of the punch, increasing the strength of the attack. It was similar to getting a new set of muscles and tendons, but this was more flexible, and the user could do whatever they wanted.

In the debugging stage, it was necessary to prevent the loss of power with other materials. Han Xiao had spent quite a bit of experience, using [Advance Materials Science] with other knowledge, to attain certain materials.

The power system was the most critical for the mecha frame. The 'Bonfire' Mini Reaction Furnace was another equipment for advancement. The seller seems to be in the Western Continent, so Han Xiao had chosen to come here.

A mecha was a quick way to improve combat power, and as long as he could create the Python-Lightweight Mecha, his combat power could increase by a huge jump.

I'll go to the novice village and collect some experience first.

Han Xiao marked the location on the map and handed it to the driver. At that instant, his cell phone buzzed. He opened it and turned out to be a message from the Blood Pact Society.

"Black Phantom, this is a reward from the Dark Net. Your mission is to sneak into the residence of a few Maple officials and leave certain documents there. Someone will meet you at the Western Continent and give you the documents you will need, including the specific information of the location and some Maple officials."

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and called Bennett. "Hey, what are you up to?"

It was beneficial to know someone on the top as one phone call across could get him information.

"Maple does not want to provide assistance, and it is because these few officials are getting in the way. You know the situation over in Maple—we would be touching the treasury of these officials, so they are fiercely opposing us."

"What assistance?" Han Xiao raised an eyebrow as he had an inclination.

"I have yet to mention to you, but the organization is planning a large-scale project—shelter. There was originally a year to plan, but as the war is about to start, we can only push forward with the plan and request aid from all the countries. Only Maple has rejected."

Han Xiao's eyes lit up. The shelter plan had started early. With his relationship to the Dark Net, he was confident in the plan and asked an obvious question, "What is the shelter plan? Do you need my help?"

Chapter 168: Novice Guides?

"I will tell you the details when you return to the Southern Continent, and yes, I need your help…" Bennett paused. "Stardragon first promised to render their help, and the reason was you taking part in the battle of the Tedramira River. I owe you a favor."

"Just give me a few small benefits."

Bennett laughed. "This is exactly what I expected from you, let's talk more when you return to Southern Continent."

After ending the phone call, Han Xiao read the reward detail and triggered the mission.

_____________________

You triggered Level C mission [Deterrent intimidation]!

Introduction: Some of Maple's officials are corrupt, and it is time to let them know that holding on to the money bags will only get them bullets. We are not robbers, but we do not mind occasional guest appearances.

Mission Requirements: Enter the residence of five targeted officials and the evidence of the Dark Net.

Rewards: 120,000 experience, 500 Dark Net reputation

_____________________

Without the special reward, it is just an ordinary task. I'll just get it done and over with. Han Xiao nodded.

The transport plane took off with Han Xiao after a refueling. A few hours later, they arrived in a new novice village. It was not easy to find the airport in the wilderness. However, as the gyroscopic engines were equipped on the wings of the transport aircraft to provide vertical lifting power, it was safe for the plane to take off on the runway. The pilot was a veteran as well.

If Han Xiao did not have the discounts as an old customer, the price of chartering flights would have been several times more expensive. This connection was very important as it saved him a lot of money.

After using the Electromagnetic Hover-boots for a while after he alighted from the plane, Han Xiao soon reached the novice village. The players there were doing their missions passionately, and upon seeing the Black Phantom, they were stunned and gushed toward him.

…

Poseidon, a member of the Guild of Gods, hummed a song as he scanned through the forum posts. President Jupiter did not bother too much about the Rank A mission, and the development of the guild was on the right track.

In the second issue of Galaxy Times, the group had invited a beautiful e-sports player, the head of the rainstorm club, Rainy Kim. She shared her experience on the show and introduced Stardragon.

She had joined the Tedramira River Battle, so she revealed some information, including news of the Germinal Organization. After Jupiter learned that the Germinal troops from the Southern Continent had disappeared, he lost hope for the A-rank mission. Dark Crow Valley Base had also been removed; thus, he concentrated on coordinating the guild and expanded toward Southern Continent's side.

In the second episode of Galaxy Times, professional players from different planets were invited for an interview, and these players had joined different camps on the map, allowing the players to attain more knowledge of the different planets. The conflict between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization revealed the main plot to the players of Aquamarine.

Since the start, Poseidon had never approved of the Germinal A-rank mission; he felt that it would distract the group. Fortunately, Jupiter turned his back and gave up on the A level mission. In turn, the professional guild saw this mission and allowed the players to challenge this difficult task, thus handing over the task to the team.

After the discussion, they selected a player from Andrea Mainland to find the Germinal Organization and trigger the A-rank mission. The guild also provided resources and intelligence support to help the player complete the task. If anyone succeeded, the guild could have one more potential account, and there no losses even if they do not succeed.

The players were the face of the guild, and their status was higher than that of the guild. The first-line player was also famous as Poseidon asked him for a few signatures, which made him very happy.

The guild was pleased with the A-rank mission they triggered during the novice period and gave away some prizes.

The guild had passed the unlucky period, and Poseidon was in a good mood.

Speaking of the development of the guild, the Black Phantom could not go unmentioned. Since most of them were born in the Southern Continent, with the support of the Black Phantom, they benefited in one way or another. The Black Phantom only appeared in the Southern Continent, which gave the players a huge advantage, and the guild benefited a lot.

Many opponents were born in other continents, and with the guild in front, the situation was very good.

Looking at the jealousy and envy that the old player had, the members of the guild had a sense of superiority.

Suddenly, the forum started having lots of new posts published by Aquamarine. The content could be summarized in one sentence.

"Black Phantom is coming to the Western Continent!"

Poseidon snorted and hurriedly clicked and viewed a post. After reading it, he began sweating.

Don't tell me Black Phantom is running around every single Novice Village.

If this was to be true, everyone simply had to wait patiently, and the advantages of being in a guild would vanish.

Poseidon hurriedly informed the president and other core members in the channel. They were equally shocked.

Jupiter was extremely calm. "We can't say things like that. We learned some skills earlier than others and were able to finish quests much earlier. There are bound to be some advantages for joining us. NPC's actions can't be controlled. Don't try to force things."

Upon hearing what the president had said, everyone calmed down. Poseidon glanced at the forum again and suddenly screamed, "What the… come look at this post!"

"What?" Jupiter doubted the post. It was a screenshot of Han Xiao's skill list, and the focus was on an [Energy Training Method]. Seeing the skill's effect, everyone was stunned.

"Magical!"

Energy was a key attribute. It directly affected combat strength. And with the novice players' energy being so poor, they were usually unable to support an Esper's consumption. Espers needed this skill for sure!

Jupiter was an Esper. He turned jealous and suddenly realized a serious problem. "Wait a moment. When we were in the Southern Continent, Black Phantom did not teach us this skill!"

Everyone stood silent.

Could it have been that when the Black Phantom was going to the Novice Village, he would give better things to them? In that case, wouldn't players in the Southern Continent be disadvantaged?

This isn't advantageous at all! It's way more unlucky!

Among the core members of Guild of Gods, there was a player named Eggtama.

This unlucky feeling… Why is it so familiar…? It's returning! Everything is returning!

…

On the forum, Western Continent players were as if they were dogs that had eaten Spring medicine, jumping up and down, posting their videos, and showing off. They, who had been always on Southern Continent for so long, finally had something to show off. It was now the Southern Continent's players' turn to suffer. What they originally thought was exclusively theirs was actually given to everyone.

In particular, seeing the new skills taught by Black Phantom, the [Energy Training Method], the Western Continent players were extremely overjoyed and made the Southern Continent players very tired and uncomfortable.

What goes around comes around, and it was time for the players on the Southern Continent to watch in jealousy.

"Such luck, why didn't Black Phantom have this skill before?"

"I want to learn it so much."

"Isn't he a mechanic instructor? He has such awesome skills! Even though I'm an Esper, I'm tempted, too!"

Beyond the posts that were either showing off or complaining, Black Phantom appeared in the Western Continent, and this had gotten all the players to start guessing. He seemed to aim to go through all the novice villages. Could Black Phantom actually have been the official novice guide? But other novice planets did not have one. The guesses were endless. Furthermore, there were players from other novice planets coming over to Aquamarine's forum to complain of unfairness. The novice guide broke the levelled playing field for many, but their voices would soon be overwhelmed by the everyone else.

Players from the Northern Continent and Andrea were the ones that greatly supported this statement. Looking at the movements of Black Phantom, they could very well be the next one, and they could not wait to bring themselves in front to the Black Phantom.

Do you see the huge anticipation in these small eyes of ours? Come on, hurry!

The Western Continent's players were almost celebrating like it was a festival; some of them who were about to leave the novice village to explore the map immediately reverted back to where they were upon hearing the news of Black Phantom. They hurriedly returned to their villages, waiting for the Black Phantom's arrival in great excitement.

[Energy Training Method] became a craze. Not only were some players wanting to change class, even Esper came to learn the skill. While the asking price was very high, this magical skill was worth selling one's every asset for!

Esper players desperately needed to increase their Energy, and to them, the [Energy Training Method] was like a Viagra pill. It allowed them to last much longer, and the difference was between that of a three minute and three second gap. Whilst short, the concept was totally different. This was the difference between one and many, between Heaven and Earth!

Chapter 169: First Episode of Galaxy's Exploration Journal

Han Xiao had already foreseen this type of situation; in the first advancement, everyone would learn [Energy Training Technique]. However, the players were unaware that for players at LV 8 or 9, this was a magical skill. The added strength exceeded whatever the player received for their upgrade. Also, some players did not advance in their main class; hence, they would need a skill that provided energy even more.

Aquamarine was the main planet for all the Chinese players. Han Xiao imparted a skill that all players were bound to learn, and while it might seem like he was scamming the players, that was not the case. It was important to note that obtaining a slight advantage in the early stages would enable one to snowball and grow stronger.

In other words, Han Xiao allowed the LV 10 players to acquire the skills that were only available at LV 20. This way, his actions were equivalent to a win-win situation.

Not only did he earn extraordinary amounts of EXP, he also enabled the Chinese players to gain an advantage over other planets' players.

Perfect.

Han Xiao was pleased with his plan. Why would he scam the players? All those perceptions were people's prejudices and misunderstandings toward him. He really loved his motherland; thinking back to the past when his father almost named him Patriotic Xiao, but under the authority of the tigress in the house, his father changed to his current name, Han Xiao.

[Energy Training Technique] required 10,000 EXP to learn, and the thought of the potential profits made his heart beat wildly. Only when the players advance for the first time would he then be able to impart [Energy Training Technique] and reap the profits. This was kind of a reckless deal; he would take whatever he could. Looking at the player's degree of enthusiasm, Han Xiao felt that the EXP he received in Version 1.0 would be an astronomical number.

While he was busy with the Western Continent novice village, Bun-hit-dog finally released the first episode in the forum.

Galaxy's Exploration Journal: Black Phantom (1)

…

Bun-hit-dog had a bit of a reputation, and the moment the video was released, his die-hard fans and curious passersby immediately clicked into it.

"Finally, this should be spicy!"

"A surprise release!"

"The subject is Black Phantom. Is Bun-hit-dog on his team now?"

The program was released in the forum's video section. The forum was not for tasteless gossiping only—it had other functions. In order to allow the players to pass the time while playing the game, the video traffic was huge, and with the addition of old viewers watching, the number of viewers increased quite a lot.

The opening titles consisted of the promo edit and some screenshots of the scenery before the video began. The first thing that appeared was the third person's perspective of Bun-hit-dog. This was the game's pre-installed viewing function, which could also be used to examine the exterior. The background was Black Pine Settlement. Bun-hit-dog waved in the direction of the camera, and his opening line was a soliloquy.

"The everlasting world produced Yin and Yang, the Yin and Yang that comes of all living things. The country's benefits are at the cost of my life, and every moment of spring is precious. Welcome to Galaxy's Exploration Journal, I am Bun-hit-dog."

The barrage was filled with ridicule.

"What is this dumb soliloquy‽"

"I read a line of the poem at that time, if…"

"How confident I am in unifying my country is just like how the sun rises from the East, divine toad requires a thousand years to learn!"

Bun-hit-dog continued in the show. "There hasn't been a new upload in a long time. Being the first episode of the Galaxy series, I'll video a character's perspective and let everyone have a taste of my expedition. This character left a lot of impressions on the players—Mechanic Master, Novice Leader, Mysterious NPC, Secret Quest. Presumably, the audience in front of the screen is curious about the identity of this character. That's right, he is the person in the title—Black Phantom!"

"Wow, awkward talking time, I salute you!"

"Finally…"

"That's what we came for!"

The lens switched over to show Bun-hit-dog's perspective. The official content began now.

The video content consisted of clips recorded by Bun-hit-dog, and it became different segments after rounds of editing. The special effects and the narration were then added on later. Bun-hit-dog used a humorous style, explaining the first encounter with Han Xiao where Han Xiao resisted a pack of wolves in Green Valley Ville and stopped the confrontation between two warlords. Bun-hit-dog showed the first person's point of view while the narration began to analyze Han Xiao's influence.

"In one sentence, Black Phantom exhibited his influence by moving the two warlords away with just his words. Before I begin with the analysis, I would like to introduce the identities of the two warlords…" The scene changed and arrived at Black Pine Settlement. Bun-hit-dog introduced Lu Cheng, who was the leader of this large-scale settlement. He possessed a huge army and tons of war chariots. Then, the topic changed.

"Lu Cheng possesses such great power, yet he was afraid of Black Phantom. Then, where exactly did Black Phantom's influence originate from? Listen carefully to what I, Brother Bun, have to say." He used Lu Cheng as bait to further the intrigue the audience had toward Black Phantom. The results were outstanding.

Frenzied Sword acted as an esteemed guest and appeared on this show. He analyzed Han Xiao's identity in their conversation and slowly touched the tip of the iceberg of Han Xiao's mysterious origins.

First, both revealed Black Phantom's name, which seemed to be Han Xiao. Initially, in Stardragon Intelligence Agency, this was information that no one knew of, and in a flash, it captured everyone's attention. The barrage became very sparse, and everyone was reading the content seriously.

Frenzied Sword had sucked up to Han Xiao during the beta-testing, but he was unaware of Han Xiao's real identity. He only understood that Black Phantom belonged to Six Nations' side. However, due to some reason, Black Phantom left Stardragon and joined the two organizations, the Dark Net and the Blood Pact Society. This information came from the [Extremely Fatal] powerful enemy—Liu Cheng. Even though he did not know the particulars of these two powers, he knew that they were huge backers, and they belonged to the high-ranking powers that players were unable to interact with currently. They were also among Black Phantom's origin.

Bun-hit-dog and Frenzied Sword also thought that the crucial reason that people were afraid of Black Phantom was because of his capability. With the players' current rank, they were unable to see the high-ranking characters' exact stats. However, they had witnessed Han Xiao killing other [Extremely Fatal] NPCs more than once, and based on that, they felt among the NPCs, Black Phantom's capabilities were at the peak!

Becoming enemies with Germinal was Black Phantom's current biggest displayed goal. Due to the lack of clues, they were unable to understand the reason behind Black Phantom and Germinal's conflict. Frenzied Sword actually divulged the situation of the beta-testing. From beta-testing to public-testing, the game went through more than three months, and Han Xiao had taken on a new persona and become Black Phantom. The moment this information was released, it immediately evoked the audience's curiosity.

What exactly did he experience that made him the Black Phantom today?

Everything was just assumptions without evidence. The show was unclear, and Bun-hit-dog's real intention was to toss out this question to act as the show's hook to attract the audience's curiosity.

Continuing on, Bun-hit-dog and Frenzied Sword discussed the Black Phantom's actions of scouring novice villages and agreed that this was decisive evidence that Black Phantom was a novice leader. After twenty or so days of amusement, the players realized that the NPC's actions and thoughts were very 'real', and Black Phantom would shock players consistently. For what reason would the Black Phantom interact with the players frequently and also involve himself in obvious plans? There had to be a reason, yet the show only mentioned it in passing.

Bun-hit-dog expressed that both he and Frenzied Sword had triggered Black Phantom's secret quest, proving that he was able to shadow and report on Black Phantom. Also, he conveniently introduced all kinds of material benefits that they had received from Black Phantom, showing the scene where Han Xiao gifted Frenzied Sword two high quality firearms. They also followed Black Phantom and arrived at Black Pine, a map that was higher-ranked than a novice village and would issue missions with generous rewards.

The barrage was full of the material benefits being flaunted and the audience envied them to no end. Those who were able to trigger Black Phantom's secret quests were the luckiest people!

"To hell with you, bastard!"

"Sigh…"

"I heard that holding your breath allows you to take in some of that luck. I…"

During the show's ending, Bun-hit-dog said, "Black Phantom's series currently only has one episode. The next episode might be of other content. After all, Frenzied Sword and I have been left behind in Black Pine. However, you don't have to worry. I'll continue to pursue and explore Black Phantom's past life. Until then, I'll see all you Dog Viewers in the next episode!"

The audience, who finished the episode in one breath, had just one thought.

Exciting!

The scene was Bun-hit-dog's first-person perspective of exploring while the side explanation cut into Black Phantom's angle, which introduced a lot of information that ordinary people were unclear of. It tossed out a lot of the world's background and knowledge, and this answered many perplexing problems.

Furthermore, the style was relaxed, and the content was mind-blowing. It provided all kinds of interesting assumptions, and the audience was fully satisfied. They went on to recommend it on other forums, allowing more players to join in.

The subject matter of Bun-hit-dog's first episode was well-chosen. Coincidentally, it was when Han Xiao visited the Western Continent and allowed everyone to know of his existence. It was a hot topic; Bun-hit-dog's video became extremely popular, and the viewer count surged.

The first episode went completely viral!

Bun-hit-dog was pleasantly surprised. His choice of this episode's subject proved to be a correct decision.

The video became popular because of Han Xiao's popularity, and not only that, it added greatly to Han Xiao's reputation.

Everyone's impression of Han Xiao in their hearts gradually moved from a Mysterious Merchant and Skills Trainer to an influential NPC. Guessing his origin gradually became an everyday topic.

Chapter 170: Trading Storm 1

Other than the reconciliation of interests, some players had another mindset toward NPCs, which was admiration and adherence. This mindset came from the love toward a certain character, the popularity of the character, or players being fascinated by what the character had been through, which formed a group of fans for these NPCs. The classic examples of these are 'Dragonborn', 'Chloe von Einzbern', 'Medivh', 'One Punch Man', 'Kratos', etc.

By gaining admiration and love from players, the players might behave in a biased way toward the characters when making certain decisions, such as refusing to accept missions from the enemy camp or following popular NPCs to war. Ladies, weirdos, and overly powerful characters had congenital advantages in such things—Han Xiao was confident in that.

However, without real benefits, this kind of relationship based solely on admiration would not have any real meaning. To have players fight for him, perks and benefits were a crucial requirement. He knows how the players behaved; they might help out an NPC out of enjoyment, but only for a short period and would leave sooner or later if the player did not get any benefits from it.

Luckily, his plan consisted of both benefits and popularity, killing two birds with one stone.

Han Xiao has also watched Bun-hit-dog's video, which was exactly what he had hoped for—to gain the curiosity and interest of players by sending out a video with some clues in it.

The information flow between players and NPCs was restricted; they both had a different set of intelligence at hand, so leaking out his real name was not an issue.

The Germinal Organization knew that he was Zero and might even know the original name of his body, Han Xiao, but they did not know he was Black Phantom and Han Xiao

Stardragon knew that he was Han Xiao and Zero, but they were not sure if he was Black Phantom.

Players knew that he was Black Phantom, his name was Han Xiao, and he served the Stardragon before, but they did not know he was Zero.

Oh, players have yet to receive any information on 'Zero'.

Dark Net only knew him as Black Phantom.

Every organization only had a fraction of the information, and if his true identity was exposed one day, he would just have to change his face, and nothing would happen. He could even increase his legendary level by the time he was strong enough and choose to reveal all his identities.

Since the official launch, Han Xiao's name had always been on the top of the Planet Aquamarine forums, which made him quite well known. Just like celebrities, the more people that knew him, the easier it was for him to strengthen his impression on people.

The situation was going great for him, from what he had done and the help of various videos, his popularity was continually growing at a fast pace. But Han Xiao always has the habit of planning ahead. He had already started to feel an imaginary ceiling on the path of his increasing popularity.

Although the functionality of the game was praised by the players, it lacked interactive storylines, and the only way that could make players actively want to interact with him was through the main storyline. Therefore, Han Xiao decided to take on one of the main storylines from Bennett.

After going to two more novice villages, Han Xiao decided to take some time off so that the players could get some money, and he could have some time for himself to do other stuff. At the top of his 'to do' list would be to get the Bonfire Mini Reaction Furnace.

He called Lei Zhenyu to ask where the seller wanted to carry out the deal, and he gave him the seller's number

"Greetings," the person on the phone said. It was an electrical generated fake voice, so he could not figure out the age nor the gender—it was very confidential.

"How are we going to carry out the deal?" Han Xiao was very straight to the point.

"In three days. In a moment, I will send you the location. Bring your money, and I will bring the stuff," the person said.

"Okay, I will get one of my men to carry out the deal," Han Xiao replied.

Ten seconds after hanging up the call, Han Xiao received a message.

'Severus, the city near the border of Ordina.'

…

Financial organizations and families were deeply rooted in Ordina, so it was filled with competition and very clear class differentiation, as the country's policies were focused on the elites. Every city felt grand and solemn, and the regular rainfall created a light fog that made it look gloomy.

It was drizzling in Severus. The weather was damp and bleak, which suited the atmosphere of the city.

In a residential flat that had been made into a surveillance room that was connected to every traffic cam within three streets, a dozen or so men wearing black were busy doing something. Some were checking on the guns, some were looking at the surveillance screens, and some were going through the intelligence.

This was an intelligence action group in Ordina, together with six other action groups, which locked down three more areas nearby.

The agents gathered around to capture an escaped criminal who had stolen classified country intelligence. The target had been on the run for many years, and they had finally found a lead that he would appear in Severus to carry out a deal with a third party.

The intelligence source was trustworthy; it had come directly from the information division. They had hacked into countless phone lines and were able to pick out a few that were suspected of being important calls from the target.

"Continue your surveillance. Snipers get ready; take down the target once he meets the dealer. The higher-ups suspect that the target is dealing with a political finance organization, so we need evidence," the leader of the mission said through their earpiece. "The target is quite crafty. You're our last level of insurance Mr. Mag. Please be ready to act at all times."

"Yes," he replied in a very cold tone.

Mag was one of Ordina's aces; his position was similar to Mo Ran's. The fact that even he had been sent to ensure the completion of the mission showed how important this mission was to Ordina.

…

Airplanes were not allowed to dock at Ordina; therefore, Han Xiao traveled by Electromagnetic Hover-boots for a day after alighting to reach Severus.

Wanderers entering the city formed a long queue at the border of Severus while the soldiers of Ordina were patrolling the area. Their equipment was more refined than that of Stardragon, and their expressions were covered by a tactical mask.

Everyone was silent in the team, with the only sound coming from their footsteps.

The deal will be carried out in Severus, Han Xiao thought to himself. He had already changed his clothes and appearance, but his equipment was still with him. He would be looking for a beating if he went in the official way, so he had to be smuggled in.

With enough money and threatening from his gun, the smuggling process was smooth. Just like mankind never being able to kill all cockroaches, there would always be such smugglers no matter how tight security was at the border.

…

Han Xiao's clothing covered him from head to toe as he had to hide his equipment, and he carried a large backpack with his guns.

Light rain poured on his raincoat, and hiding under the cap was a different face that Han Xiao had changed into. The reminder from Antonio made sense, and he did not want to mess up this deal, so there was no way he would've appeared with the face of Black Phantom or his true face.

The location was a cafe at the side of the road, seat seven.

As the buyer, if he did not arrive first, the seller might not even appear. Therefore, he sat at seat seven and looked around the cafe.

The radio was playing slow music, and he could see the fog outside the windows, it was quite soothing. Half of the seats were filled; some were drinking quietly, and the others were looking at the newspaper or their laptop. The arrival of Han Xiao did not attract any attention, and they carried on doing what they were doing.

It was normal and peaceful.

Han Xiao called the server and ordered a cup of coffee while waiting for the seller.

He looked out the floor-to-ceiling window. People who seemed to be rushing home passed by quickly from time to time while carrying their umbrellas, and a few men at the other side of the road were hiding from the rain while playing with their phones. The drizzling rain fell from the ceiling and formed a puddle at the side of the street.

Han Xiao looked normal as he lowered his head to sip his coffee, but he had noticed something unusual.

The guy reading newspaper sitting three seats away is breathing heavily and has a much higher heartbeat rate than normal. The woman drinking coffee at the bar is sweating at the side of her head. The man that passed by the floor-to-ceiling window had a very steady pace but slowed down on purpose for 30% when he passed by the window. The second person from the left hiding from the rain is stamping the floor with the back of his feet, which is a sign of worry and nervousness, Han Xiao thought.

At LV 55, his senses were at a very high level. Through the tiny details of movement and expression of normal people, he was able to figure out their emotional state.

Someone is monitoring the café—seller or third party? Could I be the target? I don't think I've messed with anyone in Ordina…

The interface showed up when he notices the monitors.

_____________________

[You have triggered the D ranked mission [Dragged in]]

Mission Introduction: The mysterious seller you're having a deal with is an outlaw of Ordina. Your deal with him has diverged. Unlucky for you, you're now also under surveillance, dragged into a storm that does not concern you.

Mission Requirement: Run away from Ordina's pursuit.

Reward: 65,000 experience

Bonus Reward: Unknown

_____________________

I have been so damn unlucky recently. Han Xiao was upset. All he wanted to do was get the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace, but it seemed like he was now involved in a rather serious event. Could things not just be peaceful and easier for him?

The item was very important to Han Xiao; it was the core of mechanical suit. He did not want to give it up just because of a small risk. He was already involved anyways, and even if he left right now, they would still have their eyes on him, so he decided to stay put for the moment and react accordingly.

Chapter 171: Trading Storm 2

After a few minutes of waiting, a man wearing a pair of sunglasses, a hat, a dark green coat, and a scarf covering the lower half of his face came into the cafe and sat opposite Han Xiao. He placed the metal suitcase that he was carrying on the table, looked at Han Xiao, and did not say a word.

The seller knew that the buyer was Black Phantom, but Han Xiao was using a different face.

Han Xiao and the seller stared at each other for a while and confirmed the other party's identity in silence—strangers would not have stared at each other for this long without saying a word. The seller entered the passcode and turned the open suitcase toward Han Xiao.

Inside the suitcase was a doughnut-shaped small device with its wires exposed outside. The exterior was coated in metal, with an intruding cylinder in the cross section and dim red lights flashing through the gaps. This was the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace, an energy core that was able to generate electricity automatically from solar and condensed fuel. It was also a piece of superhuman equipment as energy could be turned into fuel as a power source.

A rechargeable battery was a core material for mechanical suits; it eliminated the need and trouble of battery supplies.

Just imagine having to change batteries in the middle of a fight.

Han Xiao confirmed it was the real thing with his hands, took out his laptop, sent the money to the seller in a flash, and immediately said, "Run!"

Without waiting for the seller's reaction, Han Xiao shoved the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace into his backpack and stood up suddenly, he took out his Berserk Eagle and shot many times at the people that he had previously confirmed to be monitoring him.

Ordina agents took action as soon as the deal was completed, but Han Xiao was a second quicker, he had the upper hand!

The firepower within ten meters from a gun with such high caliber was comparable to a sniper, so all the monitoring agents who got shot flew backwards.

Although the agents were well trained and wore bulletproof vests, they were just normal soldiers. On the other hand, Han Xiao was a LV 55 Mechanic, so his guns were strengthened, and he had all kinds of skills that further increased their power. One shot was enough to make the agents lose their fighting ability and put them in a critically injured state.

Without any hesitation, the seller broke through the floor-to-ceiling window and ran with all his might. He was a superhuman, too, as he covered a few meters each step he took.

To divert the numbers of the enemy, Han Xiao ran in another direction.

"Damn it, who is this buyer!" The Ordina mission commander burst into a rage as he did not expect the buyer to be strong enough to notice the danger beforehand. This had caused the plan to be interrupted. He ordered the agents and the soldiers to split up to chase them separately.

Han Xiao splashed water across the streets as he dashed across the puddles with high speed.

As countless footsteps closed in on Han Xiao, agents appeared from the streets around and started shooting at him. The people on the street ran away screaming.

The magnetically-controlled retractable armor that Han Xiao had just equipped reflected the bullets away. He slid across the battlefield with a gun in both hands and shot at any agent who exposed their head. Naturally, he did not miss a single shot.

Suddenly, Han Xiao felt a pull on his feet. He looked down and saw something water-like wrapping around his calf, slowing down his speed.

Glancing at the information of the enemy on the interface, Han Xiao saw that it was an Esper around LV 30.

As Han Xiao's speed slowed down, two Pugilist agents used the opportunity to dash out from the roadside and started attacking him with energy covered fists and legs.

The flames vaporized the rain and created a white fog, which obstructed the view of the agents.

Han Xiao has no intention of fighting in Ordina against their own agents, so he tore apart the water wrapped around his calves by turning his Electromagnetic Hover-boots to full capacity and backed away from the enemy Esper controlled area as quickly as he could.

It was at this moment that he heard the sound of engines as two enormous black police vehicles dashed out from the intersection. The vehicles splashed the water in an arc with a drift and stopped in front of Han Xiao, facing him sideways and blocking the path.

High caliber guns extended out from inside the windows as they rolled down and shot Han Xiao at the same time. The firepower was so strong that it created sparkles out of the muzzle for an astonishing half meter.

As the bullets expanded in his sight, Han Xiao got hit head-on. These guns were high caliber assault rifles, and some of them were shotguns that had knock-back effects. Although he had armor on, he still stumbled from the bullets.

Information of the enemies appeared on the interface; they were Ordina's Special Operations Unit.

Han Xiao made a sharp change in direction and slid over the roofs of the two vehicles with his Electromagnetic Hover-boots. The soldiers in the vehicles alighted hastily to fire at him, but the bullets could not catch up to him and left a trail of holes on the walls of the building. Han Xiao took out a sonic grenade, pulled out the pin with his teeth, and threw it in between the vehicles.

The soldiers split out hurriedly, trying to find cover, but the sound waves from the sonic boom were not obstructed by their cover. The force spread out, and the entire special units fainted immediately. Han Xiao burst their tires and left at a stroll.

Ordina had a lot of men around the area. No matter how Han Xiao tried to get rid of the pursuit, there will always be another car at the front of his path. He shot down the traffic cams, took detours, used his Electromagnetic Hover-boots to climb over walls and buildings, outran the soldiers time and time again, but there were always cars stopping him.

How were they able to always find me? Han Xiao thought, then suddenly, he realized something. As he turned back to look up the sky while sliding, he discovered three drones that were following him. No wonder they knew where he was!

He took out Red Falcon and shot them down with one bullet each.

Ordina's mission commander bashed the table in anger. The other team had already lost the seller. Han Xiao was the only target left, but he was too difficult for his men to catch.

"Mag, take him down!"

…

Having successfully escaped from the last few cars, Han Xiao jumped across the gaps between buildings and looked for a hidden place to change his face and clothes. Suddenly, bullets from a shotgun exploded on his back as smoke and flames broke out.

Han Xiao got knocked straight into the wall, and shattered bricks fell to the floor.

The close range explosion had made Han Xiao lose his hearing for a little. He got rid of the dust on his head and looked up with a frown. A man was standing at the top of a building. He had all kinds of equipment on him—a bulletproof vest, waterproof clip belts, four handguns around his waist and thighs, a sniper rifle and two different assault rifles hanging behind his back, and a shotgun in his hands with smoke coming out of the muzzle.

The damage from one shot exceeded the damage of common firearms. Han Xiao looked at the interface, and surprise appeared on his face.

A Cannon Master?

_____________________

You have entered combat. You have received the following information.

_____________________

Mag · Lesley

Level: 56

Class: [Agent Lv10], [Elite Agent Lv9], [Eagle-Eye Shooter Lv11], [Novice Mechanic Lv10], [Cannon Master Apprentice Lv10], [Cannon Master Trainee Lv6]

Attributes: 54 STR, 131 DEX, 65 END, 146 INT, 17 MYS, 11 CHA, 13 LUK.

Health: 1900/1900

Stamina: 940

Energy: 1230

Abilities:

- Well Trained: +100 Health

- Strengthened Body: +400 Heath, +4% Abnormality Resistance

- Sharp Eyesight: Increased field of vision, +20% Accuracy, +13% Ranged Critical Chance

- Mechanical Professional: +18% Damage When Using Mechanical Weapon

- Gun Master: +1% Ranged Damage per 5 Dexterity

Skills:

[Explosive Shooting Lv5]

[Moving Snipe Lv4]

[Cannons and Flames Lv2]

[Pouring Ammunition Lv3]

[Basic Shooting Lv10]

[Accurate Shooting Lv8]

[Suppressed fire Lv5]

[Eagle-Eye Target Lock Lv1]

[Intermediate Machinery Affinity Lv8]

[Extra Clip Capacity Lv5]

Equipment:

[RX-108 Assault Rifle]

Grade: White

Damage: 41 – 48

Fire Rate: 5.6/s

Active Range: 380m

Clip Capacity: 30

Power Output: 41

["Butcher" Assault Rifle]

Grade: Green

Damage: 71 – 85

Fire Rate: 3.4/s

Maximum Fire Rate: 5.7/s

Active Range: 350m

Clip Capacity: 24

Power Output: 49

["Tiger Claw" Shotgun]

Grade: Green

Damage: 20 – 187

Fire Rate: 1.5/s

Maximum Damage Range: 10m, damage decreases as range increases

Clip Capacity: 8

Power Output: 48

[Synthetic Ceramic Bulletproof Vest]

Grade: Green

Ranged Defense: 24 – 26

Durability: 560

[Pox Handgun]

Grade: While

Damage: 34 – 40

Fire Rate: 2.5/s

Active Range: 80m

Clip Capacity: 12

Power Output: 28

[Grappling Hook Gun]

Description: Shoots a grappling hook

Range: 20m

Chapter 172: One of My Men

Mag was a Cannon Master, a second-tier class of the basic Mechanic class with very high damage. The better the weapon was, the greater the advantage they had. This was the first time that Han Xiao had fought a high-level enemy of his own class.

Every meter from a Cannon Master was a wall of obstruction, and the enemy was at the top of the building while Han Xiao was at the ground.

In the blink of an eye, Han Xiao completed the analysis of the situation, the enemy, the nearby terrain, and the escape route.

Cannon Master, level 56, high damage but low HP. I have one chance of dealing explosively high damage, but killing him will not be easy. Their backup will arrive in no time if I'm stalled, and I don't have enough supplies to deal with an outnumbered fight. I need to use the opportunity created by damaging him to escape, Han Xiao thought.

Blue lights flashed from his shoes, and he slid away.

"Trying to run?" Mag remained expressionless as Han Xiao ran away. He had noticed much earlier that the speed Han Xiao had was from his shoes, so he used his RX-108 assault rifle and shot with high accuracy. He knew that Han Xiao would not be able to escape if his shoes were broken.

However, a piece of magnetically-controlled retractable armor quickly covered the shoes and blocked the bullets.

That was close. Han Xiao was shocked. Luckily, he had been prepared and was able to react in time. Had his shoes been destroyed, the difficulty to escape would have been many times higher. Being attacked and not fighting back was not Han Xiao's style. Whilst tactically retreating, he fired back at Mag with high accuracy on par with the latter, and three high caliber bullets hit Mag's chest. Physical fitness was not Mag's strength, and he could barely handle the power from the bullets. He endured the pain and followed after Han Xiao using his Grappling Hook Gun to move between buildings.

Mag had an advantage of having the high ground, so he used [Explosive Shooting] with his Tiger Claw shotgun and fired another shot at Han Xiao. The force of the explosion knocked Han Xiao into the wall once again.

Before Han Xiao could pull himself out of the wall, he felt a sense of danger and immediately covered his entire body with armor.

Mag stood on the ceiling with one assault rifle in each hand. He used [Moving Snipe] and [Pouring Ammunition] at the same time. The increased fire rate from both skills together turned the bullets into a storm raining down on Han Xiao, keeping him stuck on the wall. The holes in the wall turned to waves of dust, and the cracks grew even larger.

"He should be almost dead." Mag was confident, this round of explosive damage that he had dealt with the combination of abilities and hundreds of bullets should have left the target almost dead, if not dead.

Dust filled the air and blocked the view inside the pit.

Hum—

A loud and weird sound appeared.

Suddenly, an invisible force field exploded on the wall, pushing away the rain and bullets, creating an area of empty space.

Field Repulsive Machine!

Using the repulsion from the machine, Han Xiao jumped out of the pit and remained stagnant in the air for a short moment. He held up the Phantom Ghost Sniper with one hand and aimed at Mag from afar, locking onto his position.

Time seemed to have slowed down.

Mag felt a chill down his spine. The gun gave him a piercing sense of coldness, and his intuition told him that it was extremely deadly. He tried to dodge as soon as he could, but Han Xiao fired his shot before he could dodge fully.

In the flash of blue light, Mag felt an irresistible force bursting on his chest. He was knocked into the air and rolled to the other side of the roof, barely grabbing the edge of the rooftop in the last second before falling down.

The pain from his chest hurt like hell. He looked down and saw a bloody hole on his right chest that penetrated his body through the bulletproof vest. Blood was gushing from within.

He shot through my lung… Mag was sweating heavily from the pain of the wound. Every time he took a breath, it felt like a knife was carving back and forth in his lung. He was shocked and frightened; the power from this shot was stronger than one of his even when he was at peak performance!

Where the hell did this extremely strong guy come from? And who was he? His explosive power was even superior to the Ace of Ordina, but Mag had never seen him before!

Had Mag not dodged, the bullet would have hit his eye.

He had ended up in this state even with a bulletproof vest. If he had been even half a second slower when he dodged…

Mag's fear toward Han Xiao peaked.

_____________________

You destroyed Mag • Lesley's [Synthetic Ceramic Bulletproof Vest].

You dealt 772 points of damage to Mag • Lesley.

Mag • Lesley has entered Moderate Bleeding state, losing 5 health/s for 60s.

Mag • Lesley has entered Penetrated Lung state, -10% Dexterity, -15% Movement Speed.

_____________________

This explosive shot was used with [Flaming Will] and [Overload], so the damage was frightening.

Han Xiao took a deep breath. For the first time, his Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor was close to being destroyed; the damage from Mag's storm of bullets had decreased it's durability to the alarming zone of 100 points. If he had still been wearing the first version of it without all the improvements that he had made, it would have been destroyed.

Cannon Masters were known for their firepower. If Mag could get better firearms, his damage would have further increased.

To Mag, the fact that Han Xiao was still standing after all the bullets he had fired was already quite unbelievable.

If Han Xiao were to stay and continue the fight, he would almost certainly win, but he heard the engines from afar—their backup was here.

This is Ordina's territory. I'll be outnumbered easily by their countless men. Mag already knew my explosive damage, so his plan from now on will definitely be stalling me. I have already got my thing, so there's no need for me to stay and fight. Running away now is the priority, Han Xiao thought to himself and retreated without hesitation.

Mag was still horrified by that shot from Han Xiao, so he acted with a lot of caution, firing a few shots and hiding into cover straight after. He seemed like a different man.

Han Xiao's pressure decreased tremendously. While Mag was being cautious, he used [Overload] on his skating shoes, accelerating rapidly in a split second and disappearing from Mag's sights.

Mag lost Han Xiao completely in the complicated streets of the city. He called his colleagues instantly to check on the cameras in the city, but Han Xiao was nowhere to be found. It was like he had vaporized.

The mission target was the seller, who was experienced in escaping after so many years of being chased, and because this buyer reminded the seller a second earlier, he had found a chance to escape from the agents. Thus, Mag could only go after the buyer, but despite being the Ace, not only did he not catch the target, he was even badly damaged. Anger and dismay filled his chest; failing the mission was like a slap on his face.

Ordina agents started searching the area, which expectedly lead to no result. They could only pass their recorded fighting video to the intelligence unit for analysis. However, although they did not have any hope that doing this would give them any valuable information, they surprisingly found someone who's fighting style was the same as the buyer's.

Black Phantom!

"They look completely different, but he might have worn a skin mask."

"It all makes sense now. Only Black Phantom could disappear like a ghost!"

In the action command room, Mag was being treated by the doctor. His face was gloomy. He had heard of Black Phantom before, but as an Ace agent of an intelligence organization, he had looked down on assassins like Black Phantom. However, through this accidental clash with Black Phantom, despite being the pursuer, he had been defeated and critically damaged, unable to even follow the target. Mag felt ashamed.

No wonder he is a legend. The action commander did not blame Mag as failure was not unacceptable when the opponent was Black Phantom. The question was, why did Black Phantom come to the Western Continent? Did he have a deal with the outlaw they were following?

Ordina's intelligence unit took the appearance of Black Phantom very seriously. They opened a meeting and told the hacker unit to play with the source of this information, which was the short call Han Xiao had with the seller about the deal location.

"Greetings."

"How are we going to carry out the deal?"

"In three days. In a moment, I will send you the location. Bring your money, and I will bring the stuff."

"Okay, I will get one of my men to carry out the deal."

The last sentence was the key. The person that the buyer sent was astonishingly Black Phantom, which meant that the identity of the buyer was clear!

Chapter 173: You Can't See Me

After running away from Mag's sights, Han Xiao turned back to the direction that he had come from where the surveillance cameras were destroyed. He changed his clothes and the face on the skin mask, dived into the crowd, and escaped successfully.

He headed to the border, and just as he expected, the border was locked down as special operation units and scouts searched everyone who passed by.

Aren't I so unlucky, getting into a fight with agents when I just wanted to buy some equipment? It seemed Antonio's words had become the truth. He really met people from Ordina's intelligence organization.

Their ability to extract information was undoubted, Han Xiao figured they would probably be able to sniff out that he was Black Phantom from his fighting style. Well, he had no choice since he was running for his life. Of course he had to not held back, or he would have been dead.

Why is it so tough to just keep a low profile? Han Xiao sighed. Exposing his identity was not going to affect him since nobody really knew who he was, but he felt like someone got into trouble because of that. Never mind, it was a small issue anyways.

At least Han Xiao got the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace, he was contented.

Han Xiao knew where human smuggler was. The border being locked down would not obstruct him from smuggling himself out. Although the price increased, it was acceptable to him.

…

After going to a rural area in Severus and smuggling himself out of the city, one hour had already passed.

The rain had stopped. Replacing the clouds and fog, the sky was sunny and bright.

While on the road with his Hover-shoes, Han Xiao's phone suddenly rang. It was from Bennett.

"Why did the Ordina intelligence organization call the higher-ups of my organization, asking for an explanation and even compensation‽ What the hell did you do on the Western Continent‽"

Bennet was at a loss for words; it felt like misfortune just fell down onto him from the sky out of nowhere.

Ordina showed him the evidence, which was the recording of the phone call, and Bennett could easily tell that the voice of the buyer was clearly Han Xiao.

Who in the world would say "Okay, I will send one of my men over" then go over himself‽ Even if you want to confuse others, at least don't fight in such an obvious and unique style!

It's very misleading you as*hole!

"Well, it was supposed to hide my identity, but it seems like that didn't work. Anyways, don't worry, it's not a big issue. I only fought some Ordina people, beat up a few agents, and destroyed some a few building, nothing much. The people of Ordina were quite welcoming. By the way, the weather here is not good at all; it keeps raining and feels really gloomy. It's not like the Southern Continent, where it feels like spring and is very comfortable. I prefer Southern Continent's weather much more"

Bennett was stunned. "How did you change the topic so naturally to talk about the weather? Could your skills to change topic be any worse?"

Han Xiao laughed it off and said, "It was an accident, that's all. I've got something to attend to, got to go."

"You as*ho—"

Han Xiao hung up the call quickly before Bennett finished the sentence. Whew—That was definitely a misstep. Didn't expect Ordina to be this angry. Did they really have to be?

_____________________

[Dragged In] Completed

You received 65,000 experience.

You completed the hidden requirement—stop Mag and help the mysterious seller to escape within three minutes.

_____________________

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and thought, So, this is the hidden requirement. Luckily, I didn't leave the seller behind.

He had actually come up with two plans at the time, one was to not do anything and let the seller attract the attention of Ordina since he was not the target anyway. But he went with the other plan, which was to warn the seller.

Looks like I made the right choice. Han Xiao had a smile on his face. He had hoped the reward to not be experience anymore. Since there were already players, he was not in need of it.

_____________________

You received bonus rewards.

Character Summon Card: Dion.

LV 30 Special Dungeon Crystal, [Olayna Infiltration Plan]

+30 Relationship with Dion. Trading is now available.

_____________________

Dion? Han Xiao remembered with joy after thinking back for some time. Dion was a mysterious NPC on Planet Aquamarine; he was part of a hidden organization that kept a very low profile. Dion sold all sorts of rare supplies. He was like a hidden store, and there was no fixed mission for players to meet him. They had to pray to the Goddess of Fortune.

And even if players had the chance to take on the mission, if they did not fulfill the hidden requirement, they would also miss the opportunity.

So, he was the seller… Han Xiao was a little astonished.

His phone rang again. This time it was from the seller.

"My phone was tapped. I have settled it, so my calls will not expose any more secrets. I dragged you into this. I heard Mag also took part in the mission. If you did not warn me, I might not have been able to escape. I owe you one."

"Since you are calling me, it means you wanted to repay me." Han Xiao acted like it was not a big deal, but he was laughing with happiness on the inside.

"You can call me Dion," the seller said. "Usually I don't do business with new customers, but you're an exception, I will give you 20% off everything".

"Only 20%?" Han Xiao raised his tone. "Can you give a bit more."

Dion was stunned. Should a legendary killer not be more… mysterious? He remained silent for a moment and replied, "20% is a very high discount already."

"Fine," Han Xiao said mockingly.

Not long after, Han Xiao received a message—the item list of Dion's Store. There were many rare items, and some of them were likely even secret research documents of the Six Nations.

There were even high-tier machines, which included the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace and a few nanotechnology machines that he had seen before from Lei Zhenyu, who had also traded with Dion before.

Han Xiao was very delighted. He had a large sum of money earned from the two Novice Villages in Western Continent, which he could spend in any way he wanted to, and he was in need of new parts to build the Mech.

Quickly deciding with a few mechanical items, Han Xiao asked, "How do we make the deal?"

"Through a meetup, but this time at a rural area, in three days' time. I will give you a location, and I will send someone to pass the stuff to you. My identity is rather sensitive, so I will not turn up due to my own safety. Please understand.

Han Xiao was pleased. He only had one step left to finish his Mech, and once he got the materials, he would be able to complete it.

Han Xiao hung up the call and paid close attention to the other two items that were part of the rewards—Character Summoning Card of Dion and a Lv.30 special Dungeon Crystal.

_____________________

Character Summoning Card: Dion

Ability: "You Can't See Me" (D)—Lowers one's sense of existence, making living or non-living things nearby have deviated sense when they are detecting him…

Usages: 0/2

_____________________

It is not an Esper power or pure invisibility but something like a power that adjusts one's self to fit the surroundings. It is a unique power.

It seems to be quite useful, except its name was weird…

Chapter 174: Viper

He looked at the other item.

_____________________

Lv.30 Special Dungeon Crystal—"Olayna" Infiltration Plan

Introduction: Olayna is a secret research lab of Ordina. A few years ago, Dion infiltrated this facility and stole their military secrets, this will be your test.

Dungeon Type: Backwards Time Travel Dungeon

Player Completion Count: 0

Shortest Completion Time: 00:00:00

Record Holders: None

_____________________

The Dungeon Missions only appeared when inside the dungeon. Han Xiao guessed that it would require him to take on the identity of Dion and steal the secret documents just as Dion did.

Using Dungeon Crystal was risky for him, so he kept it unclaimed in the interface, considering selling it to players in the future.

…

Three days later, at the meetup location, two of Dion's man were waiting in masks, carrying the items that Han Xiao had ordered. Han Xiao paid the money and got the things right at the spot; it went smoothly this time.

Going back to the cargo plane, Han Xiao opened the metal suitcase that he had received, which held the materials securely.

U9 Colloidal bulletproof Membrane, its functions had already been mentioned before.

'Nerves' Biological Transmission Cable increased energy efficiency, which led to a higher output. Using it in a mechanical suit would slightly increase its basic stats.

High-Speed Injection Module could be placed inside the mechanical suit to inject some potions, such as healing potion and steroids. He also bought some pain killer.

Han Xiao had studied enough blueprints, and now he had all the materials he needed, so he decided to self-create a mechanical suit.

To prevent distractions, he had the plane parked in a hidden place and stopped all other activists.

…

Five days later, with dark bags under his eyes, Han Xiao looked at the completed suit with a smile of relief.

It's done.

_____________________

The scan is successful. You have successfully created a new prototype blueprint!

Please name the blueprint…

_____________________

Han Xiao contemplated for a while. This light mechanical suit was a knockoff of the Python, but many parts and modules were different from the original, so it suited his needs. He had an idea for a suitable name.

_____________________

Named Successfully, you received customized blueprint [Light Mechanical Suit—Viper]

_____________________

This is a good name. Han Xiao was satisfied.

Viper was a completely black combat suit. There were platinum alloy plates on the outside of chest, belly, thighs, and back. A little below the back of the neck was where the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace was slotted into, emitting a faint red light. Spaces between the armor were filled with U9 Colloidal Bulletproof Membrane, which had very high defensive power.

On the inside of the combat suit was PE-0 fiber that was designed to look like muscle outlines, which increased the user's powers.

The helmet was a one-piece mask made of high breathability materials, which had a filtration device at the mouth made of metal and a "B" shaped protective goggles at the eyes. From the user's perspective, the goggles had technical functions that listed out data scanned and captured from the battlefield.

There were also many weapon modules in the suit.

_____________________

Viper

Type: Single Unit Light Mechanical Combat Suit

Grade: White

Basic Stats:

- Armor 5600/5600

- Defense 137

- Power Level 578

- Energy 2600/2600

Height: 1.82m

Weight: 108 lb

Control Method: Body + Low-Class Smart Chip

Power Source: Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace - Self Charge

Recovers Energy at 20/min

Energy conversion rate from user: 10:6

Stationary Mode Energy Usage: 12/min

Combat Mode Energy Usage: 28/min

Core Power Capacity: 421/600

[Bone Structure Module: PE0 Nanotechnology Fiber]

Biological Muscle Inner Bone

Strengthens muscle when the user moves the body

Hardens muscle under attack

Increases Attributes: STR +38, DEX +25, DEF +12

Power Output: 70

[Armor Plating Module: Platinum Alloy Plate]

Armor +1800

DEF +30

Power Output: None

[Armor Plating Module: U9 Colloidal bulletproof Membrane]

Armor +2400

DEF +45

Power Output: None

[Exterior Module: Optical Camouflage]

Reflects light to achieve invisibility to a certain extent

Power Output: 20

[Eye Module]

Combination of: Electrical Scanning, Thermal Vision, Night Vision

Display information in Technical Hologram Screen

Power Output: 25

[Right-Hand Module: Heating Hand Plate]

Produces a high amount of heat and deals continuous damage

Energy Cost: 1.2/s

Damage Level: 94

Power Output: 50

[Left-Hand Module: As above]

[Right-Wrist Module: Sunworm Mini Flamethrower]

Energy Cost 1/s

Damage Level: 98

Power Output: 50

[Left-Wrist Module: Field Repulsive Machine (Directional)]

Releases repulsive energy in an arc of 150° and 20m.

Cooldown: 30s

Energy Cost: 10 per use

Power Output: 60

[Leg Module: Electrical Hover Boots]

Energy Cost: 5/min

Power Output: 30

[System Module: Body Condition Check]

Power Output: 5

[System Module: Smart Fire Control System]

Aim Assist

Power Output: 5

[System Module: Target Analysis Database]

Power Output: 5

[Subsidiary Module: High-Speed Injection Needle]

Equipped: Pain Killer

Power Output: 10

[Subsidiary Module: Mini Spider Detector] * 8

Power Output: None

[Subsidiary Module: Electromagnetic Pulse Controller]

Applies [Excitement]

All Stats +5%

Duration: 15 mins

Energy Cost: 5 per use

Power Output: 10

[Subsidiary Module: SUI Anti-Radar Coating]

Power Output: None

[Subsidiary Module: Mini-Radar]

Power Output: 18

[Subsidiary Module: Air Filtration Device]

Includes Oxygen Storage Capability, can store up to 15 minutes worth of oxygen.

Power Output: 8

[Subsidiary Module: Thermostat]

Power Output: 10

[Additional Ability: Strong Capability]

During Combat, distributes energy to Biological Muscle Inner Bone,

Increases stats: STR +40, DEX +20

[Additional Ability: Toughness]

Using Platinum Alloy and U9 Colloidal Bulletproof Membrane, gains high resistance against corrosion, high temperature, and other abnormal states.

[Remark: A successful knockoff]

_____________________

Finally, I have completed the mechanical suit. Han Xiao was excited. He had also received close to 20,000 experience from making it.

Viper was mainly used to increase the power of a single person and consisted of generally smaller modules. The power capacity was not full yet, so it could include more modules in the future if Han Xiao so desired.

Viper raised the combat power of Han Xiao to a whole new level, and it did not interfere with him using other guns, grenades, or weapons. This mechanical suit was a second combat tactic, which provided higher survival capabilities and increased all of his stats. If it was in combat mode, it would increase Han Xiao's strength by more than two times.

Han Xiao now had a sniper at long range and mechanical suit at close combat. Furthermore, Viper was lightweight; it could be folded into a suitcase, and Han Xiao had his Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor for when he was not wearing the mechanical suit.

I will have to test out its actual combat capabilities. Han Xiao decided on the next destination—it was where the tragedy of La Potter took place.

What convenient timing—killing the beast BOSS over there was also part of his plan.

…

The tragedy of La Potter occurred in a forbidden zone that was filled with wild beasts. The beasts in the area were strengthened by a mutation virus called 'Death Virus'.

A group of mutated rhinoceroses galloped across the maroon earth. They were enormous and muscular, their bones bulged from the body like an armor, and the cone-shaped horns on their heads were shining like metal.

Above, an anaconda with two pairs of bat wings dashed across the sky toward a corpse. Suddenly, a tiny blue flower beside the corpse turned into a gigantic mouth and swallowed the anaconda whole before turning back to its harmless disguise.

"All the beasts here are mutated."

At the exteriors of the forbidden zone, with serious expressions on their faces, Yan Dian and Ned were analyzing the situation through their binoculars. They were lone superheroes that had taken on a contract to enter the zone and search for a group of civilian explorers. This civilian exploring group had entered the forbidden zone and put themselves in such a dangerous spot all to investigate the source of the virus, which was very noble in the eyes of Yan Dian and Ned. Therefore, they had accepted the contract without hesitation.

"There has always been radiation in La Potter, which is the cause of virus mutation," Ned said.

"From the last location report of the exploration group sent before losing contact, they went missing in a valley that is quite some distance from us."

"There's a lot of unknown danger inside. We'll have to be careful."

In this area, any large transportation tool would become an obvious target both on land and in the sky. Therefore, they walked in on foot as it was the safer option.

Chapter 175: Beast King

On the other side of the forbidden zone, Han Xiao had arrived at his destination. The air was filled with a rotten smell and a hint of poison. The plants on the ground were mutated as well.

The spawn area is a little too huge. I don't know where the Beast King is.

Han Xiao put down the metal suitcase, opened it, and donned the Viper mechanical suit. The hologram display had zooming functions and compiled data collected from many scanning modules, which provided more detailed information on the surroundings. There was also a radar at the top left side of the screen that could detect any signs of life within a radius of 500 meters. By increasing the power output, this radius could be improved to 1,500 meters.

The scanning module had plenty of useful functions. It could analyze the collected data from tiny signs and traces on the ground to determine the source of said traces, and it could also record previously unknown data into the database for future analysis.

The filtration device got rid of the rotten smell in the air. Han Xiao could hear himself breathing inside the suit, and the thermostat made him feel very comfortable in it instead of feeling stuffy.

He brought along some firearms and grenades that were all fixed into respective slots and firing tracks in the suit.

Han Xiao moved around to familiarize himself with the mechanical suit controls, then jumped into the zone with each step covering close to ten meters.

The suit was in standby mode, which used less energy than the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace generated, so the energy was always full.

The radar was active at all times. If it detected any being with strong vital signs, it could be the Beast King, and since the species of Beast King was random, even Han Xiao was uncertain of what species would it be.

After running for five minutes, a dozen or so vital signs appeared on the radar. The view from the hologram screen zoomed in like a sniper scope as Han Xiao gave the suit a voice command. The current controlling mode did not have nerve connection, only voice control for its various functions. The smart chip had voice identification and could analyze simple commands from Han Xiao; no one else could be able to use it.

At a few hundred meters away were a group of more than ten giraffe-like creatures with fearsome bone spurs, which clearly indicated they were not a tamed species. A few of the larger ones raised their necked and looked over to Han Xiao's position; they seemed to have noticed him.

Stealth Mode.

Optical Camouflage was turned on, and the exterior of the mechanical suit turned into the same color as the surroundings like a chameleon. The gaps in the suit was also closed up, not letting out any scent.

The giraffe-like creatures shook their heads around but could not find him, so they lay back down.

If the level of the enemy was high enough, they would have been able to see through the camouflage, but these beasts were clearly far from that level. Han Xiao continued to move forward, searching for the target.

Two hours had gone by, and Han Xiao had already scanned dozens of mutated flora and fauna, which were all stored into the database. He had also fought a few beasts with various levels and vital signs to determine the approximate strength certain vital sign levels presented.

The highest leveled beasts that he had met was a pack of wolf-like beasts at LV 42, which was not his target.

The sun had set, and the night became more dangerous as howling filled the forbidden zone.

If Han Xiao did not have his mechanical suit, the night would have been dangerous to him as well, but Viper's stealth ability was strengthened by the night. It sealed all of his sound and scent and made him as inconspicuous as a rock.

I've yet to find the target, Han Xiao thought. He sat by a large rock and inserted bullets into the clip as he changed the visor mode to night vision. The chance of the Beast King spawning at the heart of the zone, The Ruins of La Potter, was higher, as the closer toward the center, the more beasts there were.

With a voice command, the armor around Han Xiao's calves split open. Inside was a small space that stored the Spider Detectors. He activated them and made them spread out toward the center of the zone. The images captured by them were displayed on his goggles.

Spider Detectors worked in a shaky but rather quick way. After a while, Han Xiao could see the situation of the center zone, which was filled with ferocious looking beasts.

Suddenly, the image from Spider Detector No.1 experienced a slight shake, and loud crashing sounds could be heard from afar. The beasts were then seen all going in the same direction.

Spider Detector No.1 climbed up a long-haired boar and headed toward the same direction. Two Superhumans running for their lives from the beasts appeared in sight. One of them was an Esper who could release white shockwaves from the hands, which was quite powerful and knocked closing beasts back again and again. However, the sound it produced attracted more and more beasts. It was a vicious cycle that only made the situation worse.

There are others who have entered this forbidden zone? Han Xiao raises his eyebrows in surprise.

Right the next moment, a white lion that was five meters tall and more than ten meters long appeared. All the other beasts got out of his way with fear, and those who did not were all dead.

Han Xiao's eyes twinkled. That was most likely the Beast King.

…

Yang Dian and Ned ran with all their might to the extent that their lungs felt like it was burning. Behind them were more than a hundred mutated beasts and an enormous white lion.

"All of this is because of your power. Its sound attracted so many beasts!" Yang Dian said while clenching his teeth in anger.

"Shut up! If not for your carelessness, we could've avoided that pack of wolves! Stop complaining and making useless comments, what should we do now?" Ned said as he released another shockwave, knocking back a few beasts that came too close.

Yang Dian took out his laptop while running to look at the map and said, "We're getting closer to the center of the zone. It's extremely dangerous there, so we have to change direction now!"

They turned hastily. The beasts were chasing closely with the enormous white lion leading ahead. Ned's shockwaves could only stop its movement for a mere second and could not even push it back even the slightest distance. Ned was sweating heavily; he was running out of energy.

This time, a cliff appeared in front. There was a gap on the ground that could only fit a human, and he had to enter sideways.

"Quick! Hide inside!" They were overjoyed.

Suddenly, Ned noticed a huge shadow below him expanding at a fast pace. Turning around with surprise, Ned saw the white lion jump toward him and slam its claws straight down. The wind from the raw power of the beast was so strong that Ned could barely open his eyes or breathe.

"You go first!" Yang Dian shouted as he pushed Ned away. He then punched toward the claw with blue flames wrapping around his arm.

He was a Pugilist that had a stronger physique and could endure more damage than Ned, so he was confident it would not be a problem to block just this one attack.

Fists and claws clashed with each other.

The sound of bones breaking could be heard clearly; Yan Dian's arm was fractured, and a few of his ribs were also broken just from the impact alone. He threw up a mouthful of blood and flew up like a pebble.

Ned quickly pulled him along into the gap between the ground, and the claws followed them the next moment and broke stones into pebbles. Almost… they almost did not make it.

"Such strong raw strength!' Yan Dian's face was twitching from the pain. A strong Pugilist like him had been critically injured by just one hit; the power of this lion was unheard of.

Ned was even more aghast. He knew the power of Yan Dian, but even he could not handle a single hit from the white lion.

They probably would not survive this time.

The beasts surrounded the outside, so they had no other choice but to depend on this gap to live.

Fortunately, the beasts could not enter… for now. They kept scratching the entrance, trying to create a bigger gap. Every time they heard the sound of claws against the rocks, their heartbeat became faster.

Yang Dian took out bandages and ointment to treat the wounds. What they would face next could very well be a death battle. Thus, he had to recover as quickly as possible. Ned was also trying to recover as much energy as possible even it meant he would suffer more injury in the future. All they wished was to get through this.

All of a sudden, the beasts outside gathered tightly and started running toward each other. The white lion let out a loud growl and started killing other beasts. The beasts also started to turn against each other. Blood spilled everywhere, and growling rumbled on continuously.

Chapter 176: Actual Combat with Mechanical Sui

"The beasts started killing each other."

Smiles appeared on their faces as they decided to wait and see.

The beasts fought for more than half an hour, leaving corpses everywhere. The white lion was the final winner. Blood from other beasts had added red to its snowy fur. It stood before the gap and growled at the rest of the beasts, indicating that they were his prey. The beasts backed off and left the prey for the king of the beasts.

The beast herd was gone, but the strongest one of them all, the white lion, was still waiting outside. As it clawed at the hole, the opening became larger, so it would not be long before Yang Dian and Ned had nowhere to hide.

Their hearts sank to the bottom.

Ned bit his lips and said, "Your wounds are too severe. You be the bait, and maybe I can live."

Yang Dian looked at his heavily wounded body and said, "It's true I won't be able to escape. It's better for one to die than both. If you can make it out alive, remember to take care of my family."

"I will. I will raise your child and take care of your wife."

They looked at each other and stayed silent for a moment. Then they both gave a bitter smile.

"Stop talking nonsense. If we're going to die, we'll die together."

Yang Dian stood up in a struggle and said, "We'll use everything we have left."

Ned nodded. White light started lighting up on his hands as he got ready for combat.

Just as they were going to leave and use everything they had, a flash of blue light dashed across the night sky and hit the white lion's left eye. Immediately, it burst into blood. Then they heard the sound of a gunshot.

The white lion roared in anger and sprinted toward the source of the gunshot.

Yang Dian and Ned were stunned, which then turned into excitement.

"Someone's came to help!"

Five hundred meters away, Han Xiao lay prone on the floor with the Ghost sniper rifle, blue light glowing along the circuits on its body.

Through the sniper scope, he saw the white lion rushing toward him with a bloody left eye.

This shot was fired with Flaming Will, which this time it triggered a lucky 2.2 times damage, together with [Overload], vital point, and sneak attack critical damage. The damage was an astonishing 1,800! This was the highest damage Han Xiao had dealt with a single shot.

However, the white lion was still alive and well like it did not affect him. Han Xiao looked at the information on the interface, and as he expected, the white lion was indeed the beast king. Its real name was Mutant White Lion King, LV 56. It had a lot of beast specialty abilities. For instance, it's health was a horrifying amount of more than 18,000, so the shot only too around 10% of its health, as well as a sight loss debuff.

_____________________

Mutant White Lion King

Level: 56

Health: 15724/18700

Status: -50% Field of View, Moderate Bleeding State

Attributes: 135 STR, 126 DEX, 240 END, 30 INT, 22 MYS, 31 CHA, 24 LUK

_____________________

Its attributes were very high, and it had many special abilities, which included one called [Crazed Rage] that largely enhances movement speed, attack speed, and damage as health decreased. An extremely dangerous ability.

This BOSS was supposed to be fought by a team, but Han Xiao was solo. However, with the new mechanical suit, the risk was much lower.

Han Xiao stood up and slid backward while firing with his sniper continuously. Despite wearing Viper, he would not opt for close-range combat. Mixing combat strategies was the right way to go. By using the sniper and mechanical suit at the same time, he could have an advantage in both close-up and ranged combat. The scanning module analyzed the nearby terrain and backed up automatically without Han Xiao having to look back, so he could fully focus on dealing damage.

After kiting for a while, when Han Xiao finished all the clips of Red Falcon and Berserk Eagle, Mutant White Lion King finally closed in to within a hundred meters.

Han Xiao stopped backing up and instead dashed forward to the beast king.

"Switch to Combat Mode!" Han Xiao yelled.

Electricity pumped through the cables. As bright red light shone from the Bonfire Reaction Furnace on his back, muscle fibers in the suit expanded and provided Han Xiao with even more power.

Clenching his fist, Han Xiao could clearly feel the amount of power in the mechanical suit just waiting to be let out; the additional attributes from the suit had more than doubled his STR and DEX.

Yang Dian and Ned saw from afar that Han Xiao was going to face the white lion king head-on.

"Don't fight him at such a close range!" they shouted at Han Xiao in shock.

This mysterious person in the mechanical suit was there to save them—he was their hope. They could remember how easily Yang Dian had been defeated, and this guy might very well end up the same.

Such a small sized human, yet he still chose to face the enormous beast head-on! It was like throwing an egg at a stone—it would have no impact!

The man and the lion crashed against each other. The result was certain in the minds of Yang Dian and Ned. They almost wanted to close their eyes and not see how cruel the end would be for that mysterious man.

But they were wrong. The mysterious man not only did not suffer a tragic loss, but it was the white lion that was growling in pain. The white lion king was knocked back, and half of Han Xiao's body was hammered into the ground. They were unbelievably on par!

Han Xiao had a lighter weight. He had to direct the strength into the ground to not be knocked up. With the leg muscles unleashing their energy, Han Xiao jumped out of the ground and swung his leg onto the white lion's head like a whip. With a loud sound, a ripple appeared in the air.

The white lion's skull changed shape from the power. Its whole body was sent rolling away and smashing onto the ground.

"Oh my god!"

Yang Dian and Ned were completed stunned by what they saw.

Their sizes were more than ten times apart, and that terrifying white lion had just lost to this mysterious person! In strength!

Yang Dian felt his throat going dry. What he had seen was too impactful. Just because he could not do it, did not mean others could not. He had fought with other Pugilists that were stronger than him, and none of them even came close to how strong the White Lion King was. Yet, this mysterious man was even stronger than that.

"What mechanical suit is that? I've never seen that before," Yang Dian said.

Ned's eyes continued staring straight ahead, not sparing Yang Dian a glance. "Could it be a secret research of some giant organization?"

During combat mode, Viper gave an attribute boost of 78 STR and 45 DEX, which made these two attributes of Han Xiao even higher than the White Lion King's. What was even more horrifying was that his [Overload] could further improve the attributes from Viper!

Han Xiao had noticed Yang Dian and Ned much earlier, but since he did not know who they were, he did not bother much about it.

Han Xiao fought the Mutant White Lion King at a very close rage, each of his punches and kicks dealing a high amount of damage. Energy was flowing rapidly from the Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace, and the high amount of armor protected him from White Lion King's attacks.

Only using fists and legs was a total waste on all the functions the mechanical suit had. Han Xiao had turned on the Heating Gloves and Sun Worm and lit the White Lion King's fur on fire, leaving burn marks around his body.

Their fight shook the ground like an earthquake. Even the duo watching from afar could feel it as they spectated the heated fight in awe. Although White Lion King's attacks became strong and faster over time, Han Xiao still had the upper hand. He could avoid most attacks because of how agile he was, and even for those that he did not manage to avoid, they could not penetrate his suit.

The duo intended to help, but they realized that not only were they not able to, they might become a burden even if they tried to help. However, they were not the kind to leave their savior behind, so they stood aside watching helplessly.

Curiosity and amazement of Han Xiao's mechanical suit filled their minds—they had never seen or heard any country that was ever able to make such a strong single unit combat suit with so many functions before.

Planet Aquamarine's progress in mechanical suit research has always lacked behind. Rumor had it that only the country of Theseus had exoskeleton mechanical suit prototypes, but they were heavy and bulky and could not improve the user's physical abilities. However, this mechanical suit was far beyond their knowledge and understanding.

In galactic civilizations, single unit combat suit was standard equipment for soldiers, which reduced the gap between humans and Superhumans, and it was more than a bargain for players.

The Viper was a piece of equipment ahead of its time—it should never have even appeared in front of players in version 1.0. In fact, no mechanical suit was supposed to have been created in version 1.0 and definitely not owned by any player.

Chapter 177: The Start of the 'Inhuman' Inciden

The White Lion King jumped up in the air and pounced toward Han Xiao.

As the wind pressure came closer to his head, Han Xiao calmly raised his hand toward the White Lion King. An invisible force shot out from his arm as he turned on the Field Repulsive Machine. The White Lion King was knocked back and fell to the ground.

Han Xiao was using many modules simultaneously, so the energy level was steadily decreasing over time.

After countless punches, the White Lion King's health was down to around 30%. The White Lion King howled toward the sky. Its skins turned red; it had entered Rage Mode. Or as the players called it, the second phrase. Han Xiao could feel the pressure bursting in a short moment

I shouldn't face him directly during Rage Mode. Han Xiao decided to retreat to a safer range. For the time being, it was his combat style to be able to strike and escape anytime he wanted.

The White Lion King chased him for some time, then it slowed down, showing signs of exhaustion.

Just at this moment, [Flaming Will]'s cooldown ended, Han Xiao immediately held up his Ghost sniper rifle and shot at the other undamaged eye of the White Lion King.

This was the highest damage multiplier he had gotten ever since he learned [Overload]—4.1 times!

Lucky!

With this one shot, the only eye that the White Lion King had left burst into a cloud of blood. It was gravely injured and fell to the ground with just a few hundred points of health left.

"It's dead!" In his excitement, Han Xiao let out a sigh of relief. Viper's power was higher than he had expected, and it covered the Mechanics' weakness of having low physical attributes and provided strong protection at close range, and it had high functionality in almost all aspects.

Viper was the basis of his secondary combat strategy. Just like how his sniping strategy built up slowly, his mechanical suit also needed more modules to be completed. This was just the beginning. This battle was a test of its actual combat capabilities, so he could figure out a clearer plan for future improvements. There was room for improvements in both combat and stealth abilities.

The White Lion King was unable to move, so Han Xiao went up and finished it easily. He took out the retractable knife and cut out its heart. It was the size of a basketball, filled with violet colored nerves, hot like a ball of fire.

_____________________

You received a special item [Mutated Heart].

You have triggered mission [Virus Research]!

Mission Introduction: Beasts in this area are all infected by Death Virus. Some organizations are looking for research samples that are strong enough. That's right, I'm talking about this heart you're holding.

Mission Requirement: Bring [Mutated Heart] to Louis Biological Research Institution in seven days.

Reward: Death Virus Drug x 1

_____________________

This mission was a bonus rewards mission triggered by the heart. The drug reward was able to increase one's attributes permanently, and there was a small chance to give the user a rare talent ability.

In the previous life, the Beast King BOSS was always killed within hours after spawning, and since the Death Virus Drug could be used more than once, the biggest guilds were the ones that controlled the area to grind the drug.

Louis Biological Research Institution was open to the general public, and players could exchange all kinds of weird materials for drugs that were not any less weird. It was in Maple.

Han Xiao took out the liquid nitrogen suitcase that he had prepared and placed the lion heart inside, then he heard the sounds of footsteps. Yang Dian and Ned walked to him with hesitation.

"Thank you for helping us," Yang Dian said as he looked at Viper's mask. However, he could not see Han Xiao's face.

Han Xiao did not reply. He checked through his inventory and left—the smell of blood would attract more beasts. Plus, he needed a place to rest.

The duo looked at each other awkwardly, then caught up to Han Xiao and introduced themselves. With high hopes, they said to Han Xiao, "We came here to save an exploration team. They went deep into the zone to find the cure of the virus and have lost contact. We hope you can help us."

_____________________

You triggered Grade D Mission [Save the exploration team].

Accept or reject?

_____________________

"Reject."

Han Xiao swung his hands, turned his voice to an electrically mixed fake voice, and said, "Don't bother me."

Saving them would mean having to bring a group of normal people across the forbidden zone—the chance of success was too low. Every second spent there would increase the level of danger. Han Xiao's target was only the mutated heart, and it was completed. Thus, there was no need for him to waste his time in the zone. He did not want to just follow the missions blindly.

"They are in danger because they wanted to solve the disaster. How can you not help!" Ned said anxiously.

Han Xiao turned on his hovering shoes and left without replying. It was clear what he meant at this moment. Do whatever you want, but don't drag me into it.

The duo watched with resignation as Han Xiao left.

Not everyone is kind like them, and they knew that, but they were still upset over losing such strong help.

…

Han Xiao left the Forbidden Zone and went back to the cargo plane that was parked far away. He took the mechanical suit off and let out a sigh of relief.

Viper had amazing capabilities, and he was satisfied with the actual combat results.

The plane took off for Maple, to get in touch with Louis Biological Research Institution and exchange the heart for the drug. He also planned to do a threatening mission while he was there, and the contact for the Blood Pact Society was also in Maple.

Han Xiao looked at the brief mission introduction on his laptop.

My contact is a hitman? Wait a minute, this name looks familiar, Golden Fox? I might have seen it somewhere before.

Han Xiao raised his brows a little but did not bother much about it. Putting the matter aside, he opened the forum—his focus at the moment was players.

Han Xiao still had two novice villages in the Western Continent that he had not visited. The new players there had already almost reached an average level of ten. By this time, they would have all started leaving the village to explore the map, but because of Han Xiao, some players stayed to wait for his arrival.

The feeling was great. His actions had affected the players in what they did, which was all because of the recent popularity and influence he had gained.

Reading through the forums, some new posts had attracted his attention. They were mostly from players in the land of Andrea, and the content was all complaining.

"Question, why is the Germinal Organization coming to novice villages to capture us?"

"I have been brainwashed, my faction is locked, and I have lost relationship points—why is this happening?"

"An NPC sliced me into pieces and asked about my origins…"

"Me too!"

"Is this part of the storyline? But I did not get any alerts on my interface."

Some players recorded the process of Germinal Organization capturing players in the novice villages. Fully armed soldiers placed handcuffs on players one by one, and some players resisted but were shot immediately by paralysis bullets.

A group of cuffed players sat in the back of the car. Space was tight, and they could only see the outside world through windows covered by bars.

These players were brought to the bases of Germinal Organization one by one. Its bases were unlike the ones on the other three continents, which was very hidden. The bases of the headquarters in Andrea were all humongous and had extremely tight defenses.

The land of Andrea was brown. If someone could see from a satellite vision, they would see the bases of the Germinal Organization as black colored areas spreading across the brown land, like virus spots. This forsaken land was filled with abundant radiation and dirt with depreciating signs of life. The Germinal Organization took many old country facility ruins and inherited their facilities, including places that were once military sites.

Inhuman incident has started. Han Xiao's eye twinkled. He had experienced this incident before in the previous life; it had been the hottest topic at the time.

Curiosity toward players from NPCs is the core attraction point of Galaxy—players appearing was part of the storyline. Different planets had different approaches toward the players, and Planet Aquamarine was the first planet for this to happen.

Before, as a player, he was basically rubbernecking and did not do anything. Now that he had a different perspective, he felt he could find out something else.

I have made the Germinal Organization lose all of their secondary bases, so the number of players joining them would be much fewer, and they have probably realized the damage that has caused.

Just imagining how angry their leader would be made Han Xiao happy.

Han Xiao turned on his laptop and browsed information through the Dark Net. The existence of players had already been noticed by many organizations; the natives of Planet Aquamarine were surprised by their arrival.

The Six Nations might make a move very soon, which would delay the expedition war, but it would still be earlier than my previous life.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. The war occurring earlier give him both advantages and disadvantages, advantages being the players have yet to grow strong enough, and when the Six Nations burst into an all-out war, their impact would be minimal, which reduced the accidental factors. With the power of the Six Nations, as long as the players did not interfere, they would totally crush the Germinal Organization.

Because of Han Xiao's interference, the main storyline of the war between Six Nations and the Germinal Organization would very soon enter the climax, before the players even had enough ability to join into the story.

Chapter 178: Fermentation

Stardragon's Western Capital, Division 13 headquarters.

Gu Hui, the vice-chairman, and Division 13's leaders gathered in the secret meeting room. Gu Hui pressed a button on the table, and the doors and the windows shut entirely. All surveillance devices lost their functionalities.

Gu Hui put on a serious look as he distributed the documents to everyone in the meeting. The documents had authorization stamps from the highest officials, which meant this information was highly confidential. It was the observation information of the Inhumans.

"Five days ago, rumors about the existence of Inhumans started spreading through the Dark Net. After investigating, it has been confirmed to be true. The documents state it clearly. Inhumans have been appearing and spreading in every continent like a virus. They appeared out of nowhere, and their origins are unknown.

"From the information that we found on the Dark Net, the Inhumans have the following characteristics…" Gu Hui stated the information that they had on the players, which was similar to what the Germinal Organization had. They knew that the players disappeared instantly, would not die, and one other point. "Through our observation, their average power is not high. The threat level is identified as low."

"If we don't suppress this phenomenon, it might spread like a disease and cause a disaster," one person said.

Gu Hui nodded and said, "The highest officials have given us their commands. Contacting these Inhumans will now be our priority."

"What about the expedition? The supplies and our army have already been prepared. We can head to Andrea anytime."

"The highest-level superiors have already come to an agreement with the leaders of other countries to temporarily stop the expedition. We have to first understand the situation of this inhuman phenomenon; it has higher threat potential." Gu Hui Knocked the table, he scanned through everyone and said, "Ask our people to bring back some Inhumans. Also, be friendly—we do not know anything about their origin."

"Some of our agents are undercover in Andrea. Should we call them back?" the head of field operations said.

"No need, let them retrieve more intelligence. We have enough manpower," Gu Hui said. "When we have a conclusion on this, maybe the officials will seek help and answers from the Galactic Civilizations."

…

As the average level of players became higher, their actions made a greater impact and attracted the attention of the organizations. The Six Nations, Vagrants, Dark Net, and many large financial organizations were all paying attention to the Inhuman Phenomenon. They had been sending their people to contact these Inhumans with different approaches. Some were friendly, and some were not. The exception was Germinal Organization—they captured large numbers of players in Andrea, which forced player in the novice village to leave the village early.

For players, which organization they joined would not actually make a difference to them, but they would naturally want to resist if they were forced. The Germinal Organization had definitely left a bad impression on players, and for those who were already captured, they could only accept their fate.

Players in Andrea had a tough time. Their game experience was extremely bad, but it made players very curious about one thing—Why were the NPCs surprised about their existence? The NPCs acted almost like real people.

More and more organizations started contacting players, and more and more players experienced similar situations. They started making guesses actively on forums about the situation, and this topic soon became the most popular topic in the forum.

This only happened on Planet Aquamarine and not any other planets, so a large number of players from other planets visited the Planet Aquamarine site, which made it the most visited planet site of all the novice planets.

There were hundreds of new posts every second; its popularity was astonishingly high.

All kinds of speculations surfaced. The seemingly most possible and accepted theory was the Electrolux theory, but the game developers did not give any response. Players could only make random guesses, some of which were quite out of the box.

"We actually went through reincarnation to conquer a new world for our gods, serial number A12651 reporting for duty!"

"Bullshit, we're Earth's army to conquer alternative dimensions, and we have an honorable mission on our hands."

"798 Space feet from the Earth Association. Commander Blacky is waiting for deployment. Victory belongs to earth!"

"You're all wrong. The earth is just an illusion. This is actually the reality."

"You youngsters are too naïve. This is all part of the Elder's plan."

"This marks the first step of Skynet's domination over mankind. One day, all of our minds will be locked up in the game."

"Hail Hydra!"

"Previous commenter is in the wrong set!"

"Sigh, I'm a retired soldier of the 1999 clan wars. Come to think of it, that was a really dark age."

"This Grandpa above surely has a strong body, playing Full Dive VR games at such an old age."

These ridiculous speculations became a joke that was trending all over the forum.

In a big picture, organizations contacting players with caution was beneficial. It was easier for players to pick a side or organization to join, except for players in Andrea who were being continuously captured.

Han Xiao was following the situation. He had information from both the Dark Net and the forum, which meant that he knew much more than any players or NPCs.

The mindset of both parties was very different. The organizations were careful and serious about it, while the players found it fun.

Interesting. Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

The influence from the Inhuman incident was slowly fermenting as the organizations found out more and more about the players' characteristics.

The pro players from my previous life should have met their opportunities by now.

Planet Aquamarine was China's base camp, so there would definitely be some players who had met an opportunity, unlike other normal players.

The storyline was going on the right path. Han Xiao rushed to Maple, as the Mutated Heart Mission had a time limit.

Louis Research Institution was in Kaylos city in Maple. It was not near the border this time, so Han Xiao had to travel in a car for two days after being smuggled into the country.

The country of Maple felt lifeless. Its rigid political system, uneven wealth distribution, and resources were all tightly controlled by politicians, and the low class had very limited opportunities to improve their life. 'Barely living and just waiting to die' was the best phrase to describe civilians in Maple.

Walking on the street, long-faced pedestrians passed by him. Han Xiao rubbed his face. He felt that such a confident and handsome face did not fit in with the state of the people on the street.

Han Xiao changed his face again and even wore spectacles. He was sure that nobody could recognize him.

Louis Research Institution building was very tall and silver, which fitted the technology theme. The people in the building were all wearing white coats, as if they were worried about others not knowing they were doing technological research.

A receptionist walked to him with a well-mannered smile as soon as he walked in.

"Hi, do you require an introduction to the business scope of Louis Group Companies?"

Han Xiao raised the metal suitcase in his hands and said, "I have a heart from a Death Virus infected being. One of your researchers might be interested."

"Please wait a moment, I will inform a superior." The lady receptionist guided Han Xiao to the sofa and left.

Louis Research Institution accepted exterior research projects, so there were always customers who came to visit.

Han Xiao sat on the sofa and scanned the environment of the hall. It was built in the shape of a sphere, which made it look like a hotel hall.

After some time, two people covered in bandages walked in. Han Xiao raised his head as he smelled the odor of blood. It was the 'superhero' duo he had met in the Forbidden Zone.

These guys were saving some exploring team, could it be that the team was from Louis Research Institution?

Looks like they failed and are badly injured.

Han Xiao raised his brows but stayed put as they did not recognize him.

Chapter 179: The Research Institution

Yang Dian and Ned were frustrated. The exploration team that they were trying to save belonged to Louis Research Institution, and it was Louis Research Institution that entrusted them with the rescue mission. After Han Xiao left, they had rested for a while and started searching with caution. Eventually, they found the target at the valley that the exploration team had lost contact in.

However, all of them had been infected by Death Virus and had mutated. Bone spurs grew on their bodies, and they had turned into crazed beasts. There was no way to save them anymore.

The leader of the exploration team had been able to retain a small part of his sanity. He gave the duo a metal suitcase and told them it contained an important material that could create the cure for Death Virus. With his remaining rationality, he requested that they take it back to the Research Institution.

The duo had no choice but to abandon the incurable exploration team and leave the forbidden zone with the suitcase. They were attacked by a herd of beasts on their way out, and they protected the suitcase with their bodies. They luckily escaped with the suitcase undamaged, but they were covered in wounds

Yang Dian and Ned dragged their exhausted bodies onto the plane and came to Kaylos feeling pitiful. They could not save the exploration team and were ready to be blamed by the research institution, as they felt they did not live up to the trust they had been given.

A guy with spectacles and looking like someone of a high position walked out the lift and trotted toward the duo with a face full of hope.

"Heroes, you have returned." He sounded very welcoming.

"Sorry Mr. Kate, we failed the mission," Ned said in a very apologetic tone.

Kate's expression changed. "Are they all dead?"

"Sorry, they were infected. We couldn't do anything." Yang Dian could not look at Kate's grief-stricken face.

"It's not your fault…"

Seeing Kate taking off his spectacles and rubbing his eyes made the duo feel even worse. Ned took out the metal suitcase and said, "The exploration team asked us to make sure this is delivered to you. It's an important material that can solve the Death Virus!"

Kate took over the metal suitcase and gave it a gentle touch. "Sigh, I wish they made it back alive. This is their accomplishment, and we'll never forget that. If we are able to make a cure out of this, it will be named after them."

The duo could not agree more. Yang Dian sighed and said, "They are heroes. Not being able to save them is a regret that I'll remember for life."

"Don't feel that way. Their hard work wouldn't have paid off if not for you guys. You have done what you could, and you shouldn't blame yourselves for that. If you don't mind, we would like to take care of your wounds for free," Kate said with appreciation.

"No need to, I can't trouble you any further." The more appreciation Kate showed, the sorrier the duo felt. They rejected the invitation and walked out with straight backs.

Kate pushed his spectacles and watched the duo leave. He then walked toward Han Xiao with a smile and said, "Greetings, do you have any business for the Research Institution?"

Han Xiao returned the smile and opened the metal suitcase, showing Kate the mutated heart.

"This is a Death Virus infected heart from a very strong being."

Kate's eyes sparkled, and he said with an even brighter smile, "Please, follow me."

Kate led the way into the elevator, and they went up to the thirteenth floor. A long, white corridor came into sight after the doors opened. At the sides of it were many experimental labs with glass windows. Some of them had people that were running experiments, some had machines and materials, and there were also a few free researchers that were chatting in the corridor.

The thirteenth floor was one of the experimental floors of Louis Research Institution. As he led the way, Kate said, "The Death Virus has always been a very important project in our research. We kept running into obstacles and meeting limits because we don't have enough supplies of lively materials. This heart is very important to us; we might be able to make a drug out of it straight away. As usual, we will give you a dose of it once it's completed, but of course, we can exchange that for something else if you would like other rewards."

"No need for that, I want the drug." Han Xiao pointed at the metal suitcase in Kate's hands that came from Yang Dian and Ned and said, "I thought you already have the material."

"This? Hehe, well, this is important, too." Kate laughed it off and did not explain further.

They stopped outside a big biological experiment lab. "Please kindly wait here. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed in the experimental lab."

Han Xiao passed the suitcase to Kate, who then walked in with both suitcases and spoke to someone that seemed to be the supervisor of the experimental lab. The suitcases were opened on the table. Inside the other suitcase was a white colored egg. Han Xiao was unsure what creature was it from.

Kate and the lab supervisor spoke quietly, but with Han Xiao's LV 55 senses, he could hear everything they said.

"What happened to the exploration team. All dead?" the supervisor asked.

"Yes," Kate replied, "the heroes couldn't save them."

"At least the stuff is delivered. Never mind that they died, with this heart, we can make the drugs very soon. What did the 'heroes' say?"

"They felt they couldn't live up to our trust. Hehe, employing these heroes is so much cheaper than mercenaries. As long as we give them a good reason, they might even do things for free. Saved me quite some money."

"You didn't get found out, did you?"

"Of course not, they're stupid and naïve. A few lies, and they were easily touched and even almost cried. These so-called heroes are the easiest to convince. A little compliment and appreciation will make them lose their senses. They thought that they did a very honorable thing when they left. I almost burst into laughter."

"Don't offend these heroes. Do our best to build a good relationship with them."

"Don't worry, I gave them a good impression. If there are any dangerous things, we can still find them. They will not reject us as long as we give them a good reason."

Han Xiao waited calmly without changing his expression.

Kate finished the conversation not long after. He came back outside the room and said with a polite smile, "It takes one day to make the drug. If you don't mind, we can provide a room for you to rest, and the drug will be handed to you as soon as it's done."

"Okay." Han Xiao did not object.

They took the lift to the residential floor, and Han Xiao was given a guest room. Kate mentioned a few areas that he was not allowed to enter and found an excuse to leave.

Han Xiao checked the room for cameras and found two of them, so he took out his laptop and hacked into the system, controlled the cameras in his room, and set it to a loop.

He then hacked into the database of the research institution without hesitation to look at their research projects.

[Elementary Coding] was already at the highest level. His hacking skills could get him through most of the firewalls on Planet Aquamarine, except for the Six Nations, Germinal Organization, the core of the Dark Net, and a few other large organizations. A small research institution could not stop him at all. He entered with ease without triggering any alarms, and he could erase his traces afterwards, so no one would be able to find out he had ever hacked into the system.

He opened the projects file of the research institution, and names appeared on the screen.

"Green Lizard Potion, Wild Bull Steroid, Thunder Claw Extraction, Stone Plaque Pathogen…"

Many names were drugs that players received in his previous life. After some time of finding, he finally found the Death Virus project. Its full name was [Death Virus Enhancement Agent]. In its detailed description, this was an experiment that could enhance one's physical capabilities, and the research institution was certainly not doing any research on the cure that Yang Dian and Ned talked about.

Han Xiao's eyes flashed as he clicked his keyboard, and he had planted a program.

Chapter 180: Robbery

Kate came to Han Xiao's room on the next day, carrying a metal suitcase. He placed the suitcase on the table, patted it, and said, "The drug has been completed."

When Han Xiao opened the suitcase, thick white gas escaped from within, and inside was a dark red, viscous drug. He reached out his hands to touch it, and information showed up in the interface.

_____________________

Death Virus Enhancement Agent (Low Concentration 3.5%): A drug made from some kind of gene mutation virus. Its essence can be used on human beings with high stability. Consumption affects: STR +1, DEX +1, chance to awaken [Extraordinary Physique].

Remarks: Although its color looks like the product of menstruation, worry not, its taste is also like…

_____________________

Only low concentration, they gave me the one with the lowest quality, Han Xiao thought as he closed the suitcase.

"I'm satisfied with this," he said with a smile.

"We look forward to our next partnership," Kate replied politely.

"No need to look forward. I want to buy more drugs; what do you have in stock?"

"We only provide long term bulk supplies to large organizations and customers with abilities. If it's a single customer… especially one with an unknown origin, I'm afraid it will be quite difficult. We hope you can understand. However, we can sell it in bulk to you if you can prove your ability to afford them in the long term."

Kate expressed his difficulties just the right amount and made it look like he really wanted to agree but could not because of the rules and regulations. However, in the eyes of an experienced person like Han Xiao, it was very obviously done on purpose, most likely to raise the price.

Han Xiao smiled mysteriously. He adjusted his collar and said, "Allow me to introduce myself officially, I'm an Executive Officer of Germinal Organization, Heisenberg."

Kate was very surprised.

Germinal Organization? Didn't they leave the Western Continent? Is this so-called Heisenberg guy a secretly active executive officer, or is he lying?

"Forgive me for being so straightforward, but your identity is very suspicious." Kate took two steps back and placed his right hand in his pocket holding the alarm. If Han Xiao made any suspicious movements, he would trigger the alarm.

"Don't have to be so nervous, give me a moment." Han Xiao walked into the toilet with his backpack.

Why is he going to the toilet? Just as when Kate was confused, Han Xiao walked out wearing Viper. The mechanical suit that looked highly advanced gave Kate a shock.

"Wha-what are you…"

Han Xiao swung his arms around and said through the suit's speaker, "This is the latest single unit mechanical suit invented by the Germinal Organization. If your eyes still work, you should be able to see the amount of advanced technology used in this. Even the official experimental lab of the Six Nations doesn't have this technology. You don't have to worry about me lying; this is a secret project of our organization, and it should suffice to prove my identity."

Kate opened his mouth slightly—he felt something was off. "But…"

"I am aware of your concerns. If you want to find a stamp of Germinal Organization on the mechanical suit, I suggest you save the effort. Times are very tough for us, and it is very dangerous to have a high profile. I've been given full responsibility for this matter, so if you want to contact a higher ranked official… Forgive me for being so straightforward, but your position doesn't warrant that," Han Xiao said in a serious tone. He almost believed it himself.

Kate hesitated and said, "I need to discuss with the other high ranked officials."

He walked to the side and opened his laptop to contact the other high ranked officials. They were all experiment lab supervisors, and they were surprised by Han Xiao's origins.

"He can't prove it, not trustworthy."

"Do you want him to shout 'I'm part of the Germinal Organization' everywhere he goes? I think there's no need for him to lie. We will know if he's the real deal when we make the trade."

"Makes sense to me."

"But cooperating with the Germinal Organization seems somewhat dangerous…"

Han Xiao cut in their conversation and said, "Any trade we make will be kept confidential. As long as you and I don't tell anyone, no one will know. We can even give you some financial support to build new divisions in Andrea."

The eyes of all the high ranked officials in the research lab turned bright. Andrea was filled with radiation, and many genes mutated flora and fauna avoided by others were treasures to them. They had heard about the generosity of Germinal Organization. In Maple, the government was corrupt, and they had just about had enough of it. It seemed like a rather good plan to change the environment.

Even if they did not move their headquarters, opening a research division in Andrea was a pretty good idea, too.

"Shall we try to make a deal?"

"Bring him to the exhibition room."

With the discussion coming to an end, Kate smiled and said, "We accept the trade, Heisenberg. Please follow me. I will show you our research results."

Han Xiao nodded. Without taking off the mechanical suit, he followed Kate into the lift, and they descended two floors.

The drugs exhibition room looked like cold storage from outside the door. Kate entered the password, and the doors slid open. Inside was a dark compounded room separated into two levels connected by a metal staircase. Showcases were laid out at the side of the walls, and inside them were drug tubes of various colors with tags describing their names and test results. All the drugs had finished products with different levels of concentration.

"These are the products of our research institution. Which ones does your organization want?" Kate said with a smile.

Han Xiao acted like he was looking around and said, "Every one of them. Money is not a problem… as long as you have enough in stock."

Joy filled the faces for the high ranked officials who were watching through the camera—this was a big order.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. "But I will have to verify their effects first."

Kate opened the showcase's password lock, took out a drug, and passed it to Han Xiao. Han Xiao read the information on the interface. It was a temporary enhancement drug; consuming it would grant a +3 Endurance buff for three minutes.

After making sure all the drugs in these showcases were real, Han Xiao calmly said, "I will need a large quantity."

Kate received commands through the headphones. He took out a laptop, opened the price page, and said with a smile, "We have enough inventory. After you have made the payment, these cute little things will be yours."

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. "I will only make payment when I see the products with my own eyes."

"Don't have to worry, we are just a small organization, and we don't have the guts to go against a large organization like yours. We won't go back on our word, and we hope you understand our concerns. Anyway, I believe this is an insignificant amount of money for your organization," Kate said with a smile on his face.

Seems like this is as far as I can get by lying. Han Xiao's eyes flashed. He had no intention of paying. He placed the gun against Kate's forehead before he could react and said, "This is my payment."

Pa!

The laptop fell onto the ground with a bang.

The threatening feel from the gun muzzle made Kate tremble all over. "You are a fake!"

Han Xiao did not reply. He fired at the showcase, but the glass was bulletproof; it only cracked but did not shatter.

Far away in the surveillance room, the high ranked officials were shocked.

"He wants to rob our finished products."

"Luckily, we brought him to the exhibition room where there are security systems!"

The metal door of the exhibition room shut tight, and the showcases moved back into the walls, leaving no traces behind. The room became empty, and the ceiling moved aside, revealing three rows of guns who range covered the entire room. Han Xiao and Kate were both under the guns,

The proud voice of a high ranked official sounded from the speaker.

"Didn't expect that, did you? We were suspicious of your origins from the start. Now that your life is under our control, you have no escape. We just have to press a button, and you will be dead. Unless you want to know how many seconds it will take for these guns to turn you into a puddle of blood, put down the guns, take off the mechanical suit, and get down to your knees. Then tell us your true identity, origin, and who sent you. "

Chapter 181: The Wicked Will Be Dealt With By The Wicked

The superiors of the research institution were very angry. They felt like the man had thought them foolish monkeys, but the liar had walked into their trap.

How dare he come to mess with us without knowing who owns this territory.

In the exhibition room, Kate calmly backed off, adjusted his clothes, and looked at Han Xiao haughtily. "If you move, such as wanting to capture me as a hostage, you will be turned into a pool of blood, so don't have any ideas of taking the risk. Just put down the gun and surrender; you can still live."

Han Xiao looked up at the dark black guns. The cameras were in the corners of the room, and the high ranked officials were looking at him through those. He even knew that the vents could release poisonous gas.

With a cold expression, he issued a voice command.

"Launch program."

The smart chip in the mechanical suit immediately recognized the command and connected to the standby computer. It then entered the research institution's intranet and activated the hacking program planted by Han Xiao the previous night.

The research institution's system fell like dominoes in the face of the hacking program. Without much effort, the entire authority system was overridden, and Han Xiao gained control in a few seconds.

This was not a last-minute simple hacking program that Han Xiao had created; he had created many smart chips, and to prevent losing their control to someone else, he had also made some anti-attack programs as well as some invasive programs, but he had not had the chance to use them before.

The tactical hologram screen showed the terrain map of the research institution. Han Xiao issued another voice command. The walls of the exhibition room reopened, and the showcases appeared again. The guns on the ceilings slid back, and the doors opened.

When he invaded the research institution system yesterday, he had already seen the structure of it, and he knew the security measures clearly. There are some tightly guarded warehouses in the research institution with a high amount of drug inventories, but it was much more than he could carry—the amount in the exhibition room was just right.

The sudden turning of tables left the high ranked officials of the research institution horrified.

"What happened? The system has lost control!"

"Quick, take back the control!"

The technician at the side was sweating all over. He smashed the keyboard rapidly, and lines of code kept appearing. Suddenly, his screen turned green, and the computer froze. The technician exclaimed, "I can't. The invasion speed of his program is too fast; it's impossible to solve it in a short time!"

"He was ready yesterday!" The high ranked officials were filled with hatred.

In the exhibition room, Kate was stunned. He looked into the Han Xiao's black goggles, and fear gnawed at his heart. His legs softened, and he fell to the ground. 'I-I…"

Bang!

Smoke rose from the ground between his legs where the bullet had hit.

Kate was extremely afraid, not even daring to move.

"Stay there and don't move. You can still live," Han Xiao said in a mocking tone.

"O-Okay, calm down," Kate replied hastily as cold sweat wet his entire back. He could only sit there and tremble.

Han Xiao broke open all the showcase cabinets. The enhancement from the mechanical suit made his punches stronger than bullets. He took out his backpack and put all the vials inside. Soon, his backpack was full.

He patted his bag with satisfaction. It was a huge amount of rewards.

At the start, he had no intention of robbing the research institution. However, that changed when he accidentally overheard Kate and the high ranked official talking about Yang Dian and Ned. Since the research institution was not one with morals, Han Xiao did not bother to do things the nice way. They neither were good people anyways, so they might as well follow the rules of the wicked—whoever was stronger had the right to take from the weaker side.

If the opposite party had reliable morals and beliefs, Han Xiao would not mind interacting with them normally, but if they made Han Xiao unhappy and were not strong enough, Han Xiao would go back to his old habits when he was a player, robbing whatever he saw. Furthermore, he was very interested in the Research Institution's drugs. He actually liked to convince people with his virtues… but if that did not work out, he would then fight them instead.

Although Han Xiao did not like the idea of sacrificing oneself for the sake of others and wasn't like those superheroes who had a great love for the entire world, he still liked people who were kind. Befriending a kind person was definitely better than befriending an evil person. Even those who were evil would rather befriend those who were kind; it was safe and worry-free.

Unfortunately, the number of kind people in the world was dwindling. No one could tell if a smile had ulterior motives behind it or which 'brother' seemed to be loyal on the surface but talked bad about them behind their back. Betrayal was common, even between old friends.

Kind people were such rare animals that they could even be placed in the zoo as an exhibit. Zoo might not be the best term—'News Feed' would be a better description. The research institution toyed with the 'heroes', and it was because of these snobbery hypocrites that kind people became fewer, society became harder to survive in, and spiritual traditions collapsed entirely.

Very often, one's perseverance in others' eyes was just the minimum of what one should do. One's hard work was just a way of gaining more profit. Just like how the Louis Research Institution used the passion of Yang Dian and Ned, Han Xiao robbed the research institution's hard work.

An old saying appeared in Han Xiao's mind. "Karma will find its way. Wickedness will be dealt with by the wicked."

"Looks like I've become wicked." Han Xiao laughed. An opportunity to do bad things without feeling guilty did not come by often.

Why would he spend money on someone he could rob from? He could just change his face and become a new customer anyway.

It was not the time to check through his rewards. He picked up his backpack and walked toward the lift.

Kate's body was still soft. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw Han Xiao leaving, but the fear was still lingering in his mind.

The high ranked officials in the surveillance room were bleeding in their hearts when they saw all the drugs being taken. One of them yelled in anger, "Quickly think about what can we do!"

"I got it. Ask the switchboard room to cut off all electricity in the basement and trap him in there!"

"Immediately seek help from Maple! We still have some guards. Gather them all at the main gate. We just have to stall him for fifteen minutes until the military force arrives, and I want him to be demolished then!"

As Han Xiao arrived at the lift, the entire floor's lights turned off. He raised his eyebrows and switched to night vision. Cutting off the power, as expected.

Han Xiao's legs bent as the power from nanotechnology muscle fiber gathered in his legs and burst in an instant. The floor cracked open, and he shot through the ceiling like a rocket.

After two jumps, Han Xiao bumped straight into the hall. A group of guards who were gathering came into his sights. There were only some twenty of them, not even one-fifth of the research institution's guards. Han Xiao's way of going up the floors was way too swift and violent. It didn't give much time for the research institution to react.

The high ranked officials were shocked by the power of the mechanical suit. They hurriedly ordered the guards to attack.

"Stall the enemy. The rest of the guards will be here in less than twenty seconds… f*ck!"

Before he could even finish giving the order, Han Xiao bumped through the guards like a bowling ball hitting a strike and sent them flying. The guards could not even slow him down as he broke through the glass door and disappeared in the streets. The people there could only catch a tint of black shadow.

The high ranked officials of the research institution were raging with anger, they were hopeful that the guards could at least stall him for fifteen minutes, but they barely could for three seconds.

Seeing the drugs would not able to be retrieved, the superiors' hearts were bleeding, and they were furious.

"When will the Maple Military arrive?"

"At least ten minutes."

"That's too long. That asshole would've been long gone. Is there any other way?"

Kate had returned to normal and immediately said, "The superhero duo is still in the city. I will contact them now!"

"Hurry up!"

Chapter 182: Shaken

Yang Dian received a phone call from Kate. Confused, he asked, "Mr. Kate, are you looking for us?"

Kate sounded anxious. "A robber has taken the products of the research institution, including the oppressor for the Death Virus. If we can't retrieve it, our results will be lost. Since the military can't make it in time, we have to count on you guys!"

The duo turned serious. "We will definitely help."

"That's great. You're our only hope. I'll send you the coordinates. The enemy is a man wearing a black mechanical suit!"

Black mechanical suit‽

Yang Dian and Ned's expressions changed.

"Could it be him‽"

…

Running on the street wearing a mechanical suit was too flashy. As soon as Han Xiao left the research institution, he climbed onto the rooftop of a building and continued running across rooftops. That way, even if someone saw him, it would not cause as great an impact. He was planning to find a hidden spot to take off the mechanical suit and change to a different face.

So many drug potions, enough for me to drink it like water. Han Xiao laughed.

After turning into a few streets, Han Xiao jumped into an empty alley. It was at this moment that two strong vital signs showed up on the radar, and after the automated search in the database, it surprisingly had a match. It turned out to be the two superheroes that he had met twice.

They're chasing me? Han Xiao thought for a while, and he knew that they were being toyed with by Louis Research Institution again.

This time, a notice popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered mission [Trial of a Hero]

Mission Introduction: Heroes of justice are never in short supply, but only the right ways to do it. Some people become depraved and give up their initial goals; some lose their adherence and become what they swore to fight against; some are used and lied to. Choosing justice is a tough path, and you can be the trial for them to find the right path toward becoming a real hero.

Mission Requirements: Defeat Yang Dian and Ned, and expose the truth about Louis Research Institution.

Rewards: Random

_____________________

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

He was quite interested in this mission. It was a chance for him to feel what it was like to be the ultimate evil.

Han Xiao analyzed the data.

I've got a few minutes to kill, just enough time to play with them a little.

Han Xiao stopped in place and waited. Yang Dian and Ned's figures flashed past the alley entrance not long after—they ran too far. After a few seconds, the duo realized and immediately turned back, standing at the alley entrance with a confronting stance.

"It really is you!" Yang Dian's face was stern. He had seen the power of this mysterious warrior in the mechanical suit with his own eyes. Even in his peak state, he would probably be beaten in a few punches, and he was now injured. But the thought of Han Xiao robbing the cure to the Death Virus encouraged him to not back up even if he could not win.

Ned rubbed his hands and was ready to strike. He said in a low tone, "Even though you saved us before, I'm afraid we can't let you take the cure."

Cure? Damn these guys really are the type that are stupid enough to help someone who cheated them.

Ned struck first. His hands slapped forward, and a shockwave filled the alley. The paint on the walls shed, and cracks appeared on the ground.

In a flash, Han Xiao jumped up, drawing a swift arc midair, and bumped toward the enemy like a rocket.

Yang Dian bit his teeth and stepped forward, swinging out his punch.

Bang!

The mechanical suit covered fist was like a bolt of lightning, appearing and disappearing in an instant. Before Yang Dian's fist could even swing fully, it had already hit Yang Dian's chest heavily. Yang Dian's vision turned hazy; everything in sight seemed to move away rapidly as he flew backwards. He then got punched into the wall with a loud noise, every bone in the body almost shattering.

One-hit victory.

His physical power is even stronger than the lion who caused serious injury to me. Yang Dian barely pulled himself out of the wall and breathed heavily. Suddenly, he heard a gust of wind around his ears, Ned was thrown toward him and fell beside his feet with a huge bump on his head. He had been knocked dizzy by a simple headbutt from Han Xiao.

They could not even last three seconds. With absolutely zero chance to fight back, Yang Dian was filled with sadness and hatred. How are we supposed to stop the opponent like this?

Helplessness penetrated their hearts.

Han Xiao looked at the timer as he saw the duo trying to get back up. He had given himself five minutes to deal with these two superheroes, but the situation had turned out to be much easier. He had taken less than ten seconds to beat them completely.

They were both Superhumans at the level of thirty-something. With Han Xiao's strength, it was a piece of cake.

Han Xiao took a few steps forward. Just as he was going to say something, Yang Dian managed to struggle to his feet. With a face filled with unyielding and anger, he clenched his teeth and said, "You took away the cure for the Death Virus. Lots and lots of people will die because of that. I will stop you today even if it costs me my life!"

Han Xiao stopped in place. He looked at Yang Dian with a mocking smile. "Dying as a hero—other than dead flowers, empty words, and a few hypocritical tears, what else can you get?"

Yang Dian clenched his teeth even harder. "It doesn't matter how others look at me as long as I'm happy with what I'm doing!"

Suddenly, Yang Dian blinked. A large, black hand enlarged in his sight and grabbed his head. He was smashed into a wall, shattering the stones.

His head was bleeding, Yang Dian lay flat on the ground, his head spinning. He did not even have the strength to stand up.

Han Xiao took out his handgun and pressed it against Yang Dian's forehead.

The black colored muzzle brought Yang Dian back to his senses. He wanted to struggle, but Han Xiao stepped on his legs, then slowly applied pressure to the trigger.

Yang Dian's eyes widened. At this moment, regret uncontrollably flooded his mind.

If I wasn't so meddlesome, I wouldn't die today. In front of an enemy that's this strong, even if I bet my life on it, I wouldn't be able to stop him for a bit. Coming here was just giving my life away. I shouldn't have accepted the request. I was too impulsive…

Ka!

The trigger reached its end. Yang Dian's entire body trembled, only to realize that he did not feel any pain. He was stunned as he watched Han Xiao back off. Then he realized that cold sweat had drenched all his clothes. Although he could not see his own face, he knew that it was definitely a twisted expression filled with fear, regret, and unwillingness.

"What were you thinking just now?" Han Xiao said.

Yang Dian froze in place but kept silence. In the face of death, the belief that he had once thought would never be destroyed was shaken. He was not as generous and tough as he said at all. Instead, at that moment, it was regret he felt, and he even thought that giving up his life for a request from others was extremely stupid. Yet before this event, he had always been working hard toward the goal of being a superhero—he wanted to save more people; he wanted to protect more civilians; he wanted to sacrifice himself for others.

But at this moment, Yang Dian only felt lost.

Han Xiao put his handgun with the empty clip back to the holster, took out a laptop, transferred some data to a thumb drive, and threw it to Yang Dian.

Yang Dian and Ned froze in place.

The enemy left just like that?

"Why did he not kill us?" Yang Dian held the thumb drive in a daze.

"We are no match for him. Don't go up to him and look for death. We have to leave here first." Yang Dian held onto Ned, and they left limping.

Another mission failure, the duo's hearts were filled with shame. They could not face Kate. When they arrived at Louis Research Institution's door, the military was already there, and the area was locked down. The duo did not want to come into contact with the Maple Military, so they went back to the place where they rested and dressed their wounds.

Yang Dian kept thinking about what Han Xiao had said. He was confused and could not focus at all. He lay on bed dazed, the thoughts from just now flashing in his mind non-stop. He could feel that his belief and perspective of being a superhero were shaken; it was a war against his own mind.

At this time, Ned could not hold back his curiosity of what was inside the thumb drive. He plugged it into the laptop, and only a few seconds of looking at it made him break out in cold sweat.

"Yang, come here and look at this!"

Chapter 183: Drugs

"What is it?" Yang Dian tried to regain his focus and went up to the laptop screen. Then he, too, was stunned.

The files on the thumb drive were a part of the data that Han Xiao had gotten from hacking into the research institution. Every research project of the Death Virus was clearly written to be regarding enhancing physical abilities and biochemistry weapons. There was no mention of the cure Kate talked about.

It was also written that the exploration team that had gone into the Robert Forbidden Zone had been gathering materials for physical ability enhancements research.

"Th-this is real? Could he be lying?"

"He could have killed us easily. Why would he lie to us?"

Yang Dian and Ned slowly turned from consternation to rage.

It turned out that they were like two idiots from the start to the end, toyed with by the people of Louis Research Institution. They could not believe that they were so naive to have believed the one-sided words of these people; it made them feel like their persistence was nothing but a joke.

No wonder the mysterious warrior in the mechanical suit did not kill them; he probably felt that they were pathetic and pitiful, so he told them the truth.

Yang Dian was so ashamed and embarrassed that he wanted to dig a hole in a ground and hide in it.

They kept calling themselves superhero, but they were saved by a stranger who they deemed wicked twice! If the mysterious man had not exposed the truth, they would still have been totally in the dark.

"Too bad we don't know his name. If we did, l definitely would apologize to him in person." Ned was upset.

Yang Dian nodded heavily. With raging anger burning inside, he called Kate. "You have been lying to us!"

Kate sounded stunned. "What did I lie about?"

"You have been using us. You made us risk our lives to do things for you. The exploration team, the cure to the virus, that was all fake!"

"What are you talking about? Why would I do that? You are overthinking this." Kate's made an unnatural pause.

"I have evidence. The research of the Death Virus has nothing to do with saving lives!" Yang Dian said.

"That's fake. You guys must've heard rumors," Kate replied

"Still lying to us‽" Yang Dian was angry, he then stated the project serial number.

The other side of the phone remained silent for a while, then Kate replied in a cold tone—he gave up pretending. "So what? What do you want to do, or rather, what can you do?"

"I…" Yang Dian was furious, but he suddenly jammed.

"Humph, Superhero!" Kate's tone was full of sarcasm as he hung up the call.

Yang Dian held the phone and froze in place. His aura was changing quickly.

Ned suddenly felt a chill. He quickly asked, "Are you alright?"

Yang Dian shook his head and put down the phone. "I'm alright, Why wouldn't I be? Hehe."

He laughed inexplicably.

…

The research institution was in a mess. The high ranked officials were sweating all over as they negotiated with the military.

Kate was annoyed. He did not expect things to have turned out this way when he lured the wolf into the room. No one had dared to mess with the research institution before. They had many financial organizations behind them, and anyone who stroked the tiger's beard would face its wrath—they would be chased down by organizations with no escape.

After contacting the financial organizations backing them, the organizations were all understandably furious. He called himself Germinal Organization's executive officer Heisenberg, and he had a mechanical suit with extremely advanced technology—it was quite convincing. The Germinal Organization was like a mouse crossing the street. Everyone wanted to beat them. It would not matter how many enemies they made, and it was very possible that they were throwing the helve after the hatchet.

The financial organizations decided to not only let Western Continent's Intelligence organizations look thoroughly for this person, but they were also going to give money to the Six Nation's expedition through military donations.

The reason behind these financial organizations having such an exaggerated reaction was because there were drugs that the owners of these organizations urgently needed among the stolen stock. Therefore, they desperately needed it back even if it meant they had to spend more money!

Kate was already annoyed enough. He did not even want to bother about the questioning from the two superheroes, and he did not care at all about them finding out the truth.

Because superheroes would never take revenge for such small matter

Thus, Kate was calmed and had nothing to fear.

…

Han Xiao had taken off the mechanical suit, changed his face and mixed into the crowd.

_____________________

[Trial of a Hero] completed!

+40 Yang Dian's Impression of You, +40 Ned's Impression of You.

_____________________

Han Xiao waited for some time, but there were no new notifications. That's it? What do I need the good impression from these two guys for?

He had never even heard of these two guys before, so they were probably not anyone important.

Han Xiao was speechless. It was a reasonable reward, but he would have even preferred experience points over this.

Never mind, it's just a small mission. The biggest rewards are these drugs.

Han Xiao chuckled as he looked down at the bulging package in his hands.

When he stole… that's wrong, when he requisitioned the drugs, Han Xiao took everything in the exhibition room of Louis Research Institution, which was almost every type of drug.

He found a random small hotel and checked in. As usual, he first checked to see if there were surveillance cameras, then he opened his backpack and took out all the various drugs before arranging them in rows.

Let's see if there's any good stuff. Han Xiao rubbed his hands. He had heard that one would be lucky if one's hands were heated.

_____________________

Green Lizard Drug (Medium Concentration 23.3%): Made from the Green Lizard Genes. This is a lazy being. After you drink this, you will feel calm.

_____________________

Han Xiao stunned for three seconds. Then he stood up in rage and threw it on the floor.

Green my ass, what's the point of even inventing this kind of drug! I would've been luckier if I used my feet!

Looking at this pile of colorful drugs, Han Xiao felt as if a black cloud of bad luck was floating above his head.

Let's hope the other drugs are better.

He continued searching. There was a total of 34 types of drugs, and luckily, there was not another one that was as useless as the Green Lizard drug.

Some of the useful drugs were pretty great.

There was a high concentration Death Virus Enhancement Drug, which had a much stronger effect than the one Kate gave. The permanent attribute boost was greater, and the chance to awaken the rare talent was at least three times higher.

_____________________

Wild Rhinoceros Steroid: Taken from the heart of wild rhinoceros. Injection gives +5 STR, +5 END. Lasts five minutes. Second injection within 30 minutes will have no effect.

_____________________

Thunder Claw Beast Extraction: Extracted from the bodily fluids of Thunder Claw Beasts. +12% melee attack for the next five attacks.

_____________________

Stone Plaque Pathogen: Infects the user with Stone Plaque.

_____________________

There were three types of drugs—temporary enhancement drugs, disease spreading drugs, and the very rare permanent attribute boost drugs like the Death Virus Enhancement Drug.

Some of the permanent attribute boost drugs can only be used once, and some can be used multiple times. The Eagle Predator Drug is the former, and the Death Virus Drug is the latter.

That was why players were so passionate about going to the Forbidden Zone and killing the BOSS. Usually, it would be a competition between large guilds.

_____________________

You used Eagle Predator Drug.

+3 DEX.

_____________________

There were four bottles of the Death Virus Drug. He took a short break and finished all of them in one shot. His Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance all increased by four, and that bottle with high concentration made him awaken the rare talent.

_____________________

[Extraordinary Physique]

+10% Health

+180% Recovery Rate

+8% Abnormalities ResistanceLuck in Chinese is also called 'hand gas', so this is a play on words.

Chapter 184: It's More Torturous to Think of a Title Than to Write a

It was a tank biased talent, not up to the standard of being a Molding ability, but it did make Han Xiao tankier.

He recalled that Hila had a recovery passive too. Extraordinary Physique had similar effects and also gave him another 300 HP from the health boost.

As a Mechanic, is it really a good thing to be this tanky? Han Xiao did not know whether to laugh or to cry. This was forcing him to fight people head-on. He felt like if he continued like this, his style would totally shatter.

I just want to be a technical Mechanic. Close combat is for savages!

I need to find an offensive talent or manufacturing talent, but those kinds of Molding ability are way too rare. The most common ones are still defensive and enhancement ones.

As a Mechanic, talents that could match with his firearms were what he needed the most. He had been hoping to trigger the [Lethal Shot] talent. Although it was not a Molding ability, it had rather good effects. The requirement was to deal extremely high damage with his firearm to targets that were at least the same level as him fifty times. He had already done that almost forty times, but enemies at his level were getting harder to find, he had to spend some time to do it.

As for the temporary enhancement drugs, he planned to put some of them in the mechanical suit's rapid injection module and then find an opportunity to sell the rest, preferably to players, which would be another sum of money.

Among the drugs, surprisingly, there was one that was incomplete and only had one syringe.

_____________________

Unknown Drug: a semi-finished product of some drug, unknown effects.

_____________________

Its color was clear like water. Usually, unknown things would have surprising effects. Han Xiao had an inkling that this thing was not simple, but he would not use it when its effects were unclear.

Louis Research Institution might complete their research in the future. I will just have to go there again at some point, and I will know its effects when it's completed. Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

In order to make drugs or learn about magic potions, one had to gain the class [Pharmacist]. Han Xiao was not interested in making potions and wasting class slots, and he felt making potions and drugs were very different from making machines. As making potions demanded strict material ratios and manufacturing processes, a tiny mistake could cause failure, whereas making machines was just a channeling process.

Han Xiao snuck out of Kaylos in the afternoon. He had another threatening mission in Maple. Bennett wanted him to scare some government officials who lived in the capital of Maple. The two people who had gone there first to check on the situation was already at standby in the city of Maple Leaf.

The capital of Maple was called Karimochi, meaning the City of Maple Leaf.

…

The financial organizations behind Louis Research Institution issued a bounty on the Dark Net very quickly. The target was none other than 'Heisenberg', and it had the face that Han Xiao had used in the research institution, as well as a recording of him dashing out of the research institution wearing a mechanical suit.

The Germinal Organization saw this information very soon.

"There is no such person in our organization."

The leader was startled. The organization only had a few deep-cover intelligence personnel and spies in other lands, and he absolutely did not order anyone to rob a civilian research institution. There was only one possibility. This 'Heisenberg' was a fake who used the Germinal Organization as cover.

He did not even think this was a framing act… because framing Germinal Organization was totally unnecessary. The whole world was against them, so they would not care for just one more enemy.

Since the Germinal Organization was beaten, everyone took them lightly, like a tiger without its fangs, and added insult to their injury. What kind of nobody was this Heisenberg?

What the leader focused on was the performance of the mechanical suit. To his surprise, he realized that this mechanical suit was using technology that was even more advanced than what the organization was currently working on. Even the Super Soldier project that kept having breakthroughs did not have this level of practicality.

If we can get hold of this mechanical suit, our single unit combat power will skyrocket. Which organization invented this mechanical suit? If it's our enemy…

The leader's hands grabbed harder onto the table edge, leaving a clear mark on the metal table. With a serious tone, he ordered, "Tell our intelligence network to pay attention secretly to the user of this mechanical suit—I want to know everything he's doing."

However, this was sadly the only time Han Xiao was observed using the mechanical suit. The intelligence agents of the Germinal Organization were unable to gather any more information. It was all very mysterious.

An organization that can invent such a mechanical suit definitely has very strong backing.

The leader felt like he had discovered the tip of the iceberg of some hidden organization, but they did not have any other leads, so there was nothing they could do at the moment.

He calmed his mind and asked, "How is the capturing of Inhumans going?"

The assistant took out the archives. "We have captured 2,103 Inhumans. At the start, they were gathered at a few fixed points, but afterward, they started to actively escape from the capture and spread to other areas. More and more people resisted to the capture, and our mission has been meeting some obstacles."

"Cyberlos has come up with a new theory through observing the experiments. Even if these Inhumans are not brainwashed, they will still accept all kinds of requests, and they act with a very clear objective. They do not have much common sense, they talk weirdly, and they seem to have some kind of special way of communication between each other—some Inhumans knew each other. We are still investigating the causes of all that, but we have yet to gain any results. As Cyberlos put it, these Inhumans are like time travelers who came from the past."

"What is the stance of the Six Nations toward the Inhumans?" the leader asked.

"Our intelligence network shows that the Six Nations have sent their own teams of people to contact the Inhumans. They had different attitudes anywhere from friendly to forceful."

The leader nodded. After pondering a moment, he said, "They have stopped their war preparation, but it won't be stopped forever. Agents from every country have already infiltrated Andrea, find them. I want their every move to be under our surveillance. I have a feeling that Inhumans will be the key for us in this war."

…

Reflections on the sunglasses showed the exterior appearance of a luxurious villa. There were secret service agents in normal clothes patrolling around the area continuously. A white old man who looked like a beggar pushed his sunglasses up, touched the cap that covered his bald head, and then fidgeted with the mini earphone that was hidden under the cap in his ear.

"Duplex four-floor villa. The manor door needs the interior system to be opened. Two standard secret service teams patrolling outside the manor, one team inside, a total of eighteen secret service agents. Leaves house 8 am sharp every morning, travels in a bulletproof car. Two teams follow for protection, has lunch at the interior restaurant of the government building, the same team follows along for protection.

Hannes spoke softly into the headset as he pushed his sunglasses. "The target lives in Maple's political area. Patrolling police and sentries are packed along the roads. If you're doing it on the streets, you'd better be quick about it."

The calmed voice of a woman, Vernina, was heard through the headset. "Then let's do it on the streets. This reminds me of the old days."

"I must be mad," Hannes said with discontent. "Still doing things with you guys after I have retired, and it's to kidnap a high ranked officer of Maple. Damn it Garian, why did you have to find me for this? Why didn't you ask Bennett? He's still fighting on the front lines. You had to look for this retired old man. Couldn't you let me enjoy a few years of leisure!"

"Humph, you owe me a favor, and I don't like Bennett. He gave me three bullet holes 33 years ago." Another voice appeared in the headset. Garian was a rough man; his voice was like a cannon, "Anyway, stop complaining like some woman. Have the days of doing nothing and planting vegetation softened your toughness?"

"Gentlemen, don't forget there's a woman here," Vernina said calmly.

"I am already sixty, and you are one year older than me. It's not normal for you to think about fighting and killing all day." Hannes was speechless.

"Humph, I'm yet to hit seventy. Is that old?" Garian whined for a while and turned back to being serious. "In nine seconds, patrolling officers will appear from the corner. Be careful to stay hidden."

Hannes leaned forward, and his aura immediately turned unnoticeable. After nine seconds, a patrolling police officer walked around the corner of the street and saw Hannes.

He walked forward and yelled, "Identification check!"

Hannes took out the fake ID that looked exactly like a real one. The officer glanced through and returned it, "No lingering here. Move along."

Hannes moved his feet slowly like an old man, turned into the corner, then sped up. He said softly, "There are too many patrolling police officers and sentries here. To kidnap the target quietly without anyone noticing, it'll be best to do it at night."

"Come back here first. We will discuss the plan," Garian said with a heavy voice.

Chapter 185: But Not Having a Title Is More Torturous

It was gloomy and raining in the Western Continent. After a few days of taking the shaky civilian train, Han Xiao finally arrived in the capital of Maple, the City of Maple Leaf.

Maple's population density was low despite having a large area of land. Houses were cheap, and the average house size was rather big; even those in the middle-income bracket were able to afford a villa. The civilians in the capital had a pretty high income. Every year, the government of Maple would chase the beggars and the poor to other cities, which resulted in Maple Leaf's environment being optimal, peaceful, and comfortable with sufficient greenery.

Han Xiao was smuggled in as usual. Following the map, he found a villa at the edge of Maple Leaf. It was a safe house that Dark Net had bought with a fake account and identity. The contact would be waiting inside.

The villa had three floors. The door was made from gray glazed wood and had exquisite carvings. Han Xiao grabbed the door knocker and thumped to the rhythm of their secret code. The door opened with a squeak, and an old female butler who had more wrinkles than an expired orange invited him in with a plain face.

After entering the house, the old woman, whose true identity was a long-term resident contact, closed the door and said, "Both guests are waiting in the basement."

Han Xiao nodded. He opened the hidden door in the cabinet beside the staircase and walked down to the basement. It was not as dark as he had imagined it to be; it was bright and surrounded by metal walls. Many pieces of equipment and firearms lay around. There was also a specially designed lathe and a material case at the corner.

The two contacts were waiting at the meeting table in the middle. They both looked toward Han Xian. His face was changed back to Black Phantom, so he was recognized.

Of the two contacts, one was Golden Fox, and the other was a young man.

Golden Fox hesitated and said, "Black Phantom?"

Han Xiao's eyes brightened. He laughed and said, "Oh, it's you. I've seen you before. You seem to have become prettier."

Golden Fox was frightened. She touched her face and said in her head, Please don't be interested in me, I beg you!

The other contact was a young man in his twenties. His code name in the Blood Pact Society was 'Ghost Blade'. He was a scorpion—lowest rank—and a new member who had only joined recently. He was staring at Han Xiao with judgement and slight doubt.

Ghost Blade had been trained as an agent in Raylen, but he had escaped before graduation. Having been trained in an agent training organization, he naturally always felt a sense of superiority toward these underground killers. He had joined the Blood Pact Society around the same time Han Xiao did, but Han Xiao was already a legend in the organization while he was still struggling in the scorpion grade. So, he had always been unconvinced.

In terms of experience, Han Xiao actually did not have much of it, but he became the ace of Blood Pact Society with his strength and Bennett backing him up. There were a small group of proud contract killers who were unconvinced—most of them had other successful experiences before they turned to become a killer. Despite the results of these battles were written clearly, there would still be people who were in doubt unless they saw it themselves.

"I heard about your battles. They say you're a legend, but it seems like there's nothing special," Ghost Blade said with a plain face.

Han Xiao glanced at Ghost Blade but could not be bothered with him.

Golden Fox cut in hurriedly and started talking about the main topic. "Ahem! There are five targets: Harry Reymen, Sennin Miller, Billy Angus, Dick Van Vancity, Dorasi Farami. They are all government officials who opposed the plan. There are guards around them when they're out and where they live."

With a glance to Ghost Blade, he snorted, took out a map, and laid it out on the meeting table. "This is the terrain map of the target's villa. The guarding power and the patrolling routes of police nearby are also marked out."

The data was very detailed. Ghost Blade's ability to collect intelligence was the textbook example that strictly followed the training booklet of Raylen. He had collected almost every detail there was in this mission. With the secret knowledge he had as an agent, Golden Fox did not need to help at all when he was gathering the data. It made him feel superior to these killers. After all, he was a pro, and amateurs were on a different level.

Ghost Blade peeked at Han Xiao. He was confident that such detailed intelligence would surprise the Black Phantom, but Han Xiao kept a straight face as if it was a common occurrence to him.

With a frown, Ghost Blade said in a deep voice, "I have designed an action plan for you. You see these red lines and marks? These are the action routes I have planned out. As long as you keep to my plan and don't make any mistakes, you will definitely succeed. I'm assuming you understand what I wrote here. These are special symbols used by agents. If you don't understand them, I can explain for you.

"No need, I will look at it myself." Han Xiao knocked the table while reading through the intelligence carefully. He then asked, "What is the exact mission?"

"To place these documents into the targets' homes, somewhere obvious that ensures the target sees them. Inside, there are some pieces of evidence that have the ability to cause them harm. As long as they realize that we can put these in their house without anyone noticing, they will know they are not safe. This will act as a threat but not cross the line," Golden Fox said.

"I will be infiltrating. What will you guys do?"

"I am only responsible for providing intelligence. Carrying out the mission is your mission as an ace, so don't think about seeking my help," Ghost Blade snorted.

Golden Fox gave Ghost Blade a stare, before saying in a pleasing tone to Han Xiao, "If you need me to back you up, I can do it."

"Never mind, there's no need for that." Han Xiao waved his hands. "It's a pretty easy mission. I can do it alone."

"It is indeed easy when you follow my plan." Ghost Blade nodded lightly. He had actually left out some intelligence in the data. It would not affect the mission, but it would give the person carrying out the mission some slight challenges. He wanted to test out Black Phantom. Although the latter was an ace of the organization, unless he could pass the test, Ghost Blade would still maintain a cold attitude toward Black Phantom.

However, Han Xiao looked at the plan and shook his head. "The plan is too complicated. I will do it my way."

Ghost Blade was unhappy. "This plan was made from my careful and precise research of all the intelligence we have, and you came up with a better one within a few minutes of looking at it?"

"This mission is not challenging at all for me," Han Xiao said.

Quit messing around! Ghost Blade snorted with anger and walked away. He was very discontent that Black Phantom did not follow his plan. He was a professional, and his plan was perfect; Black Phantom had no idea of what he was looking at.

There will definitely be accidents if he doesn't follow my plan, Ghost Blade thought. He had some dark thoughts, and he even wanted to gloat at Black Phantom's failure. To him, not following his plan was basically screwing around. Black Phantom had better have meant what he said. If he ends up using my plan, I will only look down on him.

Han Xiao looked at his watch. "I will act tonight. You guys just have to wait."

The two contacts were not involved in the field action, and Han Xiao did not need a supporting intelligence crew. Since it was just Han Xiao acting alone, there was no need for a headset.

"He's only just arrived, and he is already going to act. How impulsive." Ghost Blade shook his head. He felt this mission was most likely going to fail.

Not listening to suggestions from professionals would almost always result in failure.

…

Night arrived in no time, but clouds covered the moon. Han Xiao had changed into a black outfit. He hid whatever he was not going to need in the safehouse. Then he made sure the circuits were working and reset the password to prevent anyone from opening it. He brought along the necessary equipment and left.

At night, the streets of Maple were quite. The night wind blew past the trees and made a calming sound as fragrance from the gardens at the side of the street filled the air. There were few pedestrians on the street. In fact, those pedestrians were mostly patrolling police, which hinted at the high-pressure policies within the country and the security not being as peaceful as it looked.

Han Xiao walked past quiet streets one after another and arrived at the political area of the city. Patrols on the street became more frequent, so he hid in the shadow of an alley, observed the situation, and waited patiently.

About ten minutes later, a patrolling police officer walked toward him.

'This is B3248. We are clear," he said into the walkie talkie and walked toward the alley entrance. Then, he unconsciously looked into the dark alley.

A pair of arms reached out suddenly and dragged him into darkness. His yelling only lasted a mere second before it stopped.

One minute later, Han Xiao changed into the police uniform with the walkie talkie at the side of his waist. His face had changed completely—the skin mask had scanned the policeman's face and imitated it perfectly.

Chapter 186: Accident 1

Han Xiao injected sleeping medicine into the police officer and hid him in a rubbish bin in the alley. He probably would not be discovered until the next morning.

The strong sleeping medicine was not the normal kind one would find on the market but a secret recipe made by Golden Fox. She claimed that it could make a three-meter-tall elephant fall asleep in ten seconds. As for why she used an elephant to experiment, Han Xiao was confused too.

Golden Fox had the intention of endearing herself to Han Xiao by providing the sleeping medicine, but Han Xiao had a feeling that the atmosphere between him and Golden Fox was very weird. Every time their eyes met, it felt like it ignited a spark in the air. Golden Fox would shrink backward like an injured little beast and turn to look at somewhere else, not daring to look Han Xiao in the eye.

If Han Xiao did not remember giving Golden Fox a weird impression back when he was too bored, with Golden Fox acting like a young girl in love, he would have thought she wanted to do something inappropriate to him. However, he knew that she was actually afraid of him.

Han Xiao diluted the medicine so that it was not that strong. Normal people would wake up after about ten hours. He had tested it himself and was notified that one with Endurance higher than 45 would be immune to it. He had more than 80 and close to 90.

The average Endurance of a LV 55 Mechanic is around 70. Han Xiao did not exceed that by a large portion, but his health was more than 1.5 times of the same level Mechanic!

With Molding Ability [Basic Strengthened Life] and the recently awakened [Extraordinary Physique], Han Xiao's health was an astonishing amount of about 3,400. Together with Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor and Viper that only a Mechanic would have, he was at the same standard as the same level BOSS.

However, this was the capital of Maple. If he was to be too high profile, he would probably not end up well, so he decided to do an ordinary infiltration like Hitman 47.

Wearing the police uniform, Han Xiao swaggered toward the villa of the first target, Sennin Miller. Trees and vegetation filled the garden on the side of the road, and branches sliced the light from street lamps into thin light curtains.

Using Night Stalker's ability, Han Xiao entered [Stealth]. He walked around the villa and observed the cameras on the streets.

Total of three surveillance cameras looking at three different directions of the villa. They rotate at the same speed automatically… hmm? Seems like there'll be a blind spot for a brief moment.

Han Xiao found the opportunity, but this was not written in the data. He wondered if Ghost Blade did not realize or did not write it on purpose.

In order to sneak in, I'll first have to deal with the cameras.

Every five minutes, the cameras' field of sight will leave a two-second blind spot, which made things much easier. There was no need to go through to trouble of accessing the circuits of the camera and invading the surveillance network. As long as he was fast enough to enter the villa, he could avoid getting caught by the cameras.

Due to the surveillance of the city not being looked at every hour of the day, a patrolling officer going missing would not be noticed immediately unless it was seen by the surveillance monitor.

He was not hoping to infiltrate perfectly without leaving any trace—all he wanted to do was complete the mission that night.

There were secret service agents standing both inside and outside of the villa, detection devices at the door, and electrical railings on the wall. But other than that, it was no different from a normal residence. The agents outside were easy to deal with—he just needed to divert their attention. However, there were also people in the manor, and he could not identify their positions with his eyes.

Han Xiao had his ways though. He put on a pair of sunglasses. They looked just like any normal sunglasses, but they actually had a portable version of the electromagnetic scanner. By clicking the mini switch on its side, the biological reaction inside the manor would appear as blurry human shaped images, which was enough to identify their location.

However, it was weird to wear a pair of sunglasses during the night. It reminded him of a scene in 'Kung Fu Hustle'.

The officials of Maple had guards around them all day as if they were afraid of being attacked even on the streets, which was an indication of how much they were disliked by the civilians. Unlike the other five nations, which did not have this kind of measure, even the air in Maple felt pressurizing.

The cultures of various nations were different, and this protective measure of the government officials in Maple had not been there in the beginning. It happened because of the same reason that lead the government to create the policy of evicting low-class civilians in the capital—the 'Ulrich Assault', the government assault event that everyone in Maple knew but was afraid to talk about. It happened in the 11th year of the new era of the Six Nations. Han Xiao had seen this segment of history in the Dark Net history events.

Every civilization in Galaxy had some history that was worth digging for. However, in the case of Maple, whether in his previous or current life, Han Xiao did not know much about it.

These thoughts flashed passed as he was in the middle of the mission, then he continued to think about the infiltration plan.

The secret service agents patrolling the villa had looked like they should not be messed with. Han Xiao put down a Spider Detector and observed from a hidden corner. If he himself passed by the villa too many times, it would have raised suspicions.

He found an opportunity very soon. The second a blind spot appeared between the field of vision of the secret service agents and the cameras. He activated his Electromagnetic Hover-boots and slid over the wall without a sound, smoothly landing behind a tree in the manor.

Although he controlled his movements as much as he could, the leaves still shook a little. A highly alert secret agent hiding below the tree notices the movement and immediately looked up.

Han Xiao had a plan the moment he jumped in. Without any hesitation, when the secret service agent was carefully looking up with squinting eyes, Han Xiao moved like a phantom with his more than 100 points of Dexterity and appeared from behind the tree. He covered the secret service agent's mouth and injected a syringe. Before the secret service agent could struggle, he was already quiet.

It did not make a loud noise, but there was another agent not far away that saw his friend leaving the position in the edge of his vision. Fortunately, Han Xiao was too fast for him to see.

"Seeley?" The agent called his friend's name quietly and walked over.

Shit, Han Xiao thought. Traditional infiltration was all about timing. He kept his nerves tight at all times and came up with a solution very soon. He quickly scanned the face of the agent he knocked out and changed into his face. He walked out from behind the tree and shook his head, signaling that everything was fine.

"What were you doing behind the tree?" The agent who had walked over loosened his alert as he saw his friend. He continued to close in, wanting to know what happened behind the tree.

Han Xiao flipped his hands and a tiny handgun appeared. It shot a syringe out quietly and hit the neck of the secret service agent. The agent's footsteps became unstable as he was falling asleep. Han Xiao immediately dashed forward and held him up. Then he carefully dragged the man behind the tree.

There were four patrols in the manor. They contacted each other with walkie talkie constantly, so within a few seconds, the others would realize two of their colleagues had lost contact.

I've got to knock out all the patrols, Han Xiao thought. The secret service agents inside and outside were two different teams, and they only contacted each other once in a while. Removing the external agents would give him about half an hour, which was enough time for him to act.

Han Xiao moved quickly and quietly like a cat. The other two patrolling agents were knocked out in no time. They were just well trained normal elites, so they could not resist Han Xiao at all.

After making sure the patrols were cleared, Han Xiao entered the Villa from the window. He turned on the electromagnetic sunglasses, and the villa's structure was presented clearly before his eyes. The bald official was sleeping while hugging his young and beautiful wife in the master bedroom, and there was a maid sleeping in another room. In such a big house, there were only three people.

Han Xiao found his way to the study. He took out the document that had evidence collected by the Dark Net and placed it in an obvious position on the table. One target was completed.

"I shall not delay. There's still some time till Maple finds out someone has sneaked in. I have to speed up." Han Xiao swiftly sneaked out of the manor. The secret service agents that were guarding outside were still doing their job, not knowing what had happened inside.

Han Xiao infiltrated three more targets' villas. The guards were all different from each other, but with his LV 55 senses and intelligence provided by Golden Fox and Ghost Blade, together with his skin mask and Electromagnetic Hover-boots, the action was carried out rather smoothly without many hiccups.

A small accident happened at the third target. When Han Xiao was placing the document in the study, probably due to the target being too old, he woke up quivering and wanted to pass by the study. Han Xiao hastily hid behind the floor lamp in the corner.

Without looking closely, floor lamps would usually be mistaken as a person and be ignored unconsciously. Although it was a very daring spot to hide, Han Xiao thought it was a brilliant idea. However, the result was completely different from what he expected.

Having woken up in the middle of the night, wanting to go to the bathroom, already being scared while walking in the dark corridor, the old man passed by the book room and mistook the floor lamp for a person, which made him even more nervous. When he wanted to take a closer look and assure himself that he was just being scared of nothing, he noticed… Holy shit! There actually is someone behind the lamp!

The target was an elderly man. He covered his chest and fell straight down.

_____________________

You have killed Dick Van Vancity (Lv5). You have received 1 EXP.

_____________________

The target was scared to death… to death… death…

Fu*k! Seriously‽

Han Xiao was completely stunned.

I didn't kill anyone! You suffered from myocardial infarction, I'm innocent!

"Hey, grandpa, wake up. You still have so much youth to look forward to. How can you die like this?" Han Xiao shook the old man's shoulders continuously, almost shattering his bones.

Accidentally killed the target, what now?

Han Xiao had a headache.

Suddenly, he had a flash of insight, and he had a new idea.

Wait a minute, the fundamental purpose of this mission is to reduce the number of officials that are opposing the project. If they all die, there will be nobody opposing.

…

"Ah-choo!"

Bennett, who was far away at Southern Continent, suddenly sneezed. He had a bad premonition.

"Flu?"

Chapter 187: Accident 2

One of the targets died, but the mission did not fail, which meant that killing was technically allowed.

Such an immoral mission. Han Xiao shook his head. He carried the dead body of the old man and put it into the cabinet. The longer it stays hidden the better it is.

He did not want to kill. The targets were all officials of a rather high rank, and killing them would cause a storm in Maple. Thus, there were no benefits, only risks.

One official had died, but it was an accident. They could not count him responsible.

Only one target was left, Dorasi Farami. He had the highest rank of all five targets. His manor was bigger, and the guarding power was stronger.

Han Xiao followed the same steps—he sneaked into the manor through the blind spot and hid in the shadows. None of the patrols could escape his sights.

He sneaked behind an agent and injected a syringe into his neck, then he dragged him further into the garden and changed into his clothes and face. He looked at his identification; the unlucky person this time was called Anguston.

Dorasi's manor was rather huge. As Han Xiao was going to enter through the window from the back of the villa, the villa's lights turned on. A command from a superior appeared from walkie talkie.

"All units assemble. Escort the target to the government building."

All the secret service agents gathered. Now Han Xiao was stuck in a passive position. He replaced Anguston and had to continue playing the character if he did not want to get found out. Left with no choice, he followed the secret service team and assembled in front of the villa door.

The team leader knocked the door and yelled, "Mr. Dorasi, knocked out agents have been found in other officials' mansions. The enemy infiltrated their homes. You're not safe here. Please follow us to the government building and take refuge."

Han Xiao realized it was about time for Maple to have reacted to the people that he knocked out in the previous mansions.

Too bad, just a while more I would've completed the last one. Han Xiao sighed. He had to change his plans because of the sudden change of situation. He hoped they would find out later about the old man who was shoved into the cabinet.

The glazed wooden door opened with a squeak. An old man with a straight back in formal wear walked out the door. The wrinkles on his face were like knife scars with vicissitudes and coldness, and his white hair was combed neatly.

Secret service agents surrounded Dorasi as they walked toward the car parked at the door. There were four cars. The one that Dorasi would be sitting in was in the middle, guarded by the three other cars in a triangle shape. Han Xiao sat in the car at the right rear.

As they departed, Han Xiao decided to stay put and observe since it was the best choice.

I could sneak out in the middle of the trip and complete the last mission on the way.

As he was thinking, a few fist-sized shadows flew toward the convoy. Han Xiao knew these were howitzers from one look.

Boom!

The howitzers landed accurately on the chassis of the convoys and exploded. The power exceeded the usual standard, almost like a mini rocket launcher.

Sky-high flames lit up the night. The three guarding vehicles spun in midair and landed bottom up with flames.

"Someone attacked the convoy!" the driver of Dorasi's car yelled as he hastily stepped on the throttle, wanting to escape with speed, but a few rounds of bullets shot out from the dark and busted the wheels.

The car swirled and stopped at the side of the road. Four disgraced secret service agents got out of the car hurriedly, but before they could even raise their guns, sniper bullets shot from a higher up position hit their chests without missing a shot. They immediately fell to the ground, critically injured.

"All the guards have been dealt with. Backup from Maple will take at least three minutes to arrive. We have more than enough time. Vernina, evacuate with the target," Hannes said through the walkie talkie.

At the junction of street lamps and darkness, the outline of a woman became clearer. Vernina appeared, holding a grenade launcher. She had short, blonde hair. The wrinkles at the side of her eyes showed she was not very young, but her appearance still had the signs of her beauty when she was younger. Every move she made played the rhyme of a mature lady.

Dorasi walked out of the car. He remained calm and looked at the struggling guards on the floor. "Who are you people?"

Vernina slowly walked toward Dorasi while taking out her handgun and killing the guards on the way. She took out a sedative syringe from her tactical pouch on her waist and said, "Put the gun down, or there'll be a hole in your heart."

Dorasi's expression changed. He looked down and saw a red dot on his chest where his heart was. He immediately loosened his grip on the handgun behind his back. Looking up, he could see a looming red dot from a sniper scope on a high rise building.

At a window in the building, Hannes was holding a sniper rifle, providing ranged back up and controlling the situation from above.

"Seems like I have no choice." Dorasi raised his hands with a long face and walked toward Vernina.

Bang!

Suddenly, an overturned burning car's door flew off. A pair of hands grabbed the door frame and tore it with a piercing sound. Han Xiao walked out as he stretched his neck; his body was hurting all over from the crash.

Having been blown away by a howitzer out of nowhere, he was in a bad mood.

"There's still an alive one?" Vernina turned around and fired at Han Xiao without changing her expression. Han Xiao reacted quickly. the Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor wrapped around his body as the howitzer hit him, and he was devoured by the flames.

Vernina thought that was more than enough to deal with the tiny fish that slipped through the net, but after the smoke disappeared, Han Xiao was still standing there, staring at her coldly. The expression in his eyes made her nervous.

In her career of battling through the ages, she had fought all kinds of strong enemies and developed a sharp intuition that could quickly identify the strength of the enemy. She could tell from just one look that these were the eyes of a predator!

Han Xiao had a horrible expression on his face when saw the information on the interface. The enemy was called Vernina. She was an astonishing LV 60 Cannon Master, which was the limit of version 1.0, someone who was at the top of the pyramid on Planet Aquamarine!

This was the second person after Bennett on Planet Aquamarine that was at the maximum level! But she didn't have as many Molding Abilities as Bennett.

Vernina… the name sounds familiar, Han Xiao thought.

For such a high-level person to attack an official of Maple, there was definitely some hidden agenda. Han Xiao was involved by accident, but he did not want to be meddlesome, so he admitted his unluckiness.

Just as Han Xiao turned around, wanting to leave the place with his Hover-boots, Vernina fired again.

Clunk!

A howitzer hit Han Xiao at the back of his head and exploded on the armor, pushing him forward.

Han Xiao stopped in place immediately.

The next monument, the armor wrapped around his entire body. Han Xiao turned around and dashed toward Vernina. He pulled out the retractable knife and dished out a quick stab!

The Electromagnetic Hover-boots were at full power, so the speed of his dash was like a bullet.

Vernina hastily held up her grenade launcher as a shield.

Screech!

The dark black blade penetrated the grenade launcher. It cut the complicated mechanical structure inside and pierced into Vernina's abdomen, causing blood to drip onto the ground.

Han Xiao's hands let go of the blade, and he launched his fist toward Vernina's temple. She hastily raised her arms to block. As the fist and her arm clashed, she felt an irresistible force of strength that hit her head across her bones. She then felt pain on her lower abdomen as Han Xiao kicked it.

"You forced me to do this!" Han Xiao gnashed his teeth.

I don't want to bother with you, and now you're taking it for granted!

After taking a few ruthless shots, he was furious!

Having been hit two times consecutively, Vernina was extremely shocked. She had thought that this agent was just a fish that slipped through the next, but it turned out to be an enormous shark!

She was a legend in the old era, and now she was suppressed by an enemy that she had never heard about‽

The opponent seemed to have the intention of escaping a few moments ago and looked like he did not want to be involved but was pissed off by her two shots. Vernina was filled with regret. A slip of the hand had resulted in a confrontation with such a strong enemy, but it was not her fault. The intelligence showed that the guards of Dorasi were all normal civilians, so she never could have guessed that one of them had been replaced with Han Xiao. She was truly unlucky.

He's not Pugilist, and not an Esper either; he's a Mechanic? Vernina was stunned, and she distanced herself hurriedly. Firearms were extremely powerful in her hands; even Mag from before would have to admit his defeat.

Han Xiao did not intend to engage in a shoot-out. He did not bring sniper for this mission, only two Berserk Eagles and some small machines. Thus, he chose close range combat by using Hover-boots to close their difference in swiftness and then suppress the opponent with his Strength. The Dexterity of Vernina was high, but Han Xiao had an advantage in Strength.

Also, flighting Vernina at a close range would make the sniper cautious and hesitant to shoot.

Chapter 188: Enemies everywhere

The interface shows that Hannes was LV 60, too. Han Xiao realized that things were more complicated than he had initially thought. Two people at the maximum level in version 1.0 appearing at the same time definitely meant something significant—it might trigger a hidden storyline. Furthermore, these two people's names sounded familiar, but Han Xiao could not remember at the time.

Han Xiao just wanted to focus on the mission from Bennett and make sure to complete it without any interference, but he was dragged into this matter, and being hit without fighting back was not his style.

Han Xiao dragged the battle to a close-range fight. Although Vernina was a Cannon Master, the level of her [Agent] sub class was very high, which meant she was not completely vulnerable in close combat. They exchanged blows again and again. Han Xiao was at an advantage because of his Strength. He would never hold back because of the opponent's identity, gender, or age, so Vernina was at quite a disadvantage.

Both of their physical abilities exceeded normal people, a swing of their hands was more than enough to break apart bricks and penetrate through iron plates. The environment around them was destroyed, and the ground became full of pits. There was even an overturned car that Han Xiao had kicked away toward the tree—it was a mess. Dorasi stood by the side, not daring to escape because of the sniper.

Dorasi felt stupid. He had no idea there was such a strong superhuman hiding in his guards. Was this a secret arrangement of the secret services? But such a strong person would have been more than enough to even protect the highest ranked officials. Since when had he been treated even better than them‽

For now, Dorasi could only hope that this strong hidden person would be able to defeat the attackers, so he was extremely nervous.

Han Xiao was like gangrene. Vernina could not distance herself away at all, and she became more anxious as time passed.

"This agent is way too strong. Their backup will arrive soon. I'm stalled, Hannes, quickly help me!"

"He is too close to you, and you're moving at a very high speed. There's a fifty percent chance I will hit you instead," Hannes said.

Vernina felt troubled. It was originally an easy mission, but with Han Xiao appearing, all the plans were ruined. The intelligence clearly showed Dorasi's guards to be normal people. Where did this guy jump out of?

Hannes quickly came to a decision. "Retreat!"

It was at this time that the police sirens sounded. Police vehicles and the special operations unit closed in at high speed, and the sound of rotors appeared in the sky—two helicopters were circling above. The place was surrounded from every direction, and they had locked onto the two people that were fighting each other.

The emergency backup team had arrived. It had only been three to four minutes since Dorasi was attacked; they surely lived up to their team name.

Vernina clenched her teeth and used her back to take two punches from Han Xiao, moved with the force from the punches, and dashed into the encirclement while enduring piercing pain in her organs. The people of Maple fired continuously.

She was very agile, so she avoided the attacks by repeatedly sidestepping and found a safe route within the concentrated barrage. Even when she was hit, it only caused her single digit damage. The damage from normal people using normal firearms posed next to no threat to her.

As Han Xiao saw Vernina was about to escape the encirclement, he snatched a heavy sniper from one of the special operation soldiers, activated [Flaming Will], and hit Vernina's shoulder.

Blood splashed.

Her footsteps stumbled, then she sped up again and disappeared in the darkness, leaving blood stains on the ground.

The majority of the team chased in their vehicles.

Han Xiao threw the gun away, feeling much better. There was no benefit in chasing. Injuring the opponent was enough, and he could not kill her anyway.

I'm on their side in Maple's people's eyes for now, but if I escape now, they might chase me too. Han Xiao's eyes twinkled. He decided to stay in place and find the opportunity to escape when the police officers were not paying attention.

More troops arrived, and they started cleaning up the place. Dorasi was surrounded and taken care of by a doctor.

From the conversation between the police, Han Xiao knew that both Vernina and Hannes had escaped, which was expected.

As he was leaning on a car, resting, a high-ranked officer walked in front of him and said in a low voice, "I'm Colonel Danny. You have done a good job, protecting Dorasi's safety and not letting the kidnappers get their way."

Han Xiao continued putting up a show. He acted calm and said, "It's my job to do so."

Danny looked at the street that was filled with pits, and slight shock appeared on his face. "Anguston, joined the army eleven years ago, trained as a special unit soldier for three years, took part in two military missions, kicked out of the special unit due to disciplinary issues, and joined the secret services to protect government officials. Your history is very common—never showed the strength of a superhuman," he said.

Han Xiao shrugged and said, "People are constantly changing."

Colonel Danny frowned. This was a very serious issue. This Anguston had been hiding his real strength. His motive was very suspicious and had to be checked thoroughly, but right now was not a good time.

Then, Dorasi came forward. "Good job, you saved me. I will let your superiors know about this and reward you for it."

Dorasi knew that he had to keep a humble attitude after seeing Han Xiao's strength. Such a strong superhuman was not like any other normal soldier he could just command around.

Han Xiao secretly observed Dorasi, thinking, What secret does this old government official have that interest two people that are LV 60?

After Dorasi showed his appreciation, he looked at Colonel Danny with a straight face and said, "What was the identity of the attackers?"

"We are still checking… Oh, they have found it." Colonel Danny took the laptop from his assistant, but he was stunned with only one look.

"Vernina, former Raylen agent, currently decommissioned. She was once very active in the battlefields of the old era, was one of the shining legends of that era. She carried out more than one hundred highly dangerous missions, including assassinations, protection details, infiltrations, subverting governments, and so on. Today was her first appearance in decades, and her threat level is determined to be the highest."

If it had something to do with legendary characters of the old era, then it would more or less have some connection to Bennett.

Oh, I remember now. Han Xiao had a flash of light in his mind. He now remembered where Vernina and Hannes had appeared.

It was in the middle of version 1.0 when players came into contact with these two names. They appeared in a form of something more like an easter egg.

In the biggest refugee camp created by Bennett in Han Xiao's previous life, there was a small hill that had three graves on it. Two of them belonged to these two people. When players came into contact with them, they were already dead,

Bennett would sometimes stop in front of the three graves, and if someone were to ask him about it, he would sigh and say he had buried his friends and comrades—all respectable people.

Players only knew these three people were old friends of Bennett from what he said and nothing else; some players had tried triggering a mission, but it did not result in anything. Apparently, it was just an easter egg.

But now, the two people in the grave were still alive. Han Xiao was certain there must be a hidden storyline.

Two of the strongest people at LV 60 from the same era of Bennett… why were they against a Maple government official?

In the original storyline, how and what did they die for? Who killed them?

Colonel Danny looked up at Han Xiao with suspicion.

This person that he had never heard before had chased away a legend of an era. He was stronger than he had thought!

There was such a scary guy hidden in secret service, and the military had not noticed!

We'll have to investigate thoroughly, Colonel Danny thought.

With such thoughts in his mind, Colonel Danny commanded the people to clean the battlefield, and within a short moment, Han Xiao disappeared from under his nose.

Han Xiao activated [Night Stalker]'s abilities as the attention of the people around him was diverted by cleaning up the battlefield. He walked to the corner and immediately changed his face and escaped. His level was much higher than everyone there, so as soon as he activated stealth mode, he was undetectable unless he lingered right in front of someone for a very long time.

As soon as Colonel Danny had realized this, he quickly asked the people around him, but nobody saw Anguston leaving. He stood still in shock. With just a slight dip in attention, the person had disappeared!

He commanded his people to search the nearby areas, which of course lead to no result.

Not long after Colonel Danny was confused, someone found the real Anguston lying in the garden of Dorasi's mansion. He then realized that this 'Anguston' was a fake, and it was the same thing that the mystery person who infiltrated other mansions of the officials had done!

The attacker's identity is confirmed, but who is the infiltrator? Colonel Danny thought with a heavy mind. The infiltrator was as strong as Vernina, so which organization did he belong to, and why did an 'ace' level power appear in the capital?

Dorasi was horrified and covered in cold sweat when he knew the truth.

After all, it turned out the person that was protecting him was also an enemy that had been stalking him all along.

Two enemies actually fought with each other. It was like he walked past the edges of hell and ended up unhurt!

"How am I alive?" Dorasi was still panicking.

Chapter 189: Fearsome Assassination

As the people of Maple were still investigating, Han Xiao had already returned to Dorasi's mansion. He placed the last document in the study and left, swaggering.

_____________________

[Deterrence and Threaten] is completed.

You have gained 120,000 experience.

+500 Relationship with Blood Pact Society

Current relationship: Respect (4450/6000)

_____________________

There was an affiliation between organizations. The Blood Pact Society was a subordinate organization of Dark Net, so the relationship with it would also influence the relationship with the Dark Net, just like how his relationship with Division 13 also affected the attitude that Stardragon had toward him. In order to unlock relationship with the higher-tier organization, Dark Net, Han Xiao guessed he needed an opportunity, like a mission or something. As the relationship with the subordinate organization became higher, it would start to affect the relationship with the superior organization.

This was not a difficult mission. It probably also has some hidden benefits, like increasing my relationship points with Bennett. Han Xiao nodded, when he returned to the Southern Continent, he would become a partner of the refugee storyline. He was looking forward to it.

…

After being busy for more than half of the night, Dorasi finally returned home, exhausted and protected by new guards.

As he passed by the study, he realized that the desk lamp was on. He walked toward the study table and wanted to turn the lamp off, but then he saw a document on the table that he had never seen before.

Dorasi's expression changed. He hesitated for a few seconds and started reading the document slowly.

Inside the document were pieces of evidence of his corrupt profits and his unpleasant history, and it was shockingly inscribed by Dark Net.

"Dark Net sends our warmest regards. We wish you a healthy body."

Dorasi's face turned green. He immediately understood why the Dark Net did this—it could only be regarding the appropriation of supplies. He did not expect the Dark Net to even find out that he was one of the people who opposed the appropriation.

He threw the documents on the floor angrily, gnashing his teeth, and said, "How arrogant. This is blackmailing, a bunch of robbers!"

They could sneak into his house and place something, which meant they could take away his life. The infiltrator belonged to the Dark Net! Everything tonight had been planned by the Dark Net!

But he did not dare plan revenge. If the document fell into the hands of his political opposition, his political life would be over; he would undoubtedly be abandoned by the people he depended on. Without protection from his political party, he would definitely be erased. As a government official, he was most clear with Maple's ways of doing things.

Dorasi burned the document and lay down on the chair like he had lost his bones. He watched the document as it turned into ash in the fireplace, and he remained silent for quite some time.

I can't let people know about this. I was not the only one that opposed the appropriation. The others wouldn't be stupid enough to spread it. Dorasi's eyes twinkled. If no one talked about it, no one would know, and it would remain a secret. As long as they agreed with the appropriation, Dark Net would not take further action.

However, things never turned out according to plan. One of the government officials whose house had been infiltrated was found dead, with his dead body hidden in the cabinet! This had immediately raised the importance level much higher. Secret service agents locked down the official's mansion and investigated the entire house carefully. Han Xiao saw that the target died at the time. Therefore, he did plant the document. Of course, the intelligence team did not manage to find anything.

They did, however, have a rough guess. Five victims, but only one died—why were the other four unharmed? What was the motive of the infiltrator? The intelligence unit asked the rest of the four victims, including Dorasi, if there were any abnormalities—all four of them denied it. However, the Intelligence team had found a link between the five parties, which was their opposition to providing aid for the Dark Net not long ago.

The Dark Net was the most suspicious!

The infiltrator had battled with the legend of the old era then disappeared into thin air. Maple Intelligence Institution immediately narrowed it down to the most suspicious person, Dark Net's Black Phantom!

Which meant that the four officials were lying, but why did the dead government official get killed?

The doctor checked the cause of death. They did not find any injury outside or inside; the cause of death was a myocardial infarction and overflow of adrenaline. In short, he was scared to death!

What did he see before he died to scare him to death!

Did he see a ghost?

What did Black Phantom do?

The more they thought, the scarier it was for the intelligence agents of Maple.

"Such a fearsome way of assassination. Natural, no trace, godly disguise, unbelievable!"

The Intelligence agents recorded it hastily.

The toughness of Black Phantom was known by everyone in the underworld—it was almost impossible to find him. The intelligence institution of Maple could only do all they could, and they were already expecting their efforts to go to waste.

…

Vernina sat bare top on the chair with her front facing the back of the chair. Her hands grabbed the chair back and placed her chin on the back of her hands. Hannes was behind her, dealing with the wounds on her shoulder. To the side were cotton balls drenched with blood.

Ding-Dong

Hannes finally took out the bullet that was stuck in the muscles and threw it into the metal plate.

The pain made Vernina frown a little. She sighed and said, "Such a shame. Can't believe I failed such an easy mission."

Hannes continued sewing the wounds without facing up and said, "Garian's information had errors—it's all his fault."

Garian threw the laptop on the table as he heard what Hannes said. The screen showed the files on the secret service agents around Dorasi. "Bullshit, this is intelligence I got from the database of Maple through very difficult and tiresome hacking. That strong opponent is called Anguston. Look clearly at his history. He is a totally normal person. Who would have thought he was hiding so deeply?"

Vernina put on a white cardigan and tied her golden hair up. "With this failure, it won't be so easy to kidnap the target next time. That Anguston is not easy to deal with."

Garian looked at the laptop. He suddenly turned happy and said, "Wait, I have new information. The person we fought was a fake. He did not belong to Maple at all."

"Who was it?" Hannes was surprised.

"Seems like it's from the Dark Net," Garian said as he typed on the keyboard and hacked for intelligence.

"Dark Net? Only Bennett and two other old guys are that strong, but it wasn't them. There's new blood in Dark Net? It has been quite some time since I paid attention to the data from the underground." Vernina was slightly shocked. She touched her shoulder and said, "He also left a bullet hole in me. He is really not easily messed with."

"We have no conflict of interest with him. We just met him unluckily," Garian said. "And we met a strong one. Bennett has found a treasure."

"The fastest way is to ask." Hannes took out his phone, selecting Bennett's number.

The call went through.

"Hannes? Didn't expect you to call me. Didn't you retire already?" Bennett's voice appeared.

"Garian said that there was something important that he needed my help for, and I owed him a favor. Never mind that. I have something to ask you. Did you send someone to Maple?" Hannes then explained what had happened.

Bennett didn't know to laugh or to cry. "Such a coincidence. I don't know whether it's him being lucky or you guys being unlucky."

"Who is he?"

Bennett stopped talking for a second, then laughed and said, "Are you looking for trouble? I suggest you don't mess with him. He might kill you."

Chapter 190: Hidden Main Storyline 1

"Fighting him was an accident. You know me—I won't take revenge." Hannes shook his head.

Garian cut in and said, "Let me guess, he is the recently active Black Phantom. He's the only newbie worth mentioning in your organization."

Hannes froze in place. He started thinking and said, "Turns out it's Black Phantom. I've heard of him although I retired and don't pay attention to freshmen. He's quite tough. Seems like you've got yourself a great warrior Bennett."

Bennett kept silent. Just as Hannes said, he also felt that he had found a treasure.

Back when he first met Black Phantom, his code name was still Mr. Black, and he was only a scorpion. He had been quite strong but still very far from top tier. He had also seemed like Bennett's fan and gave Bennett some presents that suited his taste. Thus, Bennett had given him some guidance, but it was only a random act, and he did not take Han Xiao very seriously.

However, within a short few months, Han Xiao had shaken the underworld with his battle record and become one of the top ten killers and an undoubted ace of the Blood Pact Society. The speed that he grew at surprised Bennett.

Although they had not battled with each other, Bennett could feel the strength difference between him and Han Xiao decreasing at a very fast rate.

With Black Phantom's potential, sooner or later, he would become someone that could share the responsibilities with him so that he did not have to do everything alone. Black Phantom's partnership with the Dark Net was at the honeymoon stage, so Bennett paid a lot of attention to it.

"Since he's one of your people, I want him to help us do something," Hannes said.

Bennett rejected and said, "Black Phantom is not my subordinate, and I cannot command him. The most I can do is help you ask, but it still depends on his response."

Hannes pondered and said, "Alright, I would like to talk to him myself."

"That can be done."

The call ended.

"You want to let a stranger join us?" Vernina said with surprise. "Although he's strong, we know nothing about him."

"He's very strong. What's bad about having another person assist us? We don't need to keep what we're doing a secret anyway."

Garian was the initiator of the mission, and he completely agreed with what Hannes wanted to do. "We're digging for a big secret, and three of us is not enough. I have been collecting intelligence for many years and have finally found some leads—I need to know no matter what."

"One day, you'll die of your curiosity," Hannes said with a heavy heart.

…

As the sun began to rise, Han Xiao returned to the Dark Net's safehouse. Golden Fox and Ghost Blade had been awake for the whole night. Seeing him return, Golden Fox breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is the mission completed?" Ghost Blade questioned. "Did you follow my plan?"

"Your plan wouldn't work." Han Xiao shook his head and briefly described the challenges he faced during the infiltration. Ghost Blade's intelligence had missed out some details, and these were very important details.

After what Han Xiao said, Ghost Blade noticed there were errors and flaws to the intelligence that he had collected, despite him thinking it was as detailed as it could be. He felt shamed as Han Xiao pointed out the details that he had missed.

Ghost Blade had originally been very confident of his precise plan, but he realized that following the plan would not have been enough to deal with the sudden changes of situation. Yet Han Xiao improvised on the spot and completed the mission seemingly with ease like it was nothing.

The difference made Ghost Blade feel defeated and embarrassed.

But he realized that Han Xiao had no intention of blaming or insulting him; rather, he did not seem to care about what he was thinking at all. Ghost Blade was completely ignored; plus, having been slapped in the face by reality, he felt even more embarrassed.

Whether it's taunting or respecting, he doesn't care about what I think, Ghost Blade thought with discontent. It felt like he was provoking someone, but that someone treated him like air and completely ignored him. It was like punching a cotton ball. Furthermore, with their difference in position and strength, he felt his actions were even more laughable.

Being ignored felt horrible for Ghost Blade—it was like he was just an extra, and he felt like something was clogging his heart.

Although Han Xiao did not know about the change of attitude from Ghost Blade, he was able to guess it. It was probably nothing more than arrogance and doubts, then getting slapped by reality and feeling embarrassed. Han Xiao's heart was completely unaffected.

Everyone's mind was different. Whether it was childish or crazy, everyone would have thoughts that were way out of line. But as long as they did not act on it, it would forever be a secret. Therefore, the great Han Xiao did not care about the thoughts and emotions of others—that would be more meaningless than a pair of spectacles without lenses.

Whether Ghost Blade doubted or respected him, it would not affect his emotions even for a little bit. There was nothing that described this characteristic of his better than the phrase 'doing things his own way'.

This was the legendary calming aura.

Golden Fox licked her bright, tender lips, and her emotions were complicated.

The first time she saw Black Phantom was in the manor defending mission a few months ago. Black Phantom had just been a scorpion back then—his rank had been even lower than hers. But in a few months, she was still in the same place, while Black Phantom had climbed up in a short time to be an ace of the Blood Pact Society as well as made a connection with the superiors of Dark Net.

Golden Fox envied Black Phantom's position, but she knew she did not have what it took.

If she could sacrifice her body to have Black Phantom back her up, she would definitely do it, but it was too bad that Han Xiao had no interest in her.

She could understand it—what was wrong with men being weird?

Not bothering with the puzzled Golden Fox, Han Xiao opened the safe and took out the equipment that he had previously placed inside. There was no need to stay in Maple now that the mission was done. As he was getting ready to leave, his phone rang. It was Bennett.

Han Xiao picked up the phone.

"I have completed your request. There were some small accidents along the way, but I was overall stable."

"I knew you wouldn't fail. I have something else for you," Bennett said. "The enemy you met in the middle of the mission was actually my friend. You might have heard of them before, Hannes and Vernina. They are from my era, "

Han Xiao acted surprised. "Oh, what a coincidence."

"It's surprising that you didn't lose. You were much weaker when I first met you," Bennett said in awe. "The speed you're improving at has surpassed my knowledge."

"Are you calling just to compliment me?" Han Xiao said. "Go on, don't stop. I can still endure it."

With twitching lips, Bennett took a deep breath and calmed his emotions. "Hannes has asked me to tell you that he wants your help. Regarding the conflict earlier, it was just a misunderstanding."

"Wants my help?" Han Xiao's eyes twinkled. He realized that this was a mission that came to him without him looking for it!

Or to put in in a more direct way, he had met the requirements of triggering this storyline—he had legendary points and sufficient relationship with the Dark Net, and he was friends with Bennett while his level was high enough. Therefore, the hidden storyline had come to him.

Legendary points and relationships with organizations had their benefits. Sometimes, NPCs would come looking for the player and task them with a mission. These missions were usually more difficult than usual, but they also rewarded generously.

Missions coming to the players and players looking to trigger missions everywhere were treated very differently, just like the difference between seeking help from others and others seeking help from you.

Therefore, players favored attributes like legendary points that could give them a very good gaming experience.

"I could help them, but I need to know the details." Han Xiao thought for a second and added, "Since they are your friends, they are my friends too. Don't worry about that small conflict."

This sentence made Bennett feel very good. He laughed in a very 'reserved' way, but he could not hide the fact that he was feeling comfortable all over. Since Han Xiao had given him so much respect, he would return the favor. "Count it as me owing you a favor. Hehe. Seems like I owe you quite a few favors already."

Chapter 191: Hidden Main Storyline 2

"There's no rush to return the favor. Just don't forget about it," Han Xiao joked.

Every time Bennett owed him a favor, their relationship points would increase. Being in good relationship with one of the main characters on the planet would definitely be quite beneficial.

Triggering a hidden storyline without actively looking for it was clearly one of the benefits it had brought. Bennett's relationship network was very wide, so one could go through Bennett to get in contact with many others, most of them being strong ones with missions that had a chance to be triggered.

After waiting for a while, Bennett transferred Hannes' call.

Ka-chin.

They both kept silent after the call was connected. They could only hear the sound of each other breathing.

In the end, Hannes spoke first. "I'm Hannes, we have met last night."

"Bennett had told me. Heard you need my help. What's it about?" Han Xiao got straight to the point.

"It's regarding a secret that was buried in history. We have found some traces of it, and I want to find out about this secret.

Han Xiao was very confused. He had no idea what secret he was talking about.

However, a notification showed up on the interface. Han Xiao could not move his eyes away from it the moment he saw it; he was completely shocked.

_____________________

You have triggered Planet Aquamarine's Hidden Main Storyline Grade A Mission [New Era—Origin].

Remarks: This mission will cause unknown and irreversible effects to some events and organizations. Please consider carefully before choosing to accept or reject.

_____________________

Han Xiao's eye immediately widened.

A main storyline mission that no one ever triggered!

There were three main storylines in Planet Aquamarine—two of them were the war between the Six Nations and Germinal Organization and the creation of the refugee camp, and another hidden main storyline was triggered by the players, but it was not it!

He had completely no recollection of it, which meant this mission had not been triggered by the players in his previous life!

Hidden main storylines were a special type of mission. They needed an opportunity to be triggered, and they would impact the other main storylines and change the plot in one way or another. Han Xiao had played through many versions in his previous life, and he had read about hidden main storylines on the forum before.

Without exception, they all impacted the main storyline missions of their civilization or planet in a profound way.

The first time Hannes and the guys appeared before the players they were already dead. No wonder no one triggered it.

Han Xiao suddenly realized how dangerous this mission was. Even two people at the maximum level for Planet Aquamarine had died. It would probably be much more difficult than he thought.

Han Xiao's grade A mission against Germinal Organization [Fall of the Germinal] was a branch of the main storyline mission. Players in different organizations would receive different main storyline missions. For the Six Nations, it would of course be to destroy the Germinal Organization, but for Germinal Organization, it was the other way around.

However, Han Xiao's mission was special because he did not belong to any organization but was Germinal Organization's enemy. Thus, the requirements and details were different, but the main goal was the same.

However, he knew nothing about this hidden main storyline mission.

Origin? Does it mean to dig into the history of the planet? In that case, which event's origin is this?

The unknown was feared, yet people were curious about it. Han Xiao felt an itch in his bones—it was the feeling of excitement and anticipation.

He was an extremely long-term player that loved to dig the important factors in 'Galaxy', and this was a secret that no player had found out about!

"Accept."

_____________________

You have accepted [New Era—Origin].

+10 Relationship with Hannes, Vernina, Garian, and Jiang Yuan.

_____________________

Hmm? Han Xiao noticed something.

He knew that Jiang Yuan was the last person buried in the grave, but who was this Garian?

_____________________

Talk to Hannes. Listen to his introduction.

_____________________

The mission requirement at the moment was only this. Han Xiao was used to it; it was something like an opening cinematic.

"It has something to do with us attempting to kidnap Dorasi last night. He took part in a secret plan some years back, and this secret plan of Maple is one of the leads. There are many secrets in the nation of Maple.

"When you infiltrated the government officials' mansions, did you feel weird that these officials were protected around the clock, but this doesn't happen in other nations?"

Han Xiao nodded. "I know about this, the 'Ulrich Assault' from many years ago."

"Yes, Ulrich Assault…"

Hannes described the event in detail.

Ulrich's position in Maple at that time was similar to a prime minister. He had been attacked at home, not by a few people, but a large group of civilians who somehow had weapons from an unknown supplier. They used gunpowder weapons and burned Ulrich's expensive mansion to the ground. Ulrich, his wife, and their three children aged around ten years old were brutally slaughtered by the attackers. The entire process was recorded and uploaded online. It shocked the nation and even the entire world.

The reason for this was that Ulrich approved a policy that was basically to remove power and citizen benefits from the civilians and to use it as an investment of a ridiculous project, which was actually a way for Ulrich to put money into his own pocket.

Corruption of the government officials in Maple was known throughout the world, but before the war of the old era had broken out, Maple had been known for their gentle government. They were normal and not a strong nation.

When the old era war broke out, the government implemented policies that were very pressurizing for the civilians. Most people showed understanding and accepted the policies under pressure, and some even actively contributed. The government officials of Maple had tasted the delicious fruit of evil. After the war ended, because of the pressure from the nation losing power after the war, they did not go back to the old easy-going policies. Instead, they continued to pressure the civilians with tax and labor, which was used to recover the nation's power. Conflicts within the country became worse as time passed by, the gentle society environment disappeared and never returned.

People who were not living the life they wanted were like a spring that was pressed to its limit—the policy Ulrich approved was the last straw.

Then, half an hour after Ulrich was attacked, the special force received a command to kill everyone who took part in the attack. They showed no mercy. The nation was shocked, and this signified as the opening of the change of times in Maple.

If this had happened before the old era war, it would have a been a scandal that could cause the complete downfall of the government, but in the new era, where power was left unchecked, the other five nations had no intention of getting involved.

It was already difficult for everyone just to protect themselves after the war. Organizations that protected human rights and power alliances no longer existed.

The structure of the world changed. The balance was broken; economies were close to collapsing; resources and military power became the only standard to measure a nation's power. Maple felt that the civilians' feelings did not matter anymore, so they did not serve the citizens like before. In their eyes, it was time for the citizens to serve the nation.

The old era was over. With everything being destroyed and waiting to be rebuilt, it was a chance to reshape the country, so they chose a radical way of doing it.

The assault that shocked the nation also alerted the government officials of Maple. They decided to retrieve the 'weapons' from the civilians. The government officials had never been this united before—they approved twenty-four strict policies with high efficiencies within two days. The twenty-four-hour protection of the officials was the most basic policy, and there were even insane ones that graded civilians, which led to 'rotten meat' being evicted from the big cities every so often—rotten meat being citizens deemed worthless.

Thus, the effects of the assault went down a weird path. The Maple government announced that the attackers were not ordinary citizens—there was a reactionary group in the nation who planned the attack. Their weapons were the best evidence.

The Maple government listed dozens of lame pieces of evidence. With the justifying excuse of capturing the reactionary group, they started to use force to take back the power that they had given to the civilians, pressure the 'reactionary group', 'deal' with anyone who 'might be a threat to the nation', then lock the information down. They wanted to turn civilians into a completely controlled labor force.

Chapter 192: Hidden Main Storyline 3

The way Maple dealt with what came after the assault became the biggest scandal of that year, but with strong military power, they completed the reshaping of their country and built a nation with a completely different style. People were classified as a pyramid, except there were close to no ladders between classes. The citizens saw no hope in life; they were just waiting to die.

Those with power were not born with it. Under high pressure, a real reactionary group had formed, but it was not the cold weapon era anymore—the standard of weapons that the nation had was like a wall that could never be scaled. If there was no external interference, it was almost impossible for anyone to overturn and take over the government, and Maple regularly removed 'people who posed threat to the nation'. Thus, the citizens had turned from being terrified to being numb.

The assaults were started by a few violent citizens venting their rage, and it ended in more citizens bearing with the consequences, which perfectly described the case of hitting a rock with an egg. It caused the society of Maple to be reconstructed. It became a dictatorship, and the ones on the top had complete control.

The root of a gentle government changing was war. The high pressure from the war caused the government to collapse under stress, and they had no choice but to direct the pressure to its citizens, which then got out of hand. This was just like how it was easy to go from being poor to being rich but difficult to go from being rich to being poor.[a][b]

Citizens were the cornerstone of a country. Just like the parts of a machine, when the national machine needed these parts to overload, they would wear out and break quicker than usual and sacrifice the best time of their lives. But as long as they changed the parts to new ones, the machine could still function. The broken parts were replaceable, and the parts that were thrown away became 'vessels of an era'.

Han Xiao was interested. He quite liked the history and stories of civilizations. After Hannes finished, Han Xiao contemplated for a while and asked, "What does this have to do with the 'secret' you talked about?"

"What I wanted to say is that the war had changed a lot of things. I have been through that darkest and most chaotic age. Many were controlled by ideas, missions, and honor and turned into a tool for killing while still thinking they were doing an honorable thing. Only a few woke up from this, such as Bennett, he became a hero, but an era that needs a hero is never a good era. The end of the war was filled with dirty conspiracies that were buried as secrets, and we want these secrets to resurface."

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. "And what benefit does this bring you?"

"Nothing, but the people of this world have the right to know what they went through and not let these conspiracies stay hidden to become a secret that never gets unveiled. I don't think the original construct of society would shatter within a night just because we got in touch with galactic civilizations, and I don't believe a so-called internal conflict would cause wars. There has to be someone behind all of it."

"Every country has its secrets. It's nothing unusual," Han Xiao said.

Hannes smiled and said, "Since we have come to the new era, the world should also look different, the rules are changing. Why follow the old logic? Also, I owed a favor to someone who has a very strong desire to gain knowledge. He suggested this mission, and I joined in."

Hmm, from his tone, seems like they are anarchists. They died in my previous life. This mission seems rather complicated. Han Xiao stopped asking questions. He considered for a while and decided to join them. No matter what reason they were doing this for, this was a very rare hidden mission, so it would be a waste to reject it.

Hannes requested to meetup. They were both in the same city, so with Hannes leading the way, Han Xiao soon found their safehouse.

They met and started observing each other. Han Xiao looked past Hannes and Vernina, then stopped at Garian. He was most curious about this person.

As he was observing the trio, they were looking at him.

So, this was the legendary Black Phantom.

"You are pretty strong," Vernina said with a calm tone.

"Although we just met today, I owe you a favor for coming to help," Hannes said.

Plenty of people who owed me favors, welcome to the party.

"What do I need to do?" Han Xiao asked.

The three people looked at each other. Garian took out a deck of documents and said, "The evidence is within the intelligence of the past few years. I spent a long time finding a lead. It is very cumbersome, so we need to divide our labor."

As Han Xiao browsed the documents, his expression finally changed.

_____________________

[New Era—Origin]

This mission is a series of chain missions. You can complete the targets below.

Ending of the Survivor: In the Blade City of Raylen, find a guy called "Old Devin" and get the incomplete copy of [Sully No.485 Document].

The Key of Misplacement: In the capital ruins of the West Mountain nation within the Southern Continent (Coordinates——), find a misplaced important item [Attachment—Item Appearance]. this was the end result of West Mountain nation's last research before they were destroyed.

Sealed Past: Control the warlord, Verna, of the Verna Colony on the Western Continent (Coordinates ——). His father was a high ranked military officer of a dead country. There are hidden clues—follow Verna and find the secret.

Mysterious Prisoner: Decades ago, an intelligence agent of Stardragon was imprisoned by a country. That country is already dead, but the intelligence agent was kept in a secret prison that had no guards. No one has found him. Find him or his relics (Coordinates of the ruin ——)

Same Type of Person: A loner who has secluded himself in the wilderness has some very important information. Intelligence shows that he appeared near the tribute valley in the Western Continent. Be careful, he is not a normal person. He was active on the battlefield of the old era. It is recommended you engage the contact with friendliness (Jiang Yuan).

This is the first round of the mission. As long as one of the missions are completed, the mission can be concluded. The amount and completion status of the missions will determine the mission requirements of the next round.

Reward(s) of the First Round: 350,000 Experience. Bonus rewards given as per evaluation of the missions.

_____________________

Han Xiao raised his brows. The freedom of this kind of mission was very high, similar to the series missions of an organization, but this main storyline was clearly more cumbersome, and it was a chain mission. The completion status of the previous round would affect the mission requirements of the next round.

This mission is extremely open. Every round has different clues that will lead to different endings. Usually, the more targets are completed, the better it is, and the higher the evaluation will be. Han Xiao had completed this type of mission before, so he knew that there were many possibilities.

It was like walking a maze. In order to find the exit, one had to gain as much information as one could, and with the ending of Hannes and the others, this mission posed very high risks.

The rewards of the mission did not bring shame to main storylines. Just the basic reward of the first round was already 350,000 experience, and the bonus rewards were very likely to be items, abilities, or talents.

But the mission was too cumbersome. The location spanned across three continents, so it would cost him a huge amount of time. No wonder it was an A-grade mission. Han Xiao tightened his brows, feeling a little distressed.

"I will try it." No matter what, he needed to accept it first.

Garian nodded. "I will count on you for these missions. The three of us have other missions."

Hannes and the rest were all very strong characters from the old era, so their mission was definitely not simple. Han Xiao decided to let the Dark Net help keep an eye on it.

After getting the mission requirements, Han Xiao left the safehouse.

"So, is he trustworthy?" Vernina asked.

Hannes shook his head and then nodded. "We don't know much about him. Let's see what he will do for now."

"The documents I gave him have real and fake information," Garian said. "It was only one tenth of the clues I had, so it will be best if he can complete them. If he has other thoughts, we won't lose anything. It is just some unconfirmed intelligence anyway."

"He is a friend of Bennett, so he should be trustworthy."

[a]Is this the right was round? I'd have said it's easier to go from rich to poor than poor to rich XD

[b]Haha I would say so too, I think I was not clear in the translation, this was regrading the transition of lifestyle

Chapter 193: Tease

This hidden storyline seems to have something to do with digging the history. Logically, it shouldn't result in a big impact, but since it's the main storyline, could it be that there'll be some shocking secret that'll be dug up? Han Xiao thought as he walked on the street.

No matter what secrets there were, it was not his mission, and there were enough chances for him to explore it, but of course, the rewards were the most important part.

Since the mission in Maple was completed, Han Xiao left that very day. The threats that he had issued had resulted in the local intelligence institution carrying out a hidden investigation throughout the city, but because of the 'godly assassination' of a government official, the investigation was very thorough.

Because they were in the same organization, Han Xiao brought Golden Fox and Ghost Blade as he retreated. Ghost Blade was unwilling at first, but the situation was severe, so he had to compromise.

Ghost Blade did not like the feeling of being protected by someone, so he was sulking most of the way.

After successfully leaving Maple, Han Xiao separated from the duo and rushed toward the cargo plane toward Farian without stopping. The players in the novice villages of the Western Continent were still waiting for his arrival.

The forum had exploded. The players that were waiting for Han Xiao panicked and were worried that he would not be coming anymore. They started being superstitious and spammed posts in the forum to pray for Han Xiao's arrival. The posts reached the astonishing number of 300,000. It was so terrifying that Han Xiao was worried that he might be buried in the sea of players.

Some of the players started to play with memes.

"Youngster, did you drop this Black Phantom, this White Phantom, or this Yellow Phantom? Hmm, you're an honest child. To reward you, you can exchange your money to learn skills."

"Shhh, look at what I found, there's a Black Phantom that is different from the others. We can try to capture it. One Black Phantom could provide us with energy for many days. But it is not easy to deal with. We have to quietly close in from its back… Ahhh, I've been discovered. Help, it wants to eat me, run Calvin!"

"Black Phantom used Death Stare. It was super effective."

Finally, after tens of thousands of summons, the Great Mechanic Han Xiao arrived at a novice village. The players waiting for Han Xiao there were countless, much more than any other novice village.

The moment he appeared, players rushed over like an avalanche. People who did not know might even have mistaken them for a locust plague.

Han Xiao looked at the level of the players—they were at an average of level ten. The hundreds of top-level players on the forum have already reached LV 18; Maple Moon was one of them. With the help of the Great Mechanic Han, she had been the biggest winner of the prize pool.

However, other players also had their own opportunities. The number of people at the same level was not small, but most of them were players from other countries on other novice planets. Planet Aquamarine was the base camp of China's esports clubs, but the number of their players at the top of the level leaderboard was the lowest. It was quite a pain for Han Xiao.

Disappointing, come on guys, buck up!

Then, he looked at the countless players in front of him, pondered, and said, "What's the use of leveling up fast? Being able to fight is the way to go."

Hmm, nothing wrong with that.

Only players from big guilds that were climbing the level leaderboard would be rushing their levels without upgrading their abilities. Other players would not be doing the same. Even though leveling up was fast at the start, it would be slower as their level became higher.

With the experience quota, Han Xiao had to think about the missions he gave out. If he wanted to cultivate one player, he could make that player grow at a much higher speed than anyone else, but he would not do that, at least not before the players reach LV 20.

Before LV 20, [Energy Training Technique] had a lot of market potential, so it was extremely profitable.

…

Han Xiao taught abilities as usual, and the players came swarming. Gaining experience points in novice village was also a way of relaxation for him, so he had time to browse the forums.

On the forums, the popularity of Inhuman Phenomenon was over the top, and not only on Planet Aquamarine. Similar situations had occurred on other planets too, and players received different treatments.

On the Wizard Planet, they were researched by the witches and were discovered to have a very high talent for sorcery, which was in fact the learning ability on the player Interface. They then shockingly joined various sorcery academies.

On the Ancient Planet, they were seen as messengers of God and worshipped.

On the Ice Winter planet… Oh, the players in the Ice Winter Planet were the safest. The devil species had no interest whatsoever in their unique characteristic of being able to revive after death, and when the players saw the spaceships of the Space Devil species dash through the universe and breaking apart the meteors surrounding the planet for resources with their gravity capturing devices, they all understood why the reaction of the devil species was so normal.

To the Extinguish Army, the strength of the players was like an ant. Who would care about what an ant looked like?

Of course, there was also the possibility that the devil species were used to seeing the ability to revive. No one knew for sure. It was all just speculation anyway.

The planets above were all very lucky, but Planet Aquamarine was one of the unluckiest planets. NPCs were very fearful toward the players. The players were captured, experimented on, sliced to pieces, and brainwashed—they were treated like slaves.

Players being filled with hatred was a certain, and with the situation on Planet Aquamarine, the players had new speculations.

Black Phantom was probably a compensation from the game company and producers!

"No wonder! That's why a character like Black Phantom only exists on our planet!"

"Luckily, there is Black Phantom. If we didn't have him, we would have nothing to play with!"

Seeing comments like this, Han Xiao smiled. His efforts did not go to waste.

As he saw the expression in the players' eyes, he smiled even brighter, looking like a farmer who was looking at his harvest.

The Inhuman Phenomenon on Planet Aquamarine had arrived at a key stage. All the organizations were contacting the players. Some of them were using a soft approach like Stardragon and Hesla; there were also some that went for a colder approach like Raylen and Ordina; other militaries and financial organizations were taking action, too. It was not all bad for the players, at least they had the opportunity to join an organization without having to run everywhere, and that was exactly what the players did, with the Six Nations having most players joining them.

In Han Xiao's previous life, the Germinal Organization had lured in the most players, but now, their bases were all destroyed, and they could only capture players in the local area of their headquarters. It was pathetic—their player count was reduced by approximately eighty percent compared to his previous life.

The Inhuman Phenomenon also lead to another change; the players developed a hobby of teasing the NPCs. They became very curious and asked a lot of questions, and they liked to do things that were out of the line, wanting to see the reaction from the NPCs.

Players had a lot of fun, but to NPCs, they were acting extremely weird.

All the organizations did one thing at the same time—they added one line to the Inhuman documents. "Most Inhumans have a mental illness. Their actions are very random, and they might do anything. They cannot be judged with a normal mindset."

Han Xiao did not know to cry or to laugh when he saw this line on the Dark Net. There was another line that made him burst into laughter.

"With research, the Inhumans have gender, but they do not have genitals and reproductive abilities."

The game did not allow players to get naked, and from the NPCs' perspective, it was like their underwear was part of their body, which was very incomprehensible.

Han Xiao was laughing uncontrollably. He could imagine how the organizations found out about this…

Unable to reproduce, which meant that Inhumans were not a new species. Of course, there was a possibility that their way of reproducing was different from what the people on Planet Aquamarine knew about. There were also all kinds of speculations about the Inhumans on the Dark Net, with various emotions like terror, nervousness, and many others.

Han Xiao noticed the once abandoned religion seemed to have rejuvenated. They claimed Inhumans to be messengers sent by God to save the world.

Some players had the thought of teasing Black Phantom. Since Black Phantom was the guider of new players, would he also be shocked like the other NPCs? Teasing an NPC was a fun thing to do.

"Black Phantom, your name is Han Xiao, you served Stardragon before, and you are now a member of the Dark Net, am I right?" a player named Flying Naughty Prawn suddenly said. He had seen the video from Bun-hit-dog and had an interesting idea. He wanted to expose Black Phantom's identity right in front of him and see what would happen.

There was no way for Black Phantom to know that his identity was exposed. When he saw a stranger stating his true identity, would he be shocked and lose his cool?

Flying Naughty Prawn was staring at Han Xiao while snickering.

Chapter 194: If You Are Going to Scam People, Scam Them for as Much as You Can.

The rubbernecking crowd all looked at Flying Naughty Prawn with respect.

This guy really is a courageous warrior who lives for trouble.

Then, they all stepped back simultaneously. They stood further back so that they would not be splashed by the blood.

Han Xiao knew where Flying Naughty Prawn had gotten the information from. This was an impact of Bun-hit-dog's video. To expose some information and increase the curiosity of the players toward his identity and to increase his fame, this had gone through his consent.

The tiny amount of information exposed was of no importance to Han Xiao. The players were not like the NPCs who had a large intelligence network. Without the key information, it was completely useless to know his real name. Instead, the more viral the video became, the stronger his impact grew.

Therefore, Han Xiao had guessed long ago that there would be players who would asked him directly, so he calmed replied with a "hmm" then kept silent.

Flying Naughty Prawn was confused. It did not go as he imagined. How is Black Phantom so calm now that his identity has been exposed?

Does Black Phantom not care about strangers knowing his identity at all?

Or… is Black Phantom's identity actually not a secret at all in areas that players don't know about?

This plan didn't work at all.

Flying Naughty Prawn was very discouraged.

Black Phantom was too steady. It was like he did not have a weakness and could not be teased at all.

The crowd looked at each other, becoming even more curious.

What kind of person was he?

Flying Naughty Prawn did not give up. He continued to look for trouble and asked again, "I want to join the Germinal Organization, do you know how can I do that?"

Everyone knew that Black Phantom was against the Germinal Organization. Thus, he asked that on purpose.

Yooo, are you provoking me youngster?

Han Xiao immediately deducted three relationship points as punishment.

Flying Naughty Prawn's face turned green. Isn't this reaction too straightforward? That was completely unexpected!

Han Xiao suddenly had a new idea. With the influence he had on players, maybe he could guide them on choosing a side to join.

So, he paused and said, "A war is going to break out. The Six Nations will come together for an expedition. The Germinal Organization will certainly lose. If you want to commit suicide, do as you wish. If you want to join the Dark Net, I can write a referral letter for you. If you want to join the Germinal Organization, get out of my face."

The crowd got excited, Black Phantom finally had finally given a different reaction, and he had even said information that none of them knew. They started chatting with each other.

"Expedition? The Six Nations and Germinal Organization are going to war?"

"He knows much more than we do. His judgment is definitely reliable."

"Then joining the Germinal Organization would be quite a loss."

The players created a commotion. Only players in Andrea had joined the Germinal Organization. Han Xiao's words would very soon be sent to the forums, and those who were planning to join the Germinal Organization might also change their mind.

He did not want to give up on any chances to harm the Germinal Organization. He had not bothered them for a while, and they seemed to be having a rather peaceful time.

Unacceptable.

Players noticed a keyword in Han Xiao's words. "He said the Dark Net. That's a hidden organization, isn't it? Can he really help us join the Dark Net?"

Han Xiao smiled, opened up the store interface, and added a new item.

_____________________

[Referral Letter]: Unlocks the Blood Pact Society.

Remarks: The Blood Pact Society is a subordinate hitman organization under the Dark Net.

Price: 250,000 Aquamarine Dollars

_____________________

"250,000‽" The crowd was stunned. This was a sky-high price for them. Nobody could afford it.

Originally, to join the Blood Pact Society, there needed to be a few rounds of mission tests, but Han Xiao had gotten rid of all that. With his relationship with the Dark Net, introducing some players into the organization was a piece of cake.

A few months ago, when Han Xiao bought the Blood Pact Society certificate from Antonio, it had cost 200,000. He had used that as a basis and increased the price by 25%. He felt it was a reasonable price since inflation also needed to be considered.

With such a high price, normal players would not be able to afford, but Han Xiao was not planning to sell a large quantity. He was targeting the pro players from esports clubs who could afford the price with the backing of their guild.

Pro players were the ones who were most willing to become stronger by any means necessary. This strategy would attract pro players, which was beneficial for him in expanding his group of spare tires. Of course, most importantly, it was to earn money.

It's not enough to only have inexpensive and high-quality normal items. There also needs to be a few luxury items with a sky-high price to enrich my store structure, Han Xiao thought.

250,000 Aquamarine Dollars was a price that none of the guilds could afford at the time, but they were rich and could use real money to purchase Aquamarine Dollars from other players.

Now, let's see how many guilds will realize the benefits of joining a hidden new organization.

He was now Fisherman Han, waiting for people who were willing to bite the bait.

…

'Unbelievable, the most expensive item by far!'

'Black Phantom: Germinal Organization will certainly lose'

Posts with such titles appeared in the forums of Planet Aquamarine, and it immediately attracted players' attention. When they saw the sky-high price of 250,000 for the referral letter, they were all shocked speechless.

"Wow, is this organization made of gold?"

"Blood Pact Society, no idea what they do."

"The price is outrageously high. What's so special about this organization called the Blood Pact Society?"

"Anyone had heard of this organization before?"

This person was just asking randomly, but someone unexpectedly replied, "I triggered the mission to join the Blood Pact Society. It is very cumbersome and difficult. The introduction of it is that it's a killer association, and the benefits are still unknown. However, to me, it's not worth it to spend 250,000 just to skip the prior missions."

The outrageous price of 250,000 caused a wide discussion. The average value of a player at the time was about 3,000 to 5,000, so it was not difficult for guilds to gather 250,000 since the number of players was increasing continuously.

However, most of the guilds didn't feel it was worth it, buying an organization referral letter for 250,000 was too luxurious, the situation was not clear yet, they decided to wait and see.

Han Xiao had quite an influence on normal players, but guilds had always been very logical, considering everything with the benefits they could earn. Other players were playing a game; they were running a business.

Compared to the outrageously priced referral letter, players paid more attention to the information Han Xiao shared about the war between the Six Nations and Germinal Organization. They were in an uproar.

After playing the game for a few days, players on Planet Aquamarine all knew that the conflict between the Six Nations and Germinal Organization was the main storyline, but war broke out when nobody expected it to, an expedition even, which proved that the battlefield would be in Andrea. Many players at the time had yet to even join an organization, and their strength was far from being enough to join the main storyline mission.

In the original storyline, war would only break out a few months later, and every continent played a part in the battle. Thus, players from everywhere had been able to join in. But with Han Xiao's interference, not only did the war break out much earlier, it also became an expedition. The impact players had was minimized from what Han Xiao felt.

Most importantly, most of the players had yet to even trigger the main storyline mission between the Six Nations and Germinal Organization.

Black Phantom said that the Germinal Organization would certainly lose, which made many players hesitant to join them, but there were also some players who preferred the evil organizations and wanted to join the Germinal Organization

However, Han Xiao's influence played its part. More players became hesitant. If they were to join the Germinal Organization, there was the risk of getting beaten horribly, then they might as well join the law-keeping organization of Six Nations.

With just one sentence, the Germinal Organization lost many potential supporters.

The influence that Han Xiao had on players grew as he maintained his image, and his position in the players' heart grew stronger.

The things that he said would become important information for the players.

Chapter 195: Bundled Sales Are So Damn Great. I Should Always Use Them.

Han Xiao had seen the impact that the leaked information had brought on the forum. It was just as he had expected it to be.

He had successfully sabotaged the Germinal Organization secretly again, and they did not even know who was doing it and what went wrong.

Doing evil things to the Germinal Organization secretly made him feel really good.

However, the referral letter was not popular. Han Xiao was somewhat surprised, but after he contemplated for a while, he realized the reason behind it. It was because of the current financial situation of the players. Although guilds could come up with 250,000, it was quite a risk for them. If the referral letter did not have a good effect, it would slow their progress down by a huge portion.

The price that he had set for the time being was too high, and the risk of buying the referral letter would only decrease when the average asset level of the players increased. At that time, there would be guilds that would try buying it.

At this price, the first person to eat the crab will take too long to appear. Han Xiao bit his nails and started pondering. The best solution was to lower the price…

That's impossible! Not going to happen!

I could use some sales strategy, giving out other benefits together with the referral letter.

The first thing Han Xiao thought of was giving relationship points as a reward, such as when someone bought a referral letter, he would give some relationship points. Relationship points were the prior requirements of buying high-level equipment in his store—it was all part of the profit chain.

But on second thought, giving relationship points would not be a very good idea. They were maxed at one hundred points, so he had to treasure them. The relationship points that he gave to normal players were ten at most. He did not want the players to get them so easily.

If he used them with the referral letter, one or two points would be too few and unattractive, but giving too many would be disadvantageous to him as well.

What about giving bonus equipment? The moment this thought came up, it was rejected by him. He had to be a qualified businessman, so he should never have such good morals.

He had fused some blueprints recently, but he had not built any of them, so he could not sell those either.

And in terms of drugs, it was not a good time to sell them. Some drugs that gave enhancements based on percentage would have a much bigger market once the players reach a higher level. The pro players who had to compete in matches would be his target consumers.

As he was wavering, a surprise notification appeared on the interface.

_____________________

[Source of Stone Plague] Completed

Requirement One: Find the source of the plague. Completed.

Requirement Two: Suppress the spread of the plague. Completed.

Requirement Three: Cure all the people who are infected. Incomplete.

You received 60,000 experience, +400 relationship with the Black Pine Colony

_____________________

Han Xiao stood in place with surprise.

This mission was what he had given to Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog. They had completed it!

It seems I chose well. Han Xiao laughed. Their level was around 15, so this mission would have been quite difficult for them. Although they did not complete it perfectly, it was already a pleasant surprise. Since Han Xiao had not been involved in this mission at all from the beginning, the rewards dropped from the sky!

Wait a minute!

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.

He was inspired and had another idea of promoting the referral letter!

"Nice one Frenzied Sword!"

Han Xiao laughed. It was just the right time for the mission to be completed. It had inspired him at a crucial moment.

At this time, the players in the novice village were learning [Energy Training Technique] one by one and were swing at the price of the referral letter.

"The flow of time carried everyone forward; the truth of the past has been buried and forgotten by the people who never stopped," Han Xiao suddenly yelled. "I need a number of trustworthy people to help me with some things."

As he was speaking, he distributed the five hidden main storyline missions from [New Era—Origin] that he had just received into new missions: [Ending of the Survivor], [The Key of Misplacement], [Sealed Past], [Mysterious Prisoner], and [Same Type of Person].

[New Era—Origin] was too cumbersome, and it would waste a lot of time if Han Xiao did them himself. Furthermore, it was only the first round.

Han Xiao decided to distribute the targets of the missions and let the players do it. This way, he could save time and get the rewards without doing much. The success of Frenzied Sword proved the idea, and he found out that he could still get the rewards even if the players completed the mission.

Just like the evil capitalists who used benefits to attract others to work for them but still ended up earning the most.

Furthermore, Han Xiao stated clearly that this was a Main Storyline Mission, which would increase his status among the players again.

An NPC that gives out main storyline missions. Damn, he has got to be someone important! was what Han Xiao expected the players to think.

The players saw the mission and froze in place. Then they became overjoyed.

"Main storyline mission!"

"God! This is another main storyline!"

"The rewards are plenty!"

"Quick, accept the mission!"

However, the players noticed that the mission was in gray color, which meant that it could not be accepted.

"Why can't I accept the mission? Why‽"

The confusion was solved within a short period. They soon realized that the missions had a prior requirement—buying the referral letter!

That's… that's too greedy!

The players turned furious. How are they going to play 250,000? Who the hell could afford that!

Seeing the expression of the players, Han Xiao smiled secretly. Because of the quota, his Main Storyline Mission could only be given to a limited number of players. Thus, he had to target the elites, so he had decided to attract the pro players. Pro players had large guilds behind them, and it was perfect for promoting the referral letter and making bundle sales.

You want the main storyline mission? Okay, buy my referral letter.

Don't want to spend money? Then why do you deserve to become stronger?

Pro players were willing to grow through any means; they would never give up the main storyline missions.

Another reason Han Xiao was doing this was that there was a chance for the normal players to fail the mission, which would result in him also failing the missions. However, pro players had higher skills on average, and they had guilds behind them who would help them with the mission. Clearly, they were more reliable.

Those that were rare were those that were treasured. He also added another important line in the mission introduction, which was that there was a chance to earn Black Phantom's favor. This was an obvious hint that accepting the mission might trigger his 'hidden storyline'.

Frenzied Sword, Bun-hit-dog, and Maple Moon were not attractive enough as examples. Very few highly skilled players came. Maybe it was because they felt triggering hidden storyline required luck; therefore, they did not take it seriously.

Han Xiao decided to go for a strong approach, to let the highly skilled players see that there was a way with a higher chance to trigger Black Phantom's hidden storyline.

This is a good strategy. It's killing two… many birds with one stone. Han Xiao was satisfied.

Even this won't attract you‽ I doubt that.

…

The forum had a chat room function. At this time, there was a room with a password that had people joining in continuously, and the notifications kept popping up.

_____________________

Jade Green Sky entered the chat room.

Jupiter entered the chat room.

Morning Snow Twilight Frost entered the chat room.

Your Mom Collapses When I Cry entered the chat room.

_____________________

About a dozen people entered the chat room. They were all chairpeople of famous guilds in China, and they formed a circle themselves.

"Is everyone here?" Mountain Rain, the chairman of Drizzling Rivers Guild, spoke first.

"Nope," Your Mom Collapses When I Cry said.

The chairman of Nine Gates Guild, Three Times Three Equals 9, asked, "Where's Old Qi? Did anyone invite him?"

"Never mind, he spams all the time. We would never get things done with him joining in," Cowherd Star, the chairman of Chrysanthemum Guild, said.

"Who opened the chat room? What serious matter are we talking about?" Jupiter asked.

Jade Green Sky cut in and said, "Yo, isn't this the rich house of esports? I heard you have not been running your God squad well recently. Lousy chairman. When you step down, I will light firecrackers in front of your club doors to celebrate. @Jupiter"

"Fu*k off," Jupiter snapped back.

Morning Snow Twilight Frost sent a funny smiley face.

"@Mountain Rain, Rainy Kim of your Thunder Storm has been quite active lately and always goes on TV shows. Can you help me ask for a signature?" Your Mom Collapses When I Cry asked.

"One for 3,000, no negotiating," Mountain Rain answered.

"Damn, are you robbing me? Can you have some morals?"

Cowherd Star cut in and said, "My signature is free, do you want it?"

"Go away, your signature is not even worth enough to be used as toilet paper. I could consider if it's from lady Yao Yao. @Seven Colors of a Peptachord[a]"

"Stop insinuating. She's not even here." Cowherd Star was upset.

Morning Snow Twilight Frost sent a funny smiley face.

"Stop talking nonsense, let's talk about the matter, I'm very busy," Jupiter said.

"You? You're basically a mascot," Jade Green Sky sneered.

"Go away!"

"Okay guys, I will pull us back to the topic," Mountain Rain declared. "You guys have all seen the posts in the forums about the main storyline missions from Black Phantom."

"Yes, we saw it, what are you saying?"

"We should come up with the money together. Then we let the pro players accept the main storyline missions from Black Phantom."

"You want to share the risk? But only one person can accept each mission."

"No, what I mean is that the pro players can form a team to complete it. It's positive competition."

"That sound pretty good, I will have to ask the expedition group for their suggestions," Jade Green Sky said.

"I'm in. There definitely won't be any objections from the club," Cowherd Stars said.

"I'm fine with anything, smile!" responded Three Times Three Equals 9.

"Haha, I remember the pro players of Guild of Gods is all in Southern Continent. They can't meet Black Phantom. You can't play with us @Jupiter. Quickly kick him. He's a spy here to collect intelligence," Jade Green Sky mocked.

"You motherfu…"

_____________________

Jupiter has left the chat room.

_____________________

Morning Snow Twilight Frost sent a funny smiley face.

[a]Google is suggesting that this should be Pentachord, is that right?Peptachord in Chinese has the word Yao in it.

Chapter 196: It's the Tanabata Festival Tomorrow. I'm upset.

Han Xiao was about done with harvesting the players in this novice village. He smugly counted the experience—he had gotten a huge amount yet again.

However, nobody had bought the referral letter so far, but Fisherman Han was patient—him giving out main storyline missions had already made a storm on the forums. Sooner or later, someone would come.

One last novice village left. Maybe I should delay it a while so that these large guilds have enough time to raise the money, Han Xiao thought.

This time, two players walked toward Han Xiao next to each other. Their IDs were Wind Chaser and Dragon Tail, which attracted the attention of other players. They were rather famous players of the Nine Gates Guild and the Fanatics Guild.

Han Xiao's eye twinkled. The highly skilled players have finally come.

"Black Phantom, we want to buy the referral letter," Wind Chaser said.

"Sure."

Wind Chaser and Dragon Tail had received the funds from the guild of their clubs. A team was the face of a club, so as pro players, they were treated well. They took out 250,000 each.

The players around looked at them with envy. They had never seen such a large amount of money.

"Can't believe someone can actually afford it."

"Large guilds are really rich."

"No wonder pro players are stronger than us. If I had such resources, I would be able to go pro, too."

"You think just anyone can be signed by a club?"

"If we rob their money, we'll be crazy rich."

"Don't be stupid. Putting aside the fact that pro player would completely skunk you, even if you succeeded, the guild will chase you everywhere, or maybe Blank Phantom will kill you first."

The crowd talked among themselves.

He received 500,000 in one shot, then wrote the referral letters on the spot and gave them to the two pro players. He told them the location of a Dark Net stronghold in the Western Continent and said, "Take my letter there, and you can join the Blood Pact Society."

He paused and then said, "Seems like I can trust you. I have some tasks here. Would you like to help me?"

"That's what I've been waiting for." Dragon Tail immediately accepted the mission. He wanted to accept one after another but was notified that only one mission could be accepted.

This had been set by Han Xiao—one referral letter for one mission.

"Shit, only one mission can be accepted. I thought I could accept all of them." Dragon Tail was unhappy.

Han Xiao raised his brows and said, "Leave it if you don't want to do it."

Dragon Tail shut up. If he did not accept the mission, the money would have gone to waste.

Wind Chaser had no choice but to choose the same mission. The two clubs behind them had joined forces to do the mission as a team. Luckily Dragon Tail accepted a mission that was in the Western Continent.

"If you can complete the mission, there might be more things you can help me with." Han Xiao hinted that in order to unlock his 'hidden storyline', first they had to complete this mission.

Pro players were always in a rush. They left immediately after accepting the mission.

Five mission targets, two in the Western Continent, two in the Northern Continent, and one in the Southern Continent—he had to make sure they were all accepted by someone. Fortunately for him, all these continents were part of his schedule.

Although the main storyline mission was A-grade, this was the easiest first round. Han Xiao separated the mission targets into many smaller missions that had a difficulty of around grade D, so the single mission experience quota could suffice for the experience he was rewarding.

In the later rounds, when the difficulty becomes higher, my quota might not be enough by then.

He felt that he needed a way to increase his quota. Levelling up was not an option at the moment, so he had to go for organizations and legendary points. There was no need to think about these at the moment.

Wind Chaser and Dragon Tail were normal pro players, and they didn't have a very good battle record in my previous life. I shall observe for now.

Han Xiao was strict in choosing his spare tires. He was not going to choose every pro player.

…

Fanatics and Nine Gates posted about their players buying the referral letter on the forums, which was a promotion of themselves to increase their fame within the players. The huge amount of money that they had spent attracted many players' attention, and they were all amazed at what they had done.

Han Xiao's face also showed up indirectly because of the advertisement from these two clubs. The clubs that followed after would also mimic the same actions so that they did not lag behind. Han Xiao guessed that his face would probably appear many times on the forums.

Without stopping, Han Xiao came to the last novice village in the Western Continent. As he was harvesting experience, there were other pro players that used the funds from their guild to exchange for a chance to accept the missions. Normal players could only watch and envy from the sidelines.

Another mission in the Western Continent was also accepted by a pro player. Han Xiao could finally relax and happily sell his abilities, at the same time paying attention to the forums and the Dark Net.

"Hmm? New episode of 'Galaxy Times'. Titled… Creation of the Professional League?"

Han Xiao felt wide awake. He had always paid a lot of attention to this show, so he clicked in immediately.

"Hello players," the male host greeted, "this is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information. Your gaming career is our top priority."

"Spring, I have been quite anxious recently," the female host commented.

"What's wrong, Autumn?"

"I fell in love with a man. He doesn't speak much, and he's so handsome, but he's never looked at me seriously and never talks to me."

"Don't worry, I think you two suit each other very well."

Female host was surprised. "Really?"

"Of course, he's handsome and cool, you're short and ugly, how suitable."

"…"

It was the awkward opening joke again. The style felt very nostalgic to Han Xiao.

The screen was filled with comments.

A lot of players watched Galaxy Times. In less than a month after beginning, they had already become the go-to show for the players. After all, they had the official background, so they had a lot of first-hand information.

They chatted for a while to bring up the atmosphere. Then, the male host said, "Alright, let us get back to our main topic. In today's show, we will be digging deep into the most popular topic—Inhuman Phenomenon—the news from pro players, and we also invited Li Ge to be our guest. Be sure to stay."

The contents of the show were interesting as always. They started off by going through the progress of players in all various planets while giving some comments on the level leaderboard.

"Currently, the highest-level players are already closing to level 20. Level 20 will be the first class advancement, so I wonder who will receive this honor. The first player to receive a class advancement will be recorded in the books of gaming history as a milestone."

"As everyone can clearly see, the players on the top of the leaderboards are mostly not pro players. The Japanese players have the highest number of players on the list; as everyone knows, their base camp planet is the Lonnie Planet, where technology and magic coexist. They are at the peak period of the civilization, which is very suitable for getting missions and levelling up. There are also quite a number of players from France and America while there are not many from China. Oh, I see someone I know. Maple Moon, do you guys remember? Not long after the official launch, she received more than 100,000 experience points, which was from the first prize pool mission the players have seen."

"Speaking of the Black Phantom, from the beginning of the game till now, he has been the center of attention for the players in Planet Aquamarine, and recently, something has happened again. He continuously appeared in novice villages to give out guidance and rewards, and not long ago, he showed another main storyline mission, but it had a prior requirement of buying an item that was priced at an outrageous amount of 250,000 Aquamarine dollars! If players from other planets want to know how much this means, please move to the currency exchange panel, and look at how many resources can be purchased with 250,000 Aquamarine dollars.

Players from other planets envied Planet Aquamarine. Why did they not have such a great novice guider?

Chapter 197: Responses from All Sides 1

The male host changed the topic. "Recently, an event has raised wide discussion among the players. The NPCs in the game have expressed extreme curiosity over the unique characteristics of players. Every planet has witnessed different reactions and labelled this phenomenon differently, such as Chosen Ones, Inhumans, Genius Phenomenon, which was very exciting and surprising. It's like NPCs have their individual minds and are not as rigid as NPCs in other games."

"If every NPC has an individual mind of their own, the amount of computation needed will be extremely high, but Galaxy is using the latest light speed computers. Its limit is unknown," the female host said.

Players wrote their speculations in the comments. The fact that NPCs seemingly had their own intelligence and interacted as freely as a person would in the real world was very new and exciting.

The hosts read from their scripts. They talked about the situations on various planets and made some speculations.

From the players' perspective, they only knew the NPCs attitude toward them and not the responses from the organizations, but Han Xiao did. Recently, the information on the Dark Net had almost all been about the contact with Inhumans. The rapid increase in the number of players had given a lot of pressure to the organizations.

All the organizations agreed that, if the number of Inhumans grew continuously without a limit, it would bring endless potential dangers and subversively impact the current social construct, but they could not find a way to suppress that growth at all.

Luckily, Inhumans were weak and easy to control.

The organizations in Planet Aquamarine had yet to notice that the strength of players was growing at a very fast pace. Before they were LV 20, their power was still in the category of normal humans.

Han Xiao shook his head. When the level of the players is high, these organizations are going to be really shocked.

The topic of the Inhuman Phenomenon had ended. The male host said, "… we have invited Li Ge to join us today. Good to see you, Li Ge."

Li Ge, the god tier player that ranked second in China, sat between the hosts with a smile on his face.

Galaxy Times frequently invited highly skilled players for an interview and discussion, so the female host asked Li Ge what his view on the Inhuman Phenomenon was.

"I think this is part of the game's plot, to give the players a feeling that it is real. When I was playing, I kept having the misconceptions that I was in a real world, and I think that is what the developers want us to experience. As a unique character in a real world, everything that occurs required improvisation, and there will almost never be any repeated events. It's all new and exciting. I have high hopes for what Galaxy can achieve in the future."

"Talking about the future of the game," the male host said, "our channel has received first-hand news that the international esports association has confirmed that they will be hosting the first ever pro league, and they have also informed the countries to host competitions. What is your view on this?"

"I would say that it means I have yet to lose my job." Li Ge laughed. "On a serious note, strong esports clubs have all stepped into Galaxy. They will definitely be preparing for it, and I think it will be a great fight. Hopefully, I can lead China to a good result."

The comments exploded again. The players were very excited about the creation of pro leagues. It was going to be a big event. There were also other comments like "Li Ge is so handsome!" and "Love you hubby" that came from the female fans.

"The competition has been established, and pro players will have to quickly prepare for it. Do you have any advice or tips that you can share with us?

Li Ge thought for a while and said, "We pro players have to distribute the experience points logically in our abilities in a way that suits our strengths best. Therefore, we stick to a steady pace and won't rush our levels so that we can familiarize ourselves with the controls in every level and improve our skills, which is why there are almost no pro players in the level leaderboards. Oh, there are a few from Japan. Well, as you know, they like to show off," he mocked lightly.

"We pro players will grab every opportunity to become stronger. Black Phantom in our Planet Aquamarine has become very famous recently. I think I'm going to try my luck too… but that's if he returns to the Southern Continent." Li Ge sighed.

The rest of the show was mostly chitchat.

After he watched finish the show, Han Xiao thought, Pro leagues are going to start soon. All the clubs will be preparing themselves and not wasting any time. My customers should be increasing.

Li Ge—a god-tiered player that ranked second in China, someone whose status was so much higher than Han Xiao in his previous life that Han Xiao was not even qualified enough to be in contact with him—had said that he would come to find him.

But now, Han Xiao had the power to choose if he wanted him to be one of his spare tires.

Li Ge… I'll have to think about it.

…

Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog did missions in Black Pine. It was not a place for high-level players. The missions were difficult, but Frenzied Sword was a pro player after all. With his skills and the equipment that he had received from Han Xiao, he was having a good time and grew rapidly.

Through the missions in Black Pine, Frenzied Sword had received new equipment and new abilities, but these things could not fill his heart. Instead, he felt empty inside.

When he thought of Han Xiao, his heart would be filled with desire.

Only by following Han Xiao could he understand the true meaning of life, and the missions in Black Pine paled in comparison

"When will he return…"

Frenzied Sword was melancholic.

Outside the isolation zone in Black Pine, Lu Cheng was talking to Frenzied Sword. "Honestly, you have surprised me. You actually suppressed the plague."

Frenzied Sword was upset. Bun-hit-dog pulled him to the side, and only then did he come back to focus.

"Hmm, yeah," he replied perfunctorily

In the beginning, when Black Phantom had left the two of them to deal with the plague, Lu Cheng did not take it seriously at all, but not long after, he realized that these two people really could be of huge help. The characteristic of them being able to revive meant that they were unafraid of the infection and could do many things the researchers did not dare to.

The plague in the colony stopped spreading with the help from the duo, and the lightly infected patients were already cured. The number of people in the isolation zone had visibly reduced.

Lu Cheng has always been surprised by the characteristics of Inhumans. He had told the people of Green Valley Ville to research these 'homeless wanderers'. He contacted his friends from other organizations and knew that the Inhumans phenomenon was happening everywhere in the world. As the Inhumans' area of activity started to grow, even the Six Nations could not keep the secret from the civilians.

As the level of players increased, players from novice villages started to explore the map slowly. Many left Green Valley Ville, and some of them came to Black Pine.

Lu Cheng did as Han Xiao taught him to, which was to treat the Inhumans like mercenaries. He noticed that Han Xiao had surprisingly pointed him down the right path.

"Er… rewards?" Bun-hit-dog reminded the distracted Lu Cheng.

Frenzied Sword glared at Bun-hit-dog.

During the mission, he had done almost everything. Bun-hit-dog had just spent the whole time recording from the side like a boss, and yet he had the guts to ask for rewards.

Lu Cheng laughed and told his subordinates to pass the agreed rewards to the duo.

Frenzied Sword carefully read the details of the pieces of equipment that he had received. With the creation of the pro league, he had felt more pressure, so he improved on his skills as much as he could during his free time.

But Bun-hit-dog did not care. He browsed through the forums, then suddenly, he said, "There's news about Black Phantom. He can give out main storyline missions… how come he never brought it up to us? We triggered his hidden storyline, so why aren't we getting at least the same treatment?"

Frenzied Sword's expression tightened, and he said in a low voice, "When he returns, he will definitely give the main storyline missions to us too."

"Where did that confidence come from?" Bun-hit-dog questioned.

"I…" Frenzied Sword was at a loss for words. He was rather anxious, but he comforted himself with a firm expression and said, "I believe in him!"

Chapter 198: Responses from All Sides 2

In a military base in Stardragon, many players crowded around as if attending a mini fair on a bright, sunny day.

Stardragon's approach toward the players was gentle. They held many internal meetings and tried to command the players. They realized that other than some Inhumans being mentally ill, they were capable of normal communication. They decided to put the players together as a special division and made them serve the military.

This military base was specially created for the players. Commanders from Stardragon gave out missions, and many players were opening stalls and grouping up—the whole area seemed to be prospering.

Impacted by Han Xiao, many players chose to join the Stardragon, including Maple Moon.

Fighting and killing was not Maple Moon's style; she liked to collect materials and build machines then sell them to other players. Many players liked coming to her for supplies and repairs, so Maple Moon could easily find a team when doing her missions.

Maple Moon was just a casual player. The time that she spent online was less than other players. Plus, she preferred to enjoy the game more than doing missions all the time, so she wasted a lot of time by doing that.

Even so, with the prize pool rewards that she had received from Han Xiao, she still surpassed most of the players and became one of the players on the level leaderboard.

Maple Moon looked at her experience bar and excitement showed on her face.

Almost level 20. I will be able to find Black Phantom very soon.

…

A piercing cold wind blew across the wasteland with thin snow. Together with the ground, they created a view filled with gray and white.

In a wasteland on the Northern Continent, a player with an animal skin coat slowing trekked across in the cold wind. On the horizon behind him was the novice village that he had left from.

With blood scabs on his fists, seven dead Frost Wolf bodies lay one hundred meters behind him.

Frost Wolves were a common predator in the Northern Continent. Their level was around 10, so players at the time had less than a 20% chance of winning under the siege of seven Frost Wolves, but there were only a few shallow scratches on this player.

The ID above the player's head was 'Hao Tian', which was clearly an old ID.

Hao Tian—a famous pro player, a pillar of the Long Sky club, and a veteran in the pro scene—had used this ID for many years.

There were many esports clubs in China, but only a few were considered top tier, such as Guild of Gods, Long Sky, Dynasty, Fried Eggplants with Fish… Yes, that club was called Fried Eggplants with Fish, and their mortal enemy was the Kimchi Club in Korea.

Hao Tian suddenly received a ranged communication request from Li Ge, so he stopped and accepted.

"Hmm?" This greeting clearly conveyed the fact that Hao Tian did not like to talk too much.

"Have you heard that the Esports Association has confirmed the creation of Galaxy Pro Competitions?" Li Ge asked.

"Oh."

"What class did you change to."

"Pugilist."

"I'm an Esper," Li Ge said. "Level up quickly. The situation of the Chinese players is not looking good. I need help from people to fight top clubs from other countries."

"Speak for yourself." Hao Tian did not give face at all, and he hung up.

Both were top players; their styles were very different.

Hao Tian had been in the pro scene for many years. He had steadily trained and climbed up to where he was. He did not like to talk, did not like to manage public image—all he did was shine in the competitions.

Li Ge was very passionate about managing his image. He often went to shows, so he had countless more fans than Hao Tian. Plus, he was handsome, so he had many female fans. Li Ge was the type of player that was talented enough to surpass other players without much hard work.

Every pro player had their own talent, and Li Ge was full of talents.

Some people are just that talented.

Many people admired Li Ge, and many envied him. Hao Tian was not one of those. He had known Li Ge for a very long time. Li Ge was just someone who succeeded in the same industry as him and nothing more; he did not care for other factors.

Li Ge was his old rival. Hao Tian lost to him many times, and in order to reach a higher place in Galaxy, he spent almost all of his time strengthening his in-game character. He did not want to miss any opportunity.

He opened the forum as was his habit, then saw the posts about Black Phantom giving out main storyline missions.

He suddenly stopped walking and turned back around toward the novice village.

With Hao Tian's skill, a novice village was already useless to him, but for the missions of Black Phantom, he was willing to wait.

…

In the basement of the Dragon Horn building, the headquarters of Division 13…

The corridor toward the central computer room was dark and metallic, with infrared detectors in the walls all along the corridor. The ground was equipped with devices that recognized and recorded weight and footprints.

Gu Hui typed the password at the door, then had his eyeball, fingerprint, and voice scanned. Within a few seconds, the center computer recognized Gu Hui through the floor and infrared detectors.

"Identification authorized. Welcome, Deputy Director-general," a robotic voice emotionlessly said.

All the security devices were turned off. The path was clear, and Gu Hui walked into the spacious center computer control room with a serious expression. He was carrying out the order of the highest ranked superiors—inquire about the Inhuman phenomenon from the galactic civilization far away in the universe, Godora.

It was an important issue. All the cameras in the center computer room faced him, and the leaders were watching through them.

Gu Hui knew that it was not only Stardragon—all the other countries were going to do this as well. The Inhuman phenomenon was too weird. They had absolutely no way of solving it and could only seek help from galactic civilizations. Godora was the only superior civilization that they were in contact with. It had a mostly neutral but slightly biased attitude toward them, and they did not interfere too much with Planet Aquamarine.

Gu Hui turned on the central terminal and typed a series of long passwords to unlock the encryption. He then opened the deepest layer of the program and typed another string of secret passwords, activating a secret program.

The screen turned entirely white, then a new simple window popped up. It was filled with countless options and links in weird Godoran symbols. All except one were gray, which meant they could not be selected.

The only one that could be selected was translated into Planet Aquamarine's language.

_____________________

Godoran Communication Window with Star Zone 9, Planet Aquamarine.

_____________________

This was a star zone communication device model called [Feathers of Light—8]. All of the Six Nations on Planet Aquamarine had received it from the Godoran Civilization. It allowed them to connect with the galactical civilizations. This technology was yet to be obtained by Planet Aquamarine.

The Godoran Civilization locked many functions of the program and closed the hundreds of connections on the network; it was limited to only single-directional communication from Planet Aquamarine. Thus, Planet Aquamarine could only make use of less than 0.00000001% of the galactical communication device, and they could only get information about the universe from Godora.

But Planet Aquamarine did not have a choice.

Gu Hui calmed his mind and clicked the link. The ten-second wait felt like hours, but eventually, the screen flashed, and a dialog window appeared.

A sentence in the Godoran language appeared before it flashed into Planet Aquamarine's language through the translation function from the device. "Human from Planet Aquamarine, why did you request communication?"

Gu Hui revised what he had planned to say before typing it out word by word. "My friend from Godora, I'm the person in charge of the intelligence organization of Stardragon on Planet Aquamarine. I have requested the communication due to an abnormal phenomenon on our planet. We call it the Inhuman Phenomenon. The details are as below…"

Gu Hui explained their research on the Inhumans briefly and sent the documents and records over. Then he ended his message with a brief plea for assistance. "As our technology is unable to find the reason behind this, we hoped you could help us to solve it. If you can provide assistance with this, we will give you our sincerest appreciation. Godora and Stardragon will forever be close friends."

Chapter 199: Aurora

After a few seconds, the person from Godora replied.

"There are many technologies that can achieve this effect. It also might be a natural occurrence. There are far more weird events in the universe, so don't have to be so surprised. Tens of thousands of species die and come to life every second. We would have to research on it ourselves to know the exact cause."

"That is what we are hoping for," Gu Hui wrote back, "for you to send someone here to do field research."

"Request authorized. Current date: 10th August 688 Galaxy time. Mission has been submitted into the schedule. ETA 7th May 689."

Galaxy's calendar was set by the three biggest civilizations. It is used across the entire universe, but of course, many places had their own calendar, just like the use of dialects. The general calendar would usually only be used in the communication between two civilizations so that time calculation would be easier.

"So long?" Gu Hui was stunned.

"Every activity follows a schedule. The request needs to be queued. I have already received the request from other nations on your planet, so it will be settled at the same time".

The reply of the receptionist from Godora was typical. Gu Hui feel it was quite familiar. He thought about it and realized… Isn't this the same tone as government officials pushing things around?

Gu Hui turned off the communication with a sigh.

"Have to wait one year. Who knows how the Inhuman Phenomenon will turn into after one year?" Gu Hui shook his head. "Luckily, the Inhumans are able to communicate and are passionate about being mercenaries. They are controllable to a certain extent."

The highest ranked superiors of Stardragon hosted a meeting. Since there was currently no solution to the Inhuman Phenomenon, they decided to immediately focus on declaring war with the Germinal Organization before the phenomenon grew worse, to prevent the Germinal Organization using this phenomenon as a tool for them making a comeback.

Preparation for the expedition war started again.

…

Ta, ta, ta!

The military boots stepped on the metal floor. Hila walked in the corridor full of twist and turns with an expressionless face. She did not even hesitate at the intersections. She was too familiar with this place—this place where Aurora was locked up.

At the end of the deep corridor, a thick, metal gate blocked Hila's path. She walked over with light steps, and the automatic guarding guns kept their aim all on her like they were going to open fire at any moment. Two guards stood in front of the metal gate and stopped Hila.

"I have authorization." Hila's tone was cold.

The guards turned around and tapped a few times on the control panel, made sure that Hila had received one-time authorization from their leader, and nodded. "You have one hour."

He opened the metal gate. Light shone from within and brightened the exquisite but ice-cold face of Hila.

A pure white room came into her sight.

It was very simple: one bed, one table, one chair, one toilet, and one bookshelf full of books.

In a bed as pure as the feathers of an angle, a tiny, scrawny body cowered.

Hila walked forward inattentively and stopped five meters outside the room. She reached out and pressed against the glass that surrounded the room. She could not move forward anymore.

The corner of her eyes shook.

The palm pressed against the wall turned into a fist. She clenched her fist so hard that her bones started to turn white.

"Sis?"

The blanket started moving. A tiny bald head extended from within cautiously. Her face was pale like she was suffering from malnutrition and had not gotten enough sunlight for a very long time. Her eyes were flashing with surprise as she saw Hila.

Aurora lifted the blanket and stumbled toward the glass. Her steps were weak and powerless. She was only as tall as Hila's shoulders and so skinny that she looked like she only had her skeleton left. The exposed arms from her patient suit were full of needle scars. Aurora pounced toward the glass with happiness. She put both of her hands on the glass and said, "You've come to see me!"

Hila hastily extended her hands and pressed against Aurora's palms across the glass. She endured the lump in her throat and softly asked, "Recently… have you been alright?"

"The people in white lab coats have not come as often. The last injection was thirteen days ago already." Aurora's large eyes blinked, and she showed a faint smile.

Hila smiled reluctantly. She looked at the needle scars on Aurora's body, and it felt like her heart was being stabbed rapidly. She knew why they drew blood from her fewer times—it was because Aurora recovered slower. Every time her blood and bone marrow was extracted, she needed more time to recover.

Her ability allowed her to feel one's life force. The life force of Aurora, which had once been as bright as the sun, was now a candlelight that might extinguish anytime.

Her life force was withering.

Aurora sat down and hugged her knees. "Tell me stories elder sister. I want to hear the last one that you didn't finish."

Hila sat down too and leaned on the glass.

"Where did we stop at last time?" she whispered.

"Hmm…" Aurora tilted her head and thought about it. "The uncle called Zero escaped from the base. What happened next? Did sis fight with him?"

After a moment's thought, Hila continued the story with a soft and gentle tone.

…

In the office of the leader of the Germinal Organization, a row of superiors stood in front of the desk and reported the various situations in the organization.

The leader sat straight and tight. No one knew what the expression behind the mask was. His black gloves covered hands overlapped each other under his nose. "The Inhuman Phenomenon has attracted the attention of the Six Nations, but it won't last for long. At least the Inhumans made some time for us to recover. Be prepared, the enemy may invade Andrea any time," he said.

The officers nodded in assent.

The leader looked around and asked, "Where's Cyberlos?"

"There have been breakthroughs in a few projects recently—he's busy."

The leader stood up suddenly and left with large steps.

…

Electrolux was so touched that he was tearing up.

After a month-long ordeal, he was finally released.

It had not been easy!

Although he was trapped in prison, he had been paying attention to the forums, and he knew that the Germinal Organization had captured other players as well. After he was released, he was sent to join a special unit consisting of players; it was called the Inhuman Unit. It was all the unlucky players whose organization was locked due to being brainwashed.

Although he was far behind on levels, Electrolux was confident that that with his Esper ability that had A-grade potential, as long as he levelled up, he would definitely be stronger than other players.

A non-Chinese on Planet Aquamarine player like this was not uncommon. Some casual players did not care which planet was whose base camp; they only chose novice planets to their likings. Every novice planet had casual players from various countries.

It was Cyberlos' idea to put the brainwashed Inhumans into one unit, and it had been accepted by the leader, who felt that undead Inhumans had a strategic value in war.

The leader had assigned a battle instructor to specifically design training and actual combat plans for the Inhumans.

At this time, Cyberlos was in another research lab. He stood in front of a specially designed sealed pod. The research personnel on the side were steadily adjusting the devices. There was an test subject in the pod, and a scream filled with madness and agony could be heard from within.

After some time, the inside of the sealed pod quieted down. Its gate opened, and what was inside could be seen.

It was a man fully armed with all kinds of exoskeleton mechanical parts that were connected into his bones. His skin had all changed into a soft, stretchable metal. With his bald head and machinery everywhere, his body size had grown a considerable amount. He looked like a beast.

This guy was none other than the first test subject of the [Super Soldier Project], No. 1!

Chapter 200: More Than 100,000,000!

"How do you feel?"

No. 1 opened his eyes. His eyes had been modified, too. They flashed red light, and his field of sight could zoom in and out like a camera lens. He looked down at his palms covered in metallic skin, and as he moved his fingers around, a hideous smile appeared on his face.

"Never been better."

With a buzz from the exoskeleton, he punched at the metal wall and created a pit. His hideous smile expanded and turned into a maniacal laugh.

Finally, after enduring endless pain, he had gained transcendent power.

He enjoyed the surge of confidence.

No. 1 realized that with this power, the Zero that had once killed him was nothing more than a weakling.

They were not on the same level anymore.

"Zero, don't get killed by anyone else before I find you." No. 1's eyes were vicious as he talked to himself. "You're mine."

…

Cyberlos walked out of the experiment lab to report to the leader.

"As the schedule has been brought forward, the experiment has yet to reach a mature stage. No. 1 was the only one that could endure and finish all the modifications. I did not think that he could endure all that torture," Cyberlos said.

"He was killed by Zero. Hatred turned his will indestructible," the leader said indifferently.

"About Zero…" Cyberlos narrowed his eyes. "If he really has the power to predict the future, we have to get rid of him before the war. Otherwise, all of our strategic deployments and planning will be exposed."

"He's like a rat in the sewers, hiding too deep." The leader fiddled with his fingers before coming to a decision. "Activate Destiny's Child, find his position."

Cyberlos smiled. He had always been very interested in the Destiny's Child.

The duo walked in the twisted corridor and past locked gates that each required higher authority than the last. Elite teams of guards patrolled the corridor in synchronized footsteps. The secret room was deeply hidden.

The leader walked to the gate and entered the password. Next was the fingerprint scanner. He removed the glove that he had always been wearing. His hand looked horrible—it was full of scars like it had once been bitten and chewed by a beast.

There were scars on his fingertips, too. The leader put the glove back on after the authorization was completed. The metal gate slid open to the side. Only the leader could open this gate.

Inside was a hibernation pod with a man wearing a metal muzzle in it, and the nutritional liquid injections were all that was keeping his body alive.

The leader controlled the hibernation pod to inject a drug that would wake the person inside. The door opened up, and the man slowly opened his eyes. He was extremely calm. His eyes had no signs of life, and he did not seem to care if he was asleep or awake.

The Germinal Organization called this man 'Destiny's Child'. He had some ability to affect the future with his words, but the Germinal Organization did not know many of the details.

The leader waved behind his back, and his subordinate handed the documents on Zero over. He then flipped the pages. Destiny's Child looked at the pages without even changing the focus of his pupils.

The leader flipped through the pages twice and said, "Make him appear."

Destiny's Child finally blinked.

The leader took out a specially made key and opened the metal mouth mask of Destiny's Child.

Destiny's Child closed his eye for five minutes. When he opened them again, he said slowly with a hoarse voice, "He will come here himself."

The leader's breath paused for a second and demanded, "When?"

"Not too long."

"Hope it's successful this time." Cyberlos shook his head. Destiny's Child's ability did not work every time. The smaller the request, the more likely it was to succeed.

The leader put the metal mask back on Destiny's Child and pushed him back into the hibernation pod.

The guards outside careful extended their heads and looked at each other with confusion.

Why were the leader and Cyberlos talking into the air with themselves?

…

After staying in the last novice village in the Western Continent for three days, Han Xiao left hurriedly in a plane. His next stop was the Northern Continent, which would be a long trip.

The average level of players was getting close to 20, so Han Xiao had to speed up on his schedule.

Stars filled the night sky outside the window. The plane flew stably in the clouds with its preset route.

The stars glowed in the clear eyes of Han Xiao.

Every time Han Xiao looked at the night sky and the bright stars in it, he thought of the countless civilizations and opportunities that existed in the universe.

Han Xiao was very aware of this, and every time he thought of it, he was filled with ambition.

A man's journey belongs to the sea of stars.

He had already built his base on Planet Aquamarine—this was the starting point. The more he accumulated here, the more confident he would be.

Han Xiao opened the interface and counted his earnings.

In the more than ten days that he had stayed in the Western Continent, he had robbed a large number of drugs, one of which had an unknown effect but could potentially be a very valuable semi-finished drug. He had also built many relationships, with Dion, two superheroes that he had no idea of what use they would provide, Hannes, and others. Furthermore, he had managed to trigger the hidden main storyline.

He also built the mechanical suit, Viper.

Viper could increase both his Strength and Dexterity drastically, which made up for the Mechanics' weaknesses in these two attributes in the early stages. In Han Xiao's mind, Viper was his second battle plan, and it was only a prototype. He needed to continuously add more modules to it so as to enhance his combat abilities.

Sniping was for assassination, kiting, and stealth; Viper was for head-on combat, and he actually already had a few modification ideas for it.

His largest earnings were the experience and money from the four novice villages. [Energy Training Technique] sold very well just as he expected, and it had brought him an outrageous and unbelievable amount of rewards.

120,000,000 EXP!

Those who could afford [Energy Training Technique] were the players who were rather ahead—not everyone could afford it.

The class-change knowledge and basic skills were selling at a low profit margin, but the number of people who bought it was the highest.

He already had 20,000,000 EXP saved up. Thus, the accumulated experience on the interface totaled to 140,000,000!

Han Xiao felt content as he looked at the long string of zeros. Even for the players at his level, this amount of experience was beyond their imagination. Some players could not even get as much experience during the whole version 1.0.

Nice. Han Xiao was overjoyed. He would not have to worry about experience points for a long time.

As long as he settled the two biggest obstacles—changing class and upgrading tier—his level would increase tremendously, and he could even splurge on upgrading his skills. It would be easy for him to max the levels of all his abilities except for blueprints, and most importantly, he could infuse blueprints in bulk and build up his inventory.

Experience points were not the only thing. He had also earned 3,600,000 Aquarium dollars by selling [Energy Training Technique], and he had sold five referral letters, which totaled to 4,850,000 dollars. His wallet was packed.

Worth it!

Han Xiao rubbed his palms. He could not wait to open the interface.

Excluding blueprints, the abilities he had yet to reach max level were: [Accurate Shooting Lv.3], [Special Combat Lv.1], [Stealth Lv.1], [Steady Aim Lv.1], [Night Attack Lv.1], [Medium Enhancement Lv.4], [Energy—Magnetic Enhancement Lv.1], [Meticulous Repairs Lv.1], and the amazing [Pickpocketing Lv.1]

Without even looking at the experience points they needed, he maxed the level of each of those abilities!

That's the feeling of being rich!

_____________________

Your Accurate Shooting and Sniping are both at Lv.5.

You learned [Field Controlling Vision].

_____________________

Your Grappling and Special Combat are both at Lv.5.

You learned [Lethal Critical Hits].

_____________________

You have received talent [Proficient Combat].

You have received talent [Proficient Shooting].

You have received talent [Bat Habit].

Chapter 201: Northern Continen

Han Xiao had unlocked two new abilities and three new talents. [Bat Habit] had been gained from reaching the max level of all abilities in [Night Stalker].

Without hesitation, Han Xiao levelled up all the new abilities to the max as well.

_____________________

Field Controlling Vision Lv.10: Upon activation, +15% Fire Rate, +20% Range, +22% Field Vision. Lasts 13 seconds.

Cooldown: 12 minutes

Stamina Usage: 300

_____________________

Lethal Critical Hits: Vital spot critical damage increases from 200% to 250%. Dealing four vital spot critical hits in two seconds has a 0.1% – 1.5% chance of trigger a lethal attack.

_____________________

Proficient Combat: +5 STR, +3 END, +6% Melee Attack, +4% Parry Chance.

_____________________

Proficient Shooting: +6 DEX, +8% Firearm Attack, +4% Fire Rate.

_____________________

Bat Habit: Vision will not be affected by the night, able to detect surroundings with sound. When fighting during the night, +5% DEX.

_____________________

He used about 12,000,000 points of experience to max the levels of these abilities, in which he spent the most points in [Medium Enhancement] and [Meticulous Repairs]. After all, they were the main class abilities of the second-tier class.

There were still a ton of experience points in the interface.

With all these abilities reaching the max level, Han Xiao's strength had increased by at least 20%.

The enhance and repair abilities were the main abilities of Mechanic class. One such ability was [Energy—Magnetic Enhancement], which increased machinery affinity by 33% when it reached max level. Han Xiao clearly felt that he suddenly understood machines more deeply, and the speed and quality of him building machines increased tremendously.

It was just right for him, as his class-up requirement was to build five purple-quality pieces of equipment with a rating of more than 60. Increasing his ability to build machines would help him meet the requirements.

Five high-quality gear in purple grade and the ratings had to be more than 60—it was quite difficult. The rating of equipment in Galaxy followed a very easily understood system. Legendary quality low-level gear would not give as many attributes as purple-quality high-level gear. A high level and high-quality gear would be much more valuable.

Han Xiao still had a large number of experience points left after maxing all his abilities. By choosing a suitable mechanical blueprint and maxing its level, it would greatly increase the quality of the final product and multiply the success rate by more than seven times.

Han Xiao contemplated for some time and decided to fuse blueprints first to have more choices.

With more than 100,000,000 EXP, he could splurge on fusing basic knowledge.

Of course, he was not randomly fusing them; he only fused the machinery that he felt would be reliable. After all, there were way too many combinations between the basic knowledge, and with every fusion, the experience points required would double. If he did not use them wisely, even 100,000,000 experience points would not be able to fill this infinite pit.

After continuously infusing tens of times and spending millions of experience points, Han Xiao received tens of new blueprints that spread across various types with different uses. He carefully picked three pieces of machinery for the class change mission.

[Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades], [Iron Fist—Mounted Heavy Mechanical Arm (Can Be Disassembled)], [Mini Maneuvering Equipment].

Not only did these three suit the requirements, but Han Xiao also felt they would be useful to him.

Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades was a weapon that was similar to the Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor. It had a magnetic round metal plate as the body, and a few detachable magnetic blades filling the core with magnetic energy would activate the magnetic chain. The blades would then be dispersed and hover around the core with spaces in between. If one blade was within a certain distance of another, they would repel each other, and if they are more than a certain distance apart, they would attract each other, which provided a medium range combat solution.

The controls of Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades were cumbersome and unique. By using energy to adjust the structure of the magnetic chain, the blades could be turned into different shapes. With the combination of certain gestures, the blades could be used for both attacking and defending in many forms. It needed practice, just like the Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor.

The blades could be put in different pockets and combined together during use, which was convenient for stealth purposes and suited the Viper. This was also superhuman equipment for a Mechanical Pugilist.

Iron Fist—Mounted Heavy Mechanical Arm (Can Be Disassembled) was a type of mechanical arm. Different from the lightweight mechanical arm, the size of it was very huge. It was many times bigger than his arms. Its power source was the built-in motor and engine. As its size was very huge, it had a high requirement of the user's Strength. Han Xiao had to wear Viper to meet its requirements.

Han Xiao chose this because it could be disassembled. This meant that it could be used as part of Viper for enhancement if needed.

Mini Maneuvering Equipment looked like a belt. It could shoot out bursts of air that allowed the user to jump midair, and its fuel was very expensive. There was a fitting device built-in so that it would not fly off without the user. It would tire the user to a certain extent, but Han Xiao was practically immune to it with his amount of END.

The most important thing this device gave Han Xiao was agility. He would be about to make turns in midair and perform all kinds of tricky movements, drastically increasing his mobility.

He had chosen those three pieces of machinery to attempt making purple-quality equipment. He wanted to give his mechanical suit melee weapons so that it would cover the close-range weakness of the sniping style.

The other blueprints such as cannons, land mines, and bombs were not suitable for making a piece of purple quality equipment as there was not much room to improve.

He immediately maxed the level of the three blueprints, which cost around one million EXP, but it was nothing to him with all the experience points he had.

There's not enough materials on the plane. Han Xiao looked at his inventory. He had not restocked in the Western Continent. He pondered for a while and decided to make use of the max level [Medium Enhancement] and enhanced all of his current gear.

As he was keeping himself busy in the plane, it flew at a constant speed toward their destination, the Northern Continent.

…

One day later, the plane landed at the coastline of the Northern Continent.

Han Xiao walked down the plane. He got goosebumps from the surrounding cold air; it was freezing in the Northern Continent.

Han Xiao rubbed his palms against each other and breathed out a fog of hot air, opened the map, and said, "There are four novice villages in the Northern Continent, too. The highest level players should also advance to LV 20 soon."

The clock was ticking. Han Xiao hurriedly asked the pilot to take off again as soon as the plane was refueled. He arrived at the first novice village in the Northern Continent very soon and was greeted with warm welcomes.

The players in the Northern Continent had been waiting for him for a long time. They had been reading about the players in the Western Continent showing off every day with envy and anticipation; it was finally their turn to show off.

Of course, the players in the Southern Continent were even more upset.

Han Xiao stood in place, and the players queued to give him money and experience points with smiles on their faces. The numbers on the interface kept growing.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out among the crowd. Hao Tian walked out of the crowd as the players around him stepped aside.

"I want to buy the Referral Letter," Hao Tian said.

Han Xiao looked up. he recognized Hao Tian—a pro player who had around the same level of skill as Li Ge.

Hao Tian gave the money and took the referral letter, keeping an emotionless expression throughout. He took the mission and left without wasting any time.

At this time, Han Xiao heard the conversation between the surrounding players.

"Didn't Hao Tian finish all the missions in novice village? I thought he left two days ago."

"No, I saw him come back with my own eyes. He stayed till today."

"Probably waiting for the mission from Black Phantom."

"It's not worth wasting two days for a pro player."

"I would wait ten days if I could get the mission from Black Phantom."

Han Xiao's eye twinkled. Hao Tian seems like quite a good choice.

Chapter 202: Alumera 1

Including Hao Tian, Han Xiao had already come in contact with many pro players and given them the missions.

The way to complete the mission was through a communication device. He gave the pro players his number and email, and the mission would only be completed once they sent over the details so that he could complete his own mission. If there were any mission items that needed to be handed to Hannes, he would have to take the plane and retrieve it himself.

As compared to doing them himself, ordering highly skilled players to help him complete these missions would save him a lot of time, and he could just sit back and enjoy the profit.

Among the pro players that came to accept the missions, many had been very strong players in his previous life, and Han Tian was at the top of that list. Han Xiao was rather interested in Hao Tian, but since he had said that he would only be amazed when the mission was completed, he was patient.

Han Xiao spent most of his time on the road as he was rushing between the novice villages in the Northern Continent. During this time, he used the max level [Medium Enhancement] and upgraded his gear and improved their attributes. He also tried to build the three pieces of equipment that he had chosen, and he was rather satisfied with the results.

He was able to achieve blue quality on the first try, which meant there was a chance to reach purple quality after some practice and familiarization.

There were already players that had reached LV 19 on the level leaderboards. With Han Xiao's pace right now, he would be able to finish all the novice villages in the Northern Continent before the first player reached LV 20.

As for Andrea, Han Xiao did not think that he would be able to make it, but he did not want to go to Andrea anyway as it was the headquarters of the Germinal Organization, which meant it was very dangerous for him. Also, the players had all been forced to leave the novice villages and were scattered around everywhere. All in all, the risk far outweighed the profit for Han Xiao.

In the Planet Aquamarine panel on the forum, players in the Northern Continent were the happiest. The second most excited were the players from Andrea—in their minds, after Black Phantom finished running through the novice villages in the Northern Continent, he would go to Andrea next.

Well, that is awkward. Han Xiao sighed.

…

The weather in the Northern Continent was cold. Its terrain mainly consisted of snowy fields and icebergs. Thin snow danced in the air, fog surrounded the mountain top, and a clear line separated the black green mountain body and the snow-covered white peak.

The third novice village was called Frost Pine Village. It was in an ice-sealed forest valley, where fierce beasts roamed.

The plane landed outside the forest, and Han Xiao crossed the forest with his Electromagnetic Hover-boots, following the radar. The beast roars from afar reminded Han Xiao that the Northern Continent was filled with beasts, and many of them were of a rather high level.

As I remembered, the Sharp Claw Ice Bears on one ice field are all high leveled, between LV 53 to 56, not including the elites or BOSS. I can meet the requirements to unlock [Lethal Shot] talent there, Han Xiao thought.

That ice field was quite far, so Han Xiao decided to head there after he finished with the novice village.

He noticed another thing as he looked at the map—the Alumera family's territory was not far from Frost Pine Village.

Not long after, Frost Pine Village appeared in his sights. He calmed his mind, slowed down, and walked over.

…

In the woods one hundred meters away from the Frost Pine Village, a dozen or so people who were all wearing combat suit, firearms, and daggers sat in a circle arranging their equipment.

They were a combat team from Alumera, following their order to capture some Inhumans in the Frost Pine Village and bring them back for research.

The captain, Keaton, was smoking a hand-rolled cigar with a vicious face. He pulled out a blaster and said, "Everyone knows the combat plan. Don't mess up!"

"Relax, it's just a bunch of Inhumans, piece of cake."

"If they dare to resist…" Keaton patted the grenade on his waist. "You don't have to be stingy with these little toys—blow them to smithereens."

The team started laughing.

"Also, these Inhumans look the same as normal people from the outside, so don't capture the wrong ones." Keaton looked at his watch and commanded the rest to stand up. "Arrange your gear. We move on my signal."

At this time, a human-shaped shadow passed the alley outside the woods. A member pointed over and said, "Captain, there's a passer-by over there. Is it an Inhuman?"

"Probably, there are many beasts in this forest—only Inhumans would be alone."

"Capture this one, and we will complete the mission."

They were eager to do it.

However, they waited for a few seconds then realized that the captain was not giving any response. They looked back and were hit with a shock.

The lips of the usual fierce and vicious Keaton were trembling in fear. His face was pale, and even the cigar dropped onto the floor.

"What's wrong?" A member was confused.

Keaton's gulped before saying, "The plan is canceled, leave now!"

"Why?" The team was surprised.

"That's not an Inhuman!" Keaton said in anger. "H—he's Black Phantom! He had a conflict with the family not long ago!"

Black Phantom!

Everyone in the team was stunned. They wanted to look over and confirm it but realized the figure was gone; the shadow had disappeared."

However, they heard the voice of a stranger appear behind them.

"I heard you were calling me."

Everyone was stunned. They turned around rigidly and saw a black shadow standing behind Keaton, looking at them curiously.

They felt a chill run down their spines.

Keaton was horrified. He did not notice Han Xiao move behind him. The voice from Han Xiao was almost like a clap of thunder that made his heart jump and sweat even in such cold weather.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. He had sensed them from afar. The reason that these armed men were this nervous in front of him was most likely that they knew his identity and had hostile motives.

"Are you going to tell me yourself, or do you want me to help you? You can try lying too." Han Xiao bent his fingers. Seven blades flew out from the pockets on his waist and legs, floating in midair as they locked onto Keaton's vital points.

Blue-quality Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades, their damage was based on the user's energy usage, and they were able to form many weapon shapes while maintaining a very high attack speed. The equipment had an ability called [Revolving Slashes]. Once activated, all the blades would form a circulation like a clown throwing balls, inflicting multiple wounds at high speed. It was a great melee weapon before LV 60.

From the players' perspective, this thing would be god tier equipment in the early stages. Han Xiao had spent more than a million experience points to be able to get this blueprint.

Keaton was terrified by the floating blades; he hurriedly listed the team's identity and mission without leaving anything out.

When he heard that they belong to Alumera, Han Xiao's eye twinkled. He easily understood why these people were afraid of him; he had helped Lu Cheng to attack Alumera's territory back in the Green Valley Ville and stood against them, but when he saw the rumors on the Dark Net, Alumera only wanted to revenge Lu Cheng but did not mention him at all.

I should be their enemy—are they… scared of me?

Han Xiao was suddenly interested. He put back the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades and said, "Go back and tell your leader that I will be visiting very soon."

Keaton's tight nerves loosened. He immediately ran away without daring to look back, and the rest of the team followed.

After running for a few hundred meters, out of breath, Keaton stopped and looked back. When he was sure Black Phantom had not followed them, he let out a sigh of relief. He was soaked in sweat like he had just gotten out of a pool, and his heart was beating extremely fast.

"Captain, what now?" Fear still lingered on everyone's face.

Keaton swallowed his saliva and said, "We go and relay the message to the bosses."

…

"Black Phantom is in the Northern Continent, and he wants to 'visit' us‽"

The eyes of Darryl, the leader of the Alumera family, opened wide and round like an angry bear. "We have yet to find him, and now he dares to find us first. He's totally disrespecting us. I'm going to kill him!"

The third in command, Se Qi, was a Sharnuk. He was huge and had dark skin. "Don't be so impulsive. He's not to be messed with lightly. He definitely has some backing and no fear if he dares to find us alone."

Darryl stared across. "Xiao Jin, what's your suggestion?"

Xiao Jin pushed his monocle and said calmly, "He only said 'visit'. If he wanted to attack us, he didn't have to tell us. We should make contact with him and see what he wants. Maybe he's not planning to engage combat."

Darryl frowned and said, "I will see him myself and see how he's going to explain killing our men!"

Chapter 203: Alumera 2

Frost Pine Village was a poor novice gathering point. Poor meant there were many missions; therefore, although the players had low-quality equipment, they had accumulated a lot of experience points. Many players bought abilities from Han Xiao, and they were taking photos with him from time to time. He was like a celebrity; the crowd appeared wherever he did.

Han Xiao left Frost Pine Village in a plane after staying for one day and harvesting experience points. He brought along all his equipment and went to the Alumera family.

He did not feel a sense of belonging to the family of his original body, but he was unavoidably curious about it, so he wanted to ask around about it. Since Alumera was still pursuing his original identity, Han Xiao was very interested in making contact with them.

Alumera Family, a big warlord in the Northern Continent, they were partners with Theseus. Within the planet, they have 24 colonies of which five are large territories. They are very rich; they are registered as a legal financial organization in Theseus.

They are involved in businesses, politics, and many other fields, which are controlled by different factions in the family. The Alumera family is separated into four factions internally, which consist of the home faction lead by Darryl, the Xiao faction led by Xiao Jin, the red island faction led by the third chair Se Qi, and the more relaxed local alliance northern faction.

Alumera is a warlord organization made by the alliance of organizations from dead countries, the Home faction controlled the big picture, and the other factions are under them. They took in many loose warlords and became one of the strongest warlord organization in the Northern Continent. Then they accepted the request from Theseus to be part of the government forces and acquired government backing. They have not made any big movements recently and have mostly been settling tricky problems for Theseus, especially regarding Raylen.

The situation in the Northern Continent was different from the other continents. Unlike other nations that were peaceful, the conflict between Theseus and Raylen was very intense. Killing happened very often, and soldiers, agents, and superhumans battled in secret. Hatred was deeply rooted in both nations. Theseus and Raylen were both very invasive countries, and one mountain could not fit two tigers. For more than twenty years, they had not stopped trying to defeat and erase each other.

Only recently when they decided to work together for the expedition to conquer the Germinal Organization did they pause.

Alumera's headquarters are full of danger. They dread my identity and strength only because they have a huge influence, but I am their enemy nonetheless, so there might be a fight.

…

A large colony sat halfway up an ice-covered valley—Alumera's headquarters. It was a great strategic location as it was easy to defend but difficult to invade. There were only two routes into the colony—one was through the mountain, and the other was by climbing the cliffs at the side—both were heavily guarded.

The mountain rocks were black-green, the snow was white, and the wind was piercing.

At the juncture on the way up the mountain, a sentinel wearing a thick cotton coat was scanning the area as usual. He then suddenly saw a shadow in the snow far away.

"Someone's coming!" The sentinel warned his friend to stay alert. The shadow soon revealed itself fully and appeared in their sights. The sentinels straightened their faces—it was none other than Black Phantom whom the leader had ordered them to keep an eye out for.

Han Xiao's eyes twinkled. The juncture was heavily guarded just as he expected from the intelligence that he had gathered.

He wondered what Alumera's attitude toward him would be.

Before long, he was given the answer to that question.

After a short wait, the juncture opened, and a man surrounded by a team walked toward Han Xiao. He stopped in front of him and said with a fake smile on his face, "Mr. Black Phantom, welcome to the Alumera family. I'm Ummil, here to lead you in. Please follow me, the leaders have been expecting you."

Well, looks like the fight will not happen so soon, and from the way he was talking, they are probably planning a Feast at Hong Gate.

Sigh, how troublesome, couldn't it just be solved by the simplest solution, violence? That wouldn't be barbaric; it's going back to the basics, skipping what was in between and starting the fight right off the bat. It would save everyone some time.

Time is money. Sigh, I'm already here anyway.

Han Xiao lifted the single shoulder backpack that was filled with machinery and followed Ummil up the mountain path.

The path wound among clouds, and the guards followed beside the duo as they passed one juncture after another.

Han Xiao kept a serious face all along. Ummil kept wanting to ask him questions but did not dare to because of the expression on Han Xiao's face. He contemplated again and again, then asked with a laugh, "The leaders were very surprised when they heard you are coming. After all, there was some discord not long ago."

"You guys are very curious about why I'm here?"

"Yes, we are not exactly friends, but since you are coming, I believe you have a friendly motive," Ummil said.

"I'm here to look for trouble. I have yet to decide who to kill. How about we start with you?" Han Xiao asked.

"Hehe, with your strength, you wouldn't have to visit if you wanted to kill us mid-level cadres," Ummil said without changing his expression. "That's not a funny joke."

"Is that so?" Han Xiao scanned through the guards beside them. They were expressionless, their fingers were placed at the trigger at all times, and they looked cold, hard, and masculine. But the cold sweat dripping down from their sideburns and their short and rapid breathing showed that they were not as calm as they looked.

The guard captain secretly looked over and was immediately caught by Han Xiao. He looked away the next second with horror in his eyes.

"But they seem to find it funny." Han Xiao expression resembled a smile yet not a smile. He patted the captain on the shoulder, and he clearly sensed the captain's body tighten for a moment.

Ummil was smiling on the outside but was angry on the inside. He's not here for a friendly reason. Not sure why he's here.

Han Xiao squinted his eyes and asked out of the blue, "Ummil… right? What faction do you belong to, Home or the others?"

Ummil's expression became unnatural. He coughed and said, "I'm a member of the Alumera Family, that's all."

Han Xiao smiled and did not say anything.

They kept silent till the door of the territory appeared in sight.

Ummil was relieved. "We're here. The leaders are waiting for you in the hall."

The door opened, and hundreds of soldiers came forward, staring at Han Xiao. They seemed to have confidence in numbers.

Ummil was leading the way in front. He walked very slowly on purpose to spend more time in the middle of the armed forces with the motive of planting fear in Han Xiao.

Han Xiao understood what was happening, but he was not affected. Suddenly, he saw a floating ID outside the crowd. There were players here.

Makes sense. Alumera is not far from Frost Pine Village, so some players that left the novice village will have come here. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. There are already players in Alumera, so why are they still capturing Inhumans?

There were many possibilities. Han Xiao did not think much about it and left the thought in the back of his head. His goal was Alumera; it did not matter if there were players present.

…

"What are these soldiers gathering for?"

Dozens or so of players discussed the situation softly from afar as they looked at the crow. They all had a 'Bamboo Rain' before their names. They were members of the Bamboo Rain guild, a small casual guild with less than a hundred members who were all young people.

The guild leader, Bamboo Rain Fragrance, was a beautiful young girl with long hair. "They seem to be welcoming someone. Is this an unexpected event?"

"Let's go and take a look. Maybe we can trigger some missions," the somewhat handsome Bamboo Rain Fly said. Then he looked at the rest of the members inquiringly.

Of course, no one objected. This group of players from Bamboo Rain guild was the only players in this colony, and they had only found it by chance. There was not much information included on the maps of this place that were sold in the novice village.

The map on the player's Interfaces was full of fog. The places would only be revealed if they went there themselves or bought a map for it.

They walked toward the crowd, and Bamboo Rain Xuan yelled with surprise, "That's Black Phantom!"

The group was shocked. They took a closer look and confirmed they were right, then looked at each other in awe.

"Why is Black Phantom here? The people here seem to be hostile toward him." Bamboo Rain Fragrance frowned and pondered aloud. "He just appeared in various novice villages a few days ago, so there must be a reason he's suddenly here."

Bamboo Rain Xuan's eye brightened up. "This is an unexpected plotline! There might be hidden missions!"

"Lucky, I have yet to see Black Phantom. Now I can learn abilities from him without going to a novice village."

"I remember there are some video posters looking for footage of him."

They stopped in front of the hall as they saw Han Xiao entering it. The hall was a high-level area that was not open to them. They needed enough relationship points to enter, but Black Phantom could just go in. They were frustrated.

"Let's all wait outside," Bamboo Rain Fragrance said. "He might come out very soon."A Feast at Hong Gate is a Chinese expression for an invitation to a meal that is a trap or has sinister implications.

Chapter 204: Alumera 3

The hall's structure reminded Han Xiao of the ancient kingdoms described in books. It was spacious with rows of chairs on both sides, and at the end was the master seat covered in the hide of a white bear. Lining the walls were guards on high alert.

The hall was filled with high ranked officials of Alumera. They turned to look at Han Xiao almost simultaneously, with coldness and hostility in their eyes.

Many of these people thought that Han Xiao had vicious intentions by coming here all of a sudden, so the majority of them disagreed with meeting the legendary killer who was possibly an enemy. They had heard of the things that Black Phantom did, and they knew that Han Xiao was elusive, so they had no idea what he would do. However, Xiao Jin said that since Han Xiao was a killer, it would be safer to meet him face to face.

There were guards in the halls as well, all of whom were ready to pull the trigger any time. Superhumans also hid in the dark, which gave the high ranked officials of Alumera some sense of security.

"Black Phantom." Darryl, who sat in the master seat, waved his hands casually. "Give him a seat."

A guard pulled a chair over and placed it in the middle of the hall like it was for an integration. Han Xiao knew that they were trying to plant fear in him. He had come alone, and Alumera definitely wanted to stand their ground.

Han Xiao did not care. He placed the enormous single shoulder backpack on the floor and sat down steadily. "Don't you want to introduce yourselves?"

"Stop acting," Darryl said coldly. "You've definitely already gone through our data in the Dark Net."

Han Xiao scanned the Alumera members in the hall and noticed something quite interesting. These high ranked officials were seated separately. The ones belonging to the Home Faction sat around Darryl, while Xiao Jin, Sen Qi, and the North Faction all sat separately. This detail showed that there was some strong conflict within Alumera.

There were also a few very strong hidden presences around. Han Xiao was guessing that if the meeting went bad, he would be attacked in a split second… which of course would not be a problem for him.

Most of Han Xiao's attention was on Xiao Jin and the members of his faction—he was scanning through them discreetly.

These were the family of his original body, and they had almost killed him.

Bang!

Suddenly, Darryl slammed the chair handle and yelled, "In Green Valley Ville, you attacked our territory and killed our men. What's your explanation for that‽"

The atmosphere tensed up immediately. Those strong presences started to tense up as well, and the other factions were acting indifferent. Only the home faction was full of hostility.

Han Xiao remembered that he had killed one of Xiao Jin's foster sons, but Xiao Jin had a poker face. Han Xiao could not figure out what he was thinking.

"So what if I killed them? If you're not happy about that, fight me." Han Xiao's expression resembled a smile but not a smile.

Darryl could not believe that Han Xiao was so arrogant in his territory. He was almost shocked for one second, then it turned into rage. "You—"

Before he finished his sentence, Han Xiao suddenly said, "You worked with the Germinal Organization. I won't be the only one that comes looking for trouble with you—the Six Nations will, too."

The crowd was stunned.

Working with the Germinal Organization? Since when?

Darryl forced the shouting down his throat and suppressed his anger as much as he could. "What are you talking about? We have never worked with the Germinal Organization."

"Zero, whom the Germinal Organization is offering an enormous sum for, was a member of your family," Han Xiao replied. "How do you explain that?"

Darryl suddenly realized why Black Phantom attacked them for no reason—it was because he had mistaken them for having a connection with the Germinal Organization. The team that was searching for Han Xiao might have been discovered by Black Phantom when they passed by the Green Valley Ville.

Having heard that the Germinal Organization was Black Phantom's enemy, Darryl realized that he had found the cause of the questions he was searching for. He shook his head and said, "You're wrong. The wanted Zero is vice leader Xiao Jin's second son, Han Xiao."

Han Xiao frowned. He looked at Darryl discreetly with eyes that were filled with unspoken meanings.

Darryl continued speaking. "But Han Xiao is already not related to us. Furthermore, the Germinal Organization putting a reward for Han Xiao means he's their enemy; there are more reasons for us not to be working with the Germinal Organization."

It seemed like Alumera wanted to cut their ties. Han Xiao's eyes twinkled as he slowly lured words out of their mouth. He purposely acted as if he was speaking in a very serious manner and said, "I believe, with the intelligence of the Germinal Organization, they definitely knew Han Xiao belonged to you. You are the best clue they have. Why wouldn't the Germinal Organization contact you?"

Darryl's face was stunned. "They really didn't contact us."

"You think I'll believe that? Do you think the Six Nations' intelligence organizations will believe that?" Han Xiao said coldly. "There are too many suspicious parts to the story. I can only assume that you are helping the Germinal Organization find the wanted man, and there's even a possibility that that wanted man was sent by you to do things for the Germinal Organization."

Darryl frowned and said, "That's is completely not true. There's more to this."

"I would like to hear what more there is then."

Han Xiao had no fear. His attitude made Darryl clench his teeth. For the family's sake, they had to cut ties with the Germinal Organization very clearly. The war between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization was about to break out, so if they were misunderstood, Alumera would be in a dire situation.

Although Han Xiao had come alone, Darryl did not dare do anything to him. After all, he was Black Phantom; with his identity and strength, the fact that he was there might even have been an order from the Dark Net. If they killed him, the Dark Net would become their enemy, and it would prove the fact that they were working with the Germinal Organization.

Most importantly, Black Phantom was unfathomable. The people in the headquarters had no confidence in killing him, and finding out if they could was not worth the risk.

Therefore, at this point of time, Darryl could only endure the arrogance of Han Xiao. He stared at Xiao Jin with a fierce look; he felt this was all caused by Xiao Jin. Therefore, he spun his eyes and said loudly, "Okay, Leader Xiao, you shall tell him the details."

Xiao Jin looked at Darryl faintly. He turned his head and said, "Xiao Hai, tell him."

A handsome young man walked out from behind Xiao Jin, his expression rather vicious.

Xiao Hai, the first and best son of Xiao Jin, partly in charge of the Xiao Faction.

He was someone with actual political power, and Xiao Jin had raised him to take his place.

"One year ago, I was guarding a convoy of supplies and was attacked midway. Han Xiao went missing. I have no clue what happened to him afterward," Xiao Hai said coldly.

This time, a leader from the Northern Faction said, "More details, please. Our guest doesn't seem to believe it."

Xiao Hai let out a grunt and said, "The attackers came for me. Han Xiao is my brother, so I made him look like me and divided their attention as bait—only then I could escape successfully. I went back searching with more troops afterward, but we weren't able to find him."

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. "So, you let your little brother die for you. Was he willing to?"

"What do you think?" Xiao Hai was already annoyed.

The crowd chatted among themselves, eyes with all kinds of different emotions fixed upon Xiao Hai.

"That is what happened," Darryl said. "We can show you more evidence, and whether you believe it or not, we have no relationship with the Germinal Organization."

Han Xiao nodded. He had already received the information he needed—what happened to the original owner of this body and the attitude of his family toward him.

When he mentioned the original owner of this body, the people in the Xiao faction treated it like it was a stranger. This was especially so for Xiao Hai, who did not show even a shred of remorse toward killing his own little brother, and Xiao Jin had no problem with that.

In conclusion, the original owner of the body was not loved by anyone; everyone treated him like nothing.

You had a pretty hard life, Han Xiao thought.

The people in the hall suddenly realized something.

What happened to controlling the situation?

When did it become Black Phantom interrogating us?

This is our territory—what about our dignity?

Chapter 205: Assassination!

"You killed my foster son," Xiao Jin suddenly said.

"This is a private matter chieftain Xiao," Han Xiao replied. "Let's discuss it privately."

"Sure." Xiao Jin nodded.

The crowd's eyes twinkled. Black Phantom's reply to the same matter was completely different.

Darryl showed unhappiness on his face but did not say anything.

Han Xiao turned his head to look at Darryl and said, "It's late. You don't mind if I stay the night, right?"

"Xiao Jin, take care of him, meeting dismissed." Darryl stood up and walked out.

The crowd walked pass Han Xiao with different expressions on their faces.

A man walked up to Han Xiao, smiled, and said, "I'm Xiao Ming, a foster son of Leader Xiao. I will be taking care of you during your stay. Please follow me."

Han Xiao looked around and realized that Ummil, who had brought him here, was missing. The internal conflict in Alumera is really very severe.

The tense atmosphere in the hall earlier on further proved his point.

With such thoughts in his mind, Han Xiao walked out of the hall. Suddenly, a dozen or so players surrounded him with excitement on their faces. They were all from the Bamboo Rain guild. Bamboo Rain Xuan enabled the recording functions.

"We want to learn abilities," Bamboo Rain Fragrance said.

Han Xiao surely would not miss out on an opportunity to earn some experience points, so he casually opened the ability interface.

Xiao Ming, who was standing on the side, asked in surprise, "Do you know them?"

Han Xiao shook his head.

"Black Phantom seems to be very popular among the Inhumans." The Alumera members who happened to pass by noticed this, and they were rather surprised.

The Bamboo Rain Guild wanted to trigger missions, but Han Xiao did not make any other interactions. He walked away after stopping for a few seconds.

"It's an unexpected plotline, but there's no mission." Bamboo Rain Fly was confused.

"Seems like my recording has nothing of interest," Bamboo Rain Xuan said in frustration.

…

Xiao Ming arranged a room for Han Xiao. Although Han Xiao's attitude in the morning had made many of the high ranked officials very angry, he did explain the source of his hostility. Therefore, the atmosphere was not all that tense.

That night, Xiao Jin invited Han Xiao to his mansion with the purpose of discussing compensation.

Upon arriving at the place, Han Xiao realized that Xiao Jin's children were all gathered around, including Xiao Hai and other brothers and sisters. However, the foster kids were not there.

Xiao Jin had the same expressionless face as he had in the day, unpredictable.

Han Xiao was looking at Xiao Jin and his children, and these people were looking at him, too.

"What compensation do you want." Han Xiao looked at Xiao Jin and put on a smile that did not really look like a smile.

"It's his bad luck that he died." Xiao Jin's expression was cold. To him, foster children were just assistants and tools.

"Then why did you invite me here?" Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.

"There are no bad sides to getting to know a famous killer."

Han Xiao could not figure out Xiao Jin's motive, maybe it was just to build a relationship, maybe there were other motives, anyway Han Xiao was interested in making more contact with the family of his original body owner so he could lure more information out of their mouth.

They chatted casually, talking about all sorts of things. Xiao Hai and his siblings said a word or two once in a while, and the atmosphere was peaceful. Xiao Hai was the leader of the siblings; one could feel a sense of adoration when the siblings talked to him, but Xiao Hai did not react to it, as if that was the norm.

One hour had passed without anyone's notice. Han Xiao suddenly frowned and said, "I'm very interested in Han Xiao. Let's talk more about him."

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold. Xiao Jin put the cup down and said slowly, "He's my son. He has always been incompetent, but I didn't think he would become wanted by the Germinal Organization."

"I thought he's dead for sure," Xiao Hai said. "No wonder they say scourges last for thousand years; he's still bringing us trouble."

Han Xiao pointed at himself and said, "You mean I'm trouble?"

Xiao Hai gave a cold laugh and said, "Are you not?"

With a light cough, Xiao Jin said, "It's getting late,"

"Indeed, it is." Han Xiao stood up and left.

Xiao Ming brought him back to his room. He passed a stack of documents to Han Xiao as he walked through the door. "This is Han Xiao's information. Father had told me to give it to you."

Han Xiao nodded and accepted it.

As soon as Han Xiao entered the room, he checked every corner of it thoroughly. There had been three monitoring devices before he left, and now there was one more. He shook his head and used a program to crack it once again. After he was done with that, only then did he start reading the documents, from which he gained a deeper understanding of the original owner of his body. He was basically a nobody, and he did not hear about any NPC called 'Han Xiao' in his previous life either.

"Sigh."

Han Xiao shook his head. He had made contact with Alumera to know more about the original owner of his body, and he had already achieved that. Whether it was Alumera's attitude or their internal problems, none of that mattered to him because it had nothing to do with him, and his so-called hostility was just a form of showing his strong stand.

Alumera was already sucking it up and did not want to become his enemy, so Han Xiao would be stupid to kill their people in their headquarters. There was no benefit to creating another enemy for himself for no reason.

Once Alumera knows I'm 'Xiao Han', I wonder how they will react.

Han Xiao put the documents aside, lay on the bed, and closed his eyes. He planned to leave the next day.

…

At midnight in Darryl's mansion…

"It's all because of that asshole Xiao Jin that Alumera has been sucked into this. That asshole has been building on his power with no worries at all. He's obviously trying to seize power. However, the North Faction is my ally, and Se Qi's Red Island Faction has always been neutral. What does he have to be up against me?" Darryl clenched his teeth.

When Alumera was created, it had been peaceful internally, but when the size of the organization started to snowball, conflicts started to happen. As the master of the house, the Home Faction gained most benefits and were in the middle of the conflict. Although all the factions followed the orders on the surface, they all had the ambitions to take over and seize power.

Luckily, after all these long years of partnership, they were all connected to each other deeply, so none of them dared do anything too over the line. A murder was nearly impossible to happen. Even if there was one, it was planned in secret.

Xiao Jin posed the largest threat, and Darryl was the one who secretly planned the attack on Xiao Hai, which sadly failed. They had only managed to kill Han Xiao, who did not matter at all.

Who would have thought that after one year, the Han Xiao who nobody cared about would become a wanted person with an outrageous reward from the Germinal Organization and bring the family such a horrifying enemy?

Thinking back now, Darryl was filled with regret.

At this time, Darryl's son, Lagos, walked in and said, "Father, Black Phantom has left Xiao Jin's mansion. The meeting lasted for one hour and thirty-seven minutes."

"Xiao Jin is becoming more unbridled. Now he even dares meet Black Phantom privately without my consent." Darryl was enraged.

"What do we do, just let Black Phantom leave?"

"Don't mess with him."

"But he dared to be this arrogant in our territory." Lagos was unconvinced.

"I said don't mess with him!" Darryl slammed the table in a rage and shouted, "Get out!"

Lagos clenched his teeth and closed the door after he walked out. The moment he turned his head, his expression turned vicious.

…

As the sky started to brighten, loud noises woke Han Xiao up, who was in a light sleep.

He jumped out of the bed and looked outside through the window. Alumera members were yelling and rushing somewhere.

"What happened?" Han Xiao asked in confusion.

Footsteps closed in rapidly, and dozens of soldiers surrounded the room with guns.

"Black Phantom, don't move!" one of the captains shouted.

These soldiers' mission was to control him. They were all in a state of nervousness that could pull the trigger wrongly anytime. Han Xiao saw the people outside running in another direction.

Seems like something has happened, but it's not about me. Han Xiao squinted his eyes and watched things unfold.

Not long after, the captain seemed like he had received an order. He yelled, "Come with us!"

Han Xiao wanted to know what had happened, too, so he followed the nervous soldiers. To his surprise, they went to Darryl's mansion.

It was already extremely crowded; the high-ranking officials from all the factions had come. They were looking furiously at Han Xiao, and the latter was rather confused.

Han Xiao only discovered what had happened after he walked into the mansion.

In the office, Darryl sat on the chair with his head facing up, a bloody blue hole on his left eye, penetrating through the back of his head. The blood on the wooden floor had already coagulated, and the metallic smell of blood filled the room. The dead body's hands hung from the shoulders, and the legs pushed against the table, holding him on his chair.

The leader of Alumera had been assassinated!

"Cause of death: gunshot. The bullet entered through the eye into the brain, penetrating and leaving through the back of his head. He would have died on the spot. From the size of the bullet hole, the killer used a high caliber handgun, and the leader did not show any sign of resistance. There are no clues at the scene that showed any signs of the killer ever being here."

Han Xiao suddenly understood why the others were looking at him that way.

Darryl died in the night, and being the killer who came without invitation, he was the most suspicious. Also, the killer used a high caliber handgun, and the assassination-style was phantom-like.

There were too many coincidences.

He was being framed!

Han Xiao blinked. He took out a cigarette from the pocket, lighted it up, and inhaled deeply, blowing out a smoke ring in the face of the surrounding nervous soldiers.

"Now this is interesting."

Chapter 206: The Real Killer One

The soldiers surrounded the place securely. The high ranked officials had different expressions, the home faction was furious, Xiao Jin's faction was frowning with confusion on their faces, Red Island Faction lead by Se Qi and the Northern Faction all had surprise on their faces, they couldn't believe it.

"Get him!" Lagos's face was twisted.

Xiao Jin frowned and stopped him, "there's more to this, Black Phantom visited us in bright daylight, there's no need for him to do such thing."

"What if that's exactly what he made us think!" One of the chieftains of the Northern Faction said.

"Then why did he have to visit us, it's more discreet to assassinate him." Xiao Jin said.

"Our guarding power is strong, he wanted to get in!" Someone said.

"He's the killer, and you still want to find excuses for him?!" Lagos was emotional, he took out his gun and pointed at Han Xiao, Se Qi who stood on his side hurriedly stopped him."

"Calm down, there's no motive for Black Phantom to do this—"

"Motive?!" Lagos was enraged, he stared at Xiao Jin, clenched his teeth and said, "is there no motive?"

Xiao Jin frowned and said, "you're overthinking."

The Northern Faction and the Home Faction agreed they should first control Black Phantom who was the most suspicious, then get on to find more clues. Se Qi felt Black Phantom was too dangerous, and suggested to question Han Xiao on the spot, but was interrupted by Lagos who believed they couldn't trust anything Black Phantom says, they were unable to come to an agreement.

The soldiers surrounded Han Xiao, many strong presences in the dark were locking their attention on him, and the high ranked officials also had their attention on Han Xiao even as they were discussing, they were ready to engage the moment Han Xiao does anything suspicious.

Han Xiao thought to himself, "the result of framing me to take responsibility for the assassination is a conflict between Alumera and the Dark Net, only the third party will benefit from it. Could this be the goal of the people behind all this? If I start a killing spree, it would also fall right into his trap, it was planned for me to be in such a situation where my actions are very restricted."

Han Xiao could kill his way out anytime, he didn't care about making Alumera angry, but if he did it, it would be falling into the trap of the people behind this, as escaping would mean he admitted he was the killer, and killing someone creates hatred, he also could not just let them capture him. It seemed like the plan made by the person behind this had worked.

"I've only been here for one day, and they could make the assassination look like I did it, there has to be someone who's an expert in assassination that has been here for a long time, and my arrival had given them the opportunity."

Unless they could find the real killer, no matter how many things showed that Han Xiao had no motive to do it, he would still be the most suspicious person without any solid evidence that proves otherwise. After all, no one can truly know someone else unless they can read their mind, logical assumptions could not be taken as evidence.

"Wait, evidence—" Han Xiao had a flash of insight, it hasn't been long since Delo was assassinated, the crime scene was not checked thoroughly yet, the killer might have left some clues.

This time, the discussion between the high ranked officials had come to an end, Lagos yelled, "Black Phantom, disarm yourself and surrender!"

Xiao Jin added, "if you didn't do it, we will investigate clearly."

Han Xiao smiled, "you know that's impossible, how about you guys disarm yourselves?"

Both parties couldn't trust each other, there was no way they would take the risk of disarming themselves, it was a problem that had no solution. However, Han Xiao had a thought, "there's no point of continuing this argument, I can stay temporarily, and you can send people to monitor me 24/7, I will wait till you find the truth." He said.

Han Xiao was very curious about who was framing him, he felt it was quite interesting.

"Well, that is one way to do it." Se Qi said immediately, he wasn't wishing for a conflict.

Before Lagos said anything, someone in the crowd suddenly fired his gun, Han Xiao reacted quickly and activated the Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor, the bullet was deflected.

However, this had made the soldiers who were all in a highly nervous state lose their control and all fired at the same time.

"Fire!"

Conflict broke out in an instant!

"Someone fired unexpectedly on purpose!" Han Xiao's eyes became serious, the scene was chaotic, but he saw the person who made the shot clearly, it was an ordinary soldier.

Bullets emerged from every direction, Han Xiao had no choice by to deal with the shootings first, the enhanced Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor had an outstanding level of defence, the bullets only made sparks on the armor and couldn't penetrate through.

Energy flow through his body and went into a circular metal plate on his had, the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades was activated, seven sharp blades flew out of the pockets and shot out like a storm. Many soldiers' gun muzzle was cut off, they backed off in horror and bumped into other soldiers on the exteriors.

The firepower of the enemy started weakening, just as Han Xiao was about to go for the soldier who made the first shot, the superhuman guards hidden in the dark acted.

"Hong!"

Suddenly, a fire appeared in the crowd, not one, but four. Three Pugilists, one Esper that could turn his entire body into fire, all pounced towards Han Xiao at the same time.

Fists covered in fire smashed down hard.

"Bang!"

Cracks spread out on the originally standing flow, the walls started to crack open as well, Han Xiao made it in time and jumped up in the air. Suddenly, Han Xiao faced a heat wave coming towards him, the person covered in fire straightened his arms, a snake-like pillar of fire flew towards Han Xiao.

Usually, one has nowhere to escape to during mid-air, but Han Xiao was an exception. He immediately switched on the [Mini Maneuvering Equipment]on his waist, the boxes on the edge of the belt made a turbo-like sound and shot out a jet stream of air, the belt emitted a strong force, almost like an invisible hand pulling Han Xiao to the side.

The fire snake slid by his back and hit the wall, creating a large scorch black hole.

"Level 46, 48, 49, three Pugilists, and one Esper at level 45, all Grade D superhumans, these should be the high tier power in Alumera."

If it was before, he would have had some troubles, but now that all his skills were at max level, he was much stronger, it wouldn't be much of a problem for him even if he didn't wear his mechanical suit. In fact, he was more concerned about the soldier who fired first, but he realised that the young soldier was killed in the previous round of chaotic shootings.

Han Xiao felt a thump in his heart, he didn't believe this would be an accident.

"Seems like the people who framed me are deeply rooted in Alumera, they saw me taking a step back and decided to attack me on purpose, to cause a conflict."

With these thoughts, Han Xiao had more clues, he put the thoughts away and focused on dealing with the four superhumans and the soldiers. He spun his hands, the revolving blades covered him like a protecting storm, slashing almost ten times per second, inflicting wounds on the three pugilists who were just closing in. Everywhere he walked past, the weapons of the soldiers were cut into pieces, he used this sort of weapon in his previous life before, it didn't need much practice, he was a pro in it instantly. He purposely held back and didn't kill anyone.

Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor, Electromagnetic Skateboard Shoes and other equipment he carried around all the time, all went through [Precised Enhancing Modification], their attributes became much stronger. Han Xiao's own combat power had also peaked due to all his skills being at max level. Han Xiao didn't even need Viper·Modified to deal with these four superhumans that had a lower level than him, he only needed Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades as a close range combat weapon to defeat them.

Han Xiao's health had reached 3800 points, not far from a Pugilist of the same level, and he also had the Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor, he was very tanky.

On the other side, members of the Bamboo Rain Guild witnessed Han Xiao defeating a group of soldiers and four superhumans, Bamboo Rain Guild recorded them with excitement.

"That, is a recording that has the potential to go viral."

Bamboo Rain Fly said in surprise, "I thought Black Phantom was their guest, but from what they are saying, it seemed like Black Phantom killed their leader. I made a scan just now, all four NPCs that are fighting Black Phantom have a danger level of [Extremely Dangerous], what they say in the forums are right, Black Phantom is at the top tier in terms of strength even amongst the NPCs."

Bamboo Rain Morning Wind rolled his eyes and said, "you don't say, which NPC that gives main storyline missions are not strong?"

"Shhh——" Bamboo Rain Fragrance made a hand sign of asking them to keep quiet, she stared at the scene and said, "keep quiet and watch the storyline."

…

The destruction power of superhumans far exceeded normal people, the entire mansion collapsed in the heated battle, the high ranked officials had already escaped in rage and nervousness. More superhumans were on their way here, they definitely could kill Black Phantom, if these four guards were able to stall him that is.

Blades slashed open the fire, iron fists clashed against the armor. Han Xiao moved around with horrifyingly high mobility, the four superhumans could only barely hit him despite putting in all their efforts. Han Xiao purposely faked an opportunity for them to attacked and lured one of the Pugilists to a close range, then used the Thermo-electrical Incisor Gloves to counter-attack and defeated one person first. He then used the blades to form a storm and slashed wounds all over the fire-controlling Esper, his Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor had very good heat insulating abilities, fire dealt very limited damage to him.

The two people left soon had an even harder time dealing with Han Xiao.

"Whoosh."

The blades slashed open the flesh of the Pugilist and shot out through his body, causing blood to shoot out from the wounds, this Pugilist ended up twitching on the floor with heavy injury and was unable to move.

"Shit!" Lagos was shocked, Black Phantom defeated the four guards in much shorter time he expected before the backup could arrive. The scene was now filled with broken bricks and ruins, no one could stop Black Phantom anymore.

If he were to start a killing spree, many of the high ranked officials would die.

Whoosh! A blade hovered before Lagos, he backed up in terror, but the blades followed him like a shadow, till Lagos fell on the ground with afraid and anger on his face.

It was at this time Han Xiao kept the blades back, he wiped off the blood on his face and said coldly, "I can kill you people, but that would be falling right into the trap of someone else, our terms remain unchanged, I can stay till you find out the truth, but if you insist on capturing me, I don't mind to gift you a few slashes."

His fingers turned inwards as he was saying, the blades danced in the air and formed a flower shape, the motive of threatening was clear.

Chapter 207: The Real Killer Two

"You—" Lagos clenched his teeth in anger.

Before he could say anything, Xiao Jin cut in and said, "we accept your terms, I personally believe the assassination had nothing to do with you, it's a conspiracy intended to spark conflict between both parties."

The high ranked officials agreed in silence, Black Phantom was even stronger than the rumors said he was, he defeated the strongest people in the headquarters without even using his sniping style which he was known for. These people were not weak, but they paled in comparison to Black Phantom, they were not on the same level.

The backup finally arrived at this time, Xiao Jin immediately ordered the soldiers to keep their weapons, showing sincerity on their side.

Seeing so, Han Xiao kept his weapons too and walked towards where he resided in, the nervous crowd split up and opened a path.

Xiao Jin gave Lagos a faint look, then turned his head and ordered, "clean the scene up."

Lagos was filled with fury, one of the high ranked officials from the Home Faction helped him to get up but was pushed away instantly.

"He could've killed us, but he insisted he's not the killer, should be trustworthy." Se Qi whispered.

"Naive!" Lagos said coldly, "if he kills us, all of Alumera will become enemy with the Dark Net till the very end, he's doing this so we won't suspect him!"

…

Having returned to Han Xiao's residence, the interface showed a notification.

[You have triggered an urgent mission[The Real Killer]]

[Mission Introduction: You are framed and dragged into a conspiracy, becoming a chess piece used by the people behind this.]

[Mission Requirement/s: Confirm the real killer and accomplish the mission, you have only one chance.]

Reward/s: Random ability or talent x 1]

Han Xiao's eyes twinkled, "it's a puzzle type mission, with only one chance."

There were many types of missions, the puzzle type was rather common, some required the players to collect clues like a detective, sometimes the clue would be provided, but it was all rather vague, the final decision was to be made by the players.

There was no notification after quite a long wait, Han Xiao guessed this mission belonged to the latter type of puzzle mission, with Alumera's suspicion towards him, he probably would not be able to find out any clue.

"It's best to wait and see." Han Xiao thought.

At the same time, Bamboo Rain Guild triggered a different mission.

"[A Shocking Change in Alumera]: The leader of Alumera was murdered, Black Phantom who came to visit out of nowhere became the biggest suspect, but he claimed to not be the killer and suppressed objections with his raw strength. Alumera might seem to have submitted, but some factions still strongly believed Black Phantom is the killer, what information is hidden within?"

"There are five stands you can take on: Black Phantom, Home Faction, Xiao Faction, Red Island Faction and the Northern Faction, changes cannot be made after choosing."

"Reward/s: Rewards will be given based on different stands and contribution, the basic reward is 50,000 experience points!"

Bamboo Rain Fly exclaimed in shock. "at least 50 thousand experience points!"

50 thousand experience points were an extremely large amount for them, there really always were benefits wherever Black Phantom went.

"What position will you guys be choosing?"

"Black Phantom for me."

"Me too."

Everyone agreed, they didn't know Alumera very well, and Han Xiao just defeated all of Alumera's military power, it was obvious following Han Xiao would be the most reliable.

Players of Bamboo Rain Guild approached Han Xiao and expressed their willingness to help.

Han Xiao was surprised, he thought about it and guessed that these players probably received different missions, with a different identity, the mission requirements that were triggered would be different as well. Usually, in an area where something happened, missions would be triggered.

"Follow me then."

…

In a corner somewhere, two people were talking to each other."

"The conflict did not happen, our man died for nothing."

"The intelligence said Black Phantom was a serial murderer, but he held back this time, what a misstep."

"Luckily the clues have been destroyed, as long as the truth cannot be found, Black Phantom would still be the biggest suspect."

…

Next day, the Home Faction hosted a simple funeral for Delo, the atmosphere within Alumera became more and tenser in the next few days. Everyone seemed busy, when they looked at each other, their eyes were filled with unknown emotions.

However, Han Xiao had become almost invisible, it was like all the factions forgot he was even here, no one approached him except for the full 24 hours of surveillance.

After chasing the players of Bamboo Rain Guild away to seek information, Han Xiao stayed in the room with a calm mind, he had expected this to happen.

He was an outsider, and the biggest suspect, but Alumera didn't have the confidence to deal with him so they could only leave him alone. Even if Han Xiao wanted to look for clues, none of the faction would give him any, all he could do was wait.

But the wait was not meaningless, the factions had started their own investigation and plans.

Han Xiao was thinking, Delo died very coincidentally, what good would it do to frame him for killing Delo? Firstly, creating hatred between Alumera and Dark Net would only benefit the third party.

Secondly, there were other motives for killing Delo, and he was just used as a very good excuse since with his strength and identity, it was easy to frame. If the real killer framed him to hide, then his identity would most likely be a party that would benefit from this — which has the highest possibility to be other factions other than the Home Faction.

Han Xiao remembered that the internal conflict within Alumera was very serious, killing Delo could very likely be an act to seize power within the family, then framing him to be the biggest suspect.

But going back to the first possibility, the real killer would still be the third party, which also made sense in the second possibility — creating conflict between the Home Faction and other factions, leading to Alumera collapsing internally.

"Sigh, I don't want to think anymore." Han Xiao rubbed his eyebrows.

Anyway, it didn't matter who the real killer was, he stood undefeatable, as long as he doesn't make any move, only the real killer would become more and more stressed. There was no way this mission would be a long term one, the impact of Delo dying would surface in a very short time, and by then, there would definitely be someone who would unintentionally leave some clues.

…

In one mansion, the high ranked officials of the Home Faction gathered, the atmosphere was intense.

"Leader has died, who is going to be in charge now?" A tall and muscular man said, he is Delo's younger brother, Todd.

"Me," Lagos said coldly.

Todd forced a fake smile and said, "Lagos, I don't think that is suitable."

"What do you mean?" Lagos frowned and said.

"You should call me uncle." Todd said in a more serious tone, "the lead—my older brother passed away, we are all family here, I should be the one in charge according to precedence."

"Humph, only a few days since father has died, and you're already seizing power, aren't you too impatient?"

Lagos said in a mocking tone, "don't blame me for not warning you but, without father's suppression, Xiao Jin, Se Qi and others are all making their plans, the position of the leader is now vacant, who knows what they will do. They may look like they were filled with sadness and regret during the funeral, but they were probably laughing uncontrollably in their hearts."

Todd laughed sneered and said, "don't say it like that, I was worried you'd make mistakes because you're inexperienced, but since you think you can do it, uncle shall not compete with you. Now tell us, what do you plan to do next?"

Lagos grunted and ignored Todd's tone, "our top priority now is to find out who killed father," he said.

Todd frowned, he felt the priority should be suppressing the ambitions of other factions and regain control of Alumera, but it was inappropriate to express such feelings in front of the high ranked officials of Home Faction, therefore he followed with the topic and asked, "any clues?"

Lagos said coldly, "Black Phantom is the most suspicious, nothing he says can be trusted, I have already informed some people to contact the strongest killers and mercenaries, once they arrive, we won't have to be afraid anymore, we will just capture Black Phantom and interrogate him. I have spent a large sum this time, the people who are coming are all famously strong!"

"Maybe it really wasn't Black Phantom." Someone whispered.

Lagos stared over and said coldly, "then it has to be Xiao Jin, that asshole is very ambitious, he has been under father for so many years and he's definitely not satisfied with it. Right, I heard Black Phantom stayed in Xiao Jin's mansion the night the assassination happened, maybe Xiao Jin hired Black Phantom with a huge sum to assassinate father, then put on a show together to fool the others."

Everyone was shocked.

Chapter 208: The Real Killer Three

"If Xiao Jin really worked together with Black Phantom, then the situation is very bad. It would mean he controls a very strong force, he could even seize power with raw strength." Someone said.

Todd shook his head and said, "they won't dare to, if something happens in the headquarters and high ranked officials of all the factions are slaughtered, our men in other places would revenge the enemy till their death, Xiao Jin is not stupid. Also Black Phantom is an outsider, and according to the rules, an outsider cannot interfere with our internal changes.

Lagos sneered and said, "foolish, how would you know Xiao Jin didn't find a better place to go? Is there no organization behind him? His heart might not even belong to Alumera anymore!"

…

With his eyes closed, Xiao Jin asked, "what's happening in the Home Faction?"

"Lagos is in charge of everything now, they are currently investigating Delo's death but has yet to make any progress. By the way, Delo's mansion was destroyed by Black Phantom during the battle, and so were the clues."

Xiao Jin paused what he was doing and asked, "who ordered to bring Black Phantom to the scene?"

"The team leader that went to keep Black Phantom in control is called Miri, he was killed by stray bullets during the scrimmage on the day."

"Stray bullets…" Xiao Jin shook his head, "what is Black Phantom doing?" He asked.

"He did not act."

"Intelligent choice." Xiao Jin nodded and said, "before the truth about Delo's assassination is unveiled, no faction is willing to approach him, anyone that does will become a mutual target of the rest."

Xiao Hai said, "the inhumans are working for him, I still do not know why he can easily order the inhumans."

"Leave him alone, he can't be the real killer."

After a pause, Xiao Jin asked, "What is the Red Island Faction and Northern Faction doing?"

"They are working with the Home Faction to investigate for clues."

Xiao Jin rubbed his temple and let out a sigh, "sigh, dogs that bite surely don't bark…"

…

Se Qi sat in the office, he pulled down all the curtains and made a call and said in a very quiet voice.

"Major General, what should we do now?"

"What are your thoughts?"

"Delo is dead, the leader's position became vacant, there must be a vote for a successor, I will be entering as a candidate, hope you can give me support."

"Sure, I will use my relationship network to help you gain votes of the high ranked officials, when you control Alumera, remember how you got there, don't forget our promise."

"Definitely."

Se Qi let out a sigh of relief as he hung up the phone, a vicious and hideous smile appeared on his face, the skin lines of a Sharnuk wrinkled together.

…

Han Xiao was patient, he stayed in the room every day while the players from Bamboo Rain Guild helped him to gather intelligence, it wasn't much, but at least he was not totally uninformed.

As rewards, Han Xiao was not petty in giving missions to the players in Bamboo Rain Guild — then earning their experience points by opening his ability shop, he was making a fortune one way or another.

As mentioned before, as long as Han Xiao's ability level is higher than the player, learning the ability again would increase its level. The Great Technician Han's abilities were all at max level, it was more than enough for this requirement. Players in Bamboo Rain Guild continuously spent experience points in his ability shop, they were willing to pay the price and Han Xiao was willing to let them.

"My Basic Combat is at max level." Bamboo Rain Fly triumphed in happiness, the other guild members all came to check out its attributes.

Bamboo Rain Xuan said in sadness, "mine is only at level seven."

Bamboo Rain Fragrance smiled and said, "that's because you sleep for so long every day, and are online for too short."

These players did not restrict themselves in what they were saying, and Han Xiao heard everything. He had noticed something magical, when the players are talking to each other, the system would usually censor any content that had anything to do with it being a game, but he could hear it, it was definitely because of the interface.

Ta, ta, ta ——

A steady footstep closed in.

Peng, the door was pushed open, dozens of soldiers stood outside, Lagos stood in the crowd with his hands behind his back and said coldly, "Black Phantom, we suspect that you worked together with Xiao Jin to kill my father, now get up and come with us!"

"Where did you get the confidence from?| Han Xiao raised his eyebrows, Lagos kept a low profile for so many days, now that he suddenly engages, he must have found help."

As expected, Lagos sneered and stepped back, two people stepped out of the crowd, one man and one woman.

'I see." Han Xiao patted his pants and stood up, "seems like you spent quite a lot of money," he said calmly.

The man and woman were a married couple, Luann and Vanessa, legends of the mercenary society, with a position similar to Han Xiao's in the killer society. Their strength was also at the peak of the third tier in Planet Aquamarine, they lived all the way till version 2.0.

Lagos had people contact them secretly, many rejected as soon as they heard they had to fight Black Phantom, they didn't dare to become enemies with Han Xiao. Those who came had absolute confidence, he had investigated thoroughly this time, he knew these two people were on the same level as Han Xiao, and it would be most safe to hire both of them together. Black Phantom definitely could not defeat them head-on.

Lagos sneered and said, "when I capture you, I will make sure you spit out everything you know."

Han Xiao shook his head and said, "isn't it good to be alive?"

"Humph, quite arrogant I see." Luann was a muscular black man, he rubbed his fists and said in disdain. "I heard you are very good at sniping, but now I'm only three meters away, I won't give you a chance to even fire one shot, and how many of my punches can you endure? Be good and disarm yourself, or I will brush the floor with your brain juice."

A third voice appeared from an empty area, "It's been long since we met, Mister Black."

This voice sounded familiar.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows, "Invisible Demon? You're here too."

Invisible Demon did not reply, murderous intent filled the air.

It was not two strong opponents but three. Han Xiao smiled as he shook his head, no wonder Lagos was so confident, he really spent a huge some to deal with him.

Feeling the hostility from the three strong opponents, Han Xiao smiled, the change he was waiting for has finally arrived, it was an opportunity for him to showcase his absolute superiority in his strength.

The players of Bamboo Rain Guild didn't know what to do, they couldn't mess with any of these "Extremely Dangerous" NPCs.

Huuu——

A stream of piercing wind passed by Han Xiao, Han Xiao made it in time to activate his Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor, Invisible Demon's nails scratched on its surface and created fire sparkles. In a few months' time, Invisible Demon increased two levels and became slightly stronger.

Back then Han Xiao could not win Invisible Demon, it resulted in a tie.

But now, they were on completely different levels!

Han Xiao raised his hands, Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades formed a cyclone slashing through the air, numerous damage numbers appeared in the air, wounds opened and blood dripped down, and then disappeared in the next instant. Invisible Demon could retract his skin to hide his wounds.

Invisible Demon was shocked by the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades and backed off hurriedly.

Before Han Xiao could make the chase, a wave of air pressure shot towards him, Vanessa pounced forward with her fists raining down hard. Han Xiao raised his hands to parry but they became numb, his STR was inferior to Vanessa, both Vanessa and Luann were Pugilists near level 60, their STR, DEX and END were all much higher than Han Xiao who was a Mechanic.

Suddenly, Luann caught up quickly, his two fists combined into one and turned into a black meteor covered in flames, hitting Han Xiao's chest armor plate.

With pain felt on his chest, Han Xiao's interface showed a high amount of damage, this was an advanced tier ability of Pugilist, it is a vibration hit that ignores part of the physical armor, players in his previous life called it "Hitting the cattle across the mountain."

Pugilist who learned advanced tier abilities were difficult to deal with, it had given Han Xiao some amount of pressure. Without a change of expression, Han Xiao backed up holding guns in both hands, high caliber bullets shot out rapidly, the power of his firearms increased furthermore as his shooting abilities reached max level.

Vanessa rubbed her hands and emitted a diffused sphere air shield, it deflected the bullets and disappeared.

"Shockwave Blast." Han Xiao frowned, another advanced tier ability, Pugilist was popular all the time, its abilities were flashy and comprehensive.

This time, players of Bamboo Rain Guild fired, although they clearly knew they were no match for the enemy, they knew they had to help now since they chose to side Black Phantom!"

"Careful about positioning, do not close in, Fly and Cool attack continuously, Xuan, don't go too close—" Bamboo Rain Fragrance yelled and gave out commands, she had experience in leading a team during dungeons, she used the same strategy when they were attacking dungeon BOSS.

"Inhumans? Luann was annoyed, he covered his eyes with his arm, the bullets were deflected by his protective flames, unable to penetrate his skin.

Vanessa straightaway swung her leg sideways, air blade flew out like a whip and slashed all of Bamboo Rain Guild's players in half through the waist, they turned into white light and disappeared.

Bamboo Rain Guild was fully destroyed straightaway, the difference in strength was too vast.

Within a short moment, Han Xiao picked up his equipment bag full of machinery and dashed into the room.

Luann was just about to follow but Vanessa stopped him, "careful, he's a mechanic, there might be traps," she said.

Luann nodded, he punched the floor strongly, cracks spread out from the center of the punch and the entire house started shaking. No matter what trap Black Phantom had placed, it would all become meaningless once the house was destroyed and the battlefield turned into an open area.

Lagos hastily brought the soldiers to back off far away.

"Boom!"

The house collapsed, askes obstructed the vision.

Luann squinted his eyes and saw a shadow jumping out of the ruins vaguely, he immediately dashed forward like a warhorse, his fists punched forward like a hammer, leaving bright marks behind.

"Fall!" Luann yelled.

But the next moment, he heard the buzzing sound of energy and a cold metallic voice.

"Enhanced Mode!:

Bang! Luann felt like he had hit a metal wall — no, even metal wall would be destroyed by this punch, but it had only made this indestructible "wall" back off a little more than ten centimeters, and then the metal surrounded his fists.

Chapter 209: The Real Killer 4

The dust dissipated, and the shadow's true form appeared.

A heavy mechanical left arm, many times larger than a normal arm and made of a dense black platinum alloy, was holding onto Luann's fists tightly.

Han Xiao, who was controlling this enormous mechanical arm, was already wearing Viper. The close-fitting black streamlined mechanical suit looked expanded like a human's muscles.

Everyone was stunned.

"What is that?"

Han Xiao's right arm that did not equip mechanical arm strongly grabbed Luann's arm. Luann wanted to escape, but he realized that Han Xiao's strength became almost as high as his. He was shocked as he could not escape for the time being.

Viper provided close to 80 points of Strength and 50 points of Dexterity. Han Xiao's Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance were not lower than any Pugilist under level 60!

Luann was still reacting based on their difference earlier on, and it caught him by surprise.

Han Xiao's heavy mechanical left arm buzzed and slammed Luann's head heavily. Luann's head was bashed into the floor, but the punches did not stop. They continually rained down on him, and the damp on the ground expanded rapidly.

_____________________

Iron Fist—Mounted Heavy Mechanical Arm (Left)

Quality - Blue

Basic Stats:

- Damage: 85 – 88

- Defense: 26–30

- Power Level: 77

- Durability: 986/1050

Requirements:

Minimum Strength: 45

45 – 90 Strength: +45% Attack Speed

Greater than 90 Strength: +15% Attack Speed

(Stats provided by this equipment is not taken into account)

Additional Effect(s): +28 STR

Length: 1.24 m (Including exterior armor)

Weight: 85.5 pounds

Additional Ability: Bionic (Human)—Able to perform actions like a human arm, does not restrict the user's arm movements, very flexible.

Additional Ability: Iron Fist Burst—Multiple energy cores (Engine and Motor) activate maximum output simultaneously to create a bursting heavy hit, dealing 170 – 213 points of blunt damage. 25% chance to ignore mechanical suit type armor. 24-second cooldown.

Additional Ability: Shock Resistance—Exterior armor is made of platinum alloy. Increases durability, harder to wear out.

Special Feature: Can be disassembled.

Remarks: This huge fist will bash your skull!

_____________________

Since he was acting alone, Han Xiao had brought along all his ace cards along in his equipment bag. The heavy mechanical arm had been disassembled into parts to become more portable, and the assembly process was easy and quick, capable of being performed during the battle in a short time.

Vanessa was raging as she saw Luann pressed against the floor. She dashed forward hastily. Han Xiao did not dodge or back up. He battled Vanessa in close range. His fists and legs contained a huge amount of power, and the floor split open inch by inch.

Shockwave Blast was a mid-range ability that hardly dealt any damage to the mechanical suit as it lacked power. Viper's enhanced mode steadily gained the upper hand.

The two of them were extremely agile, so their fight looked like two blurry shadows in the eyes of the others. Only the constant explosions and destruction showed how dangerous these two were.

The black fists hit Vanessa's face multiple times; her nose was bleeding.

At the same time, Luann finally pulled himself up off the ground, his head bleeding all over. He growled and pounced over. However, when he was halfway there, Han Xiao suddenly swung his fists and pushed Vanessa to the side. His right hand pulled out the folded the Ghost sniper rifle behind his back and aimed at Luann.

The black muzzle gave an even more dangerous feeling than earlier on.

Luann's hair stood up all over the body.

Han Xiao pulled the trigger.

[Flaming Will]!

[Lethal Critical Hit]!

[Overload]!

This shot was his ever strongest shot!

It was not just the active abilities—the passive abilities had also made the firing power, critical chance, and machinery affinity much higher, and the firearms were also enhanced as much as he could. Everything was on a higher level than before!

This was the strength of every ability being at max level!

Bang!

A huge hole appeared on Luann's chest, and blood spurted out like a fountain.

_____________________

After damage reduction, you have dealt 1,942 Damage to Luann (LV 58).

_____________________

Extremely close to 2,000 points of damage!

Luann health was only between 4,000 to 5,000!

One shot, almost half of his health!

Luann kneeled on the floor, his entire body twitching. He raised his head and looked straight at Han Xiao with disbelief.

"Didn't you say that you were going to wipe the floor with my brain juice?" An emotionless mechanical voice came from under the cold mask.

Han Xiao pressed Luann on the floor with his right hand. His left hand bashed Luann's head, again and again. Luann was paralyzed by the shot and did not have his energy protective layer. Metal continuously kissed his skill, his flesh was torn open, and his bones were scattered into pieces.

The splashing blood colored the floor and the mechanical arm red.

Han Xiao's jumped up high into the air with his mechanical arm and dropped straight down. The ground shook with a loud noise, and dust shot up into the sky. The ground was filled with white and red, and Luann's eyes slowly lost their gleam.

_____________________

You have killed Luann (LV 58). You received 175,000 experience!

[Lethal Shot]: Unlock Progress 43/50

_____________________

"Luann!" Vanessa screamed in sorrow, rage, and hatred. Then… she turned and started fleeing.

Black Phantom was much stronger than expected. She did not want to die for nothing. She only had a chance to revenge if she stayed alive.

"That's why I said, isn't it good to be alive?" Han Xiao shook his head. He unbuttoned the heavy mechanical arm, and the enormous metal arm fell onto the ground with a thump. He then gave a command. The armor slid open on both sides of the ribs, and a row of concentrated small holes appeared. Dozens of arrow-shaped shadows shot out and landed around Vanessa, which then exploded and created a high-pitched sound wave.

These were all mini sonic bombs. Han Xiao had made them into even smaller arrow shapes and added a simple ejecting module onto Viper, which allowed it to shoot this kind of simple and portable disabling weapon.

The determining attribute for the sonic bomb was Endurance. Although Vanessa was a pugilist, she still could not endure dozens of sonic bombs. Thus, she fell to the ground in agony.

Han Xiao jumped over in a few steps then activated the Thermo-electrical Incisor Gloves and grabbed Vanessa's eyes. He then turned on Sunworm flamethrower. With screams of pain and the smell of burning flesh, Vanessa turned into a piece of charcoal in no time. Vanessa's struggling before death was all blocked by Viper.

Han Xiao let go of the body and let it fall onto the ground. He then activated all kinds of scanning modules. Through analyzing his smell, the scanning module highlighted Invisible Demon's position. He was in the area where the sonic bombs exploded, trembling in pain.

Invisible Demon was absolutely terrified by Han Xiao. It had only been a few months since they fought, and Black Phantom had reached a height that stunned him. He deeply regretted accepting this mission and very soon had the thoughts of backing off. But unfortunately for him, he had been blasted away by the explosion just as he was secretly escaping.

"Saved me some effort." Han Xiao broke Invisible Demon's arms and legs then took out a mini GPS and injected it into Invisible Demon's body roughly. He slapped him into unconsciousness and nodded in satisfaction. "I won't lose him this way."

The area became ruins. A large number of Alumera spectators had gathered, and their faces were filled with shock. They were all horrified by Han Xiao's actions.

The revived players stood far away with their throat feeling dry.

"This… So strong!" Bamboo Rain Xuan exclaimed. She had recorded the entire fight, and she had a feeling it would definitely go viral.

Black Phantom had never shown the mechanical suit. The already high strength that they had seen before was just the tip of the iceberg—this was his true strength!

No, maybe Black Phantom was still hiding more.

Bamboo Rain Guild was excited. They realized that they had discovered information that others did not know about. They were the only ones that met this unexpected plotline out of all the players.

Lagos' expression was terrified. His teeth were shaking, and his legs were trembling. The three people that he had high hopes for had been killed easily. They would most likely have been able to defeat Black Phantom if it was just his original strength, but who knew he hid such a horrifying ace card!

"How is this possible? All three of them were among the strongest superhumans and long renowned legends. I have consulted the experts. How did Black Phantom kill them so easily!" Lagos could not believe it.

Without anything to rely on one, Lagos entire body trembled as he faced Black Phantom with a strong murderous intent. 'Filled with regret' could not even begin to describe his emotions.

Han Xiao walked toward Lagos and tapped him on the shoulder. He said softly, "I have already given you a chance."

"You can't kill me!" Lagos looked fierce on the outside but was horrified on the inside. "I'm the person in charge of the Home Faction. If you kill me, Home Faction will—"

Before he even finished his sentence.

Slash!

The blade cut across his throat, and blood splashed slowly.

No hesitation.

Lagos's eyes widened. He held his neck and fell down. His body temperature lowered as blood escaped from his body, and he looked at Han Xiao in disbelief.

Han Xiao looked at the high ranked officials of the Home Faction. He played with the blade covered in blood and said calmly, "Do you have any problems?"

Chapter 210: The Real Killer 5

The Home faction was furious as they looked at Lagos' corpse, but they did not dare provoke Han Xiao. After all, a real-life example of what would happen if they did was right in front of them.

This time, Todd walked out of the crowd and said, "This was all Lagos' idea; he deserved it. On behalf of the entire Home Faction, we absolutely won't hold a grudge for this."

The Home Faction was surprised. They did not expect Todd to stand out at this time, and he even admitted their fear toward Han Xiao.

Words said under such circumstances had to be taken with a pinch of salt, and Han Xiao did not agree or disagree with his words but asked, "You are?"

"Todd, Darryl's younger brother, Lagos's uncle, I'm in charge of the Home Faction now." Todd forced himself to be calm as he spoke.

The Home Faction gave him a weird look. They were amazed by Todd's ability to grab the opportunity to take over the Home Faction as soon as Lagos died, but Todd did indeed speak their mind. Therefore, they all kept silent and accepted Todd's position.

The people that they had hired who had such great strength had easily been killed; Han Xiao's strength was overwhelming. Everyone knew that if they still wanted to spark conflict, it would be no different from suicide.

One thought appeared in all the factions.

Black Phantom could not be messed with!

"Find another room for me," Han Xiao said as he looked at the ruins and put his machinery away.

"I'll arrange it for you," Xiao Ming immediately replied as an order from Xiao Jin.

The high ranked officials exchanged looks after Han Xiao left.

"Black Phantom has overwhelming strength and doesn't care if he becomes our enemy, yet he still insists to claim he's not the killer. Maybe he really didn't carry out the assassination," Se Qi said.

"But he killed Lagos—that's a new grudge," the head of the Northern Faction said.

Todd stopped him and said, "Lagos did this to himself, and he deserved it. Our Home Faction will neither seek revenge nor hold grudges."

The others looked at him with despise while selectively choosing to forget that they were thinking the same.

"Then what do we do with Black Phantom?" someone asked.

To let an undefeatable monster stay in the headquarter would make them feel very insecure.

"He just wants to get rid of the suspicion," Xiao Jin said coldly. "Once the truth surfaces, he will naturally leave, so don't mess with him."

…

Upon arriving at his new house, Han Xiao woke up the captive Invisible Demon. He had planted a locating device in Invisible Demon's body and could know where he was without seeing him.

"What do you want?" Invisible Demon was horrified.

Han Xiao took off Viper, returned it to his bag, and said with an interested tone, "I heard your invisibility came from a laboratory experiment accident and your skin mutated. If I strip your skin off, it must be worth quite a fortune."

Invisible Demon was terrified and started to sweat all over. "Don't—don't do that."

"You're my prisoner now. Do you think you're in any position to object?"

Invisible Demon had nothing to reply to with. Han Xiao stopped teasing him and knocked him unconscious, then injected a strong anesthetic, tied him up, and threw him aside. There was a reward from the Dark Net for Invisible Demon, and Han Xiao planned to take on the mission then turn in Invisible Demon alive, completing the mission immediately and maximizing the profit.

Han Xiao had shown an overwhelming level of strength through this conflict, so Alumera did not dare do anything to him at all. Although he had the absolute upper hand in terms of strength, he still chose to stay, which reduced his suspicion with many factions.

Also, Han Xiao was in a position where Alumera could not do anything to him, as Alumera was not willing to start another conflict with him. This whole framing conspiracy was to spark conflict between Han Xiao and Alumera, which had already almost completely failed. At least, Alumera did not dare turn against Han Xiao to his face.

But this was not enough. The person responsible for the framing had yet to be found. Han Xiao guessed that there were two possibilities—one being that the person had given up and decided to continue hiding, the other being that person was still trying to save the plan or even attack Han Xiao. However, the possibility of the latter was not high since Han Xiao had already proven that he was not to be messed with.

The Home Faction kept a low profile since Lagos died. Todd did not have any hatred at all, and he was more concerned about what benefit he could get at the moment. Other than ordering people to investigate for clues of Darryl's assassination, he also actively contacted the other factions to earn support for the election of a leader successor.

Darryl's son had the highest chance of becoming the next leader after Darryl died, but Han Xiao had killed him, and now the successor's position had become vacant. All the factions were ambitious and planned to seize power. Thus, a heavy storm was about to arrive.

Everyone seemed like they were focused on the truth of Darryl's death, but they were secretly more concerned about the election of the next leader.

However, before the killer was discovered, the election would not take place.

Han Xiao was one of the main parties in this, but he was also an excluded outsider. However, he did not mind it at all. He stayed in the room and gathered information about Alumera through Dark Net's intelligence network and the Bamboo Rain Guild.

A few days after, Xiao Jin came knocking on his door. He told Han Xiao that he had found an important clue.

"Through checking the guards' verbal information and comparing it with the recording from the surveillance cameras, I have found some traces. On the night of the assassination, an assistant of one of the Northern Faction's high ranked officials left his house and disappeared for 27 minutes.

"This high ranked official of the Northern Faction is called Su Dinghua—45 years of age, a Northern Continent local, always kept a low profile. Actually, I have been paying attention to him for a very long time. A spy I sent into the Northern Faction discovered that Su Dinghua has secret connections with Raylen, and his assistant only changed a few years ago, the same year that he started to contact Raylen."

Many high ranked officials contacted other organizations discreetly, but all for their own benefits. However, Raylen had obviously turned Su Dinghua into a traitor.

Xiao Jin brought along quite a number of documents, which all clearly lead to Su Dinghua.

Han Xiao gave it careful thought. Alumera was Theseus's partner, and weakening Alumera meant weakening Theseus. To create a strong opponent for Alumera and spark internal conflict, Raylen would benefit from it as a third party, which was indeed a logical motive for Raylen.

The Northern Faction was the most inconspicuous, so they would be the most suitable party for any conspiracy.

"Were the other factions able to get this information, too?" Han Xiao raised the documents in his hands.

"Not sure." Xiao Jin shook his head. "I acquired the information of Su Dinghua secretly working with Raylen by accident, so the other factions probably don't know about it."

"Then why did you come to me?" Han Xiao asked.

"Raylen might have planted quite few strong people around Su Dinghua. I was hoping you could help us capture Su Dinghua and his co-conspirators, and this is a good opportunity for you to get rid of the suspicion as well. I was thinking you would want to do it yourself," Xiao Jin said with a sincere tone. "Rewards will not be a problem if you want them."

Han Xiao stared at Xiao Jin for quite some time and smiled suddenly. "I will help you this time, at market rate."

"Okay." Xiao Jin nodded.

…

At night, Han Xiao started to act. Since he already exposed Viper, he wore it this time as well, but without the Heavy Mechanical Arm—a stealth operation did not require such a rough weapon.

Su Dinghua's mansion was located in a rural area. Han Xiao took out his laptop and hacked into the local network to freeze the surveillance cameras. Then he avoided the guards and jumped over the wall into the mansion.

Su Dinghua was a high ranked official who had a rather low position compared to others. His guarding power in the mansion was weak, and with Han Xiao's level and strength, sneaking in was a piece of cake.

When he quietly entered the study, the light was on. Han Xiao stood against the wall and scanned the room with magnetic scanning; there was no one in the room.

Han Xiao entered the room without making a sound. He looked through the room and realized that the building was made of normal brick and wood—it did not have any special metal that could prevent any detection device, and the structure of the room was clear and simple.

"There's a hidden safe behind the painting on the wall beside the table." Han Xiao's eyes twinkled. Just as he was going to flip open the painting to open the safe, he realized something and stopped.

He carefully looked around the room, then left the safe alone and came to the table instead. He tried opening the drawers, but they were all locked. However, that was not a problem for him. As a Mechanic who could build firearms and robots, it would be a shame if he could not even open a lock.

Furthermore, Han Xiao was already experienced in lock picking.

The drawers were filled with paper documents, mostly Alumera's internal information. There were some reports too. He dug through for a while and realized that they were all irrelevant documents. However, he found a slip of paper with a string of numbers written on it, which seemed like the passcode for the safe, and a small metal key that also looked like it was for the safe.

"Way too obvious." Han Xiao shook his head. He closed the drawer and did not use the key to open the safe.

Hiding a safe behind a painting was too common. The key and passcode left in the drawer felt like it was done purposely; it looked like a trap.

There was a very high chance that the safe was either bait or a trap, which would trigger some sort of alarm, as one would usually remember the passcode to the safe instead of writing it down.

It could have been an incorrect assumption, but Han Xiao was just there to capture Su Dinghua—the safe could be opened any time after he captured him.

Han Xiao walked toward the living room. He heard a few guards that were chatting with each other, and after a strategic scan and a vital sign comparison, he noticed that these people were all around LV 20, which meant that they were not normal guards. They could be superhumans, and if they were not, it meant that they were normal people but very elite.

Seems like it was right. Han Xiao nodded. Su Dinghua's guards hid their true strength, so there was definitely something suspicious going on.

Han Xiao turned and went upstairs to the bedroom. Su Dinghua was resting, so Han Xiao went in straightaway and shot a paralyzing bullet at Su Dinghua, making him unconscious before he could scream, then tied him up with the blanket.

There were eight guards in the mansion along with Su Dinghua's assistant; Han Xiao was not planning to let any of them escape.

Returning to the living room, Han Xiao did not hide anymore—he broke through the door and entered.

"Who?" The guards pulled out their guns immediately.

However, with the mechanical suit, these four unprepared guards were defeated within seconds.

The commotion attracted attention. The radar detected other guards were coming quickly. Han Xiao broke through the wall with a loud bang and knocked out those guards one after another.

Su Dinghua's assistant was hiding the most; he was at around LV 40. However, he still could not last for more than ten seconds before Han Xiao broke his arms and legs and knocked him onto the ground. The difference in strength was too vast, an easy victory for Han Xiao.

Han Xiao's destruction power was like a demolition—the whole mansion turned into ruins, and the loud noise could be heard from very far away.

Xiao Jin was on standby right outside the mansion. He broke in as soon as he saw that Han Xiao had succeeded. Su Dinghua and his guards were all in the yard, and no one escaped.

Han Xiao stayed and stood to the side.

Xiao Jin did not avoid Han Xiao and started the interrogation in the yard. He poured water on Su Dinghua and the others to wake them up.

Su Dinghua knew that he had been exposed when he woke up.

"How did you know?" Su Dinghua was shocked and confused.

"I've known you were in contact Raylen for a very long time," Xiao Jin said coldly. "You have changed your guards over the last few years—they are all strangers and sent by Raylen. You thought this was an opportunity when Black Phantom visited out of the blue and carried out the assassination, thinking that you did it very discreetly and destroyed many traces. Still, some clues were left behind."

Chapter 211: The Real Killer 6

"You bribed Miri to bring Black Phantom to the scene as soon as the assassination was discovered, wanting to spark a conflict so that the scrimmage would bury more clues. You also arranged people to kill Miri during the battle."

Xiao Jin listed many pieces of evidence. Su Dinghua closed his eyes in pain and softly spoke to himself. "I knew this day would come. Being found out means death."

Then, Su Dinghua looked at his assistant and said, "I did kill our leader, but I'm not the mastermind—he is. Raylen gave me many benefits and promised me even more, so I did things for them. He's a spy sent by Raylen to monitor and control me—this plan was also suggested by him!"

The assistant looked at Su Dinghua in anger and said, "You've lost your mind…"

"You think there's a way to get away alive?" Su Dinghua stopped him and said, "I did things for you people because of the benefits you gave, which won't be of use to me anymore. Now that I'm exposed, Raylen won't have an easy time either."

The assistant's eyes suddenly turned white. His lips became purple, and white foam came out of his mouth. He died while twitching. When Su Dinghua was talking, he knew that he would definitely die, so he crunched down on the poisonous capsule between his teeth and committed suicide. The guards all followed his lead.

The people of Raylen were known for being cold-blooded and loyal, so no one was surprised.

Han Xiao stood aside and watched with no intent to stop them. Very soon, Su Dinghua was the only one left alive.

Xiao Hai sneered and said, "It's too late to save yourself."

"I'm not planning to. I know that death is my only option." Su Dinghua shook his head.

Xiao Jin cut in and said, "Su Dinghua, you have been a member of Alumera for a very long time. The leader treated you well, so why did you do it?"

"Hahahahaha!" Su Dinghua suddenly laughed so loudly that even tears came out of his eyes. He said with a mocking tone, "Xiao the second chair, this doesn't seem like something you would say. Your blood is much colder than mine."

Xiao Jin remained expressionless and was not affected by it, but Xiao Hai slapped Su Dinghua and said, "Seems like you want a slow death."

The people from other factions have arrived for quite some time. They watched this scene in shock and confusion.

Su Dinghua laughed for a while, then suddenly said with sorrow, "I will apologize to the leader myself."

Xiao Hai took out a whole set of torture devices and said coldly, "Then you have a lot of time to think about what to say."

"Enough, he has already confessed. Bring him back then interrogate him," one of the chieftains of the Northern Faction said. Su Dinghua was a high ranked official of the Northern Faction, so interrogating and torturing him in public would bring a lot of shame to the Northern Faction.

Su Dinghua was a traitor who did not represent the Northern Faction's position, but it did bring them shame.

Xiao Jin looked at Han Xiao with inquiry in his eyes. The others looked over as well.

Black Phantom was the one that had been framed, so his opinion was very important.

"The real killer has been found. Anything other than that has nothing to do with me," Han Xiao said. He then turned away and left.

…

The real killer that assassinated Darryl had been found. The whole plan had been Raylen's, and Han Xiao was cleared of suspicion.

Su Dinghua died in the interrogation. He spat out quite an amount of intelligence before he died. He was a very important chess piece to Raylen, and the assassination was to spark conflict between Alumera and Dark Net, but the plan had gone south. Han Xiao's strength was far beyond their expectations. They had thought that Black Phantom would be captured or even killed, so the hatred between Alumera and Dark Net could not be resolved easily, but to their surprise, Han Xiao had the upper hand.

The assassination only went so well because of Su Dinghua's years of planning. Raylen suffered a huge loss when he died.

Xiao Jin was a huge contributor to finding the real killer. He gained a large about of prestige, and the Home Faction had to thank him even if they did not want to.

Everything was settled. However, Black Phantom, who had cleared his suspicion, decided to stay. No one knew what motives he had. The factions did not have time to care about him since they were all busy with the election of a successor.

In the room, Han Xiao looked at the mission [The Real Killer] on his interface. Su Dinghua had been caught, but he did not turn in the mission.

This thing has yet to end.

A flash of coldness appeared in Han Xiao's eyes; one thought had become clearer in his mind.

…

Three days after capturing Su Dinghua, Xiao Jin brought Xiao Hai along and came to visit.

"Why are you looking for me?" Han Xiao asked.

"I should be the one asking. What's your goal in staying here?" Xiao Jin asked back.

"I was framed out of nowhere, and your people wanted to kill me. I need compensation."

Xiao Hai was shocked and angry. "This whole thing was planned by Raylen, and you even killed our people. How dare you ask for compensation‽"

"Raylen is too far away, so I'm getting money from you guys first."

"You're robbing us!" Xiao Hai was filled with anger.

"That's correct." Han Xiao nodded calmly. He looked at Xiao Hai mockingly and said, "What can you do about that?"

Xiao Jin pulled the furious Xiao Hai back, then wrote a number on a piece of paper and said, "I will compensate you personally. Is this amount enough?"

Han Xiao gave it a quick look and said, "Barely acceptable."

Xiao Hai was frustrated. He did not understand why Xiao Jin was willing to pay; there was absolutely no need to in his eyes.

"There's another reason for you to have come to find me, right?" Han Xiao crossed his legs.

"Indeed, I have something to ask your help for. Darryl is dead, and the leader position is now vacant. Alumera is a large family, so there needs to be a leader. In two days' time, an internal election will be carried out in a vote from the high ranked officials. Todd from the Home Faction, Se Qi from the Red Island Faction, and Angleton from the Northern Faction are all strong competitors. When I was focused on investigating Darryl's death, they were already approaching the high ranked officials and drawing votes. I'm now at a disadvantage, so I hope you can help me," Xiao Jin said in seriousness.

"Why should I help you?"

"For the sake of me helping you clear your suspicion, please help me."

"I need a reward," Han Xiao said coldly.

"How ungrateful. If it wasn't for Father, you would still be the biggest suspect. Don't push your luck!" Xiao Hai could not take it and yelled in anger.

Han Xiao looked at him and said calmly, "You should be grateful for me not killing you, or you would all be corpses."

Xiao Hai's expression turned twisted and furious. He trembled in anger because of Han Xiao's attitude. He could only look at Xiao Jin, hoping that his father would do him justice. However, he was bound to be disappointed. Xiao Jin had remained calm all along.

"How much do you want?"

Han Xiao touched his chin, pointed at the piece of paper, and said, "Three times this."

"Maniac…" Xiao Hai was stunned. This request was outrageous.

However, Xiao Jin accepted the terms without hesitation and said, "No problem."

"Father!" Xiao Hai yelled in disbelief. He could not understand why Xiao Jin kept listening to Han Xiao. "It's no use getting help from him. Outsiders cannot interfere with internal elections. He has no position in the internal meeting no matter how strong he is!" Xiao Hai said hastily.

"I have a way," Xiao Jin replied coldly. "Mr. Black Phantom, are you willing to join us Xiao Faction?"

Join the Xiao Faction? What does that mean?

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and asked with interest, "What do you mean?"

"Join my family with the same seniority in the family as me. My children will be your stepchildren."

The atmosphere suddenly turned weird.

Xiao Hai almost staggered and fell. He was completely shocked. Xiao Jin had never discussed this with him, and now suddenly he's going to have a stepfather?

"Damn, you can do that?" Han Xiao's eyes twitched. Xiao Jin's level of shameless exceeded his expectations. "Would such a childish method work?"

"Politics has always been childish," Xiao Jin replied coldly. "As long as you join the Xiao Faction, you can attend internal meetings. Your strength will signify your power, and as long as you appear, it will represent a threat. However, you will be a part of the Xiao Faction by then, which means you're not an exterior threat. The other factions will give up automatically in fear."

The meaning of a family member and an outsider showcasing strength was different. One was an exterior threat and would only attract displeasure, but if it was a family member, it would mean that Xiao Jin's power had grown tremendously and that he had earned a strong ally for Alumera in the big picture. It would mean a huge contribution for the family. Given the power that Xiao Jin had gathered through the years and the recent prestige that he earned by finding the real killer that assassinated Darryl, the other factions would wisely give up.

Up till now, Han Xiao had already gotten a basic guess of the entire situation. He smiled and said, "I see no benefits in joining the Xiao Faction, why should I do it?"

"You join the Xiao Faction, and when I become the leader of the family, Alumera will become your ally."

"Seems like you're willing to pay everything to become the leader." Han Xiao laughed. He then said teasingly, "Okay, I will join the Xiao Faction and reluctantly become the stepfather of your children."

Xiao Hai was so angry that he was losing his mind. He had to give Han Xiao benefits just to become his stepson. He had never been in such a shameful situation before, and the part that angered him most was that Xiao Jin had actually agreed. He began to suspect that his father had been brainwashed.

Han Xiao looked at Xiao Hai and smiled mockingly. "Come, let me hear you call me stepfather."

Xiao Hai's face turned green. He was an arrogant person, so this was a fate worse than death. However, he saw Xiao Jin's strict face, then suppressed his anger with all his might and forced the words out through gritted teeth.

"Stepfather."

Han Xiao dug his ears and teased, "I didn't hear that clearly."

"Stepfather!" Xiao Hai yelled. He used so much strength that blood came out of his teeth, and a metallic taste filled his mouth.

"Hehe, good boy." Han Xiao could not control his laughter in his heart. His body's origin was Xiao Hai's younger brother. What would Xiao Hai think if he knew the truth?

Xiao Jin reached out his hand and said, "I look forward to working with you."

Han Xiao accepted the handshake.

The father and son of the Xiao family stood up and left, neither of them saying a word as they did so.

After returning to Xiao Faction's mansion, Xiao Hai could not hold back his questions. "Father, why did you do this?"

Xiao Jin replied without an expression on his face, "Black Phantom is greedier than I imagined. I thought that clearing his suspicion could make him grateful, but I didn't expect to spend so much for him to join us. Anyway, it's worth it. At least we are the only faction that could approach Black Phantom and get his help. When I become the leader, these losses can be made up with ease."

"I see, when you become the leader, you won't have to care about Black Phantom anymore," Xiao Hai realized.

Xiao Jin suddenly turned to look at his son and said with a strict voice, "You're wrong. There's even more need to fulfill Black Phantom's terms after I become the leader. It's suicide to kick someone to the curb when they've outlived their usefulness. This is a world where the strong live, and the weak feed. Black Phantom is standing at the peak with his strength; his personal strength is as threatening as an organization. As long as Black Phantom is part of the Xiao Faction on the books, we can rely on him, and the other factions won't dare step out of line moves. I know that you don't accept this deep down in your heart, but don't act on your impulses and ruin my plan."

Xiao Hai had objections in his heart, but he could only clench his teeth and accept it.

"Yes, Father."

Chapter 212: The New Successor

The factions were all making moves in the dark. Xiao Jin had given Han Xiao the information of the other factions' movements over the next two days, and he wired the agreed compensation and reward into Han Xiao's Dark Net account—a total of 8,000,000 Aquamarine Dollars.

Han Xiao had a huge amount of money, a total of more than 40,000,000 dollars, more than ten times what he used to have. With such a large sum, he could splurge freely on machinery and carry out some of his ideas such as the robot army style that he once thought to be too expensive.

Two days passed in a blink of an eye. The internal meeting was carried out in the Alumera meeting hall as scheduled. High ranked officials across all the factions gathered within, and the guarding power was high.

Han Xiao wore a hood and disguised himself as an ordinary high ranked official of the Xiao Faction. He entered the meeting hall without attracting attention and sat down.

In the heart of the meeting hall was a circular shaped table. The leaders of various factions sat around the table, and the other high ranked officials sat on the more exterior seats. Those belonging to a faction sat behind their leaders. The factions were separated distinctively, forming smaller areas at different angles.

It was snowing lightly outside, but the meeting hall was warm thanks to the air conditioner. The people took off their coats and started talking among themselves. It soon became rather noisy.

Dang, dang!

Todd rang the bell on the table, and the meeting hall turned silent quickly.

"The meeting will now commence," Todd said with a serious expression. "There are four candidates for the successor for the leader: myself, Xiao the Second Chair, Se Qi the Third Chair, and Mr. Angleton. Start voting when you're ready."

"I would like to say a few words before the vote starts," Angleton said as he stood up and started his speech. It was a standard procedure to do a speech before the vote. Although the seated high ranked officials already had a basic idea of who they were going to vote for, this step was still not to be omitted.

Very soon, the four candidates finished their speeches. Todd looked around the table and said, "The voting shall begin."

The high ranked officials spoke their choice.

Todd was nervous. He had been contacting other high ranked officials over the past few days and promised them many benefits. They had all agreed to vote for him when they had the discussion, so he could easily beat the other candidates in the number of votes.

But soon he became stunned. The high ranked officials who promised to vote for him all voted for Se Qi without even looking at Todd.

How did this happen? Todd was shocked and angry.

Se Qi had a bright smile on his face. He smiled at every high ranked official who voted for him. Watching his vote count becoming impossible to be beaten, his heart was relieved.

As soon as Darryl was assassinated, Se Qi had realized that the successor election was an opportunity. He had been in communication with Theseus secretly, and they had agreed to help him for the promotion, and he, in turn, promised many benefits to them if he successfully became the leader.

Although Alumera was Theseus's partner, Theseus was very aggressive. They had been secretly wanting to control Alumera from the inside, and they had gotten into contact with Se Qi the Third Chair, who was not satisfied with his position. Theseus made use of their relationship network and discreetly drew in many high ranked officials to give Se Qi an advantage.

And for Angleton from the Northern Factor, he was basically there to watch the show. Even the people from the Northern Faction did not vote for him except for a very few—he sat in his seat with awkwardness on his face.

Angleton had been elected by the Northern Faction to just be a representative—he did not want to give up on fighting for the leader's position, but he knew that he did not have a chance. Thus, he had mixed feelings about the matter.

Se Qi's vote count was way ahead, and soon, it exceeded the half mark. The election was settled.

"Haha, thank everyone for your support and love. I shall not disappoint." Se Qi stood up full of happiness on his face. He could not hide his satisfaction at all.

This time, Xiao Jin spoke. "Wait."

Everyone looked over immediately with various looks on their faces, Xiao Jin was a powerful candidate as well, but he had not done anything up till now. They were very curious about what he was planning.

"Xiao the Second Chair, do you have any problem?" Se Qi's heart skipped a beat, and he emphasized the words 'Second Chair'.

Suddenly, a voice that was unforgettable to the seated high ranked officials came out of the Xiao Faction area.

"I have a problem."

Everyone's eyes widened, and their expressions turned into horror. They recognized that this was Black Phantom's voice!

Xiao Faction's members spit open and showed Han Xiao, who was hidden. Han Xiao was wearing the same black windbreaker and black gloves. His arms were crossed, and he said expressionlessly, "Xiao Jin is more suitable to be the leader."

Se Qi was stunned for an extended moment till he regained his focus. "Xiao Jin, how dare you let an outsider interfere with our family issues. Are you intentionally breaking the rules‽"

"Black Phantom is not an outsider; he is a senior of my Xiao Faction. He is the stepfather of my children."

As soon as Xiao Jin finished his sentence, the youngsters of Xiao Faction all bowed toward Han Xiao and yelled stepfather simultaneously, almost as if they had been practicing it.

The others were stunned in shock.

How shameless… Todd's face was twitching.

According to Black Phantom's previous actions, his stand was above all, and he did not care about Alumera's internal changes at all, but now, he was suddenly interfering.

They gave it a thought and realized that, when Black Phantom was suspected, Xiao Jin was the only one that spoke for him, and it was Xiao Jin who discovered the real killer in the end, which cleared Black Phantom's name. However, during that time, the other factions were all focused on drawing votes from the high ranked officials.

Then it occurred to all the factions that Xiao Jin might have gotten in touch with Black Phantom only because of this, which was why Black Phantom was willing to help Xiao Jin.

Also, Xiao Jin had definitely paid a huge price to attract Black Phantom into having diplomatic relations with the Xiao Faction.

Although the other factions were not happy, they could not deny the fact that Xiao Jin had increased Alumera's overall strength by doing this, as this meant that Black Phantom had become an ally of Alumera.

Han Xiao sat down casually and scanned the entire place with a dangerous look.

The high ranked officials all turned away and did not dare look him in the eyes.

Words were not needed; Han Xiao's intentions were clear just by sitting here.

A silent threat.

The atmosphere got awkward. The high ranked officials who had already voted became anxious and exchanged looks secretly.

Finally, a high ranked official could not take it anymore. He wiped his sweat and said hesitantly, "I've thought carefully and feel that Xiao Jin is more suitable as the next leader. Can I change my vote?"

Changing the vote was not allowed according to the rules. However, the host of the meeting, Todd, was cursing in his mind. Black Phantom was right in front of them, so he did not dare to say no. Thus, he nodded in dismay.

After the first, the second and the third followed, and soon came the rest. Han Xiao scanned around the room; whoever came into his sights immediately changed their vote. It was like his eyes had magic in it.

Se Qi did not admit defeat yet. He wanted to have a final struggle but realized that Han Xiao had looked over with eyes that were so sharp that they pierced right through his heart. Horror filled his mind, and he closed his mouth in fear, watching the position that had belonged to him moments ago slip through his fingers.

The result was a definite—Xiao Jin won with an overwhelming number of votes.

The people of the Xiao Faction were smiling brightly while the others had to suck it up and congratulate Xiao Jin one after another.

The Xiao Factions' ways had the other factions feeling very uncomfortable, but the result was not unacceptable. After all, Xiao Jin was a very senior member of the family and had made a lot of contributions.

Who knew that Xiao Jin would win in the end? Todd's heart was bleeding. The Home Faction had controlled Alumera for all these years, and now, they had lost their power all of a sudden.

Todd knew that from that day onward, the Home Faction would slowly become a vassal.

Seeing that things were settled, Han Xiao left. The crowd split open automatically, and the high ranked officials who were congratulating Xiao Jin also stopped to look at Han Xiao as he left.

Although Xiao Jin was the final winner, in the eyes of everyone else, the center of this meeting was Black Phantom. All he did was show up, and it decided Xiao Jin's position.

This was the power of overwhelming strength.

The people were all very jealous of Xiao Jin. As long as Black Phantom remained in the Xiao Faction, Xiao Jin's position would be forever stable.

Chapter 213: The Fight Between the Sandpiper and the Clam

The structure of Alumera changed. Xiao Jin became the leader, and the other factions all congratulated him. The power to make a lot of important decisions has been moved from the Home Faction to the Xiao Faction.

At night, Xiao Jin invited Han Xiao to his mansion. All the high ranked officials of the Xiao Faction gathered around. Xiao Hai and the other children were there, too. They bowed to Han Xiao and called him stepfather when they saw him. No matter what these youngsters of the Xiao Family thought in their heart, they had no choice but to maintain respect for Han Xiao on the surface.

The butler led Han Xiao to the book room and closed the door, leaving Xiao Jin and Han Xiao alone in the room.

Xiao Jin's wish had been granted, and he had become the leader. Although he was still expressionless, one could tell he was happy and satisfied from the feeling he gave off.

He did not forget the benefits that Han Xiao had given him, and because Han Xiao said that he was leaving the next day, Xiao Jin dropped everything else and invited Han Xiao over to express his appreciation on the first day of becoming the leader.

"I really appreciate your help," Xiao Jin said sincerely.

Han Xiao did not sit down. He stood in front of the bookshelf, played around with the small items in the drawer, and said casually, "Get to the point."

Xiao Jin took out a bottle of wine and poured two glasses. He then walked to Han Xiao and handed one glass over.

"Our agreement remains unchanged. If there's anything you need me for, I'll provide help." Xiao Jin smiled. His tone was more confident now that he was the leader.

The wine was amber and fragrant; its taste was smooth and soft. This was Xiao Jin's very high-quality collection that he treasured. It would only be opened for extremely important guests, and it had been stored for many years before that day.

Han Xiao took the wine glass but did not drink it. He just swirled the glass around and said coldly, "I've been thinking recently and have come up with a very interesting theory. You knew Su Dinghua was going to assassinate Darryl a long time ago, but you didn't tell anyone and let it happen because there would only be a chance to become the leader after Darryl died.

"Then, when everyone was suspecting me, only you insisted to help me because you knew who the killer was, and it was a good opportunity to gain my favor. Later, when other factions had already established a bad relationship with me, you found an opportunity to throw out Su Dinghua as a clue and became the one who found the real killer, largely increasing your prestige while simultaneously starting good relations with me.

"You used that as a reason to gain my help to win the leader's election by using my strength to overpower all the other factions. You're not the real killer, but you're an opportunist who acted while riding along the waves and harvesting the final fruit of victory."

Han Xiao turned his head and looked at Xiao Jin. "What do you think about this theory?"

Xiao Jin shook his head in laughter. He sipped the wine and said, "It's interesting, but it's not true."

"I think it's true." Han Xiao's expression resembled a smile, yet it was not a smile.

Xiao Jin's expression changed slightly and said, "That's just your speculation…"

Han Xiao walked toward Xiao Jin. His body was leaning forward, and the pressure forced Xiao Jin to step back continuously until he hit the table.

They stood extremely close. Xiao Jin could only look at Han Xiao in his eyes because he had nowhere else to look. He felt a cold murderous intent in Han Xiao's eyes, and cold sweat started dripping.

"I don't need evidence. If I think it's true, then it is," Han Xiao sneered.

Xiao Jin had to tighten his facial muscles to control his expressions, and his heart began to sink.

"Remember, whatever you borrowed from me, I can take it back anytime."

Han Xiao's fingers pressed two times on Xiao Jin's chest strongly. The act was provoking.

Xiao Jin had been promoted with the help of Black Phantom, and Han Xiao could do the same thing for the others anytime. Xiao Jin had no doubt that the other factions would be willing to spend a huge sum to make Black Phantom their ally. With Black Phantom's strength, he could even duplicate the assassination. If their relationship turned bad, there was no way Xiao Jin could protect himself against a legendary killer every single day and night.

Xiao Jin understood what Han Xiao meant—threaten, intimidation, and blackmail!

Black Phantom was more fearsome than he had expected. This partnership with Black Phantom was catching a tiger by its tail.

The atmosphere became more and more intense, and when Xiao Jin was almost suffocating, Han Xiao took a few steps back to ease the atmosphere. He played around with the wine glass and said coldly, "What are you going to do with Raylen?"

Xiao Jin sighed. He knew that this was the time for him to show his stance. "I will make them pay. I'll pursue and kill all of their intelligence agents, attack the organizations they support, and destroy their bases in the wilderness."

Originally, it was not suitable to start a war right after he became the leader. His original plan had been to stabilize the internals in six months. However, Han Xiao's threatening made him understand that he had no choice. He could only listen to Han Xiao and retaliate against Raylen immediately. Alumera's damage was not in his consideration anymore; he had to listen to Han Xiao no matter how he much heartache he felt.

"Very good." Han Xiao gave a faint laugh then left and said, "Enjoy your time as the leader."

The wine glass was placed on the table. Han Xiao did not drink any from the start to the end.

The sounds of the youngsters yelling "Stepfather!" outside the door grew faint and distant. Xiao Jin only sat down after the sound disappeared. The happiness of becoming the leader became weaker because of Han Xiao's threats.

"He's got my weakness." Xiao Jin laughed in bitterness and called Xiao Hai in.

"Father, Black Phantom left." Xiao Hai could not hide his happiness. The position of leader finally belonged to the Xiao Faction.

"Pass my order down. The out of town divisions will be launching a full attack on Raylen's forces in the wilderness!" Xiao Jin was back to expressionless.

Xiao Hai's smile froze. Waves of shock filled his heart, and he said in disbelief, "Father, you've just become the leader, and the structure has yet to stabilize. If we start a war at this time, the power of the family will be hugely damaged, and our position will be even more volatile. The priority right now should be to stabilize the internal matters! Although Raylan set us up this time, there's no need to seek revenge immediately. There are many more days to come, and there's no benefit to what you're doing!"

"Stop talking, do as I said," Xiao Jin said coldly.

Xiao Hai was stunned.

…

_____________________

You have unlocked the Alumera Family. Current relationship: Respect (3000/6000) - [Partner of Xiao Faction].

_____________________

The starting relationship is 'respect'. Seems like Xiao Jin gave in. Han Xiao was very satisfied.

He did not threaten Xiao Jin out of nowhere. The deduction earlier was made from his speculation through the pieces of evidence. Firstly, Xiao Jin's actions were all very goal oriented and connected with each other, and these actions all brought him a benefit, which was very suspicious. Secondly, [The Real Killer] was a puzzle mission, but Xiao Jin found Su Dinghua straightaway. Thus, the mission had been completed too easily, which made him feel that Xiao Jin knew who the killer was all along.

If Xiao Jin knew that Su Dinghua was going to assassinate Darryl from the start and did not do anything about it, then the character that Xiao Jin played was neither the real killer nor the mastermind, but someone who waited for the opportunity to take on the position of the leader.

Han Xiao had already thought of this when Xiao Jin came to look for his help, and he had planned this back then when he agreed to help.

He acted like he did not know and let Xiao Jin use him to increase his rank, but at the same time, Xiao Jin had to rely on him to do so. Therefore, Han Xiao turned around and threatened Xiao Jin because, unless Xiao Jin wanted to give up his position as the leader, he had to listen to him and almost become his puppet.

From Xiao Jin's actions, he was an ambitious guy who knew how to analysis his situation. The chance of him compromising was more than eighty percent. He definitely could not let go of the leader's position that he had worked so hard to get.

Furthermore, Raylen was the mastermind who framed him, and there was no way Han Xiao was going to let them have an easy time. Therefore, he had ordered Alumera to clash with them without considering the costs for them. The people of Raylen would definitely not expect Alumera to counter-attack so strongly; it went the exact opposite way that they wanted it to go, and they had brought fire to themselves.

This way, Han Xiao could take revenge on Raylen without getting blood on his blades, and he did not even have to do anything.

It was easier to fight a large organization with a large organization.

During what happened in Alumera, Han Xiao had been watching like a bystander and only showed his teeth in the end.

The fight between a sandpiper and a clam benefitted the fisherman in the end!

Of course, there was a possibility that his guess was wrong. Xiao Jin might not actually have been someone who knew all along and acted on the opportunities that surfaced.

However, this was not important at all. It was as he had said before.

I don't need evidence. If I think it's true, then it is!

It must be!

Xiao Jin did not have a choice.

I should complete the mission. Han Xiao opened the interface.

_____________________

Please state the real killer's identity.

_____________________

"Su Dinghua, Raylen…" Han Xiao described the situation. The mission requirement was to find out the mastermind who framed him, which was Raylen without a doubt.

_____________________

[The Real Killer] has been processed. Determining…

Requirements met. Mission complete.

You have received a chance to learn a random ability or talent. Please select.

_____________________

Han Xiao pondered for a moment. He felt that a talent would be better; there was a chance to get a rare talent or even a molding ability.

"Talent."

_____________________

Randomizing… Completed. Please choose from one of the three below.

Duplicate Channeling: 2% – 8% chance of duplicating the ability during channeling. Triggering the ability depends on Luck.

Call of the Wild: Increases default affinity with beast type monsters with a chance to communicate. Charisma increases the chance of communication.

Frost Resistance: +35% resistance to ice element and makes it harder to receive debuffs from ice element such as slow or frozen.

Chapter 214: Leaving

Between these three random talents, the one with the highest practicality on the surface should be [Frost Resistance], which had a very specific effect. However, in terms of usefulness, Han Xiao felt that [Call of the Wild] had a broader area of application.

Beast type monsters were a very large monster group. Other than planets that had been highly modified or had very little life, every planet across the entire Galaxy would have some beasts. Beasts were a very important part of the biological chain, and there were many types of beasts living across land and sea. There were even some stronger beast species that lived in space, unharmed by the radiation, meteoroids, and many other forms of danger existing in space. These types of species were all BOSSes that would appear in later versions of the game.

As for [Duplicate Channeling], it was a sorcerer talent. It did not apply to any ability other than magic, so it was completely useless for Han Xiao, who was a Mechanic. If it was not for the random factor, Han Xiao would have never gotten in touch with any talents from another class.

After some consideration, Han Xiao decided on [Call of The Wild]. Although his Charm was a little low, it was still a rather useful talent.

Planet Aquamarine in version 2.0 would be filled with monsters, beasts would be crawling across the planet. Han Xiao had a feeling that [Call of The Wild] would be useful by then.

His plan was to leave Planet Aquamarine before version 1.0 ended, but he had a thought in his mind. The main storyline of version 2.0 was [Mutation Disaster]. It was a virus that came from space and caused mutations in many planets, including Planet Aquamarine. The cure was later invented by a higher civilization. Han Xiao was thinking that he could return with the cure in the future and bring an end to the storyline earlier.

After he spread intelligence of the Germinal Organization before the game's official release, Han Xiao knew that there were a lot of benefits to bringing large impacts to the main storyline.

This was just a blueprint of the future; Han Xiao was still focusing on the current issues.

The accident in Alumera had come to an end, and the result was satisfactory.

Not only did he not lose anything, he also gained quite a number of benefits. Although his schedule was delayed because of the days that he stayed in Alumera, no one disliked having more side missions; the more side missions there were, the more benefits they would bring.

The players would always be there, and they were not complaining or anything, so there was no rush for Han Xiao.

The next morning, Han Xiao left Alumera. All the high ranked officials came to see him off.

The cold of the north seemed to have pierced into the hearts of Alumera's high ranked officials. They held on tightly to their beast hide coats.

Black Phantom had become a member of their family on the books, so this outsider was now the strongest in the family. The high ranked officials were willing to suck up to him, and they gifted him an SUV to save him the trouble of walking.

Everyone in the Xiao Faction arrived. They all greeted Han Xiao with manners and respect, displaying their closeness by having their youngsters calling Black Phantom 'stepfather' one after another. The other factions despised this yet were jealous of it. If they could get Black Phantom's support, they would do the same willingly. They sighed in their hearts—that Xiao Jin had grabbed the opportunity before them.

Xiao Jin was having mixed emotions. He looked Han Xiao in the eye and nodded lightly. Only they themselves knew the deals that they made behind everyone else's back.

Although Xiao Jin's wish came true, he could not help but feel some bitterness deep in his heart.

Han Xiao waved as he got into the SUV and left in the wind and snow.

"He finally left."

The tensed bodies of Alumera's high ranked officials all relaxed. It was like a huge stone had been removed from their heart, and even breathing felt easier.

Not far away, the players of the Bamboo Rain Guild cheered with joy; their mission was finally completed.

_____________________

Black Phantom captured the real killer and brought a huge impact to Alumera's structure. As his helper, you witnessed the entire process. Bonus reward: 15,000 experience.

_____________________

The experience from this mission was a lot for the players at the time, so they were very satisfied.

"By the way, Xuan, didn't you make a recording of Black Phantom?" Guild Leader Bamboo Rain Fragrance asked.

Bamboo Rain Xuan said with pride, "I've already sold it and emailed it to Galaxy Times. They have given me a reward."

The mechanical suit, men's romance.

The background of Galaxy had players guessing about all sorts of combat system, and the mechanical suit was a very popular topic among them. Articles about mechanical suits created countless fans, and many players looked forward the day of them battling in a mechanical suit. Between the five main classes, only the mechanic class fit the speculations, but since the official release, no one had seen an NPC that fought in a mechanical suit.

Han Xiao was the first person who had showcased the mechanical suit, and he had created another first without noticing.

The impact of this on the players would only show after the next episode of 'Galaxy Times' was released, but before that, it first impacted the local organizations.

When Han Xiao killed Luann and Vanessa, he had used his mechanical suit. It had been recorded by the people of Alumera and leaked into the Dark Net, which triggered waves of shock within the organizations.

Everyone could see that Viper had an astonishing level of performance. It was a very advanced mechanical suit. Black Phantom was a Mechanic, so this had undoubtedly been built by himself, possessing a higher quality than the military experiments of many large nations.

Han Xiao was famous for his identity as a killer, but he had shocked the world again with his standard as a Mechanic. The organizations immediately updated his documents.

At the same time, there were also many organizations who were interested in obtaining this mechanical suit.

One of them was the Germinal Organization!

"This is a very advanced single unit combat mechanical suit. If we can gain control of it, the strength of our soldiers will increase tremendously, and the chances of winning this war will be higher."

In their headquarters in Andrea, the leader and Cyberlos were watching the short combat recording on a large screen. Cyberlos' eyes opened wide and were filled with fanaticism.

The leader, on the other hand, thought of something else.

"The guy who claimed to be our member and made a mess in the Louis Research Institution was wearing this mechanical suit, too. Turns out it was Black Phantom.

"During the evacuation in the Northern Continent some time ago, Black Phantom was involved as well, and he took us as an enemy.

"Not a guy to be easily messed with." The leader frowned. "His mechanical suit is of high importance to us, but we don't have enough forces in the other continents, and his movements are difficult to predict. Unless we send the strongest executive officers of the organization, no one can fight him."

The leader did not want to give up easily on Black Phantom's mechanical suit, but his senses told him that he would have no chance to deal with Black Phantom once the war started unless Black Phantom came to the battlefield.

The leader shook his head. The chances of that were close to none.

…

Two days later, Han Xiao accepted the reward mission for Invisible Demon in one of Dark Net's based of the Northern Continent and only handed Invisible Demon away after a notification popped up on the interface.

Interestingly, the person in charge of the stronghold was very confused.

"Mr. Black Phantom, where's the Invisible Demon who you've mentioned?"

Han Xiao pointed at an empty space on the ground and said, "Right here."

The person wiped off his cold sweat and said, "I—I can't see him."

Han Xiao used more than ten torturous ways to prove Invisible Demon's existence, and after the heavily wounded and mind broken Invisible Demon was retrieved, the mission was completed.

More than 200,000 experience and 150,000 Aquamarine Dollars. He had made another fortune with Invisible Demon. Although Han Xiao had amassed a small fortune, he was not going to give up any opportunity to make more—it was an accumulation process.

The players with the top spot on the level leaderboard had reached level 20 and were such on the class advancement missions, and at this time, Han Xiao had arrived in the last novice village of the Novice Village and made it in time for the last opportunity to make a huge amount of experience.

Upon arrival, Han Xiao realized that he was even more popular, especially among the male players who all surrounded him.

"What the name of your mechanical suit?"

"Do you sell the mechanical suit?"

These questions appeared the most. Han Xiao browsed through the forum and noticed that 'Galaxy Times' had released a recording of him battling in his mechanical suit.

This episode of 'Galaxy Times' was not as interesting, but this recording became the highlight of the episode. The quiet comments section exploded upon seeing the recording.

No wonder the players are so excited. Han Xiao could understand. When he was a new player, if he had seen a mechanical suit, he would have reacted the same.

The most direct influence was that players had even more of an interest in the mechanic class. More people came to this novice village to change their class, which in turn increased his sales.

An official announcement showing the various statistics of the game would be released some time after the official launch. Han Xiao was looking forward to seeing the percentage of players that chose the Mechanic class. In his previous life, this percentage had been a single digit, but now, with his influence, he was expecting it to at least double.

The more mechanic players, the brighter Han Xiao's business future was.

Duu—Duu—

His phone suddenly rang.

Han Xiao looked at his phone, and it was Hao Tian who sent a text message. He had completed the mission, and he was the first among all the other highly skilled players who had taken on the [New Era—Origin] mission!

Not bad, no wonder he's a god-tier pro. Hao Tian's eyes twinkled. Hao Tian had completed the mission before he had even left the Northern Continent, and the players who had accepted the mission much earlier in the Western Continent had yet to do so.

Hao Tian accepted the mission [Ending of The Survivor], whose the requirement was to retrieve [Sully—Document 485]. The text content was the entire process of Hao Tian completing the mission, and the information included in the document was included as well.

Chapter 215: Flow of the Main Storyline

In the age of virtual gaming, interaction was very important. The players felt that Galaxy had done an exceptional job in that regard. The interaction with NPCs was very free, and players could casually write text messages, emails, and such sorts to communicate with NPCs from a far range.

The popular games at the time all had a certain extent of reality and virtual socializing functionalities. There was an old but always popular game, Ruthless, that was very good in this regard. Text messages could be written freely even though it was a single player game.

When VR-Capsule technology was invented, Ruthless designed a version for it as well. At the time, due to the level of reality and the rough play style of Ruthless, a debate was triggered, and the NPC Protection Society that people had only talked about was actually really created. It was a very interesting phenomenon.

_____________________

[Ending of the Survivor] completed.

_____________________

One of the five requirements in the hidden main storyline turned green, which represented its completion.

_____________________

You have received [Sully—Document 485]. From the document, you acknowledged a buried past.

_____________________

This mission has a commentator, damn. Han Xiao was surprised.

_____________________

The document recorded an old action plan, with a lot of information missing. Before the war of the old era, a country sent a team to a village in Andrea for a secret mission. What happened afterward was unknown, but all the residents of the village were killed by gunfire. That country is already dead now.

_____________________

That's it? Han Xiao was confused. This description was a clue of the mission, but it was way too vague. He thought about it and sent it to Hannes. That old guy had more information on hands—maybe he could discover something more.

Completing the mission was enough for Han Xiao.

…

Hao Tian stood beside the mission character 'Old Devin' and stared at his phone, waiting for Black Phantom's reply.

This mission had been very cumbersome. Old Devin had the document, so he had needed to gain Old Devin's trust first, which he had done by completing many chore missions. The difficult part was that Old Devin suffered from mental illnesses. He had Paranoia, Amnesia, Schizophrenia, was prone to anger, spoke nonsense, and dozens more. He would quickly become anxious, and he would mistake a trash can on the road for bomb and passers-by for enemies who were chasing him.

Old Devin had been a member of this plan, and from what he said, after he completed the mission, the nation had killed his family and hunted him down. The hiding and stress he suffered through the years gave him the mental illnesses.

"Do you know why war broke out during the old era?" Old Devin would always look around his surroundings and make sure that there was no one before he started chatting with Hao Tian. "It was because of me. Every nation was looking for me, so they fought each other. Enemies were everywhere. They still have not given up. Look at these surveillance cameras in the city. They are all set up for me."

Of course, Hao Tian did not understand a single word he said, and he did not care about the story anyway. He was just doing the missions, and with his high efficiency and strong will, he completed the mission.

Hao Tian soon received Han Xiao's reply and the notification of the mission being completed, and a sense of relief washed over him.

'You're the first to complete the mission. I feel that you have quite the potential. Are you interested in helping me?"

"Sure." Hao Tian gave a very simple reply.

"Wait at the border of Raylen, coordinate R1565.842. I will bring you along when I leave the Northern Continent."

"Sure."

Although Hao Tian had a very steady personality, he still felt a sense of excitement when he thought of the benefits of Black Phantom's hidden storyline in the forums.

…

Han Xiao finished his journey of making a crazy amount of profits when he left the last novice village in the Northern Continent. Before leaving the Northern Continent, Han Xiao came to an ice field where high-level ice bears lived. He spent a few hours and used the Ghost sniper rifle to fulfill the requirements for [Lethal Shot].

_____________________

Lethal Shot: 12 – 25% chance to activate true damage with the first shot on target. This cannot be reactivated on the same target within 5 minutes.

_____________________

By changing the target, the talent could be triggered multiple times, which was very useful. Although it did not quite meet the standards of Bennett's cheat-like molding ability [Legendary Battle Techniques], it was still a rare attacking talent.

After counting, Han Xiao had twelve talents, which was exceptional in version 1.0. Half of that would already be very high for a LV 55 player.

Han Xiao also gave the recently obtained [Call of the Wild] talent a try. The ice bears above level 50 was not affected by it at all—they were still as aggressive as they had originally been.

He lowered the level of his targets and realized that a bear cub was very friendly toward him. It was white, chubby, and furry, only as tall as his waist level. It hugged his leg and showed off its cuteness.

There's quite some use to this talent. The cub is only at level ten-something, but there should be other hidden elements to the Call of The Wild. Other than it being affected by Charm, the level difference between me and the beast should also be part of the reason as well as the characteristics of the beast.

Han Xiao contemplated the matter. Suddenly, he saw this furry ball trying its best to climb up his leg. The Great Han Xiao squinted and kicked the cub away.

The white and chubby cub rolled over a few times and then came back again. Han Xiao just could not chase it away no matter how he tried; it was very clingy.

Its furry butt kept shaking, and it looked stupid. Its small, black eyes were filled with innocence.

Tsk, how adorable. Han Xiao could not resist its cuteness. He held the cub upside down and gave it a look. And it's a female.

They looked at each other for some time, then Han Xiao reached out his arms. The cub climbed up laboriously to Han Xiao's shoulder and hung onto it like a swing.

"You definitely have some koala blood. Didn't expect you to be a cross-breed," Han Xiao said in surprise. He twisted his arm, and the cub shook swung around it as well. It was like he was carrying a bag.

I shall bring it along as a pet.

Raising a pet was a spice of life. With a pet, Han Xiao suddenly felt much more relaxed. No wonder people in the big cities liked to have pets—it was such an effective stress reliever. When they were unhappy, they just had to bully their pet, and they could find back their sense of superiority as an intelligent species.

This was a Sharp Claw Ice Bear cub, only a few months old. Han Xiao was too lazy to give it a name, so he just called it Bear Cub.

Bringing along Bear Cub, Han Xiao boarded the plane to the border of Raylen and picked up Hao Tian. Following which, he immediately headed toward the Southern Continent.

On the plane, Hao Tian lived up to his image of a highly skilled player and kept silent, did not ask about their destination, and did not make any interactions. Han Xiao saw that he had nothing to do, so he gave him a mission to take care of Bear Cub. Hao Tian's expression became interesting on the spot.

Galaxy's details were all very real, especially the look and smell of urine and feces.

Flying from the Northern Continent to the Southern Continent required a little over half a day. Han Xiao received a call from Hannes on the way, saying that Old Devin's document filled missing information of their clues, and it was a very important finding. Han Xiao knew that this would affect the next round of the hidden main storyline missions.

The earnings in the Northern Continent were not lesser than the Western Continent. Han Xiao's experience and money had all almost doubled. Every time Han Xiao looked at the accumulated experience in the interface and the total of his Dark Net bank account, he would feel a surge of happiness.

…

When the plane landed in the Southern Continent, Antonio was waiting. Han Xiao saw his rough face as soon as he came out of the plane.

"Welcome back, my friend." Antonio laughed out loud and gave Han Xiao a bear hug. The strong odor on his body almost made Han Xiao lose his health points.

"Hug a while more, and I'd be dead." Han Xiao rubbed his nose with a frown. The odor was lingering in the air.

"Only out for a month, and look what you've done!" Antonio said with surprise. He remembered that Han Xiao said that he would not get into trouble, but it seemed like Han Xiao's standard of trouble and his were very different.

Things about Black Phantom had been spreading like a disease recently. Many organizations had to spend some of their focus on Black Phantom; the man had most likely become one of the top names in many organizations' threat lists.

Black Phantom had officially reached the top of Dark Net's killer leaderboards.

After chatting for a while, Antonio noticed Bear Cub. His eyes immediately twinkled, and he ran over to pet it. Han Xiao was not surprised that Antonio liked furry things judging from his appearance—the two furballs were probably cousins.

Han Xiao walked aside and called Bennett.

"I've returned."

Bennett breathed a sigh of relieved and said with a hint of sorrow, "I've waited for you for so long."

Han Xiao went straight to the point and said, "The 'Sanctuary Plan' you talked about, what help do you need from me?"

Bennett was very touched. Han Xiao mentioned about helping the first thing after he returned, how noble!

In the society of lies and deception, people who had such good qualities were going extinct.

This was a friend that was worth building a stronger relationship with!

Bennett decided to make Han Xiao one of the people in charge of the plan and share even more details with him. "Let's talk when we meet—I have a very important mission for you."

Hearing that, Han Xiao knew there was a chance and got excited. He was very familiar with the main storyline [Sanctuary Plan], and he knew how much benefit there was in becoming a core member.

The Six Nations had been making a lot of moves in the dark recently—the preparation for expedition war was almost complete, and the expedition would probably officially commence in that month. The Germinal Organization was finally about to meet the disaster that had been created by Han Xiao, and the war was going to break out in Planet Aquamarine. The wanderers, militaries, warlords, financial organizations, secret organizations, and all the other organizations were nervous about it.

To open the [Sanctuary Plan] main storyline at this time completely messed up the sequence of the storyline, but its benefits were also clear. Under the threat from the war, Bennett would do anything to carry out the plan.

And the players' attention would also be diverted by the main storyline [Sanctuary], which would reduce the number of players taking part in the main storyline of the war between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization, which was beneficial to Han Xiao. The smaller the impact that the players made, the more advantages that the Six Nations had.

Chapter 216: Dark Net Director, Third Sanctuary

The invitation from Bennett signified his trust. The meeting point this time was the first shelter that Dark Net was building, located in a city ruins named 'Ruins of Lloyd' in a wasteland in the Northern Continent. It had once been the financial center of a dead nation in the Northern Continent.

Han Xiao sat in Bennett's private helicopter. When he looked down at the city from the sky, he could see the building process of the shelter. The first thing he saw was the tens of meters tall enormous wall that was being built. In the areas that had yet to be completed, he could see workers welding steel bars together onto the scaffolding. The concrete of the wall was mixed with other materials and had a metallic feeling to it. With Han Xiao's professional knowledge, he knew that the wall was so strong that smaller rockets would at most only leave traces of burn marks on it. The wall was built to the standards of a fortress; it was extremely expensive.

The Dark Net's symbol was painted on the wall in dark red together with the new name of this city.

Bennett Sanctuary One!

The helicopter flew past the wall, and the construction machinery came into sight, clearing the roads and the abandoned buildings. Countless workers in gray uniforms ran around doing their job to lay the foundation for the new buildings and planning the layout of the city. Steel bars, bricks, wood, and other stacks of industrial building materials lay out in the open, and it looked exactly like a gigantic construction site.

"You named the shelter after yourself." Han Xiao patted Bennett's shoulder with a smirk. "I didn't know you're this shameless."

Bennett slapped the palm on his shoulder away and said, "Let's go. Come to the high ranked officials meeting with me."

"What has the meeting got to do with me?" Han Xiao asked in surprise.

Bennett shook his head and laughed. "You're a high ranked official, too."

Han Xiao blinked.

Bennett cleared his throat and said, "I strongly recommended you to be a director personally. You won't disappoint me, will you?"

Dark Net had recently reconstructed their high ranked officials, with the highest ranking being the founders such as Bennett and one level lower being the various directors.

"What are you talking about?" Han Xiao asked with a serious face. "When did I disappoint you?"

Bennett did not know whether to laugh or cry. He led the way, and Han Xiao saw the construction of the shelter at a close range.

"Sanctuary One is our test. I've put in plenty of resources, and it's progressing quite well. The basic layout should be completed within a year. The layout of the shelter is divided into a few sections. In order to have enough basic infrastructure to meet the requirements of its residents, the plants and livestock also needs to form a self-sustained ecosystem so that even if war breaks out in the outside world, the shelter can provide for its own, and the defensive measures are, of course, to defend against enemies."

Boom!

An abandoned building in front was being demolished, and dust filled the area as it fell down.

Han Xiao waved the dust away and said in awe, "Just this shelter would've cost you a huge sum."

"The Six Nations' resources can only support two to three sanctuaries," Bennett said with his hands behind his back. "My plan is to build at least three to five sanctuaries across the continents."

"That will be outrageously expensive."

"This sum of money is insignificant when it comes to preserving our civilization."

"Wow, I could almost see the halo above your head," Han Xiao mocked.

Bennett's mouth twitched.

After arriving at the new fortress, directors of the Dark Net gathered in the meeting hall. They stood up and bowed slightly to show their respect when Bennett and Han Xiao walked in.

Black Phantom had displayed his strength and was now the top fighting force of Dark Net, and with Bennett's support, the high ranked officials present all agreed that Han Xiao's position was at the same level as theirs.

The high ranked officials reported the progress of Sanctuary One in turn, and when Bennett was done settling them, he said, "Sanctuary One has been proven to be practical. The message has been sent out. Many wanderers came to look for protection upon hearing the message. With more residents, the building progress can be sped up.

"At the same time, we can give them job opportunities to take part in the construction process of the shelter, which will aid in strengthening unity. I foresee that in the months to come, as the message of the shelter gets spread out further, more wanderers will come.

"The construction of shelter has to start sooner rather than later; I have decided to commence the construction of Sanctuary Two and Three immediately."

The high ranked officials exchanged looks, and one of them asked hesitantly, "Mr. Bennett, wouldn't that be too much of a rush? Why don't we wait for Sanctuary One to be completed?"

"Because we don't have much time. We need to speed up the progress."

"Sanctuary needs someone to be in charge. Who will be in charge of Sanctuary Two?"

"Xena will be in charge of Sanctuary Two," Bennett said. Xena was currently the highest director of Dark Net and had been recommended by many senior officials. Of course, no one opposed this decision.

"As for Sanctuary Three, Black Phantom will be in charge."

Han Xiao's eyebrows shot up. He did not expect Bennett to trust him this much and let him be in charge of an entire shelter. The power of this was very huge.

The directors were shocked as well.

Black Phantom had just become a high ranked official, and now he was in charge of such an important issue. It seemed to many that he was not senior enough to do so. Many directors wanted to object, but Bennett had already seen through their thoughts. One simple sentence made their mouths shut.

"Each shelter needs someone with extraordinary strength to guard. If any of you have the confidence that your subordinate is stronger than Black Phantom, feel free to object."

Stronger than Black Phantom? The directors laughed bitterly. Across the entire Dark Net, other than Bennett and two others who had already retired, no one could beat Black Phantom.

Bennett ended the meeting since no one opposed the decision and brought Han Xiao to a private meeting room. They chatted for a while before Bennett stopped debating with Han Xiao over if there should be a reward for being the person in charge of Sanctuary Three. He faced Han Xiao's look of contempt without any shame and showcased the detailed plan of Sanctuary Three.

"Sanctuary Three's construction is basically completed. Its location will be in Graymetal Ruins."

Han Xiao thought that place sounded quite familiar, and then he remembered that Graymetal Ruins was where he had set up his secret base. It was quite a coincidence.

Bennett briefly explained the layout and that Han Xiao's mission was to sit in, monitor the construction team, and when any threat arose nearby, he could settle it entirely by himself. There was only one requirement—complete the construction of the shelter.

Han Xiao almost fell asleep because of how boring and tedious the explanation was, and at this time, a notification popped up in the interface. Han Xiao was immediately awake.

_____________________

You have unlocked a new organization, [Dark Net Organization]. Subsidiary [Blood Pact Society] detected. Relationship status: Respect (4450/6000) - [Rank One of Killer Leaderboard]

[Dark Net Organization] initial relationship: Friendly (2225/3000) - [Director]

_____________________

Part of the reason Han Xiao was able to become a high ranked official of the Dark Net was because of Bennett. If a player wanted to gain a high position in Dark Net, the relationship had to be at least Respect, and to become a high ranked official, it had to be at least 'Reverence'. However, the prerequisite for Han Xiao was not that strict, which was a benefit of being an NPC. It was not restricted by the rigid requirements in the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the rank-A mission [Sanctuary Plan — Sanctuary Three]!

_____________________

Seeing the mission requirements, Han Xiao smiled. It was as he expected. As the person in charge of Sanctuary Three, his mission was construction, and the mission type was also a series mission that was divided into tens of requirements. Each of them was one part of the construction blueprint. For every part of the construction that was completed, one requirement would be considered met, which included defensive measures, residential areas, bases, buildings, cleaning the ruins, plantations, farms, and many more. It was like modifying a city.

The mission also notified him that if an unexpected situation appeared, he would also be entirely in charge of solving it, and the grading might become lower or higher depending on the situation and results.

The more requirements that were completed, the higher the completion grading would be, and the rewards would be given based on the grading.

For the players, they could take on this main storyline normally, but their situation was completely different from Han Xiao's. The players had to take on different missions from the lowest ranked or middle ranked personnel and take part in the construction from side missions. On the other hand, Han Xiao received the overall mission, which included all the side missions and main storyline missions. This was a benefit of becoming the core member of the plan—he was very clear on what needed to be done.

Also, his reward was far greater than the players'. The fragmented missions that players completed would all be considered as part of the construction in the end, which indirectly met his requirements. As mentioned before, the requirement for the same mission might even differ based on who was doing it, and with the special relationship Han Xiao had with Dark Net, he received this mission that had loads of benefits.

"However, there are some problems." Bennett cleared his throat and said, "Due to funding constraints, the resources are concentrated in Sanctuary One and Two. Therefore, there might be not as many people who will be working with you to build Sanctuary Three."

"How many?" Han Xiao suddenly had a bad feeling. Sanctuary One had tens of thousands of workers, so he would require a similar workforce.

"About a thousand…"

Han Xiao squinted with an expression that said, Are you kidding me‽

"It's mainly because of the flow of the funding not reaching its destination," Bennett said awkwardly. "This will only be the case for the first month. We will hire more people to help you afterward."

Han Xiao picked Bear Cub, who was sleeping on his laps, and threw it toward Bennett. Bear Cub fell onto the sofa upside down and finally opened its eyes slowly.

"Hit him." Han Xiao pointed toward Bennett.

Bear Cub blinked in confusion and only understood after staring at Han Xiao's finger for a very long time. It then turned over and slapped Bennett's left cheek.

Bennett laughed bitterly. He rubbed Bear Cub's furry buttock then pushed it aside and said, "I know it's difficult, but you're the only person that can help me. No one else has the ability to."

Han Xiao pondered for a while before he nodded and said, "No worries, I will be able to build a basic layout within a month."

Bennett's requirements for Sanctuary Three were very low. As long as the construction was stable and the ruins were cleaned within a month, it was more than enough. He took Han Xiao's words as a joke and didn't take it to heart at all.

"By the way, I have another requirement," Han Xiao said.

"What is it?" Bennett replied.

Han Xiao laughed and said, "Sanctuary Three has to be named after me."

Since Bennett had already done that, how could the Great Mechanic Han Xiao not received the same treatment? And by naming the shelter after himself, it would definitely create a strong, long-term impact.

Chapter 217: Class Advancement of the Players

Many of the directors were not happy with the fact that Black Phantom was in charge of Sanctuary Three, but when they heard that Sanctuary Three was short of labor and that Han Xiao had actually received a very difficult task, they felt much better.

That should be the right way, letting the newcomer do the difficult jobs.

However, Bennett gathered the directors and announced an appointment.

"Black Phantom is my friend, and he doesn't have much experience. Everyone here was involved in the construction of Sanctuary One, so I will appoint one director to be Black Phantom's consultant and assistant."

The directors panicked for a little. They exchanged looks discreetly, all hoping not to be appointed.

Going to Sanctuary Three was like being sent to the borders; there would not be any contribution within a month, and there was really not much benefit in being Black Phantom's assistant. There also was not much credit to working under someone. All in all, it was a terrible job, and they would much prefer to stay and wait for other opportunities.

Although the motive behind Bennett's Sanctuary Plan signified greatness and justice, the directors under him did not feel the same. All they saw in the shelter plan were the benefits that they could garner from it. In their eyes, this was a new round of power reshuffle, if they could be in charge of a shelter, the weight of their words would become much heavier in the future.

Bennett knew what these high ranked officials were thinking, but he did not give any explanation because the benefits could motivate the directors to work harder. Bennett did not expect everyone to be so noble; this was all part of his plan.

Not many people could catch Bennett's eyes, but Han Xiao was one of them. This guy was really a great friend. All he wanted was to help, and even when he mentioned rewards, it was mostly in a joking manner—he never insisted on it

Bennett was someone who took profits very lightly, and he noticed that Han Xiao had a similar quality, which was why he felt a sense of closeness toward Han Xiao.

He decided to appoint someone who was very capable to be Han Xiao's assistant.

Bennett looked around and said, "Huang Yu, you'll help Black Phantom."

The face of the guy called Huang Yu immediately dropped. He answered unwillingly, and when he saw the gloating faces of the other directors, he became even more unhappy.

Among the directors of Dark Net, Huang Yu was someone with very high capabilities. He was often entrusted with important issues as he excelled in taking care of all types of cumbersome issues and had always arranged them very neatly. Yet, this time, he had been appointed by Bennett to be an assistant. He was not happy and was not willing to do it, which would, of course, lead to him not taking things seriously. He had already decided to face Black Phantom lackadaisically and pass the one month without being serious. He took it as giving himself a holiday.

…

The idea of shelters had appeared in the minds of others during the old era war as well. Back then, when the nations were busy with the war, many people had lost their homes and wandered the streets. Therefore, one private group started to build a shelter and helped war refugees at all costs. It succeeded initially and protected tens of thousands of people.

However, because of the shortage of resources, the food distributed to the refugees became limited, which sparked unhappiness among them.

Humans cannot be content, especially during times of war, and even a slight idea of malice will be expanded indefinitely.

Those refugees had forgotten the people who helped them in their time of need and fought back. In the end, they took over the shelter and killed its original owners.

In such a chaotic world, things like that happened very often. It was not the shelter that did not work, but the old era did not allow it. Coincidentally, the person who created the shelter during the old era was Bennett's friend. Bennett had never given up on the idea, and he felt now was the right time.

Han Xiao was familiar with the storyline. He knew that Bennett's Sanctuary Plan had succeeded, and it grew like a snowball. Even the people in the cities were willing to move to the shelters; it was so successful that it was almost on a trend to become a nation, which caused an alarm within the Six Nations. If it was not for [Mutation Disaster] during version 2.0, the Six Nations might even have become hostile toward the shelters.

The shelters only fully utilized themselves during version 2.0. By then, they were considered to have lived up to their name.

"I'm now in charge of Sanctuary Three. This time, it's truly a large part of the main storyline. The manpower assigned to me is not enough, but I still have the players."

Han Xiao had already thought of how to do the [Sanctuary] mission a long time ago.

A helicopter landed in Sanctuary One. Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog walked out and looked around in curiosity. They trotted toward Han Xiao with smiles on their faces as soon as they say him.

Frenzied Sword had a lot of questions to ask, but it all stuck in his mind when he saw Hao Tian who stood on the side

"God— God Player Hao Tian‽" he exclaimed in surprise.

Hao Tian gave him a faint look and did not say anything—too cool.

"Wow, legend!" Bun-hit-dog widened his eyes and asked, "Did you trigger the hidden storyline as well?"

Hao Tian turned his head and did not reply.

How cold of the legend. Bun-hit-dog was speechless, and Frenzied Sword was much better after all.

This time, Bear Cub made a sound.

Hao Tian immediately dashed forward and picked Bear Cub up. He took out tissues from his back with seriousness on his face.

The duo suddenly understood why Hao Tian did not want to speak. They discretely took a few steps backward; the smell was really bad.

Seeing Hao Tian's serious expression and skilled actions, Frenzied Sword felt respect toward him. What a true legend, doesn't even change his expression.

The first meeting between the players was very peaceful to Han Xiao.

He looked at Bun-hit-dog. This 'reporter' would be of use for what he was going to do next.

…

Three days later…

"Congratulations to the player [White Mask] for completing the first class advancement!"

Every player received a notification from their interface. The first player to reach LV 21 in the level leaderboards, White Mask, was a foreign player. He shared the changes after his class advancement on the forums.

The players on Planet Aquamarine suddenly discovered that [Energy Training Technique] would automatically be awakened with the class advancement!

The people had doubts at the start, but as more and more players advanced in their class, it was proven that everyone would awaken this ability after their class advancement.

The players on Planet Aquamarine was stunned. The ability that they had spent experience to learn was actually an ability that would automatically be awakened after class advancement.

Was that bad?

Many players did not think so. To learn a high-level ability in advance did not seem like a bad thing—it was a growth ability after all, and it had a very good effect. It could largely increase one's strength during low levels, which was very useful for these players who were discovering new locations.

The people who really suffered were the players in the Northern Continent who only learned it at LV 18 or 19. They had wasted their money on an ability that they would very soon awaken upon class advancement. They were filled with grief.

The Southern Continent players, who had been depressed for a very long time, suddenly realized that they were not the unluckiest, and they suddenly felt much happier.

Although the truth of [Energy Training Technique] was revealed, many low-level players still felt that it was worth it to learn this ability in advance.

Therefore, many Andrea players were still waiting for Han Xiao's arrival, but what they were faced with was only shock.

Black Phantom had returned to the Southern Continent!

He was not going to Andrea anymore!

When Han Xiao had been in the Western Continent and the Northern Continent, players in Andrea had anticipated that they were going be the last ones, but the truth was too cruel—Han Xiao was not going there at all.

Their hope had resulted in disappointment; the players in Andrea were full of sorrow.

The Planet Aquamarine section on the forums was heated—even foreign players from the other planets joined in—yet players in Andrea had no position to say anything.

It had almost been two months since the official public launch. The average level of the earliest players was close to 20. With more and more new players joined the game, the number of players on Planet Aquamarine had reached hundreds of thousands, and it was still growing. The high-level players started to slowly interfere in the storyline of their planets, digging through the history, the environment, and joining the main storyline.

It was the same for Planet Aquamarine, more and more players were recruited by the Six Nations to be a special unit. The players had heard from the NPCs that the Six Nations' expedition against the Germinal Organization would commence at any moment.

However, the interface had notified them that their level was not high enough to meet the prerequisites for the expedition mission, which meant that even if they followed the army to join the expedition, most of them would not receive any rewards.

Most importantly, with the current strength of the players, they would be easily slaughtered by the army.

This was the effect of Han Xiao bringing the main storyline forward; the players had lost the time that they should have had to become stronger and join the war immediately.

Also, the organizations of Planet Aquamarine had finally noticed that there was a limit to the number of times the players could revive, which made them more relieved. They felt that at least the Inhumans had flaws; they were not as nervous as before and started to take the Inhumans as a special kind of mercenaries.

At this time, a new issue of Bun-hit-dog's 'Galaxy Exploration Journal' was released.

Chapter 218: Didn't Know You Are This Kind of Black Phantom

Wild Boy, a member of Sky Territory Guild, was a loyal fan of Bun-hit-dog.

There were many types of Galaxy video hosts on the forum, but Bun-hit-dog was the only one that had first-hand information about Black Phantom, which meant that he was always ahead of other video hosts. Wild Boy liked videos about Black Phantom very much; he was really attracted to the dark and mysterious feeling that Black Phantom gave.

As soon as Bun-hit-dog updated, Wild Boy saw it. He clicked into it immediately and commented before the video even started. "International rule, ask for new updates before watching!"

The video started playing, and Bun-hit-dog's bitchy voice appeared.

"Pure white legs and cherry red lips, rip your skin and harden your bones, take off these clothes and these pants, drunk by choice but not by booze, cup of Viagra is all I need—I will last through the night! Hello everyone, welcome to the Galaxy Exploration Journal. Audience, this is me as always, the different kind of Bun-hit-dog!"

Wild Boy spat out a mouthful of water. It was a standard procedure to always start with a poem every episode. The words used became more and more shameless. Even Wild Boy, who had a strong ID, could not take it anymore.

The comments would always explode when the poems came. It was so much that even the screen was obstructed.

"I once had both knowledge and fighting skills, but now I can only yell 666."

"Clear theme, good poem."

"I'm calling the police!"

"I sang along although I'm a girl…"

"Extraordinary level of dirtiness!"

"I can't stop singing it!"

"Please be considerate toward the feelings of lady fans!"

"Reported, you're welcome!"

The last episode had been about Bun-hit-dog and Frenzied Sword making a mess in Black Pine. This episode was a continuation, and the audience enjoyed it very much. When the mission was completed and the show entered the second half, the scene suddenly changed to a city that was being built. The large 'Bennett Sanctuary One' came into audiences' sights.

In the scene, Han Xiao wore a black coat and stood with his hands behind his back.

The comments stopped for a moment before suddenly exploding.

"Wow, I get to see my Uncle Black again!"

"Great video host, have a recommendation ticket."

After so many days, Black Phantom could finally be seen in Bun-hit-dog's video, and Bun-hit-dog was the only person who could do this. The audience felt a sense of grace; it was like seeing someone they knew.

Since the public launch, Han Xiao had been in the sights of the players, and he had already made an impact and occupied a special position in the hearts of the players.

Wild Boy opened his eyes wide; he did not want to miss even one second.

"Black Phantom brought us into a special scene going during construction. During this time, I discovered main storyline missions from Black Phantom…"

The audience discussed among each other within the comments. The players knew that Han Xiao gave out main storyline missions, and the requirements for receiving the hidden storyline were very high. Could this main storyline mission be a different one?

Bun-hit-dog showcased his mission list, and a new mission appeared within, [Black Phantom Sanctuary Three]!

"What's this?"

"There's Black Phantom in the mission name…"

"What's a sanctuary?"

"It is very similar to the name of this place."

Bun-hit-dog explained the inside information with excitement. Dark Net was building shelters, and Black Phantom had brought a group of thousand people to Graymetal Ruins to build a city. This information had been gained from Han Xiao himself.

There were not any prior requirements this time; the mission could be triggered easily.

After the mission introduction ended, the comments section was filled with shock once more.

"It's the construction of a city. My god, that's such a large main storyline! Almost as huge as the expedition war."

"This should be part of the Planet Aquamarine main storyline, too!"

Wild Boy paused the video. He read the mission requirements carefully again and again then swallowed his saliva before playing the video.

Without even having time to think about what the sanctuary actually was, he saw in the video that Han Xiao was yelling at the people below him.

"The overcast of war obscured the blue skies like the wings of death, and the scars of the previous war have been torn apart before they could even heal. Only a few decades have passed, but no one has forgotten the pain that the war cast upon the land. Up till today, it is still affecting the ground under us and the skies above us. Radiation, specks of dust, wasteland, and dead nations!

"How ridiculous! After the old era, our civilian technology regressed, but the military technology that is used against our own kind has been advancing continuously. They fight for their ideals and the nations' benefits; they used iron and fire to spread death!

"For these empty and false reasons, they slaughtered those of their own kind who had no power to defend themselves! Countless people have been killed in the fires of war! The world became wounded and broken because of them, and it is on its way to the end. The ending of the world might quietly be upon us one day. The construction of the shelters is for preserving our civilization. Even if the world ends tomorrow, I still want to save the last bit of tinder for the civilization!

"I don't possess greatness, but too many are small.

"If no one wants to pay the price, okay, I will be the first!

"But I know, I won't be the last!"

Han Xiao's tone was filled with cadence. Wild Boy felt short of breath. Although he was watching a video, he could feel his blood turning hot in his heart—that raw emotion was extremely infectious!

Wild Boy was not the only one who was shocked by this. The comment 'I don't possess greatness, but too many are small' passed by the screen with three exclamation marks behind. It looked very impactful.

"Didn't Know You Are This Kind of Black Phantom!" Many comments similar to this also flew on the screen. In the players' mind, Black Phantom was quiet and did not speak much, but this speech that he had given had turned this impression completely upside down. Many players felt more familiar with Han Xiao—they had not expected Black Phantom's ideals to be this great.

Wild Boy was very excited after he finished watching.

This time, he saw Jade Green Sky announcing a message in the guild channel.

"Attention everyone, the guild will be collecting Graymetal Ruins' location and information. The intelligence provider will be rewarded."

…

One day earlier…

Han Xiao gathered the group of a thousand people who followed him to build the city and gave out the speech in the video. Bennett just wanted him to say something casually at the time, but he did not expect him to say this much. Bennett was as shocked as the players.

The workers around stopped what they were doing and gathered. The number of people became more and more. They all looked up at Han Xiao, who was standing on the tall platform.

Seeing the crowd turning excited, Han Xiao knew that it was extremely effective. This paragraph had been copied from Bennett's speech in the future, and its intention was exactly to shock everyone. Back then, Bennett's position in the hearts of the players had been decided because of his noble ideals. Now that Han Xiao had said it first, no matter what happened in the future, the players would be reminded of him when they brought up Bennett, which would make stronger impacts in the impression the players had of him, making himself more valuable.

He knew that players liked to see such things. A character with noble ideals was usually very popular, and Bennett did not need to care about the players' impression of him, so Han Xiao grabbed the opportunity.

At the same time, Bennett would be touched as well. Doing this had many benefits.

Players all love the story that a character has as it shows unique sparkling points of their personality. Han Xiao nodded discreetly. He wanted the players to seek him out after the impression that he had created, and whether or not those were his real thoughts, no one would know if he did not say.

Han Xiao turned around and saw Bennett's expression. It was filled impassioned; these words had really expressed his mind.

Of course they would since they originated from him.

Bennett was very touched. Han Xiao had voiced the deepest thoughts in his mind. He realized that he was beginning to like Han Xiao more and more.

It was like rain and poured on the desert in his heart, Bennett realized that he was not alone anymore; he had found someone that was walking down the same path as him.

It's all for the continuation of the civilization—he understands me. Bennett gave Han Xiao a pleased look.

Speech is a very scary ability; it can encourage the hearts of the people.

Originally, many workers there went for the money, but now, they felt like their hearts were filled with something more, and they became much more motivated.

The directors were shocked as well. They did not think that the Black Phantom, who had killed countless people, had such ideals. Despite their own motives, they were immediately impressed.

…

The next day, the construction team of Sanctuary Three gathered. The enormous convoy crossed the desolate wilderness and disappeared over the horizon, leaving only dust behind.

The convey was equipped with a scouting helicopter that was flying at a low height. It was the ride for important personnel so that they could escape in the face of danger. However, Han Xiao decided to take the car. Huang Yu, on the other hand, took the helicopter without hesitation. He was not going to be sucking up to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao sat in the back seat. He felt the vibration of the off-road truck and browsed the information of the team.

A notification popped up on the interface at this time.

_____________________

Current Target: Protect the convoy until it arrives at Graymetal Ruins.

Current Population: 1,034

Upon arrival at the destination, 250,000 experience will be rewarded if the damage is below 20%. Mission grading will also be increased.

Current grading: E

_____________________

A sudden notification of the mission goal. This is a characteristic of long-term missions. Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. Suddenly, he realized that he has been moving his eyebrows too much recently. That was not good; he needed to be more serious.

[Sanctuary Three]'s mission grading changed in real time, and the grading could be seen to increase when a requirement was met. The mission had just started, and nothing had been done yet. Thus, it was at the lowest grade, E.

700 people in the team were workers and technicians. The rest of the 300 were soldiers and guards. Divided into teams of 20, the guards stationed around the exterior of the convoy.

Military power is not enough. I have to strengthen the team.

The power of one person was limited. However, he was a Mechanic with a lot of assets.

Chapter 219: The Brutal Force of Mechanic!

It required four to five days to travel from Sanctuary One to Graymetal Ruins across the wilderness, so the convoy could only camp in the wild.

At around dusk of the first day after departure, at Han Xiao's orders, the convoy found a safe terrain in the wild and settled down. It was dangerous to travel after the sun set, and many beasts were active during the night.

The soldiers of Dark Net patrolled the surrounding areas in shifts. Han Xiao gathered the important people in the team for a meeting—Assistant Huang Yu, Head of Construction Coney Fury, and Guard Captain Liu Zhao.

The blueprints of the Graymetal Ruins Modification Plan were laid out on the table, and Coney Fury was speaking.

"The initial modifications of the entire city were estimated to be completed in three months, including weeding, getting rid of the beasts, cleaning of ruins, then completing the basic layout of the shelter, planting of the electricity network and water pipes, etc. But this is a plan based on 30,000 workers. We only have 1,000 in the first month. There's nothing we can do, not even cleaning the ruins." Coney Fury sighed.

Han Xiao nodded without giving approval or denial. He looked at Huang Yu and asked, "Do you have any suggestions?"

Huang Yu said perfunctorily, "No."

Noticing the careless attitude of Huang Yu, Han Xiao roughly guessed what he was thinking. But Han Xiao didn't care about it; it was not like he needed an assistant. He turned his head and said, "Manpower is not a problem—I plan to complete the blueprint construction within a month."

Coney Fury was stunned. "That will need at least 100,000 workers. Even Sanctuary One doesn't have that many workers."

"I have my ways." Han Xiao did not explain his plan in further detail.

Huang Yu stood by and watched. The amount of money needed to hire 100,000 workers was extremely large, and even with so much money, it was not certain they could hire that many workers. He did not understand where Han Xiao got his confidence from.

Liu Zhao suddenly pressed his headphones and said hastily, "Mr. Black Phantom, an airplane is closing in!"

"Let's go out and take a look."

Walking out of the camp, the guards looked at the sky on alert. In the dark night sky, a large airplane flashing signal lights was heading toward them—whether it was friend or foe was unknown.

"It's ok." Han Xiao smiled. "That's the airdrop I called."

The plane flew past above their heads and dropped a few huge resources boxes that were tied together. The parachute opened, and it landed not far from the camp. The symbol on the boxes belonged to the Fabian Company.

Han Xiao made use of his relationship network and had Fabian's plane airdrop him a large number of mechanical parts. It definitely was not free, but Han Xiao had a lot of money. Such a small spend meant nothing to him.

Everyone was relieved upon hearing that it was a false alarm.

Huang Yu was secretly surprised. To be able to call an airdrop from the renowned munitions company Fabian, Han Xiao's relationship network was broader than he thought.

These parts were worth millions of dollars. Han Xiao ordered people to load them onto the resources vehicles and started to build a large amount of machinery. He was very rich now, so he could build all sorts of combat machinery, and they could be used to protect the team as well.

The most famous combat style of Mechanics was the sea of machinery.

Han Xiao stayed in the car and worked for the next two days of the journey.

…

The convoy had arrived at the desert. The sun shone brightly in the sky, and the high temperature had turned the sand as hot as burning steel. Even light was distorted around the air not far from the ground.

The convoyed stopped under a Barbera tree. This type of tree was unique to the desert of Planet Aquamarine. It was also called 'umbrella of life'. Its shade was like an island that insulated the heat, and its juices were plenty and sweet, which could be used to quench thirst immediately.

The people were very thirsty. The soldiers patrolled around, and everyone was covered in sweat.

Boom!

The desert far away suddenly turned into waves. A huge number of enormous beetles crawled out of the ground. Each of them over half a meter long, they had brown and shiny shells, six feet, and two claws. They moved toward the Barbera tree like a wave.

"Beast attack!"

The alarm was activated. Three hundred soldiers immediately stood in position holding their guns. When they noticed that the sea of beetles had surrounded them from every direction and there was nowhere to escape, their faces became horrified, and their hands started trembling.

The Desert Blood Shell Crab was a strong predator in the deserts that destroyed every life form wherever they passed by, and there were at least 10,000 of them here.

"Into the cars and drive open a path!" Huang Yu yelled hastily. He then rushed up the helicopter and hurried the pilot to take off immediately.

No one had the thought of fighting when they faced this many bugs. When they heard Huang Yu's order and were just about to enter the cars to escape, Han Xiao walked out of the car and said, "Don't panic. Everyone stand in position. Get ready to face the enemy."

"The number of bugs is too huge," Captain Liu Zhao said hastily. "Our defense can't cover all directions. We will most likely suffer a huge loss if we fight."

"Black Phantom, come to the helicopter quickly," Huang Yu shouted.

Han Xiao waved his hands.

Huang Yu cursed in his head. Seeing that the sea of bugs was coming even closer, he told the pilot to take off immediately without caring about Han Xiao. The pilot was afraid as well; therefore, he followed the order and piloted the helicopter off the ground.

The troops on the ground did not dare disobey Han Xiao's order. They stood their ground and watched nervously as the swarm of bugs rapidly approached.

At this moment, Han Xiao took out his laptop and pressed a few buttons.

Hum!

Twelve Combat Rangers drove out of the logistics vehicles as fast as normal cars. Everyone's face was filled with shock as they looked at these rover robots rapidly spreading out into all directions like guards of iron. The cold metallic color reflected the light shining through the leaves like pieces of golden scales.

These rovers were the newest and improved generation 2.5. Han Xiao had leveled up the blueprint many times. The basic attributes of the machinery that he had built was much higher, and its quality was at blue as well.

The Generation 2.5 Rovers were all equipped with an auto fire control system, which improved its firepower and magazine continuation ability. They were around the same height as humans, and their mobility was much higher because of the triangular caterpillar tracks that they were equipped with, which could traverse much tougher terrain.

Han Xiao knew that it would not be peaceful during the journey when the mission notification showed up, so he had called for airdrop and built a lot of machinery over the past two days.

Han Xiao's building speed had become much quicker, and the rover robot that would have taken him days to complete at LV 20 could now be completed in just tens of minutes.

When the building speed of a Mechanic exceeded a certain limit, they would be able to build on the spot in the battlefield. With enough materials, weapons could be built non-stop. Only high-level Mechanics could have this ability after learning [Instant Assembly]. This was also a very important factor in the rise of Mechanics in version 3.0.

"Unload all the round metal plates in the car and place them in every direction."

The Dark Net soldiers completely followed whatever he said. They immediately did as they were told and placed the twenty round metal plates on the ground. Han Xiao activated the program, and the plates started to transform. Their base fixed into the ground, and the stacked modules assembled into gun barrels. The entire process only took four to five seconds.

These were Mini Folding Batteries. Han Xiao had also leveled up the blueprints, and they now had smart firepower control.

Seeing the thick, black, and long gun barrels, the soldiers felt safer.

When the swarm reached within 400 meters, the generation 2.5 Rovers and the mini batteries fired simultaneously. With the camp under the Barbera tree as the center, a storm of bullets bloomed toward every direction.

The sound of fire was in sync, and the rain of bullets spread all over the place!

Ta ta ta ta!

In an instant, green-colored gunk exploded within the swarm as steel and fire penetrated the huge beetles one after another. In the face of the killing machines built by mankind, the shells that the Desert Blood Shell Crabs were so proud of were as fragile as egg shells.

A trench had formed 400 meters away from the camp, filled with corpses of the bugs, stopping the swarm from moving closer. Even the desert was damped by their blood. After a round of fire, the swarm became at least a third smaller.

A few Rangers drove out of the camp. They were equipped with Sunworm flamethrowers. The cone of fire covered the swarm, and the sound of bugs being burnt alive soon reverberated in the convoy's ears. The claws of the Desert Blood Shell Crab could not harm the platinum alloy armor of the Rangers at all.

With the fearsome firepower, it was a one-sided slaughter.

This was the brutal force of a mechanic!

Group combat was the advantage a Mechanic had. Esper and Pugilist might be very strong fighters, but their physical strength had its limits.

However, money was the limitation for a Mechanic. That machinery had cost millions of dollars, and even a max level player in version 1.0 could barely afford it. The ammunition cost was also extremely expensive as thousands of steel core armor piercing bullets were used every second.

Money had been a problem for Mechanics since the beginning. Building an army of machines was a very strong combat style of the Mechanic class, but it was also the most expensive one.

When the average level of the enemies become higher and they become stronger, the machinery army had to have higher standards and technology in them, which meant that their cost would increase as well.

Normal players could not master the army combat style very well. Even if they used all their money to build an army, they would not be able to withstand the cost of repairing the damage after combat. The army style was usually used as a last resort. However, Han Xiao was not bothered by the money problem since he had his ways of making a lot of money. He still did not want to go for the army combat style—he just wanted to build a simple guarding team that had enough firepower in times of need.

Liu Zhao held his assault rifle all the time and waited to fire when the swarm entered the range of 300 meters, but the swarm was completed stopped at 400 meters away by the rain of iron.

His hands were even tired from holding the rifle, yet he still did not see any need to fire.

This firepower is way too strong.

Liu Zhao looked at the batteries beside him that were firing bullets continuously, their bolts moved front and back automatically, the bullet shells poured onto the ground, some even hit his face.

With surprise, Liu Zhao realized he had nothing to do, Black Phantom's machinery had dealt with all the enemies; the guards assigned by Dark Net had been of no use at all. There were completely not any need for them.

Chapter 220: Arrival

The battle only lasted for fifteen minutes. The waves of iron slaughtered the entire swarm, and white slurry covered the ground, giving off an extremely stinky odor as it was vaporized by the high temperature.

The team was completely unharmed. The people looked at Han Xiao, who was calmly smoking a cigarette, and felt very safe. They had been rather afraid when they left the sanctuary, as the wilderness of Planet Aquamarine was filled with danger, but with the way they looked at it now, there would not be any danger as long as Han Xiao was around.

Liu Zhao realized that the team of guards that he led had become the ones being guarded instead, and admiration toward Han Xiao blossomed in his heart. The strong would always be admired.

_____________________

Your machinery killed Desert Blood Shell Crab (LV 15). You Received 10 Experience.

_____________________

When one's level was too much higher than the monster killed, the experience received would be largely reduced. One bug only gave 10 EXP, but there were at least 10,000 of them. Han Xiao looked at the interface—he had received more than 100,000 EXP.

The circling helicopter landed. Huang Yu had been watching from the helicopter earlier on, and he was overwhelmed when he saw the endless swarm falling like patches of wheat being cut down, the endless rain of bullets blooming like flowers, and the camp remaining completely unharmed.

Huang Yu had actually been planning to escape in the helicopter, and he had almost wanted to leave the others behind. Now that danger has been averted, his expression became quite awkward. It felt like the surrounding people all looked at him with disgust and unhappiness in their eyes.

The Mechanic class is actually this strong… Hao Tian contemplated as he held Bear Cub. He was a Pugilist, and now he was unavoidably worried about his future in the pro scene.

On the other hand, Frenzied Sword, who had been a godly Pugilist player in Han Xiao's previous life, was even gladder that he had chosen the Mechanic class.

More material. Bun-hit-dog's face was filled with happiness. He did not have to worry about finding contents for his videos as long as he followed behind Black Phantom.

The three players who had triggered the mission to protect the team received a rather good amount of experience without having to do anything. Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog were used to this uncommon occurrence, but it was the first time for Hao Tian.

Seeing the experience bar growing a rather large amount, Hao Tian had mixed feelings. The amount of earning that he had gotten from doing missions tirelessly was not even worth it compared to following Han Xiao and doing nothing.

No wonder so many people wanted to trigger Black Phantom's hidden storyline—even a godly pro player like him almost wanted to do the same.

The danger of the wilderness came from beasts, robbers, and radiation, but with the iron war machines protecting them, the numerous beast attacks that they met along the way were all easily resolved. It was a scary journey indeed, but there was no real danger.

…

When they were just one day away from arriving in Graymetal Ruins, the convoy set up camp.

It was a night with clear skies, and if one looked up the skies, the entire river of stars would be reflected in one's eyes. The technological environment of Planet Aquamarine was similar to Earth, but its nature was more beautiful.

In Star Zone 9 of the Garton Galaxy, the civilization density of the star zone was very low, but the planets were very concentrated. Many empty planets were caught by planets with higher density and started to orbit around them. Planet Aquamarine was one of the planets orbiting around a fixed star at a distance just nice to have the temperature suitable for human habitation. There are also a few natural satellites orbiting around Planet Aquamarine, which were 'moons' that reflects light from the fixed star to the planets at their dark side of self-rotation.

Before the old era, there were countries that had built a rocket ship to land on the natural satellites, but they were desolated.

The opportunity that made the Godoran Civilization contact Planet Aquamarine happened when one of Godora's Interstellar Spectrometers captured the waves in space made by Planet Aquamarine's primitive rocket ship.

Godora was a galactic civilization in the Garton Galaxy. The areas that they explored included many star zones of the Garton Galaxy, but they were more of a law enforcing organization, contacting civilizations with friendly motives.

Recently, Han Xiao had read a bit about the research that the nations in Planet Aquamarine had regarding astrology. The players could access this information through various sources as well, and it was incredibly detailed and real, which made the players feel a very strong sense of reality. With the perspective of an NPC, Han Xiao could see more information.

In the camps, as Han Xiao and Coney Fury were discussing the blueprint, a guard came in to report.

"Your Excellency, we captured a wanderer. He has been lingering near our camps."

It was a teen wanderer with worn out clothing. He had a double barrel hunting gun, which had been confiscated by the guards. Upon seeing the camp that was filled with armed guards, horror showed on his face, and he started trembling.

Han Xiao had an idea and asked, "Is there a colony nearby?"

Liu Zhao looked at the map and said, "There are a few medium-size colonies."

Han Xiao nodded and looked at the teenager with a pondering look. The teenager felt that the eyes of this man in black before him were so pressurizing that his legs started to soften. Before Han Xiao questioned, he explained in tremble and said, "I'm a wanderer from a nearby colony. I was out to hunt for food and coincidentally saw you guys passing by, so I wanted to take a closer look."

Han Xiao touched his chin and contemplated for a while. Seeing this teenager looked undernourished and emaciated, he said, "Liu Zhao, get him some food."

The teenager was stunned for a moment.

"Return to your colony and tell your people that my team will be building a city in the Graymetal Ruins. We will provide a large number of paid jobs. They're also welcome to join us. Let your chief know my intentions. We hope they can move in and take residence."

The heavy bag of food brought the teenager back to his senses. His face was filled with relief and surprise.

He was a hunter of the colony. With very little prey recently, the people in the colony had not eaten much food and had been starving—this food could give them several filling meals.

The teenager had been very scared when he was captured, but now that he had found that these people were not evil, he was much more relieved and started to consider Han Xiao's suggestion.

Most of the wanderers did not have the luxury to enjoy full stomachs, so the prospect of work in exchange for food was indeed tempting.

After having someone send the teenager away, Han Xiao took out the map and said, "Graymetal Ruins is isolated. There's no human habitation within thirty miles, but there are about more than a dozen colonies further away, mostly small ones, totaling at about two thousand to three thousand people. Liu Zhao, take some people and food along with you, and spread the news about us building a sanctuary."

The original intention of a sanctuary was to protect wanderers in the wilderness. Thus, it was normal to attract wanderers to move in. Huang Yu thought that he had seen through Han Xiao's plan and thought to himself, He actually wants to hire wanderers as workers, but it's still too few.

Han Xiao wanted to complete the basic layout of the sanctuary blueprint in a month, which needed at least 100,000 people. There were way too few wanderers for that.

Huang Yu shook his head. He felt the one-month plan would very most likely fail. It would not damage the organization, but it definitely would damage Black Phantom's prestige and face. Being unable to live up to his word, other high ranked officials' impression of him would definitely worsen.

I will appeal to return to the headquarters after staying for a month anyway, Huang Yu thought. There were no opportunities to contribute or gain benefits, so he did not want to waste his time being an assistant in Sanctuary Three.

Concerned with that arrangement, Liu Zhao said, "But if we spread out the guards, the defensive power of the team won't be enough."

Han Xiao pointed toward the Generation 2.5 Rangers that patrolled the camp with their preprogrammed routes and gave a faint laugh.

"I'll give you another chance to respond."

"I ensure the completion of the mission." Liu Zhao changed his words immediately and stood straight.

…

The endless plains of Karst were maroon and looked like coagulated blood. Han Xiao had returned once again; it was a familiar view.

Come to think about it, I haven't been back to my base for quite a long time, Han Xiao thought. His base had been in standby mode as he did not really use it.

The outline of the Graymetal Ruins appeared in sight.

There had once been a broad road on the plains, but after years of no maintenance, it was now filled with weeds. The concrete had cracked open, and greens grew from within. Old newspapers flew slowly on its roads, and the long extinguished street lights were covered in vines.

It was a view filled with despair.

The entrance of the Graymetal Ruins was a broad abandoned road. The convoy moved forward along the road, and the only sound was the sound of the engine and the wheels pressing on the roads.

The huge amount of work needed to turn this abandoned city into a sanctuary had the people feeling greatly pressured.

_____________________

You have arrived at Graymetal Ruins.

Current Population: 1034

Damage: 0%

Target complete.

You have received 250,000 Experience.

Mission Grade has become D-.

_____________________

The main storyline mission that Han Xiao had received was [Construct Sanctuary Three]; it was a large mission that oversaw the entire process. Therefore, according to the tens of building types that a sanctuary required, it was divided into tens of construction requirements.

The current mission target changed.

_____________________

Current Target: Complete blueprint construction in three months

Current Time: Day 1

In three months, complete all the 13 construction requirements as stated below: [Expand/Collapse]

Rewards: 800,000 Experience, +1250 Dark Net Prestige, Increased Mission Grading

Extra Requirement: If construction is completed in advance, bonus rewards and grading will be awarded based on the number of days. Experience reward: +10% per day

Chapter 221: Gathered Players

These thirteen construction requirements were all basic tasks, including evicting the beasts, cleaning the ruins, and building the water and electricity network, residential areas, and walls. There were tens of requirements for [Sanctuary Three]—these were only part of it.

Construction of the blueprint was originally a three-month plan. The target is to complete the basic layout within that time. It took Sanctuary One a month to complete around half of the basic layout. Using them as a reference, three months seems plenty.

Han Xiao suddenly remembered something and thought, No, Bennett has tens of thousands of workers over there; I have only one thousand for the first month. There will not be enough time if the missions are done the regular way.

Suddenly, the noisy sound of human voices came from the front. The convoy stopped hastily—thousands of people had gathered at the entrance of the abandoned city.

"There's a problem!"

The guards got out of the cars immediately and surrounded the team in the middle. The group of people had also noticed the convoy and started moving toward them.

The people of Dark Net immediately recognized their identity by their strange clothing.

Inhumans!

Nervousness filled their hearts. Everyone felt a lack of confidence when they faced the mysterious Inhumans. Inhumans were much more dangerous than beasts because they could come back to life! Just by depending on the machinery that Black Phantom had built might not protect everyone.

Huang Yu was shocked.

"So many Inhumans‽ Why are they gathered here? The organization sent people to the Graymetal Ruins to investigate the terrain not long ago, and there was no one here!"

In Han Xiao's eyes, the concentrated and large number of IDs above these players' heads made him dizzy. He then flipped the corner of the coat to the side and walked out of the car with a lot of style. He walked out of the crowd and stood at the front of the convoy with hands behind his back.

Standing in between the two parties, his standing posture was like a javelin that pointed straight at the sky. A gust of wind blew on his coat, and it waved in the air like a black flag. Just with this awesome and stylish appearance, all eyes were focused on him.

What happened next had the people of Dark Net stunned. The Inhumans stopped as soon as they saw Han Xiao.

"Black Phantom, we're here to do missions," said someone straight in front of him.

"Heard you are building a sanctuary. We are here to help," said by someone who seemed to be role playing.

"I almost thought it was fake news after waiting for so long," commented one relieved player.

With his hands behind his back, Han Xiao stayed in character and gave a faint nod. "I appreciate everyone's help; it's all to serve the people. Our convoy is going to enter the city. Please open a path. After we settle down, we will plan the construction targets of the city. There will be many job opportunities then."

The players followed his order and opened a path in between.

The people of Dark Net opened their mouth very widely, their faces filled with surprise.

These Inhumans have come here just to help Black Phantom, since when did Black Phantom have so much influence among the Inhumans?

Huang Yu was stunned. Han Xiao had the confidence to complete the basic layout in a month because he could order the Inhumans?

To Planet Aquamarine, the appearance of the Inhumans was a very strange phenomenon. Everyone was wary about them, and those who came in contact with the Inhumans all did it with caution and a cold attitude. Therefore, Huang Yu could not believe what he had just seen.

How did Black Phantom do it? Why do the Inhumans respect him?

I have to report this to Mr. Bennett.

With the players joining in, the team multiplied in size, and they entered the Graymetal Ruins.

The convoy found a placed and stopped before Coney Fury asked hesitantly, "Your excellency, we need to first clean out a place for a temporary residence. It's getting late, and it's best to complete that before dawn. We don't have much manpower, so we'll have to start now."

"You, ask for help from the Inhumans."

"Me?" Coney Fury was a little scared.

"I'm here, what are you scared of?" Han Xiao patted his shoulder.

Coney Fury did not have anything else to say. Without a choice, he went out of the car, took out a horn, prepared what he wanted to say, and loudly declared, "I need some people to help me clear out a safe area nearby big enough for everyone to camp in temporarily. Since all of you are here to help, I would like to trouble you guys."

These words triggered missions immediately; every player received it. They split out within seconds and started work right away.

The surroundings became a construction site in a flash—the cleaning of the area and eviction of beasts had started.

Coney Fury's face was filled with surprise as he did not expect these Inhumans to give him so much face.

He turned around and looked at Han Xiao. He knew that it was not him whom the Inhumans gave face to but this mysterious boss of his.

…

With the help from the players, a safe area had been cleared out by evening. It was a stadium, naturally suited for camping, and the dangerous insects and beasts around had all been chased away by the players.

The people of Dark Net received permission from Han Xiao and placed the mini batteries around the stadium for guarding purposes, and it attracted many players' curiosity.

The camps were protected by vehicles, which acted as barriers, and the players were resting in the remaining areas. The inside of the stadium was filled with people. Thousands of players conversed with each other—many of them knew each other, and some people even started a store. The despair in the air of this abandoned city had been taken over by liveliness.

A sound had appeared again in this ruins that has been silent for decades.

"Le—legend!"

Hao Tian heard someone calling him when Bear Cub was walking him. He looked back, and Jade Green Sky and a few core members of the Sky Territory Guild were all behind him, looking at him with excitement.

Hao Tian nodded. He looked at them and said, "Thanks for your hard work."

"It's what we should do." Jade Green Sky was filled with excitement. The Sky Territory Guild was under the Long Sky club, and Hao Tian was a pillar of Long Sky, so they were colleagues and knew each other.

Club Guilds had to provide help to the pro players because they were the face of the club. Hao Tian's position was even higher—he was also an idol to their guild members.

A very important reason that Jade Green Sky had brought people to the sanctuary without hesitation was because he knew that Hao Tian was with Black Phantom, and he hurried over to provide him with help.

Among the players who came to the sanctuary, Sky Territory was the only large guild—most of the others were casual players. Bun-hit-dog was instantly recognized. As the most popular video host at the moment, he had many fans, and they were very 'passionate'.

"Dog author, stop running!"

"Reach out your head, I will show you something special!"

"Taste the anger of Africans!"

"Still not an update‽ I'm going to break your leg!"

A group of fans filled with hatred chased after Bun-hit-dog while yelling. The other players gave them a path and rubbernecked from the sides. There were even people who started selling snacks. There was a loud commotion, and phrases like "Kill him!" could be heard multiple times, together with laughter.

Bun-hit-dog did not forget to record even as he was running. He yelled at the camera lens, "This meeting has been going very well; the fans are very passionate.

"You know what they say, beating signifies closeness and scolding signifies love. I am indeed very pleased at heart.

"Come on, smile at the camera for your daddy."

Bun-hit-dog turned the lenses to record the players who were chasing him, living up to the phrase 'not knowing what death is'. This was a well-known culture among video hosts—how else would they be able to capture moments that normal players would not be able to witness if they were afraid of trouble?

"Eat my axe!"

Huuu—

An axe flew past his head rubbing against his scalp.

Bun-hit-dog retracted his head in fear then escaped in a flash without turning back. The players chasing him all became short of breath.

"What the hell, how does he run so fast? My stamina is almost finished."

"He followed Black Phantom after all. His level is higher than any of ours."

"Ah, damn European!"

The players outside the camps were joyous, but Frenzied Sword was facing a very important and serious decision.

He had successfully advanced his class and was torn between the three paths—Cannon Master, Mechanic, and Mechanical Pugilist.

The power of Mechanic that Han Xiao had displayed was scarily strong, but Frenzied Sword was more interested in Mechanical Pugilist personally. His intuition told him that the Mechanic path was not suitable for him.

Han Xiao had given him a suggestion before as well, saying that he had more potential in close ranged combat, which hinted that the Mechanical Pugilist path was more suitable for him.

This main account was the one that would join pro leagues, so if he made a wrong choice, the disadvantage would be way too vast when he created another account. Therefore, this decision was extremely important.

Frenzied Sword could not make a decision, so in the end, he decided to toss a coin…

They say that the moment the coin is tossed, the answer will appear in one's heart.

As the players were not allowed to enter the convoy's camp, the players formed a fair near the camp and waited for Black Phantom to come out and give missions.

A petite and delicate female player walked in the fair carrying a backpack that was bigger than herself. She looked left and right in curiosity.

Crossing through the fair, Maple Moon stopped outside the camp. She took a deep breath and held tightly onto the phone in her hand.

"Level 20 finally."

A hint of nervousness and anticipated appeared on her lively, adorable face.

Chapter 222: Arrival of People from Everywhere! 1

In the center camp, Han Xiao looked at the blueprint on the table and wondered how to maximize the advantages of the players.

His mission reward limit had increased—his single mission reward limit was a little more than 60,000 experience, coming up short of a C-ranked mission with 80,000 experience. The daily limit was seven times the single mission limit, which meant that he could give out missions worth up to 420,000 experience daily. He realized that the easiest way to increase this limit was to build relationship points with organizations. Level and ranks would come naturally, and the legendary level could not be gained easily.

Any experience points given out as a mission reward would not be deducted from Han Xiao's own experience points as long as it was within the stated limit.

For such a large mission like constructing a city, his own quota was insignificant. Thus, Han Xiao pondered carefully and decided on the way that he was going to distribute the missions. That was to divide the construction of Graymetal Ruins into many different departments to take charge, then assign one person to each department who would be responsible for the distribution of missions. That way, he did not have to use his own quota.

Constructing Sanctuary Three was a main storyline, and since he could give out missions to the players, logically, the other NPCs in the team should be able to do so as well.

This should resolve the problem of mission quotas. Although the other NPCs don't have an interface, they definitely can distribute missions since they are part of the construction team.

The other NPCs would not be limited by his quota when publishing missions for him, and it would still contribute to his mission progress as the mission that he had received was an overall mission. Therefore, the final result of the city that the players helped to build would also be his final result. This difference in the mission was an advantage that Han Xiao had being the overall in charge of the sanctuary; it was the difference in their identities.

Han Xiao suddenly had a new idea—if he ever faced this type of large mission again, he could duplicate this and use his advantage as being an NPC to gain a higher relationship with organizations, thus becoming the distributor of missions and using the players' power to achieve his goals.

By doing that, I only need to manage the people that are in charge of distributing missions and nothing else. Then, I will have a lot of free time to build machinery to try to meet the class advancement requirement of building five purple quality equipment, Han Xiao thought as he nodded to himself. He could do main storyline missions and also have time to make his own progress at the same time. It was perfect.

Furthermore, this was not an act to con the players. The players could also do missions and benefit from it. Them joining in with the city construction would build a sense of unity. All of the people that took part would have a sense of achievement when the sanctuary was completed, and they would feel honored with the thought—This city was built by us, the players.

It was a win-win!

Han Xiao had an ambitious idea.

I could maybe make this sanctuary into something like a main city for the players, and that would remarkably increase my influence. Everyone that comes to the sanctuary would see my name!

Having decided on the details, he summoned the cadres of the construction team and guard team for a meeting.

Han Xiao looked around and said, "Where's Liu Zhao? Why isn't he attending this meeting?"

The people could not react for some time. Then someone carefully said, "You sent him out to approach the wanderers."

"Nonsense, you think I'd forget that?"

Han Xiao gave a stare. Before anyone could react to it, he coughed and said in all seriousness, "It's an enormous construction project to start building a sanctuary from nothing. I have divided the blueprint into thirteen departments. This is the information for the construction, exploration, and so on. Every department will have a head who will be in charge. My target is to complete the blueprint construction as soon as possible, best in a month."

"We don't have that much manpower, even if we include all the Inhumans outside," someone said.

"Don't worry about that. There will be more people sooner or later," Han Xiao said. He knocked the table with his fingers and asked once more, "All clear?"

Everyone had no choice but to nod. One month was way too much of a rush, but since it was an order from a higher-up, they had to do their best, otherwise they would be in trouble. Although Han Xiao was considered to be rather easy going, no one had forgotten the fact that he was one of the strongest in the organization, a legend who had killed countless people and had the top spot in the current killer leaderboard.

Han Xiao then names the heads of departments. Huang Yu was not mentioned.

Huang Yu was happy that he had nothing to do. Although thousands of Inhumans had come to help, it was still far from being enough. It was impossible to complete the basic layout in a month, so Sanctuary Three would still end up doing it the regular way and take months to complete its construction. By then Sanctuary One would have long been completed. As an assistant, he really did not have many benefits, so he did not even plan to help.

When Huang Yu informed Bennett of how the Inhumans came to help Han Xiao, which Bennett was very calm about and did not have any problems with. It was clear that Bennet had a very close relationship with Black Phantom and trusted him a lot. From that, Huang Yu also had a rough understanding of why Bennett assigned him to be Black Phantom's assistant—it was because Bennett wanted a capable assistant to help a friend of his.

Sighing, he lamented, It's all because I'm too capable.

The meeting was coming to an end. When Han Xiao had finished clearing up all the responsibilities of the various departments, his face then turned very serious, and he said in a low voice, "I've said all the things I needed to. Now, there's this extremely urgent mission that must be done first."

Seeing the seriousness of Han Xiao's face, everyone became nervous as well.

Han Xiao looked around the table and said seriously, "When you write the name of the sanctuary, remember to include my name."

The tightened expression on everyone's face instantly collapsed.

…

The heads of the various departments left the camp and organized their men orderly, following Han Xiao's instructions. The long-awaited players immediately rushed over and triggered different city construction missions based on their own likings.

The Graymetal Ruins was divided into five distinct areas—North, South, East, West, and Central. The missions that were given to the players were also divided according to the areas. Upon receiving the missions, the players immediately formed teams among themselves and started doing mission together. The night was even more lively than the day.

The first and most important task was to expel the beasts and clean the ruins, only then could the construction commence. Teams of players spread out from the stadium into the various areas of the Graymetal Ruins.

The sound of gunshots could be heard very often—there was quite a number of beasts that lived in the Graymetal Ruins, so the players had plenty of opportunities for combat.

Those construction missions could be repeated, and the rewards were quite handsome. Also, the interface informed the players that they were taking part in the construction of Sanctuary Three, and there would be a large amount of bonus experience when it was completed, which made them even more motivated.

Black Phantom Sanctuary Three—the name of this city had the words 'Black Phantom', so the players' impression of Han Xiao became even deeper.

Having one's name in the sanctuary sounded very honorable.

By the night of the first day, the players had already cleared out a very large area. Their efficiency had the people of Dark Net completely stunned. This could match up to the amount of work from ten thousand workers!

The players were all superhumans, which enhanced their working ability, and they had guidance from the interface, which gave them very clear and straightforward goals. Every action they made was to complete that goal.

When the players and the Dark Net construction team was busy with the construction, Han Xiao received a call from Maple Moon. He remembered that he had given her a mission to find him when she reached LV 20, so he brought her into the camp.

After a long time apart, Maple Moon looked left and right curiously. Han Xiao also called the other three players—he was going to give these four some extra missions.

The four spare tires had finally met. With Hao Xiao's ability at the moment, it was more than enough to cultivate four players—Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian, both god players in his previous life, now a Mechanical Pugilist and a Pugilist; Maple Moon, one of the first Mechanics in his previous life who had risen to the pro scene; Bun-hit-dog, a well-known video host.

These four people all had their own uniqueness, and they could assist Han Xiao in different ways. They stood in front of Han Xiao and looked at each other.

As the only female player, Maple Moon received special treatment. The other three nodded toward her as an act of showing friendliness.

"Ah, so cute!" Maple Moon stared at Hao Tian with sparks in her eyes. Her expression looked so thirsty it was like she was going to eat Hao Tian alive.

Beads of sweat rolled down Hao Tian's forehead. He stood straight and still as he watched Maple Moon dashing toward his arms… more specifically, Bear Cub, which he was holding. She rubbed and stroked Bear Cub and would not let go.

Bear Cub was very confused. It shrank into Hao Tian's arms and gave Maple Moon's fingers a few light bites.

"Ah, this is way too cute." Stars appeared in Maple Moon's eyes. She looked up and pleaded with Hao Tiao, "God Hao, can you let me hug it?"

"Be clear next time." Hao Tian's expression was stiff. He immediately passed Bear Cub to Maple Moon and took two steps backward in relief.

Bun-hit-dog came over, too. He reached out his fingers and teased Bear Cub. Bear Cub was cute and stupid, so its reaction was always a second slower. Its paws kept slapping away the hand that rubbed his butt. Frenzied Sword stood on the side and looked straight at Han Xiao all the time, looking like he was always awaiting an order.

"Enough, enough, stop playing with my bear." Han Xiao coughed to stop them and said, "I'm building a sanctuary. You guys go help too."

As he was speaking, he designed extra missions for the four people, which gave them bonus rewards if they complete a certain number of missions from the various head of departments.

Other players did not have this kind of special treatment—Han Xiao only did this because these four were his people.

Naturally, the four did not have any objections. They accepted the mission and walked out immediately. However, Maple Moon stayed. She cautiously asked, "Can I learn abilities?"

Han Xiao nodded and opened up the interface for her. He could teach abilities anytime to these four players. Other than the abilities at the bottom of his chest, the others could all be used to earn him experience.

Maple Moon had also chosen to become a Mechanic, so he could cultivate her like an apprentice. Maple Moon was a casual player who preferred real-life simulation type of gameplay. It was very smart a choice to train her into an assistant. Han Xiao was not stingy about it anyway, plus he quite liked Maple Moon.

In his previous life, Han Xiao had started playing during version 1.0 as a completely new player. He had also chosen the Mechanic class and had experienced losing streaks during PVP[1. PVP stands for player vs player.). There was a time when he had lost hope in the Mechanic class despite how much he liked the class, and he had almost even changed his account. Then, later on, during the pro competition in version 3.0, Maple Moon became a completely unexpected black horse in her first competition, which signaled the rise of Mechanic class and gave a lot of encouragement to Han Xiao. He had even been a fan of Maple Moon for some time when he was young.

Later, when he got more and more skilled, he became one of the masters that represented the Mechanic class. Although he did not become a pro player, legends of the Great Mechanic Han went around. There were always discussions on the forum regarding what a non-pro master player could achieve in a pro league if they had gone, and the Great Mechanic Han had been a constant hot topic.

Great Technician Han grew stronger with time, but Maple Moon was like a comet, leaving an unforgettable mark in the milestones of gaming history then soaring through the sky and disappearing in a flash, only shining during the third and fourth versions of the game. Maple Moon was a casual player after all, so her skills in PK grew at a very slow pace—not everyone had so much interest in improving in a game like the Great Technician Han.

In the later versions, Maple Moon disappeared from the pro scene. It was said that she had discontinued the contract with her club, so her light only lived in the memories of the old players.

The Maple Moon in front of him was pretty and cute, and Han Xiao could not associate her with the person in his memories who had caused a storm in the pro league. Looking at Maple Moon, who was torn between which skills to learn, Han Xiao had complicated feelings.

What will happen this time?

With him changing the storyline, would Maple Moon's future still be the same as it was in his previous life?

Chapter 223: Arrival of People From Everywhere! Two

The sanctuary construction was enormous, it has always been difficult to start from nothing, but Coney Fury was quite good in what he did, the plan was detailed, the construction was orderly, and the division of work between departments was clear.

The Sanctuary main storyline had created a storm in the forums, it was the first large main storyline mission since the expedition war was still in preparation, the attention of the players was immediately attracted to it, and with the thousands of players that were already part of it, it was proved to be a reliable piece of information.

Since this was a large main storyline mission, the number of players participating would never be too high, since the more players there was, the faster it would be completed.

The Sanctuary Three became lively all of a sudden, the players called their friends and headed towards Sanctuary Three in groups, it became a huge festival, the number of players in Sanctuary increased like a snowball.

There were hundred thousands of players in Planet Aquamarine at the moment, and more than a hundred thousand just in the Southern Continent. After only two days, more than 20,000 players came to Sanctuary Three from various places, the attractiveness of Han Xiao and the main storyline missions had exploded the amount of passion the players had.

The 1000 Dark Net people that were present since the start were all completely stunned, inhumans came to help continuously, they were all called by Han Xiao, it was like a dream.

Terrifyingly influential!

The work efficiency of one inhuman could match up to many workers since they don't sleep, these more than 20,000 inhumans could almost match up the manpower of 70,000 to 80,000 workers, and even more inhumans were coming.

Completing the basic layout of the sanctuary in one month didn't seem impossible anymore!

When the entire construction team realized this, they all became extremely motived and gave all of their effort in the construction.

If Sanctuary Three could be completed even before Sanctuary One, it would be a huge contribution that would shock the entire organization!

In only three days, the camp had a complete makeover, rough houses were built, all the people of Dark Net had a roof above their head.

Huang Yu loitered outside Han Xiao's house for quite a long time, then finally made a decision and knocked on the door.

"Squeak."

The door opened, Han Xiao appeared in sight wearing a Mechanic working suit, the protective goggles were still on his face.

"Yes?" Han Xiao said coldly.

Huang Yu suddenly felt very unconfident when he heard that, he smiled awkwardly and said, "your excellency, I…"

Before he could finish, Han Xiao turned around and walked back into the house, "talk inside," he said.

Huang Yu entered hastily, seeing Han Xiao pointed with his fingers, he found a place and sat down with his butt only occupying a small fraction at the front of the seat, with a fawning expression, he said, "your excellency, I wish to help you take care of some matters, I'm your assistant after all…"

As players became more and more, Huang Yu shockingly realized the one month plan really had a chance to succeed, and once it does, Sanctuary Three would be the first completed sample, this contribution would be extremely huge, and even as an assistant, he could be written in the Dark Net's book of merit.

Huang Yu couldn't sit still anymore, he would regret his entire life if he let this credit slip pass, he felt that he's already offended Han Xiao because of his perfunctory attitude earlier since Han Xiao didn't assign any mission for him, if Han Xiao rants even a few words to Bennett about him, this credit would have completely nothing to do him any more. He was originally happy that he had nothing to do, but now he was in total panic and couldn't wait to join the construction, which was why he came to Han Xiao's doors and fawned over Han Xiao, wanting to make up for his disrespect back then.

Han Xiao left Huang Yu and didn't bother about him, seeing that Huang Yu was very nervous and fidgety, he finally said in a slow tone, "didn't you not want to do anything, I understand my and gave you a holiday, are you not satisfied with it?"

"your—your excellency, I'm your assistant, I could contribute something as well." Huang Yu wiped his sweat and said sincerely.

Han Xiao folded his arms and looked at Huang Yu meaningfully, but didn't say anything. Seeing this, Huang Yu's heart kept sinking, he felt that this credit would probably have nothing to do with him anymore.

Unexpectedly, Han Xiao turned around, took a stack of documents and threw it to him then said, "these are the construction progress of the sanctuary, go through and arrange them, report to me if there's anything."

Huang Yu held the documents and immediately felt more energetic, he stood up hastily and said, "I will ensure these are well taken care of."

"Go," Han Xiao waved his hands and went back to work.

Huang Yu walked out of the house filled with excitement, he breathed a sigh of relief, Black Phantom definitely knew the potential of Sanctuary Three, but he didn't hold any grudges and gave him a chance to join in and share the credit, for this he was very thankful to Black Phantom.

Compared to his perfunctory attitude earlier, Huang Yu felt ashamed, Han Xiao was now fully respected by him.

…

Han Xiao thought of it clearly, there was no need to have a bad relationship with his assistant, what was between them was hardly even a disagreement, seeing that Huang Yu had put down his pride, Han Xiao didn't want to ruin his future on purpose, and he did indeed need an assistant to take care of the construction matters of the sanctuary, these were complicated and cumbersome, which he wasn't fond of.

Now he truly had nothing to do and could do his own stuff all day long.

Only three days had passed since the construction started, its progress was already like a horse out of its leash, completely unstoppable. The energy of the players had far exceeded The Great Technician Han's expectations, they were working even harder than migrant workers that they could all be considered as labor role models.

In Han Xiao's previous life, the early stages of the game had already ended when the players came in touch with the sanctuary main storyline and Dark Net approached and hired players, back then many sanctuaries were being built at the same time, the players had choices so their numbers were dispersed.

And for now, the players also noticed Han Xiao was in Sanctuary Three, which means there have to be other sanctuaries that need to be constructed, but the information regarding Sanctuary One and Sanctuary Two was way too vague, as there were very few information sources. On the contrary, Sanctuary Three had the well known familiar face "Black Phantom", it was an easy choice.

The majority of people followed with the trends, as the players in Sanctuary Three became more and more, other players were attracted too, the number of people grew like a snowball. The future of the "players' main city" plan Han Xiao had was looking really great.

Sanctuary Three was filled with all sorts of yelling, the players created fairs and areas one after another, some were for selling items, some fore friendly PKs, the lively look did indeed feel like a "main city".

Even the players belonging to the Six Nations had left the expedition gathering call and came to build the city.

The expedition mission had a level requirement and had yet to start, some players chose the more relaxed sanctuary missions.

Han Xiao had a sense of achievement that felt like people came from everywhere to respond to his summon!

"Seems like my image building plan is going very successfully." Han Xiao was satisfied with the players' response, at the same time paying attention to the respond of the forums and Dark Net.

Sanctuary Three didn't only make an impact within the players, it was also a shocking view in the eyes of the organizations of Planet Aquamarine.

The problem of inhuman has always been focused highly on, the Six Nations were very confused when they investigated the situation after noticing a large number of inhuman gathering in the Southern Continent.

Why is Black Phantom so influential amongst inhumans? Why can he command the inhumans? What is the relationship between them?

The organizations raised their alert, the danger level of Black Phantom increased another level.

Dark Net was the first to receive this intelligence, even Bennett was stunned, thinking back of when Han Xiao said he wanted to exceed the progress of Sanctuary One in a month, he realized it was actually not a joke.

Seeing its current progress speed, that could really be done.

Bennett was not shocked but surprised, as long as sanctuary could be built successfully, it didn't matter which one was first, it would all be a contribution. He only entrusted those who he had trust in, so he didn't ask Han Xiao anything about how he got help from the inhumans.

The directors of Dark Net, on the other hand, felt chills up their spines, having a colleague like this, they didn't know whether it was fortune or disaster.

…

Sanctuary Three, West, Clock Tower Area.

The signature building of this area is an enormous clock tower covered in vines, it had now become a base for the players, nearby was a large square, a dried river with a broken bridge that separated the East and the South, and a little bit further was an area filled with factory buildings, this area was originally a mix of residential area and factories.

A factory outline had already been built around the clock tower, inside was large amounts of construction materials and electricity generators, the terrain here was unobstructed which was suitable for a power station that would provide energy for the sanctuary.

There were hundreds of players in this area cleaning the ruins and evicting the beasts.

A team with five players was walking in the drainage pipes of the river, it was pitch black, the only light was from the flashlight.

"It's quite smelly here," a player held his nose and said.

"They said the electricity network will be planted here, so they needed people to scout the area to see if there's any danger," another guy said.

"No wonder no one wants to do this mission, it's too dirty…" this guy seemed like he had mysophobia, he was walking very carefully.

Even after decades, this drainage pipe was still damp, the floor was very sticky, almost like rotten mud.

The team of players took a few more steps forward, suddenly an inhale that sounded like a wind tunnel appeared from deep within the dark.

Huuu——

"Something's wrong!"

The player was shocked, just as they were about to move, they realized they were unable to, a notification showed on their interfaces.

[You are affected by the intimidation aura of a high-level beast and entered "Fear" state!]

"What is this?" The expression on their faces changed.

"Boom!"

The ground shook vigorously, a black shadow that filled the entire tunnel dashed towards them in an extremely high speed.

With a loud "bang", the team of players flew away like they were hit by a train, they bashed against the wall and died instantly. They were not the first batch of players, but they were level 15 and yet they died with just one hit, which means the damage was at least 200 to 300!

There was more than one shadow, a string of shadows of the same size followed behind, not making any stop and dashed out of the tunnel straight away and were exposed under the sun. Like furious tanks, they bolted up the ground and headed towards the most conspicuous building, the clock tower.

The players resting in the clock tower were met with a sudden situation, they all stood up and tried to stop the shadows but anyone who did it ended up flying away and dying.

Unstoppable!

A large number of shadows scraped through the players and destroyed the unfinished power generator, it exploded with a lout "boom" and fire broke out. These shadows didn't stop and plunged into the clock tower.

The ground shook!

A large amount of dust burst out of the clock tower, with a loud squeak sounding like the last scream of a dying person who had lost all hopes, it collapsed.

The movements here shocked the entire city!

Loud and fearsome roar also came out of the mouth of these black shadows, quaking the entire sky!

Chapter 224: Shadow Stalker Viper

An hour later, the fire in the clock tower area was finally extinguished. There were burn marks everywhere, the unfinished power generator had been completely destroyed, and the collapsed clock tower had created an area of ruins. This place had become a mess, adding to the burden of cleaning missions.

The area nearby was fenced off. Huang Yu took charge of the scene that was in a complete mess. Fortunately, the players did their best to clear the ruins, so the situation was slightly under control.

Thousands of players gathered afar and looked at the broken scene. These black shadows had stomped on the brick floor and left a string of cracks with their footprints. The footprints had three claws that were long and thin. The name of the creature was unknown.

At the time, those black shadows had disappeared and returned to the river tunnel, which was clearly their nest, and no one dared to mess with these unknown monsters.

"What kind of beasts could create this level of damage?"

"The monsters that we met these few days were LV 20 something at most. I thought there are no strong monsters, so this is where they're hiding in."

"I heard from the experienced people that the results of their scan were all question marks, and the danger level was 'Extremely Lethal'."

"Wow, that should mean it's at least LV 40."

"Let's wait and see. Maybe there will be missions for us in a while."

Huang Yu finished arranging the jobs, and he activated the communication device. "Your excellency, the situation is temporarily under control."

"How's the damage?" Han Xiao asked calmly.

"Not good. The power station that we were building has been completely destroyed, together with the construction materials and engineering machines inside."

Han Xiao had expected this to happen. Since the sanctuary was a main storyline, there would very likely be twists and turns, and it really did come without any warning. He had not expected the Graymetal Ruins to have powerful monsters in it. The loss of construction materials and engineering machines was not the most important problem, but the construction period would be largely slowed down if there was no solution to these beasts.

"What is the species of these beasts?"

"It's still under investigation, but they are hiding in the drainage pipes that we have no knowledge about, so it is very dangerous."

"Wait for me to go over."

Ten minutes later, Han Xiao arrived at the scene. The people came to him and reported the situation. Han Xiao listened for a while and waved his hands to tell them to quiet down, then walked to the footprints and observed them in detail.

"Able to crack open the brick floor with their feet, which means the leg power of these beasts is very high, and they are monstrously heavy. Likes to live in damp and dark places, lives in a herd, aggressive…" Han Xiao took out his laptop. He searched through the Planet Aquamarine beast database and found many matching species.

After some thought, Han Xiao lifted up his coat, and about seven spider detectors slid down his legs and landed on the floor. They slowly crawled into the tunnel and started surveying its internal structure. The laptop was showing the night vision and infrared vision of the detectors.

While waiting, Han Xiao asked casually, "Are there any other powerful beasts nearby?"

"No," Huang Yu replied immediately, "this is the only place. The clearing tasks at the other areas have all been completed."

The shocking incident that had taken place here did not slow down the other construction projects. The construction of the walls, residences, garages, power stations, internal life support facilities, greenhouse farms, and so on were all progressing well. Han Xiao was the only one that could do this because he had tens of thousands of players to help him, unlike Sanctuary Two, where they were still exploring the city, progressing at a much lower speed than him.

The image of the tunnels was relayed by the spider detectors. The walls were covered in a strange mucus in the deep area of the river tunnel. It was sticky and looked disgusting, and it was dripping continuously.

One spider was covered in the dripping mucus. Its machine legs twitched, and it shut down completely, like being covered in amber.

As the spiders went deeper, an even more shocking scene came into sight. The beasts had dug countless split paths at the end of the river tunnel. Under Han Xiao's control, the spiders entered the different paths, and as more images got sent back from the spiders, the people became more and more shocked.

Under the surface of Graymetal Ruins, there was an enormous sized underground nest! It covered more than half the West Area!

These beasts had been living in this abandoned city for many years!

"Holy…" Han Xiao felt a slight chill up his spine.

The hidden beasts' outline was shown under the infrared vision. Han Xiao hastily opened the database, and this time, he was finally able to narrow down the target.

"Scientific name, Nygaro Shadow Viper Beast, also known as Shadow Stalker Viper. It is oviparous, born with six feet and three claws, and covered in chitin exoskeleton. Adults can grow up to four meters long. Usual forms of attack are through its claws, tail, and teeth, and it is able to secrete a type of corrosive slime from its mouth and anus, which is used to dig its nest. It likes dark, warm, and damp places, usually underground near volcanoes…"

Other than not having a bug that jumped onto people's faces, this thing looked really alike to aliens!

After studying the database entry, he realized that the vital signs of these Shadow Stalker Vipers were at around LV 40, which meant that every one of them was a mini BOSS to the players at the moment.

There were roughly more than a thousand Shadow Stalker Vipers in the nest, so this was a huge hidden danger to the sanctuary. If it is not resolved, accidents like today would continue to happen and slow down the construction of the West City Area.

Han Xiao suddenly noticed something abnormal.

Despite the fact that Shadow Stalker Vipers like hot environments, they are still attracted to the underground of the flatland, which should be cool and damp. That is really weird. Could it be that… there is abandoned reactors or high energy waste underground?

He contemplated and decided it was best to have the players detect the radiation strength inside.

If Han Xiao had guessed correctly, there should be a wild BOSS level Beast King in a herd of Shadow Stalker Vipers, and he was the only one that could deal with that thing.

The complicated nest was the Shadow Stalker Vipers' territory. Han Xiao didn't want to deal with an entire herd himself as he would suffer tremendous damage even with his mechanical guards.

The players would be able to kill a normal Shadow Stalker Vipers by overwhelming them with numbers, and since so many players were present, he might as well make full use of them.

Come to think of it, the corpses and eggs of Shadow Stalker Vipers are both used in manufacturing drugs. Han Xiao's eyes twinkled, and a plan formed in his mind.

Huang Yu was actively giving suggestions on the side and said, "I think we could use a large number of explosives in the empty spaces underground to create a landfall and destroy the Shadow Stalker Vipers' nest. Although the ground of the West City Area will also sink because of that, it shouldn't be a problem because this is an abandoned city, and it can also be used for modifications…"

"Good idea." Han Xiao's eyes twinkled. He always liked to maximize the benefits to the best of his ability. All the Shadow Stalker Vipers would go to waste if he simply blew everything up, but Huang Yu reminded him that Shadow Stalker Viper would turn extremely aggressive if they were disturbed and by doing so would lure them out of their nest. Han Xiao could then plant traps in advance so that he could deal a large amount of damage once they were lured out.

Han Xiao was someone who was action-oriented. He immediately gathered all the patrolling Generation 2.5 Rangers around the river tunnel before ordering the people of Dark Net to move the mini batteries over and lay out a battle frontier that aimed at the river tunnel.

"Throw in a flashbang." Han Xiao gave a mission to Frenzied Sword. Frenzied Sword dashed in immediately without saying a word.

Seconds and minutes passed by. Everyone waited, completely focused. It was quiet. Players watching from further away occasionally chatted among themselves while staring at the scene.

Fearsome growls broke the peace, and with a short scream of pain, the ground started quivering. The sound from the tunnel got closer and closer; something was coming out.

Booooom!

A huge number of Shadow Stalker Vipers galloped out of the tunnel, they were covered in black carapace and had hideous bone spurs. There were three pairs of tiny, bloody red eyes hidden between their exoskeleton that was filled with fury and wrath. At least a hundred Shadow Stalker Vipers showed up. They noticed the group of humans gathered far away instantly and stampeded over with a loud growl.

Tu tu tu tu!

The next second, they were faced by a thunderstorm of bullets and cannons that overturned these Shadow Stalker Viper and stopped them from charging any further. The steel core bullets penetrated and tore open their chitin carapace. Thick and sticky bodily fluids splashed all across the place as growls turned into wails. They struggled to stand up but were beaten by the hail of bullets pressing them again the floor and shattering them into pieces.

The flashing gunfire reflected onto Han Xiao's face. He lit up a cigarette and watched as more than a hundred Shadow Stalker Vipers broke into pieces.

Not long after, the magazine was cleared, and bullet shells covered the ground.

The smell of smoke pervaded the air, and the scene turned silent. The corpses of Shadow Stalker Vipers were all over the ground, shattered into pieces.

The faces of many players who were watching turned pale. They were disgusted by this image of monster parts scattered all over the floor.

"Collect the corpses and keep them in the frozen storage," Han Xiao ordered.

Everyone cleaned the battlefield quickly. Han Xiao gave the flashbang mission to Hao Tian this time, but the Shadow Stalker Vipers did not fall for it again. They killed Hao Tian and stayed in the nest, refusing to come out no matter what.

The mechanical guards became temporarily useless because of that as this tactic worked best in open areas—they would one by one be torn into metal waste if they entered the narrow nest. But tricking the enemy once was good enough.

The players had been watching for quite long, so it was time to give them something to do.

"I need some people to clean this nest, within three days," Han Xiao yelled. He then set the mission quickly and gave it out.

"Prize-Pool Mission: Clean the Nest!"

Many days had passed since Han Xiao had last issued a prize-pool mission, and he realized that prize-pool missions were the easiest way to draw out the players' enthusiasm, and as he expected, the rubbernecking players immediately dashed toward him to accept the mission.

The prize-pool accumulated more than 1,000,000 EXP very quickly, and it was still growing. The mission requirements were to hunt down Shadow Stalker Vipers and bring back their eggs—these two tasks would give them contribution points, and the ten teams with the highest contribution points would be rewarded.

The players were all excited and ready. They swarmed into the nest to kill Shadow Stalker Vipers, making up for their difference in strength with numbers.

Han Xiao turned and said to his four spare tires, "Take this device and detect the radiation strength of the nest. At the same time, be wary of any strong Shadow Stalker Vipers—that will be the Beast King. Notify me immediately if so. Also, if there are any other discoveries, let me know as well."

The four people nodded and entered the nest together.

Looking at the passionate players, Han Xiao pondered.

Shadow Stalker Vipers are too strong for the players at the moment, but in order to reach higher positions in the prize-pool mission, they will definitely have more demand for better weapons. There will definitely be someone who is interested in my group of mechanical guards after seeing them.

Han Xiao had more than enough spare parts to build and sell weapons to earn him another fortune.

This again showcased his innovative business philosophy. If customers don't have a demand, just create one!Aliens as in from the film 'Alien'.

Chapter 225: Radiation Crystals

Han Xiao would never make a losing deal. The price that he asked for was very high, and most players would not be able to afford his equipment. He soon thought of launching rental services for his weapons to gain a profit through low margins but high sales.

However, Han Xiao rejected this idea immediately after.

If the players damage the weapon, I will make a loss, and there might even be some players that don't return my equipment. Before ensuring that the weapon can be retrieved in perfect condition, rental service is not a good idea, Han Xiao thought.

The concentrated sound of gunfire came from the nest under the West City Area, together with explosions. The ground trembled lightly, shaking up the sand and dust on it.

While the players hunted the Shadow Stalker Vipers, the people of Dark Net were not doing nothing. They drew out the map of the underground nest from the images of the detectors and divided the nest into areas on the ground.

"Your Excellency, the habits of the Shadow Stalker Vipers are alike to ants. Their nest is very labyrinthine and complicated; it can be roughly divided into two areas—the core area and the activity area. The activity area makes up to 95% of the entire nest, and we are still looking for the core area," Huang Yu reported.

Han Xiao nodded. If his guess was correct, the Shadow Stalker Viper Beast King should be in the core area.

The Beast King should be between the level of 50 to 60 and have a BOSS panel. This difference in strength could not be filled no matter how outnumbered it was by the players at the moment. Han Xiao would have to do it himself, which he planned to do as soon as they found the core area.

The nest was the Shadow Stalker Vipers' territory. On the first day, the players split up and marched in at a very slow pace. Most of the players were completely thrashed. After all, it was the first time that these new players had faced a monster with such a high level. Thus, their weak spirit and mind were beaten.

Han Xiao did not focus on the West City Area all the time. This was just a part of the sanctuary construction, and as a responsibility of the overseer, he patrolled the other areas' construction progress and went back to building machinery.

The class advancement requirement was five purple quality equipment. He could already stably build Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades, Iron Fist—Mounted Heavy Mechanical Arm, and Mini Maneuvering Equipment with dark blue quality. One time of over performance was all he needed to achieve purple quality for these pieces of equipment.

The failed products—those that did not reach purple quality—filled almost half of the entire room.

Only Han Xiao, who had so many assets, could afford such expenses.

…

Some players finally came to visit during the evening.

Jade Green Sky brought a group of guild members to visit. They expressed their intention of wanting to buy equipment.

A large number of players resided in the sanctuary at the moment. Players could be seen all over the place requesting to team up and do missions. Many Mechanics opened up stalls for repairing, building, and enhancing services, and even Maple Moon would sometime open a stall to pass the time. The sanctuary did have the feeling of a main city indeed.

These Mechanics were able to gain the blueprints of various low-tier machinery through Knowledge Fusion, each having its own uniqueness, and firearms were the most common type.

The Mechanics who opened stalls demanded very low prices, so many not-so-rich players were very willing to buy from them. However, Han Xiao did not bother to do such things as it was a waste of time for him. The market that he was aiming for was high-end as his product quality was far beyond that of the players, and he had a lot of blueprints that they did not have.

He was irreplaceable—he had no competition.

"You want to buy equipment?" Han Xiao put down the parts in his hands.

Jade Green Sky nodded hastily.

Sky Territory had accepted the prize-pool mission, and they had a chance to go for a higher position, but other large guilds had arrived at the sanctuary a few days ago, and they were all strong competitors. Thus, Jade Green Sky wanted to buy Black Phantom's equipment to stay ahead.

Jade Green Sky had bought a Light Mechanical Arm when the public launch had only just begun, and it was his main weapon even now, so he was very confident in Han Xiao's products.

The Great Mechanic Han had an outrageous amount of 230,000,000 experience in his interface at the moment, so he could afford to spend some of that experience and gamble out some new blueprints, which made his inventory full of various types of equipment. To match the ever-increasing level of players, he had put in some new machinery.

After some consideration, he also added Iron Fist—Mounted Heavy Mechanical Arm and Mini Maneuvering Equipment into to his store. He had a lot of blue-quality products for these two types of machinery, which he had no use for, so this was a chance for him to get rid of them and gain some profit at the same time.

However, he did not sell Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades. This was almost god-tier equipment for the players in the early stage, so Han Xiao did not want to sell it to players easily.

The people of Sky Territory took a deep breath when they opened up the store. The huge variation of products had their hearts beating faster, and everyone's eyes twinkled brightly.

"God, even the lowest quality is green. There is even some blue quality equipment. I have never even seen blue equipment before!"

"All of them are so tempting!"

Jade Green Sky stared at the Heavy Mechanical Arm with excitement. This thing was stronger than the Light Mechanical Arm; it could largely increase his strength.

He looked at the price—120,000!

"So expensive!" Jade Green Sky's face twitched. Although the guild was rich, 120,000 was still a significant amount; it was the price of dozens of firearms and many boxes of gunpowder.

After some hesitation, Jade Green Sky decided to buy it. He believed that it had more worth than anything else he could buy with that money!

Large guilds were rich. They purchased many pieces of equipment that totaled to 300,000 dollars, and they were given to Core Group One for the prize-pool mission.

Han Xiao earned a fortune and offloaded some machinery that was useless to him at the same time—a very profitable deal.

He had set security measures within the machinery that he sold. The Mechanic players at the moment would only be able to pass through these measures only in their dreams, so it was impossible for the blueprint to be leaked. Therefore, Han Xiao was very confident when he sold them.

Having sole possession of the technology meant a monopoly—it was the most profitable business as there would not be another place where these products could be bought.

Du du!

Frenzied Sword and the other three returned right after Jade Green Sky left, bringing along new discoveries.

"We have detected a very high radiation strength, almost reaching the maximum on the measuring device," Maple Moon said and passed the device back to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was a little shocked. With such high radiation, creatures that lived near it would very likely go through mutations. Whether the mutation enhanced one's strength or the other way around depended on the species and habits of the creature. Stronger creatures that had a higher resistance would more likely have enhancing mutations.

Which means there might be elite mutated variants in this Shadow Stalker Viper herd, Han Xiao thought.

"We have also discovered the source of the mutation—it's these things," Frenzied Sword said as he took out a bag of blue crystals and laid them out on the table. The crystals were filled with mist and cracks—they looked very turbid. The blue crystals reflected a mist-like aura from the light. They looked magnificent and almost magical.

_____________________

Unknown Crystal: A crystal formed by unknown reasons. It is highly radioactive.

_____________________

The measurement on the device increased noticeably as it was moved closer to the crystal.

Han Xiao wore a pair of gloves. He held up a finger-sized crystal and looked at it carefully. "Where did you find this?"

"On the walls deep inside the nest." Hao Tian gave a very simple answer.

Frenzied Sword added, "These crystals were embedded in the wall. We wouldn't have found it either if the slime on it wasn't scraped off during the battle. Furthermore, these crystals became more concentrated as we went deeper into the nest as did the monsters. We were unable to go even deeper, so we came back early."

Han Xiao could feel the warmth from the crystal itself even with gloves, which solved one of his questions. These crystals provided the heat energy that made the Shadow Stalker Vipers build their nest here.

Han Xiao waved at Frenzied Sword.

Without a hint of hesitation, Frenzied Sword walked toward Han Xiao, who suddenly did something shocking. He grabbed Frenzied Sword's mouth and stuffed the crystal into it. Then he blocked his mouth, not letting him spit it out.

"Swallow it."

"Wuuuuuu—" Frenzied Sword's face was filled with shock. He struggled all he could, but Han Xiao's hands did not budge even an inch. Then, the crystal went down his throat. The three people watching from the side were stunned.

"Any reactions?" Han Xiao stared at him.

Frenzied Sword let out a sigh like he accepted his fate. He touched his chest and looked at his interface.

_____________________

You have swallowed a type of high radiation strength crystal (Unpurified).

Race Detected: Human

Endurance is less than 50.

No related ability gained.

You have entered the 'Radiation Damage' state!

_____________________

Radiation Damage: -33% Maximum Health, -33% Maximum Stamina, -50% across all attributes

Duration: 2 hours

Related medication can be used to recover in advance.

_____________________

Frenzied Sword described the status. Undying players were the best choice to test drugs. Han Xiao gave a large amount of experience to Frenzied Sword as a reward and said while nodding, "Well done."

Frenzied Sword felt much better when he saw the experience. He looked at the rest of the crystals on the table and pondered, Will there be more experience if I eat all of them? It actually tastes like sweets.

Han Xiao knew what Frenzied Sword was thinking from the expression on his face. He awkwardly collected all of the crystals, denying Frenzied Sword's thoughts.

From the experiment, the rough uses of the crystals could be seen—purifying this type of radiation crystals would create crystal-formed energy, which was a form of clean energy.

Han Xiao had a thought. There were a lot of such crystals in the nest. He could use [Basic Extraction] to purify them and turn them into energy storage, and these energy crystals could even be used on all kinds of machinery if he made an energy transformation device. It was a valuable discovery.

Crystal energy was most commonly used in magic civilizations, it would also appear sometimes in technological civilizations. In a more fashionable way, such clean energy crystals could also be called 'Non-Elemental Crystal' or 'Magic Crystal'. Mages would use magic techniques to harvest energy from these crystals to become their own energy or to power magic, so there were many uses for it.

The concentration level of the crystals should lead to the core of the nest, Han Xiao thought and called Huang Yu over immediately.

After describing this discovery, Huang Yu instantly marked an area on the nest map that they had drawn.

"There's a ninety percent chance that this is the core area." Huang Yu pointed at the map confidently.

"Very good." Han Xiao nodded.

Time to act!

…

At midnight, players continued to fight in the nest as they did not need to sleep.

The prize-pool mission motivated the players. Although there was no direct mission, they still received quite a lot of experience from killing the Shadow Stalker Vipers, which were a much higher level than them.

Sky Territory was at the top of the rank!

"Quickly, T3 (third tank) pull the monster. T1 (main tank) and T2 (secondary tank), come back here now!"

"Pugilists attack at close range quickly!"

"Come on Espers, last longer! Go to the side to recover if you're out of energy!"

"Mechanics don't go too close, stand further away to deal damage!"

"Those carrying eggs leave quickly, don't get hit by the fallout!"

The people of Sky Territory were surrounding a Shadow Stalker Viper and took it like a BOSS. Jade Green Sky was commanding and yelling, and they were having a very exciting time. The cooperation of Core Team One was very in sync.

The slime in the nest would lower the players' speed, but although the nest favored the Shadow Stalker Vipers, it still was a fish in a net when facing the core team of Sky Territory, which was extremely experienced in fighting BOSSES. The Shadow Stalker Viper could not break out of the net no matter how it tried, and its health was decreasing at a steady rate.

"Killing Line! Everyone, deal damage now!"

All kinds of attacks downed on Shadow Stalker Viper. Its carapace started cracking, and slime splashed all over.

Jade Green Sky charged forward. He wore a Heavy Mechanical Arm much thicker than his hands on his right arm and activated the active ability of the Heavy Mechanical Arm.

The motors made a loud noise. Heated steam shot out of its ventilation pipes, and the iron fist hit straight at Shadow Stalker Viper's head. At the same time, Jade Green Sky shouted out loud with passion!

"Haaa! Iron Fist Burst!"When health falls below a certain amount and can be killed in a short time.

Chapter 226: Demolition?

The iron fist punched the chitin carapace. The skull of the Shadow Stalker Viper shattered, and its health reached zero. It screamed in agony and fell to the ground, dead. The air in its lungs came out of its mouth and nose, and its swollen body slowly deflated.

Jade Green Sky took a deep breath and looked at the damage ranking—he was unexpectedly first once again. The damage of the Heavy Mechanical Arm would not be exceeded easily by the players at the moment.

The Heavy Mechanical Arm also had very high armor stats—it can even be used to withstand damage from the monster. Several times, they had been in danger of being wiped out, and it was Jade Green Sky who had saved the situation. While the other players got wiped out once in a while, they had not died once. Thus, their contribution points increased steadily, and they reached rank one.

Buying this weapon was more than worth it!

Black Phantom's products were expensive, but they were worth every penny. It was really a great deal—Jade Green Sky was very contented.

Vice Team Captain jokingly complained, "How old are you already Captain? Are you not ashamed when you yell out the name of the ability?"

"I like to do that. None of your business. Plus, why bother to play Pugilist if you're not going to yell out your ability names?" Jade Green Sky replied.

The carcass and eggs of Shadow Stalker Vipers were both contribution points. The team members started to clean up the battlefield.

Wuuu—

Suddenly, the sound of a piercing wind echoed from further down in the tunnel. Something was approaching at very high speed!

A shadow passed by them in an instant and created a strong gust of wind that almost made everyone in Sky Territory lose their balance. It was so fast that they could not even capture it with their eyes—no one could see what had passed them.

"What was that?"

"It disappeared in a flash!"

Jade Green Sky looked in the direction where the shadow disappeared and said with surprise, "That's probably toward the deeper part of the nest!"

Everyone exchanged looks of surprise.

"Let's follow and take a look."

The speed reducing slime was everywhere in the nest. They chased for a while, but that shadow was long gone. The players of Sky Territory felt a little beaten.

"Stop chasing, we can't catch up."

"Wait… what's that?" Someone noticed something abnormal.

The flashlight shone over, and a pungent smell entered their nose as they saw the carcasses of Shadow Stalker Vipers all over the tunnel and extending all the way into the darkness. It was a shocking view.

The carapace that players tried so hard to penetrate looked as fragile as eggshells. The carcasses were still fresh, which meant the shadow had gotten rid of all the beasts obstructing his way within the short period of their chase. The LV 40 beast herd did not stop him for even a second.

Everyone instinctively thought of Han Xiao.

"It was Black Phantom that just passed by, right?"

"The monsters we took so long to beat were killed by him within seconds. He's definitely at max level."

When the players scanned Han Xiao, the information they got was always all question marks except the danger level being [Extremely Lethal]. People had tried guessing his level, and now that they had something to compare with, they had a more accurate deduction. Black Phantom was definitely one of the strongest in Planet Aquamarine.

Jade Green Sky suddenly became happy. "He opened up a path for us. We can follow along."

…

Han Xiao, who was covered in his black combat mechanical suit, dashed through the nest following the route from the tactical screen.

Slosh…

Two Shadow Stalker Viper pounced out of the darkness, where the human eyes could not reach. However, the mechanical suit radar had detected the vital signs and heat energy long ago. Without dodging, Han Xiao activated Enhanced Mode, and the biological muscles under the armor swelled up. Power surged from his fists and smashed straight at the Shadow Stalker Vipers!

Devastating strength difference!

Shattered carapaces, splashing slime, and screams of pain.

Claws hit on the mechanical suit and only left a string of sparks. Han Xiao passed the two beasts without pause and sent out several punches within an instant, killing these two beasts immediately. With the LV 55 attributes, Viper's advanced performance, and the difference in level, Han Xiao could kill those Shadow Stalker Vipers within a second easily.

He did not stop.

Wiping off the slime on the wall, the radiation crystals were becoming more concentrated.

"The core area should not be far away—monsters are appearing at a higher rate," Han Xiao muttered as he casually killed a Shadow Stalker Viper. He looked at the map on the screen and confirmed that he was on the right route.

The screen showed that the temperature on the outside was increasing. The crystals contained heat, so the higher the temperature, the more likely it was that the Shadow Stalker Viper Beast King would be living nearby.

The high temperature from the crystals had turned the infrared and night vision images completely red. Han Xiao changed it back to normal vision, and it darkened immediately. However, a few seconds later, it was bright again. This was because of the [Night Stalker] class talent [Bat Habit], which provided vision in darkness and bonuses when fighting in the dark.

Passing through a cave, the space suddenly became much larger. A thick, pungent smell filled the place, and slime on the ground was thick and dense. This was an underground cave that looked like a honeycomb. The walls were embedded with large, dark-blue radiation crystals, surrounded by more than a dozen entrances of a tunnel that lead to many places. This was the center of the nest.

Dense red eyes blinked in the dark. Dozens of Shadow Stalker Vipers lay low on the floor and bared their teeth, demonstrating their authority over the unwanted guest. There were also a few more frightful looking elites in the herd.

The Shadow Stalker Viper Beast King was the most conspicuous one surrounded by the herd; it was three times larger than the others. It looked down on Han Xiao with condescension as the slime in its mouth dripped down onto the ground, corroding the floor and emitting a pungent odor.

It's so big. It has to be the Beast King, Han Xiao thought.

The Shadow Stalker Vipers pounced toward Han Xiao fearlessly. The Electromagnetic Hover-boots allowed Han Xiao to ignore the slimy terrain and move freely. He dodged the attack and took out the Ghost sniper rifle from his back, using it as an assault rifle. Blue flashes appeared on the muzzle as 'Needle' magnetic bullets were being shot out rapidly.

He changed targets continuously—doing so was to keep triggering [Lethal Shot], which did not trigger on the same target within five minutes. This talent was more useful during group combat, and the right way to use it is to keep changing targets and maximizing the damage output.

Flesh exploded one after another—the Needle bullets penetrated the carapaces easily and slaughtered the herd at a very fast rate. An elite monster snuck behind Han Xiao and pounced toward Han Xiao, thinking that he would not notice. However, Han Xiao turned around and slammed his leg on the skull of this Shadow Stalker Viper like he had eyes behind his back. Its skull was flattened.

The herd charged toward Han Xiao one after another in waves, but Han Xiao was like a reef—he did not budge at all. The herd became less and less dense as they fell one by one around Han Xiao.

"Roar!" The Shadow Stalker Viper Beast King growled. The soundwaves echoed in the nest, summoning their own kind.

The players in other areas realized that the Shadow Stalker Vipers that were fighting them stopped simultaneously and dashed toward the center of the nest without looking back.

The tunnel rustled, and the ground shook. A large number of beasts were approaching. The longer the battle lasted, the more difficult it would be. Han Xiao's eyes focused. He activated [Overload], [Flaming Will], and [Lethal Critical Hits] at the same time and fired at the Beast King lingering at the edge of the battlefield.

Buzz!

The firing sound of the Ghost sniper rifle was a buzz made by its electrical circuits.

A flash of dark blue appeared and disappeared the next second, penetrating the carapace of the Beast King and exploding its empty cavities.

This shot also triggered the True Damage from [Lethal Shot]!

- 2853!

An astonishing damage number appeared. The health bar of the Beast King dropped a huge portion instantly, and it growled and rolled on the floor in agony. Han Xiao saw the attributes of the Beast King from the interface.

LV 53 BOSS, very high Dexterity and Endurance… but only 9,000 Health‽ Han Xiao was surprised. His shot just now had taken almost a third of its health—this health amount didn't match up to its BOSS status.

Is it one of those Dexterity-type Beast Kings that are more focused on attacking? But it doesn't look like it with such a huge size.

The Beast King rolled over, but unexpectedly, it did not pounce over immediately. Instead, it ran to a corner of the cave and took many large bites into something stiff. Han Xiao looked over through the gaps in the herd and was shocked when he saw it clearly—the Beast King was eating barrels of high energy waste marked with radiation symbols.

Beasts consuming wastes in long term would very likely induce mutation, or they would gain a special ability—he realized that the Beast King's health was recovering at a remarkable speed, gaining back 1,000 HP within seconds. Clearly, consuming waste materials quickly recovered its health.

Then it occurred to Han Xiao that this Beast King was the type that stalled people to their death. This environment had put him at a very bad disadvantage. He took a deep breath and adjusted himself to his peak performance, before jumping up high into the air and flying over the herd in an arc, slamming on the back of the Beast King with a huge amount of energy. Upon impact, they both rolled over.

Before standing up, Han Xiao bent his fingers, and blades shot out. He stabbed them into the Beast King's carapace, and at the same time, he activated the Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves and burnt through the carapace.

Suddenly, the wind whistled. His back was hit by the Beast King's tail, and he almost flew out. He could feel the enormous power even through the mechanical suit, and the durability dropped a little.

Han Xiao was fully focused. The light from the Bonfire Reaction Furnace behind his back brightened, and with force from both his hands and legs, he pushed the Beast King to knock the wall.

The ground shook!

Pebbles fell down like rain!

The man and the beast collapsed the wall and fell onto the tunnel on the other side. The Beast King growled, wanting to recover health in its nest, but Han Xiao grabbed onto it tightly and pulled it outward. Energy flew into the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades on the back of his hand. The blades hovered in the air, slashing open the carapace of the Beast King rapidly, showing its dark purple flesh.

It was like two beasts of the same size were clashing—they destroyed walls continuously, and the entire nest started to shake as if it was going to collapse.

The players were shocked and soon started to escape.

"Run, we are going to be buried alive!"

"What is this, demolition?"

Jade Green Sky also followed the crowd and ran for a while. Then he suddenly realized something. "Wait a minute, since we can revive, this is the best chance to kill already wounded monsters and gain contribution points!"

Just as he finished the sentence, the wall on his side exploded. Han Xiao pushed the Beast King in his direction. Jade Green Sky was in their way, and he was immediately squished.

The vice-captain of Team One held his head and yelled in shock, "Ah, you died so tragically captain!"

Chapter 227: Profit from the Nes

The slashing slime could not corrode the mechanical suit. Shadow Stalker Viper's carapace cracked all over its body, covered in blood and slime. Pressed on the floor by Han Xiao, its health decreased steadily.

The herd charged toward them one after another like they had lost their minds. Han Xiao used the Beast King's body as protection and dodged most of the attacks with his agility. The vision on the tactical display screen was jumping all over the place. Normal people would have a headache by looking at it for just a few seconds, but Han Xiao was completely used to it and was not affected at all.

Every punch, every kick, was sent out with incredible power that the surrounding terrain looked like it had been destroyed by a tornado.

With his basic combat skills all being at max level and the performance enhancement from Viper, Han Xiao's close-range combat ability was way above average, the Beast King's health very soon arrived at the killing line, as it was unable to eat waste materials and regenerate. Han Xiao's energy flew into Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades and formed a high speed spinning pointy cone around his arm like a drill, piercing right into the Beast King's head.

Ignoring the wail, Han Xiao grabbed onto the wound to not get dropped by the struggling Beast King, he then turned on the Sunworm and sprayed at the bloody brain of the Beast King. A smell of burnt meat spread in the air, the Beast King's body suddenly became stiff, like a fish out of water, giving his last struggle before death.

_____________________

You have killed Shadow Stalker Viper Beast King (LV 53). You have received 132,000 Experience.

_____________________

As soon as the Beast King died, the surrounding Shadow Stalker Vipers growled in agony and pounced toward Han Xiao dauntlessly, wanting to shatter this enemy that was harder than iron, submerging Han Xiao instantly.

But the next moment, a strong repel force pushed all of the Shadow Stalker Viper away at a speed even quicker than when they attacked. They hit against the wall of the nest as the Field Repulsive Machine on Viper's arms made a buzzing sound.

Boom!

This repulsion force caused a chain reaction, and the nest started crumbling down piece by piece. The ground was shaking so rapidly that it was like an earthquake.

Han Xiao did not want to be buried alive, so he concentrated all the power in his legs and jumped up. The floor cracked open from the strength of his jump, and he flew up in the air. He then turned on the Mini Maneuvering Equipment to give him further boost in speed. With the combined forces of the jump and the Mini Maneuvering Equipment, he rocketed up and burst through the mud above his head.

The next second, the ground exploded, and a black figure bolted out of the ground. The vision became obstructed, and the night sky came into sight.

The West City Area collapsed. Cracks opened from the sunk ground, and dust splashed out from within. Some players got buried and died; some players escaped and watched the scene, stunned.

"The entire city collapsed because of the fight. Such strong destruction power!"

"Isn't that Black Phantom? Did he do it‽"

"He's got to be a max level BOSS with such strength!"

"All the Shadow Stalker Vipers are buried alive. Does that mean our mission is completed? There's no notification though."

The players were shocked and confused. They looked at Han Xiao at the side who was wearing the mechanical suit with fire in their eyes. They had seen the video of the mechanical suit in action on the forums, and now they had finally witnessed that themselves. It was even more impressive than in the videos.

Jade Green Sky trotted over after he revived and was shocked by the completely different scene than before. He hastily asked about the situation, then contemplated and said, "The mission is not completed yet. There are chances to make use of the situation."

At the same time, signs of life appeared within the ruins, Shadow Stalker Vipers that were still alive crawled out with struggle. Only a small half of the nest had collapsed, but all the tunnels were blocked, so all the beasts had nowhere to escape.

Seeing this, the players dashed over in a hurry to get the last hit.

Han Xiao was only responsible for dealing with the Beast King—the other small monsters were to be dealt with by the players. The sound of cracking came out of his neck as he twisted it to relieve his tight nerves.

Huang Yu brought some people over and waited on the side.

"When the Inhumans are done the cleaning, you guys go dig through the ruins. Bring the radiation crystals and the carcasses into the warehouses, especially the Beast King's—that's rare material. Although I broke quite many parts of it, it should still be of some use," Han Xiao said casually.

Huang Yu took a look at the sunk ground, gulped, and nodded hastily.

Half an hour had yet to even pass since Black Phantom came, and he had already settled the problem. Even though the West City Area had almost been destroyed, this astonishing efficiency left Huang Yu in complete awe.

After returning to his room, Han Xiao took off Viper and repaired its damage.

…

At around midnight, Huang Yu finally came with the information that the cleaning of the ruins was completed.

"We have stored 846 Shadow Stalker Viper carcasses. 27 of them are mutated, and one is the Beast King. More than 300 undamaged eggs have all been stored in the frozen warehouse. Also, we have collected about two tons of radiation crystals—the 300 pounds that were collected near the center of the nest seem to have a higher concentration.

"By the way, Coney Fury has discovered the source of the crystals. These Shadow Stalker Vipers have been consuming high energy waste as their food source. The slime secreted in their bodies has gone through special reactions, which caused them to harden and thus become crystals."

Han Xiao was stunned for a second. "So… these radiation crystals are actually Shadow Stalker Vipers' feces?

"You could say that."

Han Xiao scratched his head and thought of Frenzied Sword.

Never mind. The truth is too cruel for me to tell him. I don't think he can take it.

…

As the nest was finally cleaned finish, the players felt relieved, they looked at their interface with anticipation.

_____________________

[Clean the Nest] has been completed.

Current Prize-Pool Experience: 1,340,000

_____________________

Damage ranking:

First: Jade Green Sky (Team)

Second: Red Carp (Team)

Third: No Sleep During the Day (Team)

…

_____________________

The players on the leaderboard were delighted. Although it was unfortunate for those who did not make it, they did not make a lose anyway as the experience from killing the Shadow Stalker Viper was more than enough to cover the experience spent to take part.

"We're first!" Jade Green Sky and the people of the Sky Territory Core Team One were filled with joy. The players beside them looked over with envy, focusing their eyes on Jade Green Sky's Heavy Mechanical Arm.

"Sky Territory really is steady."

"What equipment is their guild leader wearing? Looks really powerful."

"I have a friend in their team. He said that equipment is a god-tier weapon for Pugilists. It can both tank and deal damage, but it is very expensive, and only Black Phantom sells it."

Seeing the effect of the Heavy Mechanical Arm, many players started to desire it. Desire would create demand, and demand meant potential customers.

The ruins needed reconstruction. The head of West City Area gave out more missions, and the players rested for a while before starting to help once again.

…

The next day, Han Xiao woke up to the construction noise surrounding him in all directions, and he rubbed his temples helplessly. It was indeed much quicker to have the players help to build the city, but there was one tiny flaw of that, the players didn't sleep or rest and worked throughout the day—this non-stop noise pollution almost made him mentally fatigued.

The secret base, however, had very good noise reduction measures, and it was in a rural area where no one had done any construction. Han Xiao had gone there secretly a few times and brought some supplies over for storage. He had also enhanced the security measures.

On the surface, Han Xiao did not work in the base.

Han Xiao came to the boisterous workshop then walked to his VIP room, which he had entered many times. Inside were many neatly arranged boxes emitting a magnificent, beautiful, but strange aura.

However, knowing that these are the feces of monsters, Han Xiao could not appreciate their beauty no matter how magnificent they were. He made sure his gloves were on tightly.

Radiation Crystal—can be turned into energy block after purification, non-elemental pure energy. Although it says these are of high concentration, these should be of the low tier in the standard of the universe. The conversion rate is roughly 100:1, so two tons of it should probably be able to produce 45 pounds of energy blocks. These can be used as emergency energy storage; it is a surprising but welcome income.

There were many types of energy—magnetic, electrical, nuclear, light, planet, antimatter, dark, psionic, and many more. If these were psionic energy blocks, they would be as valuable as the entire Planet Aquamarine. However, only very advanced civilizations could acquire, convert, and make use of psionic energy; low-class civilizations would not be able to use it even if they were able to acquire psionic blocks. Those civilizations that had discovered psionic energy too early had all destroyed themselves. To research and experiment on psionic energy without the required technology was suicide—thus, their entire planet was vaporized.

There were also 300 pounds of dark-blue crystals with higher concentration. Han Xiao guessed that it was the feces of the Beast King. The Beast King owned the most amount of high energy waste, so it produced crystals with the highest concentration compared to the others. It could barely be considered middle-tier concentration. The purification rate would be much higher, and they should be able to produce 10 pounds of energy blocks with higher Ona.

300 pounds… this guy really can take sh*ts. Han Xiao shook his head.

Han Xiao's [Basic Extraction] was at max level. The knowledge from the energy brunch could be infused into the Energy Block Extraction Device, which was a rather precise device. Han Xiao contemplated for a while and remembered the knowledge combination. He had plenty of experience points, so he successfully gambled out the blueprint after a few infusions and started to build the device.

It was completed after two hours.

_____________________

Basic Energy Block Extraction Device: Extracts energy blocks out of minerals or crystals containing radiation or energy. Ordinary conversion rate, a rather slow conversion speed.

_____________________

This thing was very steampunk. The input port was in a funnel shape and could automatically take in original materials. Energy Block Extraction Devices were most common in crystal civilizations where magic and technology were both present, and energy blocks were the main energy resource. The headquarter of Japan, Planet Lonnie, was one of such civilizations. It was a unique kind of civilization, but anything was possible in the wide universe.

Han Xiao arranged the crystals nicely and activated the auto drop. The extraction process was fully automated.

It should take about half a day to extract everything. I shall just wait. Han Xiao patted his hands. All that was left were the carcasses and eggs in the frozen warehouses. These could be used to make drugs, but he was not a Pharmacist.

Louis Research Institution was in the Western Continent—it was too far, and the transportation cost would be too high. Also, the time it would consume during transportation would cause the materials to lose their freshness.

Han Xiao pondered for a while and decided to hire a Pharmacist.

Suddenly, he had a flash of insight, and a name buried deep in his memories appeared in his mind.

Chapter 228: The Exchange

A secret meeting was being held in the headquarters of Division 13, and many important members of the Hesla military intelligence department were present—Gu Hui had welcomed them himself.

The expedition was drawing near, so the Six Nations contacted each other frequently to discuss and adjust some final details.

In the meeting room, both parties were calmly discussing the expedition.

Buzz!

The entire place turned silent upon the sound of phone vibration. Everyone looked over with dissatisfaction in their eyes.

This is a very serious occasion. Who's so disrespectful?

Seeing that the sound came from the deputy director-general of the Division 13, Gu Hui, their expressions became complicated. The expressions on Hesla people's faces looked like they were saying—Is this your leader? So unprofessional.

Gu Hui frowned. He had many phones, and most of them were turned off during meetings except for the one for emergency matters. Only very important calls would go to this phone.

However, once he took out the phone and saw the number, his pupils constricted. "Pause the meeting. I have to take this call."

Without paying attention to the reactions of the others, Gu Hui left with his phone hurriedly after he finished the sentence.

The people of Hesla were shocked. Whose call could make the deputy director-general of the Division 13 leave an important meeting in front of everyone?

Who was so important? Was it the superiors at the highest ranking? Then why did they not call the internal line?

Coming to the quiet and isolated room next door, Gu Hui picked up the phone and said in a serious tone, "How come you're calling?

"Surprised?" Han Xiao's mocking voice came out of the phone.

Han Xiao used the number and identity of 'Zero' to call Gu Hui. Since the intelligence he provided last time, he had become a very important focus target of Stardragon.

Ever since the battle in Dark Crow Valley, Han Xiao had disappeared without a trace. Even Stardragon's intelligence organizations could not find him. In the face of such a valuable communication opportunity, Gu Hui could not give it up no matter what, even if it meant he had to leave the important meeting.

"What do you want this time?" Through precious contact with Han Xiao, Gu Hui had a rough idea of his personality. Han Xiao was goal-orientated and would not call for nothing. Thus, he went straight to the point.

"I want a person."

"Who?"

"She's called… wait, let me go through the wanted list. Her code is Emerald Grass; she's a pharmacist."

Gu Hui was stunned for a moment. He told his secretary to check on this person, and very soon, the results came back.

Emerald Grass—her superhuman ability was controlling plants, and she was a top-notch Pharmacist. Once, she had spread an infectious lethal disease with a drug that was not experimented on and caused a large number of deaths, which lead to her wanted status. She had been captured a few years ago and was currently tightly imprisoned on Bell of Death Island.

Bell of Death Island was a prison of the Six Nations for the highly-dangerous criminals. It was an isolated island in the sea with mysterious coordinates and tight security.

"What do you want her for?" Gu Hui questioned.

"Something." Han Xiao gave a vague answer.

Gu Hui contemplated and said, "Even I can't bail people out of Bell of Death Island casually. It's against the rules."

This was a roundabout rejection.

Han Xiao laughed. He suddenly changed the subject and said, "I heard the expedition is going to start very soon. Tsk tsk, Six Nations coming together for a battle, attacking the land of Andrea from more than a dozen directions, with planes, aircraft carriers, and all sorts. Tell me, will the Germinal Organization accept their fate without resistance?"

Gu Hui's hand tightened on the phone.

"What intelligence do you have?"

"Plenty. Base locations, military power, missile layout, and the Germinal Organization's various Inhuman plans," Han Xiao said in a very tempting tone.

Gu Hui was angry, but he had to fall for the trap. "Emerald Grass is yours."

"Done." Han Xiao agreed without hesitation. He had already planned on giving every piece of intelligence he had on the Germinal Organization before the war to give more advantages to the Six Nations anyway, and now, he could even use that to exchange for a very important person.

In version 2.0 of his previous life, Emerald Grass had been a very important character in Planet Aquamarine. As a top-notch Pharmacist, she researched on the mutation virus, created drugs that suppressed the virus effectively, and made a very strong impact.

In his previous life, Bell of Death Island had been a mysterious place. No player could find its coordinates, but they did have some information on it in version 2.0—the mutation virus had spread to Bell of Death Island, causing a very dangerous change, but the criminals imprisoned by the Six Nations in the Bell of Death Island resolved the disaster. They had fought their way out of the island and escaped. Emerald Grass had also escaped during this.

As the saying goes, there are always crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

The prisoners poured into the outside world and became new characters of version 2.0 like dragons flying over a river, causing a storm in the world on top of the disaster.

"The intelligence will be sent to you. I will decide the location to retrieve Emerald Grass," Han Xiao said then hung up the call.

Gu Hui's expression changed several times—only Han Xiao dared to hang up on him casually, and he could not do anything about it.

A prisoner in exchange for key intelligence, this deal was a definite win.

Furthermore, Gu Hui realized another benefit.

"He has been lost for so long. This meetup is a chance to follow up on his whereabouts!"

Han Xiao still had a position in the field agent files. Whether he went where, did what, or if he joined any organizations during his disappearance, this was all unknown to Stardragon despite their interest. It was just the right chance to investigate.

…

In the workshop in Sanctuary Three, Han Xiao waited thirty seconds after hanging up the call, only then did he send the first set of intelligence to Division 13 and held onto the rest temporarily. He knew full well that he should not give out all the intelligence at once.

If I can get Emerald Grass this time, not only can she help to research on drugs, I can even make Sanctuary Three be the first place that suppresses the mutation virus in version 2.0. The Sanctuary has my name in it. The safer it is, the more influential I become.

However, Stardragon will know they exchanged Emerald Grass with me. They won't give up this investigation chance, and if they find out that Emerald Grass works here, they might guess I'm Black Phantom, and my identity will be exposed.

While evaluating the risks and benefits, Han Xiao suddenly realized something. He had kept his identity hidden at the start because he had been too weak, but now, with Dark Net backing him up and his strength being at the top of the planet, there was no need to hide from the enemy anymore. At the same time, the Germinal Organization was facing its destruction and could not even take care of themselves. Hiding his identity did not matter anymore.

He suddenly felt delighted.

Without him noticing it, his arch enemy was not gigantic in his eyes anymore. He had grown to be able to face the strongest organization on the planet.

From another perspective, exposing his identity could combine the influence of Zero and Black Phantom and cause a chemical reaction, and he was eighty percent sure that he would get legendary points. The players' impression of him would also increase to another level.

With the things he had done, the players might even mistake him to be the main character of Planet Aquamarine instead of Bennett.

I should take things steadily instead. I will think about my identity after the war starts.

Although Han Xiao saw some benefits, he still decided to act on what would happen.

The Energy Block Extraction Device was still operating, so Han Xiao locked the door and left, surveying the construction progress of the various areas with his hands behind his back.

As he passed by the wall construction area, he suddenly heard a commotion. He stopped in place then walked over.

The engineering team surrounded a large crane helplessly. Seeing that Han Xiao approached, they greeted with respect.

"What's happening?" Han Xiao asked.

"The crane malfunctioned and cannot be turned on. We can't find the cause," someone said helplessly.

Han Xiao heard this and thought, Wasn't fixing vehicles what I started with?

He rolled up his sleeves and said with excitement, "Bring the tools over."

The engineering team only remembered now that their boss was a Mechanic. They hastily brought the parts and the tools over. Han Xiao climbed up the crane to check for the malfunction, and he found it not long after. He took out the tools and started fixing. His hands moved around so incredibly fast that they even created shadows behind them.

The players on the side doing construction work were shocked upon seeing this.

This hand speed matched the power of being single for at least fifty years!

"Turns out single people have an advantage in the Mechanic class," a player yelled. "I'm the man who will become the Mechanic King!"

"Sad but true."

As he repaired, the Great Mechanic Han was in the zone, so he also gave it some enhancements.

He tightened the last screw.

Done!

Han Xiao clapped his hands and told the engineering team to turn it on. The enhanced crane was like it was on steroids and moved so quick that the engineering could not even catch up to its speed. They dodged hastily and jumped around.

At this time, the players welding rebars on the wall suddenly looked at the wilderness and shouted, "There are some people here!"

Han Xiao quickly climbed the scaffolding of the wall to a higher place and looked out.

A group of people wearing ragged clothes appeared in the wilderness, walking slowly toward the sanctuary.

The wanderers had arrived.This is a reference to the Japanese comic 'One Piece'.

Chapter 229: The First Time Is Always Hardes

A few days ago, the guards that Han Xiao had sent out came into contact with the wanderers in the colonies tens of miles away. They explained the purpose of the sanctuary and invited the wanderers to take residence or work.

Using foods and smiles, some wanderers that did not have a pleasant life agreed to move.

From far away, the hundreds of wanderers could already see the tall wall that was still being built with the words 'Black Phantom Sanctuary Three' written on it with red paint. They found the situation unbelievable.

"Didn't they say that they just arrived in Graymetal Ruins a few days ago? This doesn't look like the construction has just started…" a middle-aged man said hesitantly. The others were wondering the same thing.

They had originally thought that the sanctuary was just being built, and the conditions would be harsh. In their imaginations, it would not even be as good looking as the tiny lousy houses in their colony. They were all ready to face a hard time, but reality gave them a huge surprise.

"Did they spend all the time building the wall?" Some people were still in doubt.

As they entered the sanctuary following the main road, this doubt was cleared in no time. There was too much for them to take in.

Looking at the tall wall, neat buildings, and paved roads, every one of them could not believe that this was the construction progress of just ten days.

It took days for them to even build a lousy wooden house!

The guards lead the dizzy wanderers to their residence, which was neither a camp nor wooden houses but brand-new bunkers. There were many rooms, and electricity and water were available. There were ingredients in the kitchen, and they could cook themselves.

They were completely overwhelmed by this huge pleasant surprise.

How is this even called a sanctuary? Might as well call it a resort home!

…

"Your Excellency, we have brought back 427 wanderers. There are fifteen colonies tens of miles away with a total of about 3,500 people. Other teams are still in the middle of their discussion, and there's currently about 300 that rejected us clearly."

Only a bit more than 400. That's not much.

The purpose of the sanctuary was to protect humans, with the biggest goal of taking in wanderers. It would be a joke if there was nobody staying in it after its construction was completed.

There were few wanderers in the Karst, and wanderers from further away might not be willing to travel such a distance. In order to have people move over and take residence, Han Xiao felt like it required Bennett's macro-control, which was able to bulk migrate the wanderers who were willing to stay in a sanctuary from other areas. However, that should be the arrangement after the plan matured; now was only the early stages of the construction.

Han Xiao waved his hands and dismissed Liu Zhao. He then walked back to the workshop and contemplated the situation. One of the requirements of his [Sanctuary Three] main storyline mission was to reach 40,000 residents, excluding players. This was one of the requirements that had the richest reward, and it had very clear benefits to raising the mission's overall grading.

Walking on the streets and seeing the lively scene of the players, Han Xiao knew that in order to achieve the 'Player Main City' plan, there had the be NPCs staying—important characters would be best. These were all mission resources, and only then would the players be attracted to gather there.

The number of residents was a requirement of the sanctuary as well, which interlocked with his plan.

This is a long-term task, Han Xiao thought.

There were players that came to talk with him once in a while, wanting to buy equipment. Han Xiao did not refuse and got rid of the useless equipment in his storage while earning some money at the same time.

…

Back at the workshop, the Extraction Device was still operating, and Han Xiao was in a very good mood. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, he took out the parts and started building Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades. He was trying to go for the purple quality, and this time, he felt more proficient than all the times before.

It might succeed this time!

The noise of the Extraction Device echoed in the workshop, but Han Xiao was not affected by any external factors, immersed in building. When the Extraction Device stopped, he also finished at the same time.

_____________________

You have Built Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades (Purple).

Class Advancement Requirement: Build 5 Purple Equipment above LV 60.

Progress: 1 / 5

_____________________

Han Xiao exhaled, feeling much more relieved.

The first time was always the hardest, much the same as forgiveness. After the first time, there would always be the second and third, and sooner or later, one would become used to it.

I should be able to advance my class in this month, Han Xiao estimated.

Without looking at the interface, Han Xiao was already very familiar with the attributes of purple equipment. Starting from blue, quality would gradually make a bigger difference in the attributes of an equipment. The basic attributes of a purple equipment would be 20% to 30% higher than a blue equipment. The damage of the purple compounded magnetic chain split blades was a lot higher than the blue ones, and the attribute difference would be even greater if it had even better quality.

After replacing the purple equipment with the blue one that he had equipped, Han Xiao went to take a look at the result of the Extraction Device.

Two tons of crystals became a small pile of rhombus-shaped, light-blue crystals, each crystal being about half a palm in size. The original ore had been filled with cracks and messy lines, but the product after extraction was clear and transparent. Light passed through the crystal unobstructed and refracted within, like there was a mini sun in the crystal.

_____________________

Low-Class Energy Crystal: Contains non-elemental pure energy that can be converted and extracted.

_____________________

Energy crystals were most commonly used in magic civilizations and crystal civilizations. It was also the source of food for some creatures.

Han Xiao nodded. He had yet to think of another way to make use of the energy crystal other than to use it as an energy source. The Mage class had more ways to use the energy crystal.

I shall store it for now. There are Shadow Stalker Viper's eggs in the warehouses that can be cultivated. Manually feeding them waste materials should create another way to make energy blocks, Han Xiao thought. Cultivating beast eggs required a professional, and Emerald Grass was just right for the task.

…

Stars filled the sky.

On the Stardragon border, a black heavy helicopter landed slowly, its rotors blowing the weeds in all directions.

A few Stardragon special force soldiers lugged a person by their arms down from the chopper with serious expressions on their faces. This person was wearing a metal eye patch and a bandage. She had dry, messy hair that had not been taken care of for a very long time, and her lips were pale and cracked. The bottom half of the face showed it was a female.

"Sir, she's here." The special unit soldier saluted the officer who was waiting on the side.

"Confirm her body status, make sure she doesn't wake up," Feng Jun said. He was in charge of this exchange. This woman was Emerald Grass, a serial criminal whom they had bailed out of Bell of Death Island overnight.

"Don't worry," the doctor said, "I injected a large dose of tranquilizer into her. She's in a deep sleep now."

"Confirm it again."

Feng Jun looked down at his watch. The agreed time of exchange was nearing, so he was nervous. Not only did he have to complete the assigned mission of exchange, but he also had to gain some information of Han Xiao's current status.

He wondered who would be coming for the exchange and whether that person would give him some face. Although Feng Jun knew Han Xiao, it was because he knew Han Xiao's personality that he was not very confident.

Seconds and minutes passed. They waited silently. The sound of the wind blowing lightly across the grass and the buzz from insects were the only sounds they could hear. The atmosphere became more tense together with the emotions of the people.

Whoosh—

It was the sound of rotors cutting through the air. Feng Jun regained focus and looked up.

A helicopter approached from the night sky. The indicator lights flashed in the code pattern, and Feng Jun immediately told someone to reply. After exchanging the signals, Feng Jun gave a quick scan but did not find any organization's symbol on the chopper.

However, although it was unknown, Feng Jun could see that Han Xiao had joined another organization. He felt heavy-hearted.

"Where's the person?" A man in mask hopped down from the chopper.

Feng Jun waved his hands, and the team behind him brought Emerald Grass forward. The masked man opened a laptop and confirmed it was the right person before carrying Emerald Grass onto the chopper. The helicopter took off immediately after. The entire process took little more than a minute. Feng Jun did not have a chance to communicate—he could only watch the helicopter fly away helplessly.

Feng Jun took out his phone and called Gu Hui to report the process.

"He did join another organization after all, and it's because this organization hid him that we were not able to find him," Gu Hui pondered. "What organization could it be?"

…

On the helicopter, the masked man unlocked Emerald Grass's metal eye patch and bandage.

Suddenly, the supposedly asleep Emerald Grass opened her eyes and stared at the masked man. Neither said a word—they just stared at each other for half a minute. Emerald Grass looked down. She slit open the flesh on her arm, picked out a bloody wiretap device, and casually crushed it to pieces.

She had not been asleep at all. As a Pharmacist, how could she not have trained her drug resistance? Thus, tranquilizers were completely useless on her, but she had concealed that throughout all her years of imprisonment.

"What did they exchange me for?" Emerald Grass asked calmly. It did not feel like she was in danger at all; it was like talking to an old friend even though she did not know the masked man at all.

"Some intelligence." The masked man looked at Emerald Grass with interest.

"Cheap." Emerald Grass frowned in dissatisfaction. "Are you interested in my ability to make drugs?"

"Whatever do you mean?" the masked man asked playfully.

"You wouldn't be interested in any of my other abilities other than this," Emerald Grass said coldly. "You're too strong after all."

A few days ago, when the Bell of Death Island guards injected tranquilizer into her and brought her onto the chopper, Emerald Grass already knew that she had become a bargaining chip, and she finally saw an opportunity to escape.

While she maintained the disguise of being asleep, she had heard the conversation between the escort team and knew a meeting would be carried out. Emerald Grass had planned to use her own abilities to escape after the meeting, regain her freedom, and never be controlled again.

Emerald Grass's ability was controlling plants within a certain range; therefore, her instincts were very sharp. The feeling the masked man gave off was like a beast hidden under the skin of a man, ready to consume its prey anytime. He felt even more dangerous than when the Stardragon special unit soldiers pointed their guns at her head during the escort. Emerald Grass immediately knew that there was no chance to escape, so she gave up the idea of resisting.

"I was going to escape, but it looks like that would be suicide," Emerald Grass said honestly.

Han Xiao pulled off his masked and smiled. "You're very wise."

Han Xiao had disguised himself for this meet-up and taken a chopper over himself. He knew full well that Emerald Grass was not ordinary, and sending anyone else would have been a risk. Thus, it was best for him to go himself.

As expected, Emerald Grass had hidden something. If he did not go, she would most likely have escaped. Emerald Grass had a very calm temperament; she was not surprised at all when something unexpected happened. She was very obviously suitable for scientific research as she would never be afraid of accidents happening during experiments.

"What do you need me to do?" Emerald Grass asked.

"I will tell you when we are there." Han Xiao casually took out a device and scanned to see if there was any other wiretap on Emerald Grass's body, at the same time contemplating about how to have Emerald Grass work and stay in the sanctuary willingly. Although he had Emerald Grass under his control temporarily, he did not think that Emerald Grass would give up on escaping in the future if there was to be a chance, and he could not monitor her at all times.

Chapter 230: Pharmacist Emerald Grass

The helicopter carried the two toward Sanctuary Three.

During the journey, Emerald Grass was very quiet, like she had accepted her fate. The imprisonment on Bell of Death Island had made her familiar with the feeling of not having freedom; it was just going from one cell to another for her, and at least her treatment would be better here with this man called Black Phantom than when she was on Bell of Death Island.

Black Phantom, never heard of such person, Emerald Grass thought. She had been imprisoned for many years and had very limited knowledge of the changes happening in the world outside. She looked through the events that had happened in the recent years in her laptop and realized that the name Black Phantom had first appeared half a year ago.

Unbelievable.

In only half a year, this name had risen to fame like a shooting star. His strength was more terrifying than the highly dangerous serial criminals on Bell of Death Island, and those were all renowned serial criminals.

There was one piece of information that gave Emerald Grass a huge shock; the Germinal Organization that had been extremely strong before she was imprisoned had been forced onto the path of destruction!

And the reason for that was just an ordinary traitor!

When she saw this piece of intelligence, Emerald Grass could barely believe her own eyes, and she only digested this information after a very long silence.

Her emotions were mixed, and it all turned into a sigh in the end.

The world was changing constantly. After a few years of imprisonment, the outside world had become completely different.

Also, what the hell was this 'Inhuman' described in the intelligence?

Sanctuary Three was coming into sight, so Emerald Grass put down the laptop and looked out the window. Surprise flashed on her face. "So that construction area is the place we're going to. Black Phantom Sanctuary Three… What is a sanctuary?"

Han Xiao gave a faint smile and said, "You still have much more to catch up on."

"I know." Emerald Grass nodded. She flicked her messy hair and said softly, "It's safe here, right?"

Han Xiao did not reply. He pointed at his eyes then at Sanctuary Three, implying that she should look for herself. Emerald Grass searched the keyword 'sanctuary' on the internet for intelligence, and after some time, she got a rough idea. "Turns out it's the Dark Net's plan. I didn't expect this hidden huge organization to surface and even received funding from the Six Nations. The purpose is very pure, isn't it? Indeed, there is no place safer."

Looking down from the plane, the Graymetal Ruins had experienced a complete makeover. A new area was marked out from the ruins, players and engineering teams dashed across like ants, and various types of engineering machines made buzzing sounds. The abandoned buildings, bridges, roads, and such had all been demolished in order to construct new buildings. The atmosphere was completely fresh. A small half of the tall concrete wall had already been completed, and countless players climbed up and down for construction.

The helicopter lowered itself onto the parking spot.

Having received notice long ago, Huang Yu came up to Han Xiao, talking rapidly about the things that had happened when Han Xiao was not around. Most of it was cumbersome matters, but Huang Yu had taken care of all of them very neatly. He was indeed suitable as an assistant and secretary.

Emerald Grass looked left and right, then stopped at Han Xiao, and said with surprise, "Didn't think you're actually the leader of this sanctuary. No wonder you need me."

Han Xiao did not agree or deny it; he gave Huang Yu a few words of encouragement and took Emerald Grass to the frozen warehouse.

After looking at a large amount of Shadow Stalker Viper materials, Han Xiao described the task then stared at Emerald Grass, waiting for her reply.

Emerald Grass pondered for two minutes before nodding.

"Shadow Stalker Vipers' brains, kidneys, gall bladders, mitral valves, and tailbones are all drug materials suitable for creating steroids and hormone drugs. Their eggs have a substance that aids in bone growth and metabolism and can be extracted to create very effective healing potions.

"Since you have so many monster eggs, I can try to cultivate a Shadow Stalker Viper herd. You also mentioned that feeding them high energy waste can create radiation crystals. This is a renewable resource…"

Emerald Grass turned very professional when she talked about what she was good at, and she talked with more confidence, almost in a despising tone since she was so confident in her knowledge and skills of her field.

"What and what?" Han Xiao did not hear clearly and was very confused.

Emerald Grass rolled her eyes—her expression was like telling Han Xiao to leave these kinds of professional matters to the professionals, and Han Xiao should not interfere since he had no knowledge of the field.

Compared to the cold feeling that Emerald Grass gave off earlier, her expression was now livelier, like she had noticed that the situation she was in was not bad after all, which made her feel relieved and stop putting on a disguise that rejected everyone with her coldness.

"That substance you mentioned sounds very valuable. I'll leave you to it." Han Xiao nodded with his hands behind his back, looking like he totally knew what Emerald Grass was talking about. Emerald Grass laughed before hurriedly suppressing her laughter.

"Huang Yu, come!" Han Xiao yelled. Huang Yu, who was waiting to the side, ran over immediately. Han Xiao pointed at Emerald Grass and said, "This is a Pharmacist I've hired. Arrange a room for her."

Huang Yu nodded. He brought Emerald Grass to an exquisite residence, then followed Han Xiao's orders, and gave her some information about the sanctuary.

The room was new and rather large, or at least much larger than the cell she used to be in.

Emerald Grass lay on the bed and let out a moan of comfort.

After years of sleeping in that iron-framed bed, she finally could sleep on this soft mattress—it was like sleeping on a pile of cotton, and her entire body was sinking.

Huang Yu stood at the door awkwardly. Emerald Grass totally ignored him while doing this, and he did not know whether he should stay or leave. He knocked the door frame and coughed. "Rest well. I shall leave now."

Emerald Grass took out the documents and started browsing after Huang Yu left, her eyes twinkling.

"Tens of thousands of undead Inhumans are gathered in the sanctuary. I will not have to worry about the number of test subjects. There will be no infections, and there will not be another plague. How perfect. The sanctuary is also free and safe. Maybe staying here for a while won't be so bad. After all, I need time to digest the changes in the outside world."

…

Han Xiao leaned on the chair in the office and stared at the laptop on the table. It was the image of real-time surveillance of Emerald Grass's room.

Emerald Grass had history and was not trustworthy, so Han Xiao had back up plans. He had placed a few hidden cameras in the walls of the room and monitored everything Emerald Grass did, including what Emerald Grass was doing then.

Han Xiao squinted and thought, Her actions were very different before. She was calm and cold when she boarded the plane, but she showed her side of being a woman just now. It might be to create an illusion of her feeling safe to clear my doubts.

He was doubtful for a reason. The Emerald Grass in his memories was a liberal who did not bow to any organization. She did things her own unique way and was unpredictable. Han Xiao was cautious because he knew how important Emerald Grass would be in version 2.0.

There were also other benefits to Emerald Grass joining in. The players could do missions for her in exchange for her guidance and advance their class into Pharmacist. With her joining in, it was another step forward for Han Xiao's plan of making a 'Players Main City'.

To create a main city for the players, NPCs with all kinds of functions were a necessity.

"Your Excellency, I have already arranged her…"

At this time, Huang Yu walked in to report the situation. He took a few steps forward and saw the image on the laptop screen. He stopped the sentence, and the look in his eyes became weird.

Seems like I discovered something extraordinary!

Is… is this what they call a peeper?

Could this be the boss' unknown hobby?

Will I be killed‽

Huang Yu took a quick step backward and looked down at the floor, acting like he had not seen anything at all.

Han Xiao clearly knew that Huang Yu had misunderstood him; he shook his head but did not bother to explain.

Let it be a misunderstanding then, the Great Mechanic Han has never cared about what others think.

"Don't tell anyone," Han Xiao said.

Huang Yu thought that Han Xiao did not want anyone to know about his weird hobby, so he nodded rapidly.

…

Emerald Grass was always very efficient. She started work almost immediately.

The players did not know that he had a deal with Stardragon secretly, and the efficiency of the information flow between players and NPCs was very low. However, Han Xiao required Emerald Grass to wear a mask and hide her identity just in case. It was not the best time to show their identity, and Han Xiao wanted to be steady for as long as possible.

Due to the difference in information, the players were at a disadvantage when it came to their sensitivity toward pieces of intelligence. Without missions or a storyline introduction, they would have no idea what type of information the organizations needed, and they would also not know how the organizations operated. Most players were busy doing missions, making money, and getting equipment. Also, with their player mentality, they would not chat too much with the NPCs, which meant that there was an even smaller chance of their conversation mentioning other NPCs.

Since it was for safety reasons, Emerald Grass did not have any problems with it.

Emerald Grass created many kinds of drugs with a very high quantity. Han Xiao took the healing agents and steroids with the best quality and allowed Emerald Grass to sell the rest of the drugs with lower quality to the players, which showed the 'multiple functionalities' of the sanctuary to the players.

There was always a high demand for drugs on the market. They were usually expensive to limit the players from using drugs excessively to win battles.

Despite that, players still had a very high demand for these drugs. The appearance of Emerald Grass made a lot of players content.

The message spread very quickly—all the players knew that there was a new NPC in the sanctuary who sold drugs, so a lot of players came and bought from Emerald Grass.

Emerald Grass was very curious about the Inhumans. She realized that the players were the best test subjects, and they were all very easy to talk to. As long as she asked them for help, they would almost always agree. She also did not have to worry about the consequences of failure—they were indeed perfect test subjects. Emerald Grass was like a fish in water; she enjoyed staying there even more.

Sanctuary Three was a good place.

Han Xiao still had the drugs that he had robbed from Louis Research Institution, but he did not plan on selling them any time soon. They were all of extremely high quality, and they would have much better effects when the level of the players became higher. Then he could sell them for a good price.

Thinking about Louis Research Institution, Han Xiao realized a small problem—the institution should know that Black Phantom was the one that robbed them by now, but they had not done anything about it.

"Looks like they are afraid because of my name. They don't dare take revenge, so they decided to hold their indignation in," Han Xiao sneered.

Organizations that knew their place were the best—a lot of small troubles would be avoided, and he did not have to destroy them.

Chapter 231: Expedition of the Six Nations!

Twenty days had passed since the start of Sanctuary Three's construction.

The West City Area and North City Area of Graymetal Ruins had been modified into temporary sanctuary areas with the completed basic layout, including walls, power plants, residential areas, electricity network, and all the basic facilities.

Han Xiao's [Sanctuary Three] main storyline mission that had thirteen construction requirements and a three month target now only had three uncompleted.

There were still ten days until one month—he would easily complete it within the period.

In that case, the mission would be completed sixty days in advance. According to the multiplier, the reward would be multiplied six times!

There was no such thing as too much experience for Han Xiao; he would never let such an opportunity slip through his fingers.

What would be completed within a month was only the basic layout. The overall requirement of the main storyline mission [Sanctuary Three] was to build a completed sanctuary three, so there was still a long way to go.

The good thing was, once the progress followed the right path, he did not have to care too much about the construction anymore. However, he had never actually cared anyway.

With Huang Yu's help, it was easy for Han Xiao.

For the sake of more credit, Huang Yu was extremely diligent to showcase his usefulness so that by the time reward were distributed according to the amount of contributions one had made, he would receive a lot of credit.

The assistant whom Bennett had sent was indeed quite capable. At least, Han Xiao had been satisfied with Huang Yu's efficiency till now; he took care of everything very well.

The only bad thing about it was that Huang Yu was a man, not pleasing to the eye at all.

As the saying goes, when there's something to do, the secretary will do it; when there's nothing to do, do the secretary.

Han Xiao had only heard of that saying. Unfortunately, he had never been part of it. He still remembered the owner of the small store below his house. The single old man that kept telling him how many CEOs he knew and how sexy their secretaries were. For the sake of the five percent off that Han Xiao received, he did not expose those lies.

The single old owner had dreamt of the luxurious lifestyle full of women, and in his eyes, even a fart from a beautiful lady had a flower-like fragrance. Every time he talked to Han Xiao about this topic, Han Xiao would always show his contempt and tell the owner that this was not a noble lifestyle one should wish for—it would be better for the owner to refill his stocks and stop buying fake instant noodles. Every time that Han Xiao ate the instant noodles bought from him, there were no seasoning packages, and he had to chew them dry!

Anyway, other than the assistant not being pleasant to the eyes, everything else in the sanctuary was going well.

According to the discussion on the forums, there were currently 60,000 players working in Sanctuary Three; it was livelier than a street market.

There were about 130,000 to 150,000 players in the entire Southern Continent, so almost half had gathered in Sanctuary Three. Its popularity was not hard to imagine.

There were a lot of players but only a little more than 2,000 wanderer residents. With the harsh environment of Karst, there were not many wanderers.

To achieve the 'Players' Main City' plan. there had to be enough number of NPCs to provide functionalities to the city. The [Sanctuary] main storyline missions could only attract the players for so long, and as soon as the sanctuary was completed, the players would all be gone if there was nothing to attract them to stay.

All good things must come to an end.

Han Xiao wanted the players to be attracted to the sanctuary.

Therefore, he had to largely increase the residents of the sanctuary, and with more important people like Emerald Grass to provide unique functions, the sanctuary would provide more uses to the players.

The most direct way to increase the population was to migrate people from other large colonies. Han Xiao thought of Lu Cheng, Alumera, and such right away, he put this all into consideration.

…

Clank!

Metal finger blades and a retractable knife clashed and pushed against each other. The weapon vibrated and made squeaking sounds.

In the small empty square, Frenzied Sword, who had metal claws on his arms, was fighting with Hao Tian, who waved the retractable knife. Bun-hit-dog watched the two pro players spar, but he did not record due to privacy reasons.

Further away, Han Xiao leaned against the recliner chair casually and observed their fight.

Both Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian were pro players, and to hone their skills, they instantly agreed to spar with each other. After sparring once, it was like a fire that could not be put out. They sparred dozens of times a day. The professional league was drawing close, and the pro players had to prepare for it.

Between LV 20 to 40 was the time when PVP was most popular. PVP between players could be seen all around the sanctuary, and it negatively impacted the security measures.

Han Xiao immediately gave an order that sparring was not allowed in the safe areas within the sanctuary, but they could go to the ruins if they wanted to fight each other, and no one would care. If they went there, they might even help to demolish the old buildings.

Only a safe area could be considered as a main city.

The two pro players finally stopped after a long fight, with Frenzied Sword at a slight loss.

It was normal in the early stages for a Mechanical Pugilist to lose to a Pugilist that specialized in close range combat. They would have their own specialties once their level was higher.

In the hundred or so times they sparred, Frenzied Sword did not win even once, but Hao Tian did not look down on Frenzied Sword because of that. Rather, he was shocked.

"You have a lot of potential, very suitable to battle in the pro scene," Hao Tian encouraged. Hao Tian believed in Frenzied Sword. Being able to fight against an extremely experienced god player like himself was a clear indication that Frenzied Sword had a lot of potential. Furthermore, Frenzied Sword was still relatively new to E-Sports.

Although Hao Tian was cold, it was because he focused on honing his gaming skills. He would always be joyful upon meeting players that were highly skilled, and he felt a sense of similarity toward Frenzied Sword.

Frenzied Sword scratched his head. Not only was he not frustrated by losing to God Hao at all, he had actually learned a lot of techniques and felt more controlled during combat. He noticed that he did indeed have a lot of potential in close range combat. Han Xiao had made a very accurate deduction and given him the right advice.

The weapons that Frenzied Sword was using were called Leopard Mechanical Claws. It was a cold weapon blueprint that Han Xiao had received from fusing knowledge.

Leopard Mechanical Claws were similar to the mechanical arms. They had an exoskeleton structure that covered the forearms, and the various finger parts were equipped with claw-like blades. Through the activation of the gears within, the blades would spin rapidly, which could easily cut through metal plates that are one centimeter thick.

Han Xiao had built this equipment especially for Frenzied Sword. Frenzied Sword was the first player to follow him, and they had known each other since the closed beta, being rather reliable the whole time. Han Xiao had made plans for Frenzied Sword's Mechanical Pugilist path—Leopard Mechanical Claws were suitable for Frenzied Sword at the current levels, and they had even stronger power than the light mechanical arms at close range.

Once Frenzied Sword was at a higher level, Han Xiao planned to build Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades and Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor for Frenzied Sword. Such equipment would make Frenzied Sword stand at the top of the players, and Frenzied Sword would be able to do more things for him once he was stronger.

Hao Tian was a Pugilist. Han Xiao did not have any arrangements for him, letting him go with the flow.

Maple Moon had chosen to become a Mechanic, and she was very interested in building. She even did missions for Emerald Grass and wanted to advance class into a Pharmacist. She also offered to take over the missions to take care of Bear Cub, which saved Hao Tian from hell. In fact, she was walking Bear Cub at that moment.

As for Bun-hit-dog… Han Xiao had very low requirements for him. Reports just had to be able to run fast.

Bun-hit-dog had released another video recently that introduced Sanctuary Three. It had received quite good feedback on the forums, and he deserved part of the credit for contributing to the sanctuary's reputation.

In recent days, the pro players that accepted the hidden storyline missions from Han Xiao had completed their missions one by one. Han Xiao had noticed a few suitable candidates and placed them onto his possible spare tire list. Han Xiao had no plans to expand his spare tire team temporarily—his resources were just right for four players. There would be some trouble if there were more.

Ding dong.

While Han Xiao sat causally under the sun, a message appeared on the laptop on his lap.

Han Xiao moved his fingers and clicked open the message. Instantly, he sat straight up, and his expression became very serious.

It was a very short message, but it signified the beginning of a storm.

"The Six Nations have started their expedition!"

Chapter 232: Planet Aquamarine War!

In the four lands of Planet Aquamarine, the Six Nations controlled the Southern, Northern, and Western Continents. The land of Andrea in the middle had once been the main battlefield of the old era, and it was heavily polluted, filled with radiation, desertified, and abandoned. The Germinal Organization had occupied it and made it into their headquarters.

The intelligence about the Germinal Organization that Han Xiao had sold half a year ago had shocked the Six Nations, and the bases that the Germinal Organization had operated for years had all been destroyed. The Germinal Organization had been using these bases to threaten the Six Nations all these years, and now that they had been destroyed, the Six Nations had nothing to fear anymore. So, they finally decided to make the Germinal Organization pay.

The expedition began.

A war did not start out of nowhere, especially one that involved almost the entire planet. The fires of war would only start once the military power and resources had arrived at the battlefield.

After a few months of preparation, the expedition finally started on Galaxy Calendar year 688, 16 September.

More than a dozen large navy divisions left their military port simultaneously. With the carrier as the core, countless escort ships and destroyers with tens of thousands of soldiers on board marched forward.

The Six Nations have discussed the strategic layout for their joint combat. The General Commander for the Navy was Lin Lin from Raylen, a pure soldier without any political biases, experienced and steady, the person that was agreed by all the highest ranked officials of the Six Nations. Lin Lin commanded the navy to attack Andrea from various directions for a full invasion.

The Germinal Organization had also planted defensive measures and military power along the coastline with the navy and air force to protect their control of the coastlines.

The first wave of battle was missiles.

The Germinal Organization engaged first and sent out their long-range missiles, wanting to destroy the Six Nations' navy before they entered their vision range. However, the missiles were destroyed midair by the anti-missile systems of the aircraft carriers. The aircraft carriers returned the favor and fired missiles back at Andrea. Similarly, the Germinal Organization was saved by their land-based anti-missile devices.

Firing missiles at each other did not have any results, so the direction of the battle still depended on the results of real combat.

The fleets engaged each other violently on the seas of Andrea. The two armies fought against each other, explosions erupted continuously on one battleship after another, and there were ships sinking all the time.

Although the main focus of large battlefields was the various war machines, the impact of superhumans could not be ignored. Without precautions, a strong superhuman could slaughter an entire ship of soldiers and destroy a battleship from the inside single-handedly. The existence of superhumans brought a lot of uncertainties to the battlefield, but luckily, the power difference between the Germinal Organization's executive officers and Six Nations' superhumans was not very large—they both suffered wounds and restrained each other.

As the main storyline of the great war had been brought forward because of Han Xiao, the players that joined the expedition missions could only watch and did not have much of a chance to join in with the sea battle.

Their level was way too low. They would not have had any impact if they engaged; they would only have died.

The navy commander on the Germinal Organization's side was a high ranked sea battle commander of a long dead nation. The fleet of the Germinal Organization was fierce like wolves under his control, but the Six Nations held their ground very firmly like they clearly knew the Germinal Organization's strategies. Thus, the Germinal Organization's fleet suffered huge losses.

On the southern battlefield, Stardragon's 'Long Star' and 'Flying Dragon' fleet tore the Germinal Organization's formation open. Hesla's 'Scorching Sun', 'Plundering Bird', and 'Sharp Spear' fleets headed straight in and destroyed the islands that provided resources to the Germinal Organization's fleets. The other four nations also had their own strategies on their side of the battlefield.

Han Xiao had given a lot of information to Stardragon before the war started, and the Six Nations had an advantage because of this information.

It was because of Han Xiao's intelligence that they could take the lead in the battle, and the high ranked officials of the nations did not forget that.

The navy commander of the Germinal Organization's ship was sunk during the sea battle. The cannons had turned him into pieces, and the vice commander, Anther, immediately took over as commander.

In the face of the Six Nations' siege, Anther could not stand his ground and lost a large area of the sea within just three days, eventually giving up the coastline control and moving the troops back to the land for defense. The Germinal Organization was going to use their home advantage in Andrea to fight against the Six Nations.

After gaining control of the coastline, the Six Nations locked down the seas nearby. The fleets surrounding Andrea were equipped with pervasive sonar detectors that prevented the submarine attack or escapes. Like a huge net, the entire land of Andrea was surrounded. The Germinal Organization had nowhere to flee to.

The aircraft carriers became moving air force bases and challenged the Germinal Organization's control of the sky as they fought against the Germinal Organization's air forces. Nuclear bombs were the last resort, and they would not be used unless there was no other choice.

The transport ships dropped off the ground troops on the coastline.

The ground troops of the Six Nations had finally put their feet on Andrea.

The ground war had started.

The result of the ground battle could largely impact the ending result of the war, and according to the intelligence provided by Han Xiao, they just had to destroy these military bases that were equipped with anti-missile devices. Then, their aircraft carriers would be able to fire missiles and utilize their destructive powers. The Germinal Organization would soon be defeated.

Without anywhere to flee, the Germinal Organization would only lose more territory as the war went on, and their only ending would be death. If the Germinal Organization wanted to change the situation, they had to think of other ways. The commanders of the Six Nations were sure that the Germinal Organization had hidden strategies, and they were both trying to figure out each other's aces.

Anyone could see that the Germinal Organization was at a huge disadvantage. The Six Nations held councils of war internally many times and came to a conclusion that the Germinal Organization had close to no chance of winning. The only thing that they had to be cautious of was the 'Hand of Death' system that Han Xiao had told them of, the Germinal Organization's last resort.

To get rid of nuclear threats, the Six Nations sent special agents and infiltrated the various military bases that controlled nuclear weapons according to Han Xiao.

…

In the Germinal Organization's explosion-proof, underground headquarters, the situation of the war was being presented to the leader.

The high ranked officials of the Germinal Organization were depressed. It was only the start of the war, yet the situation had been continuously heading toward their loss. The Germinal Organization indeed had no chance against the Six Nations on paper, but they still had certain strategies, which should have had a surprising impact on the ground war.

In Han Xiao's previous life, the Germinal Organization and Six Nations had been on par during the start of the war. The Germinal Organization had been able to divert the Six Nations' attention with their bases across the continents. Their military power on the actual battlefield had been nearly equal.

But now, the Germinal Organization had been wounded by Han Xiao—victory seemed to have favored the Six Nations so much that there was close to no chance of changing it. The situation was completely different to his previous life.

All of this was the impact from a tiny butterfly, Han Xiao!

Nobody knew how they could win the war, but the calmness on the leader's face made everyone believe he had a way.

"Port of Holm, Aviary, and Temefa… all of the thirteen ports are lost. The Six Nations have been sending their ground troops to the shores non-stop. From the North, Raylen and Theseus are attacking the Sunset Valley base and Black Tree base. If these bases are lost, we will lose part of the missile launchers. The other four nations are pushing in steadily, and the guarding division lead by Bark and Mu Haishan had been defeated. They are marching toward the important bases. The goal of the enemy is very clear; they are aiming at our bases equipped with missile launchers and anti-missile devices. They even know the detailed information of these bases. They definitely have very key intelligence of ours," the commander reported with sweat all over his head.

"It's Zero," the leader said so calmly that it was almost scary. He was used to it.

This result further proved his speculation of Han Xiao having predicting abilities. Zero would always be the biggest threat to the organization as long as he was alive. Intelligence would only be useful when there was enough power to make use of it, and unluckily for them, Zero danced between the Six Nations and used their power.

Unfortunately, the Germinal Organization could not do anything about it. Zero was like a mouse that was always hiding. They could only hope that the prediction from Destiny's Child would be true, and Zero would come to the headquarters. The leader had countless men surrounding the headquarters—he just had to give the order, and an enormous encirclement that extended more than a thousand miles would be formed.

Nothing was overkill in order to capture Zero.

Zero's strength was not to be taken very seriously, but there was a very high possibility that he would bring a lot of help along, and the leader was confident that no matter how much help Zero would bring along, the only ending for them would be death under this huge trap that he had planned.

As for whether or not Zero's predictive power could predict these traps he had set, the leader had run a small experiment to test it. He had mixed up some of the military strategies and noticed that the Six Nations were unaware of these changes. From that, he knew that Han Xiao's 'prediction' had limitations, or at least, it was not completely accurate. Thus, the leader had no choice but to believe in Destiny's Child.

As a passive party, he could only wait.

The leader slammed the table with his gloved fist and said very coldly under his mask, "We would only have a chance at victory if we kill Zero."

Chapter 233: Level 60!

The impact that the war had was very huge. Other than Andrea being in the flames of war, organizations all over Planet Aquamarine had their own reactions, and most of the civilians were terrified.

As Han Xiao had said in the speech that he stole from Bennett, the scars of the old era had yet to heal, but they were torn open with blood and awakened the lingering fear within people's mind. All the high-positioned people of the society were paying a lot of attention to the war, and the lower-class people were affected as well. The goal that the Germinal Organization was promoting was to overthrow the Six Nations, and there were many remnants of dead countries all over the world that had mixed feelings.

At the same time, the brutality of war seemed infectious. Violence occurred more often everywhere around the world; robbers in the wild became more active due to the chaotic situation of the world, forcing wanderers to mass migrate. However, this was rather beneficial to the Dark Net. The sanctuary plan proved its use—all of the sanctuaries attracted a wave of residents.

Other than the Southern Continent, the players in the Western Continent and the Sanctuary that did not join the sanctuary missions had also acquired other benefits. Missions were plenty in the chaotic world, which satisfied the players' needs.

…

_____________________

[Fall of the Germinal] current progress: 27.1%.

_____________________

The entire world was paying attention to the battle, and the Dark Net was no exception. Han Xiao, who was in Sanctuary Three, far away from the battle, was also paying attention to the information continuously. He had two sources of intelligence, one being the battle situation intelligence collected by the Dark Net, the other being the battle videos on the forums shared by the players.

It had been more than ten days since the war started. The situation kept changing. The progress of Han Xiao's Germinal Organization main storyline that had been stagnant for a very long time suddenly shot up five percent, and it was still growing.

He shared intelligence with the Six Nations, which meant that he had contributed indirectly to the Six Nations' achievements. Therefore, he could share a part of the overall progress.

Flames of the war filled the skies far away. Han Xiao watched the flames from Sanctuary Three, and the basic layout of Sanctuary Three was also being completed in the meantime.

The players were joyful. They were filled with pride and a sense of achievement. This was a city that they had built, and they felt a sense of belonging toward it.

Compared to the joyful players, the residents in the sanctuary were feeling down because of the atmosphere of the war. The sanctuary reaching its completion brought them some safety, but they were still mostly worried and afraid of the future.

The war affected everyone around the world; only players were unaffected.

That was because they did not have to consider the future at all.

The more chaotic the world was, the happier the players were.

Han Xiao received the short-term reward for achieving the requirements of the sanctuary main storyline. It was completed 61 days in advance; thus, he received a bonus 610% experience, totaling to 568,000,000 experience. This was the mission that had given him the most experience up till now.

There was also the reward of relationship points with the Dark Net increasing by 1,250, achieving the relationship tier of [Respect].

The overall grading of [Sanctuary Three] has also jumped from D to B, which showed that the plan had been carried out perfectly this time.

The short-term requirements did not update, which meant that there would not be any guidelines after this. In order to complete the [Sanctuary Three] mission, the entire sanctuary had to be completed. The more mission requirements that were completed, the higher the final overall grading would be.

The construction of the sanctuary was on the right track already, so Han Xiao did not have to worry about it at all. He just needed to leave it to continue the construction.

Duu—Duu—

Bennett called with a surprising tone. "The early stages of construction for Sanctuary Three is already completed‽"

Han Xiao laughed faintly and said, "Compliment me."

Bennett was speechless. After a long pause, he finally said, "On a serious note, the progress of Sanctuary Three is already ahead of Sanctuary One. You have help from the Inhumans, so Sanctuary Three might be the first to be completed. Keep this up, I have a lot of hope for Sanctuary Three. As you know, the wilderness has not been safe since the war broke out. Wanderers have migrated in mass. Our sanctuary can be of use right now, so try to bring as many people in as possible."

Han Xiao wrote this down on a paper and planned to give it to Huang Yu to take care of.

The high ranked officials within the Dark Net could not believe this result, saying that the progress of Sanctuary Three had already exceeded Sanctuary One, how could it make sense?

The use of Inhumans was clearly shown. The people of Dark Net received insights from Han Xiao. They planned to also hire some Inhumans as workers—this would be beneficial to the entire sanctuary plan.

Bennett said a little more before hanging up the call. He was also paying attention to the war, but he did not mention much about that topic. That was because the Dark Net was considered a neutral party—there was no need for them to join in this storm.

However, he did not know Han Xiao's plans.

As the war breaks out, the Germinal Organization will have a hard time to even take care of themselves. I could pay them a visit. The thought flashed through Han Xiao's mind; he had been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time.

He had three goals—one was to receive direct progress of the mission [Fall of the Germinal] and increase its completion percentage.

Another goal was to save Aurora, free Hila who would be extremely strong in the future, and hopefully create a positive relationship with Hila. He had wanted to do this for a very long time and had only been waiting for a suitable opportunity. Now was no doubt the best time to save them.

The guarding power of the Germinal Organization's headquarters should be very low at the moment.

His third goal was related to his own growth, which also had to be completed in the Germinal Organization's headquarters.

Han Xiao was planning to act alone, only then would it be stealthy enough. Andrea had become a battlefield now, so it would only be easy for him alone to cross the battlefield and the Germinal Organization's security, then head to their headquarters.

His confidence came from his strength that had improved once again.

Five pieces of purple equipment lay in front of him. He had completed the class advancement mission in this month. With the first success he had, the rest had followed easily.

_____________________

Class Advancement Requirement: Build 5 Purple Equipment above level 60. Progress: 5 / 5

Class Advancement Succeed!

You have received a new class [Magnetic Ring Mechanic Lv. 1], +70 Energy, +2 DEX, +1 END, +4 INT

- You have received 4 Free Attribute points

- You have received 1 Potential points

- You have learned [Advanced Machinery Affinity]!

- You have learned [Surging Mechanical Force]!

- You have learned [Electromagnetic Energy Extraction]!

- You have learned talent [Energy Modification]!

_____________________

Magnetic Ring Mechanic, also called Basic Mechanic, was where one graduated from being a trainee and pushed open the doors of the superhuman Mechanic class, looking into the beautiful scenery behind these doors.

The Magnetic Ring Mechanic's specialty was utilizing the electromagnetic element energy into building machinery and increasing its affinity, thus improving its efficiency and quality. It was more superhuman-like.

After becoming a Magnetic Ring Mechanic, the energy of the Mechanic class would be called [Mechanical Force] and could be used in many aspects of the machinery. The newly awakened ability [Surging Mechanical Force] allowed the user to use energy to increase the power of machinery, similar to Overload, but this was a continuous ability that causes very little damage to the machinery. It was a basic use of the Mechanical Force and also a prior requirement to many advanced abilities.

[Electromagnetic Energy Extraction] was the same as [Energy Training Technique]. It was a growth ability that could increase energy. Its effect was based on the INT attribute, and the only difference between them was that this skill was unique to Mechanics.

[Energy Modification] was a talent whose introduction was 'You have discovered the key to building machinery—fuse your energy into the various building steps.' Its effect was to increase the quality and efficiency of the machinery built based on the energy level. It was one of the specialties of Magnetic Ring Mechanics and a core talent of the Mechanic class. As an example, Han Xiao currently had a little more than 1,600 energy, which would increase his efficiency in building machinery by about 20 to 25%.

A breeze of freshness could be felt in Han Xiao's brain, extending all over his body. A large amount of new knowledge appeared in his head. Han Xiao squinted his eyes in comfort. He could feel the clear changes of class advancement, and his control of machinery had improved once again.

New class, stronger power!

I have finally advanced class. Han Xiao clenched his fists. Excitement filled his heart. The enormous amount of experience on his interface could finally be used again.

[Magnetic Ring Mechanic] needed 3,650,000 experience to level up from Lv.1 to Lv.2, three times what was needed when leveling up [Trainee Mechanic] from Lv.14 to Lv.15. The higher the tier of the class, the more experience was needed to level up.

Without hesitation, Han Xiao immediately leveled [Magnetic Ring Mechanic] to Lv.5, spending 20,000,000 experience without blinking!

Rich!

His overall level reached 60!

One year and more than two months after he joined Galaxy, Han Xiao finally reached max level in version 1.0!

_____________________

LV 60 class advancement mission [The Ultimate Trial]: Push one's limits during battle. Find and ascend the hierarchy of life.

Mission Requirements: Acquire 2,000 Trial Points. Current progress: 0/2000

Trial Points are gained through killing enemies. The stronger the enemies are, the more Trial Points. The harder the victory (calculated by the amount of health lost), the more the Trial Points.

_____________________

As expected, the version has no restriction on me because I'm not a player. Han Xiao had expected this long ago, but he still could not hold back his happiness.

What this meant was that as long as he completed the class advancement mission, he could become the only one on this planet to break through level 60!

He would stand on the peak of Planet Aquamarine, a place that no one could reach!

Just thinking about it made Han Xiao very excited.

His eyes looked beyond planets; it was the entire universe of Galaxy.

This type of class advancement mission requires a large amount of combat and killing. I have to first see what kind of enemies give me Trial Points. Low-level ones are out for sure. It has to be high-level strong enemies, Han Xiao thought.

Since he was going to Andrea, he could try to complete the class advancement on the way. Only the battlefield would be filled with strong enemies, and only then could he go all out.

He could damage the Germinal Organization at the same time. It was a steady but a little playful plan, just as how Han Xiao had always been.

Putting this matter aside, Han Xiao assigned the Free Attribute points, which all went to INT as usual.

Afterward, he spent 25,000,000 experience to max the level of the newly acquired [Advanced Machinery Affinity] and [Surging Mechanical Force].

The tons of experience that he had stored could finally be spent on something.

Seeing the experience turning into his strength step by step, Han Xiao felt a sense of fulfillment.

Looking at the interface, his Combat Power Level grading had exceeded 2,000. He was at grade C!

Chapter 234: Hiring Path

A Grade C superhuman was at the peak of Planet Aquamarine. They had stronger resistance and destructive power, and they were considered to be 'Basic Planet Explorer Standard' in the universe.

Achieving LV 60 would not guarantee a C grade. It also took into consideration the standard of abilities, talents, and attributes. Most of those who were level 60 in Planet Aquamarine were just at grade D+; only those like Bennett were at grade C. There were only about twenty grade C superhumans across the whole of Planet Aquamarine.

Han Xiao now stood among the very top.

He was more confident.

Since he had decided to go to the battlefield, he had to prepare for it.

After advancing his class to [Magnetic Ring Mechanic], his mechanical skills had improved another level. Han Xiao spent a few days enhancing his equipment once again and built some new machinery that might be of use.

However, he did not delay for too long as the Germinal Organization was in a dire situation and might turn Aurora into drugs any time; he had to save her as soon as possible.

After he finished his preparation, Han Xiao called Huang Yu over in the evening and said, "I have to leave for some time, about half a month most likely. You will take care of the matters in the sanctuary during this time."

I was already the one doing that… Huang Yu did not say this sentence that he wanted to. Instead, he asked, "Your Excellency, where are you going?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask." Han Xiao carried his equipment bag and said, "The construction of the sanctuary is on the right track. Make sure it stays that way, or you know the consequences."

Huang Yu hastily nodded.

Han Xiao walked out of the room and toward the helipad; the helicopter was already waiting.

He observed the current situation of the sanctuary on the way. There were a lot of players, and it looked very lively. Other than the construction, the newly joined wanderer residents also hired players to do some simple jobs. The outline of the players' main city that he had imagined could already be seen.

Han Xiao planned to act only for this rescue operation.

The Six Nations had locked down the Andrea Battlefield. If he approached as a third party he would be taken as an enemy and attacked. It was not easy to get close to the battlefield, and Han Xiao could not just close in while taking a plane like before—he had to go through the official procedures to enter the battlefield.

…

On the coastline of the Southern Continent was Stardragon Stone Port Base. Three heavy cargo planes were being checked before taking off. They had the mission of carrying important resources over the sea. In the small square beside the plane, hundreds of people in various clothing were either standing or sitting. They did not wear the uniform of Stardragon military, but they shared the same aura that they were not to be messed with. They stood in distinct groups and sized each other up.

These people were mercenaries belonging to different organizations. Mercenaries were not rare in such large-scale wars, and the Six Nations did not have any problems with hiring them.

Mercenaries were like hounds searching for the smell of blood, taking part in wars to earn themselves a fortune.

As the saying goes, people are gathered by profit and separated by profit.

Even some contract killers in Blood Pact Society wanted to be part of it. Most of the contract killers just had their names associated with the Dark Net; they were not technically subordinates and were not under Dark Net's command.

There were many superhumans among mercenaries. These were the power that the Six Nations needed; there was no such thing as too many superhumans. The party taking the lead in the war would receive help from all over the world, and using this help effectively could further expand one's advantages. The situation of the ground combat between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization was rigid. A large number of super soldiers that the Germinal Organization had produced gave quite some trouble to the ground troops of the Six Nations, so this was the time when they needed more manpower.

There were thousands of battlefields of various scales across Andrea. The places where the mercenaries would be most useful was in comparatively smaller battles as well as in carrying out strategic missions. Quality was more important than quantity.

These mercenaries were taking the cargo plane toward Andrea. They were chatting among themselves at the moment. Most of them were undisciplined, rough men who were acting rowdily. The Stardragon soldiers standing in their guarding positions on the side were annoyed by this behavior, but they were not allowed to scold these mercenaries as an order from above.

Surrounded in a noisy environment, Qin Yuan crossed his arms and looked at the surroundings.

The Blades, Goats, and Ice Sculpture Mercenary Organizations… Tsk tsk, seems like quite a number of people came, all wanting to earn a fortune during the war. Even the killers are here, and the most renowned ones here are Crowell from the Wasps and Ghost-level killer 'Scattered Shadow' from the Blood Pact Society, Qin Yuan thought mockingly.

Qin Yuan was a small time famous mercenary. The mercenaries organization that he belonged to was also the top among the others. He received a lot of attention, and there were a few others that received the same treatment as well, including Crowell and Scattered Shadow—these two killers had also proved themselves with their battle results.

Everyone in the circle knew that the Wasps Organization and the Blood Pact Society were competitors and enemies. Therefore, these two killers received the most attention. Many mercenaries wanted to watch them put on a show, but they stood in the corner and did not have any conflict at the moment.

Scattered Shadow sized Crowell up occasionally with dread in his eyes because Crowell had a bigger name. Staying cautious, Scattered Shadow was wary of Crowell.

In comparison, Crowell seemed very casual and relaxed. He closed his eyes and rested calmly, looking very confident. He ignored Scattered Shadow and felt he was above all.

Qin Yuan sized Crowell up with interest. Suddenly, he saw the Stardragon soldiers far away split open a path and allow one person in.

Another new guy. Qin Yuan looked over, but his ridiculing eyes froze and turned into shock very quickly. His mouth widened, and he became speechless for the moment.

The others looked over as well. The scene that had been noisy just a moment ago suddenly turned silent as shock appeared in everyone's faces.

A man in black clothes slowly approached and stopped at the edges of the team, causing everyone watching to avert their gaze. Chatter filled with shock soon rippled through the crowd.

"Why is someone like him here‽"

"Black Phantom can be said to represent the Dark Net—is the Dark Net not on neutral ground anymore?"

Han Xiao stood quietly unaffected and did not say a word.

Black Phantom was a legend in the Dark Net. He immediately became the center of attention because they did not think that someone of this level would be acting together with them.

They were of totally different levels. Just by standing there, Han Xiao made these mercenaries shut their mouths in fear. The Stardragon soldiers on the side were surprised and contented to see this. Finally, they could give their eyes a break. They looked over at these mercenaries that had been lawless just moments ago.

Who told you guys to be so full of yourselves, finally learned your lesson?

Qin Yuan suddenly noticed something. He subconsciously looked at Scattered Shadow. The others have also noticed and looked over as well.

Blood Pact Society was also a member of the Dark Net.

Scattered Shadow did not think that he would meet a legend from the same organization here. He wanted to approach Han Xiao and strike up a conversation, but he was afraid of being despised. His eyes were filled with a mix of respect and hesitation. Nonetheless, the arrival of Han Xiao made him feel much safer and more confident. He stared at Crowell with taunting in his eyes like he was going to look for trouble.

Damn it, why is he here too? Crowell's back was completely soaked in cold sweat. The calmness he had earlier on was long gone. Seeing the provocative look in Scattered Shadow's eyes, he immediately turned away and did not look back. He then walked into the crowd and decided to be a coward.

Scattered Shadow felt very relieved and relaxed; it was the first time he had felt so good by making use of the fear others had for someone other than himself.

Under the strange atmosphere, seconds felt like years to everyone present. Then, finally, the plane was ready, and the Stardragon soldiers announced that it was time to start boarding. The next moment, like everyone had made an agreement, they split open a path, and at the end of it was the confused Han Xiao.

Qin Yuan coughed and said respectfully, "Please… please go first."

Well, this is quite a good treatment. Am I that scary? Han Xiao shook his head, carried his equipment bag, and boarded the plane before anyone else. He casually found a seat and sat down. The others only then heaved a sigh of relief and boarded the plane respectively.

Whoosh!

After some turbulence, the plane took off.

The official path to go to Andrea for Han Xiao was to become a mercenary of Stardragon; this was the easiest way. The reason he had chosen to use Black Phantom's identity and not change his face was, although the Six Nations accepted mercenaries into the war, they still would go through their records and did not allow anyone that was not trustworthy.

This Black Phantom identity of his not only did help to fight the Germinal Organization before but also belonged to the Dark Net; it was a very trustworthy identity and was approved easily. Of course, using the identity of Black Phantom would impact the Dark Net's firm neutral ground negatively, but these were all small problems in Han Xiao's eyes.

He actually had another choice, which was to change face and replace another mercenary then board the plane secretly, but he felt that he did not need to go against the rules if he could enter through an official channel.

The phone in his pocket started vibrating. Han Xiao took it out, and it was a call from Bennett.

He picked up the call, and the next moment, Bennett's scream almost broke his eye drums.

"Come back now!"

Chapter 235: Infiltration 1

Han Xiao moved the phone further away from his ear, before picking his ears with his pinky and saying unhappily, “Lower your voice.”

“Why didn’t you discuss with me?” Bennett said furiously. “You represent the Dark Net; joining the war means we have lost our neutral ground. The impact behind this…”

Han Xiao covered the speaker and looked around at all the mercenaries who were eavesdropping with a warning in his eyes. The seats in the cargo plane were opposite each other, so everyone saw the look on Han Xiao’s face. They were all confused as to how they messed with him.

Qin Yuan was the first to react. He immediately took out earplugs and placed them in his ears. The others saw this and understood as well. They all followed suit.

Only then did Han Xiao uncover the speaker, and Bennett’s nonsense finally came toward the end. He did not hear most of it, but he still replied as if he was listening all the time.

“… therefore, don’t get involved in this,” Bennett said. “The Germinal Organization will definitely lose. No matter what grudge you hold against them, there’s no need for you to settle it yourself.”

“This is a private matter,” Han Xiao replied.

“Of course! How can it not be a private matter‽” Bennett yelled furiously.

“The Germinal Organization can’t even take care of themselves anyway,” Han Xiao said. “Isn’t it good to make use of the opportunity? Neutral standings aren’t important in the current situation anyway, so don’t worry.”

“… You didn’t actually hear any of my analysis just now did you!” Bennett was stunned.

Tsk, got found out. Han Xiao shook the phone rapidly and moved it further away while yelling, “Hello… I’m on a plane… The signal is bad…”

“You stop lying to…”

Han Xiao hung up the phone.

Bennett would definitely be unhappy with him doing this, so Han Xiao felt somewhat apologetic.

However, that did not mean that he would not do it just because Bennett was unhappy. Exterior factors would not determine his actions; he only followed his own thoughts.

Furthermore, Han Xiao was very clear that there was no meaning to whether the Dark Net maintained its neutral ground anymore. If the Germinal Organization was destroyed, Dark Net would be next on the list.

The Dark Net always seemed harmless, but no one could be sure that they would continue to be in the future.

In the previous life toward the end of version 1.0, the Six Nations expressed their intentions to suppress the Dark Net. Now that the Germinal Organization had met their demise two years in advance and the Six Nations were not as damaged, they might suppress the Dark Net at an even earlier date.

At this moment, a Stardragon commander walked into the cabin, waved his laptop, and said, “Eight hours till we arrive in Andrea. The destination is Migratory Birds Port on the south side. These are the basic situations of the southern battlefields and some missions. Take a look.”

After he finished, the people looked at up at him in confusion.

The commander was a little stunned. Should there be someone that would take the laptop from him? Holding onto the laptop and getting ignored is very awkward, okay?

Qin Yuan realized something. He hastily informed the others to take out the earplugs and said awkwardly, “Er, please say that again.”

After ten minutes, everyone had a laptop in their hands and was studying the information.

Han Xiao suddenly said, “Give me a map of the entire battlefield with the Germinal Organization’s territory and their basic layout.”

The commander agreed.

The territory map and the layout of the enemy was not a secret. He had received orders to pay attention to Black Phantom and satisfy any of his reasonable needs.

The reason that Stardragon treated him so well had to do with Han Xiao’s identity. In gaming terms, it was because he had high enough relationship points and legendary points.

Intelligence was also a reason that Han Xiao had entered through the official channel. It was not easy to penetrate the battlefield, and if he rushed in without any knowledge of the enemy’s strategic layout, he would most likely end up in a horrible position. The intelligence that the Six Nations had was very well rounded, and it was convenient for him to come up with an action plan.

“A lot of soldiers near the headquarters. Both ground and air are locked down…”

The Germinal Organization headquarters were made up of bases. The real core was the explosion-proof fortification hidden underground in the middle of these bases—that was Han Xiao’s target.

Han Xiao realized that there were many small gaps in the Germinal Organization’s deployment, which seemed like a chance for him to head straight into the headquarters. These gaps were not very obvious but were not too secretive.

Feels weird. Han Xiao rubbed his chins as his eyes twinkled.

…

The cargo plane landed in Andrea. The cabin doors opened, and the smell of dust and the tight war atmosphere filled the air. Countless battleships docked on the sea far away, and sound of helicopter blades passed above their head continuously. There were still burn marks from the coastline battle in this port. Stardragon soldiers passed by one after another.

Han Xiao alighted the plane along with the others. What followed next were all sorts of procedures that took two hours to complete. The mercenaries finally crossed the iron net obstruction, boarded the troop transport, and entered the battlefield area through the road. The vehicle was heading toward a battlefield on the front lines that was fighting with a Germinal Organization team in the ruins.

After getting off the plane, Han Xiao had not stopped moving. He could feel the tense atmosphere in the battlefield as he passed through the battlefield. He occasionally saw refugees in ragged clothes staggering and retreating under the soldiers’ lead. These were the wanderers in Andrea. Their life was already tough enough, and the war made it even worse.

The impact of the old era war was still affecting Andrea, the radiation pollution was still very severe, so plants and animals were rare. Many of the refugees had black yellow scars on their skin, and some of them even had tumors.

They alighted the vehicle upon arriving at the destination. Qin Yuan approached Han Xiao before the commander came.

“Your Excellency Black Phantom, we hope you can lead us.”

Mercenaries respected the strong, Han Xiao’s position was undoubted. It was the safest to act in groups on the battlefield, and it was an instinct to follow those who were strong.

Han Xiao waved his hands, picked up his equipment, and left.

Qin Yuan was stunned. He hurriedly yelled, “Where are you going? That’s the way to leaving the battlefield. Our mission is…”

Han Xiao’s voice came from far away. “I’m not interested in that mission. I’m used to acting alone.”

Everyone helplessly exchanged looks.

There was no need for him to join a team; he could just do things alone.

…

A few days later…

Scorching sun burnt the ground of Mika Town, which had originally been a colony for the wanderers. It had become a small-scale battlefield. Short and tiny buildings were destroyed, bullet shells littered on the ground, and burn marks scarred the scenery. There were still flames that had yet to go out giving out black smoke.

“Huu, Huu…”

A gasping sound appeared behind a building that was half collapsed. A few superhumans in Stardragon combat suits were hiding behind the wall and cautiously observing the surroundings. They were Pugilists cultivated by the military. With the civilization standard of Planet Aquamarine, Pugilists were the easiest to create in large numbers compared to the other superhuman classes.

“Captain, our situation is very bad. The Germinal Organization has outnumbered us. They have a small team of 200 people, 7 superhumans, and 15 super soldiers. We only have 11 superhumans left, and we are separated from each other.”

“I have requested for backup,” Fang Yun said in a low voice. “The Division 13 agents will be providing the backup as long as we can hold on for an hour.”

“An hour… there is still a group of damn Inhumans among the enemy. They are too difficult to deal with.”

At this moment, the sound of machine gun fire appeared from afar. Sounds of crying and screaming appeared but disappeared the next second.

There was still a group of refugees that did not retreat successfully in this battlefield and hid in fear. The Germinal Organization was worried that the people of Stardragon might disguise themselves as these refugees, so they killed every one of them.

“With these refugees to stall time, we won’t be discovered so soon.”

A flash of pity appeared in Fang Yun’s eyes as he nodded heavily. At this point in time, they had to make use of everything to protect themselves. The battlefield did not allow sympathy, and there was no time to care about the lives of a group of refugees.

There is no justice in war.

At the same time, in the second floor of a building, Han Xiao changed his face and put on a ragged coat to disguise as a refugee. He stayed beside the window and looked out to observe the situation outside.

This battlefield was the target that he had decided with after a few days of searching. His plan was to kill a member of the Germinal Organization here, switch to his face, and disguise as him, which would allow for easier infiltration. He had used this method before, and he planned to use it again. It would be as difficult as finding a needle in a sea to find him in this chaotic battlefield.

When he observed the battlefield deployment, Han Xiao had noticed the gaps, but he thought that since he could notice this weakness, the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization would be able to as well. It looked like a trap, so he decided to use his own method.

The risk of breaking directly into the headquarters was too huge, and Han Xiao’s destination was the underground headquarters, which would be many times harder. It was safer and stealthier to infiltrate by changing faces and identity. Even if he was exposed, they would not know his identity, and he could still switch to another face and continue infiltrating.

At this moment, a loud bang came from someone kicking open the doors downstairs. A group of people came in to search the building.

Chapter 236: Infiltration 2

Ta, ta, ta!

With the sound of footsteps, a pair of people headed upstairs. Han Xiao could see through the bullet holes in the walls that these people had IDs hovering above their heads.

“Unlucky, it’s a group of players.”

He was wearing his Smart Meta-Optical Mask, but although the players could not know his real identity, they could at least see that his attributes were all question marks and would immediately be cautious.

As these Germinal Organization players approached, their conversation could also be heard.

“What’s your contribution points?”

“127.”

“I have 95. There are no contribution points to killing refugees, how annoying.”

Both players of the Six Nations and Germinal Organization received battlefield missions. Killing enemies would grant them contribution points. The war between organizations should not have opened at this stage, but because of Han Xiao’s effect on the storyline, the players joined the war at a very low level, and their impact on the war was minimized.

With a loud thud, the door was kicked open. The two players walked in and saw Han Xiao in the corner.

“F*ck, another refugee.” One of them raised the gun immediately and prepared to fire. His attitude was like the person before him was equal to an ant.

Whoosh!

A few blades flew out near the ground and slashed through the two players’ necks in a flash. Blood shot out as they turned into white light and disappeared; they were killed in an instant.

These players were at around LV 20 and had about 300 HP. With Han Xiao’s abilities and talents, the damage of his purple Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades was between 45 and 112, but he could deal about three times what was shown on the interface. Taking into consideration the enemies’ damage resistance and reduction, it was still a piece of cake to instantly kill the players around this level.

There were a few more players outside. Han Xiao wore his Electromagnetic Scanning Goggles and looked through the wall for their locations. He controlled the hovering blades to penetrate the wall and slash open the throat of these players. No one could react. The last thing they saw was a flash of light.

After killing all the enemies, Han Xiao returned the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades to his sleeve.

Then, Han Xiao changed to another face and left the building with a low profile. He hid in the ruins and avoided the Germinal Organization troops before finding a new house and observing the situation, waiting for an opportunity.

“Hope it’s not players again,” Han Xiao mumbled.

…

Flashes of white light appeared one after another. These players revived at the Germinal Organization battlefield revival point. They still had not realized what had happened, and their faces were filled with confusion.

“How did I die?”

“Was there a bug‽”

They looked at the combat information on their interfaces hastily

_____________________

??? has dealt 275 damage to you.

??? has dealt 267 damage to you.

You were killed by ???.

_____________________

The players were all confused

What was this ‘???’?

…

Tuk tuk tuk!

A string of bullets was being fired at a super soldier of the Germinal Organization, hitting his exoskeleton.

“These monsters are too tough.” Fang Yun threw the firearm aside and waved his fists, launching a punch. It clashed with the exoskeleton fist of the super soldier and left a dent.

Super soldiers were not as strong as normal superhumans, but the Germinal Organization had improved this technology through many experiments and were able to mass produce the super soldiers. It was quite a headache in the battlefield for the Six Nations.

Fang Yun and his team worked together and defeated this super soldier very quickly. However, the sound of battle attracted other superhumans of the Germinal Organization, and a siege battle started. It was bloody and merciless.

Fang Yun’s team members fell one after another. Fang Yun was besieged by the super soldiers. He was wounded all everywhere, and blood spilled out of his mouth as he was moving.

A team member sacrificed himself and opened up a gap in the siege. Fang Yun dashed out without hesitation and ran with all his might with people chasing behind him.

Fang Yun could not remember if he ran for ten or twenty minutes. The exhaustion and injuries were too much for him to endure. His legs softened, and he fell onto the ground. He had no strength left to even stand up, but he continued struggling and crawled forward.

Two Germinal Organization superhumans caught up. They rubbed their fists and walked toward Fang Yun with a ferocious smile on their faces.

Fang Yun clenched his teeth. These two people were the ones who had killed his team member earlier.

Both sides were building ruins, and there was nowhere to escape. Fang Yun stopped crawling and stared at the duo, squeezing every last bit of strength he had left, wanting to muster some energy and give the duo a surprise attack before he died.

They walked closer and closer, and when they were only ten meters away, a shadow appeared behind them. However, they did not notice at all and continued walking forward.

Fang Yun was stunned. The person was dressed like a refugee.

“What the…”

Blades hovered beside the refugee. With a flash of light, they penetrated these two from behind and went back and forth several times within a blink of an eye.

The faces of these two people froze. More than ten wounds appeared on their bodies the next second, and blood shot out like a fountain.

Fang Yun was completely shocked.

Two Germinal Organization superhumans had been killed instantly by a refugee!

“You…”

Before he finished his sentence, that shadow appeared in front of him, and the next moment his, vision became dark as he was knocked unconscious.

Both at about level 30.

After seeing the combat information on the interface, Han Xiao felt a sense of lamentation. Level 30 had once been a chasm that he had never been able to cross, but now, he could kill them easily.

Han Xiao avoided the face so that he could still change into their face. He first took out the items on these two people’s body, including any identification, then looked at their names and held onto them.

He pressed on his cheeks. A triangular scanning beam shot out from in between his brows and scanned the face of one of the corpses. The following moment, Han Xiao’s face became exactly the same.

He removed the clothes on the corpse and put them on. He then listened to the internal communication of the Germinal Organization troops through the headphones. They were sweeping up the rest of the Stardragon soldiers. Han Xiao pondered for a while before setting the two corpses on fire and throwing them aside. He left the Stardragon soldier alone.

Han Xiao had yet to leave when he heard a new message from the headphones.

“Attention, the enemies’ backup has arrived. There are superhumans from Division 13.”

“The enemies are too strong, fall back immediately.”

“I need backup. I’m at the West side of… fizz—”

Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. This was just the right situation for him to infiltrate.

Following the sound of cannons and guns, Han Xiao came to the battlefield. He realized that the Germinal Organization troops had been intercepted by the backup team of Stardragon. The superhumans of both sides were clashing with each other. The agents of Division 13 had a steady upper hand. The targets hit by their bullets were covered in flames and burnt—it was a huge threat that made the people of the Germinal Organization wary.

High-explosive rounds? Han Xiao’s eyes twinkled. Had the high-explosive rounds that he had given Stardragon before he left still not been finished?

What he did not know was, after he left, Division 13 collected all the leftover high-explosive rounds, and after they burned three workshops trying to figure out its blueprint, they sealed them up as important resources, only giving them to their agents during very important missions.

There was not anyone that he knew among these Division 13 agents, but there were a few he might have seen once or twice. He was reminded of Li Yalin and the team. They had definitely been sent somewhere in the battlefield for missions. He wondered if they were still alive…

A Germinal Organization superhuman saw Han Xiao and yelled, “Karius, quickly come over and help!”

The unlucky guy that Han Xiao had changed into was called Karius.

This yell also made the Stardragon people notice Han Xiao and fired at him. With his fast reactions, Han Xiao hastily dodged and left a burning trail on the ground behind him.

He rarely used high-explosive rounds anymore, and he did not expect the Division 13 to still be using them. After all, they were just his leftovers.

Han Xiao did not want to be stalled, but trouble came looking for him. A Stardragon agent turned and headed his way. He dashed over, covered in flames, and took out a knife handle. It was the retractable knife that Han Xiao had built before.

“Hello Pugilist.” Han Xiao hooked his fingers. Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades flew out low on the ground and immediately slashed open the flesh of this Pugilist. He fell onto the ground the next moment while he was still charging toward Han Xiao. Han Xiao bolted over and sent him flying with a kick. He hit an SUV and the entire vehicle was turned over. This guy would probably spend half a year in bed for that injury.

The Germinal Organization soldier that had called Han Xiao’s name was stunned.

Since when was Karius so strong‽

Just as he wanted to call Han Xiao for help, he saw that Han Xiao had knocked over the people obstructing the way and hopped into a car, immediately escaping.

The people of the Germinal Organization were stunned. Then they realized what had happened and all hastily jumped up the cars to escape. They were in an extremely disadvantageous position anyway. As soon as someone started something like this, there would be people that followed.

…

The troops escaped back to the temporary base. The commander immediately yelled and questioned them. The Germinal Organization soldiers hastily explained the situation. Han Xiao also said a few words to add on. No one suspected him, or rather, they did not have the time to suspect him. This temporary base was very hectic, so after the commander finished listening to the explanation, he immediately sent the troops for other missions.

After infiltrating the camp, Han Xiao collected intelligence incautiously. His plan was to get closer to the headquarters by continuously changing his identity. The most direct targets were those troops that headed in the direction of the headquarters.

Chapter 237: Infiltration 3

Han Xiao was asking around until night fell, when he found out that a supply convoy had transported a large number of munitions from a resource warehouse nearer to the headquarters. That convoy would be returning in twenty minutes.

Han Xiao located one of the drivers, changed his face, and lured him out. He cracked the driver's neck when they were alone and then changed into his face and clothes. It was troublesome to get rid of the body, so Han Xiao found a very creative and not bloody way, which was to find a player and give him the mission to get rid of the body. Although he set his identity to be unknown in the mission, the players would not care at all—the mission was accepted immediately.

Convenient, Han Xiao thought. He had a new idea—the players could be of help for his infiltration.

Although the Germinal Organization players' loyalty was fixed, they still had the freedom to accept missions, and the Germinal Organization did not know that.

Han Xiao received an order very soon after he disguised himself as a driver—the GPS in the car showed the route, so Han Xiao simply followed the convoy and arrived at the resources warehouse half a day later. He then used the same method to gain more intelligence.

After two days, Han Xiao finally arrived at a base near the headquarters after changing his identity many times.

The group of black bases could be seen far away, occupying as much space as a medium sized city. This was the Germinal Organization's headquarters, but Han Xiao knew that the real core area was hidden underground.

Han Xiao asked around from the soldiers there and found that it was almost impossible to enter the underground headquarters. Thus, he had to find a target with special identity.

…

Fang Yun woke up and realized that he was lying on a hospital bed in a medical tent. Around him were injured soldiers. Seeing that he was awake, the doctor walked to him and said, "I have treated your wounds. You have been unconscious for one day."

"How's Mika Town?"

"The backup made it in time and defeated the enemies, but some of them escaped. They are now calculating the losses."

"Let me take a look…" Fang Yun coughed weakly. The doctor hastily handed over the water bottle. Fang Yun grabbed it and took a huge gulp before gasping for air.

As a superhuman, he was treated very well. Someone brought the battle damage statistics very soon. Fang Yun browsed through impatiently. Seeing that all his teammates were confirmed to be dead, he was filled with sorrow and rage. He flipped to the death count of the enemy, and suddenly, his pupils constricted.

"One enemy is missing," Fang Yun realized that the person missing was Karius. The superior sent the intel on the enemies shortly after in video form. Enemies were identified through matching screenshots of the video recorded during battle with the database, and most of the superhumans in the Germinal Organization were in the database.

"That's him. The missing guy is called Karius. I saw him die with my own eyes."

The superior frowned and said, "But according to our witness intel, Karius escaped and is alive, and we also didn't find his body."

Fang Yun felt a chill up his spine. He immediately recalled that 'refugee'.

…

In the underground headquarters of Germinal Organization, the leader was looking at the tactical map in silence.

The map was marked with red and blue areas. Red was the Six Nations' forces, and blue was theirs. The blue was surrounded by red and was only getting smaller with time. This was the situation for the Germinal Organization; they were at a total disadvantage. However, the leader did not care about the gains of losses of these areas. He did not put all their forces into the battlefield as he was discreetly preparing for a counter attack. However, it could not be carried out yet because he had to get rid of Zero who could 'foresee' first, or else the exposed plan would be meaningless.

Although Destiny's Child claimed that Zero would come to find them, the leader had to take care of some details. He purposely left some gaps in the deployment on the battlefield. Zero might take these routes if he wanted to infiltrate the headquarters, but the intel from the hidden scouts disappointed him again and again. There was no one who had infiltrated through those gaps.

The method Han Xiao used to infiltrate was unnoticed by the leader.

The longer the leader waited, the more impatient he grew. The ability to 'foresee' that Zero possessed was like a blade hanging on the organization's head, and their actions were very restricted.

"Still not here…" The leader had asked the scouts as usual, but the results were disappointed once again. He started to doubt if Destiny's Child's claim had failed this time.

Because he really did not understand why Zero had to come to the headquarters, he could not figure out what Han Xiao's goal was.

He never would have thought that Han Xiao's target was Aurora. That was completely unexpected.

…

The pollution from the factories and the thick clouds painted the sky gray, and the clouds within ten miles looked like they were going to fall any time.

The surface headquarters consisted of numerous bases, vehicles travelled within, and sentinels guarded every junction to check for identifications. The main base in the middle was an enormous metal fortress with a ferocious metal tower that penetrated into the sky.

The entrance was a large alloy gate. The side gates on both sides were the human entrance, and the vehicle entrance was in the middle, more than wide enough for three tanks to enter simultaneously. Helipads were built on top of the exterior walls—helicopters took off and landed from time to time.

The entrance was very lively. Convoys were entering and leaving, and rows of guards stood on the side of the road and scanned the area to maintain safety.

One of the guards was Han Xiao in disguise. He turned his eyes and observed the surrounding environment.

The effect of the mask was outstanding. This method of infiltration was extremely stealthy. After changing his identity many times, he finally got an identity that could get him into the headquarters. In order to become a guard, Han Xiao had to patiently wait for a few days, and it went without saying what happened to the original owner of this identity; Han Xiao had never been one to have mercy in these times.

When the shift finally ended, Han Xiao followed the others into the surface headquarters. It was huge and spacious; it was more than ten meters tall just in the first level. After entering the door, a huge space came into sights. Things were being loaded onto their transportation, commanders were resting, it was lively and noisy, smoke from the operating engines made the air quality very bad.

The door of garage was at the West side, many ground transportations were parked inside, the doors at the other directions were for the people.

Han Xiao knew the basic structure of the Germinal Organization headquarters. The underground headquarters were connected with the surface headquarters. By authorizing one's identity in the lift, one could enter the underground headquarters. Quite a number of people had the authority to enter the surface headquarters, including even some players belonging to the Germinal Organization. Han Xiao chose a suitable target and changed into the target's identity in a discreet corner. He then entered the lift with his new identity card and scanned it on the reader. The green light turned on, and the lift stopped at an underground level. A metal tunnel came into Han Xiao's sights after the doors opened, leading to the underground headquarters.

He opened the doors and entered. The underground headquarters were intense and quiet—not lively like it was on the ground. One could clearly feel the intensity in the air. The members walking around all had emotionless expressions and were in a quick pace. Everyone looked busy. Han Xiao's eyes twinkled. He covered up the energy in his body and acted like a normal person. He then straightened his collar and started walking while planning for his next step.

He was already halfway to success now that he was in the underground headquarters!

That is what infiltration should be like.

It was unwise for him to drag it for too long; he would be in a very dire position should his identity be exposed. He touched the equipment bag and felt a little safer.

The security measures had to be turned off through the central computer before he could save anyone in the headquarters, and he also had to access the central computer for another goal he had. Therefore, he needed a hostage that had the authority to operate the central computer. Fortunately, Han Xiao had kept someone in mind since very long ago.

Cyberlos.

Chapter 238: Nerve Connection 1

Han Xiao knew about Cyberlos in his previous life.

A high rank researcher of the Germinal Organization, research fanatic, known by the players because he was the one in charge of the research that turned Aurora into Aurora Jam. To him, he could only do more experiments if he was alive, so he could betray any organization without any hesitation, loyalty was worthless in his eyes.

Han Xiao was very confident that if he threatened Cyberlos, he would compromise for his life, provided no one saw them.

There was a small problem, however; the headquarters were enormous, and Han Xiao had no idea where Cyberlos was at the moment.

At this time, a player with a hovering ID able his head walked past, so Han Xiao had an idea.

"There are players in the underground headquarter too, I can try to use them." Han Xiao thought.

Electrolux was on the way to submit a daily training mission. Suddenly, a Germinal Organization soldier appeared and stopped him. The soldier looked extremely ferocious yet was smiling friendly, like a crocodile laughing. The unlucky person that Han Xiao replaced looked too rough.

Electrolux shivered and said, "what—what do you want?"

Han Xiao laughed friendly but made Electrolux feel a chill up his spine. He paused and said, "Hey there, I have a small matter that I need your help with."

As he spoke, he set a mission and gave it out. The mission requirement was to find Cyberlos' location. He wrote in the mission introduction that he had something urgent to report as if he really did. Since the players would not normally doubt the mission introduction, they would not suspect anything.

Electrolux was pleasantly surprised. It was the first time that he had experienced a mission coming directly to him. Furthermore, the reward was quite rich, so he was tempted. Finding Cyberlos was very easy—he could only be in the lab.

"Ok, I'll be back very soon." Electrolux went to confirm.

Not long after, Han Xiao received the message that Cyberlos was browsing data in the experiment level.

Han Xiao's eyes twinkled. He gave another mission to Electrolux and asked him to get him the map for the headquarters. It was difficult for him to acquire such a thing, but it was easy for the players in the headquarters. Electrolux did not suspect anything; he passed the map that he had with him to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao looked at it in details and nodded. He had plans for the next step.

The experiment level occupied a very large area. Han Xiao came to the resting station of the researchers, used the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades to block the camera in the corner temporarily, forced open the uniform box, took out a few white coats and masks, disguised himself as a research, and walked to the experiment level openly.

Cyberlos was in a large experiment lab at the time, ordering the others to test the performance of a group of super soldiers while he browsed the data on the computer. Seeing that there were many people there, Han Xiao pulled his mask, walked closer to Cyberlos discreetly, took out a simple detector, and scanned him roughly. The result was that he was not wearing a wire as expected. Cyberlos spent most of his time in the headquarters, so he was not very cautious and also did not have any guards following him.

Han Xiao turned around and turned his back on Cyberlos, acting like he was arranging the data. He bent his finger. A blade hovered very close to the ground and flew into Cyberlos' coat, touching against his heart.

Cyberlos felt something cold near his chest. He hastily reached out his hands to his chest and felt a piece of thin metal. Shocked, he immediately wanted to unbutton his collar to check. It was at this moment that he heard a clear whisper despite the noisy surroundings.

"Quiet, don't move, don't yell, or this piece of blade will slice open your heart. Now, act like nothing happened and listen to my orders. You don't listen, you die; you trigger the alarm, you also die."

Cyberlos looked around; everyone looked like enemy to him. He said softly, "Calm down, what do you want me to do?"

He did not dare fight back because he was worried for his life.

"Leave the lab, act normal."

"Ok, don't do anything to me." Cyberlos took a few deep breaths and said loudly, "You guys continue the experiment; I have something to attend to."

After he finished saying that, he walked to the door without raising the other researchers' suspicion. Han Xiao paused for a while and followed behind Cyberlos.

The two came to the corridor. Cyberlos saw Han Xiao behind him and knew that this was the person who threatened him. He sized him up and said softly, "What else do you want me to do?"

"Bring me to the central computer. I need your authorization. Don't try to pull of any tricks; I can penetrate your heart in less than 0.1 second if anything abnormal happens."

"I won't," Cyberlos said as he felt the coldness on his chest. Then he calmed his mind and lead the way. He was not a soldier; his life was more important than anything to him. He knew that he had no choice but to compromise, so he was not willing to take the risk of triggering the alarm.

They met quite many Germinal Organization members on the way, and Cyberlos acted very naturally, nodding as usual. Han Xiao followed behind. The others had no suspicion and thought that he was Cyberlos' assistant.

After entering an empty corridor, Cyberlos looked carefully at Han Xiao's face and suddenly said softly, "I see you had a surgery on your face, Zero."

Han Xiao was shocked. How did he figure out my identity?

"In order to catch you, the leader has planted an inescapable trap. Countless Executive Officers are on standby, ready to act anytime, and here you are as expected."

Han Xiao's expression changed a little in disbelief. The leader had set up an ambush and waited for him, which meant that he knew he would sneak in‽

How is this possible‽

I haven't told anyone about my plan!

Does the leader have someone who can predict the future? Does that mean I am already in siege at the moment?

Han Xiao was perplexed at the time, but he hastily calmed himself down. Then he noticed something wrong. If the leader really knew his goal, he could not have snuck in this easily. That meant that the leader had limited knowledge and did not even know he had the ability to infiltrate through changing his face, which explained why there were no preventive measures.

Han Xiao instantaneously thought of the gap between the deployment layout of the Germinal Organization and was now sure that it was a trap.

Although he had many questions, since Cyberlos had mentioned the matter, Han Xiao knew what he meant. Han Xiao suppressed his killing intent and said in a low voice, "Tell me everything you know. I will consider letting you live."

Feeling the cold and piercing murderous intent, Cyberlos' back was soaked in cold sweat. He forced himself to calm down and said, "This is all the prediction of Destiny's Child."

Destiny's Child? Han Xiao frowned. He had never heard of such a person in the Germinal Organization.

"Destiny's Child's ability might be foreseeing the future; it might also be deciding the future. We are unsure as well. He said you will walk into the trap yourself…" Cyberlos described everything from the beginning—Destiny's Child's ability, the prediction about Han Xiao, the leader's plans, and other things. For the sake of his own life, he poured out everything he knew.

There is someone like that hidden in the Germinal Organization? Han Xiao was shocked. There was no information about this person in his previous life. It seemed like this was the Germinal Organization's deepest secret. If Destiny's Child could influence the future, did that mean his thought of saving Aurora could have been forced upon him?

Suddenly, he felt a strong need to kill Destiny's Child.

The mind was one's palace—anyone would be extremely furious if it was invaded.

Many abilities could influence the mind—psychic, magic, Esper—and there were even similar natural phenomenon in the universe. The Psychic Current, for one, was made up of thoughts, emitting waves that affected the mind, travelling in the universe unseen, causing any life form that passes by to hear 'voices' from the Psychic Current and thus get influenced.

However, after some pondering, Han Xiao felt this guess was way too unbelievable because he already had thought about saving Aurora when he first saw Hila more than one year ago, and he had analyzed the reasons for doing so, which were all beneficial to himself. It did not feel like he was influenced to do it at all; furthermore, saving Aurora was not the only motive he had for infiltrating the Germinal Organization headquarters.

There had to be limitations to Destiny's Child's abilities, or at least it had a limited effect on him. However, he did come to Germinal Organization headquarters alone as predicted, and that had him relieved and worried at the same time.

He finally understood how dreadful it was to have an enemy that might be able to predict the future. Suddenly, he felt the leader's pain.

I have made the Germinal Organization suffer so much; the leader probably wants to skin me alive.

From what Cyberlos had said, Han Xiao knew that there was a large number of Executive Officers and troops hidden in the headquarters at the moment, all waiting to ambush him, and as soon as anything happened, a siege could be formed any time. He was in a rather dire situation.

However, Han Xiao also noticed the huge advantage that he had, which was that the leader only knew he would come, not when he would come or what was his goal.

Seems like I still have the upper hand, but I can't drag this any longer. It'll be best to complete the goal and leave immediately.

If he could complete the mission and leave without raising the alarm, it would be the best result.

Also, he made a mental note of Destiny's Child.

Chapter 239: Nerve Connection 2

The central computer room was located at the core area of the headquarters. It stored a large amount of confidential information. Cyberlos had the necessary authority, so he turned off the defense measures and brought Han Xiao into the central computer room.

Rows of large hard drives were placed neatly like a bookshelf. Indicator lights flashed continuously, and at the end of the central computer room was the monitor and the controls. The room was simpler than the underground central computer room of Stardragon Division 13.

Cyberlos turned on the central computer, keyed in the password, then identified his fingerprint and scanned his retinas. There was actually a secret alarm measure in this step, where one set of passwords would activate the alarm in the event that a high-ranked official was threatened. However, Cyberlos did not plan to do such thing for the sake of his own safety.

He believed that Han Xiao could kill him easily before being caught, and he did not want to take the risk.

Thus, this alarm measure was useless to him.

Cyberlos was lawless and extremely daring when doing experiments, but when something concerned his life, he was a total coward.

"What do you want to see?" Cyberlos asked.

"Full map of the headquarters," Han Xiao said.

Cyberlos controlled the computer, and the construction map of the headquarters showed up on the screen.

Han Xiao took out Viper's helmet from his equipment bag, took a photo of the map, and stored it into the database to create a 3D model automatically. At the same time, he was also memorizing the map, quickly locating where Aurora was imprisoned.

Thinking about the Destiny's Child mentioned earlier, Han Xiao was a little tempted to see what that was about, but Cyberlos said that only the leader had the authority to open the gate toward the Destiny's Child. Thus, Han Xiao had to let go of that idea.

"Open your confidential intelligence database," Han Xiao said.

Cyberlos did as he was told. The secrets were laid out right in front of Han Xiao.

Gathering this intelligence was the other reason he had come to the Germinal Organization headquarters. He had changed the original storyline, so it was only natural that there would be secrets that he did not know. Furthermore, he had just been a player in his previous life, so he did not have information on things like experiment stats, deployment plans, and such.

Han Xiao saw the exoskeleton structure of the super soldiers, it did indeed use the technology from the light mechanical arm he once had left behind, they were basically just using his leftovers.

Han Xiao recorded all the intelligence, especially the detailed information regarding the Hand of Death system. Giving all this to the Six Nations could create incomparable advantages for them and eliminate the Germinal Organization's last resort. The more useful the intel he contributed, the more progress he would made in his mission.

That was not all.

The Six Nations and the Germinal Organization both had a part of the class advancement knowledge—opportunities like this did not come very often.

His target was indeed the class advancement knowledge!

Han Xiao always like to maximize his benefits. Saving Aurora was not his only goal; intel and class advancement knowledge were, too.

"Open the knowledge database," Han Xiao said.

Class advancement knowledge of Pugilist, Esper, and Mechanic showed up on the screen. Han Xiao let out a long exhale upon seeing that class knowledge. He was excited deep down—he could finally gain new class advancement knowledge after so many months.

The Mechanic class advancement knowledge the Germinal Organization had was [Nerves Connection] of the 'control' branch.

_____________________

Mechanic class advancement knowledge detected: [Nerves Connection].

Spend 2 potential points to learn?

_____________________

"Confirm."

_____________________

Learning in progress. Do not cancel.

5%…. 43%… 78%…

Successfully learned! You have learned [Nerves Connection]!

_____________________

Han Xiao closed his eyes and felt the new knowledge appeared in his mind.

Like the name suggested, [Nerves Connection] was an important technology related to biological machinery. By reading the nerve signal from a life form, machinery could be controlled with one's mind, increasing the reaction speed several levels. Having new advanced class knowledge meant that the number of possible knowledge combinations increased, and he could fuse many more blueprints. It was a direct benefit to him.

Finally, I have the second class advancement knowledge after the one from Stardragon about a year ago.

Han Xiao did not stop there. He also recorded the class advancement knowledges for Pugilist and Esper. Although he could not use them, he could sell them to the players in the future and profit a lot from it.

Controlling the source would give him a monopoly over the technology and attract the players. Furthermore, these were the core abilities for the players, so selling them would not be a problem.

When the level of the players was higher, they would start to need class advancement knowledge, and when they realized that they could buy from Han Xiao…

Han Xiao started to worry if he could take that level of popularity.

Intel and knowledge, it was a lot of profit.

Cyberlos was watching from the side all the time. Suddenly, he felt a chill and asked while shivering, "You… are you an Inhuman?"

Through their research, the organizations had realized that the Inhuman had the ability to learn things very quickly, and Han Xiao's actions earlier were a little suspicious, so Cyberlos suddenly thought of this possibility.

Han Xiao had an evil idea. He laughed and misleadingly said, "What do you think?"

Cyberlos suddenly felt a chill around his hands and feet.

The arch enemy of the organization was an undead Inhuman, then what was the point of opposing him?

Sh*t!

What the hell!

Damn it!

"But… you appeared much earlier than the Inhumans…" Before Cyberlos finished his sentence, he became extremely shocked and looked at Han Xiao as if he was looking at a ghost.

Is Zero actually the first Inhuman‽ Was the Inhuman phenomenon actually spread by Zero and his ability‽

Not bothering about Cyberlos, whose thoughts diverged further and further from the truth, Han Xiao checked the intelligence and made sure it was correct before asking, "Is there a self-destruction program in your central computer?"

"Who would be so stupid to set a self-destruction function in the headquarters? That's crazy…" Cyberlos wiped away his sweat.

Viper completed the 3D map at that moment, so everything was ready. Han Xiao pulled Cyberlos up and yelled, "Turn off all the defense measures of area A-4. Freeze all the surveillance cameras."

Cyberlos did as he was told hastily, then it occurred to him… Area A-4, isn't that where the little girl with the vital power ability is imprisoned?

"What do you want to do?"

"I want that little girl. Let's go." Han Xiao left the central computer room while pushing Cyberlos.

Cyberlos was stunned. He could understand why Han Xiao wanted the intel, but Aurora was the organization's top secret. Han Xiao had not looked into details of the intelligence he just received, so it was like he knew it all along.

Was the reason that Han Xiao chose him to be the hostage also because he knew that he would cooperate?

Cyberlos felt a chill up his spine.

The feeling of being completely exposed was a fear that deeply penetrated into his bones, devouring his mind.

…

Cyberlos was very good cover. They came to area A-4 without any problem. After walking past the twisted corridors, they finally came to the tunnel toward the prison Aurora was in. The defense measures had already been turned off.

The duo arrived at the gate, and the guards stopped them.

"Open the gate." Cyberlos tried to be as calm as possible.

"Cyberlos, I didn't receive any authorization," the guards said with confusion.

"Just the routine blood draw."

"But someone is already drawing the blood…" the guards said hesitantly. However, when they saw that Cyberlos was losing his patience, they still opened the gate.

Walking into the room, Han Xiao finally saw Aurora. She was petite and skinny. Her skin was the kind of pale that had not been under the sun for years. She was locked in the room with glass walls, like an animal in a zoo.

The little girl was cowering in the corner and hugging her knees. She looked at the people in white coats outside with fear. These people were pushing a small trolley full of tools and preparing for the blood draw.

Aurora vividly remembered the pain of the blood draw, and it was going to happen again today. She bit her lips and hoped that the waiting could last forever. However, she knew that these people would enter the room sooner or later and insert a needle into her blood vessels and bones while she helplessly watched her life force turn into a red torrent and leave her body in a tube.

Aurora had fantasized that her older sister would save her from this fate, but she knew that was too much to ask. She did not want her sister to be in danger just to save her, so all she could do was look happy and optimistic in front of Hila—only then would Hila not feel even worse and feel less stressed.

At this time, she saw the gate open once again. Two people walked in. Then she could only see a few white lights flashing before she saw the people in white coat and the guards fall onto the floor with blood spurting out from their bodies.

Aurora blinked with confusion. She stared blankly as the glass wall that stood between her and freedom was opened easily.

A ferocious looking weird uncle walked in and reached out toward her.

"I'm here to save you, follow me."

Aurora froze in place. She had fantasized and dreamed of this moment, but when freedom finally came, she was lost.

Chapter 240: Shock

Aurora looked at the hands that reached out for her before raising her head to look into Han Xiao's eyes.

"Why are you here to save me?" she asked timidly.

Han Xiao pondered and said, "You can take it as I'm just a warm-hearted person."

"Who are you?" Aurora turned her head sideways.

"You can call me Zero," Han Xiao said casually.

Aurora's wet and large eyes were filled with surprise. "So, you're Uncle Zero."

Han Xiao squinted his eyes. Being called uncle made him felt like he was abducting a little girl.

Cyberlos hesitated before speaking up. "She went through brainwashing. You should take note of that if you want to save her."

Brainwash?

He knew about this rumor, but Aurora's expression did not look like she was brainwashed. Han Xiao's eyes twinkled, and he said, "Tell me more."

"We have many methods of brainwash," Cyberlos said softly, "such as the destructive one that will recreate one's personality or the gentle one that twists their thoughts. We have also been researching on chips recently… although there has yet to be any progress."

"Which method was used on me?" Han Xiao said with interest.

Cyberlos was immediately covered in cold sweat. He braced himself and said, "I saw your documents before. When we found you, you were already severely injured, delirious, and had clear signs of memory loss. When you became a test subject, because of the importance of your brain and the fact that you were already in such a state, we used the gentle brainwashing method."

This was within Han Xiao's expectations. Back then, he had been tormented for quite some time by conflicting images and sounds that could be nullified if his Intelligence was just higher than ten. He figured that it was not any sort of destructive method. Anyway, it was in the past, and Han Xiao did not particularly care about it. "What about her?"

"Her elder sister is a strong Executive Officer. Her ability is very unique—she holds a special position and has contributed a lot to the organization. Because of that, Aurora's brainwash was an even more gentle method. Her personality and mind remained unchanged. However, if she hears a set of specific words, her brainwashed personality will take over, and she will follow orders strictly," Cyberlos said.

Han Xiao understood roughly. Although Aurora was important, there would not be any accidents since she was completely under control. Her sister, Hila, was a sharp blade, so they left Aurora's personality unchanged as a way to order Hila. Getting rid of the brainwashed personality would not be a problem; since Aurora was just a weak little girl, Han Xiao just had to knock her unconscious if her brainwashed personality was awakened.

At that moment, Han Xiao realized something. "Wait a minute, how do you know me?"

"My elder sister told me about your story."

That's weird, what did Hila mention me for? Han Xiao thought. This little girl seemed to be rather friendly toward him, which was really weird since they should be enemies. He wondered what Hila had told her.

Aurora stood up wobbly, put her hand in Han Xiao's hand, and said, "Thank you for saving me. Please bring me away."

Han Xiao was interested. "Aren't you afraid that I will use you like the Germinal Organization?"

"My older sister said, no matter how dangerous the future is, it will be better than now." Aurora raised her head. Her innocent face was filled with seriousness.

Seeing that Aurora was so understanding, Han Xiao was relieved. His understanding of Aurora was only limited to the rumors in his previous life. There had been a side mission to investigate the source of the drug that Aurora was made into, and through that, the players came to know about Aurora.

Therefore, he did not know Aurora's personality, and he did not expect things to go so smoothly.

There would be plenty of opportunities to improve their relationship later on, and now was obviously not a good place and time.

The surveillance cameras of this area were frozen, and it would be found out sooner or later. Thus, time was scarce.

Han Xiao moved the bodies in, took off the white coat and mask from one of them, and gave them to Aurora for disguise. Aurora followed his instructions.

Han Xiao only felt how truly skinny Aurora was when he touched her—it was pitiful. However, Han Xiao did not have any needless emotions. After he disguised her, he turned and yelled at Cyberlos, "Bring us to the underground tunnel, and I promise not to kill you once we're safe. The Six Nations likes people with your abilities—you should still be able to receive funding for your research over there."

The escape route was definitely not going to be the main gate now that Aurora was with them. The underground headquarters were connected to many underground tunnels. The tunnels were railway tracks that transported resources and people, and they spread out like a spider's web.

The plan was to take Cyberlos as a hostage, use his authority, and leave the headquarters from the underground tunnel, hopefully with Cyberlos cooperating willingly. That was why Han Xiao gave him such a promise.

Although Cyberlos did not want to leave the research that he had in the Germinal Organization behind, he also did not want to die. So, Han Xiao's solution was acceptable, and he even felt relieved.

The Germinal Organization was a sinking ship—to be able to change a side at this time might be a better choice.

As they were going to head out, Han Xiao suddenly stopped. He realized that the small body size of Aurora would attract too much attention even with a disguise. He thought for a moment and took out an empty single shoulder equipment bag. "Get in."

Aurora did as she was told and climbed into the bag.

As the zip closed, her vision became dark. She could only feel herself being lifted and moved.

"Sister…" Aurora cowered in the bag, closed her hands in front of her chest, and prayed.

…

The three of them quickly passed various levels and headed toward the underground tunnel.

At the same time, the leader, who was listening to the battlefield analysis, suddenly took out his phone.

"The central computer was browsed by Cyberlos. A lot of confidential information was gone through…" The leader narrowed his eyes and raised suspicion. He said to the assistant, "Find Cyberlos' location and show the surveillance camera footage on my laptop."

Then, the leader operated his laptop and entered the central computer system through a backdoor command. He looked at the browsing history and immediately noticed that Cyberlos had turned off all the defensive measures. The surveillance camera footage could be seen, too. Cyberlos had entered the central computer room with another person.

The leader's eyes became sharp and cold. He was immediately able to deduct that Cyberlos was under duress, and this stranger was most likely Zero. He did not step into his traps and snuck in another way.

"Well… don't think about leaving now that you're here." The leader sent out orders immediately. "Send all the nearby Executive Officers to surround Area C-11 and the entrances of underground tunnels 3 to 11. Do it secretly and don't raise any attention."

The leader did not turn on the alarm in the headquarters. He wanted to secretly trap Zero to make sure he was dead.

At a lounge in the underground headquarters, a group of Executive Officers played poker out of boredom.

"It's so damn boring to standby every day. How I wish to go to the battlefield," someone lamented.

"What's good about the battlefield? There's danger everywhere. With these Inhumans and super soldiers, there's no need for us to put our lives at stake," someone sneered.

"Super soldiers are a group of monsters that are even more disgusting than the Inhumans. They're a bunch of half-completed trash," someone derided. The normal superhumans looked down on those mass-produced soldiers.

At the side, Hila sat on the sofa with an indifferent expression and rested with closed eyes. Her coldness stopped people from approaching, and she did not approach anyone either; she was not part of the lively atmosphere.

All of a sudden, Hila opened her eyes and turned her head in a specific direction. The coldness on her face was gone, replaced by shock and rage in her eyes.

The Life Mark that she had left on Aurora moved!

These Executive Officer suddenly received orders from their superiors, and before it was finished, they heard a loud blast. As they looked up, they saw that the gate was shattered. Hila had already turned into a high-speed, dark-red shadow and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Chapter 241: Accident?

"Something's wrong."

As they were heading toward the gate of the underground tunnel, Han Xiao frowned, looked around, and said, "The atmosphere doesn't feel right. There are fewer people along the way. I have a sense for danger. Did you trigger the alarm?"

As he finished speaking, Han Xiao looked at Cyberlos with a piercing look in his eyes.

Cyberlos was shocked and denied it immediately. "No, I definitely didn't do it. Maybe the leader noticed something abnormal. I don't have as much authorization as the leader, so him noticing my browsing history really has nothing to do with me."

Han Xiao tightened his grip on the equipment bag and said in a low voice, "Let's go quickly."

At this time, five levels higher, the leader was heading to this direction with a laptop in his hand. The surveillance camera feedback was displayed on the screen. He laughed coldly and said, "So, you have started to suspect it. By the time you reach the underground tunnel, the ambush that I set up will be completed as well. This time, don't even think about escaping."

The leader did not think that Han Xiao would dare to infiltrate alone. He even felt that the number of ambushes that he had prepared was overkill. In his mind, Han Xiao's strength was the same as back in the Dark Crow Valley, similar to the level of Pan Kuang, and there were more than fifty Executive Officers that were stronger than Pan Kuang in the headquarters right now.

There was nowhere to escape.

The last resort of the siege was the leader himself. He hardly met anyone that could match up to his strength. Even the legendary hero Bennett was at most at the same level as he was. The leader had fought Bennett a few decades ago—they were on par.

The leader was also someone who stood at the top of the Planet Aquamarine—only then could he build and support such a big organization.

Seeing that Han Xiao was like an insect that had sunk deeper and deeper into the spider web, the leader seemed to have seen the light of success. However, the next moment, he saw from the surveillance camera a flash of dark red light shooting straight toward Han Xiao.

Hila had almost gone haywire; her red eyes were staring straight at Han Xiao with rage. It was not because she recognized Han Xiao—it was because she felt the Life Mark on Aurora. Her younger sister was hidden and cowered in the equipment bag that this person was carrying.

Seeing this, there was no way Hila could hold back anymore. Her abilities activated in an instant. Her maroon long hair was like snakes, entangled in gray and red smoke that formed an arrow-like shape. Her murderous intent was almost tangible.

"Put her down!"

Her seeing a stranger taking her younger sister away in a bag was like a parent seeing the child being carried away by a stranger; there was no way to stay calm in such a situation. Rage consumed her senses, and she could not think rationally anymore. Furthermore, her younger sister was very special to her; Aurora was almost like her spiritual sustenance, and that made things even worse.

This woman got stronger again. Han Xiao was shocked. He hastily slid to the side and dodged this cone-shaped dark red air arrow by a few centimeters. The air arrow shot through the metal wall. Han Xiao was surprised. Hila's superhuman abilities could inflict both physical and psychological damage, and this was already so strong despite only being the physical damage. This meant that the main psychological damage would only be stronger. It was probably because she was attacking in a rage state—the damage enhancement could almost match up to his [Flaming Will]

Despite being rather tanky, Han Xiao was not interested in getting hit. He moved to the side and dodged again. With a thought in his mind, Han Xiao destroyed two surveillance cameras with two shots and yelled, "Hila, I'm here to save your younger sister. You're attacking the wrong person, you stupid woman…"

Before he finished, Hila already crashed toward him and reached out to grab the bag without listening to anything he said. Being speechless, Han Xiao let go of the bag, carried his other equipment bag, activated Electromagnetic Hover-boots and Mini Maneuvering Equipment, then jumped up to the rooftop.

Hila hurriedly placed the bag on the floor, opened the zip, and looked Aurora in her eyes.

"Sister!" Aurora's voice was filled with surprise.

"Are you ok?" Hila immediately checked over Aurora's body. Seeing that she was not hurt, Hila was relieved. Then she remembered there was still an enemy present, he stood up in a flash and stood in front of Aurora, her face alert and looking like she was ready to fight any time.

"Sis, you misunderstood." Aurora struggled to get her head out of the bag and yelled, "That uncle is here to save me."

"I don't know him at all." Hila was still cautious.

"He said he's uncle Zero."

Hila was stunned. She could not believe it.

Zero‽

"It's me." Han Xiao did not hide anymore. The alarms all across the bases were ringing. He knew that he was exposed. When Hila suddenly appeared, he already knew that things were not pleasant. With how much Hila cared for Aurora, she would definitely go all out straight away.

"How can it be you?" Hila could not believe it. The dark red smoke moved with her emotions.

Why did Zero come to save Aurora? There should be no connection between them. She could not figure out Han Xiao's motive at all. Furthermore, they should be enemies. Why was the target Aurora? Does he want to threaten me like the Germinal Organization?

With all the guesses in her mind, Hila could not trust Han Xiao subconsciously. No matter what, Hila could not let go of Han Xiao stealing Aurora away secretly.

"I will explain in the future. Your sister is already saved. The truth is right in front of you, and regardless of whether you believe it or not, I'm here to help."

"You're now an enemy that the organization is going after." Hila's expression was indifferent. Her power gathered in her hands, but she did not engage.

"Do you want your younger sister to continue being controlled by the organization? Right now is the best chance to escape," Han Xiao said in a low voice. His motive of saving Aurora was for Hila, and Hila was right in front of him now. Naturally, he would not let the chance slip by.

The alarm was ringing loudly. Hila was hesitating despite the fact that she hardly ever hesitated at all. She really wanted to just take Aurora and escape like this, but the alarm in the base was already triggered. She knew the power gathered in the headquarter more than Han Xiao did; there was too little chance to escape, and she did not want Aurora to take the risk.

If only I didn't attack just now… This thought of regret appeared and disappeared within an instant, but if she had to choose again, she would still attack without hesitation.

At this moment, Aurora pulled on Hila's shirt.

"Sis, bring me away."

Hila's expression tightened. She looked down and saw Aurora's hopeful face. The words of rejection were stuck in her throat.

How can she put her younger sister back in a situation worse than death?

Thinking of the things that Aurora went through all this time, Hila felt like her heart was being squeezed and rubbed.

At least the most difficult part was already completed. Her younger sister had already left that prison cell, and this was what she had been dreaming of.

At this moment, Hila's became firm. She touched Aurora's head gently and thought to herself, If it fails, I will die with you.

Hila raised her head, looked at Han Xiao with mixed feelings, and said, "Follow me."

She had never expected to fight side by side with Han Xiao.

With more help, there was a bigger chance to escape. Zero had snuck in without anyone noticing, so he could not be too weak.

After she said that, Hila put Aurora into the bag and walked toward another direction with big steps. Han Xiao dragged Cyberlos and followed behind.

Since they had already been exposed, they could not go to the underground tunnel anymore. Hila knew the base, so she must have some other way.

Han Xiao was quite sure that a bloody fight was unavoidable. Luckily, he was prepared in the case that the infiltration failed although he did not intend to allow that to happen.

What he did not know was, although it seemed like Hila had exposed him, she had actually made him dodge the trap indirectly.

…

"Moron! Who told her to engage!" The leader was furious. Han Xiao changed his route, so his plan was disrupted. Han Xiao was now more cautious, and the leader's siege had not yet fully formed.

As the cameras were destroyed, the leader did not see the conversation between Han Xiao and Hila. He merely thought that they had already started fighting.

"All Executive Officers and soldiers, full engagement. I want Zero to die here," the leader yelled through the walkie talkie.

At the same time, the players in the headquarters received an urgent mission.

_____________________

[Intercept Zero]: Intercept Zero before he escapes the headquarters.

Mission reward: 200,000 experience, Lv.20 Dungeon Crystal - [The Germinal Organization Base Escape Warfare]

_____________________

200,000 experience and a Dungeon Crystal‽

The players were extremely motivated.

Chapter 242: The Unmatched Assassin 1

Boom boom boom!

The high caliber Berserk Eagles shot hot flames out of the muzzles. The cameras on the way were destroyed one after another. Han Xiao was rapidly counting and calculating. Thirty-eight seconds had passed after the alarm rang. They were moving very fast and had already deviated from their original path, so the enemies should appear soon.

The team composition now was two burdens and two who could fight; it would be too difficult to just rush out recklessly. Han Xiao would not have had a problem on his own, but it was a pain in the ass to protect someone. In his previous life, Han Xiao had never liked missions to protect people as there was not much room to play, and it would definitely fail if he was reckless.

Suddenly, Han Xiao's eyes twinkled. He looked at Cyberlos hostility.

Now that Hila was here, was there any reason to keep this old man around? They were not going through the underground tunnel, so Cyberlos was of no use anymore.

Cyberlos shivered. "Do—don't do this. You need my authorization…"

"He's exposed. His authority is frozen. There's no point keeping him." Hila had an indifferent look. Cyberlos was a superior that was in charge of the experiments on her younger sister, so her hatred for him was deep in her bones. She raised her arms and was going to kill Cyberlos.

At this time, a hand grabbed onto her arm. Han Xiao shook his head toward her.

"Don't kill him. We might need him alive," Han Xiao said. Then he slapped Cyberlos unconscious. Han Xiao had misled him in many ways, so he could make Cyberlos mislead the leader as well.

Hila swung Hila's hand away and gave him a stare, but she did not insist on killing Cyberlos.

Han Xiao was not bothered by her attitude. "What's your plan?"

Hila was not used to Zero being her teammate yet. She kept silent for a while then replied, "I know a hidden path that can help us escape the headquarters, but it is very far, four floors down. We'll have to break past the interception if we want to go there."

"Four floors down…" Han Xiao had memorized the map. To go down four floors from here, it would take at least 5 minutes without any interruption, but the enemy would definitely not let them do that.

"Are you sure of this hidden path?"

"That was originally an abandoned hidden path. I discovered it by accident, so it is very discreet."

Hila kept it short, but she did not say the exact location.

In fact, she hid the truth. This hidden path was a backup that she had secretly prepared. Although she was controlled by the Germinal Organization, she had never given up and hoped that one day she could save Aurora. However, she could not get Aurora out of that prison cell, so she did not take any action. She had never expected that the most difficult part would be completed by Han Xiao. Thus, the hidden path was could finally be of use.

These things happened out of nowhere; she truly did not expect someone to save her younger sister.

Hila looked at Han Xiao discreetly, wanting to say something, but in the end, she did not.

There was actually a safer way with more than eighty percent chance of bringing her younger sister away, but that would put Han Xiao in a very dangerous situation. She felt Han Xiao would most likely not agree, so she did not say it and only planned in her head.

At this time, footsteps appeared at the corner up ahead—a team of Germinal Organization had shown up to intercept them.

Just as Hila raised her hand and was going to attack, Han Xiao did it before her. The two guns fired rapidly. High caliber bullets exploded on these soldiers' chests, and flesh and broken bones sprayed all over the place. One bullet from him was as strong as a grenade explosion for normal soldiers.

After killing a group of these soldiers, the Trial Points for the class advancement mission on the interface did not increase—only enemies that were strong enough gave Trial Points. However, since the weak ones were already here, the stronger ones would not be far.

As expected, strong presences entered his detectable range one more one and approached very quickly.

"You don't attack; protect your younger sister. I will deal with the enemies," Han Xiao said.

Hila frowned and said worriedly, "Can you? Even I don't have confidence in beating these Executive Officers…"

"Shut up and watch. If you didn't attack, I would've already escaped." Han Xiao was not in the mood to explain to her at all.

Hila's expression froze. She admitted to being at fault, so she kept her head down and led the way in front.

The leader was heading toward them. The cameras were destroyed, so the surveillance images became black one after another. He could only know the situation through the report from his headphones.

Executive Officers, super soldiers, and Inhuman teams are now heading that way to surround him, and there's also Hila stalling Zero. There's no chance for him to escape, the leader thought.

This time, a voice of an Executive Officer came out of the headphones, filled with murderous intent. "I have met the target, engaging!"

The leader was excited. He yelled, "No need to catch him alive, kill him right away!"

However, the next moment, high pitched noise exploded from the headphone that hurt the leader's eardrums.

Screams came out of the headphones; it was from the Executive Officer that was just reporting the situation.

The leader was stunned. It's been less than ten seconds. That Executive Officer was not weaker than Pan Kuang at all. What accident happened?

He felt an unpleasant intuition.

…

Eight seconds earlier…

A large and muscular male executive officer ran out of the corner and charged toward Han Xiao with a ferocious expression. Loud thuds could be heard from the floor, and the combat suit was almost breaking from his muscles.

"Careful, he's an executive officer. Strength enhancing superhuman ability, you…" Hila warned hastily as a thick cloud gathered in her hand. As soon as Han Xiao was going to be defeated, she was going to back up immediately.

Han Xiao struck before Hila finished her sentence. With a swing of a hand, two Sonic Bombs flew out. The high-pitch noise gave the male executive officer a shock and slowed down his action for an instant. All Han Xiao needed was this instant. Activating both the Mini Maneuvering Equipment and the Electromagnetic Hover-boots, he approached the enemy like a ghost.

[Overload]! [Surging Mechanical Force]! [Lethal Critical Hits}!

All the damage enhancing active abilities were activated one after another. Although there was no [Flaming Will], the power was still horrifying.

With a spin of both his palms, a blue light shone from the Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves and pressed onto the male executive officer's chest, and the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades penetrated into his body behind his back like a blossoming lotus.

Combo, Flaming Lotus Slash!

This was the fighting style of Mechanical Pugilists, to combo different melee machinery into one's own ability. Of course, the name had been decided casually, but it did indeed feel different once it had a name.

Stunning damage numbers appeared. The male executive officer screamed in agony and fought back with all he had. He landed a few punches on Han Xiao's Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor.

Han Xiao's palms burnt right through the enemy's chest as the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades sliced his throat continuously. The health bar of this large and muscular executive officer was thus emptied.

LV 44, 120 Strength… not bad. Sadly, the health bar is just ordinary.

Han Xiao looked at his interface. He could kill enemies at this level this quickly even without Viper.

Although he was a Mechanic, which was not strong in the early stages, he had many abilities, his level was high, his equipment was good, and his skills were at max level. The strength of someone varied even with the same level, like normal monsters and elite monsters. Han Xiao was at BOSS level among LV 60s, so there was an even greater difference between him and people with a lower level.

_____________________

You received 1 Trial Point.

[The Ultimate Trial]: Progress 1/2000

_____________________

Only one point for someone at level 40 something‽ Han Xiao was speechless. He did not even know if there were two hundred executive officers at this level in the Germinal Organization. It would be awkward if there were not enough to kill…

On the other side, Hila was lowering her stiffed hand. This executive officer had been killed instantly before she had even finished her sentence—there was completely no need for her help.

Hila was completely stunned. Even she did not have the confidence to do it so fast.

How is Zero this strong? Is this a fake‽

…

At the same time, the leader was stunned by this problem, too. He realized he had misinterpreted Han Xiao's strength.

One mistake could affect the entire plan. Luckily, the leader knew that Zero could not be judged with common sense after many failures, so he had overestimated Zero's ability as much as he could, and many people were waiting in ambush. However, seeing what was happening now, not only was it not a waste, but there might not even be enough!

Since his subordinates could not win, he would kill Zero himself.

"Stop him, wait for me!" the leader said coldly.

In less than a year, there was no way Zero's strength could have reached his level.

He was someone who stood at the top of Planet Aquamarine!

If Han Xiao knew what the leader was thinking of, he definitely would have laughed.

What a coincidence, I am, too.

Chapter 243: The Unmatched Assassin 2

The group followed the twists and turns of a winding corridor to get downstairs. The elevator exit was likely blocked by people, so they went with the emergency staircase.

The enemies who tried to block their path came in from all directions. Han Xiao went all out and used everything from his melee skills to sniping to continuous shooting. All but Viper, which was his trump card, was thrown out, and he fought like a true assassin, leaving behind a trail of corpses.

There were four types of enemies: newbie troops, superhumans, Germinal directors, and players. Only the directors were capable of slowing him down, while the rest, players especially, were taken care of in mere seconds.

The players rushed up in waves while kicking and screaming only to disintegrate into light particles the next second. Han Xiao figured that if it continued for a bit longer, he could probably use up all of the players' weekly resurrection, which could help cure their gaming addiction and have them go complete their homework instead.

As the players were not much of a threat to him at all, Han Xiao did not want to bother with talking sense into them. At this point, players could not change sides yet anyway.

Soon enough, the players became more hesitant and stopped rushing in masses with their previous fervor.

Although players did not fear death, they did not want to throw away their lives for no reason. They realized that the mission reward was only something they can covet but could not even come close to touching. With their current levels, trying to stop this monster of a character was pure fantasy.

This kind of feeling when the reward was so close yet so far was akin to constipation, and continuing to rush in would only cause more experience to be lost. There was just no point.

In an instant, the players started to back off. Who cares about some required mission? What's so amazing about forcing the tasks? Do you think I care about you that much?

Not only that, but when attacked, the interface showed a constant drop in reputation points with the NPC. However, no one really minded this, as no one knew him anyway.

Electrolux swallowed his saliva to calm his nerves. He recognized Han Xiao as the person who gave him the mission, but he never would have thought that he was an enemy, let alone someone as insanely overpowered as this. For a while now, Electrolux had been witnessing one Germinal director after another, all with 'Fatally Dangerous' tags on them, rushing up to the also 'Fatally Dangerous' Han Xiao, only to be smacked all over the place like wet cabbage. Electrolux was so scared that he was about to suffer liver problems just from watching.

Bullsh*t. Why do they even have the same tag? This is all a scam!

Even more fatal than 'Fatally Dangerous?' Why not just say that you're here to harvest lives?

The players could not stop lamenting at the unfairness of it all.

…

The Executive Officers in the headquarters were by no means weak, but it was a shame that they are pitted against Han Xiao. Unless they were at least LV 50, there was not even a tiny bit of chance that they could hurt him.

Hila did not even need to help a single time along the way, so she focused on protecting Aurora. Han Xiao was simply unstoppable. However, Hila realized that the Germinal forces did not know about her betrayal. Instead, some were even shouting at her for help against this monster of an enemy.

The cameras along the way were blown up by Han Xiao, and the Germinal leader did not know that Han Xiao and Hila had teamed up. Hila realized that this was a huge advantage!

As Hila looked at Han Xiao's figure amid the intense battle, she thought, Could it be that this was all part of his plan? Did he not have me help for this purpose?

Bang!

… and another director fell beside his feet. Han Xiao wiped away the blood on his face and could finally take in a deep breath.

He was not exactly unscathed. Some directors had weird powers that could threaten him, but both his defense and HP were very high, so the damage was hardly worth mentioning. The problem was his energy and stamina, which had both decreased significantly. However, he still did not think that it was necessary for him to use Viper.

The class advancement mission had reached 27 points, and Han Xiao found that killing stronger opponents had a chance to award him with 2 to 3 points at once.

"Only the last two levels left," said Han Xiao.

"Be careful. These are only the vanguard. The main force has yet to arrive."

Hila's face was tense as she knew how much manpower the leader had allocated to the headquarters. Even if Han Xiao did far exceed her expectations with his combat strength, he could not possibly take on a whole army.

Hila was still considered one of the ambushing members, and her earpiece was still connected. However, there was not much use as the enemies' number was too great, and she could not discern any useful information from the overlapping coms transmissions.

They had to be smart if they were to escape from this place.

In that moment, Hila thought of a plan that would basically guarantee her and her sister's escape but would put Han Xiao in significant danger. She pursed her lips together finally decided before speaking out. "I have an idea."

Han Xiao immediately replied. "Split up, and I will be the bait."

Hila's eyes were then wide open, and her face was full of shock. "How did you know?"

"I guessed," Han Xiao said nonchalantly. From the moment Hila appeared, he had already started coming up with this vague plan, which was why he focused on destroying all the cameras. It was to ensure that Hila was not considered a traitor—at least not yet—in the eyes of Germinal.

Hila could just use her position as a high-level director to escape easily, while Han Xiao could pull all the attention elsewhere.

However, this would also mean that Han Xiao would be facing all the danger by himself. Hila had never thought that Han Xiao would suggest this idea himself.

"Splitting up is a good idea. Tell me the where the secret passage is, and I will catch up with you after I have diverted their attention."

Hila was shocked.

They had no reason to trust each other, yet Han Xiao was giving the choice to her. She could not understand where his trust came from.

Is he not afraid that I will give him the false directions? However, this dark thought started to take from inside her mind and would not go away.

Give him the wrong location, let him be cornered by Germinal and buy even more time.

It was as if this voice in her mind was packed with magic, constantly causing her to waver.

For Aurora, I will do everything it takes to keep her out of harm's way.

Hila looked down, touched Aurora's face through the bag, and felt the slight tremor from her sister's petite body. She steeled her resolve once again.

"Room H-418. The fourth brick on the floor from the left is the secret passage's entrance."

"Got it." Han Xiao laughed, seemingly not doubting her words at all as he gently patted the bag with Aurora. "Go."

Hila took one last look Han Xiao as she tried to etch his image into her memories before she turned and left with hurried strides, afraid of wasting even a single second.

One side of Han Xiao's mouth perked up, and he went the other direction. He took out multiple bombs of different shapes and sizes out of his tool bag and stuck them onto the walls along the way.

Since he was trying to get attention, he might as well made it big.

Boom!

Sounds of explosions came one after another, followed by heat waves that spread out all over the place.

The whole headquarters were shaking. Although the actual damage was not much because of the previous work, the tremors could still be felt throughout. Even without the security cameras, one could tell where Han Xiao was just by following the explosions.

A large number of troops changed course and were heading straight for him.

"Just wait for me to kill you myself."

The leader was shuddering all over out of rage as he made his way toward Han Xiao.

…

Han Xiao was humming to a tune, and despite knowing there were an army of Germinal troops closing in on him, he acted without any sense of worry nor care because he knew that they were walking right into his trap.

After turning a corner, he saw that the path ahead was jam-packed with soldiers. All superhumans with top equipment. With at least twenty of them, they acted like a wall that blocked Han Xiao's way.

The one at the front stood out larger than the rest, with every single part of his body aside from the face looking like it was made of metal. This was test subject No. 1.

"Zero, do you still remember me?" No. 1 said through gritted teeth, his tone full of hatred. "You killed me.

"I became this monster, all to get the power to crush you like a gnat!

"I will break your limbs just like you did to me!"

No. 1 roared and pushed with his legs. Power burst forth from the hydraulic press on his exoskeleton, and the ground beneath him shook. No. 1 shot forward like a cannonball, flying straight for Han Xiao's head with his hulking body.

The murderous gaze in No. 1's eyes also contained excitement. He could not wait to exact vengeance to his rival.

At the last moment, Han Xiao turned and side-stepped the attack. He then reached out, grabbed No. 1's exoskeleton, picked him off the ground, and started swaying around him. This was happening so fast that Han Xiao's actions became a blur as a magnetic force penetrated through No. 1's defense.

No. 1 instantly lost any feeling in his right arm, and the upper right portion of the exoskeleton started to fall apart until eventually everything broke off with gear parts flying all over the place, looking like a mechanical power that bloomed.

The design of these superhuman soldiers' exoskeleton suits was extremely similar to his lightweight mechanical arm. Han Xiao had also just learned 'neural link' not too long ago, and as a magnetic ring mechanic, he could easily assemble or disassemble such equipment at will.

So, in a way, superhuman soldiers posed the least threat to Han Xiao. He could easily reduce them down to bare naked bodies.

No. 1, who had lost balance, stared at his now non-existent right arm. He could not process what had happened.

When he finally came to his senses, his rage soon returned, and he stood up once again with the other arm swinging.

"It took me everything to get this power. What gave you the right to beat me!"

Seeing this guy screaming like some dying pig, Han Xiao decided to detach his other arm as well. His legs too. Might as well.

As the other superhumans rushed up, Han Xiao danced between them, and limbs could be seen flying all over the place.

Soon, Han Xiao was the only one left standing amid piles of torn limbs and mechanical parts. This scene was scary enough to fit right in to any kind of horror film.

No. 1 was left facing the sky, hatred still clear on his face, still questioning why he lost.

Han Xiao had wanted to ask since a while ago… Who is this dude?

Han Xiao never would have guessed that it was No. 1, as the appearance was much too different. Moreover, to him, No. 1 had died already.

"Have we met?" Han Xiao asked confusingly.

"How could you not know me‽" No. 1 was furious. "I'm your rival!"

What rival? He must be delusional. Who on earth is this metal head?

Han Xiao was baffled, and his ear was starting to hurt from No. 1's screaming, so he flipped the limbless No. 1 around to face the ground.

It was instantly much quieter.

No. 1's mouth was plastered onto the ground and could only make muffled noises. He was enraged, yet there was nothing he can do except stare at Han Xiao out of the corner of his eye.

Gradually, the shining halo faded, only to welcome a curtain of black.

Soon after, the sound of security cameras being shot could be heard again.

Chapter 244: The Other Hidden Card

The explosion sounds came from afar, and Hila's face tensed up. She knew that Han Xiao had Germinal's attention for the moment.

A large group of troops were quickly approaching, and when the Executive Officer saw Hila, he frowned. "You're going in the wrong direction; the enemy is that way."

"I have a different mission."

Hila had once again put on her usual ice-cold expression as she waded through the group of soldiers and hurried off in the opposite direction.

They passed over ten groups of Germinal reinforcements along the way, but Hila did not dare stop moving. Thankfully, the most people did was give her a confused glance, and none tried to stop her.

Everything happened so suddenly that Hila's betrayal had not been exposed. Even though she had a strong will, she was still secretly glad at how Han Xiao had reacted in time and destroyed all the cameras, giving them this advantage.

Only things that had to do with her sister could move her emotions.

The Germinal forces faced no opposition as they rushed to get to the floor that Zero was on. However, no one was to be found. Hila also started to destroy all the cameras along the way to prevent the discovery of the secret passage. When Germinal came to their senses, Aurora would have long disappeared.

After she finished her precautionary measures, Hila opened the door to the passageway and entered while carrying her sister. It was a pitch dark and narrow tunnel, and one could only move forward by crouching.

Once she closed the door, all the noise from outside suddenly disappeared. Silence permeated through every nook and cranny, and the tension also started to drop along with Hila's previously heightened heartbeat as she calmed down.

Hila could finally take a deep breath and relax.

Now that they were in the tunnel, the escape plan could be considered almost successful.

As her bag was wriggling around, Hila unzipped it and Aurora's tiny head popped out.

"Have we escaped?" Aurora asked as she looked around curiously.

"Almost," Hila replied as she lovingly touched Aurora's head.

Aurora then went back into the bag and hid her face inside, only showing her two big, round eyes, as she suddenly asked, "Where's Uncle Zero?"

"We will wait for five more minutes. He should… be here soon," Hila said after a pause.

Aurora cocked her head and asked again, "Sis, Uncle Zero seems really strong, right?"

"He's alright." Hila did not want to give a clear answer.

"Sis, why did he come save me?"

"How would I know?" Even as Hila said that, her hand subconsciously reached for the photo in her pocket. She remembered that Zero had once seen this photo back in his training base. It could not be…

But back then, Zero did not even have time to protect himself, so why would he remember this inconsequential thing, even to the extent of carrying out this huge rescue plan? Unless he really did have the capability to see the future…

Hila shook her head; she still could not figure out his motives. All she could feel was fear and respect to this mysterious figure, who single handedly devastated the behemoth that was the Germinal Organization.

To think that he had once been that weak little trainee back in the base but had now risen to such heights in such short amount of time. She could only sigh at this. The world truly worked in mysterious ways.

"Sis, Uncle Zero…"

"Stop mentioning him." Hila got a little bit annoyed. Although he did save her sister, for some reason, she felt some sort of unexplainable familiarity with this Zero. It was as if she had met him somewhere else after he escaped from the base. However, that should not have been possible.

"But Sis, you usually spoke so highly of him and even praised him whenever you told me stories about him." Aurora felt wronged.

"Nonsense," Hila said as she gently pinched Aurora's cheeks.

At this moment, a third, odd-sounding voice spoke out in the cramped and lightless tunnel.

"Did I hear that right? You were praising me?"

Hila turned in an instant and was just about to send out her powers before a powerful force squeezed her hands and brutally pushed her against the tunnel wall.

With the help of the red lights, she was finally able to identify the owner of the odd voice. It was Han Xiao, who was supposed to be outside fighting still.

"Why are you here‽" Hila was shocked.

Han Xiao let of his hands before laughing lightly. "I'm everywhere."

Hila relaxed and called back her powers while making a face. She remembered clearly that the tunnel door was opened and closed only once. How did Han Xiao manage to get in? Did he go through the walls?

Han Xiao laughed and said nothing. When he took the initiative to propose splitting up, he had already made a simple but effective plan in his mind. Of course, he would not gamble on Hila telling him the real position, so he had then been left with two choices. The first was to leave simple tracker on Aurora's bag, while the second was a character card that had never used. The Dion card obtained on the Western Continent had a special stealth ability.

Although he was very strong, he was not willing to be encircled and ganged up on for no reason. His main goal was to get out of the germinal headquarters. So, after he taught No. 1 who was boss, Han Xiao went and blasted all the cameras at the intersection, giving Germinal the idea that he was in the area before he activated Dion's character card and backtracked along the original way.

Regardless of the truth of her words, she must have been headed to the real passageway.

The character cards' ability name was 'You Can't See Me'. As the name suggested, Han Xiao simply waltzed along the way without anyone taking notice of him.

The enemies were then all baited to the intersection where Han Xiao had been without knowing where he had disappeared to. Han Xiao simply followed Hila and jumped into the tunnel together with her.

What surprised the Great Technician Han, however, was that Hila had actually given him the correct directions. Both the room number and the floor tile location were correct. To be honest, when they were about to split up, Hila's fishy look had made him almost think that he was going to be sold out, but the result was unexpected.

In truth, Hila had also struggled with this, but she had finally decided to give Han Xiao the right information.

Han Xiao did save Aurora, and if she had lied to him, she would not know how to face her sister. Although a part of her kept tempting her otherwise, she finally abandoned such thoughts and told him the truth.

Compared to 'Goddess of Death' in Han Xiao's past, this Hila had not been consumed by darkness, and her heart was still illuminated by the stars and moon that was Aurora.

Han Xiao originally thought that if Hila had sold him out, if he suddenly appeared again, Hila would be very embarrassed and even owe him a moral favor. However, since she did not, Han Xiao could not help but look at her in a new light. Although he was prepared, no one would want to be betrayed, and his mood was instantly better.

"Brat, what kind of stories did you sister tell you about me? Let's hear them." Han Xiao finally got to ask this question.

Aurora was about to politely answer, but Hila cut in expressionlessly and said, "Stop wasting time. This is only the first part of the secret passage. We still have to get to the abandoned underground tunnel. Let's go."

Hila led the way with Aurora and took off with enthusiastic strides.

Han Xiao shook his head and was about to follow when he suddenly remembered something. "Ah. I forgot to ask the old man what Aurora's brainwashing code word is. Oh well. Let's just get out of here first."

…

On another side, tens of thousands of Germinal troops had gathered and were searching for Han Xiao around the area where he disappeared.

"Reporting to leader, target was not found."

One by one the executives brought in the same results.

The leader was furious, and he held his hands so tight that his glove started to rip. "This is where the cameras last caught him. How could we not find him?

"That's right, I saw him walk down this way." No. 1 said as he lay on the ground to one side, his face full of resentment, as the researchers helped reattach his limbs.

"Just find him!" the leader roared as he slammed his fist on a nearby wall. With a bang, steel and concrete components ripped apart and flew out as if they were made of paper. The executives were frightened and had no choice but to continue searching.

The leader originally had thought that Han Xiao was trapped and had been cracking his knuckles to get ready to beat Zero up for all the grievances that he had caused the organization. Now that there was nothing to vent his frustration, the leader was feeling a sense of loss that was making his chest feel like it was going to explode.

Every time he dealt with the Zero, it had ended in failure. The leader could hardly tolerate it anymore. He glanced at the scattered parts of the super soldiers on the ground and cursed them for being so useless in his mind.

He took out his laptop and made another search. It was then that he found something odd. All the cameras in the lower floor had also been destroyed.

"Could he have accomplices?" The leader tapped the keyboard and quickly called up the interface. He soon found a new lead. The camera records in the A-4 area seemed to have been modified. He suddenly thought of something and quick gave his orders. "Send someone to A-4 to investigate."

Soon, news came back.

"Security measures had been shut down, the guards have been killed, and the little girl had been taken away."

In that moment, the string of information from Aurora's disappearance, the destroyed cameras, and Hila's absence in the previous battles to stop Zero started to make sense.

They had been fooled!

"Hila, you traitor!" The leader suddenly realized what had happened and was so enraged that the sound of his teeth gnashing together was like steel grinding against each other.

"Get man to search for Hila now. She escaped with Zero!"

The soldiers around were startled into action. The order was passed down one wave after another. Soon, a large force was mobilized to search yet again. However, Hila had already destroyed all the cameras on the lower floor. There was no way of knowing where they could have gone.

Then, someone finally brought the dazed Cyberlos to the leader, and with a slap, Cyberlos was awoken with a shock. Seeing the leader's face that was full of hostility right after waking made Cyberlos tense up.

"Tell me everything you know!" the leader said coldly.

Cyberlos did not dare keep anything to himself and told the whole story from when he had been taken hostage until he was knocked unconscious.

"He took the organization's classified information, kidnapped Aurora…" Cyberlos tried to be as careful. "He… He might be an Inhuman!"

Inhuman‽

The leader felt his body sway when he heard that. If Zero really was an undying Inhuman, then Germinal faced certain defeat.

After taking a deep breath, the leader said decidedly, "That's only a guess. I will just have to kill him first and see if he really is an Inhuman."

Cyberlos was then taken away. Seeing as the man had done a lot for the organization in terms of research, the leader decided to spare his life. Cyberlos had never been hired for his loyalty anyway.

"Widen the search net. Even if that Zero can get out of headquarters, I won't let him get off the continent," the leader said calmly.

The forces were but a small part of his plan.

Chapter 245: Predicamen

After travelling down the winding tunnel for some time, the path in front suddenly widened.

Right in front of them was an underground tunnel with an open space. The exit for this dark path was located on top of the wall at the side of the tunnel, which was around five meters above the ground.

The air was filled with the smell dust and mold. The place had been abandoned long ago, and the walls were covered with spider webs. The front door of underground tunnel had also been locked for a few years.

Hila hugged Aurora and jumped down. Dust and debris scattered as they landed. Han Xiao followed.

"This was an early stage of the underground tunnel. After they built the headquarters, people left it without any maintenance. I dug a path from the air ventilation pipes which lead to this place. All the cameras and gates are gone, and the railroads are broken, too. We need to walk out of here. The exit a hidden door that is located at the fringe of the headquarters, and it will take around four hours for us to reach there."

Han Xiao looked back at the hole and said, "Won't they be able to catch up?"

"Nobody knows we are here, but we still have to be on alert." Hila carried Aurora on her back and started walking forward.

Han Xiao quickly followed and walked right next to Hila. He occasionally dropped a few small landmines to blow up the tunnel in case anyone came later.

Three of them continued to march forward in silence.

Just now, the situation had been intense, so there were a lot of things that they were still unclear of. Now that they had the time, Hila seemed to be more confused as she kept recalling what had happened. She kept on turning her head toward Han Xiao.

Hila had a few questions to ask, but because of her cold personality, she pursed her lips and kept on walking.

Aurora, who was on Hila's back, covered her head inside her sister's long red hair and smelled the delightful scent she had. Her eyes were calm and safe, and she turned to look at Han Xiao.

"What are you looking at, you little brat?" Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

Aurora quietly replied, "Do you not have a name, or is your name just Zero?"

Paying attention, Hila's ears perked up.

"Han Xiao. That's my name."

"My sister said you were brainwashed. She couldn't figure out how you escaped."

Han Xiao stroke his chin and said, "Everything has its own destiny."

Hila rolled her eyes.

"My sister said you are only twenty years old, but why do you look so old?"

Han Xiao's face darkened. Didn't I already change my appearance? This brat doesn't appreciate beauty at all.

Then Han Xiao looked at Hila and realized that she was being oddly quiet. Han Xiao started to tease her interested and smiled. "So, do you have anything that you want to say to me?"

Hila pushed Aurora higher up on her back and coldly replied, "Thanks."

"You don't sound like you mean it at all." Han Xiao started to flip the bullets in his hands. "Don't forget that I came a long way to save your sister. There's no need for you to kneel on the ground to show your gratitude, but at least be more polite, will you?"

Hila turned her head around and frowned. "How did you know about my sister? What are you trying to do?"

Hila could not believe that Han Xiao really came here to save her sister, and she thought that he must had an ulterior motive. Although Hila was right, she could never guess that Han Xiao's target was her.

"You sound like you are trying to interrogate me even though I am your savior and your teammate." Han Xiao raised his eyebrow. "If you want to ask anything, you must at least try to show some respect."

Savior and teammate… Hila was having a hard time getting used to someone with these two roles. After a long silence, she still could not say the word 'please'. She boldly said, "Tell me."

"What now? Do you think I'm like the Germinal Organization, trying to use your sister to control you?" Han Xiao yawned. "I might try if I want to."

There was no way that he could do what he said. Hila relaxed for a bit and replied, "So, what do you want?"

"I want world peace."

Hila ground her teeth in frustration. Han Xiao had just been playing with her all this time, and she did not get anything useful out of him. Hila shut her mouth again.

"Sister told me some stories about you, and she said you were very talented." Aurora then curiously asked, "Are those stories real?"

Oh… Hila actually complimented me behind my back.

Han Xiao looked over, and Hila did not even flinch. Her face was still as cold as ice while looking straight ahead, ignoring Han Xiao. Well, there's a saying that if you don't say anything. then you agree to whatever that's happening.

"Of course, it's all real."

"Then what happened after you escaped?" Aurora was really interested into Han Xiao's story. During her time of imprisonment, when she and her sister meet up, her sister would always tell Aurora about the stories of the world outside. The stories of Zero had left the deepest impression on her.

Hila thought that Han Xiao had some things that he did not want to say, so she suddenly had an idea.

"Even though we don't know how Zero… Han Xiao has gain so much power in such short period of time, when he escaped the base, he was not strong. After he finally got the freedom he longed for, he was frightened that the organization might capture him, so he had no choice but to change his name and hide away from the eyes of the Germinal Organization. He never showed himself and only gathered information in the dark, and the organization could not find him."

Seeing that Han Xiao remained quiet, Hila thought that she must have guessed it correctly. After working for the Germinal Organization for years, she knew the consequences of rebels, and Han Xiao must have had a difficult past during his time hiding from the organization.

After a few sentences, Aurora slowly fell asleep. Her body was weak, and the intense journey quickly drained her energy. Han Xiao and Hila also stopped talking and focused on the journey ahead.

After three hours of silence, they reached a part where the tunnel was blocked, and the exit was right above their head.

Han Xiao and Hila stepped on the shattered rocks. Hila's hand swept over the ceiling, and she found the lever. After she flipped the lever, cracks suddenly appeared and formed a square, and dust started to fall from above of them. The crack was dark, and one could not see anything on the other side.

"Get up." Hila pushed open the hidden door and jumped into the room.

The room was pitch black without any sound. After the eyes had adjusted to the darkness, they could see that they were in a large storage room. Tons of boxes and containers were lined up, and there was another exit at the corner of the storage room that was covered in dust.

"They don't have anything important in this warehouse, so there shouldn't be a lot of security here. Toward the south is the secured part of the headquarters. As long as we can get out of the secured zone, then we will be safe."

Han Xiao remained silent.

Cyberlos had once said that the leader encircled him using large amount of manpower, and they set up countless of troops scattered in a radius of a few hundred miles. Even though he had escaped the headquarters, he still did not escape the encirclement. If what Cyberlos had said was true, then there was still a long way before Han Xiao could get to safety.

Gripping his equipment bag, Han Xiao thought, My identity will be revealed sooner or later. I might as well just do it right here.

Suddenly, the interface popped up with a message.

_____________________

Your landmine successfully killed the soldiers of Germinal Organization. You gain 1 experience.

_____________________

"The landmines in the tunnel just exploded, it won't be long before the Germinal Organization catch up," Han Xiao said.

Hila's face briefly let slip a stunned expression. "We need to pick up our pace."

It was night, and the sky was dark. They woke Aurora up and put her into the bag. Then the two of them quickly left the warehouse, sneaked under the patrol of the soldiers, and head toward the exit.

A number of troops started to show up and settle down in the area around the headquarters. The security level was also increased by a few levels.

A few hours ago, Han Xiao and Hila had disappeared in the headquarters. The leader called for the highest level of order to employ all the standby troop to catch Han Xiao. He knew that Han Xiao must still be in the headquarters' surroundings, so he reinforced the security at the borders and would not let anyone pass.

The ambushing troops on the outside was a few hundred times more than the number of troops in the headquarters. In the beginning, the leader used all the resources that he had to set up the encirclement of troops that lasted for a few hundred miles. All the preparation was for any possible accident, and the day's events proved that he had been right to be so cautious.

The leader of southern troops quickly changed from a normal leader to executive officer Kedor who was LV 55. To target the powerful growth that Han Xiao had, the leader also employed the veterans and executive officers. There were more than ten executive officers, a dozen super soldiers, a few hundred Inhumans, and a few thousands common soldiers that followed after Kedor.

In the chaotic battlefront, Kedor was receiving orders from the leader.

"The headquarters have already found the location of the target and have started a blanket search operation. There is a high chance that the target is heading toward you. You are authorized to fire at any suspicious object in the battlefield, and you are authorized to kill on sight. Do not let him get away!"

"If he dares to come toward me, he will die," Kedor replied. "How about Hila and her sister?"

"They betrayed the organization; if they resist, kill them all."

The leader's voice was deep. Zero was the number one enemy—even sacrificing Aurora would be worth it.

Chapter 246: I Am Black Phantom!

Dark clouds covered the sky, and the moon and the stars were nowhere to be seen.

The ground base was brightly lit, and columns of light tore through the surrounding darkness. The guards were searching everywhere for something, and armored vehicles rolled past one after another with their loud engines blaring through the still night. Helicopters lit up their searchlights and were searching as well, causing circles of light to cut through swaths of empty ground.

The large-scale search gave Han Xiao and Hila quite the headache. Thankfully, Hila was well acquainted with the local terrain, and they were able to avoid all the pursuing soldiers. Eventually, they hid themselves in the shadow of a metal building situated at the edge of the base as they observed the distant Germinal army formations toward the south.

The troops toward the south and the base were separated by an inclined area. Based on the duo's observation, heading straight out would just make them easy targets for the search parties. At this moment, there seemed to be some commotion toward the south, as countless lights were suddenly turned on. It was as if a miniature sun had appeared in the dark scenery.

"This is bad. They have drastically increased the personnel on the ground, and it's impossible to pass without drawing their attention. Once we're found, they will kill us all," Hila said with a heavy voice.

The organization's forces seemed to be endless. Although they were being defeated at every turn by the Six Nations' combined army, it was still a force to be reckoned with. On the other hand, they were but two people, and trying to force their way out would be possible. They should consider some other ways to stealthily sneak away.

Han Xiao gave the massive number of troops a few glances before speaking calmly. "Tanks, artilleries… Heh. They're basically prepared to fight a war. It's quite a feat they have pulled just to deal with us."

"More like to deal with you. We're just addons." Hila was expressionless, and she asked, "Do you not have any reinforcements?"

She felt like Han Xiao definitely had some help when infiltrating the Germinal headquarters. Since that was the case, he must have arranged the extraction.

Yet Han Xiao shook his head immediately, making her feel like her heart just dropped.

"No help…" Hila could not hold it in and asked, "Then what's your plan now? Germinal won't stop looking for us. Even if we somehow break out of this encirclement, there will still be countless pursuers after us."

"I'll just see." Han Xiao did not really care about it and went back to preparing his equipment.

Hila frowned. If help was not coming, then what was the point of following Han Xiao?

The one Germinal wanted was him, and her sister would be safer if they were to split up. She thought that since she had already helped him leave the headquarters, she had already returned the favor. So, it would not be immoral to suggest to split up.

For Aurora, Hila was willing to do anything.

Let's just try to get out of here first…

Hila calmed herself down, stopped paying attention to what Han Xiao was doing, and just focused on observing the troops ahead.

…

At the same time, toward the south, the large searchlights all shone on the inclined ground, and nothing could have escaped their observations. There were heavy turrets set up every fifty meters, ready to send out a wave of metal bullets on command.

Different scenes of the encirclement were all sent back to the control room back in headquarters so that the leader could control the situation in real time.

Among the troops stationed toward the south were the group of players who had been recruited by Germinal and formed into their own Inhuman squad. They were grouped up in their own camp, ready for orders. The mission to intercept Zero had not failed, and the players were astounded when they saw the large formations of Germinal troops deployed to catch Zero.

"We won't be able to help much. Isn't this basically just a free mission?"

"You're right. Maybe this is sort of like a cutscene, where we can only watch," said Electrolux, who had also been recently recruited. Foreign players were not uncommon on Planet Aquamarine, and none thought his presence was odd. No one knew that he was actually a European spy.

"Hey. Do any of you know anything about Zero's origins?"

A player with the ID White Hunt said, "I do."

The moment he spoke, the crowd was interested and started to throw in more questions.

White Hunt, a top player from Temple of God, had obtained information from the Guild of Gods, which was why he came to Germinal to trigger the Intercept Zero mission. As he described the process of how Zero single handedly manipulated events to hinder Germinal's activities on the planet, the other players could not help but be shocked.

"Sounds like an amazing person."

"Doesn't he sound like a character from the main storyline? He escaped from the original Germinal base by himself and has now sent the organization to the brink of collapse. He must at least be a Legend on this planet to be able to manipulate massive wars like this!"

"Maybe he's Planet Aquamarine's protagonist… Oh no! My reputation with him is -30," someone screamed in distress.

White hunt laughed at that. "Although he may be a character in the main storyline, he shouldn't be someone we will have to interact with in the future, or else we wouldn't have lost so many reputation points just from being his enemy."

The crowd nodded at that. Strong but unimportant NPCs were not unheard of in the game. Since they would not be interacting, having reputation points with him would not do much for them.

…

After some observation, Hila finally said, "This path is too dangerous. Let's try another place."

She heard noises behind her as she said that. Han Xiao seemed to be preparing some sort of equipment while he explained, "The search parties have already narrowed down all the possible escape routes. The longer we wait, the more dangerous it is, and it's the same everywhere.

"Then do you have an idea?"

"We rush them."

Frowning, Hila answered without looking back at him, "The enemies are too many; even if we take out several hundred, we will still eventually fall to their human wave tactic. Only death awaits us if we charge in like that. Let's look for an opening."

However, Han Xiao seemed to have already made up his mind and said confidently, "Make sure you keep up."

Hila was going to question where that confidence came from when she heard some sort of machinery activating behind her. She turned around and was shocked by what she saw. Han Xiao's appearance was completely different. She was now looking at a streamlined suit of jet-black mechanical armor with faint blue lights glowing through the gaps of the suit. This breathtaking scene brought about an abrupt realization.

This figure, this suit, there was no doubt… It was way too famous. The whole Germinal, no, the whole world knew him.

"Black Phantom!"

Hila could no longer hold her calm and had a look of disbelief on her face.

At that moment, she realized what had happened. No wonder how Han Xiao could infiltrate the Germinal headquarters alone without any sort of backup. He was someone who stood at the top. A one-man army!

So, this is the truth!

Thinking back on the news that she had read about Black Phantom, Han Xiao's life these past few years was far from that of a runaway fugitive. He was always right in front of everyone, including Germinal, showing off his powers and making a legend of himself, one step at a time.

Hila had witnessed Han Xiao at his weakest, and she never thought that he would one day stand at the top and far surpass her.

"You, you…" Hila was lost for words.

Han Xiao gently patted the still shocked Hila and made large strides toward the troops in the south as he exuded a sort of confidence exclusive to the powerful.

The built-in tactical screen in his helmet gave him a quick analysis of the battlefield as he strode down the slope toward the enemy without a care. As he approached, dozens of powerful lights instantly shone onto him, making his figure as detailed as possible to the onlookers.

When everyone saw this figure, they took a while to react.

"Why is Black Phantom here?" Kedor was confused.

Once they looked past Han Xiao, they finally saw Hila.

This was when shock, realization, and fear suddenly went through the minds of all present.

"Zero… is Black Phantom!"

When the truth finally revealed itself, everyone was stunned and could not do anything but stare.

Kedor, the field commander, had also lost his wits and forgot to order his men to attack.

All the executives on the field suddenly felt a gust of cold air blow up their spines and into their minds. All those who had opposed Black Phantom had ended up as corpses.

This name instilled fear in all those who heard it.

Han Xiao crouched lightly, brought his arms behind him, and got into a pre-jump position as the booster on his back let out bright red lights. The sound of a spinning turbine got more and more intense, and the faint blue light that filled the lining along his suit sent energy all over his body. The mechanic muscles grew in size as the suit entered the Strengthened state.

Boosters appeared on his waist, behind his arms, legs, and between the gaps in the suit. These boosters released an invisible force and bended the air behind Han Xiao. Back in the shelter, Han Xiao had made countless modifications to Viper and added a number of modules. It was now much stronger than before.

This was the advantage of being a mechanic. Even as other classes started to face bottlenecks, he could always continue to upgrade his equipment and steadily increase his strength.

"Attack! Attack, now!" Kedor finally reacted and roared his commands. His men were startled into action and started to lock the machine guns onto Han Xiao.

Yet, right before they could open fire, a huge boom sounded as Han Xiao exploded off the ground and sent dirt flying everywhere like an artillery shell had hit where he was standing.

Han Xiao launched away and flew right into the enemy formation. One after another, the Germinal soldiers were sent into the air.

At that moment, chaos fell upon the battlefield!

Chapter 247: The Real Deal

Han Xiao tore through the enemy formations like a hot knife through butter. There was a constant stream of clinking noises as the bullets that were shot at him got reflected by his high-level armor.

He kicked away a Germinal soldier, stole his machine gun, and opened fire at the others around him as the gun was surrounded by a faint blue light that greatly boosted its power and rate of fire. The barrage of shots was also triggering the effects of Lethal Shot one after another. Kill confirmation messages flooded through his interface as the Germinal soldiers fell in swaths.

The nearby troops quickly filled in the gaps and tried to surround Han Xiao. A dozen or so grenade-launchers were fired and drew parabolas across the battlefield toward Han Xiao.

Yet, before the shots even reached him, Han Xiao stepped to the side, leaped into the air, and took off with the reaction force from the blasts.

Boom!

All kinds of tanks and artilleries fired at Han Xiao, and explosions roared through the night as the smell of gunpowder permeated the battlefield. It was as if a small-scale war was being waged against Germinal, but Han Xiao was their only opponent.

Viper's upgrades along with his skills and talents made Han Xiao unstoppable as he ran straight through explosions. Not even the heavily armored vehicles were spared from his rampage. A few unlucky tanks got flattened to the ground after being run over by Han Xiao. It was a complete massacre, and soon, the Germinal forces were breaking apart.

Whoosh!

Two attack helicopters rushed to the scene and immediately opened fire on Han Xiao, and a stream of high caliber bullets trailed after him. Han Xiao's eye flashed, and in a split second, he calculated the helicopter's speed and flight path with his helmet interface, retrieved the Ghost sniper rifle from his back, and took a shot. It was as if he did not even have to aim.

The electromagnetic projectile zoomed past the battlefield before it went clean through the helicopter and flew off into the night sky.

The pilot was killed instantly, and the helicopter spiraled out of control and crashed into the hillside below and tumbled down the hill with the centripetal force from the rotors. It kept on rolling until it eventually destroyed the fence in its way and tore through dozens of Germinal soldiers before crashing into and collapsing a defensive structure, causing dust to fill the air. The helicopter had cleared a bloody path through the swarms of soldiers.

One of the rotor blades broke off and flew through the air and landed right in front of a group of stunned players. They were already flabbergasted since the moment it was revealed the Han Xiao was Black Phantom.

The source of all these legendary achievements was the same person, so he was basically the main protagonist on their planet!

The players were all very familiar with Black Phantom since they heard about him pretty much every day. Now that the mystery of his identity had been revealed, the players were extremely excited, as if they had just discovered a new continent.

The quick ones immediately turned on the camera function and started streaming the event to the world.

"Wait a second, if he's Black Phantom…"

Some players finally realized the gravity of the situation and turned their attention to their reputation points on their interface. Instantly, they felt like a gust of north had just blew past them, freezing their excitement.

This can't be real! A -30 reputation with Black Phantom? How long will it take to even reset it back to zero?

The Germinal players felt like their hearts were crushed.

We haven't even enjoyed Black Phantom's benefits, yet we just lost all our hope after waiting for so long!

The players present looked frozen ducks. All color drained from their faces.

Screw you Germinal. Give me back my youth!

When Han Xiao saw this, the corner of his mouth perked up.

This group of players was essential in his plan. They played the role of the 'reporter' and were responsible for spreading tonight's events out far and wide. The big reveal of his double identity would surely rock the player community and become a hot topic for the time to come.

Currently, there were not very many NPCs that had made a deep impression on the players. So, making big news himself would be the best way of ensuring his spot in the community. Now that his popularity was sure to be on the rise, the benefits would also roll in one after another.

By showing of his capability at the Germinal headquarters, it would seem completely natural story-wise. There was not a better moment than this. His new legendary ranking was basically set in stone.

With Han Xiao loaded in his new gear, the mechanic's strengths were on full display. He did not even need to keep his distance, and instead, he began a one-man massacre amid enemy forces.

Dragging this out will do more harm than good. Viper's energy levels are going doing very fast. I need to clear out an area and find an escape vehicle, Han Xiao thought.

"Kill him!"

Suddenly, a powerful force approached as Kedor roared and led a group of executives straight for Han Xiao.

Han Xiao frowned, and the Field Repulsive Machine on his wrist began to store up energy. He raised his right fist, ready to attack at any moment, as energy waves started to pulse out of him.

The next second, as if pulling a trigger, Han Xiao released his fist and punched at the air in front of him.

Boom!

A condensed wave of energy exploded out of his fist and crashed into the group approaching him like a tsunami. Like bowling pins, the executives were all knocked away. This attack was just like the Shockwave Blast used by Pugilists, and Kedor's group was instantly broken out of formation.

Using this chance, Han Xiao locked onto the person with the strongest life force, Kedor, and rushed him. The disoriented Kedor did not even have time to dodge before he was tackled to the ground. Viper's muscle fibers pulsed and bulged, and attacks with the Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves with +80 Strength landed on Kedor's body one after another. Blood spurted out everywhere.

After a dozen or so hits, Kedor, with his face was full of blood, was furious. He released his energy and pushed Han Xiao high into the air.

Han Xiao pulled out the Ghost sniper rifle mid-flight and activated Burning Will.

The rifle's muzzle that started to glow was giving Kedor all sorts of warning signals and made all his hair stand on end.

Hum!

The shot dealt explosive damage and instantly emptied Kedor's remaining health bar.

The shot left a faint trail of blue light in the air before it left a hole between Kedor's eyebrows and a shocked expression on his face.

_____________________

You have killed Kedor (LV 55). You have earned 142,000 experience.

You have earned 25 trial points.

_____________________

Level 55 enemies actually drop so many trial points! Han Xiao was overjoyed.

For the half minute or so after eliminating the strongest Germinal member in the area, it was as if Han Xiao turned on his grass-cutter mode—he just mowed through the rest of the enemy forces. Like a human bomb, he obliterated anyone who stood in his way. A C-class superhuman was enough to go against armies on their own.

Only by demonstrating overwhelming strength could he rise up in popularity and fame.

Han Xiao cleared out a large patch of ground, and it was as if there was a hole in the middle of the Germinal base.

He really went and rushed them! Hila was shocked, but she still did not forget Han Xiao's instructions and followed behind, carrying Aurora.

After stealing and boarding an armored SUV. Han Xiao smashed his foot onto the gas, and trio drove off into the night after smashing past the roadblocks.

The players received mission failure notifications, yet no one care anymore. They were still trying to process the fact that Black Phantom was Zero.

The control room back in headquarters was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. Everyone had witnessed the chaos from the screens. The leader's chest rose and fell rapidly, and even though he was putting on a poker face, everyone present knew that he was enraged.

"I kept sending people to search for him. Yet, I never thought… that he never tried to hide." The leader felt a suffocating feeling and felt like he had been played like a fool.

His assistant to the side asked warily, "Do… do we chase?"

"We chase. Summon back all the executives still out on the field, the organization's strongest military force, and all the reserve forces. Lock down all areas and kill on sight. Short range missiles are authorized."

At around the same time, the videos that were posted by the Germinal players were starting to cause waves on the forums.

Chapter 248: Shocking the World 1

The post titled 'Shocking news! The man behind the war was actually…' instantly shot to the top of the Planet Aquamarine forums.

The players on Planet Aquamarine back then had all of their attention on the war between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization. Being able to participate and contribute in this world-shaking event allowed them to be truly immersed in the game. And this was also when the post revealed that 'Zero' was the person who had manipulated events behind the scenes and single handedly caused this war.

Some players remembered that the Germinal Organization had put out a massive bounty for Zero, and they felt intrigued by this character.

This kind of plot where an organization's traitor was able to turn around and cause massive damage to the organization was very compelling to many people.

He had to be the key character in the main storyline!

The post detailed the things that Zero had done against Germinal up till now, but when the players thought that was the end of the post, they found out that there was even more information at the bottom—information on Black Phantom. The post's author did not give any explanation and simply listed Black Phantom's achievements as well. The players were confused but patiently read through it as there was no harm in understanding more about Black Phantom.

But everyone's face changed when they got to the last line—'Black Phantom and Zero are one and the same!'

"What?"

"They're the same person‽"

Many players doubted the authenticity of this information. However, the post also came with a recording of Han Xiao rampaging through the Germinal headquarters, shocking the players when they watched it.

The players were not too familiar with Zero, but it was a whole other story when it came to Black Phantom. Ever since the start of the open beta, this NPC had provided them with countless benefits and interacted with them countless times. When the players watched the recording of Black Phantom wreaking havoc in the Germinal base, they felt an odd sense of familiarity, and they had the impression that this was something that only Black Phantom would do.

Now, his identity had been exposed.

He was Zero and also Black Phantom.

His name was Han Xiao!

Zero's past and Black Phantom's achievements complemented each other perfectly and created an image of a character who, after losing everything to Germinal, escaped from the organization's evil grasps. He never gave up to his miserable circumstances but only slowly grew stronger and gradually worked toward toppling the gargantuan organization that had wronged him before he finally swept the whole world into war. This story sounded as if it came right out of a Hollywood film.

Hero stories always sold well, and Han Xiao's badassery had already firmly placed him on top of a pedestal in the players' hearts while Germinal was immediately seen as the planet's antagonist. Although there was not any true right or wrong in this world, people had already grown used to taking sides—having two extremes was much easier to understand. Players stopped caring about Germinal's ideology and took Han Xiao's side as they had already thought of this NPC as 'one of their own'.

This post's popularity exploded in a never before seen manner, and it felt like a historical moment for the players on Planet Aquamarine. The upvotes were increasing by tens of thousands every the second, and instantly, it took one of the top ten spots on the Galaxy forum's trending posts ranking.

Just as Han Xiao had thought, the combination of his two identities, when revealed, caused a chemical reaction and pushed his popularity on to a new height, further consolidating his position in the players' hearts.

Interacting with players was something he had focused on doing ever since the open beta, and he was now seeing the fruits of his labor. The tiny spark that he had started several months ago had now turned into a raging fire with the reveal.

The players were the first to know about the news that get posted on the forums, and now, Han Xiao's group had just escaped from the Germinal base.

…

Their vehicle rolled over the rough landscape of Andrea under the darkness of the night, gradually getting further away from the base until it was but a dot on the horizon.

Han Xiao, who was driving, had not unequipped his suit, but he opened up the mouth hatch. He lit up a cigar and started puffing smoke in and out his mouth, giving off the vibe of an old truck driver, as he held the steering wheel expressionlessly.

The car stopped abruptly and caused rocks and dust to fly everywhere around it.

"Switch. You drive. I need to give the car some anti-radar modifications. I have no wish to be blown up into the air by missiles." Han Xiao pushed opened the car door and got out before maxing out SUI: Anti-radar Coating and Camouflage Paint in his interface.

He also took a glance at the advancement mission—his progress was 72/2000. This was normal as advancement missions were often long-term goals.

Hila closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she got out of the car and supported herself with the side of the car to suppress the nauseous feeling welling up in her stomach. Although it was almost unbearable, she had to admit that under their previous peril, Han Xiao's driving had made her feel safe enough.

Aurora, on the other hand, was fast asleep in the backseat and was completely unbothered. Han Xiao saw this scoffed and said, "Your sister will definitely get further in life than you."

Hila did not even bother with replying and got into the driver's seat. As she watched Han Xiao taking out all sorts of gears and parts to attach onto the outside of the car, she said, "We're still in Germinal territory, so we shouldn't take the large roads. However, driving through the wilderness will take eight to nine days before we can get to safety. Not to mention, the Germinal troops that must've been sent to pursue us. They will bring planes, armored vehicles, and even missiles."

"You can just follow the map and take whichever route you think is safer. You're more familiar with the area, after all," Han Xiao replied without even turning. Now that Germinal knew about his face-changing capability, they would definitely kill all those suspicious. Escaping would not be easy.

Han Xiao did not guess wrong. This time, all search parties were equipped with cameras that were connected to headquarters' command center at all times to prevent him from masquerading as one of the Germinal soldiers sent to catch him. Once a camera lost connection, the whole squad would be considered as KIA.

The Germinal Organization practically utilized all their forces to chase them, and their only chance of escaping was to run faster and break through the encirclement before they were completely trapped. Once they were in the Six Nations' territory would they truly be considered safe. Germinal also knew this and would do whatever it took to kill Han Xiao and the sisters off while they still could. Escaping from enemy forces was often the most dangerous, as enemy reinforcements would be endless.

Fortunately, Han Xiao had anti-detection measures to prevent them from being pinpointed by their pursuers. Germinal's only way of finding them was to throw in as much manpower as possible

But there was also another problem.

"Our fuel can only last another eight hours, and we're completely out of food and water. Moreover, we are also running low on ammunition. We need to find somewhere to resupply soon, or things won't be looking good," said Hila.

"We don't need to look for supplies," Han Xiao replied calmly. "The enemies will just bring it to our doorsteps themselves. I'm a mechanic. It won't matter if we run out of equipment to use as I can just make more."

Hila did not have a response to that. By now, she had long since thrown away the thought of splitting up with Han Xiao to escape. It was much safer for her sister and her to stay with him.

Han Xiao tried to think of his next steps in silent as he made the modifications on the car.

"Although we have anti-radar measures, we should still be careful of the Germinal Organization getting desperate. I need to find some way to deal with missiles."

They were currently still in Germinal territory, so nuclear missiles should not be a worry. What they needed to watch out for were the countless short-range tactical missiles from the nearby Germinal bases. These missiles would be more than enough to take out the few of them. With their destructive capability and range of up to several thousand kilometers, they were often used to target important enemy structures.

As a C-class superhuman, tanking attacks from normal firearms and smaller troops was not an issue, but it was still too early to talk about taking missiles straight on.

Superhumans were able to resist attacks based on their energy levels and skills, but there was a limit to how much they could absorb. Taking on weapons of mass destruction to the face would simply be suicidal.

A superhuman's body was relatively fragile when compared to those weapons of war. However, this all changed when one got strong enough. A-class superhumans and above were capable of reigning over whole regions in Galaxy and were even capable of taking on whole small space battleships by themselves. However, those kinds of characters were few, and although superhumans could get very powerful, it was still impossible to take large armies on by themselves. This was especially so when highly advanced civilizations were involved. Galactic entities had access to terrifying weapons such as electromagnetic and beam weapons. Even a random foot soldier would be equipped with an advanced combat suit. In wide reaches of space, strength was calculated by one's civilization, not individual strength.

Chapter 249: Shocking the World 2

The first idea that popped out was to engineer an anti-missile device, and he just so happened to know a basic blueprint for a pure defensive device, which was called expandable light fortress. It could suddenly form a golden shield that protected the target and blocked the explosion and shockwave.

There were a variety of blueprints for defensive machinery, and the most common one was the energy shield. However, knowledge on those shields required class advancement in energy studies, and this type of light fortress did not require a high level of skill. One only need the blueprint and some basic understanding to create the design in the blueprint, and the defensive durability would be dependent on the materials used.

But Han Xiao quickly dismissed the idea. There was no way he could create any complicated machinery without a lathe. The only thing he could do was modify and improve the vehicle by taking some parts out of the enemy's equipment. Creating a light fortress simply would take too much work.

After eliminating the option, Han Xiao had another idea.

Anti-missile defense… We'll have to get professionals.

…

Right after Han Xiao escaped the headquarters, the Germinal Organization responded without any delay. Under the command of the leader, countless troops of the Germinal Organization started scouring the areas that they had control of. The air force and the ground troops were employed at the same time. The scale of this operation was similar to that of a proper battlefield.

An hour later, the Six Nations picked up the movement of the Germinal Organization. Without any intel, they had to prepare for possible attacks, so they increased their security and defense order to prevent any tactics of the Germinal Organization. Then, on the same night, the Six Nations conducted an emergency meeting to analyze the current battle and try to understand the reason behind the military movement of the Germinal Organization.

After half an hour of intense discussion, from the evidence that they had, they finally came to the conclusion that baffled their minds.

Who are they trying to hunt down‽

The Six Nations had already pushed their military right in front of the base of the Germinal Organization, and they still had the time to waste their resources to hunt down someone. That man had to be very special.

The situation was not ideal, and the Six Nations were still debating whether they should stop the Germinal Organization's operation. While the enemy of an enemy was often a friend, Raylen, Theseus, and Ordina opposed the idea of intervention in case it was a trap, and they suggested that the Six Nations should keep on following the original strategic plan to ensure a predictable battle.

While the commanders were discussing, Stardragon's commander suddenly received a message from Division 13. His face was shocked as he said, "Everyone please wait, my troops just received important information. The man who is being hunted down contacted my communication division. Please allow me to pass on his message to the main channel.

Everyone was surprised.

The monitor blinked, and Han Xiao's face started to surface. He used his original appearance, and the commanders quickly recognized that he was Zero, one of the most wanted man of the Germinal Organization. The man who kept on providing intel to the Six Nations appeared right in front of their eyes. The commanders around the table were shocked.

"Are you the one being hunted down by the Germinal Organization?"

"Why are you in the territory of the Germinal Organization?"

"I infiltrated the headquarters and retrieved key information from the mainframe of the system," Han Xiao replied. "All their information on their troops, strategies, and missile distribution are now in my hands. That's why the Germinal Organization are using everything they have to kill me. And now, I want to make a deal with you."

The commanders looked at each other. None of them had told Zero to steal intel on the Germinal Organization, but he did it anyway all by himself. How much hatred does Zero against the Germinal Organization? He probably wants to destroy them more than we do.

"Go on."

"Send out your troops, interfere with the enemy troops, and ensure my safety. Once I am safe, the intel will be yours."

Han Xiao prepared to use the intel as a bargaining chip for an exchange of the Six Nations assistance. The intel was originally going to be sent to the Six Nations, and now they would have to fight for this information.

In the beginning, Han Xiao's plan had been to steal the intel and get out without getting found out. However, Destiny's Child's foresight had allowed the leader to set ambush, which disrupted Han Xiao's plan. So, he could only adjust accordingly.

Han Xiao did not anticipate the appearance of Destiny's Child, but he was not frustrated since not everything would always go according to plan. He was not afraid of accidents as long as he could adapt to the new situations.

An officer said coldly, "You can't prove that you have the intel unless you tell us right now. If you do so, we will consider protecting you."

"This intel can burn the Germinal Organization down to the ground, and this is essential for victory of the battle," Han Xiao replied. "If you do not accept my terms, this intel will be buried with my dead body. No… not only me, but all of your soldiers will die too. If the Germinal Organization admits defeat, they might trigger all their nuclear weapons and wipe out everyone. And then, you will question yourself—why didn't you simply accept my offer?"

The commanders were anxious as Han Xiao pointed out their main concern. They did not know the quantity or the location of the nuclear bombs that the Germinal Organization had. If they could get information on this matter, then they could send out all the agents, elites, and strong soldiers to eliminate this greatest threat.

"How can we trust you?"

"To show my gratitude, I just send out the first documents on the 'Hands of Death' system to Stardragon's troops. I used to work for Stardragon's communication agency, and Stardragon can testify."

Stardragon was pushed to the front of attention. Everyone looked over at Gu Hui, and Gu Hui looked dismal. With an annoyed expression, he nodded, which meant that it did happen.

"The Germinal Organization has a strong security system in place. Even our most elite agents could not infiltrate the headquarters. How did you get through?" another officer asked.

Han Xiao tapped his cheek, and his appearance slowly changed.

After looking at his face, the commanders of the Six Nation all stood up with chairs rolling away. Everyone froze.

This is the face of the Black Phantom!

"Are… are you…" Gu Hui, who almost fell, stammered with disbelief, "Black Phantom‽"

Han Xiao adjusted the image and showed the Viper next to his body. "Zero, Black Phantom, they are both identities of mine. You can call me Han Xiao."

Gu Hui's breath quickened. Division 13 did try to send people to track down Zero. The targets were all the homeless migrants as they thought that Zero could only hide around such groups of people. As it turned out, they had searched in the wrong direction. Han Xiao had never tried to hide, but instead, he had become the legendary killer in the Dark Net.

The commanders could not believe the truth. The Black Phantom was considered an extreme threat in most countries, and no one could find out his true identity. And now, he had just showed up as Zero, the most wanted traitor of the Germinal Organization.

The mask allowed its user to change appearances in an instant, which left the commanders in awe. They were just glad that Han Xiao was on their side.

Han Xiao took off his mask, and his face was calm. He stood straight and looked powerful. Han Xiao no longer needed to hide his true identity. Sooner or later, the Germinal Organization would spread this news, so Han Xiao might as well just reveal the secret by himself, and this would make it easier to get Legendary Points.

The meeting room was dead silent. No one was able to speak a word. After a while, the commanders finally started to accept the truth.

"We accept the deal. We will send our troops to face them head on. Natural Satellite security and anti-missile device will be activated, so there will be no way the Germinal Organization and land a missile on the ground. The escort troops might take a while. We do not have any permission in air, so the air force might not be able to directly escort you away from the battle. After we finish discussing, we will tell you the extraction point."

Han Xiao smiled. "Okay."

…

After he turned off the communication device, Han Xiao let out a long sigh. The negotiation was successful, and the troops of the Six Nations would push forward on the side and intervene with the Germinal troops. This was the biggest ally that Han Xiao could get.

At this point, there was no need for Han Xiao to wear his mask. The cool wind blew on his cheeks. He closed his eyes as if tasting the feeling of freedom.

He could finally take off his mask after wearing it for more than six months. There was no reason to hide anymore.

From that night onward, the world would know his true identity. He was Zero. He was Black Phantom.

Legendary Points would flood in like water after the organizations on Planet Aquamarine accepted this truth.

And now, what he had to do was break through the lock on the ground and meet up with the escort team of the Six Nations. For Han Xiao, this battle had already ended.

Hila looked back at the sleeping Aurora as her icy expression slowly melted.

"Since you've convinced the Six Nation, with their help, we are now in safe hands."

"Don't let your guard down. Even if we have allies, we have to make it until they can find us." Han Xiao did not think twice before killing Hila's enthusiasm.

The sky slowly brightened, and the long night came to an end.

The battle would begin after sunrise.

…

That very night, the true identity of Han Xiao spread like wildfire to the organizations all around the world.

Every organization was shocked.

The whole world was shocked.

Chapter 250: Eye of the Storm

The battlefield only covered the land of Andrea, which was significantly far away from the other three continents. Each and every piece of news about the war was like a wide spread disease that instilled fear and anxiety into people's minds. This warfare caused inevitable repercussions to all the nations around the world. The world was in chaos. The rate of theft and murder increased at an exponential rate, extremist of religions that preached the end of the world rose, and small groups of wanderers decided to join the Six Nations to seek protection.

During war time, the Six Nations had strict policies, and they performed rigorous investigations and surveillance on the wanderers. Thus, the wanderers did not dare say anything that would offend the Six Nations. During time of peace and prosperity, these wanderers could not really sense the benefit of having neighboring countries. But for those who betrayed the country, they realized the importance of having a nation one could rely on. Discrimination and unequal treatment were around every corner for these people. The wanderers without citizenship were probably in a lower status compared to stray dogs, and they could only remain quiet and beg for mercy.

Therefore, some wanderers would rather remain homeless, robbed by bandits and attacked by wild creatures, than join the Six Nations. For them, the only other option left was to seek shelter under the Dark Net. Without any reinforced policies and restrictions, the wanderers eagerly joined the Dark Net, and all the money and resources Bennett had poured in finally came into use. He felt like he was Buddha, alleviating all the suffering around the world.

"Ah, the futility of war."

On the top floor of Sanctuary One, Bennett stood next to the window as his sharp pupils reflected the entire field of Sanctuary One.

The mist of war surrounded the tower, and everyone on the Planet Aquamarine worried about their future. Even though the Sanctuary was a step toward the bright future, Bennett was still troubled by the Han Xiao's baffling action to join the war. It had already been a few days, and Bennett had not heard from Han Xiao.

Bennett had a rather complicated perception on Han Xiao. On one hand, Han Xiao was the most important assistant with an honorable record in the battlefield and uncountable achievements. And now, the size of Sanctuary Three was already larger than that of Sanctuary One and Two. From time to time, Bennett considered changing the name of Sanctuary One to Black Phantom Sanctuary.

On the other hand, the movement of Black Phantom was unpredictable, and Bennett often had to bear the responsibility of those actions. Even though the mistakes were only small compared to the achievements of Black Phantom, Bennett believe that sooner or later, he would have to take the blame for the actions that offended the world.

"We received information from the frontline. There are unusual movement in the battlefield. Please take a look at this." The assistant rushed into the room and handed over the laptop.

As the largest intelligence network on Planet Aquamarine, the Dark Net had kept up to date with the situation on the battlefield. Bennett meticulously read the latest information.

"Two days ago, the southern front of Andrea experienced a drastic change. The Germinal Organization, which who was on the defensive side, employed a large-scale search around the headquarters. At the same time, the Six Nations applied pressure to the Germinal Organization from south and east sides. Moreover, they sent out multiple troops to infiltrate the Germinal Organization's territory. From the movement of both sides, it seems that they are all going after the same target.

"It is reported that the target is the most wanted traitor of the Germinal Organization, Zero, who infiltrated the mainframe and obtained a large amount of classified information. Both the Germinal Organization and the Six Nation are fighting to obtain this information. From our undercover operatives in the Six Nations, the information will determine the outcome of this war."

Bennett stopped reading and sighed. " Zero… I know this man. The reason that the Germinal Organization has fallen to the point today is mostly because of this man. A traitor who made the Germinal Organization walk toward the path of destruction. Now he has obtained the key intelligence on this war, and he is the eye of the storm. He is an impressive man. Even if he lived in the old era, he could have been the legend to shape the world."

Bennett then flipped on to the next page.

"In addition, Zero called himself Han Xiao, and he had a mask that can change his appearance in an instant. Black Phantom is one of his identities."

Bennett could not say a word.

Bang!

Three seconds later, the window in the office shattered as Bennett threw the laptop through it with all his strength. The laptop arced through the sky and smashed onto the ground. The laptop was utterly destroyed with parts rolling on the ground. The people on the ground were surprised and looked up at the Sanctuary.

"Han Xiao! You b*stard!"

Bennett more than furious. He scratched his head out of frustrated, and the clean, styled hair quickly turned into a mess. He then walked back and forth in the room.

The origin of Black Phantom had always been a mystery, as if his existence was created out of thin air. Bennett did try to ask Han Xiao about his history. At that time, Han Xiao's tone had been reflective and dense.

"Every man has a past that they do not want to face, just like hands you bathe in blood. And that's true for me. I have made a lot of mistakes. I used to wear a mask, and I never knew who I truly was. It's only recently that I've finally seen my true identity. Of course, you do not know me."

Bennett had believed him at that time. He had tried to remember if there's any faceless legends in different organizations, and he had vaguely recalled a powerful man who disappeared in the flow of history. From his own experience, he had suddenly reached the conclusion that Han Xiao was a man with strong internal struggles, a man who sought self-redemption. Bennett had thought that he suddenly had a common topic that they could talk about.

Well, right now, Bennett was disappointed at how brainless he was.

How dare you trick me‽

Bennett took a few deep breaths and straightened his chest. He looked at this reflection on the broken glass and fixed his hair style. After he calmed down, he turned to look at the frightened assistant and said, "Has the information spread to the public?"

The assistant nodded dumbfoundedly.

Bennett sat down and sank into deep thought as he tapped his finger on the table like he was playing the piano.

…

On the southern front of the land of Andrea, a convoy that was intercepted by the Stardragon drove into the fourth section. Dozens of vehicles were in the area with a few carrying the missiles with cold warheads on top.

Division 13 of Stardragon began their infiltration mission. They took over a military base in the inner parts of the Germinal Organization's territory, and they got a few batches of warheads.

The secret intelligence agencies of all the countries were working on the same operation. They slowly chipped away at the power of Germinal Organization with the intel given by Han Xiao before the war started. They had made their plans after knowing the strategy of the Germinal Organization, and their scale of operation had become smaller and smaller as time went on. Therefore, the Six Nations were desperate for the intel that Han Xiao had on his hands.

Small teams of agents got out of the vehicles, and Di Su Su and Zhang Wei's teams were among them.

Di Su Su was going to wave at Li Yalin, but she saw Li Yalin and her team hurriedly left the area.

Li Yalin and her team charged into the commander's room.

"Sir, it seems that Han Xiao had the intel!" Lin Yao said anxiously.

The commander nodded, and he handed over a document. "The situation is complicated. The upper officials wanted me to give you this intel."

Li Yalin grabbed the document, and everyone squeezed around her to read it. On the very first line, the document already stated that the true identity of Black Phantom was Han Xiao.

"Haha. He really was Black Phantom. I was right after all!" Li Yalin laughed out loud, and her laugh was similar to a ringing bell. She slapped Lin Yao on the back, and he almost fell over.

In the battle of Tedramira River, Li Yalin did recognize Han Xiao. At that time, everyone in the team had guessed about the identity of Han Xiao. Zhang Wei had reported this to the higher officials, yet the officials did not give any response except to tell them not to further inquire on this topic, as if they were trying to hide something. Lin Yao had also stolen some of the records, but he realized that the higher officials had disregarded the report and never followed up with the case.

Now this proves that they had been right all along, and this truth slapped the higher officials right in the face.

Li Yalin suddenly let out a long sigh and cleared her mind.

"Wait…" Zhang Wei's face darkened. "He still has another identity."

The crowd quickly read the paper, and everyone was shocked.

Zero was actually Han Xiao‽

So, his true identity was the wanted traitor of the Germinal Organization!

Recalling about the weird behavior of Han Xiao when he first joined Stardragon, everyone was suddenly enlightened and connected all the dots together.

That is why the higher officials wanted to hide his identity. He was wanted by the Germinal Organization.

Now we know why no one can catch Zero. He can actually change his appearance.

Now we know…

All the mysterious events that had happened all seemed to have an explanation. The people were dumbfounded by this realization.

Lin Yao swallowed the saliva and said, "His history is unbelievable."

Everyone nodded with agreement. No one had ever thought that one of their teammates was a legend.

On the side, Hou Yue face froze. He had heard a lot about this old team member, but to think he was actually such a great figure.

Du Su Su had also followed them into the office and read the document on the table. The commander did not stop her, as this intel would be spread anyway.

After reading the document, Di Su Su's face was full of disbelief.

"No wonder when I saw Black Phantom near Seagull City, I felt that he was familiar. It turns out that Black Phantom was Han Xiao… Wait, then what Golden Fox said was…"

As she mentioned the incident, everyone in the room had a chill and stopped her from continuing the topic.

Li Yalin suddenly was aware of the danger that Han Xiao was in. She asked about the situation. The commander replied, "Other than the military operation, the officials have also formed an escort team to enter the battlefield and extract Han Xiao from the Germinal Organization's territory."

Zhang Wei walked up and asked, "Can we join the escort team?"

Commander shook his head. "You are nowhere near standard of the team."

Chapter 251: Eye of the Storm 2

As the news spread further and further away from the center of the battle, for those who had no dedicated channel to receive intel such as the wanderer warlords, they were the last ones to receive the news. Alumera was one them.

As a companion of Theseus, the Alumera family did not participate in the frontline of the war. Instead, they were in charge of keeping stability and security in the Northern Continent. This was a chance for Alumera to develop. The Dark Net Organization's sanctuary plan ignited a few revolts from various warlord organizations. A part of these warlord organizations also tried to build places similar to the sanctuaries. However, their intention was different from Bennett's intention to protect the innocent. They built their sanctuary only to gain profit and acquire more labor force.

Currently, the Alumera family was guided by the Xiao Faction, and Xiao Jin had a chance to get Black Phantom to visit this place. Xiao Hai looked up to his father's capability to use methods to trick and gain power. Even though he often recalled that Black Phantom was his godfather and was disgusted by that fact as if he just swallowed a pile of excrement, Xiao Hai was glad that Black Phantom had not showed up in a very long time.

In the study of the Xiao Faction's mansion, Xiao Hai reported the updated news they had, and he read Xiao Jin's concerned face. "Father, are you not satisfied with the current affairs?"

Xiao Jin glanced at him. " I'm still not standing on my own feet, and I'm still restricted under others."

"Are you referring to Black Phantom?" Xiao Hai was confused. "Even though part of the reason you are in this position today is because of Black Phantom, the power and authority are still ours. Moreover, he is not even here, so he can't have too much influence over our decision."

"And this… this is my weakness. Black Phantom brought me up to the head of the house, but his influence is still limited, so he cannot touch on the inner policy making. Other Factions act like they look up to us, but they have plans behind the scenes to overthrow our position. We are not safe. In the end, we can only employ the power we have in the Xiao Faction, and the other factions never lend their resources, so it is hard to push any new policies."

Xia Jin then reminded the Han Xiao's threat and added, "Moreover, Black Phantom did not do this for free. I paid my price."

Xiao Jin stood up and took two wine glasses and the precious Maple wine from the cabinet. He poured for two and handed one to Xiao Hai. He took a sip and continued. "Well, we'll worry about that later. For now, the Xiao Faction has a more urgent task to deal with. Your brother Han Xiao is a wanted criminal of the Germinal Organization. This fact will be problematic, as people of Theseus came on multiple occasions to gather information. Currently, the war is at the most intense stage, and every organization is trying to severe any relationships with the Germinal Organization, but we will not be able to because of your brother, unless we are able to find to and send him over to the Six Nations."

As soon as his father mentioned his brother, Xiao Hai's face became unnatural. He was worried that the man that he had setup was still alive.

"It seems that Zero and the Germinal Organization are in a complicated situation…" Xiao Hai was troubled. The last thing that he want to see was Han Xiao being powerful and successful because he was afraid of revenge. At the bottom of his heart, Xiao Hai knew his brother's weak character and mentality after growing up alongside him. But he still afraid of the possibility of a drastic change in his brother's character.

What Zero did was clearly not what his obedient brother would do. Han Xiao was still scared of the revenge even though he had no idea what man his brother had become.

Knock knock.

The door opened, and the assistant peaked his head in. "Leader, Se Qi is here to visit."

Se Qi was the chieftain of the Red Island Faction, which disagreed on Xiao Jin being the leader.

"Let him in." Xiao Jin frowned and put down his glass of wine. "Since I became the leader, he has not visited me once. Something must be wrong."

Xiao Hai nodded and waited on the side.

After a while, Si Qi walked into the room with a large smile on his face. "Leader."

Xiao Jin remained silent and nodded back. He invited Si Qi to sit down, and Xiao Hai on the side was trying to size up Si Qi's intentions. From the smile and the friendly expression, it seemed that it was nothing bad. The man was friendly and natural, so he did not seem like he was going to get into an argument with his father.

Si Qi took out a plan book, and this was Xiao Jin's plan that needed the Red Island Faction's cooperation. Before, Si Qi had kept on refusing, and now, suddenly, he took it out and said with a sweet expression, "After thinking about this for a while, I think this plan is very doable. I am willing to contribute my resources for this plan. I hope to discuss the details. Don't worry, I will give all the resources I have for this project.

Xiao Hai was surprised and laughed in his heart. Now the Red Island Faction has finally bent over to our power and recognized the Xiao Faction is the leader.

Xiao Jin was also surprised. He slowly nodded and started discussing the plan with Si Qi.

After a few minutes, the assistant rushed in to the and said, "Leader, Todd has also come to visit."

Todd was the chieftain of Home Faction, and he also did not have a good relationship with Xiao Jin. But now, he was visiting right after Si Qi.

Xiao Jin suppressed his surprise and invited Todd into the room.

"Hehe, head of the Xiao Faction. Right now, I want to discuss the plan we had last time…" As soon as the door opened, Todd saw Si Qi and acted like he was not there. He also took out a plan book, and just like Si Qi, he wanted to discuss the plan and submit power to the Xiao Faction.

Since the two largest powers had submit to Xiao Faction, they had the proper power to control Alumera. Happiness had come too suddenly, and Xiao Jin was stunned while Xiao Hai on the side could not suppress his excitement.

Before Han Jin could reply, the assistant again said that there were more people who want to come over. And just in a few moments, all the leaders or higher officials were in the room, all to submit power and discuss their plans.

Xiao Jin was lost. He had no idea what just happened. In an instant, and without any reason, he had secured his power without any effort. What was going on?

Todd saw Xiao Jin's confused expression and laughed. "It seems that Chief of the Xiao Faction has not received the news. Take a look at this…"

He pushed a document across the table, and it was the intel on the true identity of Han Xiao. As the Home Faction, he had a larger information network and was the first to receive the information. He had then relayed the information to the rest of the Factions, and that was why there was such a scene in Xiao Jin's office.

Todd had almost pissed his pants when he learned that the true identity of Black Phantom was the second son of Xiao Jin, Han Xiao. He had suddenly found the answers to all the questions.

No wonder Black Phantom came to visit Alumera and supported the Xiao Faction at critical times. He was clearly trying to protect his family.

The identities of Zero and Black Phantom were one, and he was the crucial figure in this battle. One could easily see that once the war ended, he would have immense influence over the world. This legend had come from one of the wanderer warlord organization, and it was the Xiao Faction.

Connecting Black Phantom's action of protecting his family, every organizations in Alumera could not sit still. They could no longer ignore the Xiao Faction after this incident, and the Xiao Faction could be one of the most powerful organizations that they could rely on. Therefore, everyone came to submit power, and Xiao Jin was the last one to know what had happened.

"What‽" Xiao Jin was shocked. Xiao Hao felt that a hammer had smashed his perception of the world. His head was spinning.

"He's my brother‽" Xiao Hai slowly lost his vision and almost passed out.

Xiao Hai could never believe that his brother who did not have any achievements could become such a powerful figure today. His brother was a man who could change the tide of war and the shape of the world. Yet, Xiao Hai was still only obsessed with powers in a small warlord organization. Times had changed. He recalled that since he was small, he had been the most outstanding kid among his siblings. Han Xiao could only look up to him. Now, the tables had turned, and Han Xiao could not accept the truth. He ground his teeth, and his body filled with rage and anger.

Not only that, as he remembered that Black Phantom was his godfather, Xiao Hai's lungs almost explored. He clenched his fist so strongly that his fingernails sunk into his palms.

My brother became my godfather, what was he thinking?

He definitely wanted to embarrassment me. That's why didn't refuse at the time.

Xiao Hai went dizzy again out of anger.

Xiao Jin's face was stone cold, but he was not mad. It was his decision to approach Black Phantom, and who knew that the son he had been looking for all this time had been right in front of him? Remembering that he made the exchange, he wondered how excited Han Xiao must have been behind the mask. Xiao Jin sat still, and the awkwardness and embarrassment flowed through this body.

Si Qi, Todd, and other people had mockery in their eyes. His son had suddenly become on the same level as his father all because Xiao Jin tried to pull him to his side. The existence of Xiao Jin was just a joke. However, they could not ignore the power that Xiao Jin had, so they could only mock him behind his back. In the end, they suppressed their desire to mock and argue, and they submitted power of their organization to the Xiao Faction.

With Han Xiao, the position of the Xiao Faction was secured. Even if both the father and son were embarrassed and surprised, they had to give credit to Han Xiao for the power they held today.

After the rage had died down in Xiao Hai, what followed was a sense of powerlessness.

He realized that no matter how angry he was, there was one truth that he could not alter. He could no longer see the shadow of Han Xiao.

Just with the name of Han Xiao, it solved all the internal struggles that they had between the factions and forced the other factions to submit to their power. With this much influence, Han Xiao was probably the most powerful figure on the planet.

Xiao Hai suddenly froze, and tremendous fear flooded his heart.

Now that his brother became powerful… would he seek revenge?

Chapter 252: Eye of the Storm 3

The real identity of Han Xiao created a lot of interest among the major organizations because he was not only Zero, the orchestrator of the war, he was also Black Phantom, the top-notch mechanic and contract killer. When one combined the two identities together, all the organizations could see a new star rising that would impact the world.

It had been years since the appearance of such a legendary figure.

Now that he was had intel that could control the tide of the war, he was the eye of the storm, and naturally, there was a lot of attention and expectations on him from everyone on the planet.

After the news had been out in the world for four days, every organization around the world knew the true identity of Han Xiao, and there were two organizations that received the most attention.

First was the Alumera family, which was the place of birth of Han Xiao. Numerous small organizations in the Northern Continent visited the Alumera family. Under the influence of Han Xiao, the Alumera family made countless new allies, and at the same time, the fact that Han Xiao was the godfather of Xiao Hai also spread around the new allies.

This embarrassing joke was a mark that could never be washed away from the name of the Xiao Faction. Seeing that everyone was trying to hide their laughter, Xiao Hai was extremely frustrated, wanting to kill himself to end the shame on him.

Another organization that was in the spotlight was the Dark Net. Han Xiao was one of the higher officials in the Dark Net, yet all the major organization did not see any response from the Dark net. So, no one knew how was their attitude toward the reveal of identity of Black Phantom was.

Like so, four days had passed in an instant.

…

When one glanced down on the battlefield from the sky, the wilderness was full of sand and dust. A ferocious jeep with sharp armor zoomed across the wilderness. Around a kilometer behind the jeep was the Germinal Organization's vehicles trying to catch up.

"Fourth day, this is Division 13."

On the passenger seat, Han Xiao was controlling the camera at the back of the jeep to see check the situation on the convoy behind them, and he shook his head with disappointment. "They didn't send enough people again. Guess we will get some free spare parts to use."

Hila, who was on the driver seats, gave Han Xiao a cold stare. She was too busy and exhausted to say anything.

At this point, the appearances of the two people were in a stark contrast with each other. After fleeing from the enemy for four days, the enemies were everywhere, and they faced difficult battles every single day. Hila was not a mechanic who could build equipment and machinery to fight. Her power came from her psychic abilities, which required energy and strength. Every battle that she fought was tough and challenging, and at this point of the escape, she had already exhausted all her power, and her face was covered in sweat and dust with dark lines around her eyes.

On the other hand, Han Xiao was completely different. Using Viper, fighting off the enemy was a breeze for him. Most of the enemies who chased Han Xiao were weak and easily defeated anyway. However, Hila could not fend off the enemy as easily as Han Xiao.

While Hila was driving, her brain felt like it was going to shut down at any given point of time. Even though she was extremely tired, she did not want to hand over the steering wheel to Han Xiao—one side was a cliff, the other was an abyss. At least the cliff has a bottom…

"Hey sis, do you want some juice?" Aurora, who was sitting at the back with big sparkling eyes, offered a plastic bag containing liquid.

"That is not juice. That is an energy drink that can help you stay awake and increase your energy, so don't…" As Han Xiao looked back, he saw the empty bags on the back seat. He continued with a mildly infuriated voice. "… drink too much."

"But it tastes good." Aurora hid her face behind the seat.

When she was imprisoned, the food she had every single day had been nutrition cream without any taste. The energy drink was a new experience for her taste buds, and she was wide awake.

At the beginning of their escape, only Han Xiao could fight. They had needed to gather all the resources they could find. The long escape operation was naturally the stage for Mechanics to shine. They could get rid of the soldiers chasing after them, get their equipment, change them into parts, and create a new weapon to fight. They had to fight to keep on fighting and survive.

In the professional gaming scene, there were also some long-term survival game modes similar to this situation, and Mechanic was the best class in this situation.

Other than Military MRE and energy drinks, Han Xiao could get a lot of parts after winning a battle to improve the jeep they had. He slowly modified the engine and cylinder of the car, and now, the jeep ran like a wild bull that could crush anything in its path. The shell of the jeep was full of scratches, which fit its wild style.

The Germinal Organization's troops were tied up by the attacks of the Six Nations, which almost halved the pressure on Han Xiao. The Six Nations also got rid of the threat of missiles, so they did not have to worry missiles blowing them up if they stopped in a place for too long.

Han Xiao looked at the rear mirror and said, "Turn the car around and kill them all. Hey, little brat, lie down on the back seat and don't stick your head out."

Aurora listen obediently.

Hila did not flinch. She grabbed an energy drink and chugged it in an instant. She span the steering wheel, and the jeep abruptly drifted around, leaving a trail of dust behind. Then Hila charged the jeep directly at the enemy like a bull.

Han Xiao quickly finished the modification, and his Viper mechanical suit had a huge upgrade. In order to adapt to the long chasing battle, he had equipped multiple long-range weapons, such as a triple barrel gun turret and the grenade launcher on his shoulder. He had additional magazines on his legs and on his back, with a belt carrying yellow bullets across his shoulders. All these weapons were made from the equipment of the enemy they fought before.

The mechanic suit looked at least twice as large as before, and it was more suited for long range combat. Thus, it was called [Viper - Ranged Form].

The interface information analyzed the enemies' formation.

"Four executive officers, thirty Valkyrie squad, and ten players. Ten vehicles in total… Oh, they changed the formation."

The convey spread out and lined up in an encirclement formation. They wanted to avoid head on fights and delay Han Xiao for as long as possible while waiting for reinforcements. They knew that they did not have the power to stop Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was not surprised. After he single-handedly destroyed five convoys, the rest of the enemies had all used the same tactic, so he was already used to this.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The turrets on mechanical suits arms roared with burning iron bullets blasting toward the enemy. With every bullet that he shot, he felt a powerful recoil that pressed on his heart.

The dark-blue electromechanical force coiled around the turret barrel, and the damage was suddenly amplified. One armored truck was destroyed within a few seconds.

The convoy began to return fire. They had stronger firepower compared to the side of Han Xiao, and bullets and missiles, with an orange trail in the air, were coming for Han Xiao from every direction.

Han Xiao's technical interface analyzed the path of the light rockets for Han Xiao to shoot it down before they hit their target. As for machine gun bullets, they could only forcefully rely on the armor of the jeep to protect them.

Because the firepower of the Germinal Organization was too powerful, Han Xiao had decided to modify a ranged version of the mechanical suit since he knew how difficult it is to fight when one was being kited around.

Boom!

The sound of explosion continues.

Han Xiao fought against multiple vehicles and dozens of soldiers at the same time, and the battle was in a stalemate. Suddenly, Han Xiao gave Hila the signal.

Hila knew that it was her time to fight. Her eyes were filled with red light, and from the corner of her eyes leaked the burning light. She opened the window, pushed her hand outside, and a light red curve of flame penetrated three different vehicles, dealing mental damage that reduced the physical armor.

Hum!

Shock wave explode in their hearts and souls.

Everyone in the car suddenly spat out blood and was heavily injured.

"Cough cough…" Hila suddenly started coughing, and her face looked even more fragile.

The frequent use of such power drained her energy level down to the bottom, but at the same time, her power had somewhat advanced. A few days ago, if she wanted to use this attack, she would have had to charge up for a few seconds, but now, she could instantly cast her attack. Only when people were under extreme pressure could they extract their hidden potential. Hila's potential was as high as S level, and she had an exceptional improvement throughout the battle

With the cooperation of the two people, the battle quickly reached to the end. The four executive officers were only around LV 30, but it gave Han Xiao two Trial Points. He realized that not only did enemies above LV 40 give out Trial Points, enemies with lower levels could also give out some, but the system would not show that if it is below one point. It would still add the accumulated points in the system.

_____________________

[The Ultimate Trial]: Current Progress 723/2000

_____________________

Seven hundred or so points, I am progressing faster than I expected. Han Xiao looked at the battle interface popped up a new message.

_____________________

Battle has ended. From the difference between the forces of the two sides, you receive an extra 15 Trial Points.

_____________________

In these four days, Han Xiao found a new requirement to advance the mission.

It seemed that fighting against overwhelming numbers of enemies would give out more Trial Points, and the extra Trial Points were calculated after the battle. When he was charging through the enemy forces as he escaped the headquarters, he had gotten an extra eighty Trial Points. He did not have time to check as he was in danger, and later on, he had forgotten to check it since there were too many missions. It was not until now that he noticed the bonus after the battle.

Included in [The Ultimate Trial]'s description was 'The harder the victory (calculated by the amount of health lost), the more the Trial Points.' Han Xiao had thought that if he won the battle while having lower health, he could get more points. But for the bigger picture, he had to keep his health at a high level, so he did not bother losing health and reducing his chances of survival just for some small gains.

But now he realized what the statement meant. 'Calculated by Health Points' was probably calculating the total Health Point allies and enemies. So, when there were more enemies while he had fewer allies, he could get a higher reward. This means that the mission encouraged players to fight as a small group against a large force, and this could lower the reward for rich players who hired more players to join the team. Therefore, people with higher skill would finish the mission and earn the class advancement at a faster rate. This system was to ensure a balance between rich players and skilled players, shortening the gap between them.

Han Xiao started to disassemble the parts from the equipment that he had just gotten. Destroying was always easier than creating. The speed of Han Xiao taking parts away from equipment makes one's head dizzy.

"From my calculation, it seems that the enemy reinforcements will come between seven and twelve minutes," Han Xiao said. "So, we can only stay here for another five minutes. Can you still drive? If not, I will do it."

"I'm fine." Hila chugged another energy drink and boosted her energy level.

Han Xiao quickly went through the spare parts that he had disassembled and took the ones that were useful. Then they drove off while having an anti-radar layer on top of them. The only way for the Germinal Organization to catch them again was through a blanket search.

Ten minutes later, as the Germinal Organization's reinforcements arrived, they could only see the scattered parts lying on the ground. Han Xiao had disappeared from their vision again.

Chapter 253: A Love Story

In the car, Han Xiao was smoking and repairing his suit when he decided to check out the forums and saw the post made by the Germinal players that he had just killed.

"Found mission target. Han Xiao's location coordinates are…"

"Germinal has distributed new tailing missions. We are looking for two more members for this group mission. Leaving in twenty minutes.

Han Xiao chuckled when he saw this.

Germinal players were also trying to find him. As the mission only required the players to find his whereabouts, it would not lower their reputation points with him, and many players took on the mission for the reward.

As the old sayings went, there is no better way to show your love than through beatings.

Although Han Xiao had not given them any benefits, but following the players from the three other continents as examples, the Germinal players still loved him.

Once his identity was revealed, the players became very passionate about him and were eager to accept any missions that were related to him. However, it was not like they had much of a choice. Now that Germinal's full attention was on catching Han Xiao, practically all the missions had something to do with him.

Logically, having to fight immortal players should have had been troublesome, but Han Xiao was actually glad that a lot of players were chasing him.

Aside from trying to find him directly, the Germinal forces were constantly trying to widen their search net to encircle Han Xiao. However, Han Xiao was always able to escape through a gap just before they could complete the encirclement.

This was not just a coincidence. The forum posts made by Germinal basically gave Han Xiao free information on the enemy troop movements.

Germinal was not aware of the existence of the forums while there was no way the players could have known that an NPC could see their posts.

Han Xiao's group kept escaping through the openings between their forces, and Germinal had no idea how the information was being leaked.

Germinal could not have known that their own Inhumans were the ones dragging them down. All this did was further convince the Germinal leader of Han Xiao's power to predict the future.

...

Han Xiao was not afraid of running out of posts to read. Due to the recent rise in his popularity among the players, posts about him basically dominated the Planet Aquamarine forums.

Revealing his own identity also gave his image a boost. Compared to Black Phantom's uninspiring middle-aged uncle face, Han Xiao's current look was basically prince-like, and he was able to capture the hearts of countless female players. There were a bunch of comments along the lines of "Well hello, handsome…" that started to appear in the forums.

A BOSS level character that manipulated the war behind the scenes actually looked so young and handsome. This change finally helped Han Xiao acquire female fans. One should know that back in his Black Phantom days, all those who chased after him were just a bunch of stinky, hairy, hot-blooded, gamer guys…

However, the players' enthusiasm on this topic far exceeded Han Xiao's expectations, and after the initial shock, the direction of the conversations on the forums started to go somewhere weird.

Many of the players had seen Han Xiao bringing a sister-duo along with him when he broke out of Germinal's ambushes. Discussions about this suddenly exploded.

"Why would he bring two girls when running for his life? Is there any doubt? It must've been for love!"

Then, a player who had let his imagination break through the skies posted this story…

"I was once a test subject. I was tortured and went through endless unimaginable suffering in a hell-like place.

"She was my only source of light. Every time I saw her tall figure and ice-cold face, the pain I felt all over my body suddenly disappeared. Although I was only a test subject, and she never spared me so much as a smile, seeing the fury in her eyes taught me the warmth of spring.

"Maybe this is what it feels like when love finally arrives.

"So, I swore, when I one day escape this place, I will become stronger and rise to the top. When that day comes, I will stand in front of you and tell you with all my heart that I love you… "

When he saw this post, Han Xiao coughed all the energy drink that was in his mouth onto Hila.

Which god damn pervert wrote this‽ Where did this idiot jump out from?

Don't you ever let me see you! I will kill you all the way back to level one!

This was only one of the versions that the players came up with. Another person wrote about how Han Xiao fell in love at first sight with the older sister and decided to elope with her while bringing along the little girl!

Or how Han Xiao and the redhead were lovers to begin with, and the little girl was actually their secret child!

Some even claimed that the sisters were already Han Xiao's women, but they were taken away by the evil Germinal leader. To take back what was his, Han Xiao had gone on the path of revenge, eventually causing this whole war for love.

Basically, the people's imaginations were endless!

"Ohohoho, I never thought that you were like this, Black Phantom."

"So, we're all the same…"

"Oof, the little girl's the best!"

"The older sister's where it's at!"

Just as Han Xiao was having a headache from all these stories, he found out that the players had given him two new nicknames.

Black Phantom: The Womanizer!

Technician Han: Your Knight in Shining Armor!

Han Xiao was conflicted.

Although it was not his original intention, his popularity still went up because of this. It was normal that characters with some 'dirt' on them were more likely to be talked about by the players.

Although my image among the players isn't what I intended, at least I'm getting more and more famous.

Han Xiao could only stay optimistic. Most of these posts were not made seriously. These people must have come to cause trouble because of popular he was.

The reveal significantly boosted his popularity with the players, but his legend points on the interface were taking a while to be updated.

Suddenly, a new post caught Han Xiao's attention.

"Everyone, look! I have received a new mission. It's a large-scale encirclement operation this time! Request for group members to carry me…"

A Germinal player posted his mission details, and the photo of the map that he attached showed a massive force that stood on what was supposedly Han Xiao's current route of escape. This group of Germinal forces was unlike anything that they had ever seen. It completely blocked off all the possible openings that Han Xiao could use.

Han Xiao's expression grew heavy when he saw the post.

"This is bad."

…

"The encirclement forces are in place. It will take another six hours before they make contact with Han Xiao."

"How many men do we have?" the Germinal leader asked in a grave voice.

"Sir, we have mobilized a total of eighty high ranking executives, six hundred super soldiers, and several thousands of armored infantry troops. There are also over three hundred tanks and thirty attack helicopters. I'm sorry, sir, but this was all we could muster. The Six Nations are currently applying pressure on all fronts, and we are stretched thin."

Boom!

The leader violently smacked the table and roared, "If it weren't for those b*stards from the Six Nations, this encirclement would've already been complete. Zero must've made a deal with them. We have already locked onto him four times, yet all our missiles have been intercepted by the Six Nations!

"Humph! Now that our forces are in place, the Six Nations will have to drive their troops right into the middle of my territory if they want to stop us from catching Zero. Order the troops to start closing in on him. Even if he can predict the future, he will still be forced to go head to head with our troops!"

The Germinal leader spared no efforts in taking out Han Xiao. He had already learned his lesson from the numerous times that Han Xiao had broken out of his traps so far. Now, the new group of troops were placed right around his escape route, and he had finally trapped the traitorous b*stard!

The leader believed that even if Han Xiao was able to predict this all from happening, there was nothing that he could have done to stop the encirclement from being completed. He had sacrificed the previous squads who pursued Han Xiao to direct him to this path.

The encircling forces on the plains were to be the leader's decisive move to end things once and for all with Han Xiao.

"Zero is very strong; only the older executives can finish the job. How many of them went with the troops?" the leader asked.

"Five in total. Here are their files," the assistant quickly replied.

The leader took a glance and nodded. These old folks could be considered the organization's strongest force. Even he would have to be careful against them in a fight. Their strength had already reached a certain level and would be enough to take on Han Xiao.

With five of them together, even the leader would take some time to come out on top.

This time, the leader was confident that Han Xiao would finally be taken care of, and he let out a vicious glint in his eyes.

Chapter 254: Separation

The night came, and two rays of light were moving around the plains. Han Xiao and his companions got away from the chase from the troops. The plains were quiet, and they could only hear the low humming sound of the exhausted engine.

"Pull over," Han Xiao suddenly said.

Hila shook her head and disagreement. "We just got away from the troops. If we stop now, they will soon catch up."

"We are heading into a trap. The path ahead has been closed off. There will be nowhere out." Han Xiao shrugged.

Hila jumped. "What? How did you know?"

But she recalled hearing that Han Xiao could predict the future, so she took back her question. Both of them had forced their way out of the headquarters, and after the eventful and stressful days, she trusted Han Xiao with all her heart.

She stopped the jeep, and silence took over the scene.

"If the Germinal Organization has encircled the plains, they will for sure move inward and confine us in a smaller area. We now have two options. First, we fight our way through before they enclose their forces on us, or second, we wait for our opportunity."

"If we drag this out for too long, our area for movement would be smaller, and our chance of surviving will be even slimmer," Hila said hesitantly. "Will we have a chance if we break through the encirclement?"

"The trap they've set up this time is strong and secure. All the troops are close to each other, and there is no space or opportunity where we can sneak past them. Even if we head back the way we came, we still cannot escape." Han Xiao shook his head—this was the analysis done by a player who had posted this information on the forums. [The Encirclement of the Plains] mission was the largest mission in the Germinal Organization, and it was a mission in the battle series, so more and more players came together.

"There is a chance that we can break through their trap, but the risk is too high, and we won't be able to protect your sister. But what you said was right; waiting around is also bad for us."

After Han Xiao analyzed the situation, Hila remained quiet and tried to think for a new method.

Even though Aurora could not understand what Han Xiao had said, she could tell that the atmosphere was serious and dense. She then grabbed Hila's sleeve.

Hila's serious face relaxed, and she patted Aurora on her head.

It was not the end. No matter how dangerous and challenging the circumstances were, she would never give up. When she had been the Germinal Organization, Hila was as cold as an iceberg. But after Han Xiao showed the hope that she could save her sister from imprisonment, he slowly chipped away at her cold personality and would occasionally show her care and kindness to others. Although, most of the time, she still wore an unemotional face.

Hila looked back and asked, "Do you have any idea?"

"I need to make a few calls." Han Xiao had a plan slowly forming in his head.

…

Buzz!

The leader's computer received a call. When he saw the notification, his pupils suddenly contracted. It was Zero.

Why is he calling me?

The leader was shocked and shouted at his assistant, "Track his location now!"

The assistant quickly called for communication technicians to track the communication system.

The leader then accepted the call. Han Xiao's face appeared on the screen, and the leader showed a murderous intent in his eyes. Han Xiao also did not talk, and they stared at each other for a while. Even though they were looking through a screen, they could feel the intense hostility from each other.

After a while, Han Xiao started the conversation. "Long time no see."

"Isn't it too late for you to beg for mercy?" the leader replied coolly. He could tell that Han Xiao already knew that he was trapped in the encirclement and could not find a way to escape. That was why Han Xiao directly called his mortal enemy to try some petty trick.

From his understanding, there was nothing for them to talk about. The leader was the one in a better position, and Han Xiao was just a stray dog that he could catch whenever he wanted.

"Do you still remember our little secret, when I said I will destroy your organization?" Han Xiao asked in a slow, clear voice. "You were so arrogant, and I was never in your eyes. And now, I've single-handedly push your organization to the brink of destruction, and you can't ignore me anymore. Now, you spend all your energy and resources trying to kill me. Don't you regret it? Why don't you try to persuade me with your little fancy ideology? Then, maybe, I will listen you and turn myself in."

The leader took a deep breath as what Han Xiao had said stabbed right at his heart. The only thing that the leader wanted to do was punch Han Xiao right in the face. The Germinal Organization's ideology was to overthrow the Six Nations, and the leader's ultimate enemies were the regime and the country. Yet, all his ambition had been burned down by a mere traitor. The leader could not let go of this crying shame. "Save your breath. I know you can tell the situation you are in, and now you've decided to call and try some petty tricks, right?"

"Do you think you can stop me with only those few troops?"

The leader laughed in his heart. Han Xiao did realize that he was being surrounded. So, he believed that Han Xiao was just trying to act tough.

"With the power of predicting the future, you have been fooling us, but this time, your power won't save you anymore." The leader snorted. "When you have nowhere to run, I wonder if you will smile like you are now."

The leader noticed the assistant on the side, hinting that the communication channel was secure, so there was no way to locate the precise location.

If that was the case, there was no need to waste time talking to Han Xiao.

Just as the leader decided to hang up the call, Han Xiao suddenly said, "So, why do you only send your men to kill me? Are you too scared to face me in person?"

The leader shivered and showed a wry smile. "You don't want to live anymore, do you?"

"Still arrogant, aren't you?" Han Xiao laughed. "Well, you only look powerful on the surface, but deep down in your heart, you are a coward, and you will never face me by yourself."

"Want to fight with me, huh? You'll die before you get a chance to see my face again." The leader snorted and hung up the call.

…

"I didn't get anything useful." Han Xiao turned off the tablet computer and let out a sigh.

Other than trying to scout the intention of the leader, he also communicated with the Six Nations' escort team.

The good news was that the backup from the Six Nation had arrived on the east side of the plains. They had infiltrated the defense line of the Germinal Organization without being detected. They would arrive at the encirclement by the next day to provide combat support for Han Xiao.

Han Xiao suddenly regained confidence and scheduled a time to meet up. With the reinforcements as the ace up his sleeve, the operation became much safer.

Even if he and Hila failed to escape the encirclement, at least they would receive support. So, it would not be a waste of time and resources.

The reinforcements consisted of superhumans who were the best of the best in the Six Nations. One could not underestimate their capabilities.

"We will start the operation tomorrow afternoon, but we cannot bring your sister along with us. We won't have the energy and awareness to protect her safety. If we can hide her in the encirclement, we can fight without worrying about Aurora," Han Xiao said.

Surprisingly, Hila agreed. Bringing Aurora along would only increase unnecessary risk, and the encirclement could actually be a temporary safe space without any battles.

If they could break through the encirclement, then they could attract all the attention.

Of course, they had to find a way to bring Aurora back, and it would pose a lot of trouble in the future, but under these circumstances, Aurora would only hold them back, and this was the best option they could go for.

"Sister, am I to stay here?" Aurora looked up and her big eyes looking at Hila.

"We are only leaving you for a moment. This is safer for you." Even though it hurt Hila to leave Aurora alone, she knew that this was the only way to keep her safe.

Aurora looked down and covered her eyes. "I'll do what you say."

"I'm sorry." Hila felt a needle pierce through her heart, and she pulled Aurora into her hug.

After searching for a while, they found a natural cave. Han Xiao dug out the dirt to create a bigger space and fortified the structure. Then he covered the cave with camouflaged material and closed off the entrance to the cave, leaving eighty percent of the food and resources with Aurora.

Chapter 255: The Hidden Tactic

"The food we left you should last you for around five days. Try save as much as possible. If you hear any troops from the Germinal Organization, do not make any sound," Han Xiao said.

Aurora nodded quietly. She culled up and buried her face in her knees as she looked at the back of Han Xiao and Hila. "Sister, I'll be waiting."

Hila stopped for a second, took a deep breath, and started walking forward again.

Han Xiao finished covering up the cave and noted the location. He let Hila drive as he sat in the back and cleaned the car tail, making sure that the Germinal Organization could not follow the track to where Aurora was hiding.

After they reached the main road, Han Xiao got back into the passenger seat. Hila looked at Han Xiao and asked, "Do you believe that we will pull through?"

Han Xiao nodded. "I would never use my life to bet on something that I am not confident about."

Hila stayed quiet for a while, then she replied, "If I die in the battle, please help me take care of my sister. With your strength, the chances of you surviving are much larger than mine."

"If you talk more in this tone, I think you will see death right around the corner," Han Xiao said with his dead eyes, which he had not shown in a while.

Even though Han Xiao teased her, he understood Hila's feelings. For Hila, every step that she took was lurking with danger. She was not as strong as Han Xiao, and the future was uncertain. Her sister was the sole reason that she had the perseverance to go through all the hardship, and she cared for Aurora with all her heart. She was even willing to sacrifice her life for Aurora, and that was why she had started to develop a pessimistic view on her own destiny.

But Hila's statement also showed her complete trust toward Han Xiao, and this was the original objective that Han Xiao had before he intervened in this event.

"I contacted the Six Nations' reinforcements. They are already nearby, and we decided on a place to meet up tomorrow. If we fail the breach tomorrow, we will still get back up, but if everything goes well, we can probably get out of here before we meet up with the reinforcements."

"I hope so."

Hila glanced at Han Xiao and never spoke again.

…

An hour later, the vehicle stopped on an obscured hill.

"There's still around ten hours until we meet up with the reinforcements. We will breach the encirclement on the east. This is the plan…" Han Xiao took out Viper and put it in front of Hila. "You will wear this suit in the battle tomorrow. In these ten hours, you must master all the controls and weapons on the suit."

Hila was stunned. "What about you?"

"In order to get through the encirclement, we must create chaos. I will go and blow up their vehicles and ammunition. They will be prepared for my ability to change appearance, but I also have an invisibility power." What Han Xiao said was naturally Dion's character card, which he had used once in the headquarters.

Hila understood. "So, I will use the mechanical suit to act like it was you and attract the attention of the enemy because you are the target they want to kill."

Han Xiao nodded. This strategy took advantage of the mentality of the Germinal Organization. Even though it was just a trick and in no way genius, the plan would be effective.

He adjusted the mechanical armor, opened access for Hila, and helped Hila put it on.

It was a brand-new feeling after she wore the mechanical suit. Through the display, she observed the outside world as if she had stepped through the door of the new world. Hila tried to move around in the armor, but she soon felt the dense weight of the armor. She listened to Han Xiao and tried to learn the confusing controls of the suit.

"What a complex design. Did you make all this?" Hila had a slight surprised tone in her voice.

"What, did you think the suit fell from the sky?" Han Xiao replied.

Han Xiao walked through the maneuvers of Viper with Hila. She knew that she only had ten hours to learn, so she was extremely focused.

Han Xiao did not need Hila to actually master the controls. He only needed Hila stand her ground for a while in front of the enemies.

The darkness faded as the sun rose from the east. Time flew as they wasted no time training for the battle.

Neither of them got any sleep that night.

As Han Xiao realized that it was daybreak, he said, "It's time. There's no need for you to take off the suit. Remember the plan and don't make a mistake."

…

The encirclement around the plains was like a fishing net that covered all routes. The security was deadly, and the troops were scattered in every direction, awaiting the command from the headquarters. As the encirclement enclosed, the defense line was even denser, making it harder to break through. On top of that, there were mobile reinforcement troops that could quickly provide assistance to any engagement.

On the east side of the encirclement, a large number of vehicles stood by and slowly marched forward as soldiers stood outside the cars, scrutinizing every movement on the plains.

Devin was the executive officer for this troop. He was not a senior executive officer, but he has Esper powers that strengthened his muscles. During combat, his bones would surface and cover his body. His whole body would grow and become a two and half meters tall with skeleton armor, greatly boosting both his Strength and Endurance.

Even though this Esper ability was powerful and threatening, the enemy was the notorious Black Phantom. Devin had no confidence in stopping him.

I hope that guy doesn't try to breach on my side. I will never be able to stop him, Devin prayed in his heart.

The executive officers in his team also felt the same way. As the Germinal Organization shattered, some people lost part of their loyalty to the organization, and they started to slack during their mission and protocol. This was the vicious cycle on the side losing the war. Only people who viewed the Germinal Organization as their religion and savior had not lose their loyalty, and these groups of people were from the old era that wanted to overthrow the Six Nations. All they wanted was to go to war with the Six Nations while sacrificing their lives. The deadlier the war, the more relieved their hatred would be.

Suddenly, the scouting soldier shouted, "There movement on the southeast side! A vehicle is approaching at a very high speed!"

The entire troop looked over, and they saw a jeep charging through the sand and dust. They quickly realized that the driver was wearing the dark black mechanical suit.

"Attention! An enemy has appeared!"

Why did they choose to break through here‽

Devin was nervous and kept on thinking about how unlucky he was. He even thought of running away. Han Xiao had already killed more than a dozen executive officers, and he did not want to be the next victim.

Suddenly, a tank fired a shell right at the jeep!

Bang!

The sound was louder than thunder, and the smoke and blaze exploded around the jeep.

The jeep jerked violently and dodge the shells and explosion.

After the jeep was five hundred meters away from the enemy, it finally got hit by a gun shell, and the jeep exploded into pieces.

At the same time, Hila jumped up in the mechanical suit, activated the Electromagnetic Hover-boots, and charge forward with an even higher speed. Hila was more agile in the new suit. She dodged all the bullets coming her way and sprayed her machine guns right at the enemy.

Clashes, explosions, screams, and cries—the battlefield was in chaos.

The battle became more intense!

The situation was instantly reported back to the headquarters, and the battle was clearly shown right on the display. The leader jumped up after waiting desperately for intel.

"He finally showed up!" the leader yelled. "Send the rapid response team as reinforcements! Tell everyone else to close up the encirclement with the east side being the center!"

The other troops received the command and started moving. The leader stared closely at the changing formation, and the encirclement quickly closed in onto the east side as if it was a bird cage closing off all escape routes.

Victory is mine!

On the east side of the plains, Hila kept on fighting with the suit on, creating a lot of destruction.

In order to pretend to be Han Xiao, Hila did not use her Esper power and only fought with the suit.

She was not a mechanic, and Hila could not unleash the true power of the suit. There were still a lot of abilities and weapons that she could not use, so she only fought with the basic battle mode. She got exhausted really fast.

The common soldiers could not stop her, so it was time for the executive officer to stand up.

Crack! Crack!

The sound of the cracking bone exploded as Devin started to expand. The bones spiked out and formed his skeleton armor, and he was as tall as a small giant. Devin suppressed his fear and anxiety as he swung his fist at 'Black Phantom'. Their fists clashed and set off an explosive wave.

Bang!

Such power. Hila held her breath and barely stood still. She did not have enough strength or machinery affinity with the suit. With only the basic combat stats, she could barely hold back Devin's power.

Devin was prepared to die, but he was surprised that he was still standing, and 'Black Phantom' seemed to have suffered damage from his punch.

Why is he so weak? Devin questioned in his mind.

Chapter 256: Breaking Out 1

Devin carefully probed his opponent with feints at the start of the battle. However, ever fighting for a while, he found out that 'Black Phantom' was not as overwhelmingly strong as he had been led to believe.

The legendary Black Phantom is nothing much. I was worried for nothing.

Devin got a confidence boost and started to attack without reserve.

The battle between the muscular giant and the armored mechanical suit caused a constant sound of clashing fists to be heard. The other Germinal executives that followed behind Devin started to realize that Devin was actually starting to gain the upper hand in the fight, and they were all surprised.

"When did the captain become this strong?"

"No, look! It's Black Phantom that grew weak!"

"Even someone as strong as him can't fight in his peak state after escaping for so long. He is at his weakest right now!"

The group of executives were then also bolstered and were no longer afraid. They stepped up one after another to gang up on Black Phantom.

Based on how much attention the leader paid Han Xiao, capturing him would definitely count as a great achievement!

Get him while he's weak!

The battle between this group of superhumans wreaked havoc on the surroundings, creating massive ditches everywhere. The troops were not just watching either as they open fired whenever Black Phantom showed an opening.

Hila was fighting for her life, and she was losing ground every second. She could only clench her teeth as she received blow after blow from all directions. If she was using her usual fighting style, she never would've let her enemies gang up on her like this. If not for Viper's defensive capabilities, she would've long since bit the dust.

The Germinal leader's eyes lit up. "His condition is getting even worse. Now we definitely got him!"

The leader originally only wanted to use the five senior executives to stall Han Xiao. However, Han Xiao's strength was now deteriorating by the second. It must have been caused by the built-up pressure while escaping.

"Who is this executive? He's got potential," said the leader.

The assistant hurriedly searched up the information and answered, "His name is Devin, and uhh… no notable achievements so far.

The leader scoffed and replied, "We are at war, and every single strong soldier is an important asset. Missing out on him would be a true misstep on our part!"

…

_____________________

Character Summon card has been used.

Current Usage: 2/2

The card will soon disappear.

_____________________

When Hila had all the Germinal forces' attention, Han Xiao sneaked into the midst of the troops and was busy planting explosives underneath every single Germinal vehicle.

The ability gained from Dion's character card was extremely effective, and not a single soldier noticed what he was doing. It was as if he had disappeared off into thin air right in front of them, but Han Xiao was still being as careful as possible, as entering combat would immediately cancel the concealment effect.

This is such a suitable Esper ability for thieves. No wonder Dion was able to steal classified information with ease. He probably even went to some good places with this ability. Damn…

Han Xiao was a little envious. He had also coveted some sort of invisibility skill when he was young. It had even been one of his thirty-three life goals at one point. It had only been scratched off the list afterward when he had already gained a decent amount of experience.

Under the cloak of invisibility, Han Xiao's senses toward his surroundings were completely different. It was as if a thick cloud had covered everything around him, and it felt quite surreal. The feeling of being invisible reminded of an old film that he had watched. He remembered that it was called the Lord's Ring or something.

This surrounding troops had a limited number of vehicles, and Han Xiao quickly finished planting all the explosives. He only left a few cars to be used for escaping later.

There's still two minutes left on my invisibility. I just need to wait for the explosion and steal a car to escape.

Everything up till now had progressed as planned.

Han Xiao returned to the edge of the battle and saw that Hila was getting beaten up from all directions pitifully. The suit that she was unfamiliar with was not able to offer much help in holding out against all those executives.

Han Xiao took out a communicator that was connected to the earpiece inside the armor and said softly, "I am about eighty meters to the north of your position. A big explosion will occur in a few moments. Run toward me immediately after and switch out of the suit with me. There's an armored car here for us to escape in!"

Although Hila could not see him, she had heard his instructions.

Han Xiao started counting down. Ten… five… three… He pressed down on the button.

Boom!

It was as if the ground shook for second!

Like a volcanic eruption, flaming pillars rose up high into the sky as all the armored vehicles blew up one after another.

A wave of heat rolled over and brought with it a dust storm. Countless ordinary soldiers were instantly knocked off their feet.

The Germinal forces were shocked stiff!

Why did it all suddenly explode‽

Using the brief moment of chaos, Hila rushed over to Han Xiao's position through the clouds of dust. She quickly got out of the suit and swapped with Han Xiao. Han Xiao ran along as he put on the suit. The whole process only took about three seconds. Han Xiao had already accomplished his mission with the invisibility, and continuing to let Hila wear the suit would just be a waste. The last time that Han Xiao had modified the suit, he had added an assistive device to help with equipping it and taking it off, making it much more convenient.

Hila got into the driver seat of the car and turned on the engine. However, the dust and smoke cleared at this moment, and the Germinal forces once again saw Black Phantom's figure. However, no one knew that, this time, it was the real deal.

"Don't you even think of running!" Devin roared furiously and swung his fist. His big and muscly form bounded over and shook the ground briefly. His talent allowed him to strengthen his skeletal structure, making it as strong and heavy as steel. The might of his talent was combined with an active skill as he threw a fist at his foe. Based on the previous exchanges, he had already found out that 'Black Phantom' could not break his defense at all, and he did not even bother guarding his body this time.

It's fine if you thought you could bully Hila, but now you want to do the same to me‽

Han Xiao's eyes focused, and he activated both [Surging Mechanical Force] and [Overload]. The Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace on his back burned bright red and started to make turbine-like sounds as the suit's power rose exponentially. A piece of machinery would only truly become powerful in the hands of a mechanic.

As Devin swung his fist out, full of confidence from his previous fight with 'Black Phantom', he suddenly realized that his current enemy was releasing an unbelievable amount of murderous pressure. He instantly felt a gust of cold wind up the back of his head. This Black Phantom was drastically different from the one that he had fought against just a minute ago!

Danger!

Extreme danger!

Devin was shocked and felt goosebumps rising all over his body. The next second, all he saw was a sudden flash before an arm that travelled so fast that it left behind after-images slammed into his head. What followed was an explosive force on the top of his head before his whole body was smashed onto the ground like a bag of trash!

Bang!

His skull, which was as strong as solid steel, cracked into pieces as if it was made of glass.

Han Xiao's left hand firmly held Devin's head and locked him on the ground. The muscular giant could not break free no matter how much he tried. Just like a chef holding down a fish on the chopping board, Han Xiao's right hand bulged up with the suit's muscle system, and he slammed another fist onto Devin's back as he activated the repulsion device, causing a wave of smoke and dust to spread out with the two at the center.

Crack!

Devin's skeletal structure exploded apart, and blood splattered everywhere before his whole body sank to the ground. The Germinal executive had long since fallen unconscious. The battle interface showed that Devin had received critical damage and was currently in a stunned state.

"Boy, you came after the wrong opponent."

Han Xiao shook his arm a few times as he observed the pieces of bone and skull scattered everywhere.

This talent is rather interesting. Was he able to strengthen his bones?

Devin was only level forty-something, and his strength meant nothing in front of him. It took Han Xiao less than three seconds to put him down. The others who had been prepared to rush up just a moment ago slowed their steps in confusion.

Just half a minute ago, Devin had still been going blow for blow with him, yet now he had been taken care of in just a single exchange!

Why was there such a huge change? It was as if this was a whole different person!

The 'Black Phantom' from before had been fighting like a newbie compared to this current one whose presence alone dwarfed those around him.

The group of Germinal executives had wanted to rush up earlier to take advantage of Black Phantom's weakened state, but now, no one dared even take another step forward.

The leader saw all this unfold through the screen, and he could only feel a ball of fire clumped at the back side of his throat. It was as if someone had poured ice-cold water on him as he was just starting to get excited.

Chapter 257: Breaking Out 2

Viper worn by him was the true Black Phantom!

The drastic change in their opponent's strength caused the Germinal forces to sink into temporary chaos. Han Xiao took this chance and jumped onto the car, and Hila immediately stepped on the gas and took off. The car was like an unleashed bull, and it just slammed its way out of the encirclement.

The Germinal soldiers were still wary of their leader's orders and tried to give chase. However, Han Xiao had already armed the car with long range weaponry, and they were able to shoot off all the pursuers.

As most of the vehicles had been blown up by his explosives, there were only a few who managed to give chase while the rest were all soon left behind.

The journey ahead was smooth, and this raised Hila's spirits despite her fatigue.

"We made it out!"

The moment Han Xiao heard that sentence, he knew that something was up.

Just as he thought, just as Hila finished the sentence, three black hawk helicopters appeared on the horizon and made a beeline for them.

"This is Germinal's instant response taskforce!" Hila's expression became grave. "Thankfully, there are only three of the helicopters. With their limited firepower, we can get close enough for me to take care of the pilots directly with my powers!"

Buzz!

Viper's built in radar suddenly sounded an alarm as it picked up five extremely strong life signals in the helicopters. These individuals were all well over LV 50 and were Germinal's strongest military force. All three of these helicopters were built to carry combat personnel, and now that they were being chased by the five similarly high-level people, there was no way that they were going to escape easily. Han Xiao suddenly felt depressed.

"Is something wrong with you? Please stop speaking already! Do you want to die that bad‽" Han Xiao shouted toward Hila, then without a single delay, pulled out his Ghost sniper rifle and took a shot at the closest helicopter.

A ray of faint blue accompanied the bullet as it shot out of the barrel and drew a line in the sky like a horizontal streak of lightning!

However, the always trusty sniper rifle did not find its mark this time!

The charged bullet was stopped short in front of the helicopter as if an invisible hand had grabbed it midair.

Force-field type. At least LV 50! Han Xiao's heart dropped as he knew that things were not looking good.

A middle-aged female soldier in combat uniform then poked her head out from one of the helicopters. Han Xiao zoomed using Viper's interface and saw that she had average looks, a nasty scar that cut through her lips, and short hair. She raised her hand and pointed it at the car on the ground.

Han Xiao then felt the car shake.

No, that was not right. It was the ground that was shaking!

The ground within fifty meters of the car started to vibrate as if waves on the ocean, and suddenly, a large chunk of ground rose up in front of the car, forming a ramp. Hila was not able to avoid it in time and drove right on top of it. The mini platform was too narrow for the car's wheels, and so the car was stuck upside-down as the wheels slowly stopped spinning. The two people in the car almost flew out from the sudden stop.

At the same time, the helicopters did a fly-by and released their missiles toward the stranded vehicle.

Han Xiao and Hila hurriedly abandoned the car.

Boom!

Both the armored car and the surrounding rocks were blown to smithereens. Metal parts and dirt flew out in all directions.

Five people jumped down from the helicopters—the senior executives!

They instantly rushed toward the duo. Each of the five had a drastically different appearance, but all of them gave off an intense pressure.

Han Xiao and Hila went prone on the ground have just dodged the explosions, and Hila's eardrums were still ringing because of it. She struggled to get back up, glanced toward the five executives, and said through gritted teeth, "I can't believe that Germinal has sent them. They're the top fighting force in in the organization, and except for extremely urgent missions, not even one of them even show up. This time, all five came to stop us. We're in big trouble. There are two Espers, 'Soul Shield' Jeross and 'Earth Hand' Ingris. The three other pugilists…"

"Shut up and start running!"

Without waiting for her to finish, Han Xiao took off in the opposite direction while firing back at the executives. However, all the bullets were all stopped short by the force field executive.

Hila followed behind. Although she had a pair of long legs, she was still no match for Han Xiao's Electromagnetic Hover-boots. As he could not just leave her behind either, Han Xiao grabbed Hila's hand, increased the shoe's output, and dragged her across the landscape.

Helping Hila meant that he could not fire back at the executives as much, but since it was still able to slightly delay the executives, it was more than enough for Han Xiao.

"We have backup ahead. Just hold out for a bit longer and wait for their help," Han Xiao said with a low voice.

Although the enemy reinforcements would also soon arrive if they were to stall for too long, it was their only option as they had already lost their car and could no longer shake off the pursuers.

Hila turned her body and shot an arc of dark-red energy toward the executives, but doing this caused her to start coughing. Her condition was not looking good. If it was not for the dire situation, Han Xiao would have already tried to make fun of her.

"Leave me behind." Hila, with a blank expression on her face, suddenly spoke. "You have the suit and can surely outrun enemy transportation. Just escape without me. I'm only a burden to you at this point."

Han Xiao frowned and was enraged by what she had said. "Don't you give me that self-sacrificing bullsh*t. How long do you think you can even hold them back? Ten seconds? Twenty? What's the point‽ If you dare let go of my hand right now to stay back to fight, I won't even bother taking care of your sister after you've died!"

"You!" Hila got angry, too. Just then, she had started to loosen her grip on Han Xiao's hand. However, just when she had made up her mind to stay behind and buy time for Han Xiao, he had stopped her with her only weakness—her sister. Hila was troubled. Although she was trying to sacrifice herself for the sake of her sister, Han Xiao was actually threatening her with Aurora. "Do you not understand the situation? If you just leave me behind, your chance of escaping will rise above seventy percent. What're you not satisfied with‽"

"I don't need you to teach me that. Let me tell you something, you aren't worth that much. If things do get to that point, then I will leave you behind without a second thought. So, shut up and just follow me! I don't need no favors from you," Han Xiao replied without even turning his head.

Hila was dumbfounded. She gave a meaningful gaze to Han Xiao's back, and just let herself be dragged along without saying another word while occasionally shooting waves of red energy toward their pursuers.

The five senior executives were slightly faster than them and were able to catch up with the duo after a three-minute chase. Now that there was no point in running, Han Xiao turned back to fight. His Magnetic Chain Split Blades drew arcs in the air, his Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves gave out hissing sounds as it reached an extremely high temperature, and his Ghost sniper rifle shot out round after round. Han Xiao made no reserves.

The fierce battle between this group of high level superhumans destroyed the surroundings. Jeross' force field power was used to blast out constant cannon-like shockwaves that left craters on the ground. With him also supporting the other executives with defensive type forcefields, Han Xiao had a hard time trying to deal damage. Ingris formed the earth into numerous dragons that brutally clashed into Han Xiao and Hila, forming even more holes on the ground. The three pugilists fought as their fists were imbued with unspeakable strength, and their bodies were aflame with energy. The shockwaves from their punches were capable of doing massive damage.

Hila tried her best to muster her dwindling strength to cooperate with Han Xiao. Her unique Esper ability allowed her to directly attack her opponents' minds. Although she was not that powerful yet, with how tricky her powers were and her experience in combat, she was able to work with Han Xiao seamlessly and significantly lessened the pressure on him.

None of the five senior executives were mechanics. Up till this point, mechanics were among the rarest among the people with high levels due to the class's unimpressive early game attributes. Han Xiao was basically the strongest mechanic on the planet.

Fighting five people who were all approaching LV 60 simultaneously was taxing even for Han Xiao. The five worked together perfectly, and Han Xiao could barely go even with them, much less actually defeat them. Jeross' force field abilities were like a natural counter to Han Xiao, and he could not get anywhere with his attacks.

In the middle of the fight, Han Xiao caught a glimpse of the Germinal forces that he had previously left behind. However, there were even more Black Hawks flying over from the horizon.

It was like a huge net that was slowly closing in on Han Xiao and Hila.

The enemy reinforcements were here!

Chapter 258: Breaking out 3

On the horizon, the reinforcements from the Germinal Organization quickly approached and surrounded Han Xiao. The situation turned south as a number of military helicopters hovered around the battlefield. The longer the fight dragged on, the more enemies would show up. Han Xiao had to fight while diverting his focus to look for any signals of the Six Nations reinforcement. His anxiety grew every second he waited for the signal.

Bang bang bang!

Han Xiao took three hits from the attacks from the pugilists, and bursts of energy exploded on Han Xiao suit. The platinum alloy armor started to show some dents and cracks. The energy of a pugilist had an armor penetration buff, but Han Xiao's armor level was on par with that of a boss. If Han Xiao was a pugilist on the same level, under the continuous heavy attacks, he would have at least received some light injuries. However, Han Xiao acted like nothing had happened, and his movement was as agile as before.

The five senior executive officers' jaws dropped as Han Xiao handled their attacks with ease. They thought that they could take Han Xiao's life if it was a five versus one, and yet the battle was still in a stalemate.

"Even if we are on the same level, Han Xiao is too strong."

Han Xiao fired back and pulled out compounded magnetic chain split blades with the skill [Revolving Slashes]. However, Han Xiao maneuvered the skill into [Blade Hurricane], as if a hedgehog protecting himself with the spikes. The pugilist would only inflict damage on himself as he punched Han Xiao.

The battle information flooded Han Xiao as the battle went on. He quickly observed the situation and thought, Ingris' Esper power that can control earth and mud poses the most trouble to me even though it does not inflict much damage. Her health is the lowest out of everyone else, so I can use that as the opportunity to break the encirclement. If I use the Flaming Will and get a critical hit, he will at least be out of the fight. However, it will be hard to get rid of Jeross' forcefield to attack him.

He contacted Hila using the earpieces and asked, "Do you have skills that are lethal? Only your power can get through the forcefield without much effect. I just need you to stop Jeross from using his Esper power for a second, just one second!"

"Give me two seconds," Hila replied and stood still. Her body slowly sent out a dark red light, and she trusted Han Xiao to provide the two-second opening.

The five officers instantly noticed the action of Hila. They knew that Hila had been a powerful soldier in the Germinal Organization until recently, so even though they did not know what she was doing, they quickly switched target and threw attacks toward Hila.

Han Xiao jumped in front of Hila without hesitation. He reached out one arm, created the repulsive field, and blocked off the hail of bullets and two pugilists, and then he blocked the rest of the attacks with his mechanical suit.

After two seconds, Hila's eyes looked like two dark red suns, she pointed her arm toward Ingris, ready to fire. Jeross quickly reacted and created an invisible force field around Ingris.

The next second, with Hila still pointing her arm toward Ingris, a red visible storm was sweeping toward Jeross, and he took a direct hit!

Jeross did not expected this. Blood shoot through his nose as he blacked out while falling on his back.

The psychic attack that Hila had released had never been directed with her hand. She could easily attack in whichever direction she wanted. Moreover, Hila's fighting sense was sharp, and seeing that everyone was focusing on protecting Ingris, she tricked Jeross by reaching her hand out toward Ingris and inflicted great damage onto Jeross.

Now's my chance!

Han Xiao used Moving Snipe and got away from the pugilists. With the Ghost sniper rifle in his hand, he fired a shot at Ingris while activating all his buffs.

_____________________

You used [Flaming Will]. The attack damage is amplified by 512%.

_____________________

At this moment, Han Xiao almost cried.

Oh, the lord has answered my prayers! I've had this skill for almost a year, and this is the first time I've gotten the maximum critical damage!

Buzz!

A thin and straight pierce right through three walls and shield Ingris tried to create, and her chest exploded with blood like a rose blossom.

_____________________

From your skill [Lethal Critical Hits], damage increased by 250%.

[Lethal Shot] activated, the damage is turned into true damage!

You dealt 4,346 points of critical damage!

You've killed Ingris (LV 58). You've gained 175,000 experience.

You've gained 32 Trial Points.

_____________________

"Holy sh*t, that damage!" Han Xiao shouted with surprise!

From LV 60 onward, one-shotting an enemy on the same level was much more difficult when Han Xiao was at lower level. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, Han Xiao never would have believed that his explosive power was that strong.

All his abilities and skills made his buff higher than anyone had expected, including the preposterous skill [Flaming Will] that he had learned from Bennett. This was the first time that his own damage had scared Han Xiao himself.

Ingris collapsed and did not make a sound.

The remaining four people was stunned, and everyone's face turned green.

They had never heard of someone who could one-shot a superhuman at this level. After witnessing the death of Ingris, fear that they had never felt before quickly swallowed their hearts.

Han Xiao pressed on while their morale was low. However, the helicopters and tanks suddenly fired at Han Xiao, providing support for the executive officers.

Bullets and bombs exploded right where Han Xiao was standing as dust and smoke filled the air. Han Xiao tried to dodge the bullets, but an armor penetrating tank shell directly hit Han Xiao, and his body flew back under the impact and rolled on the ground. The side of the suit was smoking and shattered. The durability of the suit dropped a few hundred points after that hit, and the microchip system was temporarily unresponsive.

After taking a direct hit from a powerful shell, even a Class-C superhuman would suffer injury, while a Class-D superhuman would be in a critical condition. If one were a Class-E superhuman, one's body would be shattered into pieces, and there's no need to talk about average human being.

Han Xiao's enemies were not only the five senior executive officers in front of him but also the entire fleet backing them up!

"God damn it…" Han Xiao struggled to get up. Suddenly, he felt strangled around his arms and legs. Jeross snared and limited his movement. Han Xiao suddenly felt a cold shiver through her spine. He was in danger!

The three pugilist executive officers charged toward Han Xiao, and their energy was at its peak. Because of their fear of death, they used all their hidden potential and power to defeat Han Xiao.

Hila stood in front of the three officers, and her enemy blew her hair up. She bit her tongue and forcefully released the Necromastery shock blast. However, all pugilists had strong endurance, and they easily blocked off the mental shock of Hila's power. The fists and kicks covered in energy quickly landed on Hila's body. The sound of cracking bone pierced through Han Xiao's ears as if it was a firecracker.

Without any delay, a dense forcefield in the shape of a spear pierced through Hila's stomach and left a bloody wound that was as large as two fists—her organs were all destroyed.

The impact of the force field made Hila fly away a dozen meters and land on the ground. Her hair was scattered like flower blossom, covered in a pool of reddish blood.

In Han Xiao's mind, there was no way for a LV 40 Esper to survive under that attack.

"One down, one more to go!" Jeross said with his deadly eyes.

The dark blue force exploded, and Han Xiao got away from the force field. He quickly ran next to Hila and checked her condition. After a single touch, he knew that Hila's arms, ribs, and spine were shattered to dust. A huge hole was in the middle of the body, and all her organs were mashed together like jam.

Han Xiao took out Adrenaline and stabbed it into Hila, but as he looked at her body, Hila's kidneys also turned into mush.

Hila closed her eyes and stopped breathing.

"Hey, you're not just gonna die, right‽" Han Xiao could not react. Hila was going to be a superhuman capable of planetary destruction and single handedly wiping out starship fleet. How could a huge talent die here without making history?

Or did he take the battle too far?

As more and more enemies showed up, Han Xiao frowned.

During a battle, rage could never overtake his mind. He would never get overheated since he knew that he did not have that kind of personality. He quickly analyzed the situations on the battlefield, and the best option was to run away by himself.

Han Xiao glanced at the corpse of Hila, and his face froze.

Hesitation only leads to trouble…

Chapter 259: Reinforcements and Traps

Suddenly, within a radius of two kilometers, all the corpses released a gray mist, which slowly gathered around Hila.

Hila opened her eyes, which were covered in mysterious gray instead of the dark red light. Her bones started to crack, and her wounds healed. Within a few breaths, she fixed her bones and the bloody wound in her stomach also closed off.

Aha, she's still alive! Han Xiao was surprised.

Oh, doesn't this scene perfectly resemble the words 'What doesn't kill you make you stronger.' Like how Gandalf came back from the dead as a white wizard.

No wonder she's the candidate for the goddess of death. Show them you power girl!

Hila sat up, and the gray mist faded away. Her eyes returned to the normal collar, and she started coughing intensely. She said in a fragile voice, "Go, leave me now. I'm too weak to do anything."

Han Xiao bit his lips.

Damn it. Why did you make such a scene if you are not going on rampage? I got excited just to get disappointed. You're still a weakling!

Oh right, I remember she had an ability called [Ignore Sudden Death], where she gained a special effect if her health points were lower than 1%. I thought she would ignore the damage from the fatal attack, but it's actually rapid healing. What a tenacious life force, but this ability must have a cool down.

The enemies surrounded them. Han Xiao was not in a good position, and Hila had become a burden. The chance of surviving became slimmer and slimmer.

"Didn't you say that you'll abandon me when you have to? Now it's the time! Run away!" Hila's face was pale, and she used all her strength to get those words out. Her hand was on Han Xiao's chest, trying to push him away.

"Okay." Han Xiao nodded directly. He was not the type of person who would hesitate. Abandoning her was the best course of action, and there was no benefit to staying with Hila. He would not make a choice that made him worse off.

Even though Han Xiao really wanted Hila to be on his team, if necessary, he would up give Hila up in the blink of an eye.

Seeing that Han Xiao had already made his choice, Hila relaxed and said, "Please take care of my sis.."

Suddenly, Han Xiao heard an unfamiliar voice through the earphones.

"Hey, I see you guys, we are coming!"

Han Xiao was slightly relieved as he looked toward the south. Three black armored jeeps without any plates showed up on the side of the battlefield in an arrow formation, approaching them at high speed.

The helicopter from the Germinal Organization flew toward them. Han Xiao's display zoomed in and clearly saw a woman's white arm, wearing a bracelet made out of red pearls, stretched out of the windows of the jeep.

The next moment, a surge of burning flames shot out from the palm of the women's hand, and the flame turned into a roaring flaming dragon that flew into the sky and consumed the helicopter.

Boom!

The helicopter fell from the sky.

The three jeeps drove around the burning helicopter and headed right toward Han Xiao.

"The reinforcements are here!" Han Xiao felt the boulder in his heart finally lifting. He slapped Hila's cheeked and laughed. "Seems that you don't have to die today."

The reinforcements were composed of the best superhumans in the Six Nations with the best equipment that the nation provided.

The three jeeps crashed right into the battlefield and broke open the Germinal Organization's encirclement. The female Esper released her power without any reservation, turning the battlefield into a burning sea.

This was not normal fire but the fire created by energy using special an Esper power. After the flame hit the target, it would explode. This was called the explosive flame, one of the destructive powers of the fire Esper.

With only one look, Han Xiao already judged that this woman was a Class-C superhuman.

All the Germinal Organization's troops tried to turn their crosshairs on the jeeps, but the three jeeps suddenly released smoke similar to a smoke bomb, which quickly spread out, blocking the vision of half of the battlefield.

The Germinal Organization lost their targets, and they could not even see their own team. The visible range was only as far as one meter.

Then, the sound of coughs arose in the smoke. The smoke contained a strong irritating substance similar to tear gas.

"Where is the enemy‽ I can't see, cough cough—"

"I can't breathe! Cough."

"New enemies have shown up. Please give us instructions, bleurgh… give us instructions!"

"The radar is not working. The enemy have an interference machine!"

The Germinal Organization was in chaos. However, the four senior executive officers quickly grasped the situation and recalled the view of the battlefield before the smoke appeared. Then they charge toward where Han Xiao had been, but Han Xiao had already disappeared.

"He's getting away!" Jeross was shocked. "Can any of you track his position?"

The three pugilists stared at each other.

They knew how to punch things, but tracking enemies was not in their job description.

Ingris had good perception due through sense movements on the soil, but she had already been killed.

In the dense smoke, Han Xiao carried Hila on his shoulders like he was carrying a sack of rice. The reinforcements quickly gave the location to meet up, and he soon found the three military jeeps. One of the doors to the back seat open, and Han Xiao jumped in without a second thought.

There were three people in the jeep. The driver was a Sharnuk, wearing sunglasses, and had a buff body. The white woman with the red pearl bracelet sat in the passenger seat. She was the Esper who had the explosive flame power. There was another yellow man who was using a control panel on the ceiling of the jeep.

"Target acquired, we need to move out!" the Sharnuk driver shouted with his deep voice.

Three jeeps changed direction and left the smoky battlefield behind them.

The troops quickly recovered from the smoke and got back into formation, chasing right after the jeep. The helicopter kept its distance from the jeeps, fearing that the fire Esper would shoot them down.

"We're saf…" Hila was about to show a sign of relief, but Han Xiao quickly covered her mouth.

Stay quiet and rest, will you?

The yellow man looked at Han Xiao and smiled. "I have heard a lot about you. We finally got you out. I am Tang Tang, a member from Stardragon's Division 13. The director-general always mentions your name. You have done great things. The driver is Alaupog from Theseus, and the lady is Diana from the Maple.

"Okay let's stop with the mindless chit-chat." Diana did not even look back and said, "Now that we have the target, all the enemies are right behind us. What should we do?"

"Uhm, since they still have reinforcements behind them, we can't afford to stay and fight them," Tang Tang replied. "We just follow the planned route, and we can shake them off after half a day and remain hidden."

Hila regained some of her energy and asked, "Why didn't you use a plane?"

"How would you have wanted us to sneak into the Germinal Organization's territory in a plane? Or do you want us to be a shooting target in the sky?" Diana's tone was sharp and cold.

The reinforcement had three jeeps in total, and they still did not know who was in the other jeeps.

After successfully meeting up with the reinforcement team, they were still being chased by the enemy. However, it was good news that they already broke out of the encirclement, and all they had to do was to spend some time and lose the troops behind them.

Han Xiao let out a long sigh. He was providing his intel in exchange for the Six Nations' support. It definitely felt nice to have reinforcements rather than just fighting alone.

Other than Tang Tang, the two people in front of the car kept on observing Han Xiao from the rear mirror. They were all the aces from their own countries, and this large-scale joint operation was only to save one person. On paper, they knew the incredible things that Han Xiao had done, and since they had finally met in person, they were naturally curious.

From stealing intel from the headquarters of the Germinal Organization to fighting the entire army to get away from the territory, all these people viewed Han Xiao as a superior human compared to them, and they could not help but observe Han Xiao.

After two hours, the ground became less and less firm, soon turning to sand. They had left the plains and now reached the desert. The troops behind them could no longer be seen, and they were temporarily safe.

The dense atmosphere soon relaxed. Han Xiao did not take off his suit, but he just left it on sleep mode, waiting for it to recharge.

"The east side of the plains has a small desert right next to it. The place used to be a nuclear bomb testing area, and the radiation is high, killing all plants and animals. It will take around eight hours to travel through the desert. After that, we will reach an area with complex hills and mountains. As long as we avoid any base along the way…" Tang Tang explained the escape route.

Suddenly, Han Xiao's computer in his suit received a call.

It was from the leader.

"Well done, you actually got through the encirclement in the plains." The leader seemed calm, but Han Xiao had expected the leader to be raging. His suspicion quickly rose.

Something is wrong!

"Hehe, do you think you safe now?" The leader laughed. "Do you think I never noticed the team that infiltrated my territory a few days ago?"

Han Xiao froze. Something bad was coming their way.

"I never tried to stop them just so that I could get this change. I really wasn't be able to track your position, but at least I could track your reinforcements. I knew you were going to meet up with them, and from the movement of you and your team, I could at least predict the where you would meet up.

"That's right, your reinforcements were heading to the east side of the plains, meaning that you will escape from this side. Unfortunately for you, I knew this at least ten hours ago.

"Zero, you are not all-knowing and all-powerful, right?"

The leader suddenly had murderous intent in his voice.

"Open your eyes, and be grateful for your last parade I have prepared… This will be the end, Han Xiao!"

Han Xiao looked out from the window, and the hills and valleys were filled with ambush troops with dozens of military helicopter hovering around the sky. Hundreds of machine guns were spread in the sandbag base, and soldiers holding grenade launchers and SMGs stood still near the base, awaiting orders.

The number of soldiers was more than double the previous battle.

Chapter 260: Unexpected Helpers

"How can there be an ambush‽" Tang Tang was spooked. "Cr*p. Could Germinal have been monitoring us all this time and waited all this time to catch us in one fell swoop‽"

"What's the point of saying all this now?" Diana furiously responded.

Their squad had snuck this far into Germinal territory, and everything had been smooth sailing. No one had thought that this would turn out to be a trap!

The situation had turned completely reversed!

Ten hours earlier, the Germinal leader had secretly ordered the troops that were to form the northern, western, and southern parts of the previous encirclement to make haste for this patch of wasteland to wait in ambush. The leader knew that if Han Xiao succeeded in breaking out, he would definitely pass by this area.

Han Xiao did not read about anything on this ambush in the forums. This operation completely excluded the players as the leader remembered from what Cyberlos had told him—that Han Xiao could be an Inhuman—and feared that there was some sort of a special way for Inhumans to communicate between each other. This completely blind guess from the leader paid off, and Germinal was able to set up the troops without warning Han Xiao and the rescue team.

Moreover, the leader was no longer making orders from the faraway headquarters, but rather, right there on the field.

The long-awaited moment had finally arrived!

The leader stood on the sand dunes ahead of Han Xiao's group as his windbreaker flapped in the air, and his face was still covered under a mask. Behind him were several dozen executives who stared in front of them like hunters staring at prey who had fallen into their trap.

The two's eyes met in this fated moment.

Han Xiao's communicator once rang out with the leader's voice.

"Didn't you wanted to fight me? Now that I'm right here, do you dare come?"

Han Xiao released a breath and said, "Not bad…"

This move by the leader was outside of Han Xiao's expectations, but in hindsight, it was not too surprising. The two's conversation last night had not only been used by Han Xiao to probe his enemy; the leader had also used it to his advantage.

As the prey in the middle of enemy territory, it was way too hard to always make flawless plans to react to the enemy's movements. Faced with Germinal troops encroaching from all directions, it was impossible for Han Xiao to predict everything, given his limited resources. Getting this far was already a feat in and of itself.

The Germinal leader finally got him back for being trolled so many times!

If they had not been standing on opposing sides, Han Xiao would have wanted to give a standing ovation for the leader.

How hard did he work? It was too touching!

No plan could always work. There were always unpredictable factors, and now that they had run into this situation, they could only rely on their own strength. All Han Xiao had done up till this point was help himself amass strength. Now, he was standing right in front of the limit of Version 1.0, just a step away from breaking through the LV 60 threshold.

This dangerous situation was also filled with opportunity.

Approximately ten C-class superhumans against thousands of heavily armed elite soldiers and fifty executive offices!

"What more is there to say? Let's just do it."

Han Xiao was calm as he turned off the communicator. There was still about half a minute before the two sides would clash, and he used the time to inspect his own status.

Viper still has 61% of energy, about 4,200 armor points, 3,800 health points, which is about 87%; about above-average form.

His mission details showed that [The Ultimate Trial] had reached 815/2000 in completion.

The enemy forces are numerous with very high firepower. Our advantage lies in our individual fighting strength, Han Xiao thought as he hoped that his teammates in the other cars who he had not met would not let him down.

A mission suddenly popped out in the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered C Class special mission, [The Traitor's Ambush]!

Mission Requirements: Defeat the Germinal leader. Must deal at least 60% of the total damage.

Mission Award: Lottery draw on two of the leader's skills or talents.

_____________________

Han Xiao's eyes flashed when he saw this. At least sixty percent… This won't be easy.

He had not fought the leader before this, and the leader was a main character on Planet Aquamarine, just like Bennett. He was certainly extremely strong. In his current form, putting aside defeating the leader, Han Xiao might even struggle to shave off a third of his health even if he went all out.

Moreover, there would be countless obstacles in his way on the battlefield. Han Xiao might not even be able to single out the leader. However, despite its high difficulty, the mission reward was very tempting to Han Xiao.

As a main character on the planet, the leader had to have some pretty amazing skills and talents. He might even have the legendary Lucky Halo. It would be like hitting the jackpot if Han Xiao were to get that. However, when he thought about Germinal's pitiful condition, Han Xiao started to have doubts. Uhm… He should have the Lucky Halo… right?

Then, everyone was pushed back into their seats as the three cars accelerated toward the enemy.

Tang Tang said in a grave voice, "Everyone, ready up!"

…

"This is our chance to take out Zero and the Six Nation's top fighting force once and for all."

The leader looked down on the fast approaching cars as he stood on the dune.

He had only had ten or so hours to mobilize these troops, and the heavier vehicles like tanks had been left behind. The main force of the ambush consisted of thousands of foot soldiers who would provide cover fire along with over ten attack helicopters. The dozens of executives behind him and the leader were the trump cards.

"Fire!"

At once, gunfire exploded across the battlefield, sounding like countless thunder strikes. A hail of bullets flew in from all directions, virtually covering all the empty spaces. The rescue team was trapped in the middle like a caged beast. At the same time, a semi-transparent circular force field expanded and covered the three cars. All the attacks landed unceasingly on the energy barrier, causing it to flicker constantly. However, the cars in the center remained unharmed throughout.

The cars continued to move at a high speed, leaving a trail of black smoke as attack after attack landed on them. The large number of mines that were planted in the sands exploded upon contact with the barrier, causing yellow sand to fill the sky. The barrier was growing dimmer by the second.

This barrier came from the inside of the car on the left side at the rear of the group. Under the protection of the barrier, the Six Nations' forces were able to approach their enemy without taking much damage.

"Ordina's 'Azure Protector' Fazzad." The Germinal leader was calm. He had an impression of all the top fighters of each nation, and he could pretty much guess their identities just by seeing their powers in action.

The rescue team was about to smash right into enemy formations, but the leader remained unfazed. He sent out some orders, and the Germinal troops repositioned themselves to encircle the cars while keeping a safe distance instead of clashing head-on. He understood that ordinary troops had no chance against a group of extremely powerful superhumans, so he had long been prepared for it.

The cars were soon stuck in the middle of the swarms of Germinal forces, and the leader's eye flashed. "Let me see. Who else is here?"

"Go!" Diana was the first out of the car and immediately blasted gusts of flame out of her hands toward the surrounding troops. Three of the machine gun nests in her immediate vicinity were turned into raging infernos.

The driver, Alaupog, was a Sanu warrior. People of the Sanu tribe were born with patterned stripes on their skins. These stripes lit up in bright red as Alaupog entered the battle. The stripes snaked around and covered more skin, and his whole body started to grow larger, causing his shirt to rip, eventually allowing him to grow into a four-meter-tall giant. He was like a humanoid tank as he smashed through the Germinal ranks, causing bodies to fly up into the sky along the way.

Aside from these three, the other two people in the car also stepped off to join the fight. One was fully equipped with a heavily armored mechanical suit that made him resemble a rhino. His weapon was a specially-crafted two-handed hammer with rocket boosters built into one end [1. This is similar to Reinhardt's hammer in Overwatch]. The other newcomer let out an animalistic roar before he summoned a flood of bugs out of the desert ground that tore countless Germinal soldiers into pieces. It was a genuine beast summoning skill, much stronger than Han Xiao's half-assed [Call of The Wild]. Fazzad also continued to supply his allies with a glowing protective barrier.

The dozens of Germinal executives rushed forward to meet their foe. Although they were up against the best fighters of the Six Nations, they soon turned the battle into a stalemate due to their numerical advantage and impressive teamwork.

The superhumans went all out with their respective abilities and caused chaos in the surrounding battlefield.

Han Xiao dragged the still-recovering Hila out of the car, and he found out that these people were all familiar faces. They were all famous people on Planet Aquamarine.

Each of them was their own nation's highest fighting force. In the past, players had to earn an astronomical amount of reputation points before they even had a chance to make contact with these NPCs. Now, these powerful characters had all come together, all for Han Xiao.

Han Xiao had truly built up a fearsome influence for himself.

In this war, at least, he was the most significant player.

All the powerful helpers that had appeared up till now had been within the leader's predictions. He had already made plans for each and every one of them. Although the ambushing force would suffer heavy casualties, it would still be well worth it to be able to eliminate this team of elite fighters.

The leader glanced at Han Xiao, who stood some distance away, and his eyes turned sharp, as if locking on to a prey. With every single step the leader took, his life force gusted out of his body in the form of dark purple flames, and the flames were still increasing in intensity with every step.

He had even dreamed of squashing Han Xiao's brain himself.

The Germinal leader's power level was in an unknown territory, and the Six Nations' forces present all showed a hesitant look on their faces when he approached.

"Can you take care of yourself?" Han Xiao did not even turn his head. If the leader wanted him, he would get him. No matter what, Han Xiao steeled himself as he would not back down from this fight.

"No problem," said Hila through gritted teeth.

Han Xiao nodded, took a deep breath, and made sure he was in tip-top form before he started to take strides toward the leader. However, suddenly, another burst of monstrous life force could be felt from another side of the battlefield. This new presence suppressed the leader's life force and took away everyone's attention!

A familiar figure then stepped out of the last car with a clean-cut hair, heroic facial features, and neatly arranged clothing surrounded by raging white flames.

Bennett!

The Germinal leader was shocked, and his gaze faltered.

Why was the Dark Net's leading figure part of the rescue team‽

The Germinal leader never would have guessed that the Dark Net leader, who had always been neutral, would step onto the battlefield himself. Bennett was completely outside of his pre-arranged plans for the Six Nations' forces. With Bennett's strength alone, there was now no way to know the outcome of this fight. All the previous calculations were useless.

Not only that, four more experts that were not affiliated with the Six Nations stepped out of the car following Bennett. Two of them were elite fighters of the Dark Net and were not any weaker than the Six Nations' superhumans. The other two were Han Xiao's acquaintances—Hannes and Vernia, whom he had previously met in Maple. Han Xiao had accepted a secret main story quest line from these two, and they were very grateful to him.

All these powerful people had come in Han Xiao's aid!

Han Xiao stopped his steps and remarked, "Why are you here? How did you get mixed up into the rescue team?"

Bennett only gave Han Xiao a glance and could not be bothered to reply. He was still mad about Han Xiao not telling him about his secret dual identity beforehand and did not want to talk to him.

Although Dark Net started out with a neutral position when this war first erupted, Bennett realized that the information that Han Xiao had stolen from the Germinal headquarters was key to ending this war.

Bennett had started the Shelter plan to save lives, and now that he had found an opportunity to end the war once and for all, he had finally decided to change his neutrality in this conflict. The Dark Net still had not supplied any resources into this war, but he had come himself, as his own person—with some helpers, of course!

Bennett and his group truly regarded Han Xiao as one of their own! He made this risky move as he had absolute confidence in his own capability; he was publicly acknowledged on Planet Aquamarine as one of the strongest superhumans.

"Leave him to me," Bennett said as he looked calmly at the Germinal leader. It was as if the bullets that rained down around him were non-existent.

The Germinal leader had a dark look on his face, and he was burning up out of fury from the inside.

Bennett stood right in front of him, seemingly trying to defend Han Xiao no matter what. The leader knew that he would not be able to get to Han Xiao unless he dealt with Bennett first.

"The famous Germinal leader. It is said that not a single person has seen you go all out on the battlefield. Looks like it's my lucky day today," Bennett said with a smile on his face, yet his words carried unspeakable strength.

"You think you can touch my people without asking me first‽"

The leader remained silent as his walk turned into a sprint and then into a streak of black afterimages. Bennett also did not show any weakness as he turned into a gust of white flame and clashed with his enemy.

From Han Xiao's observations, Bennett had triggered [Burning Will]. From his overpowered Lucky Halo, he had definitely gotten the highest quintuple critical on that attack.

Dark purple and white flames struck each other.

Booooom!

The scene looked like hell had broken loose as thunderous explosions sounded around the fight, causing ordinary soldiers to start bleeding from their ears.

It was a showdown between the two of the Planet's protagonists!

Chapter 261: Evolution

The shockwave created by the clashes blew sands up drifting in the sky. After the view cleared, the battle ring sank down in the ground and formed a perfect bowl shape. Bennett's critical hit that quintupled the normal damage. However, none of them got any advantage after that exchange!

The two men danced with their punches and kicks that no one could follow, as if it was a violent battle between a snow-white dragon and a violet python, biting and tearing each other. Everyone backed off, Germinal and Six Nations alike, afraid that they would be sucked and torn in the battle.

What the hell! These two are wild beasts. Han Xiao could not take his eyes off the fight. Both of them were Pugilists with all sorts of ability and skills, making their energy as dense as concrete. Each of them followed different disciplines of the Pugilist class. Bennett was tactical as his power was an accumulation battle experience. Every move had a purpose and was used at the perfect time.

On the other hand, the leader's style was savage, barbaric, and unpredictable, just like the color of his energy.

The two beasts were clearly stronger than other high-level superhumans. With multiple special Molding Abilities and high attributes compared to the characters on the same level, they were both boss-level superhumans.

No wonder they are the stars of this planet. Han Xiao's eyes suddenly widened. Bennett just used Flaming Will and increased his damage by five times; the leader must have a skill that is as strong as Flaming Will to block the damage.

Remembering the reward of the mission [The Traitor's Ambush], Han Xiao was excited. He knew that a lot of hidden missions could give out powerful skill and abilities, and this mission was simple and straightforward. As long as they won the fight, he would have the chance to get a luxurious reward without spending too much time and thought.

Han Xiao and his teammates were fighting off the enemy on the side, and he was calculating the difference between him and the leader. In the end, Han Xiao concluded that the discrepancies between their power were too high. First of all, Han Xiao had already been in many battles, and he was not in his best form. With only Viper left, Han Xiao did not have enough equipment and weapons to survive a head-on fight against the leader.

With the number of weapons I have, I can at most get an even trade between me and the leader even if I perform well. Bennett will not allow me to do that… Han Xiao sighed. Then if I try to help Bennett and get in a two versus one situation, I can't surpass Bennett's damage. Bennett also has Flaming Will, and the damage is more disgusting than mine…

Han Xiao thought for a second and decided that the current situation was the best position that could be. If he let Bennett and the leader continue to fight each other, even though their fight was intense, they were not losing much health since both of them could parry or block each other's damage. It would take time to find out who the victor of the battle was, and no one on either side had the intention of intervening with this battle between Bennett and the leader.

"At the end of the day, legends are still legends. The leader is stronger than any one of us here, and only Bennett can stop him. There's no way we can help Bennett in that battle." Tang Tang talked through the earpiece as he controlled the battlefield with the sandstorm.

Bennett was the strongest man in the era, and no one could deny the fact, even if they were arrogant and prideful on their own abilities.

"This is a war of attrition. We are in a stalemate right now, and the most powerful fighters are fighting each other. The outcome of this battle will change the course of the war," Fazzad said as he released an energy shield, and everyone else agreed in silence.

Han Xiao heard the words and suddenly realized that this was the best change for him to finish the other mission. If the current battle is a stalemate, then it means that they are squeezing time for me to finish [The Ultimate Trial]! As long as I get a class advancement, I will have the power to take down the leader!

With so many helpers around and even more enemies, this was the perfect chance to earn Trial Points!

Moreover, Han Xiao had found the right way to handle the battle. The bonus Trial Points were calculated after one went out of combat. From previous experience and calculation, Han Xiao could estimate the amount of bonus Trial Points he would get by looking at the number of enemies and allies. Then if he got a chance to go out of combat after killing sufficient enemies, he could reach the two-thousand-point mark with the bonus Trial Points!

The main mission was to defeat the leader and break out of the encirclement, yet it was not in conflict with finishing [The Ultimate Trial]. Han Xiao took the opportunity and executed his plan.

The battle was intense, and Han Xiao's allies suppressed the Germinal Organization with their higher battle power. There were often executive officers that would get injured, and through the battle information on the interface, Han Xiao spotted the executive officers that were low on health and get the last hits on those enemies, even stealing kills from his own teammate at times. Earning Trial Points had never been so easy before, and the rate quickly stacked up.

If there were players witnessing this scene, they could tell that Han Xiao was just last hitting all the kills with only one eye open. However, the teammates were not players. Seeing that Han Xiao was only shooting some bullets on the side, they thought that Han Xiao was exhausted and in a bad shape.

They originally thought that that Han Xiao was a powerful assistant, but it turned out that he had no place to be there. The reinforcements felt like they were babysitting Han Xiao. Diana, whose temper was as explosive as her Esper power, shouted at Han Xiao, "Hey, Black Phantom, you are not doing anything here. Just leave the superhumans to us and go fight off the normal troops."

If Black Phantom was in poor condition, the obvious solution was to let Han Xiao handle the minions. Diana's suggestion seemed fine in front of everyone's eyes, but Han Xiao ignored her command and continued his mission.

Everyone's face switched. Their role in the battle suddenly changed from that statement. If Han Xiao disobeyed the commands, did that mean that he wanted to see the others fight with everything they had just to protect him?

We should be teammates and stand side by side to fight the battle. Moreover, we are your reinforcements, yet you act like this is a game…

All the team seemed annoyed at Han Xiao, and Diana was about to reproach Han Xiao before she was interrupted by an enemy's attack. She grumbled in her heart, He was a traitor of the Germinal Organization to begin with. All he knows is to run around and hide, setting things up in the dark to trigger the war. He indeed is a slippery and treacherous man.

At the same time, Han Xiao could not explain anything. He had to kill superhumans to get Trail Points, and this was the only change to turn the tide of the battle. To fight off minions was just a waste of talent, yet his allies did not know what he was happening. So, he could only remain silent, focus on his mission, and take all the complaints that his teammates had.

The war slowly approached the most heated stage. Time slowly became vague in the intense battle, and additional reinforcements arrived at the stage. Jaross and the other three executive officers joined the team fight, and Han Xiao and his team felt a sudden increase in pressure from the enemy. They tried to break through the encirclement, yet the enemy's disgusting tactics denied them to chance do so. In the end, his team was trapped in the fishnet. However, the Germinal Organization also had to sacrifice uncountable soldiers and weapons to keep holding them back. Corpses and metal scraps were lying on the sand, slowly being covered up as wind and sand blew by.

Although the enemy troops could not deal a devastating blow to the superhumans to win the war, their firepower was as annoying as a flying bug, slowly chips away at the stamina and energy of the superhumans. Water droplets could wear away stone; many a little makes a mickle. In the end, injuries started to surface on Han Xiao's allies, and everyone soon felt worn out.

Tang Tang and a summoner Esper were the target of the enemy. One had the power to control sandstorms, while the other could summon desert bugs and beasts—both of them were excellent at providing crowd control to the battle. The Germinal Organization's executive officers successfully separated the summoner out of the team. They broke through Fazzad's energy shield and took him down with a round of focus fire. The summoner had broken limbs, and blood spilled everywhere. The beasts who were no longer under control quickly ran away from the battle.

Everyone was alarmed. Once fatal injuries and deaths started to occur, it meant that the momentum of the battle slowly shifted to the other side. It was extremely likely for the enemy to snowball the lead.

Han Xiao quickly calculated his Trial Points in his heart.

At first there was around fifty executive officers, and an additional twenty showed up. I've killed around thirty people, and from the difference between our force and their force, I just need another twenty Trial Points along with the bonus I gain once I get out of combat to reach the two thousands mark!

At the same time, Tang Tang, who was right beside him, got hit by a force field attack from Jeross. Tang Tang kneeled down and pressed his chest. All the other executive officers charged toward him and attacked.

Seeing the deadly energy that would soon consume Tang Tang, Han Xiao used his field repulsion to push away Tang Tang, and the attacks flew past his shoulder.

Tang Tang escaped from the death as he shivered out of fear. He quickly turned around and thanked Han Xiao. "Thank you for saving me."

Han Xiao nodded and looked around to find any other target. Suddenly, he saw the man wearing full plate armor with a large mechanical hammer in his hand, charging toward a pugilist like a rhino and swashing the hammer onto his head. At the same time, the executive officer returned some punches and shattered his chest armor. Both of them fell down and spat out blood at the same time.

Chance!

Han Xiao's calm heart was suddenly excited. He instantly sniped the pugilist with [Flaming Will] and ended his life.

_____________________

You dealt 964 damage to Tayron (LV 54).

You have slain Tayron. You gained 136,000 experience.

You received 23 Trial Points.

_____________________

I finally got it! Han Xiao tried to suppress his thrill and use all the energy on to the Electromagnetic Hover-boots and the mini maneuvering equipment. Without a second thought, he ran toward where the enemies were coming from, which was actually the weakest and safest area, without looking back.

No one would expect one would go toward the enemy reinforcements, which was why it was the most defenseless area.

Han Xiao quickly left his teammates and instantly got out of combat.

Everyone was stunned!

"Is he trying to escape by himself while leaving us to fight off the enemies?" Diana raged.

The leader was still being tied down by Bennett and could not get away from the fight. Seeing that his prey was getting away, he was pissed and shouted, "Chase after him!"

Jaross led some troops and chased after Han Xiao, and the pressure on the Six Nations' superhuman lessened.

"Wait, maybe he is trying to divert the enemy's forces and create an opening," Tang Tang said quietly. "But if this fails, this will be the end of us. This is too reckless… he should have discussed with us beforehand."

After getting away from the battlefield, the enemies were still close behind Han Xiao. Han Xiao was zooming forward like lighting while counting down the time before his status was out of combat. After running away for five minutes, he saw another wave of reinforcements in front.

He was trapped, and there was no escape.

But Han Xiao smiled with his mouth wide open. The time wasted while he was escaping finally got him out of combat status, and the interface updated the bonus Trial Points that he had earned.

_____________________

[The Ultimate Trial]: Progress 2000/2000

LV 60 Ranked class advancement mission! END increase, 1 END = 30 Health = 40 Stamina]

You obtained new life form evolution. Detected race: [Human/Carbon-based (Yellow)].

Proceeding to random evolution path… Complete.

Please choose one of the five options as your evolution species. Warning! The action cannot be reverted. Please choose carefully! [Appendix - Evolvement Path Guide]

- [Yete] - 78% Compatibility

- [Manu Giants] - 64% Compatibility

- [Magicka] - 81% Compatibility

- [Type-i Space Humans] - 97% Compatibility

- [Elementary Energized Life] - 31% Compatibility

Choice received… Proceeding… Evolution complete.

You gained a Race Specialty, [Adaptive Herd].

You learned a skill, [Machinery: Last Stance].

_____________________

Chapter 262: The Sound of Hammering

Every class advancement was an ascendance of life status. LV 60 was provided a large upgrade to the status among all other levels of class advancement since it was the boundary between Version 1.0 and Version 2.0. The effects of class advancements were based off accumulated experience, and the life form experienced its first evolution. The path of evolution was not completely random, but it was dependent on the initial race that was chosen by the player. For example, carbon-based human evolution paths were usually all in human forms.

The chain of evolution was not always certain, and one could have millions of possibilities for one's evolution. Compatibility determined the volatility of randomness of the status of the evolution. The lower the compatibility, the more random the evolution effects would be, similar to flipping a coin where one could get a powerful evolution, while it was possible to get disastrous effects. For example, the [Basic Energy Organism] could directly change the body structure of a human, abandon the flesh and blood, and become a body made out of pure energy.

On the other hand, if the compatibility was high, then it meant that the evolution path was the most logical. Han Xiao chose [Type-i Space Humans] had close to a hundred percent compatibility since the Space Humans were the most common human species in Galaxy. The race was famous for its fast adaptation to the new environment with the unique characteristic [Adaptive Herd]. Debuff resistance, physical resistance, and mental resistance all increased by ten percent.

All races had different specialties. Once the evolution effects took place, it would be a major upgrade in status, where every race would have a different focus on statuses it improved on. Galaxy contained thousands of races, and from this step forward, all the players started to shape their own unique characteristics that were distinguishable from others.

Compared to the other four choices, the [Type-i Space Human] was the most common one. It was an all-round upgrade, so there was not a lot of uniqueness. However, with higher resistance and adaptability, the upcoming evolutions would have a wider range of choices. The evolution process could not be reverted, which was why Han Xiao clearly remembered the evolution tree, and the [Type-i Space Humans] was the best initial evolution in his mind, so he made his choice without a second thought.

Superhumans could become strong through the process of evolution, and the same went for NPCs. However, since they did not have an interface, they could not choose the evolution path.

Han Xiao took a deep breath.

There was pain aching from his bones, his muscles, and every other part of his body. Han Xiao bit his tongue and tried to take in all the pain from the evolution. The process of evolution was gut-wrenching, and a player could feel less by lowering the intensity of pain. However, all the pain that Han Xiao was feeling was a hundred percent real.

Fortunately, the pain did not last long. It quickly faded, and Han Xiao suddenly had a new perspective of the world!

The enemies were quickly approaching, and Han Xiao did not have time to investigate the changes in his body. He frantically used all the upgrades in his interface and used seventy-four million experience points. [Magnetic Ring Mechanic] instantly went from level five to the maximum level!

_____________________

[Magnetic Ring Mechanic] Lv.15 (Max).

+180 Energy, +2 DEX, +1 END, +4 INT, +4 Free Attribute points.

_____________________

A third of two hundred million experience points were spent with a blink of an eye.

As the level of skill increased, the more resources were needed to level up the skill. Of course, the benefits corresponded with the expense, and with a ten-level upgrade, his energy increased by 810, and the energy attribute point reached 3,070. The energy attribute points broke through the level eight benchmark of 3000 points, and Han Xiao obtained another additional upgrade in his attributes.

Han Xiao suddenly felt a surge of energy flowing through this body. He reached LV 70, breaking through the level upper limit of version 1.0.

He was the only superhuman on the Planet Aquamarine that was above LV 60.

The Attribute was an enhancement in jumping abilities.

_____________________

111 STR, 185 DEX, 159 END, 321 INT, 21 MYS, 14 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 40

Potential Points: 72

Health: 7,980

Stamina: 9,580

Energy: 3,070 (Lv.8)

Energy Rank: 3,275 Ona

Grade: C

[You are qualified to be the Space Explorer Warrior.]

_____________________

The overall strength has increased by more than half my previous status. The health points were 4,300 before the evolution, and now I have almost double that number. Moreover, the exchange ratio from Endurance to Health Points has increased from 1:20 to 1:30. After all the upgrades and level ups in the status, the four important attributes all increased by around thirty or forty points.

He quickly calculated his combat power, and he did not use the forty Free Attribute Points. Under an unpredictable battle, he could quickly adapt to different situations by adding attribute points.

Han Xiao stood up and turned toward Jeross and the troops. He eyes was sharp, cold, and deadly.

Prepare for your death, Germinal Organization!

The troops arrived in front of Han Xiao, and Jeross roared, "Block all the escape routes. Don't let him get away!"

He then shot his force field toward Han Xiao.

Bang!

The ground exploded with a pit. Han Xiao dodged the attack with ease, and he was a lot faster and agile than before. He charged in front of Jeross and used his Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades. The skill blew a violent wind with so much power that it instantly broke through the defense force field as if it was a knife slicing through cake.

Deng!

After a flash of light, Jeross suddenly lost his vision, and he felt that he had lost control over his body. The pain exploded in his body, and he felt sharp blades sink into his flesh.

He had already sensed what would happen to his body—his eyes had lost all hope.

"No…"

The nine blades pierced through the body at the same time, and Jeross' body was filled with holes with blood splattering everywhere. The blades sliced through the muscles and tendons, and Han Xiao headbutted through the last desperate force field created by Jeross and smacked his head with all his strength!

With only one move, Han Xiao eliminated the powerful and troublesome senior executive officer.

The role of predator and the prey instantly swapped at that moment.

Han Xiao looked around at the surprised soldiers, as if he was the wolf that would hunt everyone down.

…

On the main battlefield, fight was still going on. Everyone had their attention on the area where Han Xiao had run off to, curious about the result.

Suddenly, the sounds of explosion came from that direction, and everyone looked over.

"What's going on? Did he get away?"

"Are they fighting right now?"

Everyone tried to guess what happened. Then they saw a small dot that was coming toward them. As the dot got closer, they recognized that it as Han Xiao, and all the enemies who had gone after him were nowhere to be seen.

"If he already escaped, why is he coming back?" Tang Tang asked with confusion.

Diana shot another two explosive flame and barely caught her breath. "He probably ran back here because he can't deal with the enemies."

Hila, who was silent the whole time, suddenly said, "His vital sign is different from before!"

In her Esper perception, Han Xiao was as bright and hot as a sun!

She had never seen anyone with such a strong vital sign.

She also felt another subtle change, but she could not tell what it was. The subtle change was the evolution of race that Han Xiao had gone through, so Hila naturally had no idea.

"Where's Jeross?" The leader spared some attention away from the battled. "Focus fire on Zero! Do not let him get away from my vision!"

The troops changed their targets and move their crosshairs right on top of Han Xiao. However, Han Xiao suddenly sped up and dashed through enemy force like lighting. He picked up machine guns off the ground and shot at the enemy with perfect aim. With every shot, there was at least one man that fell to the ground.

Han Xiao moved forward and attacked the executive officers surrounding his allies without saying anything.

Bang Bang!

As if meteors falling down from the sky, the executive officers were all scattered by the firepower of Han Xiao. Han Xiao fought through the enemy with a crushing force, and he was clearly a different man compared to his performance before.

The veterans of the Six Nations were relieved from pressure and stared at Han Xiao's courageous engagement with the enemy.

There was only two words to describe this scene—complete suppression.

"I think that he tried to save some up some energy and get back to his normal condition. After he exhausted the enemy during the chase, he turned back and showed true strength." Tang Tang thought that he understood Han Xiao's plan. Everyone else nodded, and all their doubts toward Han Xiao dispersed like dust.

Diana also held back her hate toward Han Xiao and said, "Well… he could have told us beforehand."

After murdering all the executive officers, Han Xiao moved toward the battle between Bennett and the leader. The leader saw Han Xiao and gave a strong attack to Bennett. Bennett fell back, and the fight stopped.

"Hey Ben, you did good, but his head belongs to me." Han Xiao patted on Bennett shoulder and said, "This is the battle of rivals."

"You…"

Bennett had a sharp sense on people's strength. He knew that Han Xiao was strong, but right now, he could not see through the strength of Han Xiao as if he was looking at the lake without a bottom.

Looking Han Xiao straight in the eye, Bennett did not reply and moved away to fight in another battle. He trusted Han Xiao to win against the leader.

If Han Xiao wanted to fight the leader, he must have been confident.

This was trust that needed no explanation.

The leader's eyes were burning with blue flames. "Bennett was protecting you, and now you came here to fight me. Just because he wasted some of my energy, do you think you can beat me now? Haha… Good… Very good. Even if I'm not in my best condition, I will still murder you with ease!"

"Let's get into it then, haven't you been waiting for this day for so long?"

Han Xiao lifted his arm and shot a bullet right at the leader. The leader made a claw with his hand and released a violet shockwave that slowed down the speed of the bullet.

The leader had mastered several advanced techniques in Pugilist class. With the shockwave blast and physical flame, he was strong in both offense and defense.

The leader's information showed up on the interface.

He has eighty-one percent of his health! Han Xiao's eyes flickered. The leader and Bennett were on the same level, and the leader had only lost a small amount of health, which meant that Han Xiao could still take sixty percent of his health.

Diana, Tang Tang, and the rest of the soldiers watched closely at the fight and worried for Han Xiao. Bennett was considered the strong man on their side, and they trusted Bennett to deal with the leader. However, their suspicion rose as Han Xiao took on the leader, thinking that Han Xiao did not have the ability to suppress the leader.

The fight was intense, and multiple pits was created by the fight. Each was the other's mortal enemy, and every move was filled with their intent to murder, as if they were two beasts fighting each other. None of them tried to dodge the attack and only focused on landing attacks on the opponent.

Han Xiao used all the weapons and machinery at his disposal to drag down the leader's health, including the Sunworm Flamethrower, Ghost sniper rifle, Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades, and Sonic Bomb.

The leader was a Pugilist, so Han Xiao was at a disadvantage when fighting in close quarters. However, with the rapid growth of attributes and status, plus upgrades for Viper, his Endurance and Dexterity were much higher than those of the leader. So even if Han Xiao lacked in Pugilist techniques and close combat skills, he could still get the upper hand with his stats and attributes.

There was no use for tactics!

Han Xiao took a look at the battle information and thought, He has a lot of strong skills that do armor penetration damage and also wear out the defense of the enemy. Also, he has a lot of skills that can reflect damage. He must have used this kill to block off the powerful punches of Bennett.

The two men continued to clash against each other. Han Xiao was focused, and he did not panic. He calculated the skills, health, and other battle information in his mind. He had once been a professional power leveler, so he had tons of experience. One must understand the mechanics and calculations to become a master.

The health bar for a LV 70 character was much higher than the leader, and with Viper, he knew that the best chance for him to win this fight was to use brute force to power through. Even if Han Xiao could only land an attack in exchange for three or four attacks from the leader, it was still worth it.

The leader's health slowly decreased, but Viper was on the brink of destruction. With multiple cracks and dents, the durability of the suit was almost zero, and it would be broken after one or two more hits.

The chips carried on the suits were all shattered, and the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades was bent into scrap metal. The fuel tank for the Sunworm Flamethrower was empty, and there was no more ammo for the sniper. The battle screen had cracks, and the energy was almost depleted.

In other words, Han Xiao had no weapons to use anymore, and this was the worst possible scenario for a mechanic to be in.

I finally can break his suit! Without this turtle shell, there's no way he can fight me anymore!

Seeing that his dream had finally been fulfilled, the leader could not wait and gave a final blow to the suit as he tore it apart.

Crack!

The sound pierced through people's ears.

The damaged Viper suddenly released a bright light and went back to full power! The originally empty durability was restored to fifty percent! The energy of the suit also replenished mysteriously.

[Machinery: Last Stance]

When a machinery's durability was less than ten percent, by using five hundred energy points, one could make a machinery restore back to fifty to eighty percent of the status. The higher the quality and the more complicated the machinery was, the shorter the time of effect of the skill. One's Intelligence attribute also affected the duration of the skill. After the duration, the machinery would self-destruct.

This skill was the equivalent of [Battle: Last Stance].

Han Xiao had already prepared this as his final trick. Taking the opportunity while the leader was still surprised, Han Xiao landed his fist right on the leader's face. The leader fell back and rolled on the ground, and the mask started to crack. He tried to get up, but he suddenly felt a weakening force dragging his body down.

The leader had been in such an intense battle that he did not realize his status was dropping at an abnormal rate. He had injuries all over his body.

"Hey, you there, can you lend me your weapon?" Han Xiao looked over to the Mechanical Pugilist in the dust.

The man hesitated for a second, and with his injured body, he threw the energy hammer to Han Xiao.

"Catch!"

After he caught the hammer, a dark blue Mechanical Force covered the hammer, and Han Xiao activated the [Flaming Will], which had just come off cooldown.

Han Xiao swung the heavy hammer around, and the small boosters on the head of the hammer left a curve in the air. Han Xiao smacked down with the hammer right on the leader's face as he tried to get up.

Boom!

Bull's eye!

Like a baseball being hit by a bat, the leader flew away a few hundred meters and hit three vehicles along the way.

In the air, the mask broke into pieces and landed on the ground.

Chapter 263: An Unfamiliar Face

The sand blew in the wind as if the world was covered in a thin cloth. As the sands drifted down to the floor, the whole slowly became clear.

In the violent wind, a shadow of a man got up with difficulty, kneeling on the ground.

Tick tock, tick tock….

Blood dripped down from the corner of his lips. The leader covered his face and stood up with difficulty.

At this moment, the atmosphere froze. The entire battle looked over at the leader as if there was a temporary ceasefire.

The leader of the Germinal Organization always wore a black metal mask. Almost no one, even including people from the Germinal Organization, knew his true identity.

To have the ability to lead such a powerful force, the leader should be a man with a well-known background. All the countries had a lot of guesses on the leader's true identity, and they thought that since the Germinal Organization had been created during the Old Era, the most plausible guess was that he was a legend in the Old Era who had changed his appearance.

Han Xiao also looked over. No players in his previous lives had been able to find out the identity of the leader, so he was as curious as the rest.

The leader put down his hand, and the face that presented in front of everyone's eyes was a distorted face with multiple scars, as if there were bugs crawling under the skin. The scars looked like it was a deep scratch left by a wild beast.

Most importantly, it was an unfamiliar face.

Even though his looks were appalling, the outline of the face was still recognizable. Han Xiao was confident that he had not seen this face when he looked at the intel on the Dark Net. He looked over at Bennett and the superhumans from the Six Nations, and they were all confused.

No one recognized the leader.

Bennett frowned. He was a legend from the Old Era, and he still remembered numerous legends from back in the day, including those who died in battle or died of old age. Yet, he could not recognize face of the leader. There were only three possibilities.

First, the leader had also worn a mask in the Old Era. Second, he had changed his appearance to hide his identity. Third, he had not been a powerful man during the Old Era and stayed under the radar during that time.

With his appearance revealed, the leader did not show any expression as if he could not care less.

Can no one recognize him? Does that mask only try to hide the terrifying face so as to avoid decreasing the morale of the soldiers? Han Xiao frowned. Babies would cry seeing the leader's face. If he did not wear a mask, he probably would bring a '-20 Military Morale' debuff.

The battle was not over. Leaving the questions behind, Han Xiao went on the offense, swinging his mechanical battle hammer with only thirty seconds before Viper broke down.

Bang bang bang!

The fist covered with purple energy clashed with the hammer, and the sound of metal clashing never stopped.

The leader's eyes were spicy and deadly, and he quickly saw the poor condition of the mechanical suit. As long as he can drag it out long enough, the suit would shatter, and that would be the end of any Mechanic.

Defend.

The leader switched to a defensive stance and took all the direct hits from Han Xiao. Under the heavy attacks, the leader did not flinch and was as hard as stone.

The unmovable body and the unbreakable hammer clashed more and more intensely, and the wind created by the impact blew the sands up like a wave.

Clink! Clink!

After thirty seconds, Viper suddenly made a weird sound, and pieces of components and chips shattered like a withered flower.

The mechanical suit was broken.

Han Xiao revealed his real body.

"Yah!" the leader screamed, and he switched back to the offensive in an instant. All the energy saved in his body travelled to his fist and punched right at Han Xiao's stomach. In addition to armor penetration skill, the impact directly hit the flesh of Han Xiao.

Bang! Hong!

One attacked created two sounds. First was the fist hitting the body, then the impact passed through the body of Han Xiao and created another explosive sound as the energy left Han Xiao's body from the back. The second explosive sound was almost loud enough to deafen everyone present, leaving a cone shaped dent in the sand behind Han Xiao.

Under such a powerful force, Han Xiao barely even moved. He did not even take a step back and absorbed all the impact.

"How did you!" The leader could not believe his eyes.

How could a Mechanic block a punch with his own body?

Then, a shadow appeared above the leader's head, and the hammer started to smash again. The leader tried to block the hammer with his arms, yet a sudden pain shock through his arms, and his body sank into the ground until the sand covered his knees, as if he was a nail being hammered into the ground.

The leader's pupils reflected a man's shadow with dense energy. It was denser than his own energy as a Pugilist!

"Why…" The leader ground his teeth, then he suddenly realized what had happened. "Did you break that limit?"

The class advancement every twenty levels had always been a bottleneck for NPCs, who did not have an interface. They could not easily break through the limit as they could not finish any missions. Therefore, the only way for them to obtain a class advancement was hard work and luck.

Among the top superhumans in the Planet Aquamarine, there had not been any news where anyone had conquered the bottleneck and reached the next stage. It was nearly impossible for them to obtain the next level.

The dream and thirst for a class advancement that he desired the most happened to the person whom he hated the most at the worst possible moment.

Is this… fate?

The word kept on ringing in his ears like a broke record player.

"Eat my battle stomp!" Han Xiao randomly shouted a skill name and smashed his hammer onto the leader's head.

Without Viper, Han Xiao lost the bonus buff and damage on to his attacks. Moreover, he had finished using all his ammunition. The only thing that he had left was the mechanical hammer, and on the surface, it seemed that it would still be a tough battle. However, with the new Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance, his status was on other level compared to the LV 60 BOSS-level Pugilist. In addition, the leader was already heavily injured with only thirty-seven percent of his health points left.

Once the health points reached below a certain point, all the debuff would start kicking in and slowly decrease his combat strength. The difference in power between the two men did not change much after the Viper broke down. Han Xiao still could handle the leader and save the world.

Seeing this, the leader was already discouraged. Along with his bad condition, he had no way to fight back. He kept on being smashed by the hammer as blood splattered around.

On the side, the superhuman from the Six Nations could not believe their eyes.

In their mind, the only person who could fight the leader was Bennett, and no one had thought that that this man would be Han Xiao.

Bennett was undoubtedly the strongest man, the only one who could stand toe to toe against the leader. Yet, Han Xiao battered the leader with ease without taking much damage other than a broken suit.

They witnessed the entire process of Han Xiao beating down the leader. It was no ambush nor sneak attack; it was an honorable and straightforward fight with nothing to hide. This also meant that Han Xiao was on other level compared to Bennett.

Who was Bennett? He was the strongest man on the entire planet.

Han Xiao's performance could get rid of 'strongest' from the title.

He was now the strongest superhuman on this entire planet!

The stalemate of the intense battle was broken by Han Xiao as he took over the battlefield.

Diana's temper was as explosive as her power. She almost threw a fireball at Bennett and asked, "Is he actually that strong? Why did he need our support?"

"This feeling… it can't be wrong. He just broke through the limit in this battle!" Tang Tang's eyes flickered.

Shock and jealousy slowly surface on the faces of the crowd.

Seeing that the leader was getting beaten, the morale of the Germinal Organization dropped, and soon, the enemies panicked.

Bang!

Another hammer landed on top of the chest. The leader spat out more blood on Han Xiao. The leader suddenly roared with blood in his mouth.

The violet energy became dense again and was alive like burning flames.

Han Xiao thought that the leader was going to use his ultimate skill. He held the hammer in front of him and prepared for an attack.

But the next second, the leader turned around and ran as fast as he could. He used his energy as a booster and ran like a missile being launched. After running for two hundred meters, he headed into a base, and his energy died down. His whole body was out of strength and collapsed on the sand with blooding flowing out of his nose and mouth.

With those heavy injuries, he could not take any more of Han Xiao's attacks. No matter how angry the leader was, he had to escape.

"He ran away! He admitted defeat!"

Han Xiao quickly checked the battle information.

The leader had only fourteen percent of his HP left and was in weakened status.

Taking sixty percent of his HP had been achieved.

Chapter 264: The Historical Momen

The leader had sustained heavy injuries, and this caused the Germinal forces to instantly collapse.

Some troops rushed to surround and protect the leader while others were still bogged down in a battle. The Six Nations' experts used this opportunity to concentrate fire on a single spot and created a hole in the Germinal formation.

"Get in the car!" Tang Tang yelled.

The cars were about to drive past Han Xiao, and this was the best chance to get in the car.

Han Xiao took a glance toward the leader and saw that he was blocked by several lines of bodyguards.

The leader still had fourteen percent of his health left, and with the troops surrounding him, it would not be easy for Han Xiao to kill the leader in a short amount of time. Seeing how his allies were all about to successfully escape from the Germinal forces, delaying any longer could risk them getting encircled once more.

Han Xiao himself did not really mind this. With his current strength, he could solo the Germinal army that was on the brink of breaking apart with ease. However, aside from Bennett, all other members of the team that came had sustained injuries, and casualties might arise were they to keep on fighting.

Han Xiao had once been their rescue target, but now, he had turned into someone who needed to protect them.

Han Xiao did not know whether he should laugh or cry at this, but he made the logical decision within a short moment.

[The Traitor's Ambush] mission is already completed, and my job is done. All I have to do now is relay the confidential information to the Six Nations and let them worry about the rest.

He decided not to deal the final blow as it did not really matter to him at this point.

As the cars were just about to pass him, one of the doors opened, and Han Xiao quickly jumped aboard, leaving the troops behind in the dust.

The Germinal troops were completely left behind this time, slowly becoming specks on the horizon.

"It's done." Han Xiao finally let out a deep breath. The leader would no longer have any chance to stop him now.

This had truly been an exhilarating experience.

This time, he had rescued Aurora and Hila from the Germinal headquarters, stolen advanced Mechanic Knowledge from their lab, and even gotten hold of a bunch of crucial war information. Killing his way out and revealing his identity had also cemented his position as a Legend on the planet as well as further boosting his reputation among the players. He had broken past Version 1.0's limit after killing countless high-level Germinal executives and even beaten up the leader himself, obtaining the lucky draw on two of the leader's abilities.

Although he had faced endless danger along the way, the reward made it all well worth it!

Han Xiao thought of something and suddenly looked back at the Germinal leader from the car window.

The leader stood shakily on a distant sand dune, with his now weak-looking figure swaying in the wind.

Han Xiao and the leader's gaze locked onto each other's despite the long distance.

The leader was expressionless. He had mustered all his resources this time yet had ended up with nothing to show for it. However, instead of raging over it, all Han Xiao saw in the leader's eyes were conflicting emotions of pain, dejection, and even a sense of release and weariness. It was as if he had used up all his will and no longer had the energy to let out his fury.

Han Xiao was somewhat puzzled and became curious about this character.

Leading the Germinal Organization to overthrow the mighty Six Nations. Why did he do all this? What kind of person was he?

Ambitious? Cruel? Immoral?

Despite his long-time adversity with the leader, Han Xiao barely knew about his foe.

Oh right. I don't even know his name.

Han Xiao once again focused his gaze on the leader, and the leader also met his gaze from the distance.

In that instant, it was someone had pressed the pause button, and even time itself had stopped. The gaze between the two looked almost like a still painting.

This was Han Xiao's first face-to-face contact with the leader…

… and also the last.

Later, the Six Nation fighters present would describe this scene and leak it to the whole world.

After the war had ended, when each nation was re-organizing, they would find out that this was the turning point in the war. The stare-down between Zero and the Germinal leader would become a historical moment and be recorded in Planet Aquamarine's history.

…

The moon lit up the night, and stars were scattered throughout the sky. The astral sea lit up this side of the hill, and artificial lighting was not even needed deep into the night.

The three cars were parked atop a hill that was hidden in the middle of a small forest. The engines were turned off, and silence filled in the surroundings. Everyone had gotten out their cars and spread out to mind their own business. Some chewed on their rations, some tended to their wounds, and others made small talk.

After the intense combat throughout the day, they had decided to stop there for the night to rest. Driving past the plains in front of them would get them to the border between the Six Nations' and Germinal's warzone. Germinal had limited control over this area, and it was nothing compared to the forces that were swarming around the headquarters. The forces that had pursued and ambushed them earlier had suffered heavy casualties, and there were truly no more threats to the team.

Han Xiao finally had some time to take in the changes that he had gotten from evolving his race.

He observed his body under the gentle moonlight. His skin was still yellow, but there were some minor changes. After the minor changes to his DNA, his body became even better proportioned, and his limbs seemed to have grown longer. He also felt that he had become more handsome as he checked himself out with a mirror…

Yup. Definitely not just my imagination.

[Type-i Space Human] had high compatibility with his body. This was a race of humans who had adapted to live in space and had been exposed to a variety of different types of radiation as well as the planet's environments over the years. This was a race that followed strictly followed the laws of evolution, and those who could not adapt naturally could not survive. The logic behind was similar to how humans on Earth had evolved into different races: Asians, Caucasians, Africans, etc. The differences all came from the different living environments. Type-i Space Humans also started as the countless normal humans in the universe—more commonly recognized by other alien races as Carbon Monkeys, Parasites, Sneaky B*stards, Prideful Creatures, Racists, Not Delicious, etc.

Due to the harshness of space, the Type-i Space Humans had much stronger bodies. They had a more perfect body structure, and their organs could function at a higher capacity. If normal humans were comparable to thin sheets of paper, they would be like rubber, much harder to break.

Of course, the body still looked more or less like a normal human. There was not anything such as green skin or longer teeth.

Each race and species' evolution paths were very much traceable. Carbon-based organisms could not suddenly become mechanical lifeforms. Those that evolved or mutated into having potential to utilize life energy were commonly known as True Soul Carriers. Most thought-capable species had the potential to develop this power.

Although a normal human has a lot of evolution paths to choose to follow, the more one evolves, the harsher the requirements will become to evolve again. A Space Human has less of an option in evolving as there is usually only one main pathway, but with more evolutions, the compatibility will also increase. Those extremely powerful races all require high compatibility and also have the most potential.

Han Xiao nodded. Evolution was a step-like process. Gaining massive power early on would naturally mean that one would mean losing out later on. Only by walking on a wider road would he have more options in the future.

It was also important how well the evolution pathway worked with his class. As he did not need to go for those all-brawn-no-brain races, the [Type-i Space Human] evolution was very suitable for Han Xiao.

I might as well finish dealing with [The Traitor's Ambush] now.

Han Xiao rubbed his hands and was full of expectations like an old gambler.

Ahem. It was more like the excitement one felt from getting their pay.

_____________________

[The Traitor's Ambush] has been completed.

You have obtained: Lucky draw for two of the Germinal leader's abilities.

Commencing lucky draw… Draw complete.

Please choose two out of the five following abilities:

1. [Advanced Martial Arts] – Talent: Decrease energy consumption by 30% when using pugilist skills and increase damage output by 15%.

2. [Venomous Attack] – Skill: Assassin-type skill. Strike fast like a snake, and deal 4 – 7 consecutive blows to your opponent. The first hit will deal 41 – 59 bonus damage, and each following blow will deal 5% less.

3. [Repel - Thorns] – Skill: Use your energy to absorb 30% of all incoming attacks. If it's a melee battle, reflect the same amount of absorbed damage back to your opponent. Uses 300 energy, 500 stamina, and cools down in 110 seconds.

4. [Iron Fist] - Talent: Bare-handed attacks increase in damage by 7% and block chance increases by 3%.

5. [Steel Body] – Talent: Immune to true damage.

_____________________

Unfortunately, the Lucky Halo was not one of the draws.

Does he not have it, or is my luck just too bad? Han Xiao shook his head.

The leader had several dozen different abilities, and the chances of getting something good with only five draws was truly too low. So, Han Xiao was not that disappointed.

The leader was a pugilist, so most of the drawn abilities had something to do with martial arts. He was able to choose two out of the five abilities for himself.

"This is great! It's a Molding Ability!" Han Xiao's eyes lighted up.

Molding Abilities were unique in that they were very powerful, specific, and absolute—as in the case of damage immunity. This was exactly what Han Xiao was looking for.

[Steel Body] was basically a BOSS template. It would make him immune to attacks that dealt true damage. This would greatly reduce the chance of accidents from happening, and he would be much hard to be killed in one-shot. For example, without this ability, someone with a skill similar to [Flaming Will], which could do true damage, would have posed a huge threat to Han Xiao. However, with [Steel Body], that danger was completely negated. As Han Xiao himself did a lot of explosive attacks, he knew the pros and cons of true damage very well.

He chose [Repel - Thorns] because he did not have any other better choice out of the remaining draws. The others were all pugilist skills.

When he thought back on the previous fight between Bennett and the leader, the leader must have used this ability to tank Bennett's broken quintuple damage punch.

When Han Xiao thought about the leader again, he could not wipe away his interest in this main storyline character.

Chapter 265: The Next Class Change Requiremen

You have obtained [Repel – Thorns]!

You have obtained [Steel Body]!

_____________________

A paralyzing feeling passed through Han Xiao's body, and it made him much more focused. When he stretched out his arms, he found out that his body had become much tougher. His chest even gave off satisfying echoes when he gave it some test smacks.

Looks like I'm progressing well on the road to become a true meat shield. Han Xiao was in a good mood as he was very glad about the mission reward this time around.

He had obtained his second Molding Ability. True damage was damage that directly reduced one's health regardless of other defensive stats. For example, when a normal attack with a hundred attack power landed on someone, it would be reduced by a certain amount depending on the armor that the assailant wore. On the other hand, true damage would be able to do a hundred flat damage without reductions.

With this ability, he was much harder to kill and was starting to look more and more like a BOSS character.

After maxing out his [Magnetic Ring Mechanic] class in the interface, Han Xiao still had 125,000,000 experience points left, which he used to directly max out [Machinery - Last Stance] and [Repel - Thorns]. After spending another 13,000,000 exp, he gained two additional Potential Points.

Both of these abilities were very useful. [Machinery - Last Stance] was self-explanatory—it was basically like combat Viagra for Mechanics. [Repel – Thorns] was a very powerful defensive skill as it could directly mitigate a portion of all incoming damage.

Maxing out [Magnetic Ring Mechanic] also unlocked the new class change requirements.

_____________________

Class Change Requirement: Reach LV 80, obtain 400 Intelligence Points, learn five advanced mechanic knowledges.

_____________________

Well that's surprising. Han Xiao's eyes flashed.

Several of the class change requirements for main classes were the same for everyone. Han Xiao had class-changed four times and had [Mechanic Novice], [Novice Technician], [Mechanic Trainee], and [Magnetic Ring Mechanic]. All Mechanic players who went with the Magnetic Ring class change tree would have to complete the same requirements.

Only when they had learned enough advanced knowledge and leveled up intelligence enough would they be able to move onto the next level.

My intelligence stat has already reached 321 points. With 40 free points, I now only need 39 stat points to meet this requirement. So, the important thing now is to look for a sub-class to max to obtain LV 80 overall.

Even someone like Han Xiao who basically only assigned points into intelligence did not have enough to do the class change. It was even worse for the Mechanic players who did not know any better and put points randomly into different areas. These players would have no other choice but to arduously look for more subclasses to gain stat points from.

The cap on Version 2.0 was LV 90. The higher the overall level, the higher the required experience to level up one's sub-classes. This was why the later one fulfilled one's class change requirements, the higher the cost would be.

Eventually, when a player's sub-classes' levels made up most of their overall level, their actual strength would then be laughable.

In the past, some Galaxy players had only been able to meet their class change requirements once they got to LV 80. Before they could level up their main class after the class change, they soon ran into the Version's level cap. Unsurprisingly, these players were the weakest when it came to PVP.

Han Xiao threw in all forty of the unassigned points into intelligence and muttered, "I also need to find a subclass. My strength has already far surpassed the Version cap, so I don't need to focus on leveling up anymore for now. Hmm… I should try to look for one of the rarer sub-classes. Those tend to give more free skill points per level, so I will be able to class change without leveling up too much.

He was not worried about obtaining advanced mechanical knowledge. It seemed hard because the rate of his growth had already surpassed the norm in the current Version. Advanced knowledge was something that would come by sooner or later.

"Hey, Black Phantom. Can I have my weapon back?"

Someone called Han Xiao from behind him. Havalen had walked over as he asked Han Xiao.

He was the mechanical pugilist who owned the rocket-boosted hammer. The hammer was still with Han Xiao at the moment.

Han Xiao turned and replied, "Oh this! I gave it a small check before, and it seemed like your weapon wasn't functioning properly. Let me help you repair it first."

Or in Han Xiao's mind… You can have it back after I've figured out the blueprint for this thing.

Havalen had a face full of suspicion. "There's a malfunction? But it worked fine when I was using it."

"Oh, you know, damaging weapons is often unavoidable during intense battles."

"Uh, this weapon was developed by Theseus's military factory, and I was ordered not to let anything about the technology leak out…" Havalen was troubled. He knew that Han Xiao was a Mechanic, so he was naturally concerned.

"That's not right," Han Xiao replied in a righteous voice. "Do I look like that kind of person? We're teammates right now, you and I!"

Han Xiao was not feeling guilty about this at all. Teammates were supposed to be used, or what difference would they have from fish in the market?

Havalen hesitated for a few seconds before finally relenting, and he returned to where was previously.

He did not believe a word Han Xiao said, but the thing was, this dude was much stronger than every other person present.

What could he do?

The Six Nations' agents were busy reporting the current situation to their higher ups. All the nations had their full attention on this issue. Han Xiao did not really mind. He might as well let the Six Nations people know how strong he was so as to avoid any misunderstandings in the future.

Han Xiao saw that Bennett was huddled up and talking with a small circle of people, so he walked over. He noticed that they were clamoring over a wheel that had fallen off and asked, "What's this about?"

"I'm not sure if you have noticed, but we're trying to fix this wheel," Bennett said in a salty voice.

Han Xiao looked at him weirdly. "I have eyes. Are you taking the piss with me?"

The two stared at each other before Hannes could not stand it anymore and butted in to explain, "This wheel had been shot. There are some tools in the trunk. Do you think you could help us fix it? You're a Mechanic, right?"

"You should've said that earlier." Han Xiao pulled up his sleeves, took out his tools, and started fixing the wheel while making a bunch of clanking noises. The group of people just stood around him and gawked like a bunch of fools.

After Han Xiao was done, Hannes reattached the wheel onto the car. Bennett then finally looked at Han Xiao and signaled before he walked off to the side. Han Xiao shook his head a few times before he followed behind helplessly.

The debt collector was finally here.

Once they were a distance away from the campsite, Bennett stopped, and so did Han Xiao.

"Humph!" Bennett turned before staring at Han Xiao and said, "Explain yourself."

Obviously, he was talking about Han Xiao's double identity. Bennett still could not get over it.

Han Xiao was delighted upon hearing this. Bennett sounded just like a pouting daughter-in-law…

"So, you don't want to talk about it? Do you see yourself right now? Oh… you think you're so tough?" Thinking back to what had happened over the past few days pissed Bennett off. "Why not tell us that you're an alien as well?"

Han Xiao was speechless.

You might've guessed right…

However, Han Xiao was extremely thick-skinned, and no matter how much Bennett whined and complained, Han Xiao only gave off an occasional "huh" to let the other person know that he was still listening. When he saw how Han Xiao was not willing to speak at all, Bennett also felt helpless about it and sighed before saying, "Whatever, it's all in the past anyway."

Han Xiao was a friend and someone who had made great contributions to the Dark Net. He had also devoted himself to the Shelter plan, and Bennett trusted him completely. He would not fuss too much over something like this. Moreover, Bennett secretly respected Han Xiao for his accomplishments.

Bennett coughed a few times before saying in a muffled voice, "You… how did you break past the limit?"

As a superhuman, he also wanted to become stronger. Bennett wanted to ask about Han Xiao's experience in hopes of gaining some enlightenment for himself. He actually did not care about being surpassed by Han Xiao or any of that. Bennett had never been one to not care about these small things, and he had always lived life by trusting his friends. Han Xiao was one such friend. Although this youngling would irk him from time to time, he was still a likeable helper.

Han Xiao thought for a bit before replying with a straight face, "Like the old teachings… First, take in a deep breath but wait. You also need to start circulating energy around your nether region. You know where I'm talking about, right? So basically, your bladder. You will then start to feel like energy is slowly leaking out of you, but don't worry, this is common for all beginners. Once you can control this feeling and hold the energy from leaking on will, you will be able to break through your limit. It's as easy as that."

"… You're bullsh*tting me again, right?" Bennett was shocked. He had a mouthful of inelegant terms stuck in his mouth, waiting to be spit out.

Why do you never change! Do I look that gullible to you‽

At that moment, the two suddenly quieted down as they noticed that someone was approaching—it was Hannes.

Hannes swept his eyes across the two and said in a grave voice, "I have something to tell you guys. I might've found the Germinal leader's origins."

The duo was shocked, and their expressions drastically changed.

"He is as powerful as me," Bennett said. "This kind of character definitely can't just be some random hooligan, but I have no impression of him at all. It's very odd."

"So where is he from?" Han Xiao asked curiously.

"Black Phantom… Oh, I will just call you Han Xiao. Do you still remember the mission we left for you?"

Han Xiao nodded. The hidden A-rank main storyline mission [New Ear – Origin]'s objective was to dig up the buried past of Planet Aquamarine. He had broken down the mission into different portions and assigned pro Galaxy players to deal with the mission. The first part of the mission had already been completed, but Han Xiao just had not turned it in.

He never would have thought that the leader had something to do with the hidden main storyline, and this instantly piqued his interest.

Chapter 266: The Origins of the Germinal Organization

"The intelligence you found has given us new clues. And several various investigations, we've found traces of the Germinal Organization's origins from a dead country's sealed confidential scroll…"

Just as he finished his sentence, the notification appeared on the interface.

_____________________

[New Era – Origin] First Round Complete

You have received 350,000 EXP

Completion Grade: Good

You have received 280,000 EXP bonus.

You have received Lv.45 Rare Large Dungeon Crystal - [Gollum Protection Warfare] x 5.

Listen to Hannes

_____________________

"In the old era, there was a small country called Gollum. Their government went through many changes and revolutions throughout history. In a year during the old era, a terrorist group targeting Gollum appeared, going by the name 'Mimok'. They attacked the nation of Gollum many times and created terror in society. The government took action.

"However, it was as if the members of Mimok were everywhere. The repeated attacks destroyed the sense of safety of the people of Gollum. They demanded the government take stricter measures, and the government did. They came up with all sorts of strict laws. The regulations in the nation became tight, and the people of Gollum were under constant surveillance and management. They called it 'protective measures'. After that, Mimok seemed to have disappeared in just a night. There were no more attacks. The measures seemed to have worked.

"However, Mimok was actually an organization that was created by Gollum's government secretly to inflict violence upon their people. For safety, the people of Gollum willingly accepted the strict 'protection'. The government took the rights back from the people one after another. All media sources and any platform that could give the people a voice were under the government's strict control."

Bennett nodded and said, "That is ruling through terror. You create an enemy for the people, and you will be on the side of the people. They will feel the danger themselves. And when there's no guarantee of safety, terror will push most people to give up freedom in exchange for safety, accepting strict regulations."

"That's right." Hannes nodded and continued. "There's no way of knowing why the government back then chose this way of ruling the nation. Maybe they didn't want to make the same mistake that was made in history. However, some people discovered the truth about Mimok. The tricks of the government were exposed—it became a scandal that could bring them down. The people of Gollum were furious. They paraded, protested, and created a civilian resistance organization. It led to one violent conflict after another, wanting to overthrow the government.

"When the internal conflict in Gollum was most heated, the galactic civilization came. They brought along knowledge that could change the world. At that time, chaos appeared everywhere around the world. Then war broke out, Gollum got invaded by their neighboring country. Gollum had focused too much on the internal conflict. With the threat from both inside and outside the nation, the government fell. The nation was invaded and taken over. Gollum died."

"So, the Germinal Organization is Mimok.

"The current Germinal Organization leader was a citizen of Gollum. He was once a member of the Gollum Civilian Resistance Organization."

"Oh? The Gollum Civilian Resistance Organization should be an enemy of Mimok," Han Xiao said in surprise. "What's his actual identity? What's his name?"

Hannes shook his head and said, "That era was too long ago; the detailed identity can't be found anymore. What we know for sure is that the leader of the Germinal Organization was once just a nobody. Gollum died, but Mimok survived. After getting out of government control, the leader of the Mimok was ambitious. He turned the organization into a starving wolf looking for an opportunity in the war.

"They were once active before the Old Era war. However, one day, Mimok suddenly disappeared. Then only appearing again after a few years. And when they reappeared, they were called the Germinal Organization. Their power expanded dozens of times; they became a shark from a shrimp. The original Mimok leader was nowhere to be found. This is all the intel I could find."

It got quiet, and they stared at each other.

"Seems like the leader took Mimok away," Han Xiao said in a low voice.

Bennett was more concerned about another problem. "What happened to the other people of Gollum?"

"Some were killed by the nation that invaded Gollum, some changed their nationality, and the rest became wanderers." Hannes paused before saying, "Also… the nation that invaded Gollum is now called Raylen."

"So that's what happened. Now we know the motive of the Germinal Organization leader being hostile toward the Six Nations—revenge." Han Xiao nodded.

Everyone had hope in their life. Hope would become a wish, and that wish would become a belief. Different beliefs led to different paths that would clash with each other, resulting in conflicts and possibly even war, the ultimate form of conflict.

The Germinal Organization was created from the Old Era. They had been at the front lines of the conflict, yet not only did they still exist, they had even become stronger and stronger. The leader's past sounded legendary. From an ordinary person that no one had heard of, he became the leader of the organization that could fight against the Six Nations. He sure did match up as one of the main characters on Planet Aquamarine.

However, only the leader himself knew his actual thoughts and experiences.

At this time, the second round of missions of [New Era – Origin] appeared on the interface. It was the same type of mission as the first round, consisting of many small missions to find clues around the world. There was a total of nine missions. Han Xiao decided to use his old method, splitting them up and giving to the players.

This hidden storyline is about digging through the history that was buried. The introduction says it will have unknown impacts on Planet Aquamarine. Will something so astonishing appear and change people's knowledge of the entire world? Han Xiao guessed.

The basic reward of the second round was 800,000 EXP, and the grade reward was still unknown. The first round of the mission had given the reward of five Dungeon Crystals of a large twenty-man dungeon, the type that had save points and could go on for days. Large guilds would definitely be interested; Han Xiao felt he could make a fortune from this.

After some chit chat, they went back to the convoy.

Han Xiao sat at the side and ate some dry food. Suddenly, he smelled a fragrance.

Hila came beside him, then said with a serious face, "We have already escaped. When are we going to fetch my younger sister? I'm very worried about her."

Han Xiao ate the last piece of biscuit, wiped his mouth, and said, "We have to go back there in order to fetch your sister. These people of Six Nations definitely won't agree to us taking the risk."

"Then we can go ourselves," Hila said without hesitation.

Han Xiao shook his head. "If I go back, the leader might fight back again, and there will be more trouble."

Like Han Xiao had said at the start, fetching Aurora was very troublesome. However, splitting up was a must—bringing Aurora along would have meant taking care of her and not being able to fight all out. There would have been many restrictions, and Aurora might have faced danger, leaving openings for the enemy. If the enemy had realized that the two of them were protecting Aurora and decided to focus their attacks on Aurora, the two of them would have shown more flaws in the fight. They might not even have made it out if they had brought her along.

Hila scowled at Han Xiao but did not say anything. They had been through life and death situations together, so she believed that Han Xiao would not go back on his word.

Hila and Han Xiao could be considered comrades.

The Hila now was younger and more sentimental compared to the goddess of death in his memory, who was ice cold and unpredictable. Han Xiao felt very joyful seeing the sentimental side of the person that would become one of the strongest in the future.

Friends made during hard times would definitely be closer than those made after being successful.

He stood up, tapped Hila on her shoulder, and smiled. "Don't worry, I have someone better to do the job."

Hila frowned. Honestly, she did not want an outsider to fetch her sister, but Han Xiao definitely had his reasons for saying that. "Is that person trustworthy?"

Han Xiao touched his chin and nodded. "We are in a trading relationship; he has no reasons to be my enemy, and his abilities are most suited for this task."

Hila nodded. She chose to trust Han Xiao and stood to the side. Han Xiao took out his laptop and dialed into a communication channel. After a few seconds, a voice came out of the laptop.

"Black Phantom?"

"It's me." Han Xiao smiled and said, "How are you, Dion?"

"I didn't think you would find me at this moment. Aren't you on the battlefield? News about you is all over the place." Dion was surprised. Han Xiao now had an astonishing level of influence, so his tone was also a little gentler.

"Then you need to wait for the latest news," Han Xiao said. "How's business recently?"

"Quite good, many big customers are willing to spend at times of war."

"I wanted to buy something from you," Han Xiao said. "The Bonfire Reaction Furnace, PE0 Nanotechnology Fiber, and so on. I want to buy a few more units of these; money is not a problem. I will give you a list later."

Viper was done for, and Han Xiao wanted to build a new one. His skills had improved, so he wanted to make an even stronger version.

As a Mechanic, he just had to build another one if the previous one was destroyed—that was how life was.

"Sure," Dion agreed immediately. "I'm in Andrea, too. As you know, war is a business opportunity. You decide on a location, and I will send the things. It's best not to be anywhere near Ordina."

"You're in Andrea? In that case, I have a small favor to ask of you."

"What?"

"Help me fetch someone."

Chapter 267: Exposed Intel, Turning Point of The War

It was dark and damp.

The rotten smell filled the air. The dark and cold air pierced into the bones.

In a pitch-black cave, a petite person cowered and shivered.

Aurora carefully tore open a bag of military use biscuits slowly, stopping after every bit of tearing, worried that the sound might attract enemies. After opening the packaging, she took small bites on the hard biscuits and took her time finishing them.

These sounds actually would not get out of the cave, but she kept Han Xiao's reminder in mind and did not dare to make any noise.

This is already the thirteenth meal, Aurora thought.

The passing of time could not be felt in the cave. She ate as soon as she was hungry and calculated the time based on the number of meals she had.

A pair of bright eyes hid in the shadow, always looking toward the cave entrance.

In the cave, there was only a pile of resources, the sound of breathing and her beating heart, and the wait in complete darkness.

…

A few days later, in the front lines of Stardragon camp on the South Battlefield of Andrea.

The convoy stopped inside the camp, and people waited in boredom.

Diana played with the fire sparks between her fingers for a while, then asked impatiently, "We have waited for twenty-two hours, how much longer are we going to wait?"

"Be patient. Probably not much longer," Han Xiao said with a cigarette in his mouth.

After breaking through the leader's ambush, they went smoothly through the Germinal Organization's territory and came to the Six Nations' territory. Their original destination had been a temporary base on the southern battlefield, but Han Xiao had suddenly requested to stop at this place, saying that he had to wait for someone.

Since they were already safe, the people of the Six Nations did not have any objections. They did not leave because they had a mission, which was to monitor Han Xiao and give the intel to the Six Nations. Since it was a very important matter, the Six Nations had to make sure of it.

At the side, Hila walked back and forth anxiously, continuously glancing at the entrance of the camp.

The soldiers passing by looked at them with admiration. They usually did not have the chance to see so many high ranked people.

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the entrance of the camp.

Hila stopped in place and looked over nervously.

The guards opened the gate, and man in a hoodie held the hand of a little girl and walked in slowly. The face of the little girl was pale and filled with curiosity. She looked left and right, and when she saw Hila, she could not take her eyes away.

It was Dion and Aurora.

Hila walked forward with wide strides, hugged Aurora tightly in her arms, and only let go when Aurora almost could not catch her breath. She squatted down, touched Aurora's face, and looked at her carefully. Seeing that Aurora was unhurt, she felt relieved immediately. Then she looked at Aurora's pale face and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I will never leave you again."

Aurora wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and smiled brightly.

The smile seemed to have lit up the entire world.

"I knew you would come to fetch me."

Seeing that her younger sister was safe, Hila was so relieved that she suddenly felt that the wind was so gentle and the sunlight was so warm.

It was the feeling of freedom.

At the other side, Dion looked for Han Xiao and said, "I didn't disappoint."

Dion's invisibility ability was most suitable for sneaking into all sorts of dangerous places. He had found Aurora with the coordinates that Han Xiao had given and brought her out. Ever since the ambush for Han Xiao failed, the alert level of the Germinal Organization had dropped tremendously, so they had escaped safely.

"Thanks." Han Xiao nodded and smiled. "Sorry to let you take the risk, I owe you one for this."

"Don't have to. You saved me once—count this as my payback. It was not a big deal." Dion waved his hands. "Compared to you infiltrating the Germinal Organization's headquarters, this is not considered a risk at all."

Han Xiao chatted for a while and started to get down to business. "Have you prepared the things I asked for?"

"I have already ordered my subordinates to withdraw them from the warehouse according to your request. They will be directly shipped to the Southern Continent. You can get them as soon as you go back there."

"Okay. I will pay you whatever's needed by then."

After they chatted for a while, Dion left. Diana said impatiently, "Can we go now?"

"In a bit." Han Xiao walked toward Hila and Aurora. They were still talking. After he got closer, he heard Aurora ask a question.

"Sis, where do we go now?" Aurora asked with anticipation on her face.

Hila suddenly paused.

That was right; they were free. Where should they go?

They did not have to work for anyone anymore. Where should they go in this big world?

Hila was lost.

"If you have nowhere to go, how about you come with me? My territory is very safe." Han Xiao walked over.

"With you?" Hila hesitated. She touched Aurora's head.

She wanted to bring her sister to explore the world.

"Your sister was imprisoned for so long; her health is in very bad condition," Han Xiao said. "Even if you want to take her to places, at least her health condition needs to improve first."

"You're right." Hila's face tightened. She agreed with Han Xiao's point immediately. The priority now was to improve her younger sister's condition. She felt heartache every time she looked at how weak and skinny Aurora was. Although she still had immeasurable hatred toward the Germinal Organization, she was now focused on her younger sister and did not have any thought of taking revenge. She just wanted to settle down with Aurora first.

She respected her younger sister's opinion and asked Aurora, "What do you think?"

"Sounds great," Aurora replied joyfully. After such a long time being imprisoned, everything in the outside world was new and exciting to her.

Aurora suddenly thought of something. She said to Han Xiao timidly, "Thank you for saving me."

Han Xiao smiled and did not say anything. He reached out his hands and pinched Aurora's face, and Aurora did not resist.

Hila looked at Han Xiao complicatedly.

Never had she thought that her younger sister would be saved by him. She did not know how she could pay back for something so huge.

We'll follow him for now then…

…

After a few days, they passed through a few camps and came to the temporary base in the southern battlefield. The representatives of the Six Nations gathered in the meeting room and waited for Han Xiao's arrival.

After he settled Hila and Aurora down, the guards led Han Xiao into the meeting room. The focus immediately turned to him as he entered.

The guards closed the gate.

These representatives were mostly strangers. Han Xiao only knew the Stardragon representative—Gu Hui.

"Yo, everyone is here." Han Xiao greeted casually. He pulled a chair with his leg and sat down casually like he knew everyone.

The people present could not help but size him up. This was the first time that many of them had seen Han Xiao with their own eyes. Thinking of the things that he had done, many felt admiration and fear.

The person in front of them was the one who had provided intel secretly all along. He had used the hostility between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization, rode along the waves, and become the mastermind behind everything.

People like this were very dangerous.

Furthermore, according to the latest reports, Han Xiao had broken through the power ceiling and should now be the strongest superhuman on the entire planet. From the Six Nations' viewpoint, they definitely feared someone so strong that belonged to another organization.

Dark Net had both Bennett, who was previously the strongest, and Han Xiao, who was now the strongest. They had become a worrying organization no matter how the Six Nations looked at it.

Luckily, the Dark Net had always stayed neutral. At least that was good news.

Gu Hui knocked the table and said seriously, "Han Xiao, we fulfilled our side of the deal. It's now your turn."

"Come on, don't we know each other? What's with the formal tone?" Han Xiao said jokingly. "We haven't met in a long time. How have you been recently? Have you been promoted? Although it is easier for you to be demoted rather than promoted in your position…"

Veins appeared on Gu Hui's forehead. He knocked the table heavily. "Get! Down! To! Business!"

"Sigh, people nowadays don't even want to chat. All they have in mind is serious talk—business, work, and the future." Han Xiao shook his head. "Life is about more than that."

"That's not the point. Why do you have so many things to talk about?" Gu Hui was frustrated.

Please respect the formal occasion!

The representatives of the nations' mouths twitched. Han Xiao gave them a completely different feeling compared to what they had imagined.

Shouldn't the mastermind be ferocious, mysterious, and a man of a few words? What's with the chitchat with the Director-general of Division 13? What kind of mastermind is so friendly?

They could not see through him.

As they talked nonsense, Han Xiao was secretly observing the structure of the room. After he confirmed there was no ambush or bug, he stopped talking nonsense immediately, took out a portable hard drive, connected it to the computer, and showed the image on the big screen in the meeting room.

The secrets of the Germinal Organization were exposed one after another. All of their plans, deployments, military power, and trump cards were exposed.

Chapter 268: Will You Love Me If I Am the Title...

The intelligence included the location of all the nuclear warheads that the Germinal Organization possessed. The Hand of Death system would be of no use once these nuclear warheads were broken down; the Germinal Organization would not even be able to make the Six Nations die with them.

His goal had been to give this intelligence to the Six Nations when he stole it from the Germinal Organization Headquarters. The earlier the Germinal Organization was destroyed, the sooner he could complete his A-grade main storyline mission, [Fall of the Germinal]. The progress at the moment was at 36.2%. His impact in the war to destroy the Germinal Organization would further grow after he provided this intelligence, and the progress would likely increase once again.

The only intelligence he kept to himself was the class advancement knowledge. Han Xiao planned to sell that to the players and make a large of profit. He was familiar with monopolizing.

The representatives of the Six Nations stood up in excitement.

"This os all classified information!"

"With this intelligence, the war can be ended early!"

"Amazing job!"

This intelligence brought unimaginable convenience to the Six Nations; it was like knowing all of the enemy's card when playing poker. The entire war was going to change with this intelligence.

The source of all this was Han Xiao, who sat at the end of the meeting table, picking his ears.

The representatives exchanged looks, and the atmosphere became quiet.

Han Xiao was very understanding. "Alright, I have already provided the intelligence. What you do with it is up to you. I shall leave you guys to it."

He stood up and left. After pushing the door open, he suddenly stopped, turned his head around, and saw that the expressions of the people present were unchanged. Disappointed, he said, "There really isn't an ambush…"

The representatives' mouth twitched.

Ambush? Do you not have any damn idea how strong you are?

We still want to live, damn it!

Gu Hui wiped his cold sweat. "The intelligence you provided is very important—it has helped us a lot. We need to have an emergency meeting… so you should leave quickly."

…

The situation of the expedition war changed drastically within a few days. The troops of the Six Nations marched forward and defeated the enemy easily like they were on steroids. The Germinal Organization was at a disadvantage on every battlefield. Then it snowballed, and they started showing signs of collapsing, their territory becoming ever smaller.

The entire planet was paying attention to the war and got shocked by the sudden change. After some research, they came to know that Han Xiao had given the intelligence that he stole to the Six Nations.

When Han Xiao's real identity was exposed some time ago, he had been surrounded, so it had become the focus of the battle between the Germinal Organization and the Six Nations. Being in the center, it was like Han Xiao was in the eye of the storm, surrounded by stronger winds. At that time, the head-on battles all over Andrea had all reached a climax. The large number of troops of the Germinal Organization had been stalled by the Six Nations with all their might, so they did not have enough troops, and their ranged missiles were all blocked by the Six Nations.

The organizations could already tell at that time that, if Han Xiao could escape, the entire situation would be changed.

As expected, he became the turning point of the entire war.

The person who triggered the war secretly was him, and the person who was going to end the war was also him. The organizations were all astonished.

His legendary status is indeed well deserved!

Having the upper hand in the war, the Six Nations started to report the situation of the war within the nations, spreading the word that the war was going to end and comforting the civilians. The civilians of the nations were relieved, and the nations felt the pressure on them lessen.

Of course, the media undoubtedly exaggerated the negative things that the Germinal Organization had done. Although the name of the Germinal Organization was already bad enough, they still made it worse out of habit, emphasizing that the expedition was an act of justice, and it was to protect the homes and the nations.

The players in Planet Aquamarine felt the change of the war themselves. The most obvious and direct impact was that the missions became fewer.

With Han Xiao's influence, the conflict between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization had broken out ahead of schedule, so the impact of the players on the storyline was minimized. What they could do was negligible, but at least they had things to do. However, as the war became more one-sided, they did not even have the chance to do anything at all anymore; the players could now only watch as things happen.

The players belonging to the Germinal Organization were the exception. They had more missions… and they failed them more often.

Even with the increased number of missions, they still seemed to be at a loss considering how often they failed.

The players of both sides fought many times. The players of the Six Nations were gloating, and the players of the Germinal Organization were crying.

Why! Why does Black Phantom keep hurting us?

You are full of love toward the other players, but we have no benefit at all!

Why were we born in the Germinal Organization!

The piece of sh*t Germinal Organization, give me back my youth!

Han Xiao's activities in the war were all exposed, a passionate player edited these videos into a short film and shared it on the forums. It received very positive feedback.

However, the last battle was not in the short film. No players had been present during the leader's ambush battle, so there were not any recordings. The players could not help but feel that there was something missing.

Therefore, Bun-hit-dog, who was the source of 'first hand Black Phantom information' was affected as well. His personal page was raided by the players.

"What happened to first-hand information? Shame!"

"Lousy host, subscribed!"

As words spread all over the outside world, Han Xiao had already boarded the return plane and left Andrea, returning to the Southern Continent together with Hila, Andrea, Bennett, and the others.

…

Stepping out of the cabin, the warm air of the Southern Continent blew against his face, brushing away the feeling of war in his chest. Han Xiao squinted with comfort and took a deep breath. The exhaustion in his mind was eased.

He had spent the most time in the Southern Continent, so it had a sense of familiarity like he was returning to his home. He felt very relaxed.

Hila held hands with Aurora and walked off the plane. Aurora was full of excitement and kept looking around. Everything in the outside world was fresh to her, and she could not get enough of it.

"I shall go back to Sanctuary One first. There are some matters that need to be taken care of," Bennett said and left with his people.

Hannes and Vernina nodded at Han Xiao and left together as well. Only Han Xiao, Hila, and Aurora were left.

Coming to the Southern Continent, Hila suddenly remembered, when the Germinal Organization retreated from the Southern Continent, she had fought with Han Xiao before and was hurt. She had even decided to get revenge.

She had never thought that things would turn out to be how they were now.

"Where's your territory?" Hila asked.

His territory was none other than the sanctuary. Han Xiao remembered that the early stage construction had been completed when he left, so he wondered how things were progressing since he had been away for so long.

…

At night, Sanctuary Three was still bright as day.

A group of tough looking man dressed like refugees crossed the alleys in the residential area. They seemed to be up to no good.

These people were robbers and entered Sanctuary Three disguised as refugees.

As Sanctuary Three became larger, its name spread further, so some robbers had malicious ideas. After they knew that the Sanctuary Three had a large amount of resources, some people got greedy and decided to take the risk.

As they passed by an intersection, they heard people having a conversation. These people hastily hid in the alley, waited for the group of players to pass by, and then started to move again.

"There are too many Inhumans here. It's better to be more careful," one of them said.

The leader of the robbers was a rough man with a crooked mouth. He spat thick phlegm onto the floor as he heard what the other man said. "Inhumans are all disgusting monsters."

A part of the locals of the Planet Aquamarine spurned the Inhumans and looked at them as a different species, but of course, their deepest emotion was that they envied the fact that Inhumans were undying.

"We just need to rob a few resources from the warehouse, and we will be rich."

A few tens of meters behind these robbers, Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, Maple Moon, and Bun-hit-dog were following them discreetly. They had discovered these suspicious 'refugees' by chance, triggered an urgent mission that required them to track these people, and followed secretly.

"They have thirty-four people, average LV 10, only one small BOSS, and the rest are minions," Bun-hit-dog said quietly.

"They all have yellow names. Not sure if they are enemies," Maple Moon said.

If they killed residents of the sanctuary by mistake, their relationship with the sanctuary would drop. They followed behind patiently and came to near the warehouse.

The warehouse was heavily guarded, and armed men of Dark Net patrolled the place. These robbers hid in the dark. The man with a crooked mouth looked at his watch rapidly and said quietly, "When the guy that bombs the power plant succeeds, all the electricity in this area will be cut off. We will grab the resources in the chaos then."

Chapter 269: The Players Here Are Super Welcoming

It was ten minutes past the planned time, but the power plant still did not explode, so the robbers were getting anxious.

"Did the guy bombing the power plant get caught? It's been so long, and there's no update." The crooked mouth man called many times, but no one picked up.

The others wanted to back away.

"The plan is exposed. We should quickly leave. If the guy bombing the power plant got caught, he will give us up."

The crooked mouth man's eyes were vicious. "What are you panicking for? We have to take risks if we want to be rich. We can't come here for nothing!"

These robbers were obviously very weak yet daring… in short, suicidal.

They waited a while more and finally found an opportunity when there was only one patrolling guard at this side of the gate.

The crooked mouth man pointed at one of his subordinates and said, "You, go assassinate that guard!"

The guy who got pointed at stepped forward unwillingly and approached the guard cautiously on tiptoes. His hands held onto the handle of the dagger at the back of his waist, shivering nervously and sweating continuously.

Although the enemy was just one patrol guard, he was armed.

The guard turned and saw a shadow sneaking into within twenty meters. He immediately yelled, "Who's there!"

The subordinate was shocked. He hastily stood up straight and nervously stammered, "I—I'm just passing by!"

He then ran back and said sadly, "Boss, I was discovered."

"Useless!" the crooked mouth man angrily said. He pulled out a self-made humble handgun from his waist, passed it to another subordinate, and yelled, "You go! The effective range of this handgun is twenty-five meters. Kill that guard!"

The subordinate swallowed his saliva and headed over sneakily with the handgun.

When he was at about twenty meters away, the guard discovered a shadow again.

"Who's there this time‽"

The subordinate was shocked. "I—I'm out for a walk!"

The guard saw the outline of the handgun and, alarmed, asked, "What's that in your hand?"

"Th—This…"

The subordinate suddenly had an idea. He looked up and put the handgun near his eyes then said with panic, "This is a pair of binoculars fo—for me to watch the moon."

Then he ran back, too.

On the other side, Frenzied Sword and the others were confused. What were these people going back and forth for?

The crooked mouth man was furious. "Useless! All of you are useless! Give me the gun. I will do it myself!"

The crooked mouth man snatched the handgun and walked quickly toward the guard. The guard was already alert because of what had happened. He immediately yelled, but when he had only said one word, the crooked mouth man fired. The bullet hit the guard's shoulder. The guard yelled in agony and fell back onto the ground. The crooked mouth man fired two more times. The guard was severely injured and had no ability to fight anymore.

"Quickly, go in and take the things," the crooked mouth man said. The subordinates all rushed over. This time, the names of these robbers became red in the eyes of Frenzied Sword and the rest. The mission requirement changed to catching these robbers alive and giving them to the guards of the sanctuary.

It was easy to deal with now that they were enemies—players were most familiar with fighting.

Hao Tian led the way, Frenzied Sword was right behind, and the other two followed—the four of them all dashed out. The robbers were all shocked. They hastily wanted to take out their weapons to fight back, but half of them were defeated in an instant.

"Inhumans, they are all Inhuman!"

The four of them defeated those robbers with ease. The crooked mouth man was the last one left. He held his handgun, shivering, and acted tough. "Don't come here, or I will shoot… I really will shoot!"

Suddenly, the ground started shaking. More than ten red dots appeared in the dark and closed in quickly, showing themselves. It was six Generation 2.5 Rangers. They surrounded the scene, their black muzzles locked onto the people present.

In important locations like warehouses and power plants, the true protection was the Rangers that Han Xiao had built, which were on standby at all times. As soon as they detect a gunshot or anyone unauthorized entering the area, they would activate combat mode, striking instantly like awakened beasts.

Sanctuary Three was Han Xiao's territory, so it was heavily guarded, not a place that just anyone could mess with!

The change was sudden, and the people were stunned.

Frenzied Sword recognized that the Rangers had been built by Han Xiao, and Bun-hit-dog said hurriedly, "Don't shoot, we are allies…"

However, as soon as the Rangers were activated, they would kill everyone within the area. Furthermore, the Rangers did not have a voice recognition function.

The next second, bullets rained upon them, and all of them were killed in an instant.

The chips of the Rangers were connected to the alarm system of the sanctuary. A patrolling team arrived at the scene shortly after the Rangers stopped firing. They cleaned up the scene and sent their injured ally to the hospital.

Frenzied Sword and the others revived at the square and looked at each other, upset.

Not only was the mission requirement of catching them alive failed, but they had also died.

The square was a lively area. The players set up stores and requested to team up, and tens of thousands of players gathered there, day or night.

"Sigh, there aren't any good missions to do. Han Xiao's not been here for so many days. I miss him." Frenzied Sword shook his head upset.

"Exactly," Bun-hit-dog said with a bitter face, "I don't even have any material for new episodes of my show and have been receiving tons of complaints on the forums. It would be even worse if not for you and God Hao being my guests."

Hao Tian was a man of few words; he nodded as a reply. Maple Moon had already gone to the fair to shop. The passion for shopping in women was the same even in the game.

This time, the four of them realized something and looked up at the same time.

Whoosh!

The sound of a helicopter came from the sky far away, getting louder and louder. The searchlight showed the location of the helicopter, and it landed on the helipad in the sanctuary. Very soon, a commotion started in that area, and players headed over continuously.

The players in the square closed their stores one after another and rushed over in excitement.

The wave of people headed toward the helipad.

Black Phantom had returned!

…

As soon as he walked down the plane, Han Xiao noticed the countless players standing in the streets near the helipad, all looking at him with curiosity and welcoming him.

Wow, the treatment is not bad at all.

Han Xiao was surprised. He wondered if he should thank them for their efforts but decided not to.

The players were so welcoming it felt like he was back home, he really liked this place.

The heads of the sanctuary had all been notified of his return long ago. Huang Yu was waiting, and he immediately walked over to report the situation. "Following your plan, more areas of the sanctuary have finished their construction. The war made quite a number of wanderers join the sanctuary. There are now more than 23,000 residents."

"Tell me something that I don't already know." Han Xiao raised his palm and stopped him. He could see the construction progress in his mission log, so there was no need for any further elaboration.

"There were not any accident overall, but we just discovered a small group of thieves just now that seemed to want to rob our warehouse," Huang Yu immediately replied. "They were killed by the guard robots."

"Okay, strengthen the selection process of refugees. Don't let just anyone enter, anything else?"

Huang Yu hesitated and said, "One more thing, Inhumans have been fighting each other regularly, damaging public property. Shall we…"

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.

What Huang Yu referred to was PVP (Player vs Player). This was something that the players loved to do, and it definitely could not be banned. The Great Mechanic Han had a flash of an inspiration.

"Get some men and build a large arena in the next few days."

Huang Yu was stunned.

Arena?

This is a sanctuary. What's the use of an arena in a sanctuary? To have performances for the refugees? They might not even have a filling meal. Isn't that a waste of space and resources?

Huang Yu could only hold himself from giving his suggestion, but Han Xiao shook his head and said, "Your thought process is too rigid. The Inhumans have too much energy. The arena will give them a place to use that energy. We can sell tickets and earn back what we spent on it. Not only are we building the arena, but we are also going to encourage the Inhumans to fight in the arena, then create a fair betting system with our guarantee and earn handling fees. Won't that gain us profit?"

Huang Yu opened his mouth and said in confusion, "Then why don't we just dedicate an area for them to fight?"

Han Xiao's face turned serious. "Damn it, are you in charge or am I in charge? Trying to revolt on the first day I return? Tsk tsk, you'd better be careful, or I will…"

Huang Yu was covered in sweat

Okay, you're the boss, whatever you say.

Making profit was not the main reason to build the arena. What was more important was that it was another step toward the Players' Main City plan; it was a function that it must have. The more the players enjoyed PVP, the more they would like the arena. The players would also have a stronger sense of belonging to Sanctuary Three.

Furthermore, the long-term goal of this action was to host the future Galaxy Pro League!

Chapter 270: Main City Action Plan

The pro league consisted of many competition modes. The arena would of course be most suitable for Challenges, which was a contest where the winner remained on stage and the loser left, and Singles, one-on-one battles. According to Han Xiao's experience, with an already built arena, there was quite a high chance that the pro league would be hosted there. After all, the arenas for the planet divisions of the first pro league in his previous life had been built last minute by the players themselves. Although it sounded very pathetic, the players had enjoyed the DIY process.

If the pro league were to be hosted in his territory, the position of 'Main City' would become firmer. It would also bring in a large number of people, and these were all potential customers in Han Xiao's eyes. He was aiming to make a huge fortune during the pro league, and the temporary enhancement drugs that he had would definitely sell very well in such situations.

However, there was a small problem—the pro league would only be hosted around the time when the first batch of players reached LV60. He had to stay on Planet Aquamarine for quite some time if he wanted to wait for the pro league to start.

I shall consider it as preparation for heading into the galaxy. Plus, I have to wait for opportunities as well.

It was not easy to leave the planet. None of the novice planets in Version 1.0 had an official route into the galaxy. He could think of many simple ways to leave one of those novice planets that had more contact with Galactic Civilizations, such as Planet Winterfrost—the Space Devil Species had galactic battleships, and Han Xiao was confident that he would have been able to wrangle one of these.

On Planet Aquamarine, on the other hand, the nations could not even build a spaceship, so his chances were extremely low.

However, it was not completely hopeless. When he decided to leave Planet Aquamarine in Version 1.0, he had started searching for clues in his memory, and after thinking for very long, he did discover a few extreme cases that might give him a chance. However, he had to wait for these events to occur naturally—only then would he have a chance.

Therefore, he did indeed have time to wait for the pro league to start.

By then, the highest-level players will mostly have reached LV 60. I should still be LV 70 if I can't find any suitable subclasses.

Han Xiao was not worried at all. His strength had exceeded the version, and he had the BOSS model. If the players had any malicious intent, he could easily defeat a forty-man team.

The other organizations would be stunned once the players became stronger. They would see 'Inhumans' as very dangerous, and the situation of Planet Aquamarine would change again.

Only he would remain steady.

Aurora hid behind Hila timidly. It was the first time that she had seen so many people at once. She was shocked and could not get used to it.

"This is your territory?" Hila raised her eyebrows. She was a little surprised. She had not expected there to be so many Inhumans there, and it seemed like Han Xiao was very influential to the Inhumans, but she could not understand why.

The players crowded around because Han Xiao had attracted way too much attention recently. The Planet Aquamarine panel in the forums was very popular, and the players in the sanctuary all wanted to look at him closely.

There were players all along the path looking at him from all directions with passion and thirst in their eyes. He almost felt like he was being paraded. He felt that these players might all have pounced at him at once if not for the guards opening a path.

It was finally quiet when they returned to the areas for high-ranked officials of the sanctuary.

Han Xiao settled Hila and Aurora down and said, "Huang Yu, arrange two rooms for them. They will be staying here from now on…"

He then rethought it and said, "Never mind, one room is enough."

"Please follow me." Huang Yu brought them away.

After they left, he was the only one in the room. Han Xiao lay in bed and rested for a while. He then closed the door and windows, locked himself in the study, took out a pen, and wrote the focus of the upcoming plans.

Since he was preparing to leave the planet, he had to list down all sorts of opportunities on Planet Aquamarine. He even wrote down the details of the opportunities for him to leave the planet. He edited and added details again and again to prevent missing any details.

"… therefore, I need to get more EXP from the players in Planet Aquamarine as, for a short period after leaving the planet, there won't be any chances to meet players. Also, for me to maintain my influence, I have to improve the Players' Main City as much as I can, filling in more functions, improving transportation, so that the players in the main city will be reminded of me every once in a while. I might as well build a statue to remind them…"

He then burnt the paper to ashes, not leaving any clues behind. It was already late night, but Han Xiao headed toward another building. This was the special residence that he had given to Frenzied Sword and the other three players. No other players received such treatment.

Frenzied Sword was the only one in the room. He has been waiting for Han Xiao, and when he saw Han Xiao, he bounded up to him immediately with joy.

"Only you?" Han Xiao looked around, then casually created a simple mission with rich rewards and gave it to Frenzied Sword.

Finally!

Frenzied Sword was overjoyed.

It was better to follow Black Phantom after all. The mission requirement was so fun. He just had to sing and dance to get EXP. The other missions were so much more boring in comparison.

The pro league was going to happen, and Han Xiao planned to raise these players that he was closer to so that they would perform better in the league.

Han Xiao was very generous to them since they helped him as well. At the same time, if they had more stable achievements, the other players would have a stronger belief that following him was beneficial.

His mission reward quota increased too, so it could satisfy the needs of more players.

_____________________

Single Mission EXP Reward Quota: 115,160

_____________________

The daily quota was seven times of the single mission quota—which came from the basic multiplier of five and two from his Legendary Points—about 800,000 EXP. It was very high, and even Han Xiao himself was tempted. It would be great if he could give the EXP quota to himself. In that case, he would not have to worry about EXP at all. Sadly, it did not work that way.

Sigh, still have to get EXP from the players.

After spending a day settling several cumbersome issues, the resources from Dion arrived. Han Xiao locked himself in the workshop right after to go on a building streak and arrange what he had earned.

The Mechanic class advancement knowledge from the Germinal Organization is [Nerves Connection]. This is knowledge that is very important to the Mechanic class; it revolutionized the control mode of machinery. By inputting programs into the chip, orders can be made by reading the signal from the brain. The process of thinking is much faster than talking or hand signs.

By spending eight Potential Points, he maxed out [Nerves Connection] to Lv.5. Basic knowledge required one Potential Point to level up, advanced knowledge required two, and it increased as the knowledge became more advanced, requiring more and more potential points. Therefore, Han Xiao had been keeping his Potential Points and only spending them to level up important knowledge.

The first task was to build a new mechanical suit. Han Xiao did not plan to duplicate according to the [Viper] blueprint. He wanted to innovate freely from that basis and create an enhanced combat suit. He already had some ideas.

A large number of parts and resources were placed near the workstation. Han Xiao counted them, rubbed his hands, and showed a confident smile.

Let's begin.

…

On the seventh day…

Whoosh!

With the sound of leaked cold air, the metal cooling box opened. Inside was a strong transparent cylinder box filled with a light-blue liquid. Han Xiao got rid of the liquid used to cool down the temperature and sped up the fusion process. A brand new combat suit could be seen, still giving out cold steam.

It's finally complete. That was tiring.

Han Xiao was excited. He rubbed his cheeks strongly to ease the slight exhaustion from not sleeping during the previous nights.

The new combat suit used the same inner core concept as Viper, with PE-0 Nanotechnology Fiber and muscle in between, still providing enhanced Strength and Dexterity, and he did not miss out on any of the original weapon modules.

The outlook had the same style as Viper—dark black with flashes of blue light from the energy pipes, a complicated, precise streamlined shape—with some changes. Its size was bigger, and it had more obvious edges, like protruding scales, giving off an entirely different feeling.

If Viper felt like a hunting small venomous snake, the new combat suit felt like a black mamba stalking its prey in the dark, waiting to unleash a lethal strike.

Ferocious!

Sinister!

Han Xiao would only have needed three days to duplicate Viper, but he spent seven days this time.

The remaining four days were all spent on enhancing. The performance, armor, energy source, and modules were all improved!

Chapter 271: New Mechanical Suit—Amphiptere!

The energy core was still the Bonfire Reaction Furnace, placed around five centimeters below the neck. His Machinery Affinity and machinery skill both improved after the class advancement, so he enhanced the Bonfire Reaction Furnace.

He made a few hidden recesses at the back of the mechanical suit that were connected to the energy core. Energy blocks could be embedded into these recesses. If the energy of the Bonfire Reaction Furnace was finished, these would be the backup energy source. There was also another function—extra power output. It could largely increase the performance of the mechanical suit, comparable to [Overload].

The energy blocks would of course be the [Low Class Energy Crystal] that he had extracted from the radiation crystals from the Shadow Stalker Viper nest. Emerald Grass was currently trying to domesticate the Shadow Stalker Vipers and make the crystals into a renewable resource. It had yet to succeed, but the hundreds of pounds of crystals Han Xiao had were enough.

The armor was made with the new alloy that he had fused from [Advanced Materials], Ellie Iron Alloy. It had a better defense than the Platinum Alloy. The control mode used the newly learned [Nerves Connection]. The helmet had a module that could read nerve signals. It was embedded on the inner side of the helmet like a metal plate, and the functions of the suit could be controlled with just a thought. The weapon modules were the ones that he spent the most effort and time on, all of which were largely enhanced.

The most important new module was a large mounted part that was almost six meters wide when extended fully!

This was a mounted mechanical wing that was embedded onto the back, shoulders, and arms. Its original model was the Sky Swallow Glider, and the surface of the wings was wide. It had a seventy-centimeter radius circular triple fold propeller on both sides and a pistonless rotary turbo engine that could turn 360 degrees!

The Electromagnetic Hover-boots to run-up, Mini Maneuvering Equipment to take off, the wings to glide, providing continuous mobility.

He gave the new combat suit the ability to fly!

Which man did not dream of soaring through the skies? Men's romance is the stars and the seas!

_____________________

You have successfully enhanced [Light Mechanical Suit—Viper], do you want to give it a new name?

_____________________

With a flash of insight, a suitable name appeared in Han Xiao's mind.

_____________________

Named Successfully, you received customized blueprint [Light Mechanical Suit—Amphiptere!]

_____________________

I definitely have great naming skills.

Han Xiao was very satisfied. Amphiptere is a flying serpent, so it really conveyed a clear image.

_____________________

Amphiptere

Type: Light Single-Unit Mechanical Combat Suit

Grade: Dark Green

Basic Stats:

- Armor: 8950/8950

- Defense: 164

- Power: Level 818

- Energy: 4300(+800)/4300(+800)

Height: 1.87m

Weight: 176 lb

Control Method: Low-Class Smart Chip + Nerves Connection (Extra +10 DEX)

Power Source: Mini Bonfire Reaction Furnace (Enhanced) - Self Charge

Recovers Energy at 35/min

Energy Conversion Rate from User: 24 to 32

Energy Storage: Low Class Energy Block x 4 (Exchangeable anytime)

Energy Storage: 800

Stationary Mode Energy Usage: 22/min

Combat Mode Energy Usage: 40/min

Core Power Capacity: 787/850

[Bone Structure Module: PE-0 Nanotechnology Fiber]

- Biological Muscle Inner Bone

- Strengthens muscle when the user moves the body

- Hardens muscle under attack

- Increases Attributes: +38 STR, +25 DEX, +12 DEF

Power Output: 70

[Armor Plating Module: Ellie Iron Alloy Plate (Green)]

+2550 Armor

+48 DEF

Power Output: None

[Armor Plating Module: U9 Colloidal bulletproof Membrane (Green)]

+2400 Armor

+45 DEF

Power Output: None

[Exterior Module: Optical Camouflage]

- Reflects light to achieve invisibility to a certain extent

- Power Output: 20

[Exterior Module: SUI Anti-Radar Coating]

[Exterior Module: Electromagnetic Interference Coating]

[Reconnaissance Module: Vulture Tactical Scanner]

- Smart fire control

- Aim assist

- Includes Tactical Hologram Screen

- Power Output: 25

[Palm Module: Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves (Purple)]

- Produces a high amount of heat and deals continuous damage

- Energy Cost: 1.5/s

- Damage Level: 101

- Power Output: 60

[Backhand Module: Thermo-Electromagnetic Incisor Blade (Green)]

- Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades with thermal technology

- Energy Cost: 1/s

- Power Output: 80

[Wrist Module: Directional Field Repulsive Machine (Blue)]

- Releases repulsive energy in an arc of 150° and 20m.

- Cooldown: 30s

- Energy Cost: 15 per use

- Power Output: 70

[Arm Module: Sunworm Mini Flamethrower (Purple)]

- Energy Cost 1.5/s

- Damage Level: 104

- Power Output: 60

[Leg Module: Electrical Hover Boots (Purple)]

- Energy Cost: 6.2/min

- Power Output: 55

[Advancing Module: Mini Maneuvering Equipment] * 9

- Energy Cost per unit: 1.4/min

- Power Output per unit: 18

- Power Output: 162

[Survival Modules]

- Body Status Monitor

- Thermostat

- Gyroscopic Stabilizer

- Air Storage

- Filtration Device

- Total Power Output: 80

[Ejection Modules]

- Sonic Bomb * 24

- Mini Split Drill Bullet * 16

- Power Output: 60

[Chip Modules]

- Database Analysis

- Battle Trajectory Prediction

- Battle Assist

- Power Output: 30

[Chip Module: Nerves Signal Recognition]

- Power Output: 20

[Subsidiary Module: High-Speed Injection Needle]

- Equipped: Pain Killer, Stimulant, Healing Agent

- Power Output: 10

[Subsidiary Module: Mini Spider Detector] * 12

- Power Output: None

[Subsidiary Module: Electromagnetic Pulse Controller]

- Applies [Excitement]

- All Stats +5%

- Duration: 15 mins

- Energy Cost: 5 per use

- Power Output: 10

[Subsidiary Module: 'Poison Ivy' Body Part]

- Creates suction force, allowing the mechanical suit to hold onto objects

- Power Output: 20

[Subsidiary Module: Mini Detection Radar]

- Power Output: 30

[Mountable Module: 'Ironfist' Heavy Mechanical Arm (Purple)]

- Power Output: 91

[Mountable Module: "Bat Wings" Turbo Engine Flying Device]

- Power Output: 326

[Additional Ability: Strong Capability]

- During combat, distributes energy to Biological Muscle Inner Bone,

- Increases stats: +40 STR, +20 DEX

[Additional Ability: Snake Devil]

- The mechanical suit uses up all energy at once, entering a special status

- Duration: 2–7 mins

- Cooldown: 7 days

Effect:

- Doubles additional attributes (+156 STR, +110 DEX)

- All modules can be used without any energy cost

[Additional Ability: Absorbent Armor]

- Made with Ellie Iron Alloy, this alloy can disperse applied forces

- Damage Reduction +22%

Remark: "Surprise! I can fly!"

_____________________

With all the purple modules, Amphiptere's attributes were at the standard of Version 2.0. Han Xiao stood with arms akimbo and appreciated his own product.

With the attributes of me and Amphiptere, no one on Planet Aquamarine poses a threat to me. This mechanical suit can be taken into the galaxy to use—it's some early preparation.

Han Xiao thought far ahead. In the eyes of the players, this was godly equipment in the early stage. Even pigs could fly by wearing this mechanical suit—it was overkill for a novice planet.

Amphiptere was locked onto his nerve signals, so only he could control it.

The class advancement knowledge [Nerves Connection] was a foundation for controlling more complex machinery. The speed of thought was much quicker than the usual means of control, and if there was an injury involving a missing body part, [Nerves Connection] could be used on these biological body parts as well. Of course, Han Xiao hoped that day would never come.

Furthermore, [Nerves Connection] had another key use in his eyes. The players entered Galaxy with a VR-Capsule, and the core principle of the VR-Capsule was the transfer of the players' mind.

Therefore, if the mind of a player was transferred into an NPC clone, what would happen?

Would the players be locked in 'Galaxy' just like him? Would they revive after they died? If they could revive, was the body the original player body or a new body? Or… would something else happen?

From his perspective, he could feel that everything there was real, but he never stopped having doubts. He always paid attention to the forums, anxiously wanting to see if his account in his previous life would appear, and it did not.

How did this happen? Is it butterfly effect, the 'me' once changed account? That makes some sense. I did create my account casually back then… or are there other possibilities?

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled. In all honesty, he kind of wanted to communicate face to face with 'his old self'. It would definitely be a fresh experience.

To figure out the truth, I still have to start from the players. A mind transferring device like the VR-Capsule can't be created with just [Nerves Connection]. More knowledge is needed.

Han Xiao kept the doubts in his heart.

What was most important at the moment was to make himself stronger. The stronger he was, the safer it was. He did not want to be killed by someone or some disaster before he figured out the truth, so every new version update would mean danger.

Chapter 272: Unknown Potential

"You have been losing blood very frequently, causing your body to be weak, stunted, and your organs recessed. Optimistically, you have three years left to live…"

In the medical room, Emerald Grass wore a pair of rimless glasses and checked Aurora's body like a doctor, coming up with this pessimistic result.

Without waiting for the expressions of the people present to change, Emerald Grass then said, "Of course, that's the case for a normal person. Although your body is weak, your cell activity level is something I have never seen before."

As she was speaking, Emerald Grass took out a few microscope photos, then said excitedly, "Usually, the self-healing of a human body is very slow. Undamaged cells slowly split into new cells to repair damage. In comparison, superhumans have stronger self-healing abilities. Energy or other sources of energy can be used to seal-heal, I, for one, can extract life forces from plants to recover from injuries. Whether it is a normal person or superhuman, self-healing requires energy and nutrition.

"However, your cell is like a drop of extremely concentrated life energy. It could multiply one's self-healing ability by hundreds and even thousands of times. Your hair, blood, and all your body structures are like extremely strong potions, and to give you an idea of how strong your level of cell activity is… For example, let's say the cell of a normal person is a bowl of water, the cell of a superhuman is a flame, and your cell is the sun. It's completely incomparable!

"There are even self-reaction signs inside your cells. Every cell is like a concentrated mature Fixed Star, increasing in activity level automatically every second, yet such a horrifying level of cell activity has no corrosive property at all, only giving life forms a positive impact. Unbelievable…"

Emerald Grass was very tempted. She looked at Aurora with sparkles in her eyes.

The passion in her eyes made Aurora shrink toward Hila.

She knew that look. All of the people wearing white coats in the Germinal Organization had looked at her this way.

"I want to acquire some of your blood as an experiment material. Is it possible that…"

"No!" Hila rejected without hesitation. She looked at Emerald Grass hostilely and seemed like she was going to act at any moment.

Aurora was her sensitive spot; she would not allow anyone to violate her.

Han Xiao crossed his arms and sat on the table to the side. He cut in the conversation and said, "I admire your attitude. Science is all about non-stop improvements and the everlasting ambition of wanting to know the core technology… However, this is a sick person, not your test subject. Also, I guess you can't beat the redhead."

Emerald Grass curled her lips, turned away to keep her diagnosis tools, and said casually, "She didn't need to be diagnosed at all. Her power has just been suppressed for too long and can't fully take effect. As long as she doesn't die, her power will slowly recover, and so will she. It might even… Never mind. Anyway, she just needs to rest for a while, then her body will recover, and her scars will disappear."

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. He understood what Emerald Grass did not say, and it made him think.

Aurora became a liquid in his previous life. There had not been a chance to see the exact effect of her power, so he wondered what it would be like once it got stronger.

Since she's the younger sister of Hila, Aurora will definitely not be much weaker. Could it be controlling life forms? Han Xiao guessed randomly.

For him to know Aurora's status, he had to get in combat with Aurora, and the bottom line of that would be to slap this pitiful little girl. With his power, the result would not be very optimistic. Of course, Han Xiao would not do that, and Hila would definitely fight him with her life.

Hila heaved a long sigh of relieving. She stood behind Aurora, placed her hands on Aurora's shoulder, and pinched lightly.

As long as her sister was okay.

"By the way, she was brainwashed once, and another personality was created. She will become a puppet that only follows orders once it's triggered by the keyword. Do you have a way to solve that?" Han Xiao repeated what Cyberlos said.

"I'm a Pharmacist, not a Psychiatrist—you should find a professional," Emerald Grass said casually without even turning around. "However, from my experience, if it was just a normal brainwash method, as long as it is not triggered and strengthened for a long time, the effect of the brainwashing will gradually fade as time passes till it disappears. Therefore, the guards in Bell of Death Island would mass brainwash the prisoners every once in a while. However, as you know, the people in that place are all very strong, so the brainwash didn't have much effect. Instead, there were always some prisoners that killed a few guards in such occasions."

A professional? Han Xiao contemplated while touching his chin. Suddenly, he looked at Hila. Aren't things about the mind Hila's strong point?

Upon noticing his sight, Hila waved her hands and frowned. "My power is too invasive. I'm scared of making mistakes, and the risk is too high."

"Then you'd better discover and enhance your power more." Han Xiao felt helpless. In his mind, Hila at her peak could play with the soul of a life form like playing with plasticine without hurting the fragile soul.

"Leave if there's nothing else. I've asked a few Inhumans to test my drugs, don't disturb me."

They looked at her. Emerald Grass took out a transparent container filled with a weird and dark green liquid that was still bubbling, holding a syringe and flicking the tip of the needle.

Emerald Grass was what was known as a Pharmacist in technological civilizations.

In magical civilizations, Pharmacists were called Witches.

Han Xiao paid a silent tribute for three seconds for these players testing the drugs.

To sacrifice themselves for technological advancement, how noble.

They left the pharmacy room and walked slowly on the street. Suddenly, Hila turned to him and asked seriously, "What are your thoughts about this?"

Hila only showed interest for things that involved Aurora and did not have the cold face like she always did. She only asked for an opinion from Han Xiao because she trusted him. Han Xiao had saved Aurora from the sea of pain, and they had no friends or family in the world, so only Han Xiao was trustworthy.

Han Xiao pinched his chin and said in a low voice, "It's best to rest more. I will build a special wheelchair for her. Also, your sister was imprisoned for so long, so it's better to let her connect with the outside world, make some new friends. If you are worried, I can introduce a few lawfully good teenagers."

Hila nodded solemnly. "I owe you one."

"You already owe me." Han Xiao picked his ears.

Hila was struck speechless. She shook her head and remembered.

Her personality was indifferent. She was a cold and proud person in her blood, so she did not like to accept friendliness; she did not like accepting pitiful help that felt like charity. However, once she owed a favor, she would never forget it. She was a doer, and she would not say too many words of appreciation. She only remembered the kindness she received when things seemed hopeless, waiting for the day when she could pay Han Xiao back.

After a period of silence, Hila asked the question she had been wanting to ask. "Why did you save my sister?"

"Foresight, of course." Han Xiao gave the mighty reason.

"So, what did you foresee?" Hila frowned.

Han Xiao bullsh*tted and said, "I saw that your sister's power will save my life once in the future, do you believe that?"

"That would make sense." Hila understood.

At this time, a small hand pulled his shirt. Han Xiao looked down and saw Aurora was looking up at him with a serious face.

"Uncle Zero, I will definitely save you."

Aurora took what he said seriously.

Han Xiao pinched her face and laughed. "Zero is in the past. Just call me Han Xiao."

"Okay, Uncle Han."

"You can use a younger name…"

"Understood, Uncle Han."

Han Xiao rolled his eyes.

I still dislike kids!

…

The next day, Han Xiao built a wheelchair and gave it to Aurora.

"Real leather armrest and seat with stretch cotton inside, giving you comfort like your mother's embrace, and the best part is…" Han Xiao flipped open the anti-dust cloth and said, "This wheelchair is powered by a foot pedal, but inside is a mini engine, and there is a gearshift beside the armrest. It can go up to 40 km per hour!"

"I just wanted a normal wheelchair…" Hila's eye corner twitched.

She had never heard of a wheelchair powered by a foot pedal, then what is the wheelchair even for!

40 km per hour? Are you hosting a wheelchair race‽ Are you crazy‽

"What kind of Mechanic am I if I didn't make any modifications?" Han Xiao picked his nose and glanced at Hila. Hila felt the look known as 'despise from a professional' from Han Xiao's eyes.

Aurora, however, quite liked the wheelchair; it was like getting a new toy. At this time, Frenzied Sword and the other three approached. Han Xiao called them over to play with Aurora and gave the four of them a pile of missions.

He was just worried about not having suitable missions to give them. He could not have all of them dance and sing like Frenzied Sword. It was better to make them play with a little girl.

The four players felt novel for these missions. The rewards were unbelievably high. They thought that this was some sort of hidden mission and did it with joy. Aurora connected with Maple Moon the best, and not long after, Bear Cub was on Aurora's legs with its belly facing up and rolling around, making Aurora laugh.

The scene was filled with warmth.

Hila's eyes became gentle. She stepped back to the side and watched her sister play with her new friends.

…

For many days, Aurora smiled brighter, and her health improved at an obvious rate.

Hila and Aurora settled down. The situation of the expedition war was getting better, and the arena in the sanctuary was also completed. Han Xiao immediately focused on important matters.

He had set two focus points for the things that he was going to do. One was to make early-stage preparations for leaving the planet, getting resources continuously.

Another was to improve the 'Players' Main City' plan, strengthening his impression for players and indirectly increasing his influence. The plans that he had for the pro league was a huge business opportunity in his eyes.

What these two focus points had in common was to gain benefit from the players.

"He he he…" Creepy laughter echoed in the closed room.

It has been so long!

Chapter 273: Our Belief Is... Create Trouble!

The new battle prohibition law in the sanctuary was created. Like litter prohibition, guards and rangers patrolled around, and those who disobey would be captured and detained for an amount of time. The players' main city had to be safe for the players to feel secure, so Han Xiao told Huang Yu to work throughout the night for a proper set of laws.

If the players wanted to PVP, they could only leave the city or go to the arena.

The arena was built near the square, very close to the reviving point of the players. Sometimes, the players could hold back during PVP; other times, they might kill the other accidentally, and the person might lose some EXP. Even then, it could not prevent the players from their thirst for blood. As it was a long journey to leave the city, the arena became the top choice.

The basic structure of the arena consisted of an enormous square, and at the heart of that square was the highest and biggest ring, surrounded by smaller rings. Further outside were spectating seats in the staircase style like a sports stadium. The players could only PVP in the square for free. The rings were all closed, and after some inquiry, they knew that the rings were only for gambling battles where the arena was the dealer, only open to those who paid the fee.

Although this function was fresh, it was a paid function, and most of the players were broke, so nobody used this function for the time being, only battling for free in the square. The arena was very lively and crowded, and it soon became the official PVP location.

Huang Yu felt this was a huge waste of resources. Nobody wanted to pay! Not only did it make them no profits, they even had to pay for the repairs. He felt that Han Xiao's decision was very problematic; it was much better to just let the Inhumans battle outside the city.

He felt building the arena was useless, but he did not dare disobey Han Xiao, so he could only grumble in his heart.

The situation surprised Han Xiao a little, but he understood why.

The players are still exploring at the moment, and obviously, only the players who are confident in themselves will dare participate in a gamble battle. Battling in the ring would attract audiences, and with that will come exposure, so the guilds and pro players will most likely be the ones to pay for the rings.

The ring functionalities required the players to explore, so it would take some time. However, he was not someone who would just wait.

I shall start the fire to help them understand the use of having gamble battles in the ring.

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.

…

Every few days, Han Xiao appeared before the players to teach them his abilities and earn EXP. The abilities that he placed in the ability shop were mostly basic abilities that the players had already learned—spending experience in his shop could largely increase their ability levels, and it was much more worthwhile than spending the EXP directly on leveling up the abilities.

This was the main EXP income that he had from the players.

He did not teach any core abilities because he had to maintain the difference between himself and the players after all. However, he did selectively teach some not so important abilities that the players would learn sooner or later, like the Mechanic abilities [Electromagnetic Energy Extraction] and [Meticulous Repairs], improving the strength of Mechanic class players, acting as the Mechanic mentor, and attracting more players to choose the Mechanic class. Only Mechanic players had such a good mentor like him on Planet Aquamarine.

The players went through the [Energy Training Technique] incident, so they roughly knew they would naturally learn the strong abilities that Han Xiao taught at higher levels, but most of the players were still willing to learn high-level abilities when they were at a lower level as increasing their current strength had greater benefits in the long term.

As for the Esper and Pugilist class advancement knowledge, Han Xiao did not plan on selling them for the time being. These were like a trump card; he wanted to earn a large profit once the players had greater purchasing power.

Every time he appeared in front of the players, he would have a stable income of more than 10,000,000 EXP throughout the day, many times faster than doing missions. The tens of thousands of players in Sanctuary Three accounted for five percent of the total player in Planet Aquamarine—many new players entered the game. The market potential was very high, and the Players' Main City plan had a bright future.

That day, Han Xiao appeared at the corner of the square as usual and was completely surrounded by the players. After he farmed some EXP, he saw a large group of guild players with a prefix on the name. They were the players of Sky Territory, and the leader of the group was called 'Rebels Shall Rule'. He was the vice-captain of their core team one.

Here comes the opportunity.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. After he finished teaching the abilities, he suddenly acted like he was talking to himself and said, "Sigh, I've been quite unlucky recently…"

Rebels Shall Rule immediately noticed. As an experienced player, usually when an NPC talked to themself, it meant a new mission could be triggered.

"Mr. Black Phantom, what are you troubled with?" Rebels Shall Rule asked. "Maybe we can help you to solve it."

Han Xiao looked at him and shook his head. "No, no, there need to be at least ten people to help me."

The people of Sky Territory suddenly felt energized. It was a mission indeed, and it was a team mission!

This was a mission given by Black Phantom himself, when did he ever scam them?

Large guilds always had a lot of members. Rebels Shall Rule created a ten-man team on the spot. Seeing this, Han Xiao said slowly, "Sigh, one of my robots malfunctioned, and I can't control it anymore. I hope you can bring its chip back to me…"

He set a mission as he was talking.

___________________

[Finding Malfunctioned Chip – 1]

Mission type: Team Chained Mission

Mission Introduction: Due to unknown reasons, a guard robot has malfunctioned and gone out of control.

First Round Requirements: Defeat Ranger X204 and bring the chip back to Black Phantom

First Round Rewards: 25,000 EXP, +1 Relationship Point with Black Phantom

___________________

"Chained mission?" Rebels Shall Rule was surprised. Just the reward for the first round was already decent, so the reward would definitely be richer in the later rounds, and it could even increase Black Phantom's relationship points. The relationship points of Black Phantom would not increase after ten no matter how much money they gave.

As for his relationship points, all the players had the desire but were helpless. He placed quite a few strong machines in his item shop. There were ones that had blue and even purple grade. However, the relationship point requirement to buy these were all more than ten. They could only look at them—these were all Han Xiao's 'bait'.

Relationship points were worthless alone, but he made it worth something, and this was how the currency system was created.

Sky Territory accepted the mission and left joyfully. The surrounding players saw this and also created teams, but Han Xiao did not bother about them.

Now the players wondered, why could the Sky Territory trigger the mission but not them?

However, they were used to the random triggering mechanism for Black Phantom's missions, so they did not hang onto it—they only were jealous of those lucky Europeans.

Suddenly, a group with familiar ID and guild name entered his sight, Han Xiao only then spoke again and repeated what he had previously said.

"Hmm? Hidden mission?"

The members of the Guild of Gods were surprised.

These were the players from the official guild of the renowned e-sports Temple of God Club, Guild of Gods.

Han Xiao was very familiar with them; they suited the target he was looking for.

After Han Xiao's identity was exposed, the people of Guild of Gods only then knew that the Zero they were looking for was Han Xiao, and they had missed Han Xiao time after time. Of course, they had failed the mission.

The guild leader, Jupiter, was furious. He could not enjoy meals and could not sleep well; he was so frustrated that he almost had constipation.

However, it was too beneficial to stick with Han Xiao, and to not lag behind other guilds, the Guild of Gods had no choice but to come to the sanctuary no matter how frustrated they were. Every guild had teams gathered in the sanctuary.

"This is quite a good mission." Jupiter was overjoyed. He had met a hidden mission just by walking on the street—luck was finally with him!

With a wave, the Guild of Gods created a team on the spot and accepted the mission.

…

An hour later, in the North City Side of the sanctuary, a chase was underway. The ten-man team gasped for breath as they chased behind an extremely fast ranger.

"Fas—faster, don't let it run away!" Rebels Shall Rule gasped for breath.

They came to this construction area, following the mission requirement, and chased after this out of control ranger. The ranger had very strong firepower. Many people in their team had died, and only then could they damage the ranger till it had very little armor left. But when that happened, the ranger suddenly started running.

"Damn it, why is it so agile!"

The people of Sky Territory had bitter faces. "It's more familiar with the environment and the terrain than us, has it developed consciousness‽"

At this time, in the high-rank room at the center of the sanctuary, Han Xiao half-lay on the sofa, holding a laptop in his hands. His fingers were moving across the screen casually, and the image was the vision of that 'out of control' ranger.

This ranger was actually completely under his control. He limited its strength, only letting it out after he took out a huge amount of its ammunition and weaponry yesterday. It was a downgraded version, aimed to give the people of Sky Territory a tough victory. If it was a complete Generation 2.5 Ranger attacking freely with full firepower, more than half of these players would have died in an instant. Of course, the Sky Territory players did not know this—they thought that they were cooperating very well and only through that they were able to almost destroy this 'out of control' robot. This was exactly what Han Xiao wanted them to think.

Out of control? Doesn't exist.

"We've almost caught up!" The distance got closer, so Sky Territory forced themselves to focus and prepare for the final attack.

Han Xiao looked at the radar map. Suddenly, he smiled evilly, and he controlled this almost dying ranger to speed up suddenly, distancing itself from Sky Territory after many turns and dashed toward the Guild of Gods, which was searching for the target.

Jupiter and the rest were shocked when the ranger showed up, then they were overjoyed.

"That's the target. Quickly, focus fire!"

After just one round of attacks, the ranger broke into pieces, and parts were scattered on the ground.

The Guild of Gods was confused. They had hardly done anything, so why did this robot explode?

Putting the doubt behind, Jupiter picked up the mission item from the pile of broken parts, ['Out of Control' Ranger's Chip].

At this time, Sky Territory arrived late, and they were enraged upon seeing what had happened.

"Damn you, Guild of Gods, you dare to steal our monster!"

Rebels Shall Rule was furious.

The target that they had chased through more than a dozen streets had been stolen—anyone would have been angry.

Furthermore, the Guild of Golds and Sky Territory had always disliked each other.

…

The screen turned black.

Han Xiao threw the laptop to the side, lighted a cigarette, blew out a smoke ring, and started laughing.

The players did not have a demand for gamble battle, so he created a demand for them. This has always been Han Xiao's business belief.

I'm a professional in creating trouble!

Chapter 274: The Battle

"Turns out you guys accepted this mission, too." Jupiter finally understood why the robot had been like paper—they had stolen the kill.

Rather than apologizing, Jupiter gloated. The Guild of Gods would never step back when facing other guilds. Furthermore, it was their old rival, Sky Territory.

"So what if we stole the kill? Suck it up."

The argument turned into a conflict very soon. After a group fight, Sky Territory, which was in a sorry shape, was annihilated.

"Jupiter, I fu*k !^&#@&*@&… just you wait!" Rebels Shall Rule private messaged Jupiter.

Jupiter closed the chat window straight away.

Are you kidding me? Why even play the game if you don't steal kills?

They had the mission item, so the people of Guild of Gods returned to complete the mission immediately, and as long as they completed the mission, Sky Territory could only suck it up no matter how unhappy they were.

However, Jupiter and the people came to the high-rank area but were stopped.

"We have completed what Mr. Han Xiao told us to. Why aren't we allowed to enter?"

"We are ordered to not allow any outsiders in."

No matter what they said, the guards did not back off a single step. The people of Guild of Gods had no choice but to leave helplessly.

They could only wait for Han Xiao to reappear in order to complete the mission.

The team left, and after walking for a while, their sight was suddenly blocked. A group of rough men surrounded them, led by Jade Green Sky. They had brought the people of Sky Territory to demand an explanation.

"That's pretty immoral of you, Jupiter. Our men got the mission first, and the target was also damaged to the last health by us, but you stole the kill out of nowhere. You've got to give an explanation," Jade Green Sky said with a long face.

"You're overreacting. If anything, you should blame yourselves for being unlucky." Jupiter had no fear. The sanctuary was a safe zone; no one could attack, and they were unafraid of being surrounded.

The eyes of the two clashed midair.

The guild leaders of the large guilds in China knew each other privately. Jade Green Sky and Jupiter never got along, and there was a reason for this. Their conflict started in the pro scene. Li Ge was the pillar of the Temple of God Club, Hao Tian was the representative of Sky Territory, and Hao Tian lost to Li Ge more than he won. He lost to Li Ge many times during crucial battles.

Therefore, the contradiction was very strong—they disliked each other.

This stolen mission became the fuse. Although it was just a small conflict, it might become bigger, more so that they were already rivals.

The surrounding players saw this and gathered to spectate. It was livelier than the market, and the middle of the road was completely obstructed.

They argued with each other for some time before Jupiter said impatiently, "Jade, what do you want?"

"Give the mission item back to us."

"Keep dreaming." Jupiter rejected it immediately.

Why did they have to give it back when they stole the kill? Furthermore, he represented the name of the guild; if he backed off, would others not say that he was scared of Sky Territory?

Of course, Jade Green Sky would not suck it up either. Both sides not wanting to back off meant the conflict could not be settled; therefore, they had to talk with their strength. However, he did not want to have a large-scale public fight. The results of both of them losing would mean to be exceeded by other guilds.

Jade Green Sky pondered, and suddenly, he remembered the gamble battle function of the arena. Was that not the most suitable place to settle their conflict?

"Okay, since you're not willing to return it, we shall go to the arena and have a gamble battle."

"What, why do I have to fight you? There's no benefit in winning, and I have to give up my thing if I lose. If you lose, you can only give up on what I already have."

"Humph, we shall make a bet, too, money, equipment, item, anything at all," Jade Green Sky said provokingly. "I'm officially inviting you to a battle—accept it if you have the guts."

He really wanted this chain mission as Black Phantom's mission rewards were always rich, and it could increase Black Phantom's relationship points. It was a good deal.

However, Jupiter was not provoked at all. He pushed the people of Sky Territory aside and left.

Anyway, he had the item, and as soon as he completed the mission, he would be the one getting all the benefits—there was no point in taking the risk and fighting a gamble battle.

The people of Sky Territory were furious. Rebels Shall Rule furiously demanded, "Leader, are we just letting them go like this?"

"Provocation! Force them to accept the challenge," Jade Green Sky said angrily. "I'm not going to tolerate this. Ask the members to all publish posts in the forums, provoke them as much as you can!"

…

As the Sky Territory started their attack of words, scandalous posts about the Guild of Gods appeared rapidly, painting an image that Guild of Gods was unreasonable and immoral, that they were scared to accept the challenge, that they picked on the weak and feared the strong. As only those with a VR-Capsule could post or comment on the forums, there were few sh*t stirrers, but this time, Sky Territory had evidence and reasons—they made all the members publish posts and started the trend.

The rumors were very condescending, but Guild of Gods did not panic at all.

The way Jupiter saw it, he just had to wait for Han Xiao to appear and complete the mission. By then, Sky Territory would not be able to do anything no matter how much noise they made.

However, many days passed, and Han Xiao had yet to appear.

Jupiter started to get anxious. He asked the guards time after time but could not get any information on Han Xiao's whereabouts.

Han Xiao could see the forums, too. He did not appear on purpose, and it was like putting Guild of Gods in a fire. As long as the Guild of Gods did not complete the mission, the mission item would only bring them trouble.

Before the start of the mission, he had already prepared the plan to force two guilds to have a gamble battle in the arena, attract public attention, and make more players know what the use of gamble battling in the arena was.

As long as someone did it first and showed the players the purpose of the gamble battle, people with potential demand would realize their need.

Guild of Gods and Sky Territory took it as an accident or coincidence; it was impossible for them to guess it was the 'NPC' Han Xiao who gave out the mission that was causing all this. It was completely outside their expectations.

Seeing that the rumors were becoming worse to Guild of Gods, Jupiter started to get stressed.

Finally, after another day of Han Xiao being 'missing', Jupiter could not take it anymore. He officially accepted the gamble battle in the forums on behalf of the Guild of Gods.

"On behalf of Guild of Gods, I accept the gamble battle with Sky Territory. Our chip is the mission item [Out of Control Ranger's Chip], and Sky Territory shall provide an item of the same value. The location will be the in the Arena, Best of Five, winner stays, loser leaves. Win or lose, both parties shall accept the result with dignity and no longer find trouble with the other party."

Jade Green Sky replied very shortly after.

"Sure!"

The battle between two large guilds had all the players in the sanctuary excited.

…

The fairness of the gamble battle service in the arena was guaranteed by the sanctuary officials. The betting chips were collected before the battle and were guaranteed to be given to the winner. To enjoy this fairness guarantee, one had to rent a ring.

Renting a ring incurred fees, contributing to the arena's turnover.

The two large guilds were rich. As they wanted the other players to judge the fairness of the battle, they rented the largest ring in the center; it was very high profile.

On the day of the battle, players in the sanctuary gathered in the arena, and it soon became crowded.

"Who do you think will win?"

"Guild of Gods definitely. Sky Territory is no match for them."

"Guild of Gods actually has the moral low ground this time."

"Are you kidding? What's wrong about stealing kills in a game? Don't exaggerate the issue."

"There's a dealer opening a bet over there. I'm going there to bet on Guild of Gods."

"There's betting‽ Let's go together!"

The scene was very noisy, almost like a live concert. The audience waited for quite some time until the competitors of both sides showed up late to the scene. When the audience saw the IDs of both sides clearly, they were all stunned.

The competitors were not just guild members—they were all pro players of both of the clubs!

Many players cheered in excitement; their passion was going through the roof.

Originally, most of the audience was just there to check it out, but when the pro players appeared, all the audiences became interested right away.

The Pro League had not started yet, so normal players had yet to see how strong pro players were. Thus, they were very thrilled.

"Temple of God really does have a strong foundation. Everyone that came is a top tier player or not far behind. Sadly, Li Ge is not here, heard he went to take part in the expedition."

"Exactly, in comparison, Long Sky is a little bit behind. Most of them are second tier players. First tier players Sleepy Winter and Twinkle Fried Rice went to the war too… Wait a minute, is that… Am I hallucinating? God Hao Tian‽"

Hao Tian stood in the Long Sky team expressionless. The audience looked at him in disbelief and admiration.

Everywhere he passed by, the audience lowered their voices. It was like he had an unshakeable aura.

As a pillar of Long Sky, Hao Tian had been requested to attend by Jade Green Sky. His name and skills were much higher than the first-tier players, so he was the pro player that received the most attention in the scene. The contestants felt the pressure when they saw him.

The clubs that both large guilds belonged to requested their pro players to attend the battle without any agreement.

Seeing the members of the other party, Jade Green Sky and Jupiter were both covered in cold sweat. They thought at the same time, Luckily, I got the pro players here. Damn, almost got deceived by that fraud sh*t.

The hexagonal center ring was very wide and spacious. The square in the middle was the battleground, and the triangles on the sides were the waiting areas. The people of both Sky Territory and Guild of Gods waited in the waiting areas in the ring.

The audience chatted among themselves and waited with anticipation.

Some of the players were thinking of something different.

Having a gamble battle in the ring seems to be able to increase exposure… some spectating guilds thought.

If I do a Challenge, there will be chances to spar with players of all sorts of styles, and at the same time, I can profit from betting, some PVP passionate players thought.

The spectating pro players nodded too. Not only will Challenge gives exposure, one can hone one's skills too. It's quite a good function.

Seeing the impact and popularity of the gamble battle of the arena, many players saw its benefits and entertainment value. The reason Han Xiao had triggered the battle between the two large guilds was indeed to make the other players realize what this function could bring, then use the players' own creativity to improve and expand on this function, fulfilling various demands.

The renting fee earned was not the most important—what was more important in Han Xiao's eyes was to raise the players' demand and usage for the arena. That way, the impression of a 'main city' would be stronger.

Chapter 275: Society

As the star player of Long Sky, Hao Tian was a god player much stronger than the first-tier players. His PVP skills were amazing, and his level was much higher than average. With these advantages, he was the first to step into the ring. His attacks were ruthless and strong like a storm, defeating three Guild of Gods contestants in a row.

The combat ability of the Pugilist class was shown perfectly. The audience had originally expected a tight battle that would go back and forth, but it turned out to be a one-sided annihilation. The entire battle had lasted for more than five minutes!

The people were astonished.

After they stunned for a few seconds, deafening cheers and yells erupted all around.

"Impressive!" cheered the ordinary spectators.

"God Hao Tian! God Hao Tian!" yelled the passionate audience members.

"I love you, Hao Tian!" shrieked Hao Tian's fans.

Hao Tian's performance refreshed the audience's knowledge of the upper limit of a player's strength at the current stage, and he immediately gained a lot of new fans.

Although this was a private gamble battle, the excitement and passion from the audience almost felt like it was a pro competition.

"I won." Hao Tian's expression changed slightly—he had not expected to win so easily.

It was like walking down a path for a long time, and only when he turned around did he realize how much ahead he was of the people behind him. It turned out that, without noticing, he was so much stronger than normal pro players.

In the beginning, Hao Tian had just taken Han Xiao's 'hidden storyline' as a lucky opportunity, and when he made it, he did not really treasure it, only taking it as a short-term opportunity. Hao Tian's pro instinct habit made him always look far ahead to plan for his growth. Black Phantom was a Mechanic, and he was a Pugilist, so he felt he would not follow Han Xiao all the way. He had to look for a new mentor somewhere else just for his abilities.

However, at this moment, it finally occurred to him how much he benefited from this, and he began to take Han Xiao more seriously.

Black Phantom's EXP reward would still be plenty even at max level.

Black Phantom's mission reward really were very rich. It was not a big deal to tolerate weird missions for it. As a pro player, having strong will power, endurance, and a good pair of lungs was fundamental.

Seems like I can walk on this Black Phantom path for much longer than I thought.

The match was Best of Five, Hao Tian won three matches in a row and ended the battle, so other Long Sky contestants did not do anything except stare at Hao Tian like fans. In the Long Sky Club, Hao Tian, who had battled in the pro scene for many years, was everyone's idol. A man of few words, always honing his skills, earning Long Sky one champion after another, he was Long Sky's hero, and his name was tied tightly together with the words 'Long Sky'.

Guild of Gods was obliterated, and the pro players whom they had invited were all in shock.

We are all pro players. Aren't you showing off too much? At least leave us some face!

The contestants knew how strong Hao Tian was long ago. Not to mention his skills, the biggest problem was how ahead he was in terms of level, attributes, and abilities. They immediately thought of the fact that Hao Tian had triggered Black Phantom's hidden storyline and were jealous.

"I wonder what kind of missions he has been getting from Black Phantom that made him level up this fast."

The Temple of Gods contestants were jealous and envied. They wanted such treatment too, but Black Phantom did not care about them at all.

"Everyone's level is relatively low, so the difference seems huge. When the pro league starts, everyone's level will be much higher, and he won't be able to beat us this easily by then. The difference will shrink sooner or later." A Temple of Gods contestant attempted to lift his team's spirits.

The pro players were just there to help—winning or losing was not important to them—but Jupiter was filled with rage. He almost wanted to smash Jade Green Sky's arrogant face.

With the official guarantee, the mission item was given to Sky Territory.

The audience left the scene and continued to discuss Hao Tian's amazing performance.

Conflicts between guilds were always a more popular topic, and Guild of Gods would only lose face temporarily for losing the gamble battle—their position was still one of the top.

Many people in the guild complained.

"If our boss Li Ge was here, Hao Tian would have thrashed."

"Long Sky just got lucky. What are they even happy about?"

When things were settled, Han Xiao appeared the next day. Sky Territory completed the mission immediately, and seeing this, Jupiter was filled with regret.

If he had known that Han Xiao would appear that day… if he had just endured for one more day, none of this would have happened.

Of course, that was just what Jupiter thought.

As long as the conflict did not become a gamble battle, Han Xiao would not have appeared in front of them. He was very patient—he had once hidden and endured for half a year before he caught the opportunity to escape that secret Germinal base.

Han Xiao had actually prepared even dirtier backup plans. If the two large guilds had end up making an agreement privately, resulting in them not having a conflict… Han Xiao's belief was to repeat things till he succeed. At most, he would get even more guilds involved and make the situation even more chaotic.

If even that did not work, he would simply distribute a mission that required the guilds to rent the rings. However, that was too obvious, and the Great Mechanic Han preferred to be discreet.

"What a horrible loss." Jupiter wanted to cry.

At this time, he heard the sound of private message notification. He looked at it, and it was shockingly a call from Li Ge, so he hastily answered it.

"Boss Li Ge?"

"Hmm, I saw what happened recently. Do you have the recording of Hao Tian's battle?"

"It was all recorded."

"Send it to me."

"Sure, of course."

Upon receiving the recording, Li Ge said with satisfaction, "With the recording, I can analyze his battle style to prepare for the league. Good job."

Hearing that, Jupiter felt much more energetic.

It did not matter how much they were at a loss—as long as the pro players benefited from it, it was one of their responsibilities.

…

The battle between the guilds showed people the effect of the ring. Many people were tempted, and guilds and players started to rent rings for Challenges or events. The functionalities of the ring started to show. Not only could the players in the arena PVP for free, but they also could join a Challenge or some events, so it became more boisterous.

Galaxy had more than game functions—it also had socializing functions, and the boisterous arena was obviously a very great place to socialize. Some player even spent all their time in the arena.

As a place with a lot of exposure, people who wanted to make a name for themselves had a demand for the ring—guilds hosted events, pro players took up Challenges to interact with normal players, and many others. Like some sports stadiums being rented out for a competition or concert, they were all getting what they needed.

According to Han Xiao's experience, not only guilds, even some companies would rent rings to host some small events, like 'Random Company Name Cup' and other competitions that were not officially accepted by the E-sports Association, giving prizes to the winners to advertise for themselves. Even some pro players took part in such small competitions for the prizes.

How did he know about all that? Don't ask. Anyway, there was a time in Han Xiao's previous life when he was very rich, and he could even splurge on buying instant noodles in cups.

Also, the events that companies hosted might not be just PVP competitions. It could also be an art exhibition, sports event, or something else.

Mini-games always had their popularity in games. Since Galaxy was extremely realistic, other than not being able to excrete, the players could be as creative as they wanted and play other sports with their superhuman bodies, such as superhuman basketball, Pugilist soccer, Mechanic rally. These things mentioned were all real in Han Xiao's previous life, and these casual and fun events were very popular among casual players.

Because of that, Galaxy started to have a virtual, vibrant society on its own.

The players now had only just started Galaxy, so they were still following things more or less strictly and did not have any weird events, and Han Xiao gave them a platform to do so. He guided the players to explore the entertainment possibilities of the game themselves, and there would always be someone who rented the ring that would think of something new to attract attention.

The ring was an event and show, attracting players to watch. Normal players could watch the events when they were not participating in free PVP, which would build a habit and culture.

Think of it like this, you take a stroll outside every day, and the park that you pass by always hosts all sorts of events. After a while, even if you do not take part, you will eventually be curious and guess what the event will be next time you take a stroll.

Therefore, when the arena became a common facility, it would increase the sense of belonging that the players had toward the sanctuary, as interest could be developed and cultivated.

Chapter 276: Black Phantom's Machinery Box 1

The benefit that Han Xiao really wanted was to have the players spread the word of how attractive the arena was as a part of a main city, leading to more people coming to the sanctuary for it, bringing in a large number of immigrants and, more importantly, customers.

The Great Mechanic Han had quite a few more ideas, such as opening official bets and creating a PVP ranking system, both of which would attract more players. However, he thought about it and decided not to do that as neither of those were easy to operate and would only be official if they were made by the game developers. If an NPC like him did it, he felt that there might be some risks and negative impacts.

Most importantly, if he could give these rewards 'officially', he could make these studios and actors lose all their business. Han Xiao would never do that since one of his businesses in his previous life included that.

Although he was benefiting from the players, the players benefitted from him as well, so it was a win-win. Therefore, the safest and most comfortable position for Han Xiao was to be neutral, only providing the venue and justice, letting the players explore the rest. It could also be considered 'guiding the Inhumans to use their extra energy'.

Once the position of the main city was firm and had a high population, in Han Xiao's plan, the next step would be the sinister real estate!

As the overseer in charge, other than the places to protect refugees, the rest of the areas in the sanctuary would all be for him to make a profit!

Suckers… ahem… large customers would, of course, be those large guilds.

"Sigh, business…"

Seeing the moving people in the square, Han Xiao stroked his chin and sighed.

…

Huang Yu was totally convinced.

He used to think the arena was a total waste of resources, but after more than ten days of observation, he gradually realized the potential benefits. Huang Yu could not understand what Han Xiao's long-term plan was, nor did he know the concept of 'players', but when he was drawing the accounting reports, he noticed the fees that they charged for the Inhumans largely exceeded what they incurred for repairs. In the long term, the cost would be earned back sooner or later, and whatever else they received would be pure profit, and this was only one of the benefits.

The Inhumans were the main manpower for the construction of the sanctuary, but they were weird and difficult to manage. Huang Yu did not want the Inhumans to have too much contact with the refugees, so he drew out areas for the Inhumans to use, yet the Inhumans still looked for refugees very often. Although their motive was to help, it did result in Huang Yu's management measures failing. After the arena was built, Inhumans actively used the arena as the center of their activities. The square and the arena naturally became 'Inhuman Communities', which saved him a lot of management effort, and the entire sanctuary became more organized.

This time, Huang Yu was adulating Han Xiao in the office, complimenting on how farsighted Han Xiao was, how he was wise, and any other cringeworthy compliment that he could think of. These words came out from Huang Yu's mouth non-stop and jumped into Han Xiao's ears, making Han Xiao feel so disgusted he had goosebumps.

After he finally chased Huang Yu away, Han Xiao started to think of the next step for the Players' Main City plan. Most of the benefits that the arena could bring would only happen in the future, but he was not satisfied with that.

To make the sanctuary more attractive as the main city, the arena is just one factor. There is another way, to have some recurring events. Other than the festival events from the official game developers, if I want to attract the players to participate in the events, I have to show them actual real benefits…

Han Xiao knocked on the table with his fingers and pondered. Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration, and an idea came to his mind.

The morning in Karst wasteland was full of sand and fog, giving a feeling of damp and dry at the same time—it was very uncomfortable. However, the areas near the sanctuary were clean and refreshing, so the haze was blocked. The sanctuary already had a rough foundation, and it was equipped with enormous air filtration devices. The sanctuary placed importance in preventing radiation, pollution, and deterioration of the air quality.

The players were taking part in building the sanctuary. On the rebar of the protective wall, a group of players was welding. This job was tedious and dangerous, and the players stepped on the rebars wobbly.

"Be careful, don't fall down."

Just as this person said that, another person beside him slipped. The people looked at him as he fell while the sorry scream that person made descended further and further.

The protective wall was very tall. It was the most dangerous mission in all of the construction missions, and players died accidentally very often.

"Told you to be careful."

On the other rebar, a player with the ID 'Half A Cigarette When Lonely' said resentfully, "Sh*t, those safer and easier missions with rich reward are all controlled by the large guilds. Us normal players can only do these worse missions."

Whenever there were people, there would be conflict. There were many types of sanctuary construction missions, and the easy missions with rich reward were all divided between the large guilds. Most of the solo players could only take the leftovers. The majority of players were just playing casually and were not bothered, but there were also players who did.

Filled with contempt, Half A Cigarette When Lonely complained, "These large guilds possess the resources, so we've already lost on the starting line. How can we even fight them in the future?"

Someone beside laughed and said, "It's just a game. Why so serious?"

"Playing a game means being the strongest is the best. If not, what's the point of playing?" Half A Cigarette When Lonely rebutted. "That's why all of you are so weak—you don't have any dreams."

"If you're so jealous, why don't you just join a guild?"

"Humph, only the weak stay in groups; the strong play solo," Half A Cigarette When Lonely said. Of course, he was not going to tell them the miserable experience of him getting rejected after applying to join a certain guild.

They looked down from above, and suddenly, they realized that on the sanctuary square, players that looked like the size of ants to them were gathered. This was the signature sign of Han Xiao appearing. Suddenly, announcements from other players appeared in the area channel. It seemed like Black Phantom had introduced a new function. The people who were building the protective wall put down what they were doing and went down the wall hastily. Some impatient ones even jumped down directly, died, then revived in the square, saving themselves the time it took to climb down.

Half A Cigarette When Lonely ran to the square, but it was already full of people. Han Xiao stood in a corner of the square, behind him was a large truck. Like other players, Half A Cigarette When Lonely also extended his neck and looked over curiously.

Looking at the crowd, Han Xiao coughed and said loudly, "Recently, there has been a lot of backlog that I need to get rid of. All of it is packed into boxes. If anyone wants to buy a box, I can sell it for a low price."

The players in the square exchanged looks.

Packed into boxes, what does that mean?

Since it's backlog, is it worth buying?

"Give me ten," Jade Green Sky said immediately.

With the thought of 'Black Phantom only sells high-quality products' in mind, he was willing to be the first one to try. No matter what new function this was, they would know once they use it.

"3,000 Aquamarine Dollars for one box."

"So expensive‽" Jade Green Sky was astounded. He braced himself and bought it, spending all the money he had. Although he was the guild leader, it did not mean that he could just bring the guild funds everywhere with him—this was all his own money.

After Han Xiao took the money, he took out ten boxes from the truck. Jade Green Sky opened nine consecutively, and his face instantly turned black. The boxes were all filled with broken parts and cheap materials. The players on the side shook their heads as they saw this.

"What backlog? This is all just trash. I wouldn't want any even for free."

"Only morons would buy such a thing."

Jade Green Sky turned around and gave a vicious stare, then opened the last box without any expectations. However, as soon as he opened the box, Jade Green Sky's eyes froze, and he stared into the thing in the box.

A retractable knife was lying in the box.

In his vision, the name of the knife was shockingly purple!

This is a piece of purple equipment!

The crowd saw his expression and were curious as well. They stood on tiptoes to look into the box, and all inhaled deeply after they saw what was in it.

The exclamation of shock expanded outward like a wave.

Up till this moment, the players had yet to see any purple equipment. This was the first one to appear before the players' eyes!

Jade Green Sky's chin almost hit the floor. He looked at the ten boxes before him and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity… then it occurred to him.

"Wait a minute! This function… isn't this opening loot boxes‽"

Chapter 277: Black Phantom's Machinery Box 2

"Isn't this a loot box?"

This idea was contagious like a virus, and the players became interested straight away. Some gambling passionate players were already trembling in excitement and could not wait to do a 'Ten Draws of Faith'—buying ten loot boxes at once and opening them consecutively.

Loot boxes, also known as the Sinister Path of Cashing In or Ultimate Hand Chopping Method, are a classic move for the game developers to earn money. Han Xiao, of course, was very familiar with this. Not only could it awaken the players' inner gambler and suck them into an inescapable hole, but he could also make a profit from it.

And he had just the right resources and demand to do it; he could make it into one of the recurring events to attract players.

Every planet had their own currency, and after the three largest Universal Civilizations created regulations, to improve convenience for the communication between civilizations, they invented the general culture, general currency, and general language. The Galactic Civilizations' unique currencies could be exchanged into the general currency. However, a planet civilization like Planet Aquamarine of course did not receive such treatment—the Aquamarine Dollars had almost zero purchasing power and could not be used in the galaxy at all. In fact, it was even too rough to use as toilet papers.

Therefore, if he wanted to go into the galaxy, he first had to turn this money into resources and make those resources into machinery. Resources had different values in different civilizations, and it could be considered a currency in the galaxy. Even in the worst case, it definitely had a much higher value than Aquamarine Dollars. In Version 2.0 [Mutation Disaster], the novice planets would come into contact with the galactic civilizations in different ways. The local currencies would then be able to be exchanged into other currencies, and the players would not have to worry about this problem. However, Han Xiao wanted to leave the novice planet in Version 1.0, so he had to consider the difference in currency, language, culture, and many other things.

All of his assets were in Aquamarine Dollars, which was as good as scrap paper outside Planet Aquamarine, so he spent all of it to buy materials and build machinery, and building machinery gave him EXP as well, which also aided in his growth.

Because of that, he had piled up a lot of useless machinery; using them as prizes for loot boxes would be a great way of waste utilization. The rarity chance of the loot boxes was completely under his control. Most of them were filled with waste parts and trash; only a few had very good items. It was impossible to incur a higher cost than profit, which meant it would definitely be profitable.

He claimed that he was getting rid of backlog and that there was no guarantee they had good things in them, but although the players knew that there was a chance their money would go to waste, they would still spend the money and bet on their future. Everyone felt lucky before they saw a pile of trash.

Even the players who did not have much money would clench their teeth and buy one to try their luck. If they did not get lucky, after some time, they would convince themselves that they would definitely get lucky the next time, and the cycle would repeat itself.

Most of the players like this kind of lucky draw event. There is a small chance of gaining huge profit with a very small cost, similar to the lottery. At the moment, there's no lucky draw anywhere else. There are two types of lucky draws—one is the official game store, and the lucky draw in the game store has yet to happen. This type of lucky draw consists mostly of special VR items, like Dungeon Crystals, Genetic Healing Agents, health and mana potions, EXP potions, cosmetic items, and others. There is no equipment—it is a supplementary type of lucky draw.

The other type of lucky draw is between the organizations and characters. This then is the right path to gain benefits directly. For example, some organizations and groups have a contribution points system that can be used to lucky draw strong items or equipment. Some mysterious sellers have gambling games, and some organizations make the players buy off their old inventory. When the organizations and civilizations understand the players more and use them as mercenaries, only then will some characters have lucky draws. This could be considered the organizations trying new ways to motivate 'Inhuman mercenaries', with profit.

The players' impression of me is most likely around the lines of 'planet main character', 'Mechanic Mentor and businessman', 'handsome', and 'important legendary NPC'. The players will be more accepting if I'm the one doing the lucky draw event. Furthermore, the first lucky draw event should be able to attract the most attention.

3,000 for one box was not cheap, but the players had some spare cash at their current level. Thus, it should not be a big issue to buy one or two. Furthermore, if they got purple equipment, they would become extremely rich. There was no purple equipment on the market at all, which meant that the seller would be able to set the price. What's scarce is precious, so it would definitely have an outrageous price.

All the eyes were focused on the truck full of boxes. The players' eyes were flashing with all sorts of different meanings, and when they saw Han Xiao standing to the side, all of their tiny malicious thoughts extinguished.

It was better to be honest and pay the price. No point looking for a horrible death.

In the ten boxes, nine were trash, and only one had a piece of purple equipment. It was unclear whether Jade Green Sky was lucky or the ratio was this high.

The players started to buy the loot boxes. The boxes were opened one after another; some were content, and some were upset. Other than trash, there were also other things, such as some useful materials and some green or blue equipment. Overall, the response was quite positive; however, there was not a second piece of second purple equipment.

"Could it be that the purple equipment only appears with ten consecutive draws‽" a player said, all fired up and unable to control himself.

"Not likely. I feel that the rarity chance is a little weird and cannot be looked at with common sense. Firstly, we have to understand one thing, which is whether this action of Black Phantom introducing loot boxes is part of the storyline. 'Galaxy' is extremely realistic, and every character seems to have an individual mind, almost like the real world. A character's actions definitely have its unique reason or motivation. So, is this lucky draw an official function from the game developers, or is he really cleaning his warehouse?" A guy at the side pushed his glasses, and a glint of wisdom flashed in his eyes. "If he really is cleaning his warehouse, why didn't he just throw away the backlog but sold it to us instead?"

"Yo, you're quite familiar with this brother." The people's attention was attracted by this guy's speech, and they looked at him. Then, they saw this guy's ID—King Of Single Draw.

The surrounding players' mouths twitched.

No wonder he made so much sense; he clearly was experienced, given that ID.

"That makes some sense, so how can we know?" someone asked.

The inventory in the heavy truck became lesser and lesser. King Of Single Draw's eyes sparkled. He shouted across the crowd and asked, "How many more boxes are inside?"

Han Xiao waved his hand and said, "There is a total of 786 boxes, 530 left now."

The players were stunned and surprised. They had thought that the boxes were unlimited, but that was not the case. Now, some spectating players could not wait anymore. They held onto their money and joined the queue.

King Of Single Draw changed his style. With one arm around his chest and one arm holding his chin, like a contemplating detective. "That's right. Since it's limited, it's impossible for it to be an official function. Black Phantom really is clearing his backlog. However, he chose to pack it into boxes and sell them instead of just throwing them away. Hmm… also, there was even an undamaged rare purple equipment in the backlogs. This wouldn't make sense for it to be waste utilization. Therefore, the only explanation for this would be that this isn't really backlog clearing! Black Phantom is actually giving out benefits by doing this. That's right, we 'Inhumans' helped him to build the sanctuary, so he wanted to reward us!"

King Of Single Draw concluded his thoughts quite loudly, and the players in the square heard and understood instantly.

It sounded logical and was quite believable.

"If it is an official loot box function, the chances would be announced for sure, but if it's part of the storyline, then us players will have to experience it ourselves and conclude the hidden rarity chance…"

King Of Single Draw's eyes kept sparkling.

"The game developer will make sure you never win anything too strong from a lucky draw for balance purposes, but Black Phantom's rewarding lucky draw is a different case. There might really be something good, which means these machinery boxes might really have some god equipment that will make the entire world tremble!"

The crowd turned wild upon hearing that—they were extremely excited.

Han Xiao was stunned as he listened from the side, and he was very confused.

I don't remember hiring an actor. Where did this guy come from?

Chapter 278: Black Phantom's Machinery Box 3

Some people drew once, some people drew ten consecutive times, but there was no difference. Han Xiao only controlled the overall cost of the boxes and did not bother when selling them off. It all depended on the players' luck. There was no manipulation behind the scenes—he wanted the players to feel the warmth of being home.

If there was a guaranteed prize every ten consecutive draws, it indeed would attract more people to make consecutive draws, but he was using the limited selling mode. There were only so many boxes every time he sold them, so they would definitely be sold out. Not only would guaranteeing a prize every ten consecutive draws not give him a higher profit, but it would also increase his costs.

If there was a guaranteed prize every ten consecutive draws in combination with the limited purchases, there might be some rich guilds that would bulk purchase, suppressing the normal players with their resources, and that would not be good.

There was only one purple equipment in the first batch of boxes, the one Jade Green Sky got, and only this one had been given out purposely by Han Xiao to grab the players' interest. The rest of the boxes had a few blue pieces of equipment, about a dozen green pieces of equipment, and some useful parts and materials.

This rarity chance was acceptable to the players for the most part.

The first batch had more than seven hundred boxes, but only a small group of the players out of tens of thousands of player bought one. The rest were watching on the sides.

"This batch of backlog is finished. There will be scheduled backlog cleaning in the future," Han Xiao said.

"Ah, that's it?"

Players had not gotten enough yet—they were still tempted for more.

However, they could not do anything about it no matter how much they wanted more; the players could only watch as Han Xiao drove away.

The players who benefitted from it were content. Half A Cigarette When Lonely was jealous, and he touched his wallet. 3,000 for one box, so expensive. I definitely can't get anything good with my luck, should I buy it?

…

3,000 per box. I sold more than 700 boxes this time, so it's roughly… a lot of money. Han Xiao calculated as he drove.

After deduction of cost, the net profit was tens of thousands. His funds formed a cycle, supporting his expenses in buying materials to build machinery with ease. It was even more stable than selling items and more profitable. He placed suitable high-quality items in the boxes that suited the player levels, not giving anything that was too strong.

The players in the sanctuary discussed a lot about the first loot box event; their interest was sparked. Han Xiao grabbed the opportunity and started the next loot box event a few days later.

After four times, finally, all the players in the sanctuary got used to this recurring event. At fixed intervals, the players would wait for Han Xiao in the square in advance, rubbing their hands in anticipation.

Every batch had hundreds of boxes. It took twenty minutes to be sold out at the start, and by the fourth time, it only took six minutes. This clearly reflected the player's acceptance and passion for this event.

Han Xiao's initial goal of hosting this event was achieved.

The message spread out from the Planet Aquamarine panel in the forums. The players had almost never seen a purple equipment before, and they did not know where to get them. At this time, Han Xiao's loot box event appeared out of nowhere, being the only way to acquire purple equipment at the moment. It received well-deserved attention, and the influence was growing.

Han Xiao saw how rowdy the forums were. The few players who had won the purple equipment made posts to show off, with a lot of envious and jealous comments below.

"Here to see the purple equipment boss."

"Suck…"

"Another round of ten draws! Don't hold me back. I didn't lose my mind! I will definitely see purple this time! My intuition is never wrong!"

"I thought this game is different from the other lustful sluts, but you betrayed me!"

"The content has made me uncomfortable, reported!"

"Music lyrics: we are different, different—"

"No guarantee in ten consecutive draws, a miracle in a single draw—I've learned something new."

"Guild of Gods buying purple equipment, negotiable price, private message if interested."

"Sky Territory buying purple equipment, a higher price than Guild of Gods, private message if interested."

"Got trash for all nine draws, watching post owner show off."

"Passing by with trash in all thirteen draws."

"Trash in all eighteen draws. Damn, I'm going to rob Black Phantom's warehouse tomorrow!"

"You have my admiration. I will take care of your wife and daughter. Rest in peace. Salute!"

"Salute +1! keep the formation."

"Salute +2!"

"Salute +2333!"

All sorts of comments came from the players. They gave Han Xiao's loot boxes a name.

Black Phantom's Machinery Box!

Always leading the trends, never to be surpassed.

…

A large amount of funds had come into his pocket, so Han Xiao bulk purchased materials and parts without caring about the price at all. He spent most of the time in the workshop and built machinery continuously, turning Aquamarine Dollars into valuable materials and machinery, at the same time acquiring quite a lot of EXP. Also, he built low-level purple equipment as prizes for the loot boxes. He was way ahead of the players, and the machinery that he did not need was rare equipment to the players. Finally, all the time that he had spent growing himself now was paying off.

The sanctuary was on the right path. Huang Yu took care of the cumbersome and small issues, and Han Xiao just had to sign the documents.

Hila was accompanying Aurora for her recovery exercises. Frenzied Sword, Maple Moon, Bun-hit-dog, and Hao Tian all received missions to play with Aurora with rather generous rewards. Han Xiao was currently giving them space to grow themselves.

At the same time, Han Xiao did not forget to look at the war's situation. The Six Nations had the complete upper hand. The Germinal Organization was basically at the breaking point, and he estimated that the Germinal Organization would soon be defeated, ending the war completely and liberating the entire Planet Aquamarine from the shadows of war.

The last time that he had browsed intelligence on the Dark Net, the number of wanderers had reduced by thirty percent compared to before the war—they had joined organizations for protection. Han Xiao felt weird about this; it was like people gave up their freedom due to fear in exchange for safety.

The situation was getting better as time passed, but Han Xiao believed in Murphy's Law. He did not want to pay too much attention to the battlefield before things were settled. In case, there might be an accident.

However, he had done whatever he needed to do. He had given the Six Nations all the intelligence and killed a few Germinal Organization's Executive Officers. The Six Nations had the upper hand in military power, intelligence, and almost everything. If they could not even win, they might as well eat sh*t.

Thus, Han Xiao was temporarily focused on the players' main city plan.

This day, Han Xiao drove another truck of boxes, and the players swarmed in.

Every [Black Phantom's Machinery Box], King Of Single Draw didn't buy anything. He was patient, and he observed like a hunter, recording the results of other players, calculating the rarity chance. Some players were influenced by him. They sat beside him and tried to do the same thing.

At this time, a voice full of confidence appeared within the crowd.

"Give me a hundred boxes!"

The people were shocked. They followed the voice and looked over as a player with the ID 'So Poor I Only Have Money Left' walked out swaggering.

'So Poor I Only Have Money Left, is this a true rich person‽"

"A hundred boxes, that's 300,000 Aquamarine Dollars. Good god!"

"He really is a truly rich person! Can we be friends?"

"Indeed, only the large guilds have done consecutive draws before, and the highest was only fifteen boxes at once. A hundred is way too much, I have never seen anything like this before!"

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. Such a boastful ID… it was like a pile of large leeks walking in front of him.

Chapter 279: Luck Is the Ultimate Path

One hundred boxes were stacked neatly like a hill. It was a rare scene, and the players paused from buying and watched curiously.

So Poor I Only Have Money Left took a deep breath and opened the boxes quickly. The surrounding spectators extended their necks, and their expression changed from anticipation to shock and finally to mockery.

All one hundred boxes had been opened, but the best was only a blue assault rifle. The waste parts stacked like a hill. So Poor I Only Have Money Left's face turned green.

"One hundred boxes and got blue equipment, nice."

"You have my admiration, chief."

"Money can't change your fate, bro."

"New documentary: Galaxy—Fall of a Rich Man".

"Why do I feel so… good?"

So Poor I Only Have Money Left grabbed his hair in frustration. As his ID suggested, he was rich indeed, and he was used to spending a lot of money, which brought him profit most of the time. He was rich, so he could do anything he wanted.

Lucky draw events were his favorite. He did not care about whether he profited or lost money—he just liked the moment of pleasure when he won something. However, he did not win with Han Xiao.

[Black Phantom's Machinery Box] did not guarantee anything no matter how many one bought at once. Like the lottery, it was completely about luck and probability. So Poor I Only Have Money Left bought one hundred boxes because he thought there was a higher chance of winning something, but he had been very unlucky this time.

Although it was good to have a rich customer, Han Xiao did not give him any special treatment. No guarantee meant no guarantee, and he did not want to break the rules because of rich people. His target customers were all the players. He wanted to turn this into a main city specialty and have more people take part in the event, not turn it into an event just for the rich. The number of boxes was limited after all, and not having any guarantee for consecutive purchases was to avoid a single person buying too many boxes.

If there was a guarantee for consecutive purchases, the other rich people would also do the same. Every batch of limited boxes would be snatched away by a few rich people, and the chances for the other players to take part would be much lower. It would make the event less attractive—long term growth was more important.

Anyone would be somewhat affected by the majority, and as soon as this evolved into a mass hobby, demand, and habit, its influence on the entire player base would be different.

So Poor I Only Have Money Left wanted to buy again, but the other players were now unhappy about it. They took the previous one hundred boxes opening as a form of entertainment, but the number of boxes was limited; it would have crossed the line if he bought even more.

Seeing that the crowd was unhappy, So Poor I Only Have Money Left could only scratch his head awkwardly and step aside.

On the side, King Of Single Draw was full of disdain. He told the people around him, "See? Throwing money has no technicality at all. The best method is to calculate the rarity chance through a lot of observation and research."

As he was speaking, he smiled confidentially, and light reflected off from both his teeth and glasses. "Now, watch my performance!"

Bringing a group of people, King Of Single Draw walked toward Han Xiao, he paid close attention and calculated in his heart, after a few players finished buying, he suddenly yelled very loudly and shocked the crowd, then squeezed into the front line of the queue and bought the next box.

"Hehehe, according to my experience, there's definitely something good in this box."

King Of Single Draw was full of confidence. He opened the box with looks of anticipation from the crowd.

_____________________

Congratulations, you have received [Waste Part] * 18

_____________________

The crowd suddenly turned silent and looked at him weirdly.

The atmosphere was very awkward. King Of Single Draw's mouth twitched. He coughed and said, "You guys should know that this is a matter of probability. If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. There'll definitely be something good!"

However, his next single purchases were all trash. His followers looked at him with more and more doubts.

"Can you even do it?"

"Bullsh*t! Next time, purple will definitely appear next time!" King Of Single Draw's eyes were red. Like a gambling addict, he bought one more box. He closed his eyes and mumbled, "God, please give me luck this time."

After he repeated that more than a dozen times, he felt his palms heating up, like an unknown force had just descended into him.

Famous words of many people flashed through his mind.

"This time, surely!" King Of Single Draw opened his eyes suddenly. With a gush of confidence, he yelled and flipped open the box!

A pile of trash.

King Of Single Draw froze in place, lost.

"Why… why is this happening? Are all the trends I've been researching fake? The loot boxes are fake; the world is fake; everything is fake!"

In the crowd, Half A Cigarette When Lonely touched his wallet. It was finally his turn. He hesitated and said, "I'll have one."

This was his first time buying [Black Phantom's Machinery Box]. He had been spectating hesitantly until then. Although 3,000 Aquamarine Dollars was not really a lot, he was just a normal player, and his money had all been made through hard work of doing missions here and there, so he treasured his money a lot. However, seeing that many players had won good equipment in this event, he was a bit tempted.

Then, he finally decided to just buy one box.

Half A Cigarette When Lonely had very low expectations. He would be satisfied with just green equipment, and he did not even dare to think about blue or purple equipment.

After running to the side, Half A Cigarette When Lonely held his breath and opened the box.

Purple light surged into his eyes!

"P—Pur—Purple equipment‽"

Half A Cigarette When Lonely was stunned, trembling in excitement.

The players beside looked over with jealous.

"Another lucky one."

"Tsk, I want purple equipment, too."

There was someone who won a purple equipment every time. Although it was rare, the players had seen it happen a few times and were used to it. They stopped paying attention after being jealous for a while.

Half A Cigarette When Lonely took out the purple high caliber Berserk Eagle, played with it in his hands, and suddenly felt an impulse.

How about… buy another one to try my luck?

Half A Cigarette When Lonely clenched his teeth, bought another box, and opened it casually.

Purple light again!

Half A Cigarette When Lonely mouth fell open, and his heart was hit with immeasurable surprise.

The surround players looked over again, very surprised.

"He got another purple piece of equipment? That's really lucky."

"Quick, breath in the air of luck."

"Two draws, two wins—might as well go buy a lottery ticket."

"So what if he's lucky? I will be as well one day."

"Brother, you are allowed to show off, but don't cross the line."

Some were jealous; some were amazed; some were sour.

So Poor I Only Have Money Left was speechless. He had bought one hundred boxes at once and could not even compare with someone else casually buying two boxes.

What kind of world is this? What happened to the rich's privileges‽

King Of Single Draw clenched and ground his teeth. He was on the edge of losing it, screaming in his heart, The purple equipment should've been mine!

"How about… another one?" Half A Cigarette When Lonely touched his wallet. He had just a bit more than 3,000 left. On impulse, he decided and bought one more, like a gambler tasting the sweetness of winning, falling into the abyss of cashing in.

"Will I win this time?" Half A Cigarette When Lonely suddenly regretted it a little. To win two times in a row was already extremely lucky; three in a role had way too low a probability. Furthermore, there were, at most, only three pieces of purple equipment in every batch of [Black Phantom's Machinery Box]. If he won again, did that not mean he had won every purple equipment of this batch?

He anxiously opened the third box, and the familiar purple light surged again!

Half A Cigarette When Lonely was completely stunned.

All the surrounding players were completely stunned.

Three single draw wins in a row! What kind of luck is this!

No, this can't be called luck anymore, this is a damn blessing!

The people looked at Half A Cigarette When Lonely with shock.

Chapter 280: Galaxy Times: Other Possibilities of the Main Storyline

"Miracle three single draws in a row, my knees hurt…"

"Baby, come out and look at God."

Han Xiao was shocked, too. He had only placed three purple items in this batch, and they had all been bought by the same person—his luck was unbelievably good. Han Xiao almost wanted to skin Half A Cigarette When Lonely and see if he was Bennett in disguise.

Manipulation behind the scenes? Non-existent.

Half A Cigarette When Lonely was completely stunned. This time, So Poor I Only Have Money Left walked over to him with admiration on his face.

"Do you have any technique or something? Please teach me. I can pay you." So Poor I Only Have Money Left's eyes sparkled.

"What technique? I'm just lucky." Half A Cigarette When Lonely waved his hand hastily.

King Of Single Draw's vision turned black.

Everything was bullsh*t in front of luck.

After he finished selling the boxes, Han Xiao left. Half A Cigarette When Lonely immediately got surrounded, the players all looking at him. Some believed that he had a special technique to opening loot boxes, whereas others had malicious motives. However, the main city was a safe zone, so they did not dare do anything.

"Friend, are you selling the purple equipment? The price can be negotiated."

"Not for sale," Half A Cigarette When Lonely answered subconsciously. He turned around, and the person who had spoken to him was a male player. Half A Cigarette When Lonely looked at his ID and took a deep inhale.

[Ancient Dynasty] Guild Leader—Morning Snow Twilight Frost!

The three biggest names in China's e-sports were Temple of God, Dynasty, and Fried Eggplants with Fish. Ancient Dynasty was the official guild of the Dynasty E-sports Club. Li Ge from Temple of God was ranked second in the China Pro Player Official Leaderboard, and the player that ranked first was the best player in Dynasty. Ancient Dynasty was different from other guilds—they kept a very low profile—but their position was still superior, and no one could ignore them.

"I see…" Morning Snow Twilight Frost scratched his chin and said casually, "Then, do you want to join our guild?"

Half A Cigarette When Lonely was surprised and agreed immediately. Morning Snow Twilight Frost sent him the invitation on the spot, and after Half A Cigarette When Lonely agreed, the guild prefix appeared on his interface. Just like that, Half A Cigarette When Lonely joined the renowned guild, feeling it was all a dream.

He claimed to dislike guilds because the guilds that he had requested to join all rejected him, and these small guilds were nothing compared to the Ancient Dynasty. The guild leader himself had invited him to join, so Half A Cigarette When Lonely felt refreshed and jubilant immediately.

The guilds hold onto the resources, but this kind of lucky draw is the chances for us normal players to rise. This is the only way we can only get high-level equipment with little cost. Black Phantom's Machinery Box is really a blessing.

Half A Cigarette When Lonely was content.

…

[Black Phantom's Machinery Box]'s popularity continued to grow. Players published all kinds of posts in the forums. Some posts that calculated the rarity chance for the box mentioned King Of Single Draw and So Poor I Only Have Money Left as negative examples, adding salt to their injury, especially So Poor I Only Have Money Left's incident of getting just blue equipment after buying a hundred boxes at once.

Half A Cigarette When Lonely's miracle draws were also mentioned. When he opened a few more boxes later on, his lucked remained, and he got two more purple equipment, causing more surprise and jealousy. With so many pieces of purple equipment in hand, his strength would definitely not be weak. The people also noticed that he had joined Ancient Dynasty guild, and the other guilds regretted how they did not grab the opportunity.

Han Xiao was quite tempted to bring Half A Cigarette When Lonely into his team, but he gave the idea up after some considerations. Luck was not something one could depend on. Half A Cigarette When Lonely's skills were not up to his recruitment standard, and compared to luck, Han Xiao trusted more in true skills.

On the forums, some people compiled lists of all the useful items people received from the boxes, including machinery, useful materials, and parts. The large amount of good loot attracted more players, and the other players across the continents were all jealous of the loot box event in Sanctuary Three.

More Southern Continent players came after they heard about this. Even the players that went on the expedition wanted to return right now. They had thought that there would be a lot of missions and opportunities during the war, but who knew the situation would change so fast? After Han Xiao stole the secrets of the Germinal Organization, they could barely even struggle, so the players ended up only watching.

The Western Continent and Northern Continent players wished they had been born in the Southern Continent, that they could just grow a pair of wings and fly to Sanctuary Three. Unfortunately, due to the war, inter-continent flights were closed temporarily. The Andrea players were the unluckiest bunch—they felt like they had not experienced anything good since creating their characters.

The loot box event was a huge success. Han Xiao started one more new event to further strengthen his position. The event this time was publishing a type of prize pool mission as another recurring mission in the main city. The feedback was quite positive as well. The players saw more benefits, at the same time increasing the variety of events in the main city.

Han Xiao gave some material to Bun-hit-dog for the next episode of his show. With a more detailed introduction of Han Xiao's past and experience, more detailed than the post in the forums, it once again strengthened the players' impression of him, at the same time promoting Sanctuary Three.

The players' reaction was very important to Han Xiao, who spent most of his time to look through the forums, which looked like he was staring into the black to Hila and the rest.

"Galaxy Times published a new episode, the subtitle is Planet Aquamarine War? The Galaxy Times really used a single planet as their title, yet they are focusing on Planet Aquamarine this time. I don't remember this episode from my previous life…"

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled, and he clicked into the video.

"Hello players," the male host, Spring, greeted. "This is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information. Your gaming career is our top priority."

"Spring, I have been learning an instrument recently."

"Really? What instrument did you learn, Autumn?"

"I'll perform for you, and you have to guess."

The female host took out a guitar and played a familiar rhythm. After she finished, she asked, "Spring, can you guess what did I play?"

"You're playing the guitar."

"…"

The opening joke was as awkward as always.

After enduring that part, they finally started talking about serious matters. The hosts first started talking about the things happening in the pro scene, the problems that the players met, then changed the topic to their theme for this episode.

"… Recently, many things have happened in Planet Aquamarine. The war between Six Nations and the Germinal Organization broke out, and it affected the entire planet. Players were experiencing this event. Without a doubt, this is definitely one of the main storylines of the planet, and compared to other planets, the main storyline in Planet Aquamarine broke out the earliest. Therefore, it is of significance. In today's episode, we will be analyzing the main storyline war on Planet Aquamarine, concluding the characteristics of main storyline events, and predicting its influence in the future."

After hearing this, Han Xiao finally understood why this episode appeared. Under his influence, the war main storyline between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization had broken out a year in advance, and the players were still in the early stages at the moment. Most of the main storyline on the novice planets were still brewing; therefore, the global war on Planet Aquamarine attracted the most attention. It was a very good material for an episode.

The two hosts first introduced the planet background of Planet Aquamarine, then started to analyze the situation.

"The war has lasted close to two months and has now entered its final stage. The Germinal Organization is at the edge of defeat. The war also made a very obvious impact on the planet's structure. A big organization for the players, [Germinal Organization] is now facing their end. The players belonging to the Germinal Organization are in a very bad situation, not knowing where to go after the war. There will most likely be a few possibilities, becoming the remnants of the Germinal Organization, joining the Six Nations, or maybe becoming wanderers."

"From this event, it can be concluded that one of the characteristics of the main storyline is that it will have a huge impact, pose a drastic change, have a large scale, and so on."

"However, although the Planet Aquamarine players participated in the war main storyline, they did not make much of an impact. They were just normal soldiers and had limited effects on the big picture. Of course, we also saw many possibilities from this. The players now have a rather low average level, and it should be different once their level is higher. Therefore, players from other planets, look forward to your own main storyline events."

"As the participation level of the players was not high, we can conclude that the Planet Aquamarine main storyline might very well be rushed. It's more like a cutscene plotline in the players' perspective. With this thought in mind, our teams arranged the data from the players in the forums and noticed something very interesting. Please look below. These are the two possible scenarios of the Planet Aquamarine main storyline that our channel deduced."

This time, two tables appeared on the screen with different content, describing a revolutionary event before the start of the expedition war.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. One of the tables included the things that he had done, such as escaping from the Germinal Organization, exposing intelligence that caused the destruction of Germinal Organization bases, and so on. That was all the current storyline—he exposed his identity, and this data was given to the players through different sources as well. His deeds in the table were all marked red.

Another table took away the things he had done, and the derived result was completely different. It was assumed that the conflict between the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization would start from the bases in various continents, which all the players would be able to take part in. The players would then grow through these opportunities, the war would only happen when the level of the players was much higher, and it would last many times longer than now.

This caught Han Xiao's attention, and he continued to watch. Interesting, this is very similar to the storyline of my previous life. Their logic and observations must be really detailed to be able to notice this. There are hidden talents in the players after all.

"… As everyone can see," the male host continued, "the derived result of these two tables are completely different. One of them is the current storyline, and another is a derived storyline. However, the derived storyline seems to have more characteristics of how the main storyline should be, so what led to the difference in the results?"

"That's right, these events marked in red are indeed the key turning points behind the war breaking out in advance, and the key to this is someone that the Planet Aquamarine players are all very familiar with—Black Phantom, Zero, Han Xiao!"

Chapter 281: The Limitations of Being a Main

The two hosts carefully analyzed the main storyline for the audience and followed it with the episode's main topic—Han Xiao. As the main character on Planet Aquamarine, Han Xiao's character was frequently talked about on the forums, and other planets' players were also able to get to know him from the show.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrow at this. It was not the first time that his name had appeared on Galaxy Times. It was a given, considering how much he had worked to raise his popularity among the players.

With Han Xiao revealing his own identity and many more plot points behind the scene, Galaxy Times was able to come up with their version of Planet Aquamarine's main storyline. The players mainly agreed with what they said as well, as their explanation was pretty logical.

From the players' perspective, Han Xiao had an essential role in the [Six Nations and Germinal] storyline. Now that the story had already been set in stone, his recent achievements emphasized his importance in the main storyline, allowing more players to become interested in him.

"I am very famous on Planet Aquamarine, but my popularity is limited with the players from other planets. Getting reported on by Galaxy Times due to my recent actions could be counted as a kind of advertisement," Han Xiao muttered.

The female host continued the segment. "According to the above, Black Phantom played a main role in the [Six Nations and Germinal] storyline. Based on the information gathered by the players, we can make bold assumptions that every single main storyline will have a key character like Han Xiao, otherwise known as the planet's main character. We could even say that each planet's main storyline was started by someone like Han Xiao…"

Han Xiao shook his head a few times when he heard that.

In truth, the main character of the [Six Nations and Germinal] storyline was the Germinal leader… But, ahem, that was not important.

The male host picked up when the female host stopped. "Logically, all NPCs are capable of starting events on their own, and the stronger and more experienced NPCs will be able to add diverse storylines into a planet's story.

"So, this also means that main storyline characters are limited by the map they're based in. In Black Phantom's case, he is currently a hot topic in Planet Aquamarine's main story, but does this mean that he will remain an important NPC in the future? Most likely not. His area of activity is limited to the beginner planet that he's on, and once space travel is unlocked in future versions, once important NPCs such as him will just become fodder.

"On the other hand, those NPCs that have ties with galactic organizations or entities will have the highest potential to affect future plot development. Another beginner planet, Ice Winter Planet, was under the control of the Hell Demons, a powerful galactic entity, and is more likely to have NPCs who will develop into the later stages of Galaxy. Planets such as Planet Aquamarine and Planet Longtune with underdeveloped civilizations have less of a prospect…"

The show covered all sorts of topics, and some of the audience agreed while others argued against it. Once the hosts were done analyzing the situation on Planet Aquamarine, they moved onto interviewing the pro players. Han Xiao was not interested in this and stopped watching.

He had thought that the show was going to keep on praising him, but it turned out that they only turned around to backstab him in the end. However, the hosts did have a point. It was like how LV 1 players would get bullied by the bosses in the novice villages, but once the players leveled up, those bosses would become nothing but small fries. Han Xiao was also well aware the fact that Planet Aquamarine was not an impressive beginner planet.

But that did not mean that he was going to just do nothing.

Once he thought about his plan, he smirked and said, "We'll see about that…"

…

Bang!

The alchemy room's door was first twisted before being blown off its hinges and smashing into all the tools and equipment on the table. Emerald Grass, who had her back to the door, was shocked and turned around to see what had happened. All she saw was a figure by the door with blazing red hair who was walking toward her with enmity.

"What do you want?" Emerald Grass was alarmed and pointed at the intruder. Vines started to grow out of the surrounding crates and danced in the air like venomous snakes.

Hila was surrounded by a dark red energy, and with eyes also blazing with a crimson light, she said in a cold voice, "Give it."

Emerald grass frowned and walked to the side as she revealed a row of test tubes on a table, each filled with some sort of bright red liquid. She shook her head and asked, "Do you mean these potions? These are all developed from your sister's DNA. Do you want to try? They have pretty amazing effects."

Hila, without even hesitating, raised her hand and shot out her red energy toward the test tubes. Emerald Grass cursed silently and hurriedly moved her plants to block Hila's attack to protect the potions.

Bang!

The dark red energy waves cut through the vines like hot knife through butter, and the clean cuts sprayed green juice all over the place. Emerald Grass barely dodged the attacks, and the walls around her were all blasted right through.

"Lunatic!" Emerald Grass gritted her teeth and tried her best to block Hila's attacks. The red energy waves clashed with the plants again and again, causing explosions to reverberate throughout the room and debris to fly all over the place.

The guards outside were frightened, and they did not know who to help.

"Quick, inform Lord Black Phantom about this!" The guard captain immediately made a decision and turned around. But before he could get very far, a black shadow had appeared at the end of the road and sped over. It was Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was always monitoring the alchemy room, and the moment he saw the fight begin, he rushed over. "Stop!"

Emerald Grass's forehead was covered in sweat. Her powers were not as strong as Hila's when it came to direct confrontations, and she was afraid that she would sustain injuries the moment she stopped using her powers. "I will stop if she stops."

Hila's expression remained unchanged as she had already steeled herself to kill Emerald Grass.

Han Xiao frowned, and faint blue light started to gather under his feet. He lightly stepped, causing this energy to spread through the floor, causing a mini earthquake that split open the ground.

Buzz!

Eight metal gun barrels popped out of the ground, and one could hear sounds of gears locking into place. They quickly turned into mini turrets and were pointed straight at the two combatants.

Trap-type Mini Mobile Turret. A new creation. They were placed in all the important areas in the shelter and could only be activated by Han Xiao.

"I think you may be forgetting who owns this place," Han Xiao said in a low voice.

Hila gritted her teeth but backed off in the end, albeit with a murderous expression still on her face. Emerald Grass finally relaxed and let out a breath as she massaged her temple. She had just been attacked in the mind by Hila's shockwaves and was suffering from some painful headaches.

"You didn't keep up your promise of protecting my sister." Hila turned her head and stared right into Han Xiao's eyes.

Han Xiao sighed helplessly. "You're overreacting."

Emerald Grass held up one of the test tubes. "Humph. I made these using the DNA I got from Aurora's hair strands. I was just recycling. I didn't even hurt your sisters. What're you so mad about‽"

"You can't!" Hila said in a cold voice. To her, Emerald Grass's actions were too similar to Germinal's, and it made her remember some painful memories from the past.

Neither wanted to back off, and Han Xiao's head was starting to hurt. Conflict with allies was not easy to resolve.

At this moment, Aurora strolled over in her wheelchair, with the bear cub swinging back and forth on her legs.

Aurora looked much better than she had done a month ago. Her once shriveled hair had become soft and smooth; her once bony body had started to take on some weight, and she was emitting a positive and shiny aura. Her power that had been suppressed for so long was finally released, and it allowed her to look like a normal person again within a month.

"Sis, why are you fighting with the doctor?" Aurora asked in a worried tone.

Emerald Grass stared at Hila and then gave a thorough explanation of what had happened.

Aurora was shocked. She blinked a few times, then said, "It's just some hair. I don't really mind if it can help Uncle Han."

Before, there was only her sister who treated her well. But now, with Han Xiao caring for her too, she was happy to contribute in any way she could. This way, she would feel better as she was somewhat paying back Han Xiao's favor.

Han Xiao did not really have an opinion about this. He knew that Emerald Grass was conducting experiments, but since she only used some hair, he had just turned a blind eye to it. Hila had definitely overreacted a bit this time.

Aurora gave of a bright smile and said, "Sis, you don't have to worry. I'm not that fragile."

Hila remained silent for a while before she turned around and started to walk away. "Okay."

After this whole fiasco, Han Xiao let the guards take care of the cleanup. Emerald Grass walked up to him and had an odd smile on her face. "I didn't know there were this many turrets near the alchemy room. You're keeping a watch over me, aren't you?"

Han Xiao gave her a glance.

"Hehe. Don't worry. I'm not a fool. After all, I'm a tool that you obtained. Tools aren't supposed to have a say in anything." Emerald Grass twirled around with her hair as she said that with a faint smile.

"Oh." Han Xiao turned and left after only saying a word.

Emerald Grass's expression froze. That's it?

What kind of reaction was that? He was not angry, nor was he trying to give himself an excuse. He did not even try to threaten her or anything.

Am I that unimportant?

…

The curtains of the night were drawing to a close.

After a whole day of manufacturing tools, Han Xiao moved the materials into his secret base. On the way back, he saw a figure standing on the balcony of the building next door. The gentle moonlight shone on the right-side of Hila's body, and he could see her staring blankly into the night sky. It seemed like she had been standing there for a while.

After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao lightly leapt onto the balcony.

Hila heard the movement and asked emotionlessly without turning her head, "What're you doing up here?"

"Just looking around. Why are still up this late in the night?"

"Humph!" Hila did not reply.

Han Xiao then took a seat to the side and shook his head. "You were a bit too extreme today. I don't think you were that hotheaded in the past."

Hila frowned. "What's that got to do with you?"

"What's it got to do with me?" Han Xiao touched his chin and muttered, "I don't think you said that back when I saved you and your sister, did you?"

Hila's face froze. After remaining silent for a while longer, she finally let out a sigh and said slowly, "I'm just a bit lost."

Chapter 282: The Fall of the Germinal Organization

"Feeling lost?" Han Xiao put a cigarette in his mouth and took out his lighter. "Well that's easy to solve. Just take your sister back to the Germinal Organization, and I guarantee that you'll never feel bored again."

Hila glared at him and stayed quiet for a second. She then said to herself, "I wasn't able to protect my sister, and I made her endure so much suffering. It's all my fault. To protect her, I kept on training myself. Even though the battle carved a bloody past in my history, I will never regret what I did. The more lives I killed with my own hand, the safer I felt. It is the only way I could prove to myself that I was protecting my sister and wash away the remorse I have.

"Back in the Germinal Organization, we rarely saw each other. I knew that she wanted to go to the outside world, which is why I always prepared stories for her and shared my experience from the world outside. Now that she has a new life, is making many new friends, and has even started to take care of a pet, she won't need my stories anymore."

Han Xiao could not light the cigarette in his mouth, so he brought out his gun and shot a few bullets up into the sky and used the hot gun barrel to light the cigarette. He inhaled before replying, "That bear was supposed to be my pet…"

"Saving her from the misery had always been my wish. Now that I have fulfilled it…" Hila ignored Han Xiao's comment and continued. "She doesn't need me to protect her anymore."

Hila opened up her palm, and a dark red aura flowed through her fingers. Hila stared at her hands and said, "Back in the days, all I wanted to do was spend every minute training my power to crush the Germinal Organization by myself. Now, my sister and I are safe, so strength and power don't matter to me anymore. I can spend all the time in the world with my sister, and this is my ultimate mate wish."

Hila then closed her hands and formed a fist, crushing the red light in her hand. She closed her eyes. "But the life I always craved only brings emptiness in my heart. I'm so lost and don't know what to do. I hate this feeling."

"After living a dangerous life for years, letting your guard down may be uncomfortable; this is the classic symptom that soldiers face as they leave the battlefield," Han Xiao answered. "Of course I believe that there's another reason. I think that violence is in your blood, and every single cell in your body craves the taste of blood. Living a peaceful life may be a drug that slowly chips away your motivation for living."

Hila had a weird expression and said, "Are you trying to get me to do bad things?"

"What else? Do you want me to comfort you?" Han Xiao shook his head. "I don't need to tell you those cheesy and fluffy lines, and you are not a kind of person that needs consolation. Your sister is your sister, and you are you. You don't need to give up your true personality for your sister, and she also does not want you to change yourself. Stop finding excuses. I can see that battles and violence are what you truly desire, and the hunger for power is what drives you to move forward. The world is much larger than you think. Even though I can beat ten of you, in the eyes of the universe, there are people that are still stronger than me."

"What makes you say that you can beat ten of me?" Hila disagreed.

Han Xiao suddenly released a murderous intent in his eyes. Hila stepped back and unknowingly used her power. She was cautious as the dark red light drifted around her body.

"Maybe one day, I will take away your sister, just like what the Germinal Organization did. At that point, if you are still not strong enough to fight me… Haha. That's why you need to get stronger, or else you will regret it."

Han Xiao withdrew his murderous intent with a straight face, but Hila still could not calm down.

For a moment, her instincts told her that Han Xiao was not kidding. He was dead serious!

As if she saw the wolf's teeth behind the sheep mask, a chill travelled through her spine.

"I can create some robots to help you train if you want, or you can learn from Emerald Glass and practice with some other Espers. Well, if there's nothing else, I'm going back to sleep. I'm leaving my cigarette here."

Han Xiao jumped down from the rooftop and headed back to his place.

After Han Xiao's shadow faded away, Hila finally relaxed and let out a long sigh. Staring at the slowly burning cigarette, she picked it up and inhaled.

She closed her eyes and released the smoke from her mouth, enjoying the taste from the tobacco.

A long time passed before she opened her eyes. Her worries and anxiety suddenly disappeared, and all that was left was a cold, lonely feeling.

"He really is a monster…" Hila said to herself and laughed. "But so am I."

…

Han Xiao spend all his time creating machines and training Frenzied Sword and the other three. He harvested the players' experience, and the experience on the interface rose steadily. Every day was exciting and fulfilling, and time quickly passed by.

On 7th December 688 in the Galaxy calendar, the frontline finally sent back important news on the war.

The Germinal Organization had lost all control except the area around the headquarters. The other bases had all been destroyed.

Han Xiao received the notice, and Bennett invited him to meet up in Sanctuary One.

"The war against the Germinal Organization is finally coming to an end. The cards are reshuffled, and the Dark Net also needs to start looking at the new era," Bennett said over a phone call.

After waiting for quite some time, the end of the war was finally in sight. The Six Nations were steady, and without any difficulty, they pushed the Germinal Organization to the brink of destruction. Han Xiao arranged all the work in Sanctuary Three and headed to Sanctuary One.

After a while, a helicopter landed on the roof of Sanctuary One. Bennett, who was waiting on the roof, laughed. "This is the first time you've arrived before anyone else. This isn't like you."

Han Xiao turned back to the chopper and said, "Take off now. Waste all the fuel in this thing before we come back."

Bennett was dumbfounded and quickly grabbed Han Xiao off the plane. He then said, "The board meeting will take place after the war has officially ended. It will probably happen in the next few days."

"How many days?"

"I'm still uncertain. The situation now is a bit complicated." Bennett lowered his voice. "It's hard for the situation to move forward."

Han Xiao's eyes flickered.

After they headed to the meeting room, Han Xiao asked, "So, what's wrong?"

Bennett took out the intel and explained, "In summary, we already cut off all the routes from the headquarters to the outside world. The Six Nations have completely trapped the Germinal Organization. However, the troops of the Six Nations are still far away from the area around the headquarters, and they have no intention of attacking."

"Well since they already destroyed all the other bases, isn't it simple to just bombard the headquarters and end the war?" Han Xiao replied.

"Well, it is possible. After losing all the side bases, the Germinal Organization should not have enough anti-missile supplies and equipment to hold off the Six Nations. Even if their headquarters are hidden underground, it would still collapse under the explosion. But the reason the Six Nations didn't do so was because of another complicated issue."

Bennett took out another document.

"Because of your intel, most of the nuclear warheads have been disabled, and the rest of the nuclear warheads have been carried back to the headquarters. Because of the limited supplies, they could not wipe out the entire army of the Six Nations. However, there are quite a number of nuclear warheads, and there would be devastating consequences to the climate of this planet if they went off. From research conducted by various meteorologists, if the nuclear warheads exploded at the same time, in the next five to fifteen years, the radiation will drastically worsen the climate of the world, and Andrea will be the highest radioactive place on the entire planet. It will turn into a wasteland where no living beings can survive. Under moral considerations, the Six Nations must migrate the entire population of Andrea to another land…"

"Second, during Germinal organization's retreat, they caught a lot of wanderers as hostage to prevent the Six Nations from bombarding the headquarters…" Bennett sighed. "That's why there's division among the Six Nations.

"Raylen and Theseus suggested ignoring the consequences and the lives of the hostages and directly attacking the headquarters. Then they can finally get rid of their mortal enemy once and for all. Stardragon has yet to respond. Maple wanted to force the Germinal Organization to surrender, and Hesla suggested attacking the headquarters with ground troops and trying to save the hostages. As for Ordina… they used various excuses to oppose all kinds of attacks toward the Germinal Organization."

Han Xiao was surprised. "I understand all the concerns of the other nations, but what is Ordina trying to do? They want to back off after all the fighting?"

Bennett knocked on the table and replied, "It is the last year of the term for Ordina's leader. Their political sphere has a lot of parties, so there are a lot of competitors for his position. If they can drag the war until the next year's election, they can use the reason of national security and war to automatically get elected for the next term."

Han Xiao did not know what to say. "That's a ballsy move… So, which side is the Six Nations leaning toward?"

"They want to try to make the enemy surrender. The Six Nations have their anti-missile defense system all the time, and that if the headquarters fires even one missile, they will attack and bombard the base. However, this is the worst outcome they can have. So, the Six Nations have sent a last message to the base, hoping that they will surrender and release the hostages. Then they will spare the lives of the Germinal Organization."

Bennett then shook his head. "But until now, the Germinal Organization still hasn't responded."

Chapter 283: Disagreemen

The headquarters were as dense as a black mountain range covered in dead silence. The ground was full of equipment left by the soldiers, and the pungent smell of gas and smoke filled the city. In the buildings were the hiding soldiers. The atmosphere was dead and lifeless, and all of the soldiers stared out the windows with eyes that looked lost.

Even though they could not see the army of the Six Nations on the horizon, everyone knew that countless missiles were aiming right at them. The headquarters could turn into the sea of fire at any given second.

No one knew where their fate would lead them.

Everything would depend on the final judgement based on the Germinal Organization. Maybe there was a slim chance of surrendering.

In the end, not everyone embraced the idea of sacrificing for their country.

In the underground command room of the headquarters, the screen displayed the situation right now. The single blue dot represented the lonely headquarters, while the red field, which represented the Six Nations, covered the entire continent. There was nowhere for them to run.

The leader, who wore a mask, stood right in front of the screen with his hands behind his back. The senior officials quietly exchanged eye contact, but no one spoke. The room was dead silent.

"What do you plan to do?" a senior official asked after a while.

The leader shut his eyes. While everyone was worrying about the next step, the leader replied with a hoarse voice, "Launch all the nuclear missiles."

Everyone was stunned by the words. A bald senior official who had a considerable amount of power shouted, "The Six Nations have already lock us down, and there's no way we can bring them down by launching the rocks. This is suicide!"

"So what? Do you want to beg for mercy in front of the Six Nations?" The leader's expression did not change. "Don't forgot the vision of the Germinal Organization. There can be no defeat. Death is the only way."

All the senior officials had great hatred toward the Six Nations. However, in the face of death, not everyone could stand their ground in their belief. Moreover, from the situation, being suicidal would not achieve anything. There was a chance that the Six Nations would break their promise and kill them after they surrendered, but there was still a slim of hope that they could survive.

"I disagree," the bald senior official yelled as he stepped forward.

The leader turned around and glared at him and the officials behind. "Is there anyone who agrees with him?"

Some officials look right back at the leader, and some lowered their heads, but all of them replied with silence.

Facing the line of life and death, the leader and the officials had a disagreement, as if there was a huge cliff that separated them.

"What if I insist?" the leader said calmly.

"Launching the nuclear weapons requires two keys, the system authorization, and your fingerprint and iris," the bald man replied. "You have the authorization, but you only have a key, while the vice leader has the other key, and he is on our side."

The leader looked around and asked: "So, where is he?"

"Of course he is not here. We won't give you any chance."

The leader shook his head. "Looks like you made your decisions long ago."

"Don't be reckless. We still have the chance to bring the uprising again as a nation, so we should not simply sacrifice our lives…" The bald official tried to persuade the leader, but he suddenly stopped with his eyes wide open. As he was talking, the leader had taken out two keys that were needed to launch the rocket, and one of them was supposed to be with the vice leader.

"How… how did you…"

"Oh my god! Put it down now!"

"Why is the key with you‽"

"Where's the vice leader?"

No one could believe what had just happened, and the room turned into chaos.

The leader held onto the keys without saying anything.

"Return the key right now. We won't let you do whatever you want." The bald man tried to suppress the fear on his face. His voice shook slightly as he made a hand sign behind his back.

The leader shook his head and looked at the crowd. "Meggal, you secretly had conversation with Maple. Dorios, you made some compromise with the Oridina. Newt, Raylen promised to provide protection…"

The leader mentioned most of the people in the room, and seeing everyone's shocked expression, he slowly said, "The consequences of surrendering for you, of course, will be different from the normal soldiers. So, don't act like you are full of righteousness. Do whatever you want."

The officials' expressions changed, and they felt the fear of the leader rise in their bones.

Even though the leader had always been intimidating, at least, the officials could still guess what the leader was thinking. However, ever since they started losing the war, it had become harder to grasp what the leader was thinking. To be exact, it was right after Zero escaped the encirclement that the leader changed.

As if he was a lake without any bottom, suffering loses after loses, the leader had remained calm like a still pond. Nothing could make him rage anymore.

The door opened, and a dozen executive officers surrounded the senior officials.

These executive officers were all part of their army. After the war started, there were countless injuries and casualties for the executive officers, but the officials had all had the brains to protect their own interest and power. The main ideal of the Germinal Organization that gathered the people was hatred, not loyalty toward a certain person.

The officials did not say anything. The bald official gave the signal, and the executive officers moved forward and prepared their attacks toward the leader

Covered in colorful beams, the leader sighed.

"Guess I'll send you all to see the vice leader."

…

In a land far away from the headquarters was the base of the Six Nations. Thousands of armored troops awaited their command, and jets were hovering above the ground. The sound of engines cut through the sky, and the shockwave vibrated the tents and equipment on the ground.

The missile vehicles were on standby, and multiple satellites and radars closely observed any sign of the missiles in the headquarters and movements in the sky. As soon as they saw anything that was flying into the sky, they could instantly take it down. Then they would resort to violence and use everything they had to turn the headquarters into a wasteland.

In the battle command center, all the representing military officials were antsy.

"There's only seven hours, thirty-two minutes, and eleven seconds before the time limit, and they still haven't responded," the representative of Ordina said. "I think that we should extend the time for the Germinal Organization to think carefully and not do something stupid."

No one replied.

Raylen officer said with a cold expression, "We have already contacted four of the senior officials in the Germinal Organization. They were still trying to convince the leader."

The other representatives nodded with agreement. They all did something similar. When they are pushed back against the wall, quite a number of the Germinal Organization's senior officers were willing to surrender in exchange for safety.

The obvious bargain that the Six Nations wanted was to make the Germinal Organization surrender and save the hostages from danger.

"It's already been more than an hour and twenty minutes since the last contact. They haven't reported back to us since then."

"Don't worry. We still have time."

The officials from different nations were chitchatting with each other while they waited for the response. Giving a choice for the Germinal Organization meant that they would have to wait for the result.

An officer from Hesla suddenly asked, "So in the end, who is the leader of Germinal Organization? According to the intelligence from Dark Net, the leader came from the Gollum, the country that had fallen. The former identity of the Germinal Organization was Mimok, but we searched through all the files and still couldn't find the exact identity of the leader."

Bennett had given the information that Hannes found to the Six Nations, thinking that they could find more details given their power. However, the search was still met with a dead end. The leader was like a ghost without a past, and the files that stacked as high as mountain did not include his name. The only information that they had was what Hannes had found.

"Didn't Raylen conquer Gollum? Do you have any intel?" Stardragon's official asked.

Raylen's official shook his head. "We even searched for files on the list of civilians in Gollum back when it still existed, and none of them matched with the leader. We also sent some people to visit Gollum's original territory, and they didn't find anything. I wonder if the intel from the Dark Net is true…"

Chapter 284: The Finale 1

"Huuu…"

Heavy breath filled the room like a broken bellow, and the stickiness of blood and spit crawled in his throat.

The mask covered in blood fell to the floor. Leaning on the side of a table, the leader barely opened his eyes and saw the destroyed room after the fight while the floor was full of corpses. The leader was the only one left standing in the room while all the executive officers had all fallen under his fists. The senior officials' frightened expression remained on their face as if they had stopped breathing.

The leader spat out bloody mucus and took a deep breath. The dense smell of stinky blood irritated his nose, and he could not help but cough his lungs out for another two minutes.

The intense battle had provoked his hidden injury from the ambush, when he was heavily injured by Han Xiao. He had not had time to recover, and soon, he became unable to quickly resolve it.

Every time that he felt the subtle pain, he was reminded of Han Xiao. Until now, the leader could only feel hatred in his heart. At times when the anger faded away, he could feel nothing but emptiness.

The leader stood in front of the central control panel and selected the option to launch the nuclear bomb. He took off his gloves, scanned his fingerprints and eyes, and authorized the launch. After the two keys were in the keyhole, both of them turned just needed to be turned, then the nuclear bomb will be launched. On the last step, the hands full of scars held on the keys, but they could not turn them.

The leader leaned on the chair and looked up at the ceiling. His eyes were not focused on anything as if he was daydreaming. No one had any idea what he was thinking.

Dududu!

The window popped out on the corner of the screen, and surprisingly, it was a call from Han Xiao.

The leader pressed the 'accept' button without any hesitation. The screen then showed Han Xiao's face.

Seeing the corpses on the floor, Han Xiao raised his eyebrow. He wanted to call to see the situation on the side of the Germinal Organization. He also wanted to see the leader one last time, but he already understood the situation after witnessing the scene. He shook his head and said, "Looks like you have made your decision."

The leader's eyes leaked his disappointment.

"I still can't believe that I lost to you, you… insignificant bug. Mistakes after mistakes, my life's work has been ruined by you… Now what do you want? To again gloat about what you have done? I'm here—enjoy yourself. My life, the end of Germinal Organization, will all be an important part of your history. You are the winner, so you have the power to look down on the loser you defeated."

"I told you, the galaxy is unfathomable. This planet is just a small speck of dust, and no one will spare a thought on what's happened here." Han Xiao shook his head. Even though he was watching the fall of his enemy, Han Xiao was calm and collected. In the end, he was still a gentleman. He slowly said, "I just think that, after doing so much in your life, you still haven't had a chance to express your feelings."

"Do you want to me confess to you, my mortal enemy?" The leader's face looked even uglier. He leaned on the chair and relaxed his body. "That seems interesting."

Han Xiao shrugged and directly cut to what he wanted. "What's with Destiny's Child?"

The leader laughed out loud and stopped after a while, shaking his head. "Destiny's Child is nothing but a pity man. He can see the future, change the fate of people, yet he cannot decide his own life and death. He was destined to be used by others. You also have the ability to predict the future, so maybe the fate of Destiny's Child will be yours."

Han Xiao did not correct that statement. "Talk about yourself. It seems that you are from Gollum, am I correct?"

The leader's expression changed and replied, "Looks like you have already found out… That's correct. I was once a citizen of Gollum. Back then, I was a young man with passion and rage. After the event of Mimok, I joined the rebel organization. I rioted, protested, demonstrated—all I wanted was to save my country from the rotten government.

"But suddenly, the war started. Raylen invaded the country, and my country shattered into pieces under internal parasites and external attacks…"

The leader's tone suddenly got angry. "Did you hear that? People called us parasites! What did I do wrong? Was protesting a mistake? No! All we wanted was to take back the rights that we once had and make our country a better place!

"We were so close to victory, and the path of light was right in front of us. Yet, the war destroyed everything. After the fall of Gollum, all my friends were executed. All of us were viewed as a defect in the society and eliminating us was the best way. The remaining citizens of Gollum were enslaved and tortured. Only a few were able to escape, and I was one of them.

"I was no legend. I'm just a normal kid who was lost until I saw the border of Gollum, which was locked by Rayland. Seeing the burning flag of Gollum and the rise of Raylen's flag, I was awoken, and I realized my mission I have to carry out.

"Gollum was not perfect. There was darkness and weakness, but… it was still my country. The only thing I could do was…

"Take revenge for my nation!"

The leader exhaled, and his eyes drift off the screen. His memories slowly showed up in his mind.

"But in the wave of time, a normal young man was nobody, and his life was as fragile as a bug. To travel through the battlefield, I dragged my exhausted body and transferred from one refugee camp to another. I was treated like a dog, and I lived a life without any respect.

"However, my blood was boiling, and I kept telling myself that no matter what danger I faced, I must live on. It was hatred that kept my heart pumping, that made my legs move forward… In the end, after I succeed in passing through the battlefield, I did not stop to look for shelter but turned to the wilderness.

"I knew that without power, I could not seek revenge. That's why I lived in the wilderness and battled with the beasts. I turned myself into unbreakable steel."

At this point, the leader pointed to the scars on his face and hand. "A hundred and seventy-six scars was the price I paid for my power."

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. "So, you really are just a normal human?"

"Why can't I be a normal man?" the leader asked back.

After some thought, Han Xiao nodded and hinted that the leader could continue his story.

The leader then said, "In the wilderness, I kept on thinking, and when I headed back to the battlefield, I heard that the Mimok Organization still existed. How ironic, the tool that was created to bring terror upon the world was the only thing that represented the purest of Gollum. Then a plan formed in my mind as I assassinated the leader of Mimok and changed the name to Germinal Organization. I hid and slowly developed the organization, and it was since then I wore the mask.

"The war created a lot of opportunities. Countless people lost their home and had nowhere to stay. Then I decided on the vision of the Germinal Organization and gave them the hope that we could create a new world. Vision thrives in people who supports an ideology. It wasn't me who used the refugees with no countries to go back to, but it was they who voluntarily gave their lives to me. This is hate, and they did not care as long as they could achieve their goal after they sacrificed their lives.

"Since my desire matched the public's desire, I got a lot of helpful hands. And the Germinal Organization that fed on the aftermath of battle quickly grew from a seed into a towering tree."

The voice of the leader was filled with hate. After the dream that the leader had nurtured was destroyed by another man, other than angry, his feelings were confused.

"Then… you showed up.

"You… cut down the tree."

Chapter 285: The Finale 2

"Compared to the pollution you caused in the past… and will cause in the future, I'd feel it's more environmentally friendly to cut down this tree of yours," Han Xiao said mockingly.

In his previous life, no player could dig out the origin of the leader—it was truly hard to find the true identity of an ordinary missing person in this age of war. After Han Xiao heard the leader's description, he had a clearer understanding of him.

The leader was a firm patriot, one of the few Gollum citizens that escaped Raylen's invasion. He hid in the dark, purposely fighting at the edge of death to look for breakthroughs and the power to revenge, one of the superhumans that started ordinary and reached the peak of the planet, ambitious and extreme.

Now that he had met a dead end, he decided that he would rather die than compromise; it was clear that the hatred was already deeply buried in his bones.

The experience of a planet main character is indeed really interesting and legendary. Every main character has a history that can be dug out, Han Xiao thought with mixed feelings.

When he was still very weak, the leader had been like a mountain, and he had needed to act with caution and become stronger. Finally, he had gained the power to face him head-on and defeated the Germinal Organization.

The Germinal Organization was the main antagonist of Planet Aquamarine in Version 1.0. Han Xiao had also participated in this storyline during his previous life as a player. Now that he had a different identity, his impact was much higher, and it was a totally different experience. Although Han Xiao looked very calm, it did not mean that he did not enjoy the victory—there was still a sense of accomplishment in his heart.

The leader shook his head and said, "I never thought that an escaped test subject would become my greatest enemy. When you stole the secrets and broke through my ambush, I already knew that the Germinal Organization would undoubtedly lose. I never give up, but there was nothing I could do; it was barely even a struggle before death."

Because he had predicted this long ago, no matter how bad the situation was for them, he was not surprised. Seeing the organization that he had built slowly slide into the abyss, he was actually still calm.

"To me, defeat means death. The Six Nations want to see me surrender so that they can take all the knowledge that the Germinal Organization has gained throughout the years. I won't let them get anything."

Han Xiao raised his brows. "About that, I heard you captured quite a few hostages. If you activate the explosion, all of them will definitely die, and the nuclear blast will affect the climate, worsening the environment of the entire planet, endangering the everyone's future in this planet. Are you sure you want to do this?"

The leader kept silent. The sound of breathing was the only thing coming out from the speakers. Han Xiao was not in a hurry; he watched the screen calmly.

After a while, the leader spoke in a low voice.

"You're going to persuade me to surrender?"

Han Xiao shrugged and said, "I'm not planning to, because you don't seem like someone that can be persuaded, but the guys opposite me want me to…"

He was in a meeting room of Sanctuary One at the moment, holding his laptop and sitting on the sofa. Bennett sat opposite him and listened to the entire conversation. He kept using hand signs to tell Han Xiao to persuade the leader. Both sides suffering was the last thing Bennett wanted to see.

Han Xiao felt that Bennett was daydreaming. To have him, the very person that caused their defeat, do the persuasion, was that not completely adding fuel to the fire? Even if the leader had planned to surrender originally, he might change his mind instantly after seeing Han Xiao's face. Luckily, the leader had always been very firm, or he would have been quite worried… Wait a minute, that logic felt somewhat weird.

Bennett kept giving him signs. Han Xiao had no choice but to give it a try, or Bennett would nag him like a mother again.

"I'd rather bring everyone with me," the leader said maliciously. "This world shall know pain!"

Han Xiao's mouth opened wide, a classic reference stuck in his throat.

Pain, is that you‽ [1. Pain is a character in a Japanese manga/anime series, one of his signature lines is "This world shall know pain."]

The leader sneered. "I hate this world—why should I care for it? Even if the Six Nations won, don't even dream of not paying anything! The Six Nations are killers, too, only reaching their position today after destroying countless nations. They stood on the ruins and praised their actions. The winner is always on the side of justice, and these blood debts will all be buried in history. No one will know, no one will find out, and no one will fight for justice of the old era. These governments that have luckily survived have enjoyed themselves for too long, and it's time for them to pay a little interest!"

The leader did not care about what the world would become after he died; he would rather betray others than to be betrayed. Even a normal person might feel this way, not to mention the malicious, ambitious leader.

Han Xiao did not comment. The results of a nuclear attack would have a minimal effect on him, as he would sooner or later leave Planet Aquamarine. Furthermore. The next version was Mutation Disaster. A larger disaster was coming, and in comparison, this climate disaster would be nothing.

The Germinal Organization had survived in his previous life, and there had been a potential risk of them coming back again. Now the Germinal Organization had been annihilated at once, but it brought a last lasting negative impact. As for which one was better, Han Xiao did not really know, but the latter would definitely clear his [Fall of the Germinal] mission.

To other people of Planet Aquamarine that did not know this, the result of the latter was horrifying. The climate was deeply connected to their lives, and no one would wish for an environment deterioration.

Sitting opposite, Bennett was anxious. He wished he could just fly to the Germinal Organization headquarters and kill the leader before he could press the button.

Han Xiao looked at the clock and said slowly, "There's still quite some time till the deadline that the Six Nations gave. Aren't you going to wait any longer?"

"I prefer to decide my time of death myself." The leader's eyes became firm. He reached out his hand, held onto the nuclear launch keys, and started turning slowly.

A suffocating pressure came out of the screen, and the leader's movement seemed to be lasting forever. Bennett hands clawed at the sofa's armrests and tore the leather open.

Every degree he turned, one second was taken away from the countdown clock of countless lives.

The second hand gradually pointed toward the final result.

Han Xiao looked at the leader's face calmly and suddenly asked, "I never got your name."

"My name?" The leader lifted the corner of his lips and gave a ferocious smile. "Not important."

"You're right, so… goodbye then." Han Xiao sighed and waved his hand.

The keys turned one hundred and eighty degrees.

The sound of a quake came out of the screen—that was the sound of missiles rising into the sky.

The leader retracted his hands and sat on the chair like a statue. At that moment, his tone did not have any hatred, regret, or sadness of almost facing his death; there was not any intense emotion. Like old neighbors passing each other, he nodded at Han Xiao.

"Goodbye."

…

"Warning! Warning! Fast-moving objects are rising from the Germinal Organization headquarters!"

All of the waiting military officers in the Six Nations combat conference stood up in shock; this was the worst-case scenario. Although the people present were mentally prepared, when this moment arrived, they still found it hard to accept.

A nuclear blast killing hostages, resulting in pollution, burning the Germinal Organization headquarters to the ground, countless classified technology lost forever… It could not be considered a win for any party.

"Activate anti navigation?" the assistant said shivering.

All the officers had no choice. Without hesitation, their responses were the same. "Activate immediately!"

In the Germinal Organization headquarters, the ground and the buildings were trembling slightly. The hiding Germinal Organization soldiers looked up to the sky through the windows and saw the missiles rise one after another.

An atmosphere of silence and death spread among the people. Everyone knew the leader's decision and what was going to happen next.

Tears, despair, madness, twitching, trembling, screaming, growling, indifference…

The countless emotions and responses right before death.

In the sky far away, a dense number of black objects approached rapidly—some clashed with the rising missiles, and some landed in the headquarters.

Hum—

The first sound was a high-pitch explosion undetectable to the human ear. Most of the people in the Six Nations camp faraway covered their ears, but blood was still flowing out.

A fire pillar, tens of kilometers in diameter, shot up the sky. The group of bases disintegrated in an instant. Black dust was spat out from the blinding firelight, gradually rising and turning into a condensed black mushroom.

In the Six Nation camp far away, the people who looked out could only see white. The light had temporarily blinded most of the people, and even the superhumans had to close their eyes. No one could stay natural in the face of this kind of power; everyone felt small and insignificant, like they had become sand that was going to be blown away by the next wind. Unable to control their own fate, they started to shiver uncontrollably.

Even in further areas, the fire could be seen to soar through the clouds above the Germinal Organization on the horizon, and the clouds formed a circle in the sky.

Right after, the firelight shone a second time, emitting a yellow spherical shockwave mixed with dust and ash. Everywhere it passed, the ground cracked, and the buildings shattered into pieces. Countless bent pieces of metal easily flew for miles like feathers, falling onto the wilderness like rain.

The shockwave finally arrived at the camp. Like the breath of the god of wind, tents were blown away, spinning like dandelion seeds; heavy vehicles rolled like balls; for the people there, a few broken bones was just a light injury. The onlooking players were shocked and excited—they recorded the moment and did not want to miss out anything.

With the expanding shockwave came the second explosion, and the frequency could be caught by human ear this time, almost breaking people's eardrums.

Boom!

The sound was like the sky was falling apart!

Deafening!

The camps behind started to stand their ground and commanded the troops to retreat quickly.

The continuous firelight was the only thing left on the wilderness. The image was like a punishment from the gods, and the tumbling mushroom cloud kept changing its shape like the smile of a devil.

The leader, with his unfulfilled belief and the organization that he had created, turned into a bright firework that lit up the entire sky.

The Germinal Organization had ended.

The nuclear explosion that burned the headquarters to the ground marked the end of the Planet Aquamarine war.

…

The highest ranked officials of the Six Nations hosted an emergency meeting. The enemy had been defeated, but the upcoming impact was not optimistic.

"In accordance to the scale of the explosion, the climate bureau created a calculus model. The first batch of radiation dust will enter the atmospheric cycle in the next three to six hours. Within the next month, the land of Andrea will enter a nuclear winter that will last for at least half a year. During that time, the land will not be suitable for any lifeform. Flora and fauna will die in droves, and the land will become a complete death zone. The radiation will reach the sea area near Andrea, which might cause the marine food chain to collapse. Some sea creatures might also go through unknown mutations.

"High-density radiation and pollution will enter the sea cycle, then spread to the entire world through the form of rain. This process will take about 300 to 500 days to complete. By then, the entire planet's climate will start to deteriorate. As the affected area is much larger, the deterioration is not as severe as it will be in Andrea, but it still will heavily damage the atmosphere and have a negative impact in every way. This impact might last as long as more than ten years. In this time, the entire planet's technology is estimated to be unable to advance and might even recede."

The high ranked officials of the Six Nation all had serious expressions. This was not just about a nation—it was about the entire world, the entire race.

An anti-war official slammed the table and said wrathfully, "Look! Look what you did! Our troops suffered huge losses. Not only do we not get any benefits after winning, it even led to this result. We never should have started the expedition and the war in the first place! We should have let the Germinal Organization hide in Andrea and stopped after we destroyed their sub bases!"

Back then, when the expedition was decided, some politicians had been anti-war, because once the war started, the resources and authority would heavily slant to the military. Of course, some high ranked officials would not be happy about it. However, majority ruled, and their voice was ignored. Now that they had justified excuses, they decided to stand up for themselves after what had already happened.

"We are already at this point; don't say any more useless things."

The bitter fruit of war had to be borne by the entire world; it affected a lot of innocents. In order to get rid of this enemy, they had paid such a big price. Some high ranked officials started to ask themselves if this was all worth it.

The answer was yes.

At least in the eyes of the high ranked officials, such a strong enemy posed more of a threat than what they called a planet-scale climate disaster. After they got rid of that, only then could they feel safe and have the condition to grow steadily. The high ranked officials of the nations all thought that. Everyone had to face the climate disaster threat, everyone had to deal with it, so they were still on the same starting line, and it was fair for everyone.

At least the result could still be saved.

"Should we lock down the news and not share it with the civilians?"

"Too many people already know about it. There's no a need for that. Announce it officially."

"The people will definitely protest and blame us for causing this."

"Not important, the war has ended. What we need to face now is the disaster that will come after that. Let everyone know we're on the same boat, and they should let go of the past and not dwell on what was wrong or who was right. We have to work together to get through this."

"Then, what about…"

The high ranked officials of the nations discussed one suggestion after another.

…

With a furious expression, Bennett walked back and forth in the room, mumbling to himself. Han Xiao sat on the sofa with his legs crossed. He looked up the blue sky outside the window and shook his head.

The leader had turned to ash with the headquarters.

The Germinal Organization could be considered as the first big BOSS that he had faced, and this big main storyline on Planet Aquamarine had been destroyed by him. He started to like this feeling a little.

No matter how legendary the leader's past was, he had been Han Xiao's enemy. Han Xiao very rarely showed mercy to his enemies. Victory meant victory, and there was no need for the winner to fake regret and remorse.

With a deep breath, Han Xiao got excited. He opened the interface and browsed the notifications that had shown up.

_____________________

You have received Planet Legendary Points—[Germinal Organization Slayer]!

Grade A Main Storyline Mission [Fall of the Germinal] Completed!

Grade: Unbelievable

You have received mission reward for [Unbelievable] grade

Calculating reward…

Calculating reward…

Please wait patiently…

Chapter 286: Dungeon Creation

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled. In the past, the highest mission grading that he had received was [Excellent], and [Unbelievable] was better than [Excellent].

For normal players, the normal mission process should be like this—Infiltrate one sub base after another to uncover the location of the other bases through the stolen information. As the Germinal Organization became more cautious, the player would face stronger enemies, and the mission would become increasingly cumbersome. Every time the player got the intelligence about the next base, they would face the choice of destroying the base themself or borrowing power from the Six Nations. The former would reward higher process.

Han Xiao had skipped the most cumbersome part of collecting intelligence and instantly given out all the Germinal Organization bases' locations. The difference in efficiency was like the difference between using a sickle and a tractor.

[Fall of the Germinal] was a grade A main storyline mission, and even Han Xiao had spent more than one year to complete it with his prior knowledge. Han Xiao was satisfied with the result that he had almost completed the final target of the entire large main storyline by himself. He was anticipating the reward.

_____________________

[Planet Legendary Points (Planet Aquamarine): Germinal Organization Slayer]

The Germinal Organization, planet-sized large organization, the enemy of the Six Nations for many years, its power is like a majestic mountain. You are just a tiny traitor, but you gradually uprooted the Germinal Organization and buried it. The Germinal Organization became your stepping stone, and your actions will be passed on and admired by countless people. Your name will be written in the books of history on this planet.

_____________________

New legendary points. This was a reward that he had expected. His single mission EXP reward quota increased by another five percent, and his daily quota increased by a hundred percent.

Very soon, the other reward showed on the interface.

_____________________

[Fall of the Germinal]

Personal Destruction Percentage: 48.72%

Grade: [Unbelievable]

You have received:

4,870,000 EXP

+2 Potential Points

+4 Free Attribute Points

+800 Relationship Points with all Six Nations

_____________________

His personal destruction percentage was close to half, which meant that in the operation of destroying the Germinal Organization, Han Xiao almost did as much as the entire military forces of the Six Nations. After all, Six Nations' many operations had been carried out with the support of the intelligence he provided. One could say that his intelligence had controlled the entire war.

Using the hostility of the Six Nations toward Germinal Organization, he just had to give the Six Nations a knife, and they would attack. Even if the Six Nations knew that Han Xiao intended to use them, they were willing to be used. The end result was that both Han Xiao and the Six Nations achieved their own goal.

_____________________

You have received reward for [Unbelievable] grade:

Bonus 120% EXP (5,830,000)

Random Reward * 1

Special Item * 5

_____________________

In accordance with my mission evaluation, the hidden percentage for receiving something good as the random reward should be quite high.

The random reward could be an item, ability, or something else; it only had a chance of appearing when the mission grade evaluation was very high.

Leaving the random reward aside, he first looked at what were the five special items.

_____________________

You have received [Character Summon Card: Germinal Organization Leader]!

You have received [Character Summon Card: Destiny's Child]!

You have received [Character Summon Card: Aurora]!

You have received [Character Summon Card: Hila]!

You have received [Medal of Honor—Germinal Organization Slayer (A)]!

_____________________

Han Xiao was stunned. This was the first time that he had received this many character summon cards at once. The use of the character summon card was to give the user the ability of the character summoned temporarily. It was a consumption item, and if used well, it could change the situation in an instant. He had only received two before.

The leader, Destiny's Child, Aurora, and Hila—all of the abilities of these four people are quite good, and all of them can be used more than four times, very durable.

_____________________

[Character Summon Card: Germinal Organization Leader—Armor Penetrating Consecutive Attacks]

For 8 seconds, all attack will be considered armor penetrating critical hits, reducing the defense of targets hit by 24%.

Duration: 5 minutes

Usages: 0/12

[Character Summon Card: Destiny's Child—Foresight]

Predict an 'opportunity' in the future. Can indicate to be a mission, an item, action of a certain person… etc.

Usages: 0/5

[Character Summon Card: Aurora—Life Return]

Restore back to full status instantly.

Usages: 0/6

[Character Summon Card: Hila—Whisper of the Dead]

Deals psychic damage three times to the enemy. The damage is based on the user's INT or MYS (can be indicated). Decrease all statuses of the target by 15%.

Duration: 3 hours

Usages: 0/8

_____________________

Only the effect of Destiny's Child was not very clear. The rest were all simple, straight forward, and practical.

Predict an 'opportunity'… this is quite ambiguous. Could it be predicting opportunities of completing a mission or getting a certain item?

Han Xiao had a flash of insight, he was thinking of leaving Planet Aquamarine, but all the methods that he could think of were not very reliable. He could just nice try the effect of the Destiny's Child card.

Without any further hesitation, Han Xiao used it, with thoughts of going into the galaxy in his mind.

His vision suddenly blurred, and like fog, it was all white. Unaware of how much time had passed, a tint of black appeared in the middle of his vision, then it became an eerie image. The background seemed to be a wasteland, and a flame fell from the sky, creating a circular crater, giving out black smoke and electrical sparkle.

Some unknown information flashed in his mind.

"The location is… The time is…"

The image suddenly stopped, as if everything was just an illusion.

Han Xiao regained his focus. The information was in his mind, and his expression changed a little. It really did predict an opportunity to head out into the galaxy. This opportunity was originally already one method I had thought of bud didn't know when it would happen. This card broke through the fog of fate and predicted a location and time estimate.

The effect of this card was very surprising, and he now had more confidence in leaving Planet Aquamarine.

He looked at the last item, [Medal of Honor—Germinal Organization Slayer (A)]. When completing a high difficulty main storyline mission with a high evaluation grade, one would receive this type of medal. Its effect provided a three-percent boost to all attributes, and after collecting three, it could be exchanged into a special achievement medal, providing a twelve-percent boost to all attributes. He had farmed it in his previous life before. Knowing its effect was very good, he equipped it on the spot.

After he arranged the special items, he started to select random the reward.

_____________________

Randomizing…

Your reward time this time is… an Item.

Please select one from the three items below:

Race Change Card: Change into a random race

Mission Completion Card * 3: Consider one mission to be completed and receive the reward based on the lowest grade

Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid: Increase the potential of Esper ability.

_____________________

This is good! Han Xiao's eyes glimmered. [Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid] was extremely rare. Espers were willing to use everything they had to buy this thing because there were only two ways to increase one's Esper ability potential. One was through rare experiments and drugs in game, and the other was Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid. The other two items were not suitable for Han Xiao, so he chose the Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid and left in on the interface without collecting it.

Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid, it has a very huge potential value regardless of whether I sell it to players or others. I need to keep stock up on the good items like this; it will definitely be of great use in the future.

The reward this time was colossal. He had earned 10,000,000 EXP in one shot, and although it did not look a lot, that was because Han Xiao's standard was too high. If a player received 10,000,000 EXP in one shot, it would be an outrageous amount in Version 1.0.

There were also Potential Points, Free Attribute Points, and rather useful items—Han Xiao was quite satisfied. The most valuable ones were those items.

However, Han Xiao kept feeling like there should be more rewards. Thus, thinking that, he opened the NPC panel. Suddenly, he noticed a new option under the quota.

_____________________

Dungeon Creation: [Six Nations and Germinal Organization]

_____________________

"What's this?" Han Xiao was confused. This new function did not even have any notification. He tried to use this function, and the notification showed up.

_____________________

Please select a part of the main storyline to create a Dungeon Crystal.

_____________________

Create a Dungeon Crystal! Han Xiao's expression changed into surprise.

After some testing, he became familiar with the use of this function. To put it simply, it could turn parts of his experience in the Germinal Organization main storyline into a dungeon. Then he could create the dungeon crystal and use that as a reward for the missions that he gave out. It increased the variety of rewards for his missions.

Han Xiao guessed that the reason this new function appeared should be because he had completed a high difficulty large main storyline with a very high grade, which meant that he had done something legendary. Due to that, he could turn the things that he had done into dungeons.

Some missions from some NPCs might reward Dungeon Crystals, such as Dion, whom he had met before. Now he could do so as well, and because of the interface, he could control the creation of Dungeon Crystals! He realized that the Dungeon Crystals could only be rewarded as part of a mission reward. It could not be turned into an item and sold in his shop, which fitted the method of players acquiring Dungeon Crystals.

Compared to other rewards, this function was the biggest reward, strengthening his functions as an 'NPC' and becoming more attractive to the players!

Han Xiao was astonished.

Dungeons can only be created from legendary experiences, such as largely changing the main storyline of a planet or even larger areas. There might be many more functions to the NPC panel—I just have to acquire them.

With the NPC panel, it meant that there were more benefits to taking part in the main storyline.

If he could possess the Dungeon Creation Right to many huge events, the players would be unbelievably interested in him.

This was the biggest pleasant surprise!

Chapter 287: Stable Period in Planet Aquamarine

After Han Xiao finished arranging the rewards, Bennett, who was walking back of forth, sat down, too. "A war of this scale will not happen again any time soon, but when the Six Nations recover, they might start to clear out other organizations to strengthen their dominance. Now that the Germinal Organization has been defeated, Dark Net is one of the biggest organizations left, so they will come for us sooner or later."

Han Xiao put away his excitement and put on a pondering face. "Before having authority, anyone would think themselves a good person. The Six Nations still need to deal with the upcoming disasters brought by the nuclear blast, and they won't have time for other things for a short period. Talking about the disaster, your sanctuary plan can now be put to use."

"I'd rather it never be…" Bennett sighed. "After the war, more wanderers will look for protection, so I plan to speed the plan up, build sanctuaries in Western Continent and Northern Continent as well. The refugees of Andrea need to be migrated, so I will send people to fetch them. The Six Nations are very willing to throw this matter to us."

There were two large main storylines on Planet Aquamarine—one of them was the Germinal Organization, which he already destroyed, and this was the main storyline of conflict. The other was the construction of sanctuaries. Compared to the Germinal Organization war, the sanctuary main storyline would not be so intense. The whole of Planet Aquamarine would become stable period next. There would most likely not be any more large conflicts in Version 1.0. Han Xiao's strength was at the peak of the planet, and he was responsible for the end of the Germinal Organization. Therefore, he basically did not have any enemies and could steadily grow.

The Germinal Organization main storyline was supposed to be a large event that would happen throughout the Version 1.0, but now, it had ended in the early stages. Players that preferred the chaos, of course, would not like this peace, but this was a good thing for Han Xiao since he had just received the dungeon creation right for the Germinal Organization main storyline. He could divide the war into dungeons and fulfill the players' everlasting desire for battle. More players would be attracted to him, and his position would continue to grow.

The Germinal Organization is dead, and I have no enemies in Planet Aquamarine anymore. I can now prepare for the galaxy peacefully. The opportunity to leave Planet Aquamarine is around the pro league, in about one year. This period will be very peaceful, so I need to get more EXP while I can as there will not be many players in the galaxy for me to interact with.

The enemy was gone, and Han Xiao suddenly felt like he was finally relieved.

Version 1.0 would last for about three and a half years. He could totally wait for more than a year. The Six Nations were enjoying the victory at the moment, not knowing that a disaster would soon arrive. The nuclear blast might strengthen the power of the Mutation Disaster, and if so, Han Xiao could only mourn for them.

In the next few days, Han Xiao joined the Dark Net high-rank meetings to discuss the future.

Most of the time, he was just watching and hardly gave any suggestions, but everyone in the meeting took him very seriously. As the strongest person in the Dark Net, the mastermind behind the fall of Germinal Organization, Han Xiao's name and position were above all others. With his achievements, Han Xiao would receive the same treatment anywhere he went.

In the player forums, the ending of this large main storyline attracted a lot of attention. It was the first time for the players to take part in something of such a large scale, so they were very excited. There were some players who saw the nuclear explosion with their own eyes and uploaded the recording. And the cause of all this, Han Xiao, had his share of the attention, too. The players made guesses on Han Xiao's experiences and increased Han Xiao's fame once again.

With the end of the war, Germinal Organization players lost their organization and had a chance to choose again. They left Andrea together with the refugees and could choose which continent to go to. Without any prior agreement, almost seventy percent of the ex-Germinal Organization players chose to go to the Southern Continent.

"Black Phantom, we are coming!"

The ex-Germinal Organization player almost cried tears of joy, after having a tough time for so long, they finally saw the light. Who could understand how bitter they felt when they saw the other players show off the benefits from Han Xiao?

Why not all ex-Germinal Organization players?

Of the other thirty percent, most of them had participated in the Germinal Organization headquarters mission, so their relationship points with Han Xiao were less than -10.

Piece of sh*t Germinal Organization, give me back my future!

…

The plane landed in Sanctuary Three. Just as Han Xiao alighted from the plane, Huang Yu approached him like he had something to say.

"What is it?" Han Xiao noticed Huang Yu's hesitation.

Huang Yu cleared his throat and said, "Your excellency, your family member is here to visit you."

My family? Han Xiao was stunned for a while, then he realized it was the Alumera family.

With some thinking, after the war ended, he was someone outside Alumera but a member of Alumera, and he was also the person with the highest position in the entire planet. Of course, Alumera would be curious of his standpoint, and they wanted to rely on him by using this relationship that they had.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and said, "Tell him to come and see me."

Ten minutes later, Xiao Quan followed Huang Yu into the guest hall. He was the messenger sent by Alumera to visit Han Xiao and one of Xiao Jin's foster children. Technically, he was Han Xiao's body's brother—they were so-called 'family'.

Xiao Quan was excellent compared to the other foster kids, and he had been chosen as the messenger this time because he knew how to read the situation. When Han Xiao's true identity was exposed, many brothers and sisters in the family could not believe it. Some had even been furious upon realizing that Han Xiao became their elder. However, Xiao Quan did not dare to have that kind of emotion—he was very aware of the current situation. They could not look at 'Han Xiao' the way they used to, and seeing how furious his siblings were, Xiao Quan only felt they did not know what death was.

Black Phantom alone was far superior to the entire Alumera, and he did not dare show any disrespect.

Xiao Quan used his eloquence to chat with Huang Yu, wanting to get hints from Huang Yu about Han Xiao's standpoint but was completely unable to. As Huang Yu did not care much about him, Xiao Quan became even more nervous.

"We're here, go in."

The door of the guest hall opened, and Xiao Quan saw Han Xiao sitting on the sofa with crossed logs right away, staring at him faintly. Xiao Quan could not help but hold his breath.

"Xia—Han Xiao, it's been a long time." Xiao Quan braced himself and greeted him, wanting to ease the atmosphere.

"Call me Han Xiao," Han Xiao said coldly.

That was not a good sign, Xiao Quan was terrified but had to follow.

"Only you?" Han Xiao raised his brows and said, "What does Alumera want me for?"

Xiao Quan found the words carefully and said, "Han Xiao, Father has always been thinking of you. He has been wanting to see you and hopes you can return. As for all the unhappiness before, he can explain."

Han Xiao kept silent and stared at Xiao Quan unwaveringly. Xiao Quan felt the pressure from Han Xiao's eyes and looked down, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

"He wants me to go over there?" Han Xiao stood up and walked up to Xiao Quan with wide strides as if he was going to strike. Xiao Quan was completely suppressed by the aura. Thinking of the things that Han Xiao had done, a sense of horror filled his heart. He stepped back and bumped into the chair, lost his balance, and fell to the ground. He hastily wanted to stand up, but a shadow suddenly shrouded him. Han Xiao looked down on him with his hands in his pocket. Han Xiao's eyes were like needles that made Xiao Quan tremble. He half kneeled on the ground, looked up horrified, and did not dare to move.

"You guys can't seem to understand the situation. If Xiao Jin wants to see me, he'd better get over here himself," Han Xiao said coldly as he suddenly reached out his hands toward Xiao Quan.

I'm done for… he wants to kill me! Xiao Quan's face was completely terrified, his brain went blank.

Suddenly, he felt a force on his shoulder from a hand, pulling him up.

Xiao Quan was pulled up, and Han Xiao patted his shoulder lightly like he was brushing off dust for him. "Tell them what I said the exact way I said it."

Huang Yu, who waited by the side, opened the door, pointed with his arms, and said expressionlessly, "This way please."

Xiao Quan regained his focus. He did not dare stay any longer and left like he was running away.

Han Xiao sat back on the sofa and pondered. Alumera visited because they want my help using the 'family' relationship, but I just have the right thing I need them to do. If I can get Alumera to move to Sanctuary Three, the NPC resources here will be even greater…

…

On the other side, after Xiao Quan left, he reported the situation to Xiao Jin while shivering.

"H—he wants you to come here yourself."

Xiao Jin's expression kept changing, and he let out a long sigh. "Prepare to pay the price…"

Back then Han Xiao wore a mask, they did not know his real identity. There had still been space to negotiate. Now that his real identity was exposed, it meant that every problem between them was placed on the table and had to be solved, and Alumera was the weaker one, so they had to keep stepping back.

Xiao Jin looked at Xiao Hai, who was beside him, and said in a low voice, "Prepare to apologize and make up yourself!"

Xiao Jin then slammed the door on the way out, leaving Xiao Hai alone in the room with a terrified face.

Chapter 288: The New Round of Business 1

After getting rid of the Alumera messenger, Han Xiao went to look for Frenzied Sword and the others. He was going to test the dungeon creation function.

Han Xiao went to the building next door, and none of them were home. Han Xiao scratched his head. He took out his laptop, ran a program and searched through the images of all the hidden surveillance cameras in the sanctuary to find a match for these four faces. Not long after, the locations of these four were found. Maple Moon was learning new fusion recipes with Emerald Grass. Green smoke was billowing out of the drugs. A few honest players stood to the side, probably there to test the drug.

Hao Tian was in the arena doing a Challenge. As a pro player, he had very high expectations for himself, and he never stopped honing his skills.

Frenzied Sword was getting beaten rapidly by Hila like a sandbag. Hila had taken Han Xiao's advance and found an Inhuman to train and develop her power. Aurora sat in her wheelchair and watched while hugging Bear Cub, and Bun-hit-dog was recording excitedly. Bun-hit-dog was closer to Frenzied Sword. He felt very happy, seeing that Frenzied Sword was getting beaten brutally… true friendship.

Han Xiao headed to Hila's house and called the others on the way.

Just as he entered the yard, a black shadow flew away above his head. It was Frenzied Sword, and without thinking, Han Xiao pulled him down from the sky.

Hila stopped her training, her floating red hair dropping down and going back to curly hair that extended to her waist, and the red light in her eyes faded away. Han Xiao looked at Frenzied Sword, who looked miserable, then nodded in his heart. The Hila now resembled who she was in his previous life much more.

Bear Cub struggled to stand on Aurora's lap, fell onto the ground, and then ran to Han Xiao. The cub climbed up his leg, hugging on Han Xiao's neck and swung like a backpack. Bear Cub was very well taken care of, and its weight had almost doubled.

Han Xiao raised his hand and slapped Bear Cub away, then looked at the combat information on the interface. Bear Cub was LV 18, four levels higher than when he had brought it back.

Sharp Claw Ice Bear species, rather good growth potential.

Hila felt complicated. She was full of hatred toward Germinal Organization, but she had never thought that such a big organization would ever be destroyed completely. Her hatred and grudges disappeared with that ground shaking explosion. She remembered when she had first met Han Xiao—who knew that weak, pale-faced test subject would have such legendary achievements after just one year?

Seeing her expression was abnormal, Han Xiao took out his laptop, opened a few photos, and passed it to Hila. The photos were the ruins of the Germinal Organization headquarters after the nuclear explosion, captured by Six Nations' drones. It was black and scorched earth.

"After an explosion like this, they're most likely all dead. Even if there is anyone left, it will only be those of insignificance, so don't have to worry about Germinal Organization coming back unless they are tired of being alive." Han Xiao paused before saying. "You were once a member of the Germinal Organization, so you are on Six Nations' wanted list too, but you are on my side now, so Six Nations won't be against you anymore."

Hila frowned. "I never agreed to be your subordinate."

Aurora raised her hand and said, "I want to be."

Hila reached out her hands bitterly and messed Aurora's hair. Aurora's golden hair had grown longer, reaching her ears.

They chatted for a while till Hao Tian and Maple Moon arrived. Usually, Han Xiao would only summon them if something good was going to happen, so they were looking forward to it.

Han Xiao used the dungeon creation function. After some contemplation, he selected the Dark Crow Valley operation. To create dungeon crystals, this was suitable for the standard of the players at the moment.

_____________________

LV30 Dungeon Crystal—[Dark Crow Valley Operation]

Introduction: Dark Crow Valley is one of the Germinal Organization's bases in the Southern Continent, destroyed by Stardragon and Hesla. This will be your test.

Dungeon Type: Backward Time Travel Dungeon

Player Completion Count: 0

Highest Dungeon Completion Rate: None

Record Holders: None

_____________________

"Dungeon Crystal?" The four of them exchanged looks.

The average level of the player at the moment was 30, so they were starting to come into contact with dungeons. There had already been 11 fixed dungeons found on Planet Aquamarine, which meant that these dungeon crystals could be earned multiple times from a character by repeating the mission. They mostly came from the various organizations, and they were all small five-man dungeon.

New dungeons meant new opportunities—the four of them completed the mission and received the reward. A white rhombus crystal appeared in their hands, and they could enter the dungeon by shattering it.

"This is a five men dungeon, so we need one more person," Frenzied Sword immediately said. "Let's see if we can at least complete it with 'Normal' grade.

Because of Han Xiao, they always stuck together, so they were very familiar with each other.

Hao Tian nodded. "Okay, I'll ask Rebels Shall Rule from Team one of Sky Territory."

Nobody had any objections. The four of them came to the square, and after waiting for a while, Rebels Shall Rule ran there full of joy. God Hao Tian was his idol, so he was very happy that he could just be with his idol.

The five of them formed a team.

"Let's enter the dungeon and take a look."

Frenzied Sword shattered the crystal. Fog gushed out, covered the five of them, and disappeared from the crowded square.

…

Their vision blurred, and when it recovered, the surroundings had become a forest. It was night, and it was difficult to even see their own hands.

Backward Time Travel Dungeon let the players participate in an event that had happened before by duplicating that event.

The notification showed on their interfaces

_____________________

You are soldiers of the Dark Crow Valley Base. Hesla and Stardragon troops are going to invade. Your mission is to protect the Dark Crow Valley Base as best you can.

Dungeon Start Countdown: 10 minutes

Dungeon Goal: Survive until the end of the event. Reward: 15,000 EXP

Optional Mission I: Kill five Stardragon or Hesla agents. Reward: 30,000 EXP

Optional Mission II: Protect the real intel in the base from leaking. Reward: 45,000 EXP

Optional Mission III: Pan Kuang and Ji Jie survive. Reward: 70,000 EXP

Optional Mission IV: Defeat Stardragon and Hesla alliance. Reward: 110,000 EXP

Dungeon Failure Conditions: Annihilation.

_____________________

"Such high rewards!" Rebels Shall Rule was shocked. As a very important member of the guild, he had seen a lot and knew a lot. The LV30 dungeons that the players had seen at the moment usually only had two to three missions, and the total reward was 70,000 to 80,000 EXP. Yet, there were five missions in this dungeon with so many rewards!

Rebels Shall Rule then thought about it, and his face turned serious. "However, the higher the reward, the more difficult it will be."

The other four exchanged looks in confusion.

Is that so?

Never felt any part of the missions from Black Phantom were difficult…

"We are different," Bun-hit-dog said with a heavy heart. He did not have the heart to correct Rebels Shall Rule.

Frenzied Sword looked at the notification and said with surprise, "The dungeon will only start in ten minutes, but we can already move freely. What does this mean?"

This the first time that they had met a dungeon with a countdown, so they were a little lost.

Actually, the countdown would only appear in more difficult dungeons. The players would enter the event sometime before it happened so that they could do some preparation. The time for the start of the mission was the night when Hesla agents were going to steal the intelligence, so the players had the opportunity to prevent that. If they successfully did and changed the beginning of the story, the difficulty of the entire dungeon would drop from 'Hell' to 'Difficult'. However, the interface did not notify them about this; the players had to explore this themselves.

In the future, when Han Xiao opened this dungeon, after the players in the sanctuary got tortured by it a few hundred times, only then would they find the correct way to start the dungeon.

Of course, at the moment, the five of them were unaware of the importance of those ten minutes; they started the dungeon as usual. However, this was their first time in this dungeon. This type of dungeon was different from those that were just about killing monsters; it was more realistic and more difficult. The five of them had fun in agony, going around and around like headless chickens. They could only follow the job given by the base and patrol.

One day passed this way. During their patrol on the second night, Bun-hit-dog suddenly received a headshot.

_____________________

Your teammate [Bun-hit-dog] has died.

_____________________

"What‽" The rest four of them were horrified. They looked in all directions immediately, but the forest was dense. The night was dark, and they had no idea where the enemy was.

Bang!

This time, it was Hao Tian who took a headshot. The rest of the three felt like the enemy was everywhere, and they were understandably anxious.

Hao Tian's voice appeared in the team channel. He said very seriously, "The interface said I received a lethal attack. The person that killed me was Black Phantom!"

They were dazed. It turned out this was a dungeon with Han Xiao in it! And as the enemy!

They were very discouraged.

Han Xiao's dungeon creation function was to cut out an event that would be generated into a mission. The characters in the dungeon were all mirror images, replaying events exactly as they had happened. It had nothing to do with the original person, and they had a certain amount of dungeon enhancement.

After three consecutive shots, all three of them died. Their visions blurred again, and they were back in the square. They had spent one day in the dungeon, but only ten minutes had passed in the outside world; the flow of time in the dungeon was different.

_____________________

Dungeon [Dark Crow Valley Operation] Failed.

Dungeon Cooldown: 3 hours

_____________________

The five of them all smiled bitterly.

This was way too difficult. They did not even know how they died.

…

On the other side, Han Xiao saw the return of the five of them from his surveillance image, confirmed the dungeon crystal to be effective, and started pondering.

"Dungeon crystals can only be distributed through mission rewards and can't be sold for money. Its use to me is to gather more players and give them more benefit, so the players will be more willing to do things for me. Also, the players will know about my experience through the dungeon, which will in turn increase my position. These are all rather indirect benefits… I can't sell the dungeon crystals, so there's no direct benefit."

Han Xiao suddenly paused. He slapped his head and laughed. "I'm thinking about this the wrong way. There's no need to sell them…"

Chapter 289: The New Round of Business 2

The next day, Han Xiao officially started to distribute dungeon missions. The players in the sanctuary were pleasantly surprised.

"Never thought Black Phantom would have dungeon missions as well. Why didn't they appear before?"

"The Germinal Organization main storyline only ended recently. Maybe it's to let those of us who didn't participate in it take part through the form of a dungeon, and Han Xiao is the one to give access to those dungeons."

"That's pretty good if that's the case."

The players in the sanctuary had not taken part in the war main storyline. There were definitely some regrets. Now that Han Xiao had released a dungeon that was related to the completed main storyline, it was undoubtedly a chance to make fulfill those regrets.

The players swarmed in, but Han Xiao did not give it out for free this time.

He set a mission with one dungeon crystal as the reward. It required something called 'Contribution Points'. After accepting this mission, purchasing anything from Han Xiao would increase the contribution points.

Since dungeon crystals could not be sold or generate direct benefits, he just had to change his method. He could randomly set the mission requirement, so he made the dungeon crystal into something like a bonus reward to encourage the players to buy things from him, which would, in turn, increase his sales.

The players that were already planning to spend would be even more willing to spend after seeing they could complete the dungeon mission on the way. The players who wanted to complete the dungeon mission would come and buy from him, then realize that the things he sold were all bargains, and they would fall into the trap, forming a cycle.

This was a promotion method!

The effect was very clear. The first time Han Xiao tried it, his sales for that day increased by thirty percent! The results were very great.

The most obvious impact was that Han Xiao's surrounding area became more crowded than subways, such that he could hardly move.

After getting the dungeon crystal, the players called their friends and created teams to enter the dungeon. Their experience of the process was basically—enter joyfully, die, then come out stunned and confused.

The winning goal was to survive till the end. At the start, everyone died before they could reach the end. Two days later, someone finally completed the dungeon, but the completion rate was pathetic. They completed zero optional missions and completed the dungeon with the lowest completion rate.

The four optional missions were the ones with the highest rewards. They spent money at Han Xiao's to receive the dungeon crystal, but they only got the lowest dungeon reward. It was a loss, and the players were frustrated.

The difference in difficulty between the optional missions and the completion goal was huge.

"Is this dungeon even playable?"

"Black Phantom killed me for the eighth time. My heart is exhausted…"

The players could not help but complain, share the dungeon's intelligence and recording, and hope someone could come up with something.

"After dying so many times, I can conclude… if you listen to the base's order, you'll die."

"How do we even complete the optional missions? Is this really an LV30 dungeon?"

A high skill player arranged the intelligence and analyzed the dungeon storyline from the five optional missions.

"The outline of the path should be like this. First night into the dungeon, Hesla agents cause the leak of the base's fake intelligence. The second night, Black Phantom starts to act by sniping patrols, infiltrates the base with unknown methods, then steals the real intelligence. This night is the key to completing mission two. Then the base enters alert, discovering Black Phantom's location. The pursuit then starts, resulting in failure. Right after that, a large number of Hesla troops arrive, and the head-on battle starts. There's a chance to complete mission one here. Then, everyone gets surrounded and defends the base, and in the end, the base explodes. Staying alive till this point will be considered completing the dungeon."

Tables and recordings were listed there, showing the things to take note of in every step of the dungeon storyline, then it went on to the next topic.

"Obviously, in this case, there is no chance to complete the rest of the two optional missions. From my daring guess, there might be two paths to this dungeon, one of them is the one we experienced, and the other is the hidden storyline that will relate to the last two optional missions and has yet to be triggered by anyone.

"In order to defeat the enemy and make them retreat, I feel it has to be approached from the intelligence. After investigating, I noticed a new opportunity—there are ten minutes to prepare before the dungeon officially starts. This is actually the time before the Hesla agents start to act. If this can be prevented and the intelligence doesn't leak, the dungeon storyline might be different. However, this is a very tough battle—no one had succeeded yet.

"Lastly, a reminder to all players, do not have any contact with Black Phantom! Once you meet him, it's most likely death."

The players were very passionate about dungeons. There were all sorts of analysis posts in the forums. Han Xiao did not know what the dungeon was actually like. Although he had chosen the event, the mission had been generated automatically, but he just had to see the shared videos on the forums to know what the players experienced.

The players are actually on Dark Crow Valley Base's side. Is it because the dungeon will be too easy if they are on my side?

Han Xiao was speechless. Suddenly, he had a flash of insight.

That's a good thing, too. High difficulty dungeons have richer reward, and only then will the players be passionate about it for a longer time. It's based on me, so no one knows about the key points to this part of the storyline more than me. I could use this advantage and make some very specifically targeted machinery and sell to the players to help them complete the mission.

The more the players benefitted from the dungeon, the more he would benefit. His intention was not to have the dungeon discourage all the players. Also, he would make money once again from selling targeted machinery to help the players.

This is a business opportunity!

Han Xiao was a doer. He produced a large batch of targeted machinery the next day. There were a specially-made helmet that protected against ranged sniping and a device that increased the movement speed in the forest. As soon as these were released, the tortured players immediately liked them, and the products were sold out instantly.

When there is demand, there will be market potential.

Han Xiao was very clear about that principle. He grabbed onto all business opportunities and created a new business chain. Han Xiao was too lazy to even count the money he earned—he only knew it was a lot of money.

As Aquamarine Dollars was not a general currency in the galaxy, he kept splurging and converting his money into machinery, material, and rare resources, yet not only did he not have less money because of that, his money continuously increased.

When Han Xiao had still been a player, he had spent every cent with caution. Now, he had more money than he could spend. Even the Fabian Company's warehouses were bought out by him and needed to be restocked.

It so troubling to have so much money… Han Xiao was troubled for real. He was not planning to bring a ton of Aquamarine Dollars into the galaxy and use it as toilet paper.

…

With new machinery, it was finally easier for the players to complete the dungeon. The new machinery that he built became standard equipment for the dungeon in the mind of the players. Compared to the rich reward in the dungeon, the cost was acceptable, so the players felt it was worth it.

At least one person had to have the equipment in a five men team—it was almost a necessity.

The money stacked up, and Han Xiao earned another bucket of gold. The difficulty level of the dungeon also decreased from NetEase to Tencent. Although Tencent always received a lot of complaints, they were still quite kind compared to NetEase.

The difference between the two could be illustrated by:

Tencent: "You can't enjoy the game if you have no money."

NetEase: "You can't enjoy the game."

The long-term benefits of becoming an NPC in charge of a dungeon are great. I will not have to worry about attracting players as long as I'm present. This is a Version 1.0 main storyline, so dungeons below LV60 can last me for a very long time. I will temporarily only create Dark Crow Valley dungeon, and once the average level increases, I will make new dungeons. This way, the players' needs can always be satisfied, and it can last for a long term.

Also, with more dungeons being distributed, the players will know more about my experience, which is very helpful in making a deeper impression in the hearts of the players. I have to let the players know that other than being handsome, I have countless more strengths.

Han Xiao took the players very seriously as it was unavoidable to interact with players if he wanted to grow quickly, and the players were a group of lawless people. Thus, he did not want to stand against them. Although he was very far ahead of the players, once the players grew stronger, they would still be able to cause some trouble when they appeared in groups. The Great Mechanic Han had to admit this; he was never too full of himself.

[Dark Crow Valley Operation] dungeon created a wave in the sanctuary. The sanctuary's functions were already getting richer with time, and the appearance of the dungeon caused it to improve drastically. In the hearts of the players, the position of the main city was already having its fundamentals.NetEase and Tencent are both Chinese multinational corporations.

Chapter 290: Sucker

Hundreds of resource boxes were stacked neatly in the warehouse. Inside were the countless parts and materials that Han Xiao had hoarded.

This was his secret base below Sanctuary Three. During the construction of the sanctuary, Han Xiao had secretly expanded the base. It was now his hidden stronghold, and every route had authorization identification equipped with guarding machine guns. There were also surveillance cameras in every entrance and countless spider detectors lurking in the dark. The security was very tight.

Han Xiao had a total of three warehouses—one for materials and parts, another for machinery backlog that he built for EXP and to sell to players, and the last was the important warehouse, storing the equipment he was using, including the new mechanical suit, Amphiptere.

All the items in his warehouses were part of his preparation for his interstellar travel.

The recent dungeon function had earned him a lot of profit once again. Money was pouring in, but he had no idea how much he would have when he left the planet. However, the very positive situation did not make him too excited. He saw some problems too.

The money that he earned came from players, and where did the players get their money?

Of course, their money came from other NPCs by doing missions.

Technically, what the players were doing was gathering the fortune of the NPCs everywhere and giving it all to Han Xiao as a form of expenditure, forming a torrent of money. The money was moving and formed an assembly line. He could be considered the destination of this assembly line. Therefore, if the players wanted to earn money, they had to work for other NPCs, and to increase the average spending and purchasing power of the players, he had to increase the number of NPCs in the sanctuary.

There was also another problem. The players would not stay in the main city forever—they would definitely go to other places to do missions and experience the storyline. To have these players return in the future, other than to have the various events, the main city had to be made more accessible.

Han Xiao planned to lay out a new transportation network in the sanctuary, building railway tracks and scheduling regular flights. This required a very high budget, and the Dark Net could not fund it temporarily. Bennett was currently developing new sanctuaries, and they did not have extra money.

These two problems had the same solution.

Find a sucker who was willing to pay the money and provide manpower.

The phone rang. Huang Yu's voice appeared after it was picked up. "The visiting group of the Alumera family has arrived at the sanctuary entrance. Shall we let them in?"

A meaningful smile appeared on Han Xiao's face as he played with the bullet shells.

"Yes, of course, we need to let them in."

…

A convoy parked outside the sanctuary entrance. Xiao Jin had personally brought people to visit. The people who came were mostly members of the Xiao Faction. With Xiao Jin as the leader, there were a few nephews and children. Other than the Xiao Faction, the Home Faction and Red Island Faction also sent their messengers along, mostly to express their standpoint.

They waited at the entrance for quite some time, but Xiao Jin did not show any sign of impatience. He knew very clearly that he was the weak party, and he was here to plead.

After a very long time, they were finally let in. He looked around on the way and observed the facilities in the sanctuary, nodding. Following Huang Yu to the guest hall, he raised his head and immediately saw Han Xiao sitting on the master seat, sizing them up with a mocking expression.

Without the mask, this face in the eyes of these Xiao Faction people was the missing Han Xiao, but they could not see through Han Xiao at all. It was like he was totally a different person. His eyes were as if he was looking at a group of strangers. Xiao Jin did not dare to call him son; he cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "Black Phantom."

Han Xiao looked at them without any expression and did not reply. He simply sat with his back against the chair, played with the bullet in his hand, and stared at them.

Xiao Jin understood his intention. He looked at Xiao Hai and the rest of the youngsters behind him and gave them a sign by tilting his head. These Xiao Faction youngsters caused a commotion, but after a few seconds of hesitation and procrastination, they unwillingly greeted him.

"Stepfather."

"Oh, you're here," Han Xiao said coldly. Han Xiao knew that Xiao Jin definitely expected this awkward relationship issue to happen before they came, and these youngsters were definitely mentally prepared. All this hesitation were acted just for him. Xiao Jin wanted him to go back to being 'Xiao Jin's son' and strengthen their relationship. However, this was completely useless to him, since he was not the real 'Han Xiao'.

Han Xiao was not moved. "What are you visiting me for?"

Seeing the situation, Xiao Jin coughed and said, "I can explain what happened in the past. Your elder brother wants to apologize to you personally."

Xiao Hai took a deep breath, put on a very apologetic expression, and quickly revised the script in his heart one more time. He had already come up with his apology on the way there.

He would cry and grovel, and he would show his regret and self-hatred for what he had done. Then, there would be a high chance to get Han Xiao's forgiveness.

As long as their relationship was restored, Alumera would be able to rely on this strong force. No matter how unwilling Xiao Hai was, he had to brace himself and put on the act.

Xiao Hai was about to take a step forward and start to speak.

Bang!

Everyone was shocked. They followed the sound and looked over. A bullet crater still giving out smoke appeared under Xiao Hai's foot. If he had taken that step forward, the bullet would have hit the back of his foot.

Xiao Hai could not take the step and froze in place.

The empty bullet shell fell to the floor. A dark blue electromagnetic force covered his finger, and black smoke came out of the tip of his fingernail. The flick of his hand had acted as a firing pin, detonating the base and shooting out a bullet with his bare hands. Even Han Xiao himself felt it was cool and awesome.

Its power was limited, but it was enough to scare people.

"I don't need an apology, get down to business," Han Xiao said coldly.

Xiao Jin's expression changed slightly. It was clear that Han Xiao did not want to talk about emotions and only wanted to talk about their deal, which disrupted his plan. Without a choice, he could only ask Xiao Hai to step back.

Xiao Hai clenched his teeth tightly. He had already planned to apologize, but he was not even given a chance to read his script; Han Xiao did not even look at him.

Xiao Jin focused his mind and said in a low voice, "The Germinal Organization is gone, and the Six Nations will be the only large organization from now on. Due to climate deterioration, many wanderers will choose to leave their colonies and join the Six Nations. Once the Six Nations finish resting and recovering, sooner or later, they will clear out us scattered warlords, even if we were once Six Nations' partners…"

"Unless you can find someone to protect you." Han Xiao rubbed his chins.

Xiao Jin nodded. He wanted to plan for the future, to rely on Han Xiao and the Dark Net.

Han Xiao changed the topic and said, "It's time to pay back what you owe. Don't you have any idea how you got to where you are today?"

Xiao Jin was speechless, he wanted to play the emotion card, but Han Xiao just wanted to talk business, just like back then when he was only known as Black Phantom.

"… What do you want to see?"

"Money, manpower, and to move your people into the sanctuary. It's not easy to chase the debt if you're so far away."

The expressions of the visitors shifted slightly.

This would mean they had to give up what they had built. They looked at Xiao Jin and waited for his decision.

Xiao Jin kept silent for a while and decided to compromise. "Okay."

His eyes were looking at the future. The war had brought chaos, but it had also brought order. There would be fewer and fewer wanderers. Once the Six Nations had the time, the idea of warlords and colonies would disappear. Compared to waiting, it was better to look for a way out and change the business model of the family.

Dark Net's sanctuary was considered a colony as well, but different from them warlords, the Six Nations allowed the existence of sanctuaries. Xiao Jin pondered and felt this might be an opportunity, so he agreed.

After getting the others to leave, Han Xiao and Xiao Jin were the only ones left. They discussed the details of the deal, and Xiao Jin kept compromising. The end result was Alumera would be funding the building of transportation network and slowly migrate their people from all their strongholds into the sanctuary, including the refugees and wanderer under their rule, to increase the population of the sanctuary.

Alumera was the sucker that Han Xiao was looking for. Han Xiao had absolutely no intention of inheriting the thoughts of the original owner of his body, but this could be a chip to use Alumera; these people were not noble themselves anyway.

"Heard your Southern Continent division is still troubling Lu Cheng… he's my friend."

Xiao Jin sighed. "I know what to do."

Other than Alumera, Han Xiao also planned to pull in Lu Cheng. He was not going to let Alumera be the only one to grow. The Dark Net would support his operations.

Thinking about that, he remembered that there were still some blueprints that he had yet to receive from Old Man Lu.

Chapter 291: Four Blueprints

Ever since what happened in Green Valley Ville, Lu Cheng and Alumera had been in a bad relationship with each other. Lu Cheng's Black Pine Colony received numerous attacks and suffered quite some damage. Since Alumera had joined Han Xiao, Han Xiao wanted to settle this problem for Lu Cheng, so he called.

"It's you." Lu Cheng was cautious on the call. He had also received the intelligence that Han Xiao came from Alumera, so this raised his alertness and made him doubt Han Xiao's motive in contacting him before.

"Don't worry, Alumera won't look for your trouble anymore." Han Xiao was straight forward and expressed his standpoint.

Lu Cheng did not understand. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not on Alumera's side, at least I was not. Now, they have joined me, and I have settled your conflict with them." Han Xiao laughed. "Friends should help each other."

"… Okay." Lu Cheng's tone softened a little. Thinking of their relationship before, he felt Han Xiao would not lie to him, and he did not need to. He was just a small warlord, and Han Xiao was now a legend.

"After the war, the Six Nations will be the only large organization, and there will be fewer wanderers. Warlords will definitely be cleared out in the future…" Han Xiao repeated Xiao Jin's words. Basically, what he meant was—The business you're doing now has no future, my brother. You will definitely lose everything in the future, but my business has potential. Don't say I didn't remind you. Now there's an opportunity, and I want you. Don't let my kindness go to waste.

Lu Cheng was a little tempted. "Let me consider."

After they finished talking about business matters, Han Xiao asked if Le Zhenyu was still in Black Pine Colony, and to that, Lu Cheng's answer was he had already left. Han Xiao had some thoughts.

Lei Zhenyu was the mechanic that built PE-0 Nanotechnology Muscle Fiber, and Old Man Lu had entrusted him to help Lu Cheng. Once Lei Zhenyu left, it would be the chance to get the four blueprints that Old Man Lu had left behind. Old Man Lu would try to pass the message to Lu Cheng, who would then send someone back to the repair shop back in Stardragon to retrieve the blueprints.

Although their father and son relationship was very rigid, Old Man Lu's still had a lot of love as a father. Han Xiao shook his head discreetly. This reminded him of his dad… oh, he was not talking about Xiao Jin.

Old Man Lu's four blueprints were very rare items. They had very unique styles and could be considered a set of godly equipment in the early stages of a mechanic. The chance to get those through knowledge fusion was extremely low, so Han Xiao was tempted. He now had three fighting styles—ranged kiting style with the Ghost sniper rifle and Electromagnetic Hover-boots, all-round style with his Amphiptere mechanical suit, and Mechanical Pugilist style with Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades and Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves. These three styles made up his current combat style.

The other machinery was not counted as part of his usual tactics—such as the 'Rush' style with Gen 2.5 Rangers and batteries or the pure machinery style with a large number of firearms—as these were rarely used. Ever since the creation of the snake series mechanical suits, Han Xiao had rarely gambled for new blueprints. He knew the knowledge fusion combination needed for the blueprints. Other than trying his luck occasionally, he only spent EXP to fuse specific blueprints when he needed them.

Old Man Lu's four blueprints belonged to a new standalone tactical combat style. It was equal to being free. Of course, Han Xiao would not miss it.

…

The sun slowly moved closer to the horizon, dyeing Stardragon Western Capital in a dusk glow. The people on the streets were in a hurry as if the night was a monster and they wanted to be back home before it came.

Han Xiao walked on the streets slowly. It had been close to a year since he left, and now that he had returned, the feeling that the city gave him was slightly different. For one, there were more people. The remains of the paint from the anti-war protests could still be seen on the corners of the walls, and the large screen on the building far away played the news about their victory in the war and the upcoming climate deterioration. The city was covered in a heavy-hearted air, and the residents were worried and lost about their fate in the future.

Han Xiao was wearing the Facial Simulator and had a different appearance, wearing a wool coat. It was already winter, and these clothes were very low profile and ordinary.

Back at the repair shop that he had left long ago, it still had the same structure. Even his workshop remained beside the shop. Han Xiao walked into the shop, and a buzzing sound came from the workstation. Lu Qian was focusing on assembling machinery. She was alone—Old Man Lu, who usually sat at the door, was missing.

Lu Qian turned around. Seeing that a customer was there, she hastily put down her work and approached him with a smile. "Hello, what do you need?"

Lu Qian still had the familiar look, gentle and dedicated, like a spring breeze. Han Xiao sized her up and said without changing his expression, "I would like to customize something small."

"Customize what?" Lu Qian blinked.

Han Xiao took out a blueprint and passed it to Lu Qian—it was a mini metal statue drawing, not very technical, just needed welding and grinding. Any machinery assembly shop could complete it. Lu Qian looked at it for a while and said while nodding, "No problem, come to take tomorrow."

Han Xiao shook his head. "I'm leaving the city tomorrow; I need it tonight."

With a troubled expression, Lu Qian said, "It takes about two hours to build this statue, and I'll close the shop when it gets dark."

"Then I can only go to another shop." Han Xiao acted upset and mumbled, "Which repair shop take 30,000 dollars jobs around here?"

Lu Qian's eyes sparkled instantly, and she changed her response immediately. "Today's closing time is delayed; you can wait in the shop and receive the product as soon as it's finished."

Han Xiao laughed discreetly. He knew Lu Qian too well—this method worked every time.

There was only a chance to find Old Man Lu's box if he stayed in the shop. Of course, he could not ask Lu Qian directly as it would raise caution.

At this time, a new customer entered, it was a short hair man, he said, "I want to buy some household machinery. Do you have any?"

"Yes." Lu Qian pointed toward the metal shelf on the side and said, "Everything on that is for sale. Sorry, I currently am doing something, so you can look at the products yourself."

Han Xiao casually pulled a chair and sat down. Suddenly, he sensed something and looked to the side. He saw that the man who walked in was sizing up the items on the shelf while discreetly sizing him up and observing him. Old Man Lu's identity was special, so he had entrusted Division 13 to take care of Lu Qian before leaving. There was always someone that monitored the place nearby, preventing anyone from harming Lu Qian. This new customer was one of the regular field agents, and he had come to observe Han Xiao.

"Division 13's man?" Han Xiao's senses at LV 70 were very sharp, so he noticed this man's footsteps showed unique signs of having trained in the military. He could guess it easily with just a little bit of thinking. His expression did not change, and he watched quietly. He was not afraid of getting recognized as he had changed his face for the time being.

It got dark, and Lu Qian was focused. Han Xiao sat on the other side, and that man was still looking at the shelf and monitoring him.

Han Xiao's brows rose. He could not move freely when under surveillance. He shook his leg, and a mini spider detector crawled out his pocket, moving stealthily following the shadows. Han Xiao took out his laptop while blocking the vision of the other man with his body. He looked down and opened the controlling panel for the spider detector, then switched it to manual control.

The visual image of the mini spider detector showed on the bottom right of the screen, moving close to the ground. The detector was equipped with a metal detection device, and the pipes hidden under the walls and the ground were all reflected. He remembered Old Man Lu's safe was metal, so he used metal detection.

Half an hour later, the spider detector found the target in Lu Qian's room on the second floor. A suitcase-style safe was under the bed. Han Xiao's eyes spun. He stood up immediately and asked, "Is there a toilet here?"

Lu Qian looked up and wiped her sweat. "It's upstairs. I can bring you."

"No need to, you do your stuff. I can go myself." Han Xiao rejected her and walked upstairs. After a few steps, he suddenly heard that field agent following him up with the excuse of wanting to go to the toilet as well.

Han Xiao felt a little troubled. It was not easy to act when he was being monitored by someone. Suddenly, he had an evil idea. Coming to the toilet on the second floor, he suddenly turned around and punched the field agent in his face. The field agent had no time to react at all and could only feel his vision getting blurry and his nose being in extreme pain. Then, he fainted.

Han Xiao held onto him and laid him down on the ground slowly. He walked into Lu Qian's room, pulled out the safe from under the bed, and keyed in the password he remembered.

Ka-cha

The cover opened. Han Xiao gave it a scan, and the interface notified him that he had received four rare blueprints, so it was confirmed. He was delighted, rolled the blueprints up, and placed them into his bag. Then he took out the substitutes from his back and placed them into the box, restoring it back to its place.

The substitutes were also machinery blueprints, but they were just normal blueprints. There would be players in the future who would go through countless hardships to complete this mission. Thus, by putting something inside, the player who completed the mission would at least get something. Han Xiao felt that he had such a kind heart, almost so touching it could move the whole of 'Galaxy'.

He carried the field agent down. Lu Qian was shocked and asked, "What happened to him?"

Han Xiao purposely put on a face of disgust and said, "This guy wanted to use the toilet together with me. It was a disgusting idea, so I knocked him out."

Lu Qian's expression became weird. Her eyes looked around on the field agent's body then mumbled, "So exciting…"

Han Xiao sat down peacefully. He did not panic after knocking a person from Division 13 out. This was because of his strength. Plus, Lu Qian and he knew each other quite some time ago, so he did not want to disappear for nothing and make Lu Qian scared.

He chatted with Lu Qian to fill the silence.

…

"C156 please respond… C156 please respond!"

In a large room of a building a few hundred meters away, a team of field agents to protect Lu Qian was on standby. The captain kept repeating the same line into the walkie talkie, trying to reach the field agent in the repair shop.

After not getting a response at all, their faces started to get serious.

"Sh*t, he's lost contact. There must be an accident in the shop. Let's move now!"

The captain stood up immediately, changed into a bulletproof vest, brought along an ammunition belt, and burst through the door with the team in tow.

Chapter 292: Sonic Sphere

The cool night wind blew in from the window, and the buzzing sound of the work station filled their ears. It was a little noisy, but Han Xiao was chatting casually with Lu Qian.

"Your shop has been here for quite a number of years, how's business?"

Lu Qian's hair was tied back, and she wore a safety mask. While looking down and welding the metal, she replied, "With such a bad location, of course, the business isn't good."

"You seemed busy when I came in."

Lu Qian shook her head. "I'm the only one here. With the orders stacking up, of course, there is always something to do."

"Aren't you going to hire a helper?"

Lu Qian paused and sighed. "Hired one before, left."

"Probably because the salary was too low." Han Xiao shook his head in disapproval.

"Was that the reason?" Lu Qian doubted.

She was just an ordinary person and did not know about these large issues. Han Xiao had left without saying goodbye back then and had been uncontactable since, so Lu Qian still held a grudge.

The apprentice worker whom they had finally been able to hire had disappeared just like that.

Although they did not spend a very long time together, Han Xiao had left a very deep impression on Lu Qian. Old Man Lu and she had been the only ones in the shop before, and with one more person joining in, it had felt much livelier. She had felt happy during the time they spent together. However, even after a very long wait, Han Xiao still had not returned, greatly upsetting Lu Qian.

"Since business is not good, have you ever thought of moving elsewhere?"

Lu Qian shook her head. "This is my home."

Rapid and dense footsteps approached. A group of field agents arrived in the dark.

At this time, the unconscious field agent slowly woke up. His expression changed, and he immediately wanted to get up with a roll. However, a fist enlarged in front of his eyes.

Bang!

Han Xiao knocked him out once again right before the eyes of the field agent team.

"Freeze, raise your hands!" The field agent team raised their guns and aimed at Han Xiao as the captain yelled, "We are Stardragon Strategic Defense Division. We need to verify your identity. You have to come with us."

Swoosh!

With a few flashes of light, the muzzles of the field agent team's handguns were sliced open smoothly.

The captain's expression changed immediately. "Requesting back—"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In a blink of an eye, Han Xiao, who had been sitting on the chair just a second ago, was in the middle of the people. The field agent team who had entered ferociously were now all on the floor. With his attributes, knocking down these LV 10 normal field agents in an instant was a piece of cake.

Security is too weak. I hope this will make Division 13 strengthen their guards. Hmm, it would be best if they don't even let the players in.

Han Xiao shook his head, took out stacks of cash, placed it on the table, and left.

Lu Qian regained focus. She stared at Han Xiao's back and suddenly asked, "Have we met before?"

Without turning back, Han Xiao smiled faintly and said, "No, we haven't."

After he disappeared into the night, Lu Qian put down the things in her hands. She took off the protective mask, tucked her hair behind her ear, and suddenly smiled, a smile with unspoken meanings.

…

Han Xiao smuggled himself out of the Western Capital, boarded the helicopter back to the sanctuary, and then took out the blueprints that he had just received.

_____________________

[Blueprint: Magnetic Chain Style Hovering Shield Shuttle]

[Blueprint: Sonic Sphere—Penetrate]

[Blueprint: Sonic Sphere—Quake]

[Blueprint: Sonic Sphere—Scout]

_____________________

These four machines made up a unique combat style, with both offensive and defensive capabilities. The three different types of sonic spheres were the core equipment; they all had different functions that complimented one another. As the name suggested, sonic spheres were related to sonic attacks.

Ultrasound and infrasound were equipped in the Penetrate style, focused on damage. Noise-sonic and Strong-sonic were equipped in the Quake style, focused on disabling. The Scout style was focused on support, related to sonar detection. It could also enhance the power of the other two types of sonic spheres, as well as create an area where all sonic attacks within the area would be enhanced. Plus, it had MP3 functions.

The requirements to learn these four blueprints were LV 45, more than 250 Intelligence, [Basic Acoustics Lv.5], [Basic Mechanical Engineering Lv.5], [Basic Energy Theory Lv.5], [Basic Energy Conversion Lv.5], [Basic Spatial Sensing Lv.3], and [Basic Electromagnetism Lv.4]. Han Xiao had 68 Potential Points at the moment—he spent twelve to level up what was needed and satisfied the requirements.

One day later, Han Xiao returned to the sanctuary and immediately started building the equipment.

The core technology of the sonic spheres was acoustics; the most important part was the emitter of the sonic attacks. Pipes to produce sound frequencies needed to be made with electromagnetic plates and micro adjusted according to different sonic attack types, and to connect these pipes together into a sphere frame required high skills. He spent quite some time before he finally built the end product.

The three metal spheres lay on the workstation quietly. They were roughly two-thirds the size of an average human head. They were not entirely spherical, and there were some edges and corners. The exterior was made of cold armor to protect the interior core, and the emitters were hidden in the gaps between the armor.

The original control method involved hand signs and whistling. Han Xiao changed that into Nerves Connection control. By wearing a specially-made headset, it would convert the nerve signals and send them into the receivers within the sonic spheres to be identified into commands, and this was effective within sixty meters.

Up, Han Xiao commanded in his mind.

The armor plate of these three sonic spheres split open and exposed black holes. White flames shot out from them, and they flew up, wobbling, hovering in midair. The sonic spheres had flying capabilities and could move freely in the air—it was his mid-range combat equipment. Han Xiao familiarized himself with the controls.

He then started to test the power of the sonic spheres. After some observation, Han Xiao found that the range of Sonic Sphere—Penetrate was about twenty meters. It was used mainly to damage the target, creating armor penetration soundwaves and attacking the target through obstacles. The attack range was in a straight line or an inverted cone.

The basic damage of Sonic Sphere—Penetrate was 81–130. Although that did not look very high, that was not the case. The specialty of sonic attacks was that they are highly penetrative. The damage reduction from armor was very low, and with Han Xiao's attribute enhancements and skill enhancements, one hit from it could deal 350 – 400 damage. If Flaming Will was used as well, it would not be weaker than the Ghost sniper rifle that had more than 250 damage, Furthermore, the damage output of Sonic Sphere—Penetrate was more stable than the Ghost sniper rifle; it could be used as the main combat method.

Sonic Sphere—Quake had area disabling effects. It could cause debuffs like stunned, shocked, paralyzed, unconscious and such. Its attack range was a sphere of ten meters diameter. Sonic Sphere—Scout could create a sonic enhancing zone in a diameter of one hundred meters, increasing the damage and effects of the other two.

Thud!

Sonic Sphere—Penetrate sped up in an instant, smashed a pit on the metal wall, and made a loud noise.

The sonic sphere was very sophisticated. He smashed it against the wall to test its interior durability. This smash made it lose 17 durability, and the total durability of the sonic sphere was 1,600.

One percent is lost with just one hit. Seems it won't last long if it's attacked.

The three sonic spheres—one for offense, one for control, and one for support—worked together. The defense would be taken care of by the Magnetic Chain Style Hovering Shield Shuttle, with about the same technology as the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades but for defense. Technically, it was a 'shield generator'. The hovering shuttles would form a shape in the air, then connect with each other with electromagnetic energy. The shape it formed would become an electromagnetic shield.

Shielding technology was very common in the galaxy, but there was almost no mature shield technology on Planet Aquamarine. In the galactic standard, this kind of single surface shield was very basic. However, it was rare machinery in Version 1.0.

He could control at most four sonic spheres at one time—controlling more would mean lower accuracy. To Mechanics, receiving strong machinery did not mean that its powers could be fully utilized right away. Many complicated machines required the user to be very familiar with them in order to be able to utilize their full potential. The skills of Mechanic players were also based on how they used their best machinery, so-called micro-control.

However, micro-control was a piece of cake for the experienced Great Mechanic Han.

Including the sonic sphere style, I now have four combat methods. The core style would be Amphiptere mechanical suit, in cooperation with the other three, capable of ranged, mid-ranged, and melee styles. These will be enough for any situation at the moment. I will not need any new combat methods any time soon.

Han Xiao suddenly remembered that he had taken away what belonged to Lu Cheng, and he wondered what Lu Cheng's reaction would be after he received the blueprints that he had replaced. Old Man Lu might find him to complain.

That was good as well. It had been quite some time since he last saw Old Man Lu, and he missed him a little.

Chapter 293: Galaxy Pro League Season One, Commence!

A period of stability arrived on Planet Aquamarine. Time passed by quick, and four months passed in a blink of an eye.

Sanctuary Three was completed with tall guarding walls, filtered air, self-sufficient greenhouse farms, and many more. The aim of the sanctuary was to protect humans in times of disaster or even protect the tinder of mankind. In the last four months, Bennett had built more sanctuaries, but none of them could match up to the size of Black Phantom Sanctuary Three.

Alumera and Lu Cheng had already migrated their people over, built the guarding city surrounding Sanctuary Three, paid the money, and provided the manpower to build the transportation network, which spread all over the sanctuary. Han Xiao's sanctuary could be considered a large city.

The rewards of this main storyline mission were calculated and given. Han Xiao had almost finished most of the constructions, so he was given an A+ grade.

_____________________

[Sanctuary Plan - Sanctuary Three] Completed.

You have received 6,500,000 EXP. You have received 1 Potential Point.

Grade: A+

+2,500 Dark Net Relationship Points. Current Relationship: Reverence (6,000) - [Leader of Dark Net]

A+ Grade Reward: Bonus 250% EXP (16,250,000), Special Item * 1

You have received [Medal of Honor - Sanctuary Owner (A)]

_____________________

An experience reward was the main reward of this construction type main storyline, unlike the Germinal Organization main storyline with many special items or any random reward. There was also no new dungeon creation right in the NPC panel, probably because it was just a construction type main storyline and very little actually happened.

Although the war ended, there were still many more areas in Planet Aquamarine that could be explored. The more the players explored Planet Aquamarine, the more the Six Nations would fear the Inhumans that were becoming stronger as time passed by. However, in conclusion, the situation of Planet Aquamarine was stable. During this time, the main storylines and the main characters in other novice planets had surfaced and started to shine, whereas the heat on Planet Aquamarine had cooled down.

Han Xiao was making preparation in peace in the sanctuary. As a 'main storyline main character', the times he was mentioned gradually became fewer—most players only remembered him when they bought loot boxes.

Just like 'Galaxy Times' said, when a main storyline ended, the corresponding main character would also fade away.

Han Xiao was not worried about the reducing attention—the things that he did were already deeply printed into the players' hearts, so he had already built his base. Even if he was covered by the other popular topics, once he made any more news, the players would still be immediately reminded of him.

In four months' time, he had collected a large amount of EXP, and the EXP on his interface had a long string of zeros. Due to the interaction he had with the players, his position of 'Mechanic Mentor' was firm, so many new players in the game would also buy things from him. This was a long-term benefit.

His business was prospering. Han Xiao had a very comfortable life during this peaceful time, but he did not forget where he came from. He still spent time every day in the workshop, building equipment and training himself, improving and familiarizing himself with his combat methods, making sure he was always at his best and never rusty.

He had used the Destiny's Child Character Summon card and accurately predicted the chance to head toward the galaxy. There was still quite some time left. According to his memory, Pro League Season One would start during this time. This was a player festival. Han Xiao had paid a lot of attention to the competition in his previous life, and he was tempted to ride along.

If his sanctuary could be the hosting area for the Pro League, it would bring a large number of customers in. The Pugilist and Esper class advancement knowledge that he had prepared, the enhancing drugs, the high-level equipment and many more would make him a lot of profit.

Han Xiao had cultivated Frenzied Sword, Maple Moon, Bun-Hit-Dog, and Hao Tian with a lot of effort, hoping that they could get a good result in the Pro League, as it would bring him honor too. Since everyone knew that these four people were the lucky ones that had earned Black Phantom's help.

Galaxy Calendar Year 689, 1st March. On this day, an announcement marked in red was placed at the top of the forums. Its popularity grew at an unbelievable pace, which meant the number of people viewing and commenting was quickly increasing every second!

Within half an hour, it became the most popular post in the entire forum!

"S1 Galaxy Pro League, officially established!"

It's finally here. Han Xiao was motivated.

When the public launch just started, the rumors of the World Esports Association wanting to host Galaxy Pro League was already being passed around. And after one and half months passed in the real world, finally, the official message was announced!

"This morning, the World Esports Association announced the official opening of the first Galaxy Pro League. This will be the authorized and the highest-level competition, a player festival, and the biggest stage for the players to prove themselves. Showcase your skills and the world will cheer for you!

"There are 37 countries participating in the first season of Galaxy Pro League—China, Japan, Korea, Russia… According to the planet differences in-game, it is divided into 13 divisions. They are—Planet Aquamarine division, Planet Brighton division, Planet Longtune division, Planet Lonnie Division, Planet Aquamarine division…

"The matches will be carried out in the following modes: Singles, Challenge, Groups.

"Singles: Single player competition. 1 vs 1.

"Challenge: Team competition. 1 vs 1, winner stays on stage while the next player of the loser enters. Last one standing wins.

"Groups: Team competition. Group battle in complex environments. Annihilate the enemy or complete special missions to win.

"Competition Stage One—Division Qualifiers: All players are eligible to register. Teams registering must have nine members, including six players, two substitutes, and one coach. One match elimination, determining top 38 teams and top 62 singles in each division.

"Divisions Secondary League: 18 teams and 128 single contestants will enter, points based. Winners and runners up of each division will enter into the divisions stage, making up 40 teams and 64 players.

"Pre-Season: Warm up for contestants, no points calculated.

"Stage Two—Regular Divisions: Points-based. Teams will compete in Challenge and Groups. Top 8 teams and 16 players enter the finals. If any player belonging to a team enters top 16 of the Singles, that team will receive bonus points. Also, the first team and single player will receive the International Showcase Match invitation.

"International Showcase Match (All-Stars Match): Top teams from divisions battle with each other for a showcase, no points calculated.

"Stage Three—Division Finals: Best of Five. Winners of each division will receive the Division Trophy! The champions, runners up, and second runners up will enter the Internationals!

"Stage Four—Internationals: Points-based. Top three of each division compete. Top 8 teams and top 16 singles enter the International Finals!

"Final Stage—International Finals: Best of Five. Competing for the World Champion!

"Division Singles and Challenge venues are as follow: Planet Winterfrost, Fissure Canyon. Planet Brighton, Floating Island College… Planet Aquamarine, Black Phantom Sanctuary Three.

"Registration for Qualifiers and Secondary League will start tomorrow. We hope all contestants can receive their wanted position.

"S1 Galaxy Pro League—officially established!"

Every player's passion was heated no matter which planet they were on!

It was a worldwide festival!

Seeing that Sanctuary Three was the venue for Planet Aquamarine, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief, followed by a rush excitement. He could almost see a tsunami of customers overwhelm him.

The arena was way too suitable for Singles and Challenge, and he had opened it to the players. With such a suitable location already built, the chance of it becoming the hosting venue was very high.

Such a large festival like Pro League being held in his territory was a huge business opportunity!

The competition mode for the first season is the same as how I remembered. Because it is the first season, there are only three competition modes. It will be more varied later.

Just as I expected, it is still Qualifiers, Regulars, Division Finals, followed by International Finals. The top three of both the division finals and international finals will receive huge prizes. All the various clubs are the main contestants of the first season. The normal players can only achieve something in the Singles.

It is actually easier to become a star in the Singles. The clubs will sign some good players after they showcase their skills, and they will become pro players next season, Han Xiao thought. He had experienced it himself. As a renowned Mechanic master, he had received invitations from clubs as well, but he had rejected all of them. He did not like the hardship in team training; playing the game comfortably was more suitable for him.

Han Xiao touched his chin and pondered, I remember China's result in the first season was normal. Was it North America or a European team that won the champion? France? Maybe Canada?

He was staying in a high building in the middle of the sanctuary at this time. He looked down and saw the atmosphere of the players changed—it became filled with excitement, anticipation, and nervousness.

And so it begins…

Han Xiao was a little excited as well.

…

The commencement of the Pro League spread like a storm; every player knew about it. The teams and pro players of all the countries were motivated. After all their preparations, finally, the worldwide competition that they were waiting for had arrived!

Chapter 294: Competition Festival 1

"The registration for Group Stages is open. The club has already chosen the rest of the players and rushed us back to practice our tactics. Old Hao, this is the list of the other three members and two substitutes."

There were three people in the chat room—Hao Tian, Sleepy Winter, and Twinkle Fried Rice. They were all pro players of the Long Sky Club.

The four biggest names of China Esports—Temple of God, Long Sky, Dynasty, and Fried Eggplants with Fish. The players would always be reminded of these clubs' achievements when they saw those names.

The big names all had their pillars, like Li Ge of Temple of God and 'Three Chariots' of Fried Eggplants With Fish. Hao Tian and Sleepy Winter were both senior members of Long Sky; they were known as 'Long Sky Twin Stars'. A few young players with potential had appeared in the youth camp in recent years, in which Twinkle Fried Rice was the most favored genius player that might become the successor.

Hao Tian, Sleepy Winter, and Twinkle Fried Rice were the core players of the Long Sky team. The competition requirement this time was eight players, including substitutes, where Hao Tian was the leader without a doubt. Sleepy Winter and Twinkle Fried Rice were definitely members. The other five had been chosen in the internal competition. The winners formed Core Team One with the three core players. The second-tier players formed Team Two—that was how large clubs worked.

Hao Tian went through the list and said, "These players are all seniors and familiar faces; they will be able to find their competition mode with just a bit of practice. The contestants are fine, no need for changes."

He was a god player who had contributed to the club for years, so his words sometimes had more authority than even the coach and the manager.

Sleepy Winter nodded and said, "The first season is very important. Let's win it. I have looked at the competition details. There're five stages, so it will last quite a long time. We have enough time to prepare and continue leveling up. Now is the time where the leading players are reaching almost LV 50. When the Division Finals arrive, the rest of the teams should almost be all at max level.

"The qualifiers are just the first stage. As it accepts registration from all players, the fight will be the most intense. There will be thousands of teams in one division fighting for only thirty-eight places—imagine how intense the competition will be. Because of the number of participants in the Qualifiers, it will be in the form of single match elimination. If we are unlucky and lose to a strong opponent, we will be out of the rest of the competition straight away. We have to be careful from the start.

"All of the enemies can be roughly divided into four types—normal noob players just joining for fun, high skilled normal players, strong players from clubs, and the teams from the biggest names. Our biggest opponent will be the other three biggest clubs. I estimate that three quarters of the top forty teams entering the regulars will be from clubs."

"The group battle is ever changing, don't underestimate any team," Hao Tian said in a low voice.

"Old Hao, did you register for the Singles?" Sleepy Winter asked.

"Yeah."

"I shall not go then." Sleepy Winter shrugged his shoulders. He was very clear of Hao Tian's skills. There was a very high chance he would get a place in the Singles and earn bonus points for the team in the Regulars. Most clubs sent their strongest player to the Singles.

As another member of the Long Sky Twin Stars, since Hao Tian had joined the Singles, he would focus on the team—division of labor.

…

At the same time, Frenzied Sword also registered for Singles. Different from a big name like Long Sky, the Jiang City Club that he was in was a small team. All the members in the club were just enough for the number of team members required. All of them were tier two players, and only Frenzied Sword had made a name for himself.

However, he was not the leader. The leader was 'Lone Crane', a signature player cultivated by Jiang City itself. Yet, he did not have any achievements.

Jiang City was a dying team. When they saw the potential in Frenzied Sword and signed him as a strong help, the team only became a little more alive after he joined.

However, Lone Crane did not like Frenzied Sword; he felt that Frenzied Sword threatened his position. The management regulations in the small clubs was not as developed as the big names, so it was common to put seniority first when determining positions. Before making any result, pro players were all arrogant, thinking everyone else was just trash. Frenzied Sword was lucky enough to meet this situation and was often excluded by the team.

His Singles registration was obstructed by Lone Crane many times. Lone Crane's reason was "The team needs to retain its power; you are our ace. If you expose too much in the Singles, the others will develop tactics against us."

The registration only passed after being approved by the superiors.

Frenzied Sword did not favor these fools. It was a crazy dream to want to achieve anything with such a team. He had put all his hopes into the Singles. As long as he made a name for himself in the Singles, his position would be stable.

My win ratio against God Hao Tian is now four to six. He's a top god player; since I can win 40% of the time, there should be a high chance of entering the top 64 in the Singles.

Frenzied Sword was confident in himself. He had received tons of EXP from Han Xiao's missions. His level was ahead of most other players, and his ability levels were high too. Plus, all his equipment was limited edition from Black Phantom's shop. Mechanical Pugilist depended a lot in equipment. Most of his equipment was blue grade, his weapon was even a purple, and its machinery type also exceeded normal player's knowledge. It was luxurious.

The so-called limited editions were actually tailor-made machinery that Han Xiao had built for him. Han Xiao was cultivating the four of them, so he had to look after them. In fact, Frenzied Sword, Maple Moon, Hao Tian, and Bun-Hit-Dog were regarded as his apprentices.

Frenzied Sword knew very well that the reason he was so strong was all because of Black Phantom's 'Hidden Storyline'. Every time he thought of it, he would feel extremely glad that he had met Han Xiao during the closed beta.

I have to get a good place! Frenzied Sword encouraged himself.

…

The registration for the Qualifiers went on intensively. Various clubs made frequent movements, news articles appeared in the forums every single day, and players discussed the developments actively. It was boisterous. This was a festival; the players all looked forward to their idols' performance in the pro scene, anticipating the battle of the highest skill level.

The players could already travel between the continents. Countless players gathered in Sanctuary Three. Sanctuary Three was the host venue for Singles. Other than the registered players, many players came to watch it live. The number of players in the city increased non-stop.

The number of participants for the Singles was the highest as most players knew that they had no chances against the professional clubs' teams, and it was not easy to form a team. In comparison, Singles was much easier. Any one person could register. As recorded officially, every division had more than 100,000 players registered for the Singles. One could see how intense the Qualifiers would be.

The participating players were mostly older players that had joined the game in the earlier times. The new players afterward were only at level 20 or so; them joining would only be free points for the others. Some people complained that the league started too early, but their voices were buried in the sea of people very soon after.

Eight months had passed in-game since the public launch. According to the competition schedule, the Divisions would last for about half a year, and the Internationals would only start after about a year of preparation and rest. This long break was mainly to give the qualifying teams more time to improve their cooperation, which showed how important the Internationals were. Also, it was a form of hunger marketing to improve the influence of the competition.

The competition would last about two years of in-game time. The duration of the entire Version 1.0 was three and a half years. The players that could not make it for the Qualifiers could only be considered unlucky—time waits for no man.

Maple Moon did not register for the Qualifiers. She was a casual player, so she hardly paid attention to competitions and was completely ignorant of the competition mode. Thus, she decided to be a spectator peacefully. Of course, Han Xiao would not force her to join the competition. Furthermore, a Mechanic that focused on building abilities like Maple Moon had very ordinary strength in Version 1.0. Not everyone had the skills of the Great Mechanic Han.

Bun-Hit-Dog, however, contacted his streamer friends and formed a streamer team to join the competition excitedly. With Han Xiao's experience and prediction, this streamer team would definitely just be free points. If they could join the Regulars, he would swallow ten energy crystals on the spot.

So, only three people under me will be joining the competition, Hao Tian, Frenzied Sword, and Bun-Hit-Dog… The last one can be ignored.

Han Xiao stood before the window, looked down on the crowded square and thought, Hope the two of them can get good results.

The registration stage was the brewing period of the competition; it was also the best period for him to earn a huge profit. 100,000 Singles contestants were willing to spend money and EXP for just a slight improvement.

A pleased smile appeared on Han Xiao's face.

After heading toward to the galaxy, I won't be able to interact with a large number of players in a short time. The EXP I earn now will all be taken into the galaxy—the more, the better.

Chapter 295: Competition Festival 2

The first season of Pro League was heated up. 'Galaxy Times' also released the latest episode to analyze the overall movements of the competition, which received a lot of attention, breaking the record of highest viewers.

Han Xiao opened the video. This episode was clearly different from the others. The comments were much denser than before, and the length also doubled, showing clear signs of it having a lot of content.

After making the regular opening cold joke, the hosts entered into the main topic.

"The first season of Galaxy Pro League has commenced. Registration has opened for the Qualifiers. Players, are you ready for this festival?"

The comment barrage filled with "always ready" flew past the screen.

"Starting from this episode, we will continuously bring comprehensive competition analysis for everyone," the male host said. "The content of this episode includes interpretation of the competition mode, competition schedule analysis, and introduction of the various strong teams in the divisions. We also invited the leaders of the four biggest clubs in China as guests in the studio. Okay, let's first enter a short commercial break. Don't leave, the wonderful content will soon be back."

A not at all short commercial started playing for the next five minutes. When even the comments started discussing which baby diapers were better, the hosts finally reappeared.

Han Xiao was speechless. No wonder this episode is so long…

"Welcome back. So, the Pro League is divided into 13 divisions, corresponding to the 13 novice planets, selecting the strongest teams of the various planets. And the clubs from some strong Esports countries have already selected their bases, which means that they selected their division in advance…"

The duo introduced the situation of the various divisions and what were the strong countries. Every strong team they mentioned, a barrage of slogan comments of that team would fly pass. Every strong team had fans all over the world.

When talking about the Planet Aquamarine division, the reaction was the most intense. It was the China version of 'Galaxy Times' after all.

"… Planet Aquamarine is the main division of the China clubs. We have invited the guests to analyze the situations of the Planet Aquamarine division. Let's give a warm welcome to Li Ge from Temple of God, Second Prince from Dynasty, Hao Tian from Long Sky, and Sun Eggplant from Fried Eggplants with Fish!"

The comments exploded. Everyone knew that these four clubs were enemies, yet they were gathered in one place; it was an extremely rare occasion!

These four were all leaders of the biggest clubs. They had a lot of fans, and they were enemies too, so the comments were filled with arguments in no time.

"Boss Li Ge is so handsome!"

"Temple of God is all trash. Fangirls, back off!"

"Don't stop me, I want to carry the child of Li Ge!"

"We can't lose, brothers. Hao Tian, I want to give birth to your child too!"

"Why did Second Mace come out, where's the boss of Dynasty? I want to see the top player in China!"

"That's crossing the line, how can you call him Second Mace? Call him Second Son!"

"Sun Eggplant is the best!"

The four professional god players, all with unique characteristics, appeared in the image. Li Ge had the warm expression on his face as always, being the most handsome of the group. Hao Tian sat beside him, expressionless like a stone.

Second Prince was one of the renowned players of the Dynasty club—arrogant, combing his hair with his head held up high, fully expressing the definition of 'too big for one's boots'.

Among the four of them, this guy had the most haters. The rank one god player in China belonged to Dynasty, mysterious and barely participated in any shows. In contrast, Second Prince loved to speak badly of the god player in his own team, not hiding his ambition of wanting to take over at all. However, he regularly got thrashed by the god player in his own team, becoming a laughing stock, yet he never changed. All things aside, he was never a burden in the competition, so most of the haters were just joking.

The last one, Sun Eggplant, was the last member of 'Three Chariots' of Fried Eggplants with Fish. He was a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses, looking undisciplined and shaking his crossed legs continuously, one hand behind the chair, sitting like a boss. He even had a toothpick between his lips. If there was not the rule of no smoking in front of cameras, it would definitely not be a toothpick.

Li Ge smiled and said, "Thank you for your invitation. Come to think of it, this is the fourth time I've showed up in Galaxy Times."

"Thanks to everyone for being a guest in Galaxy Times," the male host said. "Please, our four god-tier players, let's start with the analysis for the Planet Aquamarine competition situation.

They started the analysis. Li Ge and Second Prince spoke the most, Hao Tian almost didn't talk, and Sun Eggplant occasionally piped up.

The Planet Aquamarine division was the main venue for China. There was a total of tens of clubs. Other than the four biggest names, there were other large clubs like Thunder Storm, Fanatics, and Nine Gates. There were quite a number of strong pro players. They discussed the topic at length. In their eyes, the four biggest clubs were still the ones that had the most chances to win.

Thirteen novice planets, thirty-seven participating countries. Small countries did not have the ability to choose their bases. There were some foreign club events in Planet Aquamarine, not many of them, but they were strong nonetheless. It was not to be underestimated.

Although the so-called base planet was just self-named, and any country could come to play, this was a naturally formed sense of the territory from the players. Han Xiao remembered some clubs would send strong players to other divisions, creating a team disguised as ordinary players to beat the local clubs, which would make the local players lose face.

Electrolux, whom he had once met, was this kind.

"… Qualifiers will be the most intense stage," Li Ge said. "The participating players average at LV 40, not max level yet. With the elimination mode, luck will play a certain part, but the longer one stays, the more battles one will face. Even we can't say that we are confident of every single match. The impact of the luck factor will be minimized. The last top 38 teams will definitely be strong teams with real skills."

Second Prince sneered. "Hehe, that's because your Temple of God is too noob. Our Dynasty has absolute confidence. Anyone who meets us just has to wait for their death."

Li Ge smiled on the outside but cursed on the inside.

He did not bother about the fool and turned to look at Hao Tian. He smiled and said, "Old Hao, can you fulfill your dream and become the international champion this time?"

"Success depends on effort." Hao Tian's words were few but had a clear meaning.

Second Prince grunted and said arrogantly, "Save it, you guys. The champion will be Dynasty!"

Sun Eggplant looked at him sideways and said, "Moron."

Second Prince turned his head and stared at him furiously.

"What you staring at, looking for a beating?" Sun Eggplant rolled his sleeve like he was going to fight him any time.

Second Prince stood back and murmured, "Savage."

The four of them interacted, and the comment barrage fired. This episode of the show analyzed the competition in detail. In the end, the four of them promoted their preparations of their teams, expressing their fighting spirit and their strong determination for the champion position.

Han Xiao shook his head. Although they all look undisciplined, they were all god players.

Through the show, his old memories of Season One Pro League were refreshed.

…

The Qualifiers registration ended very quickly. The official start was three days later, so all the contestants prepared themselves as much as they could.

This time, hundreds of thousands of players gathered in the sanctuary, crowded around the arena, and filled the square completely.

Han Xiao looked down at the square.

Three more days to the start…

Han Xiao turned and walked downstairs.

It's time!

Chapter 296: Sensation!

The sanctuary was overcrowded with people. Not only were there contestants, but there were also spectators. It was more than ten times more boisterous than usual. The players' line of shops extended from the square to almost the gate of the city.

The Divisions were big events for all players. The players not at the venue could watch the live stream on the forums.

Three days to the opening, there was one day that coincidentally was the fixed Black Phantom loot box sales day. Part of the reason a large number of players came to the sanctuary was also because of Han Xiao.

The location that he usually appeared at was already surrounded. A male player stood outside the crowd and looked around on his tiptoes.

"He should be here anytime soon," the player mumbled softly.

His ID was 'Jing Zhe', an LV 20 Mechanic, one of the unnoticeable spectators, as good as transparent in the crowded sanctuary. He knew about Han Xiao's functionalities from the forums, so he wanted to buy some low-level equipment.

This kind of new players appeared every once in a while, bringing Han Xiao long-term profits.

After waiting for a while, Han Xiao drove the truck and arrived at the scene with a 270 degrees tail drift. He jumped down from the car, and the waiting players swarmed over instantly to grab the boxes.

The number of boxes was limited. It was almost impossible to purchase them without putting up a fight to buy them as soon as possible. Jing Zhe was pushed around by the crowd.

After the boxes were sold out, only then did the crowd leave. Jing Zhe heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing that Han Xiao was still there, he quickly trotted over and conveyed his intention of wanting to learn abilities. And as he wished, he saw the shop list.

So much machinery, and it seems like I can learn abilities here as well. The functions of this NPC are so rich. I heard he was the main storyline main character before… Jing Zhe was a new player that only started after the end of the Germinal Organization main storyline. He barely knew about Han Xiao's past at all.

The items made his heart beat a lot quicker. And after he scrolled down to the bottom, his eyes opened wide in surprise.

This is… the class advancement knowledge for Pugilist and Esper, [Energy Burst] and [Tier 2 Gene Chain—Endurance Enhancement]. Both selling for 30,000 EXP. Jing Zhe's mouth was wide open with surprise.

Was Black Phantom not the Mechanic mentor? Why was he selling the class advancement knowledge for the other two classes?

Anyway, he could not use them.

Jing Zhe took a screenshot, posted it on the forums causally, and continued to look at the other items in the shop. What he did not expect was… this post created a storm on the forums!

Every player who knew what this meant was shocked!

Jing Zhe did not know how rare class advancement knowledge was yet, but the older players knew it very well—Class advancement knowledge could only be exchanged after they farmed their relationship points with the Six Nations to 'Reverence', which almost no one could at the moment. Yet, Han Xiao had just started selling them out of nowhere!

Only one word could describe how to old players felt about Han Xiao.

Horrifying!

After being silent for a few months, Han Xiao's name dominated the forums once again!

Jing Zhe was stunned. He had never thought that his casual post would trigger such a reaction.

However, what was more shocking only came afterward. Countless players came from everywhere upon hearing the news and swarmed toward Han Xiao. After they confirmed the news to be true, the entire square's players became frenzied!

Black Phantom is the players' blessing as always!

Suddenly, there was a commotion at the exteriors of the crowd, and they split open a path automatically. Renowned pro players walked in one after another—Li Ge, Hao Tian, Sun Eggplant, and so on. They gathered in one place and snatched the spotlight!

With the Pro League just around the corner, the appearance of class advancement knowledge was certainly a very timely help. No one wanted to be behind the others, so they all rushed here. Dozens of famous pro players surrounded Han Xiao!

Some of the surrounding players had not had the chance to meet their idols before, so they could not hide their excitement and screams.

Jing Zhe was completely stunned. A post that he had casually published turned out to attract a group of god level pro players. He was used to being a nobody and had never had such an experience. He was shivering in excitement.

These pro players led the way to buy class advancement knowledge. The EXP on Han Xiao's interface rocketed by millions every minute! Han Xiao was overjoyed.

It was worth hoarding the class advancement knowledge till now. It's profiteering! Han Xiao was delighted. He had long expected the class advancement knowledge to be a hit. In Version 1.0, the prerequisites for acquiring class advancement knowledges were very difficult. The players went through a lot of hardship to get them, yet he sold them without any prior requirements. It would definitely shock all the players.

The class advancement knowledge for these two classes came from the Germinal Organization central computer. Now that the Germinal Organization had been eradicated, the class advancement knowledge in his hands became the only source of it throughout Planet Aquamarine.

Tens of thousands of players gathered in the sanctuary—excluding Mechanics, players with insufficient purchasing power, and players with insufficient potential points. Even if there were only a tenth of the players that bought it, he would still make a crazy profit!

30,000 was not high for the players at this time. Han Xiao sold it at this price because he wanted to sell more quantity and also because the contestants would spend most of their EXP before the competition to strengthen themselves as much as they could. If he set the price too high, he would miss the opportunity on those who did not have any EXP left.

He sold it for a few hours straight and only stopped as the sun started to set.

He looked at the interface. The EXP that he had received was an outrageous amount of 300,000,000.

Han Xiao had more than 500,000,000 EXP in his pocket through all sorts of events during the four months, and it had grown by more than half in just a day!

The players' demand for class advancement knowledge is ridiculous. It will be high in the first few days and will start to gradually decrease as time passes, but even then, it will still earn a healthy profit just like the other abilities.

Han Xiao opened the forums. The Planet Aquamarine panel was filled with posts about class advancement knowledge. Many analyzed why he would suddenly sell the class advancement for the other two classes despite being a Mechanic.

This even affected the panels of other planets. The other division players were shocked and felt pressured. It was competitive between the divisions, and Planet Aquamarine players getting class advancement knowledge so easily was bad news for other planets. Players from all the planets were discussing it.

Han Xiao was very famous in Planet Aquamarine, and he also sometimes appeared in Galaxy Times. However, most of his popularity was limited to Planet Aquamarine. This was the first time that his name had spread to the other players. The players from the other players started to know his name—Planet Aquamarine Legendary NPC, Black Phantom, Han Xiao, Loot Box!

Actually, every planet had their own storyline main characters that appeared actively as they took part in the main storyline missions. Despite also being the main storyline main character, Han Xiao was very different. He did not provide main storyline missions one round after another, yet the functions that he offered were horrifyingly rich. The Planet Aquamarine players received countless benefits from him.

He was the storyline main character, the mechanic mentor, the salesman for rare items, the distributor for regular prize-pool missions, the loot box seller… His identity was so complex that the players had never seen any NPC that even came close. His position in the hearts of Planet Aquamarine's players was unique and irreplaceable. It was like they had gone through the change of times side by side. When the players thought of him, they felt a sense of familiarity and trust!

Chapter 297: Hao Tian's First Battle!

At the edge of players, Li Ge was frowning.

Most of the players were surprised about Han Xiao selling class advancement knowledge, but not Li Ge, who was not happy at all. He already had another type of class advancement knowledge, which the Guild of Gods had poured their resources to help him get. It was Li Ge's trump card; he was going to use it to shine in the competition.

However, Han Xiao's actions largely decreased the effectiveness of this trump card of his, indirectly reducing the difference between him and the other players. Something that everyone owned would not be considered rare anymore.

Li Ge stared at Han Xiao with unknown meanings.

A few god-level players at the sides chatted in a group, and as usual, Second Prince was bragging. "With the god player, me, bringing Dynasty into the finals will be a piece of cake. An old man like Old Wang would beg me to carry him."

"If it wasn't for King Admiral, you Dynasty would not be one of the biggest clubs," Sun Eggplant said with contempt.

Second Prince was furious. They argued for some time, and Li Ge walked over with a smile and said, "It's good to be confident. I hope everyone will be honing their skills. I need some help in the international competition to earn honor for China."

They raised the corner of their lips. They disliked the attitude of Li Ge always considering himself as the leader. Hao Tian said directly, "I don't like you to always representing others, speak for yourself."

Li Ge's smile vanished. He looked at Hao Tian and said coldly, "Then I will see you in the competition. Don't let me win too easily."

They stared at each other with sparks flying.

Suddenly, a laid-back voice appeared from the side. "Found you, moron, follow me back to the team for practice."

The others turned around to look. A player with an unshaven beard walked over. He looked scruffy and slovenly, but the ID above his head was 'King Admiral'. This was indeed the low-key, mysterious pro player at the top of the leaderboard in China, Dynasty's core. He had an eminent nickname—Emperor!

"Don't call me moron!" Second Prince was not happy.

"Okay, moron." King Admiral nodded.

"Ah, *sshole!" Second Prince lost his cool easily when he saw the god player in his own team. He said furiously, "Don't be so arrogant! One day, I will ride on your back and show you who's better!"

Eww!

The others were loathing.

As if he had yet to wake up, King Admiral dragged Second Prince away by his collar without greeting the others. He did things his own way and did not get along with the others, but in Li Ge's eyes, this was arrogance.

Looking at King Admiral's back, Li Ge's eyes sparkled, and he grunted in his mind. He yearned for King Admiral's top seat; his career could only advance further if he became the top player.

"There's no room for error in this Pro League."

They exchanged looks and saw the resolve in each other's eyes.

…

After three continuous days of sales, the EXP that Han Xiao received had reached an outrageous 1,000,000,000! Including the previous 500,000,000, he had a total of 1,500,000,000 EXP!

The amount of EXP storage determines how long I don't have to worry for EXP in space. The next stage of my growth will be between the stars. The opportunities for growth can only be caught with enough EXP. After LV 70, the expenditure for EXP will be higher and higher. Plus, I'm a very experience-consuming Mechanic. After entering space, there will not be many chances to meet a large number of players, and there's still the blank period between the version updates.

Han Xiao was thinking about future directions. Although the EXP that he had looked like a large amount, it would be finished one day after he entered the galaxy. Since that was definite, he had to hoard as much EXP as he could.

Bang!

A firework rose into the sky from the square outside the window.

This signified the official start of the Pro League!

The sound of cheers soared through the skies and created a sound wave, spreading out like a tsunami.

Looking down at the arena, the arena had now been reconstructed into the structure of a stadium. In the heart of it was a large ring surrounded by nine smaller rings. At the edge of the center was a large screen, and under the screen were the seats for the announcers and judges. At the exteriors were the audience seats, which were completely filled at this time without any vacancies, with yelling and cheering lighting up the atmosphere of the festival.

"So it begins." Han Xiao lay on the sofa, changed into a comfortable position, and opened the forums to watch the live stream.

There were tens of millions of others who were watching the stream like him!

The beautiful female host, Red Phoenix, wore a professional smile on her face and gave the opening speech standing in the highest ring. Her pleasing to the ear voice echoed in the arena from the speakers. "Galaxy Pro League Season One, Planet Aquamarine Division's Qualifiers officially commence!

"We have 2,759 teams and 104,652 players registered. The teams will compete in the wild areas. The arena is the venue for Singles; these rings will be where the contestants compete! One round elimination, the pairs will be chosen at random. The loser will be eliminated, and the winner will enter the next round till the best 38 teams and 64 players are selected.

"The Qualifiers will last for one month of in-game time. Yes, this will be a long season, but the entire process will be streamed. The audiences watching the stream can choose the player they want to watch freely, and our official stream will randomly choose the battles that are highlight-worthy."

Red Phoenix finished talking about the competition rules and the speech to light up the atmosphere, then pointed toward the entrance to the arena.

"Next, let's start the opening battle for Singles. Let's give a warm welcome to the two contestants!"

From the dark tunnel, Hao Tian and the contestant with the ID 'Star Chess' walked out. The moment the two of them appeared, the atmosphere of the arena reached its climax!

To guarantee the atmosphere of the opening battle, the players had been chosen between the registered pro players. Hao Tian and Star Chess had thus been selected.

The two walked up to the main ring. Red Phoenix stood between them and introduced them. "I believe everyone is familiar with the contestant on my right. An old warrior battling in the Esports ring for nine years, earning top-five multiple times in the China pro player leaderboard, possessing an honorable and amazing battle history, with a steady and firm battle style yet not lacking aggressiveness. He is the core player of Long Sky Club, Hao Tian!

"On my left is a player you might not be so familiar with. He's a senior in the Esports industry, once belonging to the Temple of God. His position was the core of his club, just like Li Ge now, but he retired five years ago. Now, he returns with his past honor and winning resolve. He re-contracted with the Temple of God Club, Star Chess!"

Cheering exploded between the audiences. Both sides had supporters, but the fan group of Star Chess was comparatively smaller. He had been retired for five years; therefore, his popularity had mostly faded. Star Chess looked up at his fans. They were all familiar faces; he did not expect there to still be a group of such supportive fans even after his five years of retirement. He was quite touched. He nodded toward his fans as a greeting.

The fans cheered even louder with all their strength as they saw this.

After Red Phoenix introduced both sides, she first approached Star Chess and said with a smile, "Welcome back to the pro scene. How are you feeling now?"

"Nostalgic," Star Chess said with a lot of emotion. "I'm reminded of the days I used to battle in the pro scene."

"We'll always remember the achievements you led Temple of God to and that tint of pride." Red Phoenix complimented him before asking, "This is the first season of competition hosted in Galaxy. Can you tell me how much have you familiarized yourself with this game?"

"I'm in a very good condition." Star Chess smiled and said, "Confident to spar with any opponent."

Red Phoenix asked a few more questions. Star Chess answered them with ease—he was experienced at dealing with hosts.

Red Phoenix's eyes sparkled. She received the request from her superior to create some interesting chatter, so she asked, "I heard you invested your savings into a business after retirement. Your company filed for bankruptcy last year. Is this part of the reason you are returning to the pro scene?"

Star Chess's expression remained unchanged and said, "Of course not. The pro scene is where I made my name. Returning is just because I never forgot where I came from. I'm looking forward to battling the younger generation. Hope that I can dig out some players with good potential and teach the young players nowadays some experiences. It will help them in their battles at the international competitions."

As he was speaking, he smiled toward Hao Tian with a sense of superiority as a senior. Hao Tian was considered as his junior. The 'young players' whom Star Chess mentioned, of course, included Hao Tian.First letter of King Admiral is Wang; the Old Wang previously mentioned was referring to King Admiral.

Chapter 298: The Battle

"Okay. Thank you for the response."

Red Phoenix smiled back and turned to Hao Tian. "The legendary Hao Tian, are you confident that you will win today's match?"

"You'll see." Hao Tian did not pay attention to the reporter, as if his face was saying, I am focusing now, please do not disturb me.

He had always been a quiet man and never liked being interviewed before the battle. He felt that using the time before battle to prepare his mental state was the professional thing to do.

Moreover, his opponent was Star Chess. Hao Tian had no comments about him. In the professional circle, everyone knew that Star Chess had started his business after retirement, but he had returned for the competition after his business went bad. It was obvious that he wanted to use his popularity to milk some cash.

Since they were on different paths, there was nothing worth talking about.

The audience all laughed. They knew the personality of Hao Tian, and they all loved to watch his cold, calm demeanor.

Red Phoenix's face froze as she did not know how to respond. However, she was one of the most experienced hosts in the professional league, so she suppressed her awkwardness and backed away from Han Tian. "Okay. Looks like both of them are confident that they will win. Let's start the thirty-second countdown, and once it reaches zero, the competition will officially begin!"

The screen showed a thirty-second timer, and the audience in the arena all quieted down, tens of thousands of pairs of eyes focusing on the two men on the ring.

The nervous atmosphere froze the ring and the stadium.

Within the countdown, the judges started the pre-game analysis.

"It seems that both of them are from the Pugilist class, and both of them are LV 46. They are at the same level, so we can expect to see a high-level pugilist battle. This is the fight between two generations, and I also feel that this battle has a sense of ceremony. There's no doubt that Hao Tian is in his peak condition, judging from the uncountable wins. Plus, I'm worried if Star Chess has maintained his game after being away from the scene for five years."

The other judge then replied, "There's no need to worry about that. All professionals know how to adjust their own status before the game, and Star Chess is already a veteran, which means he has more experience than Hao Tian. I have a feeling that this will be an intense and cutthroat battle."

Han Xiao sat up and straighten his back and looked at the dense atmosphere on the ring. After training Hao Tian for so long, it was time to see the result.

"Three… Two… One…"

Bang!

As soon as the countdown finished, Hao Tian stomped his feet into the ground and charged toward the opponent with surge of energy covering his body, as if he was a siege tank.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two pugilist exchange fists and kick with each other. The sound of punches landing on the two's bodies was deep and loud. The audience could see that the status bars of both sides, such as the health bar, energy bar, and stamina bar, were dropping.

The veterans would not fight like a rookie player, who fought as if they were video gamers smashing all the buttons. Even in a lower-level battle between Pugilists, it was essential to understand the timing of the use of skill and how to distribute energy to continue to activate buffs. They also needed to learn dodging techniques, reset timing, damage calculation, and cooldowns of skills.

In the fight of elites, detail determined the victor!

The battle between the two men on the ring was filled with subtle techniques from both fighters. Some spectators understood, while other did not, but in the end, it did not matter if one was able to identify the techniques—the audience all certainly felt a special atmosphere in a professional battle.

And it could be described in one word: steady!

The rate of decrease in their status bars was slower than the battle between average players. It meant that both players used a lot of small techniques that dodged a large amount of attacks from the enemy. This was the clear distinction between professional players and normal players.

The words of the judges were coming out faster than bullets from a machine gun. The commentator was also a skilled man, and he quickly analyzed the situation for the audience.

"It is still a stalemate on the ring. They are testing the water and only using normal attacks with some small skills. Both of their health bars are above eighty percent, and now, we'll have to see who can grab the chance to deal a combo attack."

There were countless styles of players in battle, but using combos was always one of the most popular techniques among the players, especially the Pugilists. If they could break through the defense and get a brief opening, the skillful players could take away huge portion of health bar from the enemy, and it was even possible to one shot the enemy with one combo.

Just like the 'Girl and the Floating Island', once one got knocked into the air, it was unavoidable that one would lose a huge amount of his health. Moreover, as professional players, Han Xiao and Star Chess had mastered the art of combos, and there was rarely any chance of error. Now, they needed to see how they could start the first combo.

"Wait, Star Chess is going in!"

After they exchanged blows, Star Chess suddenly lunged and stomped his front foot on the ground. An invisible wave shook the ring as it traveled across.

Knock up skill, [Ground Stomp]!

Any target within two meters would get knock up if hit by the shockwave. This was a rare skill, and Hao Tian did not react in time. His feet left the around, and he was around thirty centimeters in midair.

"This is bad. It seems like it is a rare skill. Hao Tian got hit, but he wasn't knocked very high, so there's no opening for combo… Star Chess charged forward and landed the first punch of the combo!"

The lower the height of knock up, the harder it was to start a combo, but Star Chess successfully found the opening, and a torrent of skills and attacks bombarded Hao Tian. The random and colorful energy splashed on his body, landing seven combo hits in an instant. Hao Tian's health dropped by a large portion.

The judge shook his head and commented, "Star Chess could still grab the slim opening for a combo. Indeed, the older, the wiser. Let's see how Hao Tian will react to this situation. Everyone knew that before the competition, Black Phantom sold out a class advancement knowledge called [Energy Burst]. It will use up a large amount of energy in exchange for a status of rage buff and knock back all the enemies. This skill can stop the combo of the enemy, but it will use a lot of energy. From the attributes of this level of players, they can only use this skill once in a competition. Both of them have definitely learned the skill, so let's see if Hao Tian will use it first."

While floating in the midair, Hao Tian curl his body into a ball to reduce the damage taken. The dropping health bar, however, did not affect his mental state. He was still focused and waiting for his chance.

Suddenly, he found a mistake in the combo, and he opened up from his defensive stance and caught Star Chess's fist with one hand while swinging his body open the head of the opponent, trying to get behind Star Chess.

"He used [Return of Cloud]! Oh no, even though this skill is a midair escape skill, the successful rate is very strict—you need at least ten points higher in Dexterity than your opponent to have a few more percentage increase in successful rate. But they are at the same level, so their attributes should be the same! If the skill does not go through and fails, he won't be able to move, and the next combo from Star Chess will finish him off. Seems like Hao Tian will…"

The judge suddenly stopped his tongue as he saw that Hao Tian escape the combo with the skill and land right behind Star Chess. Then, without any delay, Hao Tian's elbow landed on the back of Star Chess' head, stunning him.

Making use of the opportunity, Hao Tian grabbed Star Chess by the shoulder and swept the floor with a kick and made Star Chess float in midair without any defense. Then it was time for Hao Tian to perform his mesmerizing combo.

The situation suddenly changed, and the audience was left in shock.

"How did the skill succeed?" The judge had no time to freeze and shouted with his eyes wide open. "Now it's time for Hao Tian to counterattack… Why is Star Chess' health bar going down so fast?"

Just now, half of Star Chess' combo took away twenty-five percent of Hao Tian's health, but after only a few punches, Star Chess had already lost forty percent of his health points.

Part of it was because Star Chess was stunned and could not define, but the main reason was that the damage from Hao Tian was too high.

Star Chess could not believe his eyes as the damage numbers popped up on the interface.

"Hao Tian should have the same Dexterity as me; there was no way that [Return of Cloud] could have succeeded!"

The flowing energy again highlighted the serious expression of Hao Tian.

He was indeed on the same level as Star Chess. However, his skill level was much higher than not only Star Chess but also the entire professional players in the scene. Han Xiao's reward of experience had all been used to increase the level of skill, and that was why [Return of Cloud] worked and his damage was unexpectedly high.

Chapter 299: A Simpleton

Compared to character level, skills could directly increase one's combat prowess.

Hao Tian sent out skills one after another and chased his opponent to the edge of the arena platform.

Hong!

Suddenly, Star Chess released a burst of energy from his body, causing a shockwave of flame to break Hao Tian's series of attacks.

"Star Chess has used Energy Burst!" exclaimed the commentator.

There were three ways to win in these fights. One could either directly defeat one's opponent, have one's opponent surrender, or force them off the platform. Star Chess was already forced to the edge and had no choice to but to activate his Energy Burst.

However, the next moment, Hao Tian also used his Energy Burst, and as if a raging wild bull, he rushed at Star Chess and threw a heavy punch that broke through Star Chess' defense and landed right on his chest.

Boom!

The muffled sound of the impact rang out!

Star Chess lost his footing, fell off the platform, and crashed onto the ground, causing clouds of dust to rise up.

"The winner is Hao Tian!" announced the commentator in a booming voice.

"He won!" the spectators screamed in excitement, and Hao Tian's fans all stood up and cheered for him.

The screams from tens of thousands of people flooded the arena like a tsunami!

Star Chess was led off the center with eyes full of regret. Although this opening fight was held more for the sake of showmanship, and neither of the pro player would be disqualified regardless of the result, it was still a great chance to gain popularity. Winning under the eyes of tens of thousands of people was the best way to prove one's reputation. But now that he had lost, most of the spotlight was on Hao Tian, unlike he had planned.

But it was what it was. Since he had lost fair and square, although Star Chess was unhappy, he still suppressed his emotions.

Red Phoenix bent her waist and walked onto the center of the platform with a smile. "Thanks to both of the pro players for bringing to us such a high level fight. Master Star Chess, you unfortunately lost. Do you have anything you would like to say?"

Star Chess collecting himself and forced out a smile. "It was an enjoyable fight. I got to witness how strong the young man is. He has a lot of potential. People like him will be able to take on my generation's torch and fight for glory on the international stage…"

This was obviously just a formality. By using formal language and constantly mentioning the 'young' and 'older' players, Star Chess was secretly emphasizing the fact that he was a veteran.

"Thank you for your thoughts."

Red Phoenix turned to Hao Tian and said, "Master Hao Tian, do you have anything you would like to say?"

Hao Tian stretched his hand for the microphone. Red Phoenix was glad as she thought that Hao Tian was finally going to say something and quickly passed him her microphone.

Hao Tian stared at Star Chess for a while expressionlessly.

"Are you only here to earn some pocket change or something?"

He then dropped the mic and left without another word. He evidently did not care about keeping up small talk with Star Chess at all.

Star Chess's expression turned ugly, and veins were almost popping out of his head. He gritted his teeth.

How could he say something in front of so many spectators‽ Star Chess was furious.

The audience in the arena was instantly sent into an uproar, and Red Phoenix hurriedly tried to smooth things out.

…

"Kid's got character. I like it," Han Xiao said as he smirked.

He remembered Hao Tian from the past. This fellow did not bother with the bullsh*t that came with being a pro, and he hated being under the spotlight. He focused on training himself all the time and was very professional and righteous. In other words, a combination of a gaming nerd and a simpleton.

Han Xiao's requirement when looking for players to cultivate was basically just how popular and how much potential the player had in his past life. It was not that he looked down on noobs or anything, but pros simply offered him a better return as they could utilize his resources to a better effect.

With the current resources at his disposal, Han Xiao could easily cultivate a player to a point where they were invincible among the current players. However, he did not do this as it was not beneficial in the long run. All the benefits that Han Xiao had been providing Frenzied Sword and the others with were more or less logical compared to the current players' level.

Although the current players had weak attributes, this did not mean that they were bad at controlling their characters. With that in mind, Han Xiao could still learn a lot from the players. Despite how overpowered he currently was on Planet Aquamarine, the new techniques that he had learned from the players would prove useful in future fights.

Countering various abilities, performing countermeasures in emergencies, movement control, overall macro… and so on were all part of professional tournaments.

Players all developed in their own ways, and watching all the different powers clash against each other was one of the interesting aspects of these fights. For example, although Hao Tian did not have Star Chess's [Ground Stomp], he was able to use other trump cards. Being able to utilize this variety of skills to their full capacity and even combine them in fights was what differentiated pros from regular players.

Moreover, being able to develop oneself properly also counted as a strength. Take boxing as an example. If Person A worked hard every day to train himself, while person B slacks off all day long, naturally, A would have a physical advantage over B in a fight. Or maybe A had better connections and could find a teacher to teach him new moves, while B could only train by himself. There was no rule that said A had to stop and wait for B to catch up.

This logic could also be applied to players. Be it farming monsters, complete missions, or looting for better equipment, no matter how prepared one was, in an actual fight, it would all come down to one's performance. Maybe due to his lack of practice, B would get pummeled by A the whole fight. But just before B was about to lose, he might catch on to a mistake A made and turn the round with a one hit KO. Something like this was extremely common in tournaments.

Competitions would often produce with unexpected results, and this was what made it all so interesting.

The chance for Han Xiao to venture off into the stars would not come for another four or five months. As this was right in the middle of the tournament season, Han Xiao planned to take this time to look for more potential lackeys. For him, players were currently the most valuable resource on the entire planet.

After the ceremony, the arena started off the regular matches. All ten battle platforms had one referee, and all had ongoing matches at the same time. There were about ten thousand players who had registered for the tournament, and they were all currently going through the first elimination round. Each match was fairly straightforward and only took around ten minutes on average.

Only when the elimination stage entered the final rounds would the tournament slow down, giving time for the players to be introduced one by one.

As Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog's matches were held on a different day, Han Xiao got bored and went to the forums after switching between several fights.

There were a lot of players who were excitedly discussing about the opening fight. Hao Tian's performance invited a lot of praise, and Long Sky Club also released their official message, congratulating Hao Tian for seizing victory in the opening fight.

…

A few days later…

Players were eliminated one after another, and the audience's excitement was higher than ever. Han Xiao was also rejoicing from this.

Aside from selling merchandise, creating more tools, and training with Hila, he spent most of his free time watching the fights. He mainly paid attention to the team battles where two teams would try to fight each other to the last man on a random map. Each team was allowed to send in six players.

Pugilist, Esper, and Mechanic. These three classes had drastically different combat styles and allowed for a large variety of team combinations and skill chaining. Moreover, taking into account of terrain differences, team battles were much more entertaining to watch than the individual battles.

The more common teams were composed of a main tank, melee attacker, ranged attacker, and someone in charge of crowd control. The specific numbers for each role would differ depending on the team's tactics.

Pugilist was naturally the most popular class for the main tanks.

Espers, on the other hand, were more of a jack of all trades. Due to their varying abilities, Espers could take on both melee and ranged roles in a fight.

Mechanics played the role of the main attacker and dealt outburst damage under their teammate's protection.

Chapter 300: Frenzied Sword's First Figh

Out of the three main class change trees for the Mechanic class, Cannon Master was the most popular among the players. It served as a reliable ranged attacker. Mechanics and Mechanical Pugilists, due to the early stage of the game, were still quite awkward in a fight. There were close to zero contestants with those two classes.

Mechanics were definitely out of the question, especially when they were a player and did not have access to a vast number of resources that Han Xiao had. Without paying to win, the Mechanics' combat strength was nothing impressive.

Mechanical Pugilists, at this point in the game, were like a weaker version of the normal Pugilists. Moreover, they even had to repair their tools every time the durability ran out. A Pugilist would serve the role of a meat shield much better.

Han Xiao did not agree with this meta. Mechanical Pugilists were actually already pretty strong in Version 1.0. As long as they did not have awful gear, they could easily be both a tank and an attacker. They would also adapt to different environments much easier due to the variety of their equipment. However, the Mechanical Pugilist class did have a higher skill cap then Pugilists as they also had to control their machinery.

The combination of need for good equipment and harder controls meant that there were barely any who chose to play as a Mechanical Pugilist.

Although the Mechanics were quite useful in group matches, they performed poorly in individual battles. Players of the other two classes would often consider themselves lucky if they came up against a Mechanic.

After nearly a thousand elimination rounds, Mechanics had already been defeated sixty-four times, while they had only won eleven times!

Many of the players on the forums had already come to the consensus that Mechanics were not suitable for PVP. After watching several fights himself, Han Xiao understood that, as the Mechanic was a class that would take longer to develop, and also due to the class's demand for skillful controls, it was not a class that suited the PVP scene this early on in the game.

Moreover, most the equipment that the Mechanics made was not high level enough to actually make much of a difference in a fight, especially not when other classes also had access to basic equipment.

The Mechanic class was heavily reliant on the player's equipment, and as new versions of the game were released, players would gain access to better equipment and also reveal the strength of the class.

Today was Frenzied Sword's first time fighting in the tournament. The opponent that he drew against was an Esper. Han Xiao was watching this fight live.

Frenzied Sword was a Mechanical Pugilist and had received a bunch of 'benefits' from Han Xiao—well, gear that he did not need anymore. Frenzied Sword was wearing the Magnetically-Controlled Retractable Armor and also had the Heavy Mechanical Arm attached to his arm. He had also brought with him lots of other spare parts and gadgets, which all hung on his body. He was fully clad in metal, and he gave off a cold glint under the sun, looking like a heavily armored knight.

The opponent was an ice-type Esper. With the wave of his hand, he instantly covered the platform with a thin layer of ice, reducing Frenzied Sword's movement speed while increasing his own.

The Esper was a kiting player, and he then took out an enhanced Assault Rifle and started firing at Frenzied Sword, causing a shower of sparks to burst on Frenzied Sword's armor.

"Ice abilities combined with ranged weapons is indeed a good combo to kite with." Han Xiao nodded.

Firearms and other equipment were available to players of all classes, but without the Mechanic's Machinery Affinity, they could only dish out the base damage with those weapons.

Frenzied Sword moved across the ice as he tried to avoid the spray of bullets. He had very good armor on, so the Assault Rifle was not much of a threat to him. However, the Esper player planned to keep on kiting and slowly whittle down Frenzied Sword's HP.

Bullets landed one after another on the heavy armor, but they suddenly stopped. The Esper had run out of ammo. Just as he was trying to reload, Frenzied Sword took this opportunity and leapt forward with the help of the booster on his legs. His legs exploded off the ground and scattered the ice surface that he was standing on.

Frenzied Sword flew through the air and rapidly closed in on the Esper.

The Esper player hurriedly threw away his Assault Rifle and took off a grenade launcher from his back, immediately firing a shot at Frenzied Sword in midair.

Boom!

An explosion occurred where Frenzied Sword was, causing a bright flash of light, followed by a cloud of dust that rolled across the platform.

A sound of gears locking into place suddenly came from within the smoke, and a thin metal cable shot out and latched to the Esper player before it rapidly pulled him back to Frenzied Sword.

Bang!

The two clashed into each other and rolled around on the ground due to the impact. Melee combat was Frenzied Sword's strong suit, and he quickly took care of the Esper after a few exchanging blows.

"Smoke to reduce visibility and increase the hit-chance of the hook." Han Xiao nodded. He had focused on every single detail in the battle. Frenzied Sword was able to use the Mechanical Pugilist's abilities and equipment to a pretty good level, and he could be counted as one of the rarer Mechanic players.

Currently, no single player had reached the point where they were completely invincible. All classes had weaknesses that could be taken advantage of. In the case of the ice-type Esper, Mechanical Pugilists could use their equipment to close in the distance, Pugilists could use Energy Burst or other movement skills, while other Espers also had their own tactics to use.

…

As he was not popular yet, Frenzied Sword's victory did not garner much attention. Moreover, it was only an elimination round. However, Han Xiao thought that Frenzied Sword had shown a stellar performance in that fight. He just did not know if this Frenzied Sword was as good as the one in the past.

Players from around the planet went all out in the fights, and soon, twenty days had passed. Eighty to ninety percent of the players had been eliminated, and the ones left behind were the cream of the crop.

Frenzied Sword had passed hurdle after hurdle and had not lost a single match up to this point, so more people were starting to pay attention to him. There was an extremely small number of Mechanics who had made it that far into tournament. So, naturally, as a Mechanical Pugilist, Frenzied Sword piqued the interest of many curious players. Most of his earlier matches were replayed by players.

"Is this how Mechanical Pugilists fight? He seems to bring along a lot of equipment. It looks kind of complicated."

"That combo he did with multiple weapons and gadgets looked really cool, but it seems pretty hard to pull off."

"What's so great about this? He just has a lot of good gear. Take away all that equipment and let's see if he can still beat a Pugilist."

"Bruh… why would a Mechanical Pugilist fight with their bare body for no reason?"

The forums were filled with different opinions, but overall, Frenzied Sword had finally made a name for himself. In a tournament filled with Pugilists and Espers, his Mechanical Pugilist class was a breath of fresh air.

However, Frenzied Sword's rising popularity was nothing compared to the current talk-of-the-town, Hao Tian.

As a pro player from Long Sky, Hao Tian had blasted through all his opponents since the first round, and he seemed to be getting stronger and stronger after each fight. His battle team was also taking win after win in the team matches section. Hao Tian seemed like a potential candidate who could carry the future of the Chinese e-sports scene.

Aside from the three core members, none of the other Long Sky players were anything to scoff at. They had great team fights and were able to effectively complement Hao Tian's aggressive playstyle.

On the other hand, the pro players from the other gaming guilds seemed to be hiding their strength, so they were not blasting through all opposition like Long Sky.

Long Sky players demonstrated an overwhelming momentum in both solo and team matches, and they were the player favorite on Planet Aquamarine. Many video streaming channels were also focused on highlighting these players.

Bun-hit-dog's 'Suicide Hosts' team had been eliminated in a single round. Han Xiao randomly watched their match, and his eyes almost burst out of their sockets.

All six members were Cannon Masters. It was a pure ranged DPS team composition… yet they were unluckily placed in a dense forest that did not favor ranged classes at all.

To make it worse, their opponent was a powerhouse team made up of foreign pro players.

They were butchered.

Although Han Xiao knew that they did not have much of a chance in this tournament to begin with, he was still speechless at how bad their luck was.

It seems like Hao Tian has the best chance of getting a good score. Frenzied Sword's performing well in his solo matches, but his team's performance is rather subpar, and they're barely surviving in the tournament…

Chapter 301: Regular Season, The Group of Death

Under the bright, burning sun in the middle of the desert, the two teams were staring at each other with a sand hill in between. The players were soaked in sweat as they stood on the burning sand and entered the [Energy Draining] status. Even though they were not moving, their energy points were still decreasing at a steady rate.

"The location in the desert is too open, which is bad for us. We are probably going to lose here." Lone Crane was discouraged.

This was Frenzied Sword's Rivervale Club Team. They were lucky as they had not met any strong teams. They had struggled their way through the competition, and now, they are on the last batch of the Qualifiers. If they won this game, they could get into the next stage.

But it seemed that Rivervale's luck had run out. The randomized map was an open desert, which was bad for a composition focused on close combat.

Lone Crane was annoyed, and because of that, the whole team's morale was down.

Frenzied Sword stepped up to change the atmosphere and frowned. "Don't worry, the fight hasn't started yet. We still have the chance to win."

Lone Crane shook his head. "The chance is too abysmally slim."

"You are the leader; don't you say things words." Frenzied Swords got more and more unsatisfied on how the Lone Crane led the team. He had no leadership skills and did not give any insightful command. On top of that, he only brought a negative energy to the team.

"Oh? Then what do you suggest we should do?" Lone Crane glanced over.

"The enemy has a strong ranged attack abilities, so the only way for us is to close the distance. Of course, we will only get kited if we charge in recklessly, so the best way is to lure them into an ambush. I can hide in the sand, and you all act like you are running away and lure them to where I'm hiding. Then I can pressure their backline while you all turn around and attack. This is the only way.

"Luckily, I still have two shields for cover. Who wants to ambush with me?" Frenzied Sword said as he took out two oxygen shields. This was equipment that he always brought, and it was the essential tool for the plan to work.

The teammates all looked at each other, and this time, Lone Crane replied, "Since this is your idea, if we lose, you will be responsible for this."

Lone Crane was obviously trying to be avoid the blame so that he would be off the hook if he lost the game. Frenzied Sword hated this type of behavior and stopped paying attention to him. Looking at his teammates, a pugilist sped forward to be his partner for the ambush.

They quickly selected a spot, and Frenzied Sword and this teammate hid under the cover and sank into the sand. Lone Crane and his team on the surface made some disguises and went on with the operation. They walked up the hill and exposed themselves in the vision of the enemy.

"Hehe. Seems that they can't wait any longer." Isaac from the opposing team laughed. The other team with six people saw the movement of Lone Crane and his team.

Isaac looked like the skillful one in his team, but in reality, all the six contestants were 'spies' all from other nations' clubs to challenge the competitive league in Planet Aquamarine. Every league had this type of team.

"The enemy is just a small club. I saw their matches before, and they excel in close combat, but they have no synergy. Plus, we have the map advantage, so as long as we keep our distance, victory is ours."

They moved up toward Rivervale and initiated their attacks while keeping their distance. Most of the players were Espers. Isaac could create a small tornado, while one of his teammates could shoot laser beams from his finger. Another could even create a small white fish ball that exploded like a grenade.

Lone Crane and the other four ran with tails between their legs. Isaac's team quickly chased after them, but soon, they realized that there were only four people in Rivervale team.

"Where did the other two go?" Isaac raised his suspicion and raised his hand. "Halt. I think they are luring us into a trap."

Isaac thought that if Rivervale was luring them, then if he stopped, Rivervale would also stop, or at least they would slow down their pace to bait Isaac. However, Rivervale did not slow down and ran as far as they could.

Lone Crane kept on running forward while being demotivated. He could not understand Frenzied Sword's strategy. Then he suddenly had an idea to push all the blame on Frenzied Sword. If he directly fought the enemy head on without telling Frenzied Sword, at least it would seem like Lone Crane tried his best, while Frenzied Sword was hiding the entire fight. This would definitely make the higher officials be disappointed in Frenzied Sword.

However, he could not purposely steer away from where Frenzied Sword was hiding since the rest of the teammates also knew the location. Therefore, the only thing that Lone Crane could do was make them look like they were luring the enemy into a trap. Thus, Lone Crane kept on running, regardless of whether the enemy followed or not.

Lone Crane had been in the profession circle for years. For a man without much glory and achievements, he had been hired by Rivervale with a higher pay than before. However, he had never cared about winning or losing. The only thing that he wanted was to keep the position as a leader and enjoy the wealthy pay and luxurious life. There were all kinds of people in the professional scene, and the type like Lone Crane was also common.

However, Isaac misunderstood the intention. He shouted, " Look at them go! They don't look like they are trying to lure us, and there's a lower chance that there will be an ambush in the open field. Let's chase after them!"

Unfortunately, Isaac was wrong. After chasing Rivervale for a while, they reached the ambush area, and a spot within the team exploded, covering them in sand. Frenzied Sword and his teammate rushed out and charged into the backline.

It was so sudden that Isaac and his teammates' jaws dropped.

Frenzied Sword used all his strength and tore open the enemy's formation. Lone Crane, who was far away, also frowned, and he had no choice but to lead his team back into the battle.

The scene was in chaos. Despite the ambush, Isaac and his teammates did not back down easily, and Rivervale still had to fight an intense battle. Luckily, Frenzied Sword had a great performance and eliminated the squishy Espers, getting a double kill.

After Isaac fell to the ground, the surroundings finally quieted down, and one could only hear wind blowing through the sand.

Rivervale's victory!

"We won!" Frenzied Sword waved his fist.

"We actually got into the next stage…"

Lone Crane could not close his mouth as he was shocked. Was the enemy so stupid that they could not tell his obvious act?

…

As the final round came to a close, the names of the victors of the qualifiers were announced. All the players were excited, and the attention from the public also reached its peak.

The qualifiers were just the appetizer. The regular season was the main course!

From here now on, the competition would be in a normal schedule unlike the qualifiers. Every match would be intense and thrilling.

From thousands of teams and hundreds of thousands of players, there were only thirty-eight teams for group bracket and sixty-two players for individual bracket. Han Xiao skimmed through the list, and the four powerhouses had all made it into the regular season, while the rest of the teams are all famous clubs such as Madhouse, Mystic Nine, and Storm. There were clubs from other countries, and there were only three non-professional teams.

Rivervale was in the list of qualified teams. Han Xiao recalled that back in his own world, Rivervale never got into the regular season, and instead, a team with foreign players got in.

As for the individual bracket, Frenzied Sword in both worlds was qualified for regular season, and the one in this world had more attention from the public compared to that of the other world. There were only four mechanic players in the individual bracket, and all of them were Cannon Master except Frenzied Sword, who was Mechanical Pugilist. Because of that, the audience showed more interest in him.

In addition, the recordings of Rivervale's matches were released, and everyone witnessed how Frenzied Sword carried his team to victory. On the contrary, no one cared about the real leader, Lone Crane. In the eyes of the audience, he was just a side character who served no purpose, and they thought that Frenzied Sword was the irreplaceable part of the team.

Lone Crane was envious of the glory, yet he could not duplicate Frenzied Sword's performance. He could only watch the Frenzied Sword getting more and more popular.

Frenzied Sword was indeed a natural talent in close combat fighting. His skills kept on improving, and other mechanic class players replayed the tape of his matches to learn the techniques.

Some players even went through some older posts and found out that Frenzied Sword was one of the mysterious characters under Black Phantom. The high-quality equipment and buffs had to have been given by Black Phantom. All the players could only drool next to the fancy equipment, and Han Xiao earned another wave of popularity.

They did so much better than in my old world. Han Xiao was satisfied and was glad that his work payed off.

A few days later, the secondary league also finished their matches, and only the top two got into the regular season; in the end, there were forty teams in the group bracket and sixty-four players in individual bracket.

The official site announced the results of the randomized groups in the regular season. The players were evenly spread out into A, B, C, and D groups. For every group, there were ten teams for the group bracket and sixteen players in the individual bracket.

The regular season used a points system, where teams would fight against each other in rotation. Only the two teams with highest points would be eligible for the next stage in the group brackets. For individual bracket, there would be four players coming out of each group.

The players' jaws dropped as they saw the list of the groups.

Fried Eggplants with Fish, Dynasty, and Long Sky—three powerhouses—were all in group A!

Moreover, Tiger Dragon Club and Sky Palace Club were also in group A with another foreign club team. This was the group of death!

With so many strong teams, only two teams could get out of this group stage. At least one of the powerhouses would be eliminated from the competition. This news threw the fans of those teams into turmoil.

The atmosphere was already tense and nervousness when the regular season had not even started.

Chapter 302: The Hidden Main Storyline

Galaxy Times made an objective analysis for each group in the tournament. Group A was the most competitive. The fan-favorite team since the start of the tournament, Long Sky, might even be eliminated there. Although Hao Tian was still overpowering all his opposition, many of the other teams that had survived thus far had been conserving their strength. Most of the teams had not revealed their trump cards yet. Under such conditions, even strong teams like Long Sky would have hard fights ahead.

The fans of the teams who were placed into Group A were not having any of it. The fans of the three big guilds, especially, were flaming and spamming in the forums about how the tournament was rigged and why all those strong teams were placed in the same group.

But their arguments were not at all convincing. Most of the neutral audience believed that if each of the four big guilds had been placed into different battle groups, then that would really have meant that the tournament was rigged.

Of course, what was logic in the face of the crazed fans? The discussions on the forums were getting more and more heated as the tournament entered its pre-seasons.

The pre-season matches did not count toward a team's score and served as more of a warm up for the teams to gauge each other's strengths or even misguide one another.

Compared to formal matches, these warm-up matches were much less pressuring on the players. The audience loved watching these matches as players often played without restraint and used whatever tactics and plays they wanted.

Each team's mistakes and insane outplays were soon turned into memes and analyzed on the forums. Bun-hit-dog also made a few videos on these warm up matches.

After the pre-season matches would be a cooling period where teams would be given time to rest up and regroup. This was also when the clubs would amp up their advertising to hype up the next stage, which was the regionals. The waves of advertisements would be used to further excite the audience.

Once the official matches began, it was already the sixth month of the Galaxy Calendar.

Han Xiao had stayed in the shelter this whole time to farm experience points from the players. Other than that, there was not much else for him to do. He had already met the requirements for the third part of the hidden main storyline mission, but he could not get in contact with Hannes and thus could not turn in the mission.

This was the first time that Han Xiao had heard about this mission, and he was not sure how things were supposed to go. When he still could not find Hannes despite going through the Dark Net's intelligence network, Han Xiao realized that something was wrong. If even the Dark Net, the largest intelligence hoarder on the planet, could not find him, then Hannes was really missing.

After some more digging, Han Xiao found out that Hannes had last been seen at a barren wasteland called the Somar Desert.

This kind of sound familiar… Han Xiao frowned. Oh right, I once visited this desert for a bounty mission. [Basic Strengthened Life] was also obtained from this place. It was the ruins of a nation, and there were also wanderers trying to find traces of magic or the like there.

Although Han Xiao was not very close with Hannes, since he was the NPC who gave out the hidden main storyline mission, Han Xiao was not just going to sit still as he went missing. Bennett had a similar thought.

Just as the official matches were about to start, Han Xiao left the shelter and arrived at the Somar Desert with Bennett.

…

Under the sun's glare, heat waves constantly rolled across the desert floor. All one could see past the barbed wires of the Dark Net checkpoint was an endless sea of sand.

"Hannes was last seen a month ago. He resupplied at this checkpoint before entering the Somar Desert, but he never returned."

The man in charge of the checkpoint reported the details to Han Xiao and Bennett while showing the two the supply reports proving his words.

"I have already sent out search parties to look for his tracks, but… the sands in the Somar Desert constantly shift and reform, and there haven't been any concrete results yet," said Bennett.

Han Xiao glanced and asked, "Can't you come up with a better idea than that?"

Bennett was helpless about this. "Telecommunications and any other kind of communication all met a dead end. There's no other way."

Searching this way was like trying to look for a needle in a haystack. Han Xiao shook his head. "This is too much of a waste of time… but there really does seem to be no other way. Let's hope something comes up soon."

The Somar Desert buried countless secrets, and Hannes may have run into a tricky situation this time. When Han Xiao started thinking about the ruins of Felonia and the remnants of a 'magic' civilization, a thought started to form at the back of his mind.

"I'm afraid that Hannes may have already died." Bennett sighed.

Han Xiao was not too sure about that. In the past, Bennett had raised tombstones for Hannes and the others, but Han Xiao felt like things were different this time. First of all, the hidden main storyline had not failed yet and was only stuck at the third stage. Han Xiao felt that Hannes should still be alive, as he was the mission NPC. Maybe this was all part of the storyline.

Since there was no other way to progress the mission, Han Xiao decided to patiently wait for something to happen. Although he was curious about what this hidden main storyline would lead to, the reward that the mission offered was not that tempting. The Great Mechanic Han did not need to work hard to farm experience at the moment, and the experience that would be rewarded upon mission completion was nothing in Han Xiao's eyes.

After sending out some more orders for the men, the two got back on their planes to return. On the plane, Bennett suddenly said, "I heard that your shelter is welcoming more and more Inhumans. Make sure to keep a careful watch over them in case they decide to cause trouble one day."

Han Xiao raised his eyebrow. "What are you trying to say?"

"Inhumans have unclear origins, and they often demonstrate weird behavior," said Bennett with a heavy expression. "They are a ticking time bomb. If all the Inhumans decide to group together and rebel, the planet will see another bloodbath. We can't take another war. My sources tell me that the Six Nations had already contacted the space civilization, and they will soon send personnel down to our planet to investigate the Inhumans."

"I know." Han Xiao gave off a faint smile and patted Bennett's shoulder a few times.

Not only was Han Xiao aware of the Godora investigators' future visit, he even knew the specific date and time when their spaceship would enter the atmosphere. This was fate smiling down on him. The spaceship sent by Godora would be his chance to venture out into the stars, in about another month.

…

During the next month, Han Xiao followed his original plan and continued amassing experience points. More and more players were visiting the shelter every day due to the ongoing tournament, and Han Xiao never ran out of players to farm experience from.

Han Xiao occasionally followed the tournament. There was now a new match format: the duel. Each team would send out six players to battle against another team's six, one at a time. Winners would stay on the fight against the opposing team's next player, until one team has no players left. There was also a point tallying system where the total points your team would win, in the case of a victory, would be six points minus the number of players who were defeated in the match.

Duels added variety to the tournament. As the official matches progressed, the situation within the battle groups had become clearer. Battle group B, C, D's respective leading and runner-up teams had pulled away from the other teams in the group and were guaranteed to go to the next stage. They were Temple of God, Thunder Storm, Mountain Sea, and teams from three other foreign guilds.

Frenzied Sword's team was unfortunately one of the bottom-placing teams and had no chance to advance. However, being able to enter the official matches had already allowed this newbie team to suddenly explode in popularity. Their team's success had caused Lone Crane to become ambitious, and he wanted to obtain an even better score.

However, reality was harsh. All the teams that had survived to that stage were strong teams with elite players. Their team's overall strength was just too low, so no matter how hard he worked, they suffered defeat after defeat.

Lone Crane was shocked, and he realized that his hard work was not going to make the difference. His ambition was also blown to the winds.

But he was still a veteran and was quickly able to reset his mindset. "That's enough. It's already not bad that we could get this far and fight with all these top teams."

With this thought in mind, Lone Crane believed that he would be receiving handsome reward from his gaming club. However, reality gave him a face-slap, yet again.

Rivervale gaming club official announced that they were going to have Frenzied Sword take over the team captain position for the future. Lone Crane immediately lost his standing, and the announcement was even followed by them sending Lone Crane to terminate his contract. He was utterly flabbergasted.

The club's management were not blind. Frenzied Sword's performance in this tournament was clear for all to see. He had made it into the top three in the individual category and qualified for the regionals before finally becoming the only Mechanic left within Planet Aquamarine's top sixteen individual fights contestant. He was even dubbed 'China's #1 Mechanical Pugilist'!

A player with such a potential would naturally be taken extra care of by Rivervale. This was only the first tournament, and there were still many more chances in the future. They planned on having Frenzied Sword become the club's pillar and were in the process of building a team around Frenzied Sword.

On the other hand, Lone Crane, who lacked both results and commitment, was mercilessly kicked out of the club.

Frenzied Sword did not really like Rivervale at first, but now that he knew they wanted to build a team around him, he was ecstatic—this was treatment that not even some star players would get.

Once he obtained good results, his professional gaming career would kick off. Frenzied Sword was already somewhat of a star now, but he was not satisfied and always looked to improve himself to do even better in the future. He was full of determination, and he also made a note to himself to hang on to Han Xiao no matter what. Good things would always follow if he did.

Frenzied Sword's results for the first tournament was actually already better than in the past. Han Xiao felt emotional as it was like watching his own kid grow up… Um, or more like raising a player.

On the other hand, Electrolux, who had made it into the top sixteen in Han Xiao's past, could not even make it out of the elimination rounds this time. This was mainly due to Han Xiao's interference with his early development this time, and it would not even have mattered if Electrolux had grade A potential for his Esper abilities.

In Planet Aquamarine's tournament, only battle group A's standings were still unclear.

This was a true death group. There are only a few more rounds of matches left, yet the top five teams were basically even in points. There was no way to tell who would come out on top in the end. Currently, Long Sky held third place.

Chapter 303: List of Finalists, Advancement of Plans

In the group stage, Long Sky's momentum was repeatedly stopped by Dynasty and Fried Eggplants with Fish. Having expectations on a team was a double-edged sword; when Long Sky performed poorly, the attention from the media would work against them as they sang the song of pessimism for the chances of Long Sky making it through the group stage.

As an experienced team, Long Sky had a strong resilience to pressure. In the last few matches of group A, the number of viewers again broke the record, but in the match between Long Sky and Dynasty, King Admiral single handedly took down four opponents in the group one on ones and secured first place in the group bracket. Thus, Long Sky fell to fourth place.

Under pessimism and doubts, the last round began, and Long Sky's opponent was Fried Eggplants with Fish, which was in second place in the bracket. There was a large difference in points, and in order for Long Sky to qualify, they had to completely dominate the match and take as many points as they could. However, Fried Eggplants with Fish was also a powerhouse, and there was no hope that Long Sky could make it out of group stage.

But just when the audience thought that Long Sky was going to be eliminated, Hao Tian and his team pulled off a miracle team fight, which aced the entire enemy team. No mistakes could be found during the one on ones, and they walked over the enemy. The Three Chariots—Dancing Fish Dragon, Perfume Bear, and Sun Eggplant—were dominated by Long Sky without knowing what happened.

On the live stream, the screen was exploding with intensity in every frame. Fans from both teams were on the edge of their seats, as if their hearts were going to burst. Every time there was a turn of events, the audience would scream with excitement and nervousness.

The points of Long Sky skyrocketed, and in an instant, they had the same points with the Fried Eggplants with Fish. The final outcome was determined on the team fight, and Long Sky surpassed their opponent and qualified for the next stage as second place in the group.

"Long Sky pulled a reverse sweep!"

"In the fight of powerhouses, Fried Eggplants with Fish was destroyed!"

"Long Sky promoted to the next stage by the width of a hair"

"Fried Eggplants with Fish was defeated with humiliation! Is this the end of a powerhouse?"

"Competitions for group A have come to an end. Dynasty and Long Sky move on to the quarterfinals!"

Long Sky's unbelievable comeback exploded in the forums. Fans of Long Sky were crying in tears as if it was a new year, and the tragic atmosphere and tone of the media quickly turned around; only words of compliments were seen on the news, no matter how badly they had performed previously.

Dynasty, Long Sky, and Fried Eggplants with Fish all held a press conference after the match. The reporters first congratulated the winning teams, and the representatives of the two teams appreciated the congratulations. Both teams replied to the questions with cliché formalities, thanking the fans and those who supported them along the way.

In the final session of the press conference, the reporter gave the microphone to Fried Eggplants with Fish and asked, "Would you like to share anything after your defeat?"

The representative for Fried Eggplants with Fish froze and said, "We performed poorly in the last match, and we did not meet our expectations. During the match, we made a lot of mistakes, and we could have done better. Long Sky is a strong opponent, and everyone witnessed how…"

This reply had been prepared before the press interview. They first started with acknowledging their mistakes and tried to learn from it, then they went ahead and apologized to the fans. This response was a standard procedure if one lost a game, so the reporter could only stay quiet, and he did not even bother writing any notes.

Suddenly, the team leader, Sun Eggplant, stood up. Even though he was known as the last of the Three Chariots, he was the leader of the three people.

Sun Eggplant interrupted the response and grabbed the microphone from the representative. He faced the confused reporters and stared at Long Sky. "I don't want to say these fluffy words like 'we tried our best'. We lost, and that's an undeniable fact, but I can't let it go. I will win the title back next time. Hao Tian, since we've both entered the quarterfinals in the individual bracket, if you see me, prepare to die."

Hao Tian did not back down. "The result won't change no matter how many times you challenge me."

Both of them started at each other, and neither backed down.

Such exchanges were the ones that were exciting to write about. The reporters smiled and quickly recorded it.

Dynasty, who was on the side, glanced at the two. It was ironic that the first seed team was just a side character.

Second Prince clenched his fists and said, "The reporters are ignoring us now. I might as well go challenge…"

King Admiral was struggling to keep his eyes open as if he was sleeping. He slapped Second Prince on the back of his head and said, "Don't find trouble."

Second Prince pushed away his hand and replied with annoyance, "Stop hitting me, you freak. Why are you bitching about me joining the challenge?"

"B*stard, you are not even in the semifinals!" King Admiral's poke through the heart of Second Prince.

Second Prince's face turned red, and he stared at King Admiral with anger, as if he was going to kick him in crouch.

Second Prince felt that he was being mocked. King Admiral had not only advanced into the next stage in individual bracket, but he was also first seed and had the most points. He had been invited to the All Stars, while Second Prince had been eliminated. That was why Second Prince was upset.

At the same time, Temple of God also had their own press conference. They were lucky as they had been allocated into a group without much competition. They had also been invited to the All Stars games.

Li Ge claimed that they would bring trophy and pride to the country as they headed to the international competition.

Temple of God claimed that they were the strongest and that they were the dragon's head of powerhouses. Li Ge walked on the path of China's representative team. Even though he was ranked second of China's players, the King Admiral was always timid and low-key with a casual appearance. On the other hand, Li Ge was handsome and strong, and they had the same popularity with tons of fans.

There was a significant number of females within Li Ge's fanbase, while most of the fans for King Admiral were adult men. The fight between there fanbases was also interesting, and it was usually one of the biggest shows in the scene. As long as Li Ge and King Admiral fought against each other, this would be the extra show that would for sure show up.

The teams who had qualified for playoffs all had their press conferences, and all sorts of statements were made by the teams. Some were extremely confident that they would win the finals, while some were humbler and more reserved. These scenes sure showed the variety of stories that one could see in the professional scene.

And now, the schedule for finals was announced.

"Top eight of group bracket: Five Chinese teams—Dynasty, Long Sky, Thunder Storm, Thunder Storm, Mystic Nine. Three foreign teams—Son of Wind, Beast, Golden Orange.

"Top 16 of individual bracket: King Admiral, Sun Eggplant, Hao Tian, Li Ge, Frenzied Sword, Rainy Kim…"

Seeing the list, Han Xiao laughed as if it was harvest season.

Hehe, quite a lot of them are also players that were famous in my previous world. Han Xiao smiled. The other reason he had followed the professional scene was that it was a venue for him to pick out skillful players.

Anyone who got into the Planet Aquamarine competitive scene was a talent. In some nicer words, Han Xiao was preparing to bring natural talents to explore the galaxy. And this time, he would not only bring a few people—he would bring an entire fleet of players as his assistants.

Because they would always revive after death, players were an extremely useful tools. Even though they were a bit weak, but there would be room for improvement in the new version. Even though robots could be used as gunpowder, one still needed money to make them.

Players were free!

Han Xiao was planning to start a family by taking the younger talents. He already had a plan.

To create his own base!

In Version 1.0, players did not have a way to step into the galaxy, but if Han Xiao could provide the transportation, even the professional players would be shocked. Han Xiao had quite a lot of missions to complete, but there would not be much if he spread out the workload. This would limit the number of players that he could nurture. However, if the players were able to travel into the galaxy and be exposed to the opportunities around the universe, there would be endless missions, and it would definitely be attractive to players. This way, Han Xiao could bypass the threshold of missions that Han Xiao could take.

The players would be at an advantage if they were first to start their adventure in the galaxy. No one would not be jealous of the opportunity. At the same time, Han Xiao could again restate his presence and make headlines again.

The chosen players would slowly become closer to Han Xiao voluntarily and create a sense of acknowledgement. Han Xiao already had a blueprint for his plan.

The number of players that he could take still depended on the situation.

Inside his secret base, Han Xiao got up from his sofa, reached the armory, and entered the password.

The golden wall folded and opened up. A transparent pillar was in the room, and it was filled with gel and liquid. Inside the pillar was a brand-new Amphiptere suit.

"It's time to go."

Han Xiao pressed the button, and the gel was washed out of the pillar. The surface of the Amphiptere mechanical suit gave a cold shine under the light.

Chapter 304: The Visitor from Above

In the night sky, far away from Planet Aquamarine, a few wormholes were opening and closing while leaking rays of rainbow and lighting up the dark universe into a colorful playground. These lights focused together and scattered away, as if it was a thin layer of silk drifting through space and mesmerized anyone who saw the view.

Around the center of the shattered wormhole was a large space station floating in space, and the shape was like three buildings stacked on each other horizontally. On the side and on the top of the space stations were different towers, some of which were the signal tower, some were space stabilizer, and others were weaponry and garages for convoys.

The bottom of the space station was a large metallic sphere, and a dark blue light surrounded the circle as if it was the path of orbit. This was the space station's reactor, engine, and gravitation stabilizer.

The space station had a very complex and detailed structure, and it advanced and futuristic. The 'windows' of the buildings were space decks for spacecrafts to dock. One would have no perception of the space station without looking at the map. Each one of the decks could accommodate a spaceship that was a few hundred meters long. The space station had tens of thousands of decks, and it looked at an artificial mountain range.

It was Zuric Hub, the transit station of the Garton Galaxy.

The wormholes floating around the station were the different pathways to different civilizations in the Kerbal Stellar. Using an immense amount of resources in exchange for help from the advanced civilization, a stable stellar gate had been built, which allowed people to travel across different areas and solar systems in the Kerbal Stellar quickly and efficiently.

The space station took in thousands of spaceships every second, as if it was a beehive. A small spaceship covered in yellow and white flew into a space deck. The spaceship shook as it entered to gravitational area, and it headed into the garage after a few minutes.

The garage was filled with blue and white. The original materials for the garage were a combination of special metallic bonds and macromolecule materials. After a few seconds, the garage sounded with a women's digital voice.

"Identity authorized. Permit granted to dock. Welcome, Captain Kerlodd, space investigator 741 of Godora.

Whoosh.

The door to the aircraft opened, and a man walked down as a platform extended onto the ground.

He was a male Godoran with light-golden skin. His hair was white and had seven braids on the back of his head. There were bolden spheres that were tied on the end of the braids. He had similar facial features to a human, but there was more space between the parts of the face. The body structure was also identical to that of human—one brain, two hands, two lands, and a schlong. There was nothing extra such as a tail or an additional limb. He was two meters tall, which was the average height of Godoran.

Kerlodd, who worked for the Godoran Space Investigation Department, was the captain of an investigation team. Even though his title was captain, he did not have any men under his command. He only had a Godora standardized suitcase, equipment, and the Observer, which was a small sized spaceship. The spaceship was thirty meters long, and it could only hold one passenger.

Kerlodd was the one who had been sent to investigated the 'Inhumans' on Planet Aquamarine.

"Oh wow, a pure-blood Godoran. It's rare to see such an elite species."

As the gate of the garage opened, a man wearing the work suit for the space station laughed. He had the same appearance as Kerlodd, but he was much shorter, and his skin was not as gold. This was half-breed Godoran, where one of his parents was another species.

"Huh, an inferior breed." Kerlodd glanced at the worker and looked down at him. Godorans had extreme pride in remaining pure-blooded and denounces mixed breeds. It was part of their culture that they should discriminate against those who are not pure-blooded Godorans. That was why he called the worker 'inferior breed'.

The man did not bother and said, "Just register. How long will you park here, and where will you be heading to?"

"Stopping for two days to refuel, then will head to Star Zone 9 to investigate a unusual phenomenon in a undeveloped civilization," Kerlodd replied.

"Star Zone 9? Isn't that a very dangerous place? Seems that you got the difficult work from your boss."

"But since it was an uncivilized place, the reason that they thought that it was an unexplained phenomenon was because of their lack of technology. I can just take a look and come back in no time." Kerlodd raised his chin, walked out of the garage, and headed to the resting station in the middle of the space station.

After the two left, the gate of garage closed.

After some time, a black gluey object crawled out from the platform of the space dock. It looked like it was a life form, and this unknown object was only a meter squared large.

The gluey liquid slowly crawled up to the 'Observer' and disappeared into the cracks of the spaceship.

…

In the icy mountain range of Planet Aquamarine's Northern Continent, a black helicopter with the Dark Net logo rested on one of the mountains.

Han Xiao crossed his arms in front of him and viewed the clouds drifting in the mountain range. The cold air kept on slipping into his sleeves, but Han Xiao did not feel slightly cold.

On the other hand, the pilot who wore three layers of clothes was freezing to death. He asked with shaky voice, "Cough… Your Excellency, what are we doing here?"

Han Xiao looked at him with surprise. "Are you new? Did you not learn the principle to never ask questions?"

"Of… of course I did…" the pilot said with teeth chattering from cold. "But we have already waited for four days. Rather than not asking, I need to make sure if I need to prepare myself to die from hypothermia."

Han Xiao laughed. "What's your name?"

"Huang Jian, just finish pilot training last month."

Han Xiao was surprised. "Huang Jian, both of the characters sound like he's a creep. He must have a bright future ahead of him!"

With the boss joking around, what could Huang Jian do? He could only act like he did not hear it and ask, "Your Excellency, how long do we have to wait?"

"One day at minimum, but it might take up to half a month."

Huang Jian's face froze. The difference was too much!

After some thought, Huang Jian raised his courage and asked another question that violated the principle. "What are you waiting for?"

Han Xiao looked at him and replied, "You'll know once it arrives."

There were only two people in the chopper. They chattered to alleviate the boredom. However, most of the time, Han Xiao was watching the matches on the forum. The international all stars had started. All the top teams from each region competed fiercely, and the players brought endless entertainment onto the stage. Han Xiao used this to pass the time while waiting in the chopper.

All stars had players from other regions, and all of them were strong teams from their respective countries, such as Magic Field from the United States, Rose Knights from the United Kingdom, Kimchi from Korea, and Tulip from France. All of them were in the same position in their countries as Temple of God in China.

Seeing the familiar teams from the previous world, Han Xiao finally remembered that the champion of the first international competition was Tulip from France.

All Stars was the very first international competition, and all the players from different regions would pay close attention this event. The popularity was at least ten times greater than the competitions in local regions. All the winners from different countries would show their power and strength. Press conferences before and after the competitions were also filled with complements and enthusiasm. This event was a chance for the top teams to advertise themselves, and it was also to promote the upcoming international stage.

Temple of God from Planet Aquamarine also grabbed some fans from other countries as they performed well in the matches. Li Ge was happy with the result.

Three days after the end of the All Stars, every region started their quarter finals. The competition format was a best of five team battle. Long Sky was lucky that they met a weaker team from foreign country, so the powerhouses did not meet.

As for the individual bracket, Hao Tian was not so lucky. In the first round, he had to fight Li Ge.

Before the match, Li Ge was out of character as he issued an aggressive statement.

"The first opponent I will face is Hao Tian, and I think that it is good news. I can't say that I will beat him for sure. If I'm being humble, I think my chances of beating him are around ninety percent."

Chapter 305: The Crash

Li Ge was very happy for suddenly becoming a hot topic among the players. Some even started to bet on his and Hao Tian's match.

Although Li Ge had made it to the top sixteen, his main strategy revolved around slowly grinding opponents to death with his Esper abilities, and it was not all that entertaining. The vast majority of the bets were also made against Li Ge.

Frenzied Sword was matched with Thunder Storm's Rainy Kim. Rainy Kim was also not an opponent to scoff at. Not only was she a pillar of the Thunder Storm battle team, she was also a great beauty.

It was not uncommon for attractive female players to be well-liked, especially in the esports scene, which was dominated by male players. Rainy Kim's popularity was through the roof, and many of her crazed fans even went to Rivervale club's official page to bash and threaten Frenzied Sword, saying that if he won, they would never forgive him.

Han Xiao had been waiting at the top of the mountain for seven to eight days, and the pros had already finished their first round of matches. Li Ge had surprisingly won the best of five against Hao Tian three to one, winning three straight rounds after giving Hao Tian the first win.

In the match recordings, Hao Tian was able to finish off Li Ge after the latter kited for ten whole minutes. Li Ge actually used the first game to analyze Hao Tian's fighting style, and starting from the second game, Li Ge played much more proactively, as if he had seen through all of Hao Tian's moves. His Esper abilities were also perfect for this kind of combat, and Hao Tian, like a prey caught in a spider's web, lost three consecutive rounds.

Li Ge was actually quite a talented player. His career as a pro gamer was not long, but he had obtained many accolades. Han Xiao had even thought about adding him to his list of spare tires.

The media immediately moved its attention to Li Ge, who had now stolen all of Hao Tian's previous popularity. He had now advanced to the top eight, and his next opponent was the one who had clinched victory over Rainy Kim, Frenzied Sword.

Frenzied Sword had barely won his fight and was able advance to the top eight. It was supposed to be a happy thing, yet Rainy Kim's fans were relentlessly bashing him on the forums. The voices of Frenzied Sword's supporters were drowned in a flood of hate comments. It was not until Rainy Kim herself came out and asked her fans to stop that they finally stopped this behavior, albeit feeling wronged by the person whom they were supporting.

Frenzied Sword had won the match fair and square, but all that meant nothing in front of Rainy Kim's crazy fans; it also was not as if she could just openly denounce her fans, and she was only able to secretly apologize to Frenzied Sword about this. The two were more or less familiar with each other as they had me during the beta testing of the game.

Frenzied Sword felt helpless. He had won with his own skills, yet he had now gained a bunch of haters.

However, in the end, results were the most important when it came to these tournaments. The majority of the audience saw the match and believed that Frenzied Sword deserved the win. The excessive hate on Frenzied Sword even triggered a bunch of the more neutral players, and many rose up to become Frenzied Sword's supporters, allowing Frenzied Sword to somehow still gain popularity despite all that.

Fame often came with trouble, and it was often hard to say who would gain the most out of those kinds of things. In Han Xiao's opinion, most of the audience and fans were just looking for someone to flame and to argue for the sake of arguing.

When these anti-fans found out who Frenzied Sword was up against next, they started to laugh behind his back.

"You deserve this!"

"Haha, so this dumbass can only get this far."

"Boss Li Ge will definitely stomp all over him."

Frenzied Sword had won about fifty percent of the practice fights against Hao Tian. Han Xiao thought that things were not looking good now that he was up against Li Ge, who had won three rounds in a row against Hao Tian. There was no way that both of the players that he had raised were going to be defeated by this Li Ge, right?

…

"Sir, the satellites have discovered an unidentified object that's rapidly approaching the atmosphere."

The observatory of Raylen in the Northern Continent was suddenly in alert.

The satellite showed a light dot approaching Planet Aquamarine from outer space.

"Is this a meteor‽"

"Target appeared on our scanners three minutes ago before. If it was a meteor, our scanners should have noticed it much earlier. Moreover, meteors should be more affected by our Planet's gravitational pull."

"Don't tell me it's an alien spaceship?"

"The target has increased in velocity. Estimated landfall in eight minutes!"

"Coordinates? Is it an unpopulated area?"

"Target is estimated to land in a barren mountain range in the Northern Continent. The specific location is right by our country's border!"

The professor in charge of the Observatory immediately gave out the order. "Report this to the higher ups now. Request for troops to head to the landing site!"

…

Huang Jian was bored out of his mind. He had already been waiting in this darned wasteland for ten days with Han Xiao, waiting for god knew what. But due to how legendary his boss was, the felt that Han Xiao was definitely there for a purpose, and he was curious as to what it could be.

Han Xiao was standing in the snow when he suddenly looked up in the sky. He then immediately turned around and headed for the helicopter and took out his equipment.

Something's finally happening! Huang Jian was elated and asked, "What're you doing?"

"It's here," Han Xiao answered without even looking up and quickly put on his gear.

"What's here?" Huang Jian did not get it.

Just as he finished asking the question, an ear-piercing sound came down from the sky, causing Huang Jian to look up. A fireball flew down from the sky, and one could more or less make out the shape of an aircraft amid the flames.

Boom!

The aircraft crashed into the peak of a nearby mountain, blasting black rocks and snow everywhere. It then continued flying down and cleaved a path clean through the snowy valley, burning all the surrounding trees as it passed and causing a mini-earthquake.

The high mountain peak collapsed and caused a small avalanche.

Huang Jian mouth was hanging wide open, and all the color had drained out of his face.

"Space… space… spaceship!"

Huang Jian could not believe what he was seeing and looked toward Han Xiao. He had heard all sorts of things about Han Xiao, but it turned out that this man was even more mysterious than in the rumors! He could even know when a spaceship was going to crash land!

Quickly, Han Xiao had put on Amphiptere, stretched out the joints, and took out the flight device 'Bat Wings' before attaching it onto the empty slot on his back.

His helmet's interface showed that the flight system was functioning normally.

Fly! Han Xiao commanded in his mind as he sprinted toward the cliff's edge, and the wings started to make out buzzing noises. The turbines span at maximum capacity, and the tail-end spat out blue flames.

Huu!

Han Xiao felt a force lift his body completely off the ground.

The flight system was connected to Han Xiao's nerves, and he controlled it to fly toward the crash site.

…

The Observer ship had gotten itself stuck, and half of its body was in the ground. The surrounding trees and grass were still on fire, but the ship itself seemed to still be in perfect condition. Its energy shield had protected the ship from breaking apart during the crash. However, the massive impact did damage the generator, and now, the shield was greatly weakened while the engines were simply done for.

Bang!

The half-bent cabin door was kicked open, and Kerlodd walked out unsteadily while holding his head in pain and throwing out random Godoran curses.

Kerlodd pressed on the golden bracelet on his right arm a few times, and a suit that looked like ancient armor sprang out and covered his entire body. A semi-transparent layer of energy surrounded his head in place of a helmet.

This was the Godoran observer combat suit. The combat suit was made to adapt to the different living conditions and environments on the various planets that the observers visited. A synthesized mechanical voice sounded out from within the suit.

"Coordinates stored. Location: Planet Aquamarine, Ninth Star System

"Gravity Level: Low

"Current Temperature: 3°C

"Climate Type…

"Air Moisture Level…

"Civilization Level: Planetary

"Danger Level: Low

"Summary: Survivable"

Kerlodd was still a bit shaken up and said, "Check body condition."

"Analyzing… Analysis complete. Three bone fractures, moderate nerve damage, and minor damage to the brain. Inject nano-healant?"

"Inject."

Kerlodd then felt a wave of coolness pass through him and was much better. He immediately climbed back into the cockpit as he wanted to check the reason the mainframe had stopped functioning properly. However, the warning told him that all systems were damaged.

Kerlodd felt rather helpless about this. He then tore apart the ship's exterior to reveal the internal structure. After ripping through a bunch of wires, he finally got his hands on a palm-sized metal box. The blue light shining from the box indicated that it was still working. This was the intergalactic communicator.

Naturally, Kerlodd's communicator was nothing like the cheap stuff developed by the Six Nations. According to observer guidelines, he needed to do two things right now. First, he had to use the communicator to get in contact with his headquarters, and second, he needed to request for help from the local civilization—the Six Nations.

At this moment, buzzing sounds came from the sky, and a figure in a black mechanical suit with two huge wings on its back landed beside the ship.

"So, it does look like what I thought it would. Oh, there's a survivor."

Han Xiao noticed the Godoran to the side. He was very knowledgeable and was able to tell that this was the observer suit. Han Xiao raised his eyebrows before his gaze focused on the intergalactic communicator on the Godoran's hand.

This was what he was looking for!

Chapter 306: Explosion!

In the clairvoyant view of Destiny's Child, it could never show the details on whether a person lived or died. Han Xiao had originally decided to first get to the crash site of the spaceship and steal the intergalactic communication device. This device was the most important factor to leave the planet; the spaceship was never the target.

As it turned out, the device was still in the investigator's possession, so the original plan would not work. He had to think of a new way to deal with the investigator.

Han Xiao thought quickly. Do I rob or swindle him?

Seeing that Han Xiao still had not replied after some time, Kerlodd frowned and said, "Hey, I asked you a question. Answer me."

"Are you the visitor from Godora?" Han Xiao made up his mind and slowly moved toward Kerlodd.

"The civilization from this planet requested help. I am the investigator responsible for the assistance. Who are you?"

When Han Xiao was within ten meters of Kerlodd, he replied, "I am the messenger of Planet Aquamarine. I am here to invite you to our place."

"Good. Take me to the most powerful leader in this civilization."

Kerlodd was surprised and dropped his suspicion. He suddenly remembered something and said, "Wait for a second, I need to report back to the people who sent me here."

"No problem. Waiting is the least I can do."

Kerlodd was satisfied with the treatment from Planet Aquamarine, and he was even more pleased with the attitude of this 'messenger'.

Just as he lowered his head and turned on the communication device, Han Xiao suddenly charged forward!

The 'Bat Wing' flying device suddenly activated, and Han Xiao shot forward as if he was a cobra. Han Xiao kicked right on Kerlodd's body and snatched the device from his hand.

Bang!

The impact of the kick was powerful, and Kerlodd was knocked back and crashed into four trees.

Han Xiao put the device in his pocket and prepared for battle. He had decided to take the first step and create a momentum in the battle.

If he had left the investigator alone and could not stop him from contacting the Six Nations, then his identity would be revealed. More importantly, there would be no place for Han Xiao to do anything if Kerlodd talked to the Six Nations. Therefore, the only choice that he had was to take action.

There was actually another way, where Han Xiao acted like he was a man from an advanced civilization that had ended up stranded on Planet Aquamarine. He could borrow the communication device to call for help, and the best-case scenario was that the Godoran would be willing to help, but chances for that were slim.

It would be more likely that the Godoran would raise their suspicion and become alert. Knowing that the other party was from an advanced civilization rather than an uncivilized one, the investigator would hold a different attitude, and the chances of successful sneak attacks would be lower.

Moreover, using the identity of an advanced civilization was not always beneficial. Godora was one of the most powerful civilizations in the entire galaxy. There was no reason for them to help him. Even if Han Xiao was willing to offer money, Kerlodd could still contact the Six Nations to get resources. So, it was possible that they would not help Han Xiao.

The most likely scenario was that Godoran would have bad intentions. Was it not a freebie to kill a wanderer without any backup?

With only a few seconds to think, Han Xiao had decided to directly use brute force and rob the device. Not only that, he also came up with a new plan. First, he had to stop Kerlodd from talking to the Six Nations.

On the receiving end of the attack, Kerlodd slowly got up without any injury. The battle suit was still releasing a golden glow, which was the shield embedded in the suit.

Kerlodd's expression was cold, and he took the two small golden balls that were attached to his braids. The Mechanical force flashed on his fingertips, and the small ball expanded. One ball became a golden shield, while the other ball turned into golden spear. The appearance was old-fashioned, but one could feel the energy embedded in the weapon, showing that they were not ordinary weapons.

"You uncultured swine, you've made a big mistake."

The transformation from the golden ball to a weapon was a mechanic skill. Advance civilizations basically had this skill in hand, and it was clear that Godora had better equipment.

Kerlodd was a LV 63 Mechanical Pugilist. Pure-blooded Godorans had much higher attributes compared to humans. His attributes where not lower than the LV 60 Pugilist on Planet Aquamarine, and with advanced equipment, his power points were around 3000 Ona, a Class C Super. Just from the power points, he was stronger than all the LV 60 Superhumans on Planet Aquamarine.

But he did not surpass Han Xiao.

The battle erupted.

Han Xiao spread out his wings, and the four machine guns on the wings fired rapidly. Kerlodd raised his shield, and the shield release a larger circular light shield on top of it.

Ding ding dang dang!

All the bullets were reflected by the light shield.

Kerlodd roared with anger and pointed his spear right at Han Xiao. The head of a spear suddenly fired a golden bullet in an arrow shape. Han Xiao jumped in an instant, and the bullet passed right by his feet. The bullet left clear holes in the trees that were on its path and disappeared into the distance.

Godoran craftsmanship combined technology and magic, so it was not an ordinary weapon that was based on technology. Instead, its power was stronger than normal explosive powder, where one light bullet could take out 500 armor points; the damage was extremely high.

Han Xiao hovered in midair and used the sniper to kite the enemy. However, all the electromagnetic bullets were blocked off by the shield. At the same time, Kerlodd pulled off another golden ball, which formed a weird gun that was the size of half of the body and fired into the sky.

Hong!

A bright red beam shot out of the barrel. Han Xiao tried to dodge it, but he still got tagged by the edge of them beam, and the armor points dropped by 300.

The Mechanic class clearly showed the power of having a better equipment and weapons. Kerlodd was supposed to be an enemy from Version 2.0, so it was natural that one felt his damage was too high.

Even though investigators were not famous for their combat skills, Kerlodd was different. He had great confidence in his combat abilities, and he thought that he could suppress anyone from the lower civilization with just his equipment alone.

Kerlodd had the sense of pride as a part of a higher civilization, and he did not put Planet Aquamarine in his eyes. He did not understand why Han Xiao attacked, but a lower species trying to challenge him was just to ask for death. He wanted Han Xiao to understand the position that he was in.

Han Xiao remained calm. It was not the first time that he had fought someone stronger than him. Even though Kerlodd had good equipment and attributes, but he was still an elite model, so the skills and abilities were all normal.

This is probably the first time I've fought with a space soldier. His ranged attack is stronger than mine. I need to try and get close.

Han Xiao instantly adapted his plan and dove down onto the enemy. Four Sonic Spheres flew and exploded around Kerlodd. Kerlodd's shield was affected by the attack, meaning that the attack was stable.

Kerlodd counter attacked with his spear. Han Xiao also used a basic shield made out of electromagnetic field and blocked the attack.

Hum—

The sparks dance around the friction between Han Xiao's electromagnetic blades and Kerlodd's shield.

Bang bang bang!

Punches and kicks with huge bursts of energy landed on Kerlodd's body. The shield was heavily weakened, and the suit was also heavily damaged.

Even though close quarter combat was advantageous for a Mechanical Pugilist, Han Xiao had a variety of skills and abilities that overwhelmed Kerlodd.

The two men did not rest for a second, and the battlefield was soon moved away from the spaceship crash site and into a forest.

Even though the Godoran investigator had the advantage in equipment, Han Xiao's attacks were too complex and unpredictable. Kerlodd could not hold back the attacks as he got more and more frustrated.

[Sonic Sphere—Penetrate] again released a penetrating sound wave. The shield flickered, and the energy was finally exhausted.

He's so hard to deal with!

As Kerlodd realized the danger that he was in, he intentionally left an opening and used his suit to take a direct hit from Han Xiao. The light of suit dimmed again, but Kerlodd had the chance to open up another ball. It turned into a battle axe, which was the weapon that had the highest damage.

He had decided to end this battle!

The axe exploded in light like burning sun, and Kerlodd whirled it in the air and chopped down.

Hong!!

The earth cracked, and the impact wave exploded onto the side. The suit showed another ferocious crack, and the armor points dropped again.

"One more!" Kerlodd roared. He took a step back, used another skill as his body shined, and attacked again.

The signal of danger was imminent and deadly—the air pressure was landing at extremely high speed!

"Nice!" Han Xiao was happy instead of being afraid. He quickly activated the skill that he had saved up.

[Aftershock - Death Thorns]!

Dang!

The battle axe flew away, and Kerlodd fell to the ground on his knees as his hands were covered in his own blood.

The maxed-out skill [Aftershock - Death Thorns] could return fifty percent of close combat damage, which broke through Kerlodd's armor and dealt actual damage.

The Sonic Spheres again landed on the enemy, and Kerlodd was knocked away. However, the shield on his suit was still active.

"You are strong. I did not think that this planet had people who are this strong."

Kerlodd tried to catch his breath. He stood up again and took another two balls, which turned into another shield and a longsword.

"But choosing to fight me was your biggest mistake! My equipment is so much stronger than yours. You are a strong fighter, so I will kill you with honor."

Han Xiao stopped moving and shook his head.

"Man, I didn't want to do this."

Before Kerlodd realized what was going on, Han Xiao's energy power boosted at an insane rate. The thick and strong mechanical force covered the mechanical suit, as if it was a lighting snake crawling on his body. The energy core of the mechanical suit was so bright that it hurt Kerlodd's eyes.

At the same time, a shadow of a man wearing a black mask appeared behind Han Xiao.

_____________________

Mechanical Skill [Snake – Devil]: Energy core overloads, attributes buff increases. All modules have no cost.

Duration of Status: 2 – 7 minutes

Cooldown: 7 days

Character Summon Card: Germinal Organization Leader [Combo Penetration]: For the next 8 seconds, all skills deal critical true damage, ignoring all armor. The target's defense status will also decrease by 24%, lasting 5 minutes.

Usage: 1/12

_____________________

And also, Flaming Will! Overload! Surging Mechanical Force!

Bang Bang Bang Bang!

The tsunami of attacks washed over the frightened face of Kerlodd.

Chapter 307: Alien Captive

The sound of the explosions came continuously from where the spaceship had crashed. Huang Jian rubbed his hands and exhaled, worried.

Sounds like a battle, but who is he fighting?

Huang Jian was confused. In this unpopulated wilderness, was Han Xiao fighting with an alien?

Even the thought of it made him think that it was such a crazy world.

After a while, the sound disappeared, and Huang Jian worried even more. Although he had heard of how strong Han Xiao was, the enemy was an alien after all.

If anything happens to him, there won't be anyone giving me orders. Should I continue to wait or…

Just as he was in a dilemma, an outline of a person flew in his direction from the place where the spaceship crashed and approached very quickly; it was Han Xuan, and he landed near the helicopter. Some parts of his mechanical suit had even cracked, exposing the wires inside, sparkling with electricity.

"Great, you're okay." Huang Jian heaved a sigh of relief. Suddenly, he saw that Han Xiao had brought along a being of a species that he had never seen before, and its feet and hands were locked by electrical handcuffs—that was Kerlodd, who was had multiple bruises on his face and was naked.

"A—a—ali…" Huang Jian stuttered and pointed at Kerlodd in shock, unable to say a complete word.

"An alien, took me quite some effort to capture him." Han Xiao grabbed Kerlodd by his hair and stuffed him into the cabin. This Godoran's face was filled with rage, but his mouth was blocked, so he could not say anything.

Huang Jian was stunned. He knew that Han Xiao was strong, but he did not know that Han Xiao was so strong that he could even capture an alien. His knowledge of Han Xiao was refreshed.

"Fly the helicopter quickly. This place is close to Raylen's border, so their people will be here very soon," Han Xiao said.

Huang Jian started flying the helicopter hastily, and they departed.

Han Xiao took off the mechanical suit on the helicopter and checked its damage. The armor was only at twenty percent. The Godora investigator's equipment was much more advanced; however, his last burst had made Kerlodd unable to fight back at all. All Kerlodd could do was lie there and take it.

He got the communicator and a Godoran—the result was better than expected.

I can still get quite a number of things from him. I shall deal with him after getting back. Han Xiao thought on the new plan.

Huang Jian was very curious about the alien, and he kept turning back. "Your Excellency, does he bite?"

He, a high civilization investigator, was being looked down on by a native as a savage beast! Kerlodd was furious, but his limbs were all tied, so he could only express his protests by knocking his head on the metal plate strongly.

"I don't think he bites…" Han Xiao touched his chin and said with a low voice, "but seeing that he's so furious, maybe he has such twisted interests."

Bang! Bang!

Kerlodd continued knocking his head on the metal plate.

"Is he edible?" Huang Jian asked curiously.

Han Xiao pinched the Godoran's arms and said, "The skin is quite smooth, and the meat is rather solid. Are you interested?"

Huang Jian hesitated then nodded and said, "I have never eaten an alien before."

Boom boom boom!

The frequency of head knocking on the metal plate became higher.

Underdeveloped! Savages! Kerlodd growled in his heart, then a tint of fear appeared in his mind.

Do these natives really want to eat me‽

Huang Jian was very interested and asked questions one after another, wanting to understand how Han Xiao knew an alien would arrive on in Planet Aquamarine and why he captured the alien. Incidentally, Kerlodd wanted to know the answer to these questions as well.

First, the space ship malfunctioned and was barely crash-landed, then came this strong guy in a mechanical suit, saying that he was there to welcome him. However, this 'representative' sneak attacked him, beat him up, and bound him.

Thinking that the analysis panel's danger evaluation to Planet Aquamarine was 'Low', Kerlodd was in a rage. How long has it been since the database was last updated? How is this not dangerous!

Besides, who is he? Why did he capture me? How did he know I crash landed here?

Kerlodd could not figure it out, and of course, Han Xiao was not saying anything.

"Is it a male or female?" Huang Jian was curious.

"Check it yourself," Han Xiao said with a weird expression.

Huang Jian opened his eyes wide and looked for a while, then said in surprise, "I thought that since this alien's build is so huge, it should be huge too…"

Boom!

Kerlodd could not take the humiliation anymore and used all his strength to bang his head against the metal plate, knocking himself unconscious.

…

More than ten minutes after the helicopter left, Raylen's troops arrived late at the scene, found the crashed spaceship, and immediately locked the area down in shock.

"This is a spaceship from outer space!"

"According to the orders from above, this is a spaceship from the friendly Godoran Civilization that was specifically sent to help us investigate the Inhumans!"

"Even the mountain peak was destroyed—this was not a usual landing, and the spaceship wrecked! Check for survivors immediately!"

"Report, no corpses were discovered in the spaceship. There are traces of a battle here!"

Raylen's troops collected clues, observed the battlefield, and reached their first conclusion.

"Two people fought each other, both superhumans. One of them used weapons unknown to us. The marks on these trees seem like they were melted through by laser beams; the slash marks are extremely smooth; they were not caused by ordinary cold weapons. These battle traces have comparatively higher radiation levels, so this should be the Godoran.

"The other party used firearms; the metal construction of the bullet shells is similar to ours. There are also some armor shards in the ground, so this should be someone very strong in our planet. The actual person needs to be further verified with the database. From the destruction level of the scene, this person's strength is definitely at the top of Planet Aquamarine, and there are very limited people in this category. The person should be identified within a short period.

"The result of the battle was most likely that the Godoran was captured and taken away."

"Are there any other discoveries?"

At this time, a researcher noticed that the spaceship's armor was open, and inside were the internal parts of the spaceship. He looked inside curiously, and as he was using the torchlight, he suddenly found something special. The researcher said, "There seem to be liquid in the spaceship."

"Liquid?"

The crowd surrounded the area. With a strong light shining in, they found a pile of metal and pipes covered in black, sticky liquid.

"What is that?"

"Probably fuel."

At this time, the officer suddenly said, "Orders from above, transport the spaceship back to the nation secretly!"

The accident that happened to the Godora spaceship was a once in a blue moon chance for the Planet Aquamarine regimes, so Raylen decided to research on the technology of the spaceship. Since they were behind the other civilizations, they had to grab any chance to develop themselves; the hope of prospering only appeared when there were risks.

Of course, Raylen did not want to anger the Godoran Civilization, so they would report this to the Godoran Civilization, but they were going to delay it for some time, acting oblivious to the situation.

Raylen took this very seriously. They were determined to prevent news of the incident from spreading, and they wanted to have the spaceship excluding themselves.

About the missing Godoran, Raylen decided to search in secret.

The engineering team soon arrived. They dug out the spaceship, covered it in black cloth, and used three transporting helicopters to move it into Raylen's territory.

Chapter 308: Deal

Being back at the Sanctuary, Han Xiao locked Kerlodd in his secret base, then checked his battle trophies.

_____________________

Godora Battle Spear (Super Model)

Type: Highly Compressed Cold Weapon + Light Element Enhanced

Quality: Green

Basic Stats: Melee Damage 247 – 255, Ranged Damage 294 – 381

Power Output: 346

Requirements: Above LV 50, Above 1500 Energy

Length: 1.7 m

Weight: 37 lbs

Energy Source: Lv.3 Magic Engraving

Made in: Godora Military Satellite 7, Dawn Military Workshop, No. 248 Assembly Line. Product Serial Number PV1324

Ability: [Golden Thrust]

- Activates Energy Engravings and releases magic bullets from the tip of the spear.

- Energy Usage: 5 per shot

- Cooldown: 11 s after every 20 shots.

Ability: [Godora Slash]

- Using 10 Energy, releases an arc light blade, +240% attack area of next slash, +60% damage, deals splash damage

- Cooldown: 8.6 s

Additional Effect: [Magic Affinity] — Using MiGold as the material, +12% Magic Resistance

Additional Effect: [Portable Compressing] — Can be compressed into a gold sphere

Remarks: Godora Crafted Weapon, made with MiGold, has light element blessing and high compressing technology. A product made from the combination of vintage aesthetics and advanced technology, of magic and technology, it is useable in both melee and ranged battles. It is common equipment in Godoran Civilization.

_____________________

These small golden spheres were assembly line products, standard equipment for an investigator, and not made by Kerlodd himself. He was a standard galactic warrior. Plus, Mechanical Pugilists were more focused on fighting, so their building abilities were very low.

All seven golden spheres were products of technology and magic. The basic damage was two to three times higher than usual gunpowder firearms, and with the enhancements from mechanic abilities, the difference would be even larger.

The standard equipment for high civilizations could be roughly divided into two types, normal models and Super models. Stronger beings could use strong weapons with higher requirements and make better use of their energy, whereas normal models were equivalent to gray quality.

The 'Super' in Super models referred to those with superpowers, like Superhumans. However, naturally, not every being in the universe was a human; thus, Super was used as a catch-all term.

Magic knowledge is not compatible with me; I can't reverse engineer the building process of this equipment. In the case of the normal path of pure machinery, after the gunpowder firearms should be the electromagnetic energy firearms, and the basic attributes of those are about the same level as this.

Han Xiao nodded. The strength of standard equipment of civilizations was an indirect indication of that civilization's strength. Godora was a Galactic Civilization, and compared to the entire Galaxy, its civilization level was in the middle. However, in the eyes of Planet Aquamarine people, any civilization able to travel in the galaxy was an advanced civilization.

If players wanted to build mixed equipment with combined technology, it would require different classes working together, a Mechanic building the basic structures and a Mage giving blessings. There were also some restrictions on the details.

This was the first batch of galactic equipment that Han Xiao had acquired, and his favorite was that firearm that could shoot a beam cannon, which had a very magical name—Wrath of Garrett. Its range was six hundred meters, and its basic damage was an astonishing five hundred! It could temporarily replace the Ghost sniper rifle, becoming the best weapon to use with Flaming Will.

However, the most important thing about a Mechanic was the machinery they made themself—only these could be considered as regular equipment. Han Xiao was very clear of this fact, and these new weapons could only be used during his transition into the galaxy.

After putting away the equipment, Han Xiao took out the galactic communicator. His face turned serious in the face of the key item.

At this time, Kerlodd, who had been tossed and left in the corner, secretly opened his eyes. Seeing that Han Xiao was looking at the galactic communicator, his lips warped into a sneer.

Although he had become a prisoner, Kerlodd still held onto his sense of superiority; he was sure that this Planet Aquamarine native would not be able to use the communicator. In his eyes, Han Xiao was like a monkey getting its new toy.

A thought appeared in his mind, and Kerlodd suddenly felt energetic. He doesn't know how to use any of this equipment, which means he will definitely ask me about to use them. Maybe I can trick him into sending a rescue signal to the headquarters without him knowing…

Kerlodd felt this plan could work, and he became excited as he saw hope.

At this time, Han Xiao easily brought up the translucent crystal screen of the communicator, looked at the screen full of Godora words, chose the option to switch language instantly, and changed it into Planet Aquamarine's language. Back then, when Godorans first came in contact with Planet Aquamarine, they had keyed the Planet Aquamarine language into the database. This was one of the things that had to be done when they discovered a new civilization, only then could they analyze the language for ease of communication.

The Galactic Communicator was a necessity for galactic travel; every player in his previous life used it before, and Han Xiao was so familiar with it that he could even operate it with his eyes closed. He easily brought up the login interface for a personal account, turned to look at the stunned Kerlodd, and said casually, "Kerlodd, right? Good that you're awake. Now, tell me your personal account."

"How can you possibly know how to use the communicator? And about personal accounts? Who are you‽" Kerlodd's eyes were filled with disbelief. He could almost not make sense of his words and was terrified—how could a native know about these things‽

There was only one explanation for this—this guy is definitely not a native! He came from the galaxy as well!

Thinking of this, Kerlodd's sense of superiority was nowhere to be found anymore; he was stunned and confused.

Originally, he had planned to threaten the man with the name of Godora, but it would only be useful against a native. People in the galaxy would not be afraid of such a vague threat at all. With the distance and peace treaty limitations, this method would not work at all. Furthermore, he was just a little investigator, not anyone in a high position.

"Who am I?" Han Xiao raised the corner of his lips and said deliberately mysteriously, "Our meeting was rushed. Please, allow me to officially introduce myself. My name is Han Xiao. There's nothing else you need to know."

Kerlodd was more convinced of his guess and felt that Han Xiao was very mysterious. He looked Han Xiao in his eyes and saw an abyss filled with mist. Suddenly, it occurred to him, and he yelled, "Wait a minute, how did you know my name‽"

"You are a Godoran Investigator, ordered to investigate the so-called 'Inhumans' in Planet Aquamarine," Han Xiao said slowly. "Due to unknown reasons, your spaceship met an accident."

"Are you a mind reader or Foreseer?" Kerlodd said with a cautious expression. He discreetly used his energy to protect his mind; however, he did not discover any traces of it being invaded.

"Guess," Han Xiao said mockingly.

This attitude made Kerlodd grind his teeth, but he had no choice under such circumstances. He held his anger and asked, "Why did you attack me?"

Han Xiao pointed at the communicator and said, "Don't worry, this is not personal. I also am not hostile toward Godora. All I want is this."

"You call this not hostile?" Kerlodd tried to pull away from the mechanical chains in rage.

Han Xiao sat on the sofa, placed his hands on his knees, leaned toward the Godoran with a pressurizing look, and said coldly, "If I was hostile, you would already be dead."

"You just think I am still useful to you," Kerlodd said with abhorrence.

"Correct answer, no reward." Han Xiao smiled. "I just need the communicator to contact Galactic Travel Agency and leave this planet. We cannot be considered enemies. The crash of your spaceship had nothing to do with me, and attacking you was just to prevent accidents. I know about Godorans' arrogance full well, and we can only have a proper talk after I defeat you. Now, I have a deal I want to talk to you about… Of course, you are in no place to reject."

Kerlodd clenched his teeth and said, "Go ahead!"

"I need to borrow the money in your personal account. If you are willing to cooperate, I can let you go and bring you to leave with me. At that time, you can return home if you like."

Kerlodd was surprised. "You're willing to let me go?"

"Why not?" Han Xiao laughed. "I have no grudge with or hatred toward Godora; I'm just robbing you of your money, not your life. I didn't really hurt you. Or is it that, because I defeated you, you are holding grudges and want revenge?"

Kerlodd thought carefully. Indeed, Han Xiao's direct conflict with him was only their fight. Although he had lost, Han Xiao did not hurt him severely and even gave him a chance to return home. Godora had the old tradition of admiring the strong, and he was an investigator, so fighting was normal.

Although he was still quite upset, Kerlodd's rage gradually cooled down.

After pondering, he said with dignity, "As long as you fulfill your part of the deal, I am willing to cooperate. I can promise in the name of God Gal that I will never seek revenge; I admit my defeat."

God Gal was the religious god of Godora, so this kind of promise was very solemn.

Chapter 309: All Ready

Clank!

The heavy chains fell onto the ground. Kerlodd heaved a sigh of relief, moved his limbs around, and awkwardly looked down on his nude body. "Can I…"

A set of clothes were thrown toward him. Kerlodd shoved them on hastily; being naked would have humiliated anyone.

Han Xiao stared at Kerlodd with a smile the whole time. Kerlodd's personal account had galactic general currency. Calling the galactic travel agency needed money, and since Han Xiao was unsure if they would accept resources as payment, getting the general currency was insurance.

Furthermore, he indeed did not want to kill Kerlodd. Although he had the upper hand now, Godora definitely knew that an investigator had come to Planet Aquamarine, gotten into an accident, and lost contact. Thus, they would contact Six Nations at some point or even send out new investigator team.

The truth would always be revealed. If he killed Kerlodd, the conflict would only get more intense, and there was no need for that. Letting Kerlodd live meant that the personal conflict would not become a bigger one. Investigators often met a bit of danger; as long he did not die, Godora would definitely not bother as such small conflict was nothing.

Of course, although Kerlodd had made a promise, Han Xiao did not trust him completely. At least he would not let Kerlodd out of his sight in Planet Aquamarine and would not return any of his equipment to him.

Because of him acting mysterious, Kerlodd assumed that Han Xiao came from the galaxy as well, so he would not dare to make a move easily unknown of his identity.

As expected, Kerlodd asked again, "Who are you really?"

"Galactic Human," Han Xiao said with perfunctory.

The human race in the galaxy was a very large species, and there were countless branches. Kerlodd observed that Han Xiao seemed to be the most common type of Galaxy Human race. Not being able to identify Han Xiao's origins, he scratched his head and said, "Okay, I will not ask again. When are you planning to leave? I want to go home soon."

"Not too long."

Han Xiao planned to bring the pro players from the Planet Aquamarine Division away. The Divisions would soon end; he could wait.

"By the way," Kerlodd suddenly said, "where's my spaceship?"

"Someone took it away, probably without the intention of returning it to you." Han Xiao knew full well what had happened after. He knew that Raylen locked down the information just from the fact that there was no intelligence about the crashed spaceship from the intelligence agents in the Dark Net; it was clear what Raylen wanted to do.

Kerlodd was upset and did not think about contacting the Six Nations at this time. The current situation did not favor him, so he did not want to take the risk. Furthermore, he felt that he had more to say to Han Xiao, who also came from the galaxy like him, and communicating with him would be easier than with the natives.

"What malfunction did your spaceship have?" Han Xiao asked.

"I don't know either. It was flying normally and perfectly under stealth mode, and when approaching Planet Aquamarine, the engine suddenly stopped working. Although the observer spaceship isn't big, it was very stable. I have no idea why it would suddenly malfunction.

Han Xiao thought about it before shaking his head

He started to get down to business. He turned on the communicator and registered for a personal account. The communicator also worked as a personal terminal—its personal account functions were very rich and had a bank transfer function, the most common way of making a deal in the galaxy, quick and convenient. Every big civilization had their own galactic bank, among which, the most authorized and powerful ones were the three Universal Civilization banks of course. The banks worked with each other, and they could be used anywhere in the galaxy.

Han Xiao picked one randomly and told Kerlodd to make the transfer.

Ding!

"Your account has been transferred 878 Enas." A pleasant-sounding female voice appeared from the terminal.

"Only this much money? You're too poor." Han Xiao could not help but complain.

Enas was the general currency in the galaxy, the most common currency unit used.

Kerlodd's face turned red, and he said, "I don't have the habit of saving. Being an investigator is a tough job, and I need to enjoy myself… Wait a minute, why am I explaining myself to you?"

He suddenly realized that he was being robbed—why did he even have to feel ashamed of having little money?

Having received the money, Han Xiao's target was achieved, and he felt assured. Counting the days, the Planet Aquamarine Divisions would last for about more than ten days, and he planned to use that time to contact the galactic travel agency in advance.

There were thousands of channels in the communicator. Han Xiao looked through and entered 'Garton Galaxy Travel Agency Channel'. A dense list of traveling routes appeared on the screen, and a cold electrical voice appeared.

"Is filtering required?"

"Yes."

"Location?"

"Star Zone 9, Planet Aquamarine."

"Destination?"

Han Xiao paused then said, "Juberly Hub."

"Please select price range."

"Cheapest." Han Xiao gave 'Kerlodd the Cheapskate' a stare.

"Number of travelers?"

"A few dozen."

"Race?"

"Human."

"Have you used the Galactic Travel agency before?"

'Yes."

After more than twenty questions, the result was finally filtered down, leaving only five traveling agencies. The Galactic Travel agency was a very large industry, and many large organizations provided this service. This was one of the cheapest ways for galactic travel, like a private hire, or more accurately, a 'public spaceship'.

Han Xiao chose the 'Short Horn Star' travel agency as this was a galactic travel agency with a very good name. After choosing, the communicator transferred the communication channel into the Short Horn Star salesperson channel, letting both parties discuss the details.

"Greetings, thank you for choosing Short Horn Star. We will provide you the best high-quality and inexpensive services…"

The salesperson was a beautiful human female. According to the race of the customer, they would be assigned to salespersons meeting their standard of beauty. After the saleswoman finished her welcoming opening, she said, "We have received your travel requirements. Fortunately, a Whale Spaceship will pass by Star Zone 9 in twenty days' time. We will bring you to the ship by then. What grade of seats would you like? We have economy class, business class, first-class class, VIP cabins, and even VVIP cabins.

"What's the price for the economy cabins?"

"3 Enas per person. How many seats would you like to reserve?"

Han Xiao quickly counted before saying, "Fifty."

Bringing about fifty of high skill players in the top places should be enough. Bringing some players was a very important part of the plan.

Han Xiao then paid the deposit and confirmed the boarding time, nodding in his mind. The preparation of heading into the galaxy could be considered completed. His destination was Juberly Hub, a transfer station in Garton Galaxy with accessible and convenient transportations. Various races of the Colton Group gathered there, and there were many opportunities. In Han Xiao's plan, the Juberly Hub was the most suitable to be his first station of entering the galaxy.

Now, I just have to wait for the players to finish the competition. I will then make an announcement, and the team will be created. It's all ready.

There were some matters in Planet Aquamarine that he had to deal with before leaving.

…

For a few days in a row, Han Xiao transferred his resources secretly and brought Kerlodd along all the time. He made him wear a cape covering his skin. They occasionally appeared before people in the sanctuary, raising some curiosity and shock as to why there was suddenly a mysterious man alongside Han Xiao.

During the battle between the top eight to decide top four in the Singles, Frenzied Sword met Li Ge. Frenzied Sword, who everyone expected to lose before the match, gave an astonishing performance. After five tough battles, he beat Li Ge by one round. This time, Frenzied Sword expressed what a Mechanical Pugilist was fully capable of and finally showcased something he had been hiding, his Energy Warhammer. Its explosive power was even stronger than a Pugilist, helping him to break through Li Ge's combos.

Frenzied Sword entered top four Singles, and the haters suddenly all disappeared. The victory was the best confidence boost, his 'China's Best Mechanical Pugilist' nickname in the forums became more popular. He was considered the black horse of the first season!

Li Ge did not think that he would lose to Frenzied Sword, and unfortunate things did not come alone. The Temple of God entered the top four teams, meeting Long Sky. This time, Hao Tian gave his all. He cleansed himself of his previous shame, defeated Temple of God, and entered the finals of the Groups.

The situation became clear. Long Sky and Dynasty would fight for the Divisions Champions and Runner-Up. Temple of God could only fight for Second Runner-Up with another team. As for the Singles, if things went smoothly, Frenzied Sword could very possibly enter the top three, and he had a very high chance of entering the Internationals. As for the champion, not that Han Xiao looked down on Frenzied Sword, but Dynasty's King Admiral was way too strong. His skills, control, and attributes were almost undefeatable in Version 1.0. Dynasty seemed to have the momentum of becoming the champion; the media favored them.

Even so, Frenzied Sword's achievements and popularity were way better than what he had boasted in Han Xiao's previous life. It had definitely been worthwhile cultivating him.

The Divisions lasted for about half a year. The batch of players with the highest level already reached an average level of the limit LV 60.

As Han Xiao was doing his preparation discreetly, Bennett suddenly called him.

"I have arrived at Sanctuary Three. Where are you?"

"Why are you suddenly here?" Han Xiao said jokingly. "Missed me?"

"What do you think?" Bennett said with a very serious tone. "Where did you hide that alien? You didn't eat him, did you?"

Han Xiao's smile disappeared, and he frowned. "Did Huang Jian expose it?"

"Talk when we meet. You're in big trouble this time again!" Bennett said with a low voice, but there was not much blame in his tone… He was already used to having trouble drop from the sky.

Chapter 310: Raylen's Message

In the high tower of Sanctuary Three, Bennett stood behind the window with hands behind his back and looked down on the players in the square with deep and mysterious emotions in his eyes.

The door was pushed open. Han Xiao walked in, and Bennett asked with a serious expression, "Is that alien still alive?"

Han Xiao stepped aside, and Kerlodd walked in as well. Bennett's pupils constricted; this was the first time that he had seen an alien, so he could not help but stare, forgetting himself.

"Native, what are you looking at!" Kerlodd said unhappily.

"He speaks our language?" Bennett said with surprise.

"Aliens' technology is indeed advanced," Bennett commented. He looked at the two of them and said in confusion, "Didn't you capture him? Why does it look like…"

"How did you know about the alien?" Han Xiao asked.

Bennett shook his head and said in a low voice, "Raylen told me, or else I wouldn't have known an alien came. They investigated you, confirmed that you captured the alien, and contacted me discreetly to demand that you to give them the alien."

Han Xiao was not surprised that it was Raylen. Following the traces at that time, they would indeed investigate him. Besides he had never planned to hide it because there was no need to.

"And what if I reject?"

"Their official response was 'violent methods will be unavoidable'. Raylen is very firm this time."

Not only was Han Xiao one of the biggest contributors to the fall of the Germinal Organization, but he was also the strongest superhuman in Planet Aquamarine. So, the Six Nations respected him. However, Raylen had made up their mind this time and had a very strong attitude; they were not preparing to give him face and wanted to force Han Xiao to give up the Godoran and control him. Han Xiao inwardly shook his head; Raylen's hostility meant nothing to him anymore.

Bennett was very speechless. "Can you tell me, how did you kidnap an alien back after a casual walk outside? What do you want to do?"

Han Xiao sat down, looked at Bennett, and said, "I'm planning to leave Planet Aquamarine."

Bennett was completely stunned.

This message was way too sudden, Bennett only regained his focus after a while and asked with surprise, "Why? Are you really an alien?"

"Compared to the galaxy, Planet Aquamarine is just a tiny rural place. The world is so large, and I want to explore it." Han Xiao smiled.

Turns out this was the reason for the capture the alien…

Bennett adjusted his mindset very quickly. He had seen a lot of things. After all, he said with some sadness, "You are a friend who shares the same ideals as me. If you've really decided that, I can only wish you all the best. I will miss you."

Han Xiao looked him in the eye and smiled. "That's a wider world, aren't you tempted? Do you want to come with me?"

Bennett's mind drifted away a little. It was like he saw the endless galaxy in Han Xiao's eyes. Men's romance was the sea of stars, and one could only look further by standing taller.

His heart started beating faster; the desire for exploration in his heart became stronger.

However, Bennett calmed down very quickly. He shook his head and said, "The sanctuary is my ideal. Sorry, I need to continue it."

Han Xiao hesitated and said, "There's actually another reason. A disaster will sweep over Planet Aquamarine in two to three years' time; I foresaw it. It's a horrifying disaster, and there's a very low chance of surviving… Are you really not leaving?"

Han Xiao decided to warn Bennett about the arrival of the Mutation Disaster. After all, Bennett had treated him well. It was dangerous staying in Planet Aquamarine, and Han Xiao wanted to enter the galaxy before Version 1.0. One of the main goals that he had was to avoid the first and most dangerous wave of disaster when the Mutation Disaster arrived in Planet Aquamarine.

With the possible identity of a foreseer, Han Xiao's 'foresight' had reasons to be believed.

However, after Bennett listened carefully to Han Xiao's rough description of the disaster, his hesitation disappeared completely, and he said, "Then I categorically have to stay; this is my home, and she needs me."

Han Xiao stared at Bennett for a while before letting out a long sigh.

"Indeed, that's the type of person you are."

People's beliefs differed and could not be forced. Bennett stared at Han Xiao with complicated emotions in his eyes and asked, "Are you leaving to avoid the danger?"

Han Xiao smiled and said, "The solution to the disaster is hidden in the galaxy. Not only am I avoiding danger, but I am also looking for the solution in the galaxy."

He did not lie to Bennett; solving the Mutation Disaster in Version 2.0 in advance was part of his plan. If he could change the storyline of Planet Aquamarine in Version 2.0, he would definitely gain some Legendary Points.

Hearing this, Bennett smiled and said, "I was not wrong about you. When I heard your speech back then, I knew we are the same type of people."

We are not! Han Xiao's lips twitched. That speech had been completely copied from Bennett's original words in his previous life. The last time that Han Xiao had gone to look for Bennett in Sanctuary One, he had seen the speech hung in Bennett's office and was specified that the original author was Han Xiao, showing Bennett's admiration to the speech, and that had been a little awkward for Han Xiao.

Anyway, although their motive was different, their goal was the same, so the motives would not matter.

Since Bennett knew about Han Xiao's thoughts, he completely left Raylen's demands behind.

"How are you going to leave Planet Aquamarine?"

"I have already made the arrangements; you will know by then."

Seeing that Han Xiao did not want to give the details, Bennett held back his curiosity and said, "If you leave, Sanctuary Three will need to elect a new person in charge, do you have anyone to recommend?"

Han Xiao pondered and said, "Huang Yu. He has been dealing with all the daily matters in the sanctuary, and he is very familiar of the situation here. It will be most suitable for him to take over."

Through the influence of the Pro League, the Players' Main City impression of Sanctuary Three was complete. Even if Han Xiao left, the sanctuary's position would not be affected. Sanctuary Three had his name in it, and every player arriving at the place would be reminded of him.

However, the sanctuary players would not be able to enjoy all of his 'functions', which might cause the sanctuary to lose some of its popularity.

Han Xiao suddenly had a new thought. Maybe there's a way to continue strengthening the influence of the sanctuary even after I leave the planet…

Since he had already told Bennett about the Mutation Disaster, this 'foresight' should be able to make more impact. Han Xiao gave it a slight thought and came up with a plan, memorizing it in his heart.

Bennett agreed that Huang Yu was a suitable candidate as well. Suddenly, Bennett said with a serious tone, "There are too many Inhumans in Sanctuary Three, even more than the refugees; they're taking up too much space. They have unknown origins and are too mysterious. This is a potential security threat, I don't know how you make them work for you, but if you leave, what are we going to do with them?"

"When the disaster is upon us, the Inhumans will most likely be the pillar of sanctuary's protection. Don't be too strict toward them—accept and include them." As the players grew, the various organizations in Planet Aquamarine feared 'Inhumans' more and more, and naturally, Bennett was not an exception. He had to convince Bennett to make sure that his achievements in Planet Aquamarine would not be destroyed.

Upon hearing this, Bennett's expression changed. "If that's the case, I will take it very seriously."

Although he feared the Inhumans, he changed his attitude immediately upon knowing that the Inhumans could protect the sanctuary; this reasoning was very effective on him.

The two of them chatted for a while, then Bennett stood up and said his goodbyes. He had come to deal with Raylen's message but unexpectedly heard about Han Xiao plans. In this case, Raylen's warning would not be worrying at all.

On the other hand, the disaster that Han Xiao had told him about gave him a heavy heart; it felt like there was a dark cloud above the path in front of him. He decided to immediately return and write the crisis protocols, strengthen the sanctuaries' protection, and speed up the plan.

Bennett was sad to see a partner like Han Xiao go, so he said sincerely, "I wish you all the best, and I hope that we can meet again one day."

Han Xiao reached out to give Bennett a firm handshake.

They smiled at each other.

…

Bennett's arrival reminded Han Xiao that he should notify some of his friends. Hila and Aurora had stayed in the sanctuary because of him, so he decided to tell them about it first.

On that same night, under the clear sky and Sleepy Winter, he summoned Hila and Aurora to tell them that he was going into the galaxy soon.

As expected, they were surprised, and their faces were filled with disbelief.

"Han Xiao, what is the galaxy like? Have you met an alien?" Aurora asked hurriedly.

During these days, Aurora had been resting in the sanctuary and regained health. Han Xiao also corrected what she called him; he was finally not called an uncle.

Han Xiao asked Kerlodd to come closer and said, "This is an alien."

Aurora's eyes were filled with curiosity. "Aliens look quite similar to us. Does he bite?"

This question again! Can't you natives be more knowledgeable!

Kerlodd could not take it anymore and yelled at Aurora, "I don't!"

Pa!

Kerlodd fell onto the ground with his face down.

Han Xiao put his hands down and said hastily, "Be kinder to kids."

"Aliens are so scary," Aurora mumbled softly.

Hila pointed at Han Xiao with an expressionless face and said, "he's obviously scarier."

Chapter 311: Could It Be That I'm Not Charming?

Lying beside Aurora lazily, Bear Cub suddenly stood up and growled at Kerlodd as a warning. Han Xiao had made Aurora raise Bear Cub for a long time, and this bear had already grown to the height of half a human. It was reaching its youth stage and had developed a strange mutation with characteristics that it should not normally have—its hair glowed lightly, and its attributes seemed to be gradually growing toward an elite level.

Aurora's power seemed to have a catalytic effect on life forms; young beings could receive special growth by being staying near to her. Some time ago, Han Xiao had come to know that Aurora's Esper power was called [Dawn of Life]. Its potential grade was also S, just like Hila. That had been an exciting discovery.

The source of this discovery came from combat information. Of course, it was not from him attacking Aurora. He had realized that he had misunderstood how it worked—he could just let Aurora attack him. However, even after a lot of persuading, Aurora had still kept shaking her head, unwilling to attack Han Xiao. She had even been incredibly distraught, thinking that Han Xiao might have been unhappy with her for some reason.

To Aurora, there were only two people in the entire world whom she was close to—one was her older sister Hila, and the other was the person who had torn open the darkness and brought her light when she was at her lowest point, Han Xiao. Other than Hila, Han Xiao was the only one that treated her very well. She only had these two to rely on, so she cared for Han Xiao like an older brother.

After Han Xiao finally convinced her to shoot him with the excuse of testing the performance of his mechanical suit, Han Xiao got the combat information. His initial target was only Hila, and to his very pleasant surprise, Aurora had the same level of potential. To him, it was like a 'buy one get one free'.

In the original storyline, Aurora had turned into jam, so her future achievements were unknown. This time, she had the chance to grow. Furthermore, with how much she relied on Han Xiao, she was much more dependable than her older sister.

Han Xiao gave Hila a look, signaling that they needed to talk privately, then walked to the side.

Not long after, Hila walked over, stood beside him, and frowned. "What?"

"Do you want to leave this planet with me?"

"Why are you inviting me?" Hila's expression in her eyes changed a little, and she looked at Han Xiao's profile.

"Not just you, your sister as well. I know that you two will never separate."

Hila looked down to consider, and after a long silence, she said slowly, "No."

Han Xiao raised his brows. "I asked Bennett the same thing. It's understandable that he's not coming, but why did you reject?"

"Dangerous," Hila said. "I need to take care of my sister."

"It's dangerous to stay too."

Hila's expression turned serious and said, "what did you foresee again?"

Han Xiao roughly described the Mutation Disaster and said, "The disaster will come to you sooner or later even if you stay on this planet. You and Aurora both have very high potential, so your future will definitely be in the galaxy. Even so, do you still not want to come with me?"

Hila's closed her eyes and fell into contemplation.

The silence continued, like the lonely moon hanging high up in the sky.

After a long time, Hila turned to Han Xiao and said softly, "No."

Han Xiao looked at her meaningfully, lit a cigarette, and exhaled some smoke. "Okay then."

His tone was very casual and did not show any signs of wanting to know more, which made Hila doubtful. She frowned and said, "Do you not want to know why?"

Han Xiao laughed and said, "Don't think of yourself too highly, I just asked. Whether you come or not doesn't affect me much—you won't be much of a help with the strength you have now."

Hila's eyes turned cold a little. Although she had rejected Han Xiao, feeling the man's careless attitude, she felt like she was not important to him, and it was embarrassing.

This time, Han Xiao added, "This is your own choice; I won't force you to do anything under the guise of 'for your own good'."

As he was speaking, he took out a string of keys, threw them to Hila, and said coldly, "If the darkness devours the sanctuary one day, these keys lead to my secret base. It can provide a place to hide for you. I've left the location information in my office, the laminated back side of the third drawer on the left; I'm leaving it there for you."

Hila played with the keys. Suddenly, she said, "Are you not coming back?"

Han Xiao put on a half-smile and said, "Do you care about that a lot?"

Hila snorted coldly, raised the keys, signaling that she would remember what he had said, and left.

After she walked a few steps away, Han Xiao's voice came from behind with a light tone.

"Don't die."

Hila's footsteps paused.

"You too."

After Hila left, Han Xiao's smile disappeared. He threw the cigarette butt on the floor and extinguished it with his foot.

From what he estimated, there was more than a fifty percent chance that Hila will leave with him, but Hila had made the other choice unexpectedly. Even after he explained the pros and cons, Hila had still chosen to stay. Other than her sister being the reason, she might have other considerations. The personality of Hila before she turned evil was not easy to guess.

However, Han Xiao's need for Hila at the current stage was indeed not high. The amount of help that Hila would be to him was not much before her power matured, and she would not even be as effective as those highly skilled players.

Furthermore, bringing Hila along meant that he had to bring Aurora, and the current Aurora was even weaker and could be hurt easily. The galaxy was full of known and unknown dangers. Even though Han Xiao was familiar with Galaxy, he had to be cautious.

Players, on the other hand, were an extremely great help since they could revive, and Han Xiao could enjoy the freedom of acting alone without constraints. There were benefits to not bringing anyone too.

Therefore, letting Hila and Aurora stay on Planet Aquamarine might even be a good choice. There were still two to three years before the Mutation Disaster would arrive, and these two would be able to grow in a safe environment before that. If they followed him, they would face danger very soon.

Letting them grow and coming back to fetch them after the Mutation Disaster was not a bad thing from how Han Xiao looked at it.

Even so, after being rejected twice on the bounce, Han Xiao was still rather hurt in his heart. He mumbled to himself, "Could it be that I'm not charming? It can't be."

A sound came from beside him; Emerald Grass walked out from the shadow in the corner. Han Xiao had known all along that she was hiding there. He looked at her and asked, "How much did you hear?"

"Everything," Emerald Grass said surprisingly. "Was everything you said true? Aren't you afraid that I'll leave after you leave as well? You exchanged me and now have no use for me, huh?"

"You're free, but it's best for you to stay in the sanctuary. I wasn't joking about the disaster."

Emerald Grass nodded with a complicated expression, turned around, and left. Han Xiao looked at her back with narrowed eyes and shook his head.

The prisoners from the Bell of Death Island were new characters in Version 2.0, Emerald Green being one of them, and he had gotten her out in advance. Emerald Grass was valuable given that she would invent important drugs against the Mutation Disaster in the future.

The heart of a human was difficult to control, but he felt there was quite a high chance that Emerald Grass would stay. She valued her life and was fanatic about pharmaceutical research. With so many players in the sanctuary, it was the best place for experiments—it was attractive to Emerald Grass.

…

Bringing fifty highly-skilled players was a very important part of the plan. When the Pro League finished and the players were still unsatisfied, it would be time to carry out the plan.

It was already the finals and would end in just a few days. Han Xiao was perfecting his plan to bring the players away.

On this day, Raylen skipped Bennett and contacted Han Xiao directly, giving him the final warning with a very aggressive and tough tone.

"Black Phantom, we know you captured Godora's investigator. You have made a big mistake. We respect the contributions that you made during the war with the Germinal Organization, but we won't allow you to use that contribution to do whatever you want. Give the Godoran to us; this is the last warning, or we will take the necessary measures. You won't want that to happen. Although you're very strong, you will not be able to match up to our nation."

"'Kay, bye."

Ka-chin.

Han Xiao ended the communication and rubbed the bridge of his nose, speechless.

Raylen refused to give up and wanted to pressure him, but Han Xiao did not want to waste his time with them now.

Han Xiao was sitting in his office at this time, and Kerlodd was right beside him. This Godoran was standing next to the window and looking out at the players on the square. He suddenly said, "So, is this the special phenomenon on your planet?"

Kerlodd still remembered his investigation mission. During this time, he had noticed the so-called 'Inhuman Phenomenon' as well and seen many of the characteristics of the players.

"This is your investigation mission, right? So, have you reached a conclusion?" Han Xiao asked.

Chapter 312: Inhuman and The Space Wonder

"There's nothing much to conclude. I only have some guesses from my observation," Kerlodd said. "When I received the mission, the government on this planet described the phenomenon from the point of view of undeveloped civilization. You call this occurrence 'Inhuman Phenomenon'. They said that these Inhuman aren't anything special, but more and more of them kept appearing. They could not tell where they came from, and they just integrated into this planet's environment. Their behavior was weird, and they had a special connection with each other. Most importantly, they cannot die, and they learn and grow at a rapid rate…"

What he babbled on about was the view of the Six Nations on the players, in addition to some of his own observations. Han Xiao was curious on how the advanced civilization understood this phenomenon.

"The most special characteristic is that they can revive after they die while keeping the same personality." Kerlodd finally showed his aura of an investigator. "There are a lot of reasons for the cause of this phenomenon, and the simplest explanation is that this is an evolution of an Esper power of a group of people, which is highly improbable but still possible.

"It could also be due to some complex causes such as the life projection technology, which may be an experiment of an advanced civilization, or it is possible that these people were created from a disruption between clashes of different planes. Another reason may be that the Inhumans are accidental projections from a civilization far away in a different space and time, and they are a new life form created by some unexplained rules in the universe. I know a dozen theories that can explain this phenomenon.

"Space Wonder is the hardest way to understand what is happening, and I personally think that it is the least possible hypothesis out of all theories.

"These Inhumans had another important characteristic—there was a sudden increase in the number of Inhumans. This means that this is not a natural phenomenon. But to be sure of this possibility, I need special tools to find out the cause to see if any civilizations are responsible for this. However, I need to ask management for approval to use a rare detection tool. If the civilization is too advanced, there won't be a way for us to find out. To be honest, I don't think that any civilization will find this planet useful to invest their life projection technology in.

"If we hypothesize that it is a natural phenomenon rather than human intervention, then it is possible that the planes crossed each other and that the planet was right on top of the crack that resulted from the clash of planes. But if there is a crack, why aren't there any instances where people disappeared on the planet?"

Han Xiao froze, and he remembered that Hannes and the others disappeared into thin air. Was there actually a crack in plane?

No, the players definitely did not have any relationship with the crack, but there was a possibility that the planes had overlapped.

If the players' world was a plane, and that plane crossed with that of the game, then it was not impossible.

"What's the difference between different planes?" Han Xiao asked. "Does that mean it is another universe?"

Kerlodd laughed. "There are a lot of definitions for planes, but there are three basic categories. First is the Outer Plane, which is often seen in highly developed magic civilizations, where powerful wizards can summon creatures from another plane. They are usually formed from imagination and mental energy. The more realistic way to explain this is that wizards can use their imagination to create an actual tangible object. This is the evidence that the Outer Plane indeed exists, but the plane itself is not tangible. It seems rather contradictory, but theory for this phenomenon is that we are limited by our sense, so there are life forms and Super knowledge that we don't… um, I'm not a wizard, so I don't have an in-depth understanding.

"The second category is the material planes such as Dimensional Plane, Microscopic Plane, and other planes that exist in the real world. These are more commonly seen, and it is the most widely accepted scientific theory on planes.

"The last category believes that the theory of planes is just a misunderstanding because two planets, each on opposite sides of the universe, suddenly had some connection that led to a wormhole that connected the two worlds. Because they had never made contact before, they thought that the other was from a different plane. However, the universe you are talking about is from the theory where there are multiple universes, and it is believed that there is an uncountable number of universes. Seems like you are an advocate for this theory, but we do not have much research in Godora, so I also don't understand it well."

Han Xiao was enlightened by the perspective that the NPCs had when they saw new players coming in to this world.

Kerlodd then continued. "As for High dimension projection, it will touch on the theory of the space-time dimension. For example, as objects in the three-dimension world, we see that a two-dimensional space is just a plane like paper. This paper represents a complete environment. Imagine that if a two-dimensional man stood in front of a mountain, the world is still three dimensional, and the two-dimensional man will have to climb the mountain to get to the other side. But for a three-dimensional object, we can put our finger on the paper and move to any place on the plane and overcome the mountain that a two-dimensional man faces. As for a two-dimensional perspective to interpret three-dimensional world, the observed phenomenon would be the area that the finger and paper are in contact.

"The contact surface can be changed, so the projected impression will be unstable. The perception between a higher and lower dimension is different. For example, if we ignore the debate on whether time is an independent or dependent variable, and we assume that time is the fourth dimension that actually exists, then in the eyes of a life form in the higher dimension, we might be just creatures created by a combination of thousands of time points as if it was a worm. The Inhumans may be beings from the higher dimension that touched our dimension. For the knowledge of dimensions, you should ask a civilization with more expertise on this. Godora is pretty weak in this area of research."

Han Xiao pursed his lips. The world of the players did not have better technology compared to this world, so it probably not high dimension projection.

"That's everything for theory on explaining the new creatures. The theory that I don't get is the Space Wonder that no civilization can understand."

"So, it is completely unknown?" Han Xiao was shocked. "Even the civilization on top of the universe also can't understand it?"

"Haha, there are still unexplored places in the universe, so of course, there are still things we don't understand. Um… maybe those advanced civilizations are hiding their knowledge, but I will share my understanding."

Kerlodd showed his passion and excitement in his tone.

"I have some understanding of universe theoretical studies. There were millions of explanations for the workings of the universe, and because of the nature of curiosity in a intelligent beings, we all eventually ask questions like 'Who am I?', 'Where do I come from?', and 'Where am I going?'. That is why people are enthusiastic about the origin of life, the truth of the world, and the meaning of existence. Civilizations use these curiosities as fuel to explore the origin, truth, form, process, and the end of the universe. Ultimately, different civilizations will have different interpretations.

"To understand the nature of the universe, exploration of the physical world is needed. Now we know that particles are the building blocks of the world, and there are also different theories on the formation of the particles. Different universe theories have different explanations for particles, such as its use and shape. If one zooms in on a particle, is it just a single point? Or will it be like the shape of a planet? Will there be different shapes for different particles? Or are the shapes just randomized? The most common view is that if we truly understand the characteristics of particles, then all the incorrect theories will be rejected, and only one correct theory will remain.

"If there are theories that can be proven with hard facts from experiments, not only should it work on one theory, but it can prove all the existing theories in the world! There will also be theories that contradict with each other! Isn't that amazing?

"So, civilization's understanding of this world is still shallow. There is still a towering wall between us and the truth. All theories are like holes in the wall, and we look through the wall to see the other side. We can only see small parts of the other side, and we can't get through the wall. Theories only allow us to view the world from a certain perspective, and different perspectives will lead to different results. All the results of the theories are just the tip of the iceberg.

"This is similar to the limitation of our perception that I mentioned before. The phenomenon that a life form observes all depends on the perception abilities. In the places that we can't see, touch, smell, taste, and hear hides a lot of unknown knowledge. Our sensory organs let us understand the world, but they also hinder us from truly knowing everything in the world.

"Do you still remember the Dimensional Projection? Maybe this universe is just a projection from a higher dimension.

"There even is a theory that believes that the world is just a simulation. All the natural laws are created by some physical engine, and we are the test subjects of some life form much bigger than us that's controlling us using some complex calculations."

Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat.

Chapter 313: The Selection

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and asked, "Has this been proven?"

"Well, not really." As he played with his ponytail, Kerlodd explained, "This kind of belief in a greater being and the creation myth behind the origins of the universe is most focused on by the Arcane Church, one of the three major civilizations in space. Their beliefs in the spiritual and the supernatural is the source of their power…"

"Stop. I know what the Arcane Church is." Han Xiao stopped interrupted him mid-sentence.

"Sure. Right, where were we? Oh. These theories and beliefs of the universe's mysteries are all different, but through them, different civilizations were able to come up with countless technological inventions and applications. So, from another angle, these theories are only a tool to be used to understand the universe; like tools, they all have their own pros and cons. Each tool is responsible for a specific task, and in the case of these theories, none can be considered the be-all-end-all.

"Our Godorans' particle theory argues that all the particles in the world carry magic, and as such, our civilization started being dominated by the use of magic. Later on, as we discovered the usefulness of technology, we also started to do research to facilitate technological development. Both of these are only tools that we use to help understand the world."

Han Xiao frowned. "You know quite a lot."

"Haha. I'm a trained investigator. I have heard all sorts of things during my rounds in the different space stations that I've visited throughout the universe." Kerlodd smiled. "Basically, all the unsolved mysteries in space are commonly referred to as the wonders of space, or Space Wonders. Inhumans are unlikely to be one such universe-wide mystery."

Space Wonders huh… Han Xiao made sure to remember this.

Suddenly, the sound of cheering crashed over the chatting duo like a tsunami.

Han Xiao went onto the forums to check out the commotion as there was currently a live broadcast of the tournament. All the fights had come to an end, and a champion had been born.

For the team matches, Dynasty had clinched the top spot after a hard-fought battle against Long Sky, while Temple of God had closely followed behind as the third team. Although the three big guilds had lived up to their names and taken all three top spots, the other teams who managed to reach the top eight had all shown breathtaking performances. For individual matches, King Admiral had secured a victory in the finals and netted Dynasty two championships, causing their fame to skyrocket.

Frenzied Sword had defeated his opponent and secured his spot as third in the individual rankings. Due to his relatively new gaming career, he was dubbed the dark horse of the tournament.

The top three teams as well as the top three players from the individual matches on Planet Aquamarine had all qualified for the internationals. All three teams were from Chinese guilds, and countless players looked forward to seeing them compete on the global stage. The forums were bustling with discussion as if a national celebration was going on, and Dynasty was naturally the talk of the town.

After the end of the regionals, there was still an in-game year before the international games would start, and the matches could be considered to have already ended. However, the players' excitement did not look like it was going to die down anytime soon.

Countless posts analyzed the winners from each region, and some teams started to make plans to prepare for future competitions. The guilds whose teams performed well also held numerous events to boost their own popularity.

They're finally done with the matches. Those pro players are finally free. Han Xiao's eyes gave off a weird glint as he prepared his next stage of action.

…

At the sanctuary's square, the roads were bustling with players who were living in the excitement of the tournament. They each discussed their own favorites, and the pro players would occasionally show up themselves, exciting the crowd even more.

Of course, there were also the group of bros who believed in their luck, waiting day in and day out at Han Xiao's usual stall for the next batch of loot crates.

"He's coming." The group of people stretched out their necks as they waited.

The truck drove by slowly before it came to a stop. Han Xiao walked off the truck, but it did not seem like he was going to sell loot crates as usual. Instead, he took a look around and said in a loud voice, "I have a perilous mission ahead, and I'm in need of helpers. I will be selecting qualified people to join my team. If you're confident in passing my test, come."

Immediately after, Han Xiao sent out the mission that he had previously written up.

_____________________

Team Member Selection

Mission Introduction: Han Xiao will soon leave Planet Aquamarine in secret to begin a new adventure. He is looking for powerful people to fight alongside him. Those who pass his test can venture off into the stars with him.

Mission Requirement: LV 60

Mission Period: 5 days

Completion Requirement: Pass Han Xiao's combat test.

Reward: 1 EXP and the qualification to go with Han Xiao on his journey.

_____________________

This instantly caused massive waves among the players.

Everyone had widened eyes as they read through the mission information.

"This is so sudden. Can we now leave the beginner planet‽"

"I can't believe we need to have max level before we can take the test. This is so frustrating!"

Up till now, the players had all been limited to their respective beginner planets, and none were able to travel into space. News of Han Xiao's mission exploded within the present players, and they rushed to release this information onto the forums. The whole of Planet Aquamarine was shocked, and even players on the other planets were talking about this.

The forums were thrown into chaos once more!

Every single player's attention was forcefully wrenched over from the previous competitions to Han Xiao's shocking new mission.

Space in Galaxy was still a complete unknown to the current players, and many were curious and anticipating it. However, everyone was stuck on their beginner planet. Now that news had gotten out about a chance to venture off into the stars, something that should only have been possible in later versions, the players could not help but get more excited than ever.

This was a chance!

If they could follow Han Xiao, they would be able to travel into space much earlier than their peers, giving them massive advantages over the others.

Han Xiao had nonchalantly thrown out a mission with such huge implications that it was like a bomb had gone off. The players realized that Han Xiao had not actually mentioned going into space—rather, this information was revealed by the mission notice. The players were secretly happy as they thought that they had hit the jackpot and were able to glance into Han Xiao's true intentions.

Naturally, Han Xiao had done that on purpose as he was aware how the players would react. He knew that the players would feel a sense of accomplishment when they saw this. Standing there, he just smiled as he watched everything unfold on the forums.

He was only planning on bringing the pro players, so he obviously needed a plausible excuse and could not be too obvious about it. The maximum level requirement would be able to filter out most of the casual players, while the combat testing could easily be manipulated by him. As long as they could last thirty seconds against him in a fight, they would have passed the test.

With this, he should be able to acquire all the professional talents.

The news very quickly caught the pros' attention. These players were done with their matches and had nothing on their hand. There was still another year before they would fight on the global stage; however, as they were all already maxed out in levels, there was not much that they could do aside from personal training and trying to learn some new skills. Most of the winning teams who had qualified for the next stage were in the same position. But now, Han Xiao had given them a chance to adventure in a brand-new map.

New maps meant countless new possibilities!

These pro players could not have been happier. In their eyes, this was the same as a blessing from God, and this chance could not be missed.

..

On the second day, countless pro players gathered in the Sanctuary's square. It was like a celebrity red carpet event. These star players dazzled the crowd as they walked on the road.

"Oh right. A while ago, wasn't there a similar scene a while ago when Black Phantom started selling advanced knowledge?"

"There are still recordings of that time, but things are on a much bigger scale this time. Basically, all the pro players on Planet Aquamarine have come here today."

"Both events have something to do with Black Phantom…"

The matches had just drawn to a close, and most players were still in the Sanctuary. This was one of the reasons that Han Xiao had chose this time to announce the mission.

Soon, a bunch of people had accepted the mission. Han Xiao walked back a bit to make some space and randomly chose a pro player who he did not recognize and said, "Hold for thirty seconds, and you pass."

About a thousand people had accepted the mission, and they all discussed among themselves as they watched.

"Thirty seconds can't be that difficult right," said the Second Prince. "Even if I went one on one against a level sixty Boss in the wild, I could at least survive for a few minutes."

Li Ge looked at the time and shook his head. "Thirty seconds for everyone is quite long."

As the players chatted, the players and the pros all used [Detect] on Han Xiao to get some basic information.

_____________________

Han Xiao (?)

Level: ?

Type: ?

Danger scale: Extremely Dangerous

_____________________

"It's all question marks‽" Everyone's faces suddenly changed.

They had all reached Version 1.0's level cap, and when they used the same ability on the other Boss-level NPCs, they could at least see some of the target's basic info such as character level and character type. However, they could not see anything when using it on Han Xiao. There was even a question mark on his basic identity. He had to be at least five levels higher than them, right?

Ever since maxing out their levels, they had never encountered something like this!

Just how high was Black Phantom's level‽

Chapter 314: As Expected of the Great Mechanic Han!

This new information caused a commotion within the players.

"I've never seen any main NPCs that are over LV 60."

"But he's still 'Extremely Dangerous' like the last time I inspected him. Was he already this strong back then? It didn't feel like that."

"Based on his story, Black Phantom didn't start out strong. He suddenly became strong later on, eventually becoming the one to topple the Germinal Organization. I guess this is what sets him apart as the main character in the storyline."

"Black Phantom's combat strength is definitely on the level of bosses. I wonder how he ranks on the entire planet."

The players' first impression of Han Xiao was that he was very strong. However, his actual strength was still a myth. Most of them had watched the recordings of Han Xiao's fights out of curiosity ever since they started playing the game. Now that they realized that they still could not inspect his character information even after maxing out their levels, they could not wait to see Han Xiao go up against these pro players and demonstrate his strength.

"Thirty seconds doesn't sound too difficult, right?"

Most of the players, including the mission participants, thought this. Although they could not inspect his stats, they made the assumption based on his previous battle recordings as well as the fact that he was only a Version 1.0 character.

Although he was definitely strong, how much stronger than them could he be? The difference between them and Han Xiao's strength had to have decreased significantly since the start of the game. They were players! They leveled up super-fast!

The first player who was selected for the test had the ID 'Falling Leaf', and he took a big step out of the crowd.

The surrounding players immediately backed up to clear a space. Although fighting in Players' Main City would usually worsen their reputations with the city's NPCs, it should be fine with Han Xiao there.

Countless pairs of eyes stared unblinkingly, as if waiting for something.

"Start." Han Xiao said a single word.

Falling Leaf immediately got into a defensive stance while waiting for the incoming blow.

Hum—

Four Sonic Spheres flew out while crisscrossing in the air. Attached to the spheres were detection devices that both increased the weapons' range and accuracy.

An ear-piercing explosion suddenly bloomed on the stage!

Falling Leaf's health dropped instantly, and he was rooted where he was by a stunned effect.

Boom boom boom!

Six pre-planted turrets suddenly sprang out of the ground and simultaneously opened fire on Falling Leaf. The combined firing rate was so fast that it was as if a miniature hailstorm was occurring where Falling Leaf was standing. Within a few moments, Falling Leaf collapsed onto the ground after being blasted to bits by the turret.

Although Falling Leaf had activated multiple energy skills to surround himself with a thin layer of energy, he was pinned to the ground as bullets rained down on him. The Sonic Spheres were also constantly applying various kinds of crowd control debuffs on him, locking him on the ground.

His health dropped to a dangerously low level within the blink of an eye, but the hurricane-like assault suddenly stopped, and the ground cleared up as if nothing had happened.

"You didn't pass," said Han Xiao with a flat voice.

Falling Leaf was stunned. It was all over before he even realized what had happened.

The surrounding players all had their mouths hanging wide open as they could not believe what had just happened.

A max level pro player could not even resist for five seconds before almost being wiped out!

There was no need to even talk about skills or controls. Han Xiao might as well have just hung him up and whipped his backside.

The player had been completely suppressed!

What surprised the players even more was that Han Xiao had remained in the same position throughout the whole thing. Even his pose was the same!

"Are Mechanics supposed to be this overpowered? Do we really have the same class‽"

"He didn't even move. How did he control those weapons?"

"Isn't he too overpowered for Version 1.0? Could it be that Planet Aquamarine can no longer limit him and that's why he has decided to go into space?"

"Based on his past battle recordings, Black Phantom still has a lot of cards up his sleeves. This means that he didn't even go all out!"

"Wasn't that DPS a bit too ridiculous? Even a fifty-man raiding party would be turned into mincemeat if they had to fight a Boss like that…"

The same question once again surfaced in the players' minds, albeit with them feeling completely different emotions this time around—just how high was Black Phantom's level‽

The players had been in contact with Han Xiao ever since the open beta. They had thought that they had already closed the level gap between each other after farming so much experience. But never would they have expected to be so wrong… as expected of the Great Mechanic Han!

When Han Xiao turned around and saw the dumb expressions on the players' faces, he knew that he had achieved the intended effects. He had once again refreshed his position in the players' hearts, and they once again worshipped him.

Although the players were at max level, they were still too lacking in terms of talents, attributes, and skills. Their characters were still, after all, built around player templates. Han Xiao had now reached LV 70, and he was only stuck here due to the class change requirements, unable to choose a new sub-class. However, the difference between him and the players was the difference between one whole Version. On top of that, with Han Xiao's Boss templates, his countless talents, skills, energy capacity, and weapons, the damage that he was able to output was unimaginable for the players.

LV 60 players only had around 3,000 health and some meager defense. They were still too weak in front of him.

Moreover, his Sonic Spheres had been upgraded to the purple grade and had very high damage. Sonic Spheres were a very unique type of weapon in Version 1.0. They operated on an entirely different set of tactics, dealt very high damage, and required high-level control skills.

The pro players' expressions were all frozen on their faces.

Li Ge realized how wrong he had been when he ran his mouth off earlier, saying that this would take a long time. Han Xiao had basically one-shot the previous challenger!

None of the participating players dared to be careless anymore, and they all listened carefully for when they got picked. Everyone was starting to feel nervous in front of this monstrous foe.

The battles continued. The following players were much more careful, and they all tried their best to kite around Han Xiao. None dared go head on. The moment a player was hit by Han Xiao's attacks, they would go down within ten seconds. Everyone tried everything that they could to survive for thirty seconds.

The surrounding audience grew in size, and some started to post recordings of the 'fights' onto the forums.

The people who watched the recordings were flabbergasted. It had only been a few days ago that these pro players had been showing off their skills in the tournament. However, watching them getting butchered like pigs by this NPC aroused their curiosity.

It was not an everyday occurrence for them to be able to watch pro players get bullied like that. More and more people got interested in this event as they got to watch the pros get shredded one after another.

Han Xiao's strength was also recognized once again. Many posts were discussing this topic intensely. The happy bunch, of course, consisted of the Mechanics. Mechanics, on average, had the worst performance during the tournaments, causing many of them to be unhappy about the status quo. Watching Han Xiao pop off was like a breath of fresh air!

So, we can become that strong! Please show us the way!

Han Xiao's mission had exploded among all players, and many tried to come up with jokes about the situation. What was originally a serious topic quickly turned into a source of memes. Only someone as famous as Han Xiao could get this kind of treatment.

"Black Phantom: Hold on for thirty seconds if you are a man!"

"Shocking! Pro players can't even do it for thirty seconds!"

"Guide by pro players: How to hold on for thirty seconds!"

Making fun out of everything was what these players were best at.

'Thirty seconds' soon became a well-known term, while 'seconds' became something that people used to quantify a pro player's strength. Those are players who were able to make it to the end of the thirty-second test all became the legendary 'Thirty Seconds Warriors'.

…

The selection continued into the night. The crowd only started to disperse after Han Xiao had returned to his quarters to rest. The mission period was five days, and the remaining pro players went away with heavy feelings in their hearts, stressing about coming up with a strategy for the next day.

Han Xiao was just about to enter his house when he thought about something and suddenly stopped. He then turned and walked toward the room with Frenzied Sword and the others.

When Han Xiao pushed opened the door to their room, he saw that the four were chilling in the room. They immediately stood up when they saw Han Xiao walk in, curious as to what was about to happen.

Black Phantom would not look for them on normal occasions. He would only find them when he had missions or benefits to distribute.

When the four thought about the commotion earlier in the morning, they were able to make some faint guesses, and the anticipation started to show on their faces.

As Black Phantom's followers, they had always been receiving special treatment. So, maybe this time as well…

Han Xiao chuckled before saying, "You're all my friends. I am about to leave this planet for the boundless world above. Are you guys willing to come with me?"

Look at this!

Everyone had only been able to find out about Han Xiao's plans through the mission that he gave out earlier. Yet, he had come to invite them in person. They could even directly skip the selection. What a caring boss!

"I'm willing!" Frenzied Sword answered without a second's hesitation with a face full of excitement.

Chapter 315: Prelude to an Age of Strife 1

Although Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian had both accepted the selection mission, neither was confident about passing. Now, with Han Xiao's direct offer, the two could finally let out a deep breath.

This was a golden opportunity, and of course, none of them would want to reject it. Bun-hit-dog was especially happy about it. He understood the impact that being one of the first few players to journey into space could have on his videos. Moreover, most of the people to follow Han Xiao would certainly be exceptional pro players, allowing him to interview them whenever he wanted to boost his show's popularity.

At first, he had felt heartbroken when he saw the requirements that one needed to meet in order to join Han Xiao's journey. He was not a particularly skillful player, and he had thought that he had no chance of following along Han Xiao.

In this moment, Bun-hit-dog was so excited that he would have jumped through the ceiling, but he stopped himself after he thought about the fines that he would have to pay if he did.

To Han Xiao, Bun-hit-dog was the perfect reporter. Although he did not even think that Bun-hit-dog would be good enough to be cannon fodder, his role in the group was still irreplaceable.

Bun-hit-dog's shows served as a bridge between Han Xiao and the players, and it helped to boost his popularity. Han Xiao leading the only group of players who could adventure in space would definitely bring in loads of attention. So, he would be able to continue to leave a deep impression on the players despite having left Planet Aquamarine.

The player's curiosity for the space in Galaxy as well as their fan-craze on the pro players would ensure views for Bun-hit-dog's 'Exploration Diary'.

After all, things like this were highly entertaining for the players and would be in high demand.

"Are you really going to space?" asked Maple Moon curiously. She was a big fan of anything plot and lore-related.

Han Xiao's eyes flashed. He glanced at Bun-hit-dog before saying in a cryptic way, "This planet is about to witness an unprecedented calamity. Only the endless reaches in the galaxy beyond hold the key to saving the planet."

Calamity‽ The four were shocked.

Bun-hit-dog had started recording their conversation the moment Maple Moon asked that question. He had a feeling that what Han Xiao had said just then could be something big very soon.

A few days later…

Boom!

Within the flashes and sounds of explosions stood the Second Prince, who was still hanging on for all he was worth.

"Fourteen, thirteen…"

The surrounding crowd counted down in excitement.

"C'mon, you can do it man! You must join the thirty-seconds club."

Sun Eggplant was fanning the flames from the side. He stood with a small group of people who had all passed the test. Han Xiao had secretly weakened his attacks for certain players as they were the one that he wanted on his team. Most of them were big names in the pro-scene and those that had performed well in the tournament.

The onlooking players could only feel envious about it, and they comforted themselves by telling themselves that those who had passed were all godly pro players. The group of people who had passed were then called the 'thirty-seconds club'.

"Damn, you just needed another second."

"Why do I keep finishing early?"

During the days of the selection, Han Xiao never changed his attacking style. He just stood still and controlled the Sonic Spheres and the turrets to suppress the challenger. This gave the players hope, as they believed that this was just like clearing a dungeon. They could always learn and analyze Han Xiao's moves from the others' attempts and even their own failures, thus gaining an advantage for themselves later on.

However, try as they might, no matter how much the players learned about the fight, most were completely suppressed by Han Xiao and could not even last longer than ten seconds.

Second Prince, huh… He's not bad, thought Han Xiao as he slowly let up his attacks.

An opening! Second Prince's eyes flashed, and he threw himself on the ground and rolled out of the range of the attacks. The rain of bullets slowly inched toward him, and he did not even have time to get back up on his feet before he started to wiggle around on the ground in a desperate attempt to stay alive.

"… two, one, zero!"

"He made it!"

"I can't believe he used his trump card—Repeated Barrel Rolls!"

The crowd started laughing at the pro player's sorry state.

Second Prince got back up with a face covered in smoke and dirt, and Sun Eggplant, who stood to the side, raised his thumb before snickering. "You have really opened my eyes today. You even pioneered your own fighting style, becoming the grandmaster of rolls. What a man."

King Admiral pretended to be comprehending something. "It feels like it would be quite useful. How about you learn it as well, Li Ge?"

Li Ge remained expressionless. "What an embarrassment."

"Screw off!" Second Prince was enraged.

This bunch of star players were opponents in competitions, but they were also old friends, and they often bickered among each other whenever they hung out.

Han Xiao had basically gotten all the members that he needed. He had already gotten a hold of pro players from the four big guilds and from the top eight teams. Most of the top eights from the individual matches had also joined his team. After counting up everyone, there was a little over fifty people total, but it was not a big deal, as he could simply purchase the new tickets on board.

Thanks to the official tournament, Han Xiao had an easy time looking for talents. He had packed most of the top rankers on Planet Aquamarine into his group in one go.

To him, not only were the players the best cannon fodder, they were also his main information channel. Galaxy offered countless storylines, and Han Xiao could become the middle-man to offer all these missions to the players, just like he did on the planet. That way, a part of all the pro players' earnings would go directly into his pocket. He had basically acquired a group of sweet, little bees that would work tirelessly for him, earning the resources that would have gone to the other NPCs instead.

This was the correct way to utilize the players' advantages.

Ultimately, Galaxy was like a theme park, full of distractions. He would need to use some methods if he wanted to ensure that these players stayed by his side. Now, having established his position among the players as 'one of their own' combined with the benefits that moving together as a single party would offer, there should not be any problems in the short run. Han Xiao would not have to worry about the pro players being tempted by something else in space for now.

Regardless, Han Xiao had long since become accustomed to being prepared for anything. He had already come up with a more concrete plan to deal with issue. However, he would have to wait until they actually entered space before he could start implementing his plan. This was not some sort of idea that had sprung out from a moment's brilliance, but rather, a plan that he had thought up after considering the big picture, and it was a crucial step for his future developments.

"They're all star players. Isn't this too extravagant of a line-up?"

"Doesn't it feel like we're a few persons short?"

The more meticulous fans realized that Hao Tian and Frenzied Sword had not come for the mission.

"All the other pro players came. How could they let go of a chance like this? Even other Long Sky members participated in the selection."

The star players had also realized this, and Li Ge frowned. "Where are those two? Where's Hao Tian?"

Sleepy Winter felt helpless. "I have already asked. Old Hao and Frenzied Sword were already qualified to begin with."

The crowd could not process what Sleepy Winter had just said for a second.

Hao Tian and Frenzied Sword had triggered Black Phantom's Hidden Storyline. Was that why they got this special treatment‽

The bunch of pro players suddenly felt a sense of unfairness in their hearts. They could not believe that they had to come here to get tortured over and over again, while those two just backdoored their way in.

Where was the justice in that!

The pro players were jealous to no end. They also wanted to receive such benefits.

Once the testing was over, the crowd started, albeit quite unwillingly. However, at that moment, Han Xiao silently sent out another pre-written mission to the surrounding players.

_____________________

The Last Bastion

Mission Type: Prize-Pool Mission

_____________________

The players stopped dead in their tracks and focused on the new information.

"What a sudden mission. Where did it come from?"

"Black Phantom didn't say anything, right? Could he be the one who sent it?"

"Prize-Pool… What's this?"

"1,000 experience points are required to accept this mission. Let's try it out."

Many could not hold back their curiosity, and immediately accepted the mission. However, they were all surprised when they all found out that this mission was grayed out.

_____________________

Mission Introduction: Someday in the future, a calamity will strike this world, and Sanctuary Three will become the last remaining bastion for humanity. Protect this dwindling flame from the encroaching darkness. Only then will there be hope to overcome this calamity.

Requirement: Protect Sanctuary Three. The destruction rate must not go above 50%.

Mission Status: Frozen

Start Date: Unknown

_____________________

The grayed out name implied that this mission had not started. This was the first time that the players had seen a mission with the 'Frozen' status, and many were mystified. Word soon got out, and more and more people learned of this news.

Chapter 316: Prelude to an Age of Strife 2

Han Xiao could assign all sorts of mission, and those that were in the challenging category were more difficult than usual. They were often large-scale mission, where every movement of the individual players could impact the final result. Therefore, they had to work together to complete the mission.

He had witnessed some missions that could affect the version, where millions of players fought for the same goal. Every player's actions earned contribution points, and the mission needed tens of millions of points to complete. Once finished, it would be the turning point of the entire storyline.

[The Last Bastion] was a mission that Han Xiao had created so that the players would still protect Sanctuary Three after he left the planet. In the mission introduction, he hinted that there would be a disaster that would fall upon the land, yet he was vague in the description. However, it was enough to raise the interest of the players as they tried to guess the future storyline.

Han Xiao did not give out a clear instruction just so that the players would think that the information was a leak from the mission, which would make it credible.

The testing mission that he had published before was just to warm up the players.

Freezing a mission was a special method where the mission would not start until the disaster actually arrived. Han Xiao then could activate the mission from miles away. This was like bait for the players as it lured their curiosity about the fate of their future.

One condition to issue a mission was that Han Xiao could not be too far away from the players. Han Xiao had tested a lot of trials to find out this hidden condition. After he left the planet, it was impossible for him to directly give missions to the players. But now he could activate the mission from far away by using frozen missions.

There's still a few days before I leave the sanctuary. I have enough time to walk around the entire city and give missions to hundreds of thousands of players, Han Xiao thought to himself.

With this, he could ensure that the players would still hang around Sanctuary Three as if it was their main hub. At the beginning of Version 2.0, these players could protect the sanctuary through the hardest times.

…

For the players, shocking news came wave after wave.

Since Han Xiao had remained in the dark for a quite some time after the storyline of the Germinal Organization, the players had started to believe the analysis of [Galaxy Times], thinking that the character had no more storyline and was just a normal NPC.

But after staying quiet for more than half a year, Black Phantom had started to become active again, and his actions were shocking.

He wanted to take the players across the galaxy!

Not only that, Black Phantom also left a frozen Prize-Pool Mission, and the introduction hinted at a disaster that would sweep across Planet Aquamarine.

The 'old-fashioned' 'NPC's return from the dead' started another wave of nostalgia players as they remembered the time when Black Phantom took over the world after the game launched. The scene was now showing in front of their eyes, and it felt rather dear to them.

On the forums, countless of players were discussing what was the upcoming 'disaster'.

"Alien invasion? Another war from the Six Nations that destroys the whole planet? Or is it a natural disaster?"

"I think this could be the start of a new storyline. Just look at storyline on the other planets, all of them are intense, while Planet Aquamarine is so chill. It's time for something to happen!"

"Someone once said 'those long divided shall be united, and those long united shall be divided.' Is this the start of the romance of the Six Nations?"

With the boiling discussion in the forums, one player out of nowhere connected the two things that Han Xiao had done.

"Is it possible that Black Phantom is trying to escape the disaster and that's why he wants to leave the planet as soon as possible?"

"No way! I still remember an episode in 'Cabbage hits itself'—it was a speech from Black Phantom to gather troops, and he said that he would do everything he could do protect the innocent lives. Isn't that courageous?"

"If that's the reason, then there must be no hope for us to survive, and that's why Black Phantom is leaving his hometown. I wonder how devastating the disaster will be… There won't be that much of a change in storyline, right?"

"Maybe not. It's possible that Black Phantom is just scared. Don't you see that he is trying to gather helpers for his escape?"

"Quit joking around. He's still a main character in the storyline. He wrecked the Germinal Organization by himself. Do you think he'll still run away?"

"Well, the circumstances are different. A lot of his story with the Germinal Organization had to do with planning. Moreover, there is a history between him and the Germinal Organization. They were each other's mortal enemies, so of course they would use everything that they had to kill the other. But that's a different story for disasters. If he has the chance to run away, why wouldn't he do so?"

"And here I am, still thinking that he wouldn't have any more screen time after the Germinal Organization incident."

One single topic would not have only one explanation. Some people stood up for Han Xiao, while others stood against him.

Han Xiao was not bothered at all because having oppositions was not a bad thing. It was through conflict that more people would pay attention. On the other hand, if everyone praised how all mighty Han Xiao was, then it would easily bore the players.

However, Bun-hit-dog did not want the players to look down on Han Xiao for thinking that he was trying to run away. Bun-hit-dog had already decided to start a new space adventure show, and if the audience viewed him as a deserter, then it would negatively affect to the show. On the other hand, if Han Xiao's reason for going to the outer space was courageous and noble, then their upcoming adventures would touch the hearts of the audience, which fit with the content that Bun-hit-dog had planned.

Because of that, Bun-hit-dog leaked the discussion between Han Xiao and the other three, which could reveal the reason for Han Xiao's departure—to find a solution for the upcoming disaster. This suddenly boosted the public's view of Han Xiao.

At the end of the episode, Bun-hit-dog released the preview. "As I looked up the mysterious night sky, my heart and soul were absorbed in the solidarity. I will follow Black Phantom to the world beyond the stars, and for this, I will create a new series recording the moments of the journey in the universe and present them right in front of you. Coming soon."

Because the topic was hot, Bun-hit-dog's preview for the show spread like a wildfire. The players then all understood that Han Xiao's departure from the planet was to save them from a disaster. Without any delay, most of the players all respected him from the bottom of their hearts, while a small minority were still suspicious.

No matter what attitude the players had, they were all paying close attention to the event, thinking about Han Xiao traveling through the galaxy, and they were excited for Bun-hit-dog new show.

These new messages, however, where only visible for the players. The organizations on the planet still had no idea what was happening.

…

In the powering snow and freezing wind stood a mountain range located in the territory of Raylen. There were a lot of wild beasts in the mountains without any civilization. Not even a single town was visible within dozens of miles, and the roar of beasts echoed in the mountain range.

Raylen's secret laboratory was right there in the mountains.

Inside the laboratory, Kerlodd's spaceship was hanging in midair, and thousands of pieces of equipment and wires surrounded the spaceship, detecting any data coming out from the spaceship and presenting it on the big screen. Countless researchers came and went while adjusting the equipment.

After moving the spaceship around for more than ten days, Raylen secretly organized people for this research operation, the best researchers from both the military and the intelligence organization. There were normal people and some mechanic superhumans.

Even with so many talents working together, there was little progress to be seen. The technology that built the spaceship was too advanced for the people on Planet Aquamarine to understand. Moreover, Godoran technology also contained magic, requiring the magic engravings for it to work. It was a completely different type of technology compared to that of Planet Aquamarine.

For the researchers who had never seen magic, they did not know where to start. In their eyes, this spaceship lacked many important components and modules, and they could not even find where the energy source was. They only found some parts that looked related to the energy source, some really ancient parts, and a black liquid object that looked like motor oil. It was stored in an empty test tube on the side and being experimented on.

Chapter 317: Lift Off

The director of the research operation walked in with high officials wearing Raylen's military uniform. An older gentleman who looked like the leader said with a deep frown, "Any progress?"

"There's literally no progress at all." the director responded helplessly. "The alien spaceship technology is too much for us to comprehend. We can't solve the mystery. The meters from measuring equipment are constantly jumping at the same time, which was completely illogical.

"Then copy just a small part. I only need something concrete."

"Sorry, but most of the components are too weird in structure, and we don't even know what they are used for. We tried to copy the engravings on the spaceship, but nothing happened, and we can't even start the engine up…"

"After years of investment, you give me this kind of answer?" The old official stared at the director coldly.

The director was sweating. "But there is something that we have found out. Please follow me."

The group then moved in front of the transparent test tube that contained the black liquid. The director said, "This seems to be motor oil that the spaceship uses for fuel. It is extremely dense and viscous. We found some special characteristic that resembles a microorganism after looking through the microscope. More importantly, its reaction can produce energy.

"From our understanding, the molecules in the liquid can separate by itself and reproduce while keeping the original mass. The extra molecules are then released as energy. The process is completely automatic, meaning that it can produce energy without any input. This is revolutionary. We think that this is a reusable energy source that is used by alien civilizations. If this object can keep on separating molecules and producing energy, in theory, it can produce an unlimited amount of energy. We are still trying to understand the mechanism behind the process."

The black liquid slowly moved in the test tube, and the old official frowned.

"Why is it moving by itself? Is it a living creature?"

"This should be the reason it could produce molecules. It has characteristics of microorganisms, but it does not have a nervous system, which means that it does not have conscious, so the movement is probably a reaction from the molecule separation process. This liquid is basically the same as bacteria."

Since it was an alien technology, all the researchers accepted all the unexplained phenomenon, and the director added, "We have already run the tests. The liquid is not radioactive, and it does not contain poisonous materials. We also used a death row prisoner to touch the liquid with his body, and nothing went wrong after the contact."

The old official nodded, and the others all looked at the liquid.

"The progress is still too slow," one of the officials said. "Our time is limited, and we can't keep on hiding this operation from the Godoran Civilization. We need physical copies as soon as possible."

"But the difference in technology is too much; it's not easy to break through this barrier. Unless…" The director hesitated. "Unless there's someone who understands the technology to help us."

The higher officials quickly looked at each other and thought of the same person.

"The missing Godoran… He must understand this technology."

"If we can find him, not only can we report this back to Godora, we can also use the excuse of repairing his spaceship to obtain part of their technology."

The old official turned to the official of intelligence organization and asked, "How is it with the Dark Net? When will Han Xiao turn the man in?"

"He never responded," the intelligence official replied coldly, "and the Dark Net keeps on postponing the request."

"God damn it!" the old official shouted with anger. "He is crossing the line on this matter that can impact the future of this planet! A civilian organization dares to ignore us, do they want to die?"

"Should we send someone?"

"The Southern Continent is Stardragon and Hesla's territory, so he thinks that we don't want to leak any intel to them. Haha, he underestimated us," the old official said in a deep voice. "The upper command gave us the order to retrieve the missing investigator. We will contact the other countries and work together to suppress the Dark Net."

Originally, Raylen had thought about using violence to directly raid the base of Dark Net, but considering the safety of the Godoran Investigator and Han Xiao's strength, there was no way it would work. The only way was to force the Dark Net to give up the hostage voluntarily, so they had to cooperate with other political powers and pressure the Dark Net.

Even though Raylen did not want the other nations to know that they had the spaceship, compared to the future of the planet, this concern was negligible. Of course, the negotiation condition would probably require the other nations to join the research. However, since they had no progress in the beginning, maybe working together could maximize the potential benefits under the condition that everyone would share the research knowledge to each other.

This was also a plan to deal with the individual strength of Han Xiao, and it was obvious that Raylen hated him.

Raylen could simply have helped the investigator return to his own planet and built close ties with Godora as if they were love birds, but Han Xiao had ruined this honeymoon dream and cut off the red string between Raylan and Godora.

"The top officials are contacting the leaders from the other countries. If the Dark Net ignores us, then let's see if he can deal with the power from the Six Nations. More importantly, Han Xiao still thinks that he's invincible and the strongest man on the planet. He keeps on using the sacrifice that he made as an excuse to do whatever he wants."

"I hope this punishment will teach him that there are powers in this world that he cannot steal away."

The old official laughed coldly.

…

The players in the sanctuary all accepted the mission [The Last Bastion]. The prize-pool mission that seemed to be a main storyline kept on attracting more and more players to join.

The prize-pool quickly reached an astronomical number and met Han Xiao's requirement for the number of participants. As more and more people discussed the mission, the mysteriousness of Han Xiao thickened.

Counting the numbers of days left, the day of the arrival of the tourist group grew ever closer.

Di di!

The galactic communicator rang, and it was a new message from the Acute Galactic Travel agency. They would arrive at Planet Aquamarine the next day, and the agency reminded the passengers to pack the luggage. The position to aboard the spaceship could be controlled by the communicator, so Han Xiao could choose whichever place he wanted to enter.

It's finally here.

Han Xiao suddenly got up, and his heart was pounding with excitement. The memories of battles in the galaxy boiled in his mind, and the scenes popped out in front of his eyes like bubbles.

In the universe without borders, one civilization after another, new powerful storyline characters, millions of new species, the battleship that sailed across the universe, life filled with danger and action… all the memories flashed before his eyes.

The galaxy was the future. To first explore the universe was to build a proper foundation for the future growth for later actions from updates of the version. The galaxy would be the spotlight.

Han Xiao calmed down and thought, I have all my equipment and have chosen dozens of team members. I have all the resources that I need for the journey. I don't have to worry about experience points for quite some time, so I've dealt with all the small things.

His accumulation in Planet Aquamarine was the bottom line for exploration in the galaxy.

…

When dawn arrived, the thundering sound of engines break the silence of the sanctuary. A heavily armored convoy quickly responded and drove to the gate. The players and strangers on the street all looked toward the convey.

The logo on the cars represented the highest rank troops that were under the direct command of Han Xiao. Players suddenly realized what was happening and followed behind the convoy.

The messaged spread wide and far, and all the players in the sanctuary heard the news and headed toward where the convoy was heading. Waves of people all flooded through the security walls and reached the red flat plain.

Chapter 318: The Clueless Six Nations

When the convoy stopped, the horde of players stood afar as they stared at the supply boxes that were dropping from the sky. They quickly stacked up like a mountain, and the chosen professional players stood by the boxes without moving.

As for Han Xiao, who had the full attention of the players, he was just standing alone at the side, looking up into the sky, as if he was waiting for something.

Quite a number of players activated the record function with excitement.

"It looks like he's leaving today."

Everyone was curious about how Han Xiao would leave the Planet Aquamarine. The players had long waited for this moment. They followed Han Xiao and looked upward.

It was right at the crack of dawn, as the sun on the horizon slowly raised up. The heavens and the earth brightened while chasing the darkness away.

Right at that moment, in the area right above the convoy, the players realized that there was small black dot that was the size of an ant. They focused their eyes, and they could soon see that it was an outline of a spaceship that was descending toward the planet.

"Look! Spaceship!"

At the beginning, the crowd became exhilarated as they talked with each other. But as the shadow of the spaceship become larger and larger and the sky started to dim, the excitement and noisiness of the crowd quickly died down.

Tens of thousands of people's jaws dropped. The scene in front of their eyes was so shocking that they were lost for words.

When the spaceship was still high up in the sky, the outline was only the size of a green bean. It was only when the spaceship was a few hundred meters above the crowd that they realized the sheer magnitude of the spaceship. The spaceship was large enough to block out the entire sky above.

"My god… just how big is this spaceship‽"

As the players looked up into the sky, they could not see anything other than the black spaceship. They only saw the outline of the spaceship that was near the horizon. There was one poem that everyone remembered as the spaceship landed.

Dark clouds bearing down on the city threaten to overwhelm it.

The Short Horn Star was the main spaceship of the tourist group. The large-scale commercial spaceship had a controlled ecosystem, and it was comparable to the size of a space station. It could travel in space for a long time with radar equipment, powerful turrets, and a high energy shield. Just this one single spaceship could sweep over Planet Aquamarine.

The crowd was in great shock, and it was even more so for the chosen professional players. They took a deep breath. In their eyes, Han Xiao was just a character on Planet Aquamarine, yet he had the ability able to call in such a large spaceship. It was simply phenomenal.

However, because Han Xiao had shown so much power and capability, the teammates started to gain confidence.

The magnificent futuristic scene left a powerful impression in the players' hearts. The monstrous machinery and the natural environment juxtaposed each other perfectly, and it was perfect for a desktop picture. The players quickly took out their cameras and captured the view.

A box-shaped levitating cabin detached from the main spaceship and spat out blue flames that pushed the dust in the air as it landed right in front of Han Xiao. This was the specialized cabin that carried the passengers into the spaceship. The metal cabin had a high-tech style, with a very clean, detailed structure.

The cabin door opened up, and folded stairs extended in front Han Xiao.

"Let's go now, I can't wait to get a drink." Kerlodd got in without hesitation and left all his burdens behind.

Han Xiao waved at the players, and they had to do hard labor, carrying all the supply boxes up into the cabin. After everything was done, the cabin door closed by itself, and it shot right up to the sky and docked into the Short Horn Star.

After a few seconds, the Short Horn Star quickly moved up. Despite its huge mass, it did not make any noise or release any flames as it flew away, giving the crowd a weird feeling. When the Short Horn Star stopped by a planet, it would turn off its engine and only use the anti-gravity core to save fuel.

Through the window, Han Xiao looked down on people that had turned into the size of ants and let out a deep sigh.

After spending so much time on this planet, I've finally moved on from this place.

And up into the sky they went.

On the plain, millions of players stared at the spaceship that disappeared into blue heavens, and the sunlight showed up again in the sky.

…

Inside the Sanctuary Three, Hila stood behind his sister, and she put her hand on the shoulders of Aurora. The two of them both looked at the Short Horn Star.

"Will he ever come back?" Aurora asked curiously.

Hila remained quiet and shook her head. "It's a wider world out there. After stepping out of here, there's no reason for him to come back."

"Hey sis, why didn't we also join him?"

Hila patted on Aurora's golden hair and did not reply.

"Hey, you're hurting me."

Hila then realized that she had use too much force and quickly let go.

The bear cub on the side roared at the sky, lay on the ground, and covered its head with its paws, sobbing, as if it was sad about the departure of its owner.

Aurora patted on the bear's fur and was also sad. She asked quietly, "Will we be able to see him?"

"Sooner or later, we will."

"But you just said that he won't come back."

"Yeah." Hila did not explain. Aurora's heart skipped a beat as she understood the hidden meaning. Then her mood was happy again.

..

"He's gone."

In Sanctuary One, Bennett was doing a video call with Huang Yu and listening to the intel.

"From now on, Sanctuary Three is under your command. Don't try to change Han Xiao's arrangements, but other than that, you can decide on the other matters."

"Okay, thank you, Sir Bennett." Huang Yu was motivated since his hard work had finally paid off.

"Don't thank me. Han Xiao recommended you before leaving."

"I understand." Huang Yu nodded and carved it in his heart.

After ending the call, Bennett, with a smile on his face, logged into his secret account and opened the threats that the Six Nations had sent him.

Bennett had dealt with the pressure from Raylen and other countries by himself as he did not want Han Xiao to worry about these things before departing.

Now that the ship had sailed, the way that his old friend had left was enough to shock the Six Nations since Bennett himself also was surprised at the scene of departure. He wondered how Raylen would react to that.

…

Because there were too many witnesses of the event, it brought a large impact all over the world with the video of the spaceship spreading on the internet. Every citizen on Planet Aquamarine saw the landing monstrous spaceship that was as large as a mountain.

The Short Horn Star did not state their purpose of entry, and this massive ship frightened the Six Nations. As the satellites detected the Short Horn Star, the Six Nations had panicked and sent the air force to try and communicate with them. Yet, the Short Horn Star had ignored them and showed no intention of talking to the highest power of the planet. Before the Six Nations could do anything, the spaceship had then left without a sound.

After the visit of the enormous spaceship on Planet Aquamarine, the Six Nations feared what had to come and quickly tried to get intel.

When they found out about the truth that the Short Horn Star had just come to pick up Han Xiao, the Six Nations had been flustered at first, but then they were suddenly struck dumb with amazement!

The mysterious spaceship that had surpassed Planet Aquamarine by countless of years was just there to pick Black Phantom up!

How did he do it‽ What else was he hiding‽

Although they knew that Black Phantom was capable, this action was so unbelievable that no one could ever have thought of it.

This time, the Raylen was bamboozled. They had never thought that this would happen! The target whom they were threatening had already jumped out of the pool and stopped playing with them. No wonder Han Xiao had ignored all the threats from the Six Nations since their hostility was just a speck of dust.

Chapter 319: The Short Horn Star

As Han Xiao left without a sound, Raylen were left in confusion. They could not even lay their finger on the world above, yet Han Xiao had simply achieved this without breaking a sweat. For the Six Nations, there were still a lot of unknowns about the nature of the galaxy, and they only had the downgraded version of the Galactic Communicator, so they could only contact the Godoran Civilization and were unable to use other functions.

It was complete suppression of difference in civilization, so the Six Nations had to comply.

Therefore, they did not know about the function of the Galactic Travel agency and had no idea how Han Xiao had achieved what he had done. In their eyes, they felt that the ship was the unknown space organization that backed Han Xiao up. The man had always been mysterious, and they were always clueless.

As the major political power, having one individual that had allies more powerful than the entire planet, their fear and anxiety was off the charts.

Raylen was the party who had started the aggression against Han Xiao, but the pressure was meaningless. On top of that, they had also revealed the secret that they had the spaceship. They had suffered a double loss, and it pained their heart.

The difference between reality and expectation was huge, as if a student was trying to beat Han Xiao in exam, but then they realized that he was already confirmed to go to a top university in a big city. Raylen was left only with disappointment.

…

Through the box-shaped cabin, the earth became smaller and smaller as Short Horn Star flew in the sky. The blue sky slowly turned dark while the anti-gravitation engine operated quietly. They headed into the dark universe. Suddenly, the cabin shook violently as it tried to escape the atmosphere. Before they knew it, they were in space.

Planet Aquamarine was filled with the deep blue color of the ocean with bountiful fertile land and specks of yellow dots. From above, one could see the entire land in detail, and Han Xiao saw that Andrea was covered in black, showing that the war and nuclear explosion had the most damaging effect at this area.

His experience on Planet Aquamarine flashed by in his eyes. He had started with nothing, then he had finished accumulating enough resources to start rising in this planet. And now, he was taking the next step to the higher stage. He felt sad leaving his friends behind, so he still had some feelings for the Planet Aquamarine. As he left the planet, part of his heart was still in his home.

Even though he was not extremely close with people such as Bennett, Hila, and Aurora, they had great potential in their ability. Just from the perspective of benefits, Han Xiao hoped to see Hila and her sister grow stronger and provide assistance.

Staring at the planet that was slowly drifting away, he quietly murmured, "I will be back."

The next moment, Han Xiao looked away from the planet and headed toward the hallways in the spaceship.

Whoosh!

The metal door that connected box-shaped cabin to the main spaceship split into four diamonds and retracted into the walls. Right through the door was a straight metal hallway that extended forward. The light on the side of the door turned from red to green, indicating that the passengers should follow the path.

"Come on, I need to get a drink," Kerlodd urged.

"Why are you rushing? Your money is with me."

Han Xiao waved his hand, and the professional players stopped their chit chat and pushed the payload forward.

"Welcome to the Short Horn Star Travel Agency. You originally reserved fifty seats, but we have detected more, please pay the additional fee of…"

With a few more people than originally planned, Han Xiao followed the instruction. The account still had a bit more than 700 Enas. The voice then said, "Payment confirmed. Class: Economy. Personal luggage storage function activated. Please store your luggage and move forward."

The wall on side opened up, and inside was a moving conveyor belt that transported luggage to the warehouse. After putting in the supply boxes, the group kept on moving forward.

Finally, they reached the end of the hallway. It was a large elevator. After they stepped in, the elevator moved up and down, but it also moved sideways. The galactic commercial spaceship did not force the passenger to stay in one place—it was more like a cruise that had a lot of entertainment and resting spaces. Different sections of the ship had different environments to accommodate different life forms. For example, species similar to humans that needed oxygen and low gravity to live shared one large lobby. Species that needed special environmental conditions also had their own section, such as Aquatic Creatures and Anaerobic Organisms.

The elevator stopped abruptly. The door opened, and the bustling atmosphere crashed into the group.

In front of their eyes was a large empty space—the lobby for economy class. It was wide and open with all sorts of entertainment such as a place that was a mixture of a bar, a ballroom, and a party room as well as resting areas and personal rooms. One side of the lobby was a large window that could directly see the beautiful universe decorated with the stars.

All sorts of living creatures walked past them. They saw a bird talking to a lion that was wearing a suit. There was also a dwarf with a great big, bushy beard drinking beer with a beast with sharp teeth. Every one of them had different scents and voices, and they were mixing together in a small space, which gave the players a weird feeling, as it was their first contact with aliens.

"What kind of species is that? Their heads look like a hammer," Second Prince said in surprise.

"You look like them." Sun Eggplant laughed.

"Don't bullying him so much," King Admiral said. "Only I have the right to do so."

Second Prince gave both of them a middle finger.

Rainy Kim stood by the window like a quiet, beautiful lady, enjoying the view of the night sky. Twinkle Fried Rice slowly moved up to her, and just as he wanted to flirt, Hao Tian pulled him back.

Hao Tian dragged Sleepy Winter and Twinkle Fried Rice and said in a serious tone, "Later, we will go find a chance to see if we can activate some missions… Fried Rice, why do you look so bitter?"

All the players opened their eyes and chatted about the new world. However, Han Xiao was not surprised.

He had already seen too many species after a lot of reading. A female member of staff wearing a uniform with a human shape walked up to the group. She had light-red skin and smiled at the group.

The staff member scanned through the group, then she directly walked up to Kerlodd and said with enthusiasm, "Respectable Godoran, your room is ready."

In the Colton Star Cluster, Godoran was a well-known species with high standing. Commercial traveling groups were equivalent to public transport in space because it was the cheapest way to travel. So, it was rare to see a Godoran.

The staff member assumed that Kerlodd was the leader, and he ignored Han Xiao and the others.

Kerlodd was a bit surprised and looked at Han Xiao. He then replied, "Okay, I understand."

The staff gave the room number and authorization to Kerlodd, then she gave him wink before leaving. It was obvious that she was interested in him. Godorans were the best species in the star cluster, and the woman, who was an Aqwax Species, would not mind if anything happened between Kerlodd and her. Some species could have a hybrid offspring, while others could use IVF. The relationships between different species in the universe were very open.

However, Kerlodd was insistent about being a pure blood, so he had no interest in females from other species. He handed everything to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao took the things. He found it funny that the Godoran was mistaken as a leader.

"We are on the ship and have finished the transaction," Kerlodd said. "When can I contact the headquarters?"

"No worries, the final stop is Juberly Hub. You can head back by yourself from there. I won't stop you."

"That's good." Kerlodd rubbed his hand and added awkwardly, "I want to get a drink, so…"

"I only have that much. Don't waste it all." Han Xiao gave him ten Enas. Han Xiao thought to himself that he was such a kind person for giving pocket money to a person whom he had scammed.

After receiving the money, Kerlodd skipped toward the bar. He believed in hedonism, so most of his money was spent on drinks.

Han Xiao brought everyone to their room, and the players' faces were filled with surprise. Bun-hit-dog excitedly recorded everything. Occasionally, other species looked at the group, but they withdrew their gazes rather quickly as Space Humans were really common. There were a lot of human species in the economy class lobby.

After reaching the door of the room, Han Xiao thought for a while and turned to the group. "You are free to do whatever you want. Also, try to get some information from other passengers."

The players could not hold back their curiosity any longer. After hearing this, everyone scattered to the lobby. Players were useful intel gatherers, so there was no need for him to do that by himself. Also, players could earn some quests from other passengers and earn some Enas, and he could use some method to exchange goods with players. In the end, the players were essentially making money for Han Xiao.

Han Xiao smiled. I guess it will be the first time that the passengers have met such passionate people.

Chapter 320: Development Plan and Scavengers

After getting rid of the others, Han Xiao walked into the room alone and let out a deep breath. He finally had the chance to be alone with the first step of entering the galaxy completed.

There were many opportunities in the universe and many plans for what to do next, so he needed to decide on one path to take.

Firstly, he was located in the Garton Galaxy of the Colton Star Cluster, and with his strength, this area was dangerous but just right for him to grow. As a LV 70 Mechanic, Grade C Super, he was considered at the middle level of the Supers in Colton Star Cluster.

The universe was divided into many Star Fields, and the Colton Star Cluster belonged to the 'Shattered Star Ring' Star Field. The Shattered Star Ring was located at the edge of the visible universe and considered rural. Its name came from its structure. This Star Field was like a broken, shattered ring of stars, every Star Cluster being part of this 'ring'.

At the heart of the Shattered Star Ring was a dangerous place with an enormous cluster of wormholes, where the universe's waste was being thrown out from numerous Star Fields, floating in the area and forming a waste dump. Because of this, scavenger groups were very active in the Shattered Star Ring.

There were quite a number of uncommon occupations in the galaxy, such as the Galaxy Pirates, Scavengers, mercenaries, Colony Explorers, and so on. The Shattered Star Ring did not have a single ruling authority, only scattered Star Clusters and galactic civilizations, so there were many areas with a worrying level of law and order.

The Shattered Star Ring was rightfully ruled by Westsandling, but this civilization only had their emissary reside at the local offices and hardly managed the area. Westsandling was the official name of the universal civilization 'Federation of Light'.

The bigger the area, the more dangerous it was. Han Xiao remembered many opportunities, but according to the current situation, the best decision was to stay in the Colton Star Cluster and grow first. It was still Version 1.0, and he was not very familiar with the storyline in the galaxy since the players at this stage had yet to enter it in his previous life. However, some large missions were most likely still the same.

The first step is to get an information source. Juberly Hub is chaotic, and there are many agencies from different organizations here. I can try to attach to an organization and get some initial intelligence, Han Xiao thought. As long as he could get his hands on some information, he would be able to know which were the large storyline missions suitable for him.

The most important target was to become stronger. He was not restricted by the version and was always ahead of the players, so he had to maintain this lead in this world filled with danger. It was like riding a boat against the current—if he did not go forward, he would be going backward.

For now, Han Xiao's main class was stuck at the class advancement mission. He had to first find a subclass, level up to LV 80, get enough attribute points, and increase his INT to more than 400. He did not want to take this lightly. More and more experience would be required to level up, so he wanted to find a valuable, rare subclass.

From what he had earned during the Pro League, the amount of experience that he had in his interface was about 2,700,000,000, which would last him for quite some time without having to worry about experience expenses. The amount of resources and equipment that he had accumulated had the value of thousands of Enas, and the specific value depended on the buyer's demand and the fluctuating value of machinery, which could not be determined before the deal.

The other class advancement requirement was to have five Mechanic class advancement knowledges. In the universe, there were comparatively more ways to get Super knowledge. Although the very high-level knowledge was controlled, class advancement knowledge were not difficult to get. Some financial groups and organizations were even selling class advancement knowledge, which meant that he could get them as long as he paid the money.

As long as he had enough money, he could even buy all the class advancement knowledges.

And in terms of earning money, not that Han Xiao was bragging, he was really not bad at it.

Players are equivalent to labor; I can get Enas through them indirectly, and they can also provide assistance to me. If I make them mercenaries, I can get paid while they do the missions… However, in order to make a large amount of profit, the best is to sell rare items, such as mining for some precious minerals, or get rewarded from some old wanted missions.

The existence of players was his advantage, and they could be of great help if he did things the right way, which was why he had chosen to bring the players along.

Growing and leveling up was the core target, but Han Xiao also had another target, which was to try to solve the Mutation Disaster in Planet Aquamarine of Version 2.0 in advance.

In Version 2.0, many planets in the Shattered Star Ring encountered the Mutation Disaster, and the origin of all that was the evil organization of Colton Star Cluster, DarkStar. The novice planets in other star fields would have different storylines.

DarkStar was a rebellion from the Godoran Civilization, and Han Xiao was very familiar with its history.

The origin of the DarkStar mostly came from the discrimination from Godora's pure blood beliefs. Many of the DarkStar members were hybrid Godorans, discriminated against because of their bloodline, which led to their extreme mindset, wanting to overthrow the Godora government. They believed that Godora's regulations were corrupted and that they were the 'New Godora' of the new era.

Every civilization had their own mindsets and traditions, and there was not any absolute evidence that inclusion was the more advanced choice. All civilizations had their unique qualities. To respect the traditions and habits of the other civilization, compromising with each other during contact yet not fully accepting them, was the norm of communication between species in the universe.

Of course, at the initial stage of universe exploration, cases of uncompromising conflict between civilizations occurring—due to their irreconcilable difference in beliefs, habits, and characteristics—were not the rarest. Such as the human race and species that fed on humans, there was almost zero possibility of these species communicating with each other, but these extreme civilizations only suffered in the progress, and as the super civilizations implanted their laws and regulations, even these species had to accept the existence of each other.

Godora originated from magic. Before they came into contact with the galaxy, all Godorans were pureblood—only after they mated with other intelligent species did hybrid Godorans appear. So, the pureblood belief had started to spread, emphasizing on the importance of their traditions. Those with authority were all pure blood; therefore, the pure blood and hybrids started to witness new class differences. As Godora grew, more and more hybrids were born, and the bloodline talent of Godorans was gradually diluted. Thus, they took more importance in the pureblood belief. The extreme ones of the pureblood believers did not even consider the hybrids as the same race.

The conflict became ever more intense, and finally, DarkStar was born, acting against Godora in almost every aspect with an extreme and evil style of doing things.

In order to solve the Mutation Disaster, I have to start with the Godoran Civilization…

The mutation virus had very strong latency. In his previous life, it had only been taken seriously after the disaster completely exploded, so all he could do for now was only prepare for the future.

These two targets were the key points for the current stage. He contemplated the details of the plan, turned on the communicator, browsed the interstellar channel, and focused on the information regarding the current situation and environment of the Colton Star Cluster.

At this time, an announcement was made from the broadcast. "Everyone, please return to your rooms. The ship is about to speed up and enter the Light Jump Tunnel. Turbulence might be experienced. If you suffer from dizziness, please do not panic—it's a normal reaction."

Rapid footsteps could be heard outside the doors. All of the passengers returned to their rooms, including Kerlodd and the players. Black safety belts came out of the wall. Safety measures like protective cabins were too much to expect with such low-grade travel agencies.

After buckling up the safety belt, the room doors locked automatically. A loud roar came from within the spaceship, and the metal walls and floors were trembling.

Right after, a force came from above and pressed everyone strongly into their seats. This was the reaction force even after being weakened many times by the various devices.

Short Horn Star shot out a blazing flame and sped up rapidly.

Streams of light suddenly appeared in the darkness outside the windows, like entering a tunnel of light.

Hum…

As the pressing force reached its peak, Short Horn Star flashed and turned into a stream of light.

The engine operated at its full capacity. After entering the tunnel, the reaction force rapidly weakened because of the internal stabilization devices.

"Next stop, Garton Galaxy Star Zone 5. Travel time: three days. Please enjoy your trip."

…

In those three days, Han Xiao kept a low profile on the ship whereas the players were rather warm-hearted. They started conversations with the other passengers and asked to help them passionately. It was the first time that these passengers had seen such warm humans, and they realized the players had very limited knowledge after having conversations and assumed them to be natives.

Kerlodd was having a dark blue drink at the bar when a hybrid human with sharp ears and bony face walked up beside him, tossed an Enas coin, signifying that this cup was on him, and said with a smile, "You boarded from Planet Aquamarine, right? That low-class planet is just a low-class civilization, and the people you brought onto the ship are all natives, aren't they?"

"What does that have to do with you?" Kerlodd looked at him sideways.

"Hehe, are you interested in a deal? My name is Cesoly. I do this…" This person was wearing gloves. He discreetly lifted up the gap and showed the tattoo on the back of his hand—a bird wrapped in chains. That was a label for a slavery trade organization, one of the many scavenger businesses.

Kerlodd waved impatiently and said, "F*ck off. I don't want to waste my time with you."

Public spaceships were rather chaotic with quite many hidden gray organizations looking for suckers. Therefore, people who had the choice all disdained traveling with galactic travel agencies. Kerlodd disliked being in contact with scavengers very much; it spoiled his mood so much that he even lost his interest in his favorite Dark Blue Star Bubbles.

"Don't be so quick to reject. I can see all of the natives that you've brought along are Supers, so their prices will be quite good. Consider it, okay?"

At this time, Han Xiao's cold voice appeared from behind the two. "I think it's time for you to leave."

Cesoly turned his head around and saw Han Xiao standing behind expressionless. He smiled without caring, ignored Han Xiao, and gave Kerlodd a slight bow before leaving.

Chapter 321: The Green Knight, Boneless Bird

Cesoly blended into the crowd and started chatting with others again. It seemed like he did not care much about the failed deal this time.

"Slave trader…" Han Xiao frowned as he looked at Cesoly's back.

"I might be short of money, but I have my integrity." Kerlodd snorted, finished his drink, and said after a pause, "There are hundreds and thousands of scavenger organizations in the Shattered Star Ring, recognizable by their tattoos. Some scavengers also do other shady business, like robbery, kidnapping, and extortion. That Cesoly is the middle man for the slave trade, in charge of looking for targets. He belongs to the 'Boneless Bird' scavenger group, a tough criminal group wanted by many galactic civilizations in Godora.

"The slave trade specializes in capturing rare species and Supers, selling them to customers with demands for viewing or beast fighting."

Supers were very common in the universe but far less common than normal people. In the eyes of the people in the galaxy, Supers were considered trained warriors or talented geniuses.

Supers had higher positions, and some normal people started to have thoughts about controlling Supers. Thus, gladiator shows appeared. It was like watching a higher-grade boxing competition. The audience enjoyed watching the Supers fight each other to death both visually and mentally. Some official arenas hired Supers with high salaries, and some underground arenas bought Supers slaves; therefore, the Supers were always quite popular in the slave market.

"You guys have been targeted, so it's best to be careful, but scavengers won't do things that will cost them a loss. You should be safe in the spaceship since I rejected him, and he won't continue to try," Kerlodd said.

"I feel that his target isn't us 'natives'." Han Xiao thought about.

The spaceship suddenly shook and got out of the light jumping state. The window at the side of the hall showed the Short Horn Star closing in on a dark-gray planet. Its surface was covered with mountains, and there was not any hint of green. It was just a desolate rock, with dark and black streams formed from the dead rivers.

This was Star Zone 5, filled with dangerous places, and this planet was one such place. Its danger level in the Godora Star Map was 'Medium-High', which meant there was more than a forty percent chance that an investigator would die there. Planet Aquamarine's danger evaluation in their database was only 'Low'.

The spaceship entered the atmosphere, hovered high up in the sky, and let out its airdrop cabins to collect the new passengers on the ground. The public spaceships would fetch passengers on their way of the journey, and there was someone on this planet that had called for the Short Horn Star travel agency.

The passenger that had just boarded at the VIP entrance was covered in a ragged white cape. The body shape under the cape was tall and large, and a big bag was hanging across his body. His footsteps were very heavy, accompanied by the clunk of metal clashing.

Coming in front of the scanning gate, this person unbuttoned their cape and showed their real face—he was shockingly half man, half machine. A very large area on his body had gone through mechanical modifications. Pipes and wires were hidden between the gaps of the armor, indication lights flashed, and only his right arm was human of his four limbs. There was no modification above his neck. He looked cold and handsome, especially his sharp eyes, which gave off an unwelcoming aura.

The eyes of this person were light green, beautiful like emeralds. His skin was very pale, and his half-machine body was full of scars from battle.

After the scan was complete, a sound came out of the broadcast. "Welcome aboard Short Horn Star. You have reserved the business cabin. Your passenger identification number is… Please enjoy your journey."

The business cabin hall was at another place. There were not as many passengers there as the economy cabin, so its environment was better and quieter.

This person had no intention of stopping. He walked past the hall and went straight back to his room, with the passengers in the hall looking at him with shock.

"Is that 'The Green Knight'?"

"That's him alright, one of the very few warriors of the Sunil Family, high-class mercenary of the Mercenary Alliance, a very strong guy."

"How unexpected to see him here. Didn't they say the Sunil Family migrated?"

The people chatted among themselves and subconsciously lowered their voices. It was like they feared that person and did not want him to hear.

…

Of course, Han Xiao did not know who had boarded the ship. The broadcast announced that the next stop was another star zone. There would still be a few more stops before they arrived at the Juberly Hub, but he was patient and not in a hurry.

He made use of the time to gather information from the passengers and the galactic channel on the communicator. The communicator also worked as a television. With advanced technology came psychological enjoyments—many channels were dedicated to playing all sorts of entertainment shows. Han Xiao found quite a lot of good stuff in one of Kerlodd's files called 'Investigator Work Documents'…

After looking at it for a while, Han Xiao turned it off in silence, his eyes burning.

"Godorans really know how to play."

Kerlodd drank alcohol every day, and his allowance was finished very soon. He asked for more money from Han Xiao but came back to no result. Thus, he then slept in his room every day, totally lacking the attitude of one who had been kidnapped. In fact, Han Xiao was amused at how calm this Godoran was.

Life in the spaceship was simple and quiet; he just wanted to arrive at the destination peacefully.

However, change came without any warning.

In some area on the way of Short Horn Star's route ahead, a few scavenger spaceships hovered in the universe quietly. Their designs were unique with signs of being modified unprofessionally. This was the unique style of scavengers. The 'Boneless Bird' logo was painted on the side of the spaceships.

In the main ship's internal deck, scavengers from different species were having a party. The Boneless Bird Leader was sitting on the high chair, holding a barrel and chugging it down while laughing out loud.

The leader of Boneless Bird was called Serpent Braid. He was almost four meters tall and had the blood of Stone Giant. His muscles were bulging, his skin was stone, his face was covered with a beard, and a braid of hair on his head hanged down to his waist, thus his nickname.

Scavengers traveled around the gray areas. Their reason for making money was to enjoy themselves, so partying was their most common activity.

"Ding ding! New message!"

The interface on the main ship's control panel flashed, and a line of words appeared. Its sender was Cesoly.

"Guys, the job is here."

Serpent Braid threw away the barrel, and it shattered in the corner. He stood up, wiped away the alcohol on his beard, and said with a ferocious face, "The target this time is worth a lot of money!"

Hundreds of scavengers below growled in excitement.

…

"Pair of threes."

"Four Kings."

"Five twos."

"Pass… Wait a minute, where did the other two come from?"

On Short Horn Star, a group of players squeezed into the room and played poker out of boredom.

After staying on the spaceship for so many days, there were no more missions for them to accept. Furthermore, combat was not allowed in the ship, and many areas were not open, so these players could only find enjoyment themselves. The journey could not be skipped, which had always received complaints. Some players went offline to rest, so only one third of the players were left online.

The online spot and reviving spot could be locked onto the transportation tool, so there were no worries of being lost in space.

Han Xiao sat to the side and looked at the time—there should be only a few more days till they arrived.

Short Horn Star had arrived at the Garton Galaxy Star Zone 2 at this time. The area started becoming more urban—quite a number of the planets here had civilizations, and it was an area where Godora paid a lot of attention to managing as it was closer, which meant it was easier to manage. The spaceship stopped the greatest number of times to fetch passenger here. As long as they arrived at Star Zone 1 and entered the stable wormhole gate, they would be able to reach the destination.

At this moment, the ground started to tremble unusually.

A piercing alarm sounded from the broadcast instantly after.

Han Xiao's expression changed a little, and he instantly stood up. Kerlodd woke up from his sleep as well, and the two walked out of the room hastily. The players behind them were lost but knew that there must have been some accident, so they followed the two of them.

The hall was chaotic at this moment. All of the passengers walked out and looked outside the window, terrified.

Colorful explosions flashed outside, but there was no sound due to the lack of air.

The scavenger spaceships fired at the Short Horn Star. The Short Horn Star had already activated its high energy shield, and a light-yellow energy shield protected the spaceship like an eggshell. The scavenger spaceships were much smaller than Short Horn Star, but they were also much more agile because of that. They dodged the attacks and dashed around, but Short Horn Star could not dodge anything due to its large size—it could only endure the attacks with its shield.

Chapter 322: Attack!

"This is the captain of Short Horn Star speaking. Passengers, we have encountered an attack from scavengers. We will start to turn our engine to its full capacity. As long as we enter the jump gate, we will be able to get rid of the enemies. Please do not worry, the enemy will definitely not be able to break the defense—we are very experienced in facing attacks."

This time, the voice from the broadcast was no longer an electrically mixed voice—it was the firm and manly sound of the captain, comforting the passengers.

As a low-class travel agency, the Short Horn Star could not always avoid facing robberies from scavengers and space pirates, so Short Horn Star had gone through special modifications. Thus, its shield was very tough, easier to escape.

This isn't good… Han Xiao had a heartache. He just wanted to arrive at the destination safely—why did it have to be so difficult? A space attacks was something that he could not deal with at his current strength. To a certain extent, he could only hope for the best.

More than a dozen scavenger spaceships surrounded and attacked—there was a total of three logos. Suddenly, Han Xiao recognizes one of the logos.

Boneless Bird‽

Han Xiao immediately thought of Cesoly from a few days ago, and he went to look for him in the crowd right after but could not find him. Cesoly had disappeared without a trace. Han Xiao frowned and pulled an attendant aside, described Cesoly looks, and asked, "Where did this person go?"

This attendant was the woman attendant who had tried to seduce Kerlodd back then when they just boarded the ship. She was horrified and said while stuttering, "Tha—that passenger changed to the first class yesterday…"

Kerlodd nervously walked over and said, "These are Boneless Bird scavengers—they were definitely called here by that middle man. I can't believe they are attacking so publicly. If this spaceship can't withstand it, we're all done for. I haven't lived long enough."

"You don't say… No one's lived long enough."

The attack was too sudden and could not be prevented in advance. Cesoly had a group behind him and could call for people, but Han Xiao did not have any galactic organization behind him, so there was nothing he could do, and he was at a very passive state. Furthermore, Han Xiao did not actually know how to read minds, so Cesoly's moves and thoughts were unknown to him. If he started a fight in the spaceship first, he would be chased out instantly.

There was no use of thinking of these things now. Han Xiao calmed himself down and said, "Cesoly is their man, and he is on board this ship, which means that these scavengers will not destroy this ship—they will definitely try to board it. There are two possibilities—one is that they will attack the Short Horn Star till it can't function, threaten to destroy the ship, and make us give in. The other is that if they can't break through Short Horn Star's defenses, they will then attack us from inside and board the ship. We can't do anything about the former, but we can try to resist against the latter."

"Then what can we do?"

"We only can counter attack if we have weapons." Han Xiao thought quickly. The spaceship did not allow possession of destructive weapons except in special cases, such as implants that could not be removed.

"All of the luggage and equipment is stored in the warehouse of the spaceship."

"Okay, don't leave me here, I can fight too," Kerlodd said.

Han Xiao grabbed the female attendant and yelled, "Where's the warehouse‽"

The female attendant heard their conversation. She opened her eyes wide in surprise upon realizing that the Godoran was the follower and that this low-profile human was the leader instead. It seemed that she had been wrong all along. She regained her focus upon hearing Han Xiao's yell and pointed the way, shivering.

Without saying a word, Han Xiao was going to dash out of the hall immediately, but the female attendant hurriedly said, "Wait, don't leave. The spaceship had entered safe mode, so the exit to the hall is locked, and no one can get out…"

Bang!

The players used their strongest attacks one after another. With a loud bang and streams of light, the broken mechanical lock shattered, and the metal gate was blasted away. Han Xiao did not slow down—he led the group and charged out of the gate. The remaining passengers in the hall were left panicking and lost.

The scavengers and the Short Horn Star were still in a stalemate. Most of the passengers were watching in horror. Han Xiao was not acting on impulses—he just never liked to let others decide the outcome, always wanting to have the upper hand.

If the Short Horn Star could escape successfully, of course, that would be the best outcome, but if its defenses were broke through, these actions that he took now in advance would be crucial. If they only started to prepare themselves after they break in, it would be too late.

The group ran for about ten minutes. The tremors from the attacks never stopped. They could feel the Short Horn Star trying to speed up, but it just could not enter the wormhole tunnel. Han Xiao knew that something was wrong.

There was a lot of equipment that could stop spaceships from entering the wormhole tunnel, and since scavengers did robberies, they definitely possessed such equipment to prevent their prey from escaping.

Suddenly, the spaceship trembled tens of times harder than it did before with deafening sounds of explosions. The group staggered and almost fell.

Han Xiao's expression turned very serious. The universe was a vacuum, so the sound of the explosion meant that the enemies had destroyed the shield and broken in.

This captain had jinxed it!

The moment that he heard the sound, a notification showed on his interface.

_____________________

You have triggered an emergency mission, [Protect Short Horn Star].

Mission Introduction: Due to certain reasons, some groups of scavengers have their eyes on Short Horn Star. They are preparing to board and attack all the passengers. Your fate is intertwined tightly with this spaceship.

Mission Requirements: Repel all the scavengers and protect Short Horn Star.

Reward: 350,000 Experience, 1,500 Enas, unlock area prestige.

_____________________

Looks like the scavengers chose the second method. There are two other scavenger groups other than Boneless Bird. The reason for them to work together and attack us is definitely more than just to capture a group of slaves…

Han Xiao turned around and saw the twenty or so players behind him standing in a daze, which meant that they were looking at their interface and had triggered the same mission. Fortunately for him, he would not have to spend his own quota.

Han Xiao opened the communicator and realized that there was no signal. There could only be one explanation for such a phenomenon—the scavengers had advanced equipment that could block the signal, which was definitely to prevent their prey from requesting help from nearby civilizations. It was clear that they were very well prepared and determined to catch their prey.

"The enemies have broken in," Han Xiao said with a low voice. "We can't rely on the guards of this spaceship, and I don't want to give up fighting. We have to protect this spaceship. I have a plan. First, we'll retrieve our weapons from the warehouse. Then, we'll split up into three groups. One group will head toward the main control room, and another group will look for the captain and the cadres—they have authority to operate the spaceship, so the enemies will definitely head toward these two targets as well. There's a very high possibility that we will get into combat, and we know nothing about how strong the enemies are, so act with caution.

"The last group will find the emergency escape ship. Such a large spaceship definitely has this kind of measure, so this will be the last resort."

Players splitting up was very advantageous. They communicated with their interface, which would not be blocked, and Han Xiao could control the situation by talking to the players.

No one had any objections.

Without further ado, Han Xiao led the others onward and immediately headed toward the warehouse.

…

On the side of Short Horn Star, a hole had been created on the shield by the scavengers' focus fire. Before the shield could recover, mechanical horns extended from seven scavenger spaceships and rammed into Short Horn Star. Thick smoke came out of the hole, and a large group of scavengers boarded the ship successfully, entering the interior.

Hundreds of scavengers equipped with various firearms battled the guards of Short Horn Star, shooting out beans and bullets, and people were screaming in agony as they fell.

Most of the soldiers were normal people of various races, and there were also a few supers.

One of the spaceship guards was an Insectman Pugilist with six arms who used the six swords style. Scavengers fell one after another under the cold blades.

Huuu!

Suddenly, a large shadow fell rapidly and shrouded this Insectman Pugilist.

The strong wind pressure was like a black hole, sucking away the air nearby, and the surrounding people felt suffocated.

"Buzz…" the Insectman Pugilist let out an angry buzz as he raised the six swords to block the attack.

Boom!

The Insectman disappeared in an instant. The floor suffered from the attack and sunk, but at the border of the impact, it protruded with edges like a ring of mountains!

An enormous war hammer rose up slowly, covered in the acidic, green blood of the Insectman, dripping down to the floor and making a sizzling sound.

One hit, and the Insectman had been flattened!

Serpent Braid placed the silver war hammer on his shoulder with one hand. It rubbed against his stone skin and clanked. He yelled, "Kill the guards quickly! Gazers, go to clean up the main control room; Beast Hoofs, get some hostages…"

Serpent Braid had invited two other scavenger groups for this job called 'Gazers' and 'Beast Hoofs'.

"And the rest…" Serpent Braid swung his braid and smiled hideously. "Follow me to find that Godoran!"

Chapter 323: Danger and Splitting Up

"Has the distress signal been sent out yet‽"

In the main control room, the captain was covered in sweat while the operator at the side was panicking.

"Our communications have been jammed; all signals are blocked."

"Impossible, the communication device on Short Horn Star is a high-grade device brought from a galactic civilization. How do these scavengers have such high-grade equipment‽"

The captain was shocked and furious. Galactic long-range communicators had universality and diversity, causing signal blocking devices to be very expensive. Furthermore, the enemy had an 'anti-jump' device that could disrupt the space and prevent jumping.

The captain was devastated. These scavengers are way too well equipped!

The Short Horn Star was unable to escape or request help—it could only last for a short time with its shield and armor. There was still a chance to survive. If the high energy in the area was captured by the detectors Godora set up around the galaxy, security would rush to help.

In the populated Star Zones, the ruling civilization was the main security. The detectors were very sensitive, and some of them had fixed locations, monitoring a large area with artificial intelligence, like a secured perimeter.

At the time, Short Horn Star was flying toward the nearest detector. Since they could not space jump, it would take them about twenty to twenty-five minutes to reach the secured perimeter at full speed. The scavenger spaceships were small and agile but not very powerful in their attacks. The shield could barely last for this amount of time.

However, the enemies boarding the ship were the imminent threat. The guards in the ship were gradually losing, and their target was definitely the main control room.

If the main control room was taken, it would mean that Short Horn Star had lost. At that point, escaping would become a dream.

"Only one-third of the guards are left; they're retreating and can't stop the enemies… The scavengers are coming toward the main control room. Captain, what do we do now?" An assistant looked at the surveillance image and shivered nervously.

"Try to negotiate!" The captain clenched his teeth, turned on the broadcast, and with not much hope, expressed that they were willing to pay them 'passage money'. However, the scavengers did not reply; it was clear that they wanted to take the entire ship.

The scavengers had only blocked the signals outside, so the internal broadcast in the ship could still function.

Guards fell one after another in the surveillance image, and the captain was getting desperate. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he asked, "Quickly, get the passenger list, see if there's someone strong!"

Someone frantically filtered the passenger list, and a few people's identities were displayed. All of them was slightly renowned combat personnel, and among them, the most famous one was the high-level mercenary 'The Green Knight'.

"The Green Knight! It's him! Great!"

The captain was overjoyed. He hastily announced through the broadcast, "Passengers, the situation right now is very urgent. The scavengers are heading toward the main control room. I hope the passengers with combat abilities can help us. This is saving yourselves, too, and I will pay a large monetary reward…"

The current situation was almost desperate. They would only have a chance to escape if the enemies on the ship could be defeated, so the passengers were his last hope.

The captain could only rely on the passengers, especially the renowned Green Knight.

…

Huuu!

The war hammer swung sideways and blew away a large group of the spaceship guards.

Serpent Braid swung the war hammer with one hand, covered in gray Pugilist flames. The bullets and low-level energy beams could only leave white marks on his stone skin—this was his race talent, making him very tough.

He was laughing insolently, charging forward with ease, and forced the guards away. The battle in the ship was heated—the shield outside was covered in explosions too. It was like a song of war.

"Where are we now?"

"Boss, first class is right ahead. Cesoly is waiting for you there."

Not long after, the metal gate of the first class appeared in front—it was locked. Serpent Braid held onto the handle of the hammer with both hands this time, spun around twice, and bashed the gate. With a loud bang, the gate was blasted away.

Cesoly walked out with a smile and said, "You're finally here."

"Good job, where's that Godoran?"

"In economy class."

"Good!" Serpent Braid grinned, turned around, and saw a group of passengers freaking out. He then ordered, "Capture all of them as hostages. Some of you stay here to guard."

A group of scavengers cuffed small black rings onto the passengers' hands and feet, which then extended automatically into mechanical cuffs. They were very thick and tough, and even normal Supers could not escape them. All of those passengers were taken hostage.

There were a few Supers in these passengers, but the scavengers outnumbered them. After seeing Serpent Braid's strength, any will to resist vanished.

Serpent Braid then headed toward the economy class hall and brought those passengers under control once again. They searched carefully, but there was no sign of the Godoran, which made him furious.

"I only moved to the first class yesterday, and the spaceship never made a stop," Cesoly said hastily. "He is definitely still on the ship."

Serpent Braid grabbed the head of a passenger and yelled, "Where's that Godoran?"

"The—they broke through the door earlier and ran out," the person answered hastily.

Bang!

His head was crushed. Blood splattered onto the faces of the other hostages, and they screamed.

Serpent Braid shook his hands and said angrily, "They actually ran away. Go, find them now…"

Before he could finish his sentence, the voice of the other group of scavengers came out of the communicator. "Request for backup! We met a strong Super on the way to the main control room and were stopped. Please help!"

"Boss, the target is in this spaceship and won't be able to run away," Cesoly said hurriedly. "We should take over the main control room first. As long as we have control of the spaceship, we will find the target sooner or later."

Serpent Braid nodded and said, "Then let's go to the main control room. Cesoly, you stay here with some people to keep these passengers under control."

"No problem."

The economy class passengers were cuffed and thrown aside. With the scavengers aiming their firearms at them, they were shivering and did not dare move.

Serpent Braid took some people and headed toward the main control room. The spaceship was rather large, so it took some time for them to finally arrive at the scene. Corpses of the scavengers were scattered all over the floor. Serpent Braid saw a flash and a green burst of light like a fountain at the end of the path. About a dozen scavengers were thrown against the wall. Their bodies were twisted, and their bones were broken.

The Green Knight stood at the path to the main control room with a cold face. Green streams of light covered his body like ripples. He was actually an Esper, able to control a special green energy that could be melded into various shapes, which could be used to attack and defend. It was considered a variant of force field type Esper power, and this was also how he had gotten his name.

"Look, Green Knight Lerden, a high-level mercenary, a remnant of the Sunil race." Desire appeared in Serpent Braid's eyes. He gripped his war hammer, walked toward him with excitement, and said, "Finally, someone strong."

Lerden's eyes were filled with coldness. He was a mercenary, so the reason he was helping was mostly because of the reward promised by the captain. Otherwise, he would have gone to find the escape ship long ago.

His left mechanical arm folded and transformed, showing a black cannon muzzle. Laser beams shot out at an extremely high speed, penetrating through the chest of a few scavengers, leaving a burnt hole behind.

The other scavengers looked for cover hastily and fought back. Serpent Braid was fearless. He charged forward with large strides—the lasers only left burn marks on his skin. He spun the war hammer covered in thick gray flames and bashed straight down on The Green Knight's head!

Lerden raised his left arm. The green light formed a burning light shield and blocked his head.

Bang!

The impact rippled through the light shield, and green light splashed all over the place.

…

Ten minutes earlier…

In the Short Horn Star warehouse at the tail of the ship, far away from the battlefield, the sound of the battlefield could barely be heard. Han Xiao and the others were flipping through the warehouse.

"Found it." Han Xiao finally found his box. He opened the password lock, and white and cold smoke billowed out. In it was the Amphiptere.

He quickly equipped it, activated the system, and was soon surrounded by the suit's glow. Light from the energy core was shining bright, and blue energy flew through the pipes like blood.

With the equipment in hand, Han Xiao felt relieved. He brought along all of his weapons and suddenly remembered Kerlodd's requests. After some consideration, he held onto 'Wrath of Garrett' and threw all of the remaining small golden spheres back to Kerlodd.

"Your equipment, take it. Don't be a burden."

Kerlodd was stunned for a moment. He grabbed the small spheres and said solemnly, "I will fight alongside you."

Only half of the players were online, so it was only twenty or players who got their weapons back.

"We will split up into teams now," Han Xiao said in a low voice.

As according to the plan, they divided into three groups. Frenzied Sword, Fried Eggplants with Fish, and another guild would be going to find and take control of the emergency escape ship. Temple of God and Dynasty would go to cut off the scavengers' retreat route and stop the enemies from entering from the entrance they broke through. Kerlodd and the rest of the players would be following him to the main control room, which was the most important task.

At this moment, the announcement of the captain's request for help came from the broadcast system.

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled after he heard it.

Monetary reward…

Chapter 324: Expanding Profit, Initiatives

The space in the spaceship was limited, so he could not wear the Bat Wings flying device. Han Xiao used his Electromagnetic Hover-boots and Mini Maneuvering Equipment to dash toward the main control room. The sliding speed was much faster than stepping on banana peels.

Han Xiao was experienced, so he knew that the main control room was extremely important, and to be able to make it in time for backup, he was moving at full speed. He could not afford to wait for Kerlodd and the others, who were temporarily left behind.

As he was rushing alone, he was also analyzing the enemy's strength in his head.

They could not make Short Horn Star fall even after this long. There is definitely no grade B Super among the scavengers, or the spaceship would have been captured long ago. The strongest among them would be at most grade C or C+. With my equipment and talents, there is a very high chance I can match up to the enemy. However, the enemy definitely has a lot of subordinates. The standard equipment between the galaxies varies, and their attack damage will not be too low. It will be quite dangerous to get focus fired.

Han Xiao remained calm as he listed the factors that would affect the situation in his head. He knew full well how strong he was—he would not be overconfident, nor would he overestimate the enemy.

Although there were many Supers in the universe. Very strong ones were scarce—most were still at grade E and D, excluding those who had just become Supers.

Starting from grade C, one would be considered to be quite strong. In Shattered Star Ring, grade C Supers were considered to be the backbone level. Grade B was very strong and rare, and grade A would be extremely rare.

…

The sound of collision echoed through the tunnel, making the metal walls tremble.

The green light clashed with the war hammer once again—both of them took large steps backward.

Whoosh.

Steam shot out from behind Lerden's back, releasing the overload pressure from his implanted body. He was breathing heavily, sweating, and his already very pale cheeks became paler.

Using power required energy, but his mechanical implanted body could not generate energy. The mechanical implants gave him dynamic weapons and a harder body, so he would not die so easily. However, that came with a price—he could not last long in battle.

At this time, the mechanical implant body had damage everywhere, releasing electric flames. Serpent Braid was very fierce and powerful, but Lerden was confident that he would not lose to him. However, this was not a one on one—hundreds of scavengers hid at the side and shot at him. He had to be aware of the stray bullets at all times, so a lot of energy was wasted in building the energy shield. His concentration was diverted too, and a lot of damage was caused by the other scavengers.

At the end of the tunnel behind Lerden was the door to the main control room. If he walked away, the main control room would be in danger, which had restricted his movements for a very large extent. He did not dare ignore Serpent Braid and deal with the scavenger sidekicks first.

The door of the main control room was closed tightly, and all the situation outside was shown on the monitor from the surveillance cameras. Everyone in the main control room was terrified. The captain wiped his sweat, pressed on the table, and murmured, "Twelve minutes till we arrive at the security perimeter. You have to hang on!"

The intense sound of gunfire sounded again. Lerden could only create the light shield to protect himself while Serpent Braid grinned ferociously. Not giving Lerden any time to catch his breath, he pounced again and slammed the war hammer down rapidly.

Lerden's eyes were filled with blood, his face was cold, and he tried to hold on. However, the green light shield was turning dimmer at a visible speed.

Suddenly, the light shield burst, and the war hammer hit the left side of Lerden's body without any hindrance.

Boom!

Half of Lerden's body exploded. Parts splashed out like a blossoming flower, shooting onto the walls, and the oil splattered all over the ground!

Lerden flew out and hit the wall, but there was no pain on his face. His body was half implants, so the shattered mechanical body did not have a sense of pain. This technology was more mature and complete than what the Germinal Organization had. Of course, it would not damage one's life.

Suddenly, flames shot out from under his feet. He flew up, jumped over Serpent Braid, and fled.

The reward was why he helped; his life was more important to him. Half of his body had shattered, and the situation was very critical, so he immediately fled without any hesitation. It was so rational it was almost too cold.

"This spaceship will definitely be lost. No matter what the scavengers want to do, I'm not their target. The security perimeter shouldn't be far from here. I just have to take the emergency aircraft to escape—the scavengers will not chase me."

Seeing that Lerden had fled, the captain lost all strength and plonked himself in a chair, his eyes shut in agony.

"It's over. It's all over."

The Green Knight had run away, and the enemy was inches away from the main control room. What more hope was there?

Serpent Braid suppressed his desire to chase. He remembered the main mission and brought the rest toward the main control room door.

Panic and terror spread—the people were horrified. Every step that the scavengers took, the captain's heart sunk deeper.

This situation was already hopeless. The captain could not think of anything that would reverse the situation. He could not help but think of his wife, his kid, and his mistress back home, and his heart filled with sorrow.

Just as Serpent Braid was about to hammer open the door, he suddenly heard an explosion, and a surge of heat rapidly approached from behind him. He hastily turned around, and a thick beam of scorching light rapidly expanded in his vision.

Serpent Braid hurriedly raised his war hammer before him, and the flames condensed into an invisible force field protection layer.

The beam hit right on target!

Bang!

The war hammer turned into burning-hot iron instantly. With a loud scream from Serpent Braid, the war hammer fell out of his hand, and he was blown away. The ember on his arms and chest was still burning.

"What‽" The captain's expression suddenly changed.

At the other side of the tunnel, Han Xiao was holding a strange golden firearm, and smoke was still coming out of its muzzle.

'Wrath of Garrett' had 513 raw damage. With [Flaming Will] multiplying it by 2.7 times, plus two times critical from stealth attack, plus [Steady Aim] increasing damage by thirty percent, after damage reduction, this shot dealt 2,124 damage!

"Unfortunately, the True Damage from Lethal Shot did not trigger." Han Xiao glanced at the scene, as he said, "Looks like I'm just in time."

Serpent Braid struggled and stood up. He picked up the war hammer, letting it burn his hands, and stared daggers at Han Xiao. "Another one! Kill him!"

Other scavengers turned around and focus fired him—bullets and beams were everywhere. The tunnel was narrow, so there was nowhere to dodge. With one thought, the Hovering Shield Shuttle flew out, forming into an electromagnetic shield before Han Xiao, and the rain of bullets rippled the shield.

Serpent Braid spun the war hammer, not to attack Han Xiao but the main control room door.

With a loud bang, the door fell, and the main control room was exposed. The people inside hastily backed away from the door, and the captain banged into a chair while going backward, falling onto the ground. He looked up at the tall Serpent Braid with horror on his face.

Just as Serpent Braid was about to enter the main control room, at this time, a dark red stream of light appeared between Han Xiao's eyebrows, a sexy outline of a lady appeared behind him, her red long hair was floating like seaweed.

[Character Summon Card—Hila]!

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao used all three psychic impacts on Serpent Braid. Having just seen from the combat information that Serpent Braid was a LV 70 Pugilist, Han Xiao knew that since the Stone Giant blood gave him very strong physical resistance, correspondingly, his mind was his weakness.

Serpent Braid stopped in place. The next second, thick blood shot out from his nose and mouth, and he felt like his brain had exploded. The world was spinning, and he lost control of his body, fell before the main control room door, and could not get up.

Han Xiao endured being hit multiple times and dashed through the scavengers' blockade. His biological muscles expanded as he grabbed Serpent Braid's braid and threw him to the other side.

Their positions had swapped. Now, Han Xiao was blocking the door.

These actions had resolved the crisis of the main control room. The captain felt like he was toeing the line of life and death. He gulped nervously and said, "Are you a passenger, too?"

The captain could not express what he actually meant because he was so nervous. What he actually meant was, this mysterious mechanical suit warrior seemed to have even stronger combat power than the slightly renowned Green Knight, but why was he not on the passenger list earlier?

The captain had originally thought it was hopeless, but Han Xiao's appearance made him see the dawn once again.

This time, Han Xiao turned around and said, "I heard you'll pay a reward."

Although his face was covered by the mechanical suit, his tone was also calm. However, due to some reason, the captain felt like he could faintly see a profiteering smile on the man's face.

Probably my imagination…

After the disappointment from Green Knight earlier, the captain did not dare hesitate at all. He had to grab onto this life-saving rope at all costs, so he hastily exclaimed, "That's right! I can give you a lot of money! You must stop them!"

A notification appeared on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the mission [Captain's Request].

Mission Introduction: The Short Horn Star's captain has decided to hire you to protect the spaceship and his safety.

Mission Requirements: Successfully protect Short Horn Star and keep the captain alive.

Reward: 8,000 Enas

_____________________

8,000? That's quite a lot.

Enas had a very high purchasing power. Not mentioning Han Xiao's knowledge, Kerlodd's salary as an investigator was only 4,000 Enas annually, excluding the benefits that he received, and this guy splurged on entertainment and night activities, yet he could still save 800 plus Enas.

Han Xiao was very satisfied. Within the same matter, he could take initiative and reap more money from different people. Back when he was running his power levelling business, he had already become very familiar with this method. Many players had this habit as well. When they knew that they were going to a certain place, they would accept all the missions regarding that place in advance and complete them at once, getting a greater profit.

This new mission had only been given to him, and the other players did not have it.

Chapter 325: This Was Completely on Purpose

Although the mission requirements were not easy to complete, Han Xiao instantly felt more motivated after receiving the private assignment. The scavengers were currently in control of the passageways, and Han Xiao's job was to keep all the enemies outside the doors of the main control room.

Tuk tuk tuk!

Bullets and energy beams rained down on Han Xiao, but his Electromagnetic Plates blocked most of the attacks, while the few that made it through were stopped by his thick body armor. Most of these scavengers were normal people with weak physical bodies. However, they were armed with deadly weapons. Some were even equipped with electromagnetic and beam weapons. Although these weapons were only infantry weapons, they were still able to cause Han Xiao some trouble if they concentrated their fire on him.

Serpent Braid struggled to get himself back up due to the stunned status effect. The three hits that landed on him did not shave off much of his health, but they had given a bunch of headache-inducing debuffs. He had underestimated his opponent. Never would Serpent Braid have thought that Han Xiao, with a body covered in mechanic gear, was able to use spiritual attacks… Not that he would have been able to block it anyway.

However, Serpent Braid believed that he now had a clear understanding of Han Xiao's strength. He was a tough opponent that was no weaker than the Green Knight!

Serpent Braid welcomed these kinds of blood-boiling fights, yet as he was about to join the fray, Cesoly's voice suddenly sounded over the communicator.

"Boss! This ship's approaching the patrol zone, and we don't have much time left. Be careful of spending too much time on strong enemies, and go straight for the control room!"

Serpent Braid frowned, but he still managed to calm himself down and gave out the necessary command. "Concentrate fire!"

The lackeys then went all out with their attacks, putting Han Xiao under even more pressure.

Serpent Braid lifted his hammer and wanted to use this opportunity to circle around Han Xiao.

Once he captured the main control room, he would be able to shut off the ship's shields, allowing the scavengers outside to directly destroy the ship. Once that was done, the ship's personnel would most likely surrender as it was either that or utter destruction.

Han Xiao was pinned down by heavy fire and could not get out quickly. However, his eyes flashed, and four Sonic Spheres flew out, blocking Serpent Braid's path while they gave off faint shockwaves in the air.

To protect the control room, Han Xiao had to basically plant himself in front of the door, and this meant that he could not counterattack. Yet, Han Xiao did not panic—he knew that Kerlodd and the players were already on their way. It was only a matter of time before his helpers arrived, and he would then be able to take care of Serpent Braid himself.

Serpent Braid was not a pushover, and Han Xiao could not just ignore him. However, turning his full attention onto Serpent Braid would mean leaving the path open to the other scavengers. The only other option was to activate that ability, but it had a seven-day cooldown period.

The current situation was not that desperate yet, so Han Xiao did not want to reveal this trump card. He decided to keep on delaying the enemies while waiting for reinforcements.

The control system of his machinery was directly connected to his nerves, and this allowed him to fight on multiple fronts at once.

The Sonic Spheres and the Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades danced through the air like butterflies. They were like a group of annoying wasps to Serpent Braid, as not only did they hurt a lot, Serpent Braid could not seem to get his hands on them. He had also tried to just rush through; however, he was blocked by Han Xiao despite the heavy fire from the scavengers.

Serpent Braid was furious, and he swung his hammer around, finally destroying a couple of the machines.

Boom boom boom!

Time ticked by, and Amphiptere's durability was constantly going down. Han Xiao did not really mind this as he had made sure to bring along enough spare parts and repair materials. He planted himself in front of the scavengers and entered full defensive mode. With Amphiptere's defensive capabilities, he was like an immovable steel wall.

"Boss, time is running out. We can't take over the main control room!" Cesoly's voice sounded once again.

"Shut up!"

Serpent Braid got even angrier, and he bashed his hammer all over the place. When he saw that Han Xiao's suit seemed to be getting more and more damaged, he started to think that he was close to beating his opponent.

"Boss, calm down. Our objective is the Godoran. We don't have much time left, and the ship's loot isn't worth it anymore. Let's give up on the control room and go look for the Godoran instead. We will be able to earn much more money from our client if we can hand him the Godoran!"

"Aren't Beast Hoof and his men looking for the target‽"

"They have already searched half the ship, but they still couldn't find the Godoran. The ship is too big, and they don't have enough men!"

Serpent Braid furiously cursed before picking up his hammer and backing off. "Let's go. Don't mind the control room anymore. We will go capture the Godoran!"

The scavengers hurriedly retreated, and Serpent Braid had to give up on the control room that was right in front of his eyes.

Han Xiao then finally realized the scavengers' goal.

The scavengers' target is Kerlodd?

Han Xiao felt like there had to be more behind this!

"Send out the message. The plan has changed. Everyone is to now give up on all other tasks and look for the Godoran. Cesoly, take the hostages back to our ship. These hostages will still be worth some cash. Everyone else, look for the target!"

Seeing that their chance of capturing Short Horn Star was close to none, the scavengers decided to change their strategy and go for their target instead. Once they have gotten hold of the target, they could then escape with the scavenger ship that was still flying right by Short Horn Star.

After giving out his orders, Serpent Braid glared at Han Xiao, as if telling Han Xiao that he was letting him go this time.

At that moment, the other side of the passageway exploded in a burst of yellow, and the shadow of a spear danced through the air as it pierced through multiple scavengers. The scavengers that got hit all fell on the ground.

Kerlodd had finally arrived. He held the Godoran battle spear in one hand while holding a golden energy shield on the other, standing in the scavengers' path.

With Han Xiao behind them, the scavengers were pincered between the two.

"Godoran!" Serpent Braid could not have been happier. He never would have expected the prey to show up all by himself.

Serpent Braid quickly took stock of the situation, and as if realizing something, he turned back to look at Han Xiao. "So, you're with the Godoran. Do you think just you two are enough to take us on? I will have to thank you first for handing me my target on a platter!"

This development was just what Serpent Braid wanted. He no longer had to waste time searching through the ship—all he had to do was defeat the Godoran and take him with them.

Serpent Braid roared and ran to Kerlodd with his war hammer in hand.

Boom!

Kerlodd held up his shield to block. However, he appeared incapable of withstanding Serpent Braid's brute force and had to take a few steps back after the impact.

Just as Serpent Braid was about to follow up with another blow, over a dozen players suddenly appeared behind Kerlodd. They were all filled with energy, and it was obvious that they were all battle-ready Supers. The scavengers suddenly lost their numerical advantage as that number of Super could easily destroy them!

Serpent Braid's expression underwent a drastic change, as the rage was suddenly replaced with shock and despair.

How were there so many Supers travelling on this low-level spaceship‽

The scavengers had already made a rough estimate of the Short Horn Star's fighting strength before they made the ambush, and there should only have been a couple of grade C Supers on-board. This was because any of the stronger Supers would usually either travel using their own ship. Even if they wanted to save money, they still would not go for this cheap civilian transport. A ship like the Short Horn Star was like a public bus while the more expensive travel agencies were like high-speed railways.

The Green Knight was already surprising enough, let alone the sudden appearance of this group of grade C Supers.

Which rock did these Supers even spring out from? They're even teaming up!

What a disaster!

Han Xiao chuckled and said, "I also have helpers."

However, the smile disappeared from his face the next instance, and he said in a cold voice, "Go!"

Han Xiao and Kerlodd's group rushed toward the scavengers, who were stuck in the passageway, and began the one-sided massacre.

The situation suddenly turned around!

Cr*p! Boss is screwed! Cesoly shuddered, as if a gust of cold wind went up his spine. He was currently taking the group of the hostages back to the scavengers' ship.

What do we do now? We can't save the boss. Let's return to our ship first!

Cesoly felt that things had gotten way out of control, and he was also extremely worried. His only concern at that moment was getting back onto his ship safely. He also was not exactly betraying his boss as his original order was to escort the hostages back onto their ship.

However, the thought of reinforcing Serpent Braid not once crossed his mind. Scavengers were a selfish bunch, and loyalty was basically non-existent among them. The only thing that Cesoly cared about was getting himself out of harm's way.

"The boss wants me to take the hostages back to our ship. Move faster…" Cesoly tried to hurry his underlings along.

Just as he was getting to the middle of his sentence, he suddenly stopped and stared at the corner of the main hall.

In the corner that had been empty just a few moments ago now stood over a dozen people. Hao Tian, Sleepy Winter, Rainy Kim, Bun-hit-dog, and several other players who had promised each other to play some Galaxy after finishing dinner had come online together.

The players were flabbergasted as they took in the drastically different surroundings.

Hey hey hey! What's the situation‽ Why have the passengers been taken hostage? Who are those people pointing their guns at us? Why is the spaceship shaking nonstop? There are even sounds of gunshot from far away. Are we under attack‽

The scavengers in the main hall all had their tongues tied to the back of their throats as they stared at the newcomers.

They had already carefully checked all the rooms when capturing the passengers. Where did these people come from? Were they ghosts‽

The two sides stared at each other with widened eyes for a moment.

As more and more of the scavengers pointed their guns at the players, Hao Tian and the others finally understood the situation.

What were they still waiting for? Kill!

Energy burst forth from the group of players as they released their abilities, crushing the scavengers under their feet in a matter of seconds.

Cesoly completely lost his cool.

"How despicable! You would even resort to ambushing‽"

Chapter 326: The Secret Buyer

Frenzied Sword and a group of other players stood guard at the door to the launch bay for the escape pods while chatting with each other out of boredom.

"Everyone else is fighting while we're just sitting here doing nothing. It's not fair," complained Perfumed Bear. He was part of Fried Eggplants with Fish's trio, and he was a cute little kid.

"Our mission is also very important. We're guarding the escape path…" Frenzied Sword tried to console the group, but then he also said in a depressed manner, "But it does kinda suck…"

Sun Eggplant scratched the back of his head and said to Frenzied Sword, "I don't think that we have properly met before. The dark horse of the Pro League and China's number one Mechanical Pugilist—that's quite a name you've got."

Frenzied Sword was feeling a bit embarrassed and humbly replied, "You don't have to praise me that much. I just got lucky."

The big names in the esports scene were always interested in meeting the new blood. As long as they had the results to back themself up, it did not matter if they were only a newcomer. The group of people seemed to get along quite well.

After a few more lines back and forth, Dancing Fish Dragon, who had remained silent for the most part, said, "Are you interested in signing with Fried Eggplants with Fish?"

Frenzied Sword hurriedly gestured with his hands, "I really like Fried Eggplants with Fish, but Rivervale has been good to me. They are even in the process of building a new team around me."

"Oh…" Dancing Fish Dragon replied and went back to not saying anything again.

After chatting for a while more, the sound of footsteps suddenly arose from the far side of the launch bay. Frenzied Sword and the others immediately stopped talking and looked toward the source the footsteps.

Lerden showed up, and he frowned at the players. "You aren't scavengers. Who are you lot?"

"Who are you?" retorted Frenzied Sword.

Lerden did not answer the question. He could tell that the players were not scavengers from their gear, and he suddenly felt alarmed as he did not know whether they were friend or foe or why they were guarding the escape pods.

"Are you… passengers?" Lerden's eyes flashed.

"Uh, sort of."

"Are you also trying to escape?" Lerden pointed at the dozen ships and said in a deep voice, "If you're willing to pay, I promise to protect you on your way."

Even when at death's door, Lerden did not stop thinking about making more money.

"We aren't trying to escape. Black… cough cough. Someone told us to watch over here. The others are currently fighting the scavengers back on the ship, and things are looking good. Why would we run?"

There are still people fighting back? Lerden's eyes gave away his surprise, and he asked, "How many more companions do you have?"

"About thirty or forty."

Lerden had thought that the main control room was certainly lost without him defending it. However, the sound of fighting and what this group of people had just told him clearly proved otherwise. He finally realized that he was not the only one trying to fight back against the scavengers.

These people seemed quite capable, and the situation at the main control room seemed to be under control. So, there was no reason to escape anymore.

I can still go back to help now and earn some money from the captain.

Lerden had a change of mind and gave up on running away. He said in a deep voice, "I'm a mercenary. My code name is The Green Knight. Where are your friends fighting? I can lend them some help."

Frenzied Sword and the other players looked back and forth between themselves for a moment before they decided to point out where the others were engaging in combat with the scavengers.

After getting this information, Lerden turned and was determined to kill his way back.

…

Following the last anguished scream, Serpent Braid became the last scavenger standing in the passageway. His shaky form and his body full of wounds, along with his uneven breaths, made him look like a beast on its last leg.

Kerlodd fought alongside the players and had cleared away the other scavengers. Serpent Braid realized that the situation was getting bad and decided to break away from the fight. However, Han Xiao never gave him a chance.

In a one-on-one, Han Xiao completely suppressed Serpent Braid. Han Xiao might as well have just hung him up and beaten him with a stick. Serpent Braid's health was already nearing zero, and he could barely hold up his hammer.

"Still want to struggle?" Han Xiao's voice sounded over his suit's communicator while the Sonic Spheres span behind his back. "Keep fighting, and you're dead for sure. A scavenger leader like you will definitely have a decent bounty on your head. Let go of your weapon, and I will let you go to jail peacefully. There's no point in losing one or more body parts now."

The scavengers' mission to capture Kerlodd had piqued Han Xiao's interest. The Godorans' influence in the Colton Star Cluster was considerably big, and although a random Godoran would not be worth that much, Han Xiao believed that there must have been some hidden motive behind this.

Clank!

Serpent Braid let of the hammer and allowed it to fall to the floor. The sudden change in weight caused him to lose balance, and he also crashed to the ground. He was out of breath, and his expression looked deathly. Serpent Braid felt that this should be enough to show his surrender.

Although Serpent Braid was often a hot-headed person, he was no fool. At least he would still be alive in jail.

Serpent Braid was thoroughly tied up. However, even while in a sitting position, the man's upper body was over two meters high. A thought suddenly occurred to Han Xiao when he saw this.

It seems like this fellow is a hybrid between a Stone Giant and a human. With that huge of a different in body size, it would be to be his human parent… regardless of their gender…

Han Xiao instantly pressed on the brakes in case he accidentally thought up some horrifying scenes.

Aren't these people a bit too free… It's not like it's a same-sex relationship… They're not even the same species!

Hmm… but who am I to assume that the reproduction part involved true love and not some weird fetish?

This world is too scary…

Han Xiao calmed himself down and threw away all the nonsensical thoughts from his mind. "Tell me, who hired you? Why are you trying to kidnap the Godoran?"

Serpent Braid let out an angry snort before saying, "Don't even think that I will tell you that. Those in our line of work do not sell out our clients!"

Han Xiao smiled coldly and threatened, "Although we can get a bounty for turning you in, that doesn't mean that we have to turn everything in completely. Give me the information before I start taking parts off of you."

"My client is DarkStar," Serpent Braid answered almost instantly.

Han Xiao smirked. A scavenger talking about loyalty. Ha ha.

Kerlodd, who stood to the side, immediately turned serious. "DarkStar‽"

After Kerlodd's reaction, Han Xiao finally remembered that DarkStar and Godora were sworn enemies.

Serpent Braid started to explain everything from the beginning.

"DarkStar has been buying pure blooded Godorans in secret… for a blood sacrifice or something. The starting prices for captured Godorans were very high. We thought that it was a godly opportunity when we found a Godoran aboard a low-end commercial space ship, so we contacted DarkStar to make some good money. We agreed on a deal, and our job was to capture the Godoran… That's pretty much it."

Pure-blooded Godorans were very high up the hierarchy, and most of the Godoran Observers would travel around in their own spaceships. Kerlodd was truly unlucky to have been found by a random group of scavengers who were then hired by DarkStar. Han Xiao wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. So, obviously, the enemies were not on the hunt for some 'natives' like themselves.

The low security level on this ship gave the scavengers the courage to make the move. This was why Han Xiao wanted to travel with some higher-end travel companies, but Kerlodd was just too much of a poor b*stard.

Money could not do everything, but one could not do anything without money.

"So, this all happened because of your poor *ss," complained Han Xiao.

Kerlodd felt extremely wronged. He was actually being accused of being poor by the man who robbed him. Was there still justice in this world‽

Although he was not the target, he still got in a little bit of danger this time. Han Xiao said under his breath, "DarkStar… This group had quite a bit to do with the Mutation Disaster. Never thought that we would get in contact so soon."

After resolving the danger of the main control room, Han Xiao asked the players around him to contact the rest of their group. The players' communication through their interface could disregard range and physical barriers, and they were able to find out the situation with the other teams. Short Horn Star was about to enter the patrol zone, and most of the surviving scavengers were trying to run back to their own ship. The players from Dynasty and Temple of God were the ones who had been sent to intercept the runaways, and it seemed like they were experiencing quite a fierce battle.

That group of scavengers was led by another one of the scavenger's leaders, and he was about as strong as Serpent Braid, which basically made him a mini Boss. The players from Dynasty and Temple of God were having a hard time taking him out.

Just as Han Xiao was about to walk over to reinforce those players, the ship's captain walked over. "Thank goodness! The main control room is alright. This is all thanks to you. As long as you stand guard here, this ship will be safe…"

Han Xiao interrupted him and said, "My companions are trying to stop the enemies from running away. I will be going to help. This Godoran will stay here with the others to protect the control room."

"You aren't staying‽" The captain was paranoid, and it was obvious from his face that he did not want Han Xiao to go. "You don't have to care about those scavengers who are already running away. As long as we're okay…"

The captain did not feel safe at all, and he did not care at all about the scavengers getting away. He only wanted Han Xiao to stay and protect him so that he could feel a sense of security.

Chapter 327: Enemy Slain

Han Xiao did not want to stay either. Then, the operator in the main control room shouted with surprised, "We are in The Magic Eye energy radar's effective range. The data shows that there is a Godoran police station nearby. It's going to take twenty minutes at most for them to show up."

The captain let out a sigh and announced the good news on public announcement to calm the passengers.

Seeing what was happening, Han Xiao gave Kerlodd a message and left alone to help.

…

Cesoly panicked as he ran to the spaceship by himself as all of his men were captured by Hao Tian and others. He was the only one that saw the situation was bad and ran as soon as he could, and that was why he had not been caught, or else no one would have survived from the attack.

Reaching the section where the scavengers had docked, he heard sounds of battle in front. Cesoly stopped abruptly and cautiously looked forward. He saw a group Supers fighting intensely with the scavengers. He recognized these Supers, who was the partners of the Godoran, some very powerful natives.

The fight was intense and could not break apart. The Gazers' chieftain stayed back at the spaceship with his troops to fight against players from Dynasty and Temple of God.

The chieftain of the Gazers was a birdman sorcerer with wings and an eagle's head. He was an expert in mental attacks, and he was the most troublesome enemy that the players had to deal with. The players had low resistance against mental attacks, so they constantly got stunned in the fight. He could single handedly deal with all the players by himself.

Cesoly ran over and shouted, "Let me help!"

The scavengers moved to open up a path. The chieftain turned around, grabbed Cesoly by his collar, and demanded, "Where's the hostage?"

"I don't have him. I got tricked!"

The chieftain roared in anger. The operation had failed if they did not capture the Godoran, and they did not even get the hostage. On top of that, they had wasted so many resources and manpower—even Serpent Braid, the boss of Boneless Bird, was captured.

"Serpent Braid, that b*stard, calling us back when we still haven't finish investigating this spaceship. This is not a good business. After Beast Hoof and his men come back, we'll retreat. Get inside!" The chieftain kicked Cesoly in the spaceship.

After a while, another group of scavengers returned, and players from Dynasty and Temple of God were in a tougher situation. The chieftain of The Gazers then commanded his troops to slowly retreat into the spaceship and leave the Short Horn Star. The players had no power to stop them.

Then, from far away, a series of laser beams flew by and killed a number of scavengers. Lerden finally arrived at the scene. His face was cold and calm. Even though his left mechanical arm had been shot off, he still had a secret barrel near his crotch firing laser beams.

The scavengers quickly ran up to the bridge and tried to get back on the ship. Lerden's eyes flickered a green light, and he released a deep roar. He swiped his arm and created a green light barrier in front of the entrance, stopping the scavengers from getting in.

"Don't just stare at them! Attack! I can't hold this for long," Lerden shouted at the players as sweat dripped down his face. After the fight against Serpent Braid, he had used up a considerable amount of energy, and to maintain a green light barrier required focus of energy by the user. If there was not another group to help, he would not have used this skill.

If they could delay them just a bit longer, they would not be able to run away once the police force came.

"Green Knight!" the chieftain of The Gazers roared, and his psychic power exploded as if there was a tornado spinning around his body. A dense wave of mental power rushed toward Lerden.

Lerden coughed as blood started dripping from his nose. However, he did not collapse, and the barrier stayed up.

The scavengers then tried to attack the green barrier, but the barrier only vibrated. Some of the scavengers charged toward Lerden. The only way to bring down the barrier was to get rid of the Green Knight. The players quickly reacted and intercept the scavengers.

Light beams shot all over the place, and the sound of destruction continued. The battlefield was in chaos.

Cesoly, who was in the spaceship, was extremely worried. As time passed, he just wanted to leave everyone and fly off by himself.

Soon, Han Xiao arrived at the scene. After looking around, he understood the situation and came up with one simple and brutal solution—the enemy was done for one the chieftain was out of the way.

"Sorcerer? His level should be lower than Serpent Braid, a classic glass cannon."

Han Xiao had a high intelligence status, so his mental resistance was adequate. The cool down for Flaming Will had already finished, and without any word, he pulled out the Wrath of Garrett and shot the first bullet.

Hong!

The gun barrel fired out a light beam. The Chieftain noticed the attack and quickly built a psychic shield. However, it was shattered in an instant. The light beam consumed a small part on the side, and it was burnt black like coal. The white psychic power in his eyes faded, and he collapsed on the floor and screamed in pain.

This attack triggered the special effect of [Lethal Shot]. The first shot against the enemy had a twelve to twenty-five percent chance of dealing true damage.

In the vision of Han Xiao, the health of the chieftain went from eighty percent down to twenty percent.

With such a heavy attack, the chieftain gained the exhausted and crippled statuses. Han Xiao took the chance and charged forward, knocking down the scavengers in the way. In the middle of the enemy, Han Xiao controlled the chieftain who had no way to fight back. This series of actions happened in an instant and took down the enemy that the players had troubled with.

Even though it was a sneak attack, the efficiency of the method was shocking. Lerden squinted and stared at Han Xiao.

What a powerful man. He also seems to be a mercenary…

The chieftain was as powerful as Serpent Braid, but they had different statuses. Han Xiao's explosive power was suitable for enemies who are glass cannons. In comparison, it would take more work to take down fighters like Serpent Braid. Moreover, Han Xiao triggered true damage this time, so he looked overly powerful.

Without the chieftain, the group of scavengers turned into chaos. Cesoly did not care about the rest of the scavengers and instantly turned to the pilot's seat to start the engine.

Cesoly shut the door down, but he suddenly heard the sound of metal being torn apart. Han Xiao walked in and threw Cesoly out of the spaceship.

"Hello again." Han Xiao opened up his mask and smiled at Cesoly, but all Cesoly could see was a face scarier than a tiger, and a sense of danger creeped into this heart.

"It's you! Don't… don't you dare kill me! I still have a lot of things, and I know a lot of intel…" Cesoly lost his cool, and his face was filled with fear. He only wanted to live.

Bang!

An electromagnetic needle pierced through Cesoly's skull and exploded the back of his head, covering the floor with his blood.

Han Xiao put back his Ghost sniper rifle and did not even spare a glance at Cesoly's corpse. He turned to the players and said, "I'll leave the rest to you."

The rest of the scavengers did not stand a chance against the players, and none of them escaped. Suddenly, the spaceship's shaking stopped. Han Xiao looked out the window and saw that the scavengers' spaceships had been shot down, and some of them had run away.

It was only then that the battle ended.

It's finally over. Luckily everything is fine.

Han Xiao let out a sigh.

Encountering an enemy in space meant death for everyone on the spaceship. This episode did make Han Xiao sweat a little, but this reminded him of the tension that he felt during space combat. After staying on Planet Aquamarine for so long, the familiarity of space combat was slowly coming back to him.

After the battle, Han Xiao concluded that he did utilize the advantages of players and controlled the situation well. The sudden group of players that went online was also a lucky incident. Overall, he graded himself eighty-two points out of one hundred.

At this time, Han Xiao then noticed Lerden on the side. Seeing the broken mechanical body, his eyes flickered.

"Mechanical implant body… Um, this should be a class advancement improvement, and there's also transformation function…" With his mechanical background, Han Xiao quickly analyzed the technology.

Even though Lerden was also interested in Han Xiao, he was rather cold and quiet as he stood by without showing any intention of befriending Han Xiao.

Seems like he's a lone warrior, Han Xiao thought to himself. He looked at Lerden's crotch and laughed in his heart. Never mind, he is a shameless warrior.

Chapter 328: The First Job and the Reputation System

When the Godoran patrol team finally arrived and floated alongside Short Horn Star, the emergency barrier around Short Horn Star was already off, and they could receive communications again.

Before the mission was completed, another objective popped up, asking him to head to the ship's captain for the reward.

Han Xiao came to the main control room, followed by all the players, and he found that the captain was explaining the incident to the patrol team. The patrol team realized that the scavengers had already been neutralized, so they questioned the captain for the details.

A scavenger raid was only a minor security issue to begin with, and since the passengers were all safe and sound, the patrol team only had to go through some formalities and record the event into their system.

Although he got close to meeting his kinsmen, Kerlodd did not act out and only stood beside Han Xiao while playing around with his armor.

After their conversation over the communication link, the captain broadcasted the current situation to the whole ship. "The threat has been neutralized. I apologize for scaring any of you. Short Horn Star will now head directly to the Juberly Hub for docking and repairs."

Sounds of celebrations and shouts could be then be heard all over the ship as the surviving passengers hugged each other, glad that they were alive.

After turning off the broadcast, the captain turned around to thank Han Xiao and the players. His face was full of emotions as he asked, "Please allow me to express my deepest gratitude. Could I know your name?"

"Han Xiao."

The captain repeated this to himself a few times to make sure that he did not hear incorrectly. He was sure that this was not the name of a famous warrior nor a mercenary.

"I will keep my promise and reward the each of you for protecting the ship."

Lerden, who was standing to the side, coughed lightly.

The captain hesitated for a second before saying, "Green Knight, you will also not be missing out on the reward."

Although the captain knew that Lerden had run away half-way through the raid, he did still fight and contribute to their victory.

Lerden nodded.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrow because the name 'Green Knight' reminded him of a very distant memory. He frowned as he tried to remember the bits and pieces of information from his past.

Normally, any detail that he bothered to remember would often be meaningful information.

"Green Knight… of the Sunil tribe?" muttered Han Xiao in a small voice.

This tribe… had quite the storyline.

The captain rewarded them directly through transfers. All the players who accepted the mission were able to get a cut. After they each registered their own accounts, they were each able to receive 1,500 Enas from the captain. That amount of money was just shy of Kerlodd's pay for half of year and was worth quite a lot. Hao Tian and some other players, however, were not able to receive the reward as they had not been online when the raid started and thus could not accept the mission. They were so frustrated that one could almost see smoke coming off the tops of their heads.

Although Short Horn Star relatively low-end, it was still owned by a financial group. This reward was taken straight out of the financial group's pocket.

Han Xiao had also received an additional 8,000 Enas. This extra reward had been given to him personally by the captain.

Han Xiao's savings instantly broke past 10,000 Enas, and his heart tingled with happiness. This was the first payment that he had gotten after coming to space, and the amount was pretty good. He now had a pretty decent starting fund. He was also glad that the players had gotten their pay because this meant that they would finally be able to contribute to the economy! All he had to do was look for opportunities to sell them things, and Enas would start rolling into his account.

If he had been the only one doing the mission, he would only have been able to earn a fixed amount. However, with the players' participation, that amount potentially increased several dozen times. The players were like Han Xiao's mini bank accounts.

_____________________

[Protect Short Horn Star] completed.

[The Captain's Favor] completed.

Area Reputation Unlocked!

Location: Colton Star Cluster – Garton Galaxy

Renown: 2

Level: Some random mob

_____________________

The Area Reputation System was a new feature that players could unlock after venturing into space. The universe was wide, and from participating in all kinds of activities and missions, one could earn achievements as well as renown in their area. One's reputation points in the area was directly related to one's Legend status. Earning reputation points was a must-do in order to become a Legend in space.

The larger the area, the harder it was to acquire Renown. Protecting Short Horn Star had helped Han Xiao build a good impression with the ship's backing financial group, allowing him to be written into their records.

Area Renown points were useful. Whenever one interacted with the different factions and tried to accept missions from them, the number or level of missions that could be accepted as well as the reward often depended on one's Renown.

The Reputation System was a crucial feature, and players in Han Xiao's past had often been willing to do anything and everything to earn Renown.

One of Han Xiao's side jobs in his past life was actually to grind Renown for others. However, most of his clients did not know that his work motto was 'breaking was easier than building'. Whenever he was done with a job, although his clients' characters would have a considerable amount of Renown in the area, they would also have a bounty on them and be hunted by half the area's forces. Of course, he did not offer returns.

After receiving his cut of the reward, Lerden was about to turn and leave, but Han Xiao's eyes flashed, and he took big steps, blocking Lerden.

"What is it?" Lerden stopped. Han Xiao had made quite a deep impression on him, and he was a bit alarmed at why the other would try to stop him.

Han Xiao's eyes darted around before he coughed and said, "I caught the Boneless Bird's leader, Serpent Braid, and was about to be on my way to turn in his bounty. However, it seems like I would have to go to a decently faraway galaxy for that. I don't really feel like going that far right now. How about I sell this bounty to you?"

Lerden paused for a second before replying, "Sure, that's fine."

"Snake's bounty is 3,500 Enas. You can transfer the money."

Lerden frowned. "You don't expect me to pay you in full, right? It will cost a considerable amount to travel to another galaxy. Why would I do this if there's nothing in it for me?"

"How much do you want to pay?"

"1,500."

Why don't you go rob a store instead‽ Han Xiao smelled something… It smelled like someone who was one of his own. His eyes immediately focused, and he said slowly, "3,000."

"1800."

"At least 2,900."

"2,000."

The two went back and forth for quite a while. Lerden barely budged when it came to money, and he was not willing to let go of even the tiniest profit. Although he looked like a cold person, he was now arguing until his face was red for the sake of a few hundred Enas.

After arguing the good half of the day way, the two finally agreed on a price. Lerden will be paying 2,501 Enas in exchange for Serpent Braid. Han Xiao considered it his victory for the single extra Enas.

After making the deal, Han Xiao felt like he had gotten somewhat closer to Lerden. His eyes flashed and asked, "Do you know the reason behind this raid?"

Lerden shook his head and said in return, "But it seems like you do."

Han Xiao smiled faintly while staring at Lerden's face as he explained, "This group of scavengers were paid to act on the behalf of DarkStar. They were ordered to capture that Godoran over there. How unlucky, right?"

When Lerden heard 'DarkStar', his pupils immediately contracted, and his eyes gave of a glint of pain and hatred, as if he suddenly remembered a painful memory from the past.

"Oh. I see." Lerden finally took a deep breath and calmed down. He then bade farewell and left with an emotionless expression.

Han Xiao chuckled and pointed at Lerden's armor. "I'm a mechanic. If you don't mind, I can do some repairs for you."

Lerden stopped in his tracks and asked, "For free?"

"Hehe, we're not that close yet, but I only need a little fee for it. I will fix your gear for 5 Enas."

"Then it's fine… Glad to meet you. Bye."

He turned and left without another word.

Han Xiao felt helpless and clicked his tongue. "Won't even spend 5 Enas? How stingy."

Kerlodd strolled over to his side and let out a sigh while shaking his head. "Sigh. He's one of the Sunils, right? His 'greed' is understandable."

"I know." Han Xiao nodded and made some calculations in his mind.

He had initiated a conversation with Lerden on purpose. Aside from turning over Serpent Braid, he had also wanted to introduce himself to Lerden. He was able to come up with a new plan from their conversation.

The Sunil tribe was a tribe that lived in the Garton Galaxy. They had a pretty awesome storyline. Although it should only have been available in a later version, Han Xiao was able to confirm that the storyline was already in effect from his previous conversation with Lerden.

He remembered that the Sunil Storyline would offer the opportunity to earn a very rare subclass. Han Xiao was currently stuck because of the Class change requirement and was in need of a new subclass.

Moreover, this storyline had a pretty important main character. Han Xiao was very interested in important main characters, and this particular main character was quite crucial to the next steps of his plans.

The reason to venture off into the stars was basically to get stronger. That, coupled with the important main character, made Han Xiao believe that the storyline would be very beneficial to his growth. Moreover, the Sunils had quite the backstory to them.

They were a small civilization in the Garton Galaxy. Although they started out as a rather peaceful people who lived fulfilling lives, one day, DarkStar commenced an invasion on a massive scale that decimated their home planets. The survivors of the Sunil civilization migrated until they eventually received the Godoran's protection. They were given a piece of land on some random backwater planet and were allowed to live.

But, just barely.

Their civilization had suffered enormously from the war and the migration, and it was on the brink of collapse. This was why Lerden was furious at the mere mention of DarkStar.

The hate that Sunils had toward DarkStar was one that arose from the near-extinction of their entire race.

Chapter 329: The Juberly Hub!

After the scavenger attack, Short Horn Star headed straight for the Juberly Hub without making any stops.

After several days, a massive fortress that floated in space appeared outside the windows of their ship. The Juberly Hub looked like something straight out of a sci-fi movie, with its futuristic steel structures standing out in the backdrop of countless distant stars. It looked both intimidating and mysterious at the same time.

Spaceships came and went through its docks in an unceasing manner, and their massive engines left behind lines of multi-colored light in space. Thousands of these lines surrounded the space station, and even though there was no sound in space, it was as if a magnificent firework show was being held.

Such was the beauty of civilization.

After turning on their communications channel, they started receiving signals from countless sources. Each space ship was in the process of gaining entry to the hub, and voices of all languages and accents mixed with the robotic voices formed a unique cacophony of sounds.

The bustling hub was in sharp contrast to the stillness of space.

Short Horn Star started to slow down its speed as it approached the Juberly Hub.

The space station grew larger and larger in their ship's windows before it soon took up the entirety of their view. It was then that the people on-board finally realized the scale of this gigantic space fortress. Short Horn Star, which was only comparable to a small city in size, was like a tiny pea next to a watermelon when put next to the Juberly Hub.

The players, who had never seen this before, had looks of awe on their faces. They were shocked to the core. One would truly feel insignificant when in front of a space station such as that.

"So… so big!"

"It's basically a small planet."

"So, this is Galaxy."

The players could not hold their excitement back, and soon, they even fell in love with the sight in front of them.

The shimmering stars in space would remain to be a wonder for all who looked up at their skies. The players were no different. Bun-hit-dog made sure to record everything, and he hated that he could not use more cameras to capture this moment.

Han Xiao, on the other hand, remained calm as he stroked his chin. The glint in his eyes suggested that he was in deep thought.

Entering the Juberly Hub was the first step in their journey in space. The Juberly Hub was a middle point—a massive hub where countless forces interacted with each other on a daily basis. Information from all over the Colton Star Cluster passed through the hub. It could basically be treated as a 'main city', as it offered many features such as rooms for rent.

To Han Xiao, the Juberly Hub would be an important place for the first part of his plan. Most of his future activities would start out from the hub. If he was to map out his future movements in the Colton Star Cluster, it would look like a spider web with the Juberly Hub at the center.

Han Xiao believed that the most important objective right now was to make a breakthrough in his strength. LV 70 meant nothing in space. He already had an astronomical amount of experience, 27 million. So, all he had to do was find a way to turn all that experience into actual combat strength. In other words, he needed to complete his class change requirements, find a subclass, and look for advanced knowledge.

Juberly Hub was a great place for trading advanced knowledge. The Enas that he had earned earlier would be put to great use soon. Han Xiao currently already possess two pieces of advanced knowledge, and he needed a total of five to class change. Based on his memory, however, the Enas that he had was not enough. Advanced knowledge was always expensive to acquire.

Yet, compared to Planet Aquamarine, the process of acquiring advanced knowledge was ten times easier. As long as he had enough money, he would not even have to worry about getting into a good relationship with the buyers.

Earning money was an important objective.

Just then, the captain's voice sounded over the ship's broadcast system.

"We're about to enter and dock in port 273. All passengers, please head to the waiting area near the ship's bridge to wait for landing. Allow me to once again express my gratitude for choosing our travel company as well as my deepest apologies for the earlier incident. Thank you for your cooperation on-board."

Short Horn Star entered a large docking area, and the bottom of the ship locked on to the docking rails. After the ship was secured, the port's metallic gates opened, and the ship was led in on the rails before the gates closed again.

The passengers on spaceship then headed toward the bridge to wait to disembark while carrying their luggage. The players were all carrying Han Xiao's material boxes. The large packs of materials and equipment looked rather suspicious and easily grabbed the attention of the surrounding onlookers. However, the passengers all knew that Han Xiao was the one who had protected the ship from the scavengers, and they looked at Han Xiao's group with kindness in their eyes… Not that Han Xiao and the players understood what a kind expression would look like when it was on the face on another species. To the players, these warm looks were as good as threatening glares, and they were in a constant stage of worry for their own lives.

"I'm finally free!" Kerlodd was emotional as he stretched out his arms, as if trying to embrace the sky.

"Calm down. It's not like I treated you badly. I didn't torture you." Han Xiao gave him a sidelong glance before saying, "You even earned 1,500 Enas because of me. I feel like you should be thanking me instead."

"I would… if you would just return my equipment to me."

"Wow, why is it so noisy here? Sorry, what did you say?"

Kerlodd felt helpless about this. He knew Han Xiao well enough that probably only if God Gal himself showed up would Han Xiao be willing to give back what he had taken. He shook his head and got serious.

"I need to go back to work, and I need to submit a report. I won't go back on our promise, and I will make sure to not trouble you with my report. Even if you don't trust my words, you should be aware that due to the dangerous nature of the Observers' job, what you did wasn't nearly enough to warrant a bounty on your head. You can rest assured that no one will trouble you due to this."

"Sounds good." Han Xiao chuckled as he silently put away his gun.

"I will count it as my bad luck for meeting you," Kerlodd said dejectedly.

"I'm pretty happy though," Han Xiao replied happily.

The spaceship shook once before it finally came to a stop. The exit slowly opened up, revealing a white platform in front of them. The dock was as massive as a city square, and there were bright lights all over the place. The ceilings must have been at least a few hundred meters high to be able to fit the entire Short Horn Star inside. At the end of the platform was the entrance into the space station.

When Han Xiao brought the players off the ship, he was able to catch a glimpse of Lerden, who hurriedly dragged along his bounty and was walking at the front of the group.

After the attack, Han Xiao did not get another opportunity to converse with Lerden, and their relationship did not progress any further, but that was fine for Han Xiao.

We should be able to meet again as long as I interact with the Sunil Storyline.

After walking through a long, winding passageway, they finally arrived inside the Juberly Hub, and the space around them suddenly opened up. They were currently at the Hub Center of the space station. However, although it was called a center, the place was more like a city and measured several dozens of kilometers in length.

At the edge of the Hub Center was a gigantic, arched French window through which they could see the vastness of space that was just outside. The group had walked into through an entrance near the French window.

The Hub Center's ceiling was also extremely tall, and the top was over a thousand meters away from where they stood. At the very middle was a white tower that was built right through the ceiling. Countless buildings surrounded this tower, forming rings upon rings of structures. The buildings were all built with drastically different designs, and each building took up a large amount of space. Each floor was a huge platform on its own, built with all kinds of facilities and areas. There were also bridges that connected these tall buildings with one another. The dizzying number of bridges and walkways between the buildings formed a maze-like megastructure, while many public air transport vehicles darted through the open spaces.

The ground was also dotted with a variety of massive infrastructure such as gyms, theaters, and public parks. This was a place where countless different species interacted with each other. Transport could be seen flying around the air at all times. The players almost felt like this was all too much for their eyes to take in. It was like they had entered an unimaginable world, and everything that had only been a figment of their imagination in the past had become reality.

Basically, they were speechless and really excited.

The Hub Center offers many features.

Han Xiao's memories all started to come back to him.

It can be divided into approximately ten or so areas, and there are all kinds of restaurants, equipment shops, and entertainment centers such as bars and race tracks of all kinds of species.

There are also training grounds designed for Supers, which offer gravity training rooms, combat simulators, meditation rooms, mechanical workshops, as well as offices that offer jobs and employment for Supers.

There are powerful entities such as the Mercenary Alliance and the Mage's Organization; there are also financial groups and other forces that are interested in hiring Supers. There's also the trading center, which allows one to trade with people from all over the cluster, and there are also shipyards that specialized in building and repairing spaceships…

Essentially, this place would be able to meet all his needs for a while.

Juberly Hub would be a long-term base for his plans in the future.

Chapter 330: Happiness of the Poor

"Can I go now?" Kerlodd asked.

Naturally, there was no need for Han Xiao to break the promised of allowing Kerlodd to leave after reaching Juberly Hub. Han Xiao suddenly had an idea. Kerlodd was an investigator that had landed on Planet Aquamarine, and maybe Han Xiao could hint about the Mutation Disaster since he was a citizen from Planet Aquamarine.

"There's something I need to tell you; I hope you can put it down in the report."

"Before you say anything, I respect my work as an investigator, so don't bother telling me to write fake news," Kerlodd said with confused expression.

If you respect your work, then pigs can also fly!

After Han Xiao went speechless for a second, he continued speaking with a serious tone. "Planet Aquamarine is now covered in a mist of shadow. I believe that there will be a disaster that could wipe out the entire planet. I hope that you can emphasize this point on your report, and if the department has plans to investigate Planet Aquamarine again, I suggest that they look for clues about the disaster."

Kerlodd did not really pay much attention, but he said, "I'll put it in the report."

Han Xiao was not sure whether the Mutation Disaster had begun. It would not be a disaster that could shake the entire version if the cause was easy to find. The probability that the Godoran Investigation Department would listen to his suggestion was ridiculously slim, but Han Xiao's purpose was not actually to get Godora to find some clues. This action was to prevent problems in the future.

If Mutation Disaster did happen on Planet Aquamarine, then Godora would remember this report, and he could build up a proper relationship with Godora. Kerlodd would be a middleman facilitating the communication.

"Okay, that's it. You can go now. Hope we'll meet again." Han Xiao then suddenly said, "Remember to take your first step with your left foot."

"Huh?"

Kerlodd was extremely confused. He waved as he said goodbye. After some thought, he stepped out with his right leg and disappeared into the distance.

"Hehe, he's so obedient," Han Xiao muttered with a smile.

After the farewell against Kerlodd, Han Xiao needed to deal with proper business.

Juberly Hub had a lot of opportunities, and Han Xiao still remembered the majority of them. However, the most urgent matter was to rent a resting space and store the supply boxes. He would have to stay in Juberly Hub for a considerable amount of time, so he had to get a room so that the players would know where to meet up. Moreover, the resting room could be set as a save point for players to go on and offline.

The registration office for the resting room was in the central white tower. Han Xiao and the others hopped on a small public flying device and reached the destination.

The flying device was used to replace walking. It was easy to use, and the design was similar to a small UFO. There were four holes on the bottom that were an anti-gravitational device, which was releasing a dark-blue light. Han Xiao was used to this, but this was a new and exciting experience for the players, as if they were babies exploring the outside world.

The third level of the tall tower was the registration office. A lot of people were lining up, and Han Xiao was one of them. He slowly inched forward with the line.

After half an hour, Han Xiao saw a group of people cut through the line and stand in the VIP channel. The staff of the hub appeared and respectfully welcomed the group.

The group were wearing pure-white battle mechanical suits that looked like normal plated armor. On each of their chests was an upside-down triangle with different colors. Three thin pipes were extended from the three angles of the triangle. Two of them went across each shoulder, and the other pipe covered the crouch. The three lines then intersect at the back of the suit, the position of intersection point was directly behind the triangle.

"Why don't they have to line up?" Maple Moon asked curiously.

Han Xiao recalled the sign and said, "They are people from 'Sky Ring', and they are also called the Sky Ring Army. There are tens of thousands of members in the army. This organization comes from the Gelock Star Cluster and does not belong to any civilization. They are free mercenaries who are famous in the Shattered Star Ring. They are hired to be bodyguards, soldiers, explorers, and directors to start a colony. They even take jobs to fight in wars. They have a famous reputation, so they get the VIP treatment."

The Gelock and Colton Star Clusters were neighboring Star Clusters in the Shattered Star Ring. The Sky Ring members probably got some mission in Colton. This showed that the market for the Sky Ring was extremely large since they got requests from another Star Cluster.

The Sky Ring had created a huge name for themselves, so the members had all sorts of benefits across the Shattered Star Ring. Reputation in the universe was an important factor, and this scene just showed that if one was famous, one could go through the VIP channel with ease, while the rest of the common travelers yawned in line, waiting their turn.

Han Xiao could not help but remember that he had the same special treatment in Planet Aquamarine. Now, in the universe, he had to build everything from the bottom up. However, Han Xiao did not miss the benefits that he had on Planet Aquamarine. Han Xiao had an adventurous trait in his genes. If one never left one's comfort zone, one would only remain in the same position and never improve.

After waiting in line for what felt like an eternity, it was finally Han Xiao's turn. There were all sorts of rooms, and since Han Xiao still had money, he rented a middle level resting room with a storage room. The room was large enough to fit in a dozen of people, and it only cost forty Enas per month.

The resting room was located in a building nearby. Han Xiao looked at the door number and quickly found the front door for the room. He opened up the lock with his authorization, and the heavy metal door slid open, revealing the room inside. The room was simple, and the space was large enough.

Everyone rushed into the room and pushed the supply crates into the warehouse. Han Xiao coughed purposefully, and everyone looked at him. He then said, "We will stay in the Juberly Hub for a while. This will be our base for now. Since this is the first time that you have all left the planet, take some time to adapt to the new environment."

No one had any objections as they were still in the stage of confusion in the new world.

"Why are you so familiar with all of this?" Maple Moon asked. "Isn't this the first time you have left the planet as well?"

The things that Han Xiao had done on Planet Aquamarine had only given the players the impression that Han Xiao was a local. However, after stepping in to the universe, Han Xiao acted like it was his home. No one paid attention to this except Maple Moon.

Han Xiao thought for a while and said, "You all know that I can see the future. Even though this is the first time that I have physically travelled into space, I can see things far away. More importantly, I have this."

Han Xiao took out his communicator.

Maple Moon suddenly felt that she had asked a stupid question. She pouted and looked upset.

Han Xiao took out a book containing all the rules on Juberly Hub. "Read the regulations first. Don't break the rules, or else you will be captured by the security team. I need to do something first, so you all stay here and don't leave the room."

Juberly Hub had a security team to facilitate safety and peace. They would instantly catch anyone committed a crime or broke the rules. The players all gathered around and read the regulations.

Han Xiao left the resting room alone and headed to the exchange center. With the money that he had left, he first had to buy some class advancement knowledge.

The exchange center was separated into small individual rooms with a control interface. Han Xiao walked into a room and opened up a trading list. Countless items filled the screen. With the name, introduction, price, seller, and delivery time, the interface looked a lot like websites for online shopping.

The regional online exchange center aggregated all the items for sale in the stellar area. Sellers just posted the items that they wanted to sell, and the variety of options made it more convenient for buyers to purchase. The items were all verified, so it was impossible for anyone to buy a fake item.

Han Xiao directly choose mechanic Super knowledge. Colton Star Cluster did not have a lot of sellers for knowledge, and there was no knowledge that was in a complete set. From the three branches and fifteen knowledges in total, only eight were on sale. All the prices for the items were more than ten thousand Enas. Knowledge like [Advanced Mechanic Power] and [Advanced Energy Theory] were sold up to fifty thousand Enas.

The reason that the knowledge was this expensive was probably because the major organizations did not have to share the information, and people did not want to build relationships with camps, so they could only spend a fortune to buy the knowledge.

However, this was not a problem for Han Xiao. He could make a few copies of class advancement knowledge and sell it to the players, so he could easily earn back the money. To make the players buy the knowledge from him, the price had to be a bit lower, but this could also build a better bond between him and the players and perhaps gain even greater benefits.

Unfortunately, it was just an ideal dream. The restriction that he faced was demand for the market, and for Han Xiao, the players were the only market that he had. However, each player only had 1,500 Enas, so he had to put the idea aside. Even though he did not have much money, Han Xiao would never auction the knowledge to the players. To let the players easily get this knowledge did not fit Han Xiao's vision.

So, not only did he have to make himself rich, he also had to make the players rich. He had to build up a small society and foster everyone for a better life.

After searching through the list, he could buy a class advancement knowledge that was barely useful. It was [Advanced Radar Technology] with the price tag of eleven thousand Enas. The knowledge was more utility based, where it focused on detection and scouting using methods such as radiation, waves, and light spectrum.

At least it's better than nothing. Han Xiao sighed and confirmed the payment. He connected the personal communicator and uploaded the information to the interface. The personal account balances started rolling, and in an instant, the balance was left with only two thousand Enas.

Han Xiao felt tears running in his eyes.

It's back!

Everything is back!

It's this feeling! The excitement of a mechanic!

Every time I spend money, my blood pressure skyrockets!

Happiness of the poor…

Happy my ass!

Chapter 331: Black Star: The Beginning 1

_____________________

Advanced Mechanic Control-type Knowledge detected: [Advanced Radar Technology]. Learn in exchange for 2 Potential points?

Learning… 15%… 74%…

Knowledge successfully learned! You have learned [Advanced Radar Technology]!

_____________________

The new knowledge had been imprinted his mind, and his Potential points dropped two points from the previous fifty-five points.

Potential points were used to learn and level up knowledge. Although it did not seem like much—as all fifteen advanced knowledges could be learned in exchange for thirty points—one would keep running out of points the moment they tried to max out those knowledges. Han Xiao had run into this problem in the past, which was why he was extra careful about spending his Potential points this time around. He rarely spent his Potential points unless necessary.

Due to the limit of the Potential points, Mechanic players were forced to branch out in specific paths; it was impossible to be a master of all. Aside from earning a Potential point upon leveling up, players could also earn a Potential point from raising their mastery of an ability to the max. So, players could further their knowledge and thus increase their strength even after they had already reached the maximum level.

Mechanic just so happened to be a class that never ran out of new abilities. Each new blueprint counted as a new skill, and all they needed was experience points.

Han Xiao had a massive advantage when it came to experience, and the amount that he had amassed was far beyond what the players imagined to be possible in the current Version. He had the luxury of branching off in several directions, giving him a huge edge over the players.

_____________________

You have acquired a new blueprint: Simple Multi-function Detector!

_____________________

This was the basic blueprint that came with learning the radar knowledge.

Most players would come to find radar technology very helpful. It could be used for making observations at long distances as well as scanning the electromagnetic radiation in the surroundings. Although it could not directly improve their strength, it was still an important blueprint to have. As the players leveled up in the later Versions, combat became much more dimensioned, and without sufficient radar technology, one was as good as blind. However, the majority of the players opted for the store-bought detection tools, and only the large gaming and merchant guilds would have access to such knowledge.

It's actually not a bad knowledge. It suits my needs quite well. I can sell the detectors to the players after producing them en masse. This kind of supportive equipment could be viewed as absolutely necessary by many players.

He had now obtained three advanced knowledges and was only in need of two more to meet one of his class change requirements. Now, the problem was money. However, Han Xiao's motto was to get rich together with the players, expand their market, and earn the NPC's money with the players.

Han Xiao had the advantage of knowing about the Storylines already. Although this part of the game was kind of a gray area in his memories, he could still remember enough bits and pieces to matter. For example, he knew where to find the long-term mercenary contracts that could get him quite a lot of money.

After he returned to waiting room, he found that most of the players were waiting there patiently. However, after scanning the room, he realized that Li Ge and the Temple of God players were nowhere to be found.

Han Xiao frowned and asked, "Where are the others?"

"They said that they wanted to take a look outside to familiarize with the environment and would be back in a moment," Bun-hit-dog explained.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Bullsh*t. Do they think I don't understand how their minds work? They're just excited about entering a new environment and couldn't wait to interact with the new NPCs and trigger missions, thus ignoring my instructions.

Most players were selfish. This was an indisputable point. It was even more so for the pro players. But really? Could they not even wait there for a few minutes? Clearly, the allure of the shiny new world had gotten to them.

This was also one of the things that Han Xiao worried about. As new opportunities popped up one after another, the players would start getting ideas of their own and would have less reason to always stick with him. They would also be interested in joining a more powerful organization.

To ensure that the players never left him, Han Xiao had long since prepared a plan, and it was about time to implement that plan.

"Follow me. It's time for work."

Han Xiao turned and walked out the doors with the players following right behind him.

The group of people arrived in front of a huge building with a main hall that was similar in size to a town square. People of different species could be seen throughout the building, going about their business. Some sat, some were walking around, and some conversed with each other. However, all of these people were fully clad in battle gear, and pretty much all of them were Supers.

"What is this place?" the players asked as they looked left and right.

"The Mercenary Alliance," Han Xiao said slowly. "A powerful neutral organization that offers swords for hire. This organization's business can be seen in all corners of the universe. It was founded by the three big Civilizations in space. They maintain absolute neutrality, and all intelligent lifeforms can register to become one of their mercenaries. The Alliance ranks their mercenaries with different levels, and the difficulty of a mission, the value of reward, operation funds, and other benefits all depend on your level. The Mercenary Alliance is an ancient organization, and like the Intergalactic Bank, they never interfere in matters in space. It also pays great attention to protecting the rights of both the clients and the mercenaries. Mercenaries would never be forced into doing missions. It serves as a fair platform."

He also knew that the original intention for the founding of the Mercenary Alliance was to give the Supers something to do. Being able to earn money and make a living with their power meant that they would have less time and energy to cause trouble everywhere. The effect that the founding of the Mercenary Alliance brought was evident. Not only did it make good use of the Supers' abilities, it also contributed to maintaining the security in an area.

But the players did not need to know about that.

The players were stunned, and for a while, it was as if light was coming out of their eyes. They had come to space so that they could take higher-level missions, and they could not wait to head into the building right now. However, everyone stood still as they saw that Han Xiao was not making a move yet.

Multiple fist-sized metal balls could be seen floating around the great hall of the Mercenary Alliance. These balls would fly toward players with a wave from their hands, forming a virtual screen upon contact. This was a kind of an automatic management system that allowed the mercenaries to take on jobs on their own.

Han Xiao retrieved a ball and opened up the virtual interface.

"Please enter your mercenary account username to proceed." A robotic voice sounded out of the small ball.

Han Xiao directly selected the 'register' option, and the screen changed. After entering his identification information, his account could not be connected to his bank account.

Han Xiao entered the information for his own bank account, and with a flash, the screen refreshed and displayed his basic information. There was only a name and a single entry in his resume—Protecting Short Horn Star. This 'resume' would automatically record his official accomplishments, and as he had only entered space not too long ago, it was still as blank as a sheet of paper.

These accomplishments were basically the physical record of his renown, but the accomplishments that were made with no witnesses around would likely not be recorded. However, the renown on the player interface was different. Even without someone spreading the news, the renown points would still increase on its on whenever a player did something big.

Han Xiao needed a mercenary nickname. He was called "Black Phantom" on Planet Aquamarine, but he felt like that name wasn't domineering enough. He decided to use a new name to to also pique the players' interests.

After a bit of thinking, Han Xiao said slowly, "Then let's call myself… Black Star."

Black Phantom was a name for a killer and felt a little bit edgy. He felt that the new name sounded much more 'righteous' and fitted his image quite well. The Great Mechanic Han was pleased with himself.

He chose the color black because he felt a connection to this color. He had liked to wear black clothing even in his past life, not because he thought it looked cool, but because he was too lazy to wash his clothes.

After entering a bunch more information, the little ball revealed a small probe and reminded, "If you're a Super, please release your energy toward this probe. The system will analyze your class for you, and this will determine the difficulty of the missions that will be matched to you."

Han Xiao held the probe and sent sparks of energy out of his fingertips. He used about eighty percent of his power, and C class was displayed on the screen.

"Data collection complete. Creating file…"

_____________________

Mercenary Codename: Black Star

Credibility Rating: 10 (Starting Value)

Strength Level: C

Class: Mechanic

Certificates and Badges: None

Faction or Group: None

Summary: Mercenary Recruit

_____________________

"File creation complete. Data has been entered into the system. Black Star, welcome to the Mercenary Alliance."

Chapter 332: Black Star: The Beginning 2

The Colton Star Cluster had quite a few opportunities, and the Mercenary Alliance's dataset was the easiest way to find the missions. Han Xiao picked some of the missions that he knew.

To be a free mercenary was a very good choice. One could earn a lot of money while networking with major organizations. It was a free path of promotion to the higher status.

But Han Xiao's plan did not stop there. The next action was the most crucial.

Mercenaries identity interface had an option 'Create a Mercenary Group'. Han Xiao clicked in without hesitation.

"Are you sure that you want to create a mercenary group?"

A mercenary group was a team made out of mercenaries that could accept people's missions. A mercenary group also had rating system, and all their actions would be recorded in the system.

Even a member who finished a mission by themself would be recorded in the ratings of the mercenary group. At the same time, if a member left a bad record, it would also influence the rating of mercenary group. Han Xiao's record for his mercenary missions was still blank, and the same went for this group.

Sky Ring Army was another large-scale mercenary group that took missions all over the place. They had a wide market with new members joining every day. Their reputation was well known.

If one did not have an extremely bad history, anyone could start a mercenary group. One person could only make one mercenary group. One could not create a new group unless the previous one was disbanded.

"Please enter the name of your mercenary group."

After some thought, Han Xiao directly used his code name and called it 'Black Star Mercenary Group'. He confirmed the name, and the interface suddenly changed from a personal one to a mercenary group interface.

The target members for this group were clearly the players as they were there to provide hard labor. Ah that's not right, they're warriors.

Life as a mercenary was extremely dangerous, but players could always revive, so there would not be any loss. This job perfectly suited the players' natural advantage, and with the players, developing a new empire was twice as easy.

Let the players join my mercenary group, then we can start a new base.

Han Xiao's eyes looked deep as he smirked.

Building a base was one core components of his plan. It could tie the players as a beneficiary on his tank, and the players would be more concentrated together while decreasing the chance of players leaving. This was the plan that Han Xiao had finally come up with after pulling his hair out.

At the same time, he could build a closer bond with the players, and their relationship could move from one purely out of benefits to comrades.

Think about it, building a mercenary group by himself with professional players as the initial players of the organization would create a lot of news in the world and attract even more players' attention. He could then use rewards to lure in other skillful players and strengthen his mercenary group. They would think that it was the result of their hard work.

Emphasizing the players' contributions could incentivize the growth of the faction, and players could find meaning in fighting for their own organization and view the faction's achievement as their own. In the end, this sense of belonging and pride could create satisfaction and fulfillment in the players.

One could not underestimate the power of social belonging. This romanticism of social belonging could spread roots of feelings into players hearts, and the power of romanticism could nurture soldiers that would die for their country.

For majority of the players, games were just entertainment. The element of role playing and the option for players to choose a faction could further strength the vision and ideology of the faction. On top of that, this setting would attract even more players to join! Everyone's heart would be filled with passion and loyalty. The emotion of sacrificing one's life for an organization, which was unbelievable in the real world, could now be released in a video game without any repercussions. Han Xiao wanted to lure out this romanticism in players' hearts for the sake of his faction.

Han Xiao just wanted to make his faction into the hope of the players, and he was the perfect leader to win the players' heart. Along with the growth of his faction, Han Xiao could earn more benefits and obtain better items, all while rewarding the players' contributions. The whole process would be a virtuous cycle, and through this, Han Xiao could aggregate the power of the players to assist him to his goals.

Building a mercenary group was the first stage of his plan, and through Bun-hit-dog's show, he could keep refreshing his presence. Once the future version was updated, Han Xiao could simply wave his hand, and all the players would rush to him to join the faction.

Of course, it was just an outline of the plan. The actual execution was complicated, and it would take a lot of time and resources to reach the end stage. However, once the plan succeeded, it would be revolutionary for the players, just like the alliances and the Hordes in World of Warcraft.

This was the blueprint of Han Xiao's new empire!

"You all have the requirement to register as a mercenary. Join my mercenary group, and I will take care of you all," Han Xiao said in a seductive voice.

Frenzied Sword did not hesitate and was the first to register. He only had two rules. First, he could eat well if he followed Han Xiao. Second, Han Xiao was always right.

The other players slowly joined, and Han Xiao smiled as he watched the whole process, as if he was seeing all the seeds buried into the soil, waiting for them to grow.

The display quickly switched to a new interface.

_____________________

Black Star Mercenary group

Credibility: 10

Scale: 47 members

Class C: 37 members

Missions Completed: 0

Active Region: None

Records: None

Creator: Black Star—Han Xiao

Creation date: Galaxy Calendar 2 October 688

Summary: Trainee mercenary group, small scale, abilities are similar among the members, no obvious strength.

_____________________

As the mercenary group had just started, they had no information. There were three criteria to rate a mercenary group: scale, strength, and credibility. The first two were requirements to determine which missions the organization could apply. For credibility, it was the 'level' of a mercenary group. The points for credibility could be gained after missions were completed. The credibility was the core representation of the reputation.

Many employers had standards for the credibility of the mercenaries. If the credibility score was too low, then the employer would reject the application of the mercenaries.

Credibility was also equivalent to popularity. Of course, in the formal document, it wouldn't use such an informal word. But in the reputation system, it quantified the reputation system of the mercenary group, and only Han Xiao could see it.

Li Ge and Temple of God were not in the scene and ran around by themselves, so they were the only two groups that did not join the mercenary group. Han Xiao was irritated.

At this time, Han Xiao's interface popped out a hint.

_____________________

Faction formed: Black Star Mercenary Group

Faction Management Function activated.

_____________________

The NPC model added a new option named [Faction Management], which was located to the side of [Dungeon Creation].

I knew it! Han Xiao was excited.

After he succeeded in dungeon creation, he had been wondering what other functions the NPC model had. He had expected a faction option to be one of the functions, but he had never activated it. He figured that, since he had belonged to the Dark Net, which Bennett was the boss of, the functions had never been needed before.

He had been pretty confident that only by creating a faction himself would the function be activated.

And he was right.

If the interface did not work, he probably would have given up, but now, with the management interface, it simplified the whole process.

Han Xiao quickly clicked into [Faction Management] and experimented with things, getting more excited as he looked on.

There was only one way describe this function.

You could do anything you want!

Chapter 333: Black Star: The Beginning 3

[Faction Management] was the most complicated among all the NPC interfaces. There was a dizzying number of options and information. Through this interface, Han Xiao had access to all the faction-related features a player would have, and he could also give out faction missions, albeit a limited amount.

The level of reward that he could give out was dependent on his own level, faction rank, faction influence, and legendary points.

_____________________

Faction Reward Limit: 92,000

Faction Leader Level: 70 (+56,000 reward limit)

Officers: None (NPC)

Faction Size: 47 (+20,000 reward limit)

Renown: 2 (+4,000 reward limit)

Faction Leader Legendary Points: 3 (+15% reward limit)

Allies and Enemies: None

_____________________

92,000 was the limit for a single mission, but the daily total limit was twenty times that amount, far more than the limit for individual members, which was only five times more. Moreover, the other factors such as the faction officers and renown would all add on to that limit. With everything added up, their faction's currently daily total limit was twenty-six times the base amount.

This meant that he could reward the players in his faction with a total of 2.4 million experience every day, but as there were currently fifty or so players, each player could only receive around 50,000 experience. This was not really a lot of experience for the players at their level.

The reward limit mainly controls the speed at which a faction can grow. This is only the base limit, so there's still a lot of room for growth.

He made some calculations, and putting aside his leadership level, his own character level also contributed to the reward limit. Recruiting strong NPC officers to their faction would also greatly increase their reward limit. This convinced him of the need to start interacting with main storyline characters. The faction size was also separated into different stages, with the next cutoff being a hundred members. Renown was basically the same as the reputation system with a small difference. Faction renown was the aggregate of all area reputation points. For example, ten points of renown in the Garton Galaxy and five points in the Gelock Star Cluster would add up to a total of fifteen faction renown.

Legendary Points gave a percentage increase to the reward limit, and this increase was calculated after all the other factors such as leadership points were accounted for. The "Allies and Enemies" was basically the faction's foreign relations.

Aside from faction missions, the system also allowed him to manage and monitor the player-faction relationship, as well individual players' level of contribution. Overall, Han Xiao was very pleased with this new interface, and it could help him attract more players.

After Han Xiao established his faction, the other players also received notifications on their interface.

_____________________

You have joined [Black Star Mercenary Group].

Current relationship: Cold (0/300)

_____________________

The players were not surprised, as something like a faction notification was everyday business to them.

Han Xiao's Faction Management system started listing out the names of the member players. His eyes flashed, and he gave out another notification.

_____________________

You are the Black Star Mercenary Group's first batch of recruits. You have gained 300 contribution points. Current relationship status: Neutral (300/1000)

_____________________

"There's something like this?"

"We got the neutral status directly."

The players were overjoyed, and they hurriedly studied the faction interface. They wanted to find out what benefits they could get out of earning contribution points.

Once they entered the faction reward page, an assortment of items was displayed in front of them. Most of these items were originally in Han Xiao's personal NPC shop, and he simply moved them over to the faction page. Moreover, he also threw in some good stuff that was not available from his shop. There were the Ranger 2.5 robots, each costing 1,500 contribution points to exchange; mini mobile turrets, each costing 1,200 points; and the original Python mechanical suit, which cost 6,000 points.

The equipment and items instantly caused a reaction from the players.

"Good stuff!"

"God-tier gear!"

The players were moved. These items had previously been unavailable to purchase no matter how much money they had.

"The mercenary group is newly established, and the credibility rating is still quite low," Han Xiao said. "Only by raising our credibility rating can we take on higher level missions. We're all comrades-in-arms now. Let's work hard together for the future of the mercenary group."

Immediately after, he made the faction size information visible to all the players in the interface. He wanted to use this as a reminder for them that they could take on jobs with better pay once they raised their rating. Moreover, he wanted the players to feel like they could directly contribute to the faction's growth with their own actions.

The players were taking a while to process all this information.

Then, Han Xiao turned his attention to finding missions or job notices given by the Sunil tribe for his subclass. He quickly found several available missions; however, their faction's credibility rating needed to be at least 120.

120 points? Han Xiao thought as he touched his chin. If he did things normally, he would be able to acquire 120 points after taking several outbound combat missions. However, he decided to take those menial labor missions that awarded at least one credibility point per mission. These daily missions were safe and easy, and they could be completed within the hub. Although it would take more missions, was this not what the players were for?"

He immediately used the newly gained interface to issue a faction mission.

_____________________

Faction Mission [Credibility Standard]

Mission Introduction: Black Star Mercenary Group has decided to take on an outbound assignment. However, the minimum credibility rating must first be met. (Note: This is the prerequisite of the first outbound assignment taken on by the faction.)

Mission requirement: Complete the daily missions and jobs at the Hub Center until the Black Star Mercenary Group has acquired 120 credibility points.

Reward: 45,000 experience and 300 faction contribution points

Remark: The three top contributors to meeting the credibility rating minimum will receive additional benefits.

_____________________

"There isn't much experience awarded, but the contribution points rewarded are not bad."

"Did you not see? This is only the first part. We will be able to take on the combat assignment later on. That's where we'll be able to get the experience."

"This is a team mission, right? It's asking for everyone to contribute to the 120 points total."

"Hoho. You even get benefits for being the top three."

Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and the others got excited and could not sit still after seeing the reward. They knew better than anyone that Han Xiao's 'benefits' would definitely not be ordinary.

The mission only required taking on the daily missions in the hub. These missions usually only had to do with cleaning and some other utility-related work. The good thing was that they did not have to go through the trouble of leaving the hub. If the fifty players worked together, they would be able to meet the credibility rating requirement very fast. Han Xiao was not worried at all. Moreover, the players had only been getting benefits ever since they joined the faction. So, they naturally had no reason to refuse the faction invitation.

After receiving Han Xiao's orders, the players spread out and left to take on the daily missions. With this group of helpers, Han Xiao was able to clear out a lot of time for himself to deal with some other business. After he returned to the resting room, he decided to make some preparations as well as think through his future plans.

A few hours later, Li Ge and the others returned to the resting room. They had been walking around outside for quite a while. Li Ge had left for space because he wanted to trigger all those new missions. With so many new NPCs at the Hub Center, he could not wait to explore around and see what missions he could accept. However, he found out that most people there were travelers, and they all laughed Li Ge and the others away when they tried to offer help. The NPCs asked them why they did not just go to the Mercenary Alliance if they wanted to take on jobs.

Although they could not receive any missions, they were able to get a new piece of information. After heading to the Mercenary Alliance and busying themselves for half the day, they finally registered themselves as mercenaries. Seeing the countless listings of jobs and missions convinced them that they had made the right choice in coming to space.

Furthermore, Li Ge believed that acting by themselves was the right action to take, as they had gained a lead on the other players.

The group of people chatted as they walked to the room's entrance.

"We have gained an advantage this time. Do you think we should tell others about this mercenary thing?"

Li Ge shook his head. "This is an opportunity that we found. We're all competing against each other here. There's no need to tell them straight away."

"But should we tell them if they were to ask?"

Li Ge thought about this, and he appeared to be troubled. Hiding away information like this after being asked would cause trouble easily. Just as he was trying to decide what to do, the group opened the door to the room. However, they realized that not a single player was in the room.

"Hmm." A Temple of God player was confused and asked, "Where did the others go?"

"No idea." Li Ge was glad and secretly let out a deep breath. He no longer had to be afraid of being questioned by the other players.

Chapter 334: Black Star: The Beginning 4

They all turned around, but they only saw Han Xiao alone in the room playing with the communicator. He quietly said, "You guys are finally back. You are the only ones left."

"What do you mean?" Li Ge asked.

"All the other players have already joined my Mercenary Group. How about you?"

Li Ge froze.

Does that mean that everyone else has already become mercenaries? Then what was the point of all our hard work‽

And what's a Mercenary Group?

A bad feeling slowly arose in their hearts.

"We've already registered as mercenaries," Li Ge replied honestly.

Han Xiao raised his brows and announced a mission to join the Black Star Mercenary Group. Li Ge had nowhere else to go, so they quickly accepted the mission, went to the Mercenary Lobby, and joined the Mercenary Group.

Right after that, they activated the mission that other players had begun a while ago. Seeing the Faction Introduction and the mission requirement, Li Ge and others could not believe their eyes.

Li Ge was upset. This was supposed to be their treatment, but because they had moved on their own, they were behind in process compared to the other players. Just before they got back, they had been feeling pleased with themselves, but now, Li Ge only felt embarrassed. He had wasted so much time and energy wandering around, and he had not achieved anything other than lagging behind in progress.

After talking with the other players, Li Ge also found out that the other group of players had gotten a reward of 300 Contribution Points.

His mood was extremely poor. He regretted that he did not stay put and instead ran around like a monkey. Why did they think that they knew more about the universe than Han Xiao?

The other players soon heard about Li Ge's anguish and laughed. At the same time, they had more faith in Han Xiao—Han Xiao was the only beam of light that they should follow. If they followed Han Xiao, they could get the most benefits rather than trying their luck outside.

…

With the hard work of the players, the Mercenary Group's Credibility Rating increased little by little.

Han Xiao rented a machinery modification room and tried to make a new battle helmet using the new knowledge that he had gained and the resources that he had brought from Planet Aquamarine. He called it [SIN – Type-A Carbon Life Form Radar (Helmet)]. It had multiple layers of detection and could detect living creatures within several kilometers. It also had a strong radar function and strong life support systems such as air filtration. Han Xiao made a dozen of them and prepared to sell them to the players. The helmet was essential equipment for missions in space.

After a few days, Bun-hit-dog finally released the first episode of his space adventure, and the forums seemed to only discuss the topic.

[Galaxy Exploration Diary: Black Star (1)]

The title of this episode indicated that it was the start of a new series. The editing of the opening of the show changed to the view of Short Horn Star, Juberly Hub, and an alien creature with a weird shape. A few minutes had passed, and viewers flooded the channel in an instant. Bun-hit-dog's Black Phantom show had built a solid, loyal fan base.

This trailer for the new series also garnered a lot of attention. It was the first show about space, and not only the players from Planet Aquamarine, even foreign players from other new planets were excited about the show. The view count rose exponentially, and within a few minutes, it almost broke the record for the highest view count in the past shows.

Bun-hit-dog was showered with attention, and his popularity was boosted once more; he was undoubtedly the top figure in the Galaxy film industry.

"What? There's actually an update!"

"What the hell! There are three million and two hundred people watching right now! Am I seeing this correctly?"

"I'm so excited!"

"Let me see what you've got, you foreign friend!"

Bun-hit-dog's large face then showed up on the screen. He used his disgusting voice and started the show. "Welcome to the Galaxy Exploration Diary. I am Bun-hit-dog. You might be wondering if something is missing. That's right, since I haven't had enough time, there won't be a poem to start off this episode."

Bullet comments instantly covered the screen.

"One can never be too careful."

"This host doesn't have any dignity."

"Screw your family."

For the first episode of the Black Star Series, Bun-hit-dog used a different editing method, which did not follow the previous format where he focused on informative content. He filmed the entire process of Han Xiao leading the players up to the Short Horn Star and then on to Juberly Hub, then he edited the video in the style of a movie. It gave up the informative tone that the previous show focused on. For this new show, there was barely any narration, and with some adjustment to the color of the scene, the audience had a new experience as if they were watching a TV series.

Because there was too much materials to use, Bun-hit-dog could not edit the size down. So, he directly changed the show to a video with a story, and the video was an hour long. After the success of his Black Phantom Series, Bun-hit-dog had become more motivated about trying new styles of film that had more artistic value, rather than limiting himself to informative content with a sarcastic tone. The change was evident, and he achieved great success.

As the video went on, the scene of space unfolded in front of audiences' eyes. In the unfathomable depths of space with all sorts of spaceships zooming around, the show was like a black hole, sucking in all the attention in to this beautiful scene. When Han Xiao appeared on the screen, the bullet comments went on a rampage again.

"Han Xiao finally showed up!"

"Suck everything out of Black Phantom!"

"Hugging Black Phantom is just a 100-meter sprint!"

"Han Xiao is my husbando, don't you dare touch my love!"

"Oh my. Black Phantom is now up in the heavens. There are no more boxes for me to open. I still need to gamble! I need to prove my true lineage!"

"Bro, just go sleep. You can find anything in your dreams."

The text on the bullet comments flew by, and there were quiet some fan girls in there, but it was unclear how many old uncles were in there as well.

Bun-hit-dog also edited in some interactions of the professional players. Of course, he had gotten their approval to use the footage first. These players had gotten to know each other as the days passed, and their relationship had become closer and closer. Their interactions were funny and entertaining, which also attracted a lot of fans to watch the show. Quite a number of fans of the professional players also sent out bullet comments.

Suddenly, the scavengers showed up, and Han Xiao and the players protected the spaceship. The bullet comments flooded the screen again, and all sorts of messages were there.

"Holy cow. In this new simulation of space travel, you can also kill monsters and get experience."

"Black Phantom is still so strong. He still owned the aliens like it was nothing."

"Seeing that Han Xiao is still wrecking everyone, I can now drop my worries."

In the journey to the Juberly Hub, the large space station made the viewers' jaws dropped. The video also came to an end there. In the last scene, Han Xiao led the players to the Mercenary Alliance, and everyone registered as a mercenary. As the camera zoomed in, it looked on the words 'Black Star Mercenary Group' and froze the frame for three seconds! The audience also stared at those words.

Then the screen turned black with three words—To be continued.

Bun-hit-dog had decided to cut the video there because he saw that there would be great potential for the Faction. Other than the leader, all the other members were players. The journey of an NPC leading the players to the world of adventure would definitely lure the interest of the audience.

And he was right. When the video ended, the audience was greatly unsatisfied, wanting to see more of the show, feeling the emptiness of not being able to watch a new episode.

The last three seconds of the show created great interest and curiosity of the name 'Black Star' in the hearts of the audience.

Of course, this episode hinted at the great potential storyline in the future.

"I can't wait for another episode!"

"I won't go anywhere until I see the next episode!"

"Ahhhh. I want to lock Bun-hit-dog in my basement as my slave to pump out more shows."

"Um… I think he would like that."

"Hey, what are you thinking? I'm ashamed of you dirty minded creatures."

The view count of this episode skyrocketed to an unprecedented level. The audience cheered, and the players who had not been chosen by Han Xiao were drowned in jealousy, hating themselves for not being able to last thirty seconds. The influence that this episode brought made the Galaxy Times add another section to their new show.

"A long time ago, we deduced that the storyline character had its own limit, where once they finished their storyline, they would turn into a nobody. However, this incident shows that we were completely wrong. [Black Phantom] Han Xiao… Oh, I mean [Black Star] Han Xiao proved us wrong. His activity was not limited by the level of the civilization. He headed deep into space and became the first man from Planet Aquamarine to explore the universe. This is his new arc!

"We thought that Han Xiao was only a character on Planet Aquamarine. From what we have seen now, everyone guessed wrong. He did not have only one war storyline. He has another more advanced main storyline on space exploration. Compared to other beginner planets, Planet Aquamarine's potential was limited, but after the rise of Han Xiao, he has opened a path to explore new territory and storylines.

"Black Star Han Xiao was not the main character of this planet!"

[Galaxy Times] was brave in recognizing its base mistake, and its honest attitude garnered a positive reaction from the viewers. The segment also boosted the popularity of Han Xiao and promoted his status to a level above the 'main character of a planet' to something even higher. This raised another question from the players.

How far could he go?

Han Xiao also saw the show, and the effect achieved what he wanted. The players looked up to him even more, which meant that Han Xiao was accepted at a deeper level in their hearts.

Thousands of players discussed frantically on the forums, and the heat of the topic did not stop.

However, no one would think that Bun-hit-dog's episode was not only popular for a short period of time. The show stayed relevant for much longer than people had thought. In the future, countless people would go back to this episode, which became known as…

The beginning of Black Star.

Chapter 335: Cheap Bai

The daily missions were the low-level missions. Once a faction's credibility rating had reached a certain level, daily hiring missions could no longer be used to gain credibility points. This ensured that faction's credibility rating reflected their actual capability.

120 points happened to be the first cutoff. This was the minimum to become an 'official' mercenary group, one that would actually attract potential clients.

The pro players had great efficiency. Their faction was able to gain 120 credibility points in two short days. Han Xiao then released the faction mission reward, with King Admiral, Hao Tian, and the Berserkers team captain, Yan Ran, being the top three contributors. The players whom Han Xiao had recruited were not just limited to the four big guilds, and he had also made sure to get people from the top-ranking gaming clubs and teams from the tournament, such as Thunder Storm and the Berserkers. Thunder Storm was alright. They even had the beauty, Rainy Kim, and was thus getting a decent amount of attention. The Berserkers, on the other hand, despite being a top-class battle team, did not have much of a presence. To be honest, Han Xiao would have completely forgotten about them had Yan Ran not made it to the top three this time.

Han Xiao gave those three additional rewards and also re-emphasized to the players that contributing to the faction would net them a lot of benefits. The additional reward was his newly produced [SIN – Type-A Carbon Life Form Radar (Helmet)]. It was something that could only be exchanged with 800 faction points and immediately invited the other players' envy.

Then, Han Xiao announced, "This helmet can greatly enhance your sight and function in many extreme environments…"

He explained the helmet's functions in a way that implied the necessity of this helmet for the future outbound missions.

The three winners quickly put on the helmet to test its features for themselves. The internal screen displayed all kinds of analyzed information of their surroundings such as energy density. They could even adjust the display themselves. The function of this item was clear to see, and it also gave decent protection for the head. It was an item that suited all player classes.

Frenzied Sword was close to Hao Tian, and he was able to borrow the helmet to test it out himself. After putting it on, he could not help but say, "It really is a good item."

After the others saw this, they also took turns putting on the helmet to see for themselves. They were then convinced that they had to earn this item in the future.

With the reward given for being the first batch of recruits along with the previous faction mission reward, all… most of the players had already accumulated 600 contributions points and were only 200 short of the helmet.

Han Xiao had set the price of the helmet to 800 points on purpose to bait the players' frustrated feelings. Being just short of being able to obtain the item would make them want to either do more missions or even give up their own items or even money in exchange for it.

Although it seemed like the players had been able to easily gain 600 contribution points, it was all just a strategy that Han Xiao had long been implementing whenever he dealt with the players. He converted the players' desire for an item into something of a physical value. The items that were available in his shop were cheap and reliable, and in combination with the allure of faction points, it meant that Han Xiao would be the go-to place whenever players wanted to spend their money.

The exchange rate of Enas to Faction contribution points that he had decided on for now was 50:100 for those with a Neutral status—which was 0 – 1,000 contribution points. So, in the players' mind, the helmet's value was 400 Enas. Now that they could buy it at twenty-five percent of the original price after using their contribution points to pay the rest, they felt like they were getting a huge bargain.

Half of the players had earned 1,500 Enas from the Short Horn Star raid and were itching to spend their money on something. The other half did not have a lot as they had only been doing some daily jobs. However, most of them decided to borrow from the other half out of desperation.

"We're all in the same line of work here. It's just a hundred. Are you actually not going to lend me that little money?"

"You're not gonna? Are you looking down on me‽"

"Ayyy c'mon, we're all buddies here. We will definitely make more money in the future. You don't have to worry about me not paying you back. Where could I even run off to here? I will owe you a favor if you lend me some money."

After a chaotic scene, the last group of players was able to obtain their own helmets after getting into debt.

Of course, the Temple of God players were the most in debt, making Li Ge feel very bad.

With fifty or so customers, Han Xiao was able to make over 6,000 Enas in one go for all the helmets that he had made, so he was feeling very pleased with himself.

These helmets had been made with materials from Planet Aquamarine and actually cost next to nothing. The profit margin here was practically insane.

…

After their group of people arrived at the lobby of the Mercenary Alliance, Han Xiao got ready to open the interface to accept the jobs offered by the Sunil tribe. However, he realized that the lobby was a little odd today. A crowd of mercenaries was making a ruckus at one corner of the lobby.

Han Xiao was a curious person, so he walked over, only to see a short blue-skinned person get surrounded by the group of people. The person was wearing a fancy loose-fitting dress and had hard nail like hair, pointy ears, and no nose. The two eyes were shaped into a tight slit while the mouth was curved upside down with a naturally upset expression. This person was a Blue-Ni, and his appearance was akin to an emoji.

The impression that the other species had of the Blue-Nis was that they were very selfish, an opportunistic people. This particular Blue-Ni was some financial group's materials investigation member. He was there in person to hire mercenaries in order to save on the tiny processing fee that he would have had to pay if he had gone through the proper hiring channels.

This Blue-Ni was called Martin, and he was in the middle of introducing his job offer. "I am from a Materials Investigation team that is on its way to Planet Garton-791 for a three-day on-site investigation. We're looking to hire bodyguards. Each person will be paid 400 Enas, and you will be responsible of protecting our team members. You will have to clear out the investigation grounds of any beasts as well as perform reconnaissance in any dangerous areas. We're looking for groups with a credibility rating of at least 120…"

The surrounding mercenaries only showed cold faces at that. 400 Enas was not a very attractive reward. Moreover, this deal would be made in private instead of going through the official Mercenary Alliance channel. This meant that no records would be made in the system, and they would not be able to gain credibility points for completed the job. None of the surrounding mercenaries were bothered enough to take on the job.

Han Xiao's eyes flashed, and he checked his star map. Garton-791 is close to the Sunil's home base. We could earn some cash on the way. Although the reward is only 400 Enas, if each of our fifty people can get it, it's still not too bad.

It was only a lifeless planet, hence the name with the code. It was basically a planet exclusively for resource excavation.

Han Xiao pushed through the crowd, walked up to the Blue-Ni, and said, "Black Star Mercenary Group. Fifty people. Only group assignments for now."

"Let me check your credibility rating." Martin gave Han Xiao a quick scan with his eyes and was quite happy. He had finally found someone who would take up his offer after shouting there for half the day.

Han Xiao pulled up his mercenary information page and passed it to Martin.

When Martin saw that this mercenary group had reached the credibility rating requirement, he was overjoyed. However, his expression changed immediately when he scrolled further down the page. "You've never accepted any combat assignments?"

Black Star Mercenary Group's resume was filled with the daily jobs that could be completed in the hub. Many were cleaning missions. Normally, mercenaries would not even bother themselves with such jobs.

This resume gave Martin quite a shock. He had never seen such a noob 'mercenary group'.

Chapter 336: A Mechanic's Paradise

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong here? We meet the Credibility Rating requirement, right?"

"I want warrior bodyguards, and all your records were filled with daily routines in Juberly Hub as if you are the janitor here," Martin said in a condescending tone. "Are you really qualified as a mercenary?"

Han Xiao frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You are not qualified for my job hiring." Martin waved his hand with annoyance. Even though he was very cheap, he did not lower his standards and wanted the best warrior that he could find with the cheapest price. The Blue-Ni's personality was always like this, cheap and greedy. Although the average rating of the strength for the Black Star Mercenary Group was class C, he did not trust their ability after reading through the records. If he spent money on useless mercenaries, the research team would be in great danger.

The mercenaries around all mocked Martin.

"You are offering only 400 Enas, such a choosing beggar."

"Have you never heard that you get what you pay for?"

"Ha, Blue-Ni."

Han Xiao ground his teeth. Sigh, what are they blabbering about? It feels like they are helping Martin instead of me!

Martin saw the opportunity and quickly pressured the price. "With this record, I can only offer 200 Enas per person."

"Farewell."

Han Xiao left without looking back. Martin's attitude irritated Han Xiao, and the Great Mechanic Han would never let others pressure him. It was fine if they did not take that job since there were so many other opportunities, so there was no need to beg in front of an annoying man.

He opened the Mercenary interface and found a few hiring requests from Sunils, all about the same event.

The homeland of Sunil had been destroyed. With the help of Godora, the civilization had moved to another planet filled with nature and forests. It had been renamed Planet Sunil.

Planet Sunil had a lot of wild beasts roaming around the planet. Most of the time, the beasts were passive. However, there was a stone that contained evil spirit deep below the ground of Planet Sunil, and it would turn the beasts on rampage once in every few years. Sunil's villages and cities would all be affected. Every time, during this period, the warriors of Sunil working away from the planet would all return and protect their homeland while gathering more helpers.

The Sunils were a sad race. Originally, it had just been a civilization without interaction with other planets. It had been peaceful, and it had tried to develop into a better society. Unfortunately, they had been attacked by DarkStar. The Sunils had no way to fight back as the fleets from DarkStar repeatedly fired missiles and lasers at the land. The land was filled with screams and fire, which even drowned the desperation that people had.

DarkStar was a mortal enemy of Godora, and it was an active civilization in the Garton Galaxy. DarkStar had found a weakness in Godora's management and attacked the planets under the rule of Godora. Godora had no choice but to exhaust more resources to help the lower civilizations. If Godora ignored the suffering of those civilizations, then they would have lost the public's trust in their ability to control the Garton Galaxy.

As an evil faction, DarkStar had broken the intergalactic treaty [Space Civilization Constitution] long ago by attacking a less developed civilizations. Moreover, Shattered Star Ring was on the far end compared to other star systems. So, after destroying the worlds, DarkStar would always disappear in their region for a long time and avoid the declarations of war from other civilizations. DarkStar was like a shadow that slowly consumed the Garton Galaxy.

When the Godoran fleet arrived, the original planet of Sunil had already perished. The land was covered in lava, and the ground was cracked and destroyed. The ecosystem was lost, and only ten percent of the population survived. The technology of the Sunils was cut off from the past generations, and it had yet to be restored. The refugees had been moved to Planet Sunil with the help of Godora, and in the beginning, Godora had helped building the cities. It was only after living there for a few years that the people found out about the raging beasts.

Moving to another planet would take too much work. The first time that Godora offered help was because of moral reasons, but if the Sunils asked Godora for help again, they would feel that they were owing too much to Godora, so they could not ask them for help with this matter. Therefore, they decided to stay on the planet and fight off the monsters.

It was the period where the beasts became active again. These missions were requesting help to protect the homeland. The difficulty of the mission increased as the list went on, and there was no one who applied for the most dangerous mission. As for the easiest mission, they needed 120 Credibility Rating.

Han Xiao could only select the easiest mission, so he submitted the application. A short moment later, he got the reply and his application was successfully.

_____________________

Mercenary Mission—[Defend the Forest City]

Mission Introduction: Another wave of the Catastrophe is looming over the Sunils. You have accepted the mission, and your duty is to protect the Forest City.

Mission requirement: Defend the Forest City.

Failing Condition: Fail to protect the Forest City.

Punishment of Failed Mission: -60 Credibility Rating

Reward: 500,000 experience, 1,800 Enas, +34 Credibility Rating, +3 Area Renown

Time Until Activation: 12 days

_____________________

The Sunils called the period of beast attacks the 'Catastrophe', and the Forest City was the main city of the Sunils.

This was just a normal mission, but it was not all Han Xiao had in mind. The reason that he had accepted the mission was so that he could approach the Sunils with an appropriate identity. He had to activate the storyline mission by himself.

As one of the members, the players also got the mission in the mercenary group. Han Xiao put out the reward of the mission onto the reward for the faction mission. The players felt like they were getting double reward.

It was the first time that Black Star Mercenary Group had selected a battle-type mission, so the players were excited.

Han Xiao waved his arm.

"Let's go."

…

After three days, the group took a spaceship and arrived at Planet Sunil. From the universe, the planet was covered in green with white clouds floating above.

The spaceship shook violently as it descended into the atmosphere, following the directed path and heading toward the forest. Han Xiao then saw an empty plain, and a city was located in the center. That was the new homeland of Sunil—Forest City.

The spaceship threw down the cabin. Han Xiao felt a bit of weightless for a second, and landed safely on the ground.

Whoosh!

The door slid open, and they were in a military base. Han Xiao stepped out of the door, and he quickly noticed teams of Sunil soldiers and armored trucks protecting the base.

[Sunil—Defensive Soldier Armor] was the armor that Sunil soldiers wore. The armor was dark gray, and the armor plate was extremely thick, which could block heavy bullets from machine guns. In matching armor, the soldiers looked like a true unit. The armor suit's weight was almost a ton, and it had equipment that supported the movement. There were also machine guns with large caliber, small rocket launchers on the shoulder, and other melee weapons.

Sunil was a pure technology civilization, and after a technological civilization reached a certain stage, they would always create armor for individual soldiers. Different civilizations had different styles of armor. For the Sunils, the armor was categorized into Private class and Corporal class. It was also separated into defense style, offense style, scouting style, etc.

In fact, Han Xiao knew that Sunil armor had an even more powerful class called 'Commander Class Armor'. However, it had been destroyed back in the attack, and the technology was lost forever.

Other than the armor technology, there were large mechanical weapons, vehicles, and a few light spaceships.

With all the machinery lying around, Han Xiao's eyes were shining, and he was looking forward to this place. A civilization that leaned toward pure technological progress was the best foundation for mechanic class, and this was one of the reasons that he wanted to come to Planet Sunil. The technological level of Sunil could bring great benefits to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was attracted to the subclass of Sunil, and it was related to machinery. It was a rare subclass could dramatically improve the progress of Han Xiao's main class! For Han Xiao, this was the best choice for him to complete his class.

The players also gawked at the scene around them. Han Xiao had described the tragedy of the Sunils to them, so they had thought that it was a civilization on the brink of destruction. They had been expecting nothing but poor conditions and lagging technology, but the scene of this iron forest proved them wrong.

Dong, dong, dong!

The sound of heavy metal got louder as a soldier with heavy armor approach to the group. His armor was certainly better than that of normal troops. It was also covered in red and white, which symbolized that this was Corporal class armor. The approaching Sunil seemed to be an officer as his face was stone cold, sending the aura of a soldier.

"I am B12 Defense Team Captain Neville. I have already read through your information. Black Star, you will be the 1,432th mercenary to join us. I hereby represent the Sunil people in welcoming you to our world. The Catastrophe has not started yet, so please follow me to the mercenary resting area. Then I will assign you a specific mission."

Chapter 337: Green Knight, the Warrior who Had Returned Home

Neville kept quiet the entire way. Sunil soldiers were not known for their words, and everyone had on a grave expression, as if they did not even have time for idle chatter. They were all focused on their own missions. The metallic smell of the soldiers' armor filled the air, accompanied by an air of silence. The only sound that could be heard was the tanks that passed by occasionally.

Sunils used to be known as a civilization that embraced life; their people loved art and culture. However, everything had changed when the disaster struck. The survivors had been forced to throw away their previous identities and harden themselves. This change was also reflected in the structures they built. Orderly fortress-like steel buildings lined the side of the road that they travelled on. It was as if they were living on a grid.

With Neville leading them, Han Xiao's group arrived at the resting area, where a large number of mercenaries had gathered, stirring up a ruckus.

Before the Catastrophe waves struck, the mercenaries were all required to get a detailed briefing.

Neville stepped onto a platform and explained in a grave voice, "The forward scouts have discovered increasing signs of the rampaging beasts. You're here as our hired mercenaries, and we hope that you can all work together to help us overcome this obstacle."

After a short speech, Neville got straight to the main point. "This planet's underground contains pockets of Prophecy Stones. Prophecy Stones can corrupt the souls of those around them, and the entire planet's mineral veins have been altered by these stones. This is the reason behind the beasts' berserk and extremely aggressive nature. However, this isn't the main problem of the Catastrophe. The energy contained within the Prophecy Stones will be released once every year in 'waves'. This is the root problem behind the beasts' sudden outburst.

"For unknown reason, this year's wave has arrived half a year earlier. Our specialized observation department predicts that the Catastrophe waves will explode out in full force in around seven to thirteen days. Our enemy is every single beast on this planet. During the waves in the past, we only had to deal with smaller beasts during the initial three to six days. Then, as the battle reached the tenth day or so, the frequency and intensity of the beast raids would increase. The last five days would be the most dangerous period during the wave. By then, most of our vehicles and equipment would be damaged, and most our troops depleted. The beasts we would face then were also the strongest ever, which had been attracted from far away by the dense smell of blood due to the days of bloody battles…"

At this moment, a mercenary interrupted him and said, "You have tanks, airplanes, and even space battleships. Wouldn't killing these beasts be more like a slaughter?"

Neville gave the man a cold glance. "You will understand when the wave comes."

Soon after, Neville turned on the projector and started introducing the different beast types one by one. After a few short glances, Han Xiao was already able to tell that the beasts on Planet Sunil were leagues stronger than the ones on Planet Aquamarine. The Prophecy Stones had already been on this planet for countless years, and the energy that they have accumulated was enough to even affect the beasts' evolution over the years. The beasts on Planet Sunil were abnormally bloodthirsty, and they pushed the rule of 'survival of the fittest' to an extreme.

Maple Moon was curious. "Since the beasts are the enemies, why couldn't they just kill all of the beasts before they get stronger from the Catastrophe?"

"Maybe it's to maintain the ecosystem," said Frenzied Sword hesitantly.

Shaking his head, Bun-hit-dog disagreed. "But this is threatening even the continuity of their people. Why would they care about the ecosystem at this point?"

"Can they even completely exterminate the beasts?"

The players started discussing the topic among themselves. They each had their own opinions toward the Sunils' crisis.

After going through over a hundred types of beasts, Neville sent out this information to each of the mercenaries. The mercenaries were then assigned combat roles depending on the job assignment that they had taken on beforehand.

The Sunils kept a lot of mining and other resource collecting outposts in the wild. However, all of the Sunil people would abandon those locations and return to Forest City during the Catastrophe. They grouped all their forces into a single area to decrease the chance of getting sneak-attacked by the beasts.

With the main city as the final barrier, Forest City had a total of five walls that circled the city. Han Xiao and the others were stationed at the second last wall and were tasked with protecting scout planes and the larger battleships from the ground. They also served as a rapid-response reinforcement group for the frontlines.

Forest City was decked out with defensive infrastructure, and building everything around a main city was only a tactical decision. It was not meant to be a place for a last stand or anything of the sort, as the underground of the city was riddled with escape tunnels. The Sunil people could flee through the tunnels or even be evacuated by the air transports at a sign of danger, and this meant that it was impossible for to them 'lose' the main city. However, there were many powerful beasts in both the sky and under the ground, so this would only be a last resort.

The two most dangerous jobs were the forward reconnaissance units and frontline combat troops. Sunil was a planet that was covered by dense forests, resulting in many blind spots for observation from air , which made reconnaissance on the ground crucial. However, the dangers of venturing outside the city walls during a Catastrophe was obvious. On the other hand, the frontline troops' task was to kill or wound as many beasts as they could before the horde reached the city walls. Their survival rate was close to nil.

That was why those two jobs were never taken on by the mercenaries. All of the frontline combat assignments were taken on by the Sunil warriors.

The individual mercenaries were led away by an officer to reinforce his position. Neville brought along Han Xiao's group of people to walk them through and familiarize them with the defensive layout of the area.

Time quickly passed, and soon, dusk came.

The mercenaries were provided with accommodation in the military base. However, Han Xiao needed to enter the city to complete the subclass requirements. He found Neville by himself and said, "I want to register to enter the city."

"Why would you enter the city?" Neville raised an eyebrow.

"I have some private matters to deal with. I have a friend in town to visit."

"No." Neville straightforwardly declined. To prevent any unwanted accidents, mercenaries are never allowed into the city; you are only allowed to stay in the base outside of combat.

"You cannot use this reason to enter the city. However, your friend can come out to visit you."

Han Xiao was not sure what to do. The Storyline character whom he wanted to meet did not know him at all. There was no way that he would come out to visit him.

Did he really have to sneak in?

He had the face-disguising tool and his Night Stalker subclass. The chances of sneaking in successfully were quite high… right?

Huuu!

Just then, a gust of wind descended from the sky, and several beams of light landed on the ground. An airship hovered some distance in midair and released down a spiraling set of stairs. One Sunil Super after another walked down from the ship. They were all Sunil mercenaries who had been working hard to earn money away from the planet and had all returned to fulfil their duties to defend their home on the eve of the Catastrophe.

The Sunil soldiers who were on the ground all raised their heads and looked at these returning warriors with reverence and gratitude. They even performed a perfectly coordinated military salute.

Every time the Sunil warriors returned home, they would be welcomed back and treated as homecoming heroes.

Han Xiao focused his eyes and saw a familiar face. He then shouted, "Hey! Lerden!"

'Green Knight' Lerden was among the disembarking crowd, and he turned over after hearing his name called. It took him a while, but Lerden remembered that the other person was someone whom he had fought with. With his body supported in midair with blue flames that were shooting out of his feet, he landed in front of Han Xiao and asked skeptically, "Why are you here?"

"Black Star is one of the mercenaries that we recruited." Neville gave a salute and hurriedly answered for Han Xiao.

"So, you're a mercenary too." Lerden suddenly realized that fact.

"Yeah, I only registered recently. I hurried over when I heard that your people were facing a crisis. I never thought that I would be fighting alongside you." Han Xiao made sure to make good use of this opportunity. "I have friend in town that I would like to visit. Could you do help me?"

"If he's your friend, then there's no problem," Neville added.

Lerden thought that as the two had already fought alongside each other once, even though he did not really know him, he felt like Han Xiao was not a bad person. Also, he was quite powerful. There was no harm in doing him this favor. Lerden then nodded and said, "Sure. I will accompany you into town."

"Thanks." Han Xiao smiled. It sure was convenient to have met someone that he was familiar with. One sentence, and the problem was solved. He no longer had to worry about taking the risk to sneak in.

…

It had been a while since they saw each other, and Lerden's bionic body parts had already been repaired. Han Xiao passed the security station with Lerden, along with the other Sunil Supers, who also wanted return to the city after returning to the planet. Han Xiao and Lerden followed behind this group of people.

Huuu!

Sounds of cheers suddenly exploded from both sides of the road. There were posters of the Sunil Supers that still adorned the walls of the city, and the Sunil people rushed out to welcome their heroes home.

Chapter 338: The Ordnance Engineer

The upcoming Catastrophe instilled horror in people's hearts, but the people on the street currently had broad smiles on their faces, as if the Supers had driven off their fear.

"Under regulation, I need escort you into the city, " Lerden said.

"It seems like your civilization really worships the Supers," Han Xiao commented.

"It's more like gratitude rather than worship," Lerden replied calmly. "After our race faced sudden changed and migrated to this planet, we still don't have enough power to stand on our own. The efficiency of resource gathering is too slow for us to sustain our consumption, and we needed to purchase a lot of materials from the galaxy. Therefore, our expenses are greater than our production.

"In order for us to survive, Supers that are strong enough will head into the universe and become mercenaries. Most of their rewards are sent home, and it is the main source of economic income. There was no way for this civilization to build enough weapons to fight the Catastrophe."

Han Xiao had a better understanding of the situation. The Sunil was a civilization in crisis. They could only temporarily rely on strong individuals, such as the Supers, to support the entire economy of the race. That was why the people treated the Supers like heroes, and one held great honor if one was a super.

Han Xiao still remembered that Lerden was extremely cheap. In reality, Lerden gave all his income to the race, so he tried to spend as little as possible, all to contribute more to the race.

"It will bring disastrous effects if this civilization keeps on relying on the Supers."

Lerden nodded. "That is indeed true, but we do not have any other choice. In the end, it is all because of the Catastrophe, which is slowing down our recovery. We have to split significant portions of our funds to build weapons and military equipment to defend against the Catastrophe. Our development in infrastructure and industries has been held back because of all the extra expenses that won't help the economy.

"If we don't solve problem of the Catastrophe, we cannot break away from this vicious cycle, and our civilization would always suffer till the end of time.

"We tried a lot of ways to solve the problems, and we even considered killing all the beasts, but that is worst option. Not only is it impossible to deal with, once the food chain is destroyed, the entire planet will face an inevitable death. Thus, we chose another way—trying to excavate the Prophecy Stones and deal with the cause of Catastrophe once and for all. The project has been going on for years, and we are cleansing the stones bit by bit. One day, the Psychic Current will disappear, and the race will never have to face the tragedy of the Catastrophe again…"

Lerden's face let out a sense of hope. "There's always light at the end of the tunnel."

Han Xiao had a decent impression of the Sunils. They were a resilient race with the Supers carrying more and more responsibility in order for the civilization to live on. They had no complaints.

What a pity… Han Xiao sighed as he remembered the fate of the Sunils in the previous world.

The Supers spread out after they reached the city and went back to their home. The crowd also slowly scattered.

Han Xiao used his distorted memories and finally reached an alleyway after circling around. He stopped in front of a black narrow door, and a wine glass was hung on the sign.

"A bar? The person you want to visit is here?" Lerden frowned.

"Do you have problem with that?"

"… No."

Lerden remained expressionless. He looked down on people who spent their money for leisure as he thought that it was being wasteful of their money and their life.

After all, he had lost his right to enjoy his life.

They pushed open the door and walked into the bar. The bar was dim, and there were not any customers. The city was in an emergency state, so no one had to guts to get drunk in a bar. Han Xiao walked in front of the counter, and a soft snore came from the back of the counter.

The Great Mechanic Han looked over and saw a man sleeping with his head on the counter. He was well asleep alongside a pile of empty bottles.

Bang!

Han Xiao smacked the counter as hard as he could and shouted, "Customer is here! Wake up!"

The man's fingers moved at first, and he let out a long breath from his nose. He then finally stood up with the stench of alcohol oozing from his body. His eyes were lifeless, and he looked like he was only half awake. The man then asked, "What do you want?"

"Two signatures."

"One is enough," Lerden interjected.

The man yawned. "Pay first."

Han Xiao took out his communicator and prepared to pay. The man suddenly laughed out loud and said, "My dear, you are not trying to pay with Enas, right? This is a small business, so we only accept local currencies."

Lerden frowned. He usually spent his time in the galaxy, so the Sunil currency was not worth much for him. He reached for his pocket and wanted to pay for Han Xiao, but at the same time, Han Xiao laughed. "I don't have Sunil currency, can I use another method of payment?"

The man did not look at Han Xiao and reached for another bottle. "Like what?"

"A name."

The man frowned, looking annoyed. He glared at Han Xiao and replied, "I don't have time for a game. Get out if you are not paying."

"Delvis," Han Xiao said in a calm voice, but it was as loud as thunder in the ears of the man.

The man froze as he tried to take a sip from the bottle. The relaxed atmosphere vanished, and he became expressionless, as if he was not drunk at all. The dizziness in his eyes disappeared instantly, and he stared right in Han Xiao's eyes.

He quietly put down the bottle and said, "Wait for a moment, I need to wash my face."

The man walked away from the counter and went to the bathroom.

Only Han Xiao and Lerden were in the bar, and Lerden said, "You don't even know him, so you are not visiting someone you've met before."

"I know his brother, that's why I decided to visit him," Han Xiao explained.

The drunk man was Herlous, and Delvis was his older brother. The subclass that Han Xiao was interested in was called [Ordnance Engineer]. For players, this subclass was extremely rare, and there was a method among the Sunils to change his class. The item for activation was called [Delvis' Journal].

Delvis was a famous ordnance engineer before the Sunil race was attacked. He created a lot of inventions for military equipment, and he wrote all his thoughts in his journal. After DarkStar attacked, Delvis died in the battle, and the journal was handed to Herlous.

Han Xiao wanted to borrow the journal from Herlous to change his class.

After a while, Herlous got back to the counter with his head washed. He was a middle-aged Sunil. His skin was light blue, and there were a few wrinkles on the side of his forehead, far fewer than one might expect of a hundred-and-fifty-year-old. Other than that, he was almost the same as a Super.

Herlous opened up a bottle and brought it to Han Xiao. "I don't know how you found me, but my brother's name is worth a bottle. I brew this myself."

The bottle was covered with white smoke, and the smell of alcohol penetrated their noses. Alcohol made by Sunils was usually made from the leaves of a certain tree, which had a bitter taste. After a sip, Han Xiao felt the spiciness on his tongue.

"I am just a mechanic. I have heard your brother's name, and I want to borrow his journal."

"Is that it?" Herlous raised his eyebrows and tried to get more information.

"That's it for now." Han Xiao laughed and glanced at Lerden. "Do you think I have another purpose?"

Herlous heard the obscure response and asked in a cold voice, "Do you think this is threatening?"

"No, no. I am being friendly." Han Xiao smiled. "But for a nice person like yourself, you won't reject this small request, right?"

On the side, Lerden did not understand what was happening. Were they still speaking with a real language? Why could he not understand?

Herlous hesitated for a while, but his expression showed that he had given up. He went into the house and came out after a while with the journal in his hand. He slammed it on the desk and said, "Leave when you are done."

Han Xiao touched the journal, and the interface popped out a hint.

_____________________

You obtained [Delvis's Journal].

_____________________

He had finally obtained it! Han Xiao suppressed his excitement as he opened the diary. He acted like he understood everything, but the journal was written in the Sunil language, which looked like cursive English. However, it did not matter if he don't know the language. The interface showed a progress bar, and as long as he finished 'reading' the book, he could change his class.

Through the normal mission, one needed to be extraordinarily lucky to obtain the journal. The procedure to obtain the journal was complex, since no one knew the identity of Herlous. Most people would not think that a stranger working in a bar was that man. Most of the time, the players would only find out about the journal by becoming friends with Herlous and drinking with him. Only then would Herlous would start talking about his brother when he was drunk.

However, Han Xiao knew the information, so he directly cut to the end without going through the complicated procedure.

Lerden was surprised and asked, "Can you read Sunil?"

Han Xiao closed the book and said, "I can't"

"Then why are you reading it‽" Herlous stared at Han Xiao with his eyes wide open.

"Just think of it as me paying my respects to your brother. Thanks for the drink."

Han Xiao put down the journal and smiled as he turned away.

"What a weird guy. Don't disturb me again!" Herlous shouted from behind Han Xiao.

"Maybe I will." Han Xiao looked back playfully.

After walking out of the bar, Han Xiao opened up the interface and looked at the new hint. He was in a good mood. He had finally gotten the subclass, and the explosive amount of experience points could finally be used!

_____________________

You obtained the class [Ordnance Engineer].

Chapter 339: The Rush Stra

_____________________

[Ordnance Engineer] Lv.1

+1 END, +3 INT, +1.5% Machinery Affinity, +2 Free Attribute points, +1 Potential point.

You acquired the skill [War-machinery Mastery].

You acquired the skill [Quick War-machinery Repairs].

_____________________

There was a chain of effect between Ordnance Engineer and Mechanic class. The skills and attributes perfectly fit with the Mechanic class, and this subclass was equivalent to half of the main class. The levels used for this type of subclass were used at their maximum potential value.

Engineer-type classes focused on intelligence, and they did not provide any combat abilities. However, being an Engineer was more valuable compared to having some additional combat skills. Ordnance meant war machinery such as turrets, armor, shields, and so on. This subclass would provide additional buffs when creating and using war machinery.

Han Xiao pulled out the stack of experience that he had accumulated and spent it all on those two skills.

_____________________

[War-machinery Mastery] Lv.10: When using war machinery, get an additional 18% attack and defense bonus.

[Quick War-machinery Repairs] Lv.10: When repairing war machinery, the efficiency increases by 24%. During the repairing process, randomly restore 3% – 6% durability. The chances depend on INT. No maximum occurrence.

_____________________

The effects on these two skills were simple yet brutal, and they were extremely useful for the current Han Xiao. However, the main reason that he wanted to obtain the subclass was the ability unlocked after maxing it out.

He directly used 90 million experience points to max out the subclass.

_____________________

[Ordnance Engineer] has reached Lv.10 (Max.).

+1 END, +3 INT, +1.5% Machinery Affinity, + 2 Free Attribute points, +1 Potential point.

_____________________

In total, this class gave him 10 Endurance points, 30 Intelligence points, 15% Machinery Affinity, 20 Free Attribute points, and 10 Potential points. There would also be additional Potential points, including the reward, after maxing out the levels of the skills.

Currently, Han Xiao's intelligence attributes reached 391. If he used all his Free Attribute points, it would surpass the requirement of his class change—400.

Ordnance Engineer was maxed out, and just like the Night Stalker, he also got a new ability.

_____________________

You acquire the skill [Military Modification].

You acquire the ability [Military Machinery Enlightenment].

[Military Modification] Lv.10: When creating or modifying war machinery, the status of equipment increases by 8% – 14%. (Note: The buff is based on the original status and does not include statuses from other buffs.)

_____________________

This is the same as having another power boost for the machinery. Han Xiao nodded and looked at the other ability, which he valued the most.

_____________________

[Military Machinery Enlightenment]: You have been enlightened. When building new war machinery, +30% success rate when building a new production line, +10% Quality of Production Line, -18% resource costs, and +20% speed of production.

_____________________

Productivity was the essence of this subclass.

A mechanic had multiple stages in their development, and each of them was indicated by certain benchmarks. One of them was fast building while fighting, which was one of the reasons the mechanic became powerful in Version 3.0. As for the assembly line, it was the mark of the later stages. Mass production was a vital step to develop the most explosive, most brutal, and most costly tactic, which was known as the Rush Strat.

For normal mechanics, they would use the best weapons made out of the best materials. For mass production, the equipment created had low quality. Although the difference in quality would increase between normal Mechanics and Mechanics that used mass production, the latter could stack up an uncountable amount of machinery and suppress the enemy with numbers.

Mechanics and Mages were two powerful classes in the later stage. The Rush Strat from the Mechanic and the Summon Rush Strat could turn a one-on-one battle to survival against a zombie horde. These two battle styles ruined the game experience as exceedingly few players could win against them.

However, even though these two strategies were strong, the cost was obscene. The cost of building one single army was detrimental to the players. Moreover, at the later stages of the game, all players had the ability to fight against an army. So, although the Rush Strat could overpower the opponent, there would also be an unneglectable cost in their own army. If they joined the competitive scene, with matches after matches, the combat ability of the army would also decrease, and after ten or twenty matches, the player would use up everything they had.

And if two used the Rust Strat, then everything became simple. With one team-fight between two armies, both sides would lose all their forces in one match.

Therefore, in the previous world, the Rush Strat was seen as a myth. One hardly found these players. So, if anyone was such a player, they would treasure that moment, since the meta could change at any time.

Han Xiao had analyzed the situation. Because the players were in a weaker stage, he could deal with them with ease. However, the players would be deadlier in the later stage, and different sorts of powers would arise. So, Han Xiao did not want to take risk, and the Rush Strat was the obvious choice.

What, the Rush Strat was costly‽

In the eyes of the Great Mechanic Han, money was not a problem.

Especially since he had obtained the ability to reduce cost, Han Xiao had no worries about costs and money in the future.

Han Xiao had a long-term plan for his development. Even though he had not learned the knowledge to create assembly lines, he had gotten all the important abilities.

Level 80 would mark another class change, and the class advancement mission required 60 million experience. Han Xiao let out a sigh—it was a piece of cake for him.

In Version 2.0, the maximum level was 90, but that of the current version was level 60. Players in Version 1.0 did not know anything about class advancement missions. Because they could not break the barrier, the players had to experience two class advancement missions at level 60 and level 80. The class advancement at level 60 would make a huge, but not so much for the one at level 80.

The 'piece of cake' was just in the standards of the Great Mechanic Han. The players would have to spend an enormous amount of time to accumulated 60 million experience points. Han Xiao spent 90 million experience to go from level 70 to level 80, while the players had nothing in their pocket, so they could only grind level by level.

On top of that, the class advancement did not give back anything after paying the experience, so the players all wanted to quit.

Han Xiao was in a good mood, and he thought to himself, I only need two more class advancement knowledges. If I can get enough money from this mission, then I should just head back home, settle down, find a nice wife, and have kids… Yikes. That sure sounds boring. Well, I can change class and get a new main class.

After leaving the bar, Han Xiao and Lerden wandered in the Forest City.

The sky was filled with stars, and the gentle light from the stars rested on their shoulders. Even though this planet was a dangerous place, it had magnificent views.

The green mountains and forests loomed far away, the rustling sound of leaves echoed as the wind passed by, and the galaxy that was hanging on the night sky glowed. Han Xiao could see why the Sunils might choose this planet for their new environment.

With a shake of his head, Han Xiao recalled a quote. The most dangerous things often has the most beautiful appearance.

"Where are you going?" Lerden asked.

"Just walking around."

"Then let's get out of here and head to the base."

"Is there nothing for you to do here?" Han Xiao asked. "Like going back home?"

Lerden shook his head. "I don't have a family."

Han Xiao stroke his shin and said, "What mission do you have?"

"Frontline combat."

"That's the most dangerous job. You Supers had already given your money earned from your blood, sweat, and tears to the race, and you still have to go on such a dangerous mission. No wonder you are viewed as heroes."

Lerden's eyes leaked his confused emotion. He was about to open his mouth, but he stopped himself and shook his head.

Han Xiao saw everything in his eyes. He was glad that he had gotten the information that he wanted.

I didn't guess it wrong. The storyline for Sunil already exists…

The mercenary job was not the main goal for this trip; Han Xiao had another goal.

Chapter 340: The Catastrophe Has Arrived

Lerden left to join the forward reconnaissance forces on his own, and Han Xiao could only sit and wait inside the military base. However, he had already met his objective for the subclass, so there was no longer any need to enter the city again for now.

As the date of the Catastrophe approached, the effect of the waves became more and more apparent to everyone on the planet. A blurry voice would suddenly speak out from the back of people's minds. The voice somehow sounded foreign and familiar at the same time. However, whenever one tried hard to understand what the voice was saying, it would immediately disappear like it had never been there in the first place.

When the frequency of the spiritual whispers started to match the wavelength of a living being's brain, it would cause a ripple of emotions through their mind. The mercenaries were no exception and were all getting aggravated due to this phenomenon. The Sunil soldiers, on the other hand, treated this like any other day and carried about their business with their usual determination.

That was the mental disruption that the Prophecy Stones were capable of. More intelligent creatures would have a better chance of suppressing it and not being affected much by it. However, whenever the 'waves' exploded, the intensity of these disruptions would increase, and everyone would be able to experience what the beasts had been going through every day. Living in such conditions all the time meant that a tiny push would be more than enough to nudge one over the line of sanity. In other words, the 'waves' were the spark that would bring about the Catastrophe.

Woo! Woo!

That day, ear-piercing sirens sounded throughout every single corner of the base. Everyone was already familiar with what that sound signified—enemies had attacked!

The atmosphere in the base suddenly grew tense. The Sunil soldiers ran back to their respective positions in uniform steps, and the mercenaries were also able to quickly find their way back into their groups due to the previous days' training.

Different kinds of tanks and armored vehicles were all started up, and a dizzying number of anti-gravity turrets floated into the air.

Hum!

Nine Galactic-class battleships slowly took off into the sky, causing ripples of sand and wind to spread around the area. They were like nine fortresses in the air that guarded the skies above Forest City, each facing a different direction.

Han Xiao suddenly lowered his head as he noticed that a few small rocks were starting to jump around on the ground.

The ground only slightly shook at first, but the intensity grew stronger and stronger until, eventually, the sound of massive footsteps reverberated throughout the base. One could hear the bone-chilling roars and shrieks of different beasts from every single part of the surrounding forests.

Trees were being parted by the beast hordes as if giant snakes were slithering toward them, and they were about to make contact with the border of the plains around the city.

Something was about charge out. Countless people were so nervous that they could not only gulp in fear, their sweat constantly dripping down their foreheads.

"Roar!"

The beasts' roars were like thunder, and the trees toppled in swaths to reveal beast hordes as far as the eye could see!

The beasts trampled over each other and charged over as if they had gone mad. It was as if a tide of darkness was washing toward them, quickly filling up their vision.

Just this scene alone terrified the hearts of many of those who were present.

"Open fire!" an officer desperately yelled.

Boom!

At the next moment, the countless artillery installations around the defensive circle all opened fire at once, causing ear-shattering explosions all over.

The Catastrophe had arrived!

…

Forest City had a total of five main defensive walls. The first consisted of massive numbers of mines and automated turrets. According to the battle plan, this section would coordinate with the supporting fire from the back to disperse the monster hordes. The second consisted of many fortresses, ditches, traps, and electric walls, all to slow down the movements of the beasts, allowing the anti-gravity turrets, main batteries, as well as the battleships to deal significant damages to the beast hordes.

The third was the iron defense line. Squadron after squadron of armored vehicles and defense teams lined this section. When the beasts entered this part of the defenses, the battle would enter its close-quarter stages, and the defense teams would unleash the fury of their metal weapons on the beasts here. This was also where Neville was stationed.

The last two sections were full of artillery formations. Its purpose was to provide supporting fire for the frontline forces. The rapid-response troops and other reinforcements were also stationed at the second last section. During the calmer periods in the Catastrophe, personnel from the last section would carry out repairs and first-aid work for the troops.

Black Star Mercenary Group was stationed at the second last section. They were assigned to a long-range heavy armored division, with the code name G7. Three Fortress-class main battle tanks served as the core firepower of the formation. These tanks could attach themselves onto the ground and transform into a single gigantic turret. They were also equipped with eighteen mobile heavy artilleries and a decent number of ground troops that moved with the tanks.

As a mechanic, Han Xiao's job was to control one of those heavy artilleries. He had only one mission—fire the canon! Most people with the mechanic class were assigned to similar roles in the base. With their special affinity and machinery-related abilities, they could increase the damage output of these weapons. Han Xiao was of no exception. With a crisis-level event such as the Catastrophe, it was basically impossible for individuals to influence the battle by themselves, with only a few exceptions.

Boom!

Artillery shells drew arcs over the multiple perimeters and covered the sky before they smashed into the distant beasts, causing red mist to bloom all over the hordes. Flesh and bones of the beasts were blown apart, causing a horrifying scene.

The black tide was momentarily stopped. However, the beasts in the back were not afraid at all and charged over the broken bodies of their brethren, forcing their way through the storm of artillery shells and explosions.

The smell of gunpowder and gore mixed together and wafted into the military formations with a gust of hot wind due to the many explosions.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Han Xiao could feel the tremendous recoil every time that he opened fire with his artillery cannon. He fired shot after shot as he watched the shells drew a blazing arc before landing in the middle of the beasts thousands of meters away, blooming like an orange flower in the middle of the black tide.

He was starting to feel the thrill of freely firing this massive piece of artillery!

Line and line of notifications kept popping on his interface, notifying Han Xiao of all the experience points that he was gaining from the battle. Although using borrowed Sunil weaponry would automatically cause some experience to be reduced, Han Xiao was doing this mainly to calculate how much experience the players would be able to get out of this battle. Moreover, being able to participate in a battle of this scale excited the players to no end. It made them feel like they were part of a historic moment, and they contributed as best as they could.

The black tide was stopped short at the first perimeter. The blanket of covering fire from the back covered every single inch of ground that the beasts were on, and they could hardly advance without leaving behind rivers of their own blood.

A newbie mercenary, who was firing his assigned artillery next to Han Xiao, said casually, "So, the Catastrophe isn't a big deal. The beasts can't even get in."

Han Xiao gave him a glance, but he did not say anything. This greenhorn most likely did not pay attention to when the Sunils briefed them on the beast hordes. This was only the first wave and only consisted of the smaller-sized beasts. The largest ones right now were not even taller than ten meters. Based on the information that they had been given, these beasts were only the appetizers. The nightmare was still to come.

The artillery bombardment lasted four whole hours before slowing. The support troops quickly rushed through the battlefield to resupply the combat troops. Flamethrower units were also sent out to burn away all the blood and gore on the plains to prevent any disease or sickness from spreading. The soldiers were also replaced by a new shift. Each position had a pre-assigned shift cycle. It was impossible for any soldier to last through a high-intensity battle such as this one without rest.

As Han Xiao also walked away from his artillery platform to rest, engines could be heard above his head. A new squadron of scout planes had taken off. The forward reconnaissance and combat troops had long gone into the dense forests. The dangers that they faced were many times higher than the defensive troops around the city, and their operations would be carried out under the constant threat of death. They were all alone like a tiny ship floating on the ocean during a tsunami.

Not long after, the forward reconnaissance sent back information. The next wave of beasts was about the arrive. The new shift of soldiers got ready in their positions in wait for the enemy.

The previous scene replayed itself. However, the black tide was able to inch ever closer to the outer perimeter this time. Just then, the fighter planes took off and blanketed the plains with explosions from their guided missiles. Fire and explosions once again engulfed the hordes. The Sunil fighters were small and agile. The propellers on the fighters' wings had a similar design to the Amphiptere's flight assistance propellers. Han Xiao was able to tell at a glance that these fighters were extremely suitable for fast-paced air combat.

The enemies were still far away, and although the waves seemed like they reached all the way to the horizon, the surrounding troops did not appear to be frightened. The distance between them and the beasts along with the steel fortresses around them gave them a false sense of security.

The Sunil soldiers, on the other hand, had faces full of worry and doubt.

At this moment, a few dark dots appeared above the horizon. The flying beasts were quickly approaching. There were smaller beasts that were not even a meter long as well as medium size beasts that had a wingspan of several meters among them. They looked ferocious and were not like anything the mercenaries had ever seen. Some of the beasts looked like giant cockroaches.

The information they gave us stated that flying beasts wouldn't appear until three days into the Catastrophe. It seems like they had arrived early.

Just as this thought flashed across Han Xiao's mind, the G7 commander shouted out a new command.

"Switch to flak shells and adjust your aim. Fire at the sky!"

The artillery squadrons followed the order and blew open the sky in the distant, causing bloody bodies to rain down.

The fighter planes flew to a higher elevation to shake of the aerial beasts and launched missiles that drew orange arcs through the air.

The fighter planes were equipped with a simple energy barrier. The first wave of aerial beasts was only capable of using their sharp claws and teeth and were unable to do much other than make screeching noises as they scratched at the barriers. The fighter planes dashed in and out of the beast swarms, looking like medieval knights that charged through infantry units.

This battle was already on the scale of a massive surface battle. Time seemed to pass by quickly amid all the intense fighting.

At first, the mercenaries fought in a laid-back manner. However, after three short days, as the beasts increased in number and size, they could not laugh anymore. The continuous fighting had started to draw out the fatigue from everyone.

Han Xiao did his best to fulfil his own responsibilities and played the role of a gear in a giant war machine.

On the fourth day, enemies that could threaten the safety of the inner perimeters appeared.

The surface of the ground rocked around like waves, as a group of beasts that could dig and maneuver around underground smashed into the reinforced steel wall of the third section and broke out of the ground. This was the first time that the rear troops had ever seen the beasts at such close distance.

The ground-burrowing beasts' appearance signaled the start of the close-quarters combat. The Supers who had been waiting behind the third perimeter could finally make use of their powers.

The wall of steel and machinery at the third perimeter finally unleashed their fury.

Chapter 341: Battlefield Repairs, Target Blueprin

Beasts crawled out of the ground and bared their fangs, rampaging toward the defense line.

Dong! Dong!

The sound of firing from the guns of the Sunil soldiers sounded like cannons, with more than one meter of flames leaping out from their muzzles. It was like an invisible enormous hand had sent the burrowing beasts flying, falling onto the ground and getting focus fired, screaming in agony. Their carapace and flesh became mud, splattered across the ground, leaving slimy marks on the dry dirt.

"Hold your positions!"

Neville's tone was harsh and cold, ordering the B12 Defense Team under his command from the communicator in his NCO Class armor. He had thirty soldiers under his command, and their crossfire had stopped the beasts in this area from stepping in.

During the gaps between firing, Neville looked around. This wave of burrowing beasts did not cause much trouble—some armor had been damaged, but no one had died or been injured.

Boom!

Two black burrowing beasts suddenly dashed out of the ground near B12 Defense Team. Their large mouths suddenly bit toward Neville and another soldier.

Before the other members of the defense team could turn their gun around, Neville had already reacted. He threw down his firearm, reached out his metal hands in a blink of an eye, and accurately grabbed onto the opened maw of the beast, not letting its fangs penetrate through his helmet. In an instant, a stream of gas shot out from the mechanical arm. All the joints became locked, stopping the strong biting power of the beast. The next second, a spinning saw bounced out from his wrist, cutting away half of the beast's huge mouth.

Neville withstood the beast's claw attacks out of agony, positioned himself, and tackled the beast, throwing it to the ground. He then stepped onto its throat with his huge metal feet, like a needle, pressing the struggling beast. From his wrists, he quickly drew out two electromagnetic handguns and shot through the beast's skull.

Blood poured all over his armor, and a part of the tactical screen was blocked by slime.

This string of actions was quick and smooth, showing no signs of the bulkiness from wearing heavy armor.

The other soldier who was attacked was not as strong; his helmet was twisted and deformed, almost flattened, and blood splashed onto the ground from the gaps of the helmet as he fell to the ground.

This was the first death.

He had fired many shots into the beast's belly before dying, fulfilling his duty till the last moment of his life. He had even worried about Neville, wanting to help the captain before he fell. His muzzle had already turned toward his captain, but he did not have the strength to pull the trigger anymore.

The Enlistee Class Sunil armor increased the combat capabilities of a normal soldier, enough for the soldiers to match up to strong beasts. Neville's NCO Class Armor had even higher capabilities. Even if the wearer was not a Super, with the performance of the armor and his experience as a veteran, he would not lose to most Super mercenaries.

Neville picked up the machine gun, fired, and killed this beast with his comrades. He briefly looked at the corpse of his subordinate, and without any change to his voice, he yelled, "Leave him, don't break the formation."

After more than ten years in the army, he had already lost count of how many times he had donned this armor.

In his long military service career, he had taken part in the DarkStar disaster, experienced the planetary migration, and brought the scouting team to carry out the early stage exploration of Planet Sunil. With every Catastrophe that he went through, there were dead comrades, the number of veterans became fewer and fewer, and his old friends disappeared one after another.

Neville's team had been refilled multiple times. His current subordinates were all new recruits that were only in the army for a few years. He always led the team to carry out dangerous missions, so the damage suffered was always heavy, including many friends that he had known for many years… Regret? This word was not in his vocabulary. Neville did not care about the death of his subordinates. In order to protect the entire race, sacrifices were unavoidable—this had always been his creed.

In the eyes of others, there was no doubt that Neville was a very cold-blooded commander.

After defeating this wave of beasts, the scouting team sent back a message saying that there would be a gap between the attacks. Neville immediately requested repairs. An equipment truck drove beside the camp, a group of maintenance men with all sorts of devices and metal plates started to repair the defense team's armor. Neville was surrounded by a group of maintenance men with electric welding devices, and at this time, he saw Han Xiao walking over.

Because of Lerden, Neville had an impression of Han Xiao. He said in a low voice, "Mercenary, return to your position!"

"I want to request for the change of mission," Han Xiao said.

"There's no mission safer than what you're doing now." Neville's tone was very harsh. He had seen many mercenaries requesting to change mission on the spot because they were terrified by the Catastrophe and did not want to stay in the dangerous front lines.

The Sunils would not force the mercenaries to take part in dangerous battles; they would only deduct a certain amount of credibility points and reward. Of course, Neville would usually get rid of them as soon as possible. He felt that even saying a single word to them was a waste of energy, so he would rather use that time to close his eyes, rest, and recover some energy.

However, the safest job that these mercenaries could request for was what Han Xiao was doing right now. Neville did not know what this Black Star's issue was. Was he just too afraid of death and wanted an even safer job? No, he was Lerden's friend; he did not look like such a person.

Neville suppressed his impatience and asked, "What request do you have?"

"My team wants to join the scouting team."

As soon as he said that, the resting soldiers and mercenaries looked over in surprise.

Neville thought that he had misheard. This was the most dangerous mission, one that mercenaries would practically avoid at all costs. This was the first time that someone had requested to take on the scouting mission.

Neville was a man of few words, but even so, he could not help but ask, "Why?"

"My members have some special abilities; they are most suitable to performing dangerous missions," Han Xiao bluffed. "Also, Lerden is my friend… Even so, I still need to be paid; that's my principle."

"… I will request it to above." Neville's tone was not as cold anymore, and the surrounding soldiers showed their respect. No matter what reason they had, these mercenaries were willing to put themselves in danger for the Sunil race despite being strangers, and this action was more than enough for the people of Sunil to appreciate them.

The mercenaries chatted among themselves; they were curious about Han Xiao's team.

"What Mercenary Group are they?"

"Think it's called Black Star."

"Never heard before, probably new. They sure are hardworking, but why? It's not worth if they die anyway."

Not long after, a new mission popped up on the interface—Scouting the Wild. The reward was 8,000 Enas, and since it was a mission given to the entire mercenary group, the other players triggered it as well.

The sight of the mission on the interface satisfied Han Xiao. Due to not having enough Credibility Points in the Mercenary Hall of Juberly Hub, they could not take on other missions. However, they could negotiate once they were on Planet Sunil. Although this type of private hire would not add on to the Credibility Points, it did not lack reward and could earn them renown.

Scouting the wild was indeed dangerous, so Han Xiao was not planning to go himself. Instead, he made the players carry it out. They would not die anyway, so they were most suitable to act as scouts, and he could still get the reward while the players did the mission.

The players were surprised. Although it was safe to stay in the camp, it was also boring. Now that they were motivated by the reward, they were looking forward to carrying it out—the players did not care about the danger of scouting the wild at all.

"One more request, I hope to join the Battlefield Repairs Team personally," Han Xiao said. "I'm a Mechanic… quite a skilled one."

"Battlefield Repairs?" Neville frowned.

"I feel that this job is more suitable for me."

Repairs were considered as part of the logistics, all covered by the people of their own race. Letting mercenaries do it was a waste of resources, and it was equivalent to throwing their money away. However, Neville did not reject immediately. The Black Star Mercenary Group had just applied for the most dangerous mission, and their leader's request did not cross the line.

Han Xiao picked up an Enlistee Class Armor and started repairing on the spot. Using all sorts of tools one after another, electric sparks were splashing. Before the others could even react, this armor was around 90% repaired. His Machinery Affinity was very high, and he had the boost from [Ordnance Engineer], so his repair speed was rapid.

"If your equipment is only repaired during breaks, it will be very dangerous if it is heavily damaged. However, I'm strong enough to protect myself in the battlefield and can carry out battlefield repairs, providing you guys with safety."

Neville asked his superior and received a direct response. "Okay, it's granted."

Battlefield Repairs required one to be on the front lines of the battlefield. Han Xiao was actively giving up his safe position and taking a risk that he did not need to take. The Sunil people were deeply moved—his spirit was a model of honor and noble.

There are too few people like this left!

Seeing this, Maple Moon was reminded of Han Xiao's aim of entering the galaxy and thought, Every main character has their own personality. Righteousness seems to flow through his veins, is this the hero personality?

After the mission changed, the players were all pulled to attend the lesson for scouting the wild. They had to head out before the next attack arrived, and they temporarily split up.

Han Xiao did not have to operate the cannon anymore, heading directly to the Battlefield Repairs Team to report. Naturally, this was all part of his plan.

The Mechanic class could reverse engineer the machinery blueprint from repairing and modifying, only that it required a lot of experience points. Han Xiao was not short of experience—as long as he had enough chances to make repairs, he could figure out the blueprint. He was most interested in the Enlistee Class and NCO Class Armors, and the performance of this type of mass-produced single unit armor was quite high, very suitable to sell to the players in large quantities. Not only could he earn a fortune from it, he could also increase the average strength of his mercenary group.

Over the next two days, the defense team went through contact battles continuously. Their equipment was frequently damaged, so Han Xiao ran around the defense circle and carried out his battlefield repairing job. His reverse engineering progress was gradually increasing as he came into contact with more and more armor.

Although his motive was not pure, his in-time battlefield repairs did indeed save the lives of many guarding soldiers—it was very clear and effective. Even Neville, who did not care much about the injuries and deaths of his subordinates, found Han Xiao to be a huge help.

Chapter 342: Hidden Thoughts

In the late night, in the forest two hundred miles away from Forest City, a wild scouting team was on the run. They had looks of panic and kept looking back, like something terrifying was chasing behind them. The sound of leaves rubbing each other came from the forest behind. It seems like the sound kept getting closer, and the pitch-black darkness was constantly encroaching upon them.

This team was made of three people, all Sunil Supers. The captain, Fumay, said while shivering, "Don't stop no matter what. The Night Moth is right behind!"

According to the different beasts appearing at different times, the Catastrophe was divided into stages. The appearance of Night Moths was a sign of the Catastrophe entering the mid-stage. These were beasts that were active during the night, and when they appeared in a pack, it meant the start of the dangerous night battle.

The psychic wave made all the beasts on the planet rampage, and Forest City was just one part of it. There were countless beasts killing each other in different areas; nowhere was safe. One of the reasons causing the wave of beasts was that weaker beasts instinctively felt the pressure from beasts at the top of the food chain, so they actively left the territory of the strong beasts in groups and were directed toward Forest City. As the beasts were killed on a large scale, it attracted stronger beasts.

The aim of scouting the wild was to discover the species of the attacking beasts and warn Forest City. This was a very dangerous task as meeting the beast herd in the wild meant almost certain death. This wild scouting team had already sent the message back, and now, they were running for their lives.

Feeling the cold and darkness that was inches away, the three of them were horrified.

Fumay clenched his teeth, his heart filled with regret.

"Turned out this way again… this is not the first time!"

He had experienced three Catastrophes, and all three times, he had been chosen for the wild scouting team. He had wandered near the gate of death countless times, and the scars on his body still hurt sometimes.

As he sprinted, he could not help but think that he was just about done with such a life.

Back when the Catastrophe first came, Supers came back from the galaxy willingly to protect the race, and Fumay did too. However, now, he only felt tired of the resistance; boiling blood would cool down sooner or later. He kept giving but never received anything in return. After all those years, Fumay's patience had long worn out. He did indeed love his home, but it did not mean that his race could use him however they wanted to and see them as tools. Their reasoning of 'for the continuation of race' had long become a tired excuse in Fumay's ears.

It was way too unfair! Fumay's patience had reached its limit. He had to give up his reward as a mercenary to the race, and he had to give his life in times of danger. What gave his race the right to ask so much of him?

Just because it was his own race, could he not ask for anything in return‽

What gave them the right to make someone strong like him take so much responsibility!

Fumay's mercenary career in the galaxy had broadened his knowledge, and he felt more and more against giving his life for his race. Life was precious; he had only one.

Many warriors had firm beliefs, but there were also many warriors that had the same thoughts as him. After giving so much to the race, he felt that he had given enough.

If I can stay alive this time, I will never return or bother about this Catastrophe anymore! thought Fumay as he clenched his teeth.

Suddenly, a tail shot out from the forest like a whip, ensnaring a scout. The end of the tail was a sharp bone sting. It punctured into the scout's abdomen. The scout snarled, and Pugilist flames appeared all over his body. He tore the tail apart, and black liquid splashed on his face.

The counter-attack caused this person to lag behind for a moment, and that moment decided his life.

Swoosh!

Dozens of tails shot out from the darkness and tangled up this pugilist, dragging him into the forest in an instant. Fumay turned around immediately and saw an even stronger pugilist flame light up in the forest, displaying his grade C Pugilist strength.

However, this flame only lasted for half a second before it exploded and shattered, just like the person's body.

Fumay felt a sense of warmth on his face. After touching it, he confirmed that it was the warm blood of his comrade.

In less than one second, a grade C Pugilist had been torn to shreds!

The Night Moth's frightening growl echoed in the forest, not just from behind, but from ahead as well, surrounding the two of remaining scouts. Thousands of wobbling whip-like shadows appeared in the dark forest, all Night Moths' tails.

…

Tuk-tuk-tuk!

The long-lasting explosions from the cannons lit up the night sky. This beast wave lasted for five hours. The battle had reached the heated stage, and the third defense circle was filled with the carcass of the burrowing beasts. The Iron Defense Team had been battling for way too long and had to change shift—everyone's armor was more or less damaged.

It was night, and Han Xiao carried a large box of repair tools and moved around the back of the tired defense circle, repairing the defense team's armor one after another. Time was scarce, and the mission was crucial—they had to go back to battle right after the repairs were finished.

There were also other Battlefield Repairs Teams, but Han Xiao's skill was the best. His name had already spread to everyone in the defense teams, and every team hoped to meet Han Xiao during their repairs. Only then would their safety have the best guarantee.

Welding steel plates, fixing circuits, resetting systems, Han Xiao's repairs flowed like water. The Battlefield Repairs Team gave him the internal communicator to make giving him missions easier. Just as he was finished with the repairs of one team, a new command came from the headset. "B12 Defense Team is requesting in-battle emergency repairs!"

B12 was Neville's team, so Han Xiao rushed to the location. Neville's team did not change shift to rest—they were still battling, and repairing during battle had the highest risk. One soldier saw Han Xiao and said hastily, "Quickly, this way!"

Han Xiao rushed over to find Neville lying on the floor. A beast claw mark had penetrated the armor between his chest and abdomen, giving off electric sparks. The broken pipes were showing, and the energy device had shut down. Neville could not get up from the ground, so a group of soldiers guarded his surroundings.

"F*ck, all of you new recruits, get away from here! You're not allowed to leave your positions!" Neville shouted furiously, but the soldiers did not listen, determined to protect him.

Due to them contracting their formation, a gap had shown up at this camp, and a small wave of burrowing beasts had broken through. Such a situation required the standby Quick Reaction Team to backup. The backup was already on the way, so it was not be a huge problem—it was a normal process.

However, in Neville's eyes, this was an absolute dereliction of duty, so he struggled to stand up in a fit of rage.

"Don't move." Han Xiao pressed Neville down, took out materials and tools, and started his work.

Neville felt that Han Xiao's hand was like a mountain pressing on his body; he could not move no matter how he struggled. In the end, he could only clench his teeth and give in. "Quickly!"

"Shut up," Han Xiao said expressionlessly.

_____________________

[Sunil—Defensive NCO Class Armor] Derivation Progress: 27%

_____________________

He had mostly repaired Enlistee Class Armor during his few days on the team, and he had already spent millions of experience to derive the blueprint. However, there had been very few chances to repair NCO Class Armors. Thus, he was only at 27%. He also guessed that the NCO Class Armor required [Heavy Machine Modification] as a prerequisite, so the progress might be stuck.

Other than armor, he had also been fortunate enough to repair some vehicles and batteries, and he had gotten the Hovering Turret blueprint.

Although Neville was in a hurry to get back to the battlefield, he could only wait for the repair, and although he hurried Han Xiao, Han Xiao's speed made him feel relieved. It would not take long before he could get back in the battle.

Chapter 343: The Split in the Dark

As he was repairing, Han Xiao looked up at the space fleet above Forest City. "Why is your spaceship still not joining the battle?"

"It is the city's barrier from the sky, and it also has the strongest weapon. There's no need to employ it against these small beasts," Neville replied.

Han Xiao suddenly changed his tone. "I heard rumors about the trump card that you guys have called Commander Class armor, which is way more powerful than the NCO Class armor. Why don't you guys use that?"

"Commander Class armor was lost a long time ago, back when we were first attacked on our home planet," Neville said with a sigh. "We lost the technology to make the armor. Now, we only have four sets of heavily damaged Commander Class armor in our warehouse, and all of them were damaged by seventy percent. So, we can't reverse-engineer the technology.

"Even though anyone can wear the Commander Class armor, only the Supers can maximize its full potential. When our home planet was being attacked, we send out all the Commander Class armor that we had, and they broke one by one, while the soldiers wearing the armor sacrificed their lives. Without them, the survivors would only have been half of our current size. In the end, we only retrieved four of the damaged sets of Commander Class armor. Those four sets were the key to our survival, and we keep them under maintenance."

Commander Class armor was on a different level compared to Enlistee Class armor and NCO Class armor. The latter two were standard equipment, but Commander Class armor was the highest tier equipment and on the same level as elite equipment and the Supers' equipment. The materials needed to produce one set of Commander Class armor could be used to produce a few hundred sets of Enlistee Class armor.

The loss of Commander Class armor technology meant that the downfall of this civilization was inevitable. If they still had the technology for Commander Class armor, then they could employ that equipment to fight off dangerous beasts, and the threat of the Catastrophe would decrease.

Boom!

The ground shook violently, and the two armored soldiers got knocked to the side. Neville saw something behind Han Xiao and shouted, "Move!"

An Underground Crustacean Beast that was the size of a bull knocked the soldiers into the air and charged directly at Han Xiao. There were a lot of Underground Beasts, and this type tended to charge at their target. Their defensive status was high with their dark armor that was as hard as steel. It could block off machine gun bullets, so it was an extremely difficult creature to deal with.

Han Xiao turned around and took out a golden ball from his pocket. The ball expanded into the Wrath of Garrett, and without delay, he activated Flaming Will on top of some critical damage skills while triggering true damage at the same time.

A bright light beam shot through the air and directly penetrated the armor of the beast. Only a burn mark was left on the body of the beast.

The defense troops needed to use more than ten seconds to take down the beast, but Han Xiao did it in one attack. With its momentum, the corpse slowly slid next to Han Xiao's feet while leaking a gluey liquid.

"Don't be so surprised. I am stronger than you all." Han Xiao withdrew his weapon and continued with his repairs as if nothing had happened.

"… I forgot." Neville's mouth was wide open. He had thought that Han Xiao was just a logistics worker without any combat power, and he just remembered that Han Xiao was a Super.

Within a few minutes, Han Xiao put down his tools and said, "It's fixed."

The armor worked again. Neville stood up, double checked that the armor was fixed, and ran straight back to the battlefield, yelling at his troops for leaving their posts.

Even though they were being yelled at, the soldiers did not complain. They were actually happy that they had been able to save their boss's life.

Neville stopped scolding the soldiers and focused on the battle. He continued to yell and command his troops.

Just as Han Xiao was prepared to move to the next repair point, a sharp alarm rang from the base. Han Xiao stopped his steps and looked around.

Level two warning. The Catastrophe is now in the middle stage.

A mysterious cold atmosphere spread, and a group of black shadows flew out of the forest. They were covered in black fog and flew across the field a few meters above the ground. They easily avoided the minefield and dodged the majority of the ranged attacks with their agile movements.

A bright light soon showed the appearance of these creatures. They had dark gray flesh without any hair. They were at least three or four meters tall and did not have any facial features. They had two antennae on their head to sense the environment. Four long claws extended from their body, and they had strong beast legs and a pair of dark bat wings. In addition, there were three whip-like tails filled with spikes.

"The Night Moth!" Han Xiao recognized this beast from the initial briefing. The appearance of these beasts meant that the Catastrophe had moved past the first stage and reached the middle stage. With the first stage being so threatening, and the later stages being at least a dozen times more dangerous, the deaths and damage would clearly intensify.

The retreat order was sent through the earphone. "All maintenance staff, fall back to the fifth defense line and enter the base!"

Han Xiao naturally followed the order and headed back to the metal base. The doors and windows were locked tight, and no exit could be found. It was the required safety measures, so the staff could only watch the battle outside through the window.

Pa!

Suddenly, the defense lines all turned on powerful full-beam headlights and pointed them to the sky. The dark night became as bright as day. The approaching Night Moths screeched as the light shone on them, and they lost all sense of direction as they collided with one another, rolling on the ground as if they were drunk. Then, quite a number of Night Moths landed on the minefield and exploded into pieces.

A Night Moth's antennae were sensitive to light, so they could only move in the dark.

The Sunils had prepared specific plans for certain types of beasts. After reaching the middle stage of the Catastrophe, the mission was not as simple as just shooting bullets. Now, the troops had to use specific tactics to deal with certain beasts. The tactics had been obtained from all the blood shed of previous Catastrophes, and they would surely reduce the damage.

In the end, there were also a lot of enemies that were hard to handle. The toxic bugs were an example. Those things were the sign of the final stage.

Every single Night Moth was on the same level as a class D super. They were very agile, and their tails could easily penetrate armor. Because of that, a lot of turrets were destroyed, and the defense troops and mercenaries were in a predicament. The number of deaths kept on increasing.

…

The intense battle dragged on until dawn. The remaining Night Moth finally backed off, and the battle reached a temporary peaceful stage. At least a few thousand soldiers had died in the span of a single night. It was the deadliest battle so far.

Countless corpses had been put into corpse bags and sent to the backline. Many family members of the soldiers lived in the city. Their glorified sacrifice was not only because of their pride but also for their families. Their corpses would all be identified by the families, and the night was filled with painful wails echoing from the city.

The soldiers that had still been well and alive the night before turned into corpses in a few hours. The morale of the base hit rock-bottom. The soldiers were exhausted after last night. They could not even take off their armor in case of an emergency attack, so they scattered and sat on the ground, staring into the sky without thinking of anything.

Hearing the cries of the families, the soldiers realized that they could be one of those corpses in the next few days.

In such an atmosphere, the mercenaries could only stay quiet and prepare their equipment.

This scene reminded Han Xiao of Planet Aquamarine. No matter where one traveled in the universe, the suffering that war brought was the same.

Suddenly, there was some movement on the side. A large group of scouts had returned to the base. They were well respected by the Sunils. A lot of soldiers stared at them, and some saluted out of respect.

The scouts had a logical schedule. There would always be troops to replace the team for them to come back and rest. The players were the troops that had been sent out to replace this team.

Han Xiao recalled a conversation with Lerden. Lerden had mentioned that there were two strong soldiers who had reached class B. They were working as mercenaries in the galaxy, and every year, they would earn large sum of money. They were the idols of the entire civilization.

The leader of the returning scouts was one of those two—Fernas.

All the high officials from the military showed up and welcome the returning troops.

Fernas waved his hand and said, "We have lost a lot of brothers. We brought back as many corpses as we could."

The crowd spread out and put down twenty or so corpse bags on the ground. They were all Sunil Supers. Fumay was also one of them.

Han Xiao looked around and did not see Lerden's corpse. He looked into the crowd and saw that Lerden was still standing in the team. Although he had lost another leg and two arms, at least he was still alive.

"They are all heroes," the military officials said. "We will take care of the rest."

"I hope so," Fernas replied.

The Sunil Supers all looked at the corpses at their friends and showed sorrowful expressions.

The atmosphere dropped another notch.

Han Xiao kept on observing the expressions of the Supers, and he found out that one group, including Lerden, only showed a despairing expression and mourned for the loss.

As for the other group, other than sadness, they also showed rage and anger.

Chapter 344: Meeting the Liar Again 1

The returning team split up to rest, while Lerden was jumping on one leg, planning to find the 'doctor' to repair him. Han Xiao whistled, signaling for Lerden to go over.

"It's you, can't believe you're still alive." Lerden hopped in front of Han Xiao.

"I should be the one saying that." Han Xiao looked at his broken limbs.

"Met a bit of danger, almost died," Lerden said like it was nothing.

Although he was not very close to Han Xiao, he felt a little bit more relieved when he saw someone whom he considered a friend to still be alive.

Han Xiao raised the toolbox in his hand and said, "Seems like you need a very skilled Mechanic."

"Is it free this time?" Lerden raised an eyebrow.

Han Xiao thought and said, "Get me a drink, in the same bar as last time."

It was currently the break period of the Catastrophe; there was time to rest. The commanders had allowed Han Xiao into the city seeing that Black Star Mercenary Group had actively taken on the job of scouting.

Lerden had a backup implanted arm, so Han Xiao repaired and connected it very quickly. Originally, only Lerden's right arm had still been made of flesh, but it was now broken, bound, and left alone. His expression was calm—he did not care about losing the only part of flesh that he had left.

The two entered the city and came to Herlous' bar as Han Xiao had requested. There was quite a number of customers that day—all of them were civilians from nearby. The soldiers were bathing in blood and fighting outside the city, and most civilians hid in their home or in the official emergency evacuation areas. There were also some that chose to use alcohol to get rid of their terror. Ninety percent of the shops in the entire city were closed during the Catastrophe, but Herlous' bar opened as usual, so the place was a little noisy.

Walking up to the bar counter, Han Xiao said, "Two glasses of your signature drink."

Lerden immediately raise his hand and cut in. "Just one glass."

Drunk, Herlous raised his head, and after seeing Han Xiao's face, his expression changed. "You again!"

He remembered Han Xiao, a weird guy that came to find his brother's old notebook out of nowhere who seemed to also know his secret.

"What do you want again?"

Han Xiao smiled and said, "Just here for a drink."

Herlous stared at Han Xiao for some time then unwillingly took out a bottle of alcohol. Han Xiao did not speak to him again, just drinking and chatting with Lerden casually. Herlous saw this and kept his doubt. He turned away to attend to other customers while eavesdropping on the conversation between Han Xiao and Lerden.

Han Xiao looked at Lerden's broken arm and said, "Don't you feel pain?"

Lerden shook his head and said, "When I went through the implant operation, I told the doctor to cut off my nerves, so that injuries will not affect my combat ability."

"You're an Esper, so implants will weaken your power. Why did you do it?"

"It's fine to be weaker," Lerden said calmly. "I can live longer this way—a dead man is of no use."

"To choose implants to live longer, and to actively execute the most dangerous mission, your love for your race really is strong." Han Xiao's eyes sparkled. "No one is born a hero; the supers of Sunil seemed to be too selfless. You guys must have your reasons, how about tell them to me? I'm quite curious."

Lerden kept silent for a while. His expression became nostalgic, and the look in his eyes started to change a little. It was like he could hardly keep his calm when he thought about the past. He said slowly, "Just like every other Sunil, I once had a complete family. My father was strict, my mother was kind and warm, and I had two younger sisters. When DarkStar attacked, I was still a kid. Even now, I can still remember the laser cannons descending from the sky, thick like waterfalls, turning the largest buildings in the city centers into ash in an instant. We joined the evacuating crowd, and the military protected us. They knew clearly that staying behind meant death, but they still prioritized guarding us and sending us away.

"Unfortunately, my parents could not board Godora's rescue spaceship. They died halfway there; a beam of laser turned my parents into ashes. I was just a kid in despair, and the only thing that I knew was how to cry. I followed the other refugees numbly. Every day, the army gave the refugees very little food. I was starving so much that I could not control myself at all. After I took the food, I hid more than half of the portion, only giving a little bit to my sisters. I just wanted to live at that time; I did not know how to think of anything else. Then… my two younger sisters starved to death."

Lerden paused then said in a very low voice, "I can still vividly remember their expression, their bony palms grabbing my clothes as they stared right into my eyes, like they were telling me how hungry they were, but they had no energy to talk. Those two pairs of eyes filled with despair cut right into my heart. My brain was blank, and a few seconds felt like centuries. When their arms slipped down without strength, only then did I dare take deep breaths. I was completely petrified. I couldn't believe what I had done. If I had shared the food with my sisters, even if I would be hungrier, at least we all could have lived, but I knew nothing back then—I only thought about having filling meals, I felt that if I ate less, I would be starved to death the next day…

"I followed the crowd up the rescuing ship numbly, not knowing where to go. There were many kids like me who lost their families back then; they were all given to veterans with a disability to raise. A group of kids and I were given to a veteran, too. From then on, we lived with him. He raised us and taught us how to fight. He was a rough, impatient man, but a good man and a good soldier. Many of us Supers were orphans that were raised by the race back then.

"As time passed, I gradually took that veteran as my foster father, but I always had a grudge in my heart. I felt my past was too dark; I felt I was an evil man. If I told my foster father, would he chase me away? One day, on impulse, I told him about my younger sisters' death, and he gave me a serious scolding… but not because of my selfishness. He scolded me that if I had the heart to think about the past, I should be spending that time to train. He said that the race was on the verge of being wiped out, and there was no time to be held back by the past. Even if I was a criminal of countless sins, as long as I held the gun to protect our race, then I had only one identity—a soldier. No one would care about my past, only what I can do…"

Han Xiao touched his chin and asked, "What happened to that old veteran?"

"The first time the Catastrophe came, although the disabled soldiers could have been protected, he actively requested to go into the battlefield, where he died. Afterward, I heard that he belonged to the team that protected my group of refugees; I even once received food from him…" Lerden shook his head. "I owe everything to the race; therefore, I contribute everything I am able to."

"So, your contributions are to return favors?" Han Xiao turned around and looked at Herlous, who was leaning over, eavesdropping. The man was expressionless, and he turned around and walked away impatiently as if he had absolutely no interest in this kind of conversation.

"Not entirely. It's also for the continuation of my race." After telling the nostalgic story, the sadness from losing comrades earlier was washed away a little. Lerden wanted to know more about Han Xiao as well, so he changed the subject. "Let's not talk about me, let's talk about you. You…"

This time, Han Xiao suddenly stood up and cut him off. "Pardon me, I have a private matter to settle. I need to leave for a while."

Lerden was speechless. Shouldn't friends share such stories? Why is he running away after listening just to my experience? I feel I've been taken advantage of.

Han Xiao walked to the side, found Herlous, and said, "I want to talk to you privately."

Herlous suddenly became cautious. "What do you really want?"

Han Xiao was direct this time. "I know many things about you, such as your strength, what your older brother left for you, and other stuff. Maybe you will be interested to hear about Sunil's future."

Future‽

This word made Herlous very surprised, and he became even more unsure of Han Xiao's goal. "Who are you?"

"I'm a Foreseer, or you can call me… a Prophet."

Han Xiao gave a weird smile.

The reason for him to come into contact with Herlous multiple times was because he knew Herlous' hidden identity—he was the main character of the Sunils!

Chapter 345: Meeting the Liar Again 2

"Foreseer?" Herlous' face was filled with doubt. A stranger had suddenly appeared out of nowhere to find him and said that he could foresee the future. He had never experienced something like this. What the hell is this?

Herlous' first reaction was to not believe him. "Since you can see the future, do you know what I will eat tomorrow morning?"

"It's okay if you don't believe my identity; you just need to listen. Time will prove if what I say is true."

Han Xiao ignored Herlous' mocking and started his performance. He purposed acted mysterious and said with a voice only two of them could hear, "Contradictions have already appeared. Not long now, the guardians of your race will split up, and Planet Sunil's revitalizing dream will forever be shattered. The Catastrophe will finish all of your resources and hope; the only path left will be to look for help and become a subsidiary of an advanced civilization. Your people will spread to live in different cities, gradually losing your independence, relying on the strong, then slowing losing your heritage and spirit. Your past will become your words, recorded into the history books of the other higher civilizations. Your children will only come to know of the history of your race through words. Your race will be another withered race in the broad universe…"

He used unclear words on purpose. Foretelling had to give people a blurry and unclear feeling, and when it really happened, people would feel enlightened and regret when they thought back to the foretelling. Han Xiao, of course, knew the future of the Sunil race; this race did not end physically, but they did 'end' in another form.

Spirit, heritage, belief, history—these were the things that a species had during the process of evolving. Through thinking in various processes and coming up with answers that belonged to this race, these untouchable things were what made a race a 'civilization'. Just like the base of a building, they were something that everyone in a race shared, pillars that held the race together. There were many races and species of beasts, but no one ever called them 'civilizations'.

Planet Sunil was a refuge civilization—Supers were their guardians, and the race appreciated their contributions but did not have extra resources to reward them. The race could only recover by relying on Supers. It was this everlasting contribution that sparked the contradictions. In his previous life, a group of the Supers could not take it anymore. They felt they had done more than enough, so they chose to give up their home and in search of 'freedom', abandoning the race, which they saw as a burden, taking the galaxy as their new home.

The Sunils were heavily wounded. Originally, the damage after every Catastrophe was still acceptable, and the strength of the race as a whole was slowly recovering. Everyone had been looking forward to the day when all that bitterness would be gone and they could taste the sweetness. However, when the guardians of the race split up, their situation went downhill extremely fast; the damage suffered through the Catastrophe started to grow larger than the race's accumulated resources, and the times became harder and harder.

The Sunils did not have enough resources to migrate. Even if they did, they would not do so; they could only look for help. Many evil forces existed in the universe, and refuge civilizations were their favored prey. If they left Godora's protection, worse dangers would come, such as large scavenger groups, slave traders, and many others. Examples of this were not extremely rare—slave traders with strong backing wiped out an entire race except one, then raised the price due to the reason of that one person being the last of an 'extinct species'. There were also evil organizations wiping out races to fulfill some kind of ritual or simply for satisfaction.

Regulations kept the universe balanced, but it could not get rid of all evil.

In the end, Sunil accepted Godora's military aid and migrated once again. Godora split the Sunils up and sent an army for long term 'protection'. As Godora made more decisions and as time passed, the Sunils were assimilated, ending the Sunil 'Civilization'.

The three Universal Civilizations made laws that forbade the invasion of lower civilizations, but the war never ended. The festive, boisterous, and the regulated universe was just the surface, and hidden in it were many ambitious civilizations that either waited or were already acting. After all, every civilization dreamt of becoming the overlord. Since it was not allowed to invade lower civilizations through war, they assimilated them. Even the lawful civilizations were not completely kind people, and even Godora, who held pure blood beliefs, also cultivated subsidiary races.

Whether a civilization prospered or fell was on the population. If the people wanted their civilization to continue, others would only grab the opportunity to take advantage of them. Every day, there were races or civilizations dying in some corner of the universe—what difference would one more make? At most, their race's history would be recorded and become a conversation topic after dinner or a record that did not make a difference to anyone.

Some galactic shows liked to report the dilemmas faced by civilizations, and its selling point was sparking sympathy in the audience, but hoping that others would turn sympathy into actual action was extravagant. One might make an emotional decision because of one's emotions, but when it came to an entire civilization, an entire race, only profit mattered. After all, Sunil was just one of the hundreds of thousands of normal races. It had no right to receive special treatment.

Furthermore, this was Shattered Star Ring, the edge of the visible universe, rural and unpopulated. The active groups of people were scavengers, abandoned people, mercenaries, and vulture-like pragmatists.

Furthermore, DarkStar had attacked the lower civilizations because they wanted them to spend Godora's resources. If one refuge civilization could stop relying on Godora and rely on itself because it had revitalized, how could the DarkStar allow the birth of an ally of Godora?

Han Xiao used vague words to describe this future to Herlous, letting him know that the Sunil's future was covered in darkness.

"Why did you tell me something like this? Do you think I will be interested?" Herlous asked indifferently. He raised his head and gulped a mouth of alcohol, looking completely unconcerned.

"Because I saw your ending, many things can be prevented." Han Xiao smiled.

Herlous put down the glass and said curiously, "How do I end?"

Although he did not believe that Han Xiao was a so-called prophet, most people would be curious about their future. Han Xiao had talked about many things earlier, and Herlous really wanted to know how this guy would 'foresee' his fate.

Han Xiao stopped instead with a smile and said, "When you believe I'm a foreseer, I will tell you."

"I already do." Herlous took back what he had said previously.

"If you really believe, you're welcomed to actively find me next time."

Han Xiao smiled; lying did not work on him.

Herlous was the storyline main character of Sunil. According to this person's experience, Han Xiao thought that there was a chance to take away this main character role. At this time, Herlous was still an alcoholic escaping from reality, not matching up the style of a 'storyline main character'. The parts he was going to play had yet to start, and the Great Mechanic Han had done all this specifically to target Herlous' changes in the future, to leave a heavy impression.

His faction had to have more than one 'NPC' other than himself, and Herlous was the first testing target.

At this time, an argument could be heard from the corner of the bar. One of them was clearly drunk and had a conflict with his friend. It seemed like they were on the topic of the survival of their race, and they had a conflict due to disagreements.

"You don't know about sh*t," the friend said furiously. "This is all part of Godora's plan. They purposely migrated us to a dangerous planet. How could they not know this planet's actual environment? Godora wants us to beg them!"

Chapter 346: Contradictions and Splitting Up, Last Stage of the Catastrophe

On the other side, the drunk man spun the alcohol bottle. He was very emotional as he shouted loudly, "Then we beg Godora! What can race honor do? Only staying alive is important! These leaders' heads are all full of sh*t. Too many people died every time; my two younger brothers died in the army! All of this is useless, so we should get help from Godora. Why are we acting so tough! These Supers are useless. If they really were strong, the Catastrophe would be long gone!"

The drunk talked in a very disdainful and emotional tone, despising the Supers and the military for being too lousy, blaming and complaining with more and more vulgar language. This kind of action angered the other customers. Supers and the military were heroes to most of the civilians—any doubts or insults would cause an outrage.

"Everything you are enjoying now is because the heroes fought their lives for it. Who are you to talk!"

The drunk sneered and said, "This is what they should do—with ability comes responsibility. If not for the race's cultivation, they would be ordinary people just like me."

"People like you are so disgusting; you should be sent out the city!"

The drunk sneered again. "Even if the city's defenses are broken through, I'm a civilian that will be prioritized in the evacuation. I won't be the one dying anyway."

"You don't deserve to be protected!" The crowd became even more furious.

The argument became heated. Lerden sat at the bar counter, expressionless, like he did not hear it at all. He did not even bother to turn around and look.

At this time, a very young guy pounced at the drunk guy furiously and started a fight straight away. He pressed the drunk man to the floor and punched his face rapidly, with blood splashing onto the floor. The others saw that there were blood and hastily tried to pull the young guy acting on impulse away.

"Lana, calm down!"

"Stop punching, he's going to die!"

Lana gave a few more punches before he finally stood up with hatred and got pulled aside. The drunk man was bleeding from his nose and mouth, unable to stand up after receiving a heavy beating. The other customers went to check, and luckily, the drunk man was just wounded. Then people blamed Lana for using too much force. Many people here were his neighbors, and Lana was a young man who hoped to enter the army—he was strong and muscular, an ideal recruit.

"You two, get the hell out of my shop," Herlous yelled, "go home and calm down!"

Lana left unhappily, and the drunk man was carried away as well. Thus, that small farce had ended.

Han Xiao turned around, looked at Herlous, and said, "I'm Black Star. If you are interested in what I said, come find me, I can solve this problem."

Then, Han Xiao called Lerden, and the two of them left the bar.

The unconcerned expression faded from Herlous' face, turning a little serious. His eyes sparkled, and unlike his disguise, he was not really completely unconcerned about the future of the race.

He did not know if a mercenary who called himself Black Star was really a foreseer. Even if he was, it was possible that he had lied about the foresight to trick him into a trap. He definitely had a motive, but Herlous did not know what it was. Was he coming for him?

The bar door was pushed open again, and a tall man in a hood walked near the bar counter. "Give me a glass of beer."

The man in the hood raised his head and showed his face.

Fernas!

Herlous was surprised. "You don't drink."

"Consider it a celebration of me coming back alive." Fernas took Herlous' glass and drank a mouth—it seemed that they were very close. If others knew the strongest grade B super of the race was this close to the boss of a small bar, they would definitely be shocked.

They were childhood playmates, so Herlous was way too familiar with this person. Almost every positive adjective could be used to describe Fernas—brave, honest, responsible, and many others. After the first disaster for the Sunils, Fernas became a mercenary to contribute to the race. Herlous actually always envied Fernas. From a young age, his short-lived older brother had kept talking about Fernas this, Fernas that. In his eyes, Fernas was 'the kid next door'.

Although he did envy him a little, Herlous also respected Fernas. He knew that he definitely could not be as dedicated as Fernas. After his older brother died, Herlous lived an aimless life waiting for his death, completely unconcerned about his race. He knew that he was a lazy person—when his older brother was alive, he had always been scolded for not being hardworking. Many people felt he was just as talented as Fernas but wasted his life away. Now, Fernas was the guardian respected by the entire race, and he was just a nobody.

He knew Fernas. He was a very self-disciplined person who would not break the rules for anything. Thus, Herlous frowned and asked, "What really happened?"

"Brother, I can't take it anymore. I'm preparing to leave." Fernas gave a faint smile full of bitterness; Herlous had never seen such an expression on this resolute face.

Leave? Herlous was shocked.

"The universe has endless possibilities," Fernas said. "Only when the past is cut off can one go forward. I don't want to be held back by the race anymore. There are many warriors who have the same thought as me, so we will not return after this Catastrophe.

"We have protected the race long enough—many friends sacrificed themselves, and some people begged for our protection, yet they feel it's a given. This is not our obligation, and there is no need to continue. We have done more than enough—maybe the race accepting help from Godora is the best ending. At least no one will die for nothing anymore."

"Even you are giving up‽" Herlous was completely shocked. Suddenly, Han Xiao's words appeared in his head. Is this the split that guy predicted? Then will our race have the future like he said, become a subsidiary of Godora and lose our heritage?

Herlous arranged the information and words to use, then told Fernas about Han Xiao's foresight of the ending after Sunil accepted military help from Godora. Fernas shook his head after listening. Without any change in his eyes, he said, "Staying alive is the most important. As long as the people are alive, the ideals will not die."

Is that really the case?

But the Fernas I know absolutely would not abandon our race.

You're alive, but you have changed…

Herlous saw Fernas' expression and knew that he had decided and was not going to be convinced. Having always seen Fernas as the noblest friend he had, his emotions were in turmoil. Now, he could never look at him the same way—it was like he became a stranger.

"Then why did you come to tell me this?" Herlous asked.

Fernas shook the bottle and said softly, "Honestly, I dislike you a lot. You have stronger powers than me, but you hide and accept our protection without hesitation… Never mind, let's not talk about this. I just came to tell you about it. It's up to you to continue to avoid everything or to stand up."

Fernas pulled up his hood and left Herlous to dwell on that thought.

…

Since the seed was already planted, Han Xiao did not enter the city again. He stayed outside the city and carried out his battlefield repairs. Upon entering the mid-stage of the Catastrophe, the battlefield became more heated and tragic. All sorts of horrifying monsters charged forward one after another, and he could not continue to run across the battlefield with just his body—he wore his Amphiptere mechanical suit. Sometimes, when the place he was repairing had gaps, he had to become the backup to fill up the gap as well. Among the mercenaries, his strength was not too conspicuous, and the only reason the other mercenaries remembered him was because the Black Star Mercenary Group actively took on the forward reconnaissance mission. Many mercenaries felt Han Xiao was insane—when the forward reconnaissance team next changed shifts, his mercenary group would definitely suffer a huge loss.

A large number of soldiers died every day, and incomplete corpses were sent to the back line one after another to be identified. The defense camp also had many damaged weapons and carriers, so the defense was becoming harder and harder. Only the nine battleships in the sky stayed still and never fired. The Sunils had limited resources, and battleship energy was scarce. Only when the extremely strong monsters showed up during the last stage would the battleships join the fray. Furthermore, the Sunils' battleships could only fly around the planet for three to four days at most. Other than guarding the sky, the most important use of these nine battleships was to make sure that they could transport the civilians away if the situation got out of hand, abandoning the city in order to escape. It was an emergency retreat route.

Eight days later, the city had a strange calm period. The alarm signifying the last stage of the Catastrophe sounded, and this time, everyone received breathing masks. Not just the logistics personnel, even some Supers entered refugee facilities.

Hoom!

An overwhelming hum of insect wings flapping appeared, and thick and black clouds swarmed over. These were all extremely aggressive small insects, concentrated like a wave.

Chapter 347: Raising Reward

Whoosh!

In the defense circle, some kind of device shot out purple-red biohazard gas and covered the entire camp. Poisonous gas was the best form of attack for this kind of tiny insects in large numbers. This specially made poisonous gas was very strong—even flying insects that could endure fire would fall to the ground after tens of seconds, then struggle till their death.

This time, thunderous roars appeared, and enormous beasts with an average height of more than ten meters charged forward together with the swarm. The beast wave at the last stage was much more terrifying than the previous stages. These beasts were all species at the top of the food chain in Planet Sunil—Bone Armor War Elephants that stood tens of meters tall, Lava Flying Serpents that breathed scorching fire from their mouths, and many more. It would take a defense team at least twenty seconds of focus fire to kill one beast.

The poisonous gas was everywhere. It was a weapon to kill the swarm, but it was also a double-edged sword. If the armor of a soldier were torn open by the beasts, they would also be affected when they were exposed in the poisonous gas. Even though every soldier's armor was equipped with the antidote, it would only delay the effect of the poison and make it non-lethal. However, it would still paralyze the person affected. The Sunils' technology could not formulate a poisonous gas that was only effective on insects, so they could only use strong biohazard gas.

While the gas was a double-edged sword, it was the only way to deal with these flying bugs. A group of them could suck a Sunil completely dry in half a second, so they absolutely could not let them enter the city or it would be a horrifying disaster. They had to stop it outside the city no matter what. At the last stage of the Catastrophe, everyone had to fight in the poisonous gas—the situation was truly worse.

The two outermost lines of defense were already about half destroyed after the previous two stages, and this was the Sunils' disadvantage as well. The beast wave approached the defense team camp against the cannon and fire.

The ground shook violently, and a Bone Armor War Elephant charged toward B12 Defense Team in an overwhelming form. Even Neville, who had iron will, could not help but be nervous because of the pressure from its enormous size. At this moment, a large stream of light covered in electric sparks descended from the sky, blasting half of the Bone Armor War Elephant's body away, and its flesh splashed onto the ground. Neville looked up—this stream of light had left a distorted mark across the sky, and its ending was connected to the battleship.

The nine battleships in the sky finally fired after doing nothing for half a mouth. Blue light surged in the Electromagnetic Rail Cannons, shooting out bullets covered in electric sparks, picking only enormous beasts as targets, reducing the pressure on the ground immediately.

The battle broke up instantly. Deafening cannon fire and electric spark shone across the battlefield. The beast wave was unending, and the stench and metallic smell of blood were pungent. The defense team fired wildly while firelight illuminated on the corpses of soldiers and carcasses of beasts all over the floor. The losses on both sides were huge!

Clank!

In the B12 Defense Team camp, a more than ten-meter-long pure purple Thunder Leopard moved quickly like a flash of purple lightning, cutting through one of the defense soldiers' armor, slashing the soldier inside in half as well. Neville ignored it and commanded his subordinates to focus fire with a serious face. He only had twelve subordinates left—the loss was more than half.

"Do not be shaken, defend the camp!" Neville ordered coldly and harshly.

Countless bullets shot into the thick hide of the Thunder Leopard, spaying out blood. The Thunder Leopard growled as it pounced around, killing every soldier. Soon, Neville was the last one left. The Thunder Leopard was still very healthy, and the countless fresh vital signs far in the city were extremely luring to this Thunder Leopard, which was bloodthirsty in nature.

Just as the Thunder Leopard was about to cross the line of defense, Neville immediately stood in front of it, firing his machine gun. After seeing the Thunder Leopard killing the soldiers so easily, he knew that he was definitely not a match, but he still tried to stop the Thunder Leopard without any hesitation.

The duty of the Defense Team was carved deep in his bones—not allowing any beast to cross the line of defense he was in charge of!

As long as no order came from above, he would never back off.

The Thunder Leopard growled with anger and pounced toward Neville. Controlling the NCO Class armor, Neville engaged with it, rolling around dodging and leaving wounds on the Thunder Leopard one after another. He slid from below the Thunder Leopard's abdomen and dodged its claws. Just as he was about to stand up, he felt an extreme pain on his left arm; the Thunder Leopard had turned its head around in a very strange way and bitten through his arm armor.

The poisonous gas streamed in from the hole. Neville felt piercing pain from his skin, which quickly turned into the numbness of being poisoned. As he held his breath, the antidote was injected into his wrist, and a sense of burning flew through his body.

"After injecting the antidote, the poison effect will be delayed for about two minutes. If I hold my breath, I should be able to last ten more seconds… I have to kill this beast within this time." Neville's expression was cold. Even though he was poisoned, he still prioritized stopping the enemy; he had put his life aside long ago.

The man and the beast fought each other. Neville abandoned the bulky machine gun, favoring the saw on his wrist and the cannon and rockets embedded into the armor to fight. After dozens of seconds of heated combat, both parties were covered in wounds. Neville started to feel his body getting stiff, and his head was becoming heavy. It seemed that the effect of excessive blood loss and poisoning was starting to get to him.

Neville suddenly stopped moving. The Thunder Leopard pounced over, and he did not dodge, letting the Thunder Leopard press him against the ground and penetrating his chest and abdomen with its claws.

Plop…

Blood spurted out from his mouth, but Neville endured the pain. One of his hands stabbed into the Thunder Leopard's neck and tightly hung onto the Thunder Leopard; his other hand reached into the Thunder Leopard's mouth and fired wildly. He knew his movements were too slow, so he had given up his life and used himself as a bait.

The Thunder Leopard twisted itself in agony. It bit off the arm inside its mouth, then slashed its claws down on Neville in a frenzy. Neville was heavily injured, incapable of moving despite the huge claw expanding in his sights.

"This day has finally come for me…" he murmured calmly.

Just as the claw was about to slam down, Neville saw an enormous blinding electric fire descending.

The next moment, Neville and the Thunder Leopard were both covered by the light of the Electromagnetic Rail Cannon.

…

The tragic battle ended. On the first day of the last stage of the Catastrophe, the losses were heavy. Dozens of fighter jets fell, and even the energy shields of two battleships were almost shattered by the countless enormous flying beasts.

"Such a horrifying battle."

"This is the first time I've seen something so large-scale. I'll never accept this kind of job again."

Fear still lingered in the hearts of the mercenaries as they gasped for breath. Many corpses of the other mercenaries lay on the floor.

Han Xiao repaired equipment after equipment. He did not need to take part in the battle directly; after all, in such a dangerous situation, even he was not confident about staying safe, applying for the repairing job was also because he did not want to take the risk. He was there to earn the reward, so it was okay as long as he utilized his abilities and helped; he would not really give his life to other organizations because of money.

During the rare calm period, another group of scouts returned, and all the players came back. The expression on everyone's face was relaxed, like they did not carry out a dangerous mission but went sightseeing instead. Being in dangerous areas gave no stress to the players at all—they would revive anyway. Although there was a limit to the number of times, most of these people were pro players. Of course, they knew to monitor their times of death.

They were already at max level, so losing some experience was nothing, and the mission reward would cover that loss anyway. Furthermore, it was more useful to earn the universe currency.

The people of Black Star gathered, and after sizing them up, the mercenaries around immediately realized something shocking.

"It looks like they did not lose anyone!"

"What? Every single one came back alive‽"

The mercenaries were completely shocked and curious. They hastily asked from the other members of the scout team and got the answer that these people would revive. Their expressions quickly turned into envy and fear. In the universe, Supers that would not die were the most difficult enemies, and no one dared to take them lightly.

"This mercenary group is entirely made of Immortals!"

"Wow…"

These mercenaries remembered the name of Black Star Mercenary Group, a mercenary group with all members that could not die. In their professional perspective, this mercenary group would become extremely popular in the near future.

Black Star Mercenary Group's name was reported to the superiors of the military, and they took it very seriously. Immortals were most suitable for reconnaissance, and it could largely reduce the loss of the scout team. Therefore, the military general found Han Xiao personally, talked to him in a very sincere tone, and placed himself lower than Han Xiao, completely different from when he talked to other mercenaries.

What the army expressed was that they hoped the Black Star Mercenary Group would not take shifts and rest. They wanted the group to go scouting ahead once again. Most importantly, they promised to definitely raise the reward—such useful help definitely deserved better treatment. Thus, the army actively requested to raise the reward because they were afraid that the Black Star Mercenary Group would reject the request.

The mission reward increased to 12,000 Enas, a fifty percent increase. Han Xiao accepted it on the spot, and the bitter players started a new round of reconnaissance. According to the time, it was also the last round of reconnaissance.

The corpses from the battlefield were transported back for their family members or friends to claim. Han Xiao realized that Neville was dead and felt a little emotional; after all, this was someone that he knew.

The family member who came to claim him was a woman, wailing loudly. Han Xiao asked the other soldiers and came to know that this woman was Neville's wife. Apparently, Neville also had a young kid at home.

…

In Forest City, most people stayed in front of their televisions and watched the live report of the battlefield situation. In such a crisis, the media did not report any fake information at all; they were all the true situation. In an extremely nervous state, they were still able to barely hold on.

The bar did not open. Herlous sat in the attic, watching the report from the television, and drinking alcohol nonstop. Images of the tragic battlefield flashed one after another. Suddenly feeling inexplicably upset, he placed his bottle down, left the bar, and strolled through the streets.

The streets were quiet—there were no pedestrians.

After walking aimlessly for a while, he heard a faint argument. As a grade B Super, although he had not fought for so many years, his sharp senses had not deteriorated. Out of sudden interest, Herlous followed the sound and came to the outside of a building. It was close to the bar, and the sound of argument became clearer as he neared.

"I will reach the required age for the army in a few days. I'm joining the army!"

The voice sounded familiar, like he heard it from someone before. Herlous was a little curious, so he hid and jumped onto the balcony, peeping inside through the window. He realized that he did know the person talking—it was the person who beat up the drunk man in the bar a few days ago, Lana.

Lana was arguing with his parents. Their clothes were all rather poor—they were civilians in low positions. Lana's parents were very anxious at this moment.

"Joining the army is suicide. I won't allow you to go!"

Chapter 348: Must Be In Love

The Sunil Civilization advocated the admiration of Supers and the army, and the spirit of contribution was indoctrinated into them from a young age. Lana had dreamed of joining the army ever since he was a child; he wanted to become an honorable soldier to protect his race, and he had been training hard for it. His neighbor was a veteran, so Lana and the nearby kids always asked the veteran to train them, counting down the days till they reached the age requirement of the army.

The Catastrophe came once every few years, so the time between was all they had for the development period—to collect resources, build more weapons, and train a new batch of soldiers. The Sunils would usually start recruitment for the army after the Catastrophe. Although their population was less than ten percent of their peak population after the DarkStar disaster, the population density was still quite high when they squeezed into a large city.

There were two types of recruitment, one was a self-request, which needed no further explanation, and the other was conscription, targeting prisoners and families with many children. All the youngsters coming of age were also required to take part in military service for some time to go through basic training so that when the time of danger arrived, these people could be recruited as soldiers on the spot.

Of course, Lana wished for more than joining the military services. He wanted to request to enter the army and become an official soldier, but he was met with strong rejection from his parents.

"How can you say something like this? Protecting the race is an honorable thing to do; countless people have sacrificed themselves. I'm willing to dedicate my life to it, too. It's an honor!" Lana said with his eyes wide open.

"You're still young and don't understand many things," Lana's parents said. "There are so many people joining the army every year—it won't make a difference if you don't go."

"No, it's a shameful thing! My dream is to protect our race!" Lana said passionately.

"Then have you thought about us?" Lana's mother was sobbing. "You used to always look for Mr. Neville next door for training. Yesterday, he was killed in action. His corpse was transported back, shattered. You did not witness the scene—his wife fainted while crying many, many times, and he left a child with only a mother, only able to get past the days with pension money. It's way too heartbreaking. He still has a kid of a few years old to raise, and we are already old. We only have one child, you. If you die, what do we do? How do you want us to live?"

Lana could not speak properly as he mumbled, "This is not right…"

"Lana, be it Supers, the army, or Mr. Neville, they are all great people, but we are just normal civilians. I love my race, and I will work to contribute to the race. The battlefield shouldn't be something in our consideration." The Father placed his hands on Lana's shoulders and spoke with a heavy heart. He respected Supers, and he respected the army too. While he appreciated the contribution that they made, when it came to himself, he could not make the same choice.

Lana lowered his head and stopped speaking.

"Lana, you have to promise us!" the mother said anxiously.

"… I promise," Lana said unwillingly while looking down. "I will enter military service, not the army."

His parents heaved sighs of relief.

Outside, Herlous leaned against the window sill, staring blankly into the sky.

In the sky, the nine battleships blocked the sunlight that was supposed to shine into the city like heavy clouds, the engines on their undersides creating streams of air that became wind. The pungent smell from outside the city could almost not be smelled as the engine fumes were blown into the city.

Many memories showed up in his mind—Fernas' bitter smile, Lana's passion, that drunk customer's blame, the bloody battlefield, the sacrificed soldiers, the admiring people, countless times of pulling himself away from reality after sobering up, every day he spent letting himself rot while being in the bar, and the DarkStar disaster, which he had not thought of for a long time. That was the last time that he had seen his older brother, Delvis.

In his memories, Delvis was still wearing a pair of thick glasses, with messy and oily hair that had not been washed for a long time. His white research coat looked like a robe on his short and thin body, appearing weirdly funny. In the video communication, standing before a research lab with a shattered dome, Delvis pushed his glasses out of habit, then said to his hulking younger brother, Herlous, "Kid, I left something for you in the research lab at home. The password is our parents' birthday backward. I didn't waste much energy on the encryption."

His tone was just like normal, full of disappointment and expecting better from him but with a little hint of not wanting to leave. The communication ended there. At the time, Herlous had looked outside the window, at the direction of the military research lab where Delvis had worked. There had been countless ferocious DarkStar Battleships hovering above, along with mushroom clouds exploding from the ground.

He had used the password to open Delvis's personal research room—Herlous had always wanted to sneak in and wreak havoc. However, he never could figure out the password. Inside, he had seen the inheritance that his older brother had left for him.

More and more memories appeared. Herlous still remembered, back then, he was a thug that did nothing useful, enjoying himself with his older brother's salary, reaching grade B at an extremely young age. He had been a thousand times stronger than Delvis, but he had always stood lower when he faced his older brother, always getting blamed and scolded. Yet, he had not cared because it made no difference.

"Brother…" Herlous muttered softly to himself.

The memories were like rolling bubbles. His thoughts stopped at Han Xiao's deep and dark eyes—his pupils seemed to have the current of time hidden in them.

Herlous' expression became a little firm. He went back to the bar, entered the attic, then opened a wardrobe that had been closed for a very long time. Inside was the tunnel toward the secret basement under the bar, which was already covered in dust. He walked down slowly, turned on the light, gazed upon the pile of boxes in the basement. Most of them were Delvis's relic.

He walked directly to the corner of the basement, pulled out a wooden box, swept away the accumulated dust, and opened the cover.

Inside was a dark colored suit, the inheritance that Delvis had left for him, armor that had been specially built for him in secret—[Shattered Light]!

During the DarkStar disaster, Herlous had relied on this armor to stay alive, and he had never used it after that. Thus, it had simply collected dust in the basement as a souvenir of his older brother.

It was possibly the last usable Commander Class armor in the entire Sunil race.

Herlous stared at the armor, and his eyes gradually turned sharp.

"It's been too long since I battled… hope I don't get cramp."

…

The beasts appearing in the last stage were horrendously strong. They were all at the top of the food chain on the planet, and some of them already exceeded the beast category and could be called monsters.

One such monster was the Huge Acidic Flying Beetle with a wingspan of more than a hundred meters that would not die even after taking more than a dozen rail cannon shots. It was able to shoot out corrosive acid from its mouth, sticking onto the shield of the battleship and sizzling with smoke. One of this monster could be dealt with easily, but they appeared in groups, and the firepower of the camp could not match up. So, the shield of a battleship was broken, and its exterior armor was damaged. It was forced to descend and undergo emergency repairs.

"What did the monsters on this planet eat‽"

The mercenaries were in shock. Monsters with a hundred-meter wingspan were almost as large as Sunil's smaller battleships. This was just a wild animal on a planet, but it had grown into something comparable to a battleship. Such an enormous monster did not even require the ground scouting team; the reconnaissance aircraft could locate it directly.

Missiles exploded deafeningly in the sky nonstop. Suddenly, an alarm sounded from within the defense ring—it was an emergency announcement.

"Prepare for impact! Prepare for impact! Mountain Beasts have been detected and are closing in. Estimated to arrival is 14 minutes. All soldiers, get ready. High Energy Concentrated Particle Cannon, begin charging!"

At the fifth defense ring, the ground cracked open, showing a metallic, fearsome, and extremely complex cannon. Its muzzle was a hexagon, and it was embedded into the hollow Particle Stabilization Device, like a cannon being divided into sections. Han Xiao's mechanical suit immediately released a high energy reaction warning as a light started to appear in the muzzle of this enormous cannon.

This High Energy Concentrated Particle Cannon was a scrap product spat out from the central wormhole of the Shattered Star Ring, a galactic-level war weapon, and it was unknown which higher civilization it came from. It had been picked up by scavengers for sales, and the Sunils had spent a huge sum to buy it. This was what they had learned from the huge loss they suffered from the first Catastrophe—they had to have a trump card against strong beasts.

Although it was a scrap product, it had cost the Sunils a fortune. It had technology protection from a higher civilization, could not be repaired or studied, and could only be used. Every shot required a large amount of energy, which was precious on Planet Sunil. Every shot meant burning away a large amount of fortune, as their energy technology naturally did not match up to higher civilization's. It had to take a long time to charge up before firing, so they only used this enormous cannon when they met the most fearsome monsters.

The Sunils had explored this planet for more than ten years, and they had recorded a large number of beasts in their database. Mountain Beasts were one of the monsters at the very top. Strong beasts were all diverted away by the frontline combat troops, so the appearance of this Mountain Beast meant that they had failed.

Han Xiao was surprised. He casually penetrated an approaching Thunder Leopard, turned around to look at the High Energy Concentrated Particle Cannon, and felt like he was almost drooling.

This feeling of butterflies in my stomach…

Chapter 349: Shocking the Entire Race! 1

The ground tremored.

In the distance, the forest collapsed as an enormous beast slowly approached, like a looming, moving mountain. Although the mercenaries knew about the Mountain Beast from the database illustration, many of them were still shocked.

"Such a gigantic creature!"

The Mountain Beast had four feet as thick as buildings and a long tail. Its thick stone-like scales provided a sturdy defense along with the large mud yellow shell on its back like a tortoiseshell. Its head looked like a shovel—a protruding lower jaw and eyes hidden between the gaps of its stone shell—creating an aura of fierceness. Actually, the Mountain Beast was a very gentle animal; its favorite pastime was to disguise itself as a mountain and sleep. Only because of the effect from the psychic wave did it become abnormally grumpy and aggressive.

Adult Mountain Beasts stood about 150 to 200 meters tall—in comparison, Sunils were like ants.

The battleships in the sky fired at the Mountain Beast from far away, and six or seven shots from the Electromagnetic Rail Cannon hit its body, shattering large areas of its stone shell. However, the attacks did not hurt its flesh—the defense of the Mountain Beast was truly astonishing.

These shots enraged it, and it let out a growl, which sounded like a moo. Its tail thrust into the ground, rolling up a huge pile of mud mixed with trees. As its tail tightened, this pile of mud became much denser. Swinging its tail, the pile of mud shot out like a cannon, containing the power of a Mountain Beast—its energy was terrifying.

Even Han Xiao could not see the flying pile of mud clearly. He could only see a phantom that disappeared in an instant.

The shield of the battleship flashed, and the clod exploded on the ground. Electric arcs rippled through the entire shield, and cracks spread rapidly. This hit almost penetrated the shield, and the battleship increased its energy output urgently—only then did the shield recover to its original state.

Seeing that its attack was not effective, the Mountain Beast rolled up another pile of mud. It could still use this attack hundreds more times, but the energy of the battleship was finite.

"High Energy Concentrated Particle Cannon charging complete. The target has entered the firing range. Firing in five, four, three, two, one… fire!"

A bright cream white beam hurtled out of the cannon. Its diameter was at least four meters, yet it flashed across thousands of meters in the blink of an eye, penetrating the Mountain Beast's carapace with ease. When it pierced into its abdomen, a chain of explosions erupted in its body.

Boom!

The explosion shook the ground!

A thick leg was sent flying, and a large hole opened up in the front half of the Mountain Beast, allowing blood to rush down like a waterfall. With a scream that shot through the sky, it fell onto the ground.

The High Energy Concentrated Particle Cannon was a weapon used between the battleships of very high-class civilizations. The astonishing shot immediately injured such a gigantic Beast heavily—this was the Sunil race's current trump card. The sight of the beam raised the soldiers' morale through the roof, and they quickly suppressed their exhaustion, fighting against the beast wave even harder.

"What a horrifying weapon." Han Xiao's eyes were shining as he suppressed his desire. This was a weapon that could only be gained in the later stages—he could not learn it with his current knowledge level. He would only have the chance to build a weapon of such a level if he kept growing.

The Particle Cannon did not retract, and it started charging again. The broadcast sounded once again. This Mountain Beast was not the only one—two more strong monsters were approaching. Soon after, they appeared in the soldiers' sight. One was a flying monster that looked very similar to a dragon, a Lava Lizard, which lived in volcanic environments, had a hundred-meter wingspan, and was protected by ferocious scales. This was much harder to deal with than Acidic Flying Beetle of the same size—not only was its carapace strong and hard, it could also spit lava.

The other was a terrestrial creature, the King Predator. It looked like a tiger and a leopard covered in scales like a suit of armor. Although it was only thirty meters tall, it was even more dangerous than the Mountain Beast due to its incredible agility. Unlike the Mountain Beast, which was like a sitting duck, its movement was fast as lightning, therefore difficult to lock onto.

It could easily break through the lines of defense one after another, and its sharp claws could tear metal apart with ease. It was truly the biggest threat to the land troops. The name 'King Predator' came from its dominance in the forest—it was the well-deserved ruler of the forest. Every time that it appeared, the Sunils had to pay a very heavy price to deal with it. There was even this one time when a King Predator had almost penetrated all the defense rings and broken into the city.

The situation took a sharp turn downhill!

The Lava Lizard dived at a high speed while the King Predator ran like lightning—there was a strong enemy approaching both on land and in the sky, and there was still an injured Mountain Beast that kept throwing clods. When the Particle Cannon finished charging, it aimed at the Lava Lizard in the sky and fired, directly penetrating one side of Lava Lizard's wings. The monster spun and fell to the ground, sending out a violent shockwave.

The flying enemy had to be dealt with first. Thus, the King Predator on the ground could only be temporarily stalled by men while waiting for the Particle Cannon to recharge.

The army gathered thousands of troops ahead of the King Predator, yet even that might not be enough.

An endless rain of bullets covered the King Predator, all of which were deflected by its scales, leaving only sparks. The King Predator moved fast, and no attack could slow it down. If it bashed into the iron line of defense, everyone could tell that it would create a blood path in the defense teams. At least two teams would be lost!

No soldier was shaken—they were all unafraid of death.

Just as the two parties were about to clash…

Boom!

Dust suddenly shot into the air, and the seemingly unstoppable King Predator was halted. It opened its bloody mouth widely and bit onto a ruler-like iron-gray rectangular block of metal, which an armored warrior was holding onto. They were in a battle of strength, and their strength was comparable.

It was this armored warrior who stopped the King Predator, leaving only a magnificent silhouette to all the soldiers!

The people opened their eyes widely, wanting to see who this person was, but he was wearing a helmet, and his face could not be seen. The armor was a little humble, like tights embedded with some armor plates, and dark in color.

Han Xiao raised the edge of his mouth when he saw this.

It was indeed Herlous!

"So, he came…" The Great Mechanic Han smiled. "Let me see if the current you is strong enough."

The King Predator seemed to have detected danger. It jumped aside and moved around cautiously. Just as the defense team was about to go forward to surround it, Herlous suddenly said, "Leave this brute to me. You guys go to other places."

Leave to you? Who are you? What if you fail?

The troops, of course, did not trust others easily, but before they continued to move, strong Pugilist flames burst from this armored warrior, and a change occurred that left every Sunil in shock.

The humble suit on Herlous' body suddenly shapeshifted, and the compressed armor plates expanded, turning into countless complex and precise armor pieces. With the flashing of light, the tights quickly became extremely complex silver-gray armor, like a gorgeous ancient knight's armor. Soft white metal extended from the shoulders like a piece of cloth, moving in the wind like a cape behind his back. Even with the Great Mechanic Han's very picky sense of beauty, this style was impressive.

Energy surrounded the entire armor as Herlous shook the rectangular block in his hand. It expanded part by part and turned into a ten-meter long mechanical battleship slicing blade!

All the Sunils were stunned!

A word deeply buried in their memories started to surface, and countless soldiers opened their eyes even wider.

"This is… the Commander Class armor‽"

"The strongest armor of the race that was said to be lost!"

Every soldier was stunned and shocked! Their mind was blanked!

Commander Class armor was a legend to the Sunils at this time, and the legend had become reality that day!

Herlous twisted his neck, and the familiar thick Pugilist energy flew through his entire body. The dormant fighting genes in his body gradually awakened. This tailor-made armor was still in perfect condition.

"I almost forgot this feeling. It feels… quite good."

With a loud yell, Herlous held the ten-meter battleship slicing blade and pounced, as fast as a phantom. The thick light from the blade flashed like lightning!

Swoosh!

An impact wave came out of the blade, creating a trench dozens of meters long. The King Predator barely dodged it, and a wound appeared on its long body, which expanded rapidly, blood jetting out!

The position of hunter and prey switched instantly!

Chapter 349.1: Shocking the Entire Race! (2)

Herlous was a grade B Pugilist, and [Shattered Light] was a Super Equipment, tailor-made for him, enhancing his Pugilist abilities further. Many energy converting devices hid between the gaps of the armor, and the raging flames sent waves rippling through the air as he moved.

Grade B Pugilists had surpassed the early stage of a Pugilist—they were walking, living bombs.

Herlous’ strength was not to be ignored even across the entire Shattered Star Ring. The Commander Class armor was a piece of top-class equipment, and its level was completely different from the Enlistee Class and the NCO Class. With the energy enhancing Battleship Slicing Blade, Herlous’ damage was astonishing.

The thick light from the blade released shockwaves, creating trenches on the ground one after another. This level of strength was way higher than the normal soldiers, and there was no need for anyone else to join in. Herlous spun the rough looking Battleship Slicing Blade with ease, much more agilely than the King Predator. Having nowhere to escape, the King Predator’s flesh was splashing all over.

Herlous’ god-like power had lit fires in countless soldiers’ hearts.

The Commander Class armor appeared again after disappearing for so many years!

Who is this armor user?

The Sunils had many questions in their minds.

Commander Class armor had a very special position in the Sunils’ hearts. Many people knew that this was the display of the strongest single warrior in the entire race, and it was almost like a totem. Herlous’ appearance awakened the buried memories of every Sunil.

Morale skyrocketed instantly. In gaming terms, all Sunils received the ‘All Attributes Boost’ buff!

Han Xiao was watching the show from the side, nodding. Herlous was very strong, much stronger than his current self.

Herlous starting to fight means that the Sunil have entered the storyline I’m familiar with… Han Xiao thought. With him existing, Herlous’ actions should deviate from the original storyline, so he just needed the chance to ‘abduct’ him.

The Particle Cannon fired twice, heavily injuring the Mountain Beast and the Lava Lizard. This weapon was common in the galactic battle between high-class civilizations, and it was a scrap product. The Sunil could only burn lower grade energy with their energy technology level, and even with so many restrictions, its power was still enough to be a trump card for protecting a city.

During the charging period, Herlous successfully killed the King Predator and started to run around the battlefield. With his armor and energy protection, he did not fear being surrounded by the beast wave. The Battleship Slicing Blade slashed horizontally, unmatched in the beast wave, containing the disadvantageous situation in the area.

Herlous could not stop the entire beast wave alone, but his actions had an undoubted effect—the soldiers in this area finally had a chance to breathe.

On Planet Aquamarine, a grade C Super could go head-on with an army—Herlous was one grade higher. Even though the beasts at the last stage of the Catastrophe were strong, he could still deal with them easily. Furthermore, he was a tank-type Pugilist.

A single unit with extraordinary powers was more agile, like a sharp blade. Between the same technology level, high-grade combat powers and war troops differed in quantity and quality—a strong single unit was an army by itself!

Herlous jumped and moved around, becoming the center of attention on the battlefield. Looking at him raised the soldiers’ spirits.

The situation gradually stabilized, and the wave of beasts ended. Just as the military was about to excitedly get in touch with this mythical man, Herlous dashed toward the forest and disappeared, clearly showing his intention of not wanting to expose his identity.

Herlous was somewhat conflicted. Getting in touch with the military meant his peaceful life in the past would be gone. He would have to walk the path of people like Fernas and become the guardian of the race. Although whether he did become a guardian or not depended on his choice, Herlous felt that he would not be able to leave himself out of it by then.

Furthermore, the superiors would definitely request him to give up his Commander Class armor to the race for research purposes. Herlous took it as a precious inheritance from Delvis, so he was very conflicted.

Although he stood out now to protect the race, and his buried responsibility was awakening slowly, someone this strong would not change his personality overnight.

…

In the following few days, Herlous was torn between the choices. While he appeared to help, the military kept trying to discover his identity, but every time that the battle ended, he left quickly and kept his mystery.

A few days later, the whisper in everyone’s mind suddenly disappeared. The Catastrophe had ended.

The beast wave in the middle of attacking suddenly paused. Countless beasts awoke from their bloodlust, stopped running, looked around, and ran in all directions, disappearing.

“The Catastrophe is finally gone.” Han Xiao took a deep breath.

Soldiers lay down in exhaustion one after another, unable to move. Their bodies had reached their limits, and the surviving soldiers were way too tired.

The logistics team cleaned up the battlefield, pulling soldiers out of their armor and sending them into the medical room one after another.

The military was recovering and resting, as countless people in the city triumphed over the broadcast from their television.

The end of every Catastrophe was like surviving through a disaster. As per tradition, there would be a celebration a few days later, appreciating the army’s contribution and morning the lost soldiers. This kind of celebration filled with the feeling of a ritual was beneficial to increasing a race’s unity, relaxing their tightened nerves, making the people laugh and cry, getting rid of the negative emotions, and once again feeling hopeful for the future.

However, this time was completely different. Only one hour after the Catastrophe ended, Fernas’ cold face appeared on the television everywhere.

“My fellow men, I’m Fernas. I believe many people know me. I want to make an announcement. From today, on behalf of forty percent of the Supers, the people you call guardians, we will be leaving Planet Sunil and never return…”

The words he used were very firm, saying that they had done enough and were now going to search for freedom, not giving their lives to the race anymore.

The Sunils felt like a bucket of ice had been poured over them. The happiness and passion from getting through the Catastrophe vanished, and they were all stunned.

What is this? Why is it so sudden‽

The superiors of the military were shocked—they had absolutely no idea about this beforehand.

Far away in the forest, Herlous saw Fernas’ announcement from the internal terminal in his armor, and he mumbled in disbelief, “Why not leave quietly‽ This way, the people will…”

With the announcement, the whole of Planet Sunil was shocked. The people felt confused and lost; they did not know the reasons behind it. All they knew was that the guardians whom they had always relied on were abandoning them!

Why? Why‽

No one kept silent.

Despair, desperation, hopelessness.

Howling, wailing, growling.

This was the collapse of belief! Even the minority that was unsatisfied with the Supers felt endless panic when they saw this!

This shocked the entire race!

Fernas appeared with the other Supers that decided to leave and walked outside. The Sunil soldiers looked at them in disbelief, yet they still opened a path for them.

This time, another group of people swarmed over with rage and shock, including Lerden.

Sunil Supers were divided into two groups, one announcing their leave from the race, another shocked and furious. They stood against each other from far away with clear separation.

The anticipation of a good show appeared on the faces of mercenaries, who were waiting for their reward.

Han Xiao leaned his back against a tank, looked at this scene, squinted his eyes and thought, And so it begins.

He had only read about the Sunil Supers splitting up from the news. This time, he could witness it happening.

The report had referred to the people including Fernas who were leaving the Independence Faction, and the ones protecting the race Guardian Faction.

“Why are you doing this‽” a person from the Guardian Faction said furiously.

Fernas gave him a cold glare and said, “I explained it very clearly, don’t feign ignorance. I know you people must have thought about long ago. In the past many years, how many of our brothers were sacrificed? How many of our brothers became disabled? We have done enough.”

The people of Guardian Faction’s expressions changed a bit. Indeed, similar thoughts had crossed their minds before in most of the people present—few people could stay firm from the start to the end. Furthermore, they had been traveling in the colorful galaxy and had seen how alluring it was.

Some people escaped their expanding desires; some people let it grow.

“But…” Lerden clenched his teeth and said, “If you want to leave, you could have just left quietly. Why announce it openly? You are destroying the hope of the rac…”

Fernas cut Lerden off. “so what?”

The people of Guardian Faction were shocked. They felt that the once firm and reliable Fernas had become a stranger.

The two parties were in a stalemate, and the Sunil soldiers gradually surrounded them. Further away, the mercenaries took out snacks and focused on this show with excitement on their faces.

Han Xiao casually grabbed a strange cigarette that looked like a cigar, took a deep breath, and shrugged. “See, this is the ending of a long-distance relationship.”

“Brilliant.” The other mercenaries laughed. Mercenaries were a group of cold and unsympathetic people.

Han Xiao had a very open mind. The split of the Sunils was fated, opening the curtain of the end of the Sunil Civilization and the start of Herlous’ story. He was just a spectator for now—only when the Sunils split up and chaos fell would he be able to take part. Until things unfolded naturally, he could only wait.

Furthermore, with him taking part, splitting up might not lead to the tragic ending in the original storyline but a new start instead. Since he could also benefit from it, this was a win-win.

Smoke rose up and covered Han Xiao’s narrowed eyes.

Chapter 350: Shocking the Entire Race! 2

Herlous was a grade B Pugilist, and [Shattered Light] was a Super Equipment, tailor-made for him, enhancing his Pugilist abilities further. Many energy converting devices hid between the gaps of the armor, and the raging flames sent waves rippling through the air as he moved.

Grade B Pugilists had surpassed the early stage of a Pugilist—they were walking, living bombs.

Herlous’ strength was not to be ignored even across the entire Shattered Star Ring. The Commander Class armor was a piece of top-class equipment, and its level was completely different from the Enlistee Class and the NCO Class. With the energy enhancing Battleship Slicing Blade, Herlous’ damage was astonishing.

The thick light from the blade released shockwaves, creating trenches on the ground one after another. This level of strength was way higher than the normal soldiers, and there was no need for anyone else to join in. Herlous spun the rough looking Battleship Slicing Blade with ease, much more agilely than the King Predator. Having nowhere to escape, the King Predator’s flesh was splashing all over.

Herlous’ god-like power had lit fires in countless soldiers’ hearts.

The Commander Class armor appeared again after disappearing for so many years!

Who is this armor user?

The Sunils had many questions in their minds.

Commander Class armor had a very special position in the Sunils’ hearts. Many people knew that this was the display of the strongest single warrior in the entire race, and it was almost like a totem. Herlous’ appearance awakened the buried memories of every Sunil.

Morale skyrocketed instantly. In gaming terms, all Sunils received the ‘All Attributes Boost’ buff!

Han Xiao was watching the show from the side, nodding. Herlous was very strong, much stronger than his current self.

Herlous starting to fight means that the Sunil have entered the storyline I’m familiar with… Han Xiao thought. With him existing, Herlous’ actions should deviate from the original storyline, so he just needed the chance to ‘abduct’ him.

The Particle Cannon fired twice, heavily injuring the Mountain Beast and the Lava Lizard. This weapon was common in the galactic battle between high-class civilizations, and it was a scrap product. The Sunil could only burn lower grade energy with their energy technology level, and even with so many restrictions, its power was still enough to be a trump card for protecting a city.

During the charging period, Herlous successfully killed the King Predator and started to run around the battlefield. With his armor and energy protection, he did not fear being surrounded by the beast wave. The Battleship Slicing Blade slashed horizontally, unmatched in the beast wave, containing the disadvantageous situation in the area.

Herlous could not stop the entire beast wave alone, but his actions had an undoubted effect—the soldiers in this area finally had a chance to breathe.

On Planet Aquamarine, a grade C Super could go head-on with an army—Herlous was one grade higher. Even though the beasts at the last stage of the Catastrophe were strong, he could still deal with them easily. Furthermore, he was a tank-type Pugilist.

A single unit with extraordinary powers was more agile, like a sharp blade. Between the same technology level, high-grade combat powers and war troops differed in quantity and quality—a strong single unit was an army by itself!

Herlous jumped and moved around, becoming the center of attention on the battlefield. Looking at him raised the soldiers’ spirits.

The situation gradually stabilized, and the wave of beasts ended. Just as the military was about to excitedly get in touch with this mythical man, Herlous dashed toward the forest and disappeared, clearly showing his intention of not wanting to expose his identity.

Herlous was somewhat conflicted. Getting in touch with the military meant his peaceful life in the past would be gone. He would have to walk the path of people like Fernas and become the guardian of the race. Although whether he did become a guardian or not depended on his choice, Herlous felt that he would not be able to leave himself out of it by then.

Furthermore, the superiors would definitely request him to give up his Commander Class armor to the race for research purposes. Herlous took it as a precious inheritance from Delvis, so he was very conflicted.

Although he stood out now to protect the race, and his buried responsibility was awakening slowly, someone this strong would not change his personality overnight.

…

In the following few days, Herlous was torn between the choices. While he appeared to help, the military kept trying to discover his identity, but every time that the battle ended, he left quickly and kept his mystery.

A few days later, the whisper in everyone’s mind suddenly disappeared. The Catastrophe had ended.

The beast wave in the middle of attacking suddenly paused. Countless beasts awoke from their bloodlust, stopped running, looked around, and ran in all directions, disappearing.

“The Catastrophe is finally gone.” Han Xiao took a deep breath.

Soldiers lay down in exhaustion one after another, unable to move. Their bodies had reached their limits, and the surviving soldiers were way too tired.

The logistics team cleaned up the battlefield, pulling soldiers out of their armor and sending them into the medical room one after another.

The military was recovering and resting, as countless people in the city triumphed over the broadcast from their television.

The end of every Catastrophe was like surviving through a disaster. As per tradition, there would be a celebration a few days later, appreciating the army’s contribution and morning the lost soldiers. This kind of celebration filled with the feeling of a ritual was beneficial to increasing a race’s unity, relaxing their tightened nerves, making the people laugh and cry, getting rid of the negative emotions, and once again feeling hopeful for the future.

However, this time was completely different. Only one hour after the Catastrophe ended, Fernas’ cold face appeared on the television everywhere.

“My fellow men, I’m Fernas. I believe many people know me. I want to make an announcement. From today, on behalf of forty percent of the Supers, the people you call guardians, we will be leaving Planet Sunil and never return…”

The words he used were very firm, saying that they had done enough and were now going to search for freedom, not giving their lives to the race anymore.

The Sunils felt like a bucket of ice had been poured over them. The happiness and passion from getting through the Catastrophe vanished, and they were all stunned.

What is this? Why is it so sudden‽

The superiors of the military were shocked—they had absolutely no idea about this beforehand.

Far away in the forest, Herlous saw Fernas’ announcement from the internal terminal in his armor, and he mumbled in disbelief, “Why not leave quietly‽ This way, the people will…”

With the announcement, the whole of Planet Sunil was shocked. The people felt confused and lost; they did not know the reasons behind it. All they knew was that the guardians whom they had always relied on were abandoning them!

Why? Why‽

No one kept silent.

Despair, desperation, hopelessness.

Howling, wailing, growling.

This was the collapse of belief! Even the minority that was unsatisfied with the Supers felt endless panic when they saw this!

This shocked the entire race!

Fernas appeared with the other Supers that decided to leave and walked outside. The Sunil soldiers looked at them in disbelief, yet they still opened a path for them.

This time, another group of people swarmed over with rage and shock, including Lerden.

Sunil Supers were divided into two groups, one announcing their leave from the race, another shocked and furious. They stood against each other from far away with clear separation.

The anticipation of a good show appeared on the faces of mercenaries, who were waiting for their reward.

Han Xiao leaned his back against a tank, looked at this scene, squinted his eyes and thought, And so it begins.

He had only read about the Sunil Supers splitting up from the news. This time, he could witness it happening.

The report had referred to the people including Fernas who were leaving the Independence Faction, and the ones protecting the race Guardian Faction.

“Why are you doing this‽” a person from the Guardian Faction said furiously.

Fernas gave him a cold glare and said, “I explained it very clearly, don’t feign ignorance. I know you people must have thought about long ago. In the past many years, how many of our brothers were sacrificed? How many of our brothers became disabled? We have done enough.”

The people of Guardian Faction’s expressions changed a bit. Indeed, similar thoughts had crossed their minds before in most of the people present—few people could stay firm from the start to the end. Furthermore, they had been traveling in the colorful galaxy and had seen how alluring it was.

Some people escaped their expanding desires; some people let it grow.

“But…” Lerden clenched his teeth and said, “If you want to leave, you could have just left quietly. Why announce it openly? You are destroying the hope of the rac…”

Fernas cut Lerden off. “so what?”

The people of Guardian Faction were shocked. They felt that the once firm and reliable Fernas had become a stranger.

The two parties were in a stalemate, and the Sunil soldiers gradually surrounded them. Further away, the mercenaries took out snacks and focused on this show with excitement on their faces.

Han Xiao casually grabbed a strange cigarette that looked like a cigar, took a deep breath, and shrugged. “See, this is the ending of a long-distance relationship.”

“Brilliant.” The other mercenaries laughed. Mercenaries were a group of cold and unsympathetic people.

Han Xiao had a very open mind. The split of the Sunils was fated, opening the curtain of the end of the Sunil Civilization and the start of Herlous’ story. He was just a spectator for now—only when the Sunils split up and chaos fell would he be able to take part. Until things unfolded naturally, he could only wait.

Furthermore, with him taking part, splitting up might not lead to the tragic ending in the original storyline but a new start instead. Since he could also benefit from it, this was a win-win.

Smoke rose up and covered Han Xiao’s narrowed eyes.

Chapter 351: Settlemen

Herlous was a grade B Pugilist, and [Shattered Light] was a Super Equipment, tailor-made for him, enhancing his Pugilist abilities further. Many energy converting devices hid between the gaps of the armor, and the raging flames sent waves rippling through the air as he moved.

Grade B Pugilists had surpassed the early stage of a Pugilist—they were walking, living bombs.

Herlous’ strength was not to be ignored even across the entire Shattered Star Ring. The Commander Class armor was a piece of top-class equipment, and its level was completely different from the Enlistee Class and the NCO Class. With the energy enhancing Battleship Slicing Blade, Herlous’ damage was astonishing.

The thick light from the blade released shockwaves, creating trenches on the ground one after another. This level of strength was way higher than the normal soldiers, and there was no need for anyone else to join in. Herlous spun the rough looking Battleship Slicing Blade with ease, much more agilely than the King Predator. Having nowhere to escape, the King Predator’s flesh was splashing all over.

Herlous’ god-like power had lit fires in countless soldiers’ hearts.

The Commander Class armor appeared again after disappearing for so many years!

Who is this armor user?

The Sunils had many questions in their minds.

Commander Class armor had a very special position in the Sunils’ hearts. Many people knew that this was the display of the strongest single warrior in the entire race, and it was almost like a totem. Herlous’ appearance awakened the buried memories of every Sunil.

Morale skyrocketed instantly. In gaming terms, all Sunils received the ‘All Attributes Boost’ buff!

Han Xiao was watching the show from the side, nodding. Herlous was very strong, much stronger than his current self.

Herlous starting to fight means that the Sunil have entered the storyline I’m familiar with… Han Xiao thought. With him existing, Herlous’ actions should deviate from the original storyline, so he just needed the chance to ‘abduct’ him.

The Particle Cannon fired twice, heavily injuring the Mountain Beast and the Lava Lizard. This weapon was common in the galactic battle between high-class civilizations, and it was a scrap product. The Sunil could only burn lower grade energy with their energy technology level, and even with so many restrictions, its power was still enough to be a trump card for protecting a city.

During the charging period, Herlous successfully killed the King Predator and started to run around the battlefield. With his armor and energy protection, he did not fear being surrounded by the beast wave. The Battleship Slicing Blade slashed horizontally, unmatched in the beast wave, containing the disadvantageous situation in the area.

Herlous could not stop the entire beast wave alone, but his actions had an undoubted effect—the soldiers in this area finally had a chance to breathe.

On Planet Aquamarine, a grade C Super could go head-on with an army—Herlous was one grade higher. Even though the beasts at the last stage of the Catastrophe were strong, he could still deal with them easily. Furthermore, he was a tank-type Pugilist.

A single unit with extraordinary powers was more agile, like a sharp blade. Between the same technology level, high-grade combat powers and war troops differed in quantity and quality—a strong single unit was an army by itself!

Herlous jumped and moved around, becoming the center of attention on the battlefield. Looking at him raised the soldiers’ spirits.

The situation gradually stabilized, and the wave of beasts ended. Just as the military was about to excitedly get in touch with this mythical man, Herlous dashed toward the forest and disappeared, clearly showing his intention of not wanting to expose his identity.

Herlous was somewhat conflicted. Getting in touch with the military meant his peaceful life in the past would be gone. He would have to walk the path of people like Fernas and become the guardian of the race. Although whether he did become a guardian or not depended on his choice, Herlous felt that he would not be able to leave himself out of it by then.

Furthermore, the superiors would definitely request him to give up his Commander Class armor to the race for research purposes. Herlous took it as a precious inheritance from Delvis, so he was very conflicted.

Although he stood out now to protect the race, and his buried responsibility was awakening slowly, someone this strong would not change his personality overnight.

…

In the following few days, Herlous was torn between the choices. While he appeared to help, the military kept trying to discover his identity, but every time that the battle ended, he left quickly and kept his mystery.

A few days later, the whisper in everyone’s mind suddenly disappeared. The Catastrophe had ended.

The beast wave in the middle of attacking suddenly paused. Countless beasts awoke from their bloodlust, stopped running, looked around, and ran in all directions, disappearing.

“The Catastrophe is finally gone.” Han Xiao took a deep breath.

Soldiers lay down in exhaustion one after another, unable to move. Their bodies had reached their limits, and the surviving soldiers were way too tired.

The logistics team cleaned up the battlefield, pulling soldiers out of their armor and sending them into the medical room one after another.

The military was recovering and resting, as countless people in the city triumphed over the broadcast from their television.

The end of every Catastrophe was like surviving through a disaster. As per tradition, there would be a celebration a few days later, appreciating the army’s contribution and morning the lost soldiers. This kind of celebration filled with the feeling of a ritual was beneficial to increasing a race’s unity, relaxing their tightened nerves, making the people laugh and cry, getting rid of the negative emotions, and once again feeling hopeful for the future.

However, this time was completely different. Only one hour after the Catastrophe ended, Fernas’ cold face appeared on the television everywhere.

“My fellow men, I’m Fernas. I believe many people know me. I want to make an announcement. From today, on behalf of forty percent of the Supers, the people you call guardians, we will be leaving Planet Sunil and never return…”

The words he used were very firm, saying that they had done enough and were now going to search for freedom, not giving their lives to the race anymore.

The Sunils felt like a bucket of ice had been poured over them. The happiness and passion from getting through the Catastrophe vanished, and they were all stunned.

What is this? Why is it so sudden‽

The superiors of the military were shocked—they had absolutely no idea about this beforehand.

Far away in the forest, Herlous saw Fernas’ announcement from the internal terminal in his armor, and he mumbled in disbelief, “Why not leave quietly‽ This way, the people will…”

With the announcement, the whole of Planet Sunil was shocked. The people felt confused and lost; they did not know the reasons behind it. All they knew was that the guardians whom they had always relied on were abandoning them!

Why? Why‽

No one kept silent.

Despair, desperation, hopelessness.

Howling, wailing, growling.

This was the collapse of belief! Even the minority that was unsatisfied with the Supers felt endless panic when they saw this!

This shocked the entire race!

Fernas appeared with the other Supers that decided to leave and walked outside. The Sunil soldiers looked at them in disbelief, yet they still opened a path for them.

This time, another group of people swarmed over with rage and shock, including Lerden.

Sunil Supers were divided into two groups, one announcing their leave from the race, another shocked and furious. They stood against each other from far away with clear separation.

The anticipation of a good show appeared on the faces of mercenaries, who were waiting for their reward.

Han Xiao leaned his back against a tank, looked at this scene, squinted his eyes and thought, And so it begins.

He had only read about the Sunil Supers splitting up from the news. This time, he could witness it happening.

The report had referred to the people including Fernas who were leaving the Independence Faction, and the ones protecting the race Guardian Faction.

“Why are you doing this‽” a person from the Guardian Faction said furiously.

Fernas gave him a cold glare and said, “I explained it very clearly, don’t feign ignorance. I know you people must have thought about long ago. In the past many years, how many of our brothers were sacrificed? How many of our brothers became disabled? We have done enough.”

The people of Guardian Faction’s expressions changed a bit. Indeed, similar thoughts had crossed their minds before in most of the people present—few people could stay firm from the start to the end. Furthermore, they had been traveling in the colorful galaxy and had seen how alluring it was.

Some people escaped their expanding desires; some people let it grow.

“But…” Lerden clenched his teeth and said, “If you want to leave, you could have just left quietly. Why announce it openly? You are destroying the hope of the rac…”

Fernas cut Lerden off. “so what?”

The people of Guardian Faction were shocked. They felt that the once firm and reliable Fernas had become a stranger.

The two parties were in a stalemate, and the Sunil soldiers gradually surrounded them. Further away, the mercenaries took out snacks and focused on this show with excitement on their faces.

Han Xiao casually grabbed a strange cigarette that looked like a cigar, took a deep breath, and shrugged. “See, this is the ending of a long-distance relationship.”

“Brilliant.” The other mercenaries laughed. Mercenaries were a group of cold and unsympathetic people.

Han Xiao had a very open mind. The split of the Sunils was fated, opening the curtain of the end of the Sunil Civilization and the start of Herlous’ story. He was just a spectator for now—only when the Sunils split up and chaos fell would he be able to take part. Until things unfolded naturally, he could only wait.

Furthermore, with him taking part, splitting up might not lead to the tragic ending in the original storyline but a new start instead. Since he could also benefit from it, this was a win-win.

Smoke rose up and covered Han Xiao’s narrowed eyes.

Chapter 352: The Black Star Will Bless You

Through battlefield repairs, Han Xiao had gotten a few new blueprints, including the Hovering Turner, High Caliber Defensive Machine Gun, and the Offensive, Defensive, and Scouting Enlistee Class armor. As he expected, the NCO Class armor required [Heavy Machinery Modification], so the progress was stuck.

The Great Mechanic Han was not one to return with nothing, so using his relationship with the military, he bought three different types of NCO Class armors with 2,000 or so Enas. When he returned to the Juberly Hub and learned [Heavy Machinery Modification], he would be able to get its blueprint. He would then build the different sets of armor and sell them to the players. The cost of buying the armor could easily be earned back.

Everyone received twelve thousand, so their purchasing power is largely increased. Han Xiao was exuberant. This kind of mass-produced armor sold very well, and its attributes could be increased just by him putting in some experience to level up the blueprint. Furthermore, he had the boost from Machinery Affinity, so the armor that he produced would be much better than the ones from assembly lines. After selling them, he could still earn from long-term repair fees.

The commission that he received from the hire could only buy about one class advancement knowledge, but through profiting from the players, that earning could be multiplied many times.

The Credibility Points of the Black Star Mercenary Group increased quite a bit, and they finally had their first combat mission experience. The Sunils detailed their missions, including them requesting for the most dangerous missions and completing it perfectly without any deaths. This new information was very valuable.

The relationship with the Sunil was unlocked, and it increased to 1,000 points immediately, reaching the 'Friendly' level.

On top of all that, their Renown increased five points as well, two points more than the original reward, so Black Star's name started to spread around the mercenary industry. The most direct increase was the Faction single mission reward quota was increased by 10,000 experience, which meant that there was 260,000 more daily experience due to the twenty-six times multiplier.

After the rewards were given, the mercenaries left one after another, but Han Xiao stayed in Forest City. The players stayed for a few days and got a little impatient.

On this day, the players found Han Xiao, and Frenzied Sword asked, "Black Phantom, you…"

"Call me Black Star." Han Xiao knocked on Frenzied Sword's head.

Frenzied Sword then said, "Black Star, when are we going back? What are we staying here for?"

"Waiting for someone."

The players thought that after the Catastrophe ended so did this hiring mission, but in Han Xiao's eyes, it was just the beginning!

…

One day later, the Sunil Military sent someone to tell Han Xiao that Herlous wanted to meet him. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and smiled.

"Finally."

Following the soldiers to a base facility, he entered a private room, where Herlous was waiting. The man stood up, waved, and sent the soldiers away—he then closed the door, leaving the two of them alone in the room.

There were two glasses of alcohol on the table. Han Xiao glanced around and sat down directly. "I thought you'd find me sooner."

"It was delayed by something. I had to fully cooperate with the military for publicity and lend the armor that my older brother left me to the research institution." Herlous sighed. He had never expected to receive such treatment, but it was mainly caused by three reasons. Firstly, they needed to wash away the effect of the split up. Secondly, Herlous was strong, and strength signified position. There were only two known grade B Supers in the entire race—Fernas had left, and Herlous had appeared. Thirdly, they now had a chance to resurrect the Commander Class armor.

"You seem to have many questions for me, but first let me ask you a question…" Han Xiao raised the glass up, swirled it gently, and purposely said in a very slow tone, "Do you believe I'm a foreseer?"

"Half." Herlous' eyes were sparkling. "Did you foresee the future of me protecting the race long ago, and that was why you came to contact me?"

"Of course, I didn't know a bar owner is actually a hidden grade B Super, and I also didn't know that he would wear a Commander Class armor called Shattered Light to fight the Catastrophe." Han Xiao said mockingly.

Herlous smiled bitterly. No one knew his armor was called Shattered Light, so the foreseer identity was proved. Yet, that left him with another question. "How many things can you foresee? How far can you see into the future?"

"Hahaha, frankly, I can only foresee parts of the future, bits and pieces. I don't know much. If I didn't accidentally peek into Planet Sunil's future, I wouldn't have come," Han Xiao said sincerely without even blinking.

"I see, although I don't know much about the galaxy, I did hear that foresight usually has limitations." Herlous understood, and he was glad that Han Xiao had seen Planet Sunil's future instead of something else's future. Maybe this was the long-awaited luck of his race.

Suddenly, Herlous' eyes became sharp. He stared at Han Xiao and said in a low voice, "So, what is your real motive?"

The atmosphere suddenly became intense, and faint flames flickered around Herlous. He felt that Han Xiao definitely had a goal, or else he would not have exposed his foresight. This mysterious man definitely wanted something from the Sunil race.

Han Xiao put the glass down and said slowly, "Let me tell you a story…

"In a planet where its surface civilization lagged behind, there was a handsome man who was a test subject. One day, he went through an experiment, awakened the ability of foresight, and saw many pieces of the future. Relying on his foresight, he escaped successfully and gained freedom, then he destroyed the evil enemy of this planet, becoming a legend known throughout the entire planet. However, at this time, he saw a new future, a man-made disaster from the sky would fall on his mother planet. The people behind it hid in the depths of the universe, so he left the planet and stepped into a broader world, searching for ways to save his mother planet…"

Han Xiao adjudged his collar. "Naturally, I am that handsome man:"

Herlous suddenly could not keep a serious face, and his lips started twitching. He did not know if calling oneself like that was common in the galaxy, but it was shameless in the Sunil culture…

"We are from different races, so it's normal to have aesthetic differences," Han Xiao said.

"Okay…" After being momentarily stunned, Herlous suddenly remembered what they were discussing. "So, you're saying that you entered the universe to save your mother planet. What does that have to do with Sunil?"

Han Xiao smiled. "My mother planet is located in the Garton Galaxy, soon to face a disaster. I think you Sunils are more than familiar with the name of the people behind it."

Herlous blinked a few times, then his expression suddenly changed. "DarkStar‽"

He suddenly felt that everything made sense, and everything was connected!

DarkStar was their common enemy; therefore, he came to Sunil. This was the motive!

"The mercenaries under me are warriors from my planet as well," Han Xiao added. "They know of this as well, and they followed me because they wanted to search for a way to save the planet. They can vouch for me anytime. I helped you not only because we will share the same tragic experience but also because I'm looking for an ally. Since you know why I came, you don't have to worry anymore."

Herlous' expression softened, and he was immediately filled with respect for Han Xiao. "So, you're the same as the guardians of Sunil, a hero wanting to protect his planet."

Without any blushing, Han Xiao said with humility, "I'm not a hero. I just have responsibilities on my shoulders."

The Great Mechanic Han felt like he had traveled back in time when he acted like he was brainwashed. Giving an Oscar-worthy performance, his actor's soul was on fire.

This moment, Herlous felt that Han Xiao looked much taller and greater, and he felt a bit ashamed.

Han Xiao had the resolve to immediately look for ways to save his planet just because he foresaw parts of the future—he was a complete doer. He, however, even after his race went through a disaster, still escaped from reality for so many years. Just thinking about it made his face hot—he was ashamed and could not remain tough in front of Han Xiao anymore.

Chapter 353: Dropping a Chess Piece in the Galaxy

Upon understanding Han Xiao's reasoning, Herlous' expression softened. He paused before asking the question that he had been curious about. "What's my future like?"

"You…" Han Xiao picked his ear, tutted, and said, "You sacrificed yourself during the Catastrophe, dying a horrible death."

"Ho-how horrible?" Herlous' face froze.

Han Xiao grabbed the glass, tightened his grip, and shattered it into pieces. Then he shrugged and said, "Something like that."

With a doubtful expression, Herlous said, "Although I'm not one of those grade A Supers, the beasts on this planet are not strong enough to slaughter me."

"From the parts I saw, the beast wave breached Forest City. You firmly defended the opening and fought till your last breath, using up all your energy. Alas, you were torn apart by the beast wave."

Herlous was surprised. He knew himself too well, and protecting the race was taking on a supposed responsibility. However, he definitely did not have the strength to never retreat even in his last breath. If he met lethal danger, he would run away immediately. How could he become so firm?

"How far in the future is that?"

With a shrug, Han Xiao said, "Do you think I'm some Spirit Emperor who's worshipped by the Ethereal Sect? I'm just a normal foreseer, not all-knowing."

He knew that he could not be too ahead when playing a foreseer—it was for his own protection and to make Herlous guess.

Han Xiao knew Herlous' growth path very well—he would become a selfless hero of the race in the future. As a main character that was growing, he was young, unlike Bennett who had completely matured.

Seeing Herlous' frown, Han Xiao's eyes sparkled, and he said, "What I saw were just the parts of the future from the existing scenario. If there are other factors at play, the future will change too. With Sunil's current situation, the Catastrophe will become harder and harder for you people to deal with, but that future can be avoided."

Hearing that made Herlous feel relieved. Han Xiao said that his foreseeing ability had limitations, which Herlous thought was more trustworthy. He would easily doubt those people who claimed to know everything.

"You said you have a solution?" Herlous asked sincerely.

"Sunil's current situation is very bad. The Catastrophe is the most obvious danger, and the retreating route toward Godora is unsafe. Plus, DarkStar is hiding in the darkness. If you rise up again, you might face DarkStar's attack…" Han Xiao gave a simple analysis, and Herlous' expression gradually turned grimmer.

The Sunils faced danger from everywhere. Herlous could not figure out a solution, only feeling that the road ahead was filled with darkness. "That means Sunil has no way out…"

"Of course not, the way out has always been obvious, but you people subconsciously did not think in that direction." Han Xiao smiled knowingly.

"Obvious?" Herlous was a little surprised. He frowned and thought for a while. Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "You're saying… to destroy DarkStar?"

If DarkStar is destroyed, the largest threat will no longer exist, but we are incapable of that!

Herlous widened his eyes. He did not expect Han Xiao to be this ambitious. This idea was completely insane!

"DarkStar has destroyed the home of many civilizations," Han Xiao said calmly. "They're notorious in the Garton Galaxy, and even in the entire Colton Star Cluster, comparing them with you people is like comparing a giant to an ant. However, they're not invincible, or they would not hide from Godora. You people have always ignored this possibility, and it's because of nothing other than the fear toward DarkStar, which is now deep-rooted in your hearts. You don't even dare to think about it; you feel it can never be done."

"It really cannot be done. DarkStar is too large and mysterious. I vividly remember every scene back when DarkStar attacked us; countless battleships covered the sky as well as countless laser beams, the planet's crust cracked, lava shot out…"

Han Xiao cut him off, shook his head, and said, "DarkStar has many enemies. There are potential allies everywhere. Other than this path, you can only join Godora. If you are willing to give up, you will not have to fight the Catastrophe. I didn't say to fight DarkStar right now—this is just the final target. Before that, we need to hoard our resources and stay low profile."

"You really are daring…" Herlous shook his head. "The hope is too little. I don't think this is a good solution."

As if he had expected such a response, Han Xiao smiled. He did not plan on convincing Herlous with such a large target—he just threw it out to broaden Herlous' mindset. Thus, he changed the subject and said, "Let's put DarkStar aside for now. Regardless of whether your race rises up in the future or not, the imminent problem has to be dealt with first. Sunil's largest issue right now is exploring this planet and dealing with the Catastrophe. About this, I have a very direct solution."

Herlous became more focused. Plans regarding DarkStar were too far away, and the Catastrophe was an imminent and real disaster that he was more concerned about. "What solution do you have?"

"I can bring many Supers here."

Herlous had thought that he would hear some brilliant solution, but Han Xiao's solution was similar to Sunil hiring mercenaries. After all, the 'many' in Han Xiao's sentence was surely at most thousands.

Herlous was disappointed, and it showed on his face. "Just Supers is not enough."

"Not enough?" Han Xiao smiled mysteriously. "Then what about hundreds of thousands of Supers?"

Hundreds of thousands? Herlous' expression said, Do you think I'm three years old?

A small mercenary from a surface civilization, how can you find so many people to help? Furthermore, Supers!

Did simplicity limit my imagination?

"I can bring waves of people even more horrifying than the Catastrophe! They don't fear death, they are brave, and they can fight well. Not just for the Catastrophe, they can also help you explore the planet during the rest of the time, digging Prophecy Stone veins, and what they need is just a small reward."

At this moment, Han Xiao smiled brightly! This was his biggest target of the trip! He was interested in the NPC resources of the entire race!

If the players were seeds, these NPCs were the soil!

Sunil was just a start; the Great Mechanic Han's plan was much deeper and longer than that!

In the late stage of Version 2.0, Planet Aquamarine's players would start to enter the galaxy through guidance from a galactic organization. Han Xiao wanted to replace that galactic organization and become a mentor.

The players knew nothing as they took their first steps into the vast galaxy, so it was the best time to be convinced. If he could give them guidance in a similar way to when he guided the new players in the novice village, he would be able to guide the players into their next area of activity. Han Xiao wanted to turn his own faction into the faction that the players joined after they entered the galaxy, to make it a compulsory part of their player career!

If he succeeds, he could have every player in Planet Aquamarine join his faction!

After all, he had already made a strong impression in the hearts of the Planet Aquamarine players!

To guide the players through their galaxy career, other than the rewards, there was another thing that had to be present, NPC resources.

Although the galaxy was vast, the players would need time and a stable activity area for them to develop themselves, and the best way would be to have one or more storylines to lead their activities. This was why Han Xiao targeted NPC organizations—not only could they provide NPC resources, they also had storylines.

Black Star Mercenary Group gave many rewards, and with Bun-Hit-Dog's videos that helped to spread publicity, it was very attractive… but that was not enough!

Faction rewards had a quota, and it was an indirect limitation to the number of members. However, if he could come to an agreement with some organizations, guiding the players there for missions and monster killing, he could break through this limitation. It was reaping the benefits of other NPCs.

Since he needed help from other NPCs, he had to emphasize on what his faction could provide in order to let the players realize the benefits of joining the Black Star Mercenary Group. Other than reward and item exchanges, there had to be privileges! As such, if he became an ally with some organizations, players in Black Star Mercenary Group would receive better treatment from that organization, or he could put prerequisites in certain areas, and joining the Black Star Mercenary Group could grant them access to better areas for development… Through various methods, he would make sure that the players knew that not only was Black Star Mercenary Group full of rewards, it would also give them many indirect benefits.

One special characteristic of a mercenary group was that the members could be spread out across maps, which was an advantage of his faction.

The players would get access to areas to do missions and ally with organizations to receive help. His faction would further develop, and in turn, he would reap benefits. This was a win for multiple parties! The players were like manpower resources, and these organizations in need of help were like the customers looking for hire. His faction would be the middleman to provide them with manpower, but the difference was, all of these manpower resources belonged to his faction, the 'middleman'.

These were just considerations from the perspective of benefits. Another way to look at it would be from the perspective of emotions.

Most mercenary groups did not have a history, and through 'helping' NPC organizations and having the players experience the storyline of these NPC organizations, it would give the players a stronger sense of reality. The mercenary group, as the bridge connecting these storylines together, would then become something that went through ups and downs with these players, adding history to the mercenary group, hence enhancing the sense of belonging that the players would have for the mercenary group.

The players not only needed benefits but also good stories, only then would they feel the role-playing part of a 'Role Playing Game', hence feeling a sense of belonging for the faction. Therefore, Han Xiao decided to shape a common enemy, and DarkStar was the most suitable target. Working together to fight against a common enemy was the easiest way to develop a sense of belonging. Thus, the Sunil race, which had a deep-seated hatred toward DarkStar, was a very suitable ally.

Furthermore, by introducing NPC organization areas to the players by the mercenary group, it could develop a blurry sense of territorial awareness in the players, which would also indirectly increase the attractiveness of his faction.

Emotions like a sense of belonging could bring many long-term benefits, even exceeding the attractiveness of the reward itself.

Players were the representatives of chaos, and the Great Mechanic Han always did everything that he could to shape himself as 'one of them' among the players, to become a shadow that followed every step that the players took in their gaming career. Developing a Faction was a key component to achieving this target.

His plot was enormous, but it needed time to slowly make it a reality. For now, he had merely taken the first step.

Chapter 354: Abducting a Man

Herlous was filled with doubts. Just as he was going to say something, Han Xiao spoke first.

"Don't be too quick to make an assumption. Not long ago, you didn't believe that I was a foreseer. If you hadn't changed your mind, this meeting wouldn't have taken place. I don't need you to believe it right now, but think about this, do I have any reason to lie to you? Sunils never promised me any benefits, and even if what I said is not true, you people will not suffer any loss."

"That's true." Herlous nodded and agreed. Indeed, even if Han Xiao was lying, his race would only maintain its current state. Herlous actually wished that what Han Xiao said to be true—if they had so much help, their losses during the Catastrophe would be vastly reduced, and they would be able to develop much quicker.

Although there was the potential threat from DarkStar, the Sunil civilization was just a tiny shrimp to them. As long as they kept a low profile, they would be able to grow stronger in the environment filled with danger.

With a solemn face, Herlous said in a low voice, "If you really can help us overcome these obstacles, Sunil will be your firmest ally. I cannot decide for the entire race, but I believe that the leaders will definitely make the same decision. Please believe in the resolve and quality of us Sunils."

"Of course, I never doubted that." Han Xiao's compliment made Herlous feel very delighted.

"About your standpoint, I'll immediately report to the Superiors…"

Han Xiao waved and said, "I suggest that you don't say it yet. A surprise is better than a torturous wait. Plus, your words alone might not be enough to convince the Superiors of your race to believe that I'm a foreseer."

Herlous was stunned for a moment, then said while thinking, "That's true…"

"If I guessed correctly, just like the other Supers, you're heading toward the galaxy to become a mercenary as well, right?" Han Xiao said.

"Yes, I've stayed here for too long. It's time for me to go out and make some contributions. I'll be leaving in two days." Herlous nodded. Although he was very strong, he had never explored the galaxy alone.

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled, and he smiled.

"Since we have come to an agreement, how about you join my mercenary group and become my associate?"

This moment, Han Xiao felt like he was blessed by the soul of Luffy. If combined with the sun behind him, outstretched arms, and hot-blooded background music, he felt like he could trigger the super strong buff [+100% Recruit Success Rate].

"Join your Black Star Mercenary Group…" Herlous was tempted. He was going to become a mercenary anyway, and working in groups would not only mean a stronger power, but he could also stay in touch with Han Xiao in the long term to witness his actions and confirm whether what he had said was true or not.

If Han Xiao was sincere in helping Sunil, he would have the chance to pay him back and help Han Xiao save his mother planet. Plus, the two of them could have detailed discussions on how to combat the DarkStar and improve on their plan. It would really be very convenient.

Furthermore, Han Xiao was very important to Sunil. They could not allow an accident happen to him, so if they were acting together, he would be able to protect him. After all, Han Xiao's strength in Herlous' eyes was not considered strong at all, mediocre at best.

He's one grade lower than me, so being a mercenary is dangerous for him. If I follow him, I can prevent him from dying accidentally.

After careful consideration, Herlous felt that such a course of action was very advantageous, so he agreed on the spot. "Okay, I'll join your mercenary group."

Han Xiao nodded calmly, but in his heart, he was laughing uncontrollably.

Finally! All my effort in convincing him did not go to waste. I've finally abducted this main character!

Other than the point of contact of Sunil, Herlous would also be an NPC cadre of the mercenary group itself. He was a high-level combat power!

This job has resulted in great benefits!

Their conversation's details were not reported to the Superiors, just as Han Xiao suggested. The rest of the Sunils did not know, only Herlous.

Two days later, the Galactic Travel Agency that they had called arrived at Planet Sunil. The group of players followed Han Xiao up the spaceship in anticipation. Suddenly, a tall and wide Sunil in casual clothes walked over. After staying so long in Forest city and seeing the promotions from the military, they immediately recognized that it was Herlous, the character who was being shaped as a hero figure.

"Where's your armor?"

"Lent to the researcher institution. When they derive the blueprint, I can take it back to use, so I only brought this weapon…"

Herlous turned sideways, displaying the rectangular metal silver block tied behind his back. It was the folded Battleship Slicing Blade.

"I see…" Han Xiao felt a little disappointed. The Commander Class armor was a piece of great equipment, but he did not even meet the prerequisite of the NCO Class armor yet; Commander Class would be even more impossible for him to derive. There would be chances in the future anyway, so there was no need to be impatient.

Han Xiao turned to the players and made the introduction. "This is Herlous, a grade B Super. From today onward, he'll be our comrade, a new member of our mercenary group."

Holy! The players' jaw almost dropped on the floor—they were stunned.

The captain has abducted the hero of a race!

"Why did you join us?"

"What's your class?"

"Did you make some kind of deal with Black Star?"

They were very curious about this new friend and overwhelmed him with questions. Herlous was surrounded in the middle and felt the passion from his 'teammates'. He was very not used to it, and he was forcing a smile.

The result of the detection from players was all question marks. They were very curious as to how Han Xiao got in touch with a grade B Super. This was someone who was at the top of high-level areas, probably the strongest in their mercenary group.

Someone who was even stronger than Han Xiao joining their faction had made the players very excited.

After some time, the spaceship slowly landed. Herlous finally escaped from the players and walked to Han Xiao. He stood beside Han Xiao, looking up at the spaceship, and his face was a little stiff.

Han Xiao turned to look at him, raised an eyebrow, and said, "You seem to be a little nervous. Have you never been into the galaxy before?"

"This is my first time." Herlous rubbed his hands against each other to wipe his sweat off. "I'm actually a little scared of heights…"

"You're a shame to Pugilists." Han Xiao was speechless.

They boarded the spaceship. It slowly rose and flew into space with Forest City becoming smaller in their sight. This hiring job was finally complete, and they had left with one more member than when they came. The Catastrophe on Planet Sunil was very beneficial for all of them, especially Han Xiao.

Planting the seed in Sunil this time means I'm on track with the DarkStar storyline. The first step of the plan is also complete. Han Xiao crossed his arms as he pondered.

The spaceship's destination was Juberly Hub. Before the next operation, Han Xiao wanted to return to rest and digest the things that they had earned on this trip.

…

In Forest City, one of the military bases was open as a recruitment site.

After the Catastrophe, it was the time for new soldiers to join the army again. Youngsters coming of age had to join the compulsory military service and undergo military training. Youngsters came one after another, accompanied by their parents.

Lana was very early. He was only allowed into the recruitment site after displaying his ID card—any unauthorized personnel were not allowed in, including parents.

When he turned back to look, Lana saw his parents waving. They had kind and loving smiles on their faces as usual.

He looked at them with a lot of emotions in his eyes, then followed the group into the military base.

After queuing for a very long time, it was finally Lana's turn. The officer sitting behind the table said casually without even raising his head, "Name, then take a number to go for a medical examination."

Lana took a deep breath before saying seriously, "Sir, I'd like to request to join the army."

The officer looked up and glanced at him. "Do your parents know?"

"No."

"Youngster, your parents definitely warned you not to join the army, didn't they?"

"Yes sir, but I believe I'm making the right decision."

"Once the request is approved, you have to be fully responsible for your decision," the officer said coldly. "You won't be allowed to take it back, are we clear?"

"Crystal clear."

A slight smile appeared on the officer's cold face. He opened the drawer, inside which was a thick stack of army application forms. He took one out and passed it to Lana.

Lana was about to take it, but he realized that the officer was holding onto the application form too tightly. At that moment, the officer said coldly, "This is your last chance to change your mind."

Lana snatched the application form with a firm expression.

"Good, the area to join the army is at that side. Don't block the people behind."

Lana followed the officer's finger and looked over. It was an empty warehouse that served as the recruitment site for the official army. Youngsters waiting to fill out their application forms had already filled the entire warehouse.This whole paragraph is a reference to the Japanese comic series 'One Piece'.

Chapter 355: Speeding! 1

After a month on Planet Sunil, Han Xiao and the others finally returned to Juberly Hub. As soon as they were in the Hub Hall, the first thing that Han Xiao did was change the medium resting room into a large stronghold. The rental increased, from 40 to 100 Enas, as did the space.

The better the faction's base looked, the more reliable the players would feel. Han Xiao actually thought that a spaceship was the best mobile base, but a spaceship was way too expensive; they would not be able to afford one even if they sold the kidneys of all the players. The human body did not sell very well in the Galactic Organ Market after all.

Excess money was meant for splurging—the consumption concept of a Mechanic was always 'money spent will always make returns'.

This trip was very profitable. More than ten thousand had landed in the players' pockets, and Han Xiao would take that off their hands to gather the funds to buy two class advancement knowledges.

Pro players will always use their residual money to buy equipment. There were private equipment stores in Juberly Hub, and these were all Han Xiao's competitors.

It's impossible to have the players only buy things from me. Players have their personal preferences, so I can't rob away their freedom, or it will be bad for faction development. Nobody likes to be forced. Plus, the things I sell might not satisfy all of their needs… Anyway, I only need a part of the players' fortune, and the profit is high enough.

Although Han Xiao had plenty of ways to make money, he always kept that desire controlled.

He updated the faction exchange list, adding Offensive, Defensive, and Scouting Enlistee Class armor, with a prerequisite of 500 faction relationship points. Then he set the exchange price at 800 Enas.

In the new stronghold, before the players had started roaming outside, someone had already discovered the new items in the faction shop.

"Is this the Enlistee Class armor that we saw in Sunil?" Frenzied Sword said in surprise.

"It is their technology indeed," Hao Tian said. "Why can we purchase another organization's equipment from the faction‽"

The players became curious.

Bun-Hit-Dog had a flash of insight and gave a sensible guess. "A mercenary group might be a faction with growing potential. After completing different mission hires, the faction shop will be updated. The more missions completed, the larger the faction will grow…"

The players thought of Herlous joining and the growth potential on the faction interface when they first joined Black Star, and they felt it made sense. Instantly, they became excited.

The actions of the players could make the faction grow!

"We might have joined a special faction!" Frenzied Sword was overjoyed.

They were all pro players, so they immediately realized the advantages of the mercenary group. If they underwent missions from different organizations, the exchange list would be updated with equipment from those organizations, which meant that the more missions they did, the richer the faction exchange list would become. All they had to do was increase the relationship points with the faction itself—it would save them a lot of time!

They were the first batch of players entering the galaxy, and they had gone through a very difficult selection progress. Was joining this faction the hidden benefit‽

The players felt that this specialness of the mercenary group came from Han Xiao. After all, storyline main characters would definitely possess something special. The players trusted Han Xiao very strongly. No matter how shocking the things that he did were, it all seemed possible—this was the impression that Han Xiao had forged in the players' minds.

To make the players feel that the growth of the faction was 'driven' by them, when they clearly saw the growth of the faction, they would slowly develop a sense of belonging. This was the development path that he had set from the start. Now, the players finally felt this specialness and freshness; his strategy had achieved its anticipated result.

At this time, the players had money in their pockets and were willing to spend. A few of them bought the Enlistee Class armor on the spot. Han Xiao did not have any completed products with him, so it had to be built. The other players wanted to observe when the finished product was made.

During the battle on Sunil, every player had been tempted by the single unit armors, but sadly, they had not been given a way to purchase them. Second Prince almost wanted to steal one.

"We have battled for more than a month; let's all take a break and rest for some time."

Han Xiao dismissed them, left the stronghold, and rented a mechanical modification room.

He first spent millions of experience and upgraded the armor blueprint level to Lv.6, only then did he start to build. There was still a lot of material left from what he had brought from Planet Aquamarine—only a small part of the Sunil Enlistee Class armor required him to buy materials from the galaxy. The cost to make one was only about 50 Enas.

For the time being, there was no mission for the mercenary group. The players could finally explore Juberly Hub freely, and naturally, they would not just spend money in one place.

There were many shops in the hub center, and it was full of variety and choices. During this resting period, they witnessed equipment from many different civilizations and bought a lot of gear, such as arms with stronger power, small supportive machinery, and so on.

At the same time, they noticed that some machinery shops were selling single unit armors as well. This was very common in the galaxy, and although these armors' designs were very different from the ones on Sunil, their technology levels were all rather basic. However, these shops were selling them at a way higher price than exchanging in the faction—even the cheapest one was 3,200 Enas, four times the faction price!

The players became worried because of this. They knew that the price was usually correlated with quality, but Han Xiao's armor was so cheap. Would its attributes be very low?

They memorized the attributes of the armor in the shop and planned to make a comparison when the finished product from the faction was complete.

Although Black Star's equipment had good prices, when the pro players were rich, they never looked at price, only quality.

…

Herlous went to the mercenary hall alone to register. He joined the Black Star Mercenary Group then opened the mercenary group records.

_____________________

Black Star Mercenary group

Credibility Rating: 154

Scale: 53 members

Class C: 52 members

Class B: 1 member

Missions Completed: 1 (Daily Low-Level Missions Excluded)

Active region: Garton Galaxy

Records: [Sunil Defense Battle] (Expand/Collapse)

Creator: Black Star – Han Xiao

Creation date: Galaxy Calendar Year 688, 02 October

Summary: A small mercenary group with a certain amount of combat power and one grade B Super.

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"A mercenary group created little more than a month back. Black Star didn't lie to me…" When Herlous saw there was only one grade B Super, he knew that he was the strongest in this mercenary group. He could not help but feel a sense of responsibility.

For the future of his race, he had to protect Han Xiao. He hoped that this captain would not choose hiring missions that were too dangerous.

On the other side, Han Xiao received a notification from the interface while he was building armor in the workshop.

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Faction Reward Limit: 135,7000

Faction Leader Level: 80 (+64,000 reward quota)

Cadres: Herlous (B) (+20,000 reward quota)

Faction Size: 52 (+20,000 reward quota)

Renown: 7 (+14,000 reward quota)

Legendary Points: Leader (3) +15% reward quota

Allies and Enemies: None

_____________________

His friendliness with Sunil was on a personal level, so it had yet to become a faction ally.

Han Xiao felt refreshed. The faction had gained its first cadre and taken its first step. Plus, the quota had increased by 20,000, showing that recruiting cadres was indeed a good way to quickly increase the quota.

Two days later, Han Xiao had built six sets of Enlistee Class armor. The players could not wait to equip them, and they instantly felt the benefits of the armor.

Single Unit Armor was something that most civilizations would research on when they reached a certain technological level. Its original purpose was to let users have stronger physical capabilities and adapt better to different environments. The first time wearing single unit armor was like opening the gate to a new world for the players.

In the stronghold, a few players that bought the armor were controlling them excitedly. The fresh feeling had them overjoyed, and the other players surrounded them and touched the armor with curiosity.

"How does it feel?"

"It looks heavy, but it's actually really easy to move. There are parts inside that helps me move."

Rainy Kim frowned and said, "Piles of iron, they look so ugly."

All the male players stared at her. It was the first time that they had shared a common enemy.

"You don't know sh*t. The mechanical suit is men's romance!"

Chapter 356: Speeding! 2

After playing with the armor for a while, only then did the players remember to compare the attributes between the Sunil Soldier Armor with the armor in the shops, and the result was that it was almost the same!

Same quality, a quarter of the price—this was more than worth it!

The players were over the moon. The rest of the players did not observe anymore and paid willingly.

Fifty something people, more than 40,000 Enas, about the price of two knowledges… Han Xiao smiled. There was more!

Right after, he added a new option in the faction shop page—equipment enhancement!

Han Xiao had held back when he built the armor. Their attributes were just the 'Basic Version'. This was to provide room for enhancement so that he could open another revenue stream!

Repairs and enhancements were long term incomes. Han Xiao had multiple machinery enhancement abilities, so he had what it took to enter the enhancement business. Naturally, Han Xiao was not going to miss this opportunity. Also, he was going to control the level of enhancement that he gave and would not do full enhancements the very first time, leaving room for improvement, hence attracting the players to keep spending.

The Great Mechanic Han was not greedy—by dividing one thing and selling them separately, he could maximize his profits, and the players that did not know this were willing to pay for it. Han Xiao competed with other shops by using cheap, high-quality equipment, to first let the players buy the equipment, then introduce the enhancement option, turning a one-time sale into long term profit.

After all, he had occasionally played single player games in his previous life too, and he was inspired by the gaming companies turning one game into several DLCs.

Han Xiao felt nostalgic. Back when he was young, he had been an honest man, but his tiny and pure heart had become polluted by society. Turning bad was not one man's fault, it was the world's fault.

For the following few days, Han Xiao built all the armor. Every player wore Enlistee Class armor—it was like the mercenary group had its uniform. Although the players were all Supers, Enlistee Class armor still proved to be helpful.

As a firm supporter of the Great Mechanic Han, Frenzied Sword was the first one to buy the enhancement. The attributes of the armor increased by around ten percent after the enhancement. Multiple enhancements of the same equipment would have an increased cost. As for the Enlistee Class armor, the first enhancement only cost 60 Enas, the second cost 100, and the third 150. Every fourth enhancement in a row, the price would have a big leap from the previous one; the fourth enhancement cost 300.

The attributes increased by eight to twelve percent every enhancement. It was low-cost, high profit, and Frenzied Sword vouched for it. The others thought that it was a good deal and followed. After the Sunil mission, the players all had more than 10,000 Enas, and it was burning a hole in their pockets.

Han Xiao had left plenty of room for enhancements when he made the armor—it had to be enhanced at least seven times to reach the limit of his ability. The enhancement business brought made him 23,000 Enas, which meant on average, the fifty plus players all enhanced their armor at least three times!

Han Xiao made 40,000 from selling the armor and 23,000 from enhancing them. Now with more than 67,000 Enas in his account, he more than enough to buy knowledges.

He was having a great time selling, while Herlous was speechless. He found Han Xiao and said with surprise, "How do you know our single unit armor technology?"

He had built Sunil's armor, which would definitely make Herlous question him. Han Xiao laughed and said, "I derived the blueprint during battlefield repairs. Aren't I very skilled?"

Herlous' face twitched. Han Xiao had stolen Sunil's technology, yet he had asked a Sunil to compliment his skill. Even his Battleship Slicing Blade could not cut through skin this thick!

Anyway, with Sunil at its current state, there was no point dwelling on this. Herlous still had to stay with Han Xiao, so he did not care about it. Furthermore, it was not any kind of rare technology—most civilizations had basic single unit armor, just with different styles.

…

In the Area Exchange Center of Juberly Hub, Han Xiao was looking to buy some knowledge.

Having finally made enough money, he was about the complete the class advancement that he had been stuck on for so long. It went without saying, he was quite excited.

The Colton Star Cluster area only had eight Mechanic class advancement knowledges, and Han Xiao glanced through and swiftly chose two.

[Heavy Machine Modification], selling at 25,000!

[Advanced Electromagnetism], selling at 37,000!

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Learning… Successfully learned! You have learned [Heavy Machine Modification]!

Learning… Successfully learned! You have learned [Advanced Electromagnetism]!

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Class Advancement Requirements: LV 80, 400 INT, learned 5 Mechanic Class Advancement Knowledges

Class Advancement Succeed!

LV 80 Class Advancement Mission completion detected!

Class Advancement Succeed! END Attribute Boost enhanced. 1 END = 40 Max Health = 50 Max Stamina!

You have received a new class, [Data Mechanic LV 1].

+100 Energy, +3 DEX, +2 END, +4 INT

You have received 5 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

You have acquired skill [Blueprint Refinement]!

You have acquired skill [High Concentration Refining]!

You have acquired skill [Magnetic Vision—Data Flow]!

You have acquired talent [Machinery Analytical Comprehension]!

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The energy in his body was cheering. His class advancement made Han Xiao feel like he had broken through some kind of shackle. His vision became black, and it felt like hours had passed. However, it was actually only half a second. His vision then recovered, but it was very different with before—he could sense much tinier things.

Every time his strength increased, he felt like he had been reborn.

Data Mechanic was also called Experienced Mechanic. His understanding of machinery became even better. The Machinery Affinity at this period would make a huge leap, and among the four new abilities that he had just received, [Magnetic Vision—Data Flow] and [Machinery Analytical Comprehension] were both able to largely increase Machinery Affinity.

Machinery Affinity was a key attribute of the Mechanic, representing the speed, attributes, and power of building and using machinery. [Magnetic Vision—Data Flow] was an active skill, and after activating it, he would enter a special magnetic vision. His magnetic property energy would become his extended senses, revealing the details of the machinery with a magnetic field.

Han Xiao immediately leveled up this skill to Lv.10. Its effect was a twenty-five to fifty percent increase in Machinery Affinity with a twenty energy cost per minute. The percentage increase changed randomly every minute. As its cost was very low, this skill could be activated almost continuously. Unlike [Surging Mechanical Force], this skill could be used in the building process too.

[Machinery Analytical Comprehension] was a passive talent, increasing machinery affinity directly according to Intelligence. Its effect was very powerful—every ten Intelligence increased machinery affinity by one percent. Han Xiao had more than four hundred Intelligence at this moment. This was a key ability for the current stage, increasing the benefit of the Intelligence attribute toward Mechanics. For the foreseeable future, this would be a core ability.

[High Concentration Refining] was the upgraded version of [Basic Refining]. It increased the strength of the raw materials, a very important effect. [Blueprint Refinement] was a passive skill, and it had a chance to be triggered during equipment building. That equipment's blueprint level would temporarily increase by at most three levels, increasing the end product's attributes. There was also a chance to 'crit' during the building process, resulting in an equipment of a higher grade. The chance depended on the user's Intelligence and Luck.

Han Xiao still had 2,500,000,000 experience, so he immediately leveled up all those skills and talents to the max level, using close to 50,000,000 at once. Then, Han Xiao also increased his main class to the max level, LV 15.

After LV 80, the experience to level up multiplied. One level required tens of millions of experience, so leveling up fifteen levels at once cost him 900,000,000 experience. Yet, he did not even blink.

_____________________

[Data Mechanic] leveled up to LV 15 (max).

+240 Energy, +3 DEX, +2 END, +4 INT

You have received 5 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

_____________________

From LV 80 to LV 95 in a flash! It even exceeded the max player level allowed in Version 2.0!

Han Xiao's advantages of being ahead were even more enlarged.

Energy filled his body. If it had been a stream before, it was now a wide river!

Han Xiao took a deep breath and felt the strength of his body. Reveling in the raging energy within him, he opened the interface, spending all the Free Attribute points in Intelligence. Then, he observed his attributes go through astonishing changes.

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Level: 95

Main Class: Mechanic

Attributes: 121 STR, 244 DEX, 214 END, 570 INT, 21 MYS, 14 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Points: 82

Health: 13,057

Stamina: 15,420

Energy: 5,210 (LV 9)

Power Level: 5,377 Ona

Grade: B

[You're a strong enough Super, a pillar level even in the galaxy. With this level of strength, you're superior to most beings.]

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I became grade B! Han Xiao smiled. 5,000 increase in just max health and a new attribute boost level when my energy reached 5,000. My attributes should be thirty to forty percent higher than before!

Finally, he was grade B. He could now protect himself to a certain level even in the galaxy, his combat power was far beyond grade C, and he had two new class advancement knowledges. His combat style could be improved once more!Downloadable Content that players must purchase on top of the base game to access.

Chapter 357: Breaking News, Universe Royalty's Reward

The prerequisite of the Sunil NCO Class armor had been met, and Han Xiao could reverse engineer the armor and draw up the blueprint. He did not want to sell it to the players at the moment. After all, he had just finished selling the Enlistee Class armor, and releasing the new armor would affect the rewarding buff from the Enlistee Class armor. So, he chose to wait for a while.

I have five class advancement knowledge in my hands right now. With all these new blueprints, I can finally upgrade by equipment… Han Xiao stroke his chin and fell into deep thought. He currently had four battle styles: the core Amphiptere, Compounded Magnetic Chain Split Blades and Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves for close combat, Sonic Sphere for mid-range combat, and Wrath of Garrett while kiting for long range combat. All four modes provided well-rounded combat abilities for Han Xiao.

[Heavy Machine Modification] gave him the skill to create large scale machinery, and [Advanced Electromagnetism] could help Han Xiao create more stable weapons running on electromagnetic force. Electromagnetic weapons were the next stage for normal weapons, and they were more powerful compared to weapons running on gunpowder. These two knowledges were extremely important, and Han Xiao had to upgrade them sooner or later. Thus, he used sixteen potential points to max out both knowledges.

If he wanted to update his combat styles, then his close combat weapons were outdated. Luckily, he could use these new knowledges to build bigger and badder toys. For mid-range weapons, he just had to change his gunpowder weapons into Electromagnetic weapons. The Ghost sniper rifle had always been incomplete, and the Advanced Electromagnetism was the key to completion.

For Amphiptere, since there was nothing that could drastically revolutionize the armor, Han Xiao only had plans to just add a few new functions and attachable charms. He cracked his knuckles and got to work.

Not only was he going to renew his combat styles, he also had the power to create large machinery. Han Xiao planned to create a vehicle on the ground to travel with the entire faction. As soon as he thought of this idea, one word popped out in his head…

Genius!

Han Xiao's eyes sparkled.

The vehicle can also be the symbol of this mercenary group, which can raise the interests of the players as it shows that our group is growing together. If I can use the Advanced Electromagnetism to improve this heavy machinery, then isn't it just a simpler version of an Electromagnetic Rail Cannon‽ A ground vehicle is the best out of all other vehicles!

He dove straight into his work. He bought plenty of spare parts and locked himself in the tuning room. Before he went in, he told the players to rest well in the Hub.

The crowd did not have any objections. They had changed compared to when they first arrived in space. The players understood the benefits that they would get if they listened to Han Xiao—even Li Ge stayed put in the Hub Center. The players talked and interacted with travelers from different races. Getting to know more about civilization was an entertaining experience. Although the professional players were materialistic and focused on results, there were quite a lot of players like Maple Moon who enjoyed stories, and they were attracted to the fascination of the galaxy.

During the resting time, Bun-Hit-Dog started to make his second episode of the Black Star Series. He continued with his TV show editing style. Not only Planet Aquamarine, audiences all over the galaxy could not wait for the second episode. As soon as the show was released, hundreds of thousands of viewers joined in an instant.

The show continued from the last episode. It started off from the first mission of the Mercenary Group, and the show told the tragic story of Sunil and the scenes from the Catastrophe. The players who did not step into the galaxy were sucked into the narrative as if they were there. The mercenary group was the eyes of millions of viewers. Through the experiences of the journey, the audiences got to know more about the galaxy along with the mercenary group, so they already had a deep bond with the group.

The episode continued until the end of the Catastrophe. The mercenary group gained a new member along the way named Herlous, as if he was a main character in a TV show. This person instantly grabbed the attention of the audience. Bun-Hit-Dog showed the new items in the Faction stop while the narrator explained the potential growth of this faction. The audience had a lot of expectations for the future adventures of the mercenary group, and at the same time, they became even more jealous of the players that had joined Han Xiao.

Han Xiao also watched the show and was satisfied with Bun-Hit-Dog's work. The show could slowly be integrated into people's lives and create an emotional bond with the audience.

…

In the Hub Center's Battle Simulation Room, Herlous swung his Battleship Slicing Blade and tore the simulated beasts into pieces. He had not fought in a long time, so he came back to the room and to practice every day. Because Han Xiao was drowned in his building and creation, he did not update the mercenaries' information. So, in Herlous' mind, he was still the only Class B Supers in the group. Thus, he felt a huge responsibility on his shoulder and practiced diligently.

After battling for a few hours, all the simulations disappeared. The battlefield filled with corpses turned back into an empty white room. Herlous withdrew his sword, wiped his sweat from his forehead, and headed out the room. At this time, Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and King Admiral walked out from the gravity room on the side. They saw Herlous and hurriedly walked up to him.

"So, you guys are training, too." Herlous nodded at the members. Over the past few days, the players had been nice to him and were full of passion. He felt that he was getting along with the team. Although, Herlous was out weirded out by their names. It seemed that different cultures had different ways of naming. He thought that it was the culture of Han Xiao's planet.

He was just wondering why these players could not die. Of course, the players could not tell the truth, so Herlous just thought that it was an Esper power in this group.

"Can you teach us some battle techniques?" Hao Tian asked.

In the eyes of the players, Herlous was an unopened chest. They tried to activate some certain events such as learning a new skill. However, Herlous did not have the ability to pass down skills, so all he could do was offer a few pointers. However, under his teaching, the players' close combat skills would significantly improve. One would need some luck to activate the event, which mostly depended on Herlous' mood. However, the players would still try and ask once in a while.

Herlous felt important after being in this team. Suddenly, a local news agency building sounded an emergency alarm.

"… Breaking news. A team of Silvers were attacked by scavengers during their travel in the Shattered Star Ring. Some of them were kidnapped. From our intel, the point of attack was Colton Star Cluster, Fawn Galaxy, Star Zone 4. The size of the scavenger pack is unknown. The escaped Silvers are now hiring mercenary groups to save the remaining Silvers with a high reward…"

This information got Herlous' attention. The Silvers? This race was from the Silver Spirits Sea that was far away. It was the race of Universe Royalty!

Some powerful and advanced civilizations were called the Universe Royalty. The three Universal Civilization that colonized the universe were of course the Universal Royalty. The Silvers were not on that level yet, but it was a long-lasting advanced civilization, and they also had a special position in the universe. At the same time, this Universe Royalty was highly demanded in the slave market, so they were the perfect prey for the scavengers.

The Silvers were rich, so the reward would undoubtedly be insanely high. Herlous, who was short on cash, was slightly moved. He had to try and convince Black Star to seize this opportunity to earn free money.

The area under the rule of Godora was the Garton Galaxy. The Fawn Galaxy was next to Garton, but it was not as large as Garton. A few civilizations that were slightly weaker than Godora had control over different Star Zones, but conflicts often occurred on the borders. Although they were no actual wars, there was a lot of chaos, and no one had power over those areas.

Fawn Galaxy's Star Zone 4 was right on top of the borders, where it was under no one's jurisdiction. The neighboring civilization ignored the calls of help from the Silvers, so they had to pay high rewards to search for mercenaries to help.

Chapter 358: New Gear, New Objectives

"Silvers?"

Han Xiao received Herlous' message while in the machinery repair room and was shocked. He quickly turned off the humming equipment around him, and the room instantly quieted down. The smell of red-hot metal drifted through the room.

He knew that the Silvers were an advanced civilization that hailed from a prosperous region of space in the Silver Spirits Sea. They were a member of the Federation of Light along with many other advanced civilizations. They minded their own business, and their region of space was very safe, completely unlike the precarious living environment of the Shattered Star Ring.

The Silvers had a very long history. This kind of space royalty rarely visited a place like the Shattered Star Ring. Yet, they were… travelling there? Han Xiao honestly did not know what tourist attraction in the Shattered Star Ring could have attracted such high-end folks. What would these people, born in the magnificence of their planet-sprawling cities, want to see in the broken streets of the Shattered Star Ring? The danger level there was ten out of ten. Did this group of Silvers travel there for the thrill?

Having their companions kidnapped to become slaves was indeed thrilling.

The Silvers' reproductive capability left much to be desired, so they did not have a very large population. However, they were a species that had evolved to a very high level. To many forces, highly evolved species' DNA was like a treasure cove, filled with the secrets of the species' powerful and ancient bloodline. One of the common things of these space royalties was that they were very rare. The Silvers could be used to net an astronomically high price on the slave market, and this was probably why the scavengers had been willing to take the risk.

"Black Star, the Silvers are willing to pay a hefty sum. They are currently holding a massive recruitment for mercenaries. This is a good opportunity to make money," said Herlous in a deep voice. Herlous had not been doing anything for the few days prior, and he was in a hurry to make money. Thus, he had notified Han Xiao of the news the moment that he heard.

However, Han Xiao shook his head. "The Silvers are indeed quite generous with their reward, but this isn't an assignment we can take on. Large mercenary groups such as the Sky Ring Army will fight tooth and nail to take on the job. We won't even get a chance to compete for it."

"But we should at least try. There has to be a chance."

The mercenary game was full of competition. The large, higher-end mercenary groups could easily get the big jobs. The clients trusted in their reputation and credibility rating. This time was no exception. Only those big-name mercenary groups had gone to answer the Silvers' recruitment posts. Herlous actually knew that what Han Xiao said was very logical, but he would not give up.

Han Xiao remained silent. An event like this was not in his memories. Based on the timelines, this event probably happened during Version 1.0, and all of the players back then had still been rolling around in the dirt on their own beginner planets with no chance to interact with an event in space such as this. There was no news on an event like this even after the players finally went to space. This meant that it was not anything major and was most likely resolved successfully, without the chance to affect the future much.

To a sudden event like this, Han Xiao tended to be more careful. He already had the knowledge of many other Storylines, so should he still take the risk of participating in an unknown Storyline? It was not him being afraid of getting in harm's way or changing the development of the Storyline; he was someone full of the adventurer's spirit and also a stout believer of the man's romance. However, the most pressing task right now was to get stronger, and taking on the Storylines that he knew about was the safest way to achieve that. He did not want to cause any trouble that could be avoided.

"Let me think about it," said Han Xiao.

"Okay. I will be on standby." Herlous nodded. Han Xiao was, after all, the leader of their Mercenary Group. Although he was currently the strongest member among them, he would never let pride cloud his judgement.

After switching off his communicator, Han Xiao turned to inspect the fruits of his labor from the past few days. All the firearms had been replaced with electromagnetic versions. This included pistols, sniper rifles, and assault rifles. The conventional firearms that he was able to produce now were all at least purple gear, with an attack power of around 80 – 140. However, although the electromagnetic weapons that he had created were only of green or blue rarity at best, the damage was at least above 230. The effective range had also been increased by three to five times.

The electromagnetic weapons were much different from the conventional firearms in structure. The inside of the gun barrels consisted of intricate layers of magnetic coils, while the outside was covered by an insulating material that was connected to a bolt. It looked like a long, rectangular box. Every time that the gun fired, the bolt would contract backward before springing back into its original position. As the ammunition for electromagnetic weapons consisted only of singular pieces of metal, there was no need to discard the ammo shells like for conventional firearms, greatly increasing the firing rate. Also, electromagnetic guns had great penetrative power.

A sickle-shaped sword was resting on the workbench to the right. This weapon was nearly two meters in length and looked like the scythe used by the reaper himself. Han Xiao held the scythe, and a burst of energy snaked out from his palm into the handle. The next moment, a blinding ray of electrical light shot out from the handle, and lightning-like patterns could be seen all over the blade of the weapon.

The scythe's blade gave off a faint bluish glow while giving humming noises. Han Xiao casually swung his hand and left a crescent shaped afterimage, with sparks of electricity remaining in the air, as if the air itself had been burned apart. After doing a few more test swings, he pressed hard on the end of the handle, and the blade that was well over a meter long broke off into pieces and reformed into a thick electrical snake. This greatly increased the range of the weapon, and the individual pieces of the blade could reform into all manners of shapes, suitable for all types of melee attacks. Han Xiao nodded in satisfaction and reined in his energy. The black blade instantly shrunk until it was only a forty-centimeter-long baton. It could even be further folded for ease of travel.

[Battle Scythe – Razor's Edge] was a Super equipment and extremely powerful. He had been able to produce this original weapon by combining the blueprint of some sort of mechanical scythe with the Incisor Gloves using the electromagnetic blades theory. This was his own creation and suited his own combat style. It had a more-than-formidable attack power and was going to be his new main melee weapon due to his recent increase in strength.

Other than that, he also gave Amphiptere a major upgrade. The exoskeleton was outfitted with a thick armor, making it look like the armor of a heavily armored knight. The double layer of armor made the suit taller than 3.5 meters. Both the defensive and damage output had been improved. This was his trump card for assaulting heavily fortified positions head on and would not be used all the time.

Han Xiao did not give the new savage-looking exoskeleton a name. However, Amphiptere had basically gained two new modes since its creation. When equipped with the wings, it would be [Amphiptere – Flight Mode], and with the thick layer of armor, it would be [Amphiptere – Siege Mode].

The transport, due to the internal structure being too complicated, was still in production. However, he did manage to synthesize a blueprint for it. It was a transport method that would be able to move in the air, on the ground, and underwater. It was just that the appearance was far different from Han Xiao's ideal.

Basically, it was a big ball…

Han Xiao was able to make a lot of new equipment and tools just by utilizing the basics of the two newly acquired advanced knowledges. However, most of them were add-ons at best, and he still had not made any revolutionary breakthroughs. Based on his current level, the features of the mechanic class that was available to him were early to mid-game.

He was currently already LV 95, a level that had only been attainable for players after Version 3.0 back then. This just went to show how disgustingly difficult the class change requirements were. The abilities that Han Xiao wanted to obtain were the abilities that signified the rise of the mechanics in Version 3.0 as a player class—Instant Assembly and Advanced Compression Technology.

Only by getting those abilities could a Mechanic truly start treading upon the path to become a one-man army.

The release of those abilities would mean that the mechanic players had finally made it out of the early-game. Many kinds of mechanical combat styles were based on the different kinds of Compression Technology.

Due to the increasing weight of the equipment, mobility and ease of carrying became extremely important for items. Like the Godoran equipment, Compression Technology could help mechanics significantly reduce the size of inactive machinery and other equipment. This meant that the number of tools and items that a mechanic player could bring along in battle would increase drastically, and they no longer had to carry along a burdensome bag everywhere. They could instantly raise an iron fortress out of nowhere.

For example, Amphiptere's newest exoskeleton add-on would be able to be folded over and over until it got an easily carriable size. However, it could also go into siege mode whenever needed. Or, the mobile rover turrets that were originally impossible to bring around would be compressed into small cubes that could be chucked into battle to gang on an opponent.

There was a total of three core knowledges for this kind of ability: [Instant Dismantle and Repair], [High-density Material Compression Technology], and [Beginner Spatial Technology]. They were all advanced knowledges.

Unfortunately, these three important knowledges would most definitely not be allowed to circulate around the market in the Shattered Star Ring, and their possession was highly monitored by the large space civilizations.

Frowning, Han Xiao fell into deep thought. These abilities are crucial for a mechanic's growth. Since the markets in the Shattered Star Ring doesn't offer them, the most direct way would be to join a large intergalactic organization and grind their contribution points to exchange them for them. This is the method most players decided to go with in the past.

However, there was another way—leave the Shattered Star Ring and try my luck in another region in space. The even more advanced civilizations don't treat this kind of knowledge with that much importance, and it could be leaked. However, finding them on the market will be completely based on luck, and the chance isn't very high…

After touching his chin, the Great Mechanic Han muttered in a grave voice, "The Silvers are a considerably advanced race. They definitely had access to those three knowledges. If we can get employed by them, then maybe I could try asking for that knowledge in exchange for the job reward. But the chance will also not be that great…"

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao decided that he might as well try. There was nothing wrong with dreaming. The Great Mechanic Han was the kind of person to always buy a lottery ticket. So what if he never won? At least then there would be no regrets.

After sorting out his equipment and paying the fees for using the repair room, he left for the Mercenary Alliance's lobby. There was a sea of people here, and there were many more mercenaries than the usual. They were probably there due to the Silvers' recruitment notice and wanted to try their luck.

Han Xiao switched on the mercenary interface and saw the recruitment post sent out by the Silvers at the very top of the notice board. However, he got a shock immediately after opening up the message.

"Minimum Credibility Points: 400"

400‽ We don't even have half that number. Han Xiao was speechless. What is this? Are my dreams going to be crushed before I can even dream?

"Hey, Black Star!"

Just as he was about to leave, someone suddenly called over to him from the side. Han Xiao turned and saw a gown-wearing blue-skinned shorty sprint over with that short pair of legs of his while running out of breath.

Han Xiao widened his eyes and slapped his forehead as he realized and said, "Hey, uhm, you're that… right? Wait, don't tell me. I almost got it. You're called… called the… Nylon people?"

"It's Blue-Ni!"

Martin was mad, and his nail like hair all grew longer, turning from nails into long metal needles. This was one of the signs that a Blue-Ni was angry.

"What the…" Han Xiao's eyes shook. He was almost feeling sorry for himself that he had to hold back from calling the other person a porcupine.

Chapter 359: Sky Ring's Invitation

"What do you want?" Han Xiao thought that this was odd.

He had only met Martin once—a month ago when Martin tried to recruit mercenaries personally. Han Xiao had somewhat of a bone to pick with this blue-skinned shorty as the latter had turned his mercenary group down due to their lack of an impressive resume.

Martin rubbed his hands together awkwardly and said in a sincere voice, "Uhm… Are you interested in accepting a job? It's the same one as before. Our research team is going to investigate a barren planet…"

"It's already been a month, and you still haven't found anyone to go with you?"

Martin did not know what to say to that. Recruiting personally like he did would normally only attract the weaker no-name mercenaries. After a long time, he finally could not wait anymore and posted this job onto the Mercenary Alliance's job board. However, there were still no willing recruits due to the laughably poor pay, so the investigative operation was still on hold.

A few days ago, after the mercenaries who had participated in the Sunil missions returned, news of a Mercenary Group full of people capable of revival spread around and piqued the interests of many other mercenaries, causing them to become somewhat famous in the Juberly Hub.

Martin heard about this news by chance and realized that the group that he had rejected earlier was actually very powerful and that he had missed out on a good opportunity. He was full of regret and so had sprinted over the moment that he saw Han Xiao in the lobby.

"It's still the same price. 400 Enas per person. Let's hurry and go now." Martin had a face full of expectations. Han Xiao had registered once earlier, and he thought that he would not reject the offer.

"Go look for someone else." Han Xiao shook his head and turned to leave. He had only wanted to take on the job last time because he could make some quick bucks on the way to the Sunils' planet. Now that the moment had passed, why would he even care about this meager pay? He even had to travel to some faraway planet for it.

Martin held on to Han Xiao's arm and hurriedly said, "Is it because of the price? We can pay more! 500… no, how does 480 sound?"

Martin had firmly latched himself onto Han Xiao's arm, leaving the latter speechless. Martin turned around to be the one doing the begging this time.

The trip to Planet Sunil had earned Black Star Mercenary Group a decent amount of fame, which was the only reason this scene was even happening. A Mercenary Group with reviving soldiers that was also decently powerful would of course be paid a certain amount of attention.

The two pushed and pulled until another voice came from the side. "Oh, so you're Black Star?"

Han Xiao turned around and saw the owner of the voice walk over, clad in a pure white battle suit with a surface so smooth that it was undoubtedly made out of some special alloy.

"Sky Ring's people?" Han Xiao focused his eyes and plucked Martin off of him.

This person was wearing the Sky Ring Army's battle uniform and was a mercenary from Sky Ring.

The Sky Ring Army was among the mercenary groups at the top of the food chain in the Shattered Star Ring. They had over ten thousand members, and the Army head was even a Calamity Grade Class A Super. They did business across numerous clusters such as the Colton Star Cluster and the Gelock Star Cluster.

He should not have had anything to do with Sky Ring at the moment, so Han Xiao was curious. "What does Sky Ring want with me?"

"You have a decent team. My Division Captain would like to discuss cooperation with you. Are you free now?"

Han Xiao blinked. Cooperation… Doesn't sound too bad…

However, with Sky Ring's power, there truly was no reason to look for a small team like his. Unless Sky Ring was interested in something special of their group. Han Xiao was able to guess the general reason for Sky Ring's interest in them.

No doubt. They were probably interested in the fact that we don't die… Han Xiao smiled in his mind. Looks like the gossiping between fellow mercenaries has done its job.

He was curious as to what kind of cooperation Sky Ring wanted to discuss with him. A force as big as theirs would definitely not have something simple up their sleeves.

"I am free. Let's go." Han Xiao threw off Martin and left with the Sky Ring mercenary.

Martin sat on the ground with a dumbfounded expression. The Sky Ring Army's name was known in all corners of the Shattered Star Ring. He could not believe that the Mercenary Group he had turned away just a month ago had been able to gain their interest and even receive an offer for cooperation.

Martin could only think about his previous decision of turning them down with regret and pain.

"But I was the first one here…"

…

Han Xiao walked into the Sky Ring mercenaries' stronghold and immediately saw around twenty to thirty of their members around the place. They were all of various species and races, and all eyes turned onto him when he walked in.

"I am Gashley. The captain of this small division." A mercenary with golden eyes stepped out. He had an impressive physique, with a muscular body that stood over two meters tall. His species came from a region in the Gelock Star Cluster.

Gashley's battle suit was a little different from the other members. There was a golden ring that circled a triangular crystal at the center of his chest. Although a mercenary group as large as this offered its members a good amount of freedom, they still had their own hierarchy. The more rings that circled the crystal on the suit, the higher the wearer's rank. Rank was decided based on one's strength.

The Division Captain had one ring, and there were four more ranks above that, with the Army Commander having one more than the highest rank.

"Black Star, Han Xiao." After the simple self-introductions, Han Xiao cut right to the chase. "What do you want to cooperate on? What's the situation?"

"Sky Ring is devoted to recruiting capable warriors," Gashley said slowly. "You have a great team, and we would like to invitation to you and your team—join Sky Ring."

Recruiting other mercenary groups was a crucial step for mercenary groups to grow. The Sky Ring Army was a relatively free organization that consisted of many individual teams that were all originally from other mercenary groups. Successfully recruiting strong members would earn the recruiters quite a reward, making all Sky Ring mercenaries pay great attention to potential new recruits, like part-time scouts.

Gashley's team just so happened to be stationed at the Juberly Hub and had heard news about the 'undead Black Star Mercenary Group'. After validating the authenticity of this information, Gashley had immediately decided to extend an invitation to Han Xiao, as he wanted to take in the whole Black Star Mercenary Group.

He was mainly interested in the 'revival' ability. Otherwise, with their average class C combat ability, they would not even have entered the sights of the Sky Ring mercenaries. Of course, Gashley also did not bother paying Han Xiao himself any extra attention. This was because, in Sky Ring, the average members were all class C, while they had several hundred class B officers. They even had two Calamity Grade Supers, which entire civilizations feared.

The sudden invitation surprised Han Xiao. However, after some thinking, Han Xiao also thought that it was not too unreasonable. Mercenaries that could revive as much as they wanted would be able to become the best vanguard and cannon fodder. Even a large organization like Sky Ring would not ignore this ability.

He calculated the losses and gains in his mind. Joining Sky Ring would guarantee them special privileges, and they would be able to enjoy Sky Ring's influence, which had been built up over the centuries. He could also gain access to many new shop items…

But if the Black Star Mercenary Group worked under Sky Ring, they would cease to be their own faction. The long-term losses were too much to bear, and he was not willing to give up on having his own faction just for some short-term gains.

"Your offer is very attractive, but I'm not really interested in becoming part of another organization," Han Xiao declined politely.

The onlooking Sky Ring mercenaries all started to whisper among themselves after hearing that.

"He actually declined."

"There's only benefits to receive, so why wouldn't he accept? I didn't even hesitate when I was recruited."

Gashley had a face full of surprise, and he thought that Han Xiao did not understand the benefits they would be receiving after joining. Thus, he then went on to patiently explain. "You might not be too knowledgeable about the benefits that Sky Ring can offer. Firstly, we do not confine our members with strict rules. You can even choose to become an individual mercenary, or you can also join a team, as long as you complete a minimum of two job assignments every year. Also, there are many other benefits enjoyed by Sky Ring members such as…"

"Sorry." Han Xiao interrupted him and shook his head. "Sky Ring is indeed very nice, but I'm a man who believes that benefits always come with risks. Acting with my own faction suits me more, but I would still like to thank you for the invitation."

Chapter 360: I’m a Professional at Planting Flags (Edited)

The crowd exchanged looks with surprise on their faces.

Gashley shook his head. Black Star had used polite words, and he was not angry at being rejected, just felt that it was a missed opportunity.

Although Sky Ring was a large organization, most of the members were not arrogant and did not feel superior. Sky Ring was an official and lawful mercenary group, so they would not make enemies in the same industry easily.

Gashley felt it was a shame. At this time, Han Xiao suddenly changed the topic and asked, “It’s only been a month since Black Star Mercenary Group was created, yet Sky Ring’s contacted us—is it because we have the reviving ability?”

Being an honest man, Gashley nodded and said, “Yes, it is.”

“Although I’m not willing to join other mercenary groups, I feel we can be in a partnership. Sky Ring definitely takes on many dangerous missions—my group can accept tasks from Sky Ring and take on these dangerous missions with high risks of death.”

Gashley thought that having a partnership was not a bad idea even though he could not recruit Black Star.

Sky Ring also had similar partnership relationships with other mercenary groups. There was a long list of records of these partners, who were like backups. In times of danger, Sky Ring could ask for help from these reliable partners any time.

The two discussed for a bit and agreed on their intentions on the partnership, which Gashley reported to the organization.

Many mercenary groups wanted to get in touch with such a large organization like Sky Ring, and people applied for partnerships very often, so the people of Sky Ring were very used to it. Most of the applications did not meet the requirements, but because of the special characteristic of being able to revive, Black Star’s application was approved immediately. When its name was added to the partnership list, Han Xiao signed the partnership agreement.

What the agreement roughly meant was that all members of Sky Ring could contact Black Star for support privately at any time, and they had to pay a reward individually. The two parties of the agreement were in a partnership, and any form of combat between the parties was prohibited. If Sky Ring was hired by a certain party, Black Star could not accept hiring from its hostile party, and vice versa. If that happened, the agreement would have been breached, the first party to breach it would have to pay a fine, and the agreement would be voided. Other than that, the other terms were very free and easy. It was regulated by the Mercenary Alliance, compulsory to comply.

Han Xiao was rather satisfied with the result. It was like gaining a new customer and expanding his business by borrowing Sky Ring’s name. Sky Ring definitely did not lack combat opportunities, which meant his mercenary group would not lack job opportunities as well. Anyway, the mercenary group had just been created, so it did not matter who their missions came from.

Although they could not enjoy Sky Ring’s privileges through the partnership, at least they had some backing—it was beneficial for the mercenary group’s development.

After signing the agreement, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and said, “If I guessed correctly, you guys should have accepted the Silvers’ request, right?”

Gashley nodded and said, “No large mercenary groups are going to give up this opportunity. My team has been summoned by the cadres, so we will be leaving and heading toward Fawn Galaxy later on.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled and asked, “Can my group follow? If you guys get the mission, our help might be needed. I’m happy to accept a hiring from Sky Ring.”

Gashley was stunned for a second. After some consideration, he realized that it did not seem like there was any downside to bringing a group of undying mercenaries. “Okay, bring your team to the pier later. We will take our spaceship together. However, be mentally prepared. If the mission is very easy, Sky Ring will not need help, so you will have wasted your time.”

Han Xiao waved, signifying that it was not a problem.

He felt that this was a pleasant surprise. He could skip the Credibility Rating requirement using the relationship with Sky Ring. Although his mercenary group was still very weak and there was not much chance of gaining the Silvers’ favor, they could expect good things from Sky Ring’s hire.

The three knowledges of the compression technology were his target. There were plenty of strong people in Sky Ring, and class advancement knowledge should not be in shortage. If they were fortunate enough to be hired, he felt that he could try to make requests.

…

After deciding the time and pier number, Han Xiao went back to the stronghold and gathered all members.

“We have a new job, so get ready. We will be leaving in a while,” Han Xiao said.

The people’s face turned bright—they were thrilled. Knowing that the mercenary group had growth potential, they had been looking forward to the next adventure, and it finally came after doing very little for so long.

Maple Moon raised her hand and asked, “What are we doing this time? Why did the mercenary group information not show a new hiring mission?”

“The thing about the Silvers drew quite a lot of attention, so we’re following the people of Sky Ring to Fawn Galaxy. I have brokered a partnership relationship with them, so we might have a chance to be hired.” Han Xiao thought and added, “Also, you don’t have to raise your hand if you have a question.”

No wonder no mission had been triggered in their interfaces. They followed Han Xiao’s lead and had no problem with the arrangement.

Herlous was quite surprised. He knew how huge the Sky Ring was, yet in only a few hours, how did Han Xiao suddenly become Sky Ring’s partner? There was completely no sign of it beforehand.

Herlous pulled Han Xiao aside privately and expressed his doubts. Han Xiao, of course, did not have anything to hide. He told him about what had happened.

“I see.” Herlous understood, admiring Han Xiao discreetly. If he was the one to make contact, he probably would not have thought about suggesting a partnership. Then, they would have lost this opportunity. Although Han Xiao was not strong enough in his eyes, his ability to catch opportunities astounded him—a person like this was more suitable as the captain.

“So, did you foresee anything?” Herlous asked softly.

Han Xiao shook his head. There really was nothing at all.

The Silvers’ storyline was not a storyline that he was familiar with. He did not have any memory of it, so it was probably no big deal…

…

The Sky Ring Army was very large. Gashley’s team’s spaceship was a dozen-meter-long civilian spaceship. Its front was narrow, and its back was wide, streamlined like a water droplet but with clear edges. The exterior armor was covered with dark-gold metal plates, and the two sides of the tail had crossbars diagonally connecting into the spaceship body. At the ends of these crossbars were spiral shaped propellers, four in total, able to change angles agilely. This was a spaceship from some civilization in the Gelock Star Cluster. It was equipped with a light jump engine, suitable for galactic traveling, but weak in combat power.

This kind of small spaceship looked much cooler than the large and swollen spaceship of Galactic Travelling Agencies. The players kept sizing it up with glowing eyes.

Han Xiao touched his chin. He also wanted to buy a mercenary group private spaceship, but sadly, it was too expensive. Even the humblest one-man galactic spaceship cost more than 10,000 Enas. He could only build it himself if he wanted to save on that money, but building a galactic spaceship had too many difficulties—engine, energy source, armor adaptability, structure strength, detector, and many more, which required a large number of knowledges. He was way too far from being able to do that.

The gathering time came, and the Sky Ring mercenaries appeared. They walked up to the spaceship. Gashley set the auto route in the control panel, and the ship left the pier. After some trembling, it entered the exterior vacuum space.

The tail propeller emitted a golden glow, and it gradually entered the jumping state. The colorful galaxy outside the window rapidly became blurry, then into stretched lines, like it was infinitely long. It had entered a teleportation star gate near Juberly Hub.

“We will very soon arrive in the Fawn Galaxy through the star gate.” Gashley turned to the people and said, “The Silvers’ spaceship is parked at number 12 planet of Star Zone 4, and the travel time is about twelve days.”

There were eighty or so people in the spaceship, but there was still plenty of space. After the players were given their rooms, they took the initiative and went to chat with the Sky Ring mercenaries.

Han Xiao found Gashley. They had only met each other that day, so it was mainly to talk about the mission. However, Gashley did not know the details either. He only knew that he was one of the teams summoned, and the representative of Sky Ring this time was a Three-Ring Level cadre, code named [Ice Sorcerer].

Three-Ring Level cadres were the backbone of the organization, mostly grade B Supers. This Ice Sorcerer was the leader of this mission, and that person would be the one that had the power to decide if Han Xiao was hired. Their codename suggested that it should be a mage.

Han Xiao had yet to come into contact with the Mage class. The Mage class was similar to the Mechanic class in the sense of their high difficulty, and its enchanting ability could enhance mechanical equipment too. Unfortunately, there were only Pugilists, Espers, and Mechanics on Planet Aquamarine.

After chatting for a while, Gashley went back to his room to rest. Han Xiao explored the spaceship himself. He came to the living area of the spaceship and realized that this spaceship had a Battle Simulation Room. Using virtual technology to simulate various enemies and environments, one could experience the effect of battle training. It was marked as ‘Occupied’.

Han Xiao controlled the monitor, and the image from inside showed up, Herlous swung the Battleship Slicing Blade and was fighting nonstop against weird beasts. Silver flames splashed everywhere like waves.

Han Xiao watched for a while, licked his lips, pressed the pause button, opened the simulation room door, and walked in.

Chapter 361: Spar

While Herlous was having a good time slashing left and right, the enemies suddenly disappeared, and Han Xiao opened the door and walked in. Herlous asked, "Why are you here?"

Han Xiao laughed and said, "It's boring to train alone. Come, let's spar."

After reaching grade B, he had yet to get into combat, and he was itching for a go. He was a noble man and would not bully the players for nothing; plus, Herlous happened to be a senior grade B. It would only be meaningful to spar with a comparable opponent, and it was suitable for him to better understand what his actual strength was.

He could only find trouble… cough, take action confidentially if he had a clear idea.

"Spar?" Herlous only had one thought in his mind. With you?

The grade of Supers was different from cup sizes. The difference between C and B was extremely vast—they were on a completely different level. The fight would be one-sided, and it could only be called a 'spar' if the parties had comparable strength.

Herlous was not really willing; he was so strong that he might hurt Han Xiao easily if they fought.

However, he felt that this act of Han Xiao's was like the other members of the mercenary group—it should be called 'asking for advice. Herlous suddenly understood. So, that's what he means… the captain wants some pointers.

"No problem, do you want to make any preparations?" Herlous kindly accepted it. He was happy to tutor his comrades. Plus, Han Xiao's safety was very important to him—making Han Xiao stronger would mean he could worry lesser.

Han Xiao was not shy at all. He told Herlous to wait for a while, then moved boxes of machines in. He wanted to test all the weapons as a form of respect for an opponent so willing to help.

Originally, Herlous was very calm, but as he saw more and more boxes entering the room, his face started to twitch. When Han Xiao carried a colossal Electromagnetic Rail Cannon prototype in, he uncontrollably took in a breath of cold air and yelled, "Oi! That's enough!"

With Herlous' objection, Han Xiao had to give up testing the damage resistance limit of a grade B Pugilist. He put on his Amphiptere mechanical suit and warmed up his body.

Melee combat was a Pugilists' specialty, and since the space in the simulation room was limited, it was disadvantageous for Han Xiao. Hence, he stood a certain distance away before starting the fight. "Are you ready?"

"Come." Herlous was very calm; fighting an opponent one grade lower needed no preparation.

Right as Herlous finished his sentence, Han Xiao flipped his hands. Two Electromagnetic Handguns slipped out from his leg armor, and he fired rapidly with Moving Snipe. The muzzle was flashing with blue electric light, and the sound was different from gunpowder weapons—it was a high-frequency buzz with the sound of electric flow. Needle bullets bolted toward Herlous, dragging a faint blue light behind.

His Battleship Slicing Blade rose up in time, blocking in front of Herlous like a shield, making clanks from the collisions. Following which, Herlous' expression changed a little. "Electromagnetic firearms‽"

The Mechanic's core ability was to build machinery for combat, and being able to build electromagnetic weapons meant that the attack power was on a new level. Electromagnetic guns had a high fire rate, so he almost could not react to it. Herlous has to take it seriously—although he had energy protection, his body was not some easily replaceable equipment, so he was totally not interested in getting focus fired.

Herlous did not know much about Mechanics, but he knew that only higher-grade mechanics could build weapons with higher technology. Naturally, he was a little confused—could grade C mechanics build stable electromagnetic firearms?

Herlous closed in with his blade in his hand, rushing faster than a sports car. Closing the distance, Han Xiao's feet slid as he moved back, maintaining the distance. There were many firearms hidden under his armor—a handgun, assault rifle, and sniper—that had all been changed into electromagnetic versions with higher damage.

Herlous was a well-deserved grade B. His reaction speed was extremely fast, and the wide Battleship Slicing Blade was suitable for blocking. Han Xiao fired hundreds of times, but less than five percent hit. Furthermore, the damage of those hits was largely reduced by the Pugilist's energy coating and strong physic, only dealing skin damage.

Having dealt some damage, Han Xiao saw Herlous' data panel.

"LV 98, grade B Pugilist, high in both strength and endurance, semi tank, quite a lot of talents, almost as many as me, and all with very strong effects… Damn, this guy has Basic Luck Glow, too."

Han Xiao was so jealous. According to Herlous' self-description, he had been very lazy since he was young—he had extraordinary talent but never trained hard. Then, he abandoned combat for more than ten years, yet he still reached grade B. Maybe this was what a genius was like…

Han Xiao could not help but think, If Herlous did not die like in the original storyline, he might have achieved grade A in the end.

This is one hell of a recruit.

As he became stronger, Han Xiao's mind became faster; even thinking of something else during combat would not distract him.

At this time, Herlous suddenly stopped chasing. His silver flames expanded, then contracted, condensed between his palms, and became a blinding silver-white light.

Boom!

Veins appeared on Herlous' face, looking very exhausted. Then, with a growl, he pushed his palms forward. The light shot out as energy flew out from his palms continuously. A blinding silver white beam shot out like a furious growling dragon, the light filling Han Xiao's vision.

Han Xiao placed his arms in front of him, and the next moment, the beam collided with his arms, sending him flying and bashing onto the wall. The beam devoured the outline of his body.

As long as Pugilists learned [Shockwave Blast], they would be able to shoot beams—this was one of the abilities in a Pugilist's ability Technique Tree, just like the Mechanic's Knowledge Tree. Compressing energy into a sphere, its power depended on the energy level, the flaw was that it required a lot of energy to use.

Beams had different varieties, and compared to grade C, the beam of grade B was clearly thicker and longer lasting. Even though Herlous reduced the energy output because he was worried about shooting through the wall of the simulation room, the increased damage in the entire places clearly displayed the power of this hit.

"That should be enough… wait, why did I use this?"

Herlous was shocked. His original intention was to tutor, but because he felt a bit threatened during the battle, he subconsciously took Han Xiao as a strong enemy and used a strong attack. He suddenly deeply regretted using such a move—such an energy beam could even hurt grade C Pugilists, not to mention Mechanics.

He was about to stop the energy output, but at that moment, a flash of arc-shaped lightning expanded from within the beam and slashed it open!

Han Xiao jumped high up into the air, with a ferocious black scythe in his hand, and descended from the sky, slashing down!

Herlous immediately raised his blade to block. The scythe crashed down on the Battleship Slicing Blade and caused sparks like a thunderstorm. The friction between metal mixed with the sound of electric currents. He stepped back and dodged, then he saw Han Xiao, who was on the ground. Many parts of his mechanical suit had become red hot, and his whole body was covered in white steam from the high temperature. The energy reaction level was shocking.

Han Xiao twisted his neck and said jokingly, "That was close, almost couldn't take it."

Although that was what he said, his tone was casual and calm, filled with confidence, totally not sounding like he was hurt at all.

Herlous' eyes widened. Someone who could tank a beam undamaged and give out this feeling was absolutely not just grade C.

"You're a grade B Super‽" Herlous was stunned. You were not this strong back in Sunil!

Han Xiao shrugged. "I've improved."

How many days had passed? And you've already advanced a grade! Are you more genius than me‽ Herlous was shocked. He had always known that he was very talented. Although he was not proud of it, when he saw a Super that was even more 'genius' than him, he did not feel very good and had very mixed feelings.

"Don't stop, we're not done fighting." Han Xiao reached out his arm and grabbed the air toward the location of an equipment box on the other side. The mechanical suit arm and the box had a magnetic connection, so the summoned item flew over.

In midair, the box opened automatically, and the exoskeleton armor bounced out, hovered over quickly according to the position of the magnetic connection, then covered Amphiptere, turning into the [Siege Mode] like a small giant in the blink of an eye.

There was another benefit to Advanced Electromagnetism—it could make equipment combine automatically through adjusting the magnetism of different parts, increasing the speed of equipping different armor.

Feeling the energy reaction that made his heart retract, Herlous became focused. He adjusted his attitude, and the thought of tutoring was forgotten. "You're right. Our battle deserves to be called a spar!"

Chapter 362: Invisible Corner 1

Upon experiencing the convenience of the automatic binding, Han Xiao could not help but feel good. Magnetic connection is truly convenient.

The exoskeleton armor looked rough and ferocious. It had a mechanic structure of heavy, black alloy armor combined with staggered fangs—the visual impact was very strong. The Siege Mode was focused on power and defense; it was like a train head when moving. The mechanical limbs were large and tough, equipped with a large number of moving gears, adding the bonus of dozens of Strength points and more than 10,000 armor points.

There were always pros and cons—the disadvantage of the Siege Mode was reduced Dexterity. Amphiptere itself was covered by the heavy exoskeleton armor, but luckily, there was the Nerves Connection, so controlling the exoskeleton armor was easy.

His scythe was originally a more than two meters long weapon, but now it was like a harvesting short sickle. Han Xiao charged forward with large steps, and the ground shook. As he slashed again and again, the scythe and the Battleship Slicing Blade collided with each other rapidly.

Clank clank clank!

The Battleship Slicing Blade left marks on the armor. Han Xiao knew Specialized Materials Science, so he had combined Advanced Electromagnetism with it and created a new alloy. It was highly durable and had bonus damage reduction when filled with electric current. The strong materials used for the fusion had very high defensive capabilities. If it was normal iron, it would have been cut in half by Herlous long ago.

The Great Mechanic Han was not so arrogant as to fight a Pugilist head-on in melee combat. He harassed with his Sonic Spheres, of which he could control seven at a time now because his nerves were stronger. He also used many other small weapons to keep attacking.

After fighting for a while, the exoskeleton armor was covered in damage, and Herlous had also been slashed by the scythe a few times—it was basically a draw.

Clank!

After one last collision between the weapons, the two distanced themselves from one another like they could reach each other's mind and stopped attacking at the same time.

"Great fight." Han Xiao laughed.

Through this combat, he had a more direct understanding of his own combat power. The bottom line of grade B was 5,000 Ona, and grade A was 10,000 Ona. The calculation of the Ona number was a curve—the higher the number, the bigger the difference between each point. Therefore, the difference between those of the same grade was larger. Even if both were grade B, the destructive power of one with 5,000 Ona and another with 9,000 Ona was completely different.

Han Xiao's Energy Rank was a little more than 5,300—a novice in grade B. Herlous has been in grade B for many years, but he had abandoned training. Thus, his Energy Rank was about 5,000 as well. However, with Herlous' talent, he had a lot of room to grow.

Supers with grade B strength were able to basically protect themselves in the galaxy, but it was countless miles away from being able to act completely carelessly. Han Xiao could only better prepare for the future if he knew his strength very clearly.

Herlous took a deep breath and put his weapon away. Sparring should always stop at a suitable point—there was no need to decide a winner. He would not use his trump card, and he knew full well that Han Xiao definitely had more trump cards as a Mechanic. Just through the fight earlier, he had already felt quite the pressure. Han Xiao had numerous attacking methods—like a hedgehog, he could be hurt with just a little bit of carelessness… oh wait, he was already hurt.

He dressed his wounds, and with the Pugilist's physique, he would recover in a few hours. Black Star was an opponent on the same level as him—Han Xiao's combat power had earned Herlous' approval.

Herlous was much less worried about Han Xiao's safety. Originally, when he realized that he was the strongest in the Black Star Mercenary Group, he had felt somewhat uncertain no matter what. Now that there was finally someone with the same level of combat power, Herlous' mindset had changed. To put it more directly… originally, he had thought that his teammates were burdens, but now, they gradually turned into reliable friends.

Furthermore, having a friend with the same level of strength meant having common conversation topics. They smiled at each other and felt a sense of trust in one another. The basis of trust could only be built between people with the same level of strength.

Herlous volunteered to help move the equipment boxes, and the two of them walked out the simulation room side by side. Then they came to realize that Frenzied Sword and a few players were waiting outside with surprised faces.

"Black Phantom, you're so strong!" Stars twinkled in Frenzied Sword's eyes.

Frenzied Sword was very hardworking, so he had wanted to find Herlous to trigger a tutoring event, but coincidentally, he had witnessed the earlier battle. He was stunned, as the mercenary group only displayed one grade B, Herlous, but Han Xiao had been fighting him evenly earlier. That meant that he had to be a B, too! Frenzied Sword immediately made a logical guess—it must have been because Han Xiao hid it during the test.

In traditional ideals, the leader should be the strongest. Originally, when the captain was not as strong as the newly joined cadre, the players had felt rather weird. Now, Frenzied Sword and the others felt much more comfortable. The Great Mechanic Han's image was strong and mysterious. In the players' eyes, he could do all sorts of unbelievable things, and what he just did matched his position in their hearts.

Frenzied Sword was the first follower—he had witnessed Han Xiao's rising experience step by step. Every time that he saw Han Xiao, he was glad of the choice that he had made. However, after entering the galaxy, Frenzied Sword had been somewhat upset. The team had expanded, and there were more people—he felt neglected.

Back then, Han Xiao gave him these high reward missions with strange requirements every day, and Frenzied Sword could not get enough of it. However, the missions now were too formal—Frenzied Sword missed that feeling…

However, at the same time, he was secretly delighted about it as well. No other players had witnessed these strange missions, not even Hao Tian, Maple Moon, and Bun-Hit-Dog knew what Han Xiao had been like back then. He was the only one to have experienced it. This was a very interesting and fun experience, and he thought back on it often.

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and took a step to the side discreetly. Somehow, he felt that Frenzied Sword was looking at him weirdly.

"Who's Black Phantom?" Herlous was confused.

Han Xiao waved. "Don't mind it, that's my nickname on my mother planet."

"Oh, I forgot, you're famous on your mother planet." Herlous discreetly decided to find other teammates to know more about Han Xiao's past. He was very interested.

There were few activities during the trip, and other than occasionally sparring with Herlous, Han Xiao chatted with Gashley whenever he was free to hear more about Sky Ring's history. They sometimes also talked about the knowledge of traveling through the universe.

Gashley was an experienced mercenary—he had been to many places and had a lot of stories to tell. In terms of words, the Great Mechanic Han never backed off, and in terms of knowledge, ten Gashleys tied together would not be able to match up to him. They chatted happily and had very pleasant conversations, gradually familiarizing themselves with one another.

Most of the formal mercenaries were forthright and liked to make many friends.

Players communicated with the other Sky Ring mercenaries often. When talking about their armor, the Sky Ring mercenaries displayed the effect of the Sky Ring Armor. They were all products of compression technology. By pressing down on the triangular crystal on their chest, the humble Sky Ring combat suit would expand and become various full forms. It was truly gorgeous.

The Sunil Enlistee Class armor paled in comparison, so the players were all shocked and jealous.

Seeing that the players were tempted by their resources, the Sky Ring mercenaries tried to tempt the players privately by promising a free Sky Ring Armor after joining Sky Ring. If their recruitment was successful, the recruiter would be rewarded as well. Recruiting members from other mercenary groups was a very common activity—it was free real estate. Many Sky Ring mercenaries also belonged to other mercenary groups originally, and they had been attracted to Sky Ring due to their better offer.

However, this did not work on the players at all. Tempted did not mean shaken; they were still waiting for better things to appear in the mercenary group shop. One day, there might be Sky Ring Armor in the Black Star shop too. Therefore, they were in no hurry. These players trusted Han Xiao very much.

The private invitations were all rejected, and the Sky Ring mercenaries were very surprised. They had not expected the mercenaries under Black Star to be so loyal, and shock naturally turned into respect for the group.

When Han Xiao heard this from Bun-Hit-Dog, he felt warm inside. The faction unity was starting to shape slowly. This group of players had backbone.

…

At the same time, among some asteroid belt in the Fawn Galaxy, a few scavenger spaceships were moving stealthily. They kept the information disruption force field activated at all times, maintaining their Stealth mode. This was the scavenger organization that had attacked the Silvers. It was a slave trader that often sold slaves—they were notorious for their ruthless acts in the Shattered Star Ring.

The hold of one of the spaceships consisted of prison cells used exclusively for containing slaves. This group of scavengers had done quite a number of jobs before they attacked the Silvers. The not so valuable 'goods' were locked together, and the valuable slaves were imprisoned alone. Naturally, the seventeen captured Silvers were imprisoned alone.

A golden-skinned, messy-haired man walked into the prison area with a very gloomy look on his face. He was the leader of this group of scavengers, Peggy, a hybrid Godoran. The blood running through his veins was only one-eighth Godoran, but his appearance was still very similar to that of a Godoran. The Godoran genes were indeed very strong. He had tiny scales on different places on his skin and vertical pupils like a snake, suggesting that he had some kind of Snakeman genes.

The prisoners in the large cell immediately became riled up when they saw him.

"Let me out!"

"I'm an explorer of Holy Stone Civilization, how dare you detain me! Let me go now, or I will…"

"Who are you going to sell us to?"

The prisoners were very noisy, but Peggy ignored them completely. He skipped the large cell area and walked into the corridor of the single person cells. He had yet to do a routine interrogation after catching these Silvers—it was now time to test the 'goods'.

Chapter 363: Invisible Corner 2

The Shattered Star Ring was filled with criminals, so it was very rare to see visitors from other Star Fields. Yet, there were still people who came.

Peggy asked eleven of them in a row, and the results were mostly the same. These Silvers were all friends and travelers, wanting to witness the edge of the visible universe, and Shattered Star Ring was one of the edges of the visible universe. They had passed by and had unfortunately been abducted by Peggy.

He walked into the next cell, and the Silver inside was somewhat different. The others would at least shiver a little when they heard the cell door open, but this guy was very calm and did not move at all. It was like he was not a prisoner but a guest of this ship.

"Are you the leader?" This Silver spoke first, his tone very calm. "I'm willing to buy my freedom with money. You can decide any price."

"I'm not interested." Peggy was expressionless. His spaceship maintained information disruption to prevent getting located, to prevent risks, so they would not let the slaves use their communicators before they were safe.

With a wave of his hand, his subordinate walked forward and frisked the Silver's body. This Silver struggled violently and yelled with rage, "I have a lot of money! Aren't you selling slaves for money‽"

Suddenly, a scavenger subordinate discovered something. He tore his shirt open and took out a tiny black bead from his lining. This Silver immediately became much more violent and wanted to pounce over to snatch back the black bead, but he was pressed strongly on the floor, only able to growl furiously.

"What's this?" Peggy took the black bead from his subordinate and squeezed it. It was very hard, and the surface of the bead was emanating a deep light with a tint of magical glow.

"Give it back to me! I'm an emissary of DarkStar; this belongs to the DarkStar. If you dare take it away, destruction and death will fall upon you!" this man yelled angrily.

"DarkStar?" Peggy laughed coldly. "You did your homework well. Despite being far away in the Sea of Star Spirits, you know there's a DarkStar organization in our Shattered Star Ring. I didn't joint DarkStar even though I'm a hybrid Godoran, you want to scare me? Do you think I'm easily fooled?"

Peggy saw DarkStar as the great pioneer of liberation, and he had always wanted to join, but because DarkStar was too mysterious, he never could come into contact with them. If DarkStar gave him orders, he would willingly give his life.

Silvers were far in the Sea of Star Spirits, how could they possibly have any connection with DarkStar. He had caught them out of nowhere, and this guy happened to be the so-called 'emissary'? How could it be so coincidental! It was nothing but intimidation—Peggy had seen it way too many times.

"Seeing that you're so nervous, this bead must be valuable. I'll take it."

Peggy pocketed the bead and planned to find someone to identify it when he was free. He brought his subordinates along and left the cell, then closed the gate.

Outside the door, the subordinate licked his lips. His face was filled with greed as he said, "A Silver has never appeared on the slave market of Shattered Star Ring before. It will definitely sell for a good price—this is a huge profit. Boss, who are we selling them to?"

"I've contacted the customer," Peggy said. "We're going to Floating Dragon Island."

The subordinate widened his eyes. "that's that man's territory!"

"The customer this time is that guy's subordinate, very generous with money." Peggy had a gloomy smile as he walked away.

In the prison cell, this Silver was furious. He cursed in his mind, Damn scavengers! Luckily, the Secret Message Bead can only be opened with a password. They can't take out what's inside…

…

Star Zone 4, Fawn—Planet Number 122—was a planet without an owner or civilization. The Silvers that sent out the missions were camping there. Since their call for aid, numerous mercenary spaceships had arrived on this lifeless planet, and all sorts of spaceships surrounded the middle and shaped a base. In the heart of it was the Silvers' traveling spaceship.

Gashley's spaceship landed slowly, and Han Xiao and the others swarmed out to look around.

The base was filled with voices—most of them were mercenary groups. The Silvers' mission had attracted many renowned mercenaries in the Shattered Star Ring.

Gashley brought the others toward the main team. They arrived below an even larger spaceship, and about a hundred Sky Ring mercenaries were gathered here. Han Xiao looked up—this spaceship had the Sky Ring symbol on it, too.

"You're finally here." A tall woman wearing hooded robe walked over.

It was the Three-Ring Level cadre [Ice Sorcerer], original name Goa, leader of the Sky Ring for this mission. She had light blue long hair, a cold nature, and a void-like voice, just like ice. This was a Mage—although Han Xiao could not feel the magic flowing in her, he could feel the coldness from her.

Seems like she's an ice element Mage, Han Xiao thought.

Just like the Mechanic class, the Mage class also had complicated knowledge and a variety of styles. Ice mages were hard to deal with, and they had all sorts of annoying skills like slow, freeze, and stiffen.

Goa glanced at Gashley. She saw Han Xiao and the others beside and asked with a frown, "Who are they?"

"Black Star Mercenary Group. We just made a partnership agreement, so they're here to help," Gashley said.

"Never heard of them before." Goa shook her head.

Han Xiao was not bothered. Black Star Mercenary Group's name was limited to Juberly Hub; it was far from being famous. Compared to Sky Ring, his mercenary group was not noticeable at all.

Goa thought that they were just a bunch of sidekicks, but suddenly, she felt a sense of danger. The senses of a mage reminded her that she had met someone strong, only then did she start to seriously size Han Xiao and the others up. She noticed that two of them had very active cell energy in them.

"Two grade B Supers…" Goa's expression changed a little. Although grade B Supers were rather common, they were not everywhere. Even in Sky Ring, grade B Supers were at least Three-Ring Level cadres, and this mercenary group with only dozens of members had two grade B Supers; the ratio was very high.

She was the only grade B in this team, their high-level combat power was not even as high as this small mercenary group.

Goa stopped looking at them and said, "Our employer has hired many mercenaries—they're not short of combat power. However, the situation right now is not very good… Since everyone is here, let's head over there first. We'll speak on the way."

They walked to the Silver's ship, and Goa explained the current situation.

This Silver had spent a large sum to hire mercenaries to save his captured friends—he was very generous indeed, but the mercenaries still had yet to start. They were stuck at an awkward stage—no one knew the enemies' location! The scavengers that had attacked the Silvers were nowhere to be found, so no matter how many mercenaries gathered, there was nowhere to start.

Such intelligence lacking missions were very troublesome. The mercenaries used various detection methods, but that group of scavengers had turned on information disruption and could not be located. They did not leave many traces during their crime either. Although they knew that the scavengers would be fencing, they did not know where they would be going to.

If they were further delayed, the people of his race would be sold already. The surviving Silver was very anxious, and he released new requirements. If anyone could provide effective location information, he would give a generous bonus.

"Other than us, Blades and Purple Gold are here, too. Purple Gold went to find a fortune teller, so the enemies' location might be discovered," Goa said.

The Blades Army and the Purple Gold Army, two large mercenary armies as large as Sky Ring, were also active in the Shattered Star Ring. The rewards for this mission were divided into two parts, the base reward and bonus reward. The base reward was the hiring fee, and the mercenaries that saved the captives would be given a bonus that was multiple times the base reward. Therefore, in these missions, the relationship between the mercenaries was not only comrades but competitors as well.

Formal mercenaries competed with dignity—they would not burden each other on purpose, or their reputation would be damaged.

Usually, when the enemy could not be located and there were no better detection devices, mysterious foreseeing methods might have an unexpected good result. These abilities required very special talents and strict rules, so they were rare.

The players could not awaken foreseeing type powers. Even if they could learn fortune telling in the Mage class, they would only receive very little information when they used it, so it had a lot of limitations.

The people met the Blades' team halfway, and they walked with each other. Goa and the leader of Blades chatted casually as they led the way.

Both large mercenary groups had their own uniforms. They chatted with the people they knew, and Han Xiao and the others were conspicuous in the middle of these two groups of people, as those around them sized up this unknown mercenary group.

"Who are they?"

"Seems like Sky Ring's help, think they're called something like Black Star Mercenary Group. Small group, not well known."

"Here to watch probably."

The mercenaries chatted among themselves, and the players felt uncomfortable. They felt like they did not fit into this crowd at all.

On the way, Han Xiao was pondering on what to do next. He did not know if Goa had plans to hire him, but he did not want to come for nothing. Since they were already there, he did not want to return empty handed.

Many renowned mercenaries of the Shattered Star Ring have gathered here on this planet. I came too late, and I have yet to make a name for myself. It looks like I can't play a part here.

This was an event that he had not come into contact before, so he had to improvise.

Just as he was thinking, they came to the middle of the base. The Silver appeared in their sights—they had snow white skin, long and cute tentacles above their heads, and stunning clothes made of unknown material that was soft and smooth, and bottom half of the face was covered by an air filtration mask.

This was the first time that the players had seen a 'Universe Royalty'. They looked here and there and did not realize what was so 'royal' about them. It felt no different from other weird looking galactic races.

"If a civilization is strong and ancient enough, the race ruling it will, of course, be royalty. The others will look up to their hobbies as a royal standard. This is an issue regarding societal positions, nothing much to do with their physique." Han Xiao patted Herlous on his shoulder.

"What did you pat me for?" Herlous rolled his eyes. About this topic, the Sunil clearly did not want to talk to you about it.

The Silver spaceship captain was negotiating with the mercenaries, and he said, "I hope you can quickly set off to save my friends. It's been delayed for too long; if you people continue to slack, you will not receive any reward."

"We don't know the enemies' location. All detective and tracking methods are no use, and you also did not give us any valuable intel. Thus, we can only wait temporarily. However, do not worry, our friends have already gone to invite a fortune teller. As long as you keep your promise and give the intel provider the bonus reward, I believe that there will soon be a result," a mercenary said.

"You people of Shattered Star Ring are really greedy and primitive," the Silver spaceship captain complained. "I dislike this place. No matter what, I just want results—money is not a problem."

Whoosh!

The wind rolled up the sand, and another spaceship had landed. The Purple Gold Army's symbol was printed on its body. The crowd split apart, and Purple Gold Army's team walked down the ship and approached. Beside the leader was a sorcery fortune teller carrying a crystal ball, also a member of the Purple Gold Army, hurrying over from galaxies away for this mission.

Chapter 364: Floating Dragon Island

The fortune teller held onto the magical crystal ball and mumbled, while the Silvers and the mercenaries watched and exchanged looks.

"Will fortune-telling even work?" Herlous asked. A target that all kinds of detection devices could not find, and a fortune teller could just lock onto it like that? Sunil was a technological civilization, so they had very limited knowledge of sorcery. They had only heard about it and never understood how it worked, so it was normal to be doubtful.

Han Xiao touched his chin. "That depends, there are many strange things in the universe. Something that technology devices can't do, sorcery can, and vice versa. Of course, as they both improve, the different systems will gradually have more similarities, and it all leads to the same place. The fortune telling of the Mage class is quite useful."

"Can't you use your foreseeing ability?" Herlous suddenly remembered that there was a foreseer standing right beside him.

"Mine is passive, passive…" Han Xiao dry coughed and gave a logical explanation.

About ten minutes into the mumbling, a blurred image appeared on the magical crystal ball, and the fortune teller stopped chanting. The fortune teller stared at the crystal for a while, then rubbed his eyes and said unsurely, "I saw a Void Dragon race…"

The crowd was stunned.

Void Dragon race?

What are you talking about‽

The clarity of the fortune telling results depended on the number of traces. Most of the time it would be ambiguous, but it would definitely be related to the truth. The fortune teller said, "I can only see this result, do you have any leads?"

The mercenaries surrounded the crystal ball and discussed, while Goa frowned and said suddenly, "Could it be… Floating Dragon Island?"

The crowd stopped their discussion instantly when they heard this. It was like someone pressed the mute button, and the mercenaries quietened down and exchanged looks. A tint of horror even appeared on their faces.

"Very possible… if there's any organization in the Shattered Star Ring unafraid of revenge, Floating Dragon Island is one of them."

Maple Moon noticed how stiff the people were. She tugged on Han Xiao's sleeve and asked curiously, "What kind of place is that?"

Han Xiao squinted his eyes and said, "Wanted criminals can't get supplies from lawful civilization's planets, but some neutral territories dare to take in galactic pirates, scavengers, and other criminals. Floating Dragon Island is one such neutral territory."

"Then isn't that a gathering ground of criminals? Why don't these civilizations just get rid of all of them at once?" Bun-Hit-Dog cut in.

"Not to pursue one's past sins in neutral territories, this is the unspoken rules between the civilizations in Shattered Star Ring because of one and only one reason—these long-lasting neutral territories all have a strong ruler." Han Xiao seemed to have remembered something interesting. The edges of his lips rose up as he said, "The ruler of Floating Dragon Island… is someone beyond Calamity Grade!"

Beyond Calamity Grade… which means higher than grade A‽

The players' faces changed. They finally understood why these mercenaries all had such grave expressions.

They knew absolutely nothing of the strong people of this grade, but Han Xiao knew very clearly.

If grade A was a calamity at a planet-scale, above grade A was a whole new level, more than enough to become the king of an area through the galaxy. Not many civilizations wanted to mess with someone of this level. For example, at her peak, Hila could reap the souls of every life on an entire planet in seconds, making an entire planet deadly silent!

When the strength of a single being reached such a level, there were not many rules that could restrict them anymore. Some galactic civilizations could not do anything to them even if they used the power of their entire race. It was horrifying indeed…

Luckily, there were few monsters at this level even throughout the entire universe. In the Shattered Star Ring, there were only four known beings beyond grade A, fearsomely famous and lonely.

The ruler of Floating Dragon Island was one of them, and Han Xiao happened to be very familiar with that guy. In his previous life, the Great Mechanic Han had once come into contact with that guy due to a mission.

Void Dragons were galactic beings, and their bodies were tens of thousands of meters long. They lived in the universe, and the dark energy everywhere to them was like air to humans and water to fish. The bodies of Void Dragons contained special powers, and when they died, their flesh would turn into ice shards and ash, leaving an enormous skeleton floating in the universe, turning into a comet.

When they reached close to the end of their life expectancy, the Void Dragon race would wait for its death beside the corpse of one of its race, hence forming a graveyard in the form of comets. Floating Dragon Island was a large graveyard. It was rumored to have twenty-four sets of Void Dragon skeletons, captured by its current ruler then embedded into the surface of an empty planet, the ruler then used their great strength to tear away a part of the land, equipping it with all kinds of anti-gravitational, ecological maintenance devices, maintaining its galactic voyage, turning into the Floating Dragon Island it was now.

Back then, when Han Xiao knew about this, other than being shocked his biggest conclusion was… that dragon was damn rich!

The people contemplated. According to the fortune telling results, the scavengers were most likely going to fence their goods on Floating Dragon Island, so many mercenaries wanted to back away.

"Sorry, I'm quitting this mission." The captain of one of the middle size mercenary groups made the decision after long consideration. With him as the first, more mercenaries followed and left. Spaceships took off one after another and disappeared.

Floating Dragon Island was a gathering ground for criminals, an extremely dangerous place that place did not really welcome formal mercenaries. They might just bump into their enemy there. Furthermore, saving someone in that kind of place… if they broke the rules accidentally and enraged the ruler, it would be a problem to even make it out alive. Most of the mercenaries wimped out.

The Silver was angry and shocked. The action of these mercenaries going back on their word made them furious.

Only Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold were left. These three groups had a strong background—at least the criminals in Floating Dragon Island would not dare to touch them. It was certainly different to have the confidence since they had relationship and background.

Here comes the chance! Han Xiao's eyes sparkled. The Silver would definitely be in shortage of manpower, so he stood out of the crowd and said with a smile, "Do you still need mercenaries?"

The three large mercenary groups looked over. The Silver spaceship captain nodded immediately—it was really a timely offer. These renowned mercenaries were just full of promises to save the captives moments ago, yet they all wimped when they heard the location. What good did their accumulated good name do? They did not even match up to this uninvited mercenary group!

Goa frowned and said, "Floating Dragon Island is filled with brutes, pirates, and scavengers everywhere. It's very dangerous, and even though you're our partner, Sky Ring's name cannot protect you. If you get killed, it will be for nothing. That place is too dangerous for you guys, so it's best you reconsider."

From what they saw, eighty percent of this small mercenary group's confidence to do this mission was because they were Sky Ring's partner, but she felt that she had to make things clear.

If a direct member was killed, Sky Ring would take revenge, so the brutes would consider before they did anything. However, although partners could act alongside them, if they were killed, Sky Ring would not stand up for them. That was the difference.

"No worries, my people are not afraid of danger." Han Xiao smiled, and his impression of this female mage became better. They clearly could just hire them as combat power, yet she actively explained the dangers involved—although she seemed cold, she was actually quite kind.

Chapter 365: Don’t Wimp, Just Do It

This time, Gashley explained softly, “There’s no need to worry, all of Black Star’s people can revive.”

“What‽” Goa was shocked. She did not know about Han Xiao’s team previously. Only after she listened to Gashley’s introduction did she understand the uniqueness of Black Star Mercenary Group. “A group of undying, no wonder they have the right to become Sky Ring’s partner…”

She did not continue her attempt to persuade Han Xiao anymore.

Han Xiao suddenly had an idea, and he said, “We only know that Floating Dragon Island is the location, but we don’t know the scavengers’ identity, nor do we know who they’re dealing with. It would still be finding a needle in a haystack—do you have any other ways?”

The Purple Gold Army fortune teller shook his head, saying that his fortune telling could not divine such details.

Han Xiao was relieved. He coughed and started acting. “I’m a foreseer, too, and I felt something just now and noticed some new clues.”

The people were surprised, and they looked over.

Han Xiao remembered that he still had the Character Summon Card of Destiny’s Child, and there were five more usages, so he could just give it a try. He asked, “If I can provide reliable intel, is there any other reward?”

The Silver spaceship captain nodded and said, “Of course there is.”

“I want to suggest a reward.”

“What do you want?”

“Mechanic class advancement knowledge.” Han Xiao smiled; this was a good opportunity to make a request.

The Silvers discussed for a while and agreed to Han Xiao’s request. Far away in the Sea of Star Spirits, class advancement knowledges were not that precious—they were basically everywhere. He just had to tell a friend back there, and it could be sent over immediately—it would not even cost them anything.

Upon getting the confirmation, Han Xiao used his Destiny’s Child Card. His vision changed, entering a blurry image, and he saw some bits and pieces.

After losing focus for a while, Han Xiao’s vision recovered. Destiny’s Child’s ability was very promising, so Han Xiao already knew the customer’s rough appearance. They just had to ask around, and they should be able to find the target.

He described the intel, and the Silver sent the appointed class advancement knowledge into his communicator.

Han Xiao used his potential points to learn it immediately, and a new knowledge entered his mind.

_____________________

You have learned [Rapid Assembly]!

_____________________

This is the difference… Han Xiao sighed. A knowledge that he could not even learn in the Shattered Star Ring, the Silver could transfer it to him easily. That was the civilization difference, and even he was tempted to kidnap these Silvers.

But it was just a thought. He threw that suicidal idea away very quickly. He now had a faction base, and he did not want to become someone who was chased around everywhere.

After the hiring procedures were completed, Han Xiao requested for the other two class advancement knowledge regarding compression technology as well. Seeing that Han Xiao was the captain, Silver agreed with all of it—Supers looking for new knowledge was very common.

A mission was triggered on his interface, and the basic reward was one of the knowledges required for compression technology. If he successfully saved the hostages, he would then receive the other knowledge. The experience reward was more than 4,000,000, plus some monetary reward.

And the players’ reward was only money.

After settling everything, without further ado, Han Xiao and the others boarded Sky Ring’s spaceship and followed the three large mercenary groups to Floating Dragon Island.

…

In an unknown region of the Shattered Star Ring was a DarkStar base, where the Superiors of the DarkStar organization were having an emergency meeting.

“The carrier this time was kidnapped.”

“Did Godora notice our plan?”

“No, this is just an accident. The people over there chose the carrier to be a Silver, and he was kidnapped by a slave trader.”

“That’s good then. The intel shows that the fence location seems to be Floating Dragon Island. What do we do?”

“Send people over to rob those bought slaves. Find the carrier and retrieve the cargo. If outsiders don’t have the password, they can’t take out the Mutation Source and the Super-Gene Extractor inside. These two things cost the organization a lot, so they cannot be lost.”

“Who do we send to carry out the mission?”

“Since it’s this important, let [Ember] go. He has yet to fail since joining DarkStar.”

Not long after, a stealth spaceship left the DarkStar base and headed toward Floating Dragon Island.

…

“Only paid for fifteen Silvers?”

Peggy was already very close to Floating Dragon Island. He contacted the customer again and came to know of the new request. There were seventeen Silvers in the spaceship, so two of them unsold. He thought about it, then told his subordinate to bring two Silvers to him. One of them was that carrier that called himself the DarkStar emissary.

In front of the hatch at the side of the spaceship, two Silvers were kneeling before Peggy. Scavengers surrounded the two of them, anticipating a good show.

“Open the hatch,” Peggy said.

A subordinate opened the inner hatch, but the outer hatch remained closed. The two Silvers saw this and guessed what the scavengers were about to do. They were terrified and struggled more violently, but they were firmly pressed down.

Peggy signaled for the other Silver to be moved out of the inner hatch. The inner hatch then closed, and the outer hatch opened. The body of this Silver was exposed in vacuum. He slowly floated away as his eyes bulged and his limbs moved everywhere. After struggling for a while, his organs shattered, and he tragically died.

“Hahahaha…” The scavengers laughed out loud as they saw this from the windows. This was the entertainment of scavengers.

The carrier Silver panicked and said, “Aren’t you going to sell me? I’m very valuable! I have a lot of money to pay for myself, why do you want to kill me‽”

Peggy’s eyes were dark and cold, his face twisted. “You’re my property, so I can do anything I want to you. I dislike it when people bargain with me, and I dislike high up races like yours even more. Every time I see people like you, I’m reminded of the pureblood Godora *ssholes. Arrogant people all deserve to die.”

As he said that, he waved again. The subordinates did the same thing—they threw this Silver out as well, and he died rapidly in a vacuum.

The spaceship then sped up and left the area right away, leaving only two Silver corpses floating in the cold universe.

…

At the same time, the spaceships of the mercenary groups were about to land on the other side of Floating Dragon Island.

This was a land that sailed in the universe, like a galactic island. It had many stabilizers and accelerators at its base, and a translucent sphere covered the entire floating island, maintaining the atmosphere and gravity.

The construction style of Floating Dragon Island was rough. It had a city that looked like an enormous dragon spreading its wings when looking down from above, and many mechanical digging devices were fixed on the ground. The drills acquired the Void Dragon skeletons underground—it was a very valuable material.

Countless ferocious looking modified spaceships were docked at the pier, painted with different symbols. These all belonged to scavengers and galaxy pirates. There were quite a number of them who were rather notorious, such as these with a wanted reward of more than 100,000 Enas.

The mercenary group spaceships landed successfully, after going through the procedures, the people walked into the city together, criminals with anarchic looks could be seen on the streets everywhere.

The three large mercenary groups all wore uniforms, which attracted a lot of attention. Many criminals were openly sizing them up.

The air was filled with hostility, sending chills down spines. Because they knew that there was danger everywhere, they had all equipped themselves fully back on the ship before they came. The players wore Sunil Enlistee Class armor, and Han Xiao wore Amphiptere.

The three large mercenary groups did a wide range of businesses, so they had made quite a few enemies. Although these people were looking at them with hatred, they did not dare to do anything due to their fear of the name of these three large mercenary group. On the other hand, Han Xiao and the others who clearly did not belong to the three large mercenary groups attracted more attention.

Frowning, Herlous said softly, “Black Star, I’m feeling the stares from at least three Supers of the same grade. They are looking at us like they want to eat us.”

Han Xiao smiled and said, “We’re walking with the people of Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold. Of course, these brutes will transfer their hatred naturally onto us. See, these people are the role models.”

Looking over following Han Xiao’s finger, a group of galactic pirates leaned against the war and pointed at them while they were chatting, their eyes filled with hostility. The leader of the pirates spat out phlegm, which happened to land on Maple Moon’s armor as she was at the edge of the team. Their expression was fearless.

“Then aren’t we in more danger?” Herlous was shocked.

“Do you know what’s called full resource utilization?” Han Xiao smiled.

Before Herlous could react, Han Xiao suddenly bent his legs and bounce started his dash toward that group of galactic pirates. Without a single word, the scythe extended, and he slashed down.

These pirates did not expect this at all—they fired hastily.

Ding ding ding!

Fire sparks flew, and the bullets were all deflected by Amphiptere mechanical suit. Han Xiao was like a grim reaper; he slashed sideways and cut four pirates into half, blood splashing onto the floor!

“You’re asking for it!” The pirate leader was right beside them. He furiously pulled out a war axe with flame enchantment and slammed the axe down on Han Xiao. This was a grade C Pugilist.

Han Xiao’s hands grabbed the axe tightly—it could not even move an inch further. He shook the scythe, and its blade expanded into electromagnetic chain blades, which tied the body of the pirate leader like a rope. Then, he activated Flaming Will, and the scythe tightened strongly.

Swoosh!

The health bar of this pirate leader was drained instantly. Without being able to scream, he was chopped into pieces right away!

Herlous was stunned.

The last second, they had still been chatting, but the next second, he had gone out killing. Was he really this prone to fits of anger‽

Chapter 366: Slave Market

As a neutral territory, there were not just criminals in the Floating Dragon Island; there were also residents, workers, and troops that the ruler used to maintain security called the Dragon Guards. This was a chaotic place, but no matter what, they had to pay a tax when entering the island, representing their respect for the ruler. No one dared break this rule.

Floating Dragon Island was a typical low-security area. Combat there was allowed. As long as residents and workers were not killed and buildings were not destroyed, the Dragon Guards would never bother about outsiders killing each other. The atmosphere there was lawless, chaotic, and brutal. The city did not have a proper city plan, and the buildings were all over the place. There was no sun or moon in the sky, only lights from the city lighting up the floating island, making the sky a patchwork of darkness and colorful radiance.

Villains liked this place, not just because this was a neutral supply site—they also liked the rules there. As long as they did not cross the line of the Dragon Guards, they could use violence as much as they wanted. In this place, killing and being killed both did not seem like a big deal.

Han Xiao’s sudden act of violence caused a chain reaction. The sound of machines sounded in the street, and the entire street’s brutes raised their guns and aimed at him, looking ferocious as if they were going to rush forward anytime.

At this time, all the people from the three large mercenary groups drew their weapons, not taking any steps back, and surrounded Han Xiao to back him up. They displayed their strong attitude to protect their friends.

The villains suddenly hesitated. Overcome by fear, they sheathed their weapons and backed off unwillingly. Other than not wanting to be in trouble with the three large mercenary groups, the Dragon Guards would also appear if their battle became too intense.

Stared at by villains from all directions, the hundreds of mercenaries walked past this street, and only then did they sheathe their weapons. They continued walking forward, and no one expressed any opinion about what had just happened, like it was just the most common thing.

Goa glanced at Han Xiao and did not blame his sudden action at all.

All the mercenaries backed them up, and no one took it as a big deal—it was a cooperation that needed no explanation. Not just Herlous, even the players were shocked.

“Keeping a low profile is useless here,” Han Xiao said. “You have to flash your claws and fangs to intimidate potential enemies. There is also an unspoken cooperation sense in the mercenary industry. Every mercenary on the same mission is a trustworthy teammate. As long as the trouble is not way out of line, everyone will be with you. What concerns you also concerns me.

“Furthermore, killing some criminals here is a norm, and it was a good way to express our toughness. No one will say anything about it.”

Han Xiao had skipped the quarreling and talking part straight away and jumped to fighting because, here, if something could be settled with violence, there was no need to talk.

Herlous now understood what Han Xiao meant by full resource utilization. They were acting together with the three huge mercenary groups, so they had the number advantage. Thus, it was a suitable chance for them to show their fists.

This unspoken cooperation instantly made the players feel closer to the mercenaries.

Deep into the city of Floating Dragon Island, there were far fewer criminals on the streets. They locked onto the target’s identity through the customer that Han Xiao described from his foresight—Horlaide, the owner of a local slave market and also the subordinate of a certain direct descendant of the Floating Dragon Island ruler. He managed a part of the business.

“Now this is tough. He’s Floating Dragon Island’s ruler’s subordinate, so if we rob him of his slaves, it will be disrespectful to the ruler…”

On the streets, the leaders of the mercenary group gathered and discussed the issue. Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold gave Han Xiao enough respect, so the four of them were discussing the action plan.

The current situation was quite a problematic one. Although the three large mercenary groups did not fear any criminals there, they did not dare mess with Floating Dragon Island’s ruler.

“People of Floating Dragon Island cannot be enraged, or we will certainly be dead. We have to think of a plan,” the leader of Blades, Porter, said in a very firm tone.

The Purple Gold’s leader, Cerleni, contemplated and said, “If Horlaide has already bought the Silvers, we cannot snatch them back with violence. The best way would be to rob the captives first before Horlaide makes the payment. Since we know who the customer is, we can wait for the scavengers to arrive, set up an ambush in advance, then snatch the captives back when they are still on their way. This way, we will not have a direct conflict with Horlaide.”

“Then,” Goa said, “firstly, we have to confirm if Horlaide has already received the captives. As long as he has yet to buy the captives, this plan is workable. We have to contact him… but if we contact him as mercenaries, it might raise suspicion. A buyer will not want someone to have an eye on what he wants to buy. The Dragon Guards might cause trouble for us.”

This plan had a prerequisite, which was that Han Xiao’s foresight was reliable. Since they did not have many clues, they could only choose to believe. Anyway, if the intel was incorrect, Han Xiao would not be able to escape the responsibility, and since someone was taking the blame, the other three leaders had no problem with it.

Han Xiao recommended himself and said, “I’m experienced, so I can disguise myself as a buyer to test him.”

The three leaders thought that this could work. They made a simple plan—Han Xiao changed into the face simulator, took off his mechanical suit, and changed his clothes. He now looked like a captain of a galactic spaceship—this kind of customer was very common.

The slave market was not dirty or messy, but luxurious and gorgeous instead. Any information about the slaves was displayed in books for customers to choose from.

The Floating Dragon Island had its middleman in the slave business. They bought slaves from scavengers and sold them to the large customers.

“I want to buy some slaves…”

As soon as he entered the market, Han Xiao expressed his intention, disguising himself as a normal customer. A fatty approached and introduced him to slaves of different races—there were many varieties.

After not really listening for a while, Han Xiao purposely acted as if he was unsatisfied and said, “I don’t want these rough deformities, and I don’t want these cheap low-class slaves. I want to see what rare species you have here. Do you not have anything worthy of such standard?”

At this time, a short and skinny guy walked over, wearing luxurious clothes. His fingers and neck were covered in many expensive pieces of jewelry. He smiled and said, “Hehehe, of course, I have the good stuff here.”

“Who are you?” Han Xiao asked.

“Horlaide, the manager of the slave market. Trust me, the things here can definitely satisfy your needs.” Horlaide did not have any doubts. He was very passionate toward customers.

Han Xiao sized him up, then nodded. Seeing Horlaide make a hand sign for ‘follow me’, Han Xiao followed behind him. The two of them took the lift to the bottom floor, and a white corridor full of twists and turns appeared in their vision. There was a pure white alloy gate every so often, and the gate had a small window in it.

After walking to it, only then did Han Xiao realize it was all single cells behind the gates. Inside was fully white and very clean, and there were many different creatures.

“Please allow me to introduce you to these high-quality slaves…” Horlaide smiled confidently and explained smoothly. Han Xiao occasionally responded as he observed every slave in the cells. Most of them had a numb face, and some of them were scratching the walls in rage. Quite a number of them were Supers—the slaves here were indeed more valuable and precious.

The corridor end came very soon, but there were no Silvers in those hundred or so cells.

Horlaide stopped the introduction and asked, “Who have you picked?”

Han Xiao dry coughed and said, “Are there any other goods?”

“Haha, looks like you’re a picky customer; I love a challenge.” Horlaide laughed in a very exaggerated way, then snapped his fingers and said, “There’s one last good product. She can definitely satisfy your requirements.”

The wall at the end of the corridor opened, showing a new space. Seeing that, Han Xiao felt relieved. There was only one cell, and it did not look like it had Silvers inside, which meant that these captives had yet to arrive on Floating Dragon Island.

He walked up, looked at the window curiously, and suddenly his stopped breathing completely subconsciously. Inside was a woman whose beauty was almost unbelievable; from the aesthetic standpoint of humans, she had an almost perfect face. The Great Mechanic Han was astounded by the very first look.

This woman looked very young. She had long hair, and covered in blurry stardust, she looked almost ‘transcendent’. She appeared to be a normal Galaxy Human Race. She wore heavy alloy cuffs all over her body, a type of cuff specially made for Supers. The material used could make energy flow slower to a certain extent, making it hard to control it, hence reducing Supers’ explosive power. She wore a self-destructive collar, so any strange movements would decimate her skull.

Yet, this woman was very calm. Completely different from other slaves, she was neither numb nor enraged. She closed her eyes and sat in the corner, very relaxed, not caring about the situation that she was currently in at all.

When Han Xiao was observing her, this woman opened her eyes in a flash, and a pair of attractive eyes that looked like they contained the sea and the galaxy looked into Han Xiao’s eyes. She was staring into the one-way window in the prison, but it was like she knew someone outside the window was looking at her.

Looks like a very strong Super… Han Xiao thought and went back to being calm. When he was shocked by her beauty, it had been a completely subconscious reaction. He got rid of this emotion very quickly, and after looking at her, he realized that he did not know this woman.

Just as he was about to look elsewhere, a new mission was triggered in the interface! The trigger was obviously this woman!

Chapter 367: Aroshia

_____________________

You have triggered the mission [Visitor from Afar].

Mission Introduction: From your first look at her, these eyes were already printed on your heart and soul, mysterious like the fog. Like a dark well, a deep abyss, a voice appeared in your heart—you want to bring this woman away.

Mission Requirements: Save her from the slave market and stay by her side for 6 days.

Reward: 1,800,000 Experience, one unknown reward.

_____________________

Is this mission introduction an introduction to a love game‽ Han Xiao was covered in goosebumps.

Just one look triggered the mission—this woman was certainly not ordinary. He had never seen this character in his previous life, so he had completely no impression of her. Maybe back then no player discovered her, so she was one of the hidden characters that had not been exposed.

“What’s special about her?” Han Xiao asked.

“The projector shows her body structure is not a normal universe race,” Horlaide said. “She has the blood of some kind of an ancient creature in her body, and no match could be found. It’s unknown what race hybrid is she. Through the energy detector examination, the energy reaction in her body far exceeds normal creatures, and it fluctuates. The lowest is at least at grade C Super level, and the highest even went beyond grade B…”

“Why is such a strong Super controlled by you people?” Han Xiao was surprised. He pointed at the cuffs and self-destructive collar and said, “These things can’t kill a grade B Super.”

Horlaide rubbed on his ring and said with a smile, “Of course, we don’t have the ability to control Supers above grade C, but she doesn’t know how to use the energy in her body. She has no combat power; plus, it was her own choice to stay here.”

Han Xiao was stunned in place.

“There are some problems with her memory, so she can’t remember most of her experiences, only language, but her intelligence level is not like an infant. She has very high intelligence and can speak and communicate…”

“So, she suffers from amnesia?

“Haha, it’s not that simple.” Horlaide pointed at his head and said, “Normal people suffering from amnesia will be afraid and curiosity toward their identity and the environment they’re in, but her mind activity is very unique. She does not search for who she is, why is she here, or what is she going to do. She does not have that curiosity and impulse, and she does not panic at all from not having memories, like a person who’s dreaming, half awake. She’s staying here peacefully, without any intention of searching for her memories. Her life form is very special, and it seems like she does not have instincts or desires. She needs neither to consume food nor excrete, such a unique being.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. The stranger this woman was, the bigger the secret it contained. Thus, he became quite curious. “What’s her name?”

“I named her Aroshia Cecolama Doranis…” The name had a total of fifty-six words, and it took Horlaide quite some time to finish rattling it off. “I usually call her Aroshia.”

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. [What’s the point of giving her such a long name? Do you have too much spare time?

The experience of this sudden mission was quite an amount, and there was also an unknown reward. The reward had a certain correlation with the mission difficulty, so Han Xiao decided to give it a try. Since he could not rob Horlaide, he would use money to purchase her. “How much is she?”

A standard businessman smile appeared on Horlaide’s face. “Not expensive at all, only 300,000 Enas.”

“Farewell.” Han Xiao turned on the spot and left with an expressionless face. [Are you learning from me! Why does a profiteer have to make life hard for another profiteer‽

Horlaide chased hastily and yelled, “We can negotiate if you feel it’s too expensive. How about 200,000? 100,000? No? 50,000? Okay, count it as I’m making a loss, I will sell it to you at 10,000. That’s the lowest!”

Han Xiao was full of doubts. A discount of 97% off, why would there be such a thing? Something strange was going on. Thinking of the six days in the mission requirement, he was alarmed.

After some consideration, Han Xiao temporarily placed this mission aside and continued his testing. “Now that’s a good price, but I still want to buy other rare slaves. Do you not have any other goods?”

Horlaide grinned and said, “Haha, you’re quite lucky, there’s going to be a new batch of rare goods coming in very soon. When they come, you can take a look again.”

This badge of new goods should be the Silvers. Luckily, they’re not here yet. The ambush plan still has a chance.

“That’s great! I will come to look at the goods again and buy that Aroshia at the same time.” Han Xiao purposed acted contented and expressed his sincerity in wanting to buy, but he did not pay the money no matter what. As he was getting ready to leave, Horlaide had no choice but to let his subordinate sent Han Xiao away.

Horlaide was the only one left in the underground prison cell corridor as he mumbled, “What will he pay then? He definitely doesn’t want to buy Aroshia…”

When he took over this slave market, Aroshia had already been locked here. The last owner had told him that there was no need for special treatment, just sell her normally. However, there was one customer who bought Aroshia, and a few days after, Aroshia appeared out of nowhere in the prison cell again, giving him quite a shock. The customer rushed back in rage, and only then did he know that Aroshia would suddenly disappear after being brought away, then return to the cell in an extremely strange way.

Horlaide asked the previous owner, then he came to know Aroshia had already existed not long after Floating Dragon Island was built. The owner back then reported the situation to the Superiors, and this message went to the ears of Floating Dragon Island’s ruler. That beyond grade A boss came to take a look, and with his belief of ‘if he didn’t understand it, kill it’, he wiped Aroshia out, turning her into ash.

Yet, a few days later, Aroshia appeared once again as if nothing had happened. The boss then came to kill her once again, and after repeating for more than thirty times, a conclusion was made. This was a Space Wonder, an unexplainable strange phenomenon.

Through observation, only one ‘Aroshia’ would exist at one time. If she died, she would revive again after some time, but the memory of the time that she spent before she died would disappear, going back to her original state of amnesia. If she left this cell, she would also disappear from the other places. No matter what building was there, she would go back to where the cell was.

From the concluded pattern, whether she was dead or bought, Aroshia would not leave there for more than six days.

Floating Dragon Island’s ruler was very carefree, so he let the slave market deal with a Space Wonder. The owner sold her as a slave, scamming the buyers’ money and making money with zero cost.

Horlaide shook his head. He subconsciously looked at Aroshia’s cell, and Aroshia, who had originally been sitting in the corner, was now standing in front of the window suddenly. He could only see a pair of deep and calm eyes through the window!

Horlaide was shocked. He took a while to calm down, and only after that did he leave.

In the cell, Aroshia’s eyes moved, following Horlaide.

However, this was a single-sided window; the outside could not be seen from inside the cell.

…

“I’ve asked around, and the Silvers have yet to arrive.” Upon returning to the team, Han Xiao shared the intel. The other three leaders felt energetic.

“Great, the rescue plan can be carried out!” Purple Gold’s leader, Cerleni, said. “Time is scarce, and we don’t know when will the scavengers arrive. Since we don’t know their identity, its best to split up and lay an ambush on every route toward the slave market. There is only one chance, and we can’t miss out on any suspicious target. It’s a must to save the Silver captives before they are sold to the market.”

They decided their division of labor for the ambush. The ambush areas extended from the pier all the way into the slave market, and there had to be mercenaries in every street and every intersection.

By using the distance from the slave market as a measurement, the ambush could be divided into four layers. The first layer was the furthest away, near the pier; the fourth layer was the closest to the slave market, right beside the market.

The three leaders had considered that, unlike them, Black Star was not unafraid of criminals, so Han Xiao was in charge of the third layer. This location was a little safer than the pier full of criminals, and the last layer locked down by Goa’s team.

With some simple disguises, every team went to their position, set up the ambush, and waited.

Chapter 368: Scrimmage

A bronze bullet was thrown in the air casually, and a fixed star bolted pass the floating island at this moment. A flash of light passed across the buildings on the street and shone on the spinning metal bullet, reflecting the light onto Han Xiao’s handsome face just centimeters away like an arc mirror. The bullet spun a few rounds and reached the peak point, then fell slowly. At this moment, a droplet of bright red blood splashed this way, like a shot from a precise sniper; it hit the dropping bullet.

Pa!

With fingers closed, the bullet was caught. Han Xiao opened his hand, and the bullet was lying there quietly in the middle of the black mechanical suit glove, painting a warm tint of red onto the cold metal.

Not far away, an arms fight was underway between two groups of brutes that looked like galactic pirates. The sound of growls, ferocious laughs, and firing mixed together into a deafening noise. The brutes who fell onto the ground and died found their peace, and blood splashed across the entire street like leaves rolled up by the wind. At the side of the street, a group of Floating Dragon Island residents were watching the show stealthily. Han Xiao and a few players sat on the scaffolding of a drilling machine by the side of the road and watched this fight from afar.

“Tsk tsk, another fight. How many times has this happened in the past two days?” Han Xiao shook his head. He was covered in the mechanical suit at this time, but his helmet was folded, exposing his head. The players beside him were wrapped completely in Sunil Enlistee Class armor.

“This is the seventh time,” Bun-Hit-Dog replied instantly. Reporters sure had a good memory.

They were waiting. The Black Star Mercenary Group was guarding the third layer. They had split up and were standing by around various intersections. It had been two days, and in those two days, just the street that Han Xiao was in charge of had already witnessed seven group fights between brutes. The temper of the criminals was like a fuse, easily lighting up with just a tiny spark. It had made the player realize clearly how dangerous this place was. Three of those seven times had been different brute groups provoking Han Xiao. The Great Mechanic Han was very civilized and kind, so he helped them to cremate their corpses for free.

After wiping out three batches of brutes and showing their fangs, they had a much more peaceful time.

At this time, the brutes in the midst of the intense fight fired a cannon in the wrong direction, collapsing a small half of a house. It made quite a loud noise and killed many residents who were watching the show. In a split second, all the brutes stopped fighting, and terror appeared on their faces. They ran in all directions without caring about anything else.

Not long after, the sound of a flying device shooting across the sky could be heard. Three small, low-altitude flying devices, which were about eight meters long, had appeared. They were covered in full dark-golden color, designed like a dragon spreading its wings. A tiny dragon symbol was carved on the ship body. They were the Dragon Guards’ transportation. The three flying devices caught up to the brutes, and rows of cannons extended from below their bases, which shot out golden lasers, penetrating these brutes with ease. After chasing for a while and killing more than half of the escaping brutes, only then did the Dragon Guards turn around and leave.

Only the Dragon Guards were allowed to operate combat flying devices in Floating Dragon Island. If civilians were killed, the Dragon Guards would be out to enforce the law immediately. Han Xiao had seen scenes like that a few times over the past two days, and he felt that this rescue plan was really dangerous. If they could not save the captives quickly and accurately, the risk would increase largely if they got stalled.

At this time, Goa sent him a message. “Blades’ people locked onto the suspected target, action!”

Han Xiao received the location information. All the mercenaries had joined the same channel and shared the location of the suspect. The suspect had just landed at the dock, and they were guarding many large metal boxes. It was indeed a slave trader team. One mercenary in the Blades’ team could shapeshift into a half-wolf half-dog beast, so his smell was extremely sensitive. He could smell that these slave traders had the scent of Silvers on them, so they locked onto the target.

Cerleni of the Purple Gold Army commanded, “Do not alarm them, continue following. Porter, Black Star, you guys bring your people and gather here secretly and set up an ambush on their route. We outnumber them, so we must defeat them with one fast and heavy wave of attacks; don’t get stalled. Goa, bring the people of Sky Ring and guard the exterior. If we fail, you’re our insurance.”

Since the target was already locked onto, there was no need to continue waiting. The plan sounded quite reliable. Of course, Han Xiao did not have any objections, so he summoned all Black Star members, split up, and headed toward the ambush location given by Cerleni. It happened to be the junction between the dock and the city area, a very chaotic place.

…

Peggy walked down from the spaceship. All the slaves were in large, electrified boxes, controlled by cuffs and self-destructive collars, waiting to be brought to the buyer.

Thinking that they were going to make a huge fortune, these scavengers were filled with excitement. Peggy was not that excited, however. He brought the team and headed toward Horlaide’s slave market.

Entering the dock streets, this slave trader team was very conspicuous, attracting the attention of many brutes on the street. Many people were tempted to make a move, and there were also people who recognized Peggy. They greeted each other from far away and did not have any further communication. Peggy was a renowned slave trader in the Shattered Star Ring, so he had done business with quite many pirates and scavengers. He had some prestige, which meant that would not be attacked on Floating Dragon Island.

After walking for a while, Peggy suddenly stopped. His pupils constricted almost into a vertical line, and his head gradually turned flat like it was going to turn into a snake head. The snake scales on his body became clearer and harder, and he opened his mouth and flicked his forked tongue in the air. Peggy was a shapeshifting Esper. Some kind of snake blood in his body had gone through atavistic changes, so he had extremely sharp senses. He noticed that he was being followed and a hint of murderous intent in the atmosphere. His strong intuition told him he was going to meet something if he kept walking ahead.

“The smell of enemies, they came for me. Who could it be?” Peggy’s eyes were cold. He flicked his forked tongue in the air and stopped walking. Then, he waved his hands to command his subordinates. “Return along the same route, back to the spaceship.”

Then he turned on the communicator. “My dear Horlaide, I’ve arrived at Floating Dragon Island. Come to retrieve the goods yourself this time.”

“What happened to you? You normally bring the goods yourself. Why do I need to go there this time, and why are you shapeshifting for nothing? You look just like a snake, so ugly.”

“I noticed murderous intent—someone is onto me,” Peggy said impatiently. “It might be related to the captives. I feel someone wants to cut off our goods. I’ll wait for you in the spaceship.”

“It’s too troublesome for me to retrieve the goods,” Horlaide said unhappily. “I don’t want to go to the dock filled with pirates and scavengers.”

“Then you can invite the Dragon Guards to protect you. You’re the ruler’s subordinate, after all, so you certainly have the ability to order them.”

“You’re making this hard for me.” Horlaide’s expression collapsed. He did not have the authority to order the Dragon Guards. Although they belonged to the same organization, he definitely had to pay if he wanted to ask people for help, and he was unwilling to do any actions that increased the cost.

However, Peggy insisted—he trusted his sense for danger. Horlaide could only compromise, irritated, before they hung up the communication.

In the dark, the tail from Blades Army was confused as he reported the information to the leader Porter. “Why are they walking back?”

Furthermore, Han Xiao, Cerleni, and Porter had already set up their ambush along the streets ahead. When they received the message, they all frowned.

“Caution, the target did not continue ahead. According to the route, he seems to be going back to the spaceship. Did the deal go south with the buyer?” Porter doubted.

As Peggy had finally shown his face, Cerleni searched him up in the database of his army, and he found Peggy’s intel. He was shocked and said, “This isn’t good. That scavenger is called Peggy, and his Esper power is shapeshifting into a snake. He has extremely strong senses, almost like short-term foresight, so he might have noticed danger!”

Originally, their plan had been to not raise any alarms, but this snake was too sensitive; the opponent had already been alarmed.

At this moment, Goa, who was guarding the exterior, sent a message. She said with a heavy tone, “There’s an issue. Horlaide has left the slave market, and he seems to be heading toward the dock. It’s highly likely that their terms changed into the buying retrieving the goods himself.”

The people’s expression changed. Han Xiao pondered and said, “Then there’s no other way; we attack straight away and make the rescue. We can’t have the two parties meet. We have limited time, so it’s best to act immediately.”

The original plan had not been bad, but reality was full of unexpected changes. Cerleni felt that Han Xiao was right—the only way now was to attack urgently. He commanded the people and approached the target rapidly. At the same time, he gave another order to a few people and told them to start the spaceship in advance, so when they snatched the hostages, they could enter the spaceship and leave as fast as possible.

Peggy went back to the dock filled with brutes, and when he was still hundreds of meters away from the spaceship, the mercenaries finally closed in on him.

“Go!” Cerleni did not have the time to care about anything else. With a yell, more than two hundred mercenaries tore their disguises apart. Their combat suits shapeshifted, and all kinds of powers exploded and dashed toward Peggy’s team!

The helmet quickly extended from the mechanical suit with one thought of Han Xiao, protecting his head. He turned and said, “Let’s go, too.”

He took out an electromagnetic firearm and fired from far away while charging forward. Behind him, more than fifty players wearing the same style armor were holding high caliber machine guns and firing, like a wave of iron, swarming forward!

“There really are enemies!” Peggy narrowed his eyes. Fortunately, he had been cautious. He ordered his subordinates to quickly pull out their guns and fire, and as the cunning man that he was, he secretly shot other brutes to pull other groups in.

The dock was a large squire, and there were no residents. This was the most dangerous place. The mercenaries exchanged fire with Peggy and his men, and quite a number of stray bullets hit the brutes nearby, bringing waves of growls.

“Who’s hitting me‽”

“My eyes!”

“Damn mercenaries, you want to kill us‽”

The dock was most chaotic. Groups of brutes were affected and joined into the battle.

An intense scrimmage soon broke out!

Chapter 369: Dropped Bead

Bang! Bang! Bang!

It was a hail of bullets!

There were more than two hundred mercenaries, more than one hundred people at Peggy’s side, and hundreds of brutes joining in. As if that was not enough, there was a total of seven grade B Supers in the battle, so the dock was chaotic and filled with the sound of explosions. The target of the mercenaries was very clear—get straight to the camp to rescue the prisoners. However, Blades and Purple Gold had been stopped by the brutes halfway. They had encountered two grade B pirates and were in an intense battle.

The two of them could not withdraw. Han Xiao’s troops entered the battlefield from the weak side, quickly passed Blades and Purple Gold’s team, and closed in on Peggy. Seeing this, the two mercenary groups immediately changed their battle tactic from charging to protecting Han Xiao’s team forward. Cerleni said loudly, “Black Star, we will take care of your surroundings!”

The battle had caused too huge a commotion, so the Dragon Guards might appear any time. The mercenaries’ most important mission was to rescue the captives and leave; it was a race against time.

The players showed their powers, tearing open a gap ahead like a sharp knife. Herlous swept with his Battleship Slicing Blade, and anyone below grade B was all thrown to the side. He was very fierce, and white flames shot out like he had an infinite amount of them.

Suddenly, a blazing Pugilist beam shot them from the side. Han Xiao’s mind made a command, and the Hovering Shield Shuttle turned into a shield and protected him. He was blown back more than a dozen meters, hitting a few brutes on the way. Not far away, a grade B Pugilist pirate was attacking the Black Star Mercenary Group.

“I’ll deal with him; you continue ahead.” Herlous immediately turned and dashed toward this person. He reached out his hand and swept the Battleship Slicing Blade, sending out a brilliant flash of light. Then, he entered an intense fight with that pirate, energy flames surging.

All the strong enemies were stopped by his teammates, so Han Xiao could concentrate on the objective. Peggy’s people were retreating to the spaceship, and there were only a few dozen meters left. They could board in less than ten seconds, while there was still a wall made of brutes standing before Han Xiao.

“No time to delay—I’ll have to use an explosive method.” Han Xiao’s eyes turned firm. Blinding electric current burst from inside the mechanical suit, covering his entire body with electric snakes. He had activated [Snake—Devil]. His attributes were doubled, and the enemies around him were blasted away.

Then, he activated the magnetic connection on Aggression Armor and Bat Wings Flying Device with nerves connection. These two pieces of equipment flew out from the equipment boxes hovering in midair, rapidly assembling onto his body. With two modes both equipped, his speed rose steeply. Like a shovel, his arms flipped the enemies in front of him away, and he quickly charged into Peggy’s team.

Boom!

A loud bang, instantly flipping many people over!

Peggy’s subordinates fell like wheat. The bullets that they fired lit up countless fire sparks on Han Xiao’s armor, but they were all deflected. They could not penetrate Han Xiao’s defenses.

“You lot, don’t fight, board the ship immediately!” Peggy’s body expanded, tearing his clothes apart, turning into a bright golden python more than a dozen meters long. His snake body tried to wrap around Han Xiao and stall Han Xiao all by himself. He just had to do it for a few seconds, and the dust would settle.

With the energy from the power burst, Han Xiao turned all the mobility modules to their maximum output. The ground cracked, and he shot up into the sky. Like a mirage, his mechanical palms grabbed Peggy’s snake head, slapping Peggy onto the ground.

At the same time, the power structure of the exoskeleton was boosted, and the gear turning speed soared. Amphiptere’s biological muscles suddenly expanded, and a huge force flew into his arms.

Bang!

The snake head was crushed into the ground, and cracks spread out. The head was covered in exposed flesh and blood, and his body twitched rapidly!

He was just a grade C shapeshifter—he could only be crushed when facing Han Xiao, not even lasting one second.

Peggy was dizzy. Iron fists were seen in his snake eyes once again, and terror appeared in his eyes. His snake body disintegrated into tens of thousands of small snakes and spread out. This was a special way to use Peggy’s shapeshifting Esper power, and his last rope to hang on to save his life. He had escaped many deadly crises by relying on this ability.

Han Xiao’s punch missed, and he saw the small snakes scattering in an instant, blending into the chaotic battlefield.

He shook his head—his goal was to rescue the prisoners, so there was no time to waste. He had to put away the thought of chasing. He turned around and defeated Peggy’s subordinates, snatching the metal boxes with the prisoners inside at a crucial moment.

Peggy’s scavengers lost their will to fight and scattered.

Seeing this, the mercenaries of Blades and Purple Gold was rejoicing. Cerleni said, “Send the people back to our spaceship immediately. Do not continue to fight. Withdraw from the battlefield quickly.”

Snatching the Silvers meant that half of the mission was completed. They changed direction, aiming to return to the mercenary spaceships and leave Floating Dragon Island immediately. The mercenaries turned from offensive to defensive, protecting the boxes of prisoners through the chaotic battlefield.

At this time, five Dragon Guard flying devices appeared. Horlaide was in the leading flying device. When Peggy was attacked, Horlaide had immediately been informed. Knowing that the goods that he wanted had been cut off, Horlaide had become very anxious. He had immediately spent some money and invited a Dragon Guard team captain that he knew, who picked him up the flying device and quickly dashed toward the dock.

“Captain Theon, these mercenaries robbed the things I wanted. Don’t let them escape.” Horlaide looked down on the battlefield and immediately saw the conspicuous mercenaries. He was gnashing his teeth in anger. Beside him was the Dragon Guards’ small team captain Theon, wearing their uniform.

Theon gave a faint smile and said, “Don’t worry, just brutes causing trouble. No one can fight us on Floating Dragon Island. All units, fire!”

The subordinates controlling the spaceship asked, “Captain, who are we attacking?”

“Everyone.” Theon waved casually.

Five flying devices fired toward the ground. The density of the golden laser was like heavy rain, pouring down and killing brutes one after another. The brutes fighting immediately fled—no one dared to fight back. Even grade B Supers could only escape.

The cannon fire followed like a shadow, chasing the mercenaries. Mercenaries were knocked down from time to time, and the Dragon Guards made a broadcast.

“Everyone, listen. Stop running immediately. Surrender without resisting or die!”

“Sh*t, the Dragon Guards is involved. We’re being targeted!” Porter was furious. He could see the flying devices following right behind them, obviously targeting them.

The good situation had taken a sharp turn downward. With the Dragon Guards’ firepower, by the time they arrived at the spaceship, they would have suffered heavy casualties.

At this time, a laser hit near the Black Star Mercenary Group, causing an explosion, and a few players were blasted away, including Li Ge.

Li Ge was on the ground, his bum hurting. He was about to stand up when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a black bead on the floor.

When Peggy shapeshifted and tore his clothes apart, the black bead that he had taken from the Silver had also fallen out, rolling onto the battlefield.

“What’s this?” Li Ge picked up the black bead, and a notification popped up from the interface.

_____________________

You have received an unknown item. Giving it to a special character will give you a very high reward, or you can take it to be identified.

_____________________

Unknown item? Should be something good. He just did not know where it came from.

Li Ge’s eyes flashed. He hid the bead secretly without informing anyone and went back to the team with a plain expression.

Chapter 370: Sudden Change

“This team of Dragon Guards is together with Horlaide,” Goa hastily said in the communication channel. “Their target is the Silvers as well!”

Cerleni’s expression was not looking good. If they surrendered, since the guards and Horlaide had already made a deal, the Silvers would still be taken away and given to the buyer, which meant that the rescue mission would have failed. If they did not surrender, the price of so many casualties would be too much for them to pay. He was in a dilemma, but the gunfire did not stop. He had no time to think.

“As long as the Dragon Guards can be kept under control, the problem will be solved,” Han Xiao said in a low voice. This was what the others thought as well.

Following his train of thought, Cerleni yelled, “Are you crazy! Killing the Dragon Guards is the biggest crime there is here!”

In this territory, committing a crime and attacking the law enforcers were a completely different thing. With that beyond grade A boss here, even if these Dragon Guards were mostly normal people, they could do whatever they wanted to the brutes and the wanted criminals.

“I never said anything about killing or injuring. We have an ice Mage here; she can freeze their flying devices.”

Not waiting for Cerleni to respond, Goa brought the people and arrived at the dock. She immediately said, “I’m attacking!”

Without any delay, her eyes suddenly turned into snow-white color, and a magic symbol appeared on her forehead. She murmured the spell, and the magic ring on her pale white fingers was flashing. The magic energy in the air gathered, fused, condensed, and formed. The magic language was deconstructed and then reconstructed into the laws of nature, changing reality.

Suddenly, a large amount of low-temperature water vapor appeared in the air. Frost spread out from under Goa’s feet, extending all the way to near the flying device. Five ice pillars rose from the ground and captured the flying devices like claws. The low temperature made the flying devices shut down. The flying devices continued to fly forward with their inertia, and the ice pillars extended with them, turning them into ice sculptures. The ice pillar became the bridge between the ground and the flying devices, freezing the five flying devices in midair.

Goa was a grade B Mage, so she had a very strong control. Although the flying devices were frozen, nothing was hurt or destroyed.

The driver of the aircraft pressed around on the control panel in panic. “All systems are temporarily out of order, restarting, hiss—so cold!”

Theon was furious. “How dare they fight back! Report to the above! Request back up! Don’t let them escape!”

Since what was done had already been done, the mercenaries could only seize the opportunity to run away. They gathered and boarded their own spaceships. Like before, Han Xiao boarded Sky Ring’s. The pilot, who did not take part in the battle earlier, had started the spaceship long ago. When everyone had boarded the spaceship, it slowly rose and flew away from Floating Dragon Island.

The Blades’ shapeshifting scout had confirmed that there was the smell of Silvers in the boxes long ago. When they opened the boxes, as expected, inside were fifteen Silvers, hugging each other and cowering in the corner with terror on their faces.

They could not see what had happened outside. The sounds of explosions all along the way had already frightened them very badly. When the box was opened, the Silver screamed in terror, and the antennae on their head trembled so fast that they even formed afterimages. It was really cute, and it made Han Xiao feel an inexplicable impulse of wanting to pull them out.

“You’re safe. We’re mercenaries hired by your friends here to rescue you.” Goa casually used a calming spell and calmed the Silver’s emotions. She told the team members to take out translators for these Silver so that they could communicate.

After quite some convincing, these Silver finally calmed down. Goa contacted the employer, and the two groups of Silver met each other and broke into tears.

The employer counted and said with surprise, “Only fifteen, where’s the other two of my friends?”

“Short of two‽” Goa was shocked. If they had missed two people, the reward might be reduced.

The rescued Silver said with faces full of sorrow, “They were thrown into space by the scavengers.”

Hearing this, Goa breathed a sigh of relief and said softly, “Lucky lucky, they’re just dead.”

Han Xiao was surprised by what she said.

There really aren’t any good people among mercenaries, such a black heart.

The following morning, the employer said, “You have completed the mission very well. Please send our friends back. I will pay for your reward as we agreed.”

After working hard for so many days, they could finally earn the reward. Joy appeared on every mercenary’s face.

Knowing that he was about to get the last two class advancement of the compression technologies, Han Xiao was secretly excited.

Boom!

Suddenly, the spaceship trembled violently, and they almost fell down. The pilot said hastily, “Sh*t, Floating Dragon Island has sent spaceships after us!”

Their expressions dropped. They came to the window and looked behind the spaceship. The three mercenary group spaceships had already left the Floating Dragon Island’s man-made ecological hood and entered the space. They were gradually going further from the Floating Dragon Island.

However, a few Floating Dragon Island spaceships had followed them out, chasing behind their spaceship and firing at them. Beams hit the shield one after another, making their ships tremble continuously.

Theon had reported to the Superiors with a lot of added components, saying that the mercenaries attacked the guards first and broke the rules. Hence, the Floating Dragon Island spaceships planned to chase them even to the edge of the universe.

On the Floating Dragon Island’s dock, groups of brutes were watching this ongoing chase. Floating Dragon Island wanted to make an example, expressing that anyone who disobeyed the rules would have to pay.

“We only froze their aircrafts. What’s the big deal!” Porter was raging.

“Quickly activate the jump engine. As long as we enter the jumping state, they won’t be able to chase us,” Goa ordered loudly.

The driver mercenaries controlled the spaceship and dodged the attacks the best he could, cracks started to appear on the shield, but at the same time they were speeding up as well, the artificial intelligence sound echoed in the spaceship.

“Activating Jump Engine, power two percent… seven percent… fourteen percent… eighty-three percent… Powered up successfully. Starting pre-jump warm up.”

The spaceship gradually shook the enemies off as its speed increased rapidly. The universe outside the window turned blurry, and they were about to enter the jump.

However, something unexpected suddenly happened. Just one second before they entered the jump, the mercenary group spaceships became stationary without any sign. All energy and inertia disappeared without a trace, and the mercenaries did not even feel any vibration.

Suddenly, the air inside the spaceship started buzzing. It was like everywhere was filled with sound, turning into a horrifying wave of sounds, almost deafening. Not only did they started to wobble, they even fell onto the ground.

“You people attacked my adorable subordinates right in my house, and yet you want to leave this easily?”

The mercenaries’ spaceships flew backward from the same route like they had been grabbed by an invisible, enormous hand. All thrusters stopped working, and no matter how the driver tried to control the spaceship, it was all useless.

The players were shocked. They did not know what exactly was happening. The Silvers were just as confused and shocked. Freedom was right before them, and the enemies’ spaceships had already been shaken off. Why were they all controlled all of a sudden?

The faces of the mercenaries had already changed long ago.

“She’s here…” Cerleni said with a very long face.

Goa was filled with shock. “We only caused a small kafuffle, how did it attract Floating Dragon Island’s ruler’s attention‽”

“Maybe she was just too bored…” Han Xiao was very speechless. Even he did not expect Floating Dragon Island’s ruler to get involved personally in something so small. It was like two ants fighting on the side of the road. How bored could a person be to stop and get involved‽

The mission was almost completed, but an accident came out of nowhere. Furthermore, the cause of it was someone that he could not match up to at his current stage at all. He felt extremely unlucky.

Han Xiao stared at Herlous with disappointment on his face.

What the hell! I clearly brought along a main character type person. How could we be this unlucky? Has this main character expired? Is it too late for a refund?

The struggle of the spaceships was useless. They were pulled back to the Floating Dragon Island’s dock by the invisible force field. The doors were pulled open by the force field, too, and the mercenaries braced themselves and walked out. In front of such great power, there was certainly no point in resisting.

Han Xiao did not have any good ideas for the time being. He could only improvise.

The dock was gathered with people at this time, all extending their necks and enjoying the show, and that Floating Dragon Island ruler was hovering in midair. When the people on the ground looked up, their faces were all filled with admiration. This was the respect toward absolute power.

The throne made of Void Dragon skeletons was hovering in midair, and a tall, curvaceous woman sat on the throne with crossed legs. One hand was placed casually on the throne handle, and the other was holding her chin, looking down on the people with the legendary boss sitting position. The smooth black long hair hung from the throne. It was at least two meters long. She was wearing a tulle-like black dress with a wide open neckline, but there was no gully, meaning that she had a flat chest.

The crotch of the skirt was very high, exposing two snow white long legs crossed over each other. The black dress and white legs made a very strong visual impact, giving out a seducing feel. Her body was enchanting and seductive, but her face could not be considered beautiful or stunning, although it was quite charming. Age had left no mark on her face, and her eyes were full of intelligence. The edges of both her eyes had symmetrical black marks—the marks were like black thorns. She was glancing through the people with curiosity.

This woman had many names—Floating Dragon Island’s ruler, Land Ripper, Absolute Power, and so on. She was the creator and ruler of Floating Dragon Island—[Dragon Emperor] Ames.

Ames was a force field Esper. The strength of her force field could even tear apart land to create Floating Dragon Island, so controlling a few small spaceships was a piece of cake.

Chapter 371: Differential Treatment

Talented intelligent creatures could awaken Super genes. Through various training, the cells would create special power—this was energy. The energy was like a running river; cells and genes were like the stones under the river. As the river grew larger, after days and days of flowing, the genes would start to evolve, gradually becoming perfect. It was like compressing the million years evolution.

Grade A was a benchmark, also called Calamity Grade. It was a high-level power in the galaxies, and Supers fortunate enough to reach this grade were very uncommon. When the genes evolved to a certain level, it would meet an indestructible barrier ahead without exceptions. In other words, ‘there were no road ahead anymore’.

In the exploration era before the Galaxy Calendar, the three large civilizations had still been fighting each other intensively. The world had thought that all types of power were different from each other. That was until Professor Stuart Ona of the Federation of Light invented the energy rank theory. Only then did everyone know that ‘Energy’ was a similarity that all Supers shared. Then it was fused into a large system, forming today’s grading standards. Back then, grade A was seen as the finishing line of evolution, and no one broke through the barrier of grade A.

The war was a double-edged sword. Countless talented grade A Supers died, but at the same time, the war was also a catalyst. The potential of those who survived would be forced out to the maximum extent. Toward the ending stage of the war, there was finally one Super that broke through grade A. It was a completely different level, and it shocked the world.

The civilizations never thought the strength of an individual could reach such a level, a level that could match up to the strong armies of the three large civilizations. Although it was still small compared to the endlessly vast galactic battlefield, no matter how strong the group strength was, it was not as shocking as when an individual had this level of power. The existence of an individual beyond grade A was intimidation on its own, and this was one of the many reasons that lead the three large civilizations to stop the war.

When peace came, the existence of beyond grade A individuals still had a very deep meaning, and their position was very high. Gradually, the grades above grade A gained detailed divisions. One grade higher was grade S, and there were even higher grades. However, people still called Supers above grade A ‘beyond grade A’. It was a memorial in history and a respect for the strong.

In the current Galaxy Calendar, there were only four known beyond-grade-A Supers in Shattered Star Ring, all with fame, glory, and countless titles. Ames was mostly known as [Dragon Emperor], containing both the meaning of her throne made of Void Dragon skeletons and the creator of Floating Dragon Island, which was the most famous thing that she had done.

At this time, Ames was hovering in midair. Everyone on the dock felt pressure deep in their hearts. More Dragon Guards had arrived, surrounded the mercenaries, and pointed countless firearms at them. The members of the three large mercenary groups could not figure out Ames’ attitude toward them—there were scared.

The Silver prisoners stood aside, and Ames knew roughly what had happened with just one look. She said with an interested tone, “Silvers… I see, so you’re the mercenaries hired by Silvers?”

Her voice was not crisp at all. It was rather husky and magnetic instead.

“Yes,” Goa said, “Silvers were getting sold to Floating Dragon Island, so we chased here. We are very sorry for dealing accidental damages, but we hope you can let them go.”

She wanted to make a final attempt. She could only hope that Ames would forgive them for the sake of the Silvers, since the Silvers were Universe Royalties and had a very strong background.

Ames only smiled faintly, completely not caring about the Silvers’ status. “This is the Shattered Star Ring, not the Sea of Star Spirits.”

Then, she controlled the throne and flew toward her residence in the heart of the Floating Island while leaving a sentence behind. “Bring all the mercenaries to me.”

The Dragon Guards brought everyone to the center of the Floating Dragon Island, and the mercenaries had no choice but to follow. At least Ames did not kill them immediately, so there might still be hope.

However, they did not lighten up at all. Looking behind, the Silver captives, which they had gone through so much hardship to rescue, were being brought by another group of guards toward the slave market. Horlaide was in the team, too, and he had joy all over his face. The Silvers issue in Ames’ eyes was just a small matter. She did not want to bother about it at all—it was just because she had heard the report of someone making trouble, only then did she decide to casually strike. The other issues were left for her subordinates to deal with, which benefitted Horlaide.

Horlaide had retrieved the Silvers finally, and regardless of whether Peggy was alive or dead, he did not even have to pay, making him the biggest winner.

The mercenaries’ rescue originally made him very anxious, but now, he only felt it was funny. These people spent so much effort, yet it had led to him getting the biggest profit, what a complete joke! Horlaide felt very good. He sneered at the mercenaries and left with the Silvers.

The people of the three mercenary groups were very upset and downcast. Porter was straight forward—he had been cursing all along the way in his native language. Nobody liked the feeling of everything going to waste.

The team escorting them happened to be Theon’s team. Theon pushed Han Xiao and sneered, “You people are done for. You dared to attack the Dragon Guards. Lord Ames will definitely use her great power and turn you people into powder!”

Having been pushed, Han Xiao turned around and glanced at Theon.

“What you looking at? Keep walking.” Theon yelled.

Han Xiao was pushed again. The strength was like a weak breeze, not able to move him at all. Han Xiao shook his head and forgot about Theon. He pondered about the upcoming situation. From what he knew about Ames, as long as her subordinates were not killed or hurt, there was a possibility to turn the situation around. Although Ames was protective, willful, and her mood was very hard to guess, she could not be considered bloodthirsty.

The center of the Floating Dragon Island was Ames’ residence, a huge fortress-like palace with dragon bone decorations everywhere. They passed one room after another until they reached the luxurious hall, waiting to be dealt with.

After some time, Ames floated in from the side gate of the hall. The throne stopped before them—she held her cheeks and said casually, “You attacked my subordinates. Although there was no injury or casualty, I need to punish you. Wilsander, what’s our rule?”

Someone walked out from the side. He was almost like bamboo, making people worry that a slight wind would blow him away. He had a pair of horns on his head, red skin covered in lines, a tail, and bony wings behind his back. This was a hybrid as well; he had some kind of Demon gene.

This guy was called Wilsander, the commander of the Dragon Guards and Ames’ direct subordinate. He stepped out of the crowd, narrowed his eyes, and casually stroked his beard. “According to the rules, all who fight back will be executed.”

The people all became nervous.

Ames nodded and said, “Then the people of Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold shall be imprisoned. Tell their army captain to pay a ransom.”

“Ahem…” Wilsander coughed and said cautiously, “The rules say executed…”

“My words are the rules,” Ames said coldly, showing her dominance.

Feeling wronged, Wilsander’s eyes twitched. “Then why did you ask me?”

With an innocent look on her face, Ames blinked. “I was just asking randomly.”

She basically did not do any management and had forgotten what rules she had set before. She only asked because she felt like it, and she changed it as she liked; she was indeed very willful.

“Contact your captain and tell them to make the payment, then I will let you go.” Ames had a bit of a relationship with the three large mercenary groups. She occasionally hired them to do some stuff. The three armies never asked money for it, and every time, the captain personally did the things for her, all to create a good relationship with her. As the saying went, ‘don’t slap someone with a smile’. Ames did not want to make things difficult for the people of the three large mercenary groups.

Hearing this, Goa, Cerleni, and Porter heaved sighs of relief simultaneously. They did not know that Ames knew their captain—they only felt that they had escaped death.

However, Ames turned to look at Han Xiao with a playful face and said, “Now it’s your turn. If you have nothing much to say, I’ll start attacking.”

Unlike the three large mercenary groups, this small Mercenary Group was a nobody. There was no need to give them special treatment.

The atmosphere became tense, and the emotions of the three large Mercenary Groups changed.

These mercenaries were not unaffected—they had fought alongside each other and had already made a connection with each other. They could not watch their comrades get killed in front of their eyes, and they all became anxious.

The air around became stagnant—it was Ames’ force field starting to gather.

“Oi! This differential treatment is way too obvious!” Herlous felt like his bladder was shivering.

Chapter 372: Getting Employed (1)

“So, it has still come to this…”

Han Xiao had already thought up many scenarios on their way to. He had a certain understanding of Ames. The air of a powerful being revolved around her. With her level, most things that were unsolvable to most other people could be fixed with a snap of her fingers. However, she was not one to be fond of thinking, and she mostly just did whatever she wanted.

If they could, who would not want to live life like her? The power that Ames possessed guaranteed her a free life.

On the other hand, this also meant that she was not a very ambitious person. The other four powerful beings who had surpassed class A had all built up their own factions, with Ames’ forces being the most carefree. She basically did not care about managing her ‘faction’. Ames seemingly did not have any ambitions, so the other civilizations and major powers in the Shattered Star Ring left her to her own devices as they did not want to get into conflict with this neutral party.

The best way to deal with this kind of neutral character was to bait them with benefits. As long as they were treated kindly, and if could present to them with something of interest, then he most likely would not be in any serious danger in front of them.

Han Xiao just so happened to have something that might just pique Ames’ interest.

As the force field slowly inched toward them and froze the air in the process, Han Xiao cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, “Please wait a moment, Your Excellency. I hope to offer a piece of information in exchange for the lives of myself and my group members. I believe that you will be interested in this.”

Ames lifted her finger, and the force field immediately stopped expanding, instead acting like a shapeless barrier that surrounded the group. Second Prince tried to poke at the barrier a few times and felt that the air just twenty centimeters away from the group had become rock solid.

Ames remained silent and looked at Han Xiao with amused eyes, as if telling him to speak quickly.

She was not fond of killing people, so she wanted to hear what this little mercenary had to say to save himself. One’s struggle at the brink of death often made for the most entertaining show, and it might be able to cure her boredom for a short while. She did not care that these people were as good as formless ash in front of her and was willing to give her time to listen, just like how humans studied other animals.

Han Xiao prepared for a bit and then started his performance.

“It hasn’t been long since I came to the Shattered Star Ring, and I have mostly stayed in the Juberly Hub. One day, I met a person on the street. He looked like your usual Galaxy Human and didn’t seem to be too old. He was also dressed like an ordinary traveler. Just as we passed each other, he called out to me and said something made zero sense to me at the time…”

“What did he say?” hurried Herlous. He noticed that Ames was starting to yawn, seemingly losing interest in this story, and quickly tried to get Han Xiao to get into the main topic.

Han Xiao coughed and continued. “I was completely confused back then, as I didn’t know the man, let alone what he was talking about. But now, I finally got the meaning behind his words…”

“Oh my god, c’mon!” Herlous gritted his teeth. They were already at the point where they could almost see the reaper’s scythe on their necks, yet he was still trying to act dramatic‽ He still had a planet to save. He could not die there!

“He said, ‘When you meet Ames, tell her to stop waiting. I still don’t want to see her.’”

Bang!

The force field collapsed instantly, knocking the surrounding people out of the room before they slammed back onto the ground. They were still grimacing from the pain when they saw Ames lazily getting up from her throne. However, her face was no longer expressionless and was instead filled with both joy and anger. It was like she had finally received the news that she was waiting for, but it turned out to be bad news.

The people present were shocked as they did not know what could cause someone as powerful as her to suddenly lose control of her emotions and power.

Ames slowly floated down to the ground, and her black hair cascaded down to her legs. She stepped onto the warm and bony ground surface with her bare feet and slowly walked toward Han Xiao, with her power blasting out at maximum. She then questioned threateningly, “What did that person look like‽”

The lower-ranked Dragon Guards were all knocked out by the force field’s collapse and were struggling to get back up on their feet even after they have recovered their senses. Han Xiao had to let out a deep breath to calm his nerves. Ames approached him with such a tremendous pressure around her that it was as if she could use the Conqueror’s Haki 1 . It was difficult to just open his mouth. “I don’t remember the details, but he looked like a poor person with messy hair, and he didn’t appear to be different from the average passerby… Oh, I remember. The most notable thing about him were his eyes. His pupils were sort of shining, like…”

He pretended to be unsure about it, as if the word was stuck on the tip of his tongue.

“His eyes are dark like the emptiness of space, while his pupils are like a bright star in the endless darkness, lighting up the whole universe despite its flickering light… Is that what you mean?” asked Ames.

“Yes… yes, yes. That’s it.” Han Xiao could finally let out a deep breath. Ames must have thought about the person that he wanted her to think about it. The situation was under control.

Ames seemed to dwell in her memories as she murmured to herself, “Why don’t you want to see me? Does our promise mean nothing? Didn’t you agree to find me again when I became a big name in space?”

The guard captain, Wilsander, was shocked. He had never seen this side of his boss. It was as if she had become an abandoned teenage girl in love, and he could hardly take it.

Ames was like a goddess in his heart. Strong, beautiful, and mysterious. He had been moved to his core the first time he saw her, and he had decided to give up on developing his own faction to instead work under her out of respect for her. He had stayed under her wing ever since, managing this chaotic dumpster day after day…

Yes, he was secretly in love with his boss. This was also his motivation for doing his work.

At this moment, Wilsander could not have been more jealous of those underlings who were blasted away by Ames’ sudden outburst. If he had been knocked out like them, he would not have had to witness this shocking scene.

“Who is that man that she’s speaking about? It can’t be her lover…” Wilsander felt bitter in his heart, but he also felt a strong sense of curiosity toward this mysterious person.

After Ames got back to her senses, she returned to her throne and stared at Han Xiao for a good while before saying slowly, “Since he has already chosen you to send the message. I will give you two options—disintegrate into dust or work for me.”

“I am more than willing to work under you,” said Han Xiao.

Becoming Ames’s employee was much better than getting a game-over on the spot. Ames’ past was full of mystery, but Han Xiao knew her secret. A powerful character like Ames had been a focus of the players’ attention in the past. The players were able to put together her story from various mission descriptions, and this information was then released onto the forums. Han Xiao basically knew more about her than she did herself, as he also knew about her future.

With the advantage of information, Han Xiao had finally chosen this plan to save himself and the others. The mysterious person that he had spoken of was a special person to Ames, and he held an important position in her heart. However, this person had gone missing a long time ago, and Ames had been constantly trying to hire mercenaries to look for him.

That person was someone with genuine foresight ability. Making himself the messenger for that person automatically made Ames think that Han Xiao was important to him, and his life would no longer be in any immediate danger.

Ames had also never told anyone about this, so she would never suspect that Han Xiao somehow knew about her past and was using it to his advantage. In her eyes, it was far more probable that Han Xiao was simply a random small-time mercenary that person had predicted would go there and so was used as the messenger.

Who knew that even someone as strong as Ames would not even suspect Han Xiao’s words?

Although the Great Mechanic Han did not like being a replacement, he would not let his pride get in the way of his survival. Whenever his strength was clearly not enough, he would not foolishly try to fight his opponent head on.

Even if he had once been someone who was worshipped by all, he would never let this restrict his actions. Han Xiao had only been able to escape from Germinal all those years ago because he was able to hold himself back. He had no problem of doing it again.

But of course, Ames was much better than Germinal. At least she was maintaining a neutral position, so Han Xiao would not be forced to burn any bridges with anyone. However, she was a million times more powerful than the Germinal Organization, and this meant that trying to escape from her clutches would be astronomically more difficult than getting out of the Germinal base. Even if Han Xiao tried all sorts of ways to make himself stronger, it would still undoubtedly be a long and arduous journey.

This was not an optimal scenario for him, but even he could not go against the universal law of the strong ruling over the weak.

Han Xiao sighed secretly.

He was afraid that for a good part of his future, he would have to tightly wear the label of the ‘Dragon Emperor’s Subordinate’ around his head. That label was to be both a protective charm and a new responsibility.

_____________________

You have made contact with a new Faction!

Floating Dragon Island: Cold (0/300)

Chapter 373: Getting Employed (2)

Ames seemed a bit lost and floated away after signaling for Wilsander to deal with the rest of the matters.

The mercenaries were shocked. Just what was happening? She was just about to kill everyone in the Black Star Mercenary Group a short while ago, yet now they had become her underlings? Were they really people in the same line of work?

“How come I didn’t know about anything you said?” Herlous said quietly. “You couldn’t have been lying, could you?

“You don’t know a lot more things,” replied Han Xiao with a calm expression. “She is someone at the top of the food chain. Do you think it would be that easy to trick her?”

“That makes sense.” Herlous took what Han Xiao said at face value. If Han Xiao could not even trick him, how could he trick the “Dragon Emperor” of the Shattered Star Ring?

Just as the guards were about to take away the other people from the three big Mercenary Groups, Goa shuffled close to Han Xiao and said, “We’re getting locked up, and you’re the only one who can move around freely. Now that you’ve become Ames’s underling, see if you can convince those people to let the Silvers go. You’re now the only one left who can complete the mission.”

Porter, Cerleni, and the others also all threw glances at Han Xiao as they were getting dragged off, telling him to improvise.

Those mercenaries had been rendered completely useless within an instant, and although they did not understand how Han Xiao suddenly became Ames’s subordinate, he was now their only hope.

The Silvers rescue’s all on you now, buddy!

Wilsander walked over and led the others out of the hall to go to another giant building.

“Don’t worry. Since Ames has already recruited you, we’re now colleagues. Ames treats all her subordinates decently, so you don’t have to worry. I’m now taking you to go see the Head Butler. She will assign you with your duties,” explained Wilsander passionately.

Han Xiao nodded. He was obviously familiar with the pros and cons of working under Ames. Most of her underlings were random fodder, and she only had three important subordinates. The first was the Head Butler, who was also her cousin. The second was Floating Dragon Island’s logistics manager and a skilled Mechanic. The last was Wilsander. Although he seemed like quite a pushover right now, he had once been a big-name pirate who roamed the stars.

The three each took care of their own jobs and were Ames’s trusted people. Some called them the ‘Dragon Guard Trio’. Most of the players in the past who came to Floating Dragon Island received missions from these three.

Han Xiao went back and forth with Wilsander for a while to get close to him. He had a certain understanding of Wilsander and was able to quickly get on the latter’s good side.

After chatting for a while, Wilsander could not hold back his curiosity any longer and held Han Xiao’s shoulder as he asked, “Hey, Black Star. The person you were talking about earlier… What’s his relationship with Ames?”

“I’ve only met each of them once. How would I know?” Han Xiao’s eyebrows rose up as if they sensed something. “It seems like you have feelings for Ames…”

Wilsander did not become awkward at all upon hearing the remark and instead laughed aloud. “Haha. Although she has never answered my pursuits, my handsome appearance and bravery will surely be able to win her over sooner or later.

Handsome… Han Xiao carefully scanned the other person. If we go back the Demon Tribe’s standards, then maybe your looks would at least be considered to be normal.

In truth, that person was not Ames’ lover or anything of the sort. That person was her teacher. In the player’s eyes, that person was an extremely mysterious travelling merchant. Chance encounters with him could give them the opportunity to buy unique items off of him, and they might even be able to trigger some legendary questline. That person actually did not want to meet Ames, so Han Xiao was not really lying to her. He even let her know about this news earlier so that she did not have to continue waiting for him all that time.

Ames’ past was clouded in mystery, but it was not because she came from some extraordinary background. She had originally been a very normal girl. She had been abandoned by her family at a very young age and taken in by her teacher. She had then awakened her powers and built her foundations as an Esper under her teacher’s wing. These two went way back, and the teacher had left her with a promise before leaving for an unknown reason—to find her again once she had made her name known throughout space. However, after she had rose up to her current heights, her teacher was still no way to be seen, giving Han Xiao chance to pull the earlier trick.

They arrived at a tall building. It was the Administrative Center of Floating Dragon Island in name and was there for people to conduct their daily business. When the group arrived at the rooftop, they saw a large office with ten or so assistants working their *sses off inside. The Head Butler was giving out documents behind a table. Ames’ cousin had the appearance of an ordinary woman and was Ames close friend.

“Jenny, these are the new recruits. See if you got any jobs for them,” said Wilsander the moment that he walked into the room.

Head Butler Jenny did not even look up at and continued to deal with the documents. “Name, power.”

Her words came out so fast, as if she did not even have a second to spare.

“Black Star, Mechanic, grade B…” Han Xiao and the players each stated their basic information.

Right after they finished, Jenny said, “Black Star, go report to the Logistics Manager. They’re in need of a new skilled mechanic there. The others will all join the guards. Your information has already been registered. Uniforms and badges will be given to you in two days.”

The players had become part of the guards, while he became a logistics worker. His mechanic skills just so happened to be good enough for the manager. He did not mind this arrangement, and the officer feature of the faction interface could finally be put to good use now that he was splitting up with the players.

After they left the hall, Han Xiao said in a quiet voice, “Herlous, you will be the temporary leader of the other members. Protect them and make sure that they don’t cause any trouble.”

“I know.” Herlous nodded. “You be careful, too.”

Having Herlous as the leader should decrease the chances of the players doing something stupid in his absence… However, aside from the few idiotic players, most of these pro players could handle themselves well enough. Although they were slightly shocked by the sudden turn of events, they trusted Han Xiao and would take things one step at a time.

“Haha. I will take care of your team. They will get to form a squad of their own.” Although Wilsander did not look the type, he was actually a very easygoing person. Han Xiao had also been able to get on his good side from their earlier conversation, and so he was willing to lend a hand to help.

…

Floating Dragon Island’s logistics work mainly included the repair and maintenance of the device that kept the floating island afloat. Han Xiao went alone to the logistics department and was met with a massive high-tech garage. This department had the lowest number of people compared to the other two on the island.

As Han Xiao stepped through the door, he saw a six-armed, human-sized, two-legged insect walk up to him. What was interesting was that this creature had a mechanic’s uniform on.

“You must be Black Star. Welcome. We’re currently very shorthanded right now, and it’s nice that we finally got a new mechanic.”

This arthropod was the Logistics Manager. Its species could only make clicking noises when they spoke, and the special communicator that he wore turned that voice into that of an old man’s. His translated name was Haier.

Haier was a very high-level mechanic who had been working for Ames for a long time.

Han Xiao had already met the three top dogs on the island within the short period of time since arriving on the island, and he could already tell how carefree Ames was with choosing her subordinates. The Head Butler was her cousin, Jenny; the Guard Captain Wilsander was of Demon Tribe and even used to be a pirate; the logistics manager was an arthropod.

“Our work includes maintaining the island’s boosters, anti-gravity device, life-sustaining device, and mineral collector. We also sometimes create and repair spaceships…”

Although Haier had a scary appearance, he was actually very kind and took Han Xiao on a short tour around the logistics department after his short explanation.

After learning about his work, Han Xiao was pleasantly surprised. Logistics work could actually be quite beneficial to him, and he did not even have to work that hard. With the interface, he could create a lot more blueprints from doing all the repairing and maintenance!

Moreover, the logistics department did not really set any strict rules or regulations on its employees, so many spent their free time working on their own machines. Although this was never explicitly stated, it seemed like they could also use the rare and unique materials on this island for themselves. Such as the Void Dragon’s skeletons…

After the standard introductory procedure, Han Xiao officially became one of them.

For the next few days, he followed Haier to familiarize himself with the work on the island. He was quickly accepted as another member in the department. The players were also faring quite well on their end. Most of the other Dragon Guards were normal people, and they did not dare cause trouble with the team of Supers led by Herlous. After being dispatched on and completing a few missions, they slowly transformed from random outsiders into the enforcers on the island.

…

In the slave market, Horlaide was very excited when he found that the Silvers had been captured. He had been trying to find a client for these past few days. Many buyers had secretly offered him their prices, but he was not happy with all of them and was still in the middle of the bargaining stage.

That day, Horlaide received a communication request from the base.

“Haha. You’re still alive.” Horlaide made fun of the caller.

“I almost died.” Peggy had a raspy voice. He had nearly kicked the bucket after getting beaten up badly by Han Xiao and barely made it out alive and back onto his ship. He wanted his money. “The Silvers have already been handed to you. Where are you going to hand me my pay?”

“What pay?”

“What do you mean?” Peggy frowned. “Are you not planning on paying me?”

“No, no, no. You need to understand something. Your cargo was taken away by the mercenaries,” Horlaide slowly reasoned. “I had to work to get them back. Why would I pay you money?”

Peggy had an ugly face as he switched off the communicator. “Filthy merchant!”

The Silvers were a Super valuable cargo. He knew that he had no way of dealing with Horlaide. He was the one who had gotten beaten up and lost the cargo. Nothing could be done no matter how mad he got. A criminal lived by the code of the survival of the fittest, and even he could not do anything about Horlaide breaking their promise.

“That bunch of stupid mercenaries!” Compared to Horlaide, the mercenaries were the biggest reason that he had failed so badly. He hated them to his bones and gritted his teeth as he smashed apart the communicator with his palm.

Just as Peggy was getting angry all by himself, an ordinary-looking spaceship docked next to him.

“Ember, we’re here.”

Chapter 374: Your Friend DarkStar Is Now Online

This spaceship had specially been dispatched for a mission by DarkStar, and it had been re-outfitted to look like a normal traveler ship. A group of people walked off the ship and stepped onto the Floating Dragon Island’s docks. The savage inhabitants of the island who were at the docks glared at these seemingly unsuspecting common travelers.

The DarkStar people kept their heads low and headed into town. After making several twists and turns in the streets, just as they were about to pass by the alleyway between two houses, a muscle man walked in front of them and blocked their path. A group of brutes also appeared from behind them, pincering them.

“This isn’t the kind of place that ordinary people should visit. I suggest you guys pay up for that advice…” The pirate who acted as the leader of the ambushers said this as he calmly pointed his gun at the newcomers’ leader.

The other pirates also smiled creepily. However, their leader failed to make any more sounds after that sentence, and they started to feel like it was odd. One of the lackeys lightly shook the leader’s shoulder, and suddenly, the leader’s head came rolling off and fell onto the ground.

His clothes also fell onto the floor, and black-colored dust wafted off them.

The pirates’ hesitation instantly changed into fear, and they turned ran. However, they could not get very far before they all disintegrated into dust particles, leaving piles of clothing on the floor.

The DarkStar’s people could not even be bothered to spare another glance before they quickly went on their way as if they had long become used to this scene. This was their captain’s ability, Ember. The ability could, to an extent, control carbon molecules, making it a huge control to all carbon-based organisms. As long as his enemies had even a speck of carbon molecules in their bodies, he could deal some devastating true damage to them by a thought of his mind. Even energy-protected Supers would be dealt with heavy damage by this ability. His Esper power’s potential rating was an A+!

Ember was a member in DarkStar’s plan to nurture a new generation of trump cards. The information in the Secret Message Bead had been bought from a research organization in another part of space at a very high price. DarkStar had already been working with the other group for many years, and this time, they each sent disguised parties, the carriers, of mixed species and races that ‘coincidentally’ came to the Shattered Star Ring to do business.

The Silvers were responsible for transporting the goods this time, but they got into an accident, and both the carrier and the Secret Message Bead were lost. This team was specifically dispatched the lost Secret Message Bead.

Ember brought his group to a hideout to rest. There were anti-detection devices already prepared in the room for them. He then sent out some of his men to search for information. The men returned before long, and the whole group gathered in the room for a meeting.

“We got the info. The Silvers are confined in a local slave market. We have already marked the location on the map. We should now try to get in contact with the carrier.

“So, what’s the plan? Do we raid the slave market and rescue the carrier directly?”

“Only saving the Silvers would be too suspicious. If we’re going to do it, we should break all the slaves out.”

After everyone had finished discussing with each other, Ember slowly opened his mouth and said lightly, “Let’s not use to resort to force yet. We are, after all, in the Dragon Emperor’s territory. I will go look for the slave market people and try to buy the Silvers back.”

…

Beside a large mineral burrowing device on Floating Dragon Island stood Han Xiao. He was currently carrying out repairs for the device with a group of workers surrounding him as they watched him work.

After screwing in the last nut, the device whirred back to life, and the workers were able to go right back into their work. Han Xiao turned and left while opening up the interface.

The machinery on Floating Dragon Island is all gigantic, and the level of technology used is also much more advanced. Although I still don’t have enough knowledge to reverse engineer blueprints for them, I did manage to come up with the blueprint for the Dragon Guards’ aircraft.

He had been secretly learning the fighter aircraft’s blueprint over the past few days of logistical work. Its name was ‘Dragon Butterfly Aircraft’. It was an anti-gravity hovercraft capable of atmospheric flight, and it was extremely fast and agile. Its size was average and allowed it to carry six to ten passengers. This was a blueprint that Haier had developed himself, yet Han Xiao had been able to learn it without anyone knowing.

The Great Mechanic Han had always been thinking about building a multi-passenger transport. With these new blueprints, he could finally overcome the technical difficulties that he had faced in the past, as well as greatly increase the capability of the transport that he had in mind. He constantly utilized the free time given to logistics workers to design the structure for his new transport.

After he returned to his personal garage, Han Xiao was faced with a giant sphere-shaped machine that was hung up in the middle of the room by several chains. His manufacturing speed had increased several folds recently in part due to the [Instant Deconstruction and Assembly] ability that he had obtained from the Silvers. He had already put in ten potential points to max this ability out.

The best part of working for the logistics department was that he had mountains of raw materials that he could use whenever he wanted. He did not even have to care about production costs. However, only Haier was allowed to use the more valuable materials, such as the Void Dragons’ bones.

Han Xiao was incredibly envious about this. Void Dragons’ bones were unbelievably hard, and even on their own, they were harder than all types alloys that he could currently produce. One of the more advanced blueprints for a higher-level battle suit required Void Dragon bones as the material for its core. That suit was even stronger than Amphiptere without the bones, and being imbued with the Void Dragons’ special power made it several times stronger than Amphiptere.

That blueprint was not too hard to learn and could be obtained as long as one had the necessary knowledge. The hard part was gathering the materials required to build it. Floating Dragon Island was one of the only few places in the whole Shattered Star Ring that produced Void Dragon bones. If he could get his hands on enough of those bones, he could build himself new battle armor that would be upgraded from the ‘snake’ label.

Aside from the bones themselves, the liquid that could be extracted from the Void Dragon marrow was also extremely precious. However, Haier carefully watched over the stock of these materials. This was a clear show of the benefits that the Floating Dragon Island carried with it. Even without Ames managing the island’s affairs seriously, it was still able to amass countless goodies.

Now that I have finally blended into the crowd, it’s about time that I went to find Horlaide to talk about the Silver issue. I am also in a much better position now to make deals with the island’s people.

Han Xiao knew that he could not trust the people from the big three mercenary groups and could only rely on himself for this.

Once again, Han Xiao visited the slave market. However, unlike usual, someone hurriedly called out his name just as he was about to stride in through the main gates.

“Black. Black Star! Please wait!” Theon rushed over while out of breath.

“Oh, it’s you.” Han Xiao gave him a glance from the side.

Theon’s face was currently badly beaten up, with bandages all around it, and he looked like he had gone through a botched surgery. His subordinates who followed behind him did not look any better.

Theon coughed with a horrified look on his face. “Could you please stop your subordinates from bullying us…”

“What are you talking about? We’re colleagues, man. To improve the capability of the Dragon Guards, I have tasked my group members with carefully organizing combat practices with you guys. How could you call us bullies?” Han Xiao said with a meaningful tone.

“I did wrong. I really did wrong. I will apologize however you want!” Theon sobbed in the open, and it was unthinkable how this was the same person who had been acting so high and mighty just several days ago.

Theon’s pride came from the sole fact that he was part of the guards, and he had thought that he could look down on all the foreign visitors of the island. However, Han Xiao had suddenly become his ‘colleague’. He did not even know that misfortune could arrive so fast without notice.

A few days ago, Han Xiao had been too lazy to teach this guy a lesson himself, so he had just thrown a few missions for the players. They were part of the guards anyway, and they were just about getting a kick out of beating him up. Even after Theon went to find the guard captain to complain about this matter, Wilsander simply turned a blind eye to it and could not be bothered to step in.

Theon could not stand being beaten up all the time like this anymore. However, he was not brave enough to just quit his job either. He was like an ant on a flaming-hot pan and had been waiting for technician Han every day over the past few days.

“Haha, why’re you apologizing?” Han Xiao said cheerfully. “You were only following orders and didn’t do anything wrong.”

“How can I get you to forgive me?” said Theon with tears and snot all over his face. If he had known that this would happen, he never would have acted so unreserved like he did before.

“There’s a saying that one’s well-being is invaluable. How much do you think your wellbeing is worth?” Han Xiao’s smile turned to a wicked one all a sudden.

Theon felt his body shudder at that sight, and he said through gritted teeth, “One thousand….”

The Great Mechanic Han was shocked and let out a gasp. “You price yourself that low?”

“Then it’s 1,500…”

Han Xiao shook his head and clicked his tongue. “Looks like my friends need to help you establish a sense of self-worth.”

“2,000! That’s all I have in my account. It’s my savings over all the years. I’m begging you, please! I only have this much…”

“Sigh. Let’s just consider it as me giving you a discount. Too bad I’m just this kindhearted, right?” Han Xiao then took out his communicator and pulled up the transaction menu before swiping his eyes over Theon’s underlings and chuckled. “How about you guys?”

His smile was basically that of the devil’s to the group of people. They were all horrified and made the transfers without a second word. After hearing the sound of the successful transaction, Theon felt his soul leave his body. Not only did he lose the portion of the money that Horlaide had secretly paid him earlier to get him to act, he had also lost most of his life savings.

Han Xiao was all smiles and sunshine once more when his purse was filled up with the 34,000 Enas from the guards. He swung his arms around as he turned and entered the slave market.

Theon’s team receiving the money in secret was one of the main reasons that the mercenaries’ rescue operation had failed right at the end. It was not Han Xiao’s style to just get a little revenge when he could. He would take back what he had lost because of Theon with full interest.

After he entered the slave market, he was led to Horlaide’s office by the workers.

Horlaide’s face scrunched up into a smile as he welcomed Han Xiao passionately. “Take a seat. Would you like anything to drink?”

“Don’t bother. I will be going straight to the point here. I’m taking the Silvers away. Name your price.” Han Xiao went into topic without any delay. Horlaide knew that he was the mercenary from earlier, and he also knew that he had now become a colleague, hence the passionate tone.

But Horlaide was considered someone who worked under the Head Butler. Since violence would obviously not be a wise choice, he came this time to negotiate.

Horlaide put on a fake smile and said, “What happened earlier was a misunderstanding. I’m sorry for any inconvenience that it may have caused you. However, what’s done is done. The Silvers are now on the market. Things are also not easy for me. I hope that you can understand.”

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, as he smelled the smell of someone in the same line of business as himself. “Don’t bullsh*t, you already have a plan.”

Horlaide chuckled. “I’ve heard that your client cares a lot about their own. I believe that they will be very generous with opening up their purse. How about this? You help me convince them about the deal, and I will give you ten percent of the transaction fee.”

“How much are you planning to ask for?” asked Han Xiao.

“200,000… per person!” Horlaide raised up a single finger while smiling creepily. This price was, without a doubt, ridiculous. It was several times more than the market price. It was obvious then that the Silver client was the prey that Horlaide had laid his eyes on.

Chapter 375: Customers First

Han Xiao squinted and stared at Horlaide without saying anything. After a while, Han Xiao shook his head and said, “I won’t help you to persuade them. Keep the money.”

Horlaide was surprised. “Why?”

“Everything has rules.” Although the reason Han Xiao became a mercenary was to earn cash, since he had already started this job, he would follow the rules in the industry. He had strong morals as betraying the employer was the worst crime that one could commit. Thus, he declined Horlaide’s offer to trick his employer.

“Don’t you want to earn money? That’s the reason you choose to be a mercenary, right? Fifteen people could sell three million Enas. Let’s say if you only get ten percent, that’s still a lot of money that you can’t earn while serving others. Because I’m your colleague, that’s why I decided to share some of the benefit to compensate the reward you lost after your mercenary group failed the mission. Do you really want to let go of this opportunity?” Horlaide asked as he shrugged.

“Sorry, my creed is honorable. I don’t do shady business.” Han Xiao was not lured by the amount of cash. He did not want to follow Horlaide’s intent. He wanted to have an image of being trustworthy. Moreover, he had accepted the mission from the Silver; however, it was not for money but to earn knowledge.

On top of that, the mission still had to depend on whether or not the Silver would reach an agreement on the negotiation. If they did, then what was the need for mercenaries? Han Xiao would not get any reward.

Horlaide made a duck face. “All up to you. I will talk with your boss myself.”

Han Xiao took out the communicator and called the employer. The face of the Silver showed up on the screen. The Silver was surprised when they saw Han Xiao. After thinking for a while, they finally remembered that Han Xiao was one of their mercenaries. They asked in confusion, “Why did you call us? Where are the guys from Sky Ring? Oh right, where you are now? When are you coming back?”

Han Xiao shook his head. “There have been some accidents. We got attacked, and the hostages were sent to the slave market. The people from Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold have all been captured, so I am in charge of the mission now. I found the manager of this slave market, and he wants to negotiate with you.

“Hehe, your comrades are in my hands…” Horlaide straightened his clothes, and he started to list his demands.

The Silver raged. “That’s too expensive! We can’t accept that price!”

“Sorry, you are in no position to talk back,” Horlaide said back in a deep and firm voice. The hostages were in his hands, and he was confident that the Silver wouldn’t abandon their people. Three million Enas was a lot, but the Silver’s pockets was deep enough, so they could still squeeze enough money.

“We’ll need time to discuss.” The Silver ground his teeth, but he could not reject the offer.

“Call me after you reach a conclusion, but there is a time limit. A lot of our dear customers really want to buy your friends, so you are not the only buyer,” Horlaide threatened.

Han Xiao turned off his communicator and left without any expression. Horlaide wanted to wave, but he did not move an inch, sitting on his chair.

As Han Xiao stepped outside of the door, a man wearing a mask was trying to get into the room. They brushed past each other’s shoulders, and time froze at that moment. Han Xiao’s hair all stood up, and he felt something sharp pointing on his forehead.

Both of them looked at each other as if they exchanged punches. The scene froze in place, the environment all lost its color, and only their eyes were visible.

The next second, color and sound broke the ice. They acted like nothing happened and kept on walking.

After several steps, Han Xiao looked back at the man. With greater power, he also had a better sense on the outside world. He felt endangered after getting close to a powerful being, and that was the feeling that the man in the mask gave Han Xiao. It was not only strength, but the aura of the man hinted the smell of blood of the dead. Only people with strong senses could notice this detail.

Han Xiao’s instinct told him that the masked man was also here for the Silver.

I wonder where he is from…

Han Xiao shook his hand and contacted the employer.

The Silver was upset. “Why are the ones rescuing captured? Now what? Do we have to pay the money?”

“Don’t rush to a decision,” Han Xiao replied. “It seems that the hostages are still save. I will think of another way.”

“… Okay. Remember, you must prioritize their safety.”

After the call ended, Han Xiao grabbed his hair and felt a headache coming on.

“What should I do? The hostages are all with Horlaide. Right now, I am a member of Floating Dragon Island, so I can’t draw attention. Um… There’s only one way to force Horlaide to give up the hostage. I need to persuade Jenny and Ames…” He suddenly had an idea and hurried to formulate this plan.

At the same time, Ember, the masked man, also went to try and buy the Silver.

“How much are you offering?” Horlaide asked.

“Fifty thousand per person.”

Horlaide shook his head and seemed disinterested.

Ember frowned. “This price is already fifty percent more than the original price. Why are you still refusing?”

“There’s someone who’s paying more,” Horlaide replied.

“Seventy thousand,” Ember added.

Horlaide still shook his head.

“A hundred thousand. That’s my final offer.”

“Not enough.”

“Then how much do you want?” Ember was patient.

Horlaide laughed. “The generous buyer is offering 210,000 per person. Of course, the deal is not yet settled. But… if you are able to pay more than 200,000, then that fact might change…”

“Okay. I will think about it.”

Ember nodded and left the slave market.

“Leader, how’s the negotiation?” his team member asked.

Ember took off his mask and calmly said, “Change of plans. We will take the hostages by force.”

DarkStar had the money to pay, but it was not worth it. Even if they settled on the price, there was a chance that the manager would increase the price again.

What kind organization was the DarkStar? They were the bad guys! If they obeyed such orders, what would happen to their dignity as villains?

…

On the planet of the Fawn Galaxy, there was conflict among the Silvers.

“They have already named a price. What are we waiting for? Let’s get the money!”

“Wait a second. This whole thing looks sketchy. Did the mercenaries work together with the slave market managers to scam us? Everyone in Shattered Star Ring is a greedy goblin. We need to prepare for this possibility,” someone in the group said.

“In the end, safety comes first. Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold have all fallen, so how can we trust this Black Star Group? If they push over their limit and try to be heroes, they might bring more danger to the hostages. Let’s just give the money.”

“What if they don’t release the hostages after we meet their demands,” one man said in worry.

After some chaotic discussion, in the end, the captain stayed calm and made the decision. “The reason they failed last time was because they were outnumbered. I am going to trust them one last time. We will have the Black Star Mercenary Group try one more time, and if they can’t do it, I believe they will give us an accurate reply. Giving the money is our last option.”

…

A team of players rode an aircraft and scouted around an area.

Li Ge was on the aircraft. He dodged out of everyone’s sight and took out the Secret Message Bead.

“What is this thing?” Li Ge mumbled to himself. “The instructions say that there will be a bonus reward if I give this to a specific person, but there is no hint on who the person may be. I do have to activate it myself…”

Li Ge had a lot of experience in gaming. With items that did not have clear instructions, the player would have to take the initiative and show this item to different NPCs. If an NPC reacted differently compared to the rest, that should be the ‘specific character’.

“Let’s do this.” Li Ge made up his mind.

Chapter 376: Steel Body!

Goa, Cerleni, and Porter’s teams were all locked inside the Floating Dragon prison. They contacted their respective leaders and paid the bail. They could not leave before the higher officers went to pick them up and apologize.

During the time of imprisonment, everyone was disconnected from the outside world. They were bored to death. The only topic that they could talk about was Han Xiao.

“I wonder if Black Star saved the Silvers,” Porter muttered.

“Even though Black Star is working for Ames, what can he do? There’s no way he’ll be able to save them.” Cerleni was pessimistic about the situation. He shook his hand. “Well, I can’t blame him. If I was in his situation, I wouldn’t be able to do anything either. On top of that, he is with Floating Dragon. We can’t be sure whether he will still be a mercenary or not.”

“We have already asked him for this favor. Let’s just trust him.” Goa frowned.

Cerleni was frustrated. “I want to believe that he can do it since he is our last hope, but is there anything that he can do?”

“… I don’t know.” Goa sighed.

The mercenaries’ morale was low. They tried to trust Han Xiao, but their brains told them that this mission had already failed.

…

“Are you looking for Ames? She’s not here, left a few days ago.” Jenny read the documents without looking up.

“Where is she heading?” Han Xiao was surprised. Ames always stayed on Floating Dragon Island.

“She said she was in a bad mood, so she wanted to fight someone,” Jenny replied with a cold voice like a businessman. She adjusted the Data Storage Glasses and said, “She was unpleased with the message that you brought back.”

Han Xiao’s eyes flicked. The only people that could match Ames were the three Supers of the same grade in the Shattered Star Ring… He hoped that there would not be any crazy news a few days later.

He planned to fudge Ames to release the Silvers, so he had to wait for her return. Han Xiao did not want to revolt when Ames was not home since there was too much risk. There was also no need to do that as the Floating Dragon Faction gave him quiet some benefits. Head Butler Jenny was tough unlike Ames, and Han Xiao barely even considered persuading her.

Since Ames is not present, according to the management rules, I am temporarily the highest officer,” Jenny said. “We strengthened the defense of Wilsander, and Haier is protecting the Gravitational Core. Everything is in order, so don’t you dare make other plans, or else you will regret it.”

Han Xiao understood the hidden message of Jenny. He had only joined the faction for a few days, and although the other members did not reject him, Jenny still kept on eye on people from the Black Star Mercenary Group. It was her responsibility as the Head Butler to clean up Ames’ mess. Jenny wanted to warn Han Xiao to not do something stupid.

Han Xiao smiled and ignored Jenny’s warning. He left the office, went back to the Logistics Office, and got his next job. Haier took half of the workers to camp around the Energy Core of the floating island. The rest of the workers were on standby in the headquarters while dealing with the daily maintenance tasks. Han Xiao was assigned to remain in the headquarters.

After losing half of the workforce, the workload suddenly increased. Everyone was extremely busy, and the Great Mechanic Han had to spend his time fixing aircrafts and equipment without doing anything else.

…

A few days later, in the Slave Market, Horlaide made a call to Han Xiao and asked, “Has your employer decided to pay the price?”

“Not yet,” Han Xiao answered while fixing a burrow collector.

“Hey, don’t waste my time. Tell them that I will only wait three more days, or else I will sell to other buyers.”

Horlaide was pissed and hung up the call right after he finished his sentence. He took a sip from a hallucination drink and got high.

“If the Silver is not playing, then the man in the mask is the next highest bid buyer…”

In his eyes, Ember was his plan B. No matter what happened, he would certainly end up with tons of cash. Thinking about the huge sum of money, Horlaide smiled even wider, thrilled. He chugged the drink and hummed a delightful tune.

At the same time, pairs of eyes were hidden in the shadows, staring at the Slave Market.

That was the day DarkStar would attack. Ember had made an infiltration plan to steal the hostage rather than have a straight on battle. They did not know that Ames had left, so they were being cautious. Ember’s Esper potential was Class A+, but he was still developing, so he was currently in Class B+. Against Ames, who could one shot him, even Ember had to swallow his pride and be meticulous on his operation.

Following the DarkStar Team were the Galactic Pirates. When Ember was undercover, he found a few new teammates. He made an empty promise that he would evenly split the profit while showing part of his plan, and that was enough to bait the pirates. The pirates could help them to cover DarkStar’s real purpose. If they were exposed, the pirates could also draw attacks from them and create chaos.

“Have you cut the power?” Ember asked in the communicator.

“I just infiltrated the Floating Dragon Island’s main system. I’m planting the disruptive device now. I need two more minutes to temporarily cut of the electric supply to the district of the Slave Market. The surveillance system will be down, and the system won’t detect anything. The whole thing will last for seventeen minutes. It should be enough for your operation.”

“Good.” Ember nodded.

For this operation, DarkStar was equipped with high-tech equipment. They had slit the team in two, with one going after the electric supply and making it look like a technical problem. Although there would be some movements, it would not trigger the alarm. This created the opportunity for Ember to do his job.

As soon as the two-minute-mark hit, the entire lights in the district shut down, and the place was plunged into darkness. Then the whole street turned noisy, with people wondering what had happened.

Ember close his eyes and used his Esper vision. He felt the carbon particles around him and the objects that he had hidden in the Slave Market. He flicked his fingers and released his Esper power.

Inside the Slave Market, the stones on the corner of the wall cracked, and small metallic balls dropped out of the cracks. The balls then released a strong invisible sleeping gas, which filled the entire building. The gas only affected the nervous system, so it would not do any harm.

Flop, flop…

The workers of the Slave Market fell on the ground one after another. Horlaide was shocked at the sudden power outage. Before he could get up, he had already passed out from inhaling the gas.

Ember’s Esper power could control carbon molecules to a certain degree. He could split and combine molecules to turn carbon into different states, such as from solid to gas. There were a lot of materials containing carbon, and with his current power, controlling a few rocks was a piece of cake.

Under the cover of darkness, the team infiltrated the Slave Market. The room was pitch dark, but the Carbon remains were lying around, which showed the structure of the room. Ember quickly found the underground prison and confirmed that their targets were there.

Because of the power outage, all the locks in the Slave Market had deactivated. Ember and his team walked through the prison with ease as they opened the door. The prisoners all rushed out of the room with tears dripping down, as if they were being saved.

“Are you here to save us all?” the Silver asked with surprise as they walked out, thinking that they were the mercenaries rescuing them.

But they quickly found out that they had jumped out of the pan and into the fire.

The members of DarkStar all wore their masks. Ember said to the other thrilled pirates, “As promised, I only want the Silver. The other slaves are yours.”

This time, a group of brutes walked out of the crowd and said, “It’s not fair. The Silvers are the most valuable. Who do you think you are…”

Ember did not wait for them to finish. The expressions of the brutes turned sour and filled with pain. They opened their mouths, but no screams came out. Starting from the skin to the flesh, everything turned into ash, and their bodies collapsed in an instant.

“Anyone else want to talk?” Ember asked coldly.

Everyone froze. They could not believe their eyes, so they quietly obeyed the order and gave up the thought of getting the Silvers.

“Target acquired. Let’s get out of here and do the interrogation in a safe house.” The members of DarkStar quickly left the scene.

…

A few minutes earlier, when the power was cut, the logistics office received a report. The system gave the task of repairing the problem to Han Xiao.

“Emergency mission?” Han Xiao was repairing a burrow nearby. He dropped everything and headed to the Slave Market district.

Seeing that there were no lights nearby, Han Xiao turned on his detection radar. He suddenly stopped as he could not detect anything in the Slave Market. It was evident that there were disturbance frequencies in the area.

“Something’s fishy.” Han Xiao’s face turned serious as he realized that something bad was happening. He activated his jetpack and rushed toward the Slave Market. As soon as he reached there, he smelled the dense sleeping gas.

_____________________

You inhaled strong anesthetic gas. Calculating the effect…

Your END is over 100 points. You are immune to hypnosis.

Your END is over 150. You are immune to drowsiness.

_____________________

The place was dead quiet. He activated on his night vision and saw the workers lying around.

What is happening here? Did someone rob this place? Who has the guts to do this?

Han Xiao raised his suspicion.

At this time, sounds of footsteps came from the stars. Ember brought the Silvers up the stairs, and he saw Han Xiao standing at the doorway. “They found us!”

On the other hand, Han Xiao was even more shocked upon seeing someone rescuing the Silvers.

Who the f*ck took over my job‽

Did our employer find another mercenaries? Are we on the same side?

Han Xiao could not determine the identity of the other man. Before he could say anything, Ember tried to control the carbon molecules in Han Xiao’s body and turn him into dust.

Hum!

The Esper power went directly through the armor and acted on Han Xiao’s body.

_____________________

You received Ember’s [Carbon Atom Deconstruction] attack.

You received 1146 True Damage.

You received Ember’s [Carbon Atom Deconstruction] attack.

You received 988 True Damage.

Your Ability [Steel Body] activated. All True Damage is nullified!

_____________________

Through the interface, Han Xiao saw the ‘-0’ damage that filled his screen.

Nothing happened!

Ember’s expression froze behind the mask. He could feel the carbon molecules in Han Xiao’s body, but he could not move them like those of other people. He suddenly felt the molecules in Han Xiao’s body tighten and become as hard as stone.

Looks like he’s an enemy!

Han Xiao focused, and the armor covered his body. He entered battle mode and used [Wrath of Garrett] without hesitation!

Chapter 377: Seize the Opportunity!

The burning light beam burst like a golden spear breaking through the darkness, hitting Ember’s face!

Boom!

Flames exploded!

Before the light had vanished, a shadow rushed out at swiftly. Han Xiao’s reaction was exceptionally fast. The handle of the scythe popped out from the arm armor and slipped into his hand, expanding into a large black scythe with one swing.

The scythe and the shadow clashed.

Clank!

The sound of metal colliding!

A crystal-clear hand grabbed the scythe, and the two of them competed in strength.

Han Xiao glanced at the hand. The skin of Ember became like a diamond, and the blade could not slice through.

The ground below him moved, and the carbon element was extracted, turning into dust particles, climbing up his legs and rapidly hardening.

Han Xiao hastily jumped back in shock, dodging before the mud hardened, tearing apart the yet to form diamond.

Carbon elemental control? Troublesome power… The analyzer in the mechanical suit detected the material that was controlled—it was all carbon. Han Xiao was experienced, so he immediately guessed the opponent’s power, and he felt it was quite hard to deal with.

This kind of atom controlling Esper power was very rare, its effects were usually very well-rounded—able to attack, defend, control, and even building materials. Many natural materials contained carbon, and the opponent’s power happened to be the nemesis of carbon-based life.

Han Xiao was discreetly shocked. Luckily, he had the True Damage immunity talent, otherwise he would have died.

[Steel Body] had come from the Germinal Organization leader. Of course, at this stage, the leader’s strength was not a big deal anymore, but that old man was a main character-type figure after all and a BOSS to boot. The effect of this talent was very strong, and it gave complete immunity to True Damages. True Damage ignored all resistance and could be very dangerous. Even the tankiest Pugilist would suffer from True Damage, and with this talent, it was insurance for safety.

Up till now, Han Xiao had gained two molding abilities in total, the other one was [Basic Strengthened Life], which gave him a lot of health. His health could even match up to Pugilists of the same level despite being a Mechanic. It was disgustingly tanky… and Ember was suitably disgusted right now.

[Carbon Atom Deconstruction] was a new way to use his Esper power that Ember had only obtained after reaching grade B—it was a lethal skill to low-grade Supers. It worked by directly breaking down the molecular structure of the opponent’s body. The difference between the opponent’s energy and level needed to be determined before taking effect. if the target failed to match up to a certain standard, the target would then take True Damage. Usually, anyone whose grade was lower than Ember’s could not match up to that standard, but Han Xiao was different. Although his level was lower than his, he happened to have True Damage immunity.

“Run!”

Ember suppressed his shock. His trump card did not work, and his other powers were all ordinary combat methods that did not have enough destructive power. It was not the time to fight, and there was no time to think.

Hum!

The power field spread out. The ground and the walls rippled like water, and countless carbon molecules were extracted and reformed. The powder sized molecules surrounded Han Xiao like black silk then quickly hardened into diamonds with various shapes—spikes, barriers, cages, and so on—stalling Han Xiao.

Clank!

Spinning carbon dust was everywhere, moving around like waves, solidifying from time to time. The arbitrary shifts of material form were magnificent!

Han Xiao bared his teeth. The dust ribbon was dense, hard to predict, very swift, and kept attacking, so it really tested his reaction speed.

Amphiptere quickly planned the dodging route, allowing Han Xiao to maneuver around and dodge, barely avoiding the attacks one after another. The movement was very difficult to do—he was like an epileptic patient doing a street dance!

But it was very effective as well. Despite looking like he only barely made every dodge, he was very steady!

As Han Xiao was stalled, Ember took the Silvers and escaped out the doors. Han Xiao, of course, could not let the Silvers be just taken away like this. Just as he was about to give chase, the mechanical suit suddenly activated a warning, notifying that him there was a high energy reaction behind his back!

He slid and dodged!

Boom!

All kinds of attacks hit where he originally stood, creating a large crater. Han Xiao looked back to see those pirates that had taken slaves for themselves firing at him. Dozens of Supers surrounded him with murderous intent.

“Quickly, kill the witness!”

“He’s alone, let’s attack together!”

Han Xiao was surrounded and could not withdraw. Ember and the others vanished from his sight. He frowned and had no choice but to deal with those brutes.

He was alone, so the opponent used their advantage of outnumbering him. He could not defeat them quickly. Han Xiao decided to use the communicator in his mechanical suit to call for help.

After fighting for a while, these galactic pirates realized that they could not defeat Han Xiao at all, and Han Xiao even defeated quite a number of them. Quickly, they started to get anxious.

“This guy is quite strong. Don’t waste time anymore, we have to go!”

“No, he saw our identity. If he reports it to the guards, we will be immediately exposed!”

These brutes had disagreements—half of them wanted to retreat, but just as they were about to leave, the roof of the slave market was suddenly blasted away. Everyone was shocked. They looked up in surprise, and a few Dragon Butterfly Aircrafts were circling in the air, shining their searchlight down. There were more aircrafts heading here from afar.

These guards were all players that Han Xiao had called. Taking advantage of their job, they arrived at the scene to back up very quickly. Herlous waved behind the high concentration glass.

All the brutes were startled! It was like a thief getting caught by the police during the act!

Han Xiao withdrew and backed off, leaving the area covered by the attacks as the tip of his mouth raised.

Want to gang bang me? I have backup, too!

All the aircrafts fired lasers at the brutes.

Boom boom boom!

Golden lasers poured down like a thunderstorm, and the pirates fell in swathes. They were terrified!

“It’s Dragon Guards! Run!”

“Split up!”

They were panicking and could no longer afford to care about Han Xiao. They scattered and fled, and the aircrafts split up to chase them.

Han Xiao did not chase after them immediately. The Dragon Guards were up in the air and could chase more efficiently. He did not want to act on the ground, so he was waiting for his Bat Wings to arrive. Ember escaped first and was already long out of his sight, but Han Xiao had not only watched him escape—he had secretly left a mark on him.

“Herlous, a group of mysterious people had snatched the Silvers away. I’ve marked them on the radar, and the intel has been sent to you. Don’t let them get away!” Han Xiao drew a glowing route on the map and sent it to Herlous. “They have a Super, grade B as well, who can control carbon molecules. He careful, maintain the shield. Don’t get into combat with him before I arrive!”

“Okay, I see them, following now,” Herlous replied.

At this time, Wilsander sent a communication and asked in a very low voice, “What happened‽”

Han Xiao described what happened, emphasizing heavily on the fact that the enemy attacked Floating Dragon Island’s property with malicious intentions and that he was the star that stopped the enemies.

Look at how arrogant these people are, completely disrespecting you, Guard Captain. If you don’t go ahead and thrash them, aren’t you ashamed‽

He was worried that Wilsander might not have heard the key point and repeated this part three times.

“Okay, alright, I got it.” Wilsander hung up the communication hastily, fearing that Han Xiao might repeat it a fourth time. However, Han Xiao had already achieved his goal. This phrase cycled in Wilsander’s head, and he could not forget it even if he wanted to. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Exactly, who doesn’t know that us Dragon Guards control the entire city? Yet, these people dared to violate the rules. They’re completely disrespecting the guards. Are they challenging me‽ Today, these people dared to rob the slaves. Tomorrow, they will dare to bomb the island. Unacceptable! If I don’t thrash you people, what kind of Guard Captain will I be‽

Wilsander thought for a while and turned furious. He ordered the guards directly under him to move out.

Ames happened to be out, so the guards were on standby all the time. They were at the highest alert level and were very efficient. Aircrafts soared through the sky one after another.

The residents and outsiders on the ground all looked up surprised. They had never seen all the guards striking at the same time. What happened‽

Han Xiao looked at the mess around him and saw the unconscious Horlaide. His mood immediately improved. “You deserve it for wanting to trick me of my money.”

He wondered, when Horlaide woke up and saw all his slaves gone and his home destroyed, what expression would he have. Thinking of the face that Horlaide had back then when he got the Silvers, Han Xiao felt warm inside.

He looked at the interface; there was a new message. It said that he had caught the criminals in the act, provided the intel, and stopped the enemies. His relationship points with the Floating Dragon Island had increased by 400, rising from Cold to Neutral.

Han Xiao suddenly thought of something. Making use of the time during the wait, he walked down to the underground prison cell, came to the secret door’s location, bursting through the wall with violence, exposing Aroshia’s cell.

Those brutes had not discovered this secret door, so Aroshia was still locked inside. Ember had actually noticed the secret door, but his target was just the Silvers, so he did not bother to tell the others about it.

Han Xiao tore the cell door open and reached out his hand toward Aroshia.

He still remembered that he had the [Visitor from Afar] mission, which required him to bring Aroshia away for six days. Hack then, he did not buy her because Horlaide asked for money, so now was the chance!

If he did not seize the opportunity like he always did, he would regret it!

He was not going to leave anything for Horlaide!

Aroshia looked up and stared at Han Xiao’s hand. Confusion appeared on her face, and she did not move.

“Right, she doesn’t have memories and curiosity.” Han Xiao thought of Horlaide’s introduction. He decided to simply go forward and opened her cuffs and collar. Then, he grabbed Aroshia’s hand and walked outside.

As expected, Aroshia did not resist. She let Han Xiao pull her away with a calm face, like a boat floating along with the waves.

She stared at Han Xiao’s face the whole time. Although she acted like a puppet, her eyes were very bright at this time like she was in deep thought.

Chapter 378: Confidentiality Failure, DarkStar Exposed

Hu!

The bottom of the equipment box shot out a blue flame and flew over from afar. The parts assembled automatically, and Amphiptere turned into Flight Mode.

“Report position.” Han Xiao quickly geared up, grabbed Aroshia, and flew into the sky. He did not worry about Aroshia being hurt during the high-speed flight at all—she had extraordinary power inside her body. Even if she did not know how to use it, the resistance that she had still protected her.

Herlous sent the coordinates, and the Tactical Screen displayed a three-dimensional map, marked with Herlous’ aircraft. The spinning speed of the turbos on Han Xiao’s wings soared, shooting out a jet plume, turning from stationary to high-speed flight in an instant. No buffering was needed—the mechanical suit could eliminate most of the load, and Han Xiao could endure the rest.

Aroshia was held in front of his chest. Her hair was dancing, and her eyes were closed, but she was not hurt.

After Han Xiao derived the Dragon Butterfly Aircraft, he had made improvements to his Bat Wings, adding anti-gravity thrusting technology, substantially increasing their speed.

During the flight, Han Xiao contemplated the opponent’s identity. Ember’s carbon element control made him think of a theoretically existing remarkably strong Esper power—Particle Control. It surpassed the limit of a single element control, almost all mighty, able to form and deconstruct any matter. If the energy was strong enough, it could theoretically control the deconstruction and reconstruction of planets, form lives, or even change the particle construction and create antimatter. With preparation, it could complete particle collisions without any machinery, simulate all sorts of phenomena, or even carry out high concentration compression, creating black holes!

This type of Esper power relating to the origin of matter was too horrifying. It was like the Almighty Creator, listed in the ‘Extremely Dangerous Esper Power Restriction Treaty’ by the three Universal Civilizations. Inside was about a hundred theoretically-possible highly-dangerous Esper powers. For some powers, even existing was a sin!

However, individual pursuit usually conflicted with the masses. The highly dangerous Esper powers inside the treaty were ranked by someone, turning it into the ‘Most Desired Esper Power List’. Luckily, most of these Esper powers never appeared.

Particle Control was always in the top five. There were not any witness reports, and it was rumored that it could not be individually awakened, only formed through fusion. Another rumor was that Esper power was a ‘live creature’ with consciousness, some types of energy field type life, expressed as a large stream of energy, floating across the vast universe. It was said that the host of that power had appeared before, but because that person could not withstand that enormous energy, the host died of gene collapse. However, there were no witness reports, so no one knew if it was true. After all, there were countless rumors in the universe. Some people even spread the rumor that [Dragon Emperor] Ames was actually a man.

Although carbon molecule control was far from particle control, there were similarities. It was very iconic and unique. Furthermore, the name [Ember] in the combat information that he saw felt a little familiar.

Suddenly, Han Xiao had a flash of insight, and a part of memory surfaced in his mind.

“Code name Ember… carbon molecule controlling power… DarkStar’s strongest individual‽”

Han Xiao was shocked and surprised.

From the little information that he had exposed from that short contact with, Ember had allowed Han Xiao to guess his identity. Ember wanted to keep it confidential, but he had already failed in front of Han Xiao.

The reason that Han Xiao could confirm the target was that the combination of the code name ‘Ember’ and that power in one person were too iconic. In his previous life, with the Mutation Disaster as the boundary, the fight between Godora and DarkStar turned direct. Ember made a name for himself then. His power was very hard to deal with, and the war forced out his potential. When he reached grade A, the strength of his Esper power made a huge leap, and he then became the strongest Super in DarkStar.

Millions of Godorans died at his hand. One quote that he was known for was very popular among the players in the DarkStar faction in that version.

“I was fated to become Godora’s nightmare, to make them reflect on their backward traditions with slaughter. The bloodline belief that they firmly hold onto goes against the ways of reproduction and nature, and it was this mindset that created us. After their confession, they will then swallow the fruit that they have created through the thousands of years of pure blood belief. On their ruins, DarkStar will rebuild Godora! By then, there will be no pure blood, no one Superior because of their bloodline. Discrimination will no longer exist, and no one will be inferior from the moment they are born! Hybrid is inclusion, progress, and equality; we will eliminate the decay. Let life and hope bless Godora, praise Gal.”

Of course, although this sentence sounded very epic, DarkStar marked themselves as revolutionaries. They believed that revolution needed sacrifice and the resolve to reach their goals by any means necessary. Other races like Sunils were heavily damaged because of that. In the eyes of Lawful Factions, no matter how good DarkStar made themselves look, they were still a chaotic and evil terrorist organization.

The ironic thing was, Ember was not a hybrid Godoran. He belonged to another race, but he had been raised by DarkStar from a young age, forming a firm hatred. However, this hatred had absolutely nothing to do with him. As seen from this, the indoctrination of DarkStar was certainly rather good.

Ember was still in the secret cultivation stage, not yet achieving his peak. Han Xiao was the first outsider to know Ember’s identity, and he was doubtful about it. DarkStar’s actions always had a purpose—everything that they did was to go against Godora—why did they target the Silvers?

Does DarkStar want to use this group of Silvers to threaten the Silver Civilization? Impossible, this is just a group of tourists. They don’t have that much power. Even if they caught the entire Silver Parliament, the Silver Civilization won’t be threatened, what does DarkStar want?

Han Xiao’s eye moved around.

Could it be… these Silvers have other secrets!

The sight of aircraft appeared ahead. The hatch opened, and Han Xiao flew in, Herlous approached. “The target has no intention of fighting back. They don’t have a fixed route, and I don’t know where their destination is.”

“Continue chasing.”

Herlous nodded. He saw Aroshia beside and was shocked by her beauty. He said with surprise, “You are?”

“Don’t ask, I’ll explain next time.” Han Xiao temporarily did not have time to deal with Aroshia’s problems. He stared at Ember and the others through the window.

…

“We can’t shake off this aircraft. The other guards are coming to help, so we’d better withdraw as soon as possible,” a subordinate said hastily.

Ember’s expression was very serious. The aircraft following them did not fire, making him feel an imminent pressure.

The plan had been very complete originally, and the root cause of the current situation was the witness that entered the scene amid the chaos. It would all have been fine if he had killed him in an instant, but not only was that witness a grade B Super, he was even immune to his Carbon Atom Deconstruction. Unbelievable! He had never failed when he used this against anyone weaker than him!

It was a known fact that Ames’ organization was weak. However, the thinnest camel was bigger than a horse. There were very unique people under the Dragon Emperor.

The survival of the witness had messed up all his plans. That person was definitely one of the Dragon Guards, which was why he was able to call the guards there. Ember was speechless, and he could only feel that luck was not on his side.

Luckily, he found other criminals to act together, with these brutes drawing their attention. Floating Dragon Island would not know their identity of belonging to DarkStar.

They could not wait till it was safe to begin the interrogation of the Silvers. Ember made an eye signal, and the team members exchanged code words in the middle of escaping. It would increase the risk of being exposed, but they could not care so much anymore.

However, an accident occurred.

All the Silver were confused, and no one matched the code word—the carrier was not among these people!

The expression of the DarkStar people changed instantly. They were stunned.

Chapter 379: Slaves? I Don’t See It

Ember’s expression changed. He glanced at the expressions of all the Silvers, and the horror in their eyes did not look like they were faking it. They really did not know the code word.

His composure almost collapsed. Luckily, he thought of another possibility in time.

“Do you have any other friends?”

The Silvers did not dare to not answer. One of them said while trembling, “The—there were originally seventeen of us, but two people were thrown into the universe during the trip here. They are already dead.”

The carrier died and was thrown into the universe?

The DarkStar people were stunned, not knowing what to do. The carrier’s dried corpse could have floated anywhere by then. There was no way they could find it.

Ember was stunned as well, but suddenly, he thought of something. The slave traders definitely would have searched through the carrier’s clothes. If the carrier did not hide the Secret Message Bead properly, the slave traders might have taken it. There was still a chance!

However, this would mean that they had rescued the Silvers for nothing, and they were targeted by Floating Dragon Island… Ember’s face froze. He felt miserable.

If they had known earlier, they would have gone to find the slave trader first, but before this, he did not know what happened to the carrier. Rescuing the Silvers first was a logical assumption for their next act. The carrier belonged to a partner organization, and after they retrieved the Secret Message Bead, they would rescue him if they could. If they could not, they would just kill him, but now this step was skipped. That damn slave trader had completed their job, but the bead was lost. Furthermore, Ember initially only wanted to steal the people secretly. All this commotion was an accident.

In conclusion, he was extremely unlucky!

Truly frustrated, Ember waved his hand, and countless dust shot out from the ground, turning into a silk-like curtain, shrouding the aircraft chasing them, blocking its vision. This layer of dense black dust was made of graphite, so the image from the detection device immediately became twisted and blurry. The aircraft was blinded, and it hurriedly slowed down.

“I’ll chase, Herlous, but don’t follow me. He can kill you easily.” Han Xiao stopped Herlous from jumping out of the ship. He did not want this cadre that he had spent so much effort obtaining to be killed, so he flew out alone.

Breaking through the graphite barrier, Han Xiao focused and looked over. Then suddenly, he was a little stunned.

Ember and his people had fled with their powers and vanished without a trace, only leaving the Silvers behind, who were hugging each other while shivering. They were meaningless to Ember now, so they had been abandoned. Not only did that make it easier for them to escape, it would also calm the Dragon Guards down.

At this time, the graphite barrier was dismissed and fell onto the ground. This meant that Ember was already far away, and the aircraft had left the area of his power.

“He ran so fast.” Herlous was surprised. As he was about to make the order of continuing the chase, Han Xiao suddenly raised his hand, stopped him, and said, “Don’t chase anymore. No point.”

“Why? Is it okay to let them escape?”

“Just say we can’t catch them.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. “Didn’t you guys notice? These brutes have really helped us!”

They were stunned before looking over at where Han Xiao was pointing at to see the Silvers on the ground. Then, they realized, and surprise appeared on their faces.

That’s right! Our hiring mission is to rescue the Silvers!

After so many things, the Silvers had finally been rescued in a strange way. Furthermore, they were in Han Xiao’s hands. Han Xiao was not going to let go of this opportunity. The difficult part of rescuing the Silvers was Horlaide, and this part had been solved just like that. He almost wanted to thank DarkStar.

Han Xiao’s words were even more useful than the Guard Captain Wilsander. They all listened to him and stopped the chase. Very soon, the other players came in aircrafts, protecting the Silvers again.

Wilsander requested for communication. “The other brutes are all captured. The people you’re chasing are the only ones left. How’s it going?”

Han Xiao shook his head. “They escaped. There was a very strong Super.”

“Why are you guys the only ones with a problem? If this gets out, these outsiders will doubt the authority of us Dragon Guards. More and more people will challenge us, threatening the security of Floating Dragon Island, destroying the peace of the residents. The long balance will be broken, and the world will turn into chaos. I don’t even dare imagine it. When Lord Ames returns, my position in her heart will collapse.” Wilsander complained nonstop.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Don’t you have any idea? Your impression in Ames’ heart was collapsed from the start…

He did not have the heart to break Wilsander’s fantasy; they would not be playmates if he did. Actually, creatures at their grade were the same as parameciums in Ames’ eyes, and her subordinates were just domestic parameciums…

Han Xiao cut off Wilsander’s complaints and said, “Don’t worry, I know who they are.”

At this time, a new idea surfaced in his mind. The reason that Ember did not have fears was because they kept things confidential. However, he did not know that his identity had been revealed by Han Xiao, and when his identity was exposed, he would definitely be very confused. Not knowing where he exposed any information, he would never be able to guess what was unique about Han Xiao.

Since he was the only one that knew about this intel, he could take advantage of it, revealing DarkStar’s identity to Floating Dragon Island. Coincidentally, Ames had not been in a good mood recently. If someone beyond grade A targeted DarkStar, even Han Xiao would pity them.

DarkStar doesn’t want to cause trouble? No problem, I will help them cause tons of trouble. I’m a man who wore the red scarf before after all. Helping people is something I should do.

Because of Mutation Disaster, DarkStar would definitely be his enemy, so he was very happy about this plan.

Furthermore, Han Xiao made a new discovery. Even Ember was sent out. These Silvers definitely have a big secret, and DarkStar is trying to do something huge!

He asked the still horrified Silvers, and after that, he caught a few key points. Firstly, DarkStar did not want to rescue all the Silvers but a certain one. Secondly, this person had definitely been in contact with DarkStar before, or they would not have exchanged code word. This person was likely a secret employee, and even his friends did not know his identity. Thirdly, one of the two Silver that died was DarkStar’s target, so Ember had just retreated temporarily. It definitely did not mean that he had given up. Fourthly, this was probably not the first time that a similar operation had been carried out.

By connecting these points, Han Xiao smelled a conspiracy. It was so confidential and cautious—this thing was definitely very important to DarkStar. He was suddenly very motivated. If he could break DarkStar’s plan secretly, not only would he anger them, he might even profit from it.

Furthermore, he was in the shadows, and the enemy was under the light. This was his biggest advantage.

The only problem was… he did not know what DarkStar wanted to do. There was a serious lack of intel.

…

The guards cleaned up the ruins of the slave market. Unconscious people were carried aside, and Horlaide’s eyes opened slowly. He had finally awoken.

Horlaide looked up. He was still lost and confused. Then, he stared directly at the ruins before him, slowly coming to recognize this familiar outline. His mouth gradually opened wide, and his expression turned horrified.

Then, an almost deafening scream soared into the sky!

“Argh!”

The guards beside hastily covered their eyes and felt shocked. “Tsk, this high note is comparable to a Psychic Blast.”

After he finished screaming, Horlaide fell flat on the ground. His heart was twitching, and he almost suffocated.

He still remembered the last thing that he had seen before turning unconscious. He had been sitting in his luxurious chair, sipping on a drink, and feeling excited about the huge sum of money that he was going to receive. Alas, now, his home was gone, and he had suddenly become broke. He had fallen from Heaven to Hell in an instant.

His composure collapsed! Horlaide’s luxurious shirt was covered in dust. He was in a mess. He hastily grabbed one guards from the side and asked with a trembling voice, “What has happened? Why did my home turn into this!”

The guard described what had happened. Knowing the enemies had been captured, Horlaide’s eyes sparkled, and he hastily asked, “Then what about my slaves? Where are they? Give them back to me now!”

At this time, a voice full of justice appeared from the side.

“Horlaide, don’t worry. I will definitely catch back all the slaves for you, minimizing your damages!”

Horlaide turned and looked over immediately. He was very surprised.

The owner of the voice was Han Xiao, he walked over with wide strides, and behind them followed all the slaves, including the Silvers.

This group of slaves had all been rescued by the guards. Han Xiao had just discussed with Wilsander and received the authority over the slaves, so he had gathered all of them.

“These are all my slaves.” Horlaide was overjoyed.

Han Xiao’s face was filled with justice, he patted his own chest and said, “Don’t worry, if the slaves are found, I will return them to you immediately. We are colleagues after all.”

“Found? You have already brought the slaves, quickly return them to me.” Horlaide was confused.

Han Xiao widened his eyes, looked around, and said, “Where are the slaves? Tell me, I will definitely catch them for you.”

“Stop playing dumb, right behind you!” Horlaide was agitated.

“Behind me?” Han Xiao looked back with confused, then shook his head, and said, “Only those wearing cuffs and collars are slaves. I only see a group of free people. Where are the slaves you’re talking about?”

Now Horlaide understood Han Xiao’s intention. His expression changed instantly, and his lungs almost exploded out of rage.

Chapter 380: Released

The brutes had snatched the slaves, so they no longer belonged to Horlaide. Then, the slaves had been rescued by Floating Dragon. Han Xiao had unlocked all of the slaves’ shackles, so no one could prove that they had once been slaves, and no one could object if he said that they were free people.

Horlaide could not defend himself. When slaves were lost, they could only be caught back, but he did not have the authority. The only way was to bribe and request the guards to do it. However, Guard Captain Wilsander was standing right by the side at this time, with no intention of intervention, clearly in favor of Han Xiao position. With approval from the Guard Captain, who would dare act?

Horlaide saw Theon among the guards. Theon trembled and hurriedly retreated to the back of the crowd. Seeing this, Horlaide knew that he could not rely on Theon—this guy was completely fearful of Black Star’s people.

Looking at Han Xiao’s calm expression, Horlaide was furious, but for the slaves, he could only endure that anger. No longer proud, he came to Han Xiao. With a voice that only two of them could hear, he said angrily, “Alright, you win. You only need the Silvers, right? They’re yours. The other slaves have nothing to do with you. I can buy them back, give me a price.”

Han Xiao had the upper hand, and Horlaide could only endure the pain and give up the Silvers. He was ready to make a huge sacrifice and exchange for other slaves, otherwise his business would be done for.

“I just said, there are only free men here.” Han Xiao shrugged.

Horlaide got the wrong idea. His expression turned livid, and he said, “Don’t go too far! You want all the slaves, but the Head Butler won’t let you get away with it!”

“Take it all? Hehehe, don’t you understand? They are not slaves anymore,” Han Xiao said coldly.

“Are-are you insane‽” Horlaide said in a shocking tone. He had thought Han Xiao wanted more money, but now he understood. Han Xiao was planning to let all the slaves go, really giving them freedom. It was too wasteful. He found it difficult to understand. What did Han Xiao want to get out of saving those unrelated slaves for free‽

At this time, an aircraft landed. Head Butler Jenny and her people rushed to the scene. Horlaide’s eyes lit up, as if he had found someone to rely on. He gave Han Xiao a stare and hastily ran up to Jenny.

“Head Butler, I—I hope to have my slaves back…” Horlaide explained what was going on and complained, “That newly joined Black Star wants to release my slaves, how can he do that? He’s disrespecting you.”

“I know.” Jenny nodded lightly and walked toward Han Xiao.

Horlaide immediately felt confident, he followed behind and kept sneering at Han Xiao.

Jenny came to the front of Han Xiao and said, “Black Star, you did a good job. If you had not disrupted the enemies’ actions, they might have succeeded. It would have been a heavy blow for the Dragon Guards’ prestige, and it is just when the Dragon Emperor is not at home. You did well. I will add this contribution to your file, increasing your trust authority. People who make contributions will receive physical reward. You can ask for monetary reward or something else…”

She paused and added, “Although it’s a little late… Welcome to Floating Dragon.”

_____________________

+300 Floating Dragon Reputation.

Current relationship: Neutral (700/1000)

_____________________

Han Xiao nodded, not surprised by Jenny’s attitude at all. When he was chatting with Wilsander earlier, Jenny had joined the communication channel as well. He had contacted Jenny privately long ago and achieved a consensus. Only Horlaide had been in the dark, still thinking that he had found a life-saving straw.

The more Horlaide listened, the more he felt something was wrong. Why did Jenny not sound like she was helping him but was praising Han Xiao? He suddenly could not sit still any longer. So, he carefully cut in and said, “Head Butler, about the slaves…”

Jenny glanced at him and said, ” We only buy and sell slaves; we never catch them ourselves. Since they are free, let them go.”

As always, Jenny handled official things the official way. Floating Dragon was a neutral organization, and they would at most partake in the slave trade as an intermediary business. They would not catch slaves themselves.

Since Han Xiao was the hero of this case, she would take care of this, giving him a suitable amount of privileges, agreeing to Han Xiao’s actions. Moreover, the profit of the slave business was basic, and every year, Horlaide also corrupted part of the sales numbers. She had always known but just did not bother, so that day, she had no reason to speak up for Horlaide.

Horlaide was stunned. A sense of indignation echoed in his chest, almost exploding it. Looking at Han Xiao’s mocking expression, he said uncontrollably, “I suspect that the attack was led by Black Star in the first place in order to save the Silvers. Yes, it must be so. The brutes were all his hired helpers, and by the way, he also let go of a group of them. That group was certainly his people!”

The more Horlaide spoke, the more agitated he became. Although it was a flash of insight, he felt that it was a very logical guess.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and said casually, “We are colleagues, how can you frame me?”

Although Horlaide dumped the pot to him, which was a very malicious act, this guess did not make sense at all because they had an alibi, and it came from Jenny.

Jenny had been unsettled by this new guy, so she had arranged people to monitor them secretly, and this time, that became the most powerful piece of evidence! Therefore, Jenny was completely unaffected. She frowned and said, “That’s it, Horlaide. You’re attempting to frame your colleague for nothing. You’re temporarily suspended, and when you’ve calmed down, I’ll give you a new job.”

Horlaide’s heart turned cold. Knowing that the situation had not been fixed, he gnashed his teeth in hatred. Suddenly, he remembered that he had dealt with Han Xiao earlier with this method too, and Han Xiao took revenge with the same method. This time, he became the helpless party. A sense of weakness flooded his body. His eyes rolled, and he fell straight down, passing out once again.

Anyway, nothing could be changed, so he might as well sleep for a while longer. That way, he would not die from the anger from being laughed at by those around him.

Not caring about Horlaide, Han Xiao coughed and said, “Jenny, I…”

“You should call me Head… Forget it, call me by my name then.” A strange look flashed by Jenny’s face. Usually, only boss Ames, Wilsander, and Haier called her by her name because her style made her subordinates fear her. This was the first time that she had heard a subordinate call her by her name, so she felt a little strange.

“I know the identity of the people who fled. They are not ordinary brutes…” Han Xiao kept his voice low and said, “They come from DarkStar.”

Jenny’s eyes focused, and she said with a low voice, “When you’re done with the things here, immediately find me to do a detailed report.”

Then, Jennie hurriedly left with her people, leaving only the logistics group there to clean the ruins.

Han Xiao and others came to the side. All rescued slaves were staring at him with different looks on their faces. They finally had their freedom, and they did not want to lose it again. They were not sure how they were going to be arranged next.

Han Xiao stepped out of the crowd, looked around, and said, “My name is Black Star, leader of Black Star Mercenary Group. Remember my name. I gave you freedom, so you owe me. Maybe, if one day we meet again, I might need your help. Now, go.”

All the slaves froze. One asked while trembling, “We… Can we really leave?”

Han Xiao waved his hand and signaled that they could go at any time.

A man carefully walked away, looking back every few steps. Eventually, after a few dozen meters, he found that no one had stopped him. He was overjoyed.

“We’re really free!” The crowd could not believe that freedom had come so easily.

The slave that walked out first did not run away immediately. Instead, he turned around with a face of gratitude and gave Han Xiao a native sign of appreciation. He shouted, “Black Star, I will remember this name.”

One by one, the slaves left with gratitude, showing Han Xiao a variety of etiquettes. Han Xiao did not feel much, but the players behind him felt a sense of accomplishment and comfort. They held their heads high and felt that they had done a good thing.

Herlous was the most empathetic. He patted Han Xiao on the shoulder and praised, “Beautifully done.”

All members looked at the figure of Han Xiao with eyes full of goodwill, and at this moment, their approval of Han Xiao increased. To have the players love a character, in addition to strength, there was another condition, charm, and approval. Han Xiao had been creating a very positive image in the eyes of the players, and the act of releasing the slaves made his image increase once again.

Bun-Hit-Dog recorded this scene faithfully.

Han Xiao turned around. Surprisingly, there were several slaves of the same race who remained in place and did not leave.

“Why don’t you go?”

These few people obviously knew each other. They looked somewhat similar to one another, They exchanged looks, and one of them said, “Us brothers were once mercenaries, but when we followed a small mercenary group and carried out a mission, we were met with danger. Most of the members died, and only the few of us here were fortunate enough to escape. However, we were then caught by the slaver and imprisoned for more than a year. Our team has long been destroyed, and we have no place to go. We hope that you can take us, give us a job. You are our savior, so we are more than willing to work for you.”

Chapter 381: One Step Ahead (1)

Han Xiao was quite surprised. He had initially only wanted to let the slaves go, so he had thought all the slaves would be in a hurry to leave. He honestly did not expect someone to stay voluntarily. He asked in detail and decided to take in those three people.

The three Volga brothers were Tamihalatinians, a small civilization in the Shattered Star Ring. Its advancement was similar to Sunil before the disaster, able to navigate the universe to a certain extent. They belonged to the Magic-type civilization, focused on the spiritual branch. Their race specialty was mind communication, and through one look at each other’s eyes, the exchange of information could be completed, omitting speech to a certain extent. This had the strongest effect between close siblings.

The cornerstone of the civilization was the Magic Mines. They used materials containing magic power as energy to power their technology. They had religion, and their fertility rate was very high. They reproduced through mating and were oviparous 1 . Their hatching time was about one year, but while the average human gave birth to one in a year, Tamihalatinians gave birth to many at once. They had always been troubled by the expanding population.

Tamihalatinians looked similar to humans but shorter. Their average height was 1.6 meters, and they had white skin with rune patterns. The more conspicuous characteristic was that they had white pupils, like a whole piece of white crystal. Tamihalatinians had high psychic talent, and if awakened, most would become a Psychic.

The oldest brother and second oldest were both Psychics, and the youngest was a Mage, all grade C Supers at about LV 70 or so. Although their strength was average, they happened to make up for the class vacancy in the mercenary group. With them, the mercenary group finally had the five Super classes, filling up its ability.

Mages can bless and enchant, adding new abilities for machinery, and they are able to indirectly enhance my combat capability.

Han Xiao was contented. The Black Star Mercenary Group had gained three new cadres, increasing nearly 10,000 Faction Reward quota, which had reached 185,000.

The three brothers’ faces were filled with admiration. They were very grateful and accepted the Han Xiao’s arrangements. Even if they were free, they still had to continue to serve as mercenaries. Rather than acting alone, it was better to join Han Xiao’s group. In addition to repaying his kindness, they could also look after each other.

After taking in the three brothers, next was to solve Aroshia’s problem. Han Xiao thought about it—the mission requirement was to take her around for six days. There had to be a reason, and it would not be completed smoothly. Although he was not clear about the specific reasons, he just had to do as he was required.

What made him troubled was how to deal with Aroshia’s identity. Should he make her a mercenary as well? However, although Aroshia had high energy response, she did not seem to know how to use it or battle with it. It was not clear as to whether it was her racial talent or personal strength, and she had completely lost her memories. He was unable to uncover her identity as there was no way to communicate.

Everyone else was waiting for Han Xiao to explain the origin of this beauty.

“Her name is Aroshia, also a rescued slave. Temporarily, she will be following us,” Han Xiao said.

Frenzied Sword was puzzled. “Why keep her? Why does she not speak?”

He had wanted to ask this question for quite some time. Since she had appeared with Han Xiao, Aroshia had not once opened her mouth. Although she fitted extremely well with the human aesthetic and stunned the players, they were also puzzled. What in the world is wrong with this beautiful woman?

“Amnesia.” Han Xiao pointed at her head and said, “That is why I worry about her running around and simply took her away. Anyway, she has no place to go.”

“Such a beautiful girl is sick. How unfortunate…” Second Prince shook his head.

“You don’t know sh*t. It’s called seizing the opportunity.” Bun-Hit-Dog gave Han Xiao a look that felt like he was saying, ‘I understand you brother’. Maple Moon and Rainy Kim beside glared at him.

Han Xiao rolled his eyes. These people… why do they have such pure thoughts in their mind?

Frenzied Sword looked at her here and there. He felt Aroshia behaved too calmly to be a person who had amnesia. “I think she is strange. Can she communicate?”

This reminded Han Xiao that Horlaide had said that Aroshia still remembered how to speak. He immediately put a translator on her and asked, “Can you speak?”

Aroshia sniffed. Finally, there was a reaction. “Yes.”

The voice sounded like a clear stream, crisp and ethereal. Listening to it made all of their hearts comfortable, as if a pair of soft hands were soothing their ears, which made the players very satisfied since they had enough of Bun-Hit-Dog’s noisy voice.

“Do you really not remember anything?” Han Xiao felt energized—being able to communicate was good indeed.

“Yup.”

“Then are you willing to follow us temporarily?”

“Sure.”

“Er, then do you need anything?”

“Anything.”

“You lost your memories. Don’t you want to know who you are?”

“It’s fine.”

Hearing this answer, the people took a breath of cool air and felt like they could see a holy glow.

How can this amnesia patient be so calm? No, this is not just amnesia; it’s time to take your medicine, beauty!

Han Xiao was completely out of ideas. He smiled helplessly and said, “Alright then, my team will take care of you. You…”

At this moment, Aroshia suddenly approached Han Xiao, leaning to his face. Her nose sniffed like a puppy then said, “I think I can feel some sort of presence on you…”

Han Xiao froze. He was surprised and asked her about it, but Aroshia shook her head and said, “I don’t remember. It just feels familiar.”

“Strange…”

Han Xiao could only suppress his doubts. He told his people to settle down. Anyway, Aroshia did not eat, drink, or excrete—she was very easy to raise. This was supposed to be a characteristic of energy life forms, but Aroshia was a normal biological life form. He did not know the reasons, but regardless, the benefit was that he did not have to worry about starving her.

Han Xiao took the aircraft all the way to the office building before going to the top-level office to see Jenny.

Jenny looked serious and asked, “Can you confirm that they were from DarkStar?”

Nodding, Han Xiao described what happened in detail, hiding about the interface and other private secrets and changing it into the fact that he recognized Ember. Then at last he added, “Ember is the next generation ace level combat power cultivated by DarkStar. Their action this time definitely hides a huge secret. Although we are a neutral organization and the conflict between DarkStar and Godora has nothing to do with us, since they dared to cause trouble on Floating Dragon Island, they have to pay the corresponding price.”

Jenny nodded and pushed her glasses. Then she frowned and said, “DarkStar has never had any conflict with us. There was definitely a reason for what they did this time, but I have no interest in understanding their intentions. I just want someone to be held responsible. Fortunately, you recognized their origin, otherwise DarkStar would really have done a hit and run. When Ames returns, DarkStar will pay the price for this.”

Having successfully caused trouble for DarkStar, Han Xiao nodded secretly. To deal with a large organization, methods like this were the best way. DarkStar was secretive and strong, and unless he waited for the storyline to begin, Han Xiao had no way to deal with them. However, DarkStar had handed him a chance. How could he not seize it?

With Ames’ personality, coupled with her recent bad mood, DarkStar really walked into the barrel of the gun. Unfortunately, Ames was not on Floating Dragon Island at this time, or she might just have wiped out the future ace of DarkStar in his growth stage. That would have been a very heavy blow for DarkStar.

Floating Dragon’s side would not disclose this information so that DarkStar would think that they were safe. Then, Floating Dragon would deal with it when the time came. Only because Han Xiao had joined Floating Dragon Island could this new plan succeed, and Floating Dragon was one of the biggest organizations in Shattered Star Ring.

All this time, Han Xiao had played his advantages very well, and at this time, he finally flapped his wings in the galaxy. The intricacies of the relationship between various civilizations were hundreds or even thousands of times more complex than on Planet Aquamarine. Even small waves could turn into monstrous tsunamis after going through many catalysts!

Chapter 382: One Step Ahead (2)

“You made a contribution. What reward do you want?” Jenny asked.

“I want to gain access to the Void Dragon bones,” Han Xiao said.

Jenny nodded. “Haier is in charge of the warehouse. I’ll let him know to give you a limited amount of Void Dragon material.”

Haier managed logistics, so the movement of all rare materials required his approval. Han Xiao’s request was very normal, and Haier naturally would not refuse.

Han Xiao was content. Void Dragon materials had a price but no supply—it could be regarded as a type of faction specialty. Whether he was going to sell the materials or keep them to build machinery, Void Dragon materials were of great use.

After Han Xiao left, Jenny leaned back in the chair, and her eyes behind the lenses were flashing. “Black Star Han Xiao… Not the kind to succumb and tremble under Ames, has many secrets, claims to be a foreseer, and all of his subordinates are immortal. With such power, if their number was higher… Alas, although such a person of great assistance, I don’t know if it’s a good thing.”

After a pause, Jenny stopped frowning. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter who he is, as long as Ames is still here, it’s enough to suppress all accidental factors.”

…

Walking out of the building, Han Xiao was content. He had reaped quite a good harvest this time. He intended to take a good bath, go to the warehouse to collect the materials, and then count his profits.

But all of a sudden, he had a flash of insight, and a possibility surfaced in his mind.

“DarkStar’s goal is the two dead Silvers. If I was them, with the remaining Silvers being a dead end, the next step would be to find other stakeholders. So, there’s a great chance DarkStar will find the slaver that escorted the Silvers.”

Han Xiao realized this with a shock, and his footsteps paused. He immediately changed direction and rushed to the dock, quickly disguising himself on the way. He took off the recognizable mechanical suit and weapon, and he put on the simulation mask.

He was secretly glad that he had become aware of this in a timely manner. Little more than an hour had passed after the attack, so there was a good chance that Ember and the others would hide for a period of time to avoid the limelight. It was the best time for him to seize the opportunity and understand DarkStar’s motive.

Let me see what the DarkStar really wants. Han Xiao grinned, revealing a malicious smile.

…

At the same time, on some street of the exterior of Floating Dragon Island, Ember was hiding in the shadow between the houses with the others. An aircraft passed by from above and did not see them.

Ember and the rest had escaped from the reconnaissance range, so they were basically safe.

This operation ended up with no result, so no one looked happy. Ember suppressed his annoyance and ordered in a low voice, “It’s not good to delay. We need to find that slaver to complete the mission as soon as possible. We can’t stay long on Floating Dragon Island.”

A Mechanic who was good with electronic equipment said, “Found the information. The slave trader is called Peggy, still in Floating Dragon Island dock.”

“Good, he has not left Floating Dragon yet. This is very advantageous for us.” Ember’s morale increased as he took the others and rushed to the pier.

He had a hunch that Peggy definitely knew the whereabouts of the Secret Message Bead.

…

The dock had far fewer spaceships than usual. There were two reasons for this—the first was that there had been too much unrest in recent days. During the last scrimmage in the pier, Ames had struck and shocked many brutes. They had hurried away and did not dare to stay, afraid of getting into trouble.

The second was that the route of the Floating Dragon Island was about to pass by the borders of two civilizations in Gelock Star Cluster, which was a sensitive area that often had friction. Energy detection buoys and patrol fleets were everywhere, and the degree of alert was very high. If they left Floating Dragon Island in this area, the risk would largely increase. The patrol fleet would not save their cannons on a group of wanted criminals, so many people chose to leave before this.

Peggy had such thoughts as well, so he was preparing to leave Floating Dragon Island.

Although Horlaide had made him lose a large chunk of income, there were still other slaves on board his spaceship. He sold them to other individual customers, making up for the cost of the trip. However, he still did not make a profit, so his unhappiness was not hard to imagine.

Therefore, an hour ago, when Peggy had heard that Horlaide’s slave market had been blown up, he had laughed like a 200-pound fat man, making no attempt to hide his glee.

“That profiteer deserved to go down the drain.” Peggy was in a very good mood. His legs were on the control panel in the captain’s room, and he murmured, “The Silvers have been rescued again… unfortunate. If I can rob them…”

Then he shook his head. The possibility existed only in his imagination—he fully understood that the Silvers were now a hot potato. In addition to the mercenaries, other unknown forces coveted them. The water was very deep, and his group of slavers had no ability to intervene anymore. He had no desire to die yet. Han Xiao, who he had encountered, had almost beaten him into snake soup. In retrospect, the fear of that mechanical suit warrior still lingered in Peggy’s heart.

“Start the engine, let’s go.”

Numerous drivers controlled the spaceship manually. The bottom of the spaceship spewed plumes, and just as it was the fixed rail of the dock, an announcement came to the spaceship’s system.

“All captains, please note that we will encounter large meteoroids ahead. Three minutes till contact. By then the shield will be fully activated. No spaceships will be allowed to enter or leave.”

The observed image from the radar appeared on the screen. A large, dense patch of white blocks were approaching at high speed, all meteoroids. This situation had made it too dangerous for an aircraft to move alone. Peggy hastily told the people to extinguish the engine and stayed, relying on the protection ability of the Floating Dragon Island and make plans after this wave of meteoroids

Hum!

The people in Floating Dragon Island could originally see the universe through the artificial atmosphere, but once the shield was activated, the sky seemed to be concealed by a golden curtain. The whole of Floating Dragon Island turned into a golden American football. The plasma energy core operated at its highest power output, and the golden shield surface shot out high-energy light arcs from time to time.

Not long after, the overwhelming group of meteoroids arrived. Their size varied, and the largest was equivalent to one-third of the floating island. Yet, Floating Dragon Island simply rushed in head-on. Numerous meteoroids hit its golden shield, bursting circles of golden ripples. The collision energy waves spread far in the universe, leaving traces behind.

On Floating Dragon Island, the ground was obviously vibrating. Han Xiao had just arrived at the pier at that time. He had changed his clothes, taken off the mechanical suit, and put on black hooded robe bought from a shop on the street, making him look very mysterious. His face had changed because of the simulation mask, so no one could recognize him.

Coming to the dock of Peggy’s spaceship, Han Xiao turned on the communicator and searched for nearby channels. He found Peggy’s and sent a communication request.

Not long after, the communication was accepted. Peggy’s face appeared on the screen, and he said, “What do you want?”

“I have something to ask you about the Silvers.”

Peggy’s heart tightened. He had already decided not to intervene in the event of the Silvers, so he did not expect that he would still be implicated. He calmed down and asked, “Who are you?”

“DarkStar.” Han Xiao kept his voice low and used the name of DarkStar.

Peggy’s expression suddenly became strange. His first reaction was to not believe him; this sudden stranger was not a hybrid Godoran, and he felt just like the Silver thrown out of the spaceship, just using DarkStar as an excuse. After all, DarkStar was very famous in the Shattered Star Ring—many people liked to use it to intimidate others.

“Do you have proof?” Peggy doubted.

Han Xiao acted tough and said coldly, “I’m the one asking now. The two Silvers that you threw out of the spaceship had something that we want. As for my identity, I do not need to prove to you. As long as you try to refuse me, you will know that the person who killed you is from DarkStar… Of course, if you cooperate, I can pay some money for this information.”

Because the intel was limited, there were only the four points that he had speculated earlier, which was why Han Xiao said this. Fortunately, it had hit the right spot. The carrier had exposed the fact that he was a DarkStar’s carrier to stay alive, and only a few people knew this, including Peggy.

Peggy did not believe it initially, but when he heard Han Xiao’s words, he immediately thought of the bead. Most of it made sense, and he was suddenly stunned!

Sh*t, was that Silver really a DarkStar Emissary! Did they really come to find him‽

Most of his doubts were gone. Now, Peggy was apprehensive and excited.

In his mind, DarkStar was the great pioneer of saving Godora. This time, he had hit the jackpot! However, he killed DarkStar’s emissary, so would there be a problem?

He suppressed his excitement and hesitated, still uncertain of the authenticity of Han Xiao identity. Although he mostly believed, there was still a trace of uncertainty.

Chapter 383: Excellent as Always, But Don’t Touch the Trophy

After Hesitating for a while, Peggy felt that he would rather believe than not. He explained earnestly, “There was a Silver who claimed to be the emissary of DarkStar. I found a black bead on him. I don’t know what it was, but I thought it was valuable, so I kept it with me. But a few days ago during the scrimmage at the dock, the bead was lost. It might have been picked up by someone…”

Since the bead was no longer in his possession, telling the truth would cost him nothing. The other party was likely DarkStar, not to mention his idol—just based on DarkStar’s style of doing things, if he refused to disclose information, the end could be imagined. According to the risk estimation, compromising was the safest.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Bead? What is that? I’ve never heard of this event before in my previous life.

Could it be a hidden storyline?

Han Xiao thought it was seemingly possible. The fact that DarkStar had sent Ember meant that it was a very important matter. Perhaps it was a large-scale secret mission that no one had triggered in his previous life.

“You are very cooperative; I will pay a reward for the information.”

“I don’t need to be paid.” Peggy rubbed his hands and said, “I just want to be able to join the DarkStar.”

Then it occurred to Han Xiao suddenly. No wonder Peggy did not bargain before revealing the information—he turned out to be a hidden supporter of the DarkStar. At first, when Han Xiao saw Peggy’s information as a hybrid Godoran, he had already guessed as much. The reason that he had chosen to act as DarkStar was not only just to cause trouble—he also wanted to try his luck. As it turned out, he had hit the target.

In fact, the reasoning was not difficult. Peggy was a hybrid Godoran and a wanted criminal, so he was likely to be supporting DarkStar.

Han Xiao had dared to use the name of DarkStar because he considered that Ember would use another identity and keep his identity a secret even if he came to ask about it first. If they used the identity of mercenaries, Peggy would definitely hate them. They might not necessarily get the information, and they also might expose themselves.

With a cough, Han Xiao said seriously, “I’ve seen your convictions. You’re a Godoran with resolve. Our great cause is in need of hot-blooded men like you…”

Before Peggy was happy about it, Han Xiao’s words took a turn.

“However, we have strict screening procedures for new people. To prevent spies from getting in, there is one thing that needs your help. There’s another force on this floating island. Before me, did anyone ask the same questions?”

“Uh, no.”

“Great, we’re one step ahead. This is your chance to do something for the organization. Just like me, they might very likely find you in a while, asking the same questions, and you should tell them that the bead has been thrown into space.”

Han Xiao held back his laughter and said, “After you complete this, DarkStar will accept you at the right time, taking you to the secret base for formal training.”

“Got it.” Peggy was convinced, his face solemn.

He did not think that the Silvers would be involved in so much and could not help but be curious about what secret that bead had, attracting these large organizations to secretly compete for it!

At the same time, Peggy was also annoyed. If he had detected how special the bead was back then, he might have benefitted even more from it… However, it was too late to regret.

The communication ended. Han Xiao turned away from the pier and changed to his original clothes when there was no one around.

“So, what DarkStar wants is a black bead, but its whereabouts are unknown.”

Although he did get something, the intel was still not enough. If he used normal methods, the trail would end here…

However, Han Xiao did not use normal methods.

Since the goal is known, I can try to use Destiny’s Child’s card. Hopefully it will give me some valuable information.

Since he at least needed to know what the target was, Han Xiao decided to use the foreseeing card. Although the intel from Peggy was very little, it happened to just meet the requirements.

_____________________

You used [Character Summon Card—Destiny’s Child]

Usages: 3/5

_____________________

The familiar hazy fog appeared, like a dream scene. Han Xiao’s line of sight passed through the fog, and a black bead appeared in front of his eyes, caught by a palm. Looking up along the arm, a handsome face fixed in the eyes of Han Xiao.

After a full two seconds, the image shattered. Han Xiao was back to the original environment, as if he had experienced an illusion.

Li Ge‽ Han Xiao’s eyes opened wide.

He really did not think that a bead would have been picked up by the players and picked up by this naughty kid at that. No wonder it had not been given to him.

…

Just twenty minutes after Han Xiao left, Ember rushed to the pier and looked for Peggy.

Peggy remembered Han Xiao’s advice, and his expression slightly changed. These DarkStar competitors did indeed come very quickly.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“I am a mercenary—my employer is one of the Silvers. The prisoners have been rescued, so you are no longer our enemy. Now I want to ask you something, did you kill two Silvers? We want to know the details; I can pay a certain intel fee for it.”

Ember chose to impersonate a mercenary. Only mercenaries knew about the two dead Silvers, so the motive of asking about it was reasonable. Otherwise, it would have caused a lot of suspicion, and they might have gotten reported as the people who attacked the slave market. In his mind, he had not been exposed, so no one would know their DarkStar identity.

But his choices happened cause a coincidental phenomenon; Han Xiao and Ember’s identities switched!

Peggy was convinced. He thought that Han Xiao was ‘DarkStar’, and Ember, who really belonged to DarkStar, became regarded as DarkStar’s enemy!

More coincidentally, because everyone only had a part of the intel, both Peggy and Ember were kept in the dark. Only Han Xiao could barely see the truth, and the actions that he took led the two of them to deviate further from the truth!

“Are you a mercenary‽” Hatred appeared in Peggy’s eyes. It was the mercenaries who had made him make such a huge loss, yet they wanted intel‽ If not for that DarkStar agent’s advice, I wouldn’t even talk to you!

“As long as you are willing to answer,” Ember said, “I can pay 50,000 to make up for your loss. This is a large sum of money.”

DarkStar had deep pockets. Ember directly transferred 10,000 deposit, and he had confidence that he could make Peggy talk.

Even though Peggy was not a money slave, he was also shocked by this generosity—it did not look like mercenaries at all.

His eyes turned around, pretending to be moved by the money, and started talking about the process of capturing the Silvers, only hiding the Secret Message Bead.

As expected, Ember listened to the very end and found the information that they wanted was missing. He had no choice but to make his goal clear. “Did you get a black bead from these two people?”

“What bead? Never seen before, I threw them out of the ship and was too lazy to waste time frisking. The thing you’re talking about is probably drifting in the universe.

Peggy sneered in his heart and lied, following Han Xiao’s advice.

A flash of disappointment flickered in Ember’s eyes.

This was the worst result!

If the carrier’s corpse had accidentally been caught by a star’s gravity, the Secret Message Bead would have turned to dust as well. If absorbed by a black hole, it would also not ever be found.

“By the way, has anyone ever asked you the same question?” Ember suddenly asked.

“No.” Peggy denied it immediately.

Ember frowned and transferred the rest of the reward to Peggy before leaving with a heavy heart.

Now, the trail had been broken. Their task force had no use, so they could only report it to the headquarters.

In the spaceship, Peggy looked at the black communication screen before smiling, full of anticipation.

Joining DarkStar had always been his goal, but because DarkStar was too mysterious, he had not had an opportunity to contact them. That had always been a great regret for him.

And now, the opportunity that he had been dreaming of had fallen from the sky!

I have made a contribution for DarkStar! After waiting for so long, I’ve finally caught the opportunity. I finally, finally, can join DarkStar…

…

Near the ruins of the slave market, the players did not have to return to the guards. They were temporarily settling the Volga brothers and Aroshia down.

They surrounded Aroshia like butterflies. Aroshia’s beauty was over the top, so it was very pleasant to the eyes. Furthermore, she was a beauty suffering from amnesia. With Bun-Hit-Dog as the representative, the hormones of most of the males were flooding, and they chatted with Aroshia excitedly.

Aroshia was very calm. She did not have any interest in the surroundings, so she was only replying from time to time.

On the side, the god players of the various clubs kept their distance, maintained their reserve, and chatted with each other.

At this moment, all the Black Star Mercenary Group players triggered a new mission simultaneously.

_____________________

[Find the Bead]

Mission Introduction: Some time ago, Black Star lost a black bead. Anyone who finds it and gives it to him will get his reward.

Mission Requirements: Turn in the black bead. [Attached—appearance]

Reward: 180,000 Experience, +200 Black Star Mercenary Group Favorability, Sunil Officer Class armor x 1

Remarks: This mission is a competitive mission; only one person can receive the reward.

Chapter 384: DarkStar Mother Ship

All the game players were in an uproar, surprised.

“How was the mission triggered?” Bun-Hit-Dog was at a loss.

“Should be a sudden mission, but why did Han Xiao only just realize that he lost something important?” Maple Moon grabbed her chin and murmured with a thoughtful expression. However, the concern of the other players was different from her. They did not ask why; they just cared about the reward.

“Officer Class armor!” Second Prince’s eyes were shining.

This was one grade higher than their Enlistee Class armor, so everyone wanted it.

“Competitive mission…”

Hao Tian’s face became focused. Suddenly, the ground shook, he turned around and saw the Frenzied Sword charging off, full of anticipation. Even the ground was cracked. Frenzied Sword had immediately dashed off to find clues, without any delay at all.

Only Li Ge’s expression was different from everyone else’s. His eyes were filled with sparks and explicit surprise.

Black bead… Isn’t that the one I have‽

So, Han Xiao is the special character triggered by the bead! That makes sense.

The bead was in his hands, so did that not mean that he had already met the mission requirement‽

No one knew that he was already one step ahead. Every other competitor was fated to work for nothing. What an excellent feeling!

Deep joy filled his heart. Looking around at the players’ discussions, Li Ge secretly felt great.

At this time, Han Xiao rushed back. Just as the crowd was about to go up to question him, Li Ge pushed everyone away, took out the bead that he had kept close to him, and passed it to Han Xiao.

“Black Star, this seems to be what you have lost,” Li Ge said.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparked, he took the beads and said cheerfully, “How did you know this is my precious? I lost it a few days ago, didn’t expect you to pick it up. You’re really lucky. You’ve helped me a great deal. Let me think… Well, you armor seems to be damaged, so let me give you a new set of armor as a reward.”

A satisfying smile appeared on Li Ge’s handsome face, strongly contrasting the other players, whose faces were all stiff.

What the hell? The mission ended at the beginning? It’s not a competition; it’s a waste of feelings!

Annoyed, uncomfortable, and envious eyes focused on Li Ge, while Li Ge enjoyed the attention and shrugged with pride.

Seeing this, Han Xiao played around with the bead, smiled, and did not speak.

Competitive missions were different to other missions. In addition to the actual reward, as long as Li Ge felt he had an advantage over others, he would give up the bead willingly. This was a characteristic Han Xiao found from Li Ge’s past actions, so he had tailored this mission for Li Ge, making him feel advantaged.

Hence, Li Ge obediently handed over the bead. Even his pride was in Han Xiao’s calculations—he was still kept in the dark and feeling joyous.

Walking to the side, Han Xiao looked at the notification on the interface.

_____________________

You have received an unknown item. Giving it to a special character will give you a very high reward, or you can take it to be identified.

_____________________

The item description of the bead was the same. Han Xiao sized up the bead—it was dark and smooth, giving off magical glow from time to time. He quickly filtered his memories in his mind.

Something from the magic side, some kind of Energy Gem? Enchanting Ball? Hmm… Unlikely, DarkStar took it so seriously. This bead should be more precious, maybe a Secret Message Bead?

A Secret Message Bead was a high-grade magic safe, only unlockable with a special verbal password. Its confidentiality principle was the precise Magic Seal formed by magic patterns similar to a maze—only the password could trigger the ‘eye’. It was very complicated.

Of course, since there was a lock, there was a corresponding method of breaking that lock. With the use of large magic deconstruction instrument to analyze the magic lock, or having high-level Mages unlock it artificially, the Secret Message Bead would thus be ‘pried open’.

What’s important is not the bead, but the things inside.

Originally, he had thought that the bead would trigger a hidden mission, but it seemed like the Secret Message Bead was just a prerequisite. DarkStar’s goal could not be guessed with just a bead—the things inside were the key to unlock the next step.

The introduction mentioned two ways to use it—one was to give it to a special character. Li Ge had no idea, but Han Xiao was not the same. DarkStar or Godora were most likely the ‘special character’. The bead could be exchanged for a reward and determine which side he was on, and if he went for identification of the bead, it should trigger a hidden mission.

Whichever option, he could choose freely.

Han Xiao smiled slightly and was in a good mood.

Initially, he had only been hired to rescue the Silvers, but after unexpected twists and turns, not only did he join Floating Dragon, he also ruined DarkStar’s plan.

Now the Secret Message Bead was in his hands, and DarkStar had been misinformed about the bead’s location. A good result.

…

In the Floating Dragon Island prison, the three large mercenary groups’ people were resting in their cells. Over the course of their confinement, they had already finished their conversation topics, and it was meaningless to dispute whether Black Star could complete mission. Anyway, they could only watch and wait. Everything depended on Han Xiao.

Although Goa said to trust him, everyone subconsciously thought that Han Xiao had no chance.

No one spoke, and their faces were all filled with boredom. The room was silent.

Footsteps approached. They thought that it was the patrol guard, but unexpectedly, the person stopped in front of the cell and said, “Everyone, I have completed the mission.”

This voice… Black Star‽

Goa, Cerleni, Porter, and the rest suddenly looked up and saw Han Xiao was standing outside the cell prison with a smile.

“You rescued the Silvers‽” Porter jumped up to the railing, staring at Han Xiao in disbelief.

“You’re not joking, right?” Cerleni interrupted, with a doubtful tone but also some anticipation.

Han Xiao directly took out the communicator. He had just contacted the employer. The employer had learned that his companions had been rescued again and was very surprised; Han Xiao had saved them a large sum of money, so the employer was not stingy with his praise, almost complimenting him up to the sky.

Han Xiao, of course, did not know that there had also been an argument among the employers. The captain who chose to trust him was the happiest, feeling that Han Hsiao did not disappoint him, and the person who had suspected it had nothing to say, especially the people who suspected that Han Xiao had worked together with Horlaide to scam them. They felt rather ashamed.

The employer personally confirmed that his companions had been rescued by Han Xiao, and the hundreds of mercenaries simple stood up with their mouths wide open.

The vast majority of mercenaries initially had no hope; everything had felt helpless when they got caught, and they had no choice but to give the mission to Han Xiao. Yet, Han Xiao really succeeded!

Goa clenched her fist and said with bright eyes, “You have lived up to our expectations.”

Han Xiao raised his brow and complained, “Is that so? The way you guys are acting now looks like you never had any expectations.”

The mercenaries scratched their heads, embarrassed. When Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold, the three famous armies joined this mission, although the Black Star was a teammate, they had felt some sense of superiority despite not showing it on their faces.

In the eyes of most of the mercenaries, Han Xiao’s team was just an optional add on. However, it was the people that they had underestimated who had completed the missions alone when everyone else was powerless.

All the mercenaries were embarrassed.

After being happy for a while, they controlled their emotions. Cerleni asked about what happened, and Han Xiao described the relevant parts. Of course, he hid the things about DarkStar and such.

After he finished, Cerleni shook his head and said, “Horlaide wanted to use his companion to blackmail the Silvers. The thought was very good, but the result was him losing everything. This is what greed does…”

Han Xiao nodded. Horlaide had been blessed with a lot of choices, but his appetite was too big. If he had sold the Silvers earlier, he would not have been targeted.

The word greed was close to the word poverty 1 .

The mission was completed successfully, relying on Black Star Mercenary Group. Naturally, after this achievement, the mercenaries recognized Black Star’s capabilities and admired them.

In addition to informing his comrades, Han Xiao visited also to ask about when they would be released.

“Our superior in the army paid the compensation. They are rushing to Floating Dragon, and when they arrive, we will be free. So it’ll probably be just a few more days,” Goa said.

“A few days… That’s not too bad.”

Han Xiao nodded. The good stuff was in his hands, and the mission was completed. He wanted to leave together with the three large mercenary groups, return to get the two class advancement knowledges from the Silvers, and combine them into ‘Compression Technology’. Only then could he be considered to have stepped into the new level of a Mechanic. He had been looking forward to this day for a long time.

He did not want to stay in the Floating Dragon—trapped in one place was not conducive to the development of the mercenary group. His faction was the basis of the blueprint, and although there were many benefits in Floating Dragon, the opportunities were limited, far less than the vast universe. However, Han Xiao could not give up the Floating Dragon faction. He hoped to submit an application for field activities so that he could have the best of both worlds.

“There are still a few days left. I hope I can convince Ames…”

After Han Xiao left, the prison was no longer filled with boredom. It was filled with a happy and relaxed atmosphere.

The mercenaries main worry had been resolved, so they were very contented.

In the cell, Cerleni and Porter were thinking of the same thing.

I wonder if Black Star will continue to be a mercenary. His team is very capable, and he has Floating Dragon as a backer now. They’re not the small mercenary group without any backing anymore. By the time this thing ends, I will request that the superiors form a partnership with Black Star Mercenary Group. We can’t let Sky Ring have them exclusively.

…

In order to let the floating island travel freely in the universe, Ames had equipped it with top of the line devices. The shield generator was from the Revelation-Grade Main Ship of Federation of Light, and the plasma engine was from the Horn-Grade Assault Ship of the Crimson Empire. Its voyage performance was extremely good, and although Ames had bought all these devices using her own influence, she had still paid an outrageous price for it.

Floating Dragon Island passed through the meteoroid shower safely, and a lot of spaceships took off immediately after the shield was deactivated, leaving the floating island before it entered the boundary of the two civilizations.

A few days later, Peggy’s spaceship had long been away from Floating Dragon Island. It was slowly sailing in an unpopulated Star Zone. There were no Fixed Stars there, only dead gray planets filled with dead silence.

Suddenly, folds appeared in the dark space ahead, and a huge object hundreds of times larger than Peggy’s spaceship came out of the stealth mode, stopping in front of Peggy’s spaceship.

The size comparison was like a bean and a watermelon.

This object was tall and ferocious, completely black apart from some subtle golden patterns. It did not have a streamlined shape but consisted of two isosceles trapezoids fused together from their bases, like a prism. This was not a normal spaceship—it was DarkStar’s medium mother ship, similar to a mobile base, containing a large number of combat ships. One mother ship signified a fleet!

DarkStar had no fixed bases; all of their bases were mother shops, perennially in stealth and mobile states, moving everywhere. That was why the organization was mysterious and difficult to contact—no one could grasp DarkStar’s position. They hid in the dark and waited for an opportunity to make a move.

The scavengers of the ship were shocked and began speculating.

Peggy was overjoyed when he saw this.

“DarkStar did not break their word. They’ve come to take me in!”

Chapter 385: Murder and Turn Point

At this moment, Peggy thought that the DarkStar mothership had specifically come just to take him in. For him, the DarkStar had made such a large display. He felt the attention from DarkStar and was moved to tears.

The spaceship approached the connecting channel, and the mother ship captain waited at the channel entrance with other troops. Just as they were about to tear open the door of the spacecraft with their power, Peggy opened the door and walked out. Seeing everyone was a hybrid Godoran, Peggy was filled with excitement.

He had finally found the organization!

With an excited tone, Peggy said, “I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time.”

DarkStar warriors initially had cold expressions, but now, they could not help but looked at each other in bewilderment.

It was the first time that they had seen a target who not only did not resist but also took the initiative to cooperate, looking like he had just returned home. Did this guy not fear death?

“Bold!” The captain nodded in approval before waving. “Seize them!”

DarkStar warriors swarmed in. Peggy was pressed on the ground, all the while thinking that this was DarkStar’s welcome ceremony. He confidently shouted, “Rest assured, don’t have to doubt my loyalty, I absolutely will not resist!”

“Boss, I think they are for real,” one of his men said with a sad face.

Peggy glared and yelled, “Shut up! What do you know? This is a method to test our loyalty!”

The DarkStar warriors cuffing Peggy heard this and sighed. “If everyone could be as cooperative as you, it would save us a lot of trouble.”

The scavengers were taken to prison and tied to a black metal execution column. The captain walked up to them and said coldly, “I need you to answer my questions honestly. Among the Silvers you captured, one of them was carrying what we want, a black bead. Where did that bead go?”

Although Ember had already gotten the ‘answer’, the style of the DarkStar was never to just trust easily. Letting go of the rest easily was not a terrorist organization’s code of conduct.

After Ember reported to the headquarters, this DarkStar spaceship had been on standby in the Fawn Galaxy and immediately jumped to intercept Peggy. Their first goal was Peggy’s spaceship route recorder so that they could search along the route where the Silvers were thrown out. The second was to interrogate Peggy. DarkStar believed that torture could get more information than normal inquiry—pain could make people honest.

Peggy was stunned.

“Didn’t you already ask me?”

“Indeed, I want you to tell us again…” the captain subconsciously replied. Suddenly, he paused, and his expression changed.

Wait a minute!

He thought that Peggy was referring to Ember, but with some thought, it did not make sense. Ember had pretended to be a mercenary, so how did Peggy recognize that Ember was a DarkStar member?

Ember, who was listening from the side, opened his eyes wide in disbelief. “How could I have been exposed? I’m did not reveal any flaws!”

“How did you know the person who asked you belonged to DarkStar!” The captain grabbed Peggy’s neck, slowly adding force. Peggy’s face turned purple, almost suffocating, and he opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Th—the interrogator… clai—claimed to be a Dark—DarkStar agent, cough cough cough!”

Ember frowned. “Captain Sarota, let go. You’re strangling him. Let him finish the whole story.”

Captain Sarota backed off, and Peggy coughed loudly, as if he was going to cough out his lungs.

Eventually, Peggy realized that something was wrong, and with a hoarse voice, he said while shivering, “A mysterious hooded man who claimed to be a DarkStar emissary found me. His target was that black bead as well, so I told him of its whereabouts. I have always admired you, so when he promised to let me join DarkStar as long as I lied to the next group of people that came to ask about the bead, I agreed readily. Not long after, a self-proclaimed mercenary came. I followed the orders that the DarkStar emissary gave me and got rid of him…”

Self-proclaimed mercenary? That’s me! Ember realized. His face became very unpleasant, and his tone turned cold immediately. “So, you lied to me!”

Peggy’s expression changed distinctly. “What? You’re the self-proclaimed mercenary? You guys are the real DarkStar, and that DarkStar emissary was a fake‽”

The expressions on Sarota and Ember’s faces turned very serious.

The situation suddenly complicated. There seemed to be another mysterious force that had their eyes on the Secret Message Bead, and they had even used DarkStar’s name to trick people. They must be tired of living! They were directly provoking DarkStar! Once they found the culprits, they would make them beg for death!

The problem was… what was the mysterious force’s identity? Why did they know about the Secret Message Bead? Was their target the products inside the bead or to destroy DarkStar’s plan? Were they money driven, or were they DarkStar’s enemies?

Ember was confident that he did not expose anything, so he was baffled. Which part went wrong and exposed him?

He had thought of himself as a hunter, but in the shadows, there was a pair of eyes staring at them, hiding deeper than DarkStar, making his hair stand on end.

More mysteries arose, and things were getting tricky and complicated.

The first thought was a traitor in the organization, or how else would they know so much confidential intel?

“What about the real whereabouts of the bead?”

“I—I don’t know. I did not throw it into the outer space but took it with me. However, it was lost during the battle on Floating Dragon Island…”

Ember had a freezing cold look. That imposter mysterious force wanted to mislead DarkStar. If they did not want to deliberately kill Peggy, they would have really fallen for it!

Thinking back carefully about that mysterious force’s methods, it was secretive yet bold. They knew clearly that they were competing with DarkStar, but still they dared to pose as DarkStar, which meant that they had guessed their thought of keeping things confidential, grasped the psychology of all parties, and finally mislead both Peggy and DarkStar, toying with them between their fingers. And they had almost succeeded. This careful and precise way of thinking made Ember uncontrollably afraid.

They came only a little bit late!

“Since it was not thrown into outer space, it will be a simple matter. Go and thoroughly investigate all the forces involved in the scrimmage,” Sarota ordered, “with any means necessary. Pry open their mouths. There is bound to be a party that picked up the Secret Message Bead. It’s impossible to not have any witnesses.”

“Some Wanted Criminals have left Floating Dragon, and they need to be intercepted by the mother ship.” Anger of having been toyed with was stacking up in Ember’s mind, and his tone was very cold. “Leave the people still on Floating Dragon to me.”

“During the search for the whereabouts of the Secret Message Bead, inquire about intel on that mysterious force at the same time,” Sarota added.

“I know.” Ember frowned. Although he agreed, he really did not have much clue about the mysterious force.

“Wha—what about me?”

Peggy did not have the same confidence that he had moments ago. He was panicking, but he felt that he had given them the intel and helped DarkStar to find out more about the hidden enemy, which should have been considered a contribution.

Sarota glanced at him then gestured. The surrounding DarkStar warriors all raised their light energy rifles and aiming at the column. All the scavengers were frightened—they struggled and hastily begged for mercy.

“Don’t kill me. It’s just a misunderstanding, I didn’t mean to deceive you! DarkStar is my idol. I have always wanted to fight for the cause of the hybrids. Please let me join you.” Peggy was trembling as he exclaimed.

“You really want to dedicate yourself to DarkStar?” Sarota’s eyes flashed.

“Yes, DarkStar is my faith! I would do anything for you.” Peggy hurriedly revealed his heart and expressed his loyalty.

“Well, for us, you being dead is more useful than being alive. DarkStar appreciates your contribution,” Sarota sneered.

The murder was the biggest purpose of the DarkStar for this trip. The fewer outsiders in the world that knew about the whereabouts of the Secret Message Bead, the better.

Hum!

Bright lights burst from the energy rifles, melting wounds in the scavengers one after another. The screams burst from the captives’ mouths before quickly weakening as they lost their breath.

The laser expanded in Peggy’s eyes, and his line of sight became all white. He opened his eyes wide and roared, “No!”

The dense wounds were all over his body. Peggy’s head fell limply to the side with his eyes wide open. He had died with so many regrets.

He had thought that his dreams of joining the DarkStar was going to come true, but never had he expected that he would eventually die at the hands of DarkStar.

Chapter 386: Talent Upgrade, Raid

Two days later…

Whoosh!

The cooling storage case opened, and mist like liquid nitrogen spurted out.

Haier’s arachnid legs operated the metal clamp, clipping out ten test tubes filled with silver reagents. This was a gene agent extracted from the Void Dragon’s spinal fluid. Void Dragons had very strong vitality, and their carcasses and spinal cords would remain active even after death, only completely vanishing after hundreds of years. By extracting the active factors, it could be made into a strong agent that could enhance physical fitness that most life forms could consume, including humans.

“Ten refined Void Dragon Pith, these cute little things are yours.” The sharp teeth in Haier’s mouth moved, and the Insect Language was translated.

The substantial reward that Floating Dragon had given to Han Xiao was fifty kilograms of Void Dragon Bones and ten tubes of Dragon Pith. It was originally one hundred kilograms of Void Dragon Bones, but he had asked for half of the bones to be changed to Dragon Pith. The effect of the Void Dragon Pith was a permanent increase in attributes with no side effects—it was extremely precious to the players.

Han Xiao picked up a tube of Dragon Pith and observed it carefully. Its density was not as stagnant and thick as mercury—it was translucent and light silver colored. The agent was very pure and clear, with a faint glow. A notification popped up as soon as he picked it up. After confirmation, Han Xiao directly inserted one tube of Dragon Pith into the injection gun.

A tremor came from the depths of his body like an electric current flowing through his whole body. Han Xiao shivered, and a tint of silver flashed in his eyes.

_____________________

You used [Refined Void Dragon Pith (High Concentration 42.2%)].

+3 STR, +4 END, +1 CHA

_____________________

Han Xiao’s action did not stop. He injected two more tubes, and the random increase in attributes for high concentration agents was in the higher numbers. After three consecutive injections, he received a total increase of eight Strength, eleven Endurance, and two Charisma.

Agents that could permanently increase attributes usually had usage limitations. The Void Dragon Pith could only increase attributes three times, and it would not increase again after that.

However, although attributes would not increase after three times, there was a hidden effect. If the dosage reached a certain level, the quantity accumulation would trigger a quality change, receiving the talent called [Void Genes]. Its effect on the surface included ordinary effects of increased speed and dodge rate, but the real benefit was that it would affect the choices during his race evolution.

In his previous life, he had discovered this coincidentally. Since Void Dragon Pith was very rare and did not have any effect after three uses, the vast majority of people would not waste it. Han Xiao had to thank that willful rich person, or no one would have known about this secret.

According to the cumulative effect, it would need about twenty low concentration tubes. In the case of high concentration ones… ten should be enough.

After some rough calculations, he injected the Dragon Pith into his body one after another. More silver agents mixed into his blood, and he suddenly felt something. Some subtle changes were happening in his body, and the silver in his eyes became darker.

Haier was surprised. “Hiss, hiss, hiss… Oh, I’m sorry, the translator dropped just now. You are injecting too much, are you not afraid of genetic mutation? Enough is enough.”

Han Xiao shook his head, indicating that he could do it. It was genetic mutation that he wanted.

At his seventh injection, Han Xiao body turned stiff. A cold and hot mixed feeling exploded in his body, and his legs became unsteady. He staggered, and his back hit the shelf as he wheezed heavily. His frown was so wrinkled that it could almost squeeze a fly.

He clenched his teeth very strongly. All the nerve endings in his body were transmitting a sharp pain to his brain, and every vessel was beating and bulging!

If there was a Super who was good at sensing present, they would discover that Han Xiao’s life rhythm was changing. Not only had it started surging and become stronger, there was also a mysterious trace of the void.

_____________________

You have gained the talent [Void Genes]!

[Void Genes]: Your senses can detect the changes in space, giving you a stronger reaction speed and more flexibility.

+28% Movement Speed, +15% Dodge Rate.

_____________________

After what felt like a century to Han Xiao, the pain slightly reduced. He heaved a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat on his forehead. Suddenly, he felt a bulge—its texture was a bit hard, like a scale.

When he looked in the mirror, he found that his pupils had become silvery, and his eyebrows did not appear to be abnormal, but he clearly felt a diamond-shaped piece of skin stiffening.

He controlled the energy in his body. When the cells in his body became active, this piece of diamond skin turned from a flesh color to bright silver. It was very obvious.

“Ooh! What’s up with you‽”

Han Xiao was surprised that this silver mark not only did not destroy his handsomeness but also increased his fashion.

This was the new organ from the gene mutation, used to increase the perception of space.

He opened the interface and took a look. There was another talent that had also changed. After he saw the notification clearly, Han Xiao opened his eyes wide, overjoyed.

_____________________

Your talent [Basic Strengthened Life] has upgraded. The original talent has changed into [Intermediate Strengthened Life].

_____________________

Han Xiao had gotten this Molding Talent long ago. It had accompanied him through many dangers, and the last time was through the injection of another gene agent. This Void Dragon Pith had made this talent evolve again. The conversion ratio of Endurance to HP increased from 1:15 to 1: 30—it doubled—and there was an extra effect of +25% Resistance.

This was a completely unexpected surprise. Players could not possess Molding Talents, so this was the first Han Xiao had heard about Molding Talents being able to be upgraded. His maximum health directly increased by more than 4,000 points, equivalent to one-third of the original amount.

I have walked too far on the path of a tank; I’m past the point of no return now.

Han Xiao’s eyes were shining as he secretly speculated. More precious genetic agents can increase the level of Strengthened Life. If I want to upgrade, I need to inject more genetic drugs into my body… However, the genetic agents cannot be used indiscriminately, or it might cause rejection and turn into gene distortion or even gene collapse. That would be a miserable end for me. The best choices have to be agents like this that have no side effects.

This discovery gave Han Xiao a new idea. His need for powerful Molding Talents would continue to become more urgent, but unfortunately, they were not easy to get. He held onto the remaining three tubes of Dragon Pith—this kind of precious item was just right to be used as a ‘Favorability bait’. He could set an extremely high price for it and let the players toil willingly from the bottom of their hearts.

After collecting the materials, the communicator rang. Jenny had sent a communication request.

“Black Star, Lord Ames wants to see you.”

A new panel of virtual holographic image popped out from the communicator, and Ames’ delicate face appeared. She was floating in the vacuum space directly with her body, surrounded by force field protection. Countless rays of light surged behind her, as if every inch of space was filled up. She seemed to be fighting a strong enemy. However, the lights were all deflected by the invisible force field barrier, falling like bombs onto the unpopulated planet under her feet.

Apparently, the battle had lasted quite some time—a tenth of the planet had disintegrated, like an apple that had been bitten once. Shattered meteors and dust rotated around the planet, mixed with the gas and forming a ‘cloud ring’. If they fought any longer, this planet might end its life billions of years in advance…

With just a glance Han Xiao was sure that Ames was fighting another beyond A grade Super of the Shattered Star Ring. In less than three days, the Galactic News would definitely broadcast the following content.

Shattered Star Ring News: Two super strong individuals fought willfully, innocent planet turned into tragedy!

Beyond grade A Supers destroyed the environment with evil intentions, Planet Protection Association expressed strong condemnation!

Today’s Planet Code Cancellation List.

…

Speaking of it, it seems like it was because of the news that Ames was not in a good mood and looked for someone to fight. How unfortunate for a young planet…

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. He coughed and asked, “Your Excellency, Dragon Emperor, what mission do you have for me?”

Ames spoke, but no sound was heard. She realized something, then controlled the force field and grabbed a large pile of gas from the planet. Shrouded herself in an artificial atmosphere, and only then was there sound.

“I’ve listened to Jenny’s report. Your team has excellent combat capability, and it’s a waste for you to stay on Floating Dragon Island. Anyway, you were mercenaries originally, so I approve of your activities to be outside. Furthermore, I have a suitable mission for you. You’ve met my teacher, so help me find information on him,” Ames said.

He had made a request to Jenny a few days ago, with the excuse that there was enough manpower on Floating Dragon Island, and him staying here was a waste. He thus applied for the field activities. Floating Dragon Island only had the guards, butlers, and logistics, but they lacked field forces, and the immortal Black Star Mercenary Group was the best choice. At least there was no need to worry about loss. Jenny felt that it was justified and reported to Ames, and Ames never doubter her employees. She did not worry about Han Xiao leaving her after leaving Floating Dragon Island.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

He did not have to be trapped on Floating Dragon Island—this was great news. It would not delay the development time for his mercenary group faction. Although Floating Dragon was great, he had only joined because he had no choice. As long as he could move freely, the distress that this problem had caused him would be greatly reduced.

The result was finalized, and Han Xiao hung up the communication, feeling very good. The superiors of the three armies would soon arrive, and then he could follow them back to complete the mission.

“Things are going so well.” Han Xiao had a happy face. Was he finally getting lucky after all the unlucky events that he had been through?

Aroshia was waiting at the door until Han Xiao waved his hand and took her away from the warehouse. He was worried about leaving Aroshia to run around alone, so he always brought her along whenever he was free.

He entered a deserted street, and after walking for a while, the relaxed expression on Han Xiao’s face suddenly vanished. Han Xiao frowned, feeling that the atmosphere was strange. He took a step and shielded Aroshia behind her back, then looked around vigilantly.

“Good senses.”

The voice of a person seemed to come out of nowhere. With a cold tone of judgment, containing the confidence of his own superior strength, Han Xiao felt the voice was familiar.

At the same time, hard walls suddenly extended from the ground around them, covered the sky, and trapped the two of them like a cage.

The soldiers of the DarkStar Task Force appeared and surrounded the two people.

Ember stood at the forefront. He stared at Han Xiao with an expressionless face, as if everything was under his control.

“Black Star Mercenary Group captain, we need your help. Come with us. Not resisting will save you some pain.”

Han Xiao’s eyes became extremely serious.

Chapter 387: Familiar, Witness!

Two days ago, DarkStar had coincidentally seen through Peggy’s lies. Because of that, they had changed the strategy. They did not have to look for a needle in a haystack anymore. Since the Secret Message Bead was on Floating Dragon Island, they only needed to lock onto the organizations involved in the scrimmage at the dock to find out who picked up the bead. The search range became countless times smaller.

The mercenaries had been the main cause of the scrimmage at the dock, so they were the main focus. Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold had all been captured; only Han Xiao’s Black Star Mercenary Group was free to move around. Ember was not stupid enough to attack the prison; hence, Han Xiao became the most suitable target.

And so, they laid this ambush.

Seize Black star, take control of the captain of this small mercenary group, make him obey orders obediently, then use his identity to move in and out of prison to asked whether the Secret Message Bead had been picked up by any other mercenary.

After all, the first line of ‘DarkStar Task Force Action Manual’ was ‘In order to reduce the risk of exposure during field missions, avoid using violence as much as possible if the target can be bribed with money—most of the money spent can be snatched back.’

But from what DarkStar knew, the mysterious forces that plotted for the Secret Message Bead were hidden on Floating Dragon Island. That force had come to know the truth before them and was very likely to have contacted the mercenaries before them. After what happened with Peggy, Ember did not want to be toyed once again. So, he decided to do things the simple way, by using force.

As a member of a large, violent terrorist organization, they always felt a sense of superiority when facing mercenaries. They were like a god of death hiding in the dark, cool and stylish. Whereas mercenaries were like labor workers, without belief and would do anything for money, not even matching up to bounty hunters, who were dedicated to catching wanted criminals.

Saying ‘I am from DarkStar’ and ‘I am a mercenary’ felt completely different.

The name of DarkStar was feared by countless races. In contrast, although the mercenary industry was extremely large, it was scattered. It was like the difference between a stone and a sand castle. DarkStar would only pay attention if it were large armies like Sky Ring and Blades. In the case of a small mercenary group with around fifty members and their strongest member being only trade B, it was a piece of cake.

“Who are you people?” Han Xiao asked deliberately while narrowing his eyes.

“A word of advice for you, if you want to live a little longer, put away your curiosity and don’t ask about our identity. Don’t get caught up in trouble,” Ember said coldly.

He thought that Han Xiao would definitely be surprised by their identity.

What he did not know was that Han Xiao was the witness the night they took the slaves away. Thinking that this was their first encounter with Black Star, they maintained their mysterious identity to put pressure on Black Star, not knowing that Han Xiao knew exactly who they were.

Han Xiao looked around. The walls Ember built formed a colosseum-like cage. There was a total of eight DarkStar warriors surrounding him in the middle. In addition to Ember, the other seven were not some nobodies—they were all grade B Supers.

Seven opponents with the same grade, plus Ember who was grade B+. The increase in difficulty when facing multiple opponents was not as simple as addition. With a variety of abilities working collaboratively, Han Xiao was unsure of how long he could last against them. Furthermore, he had the burden of Aroshia, so it was a tricky situation.

Han Xiao tried to use the communication channel, only to hear the sound of electric currents.

“Don’t waste your time. Strong signal disruption devices have been planted nearby, so no messages can be sent out. You can’t call for help,” Ember said indifferently.

“It seems that you think you’ve got me in the palm of your hands.” Han Xiao kept calm and said, “Since I have no way to escape, tell me what is it that you want me to do, and maybe we can agree to some terms. I don’t want to fight a meaningless battle.”

“We want you to ask the mercenaries about the whereabouts of a black bead,” Ember said.

Hearing this, Han Xiao analyzed quickly in his mind without changing his expression.

It seemed that DarkStar was able to pry out the truth from the mouth of Peggy. They most likely also knew that there is an impostor using their name who is also competing for the Secret Message Bead. But they don’t know that the impostor is me. I’ve been attacked this time not because I’m exposed but because I happen to be one of the targets. This is very crucial. They don’t know I have the bead. If I pretend to cooperate, I might be able to get myself out of this.

He was more concerned about how much DarkStar knew. At this point, it seemed that he just happened to be a typical mercenary—him imposing as a DarkStar agent had not been exposed.

Compromising with DarkStar was not out of the question. If giving up the Secret Message Bead could be exchanged for an opportunity of joining DarkStar, thus infiltrating the enemy, it could be considered a chance as well. Yet, the risk of that was unknown and hard to measure.

Han Xiao squinted and behaved like he did not seem to know what the bead was. “This is just a small matter. I can help, so there’s no need to use force.”

Ember took out a small transparent box containing a large number of nanotechnology insects the size of sand that were used to control the brain and heart. They would be able to take one’s life anytime once injected into the body. “After you inject this, then we can talk about our cooperation.”

“Looks like I don’t have a choice.” Han Xiao shook his head. The mechanical suit covered his body in an instant.

Injecting the nanotechnology insects meant that his life would be in someone else’s hands, and he would never agree to that. Therefore, there was only one choice.

Fight!

Electromagnetic firearms bounced out of the mechanical suit one after another. Energy flew out like electric currents, covered in lightning in the size of filaments. Han Xiao was not only holding firearms in both his hands, but he also controlled the rest of the firearms with his energy, firing in all directions.

Tu tu tu tu!

In an instant, bullets covered in blue lightning blossomed outward from Han Xiao in the center like a dark blue rose!

A battle suddenly erupted!

[Moving Snipe], [Field Controlling Vision], [Magnetic Vision—Data Flow], [Surging Mechanical Force], and [Overload]—a variety of abilities were activated by Han Xiao instantly. The explosive power of these abilities shocked the DarkStar soldiers as they dodged and blocked the abilities in their own ways.

“A waste of time.”

Ember controlled the dust and turned it into a shield, blocking the bullets. His face was calm. To him, no matter what the enemy’s fighting method was, as long as their grade was lower than his, it would all be meaningless. He could defeat then in a blink of an eye unless they were immune to his power.

Hum!

Ember activated his power and extended his senses. His vision changed, and Ember could ‘see’ Han Xiao’s body’s atomic structure clearly. The carbon element was marked with light, covering his body like a river. Ember controlled these carbon elements with ease—he had done this countless times.

However, it was like Han Xiao’s body suddenly became a mountain. The Esper power that had worked countless times did not work this time. Ember could not control any carbon atoms in his body; its structure was unshakeable.

The calmness on the face of the Ember was suddenly broken and replaced by dismay.

“It’s you!”

Ember stared suspiciously at Han Xiao.

It turned out that the witness on that night who caused the mission to fail was this mercenary group captain, Black Star!

Chapter 388: Amphiptere, Shattered!

“You’re the one that attacked the slave market!”

Han Xiao acted shocked as well like he had only just recognized Ember.

According to the intel that DarkStar had, he was just an unimportant passerby. As soon as they got into a battle, the fact that he was the witness who briefly battled Ember would definitely be discovered. From Ember’s perspective, they had only met once, when they attacked the slave market. Hence, he acted as if he recognized Ember as the attacker of that night from his Esper power. It was a normal reaction.

There was another reason he faked this—to hide the fact that he knew about the truth of DarkStar.

At the moment of being attacked, these thoughts were already brewing in Han Xiao’s head.

And as expected, seeing his surprise, Ember totally did not have any thought of him being the mysterious man who discovered DarkStar’s identity.

On the night of the attack, due to the area being in a blackout and them wearing a mask and mechanical suit, they did not know each other’s identity. And now, they met coincidentally again.

Han Xiao was the first person that was immune to Ember’s [Carbon Atom Deconstruction] despite being one grade lower. Although it was just a short battle, he had left such a strong impression on Ember that he would not be able to forget.

Ember was shocked. He swept away his careless attitude, and his eyes were filled with curiosity and battle desire. “Our last battle was too short to determine a winner. This time, I’m not in a rush.”

The witness was the reason that the attack had been exposed, and his real identity was their target this time—Black Star. With both old and new grudges, Ember was full of fighting spirit. He decided to go all out this time.

Ember’s hand grabbed the air, and black carbon dust formed a straight double-edged diamond sword, extremely hard yet flexible due to Ember’s powers.

Boom!

At the same time, endless black dust shot out from the ground everywhere, trying to aim for the gaps in the mechanical suit.

Han Xiao felt the pressure from the increased fighting spirit of the enemy.

Initially, Ember had thought that dealing with Han Xiao would be a simple mission, but he realized that he was wrong. This was a tough opponent. Thus, he became serious and faced Han Xiao with the attitude of facing a strong enemy.

Hu!

Seven Sonic Spheres flew out and hovered in the air, creating an amplification field. The space inside the cell created by Ember was limited, perfect for sonic attacks.

With the Scythe in his hands, the Hovering Shield Shuttle hovering around his body, and the light shining from the armor pieces on his hand, arms, and legs, Han Xiao was at his peak performance.

Due to the signal interference, Han Xiao could not activate the backup parts that were far away. He could only battle with the mechanical suit’s basic mode—there was no backup equipment. It was very disadvantageous for a Mechanic.

“Hide aside,” Han Xiao said as he pushed Aroshia away. He swung the scythe and slashed at the wall, but it did not even leave a scratch.

He frowned. The wall was too hard, and there was no way to break through.

The only choice left was to fight.

This time, the seven DarkStar warriors struck. Three Pugilists covered in flames surrounded Han Xiao in a triangle shape.

Bang!

With a swing of the scythe, they clashed!

The aftershock echoed in the prison cell!

Aroshia was forced to the edge and could only watch.

Ember was very curious about Han Xiao’s ability to resist his powers. Anyway, the signal disruption device was already set up, and Black Star could not call for backup, so there was plenty of time to find out.

As Han Xiao was attacked and having a tough fight, all the players far away on the other side of the floating island who were doing their duty in aircrafts triggered a new mission.

_____________________

[Urgent Mission – Backup]

Mission Introduction: Your captain has been ambushed and is engaged in a tough fight. As a member of the mercenary group, you are his backup.

Mission Requirements: Arrive at the scene quickly and provide backup for Black Star. The coordinates are…

Reward: Depends on the speed and number of the backup.

Rejection Consequence: -300 Black Star Mercenary Group Favorability

_____________________

All the players became spirited.

…

The Esper’s power was very strong. Not only was it strong in close-quarter combat, but it could also control countless dust particles and turn them into spears to strike or tentacles to constrain Han Xiao’s mobility. The most dangerous threat of that ability was the dust infiltrating into the gaps of the mechanical suit that changed their form inside the suit to destroy Amphiptere’s interior. At least one-third of the damage came from Ember.

The seven DarkStar warriors had very good cooperation—three Pugilist to limit Han Xiao’s mobility at close range through exchanging hits, one Esper that could secret acid, and another that could inject energy in the galaxy into specially made metals and turn them into bombs. These two Espers were hiding at the side while throwing acid and metal balls at Han Xiao.

There was one more Mechanic who was good at electromagnetic disruption and smart hacking, connecting to Amphiptere through his own combat suit and disrupting Amphiptere’s system through the hacking program that he wrote. He was even trying to take control of Amphiptere. Han Xiao’s smart technology was still within the bounds of basic knowledge, so he had no choice but to turn off most auto functions and leave only the nerves connection controls on, to stop detection and analysis as well as to prevent Amphiptere’s system from being taken over. This Mechanic was also controlling numerous shield generators to block attacks for his teammates.

The last one was an Electric Mage. His cooperation with Ember was the closest, unleashing his electric sorcery by using the carbon dust as a bridge. Ember turned them into graphene, which was more conductive, to increase the power, attacking Han Xiao from all directions and burning the internals of Amphiptere.

Boom boom boom!

Attacks rained down on Amphiptere, and the number of wounds gradually increased. Facing seven enemies of the same grade and one whose grade was even higher than his own, Han Xiao was like facing a terrifying tsunami—he could hardly fight back.

Even with [Snake—Devil] activated, he could just barely hold on.

The mechanical suit’s durability dropped very quickly. After only a few minutes into the fight, it was already at sixteen percent, close to being completely destroyed.

Han Xiao took a deep breath. He poured all the energy into the mobility device, and with a sharp arc, he escaped from the close-range battle and headed straight for the Esper who could secrete acid. He closed in extremely quickly while firing a shot at the Mechanic to make sure he could not control the shield to protect his teammate. Then, with a swing of the scythe, he was about to slash at the Esper.

“Burst!” Ember yelled as he clenched his fist. Before Han Xiao could land the attack, Ember could give the wounded Amphiptere one last attack to destroy it!

Countless spikes formed inside Amphiptere within a second!

The mechanical suit became covered in holes and was on the brink of shattering.

At this moment, a blurry white light bloomed. Amphiptere, which was about to shatter, came back together like a miracle, and its energy level recovered to its prime.

Machinery Continuation!

“What!” Ember was shocked and surprised. The attack that he had been so confident in could not break Han Xiao’s suit, and it was now too late to stop him.

The acid Esper initially believed that Ember could stop Han Xiao, but now he was horrified and could only watch the scythe growing in his vision.

Flaming Will!

Swoosh!

With a flash of light, blood spilled all over. A ferocious wound extended from the acid Esper’s head to his chin, spitting his face in half.

His health dropped a large chunk in an instant.

“Ahhh!”

The acid Esper fell to the ground and writhed in agony as blood gushed out from his face. Ember hastily moved him away before Han Xiao could land another hit.

The next moment, Amphiptere crumbled into pieces.

Machinery Continuation made Amphiptere last for five seconds longer, and in this time, Han Xiao landed this hit and heavily injured one of the enemies even while he was under siege.

Han Xiao was breathing heavily. He had wanted to get rid of that guy a long time ago—it was so disgusting to have him keep spitting acid at him.

Ember had a very gloomy expression. His subordinate was heavily injured, and his mistake was partly to blame. Anger arose from inside his heart.

This was a pure accident, and it was not going to happen again. Black Star had reached his limit after lasting for so long. From the moment his mechanical suit shattered, he was a sheep waiting to be butchered and would not have any chance to fight back anymore.

A Mechanic that lost his machines was at most half as strong!

“This is it for you. I’ve said before, you can save yourself a lot of pain if you don’t resist, and I am a man of my word…”

Ember then said with freezing cold eyes, “Are you ready to feel pain?”

Amphiptere shattered, and the backup mechanical suit could not be summoned. Han Xiao’s body had no more protection. He glanced at the broken parts all over the floor, but his expression did not change at all. He did not seem to be bothered about his current situation. He casually placed the black scythe on his shoulders and said, “Don’t celebrate too soon. The fight only ends when I can’t fight anymore.”

The Great Mechanic Han was never one to back away from a fight.

Chapter 389: What Monster Are You‽

Broken parts were all over the floor, including the Sonic Spheres and the Hovering Shield Shuttle. The scythe was a melee weapon, so it was very hard. Its blade was quite wide and could be used as a shield. This was the only weapon that Han Xiao was left with.

Zoom!

The hovering carbon dust in the cell transformed into sharp cones pointing at the ground, which then fell down like rain. The area covered was very large, so every dodge direction was locked down.

If the target had a mechanical suit, this kind of large area attack would not be so much of a threat. However, Black Star’s mechanical suit had already been destroyed by him. A Mechanic without protection was fragile.

Ember did not want to kill Han Xiao—they had to capture him alive after all—but he was very willing to make Han Xiao suffer. He was only aiming at non-lethal spots.

Swoosh!

The scythe deflected the approaching sharp cones, but they were endless with Ember’s control. Han Xiao deflected and shielded himself from whatever he could, and he was left with no choice but to let the rest hit him.

Electric shaped energy covered his body and formed a layer of protection. The sharp cones shattered upon hitting his body, only causing scratches.

Ember controlled his power casually and said with a cold voice, “As a Mechanic, you never learned close range tactics. You don’t have as much energy as a Pugilist, and your attributes are totally different from a Pugilist’s. Yet, you want to fight like a Pugilist. If you were a Mechanical Pugilist maybe you’d stand a chance, but you’re just a Mechanic. How long do you think you can last? Your resistance is futile. Are you still not giving up?”

Attacks were coming from every angle in the battlefield. The other DarkStar warriors left the area and stopped fighting. They stood aside and waited for their captain to defeat Black Star. After all, Ember could easily defeat an enemy without his fangs, so there was no need to help.

The result was certain.

Boom!

Suddenly, with a stomp that cracked the ground, Han Xiao dashed toward the DarkStar Mechanic like a flash of lightning. He was not deflecting the attacks anymore, and he let the countless sharp cones hit his body. With a flick of the wrist, the blade of the scythe split open and turned into around eight pieces of electromagnetic blades covered in electrical sparks, spinning and forming a drill shape!

“Take my Electric Dragon Drill!” Han Xiao yelled. The drill penetrated the shield that the DarkStar Mechanic urgently generated and sent him flying. The DarkStar Mechanic’s combat suit turned burnt black from the electric, and the broken parts were flashing with electrical sparks. His suit was malfunctioning due to the damages.

“You maniac, you’re looking for death!” The face of the other DarkStar warriors changed in an instant. They were shocked that despite facing such concentrated attacks from Ember, Han Xiao still dared to give up on his defenses and chose to attack instead. Although Han Xiao was able to succeed due to them having their guard down, this attack did not cause much of a problem. They were all Supers of the same grade, so they would not be killed this easily. On the other hand, this act caused Han Xiao to get hit by a lot more attacks.

“Looks like you’re not going to compromise, quite the spirit you have,” Ember complimented sincerely, then shook his head expressionlessly. “But resistance is futile, and it shows you have nothing up your sleeves anymore. Yet, you’re dreaming of fighting a way out… My patience is limited. Since you can’t comprehend your situation, we’ll have to beat you to near death for you to figure it out.”

This time, Ember decided to not use his large area attacks anymore. The DarkStar warriors received Ember’s order and joined the fight, surrounding Han Xiao.

Without the aid of his suit, Han Xiao was instantly placed in a precarious position. Facing the storm like attacks, he could only passively defend himself. Any movement or dodge was stopped by the enemies’ tacit cooperation. He was forced to remain in one place and unable to fight back.

Boom!

Attacks blasted onto Han Xiao like a tsunami, the continuous explosions stirred up the dust and blocked their vision.

Aroshia, who was standing at the side, could only see the lightning, bombs, spears, and energy enter the thick dust countless times, but she could not see Han Xiao. Endless explosions and clanking sounds filled her ears, but there was no growl or scream of agony. Other than the sound of the battle, she could not hear Han Xiao making any sound at all.

Seeing this, Aroshia suddenly had the urge to stop everything. An unknown impulse drove her to take action. However, at this time, Ember suddenly raised his hand, and they stopped attacking.

“That’s enough, he should be heavily injured by now. Cuff him and let’s get out of here immediately…”

Bang!

Before Ember finished his sentence, the sound of the ground cracking came out of the dust!

Han Xiao shot out like a cannon, covered in wounds and dragging a tail of dust behind him. Even after taking so many attacks, his wounds were all light wounds, and none of them penetrated deeply.

With energy flickering around his body, his scythe slashed down in a flash!

Clank!

Ember’s diamond arm and Han Xiao’s scythe clashed, and the sparks lit up Ember’s stunned expression.

“How can you be okay‽”

They were shocked.

After receiving so much damage, even if he was a Pugilist of the same level instead of a Mechanic, he would have been heavily injured. Yet, Han Xiao was still so alive!

How are you more tanky than a Pugilist‽

“Hehe…” Han Xiao looked up. Half of his face was covered with blood, but his face was full of mockery. He laughed with a husky voice and said, “Is this all you have? Are you scratching an itch for me?”

Ember’s face was filled with rage. He activated his power, and carbon atoms turned into a snake, hitting Han Xiao’s chest heavily, pushing him back in the midst of dust, and pressing him on the floor.

“Continue!” Ember yelled furiously.

So what if you’re tanky? You’re nothing but a living target. We’re the ones that have the upper hand!

The DarkStar warriors took a deep breath and raised their focus level once again. Attacks submerged Han Xiao for the second time.

This time, the attacks were more violent. Dangerous attacks came from Ember continuously, and his eyes were vicious. He had no intention of holding back.

Seeing this, ripples formed in Aroshia’s eyes. She took a few steps forward, picked up an electromagnetic handgun that Han Xiao had dropped earlier, raised her hands, and fired at Ember.

Ding ding ding!

The needle bullets were deflected by Ember’s diamond skin.

Ember turned around and snorted. With a casual swing of his hand, he controlled the carbon element in Aroshia ‘s body and slapped her into the floor, immobilizing her.

When the ambush was launched, Ember had already felt Aroshia ‘s presence—she was just an ordinary person. So, Ember did not care about her and left her on the side. Now that she had fired at him, Ember was not bothered at all. He kept her under control casually and continued to focus on dealing with Han Xiao.

After a rather long period of continuous attacks, even the terrain had changed. The ground where Han Xiao was standing became a near-one-meter-deep hole, covered in a thick dust that blocked the vision.

“Stop.”

Ember’s breath was a little rapid, his power caused him a lot of energy. The DarkStar warriors backed off with a few beads of sweat rolling down their forehead, tired as well. It became quiet as they stopped.

“Is he still alive?” The DarkStar warriors looked at the hole.

“Not dead yet. I can feel his presence. It’s very weak—he’s really almost dead this time,” Ember said with confidence.

However, the next moment, Ember’s face suddenly changed dramatically. The weak presence that he felt became stronger in a very strange way and was recovering at an unbelievable speed.

In the midst of the dust, the outline of a person slowly stood up. Like there was an unknown magical force, everyone’s eyes were staring at that outline.

Ta, ta, ta!

Every sound of footsteps felt like they were stepping right on Ember’s heart.

A black scythe extended out of the mist first, filled with cracks. Just as it appeared in everyone’s sight, it shattered into pieces and turned into a pile of waste.

Right after, Han Xiao walked out, everyone’s eyes turned to look at him. The next moment, disbelief filled their eyes.

Han Xiao was covered in dust, but all his wounds were nowhere to be found. He cracked his neck, looking livelier than ever.

“Are you done?” His tone was laid back, sounding like he had just woken up.

Ember was dumbfounded.

How could Han Xiao’s wounds heal themselves? Did he have a regeneration power?

Even the alloy scythe shattered, yet the person was unharmed. Han Xiao was very much alive—he was harder than the alloy scythe!

The people doing the beating were tired, whereas the one taking the beating was still very alive. How the hell were they going to continue‽

Han Xiao stared at the people of DarkStar and stretched his body.

“If you’re not done, I will continue playing with you.”

He had given out the mission to the players long ago, so he was not panicking at all. Furthermore, he had Aurora’s Character Summon Card, with only one effect—Full recovery, simple and powerful, six usages. Just now, when his health was lower than fifteen percent, he used it.

Han Xiao was very tanky to start with, and with this ability, these DarkStar warriors would not be able to kill him even by exhausting themselves.

Ember’s expression changed from surprised to shocked, horrified, then stopped at fear!

His posture became lower and not casual anymore. It became very serious.

This was the sign of him facing a dangerous enemy!

When facing Han Xiao, Ember had taken it very lightly and casually in the beginning. Only when he realized that Han Xiao was immune to his power did he take him more seriously. He had thought that he was serious enough, but he realized that he had still underestimated Han Xiao.

In the short time since the start of the battle, Han Xiao had surprised him continuously. His impression of Han Xiao was completely overthrown!

Ember stared at Han Xiao and said word by word, “What monster are you‽”

Chapter 390: Aroshia, Grade A Chain Mission (1)

The DarkStar warriors looked at Ember with the questioning gazes.

Ember stared at Han Xiao. He was in a dilemma. The time that they had spent there was beyond their expectations. They had thought that they could capture Han Xiao in no time, but they had never expected him to have such tough abilities to deal with. Furthermore, they were not sure how strong Han Xiao’s regeneration ability was and how many more times he could recover.

Ember was confident that Han Xiao definitely had a limit. The problem was, how long would it take for him to reach that limit? Han Xiao’s toughness drastically exceeded the average of a Mechanic. They had heavily wounded him once, but their energy and endurance were limited. Their breathing was faster than usual, and their hearts were pumping fast. The nonstop attacks made the DarkStar warriors tired and unable to reach their maximum performance.

Retreat or continue? Ember hesitated. This time, he suddenly saw Han Xiao look up at the sky that was blocked by the cell he had created, with mockery on his face.

Before they could react, violent explosions blasted outside the cell. The walls trembled, and cracks appeared.

Boom!

The wall above their head suddenly burst into pieces as a searchlight pierced in. Numerous aircrafts hovered above in the sky, aiming their laser cannons at DarkStar’s people.

“Drop your weapons and surrender immediately!” Herlous yelled through the speaker.

The faces of the DarkStar warriors changed.

“Sh*t, the guards are here. The ambush only lasted a few minutes, and we just checked there were no patrols nearby. Did a team of guards just happen to pass by? Lucky him!”

Less than ten minutes had passed since the start of the ambush to the end of the battle. As the speed and reaction of Supers grew stronger, the number of actions that they could complete in a second became higher as well. During the battle, time would feel much slower in their senses, and every second would feel ten or even a hundred times slower. Opponents of the same level could make use of every small detail during the battle and exchange hits at a very high speed. However, in the eyes of ordinary people, they could only see shadows and phantoms.

“It isn’t luck. The people on the aircraft are all Black Star’s subordinates. He must’ve called for backup!”

“How did he get through the signal disruption‽” someone exclaimed with disbelief.

Ember stared at Han Xiao and said in a deep voice, “I admit I underestimated you this time. Black Star, I’ll remember your name. Retreat!”

Just as he finished his sentence, the cell collapsed in an instant and turned into black dust all over the place, obstructing signal detectors and vision.

This moment, Ember took out a metal rod. He held onto both ends and twisted, activating the device. A blue dot of light appeared in the middle, its light covering three meters. The DarkStar warriors quickly walked into the area covered in blue light. Then, Ember twisted the metal rod once again right after. The blue dot contracted and turned into a string of flashes. The people and the dust inside the area disappeared without a trace.

When the dust dispersed, Han Xiao wiped off the dust on his face and walked over to the place where Ember and the others disappeared from. He squatted down and swept away the dust on the floor, uncovering a circle mark on the ground.

“Directional Short Distance Teleporter, leaves almost no trace behind… We can’t chase them.” Han Xiao shook his head, a little helpless. Compared to the others, DarkStar’s technology was rather ahead of its time, at least very ahead of him at this moment.

The aircrafts circled around and did not find anything. They landed, and Han Xiao gave them the mission completion reward.

The backup forced Ember to retreat and made DarkStar’s plan to kidnap him fail. However, Han Xiao could not be glad about it. Ember’s failure would definitely make DarkStar pay more attention to him. He had showcased quite a number of his abilities, so he could not keep a low profile anymore.

With the first attack, there was most likely going to be a second one. Han Xiao did not have enough power currently to face such a large organization, and his career as a mercenary group would be affected as well.

Looking back, it was all because the job that they had been hired to do that caused them to coincidentally meet with DarkStar’s conspiracy. As long as they were going to save the Silvers, whether he had the Secret Message Bead or not, he would definitely attract DarkStar’s attention in the end. He had no idea DarkStar was involved in this in the start. Anyway, there was no way to make time go backward. At least he now knew DarkStar’s target and had the key item—the Secret Message Bead—in his hands. Not only did he successfully make Ember retreat, he also successfully hid the truth of him knowing about the Secret Message Bead. He was still not exposed.

It’s better not to give the Secret Message Bead to DarkStar; it’s too risky. DarkStar’s way of doing things is very merciless, so exposing too much would put me in danger,Han Xiao thought.

Herlous walked behind him and asked with concern, “Are you okay?”

“Not hurt much, you guys arrived right on time.” Han Xiao waved his hand.

It was the players who had taken the initiative to request reinforcements this time. Herlous had been doubtful at first, and now he had confirmed that Han Xiao and these subordinates of his had some sort of telepathy.

“Who were these enemies? Why did they ambush you?”

“They’re the brutes that attacked the slave market. I recognized the power of one of them, they probably want revenge,” Han Xiao said casually. He turned and walked to Aroshia, then helped her up.

Aroshia shook her head, signally that she was not hurt.

Han Xiao contemplated and said, “There’s a very high energy reaction inside your body, but you don’t know how to use it.”

He had seen Aroshia firing earlier and saw that Ember kept her under control in an instant—she was of no help at all. If Aroshia could fight when they were ambushed, he would not have ended up fighting alone.

Han Xiao was not an irresponsible person; it was impossible for him to abandon her once the mission was complete. Since he had taken Aroshia away, she had to join the mercenary group. He did not need someone who was a burden, and Aroshia had a lot of potential—she was worth cultivating. If she became a Super, at least she would not be a burden, and she might even be helpful.

“There’s energy in my body?” Aroshia looked down and pressed on her heart. “Really?”

“You definitely have the talent to become a Super. I can teach you to realize your potential and become a Super so that your talent will not be wasted,” Han Xiao said.

“You want me to learn the Super knowledges?”

Han Xiao shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know who you were before, but since you lost your memories, you need to learn again. Maybe you were a very strong Super before—you might improve at an unbelievable speed.”

“There’s one thing I never said,” Aroshia said slowly, “I apparently am some sort of Space Wonder. You can’t bring me away.”

Han Xiao was stunned in place.

“They said that I won’t really die. I will revive after I die and go back to the initial amnesia state, losing the memory of everything before I died. I remember I have been ‘alive’ for three years this time, and I was sold five times. Each time, after six days, I returned to that cell. No matter how far I am, it will only be an instant. No one can bring me away.”

Aroshia’s earliest memory was the moment she opened her eyes in the cell. Her origin and her existence were both a mystery. Everything before that moment was blank. However, this time, her ‘life’ had lasted three years, and she had the short memory of these three years. She had realized how special she was long ago, but her life form was very unique—she did not have any physical desire or spiritual need. She did not need to consume food and hardly had any curiosity; it was like nothing mattered to her.

Although her knowledge of the world was a piece of blank paper, she was unlike an innocent child. On the contrary, she had very strong thinking capabilities.

Horlaide had not been completely honest back then—Han Xiao did not know about Aroshia’s secret. Now he realized that Horlaide had been promoting her because he knew that she would be back in the end, and he was using that as a scam. Han Xiao was speechless.

“You can’t control this power?” Han Xiao said with surprise.

Aroshia shook her head. “No.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao was more interested. Aroshia had self-awareness but was trapped in the cell by a mysterious power, and this was not her choice. If this was a Space Wonder, then there was one question. Was Aroshia the Space Wonder?

Could it be possible that she was originally an independent life form and not part of the wonder, and it was a coincidence that she became the wonder? Which would mean that Aroshia’s amnesia, her unique life form, her mind of close to completely no desire… all of this could be given by the wonder. Then what was this wonder? Was it something without a physical form, some sort of formless energy?

Sadly, even if there was an answer to this, Aroshia did not know it. The truth might be in the memories that she had lost. What Han Xiao cared most about at this moment was that Aroshia could not be taken away.

“Is there no way to solve it?”

“I don’t know.” Aroshia shook her head and said, “Only three more hours to the sixth day.”

The mission requirement was to save her from the slave market and stay with her for six days. Only now did Han Xiao know the difficulty of it. However, since it was a mission, there must be a way to complete it.

There should be clues in that cell.

Han Xiao ordered the rest of the people to patrol around and look for the enemy. Although he did not have any hope of actually finding anything. He summoned the backup Amphiptere and wore it, then accompanied Aroshia to the slave market… ruins.

At the same time, the DarkStar people appeared on the other side of Floating Dragon, with frustration on their faces.

The ambush had been too rushed. They had engaged without knowing much about Black Star at all. They had thought that their power and technology would give them an unshakable advantage, which caused them to underestimate the opponent.

Their arrogance was the reason for their failure.

Ember was furious. This was the first time that he had failed when facing a target weaker than him. He was very concerned about this failure; it left a mark in his heart that he was very unhappy about it.

Ember opened the communicator to report the result. He held back his unhappiness and repeated the process of their failure. The Superiors of DarkStar were very surprised. Their surprise and disappointment stung Ember’s pride once again.

His record had always been perfect, and this had left a stain on it.

“Sarota has already intercepted all the criminals, and there were no clue of it at all. The mercenaries are the only ones left. There’s an eighty percent chance that the Secret Message Bead is in the hands of the mercenaries.”

“Shall I continue to find a chance to deal with Black Star?”

“You failed once, don’t take the risk, retreat.” The Superiors sighed.

Veins popped up on the back of Ember’s hands.

“Yes, Sir…”

Chapter 391: Aroshia, Grade A Chain Mission (2)

The slave market was being rebuilt. Han Xiao showed his identity to the construction team and entered the underground corridor successfully. He came to the cell that Aroshia had once been in, looked around, knocked here and there, and did not find anything unusual.

Floating Dragon had searched the cell long before him, and they did not find anything either.

Aroshia stood outside the door and watched. She suddenly asked, “Why do you want to bring me away?”

Han Xiao paused for a moment. He definitely could not say that it was a mission requirement, so he said, “I’m very curious about you.”

“Curious…” Aroshia mumbled. “What is that?”

“Curiosity is the desire for knowledge. For example, when a normal person loses their memory, they want to know who they were before. This is a type of desire.”

“Desire… I don’t seem to have this sort of thing. Is that special?”

“Er, usually, those without desires are artificial intelligence, and not needing to consume or excrete is a characteristic of energy life forms.” Han Xiao sized Aroshia up and said, “But you’re neither of them. You just don’t have the basic physical needs, you might not have no desire at all. Don’t you have anything you want?”

Aroshia thought carefully and said, “I don’t think so.”

“Are you sure? Since you asked me a question, that’s the curiosity of wanting to know what ‘desire’ is,” Han Xiao said. “Desire is the sign of life, a feeling that makes people realize their existence. It can also be said that it’s the motive for every action a life form takes. Therefore, a life form like you seems very unique.”

Aroshia tilted her head, pondered, and said, “Is the reason for you teaching me how to use the energy inside my body also your own desire?”

“I want you to be stronger and become a help to me,” Han Xiao said honestly. He had figured out a few ways to communicate with Aroshia. There was no need to pretend—he just had to be straightforward and express his motive.

As always, Aroshia still had a carefree attitude. “I won’t die, so what’s the point of becoming stronger. Strong or weak, it’s all meaningless. Or I should say, existence itself is meaningless.”

Han Xiao thought about it and said, “But if you die, your memory will be reset. You’ll forget about this short-term memory. The ‘you’ after reviving might not be who ‘you’ are now. Once you revive, you’ll start from the beginning again, thinking the same things you have been thinking, wasting the same time you have already wasted, only to end up in the same place you are now. Becoming stronger will help you to avoid reviving, preventing yourself to be killed by others or disasters.”

Han Xiao paused and said, “And about meaning… You don’t need food and excretion to maintain your life, so you can’t feel existence. If your mind is blank, a day or even a year will feel like an instant. Hence, why not find something to do and give meaning to your life?”

“I see…” Aroshia mumbled a while, nodded, and said, “Thank you, talking with you is very pleasant. No one had ever said this much to me.”

In the past three years, the others only had two impression of her—A Space Wonder or a slave that did not run away. Never was there someone that communicated with her like she was a normal individual.

“Don’t mention it, it’s just chitchat.”

There was no clue in the prison cell. Han Xiao could only stop and casually chat with Aroshia, waiting for the time limit to arrive and see what would actually happen.

Seconds and minutes passed. As the last minute ended, the change happened.

Aroshia was still standing outside the door—she did not return to the cell. She took a few steps backward, then looked down on her body. Nothing unusual happened. Then she backed off further and further.

_____________________

[Visitor From Afar] Completed

You have received 1,800,000 Experience.

_____________________

Han Xiao was so surprised her eyebrows almost raised uncontrollably.

He hardly did anything at all, yet a Space Wonder that even the Floating Dragon could not resolve was gone just like that. There was definitely more to it! Han Xiao recalled that this mission had an unknown reward. He looked at the interface and realized that this reward turned out to be a new mission.

_____________________

You Have Triggered Grade A Hidden Chain Mission, [Reboot]

Mission Introduction: Aroshia is a unique life form. An enormous secret lies within her. Bring her alongside you, and one day, this secret will find you.

Reminder: This is a Chain Mission. The next mission will only be unlocked once the previous one is completed.

First Round: Teach Aroshia. Help her to awaken her power, control the energy inside her body, and reach Grade B

Reward: 5,200,000 Experience, 1 x Random Reward, +5 Risda Favorability

Failure Condition: Aroshia dead

_____________________

Chain Mission type grade A hidden mission! Han Xiao was shocked. This was usually something that only happened in large Main Storyline events.

He had no information about this storyline in his previous life, which meant that no one had triggered it. This was an unknown event. He was more assured that Aroshia was not ordinary. The mission name was [Reboot]—what did that mean? Also, who was this person called Risda?

“Apparently, I’m able to leave.” Aroshia was confused. “What did you do to me?”

“I have no idea…” Han Xiao said. “Anyways, this is a good thing.”

…

Two days later, the superiors of the three large mercenary group arrived late at Floating Dragon. Jenny had a meeting with them. After she accepted their apologies, she finally released Goa, Porter, and Cerleni’s teams who had been locked up for many days.

Right after these people got out, they surrounded Han Xiao and expressed their gratitude and praise.

The superiors of the three armies came to contact Han Xiao with very friendly attitudes. Every mercenary could feel how their superiors took Han Xiao seriously. Han Xiao had showcased his abilities in this mission, and now that he had the backing of Floating Dragon, even the three large armies could not take him lightly.

After they were free, they immediately prepared to leave Floating Dragon and go back to complete the mission, returning the Silvers to the long-awaited employer. The reason Han Xiao had waited till now was to travel together with them.

On the day of their departure, Jenny, Wilsander, and Haier all came to send him off.

The entire dock was stunned. People from everywhere sized Han Xiao up with shock as he chatted with the three of them. Black Star Mercenary Group’s position there was definitely high, given the fact that three of them were sending him off.

The people who knew what had happened were even more surprised. It had only been a short half a month since Han Xiao joined Floating Dragon, and he had been able to work his way up so high in such a short period. The three of them had come to send him off, which meant that they gave him a lot of face. Even the superiors of the three armies were only able to see Jenny.

“Her Excellency Dragon Emperor has allowed you to be a Field Team. You’re now a field commander. Your power is Floating Dragon’s external military power, so we hope you can grow stronger quickly,” Jenny said in a very formal tone. She took out a specially made communicator and passed to Han Xiao. “This communicator can be used to contact Ames directly. However, as a reminder, if there’s no absolute need, it’s best not to disturb her.”

Able to contact Ames directly? This small thing is equal to a nuclear launcher! Han Xiao stowed it carefully.

Haier crawled over and said regretfully, “You’re quite a good Mechanic. After you’re gone, my workload will go up again. This gift is for you.”

Looking down, Haier’s pedipalp passed an alloy box over. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled as he opened to look at it.

Inside was a mini portable nuclear reactor. Stable nuclear reactors were something that could only be built with advanced energy knowledge. Energy knowledge was more difficult to obtain than compression technology, so he could not build it currently. Now that he had the reactor, he could add materials and use it to generate power, then use it at the power core of a mechanical suit. The output of the mechanical suit would reach new heights.

“Thank you.” Han Xiao nodded with joy on his face.

After Haier walked away, Wilsander came closer and said, “Haier is a little ugly. I felt he was hard to look at initially but got used to it after some time. His personality is quite good.”

Han Xiao glanced at him and said, “Ames probably feel this way about you.”

Wilsander’s expression collapsed immediately.

“Don’t change the topic, did you bring a gift?”

“No.”

“Bye.” Han Xiao turned around and entered the ship.

“Come on, why is the treatment difference this huge!” Wilsander said resentfully on the dock.

Hu!

The ship took off.

Floating Dragon Island gradually became smaller in his eyes. He left with four more people than he entered with—three Volga brothers sleeping on the side and Aroshia, who was gazing out of the porthole.

There were both pros and cons to joining the Dragon Emperor’s faction. At the moment, the pros largely outweighed the cons. Not only did he receive new blueprints and materials, his talent evolved as well. The most priceless thing that he got during this mission should be the Secret Message Bead. The higher the risk it brought, the higher the value it would bring.

…

As Floating Dragon Island had already drifted to the Fawn Galaxy, less than one day after they left, they had already returned to the desolate planet that the employer was waiting for them on.

As soon as they landed, the Silvers could not wait to return, filled with the joy of escaping death.

After the employer calmed down, he paid the reward as promised.

Finally, I have the last two knowledges of Compression Technology. Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. For these two knowledges, he had taken on an unfamiliar mission, and it had been exhausting. But at long last, it was time to reap the rewards.

Chapter 392: The Sudden Arrival of a Fleet

What Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold wanted was money, whereas the reward that Han Xiao requested was the two advanced knowledges of the compression technology. After the employer wired the money to the three armies, he personally approached Han Xiao and thanked him sincerely.

The employer had initially paid more attention to the more renowned three large armies. The biggest reason that he hired Black Star was because the other mercenary groups changed their mind and none of them dared go to Floating Dragon Island. He did not expect this small mercenary group to be the key to the success of the mission.

“My friends wouldn’t have returned safely if it wasn’t for you.”

As he was speaking, he and all the rescued Silvers put down their sense of superiority as royalties and greeted Han Xiao with the sincerest way to express gratitude in the Silver culture.

Goa and the others received the same treatment as well. They were a little ashamed, knowing that they had been imprisoned the entire time and it was Han Xiao who had turned the tables and completed the mission.

“Sadly, two of your friends died,” Han Xiao said.

“Sigh, they’re unlucky, but you’re not to blame. The Shattered Star Ring is too dangerous, so we’ll be leaving in just a while. I hope to hire you guys as guards and protect us on our way home.”

The three armies kindly rejected the offer—they were not willing to travel that far. The Sea of Star Spirits and Shattered Star Ring were two Star Fields away, so it would take too long to travel there and return even with the star gate that could transport them across Star Fields.

“What about you?” The employer looked at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao shook his head and said, “Sorry, it’s too far, not inside my business scope.”

Although the Sea of Star Spirits’ resources was richer than Shattered Star Ring, it would waste a lot of time if they traveled there. It was all doing missions and earning money anyway, so he preferred not to travel for it. The Shattered Star Ring was rural and dangerous, but it had a lot of opportunities.

“That’s a pity. If there is a chance in the future, I hope to invite you to travel to our home for a trip…”

The employer shook his head and gave him the reward.

The mission complete notification appeared on the interface. He received more than 4,000,000 experience at once plus the 5,000 Enas. Including the amount that he had obtained through blackmailing, he had obtained more than 40,000 Enas.

The other players’ rewards were not as rich as their captain’s, but it was quite good nonetheless, so they were all smiling with satisfaction.

The communicator vibrated as it received the two knowledges. This was a special reward that only Han Xiao received. He checked and made sure that they were correct, then immediately chose to learn them.

_____________________

Learning… Successfully Learned! You have learned [High Density Material Compression Technology]!

Learning… Successfully Learned! You have learned [Basic Spatial Technology]!

You have acquired ability [Super Compression Technology]!

You have acquired ability [Basic Machinery Construction]!

You have acquired ability [Weight Reduction Structure]!

_____________________

As always, he felt the familiar headache, which only went away after quite some time. Without hesitation, he spent twenty Potential Points and leveled up these two knowledges to the max level.

Mechanics used different knowledge combinations depending on what style they were using, but these knowledges were a must-learn for all Mechanics, and their level had to be maxed.

The knowledges of the compression technology had a hidden connection. Only by possessing all of them would one learn the ability of Compression Technology, and this was the sign of the rise of Mechanics in Version 3.0.

[Super Compression Technology] folded the machineries. As the ability became stronger, it could fold larger machineries into the size of a finger, and its effect was enhanced by Machinery Affinity, level, and Intelligence. Currently, Han Xiao’s limit was folding medium-sized machines, which was most of the machines that he could build at the moment, such as firearms, Rangers, Amphiptere, and others.

As the size of his machines decreases after compression, their density increased. The mass of an object never changed, so its weight remained the same. However, [Weight Reduction Structure] would solve this problem. It used many technologies to achieve an internal repulsive force, creating an independent hovering field, maintaining a very low weight in various gravitational environments. It was suitable for many materials. This was a basic technology to achieve large scale compressions.

To achieve compression, folding structures needed to be added into the machines, increasing its complexity by multiple times. For convenience, many machines would be split up during compression, then reconnected back to their original form when they were expanded, using [Basic Machinery Construction]. This was an active ability that required energy to use, enabling extremely high-speed weapon assembly during combat. As long as there were parts, Mechanics would never run out of ammo.

When killing other players in his previous life, the usable parts of weapons and robots of Mechanics that were shattered seconds ago would be immediately reconstructed into other weapons, largely increasing the continuous combat capability and annoyance of the Mechanic Class.

If not for this ability that acted as a ‘recycle’ mechanism, the cost of using the Mechanical Army Style would have been many times higher.

From Han Xiao’s perspective, his Mechanic class could only be counted as shaped now that he had gotten these three abilities.

With Super Compression Technology and Basic Machinery Construction, my combat style will receive revolutionary upgrades. All my equipment needs to be modified into a compressed form. The number of weapons that I can equip will increase dozens of times. I won’t need to fight head-on wearing my mechanical suit anymore. Finally, I can bully others with my ‘Machinery Sea’ tactic.

Finally, the bitter days came to an end!

This time, the superiors of Blades and Purple Gold approached.

“Black Star, we want to sign a partnership with you, inviting you to be our ally.”

These two superiors were the ones in charge of this area; them sending an invitation personally showed their sincerity.

The structure of large armies was similar. With Sky Ring Army as an example, the Army Commander was the leader and the only one that had the five rings level. Followed by two grade A Deputy Army Commanders. There were two types of four rings members—one was grade B+ High-Class Combat Personnel, and another was High-Class Managers, in charge of one business area. The superior from Sky Ring was one of them, someone in charge of numerous galaxies.

Going further down the corporate table, one would find three rings officers like Goa, who usually brought a large team along but also could choose to work alone. They also had the authority to assemble a team temporarily.

Han Xiao had become an ally of Sky Ring earliest, and now, Blades and Purple Gold also saw Black Star’s potential, so they took the initiative to invite him. Large armies like these would only be the one initiating a partnership when they valued someone heavily.

One more large army partner meant more opportunities for missions. Han Xiao agreed and signed the contract.

The Blades and Purple Gold mercenaries immediately looked at him in a friendlier way—a partner was half as good as one of their own.

Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold were the most renowned armies in their Star Cluster. Becoming their partner was a very rare opportunity. Many normal mercenary groups would not even have the chance to request a partnership with just one of them, yet Han Xiao was a partner to all three of them.

After the rewards were given out, the Silvers boarded the spaceship and slowly took off.

The mercenaries were getting ready to leave as well. Goa found Han Xiao and asked, “Where are you planning to go?”

Han Xiao pondered and said, “Colton Star Cluster Star Zone One, Godora Colonized Planet. ‘Golden Palace’.”

The players were surprised when they heard.

“Black Phantom, are we not going back to Juberly Hub?” a player asked.

“Not yet, we have other things to do… Also, call me Black Star.” Many players were used to calling him by his previous moniker and found it hard to adjust. Han Xiao made an effort to make sure they called him by the correct name. Since they were already in space, his nickname would, of course, have to keep up with the times.

“What are you going to Golden Palace for?” Herlous asked curiously.

“To find someone.” Han Xiao did not explain it clearly. The others did not ask too much—they just had to follow their captain.

He was not planning to return to Juberly Hub for the time being. The Secret Message Bead was a hot potato, and he wanted to identify it first. Fortunately, it just so happened that he knew that a top-notch Godoran Mage was secluded in Golden Palace, who was good at analyzing magic patterns and charged a fee to identify unknown magic items for customers. That person was like a functional item identifying NPC in the eyes of the players.

“Let us send you there then,” Goa said.

If it was someone else, Sky Ring would have sent them to a public planet at most and not sent them straight to the destination like Han Xiao.

Han Xiao boarded Sky Ring’s spaceship. He felt the spaceship vibrate and slowly take off. The ground shrunk in his eyes.

He moved to the bow of the spaceship and looked out the window. The two spaceships of Blades and Purple Gold were taking off at the same time beside them.

Very soon, they rose thousands of meters above and were about to leave the atmosphere of this planet, entering the dark space.

The Silvers had taken off earlier than them, so they were already in space and were very far away. They could barely be seen.

At this moment, an enormous and thick laser beam suddenly penetrated the Silver spaceship. The next moment, the Silver spaceship turned into a firework in space.

Everyone saw the explosion, but no sound reached them through the vacuum. The Silvers who were just inviting them to their home not long ago were now all turned into ash, dying silently.

There was no sound in outer space—death seemed like a small matter.

It was deadly silent outside, but it was loud inside the spaceship.

“What’s going on? Who attacked the Silvers?”

The Sky Ring mercenaries were stunned.

This time, space ripples appeared. A large and black DarkStar mothership deactivated its stealth mode, many small battleships detached from the mothership and approached quickly like black locusts. Their targets were the three mercenary spaceships.

All the people who might have seen the Secret Message Bead were captured, and DarkStar had yet to find the bead. The mercenaries were the last target—the possibility of it being with them was the highest. However, DarkStar did not know whose hands it was in, so they decided to target all the mercenaries.

After Ember’s failure, DarkStar ordered Sarota’s fleet to come to the planet where the Silver employer was and capture all the mercenaries ruthlessly.

Inside the Secret Message Bead was something that DarkStar had spent a hundred million Enas to buy, a key item for them to deal with Godora’s plans. There was no way they were going to give it up.

“DarkStar‽”

Everyone was shocked when they recognized the renowned DarkStar Mothership.

We were never involved with DarkStar, why are they attacking us? Furthermore, they are sending an entire fleet for just three spaceships, what sort of vendetta is this‽

“Stop dazing about, turn back!” Han Xiao yelled, reminding the dumbfounded pilot. The spaceship made a sharp turn and dived toward the ground, and the other two spaceships followed.

Ohmm!

The sharp turn made the spaceship tremble, and many people could not maintain balance and almost fell.

An entire DarkStar fleet surrounded this planet. The difference in the number of spaceships and combat power was too huge, so the mercenaries had no chance to break through the siege. Once they entered space, without any obstructions, they would be destroyed by focus fire in no time. They could not escape the siege, as they would be stopped before they could enter the jumping state, which meant they had nowhere to run.

The only way out was to call for backup and stall for time inside the atmosphere. The chance of survival was low, but it was better than certain death.

Han Xiao was frowning. DarkStar’s persistence and decisiveness were beyond his expectations—they were not going to give up on even the slightest possibility, which proved what he thought earlier. The more value the Secret Message Bead had, the higher the risk was.

What a coincidence, the Secret Message Bead is really in my hands. They don’t even know it.

This was not even a battle; it was like a hunter chasing after prey. The small spaceships of the mercenaries were absolutely no match for the DarkStar fleet. The only good news was that DarkStar did not fire immediately—it seemed like they wanted to capture them alive. This made the mercenaries feel a little more at ease, with there at least being a chance to negotiate.

“This is the most dangerous situation I have ever met!” Han Xiao felt his heart was beating very fast. Not only was he not panicking, but he was excited.

“Chance of getting out unharmed is less than ten percent. Now, this is interesting…”

He licked his lips, and excitement flashed in his eyes.

Those that were faced with imminent death either became terrified of death or fearless. He happened to be the latter. After experiencing countless dangers and even dying once, he had surpassed fear long ago.

Chapter 393: Power of the Experienced

During the process of the spaceship diving down, the pilot sent out a distress signal to the area channel, and invisible waves spread out in space. The area channel was like the public channel for players—all the spaceships passing by the area were able to receive it.

“This is Fawn Galaxy, the territory of Holy Stone Civilization and Black Raven Civilization. Friction occurs very often due to territory boundaries. These two large civilizations always have people stationed nearby, and they have set up very strong signal receivers that are sensitive to all sorts of waves. The Fawn Galaxy radiation is always operating at high output, which means that this area is like a bright spot in both of their detectors. If DarkStar activated a signal disruptor, there would be an obvious area with shade out of nowhere. Holy Stone Civilization and Black Raven Civilization would think its each other’s forces, they would definitely send people over,” Goa explained. “Therefore, I’m fifty percent sure that DarkStar is not disrupting the signal.”

Buzz!

Communication requests from Porter and Cerleni appeared on the screen, discussing their strategies anxiously. They had sent out a distress signal as well, but Cerleni was very pessimistic. “Even if someone receives our signal, the problem is, who dares to come? DarkStar is the one attacking us after all. Holy Stone and Black Raven might come to just watch and guard against DarkStar in case they have other motives, or they might not be willing to waste their military power to help us, a group of irrelevant mercenaries. Unlike Godora, who have so much hatred toward DarkStar, Holy Stone and Black Raven might not want to mess with DarkStar.

The three of them looked at their superiors, and the superiors nodded firmly.

“We have already contacted the commander; he will come to save us. He’s sending emergency dispatch orders to the nearby teams. We fear DarkStar, but we definitely will not let them do whatever they want, and we will certainly not give up on our own people. The commander is currently assembling a fleet and sending out messages to all partners. We have to protect ourselves. Stall for time—there will definitely be someone here to save us.”

All the mercenaries were instantly motivated, and a sense of honor rose in their hearts as firmness and hope appeared on their faces.

“Large armies really are different—they’re very united.” Han Xiao was envious. There were definitely some things that large armies did right after being created for so many years. Although they were all mercenaries that valued rewards, given that they could unite strong forces from everywhere showed that they knew how to build a sense of belonging. Although many members knew about this, they could not deny that they enjoyed it. After all, being in an organization that did not give up on its members was one thing that bonded them together in this cold universe.

DarkStar was known to be fearsome, but Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold were not some organizations that they could easily mess with. Other than their own forces, they also had a very complicated network in the mercenary industry. They had many partners, and they were all very strong individuals or organizations. It was not simply three large armies that DarkStar messed with—it was half of the entire mercenary industry throughout the three nearest Star Clusters!

In other words, DarkStar was used to being unbridled, but this time, they stabbed the hornet’s nest.

However, a distant water source could not put out a nearby fire immediately.

Han Xiao took out the unidirectional communicator that Jenny had given him. He calmed his mind and sent the request.

The mercenaries called for backup, and he also requested help from his cheap boss. He was not putting all his hope on the three armies.

“Didn’t expect to use it this soon…”

Ding.

Ames appeared on the screen. Han Xiao saw the environment Ames was in—a palace filled with a sense of magic, built with obsidian, white crystal, Mithril, fine gold, jade, and precious stones, like a piece of jewelry enlarged thousands of times. Mysterious magic patterns hovered in the air, colorful and bright. Many translucent magic dragons swam happily in the air. Ames was sitting in front of a small hovering table, and on it were all sorts of unique and rare foods. Sitting opposite her was… a kid in a red and white magic cape. He looked about six to seven years old, with sharp ears, white and tender skin, and a cute round face. The cape on him was like a blanket—it did not fit at all. The cape was long, but the kid was short, so it was almost burying him.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. This little kid was another beyond grade A being of the Shattered Star Ring, a Mage whose race was a long-lived species that looked like humans on the outside, but his real age was hundreds or maybe even a thousand years old. Also, he was a fighting opponent of Ames’. More accurately, Ames was there as a guest. The four beyond grade A beings in the Shattered Star Ring knew each other. Fighting was just to kill time, and once they were tired from fighting, they would sit down to rest and have a meal together in a very peaceful manner… Han Xiao just pitied that small planet.

Ames’ eyebrow raised a little. “It’s you, my new subordinate.”

“… Did you forget my name?”

Ames swiped the communicator like she was looking for something. One second later, she said with a very natural tone, “Black Star, what is the reason for you contacting me? Have you found the whereabouts of my teacher?”

She emphasized Han Xiao’s name like she was trying to say that she did not forget.

Han Xiao shook his head and said, “The aircraft I’m currently in is attacked by DarkStar. The situation is dire, so I’m here to ask you for help.”

“Why did DarkStar attack you?” Ames asked curiously.

Han Xiao coughed.

“A few days ago, DarkStar caused trouble on Floating Dragon while you were not there. It seems like they were up to something. Coincidentally, I happened to disrupt their plan. This attack should be an act of revenge.”

Ames tilted her head. She recalled Jenny’s report. Now that DarkStar was mentioned, she seemed to have some kind of beef with DarkStar, and she had even been planning to find trouble with them earlier.

“Alright, wait there, I’ll go when I’m free,” Ames said with a casual tone, then hung up the communication.

Han Xiao was speechless. Ames’ attitude was carefree, so he had no way to force her to come immediately. He was not strong enough, so he could only seek help from someone stronger.

_____________________

You have triggered an urgent mission [Escape]!

Mission Introduction: Start running.

Mission requirement: Escape DarkStar’s pursuit and stall till backup arrives.

Reward: Basic reward 800,000 experience. The final reward depends on mission rating. The basic reward is given when achieving the lowest rating, D. After lasting for 2 days, the mission rating will reach D. The rating will increase by one level every 12 hours thereafter.

Failure Condition: Captured by DarkStar.

_____________________

Han Xiao looked around at the players and realized that their faces changed a little—they had probably triggered the mission as well.

This time, the reward for the players was exactly the same as Han Xiao, so all the players were shocked!

800,000 experience!

Han Xiao was long used to it; it was not much for him. However, to the players, this was the highest reward that they had ever seen in a mission!

Shock, joy, surprise—various expressions appeared on the players’ faces.

Han Xiao analyzed the information that he read between the lines of the mission. The lowest rating requires me to last for two days. This should mean the earliest backup will only arrive after two days. Which means that we need to fight alone for two days…

He was instantly troubled. They might not even last two hours, let alone two days.

This time, the aircraft finally returned to the ground and flew at a low altitude. This desolated planet was almost completely empty. It had no forests and no signs of life, and it was filled with stones and mountains. The only good thing about it was that its terrain was vicious enough. The three aircrafts took the same approach—stall for as much time as possible by using the obstacles in the terrain.

Boom boom boom!

Hundreds of mini DarkStar hovering ships were in pursuit, firing green colored low-energy laser cannons from above, chasing after three spaceships, and creating clusters of dust on the ground. The sound of explosions was nonstop, and the spaceships’ shields were flashing from the impact.

DarkStar wanted to capture them alive. They did not want to destroy the spaceships as it would destroy the Secret Message Bead that might be in the hands of one of them. So, they sent out mini hovering ships that were less than ten meters long. The mini laser cannons had very low power too, good for damaging yet not destroying. Using speed and mobility, they would force the mercenaries to give up their spaceships.

“Split up!”

The three spaceships dashed past a black and gray colored menacing mountain, then suddenly split up and escaped in three different directions. Green lasers hit the mountain. With a loud bang, its peak broke and rolled down its hill, stirring up a cloud of thick dust. The hovering ships split into three groups as well, chasing after the spaceships.

The Sky Ring spaceship that Han Xiao was on was being chased by about a hundred hovering ships. However, unluckily, the direction that they turned toward was a plain land without any obstacles.

“This is bad!” Their faces changed.

The pilot was covered in sweat, trying his best to control the spaceship and dodge the attacks. The dust created by the green lights was like a fountain. The spaceship was able to dodge some lasers, but it was getting hit more often than when the three spaceships were together. The shield was flashing rapidly.

“Warning! Warning! Sixty-seven percent energy left in shield! Energy level entered the yellow warning zone! Please refill in time!”

“Energy core close to overload! Please cool down in time!”

A string of warnings was announced, like a hammer hitting their hearts.

The pilot’s face was pale.

Suddenly, they saw Han Xiao walk out of the crowd. He walked to the pilot’s side, pressed on his shoulder, and said in a confident tone, “Stand up, give me the seat.”

The face of all the mercenaries in the spaceship changed. Changing pilot during the fight, are you sure‽

Goa stared at Han Xiao and said, “This concerns the life or death of everyone here, do you know what you’re doing‽”

Han Xiao nodded and said, “If he continues piloting, the chance of crashing is ninety-nine percent. If I do, it’s only thirty-percent.”

“You!” The pilot was outraged.

Goa stared at Han Xiao for a full two seconds, then nodded and said, “Okay, you do it.”

The Sky Ring mercenaries were shocked. Even though they knew Han Xiao’s capabilities, piloting a spaceship was completely different from fighting. In such urgent situations, no one would be willing to entrust their fate to someone whose pilot skill was unknown.

“If we carry on this way, in less than an hour, our ship would crash. Let him try,” Goa explained.

Although the pilot knew that this was a fact, he was unwilling to let someone else control his fate. After the expression on his face changed several times, he finally gave the position to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao took over the pilot position immediately. This time, Goa walked to him and said in a very serious tone, “Black Star, our lives are in your hands… You must—must—be careful about this.”

At this moment, the mercenaries could only place their hopes on Han Xiao. Quite a number of mercenaries actually knew how to pilot a spaceship, but no one was confident that they could do it better than the previous pilot, nor did they have the guts to take on this responsibility, worrying that their mistake might kill everyone. This was a very large amount of pressure, and no one dared do it. Now that Han Xiao had stepped forward at this crucial moment, they could only hope that he was dependable.

“Black Star, you know how to pilot spaceships‽” Herlous said with surprise.

“I know many things. Do you know me very well?”

Han Xiao adjusted the control panels casually and easily.

Piloting a spaceship is nothing; I used to pilot mechanical suits!

Like the difference between a passenger aircraft pilot and a fighter plane pilot, one requires safety and stability, and the other requires complexity. The difficulty of piloting a mechanical suit was much higher than a fighter plane.

Han Xiao was someone who had horned his pilot skills killing other players in the galactic battlefields! Even in the entire universe, he was a top-notch ace pilot!

They suddenly heard an announcement from the system.

“Adjustment complete. Shield output decreased to 20%…”

“Have you lost your mind‽” the pilot yelled uncontrollably.

Everyone was shocked. Han Xiao weakened the shield as soon as he took over. The spaceship’s defensive capability was largely decreased. If they got hit by attacks like earlier, the body of the spaceship would be damaged.

Was that reminder all for nothing‽

Goa was filled with regret. Just as he was about to yell, another announcement sounded from the system.

“All energy is being directed into the engine… complete.”

Han Xiao turned his head back a little and gave the people behind him a reminder.

“Hold tight.”

The next moment, the sudden explosive recoil tore straight through the internal gravitational stabilization of the spaceship—everyone staggered and fell down in unison.

The yelling that was just about to come out of Goa’s mouth fell right back down his throat!

Chapter 394: Speed and Motion Sickness

On a desolate, unpopulated planet, a chase was underway on its gray plains.

Almost a hundred hovering ships were chasing after the Sky Ring spaceship. The Sky Ring spaceship’s exhaust flames expanded violently in an instant. The sudden increase of speed was like a tornado that stirred up countless dust from the floor.

Hum!

Dashing at a low altitude, the head of the boat was covered in dust, like a high-speed triangular speedboat dashing across the ocean.

Boom!

The hovering ships hastily increased their speed as well, but they could barely keep up with the Sky Ring spaceship. Many hovering ships’ accuracy decreased noticeably because of the angles, and their attacks missed much more often.

The spaceship was trembling like it would crash at any moment, but everyone felt the visible change. Although it felt more dangerous, the number of times that the spaceship got hit decreased drastically. The high mobility largely enhanced the ship’s ability to dodge. The weakened shield was just strong enough to endure these attacks. Han Xiao’s piloting skills were horrifying.

By increasing the power of the engine, the difficulty in piloting would increase as well. Yet, As compared to the previous pilot, everyone could directly feel the difference when Han Xiao took over. It was like the spaceship became ‘alive’! It felt like the spaceship became an extension of Han Xiao’s body.

The gravity in the spaceship was finally calibrated. The people stood up one after another, and their doubts all disappeared.

They were overjoyed by Black Star, who took on such crucial responsibility in the current dire situation. Anything that could better the situation was a pleasant surprise. They never expected Black Star to have this up his sleeves.

“Fantastic!” Goa’s tone changed instantly. A glimpse of a smile appeared on her expressionless face. “At this pace, the damage dealt by the hovering ships will be minimal. You did very well!”

“What?” Han Xiao was confused. “This is just basic controlling. I have not done anything yet.”

The higher the speed, the better his controls. He was far from his limit at the current speed.

Sadly, if he increases the speed further, the shield would be too thin. He was worried that he might be rusty after not piloting a battleship for so long. Maintaining the current shield thickness was a safer choice for him.

However, in the mercenaries’ eyes, the shield’s thickness was already horrifyingly thin, yet Black Star said that this was just his basic controls?

What was he going to do then‽

A bad feeling arose in everyone’s heart.

Han Xiao stretched his wrist and said, “Hold on tight.”

With the lesson of falling right on the floor earlier, no one ignored his reminder this time. They held onto anything that they could as soon as possible. Their faces were filled with nervousness.

Hum!

In an instant, the Sky Ring spaceship started to drift, like a raging horse trying to get rid of the rider on its back!

All kinds of tricks were interjoined smoothly—lateral rollover, roller coaster, Z-maneuver, and so on. The spaceship had still been flying in a straight line just one second ago, and now it was completely random!

The hovering ship fleet was already having a hard time following, and now that Han Xiao was moving this way, their formation became broken immediately. Many hovering ships blocked the shooting range of the fleet behind them. Their laser fire became sparser, and the threat level of the attack decreased largely again.

Everyone felt like they were in a can that was being shaken violently. For the first time, they felt inertia that pulled them in all directions. Their stomach acid was rushing up, their brain juice was vibrating, and their faces were pale white. Their vision started to blur, and the surrounding environment and people started to have mirror images.

After piloting spaceships for so many years, the pilot felt like he was back to when he first started learning. The dizziness was like an old friend that he had not met for a long time. He could almost see his pilot teacher waving at him with a smile on his face.

Han Xiao could still divert his attention and said, “That pilot, come and control the weapon. If we keep running and don’t fire back at all, it will be the end of us sooner or later. Fire when you see a chance.”

The pilot hastily followed the order and sat in the weapon operating seat. Compared to Black Star, his piloting skills became completely ordinary. The resentfulness before completely disappeared—he was now only scared that he might burden Han Xiao.

“On my count—five, four, three…”

Han Xiao stared at the screen, then did one more drift that messed up the formation of the hovering ships, creating a split-second opportunity to fly straight up.

Hu!

The trembling came once again!

Even if the people expected it, their legs still softened, and they almost fell.

The spaceship flew in a ‘U’ shape, flying from close to the ground right to above the hovering ship fleet, dashing back in the opposite direction.

“Fire!”

The pilot fired immediately. The cannon shot out from the Sky Ring spaceship. There was no need to aim—it was an attack fired at the dense part of the formation.

Boom boom boom!

Shield lit up on a few leading hovering ships as they were forced to stop for a moment. The fleet behind bumped into them straight away, causing chain reactions like dominos. The entire fleet in front became a mess, rolling across the sky.

The hovering ships were not that fragile, so they did not crash.

Han Xiao only stayed in this position for less than three seconds. Before the fleet could adjust, he made a sharp turn and escaped to the side. Its movement was as smooth as silk.

On the other hand, the chasing fleet took a few seconds to adjust before catching up. Although no battleship crashed, Han Xiao largely increased the distance between them.

“Not bad.” Han Xiao smiled and gave the pilot a thumbs up.

The pilot smiled brightly back at him, as vomit flew down right between his teeth.

The difficulty of these few movements was very high. Yet, no one in the ship showed any sign of being shocked. They did not even have the strength to be surprised—their legs were shaking, and their heads were spinning.

These movements had successfully given all of his teammates a debuff.

Goa opened her mouth, forcing herself to try to give a few words of compliment, but instead covered her mouth in an instant. The muscles in her neck could be seen clearly to have moved up and down, only then did she dare put her hand down.

Aroshia shook left and right, then sat down on the floor, unable to stand up. She said with confusion, “What’s happening to me?”

Herlous was breathing heavily, and he almost suffocated like a fish out of water. The mercenaries around were all trembling. Luckily, Herlous’ body was strong enough, so he could still hang on. He turned around and was shocked to see that the players were very calm. “Are you people feeling fine‽”

The players smiled cheekily. As short as three seconds after Han Xiao took over the spaceship, they realized the danger and immediately decreased their physical senses to five percent. Therefore, although they had the [Heavily Dizzy] status on their character, so they were still feeling very refreshed!

“I thought we just entered a time and space tunnel.”

“This piloting skill is absolutely horrifying!”

“I have seen Fast and Furious; this is fast and dizzy.”

The players still had the strength to discuss what was happening.

With no time to be bothered about everyone’s reactions, Han Xiao started to think of the plan.

“Just piloting the spaceship will not last us two days. The DarkStar fleet will not make no changes. When they realize that the hovering ship fleet cannot deal with us, they will definitely use more aggressive methods. I can only play with the hovering ship fleet for two hours at most. After that, the danger level is going to rise step by step.”

He planned ahead. After all, stalling for two days was not an easy task at all.

The others did not know DarkStar’s motive, only Han Xiao did. DarkStar had come for the Secret Message Bead. Therefore, DarkStar would not be willing to miss out on even one person.

A few plans flashed in his head before Han Xiao said, “It’s not going to work out like this. We can’t stay on the surface. I have a plan…”

As soon as he said this, the expression on everyone’s face became as tragic as a prisoner on their way to the execution ground.

“Anyt… Anything you say. We trust you,” Goa said.

Despite it clearly being an encouragement, there was no sound of joy in it at all. Instead, her voice was trembling a little.

…

In the command hall of the DarkStar mothership, the image feedback from the hovering ships was shown on the screen. The captain, Sarota, was watching it with hands behind his back.

Ten minutes passed after the battle started. The spaceships of Blades and Purple Gold were clearly struggling—only Han Xiao was doing slightly better. This attracted Sarota’s attention right away. He pointed at the screen and asked, “Which mercenary group does this spaceship belong to?”

“The Sky Ring Army.”

Sarota nodded and said, “They have quite a good pilot. Looks like we need to spend more time. By the way, that Black Star is apparently on the Sky Ring ship as well, isn’t he?”

The last question was directed toward the corner of the hall.

In the corner, Ember was standing against the wall with a cold and indifferent face. When he heard Han Xiao’s name, his eyes swayed slightly. He had a very strong impression of Han Xiao since his last defeat.

Oom!

At this time, the alarm suddenly sounded.

“Captain, space ripple detected. There are fleets jumping toward this direction.”

Sarota was not surprised at all. He brought up the detection image, showing that a large battleship fleet was jumping toward this direction from far away at both sides of the mothership. Both of them were in a guard formation. DarkStar was in the middle.

The two fleets were the Border Guards Army of Holy Stone Civilization and Black Raven Civilization. Their style of the battleships was very different—one side was semi-circle shaped and thick, and the other was streamlined and thin. The metal fortresses were very intimidating.

As soon as the DarkStar mothership showed up, it was noticed by the Border Guards Army. Holy Stone and Black Star immediately sent out a fleet to make a field investigation. They did not act immediately once they saw DarkStar. Instead, they stayed still and watched from afar.

“Is there a need to do anything?” an assistant asked.

“Send out a message. Tell them we are just passing by to settle our business, and we will be leaving very soon. They will not attack us,” Sarota said calmly. He was not concerned at all like everything was under his control.

Chapter 395: The Battle of Pursuit (1)

The ownership of this area has always been blurry. If DarkStar showed up in the official territory of these two civilizations, they would definitely be warned and evicted. However, due to the sensitivity of this area, the two fleets did not make a move.

In the Holy Stone Border Guards Army, command ship of the third formation, Stream Light.

The atmosphere was filled with nervousness. DarkStar’s fearsome name was well known, and they had quite the tension with Black Raven. The captain of the Third Formation, Shivate, said with a very serious face, “All units on level one alert, hold the position.”

At this time, Stream Light received a message from the DarkStar mothership. Sarota expressed their motive, emphasizing the fact that they meant no offense to Holy Stone and Black Raven. They were just carrying out a pursuit, of which the targets were some mercenaries. Once the mission was completed, they would leave immediately.

Shivate’s tightened face relaxed a little, and without thinking, he said, “Tell them that it’s possible for Holy Stone to not interfere with DarkStar’s operation, but during this period, no suspicious action will be allowed. We will be monitoring from here, and we hope they leave as soon as possible.”

Shivate did not want a war to break out. There were many reasons. The first would of course be, they did not want to mess with DarkStar. The entire Shattered Star Ring knew the ugly history between DarkStar and Godora, no one wanted to be part of it. The most horrifying characteristic of DarkStar was that they were very stealthy. If they lost the battle, they would still be able to run away, and the revenge afterward would make you suffer a large loss. Secondly, if they fire, it might very likely cause Black Raven to misunderstand, which would then turn into a scrimmage, leading to a territory conflict. If he was determined guilty of deliberately starting a war in the court martial, the punishment for that was very heavy.

Due to the territorial conflicts, there had always been some tension between these two civilizations. The Holy Stone Civilization was an aristocracy civilization, ruled by a royal family. Its political construction was very complicated, and its efficiency in making decisions was mediocre. They did not like wars, and they were good at using diplomatic measures. Be it resources, connections, or power, Holy Stone Civilization was a little higher than Black Raven Civilization. However, as Black Raven Civilization had limited resources in their early days, their developing process was very tough, which made them have very strong minds and become collectivists. Their efficiency in executing matters was very high. Even though their nation was not as strong as Holy Stone, Holy Stone could not find a way to get rid of them. If they started a large-scale war, both sides would definitely suffer a huge loss. Therefore, both sides controlled the scale of their conflicts.

Hence, DarkStar was not the only thing Shivate feared—he was more afraid to cause a misunderstanding.

The most important reason that made Shivate decide to sit on the sidelines was that DarkStar’s target was just a bunch of mercenaries; they were just passersby that did not matter at all. Unless it was the people from their own civilization, these two armies would not make a huge move for it. Seeing that Black Raven’s army also held their position, Shivate knew that the captain of Black Raven had made the same decision—sit on the sidelines and monitor.

After all, to two civilizations, the life and death of these mercenaries were not their concern. Like a droplet of water in the sea, it did not matter.

Therefore, the fleets that rushed there were watching silently. Shivate waved his hands and told his subordinate to check the escaping target on the planet.

“I see, they’re members of the three large mercenary armies. Their background is rather impressive. Sadly, they met DarkStar.”

After reading the report, Shivate was a little bit surprised. He then shook his head and said, “The sooner they’re caught, the better. Then DarkStar can leave earlier…”

From the perspective of his own benefits, he would prefer the mercenaries stop resisting.

The same scene also played out in Black Raven Civilization’s command ship.

On the other side, the DarkStar mothership received the replies. Sarota’s face remained the same as if it was exactly as he expected. He knew both sides would not attack.

…

On another area of the planet, the Blades spaceship was being chased by many hovering ships. They were struggling—its shield already had countless holes, and its recovery speed could not match up to the speed of it being destroyed. The rapid system alarms had the Blades mercenaries on edge.

“Faster, even faster,” Porter mumbled with sweat all over his face. When the situation was not looking good, he pushed away the original pilot to control the spaceship himself. Yet, the situation did not become better.

Suddenly, a laser exploded on the shield.

Bang!

The shield blinked twice and disappeared. It had reached its limit.

Everyone in the ship was stunned. Porter’s face changed drastically.

Without a shield, the spaceship itself would not have any protection anymore. If they were fired on once again, the spaceship would definitely crash.

Boom!

Just as the hovering ship fleet was going to fire the next downpour of ‘laser rain’, a chain of cannons hit the formation and caused a series of explosions.

This hovering ship did not have the time to react to it fully, and they hastily dodged. The accuracy of the attacks all missed the Blades spaceship by centimeters.

Faraway, the Sky Ring spaceship drove there at a high speed. Behind him was the pursuing fleet. It was Han Xiao, who had returned after a detour and saved his teammates hastily. The pursuing fleet did not give him any pressure at all, and they were going around and around chasing after him. Therefore, Han Xiao tried to help his teammates as much as he could.

The existence of teammates could divert the enemy’s firepower. The longer the teammates lasted, the less pressure he would face.

Han Xiao stopped the enemy for one moment before turning around and escaping immediately. The shield of the Blades spaceship took the opportunity to recover. Porter almost collapsed, and his face was filled with happiness. “That was close.”

This time, Han Xiao sent a message to the other two ships. “Don’t run around randomly; you guys can’t deal with them yourselves. I’ve sent you the route. Even if you split up, don’t stay too far from me. I’ll provide support from time to time.”

“Why did you become the pilot?” Porter asked with surprise.

“We all feel safer with him being the pilot.” Goa’s voice came from the side. Porter looked over, only to see all the mercenaries in the Sky Ring spaceship were encased in hard ice from the waist down and firmly fixed onto the ground like ice sculptures. It was Goa that used her spell to help everyone to balance. Porter was shocked.

You don’t look like you feel safe at all!

Porter’s eyelids twitched.

Anyway, Han Xiao’s suggestion was approved. Blades and Purple Gold’s teams agreed to follow Han Xiao’s plan. They quickly changed their route and maintained communication between them. As soon as they got into a dire situation, Han Xiao would provide backup.

After helping them out in dire situations time after time, the members of the other ships also realized how good Han Xiao’s piloting skills were. They were immediately convinced.

Han Xiao stabilized the situation temporarily. Three ships brought hundreds of hovering ships and ran around the planets. Half an hour passed, and the hovering ship fleet had yet to capture them. They were in a stalemate.

On the DarkStar mothership, Sarota was getting impatient.

“More than three hundred hovering ships against just three ships. Why have we yet to capture them?”

The initial plan was to be done with the battle within ten minutes then retreat quickly after. Sarota was very unsatisfied with the current situation. He stared at the Sky Ring spaceship on his screen with unhappiness in his eyes.

“It’s all because the pilot of this ship is too good, that’s why they’re able to stall this much time… Send out medium fighter ships. Surround this area and cut off their escape route.”

As he gave the order, more fighter ships launched from the DarkStar mothership and flew toward the planet.

Inside the far away Stream Light, Shivate saw this and was a little surprised.

“Facing DarkStar’s pursuit and being trapped on the planet, not only were these three small spaceships stall for half an hour, they even forced DarkStar to send in more support…

“But if this continues, it will drag on even longer…”

…

Through the porthole, the people in the Sky Ring spaceship saw more fighter ships coming toward the surface from the DarkStar mothership.

“Sh*t, DarkStar sent reinforcements!” the ex-pilot shouted.

“We knew they would sooner or later; don’t sound so surprised.”

Han Xiao glanced outside. He had expected this since long ago.

It’s only half an hour, and they have already sent reinforcements. DarkStar changed their tactic quicker than I expected. In gaming terms, this means that the pace of this mission’s difficulty change is very fast. How am I going to stall for two days like this?Han Xiao thought.

Although it looked like they were safe at the moment, they were still dancing on blades. When DarkStar lost their patience completely, they would not care about the resource expenses. They might surround them, and by then, there would be nowhere to escape. After all, piloting skills had a limit. He was only flying a small spaceship, not a galactic level mechanical suit.

After some contemplation, Han Xiao decided to carry out the next part of the plan. At this time, all three ships received the same message.

“This is Holy Stone Border Guards Army Third Formation. We have received your rescue signal and have arrived near the planet. Please gather at the coordinates we gave you; we will be there to receive you and provide protection.”

Together with this message were the coordinates, which were not far from where they were. This message was like cardiotonic, instantly giving everyone energy.

“Holy Stone is willing to help. We’re saved.”

All the mercenaries in the three ships were overjoyed.

Han Xiao frowned and pondered, then said something that immediately cooled everyone down, “I think this is quite strange…”

Chapter 396: The Battle of Pursuit (2)

“If the Holy Stone Border Guards Army wants to receive us, they would definitely be in conflict with DarkStar, but take a look up there. The DarkStar mothership is still floating there and not sending out any other ships. Furthermore, this is a very sensitive border area, so it’s impossible for Holy Stone and Black Raven to take very long to come. This means that they’ve made a certain deal with DarkStar. This is the edge of their border, so the official authority here is blurry to begin with. They did not provide any help even when the Silvers were kidnapped. Now they suddenly want to help us? It doesn’t feel trustworthy.”

Han Xiao paused and said, “But of course, there’s a chance that Holy Stone did not compromise with DarkStar and really wants to protect us. However… this is very unlikely.”

He did not mention the most important reason—the mission requirement stated that they had to last two days for just the lowest rating, but only half an hour had passed. The reinforcements could not have arrived so soon. His intuition told him that there was a problem with Holy Stone’s message.

Many people started to rethink, but they still hoped that they had gotten lucky.

This time, there was a disagreement. Cerleni said in a low voice, “I choose to believe this message. Holy Stone has no need to lie to us, and this might be our only chance. I’ve decided to go to the pickup location. What about you?”

“I’m not going.” Han Xiao shook his head without hesitation and then looked over to Goa. Goa hesitated for a while, then nodded and agreed with Han Xiao’s decision. Although there were some mercenaries in the ship that had other thoughts, seeing that Goa and Han Xiao had both decided, they could only hold their thoughts in.

Porter hesitated for a moment, then rejected it as well, choosing to listen to Han Xiao’s advice.

Cerleni frowned and said, “Best of luck to you guys then.”

The Purple Gold spaceship deviated from the route and headed toward the pickup location, disappearing from sight shortly.

Han Xiao exhaled and said with a deep voice, “DarkStar’s reinforcements will arrive very soon, and our activity area will become smaller and smaller. If we continue to stay on the surface, the situation will only become worse. We have to go underground. The scanner has already recorded all the terrain we have passed by, and there’s quite a number of canyons and gaps in the terrain. The space below the ground on this planet is very huge. Plus, it has a complicated environment and many obstacles. Limited moving space will give us some trouble, but it will give those chasing us trouble too. Furthermore, the ground and block the direct detection from their mothership, providing us another layer of protection…”

He had a rough plan of what to do next. The situation was not pleasant. The reinforcement was just DarkStar’s first step, they would soon be limiting their movement areas, surrounding them, bombarding the area, and so on, forcing them to change the route. Han Xiao pondered and pondered, and eventually, he realized that in order for them to last two days, there was only one workable way—spread out.

DarkStar’s target was all the mercenaries, and two spaceships were only two targets. However, if they spread out in an undetectable environment, every mercenary would be a target. Although there would definitely be unlucky ones that might be sacrificed, it would also make DarkStar spend more time searching. After all, wishing to save everyone was not realistic.

“Let’s do as you say.” Goa trusted Han Xiao a lot.

Han Xiao changed the direction of the spaceship and looked forward. Very soon, a very long gap in earth appeared on the horizon, like the gray colored earth opening its mouth, black as an abyss. From far away, it looked like just a small gap, and only when they got closer did they realize that it was tens of meters wide.

Hu!

The Sky Ring spaceship dived straight into the gap, and darkness filled their vision.

The detector sketched out the terrain in the darkness. About two to three hundred meters down, numerous caves appeared on both sides. Han Xiao chose a cave and flew in. Inside was an underground space, leading to somewhere far away.

There was a very large space under the ground of this planet. It had complex tunnels and was filled with storage stones. It had been undisturbed for countless years, and now, its first guest had arrived.

The Blades spaceship did the same, and the hovering ship fleet followed behind. Unavoidably, their speed decreased. Flying in this kind of environment required a very high reaction speed, plus space was limited, so the formation of the hovering ships had to turn into a long snake shape. Due to space restraints, ninety percent of the fighter ships were blocked by their teammates in front and unable to fire. The attack faced by the Blades and Sky Ring spaceships significantly lessened.

The two ships flew underground just in time, escaping from DarkStar’s plan to surround them on the surface.

The Purple Gold spaceship was still on the surface, and it arrived at the pickup location.

Cerleni sent a communication request to the channel that they had received the message from.

“Holy Stone Third Formation please come in. I have arrived at the pickup location. Where are the receiving units?”

He repeated that again and again, but Holy Stone did not reply and kept silent. His expression gradually changed, and he started to sweat all over.

The Purple Gold spaceship did not dare stop. It circled around the pickup location like a headless fly. When the DarkStar reinforcements came from all directions, Cerleni ‘s face turned pale. Only then did he realize that there was no one there to pick them up. Black Star was right. He had lost the gamble.

Boom boom boom!

Bullets rained down!

Not long after, the Purple Gold spaceship crashed onto the ground covered in smoke. The gate opened, and the mercenaries inside sprinted out in all directions. However, the DarkStar warriors landed from the fighter ships hovering in the sky and surrounded them. There was nowhere to run.

The struggle of Cerleni and the others did not make any impact, so they were captured easily and escorted onto the spaceship to be sent to the mothership.

Everyone in the two ships that were descending underground saw what happened to Purple Gold. Seeing that their friends that had once fought alongside them were in such a dire situation, everyone was grieving.

If not for Han Xiao standing his ground, they would have ended up the same way.

The mercenaries looked at Han Xiao with even more trust in their eyes.

“I did tell them…” Han Xiao sighed.

Cerleni had been willing to take the gamble, and there was nothing Han Xiao could do about it; he could not have taken over the control of Purple Gold spaceship.

However, from a purely pros and cons perspective, this would give them more time. With at least some result, DarkStar would be a little less in a hurry.

…

Inside Stream Light, the scene of Purple Gold’s spaceship crashing was being played on the screen. Shivate shook his head and said, “Too bad only one ship was captured.”

He was indeed the one that gave the order to send that message. It was to mislead the mercenaries and make it easier for DarkStar to capture them, but it was not because he wanted to help DarkStar. In his eyes, these mercenaries would definitely not be able to escape, and them getting captured was just a matter of time. He only sped up this process. The earlier the mercenaries got captured, the sooner DarkStar would leave.

The armies of Holy Stone and Black Raven were holding their position, and these mercenaries’ meaningless struggle was wasting their time, leaving these two civilizations with no choice but to stay there and monitor the situation. This increased their workload and brought along risks. Shivate just wanted DarkStar to go away as soon as possible. Giving out that order was purely for his own benefit.

Furthermore, this could not be considered as interfering, so it was not really counted as helping DarkStar. He had just sent a message—it was not a big deal.

Regarding what plan DarkStar had, he simply did not care. DarkStar had no business with them. No matter what they were up to, Godora would be the only one suffering from it. Holy Stone had no obligation to help Godora get rid of their enemies, and Shivate did not want to stir up a mess.

Sadly, not all the mercenaries were tricked.

“Commander, the target has gone underground. We’re unable to see a direct image.”

“Continue to hold your position.” Shivate shook his head.

They would not be able to see what was going on once these mercenaries enter underground. All they could do was wait.

…

Inside the dark underground, beams of light flashed past. These were all spaceships flying at a high speed.

Boom!

Lasers hit the stone walls and caused a partial rockfall. Quite a number of stones landed on Sky Ring spaceship’s shield before being shattered by the spaceships dashing through.

The pursuit underground lasted for a few hours. As space was limited, larger sized fighter ships could not enter. DarkStar could only use the hovering ships to hunt.

The underground space was filled with twists and turns, and it was pitch black. The blurry images from the detector were the only thing that they could depend on to dodge the obstacles. Han Xiao was highly focused and did not bump into anything, but the hovering ships behind him were gradually making more and more mistakes. From time to time, fighter ships crashed into the wall, the pillars, and other things. The contrast was very obvious. The pursuing spaceships gradually lost sight of Han Xiao’s backlight.

The Blades spaceship, on the other hand, was not as lucky. They were still being chased tightly. Porter’s skill was hard to look at, and the Blades mercenaries almost wished to change ship.

Coincidentally, the Sky Ring people had the same thought.

“Can’t see the hovering ships, there are only sounds. They’re still chasing.” Han Xiao looked behind and said, “After chasing for a few hours, DarkStar’s patience should be reaching its limit.”

“We’re… reaching… our… limits too…”

Herlous was almost prostrated, unable to finish a full sentence without pauses.

He could be considered as being in a good state since at least he could talk. Beside him, the Sky Ring mercenaries lay flat down on the ground like dead pigs. Their eyes were out of focus, streams of white bubbles flew out of their mouths, and their hands and legs were shaking. The ice used to fix their legs had already shattered.

Just as Han Xiao was about to say something, the underground space started to tremble violently!

Boom!

Sounds of explosions came from all directions!

“This is… a bombardment?” Goa said.

“Most likely, DarkStar has started to bombard the surface, hoping to trigger a chain reaction and cause the underground space to collapse, forcing us back to the surface. Like chasing mice out of their cave. Then, they’ll surround us on the surface, and we’ll have nowhere to run,” Han Xiao said calmly. He had expected this to happen, so he could stay calm when it happened.

“Is there nothing we can do‽” Goa did not want to give up.

“We’ve stalled for many hours with the spaceship. It’s already the limit.”

Han Xiao inhaled deeply and said slowly, “We have to abandon ship.”

The people were shocked. The spaceship was the only thing that they could depend on. If they abandoned the spaceship, it would mean they have lost the mobility, and they would really become fish in a barrel.

Chapter 397: Arrival of the Fleet

The people immediately disagreed. How were they going to escape without a spaceship?

“It was never possible to break through DarkStar’s army in a spaceship,” Han Xiao explained. “The chance to escape has always been close to zero. We only had one choice from the start—stall for time and wait for backup. Abandoning ship and losing ability is obviously disadvantageous, but it will also decrease DarkStar’s efficiency.

“Without spaceships, we will be fish in a barrel to DarkStar, and their alertness will further be decreased. Once we spread out underground, DarkStar will stop bombarding the surface. Because without protection from the spaceship, we will be buried alive if the underground space collapses. What they want is the… ahem, what they want is to capture us alive. Therefore, they’ll most probably use the hovering ships and send out troops to search slowly.”

This was a risky plan, and the mercenaries exchanged nervous looks.

Although the plan did make sense, the risk of abandoning the spaceship made them hesitant.

“Are you absolutely confident about this?” Goa could not help but voice her doubt.

“What do you think?” Han Xiao shook his head. How could he be one hundred percent confident in this kind of situation? If he was, it would not be called a risky plan.

Staying in the spaceships looked safe, but their chances would be almost negligible. Abandoning the spaceships looked desperate, but it could squeeze out more time and stall them longer.

The bombardment continued, and time waited for no man. Goa and Porter discussed a little, then finally clenched their teeth and agreed with carrying out the plan to abandon the spaceships.

“So,” Goa asked, “what is the plan?”

“The plan is…” Han Xiao explained in detail.

…

Boom!

In the sky, dozens of DarkStar bombardment fleets were in a neat formation, dropping bombs down on the surface. Mushroom clouds rose up one after another. Heated wind from the explosions stirred up dust and sand all over the sky, creating countless craters filled with cracks like spider nets.

In the command room of the DarkStar mothership, Sarota was staring at the image of the surface, and his fingers were tapping the table continuously. His impatience was clearly expressed through these small movements.

Since the spaceships escaped underground, a few hours had passed, and they still had yet to make any progress. His patience had run out, so he decided to send out bombardment ships to destroy the planet surface, causing the underground space to collapse and forcing the targets to get out of the twisted narrow underground and come back to the open surface.

He also sent out many medium intercepting ships to form encirclements. As soon as the mercenaries’ spaceships appeared on the surface, there would be no more chasing and running—they would be able to capture the spaceships immediately.

“Commander, the interrogation is completed. These captured mercenaries have never seen the Secret Message Bead before. We searched their clothes and inside their bodies as well, and they don’t have it,” an officer said. These captives were Cerleni and the others.

“At least the range is smaller.” Sarota nodded.

Therefore, the last two ships were the most suspicious.

At this time, the Sky Ring spaceship appeared on the image from the hovering ship fleet. The hovering ships had almost lost them, but now, they were catching up. The Sky Ring spaceship’s speed had become much slower, and it even bumped into walls from time to time.

Bang!

Lasers hit the spaceship’s shield. It was as if the Sky Ring spaceship had changed its pilot. There were no more dazzling dodges, and it looked very clumsy.

Almost all attacks landed on the target.

The shield shattered in no time.

Boom!

Lasers fired at the tail of the spaceship, unleashing a trail of flames and smoke!

Sky Ring spaceship’s accelerator broke and lost its power. It glided forward and shattered about a dozen stone pillars before crashing into the stone wall, stirring up thick smoke.

The hovering ships surrounded the spaceship, but the Sky Ring spaceship was silent. A few units of DarkStar warriors jumped out of the hovering ships and blasted the gate open with their guns, only to see that there was only darkness inside the spaceship. The DarkStar warriors rushed in, but there was no one inside. A warrior headed to the pilot seat and checked system, then quickly reported the situation to their superior.

“Report. There’s no one in the spaceship. It was the spaceship system’s autopilot.”

Sarota slammed his hands heavily on the table, and with rage in his eyes, he said, “They’ve abandoned ship!”

On the other side, the Blades spaceship did the same and jumped out of the spaceship in different batches. As they did not get out of sight of the enemies like Han Xiao, the image of them jumping out was directly seen by the chasing ships. However, the mercenaries did not care about that. They landed and spread out on their own.

“Abandon ship… Seems like it’s to stall for more time. Tsk, they still have hope for reinforcements.” Sarota sneered. “They have some guts to gamble like this…”

Then, he loudly ordered, “Stop the bombardment. Hovering ships, split up and search for vital signs. Send out ground troops to continue to pursue.”

Sarota looked to the side and said, “Ember, you’ll lead the ground troops.”

Ember nodded and left the command room.

Hundreds of egg-shaped airdrop cabins were ejected from the mothership, falling toward the ground. Inside were all DarkStar Supers, including Ember.

Sarota could see through Han Xiao’s plan, but he still did as Han Xiao expected because DarkStar’s target was indeed to capture everyone alive. From how he saw it, this was what the mercenaries were gambling on—there was nothing that he could do about it.

The target did not have a spaceship anymore, so Sarota was not worried. If they were hunters chasing after prey earlier, now they were just catching them in a ring—there was no need to worry about anyone escaping.

…

This time, in a hard-to-find corner underground, a silver-white metal sphere was parked quietly. Inside the metal sphere was a sophisticated cockpit, where Han Xiao and a few others were.

This was a transporting tool that Han Xiao had been building—[Portable Sphere Fortress].

On the outside, it was just a metal sphere, but its structure inside was complicated. It could travel in both sea and land as well as air. The sphere was made up of many layers. The most outside silver layer were both the armor and the mobility device to move on land, as the sphere was suitable for rolling movements and was able to change direction and speed easily. When it rolled, only the outside layer would move. The inside pilot cabin had an individual structure and was separated from the outside layer, so it would not spin as well. The real-time image of the outside was played on the large curve inside the pilot cabin.

When traveling through complex terrain, four mechanical pedipalps could be extended out of its body for crawling purposes. Furthermore, the sphere was also equipped with thrusters, balance wings, and turbines. It could fly at relatively low heights and move in the oceans. It was a multifunctional transport tool.

In his previous life, the players had called this the ‘Car Ball’. Han Xiao had built it while he was on Floating Dragon Island. He had placed it in the spaceship, and now that they abandoned the spaceship, it was time to use it.

The plan was to spread out, so the ones in the Car Ball at this time was only Herlous, Aroshia, the three brothers of Volga, Frenzied Sword, and Maple Moon.

“The bombardment has stopped.” Han Xiao was sitting at the controlling seat, his eyes sparkled.

The underground terrain did not tremble anymore, which meant that DarkStar had stopped the bombardment as expected, which made him feel relieved. From now on, DarkStar will send out ground troops to carry out the search and start a game of cat and mouse. The mercenaries have all spread out, so there’ll definitely be some people that’ll get caught. Hope we can stall for longer…

The Car Ball rolled backward and disappeared in the dark and twisted underground tunnel.

Darkness was mercenaries’ cover, which made the search more difficult.

There were two to three hundred people in the two spaceships. Now that they had all spread out, the number of targets that DarkStar had to capture changed from two to hundreds. The hovering ships split up as well, slowly searching every corner with their cone-shaped blue searchlights.

Not long after, the ground troops led by Ember arrived underground and started their thorough search. The sound of footsteps echoed in the underground space.

The situation went from spaceship pursuit to time-consuming search. It seemed to be less heated, but the nervousness in the hearts of mercenaries kept growing as they were in the constant alert of not knowing when they would meet enemies in the endless darkness.

In the beginning, DarkStar captured some mercenaries very quickly. However, as time went on, the mercenaries became more spread out, and their capture efficiency rapidly decreased.

Often, DarkStar had to take a very long time only to find one or two mercenaries. The mercenaries had all sorts of abilities, and some were very good at hiding.

…

Time trickled by.

In Stream Light, Shivate was rather annoyed. DarkStar had stayed for one day now, and they had yet to leave. He had sent several warnings, but DarkStar had told him that because the mercenaries had abandoned their spaceships, it would not take too long to capture everyone. Shivate had no choice but to continue waiting despite his impatience.

Oom!

The alarm suddenly rang. The radar showed that, not far away, a new fleet was jumping toward this direction, and its numbers were growing rapidly.

“Whose forces are these?” Shivate’s face changed.

Through the porthole, he saw that in the space behind the DarkStar mothership, streams of light dashed across and stopped, showing their true identity.

It was an enormous fleet with mixed styles like it was made up of battleships from many different races. It looked like a motley army, but when they saw the symbols on these battleships, the faces of the Holy Stone and Black Raven commanders immediately turned grave.

This was a fleet temporarily gathered by Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold. Other than the three large mercenary groups, there were also dozens of mercenary group partners. Hundreds of all kinds of battleships faced the DarkStar mothership.

“Do these large armies really have to make such a huge scene?” Shivate was surprised.

If these mercenaries and DarkStar could not come to an agreement, they would definitely start fighting. By then, it would be very difficult for Holy Stone and Black Raven to not be affected.

Shivate’s expression became terrible. If these mercenaries had been captured earlier, such a troublesome situation would never have happened.

Chapter 398: Conflict and Attention

The DarkStar mothership turned around slowly. Hundreds of frigates flew out and formed a combat formation around the mothership, confronting the mercenary alliance fleet.

The alliance fleet sent out a message, demanding DarkStar to stop capturing the mercenaries immediately, or they would use force to settle the problem. The three large armies were very tough in their stance. As they did not have any territory to protect like civilizations, they were not afraid of revenge.

If you mess with our people, we will mess you up, no matter who.

Sarota was a little moved. He had thought that mercenaries were extremely divided, and he had never thought that capturing a small group of mercenaries would attract an entire mercenary fleet.

Sarota has to admit he had underestimated the mercenary industry.

The alliance fleet gave them only ten minutes, demanding DarkStar withdraw all their forces immediately, or they would start attacking.

Sarota’s relaxed mindset was nowhere to be found, and his face was grave. Of course, he was not afraid of the alliance fleet since the DarkStar mothership was a moving space station base and was very well equipped. However, if a direct conflict broke out, the damage would exceed the forecast of this operation.

DarkStar was not dragged down by honor or name, so even if they retreated and were deemed as being afraid of the mercenaries, it would not affect them at all. What Sarota was considering at this time was another question—was it worth fighting a fleet head-on for the Secret Message Bead? Or could they give up this opportunity and strike again in the future? Would there ever be an opportunity as good as this?

After some contemplation, Sarota’s came to the conclusion that there would never be such a good opportunity again.

Letting these mercenaries return to their organizations would mean that their search range will expand. If these mercenaries split up, it would be very troublesome to find them again.

And these were just the smaller problems.

Letting these people back to their organizations might very well lead to accidents like the bead being given to someone else without DarkStar’s knowledge or the bead being lost on some godforsaken rock due to the person dying during a mission. There were too many possibilities. But now, all the mercenaries that might have come into contact with the bead were right there.

Certainly, there would never be a better opportunity than this.

This time, Shivate gave a serious announcement to the alliance fleet and the DarkStar mothership.

“On behalf of the Holy Stone Border Guards Army, I warn you, if you start a battle here, we will see it as a provocation. We will very likely see you as enemies and interfere with the conflict.”

The announcement was clearly very effective as soon as it was sent out. The alliance fleet opened fire at the DarkStar mothership straight away without saying anything.

Colorful lights exploded in the dark space. The battleship formations carried out all kinds of tactics, and lasers were fired at each other nonstop. The mercenary fleet and the DarkStar fleet started to battle.

Shivate’s face turned black, and he was furious. They had completely ignored what he said!

“Commander, what do we do now? Which side do we help?”

“Help your ass, we watch!” Shivate clenched his teeth.

One side was a chaotic, evil, and very vengeful terrorist organization—another was a chaotic, neutral, and lawless mercenaries. Helping either side was a waste of military power. Furthermore, he did not dare move his fleet. If they moved, who knew how Black Raven would react?

They might as well watch the mercenaries and DarkStar bite each other. And about the warning earlier… just let it be ignored.

Outside the chaotic battlefield, Holy Stone and Black Raven did not interfere. However, they did not do nothing at all. Their fleet spread out sideways and formed a line to surround the battlefield, preventing it from expanding further.

Allowing them to fight outside their border was already their bottom line. If DarkStar or the mercenaries went over it, the fleets of the two large civilizations would fire without hesitation.

…

The battle started in an instant!

In terms of raw power, the DarkStar mothership was stronger than this temporarily gathered fleet. The alliance fleet was not planning to fight head-on either, so they sent out small spaceships wanting to go around the battlefield and fly to the planet to pick up Han Xiao and the other mercenaries. However, Sarota noticed this and ordered a fleet to intercept them. Thus, they were in a stalemate.

The mercenaries on the planet were the key to determining the result of the battle. Whether they were saved or captured, as soon as either happened, the battle would end immediately.

In Sarota’s eyes, Han Xiao’s plan to abandon ship was initially digging their own graves and a meaningless struggle. However, the situation had changed, and the meaningless stalling had become the key. Abandoning ship had given them more time, and every second that they earned with that, DarkStar was suffering from more damage.

Battle damage reports came one after another, and the coldness in Sarota’s eyes became ever deeper.

Initially, it had been a simple mission that could be completed easily, but now, it had become so troublesome and tough. The performance of that Sky Ring spaceship was the start of all the changes. If not for that pilot who could stall for so long, he would have captured them and left long ago. They would never have met the mercenary alliance fleet. Sarota was deeply regretful for missing that opportunity.

The fleets fired at each other, and the energy reaction from the attacks was as conspicuous as a Fixed Star as seen from the detectors. From afar, the light of the explosions was as bright as the stars.

The spaceships passing by noticed the abnormality there even from afar. The battle attracted many spaceships as spectators, and the scene was quickly recorded.

In the galactical generation, the increase in communication level also made the news more real-time. The distance was not a problem. Not long after, the battle between DarkStar and the mercenaries spread out across numerous Star Clusters.

After watching for more than half a day, Shivate received an unexpected communication request.

Buzz!

A pureblood Godoran’s face appeared on the screen and said with a serious face, “I’m the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Godoran Civilization, Plenipotentiary Representative of Godoran Civilization. I hope the Holy Stone Civilization can interfere with the battle immediately and attack DarkStar.”

Shivate’s face turned formal and said, ‘This is our local affair. You have no right to interfere.”

“DarkStar is an evil force that has spilled innocent blood in many places. They’re the common enemy of civilizations. Watching them carry out their crimes is a very irresponsible act!” The Godoran sounded very justified.

“Sorry, I only listen to the marshal’s orders.” Shivate held his ground firmly. “I’ll only interfere with the battle if the marshal gives me a direct order. If you have questions, you can send a request to the Foreign Affairs Department.”

Actually, as the commander of Formation Three, Shivate could take care of matters of this scale himself, but he still chose to use the marshal’s name. It was obviously an excuse.

He knew very well what Godora was thinking—DarkStar was Godora’s mortal enemy, and they had made a rare appearance, so Godora wanted Holy Stone to help them to fight DarkStar. However, Holy Stone and Godora were not strategic allies, so they had no obligation to help. Furthermore, it was a sensitive political issue. As one of the commanders of the Border Guards Army, Shivate was definitely not going to follow the requests of another civilization.

The Godorans had no choice but to contact the higher-ups of the Holy Stone Civilization. However, royalty ruled civilizations such as Holy Stone were best at pushing around responsibilities. They were firm on the grounds of not giving out any orders. Even when the Godorans expressed that if they let DarkStar get away, they would publicly condemn Holy Stone during the Shattered Star Ring Diplomatic Council, Holy Stone was still beating about the bush. Their position was very clear—they did not want to mess with DarkStar.

The Godoran Civilization was just one of the forces that had their attention on this matter. As DarkStar rarely appeared, more and more forces and organizations had their eyes on it, watching the center of the storm from far away.

…

Whoosh!

In the dark underground, Thermo-Electrical Incisor Gloves sliced through a DarkStar warrior’s chest like slicing through a piece of tofu, easily taking that person’s life.

Han Xiao pulled his hand away, and the DarkStar warrior fell down. On the ground were the corpses of a DarkStar search team.

“Let’s go quickly. Their reinforcements will arrive very soon.” Herlous kept his voice down.

The Car Ball was parked at the side. Han Xiao jumped back in, controlled the Car Ball, and rolled away. He opened the interface, and the mission information had already changed.

_____________________

– [Escape] Mission Rating: C

_____________________

Lasting two days would grant a rating of D. Every twelve hours onward, the rating would go up by one grade. They had already lasted two and a half days. The mission was already completed. At this time, more than half of the mercenaries had already been captured, and very few were still running. This meant that the mercenary alliance fleet and DarkStar had been firing at each other for more than one day.

If either Holy Stone or Black Raven interfered, DarkStar would have retreated, and the mercenaries would have been saved. However, the two civilizations were only watching, not helping either side, which led to the stalemate. The alliance fleet could not pick up the mercenaries.

“Putting our hopes on these mercenaries was not a good idea indeed…” Han Xiao shook his head. Luckily, he had already contacted Ames and requested help as another layer of insurance. The thing was, she was not very dependable either, so he did not know when she would be free to come.

If the players were caught, their mission would fail. Some of them were very cheeky and wanted to go offline to avoid being caught, but when they came online again, they realized that the mission had failed straight away.

However, if the players were captured by DarkStar, it would add on quite an amount of trouble. Han Xiao gave out a new mission through the faction interface. As long as they were not captured, they would receive a bonus reward. This way, even if they went offline and failed [Escape], they could still go offline if they are almost caught, and at least they would still have some reward.

Luckily, no players had been caught yet. This had made the DarkStar search team very frustrated, as the prey disappeared without a trace just as they were almost captured. The DarkStar search teams were at a loss and very confused.

Boom!

At this time, the tunnel ahead suddenly collapsed. The Car Ball made a sudden stop. A new group of pursuers walked out of the hole from the wall, and the leader was Ember.

“Found you. I won’t be as careless as the last time.”

Ember was expressionless. He raised his Esper power to the maximum, and his battle intent soared. His eyes had been fixed on Han Xiao for a very long time, and now, he had finally caught up.

Han Xiao faced changed a little.

“Him again, this is not good…”

The Great Mechanic Han himself was not afraid of Ember—they would not be able to kill each other if they started a fight. However, Ember’s power was too destructive to his friends around him. Herlous was already considered to be quite strong, but if he faced Ember, he would be turned into dust in an instant.

That Esper power was too powerful, and it could even be called a ‘Walking Human Dust Maker’.

“That guy is very dangerous, retreat!”

Han Xiao did not have any desire to stay. He pulled the joystick, and the Car Ball crashed through the wall on the side as they retreated.

Chapter 399: Broken Arm and Awakening

The last time that they met, Ember got a taste of defeat from Han Xiao. He had met quite a number of Mechanics, but Black Star was the first Mechanic that could use his own body to drag the battle without using machinery. Plus, Han Xiao was like a fated enemy of his power. Ember had thought about how to deal with Han Xiao, and he had come up with some plans. Thus, he had been waiting to meet Han Xiao again.

Now they had finally intercepted Han Xiao. Seeing the Car Ball turn to run away, Ember immediately activated his power.

Hum!

The walls in all directions started to move as if they were alive. A large amount of black and gray particles gushed out like a black cloud, winding around the Car Ball, turning into all sorts of shapes such as spears and blades, creating sparkles on the moving armor of the Car Ball.

The underground space was narrow and twisted. The Car Ball crashed through the walls like a mole digging a tunnel. Ember and the others chased behind. The Car Ball was very fast, so even though grade B Supers were not slow, the distance between them was still getting longer.

“Call the search team and follow my position. There’s an important target here driving some kind of sphere-shaped transport tool. It’s very fast, but I will slow it down as much as I can.”

Although Ember really wanted to fight with Han Xiao, the training that he had gone through made him always put the mission first. The hovering ship fleet nearby received the message and came from all directions.

The range of Ember’s power was limited. The Car Ball was going to leave his sights. Ember’s energy turned into fuel for his power—the ground in front of the Car Ball bulged and turned into rocks, forming obstacles.

Bang bang bang!

The Car Ball crushed everything in its way, breaking through fang-shaped pillars one after another. Its thick, heavy armor was not damaged, but its speed unavoidably decreased. The curved surface inside the sphere was all made of screens, displaying the image outside. Han Xiao could see in all directions from sitting in the driver’s seat, so he quickly pressed on the control panel and activated the Car Ball’s other functions.

With the sound of mechanical parts moving, the front, back, left, and right side of the armor suddenly opened. A mechanic pedipalp slid out from each of the openings and pressed onto the ground, the Car Ball jumped up like a flea and skipped over the dangerous obstacles. Then, four anti-gravitational thrusters appeared at the bottom of the Car Ball, pushing the Car Ball forward almost a hundred meters before it landed on the ground. This process was repeated again and again—the Car Ball was not affected by the terrain at all. Ember was getting further and further away.

“Tsk. The search team will definitely surround us. We have to think of a way to get rid of the enemies. Luckily, there’s a gap between earth near here. We can…”

As he was saying, Han Xiao suddenly realized that something was wrong. He turned around and looked at everyone else. All of their faces were filled with veins like they were struggling with all their lives, and they were unable to move.

“Stop, or they die.”

In the distance, Ember was reaching out his hand with a cold face. Han Xiao was the only one who he could not do anything about, but in the case of the other people inside the Car Ball, he could use his power on them through the armor.

Han Xiao frowned a little. This was what he was most worried about. The two players were not a concern. Even if they died one hundred times, he would not even blink. But Herlous, Aroshia, and the others were different; they were his weakness when facing Ember. Han Xiao was definitely not going to stop, and he would not hesitate on this matter. He was just worried about these two characters that he had spent so much effort to recruit.

“Don’t… Don’t care about us, he won’t kill anyone. We can’t… can’t be the reason to cause our entire team’s… destruction!”

The energy on Herlous’ body was flickering. He was resisting the Esper power from Ember, and even with all his might, he could only speak while stuttering. His face was ferocious, and every word sounded like he was spending all his energy on it. Through the time that they spent together, Herlous had gained some knowledge of Han Xiao. He knew very clearly that Han Xiao would not hesitate on something like this and would be able to make choices despite the enemy’s threatening, so he did not have to worry. He only spoke so that Han Xiao would not have any psychological burden.

“Hold on, there’s a gap in front. We can get rid of the enemies once we fly down.” Han Xiao nodded and increased the Car Ball’s speed. He did not waste any words.

Seeing that the Car Ball was about to leave his power range, Ember’s eyes turned colder, and he clenched his fists.

The higher ups did not allow killing, but as long as the target was alive, it would not matter how badly hurt they were.

“Argh!”

Herlous inhaled deeply with the scream stuck in his throat. His left hand changed shape noticeably, then slowly turned into dust and splashed on the floor. There was no blood and no metallic smell. The decomposition was spreading from his hand toward his shoulder!

“Ember…” A flash of rage appeared in Han Xiao’s eyes, but he had no time to look at Herlous’ injury. The most important thing at the time was to get out of Ember’s power range, and only then would the damage not continue to grow.

Sand fog flew out of Aroshia’s body, and she was being decomposed as well. She looked down at her body as confusion flashed through her eyes.

Most normal life forms would be curious about what came after death, but they would only have one life, and when they discovered the answer to that question, it would also mean that they had left the world of the living. Aroshia, on the other hand, had countless opportunities to try it, so death was not unknown or mysterious to her. She could see her own ‘ending’—a new life. She had been through it countless times, and she knew that she would not die. However, a new life meant that her memories would be reset again. She did not have any memory of what happened after death, and she could not remember anything about what happened before she died. She could not help but think of Han Xiao’s words.

If she did not have the memories of her past life, even if she received a new life, would she still be who she was now? Would that be just another form of death?

“So, I can die after all…” Aroshia mumbled. Suddenly, a sense of trepidation was born in her heart.

When this thought appeared, a change happened within her body.

Hum!

The feeling of her body being controlled suddenly disappeared. Aroshia realized that she could move now. The world in her eyes was different—it seemed brighter, and many small dots of light were swimming in the air like fish. Her senses became completely different from just a moment earlier. Then, she realized that she was floating, and she saw the shocked expression on the people beside her.

“What happened to me…”

Aroshia looked down at her body. It was not a physical body anymore but a half transparent luminous body with a dim glow of bluish gold. Light particles floated around her. Her senses were not her body and head anymore—it was like she was no longer limited by a physical form. With a thought, she suddenly turned into a sphere-shaped ball of light.

“This… This is…” Maple Moon was shocked.

“Energy life.” Han Xiao glanced over. He was shocked as well. The characteristics that Aroshia was showing now were the characteristics of energy lifeforms. Her physical structure changed, so of course, she was not controlled by Ember anymore. He did not have the time to think of the reason for this to happen, but a thought appeared in his mind.

“Try to touch the energy core.”

Aroshia did as Han Xiao said. A thin tentacle extended out of the ball of light, passed through the cockpit wall, and came into contact with the energy core. The light particles in her body flew into the core through the tentacle.

Buzz!

With the sound of electric currents, sparks appeared on the engine, and the output of the Car Ball increased tremendously and went into overload mode immediately!

The Car Ball’s speed increased instantly, it jumped right into the gap in front and finally got out of Ember’s power range. Herlous’ decomposition progress stopped at his left shoulder. He was covered in sweat, holding on to his hollow left shoulder, and his face was filled with agony. Other than him, the Volga brothers suffered some damage too. However, Ember’s main target was Herlous, who had the strongest resistance, so they were still in a relatively good state—none of them were maimed.

Ember and the others stopped at the edge of the gap and watched as the Car Ball extended its balance wings and flew away at a high speed.

Ember failed twice on the same target. He yelled at the communicator, “Is the search team here yet? Target has disappeared, track it immediately.”

However, the reply was very unexpected.

“One minute ago, the mothership sent out a new order. Give up this mission. Everyone, return to the mothership and retreat immediately!” The other side of the communicator sounded very anxious.

Ember’s pupils constricted in disbelief.

How could it be an order to retreat‽

The Secret Message Bead was very important to DarkStar. Now that they were not far from succeeding, unless there was an accident, it was impossible for them to give up halfway. And this accident was definitely something that the mothership could not deal with!

The order was not to be disobeyed. Even though Ember was very unhappy, he could only watch Han Xiao and the others get away while he turned around and retreated.

What had happened above‽

…

Fifteen minutes earlier…

“This is Shattered Star Ring Express News. I’m the frontline reporter, Brimner, reporting live on the battle near Planet 122 of Star Zone 4, Fawn Galaxy.”

A news spaceship stopped not far from the battlefield, reporting the situation live at the scene after hearing about it.

Brimner was the reporter hosting this live news. The news was playing on the Shattered Star Ring Current Affairs Channel, reporting live on things happening around the area to all the audiences in the Star Field. People and organizations of countless Galaxies and Star Zones were paying attention to this news broadcast.

“It is known that Fawn-122 planet is located at the border crossing of Holy Stone Civilization and Black Raven Civilization. A special battle has happened in this sensitive area. As everyone can see, the battle is between DarkStar and mercenaries. As reflected by witnesses, the battle has lasted for almost two days now. The cause of this is that DarkStar wanted to capture some mercenaries, and these mercenaries happened to belong to Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold, the three very well-known mercenary armies. Hence, a conflict broke out. The situation now is, Holy Stone and Black Raven’s armies are monitoring on the sidelines, while DarkStar and the mercenaries are in a stalemate. On the planet, the mercenaries who are being chased are unbelievably still running.

“According to our knowledge, the Godoran Civilization far away in the Garton Galaxy is already forming an army. DarkStar is a violence group acting against Godora, so they are naturally enemies. As DarkStar rarely appears and is very stealthy, it is very hard for Godora to trace them. Now that DarkStar has appeared publicly, Godora wants to hold onto this opportunity…”

As Brimner was reporting, a large object appeared on the edge of the image, flying toward the battlefield.

“Wait, there seems to be a change to the situation. A new force has appeared. That’s… Er, Floating Dragon Island?”

Her eyes widened in shock.

The interest of countless spectators in Shattered Star Ring who were watching the news rose immediately. Floating Dragon was ‘Dragon Emperor’ Ames’ territory—almost everyone in Shattered Star Ring knew that.

They were very curious. Why was Floating Dragon there?

Brimner paused and thought of a logical explanation.

“Our crew has just checked Floating Dragon’s route—it just so happens that it came to Fawn Galaxy Star Zone 4. Apparently, it’s just passing by out of coincidence. Holy Stone and Black Raven’s fleets are surrounding the battlefield. I believe after some communication, Floating Dragon will take a detour. This should not have any impact on the situation…”

Before she finished her sentence, Floating Dragon bumped straight into the Holy Stone fleet at the edge of the battlefield, without any intention to change course at all.

Chapter 400: The Arrival of Dragon Emperor!

Holy Stone and Black Raven’s fleets surrounded half of the battlefield each. They were on level one alert. Countless cannons were aimed at both sides of the battle. Shivate stared at the battle and was on high alert all along.

A third-party conflict happening at the border had always been difficult to deal with, as guarding the border was the responsibility of the Guard Army. Firstly, interfering blindly would not grant any merit. As it would not be defending against an enemy, there would be no reward for winning, no compensation for damages, and very severe consequences if they lost. Hence, taking part in the battle was the worst choice. Shivate believed that, if his fleet suffered damage due to his decision, the royalties of his political opposition would definitely use him as an example to attack the political faction that he was in. As the Holy Stone was aristocratic with many factions, most of the army were royalties as well. Of course, there would be political opposition paying attention to what he was doing.

Luckily, the attacks from the DarkStar mothership and the alliance fleet were controlled within the area. As long as the situation did not escalate further, Shivate would be thankful.

At this time, a subordinate said in a hurry, “Commander, a large object is approaching the battlefield. Stream Light is on its route, please give the order!”

Shivate was shocked. He looked at the screen. A large object was approaching at a very high speed, and its energy reaction was through the roof. He adjusted the angle of the porthole and looked over, then he saw an ellipse-shaped golden object was shining in space, gradually approaching. Its size was dozens of times larger than a fleet. It was indeed Floating Dragon Island with its shield activated.

“That’s Floating Dragon Island. Is it passing by?” Shivate was surprised.

Seeing the Floating Dragon Island was still approaching and would crash onto his fleet soon, Shivate immediately sent out a message to Floating Dragon Island. “Attention Floating Dragon, attention Floating Dragon. I am Holy Stone Border Guards Army Third Formation Commander Shivate. A battle is underway ahead, and we have locked down this area, please go around.”

Just one second later, Stream Light received a reply. Jenny’s cold voice sounded, and she only said two words. “Give way.”

A tint of rage appeared on Shivate’s face. This was his first time meeting such an outrageous passerby. Not only did they not want to go around, they even wanted the entire fleet to move away. Regardless, Floating Dragon had the right to be this way, and Shivate did not dare mess with them.

Floating Dragon did not seem like it would stop at all. It approached in a straight line and would soon bump into the Holy Stone fleet formation. Shivate’s face was terrible as he clenched his teeth and gave the order. “All units spread out. Terminate the lockdown and give way to them!”

The Holy Stone spread out hastily and created a path. Floating Dragon passed through the formation and casually entered the battlefield. This was included in the news image, and Brimner’s always smooth tone was stuck. She was stunned for a while before saying slowly, “Err… As everyone can see, Hol— Holy Stone fleet gave way. It seems like the negotiation failed. Apparently, Floating Dragon does not care about the battle in front of them. We don’t know what will happen next…”

The viewers were awed by how dominant Floating Dragon was, but no one felt that Floating Dragon came just to interfere.

At this time, the alliance fleet still could not break through DarkStar’s defenses. They contacted the mercenaries who were being chased, but they could not pick them up. They could only watch as the communication channels became silent one after another. Their organization members were being caught right in front of them, and the rage from that was expressed directly in the strength of the alliance fleet’s attacks. From just wanting to go around DarkStar at the start to now being on a killing spree, it was getting bloodier over time.

Boom!

A part of the planet surface suddenly bulged. The ground cracked open, and a large ice pillar burrowed out and rose from the ground. Goa and her teammates came back to the surface on the ice pillar. Her white blue mage robe was covered in dust and holes, and her face looked exhausted. She had been chased by the troops till she had nowhere to run, so she channeled her power and released it on this one hit to finally return to the surface. Looking up, the astonishing scenery reflected in her clear, blue eyes.

In the dark blue, almost black outer space, countless fleets were fighting. Countless lasers and cannons were as bright as stars. On the lower heights, it was the DarkStar fleet that was going in circles and surrounding the area. They were rushing toward her, stirring up dust on their way and twisting the atmosphere with the heat from their thrusters.

“There’s… still no one to pick us up?”

It was like all the energy was being pulled out of Goa’s body. She slowly kneeled down, and her magic staff fell from her white hands onto the ground. She looked up at, watching the powerless alliance fleet who were supposed to be their saviors.

The color of desperation painted her pupils.

The three large armies were what made them struggle and resist because they knew that there would be fleets coming to the rescue. Everyone had gotten their hopes up. However, the reinforcements they had waited so long for could not save them. Their friends were captured one after another. Their last bit of toughness was gone. Who could save them in this situation?

Hovering ships surrounded them. Goa and her teammates beside her gave up resisting and let go of their weapons.

At this time, the Floating Dragon Island entered the battlefield. The fleets of both sides hastily moved aside. It was like the pause button had been pressed for the heated battle.

Sarota was shocked. “Why is there still interference? Didn’t Holy Stone and Black Raven lock the battlefield down? This is… Floating Dragon‽”

Both sides stopped. Floating Dragon became the focus of everyone. Everyone—including DarkStar, the mercenary alliance fleet, Holy Stone, and Black Raven—waited for it to leave as soon as possible. They were fighting properly, and suddenly, a passerby appeared. Plus, it was someone that they could not mess with. How were they going to continue fighting?

However, Floating Dragon Island stopped in the middle of the battlefield.

“What’s going on?”

“Why did it stop?”

The captains of all the parties were shocked. Was Floating Dragon not just passing by? They already moved away and cleared its path, so why was it not leaving?

This time, an extremely piercing alarm triggered on the detector of every battleship.

“Attention! Space ripple appeared nearby! High energy reaction! Calculating energy rank… The accurate calculation failed. Area of effect is fluctuating, cannot be displayed!”

A blue dot appeared above Floating Dragon and expanded quickly, turning into a spinning ring of light. Inside was a white fog that was only two to three meters large. It was nothing that people would pay attention to in the wide universe, but now, it attracted everyone’s attention.

High Grade Secret Spell: Physical Entity Teleportation Door!

Then, a snow-white long leg stepped out of the ring of light. Ames, who was in a black dress, ‘walked’ out. Her black hair extended from behind her back right to her ankles. On her beautiful face was her careless expression as always, like those countless battleships could not even make her eyebrow move even the slightest bit.

The commanders’ faces all changed.

“Dragon Emperor‽”

“Why is she here!”

Just as everyone was stunned and guessing what Ames’ motive was, it suddenly happened!

Ames saw DarkStar, and without saying a word, a violent force field gushed out. The armor of the dozen or so DarkStar battleships nearby bent inward and exploded like fireworks!

The entire process looked extremely easy. The battleships made from DarkStar technology were as weak as pieces of paper in her hands—she could turn them into paper balls in an instant!

Sarota’s face changed instantly, having not expected this at all. Why did the Dragon Emperor attack them‽

Everyone was shocked. Shivate suddenly realized and yelled, “She’s not passing by. She wants to help the mercenaries!”

The alliance fleet was stunned, then became overjoyed. Their morale grew tremendously.

“Dragon Emperor is reinforcing us! Everyone, attack!”

Panic finally appeared on Sarota’s face. The subordinates around all looked at him and anxiously waited for him to give an order.

“Info— Inform everyone to retreat immediately. No wait, inform the fleets to protect the mothership, form a defense formation, cover the mothership to escape!”

Dragon Emperor’s name was as impactful as thunder. When they met Ames, everything about the mission was thrown out of his head. Sarota only had one thought now—minimize the damage and run for their life! As soon as he gave out the order, he left the commander room and ran to an escape pod.

The DarkStar fleet contracted their formation, forming a shield formation and protecting the mothership like a wall, blocking the focus fire from the alliance fleet. Behind layers and layers of protection, the exterior of the mothership started to fade away. It started to go into stealth and back away.

Seeing this, Ames’ force field held onto the entire Floating Dragon Island, then slammed it down!

The Floating Dragon Island covered in the golden shield was like a high energy meteor. The DarkStar battleships were like tiny beans in front of it. The defense formation shattered straight away. Floating Dragon Island slammed into the mothership, unleashing burning sparks on the shield, and a small half of the entire mothership was shattered!

The Floating Dragon Island was Ames’ territory, palace, and… weapon.

Everyone at the scene was dazed.

Brimner opened her mouth wide and was speechless. She was supposed to report the situation, but no one blamed her for it. Everyone who was watching this had the same expression as her.

Ames’ name was known across the entire Shattered Star Ring, but the times that she had shown her destructive power were very few. The impact of seeing such unbelievably great power with one’s own eyes was like a hammer knocking heavily on their heart.

The Dragon Emperor had arrived!

Chapter 401: New Dungeon

Boom!

The broken pieces of the spaceships fell into the atmosphere of the planet, lit up from the air friction, like flaming meteors descending from the sky.

Even without Sarota’s retreat order, Ames’ godly blow had already shattered DarkStar’s mindset. With destructive power like this, destroying a mothership fleet would be a piece of cake. The other spaceships gave up the mothership and spread out to escape.

All kinds of spaceships escaped from the planet and the mothership one after another, hovering ships, guarding ships, escape pods, and etc. The smaller spaceships were mostly in front, and behind were the larger battleships. The thick armor was initially the source of security for the people in the ship, but now it was a disadvantage they hated the most.

The alliance fleet did not stop their attacks. The battleships that lagged behind were being destroyed one after another, ending with short explosions. The air inside the cabins was burnt out very quickly, and the shattered parts became space trash.

Ames only actually attacked two times, and it completely defeated DarkStar’s mothership formation. Her target was only the most conspicuous mothership. After she broke the mothership, she was too lazy to attack again.

You’re reading onThanks!

The mothership fell toward the ground like an enormous metal meteor. As the gravitational force was turned into speed, the impact it caused became more terrifying, and the sound of it penetrating the air became sharper. Looking up to the sky from the ground, it was like the sky was falling.

Hong!

Like a meteor landing on a star, the mothership created a large crater. The cracks spread out in all directions for tens of kilometers. The shockwave that it created stirred up dust that covered the sky. The world trembled like an earthquake. Even Goa and the others who were thousands of kilometers away felt the impact, and the world in their eyes was trembling!

The entire mothership was injected into the planet surface, and the surface and the underground space collapsed. The people hastily rushed out.

Dong! Dong!

The Car Ball flew out of the earth gap against the rain of rocks, then stopped at the planet surface. The hatch opened, and Han Xiao jumped out, wiped off the dust on his face, and looked up. “Magnificent. Luckily, Floating Dragon is hard enough and did not drop down together, or this planet would definitely have exploded.”

The pursing DarkStar troops had retreated long ago. The tide had turned, and DarkStar had become the ones running away with the alliance fleet chasing close behind. Many DarkStar spaceships were going closer to Holy Stone and Black Raven’s fleets.

If they wanted to escape, they had to go through the formation of these two civilizations’ border armies. Shivate was in a dilemma. At this time, the Black Raven army on the other side fired at the escaping DarkStar spaceships without hesitation.

Shivate saw this and did not want to lag behind, so he gave the order right away. “Aim at DarkStar, fire!”

The Dragon Emperor’s arrival had changed his attitude. He initially wanted to control the situation and not mess with either side, but that was not impossible anymore. If they give up the encirclement and purposely let DarkStar get away, what would the Dragon Emperor think? DarkStar was an enemy that she would personally attack. If they let DarkStar get away, would that not mean that they were going against the Dragon Emperor?

DarkStar was troublesome to deal with indeed, but Ames was someone who should not be messed with even more. This DarkStar fleet was already fleeing and could not form any organized counter-attack. Holy Stone and Black Raven at least had the guts to attack someone who could not fight back.

With attacks coming from both front and back, it was like capturing escaping fish. DarkStar spaceships exploded one after another.

Hu!

A dozen or so mercenary spaceships landed, and mercenary teams walked out, entered what was left of the mothership, and rescued their comrades.

As the mothership had crashed instead of exploded, there was still a chance that Cerleni and the other captured mercenaries were still alive.

The threat was resolved. Those mercenaries who were not captured gathered and rescued the captives. Luckily, the mothership was quite tough, and it even had interior shockproof construction. Although they crashed quite roughly, most of them were alive.

DarkStar’s warriors were no exception, and some of them were alive as well. Their resistance came to no result, and all of them were captured. Sarota did not make it to the escape pod and was among them as well. He was tied up with his subordinates, his face filled with hopelessness.

The situation was decided. The alliance fleet landed one after another, and thousands of mercenaries from various races walked out of the spaceships. They were all from well-known mercenary groups from the Shattered Star Ring.

If the mercenary industry was to be split into three levels—low, medium, and high—the strength and size of Han Xiao’s Black Star would only belong to the medium-low level, the three large armies would belong to the high level, and the other partners were at least around medium-high level.

One Deputy Army Commander arrived from each army, all grade A Supers. At this time, the battle above finally ended, and Holy Stone and Black Raven’s command ships stopped above the planet. Countless pairs of eyes were looking at the Dragon Emperor, who controlled her force field and slowly landed at the edge of the crowd.

The noise suddenly stopped. Tens of thousands of people turned to look at Ames simultaneously. These well-known mercenaries lowered their heads a little, expressing their respect toward the Dragon Emperor.

As the representatives, the three Deputy Army Commander walked up quickly and welcomed Ames together in a very respectful way.

Back when Ames needed mercenaries, they always helped for free, so they had some sort of connection. They thought that their actions had moved the Dragon Emperor and that Ames had come to help because of them.

The mercenary groups at the side thought this way too and were all very jealous. Even Ames had to give face to the three large armies—their influence was really growing stronger.

“Thank you very much for your help. Without you, our members would never be able to escape…”

The three of them were expressing their thanks with a solemn face, but Ames did not even look at them. She passed by the three of them without even pausing.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and their eyes followed Ames. Ames stopped in front of Han Xiao and the others and said, “You’re all fine. Seems like I arrived just in time.”

“Only free after three days, you really are busy…”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. It had not been long since he joined the Floating Dragon faction, so Ames’ impression of him was not strong, and now was a good opportunity to have more communication with Ames. It was very beneficial to have a good relationship with one of the strongest people in the Shattered Star Ring.

Ames did not know Han Xiao very well, but the Great Mechanic Han knew her very well. Her personality was casual and easy going, so he did not have to be too formal when speaking with her. Although he was temporarily her subordinate, he did not have to act to lowly in front of her. Furthermore, he was rather clear on what Ames liked and disliked—it was very easy to make conversation. They chatted back and forth very quickly.

The others were ignored. The atmosphere was weirdly silent, and countless pairs of eyes filled with shock were staring at these two people having a casual chat.

The three Deputy Army Commander turned around stiffly with awkwardness on their faces. They had misunderstood. From Ames’ actions, she obviously did not come for them but was called here by this stranger mercenary.

“Was he also one of the mercenaries being chased? Why is he so close to the Dragon Emperor?”

“What’s his name… Black Star? Never heard of this name before…”

“What’s his relationship with the Dragon Emperor?”

The members of all the mercenary groups were appalled, and they asked around about Han Xiao’s history. The name of Black Star was very soon heard by everyone at the scene. After hearing that Han Xiao was a member of Floating Dragon, the way that everyone looked at him changed.

The organization under the Dragon Emperor was superior to most, and Dragon Emperor was willing to go to such great lengths to save her subordinate. Black Star’s size was not large on its own, but its background was too strong. It was as good as a representative of Dragon Emperor outside Floating Dragon, so no one dared to underestimate them. Black Star was immediately added to their list of people not to mess with.

The news recorded this and played it live. Brimner did not speak anymore—she knew that the viewers preferred her to stay quiet at times like that. She held her breath and watched as things unfolded.

Before this, be it Holy Stone, Black Raven, DarkStar, the mercenaries, or the viewers watching the news, no one thought that it would end this way. This conflict had lasted for three days, and in the end, the Dragon Emperor suddenly arrived. She defeated DarkStar in no time, and the one who called the Dragon Emperor there was one of the mercenaries.

They had originally thought that in these mercenaries, the members of the three large armies were the important ones. They had subconsciously ignored the Black Star Mercenary Group, which was not as well known. They had thought that the alliance fleet was the biggest reinforcement, but they had never expected this small mercenary group to call for help that was even stronger than the three large armies.

Inside Stream Light, Shivate’s eyes were opened so wide that they almost dropped out.

“If there’s nothing else, I will be leaving. Don’t forget, help me to ask around about my teacher.”

After beating up DarkStar and saving them, Ames flew up the sky, went back to Floating Dragon Island, and left.

Once Ames left, the tense atmosphere finally became more relaxed. Many people finally exhaled. The Dragon Emperor’s existence was too terrifying, and they did not dare to act casually.

At this time, the three Deputy Army Commanders approached Han Xiao together, representing their armies and showing their friendliness. They were not the only ones—the other large mercenary groups that had initially ignored Han Xiao also sent representatives to express their will to work together.

In a short time, about a hundred people gathered around Han Xiao, all commanders or deputy commanders.

This is because of Ames; I’m benefiting from her influences. These mercenaries want to work with me, not because of my strength, but because I’m a member of Floating Dragon.

This was the benefit of being in Ames’ faction. He revealed his background and made a name for himself. Furthermore, with protection from the Dragon Emperor, even DarkStar would not dare to mess with him easily.

The Great Mechanic Han had never minded benefitting from the influence of others, he only cared about what effect it would have. The benefits were very clear, but there were disadvantages as well. Firstly, his name had grown too quickly, no longer matching his strength. Secondly, the Dragon Emperor’s name would cover up Black Star’s name, which would affect his growth in the future. It was not beneficial to make a name for himself if he kept using the Floating Dragon’s name, and this effect would last quite a long time.

Having a background was definitely good, but for Han Xiao, who wanted to have his own faction, too famous a background was an indirect chain. However, since Black Star had not been created for long, the pros definitely outweighed the cons. Furthermore, the Dragon Emperor had helped him once, and in return, Han Xiao did not mind helping her do some stuff.

Not long after, dozens of communication numbers were added to Han Xiao’s communicator, all parts of the industry. Only large mercenary groups on the three large armies’ level had this level of connection.

At this time, a notification appeared on the interface. The mission was completed.

_____________________

[Escape] Completed!

Mission Rating: B

– You have received 1,200,000 Experience!

– You have received +3 Renown!

_____________________

He had lasted for three days, so the rating was two grades higher than the lowest grade, and the reward had increased significantly. Han Xiao thought that it was quite okay, not too much but not too little either. In the case of the players, the few of them who lasted till the mission completed were all overjoyed.

Following Black Phantom is always beneficial! This had become almost a rule in their minds. They received 1,200,000 Experience from just one mission, and they almost did not know what to do with this ‘outrageous amount’ of experience.

The successful ones were few, as most players had failed the mission, now green with envy.

Han Xiao’s browsed through the interface. He opened the NPC interface and noticed something new. His eyes sparkled.

This is… a new dungeon?

Chapter 402: Question

As Han Xiao entered the Dungeon Creating interface, there was a new option under [Six Nations and Germinal Organization].

_____________________

[Warfare: Power of the Dragon Emperor]

_____________________

Han Xiao tried it out of curiosity. He realized that this was a different type of dungeon, not created by a main storyline. [Six Nations and Germinal Organization] was a series, and parts of it could be intercepted to create multiple Dungeon Crystals. In the case of the new dungeon, it was fixed. It could only create the scene during the three days from DarkStar’s pursuit to Ames’s arrival. It was a fixed dungeon.

Only large events create series dungeons. The requirement for warfare dungeons should be quite versatile. Since the name is related to Ames, maybe it’s because she has legendary characteristics, and that increased the influence of the event, Han Xiao guessed.

The Germinal Organization event happened back in Version 1.0 and could create a LVL 60 dungeon at most. Power of the Dragon Emperor would definitely at least match with Version 2.0. Han Xiao did not enter dungeons, so he could not check the details of the dungeon. However, from his experience, he knew that this new dungeon would be a painful journey for these LVL 60 players.

Simply put, the players did not reach the lowest requirement for challenging new dungeons. The difference was at least one version.

You’re reading onThanks!

Although there aren’t any physical benefits at the moment, it will make the players feel a sense of freshness. This is the first dungeon that exceeds the version limit. After letting ace reporter Bun-Hit-Dog add some materials to it, it should gather some popularity. Also, as an NPC who’s able to give out dungeons of higher levels, my standing will become higher too. Han Xiao blinked. Standing was like money—no one would say it was too much.

After informing Han Xiao of their intention to work together, the dozens of commanders walked to the side and ordered their comrades to clean up the battlefield.

The planet’s surface was devastated. The mercenaries were recycling the parts and pieces of the mothership. Han Xiao had some free time, so he took the members of Black Star to the side.

He did not have to worry about the players. The wounds of the Volga brothers were bandaged. Maple Moon had the Pharmacist sub-class, so she was counted as half a doctor. She was holding her tools and helping Herlous treat his wound.

Herlous was sitting on a rock, and his left shoulder was empty. The broken part felt like burnt wood when touched. He clenched his teeth and endured the pain as large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

Han Xiao looked at the wound, frowned, and said, “The bones and the flesh are no good. It was bad luck to meet Ember.”

“I knew this day would come, but I never thought it would come so soon…”

Herlous forced a bitter smile. Many of the Sunil warriors were disabled. He had hardened his resolve long ago, just that when it actually happened, he still could not control the sadness and pain in his heart.

Han Xiao comforted and said, “Old Herlous, you don’t have to be too pessimistic about it. Many advanced civilizations have the technology to cure broken limbs, such as an incubation pod, nanotechnology repairs, or Supers with healing powers. Right, about that, I know a pair of sisters that can even save someone after death, not to mention losing a limb.”

“Really‽” Herlous was shocked. He had thought that he was going to lose his left arm forever. Now that he had heard there was a chance to recover, his morale immediately increased.

“They’re people of my home planet. As you know, I left my mother planet to save a disaster of the future. Before I find the solution, I can’t go back. Furthermore, the power of these sisters is not yet strong enough. You’ll have to endure it for some time. I will build a mechanical prosthetic arm for you for now.”

After comforting Herlous, he turned to look at Aroshia. Aroshia still looked like a human made of light.

“How are you feeling now?” Han Xiao asked curiously.

“My vision changed, my senses changed, and the control of my body changed. Apparently, I can extend them infinitely, without the limitations of physical forms.”

As she was saying, Aroshia changed her shape many times and got used to the new changes very quickly.

“Usually, changing shape will change one’s mind too. Do you have any special thoughts?”

“No.”

Han Xiao scratched his head. He suddenly recalled that when Aroshia still had a physical body, she already did not have any desire or curiosity, which was similar to the characteristics of energy lives anyway. He never expected her to really be able to turn into an energy form.

He had quite a number of guesses. “Are you able to change back?”

Aroshia tried slowly. This ball of light kept changing shape for quite some time, then suddenly, she seemed to have found the way. The light particles quickly contracted and condensed, then the light started to disappear, and she turned back to what she looked like before.

The expression on her almost perfect face changed a little. She was a bit curious about her new ability.

The players who were watching this were stunned.

“Ultraman‽” Second Prince was dazed.

“Tiga, is that you?” Bun-Hit-Dog was shocked.

Aroshia tried many abilities. She could turn individual parts of her body into an energy state, and she could also turn her entire body into an energy state. In her energy state, her form was no longer limited, but when she recovered to physical form, she was only able to turn back to what she looked like originally. If she was wounded in her physical form, it would disappear after she turned into her energy form and back to her physical form, but that would cost her some energy. As long as she had enough energy, she could recover no matter how heavily wounded she was.

Han Xiao held onto Aroshia’s wrist and said, “The energy particles in your body is very active. Your Super genes are activated. You’re an Esper, so turning into your energy form is the ability you have awakened.”

In his many guesses, the chance of Aroshia awakening as a Super was the highest, and that was exactly the case. This power was her Esper ability, [Energize].

This type of Esper power was considered as shapeshifting, but it could also be considered as elemental controlling. For example, some flame or thunder Esper powers could turn their user into a flame man or an electric man. However, when these shapeshifters took damage during their elemental state, they would not be able to recover from it. In the case of Aroshia’s shapeshifting, it was more like a reconstruction of material structure and life form. When she turned into an energy form, she did not have lethal parts. As long as her energy was not used up, she would not die.

Another difference was that Aroshia’s shapeshifting was different from those of a single element. Although it looked like she turned into light energy, when she sent energy into the Car Ball energy core, it automatically changed into the compatible electric energy. This meant her energy form could change. Han Xiao was knowledgeable, so he realized Aroshia’s potential very quickly.

This was a walking battery and a universal energy source!

Being able to change energy property meant that there was a chance for her to change into very high-level energy, such as particle energy or psionic energy. As for the strength, range, energy limit, and other matters, these would require her to train her power to increase. As soon as Aroshia awakened, her starting point was close to grade C, and her power potential was very high. Part of the reason for that was because her blood contained energy, and she had activated a small part of it.

“You’re a Super now. Although Herlous and I are not Espers, we can still guide you on how to use your energy. With your potential, your strength should increase very quickly,” Han Xiao said. He did not guide Aroshia to become stronger just because of the related mission requirement—it was also to have another person with combat power in the mercenary group.

This time, Goa and Porter brought their teams along and walked over. Cerleni was covered in bandages and was holding two crutches under his arms. He was limping toward Han Xiao with his subordinate’s support.

“If not for you calling the Dragon Emperor, the pickup teams would have been stalled from the start to the end, and none of us would have been able to escape. You saved us all, please accept our appreciation,” Goa said with a solemn tone. The hundreds of mercenaries were very thankful.

When the alliance fleet was being stalled, she had already lost all hope, but the Dragon Emperor had appeared and completely turned the tables. The support that Han Xiao had called for was the key.

“Sorry I did not listen to your suggestions back then. That’s why I was captured by DarkStar. They tortured me for a very long time and asked me if I have seen a bead. It was very weird. If we were not saved, we definitely would have been killed,” Cerleni said with shame. He wanted to put down the crutches, ignore the dozens of fractures on his body, and hold Han Xiao’s hand to express his appreciation but was stopped by Han Xiao.

Han Xiao sized him up and praised him. “DarkStar tortured you so badly, but you hung on, good job.”

“You mean these wounds?” Cerleni looked down at the bandages all over his body and said, “You misunderstood, these are from the mothership’s crash.”

“…” Han Xiao’s eyes twitched, speechless.

“By the way, about that…” Goa intercepted and pointed at the sky. “Because Holy Stone’s fleet sent a fake message, that’s why you were caught. What are you planning to do?”

“You reminded me, they almost got me killed!” Anger appeared on Cerleni’s face. He turned to his subordinate and yelled, “Contact them!”

A mercenary took out his communicator and tried to contact Holy Stone’s fleet. The other side picked up the request very quickly, and Shivate’s face appeared on the screen.

Shivate knew that his decision back then would bring blame, but he did not think that it was a bad decision. All he could say was that he made the wrong bet, so he had no choice but to deal with the consequences.

After receiving the communication request from mercenaries, he told the operator to direct it to him immediately. He was prepared to personally give an explanation and fake some sincerity. He adjusted his shirt and introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Holy Stone Border Guards Army Third Formation Commander Shiva…”

Before he finished introducing, Cerleni yelled at the communicator, using his local language. After being translated through the translator, it was easily understood…

“You moron!”

Han Xiao felt much livelier when he heard that.

NPC cursing isn’t muted, nice!

Chapter 403: Rocketing Renown, Transferring to Godora.

Cerleni was cursing like a machine gun. The words that he used were very descriptive and lively, including various positions. The nouns included Shivate’s ancestors, parents, wife, descendants, and so on. Han Xiao was enjoying listening to it on the side—he felt a sense of familiarity.

Shivate was stunned by the curses. He could not even interject. His face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and his entire body was trembling furiously.

I am the high-level commander of Holy Stone Civilization. Other than my boss and my wife, who dares to shame me like this? I… will endure it!

Seeing Han Xiao at the side, Shivate pressed his rage down. This time, we have the moral low ground, so I will give you face!

Porter’s face was filled with surprise. He had thought that he was rough enough, but he had never expected Cerleni, who was usually very sensible, to be grumpier than him.

After he vented out his anger, Cerleni took a break and asked, “Why did you set us up‽”

Shivate was expressionless. He explained with a very stiff tone, “You misunderstood. We did want to pick you up, but plans can’t keep up with changes. DarkStar set up a blockade, and there was no chance to break through. That’s why the pickup team did not arrive at the indicated location on time. This was an accident.”

“When we wanted to contact you after arriving at the location, but you did not reply at all. How are you going to explain that!”

“DarkStar forced our pickup team back. Seeing that the situation was not good, we did not fight them and retreated first. We initially wanted to contact you to change the pickup location, but DarkStar used the short-range communication signal disrupter on us and blocked the communication. It was to not let us inform you of the changes to the situation. Then, DarkStar used this message to capture you. It’s not strange for you to misunderstand us.”

Shivate described it without blinking, as if it had really happened, which showed how experienced he was. With his position, he did not have to explain so much to a group of mercenaries, but Black Star was an exception—his background was too strong. Shivate only explained because of Han Xiao. He faked his sincerity and said, “Our mistake has led to a bad result. I am very sorry about that. No matter what, I have explained the truth, and hope you can understand…”

Cerleni was about to say something, but Han Xiao stepped forward and spoke first. He smiled and said, “So, that’s what happened. We really misunderstood you. This is a misunderstanding caused by intel difference. Don’t have to apologize, this was not your fault.”

Shivate’s eyes sparkled, and he said with a very pleased tone, “It’s really great that you can understand… Since the misunderstanding has been resolved, I shall not stay any longer. Do whatever you want with these DarkStar people.

As Shivate finished his sentence, the Holy Stone fleet retreated, and Black Raven retreated from the other side as well. The fleets that covered the sky had left, and the exterior space of the planet became empty again.

“You didn’t actually believe that, did you? That Shiva-something commander is looking for excuses,” Cerleni said.

Han Xiao shrugged and said, “A lie that can’t be proved, how can I believe it?”

Goa walked forward and sighed. “Don’t hold a grudge for it. Even though we know it’s clearly an excuse, we can’t do anything to him. He’s Holy Stone’s border commander after all.”

Factions were different, and knifing each other back and forth was very normal.

However, mercenaries believed peace was required to make money. The opponent represented a large civilization that was very strong, and he had just been affected by a shady play—it was not enough to make them enemies. At the same time, it was not worth doing. The higher ups of the various armies would definitely not agree on that, and they could not take revenge personally. Everyone knew what the truth was, but they still acted peaceful toward each other and acted as if it did not happen.

They were all quite upset, but they sighed and moved on.

Han Xiao smiled and did not say anything. On the surface, he took a step back, but he secretly wrote Holy Stone Civilization’s name on his notebook. He was not going to just forget it—violence was not technical enough and not worth it.Since you did me dirty, it is only fair for me to do the same.

Hmm… When I’m free, I shall find an opportunity to kidnap their main character type of person. No one will know, and I’ll get a new officer, two birds with one stone.

Han Xiao rubbed his chin, and an evil smirk appeared on his face.

Far away on Stream Light, Shivate suddenly felt a chill up his spine just as he was being proud of himself.

The cleaning for the battlefield was completed. The parts and broken pieces had been recycled by the mercenaries. Sarota and a few other DarkStar members were tied in one place, and a few deputy army commanders surrounded the captives and discussed quietly.

Han Xiao walked over and asked, “Are these all the captives?”

“Hmm, all the escaping spaceships were destroyed, so these are the only ones alive.”

After taking a closer look, Han Xiao realized that Ember was not one of them.Looks like he exploded when in a spaceship—he should be dead.

He felt that it was a pity. It was not easy to meet someone with legendary characteristics. Plus, that person’s power was countered by him. If he could kill Ember with his own hands, he would most likely get a Molding Talent. Ember had died in someone else’s hands, so Han Xiao did not receive any reward from it.

“What are you planning to do with them?”

“It’s best to transfer the DarkStar people to Godora. We have contacted Godora, and they are very happy to take over the captives. They are even willing to pay a reward for it,” Sky Ring’s Deputy Army Commander said.

It was actually more suitable to let Holy Stone or Black Raven take the captives, but neither of them wanted to be involved. Just now, Shivate acted as if letting them deal with the captives was an act of generosity, but he was actually just not wanting to take this hot potato.

Sarota heard this and started to struggle violently. He growled with rage and said, “Kill me!”

If the people of DarkStar ended up in the hands of Godora, there would only be one place for them to go—to be imprisoned in Rainbow Prison for life.

Rainbow Prison only imprisoned captured DarkStar members. The inside of the prison was very mysterious. All the DarkStar members who were locked in there for some time would lose their faith for DarkStar, turning their loyalty to Godora. DarkStar thought that this prison was brainwashing its prisoners continuously, twisting their minds and turning them into betrayers, making them Godora’s dogs and tools.

The organization was rather fearful of the Rainbow Prison. Rumor had it that the reason for Godora not executing DarkStar’s war prisoners was that they wanted to make DarkStar’s people fight and kill each other through brainwashing. It was an extremely vicious intent!

Sarota was not afraid of spending his life in prison, but he was afraid of having his mind twisted. If he had to betray his belief, he would rather die!

A mercenary kicked Sarota on the back of his head and knocked him out, silencing him.

“I’m going to Godora’s colony as well. It’s along the way, so how about giving me a ride?” Han Xiao said.

“Haha, no problem.”

The mercenaries tidied the place up for a few hours, recycled everything valuable, then the fleet took off. The alliance fleet left and headed toward the neighboring Garton Galaxy.

The incident had ended. Peace was restored on this planet. Only the devastated planet surface reminded people that a tragic battle had once happened there.

The things that had happened there were all detailed in Shattered Star Ring Express News. One day later, the other news stations used Shattered Star Ring Express News’ material and did another report. The impact of this event was gradually fermenting.

The most compelling part was, of course, the scene in which the Dragon Emperor showed her power. It was repeated many times on various channels. The one who received the second most attention was Han Xiao; he attracted more attention than the fact that DarkStar had suffered a huge loss in this incident.

Countless viewers came to know of the mercenary called Black Star. He was the only team under the Floating Dragon faction that was acting outside Floating Dragon Island, which meant that he was the executor of the Dragon Emperor’s thoughts, which had a much higher influence than himself. The name Black Star and his data was rapidly spread among various large organizations in Shattered Star Ring, becoming one of the targets that they paid attention to.

Everywhere around the Shattered Star Ring, regardless of race, as long as they watched the news, they all remembered Black Star’s name. Naturally, all kinds of rumors spread out.

Someone passed out a new message—the three large armies and their partners actively requested to form a partnership with Black Star. Black Star, who was previously unknown, was suddenly famous in the mercenary industry, and the number of connections and the size of the network that he had made a lot of mercenaries envious.

In a few days, Black Star’s name became renowned!

In these few days, notifications of Renown increasing kept popping up on Han Xiao’s interface. It increased across various areas, covering many Star Clusters in Shattered Star Ring. In terms of raw numbers, it grew by a total of thirty-seven points, and it was still growing.

He was a little surprised by this, till he saw the galactical news.

No wonder his Renown rocketed after that; it turned out that he was on television. This fame was a bonus benefit brought by Ames’ influence, and it at least saved him a lot of time that would have been spent grinding his Renown. This was very important for the growth of a faction—because of this, his starting point was higher than others’.

…

A few days later, in Garton Galaxy. The alliance fleet stopped at Godora’s colony planet, Golden Palace.

Godora’s structures had beautiful styles. They liked curves and arcs—curved surfaces and fan shapes could be seen everywhere. The color theme was mostly gold and white, beautiful and pure. Godorans did not like the tight feeling of having too many tall buildings, nor did they like the seriousness of symmetry. The city was made up of short, curved, and more “ancient” buildings. The only tall buildings were the Mage Tower, the Tower of Gal, the government building, and the army stations.

There were no metal transport tools on the road. Instead, there were magic tunnels covered in streams of light. The people walking on it would have increased speed, not any slower than cars, and there would be no traffic jams or anything of the sort. Other than that, some people rode on weird looking mounts, which were more expensive and rarer. The flying carriers had something to do with magic as well. There was a facility called ‘Flying Emblem Station’, where one could spend some money and rent a magic item with several fixed flying magics. There were quite a number of people flying on the sky. With one flap from the translucent wings behind their backs, they would be able to fly a very far distance.

The people on the street wore many kinds of robes. Most of them were Godorans whose skin looked like they were covered in gold powder. A city’s pace could be seen from how fast the people on the street were walking. Godorans walked slowly. Their life was relaxing and casual, adhering to the style of ancient Godora. Usually, magic civilizations would not develop as fast as technological civilizations, and that affected the pace of their lives, the shape of their society, their aesthetics, and their culture.

Han Xiao walked on the street alone. He had gone to Golden Palace to find that master of identification to open the Secret Message Bead. He wanted to see what was inside it that was so important to DarkStar.

The spaceship was still waiting at the dock. Han Xiao did not waste any time and headed directly toward the target.

Chapter 404: Triple Trigger, Origins of Large Events!

The identification mage was staying at a small villa far away from the city. Han Xiao found the place easily and pressed on the doorbell.

After a while, the door opened. An old Godoran walked out and looked at Han Xiao puzzled.

“Who’re you?”

“Hello, Master Angleton. I have come to you for help after hearing about you. I hope that you can help me open an item with magic security measures.” Han Xiao recognized this person as the target, so he went straight to the point.

To his surprise, Angleton was confused. “It has only been three months since I moved here. I did not notify anyone yet, how did you find me?”

Han Xiao was stunned for a second, then he realized. At this period, the players in his previous life were still in their novice planets. He was too ahead of time. Luckily, Angleton had moved here this early, or it would have been awkward if he could not find him.

Angleton could not figure out why but did not dwell on it. He invited Han Xiao into his house and said while he was walking, “You’re the first customer after I moved house. It has commemorative significance. I think I should write this day in my diary. Uninvited surprise guest, what do I call you?”

“Call me Han Xiao.”

“Today is the official opening. To celebrate my first business, I will help you as much as I can…” Angleton smiled.

The inside of the villa was very luxurious. The two of them came to the basement, and there were many magic tools here. Quite a number of magic arrays were embedded on the wall and the floor. There were also many precise instruments to research and analyze magics.

After Han Xiao paid the fees, Angleton placed the Secret Message Bead inside the analytical magic array, flipped open his thick magic book, and started channeling.

Ding.

The seal of the Secret Message Bead appeared in the air. Angleton wore his reading glasses, narrowed his eyes, and observed it. He drew magic lines on the array from time to time, solving it bit by bit, just like opening a lock.

The Mage class and Mechanic class were known as the vastest and complicated classes. There were many types of machinery, ranging from nanotechnology to battleships, from nuclear weapons to psionic canons, from internet technology to artificial intelligence. It was very versatile and mostly about technology. The branches of the Mage class were very complicated as well. There was elemental, secret sorcery, blessing, spacetime, shape manipulation, summoning, curse, and so on.

Mages could learn spells from multiple branches—it had no limitations. They could use ice and fire at the same time if they wanted to. Like Mechanics spending experience to gamble on blueprints, Mages had to spend experience to learn spells as well. As long as they had enough experience, they could learn as many as they wanted. However, to players, there were differences between these two. For a Mage to learn a spell, the spell was divided into different ‘stages’. For example, learning Fire Blast required three stages, and every stage cost experience. The higher the stage, the more it would cost. If a certain stage failed, one had to use experience and try to learn that stage again. When all the stages were completed, the mage would officially be able to use that spell—meaning, the mage would get a new ability.

The success rate of learning spells depended on Intelligence and Mystic. The higher the spell grade, the more stages it has. It was also very experience consuming. It was relatively easier for higher level Mages to learn low-level spells, and it would be very difficult the other way around. Plus, high-level spells usually had prerequisites, such as learning a certain low-level spell or attributes reaching a certain value.

The differences between spell branches were like the differences between machinery types, which was a difference in ability choices. In terms of class focus, the Mechanic class had Cannon Master, Mechanical Pugilist, Mechanic, and so on. The Mage class also had different focuses. The class difference in the Mechanic class was decided afterward, but in the case of the Mage class, it was decided beforehand. The method of awakening decided their path. The first method was awakening Super genes of a Mage normally—those people are born with magic power or those able to activate their magic power through meditation would become official Mages. These were the talented ones.

The second method was for those that could not activate magic power or even had no Mage talent at all. Through planting magic circuitry in their body, there was a chance to generate magic power, granting them the qualifications to be a Mage. This was similar to the Esper class, in which some Espers could self-awaken and some needed Gene Awakening Elixir. The magic circuitry planted into their bodies was the source of magic power; it required continuous enhancement and strengthening. The biggest difference between circuit mages and talented mages was that circuit mages were unable to learn all spells, as circuits usually had certain tendencies. They could only be specialized Mages, as the foundation could not be changed once it was planted, so there was only one chance to choose a circuit.

Of course, as the saying goes, knowing one thing very well is better than knowing many things a little.

Specialized Mages were not weak. Instead, they were the majority. After all, one’s energy was limited, so it was better to focus on one instead of not focusing on everything. In fact, there were even some talented Mages who planted circuit in themselves and became specialized Mages afterward. As circuit was equivalent to an enhancement to that certain type of magic, it meant to give up all-round capabilities in exchange for strong spell powers. Goa, for example, was a specialized Mage, a pure Ice Mage.

There was another special type of Mage, called the MagicNet Mage. Their magic power did not belong to themselves; rather, it was ‘borrowed’ through religion, praying, ceremony, and all kinds of strange methods to come in contact with magic entities of other dimensions—usually of unspeakable appearance. They would then form a contract or deed. They could not learn spells; they could only use spells given by that magic entity. Most of these spells did not cost mana but had a limit to how many times they could be used per day. In other words, they had a cooldown but had no mana cost. The way for them to become stronger was to enhance their connection with the magic entity or to create contracts with more magic entities, granting them more spells and higher usages.

The Great Mechanic Han played a Mage class in his previous life before. It required very high skills, emphasizing on creating combos by using all kinds of spells, and it had countless combinations. It was the complete opposite of the simple and brutal Pugilist class. When battling other players, one had to pay attention to details and make a lot of calculations. It was very suitable for technical players with good brains… Oh, that was except for Fire Blast Style and Summoning Style—these two were more brainless than Pugilist. There was no need for any analysis or whatsoever—they just have to finish their mana bar, and there would barely be anyone standing.

With a cup of magic coconut tea in his hands, Han Xiao sat at the side and waited for many hours. He almost fell asleep.

Clank!

In midair, the magic seal array was finally cracked as it shattered like a mirror.

“It’s done.” Angleton took off his glasses.

“Let me see what on earth is inside…” Han Xiao took back the Secret Message Bead, took a deep breath, and slowly turned it.

Without the seal, the Secret Message Bead was easily split in half. A mini vacuum glass cabinet was fixed to each side. These two things both had a shrinking spell on them, which was why they could fit in such a small bead.

_____________________

Unknown item identified. You have received [Secret Message Bead] x 1.

You have opened [Secret Message Bead].

You have received [Seventh Generation Mutation Source] x 1.

You have received [Super-Gene Extractor—Test Version] x 1.

_____________________

“Holy… It’s these two things!” Han Xiao’s breathing stopped for a moment. His eyes were fixed on these things. He finally understood why DarkStar had spent so much effort in tracking this down. The significance of these two things was beyond ordinary—he had almost snatched DarkStar’s lifeblood away!

These two things were connected to two huge conspiracies of DarkStar—they were the origin of two big events! One of them was Planet Aquamarine’s main storyline in Version 2.0—Mutation Disaster!

He had a flash of insight and connected the dots.

DarkStar bought these items from another organization. The seller is outside Shattered Star Ring, so they chose to send one of their subordinates to deliver the goods, who happened to be a Silver. He followed a tourist group here and planned to deliver the goods secretly. However, just as the Silvers were having a tour, they were suddenly robbed by slavers. The carrier was unlucky as hell, and that forced DarkStar to come and find the goods. Then, coincidentally, the other Silvers hired us… They did not know about the deal behind this. Everything that happened was because of the first accident.

Han Xiao was astonished. Through many coincidences, he had ruined DarkStar’s secret deal and robbed them of the goods that they had spent an outrageous amount of money to buy!

Secret organizations selling this kind of product were like arms dealers. DarkStar itself did not have the technology to research new ‘weapons’—they could only buy them. The Mutation Source was already generation seven, so it had definitely been tested in another place before.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, more than one notification of triggering a new mission popped up in the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered A ranked main storyline mission [Mutation Disaster]!

Mission Introduction: You accidentally ruined DarkStar’s private deal and discovered the source of the Mutation Disaster. DarkStar has secretly planted Mutation Sources in many mother planets of civilizations. When the virus enters its mature stage, a terrifying disaster will arrive. Defending against the disaster is every life’s responsibility.

Mission Requirements: Clean up the Mutation Disaster virus and protect the planets where a disaster is going to happen.

Planet Aquamarine – Progress: 0/30,000,000

Planet Barrifos – Progress: 0/21,000,000

Planet Dawn – Progress: 0/19,000,000

…

Success Requirements: Successfully protect any planet mentioned above before the mutation virus reach its mature stage.

Failure Condition: All planets are defeated, and all survivors are forced to leave their planet.

Reward: Depends on contribution.

Remarks: Even if the virus spreads and causes the overall progress to decrease, individually earned progress will still be calculated into reward rating.

[Mission Status: Frozen]

_____________________

The Main Storyline mission of the next version!

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled in surprise. He did not expect to trigger the main storyline of Version 2.0 in advance.

The main storyline mission of the Mutation Disaster was not an individual mission but a mission carried out by all players. Planet Aquamarine needed thirty million progress points, and every player’s actions would be added into the progress. There were many stages of the Mutation Disaster, and the virus would grow, causing the progress to drop by large portions. The mission requirement was to complete the requirements before the virus grew into its unstoppable mature stage. It required all players to work together.

This mission is different from the one players would receive. I remember that the players’ mission is just to protect Planet Aquamarine, but my target includes other planets as well… Is it because I got the Mutation Source?

Han Xiao was a little surprised. This was a good thing; it gave him more choices. Of course, he was definitely going to protect Planet Aquamarine first. Not only was it his home, but it was also for the players of the next version.

The status of the mission at this moment was frozen. Only when the timeline reached Version 2.0 and the disaster broke out would the mission start. What he was thinking was how to make full use of the Mutation Source in his hands in order to achieve the biggest impact.

The key component of solving the Mutation Disaster is Godora. In my previous life, Godora took a very long time to invent the cure. If I give them the mutation source, they will be able to invent the cure earlier…

Han Xiao contemplated on the issue. This was probably the best way to maximize the use of the mutation source. However, he had to think of when he should give it to Godora. If he gave it to them too early, the contribution points would not be counted into the mission, and he would be suspected too.

He searched through his memories and had a rough plan. The details had to be improved, but he let it aside for the moment. He looked at the other two new missions.

_____________________

– You have triggered A ranked mission [Godora’s Ally]!

– You have triggered S ranked mission [Bloodline]!

Chapter 405: Throwing the Blame (1)

_____________________

[Godora’s Ally]

Mission Introduction: You caused DarkStar’s failure. Godora will reward any actions against DarkStar.

Reminder: This is a faction series mission; you can complete below-mentioned requirements during this mission.

Capture I: Transfer 100 DarkStar captives to Godora (Regardless of strength). Reward: 500,000 experience, +100 Godora Favorability

Capture II: Transfer 10 DarkStar elite warriors to Godora (grade C and above). Reward: 700,000 experience, +150 Godora Favorability

24 targets in total… [Expand/Collapse]

When the mission ends, the rating will be given based on the number of targets completed. Bonus reward will be given.

_____________________

This A ranked mission had more than twenty targets, the easiest one being [Capture I], which required him to capture some DarkStar members. Even the cleaners would count. The more difficult targets were destroying a certain number of battleships or even a DarkStar mothership. The most difficult ones were capturing or killing a certain high-ranking individual.

These mission targets depended on Godora’s actual reward for capturing DarkStar members. If there was a new threat, the mission list would refresh as well, adding new targets.

Han Xiao did a count, and the mission rewards were very rich. Not mentioning the easier missions, the experience reward for those high difficulty targets was at least six million, together with money and faction favorability. Completing some very difficult targets would also give the reward of a random reward, which might give something good.

Those single target missions had the richest reward, such as the target’s unique ability or item.

“This is the subsequent events after the Mutation Disaster main storyline. The players’ choices will cause them to enter different sides. Godora and DarkStar are considered guides into the galaxy. The players entering the galaxy will be divided into two sides and unlock faction battles. I captured DarkStar’s men, so I’m a member of the Godora faction by default, thus triggering the Godora series missions. The opposite mission will be [DarkStar’s Ally]. One is a lawful faction, and the other is an evil faction.”

The Mutation Disaster main storyline was not that easy. DarkStar was not just going to plant the virus and do nothing else. Triggering the disasters was just their way of completing their plan—it was not their final target.

The players were a double-edged sword; some were willing to unite, and some preferred chaos. Where there was unity, there would be division.

As he was familiar with this mission, Han Xiao was not surprised. Instead, the other S ranked mission [Bloodline] was the more interesting mission even though he had only heard of it before in his previous life.

[Bloodline] was not a hidden mission, but it was very difficult to trigger. The normal method of triggering required a prerequisite of faction relationship with DarkStar or Godora reaching [Reverence], which was 6,000 Favorability. He had obviously triggered it through a different method.

Although the prerequisite was quite high, many players triggered the mission nonetheless… However, no one had ever completed it!

The difficulty of S ranked missions was something on another level. They all had the same obvious characteristic—the mission introduction was extremely brief.

[Bloodline]’s mission requirement was just one very vague target—[Solve the Godorans’ bloodline conflict].

Other than that, there was nothing else—not even the reward was written. The players could not get intel from the mission introduction, so they had no idea on the steps and methods required to complete the mission. They could only use their brains and collect information from countless NPCs, but it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

The universe was so huge. The high freedom of choice became an obstacle for the mission, and the players were like headless chickens. In his previous life, the players who accepted the mission worked together, walked down countless wrong paths, and were finally able to find the seemingly right path. This mission actually had hidden stages, and the completion of a certain stage was signified by causing a subversive change in the bloodline problem and receiving a rich stage reward. With this as the lead, only then were the players able to move forward slowly while stumbling…

Still, even though the clues online could fill a hundred pages, no one could find a way to complete the final target.

This mission was also listed in articles with titles like ‘Those Missions That Made You Vomit Blood!’ Posts like these that recorded the history of the older versions of Galaxy were ways for newer players to know about the events that happened before. They were nicknamed ‘Galaxy Chronicles’.

The progress of every novice planet had its own chapter. Countless players added on to it and created an enormous chapter. The Great Mechanic Han had been addicted to this before. He had read it like a novel, and it was a very good way to kill time while he set up stores, farmed gold, and boosted accounts.

“At least I know how to complete the earlier stages, so at least I will get something. And about the final result, I’ll let fate decide…”

[Bloodline] could not be completed by any player back then, so Han Xiao could not guarantee that he could complete it as well. However, he was not concerned about it.

These three missions all had very rich rewards. Han Xiao preferred this kind of developing missions that could last him a long time, and most of them were against DarkStar, which made him very motivated.

“Looks like I have quite a few things to do. Hehehe, DarkStar…” Han Xiao smiled.

Other than these three missions, the Super-Gene Extractor did not trigger the related event. Han Xiao guessed that it was probably because he had only gotten the test version, or DarkStar had yet to start this plan.

Without the additional mission, he paid attention to the effect of the extractor itself. Its effect was to extract the power genes of Supers, which could then be stored or given to others. However, it was not permanent—it had a time limit. As the gene compatibility could not reach one percent, the genes would continuously die out after being planted into someone else, which meant that the power would gradually become weaker until it disappeared.

The Supers whose powers were taken away would also not lose their power forever. Their Super genes were taken, but they could recover slowly, generating new genes, and their power would come back. The extraction strength could be adjusted as well. If it was only a little, the target’s power would only be weakened temporarily.

The good thing was that the extraction process could be repeated. Therefore, even without searching through his memories, Han Xiao could guess what DarkStar would do with this.

“The extractor’s effect is quite good, but what’s its use to me? I’m not evil, and I can’t capture people and use them as supplies. Also, I can’t use it on my people… Wait, this thing is a test version, so its effect is definitely not as strong as the final version. Plus, it’s unstable… I should find a chance to test it.”

These thoughts raced through Han Xiao’s head as he put the Secret Message Bead away. Suddenly, he had a thought and asked, “Master Angleton, can the magic seal be recovered?”

Angleton nodded and said with a smile, “This Secret Message Bead used an Almev Six Layer Lock Structure and had three mixed magic arrays embedded into it. Normal Mages wouldn’t be able to crack it. Luckily, you found me. I am specialized in analytics and identifying, so it’s not difficult for me. I did not crack it the rough way—I left a ‘Lock Clasp’, so even an identification apprentice can recover the seal.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he said, “Then can you write the recover spell into a one-time use scroll?”

“No problem, but there’s an extra charge. Just 100 Enas.”

Han Xiao’s face twitched. This reminded him of the tragic experience of him going bankrupt. Angleton’s kind smile suddenly became fraudulent in his eyes—Mages were indeed all profiteers!

Angleton pulled out a magic scroll made from some kind of rare beast skin, then completed the scroll within one minute.

After getting the scroll, Han Xiao paid the money and left without wasting any time.

On the way toward the dock, Han Xiao found a hidden corner, took out the mutation source and extractor, then opened the magic scroll toward the Secret Message Bead.

Hum!

With a flash of light, the Secret Message Bead could not be twisted open anymore. It returned to its original state. The only difference was that Han Xiao had taken what was inside.

Then, Han Xiao took out his communicator and contacted Wilsander.

“What’s the matter Black Star?”

“Is Floating Dragon Island still in Fawn Galaxy?”

“Currently making a stop at a planet to collect gaseous fuel.”

“Not far from Holy Stone right.”

“Nearby the battlefield of that time, why ask?”

“Hehehe, I want to ask you for a favor…”

After he finished the call, Han Xiao returned to the dock but did not continue to take the ship. He brought all his members along and exited the ship, expressing his intention of going somewhere else.

The mercenaries were going to Godora’s mother planet to transfer the captives, so there was no need for him to follow. He was not the one that captured the captives, so it would not be calculated into his mission progress. Furthermore, after getting the mutation source, he was not in a hurry to come into contact with Godora.

The three large armies did not have any objections. Goa, Porter, Cerleni, and the others said their sincere goodbyes and told Han Xiao that they would work together again if there were opportunities in the future.

Hu!

The alliance fleet took off. The Black Star Mercenary Group stayed at the dock of Golden Palace, watching as the spaceships disappeared out of their sights, one after another.

Herlous turned around and asked, “Captain, what are we going to do now?”

“Old Herlous, you take everyone back to Juberly Hub. It was a tiring journey, so you guys should have a good rest. I have to make a trip back to Floating Dragon Island.”

With such a dependable Officer, he did not have to bring the players alongside him all the time.

The Golden Palace was very prosperous, and it had many docks. Han Xiao easily found a Galactic Travel agency and told Herlous to take the players, Aroshia, and the Volga brothers and return to Juberly Hub.

He found another travel agency and headed toward Floating Dragon Island.

…

A few days later, the alliance fleet arrived at the Godora mothership and received a warm welcome from the officials.

Godoran senior officials personally came to welcome the mercenary fleets at the dock. The entire process was videoed and played on the galactical channel, announcing to all the Star Clusters that as long as someone damaged DarkStar, they would definitely reward them handsomely.

After the routine welcome ceremony, Sarota and the other captives were transferred to Godora’s military then sent to the Rainbow Prison.

The officials realized that Han Xiao was not in the team and were uncertain.

“Why is Black Star not here?”

“They left in advance to settle some stuff.”

Hearing that, this Godoran official was a little sad. The higher-ups paid a lot of attention to this person that had made the Dragon Emperor create such a huge scene. He was thinking of using this opportunity to make some connection with Black Star, but Black Star was not here.

The official told his men to send the reward to the mercenaries and emphasized, “A part of this belongs to Black Star Mercenary Group. Please help to transfer.”

The three large armies would not take Han Xiao’s part of the reward, so they naturally agreed. Also, they told Godora that DarkStar attacked them to find a black bead.

Cerleni and the mercenaries that had been captured were all asked this question during their interrogation, so DarkStar’s target was obvious. Hence, the three large armies told Godora about this.

As these two parties were in contact, Han Xiao returned to Floating Dragon.

Chapter 406: Throwing the Blame (2)

Floating Dragon Island was floating above a huge gaseous planet. Numerous small unmanned harvesters were going back and forth, harvesting gaseous fuel for Floating Dragon like hard-working bees.

In the guards’ base, Han Xiao met with Wilsander. This guy had bandages on his head, and he was still bleeding.

The moment that he saw Han Xiao, he immediately rushed over enthusiastically, placed his arm on Han Xiao’s shoulder, and pulled him to the side. Then he said softly with a face full of excitement, “The plan you mentioned, I think it’s quite interesting. I told Jenny about it, and she agreed. Did you bring the stuff?”

Han Xiao took out the Secret Message Bead and passed it to Wilsander, then said, “Do as we discussed. By the way, you know how to act, right? I can teach you if you don’t.”

“Do you think I need you to teach me?” Wilsander said with disgust. “How do you think I cleared my name to join Floating Dragon? Just wait for my good news!”

He then took the Secret Message Bead with a smirk, gathered his subordinates, and took off in a spaceship. The spaceship drew an arc, then headed toward Holy Stone’s direction. With a flash of light, it disappeared and jumped.

“Why is this guy more in a hurry than me?” Han Xiao shook his head, unsure whether he should laugh or cry.

What he did not know was that everyday Wilsander was in Floating Dragon, he was either catching small thieves or maintaining order, and now that he could go out and stir up some trouble, no matter whose trouble, he was as happy as going on a vacation. As an ex-galactic pirate and a hybrid Demon, chaos was in his blood. The fact that he could endure the boredom and stay in Floating Dragon was all because of… love.

…

Numerous space stations were fixed at the Holy Stone border like anchors. A large metal stronghold was floating in space. It was the Third Formation that was on duty. Holy Stone’s fleet patrolled the area. In the Stream Light command room, Shivate was half lying down on his commander seat, and his two legs were placed on the control panel, his hands behind his head. He was having a snooze, relaxing as he was having a sunbathe.

This time, a subordinate reported.

“Commander, a spaceship is approaching. They’ve sent a contact request…”

Without even opening his eyes, Shivate asked lazily, “Who is it?”

“Err, one of the Dragon Guard Trio, Guard Captain ‘Red Wings’ Wilsander.”

Plop!

The people in the room saw their Commander fall straight off his seat.

Shivate hastily helped himself up with the chair. His face was stiff.

Whenever he heard the name Floating Dragon, he would have a feeling something bad was going to happen.

The other party was Floating Dragon’s Guard Captain. After seeing the Dragon Emperor’s astonishing strength a few days ago, Shivate did not dare to not give face to them. The request was quickly approved.

Stream Light came to the border, and an opening appeared on the side of the battleship. A mechanical magnetic tentacle extended out and sucked onto the spaceship. Wilsander boarded Stream Light, and Shivate brought his men along to welcome him. They met on the bridge.

“Are you Holy Stone’s Commander?” Wilsander said with an expressionless face.

Shivate nodded. “Holy Stone Border Guards Army Third Formation Commander Shivate. May I know why you’ve come?”

“Yes, here’s the reason. A member of Floating Dragon was chased by DarkStar some time ago, and the Dragon Emperor personally attacked and defeated DarkStar. The mercenaries that were rescued exposed the fact that DarkStar’s target was a black bead. Black Star reported this to me, and I ordered my subordinates to search for it on the Floating Dragon Island just in case.

“To my surprise, the bead was really on Floating Dragon Island, and it turns out that one of my guards found it. He turned the bead in, and we plan to give it to Godora. Since your territory is nearby, I would like to ask you to help give it to Godora so that we don’t have to waste time to travel.”

Wilsander said with a solemn tone as if these things had really happened. He took out the Secret Message Bead and placed it in Shivate’s hand while he was still stunned.

“Th—This… What? I — I, wait…”

Shivate was completely lost and could not form a complete sentence.

“The item has been delivered; I’ll get going now.”

Wilsander turned around in a cool manner.

He came quickly and left quickly, leaving a hot potato behind.

To Shivate, this was a disaster that fell from the sky, and he could not even reject it. Although this was a sensitive matter, it required little effort to help out, so there was no need to not give Floating Dragon face. When the image of Floating Dragon Island crashing into the DarkStar mothership, his legs would turn wobbly. Floating Dragon Island was an entity that he could did not dare disrespect.

Shivate reported this to the superiors immediately. After they had a discussion, they decided not to swallow the Secret Message Bead themselves. Floating Dragon knew about this, so there was no way they could hide the fact that they took it. Furthermore, keeping the Secret Message Bead would lead to DarkStar’s hostility. DarkStar was very clear in how important this was to them. They wondered what was inside.

Currently, Holy Stone was faced with a choice—should they open the Secret Message Bead and take a look?

The answer was a definite yes!

Since it passed by their hands, even if they did not take it, at least they had to take a peek and know what was going on. Anyway, the seal could be recovered, so there was no reason to be afraid.

Holy Stone quickly dispatched an Identification Mage, who spent a day opening the Secret Message Bead. However, the result left them dumbfounded.

It was empty.

How could it be empty‽

What did DarkStar want with this? Or was there a hidden message in it?

This made Holy Stone realize what would happen if they gave it to Godora. The Secret Message Bead was empty, and Godora would be suspicious, thinking that they had taken what was inside. And they could not even prove they did not.

Holy Stone was frustrated, but a thought appeared in their mind—did Floating Dragon take what was inside? Was passing it to Holy Stone just to frame them? But was there even a need for Floating Dragon to do this? DarkStar would not mess with them anyway!

Holy Stone initially wanted to hide the fact that they opened the seal. Now they had no choice but to contact Godora and tell them the truth, that there was nothing inside from the start and that they did not take it—it was empty when Floating Dragon gave it to them. Floating Dragon probably took it long ago.

Godora’s reaction was straight forward—Do you think I believe that?

How dare you, Holy Stone? Not only did you steal what was inside, but you also want us to misunderstand Floating Dragon and cause trouble for us. How vicious!

Holy Stone had no way to explain themselves or prove what they said—they could only firmly state that they did not take anything.

They suspected and doubted each other, but the item still had to be delivered. After some discussion, they decided to meet up secretly.

…

On Floating Dragon Island, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief after hearing from Wilsander.

“The blame has finally been thrown to someone else.”

Although DarkStar failed once, they would not give up so easily. They would still track the Secret Message Bead, and the mercenaries and himself were the top targets. This was a hidden danger.

Han Xiao had done this to clear his suspicion and divert the attention so that he and the other mercenaries would be safe.

Godoran and Holy Stone would most likely keep it a secret. However, the next step of the plan was to have Wilsander ‘accidentally’ leak the information. When that happened, for the sake of not being targeted by DarkStar, Holy Stone would definitely emphasize the fact that they gave the Secret Message Bead to Godora. DarkStar would then have no need to guess where the Secret Message Bead was and target Godora directly, not affecting others anymore. This would mean that the hidden danger was resolved, and that was very important to Han Xiao.

Godora and DarkStar were enemies to start with, so they would not care, but Holy Stone was the unluckiest—they had gotten involved and dragged down out of nowhere, and they became suspected by Godora. Han Xiao had actually made targets that he could choose from, but he had chosen Holy Stone because they set him up once, so now it was his turn.

You don’t want any trouble? No problem, we will give you some…

The Secret Message Bead arrived in Godora’s hands, which meant that DarkStar basically could not take it back anymore. Only Holy Stone and Godora knew that it was empty—DarkStar had no idea. Even if DarkStar knew about it from other sources, they would think that Godora or Holy Stone took what was inside and would at most suspect that ‘mysterious force’ that had also been tracing the Secret Message Bead back then.

On paper, the first party to have discovered the Secret Message Bead was Floating Dragon Island. Han Xiao had been hidden in the dark all along, and now he pulled himself out of the equation.

Regardless, he and the other mercenaries that had been chased before were now safe.

“This way, the risk should be minimized. Although I have Floating Dragon as my background, it is not me who they fear and respect. My strength is far from strong enough, and it’s not suitable for me to face DarkStar head-on. I need to accumulate more strength—maintaining stable growth is more important.”

The problem was finally resolved. Han Xiao felt that his entire body was lighter.

His identity on Floating Dragon Island was a field operative, so he could move freely. Now that his goal had been achieved, he did not stay longer.

A few days later, Han Xiao took a travel agency and returned to Juberly Hub. Herlous had already taken the group back and was standing by and resting in the station.

The three large armies had sent them the reward from Godora two days ago. It was quite a lot, 30,000 Enas. Including this money, Han Xiao had more than 70,000 Enas in his account, reaching a new height. This was just the direct income—he had yet to count in the amount in the players’ hands.

This mission was not very dangerous for the players. The intel that they had was too little, so they did not know what was happening the entire time. With Han Xiao doing the work secretly, they had made a huge fortune. Han Xiao was pleased, too. His effort did not go to waste, and it would translate directly to the players’ purchasing power.

Unexpectedly, the hiring mission that was supposed to be simple turned out to be this complicated. Han Xiao had taken quite a number of risks throughout the mission. He initially did this mission for compression technology, but he had benefited much more from it, and the value of the reward was much higher than he expected.

Profit was accompanied by risk. Luckily, he was able to get out of the storm safely.

After so long, Han Xiao finally had the time to digest his reward.

“With the compression technology learned, my combat mode can be evolved to a large extent. I finally won’t have to fight everything myself.”

Inside the machinery modification room, Han Xiao rubbed his hands in anticipation.

Chapter 407: Thoughts About A New Style

“The first step is modifying all my current machinery into a compressed form so that there will be no need to worry about not having enough backup machinery…”

Modifying all the current weapons was a large process. New structures needed to be added after these weapons were dismantled. Luckily, Han Xiao’s current building speed was much faster than before. After being in solitude for two days, he had already finished this step.

Even after staying up for two consecutive nights, Han Xiao was still wide awake. More than ten small metal orbs were laid out before him side by side. They were only the size of half of a palm, and their surface was covered in markings like matrixes. It had a very strong mechanic feeling.

He lifted up a small orb and placed it flat on his palm—it hardly had any weight.

There were two modes of compression. One could be opened by pressing a button, and the other could be activated by energy. The difference was the user’s choice. The former meant that anyone could use it, and the latter required the magnetic energy of a Mechanic to be activated, which meant that it could only be used by Mechanics.

These weapons were for his own use. Of course, he chose the latter mode.

Buss!

Electric light flashed past as Han Xiao injected his energy into it.

Clank!

It was the sound of machinery components moving. The compressed metal orb quickly expanded, turning from palm-sized into the one-man tall Amphiptere mechanical suit. The expanding process was very quick—it took one to two seconds to complete. The front armor of Amphiptere opened up like two leaves—Han Xiao stepped in, and the armor closed.

Amphiptere’s tactical goggles lit up as the armor activated.

Han Xiao reached out and released magnetic energy toward the other small orbs. The energy quickly connected all the orbs together like a fork of lightning. A concentrated sound of machinery came out from these orbs, and in an instant, they all expanded into all kinds of weapons—guns, cannons, scythes, Bat Wings Flying Device, and so on. They attached to Han Xiao’s body in a flash, making him fully armed within a few seconds.

“Quite a good expanding speed, able to enter combat mode anytime. This way, there’s no need to carry such bulky equipment everywhere.” Han Xiao was quite satisfied. He turned the machinery back to the compressed state.

Modifying the original weapons was the first step. The biggest advantage was that the large increase in the number of weapons that he could possess. As for what kind of machinery he was going to add on, he was still thinking about it.

The compression technology was called ‘the watershed of Mechanic class’. Once a Mechanic gain that technology, they could change their combat style anytime and combo them with each other. With this ability came many advanced Mechanic class combat styles.

“Originally, my combat style could adapt to all of close, mid, and long-range combat. The core of that was my mechanical suit. Technically, it was still a single unit combat style. Among the combat styles compression technology can adapt to, the Army Style is the most widely known. There is also a more detailed segregation between Army Styles. When different machinery combinations are used, the focus point of the Army Style will be different as well. However, that’s way too expensive. I can’t afford it yet with my current financial power. It’s not impossible to do if I want to force it, but it’s not worth it…”

Another requirement of forming the Army Style was mass productions from an assembly line, which he could neither afford nor had the knowledge for. Most importantly, he had too few robot blueprints that could keep up with his current level. The Army Style had to consist of different combinations of machine types, like a strategic game.

The number of robot types that he could build was not high enough, and there was no strong robot that could play a huge role in combat. The technology used in Rangers could not keep up with his current level. It was still good for bullying those who had a low level, but when it came to fighting with someone around the same level, they would be dismantled in no time.

Regardless, he had a rather clear plan.

“There are a few goals that I need to achieve for now. First, get rid of single unit combat, build allies that can fight individually, and steal the enemies.

“Second, enhance my own area attack capabilities and attack range.

“Third, build a defense barrier around me using machines, viable for both attack and defense.

“Fourth, mobility. So that I can retreat from the battlefield when the situation goes bad, I need to build disruptive and lure devices, as well as machinery to assist in my retreat.

“Fifth, since I now have the compression technology and Basic Machinery Construction, I can build a huge weapon, dismantle it into parts compressed into small orbs, spend some time during combat to build it up, and make it my trump card! Furthermore, it will work very well with my [Flaming Will].

“Also, if the enemy is able to close the distance between us, I will also need combat abilities to protect myself. That will require many Mechanical Pugilist style melee or mid-range weapons…”

This way, he would change his style from singled out kiting style to outnumbering the enemy with his machinery.

Han Xiao wrote down these key elements, then started to recall the suitable machinery. After biting his pen for a while, a plan quickly formed in his head.

“There are four styles that are most suitable for me now—Multi-Turret Firepower Coverage Style, Giant War Cannon Style, landmine planting Trap Style, and Hounds Style.”

These styles were the comparatively simpler styles to outnumber enemies. Other than the Giant War Cannon Style, the other styles only needed low level machinery, using quantity to make up for quality, cheap and affordable.

Although it was a little humble, it was practical regardless.

The Multi-Turret Firepower Coverage Style would solve the firepower problem, the Giant War Cannon Style would serve as a trump card, the Trap style would act as a barrier, and the Hounds Style could prevent enemies from getting too close. In the case of mobility, the mechanical suit could already solve it, or he could build a small single-person transportation tool.

The original single unit combat mode already ensured his personal combat ability—he just had to update his mechanical suit. With the Void Dragon bone and Mini Nuclear Reaction Furnace that he had gotten from Floating Dragon, he just happened to be able to build a new series mechanical suit.

After completing the plan, Han Xiao opened the interface and started to combine blueprints. He needed a large number of low-level blueprints this time.

He had 1.5 billion experience left, a number that the players at the current stage could not even imagine. The reason that the Mechanic class was the most difficult class was because of the blueprint gambling system. It was a bottomless hole of experience, and with every repeated use of the same combination, the experience required would double.

For players, they would usually only use the same combination five or six times. If they were still unable to get the machinery that they wanted after that, they would normally give up because the risk would be way too high. If they spent hundreds of thousands of experience and took the gamble but only combined a useless blueprint or a low level machinery, their mindset would be completely slanted… Regardless, it is exciting indeed.

If a Mechanic could not get the blueprint that they wanted, and the other blueprints would be useless after their level increased, it would mean that they would never be able to build that machinery. Therefore, the difference between Mechanic players was quite large. After all, not everyone could splurge like Han Xiao no matter the cost.

Ding ding ding!

The interface notification kept ringing. Dozens of low-level machinery blueprints were finally all created after spending more than thirty million experience, and this was the expense of using just the basic knowledges. If he did not know the various combinations clearly, it would have cost thirty to forty percent more.

Han Xiao’s ability list became very long and dazzling. After counting, Han Xiao received a total of six types of artillery, four types of robots, eight types of mechanical traps, eleven types of firearms, seven types of close range mechanic weapon, and some other random blueprints.

Although there were multiple low-level machinery of the same category, they all had different functions.

“Now that my blueprint inventory is richer, I have many more choices.” Han Xiao nodded. This was not his only target. “With these low-level blueprints, there’s more material to invent blueprints. By combining the advantages of the blueprints of the same category and inventing a new blueprint, I will then create equipment of my own. It will be top-notch machinery in the same level and category, and its power might exceed its level.”

To combine the advantages of multiple blueprints and create his own blueprints!

This was the reason he combined so many low-level machines.

Han Xiao left the modification room and headed to the market area to purchase materials. He had more than 70,000 Enas in his account—taking out a small part of it would be sufficient for him to buy a large number of low-level parts. He just had to wait for them to be delivered.

Before that, he had promised Herlous to build a mechanic prosthetic.

…

In the machinery modification room, Herlous took off the bandages and exposed his empty left shoulder, on which was a very neat wound. He was a little nervous. “What do I need to do?”

Han Xiao was measuring and recording the size of Herlous’ wound, and without even looking up, he replied, “Just don’t scream too loud.”

“Wil—will it hurt a lot?”

“I will have to cut open your wound and connect the mechanic arm with your nerves, so… the pain level should be the same as cutting your arm off again, then putting a piece of metal in your open flesh. Double the pain, buy one get one free.”

Herlous’ face became stiff. “Can I take anesthetics?”

“Do you not have an idea of your physical capabilities?” Han Xiao took out a small orb expressionlessly, and it expanded into a large hammer. “Do you want me to give you a physical anesthetic?”

“… Never mind. If I wake up midway, I would have taken the beating for nothing.”

Herlous swallowed his saliva.

“Wait a while first.” After Han Xiao finished measuring, he took out the materials and started building on the workbench. His movements were extremely fast and dazzling.

Herlous sat at the side very nervously, and seconds felt like years.

Not long after, a mechanical arm was crafted. It had a silver alloy armor, various power output structures, a small shield fixed onto the back of the hand and the forearm, and many tiny nerve connection ports where it connected to the body.

Han Xiao had the Nerves Connection knowledge, so he had combined a prosthetic mechanical arm blueprint before coming.

He took out a small knife and slashed open the scab on the wound, Herlous shivered instantly. Then, Han Xiao picked open the flesh with a small plier, lifted up the mechanical arm, aimed at the wound, and pressed it down.

Hum!

The Mechanical arm booted up, and many thin, long needles extended out from the connection port and drilled into Herlous’ bones to connect to the nerves.

“Tssss!”

Herlous’ body tightened immediately, and large beads of sweat rolled down his body. He clenched his teeth, but a muted scream still came out between his teeth.

After more than ten minutes, the pain finally started to fade. Through the pain, Herlous regained the senses of his left arm.

He tried moving his arm. The mechanical arm moved as he willed through the nerve connection with a buzzing sound—it was practically as swift and lively as a normal arm.

“So, this is what prosthetics feel like,” Herlous said. Then, he waved his arm slammed his fist on the ground.

Boom!

He created a shallow pit on the metal floor.

“This is the S-30 prosthetic shield arm—strong power, thick armor, a rather good model, used for pure physical combat. Use this for the time being,” Han Xiao said.

Herlous nodded. The prosthetic mechanical arm could not generate energy, so his strength as a Pugilist was somewhat weakened, but at the very least, it was much better than not having a left arm.

Herlous hated Ember, who had turned him into a disabled, but he feared him more. He never wants to meet Ember again. Luckily, that horrifying guy was already dead.

Besides, the disability was just temporary. Black Star had said that he had a chance to recover, so Herlous could not help but look forward to it.

“By the way, two days ago, the other Sunil warriors contacted me. They said that they want to discuss something with you.” Herlous suddenly recalled.

“What do they want to discuss with me? To borrow money? Tell them don’t even think about it.”

“Not that.” Herlous coughed, and he was a little embarrassed. “Actually, they want to join Black Star Mercenary Group…”

Because of what had happened with the Dragon Emperor, Han Xiao had become a nouveau riche in the mercenary industry. From what Herlous felt, the goal of joining Black Star at this juncture was very clear—they wanted to benefit from Han Xiao’s identity and fame.

By using Black Star’s rocketing connections in the industry, they would be able to get better treatment, which would, in turn, help them earn more money.

Therefore, it was a little bit embarrassing for Herlous to say. However, life for these warriors was not easy, so he could only agree to help the mercenaries of his race say a few words. He was nervously waiting for Han Xiao’s response.

Chapter 408: Expansion

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Due to the Dragon Emperor’s influence, Black Star’s name was now well-known. Making more connections in the mercenary industry would equate to more hiring opportunities, plus higher rewards. Those that chose to become a mercenary mostly did so for money, and this was very attractive to normal mercenaries.

“If I make an announcement and send out recruitment notices, there will be thousands of bottom level mercenaries who respond. Although expanding is beneficial for me now, there’s no need to hurry it. I have the foundation now—what I need to do is strengthen Black Star’s position. There’s no need to expand quickly; stable growth is more important.”

Outsiders were not dependable, and his name was on the line. Han Xiao’s target was the future players. He was now just waiting for the next version to start, and then, he would be able to recruit thousands of players. His size would then reach the level of the three large armies. He was not short of manpower, so there was no need to expand in a hurry.

Regardless, Sunils are a very high-quality combat power. Ever since their split, their already bad situation became worse, so their desire to earn money is stronger.

“How many want to come?” Han Xiao asked.

“About a hundred or so. They saw the news, so they reached out to me, expressing their desire to join Black Star.”

A hundred was just a small part of all the Sunil warriors. They saw the Shattered Star Ring Express News and recalled that the grade B Super Herlous of their race was in Black Star. So, someone suggested the idea, gathered about a hundred other Sunil mercenaries, and came to join Han Xiao.

“Let me talk to them personally,” Han Xiao said.

Herlous contacted them. A familiar face appeared on the communicator screen; it was Lerden, whom Han Xiao had met before. As he knew Han Xiao personally, he had been chosen as the representative.

“We meet again, Black Star,” Lerden said.

Han Xiao nodded and went straight to the point. “You guys want to join my mercenary group?”

“Yes, what we mean is to carry out Black Star’s missions under your name, and for that, we are willing to turn in fifteen percent of our commission,” Lerden said. Although they had to give a certain amount of their commission, with Black Star’s connections, they would receive better treatment and be safer. They would only end up earning more.

“So, that’s the joining tactic?”

Han Xiao’s eyes spun. He provided resources and the Sunils provided the labor, both taking what they want.

Plus, the more officers in the faction, the better. These were all NPC resources.

Naturally, the Sunils did not know what Han Xiao was thinking. From their perspective, they benefitted more from this deal. Therefore, at this moment, both Herlous and Lerden were looking at Han Xiao nervously.

Han Xiao put on a pondering face, kept silent for a while, glanced at the nervous face of these two, and then pointed two fingers. “I want twenty percent.”

Seeing that Han Xiao had given his terms, Lerden heaved a sigh of relief and agreed. After some discussion, they decided on the cooperation plans. These hundred or so Sunil mercenaries joined Black Star and formed a team on their own.

An application request popped up on the mercenary group panel in the communicator. Soon after, about a hundred more names appeared on the member list. Han Xiao glanced at them one by one. These Sunils were all experienced mercenaries with very long mission resumes.

“These Sunil mercenaries are quite capable. They are quite a force now that they are gathered together.”

He nodded in his mind. This team was Black Star’s first detachment, the Sunil Division. The highly-skilled players and himself were the direct members. The size of the mercenary group multiplied by two to three times instantly.

The Sunil Division was like the employees, and Han Xiao just had to receive the money.

It’s indeed much more comfortable being a boss.

With connections and resources, there will indeed be people who will willingly work for you.

Han Xiao opened up the Black Star Mercenary Group page—its information had already been updated.

_____________________

Black Star Mercenary Group

Credibility: 198

Scale: 173 members

Grade D: 41

Grade C: 52

Grade B: 2

Hires Completed: 2

Main Activity Area: Garton Galaxy

Records:

[Sunil Defense Battle (Expand/Collapse)]

[Silver Rescue Operation (Expand/Collapse)]

Creator: Black Star – Han Xiao

Creation date: Galaxy Calendar Year 688, 02 October

Summary: Small-medium size mercenary group, has a good name, has a partnership with Sky Ring, Blades, Purple Gold, and other large mercenary groups. This mercenary group belongs to the Dragon Emperor.

_____________________

As expected, the Mercenary Alliance wrote in the information about me being a member of Floating Dragon, Han Xiao thought. This was a label that he would not be able to get rid of in a short period of time.

The news brought him many points of Renown in several areas of Shattered Star Ring. The total Renown of his faction was 67, many times of what he previously had.

Although the total was not little, when counted individually, his Renown in other Star Zones was actually just one to two points. To most people in the galaxy, they had only heard of Black Star. The good thing was, the faction interface only counted the total Renown. If he wanted to get to this number through the normal method, he would have to take at least one to two hires at each of these areas. This had saved him from needing to do twenty to thirty hires.

Han Xiao talked to Lerden for a while and told the Sunil warriors to gather at Juberly Hub.

Herlous was overjoyed. From what he saw, Black Star willingness to accept his people was him giving them a helping hand in their tough times. How righteous!

After getting rid of Herlous, Han Xiao opened the player forums, which he had not visited for a very long time.

Countless posts had appeared. The time between these posts being posted was very short, which meant it was very active.

He glimpsed through. There were all kinds of posts such as showing off equipment, discussing duels, selling things, asking to team up, arguing, telling stories, and many more.

The earliest batches of players were already familiar with the game. They had started to go deeper into the storyline and train their skills. Other than Planet Aquamarine, the main storylines of other novice planets were still going. The other planet did not have someone like him who stirred up everything, so their game experience was very normal.

Also, many new players had joined the game recently, so there were many posts from these new players on the forums asking for help.

“Coordinates Planet Winterfrost Pond Of Bones, need a pro to carry [Frost Baptism] dungeon. Price is to be discussed.” This was from someone who was willing to pay.

“Planet Lasting Song villager here, please help me farm Bandit Canyon. I can last hit and shout ‘well played’!” This was from a noob player.

“Female with a cute voice, soft body, and 8/10 face looking for a male mentor. Need to be thoughtful, handsome, gentle, caring, in possession of a magnetic voice, experienced in providing comfort. No chauvinists or hideous men, thanks.” This was one of a kind. Without context, people would think that this was an online dating personal profile.

It had been almost three months since Han Xiao left Planet Aquamarine. Many new players had joined the game. The situation on Planet Aquamarine did not change much, and Sanctuary Three had become one of the default gathering places of players.

The prefix ‘Black Phantom’ on Sanctuary Three had sparked curiosity in some new players. They had asked around about who Han Xiao was, which gave the old players opportunities to show off their seniority, explaining Han Xiao’s past with a lot of emotion, telling the new players that there was this legendary person. Han Xiao’s name became more well known.

There are more and more players now, but it’s still very far from Galaxy’s peak in my previous life… Anyway, this is only the first version. These players will become the most senior players in a few versions. As the versions are upgraded, the level limit of the players will increase, and the environment will become more dangerous. However, this is a double-edged sword, as long as I always maintain the lead, with the help from the players, I will be able to strengthen my position in the universe… Speaking of which, time will not be synced during version updates, and players will disappear too. In just over a year, the first version update will arrive.

It had been some time since he had last visited the forums. As his current activity area basically had nothing to do with the players, he did not pay much attention to the status of players as a whole.

Conversely, the players paid a lot of attention to his actions. Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos were the only source of information on the galaxy, so every release of an episode was extremely popular.

Bun-Hit-Dog edited his videos to look like a drama show. The first episode was when they came to Juberly Hub and created the mercenary group. The second episode was the Sunil Defense Battle. The latest was the third episode, which was about Black Star joining Floating Dragon. Ember had yet to make an appearance—it was mainly introducing the three large armies and Floating Dragon, as well as the dock scrimmage to rescue the Silver captives, followed by the highly-skilled players catching thieves in the Guards after joining Floating Dragon.

Compared to the two previous episodes, the popularity of this episode created a new high once again. Han Xiao had yet to watch it.

He clicked open the video, and the introduction was covered in countless comments. He gave a closer look and realized that these comments were all very similar.

“47:35, the screen is covered in long legs!”

“Ahhh! Please marry me, Ms. Dragon Emperor!”

“Ames is mine! Draw your sword!”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He finally understood why this episode was so popular—at least half of the audience came to look at Ames.

Chapter 409: Black Star Series: Episode 3

Han Xiao liked to watch Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos; it was a way for him to relax and have fun.

At the start of every episode, Bun-Hit-Dog always did a summary of the previous episode, making it similar to a drama. The third episode was connected to the previous episode. This time, the background displayed before the players was much larger, and there were the space battles, the river of stars, and many more. Giving the players a clearer knowledge of more details of the galaxy. More and more forces appeared—Silvers from another Star Field, three large mercenary armies, the Floating Dragon Island, and so on.

The video was made from Bun-Hit-Dog’s third-person perspective. It started from the Silver recruitment to arriving at the colorful and dangerous Floating Dragon Island, where large mercenary teams roamed. There were thousands of strange species and equipment. The viewers felt a sense of immersion, which sparked their interest. The comments was full of envy.

“Sigh, how I envy these god tier players, able to enter the space.”

“They are strong after all. Don’t you guys remember what happened last time? Only true men can last thirty seconds with Black Phantom.”

“Hehehe, only the god tiers players of our country have been up to the sky. I heard that the professional clubs of other countries are feeling very stressed; their players are working overtime every day just to do more missions.”

The clubs were preparing for the National League in nine months’ time. These pro players following Han Xiao had the perfect opportunity to develop, which made the other competing players very stressed.

Bun-Hit-Dog’s cuts between scenes were very straight forward. The next event came very soon. The mercenary group had locked onto the target, and the dock scrimmage started in an instant. It was a scrimmage involving hundreds of people. There were countless abilities used, forming colorful lights and explosions, almost deafening to the ears. There were pirate groups shooting lasers simultaneously, Pugilists crashing into each other head-on, and many more.

The viewers were dazzled, they felt like they were in the battlefield themselves, like a boat in the midst of a storm, following Bun-Hit-Dog’s perspective behind Han Xiao and charging forward, breaking through everything before them.

From the perspective in the video, the audience could see Han Xiao’s battle very clearly. Han Xiao was in a complex and black mechanical suit, a pair of mechanical turbo bat wings extended behind his back, and his scythe was covered in electric sparks, like a god of death. Then, the heavy attachments fell from the sky, automatically attaching themselves onto Han Xiao’s body through magnetic connections, changing into Siege Mode in a blink of an eye. The four-meter-tall mechanical exoskeleton giant waved his hand like an iron sphere, crushing the enemies. Han Xiao was unstoppable.

“These metal parts look so cool. I wonder if he can transform and roll out 1 .”

“Ah, these angular lines! Ah, this complex structure! This is the beauty of machinery!”

“Beauty is all Mechanic class has; it’s really trash when it comes to fighting. Us Pugilists rank first in professional PKs, what do you think?”

“All you Pugilists do is punching and kicking, there’s zero technicality to it. What’s the fun in playing that? You have no idea how fun the Mechanic class is, the excitement of gambling blueprints, the sense of achievement of finally building a piece of machinery after collecting materials, the fun in combining styles…”

“And then, the machinery that you spent so much effort building is turned into waste with a few punches from us, hahahahah—”

“Well, aren’t you arrogant. If you’re so good, why don’t you look for Frenzied Sword? Do you think his title of ‘Top Mechanical Pugilist in China’ is just for show? Also, have you seen the video of North America’s top Mechanic during his competition? How many Pugilists did he defeat with ease with his dazzling machinery combos…”

“Well said, I choose Esper.”

“The Mechanic class is really too costly, can’t top up enough…”

“All of you are trash, my spells will make you feel sorry!”

Other than these arguing comments, there were also people who discussed normally.

“Black Phantom is stronger than before. Was he always this strong, or was he slowly getting stronger?”

“The Planet Aquamarine players are smiling silently.”

“Didn’t the Galaxy Times mention that this kind of NPC is a main character, and they are very strong. I think, since Black Phantom said that a disaster will happen in Planet Aquamarine and he went to space to look for a solution, he will definitely play a part in the next version’s Planet Aquamarine storyline! Think about it, space is the future, and something will definitely happen that helps us go from our planets into space. I’ll bet fifty cents that he’ll have something to do with it.”

“Waiting for analysts to get slapped on the face.”

“Tsk, Floating Dragon’s culture is so savage.”

Other than discussions, there were also show off comments.

“From a time, I started to have senses. First, a small piece of metal, then more parts were birthed. My world was filled with darkness. I can’t see, but I could feel someone was creating my body.

“As time passed, I started to have more senses. One day, I suddenly felt pain, a pain that gradually made my mind clearer. Finally, I had eyes. I tried opening them, and I saw a dense number of data streams in my vision.

“‘What are these?’ I was curious.

“A warm stream of light landed on me, and the colors of the world appeared before my eyes. I looked down, and I saw a small mechanical spider.

“‘Is this my body?’ I thought.

“This time, I heard someone’s voice above me.

“‘It’s finally complete.” He sounded happy.

“I looked up following the voice. A man looked at me from above, his eyes filled with love, smiling.

“I had never seen a smile before, and it turns out they’re so pure and gentle.

“‘He is my creator.’

“A sense of connection appeared from the bottom of my heart, but… why do I have a heart? Why do I have emotions? I’m just a machine!

“Have you gifted these to me, my creator?

“The man reached out his hand and stroked my body, his temperature passing through my cold armor.

“It turns out, that is what warmth feels like.

“It’s so comfortable.

“I couldn’t help but rub against his hand. He smiled and said, ‘Looks like the Artificial Senses are very successful. The artificial nerves are working perfectly. Hmm, let’s put this on standby first.’

“Suddenly, my body stood straight up on its own, and I couldn’t move anymore. At this moment, I understood. Although I have sensed, although I can feel temperature, although I can feel pain… what’s really controlling me is an artificial intelligence program.

“I’m just a machine; I can’t even be counted as a life. The meaning of my existence is to follow the programmed orders.

“But the effort you put in gave me senses. They let me feel this world, feel life.

“That’s fair, isn’t it?

“It’s alright, I’m willing to be trapped in this body and watch you silently.

“Thank you for creating me.”

“Holy, a master appeared!”

“That was some passage right there.”

“Literature master, do you want an orange?”

Han Xiao enjoyed reading such works—the players had really rich creativity.

Other than those normal comments, the rest were all regular spam comments from the fans of pro players.

“Boss Li Ge’s handsome face belongs to Li Ge Fan Club!”

“I, Hao Tian, don’t agree, fight me!”

“Old Wang (King Admiral) is looking at you second-rate contestants fight with a smile.”

“Black Phantom Engineering Team is here in the comment section to do construction. Irrelevant people stay back!”

What he did not expect was that there were players who sent spam messages with his name—this made his eyes sparkle. Being turned into a meme was one of the signs of becoming a renowned character, so he did not expect himself to have fans.

The video was still playing, and the comments were chaotic. However, when Ames appeared, these different comments all disappeared—they all became rampaging comments of praise!

Ames appeared at the dock, sitting on her dragon bone throne. She wore a high cut black dress, showing a huge portion of white on her think, long legs. She was beautiful and stylish, surrounded by a mysterious aura. Combined with her astonishing strength, her attractiveness multiplied. The viewers could not take it.

“Holy sh*t, top-level beauty!”

“All of you, go away! I’m going to lick the screen till it explodes!”

“‘Dragon Emperor’ Ames, one of the four beyond grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring. Damn, she is way too sexy!”

“Quickly, pass some tissues to me… Don’t misunderstand, I need them to wipe off the blood from my nose!”

“Ho—how dominant. I’m a female, yet I was seduced!”

“Quick, screenshot, I want to use it as wallpaper!”

“Such a shame her chest is flat…”

“What the hell do you know? What need does such a dominant beauty have for a chest!”

“Let me introduce you, this is my new wife.”

“I hereby announce that the Ames Guards is created at this very moment!”

Ames’ time of appearance was not long—it ended quickly, and the video went into the following events. The video ended at the pro players catching the thieves as members of the Dragon Guards. There were some pro players’ interactions with each other played afterward as bloopers. However, ever since Ames appeared, the comments were stuck on her and could not get out.

“Her screen time was too short. I want to continue watching her long legs!”

“Who the hell wants to watch these pro players? Go away!”

“I have betrayed my belief. Give my Ames back to me!”

Han Xiao closed the video and did not know whether to laugh or to cry. Beautiful females were always popular. After all, most of the people who played games were males—females were very rare. Ames appeared out of nowhere, so her popularity rocketed, almost surpassing his popularity, which he took so long to build.

She was strong, sexy, and her position was superior to most, which was very attractive. Her conditions were way too much better than Han Xiao. There was nothing that Han Xiao could do about it; he was frustrated, too.

In order for male characters to be popular, there had to be something unique, either a strange person, a real man, or extremely strength. He was confident that being handsome was not something that he was short of, but the other factors were not high enough at the moment.

Anyway, the more popular Ames is among the players, the more I will benefit from it. I am currently under the Dragon Emperor, and as long as the players know about that, I can share her popularity and increase the attractiveness of my faction.

This was just something extra for Han Xiao. According to his original blueprint, even without Ames’ influence, he would also be able to make a large number of Planet Aquamarine’s players join him willingly. Regardless, the higher the influence, the better; he did not have a problem with it.

In two days, the materials I ordered will arrive. The number of machines that I have to build this time is very large, so I’ll probably have to build in solitude for quite some time. It’s best to first give those players something to do and make sure they’re not too bored, or they will cause trouble.

…

Bun-Hit-Dog had been very troubled lately.

Although the third episode reached a new level of popularity because of Ames, made him well known, and gave him a lot of fans, it also gave Bun-Hit-Dog trouble.

The Dragon Emperor was too popular. Many viewers sent him private messages requesting him to put in more scene including with Ames in them. Of course, Bun-Hit-Dog was very willing to do so. He had even already thought of the content of episode four. It would connect to episode three, including the twist and turns that came after, finally saving the Silvers, adding on new members, all the way to being chased by DarkStar and the Dragon Emperor’s arrival, creating a sensation.

But the problem was, he did not have the recording of this part!

When they were chased by the DarkStar fleet, during the times when he was not doing anything in the spaceship, he was hiding underground, so he had no chance to record at all, and he even missed the part where Ames completely destroyed DarkStar’s fleet. This had made him truly regretful.

It was such a majestic scene filled with explosive material, and he did not record it. What a dereliction of duty!

Therefore, he had always been frowning lately. No matter how hard he thought, he could not think of a way to make up for this part of the content.

At this time, Han Xiao entered the resting hall of the stronghold and looked around. Most players were there. They saw him walk in, and all eyes turned to him, flashing with anticipation.

In the eyes of these players, Black Star Mercenary Group was a growing faction of which they could drive the growth. They were looking forward to what items would be updated in the faction store after this hire mission.

Chapter 410: The Beginning of Suffering

After glancing over the players’ anticipation-filled eyes, Han Xiao opened the faction panel and put in Sunil NCO Class armor along with some low level machinery blueprints that he had combined earlier and did not need anymore.

Blueprints were only usable for Mechanics. The main seller was the NCO Class armor. He earned the extra repairing fees and enhancing fees from the players’ Enlistee Class armor last time. Now that he had introduced the NCO Class armor, those players with money in their pockets would not be petty.

There were three types of Sunil Armor—Defense, Offense, and Scouting. The NCO Class armor was enhanced in all three types. On average, their armor durability was three times higher than the Enlistee Class armor, the total attributes bonus was fifteen points greater, and the melee damage was increased by twenty points.

There were also new parts. The scouting style armor could move very fast; it had spring mechanics in its legs, which allowed the user to jump higher and further, and chain blades could be ejected out of the arm, which meant that it would not be afraid of close distance combat.

The defense style armor was equipped with heavy firepower. Weighted toward long-range combat, it had a handheld high caliber cannon with armor-piercing bullets, and the cannon could be folded. After expanding it, the cannon was about one-man size. With every shot, the flame from the cannon was like a cloud of thick smoke from an explosion, and the bullet shot out was like a mini flaming meteor. Its fire rate was very high, its bullet magazine capacity was 250, and there were many backup magazines.

The offense style had the advantages of both of the other styles—it was well rounded.

Some time ago, Li Ge had exchanged an NCO Class armor for the Secret Message Bead—it was a scouting style armor. Because of this, the others knew about the attributes of the armor and were all envious. Once they saw that the faction store had updated, they were all excited. There was no need for introduction, they all bought it as fast as possible.

The price he set was 1,400 Enas, and he also set a Reputation cost, which was 1,000 Reputation points. He had set that between 0 to 1,000 Favorability, 50 Enas could exchange for 100 Faction Reputation. The players had spent 500 Reputation points last time when they bought the Enlistee Class armor and spent all their Reputation points. After this mission, Han Xiao had rewarded them another 300 points. Such a scheme meant that the real cost of buying an NCO Class armor was 1,750 Enas.

The players received about 5,000 Enas from the Silver as a reward, and this would cost them more than a third of that. However, the players did not hesitate at all. The pro players earned money for the sake of buying equipment to increase their strength as much as they could.

There were seven NCO Class armors in stock—the rest were all preorders. The players were used to it, and they did not doubt the faction’s credibility at all. The first seven people to purchase got the physical item. It was made of gray metal—thick, tough, and angular. It was uniquely attractive.

Frenzied Sword got one. He wore it quickly and put on the helmet. His vision became overlapped with the analytical vision from the helmet. Every item that he saw had a database tag on it. A mechanical mixed voice appeared in the helmet.

“Welcome to Black Star. Your serial number is H-A0001. Carrying out auto-check… Check complete. Armor status: 100%. Liquid power: intact. Weapon system: intact. Spring system: intact. User vital signs: normal.”

Frenzied Sword tried moving his arms and legs, creating the clankings of mechanical parts moving, adding power to his movements. His punches made whooshes in the air.

This armor is so much stronger than the Enlistee Class armor. I bought the scouting type, so it’s very mobile, which works very nicely with heavy weapons, decreasing the effect of the bulkiness. I will be able to battle very swiftly, Frenzied Sword happily thought.

As a Mechanical Pugilist, he used melee weapons most of the time. The NCO Class armor gave him the most benefits as compared to others.

The Mechanic class was the class with the highest armor bonuses. The players of other classes could use them too, and its effect was pretty decent; it gave them extra protection and firepower as well as more health. Mostly, they needed the various functions of the armor. For example, the very paper 1mages could wear a protective armor, then stand still and only do damage output. This kind of mixed style was very strange and funny.

The Enlistee Class and NCO Class armors were uniform armors. The stronger Commander Class was for Supers, and it had even stronger attributes. Han Xiao had yet to learn how to build it.

As always, Han Xiao held back when building the armor, leaving room for enhancements.

Other than armor, the few Mechanic players in the faction liked the newly added blueprints more. They were afraid and careful every time they gambled on blueprints, and now they could directly learn quite a few blueprints from Han Xiao. They were overjoyed.

The blueprints that Han Xiao put in were, of course, types that were not important but were still useful regardless. He kept the important blueprints for himself and sold the not-so-important ones. It was more effective this way.

Maple Moon’s eyes were shining, and her cute face was filled with joy.

“Optical Confusion Trap, this is not bad. Wait, that Scattered Shot Turret is quite good as well…”

Even though Maple Moon was considered as a quite casual girl, the Mechanic class had still made her develop a habit to control her spending very tightly. One blueprint only cost 300 to 400 Enas, much cheaper than gambling blueprints. She used her fingers to press one time after another, buying again and again.

Han Xiao paid more attention to the Mechanic players. Not only because they were of the same class as him and it was easier to earn their money, but also because they could become his helpers once they grew stronger, which might help him to enter the next stage of the Mechanic class in advance.

Of course, the other pro players did not care about these blueprints. Only the NCO Class armor suited their taste.

Selling things was not Han Xiao’s main goal. He gave out a number of faction missions, which he had prepared long ago, and their rewards were all Dungeon Crystals. He had intercepted some later parts of Germinal Organization storyline and created level 60 dungeons, as well as the recent [Warfare: Power of the Dragon Emperor].

Dungeon Crystals could only act as a mission reward and could not be sold directly, but rules were dead and inflexible. He planned to make these missions that rewarded Dungeon Crystals repeatable missions, and the only requirement to complete that mission was to increase a certain amount of Faction Reputation after accepting the missions.

He purposely set it as ‘increase’ and not ‘reach’ a certain amount. For example, after accepting the mission and increasing Reputation by 500 points, the mission for [Warfare: Power of the Dragon Emperor] would be complete, and that Dungeon Crystal would be rewarded. At the same time, the other dungeon missions with lower numbers would be completed as well, making the players feel they took a shortcut. This way, more players would be attracted to spend money to buy Reputation. Once they spent money to purchase Reputation, they would have to spend it one way or another. The Faction Reputation could only be used with Han Xiao, so this would, in turn, encourage expenditure.

Also, once above 1,000 Favorability, the cost of buying Reputation would increase. If the players wanted more Dungeon Crystals, they would have to repeat the process of ‘buy Reputation, spend money, buy Reputation again’. Although, sometimes, there was no new product, he had many extra services, such as repairing and enhancing.

If the player wanted to buy something initially, this kind of mission would become a bonus reward. It would work as a promotion. If the player just wanted the Dungeon Crystal, it would attract spending.

Anyway, there was only one service belief—Don’t ever have to worry about not being able to spend your money here!

Han Xiao was very bad. He only gave out this mission after the players bought the armor.

“Wow, new missions, and the rewards are Dungeon Crystals.”

“The requirement is to increase Reputation. How sad, if there was this mission earlier, it would already be completed.”

“Actually, it doesn’t matter. We still need to enhance armor and whatnot anyway. Furthermore, there will definitely be chances to use Black Star’s Reputation in the future.”

“Hey, there’s a new dungeon here, Power of the Dragon Emperor? Isn’t this the event that we experienced a few days ago? So, not only does the faction update the store, it also turns our experiences into dungeons!”

They were surprised. The benefit of a growing faction was really so good. This was a pleasant surprise. After they followed Black Star into space, they had yet to meet a dungeon. They did not expect that this faction had dungeon of its own. After they experienced more hires, new events would be turned into new dungeons as well, which meant that they could choose it themselves.

Seeing this, Han Xiao thought, That’s right, if a faction can stably provide dungeons, it’s another type of attractiveness.

The people were most curious about the Dragon Emperor dungeon; this was a new dungeon that they had never seen before.

In the crowd, Bun-Hit-Dog saw [Warfare: Power of the Dragon Emperor]’s mission. Suddenly, his heart started beating faster, and his eyes became brighter.

“This dungeon… the scene back then might be displayed again!”

His heart was pumping fast. He immediately bought 500 Reputation. With excitement, he touched the Dungeon Crystal, and a message popped up on the interface.

_____________________

LV 90 Dungeon Crystal—[Warfare: Power of the Dragon Emperor]

Introduction: At the border crossing of Colton Star Cluster’s Holy Stone Civilization and Black Raven Civilization, a mercenary group was chased by the DarkStar fleet. At the most urgent time, [Dragon Emperor] Ames arrived. This will be your test.

Dungeon Type: Backward Time Travel Dungeon

Player limit: 10

Player Completion Count: 0

Highest Dungeon Completion Rate: None

Record Holders: None

_____________________

The people extended their head to this direction and saw the item introduction, and they were all shocked by it.

“Level 90 dungeon‽”

This had exceeded their level limit!

The level on Dungeon Crystal did not represent the required level to enter but the suggested level to complete it. Even a level 1 player could enter a level 60 dungeon, but of course, the result of that would be obvious—that player would not be able to do anything inside. Even if the level 1 player found a team of boosters, because of the large difference between them and the dungeon enemies, there will be a very high experience penalty and rating penalty.

Dungeons could be used to farm experience and train skills, but the equipment inside could not be taken back out. However, if the rating was high after completing the dungeon, one could be rewarded with the chance to draw items and equipment from inside. These were the benefits of dungeons. Dungeon had a challenge time limit, which would be refreshed every certain period. In order to receive top tier weapons in the dungeons, if one could not get the highest rating, it would be a dream. Till now, the players from various planets had challenged many dungeons, but the number of dungeons that rewarded good equipment or items was very low, not to mention the difficulty.

Regardless, players had never seen a level 90 dungeon before. They were all shocked by the fact that Black Star Mercenary Group could give out such a high-level dungeon.

Han Xiao smiled in his mind, turned around, and left.

NCO Class armor, blueprints, and dungeon missions—a total of 98,000 Enas profit, close to 100,000. Including the money I already have before this, the balance in my account is already more than 130,000, which is at least enough for three class advancement knowledges! Han Xiao was very satisfied and felt fulfilled.

After he left, the players in the stronghold could not wait to team up. They wanted to see what a level 90 dungeon felt like.

Bun-Hit-Dog teamed up with Frenzied Sword, Maple Moon, and Hao Tian, who were his friends, plus players from Long Sky and other clubs, making up ten players.

He crushed the Dungeon Crystal, a fog flew out and covered everyone, bringing them into the dungeon.

…

The world in their eyes changed. Suddenly, Bun-Hit-Dog and the rest could not control their bodies. The angle of their vision became higher, and they looked down at a very familiar planet—Fawn-122 Planet, where the pursuit took place.

The Silvers’ spaceship took off and rose up through the sky, then was suddenly destroyed. Right after, the DarkStar mothership appeared, sending out a large number of hovering ships to chase the three mercenary spaceships. This was indeed the event that they experienced, but back then, they were all on the spaceships. Now they were watching the process with a third-person perspective. It was a brand new experience.

“This is the cutscene.” Hao Tian was experienced.

Quite a number of dungeons had cutscenes, so they were not surprised. They all could not take their eyes off.

The enormous DarkStar fleet, the chase of countless hovering ships, and the crazy escape of the three mercenary spaceships. The scenes were very impactful. Then, they saw the Sky Ring spaceship suddenly speed up, and its movements became extremely swift and unpredictable. The hovering ship fleet behind was running around like dogs being walked.

“Wow, this is even stronger than drunk driving!”

“I remember Black Phantom was the one piloting that time, no wonder the people on the ship were this dizzy.” Fear still lingered in Frenzied Sword’s heart.

The cutscene was about three minutes long. This was a copy-pasted scene made by the dungeon, not the real scene. The event progress was compressed and modified. The mercenary spaceships went underground at the same time as when the alliance fleet’s reinforcements arrived.

The cutscene ended there. As the captain, Hao Tian received a message.

_____________________

The dungeon is about to begin, please choose a faction!

Remarks: Faction chosen will affect the dungeon’s completion targets and difficulty.

Escaping mercenaries: Your mission is to run from the pursuit and last until the Dragon Emperor’s arrival.

DarkStar chasers: Your mission is to capture a certain number of mercenaries before the Dragon Emperor arrives.

Reinforcements: Your mission is to fight against the chasers, protect the target mercenaries from being captured, as well as pick them up—all before the Dragon Emperor arrives.

_____________________

Chapter 411: Level-Jumping Is Not Something You Can Just Do

“There are three different factions to choose from. Apparently, there are a lot of processes in this dungeon. The missions are different for different sides too, so will it only count as officially completed after completing the dungeon for all three factions?”

“Stop talking about these useless things. Which one do we choose?” Twinkle Fried Rice said.

“This is a level 90 dungeon; we probably won’t be able to complete it,” Hao Tian said with a low voice. “Since it’s pioneering, let’s first familiarize ourselves with the dungeon. It’s best to choose a faction we’re familiar with, the escaping mercenaries.”

“Ah, escaping again.” The others complained—running away was not as fun as chasing people at all.

Nonetheless, most of these players were pro players. Even though they clearly knew that it was very difficult to clear a level 90 dungeon, they would not back away. Although they were escaping underground, it was very likely that they would not be able to see Dragon Emperor’s attack, just like before. Bun-Hit-Dog did not know the details of this dungeon, so he did not say anything.

Hao Tian chose the escaping mercenaries faction. White starlight appeared at the edge of the players’ vision. Their vision was dragged by an unknown force and ‘fell down’ into the planet. The fleets of different colors, the clouds, the sky, and the environment around them flashed past. They moved right toward the stone ground, and their vision passed through it the next moment, entering the dark underground and regaining their vision.

In front of them was the dark underground filled with twists and turns. Their bodies shook as they recovered control of their movement. Looking down, their bodies were complete, and nothing was missing.

This time, a small virtual column appeared in the vision of these ten people; it was the mission list. The players could customize and have some of the information in their interface always shown before them. Currently, the dungeon missions were shown and could not be hidden. They hovered at the top right of their vision.

_____________________

You are an escaping mercenary. The underground is filled with DarkStar hover ships and groups of warriors. You know very well that if you are caught, you will face torture worse than death. Enemies are everywhere, and there is almost no chance to escape. However, the reinforcements ignited your will to live.

Dungeon Target: Escape from the pursuit until the Dragon Emperor arrives.

Countdown: 12 hours.

Completion Reward: 6,000,000 Experience

Failure Condition: Everyone being caught

Punishment: 10% decrease in total reward for every player caught

Optional Mission I: Kill 100 DarkStar troops. Reward: 400,000 Experience

Optional Mission II: Destroy 10 hovering ships. Reward: 700,000 Experience

Optional Mission III: Protect 6 mercenaries who are being chased. Reward: 1,000,000 Experience

Challenge Mission I: Not triggering any alarms. Reward: 2,000,000 Experience

Challenge Mission II: Get rid of pursuers 5 times without any deaths. Reward: 3,500,000 Experience

Random Events: In the process of escaping, you have a chance to meet random events. Complete two random events. Reward: 3,000,000 Experience

The number of side missions completed affects the dungeon completion rating.

Remarks: When coming into contact with the main characters of the event, the dungeon target and difficulty will change. When a main character is within the range of one kilometer from you, you will receive a notification. Please select carefully whether to change the route.

_____________________

After the mission appeared, a twelve-hour countdown clock appeared in the top left corner of their vision.

“So much information.” Frenzied Sword looked at them carefully and said, “The final target of the escaping mercenaries is to not be caught. If we want to raise the reward, we have to act dangerously yet not get caught…”

They looked at the mission carefully. Hao Tian frowned and shared what he had analyzed from it.

“Twelve hours, which is shorter than our actual experience. Also, if one member fails, the total reward will decrease. Therefore, in order to get a high rating, all members must be alive and not captured till the end, ideally by working together. Furthermore, with this kind of system, it should mean we can betray our teammates… ahem, but there’s a price to pay.

“The optional missions are only useful when we meet enemies, which conflicts with the challenge mission. In the two challenge missions, one is to be stealthy, and the other is to find trouble, so it means that we have to choose one of them? Hmm, seeing the difference in reward, finding trouble will be much more difficult. The random events should be the accidental element… This dungeon is very complex. Also, the main character is mentioned at the end, which means we will not follow Black Phantom as we did before; we will be alone instead. I…”

Before he finished analyzing, the sound of hovering ship flying appeared in front of them, and an anxious voice came from their headsets.

“Attention all mercenaries, four hovering ships are searching the area. Don’t stay in one place, leave right now!”

As soon as the sentence ended, the light of a searchlight appeared at the tunnel ahead. Their face changed. There was no time to discuss, so they hastily turned around and sprinted away.

“The start of this dungeon is so quick. It’s only been two to three minutes, and the enemies are already here!” Sleepy Winter was worried. “The dungeon pace is too fast. If the enemies are too close to each other, it will be very difficult to last twelve hours!”

They ran for a while, and the hovering ship behind them moved forward like they had yet to be discovered. Nonetheless, they were not slow at all… They ran till their Stamina fell very quickly, but still, they could not increase their distance with the hovering ship behind. Most importantly, there was only one route in this tunnel—they had yet to find a different path.

This was a level 90 dungeon. Its difficulty could be seen everywhere. They were just level 60 and could not even get rid of these enemies.

“Let’s stop running—we should turn back and see how strong the enemies are,” Frenzied Sword suggested.

“That works as well. Adjust your position. Mechanics, stand at the backline to do damage output. Espers, lure and divert attention. Pugilists, go aggressive directly.”

Hao Tian was very decisive. He commanded the others and formed a simple cooperative formation. The searchlight approached quickly, and a hovering ship just a few meters long appeared, noticed them, then immediately flew toward them at a high speed. The mini laser cannon shot out a long, green laser.

Boom boom boom!

Laser cannon explosions did not create smoke, but pebbles splashed from the wall and the floor where it hit.

They charged forward with wide strides and surrounded the hovering ship, and the battle broke out immediately.

At the same time, the frame of the countdown clock in everyone’s vision suddenly turned red as a notification popped up.

_____________________

You have triggered a level one alarm. The enemy’s reinforcements will arrive in ten minutes!

_____________________

“Quick, finish the battle within ten minutes!”

With the time limit, their faces changed a little. Their eyes became more serious. They increased their attack speed and strength.

Boom boom boom!

All kinds of high-power attacks were thrown at the hovering ship, but the hovering ship’s shield was not just for decoration; it blocked a large number of attacks. The power of the mini lasers was not small—one shot would take away 200 to 300 HP from them. Although it looked like its damage was not high, its attack speed was fast!

For a grade B Super, dealing with a hovering ship would be much easier, but they were just level 60 grade C Supers. Plus, the players had very few talents and did not have Molding Talents at all, so they were not at an advantage in terms of attributes. Level 60 players were at the bottom of grade C Supers. Furthermore, even when the players reached level 90 in Version 2.0, they would only be grade C+. The level difference between grades increased from lower grades to higher grades. To them, the hovering ship that was supposed to be an elite monster was basically a BOSS.

As time passed, their attacks became more urgent, and it was easier to make mistakes. Finally, after paying a price of three deaths, they were able to destroy this hovering ship, and it exploded with a bang.

The rest of the people were breathing heavily, their HP decreased by more than half.

“It’s too difficult! The side mission requires us to destroy ten hovering ships, but just one is already this hard to deal with. Three of us even died. The level difference is too huge!” Twinkle Fried Rice said.

Three people died, so the total reward was decreased by thirty percent directly. This was just around ten minutes into the dungeon, and they had already suffered such a high loss. They realized that with their current level, they were looking for a beating by entering. Plus, the monsters in the dungeons were all adjusted and enhanced. Earlier, when the hovering ship exploded, the DarkStar soldiers inside used energy escape. These people were supposed to be ordinary people or low-grade Supers, but their levels were all question marks, which meant that they were above level 60. Luckily, the hovering ship’s explosion made the DarkStar soldiers lose more than half of their health, or the players would have failed the dungeon already.

The alarm was still on, so they started running immediately. However, the reinforcements came too quickly. The players were exhausted from running away and had no choice but to sell out teammates to make sure the rest lived. However, that was just a desperate measure. Not long after, the last player, Hao Tian, was attacked by two hovering ships, beaten to the brink of death, and captured.

Everyone failed, and the countdown clock froze. From start till now, only thirty minutes had passed.

With a flash before their eyes, they were kicked out of the dungeon and returned to the stronghold.

“Half an hour, and we’ve already failed. How do we even play it?” Sleepy Winter was speechless.

This time, the other teamed up players were all kicked out and wailing. They were all beaten up. They exchanged experiences and asked around; everyone had chosen the escaping mercenaries faction, all looking to go the steady way. King Admiral’s team had the best results—they had lasted fifty minutes.

The most tragic was Fried Eggplants with Fish’s team. They met the first hovering ship and were not able to finish the enemy within ten minutes. Then they were surrounded by the two hovering ships that came as reinforcements, failing straightaway.

However, no one was frustrated. After all, the dungeon introduction was very clear; they were jumping levels to challenge it, so they had been very mentally prepared. Furthermore, if they did not fail a few times, how could it be called pioneering?

Top-tier, professional players always liked a difficult challenge, and these players were never beaten down by obstacles. They excitedly entered the dungeon again. The same dungeon had a limit to how many times one could enter, which would refresh every six days in-game time. The players also had some Germinal Organization Warfare dungeons that they had gotten from Han Xiao, but they decided to use up the number of times for [Warfare: Power of the Dragon Emperor] first.

Hao Tian and the others entered the dungeon again. It was the same cutscene, then the faction selection interface. Now, Bun-Hit-Dog could not hold it in anymore and said, “The escaping mercenaries faction is too difficult; it’s almost impossible to clear. The other factions should be easier—staying alive while chasing is easier than running. Also, there’s the reinforcements faction. We should try changing the faction.”

The first time that they entered, Bun-Hit-Dog had recorded the process, which could be used as material for his videos. However, he was most concerned about the scene where the Dragon Emperor showed her power. It would be good enough even if it was just a cutscene. Clearing the dungeon was not his target, recording was. His only target was waiting for the countdown to end and watching the cutscene.

The bunch of them were rather close to each other, and seeing that he had made the suggestion, Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian agreed. The others did not have any objections either. The faction that they chose this time was the DarkStar pursuers. After getting beaten up so badly the last time, they felt that choosing the DarkStar faction would be better.

This time, after entering the dungeon, they realized that they had become a group of ground troops following a hovering ship. There was also a countdown, but the DarkStar faction’s countdown was only three hours. The mission, of course, was different from the escaping mercenaries’. This time, it was to capture a certain number of mercenaries within the time limit. The optional missions included protecting the hovering ship that they were following and helping other DarkStar allies surround targets. The challenge missions were to capture a certain target.

DarkStar’s faction had a specialty—they were the ground troops and had to follow the hovering ship. They could not leave freely, or the dungeon would be determined as failed. So, combat would definitely happen.

“It should be safe now.”

Turning from prey to hunter, they felt relieved. They followed the hovering ship and very soon discovered a group of mercenaries. The attack order was given, and they charged forward immediately.

Then, they noticed a tragic truth…

The mercenaries were fighting back, and they were damn strong!

The hovering ship that they had spent so much effort to defend was destroyed by these mercenaries with question mark levels in no time. Then, these mercenaries chased to kill them so that the alarm would be canceled. They were in dire danger once again, and their mindset fell from the sky right into hell.

Who is actually the hunter‽

If you people can fight so well, why did you even run?

The reminder appeared, saying that the reinforcements would arrive if they could last ten minutes. They became the ones running away instead of chasing. There was danger in both factions. The DarkStar had a lot of reinforcements, and the mercenaries had very strong individual fighting capabilities. No matter which one they chose, they had to face the advantages of the other side. However, there was one good thing about choosing the DarkStar faction—as long as they ran away a certain distance, the mercenaries would not dare follow anymore.

Bun-Hit-Dog ran immediately at an extremely high speed, decisively selling out his teammates. The others had no choice but to follow after him and run for their lives.

After running for a while and leaving two people behind, the mercenaries finally retreated. The survivors placed their hands on their hips and breathed heavily. Bun-Hit-Dog ran the fastest, yet he was in the best state. He had no strengths other than being fast when running away.

“I—I feel that, since the hovering ship exploded, we should wait here and wait for the dungeon to end…”

Before he even finished the sentence, a new order came from their headsets, deploying them to follow another hovering ship. As always, not following the order would be deemed as a mission failure, so there were no shortcuts.

Frustration appeared on their faces. Just as they wanted to start moving, a new notification appeared.

Ding ding ding!

The notification sound echoes in their ears. The border of their vision flashed continuously in red light, and it seemed to be very urgent.

_____________________

Attention! You have reached within one kilometer of a main character. Please carefully select whether to change route!

_____________________

Hao Tian’s pupils constricted, and he said in a low voice, “It’s impossible for us to complete the mission through normal methods. How about we try to make contact with a main character? I’m guessing that the main characters will also be from different factions. If we can meet one from the same faction, the dungeon difficulty should decrease. If we meet one from the enemy side, then it might be a sure death scenario. This is a gamble…”

He was experienced and gave a very sensible analysis.

The others thought that it made sense, so they exchanged looks. “Then let’s wait.”

The red light flashed more rapidly, meaning that the main character was getting closer. Their hearts were in their throats.

Boom!

A vague sound of trembling came out of the wall. It became louder and louder, conveying that the target was approaching.

“This sound…” Frenzied Sword suddenly opened his eyes wide as he realized something. He panicked and yelled, “Run!”

But it was too late.

Boom!

The next moment, the wall beside them collapsed! A round Car Ball broke through the wall and rolled over. They happened to be standing in the way. It was an instant teamkill!

Inside the stronghold, Hao Tian and the others’ bodies appeared again. They were all dazed as if they had yet to recover from the instant kill. They looked at Frenzied Sword.

Frustration appeared on Frenzied Sword’s face.

“That’s Black Phantom’s transportation tool. I sat inside that ball and escaped together with them. We have no chance to survive if we meet him. This… we were unlucky.”

Bun-Hit-Dog’s face twitched, and his mindset completely collapsed. “I just want to record some materials! Why are you doing this to me!”

…

The players of Black Star started their journey of suffering. They were beaten up badly again and again, yet they did not grow tired of it. They were feeling pain and happiness together.

Bun-Hit-Dog was the most upset. He did not have the spirit of facing obstacles like pro players; he was getting beaten up so badly that his mind was almost breaking.

However, for the sake of video materials, he had to force himself to continue suffering. It was very tragic and courageous.

The dungeon that Han Xiao gave out was to keep the players busy for a while. The materials that he had ordered would all arrive the next day. He locked himself in the machinery modification room and spent his time accompanied by metal and the workbench, building up his new combat style.

Time passed day by day. In the neighboring Fawn Galaxy, a stealthy mini spaceship visited Fawn-122 Planet.

Chapter 412: Survivor

Hu!

An old-style small spaceship slowly landed on the devastated gray surface of Fawn-122. The air stream blew out from the bottom of it, stirring up rings of airwaves. The engine produced a buzzing noise from its plain and simple thruster. Its speed, noise reduction, and shock reduction were all very low performance, considered as technology that was going to be eliminated very soon. In the galactic trade markets, only poor people with very shallow pockets would buy such simple spaceships.

Yet, this antique was equipped with top-level stealth devices—optical invisibility, sound reflection, gravitational force penetration, quantum network shield, and many more. A few DarkStar members disguised as travelers got off the spaceship and placed a special signal spreader on the ground. The invisible electric wave passed through the gaps on the surface of this planet at an unbelievable speed and entered the underground.

It continuously went deeper along the twists and turns in the gap. Inside a dark and narrow space, a pair of long-asleep eyes suddenly opened. The back of his palm was giving off a dim light. A microchip was planted inside, which received the signal and vibrated softly. The vibration happened in the vessels and bones, awakening this person from his sleep.

“Finally…”

After a while, the wait for the spaceships on the surface finally ended—their target had appeared. In the fissure far away, a man climbed out and slowly walked over. It was an Esper indeed. He looked terrible, and his face was bony. He was the only survivor of the Sarota fleet. Before the Dragon Emperor arrived, Sarota had given the retreat order. However, when Esper knew the enemy was Ames, he knew that the mothership would most likely not be able to escape, so he had taken a risk. He had decided to stay underground. In a deep cave, he had formed a carbon structure with his power and sealed himself, controlling his heartbeat and blood flow, entering a fake death state. As he expected, these allies that boarded the fleet to retreat were all killed by the mercenary fleet, Holy Stone, and Black Raven, turning into fireworks in space and becoming dust.

After Sarota’s fleet was demolished, the mercenaries had caught the mothership’s highest commander, Sarota. Therefore, they did not bother to search the entire planet for a possible survivor. This DarkStar team had been completely defeated, so there was no need to waste more time. Therefore, Ember had survived. Important officers like him all had a location microchip planted in them. After everyone left this planet, a rescue spaceship came to pick him up.

At that time, Han Xiao was also more inclined to believe Ember died, although he still had a small doubt in his heart. After all, characters with legendary characteristics should not die that easily. However, he had no way to search the entire planet. The other mercenaries had been in a hurry to head to Godora and would not help. With his manpower, God only knew how long it would have taken him to search the entire planet. There was no need for that. Plus, it was not worth it from a probability perspective. Hence, he did not think too much about it. Regardless of whether Ember was dead or alive, Han Xiao could accept it.

The DarkStar warriors wanted to support him, but they were swept away by Ember. He did not need anyone to support him. With a cold face, he said in a low voice, “Tell me, what’s the situation now! Did Sarota and the rest all die?”

“Ames slammed Sarota’s mothership down. We received attacks from both Holy Stone and Black Raven, and the fleet was completely defeated. A part of the members of the ship survived, including Sarota. They were transferred to Godora; this was just reported by the Colton News. They were all sent to the Rainbow Prison.”

Every mothership was a moving stronghold of DarkStar, and losing any of them was a heavy blow.

Ember clenched his teeth and said, “What about the Secret Message Bead?”

“We heart that the Secret Message Bead was picked up by a Floating Dragon guard, then given to the Holy Stone Civilization, which then gave it to Godora.

Ember’s body shook, and he growled in a low voice, “So, you’re saying, our sacrifices were completely meaningless and did not make any impact at all. We suffered such a catastrophic loss. How can it just be over? Even if we cannot beat the Dragon Emperor, she has to pay the price! She attacked us to save Black Star, so we shall find an opportunity to kill Black Star, showing her that we’re not easy to mess with.”

This time, a heavy and powerful yell stopped Ember’s words. “In important times like this, it’s unwise to mess with a strong enemy. Remember, Godora is our true enemy.”

A hologram appeared in front of Ember. It was a hybrid Godoran with light gold skin. On his skin were some strange scales and beast hide like wrinkles. His forehead was covered in markings of a mysterious pattern, extending down to his eyebags and nose, like the war paint of savages. This man was rather old, but his eyes were very sharp, and he gave off a steady aura like the mountains.

The anger in Ember’s eyes was suppressed as soon as he saw this man. He lowered his head and said respectfully, “Teacher.”

The other DarkStar members beside him also lowered their heads in fear and said, “Your Excellency Anur.”

Anur was the mentor that developed the potential of Ember’s power and guided his path. He was a high ranked officer in DarkStar, one of the few grade A individuals in the organization. His position was above all and only below the leader.

He looked down at Ember and said in a low voice, “I can see you’re resentful. Tell me, who is the source of your anger?”

“Black Star… He’s a mercenary group captain under the Dragon Emperor. I failed against him twice… no, thrice. Ever since I started working for the organization officially, these are the only three failures I’ve ever experienced. He’s caused me great shame, and he has special abilities that counter my power… Only his death can brush away my shame!”

Anur intercepted and said coldly, “Childish! Narrow-minded! The organization has spent an enormous amount of resources on you and raised you to be a strong warrior, not to let you fight irrelevant people. The organization has a lot of hope for you. The responsibilities that you bear are beyond your imagination. A small mercenary is not someone that you should concern yourself with. Focusing your thoughts on him is a waste of time!”

After a pause, he added, “Furthermore, Black Star is under the Dragon Emperor. Now is not the time to provoke them. When the bigger matters are dealt with, you can settle such issues.”

Ember lowered his head and asked, “What should I do?”

“Anger has affected your sanity. This is an unforgivable mistake. For the next year, you’re not allowed to carry out any missions. Stay in the base, focus on training and self-reflection.”

“Understood.” Ember nodded. He respected Anur a lot. His mind calmed down, and he accepted the arrangement. The hostility toward Black Star was pressed down to the bottom of his heart… His teacher was right. He was destined to be an ace of the organization; what they planned for was much bigger. He should not spend energy on irrelevant people.

After pondering, Ember asked the last question, “Teacher, what about the Secret Message Bead?”

“Godora has the Secret Message Bead. Sooner or later, they will know what’s inside. The newest seventh-generation Mutation Source is in Godora’s hands, and the organization’s plan faces the risk of being exposed. This matter needs to be discussed again. In a few days’ time, the leader will host a high-ranking meeting to discuss this. The strategic planning afterward will all have to consider this as a factor, and we will need to make some adjustments.

Having received the answer, Ember did not waste any more time. He boarded the plane and took off.

…

Ten days passed in no time. The players were standing by in the stronghold and had nothing to do. They spent most of their time in the dungeons.

They tried [Warfare: Power of the Dragon Emperor] many times, discussed and exchanged experiences, and found a possible way to clear the dungeon.

Firstly, they had to choose the reinforcement faction. The countdown clock was the same as the DarkStar faction, three hours. Between the three factions, this was the easiest choice. Then, they had to get lucky and meet a main character—specifically, Goa of the Sky Ring Army—within the first twenty minutes and follow her for two hours without doing any side missions.

Next, they had to pay close attention to the time and leave before meeting the next enemy that would cause the players to be wiped out. This way, two hours and twenty minutes would have already passed. The difficult part was the last forty minutes. If everything went well up to this point, there should be at least six to eight players left. By using the method of leaving teammates behind one by one, there was a chance for the last person to clear the dungeon. Doing this would cause the reward to be reduced by ninety percent, but at least it could be cleared.

However, although there was a theoretical method, most of it relied on luck. So far, no one had succeeded.

Initially, these pro players thought that if they chose the mercenary faction and met Han Xiao, they would be able to live. However, this was just what they thought. No matter what faction they chose, it was certain death once they met Han Xiao. Not mentioning the DarkStar faction, in the case of the mercenary faction or the reinforcement faction, after meeting Han Xiao, they would be able to pass a long time safely, but they would definitely meet Ember in the end. When that happened, everyone would be killed in an instant. Even if they left Han Xiao in advance, they would still meet Ember.

The pro players placed their focus back on the level 60 Germinal Organization dungeon. Its level was suitable and much easier. No matter how rich the level 90 dungeon’s rewards were, they could only look at them for now.

With this failure, Bun-Hit-Dog was not able to record materials about the Dragon Emperor. He had no choice but to do another episode about the past. He recorded parts of the level 60 Germinal Organization dungeon and continued on the previous Black Phantom Series. This series had yet to arrive at its ending, and most of the players had only heard of Han Xiao’s past but never seen it.

Bun-Hit-Dog’s video included the dungeon process. The Germinal Organization dungeon was a large team dungeon extending from Han Xiao’s infiltration into the Germinal Organization headquarters to the end of the Germinal Organization. The story built up very well and was very interesting.

Initially, Bun-Hit-Dog just wanted to use this episode as a filler, but the response after he posted the video far exceeded his expectations. It was just as popular as the Black Star Series, which really surprised him.

Through the influence of the Black Star Series, more players from other planets came to learn who Han Xiao was and knew that he was the first NPC to bring the players off their planet. The players from other areas were very curious about his history, and the Black Phantom Series happened to be Han Xiao’s origin story. Many new viewers were attracted by it.

Chapter 413: New Combat Style (1)

No matter how popular Ames was, it was impossible for Han Xiao’s place to be threatened. After all, she was just a newly introduced character, whereas everyone was very familiar with Han Xiao. His image would not be impacted by this. The Dragon Emperor being beautiful was one thing, but Han Xiao gave a lot of rewards.

What was the point of just being beautiful? An NPC was only good when could make the players money!

Furthermore, according to the progress of Bun-Hit-Dog’s Black Star Series Episode Three, Han Xiao and the Dragon Emperor belonged to the same faction. The influence of these two was combined, which made the players have more anticipation. As Bun-Hit-Dog used the drama style to edit his Black Star Series videos, Han Xiao and the Black Star Mercenary Group were the audience’s first-person perspective, which gave them a sense of immersion. They felt like they were part of Black Star, and seeing the faction made them feel happy.

This episode was the latest episode of Black Phantom Series, the end of Germinal Organization. Han Xiao stole intel from the Germinal Organization headquarters, escaped and battle over hundreds of miles, met with the reinforcements from the Six Nations, and fought his last battle in the encirclement. The convoy rode across the yellow desert, stirring up dust and sand. The sky was dyed yellow, and it was filled with the murderous intent from both sides. Bullets and cannons rained down like a metal storm while the thunderous sound of explosions swept across the sand.

The video followed Bun-Hit-Dog’s perspective, taking part in the battlefield recreated by the dungeon. In order to show a stronger impact, he chose the Germinal Organization side. From the video, the audience could see Han Xiao dashing across the battlefield in an unstoppable way, moving like lightning. One moment, he was demolishing a few Germinal Organization Executive Officers—the next, he would be hundreds of meters away, flipping vehicles over with his shoulder.

In Bun-Hit-Dog’s video, Han Xiao was like a BOSS. The Germinal Organization’s leader fought him head-on. Every time they clashed, the ground shook, and the soundwave trembled in the air. The impact was almost overflowing from the screen as if the screen would shatter like a mirror at any second!

Their fight was like a flying dragon that extended across the entire battlefield. Just the aftershock from their battle was able to send the soldiers and vehicles in their path flying. The viewers could not take their eyes off. It was like they were there themselves; they were nervously holding their breath.

Boom!

With the last thunderous hit, the image trembled!

The viewers finally took a deep breath.

Blood splashed out from the Germinal Organization leader’s mouth as he was blown away, flying backward, rolling on the sand for almost a hundred meters, and leaving a marking behind. He fell onto the floor and vomited blood non-stop. On the other side, Han Xiao stood in the middle of the shattered mechanical suit pieces on the ground, unveiling his face. Bun-Hit-Dog was blown onto the floor by the shockwave, and he was looking up. The dust and sand settled, like a yellow curtain being pulled open. Han Xiao stood under the scorching sun, above the yellow sand and between the cannons and bullets, covered in twisting bolts of lightning, expressionless.

At this moment, his coolness level was at the max!

Even for Planet Aquamarine players who knew that Han Xiao was powerful, they could not help but feel emotional. This was perhaps the first time that the players from other planets had seen Han Xiao’s performance, and it happened to be his most impactful scene. They were immediately stunned with excitement and trembling.

“Wow, this man is so powerful!”

“So, he had this kind of past…”

Every novice planet had main characters. In comparison, Han Xiao received the most attention. Many new viewers attracted by the Black Star Series were shocked and more interested; they wanted to find Bun-Hit-Dog’s previous videos and find out more about Han Xiao’s past.

The video continued. The last scene was the cutscene of the nuclear explosion in the Germinal Organization Headquarters.

A mushroom cloud rose from the ground, and the dark red light in the thick smoke was like the boiling lava from hell!

The world trembled!

Just as the viewers were stunned by the image, the noise from the explosion suddenly disappeared. Only the image of the nuclear explosion remained. At the same time, a man’s voice appeared in the background.

“The clouds of war obscured the blue skies like the wings of death, and the scars of the previous war have been torn open again before they could even heal…”

At the end of the video, Bun-Hit-Dog had the genius idea of putting in Han Xiao’s speech from before.

The image was the end of Germinal Organization—the Six Nations launched a nuclear missile to end the war. The background was Han Xiao’s speech when he created the Sanctuary. The image of the nuclear explosion complemented and explained the content of the speech. The Six Nations started a war for their own benefit, and the Sanctuary was built to save the tinder of civilization. When putting everything together, the contrast was very strong, and it felt completely different.

After the video ended, the viewers could not have enough of it. It was like they had watched a short legendary drama. Thinking back to the storyline on Planet Aquamarine as a whole, they were feeling sentimental.

Although Han Xiao did not speak throughout the entire video, with the speech that Bun-Hit-Dog added at the end, the level of class that he had was off the charts!

Some audiences imagined his thoughts and analyzed his actions. When this event happened in real time back then, there had been players who did a similar thing. Now, the topic became heated up once again.

“Real men don’t talk, they use actions.”

“Black Phantom cares about the world and fights for the weak, so he wanted to destroy the evil Germinal Organization. Not bad, he’s my husband after all.”

“Black Phantom: Bullsh*t, I just wanted to run away with girls. Do you think my nickname ‘Women Lover Great Mechanic Han’ has no meaning?”

The players made full use of their creativity and discussed excitedly.

Although this video was rushed, Bun-Hit-Dog did a very good job, and it received a very positive response. Han Xiao’s sense of presence and influence was increased largely. Originally, Han Xiao had already given the players a rich impression. Now, with this video about the end of the Germinal Organization, his impression in the players’ mind evolved and became clearer. He became legendary, and his unique characteristics started to shine through, which differentiated him from all the other characters.

He was the one and only.

This was exactly why Han Xiao had brought Bun-Hit-Dog along, and from the current situation, Bun-Hit-Dog was doing very well. In between building machinery, Han Xiao took a break and watched the video. He was very satisfied.

…

A few days later in the machinery modification room, the air was filled with a certain stench. The results of these few days’ work—hundreds of small orbs—were arranged neatly on the table.

“It’s finally done. A little earlier than I expected.”

This was the new machinery that he had created by taking the advantages of the same type of low-level blueprints. Their performance and attributes were far superior. Before he started building, he had spent two to three million experience and leveled up these blueprints to the max level. The more he built, the more familiar he was with them, and the faster he built.

Han Xiao took off the protective suit and counted the numbers. He then separated the small mechanical orbs into different types.

A method was needed to use the compressed small orbs as well. Usually, Mechanics would carry a portable small bag and store these small orbs inside, or they might make these small orbs into jewelry, such as a necklace, bracelet, or earrings. Sometimes, they might also tie them at the end of their hair like the Godora Observer or place them into the combat suit.

As the compressed structure was very tight, there could not be any extra parts in them. Therefore, compressing a compressed orb into another one would not work, or it would have been able to be expanded infinitely. Only a complete machine or an individual part could form a compressed orb.

Han Xiao compressed the mechanical suit, so in normal daily life, he used a black tactical belt to store the compressed orbs. This had originally been designed to store magazines. It had a metal button in the middle, and the belt was split into two and formed an ‘X’ shape. It was slotted on his waist to increase the number of items that he could bring. Inside this belt were weapons that were relatively less important. For core machinery such as the mechanical suit, it was made into jewelry.

Han Xiao wore a necklace made from three compressed orbs, bracelets on both his wrists, and two small orbs as his earrings on both his ears. His hair now was rather long, so it could be tied and let down behind him. At the end of it were some compressed orbs as well.

Han Xiao walked over to the mirror and looked at himself. He was entertained by his new look.

“Tsk, what a unique style I have.”

Chapter 414: New Combat Style (2)

Han Xiao appeared satisfied with it. When practicality was concerned, he did not care much about the look. Although being handsome was an eternal thing for him, he chose to be strong.

Other than the belts and the jewelry, there were also some compressed orbs in his clothes.

Usually, this was what he looked like. Once he entered a battle, he would then activate the mechanical combat suit. He had added slots in the mechanical suit to store and release compressed orbs. Once he equipped the mechanical suit, the magnetic connection would suck the compressed orbs on him into these slots, like reloading bullets. These compressed orbs could be shot out any time, making it more convenient to expand his machinery.

There were hundreds of compressed orbs, and part of them were backup equipment.

After arranging the results of his hard work, Han Xiao pushed the door open and walked out of the machinery modification room. Herlous was waiting at the door. When he saw Han Xiao come out and approach him, he said, “Captain, Lerden and the others arrived at Juberly Hub two days ago. They’re waiting to meet you.”

“Lead the way.”

Han Xiao adjusted his clothes.

The two of them left the stronghold, boarded the Hub Center’s hovering carriers, and mixed among the others. After a while, they landed on the middle level of a building at the end of the Hub Center. All the rooms on this level were resting rooms, and one of them was the temporary mini stronghold that the Sunil mercenaries had rented. It was at the corner and had a very narrow space, the cheapest room. They were money-saving as always.

Ding dong.

The bell was pressed, and the silver alloy door slid open. The two of them walked in. Inside the tight and narrow room, more than fifty people had somehow squeezed in. The people there made up half the number; the other half were in the room next door. They heard the news and came over as well. Han Xiao saw that it was too cramped, so he asked everyone to talk outside on the public rooftop. The rooftop also acted as a parking area for flying carriers, like a mini dock. At the back of it was the city-like Hub Center, filled with tall buildings. Flying carriers were everywhere in the sky, landing and taking off from buildings from time to time. A warm wind blew across the rooftop … a product of the air coming from the carriers.

“Black Star.”

“Captain.”

The Sunil mercenaries greeted Han Xiao. Lerden was sent out as the representative to express their appreciation.

Han Xiao sized these people up. Many Sunil mercenaries were disabled and had mechanic prosthetics. He had read the resumes of these mercenaries earlier; more than half of them were grade C Supers, and a small portion were grade D. It was not suitable for grade D Supers to become mercenaries—it was simply too dangerous. However, the Sunils were facing very tough times, and they needed every bit of help they could get. So, they had no choice but to let stronger mercenaries help the weaker ones.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. I will choose missions that are suitable for you, then you can decide whether or not to accept them. Since you have joined me, you have to listen to orders. Let’s be clear about one thing first. You can have objections to my orders, and we can make negotiations. However, if you disobey my orders behind my back, I will stop working with you immediately. Of course, I don’t wish for that to happen. You’re facing a tough time, and I understand it. After all, I was there for the recent Sunil Catastrophe. You don’t have to worry about me giving you missions that are impossible for you to complete…”

Since he was the leader of the faction, he had to ensure his absolute control. Although the Sunil mercenaries were valuable to him, Han Xiao was not going to completely compromise for them.

The Sunil mercenaries nodded and agreed without any objection. In their eyes, Han Xiao being willing to share his influence with them was already a huge help.

Han Xiao opened the mercenary panel and picked out a few missions to let them choose. These hiring missions were not open hires given by the alliance that were available to everyone; these were private request from other partners that had very rich rewards. The difference was that when normal mercenaries requested missions, they were the one making the request, and they were the ones being picked. However, the private hires that he got were requests from others, inviting him to work together. This was the benefit that the Black Star Mercenary Group received after making a name. The partners were all large mercenary groups, so they might not really need help, but they were willing to share the profits, which was actually to build a better relationship, mainly because of his identity as part of Floating Dragon.

Most of the Sunil mercenaries operated individually. They had to go through life and death situations only to get very small rewards. They had never seen missions that were safe yet had such rich rewards. Naturally, they were overjoyed. Although there were only a few missions to choose from, they still took their time choosing. After quite a long discussion, they finally chose to accept the cooperation request sent by Sky Ring Army, to escort a resource scouting team to an unpopulated planet in the north of the Garton Galaxy.

When they were picking, Han Xiao did not speak. He leaned against the glass panel on the rooftop and played with a compressed orb in his hands. After they made their choice, he then said, “Although this is quite an easy mission, I need to test your combat abilities just in case. Let’s go to the Battle Simulation Room.”

The Sunil mercenaries thought that this was unnecessary, but they could only obey the captain. They left the rooftop and came to the Battle Simulation Room.

Han Xiao rented a large room, walked in, and stood opposite everyone.

The Sunil mercenaries exchanged looks. Lerden coughed, took a step forward, and said, “I shall be the first one to test then.”

“No need, all of you together. Saves time,” Han Xiao said.

The people were stunned. We have a hundred people here, and you want us to attack together? Isn’t that too arrogant even for a grade B Super?

A sense of anger surfaced in their hearts; they felt they were being underestimated. Although we are here to work for you, you’ll regret taking us lightly!

With anger on their faces, the Sunil mercenaries spread out and drew their weapons, preparing for battle.

The team of a hundred men slanted forward slightly, ready to charge forward. Their united presence was like a lion that was about to attack its prey.

Opposing them, Han Xiao looked so solitary.

Only if they were taken seriously would they get better treatment. They decided to go all out and showcase their full power. Since you want to be beaten up, we will give you a good beating!

Herlous turned on the Stimulation Room. The white room turned into a flat, stone plane, very wide and spacious. He looked at the warriors of his race and shook his head.

Over the past few days, Han Xiao would call him to test the power of his weapons from time to time. He knew full well how powerful Han Xiao was. He was just hoping that his friends would not get beaten too tragically.

Han Xiao moved his shoulder and felt the compressed orbs on his belt. At this moment, he suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu, like he had gone back to the first time that he used the Mechanic class to shine in the arena and demolished kids from everywhere. From that time, his path as a booster had started, and he had never looked back.

This was not just to test the Sunil mercenaries—he was also testing his actual strength and earn their respect.

The Sunil mercenaries had joined him purely for his influence; they actually did not look up to him for his strength. Most of the mercenaries now looked at the Black Star Mercenary Group this way. Many people were jealous—they felt like Black Star had become related to Dragon Emperor out of pure luck, otherwise they would just be a third-tier group. They would be able to do it too if they were that lucky.

This was a disadvantage of becoming popular too quickly; people doubted his strength. Han Xiao had expected this from the start, but when comparing the pros and cons, what he was doing now was definitely more beneficial. It was normal to have some side effects. Mercenaries always respected the strong, and he did this to beat them face to face so that they would respect him.

The corners of his mouth rose, and the desire of battle appeared on his face.

“Come.”

Boom boom boom!

The Sunil mercenaries took a step forward and started charging forward right away. The ranged warriors fired cannons and lasers that approached very quickly.

Han Xiao stood on the spot without moving. A flash of lightning appeared on his body. The two earring orbs flew up into the air and quickly turned into two Hovering Shield Shuttles, forming two purple-blue shields, blocking above his head and before him. All the ranged attacks exploded on the thin and mirror-like energy shields, causing ripples.

Buzz!

The sound was continuous. Compressed orbs flew out of his belt one after another and floated around him.

Magnetic energy activated immediately, and these compressed orbs were spread out by the energy and hit the ground as fast as bullets with a clank, expanding instantly!

The setup was complete in an instant!

The next second, twenty-two ground artilleries and fourteen hovering artilleries appeared, firing at the hundred opponents simultaneously.

Tu tu tu tu tu!

The flashes from the muzzle were one meter long. Some of them were high caliber gunpowder artillery that used special magazines, and some were electromagnetic artillery. The firepower coverage of thirty-six artilleries did not have a blind spot. The formation of the Sunil mercenaries was broken immediately. Their speed decreased, and they had difficulty dodging the hail of bullets.

The artilleries were located beside or behind Han Xiao. The area within about a hundred meters outside was covered in mechanical traps and obstacles, limiting his movements and preventing enemies from getting too close. Every trap was one to two meters tall, and their triggering range was much larger than their size. Electric sparks were flashing on these traps, dissuading people from daring to even step on them.

In the blink of an eye, a formation expanded right beside him!

The Sunil mercenaries had trouble taking a single step, and they were immediately disadvantaged and struggling.

On the other hand, Han Xiao was standing still with hands in his pockets and a calm face, like the extremely violent explosions happening at that moment had nothing to do with him.

Chapter 415: New Combat Style (3)

After gaining the compression technology, both the depth and breadth of a Mechanic’s combat abilities would drastically increase. They would gain the ability to take control of the situation or even turn the tables immediately. The focus was to deploy the machinery as fast as possible and the right combination of machinery at the right place. The speed of deploying that machinery would have a very large impact on the outcome of the battle.

After the version of Mechanics rising, the method that other Supers used was mostly striking and charging before the Mechanic could deploy their machinery fully. If a Mechanic was allowed to deploy their weapons freely, the situation would be irreversible, and the enemy would slide down the abyss of failure. Of course, this was in the case of normal situations, not considering some special abilities or items.

In the case of battle tempo, Mechanics always had the upper hand. The enemies were forced to follow it and stop Mechanics from deploying their machinery. This was a very big advantage. Furthermore, even if the Mechanic’s tempo was broken temporarily and they did not have the time to deploy the machinery fully, the enemies could not let their guard down. If the Mechanic caught their breath and deployed the machinery afterward, the tables would turn in an instant, and the enemies’ effort before would all go to waste.

Han Xiao’s Mechanic class was now beginning to take shape and possessed this tough ability. He was also very experienced, so it was impossible for his speed of deploying the machinery to be slow. This time, cannons and fire covered the entire place, so the Sunil mercenaries inevitably fell one after another. This was just a spar, so the Sunil mercenaries who fell onto the ground were dragged off the battlefield by Herlous, who stood on the side. Ever since the battle started, he had been kept busy by doing this continuously. He had never been given a chance to even rest.

A Pugilist mercenary flexed his legs, then jumped up into the air, drawing a parabola in the air, wanting to jump over the floor filled with traps and reach Han Xiao.

At this time, a metal trap that he jumped over was suddenly triggered. A grenade shot up into the air and exploded with a bang. A blue, net-shaped current extended out from the center of the explosion. This was a capturing trap formed by long, thin metal cables with a high voltage running through it. It shrouded the Pugilist mercenary who was still in midair.

Buzz!

This guy screamed in agony as his skin was burnt black by the current, then he fell down to another repulsion trap. An invisible force pushed this guy up into the air again, and a few artilleries turned toward him and focus fired. The bullets pushed him out of the area.

He fell to the ground, unconscious.

This stopped the other mercenaries from wanting to jump up.

“It’s not so easy to jump across all that.” Han Xiao smiled. There were landmines in the traps, and there were also traps that could sense objects above them and attack accordingly to prevent enemies from getting close in midair.

Within the range of his Mechanical Force, any machinery received bonuses from him. Some artillery was placed beside him, and its power was enhanced multiple times. Whoever was at the front would face the most violent and heaviest attacks. Because of this, the mercenaries spread out and charged from all directions, diverting the firepower from the artillery.

Lerden was covered in a green shield that was flickering under the rain of bullets as he charged forward. In other directions, there was quite a number of mercenaries who were equipped with shield generators. The colorful shields charged through the cannons and traps, approaching quickly.

Han Xiao formed a hook with his fingers. Another batch of compressed orbs flew out and dropped beside him, expanding into twenty or so beast shaped robots. Their size was about the same as medium-sized dog breeds, but they were covered in black armor and had a streamlined body like cheetahs, like armored panthers. There was an opening on both of their shoulders, exposing the triple mounted gun barrels from the machine guns inside. Their tails were very swift and looked like a scorpion tail, at the end of which was a sharp alloy blade.

Han Xiao had prepared three combos. One was the Multi-Turret Firepower Coverage Style, which did not require any technicality. Another was the Trap Style, which required a little bit of control, mainly regarding where to place which traps and whether these traps could protect him and limit the enemies’ movement. The last was the Hound Style.

The Hound Style was controlling a group of small mechanic beasts, entangling, harassing, and culling the enemies like hounds. As the basic machinery that formed this style was called Mechanical Hounds, hence the name. This blueprint was rather easy to obtain. Han Xiao was using an enhanced version of mechanical beasts.

[‘Black Panther’ Combat Mechanic Beast] was a new blueprint that he had created after combining numerous low-level mechanical beast blueprints. One ‘Black Panther” had 2,700 points of armor, and the basic mechanical hound only had 1,500. Its attack was also increased by around seventy percent. It had more functions and better performance. Of course, it possessed the essential self-destruction ability.

“Go,” Han Xiao said. The twenty or so mechanical Black Panthers dashed out extremely quickly as the barrels on their shoulders opened fire. They swiftly moved across the battlefield between the gaps of the traps, attacking from the rear and the sides of the enemies. These were the weak points of their defense, and their speed was immediately slowed down.

As soon as any mercenary got close to the mechanical Black Panther, it would jump away, always keeping its distance and only going closer to the enemy when attacking.

Sometimes, three or four mechanic Black Panthers would cooperate with each other, diverting the enemies’ attention from different directions while one of them attacked from the back, slashing with its tail and dealing quite an amount of damage.

Mechanical Black Panthers were equipped with smart chips, and four of them formed a group. They could only carry out some simple tactical strategies in fours. Han Xiao’s ability to build chips was still at the basic level, so the mechanic Black Panthers’ combat ability was not independent enough. The number of orders that they could recognize and carry out was limited, so they could only be used to harass.

With the combination of artilleries, traps, and mechanical beasts, it was as if the Sunil mercenaries were walking in a quagmire; every step forward was difficult. Han Xiao observed the effect and nodded.

“This combination is not afraid of being outnumbered and can easily crush Supers that are weaker than me. Even when used against Supers of the same grade, it can also restrain and harass… Of course, it will be heavily damaged as well.”

Bang!

As he was thinking, a mechanical Black Panther was blown away and smashed into an artillery, bending its barrels.

Han Xiao looked over. Finally, someone passed through the lockdown. Lerden was covered in a green light. Having finally arrived before Han Xiao, he growled, and the green light turned into a spear in his hands, which he strongly thrust forward!

Clank!

In the blink of an eye, the compressed orb on Han Xiao’s necklace expanded, and a white mechanical suit covered him instantly!

The spear stabbed at his chest but was unable to move even an inch forward through the bone-white mechanical suit. Without saying anything, Han Xiao raised his hand and slapped down.

Boom!

Lerden was smashed onto the floor by the slap, facing downward. His face was planted into the ground instantly, no match for Han Xiao at all.

The people’s faces changed. Han Xiao’s appearance had changed—he was in a white combat suit, the armor texture looked like bones, yet it was unbelievably strong and hard. It looked like a knight’s armor made of bone.

Its shape was gorgeous. The shoulders were carved to look like dragon heads, and the chest and the waist pieces were had highly-flexible joints to allow swifter movement, complementing the streamlined body shape. Not knowing if it was an illusion, the people present felt that this mechanical suit was giving out a very mysterious aura.

[Void Dragon] Single Unit Mechanical Suit.

Compared to the snake series mechanical suits such as Python and Amphiptere, this dragon series mechanical suit had stronger capabilities. It was not because it involved more advanced technologies but because its material was rare. It was made from the Void Dragon Bone that he had obtained on Floating Dragon Island. It was light yet durable, and it had special energy within. This mechanical suit did not have that many weapons; it was used specifically for hand to hand combat. Its armor was a horrifying amount of more than 30,000 points. Furthermore, the Void Dragon Bone granted the mechanical suit extra abilities.

Han Xiao had three compressed orbs on his necklace, and all of them were mechanical suits. One was Void Dragon, and the other two were the backup Amphipteres. Whether a Mechanic was strong or not depended on the number and attributes of their equipment. He had both the number and the attributes, and that was because he had enough money.

Seeing this, the other mercenaries stopped moving forward and said with a bitter smile, “We admit our loss.”

The difference in strength was too vast. They had battled through all the obstacles and finally gotten close only to realize that Han Xiao himself was stronger than all his machinery. It was a completely impossible battle to win. There were around a hundred of them, so originally, they had thought that Han Xiao was outnumbered, but now, they felt that they were the ones that were outnumbered.

They clearly surrounded Han Xiao, yet it felt like Han Xiao surrounded all of them by himself.

Han Xiao had yet to finish testing all his weapons, so there was still a huge cannon that he did not deploy. He wanted to continue, but seeing that the mercenaries had given up, he could only collect all his machinery, disappointed.

After cleaning up the battlefield, these Sunil mercenaries gathered in front of Han Xiao. They were only lightly injured. Their eyes were now filled with respect and fear.

The strong is always respected.

Han Xiao said a few words, mostly saying that they had passed his test and that their ability was not bad. Then he got rid of the Sunils and told them to start doing their missions.

Han Xiao returned to the stronghold alone and went to the machinery modification room. He pondered and concluded his experience.

“According to the current effect, the strategy that I planned is now mostly ready. My level 95 class advancement requirement is rather difficult, so I might be stuck at this level for quite some time. This combination of styles is very strong at the current stage, so it can be used as a filler before class advancement. Plus, there are many ways to enhance it…”

He took out the weapons that he had recently built and observed the item attributes on the interface once again.

The variety of artilleries and traps was very rich—mostly made out of new blueprints that he had obtained from combining several blueprints—and their various performances were all 25% – 40% better in comparison.

He looked at Void Dragon’s data. Amphiptere was a very well-rounded mechanical suit, so he did not build another one of the same style. Void Dragon was focused on melee battles. As its material was rare, it had very strong additional abilities.

[Void Dragon]

Type: Single Unit Light Mechanical Combat Suit

Grade: Purple

Requirements: LV 90, Mechanic Class, >4000 Energy, >200 END

Basic Attributes:

– Armor: 30400/30400

– Defense: 375

– Power Level:1360

– Energy: 9000

– Height: 1.91m

– Weight: 143 lb

Control Method: Low-Class Smart Chip + Nerves Connection (Extra +10 DEX)

Power Source: Portable Stable Mini Nuclear Reaction Furnace—Self Charge. Recovers Energy at 120/min. Energy conversion rate from user: 30:55

Stationary Mode Energy Usage: 25/min

Combat Mode Energy Usage: 48/min

Core Power Capacity: 775/1200

[Skeleton Module: TM1.50 Nano-Biological Muscle Fillings]

Enhances the power of movements and body capabilities.

+57 STR, +45 DEX.

Power Output: 150.

Muscles can be enhanced by energy.

Energy cost: 40/min.

Effect: All Attributes +33%

[Armor Module: Void Dragon Bone (Pink Rare Material)]

+28,000 Armor, +320 Defense.

[Hand Module: Vibration Converter (Purple)]

Generates vibration, 11% of melee damage is counted as armor-piercing damage.

Power Output: 50

[Wrist Module: Wrist Force Enhancer]

+10 STR

Power Output: 30

[Leg Module: Pressure Enhancement Circuit]

+8 DEX

Power Output: 30

[Thrusting Module: Mini Maneuvering Equipment (Purple) x 12]

Total Power Output: 240.

[Survival Module: Body Signs Monitor, Thermostat Life Support System, Oxygen Filtering, Gravity Stabilizer, First Aid Injection Device, High-Pressure Resistance Device…]

Total Power Output: 150

[Chip Module: Damage Detection, Database Analysis, Trajectory Prediction, Remote Control, Combat Assistance, Neuronal Signal Transformation…]

Total Power Output: 110

[Subsidiary Module: Electromagnetic Pulse Controller (Purple)]

Applies [Excitement].

All Attributes +7%

Duration: 15 mins

Energy Cost: 5 per use

Power Output: 15

[Subsidiary Module: Compressed orb storage and ejection pipes]

[Additional Ability: Strong Capability]

During combat, distributes energy to Biological Muscle, increasing power.

Effect: +45 STR, +35 DEX

[Additional Ability: Indestructible Toughness]

Void Dragon Bones have unbelievable durability.

Effect: -20% Physical Damage received, -18% Magical Damage received. When armor is lower than 40%, this effect is doubled. After getting out of combat, armor recovers at 3% per minute.

[Additional Ability: Mysterious Power]

Void Dragon Bones possess mysterious powers.

Effect: +15 STR, +11 DEX, + 34 Melee Damage, +16% Attack Speed. 40% of Melee Damage will be dealt as splash damage.

Energy Cost: 60 per use

Duration: 1 min

Cooldown: 75 s

[Additional Ability: Void Jet Spray]

Void Dragon Bones possess extraordinary magic. After it dies, void magic precipitates inside its bones.

This equipment is able to convert energy into Void Jet Spray.

Damage: 278 – 1790

Energy Cost: 50 – 300 (Controllable)

Cooldown: 0

If used again in the next 10 seconds, the energy cost will increase by 30%. If not used in 10 seconds, the energy cost will reset.

Side Effect: This equipment is enhanced by void energy; it has a very high load. When equipped, -3000 Health Limit.

Remarks: When you stare at this mechanical suit, you can almost feel the remaining soul inside.

Chapter 416: Conclusion and the Next Stage of the Plan

The requirements are rather high. It’s very difficult for normal level 90 Mechanics to have 200 points of Endurance, and even if they do, it just converts into 8,000 health points. Wearing this and losing 3,000 health points will be losing almost half of their health. Plus, psychic abilities can easily go through the armor. But for me, that’s only one-fifth of my health, so I’ll still be very tanky when I’m wearing this. 3,000 health for 30,000 armor is completely worth it.

Han Xiao nodded.

Void Dragon was the strongest combat suit that he could build at this moment. All the materials for it were used up, so he could not build another one. Be it toughness or damage output, it was top-notch in its level. The two core additional abilities were [Indestructible Toughness] and [Void Jet Spray]. The former increased its durability and gave it the ability to self-recover, while the latter had a very strong explosive damage and came from the precipitated magic inside the Void Dragon Bone. Although Han Xiao was a Mechanic, due to the uniqueness of the material, the Void Dragon mechanic suit that he had built could be considered half-magic and half-mechanic equipment.

There were quite a few ways to build self-recovering equipment through mechanic methods, such as nanotechnology repair robots, which required the high-class knowledge of the Energy Branch [Nano Energy], or to build it with shape-memory alloys, which required the Armed Branch ability [High-End Material Technology].

Speaking of magic…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He called the three Volga brothers. These three looked very similar, and they were hard to differentiate. Usually, the oldest brother would speak for the three of them.

“Captain, what is the reason for calling us?”

“What kind of spells do you guys know?” Han Xiao looked at the oldest Volga brother.

“I’m a specialized mage in water spells,” the oldest Volga said. “My second youngest brother is good at shape manipulation spells and enhancing auras. My youngest brother is a Psychic. Actually, when the three of us were younger, we applied for the Phill Mage Academy, and only my youngest brother was rejected. I still remember that recruitment instructor said this to him. ‘Give up on magic, your talent is not suitable for it. To you, magic is like the Varisel Mountain; you will never be able to climb it’. Do you know the Varisel Mountain? That’s the tallest mountain on our home planet…”

The eldest brother was very talkative and could not stop talking. He diverted from the topic in the blink of an eye. Han Xiao was only dazed for two seconds, and the topic was already on how their first childhood pet died.

“Stop…” Han Xiao hastily stopped the oldest Volga brother, coughed, and said, “I called you here to enchant some weapons.”

He pointed at the machinery on the table as he spoke.

The three of them had no objections to the captain’s request, but their faces turned bitter when they turned and saw the machinery.

So many machineries… the workload was way too large.

“I wrote the specific requirements on paper, and it’s on the table. You can do it slowly when you don’t have missions.” Han Xiao waved and walked out with big steps, leaving the three of them there looking at each other.

The youngest Volga brother was very happy. He was not a mage, so it had nothing to do with him. He looked at the two older brothers with glee in his eyes and left joyfully. The other two looked at his cheerful departing figure and almost wanted to gift him a magic beam.

Theoretically, most inanimate objects could be enchanted, including machinery of course. Enchanting was also a career that the Mage class players had by default. In his previous life, most of the mages provided enchanting services to earn some extra money. Water-type enchantment increased physical damage reduction, and shape manipulation type usually gave bonus damage.

Han Xiao’s ability to enhance weapons through his mechanic methods was already at his limit, so he sought new ways to enhance. Since there were mages in his team, he might as well make full use of them.

I’m now level 95, five levels away from the level 100 promotion limit. However, the Mechanic main class is stuck at the class advancement requirement, which requires me to learn two high-end knowledges… Sigh, I have yet to even finish learning all the advanced knowledges…

Han Xiao shook his head in frustration. His main class was at the fifth stage, which made up 65 levels. When players had such a high level in their main class, it would already be long past Version 2.0, and the next class advancement would only be possible to complete in Version 3.0, as that was when they could get their hands on high-end knowledges. Even in Version 3.0, the cost of learning high-end knowledge was still very high. They would basically only be exchangeable in faction stores, and the players would have to spend a lot of time farming favorability and money for them.

The class advancement that he had received randomly was quite difficult. Just advanced knowledge already cost him so much effort to obtain—high-end knowledge was even harder to get. The area exchange center in Garton Galaxy only had one high-end knowledge for sale, and it was a rather unimportant knowledge. Even so, its price was a hundred times more expensive than advanced knowledges. He had about a hundred thousand Enas in his account, but he would still not be able to afford it.

There were two difficulties with this class advancement requirement. One was money, and the other was channels. The former required time and effort to earn, and the latter required him to look through various galaxies in the Shattered Star Ring to find a seller. Very few Mechanics were willing to share their knowledges. Therefore, Han Xiao felt that he would not be able to advance class in a short time, even with his Floating Dragon Faction background.

There will be more promotion requirements once I reach level 100. I might as well find a new subclass first, level up to level 100, and take a look at the promotion requirements. If convenient, I can complete both of them together.

The Secret Message Bead triggered three large missions for me, all related to Godora and DarkStar. I need to plan it slowly. It’s better not to make any moves before the next version… Wait, counting in the hidden mission from Aroshia, I have four high difficulty missions.

Aroshia was very mysterious. She had awakened her Esper power to turn into energy, and it seemed like it made her curious about Esper powers. Han Xiao had told Herlous to teach her how to use her energy, and he also guided her himself sometimes. He realized that Aroshia was very talented and improved extremely quickly. She had extraordinary potential inside her like a sleeping treasure. Her power received fertilizer from her potential and became stronger very quickly. Han Xiao estimated that she would officially reach grade C within a month.

He opened the forums and browsed through what the players were up to as usual. He saw that among the Black Star Mercenary Group players, someone had posted the process and difficulties of the level 90 dungeon. This was the first time that any players had seen a dungeon that exceeded the level limit of the current version. This post sparked very heated discussion.

Han Xiao looked through, and only then did he know about what it was like inside the dungeon. He estimated in his mind, and from his experience, level 60 players should have a chance at slipping through the dungeon and completing it with a very low rating.

Bun-Hit-Dog released a new video again?

He noticed Bun-Hit-Dog’s new video, the fourth episode of the Black Star Series.

Han Xiao was surprised. He opened the video and glimpsed through.

This episode continued from the last episode, the second half of the hiring incident. From Floating Dragon Island to DarkStar’s chase to the Dragon Emperor appearing. Bun-Hit-Dog still had yet to beat [Warfare: Power of the Dragon Emperor]; he had given up and drawn this image himself. Hence, what the viewers saw was a slideshow of a kindergarten child’s drawings. That, accompanied by Bun-Hit-Dog’s rich and emotional description, felt like a salesperson trying to sell a piece of cr*p while insisting that it was a treasure.

“… DarkStar’s mothership saw that the situation was very, very bad. They yelled ‘we’ve got to run’ then started running immediately. Ames stared at DarkStar and yelled, ‘Hey! No running!’ She then activated her power and grabbed Floating Dragon Island like it was nothing, then threw it at the DarkStar mothership! The sky trembled as the two of them clashed, and like an egg smashing against a rock, the mothership crashed down to the ground…” 1

Bun-Hit-Dog’s description was full of ups and downs like he was on steroids. His tone was more excited than a salesperson, like he was casting a fight of the century. However, the image was extremely humble and poor—it was a black stickman throwing a golden ball that dragged a dotted line behind to represent its movement. The ball then hit onto a big patch of black, which represented the DarkStar mothership. A “BANG” then appeared beside the image, in bold and red.

This guy really is a genius…

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. As he expected, the comments during this scene were like a rampage, and the audiences’ desire to mock it was at its maximum.

Luckily, other than this scene, the images after this went back to recordings. The video ended when they returned to Juberly Hub, and the incident ended. The players only saw what was on the surface, so they did not know about the conspiracy DarkStar had, only Han Xiao did.

Other than the ‘images’ emphasizing the Dragon Emperor’s powers, another focus of the video was Black Star Mercenary Group’s new officer—Aroshia. Compared to her, the Volga brothers became transparent and were completely ignored. Following the craze brought by Ames last time, Aroshia stirred up another frenzy. Her looks were superior to Ames’ and were almost perfect. Although she did not possess the strength, power, temperament, and other bonuses that Ames boasted, she had her own charm. Her amnesia made her pitiful and mysterious, and most importantly… she had breasts, very big breasts!

Unsurprisingly, the war between the Flat-Chest Faction and Huge-Breast Faction broke out once again!

“The Dragon Emperor is very strong, beautiful, and has long legs, but… she’s flat!”

“Pale skin covers ugliness; flat chests destroy everything. Sorry, my love now belongs to someone else.”

“I don’t want to say this, but you people are really terrible. Your brains are filled with breasts, what’s so good about being big?”

“Big is beauty!”

These people were split between the Ames faction and Aroshia faction. Han Xiao was happy to see this. The more they argued, the more popular the topic would be. As a male, he would never get dragged into the argument anyway.

After closing the forums, Han Xiao started to think of the next step of the plan.

I have gone through quite a few big events this time and have been dragged into battles of a higher level, entering DarkStar’s sights. It’ll be best to keep a low profile from now for some time, accepting requests peacefully and stabilizing my current position. At the same time, I’ll save some money as well.

He had been through quite a lot this time for the compression technology, so temporarily, he was not going to take risks. He had made a name for himself, increased his abilities, and also formed some connections. The partners provided many rewarding missions, so he decided to finish these requests one by one. There was no need to hurry.

Furthermore, the players played a huge role in his growth too. It was now only Version 1.0, so the players’ abilities were very limited. When the players grew again in the next version, the benefits that he would be able to obtain from the players would multiply many times over.

He returned to the stronghold hall. All the players were there. They saw that Han Xiao had appeared and all surrounded him.

“Black Star, when will we be going for the next mission?” Frenzied Sword asked.

These players were fighting dungeons all the time, so they were extremely bored in the stronghold. Their faces were filled with anticipation.

“Pack up, we will leave today.”

On the way there, Han Xiao had accepted the hiring requests from his partner allies. The missions were not difficult, and their rewards were quite handsome. Before the next version came, he was preparing to only accept such missions in order to earn some wealth, strengthen his position, and grow in a low profile.

After such a huge event, they had to rest for some time.

The players were immediately revitalized. They picked up their things very quickly. Fifty armored warriors stood before Han Xiao neatly.

Han Xiao glanced at them, turned around, and walked outside with big steps. The players followed right after.

“Let’s go!”

…

Han Xiao had decided on the plan—accept requests from partners one after another. They were active in various star systems in the Shattered Star Ring.

After the heat from the Floating Dragon incident cooled down, the position and name of the mercenary group were slowly being built up in missions after missions. Their resume gradually became richer.

The Black Star Mercenary Group was busy accepting one mission after another, and nine months passed in no time.

Chapter 417: Nine Months later, Planet Dawn.

In the Ancient City Ruins of the South Territory on Planet Dawn, an alliance of various tribes had gathered.

Three thousand Blue Shield Knights of the Vain Kingdom, five thousand Savage Berserkers of the Howling Barbarians Tribe, one thousand Alchemist Bombardiers of the Earth Tribe, five hundred Beast Riders of the Child of Voices, and the mixed army of the Southland City and the Principality. There was a total of fifteen thousand people camping in the green field outside the Ancient City Ruins, their flags swaying with the wind.

There was not a single cloud in the sky. The sky there was the color of dusk, turning everything into a darker shade. The sun hanging high up in the sky looked tiny as it was very far from the planet.

The Imperator was having a meeting in the tent with the commanders of the various armies, and they were having a heated discussion. Only one tall blue-skinned man did not speak at all. He was the Blue Shield Knights Captain, Rex, the war hero of the Vain Kingdom. He had turned from a civilian into the commander of the ace army of the biggest kingdom on Planet Dawn. His deeds were praised by all the people on Planet Dawn.

When the others were almost done talking, only then did Rex open his mouth. The commanders of the other tribes all respected him very much, so they stopped their argument and listened to his words.

“Rezar and his believers are currently hiding under the ruins, preparing the ceremony of polluting the Origin Water. We have about two and a half hours’ time. There’s about eight hundred high-level Mojo Puppet Colossuses, which he spent twenty years building, sleeping in the ruins. He’s installed complex magic arrays, so the path toward the ceremony altar will only open if all the Mojo Puppets are destroyed.

“This means that we have to break through the lockdown of the Mojo Puppets in a short time, find their position, and stop the ceremony. If not, the Origin Water of more than half of the Southland territory will lose its vitality, and hundreds of thousands of people will die!”

Another commander sighed. “The scouting troops have sent back a message—every Mojo Puppet is more than seven meters high. They are extremely hard and are even blessed by prayers. Even our Reasteel swords broke from slashing it and could only leave a white mark…

“This intel cost us six elite troops. Also, Rezar’s sect has one hundred [Polluters] who can corrode our weapons and bodies. No elite warriors can withstand the corrosive spell. This situation is too tough.

“It’s very difficult for the fifteen thousand of us to breakthrough in a short time. Sigh, Rezar prepared in darkness for twenty years. If we had discovered his conspiracy ten days… no, even just three days earlier, we would not be in such a situation. This is everyone that we could gather in such a short time.”

“This affects the purity of the Origin Water and the lives of hundreds of thousands of people; we cannot fail,” Rex said with a deep voice. “The Kingdom Tribune Mages have contacted the ascenders from the higher worlds. The ascenders have hired warriors from the higher worlds who will help us in combat…”

Rex then looked at the corner of the tent. A human in a red battle suit was sitting there, looking completely different from the others who were wearing chain armor. He stood up and said, “I’m the Red Horn Mercenary Group’s Captain, Lin Ge. The people of your race have paid the gratuity, so we will help you to our best ability.”

“Captain Lin Ge, are you confident?” Rex asked.

Lin Ge shook his head and said with a bitter smile, “Frankly, the situation here is much worse than the information that we received when we accepted the mission suggested. Our strength is limited, and we aren’t able to deal with missions of this level. The details have already been reported to the employer, and the second batch of external reinforcements is on the way. If we’re lucky, they should be able to reach us within two hours.”

Frowning, Rex’s face turned grave, and he said, “Time is too scarce. Are the reinforcements dependable?”

“Don’t worry, the mercenary group in the second batch of reinforcements is much stronger than us. As long as they arrive in time, solving the incident here will be a piece of cake. Their stronghold happened to be in this Star System. If not for that, they would not even have bothered to take on small incidents like this.”

“I hope so…”

Rex was worried, but Lin Ge was confident.

Planet Dawn was located in the Garton Star System, Godora’s territory. This planet was very far from the Fixed Star, so it was at dawn even in the day, hence its name. There was no moon at night too, only darkness. There was no difference in seasons; every day was cold. Theoretically, this should have been a frozen planet that was unable to birth lifeforms. Its vitality came from the river running through the surface and underground. The natural water on Planet Dawn contained magic energy. It had warmth in it that diminished the coldness of the entire planet and gave birth to plants and lives. It was called ‘Origin Water’ by the inhabitants of Planet Dawn. The Origin Water was the most important resource on the entire planet.

Civilizations on Planet Dawn was built on Origin Water. The changes and wars between nations throughout history were mostly because of Origin Water. The long-term consumption of Origin Water gave people strong physiques. The light blue-skinned Vainerians were the main race. The ancient Vain Kingdom was the strongest kingdom on this planet. The existence of Origin Water determined Planet Dawn to be a magic civilization—its technological development was slow, and it focused on individual capabilities. Its social construct had very obvious characteristics of magic civilizations, such as the ones who could control magic all had higher positions in society.

Although this was a surface civilization, as it was focused on magic just like Godora, it had a connection with the galaxy. Once someone reached a certain level of strength, they could request Godora’s help and enter the ‘higher world’, which was the galaxy. These people were called the ascenders. There had been hundreds of ascenders throughout history. Some completely disappeared, but some returned from time to time and left communicators. This was also the Kingdom Tribune Mages’ Holy Relic, used to contact the ascenders.

Not long ago, the Vain Kingdom had discovered the conspiracy of the notorious ‘Pollution Mage’ Rezar. He wanted to use some kind of large magic ceremony to divert the Origin Water from more than half of the Southland territory, giving himself an incomparable amount of magic power. Originally, the magic in the Origin Water would perish. Even if they were used, it would also be recovered through natural cycles.

But this ceremony would strip all the magic from the Origin Water in a certain area, and that Origin Water would need hundreds of years to recover. The density of the entire planet’s Origin Water magic would decrease because of this, which would lead to the planet’s temperature decreasing.

Even if Origin Water would still cycle, it required time to do so. That area would lose its protection and be covered in ice within a month, turning into a place of death, causing hundreds of thousands of people to lose their homes or even die.

In the ‘Ancient Age’ one thousand years earlier, someone had carried out the same ceremony, and that was the cause of the North Wasteland in Planet Dawn, which had yet to recover. Back then, all the tribes had formed an alliance and killed the culprit after a tragic war. The knowledge of this ceremony had been destroyed at that time, yet one thousand years later, this ceremony appeared again.

Hence, the Vain Kingdom emergency gathered troops, contacted other nations, and formed an alliance, heading directly to the place where Rezar was hosting the ceremony, preventing Planet Dawn from repeating the past. Furthermore, the southern soil was very fertile. If this place was frozen, the production of food would largely decrease. Thousands of people would starve to death afterward.

Lin Ge’s Red Horn Mercenary Group had accepted the mission from the ascenders of Planet Dawn and arrived here a few days ago to solve the problem. However, the number of Mojo Puppets exceeded their expectations, so they had no choice but to request external reinforcement. To their surprise, an unexpectedly strong mercenary group was willing to help.

This mercenary group was very well known in the industry and had a very strong background. People like the Red Horn Mercenary Group would not even have the opportunity to form any connections to them under normal circumstances. Lin Ge was very relieved—this mission was not a problem with them coming to help.

Time was scarce. Rex could not wait any more and issued the order—the alliance started to march.

Boom!

Footsteps and beast hooves formed a tsunami of sound. The army charged forward and quickly approached the Ancient City Ruins. Even from afar, they could see the dark green magic colossuses inside the ruins. They had four arms, held a huge axe, and were flickering in magic light. Their texture was like stone but also like metal. The army could see that they were hard with just one look.

“Blue Shield Knights, charge!”

Rex pulled down his visor and clipped his legs. The mounts of the knights were called Ravening Beasts; they had a snake head and a horse body. With a growl, the Ravening Beast charged forward. Three thousand Blue Shield Knights followed right behind. Facing the magic colossuses, which were more than three times their height, every single one of the knights had absolutely no fear in their eyes.

The Magic Colossuses were controlled by someone. They formed a formation quickly and collided with the charging knights!

Bang bang bang!

People fell down, and beasts flipped over. The scene turned very chaotic very quickly. The other tribes joined the battle as well. Blades and claws slashed against the Magic Colossuses and clanked, their growling louder than the explosions!

The Berserkers and the knights were at the front, but regardless, the Magic Colossuses smashed the bones of the warriors with their huge strength one after another. The place was filled with screams of agony. The enemy [Polluters] hid behind the colossuses and cast corrosive spells at the warriors.

The spell array could only be opened when all the Magic Colossuses were destroyed. Often, they had to pay the price of thirteen to eighteen elite warriors just to destroy one Magic Colossus. Even though the Red Horn Mercenary Group helped with their firearms and abilities, they were not killing the Magic Colossuses fast enough.

There were more Magic Colossuses than the estimated eight hundred. It was like a wall of desperation.

Blood slowly spread out on the green field, and the dawn in the sky witnessed this bloodbath.

“Continue charging forward, don’t stop!”

The Knights led by Rex had already lost a quarter of their members. At the same time, they had killed the most Magic Colossuses too. His face will resolute, and he went out of the battlefield and charged back in again.

His spear stabbed into a Magic Colossus’s leg. An explosion occurred on the spear tip enchanted with an explosive spell, shattering a small part of the Magic Colossus’s body. One Magic Colossus could wipe out hundreds of normal troops. The Blue Shield Knights were the elite troops of the Vain Kingdom, so every one of them was a warrior who had magic powers. They were far stronger than ordinary people. Such heavy battle damage was already very tragic.

At the same time, at a strangely shaped huge altar inside a man-made space under the Ancient City Ruins, countless believers in black were praying softly, sending magic into the magic array on the altar.

In the heart of the altar was an old Vainerian in a gorgeous bright red robe—Rezar. A golden framed mirror was floating beside him. It possessed the [Clairvoyance] spell, and the image in the mirror was a reflection of the war above him from an aerial view.

“These fools, they fell for your scheme as expected. These Magic Colossuses are used to fight with them specifically. Our magic array is hidden under the field. Blood from above is directed into this place. The ceremony can only be activated with enough blood as its fuel. Hehehe, your idea of tying the magic array with the Magic Colossuses is really brilliant, leaving them with no choice but to fight head-on with the Magic Colossuses,” a superior believer under the altar said in a flattering tone.

Rezar nodded and asked coldly, “How much more blood is needed.”

“The fuel to activate the altar will be enough in one hour if they continue fighting. You will become the lord of magic, the strongest Mage in history!” the superior believer said with a fanatical face.

“Strongest…” Rezar looked at him pitifully. He shook his head and mumbled, “Twenty years of preparation, I’m finally close to success. I’ve been stuck at this stage for so many years, and this is the limit of my talent. As long as I cross this step, I will be able to go to the higher world…”

…

The battle on the surface lasted almost an hour. In order to save time, the army almost completely gave up its defenses and attacked crazily. Half of the Magic Colossuses were destroyed, and all the Polluters were dead. However, the warriors had suffered heavy losses as well. Blood turned into a river. The rest of the people were exhausted. The casualties were increasing at a very high speed.

“Hold on. According to this speed, we can stop the ceremony in time!” Rex yelled loudly to boost morale.

At this time, he felt a chill above his head. A Magic Colossus was near him and slashed down its huge axe.

Boom!

Rex pounced forward hurriedly. The Ravening Beast was split in half, and the axe slashed right into the ground. The blood and intestines of the Ravening Beast spilled all over the floor. If he did not dodge it, this would have been him.

He did not even have the time to be glad. This colossus was already walking toward him with the axe in its hands. A shadow loomed over Rex’s head as the axe was raised up high in the air.

Rex’s felt a sudden pain in his legs, having been hit just now. He was covered in sweat and wanted to stand up with all his might.

In the blink of an eye, he suddenly realized that the shadow under his feet seemed to have expanded, followed by the sonic boom that became louder and louder.

Bang!

An alloy airdrop cabin fell down to the ground right beside this Magic Colossus, and the impact blew both the Magic Colossus and Rex away.

Dong! Dong!

Then there were more sounds of these cabins falling onto the ground. Many airdrop cabins fell onto the ground nearby.

Whoosh!

The hatch opened, and a group of warriors in heavy metal armor gushed out. The leader was a human man in a black windbreaker wearing many spherical jewelries. He was looking left and right with curiosity.

“Are they the new reinforcements from the higher world?” Despite having a very rational personality, Rex could not help but be surprised.

At this time, that Magic Colossus charged toward this human man, and its axe slashed down. Rex subconsciously wanted to yell and remind him, but what happened next made him swallow his words.

This man raised his hand and easily grabbed the axe that was more than enough to slash a Ravening Beast open. The impact from the axe only made his wrist sink a negligible amount of distance. He raised his eyebrows and said, “Tsk, the way this planet welcomes its guest is really passionate… We came right on time. Stop standing there, time to do the job.”

Lin Ge, who was in the middle of a fight, looked over and heaved a sigh of relief.

“They’re finally here, the Black Star Mercenary Group.”

Chapter 418: The Unobtainable Is Always Tempting (1)

Tu tu tu tu!

The pro players who landed with the airdrop cabins raised their high caliber armor-piercing cannons and fired at the dark green Magic Colossuses around them. Fire sparkles exploded on the Magic Colossuses’ body, and thick clouds expanded from the explosions. Under this nonstop storm of iron, these Magic Colossuses that could face the charge of the knights head-on were now shivering and backing up continuously, unable to move forward a single step, as fractured shards fell from their bodies.

In nine months, they had experienced dozens of battle missions. They had very rich experiences in facing such magic combat puppets. Although their numbers were much fewer than the army, they took control of the battlefield very quickly.

Herlous drew his Battleship Slicing Blade, smashing a Magic Colossus with every slice very efficiently. Aroshia and the Volga brothers stood beside Han Xiao and did not move.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and observed the battlefield while standing still. He was not preparing to attack; Herlous and these players were more than enough to deal with the enemies. The capabilities of these people under him were up to standard, so he was having a good time doing nothing as much as he could.

To put it simply, this incident was about a villain who wanted trouble appearing on this planet, so they had invited him to deal with it. There were hundreds of similar incidents happening every day in the Shattered Star Ring. The motive of the villains was also very varied. They experienced it many times, so they were used to it and were familiar with the process—land in airdrop cabins then clear the scene. Han Xiao did not even need to command anymore.

He was proud of his team’s progress!

Nine months had passed, and he had deliberately controlled the size of Black Star, keeping it the same size as before. But as their resume grew, they had built a good name for themselves. When he carried out cooperative missions with Sky Ring, Blades, Purple Gold, and other large mercenary groups, not only were they able to force their way through most easy missions, they also always had a very dependable performance when facing difficult problems. They built the image of a dependable partner in no time at all. Originally, most large mercenary groups wanted to build a relationship with him because of his Floating Dragon background. But they slowly acknowledged and respected Black Star’s abilities. When they needed external reinforcements in the Colton Star Cluster, Han Xiao was almost always among their first choice.

When a Mercenary Group’s Credibility Rating reach a certain level, they would receive additional benefits. They would be listed among groups that had good Credibility Ratings in the area and automatically send some emergency hires in the area exclusively to Black Star. That was how they had become the reinforcements for Planet Dawn.

Actually, he had just completed a guarding request two days ago. As per their habit, they were supposed to rest for some time in Juberly Hub. However, he saw it was an emergency event from Planet Dawn, so he decided to cancel the holiday and come to their aid. This planet was one of the infection targets in the [Mutation Disaster] mission that was yet to be activated. Hence, he came to take a look.

Planet Dawn’s development level is low magic level, yet to achieve the stage of magic being industrialized. They focus on individual powers. Although they sent some supposedly grade B ‘ascenders’ to Godora, their society’s knowledge of the galaxy is very limited, not even as good as Planet Aquamarine…

Every civilization had their own name for the universe. Planet Dawn called it the ‘higher world’ and ‘ascending’, showing that their civilization was more focused on individuals. Furthermore, most of the people did not know of the situation in the galaxy. They only knew that it was a higher level world. The king not spreading the knowledge was also part of the reason.

DarkStar deployed the mutation source here as well. Now that nine months had passed and the Version 1.0 update was near, it was time to visit the other planets where the Mutation Disaster would occur in Version 2.0 so that he would be mentally prepared.

“Black Star, I’ve heard so much about you.”

Lin Ge walked over and greeted Han Xiao with a pleasing and respectful tone. With the people of Black Star taking part in the battle, he was not worried about the situation at all. Hence, he took the opportunity to create a connection with Han Xiao.

“Hello.” Han Xiao extended his hand out and gave him a handshake.

Lin Ge was a little flattered. He thought the top-level people of the industry would be very arrogant and did not expect Han Xiao to be so friendly.

The two of them were chatting over there as Rex crawled up from the ground on another front. He picked up his shield and spear, caught his breath, and joined the battle again. He did not even have time to communicate with the reinforcements. His army had a chance to catch their breath, so they gathered again and cooperated with the players.

Magic Colossuses broke apart one after another. With the strong help from the players, the battle ended very quickly. The rest of the soldiers hurriedly bandaged their wounds and recovered their physical strength as fast as they could.

Rex came before Han Xiao and Lin Ge. His face was solemn, and he did not say any useless words. “The door to the altar will open now that these Magic Colossus have been destroyed. Rezar’s sect is gathered there; there are more enemies waiting for us. We have no time to waste, please follow us and move forward immediately.”

Rex saw Lin Ge’s respectful expression toward Han Xiao between the breaks of his battles, and from that, he knew that this new reinforcement was someone important. Therefore, his tone had respect and alarm in it. The guests from the higher world were always mysterious in his eyes.

He could not help but look at the airdrop cabins, guessing how the people from the higher world landed in these things. He wondered what the principle behind these things was.

“Ok, let’s end the chitchat here and start moving forward.” Han Xiao nodded and agreed since it was a request from the employer.

After the alliance army had a brief moment to rest and regroup, they hastily looked for the entrance in the ruins. They were able to find the entrance to the underground altar very quickly.

This was an abandoned underground city, built into a secret stronghold by Rezar and used for many years. They surged in and followed the corridor down. The underground city was not large, so the tunnel was narrow. Rex’s troops had a high number, so they had no choice but to leave some of their people on the surface.

Han Xiao and the others followed behind and moved outside the army. This was a very serious situation in Rex’s eyes, but to him, it was very simple. Find the target BOSS, kill it, the end.

…

At the underground altar in the deepest area of the underground city, the scene of the army entering appeared on the magical mirror. The hundreds of believers’ face changed instantly.

“Sh*t, why is another group of warriors from the higher world here? Our plan is ruined. The Magic Colossuses did not kill enough people; the blood is not enough to activate the altar! We’re done for!” The superior believer was panicking.

Rezar was not calm anymore. His face became very grave. He stared at Han Xiao and the others in the mirror, and a sense of envy, yearn, and jealousy appeared in his eyes.

These people all came from the higher world…

Soon, very soon.

I will become someone of the higher world, too.

Rezar had always felt that the people who were trapped on planets were pitiful. The believers thought that Rezar carried out this plan to become the strongest Mage. He ridiculed this idea. These foolish believers did not know the vastness of the universe, and their sights were so narrow.

Pitiful!

Maybe in the eyes of galaxy residents, the universe was nothing much, but for people who could only look up at the sky and draw out the universe with their imagination, being able to enter the galaxy was exceptionally attractive. Furthermore, he knew that there were other civilizations and races in the universe. His curiosity and desire for knowledge was like a flame in his heart that could not suppress.

This was the exploration instinct of intelligent species, wanting to advance, wanting to step onto the peak of mountains and take in the beautiful view. When something was yet to be obtained, it would always be very tempting.

Rezar’s target was only going to the higher world. He could sacrifice everything and not care about the consequences at all for it. However, the higher world mercenaries that suddenly arrived had changed the plan that he had spent so much effort to prepare.

If not for those people, his plan definitely would have succeeded.

A heavy shade of mania appeared in his eyes.

“Mentor, what do we do‽” the superior believer asked anxiously.

Rezar looked down at the panicking believers. This was a sect that he had spent dozens of years building. A hint of cruelty appeared on his face. “Lend your flesh to me…”

A bright red light suddenly burst out from his magic staff. The pillars on the altar were glowing in blood red. A complex glowing magic array appeared on the floor. This time, all noise disappeared. The believers’ eyes suddenly swelled, and their faces turned blue-black as if they were suffocating. They scratched their throats, but their bodies were out of their control. They fell to the ground one after another, struggling frantically as their body twisted into countless strange positions.

That superior believer’s face was filled with agony; his eyes were filled with disbelief. He crawled up the altar while struggling. His shivering hand wanted to grab Rezar’s robe, but before he could do so, his eyes burst. Blood gushed out onto the floor, turning into a long, thin line of blood like a red earthworm, ‘crawling’ down to the bottom of the altar.

Hundreds of believers died together. The blood in their bodies was sucked dry by the magic array. They turned into dry corpses with opened mouths and sunken faces. The altar that absorbed the blood, on the other hand, became smooth like gray jade.

Although rowdy moments earlier, the scene was now dead silent.

There was finally enough blood.

Boom!

The ceremony activated.

The enormous amount of magic power constructed a special magic array smelled like blood.

Behind the altar was an Origin Water vein. The underground Origin Water that was slowly flowing suddenly started to boil, and tiny spots of light appeared on the water surface like fireflies. It was all visible magic power. The light spots suddenly combined into a few light dragons, absorbed by Rezar frantically through his face organs.

Rex finally arrived with the troops five minutes later. They saw the altar and the dried corpses on the floor from far away. When they clearly saw Rezar absorbing the magic from the Origin Water, Rex’s face turned grave.

“No, the ceremony has started! We have to stop him immediately!”

Just as Rex was about to order his troops to charge forward, the sound of magic buzzed from around the altar. Defensive arrays appeared on the walls one after another. Colorful lights covered the altar. There were almost a thousand layers of defense spells, and they were all extremely tough. The floor trembled, and twenty new Magic Colossus climbed out of the ground and stood beside the altar.

Rex’s expression changed immediately.

They would not be able to break through so many defensive spells and Magic Colossuses. He had thought that he could stop the ceremony once he found Rezar, but they were now blocked outside.

Rezar had planned too far ahead; he could not allow accidents to happen, so he naturally had a large number of defensive measures. As long as he could stop the enemy for just a short time, he would be able to complete the magic absorption ceremony.

The magic that a thousand miles of Origin Water contained was enormous. This ceremony had been passed down from the Ancient Age, and it constructed a magic fountain inside the body. Only then was it able to contain so much magic, so he could break through his strength limit.

“It’s the end of the Southland territory if he completes the ceremony. We have to destroy these defensive spells as quickly as possible. Follow me and charge…”

He had yet to finish when someone suddenly pressed on his shoulder and stopped his sentence.

Rex turned back and saw that Han Xiao walked past him and stood before the troops.

“You’re too slow, let me.”

Han Xiao’s tone was unwavering and had the confidence of a professional. Different from the Planet Dawn troops, his face was always calm and relaxed, not bothered by these defensive measures at all.

Clank!

Next moment, compressed orbs shot out one after another and expanded quickly. About a hundred different models of artilleries surrounded Han Xiao. The cannon tore the layers of spells apart instantly. To him, these defensive spells were as weak as paper!

In nine months’ time, although Han Xiao did not change his combat style, he did make enhancements. He had increased his machinery and enhanced their power. In less than ten seconds, the twenty Magic Colossuses were torn into pieces.

The firelight lit up the underground city like it was in daylight. The explosive power that he showcased made these soldiers dumbfounded. Rex was shocked, and he mumbled, “Such strong power, even stronger than the ascenders in the legends. Even the Kingdom Tribune Mages are not this strong. Is this the power of the higher world warriors?”

He heard the secrets from the Kingdom Tribune Mages before that the warriors from the higher world were completely different from them, who only used magic. They had all kinds of strange abilities. Now, he had finally witnessed it.

The cannon shattered the defensive spells and the altar easily, and the ceremony was instantly stopped.

Rezar fell to the ground, shocked and furious, overwhelmed with disbelief. He had never thought that the defensive measures that he had spent so many years on would be completely obliterated in a matter of seconds. The strength of this higher world mercenary was far beyond his expectations.

However, Rezar’s face changed the next moment. He felt a strong magic power inside his body, crushing that limit in his body. A new power was born.

His eyes widened, and tears rolled down his face.

“Success… I succeeded…”

Although the ceremony had stopped not long after it stopped, the magic that he had absorbed had already helped him break through that limit. He had finally reached the standard that Godora had set; he could head toward the higher world as he had been yearning for.

The increase in power made Rezar have a false sense of confidence like he could defeat everyone with just a wave of his hands, but he did not want to stay and fight. He was about to turn around and activate the explosion runes. While the underground city collapsed, he would then leave through the hidden tunnel. His heart was filled with excitement; his lifelong wish was going to come true.

However, plans very rarely worked out.

Noticing the rapidly increasing energy reaction, Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

“Yo, broke through to grade B, but…”

The next second, the Void Dragon mechanical suit covered his body. Han Xiao moved beside Rezar as if teleporting. He gripped his head and smashed it heavily into the ground.

Bang!

Before Rezar could react, his head had already struck the ground. His staff slipped out of his hand and rolled far away. The power that he had just gained did not have any effect at all. The feeling of being strong only lasted a few seconds before it was shattered instantly!

“Does it make a difference?”

Chapter 419: The Unobtainable Is Always Tempting (2)

His aged face was pressed tightly against the ground, his gorgeous rope was dirtied with dust, and Rezar was completely unable to move as if he was being held down by a mountain. He was furious and shocked; he had finally seen hope for the lifelong dream, and he could not let it disappear no matter what.

Even if the opponent was someone strong from the higher world, he could still fight!

Rex activated his magic power. A blood-red and blue magic current gushed out from his body, stirring up a strong wind. The faces of Rex and the soldiers who were more than a hundred meters away changed.

[Nitrom Repulsion Ring] pushed away enemies within ten meters radius and was used to deal with enemies who were at a melee range; it was a must-learn spell for Planet Dawn Mages. Its power depended on the Mage’s strength. The ring cast by Rezar was the strongest that Rex had ever seen. It was said that only ascenders could have such strong magic power, which meant that Rezar had reached that level.

Rex’s face tightened.

The situation had suddenly become much more difficult.

“Get ready to throw spears as backup!” Rex ordered loudly. All the Blue Shield Knights beside him raised their cone-shaped spears and prepared to throw them.

From what he saw, Rezar now had the strength of an ascender and should be on par with the higher world warrior. Hence, he decided to interfere and help just in case. However, when he turned around, he noticed that the other higher world mercenaries had their arms crossed with a calm expression and seemingly no intention to interfere at all.

Lin Ge smiled and said, “You don’t have to worry. Black Star’s Captain’s strength is well known among the mercenary industry in the Garton Star System.”

Rex was stunned for a second. He then took a closer look past the gushing spell and realized, no matter how enormous Rezar’s magic power was, Han Xiao continued standing still like a reef. His hand was still pressing Rezar firmly on the ground, not budging in the slightest.

At this time, Rezar suddenly noticed that a horrifying power was brewing in the mechanical suit hand pressed on his head, like some kind of strong attack was about to be released on his head. His weak body would definitely not be able to withstand it. In a panic, he could not be concerned with pushing Han Xiao away and was hastily casting all kinds of defense enhancement spells on himself.

The next moment, a gray energy fog appeared around the Void Dragon mechanical suit, flowed down the arm, and shot out from the palm. Rezar’s head was being grabbed by Han Xiao’s palm, and he faced this energy directly.

Boom!

With a violent explosion, the gray fog surged out!

Like thousands of sharp blades, the gray shockwave spread out. The floor was filled with cracks in an instant like it had been plowed. At the middle of the explosion, a pit with a diameter of almost two meters appeared.

Before the explosion aftershock had yet to disappear, gray light glowed from Han Xiao’s body once again. The second energy exploded immediately after.

Void Jet Spray!

Even though the enemy was rather weak, Han Xiao was not taking any chances and gave all he had. Although Rezar was grade B, the same grade as him, Rezar had only just passed through its door and had yet to familiarize himself with his powers.

It was a piece of cake for the Great Mechanic Han to fight this kind of novice grade B.

He used three full capacity Void Jet Sprays continuously without stopping, using 1,170 points of the mechanical suit’s energy. Three high damage numbers appeared above Rezar’s head, adding up to a total of 4,700 health points. It only took a few seconds. This ability’s damage efficiency was extremely high. This was the strongest explosive ability without using [Flaming Will]. [Flaming Will] had a five-minute cooldown, and [Void Jet Spray] had no cooldown. It had become Han Xiao’s go-to ace.

The smoke and fog dispersed. Rezar was lying down in the pit, his body covered in wounds from the energy shocks. Void Jet Spray was a pure energy attack, and it contained the Space attribute. Just as the ice attribute could slow and the fire attribute could burn, the direct effect of the space attribute was ignoring a part of the target’s resistance.

Having taken damage of more than half his health points in an extremely short time, Rezar was heavily injured and had fainted. A small BOSS character with grade B attributes had been demolished by Han Xiao within ten seconds.

After many combat experiences throughout the nine months, Han Xiao was already very familiar with the Void Dragon mechanical suit’s attributes and functions. This Single Unit Battle Suit was definitely one of the top on the list of the strongest mechanical suits in the current level, and Void Jet Spray was a very good ability against Supers of the same level.

“How’s the strength difference so big‽” Rex’s lips were dry. He was completely astonished. Rezar was already the strongest on Planet Dawn after he gained these powers; even ten of him would not have been able to beat the Rezar. Yet, in front of this mercenary, Rezar was as powerless as an infant.

Are all the people in the higher world this strong‽

The soldiers of Planet Dawn were dazed. Something that was so difficult and important in their eyes had been solved so easily—everyone felt it was almost unreal, like they were in a dream.

Han Xiao pulled Rezar by his collar and threw him before Rex. His mechanical suit folded itself, and he was back in his clothes.

The hundred or so artilleries around them turned back to compressed orbs, rolled on the floor following the attraction of magnetic force, then rolled up to Han Xiao’s belt and clothes in a neat queue.

“Done, pack up.”

Han Xiao clapped his hands. With his strength now, even crushing the whole of Planet Dawn was a piece of cake.

As if he had just awakened from a dream, Rex ordered his subordinates to tie Rezar up with multiple chains. He explained, “The king wanted me to capture Rezar alive and bring him back for interrogation. We need to know where he learned the ancient ceremony to prevent the possibility of someone else knowing the spell to absorb the Origin Water magic powers…”

“Do whatever you want. My job here is done.” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

At this time, Rezar woke up slowly, still dizzy. He realized that he was tied up by magic suppressing chains, and the magic in his body was forcibly restrained and could not be used. Subconsciously, he wanted to struggle and resist, then he saw Han Xiao, who stood at the side, and he immediately stopped his actions. As long as Han Xiao was there, resisting would just give him more shame and torture.

However, he could not hold back his rage. He stared at Han Xiao and clenched his teeth tightly.

If not for this external help from the higher world, he would have already succeeded. Before this, he never would have expected the Vain Kingdom’s king to be able to call such a strong reinforcement. These people were the culprits that had ruined his plan, Rezar hated their guts.

“Why did you stop me? This obviously has nothing to do with you…”

Han Xiao shrugged and said, “There’s no why; it’s all a job. I have dealt with dozens of outlaws like you. Thieves have no rights to complain about the police. If you want to blame something, blame it on your luck being bad and meeting us in your act. What’s your motive?”

“I just don’t want to be trapped in a behind planet forever. Can you understand the feeling of surprise and my dreams shattering when I knew that we were just one of the countless races in the universe?

“We’re not special, but that means that we have many friends too. I don’t want to be ignorant forever, and I don’t want to stay in this planet and wait for my death like the rest of the people here. I want to see the real world!”

Rezar pulled the chains, making clanking sounds.

“Since my ceremony has failed, you have no need to deal with me anymore. Aren’t you mercenaries? They can hire you against me, so I can hire you too. Please take me away from Planet Dawn. I can offer all of my wealth as the reward. If you don’t need that, I can work for you too…”

Rezar was still making his last struggle. The soldiers at the side heard this and could not help but get nervous. They were afraid that the higher world mercenaries would change sides.

Han Xiao, however, did not hesitate at all to reject the new mission that popped up on his interface, [Rezar’s Request]. He said coldly, “Sorry, but Black Star Mercenary Group keeps its words. Furthermore, even if you have quite a good reason, it cannot be an excuse for you to harm the planet.”

Rezar was furious and frustrated. He kept silent and let the soldiers pull him by his chains.

After returning to the surface, the army gathered and rested, getting ready to make their return. Rex found Han Xiao and said solemnly, “Captain Black Star, Captain Lin Ge, on behalf of the Vain Kingdom, I invite you heroes to be guests at the palace. The king wants to thank you personally. Do you have the time…”

“Sure, we will go with you then. I can take a look at Planet Dawn on the way.” Han Xiao nodded. Of course, this was an excuse; his main goal was to get the intel regarding signs of the Mutation Disaster, and getting intel from the higher-ups of the kingdom was the most convenient way. Since the king had given him such a good opportunity, he was definitely not going to miss it.

“I will stay too, let’s go together then.” Lin Ge did not want to stay initially, but he saw that Han Xiao accepted the offer, so he changed his mind. He wanted to stay with the Black Star Mercenary Group longer and leave an impression.

The alliance cleared the battlefield quickly. The tribes left in various directions. The Blue Shield Knights escorted Rezar and started heading toward the Vain Kingdom City.

…

Late at night, the Blue Shield Knights stationed themselves on a plain. The night on Planet Dawn was very dark, almost pitch black. The wildlife consisted mostly nocturnal creatures; light could be used to repel them. Illumination spells were deployed around the temporary station as the light source, but it was barely visible.

Rezar was locked in the prison car in the middle of the camp, surrounded by guards in continuous shifts.

In the dark, silent night, inside a single-person tent, Han Xiao opened the galactic communicator and looked at the mercenary hiring panel.

Chapter 420: Surprise Deal

_____________________

Black Star Mercenary Group

Credibility Rating: 875 (High)

Scale: 173 members

Grade D: 39

Grade C: 132

Grade B: 2

Requests Completed: 76

Main Activity Area: Colton Star Cluster

Resume:

[Sunil Defense Battle]

[Silver Rescue Operation]

[Rosai – Planet 9512 Exploration]

[Juberly Hub ‘Letton’ Large Stargate Maintenance Guards (Remarks: Eradicating Space Parasites)]

[Capture of Purple Germ Civilization’s Head of Rebels ‘Pilipelapa Wasasa’]

[71 more missions… (Expand/Collapse)]

Creator: Black Star – Han Xiao

Creation date: Galaxy Calendar Year 688, 02 October

Summary: Small to medium sized mercenary group with a very good name, very high credibility, and strong ability. Completed hiring missions with high ratings multiple times, and most mercenaries under their command are undead. Partner with many large armies. Stationed in the Juberly Hub, often responsible for matters happening around them. Operates under the Dragon Emperor Ames. They are a dependable mercenary group that is active in the Colton Star Cluster. Mainly accepts combat and guarding missions, very trustworthy.

_____________________

In nine months, Black Star Mercenary Group’s resume had become a lot richer.

With players as the combat power, not only did they not suffer any manpower reduction, but their income was increased too; it was very convenient. In the nine months, he had only taken on hiring missions from partners. They had grown while keeping a low profile and made quite a fortune.

His savings were now 784,000 Enas. Other than buying some materials, metals, and parts to build new machinery, he had saved the rest and planned to use it to complete the class advancement mission. With so much money, buying one high-end knowledge would not be a problem, but it would be difficult to buy two.

According to the standard of galactical mercenaries, Planet Dawn’s mission was very easy; therefore, the reward was not high. However, he had not accepted the mission for the reward alone.

Han Xiao planned to gain some information about the Mutation Disaster on Planet Dawn, so he told the spaceships waiting outside Planet Dawn to leave first. He had hitched a ride with the spaceship to this place. It was really great to have so many partners; he did not have to spend money on traveling at all. It was even better than Uber.

The dim light from the communicator’s screen reflected on his face.

The International League is in a few days. After the things here are done, I shall bring the team back to Juberly Hub. Three months ago… which is two weeks ago for the players, the Competition Alliance announced the system for the first international finals. The online store will be selling Gathering Crystals to the qualified players, which has a similar effect to Dungeon Crystals and will gather them from all planets to a simulated stadium. The entire competition will be recorded and broadcast live in all channels.

The system of the first season was the same as the previous life. The international competition would only be held in real environments after the players were able to carry out interstellar travel. By then, the stage would be planets and star systems.

The players from the Chinese clubs had been following him for a year; they had earned a lot, and their equipment was very strong. Thus, their performance in the international competition would definitely be better than in his previous life.

In his previous life, the performance of the Chinese clubs in the first season had been quite enraging. To avoid spoiling their reputation or taking the blame, their battle style had been very cowardly and time-consuming or way too steady. Sometimes, they were able to outlast the enemy, but sometimes, after stalling and wasting a lot of time, they still lost. It was difficult and upsetting to watch.

Hence, it had led to very few people watching the competition every time the Chinese teams were competing. The players preferred to watch other countries’ contestants passionately fight each other and would all directly skip the fights with Chinese teams. Although China’s result in the first season was acceptable, they did not make any impression or notable performance at all. Their first impression on players around the world was that they were very good at dealing with pressure.

If they don’t fight tougher this time, they will’ve followed me for nothing.

When the International League ends, the version update should come soon too. The players will disappear temporarily, and by then, the rewards from accepting requests will not be as high anymore. When the time comes, I shall not do mercenary work for some time. Since moving in a team is more mobile and swifter, it’s more suitable to do some preparation for Version 2.0 Mutation Disaster. It’s going to require some planning. While doing that, I can also recruit some main character type people and increase the number of officers…

As he was thinking, Han Xiao’s senses felt a tiny abnormality. Han Xiao’s eyes swayed, and he stood up and walked out of the tent. It was silent. He looked around and was stunned for a second.

The prison car in the middle of the camp was gone. Rezar was nowhere to be found, and the guards were missing too.

“Escaped?”

He did not want any accidents to happen on the mission, so he equipped his mechanical suit and scanned with its radar. Then he discovered that Rezar’s signal was in a small forest just outside the camp. Beside him were signals from about a dozen soldiers, and there was another individual signal hidden not far away from them. That signal’s strength was much higher than the soldiers’. Han Xiao checked through the database and realized that it was unexpectedly from the commander of the Knights, Rex.

The other soldiers are all asleep. What are they taking Rezar to the bush at night for? Holy, can it be…

Han Xiao took a deep breath in.

That is an old man!

They have a really unique taste!

Han Xiao walked into the forest on tiptoes, terrified, ready to turn away and run anytime he saw something dirty. He activated his night vision and looked inside the forest extremely carefully.

Rezar was tied tightly by the magic suppressing chains, and a few knights surrounded him with steel swords in their hands.

Their lips moved, and they seemed to be saying something. Han Xiao increased the output of the sound collection function in the battle suit and heard their conversation.

“I will ask you one last time, where did you get the ceremony from?”

“I found a stone tablet under the Ancient Ruins, on it was the incomplete method of carrying out the ceremony. I changed the spell into using blood as the energy source. How many more times do you want me to say it?”

“Who else knows about this spell?”

“No one. After I memorized the spell, I destroyed the tablet. Do you think I would tell others such a dangerous spell? It’s only safe in my hands.”

Rezar’s face was full of impatience as he replied to the knight.

This knight rubbed his hands, and he said with a tone of suppressed excitement, “How about this, let’s make a deal. You tell us the method to carrying out the ceremony, and I will let you live. Frankly, I am… quite interested in the higher world as well.”

Rezar’s eyes brightened like he had caught the last straw to save his life.

Hahaha, there is always a way out!

Rezar pondered, and a sense of derision appeared on his face. He felt that after he told them of the method, these people would definitely kill him. He secretly raised his alert and asked, “How do I know you don’t just want to trick me out of my spell?”

“We are the guards on duty during this time,” the knight before him said. “If you die, it will easily be traced back to us.”

“Are you not afraid of me killing you after I escape?” Rezar said with narrowed eyes.

“Humph, do you dare? As soon as there is magic movement, these higher world mercenaries will come to deal with you.”

“If I run, won’t you people be traced as well?”

“Hehe, this is not a question that you need to worry about.”

“What if, after you let me go, you immediately alert the rest?”

“Then you can go ahead and sell us out.”

With the conversation, Rezar gradually started to believe that these knights really did want to make a deal with him. His tightened nerves became more relaxed. His attention was completely on talking with the knight in front of him, and he did not notice that a few knights behind him secretly raised their steel swords and aimed at his vital parts.

Even if Rezar was at grade B, if he was penetrated by steel swords when his powers were suppressed, his life would still be in danger.

Han Xiao secretly observed the situation, his eyes swayed as he saw this. He had thought that these knights wanted Rezar’s spell. The deal was almost coming to an end, yet they suddenly wanted to kill him?

Seeing that these knights were about to attack, Han Xiao thought about it and walked out.

Hearing the footsteps, the people immediately turned around. When they saw who it was, they were all shocked.

Rezar’s face changed immediately. You again!

If their conversation had been overheard, his tinder of hope would be extinguished once again.

Han Xiao looked around and noticed that although these knights were surprised, they did not panic like their private deal had been found out.

“What’s going on?” Han Xiao decided to speak first.

“Yo—you heard?” a knight asked carefully.

“Guess.” Han Xiao’s eyes landed on his steel sword.

“Kill him!” that knight yelled as he turned around and stabbed his sword at Rezar’s chest, blood splashing all over.

Han Xiao’s expression was strange. He had thought that these knights were going to fight him, but what was happening now?

Rezar’s eyes widened. Before he could react, the other knights lunged at him with their swords. Han Xiao’s outline swayed, and these knights could only see a flash before their bodies fell back in the air. They were all sent flying by Han Xiao’s kicks in an instant.

“Although I don’t know what’s going on, I shall stop you first.”

Han Xiao looked at Rezar. This guy was kneeling on the ground. His face was pale, and he was gasping for air. Although he was a Mage, he had at least more than one hundred Endurance, so he would not die. The steel sword did not cut too deep, but it probably penetrated his lungs, so he was having a hard time breathing.

“Can anyone explain this?” Han Xiao glanced at the knights. They closed their mouths and did not say anything.

Han Xiao turned to look at the deeper side of the forest and said to the darkness, “The one hiding, they’re not speaking, so you will explain it to me.”

The sound of footsteps approaching appeared in the forest. Having hidden for a long time at the side, Rex walked out with a serious face. He knew that he could not hide anymore as soon as Han Xiao appeared.

Rex took a deep breath and said slowly, “These knights are my supporters. I arranged for them to be on duty at the same time. Bringing Rezar here was to kill him.”

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and said, “Isn’t he already captured? Why bother killing him secretly? Just kill him in broad daylight.”

Rex shook his head and said, “The king wanted me to capture him alive, interrogate him openly, and lock him in a cell. Captain Black Star, you’re not someone from our kingdom, so I shall tell you bluntly. For criminals at the level of ascenders like Rezar, the higher-ups of the kingdom will very likely give them to the Godoran emissary in exchange for something. This way, Rezar will still be alive, and his dream of going to the higher world will become true as well. When it comes to this kind of person that almost killed a million of others for his own sake, I don’t even want to give him the slightest chance of staying alive!

“Also, Rezar knows the ceremony to absorb the Origin Water. Maybe someone in the kingdom is interested and might force him to share the ceremony spell in exchange for not killing him. Then this horrifying spell might be leaked out. If that happens, something like this will happen again. Therefore, even if this means disobeying orders from the king, I can’t let him reach the Kingdom City alive!

“As long as we kill him this way, we can use the excuse of Rezar trying to escape to cover up his death. Captain Black Star, I appreciate your timely assistance very much, but this is our kingdom’s matter. Please do not interfere.”

Rex spoke in a very justified tone. Although he clearly knew that he was no match for Han Xiao, he did not intend to back off.

Han Xiao now understood.

So, that’s what happened. As it turns out, the deal was a trick to divert Rezar’s attention. Quite a smart plan.

He sized Rex up. Being so full of justice, could he be another main character type of person?

Or… did you make up an excuse long ago and are lying?

Han Xiao pointed at Rezar and said, “Since you don’t want him to go back alive, how about giving him to me? It’s easier for you this way.”

“What do you want him for?” Rex frowned.

“That’s not for you to know. Anyway, I will take him into the galaxy… er, the higher world, far away from you, and never let him come back here.”

Rezar heard this and was immediately surprised; going to the higher world was something that he had dreamed every day. He was already in a hopeless situation, but now he felt like he had found hope again!

However, when he looked up, he saw Han Xiao smiling at him with unknown meanings in his eyes. That look was almost wicked and giving out a cold aura.

Rezar felt a chill, and the excitement immediately dissipated.

His intuition suddenly told him that this was probably not good news…

Chapter 421: Super-Gene Extractor and Temporary Character Summon Card

Boom!

The explosion awakened the night.

The Blue Shield Knights in the camp walked out of their tents and looked at the forest not far away with suspicion. Thick smoke was rising inside the forest. They turned around and were shocked to realize that Rezar was missing.

“The prisoner has escaped!” someone shouted.

The knights hastily picked up their shields and steel swords and hurried to the scene of the explosion.

As they entered the forest, they saw Han Xiao standing before a huge pit. Inside was a corpse that was as burnt as charcoal, unidentifiable.

Rex ‘hastily’ arrived at the scene and demanded with a serious face, “What happened here?”

“Your prisoner almost escaped, and I caught him.” Han Xiao shrugged and said, “As you can see, I accidentally played too much.”

“Rezar is dead‽” The knights were shocked.

Rex’s expression changed. He shook his head and said, “The king wants him alive. He should not have died, but sadly, he decided to die…”

As the commander, he concluded this matter with just a few words. He strictly punished a few guards on duty then ordered the knights under his command to go back to sleep. The people saw this and did not bother too much about it. Since Rezar had died, there was no need to escort him anymore, and they would not have to be nervous on their way back anymore.

Many people heaved a sigh of relief and felt content. Most people had the same thought as Rex and wanted Rezar dead. The hometown of some knights was the Southland territory, and Rezar had almost killed their family. If not for the higher world warriors, the outcome would have been unimaginable. Despite Rezar’s failure, they could not take it as if nothing had happened.

A few old soldiers who had followed Rex a long time realized something and gave Rex a meaningful look. They knew their commander well; this ‘escape’ was most likely planned and acted out for the sake of the king and those royalties who wanted to capture Rezar alive. Killing Rezar was to prevent others with vicious intentions from benefitting from him and causing more harm. Rex had a very good reputation among the army and was loved. Furthermore, the soldiers did not have very good impressions of the royals. Without any discussion, they all took it as they knew nothing.

After everyone dispersed, Rex nodded at Han Xiao and left.

Han Xiao did not return to the camp but walked further away instead. In the dark night, he came to the back of a small hill. Rezar had been thrown there, and Herlous was guarding him with his arms crossed.

In the end, Rex had given Rezar up. Although he really wanted to kill Rezar, he did not have much of a choice with Han Xiao, so he could only believe Han Xiao’s words.

“How is he?” Han Xiao asked.

“The wound on his chest is bandaged, so he won’t die,” Herlous replied.

“Good. I’m going to King City with the knights. You’ll need to stay in the wild with Rezar. When I’m done, we will call a spaceship and leave together.”

Herlous nodded. He sized up Rezar and questioned, “Black Star, are you actually recruiting this Mage? He’s not the good kind at all.”

“Do I look like I’m that short of people?” Han Xiao padded his back and said, “Don’t forget, I promised to bring hundreds of thousands of Supers to solve Sunil’s problems. I’m not interested in him.”

“Alright then, I will listen to you and stay to guard him. If he wants to run, I’ll slash him.”

Herlous trusted Han Xiao a lot. He knew that his fate was bonded with Han Xiao. In the beginning, he had joined Black Star full of doubt, but after going through so much together, he strongly believed that Han Xiao had the ability to live up to his promises when he recruited him. Han Xiao had the ability to change the future of his race.

“Since you’re not recruiting him, what do you want him for?” Herlous asked.

Rezar looked up at Han Xiao. His aged face was filled with horror, no idea what awaited him next.

“You’ll see.”

Han Xiao took out a small suction cup-shaped device, in the middle of which were many tiny needles. He pressed it on Rezar’s arm where his veins were closer to the surface. The needles penetrate into his veins, slowly sucked his blood, and gradually released a dim magic light.

Rezar suddenly felt he was losing the magic power in his body. Terrified, he looked at the device on his arm.

This thing was sucking his magic!

“No! No!” He struggled with all his might, but his strength was disappearing very quickly.

Magic was disappearing continuously. Very soon, more wrinkles appeared on Rezar’s face like he had become ten years older. A sense of weakness filled his body, and he felt like he was back in his childhood when he was just an ordinary person.

“Where’s my power‽ Give me back my power!”

He had gained the power of an ascender for less than half a day, and before he could feel that power fully, he had already lost it. Rezar almost fainted.

Even when the twenty-year plan failed, he had not been this desperate. Power was the foundation of his confidence, and Han Xiao took that away from him.

With his power lost, Rezar’s mind seemed to have become an ordinary person too… no, not even as strong as an ordinary person. He was crying and begging.

Han Xiao shook his head. Some people used their power to do whatever they wanted and be evil, and when they lost it, they became cowards.

The device in his hand was indeed the [Super-Gene Extractor—Test Version] that he had gotten from DarkStar. Herlous saw this, and a chill ran down his spine. “Quickly, put it away. I’m afraid.”

A few months ago, Han Xiao had tested the effect of the extractor. The first test subject was Frenzied Sword. The effect of it on players was absorbing twenty to fifty points of a random attribute and a certain amount of energy from them, which could be given to another person. The duration of it was ten minutes to two hours. In his previous life, the Super-Gene Extractor was controlled by DarkStar. The players could only get [Broken Super-Gene Extractor] after completing highly difficult related missions. Its effect was similar to the one that he had but weaker. The practicality of the extractor was very low in combat, as it had to be in direct contact with the body of the target to take effect. Most people had physical or magical armor, so it was very hard for it to work. Furthermore, the target had to be under control and not fidget around. The prerequisite to use it was very tough.

The hidden function of the extractor would only take effect when the target was completely unguarded, such as sleeping, enslaved, paralyzed, or willing, which meant that the target had to be under complete control. If the players were affected by it unluckily, they would enter a twelve-hour weakness period where their attributes would decrease by thirty to ninety percent, depending on the extractor output. If it was used on an NPC, not only would that NPC also become weak, it would also generate an ability potion. Drinking that potion would grant a certain ability from the target, which would be shown as a Temporary Character Summon Card on the players’ interface.

The second test subject that contributed to this result to Han Xiao was indeed Herlous. Herlous vividly remembered the sense of terror and weakness when his power was taken away, and he was horrified of it. When Han Xiao used it on him, he had only used a low small output, but even so, Herlous had needed many days to recover from it. Things like this that could take away Super-Genes were the natural enemy of Supers!

How many Supers did the organization that invented this device destroy in the process?

Han Xiao took out three empty tubes and poured the blood extracted by the device inside.

_____________________

You have received [Ability Potion] x 3.

_____________________

He drank one tube straight away. The sweet and metallic taste filled his mouth. The warm blood flowed down his throat, and it was very spicy on the nose. Then, a warmth that belonged to magic power rippled in his body.

_____________________

You have received [Character Summon Card—Rezar (Temporary)]!

Character Summon Card—Rezar (Temporary): [Origin Water Magic Power]

Temporarily grants power beyond one’s self. +20% All Attributes.

Duration: 5 – 15 mins

Usage: 0/1 (This Character Summon Card will exist for: 15 days)

_____________________

A buff, not a bad ability at all. Han Xiao was quite satisfied.

Rezar had only lost his magic power temporarily, but this crying old guy did not know that. This meant that Han Xiao could keep shearing him and make many Ability Potions. Although the temporary Character Summon Card’s ability would be different, he believed that the players would be willing to pay for this new product.

In his previous life, DarkStar had used the Super-Gene Extractor to carry out this plan. The difference was, Han Xiao would not capture people as batteries out of nowhere. The temporary Character Summon Card was just an add-on for him—he had no need for it. Only when he met someone that he could use it on without conflicting with his morals would he do it.

“I recall that you begged me to bring you to the higher world. Hehe, now, I promise you I will.”

Han Xiao’s smile was like a demon’s in Rezar’s eyes. This old guy shivered in terror.

Going to the higher world like this was the exact opposite of how he had thought it would be. A strong sense of regret filled his heart and climbed into his eyes.

“Yo—you’re a demon…” Rezar wanted to roar but could only speak these words softly.

Han Xiao was amused. You’re calling me a demon?

…

Two days later, the Blue Shield Knights returned to King City. This city was sitting on a plain, and the Origin Water river split the city in half from the middle, separating it into the East and West Shore, at the same time dividing the classes. The East Shore had royal mansions and palaces, beautiful and luxurious. The West Shore was the crowded civilian area, filled with buildings and all kinds of pollution pipes, forming the complex streets. Only the people who had lived there for more than ten years could remember the roads. The usual people would lose their way after a few turns.

It was now noon, and a bean-sized sun hung high in the sky. The lights were dim and gave the city a dark yellow shade. The buildings and streets shrouded each other. It was like dusk under the sunset, but this was the brightest time of the day in Planet Dawn.

Rex brought everyone to the East Shore and settled near the palace. The steward came to welcome them, and his attitude was more polite and respectful than when he faced the king. He bowed so low that it was as if he wanted to plant his head in the ground.

“On behalf of the Vain Kingdom, I welcome you to Planet Dawn. His highness has invited the higher world warriors to join the palace for dinner. We hope that you can give us the pleasure. By then, our ascenders will communicate with you through the Kingdom Tribune Mages and make payment for the reward of this hire.”

The people had no objection.

Han Xiao’s main goal of this trip was to ask around about the signs of the Mutation Disaster, and it was the perfect opportunity to ask the king. If the palace dinner was the type of party that allowed him to move around freely, he would then ask the King for intel.

Chapter 422: Sign of Mutation and Beginning of the Finals

When night came, it was bright in the palace. Han Xiao and the others accepted the invitation, changed into formal clothes given by the steward, and attended the dinner banquet. The waiter of the palace led them to the garden courtyard that was already set up as an outdoor banquet area. The warm, bright light expelled the darkness of the night. On the long tables were exquisite dishes; green, yellow, and purple fruits and vegetables; the fragrant roasted meat from unknown beats, the sweet pies with overflowing cream, and the light blue liquors made from Origin Water. Waiters roamed the place with a plate on their hand, and a musician sat in the middle and played a joyful rhythm with a strange-looking instrument. Meanwhile, the light blue-skinned Vainerian royalties chitchatted in the courtyard. The banquet had just started. At a corner of the courtyard was a pavilion, inside which were the Vain King and the supreme royalties. They looked at the courtyard entrance. Seeing that the higher world warriors had arrived, the King cleared his throat and led the others to stand up.

“Everyone, welcome to the palace dinner banquet. I’m Galo Mio, thank you for your kind assistance,” the King said. ‘Mio’ in the Vainerian language meant king or leader, and it was how the king addressed himself.

King Galo was a rather built middle-aged man. As he was saying his appreciation speech, he walked down from the pavilion and welcomed Han Xiao and the rest personally. The other royals stopped their conversations and greeted them together. In front of the guests from the higher worlds, they knew that their royal status meant nothing. This was a level difference, similar to a native tribe chief facing guests from a developed civilization, but the difference was larger. The higher world warriors were dragons that were strong enough to ignore the local overlords.

Lin Ge clearly expressed that Han Xiao was the leader, so Han Xiao had no choice but to take on the conversation. They exchanged pleasantries, playing down their roles. Then King Galo told a joke that was not funny at all, yet the royalties laughed out loud like it was some kind of extremely funny tease.

A group of Kingdom Tribune Mages walked out while holding up the Galactic Communicator. They handled it so carefully like it was some kind of holy relic. After some clicks and pressed, the hologram of an ‘ascender’ appeared in the middle of the courtyard, sparking shocked awe among the Vainerians. Han Xiao heard an old royalty beside him saying to his offspring, “Treasure this moment. We can only see an act of God like this when there are important guests.”

The oldest Volga curled his lips and said, “These people are so ignorant.”

The second brother glanced at him and said, “Weren’t we like this when we were young, too?”

The oldest brother had nothing to say. He turned around and saw that their youngest brother was already ramming down a beast drumstick with oil around his mouth.

King Galo spoke a few words with this ascender. The ascender thanked them for their help and sent the money to their accounts, then ended the communication. King Galo smiled and said, “Please enjoy the food and drinks. This is a joyous occasion.”

The people fitted into the atmosphere of the banquet. Royals came to talk with them from time to time with a stiff and curious attitude. There were also shows at the banquet. Not long after, a group of female dancers appeared. They jumped and turned in the crowds with seduction in their eyes.

Han Xiao had no feeling toward these blue-skinned Vainerians at all. He drank some Origin Water liquor, turned around, and saw Aroshia staring at the dining table, seemingly hesitant as to whether she should eat any food or not.

Han Xiao walked over, placed a hand around her shoulder out of habit, and said, “There won’t be any combat for the foreseeable future. You don’t have to use your powers. Eat something.”

Aroshia did not seem to care much about Han Xiao’s actions. She picked up a purple food and bit her lip. She did not need food to live as she automatically absorbed stray energy from the environment around her to sustain her energy use, which was supposedly a characteristic of energy lives. However, back then, Han Xiao was curious about what would happen if she ate something and convinced her to consume some food. Although Aroshia had no sense of hunger, she felt that consuming food was interesting after tasting how delicious food was. Eating then became an entertainment activity for her. Compared to her blur and extremely calm personality nine months ago, Aroshia was now more human-like.

Aroshia’s digestive system was very strong, and all her food would be decomposed into energy without any waste, so she did not need to excrete. However, a very weird accident happened. Her Energize Esper power could only be used on herself and not on anything external. Before her food was completely digested and turned into energy, the leftovers in her stomach that had yet to be digested would drop out in a splashing way. At that time, they were just about to start a battle with some enemies, and this scene shocked both sides. The food pulp had splashed out below the ball of energy that Aroshia turned into, and the areas had fallen into a deep, awkward silence.

Ever since then, Aroshia would always count the dates before consuming any food, calculating whether she would need to use her powers before her food was digested. Her Esper power strength was rocketing, and it was not much slower than the players. She was already at grade C+, only half a grade away from grade B in the mission requirements.

After lifting and putting the fruit down multiple times, Aroshia took a bite in the end. Joy appeared on her face, and she passed the fruit that she had taken a bite from to Han Xiao and said, “It’s delicious, try it.”

Han Xiao bit on the fruit. His face was then immediately covered in wrinkles. He pushed Aroshia’s hand away and said, “It’s so sour! Your taste is too different from mine, keep it for yourself.”

Han Xiao guided her to train her energy. After spending more time with each other, Aroshia was closer to Han Xiao. Their interactions were very intimate, but there were no inappropriate thoughts. Han Xiao did not look at Aroshia as a normal female being at all. In his eyes, she was a sexless and pure energy form. Aroshia did not see herself as a female either, so these intimate actions were very natural to her.

After walking to the side, Han Xiao thought that it was time to have a talk with King Galo. King Galo invited Han Xiao into the pavilion and asked with a smile, “Captain Black Star, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Han Xiao lowered his voice and said, “I have a special kind of intuition ability. When I arrived on this planet, I felt that there was some kind of virus from space that’s here on Planet Dawn.”

King Galo was shocked. He sat up straight and said, “Are you saying that our planet is infected by some kind of illness‽”

“No no, this is just a feeling. The details still require some research on if there were any similar symptoms appearing on a large scale, only then can the virus be confirmed to exist.”

King Galo took it very seriously and ordered the steward to arrange the intel of all the territories. The Vain Kingdom had existed for many years and had a very large intel network. The lords of the territories would submit reports of their territories once every certain period, so it was very easy to collect.”

Not long after, the steward returned to the courtyard and sorted out a few pages of a report. King Galo took a look, shook his head, and said, “It’s all usual infectious diseases; there don’t seem to be any new symptoms in a large scale…”

Han Xiao raised his eyebrow and said, “It might not be falling sick. It can also be some kind of unusual behavior, such as… sleeping more than usual?”

King Galo froze for a moment. Who would check on the sleeping quality of others out of nowhere? Everyone slept with their doors closed, and no one would talk about how their sleep was the previous night with every person that they met. There was no record of the sleeping quality of the people.

“Hmm?” King Galo suddenly thought of something. “This year’s mineral production from the territories is sixteen percent less than last year, but the mines did not dry out, and the number of miners is more than last year. The factor that could have affected the production rate… can only be the duration of work. Maybe it has something to do with this?”

“Maybe.” Han Xiao gave King Galo another look. This king seemed quite capable as he was able to notice a hidden connection between matters that did not seem to have any relation.

The incubation period of the mutation virus was very long, and the means of its spreading were many. The early-stage symptoms of the infected were sleeping more than usual and drowsiness. The symptoms would gradually become worse, and the infected could sleep for even two to three days. That would be when the mutation virus was close to erupting. When the virus became more mature, the incubation period would become shorter, and the symptoms would become worse. The drowsiness period might even be entirely skipped, and the symptoms would enter the next stage. According to the version time, the mutation virus at this moment was still in its infancy, so it was very hidden.

I wonder how Planet Aquamarine is now.

King Galo was rather worried. He asked if there were any solutions for it. Han Xiao shook his head and told him that he did not know what virus it was either, but they had better be cautious about it, then he left. Han Xiao had already gotten the information that he wanted and reminded King Galo, so Planet Dawn would at least not be totally unprepared. After all, this planet was one of the mission targets as well.

During the incubation period of the mutation virus, Han Xiao had no solution for it. Unless he was willing to give up on the yet to start [Mutation Disaster] mission and face a huge risk by giving the seventh generation Mutation Source to Godora before the disaster began so that they could make a cure for it, which would also lead to him being questioned and suspected as well. This was not worth it at all. He could only maximize the value of the things he had when the disaster struck and caused Godora and DarkStar to fight directly.

The only preparation I can make for the Mutation Disaster is become stronger—everything else has to wait for the right time.

…

The next day, Han Xiao kindly rejected King Galo’s invitation and left King City. He called the spaceship of a nearby partner out in the wild, picked up Herlous and Rezar, and headed back to Juberly Hub.

Lin Ge got Han Xiao’s communication number and left joyfully with his people as well.

Black Star Mercenary Group was now considered quite well known in Juberly Hub, and they could finally enjoy the same privileges that they had seen given to the Sky Ring allies when they first arrived at Juberly Hub. They did not have to queue and had priority in many services. When they walked on the street, many mercenaries and passersby greeted them with respect and kindness.

After going back to the stronghold, Han Xiao knocked Rezar unconscious, placed him in an empty room as a cell, and left him there for the time being. There was something more important that needed attention at the time.

The International League would begin in three days!

The International Leagues were divided into two stages. The first stage was the point-based regular competition, where the top eight teams and top sixteen Singles contestants would enter the international finals.

The second stage was the finals where two teams battled each other through best of fives until the final champion was decided.

In China, the qualified teams were King Admiral’s Dynasty, Hao Tian’s Long Sky, and Li Ge’s Temple of God. The Singles contestants were King Admiral, SnowFlower, and Frenzied Sword.

The other unqualified pro players helped them to train and lent equipment to them generously. In important times like this, everyone had put down their past grudges and become united. The clubs in all the countries did the same, giving the best equipment and abilities to the contestants.

This was the first international competition, so other than King Admiral, who was the calmest, all the other contestants were somewhat nervous. Not only them, but all the pro players in the various countries had the same feeling, nervous and anticipation.

A festival was around the corner, and the passion of the players had been ignited once again. The forums were filled with information on clubs from all the countries, and all kinds of analysis and prediction posts appeared. Compared to regional competitions, international competitions were much more vigorous. Players from different countries came together to discuss. It was very boisterous on the forums.

Bun-Hit-Dog enjoyed the benefits of being in a favorable position. He temporarily stopped the Black Star Series that already had sixteen episodes and started to make a special episode featuring the pre-competition interviews of the Chinese contestants in the mercenary group.

Chapter 423: Debut

“The international competition is about to commence. We’ve invited a few captains and contestants to be with us today for a simple pre-competition interview.”

The location of the video was Han Xiao’s stronghold in Juberly Hub. Four pro players sat on the sofa and accepted the interview from Bun-Hit-Dog. The four of them were King Admiral, Hao Tian, Li Ge, and Frenzied Sword, all either captains of the qualified teams or contestants in the Singles. SnowFlower, who had gotten second place in the Singles, did not enter Han Xiao’s galactic team and was still on Planet Aquamarine, so he was not included in the interview.

The four of them greeted the audience, and the regular interview started. Bun-Hit-Dog was different from his usual style like he had become the host of Galaxy Times. He sat up very straight, and his face was very serious. However, no matter how formal his actions were, it could not cover his cheeky personality.

The questions in the interview were all regular questions, asking about their confidence, preparations, and goals. They were all typical questions.

When asked if they were confident, who would dare say no in front of such a large audience? Do you want your club to close down?

How did they prepare? Who would expose such confidential information directly? If the opponents saw it, there would be no end to the scolding that they received!

Target in the competition? Which club would say they did not want to be the champion? Even if their target was just top four or even top eight, how could they say it openly? Pro players all wanted to be champions!

The four pro players answered these questions with ease, giving typical responses. After these questions were finished, Bun-Hit-Dog started to chitchat with the four of them. In an informal interview like this, the topic could be more casual. Bun-Hit-Dog stated some good foreign players for them to comment on, and the atmosphere was rather peaceful.

“Who do you think are the strong opponents that you need to pay attention to in this competition?” Bun-Hit-Dog asked.

Li Ge pondered and said, “Tulips Club from France; Team Devil, Team Thunder Snake, and Team Key from America; Rose Knight from the United Kingdom, Team Hydra from Japan, Kimchi Club from Korea, and so on. I’m looking forward to battling with these teams and players. Although the opponents are very strong, I am confident.”

The teams were all top teams in their respective countries. Their positions in their country were the same as the positions of the four biggest clubs in China.

Bun-Hit-Dog nodded, looked at the other three, and said, “What about you guys? Which are the opponents that you need to take more seriously?”

“None,” King Admiral said.

“My opponent is only myself,” Hao Tian said.

Frenzied Sword looked left and right at the confident and proud godly players beside him, swallowed his saliva, and said cautiously, “I—I think Li Ge put it well…”

Hao Tian and King Admiral glanced at him with ‘too young, too naïve’ and ‘we expected you to be better than this’ in their eyes. Frenzied Sword shrunk his neck from the stare.

Li Ge gave a very stiff smile. He was so tempted to take his shoes off and slam them on these two captains. Do you think I don’t know what you’re saying between the lines‽

The interview was going on joyfully, and the comment section was very active.

Key of Solomon quickly watched the Chinese interview and switched to the interviews of the other countries.

In France, Tulips’ captain [Lost Angel] accepted the interview.

“Which opponents are the ones I pay more attention to? Hmm… the three teams from China, I guess. They’re very strong opponents, and I think most teams agree on that too, haha. Plus, King Admiral and I are old rivals.”

Lost Angel was a senior player, so he replied to the questions with a smile on his face, and his voice was soft and warm.

Key of Solomon then watched the interviews from other countries as well. Whenever the host asked about which opponents were threatening, China’s name was definitely in the list. Every team was taking the Chinese teams very seriously.

The Esports standard of China was not too bad and could be considered as tier one, but this was the first time that they had received so much attention from all the teams. This came from the opportunities that they had. China was the only country where the contesting players had been given the opportunity to enter the interstellar stage in advance. These foreign clubs had always been paying attention to the China players’ experience in the Black Star Mercenary Group. They were deemed as very strong opponents.

After exiting the forums, Key of Solomon looked at his teammates in the room and said calmly, “Apparently, the other teams have the same thoughts as us. The Chinese teams are a problem.”

Outside the house, the ground was covered in snow that extended beyond the horizon. Demon nest military camps scattered across the land, and demon army roamed around from time to time. This house was an army camp as well. The players there, including Key of Solomon, all had the looks of the Demon Race—the race shown on their interfaces was Young Demon. They were more than two meters tall, and they had short sheep’s horns extending from their forehead, a tail behind their back, thick and strong legs, and black Demon scales on their body. They were equipped with armor and weapons. Although their faces were ferocious, they still had some sort of human features, differentiating them from each other.

This was the base camp that America had chosen, one of the planets of the Extinguish Army—Planet Winterfrost. These were all renowned pro players of the Club Key.

Electrolux, who was far away on Planet Aquamarine, was a retired player of Club Key. Key was very passionate in planting scouts and spies. In fact, they had a mature team for it, providing all sorts of intel and help to their team.

The captain, Key of Solomon was an official account registered by the club, and every captain used the same name. The previous captain retired, and this generation’s ‘Key of Solomon’ had been given the position last year. He defeated all the players in the team through the selection process. Club Key saw extraordinary potential in him, so they had made an exception and made him the captain, deciding to focus on training him for a long time. They had very high hopes for him. Key’s higher-ups planned to use one to two seasons to build an ace team surrounding him and a few old members, gambling on their future, hoping to achieve three consecutive championships. This was also the dream of every team out there.

This generation’s Key of Solomon was not as steady as the old players. He was known for being quick and fierce in both his combat style and commanding style. The higher-ups had very high hopes of him, but he felt it was what he deserved because of how capable he was. He was arrogant, but he had the right to be. His teammates, fans, and the superiors all admired his sharpness.

Humility is a virtue in China but not in America. Being direct and proud were the characteristics of American players.

In the first league season, most of the clubs only planned to observe the situation, train their team, and familiarize themselves with the competition, and they did not have too much desire for the results. However, Key of Solomon was not like others; he had only one goal—the championship!

“There are many opponents, but there are only a few strong ones that can obstruct us. China’s Dynasty is one of them. Other than these obstructions, the other teams are no threat; they’re all just prey for us to gain more points…”

Key of Solomon placed his legs on the table and glanced over his teammates. He had a confident and contemptuous smile on his face.

“Guys, let me lead you to become the champion!”

…

Three days quickly passed.

Han Xiao settled the matters of the mercenary group. He temporarily did not accept any requests and announced that they wanted to rest for a period of time. The international competition would last three to four months, and Han Xiao planned to give the players some holiday at the start for about a month. He was going to rest for some time as well, getting his hands on his class advancement requirements and subclasses.

Today was the day of the International League commencement. Han Xiao stayed in his room and opened the forums. At the top of it was a live-stream of the International League, which had yet to begin.

In the stronghold hall, all the Black Star players had gathered. The contesting players were surrounded in the middle, waiting for the store to start selling Gathering Crystals.

Frenzied Sword rubbed his hands together. The thought of battling with pro players from various countries made him nervous. He had never been to such a big stage before.

“I’ve made a name for myself in the area competition, but if I don’t perform well in the international competition, more than half of the hard work before this would go to waste. Only if I perform well in the international competition can I maintain my fame or even increase it!” Frenzied Sword was spirited in his heart. He prayed for himself to not underperform.

On the other side, Hao Tian, King Admiral, and Li Ge were talking to each other.

“If one of us is unfortunately in the same group as the other, it’s best for us to cooperate. If one team ends up having absolutely no chance of qualifying, that team can help the other team in the same group. If we meet each other, let’s not go all out,” Li Ge said.

Hao Tian intercepted him and said calmly, “I will go all out no matter who the opponent is. My professionalism doesn’t allow me to hold back.”

King Admiral yawned and said lazily, “You can’t beat me even if I hold back.”

Li Ge was furious. Why can’t the two of them see the big picture!

We are now representing China, if we don’t get good places, we’re wrong no matter what. It will cause a huge negative impact on the name of the teams. The result is the only thing that’s important in competitions. For the sake of getting better results, what’s wrong with some suitable adjustments?

We have to be flexible!

At this time, a notification popped up on the interface of the contestants. They hurriedly opened the store; the Gathering Crystal was already available for purchase.

They crushed it as soon as they bought it. Fog popped out from the crystal and wrapped around them. When the fog was gone, the contestants disappeared. Just like the effects of Dungeon Crystals, they entered a duplicated scene.

With a flash in Frenzied Sword’s eyes, the surrounding environment changed completely. He was in a huge arena, and beside him were the other China contestants. Looking away, players of different races appeared out of nowhere one after another.

The players from the various countries appeared. They stood in groups and sized each other up. The account names above their heads were all famous.

“French Tulips, UK Rose Knights, American Devils, Thunder Snakes, Swedish Tomahawks…” Frenzied Sword scanned across one by one. They were all world-renowned teams. At this moment, he finally felt how real this international festival was. He could not help but tremble slightly from the excitement and anticipation.

Beside him, King Admiral was looking casual and lazy as usual, waving at foreign players from far away. Many of them knew each other.

This scene appeared on the live video in the forums. The boisterous atmosphere was like a festival of millions of people.

The host appeared in the middle of the arena, attracting the eyes of the contestants. He first congratulated the contestants for qualifying for the International League, then started the official opening speech regarding who sponsored the competition and similar formalities. After five minutes, he finally finished the opening speech and started to talk about the competition system.

“There’s a total of thirteen divisions. A total of thirty-nine teams and Singles players from all around the world are qualified for the International League. The competition mode is a continuation of the area competition. The team competition includes team battle and Challenge, the Singles include Duel…”

Han Xiao nodded while he listened to the host. The first league season had very few varieties. In his previous life, the later seasons had more types of competitions, such as Dungeon, Survival, Hunt, Race, and all sorts of strange ways to compete. In order to be more entertaining, the competitions became more and more diverse.

The host continued and said, “Thirty-nine teams and players will be divided into three groups—A, B, and C. They will compete within the groups, and the winners will be rewarded with points; the number of points awarded depends on the damage the winning team received in the competition. The top eight teams and sixteen Singles players will enter the finals…”

He looked around. The pro players had various expressions. Some were excited, some were serious, and some were confident.

“Let’s begin drawing lots!”

Chapter 424: First Showcase, Overwhelming Opening

While drawing lots, every team sized each other up. The Chinese teams were looked at most frequently.

Most of the people did not want to be in the same group as the Chinese teams—they were the tough bones.

The grouping was completely random, and the results came out very quickly. Dynasty was in group A, Temple of God and Long Sky were in group C, and all the other teams were randomized as well.

Group A was the most normal group—the mix of strong and teams was very balanced. Dynasty and Devil were the two strongest teams and had a good chance of going into the finals. Group B had mostly smaller and weaker teams; it was the safest, but there might be a dark horse in that group as well. Group C, however, was the worst. It was full of strong teams such as Kimchi, Tulips, Rose Knight, Thunder Snakes—often abbreviated to TS—Tomahawk, and so on. Almost seventy percent of all the strong teams were in group C.

Other than the host, there were also commentators who were all professional streamers or retired players. They discussed and analyzed for the audience.

“The eligibility of qualifying depends on the total score. The grouping has a very large impact on the results. If a group is filled with strong teams, it will be very hard to gain points, and even teams who are capable of qualifying might fail to do so. On the other hand, if the group has many weak teams, even if the teams are not as strong, they might be able to qualify! In a situation like this, as teams want to qualify, the battle will be very heated. No one will dare to hold back. Even when facing a battle that they are unable to win, they will try to damage the opponent as much as possible so that they don’t score so many points. Hence, the battles in group C will definitely be very exciting!”

“Group C is the group of death! There’re so many strong teams that would definitely qualify if placed in the other two groups, but now no one can guess the result. Any team could be eliminated… Competitions like this are very interesting, and I look forward to their exciting performances.”

The result was determined. Teams in group C were all very serious and passionate. Li Ge and Hao Tian looked at each other with a hidden meaning in their eyes.

“Looks like you guessed right—we are in the same group,” Hao Tian said with a poker face.

Li Ge frowned and did not reply. The grouping was very disadvantageous to him, but it was a reality that could not be changed. With so many strong teams, qualifying would be very difficult.

Today was the opening ceremony. After the draw finished, all the participating teams immediately started to dig into the information of the opponent teams in their group.

Four hours later, the schedule was officially announced on the forums. International competitions had a slower pace; in one in-game day, every group would have two team battles and two Singles battles. This meant that the international group stages would last around thirty-nine days. Every team would battle once with the twelve other teams in their group.

The competition officially started the next day, and it was played live on all channels. Countless people saw the capability of the qualified teams.

Every team had their own special tactics and style, and it was eye-opening. A rough outlook had formed in all the groups. Devil was defeating other teams in a demolishing fashion; their performances were impeccable in all the competitions, but they had yet to face Dynasty, who were in the same group. Although group B only had weak teams that were not as well known, they were still teams that went through the merciless elimination process and had qualified for the International League. The difference in strength between them was comparatively small, so their battles were mostly on par. Kangaroo Boxing team from Australia had the best performance. Group C was the most popular; it was filled with heated battles between strong teams and was the most exciting.

China’s first match was on the third day; China’s Dynasty VS Poland’s Wings. China’s players looked forward to their country’s first appearance on the international stage.

The other teams watched, too; this was a very good opportunity to observe the strength of the Chinese teams. Although they were in different groups, most of the teams felt like they had a very high chance of meeting the Chinese teams in the finals, so they could not possibly take it lightly.

The third day arrived under the anticipation of countless people. The match between Dynasty and Wings started.

…

The night was dark, and there was no moon in the sky.

This was a desolate ancient ruin. The collapsed houses and shattered pillars were signs of how boisterous the city that had once existed here had been. Cold, blue spheres of light roamed the place without a destination, bringing light and dispelling the darkness.

This was an actual scene of one of the novice planets, duplicated to become the match map. Team matches were all carried out in duplicated scenes; the terrain was the duplicate of a random area in the various novice planets.

The spectators could see every action of both teams.

Dynasty landed in a corner of the ruins. Everyone was wearing Sunil NCO Class armor, carrying different mechanical weapons, and clad in technologically advanced equipment. They looked around and observed their surroundings.

“Ruin terrain, many obstructions, so ranged attacks are limited. Plus, it’s night, so melee and assassination are very suitable. The class combination of team Wings is defensive Esper, range Mage, and combat Mage. Their damage output is plenty, but their backlines are comparatively weak. If we get into combat, we have to quickly deal with the backlines. The opponents should have… no, definitely have mobility abilities. Hence, our dexterous player shall not follow the rest of us and act alone, staying stealthy near the battlefield and striking when there is an opportunity. There are two methods that they might use to do damage—one is to surround the player with damage output in the middle of layers of protection, and the other is to act alone and look for opportunities to deal damage. As they have many damage dealing players, they might use both methods.

“The only source of light here are those light spheres running around. Entering the ring of light would mean exposing ourselves, so the areas with light are dangerous; it’s only safe to hide in the dark. Therefore, the battle will only happen in the dark, and it will depend on which of us discover the other first. They have Mages, so they can be enchanted with [Cat Eyes] and [Life Senses]. Our advantage is the night vision, heat vision, and radar function from the mechanical suit. In terms of detection, we are slightly better…”

King Admiral explained the situation calmly. He was very experienced, quickly analyzing the situation and what they should do. Team matches were not just fighting each other head-on—there was also the battle of cooperation, detection, tactics, and so on.

The information of the opponent came from the area competition. Now that a long time had passed, although their class would not change, they definitely made changes to their tactics. The reason that China was feared was that they had left the planet and received too many opportunities in space. There was no way to interpret their tactics and equipment. The unknown was the biggest enemy!

Dynasty’s class combination only had Pugilists and Espers, but they were all wearing high-quality mechanical equipment. This meant that their every member had part of the ability of a Mechanic, and it was quite powerful even without the boost from Machinery Affinity. Their strength was absolutely superior. Hence, Dynasty actively searched for the enemies.

In the live feed, team Wings cast all sorts of stealth spells instead, clearly showing that they did not want to fight Dynasty head-on.

In his previous life, the side avoiding the battle had always been the Chinese teams who were steady and cowardly. Now that their positions had switched, the Chinese teams had become the ones to strike actively. In the audiences’ perspective, Dynasty was like a hunter that chased after the prey and had the upper hand while the opponent ran around. Such a strong stand made the Chinese viewers feel very proud; they could feel Dynasty’s strong confidence even through the feed!

Dynasty’s confidence came from Han Xiao. After following Han Xiao through the universe, their equipment and abilities were top among all the teams. Their raw strength was extremely strong, and this was the advantage given by Black Phantom.

It did not matter how much the pro players from other novice planets envied this—there was no one like the Great Mechanic Han on their planet.

Chinese teams were the ones being chased back then; now, it’s the other way around. Not bad, they’re all youngsters with a lot of potential. Han Xiao smiled, quite content.

Wings was very cautious and cast [Chameleon] and other spells to get rid of their tracks, but the map was only so big, and they would not get far away no matter how much they ran. Sooner or later, they would have to fight. King Admiral commanded his teammates to fire toward the sky to break the stalemate, letting the enemies hear where the sound of gunfire came from. This way, the uncertainties would be eliminated—the enemy would either approach, run the other way, or flank them. With greater strength, Dynasty was completely unafraid of letting the enemies know their location.

The head-on battle broke out from an accident. As King Admiral expected, a combat Mage from the opponent was acting alone near their team and was discovered by Second Prince, who was also acting alone.

Although Second Prince was very cheeky usually, he was very decisive in competitions and struck immediately.

Second Prince was a Pugilist that focused on Dexterity and assassinations. He was using the scouting style NCO Class mechanical suit, which had a streamlined body and a pair of blades extending from the wrist like fangs. He attacked like a cheetah; not only was his assassin combo completely on point, but it was also smooth and quick. There was close to no gap between his abilities and position changes. This was considered to be a great performance even on the professional level.

That combat Mage could not react in time to the attack. He was heavily wounded by Second Prince’s storming and thunderous attacks, then ended up turning into a flash of white light and dying before the reinforcement from his teammates arrived.

Solo kill!

Second Prince backed up into the darkness again and disappeared, only leaving blood all over the floor.

The Assassin’s way.

Strike once and back off miles.

“Damn, that was beautiful!”

“Although Second Prince’s brain has some problems, he is really quite strong.”

The audience was excited.

This solo kill opened up the situation suddenly. Wings lost a teammate and were more disadvantaged than they had initially been. They were eventually caught by Dynasty and completely demolished in one team fight.

Dynasty achieved an overwhelming victory with zero losses, shining brightly and making the audience thrilled!

The Challenge after this was an even more steady victory. King Admiral alone ferociously defeated two opponents and handicapped another.

The first match could be considered a perfect opening. Compared to Devil, who were in the same group, this performance was not any worse at all.

The huge victory inspired the audience and also made the other teams fear them even more.

Dynasty’s mechanical suit made its first appearance in a competition. Equipment like this gave comprehensive enhancements to the players. No team dared to claim that their chance of winning Dynasty in a head-on battle was more than fifty percent.

“Looks like more targeted methods need to be used against the Chinese teams.” The same thought appeared in many captain’s minds.

Second Prince made a huge contribution. During the post-match interview, he could not hide the excitement on his face at all, and he did not want to. As usual, he boasted about how important he was, how much of a contribution he made, how key players like him should be the captain instead, how the captain now was too noob, and so on. King Admiral was used to it and ignored it completely.

…

The competition was going on intensely. The first round ended in four days, meaning all teams had taken part in a battle and made their debut.

Hao Tian’s team, Long Sky, was the same as Dynasty. They used a completely different style as compared to Han Xiao’s previous life, changed by the man indirectly. They let themselves go and were very tough. Sadly, they met a strong team in group C, and although they won in the end, it was a difficult win and did not score them as many points as Dynasty had scored.

You’re reading onThanks!

On the contrary, Li Ge’s team Temple of God was exactly the same as the previous life. Even when their strength was completely superior, they fought steadily and only hoped to not make a mistake. Their first appearance was very dragged out, making people complain non-stop.

“You’re strong yet you are so cowardly—can’t you make things more exciting‽”

Anyway, Han Xiao did not have high hopes for Temple of God. That team had always been this way, not hoping for merits and just hoping to not make mistakes. For them to be more diligent? Not unless pigs could fly.

Luckily, there were Dynasty and Long Sky, so Temple of God did not receive too many negative comments. After all, it was very different between one team dragging the match out and all three teams doing the same.

Chapter 425: Black Star's Ability Potion

After the first round, the leaderboard was the focus of much discussion. Devil was first, followed by Dynasty, and third place to sixth place were all teams from group B, and the Group C teams were in the lower positions. The battles between strong teams in group C were very intense—most of them won by a small difference—so they did not score many points. However, there were strong ones even among the weaker teams, which was team Tulips that were placed at seventh place. Although their place seemed a little low, their opponent was Tomahawk. Sweden’s Esports had always been strong, and Tomahawk was a very strong team that had the chance to become the champion, yet Tulips could take so many points from them. It was rather terrifying.

Han Xiao recalled the first season league in his previous life, then it occurred to him. Right, the first season champion was French Tulips, these people’s strength is overwhelming. Their class combination, equipment selection, and ability collaboration are almost perfect, and their tactics are seamless. For China, only Dynasty was in top eight; the other two teams did not even qualify for the finals.

Looking down, the scores of eighth place to seventeenth place were the same.

This was just the first round so the ranking did not matter too much. Every team still had eleven more matches, so the final result was far from being decided.

The popularity of the Singles was high too, as one versus one has always been. Frenzied Sword barely won the first match, King Admiral won as well, but SnowFlower lost. SnowFlower was a feminine man, and his fans called him ‘Sister Snow’. Among all the contestants from China, he was the only one that lost, which was regretful.

After completing the matches, the Chinese players found Han Xiao to repair their mechanical suits. During the competition, these pro players did not hold back in spending all their Enas on enhancing their mechanical equipment. Han Xiao accepted the request with a smile—it was because of the player’s continuous hard work that he had accumulated close to 800,000 Enas. It was enough to even buy a spaceship.

Of course, he was definitely not going to buy a spaceship. Why would he buy one when he could take rides on others’ spaceships?

The competition carried on. The Chinese teams doing very well. Although they did meet strong teams and faced tough fights, they still won in the end. Han Xiao filtered the equipment that he sold to them. Although NCO Class armor was strong, it was not invincible. Players were all at max level 60 and had gathered the best equipment in their area, so their equipment was not bad either. They might even have something hidden up their sleeves that could turn the tables completely in important times.

Although China’s raw strength was at the top, the competitions were very unpredictable, and there were countless examples of the weaker ones winning through tactics.

Han Xiao was definitely not going to sell the core equipment ahead of schedule—he would not destroy his sales plan for the sake of helping China get better results. He had yet to even figure out what was happening to him in this world, so he did not have the time to control the players’ competition. Furthermore, the league was a business opportunity in his eyes. His main goal was to let the players showcase how good the equipment that he sold was so that he could expand his potential market. As long as the result was not too bad, it was enough for him.

After several battles, all the teams had a clearer understanding of the other teams and had designed specific tactics; China was no exception.

The strongest point of the Chinese teams came from those mechanical suits and weapons from Black Star. As long as they could deal with that, their threat would decrease tremendously!

Therefore, the next few opponents that China met with all changed their class combination, adding a Psychic.

In the earlier stages, the Psychic class was not one of but the biggest nemesis of the Mechanic class. Not only could they control objects, but their psychic attacks completely ignored physical armor. For the Mage class, their Psychological Resistance was high, so they could at least block it to a certain extent, the Pugilist class could reduce the duration of negative effects, and the Esper class was made up of extremely lucky people, so it could not be considered as an example. Hence, the Mechanic class was the only one left that was targeted by it.

Mechanics depended on machinery to battle, so they were usually weak. Psychics just happened to be able to deal direct damage to the user through physical armor. Plus, there were many methods of mind-controlling, such as illusion, confusion, fear, and many other debuffs. Furthermore, their attack range was very long, and the attacks ignored terrain. The minimal level of skills needed to play this class was just a little bit more than Pugilists.

When faced with such specific tactics, the specialness of the Chinese teams was shown. Although they were wearing armor, they were Pugilists and Espers. Despite the Psychics reducing the effects of the armor and dragging them down from the top place, the strength of the Chinese teams was still top tier. The opponent still had to face a group of top tier pro players.

Other than the Psychic class, the Mage class’ elemental, corrosive, and curse spells also reduced the effects of mechanical suits. Of course, while they could reduce the effects of mechanical suits, they were paper-like themselves.

The very existence of the armor forced these teams to spend more effort to deal with it; its strength was clearly shown. This thing could be used by all classes and provided comprehensive enhancements. It was like they wore a turtle shell with spikes that had an extra bar of health and were given the ability of ranged damage output. If the margin for error for normal teams was three, China’s was ten!

The enhancement was too tremendous!

Even with a certain level of damage adjustments and balancing, it was impossible to cancel out China’s equipment advantage.

Actually, in Version 2.0 or 3.0, basically, everyone had a mechanical suit. Since everyone had one, the difference was in the performance of the mechanical suits, and that difference would not be as huge as it was now. Sadly, characters that sold armor in the first version were extremely rare, and even if they did, they were selling rough, semi-finished ones. Han Xiao was the one and only place that provided high-quality armor and related services.

However, these specific tactics did have an effect. The Chinese teams’ damage taken increased clearly. Everyone was a strong team from their area, so they could not defeat all of them in an overwhelming fashion. The matches after were all back and forth; it was exciting and intense.

The rankings on the leaderboard fluctuated every day. Dynasty and Devil faced each other once, and Dynasty won with a slight advantage, placing them at the top of the leaderboard and attracting a lot of attention.

Such results made Chinese spectators feel very proud. Every time a Chinese team or player was having a match, they would definitely be waiting on the forums for it to start. Not only the Chinese fans, but quite a number of foreign viewers became fans of Dynasty because of their performance. The popularity of the matches involving China was at the top three.

Comparing to the tragedy in the previous life, this was a complete change.

On the other hand, Long Sky and Temple of God, who were in group C, were not doing very well. They were drifting between the eighth and twelfth place, at the edge of being unable to qualify. The competition was very intense.

…

In an unused alloy room in Black Star’s stronghold that was modified into a prison cell, Rezar was still imprisoned. His hands were fixed tightly on the metal bed, and a few needles were inserted into his body and kept that way, injecting nutrients and sedatives. His eyes were filled with emptiness, and his face was completely stiff.

He was being used as material for the extractor. He had no freedom and was tortured till he was nearly not a person anymore. His magic would be extracted as soon as he recovered any, not giving him even the slightest hope.

The door opened. Han Xiao walked in, glanced and him, and refilled the nutrients without stopping, even humming while he worked. He completely ignored Rezar’s tragic state, like a doctor that was used to life and death. He then took out the extractor and extracted Rezar’s blood as usual.

Red and slightly illuminated blood flew through the pipe and into the tube, turning into a new Ability Potion. Han Xiao had already made eight potions.

Rezar turned his head, looked at Han Xiao, and opened his mouth to speak. His voice was so hoarse that it was almost silent. “Are you planning to imprison me forever?”

“Of course, not forever.” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and said, “Do you think you can live that long?”

“Can we make a deal? You let me free, and I can give you everything that I have and work for you. I just wanted to come to the higher world and satisfy my desire for knowledge. I don’t oppose working for anyone,” Rezar said in a pleading tone.

Han Xiao picked up the new Ability Potion and shook it. He turned around to look at Rezar, smiled, and said, “I already have your everything.”

“You! Are! So! Evil!” Rezar clenched his teeth tightly, his eyes filled with bottomless hatred and despair.

“I won’t do this to the innocent. If you were a normal person, maybe I would pity you, but you’re an evil person that almost killed millions of lives. Hehe, do you think I should pity you? That would be an insult to the millions of lives you almost took.

Han Xiao’s heart was never shaken. He had been through the dark times of being imprisoned by the Germinal Organization and being a test subject, so he knew very well how it felt. He was very happy to let people like Rezar experience it too.

He knew that he was not a forgiving and kind person.

“Look forward to the day of you dying. That is your last hope of feeling relieved,” Han Xiao said coldly and closed the door, leaving Rezar screaming in agony and despair.

After returning to his room, Han Xiao sterilized the extractor and laid out all the Ability Potions. They all had tags on them. With the popularity of the league, he was planning to sell these potions to the players.

Looking at these potions, the Great Mechanic Han suddenly had an idea.

The extractor can only generate potions when used on an NPC. If I extract my own genes… will it work?

Han Xiao was interested. He washed the extractor again and pressed it down on his arm. He changed the output of it to the lowest level.

_____________________

You are using [Super-Gene Extractor – Test Version] on yourself.

_____________________

A sense of weakness appeared and penetrated his body instantly. Han Xiao raised his eyebrow and did not stop until the entire tube was filled.

_____________________

You have received [Ability Potion] x 1.

_____________________

It worked! Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He then looked at his character interface. He had received a [Weakened] debuff for twelve hours, reducing all his attributes by thirty percent. He was feeling a little bit powerless and sluggish.

He did not mind it. He was resting in Juberly Hub, so there would not be any fighting for this period. Thus, being weak for a short period was not a problem.

What effect will my Ability Potion have?

Han Xiao was extremely curious.

It’s too much of a waste if I drink it myself. I have ready-made customers.

Chapter 426: BOSS Type Player! (1)

A faint light flashed past. Frenzied Sword, who had just finished his match for the day, appeared in the stronghold hall. He was quite upset.

“Sigh, another loss. Lost Angel is too steady—I really can’t beat him. My ranking dropped by one again. The next opponent is Club Key’s Key of Solomon, a very strong guy. If I lose again, it will be completely impossible for me to qualify.”

Frenzied Sword shook his head worriedly.

More than half of the matches were finished, and the situation started to get clearer. In the team matches, Dynasty had secured one qualifying position; Long Sky and Temple of God were both still moving around the edge of eighth place. If they lost a certain match or did not score enough points, they would be left behind instantly. With the harsh environment in group C, catching up afterward was extremely difficult.

However, the team matches had nothing to do with Frenzied Sword. His performance in the Singles was not too great but not too bad. He was ranked in the middle around 17th to 18th place. His win percentage was about fifty percent, but every victory was a tough one. He started to feel what a Mechanical Pugilist lacked.

Although the Mechanical Pugilist class could both fight and take hits, was capable of both melee and ranged attacks, and was quite well rounded, it did not have a unique strength. Despite his skills being very high, there was still quite a distance between his skill level and the top tier skill level. These maniacs in the Singles all had their own special tactic or even tactics. They were good at dragging their opponents into their own tempo. Frenzied Sword realized that if a Mechanical Pugilist like him wanted to chase up, the only method was to depend on stronger or more unique mechanical weapons.

However, the flaws of the Mechanical Pugilist class were not because of personal skill level. The Mechanic class did not suit the first version very well. After all, every version had its own legends. In order to make up for the shortcomings of a Mechanical Pugilist, one had to depend on stronger machinery and higher-level enhancements in the later versions. In all versions, the Mechanical Pugilist class was considered a class that was fun, well-rounded, and not a bad class. It could be played as the main tank or the damage source, and its development curve was smooth, unlike the Mechanic class.

It was already very rare for Frenzied Sword to have achieved so much. Other than his skills, the main reason was his high-quality mechanical equipment from Han Xiao. If he had not met Black Phantom back then, he probably would have been in the area competition and never would have made it to the international stage.

Of all the players that followed Han Xiao, Frenzied Sword was the firmest supporter. Not only because he had received the most help but also because he really liked the character of Han Xiao after spending so much time together. Sometimes, he even felt as if Han Xiao was a real person.

Although all the NPCs in Galaxy felt like real people, Han Xiao gave him a unique feeling. Maybe it was because Han Xiao was the first important character that he had met.

After regaining his focus, Frenzied Sword decided to find Han Xiao to repair his equipment and add some new weapons for the next match, hoping to increase his chance of winning.

Just as he was about to head toward Han Xiao, Han Xiao came to the hall. Frenzied Sword approached immediately and expressed his wish of repairing. The store interface appeared before his eyes.

He quickly browsed through it. Suddenly, he noticed a few new items at the bottom.

“Hmm? Ability Potion? Never seen this before. Is this new?” Frenzied Sword was surprised.

Han Xiao placed the Ability Potions into the store. There was a limited quantity, so he made their price very high. The effect introduction was that they granted one ability of another character for a short period. The source of the Ability Potion was written, and the potion that Han Xiao made from his own genes was in it as well, which was discovered very quickly by Frenzied Sword.

“Only one Ability Potion from Black Star. What’s its effect?”

The potion prices were all 2,000 Enas, not cheap at all, or it was quite expensive. One would only know its effects after using it. The effect of the temporary Character Summoning Card would definitely be one ability of the person that it came from. The ability given was random.

Frenzied Sword had yet to make a purchase decision. At this time, Dynasty, Temple of God, and other contesting teams approached as well. They noticed the new product, Ability Potion, as well.

“Temporarily grants an ability of someone else. This looks like a buff potion. Why is it so expensive? Are the effects very strong?”

In order to increase their strength, these teams did not hold back on spending. Hao Tian immediately bought an Ability Potion from Rezar. After drinking it, a notification of temporary Character Summoning Card popped up. Its effect was increasing the damage of magic attacks by seventy-seven percent; he was quite shocked by it.

“Sadly, I’m not a Mage, or this enhancement would be quite strong. It can be used in key moments in the team fight or to kill the weaker opponents in a short time. It can turn the tables if used properly!”

This was not the first time that the players had come into contact with Character Summon Cards. The Character Summon Cards could enhance one’s strength and were very practical. Usually, only special missions awarded such things, so they did not appear often. They did not expect Han Xiao to sell Character Summon Cards. Despite these being temporary ones, this was the first time that they had seen them. They were shocked and joyed.

Frenzied Sword’s eyes sparkled, and he hastily bought the only Black Star Ability Potion. He was a Mechanic, and so was Black Star. Thus, the ability was definitely going to be suitable for him.

Not bothering about the other teams snatching the rest of the Ability Potions, Frenzied Sword walked to the side and drank Han Xiao’s potion carefully.

A notification appeared on the interface.

_____________________

You have received [Character Summon Card – Han Xiao (Temporary)]

[Character Summon Card – Han Xiao (Temporary)]: Black Star’s Advent

Increase your Machinery Affinity by 247%.

Duration: 3 mins

Usages: 0/1

_____________________

Frenzied Sword instantly opened his eyes widely. The shock was stuck on his face. He could not help but to rub his eyes, afraid that he had read the wrong numbers.

“Tw—two point five times enhancement!!”

Frenzied Sword could hardly believe it.

“My Machinery Affinity is barely half of this number even after using all my enhancing abilities. Black Star’s attributes are way too strong. How strong is he?”

‘Overpowered’ was not even enough to describe this!

The enhancement was almost like a bug!

Using this Character Summon Card at this level, even a pig could defeat the opponent!

Han Xiao had many abilities, and this Character Summon Card granted the user his Machinery Affinity. This was not considered an ability but Han Xiao’s basic attributes, so its effect became a buff.

Without using any abilities, Han Xiao had 247% Machinery Affinity from his talents and passive abilities. When abilities were used, this number would be increased by another 100% to 200%. This was the simplest effect but also the strongest one.

That was because Machinery Affinity was the core attribute of the Mechanic class—it directly influenced one’s strength!

As the level of the Mechanic class continued to increase, the Machinery Affinity would continuously increase as well. However, the effect of the temporary Character Summon Card was an extra enhancement. Hence, this was like giving the user the attributes that he would have dozens of levels later!

And dozens of levels higher… happened to be the level that the Mechanic class started to be strong!

Luckily, the temporary Character Summon Card could only be used once and was very rare. If it was a fixed ability, it would make the player invincible!

Seeing that Frenzied Sword was breathing heavily in excitement, Han Xiao touched his chin, very curious.

Which of my abilities did this kid get for him to be this excited?

…

“Frenzied Sword, third place in Planet Aquamarine Singles, Mechanical Pugilist class, known as the strongest Mechanical Pugilist in China…”

In the Club Key stronghold in Planet Winterfrost, Key of Solomon casually browsed the information of his next opponent in Singles. He sneered and said with pride and confidence, “Looks like there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Are you planning to use Howling Gate?” an old member, Cursed Staff, asked.

“You’re overthinking, there’s no need to use my trump card to beat the next opponent. I bet that people like Lost Angel, Golden Champagne from Rose Knight, and Scarlet Marshall from Devil definitely have trump cards up their sleeves. Although I’m ranked seventh now, I can definitely reach the top if I used my trump card. However, just qualifying is enough for now; it’s best to leave the trump card to use in the finals.”

Key of Solomon was very confident in his trump card. [Howling Gate] was a special spell item that he had gotten from an extremely difficult hidden mission. Although he did not know what the trump cards of the others were, he was confident that he was close to invincible in this level in a one on one. Even if he did not use his trump card, his skills were among the highest. Being able to reach seventh place had already proved that.

“After winning this, my ranking will go up another place. The opponents in the last few matches are all quite difficult to deal with. I can deliberately lose these matches to hide my real strength. This way, my ranking should drop to about fifteenth place, just enough to qualify. And that’s enough…”

Based on the assumption that he would win the next match, Key of Solomon started planning for the rest of the matches. In his eyes, the next match was free points before facing strong opponents. He was certain of his victory and did not even consider his chances of losing.

…

Frenzied Sword was one of the few Mechanic class players in the international Singles and the only Mechanic class from China. With the title of ‘Strongest Mechanical Pugilist in China’, he received a lot of attention from many fans and viewers.

From the start of the competition, Frenzied Sword’s performance had been nothing extraordinary, and his ranking was only average. Even for the matches that he did win, the viewers could see that he had a hard time winning. His ranking could not go up; it seemed like he had reached his limit.

Between the three Singles contestants from China, King Admiral had a very high ranking and did not have to worry about qualifying; SnowFlower was at the bottom, and due to the fact that more than half of the matches had been completed, unless he won every match from now on, there was no chance for him to qualify; Frenzied Sword’s ranking was fluctuating around sixteenth place, which meant that he had a chance of being the second contestant from China to qualify. He had the hopes of many fans on his shoulders.

The rest of Frenzied Sword’s journey in the competition was rather extreme. His opponents were either very strong in the top ten or very weak at the bottom. The fans analyzed according to his performance and realized that even if he could beat all the weaker players, he would still need a few more points to qualify. He had to beat at least one strong player in order to qualify. However, Frenzied Sword had a very low win rate against strong players at this time.

The situation did not look good.

And the opponent of this match was ranked seventh, [Key of Solomon].

Many fans were secretly anxious and encouraged him. There were also people who were bitter and complained, saying that Frenzied Sword was falsely given the title of the strongest Mechanical Pugilist in China and embarrassed himself in front of the entire world. As always, the forums were filled with all kinds of comments.

No matter how they looked at it, time would not slow down even the slightest. The day of the match arrived as usual.

Frenzied Sword and Key of Solomon entered the match venue. The image that the viewers saw included the health, stamina, status bar, and all their attributes. The situation was clearly laid out for the audience to make watching the match simpler.

The venue was a huge city. Tall, thick walls made of concrete and steel surrounded the city. The two of them landed on the two sides beside this dozens of meters tall, four to five meters thick wall. They could see each other’s tiny outline from far away.

Storm clouds flew above the sky of the desolate city.

The audience pulled the bird-eye view higher and realized that on the outside of the wall, there was a huge oil painting of a few words.

Black Phantom Sanctuary Three.

“Haha, this is the random venue.”

“I know this place. Isn’t this Sanctuary Three from our planet?”

The Chinese fans were pleasantly surprised.

Chapter 427: BOSS Type Player! (2)

The commentary from the two commentators appeared timely to introduce the battle.

“The two contestants in this match are Key of Solomon and Frenzied Sword. Demon Mage against Human Mechanical Pugilist. Key of Solomon’s ranking at the moment is seventh place, and Frenzied Sword is at eighteenth place. The win rate estimation is 57% to 43% in favor of Key of Solomon. From their performance in the previous matches, Key of Solomon is slightly advantageous.”

“As you might have noticed, the venue is Planet Aquamarine’s Black Phantom Sanctuary Three. The Chinese contestants come from Planet Aquamarine, so Frenzied Sword should have the advantage of knowing the terrain well. One thing that I would like to mention is that Black Phantom is Black Star, the first NPC to lead the Chinese contestants into space. Since the Chinese players are following Black Star, I have to say it’s quite fated.”

“They have started moving. Okay, let’s look forward to an exciting battle…”

As soon as the battle started, Frenzied Sword avoided fighting head-on. A steel cable shot out from his waist armor and hooked onto a house under the wall. With the sound of the steel cable retracting, he was pulled down and moved away from the wall. He took out a high caliber machine cannon and fired. A string of orange bullets flew toward Key of Solomon.

Hum!

Key of Solomon held a bone staff and activated the standby rune. A translucent blue and green magic sphere surrounded him and protected him; the bullets created a dense scattering of sparks on the shield. The audiences could see that Key of Solomon’s status bar had a shield durability bar, which was decreasing slowly.

At this time, Frenzied Sword had already disappeared between the houses. Bullets were fired at him from time to time, small grenades too, blasting clouds of black and thick smoke on the wall. Key of Solomon squinted and said, “Because of his familiarity with the terrain, he plans to first deal some damage to me through ranged attacks. Hmm…”

As he was speaking, jumped down from the wall as well. He took out a few magic scrolls and tore them. Various colors of magic light then appeared. Many buffs appeared instantly on his status bar.

“Tracking, Stealth, Misdirection, Shadow Demon Cloak, Fake Death…”

“Damn, that is so costly. Magic scrolls are very expensive.”

The Chinese spectators felt nervous for Frenzied Sword. Although they had not come into contact with magic much, they had learned about many magic effects through the forums.

The enemy’s location suddenly disappeared from the radar of Frenzied Sword’s armor. He frowned and thought, Magical stealth, a troublesome ability. I’m at a disadvantage in terms of detection, so I can’t kite him easily…

As he was thinking, he changed the detection method of the radar into detecting air movements in order to relocate the opponent’s location. The detection range was smaller than before.

The two of them moved stealthily and tracked each other, both attacking and receiving attacks. They were mainly testing each other, and as soon as they noticed the opponent’s weakness or mistake, they would immediately launch a thunderous strike on the opponent. The audience could not move their eyes away from the match, and the tension grew as the distance between them became shorter. They were both making micro-movements on each other.

“Huu, huu…”

The sound of breathing echoed in the armor helmet. Frenzied Sword hid behind a house and looked at the tactic screen. The trace of the air movement appeared in his vision, showing a blue snake-like line. The end of the line was the opponent’s position. Frenzied Sword was good at melee battles, but he decided to distance himself. This was because the information on Key of Solomon showed that he was not as paper-like as other Mages; many melee Pugilists had lost tragically because they got too close. Frenzied Sword’s plan was to find an opportunity to land a stealth attack followed by a combo, controlling the opponent and maximizing the damage output.

Although he had an invincible trump card, he was not going to use it easily. If he could win by himself, the Character Summon Card could be saved to use the next time that he faced a strong opponent.

There is a time limit to his magic shield, and it costs him mana. I have quite a lot of ammo left, so I should be able to deplete around twenty-eight percent of his mana and fifteen percent of his health…

As he was thinking, he fired at the enemy’s location, hitting on the magic shield. However, at this time, a new buff appeared on his status bar—[Marked].

Reverse Revenge Mark! Frenzied Sword knew that this was bad. This ability was very rare, and it was the first time that the opponent had used it. There was no information about it in the data that he had received. Its effect was very simple, locating and tracing the attacker if the user was attacked in a certain duration. This was a spell used to deal with stealth attacks.

The next moment, a blaze quickly approached.

Boom!

A Frostfire Ball blasted through the house that Frenzied Sword was hiding behind, turning the environment into a sea of blue flames. Key of Solomon slowly walked over from afar, his face expressionless. He was a Demon Mage trained in both ice and fire. He combined the two of them and formed the Frostfire style.

The spell combining function was similar to the blueprint invention function of the Mechanic class. The difference was that the chance of it succeeding was quite high, but at the same time, its experience cost was much higher as well. The combining method was to put two or more spells together and form a new effect. It also cost a certain material to do so. The Frostfire Ball spell, for example, required the spell [Frost] and [Huge Fireball] as well as the material [Fire Trapping Ice Crystal]. The spells used for the combination would be forgotten. There were two ways of relearning these forgotten spells—one was to separate the new spells that were formed through combining these spells, and the other was to learn it again by spending experience. It cost a lot of experience as well.

The specialty of Frostfire was the ability to quickly reduce the durability of metals, it was an extremely effective way of dealing with the Mechanic class.

At this time, a layer of magic light appeared on the surface of Frenzied Sword’s NCO Class armor. The Frostfire was repelled, and the speed of the armor’s durability reducing slowed down. The enchantment from the Volga brothers gave his armor a certain level of magic resistance.

Frenzied Sword’s armored legs stomped heavily on the ground, and blue fire shot out from the thrusting device on his back. He charged forward like a rhinoceros. A huge foldable alloy shield ejected from his left arm’s armor, big enough to block his entire body. His right hand pulled out a short metal rod from his waist. The metal rod automatically extended and turned into a long, thin gunlance spear.

He entered melee mode instantly!

The alloy shield smashed on the magic shield with a force so huge that it made Key of Solomon take two steps back. This time, Frenzied Sword saw an opening and jabbed with his spear, penetrating into the magic shield. A Concentrated Explosive Bullet slid into the chamber of the gunlance. The next instant, a violent explosion was released from the tip of the spear, exploding from within the magic shield!

Boom!

Black smoke spread out.

“A beautiful attack!” a commentator complimented. “Mechanical Pugilist’s tactics are very flexible; Frenzied Sword changed his weapons again. Speaking of which, he has yet to use the same weapon in all the matches of the Singles…”

“Wait, the health loss is very little. It did not seem to hit completely!”

In the black smoke, Key of Solomon had disappeared, replaced by a stone that had already turned into ashes, while he appeared more than fifteen meters behind Frenzied Sword, not taking much damage.

“He used the Object Swap Spell on himself in an emergency. The cooldown of this ability is very long, five minutes. Apparently, Key of Solomon is very cautious about keeping his health up. That’s right, after all, Frenzied Sword is wearing a mechanical suit, so his health is almost 1.7 times Key of Solomon’s.”

After the stealth phase of the match ended, the two of them entered a tug of war. Frenzied Sword continuously poked Key of Solomon in close range, and Key of Solomon cast Frostfire from far away. It was a back and forth and exciting battle. They looked to be on par, but the status bar showed that Frenzied Sword was at a disadvantage and was losing health faster than Key of Solomon. The battle between two pro players was definitely not just standing still and attacking each other; they were both using very delicate dodging abilities. Obviously, Key of Solomon’s skill was higher.

However, it looked like Frenzied Sword had the upper hand. With his armor, his health was way too high, and he would be able to win even by exchanging hits.

But the commentator was not optimistic.

“Frenzied Sword has eighty percent health and sixty-six percent armor durability left; Key of Solomon has seventy-three percent health, thirty-one percent magic shield, and sixty-eight percent mana left. The situation is actually very disadvantageous to Frenzied Sword. Although he has a lot of health, if the durability of his armor is depleted, he will lose at least half of his strength! He only has one set of armor, but the opponent can create a new magic shield as long as he has mana.”

Boom!

The Frostfire exploded, this time with a repelling effect. Frenzied Sword was forced to back off a few steps. Key of Solomon backed off as well, his eyes sparkling as he thought, Not a bad fight. I underestimated him a little, but that won’t affect the result.

Key of Solomon took the opportunity and started to murmur in the strange Demon language, like a deep whisper. His eyes started burning like flames, countless blue flames gushed out between his scales, and his body suddenly became taller and bigger. He turned into a demon covered in blue flames, and a new buff appeared on his status bar.

Demon Talent—True Name Release Basic Stage!

All attributes increased by thirteen percent! Ten-minute duration! Health and mana recovered by thirty percent! All buffs removed, including positive buffs!

He took a deep breath. The flames around him turned into a blazing current and were swallowed by him. He received an extra twenty percent health, and his health was now at one hundred and twenty percent. This was the [Flame Excitement].

“It appeared,” the commentator said with exhilaration, “Demon Race’s talent ability with a three-day cooldown! In all the regular races on the novice planets, the talent of the Demon Race is the most suitable for real battles. They are born with a self-enhancing ability that’s very powerful!”

Boom!

The situation turned one-sided instantly. Frostfire exploded violently, and Frenzied Sword was being overpowered by the storm of attacks. The power of the opponent’s spells was hugely enhanced, and his health recovered above the maximum, which meant that the health and durability that he lost went to waste. Key of Solomon continued his spell combo calmly, not giving any chances.

As he had predicted before the match, this was a match that had no threat; there was absolutely no need to use his trump card.

The Chinese spectators were shocked. They became upset as they saw how beaten Frenzied Sword was in the live feed.

“How is this even winnable!”

“That’s the end.”

“The Americans really got lucky. They chose Planet Winterfrost as their base. All of the Demon Race have this overpowered ability. They’re like bosses.”

The heat penetrated through the armor. Inside the helmet, a bitter expression appeared on Frenzied Sword’s face.

Damn it, I really can’t beat him. No wonder he’s the captain of such a big club…

With his own skill and combat power, the chance of him beating Key of Solomon was close to zero.

However… he was not alone.

I can’t beat you, but if we’re comparing whose more overpowered, who the hell are you?

Frenzied Sword clenched his teeth and used his trump card.

Character Summon Card — Black Star’s Advent!

Hum!

A four-meter high translucent hologram appeared behind Frenzied Sword wearing black clothes. His looks were very familiar to the audience; it was none other than Han Xiao.

“Isn’t that Black Phantom?” The audience was surprised.

The tall hologram slowly pressed his hand on Frenzied Sword’s head with an expressionless face.

Buzz!

A blinding electrical light suddenly appeared, and rampaging Mechanical Force flowed into Frenzied Sword’s body through the hand of the hologram. The next moment, Frenzied Sword was completely surrounded by violent bolts of lightning.

“What ability is th… What‽” Before the commentator could react, the next scene made his jaw drop.

Frenzied Sword lunged forward, and Key of Solomon’s new magic shield was broken in just one hit!

It was as weak as a bubble.

Then, Frenzied Sword closed the distance and smashed down his shield on Key of Solomon’s still confused face.

Bang!

The demon flew out spinning like a cannon, shattering a house. Key of Solomon’s health decreased by twenty-one percent instantly!

Just a shield slap took more than one-sixth of his health! The overwhelming enhancement dealt tremendous damage!

The tables turned in an instant!

The image quieted down, and only the sound of flames and electric currents could be heard.

The audiences hastily looked at the status bar and were dumbfounded.

_____________________

[Black Star’s Advent]: +247% Machinery Affinity

Duration: 3 mins

Source: Character Summon Card—Han Xiao

_____________________

“Th—This…”

The commentator opened his mouth but could not give a proper description of what had just happened. In the end, he could only say one word.

“Overpowered!”

What he had forgotten was that the compliment ‘overpowered’ had belonged to Key of Solomon not long ago.

Chapter 428: Trump Cards Out

Frenzied Sword was covered in lightning snakes, and the lighting effect was gorgeous.

“So, he got my Machinery Affinity.” Han Xiao was watching Frenzied Sword’s match. He smiled and said, “This kid really is lucky.”

Through the status bar, the audience was surprised to see that the buff had Han Xiao’s name on it.

To appear in the league in such a manner, Han Xiao found it quite interesting. He had only had a flash of inspiration when making the Ability Potion, and now it seemed to not only have brought him a profit but also fame.

The players were very familiar with the name Black Star, but they did not expect to see Han Xiao’s Character Summon Card in a competition. When they thought about it, Frenzied Sword… no, all the Chinese players were following Han Xiao through space, so it was quite normal for him to have Han Xiao’s Character Summon Card.

The problem was, this Character Summon Card’s effect was way too strong. Who could face the close to 250% Machinery Affinity boost at this stage‽

Han Xiao’s personal attributes were shown as all question marks when detected by the players, so they never knew his real level. Now there was finally a lead. With close to 2.5 times affinity, no wonder he was so strong. He was probably above level 100!

Han Xiao had always been a blessing in the eyes of the Mechanic class players. Now, he had showcased the tip of the iceberg of how strong he was, making the spectating Mechanic players extremely excited. They felt like they saw the bright future of their class.

Boom boom boom!

Frenzied Sword did not dare waste time. He charged forward with large strides, jabbing his spear again and again, causing chain explosions. Even though Key of Solomon tried his best to dodge the attacks, the impact of these attacks still caused his health to go down to around forty percent very quickly. The magic shield that he summoned could not even block even one hit.

Just more than ten seconds ago, Frenzied Sword had been the one being overwhelmed. Now, the situation had completely reversed, and Key of Solomon had become the one that could not fight back at all. He did not dare to divert his attention onto fighting back; he would die if he failed to dodge just one attack.

This buff has a stupidly strong enhancement to the Mechanic class. If this goes on, I won’t have a chance of winning at all.

After calming himself from the shock, Key of Solomon quickly adjusted his mindset. He had thought that this was a definite victory, but he had never expected his opponent to have hidden such a strong trump card.

Key of Solomon had his trump card, too. He had originally planned to win this match, deliberately lose the matches afterward, and barely qualify, saving his trump card for the finals. However, he was forced by Frenzied Sword to change his plan. If he still did not use his trump card, he would definitely lose. If he lost this match, he would not be able to hold back in the later matches, and those opponents were all very strong. He would surely end up using his trump card to secure the victory. Since that was the case, he might as well use it now. As long as he could win this one, he would not have to worry about the matches afterward.

Frenzied Sword’s sudden explosiveness did indeed shock him, but he found a way to deal with it very quickly. He admitted that Frenzied Sword was near-invincible in the duration of [Black Star’s Advent], but the buff would only last for three minutes. As long as he survived past that, he would still stand a chance!

It just so happened that his trump card [Howling Gate] was able to do that!

Whoosh!

Key of Solomon used his last mobility ability [Flame Jump] and disappeared, then reappearing in a sea of fire more than twenty meters away. He quickly pulled down his necklace and pressed it on the floor. His mana decreased by forty percent instantly, and blue magic flowed into the necklace, releasing a blinding light. At the same time, Key of Solomon started to chant.

“Frost that spreads death, fire that extinguishes life. With the blood of the Demon Race, I build a bridge. Please answer my call, the most elite invaders. Let our enemies witness the winter that froze the world…”

Hum!

A divine sound appeared like it came from the void. An ice blue gate of light rose from the ground before Key of Solomon, covered in dancing blue flames. It was four meters tall, and inside it was a vortex of magic. Demon warriors that were three meters tall walked out from the light gate one after another. They wore black metal armor covered in spikes. Two of them held a two-handed axe, another two had a magic crossbow flickering with blue light, and at the front was a ranger who had a chain hammer and rode on a demon wolf. There was a total of five demons.

This was the phantom of an Extinguish Army scouting team.

“He’s… a Summoner!” The commentator yelled so loudly he almost broke his voice.

The spectators’ expressions shifted.

One word could conclude the image of Summoners in the hearts of the players—b*stard!

In Han Xiao’s previous life, the Mage Summoning Style and Mechanic Army Style were known to be the two most disgusting styles.

Balance? Technicality? Sorry, never heard of that. I am just strong!

The Human Wave Tactic could drown enemies. If there were enough summoned creatures, even a player could fight many others at once. In the current stage, the Army Style had yet to appear, but the Summoning Style was already beginning.

Of course, strong styles had their limitations. There was a chance to fail summoning spells, and a spell medium was needed, some of which were specific summoning items. Some required the user to have certain abilities, and some required the user to make contracts with the summoned creatures. There were many ways the summoned creatures could exist, such as in its real and physical form, which would be gone once it died. Key of Solomon, however, summoned phantoms, similar to the duplicate monsters in dungeons, which meant that he could summon them again after they died as much as he wanted. His [Howling Gate] was a pink quality rare level 60 summoning item that could summon the phantom of a demon scout team.

Demon scouts were the specialty of the Extinguish Army. [Howling Gate] was a solo challenge mission. It was very difficult and meant to be completed by players above level 60, but Club Key had used their team’s power to help Key of Solomon get this pink item!

The attributes of these five demon scouts appeared on the status bar—2,500 health, 134 – 197 attack, 40 defense. In this stage, the Summoning Style was far from being complete. Usual Summoners could only summon Forest Wolves, Venomous Snakes, and other small creatures, which did not even possess one-third of the attributes of the demon scouts. Yet, he could summon five demon scouts together!

What did that mean? A level 60 Pugilist player had about 3,000 to 4,000 health. These five demon scouts had the total health of about three Pugilists, and their damage was high as well. The theoretical damage that they could deal at most in one round of focus fire was close to 1,000!

This was Key of Solomon’s confidence of being close to invincible in duels. Not only because he was a Frostfire Style Demon Mage, but also because he could change to Summoning Style any time.

The audience was still in awe of how strong [Black Star’s Advent] was, and the situation had already made another turn, astonishing everyone.

“Holy, he summoned a group of elite monsters. That’s almost the same as a boss!”

“Really‽”

Key of Solomon made the ranger and two axe demons surround Frenzied Sword, while the two archers stood beside him and attacked from range.

He did not have much health left, and he feared Frenzied Sword’s damage, so he hid behind the archers.

Frenzied Sword’s face turned grim. He raised his shield and held his sword, charging forward in large steps. The metal armor strongly clashed into the three demons, making a loud clank. The impact created a shockwave in the air, and the players could feel the image shaking.

Boom! Pa!

Then, the thick smoke and electrical sparks of the explosion were released from the tip of the spear. Frenzied Sword slashed horizontally, hitting those three demons at the same time. The audience could see that the health of the three demon scouts decreased by a quarter instantly.

With the enhancement from [Black Star’s Advent], Frenzied Sword’s damage was extremely terrifying. Not only that, the defense power of his armor enhanced too, so he was not afraid of being surrounded.

Just three minutes… Key of Solomon was frustrated. In his eyes, the first appearance of the [Howling Gate] had to result in an overwhelming victory. Yet, his first use of it was to stall the enemy and cover his retreat.

Shameful!

As they fought, the number of people watching increased continuously. This match was filled with many twists and turns and had many exciting parts, so it attracted more and more viewers.

The appearance of the summoning spell made the audience think that the situation would turn around once again, or at least they would be on par. However, the following scene was still Frenzied Sword’s solo performance. He destroyed a group of demon scouts alone, and the Summoner who was supposed to demolish the opponent was still being beaten by Frenzied Sword.

“The Summoner class is a very strong class. Although Key of Solomon is currently at a complete disadvantage, it does not affect how strong Summoners are…” The caster was analyzing the reason for Summoners being so strong, but when he saw what was happening, he felt that he did not sound convincing at all. However, he could only continue speaking.

You’re not making sense!

Many contestants were watching this game with a grave attitude. “Key of Solomon has very strong summoning items. Unlike Frenzied Sword’s one-use Character Summon Card, his summoning spells can be used continuously. This guy is a very strong opponent, so specific plans have to be designed in advance.”

Although contestant from the various countries feared Key of Solomon, they could not help but feel lucky. “Luckily, the [Black Star’s Advent] buff is a one-time card, or there would be no point in taking part in the competition.”

…

Key of Solomon felt like that was the longest three minutes that he had experienced. The demon scouts that he had high hopes on were all slashed into pieces by Frenzied Sword. He looked at the time. Less than two minutes had passed, and Frenzied Sword’s status could last for at least thirty more seconds. Key of Solomon, on the other hand, had nothing up his sleeve.

The audiences were happy to see this.

“Three-minute real man, damn!”

“What Black Star’s Advent? This is called Demons Demolishing Spell!”

“Summoners can be beaten? You should be ashamed!”

“Key of Solomon: What Can I do? I’m desperate too!”

“This is like a high-level account crushing a low-level one. Speaking of which, Frenzied Sword can indeed be considered a high-level account after gaining so much extra Machinery Affinity.”

“Hahahaha, this is so funny. This Summoner looks like he was team wiped while fighting the dungeon boss. Just look at his confused eyes.”

“Plop…”

The gunlance stabbed into Key of Solomon’s chest without any obstruction. Key of Solomon held onto the spear with rage and regret on his face. He still lost even after he used his trump card. Now, others would be cautious of his trump card, but he did not get anything from it. This battle was not worth it at all!

Boom!

An explosion occurred inside his body and took away his last bit of health. Key of Solomon turned into a white light and died.

The commentator waved his fists in excitement.

“Such a wonderful and exciting fight. Congratulations to Frenzied Sword on finally emerging victorious!”

…

This match received a very high broadcast rating and popularity. Players from all around the world discussed the match passionately. They were especially happy to see the Summon Style getting overwhelmed.

As Frenzied Sword used the [Black Star’s Advent] buff to crush the opponent, Han Xiao’s fame increased indirectly.

A mysterious NPC that had been active since the start of the server launch finally revealed a little of his strength. The Great Mechanic Han was always a hot topic, and his past actions were made into memes by the players. As long as there was a related post, it was very easy for it to attract many people on the forums to meme it. This event sparked the players to guess his abilities and what Mechanic class style he used.

Frenzied Sword defeated a strong opponent, so his chance of qualifying increased. Key of Solomon’s final trump card was forced out, but he still lost in the end. The Summoner that should have been like a boss became the party that fought against a boss. After the match, many reporters deliberately asked how it felt to be crushed as a Summoner. These questions were like rubbing salt in Key of Solomon’s wounds. He left the scene furiously.

Actually, his [Howling Gate] was truly strong. In the matches afterward, he had no choice but to go all out in order to qualify. He used [Howling Gate] and defeated strong opponents one after another, showcasing how strong a Summoner was. However, the better he performed, the more it backed up how overpowered Frenzied Sword was, or more accurately, how overpowered the Han Xiao Character Summon Card was.

Frenzied Sword got rid of the post-match interview, hastily returned to the hub stronghold, and looked for Han Xiao. He tasted the sweetness of the Ability Potion; it could turn the tables completely. For things like this, the more the merrier.

He went to Han Xiao’s room, and Dynasty, Temple of God, and Long Sky’s people had been surrounding Han Xiao since long ago. They had all watched the match and could not wait to buy Black Star’s Ability Potion.

However, there was no new stock in the store panel.

They looked up at Han Xiao. This scene made Han Xiao feel like these players were pigs waiting to be fed, and he became the mother pig.

“What you looking at? Do you want the Ability Potion? There’s no more!” Han Xiao chased them out.

You people, the potion came from my blood; trying it once was enough. I would have to drain myself completely to satisfy you guys.

Chapter 429: The Finals

The group matches were coming to an end. The situation was becoming clearer. Long Sky was in eighth place, and Temple of God was in ninth place; their point difference was not a small one. Temple of God had to get a huge win in order to surpass Long Sky, but the next match was between the two of them. This meant that no matter who won and who lost, there would definitely be one side that qualified.

Many Chinese spectators felt their hearts being squeezed. They all hoped that all three Chinese teams could enter the top eight, but the situation was a very difficult one. This internal battle was expected since the grouping was decided, but when it really happened, they were still nervous about it. Group C was filled with strong teams, so it was very difficult to gain points. Many teams that had the chance to qualify did not even enter the top ten, so Long Sky and Temple of God’s result was already quite good.

Some players calculated the points and came up with a conclusion that made the people feel very complicated. Long Sky had more points. If they deliberately held back and lost this match, giving Temple of God enough points, Temple of God would be able to jump to the seventh place while Long Sky would drop to the ninth place. In that case, Long Sky’s point difference with the eighth-place team would be very small. The matches coming up for them was easier than those for the eighth-place team, so there would be a very high chance for Long Sky to get back to eighth place. This way, there was a chance for both teams to qualify.

The worst outcome of the internal fight would be Temple of God winning with a slight advantage and only getting a few points while Long Sky lost and did not get any points. This would mean that this round was a waste and did not produce many points. Not only would Temple of God’s situation remain unchanged, but Long Sky’s ranking would also become unstable.

Working together secretly was the only way to achieve the best results.

However, this was just the thoughts of the fans. Hao Tian had never been someone who would do such things. His professionalism made him go all out against any opponent, and it was absolutely impossible for him to fake the match. His personality was very simple and direct, so he did not want to bother about these things.

Long Sky did not plan to hold back at all. This internal battle was tragic and intense. Both sides had armor and were similar in strength. The outcome of this battle was Long Sky getting the upper hand and winning, defeating Temple of God and making their ranking more stable.

Temple of God’s hope to qualify was destroyed by Long Sky.

A part of Temple of God’s fans immediately became enraged. They scolded and blamed Long Sky and even made it into a matter of betrayal. However, most people, including a portion of Temple of God’s fans, did not agree with such comments. They felt that Long Sky did nothing wrong. This was a competition, and competition meant going all out; playing fake matches was an unethical act, so there was not much to discuss when they lost after giving their all.

Of course, Temple of God stood on the side with moral high ground, telling the fans to not blame Long Sky, saying that they were the ones that did not perform well. Of course, it was impossible for them to be not upset; their journey in the International League had come to an end, but their competitor continued their journey by stepping on their corpses. However, Temple of God had always been very realistic. The situation had already been determined, so there was no need to be angry about it. The problem that they thought of was preventing more losses, which was what Li Ge was good at. He was proficient in building a good image and guiding the comments.

Under Li Ge’s lead, not only did they deliberately not fight seriously in the last few matches, but they changed their tactics and fought more fiercely and aggressively. It felt like they knew that they had no chance to qualify, so they stopped being so cautious and played the game their way. More importantly, their goal was to give the impression that they wanted to make sure the opponents did not get too many points from them, which meant that they were indirectly helping Long Sky drag the enemies down, building an image of never giving up and showcasing the spirit of teamwork. Then they found someone to make this kind of ‘deduction’ in the forums and lead the others to agree. Temple of God’s image became positive and selfless instantly; they were on the peak of the moral high ground. When people talked about Temple of God, they all praised them.

This way, not only did they receive fame and a better name, they also reduced the negative impact of not qualifying. Furthermore, they used this method to create a contrast between them and Long Sky, who defeated their fellow countrymen, emphasizing how ‘virtuous’ they were. The Temple of God superiors were somewhat satisfied with this result.

Of the four largest clubs in China, Temple of God was the most commercialized club. If losing the battle would give them more benefits, Han Xiao did not doubt that they would do that.

As the last match ended, the qualified teams were decided.

_____________________

1. Devil

2. Dynasty

3. Hydra

4. Key

5. Tulips

6. Kangaroo Boxing

7. Rose Knight

8. Long Sky

_____________________

Dynasty had the best performance in the group stages. Around the middle of the competition, they surpassed Devil and took first place, but in the last few matches, they held back purposely and dropped to second place. This was because the battle in the finals was determined according to the ranking of the group stages. If Dynasty was ranked in first place, their opponent would have been Long Sky, who were ranked in eighth place, which would not be good. Therefore, after discussing internally, Dynasty decided to drop one place. However, everyone knew that if Dynasty wanted to, they could absolutely have maintained their unbeaten streak and entered the finals without losing a single match.

This ranking was completely different from the one in Han Xiao’s memory. Han Xiao’s existence had a butterfly effect and changed the situation of the league. He vaguely remembered that one of the top eight in his previous life was Korea’s Kimchi, but Kimchi was now below tenth place and had been replaced.

There were many strong teams in the top eight that had shone brightly in every season of the league in his previous life. Sadly, their novice planet was very distant, otherwise Han Xiao would have drawn those pro players into his faction. Their ability to complete missions was very dependable.

In the top eight, only China and America had two teams qualifying. Dynasty had been the only one in the top eight in his previous life, but Long Sky was now qualified as well.

In the Singles, Frenzied Sword qualified in fifteenth place, and King Admiral qualified in sixth place. There were two Chinese players qualifying as well. With strong teams and highly skilled players from so many areas competing on the same stage, getting this result was amazing.

The Galaxy Times did an episode focused on analyzing the performance of the teams that qualified, predicting the future situation in the finals. They came to the conclusion that three teams had the highest potential of becoming the champions—Devil, Dynasty, and Key. With the match system being Best of Five, every team would definitely use all their trump cards and target the opponent in any way possible.

The schedule of the finals was released. The first round was Key versus Tulips.

During the group stages, Han Xiao had stayed in Juberly Hub and temporarily rejected the partnership invitations from other mercenary groups, letting his team rest. He was not doing nothing; he had built more machinery, guided Aroshia, commanded the Sunil Division to do other missions, and helped Herlous in combat training.

Now that the group stages had ended and the ranking was up to his expectations, Han Xiao did not focus on the details of the competition anymore. No matter what results the teams got, it would not impact him much. He continued to expand the business scope of the mercenary group.

It just so happened that the Head Butler of the Floating Dragon Island, Jenny, had sent him a supply mission. The Logistics Manager Haier had requested a new batch of resources. The seller’s team was on a Godoran colonized planet in the Gavin Star System, so they required Han Xiao to escort the goods.

Ames almost did not manage anything at all; Jenny had always been the one dealing with all matters. Compared to the other three beyond grade A individuals in the Shattered Star Ring, Ames was the most carefree in terms of making his forces stronger. The other three more or less had armies, while Ames only had a group of guards. The Black Star Mercenary Group was the only external combat force under her command, but they were actually just running errands. After all, compared to those large fleets, a medium mercenary group was as insignificant as a speck of dust.

Floating Dragon’s protection did not come free; his Black Star Mercenary Group was Floating Dragon’s field team on paper, so they often had to do some errand missions such as escorting supplies, chasing enemies, collecting intel, and so on. It was similar to the daily missions of a faction; it did not have a high experience reward and was mainly meant for increasing the faction favorability. Han Xiao’s faction favorability with Floating Dragon was already at 2,100 points, and the relationship had become [Friendly].

Han Xiao brought the others and headed out. As the players used Gathering Crystals to enter the match, they were not limited to one location, so they acted together with Han Xiao.

Although the competition was important, following Han Xiao was crucial as well, or there would be no one to repair their armor.

Chapter 430: Poison Assassination

Tulips defeated Key 3:1 and entered the top four.

Most strong teams reserved their trump cards for the group stages, but Club Key’s trump card had been showcased in advance due to the battle between Frenzied Sword and Key of Solomon. Although [Howling Gate] was very strong, the other teams had plenty of time to think of ways to deal with it. Tulips was steady and strong, and they had a trump card as well, which they finally used for the first time. As Key of Solomon expected, his team was unprepared and defeated. If not for Key of Solomon, who overperformed in the third match, it would have been an overwhelming 3:0 defeat.

Club Key stopped at the top eight. This result was far from Key of Solomon’s target of becoming the champion, so he was furious.

On the other side, the Black Star Mercenary Group arrived at the planet where the resource team was and prepared for the escort.

…

A fan-shaped light-gold interstellar space station was floating outside the atmosphere of a Godoran colonized planet, following its course and orbiting indefinitely. Its alloy shell emitted a magic aura, and various models of spaceships were parked there. The seller was waiting for Han Xiao’s arrival. His name was Tyrell, a slightly known businessman in the Gavin Star System. He operated a commercial department store group and had a long-term agreement with the logistics department of Floating Dragon. Han Xiao carried out numerous resource escorting missions, and Tyrell and he had known each other for quite some time.

Han Xiao and the others arrived at the pier, and a voice came from afar.

“Haha, Black Star of Floating Dragon, we meet again.”

Tyrell was a Godoran. His body shape was round, and he had a passionate smile on his face. He approached with quick steps and gave Han Xiao a bear hug. “Have to trouble you guys again. All the resources that Floating Dragon needs are packaged and listed. Do you need to do a check?”

He guided Han Xiao and the others to the side, where metal boxes piled up like a small hill. They were all resources that Haier had ordered.

“We’ve worked together so many times; I don’t doubt your reputation. However, this is Jenny’s request, so I’ll have to let my people do a check.” Han Xiao passed the list to Maple Moon and gave her a counting goods mission.

“Understood, understood.” Tyrell rubbed his hands and smiled brightly.

Escort resources were a daily mission, and the reward was 150 Floating Dragon Faction Favorability. Because of Han Xiao’s position as a member of Floating Dragon, Tyrell gave him a certain discount, so Han Xiao often bought things from Tyrell. He trusted Tyrell’s reputation, but now that he was working for Floating Dragon, it was better to be more careful.

When ordering resources in the virtual interstellar network, the logistics were a problem. Other than those advanced civilizations that normalized long-range transportation devices, the logistics in space were usually contracted by professional delivery organizations, or the seller would partner with a travel agency and have them airdrop the delivery on their way. There were many scavengers in Shattered Star Ring, and some low-level galactic pirates focused on robbing logistic spaceships. Hence, the commercial teams would usually hire mercenaries as guards.

Maple Moon counted very quickly; the number was correct. Han Xiao nodded and said, “There’s no problem, let’s head out now.”

“I have already contacted a travel agency spaceship; it’s parked at port 5468.” Tyrell turned and said to one of his staff, “Dekker, get some men and take the resources into the goods cabin, then follow Black Star to Floating Dragon Island to carry out the handover.”

The man who was called Dekker nodded, called some workers, and started transporting the boxes to the port. He was a regular manager of the Tyrell Group. He looked very ordinary, and he was someone that did not attract much attention.

Han Xiao and the others stepped onto the stairs into the travel agency spaceship. Tyrell stood on the dock and said loudly, “Send my regards to Jenny.”

Han Xiao waved his hands and walked into the spaceship. After the hatch closed, he wrote a guard mission and gave it to some players, then told Herlous to take them to the goods cabin and begin shifts to protect the goods. He then went to the guest cabin with the others.

With some turbulence, the spaceship took off. This was a small traveling spaceship, so there were no other passengers. Tyrell had booked the entire spaceship specifically to transport supplies for Floating Dragon.

There were few people on the ship. Other than ten or so crew members and mercenary group members, there were only around ten of Tyrell Group’s employees. Dekker was their boss. Han Xiao had met him before. They did not communicate much, but he did notice that Dekker brought a girl onto the ship this time.

“Are you Black Star?”

In the guest hall, as soon as they sat down, the girl beside Dekker spoke. She tilted her head and looked at Han Xiao curiously.

Han Xiao sized her up. This was a space human teenage girl, rather young, about fifteen to sixteen years old, and her head only reached Han Xiao’s chest. She had dark brown short hair, pale skin, and a pretty face. The bridge of her nose was tall, and her bright eyes were filled with a youthful energy.

“Uncle Dekker always tells me stories. He’s talked about you before.” The teenage girl’s eyes moved up and down on Han Xiao’s body, sizing him up.

Dekker coughed and said, “This is one of my friend’s daughters. Her family… ahem, let me take care of her temporarily. She wanted to follow me no matter what, so I brought her onto the ship. Lord Black Star, would that be a problem?”

“Not at all.” Han Xiao shook his head. He looked at the teenage girl, smiled, and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Sylvia.”

“Quite a nice name, what’s your home planet?”

Sylvia curled her lips. “Are you doing an identity check, Uncle?”

“Uncle…” Han Xiao was speechless. He was clearly young and handsome. What nonsense was she talking about?

Sylvia looked glanced at Han Xiao sideways, changed the topic, and said in disdain, “I heard you mercenaries have no morals and fight for whichever side pays higher. I really want to know, is the money earned from selling your souls not hot to hold?”

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. Before he spoke, Dekker pulled Sylvia back in terror, scolded her, and hastily apologized to Han Xiao. “She doesn’t understand many things. Please don’t take it to heart.”

“It’s alright, understandable.” Han Xiao waved his hands. Words had basically zero impact on him, so of course, he did not care. “This small girl has quite some guts. She knows we are a bunch of brutes, yet he still dares to question me right in my face. Quite brave.”

“I’m not a small girl!” Sylvia was a little angry and pushed her chest up.

“Hmm… not small indeed but still needs development.” Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes moved down, and a dirty smile appeared on his face. Suddenly, he realized that Han Xiao was looking at him without saying anything. He immediately kept his eyes to himself, wiped off his smile, and sat up straight.

They fastened their seatbelt, and the spaceship entered jumping mode very quickly—only then could they walk around freely. Sylvia was energetic and active. She curiously ran around the spaceship and glanced through the spaceship’s structure in awe. Sometimes, she would place her head on the porthole and look outside the window at the streams of light outside.

Dekker smiled bitterly and said, “This is her first time on a spaceship. Sorry to trouble you.”

“As long as the mission is not affected.” Han Xiao looked at the energetic back view of the teenage girl and narrowed his eyes.

Sylvia… this name sounds kind of familiar.

He did not want to give up even the slightest doubt. He returned to his room and pondered for more than ten minutes. Finally, he found someone in his memories who had this name.

[Mechanical Lady Knight] Sylvia?

Han Xiao froze for a second. He did not expect the teenage girl that he had met coincidentally to be a known character. Furthermore, in the storyline of his previous life, Sylvia was very well known and was especially popular among the players.

Sylvia was still a young girl now. Han Xiao recalled her look in his previous life after ‘growing up’—long hair, valiant and fearless, wearing light mechanical armor and a cape, just like a knight.

What was a very important factor in determining the attractiveness of a female character? Parodies!

Sylvia had a lot of parodies and being pretty was just one factor. After all, there were way too many pretty females in Galaxy. The more important reason was her background, identity, personality, and storyline.

Beauty was never Han Xiao’s focus. He recalled Sylvia’s character background. It was way too long ago, so he could only vaguely remember.

Sylvia’s father was chased by a certain mercenary group and died. She was still young back then, so she took the path of revenge. She moved from forces to forces, learned Mechanic class knowledges, and became a galactic pirate chasing after that mercenary group.

In the timeline of that version, due to the Crimson Empire expanding once again, all the Star Fields could only care about themselves. The large mercenary groups in various Star Clusters of the Shattered Star Ring mimicked the mercenaries in the Silver Arm Star Field, creating the Shattered Star Ring Alliance. They turned themselves into an enormous mercenary group with millions of members and tens of thousands of battleships of all kinds of models, more than enough to take part in even large space wars.

Sylvia was the arch-enemy of the mercenary alliance.

Players back then took part in the mercenary alliance event. In their eyes, Sylvia was a renowned villain boss of the opposite party. Many players received missions to chase and kill Sylvia, but they all failed. Sylvia was too strong.

During the times of opposing the mercenary alliance, Sylvia often appeared in the eyes of the players. Then, through what looked like an accident, she discovered that her father was the bad guy and knew that her father deserved his death. She then disappeared for a period of time. When she reappeared, she was not a galactic pirate anymore; she became a freedom fighter of Shattered Star Ring, helping the people who were victims of harm, dealing with some criminals, and being responsible for quite a number of famous events. Furthermore, they rejected rewards or requests in any form; all their actions came from themselves. They were like Superheroes… Basically, she reformed.

Although Sylvia was not the main character of a certain event, she was a renowned character like Hila. She was involved in many events in the Shattered Star Ring. When the players wandered in space, they would sometimes bump into her fighting bad guys and could choose to help her. She was loved by many in Shattered Star Ring… These were all things that happened after Version 3.0

Han Xiao shook his head. Sylvia’s reform process and her experience of turning from someone with so much hatred into someone as righteous as a knight were filled with opportunities for parodies, such as…

Bah! Why am I thinking of this?

Didn’t expect to meet a future celebrity…

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

For some reason, he felt somewhat strange, like he had missed some important information.

…

Floating Dragon Island was in the Rain Star System of the Colton Star Cluster. There was a small star gate on their way that could teleport them, and the traveling time was about ten days.

Every day, Han Xiao built machinery and traded with the players.

He did not pay much attention to the league, only looking at the results. The top four teams were decided. Long Sky stopped at the top eight after facing Devil, who were ranked first, and were defeated 1:3. It was quite regretful. Dynasty defeated Rose Knight 3:2, advancing to top four. Japan’s Hydra defeated Australia’s Kangaroo Boxing 3:1. The top four teams were Tulips, Devil, Dynasty, and Hydra.

The upcoming grouping was extremely important. It seemed like the prayers of countless Chinese spectators had an effect; Dynasty’s next opponent was team Hydra. Compared to the steady Tulips and extremely strong Devil, Hydra was no doubt a weaker opponent. Dynasty had the most confidence in defeating Hydra as compared to the other two teams. The Chinese panel in the forums was practically celebrating already.

In terms of Singles, King Admiral advanced to top eight, Frenzied Sword stopped at top sixteen. But Frenzied Sword was very satisfied; he was already overjoyed that he could enter the second round of the International League, a result that was much higher than his initial expectations. Compared to Frenzied Sword’s ranking in Han Xiao’s previous life, this was indeed a huge improvement. In his previous life, Frenzied Sword did not even make it into the International League, but now, he was one of the top sixteen players on the International League. Frenzied Sword benefitted the most, and his position among the Chinese players rocketed from nobody to a Supernova.

Ten days later, the spaceship exited the jumping state. Floating Dragon was only half a day away.

It was dining time. Han Xiao walked out of the machinery modification room and came to the dining hall. This was the usual dining area, so many people were eating there. The food was all portable space food, so it could not be considered delicious, but it was not tasteless either.

Herlous called for him from the bar.

“Have a drink?” Herlous had a bottle of liquor in front of him, the alcohol made his face slightly red.

“Almost forgot you’re an alcoholic.” Han Xiao sat down, and the bartender passed him a new cup. Herlous laughed, lifted the liquor bottle, and poured him a cup.

Han Xiao shook his head and lifted up the cup. Just as he was going to drink it, his movement suddenly stopped, and an unknown alert appeared in his heart.

Frowning slightly, he looked at the object introduction on his interface.

_____________________

[Strong Liquor with an Added Ingredient]

Effects: Unknown

_____________________

Bang!

The smashing sound shocked everyone. They put their food down and looked over in surprise.

Han Xiao held the bartender’s collar, pressed the panicking bartender on the bar table, and said coldly without an expression, “You added poison‽

Chapter 431: Revenge from the Past (1)

“What do you want‽”

The bartender was a member of the ship’s crew. His face was filled with panic, and he could not even struggle.

Herlous was shocked. “Captain, this is?”

Han Xiao pointed at his cup and said, “Someone added something inside, probably poison.”

“Impossible, I brought the liquor. Why am I fine after drinking it… or have I been poisoned too?”

Herlous was shocked. He hurriedly touched his tongue and throat, but there was no sign of the numbness from being poisoned.

“There is no problem with the liquor; it’s the cup.” The item information of the liquor bottle was normal—only his cup had something added into it. The only possibility was that someone had put something into the cup in advance, and the bartender who took out the cup was the most suspicious.

This started as a very simple daily escorting mission; Han Xiao did not expect to meet something like this. He was very curious—who wanted him dead?

This time, the players and the company employees came. Dekker and the others hurried there as well. They were very confused.

“What happened?”

Han Xiao explained simply, and everyone was surprised.

“Could it be a mistake?” Dekker asked.

Han Xiao shook his head. He wrote a new mission and threw it to the players.

_____________________

You have triggered mission [Poison Testing]

Mission Introduction: Someone seems to have attempted to poison your captain. Are you willing to help him to test the effect of the poison?

Mission Requirements: Drink [Strong Liquor with an Added Ingredient]

Reward: Black Star—Han Xiao Favorability +8, 150,000 experience.

Remarks: Possible death

_____________________

The mercenary group players received the notification on their interface. Their eyes sparkled for this was the first time that they had seen such an easy mission that could increase Han Xiao’s Favorability and receive experience. Dying once was nothing.

Just as they were about to snatch the cup, a shadow flew past everyone. Bun-Hit-Dog snatched the cup extremely quickly and gulped it down without saying a word.

“How are you able to run this fast‽” Second Prince was shocked. I’m a Dexterity-focused Pugilist, yet I could not even catch up to you. How did you do it?

Bun-Hit-Dog glanced at everyone with pride. Before he could speak, his face suddenly changed, and the veins under his skin expanded and turned black, covering his entire face. He opened his mouth but could not say a word. The other players moved back as they saw this, leaving no one within a three-meter radius from Bun-Hit-Dog.

Bun-Hit-Dog froze in place for a few seconds, then blood sprayed out from his every orifice. He collapsed onto the ground and died on the spot.

“Tsk tsk, truly a man of the wind. He even died quickly,” Frenzied Sword said.

“He—he’s dead just like that‽”

The company employees and the crews were all dumbfounded. A mercenary died right on the spot, yet his friends had no reaction at all. What mercenary group is this? They’re so cold-blooded! So horrifying!

Plus, these mercenaries are way too loyal to Black Star. Black Star had yet to even speak and they were already rushing to drink the poisoned alcohol, testing the poison with their body. This does not feel like a mercenary group at all but a fanatical cult!

However, the next moment, Bun-Hit-Dog’s corpse turned into white light and disappeared, then the sound of trotting footsteps appeared outside the door almost immediately after. Bun-Hit-Dog had run over from the revive point.

“Yo—you…” Dekker stammered in shock.

Han Xiao looked at him. “After working together so many times, I’m surprised that you don’t know that we have the nickname ‘Immortal Mercenary Group’?”

“I see, I don’t know much about the mercenary industry.” Dekker smiled bitterly. No wonder the mercenaries were so calm, they were all immortals.

Black Star’s name was widely known, but his details were only known within the industry; the other industries did not know much about it.

Han Xiao turned around and asked, “What was the effect of the poison?”

Bun-Hit-Dog looked at the notification from earlier.

_____________________

You have consumed a certain poison. Judging END… Your END is lower than 280. No related immunity ability detected. You have entered [Poisoned] state.

High Concentration Corrosive Blood Poison: This is a poison made from some Esper ability and requires blood poison cure.

Current poison level: 135/135

You are losing 750 health per second.

Duration: 8 seconds

Warning! Your health is too low. Please consume antidote as soon as possible!

Your health is lower than 0!

You died!

_____________________

Bun-Hit-Dog read accordingly, and Han Xiao nodded.

6,000 health in eight seconds, very lethal to players but can’t kill me. This means that the person who added the poison has limited information of me, but the fact that the culprit could poison me on this trip means that they know my location or at least know that this ship is transporting supplies for Floating Dragon and that I would definitely appear here. This ship is only so big, and the culprit is definitely hidden among them. Plus, even the title of ‘Immortal Mercenary Group’ did not scare the culprit away, so there can only be two possibilities. Either they know that I’m not immortal or… an act of revenge?

Han Xiao’s eyebrows were locked tightly. He had many guesses in his mind, and even the players were not excluded!

He had to guard against the possibility of something like this happening. He made himself stronger by helping the players, but he never completely trusted them. After all, he knew too well what the players were like. He only hoped that this was not the right guess and that there was no player who privately accepted a mission to assassinate him.

After proving Han Xiao’s words true, many pairs of eyes full of hostility stared at the bartender who had collapsed on the side. The bartender saw that the poison did exist and was scared sh*tless; his entire body was shivering.

“It wasn’t me. I don’t know anything about this. I just took an empty cup from the drawer…”

Han Xiao opened the bar drawer. There were many empty cups inside. He took all of them out and poured water in each of them. These were all normal; his cup was the only one that had poison. He frowned and said, “There are so many glasses, and the only one with poison is the one you gave me. How can you explain that?”

“I—I don’t know. That glass was at the most outside. I really just took it randomly!”

The bartender almost urinated out of horror.

Herlous suddenly was covered in cold sweat. “If the bartender took the wrong cup, wouldn’t that have been the end of me‽”

“Your body is strong; the poison wouldn’t have killed you,” Han Xiao replied. He stared at the shivering bartender and said, “If it’s not you, it’s someone else that did something to the cup. Captain! Where’s the captain?”

The spaceship’s captain hurried to the scene, stepped out of the crowd, and said with sorrow on his face, “I’m the captain of Rainbow Conch. I am extremely sorry that something like this happened in my ship. I will provide my full cooperation to you with finding the culprit.”

“I want to see the surveillance recording of this few days and see who has come close to this place.”

“As you wish.”

Other than the bedrooms, most areas of the spaceship had surveillance cameras, including the dining hall. The culprit could be found immediately through the recordings.

The bartender was surprised. “So, I’m free to go?”

“Are you dreaming?” Han Xiao said. “Tie him up and bring him along.”

The captain led them to the main control room. Just as he was about to browse through the surveillance recordings, he was shocked to realize that the recordings had been wiped. Even the earliest recording was from less than one day ago.

“The surveillance recordings are all deleted!” The captain was stunned. “I’m the only one who can make such commands. Could it be that the spaceship system has been infiltrated? The culprit could bypass the alarms‽”

He hastily opened the background, passed through authorization with his fingerprint and pupils, and activated the system scan, but there was no sign of infiltration.

“Why can’t the infiltration be detected? Is the spaceship completely controlled by the enemy‽”

The captain was sweating profusely. He looked at the operation diary of the spaceship, hoping to find the ID of the person that deleted the recordings. This small traveling spaceship belonged to a galactical traveling organization, so the captain was hired and only had second-tier authorization. The highest system authorization belonged to the organization, and the captain could not modify the dairy. Hence, even if the culprit controlled the spaceship, the dairy would not be changed. Unless the opponent’s technology was strong enough to bypass the quantum network defense of the organization’s headquarters and get the highest authorization.

However, there was no sign of any other accounts logging into the system, but they did find the records of the recordings being deleted.

_____________________

[Operation Dairy #00784315]

22 hours ago—Clean all surveillance recordings.

Authorization granted.

Confirm/Back

Confirmed.

Deleting… Complete.

Operator: Captain’s account

_____________________

Chapter 432: Revenge from the Past (2)

The captains’ eyes opened widely. “Why is it my account‽ I didn’t do it! Twenty-two hours ago… I was sleeping at that time! It’s the culprit, the culprit stole my account! But… the login password is my biometric data, how can they be stolen…”

The people looked at him doubtfully. Maybe it was you. Now that the surveillance footage is gone, you can say whatever you want.

“There are a few possibilities. Maybe the superiors of your travel agency worked with another organization that is against us, or maybe the opposite party used some method to get the captain’s body password data, or maybe… there’s a shapeshifter Esper hidden in the ship,” Herlous contemplated.

Everyone’s face changed. They looked at each other with suspicion—everyone looked like an enemy.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and looked around the crowd. Everyone on the ship was gathered here, even Sylvia. She hid at the edge of the crowd and showed half of her face, sizing him up…

His eyes suddenly narrowed.

Wait a minute, Sylvia?

With a flash of insight, Han Xiao finally realized where the strange feeling came from. He looked at Dekker and said, “Sylvia is your friend’s daughter, is she?”

Dekker nodded and said with a confused face, “Yes, what’s wrong with that?”

Han Xiao squinted his eyes. “Her family… only has her father, and if I remember correctly, that person is not a nobody. I almost fell for your lies; you acted quite well. Leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist. Are you going to confess on your own, or do you need me to help you confess?”

Dekker’s expression froze. His eyes clearly expressed his shock and disbelief.Why do you know who Sylvia is‽

Although Han Xiao did not know exactly who Sylvia’s father was, he remembered that her father was a villain in the background introduction, and that was enough. Dekker was just a regular employee of a business organization, yet he had a villainous friend. It was certainly possible but still very questionable…

Han Xiao shook his head in his mind. He should have noticed this long ago, but everything was normal, so he did not think too much about it. It seemed like he had let his guard down a little recently.

After resting for a month due to the Pro League, along with not facing any huge threats in the nine months before that, his alertness had decreased subconsciously. Luckily, he noticed that in time and became more alert.

This time, Sylvia walked out. She was frowning. The feeling that she gave was completely different; the young and energetic feeling that she gave earlier was all a disguise. Although her body was still in puberty, the feeling that she gave was not like a teenage girl anymore—she felt more mature.

Sylvia stared at Han Xiao; her tone was complex and mixed with astonishment.

“You know me?”

She could not figure out how it was possible for Han Xiao to recognize who she was despite him meeting her for the first time. Logically, Black Star should not even know that she existed; she should have always been hidden in the dark.

Sylvia had thought of many possible ways in which she would be found out but never thought of her identity being exposed. Because of this, she would not be able to carry out her plan anymore.

In reality, if Han Xiao did not remember Sylvia’s character background, he would not have known the identity of the culprit. It was indeed not a coincidence to suddenly meet a future renowned character!

Sylvia clenched his teeth and spat furiously, “Black Star, my father was sent to jail by you. You dishonorable mercenaries only fight for money, and for that, you help those tyrants suppress the people who are suffering. My father could’ve saved everyone, but he couldn’t because of your mercenaries!”

Since she was already exposed, she did not act like a teenage girl anymore.

The players exchanged looks confusingly. When did we do something like that?

Maple Moon could not help but ask, “Little girl, what’s your father’s name?”

“Langley! How can you forget his name?” Sylvia was emotional.

Han Xiao opened the mercenary group panel and glanced through it. There really was this name in the mission resume. It was a partnership mission with the Purple Gold Army, to eradicate the stronghold of a certain rebel army. The leader of the rebels was called Langley, and as it turned out, that guy was Sylvia’s father.

Han Xiao was speechless. He had become the ‘certain mercenary group’ that imprisoned Sylvia’s father in her character background. What could he say? This was the result of the butterfly effect once again. It fell from the sky.

“Not only you but Purple Gold Army too. This will not be the last time; I will hunt you people to the depths of hell!” Sylvia yelled.

Bang!

As soon as she finished her sentence, the sound of a smoke grenade exploding came from behind them. Dark red poison gas rose from within.

_____________________

You are surrounded by certain poison gas. Judging END… Your END is lower than 280. No related immunity ability detected.

You have entered [Poisoned] state.

Low Concentration Corrosive Blood Poison Gas: This is a poison gas made from some Esper ability, require blood poison cure.

Current poison level: 30/30

You are losing 200 health per second.

Effects will wear off after not breathing in poison gas for 3 seconds.

_____________________

They turned around hastily and saw that the captain had already put on a gas mask. He was the one that threw out the gas grenades.

At the same time, the announcement from the spaceship system echoed in the entire spaceship.

“Auto-Navigation altered. Current destination: The closest Fixed Star. Heating up jumping engine. Estimated time till arrival: 13 minutes and 48 seconds.”

“The entire ship has entered lockdown mode; all gates are locked! Repeat, all gates are locked!”

Boom!

The gate in the main control room closed with a loud band, together with all the doors along the corridor and paths in the spaceship. The captain had prepared long ago. He dashed out extremely quickly before the alloy door on the other side of the main control room closed. Herlous could not capture the captain in time, and he punched the metal door, leaving a shallow dent.

The central alloy door divided a small part of the crowd and blocked them outside, including Sylvia.

Now, Han Xiao and the others were all trapped inside the main control room.

The crew was all stunned. The captain was with an enemy‽

Whoosh.

This time, clouds of dark red poison gas sprayed out from the ventilation pipe. The ventilation system had been modified, and now the hidden system was activated by the ‘captain’.

Han Xiao held his breath, and his eyes flickered.

This was not just an assassination; this ship itself was a complete trap for them! The reason that Sylvia knew their whereabouts was most likely because of how well known they were.

This time, a new mission appeared on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered Urgent Mission [Sylvia’s Revenge].

Mission Introduction: Because of a regular mercenary mission, you made Sylvia lose her father. Now, you have to face the blazing flames of her revenge.

Mission Requirements: Nullify Sylvia’s revenge methods.

Reward: 1,200,000 Experience.

_____________________

“Tsk tsk, they actually plotted against us and plan to send us into a Fixed Star and burn us to a crisp. Not a bad idea.”

Han Xiao smiled. He did not panic at all; he was extremely familiar with this kind of plan. He had fought the Germinal Organization this way back then.

“What do we do now?” Herlous looked at him. He could breathe and talk as usual because his END was more than 280, so the poison gas could not hurt him.

“Her plan is quite interesting, but she missed a very important factor…”

The mechanical suit expanded from his necklace to his entire body. His helmet filtered the poison gas, and his ‘Poisoned’ state was gone in no time. Han Xiao walked in front of the main control panel, pressed on the screen, and opened the spaceship system interface. He stretched his fingers, shook his head, and laughed.

“I’m a Mechanic.”

Chapter 433: Revenge from the Past (3)

The players activated the filter in their armor as well, making them immune to the poison gas. They looked at Han Xiao and waited for his orders.

“That captain used his authority and locked the spaceship’s navigation. I’ll hack into the spaceship system and change its course. You guys blast the alloy gate open; some of you go to the central computer room and insert this chip, and the rest of you go to capture Sylvia and her allies.”

Han Xiao opened his palm. With a flash of electricity, a black chip flew out from his pocket.

“Understood.” Herlous nodded. He pocketed the chip, swung his Battleship Slicing Blade, and slashed alloy door. With a piercing sound of steel being torn apart, an opening appeared. Dozens of armored players raised their firearms and fired at the door. The door was quickly covered in holes before collapsing.

In the poison gas, they walked out of the main control room. In front of them was another locked alloy door, and the group of people who had been separated earlier were trapped in the pathway. Many of them were poisoned and barely clinging on to life. Dekker was surprisingly among them too, but Sylvia had disappeared.

The players took out gas masks and placed them on these people. Dekker was weak and powerless. The moment he caught his breath, he started tearing up.

“I—I was forced. That girl used my family to threaten me, forcing me to act and cooperate with her. I really had no choice. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”

“Cut the cr*p. Where’s Sylvia?” Herlous demanded.

“She’s allied with that captain. She used the authority to open the alloy gate and escaped, leaving us here.”

Bang!

Herlous slapped Dekker unconscious and said, “Tie him up. The captain might question him later.”

Gunshots echoed in the spaceship. They broke through alloy doors one after another rather quickly. Sylvia had turned the spaceship into a trap, but the spaceship itself could not trap them. This was the difference in raw strength.

Han Xiao guessed that Sylvia would be going to the escape cabin as soon as possible and escape before the spaceship entered the jump state, at the same time releasing all the emergency escape ships and trap them in the spaceship. However, he was a Mechanic and could seize the spaceship’s authorization. This was the flaw in Sylvia’s plan.

Han Xiao opened the spaceship system—his fingers moved so quickly that they created afterimages. He entered countless codes and quickly hacked into the background of the system. Then he met resistance from the security system. He had bought some new advanced knowledges throughout the nine months, such as [Advanced Smart Technology], which made up for his weakness in terms of hacking. That black chip was an even stronger assistant Artificial Intelligence. After plugging it into the central computer room, the speed of breaking through the system would be doubled.

The alarm was triggered, and the system warning echoed in the spaceship.

“System infiltration detected! Please stop your actions immediately!”

As time was limited, Han Xiao did not go around the alarm and chose the roughest method.

“Hmm… 13th generation firewall from the TAK Series, 47th calculating method of the Silverlight sequence, random password wall. Quite advanced actually.” Han Xiao’s movements did not stop. He said while hacking, “Breaking through this system will take about five minutes, but the spaceship will enter the jumping state in two minutes. Sylvia will board the escape ship before this. Aroshia, capture her.”

Upon hearing Han Xiao’s words, Aroshia turned into energy form and left through the wall. Metal walls were meaningless to her; only energy barriers could stop her from going through the wall.

Everyone was moving, while Han Xiao stayed in the main control room and focused on hacking the system.

…

“Damn, how was I exposed? How can Black Star possibly know who I am?”

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the ship bridge. Sylvia was running hastily. She used the captain’s authority to open one alloy door after another and closed them after she passed through.

The sound of gunfire became clearer, meaning that she did not have much time left. If they fought directly, she would not be able to resist at all.

Every second counted at this time. Sylvia did not dare to stop. Warm, moist air came out of her lungs time after time as she gasped for breath.

In order to complete the trap, she had used all her savings to hire a freelance killer and even knew about Han Xiao’s whereabouts through the intel network of an organization. Sylvia clearly knew that she was too weak. In order to go against the Black Star Mercenary Group, she could only depend on a conspiracy and plot like that. She wanted this spaceship to become Black Star’s grave… Sadly, she could now only hope to save herself.

Do you regret it?

A sound echoed in her heart. Sylvia bit her lips.

Many images appeared in her head. Her father’s eyes that were full of love, the happy memories of her childhood, plating her memories with warmth.

However, the images shattered like a mirror. Flames devoured these memories. Mercenaries landed from the sky and destroyed everything with fire. If her father had not sent her away in advance, she would have died in that storm of bullets.

After being captured by the mercenaries, her father was sent to jail. She had wandered around and suffered a lot before she could finally return to the old place. Her father’s stronghold was like a home to her, but now, the only things left were the burnt ruins.

She still remembered, when she was young, she liked to hide under the shade of an old tree and spend lazy afternoons time after time. But that tree was turned into charcoal now, giving out a pungent odor. The black branches were the only things left of the once dense leaves.

Every time she thought of these things, the uncontrollable flames of rage would burn her nerves and shatter her reason.

“In order to have my revenge on these mercenaries, it’s worth it to be in danger!” Sylvia clenched her teeth.

Very soon, she arrived at the escape cabin. Inside were ten or so escape ships.

The captain happened to arrive at the same time, and he complained, “You did not tell me that the risks were this high. I want a greater reward.”

The turbulence was becoming more violent. As soon as they entered the jump state, they would not be able to use the escape ships unless they wanted to be torn into pieces together with the escape ships. Sylvia hastily pulled down the bolt of the escape ship. With the sound of air streams, the other escape ships were released, leaving only two behind.

Just as the two of them was about to walk in, a tint of golden light appeared behind them. Aroshia passed through the wall and made it just in time.

“Quickly, go!”

Sylvia clenched her teeth. She was about to enter the escape ship, then suddenly, the captain pushed her from her back and threw her toward Aroshia.

In times of danger, he could not be bothered about the fact that Sylvia was his employee; he just wanted to stall time.

In midair, Sylvia turned around in disbelief. She did not expect the sudden betrayal of the captain.

Hum!

An energy impact ring expanded, sending Sylvia flying before she even hit Aroshia. She bumped into the wall and fell down on the side. Her expression was distorted from the pain.

Aroshia’s straightened her arm. Her forearm turned into a bean of gold energy and swept at the two escape ships like a whip, melting through their shell and leaving a consistent red cut. It was clear that they could not be used anymore.

The captain’s face changed completely.

Boom!

The alloy door collapsed. Herlous and the players rushed to the scene and surrounded the two of them.

At the same time, the spaceship suddenly trembled and entered the jump state.

“It’s over…”

Sylvia closed her eyes in despair.

…

The poison gas dissipated slowly, and the locked alloy doors opened one after another. The spaceship exited the jump state and stopped in space.

Hacking the spaceship system was just a matter of time to Han Xiao. After getting Sylvia under control, he easily gained the captain’s authorization.

The entire spaceship was under his control now. He canceled the navigation toward the Fixed Star, and the danger was diffused.

Sylvia felt that her plan was lethal, but in reality, it was not much of a threat to the current Black Star Mercenary Group. The mercenary group could get out of danger with their raw strength, so Han Xiao had no reason to panic at all. Sylvia was still too young and naive at this period of time.

The interface notified them that the mission was complete. The players were joyful upon receiving 1,200,000 experience.

The incident had come to an end. All the people on the ship were gathered in the guest hall—around them were mercenaries who aimed their firearms at them. In the middle were Sylvia, Dekker, and the captain, who were bound tightly.

Han Xiao sat on the sofa, placed his elbows on his knees, and leaned slightly forward, slowly scanning the three of them. His aura was like a crouching tiger, very pressurizing. The crew and the company employees did not even dare breathe loudly, despite them not being the ones who were being interrogated.

Dekker hastily explained the situation. A few days ago, the Tyrell Group had prepared the supplies for Floating Dragon Island and confirmed to let him take care of the handover. After that, Sylvia had found him and forced him to cooperate.

“You know about our whereabouts, so there’s definitely an organization that provided you help. You’re just a small girl and won’t have such a vast intel network.” Han Xiao was expressionless. “Plus, you bribed the captain to take the risk and fight a group of mercenaries, so you definitely depended on the power of that organization…”

Sylvia stared at Han Xiao with a determined face like she had decided not to say anything no matter what. She was not willing to lower her head in front of her enemy.

“Bang!”

The sound of gunshot suddenly appeared.

Smoke came out from the muzzle.

Droplets of blood splashed onto Sylvia’s pretty face. Her whole body shivered, and she turned her head and looked over.

The captain’s head had a penetrating hole of blood in it; the stunned expression was fixed on his face. He collapsed slowly, and the pool of blood expanded gradually.

The captain had thought that Han Xiao was going to interrogate him and was still troubled by what he should say in order to stay alive, but Han Xiao was completely uninterested in him and gave him a bullet straight away.

The widened eyes were filled with regret.

The corpse suddenly changed shape into another man. This was the shapeshifting Esper ability, especially suitable for infiltration. Herlous’ eyes sparkled. “I guessed correctly. There is indeed a shapeshifting Esper.”

Seeing this, Han Xiao could now guess roughly what had happened. “Looks like the original captain died long ago and was replaced by this shapeshifting Esper. He’s a killer you hired, and he should be the one that poisoned the cup as well.”

Sylvia bit her lower lip heavily. She turned her head to not look at the corpse. Despite her trying her best to stay strong, she could not stop herself from shivering or the tiny tears appearing in her eyes.

She only looked like a teenage girl in the face of her fear of death.

“Yo—you might as well kill me too!”

Sylvia closed her eyes and tried her best to make an unafraid expression.

“I don’t oppose that.”

The still-hot muzzle pressed on Sylvia’s white and smooth face. Through the muzzle, Han Xiao could obviously feel Sylvia was shivering more and more heavily.

Chapter 434: Father (1)

Buzz!

At this time, a hologram appeared in the middle of the hall. It was an individual wearing luxurious clothes who looked similar to lizards. He scanned the entire place, looked at Han Xiao, and said in a confused tone, “The system of a spaceship under our organization was hacked. Black Star, did you do this?”

“Your response is too slow; I’ve been waiting for you.” Han Xiao leaned back on the sofa and looked up at this lizardman, temporarily putting Sylvia’s case aside.

This spaceship belonged to a galactic travel agency, so the organization had the highest level of authorization. As soon as the spaceship was taken away by an outsider, the organization would notice it right away and locate the spaceship, unless the connection was cut. However, doing so not only required hacking technology but also all sorts of disrupting and invading hardware, only then would the highest level of authorization be blocked. Han Xiao took the captain’s authorization, so he had known long ago that the actual owner of the spaceship would find him.

Although the spaceship was under his control, there was no way to block the owner’s range surveillance. With his technology level, it would take a few days to half a month to change the basic setting of the spaceship and erase the rights of the highest level of authorization. The deeper the authorization level was, the stronger its defense was; the difference in difficulty was like the difference between hacking into a small enterprise and hacking into the government.

The lizardman had thought that the spaceship had been stolen, but seeing the current situation, there seemed to be something else. He suppressed his rage and asked about what happened.

Han Xiao explained what had happened in a simple way. Knowing that the captain had been replaced and someone had tried to kill the passengers during the trip, the lizardman’s face changed tremendously… but the humans present could not see it.

“I took your spaceship because I trusted your travel agency, but I faced such a huge danger. Your reputation is very disappointing! If potential customers hear about this, who would want to take your spaceship that’s so unsafe?” Han Xiao pressed on his heart and spoke with an exaggerated tone, blackmailing under bright daylight. “Tsk… I have yet to recover from the terror. I am so upset. You have to compensate me for this, including mental damage, lost wages, post-trauma checkup, and others.”

The lizardman swung his tail and said with frustration, “I’m sorry, this is a dereliction of duty from our organization. We will definitely deal with it and give you compensations accordingly…”

Assassinations were hard to guard against. His travel agency had been dragged into that mess as well, but there was nothing he could do. After all, it had happened on his spaceship.

There were many galactic travel agencies in the universe, so the competition was quite intense. If this was spread out in an exaggerated way, their brand image would definitely be affected. At least Black Star was a mercenary group that worked for money and kept their word—he was willing to compensate and avoid the damages.

This travel agency owned dozens of spaceships and made close to a thousand Enas every day, it would be a waste if Han Xiao did not make them pay. Han Xiao directly stated an outrageous amount, and after some negotiation, both of them barely agreed with compensation of 30,000 Enas.

After receiving the 30,000 Enas, Han Xiao now had around 840,000 Enas. He sighed in his heart and felt that blackmailing was a much quicker way to earn money compared to being a mercenary… but not as quick as earning from the players’ wallets.

“Before you recall this spaceship, lend it to me for a few days. Anyways, you guys can track it and will know where the spaceship is,” Han Xiao said.

“This… alright.”

After agreeing, the upset lizardman turned off the communication.

Han Xiao did not intend to take the spaceship away. He was not a kid that could just snatch someone else’s candy. Robbing a spaceship with an official owner will make him wanted, unless there were no witnesses. The cons outweighed the pros, and it was not as safe as blackmailing the owners. In his previous life, many players proved the consequences of robbing spaceships with actions. Regardless of whether they succeeded or failed, they would become wanted and be chased by mercenaries, bounty hunters, and the patrolling law enforcement of all civilizations. Their initial Favorability with the various lawful civilizations would drop by a huge amount as well. Also, if they were discovered in the cities or planets belonging to the lawful factions, they would be surrounded by the guards and imprisoned. It was not worth it at all.

Han Xiao had no interest in walking down the same path. He had no urgent need for spaceships, so he did not want to risk it. Furthermore, he knew how to get spaceships for free without the side effects, so of course, he was not interested in robbing the spaceship.

After this matter was settled, Han Xiao looked at Sylvia again.

This teenage girl was tied up tightly and was slumping at the side. Her low eyelashes trembled continuously, looking extremely pitiful and heartbreaking. However, this had absolutely no effect on the Great Mechanic Han. Only dead enemies were good enemies …

“Wait a minute… who tied her up like this‽”

Han Xiao had only just realized the superb tying skills used on Sylvia.

Bun-Hit-Dog raised his hand immediately like a good student answering a question. He said with a bright smile on his face, “I did. Doesn’t it look amazing?”

“You’re really letting yourself go.” Frenzied Sword’s mouth twitched.

On the side, Herlous shook his head and asked, “Black Star, what are you planning to do with her?”

Han Xiao played with a firearm, glanced at him, and said, “Judging from your tone, you seem to have some suggestions. You should speak if you have any. I’m not a dictator—I believe in democracy.”

Herlous paused and chose his words carefully. “She said, ‘You dishonorable mercenaries helped those tyrants suppress the people who are suffering.’ I think she has definitely misunderstood some details. We all know full well what kind of person Langley is, but she doesn’t seem to. I think… isn’t it better to ask about it first?”

Then, Herlous sighed and said, “After all, I understand the impulse of revenge. Not mentioning the fact that she’s just a child, if there was a chance for me to assassinate the leader of DarkStar, I would not even hesitate.”

“I see, good for you.” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He turned around, looked at the players behind him and asked, “What about you guys? Any suggestions?”

The players froze, not expecting to be asked.

“Us? Anything.”

“Whatever is fine.”

“Anything is fine… but which one gives a better reward?”

“This girl is quite pretty—it’s a shame to kill her.”

The players replied carelessly. Most of them were male—they preferred to be decisive and get it done with. The female players like Rainy Kim and Maple Moon were more gentle and suggested searching for the truth.

Sylvia clenched her teeth tightly and tried her best to show a fierce face, but her body was still shivering. She had no power to resist and could only wait for her fate to be decided by someone else.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and stared at her as he contemplated.

He had many ways to deal with this; killing was the simplest one. As long as he pulled the trigger on Sylvia, who was acting tough but shivering in fear, the players in the future would lose thousands of parodies, making her journey end on his hand before it even started. He had a reason to do so. He was just killing an enemy, so no one could say that there was anything wrong with that.

With the blood of countless people on his hands, Han Xiao did not care for one more future known character.

However, he was not a bloodthirsty person. To him, killing was just a method; benefits were his real goal.

The question that was on his mind was if he could get more benefits from Sylvia and whether killing her or not killing her was more beneficial.

It did not matter whether Sylvia would be good or evil in the future; the Great Mechanic Han only needed someone with value, just like that crazy woman Hila. No wait, he saved Aurora, so Hila was not crazy. But in the storyline in his previous life, Hila wiped out entire planets of lives, so it would not be an overstatement to call her extremely wicked. Her power was what Han Xiao paid attention to, not her personality, beauty, or things like that.

There were many types of enemies. Archenemies that could not be negotiated with such as the Germinal Organization and DarkStar, competitors that could be friend or foe, enemies from misunderstandings, and so on. The way he saw it, Sylvia was an enemy born from a misunderstanding, and Han Xiao knew what misunderstanding it was.

Langley was a criminal rebel, but as a father, he had definitely hidden something from his daughter or even lied to her, finding excuses for his actions. Therefore, Sylvia thought that her father’s actions were fighting against a tyrant and that he was saving his people.

According to the experience from his previous life, Sylvia was quite righteous—she was just blinded by hatred and lies. If she knew what kind of person her father was, she might give up on her revenge as she did in Han Xiao’s previous life. Han Xiao had known the truth since long ago, and he knew how to quickly change Sylvia’s perspective. To him, those were just small deeds… but this was not the key.

The key was, what benefit could he get from doing that?

Hmm… maybe a certain mission can be triggered. Since there are some rewards, she still has some value. That shall be it then, keep her alive temporarily and complete the mission first, then deal with it depending on the situation. If she still is hostile… then I shall bury her.

Release her? That was completely impossible.

From the perspective of a businessman, Sylvia was not just a person but a resource that had value. His assets were not so large to the extent that he could throw away money on the streets and waste resources.

Upon having these thoughts, Han Xiao stood up and said, “Pack up and prepare to leave. Knock her out and lock her up.”

Sylvia’s tiny face was filled with shock. She looked up and said, “Where are you taking me?”

“To see your father,” Han Xiao said coldly.

Sylvia’s eyes widened instantly; she could not believe it.

Chapter 435: Father (2)

Agolo Prison City was an enormous fortress made of steel located in the Agolo Alliance Garrison Planet, one of the seven planets under the New Phylen Alliance. It was used to imprison political criminals, war criminals, treason criminals, and other criminals from the members of the alliance. Sylvia’s father, Langley, was imprisoned here.

The New Phylen Alliance was a small civilization alliance in the Rain Star System of the Colton Star Cluster in the Shattered Star Ring. In the sea of planets, there were countless political alliances like this. Usually, a civilization alliance only existed within a certain area. Most of them were formed when one civilization in the area decided to develop peacefully, hence forming an alliance.

The New Phylen Alliance had eight members, all small galactic civilizations in between planet level and star system level. These civilizations had once been nations on the same planet called Phylen. After Planet Phylen’s technology reached a level that allowed them to enter space, these nations could not come to an agreement. Since there were disputes, they decided to split up peacefully. There were so many resources in the universe waiting to be discovered, so there was no need to be inflexible. Therefore, the strongest nation stayed on their mother planet, and the other nations took migration spaceships and migrated to other planets. In the end, they all developed into different civilizations.

In terms of fundamentals, these civilizations all had the same roots. Their technology and culture were very similar. Hence, after many years of separation, they came together once again, forming the New Phylen Alliance. This was the strongest force in the Rain Star System.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, there were discussions about implementing a similar system on Earth. Since Earth could not be united, maybe this was a good idea. Of course, this was very idealistic, and problems regarding limited resources were always complicated. Furthermore, it was still unknown whether Earth could even develop to a point where they could enter outer space. Fortunately, the Great Mechanic Han did not have to care about this problem anymore.

Langley had originally been a high ranked army officer of a nation, almost a warlock that had a land of his own. His life was good, and he was paid handsomely too. However, one day, he suddenly used his influence to provoke the army, recruiting quite a number of people in secret and gathering a group of rebels, looking like they wanted to form a nation on their own. He called it an uprising, but in reality, they were doing immoral things. They built a very firm stronghold and fought with their old superiors for many years. In the end, they were demolished by a group of galactic mercenaries who fell from the sky and penetrated straight into their headquarters. The Black Star Mercenary Group was one of these mercenaries that accepted the hiring invitation from Purple Gold Army. There was a total of seven mercenary groups that worked together to complete this mission.

This time, Han Xiao was piloting Rainbow Conch spaceship and arrived at New Phylen Alliance’s territory. He had sent a request earlier, and the alliance always welcomed mercenaries who had worked with them before. Thus, they agreed to his request of questioning the prisoner.

The spaceship landed on the pier of Agolo Alliance Garrison Planet, took the land transport, and headed toward Prison City. Han Xiao only brought a few people along for this trip—Aroshia, the tied-up Sylvia, and a few players including Bun-Hit-Dog. The rest were waiting on the spaceship. This trip was just to let Sylvia see her father, so there was no need to bring a lot of people.

“Wh—why are you doing this?”

In the stably moving Hovering Battle Vehicle, Sylvia was feeling complicated. A few days ago, when she failed the assassination, she had thought that she was going to die for sure. But to her disbelief, not only did Han Xiao not kill her, he even brought her to see her father. In the rare times that she was awake along the journey, she had been questioning if this was a dream. Without approval from the alliance, she would never be able to enter the heavily guarded Agolo Prison City. She had thought that she would never see her father again. Sylvia could not understand why Han Xiao was helping her.

“To let you know that your hatred is meaningless and how unworthy it is for you to give your life for him. Also, to let your father know about your death. I really want to see his expression when he realizes that his lies killed his own daughter. Killing people and destroying their spirit is my favorite.”

Han Xiao shrugged. He could not be bothered with Sylvia’s furious expression and opened up the interface.

After he let Sylvia live, a new mission [Lies] was triggered. Its requirement was to let Sylvia know the so-called ‘truth’. The reward was not too bad, 540,000 experience. There was no need to search for the truth—he just had to ask her father.

In Sylvia’s character background in Han Xiao’s previous life, her father was blasted into pieces by the mercenaries, but now, he had been captured alive by Han Xiao. That hiring mission had given a greater reward for capturing him alive, so he had let Langley live, which made things much easier now.

Agolo Prison City was enormous and magnificent. There was a lot of guards, and many snipers were positioned at high locations. The searchlight illuminated the night and made it look like the day. They entered the prison successfully, and a warden came to welcome them.

“Black Star, I’ve heard a lot about you.” This warden had a beard and was very straight forward. He shook Han Xiao’s hand firmly and laughed passionately. “My friend Barny serves in the 37th Field Army. He took part in the Langley Stronghold Eradication Operation and fought alongside the mercenaries. He witnessed how powerful you are and always mentions you to me. I’m stuck in this silent Prison City every day, and finally, I’m meeting someone as renowned as you.”

“You’re too kind.” Han Xiao maintained a slight smile and chatted casually as they followed the warden forward.

Very soon, they stopped before the metal gate of a single-person cell.

The distance was only one door away; Sylvia was very excited and almost wanted to immediately rush in to see her father. However, Han Xiao grabbed her shoulder, making her unable to move. “Mr. Warden, I want to see Langley alone first.”

“No problem.” The warden nodded.

“What do you want to do with my father‽”

Sylvia was like an angry kitten with flames in her eyes. She bit down with all her might on Han Xiao’s hand, but not only was she unable to hurt Han Xiao, she was giddy from the shock deflected by Han Xiao’s arm. A ‘-13’ deflected damage appeared above her head, while the word ‘Immune’ appeared above Han Xiao.

“What do I want to do to him? That’s a good question. I don’t want him to look so good when he sees you, best to have lost an eyeball or an ear.”

Han Xiao curled his lips and walked into the cell alone. The metal gate closed after him and blocked Sylvia’s furious screams.

The light in the room was very dim. The cell was divided into two areas by a cage heated by electricity, and inside the cage was the actual cell. Langley leaned on the black wall covered in moss and dirt. There was stubble all over his face, and his eyes had no focus. He was much older and more decrepit than before.

When Langley heard a sound, he thought it was the guard, so he turned and looked over subconsciously, but what he saw was his nightmare that he could never forget. His expression became terrified, and he jumped up instantly. “It’s you! Why are you here‽”

“You’re very afraid of me?” Han Xiao walked to the cage with an expressionless face. “Shouldn’t you thank me? If it was the other mercenaries that got to you, they wouldn’t even have wasted their energy to pick up your corpse. Do you think you would be standing here with your full body like you are right now?”

Although there was a cage between them, Langley did not feel safe at all. He moved back hastily, and his back bumped into the wall. He swallowed his saliva anxiously, and the pain in his knees was becoming stronger. He could still vividly remember what happened—a group of armored mercenaries fell from the sky, killed his army like cutting through vegetables, and advanced into the heart of his stronghold. The mercenary that stood before him now waved his hands and summoned around a hundred cannons in an instant. At least a thousand people were killed by this person alone. He slaughtered his way through, marched up to him, and fired two bullets through his knees—that pain was almost suffocating.

Langley still had to depend on the nerves implanted into his knees to stand up.

“Cut the nonsense, I’m here for you,” Han Xiao said coldly. “Your daughter Sylvia. I don’t know what lies you told her, but she believed whatever bullsh*t you said and feels that you’re a great man and a liberator of the people. She wanted to avenge you and tried to assassinate me…”

“What!”

Langley face changed instantly. He pounced at the railings and grabbed onto the heated cage, not caring about the high temperature burning through his hands and the burnt smell that came out of it. His face could almost touch Han Xiao’s face, filled with anxiety and rage.

“Wha—what did you do to her‽”

“What else?” Han Xiao let out a sigh and said, “Of course I killed her. I shot her from below her jaw through his head, opening a hole at the back of her head. Her brain juice and blood splashed all over the wall. One of my subordinates thought she’s quite pretty, so he’s planning to skin her face and make it into a specimen for display.”

Langley almost fainted. His daughter was his only motivation for staying alive. His expression became twisted, as rage, regret, heartache, desperation, and hatred flashed past one after another. He growled like a beast approaching its death, and even his fear of Han Xiao was completely forgotten.

“I will kill you! I will definitely kill you!!!”

Han Xiao looked at the furious Langley calmly, and when his throat became hoarse from the screaming and could only stare at him while breathing heavily, Han Xiao said slowly, “Okay, enough jokes. Your daughter is outside the gate. I captured her. I brought her here just to see you.”

Langley froze and could not react to it. He felt extremely weak from the emotional rollercoaster. He collapsed onto the floor, pointed his trembling finger at Han Xiao, but could not speak a word.

Han Xiao squatted, looked Langley in the eye, and said, “You’re a smart person. Whether I kill your daughter or not depends on you.”

Langley’s expression changed many times. He lowered his head and kept silent.

“Speak, I don’t have the patience to wait for you to consider.” Han Xiao knocked the metal cage impatiently.

“I’m not a good person… but you’re eviler than me.” Langley’s eyes were filled with complicated emotions. He said with a hoarse voice, “I will do it. I will tell her everything about me. I was a high-level spy for another force from the start. I was controlled by someone else, and everything I did was to overturn the rules built by the New Phylen Alliance. I will tell her that I have been lying to her. I’m not who she thinks I am. I’m just a despicable traitor, an evil man who destroyed thousands of families for his own benefit. I will destroy the image she has for me and make her feel… completely disappointed… in me, her father…”

“You know what to do.” Han Xiao stood up.

Langley looked at Han Xiao and said, “This way, will you let my daughter go?”

Han Xiao did not bother to reply, he turned to walk toward the door and left him with one last reminder. “Anyway, if I do not like the result after the conversation, I will make what I said earlier a reality… This is the one and only chance I’m giving you.”

He opened the door and left the cell. He immediately saw Sylvia’s anxious face. She was staring at him with rage but could not control herself from glancing at the gap of the door.

“Go in, you have ten minutes.”

Han Xiao waved his hand and told Aroshia to let Sylvia go. Sylvia rushed into the cell and could not wait to see her father.

After closing the door, the warden turned on the surveillance footage and monitored Sylvia’s conversation with Langley. Sylvia’s change in her expression could be clearly seen.

She turned from anxious to stunned, then shocked, then there was an intense argument. They could even faintly hear Sylvia’s out of control howling through the thick metal door. In the end, tears gushed out from her eyes.

…

_____________________

[Lies] completed.

You have received 540,000 Experience.

_____________________

“It’s ten minutes.”

The warden opened the gate and brought Sylvia out.

She looked like she had lost her soul. Her eyes were out of focus, and there were still tear marks on her face. She lost all motivations and was like a walking corpse. Her energy from ten minutes ago was nowhere to be found. The strong belief that she had been holding onto had collapsed.

Only then did she know that the great image of her father in her heart was completely built from lies. She had been lied to for more than ten years. He was not a great man; everything he did was despicable, and he deserved every bit of suffering that he had now. Even without the mercenaries interfering, he would have been defeated by the army sooner or later. If not for Black Star, her father would not even have been alive.

Her world had collapsed. The warm and bright childhood images in her memories all felt different.

Everything was a lie!

She felt like her heart was being penetrated by a thousand bullets.

She could not even digest this information in a short time. Her vision started spinning, and all the sound became distant and faint like she was isolated from the world.

Plop.

Sylvia collapsed onto the ground and fainted.

Through the slowly closing gap of the door, Han Xiao looked at Langley for the last time.

This rebel leader looked like he was decades older, but his face was very calm. It even had a tint of… relief.

Han Xiao shook his head, grabbed Sylvia by her back collar, and placed this kid over his shoulder like a sack.

“Congratulations on growing up.”

Chapter 436: The Start of Ten Years

Han Xiao and the others arrived at the resting lounge. The warden left after saying a few words, leaving Han Xiao and the others in the room.

The mission is completed. Next, I need to deal with her.

Han Xiao tossed Sylvia onto a chair. He looked at the fainted teenage girl and contemplated.

I made Sylvia hear about what her father has done. With reference to what happened in my previous life, she should change… but it’s not certain. Firstly, in my previous life, she only knew the truth after battling for many years; she was older and more mature, so she could adjust better. For now, she’s just a kid. Maybe she’ll still hate me or avoid it temporarily. Secondly, Langley died a long time ago in my previous life, but now he’s still alive, and this will impact her in an unknown way. It’s probably beneficial.

After some pondering, Han Xiao decided to make a decision after seeing Sylvia’s reaction.

From his perspective, it was definitely better to make Sylvia stay. An NPC resource delivered to his doorstep, there was no reason for him to let it go. He even thought of going through the history of the mercenary group to see if there were more chances like this.

Han Xiao was just about to slap Sylvia awake, but suddenly, he remembered that Bun-Hit-Dog was beside him, so he did not do it. Han Xiao took two steps back, turned his head, and told Aroshia, “Wake her up.”

Aroshia walked forward and slapped Sylvia on her face. Sylvia woke slowly.

“Hmm… My face is so numb.”

Sylvia opened her eyes. She could feel numbness on her face, and it hurt a little.

She looked around, and the moment that she saw Han Xiao, she was about the turn angry subconsciously when she suddenly recalled what had happened before she fainted, and her rage disappeared. Instead, her mood plummeted. She looked down at her toes, her face filled with gloom.

She had thought that her father was great, but the reality was, Langley was a traitor. Even without Black Star, her father would have been defeated by the other mercenaries sooner or later. Furthermore, her father only lived because Han Xiao held back, so her hostility toward Han Xiao vanished.

If the person that she was going to avenge was a traitor, even if that person was her father, she still felt that what she did would be wrong. Langley caused his own suffering, so there was nothing that she could avenge.

The glorious image of her father in her heart collapsed. Sylvia’s feelings toward Langley became complicated and conflicted. She believed that her father’s love toward her was true, but everything that he did was beyond her acceptable range. Her father had been lying to her all along. Of course, she despised him for it.

The doubt of Han Xiao forcing her father to say those things only existed for a split second because Han Xiao did it way too obviously and confidently without any disguise. She knew that it was impossible with just a little thought. After all, she was just a small girl that failed to assassinate him—why would the captain of a renowned mercenary group go through so much effort to lie to her? Han Xiao had captured Langley with his own hands. If he did not know her father’s real identity, why would he suddenly take her to question her father herself? Furthermore, her father had given a lot of details on the crimes that he had committed, and they were all real.

Maybe when she investigated back then, she had still held some hope in her heart and felt that those suspicions were all lies. Now that the source of these things had described those crimes in detail, all her fantasies were shattered.

Sylvia looked at Han Xiao with very complicated feelings. Although this mercenary group captain had been scaring her all along, his actions had truly helped her. After her father was captured, she had experienced both coldness and warmth between people. She did not know how to react to this kindness from a stranger, and she felt guilty.

When the flames of rage that burnt her senses away had extinguished, she finally spoke from her heart.

“Thank you. You’re a good person… And… I’m sorry, really sorry…”

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

Looks like the heart modifying operation was a success.

“Our captain is known as the Women Loving Mechanic Han, what did you think?” Bun-Hit-Dog laughed with his hands on his waist.

Han Xiao acted as if he did not hear it and sized Sylvia up.

This girl was not grumpy anymore; she looked quiet and pretty. Although she was a mess after being captured for so many days, the dust on her face could not cover how pretty she was. As one of the most popular targets in the parody industry in his previous life, he could already foresee Sylvia growing up to be beautiful.

“I don’t want to bother about anything else for now. Tell me, which organization helped you to know my whereabouts?” Han Xiao asked with a deep voice.

Sylvia did not hide anymore and spoke the truth.

“It’s an intel selling organization called ‘Mytar’. I used a part of my savings and told them to be mindful of your whereabouts, then bought this intel from them. The shapeshifting Esper that I hired is a freelance killer. He and I designed the assassination plan together. The poison gas and poison all belonged to him, but you have already killed him…”

Sylvia paused. She suddenly realized that Han Xiao had killed another person but not her.

Was it because he knew her?

Then she asked the question that she had been wanting to ask all along. “How did you recognize me? Did my father tell you?”

“Coincidence.”

Han Xiao gave a perfunctory response and pondered about that intel organization called Mytar.

Intel organizations were usually neutral. If the customer requested intel about someone or some organization that they could not mess with, they would refuse to sell. Not messing with people who were too strong was an unspoken rule for intel organizations.

Clearly, he was not on that list in the eyes of these intel organizations, unlike his boss Ames, who really could not be messed with.

Honestly, Han Xiao did not like the feeling of exposing his whereabouts, but he did not have a solution for it temporarily. This was an unavoidable situation. In order to solve it, he could only become stronger. Whether it was strength, influence, or fame, as long as he could make the intel organization feel that he could not be messed with, they would not sell his intel.

Looks like I need to keep working hard. Han Xiao placed this matter in his heart, narrowed his eyes, and asked, “What is your plan?”

Sylvia shook her head and looked lost.

She did not know where to go after suddenly losing her goal. The Galaxy was so wide, yet she had nowhere to go.

“Father, he… although he’s not a good person, he told me the truth. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t want to drag me down and does not want me to neglect myself because of him. He wants me to have my own life…”

After calming down, Sylvia sort of understood that her father did what he did to save her, or why would he destroy the image that he had been building in her daughter’s heart for so many years? Although she was still bothered by it, she had no other choice but to accept reality. She said softly, “The universe is so vast. I will probably go look at different places… hoping to find something else I can be determined on…”

“You want to leave?” Han Xiao said with an expressionless face. “Did I allow you to leave?”

Sylvia froze.

“The first rule of mercenaries, all jobs have to be paid. Our help was not free. Furthermore, do you think I’m going to let go of the fact that you tried to assassinate me? I’m in a good mood, so I don’t want to kill you, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay a price. You have to compensate for all my damages.” Han Xiao crossed his arms and snorted.

“I—I have no money now,” Sylvia said embarrassedly and fidgeted uncomfortably. She had spent all her savings on this assassination, and those were the funds that Langley had left her. She truly had no money at all.

“No money?” Han Xiao was expressionless. “Then you shall repay me with your body.”

Sylvia’s eyes widened instantly. She blushed and stuttered, “Yo—You… I—I’m just a kid. I—I ca—can’t…”

The players were all shocked and looked at Han Xiao in disbelief.

Holy, I didn’t know you are this kind of Black Phantom!

We’re the same type of people!

Bun-Hit-Dog recorded it with glee. He was very satisfied; this was way too explosive!

Aroshia tilted her head and mumbled, “This should be the humans’ action of sending a mating signal.”

Han Xiao almost could not keep a straight face after hearing what Aroshia said. He narrowed his eyes and said, “What are you people thinking? I have no interest in your body; I want your freedom.”

Sylvia immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Han Xiao apprehensively. “Freedom? What do you mean?”

“You have to work for me for ten years.”

“Ten is too long. Can you make it a little bit shorter?” Sylvia made the hand sign of ‘a little bit’ as she spoke with a fawning tone.

“Twelve years.”

“No no no, ten years is good.” Sylvia hastily waved her hands.

“In these ten years, you’ll be my subordinate. If you want to escape or betray me, I won’t give you a second chance. Maybe you can escape, but your father has nowhere to run,” Han Xiao said coldly.

Hearing the threat, Sylvia’s face became serious for a second. She wanted to be angry but felt powerless to do so. With her emotions in turmoil, she lowered her head and said softly, “I won’t run from my own mistakes. It’s just ten years. I’m still young, so I can afford it… I don’t have anywhere else to go now anyway.”

Since Han Xiao had chosen to let Sylvia live, he definitely had to make use of her value and create more profit than killing her would. Sylvia was at least a grade A Super at her peak in his previous life, so she was quite a good potential stock. By recruiting her, he could consider it as having another high-quality officer. Furthermore, she was talented in the Mechanic class, which suited his abilities. She could become his assistant. Although she needed time to grow, it was worth the investment.

Han Xiao wanted mature grade A Supers too, but tricking someone with a higher grade was way too difficult. There were not that many people who were as easy to trick as Herlous, and even tricking Herlous had not been that easy.

According to Sylvia’s personality in his previous life, although she was sometimes extreme, she could be considered as normal after giving up on vengeance. Now, this process had been completed many years in advance, which could only be for the better.

Furthermore, no matter what, Sylvia was a popular character. This could indirectly increase the popularity of his faction among the players, giving his faction more ‘fame’.

After she joined him, her galactic pirate career would no longer occur. However, she had the fundamentals after all. As long as she was tuned properly, her flavor would definitely not be worse than the previous life…

For the possibility of not being able to control her in the future, the Great Mechanic Han was not worried at all. Not because he was arrogant, but even the players’ growth speed could not match his. If he did not have this tiny bit of confidence, he might as well go back to Planet Aquamarine and open a pig farm.

Chapter 437: Conclusion of the Pro League

Han Xiao and the others returned to the spaceship. Sylvia was clearly not used to her new identity and looked cautious. Han Xiao told the Volga brothers to teach her the basic knowledge, and he was pulled aside by Herlous.

“You let her join our team?” Herlous asked in surprise.

Han Xiao described the process briefly and gave Herlous a look. “You got a problem?”

“No, I don’t have a problem with a little girl, but she can’t fight—how can she become a mercenary?”

“She’s talented. She won’t be worse than you with some training.”

Herlous’ mouth twitched. “Comparing me with a small girl… I feel like you’re shaming me.”

“Hehe, you’re overthinking it. I’ll only shame you during training.”

Han Xiao joked around. He turned and looked at Sylvia. She was surrounded by the players, who were trying to start a conversation with her, and did not know what to do. This was Black Star’s traditional welcome ceremony.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Sylvia had joined and left many organizations to acquire Super knowledges, showcasing her potential. Since now she had joined his faction, Han Xiao was naturally going to pass on his knowledges to her if he wanted her to be of some use. According to the path that she took in her previous life, she was most suitable for the Mechanic Class. Han Xiao rubbed his chain and decided to personally tune… train her.

…

At that time, Floating Dragon Island was also in the Rain Star System. Han Xiao set the auto navigation of the spaceship, left the New Phylen Alliance, and arrived at Floating Dragon Island to handover the supplies.

Although Dekker had been threatened, he had been involved in the assassination. Tyrell was furious when he found out and fired Dekker on the spot. Even if Dekker had his reasons, Tyrell did not want to use someone that had damaged the profit of the organization.

After this, Tyrell expressed his sincere apologies. Han Xiao would never give up on an opportunity to gain profit. The compensation that he demanded this time was a higher discount, which Tyrell agreed to instantly. He was different from the travel agency that Rainbow Conch belonged to—his business partnership with Floating Dragon was much tighter so things were easier.

Speaking of the travel agency, a group of lizardmen went to Floating Dragon to retrieve the spaceship. On the docks, the travel agency’s team had already arrived. They sent compensation to Han Xiao’s account and retrieved Rainbow Conch after all the goods were unloaded. Han Xiao watched as those people left with the spaceship. He shook his head, took out his Galactic Communicator, and was going to call for a spaceship.

This time, Floating Dragon’s Guard Captain Wilsander came and said with a light-hearted tone, “I heard someone tried to assassinate you.”

“Just kid’s play.” Han Xiao glanced at him. “Are you interested?”

“Of course. I have to stay on this island every day to maintain order. Do you think my life is very interesting?” Wilsander said bitterly.

After chatting awhile, Han Xiao sent Wilsander away and went aside alone. He opened the forums and paid attention to the competition. After the incident with Sylvia, the Pro League had finally ended. The discussion on the forums was lively and passionate. He looked through the competition process roughly.

In the battle between the top four teams, Dynasty defeated Hydra 3:2, advancing to the finals. On the other side, Tulips won against Devil. In the champion deciding match between Dynasty and Tulips, the popularity and broadcast rating went above the roof. Han Xiao did not watch the videos, but according to the content in these discussion posts, the matches seemed to be very interesting and close. They fought back and forth time after time, performing at the highest level of pro players, bringing a feast to the viewers’ eyes.

Sadly, in the end, during the match point when the score was 2:2, Dynasty made a small mistake, and Tulips caught that opportunity. Using that momentum, they won the match. Dynasty lost the match. Tulips were horrifyingly steady. When fighting against them, any small flaw or mistake would be taken advantage of and turned into the key of turning the tables.

As the final result was decided, the first season Pro League ended. Tulips was the champion, Dynasty was the runner up, and the other two top-four teams were Devil and Hydra. In the Singles, the champion was a German player who showcased how terrifyingly accurate and precise the Germans were. King Admiral was in the top four. Of all the China players, King Admiral’s result in the Pro League was the highest—it was top-notch in the entire world. As the top one player in China for many years, this result undoubtedly made his position even firmer.

On the forums, spectators from all the nations discussed their nation’s teams. Although Dynasty did not win the championship, the Chinese players were still very joyful. At least they were the runners-up, which was better than most of the teams. The first Pro League season was very encouraging. Even some foreign spectators became fans after seeing the Chinese teams’ performance.

Compared to the ranking in his previous life, the results this time were way better. In his previous life, China only had one place in the top eight, and now there were two teams in the top eight. There was an improvement in the Singles as well. In Han Xiao’s previous life, King Admiral was the only Chinese contestant that made it to top sixteen, but now there was also Frenzied Sword. They had brought pride to their nation.

The noticeable improvement in the results as compared to the previous life was only because of the Great Mechanic Han.

The players who followed him came back with good results, so his influence would be increased indirectly as well. His potential market had expanded, so Han Xiao was satisfied with the performance of the players.

With this result, Dynasty was overjoyed. Even Second Prince, who usually complained all the time, had a content smile on his face. He surprisingly did not degrade his captain. Long Sky’s ranking was not bad either, but Hao Tian was not satisfied with that; his attitude for continuous improvements never changed. Frenzied Sword was in the top sixteen in Singles and was satisfied as well. This was a result that he had never even dared to imagine before. Most of the Chinese players were satisfied with what they had achieved. Temple of God was a little jealous of Dynasty and Long Sky’s results. In comparison, Temple of God’s performance in the first season looked bleak.

After the league ended, all sorts of shows started one after another. The shows reported and discussed the Pro League, the teams hosted press conferences, and there was also the awards ceremony. However, none of that was what Han Xiao focused on. The first season’s ending meant that… the version update was going to arrive.

The last version update was three years ago. To Planet Aquamarine, the players that suddenly appeared sparkled waves of terror. During the update from Version 1.0 to Version 2.0, the players would disappear once again.

Normally, six days in in-game time was equivalent to one day in the players’ ‘real’ time. The flow of time was constant, but when there was a version update, the connection between their time would be cut off. In the Version 1.0 update, the time passed in-game was one year. To players, it was only about two to three days.

Every version update’s time skip was different; the players would enter Galaxy at different times. Usually, the versions were all large events or disasters.

During the version update, these players will not be here. Without these ‘immortal’ and convenient players, I will have to be more cautious with my actions. Furthermore, there aren’t any methods to quickly earn experience or money in the one-year period. Hence, it will be better for me to dig up those missions with high potential. The details need to be planned…

Chapter 438: Goddess of Luck

The main members of the mercenary group were temporarily the players. When they disappeared, the team that he could command was only the Sunil Division. There were too few NPCs.

While the players are away, the income of the mercenary group will decrease. I can halt our operations temporarily and make time to recruit more people. When Version 2.0 starts, the Mutation Disaster will break out. The players on Planet Aquamarine will start to connect to the galaxy. During the version update, I’ll have time to make preparations.

He had only brought along fifty players for now, and they had already made a huge profit for him. Version 2.0 was the time where his profit would rocket through the sky. The players were mountains full of green leeks—he would not even be able to harvest all of them before they grew again. Just thinking about it made the Great Mechanic Han look forward to the profit that he was going to make.

His target was the tens of thousands of players. He wanted to make Black Star Mercenary Group a guiding faction for the players to enter space. Of course, it was easier said than done. He had hidden competitors—Godora and DarkStar.

These two forces would use planets as battlefields to fight each other, and the players would then choose a faction in this situation. Han Xiao would be snatching meat from the mouth of a tiger by interfering.

However, he also had some obvious advantages. These two sides would be focusing on fighting with each other, so he was the only one that would focus on the players. Plus, the impact and sense of belonging that he had built through Bun-Hit-Dog’s shows, as well as his position in the hearts of the players, would attract them to him.

The more players that he recruited, the better. Therefore, he had to make abundant preparations. First was benefits such as equipment missions, rewards, and so on, enhancing his power and strength. Second was measures for the Mutation Disaster. The former was targeted at the players; the latter was targeted at the main storyline.

I have more than 800,000 Enas, enough to buy two advanced knowledges and complete the class advancement mission. However, I’m now at level 95, and there’ll be a promotion mission at level 100, meaning I can only increase my level by five after spending all my money. It’s best to first get a subclass, reach level 100, and look at the promotion mission. If it can’t be completed in a short time, there’s no hurry to spend this 800,000, and I can save it as funds. I have about 1.5 billion experience, which is not enough to level up to 120 straight away. Plus, I still need to leave some experience to gamble blueprints and upgrade abilities.

Since there would be no players for him to harvest in the next year, Han Xiao had to be more calculating. The promotion at level 100 was the second chance of race evolution. He had received Void Genes from the Void Dragon Bone Marrow, which would largely affect his race evolution choices, so he was quite looking forward to promotion.

Subclasses are easy to find, but the rare ones are rather troublesome…

Han Xiao searched his memories. These rare subclasses could usually only be acquired after very complex processes. The difficult ones were too time-consuming, but the easier ones were not suitable for the Mechanic class. Subclasses were just an add-on for him; he did not need them to be rare, but they had to be suitable for the Mechanic class.

Since that’s the case, attribute classes are not a bad choice. Luckily, I can get this class right in Juberly Hub. Although it’s not rare, its effect is simple and straightforward.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

…

After completing Floating Dragon’s daily escorting missions, Han Xiao was summoned by Ames to her house, as usual, to ask him about the progress of looking for her teacher. He then took the others back to Juberly Hub to rest.

The pro players had just finished their competition and were exhausted, so they completely loved the idea. Doing missions in Hub City was much more relaxing, almost like having a holiday.

Obviously, Han Xiao did not do this to let them rest; it was mainly because it was almost the version update, so he wanted to use this opportunity to make one last push for profits.

Han Xiao was planning to sell some machinery that he did not need anymore to the players, as well as some elite machinery from time to time, then take one the enhancing and repairing services. For this, Han Xiao isolated himself for a few days to build more machinery. When there were so many players, no matter how quickly he could build the machinery, he would definitely not be able to meet the demands of all these players… unless he had assembly lines, but that was a plan for further in the future.

However, Han Xiao had a solution for this problem long ago—enhance the NPC resources of the faction, then use the connections with these NPCs to give the players opportunities to go to other places for missions and income. Sunil was one of the training bases that he had prepared for the players.

After selling things for a few days, Han Xiao took a flying disc carrier to the fifty-seventh floor of a tall building in the middle of the hub city. This place was an absolutely neutral agency called [Spacetime Research Council]. The name sounded very high-class, but it actually had nothing to do with spacetime. This was a scholar association for people to store their knowledge and discuss their findings. They had agencies in various Star Fields, and it was based on a membership structure, so it was very liberal.

The purpose of the Spacetime Research Council was to store the information and history of all the civilizations in the universe, similar to a knowledge base. Also, to provide a platform for the scholar members to exchange new research topics. This kind of organization, of course, was a public and neutral organization. The Arcane Church was the one that started it. The Arcane Church was the Universal Civilization that focused most on culture and knowledge. They had countless members across many Star Fields. Even the Federation of Light and Crimson Empire were among the executives of this association.

The inventory of the Spacetime Research Council included very practical knowledge, such as the technology, magic, and Super knowledges of different civilizations. Practical knowledge was more precious, and the sensitive parts would usually not be showcased to the outside world. This was a request from advanced civilizations as well. If someone wanted to browse that important information, they had to have higher authorization.

The only way to increase the faction relationship with this association was to donate unknown knowledge and literature, but to gain higher authorization was much more complicated. There was no clear path, and one had to wait for the executives to make the selection. Firstly, one had to attend all kinds of networking gatherings hosted by the association, suggest new understandings, and make one’s existence more known, increasing one’s position and reputation among then members.

When one’s faction relationship was high enough, had been a member for long enough, had made actual contributions to the society, and did not have a criminal background, then there was a chance that the executives would make that person’s authorization level higher. In conclusion, it was very complicated.

In his previous life, when the players started to pay attention to the Spacetime Research Council, it was already the later stages. Back then, the players had been looking for the highest-level knowledges for their classes, but these were extremely rare, and the research council had related information for them. This was one of the ways that one could obtain the highest-level class knowledges. However, it required a tremendous amount of time and energy, and there were no shortcuts. Anyway, Han Xiao did not have to worry about that for a very long time to come, and it was better to join this association earlier, so he might as well join now.

There was not any requirement to becoming a member; he just had to pay some money. Compared to the standard of the research council, the membership fee was really low, just 500 Enas.

Of course, at that moment, Han Xiao’s target was only the subclass that could be acquired just by joining the research council, and that was what he wanted.

…

There were no twists and turns during the admission procedures—enter information, submit the form, pay the fee, tease the lady receptionist, and it was done. The entire process took less than ten minutes.

After walking out of the research council agency, Han Xiao opened his interface. He now had a new entry under his subclasses—[Scholar]!

He directly leveled it up to level five and reached the promotion criteria of level 100.

_____________________

[Scholar] leveled up to LV5.

+10 INT.

You have received 1 Potential point.

_____________________

One type of subclass was known as the ‘attribute subclasses’, such as this [Scholar]. Every time it leveled up, it would hugely increase an individual attribute, and there were no Free Attribute Points, only Potential Points.

Every level of [Scholar] provided an increase of ten Intelligence. The five levels that Han Xiao had just acquired gave him fifty Intelligence.

Intelligence was the core attribute of the Mechanic class as it was related to Machinery Affinity. Han Xiao currently had an ability called [Machinery Analytical Comprehension], which provided one percent Machinery Affinity for every ten points of Intelligence.

Han Xiao basically spent all his Free Attribute Points in Intelligence. He now had more than six hundred Intelligence, which was more than sixty percent increase in Machinery Affinity. This was a core ability, and Han Xiao knew that this was just one of the Mechanic abilities that were related to the Intelligence attribute. There were more class abilities in the later stages.

Furthermore, the subclass [Scholar] gave him another ability—[Research Theory]. Its effect was to increase his Intelligence by one for every three abilities that he possessed. It was extremely suitable for the Mechanic and Mage class. These two classes were known to have a ton of abilities, and the combat power of both was enhanced by Intelligence. Compared to the Mage class, which also needed the Mystic attribute, the Mechanic class received the most benefits from [Scholar]. The two of them were a perfect fit.

For the Mechanic class, every blueprint was considered as an ability. Han Xiao knew more than a hundred blueprints, so the level 5 [Scholar] alone gave him ninety INT.

Among all the subclasses that were easy to obtain at the moment, Han Xiao felt that the attribute subclasses were the most useful options.

Every player could easily obtain this kind of attribute subclasses—if they knew that it existed. Their effects were all very useful, and they also gave attribute abilities with growing potential that would still be useful even in the late stages. In his previous life, many top pro players would have one or two attribute subclasses.

The most impressive one was the attribute subclass that was related to the Luck attribute, which had a very clear and straightforward name—[Gambler]!

He still remembered [Gambler]’s ability effect—the things won through gambling and betting would increase the LUK attribute. The more one won, the more Luck attribute this ability gave, while losing would decrease it. It perfectly explained the name of this subclass and what the Luck attribute meant.

Actually, Han Xiao did want the [Gambler] subclass somewhat. After all, no matter how much his Luck decreased, it would only go from one to zero, which would have no impact at all, but if he won, he would benefit greatly!

After experiencing the clarity of mind given by leveling up, Han Xiao looked at his interface. Seeing the Promotion Mission for level 100 was his main goal.

With just one look, Han Xiao suddenly started to question life.

I should probably learn the [Gambler] subclass…

Chapter 439: Version 1.0 Update (1)

_____________________

Your total level has reached 100. Complete the promotion mission to continue leveling up.

[Trail of the Strong]: Kill an enemy that’s one grade above you.

Note: This mission can be completed with a team, but the team members cannot have a higher grade than you.

Progress: 0/1

_____________________

God damn it… Han Xiao clenched his teeth. This promotion mission was not the most difficult one, but due to his grade, its difficulty multiplied many times.

He had met a similar promotion mission before when he was level 40. Its requirement was to kill three targets that were five levels above him. Compared to an entire grade, five levels was nothing.

I’m now at Grade B. Doesn’t that mean I have to kill a Grade A enemy‽

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. If this mission appeared at a lower level, it would only have been a little challenging, but it became multiple times more difficult as the levels increased.

[Trial of the Strong] only appeared in Grade B to Grade E promotion missions. At Grade A, this mission would no longer appear. If he was Grade B+, the strength difference would not be that huge, but he was only level 100, and level 100 usually meant that one had the strength of lower to medium Grade B. However, it just so happened that this requirement appeared when he was at this level. It felt like the goddess of luck was kicking him in the face.

What did Grade A represent? It meant that the individual could cause a destructive disaster on an entire planet surface, had strength only below Grade S, and was more than enough to rule one place alone. Grade B was the backbone level power in the galaxy, while Grade A was the high-end power. The number of Grade Bs in the galaxy was tens of thousands of times greater than Grade As.

The strength difference was too vast!

Han Xiao sighed. The mission was already determined, so there was no use in being annoyed by it. He needed to get promoted one way or another, so he had no choice but to think of a way to fulfill the requirement.

The difference between Grade A Supers is large. If I want to complete the mission, I have to pick the weaker ones… but no matter how weak, Grade A is still much stronger than me. I will definitely lose if I fight head-on, so I have to plot. Luckily, there’s no need to fight one on one, and there are no restrictions to how the mission can be completed.

Han Xiao contemplated.

First, I have to choose a target and search for an opportunity from what I remember. Then, I have to make a plan to weaken the enemy as much as possible before the battle, or it will be impossible to kill a Grade A at their peak.

Since the killing method was not limited, it meant that he just had to be the one killing the target. The most idealistic way, of course, was to kill a prisoner that was unable to resist. This might have worked at lower levels, but it was impossible at his level. Even if some organizations might have imprisoned Grade A prisoners, they would not kill them out of nowhere, and of course, they would not let anyone else kill them. Therefore, the only way to complete the mission was through battle.

This was like a hunt. The hunter had his eyes on strong prey, so he hid in the dark and waited for the prey to fall into the trap. It required a huge amount of patience.

It was impossible to complete the Promotion mission any time soon. Han Xiao was glad that he did not advance his class, or he would have been much more frustrated.

There are many targets, but none of them can be messed with easily. This needs a long-term plan…

…

When he returned to the stronghold, most of the players were not there. As the first competitive season had ended, there were many follow up activities. The time that those pro players spent online was obviously much less. Only Bun-Hit-Dog, Maple Moon, and a few other players maintained the same play time. However, they were not in the stronghold; they were outside, doing daily missions.

Han Xiao knocked on the doors of the others. Herlous, Aroshia, and the others had all gone out, so he was the only one home.

The enormous stronghold hall felt deserted.

Han Xiao looked at the time—time for dinner. He took out a bright silver colored alcoholic drink from the drawer and activated the portable food box. After one minute, a box of food covered in tinfoil was made, inside of which was some meat and beans with black sauce.

Han Xiao placed the food and drink on the table in the middle of the hall, sat down on the sofa, and ate slowly. Such simple food was his dinner.

After eating for a while, the stronghold door opened, and the officers returned together. Herlous walked at the front with a toothpick between his teeth and chatted with the three brothers of Volga. Sylvia carried many bags and clung to Aroshia, who was expressionless, talking non-stop. Aroshia’s replies were never more than five words, yet Sylvia did not get tired of it. She had walked out of her negativity faster than Han Xiao expected. After all, her father was still alive, and things would only be treasured when they were lost. She understood her father’s intention to want her to have a new life, so she did not want to keep being so negative.

Aroshia wore a new dress, and from what Han Xiao knew about her, it was most likely Sylvia who had chosen it.

When Han Xiao was doing his things, these officers went shopping and had dinner together, or Aroshia would have preferred to stay at home.

As soon as they entered, they saw Han Xiao sitting on the sofa eating a box of fast food.

Han Xiao looked up and glanced at them. “You’re back.”

They hastily wiped the smiles off their faces and nodded.

“Herlous, go check on the recent mission report of the Sunil Division. Volga brothers, remember to enchant the batch of machinery that I gave you. Aroshia, don’t transform in the stronghold for the next two days, or it’ll be very difficult to clean.” Han Xiao put down the spoon, stood up, walked toward the machinery modification room, and said, “Sylvia, follow me.”

Sylvia’s face tightened, and she hurriedly followed behind Han Xiao into the machinery modification room. The door closed.

Han Xiao kicked away the waste parts on the floor, found a box, and sat down. He sized Sylvia up and did not speak.

Sylvia was very uncomfortable from being looked at. “May I know why you’ve called me here?”

Han Xiao tapped the table and said in a deep voice, “I wanted ten years from you. You’re now my subordinate, not having a holiday. What use do you think you can provide me?”

“I don’t know…” Sylvia lowered her head. She did not understand why Han Xiao wanted her to work for him for ten years. Clearly, she was just a child and could not help in any way.

“You’re not of any use now, so in the days to come, I will teach you the knowledge of a Mechanic. Only when you’re stronger will you be of use to me. If you refuse to learn and do not want to work for me, don’t think I will allow you to laze around in my mercenary group. I don’t need flops.” Han Xiao was very direct.

“Yo—you want to teach me Super knowledges?” Sylvia froze and struggled to speak coherently. “I thought you just wanted a maid.”

Han Xiao frowned and said, “What do I need a maid for? Can you do it better than the cleaning robots?”

Sylvia’s eyes swayed and said with uncertainty, “I—I never thought of that. Super… can I really be one? I mean… do I have the talent?”

“My eyes can see a rough image of the future, and I saw potential in you,” Han Xiao said calmly. “Langley never let you set foot in the areas of Supers, how foolish. Ever since you were born, the Super-Gene has been lurking in your body, waiting to be awakened. Your asshole father wasted many years.”

“You can’t call him an asshole,” Sylvia said unhappily. “That’s my father.”

“I haven’t lost my memories.” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. “He is accused of seventeen major crimes, including but not limited to betraya…”

“Okay, he is an asshole.” Sylvia bit her lips. “But you can’t call him that, only I can!”

“Stop talking nonsense and get back to business. I will let you awaken Magnetic Energy and teach you Mechanic knowledge.”

Sylvia straightened her back uncontrollably. She felt like she was about to enter a new world. She looked forward to it, but she was understandably nervous.

“Then… what should I do?”

Han Xiao took out four thick, heavy books and stacked them up. Combined, the four books were about forty centimeters thick. Those four books were all basic machinery theories written by different people. The interface allowed him to not need to read them and study them, but for others, it was not that convenient.

It took months and years of learning to become a Mechanic. Even though Sylvia was very talented, this step could not be skipped.

“First, memorize these four books.”

Sylvia’s mouth opened widely as she looked at the thick books. This was very different from how she had thought it would be. “That’s too much…”

Ignoring her suggestion, Han Xiao continued. “I’ll give you ten days, after which, there’ll be a test. If you fail, you’ll have to memorize one more book. This will repeat until you pass.”

Sylvia’s face immediately turned dropped. She felt that even if she exhausted herself, she would not be able to memorize so much in just ten days. Furthermore, she had never come into contact with anything related to it. How was she going to even understand the content of those books?

“Anything you don’t understand, ask me. When you pass the test, I will teach you the way to awaken Mechanical Force.”

Han Xiao waved his hands. Sylvia had no choice but to walk out with a long face holding the books, quickly heading off to memorize these books.

Although Han Xiao did not have to study this way, the knowledge did exist in his brain, and he had gone through it before. Teaching someone else Mechanic class knowledge was certainly not a problem.

I wonder how long she needs to grow to a level where she can be of use.

Han Xiao shook his head.

This was what long-term investments were like; earning back the investment was not that quick. Luckily, patience was something that he was not short of at all.

…

The aftertaste of the league lingered, and players reveled in it. A few days after, an official update announcement suddenly appeared on the forums and instantly became the top post. The players were surprised once again. This was translated into many languages, and players from all areas could understand it. Within one minute, the number of replies had already exceeded ten thousand and was quickly growing.

In summary, the content of the announcement was that at midnight twelve days later, in game time, Version 1.0 update would officially end. At that time, all accounts would be unable to log in, so they suggested that players log out in advance to avoid unnecessary damage.

As for what was new in the update, nothing was mentioned at all. The players thought that it was very mysterious—the unknown new version made the players look forward to it even more.

The main storylines in the various novice planets were all completed, and popular characters in these planets had already showcased their charm and all had some fans. After the main storyline was completed, the players were in the stage of exploring freely and were still excited. Even the side missions had a lot of related storylines and felt very real. Compared to fighting monsters and beating levels, this was more like a journey full of experiences. Therefore, many players could not wait to find out what new storyline would unfold on their planet. They were interested in the fate of the planet and the people in it, as well as the look of the entire universe.

The unknown content of the next version sparked discussions and speculations from players on all planets. Many people guessed what would come next by referring to what had happened in Version 1.0, which was all recorded in the chronicle posts of the various planets that recorded the history.

When the main storyline ended in Version 1.0 across the areas, some players finally had the idea of posting such a post. This sparked interest from countless players, and the chronicles of these planets were born.

All the players came together to contribute, posting the missions, events, and characters that they had met, trying to record everything that had happened on the planet, regardless of whether they were main storylines or side missions. Even the most ordinary NPCs had been recorded by some players.

Everyone contributing to the same thing made the players have a lot of fun, and the sense of belonging was very strong.

This was the first batch of senior players and loyal players in Galaxy. In Han Xiao’s previous life, even when some players could not play Galaxy anymore due to being busy or other reasons, they would still log in occasionally to see how the storyline had progressed. There were way too many things, so it was incomparably immersive and real. It felt both like a game and a drama series.

Not long after, Galaxy Times dedicated an episode to the unknown new version, analyzing the speculations.

Chapter 440: Version 1.0 Update (2)

“Hello players, this is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information. Your gaming career is our top priority.”

The male and female host read the familiar opening line. The moment the show started, tens of thousands of viewers flooded in and started the usual comments began floating along the top of the video.

“Looking forward to the discussion of the version update.”

“Galaxy Time rules.”

“Spam the comments and cover the cold joke!”

The usual extremely awkward opening joke passed by quickly, and they got to the main topic.

“In a few days in game time, the Version 2.0 update will arrive,” Male host said. “Galaxy will enter the storyline of the next version. In regard to this, we have obtained first-hand intel and some unproven information, which we will be filtering and sharing with the audience in this episode, speculating and analyzing what the next version will entail.

“So, before the analysis starts, let’s first do a summary for the storylines across the various planets in this version. A very big part of our data comes from the planet chronicles, which the players arranged and added to. For this, we sincerely thank these players—this data has helped us a lot in our work.”

The players felt joyful as they were mentioned.

Next, the two hosts summarized the storylines of the various novice planets. By this point, the main storyline of every planet had already ended, so they went through the storylines from head to toe, including the major events and characters involved. They also discussed and commented on various parts. Of course, it was not just them speaking—images and videos were also shown to aid the process.

Every time the history of a planet was mentioned, the players of that planet would be the most active ones. The Version 1.0 storylines of these planets were very diverse as well—Lord Singelase’s incident on Planet Winterfrost, Arcane Tide on Planet Brighton, Dynasty Divergence on Planet Lasting Song, Shadow Group incident on Planet Summer, Chaos Expedition in Planet Sourne, and many more. These were all core main storylines, and there were also the side storylines. For example, in the case of Planet Aquamarine, the core storyline was the Six Nations and Germinal Organization, while the sub main storyline was Bennett’s sanctuary construction.

Due to the different backgrounds of these planets, the feeling that their main storyline gave was also very different. Some were filled with technology; some were surrounded by magic; some were mysterious. The vast majority of players had not entered space, so they did not know where their planet was in the universe, but Han Xiao did. The novice planets were quite evenly spread among the Star Fields, and Planet Aquamarine was the only novice planet in Shattered Star Ring.

In all the core main storylines, the one on Planet Aquamarine ended the earliest, and it received the most attention. There was definitely a main character in these storylines that was very connected to the storyline. The two hosts continued their speech, and it was finally Planet Aquamarine’s turn.

“Speaking of Planet Aquamarine’s main storyline, we must mention someone no matter what. After the Planet Aquamarine storyline ended, he’s still been active in the eyes of the players. He was the first to take players into space. I’m sure our regular viewers are familiar with his name…”

The comments rampaged. Maybe they did not know the storyline of other planets, but almost everyone knew Han Xiao. These fans had a common topic instantly.

“It’s Black Star!”

“Is that ‘Black Phantom’ Han Xiao, Destroyer of the Germinal Organization, Sanctuary Owner, Interstellar Explorer, Prophet, Black Star Mercenary Group Captain, Supporter of Materialism, Manipulator of Loot Boxes?

“Black Star: You kids are talking behind my back again.”

“Thirty Second True Men Group requests to battle!”

“Ahhh! I want the Dragon Emperor! I want Aroshia! I’m going to lick them to my last breath!”

“Go away, screen licking monsters!”

It was the Planet Aquamarine players’ turn to be active. The density of the comments increased to another level. The Chinese players had leveled up the useful ability to spam comments to the max level.

The male host continued to read the script and explained Han Xiao’s background briefly.

“Original name Han Xiao. Member of the Alumera family, almost killed during an accident but was captured by the Germinal Organization. The Germinal Organization made him into a test subject but failed the brainwashing. He disguised himself for a very long time, and in the end, he found the opportunity and escaped from the Germinal Organization’s control.

“From then on, he acted against the Germinal Organization. He once joined Stardragon but left later and became a contract killer for the Dark Net, code name [Black Phantom]. The Germinal Organization chased after him for many years but only saw his shadow. He awakened some kind of foresight ability that allows him to obtain benefits as well as avoid danger.

“After a period of hiding, he started his revenge. He alone directed the Six Nations’ expedition against the Germinal Organization. In this war, he infiltrated the Germinal Organization Headquarters and stole all their confidential intel, bringing the Six Nations’ victory. He became a hero of Planet Aquamarine, but his journey did not end there.

“One day, he foresaw that a disaster is going to break out in Planet Aquamarine. So, he summoned a spaceship in some way and led the warriors that he had carefully selected and handpicked into the galaxy, looking for a solution…

“As before, most of our data comes from the chronicles provided by players.”

The players searched for a lot of intel during the exploration times. Han Xiao’s history had already been made public. In the things that had happened on Planet Aquamarine, Han Xiao was like a puppeteer behind doors, and many things were connected to him. In the chronicles, Han Xiao’s name was mentioned countless times. This had led the new players to know what happened in the storyline before, continuing to increase Han Xiao’s reputation.

The chronicles of Version 1.0 were enormous, but Han Xiao was still a bright star among all the storylines.

After the hosts finished talking about Planet Aquamarine, the summary of the Version 1.0 storyline had come to an end. The hosts started the next topic, which was the main theme of this episode—analyzing the new version.

“According to the intel we have, we have made a few deductions. First, in the new version, the players will definitely connect with the galaxy and be able to leave their original planet, starting to explore the universe.

“Second, other than the current thirteen novice planets, the new version will add more birth planets. Due to what we have mentioned, the new birth planets should be planets that allow the players to enter the galaxy directly. Therefore, we have made a daring guess that the difference between the new and the old novice planets is that players in the old planets will only be able to enter the galaxy after going through the new storyline, while players in the new planets can enter the galaxy directly. The price is that these players have to start with a new account, while the old planet players can continue to use their high-level account. Hence, old or new, they have their advantages.

“Third, although the new storyline of the planets is unknown, there will definitely be someone that will lead the players to the new storyline. The clues of the new storyline are definitely hidden in some characters. We suggest looking for clues from NPCs in order to guess who will lead the next version’s storyline. What role will the main character of Version 1.0 play in the new version? The clues are limited in most planets, except for one—Planet Aquamarine!

“Before Black Star left, he left behind a frozen mission—[The Last Bastion]! The mission introduction is as follows.

“Someday in the future, a calamity will strike this world, and Sanctuary Three will become the last remaining bastion for humanity. Protect this dwindling flame from the encroaching darkness. Only then will there be hope to overcome this calamity.

“The mission requirement is to protect Sanctuary Three and make sure its destruction rate is not above fifty percent. So, we have reason to believe that this mission is a hint to what will happen to Planet Aquamarine in Version 2.0. There will be an unknown calamity, and the entire planet will be affected. Black Star will definitely play a role in this disaster…”

The reason that Han Xiao had left the frozen mission was exactly to give the players direction for imagination so that he could increase his fame. In his previous life, every time there was a version upgrade, there would definitely be a wave of speculation over the new versions. This was within his expectations.

…

In Planet Aquamarine, Sanctuary Three…

With the tall, metal walls and tight air defenses, the current sanctuary was fully complete like a huge fortress standing on a desolate land. Han Xiao had been gone for more than a year, and the current manager of the sanctuary was Huang Yu. He had constructed the sanctuary as planned and had already taken in more than three million refugees. Other than those who sought protection, there were also hundreds of thousands mobile inhabitants, the Inhumans.

Countless players took Sanctuary Three as the main city, not only because there were more than enough daily missions and rewards there, but also because the decisions that Han Xiao had made when he was there had developed the players’ habit. After they developed a habit, the players liked to gather there and interact with each other.

The feeling of the residents toward the Inhumans was very conflicted. On one hand, the Inhumans like to help them do stuff; on the other hand, most people envied the Inhumans and saw them as outsiders, so there was always a sense of alienation. In the eyes of some residents, the square where the players gathered was very dangerous, and they did not dare get close.

The Inhumans had helped Bennett build many sanctuaries, but after that, most Inhumans returned to Sanctuary Three. Huang Yu could not understand why they did this, so he thought it had to be because of his boss. He felt that only Black Phantom would know the reason.

However, over the past few days, a huge number of Inhumans had migrated to the sanctuary from all areas without any warning. Huang Yu took this phenomenon very seriously.

In the sanctuary meeting room, Huang Yu asked his subordinate, “Have we found the reason?”

After he took control of the sanctuary, he had built a group of subordinates himself. The people here were all members of Dark Net and worked directly for Bennett.

“No. We gathered intel from all areas and still have yet to find out why the Inhumans have mass migrated. Currently, the number of Inhumans in Sanctuary Three has exceeded 800,000, and it’s still growing.”

“This is not a good sign.” Huang Yu was very troubled. “Although most Inhumans are peaceful, there are destructive ones as well. We have already been attacked a few times in the past year. If these Inhumans have an ulterior motive, the damage that 800,000 Supers can cause is unimaginable. If not handled properly, the Sanctuary Three that took two years to build might be gone within a night.”

Of course, there was no way for him to know that the reason that the players had gathered in Sanctuary Three was because of the speculation that Galaxy Times made from the mission that Han Xiao had left behind. Sanctuary Three would very likely be a key area in the upcoming main storyline, and there was a very high chance for it to be a safe area.

Therefore, most players had decided to go to the sanctuary before the update. This way, not only could they get into the main storyline as soon as the new version arrived, but they would be safer than those in other places.

“We have to prepare measures for this kind of hidden threat,” Huang Yu said.

“But… the order that Black Phantom left was not to use any hostile strategy against the Inhumans and not try to control their freedom, except for those who cause trouble. We’re going against his words by doing this.”

Huang Yu shook his head. “I know, but we cannot not guard against the Inhuman because of that. Black Phantom has been gone for more than a year. If he was here, I would not worry about anything at all, but he’s not. Therefore, we need to be flexible.”

“Then what do you plan to do?”

“Split them,” Huang Yu said with a deep voice. “Forbid some Inhumans from entering the sanctuary main city and chase them to the two guard cities nearby. Alumera and Black Pine are both fine. This way, even if a riot breaks out, it won’t happen in the most important place.”

They exchanged looks.

“That’s my decision. Report this to the rulers of the two guard cities, and tell them to gather an army just in case. We’ll start to split the Inhumans in three days,” Huang Yu said firmly.

Suddenly, he felt very sleepy and yawned uncontrollably.

…

In the dark conference room of a certain DarkStar mothership that was in stealth mode, the display screens were giving off a dim light.

These people were the superiors of DarkStar. Every screen was showing a blurry outline of a person and no face—it was very mysterious. Even for Godora, who had been an enemy of DarkStar for many years, they only knew a few of the superiors. DarkStar was like a mysterious fog, always hidden in the darkness.

The middle screen was DarkStar’s leader. It was blurry as well, and the voice also went through a mechanical voice changer.

“What stage have the Mutation Sources that we planted developed to?”

“Based on the time, the larval stage has passed. All Mutation Sources will enter the pupa stage, and the impacts have already been done. In an estimated time of around one year, the Mutation Source will enter the eruption stage. However, the time predicted is not too accurate. After all, we cannot control the thoughts of the Mutation Sources.”

“Maintain the observation,” DarkStar’s leader said. “Godora has obtained a Mutation Source, and we don’t know how much headway they have made in their research. The plan needs to be improved; we can’t wait for the Mutation Sources to grow on their own. After the symptoms break out, we need to take action. The details will be discussed again. Anur, how’s Ember?”

The last question was directed at Anur, one of the Grade A Supers in DarkStar, Ember’s teacher.

A voice came out of the screen that represented Anur. “I made him focus on training his power, and it’s going quite well. His strength has increased visibly. There’s more than a twenty percent chance that he can enter Calamity Grade.”

“Hmm. Rogue died in battle, and Vivira is imprisoned in Rainbow Prison, so we have an imminent need to add high grade combat power. Esper currently has the highest chance to reach Grade A, and his Esper power is very strong. Tell him I have high hopes for him… Meeting dismissed.”

The screens turned black one after another. The dark room returned to dead silence.

Chapter 441: Version 1.0 Update (3)

In unknown chaos, the first beam of light pierced through the everlasting fog of darkness. The sense called ‘vision’ awoke the obscure consciousness. Through the ‘eyes’ of its ‘body’, vibrant colors shattered the world made of black and white. Everything was fresh and interesting.

Then, more information came. The noise, the cold air, and the pungent metal.

It insatiably wanted to feel more things, but it could only see through the eyes of this body. It tried to turn its head, but its body did not move as its mind commanded. It could only feel but not control.

It anxiously wanted to move but could not. It started crying silently like a baby, but no one could hear it.

An unknown amount of time had passed since it awoke. Through this body, it saw countless upright creatures come and go, carrying out activities that it could not understand.

I want… I want more…

After some time, the number of visions started to slowly increase.

Water fell onto the leaf and slowly rolled down it. It stared at the droplet, wondering why it did not tickle.

Roots dug into the soil, and the fertilizer brought a sense of satisfaction, like the feeling the upright creatures felt when consuming food.

Its nose sniffed, and its hypersensitive sense of smell drew out the prey’s escape route.

More and more senses brought a raging stream of data. It greedily accepted everything.

Then, a new sense was born. It felt microorganisms like a running stream. To its surprise, it discovered that this was the first thing that it could control, like an obedient army.

Is this the sense that belongs to me?

No, it’s not.

I am all; all is me.

…

In Sanctuary Three, ever since an officer breathed in some leaked paralyzing gas and ended up lying in bed for seventeen days and three hours, Emerald Grass’ alchemy room was deemed a forbidden area.

Compared to when Han Xiao left, the size of the alchemy room was many times larger with more precise devices. Rows of colorful liquid drugs were placed on the shelves. On the table were transparent glass drawers with different plants inside, all original materials used to make drugs.

“Hmm…” Emerald Grass wore a white coat, anti-corrosion gloves, and a pair of glasses, humming and blending some kind of plant drug.

Her power to control plants allowed her to feel the plants, and thus accurately control the dose of drugs.

Sweeping aside her hair, she reached out, opened a drawer, and tore off a petal. As she was going to throw it into the device and use it as the raw material, her movements suddenly stopped.

Her power sensed something peeking, but it disappeared after a very short instant, almost like an illusion. Emerald Grass furrowed her brows slightly and looked toward the source of that feeling, but it was the plant that she had taken the petal from.

“Strange,” Emerald Grass mumbled. She pondered and reached out to touch the plant again.

The instant her fingers touched the plant, a shiver passed through her Esper power sense like an electric current and stabbed her heart deeply.

Quickly pulling her hand away, Emerald Grass took a few steps back and looked at the plant with shock and suspicion.

“It’s not an illusion… there’s a very real sense of peeking when I touched it…”

If not for her power to observe the tiniest changes in plants, she would not have felt the change.

Disbelief flashed through her eyes.

“This plant, is it consciously sensing me?”

Emerald Grass suddenly thought of something. Her expression changed, and she hastily touched every plant in the room. Most plants did not change, but a quarter of the plants gave her the same feeling.

In the enormous alchemy room with not a single other person, she felt like she was surrounded by countless eyes peeking at her silently.

A shiver went down her spine uncontrollably.

These immobile plants seemed to have grown eyes, looking at and observing her.

“Something’s wrong… something’s very wrong…” Emerald Grass murmured.

…

It was late at night.

In the Internal Personnel Residential Area inside the sanctuary core area, Hila, who was in a black windbreaker, was sitting on the rooftop, looking up at the starry night.

Ever since Han Xiao left, she would go up to the rooftop occasionally and look up at the stars blankly.

In the past year, Hila had not left the sanctuary, and Aurora’s health had recovered.

“Whoo…” A four-meter-tall gigantic white bear growled softly. This bear was circling around the courtyard on its fours, and a blonde girl was sitting on its back, smiling and laughing brightly. Her voice was young, energetic, and full of life.

Aurora’s power was recovering slowly, and she was gradually growing taller. She was not skinny and tiny like before anymore; her skin became whiter and smoother with a tint of healthy redness. Bear Cub, who followed her around, was growing quickly, too. Its fur was smooth, soft, and slightly reflective. On its forehead, chest, arms, and thighs, there were scales that looked like ice crystals. It looked tough and muscular, and its tiny eyes looked both cute and fearsome.

Hila looked down, furrowed her brows, and said, “Don’t run too fast and be careful not to fall.”

“Are you looking at the moon again, Sis?” Aurora looked up.

“The moon isn’t what I’m looking at.”

“I know, you must be thinking of uncle Black Phantom.” Aurora smiled and said, “I miss him, too.”

“Who says I’m missing him.” Hila snorted. “I’m just curious about what the universe looks like. Hmm… I only occasionally guess what he’s doing in space. That guy left a strange disaster prophecy and left us afraid while he’s having fun in space.”

Aurora’s eyes moved around and blew a shining kiss, which flew to Hila’s cheeks.

Hila waved her hands and dissipated the rune of light in front of her. “Stop it.”

At this moment, Aurora’s movement suddenly stopped. Her smile froze on her face, and her body started to shiver uncontrollably.

“Si—sis…”

“Hmm?” Hila looked down. Her expression immediately dropped, and with a flash of red glow, she appeared beside Aurora in an instant, holding her in her arms. She reached for her forehead and said anxiously, “What’s wrong? Are you sick? I’ll go find that Pharmacist.”

“No…” Aurora opened her mouth with some difficulty, her tiny body still shivering. “My power sensed a very strange creature. No, that thing can’t be considered a creature. I don’t know what is that either…”

Hila was bewildered. Aurora’s power could sense signs of life—she had never seen Aurora get so horrified just because she sensed a certain life form.

“What did you sense?”

Aurora closed her eyes, her lips pale.

“It’s very tiny… but very huge too… it’s spreading…”

When her eyes reopened, they were filled with horror.

“It’s everywhere!”

…

In the Black Star stronghold hall, all the players of the mercenary group were gathered together.

“It’s about time.” King Admiral looked at the interface. “The version update will start in an hour, let’s log off here.”

“It’s safer here.” Hao Tian nodded.

“Hmm, we will experience a time skip because of the update. There will be unknown changes, so it’s best to stay in the stronghold,” Frenzied Sword said earnestly.

As one of the players from the closed beta, he knew that there would be a time skip after the update. The original characters and factions would act alone and go through various changes. When the public beta started, he had even been separated from Han Xiao because of this.

No one knew what the duration of the time skip in this version update would be, nor did they know what Black Star would become.

Frenzied Sword only hoped not to be separated from Han Xiao again. He had only narrowly found Han Xiao on Planet Aquamarine, but if they scattered in space, he would probably end up playing the game as if it was a single-player game. Therefore, staying in the Black Star stronghold was the safest choice.

Throughout the whole of Version 1.0, it was the benefits that Black Star had provided that led them to be this strong. Even the players with a different class from Han Xiao became stronger because of Han Xiao’s equipment, not to mention those high reward missions. All the players wanted to continue following Black Star in the next version.

Not only them but the Planet Aquamarine players as well. Every time they watched Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos, they lamented over not being able to be a member of the mercenary group. The fun and adventures came second—the main reason was that there were so many rewards!

We are so jealous!

“Brothers, I shall go first. Let’s have a meal together when there’s a chance.” Bun-Hit-Dog logged off first.

Maple Moon gave a reserved smile, waved goodbye, and disappeared on the spot.

They said goodbye to each other and logged off one after another. Soon, all the players in the mercenary group disappeared.

They were not the only ones—the same thing happened at the same time on all thirteen novice planets. Close to ten million players disappeared together within a short period of time!

The officers of the sanctuary were stunned, and Huang Yu was completely clueless. He had made preparations privately for three entire days, and just as he was about to split the increasing number of Inhumans, they had all disappeared without warning!

What on earth is this!

The once crowded and boisterous player square had become deserted and quiet. There was not a single person there. A chill wind blew past, and an old newspaper rolled on the street.

The residents from a distance walked into the streets one after another and looked over in shock and bewilderment.

Many people thought of the same thing—the Inhumans disappeared the same sudden way that they had appeared like they had never existed before…

But the marks and changes left by the Inhumans were real and could not be ignored—these were the signs that they had existed.

Far away, in Juberly Hub, the Great Mechanic Han was punishing Sylvia in the machinery modification room as he suddenly moved his eyebrows. He opened the interface, and a new notification entered his sight.

_____________________

Version 1.0 Update Activated

Saving data… saving completed!

Player forums closed.

Update Duration: Unknown. Please wait patiently.

_____________________

Han Xiao tried to enter the forums, but the link had become gray, and he could not enter it anymore, just like when the closed beta ended.

Han Xiao closed the books, shook his head, sighed. Sipping on a cup of tea, he calmed his thoughts.

“It’s finally here. Sigh, tough days…”

Chapter 442: Radical Promotion Idea

Han Xiao counted his assets. He had 1.5 billion experience and about 900 thousand Enas. In the next year without players, he would have no choice but to do missions if he wanted experience, and the speed of obtaining rewards had drastically decreased. When the players were there, it was like he was dining at luxurious restaurants every day, but now he would have to eat buns and vegetables.

“Black Star?” Sylvia finally finished reading an entire paragraph of machinery theories that she memorized, but she saw Han Xiao had no reaction to it and looked like he was dozing, so she called him.

“I’m listening.” Han Xiao raised his eyes. He contemplated for a while, then put down the book and said, “We will leave Juberly Hub in two days, and you’ll come with us. I will help you to awaken your energy tomorrow. That’s it for today, you can go back.”

After Sylvia left, Han Xiao locked the machinery modification room door, took out a pen and paper, and wrote down some of his thoughts.

“Now that the players have disappeared, the force at my command is only the officers around me and the Sunil warriors. They’re only mortal, so I have to act carefully. This year is the preparation stage for Version 2.0. In order to have the upper hand, I have many jobs I need to complete.

“First and foremost is my Promotion mission. The stronger I am, the safer it is, and the easier it will be to act. I must find a relatively weaker opponent in Grade A. Even so, the risk is still very high… but so are the benefits. Once I complete my level 100 Promotion, I will have the chance for a Race Evolution again, and my combat ability will increase tremendously.”

Han Xiao tapped the table with his pen, furrowed his brow, and contemplated. He searched for a suitable choice in his memories. Names of characters flashed past one after another but were all quickly eliminated. Some were too strong, some were too far away, and some suitable ones had yet to appear.

In his mind, the best target would, of course, be Ember, whom he had fought before. He could counter that guy’s Esper ability, but Ember had yet to reach Grade A and seemed to have died under the bombardment from the fleet. Thus, he could only eliminate this choice as well.”

“Sigh, there are no suitable targets, what should I do?” Han Xiao scratched his head in frustration.

The difficulty mainly came from the strength difference between him and a Grade A Super. Plus, having anyone above his grade interfere and help was restricted. This meant he could not ask the Dragon Emperor for help. In order to kill a Grade A with a group of Grade Bs, it would be many times more difficult than when Sylvia tried to assassinate him. The resistance and health of Grade A Supers meant that many schemes would not work on them. Furthermore, none of those who could reach Grade A would be not cautious and alert; it was impossible for them to fall into traps easily.

With his level, if he wanted to kill them directly, he could only use extremely powerful weapons or traps with significantly high technology, such as a Destroyer Level Battleship Quantum Annihilation Cannon, the Forbidden Doomsday Electric Ring Spell Scroll, or something of the same level. However, he did not have any way to buy those.

Furthermore, his officers were not players. If they knew that they were going to go against a Grade A Super, they would definitely have issues with it and might not be willing to take the risk to do something so meaningless, unless they had incomparable hatred toward the target. If he chose a Grade A DarkStar member, then Herlous would not oppose it.

Although Han Xiao knew the abilities of DarkStar’s Grade A Supers, such as ‘Wind Demon’ Anur, ‘Psychic Explosion’ Vivira, and ‘Mountain Hammer’ Rogue, he did not have the confidence to mess with any of them. Furthermore, DarkStar’s forces were strong, stealthy, and swift, so it was impractical to choose one of them.

He could wait till Version 2.0 started and command the players to fight the opponent. However, wasting a year of not becoming stronger would place him in a very dangerous situation when facing DarkStar in Version 2.0. Secondly, even if a thousand of those Grade C players fought against one Grade A, they would still be wiped out in an instant. Sure, they could revive, but they would not be of any use.

Not to mention Grade A, even the Great Mechanic Han could beat a group of players himself.

Han Xiao was very troubled by his level 100 Promotion mission as he did not know what he could do.

It’s so damn difficult!

If he could revive like the players, he might still have had a chance and would not have been so frustrated. However, he only had one chance, and once he failed, it would be his end. These various factors caused this Promotion to be almost impossible to complete.

“Then there’s no choice but to take a shortcut…” Han Xiao held his forehead and sighed.

The chance to complete the Promotion mission through regular means was almost negligible. Luckily, he had the radical method.

Mission Completion Card!

Its effect was to grant the mission reward of a mission and deem the mission as completed with the lowest rating.

This was indeed suitable for Promotion missions with no mission rating. As long as it was completed, he could be promoted.

To the players, the effect of the Mission Completion Card was very ordinary—they usually used it on extremely difficult missions. However, the lowest rating reward would not be a lot anyway, so they might as well try the mission themselves and see if they could get a higher rating. Therefore, despite this item being very rare, it was not scarce. The Mission Completion Card had once appeared in the random reward after Han Xiao completed the Germinal Organization main storyline, but he had chosen the other choice, which was Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid. Although he needed the Mission Completion Card, the Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid had undoubtedly been the right choice back then.

“There are three methods to obtain Mission Completion Cards. First, it might appear as a random reward, and random rewards are only given when a difficult mission is completed with a high rating. Second, reward from specific missions. Third, cash in and buy from the store, limited to five per month…”

The third method was eliminated straight away without a doubt, and the second method would not work as well, as these specific missions were in other Star Fields—it was way too far. Thus, he could only use the first method.

“The pro is that I can avoid the risk of fighting a Grade A Super—the con is that there’s too much uncertainty.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

Adventures are for the youngsters, old people like me should do it the stable way.

…

The next day, Sylvia came as promised. Han Xiao agreed to help her awaken energy today, so she had hardly slept the previous night. She was looking forward to it, nervous and anxious.

“Sit.” Han Xiao pointed at the chair beside him. The chair had bondage straps on its armrests, back, and legs—it looked like an electric chair.

“Wha—what is this?” Sylvia swallowed her saliva uncontrollably and forced a smile. “I remember being told that awakening Mechanical Force only needs simple training…”

The Mage class could generate magic power through mediation. Although the Mechanic class was focused on external objects, there were also similar methods to awaken their exclusive Mechanical Force.

“You’re talking about the regular way. It’s too slow. I’ve said before, you already have Super-Genes, and you’re talented in Mechanic class. I have a much quicker way.”

Han Xiao’s tone was very calm. If someone was confirmed to have the potential for the Mechanic class, there was a method to quickly awaken the Mechanical Force—have another Mechanic stimulate their body. This way, the speed of awakening would be much quicker. This was what he had found by searching through the Mechanic class articles. Of course, if the target did not have the potential, it was not much different from electrocution.

Although the players grew in a different way and did not have to experience these stages, many articles had recorded the training methods for different classes. To the players, these ‘details’ made it more immersive and real.

Han Xiao tied Sylvia to the chair and spread his palm. Dense electric snakes appeared on his hand and formed a lump of light with shifting shape, flashing terrifying electric light. He glanced at Sylvia, whose body was stiff and face was filled with terror.

“Relax, don’t be nervous.”

Sylvia struggle continuously in terror and yelled, “Do—don’t come here… Ahhh!”

Before she finished talking, Han Xiao’s hand grabbed onto Sylvia’s forehead. The electric light surged into her body and coursed through her, flickering.

Buzz!

Sylvia’s entire body was trembling like a fish being electrocuted. Her body was penetrated by electric currents from head to toe, her muscles were retracting, and she was numb from the pain. It felt like her body was not hers anymore.

“This should be enough, or she might be electrocuted…”

Han Xiao counted the time, pulled his hands away, and stepped back.

Sylvia slumped against the chair with her head dangling from her neck. White smoke floated from all over her body, and she had yet to recover from the pain. She wanted to speak, but her entire body was numb, and her tongue could not move.

A special sense was born in her body—it was very weak, but it was there. Sylvia struggled to focus and tried to control it. A tiny and almost unnoticeable electric current flashed under her skin.

“I activated your Super-Gene; you now have the magnetic-type energy. Keep training, and you will grow. I will teach you the ways to train energy in a few days. Go back and memorize another machinery theory book first.”

Sylvia finally stood up. She looked down, and her face twitched. In the end, she could not hold it back and cried out loud as she ran out of the room.

Coincidentally, Herlous happened to be at the door and almost bumped into her. Surprised, he said, “What did you do to her… Wait a minute, what’s the smell in this room?”

The next moment, Herlous’ expression became strange. With shock and suspicion, he looked at Han Xiao from head to toe, again and again, looking like he wanted to say something but did not.

“I know what you want to say, shut up.” Han Xiao rolled his eyes. “Get to business, what do you want?”

“By the way, all your subordinates disappeared and still have yet to return after one day,” Herlous said.

Players logged on and off regularly—Han Xiao had given a perfunctory explanation, saying that it was the side effect of their immortal body. The other officers were used to it, but they had never seen all the players disappearing together and not appearing after an entire day, so Herlous came to ask Han Xiao about it.

Han Xiao contemplated and found an excuse to get it over with. Roughly, he meant that the price of being immortal was that they had to sleep every once in a certain period, and when they stayed active for too long, they would have to take a very long sleep. They would not appear again for a very long time. Herlous had doubts but had no choice but to convince himself to believe it.

“They won’t be around for the time being, so I’m preparing to stop the mercenary group’s business… not including your Sunils. I’m talking about us.”

“Then what are we going to do?”

Han Xiao pointed at his own eyes and mysteriously said, “It saw some things again. Remember my promise to you? I can feel it, the time is near.”

Herlous’ eyes turned bright.

“But… I need to make some preparations. We will go to the Taralam Star Cluster next,” Han Xiao said.

“That’s the closest Star Cluster to the wormhole cluster at the middle of Shattered Star Ring and the area with the largest scavenger forces. It’s very dangerous, what are we going there for?”

“To find something,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice.

A random reward would only be given after completing a mission with a high rating. Based on this, Han Xiao confirmed his action plan. He was going to target the missions that he knew extremely well, and he was going to choose the ones that were not too difficult but definitely would be intricate to complete through normal means. This way, he could make full use of the advantage of knowing the mission well and obtain a very high rating!

What he was going to find on this trip was an item to trigger a mission. In his previous life, the players had acquired this item coincidentally—the item introduction indicated that this item could trigger a mission—and had gone to look for the person to trigger the mission. Only then did they receive the mission. Han Xiao, however, was very familiar with the process. He did not need a coincidence; he knew exactly what he had to do.

Han Xiao had already calculated everything. The missions that he now had also had a chance of giving a random reward. However, they were either not activated or needed time. What he needed was only the chance to receive random rewards; the mission reward came second. He remembered many missions, and these all had chances to receive random rewards.

Although obtaining a [Mission Completion Card] was full of uncertainties, it was at least much safer than facing a Grade A Super directly.

Chapter 443: Backdoor

In the Taralam Star Cluster, a spaceship hovered outside the atmosphere of the small planet numbered 51687. This was a deserted planet marked as a resource planet in the database.

“Low oxygen density in the atmosphere, an average temperature of sixty degrees, not suitable for human habitation. A large amount of heat-preferring plants covering a large area of the surface. The soil contains rich nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, suitable for plant growth…”

Han Xiao looked through the planet information, pointed at a tall forest on the map, and said, “There’s a secret stronghold of a small group of scavengers here—they’re our target of this trip. They have something that I need.”

His target of this trip was an item that could trigger a high rating mission, and that item was in the hands of this scavenger group.

“You’re planning to break in? How strong are they?” Herlous asked.

“Not strong, just one Grade B. The main issue is that their defensive measures are quite tight, but they have a secret pathway that leads to the underground spaceship garage, which is located here.” Han Xiao drew a circle on the map.

“How did you even know this?” Herlous was surprised.

Without speaking, Han Xiao answered by pointing to his eyes. “The plan is simple. I’ll kick the door open and crush the enemies—you’ll go to the garage and wait for them. Don’t let anyone go. Everyone else, standby on the ship.”

After quickly finalizing the plan, the spaceship ejected two egg-shaped airdrop cabins. They penetrated the atmosphere like two meteors, falling down to the forest.

…

The descent was full of turbulence.

Boom!

The airdrop cabins crashed through a few trees and buried themselves deep in the ground. Soil and wood splattered all over the place and created a mess.

The cabin door opened. Han Xiao walked out, identified their location, and said, “The landing location is about four hundred meters from the enemy’s base. There are many automatic machine gun traps ahead. Hmm… there’s not much oxygen, so breathing is a little difficult.”

The bone-white Void Dragon shrouded his body and filtered the air. Han Xiao inhaled a full mouth of oxygen, and mechanical energy flew into the compressed orbs as they fell onto the floor. With the sound of mechanical parts moving, the compressed orbs expanded into thirty mechanical Black Panther mechanical beasts and surrounded him.

“Go.”

With a snap of his fingers, the mechanical beasts charged forward into the alert area of the enemy’s base. Gaps quickly opened up one after another on the ground, exposing ten or so automatic machine guns that started to fire immediately. Blazing red bullets landed on the mechanical beasts’ armor, causing fire sparkles and continuous clanks.

This extent of damage was nothing worth mentioning to the enhanced mechanical Black Panther beasts. Thirty mechanical beasts culled the enemies one after another, cutting through muzzles quickly and swiftly with their sharp blade tails. The sound of gunshots disappeared very soon—all the automatic machine guns became scrap metal.

The other benefit of the Hounds Style was that the mechanical beasts could be used to scout ahead.

After Han Xiao learned the advanced artificial intelligence knowledge, he swapped the mechanical beasts’ smart chip. Previously, the mechanical beasts could only carry out combat tactics in groups of four, but it had become sixteen, making them much more flexible and swift.

Crossing through the machine guns, Han Xiao activated the metal detection device in his helmet. The full structure of the base showed on the analyzing screen. He found the door on the ground and pulled it open. Inside was a pitch-black path toward inside of the base. A faint buzzing sound came from within—the alarm.

“Looks like they already know I’m here.”

His fingers moved. The shoulder armor plate opened, and three mini mechanical flying insects flew out into the path. These flying insects were equipped with all kinds of detection devices that could be used to find traps, among many other things.

“One Laser Corridor with more automatic machine guns… Mobile Crushing Walls and Vacuum Seals… quite many defensive measures I see. One-meter thick gate made by high strength alloy, cannot be opened by hand.”

The analyzing screen was showing the view of the detection flying insects. They were very small, and they were covered in coatings that could block all sorts of detection methods, so they safely passed through the infrared detection of the corridor and came to the gate. Beside the gate was a password device.

Han Xiao sent a new order. The two flying insects suddenly stuck onto the edge of the device. Mini rotary saws popped out from a flying insect’s mouth and pried open the exterior of the password device. A chip plug popped up from the other flying insect’s tail and connected to the password device. The pair of flying insects were tiny cuties made from another advanced knowledge, [Mini Machinery Modification], which he had bought some point in the prior nine months. They had very rich functions, capable of scouting, detecting, and remote hacking.

The data stream of the base appeared on the analyzing screen. Han Xiao started to hack it while keeping an eye out for enemies to suddenly strike. However, as he hacked through the gate’s program, no one appeared.

This time, Herlous’ communication came with a sigh. “I’ve arrived at the garage; there’s no spaceship here. Don’t bother wasting your time; there’s no one here.”

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. The player in his previous life had needed to break into this scavenger base to get the mission item, but luckily for him, none of the enemies were even home.

No wonder no one had appeared despite him having already arrived at their gate.

“We really came at a good time…”

Han Xiao was speechless. It turned out that he was fighting with the air all along. He quickly stood up and walked into the base casually. He had already shut down all the defensive measures. After he entered the stronghold, there was indeed no one inside.

Although the base was not huge, it had everything it needed. Han Xiao spent some time and completely hacked the system firewall, took over control of the base, and went straight to the warehouse.

The warehouse was stacked with things collected by the scavengers, most of which was useless. Han Xiao was mainly looking for the item that could trigger the mission, and after searching for a while, he found it without any twists and turns.

It was a beautiful and detailed mini statue that looked like it was made by some kind of brown wood, yet it was as strong as high strength alloys. It was the statue of a very strange creature. If it had to be described, it kind of looked like a distorted mantis. As Han Xiao picked it up, a low and unclear voice suddenly appeared in his mind.

_____________________

You have received [Mysterious Statue].

Item Introduction: This is a statue that you have never seen before. You don’t know what it represents or what meaning it has, but when you touch it, you hear a soft, faint voice speaking to you in your mind. Yet, when you focus on that voice, it disappears.

Remarks: This item seems to possess certain secret knowledge. Some people might be interested in it.

_____________________

“This is it.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. This was a mission triggering item, and he knew the origins of it. This statue was one item included in an item set that came from the Arcane Church and arrived at the central wormhole of the Shattered Star Ring from a distant Star Field. Then, it wandered and ended up there. The players could receive the related mission through two methods. One was, of course, to get this item first then meet the person that would trigger the mission later, and the other was to first get clues from that person then find the item that would trigger the mission. In conclusion, no matter which method was used, it required a certain amount of luck. However, Han Xiao did not need to go through such trouble—he could head straight for the key item.

This phenomenon of giving someone an illusion of hearing voices in their head was a characteristic of the Psychic Current. The Psychic Current was very unique and could occur through various means, such as the thoughts of many creatures being enchanted onto on target. After a certain amount of time, this item would produce Psychic Current once it had gathered enough thoughts, like a container of gathered thoughts. The most well-known example would be sacrifices and prayers, and this statue was made from exactly that.

“I’ve got the item,” Han Xiao said.

“That’s quick, shall we leave now?” Herlous asked.

Han Xiao was just about to reply, but suddenly, his movement paused. He looked around, and a daring idea appeared in his mind. “Don’t be in such a hurry. There’s no one here, and we have plenty of time.”

Since they had arrived while the enemy was out, they definitely had to take more things with them.

No, that was too petty.

They should take the entire place!

Without hesitation, Han Xiao called Herlous and came to help those scavengers ‘move house’.

Base System Chip? Take it!

Defensive devices? Take it!

Alloy wall? Take it!

After quite some time of tearing things down, whatever could be taken from the base was removed and put into more than a dozen supply boxes. For a Mechanic at Han Xiao’s level, the speed of tearing things down was extremely fast.

He roughly estimated that those items could be recycled and turned into more than 2,000 Enas worth of machinery parts.

Han Xiao looked back. The scavenger base had already become an empty shell with opened gates… no, the gates were already gone. Even the floor had been pried open, exposing the wires below the ground. The central computer and energy core had all been dismantled. The rather huge base was only left with walls.

Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction. He ordered the spaceship to land and loaded the full supply boxes into the spaceship.

…

A few days later, the scavenger spaceships finally returned to the planet. They had made quite a good profit from picking up trash near the wormhole clusters, so they were rather joyful.

However, when the base with missing gates and an empty interior entered their visions, everyone froze in place.

What the hell? Where’s our base‽

The scavenger captain rubbed his eyes and made sure that he was not seeing an illusion. His face turned furious, and he howled, “Who tore down our base‽”

This planet was completely unpopulated, and it was in a very rural area. They had spent quite a lot of resources to build a secret base there and never exposed its position. How could anyone know where their base was ‽

In the Taralam Star Cluster, they were just a small group of scavengers. Who would bother to go against them? It had to be a petty thief that got lucky!

“Search! Search for the petty thief who did this!” the captain yelled furiously and regretfully. If he had been in the base, he could have prevented it from happening.

They barely gathered the intel fee and contacted the information seller. After searching, they found out that there was only one spaceship that visited this planet during that period. After uncovering the identity of the passengers of that spaceship, the rage of those scavengers immediately disappeared. In fact, they were dumbfounded.

“Bla—Black Star‽” The scavenger captain was stuttering. “What were galactic mercenaries of that level doing here?”

They exchanged looks and were immediately discouraged. Now, they suddenly felt glad they had not been in the base when it happened.

If they had faced Black Star, they certainly would have died.

Suddenly, the scavengers felt that losing a base was not so unacceptable.

…

As the scavengers were feeling glad, Han Xiao and the others passed through the Star Cluster teleportation stargate and came to the Rain Star System of the Colton Star Cluster. The person that could trigger the mission was there… temporarily.

The ruling civilization of Rain Star System, the New Phylen Alliance, had invited a galactic celebrity that was very popular in Shattered Star Ring to tour the place. The entertainment industry in the galaxy was very developed as well. There were singers, actors, and many other industries that brought entertainment to various civilizations.

The different entertainment shows could be watched from the paid channel in the Galactic Communicator. Although Han Xiao did not watch it much, many galactic residents spent their days watching television. After all, with how developed some civilizations were, most people did not have to work, unless they wanted higher positions or better quality of life.

The person to trigger this mission was rather special—it was indeed the galactic celebrity that had been invited.

Chapter 444: Chen Xing and Statue Mission (1)

This celebrity had a huge number of fans in various Star Clusters in the Shattered Star Ring. He was a singer, and because of how developed the transmission technology was, his influence was not limited by physical distance.

This performance was for the traditional yearly celebration of the New Phylen Alliance being reunited, and this singer was the most famous one among all the invited guests.

The venue of the performance was a vacation spaceship called ‘Wine and Celebration’. Those who could watch it live were all either wealthy or had a very high position in the New Phylen Alliance. If Han Xiao wanted to come into contact with the target, it had to be at the venue, but the problem was… how were they going to get the ticket for the show?

“Are you going to the Union Day Celebration?”

When Sylvia heard about the destination of their spaceship, she rolled her eyes and said, “Stop dreaming. Every year, those that can enter the venue to watch it live are all very important people. Such as leaders of political parties, higher-ups in the army, high level government officials, businessmen that pay tons of taxes every year, and so on. With so many important people gathered in one place, the security is extremely tight. Don’t even think about sneaking in—you might be mistaken for an assassin.”

Han Xiao glanced at her and said, “Have you finished memorizing the books I gave you?”

Sylvia’s tone instantly turned soft, and she murmured, “Isn’t there one more day before the test…”

“By the way, you’re a New Phylen citizen. Don’t you want to watch it live at the scene?”

Sylvia curled her lips and said with a yearning tone, “Who doesn’t want to? But us ordinary people can only watch on television.”

The Union Day was a memorial for the day that the nations of the New Phylen Alliance reunited after their split; it was very meaningful to the New Phylen people, similar to National Day in China. Sylvia wanted to go every year, and in fact, Langley’s position had been high enough to get her into the venue. Unfortunately, he was a traitor and a spy.

Now that she had become a mercenary, she would never have the chance to attend it again, so she could only bury this tiny dream of hers.

Mercenaries were powerful and strong indeed, but they did not have a high position in society. After all, for the most part, the lives of galactic citizens were peaceful. Only when they faced problems that could only be solved with violence would they think of the professionals in this field. Other than that, they would not want to have any contact with such dangerous mercenaries.

Furthermore, most mercenaries were free citizens of the universe that did not have a nationality. Although Han Xiao had worked with the New Phylen Alliance before, this small of relationship was only enough for him to request to see prisoners at most—it was far from enough to attend such a huge celebration.

Of course, nothing was absolute. With the backing of Floating Dragon Island, if Han Xiao could drag Ames there, he did not believe that the New Phylen Alliance would not invite the Dragon Emperor in. In fact, not only would they be invited, they would definitely be sitting in the top VIP seats beside the alliance leader.

What? You don’t give me, the Dragon Emperor, face?

Well then, have you ever seen a brick the size of a planet?

When one’s strength reached a certain level, there would be no need to even showcase it; just showing up would be enough.

Han Xiao rubbed his chin, pondered, and said, “Since you want to go to the venue, I’ll bring you along then. It’s not much trouble anyway.”

Sylvia was dazed. She asked uncertainly, “Do you really have the ticket? Impossible…”

“There’s no need for a ticket.” Han Xiao waved his hands and said, “Someone will invite me in.”

“As if I believe you.”

Sylvia was obviously doubtful. She paused and said unhappily, “Plus, I still need to memorize the books…”

“Alright fine, I’ll give you a day’s holiday.”

Han Xiao shook his head and smiled.

Herlous came closer and said with an expressionless face, “Let me guess, I’ll be staying here and looking after the ship?”

“Wow, my brother, we really have good chemistry; you basically read my mind.”

Han Xiao clapped with exaggeration, and Herlous resigned to his fate.

…

Wine and Celebration was docked on the main planet of the New Phylen Alliance. This was an enormous spaceship that had a flat hexagonal shape and surrounded by countess guard ships. For the Union Day Celebration, the dock had stopped its service for the day and was used solely to welcome all the attendees.

In the hall of the dock, a huge number of people were gathered. They were all New Phylen citizens, there to watch the boarding ceremony.

All the performers and political leaders would enter from the same path on the dock. This was a ceremony representing the start of the Union Day Celebration and the only chance that normal citizens had to be close to the venue. Hence, there were a lot of people and it was very crowded.

Han Xiao was in the crowd at this moment. Despite the wave of the crowd moving around him, he stood in his place without budging. Sylvia had to hold on to his shirt tightly so that she would not be pushed away.

At the edge of the crowd were rows of soldiers regulating the order and preventing anyone from rushing into the boarding path. These soldiers frequently glanced at Han Xiao with warning and alertness in their eyes—it was clear that they could tell Han Xiao was a Super with a high threat.

“Bla—Black Star… I want to ask you for the last time…” Sylvia said while shivering. She kept swallowing her saliva and spoke anxiously. “We’re not really going to cause a commotion and rush into the spaceship, are we? Although I gave you my next ten years, you don’t have to let cut it this short…”

Han Xiao could not be bothered to reply. He waited patiently and silently.

After some time, a commotion erupted among the crowd in a distance. Accompanied by the guards, the important personnel boarded the ship one after another. The crowd was cheering so loud that it was almost deafening. Those people walked with smiles on their faces while waving and greeting the crowd.

“They’ve started boarding the ship…” Sylvia craned her neck and exclaimed, “Wow, that’s the alliance chancellor. I used to see him a lot on television.”

She did not believe that Han Xiao could enter the venue. Now that the boarding had started, the fact that Han Xiao was still there proved that he was not one of the people that was boarding, but Sylvia did not call him out on it. She was already satisfied that she could go to watch the boarding ceremony. Her father had not allowed her to go in the past, so this was the first time that she had seen the Union Day Celebration spaceship so closely. Although she could not enter the spaceship, she was content.

Although Langley was a rebel, he had taught his daughter to love her country.

Suddenly, a louder cheer came from afar and rippled closer like a wave. Han Xiao looked up. A human-shaped creature in a veil who was surrounded by a group of assistants was walking here slowly. A pair of extremely attractive eyes smeared with black eye shadow could be seen from under the veil. Even the solemn blue robe could not cover his attractiveness.

“Chen Xing! Chen Xing!”

The cheering was thunderous.

Han Xiao nodded in his mind. This was the person that would trigger the mission, a singer with the stage name of ‘Morning Star 1 ‘. From the almost ear-shattering cheer, it was clear how successful this person’s celebrity career was.

By the way, this person was a male.

While passing by where Han Xiao was, Chen Xing suddenly stopped and turned his head slowly. His eyes passed through the crowd and locked accurately onto Han Xiao. The next moment, he directly walked toward this direction.

The crowd instantly became feverish and wanted to touch their idol. The soldiers stopped the wave of people with all their might, and one soldier said, “Your Excellency Chen Xing, please do not come close. It’s not safe here.”

“It’s okay, they will not hurt me.”

Chen Xing opened his mouth. His voice was gentle, soothing, and pure like water. The people who heard it felt calm. The commotion mysteriously stopped, and he walked into the crowd.

The crowd opened up a path willingly.

In the end, Chen Xing stopped before Han Xiao. Under the eyes of countless people, he smiled and said, “Hello, I hope to have the honor to invite you to watch my performance live at the scene personally.”

Chapter 445: Chen Xing and Statue Mission (2)

“Hiss!”

The crowd inhaled deeply and looked at Han Xiao in disbelief and envy. The people around Han Xiao instantly backed off and isolated him, making him extremely conspicuous.

“Who is this guy? What is his relationship with Chen Xing?”

“Why is he chosen?”

“What a lucky guy.”

Han Xiao nodded without changing expression and said, “Sure.”

“Please follow me.”

Chen Xing turned around, and Han Xiao followed behind the group. Chen Xing’s assistant contacted the organizers, and the government found Han Xiao’s identity very quickly. It turned out that he was a mercenary who had worked with them before and belonged to Floating Dragon. Thus, he was trustworthy. Although it was not very suitable to let a mercenary into the venue, for the sake of giving Chen Xing face and the fact that Han Xiao had no negative background, they agreed to let him in.

They walked through the path and boarded the celebration spaceship. Sylvia was completely stunned on the way, unable to understand what was happening and dumbfounded at the fact that she had entered the celebration venue, which she had dreamed of for years, so easily. When she finally regained consciousness, she hastily pulled Han Xiao’s shirt and said, “You really did it!”

“From what I know about you, your memory isn’t that bad. Maybe I should give you more books to train it.” Han Xiao stared at Chen Xing’s back.

“I—I thought you were lying…” Sylvia did not know what to say. It had happened exactly as Han Xiao had said—they were invited onto the ship. However, she never would have thought that the person inviting them would be Chen Xing, and it looked like it was a last-minute decision.

She suppressed her excitement and asked with anticipation, “How did you do it?”

“No crowd can cover up my attractiveness.” Han Xiao gave a perfunctory response.

The real reason, of course, was the [Mysterious Statue] that Han Xiao had with him. Chen Xing had a special sense toward the Psychic Current of the statue. As long as it was within a certain distance, he would definitely notice it. Hence, Han Xiao had known that Chen Xing would invite him onto the ship.

…

After everyone boarded, the various large cities on the main planet lit fireworks as Wine and Celebration took off and circled around the main planet. The spaceship was covered in streams of colorful lights, and the people on the surface could see the enormous spaceship when they looked up.

Han Xiao was arranged to be in the VIP room of Chen Xing’s team. Chen Xing did not speak to him immediately but went to prepare for the show. He told his assistant that if Han Xiao asked why he was invited, tell him that he would meet him privately after the celebration.

However, the assistant waited and waited, yet Han Xiao did not express any curiosity. He closed his eyes and rested from the moment that he entered the room like he was completely uninterested in knowing why he had been invited. After waiting for a long time without receiving any response, the assistant had no choice but to speak first.

“Your… Excellency, Chen Xing wanted to talk to you after the celebration ends. Please wait patiently and enjoy the show.”

“Hmm.” Han Xiao gave a very short reply.

He knew Chen Xing extremely well, so he had no intention of asking anything.

After some time, the audience was all seated. The roof suddenly opened, showing the universe full of stars. A thick energy shield blocked the vacuum. This was the center of the spaceship, and it was an enormous outdoor stage!

The VIP rooms shook slightly as they slowly rose and hovered in midair, slanting toward the stage at forty-five degrees. One side of the wall was a transparent screen looking down at the entire stage. The VIP rooms had gravitational stabilizers equipped, so although the rooms were slanted, the people inside were sitting firmly in their chairs. There were more than two hundred VIP rooms like this, and they were like balloons floating above the stage.

With the magnificent and beautiful light starting to shine from the stage, an enormous performance commenced.

At the same time, the countless citizens of New Phylen were watching this scene from their devices. It was a celebration shared by hundreds of billions of people.

Sylvia was completely astounded by such a magnificent view. This was her first time being at the scene and attending the celebration in person.

She had begged her father many times, but she had always been rejected. Yet, Han Xiao had done what her father did not do—fulfilled her dream.

Filled with complex emotions, Sylvia turned her head and looked at Han Xiao.

This person was her enemy, her savior, her creditor, and her teacher…

Noticing her sight, Han Xiao said calmly, “What?”

“Nothing, Tea…” Sylvia curled her lips. “Old man 1 .”

“What kind of term is that? Are your eyes not working properly?” Han Xiao looked at her with confusion.

The celebration performance continued. Han Xiao was not a New Phylen citizen, so he was not very interested in the ceremonies, but the performance was indeed exciting. When it came to the last and most anticipated performance, the performer was indeed Chen Xing.

All eyes were on Chen Xing. On the enormous stage, where he stood was the only place that had light; everywhere else was dark. Yet, just by standing there, he made people feel he had occupied the entire stage. The whole place was silent.

The first note flew out from under Chen Xing’s veil—ethereal, elegant, and pure—like the voice from heaven. Her voice seemed to have created a wave of time, bringing the audience back to the ancient times, looking up at the first dawn between darkness and night, watching the first star glowing in a dim yet firm light.

Before the performance, the whole audience had turned off their translators, not allowing them to stand in the way of enjoying such a pure voice. Even though they could not understand what the lyrics meant, the immensity of the voice captured every one of their hearts. The audience felt like countless images flashed past before their eyes, the origin and the end of a star, and the endless cycle of life.

Along with his singing, the light on the stage started to expand. When he reached his highest note, the light also spread over the entire stage.

The audiences felt a shiver from the depths of their soul that flew into their mind.

“What a beautiful voice…” Sylvia was completely immersed in the song.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

A voice that included such strong Psychic power was indeed very influential.

“The money spent on organizing such a huge performance is enough to buy so many spaceships. What a waste…”

Han Xiao shook his head. Art was definitely not suitable for him.

The song had come to an end. Whether it was the audience at the scene or the audience watching from a screen, they were all engrossed in it. Chen Xing lowered his head slightly and left the stage. The overwhelming applause only came after he left.

Han Xiao stood up, stretched his neck, and looked at the assistant. “Bring me to see him.”

…

In the private room, Han Xiao and Sylvia were waiting on the guest seats.

The door opened with a squeak, and Chen Xing, who had just finished his performance, walked in with an apologetic smile. “Sorry for the long wait. I hope you are satisfied with my performance earlier.”

“Your voice is a little bit better than mine.” Han Xiao nodded.

Sylvia’s eyes widened; she was shocked by how shameless he was.

Chen Xing smiled and took off the veil, uncovering his exquisite face. From a human aesthetic point of view, this was a very beautiful face. Coincidentally, the human aesthetic was the most common in the universe.

The most beautiful female that Han Xiao had seen was Aroshia, and just in terms of looks, she was only a little more beautiful than Chen Xing. However, this was a man… exciting indeed, but he did not have such an interest.

“I know you’re very curious about why I invited you,” Chen Xing said.

“Hmm, I am very curious,” Han Xiao said with a poker face.

No! You’re not curious! Sylvia screamed in her mind.

“The reason is, I have a hobby as a collector, and I like to collect some special items. You seem to have something that I want.”

As he was saying, Chen Xing took out a statue. Other than it having a different form, its material and size were exactly the same as what Han Xiao had.

Seeing the statue, Han Xiao took out the [Mysterious Statue] that he had brought along and said with a surprised tone, “Wow, what a coincidence!”

Bullsh*t coincidence! Sylvia’s expression was twisted from trying extremely hard to keep the annoyance in.

“Your friend does not seem to be feeling well. Does she need to visit the washroom?” Chen Xing asked with concern. “Should I call a doctor for her?”

“No need, thanks.” Han Xiao gave Sylvia a stare.

Chen Xing shrugged and continued. “This is a set of collectibles. There were originally four of them. Two of them are here, and two others are lost in unknown places. When one of them is a certain distance from another, its location can be sensed.”

He leaned back against the back of the chair in a very gentle way that did not look masculine at all. “I have just heard that you’re a galactic mercenary, so I want to ask you to find the last to statues for me. I will pay a reward for it. How about 100,000 Enas?”

“On—One hundred…” Sylvia could hardly breathe. That’s way too generous!

Han Xiao was not surprised, however; it was very normal for a celebrity to be wealthy.

Furthermore, one of the reasons that this mission was popular in the previous life was that the difficulty of the mission did not fit its reward.

“Sure, any requests?” Han Xiao gave a faint smile.

“Request…” Chen Xing tapped his lips and said, “The sooner, the better, of course.”

_____________________

You have triggered C Ranked mission [Statues Search].

Mission Introduction: A singer named Chen Xing is collecting a special set of statues. He hopes that you can find the other statues.

Mission Requirements: Find the other two [Mysterious Statue].

Remarks: When you have two statues, if there is another statue within a certain distance, you will notice.

Reward: Basic reward of 100,000 Enas and 1,100,000 Experience.

After the mission is completed, grading will be given based on the time taken to complete it. The shorter it takes, the higher the rating. A bonus reward will be given.

_____________________

Got the mission. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

This was the mission that he wanted to trigger; it was one of the most suitable missions for him to get a high rating after he searched through his memories.

Finding an item was not difficult but very time consuming—the process was complicated, yet time was a factor in the rating given.

However, to Han Xiao, it was not difficult at all. Thanks to the players in his previous life, he knew the location of the last two statues, so he could skip the search process and obtain them directly. Getting a high rating was not a problem at all.

Since he did not want to look for Grade A Supers to kill, he had to get random reward chances through high rating missions so that he could obtain Mission Completion Cards.

The reward of the mission itself was not important; the chances for random rewards was the key.

Chapter 446: City of Runes

“Take this statue and find the others as soon as possible,” Chen Xing said.

Han Xiao sized the new statue up. Its shape was a faceless human looking up with a huge eye on its chest, which was strange as well. After he held it in his hands, the item introduction on the interface was [Mysterious Statue] as well but with an additional remark.

_____________________

These statues that you have discovered seem to be a part of a set. Gather all the statues and maybe something unusual will happen.

_____________________

Han Xiao held onto the two statues and asked, “For the sake of 100,000 Enas, I accept the hire. Where do I find you once it’s completed?”

“My schedule is very full. Anyway, it’s impossible for you to find all of them in a short time. I will give my assistant’s communication number to you later. Just inform him once you complete it.” Chen Xing gave a gorgeous smile.

Although he knew the location of the statues, Han Xiao did not choose to come after collecting all three statues—it would make him seem very suspicious. After all, Chen Xing felt that meeting Han Xiao was just because of luck.

Chen Xing was looking for the statues himself, but he had never found any leads. With two statues, the area of detection for the other statues would be much larger. If not because he was very sensitive to the frequency of the statues, he would not have been able to find Han Xiao among the crowd.

He had never expected to find another statue during this performance.

Although he was smiling calmly, Han Xiao knew full well how excited this guy was.

Chen Xing said that he was a collector, which, of course, was nonsense. Han Xiao knew what his goal was.

This singer was a Psychic that used his voice to spread his powers. Although he looked gentle and weak, if Chen Xing wanted to, he could scream in an extremely high and destructive voice anytime he wanted. He was at least Grade B. It was because he put his Psychic powers into his voice that made his voice sound so impactful. These four statues had a special effect for Chen Xing—they could enhance his Psychic powers.

The four statues had originally been a set of totems for receiving prayers from believers night and day. They came from the Arcane Church.

Unlike the practical Crimson Empire and the Federation of Light that believed in freedom, the Arcane Church was a very religious and mysterious civilization.

In the knowledge of most planet and Star System sized civilizations, religions and beliefs were just a comforting or guiding tool for the mind that could at most guide the believers to have a certain attitude toward things in life. Some civilizations even saw religions as the cancer of society.

However, there were countless paths of evolution in the universe. Most religions believed in a fictional god, but some believed in real gods. Luckily for the Arcane Church, they were the latter. They had begun as savages just like the others, but unlike the other civilizations that progressed through technology or magic awakening, their ancestors discovered a way to communicate with real gods. When the gods that they believed in could really ‘respond’ to the believers and when the religions could make technology and society advance, their social structure naturally turned out to be different from most of the technology or magic focused civilizations.

What was a god? In magic terms, they were supposedly beings with enormous magic power. From a technological perspective, gods were superior beings from a higher dimension that could not be detected by ordinary beings. The projections from higher dimensions were all strange and weird. Thus, those that did not look unique enough were basically all false gods.

In both cases, the relationship between believers and gods were usually beneficial for both sides. However, the more developed a civilization was, the more careful their attitude toward the gods was, not giving it a definition easily.

The Arcane Church had its own explanation for the existence of gods, and they had an unbelievable technology that could turn what the believers believed in into a real being! For example, for a religion that believed in a fictional god, the Arcane Church had methods to turn it into a real god. Of course, their reasoning for it was ‘All gods have existed since the start of time, waiting for offerings, and we just build bridges for the lost believers.’ Anyway, it was very Superstitious, and the Great Mechanic Han was not supportive of it.

Therefore, other than the Spirit Emperor, which the Arcane Church believed in, they gathered countless believers from other religions. It was a sacred land shared by all religions in Galaxy. Those four statues were the religious totems of a religion where its gods were materialized. It had gathered prayers from its believers for a very long time.

Most of this information came from the various articles that Han Xiao had read. All three Universal Civilizations had unbelievable abilities. Of course, he was not concerned with such a large matter. His primary target was completing the mission.

…

After the celebration ended, Han Xiao bade farewell to Chen Xing and went back to the rented spaceship.

“What did you get?” Herlous was very curious.

“I got a 100,000 Enas job.”

“Yo, that’s quite a lot,” Herlous said with a surprised tone. “Save a bit more money, and it will be enough to buy a spaceship.”

“There’s no need for that at the moment. The fuel, maintenance, and repairs are all costly.”

Han Xiao waved his hands. He had to at least wait until his own technology was enough to repair spaceships before he bought one. Only then would he be able to save on the cost of it. In his previous life, the players only all had a spaceship in the very late versions. Before that, only large guilds were wealthy enough to have spaceships.

Intercepting spaceships of gray organizations and selling them to the spaceship manufacturers at cost price was a way to earn money as well. He could work with the large mercenary groups if there was an opportunity. However, in that case, he would not profit much, since the people with spaceships were the main combat power in a space battle… unless he was the one piloting.

After setting the destination, the spaceship took off.

As Han Xiao knew the location of the statues, he did not have to waste any time. One of the statues was buried under the ground on some desolate planet; he just had to retrieve it. The usual method of getting it was through intel and detailed search of the entire planet, but he skipped those difficult steps.

There were no twists and turns on the trip. Han Xiao landed on the planet, headed straight to the location, and dug out the third Mysterious Statue. Other than the time spent on locating the exact spot, he did not waste a single second. According to the players’ experience, he had saved at least twenty days.

However, the last statue had an owner.

For this mission, they passed through many areas, returned to the Taralam Star Cluster, and entered the East River Star System, Star Zone 4.

“Planet Secret Blue. There is a civilization on the planet. Due to unknown reasons, the galactic civilization that found this planet did not contact the local civilization, nor did they expose their existence. This means that Planet Secret Blue does not know that they once had a guest from outer space, and they also don’t know what the universe is like. Hence, they are complete natives.

“However, the geographical… astronomical location of this planet is special. It’s located on the path of the objects spat out by a wormhole cluster. Therefore, a lot of space trash has been landing on their planet.”

Han Xiao opened up the star map and introduced their destination to the others.

“The objects from outer space allowed them to derive technology beyond their level, but due to the difference in technological level, the knowledge that they gained from it was limited.

“At the same time, this trash made them certain about the existence of other civilizations in the universe, but that’s all they know.

“What’s worth mentioning is that this space trash from different civilizations showed Planet Secret Blue different systems. Hence, since the early stages of development, they have been researching on magic, technology, runes, crystals, and so on. Focusing on too many things at once might not be a good thing for a developing civilization. In conclusion, their technology standard has yet to reach the level that allows them to carry out interstellar travel.”

Han Xiao tapped the screen.

“The last statue is one such ‘space trash’ that landed on this planet. It was seen as a product of a new technology by a certain local organization. That organization has since kept it under tight security.”

“Boss, what are you planning to do?” one of the Volgas asked.

“Land directly and make the request. If they don’t accept, we will beat them up until they do.”

Han Xiao’s tone was very decisive.

Herlous was stunned. “Is that a good way to do it? How about we communicate with them and give them some information about the universe in exchange for the statue?”

Han Xiao shook his head.

In his previous life, the players had thought this way as well.

Due to the difference in technology, Planet Secret Blue was divided into various organizations that fought each other. After choosing to negotiate, the organization that had the statue took themselves highly and made over the top requests. First, they asked for a ton of information about the universe, which the players agreed to. Then they asked for many advanced knowledges and technology, which the players agreed to. In the end, they even made the outrageous request of making the ‘outer space guests’ conquer other local organizations for them.

The players finally could not take it anymore. After beating them up, they finally gave up the statue. This proved that the prior negotiations were completely meaningless.

Facing people with such a mindset, if they did not show how big their fists were, they would think too highly of themselves.

Of course, if they could really satisfy that organization’s requests, they would get the statue in the end too and even trigger more missions. However, to Han Xiao, violence was obviously the most convenient method.

Therefore, Han Xiao did not want to waste time and chose to directly airdrop and make the request.

…

Located in the Northwest of Planet Secret Blue, the City of Runes was a city based upon, as its name implied, rune technology. It was located in the middle of a forest. Its buildings had engravings of runes that shone in blue and white lights. The theme of the buildings was mostly tall, thin, light, and triangular. There were tall, square towers standing a certain distance from each other engraved with energy-absorbing runes. Those towers were the energy cores of the city. There was no wall at the edge of the city, and the buildings gradually became shorter the further they were from the center, extending all the way into the forest.

Many years ago, some space trash had landed there, and on it were the secrets of the rune technology. The pioneers had derived some technology from it and slowly built that city. It was now one of the largest forces on Planet Secret Blue.

It was late at night.

In the forest more than forty miles away from the City of Runes, dozens of people constructed a temporary camp. The bonfire rune emitted a stable red light, giving out warmth. The people sat around it. They were wearing leather clothes and armor engraved in runes. The border of the camp was covered in green beast repelling runes, stopping the beasts and insects crawling in the night from getting close.

“Captain, how much can these goods sell for on the black market in the City of Runes?” A young man rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

The captain was a short and skinny man that looked somewhat like a mouse. He chuckled and said, “Someone is secretly purchasing space trash in the City of Runes. These goods we gathered would at least make us 8,000 Feces.”

This was a smuggler group that sold space trash. Every once in a while, the trash from wormholes would land at different locations on the planet. Such trash had research value, and every organization was collecting them. However, they would definitely miss some of it. Hence, the space trash black market was born to purchase these objects from outer space. The smugglers were groups of people that searched for space trash and sold them on the black market.

At this time, they suddenly heard the sound of something breaking the sound barrier. The sound got louder and louder, cutting through the silence of the night like a sharp knife. They stood up and looked over hastily. A burning meteor appeared in the night sky and was heading toward them.

The smugglers were way too familiar with this sound. Surprise appeared on their faces.

“Space trash!”

The burning meteor approached very quickly and dashed right above their heads, stirring up a strong wind, shaking the forest, and rustling the leaves. Then, the meteor landed nearby, crushing some trees and making a loud noise.

Boom!

The ground trembled, and they staggered, almost falling.

Fire and smoke rose from the crash site.

“We got lucky!” The captain was overjoyed. “The landing site of this space trash is near us. We can take it away before the search team of the City of Runes arrives!”

The group of smugglers acted very quickly and arrived at the scene. Before them was a pit covered in thick smoke. In the middle of it was an egg-shaped metal object about 2.5 meters tall.

“What is this?” The smugglers sized it up curiously.

“Don’t stand there, quickly move it away.” The captain hurried.

Just as they were about the approach, a loud bang came from the forest, and a small pit appeared on the floor before the smuggler captain.

“Everyone, do not come closer!”

A deep voice came from the other side of the forest. Another group of people appeared in the forest. They were wearing metal armor, equipped with grenades and rifles. One of them was wearing infrared sniper goggles, and the muzzle of the sniper in his hands was still smoking. The sound earlier had indeed been the sound of a sniper shot.

“Troops of Iron Fire Castle!” The face of the group of smugglers changed.

The Iron Fire Castle was one of the large organizations on Planet Secret Blue. They had the technology of metal, gunpowder, and machinery. Their mechanical battle vehicles were the most dreaded on the battlefield.

They were not the only ones. With more rustling in the forest, more teams were approaching. This new ‘space trash’ was like a vortex that attracted all the teams in the forest.

Those teams had very different expressions. What they all had was alert and hostility toward each other.

The other organizations would always have operation teams in the territories of other organizations to snatch any space trash that landed near their territory, preventing opposing organizations from getting new opportunities.

If they could not snatch it away, they would… destroy it!

Chapter 447: Even We Will Have the Day When We Are Seen as Aliens

Iron Fire Castle, Arcane Institution, Crystal Mountain, Purple Sea Islands, Card Summit…

Five teams from different organizations surrounded the airdrop cabin and confronted each other. The smugglers at the side saw this and immediately backed off into the forest, observing the situation in fear.

Every time space trash fell, it would become a treasure that the various organizations wanted to get their hands on no matter what. This one had landed near the City of Runes, so the teams present knew that time was scarce. They started fighting immediately without saying anything.

Tuk tuk tuk!

The Iron Fire Castle warriors started to fire first, and bullets rained down from their rifles onto the other teams. The dark forest was lit up by the gunshots.

Gunpowder and machinery were technologies unique to the Iron Fire Castle, so most people dodged and avoided the bullets.

That was, except for the Card Summit warriors.

These people were wearing a strange device on their arms that looked like bronze plate armor. Its shape was similar to a disk, and at the side of it were many card slots. This was the core technology of the Card Summit warriors—Battle Card Disk. These people took out a shining card from the middle of the disk and placed it into the card slot. Then, something happened.

Hum!

A light, blue energy shield gathered before the disk, and bullets hit the shield and caused ripples. The shield stopped all the attacks.

Clearly, this was the product of another technology. The outer space object acquired by the Card Summit had the technology to store, transmit, and use energy through cards.

Boom boom boom!

At the same time, the warriors from the other organizations moved as well. It turned into a scrimmage of colorful energy and continuous growls.

Grenades blasted through arcane shields, sharp claws pierced metal muzzles, and sparks splashed all over the place.

Materialized spears from cards penetrated enhanced bodies, spilling boiling blood.

Radiation beams from crystals shattered Battle Card Disks, broken cards exploded into pieces, and the energy turned into an impact wave and splashed the black soil on the ground.

These were all elite warriors from their organizations. Different battle tactics clashed against each other.

No matter who got close to the ‘space trash’ in the middle, they would face attacks from everyone else immediately. They restrained each other, and the situation was in a stalemate.

Wu!

Suddenly, the sound of a horn came from afar. Their faces changed.

“That’s the warrior horn of the City of Runes. Their search team is going to arrive soon.”

Iron Fire Castle’s sniper adjusted his scope and saw a huge group of creatures approaching rapidly.

“There’s not enough time. What we are not able to acquire can’t be acquired by the City of Runes. Ready the explosives and destroy it!” the Iron Fire Castle captain yelled. His subordinates took out all sorts of grenades and bombs and threw them toward the airdrop cabin.

The other organizations did the same and attacked the airdrop cabin, thinking the same thing.

Boom!

The sound of an explosion trembled the night, and the firelight mixed with the black smoke covered the airdrop cabin up.

“Continue!”

Space trash that could land on planets were usually very tough. Even so, they wanted to destroy it as much as they could so the enemy organizations would not be able to research it.

Whoosh!

Just as these people were preparing for the second round of focus fire, a loud, clear sound of pressurized air expanding was heard. The hatch slowly slid open. They saw the outline of a person in the fog. Then, an unfamiliar voice appeared in their language.

“Are you guys done?”

Wafting away the fog, Han Xiao walked out in large steps. He landed with his body and did not activate the Void Dragon mechanical suit. This awful airdrop cabin had trembled so badly that it had given him a headache. Furthermore, the system had frozen after the clash, so he could not even open the hatch. It was a shame of the airdrop industry.

He had needed quite some time to restart the system, and he had heard all the clanking sound from the battle outside.

Although the various organizations in Planet Secret Blue had so-called ‘Supernatural’ weapons, their technology standard was very low in his eyes. It had very limited power, so even if he did not wear a mechanical suit, it would be very hard for them to break through his defenses.

Han Xiao did not care about the heated battle outside, but these people wanted to destroy the airdrop cabin, which was unacceptable. He had to pay compensation if rented properties were damaged!

The moment Han Xiao appeared, the whole scene froze.

It was deadly silent.

These warriors gazed at Han Xiao like they were frozen, and shocked expressions were fixed on their faces. Even the smugglers who watched from the side opened their mouth widely in disbelief.

“A—alien!”

Past space trash had all been dead objects.

This was the first alive creature!

An alien from the boundless universe!

Horror, shock, greed, and countless emotions flashed past these warriors’ face.

Everyone’s breath became heavier, and the same thought appeared in their minds.

“Have to get the alien! He’s too valuable!”

At this time, rapid footsteps appeared from the forest. A large group of City of Runes guards finally arrived at the scene. There were two hundred of them wearing their standard guard armor, one hundred melee guards and one hundred bow guards. The surface of their weapons and armor had engravings of runes that enhanced their attack, defense, and physical capabilities.

The warriors of Iron Fire Castle and other organizations’ face changed. “It’s the elite guerrilla group of City of Runes. We took too long!”

“Lay down your weapons!” the captain of the City of Runes team yelled loudly. He looked at the airdrop cabin, then looked at Han Xiao. With a little bit of thinking, he came to the same shocking conclusion as everyone else. He decisively ordered, “Surround them and evict the enemies. This is the territory of City of Runes; no one can snatch what is ours!”

The warriors of the other organizations quickly backed off with grave faces. There were too few of them.

According to tradition, they had to destroy whatever they could not obtain. However, an alien was too valuable, so many people could not make a decision. Should they really kill the alien? There were no prior examples to this. Maybe they should not do it…

The Iron Fire Castle captain’s eyes were menacing, and murderous intent rose in his heart. He clenched his teeth and ordered, “Never mind all of that, our duty is to execute orders. Since we can’t get that alien, we can’t let the City of Runes get him. Fire!”

The sniper aimed his gun at Han Xiao’s forehead and quickly pulled the trigger.

“Sh*t!” The captain of the City of Runes guards’ face changed dramatically.

Bang!

The sound of a gunshot echoed.

They hurriedly looked at the alien.

Han Xiao turned his head around. There was a white mark on his forehead still emitting a faint smoke, but the bullet had not even penetrated his skin.

On Planet Aquamarine, even Grade C Supers could face firearms with no problem, not to mention Grade B. Although he was a Mechanic, his health and resistance even exceeded Pugilists, so such low firearms had no chance of penetrating his defenses.

Shock and terror appeared on everyone else’s faces.

They only then realized that this person in front of them was not a dead object for them to grab if they wanted to but a mysterious guest from outer space.

His threat level was unknown!

“Zero damage.” Han Xiao touched his forehead and raised his eyebrows. He could not even be bothered to wear his mechanical suit. With a stream of Mechanical Force, dozens of Black Panther mechanical beasts appeared and pounced at the people.

Everyone was his attack target, whether they were the warriors from the various organizations or the City of Runes guards.

The situation completely changed in an instant.

The mechanical beasts culled the people fiercely. They tried to fight back in a panic, but their weapons only left sparks on the mechanical beasts’ armor. It was a completely one-sided battle; the mechanical beasts demolished everyone.

Whoosh!

A few sharp blade tails pierced into the sniper’s chest, and blood gushed out from his mouth. Before he could scream, the mechanical beasts around him pulled their tail and tore him to pieces.

The pungent smell of blood spread in the air.

“These are all machines!” the Iron Fire Castle captain screamed in disbelief. The technology that the alien was using had the same root as their technology. The strength of the mechanical beasts astounded their soul.

The battle lasted less than ten minutes before everyone else fell onto the ground. The floor was covered in blood, and the forest was filled with screams of agony. Other than the Iron Fire Castle warriors, Han Xiao did not kill anyone else. After all, he needed someone to spread the word.

The smugglers in the forest dodged a bullet. They were horrified, and their legs were shivering; many of them could not even remain standing.

The alien defeated two to three hundred elite warriors in the blink of an eye, how terrifying!

The chaotic situation was suppressed—these local warriors were all defeated.

The mechanical beasts returned to Han Xiao, folded into compressed orbs, and rolled into Han Xiao’s pockets automatically. This incomprehensible scene shocked the people once again.

Han Xiao looked around and coldly said, “Let me introduce myself. I’m a mercenary from space, coming to your planet to look for a wooden statue. According to my senses, that statue is in that city not far away. If you’re willing to hand it over, I can give you some information about the universe in exchange. If you reject, I will take it myself. Time is limited, so I hope to hear your response before tomorrow morning.”

Through the translator, his words became Planet Secret Blue’s language. The people were shocked. Seeing that Han Xiao had no intention of slaughtering them, they had no choice but to suppress their confused thoughts, stand up carefully, and back off, stumbling with panic.

The warriors from different organizations left in their own groups and did not fight again. They were in a hurry to report the situation; that was the most important matter at the moment.

The smugglers also ran away, and Han Xiao did not bother with them.

The political structure of this planet is very underdeveloped. One technology creates a city, and a city is equal to a regime. My appearance to them is huge news. As they don’t have any contact with the galaxy, there is no systematic Super knowledge here, only the individual power systems or incompletely information. The individual strength level is very weak. The strongest is only Grade C, and there are not even as many of them as there are on Planet Aquamarine.

With his Grade B strength, it was more than enough to crush this entire planet. Although Grade B was rather common in the universe and not too difficult to kill, it was almost invincible on lower level planets. The only advantage that Planet Secret Blue had on him was numbers.

Han Xiao smiled—Mechanics were most unafraid of being outnumbered.

However, Han Xiao did not ignore the possibility of some organizations on Planet Secret Blue having some powerful weapons.

“After hearing about me, the best result will, of course, be the City of Runes giving up the statue. However, that’s unlikely.” Han Xiao shook his head. He knew what kind of attitude these people had—proud and arrogant. They would most likely not compromise.

After waiting for an entire day, he would most likely not face smiles the following morning but a siege from their army.

However, this was exactly Han Xiao’s plan. He planned to give one night to the City of Runes to gather an army so that he could destroy their confidence once and for all, saving a lot of time. Enemies being overconfident was his favorite thing to see.

Herlous and the others were still on the spaceship; him landing alone would make it easier to terrorize the enemies.

Although he had three statues and could locate the last statue, so sneaking in and stealing it seemed to be more convenient, Han Xiao did not want to go through so much trouble.

After all, he would still end up facing them alone.

Finally, this time, he did not have to use so much of his brain and could solve the problem with his fists.

If I remember correctly, winning against a siege of tens of thousands of people will trigger an achievement ability called [One Against the World], Han Xiao suddenly recalled.

He looked at the mess around him, walked up to the top of the airdrop cabin, closed his eyes, and started to wait.

…

That night, the intel of an alien landing quickly spread into the organizations of the alive warriors.

This was the first alien that had landed there!

Alive!

The City of Runes was astonished!

The whole of Planet Secret Blue trembled!

This was definitely going to be a sleepless night.

Chapter 448: The Siege

Han Xiao’s arrival stirred up a storm.

Lord of Runes was the ruler of City of Runes. He had gone to sleep early but was awakened by this news. As soon as he heard, he quickly put on his formal clothes and hosted an emergency meeting.

The high officials in the city hurried to the hall in the central tower. They were all awakened from their sleep, and some were even wiping the sleep from their eyes.

Outside the balcony of the tower was the night sky. The moonlight passed through the stone railings and left a shadow on the floor.

The hall was illuminated by runes. Lord of Runes was an old and wrinkled man, but he was wearing a luxurious, elegant robe and holding a staff. The expression on his face was strange.

“Everyone knows the situation. An alien who calls himself a mercenary has landed and is looking for an outer space object in our hands. According to the intel, he used some kind of mechanical beasts and defeated two hundred Rune Guards with ease. He’s now in the forest outside waiting for our response. What do you guys think of this?”

“Aliens have a lot of information about the universe. He’s saying that he’s willing to exchange for the statue with some information. I think we can consider it…” an official said. His position was similar to the King’s Hand. “However, the object that the alien wants is definitely valuable. From his perspective, maybe he is making use of the fact that we don’t understand its value and wants to exchange it for some simple information. I feel that we can’t give in easily; it’s best to check the statue first.”

“You’re right.” The Lord of Runes nodded.

Very soon, a guard brought the statue over from the inventory. It had landed on the planet many years ago and had existed since the last Lord of Runes. As they could not figure out the statue’s secrets, and most of the researchers had mental issues after being in contact with it for too long, it had been sealed in the inventory and listed as an unsolvable outer space object.

Due to the alien’s request, they took the statue out once again.

This object was definitely not ordinary. The Lord of Runes was not very willing to give it up this easily, despite not being able to uncover its secrets. This was a treasure that the alien crossed unimaginable distances to retrieve after all.

“The alien gave us till tomorrow. We only have one night to consider.” The Lord of Runes squinted.

“If we can capture the alien, not only will we be able to analyze the body of a space race, but we can obtain all of his knowledge. This is an opportunity to rise above all the other organizations.” This man was the general of the army. He was wearing heavy armor and his tone was very aggressive. “He’s just one man.”

“He might have friends. Plus, he could land on our planet, which means he’s not easy to deal with. I don’t think we should fight with him,” someone else said.

The officials were divided into two sides. One side felt it was better to accept the alien’s request; the other side was very greedy and wanted to capture the alien to garner all the benefits. The latter side had more supporters. As they had seen a lot of objects from outer space, they were not completely ignorant of the outer world; therefore, they did not have a lot of respect but more curiosity.

The technology involved in these outer space objects was too advanced for Planet Secret Blue to figure out, so they could only learn the tip of the iceberg. However, ignorance often caused arrogance. Furthermore, the entire Planet Secret Blue did not have any idea of the strength level of the galactic warriors. Han Xiao coming alone gave them meaningless courage.

The supporters of conflict suggested tactics against the alien.

“We have one night, which is more than enough to gather about ten thousand guards and quietly surround that area. We can use the forbidden Runes; these most elite warriors will be able to endure it. Combined with the large rune weapons, it is more than enough to defeat the alien. He definitely will not expect us to attack him.”

The Lord of Runes’ eyes flickered as he swayed between peace and greed. In the end, he made the decision—reject the alien’s request. If they could capture the alien, all the benefits would belong to them.

He looked around the officials and said, “Gather the troops and bring out our strongest weapons. This is a once in a thousand years opportunity. Being too careful will only waste it. We have to capture the alien no matter what.”

…

The first beam of sunlight appeared in the sky, penetrating the forest, and landed on Han Xiao, who was sitting still like a rock.

Han Xiao’s eyelashes moved, and he opened his eyes. The refreshing, cooling morning fog landed on his skin and left a tint of wetness, making Han Xiao feel slightly energized after not sleeping for the night.

“It’s almost daytime. The enemies should arrive soon.”

A few droplets of water landed on his face. He looked up at the sky and raised his eyebrows. “Looks like it’s going to rain.”

Rain poured very soon, pitter-pattering on the leaves.

Han Xiao stood up and looked around the forest. The swaying trees gave out a strange atmosphere. In the dark forest, he sensed a faint, murderous intent mixed with the dampness.

Suddenly, a pressure landed on his body and slowed his movements. Han Xiao realized that he had to use more strength to remain at his usual speed, which was the effect of some kind of gravity rune.

“Just as I expected, they chose war.”

Han Xiao nodded in his mind. The organizations on that planets were all like calves that would not learn their lesson before receiving a heavy beating. People with no idea of the situation would dream of controlling and gaining every benefit before them.

Fear made people cautious. Normal civilizations would make contact with the aliens carefully, but that did not mean all natives would. There were some that were humble and some that were greedy. Some savage native civilizations would even think that the aliens were demons and choose to fight them with their entire nations, which had happened countless times before.

The greedier they were, the more they liked to play with fire.

The enormous Rune Guard army appeared from the forest in all directions. One thousand rune bows were aimed at him, and one thousand melee guards were slowly approaching. These two thousand troops were just the frontlines; the majority of the troops were still deeply hidden in the forest. The City of Runes had sent out seventy percent of all their troops.

“Alien, you should be able to understand our language. I’m the commander of the City of Runes Guard Army, Backzas. You’re surrounded. We will not harm you, provided you don’t resist meaninglessly and follow us.”

The expressionless commander in gorgeous rune armor stood in the middle of the army and spoke in a cold tone. He was the general that had strongly suggested to fight the previous night. The whole night, he had been gathering the army and approaching the forest quietly. The encirclement had formed, and even the founder of the War Runes would not have a chance—that was the strongest person in the history of the City of Runes.

The soldiers looked at the alien with curiosity. He did not seem very terrifying.

“Apparently, I have no choice but to take a trip to your city personally, such an unwise choice.” Han Xiao was regretful on the surface but delighted in his heart.

Hearing this, the rune warriors became nervous. However, when they looked at the countless comrades around them, they felt confident again.

Backzas’ face became stiff.

Is the battle starting?

After gathering suggestions the previous night, they had designed many tactics for the possible methods that the alien might have. They were very prepared. Backzas recalled these tactics and felt assured.

The forest terrain was a little bit disadvantageous for Han Xiao. He looked around and faced at the City of Runes’ direction.

I shall… head there directly!

Chapter 449: One Against the World!

Clank!

Dragging a trail of electric sparks, the compressed orbs quickly rolled out on the ground in a hundred-meter radius. With the sound of mechanical gears moving, artilleries appeared instantly and started firing at the army in all directions.

Countless troops fell in an instant!

“Hide!” Backzas yelled. He hid behind a tree, thinking that it could block the bullets.

However, the next moment, a few high-caliber Blazing Armor Penetrating Bullets blasted this tree into bits and shattered Backzas’ armor. He spat out blood from his mouth and screamed in agony before falling to the ground. Clenching his teeth, he growled, “Fire!”

Pow!

A thousand glowing rune arrows were shot at a single target.

Facing the countless arrows, Han Xiao slightly raised his finger. Twelve Sonic Spheres flew out and surround him, emitting sonic waves that turned into impact waves, deflecting all the arrows onto the ground.

Han Xiao took a step forward and headed toward the City of Runes. The first group of troops was buried by the infinite bullets and cannons.

There were both Gunpowder Artilleries and Electromagnetic Artilleries. The bullets used by the Gunpowder Artilleries were all special bullets such as Incendiary Bullets, Penetrating Bullets, grenades, gas bombs, and so on. There were also bullets enchanted by the Volga brothers such as Frozen Bullets, Oil Bullets, and others that caused all sorts of debuffs.

Boom boom boom!

The trees fell under the crossfire, opening up a path covered in the remains of the trees that were still burning.

The light rain was devoured by the flames and turned into a fog, making the field of sight unclear. The troops could only see the shadow of a person slowly walking forward in the mist.

The direction of the fallen trees showed Han Xiao’s location.

The large army finally arrived, and tens of thousands of Rune Guards charged forward under command. However, the area with a five hundred-meter radius of Han Xiao was almost a death zone, and anyone that got close would have their armor shattered and their body penetrated by bullets, no matter how many there were. No one could remain standing in that area.

Heavily injured soldiers filled up the path behind Han Xiao. Their wails were almost louder than the sound of cannons firing.

Han Xiao was not bloodthirsty. The level difference between him and these normal soldiers was too huge. They each only gave him one experience point anyway, so Han Xiao was too lazy to kill them all. For those who got hit in their vital spots, they were just unlucky. Although killing was not a hobby of his, Han Xiao did not feel pressurized by it at all.

Killing some people is normal. Back then when I infiltrated the Germinal Organization…

Never mind, a real mind does not mention his past glory days.

Finally, those soldiers hesitated and did not dare get too close. It was a completely meaningless sacrifice. They were afraid.

This time, three hundred special soldiers stepped out of the crowd. They were wearing black armor that had ten times more complicated rune engravings. All of their eyes were filled with veins like they were enduring enormous pain. They were the strongest warriors of the City of Runes—Black Armor Guards. Their rune armor was the highest level equipment; only trained ace warriors could use it, yet it would still cause irreversible damage to their body. Only one in fifty elite warriors would be selected as a Black Armor Guard. One Black Armor Guard could fight one hundred enemies.

Clank!

The Black Armor Guards charged into the rain of bullets. The highest-level armor finally stopped the bullets. The City of Runes army saw hope again.

Enduring the pain, the three hundred of them unsheathed their rune swords and charged toward Han Xiao fiercely.

Han Xiao’s face was calm. He snapped his fingers, and tens of mechanical beasts stampeded forward and restrained these elite warriors. Then, Han Xiao switched the Electromagnetic Artilleries to manual control, multiplying their power. He focused on the Black Armor Guards and defeated them one after another with ease.

Han Xiao’s combat style at the moment was almost invincible when facing a large number of enemies unless they were at the same grade as him. The most important thing was that they were cheap.

The ace warriors of City of Runes, the fighters that had high hopes of the army on their shoulders, were defeated without making any impact. Backzas’ heart sank when he saw this.

The power of the alien was beyond their expectations!

A deep sense of regret appeared in their hearts, but it was more than too late. They would not know how much they overestimated themselves till they faced such a tragic defeat.

Backzas was held onto his pierced legs and yelled, “Activate the Rune Catapults!”

Four weapons that looked like huge cannons were dragged out and aimed at Han Xiao from afar. These were the trump card of the City of Runes. The design originated from an almost completely broken weapon from an advanced rune civilization. The City of Runes had yet to gain its full technology, and the replica that they had made only had a hundredth of its power, but it was more than enough to be their strongest weapon. The entire City of Runes only had ten of them, and they had taken out four to use as the trump card against the alien.

This was their final resort; they were worried that they might kill the alien due to how strong those weapons were, but they could not be bothered about that anymore. If they still had the mindset of wanting to capture the alien alive, Backzas could already see their ending of being completely defeated.

Hum!

The four catapults shot out enormous energy arrows with a high pitch sound, carrying their last hope.

“These things are not too bad.”

Han Xiao pressed his hands together. Mechanical Force gushed out, and a colorful, bubble-like energy shield appeared, covering an area of three meters around him.

The energy arrows hit the bubble, but there were no explosions; they slid on the surface of the bubble and flew away, blasting ten-meter-wide pits on the ground hundreds of meters away.

[Skewed Energy Field Generator]. This was the equipment that Han Xiao had created using [Advanced Energy Theory]. It could skew energy attacks to a certain extent. He had purchased this knowledge during the nine months of doing hiring missions.

“These four cannons are a little bit threatening to me. One shot would probably cost me about 200 health.” Han Xiao looked at these catapults. They were quite far away and exceeded the shooting range of his artilleries. Han Xiao nodded. A specially made set of compressed orbs flew out and turned into machinery parts midair.

These parts combined and connected with each other. Very soon, a medium-sized Electromagnetic Rail Cannon landed beside him. It was almost two men tall.

Han Xiao sat in the control seat, quickly locked onto the target, and started charging. The blinding electric currents gathered in the cannon’s barrel.

Hum!

A blue electric beam crossed a thousand meters and penetrated three Rune Catapults instantly; everything in its path was melted.

This was the Giant War Cannon Style that Han Xiao rarely used. It was usually Cannon Master equipment specifically used to deal damage. This medium-sized Electromagnetic Rail Cannon was very powerful, and he spent quite some time to build it. It was used to deal single target damage, and every shot cost tens of Enas. It was equipment that he had specifically made to deal huge damage together with [Flaming Will]. In one hiring mission in the past, the local organizations had to fight against a space monster that had more than 50,000 health. Han Xiao had gotten lucky with [Flaming Will] and dealt five times the usual damage. At the same time, he had triggered True Damage from [Lethal Shot], dealing 14,885 damage in one shot. It was still his highest single damage record.

“What power is this?” Backzas’ lips were pale, and his face was filled with horror.

The alien was outrageously powerful; the tactics that they had discussed the night before all became jokes.

This shot was the last straw that shattered their hopes. The City of Runes army finally collapsed; they threw away their armor and escaped in all directions. Some even sat frozen on the ground with a blank mind, even forgetting to run away.

_____________________

You have defeated enemies outnumbering you more than 10,000 to 1 alone.

You have received [One Against the World] Achievement Ability.

[One Against the World]: When in battle, if you’re alone, you will receive an 11% increase in all attributes.

_____________________

“A rather good Achievement Ability.” Han Xiao nodded. Some abilities could be obtained through hidden challenges—they were called Achievement Abilities. Most of them had quite good effects.

[One Against the World] was obviously an ability suited for lone wolves, and it was very useful to players. As long as they had this ability, they would receive free attribute boosts when hunting other players. The only problem was that the method of getting it was not so player-friendly. For the players to face 10,000 enemies alone, it was not as easy as it was for Han Xiao.

Seeing the defeated and escaping enemies, Han Xiao collected his weapons and continued walking toward the City of Runes.

He believed that this battle was more than enough for the City of Runes to realize the difference in their strength.

…

The Lord of Runes did not sleep that night; he was anxiously waiting for the battle report.

Only half an hour had passed after the decided time of starting the battle, and the battle report came from the frontlines. The Lord of Runes fell onto the ground and sat there in terror.

One man against an army of tens of thousands of soldiers.

The army was overwhelmingly defeated!

The target was completely unharmed!

The face of all the officials present changed dramatically. Horror had crept onto their faces.

Chapter 450: Golden but Poor!

The City of Runes was surrounded by forests. Looking down from the high places in the city, the white city was surrounded by a dense green. However, now, a conspicuous, empty path appeared in the forest.

Smoke rose in the rain, and the residents of the City of Runes could see it clearly from afar.

“What happened there?”

“The faint sound of explosions kept coming from that direction earlier. Could the Iron Fire Castle have launched an attack?”

“I woke up to arrange the goods before sunrise, and do you know what I saw? Groups of Rune Guards walking into the forest in that exact direction.”

Seeing the smoke from far away, the City of Runes’ residents wondered what had happened. The intel regarding an alien appearing had yet to spread.

“It’s him… it must be him…” In the crowd, a short and skinny man was terrified. The people around him noticed his reaction and guessed that this person might know something, so they asked him about it.

“That’s an alien! He landed outside the city last night. He speaks our language and made a request to the Lord of Runes…” This person was the head of smugglers from the previous night. He poured out everything that he had seen. More and more people gathered around him to listen, and they could not believe it.

“A battle definitely broke out there. This means that the Lord of Runes did not accept the alien’s request.” The head of smugglers gulped. The crowd exchanged looks and saw panic in each other’s eyes.

This time, a commotion broke out in the distance. A Rune Guard ran back with all his might, his face still covered in the cannon ashes. He kept looking back with terror like there was some kind of monster behind him. Then, more and more defeated soldiers ran back after him.

This scene gave the residents a very bad feeling. A middle-aged man realized that his brother who served in the army was running back as well. He hastily caught him and asked him what had happened.

“The people above rejected the alien’s request. They wanted to capture the alien… The army of tens of thousands of soldiers lost to the enemy who was alone. Thousands of us died, but we couldn’t even touch him. It’s terrifying. Everyone is escaping. You guys should too! He’s coming to the city!” Fear was still lingering in this guard. He quickly explained the situation and ran away frantically.

The people were shocked, panicked, and outraged. They almost wanted to beat up the Lord of Runes—why did he not accept the alien’s request? Why did he have to mess with the alien and bring danger to the entire city?

This time, a group of soldiers walked out from the direction of the central tower. They pushed away the residents and cleared a path. The Lord of Runes rushed to the edge of the city together with a group of officials, and the guard behind them was holding a strange sculpture.

The alien was going to enter the city very soon, so there was no time to escape. The Lord of Runes had no choice but to take the statue and ask for mercy. According to the intel from the frontlines, the alien did not chase the running army and was not hurt. Maybe the alien did not like killing. What he was doing was a total bet. His greed toward the alien had completely vanished, and he only hoped that the alien would leave after taking the statue and forgive them.

Seeing this, some residents followed behind. Along the way, more and more people joined in and formed a wave behind the Lord of Runes, wanting to see what happened with their own eyes.

Thousands of people came to the village at the edge of the city. They looked in the direction of the forest anxiously.

The Lord of Runes kept wiping off his sweat, apprehensive.

Ta, ta, ta!

The footsteps on leaves and soil came from the forest and gradually got closer. As the distance between them shortened, the residents and the Lord of Runes felt more and more uneasy. Not long after, Han Xiao finally walked out of the forest and came to the edge of the City of Runes.

As soon as he appeared, countless eyes focused on him with curiosity, fear, worry, and other emotions.

Seeing the large crowd and the group of people who clearly were government officials, Han Xiao’s eyebrows twitched. His lips curled up as he could guess what their plan was. They had realized that they had messed with someone that they should not have messed with, and now they were offering the statue in exchange for forgiveness and mercy.

But isn’t it too late to yield?

The Lord of Runes took the statue from the hands of the guard, walked forward hastily, observed Han Xiao cautiously, and said with a shivering voice, “Thi—this should be what you are looking for…”

Not knowing what the alien was thinking, the Lord of Runes did not dare say anything else. Although he was a ruler, he had absolutely no confidence in front of someone that could easily destroy an army of tens of thousands of soldiers.

Although Planet Secret Blue did not have a proper Super system, there were some that had discovered the path of Supers. The War Rune Church was the gathering ground of these people in the City of Runes and had a high position. However, even their founder could only barely face one thousand Rune Guards, and it had taken him a very long time to defeat them. The efficiency of killing was completely on a different level from the alien before them.

After the battle report came, the Lord of Runes had wanted to request the warriors of the War Rune Church to stop the alien but had immediately been rejected. The War Rune Church knew that there was nothing that they could do, so they did not even give the Lord of Runes a chance to speak… despite them receiving huge funds from him every year.

Han Xiao touched the statue. The information on the interface was correct, so this was indeed the last lost statue.

When he reached out to take the statue, the Lord of Runes’ body shivered visibly. His eyes met with Han Xiao’s eyes, and he lowered his head in horror.

Glancing through the nervous crowd, Han Xiao said calmly, “Don’t worry, we don’t kill innocents.”

Hearing Han Xiao’s words, they breathed a sigh of relief.

“By the way, who’s your ruler?”

The residents pointed at the Lord of Runes simultaneously. Before the Lord of Runes could relax, his face turned stiff, and he gave a very forced smile.

“You’re the one that sent the troops to attack me?” Han Xiao asked. “Why didn’t you accept my request?”

The Lord of Runes shivered and did not dare to respond.

“According to the fair-trade rule of the mercenaries, you have attacked me. If you want to settle it, you have to pay compensation.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “What do you want to pay in exchange for your life?”

The Lord of Runes was covered in cold sweat. He was both furious and anguished. This was the first time that he had been threatened—who would dare speak to him that way normally?

Plus, you killed and injured so many of our men, yet you’re the one asking for compensation?

“We have a lot of outer space objects…” The Lord of Runes clenched his teeth in his mind. He had no choice but to endure it and ask his subordinate to make a list of their inventory to give to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao scanned through roughly and was a little disappointed. The local currency of Planet Secret Blue was completely meaningless to him, and the only things that were acceptable were the outer space objects. However, the inventory of the City of Runes was really filled with trash. Most of it was trash. A small portion were products from rune civilizations that were close to rubbish and had basically no value. After looking through the list from head to toe, he came to a conclusion—looking at the list was a complete waste of time as these people were extremely poor!

Han Xiao threw the list away and shook his head. “These things can’t buy your life. Sorry, I will have to make you pay for your mistake.”

The Lord of Runes’ face changed drastically.

Chapter 451: Superstitions Cannot Save the World

Is he going to kill me‽

The Lord of Runes looked behind him. Not even one guard stepped forward, and the officials were hiding far away, not daring to show their faces.

The Lord of Runes panicked. As resolving himself, he clenched his teeth. Suddenly, he grabbed the statue, took a few steps back, and held it before him. He then took a rune sword from the guard, pointed its tip at the statue, and fiercely yelled, “Don’t do anything, or I will destroy what you have been looking for!”

Han Xiao stood still and expressed that the Lord of Runes could do as he wished.

“Destroy it then. If you are actually able to, I will spare your life,” Han Xiao said in a mocking tone.

This statue looked like it was made of wood, but it did not even break after falling from space. How could it possibly be destroyed by a sword? The Lord of Runes had lost his mind.

Bang!

A bloody hole appeared on Lord of Runes’ forehead. This old man’s eyes opened wide in hatred, then they turned lifeless as he collapsed.

The people of the City of Runes trembled. They felt a mixed feeling watching their ruler being killed right before their eyes, but they were not very angry. The sense of national belonging was not very strong in Planet Secret Blue as the residents often migrated. Besides, the Lord of Runes was not very liked by his people.

Han Xiao holstered his gun and picked up the statue. After some blood spilled on it, the already strangely shaped statue felt creepy.

“Let’s go.” Han Xiao looked up at the sky.

Just as the people were confused as to what he was doing, the buzzing sound of an engine came from the sky. A spaceship quickly passed through the atmosphere and came to the sky hundreds of meters above Han Xiao. It shot out a blue beam and shrouded Han Xiao.

Han Xiao’s body rose as he was sucked into the spaceship before countless pairs of eyes.

On the ground, the people in the City of Runes were dazed.

“Is that the tool that the space people use to travel?”

“It looks like a piece of machinery. Could the Iron Fire Castle’s technology be the most correct one?”

Hu!

While they were discussing, the spaceship turned around. Blue fire shot out from its tail thrusters, and it broke through the sound barrier in an instant, disappearing.

…

The alien left just like that, but the City of Runes and other organizations on Planet Secret Blue had yet to recover from its impact.

Knowing what had happened to the Lord of Runes, the other organizations were glad that the alien had landed near the City of Runes instead of near them, or they would have ended up the same way.

When receiving the information on the previous night, these people had still been holding urgent meetings on how to deal with the alien. Many of them wanted to snatch the alien away from City of Runes. In their eyes, the City of Runes would most likely capture the alien successfully. At this time, the ones that made the most aggressive suggestions and yelled the loudest last night were all covered in cold sweat.

Since Han Xiao arrived, only around ten hours had passed, but the huge impact that he had brought to Planet Secret Blue deeply changed this planet’s perspective on the world. Their first contact with an alien was not peaceful, and there was no deep communication, but the influence that Han Xiao had on them was incalculable.

After all the organizations were shocked by Han Xiao’s strength, they looked forward to having that power. The warriors that explored ways to train themselves saw Han Xiao as a goal. They researched his actions when he fought the army, hoping to find a method to become stronger.

As they saw how strong a galactic mercenary was, the various organizations on Planet Secret Blue woke up to a certain extent. They felt that their internal battle was useless. Maybe in the eyes of those people in space, they were like ants fighting each other. This fueled their will to maintain peace and stop the battles.

Because of this, this incident was recorded in the history of Planet Secret Blue. The philosophers analyzed the impact that the alien had on society from different perspectives.

At the same time, because they saw that the interstellar spaceship was a piece of machinery, the technology in Planet Secret Blue finally showed signs of uniting. Iron Fire Castle’s machinery technology became the ‘truth’ that was agreed upon by all the organizations. They felt that this was the future direction that a civilization should take. Hence, they stopped research on other systems and focused on technology. Under the pressure from all the other organizations, Iron Fire Castle had no choice but to share all their knowledge.

Since then, most of the people on Planet Secret Blue became materialists. Their social structure changed without them noticing.

Although Han Xiao had been there for trouble, the influence that he had was very positive. Planet Secret Blue learned a lesson from their ignorance and wrong decisions, and they had a new understanding of how strong the people in space were, so they became more cautious. When they finally came into contact with a galactic civilization, the organizations on Planet Secret Blue were extremely glad that the first alien on their planet was a mercenary who gave them a chance. If they messed with a higher-level civilization when they were so arrogant, later… no, they would not even have had a ‘later’.

Those were all changes that happened after the Great Mechanic Han left, which he was not concerned about.

After gathering all the statues, Han Xiao did not notify Chen Xing immediately but went to the nearest Star System civilization colonized planet.

His goal was to buy some special consumables, something that could be used on the statue.

…

A few days later, the spaceship returned to the Rain Star System. After the Union Day Celebration, Chen Xing stayed in the New Phylen Alliance for his tour. When he received the message from Han Xiao, he was shocked and surprised.

It’s only been a few days, but the other two statues have already been found?

My god, what level of efficiency is this!

The item that he had spent years looking for had been found by this group of mercenaries in a few days. They were indeed the professionals!

The spaceship docked on a colonized planet of the New Phylen Alliance. Chen Xing was performing in a city there. With the passionate welcome of the assistant, Han Xiao and the others met with Chen Xing in the most expensive suite of a high-class hotel.

“Hahaha, Black Star, you’ve really surprised me. I never thought you would be able to find all the statues so quickly.” Chen Xing was overjoyed, and his face was slightly red from his excitement.

This time, Han Xiao had brought everyone along. This was the first time that Herlous had met Chen Xing. “Being this pretty, is he a man or a woman?”

“I’m a man. It’s natural beauty.” Chen Xing heard Herlous’ murmur and replied with a smile.

Han Xiao coughed and said, “I’ve brought the stuff. There will be more than enough time later for chitchat. I think it’s better to carry out the holy deal first.”

Chen Xing gave him a seductive look, chuckled, and said, “So impatient. Alright, I’m very satisfied with your efficiency. I’ll pay double the reward to repay the surprise you’ve given me.”

“Double? Wouldn’t that be…” Sylvia counted with her fingers, and her mouth fell open. “Two—two hundred thousand!”

“Calm down, don’t act like you’ve never seen money before.” Han Xiao knocked her head. Celebrities were, of course, wealthy; it was nothing to be surprised about.

The four statues were placed on the table. Chen Xing checked them, made sure they were the right statues, and paid the money instantly.

_____________________

[Statue Search] Completed

Grading mission…

Grading complete.

Mission Rating: Unbelievable

You have received [Unbelievable] level bonus reward: Bonus 120% experience (1,320,000), bonus 100,000 Enas, random reward x 1, special item x 1.

You have received [Character Summon Card – Chen Xing]

Character Summon Card—Chen Xing: [Flirtatious Smile]: +688 CHA. Duration: 15 seconds. Usages: 0/3

_____________________________________

Seeing the effect of the Character Summon Card, Han Xiao was silent.

Other than the word ‘ridiculous’, he could not think of another word to describe it.

688 points of attribute boost, but in charm‽ Is this supposed to make the enemies lose too much blood from nosebleeds‽ If this boost was for Intelligence, I’d go beat up a Grade A right now!

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He was speechless.

A flirtatious smile? Are you serious‽

The Charm attribute had always been a side attribute. It was mainly used to get discounts in deals or enhance illusion abilities, affinity with creatures, taming beasts, farm favorability, and so on. Almost no player would focus on increasing their character’s Charm… other than some female players. Technically, no player would spend this many points on Charm. Han Xiao felt that this value would give him natural seductiveness, and anyone that looked at him had to be above a certain level of resistance to not be affected.

Why did it have to be charm! I already have enough of it!

Other than the extra reward, he received 2,430,000 experience and 200,000 Enas. The monetary reward was really high—celebrities were generous indeed. His savings finally exceeded one million and reached more than 1.1 million.

He had gotten a very high completion rating for the mission but did not receive any legendary points nor a Medal of Honor since the difficulty of the mission itself was only C. He already had one Medal of Honor, [Germinal Organization Slayer], which he had received after destroying the Germinal Organization. Its effect was a three percent boost in all attributes. Gathering three Medals of Honor would turn them into a special Medal of Achievement which gave a twelve percent boost in all attributes.

However, the random reward from the [Unbelievable] mission rating was the key.

Han Xiao’s eyes became firm. He pulled Herlous aside and touched him here and there.

“What are you doing?” Herlous felt a disgusting shiver and jumped away hastily.

“Getting some of your luck.” Han Xiao rubbed his hands. He knew how good his luck was. Old Herlous was at least a main character and had the lucky aura, so he was willing to believe in superstitions in such times.

The Great Mechanic Han took a deep breath. With a solemn and serious expression, he slowly clicked on the ‘confirm’ button.

_____________________

Randomizing…

Randomizing complete.

You received the Random Reward Type: [Talent]

_____________________

“Damn it!”

Chapter 452: Sudden Attack!

Only if the reward type was [Item] would there be a chance to obtain the Mission Completion Card.

Are you a fake main character Old Herlous?

Han Xiao turned around and looked at Aroshia. He felt that touching her was more dependable.

Aroshia looked at him with a poker face, and they looked at each other for three seconds.

Han Xiao shook his head, rubbed his temples, comforted himself, and thought,This is just the first time. It’s normal to meet a small obstacle. It’s normal… normal…

Han Xiao knew that the chances of getting a Mission Completion Card on the first try were very low. Although abilities were not what he needed most at the moment, it could have been worse.

Sigh, things would be much easier if the players were here. I could just give out a mission to have them give me Mission Completion Cards, and I wouldn’t have to hope to get lucky.

Han Xiao shook his head and looked at the interface.

_____________________

Please select 1 from the 3 talents below.

[Flame Affinity]: +16% Fire Resistance, +10% damage of fire element abilities

[Advanced Mental Toughness]: +35% Psychological Resistance, decrease Psychological Resistance needed to be immune to mental controlling debuffs, -30% duration of these debuffs.

[Cell Engine]: +21% Energy recovery speed, +330 energy

_____________________

With just one look, Han Xiao had already made a decision. [Flame Affinity] was suitable for the Mage class and had a very limited effect on him. [Cell Engine] was not bad, but it was not as practical as [Advanced Mental Toughness]. Anything that had the ‘Advanced’ prefix was usually half decent. Furthermore, the Psychic class could attack through the armor of the Mechanic class, so this talent could largely enhance his Psychological Resistance.

Plus, he would be able to use it on the spot.

After some pondering, Han Xiao suddenly realized that something was wrong.

Wait a minute, why am I becoming tankier?

Is there really no way for me not to be a tank! I want to deal damage, damn it!

Although he did not get a Mission Completion Card, he did garner quite a number of benefits on this trip—two talents, one Character Summon Card that felt kind of useless, more than two million experience, and 200,000 Enas.

Chen Xing was staring at him with a smile, expressing his intention of sending these guests off graciously. He suppressed his emotions and could not wait to do his stuff after the mercenaries left.

Han Xiao reached out his hand and said, “Since the mission is completed, we shall get going.”

“Sure. If there is a chance in the future, I will work with you again.”

Chen Xing smiled politely and grabbed Han Xiao’s hand.

Suddenly, without any warning, Han Xiao’s hand locked onto his hand tightly. Han Xiao abruptly pulled Chen Xing to his side before he could react.

In an instant, the Void Dragon mechanical suit covered his body. Han Xiao leaned back slightly, then heavily headbutted Chen Xing’s face with his armored forehead.

Bang!

Being suddenly attacked, Chen Xing felt the world was spinning.

Han Xiao activated all the enhancing modules of Void Dragon. With the Electromagnetic Pulse Controller stimulating his body, he entered the [Excited] state. Together with the attribute boost from Void Dragon’s combat form, his Strength increased by more than one hundred points. One headbutt was not enough, so he headbutted Chen Xing again, stunning him for a short period.

Using the short opportunity, Han Xiao grabbed Chen Xing’s head with his hands and released [Void Jet Spray]!

Boom!

The shockwave turned the luxurious hotel suite into a total mess like it had been visited by a tornado.

“What are you doing‽”

Herlous, Sylvia, and the Volga brothers were all shocked!

A mercenary is attacking the employer!

It was still so peaceful moments ago, why did he suddenly attack‽

“You…” Chen Xing’s resistance was not low. He finally regained focus after taking two charges of Void Jet Sprays. His eyes turned pure white, and the surging Psychic power pushed everyone away.

He clutched his head full of pain, stared at Han Xiao with hate, and bit his lips. He was shocked and enraged.

He did not understand why Han Xiao suddenly attacked him, but that did not stop him from feeling threatened.

“Argh!” Chen Xing opened his mouth. Psychic power flew into his voice, and the sharp high note pierced into the others’ brains like a spear, causing a strong pain.

They felt like the world was spinning, and their organs were distorted like they were going to vomit. Sylvia was the weakest. She grabbed tightly onto her brain like it was going to explode the next second.

Han Xiao felt painful too like a blade was stirring in his brain. The [Advanced Mental Toughness] that he had just acquired instantly showed its effect. He had planned to attack long before he chose this talent. It largely reduced Psychic damages and debuffs, which was very useful against Psychics.

After all, he knew everything about Chen Xing.

Han Xiao endured the pain and pounced forward. His elbow slashed onto Chen Xing’s psychic shield like a tomahawk, making a loud crash of the sound barrier breaking, then it landed on Chen Xing’s pretty face.

Pa!

Blood splashed out from Chen Xing’s nose and mouth. He held his bleeding nose and backed off in a panic. His eyes were filled with rage and shock.

“Herlous, go outside the door and stop the guards. Volga brothers, protect Sylvia and don’t get too close to us.”

Han Xiao spoke very quickly. At the same time, his fist covered in armor punched and broke Chen Xing’s shield time after time, forcing him to back off without a choice, not able to use psychic attacks. He was moving closer to a dead end.

“What is going on‽” Herlous was still lost. He clenched his teeth and decided to trust that Han Xiao had a reason to do this.

Boom boom boom!

Herlous rushed out the room door, swung his Battleship Slicing Blade, and stopped the guards outside.

“Piss! Off!” Chen Xing screamed like a woman, and blood flew out from his eyes. He used some kind of secret technique to stimulate his mind and go beyond his psychic power limit. The windows and walls of the room exploded and shattered, and dust suffused with the air. Han Xiao was pushed aside as well.

With the opportunity to catch his breath, Chen Xing clenched his teeth and activated his psychic power. All the items in the room floated up into the air and fused into a wave, pushing Han Xiao back and not letting him get closer.

This time, Chen Xing’s face was covered in blood. His luxurious and beautiful clothes were coated in dust and blood, and he was in a very bad state. He was still suffering from the concussion resulting from Han Xiao’s headbutts, so he was unable to focus, and his psychic power was flowing slower than usual.

The next second, the four statues that had fallen to the ground were grabbed by Chen Xing with his psychic power. Like a thirsty man seeing water, he pressed the statues against his forehead.

A unique psychic rhythm appeared in the air. In a spectrum invisible to the human eye, the Psychic Current in the statues was flowing into Chen Xing’s brain. His weakened Psychic powers recovered extremely quickly.

This was the statues’ effect on Chen Xing. The Psychic Current in them was like a strong supplement to him that could enhance his psychic power. Items like this that received prayers over a long time could all be used by him to strengthen his powers. This was a method used by the Psychics, absorbing Psychic Currents to strengthen themselves. It was rare and had a very strong side effect, the user would usually be impacted by all the thoughts in the Psychic Current, which might even damage the user’s mind.

Aroshia saw this and was about to stop Chen Xing but realized that Han Xiao was secretly giving her a hand sign, telling her not to do anything. Hence, Aroshia stopped and watched things unfold.

Originally, he needed to be very cautious when absorbing the Psychic Current from the statues or his mind would be influenced by the countless thoughts in it. However, Chen Xing could not be bothered about that now. God knew if this mercenary had become crazy. All Chen Xing knew was that if he did not save himself, his life might be in danger.

Whoosh!

After gulping down the Psychic Currents from the four statues, the statues fell onto the ground and lost their uniqueness, only left with their tough exteriors.

After absorbing the Psychic Currents, Chen Xing’s eyes turned red. A horrifying Psychic power surrounded him, and even the air was distorted. His psychic power was so strong that it was visible. His head did not hurt anymore, and his back did not ache anymore; he recovered to his peak performance and even beyond.

“How dare you beat me up to this extent? I—I will turn you into my Silent Slave!”

Chen Xing wiped off the blood on his nose and lips. His tone was full of rage like a woman who realized that her beautiful face had been destroyed.

Strong Psychic powers gathered as Chen Xing prepared to launch his strongest attack.

This time, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Suddenly, he activated Hila’s Character Summon Card, and a hologram of a redhead woman appeared behind him.

_____________________

[Whisper of the Dead]: Deals psychic damage three times to the enemy. Damage is based on the user’s INT or MYS (can be indicated). Decreases all status of the target by 15%.

Duration: 3 hours

Usages: 2/8

_____________________

Dark red energy surged from Han Xiao’s eyes and shot straight at Chen Xing.

Although he did not have the ability to enhance Psychic attacks, his Intelligence was very high. The three consecutive attacks were quite powerful.

Hum!

The world before Chen Xing’s eyes was spinning. The heavy hit landed on his mind and caused him to lose control of his Psychic powers. The Psychic power that he had gathered exploded before it was launched.

Blood poured out Chen Xing’s nose and mouth, and his eyes turned blood red. This was not because he used some ability to break his limits or anything like that but because the veins in his eyes exploded.

Psychic’s Psychological Resistance was supposed to be very high, yet Chen Xing’s mind was like it was almost defenseless, causing him to be heavily hurt instantly.

Suddenly, his state became even worse than before he absorbed the energy from the statues. His mind became extremely slow, and his knees became weak. Chen Xing fell onto the ground and gasped for air. He grabbed a statue in disbelief.

“You… did you do something to these‽”

Chapter 453: The Real Owner

Han Xiao’s lips curled up. Before notifying Chen Xing, he had purchased a type of specially made mind poison on another planet and coated it on the statues. As long as anyone’s Psychic powers came into contact with the poison, they would be damaged and suffer decreased Psychological Resistance. It was effective for Psychic type Espers, Mages, and Psychics.

Not only was Chen Xing already injured by Han Xiao, but he also absorbed all the energy from the statues, which made his mind weak, and now he was poisoned too. With all these factors, his resistance was largely decreased. Hence, his mind directly fell apart.

Chen Xing was Grade B, but Psychics were normally like paper, so Han Xiao did not dare to use Flaming Will. He was afraid that if he got lucky, or maybe unlucky, he would kill Chen Xing right away.

Blood poured out from Chen Xing’s nose and mouth to the floor, Chen Xing had lost the ability to resist. He looked at Han Xiao with a death stare, his face was filled with loath.

For an instant, Chen Xing’s expression seemed to become very calm, but that was so brief that it felt like an illusion.

“Why are you doing this?” Chen Xing clenched his teeth. “Did you accept a request to assassinate me?”

Han Xiao answered Chen Xing by grabbing onto his hair and slamming it heavily onto the floor, knocking him unconscious.

Explaining is a job for the villains. We are just!

“Old Herlous, come back here and let’s retreat!”

“Thanks to you, I might be quite busy at the moment…” Herlous’ annoyed voice came from outside the door. He had blocked several waves of guards outside, so the fight outside the door was getting intense.

Han Xiao grabbed Chen Xing’s clothes and threw him to the Volga brothers, then he aimed his hands at the hotel wall and launched a maximum output Void Jet Spray.

Boom!

The gray shockwave blasted through the wall. Bricks and rebars showered onto the ground, and the air became filled with the pungent smell of dust. A huge hole appeared on the outside wall of the hotel. The ground was hundreds of meters below, and about a hundred meters below them was the nonstop traffic of hovering cars.

Han Xiao caught an opportunity and jumped down, smashing through a hovering car’s roof and landing on the seat. The driver was horrified, but before he could speak, Han Xiao knocked him out and threw him onto the backseat.

Han Xiao quickly sat on the driving seat and held onto the steering wheel. He immediately felt a sense of familiarity. The next moment, the car flew upward and deviated from the midair traffic track, stopping outside the hole in the hotel’s wall.

“All of you, come in!” Han Xiao said as the door opened.

The people squeezed in. Before Herlous could enter, the blaring alarm became even louder. Han Xiao looked in the rearview mirror and saw a convoy of hovering police cars coming from behind.

This was a high-class hotel, so there were a large number of police patrols nearby. The commotion had already raised alarms, and the hotel had informed them of the situation.

Han Xiao did not dare to continue waiting. He controlled the car to drive away and yelled, “Jump! Quickly!”

Herlous slashed sideways with the back of his sword and swept all the guards away, then he hastily turned around and sprinted to the hole on the wall. With a step that cracked the floor, he crossed almost a hundred meters in the air like a leap of faith and fell right into the car from the hole that Han Xiao smashed through earlier.

“Close, that was close…”

Herlous had yet to recover from the intense fight earlier. Suddenly, he felt he was sitting on something very soft. He looked down, and it turned out that he was sitting on a stranger’s face. He asked in a surprised tone, “Who’s this?”

“A driver that kindly gave us his car… Hey! Don’t sit on his face, be appreciative.”

Seeing that everyone was here, Han Xiao sped up immediately and charged forward like an unruly rhinoceros.

Not only were there police hovering cars behind chasing them, but there were more in front as well. However, as they were in the air, forward and backward were not the only two directions, so there was no way that they could stop him from escaping.

The turbulence made the people in the car feel like they were sitting inside a sardine tin that was being violently shaken. Herlous wanted to question Han Xiao about why he was doing this, but he had no choice but to put that thought away for the time being—he was afraid he might throw up if he opened his mouth.

Aroshia turned into her energy form and instantly felt better.

Sylvia, who had fainted from the Psychic wave earlier, slowly woke up. The world before her eyes was spinning wildly, making her think that she had a concussion. In less than thirty seconds after she woke up, she felt nauseous and vomited, fainting once again.

“Stop your car immediately, or we will open fire!” An announcement was made from the speakers on one of the police hovering cars.

Han Xiao grabbed the steering wheel. His car crashed directly and accurately into that police car’s tail. The police car spun rapidly in the air like a gyroscope, and waves of shouting came out of the speakers.

Han Xiao felt zero pressure when facing such an amateur force. He downloaded the map of the entire city from the mechanical suit database, and the artificial intelligence assistant quickly planned a route and showed it on the analysis screen.

After more than ten minutes, he quickly got rid of all the pursuers. The tattered hovering car stopped at the gap between two buildings.

…

Bleurgh!

Herlous held onto the car window and vomited for a while before he finally felt better. He breathed heavily, stared at Han Xiao, and said with a fiery tone, “My dear captain, do you now have the time to explain what is going on to us laborers?”

He was very frustrated. How did a normal reward collection process turn into them being chased by the police all over the city? Furthermore, they had kidnapped a galactic celebrity.

If it was a woman, it would be fine, but it’s a man! What are you trying to do, captain!

Han Xiao changed his position and looked at the backseat. He pointed at Chen Xing’s head covered in dry blood and said, “My target is this guy. He’s not as simple as he looks.”

“… Thanks for your reminder. I didn’t know a Grade B Psychic is not simple!” Herlous clenched his teeth.

With worry written all over his face, the youngest Volga said, “He’s a huge celebrity. We will definitely be wanted by the local police, and we might even be reported to the New Phylen Alliance’s direct police department. This will damage our mercenary name. Furthermore, the Rain Star System is New Phylen Alliance’s territory. What should we do?”

“Don’t worry.” Han Xiao looked at Chen Xing and said, “That guy will speak for us, and as long as he does, we’ll be fine.”

“Are you going to threaten him? I don’t think that will work.” Herlous expressed his doubts.

“Threaten? No, there’s no need for that.” Han Xiao smiled. “He will choose to help us.”

As he was speaking, he pulled Chen Xing out of the pile of people and threw him into the passenger’s seat. After some pondering, he took out some tissue and wiped the blood off Chen Xing’s face.

Chen Xing’s face was covered in bruises and swollen parts. His delicate looks during his performance were nowhere to be found.

“I used too much strength earlier. Sigh, he was quite a handsome boy. What a pity…”

Han Xiao sighed sympathetically.

Pa pa pa!

Since his face was already in that state, Han Xiao gave him a series of slaps as a wake-up service.

Chen Xing’s eyelashes shook, and he slowly opened his eyes. His pupils gradually focused, and he sat up straight.

His temperament changed completely. If he was more like an alluring woman earlier, he was now completely like a masculine man. He turned to look at Han Xiao and smiled calmly; there was no sign of him being furious like earlier.

“Hello, I have been looking at you since just now. Although you might have attacked me to kidnap me, I would still like to thank you for giving me the chance to come out and breathe some fresh air.”

Completely unlike his earlier feminine tone, his voice was gentle and deep. It was almost like he was a different person.

“Yo—you…” Herlous was bewildered.

‘Chen Xing’ nodded and smiled gently.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Adrian Kelvinsin Feidin. You can call me Feidin. You don’t have to be surprised—I’m the real owner of this body. The Chen Xing that you met is… how do I put it… I would say she is a not-so-friendly guest.”

Chapter 454: Helping Hand

Schizophrenia? Paranoia? Faking? The people were perplexed. What is wrong with this guy?

“Mind Possession,” Han Xiao said with a low voice.

A tint of surprise flashed through Feidin’s eyes as he heard this. He did not expect Han Xiao to know the truth.

“I didn’t expect you to realize.” Then it occurred to Feidin—it turned out that Han Xiao had suddenly attacked him because he had discovered Chen Xing’s secret.

As he understood why Han Xiao attacked him, he became skeptical. Why did this mercenary called Black Star help him? Mercenaries were not ones who would kindly help others without asking for anything in return—he definitely had a motive.

“So, it’s Mind Possession…” The youngest Volga understood and immediately started explaining it to the others. He was a Psychic, too, so he knew what Mind Possession was.

Just like how a Pugilist trained their body, a Psychic trained their mind and soul. The strong ones could detach their soul and consciousness from their body and possess the mind of another, giving them a second life.

Usually, they would only use this spell when their body was heavily damaged and they had no choice, as the detaching process would cause irrecoverable damage to their soul. Furthermore, the success rate was only 0.3%, and failure would cause their soul to shatter, killing them on the spot.

Most people were not willing to abandon their original body and change into someone else’s body unless they were left with no choice. Chen Xing was a perfect example for this. She was a woman, so why would she ever want to change her body into a man? They did not even have mutual hardware!

It was impossible for Psychics to possess someone whose mind was stronger than their own. As soon as a Psychic successfully possesses someone’s mind, they would gain control of that body, and the original owner’s body would be trapped in a cell. The original owner could feel what the body was feeling but would not be able to control the body, like a spectator.

Chen Xing was heavily injured, and her mind was very weak, so she had to rest. Hence, Feidin took over his body, and Chen Xing became a spectator.

Han Xiao had attacked because he wanted to meet Feidin, and injuring Chen Xing’s mind was the most direct method to do that. It just so happened that he had Hila’s Character Summon Card, which could attack one’s mind, so there was no need to beat Feidin’s body up to the brink of death… although his injury was still not light.

The youngest Volga briefly explained the principle of Mind Possession, and the others finally understood what it was.

No wonder Chen Xing was so feminine—it turns out she was a woman from the start.

“When did you get possessed?” Herlous said curiously.

“You mean, when was the last time I controlled this body?” Feidin shrugged. “4 years, 9 months, 14 days, 8 hours, and 23 minutes, oh, now it’s 24 minutes.”

“About five years ago…” Sylvia had woken up. She had heard their conversation and was puzzled. “Isn’t that when Chen Xing made his debut?”

“Yes… my home is in a remote Star System in the Shattered Star Ring. I didn’t like the completely modified main planet, so I migrated to a remote half-colonized planet. That planet is a gathering ground for the poor, also an abandoned planet in the others’ eyes. However, I felt that place was more full of life than the city surrounded by iron and steel. I lived in the wild, making a living through farming land and hunting. Everything was peaceful. One day, a spaceship fell onto the land of my house, and inside was a heavily injured, unconscious woman. She was Chen Xing. I saved her and treated her wounds, but her injuries were too heavy. Before she died, she took away my body and continued living with it, then she became a celebrity. That’s the gist of what happened.”

Feidin spoke very calmly as if he did not have much hatred or anger on how his body had been taken away. He had long adapted throughout the five years, so there was no more resent and anger like when it first happened.

Han Xiao nodded. Despite the fact that Chen Xing had been crushed by him without being able to fight back, it was because her power had been heavily damaged when she extracted her soul from her body. Her strength had once been extremely close to Grade A. Because she changed a body, she became tremendously weaker and almost dropped to Grade C. That was why she was collecting things like these statues—it was to recover her powers.

Chen Xing was not a main character, but Feidin was!

Furthermore, his luck was stronger than Herlous, who was just a local main character. His Luck Glow was high-class!

Having someone so strong staying in one’s mind was a standard main character storyline. However, for others, it was an old man, whereas for Feidin, it was a young woman.

If not for Chen Xing, Feidin would never have maximized his potential with his old man personality and would have been an ordinary person forever. Although Chen Xing took away his body, she also brought him on an unknown path. If that did not happen, Chen Xing would never have discovered how much potential he had. Furthermore, he would only face this difficult situation temporarily. Although Han Xiao did not know the exact time, he knew that Feidin would become stronger than Chen Xing in the future and retake his body.

Feidin’s personal growth storyline was [The Legend of a Singer]!

How strong was a main character with High-Class Luck Glow? When Feidin was at his peak, he was as strong as Hila. His voice could reach one’s soul directly without air to spread it.

He could use his holy voice to cleanse those souls filled with anger and hatred, making everything peaceful and filled with joy.

His one song solved a galactic war that had been about to break out!

That was what Feidin was known for!

Furthermore, Feidin did not keep all his secrets to himself. He publicly passed his Psychic knowledge on to others. The Psychic class players could learn the way to use Psychic powers through songs from him, which was one of the combat styles for Psychics. Feidin was like a high-class Psychic mentor.

When Han Xiao thought of this mission, he had already made a complete plan. If he could get the Mission Completion Card, he would not mess with Chen Xing for the time being and go for Promotion first. However, if he did not get the Mission Completion Card, he would then trigger this storyline. The players who did the [Statue Search] mission, of course, did not know Chen Xing’s secrets. Many players only regretfully found out that this character had a storyline later.

Although Han Xiao did not know what the result would be if he triggered this storyline at this time, he decided to give it a try as he was not completely ignorant. He somewhat knew about Feidin’s personality and could guess how things went. He could not say that he was a hundred percent certain, but there were definitely some benefits that he could get from it.

“I can help you to control your body and evict the guest in your mind, or your body will be hers again when she recovers,” Han Xiao said.

Feidin was not moved. “What do you want? I believe this help does not come free.”

“Chen Xing is very wealthy, you and her share your body, so you definitely know her account and password. I want her savings,” Han Xiao said.

Chen Xing was indeed wealthy, but this was not the Great Mechanic Han’s main goal. However, he could not directly say that he was interested in Feidin’s potential, or he would not be able to gain his trust. Targeting his money was more convincing and would make Feidin lower his guard to a certain extent.

After all, the body belonged to Feidin—he would rather have Chen Xing control it than risk it entirely.

Feidin was instantly convinced; mercenaries wanting money was more normal than anything. Furthermore, this could not be considered a kidnapping but helping someone who was possessed, so they did not break the mercenary contract.

Feidin thought that it was a good idea. Although Chen Xing was the one who had made this money, she was using his body, so he did not feel any guilt about spending it.

“Sounds good… but if you want the money right away, I’m afraid I won’t be able to do that.” Feidin pointed at his head and smiled bitterly. “She just threatened me, saying that if I touch her savings, she will die together with me. Therefore, before her problem is dealt with, I won’t be able to afford the reward.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. When he made this request, he had already guessed how Chen Xing would react to it, and this result was exactly what he wanted. He was secretly delighted. He nodded and said, “Then you have to be following me all the time—only then will I be able to suppress Chen Xing for you. Until we find a way to completely deal with her.”

Feidin paused and said, “I hope that her life is not harmed. She possessed my body because she did not have a choice, and she did not use my body recklessly. In these five years, although she blocked my voice because she felt I was too annoying, I looked through all her memories, and she really is a pitiful person.”

Usually, when someone’s body was taken away, the owner of the body would most likely want the one who took that body to turn into ash. However, as a main character, Feidin’s personality was obviously unique. He still thought of Chen Xing even in this situation, which surprised everyone else.

“Sure.”

Han Xiao nodded. He looked very confident on the outside, but actually, even he did not know how to deal with Mind Possession. No player had triggered this storyline before, so he could only figure it out himself. However, this did not stop him from agreeing first.

“Since we have come to an agreement, we will need you to deal with the current situation. As long as you help to speak, our wanted status will be canceled.”

“No problem.” Feidin smiled gently. He looked at his full of bruises face in the mirror and said, “But the wounds on my face need to be treated first, or it will not be convincing at all.”

Chapter 455: Hidden Mission, Choice.

“This morning, the famous singer Chen Xing was attacked in the Colton Star Cluster, Rain Star System, New Phylen Number Eight Colonized Planet. His whereabouts are currently unknown. According to information from witnesses, the kidnapper is the Black Star Mercenary Group, a mercenary group with a good name in Colton Star Cluster and the field team of Floating Dragon Island. The details are still unknown. We are currently closely communicating with the local police department and Chen Xing’s assistant team…”

The hole outside on the hotel wall was surrounded by hovering cars. Other than the police team that was sealing off the scene, there was also a huge group of reporters. Some were local New Phylen Alliance reporters, and some were galactic reporters. They quickly arrived at the scene after the incident happened like sharks chasing after the smell of blood, fighting to report first-hand news.

If it was just a normal kidnapping, those reporters would not be very interested. But this time was different—it was a famous person who got kidnapped, a celebrity singer. Furthermore, it happened in the middle of the city, and the kidnapper was a known mercenary group. These reporters were very sensitive to hot news material, and they immediately realized what was unusual about it. Other than reporting the incident, they also started creating rumors.

Assassination hire?

A crime of passion?

Property dispute?

Anyway, the titles were all created for the sake of attracting attention. Chen Xing had many fans in various places in Shattered Star Ring, and these fans were all shocked. The news spread like a hurricane.

The local police were extremely overwrought. A galactic celebrity being attacked in their territory was not a small thing. If they did not deal with it properly, the negative influence would be severe. Furthermore, Chen Xing was a guest performer for the Union Day Celebration. If something happened to him, the New Phylen Alliance would be the one losing face. The central police department had already focused their attention on this incident, which made the local sheriff tremendously pressured.

Just as the incident was unfolding, without anyone expecting it, Chen Xing returned himself, and together with him were the kidnappers, the Black Star Mercenary Group. This surprised both the police and the media.

As soon as Feidin returned, he was surrounded by countless people and reporters asking him questions. The police divided the crowd and protected him. On the other side, the hovering car of Han Xiao and the others were also surrounded by layers of police cars.

After convincing Feidin, Han Xiao had let the oldest Volga brother to cure the wounds on Feidin’s face with his water element spells, which turned out to be very effective. Although Feidin still looked quite exhausted, he returned to a handsome young man again. Unlike the feminine and alluring feeling that Chen Xing gave off, when Feidin controlled his body, he gave off a very gentle and tender vibe.

Feidin calmly dealt with the media with the script that he had already prepared. Back when he was trapped, he had been watching Chen Xing’s every move, so he had no problem with doing the same.

If it was five years ago, Feidin would not have known so many things. The memories and experiences that Chen Xing had gained when using his body were all things that Feidin had never gone through—they all became his experiences.

The police and reporters had their doubts on the excuses Feidin had thought of, but since he had explained it himself, there was nothing more that they could do. The local sheriff filed a report and left, and the reporters also left with disappointment.

The manager of the hotel found Han Xiao and requested that he pay for the damages on the wall. It was a very reasonable request, so Han Xiao did not reject and paid for it. After the hotel people left, he woke up the driver of the hovering car and paid him 20 Enas to repair his car, which was more than enough.

After these things were dealt with, it was finally peaceful. Just as Han Xiao was about to walk to Feidin, Chen Xing’s manager stood in front of Feidin and yelled, “This place doesn’t welcome mercenaries. Please leave now!”

Chen Xing did not belong to any entertainment group; she had built a logistics team herself that was made up mostly of females. The manager was a purple-skinned young Dunan girl with rather large eyes. She had completely fallen for Chen Xing and worked for him willingly. She was staring at Han Xiao with rage in her eyes.

Feidin dry coughed and said, “I have something to announce. First, cancel all the following tours and clear out my schedule.”

“O—okay.” The manager could not bother about Han Xiao and quickly noted it down. When she turned around and saw Feidin was looking at her, she immediately blushed and almost panicked out of shyness. She quickly lowered her head and did not dare to look Feidin in the eye. She did not even know where to place her hands.

Seeing this, Han Xiao curled his lips and thought, He really is an attractiveness focused main character. With such a high Charm attribute, he probably has a default Seduction Spell…

“Relax.” Feidin smiled gently like the spring wind. “Second, I’m going to stop my performing career temporarily and leave here with these mercenaries.”

“Okay… what‽” The manager was about the agree subconsciously, but she suddenly realized what he had said, and her face changed dramatically. She was completely dumbfounded. She turned to look at Han Xiao with incomparable rage and hatred.

“Sorry, you guys might have to look for another job.” Feidin waved his hand and patted the manager’s head. The manager, who had been like a furious lion just a second ago, instantly quieted down and started crying.

On the side, his other female assistants all cried as well. They looked at Han Xiao with eyes filled with hostility like he was their romantic rival who had snatched their love away. But when they looked at Feidin, their expression became sorrowful again, and they ran toward Feidin for hugs. This scene looked like a group of people who had just lost their lover, yet none of them blamed their ‘ex-boyfriend’ and forgave him instead. It was very peaceful.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

If handsome people could stand on a few boats at the same time, Feidin had the potential to stand on hundreds of boats at the same time.

Being extremely attractive really allows people to do anything they want.

I have nothing to say.

After Feidin disbanded the group and told everyone to pack up their things and leave, he ignored Chen Xing’s screams in his head, walked over to Han Xiao, and shrugged. “I’m free now, how do you plan to help me?”

Just as Han Xiao was about to speak, the interface notified him that he had received a new mission.

_____________________

You have triggered the hidden mission [Choice].

Mission Introduction: You discovered that Chen Xing is actually a Mind Possession lifeform. You met with the original owner of the body, Feidin. He decided to completely deal with Chen Xing, who is in his mind, and your choice is extremely crucial.

Mission Completion Requirement I: Evict or kill Feidin’s consciousness and let Chen Xing control the body.

Mission Completion Requirement II: Evict or kill Chen Xing’s consciousness and let Feidin control the body.

Mission Completion Requirement III: Help Chen Xing and Feidin come to an agreement and have them take turns to control the body.

Mission Completion Requirement IV: Unknown.

Remarks: As long as one requirement is met, the mission can be considered as complete. Different results give different rewards.

_____________________

“I can help Chen Xing?” Han Xiao was surprised. As he knew about Feidin’s future, he did not think about this possibility.

This meant that the fate of a main character, Feidin, was in his hands. If he helped Chen Xing, he would not have a future.

Interesting.

Han Xiao squinted and read through the mission requirements carefully again. The fourth requirement was unknown, and in his experience, this kind of hidden requirement usually gave the greatest reward. In that case, other than helping one party or helping them come to an agreement, what result could be better?

No player in his previous life had done this mission before, so Han Xiao could only judge from his experience of doing countless missions over the years. The first two choices were simple and straightforward; the third requirement, however, needed more time to have the two of them communicate with each other. All he could do at the moment was let Feidin continue control his body and create an environment for two of them to communicate peacefully. If Chen Xing regained control of Feidin’s body, she would definitely mess things up.

Furthermore, the mission could be completed based on his choice of when to complete it—this meant that the fourth requirement would need more time.

Although he had only just seen the mission, Han Xiao already knew what the keyword was—time! Time was the difficult part. The longer it took, the more chances Chen Xing would have to gain control of the body. This was an unstable factor.

Furthermore, the only reason that Feidin’s consciousness had lasted for so long was that Chen Xing had held back—she could have wiped Feidin’s consciousness out long ago. Maybe it was because Feidin had saved her before, so she felt guilty. However, if Chen Xing was really forced into a corner, she might kill Feidin when she recovered. Hence, the reward for the first requirement should be very small. No matter who controlled the body, the problem would be considered solved, so the mission would be completed.

After some pondering, Han Xiao said to Feidin, “If you don’t want to hurt Chen Xing, I will not use any destructive methods. I have a few ways to suppress Chen Xing. There is a Psychic in my team. Despite him not being very strong, not being too strong allows him to weaken Chen Xing consistently without hurting her too much, so she would not be able to recover. If you want to deal with the problem completely without hurting her, the only way is for you to come to an agreement with her. The most I can do is not let her control your body. However, this way, you won’t be able to leave us, or Chen Xing might take over again anytime.”

What Han Xiao said was for Chen Xing as well, to prevent her from doing anything extreme.

“… Alright, I will try.”

Feidin nodded and smiled—he was quite optimistic. “Letting me control the body is enough. I happened to learn the ways to train my Psychic powers from her memories. If my mind becomes strong enough, she won’t be able to do anything anymore.”

Han Xiao had a flash of insight after hearing what Feidin said.

He had a rough idea of what the fourth mission requirement was.

If that’s really the case, it indeed does require a lot of time…

Chapter 456: Power of the Main Character Aura

Han Xiao had a rough idea as to what the fourth requirement was. Extracting again was impossible given the 0.3% success rate; neither Feidin nor Chen Xing would be willing to take the risk. Therefore, the only path left would be for them to reconcile. The extent of ‘reconciliation’ for the fourth requirement would definitely be more perfect than the third requirement, so it would require more time. Of course, Han Xiao preferred the fourth requirement with the greatest reward, but even if not for the reward, letting Feidin walk the same path as the previous life was beneficial for Han Xiao.

Since Feidin had decided to stay with the mercenary group, his position was not a member but an employer who needed help. However, this guy was potential stock. If his problem was dealt with, Han Xiao would at least be able to get more than half of Chen Xing’s savings. According to Feidin, with the money that Chen Xing had made throughout the five years of her career, they were a multimillionaire.

Of course, Han Xiao had more hopes to make Feidin an officer of the mercenary group. In that case, he would get all the benefits!

However, this was not easy to achieve. With Feidin’s personality, he would not become a mercenary. He was only following the mercenary group to solve his problem.

Although I have him in my team temporarily, he is not considered as a member. He is just a customer, so he definitely will not help in combat, Han Xiao thought.Hmm… In order to make him join us, it will take some time. I shall first see how [Choice] goes, then plan from there.

They had to take care of Feidin since he was following them around, or he might face danger. The youngest Volga brother was suitable for this job, since his combat abilities were not strong anyway, so he might as well do something else.

The mission [Choice] needed time and had to develop naturally, so Han Xiao was not hoping to complete it any time soon.

Feidin handled his matters with ease and became a completely free person. Han Xiao was not planning to stay for long. He brought everyone to the dock and arrived at the parking spot of their spaceship.

The spaceship let down a ladder, Han Xiao and the others climbed up. Han Xiao turned around and saw Feidin still on the ground sizing up the spaceship with complexity in his eyes.

“Stop standing there,” Han Xiao said, “let’s go.”

“… Fine.”

Feidin took a long, deep breath. This was the first time that he had controlled his body after five years, and he missed that feeling. Chen Xing stopped talking in his head and focused on recovering, waiting for an opportunity.

As long as he stepped onto the spaceship in front of him, he would go on an unknown journey once again. The difference was, this time, he was not a spectator. As someone who disliked the advanced technology, Feidin felt like it was like a dream. Five years earlier, he had never thought that he would become a celebrity singer known throughout the galaxy, or that a woman would be living in his body, making him fight for the control of his body with her, or that he would ever end up following a group of mercenaries and even try to train his Psychic powers.

Feidin sighed. He had once thought that he would spend his entire life as an ordinary person. Living his life in the wilds, having a pet as a companion, hunting while he is young, put down his hunting bow to farm his land once he got older before he got killed by a beast, maybe falling asleep near the fire one day and never waking up again. But that fallen spaceship shattered his life plan like a hammer, suddenly and without any warning.

“Although this life now is not what I wanted,” Feidin murmured, “it seems quite interesting.”

Just as he was about to step onto the ladder, a commotion came from far away. A large group of people flooded toward them, shouting Chen Xing’s name. He looked over and realized that they were reporters.

After thinking for a while, it occurred to Han Xiao.

“Right, Chen Xing’s assistant group has disbanded. Someone must’ve contacted the reporters.”

As he expected, the reporters smelled a hot topic from the fact that ‘Chen Xing’ gave up his singing career and left with the group of mercenaries who were suspected to have kidnapped him earlier. They immediately turned around and came back like maniacs.

“Chen Xing, what are the reasons behind you doing this?”

“Were you threatened?”

“Tell us, don’t be worried about someone hurting you. We will protect you.”

These reporters surrounded Feidin and almost wanted to take him away. Feidin struggled to squeeze out of the crowd and waved. “This is my own decision. I have something else to do…”

As he spoke, he hastily rushed up the ladder. Han Xiao moved aside and let him in.

The reporters were not going to let Chen Xing go this easily. They squeezed up the ladder one after another, wanting to push Han Xiao away and rush into the spaceship no matter what.

Boom!

A ring of energy erupted!

All the reporters on the ladder were blown away and rolled down. They barely stood up enduring the pain but did not dare go forward anymore. Only then did they remember that it was a dangerous mercenary who was standing before them.

Han Xiao closed the hatch with an expressionless face.

The spaceship took off and left that colonized planet.

…

Outside the window was the dark universe in which the spaceship slowly traversed. In the hall, Feidin was sitting in the middle of everyone. The youngest Volga brother pressed onto the back of Feidin’s brain, and rings of formless Psychic waves spread out from his forehead. After a while, he took his hands away.

“I found Chen Xing. She’s very weak and could not resist my invasion. I have set four layers of walls and trapped her inside, at the same time hypnotizing her consciousness and slowing her thinking speed, which equals to reducing her recovery speed. In the next fifteen days, she won’t be able to do anything.”

Feidin nodded. “She’s scolding me, so it seems to have been quite effective.”

He turned and smiled at the youngest Volga brother, releasing his attractiveness without holding back. “Thank you for your help.”

“Er, yo—you’re welcome.” The youngest Volga brother’s face blushed for some reason.

Han Xiao sat in the middle of the sofa. On his left was Aroshia and on his right was Sylvia. He said with a deep voice, “Exterior forces are not stable no matter what. Only you becoming stronger is the right path.”

“I know.” Feidin shrugged. He looked at an object on the table. A slight wave of Psychic power reached out, and that object slowly levitated and floated in the air. “Actually, I awakened Psychic powers on the way here.”

Plop!

Sylvia fell onto the ground.

She hurriedly climbed up, and her face was covered in shock. “S—So quick?”

Feidin smiled and said, “There are full sets of Psychic training methods in Chen Xing’s memories, and I could feel it when she trained her Psychic powers. It’s easy to do the same. Apparently, I am rather talented. She used three days to awaken her powers back then, whereas I only used a few hours. By the way, when she is curing herself, I can take some Psychic power from her more or less. She and I use the same body, so there’s no power rejection.”

Chen Xing’s memories were an enormous treasure, and all of that was now shared with Feidin. It was like Feidin had already walked that path once so now he would not make any mistakes. Furthermore, he was very talented. Only Feidin himself did not know how fast his growth was.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Feidin surely lived up to his high-class main character aura.

Sylvia had no tears left to cry.

For me to become a Super, not only did I have to memorize tons of books every day, but I still had to be electrified. Why are you so lucky‽

Herlous snorted and did not really like Feidin. He turned around and asked Han Xiao, “Where are we going now?”

Han Xiao pondered and said, “Let me think about it…”

Han Xiao did not get a Mission Completion Card this time, but he was not going to give up. This was only the first try—maybe he would get it on the next try. Compared with taking the risk and fighting a Grade A Super, although taking his chance with the random reward required luck, it was steadier.

Promotion is the most important target currently. Level 100 is the gateway to Race Evolution; the enhancement will be huge. Strength is the most important thing—everything else has to be put aside. The version update is in more than one year’s time, so there is quite some time left. I have to find another familiar mission to get a random reward chance. Luckily, my list of missions is very long. I refuse to believe that I will not get the Mission Completion Card even after so many chances.

After some contemplation, he chose the nearest mission. Just as he was about to change the route on the autopilot system, Aroshia, who was silent most of the time, spoke. Her tone was hesitant, and she spoke more than usual.

“The past few days, I’ve felt a restriction on becoming stronger. It seems to be the Grade B limit you spoke of. I have a feeling that as long as I surpass it, my power will be much stronger. However, this limit is not as strong as you said. I should be able to break it any time…

“Also, I have been dreaming. I saw many blurry images in my dream that felt familiar, but I can’t recall the most of it after waking up… Do you think these are the memories I’ve lost?”

Han Xiao was surprised, and his eyes narrowed.

Chapter 457: The Second Grade B Officer

This news was a little too sudden. Even the Great Mechanic Han could not react to it instantly. He thought about it and realized that Aroshia had been at Grade C+ for quite some time. With her growth speed, it was indeed about time for her to enter Grade B.

In Aroshia’s A ranked chain mission [Reboot], the requirement of the first round was to reach Aroshia and help her reach Grade B. The rewards were very rich—5,200,000 experience and one chance of a random reward. Han Xiao just happened to be in need of random reward chances, so this was an unexpected, pleasant surprise.

Aroshia was very special. She said that she had recently dreamed of many familiar images and that those might be the memories she lost. Every time Aroshia died, her memories would reboot, and she would forget everything before that. After so long, it was unknown how many memories she had lost.

“When you step through the doors of Grade B, there might be a special change,” Han Xiao said.

Due to this sudden situation, Han Xiao changed his destination and made the spaceship stop at the nearest small planet.

Aroshia was not a player. Plus, she was an Esper that had no certain pattern. Her class advancement might release a powerful force. For the sake of being cautious, he did not let her advance her class in the spaceship.

…

Stepping onto the ground, Aroshia closed her eyes. Her body slowly levitated up, and beams of bright light shot out from her body, causing an energy tide in a range of a few hundred meters.

Whoosh!

Violent winds stirred up stone and sand, and the energy wave kept expanding like a ripple.

Around the spaceship, Han Xiao and the others watched Aroshia go through class advancement from afar. Their hair was dancing in the wind as sand and dust blew on their faces.

“It’s quite a huge scene…” Herlous raised his hand to block the beams of light.

“She’s very special. She was around Grade C as soon as she awakened, and there’s an enormous amount of energy hidden in her body. Breaking through Grade B is a piece of cake for her.” Han Xiao nodded.

Herlous’ face twitched. “Am I the only one who feels that breaking through grades is not easy?”

The oldest Volga patted his shoulders and said meaningfully, “Be satisfied with what you have.”

Like the expanding sea, the light energy quickly filled up the space within a few hundred meters. That area became a sea of light. It was as if Aroshia’s powers far exceeded before.

Ohm!

Suddenly, the light stopped expanding and rapidly retracted to the center many times faster than before. A countless number of light beams rushed into the middle point, making a loud noise like the howling wind. The light converged into a tornado, and the center of it got brighter and brighter. However, when it reached its maximum brightness, it looked like it suddenly got darker.

All the energy was infused into a point. That point suddenly enlarged and exploded into light dust, turning into a human figure of light without a face. It was covered in ripples of energy waves and golden electric currents.

Then, under the effect of Aroshia’s Esper power, the energy followed a certain unknown principle and turned into matter. Aroshia’s body appeared again as she slowly landed on the ground.

Han Xiao took out the energy level detector and aimed it at Aroshia. The energy that she was emitting now had exceeded the lowest Grade B energy level standard.

_____________________

First round of [Reboot] completed.

You have received 5,200,000 Experience.

+5 Risda Favorability.

You have received Random Reward x 1.

_____________________

This Risda definitely has an unusual relationship with Aroshia, but who is he?

Holding back his joy, Han Xiao temporarily left the random reward in the interface, walked to Aroshia, and asked, “How are you feeling?”

Aroshia checked herself and said, “I can control more energy now.”

“Other than that?”

“I saw more familiar images, way too many… my head is hurting a little.” Aroshia frowned.

Han Xiao looked down, reached out his hands, and rubbed her temples, easing her pain. “What else are you feeling?”

“I don’t know. Some places that flashed past in my memories seem to be summoning me. I have a feeling that if I go to these places, I should be able to recall some things…” Aroshia moved her fingers in the air and drew out the images of different locations in her memories with light energy.

Han Xiao raised his brows. Initially, Aroshia was not curious about the memories that she had lost at all, but after she entered Grade B, she seemed to have awakened a more human side of her. She had new desires, and her emotions were richer.

Could it be that as Aroshia became stronger, her secrets would be gradually exposed?

At this time, a new notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

[Reboot]

Second Round: According to Aroshia’s descriptions, head to the various locations in her memories and help her look for the pieces of her memories.

Current Progress: 0/?

Reward: 10,300,000 Experience, +10 Risda Favorability

Failure Condition: Aroshia’s death

_____________________

The second round is to help her find parts of her memories? Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Being this special, Aroshia’s origin was definitely extraordinary. If she found her memories, he was not certain whether it would be a good or bad thing.

He felt that Aroshia was good the way that she was. If she recovered her memories, her personality would definitely change. This current state between them would most likely not be able to carry on.

Han Xiao was a little hesitant.

Maybe keeping things as they were and not doing this mission was the best choice.

No matter what, Aroshia was a very decent friend, and she was now the second Grade B officer in the mercenary group. If she continued to grow, she would be of more use.

With three Grade B Supers, including Han Xiao himself, the rating of the mercenary group in the alliance would increase, and he would have another strong comrade.

However, this should be Aroshia’s personal storyline. Even if he did not do it, she might remember more memories as time went on. By then, she might choose to leave nonetheless. When thinking this way, Han Xiao thought that he might as well do the mission and see how things went.

This second round of the mission was like treasure hunting. Aroshia could only briefly describe the images, and they still had to find the actual locations of those images. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Furthermore, there were multiple locations. Although there was no information regarding this mission in his previous life, Han Xiao remembered quite a number of places, so he would not be completely clueless

This mission is definitely impossible to complete in a short period of time. Sigh, I shall look for it slowly then. Promotion is the most important matter right now.

Han Xiao patted Aroshia’s back and told her to get back to the spaceship with the others. The spaceship then took off and left the planet.

There was still a random reward chance in the interface. Han Xiao rubbed his hands together, took a deep breath, and activated it.

_____________________

Randomizing…

Randomizing complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: [Item]

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes immediately brightened; he was excited.

There is a chance!

He subconsciously held his breath in trepidation.

Time felt like it was stretched out, and everything became slower. The three choices appeared one after another.

_____________________

Please select one from the three items below

Small Potential Potion: Grants 1 bonus Potential Point

Mechanic Blueprint: 1 random Mechanic blueprint.

Blank Character Summon Card: Choose a character and randomly generate that character’s Character Summon Card. Can only be used once.

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes widened in shock.

Wow, they were all complete trash!

I finally got the [Item] type, and this is what you give me‽

Han Xiao almost wanted to smash the table.

He had caught a glimmer of hope, and the next second, it was extinguished. The highs and lows of life were too exciting!

I want the Mission Completion Card!

Chapter 458: Attention from a Distant Star Field

After panicking for a while, Han Xiao finally calmed down. He clenched his teeth and smiled.

It’s not a big deal. I didn’t get it this time, but I will try it the next time and even the next time after that!

It was just like card games, where normal people had to rack their brains to win but lucky ones just had to use whatever card they got in order to win.

I’m not panicking at all!

Han Xiao drank a cup of water to calm down and looked at the interface again. The three items were still there waiting for him to choose.

None of the three items were rare, so Han Xiao could only choose the best out of them.

Although Potential Points were important, the Small Potential Potion only gave one point, which was negligible. Han Xiao would only have considered it if it was a medium or large one. One random Mechanic blueprint looked good, but it was actually complete garbage. There were way too many Mechanic blueprints, so the chance of getting a good blueprint was way too low. Even if he did get a very rare blueprint, it would most likely be a piece of equipment that could only be built at very high levels. If his level was not high enough, it would be completely useless. Furthermore, Han Xiao did not need any random blueprints. He remembered the knowledge combination for most blueprints, so he could make them himself.

After contemplating, he felt that only the Blank Character Summon Card was worthwhile. If he chose to generate Ames’ Character Summon Card, who knew what effect it would have?

Although he had the Super-Gene Extractor, it was obviously impossible for him to use it on Ames; he did not want to die yet.

Its lower limit was not too low, and its upper limit was over the top, so it was quite a good choice.

_____________________

You have received [Blank Character Summon Card] x 1

_____________________

Han Xiao nodded. The next time I see the Dragon Emperor, I shall use this. If I can generate some overpowered effect, I might be able to use it to fight a Grade A Super directly, so that will be an option.

No matter how strong a Character Summon Card was, it was considered the user’s ability, which met the requirement of the Promotion mission. He did not get the Mission Completion Card this time, but he got another possible method to complete it. Han Xiao took it as a backup choice, but of course, it was based on the fact that he would generate one of the extremely strong abilities from Ames. Something that would demolish a Grade A Super would be best.

For the time being, Han Xiao still preferred to continue trying the random rewards. Although the results at the moment were not satisfactory, he did not think that the plan was a bad idea. He would not give up because of the obstacles so far.

He set the next destination, and the spaceship started its autopilot and headed in that direction. This rented spaceship was focused on speed, so it was suitable to travel to many places.

His choice this time was a simple and straightforward BOSS mission. It did not have rich rewards, but this kind of time-saving mission was exactly what Han Xiao needed.

Furthermore, Aroshia was now Grade B, so fighting a BOSS around the same level would definitely be much easier.

…

At the same time, in a Star Field extremely distant from Shattered Star Ring, a black spaceship in stealth mode was quietly hovering in space. The exterior of this spaceship was very smooth, reflecting the scenery of the space like a black mirror. It looked like a fan from above and a diamond shape from the front.

It was a Stealth Level Scout Ship, usually known as the Black Light Prowler. As a product of the Federation of Light, it was extremely expensive—top-notch in stealth, detection, speed, and many specifications. Its technology far exceeded most civilizations. On the spaceship black market in various Star Fields, the spaceships from the three Universal Civilizations were the most popular. A second-hand Black Light Prowler could be sold for tens of millions of Enas. It was among the top scout ships.

In other words, this was like an extremely luxurious, high-class sports car.

One nanosecond earlier, a special wave had traveled through countless light-years in the quantum realm and arrived there in an instant. In the cockpit of the spaceship, a finger-sized, oval-shaped accessory was hanging at the top of the cockpit. This transparent accessory received this special wave and emitted a golden glow.

“Hmm?”

A sound appeared in the empty cockpit.

Countless streams of light appeared out of nowhere and gathered into a human-shaped cluster of light. It reached out its hand and touched the accessory that was flickering with weak light.

“Your energy level finally recovered to the level that’s locatable by the detector… So, you were thrown to the Shattered Star Ring by the wormhole… I will look for you very soon. Wait for me.”

In the blink of an eye, this Black Light Prowler turned into a stream of light and disappeared. It only needed microseconds to warm up before jumping. It was so swift that it was almost impossible to catch.

…

After Feidin left with the Black Star Mercenary Group, the impact that it made on the entertainment industry stirred up quite a controversy.

The news that ‘Chen Xing’ had given up his singing career when it was soaring shocked many. Although the reporters and the media did not get any information from Feidin, they started making guesses. Stories with headlines like ‘The Real Reason…’ spread very quickly, stunning the Chen Xing fans and sparking heated discussions.

However, the entertainment news and the mercenary industry were two different worlds, so Han Xiao did not care. He only paid a little attention when this actually made him more famous.

After completing Chen Xing’s mission, he did not waste time and went on to the next location to trigger one of the missions.

In a remote Star System in Colton Star Cluster, the Godoran Civilization had set up research space stations to scout unpopulated planets, researching different planets, life forms, and environments. There were many Observers like Kerlodd in such space stations.

In 075 Godora Research Space Station, upon receiving permit, the spaceship entered the railroad of the space station and parked at the internal dock.

Alighting from the spaceship, Han Xiao and the others looked around. This space station was built to have a very typical Godoran theme.

A few Godora Observers waited at the dock, and one of them asked, “Black Star Mercenary Group, may I know why you are here?”

“Just happened to pass by, and my spaceship needs to refuel, so I’m here to rest for some time. We will pay the corresponding fees, or we can do some missions,” Han Xiao said. “Do you have anything here that needs to be dealt with?”

The leader hesitated and shook his head. “There is no extra work here. Since your spaceship needs to be repaired, you can use our shipyard.”

Mercenaries were semi-neutral and slightly leaned toward the lawful side. They had an access permit by default and could park in many strongholds of Galactic Civilizations. They have reported their arrival before entering the space station, and as the Black Star Mercenary Group had a good name and had fought against DarkStar some time ago, the space station allowed Han Xiao and his friends to park.

If their negative reputation was too high or even were wanted, not only would they not be able to enter many places, they would also be chased by the police once their location was exposed.

After talking for a while, the Godoran Observer led the way and guided them out of the dock into the space station lounge. According to the management regulations, as soon as their spaceship was refueled, they would have to leave.

Of course, Han Xiao did not go there just to refuel. This Research Space Station had a mission that he wanted to trigger. It was easy to get a high rating and simple to do.

The mission’s setting was that a research ship had gone missing and lost contact in a nearby desolate planet. The space station sent another team to look for them, but that team lost contact as well. Hence, the space station reported the situation to the Godoran Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation and waited for them to send more Observers to investigate the situation. As this was an internal job, the Godoran Observer did not talk about it earlier. They did not want to request help from mercenaries.

However, the players could trigger this mission through the internal personnel in the space station. This was not a hidden mission, so the players just had to pay close attention to the clues, and they would be able to find that person.

That person was Han Xiao’s target.

Chapter 459: Low Attribute Does Not Mean That I Am Not Handsome

The space station was not huge. Its exterior was dark gold and gray colored, and its overall design followed the traditional Godora theme—light and twisted.

Unlike other civilizations that focused on accuracy and simplicity, the interior of the space station was rather complicated. One might even get lost without looking at the map on the devices along the corridors. Han Xiao and the others were outsiders, so the restricted areas were not open to them. They could only move around the dock, lounge, and guest hall.

The space station chief was the one who came to welcome them. Despite the Great Mechanic Han not being good at differentiating one Godoran from another, he could tell that this station chief was a very serious person. Standard Observer compressed orbs hung from his Godoran-style hair knot, and his movements and clothes were neat and tidy, classic military style.

Godora Observers came from many backgrounds—some were selected from the military, some were recruited from the society or the security forces then trained, and some took exams to become one. This station chief had clearly once been a military officer; he did things strictly according to the rules and regulations.

The spaceship was sent into the shipyard for repairs and refueling. Han Xiao and the others were resting in the hall. Han Xiao did not tell his friends about the goal of this trip, so the others thought this was just the usual refueling and resting process. Herlous and the three Volga brothers were playing a casual card game at the side. It was a strategic battle style card game—these cards were all renowned individuals and civilizations across the galaxies. Different Star Fields had their own set of cards. For example, in the Shattered Star Ring card set, there were the four Beyond Grade A bosses including Ames.

The battle could be carried out between two or more people. The players would play as a Star Field, pick out a certain number of cards from that Star Field as their card combination, then start the battle. These cards were also classified into different functions—civilization card, strong individual card, exploration card, organization card, ability card, history card, mercenary card, fortune card, treasure card, spaceship card, monster card, and so on. It was very popular across the universe. It was like poker for galactic residents. Other than the standard playing method of acting as a Star Field, there were also many other ways to play it.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, quite a number of casual players liked to play this game. They could even find out about the organizations and the force structure of different Star Fields. This card game was made by a galactic commercial organization, and they would update the cards every once in a while, adding new famous people as cards or placing the deceased ones into the ‘abandoned card set’. This could almost be considered as the fame leaderboard of the various areas.

Recently, Herlous and the others had become addicted to this card game. This was because in the last update, a few new cards had been added to the Shattered Star Ring card set and the Black Star Mercenary Group was one of them, acting as a new mercenary card.

Mercenary cards were neutral troops, available to recruit any time by spending money, entering the table directly from the card set. It could be used for many purposes including fast attacks and turning around the situation. In the Shattered Star Ring card set, most of the mercenary cards were large mercenary groups consisting of tens of thousands of people such as Sky Ring and Blades. The Black Star Mercenary Group was a new special card. As the Black Star Mercenary Group’s size was small and not very strong, the producers gave the card the lowest attribute among the mercenary cards, but it had a special effect.

Since the Black Star Mercenary Group card had the identity of Floating Dragon Field Team, it could be infused with the organization card ‘Floating Dragon Island’. If certain requirements were met, the player would be able to draw [Dragon Emperor] Ames directly from the card set.

Han Xiao did not even have to guess where the idea for this card came from—the top news last year about him summoning Ames and Ames destroying the DarkStar mothership with one hit.

In his previous life, the Great Mechanic Han had rarely played this card game as his luck was too bad, but he knew how popular this card game was. He did not expect to now have become a member of the card set, and it was a very pleasant surprise to him. When the players entered space, this would become another way for him to increase his fame.

Since they had been added in as a new card, they could more or less be considered famous. Herlous and the others were having a blast playing it. Of course, they would definitely put something on the line when they played cards.

Beside these gamblers, Sylvia was holding onto a book and memorizing it, immersing herself in the abyss of education. Not far away, Aroshia was resting with her eyes closed. Ever since she entered Grade B, different images had flashed through her mind regularly, causing her to frequently lose her focus. Feidin was sitting in the corner, training his Psychic powers.

The station chief had told them about the rules and regulation in a very serious tone before leaving the hall. Another slightly chubby Godoran with a friendly smile had stayed to take care of them. He had introduced himself as the deputy station chief.

Unlike the station chief, the deputy station chief was very good at chatting and kept a consistent smile on his face. The clue for the mission was with him. Han Xiao vaguely mentioned the topic, and the deputy station chief exposed the clue in a casual chatting tone.

“One of our research spaceships lost contact in a nearby planet. The search team that we sent ended up the same. We saw signs of a spaceship crashing and exploding, so the station chief reported the situation to the superiors. The Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation planned this mission into their schedule, assuming no one survived… but there’s a possibility that those people are still alive waiting for us to send people over. We might have already missed the rescue timing… Sigh, Nereja’s wife is in the research team—he has been very anxious recently…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled as he asked, “Where can I find this Nereja?”

Deputy station chief shook his head. “This matter has been given to the superiors. According to the rules and regulations, we are not allowed to privately request help from mercenaries.”

“I just want to have a talk with him.”

“Alright then, he should be at the porthole corridor.”

Han Xiao stood up and took his leave, heading toward the location that the deputy station chief told him. Nereja was the person that would trigger the mission.

The deputy station chief looked at Han Xiao’s back, and a strange emotion flashed in his eyes.

Han Xiao came to the porthole corridor, and from far away, he could already see a Godoran Observer staring out the window in a daze with a worried expression. Han Xiao quickly walked up to him and asked, “Are you Nereja?”

“You’re the mercenaries parked here?” Nereja turned his head to Han Xiao. He was a little on edge.

“Yes. I heard two of your research ships lost contact on a planet. My intuition tells me that there is a job here that needs help.”

“This is an internal matter of us Godorans; there is no need for an outsider’s help.” Nereja frowned. His expression was noticeably irritated when mentioning this matter, and this emotion was clearly not toward Han Xiao, whom he had just met for the first time.

“I heard your wife is in the team. I’m sure you’re worried. Maybe she’s still alive. For just a small reward, I can help you to find the targets,” Han Xiao said.

Hesitation flashed past Nereja’s face. He became silent. Han Xiao thought that he would agree, but to Han Xiao’s surprise, he shook his head and said, “This is none of your business.”

Then, he continued staring outside the window and dazing.

Han Xiao froze. According to the steps in his memories, as long as he mentioned this clue, Nereja’s mission would be triggered.

Could it be that I missed something?

He tried convincing Nereja again, but no matter what, Nereja was unwilling to request help from mercenaries. Han Xiao was out of ideas. He pondered hard, and suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration.

Could it actually be because of that?

Han Xiao went back to the hall and dragged Feidin along. On the way, he explained the situation to Feidin, who was still confused. After seeing Nereja, Feidin adjusted his collar and approached him with a gentle smile. Only a few sentences in, Nereja’s eyes were filled with tears, and he turned around to look at Han Xiao.

“He’s right, I can’t let myself regret because of hesitation. Mercenaries, I want to request you to find my wife. This is an act against the regulations, so please don’t tell the others.”

A notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface immediately.

_____________________

You have triggered mission [Interstellar Beast]

Mission Introduction: You accepted Nereja’s request and are planning to head to a desolate planet to look for the research team that has lost contact.

Mission Requirements: Head toward the target planet and investigate the reasons for them losing contact. Search for the missing research team.

Remarks: Your investigation results affect the final rating of the mission.

Basic Reward: 1,358 Enas (In gray), 85,000 experience, Kenorn Diamond Ring (Purple equipment)

_____________________

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, his feelings indescribable.

It really is because my Charm has yet to reach the standard of triggering the mission…

Chapter 460: Interstellar Beast (1)

The Great Mechanic Han had evolved his race once; his genes were optimized, so his looks were naturally good. Even he was sometimes shocked by how handsome he was when he looked in the mirror. However, Charm was more like affinity—it influenced the default Favorability and hidden options when communicating with others. The effect of some abilities also depended on Charm, such as the summoning abilities and beast controlling abilities.

When affinity was insufficient, others might refuse to communicate further.

The player that triggered this mission in the previous life definitely had enough Charm, so they did not meet any obstacles. According to Han Xiao’s rich experience, if the missions could not be triggered even after following the process that he remembered, it would most likely be because a certain hidden prerequisite was not achieved. In those cases, Charm not being high enough was a common one.

However, Han Xiao was definitely not going to put points into his Charm attribute as he was not short of missions. Plus, what on earth was the use of affinity? Being strong was much more useful!

Feidin lived up to his role as an attractiveness focused main character; he convinced Nereja straight away. This mission was not difficult—they just had to investigate the target planet. The mission could be completed even if they only investigated the remains of the spaceships. However, getting a high rating as not that easy. They had to find the majority of the truth about why the research teams had lost contact and find the missing Observers. The mission was called [Interstellar Beast], which was a clue for the players.

Of course, finding Nereja’s wife was one way to increase the rating, dead or alive.

In the mission reward, the monetary reward was grayed out, which meant that it was locked, and no matter how high the rating was, there would not be any extra monetary reward. Nereja only had so much money.

I triggered this mission many years before the players did before, so the process should be somewhat different. There are many uncertain factors in this, but the key point should be the same…

When the previous players accepted the mission, the background was different. At that time, the Godora superiors had already sent more than one research teams in, but they had all gone missing. However, they did send back some new intel before going missing, stating that the planet was shrouded in a strange magnetic field that could disrupt most common communications, hence causing all the research teams that landed on that planet to lose contact with the outside world. The crash marks of the spaceships could only be seen by the observation equipment in the space station, which meant that there was definitely something else that had happened to the research team between the time of them losing contact and landing.

Due to it being a natural cause, this did not attract a lot of attention from the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation. They were responsible for the investigations of an entire Star System, so there were countless missions for them to do every day, and only the extremely important matters would be passed by the smart system to real people to handle. The smart system ranked the missions according to how important they were, so this mission was placed into a regular mission. After another research team completely lost contact once again, it assumed that all the Observers were dead and stopped investigating that planet. They then told the astronomical observatory to research the environment of this planet first before making further decisions.

Hence, the investigation was put aside for the time being. When the players arrived, only then did this problem get solved—no one was more suitable in exploring unknown dangers than the undying players.

The deputy station chief beside Han Xiao at this time had already become the station chief in his previous life, but he was still the one who gave the mission clue.

Now, these clues had yet to be exposed. Luckily, Han Xiao remembered them, or they would meet dangers if they went there without any information. Han Xiao guessed that if he brought these clues back, it should be calculated into the mission rating.

Nereja took out his communicator, sent over many files, and solemnly said, “Here are the coordinates of that planet and the location of the spaceship’s crash site. My wife’s name is Lenny. This is her photo, please find her.”

“Got it.”

Han Xiao nodded and pulled Feidin back to the hall.

As the spaceship had completed its refueling, the station chief appeared again to express his intentions of sending them away. Han Xiao had gotten the mission that he wanted, so he did not stay any longer. He boarded the ship with the others and told them about this operation.

“You actually accepted a private hire? This is Godora’s internal matter, and we are sticking our nose in it without their permission—won’t Godora have a problem with that?” Herlous was hesitant.

“It’s not like that planet belongs to Godora. Nobody said we can’t go there.”

Han Xiao shrugged and entered the planet’s coordinates. It was shown as an unnamed planet. This planet had not yet been fully investigated, so there was no official name for it in the database. This was one of the differences as compared to the situation in his previous life as well.

In the enormous universe, there were still quite a few undiscovered planets. These resource planets with serial numbers were all recorded into the database after field investigations. The planet this time was clearly an unexplored mysterious planet.

In the dark universe, the spaceship tail was producing a dark blue light as the spaceship headed toward the destination. As the spaceship’s speed reached its maximum, it turned into a stream of light and entered the jump state, disappearing among the fabulous river of stars.

…

A few days later, outside the porthole was a small, gray planet. There was no vegetation and no Fixed Stars nearby; it was desolate. No sun could be seen on the planet, and the surface temperature was extremely chilly. There were some markings of volcanoes, so it should not be as cold as absolute zero.

Clearly, the environment of the planet was not suitable for most life forms to survive.

“Wear the protection suit properly. Once your skin is exposed to the air, your body will be damaged.”

As Han Xiao was speaking, he activated his Void Dragon mechanical suit, adjusted the inner temperature, and maintained it at a stable level. This slight energy cost was not even worth mentioning for the Mini Portable Nuclear Reactor. Although the suit was powered by nuclear energy, the radiation was blocked by the reactor’s special shell. Of course, even if he was exposed to it, Han Xiao would definitely not be damaged with his current Endurance. It would at most give him a negligible damage reduction debuff.

As Herlous was putting on Amphiptere, which Han Xiao lent him, he sighed and said, “If only the Commander Class armor that my brother gave me was still here.”

Han Xiao extended his hand with an expressionless face and said, “Give it back if you’re not wearing it.”

“Come on, don’t be so petty.” Herlous cracked a joke and hastily put the mechanical suit on.

Aroshia did not need the mechanical suit to protect her. As long as she turned into her energy form, she would be able to ignore the harsh environments.

For this mission, Han Xiao had only brought Herlous and Aroshia along—the rest had all stayed in the spaceship. They were not strong enough, so bringing them along would only burden Han Xiao.

As the magnetic field of the planet could block communications, Han Xiao parked the spaceship outside the atmosphere and set a time to pick them up. The three of them used the mini aircraft to land on the planet.

The spaceship entered the edge of the atmosphere. The cabin under it opened, and a mini aircraft flew out. This was the ‘Dragon Butterfly’ scout aircraft, a model used by the Floating Dragon Guards. Han Xiao had learned this blueprint long ago.

After the aircraft took off, the spaceship instantly rose higher and left the atmosphere.

Inside the aircraft, Han Xiao sat at the pilot seat and operated the control planet with ease and familiarity. The other two sat in the passenger seats behind him.

“Let’s go, the research team’s crash site is below.”

The magnetic field affected radars too, but Han Xiao adjusted the location when they were on the spaceship. Their destination was right below.

With a tug of the gear lever, the anti-gravity pipes under the aircraft illuminated slightly as they landed quickly.

It was dark around them, and it was very difficult to see. Such planets that did not have light from a Fixed Star existed in many parts of the universe. Han Xiao switched on the aircraft’s light perception, and their vision became clearer. They could now see the nearby environment.

“About 6,000 meters to reaching the ground,” Herlous said.

“Hold on, there might be some turbulence.” As Han Xiao spoke, he suddenly turned off the engine and the anti-gravity levitation device.

Hu!

The aircraft instantly descended forcefully.

Shocked, Herlous said, “What are you doing?”

Before Han Xiao had chance to reply, the aircraft suddenly trembled. Electric sparks erupted from the internal circuits, and at least three-quarters of the buttons on the control panel became unresponsive.

A warning appeared on the radiation detector, and a shadow that looked like a sandstorm swept toward them as seen from the screen.

“At 2,000 to 6,000 meters altitude on this planet, there is a radiation storm that can incapacitate most of the devices in a spaceship. That’s how these research spaceships crashed. However, there are still about 2,000 meters for them to buffer before crashing onto the ground, so their shield would be able to prevent them from shattering into pieces when the smash into the ground,” Han Xiao explained. “High-class spaceships can make it through, but Godora’s research spaceships obviously would not have too many high-end devices equipped.”

“What should we do then?” Herlous was stunned. “Aren’t we trapped on this planet in that case? Plus, our spaceship won’t be able to pick us up.”

“Don’t worry. Every once in a while, the radiation storm will weaken—we will be able to leave then.” Han Xiao was not worried at all; he remembered the mission process. Furthermore, when it was completed, this mission was turned into a dungeon, and the Dungeon Crystal could be earned through doing daily missions in that space station. Countless players had come to this planet before, so he was extremely familiar with it.

The gravity of the planet was quite strong, the aircraft was falling at a very fast speed. They passed through the radiation storm very soon and saw the mountains and craters on the ground, rapidly closing in. At this height, with the strength of the aircraft shield, it would definitely successfully shatter into pieces.

Of course, the three of them would not die from the fall, but the aircraft was a resource, and Han Xiao did not want to give it up easily. As he pressed a button, gliders popped up from the two sides of the aircraft. He switched the aircraft to nerves controlling method and connected the gliders to the nerve signal of his arm. It was as swift and smooth as controlling his own arms.

With the engine still off, the aircraft slowly turned from falling into gliding, quickly approaching the ground.

Boom!

Finally, the aircraft landed on the ground in a slanted angle, stirring up a huge amount of sand and dust. The shield generator was still working and flickering. The shield and the incapacitated thrust engine were not in the same system and had different fundamentals. Although the shield had been affected by the radiation storm, it had already recovered to a certain extent.

Turbulence still lasted in the aircraft for quite some time before quietening down. Aroshia rubbed her butt. Since she did not turn into energy form, her butt was hurting from the turbulence.

Han Xiao stood up and pulled down the manual handle on the hatch. The hatch popped open, and extreme coldness blew onto their faces. The temperature inside the mechanical suit lowered largely in an instant before slowly recovering to the normal temperature.

“The air temperature is about minus a hundred degrees. It is… actually higher than expected. Looks like there are bodies of water on this planet.

Han Xiao stretched his arms and legs, breathing in the oxygen from the mechanical suit. He was not planning to run around in this kind of place without wearing a mechanical suit.

Aroshia almost froze from the coldness and hurriedly turned into energy form. After entering Grade B, she had become much more skilled in using her powers. When she turned into energy form, she still maintained her human figure, including all of her facial features. Other than her body being made up of bright energy, everything else remained unchanged.

“The landing location deviated a little from the target without a radar.” Herlous looked around. “Looks like we can only slowly search for the remains of the research ships.”

Han Xiao squatted and touched the ground. Under the rough and black dust were hard rocks—the density of the planet surface was rather high. He then looked up and searched for certain markings on the sky.

Very soon, through the vision zoom of the mechanical suit, he saw the light from the spaceship outside the atmosphere. He pointed in that direction and said, “There is no need to search. The target is right there.”

Chapter 461: [Interstellar Beast] (2)

The weather was freezing. On the empty gray planet surface, craters could be seen everywhere. The spaceship outside the atmosphere was acting as a guide, so Han Xiao, Herlous, and Aroshia walked in that direction. Although the gravity of this planet was quite high, it had minimal impact on Grade B Supers. After a while, a spaceship wreckage appeared before them.

This was a Godora research ship. Its light gold shell was covered in black dust, its body was twisted by the crash, and behind it was a fissure that stretched hundreds of meters with pieces of the spaceship here and there. Clearly, the spaceship had skidded for a distance after crashing.

Herlous looked at his tactical screen and said, “It’s dead silent, and there are no thermal signs. I think we should go there to take a look.”

“Thanks for making a suggestion that no one thought of.” Han Xiao rolled his eyes.

Herlous shrugged. “You’re really being more and more gentle in your words. I keep having a feeling that you’re targeting me.”

“I’m only well-mannered toward strangers.”

“I’m flattered.” Herlous changed the topic. “This mechanical suit of yours has quite a number of functions.”

“What, the armor your brother left you does not have these functions?”

“Ha. My brother knows me too well. He knows that I don’t like these fancy functions; the armor that he tailor-made for me has maximized combat functions. To know how strong the enemy is, I just have to fight him. What’s there to analyze? Speaking of which, these people on my home planet took my armor and have been researching it for a year. I even gave my brother’s notes to them, so they should have gotten some results by now. How about we find a chance to return there and get my armor?”

“You actually made a genuine suggestion,” Han Xiao said with a surprised tone. “How shocking.”

Herlous was speechless. I really want to draw my sword, but I have to maintain a smile.

As they casually chatted, the three of them arrived at the wreckage. This was a medium-sized research ship. It was divided into many cabins and was more than ten meters high. As they got closer, more details appeared before their eyes. There was a huge hole on the side of its body, but the hatch was still closed. Han Xiao peeked into the cabin; it was completely dark. Apparently, the system was basically incapacitated.

“Let’s go in and see if there are any survivors or corpses,” Han Xiao said. Although he remembered how the mission would go, since he came at a different time, he did not know if there would be any slight changes.

He explored inside the cabin, and no one was in it. Han Xiao switched to the tracing interface and discovered some panicking footsteps. After extracting the newest markings, he realized that these people did not leave the spaceship. There were also markings of someone being dragged along the floor in some rooms.

“Hmm, it’s obvious that the shield did not fully protect them, and some people fainted. However, none of their footsteps left the spaceship. It seems like everyone disappeared into thin air. The hatch is closed, which means that that hole was made by something else. It looks like there are some special life forms on this planet, and these things are the reason for the ship crew’s disappearance.”

Han Xiao spoke fluently. He walked around the scene and briefly investigated. The situation was not much different from the mission in his previous life, which instantly lessened his worries. Ever since his Intelligence attribute became higher, he realized that his memory had become stronger as well. Some of the blurry memories started becoming clearer.

The mission rating depended on the investigation results. Hence, although Han Xiao knew where the final Boss was, he was not in a hurry to go there. He moved to the control room of the spaceship, found the central computer, and manually rebooted the spaceship system.

Hum!

The spaceship shook, and all the rooms inside lit up.

“Reboot complete. Initiating self-diagnostics… Damage rate 72%. Most devices are incapacitated. Fuel leak detected, 3% energy remaining. Activating Advanced Power Saving Mode…”

Han Xiao pressed a few buttons. “Turn on ship recordings.”

“Insufficient energy. Request rejected.”

“Switch to manual mode.”

“Please confirm Observer ID.”

Han Xiao thought about it before taking out his communicator and searching for a while in the notes. Then, he entered Kerlodd’s ID.

“Connecting headquarters database… connection failed. Signal disrupted by an unknown source. Connecting local database… successfully connected. Authorizing access… authorization failed. This ID is not in the crew list of this ship.”

“Godora’s operation system is so damn terrible.”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He dismantled the central computer shell and pulled out the smart chip directly, taking the chip back to the space station would have the same result.

He dismantled all sorts of core parts of the spaceship—all of them would increase his mission rating if he took them back. Then, the three of them walked out of the cabin. There was nothing valuable left inside.

Herlous hesitated and said, “If the crews were captured by some life form, doesn’t that mean that said life form can fly? Since there are no signs of any creatures walking outside here. How do we find it then?”

Han Xiao touched the edge of the hole—there was a layer of ice on it. “The other parts of the spaceship did not freeze; only this part has frozen markings, meaning that the water vapor was brought by that creature. With such a low temperature here, if there is a water body, it should be a geothermal hot spring that might be underground. This creature most likely used it as its nest…”

Herlous’ eyes sparkled. “So, these Observers might still be alive!”

“I don’t know.” Han Xiao gave a perfunctory reply. “There’s another spaceship wreckage nearby. Let’s go there to take a look.”

Soon after, they found the wreckage of the second research ship. Identical to the previous one, there was no one inside. However, the markings were different. There were messy footsteps outside the spaceship and even signs of a battle. The second batch of Observers on this ship were stronger than the previous ones, so they still had the strength to resist after crashing. However, their ending was clear—they had all been defeated.

“There are more ice markings one the ground but no frozen blood, so no one should have died. There aren’t many battle markings, so these Observers were clearly demolished.”

After looking through the clues, Han Xiao dismantled all the core parts of this spaceship as well and said, “Let’s go. I roughly know where that creature is.”

Following the path in his memories, Han Xiao advanced quickly without stopping. Usually, only by collecting more clues nearby would they be able to discover the nest of the Boss. However, the mission rating would not be high this way. In his previous life, there were more spaceship wreckages at that period in time, meaning that there were more clues. The clues they had now were many times fewer, which was not very beneficial. Han Xiao, however, did not have to go through so much trouble—he headed to the location in his memory directly.

Very soon, they found a hidden nest at the bottom of a crater. There were signs of burrowing, and the entrance was about four to five meters wide, rather spacious. The path was slanted downward. The three of them slid along the tunnel and finally stepped on solid ground.

Around them was the dark underground. The temperature there was much higher than that of the surface. There was only one way forward—it was a dead end behind them.

Han Xiao activated night vision, walked forward for a while, and came across a fork in the road. Without hesitation, Han Xiao took the left path. The temperature gradually increased. Herlous took off his helmet, sensed the surroundings, and said, “This temperature is quite comfortable.”

“We’re almost there. Get ready for battle,” Han Xiao said.

The three of them arrived at the end of the tunnel. Before them was an underground lake. The water was boiling with bubbles rising to the surface, causing the area above the lake to be filled with a thick mist. This lake was like a hot spring, meaning that there should be a geothermal area below it that caused the hot spring to form.

This time, an exclamation came from the hot spring.

“Who are you?” A naked Godoran appeared in the hot spring, looking at them with surprise. Water rolled down her curvy body.

Herlous first looked down, then up, then repeated the process a few times before he realized. “You’re Lenny?”

“You know me?” The female Godoran was surprised. She was indeed Nereja’s wife.

“We’re mercenaries. We accepted your husband’s request and came to save you. Where are the others?” Herlous asked.

“That’s amazing. Finally, someone came to save us. The others are…”

Joy appeared on Lenny’s face, but suddenly, her expression changed, and she anxiously said, “Don’t stand there. It’s coming out!”

Just as she finished her sentence, a small whirlpool formed in the middle of the hot spring lake. Something large was rising to the surface. A tsunami-like wave expanded from the middle and splashed onto Han Xiao and the others.

Boom!

A strange creature jumped out of the lake and levitated midair before turning toward the three people on the shore.

“What… is this?” Herlous’ eyes opened wide.

“An Interstellar Beast, a space creature born between stars,” Han Xiao quickly explained. “It can fly in space with its body and increase its speed through the gravitational force of planets to reach the speed of spaceships. Although it cannot jump like a spaceship and usually has to fly alone for thousands of years, its lifespan is almost infinite. They can keep molting and renew their cells—they’re very rare. Mages can summon Interstellar Beasts through an ancient ceremony. The spell is unidirectional and ignores physical distance. However, they summon Interstellar Beast mostly to hunt and kill them. After all, an Interstellar Beast’s body is a very rare material.”

The Interstellar Beast before them looked very strange. It had a slender, violet body that was tens of meters long. It had no scales or hair and was very smooth. Its skin had a translucent texture, emitting a dim light under its skin. It had no limbs—its front and tail were narrow while the middle of it was wide, looking like a fin. There was only a long tentacle on its head and nothing else. At the end of the tentacle was a clear crystal. It looked similar to marine life forms.

The Interstellar Beast spun in midair like a fish swimming swiftly in water. Its tentacle vibrated, and Han Xiao suddenly felt an invisible force trying to pull him to the Interstellar Beast. His body started levitating uncontrollably.

“Ha!”

Herlous acted first. He slashed his Battleship Slicing Blade, sending out a beam of blade shaped light, directly hitting the Interstellar Beast’s body. However, it shattered in an explosion, and the Interstellar Beast was unhurt; it did not even move an inch.

“Don’t hope to hurt an interstellar creature that can travel through the universe with its body this easily.” Han Xiao pulled out an electromagnetic firearm and fired. The bullet bounced off the Interstellar Beast’s body, and a damage number “1” appeared.

The Interstellar Beast’s attributes appeared on the interface.

_____________________

[Interstellar Beast]

Level: ?

Class: [Space Creature—Interstellar Beast] (END to HP conversion rate: 1:500)

Attributes: ? STR, ? DEX, 500 END, ? INT, ?MYS, 153 CHA, ? LUK.

Energy: 0

Energy Rank: ?

Health: 249,986

Status: Normal

Talents: Unknown

Abilities: Unknown

_____________________

Han Xiao nodded in his mind. He had known the Interstellar Beast’s attributes since the start. As a Space Creature, its health was outrageous. Without a doubt, it was a true Boss. Furthermore, its Physical Resistance and Magic Resistance were very high, so attacking its body would deal close to no damage. The players in his previous life had been wiped out once before finding a way to defeat it.

The weak spot of the Interstellar Beast was its tentacle crystal. It almost had no resistance, so basically, every hit on it would deal True Damage.

Every time the damage accumulated to 50,000, the Interstellar Beast’s entire body’s resistance would decrease by twenty percent, which would allow attacks on its body to deal some damage. The Interstellar Beast’s attacks were controlling objects with its mind, similar to Psychic. It was good at disabling enemies and could redirect the ballistics aimed at its vital spot. The good thing was that its damage was not very high. The only way to defeat it was to take it slow.

However, to Han Xiao, as long as the enemy’s damage was limited, it would not be a threat.

Chapter 462: Pet (1)

The enormous body obstructed all of Han Xiao’s vision. Compared to its size, Han Xiao was tiny. It was like the difference between a sparrow and an elephant.

The invisible Psychic power surrounding Han Xiao’s body did not express any intention to attack. It seemed like the Interstellar Beast just wanted to pull Han Xiao to him and observe him out of curiosity. The attack earlier was no different from a scratch to the Interstellar Beast.

As Han Xiao levitated in midair, two rows of thrust pipes emerged on the back of his mechanical suit. A strong air stream gushed out, and the force allowed him to escape from the Psychic power. His electromagnetic scythe expanded in the blink of an eye as he slashed the Interstellar Beast’s tentacle.

Clunk!

The blade of the scythe struck the crystal violently, and blinding electric sparks exploded. The Interstellar Beast’s tentacle quickly retracted, and its body tensed as its vital spot was hit.

This slash dealt close to a thousand points of damage. Compared to its tough body, its tentacle had close to no resistance.

Suddenly, the light on the Interstellar Beast’s tentacle became dozens of times brighter like a flashbang exploding out of nowhere. The almost blinding light filled the entire underground cave. Han Xiao and Herlous’ vision was covered in white. Before they could adjust, a tremendous force hit onto their body, pushed them away and into the cave wall.

Boom!

The impact wave caused by its Psychic power echoed in the cave. The lake and the cave started to tremble, and countless rocks splashed into the underground hot spring.

“Look, it’s angry.” Han Xiao stretched his neck and chuckled.

A pipe flickering with blue light appeared on his wrist armor plate, which then shot out compressed orbs one after another that quickly turned into artilleries.

Boom boom boom!

A violent, wild storm of metal erupted in the cave!

Countless bullets hit the Interstellar Beast’s body. Its tentacle emitted Psychic energy that formed a shield, changing the direction of the bullets continuously.

Herlous jumped up and landed on the Interstellar Beast’s body. Close range battles were his specialty. He swung the Battleship Slicing Blade and slashed down on the Interstellar Beast’s back. Although it was no different from a massage to the Interstellar Beast, at least he was spirited. He slashed toward the tentacle on the Interstellar Beast’s head.

The Interstellar Beast’s movements were very swift as it turned and rotated in the air rapidly. Herlous wanted to hold on, but the skin of the Interstellar Beast was exceptionally smooth, so there was no leverage, not even a single hair.

In comparison, Aroshia made a bigger impact. After she turned into energy form, the Psychic powers could not control her body but only disrupt her energy frequency, which was almost useless. She flew to the Interstellar Beast’s head with ease and gently held onto its tentacle.

The next moment, highly concentrated energy exploded in her palms.

Boom!

The explosions were continuous, the Interstellar Beast twitching in pain all the while. With its vital spot being used like a boxer used a sandbag, the agony would be indescribable. Han Xiao could almost feel the pain just by looking at it. If the Interstellar Beast had an organ to generate a voice, he was certain that it would be screaming with all its might.

After Aroshia entered Grade B, the strength of her Esper power skyrocketed. She took on the role as the main damage dealer and made a tremendous impact.

The three of them surrounded the Interstellar Beast. Psychic energy was exploding, bullets were raining down, and slashes were landing continuously. It was intense and heated.

Swoosh!

Although this was just an underground lake, the impact of the battle was like a hurricane that stirred up the lake.

Lenny and a few other naked Godorans hastily climbed out of the hot spring, leaned against the cave wall, and nervously watched the battle. They could not interfere with a battle involving Grade B Supers.

The Interstellar Beast’s health went down slowly but surely. Even though it protected its vital spot as much as it could, there were times when Han Xiao and the others’ attacks penetrated its defenses. The Interstellar Beast’s Psychic powers were only limited to pushing and controlling objects—it dealt very limited damage to Han Xiao. All in all, it was a worry-free fight.

Not long after, the Interstellar Beast’s health dropped by 50,000. Its resistance decreased by a large portion, and the damage dealt by the three of them increased.

Although Space Creatures had very thick skin, the Interstellar Beasts were not adept at battle. It could only be ranked as Grade B, and even that was because of his outrageously high health that ranked among the top even in the countless Bosses. If the players did not have sufficient damage, they would be defeated due to exhaustion. After all, their energy and stamina were limited.

The three of them could deal more than enough damage, but after fighting intensively for so long, their energy and stamina was reducing as time passed by.

Bang!

The battle lasted a long, long time. When the Interstellar Beast only had five percent of its health left, it could not continue levitating and fell into the hot spring, making a huge wave.

Han Xiao gave Herlous a signal, and the two of them dived into the lake. After looking for quite some time, they finally found the near-death Interstellar Beast at the bottom of the lake. Han Xiao grabbed this monster, turned his mechanical suit to maximum power output, and slowly dragged it onto the shore.

Its gigantic body was covered in wounds with violet slime flowing out of them. Its tentacle crystal was filled with cracks and emitting very dim light. The Interstellar Beast was squirming weakly. Han Xiao made sure that the thing did not have any more energy to battle before exhaling deeply and swinging his arms to loosen his sore muscles.

Although he was protected by the mechanical suit, it was still painful being smashed and thrown around by the Interstellar Beast.

Herlous took off his helmet, his hair damp from his sweat. He held his knees and panted. “This guy is way too resistant. I’m exhausted…”

Aroshia’s body was much dimmer; she had spent more than eighty percent of her energy.

Han Xiao looked at the interface. He still had a lot of health, but his energy and stamina were almost empty. He collected all the artilleries and counted—twenty-something artilleries had been squashed by the Interstellar Beast’s Psychic power.

“You guys defeated it!”

Lenny and the others walked over with stunned expressions.

Han Xiao turned around and looked at them. He frowned and said, “Where are your clothes? Also, you guys should not be the only missing Observers. Where are the others?”

“This monster took off our clothes—it probably thinks they’re our weapon. We were usually suppressed under the lake by this monster. Maybe he took us as trophies,” Lenny said.

“Take your clothes, let’s talk when you have them on.”

Han Xiao glanced at her indifferently.

Compared to women, Han Xiao was more interested in robots. He was a real man!

He turned around and saw that Herlous could not take his eyes off Lenny. He patted him and said with a displeased tone, “Don’t stare at her—that’s the employer’s wife. I don’t want to be refused the reward in the end.”

Herlous scratched his head. Before he could speak in his defense, Lenny laughed alluringly.

She was in a very good mood after being rescued. She blinked and said with a smile, “It’s okay, us Godorans are very open-minded. You guys saved my life, so maybe…”

“Stop, I’m not interested in golden skins.”

Han Xiao shivered in his mind.

Damn, this wild‽

Brother Nereja, you are so green 1 !

Chapter 463: Pet (2)

Lenny shrugged, and they went below the water, quickly picked up a large pile of Observer standard equipment, and put them on.

“Where are your other friends?” Han Xiao coughed drily.

“Many of them died. This monster robbed our equipment, so if we went too far from the hot spring, we would very likely freeze to death. Some people were dragged underwater by this monster for too long and drowned. Other than us, there is another group of people that’s alive at the other end of the cave tunnel. There’s another hot spring there.

Han Xiao nodded. There was a fork when he came, and the other side led to the hot spring where the other Observers were. If they had gone to the other side first, they would have gotten intel about Interstellar Beast in advance, but he did not have to do that.

“Why did this Interstellar Beast capture you people?” Herlous asked curiously. “It seems like it’s deliberately trapping you here.”

Anger appeared on Lenny’s face as she said, “This monster appeared after we crashed. It brought us here, let us move freely in the hot spring, and would sometimes drag us into the water and throw us around like it was playing. It kept us as pets!”

On a life form level perspective, the Space Creatures were superior life forms to humans. Making humans their pets was the same as humans taming beasts as pets. It was almost a law of nature.

However, when humans that were used to turning other species into pets became pets themselves, it felt like their superiority was being stepped on. These Godorans felt enraged and ashamed.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and did not comment. Whoever had power could do whatever they wanted with the weak. Outside the areas with civilizations, this law of the jungle was the only truth. He straightforwardly said, “Alright, you’re already rescued. When the radiation storm in the sky is weaker, we will be able to leave. Old Herlous, go to the hot spring on the other side and bring the other Observers here.”

Bringing those Observers back could drastically increase the mission rating. After making the arrangements, Han Xiao turned to look at Interstellar Beast that lay on the ground.

The only problem left was how to deal with this beast.

“This is the first Interstellar Beast discovered by Godora, so it will be very important research material. If you can bring it back to the space station, we will pay you a very high reward.” Lenny was wearing her Observer combat suit and had tied up her hair; she looked neat and confident.

Han Xiao squinted and pondered.

Give it to Godora? No, that would not be worth it at all. Interstellar Beasts were extremely rare and filled with treasures. The important parts of Interstellar Beast could be made into Gene Potions that could increase one’s attributes. There was even a chance of getting a talent from the potion. Plus, it would increase the choices during Race Evolution. Furthermore, killing it would trigger a Legendary Milestone.

Most importantly, the powder created by crushing an Interstellar Beast’s crystal could be made into a special potion. It had no effect on the players but was extremely rare. It could even be used as a currency to purchase any resources from NPCs.

Such potions only had one effect—to grant part of the Interstellar Beast’s metabolism adjusting ability. Simply put, this thing could extend one’s life span!

Han Xiao had worried about such an issue since the beginning. It would not be a problem in the earlier versions of Galaxy, but the time skips between versions would become longer and longer. Hundreds of years would pass between versions. The life span of Supers was many times that of ordinary people, but in the history of tens of thousands of years, it was still just a very small part.

There were few ways to increase one’s life span. Installing mechanic prosthetics was one of them, but it had very visible side effects. On the other hand, the Interstellar Beast potion had close to no side effects.

This is very important, so it cannot be wasted.

Han Xiao’s eyes became firm. He grabbed tightly onto the Interstellar Beast’s crystal, and a wave of emotions were transmitted from the crystal to his mind.

It was begging.

The Interstellar Beast was begging him for mercy.

Han Xiao ignored it completely, and Void Jet Spray exploded in his palm.

Boom!

The crystal, already covered in cracks, shattered into pieces and fell into Han Xiao’s hands. The violet light under the Interstellar Beast’s skin faded. Life escaped from this Space Creature.

This crystal was Interstellar Beast’s life core, and it was also the most important material.

_____________________

You have killed a Space Creature.

[Legendary Hunter] Milestone activated.

Current Progress: 1/5 (Kill 5 special creatures)

_____________________

This was a Legendary Milestone. Upon completion, corresponding Legendary Points would be granted. The special creatures stated here were all sorts of rare and special creatures including Space Creatures that had Boss level attributes. Also, Bosses in dungeons were not counted.

Luckily, there were many monsters in Galaxy. Even by the latest version that Han Xiao had played in his previous life, despite the game being played by countless players for many years, there were still cases of players killing a special creature occasionally. After all, there would always be new creatures being born in the universe. Of course, the competition to kill them was very intense.

Some special Legendary Points could open a certain corresponding storyline. [Legendary Hunter] was one of them—it was similar to a title.

Han Xiao stowed the crystal, pulled out his scythe, and sliced the Interstellar Beast’s carcass. He quickly collected the important parts. An Interstellar Beast’s carcass would not rot easily and could be kept for a very long time.

Very soon, this Interstellar Beast was only left with an incomplete carcass.

“Sigh…” Lenny’s face was filled with regret, but she did not have a problem with it. This beast was Han Xiao’s trophy to start with, so he was free to do whatever he wanted with it.

This time, Herlous finally brought the other Observers over.

The Godorans were all surprised. Moments ago, they had still been trapped in the hot spring and singing, but the next moment, they had suddenly been rescued by mercenaries. It felt like a dream.

Seeing the Interstellar Beast’s carcass, the new group of Observers sized Han Xiao up with shock. They had suffered quite a lot from this monster, and they knew how strong the Interstellar Beast was.

“Everyone’s here, let’s go,” Han Xiao said.

…

Han Xiao tested the radiation strength with a device as they returned to the surface. After waiting a few days, the short window in the radiation storm finally arrived. They hastily boarded the aircraft and went straight up into the sky.

The aircraft had a capacity for about ten people, but there were more than ten Observers. It was crowded in the cabin.

They passed by the storm area successfully, and the spaceship went to pick them up.

All the Observers that escaped from death hugged each other passionately, overjoyed.

Han Xiao had his mind on the mission, so he did not waste any time. He set the return route and headed back immediately.

A few days later, the spaceship returned to the space station. This time, when they requested to enter, they conveyed the fact that they had rescued the lost Observers. Everyone in the space station was shocked.

The space station immediately opened up its port. Unlike the cold treatment last time, the attitude of the space station’s people completely changed, and they welcomed them enthusiastically.

The spaceship docked at the port. As soon as the cabin opened, Han Xiao saw that almost everyone in the space station had gathered at the port. The station chief stood at the front. Surprise and contentment were on this serious army officer’s face.

Beside him, the deputy station chief was smiling as usual. However, for some reason, his smile was a little stiff, and there was a faint sense of irritation in his eyes.

Chapter 464: If Godora Was More Conservative, DarkStar Would Never Have Been Created.

“Darling!”

Nereja squeezed himself out of the crowd and opened his arms with excitement on his face.

A smile appeared on Lenny’s face as she saw her husband. She dashed into his arms, then kissed his forehead, and they started kissing passionately. She hung on Nereja’s neck like a koala. Their position was so fiery that it looked like they were going to do it on the spot. Han Xiao’s eyes hurt from watching it, and the image of back then when he captured Kerlodd and stripped him naked appeared in his mind. Muscular, wide shoulders, small member. No wonder there were so many hybrids in Godora…

The other surviving Observers jumped down from the spaceship and hugged their friends.

When Han Xiao got off the spaceship, the space station chief approached and said with a surprised tone, “Black Star, this is…”

Obviously, the station chief did not know that Nereja had hired mercenaries privately. Hiring mercenaries for internal matters without permission was against the regulation in Godora, and the punishment would be given depending on how serious the situation was. It would also be added to their permanent record and affect their future and promotions.

When Nereja gave the mission, he had requested Han Xiao not to leak this information. However, keeping it a secret might lead to missed opportunities and lowered rating, so Han Xiao did not listen to him and told Lenny and the other survivors about it. These Godoran Observers, of course, knew about the regulation. After discussing it privately on the spaceship, they decided to keep the identity of the employer a secret. After all, Nereja had taken the risk to hire the mercenaries to save them, so they were willing to cover it up.

The Observers around them heard the station chief’s question and all looked over. The survived Observers looked at Han Xiao worriedly, Nereja swallowed his saliva nervously.

These people were worried that Han Xiao would tell the truth. As Black Star was not an official of Godora, maybe he did not know about their regulations.

Han Xiao smiled and said, “When I was here, I heard about the research ships. I’m a mercenary, so I won’t give up any opportunity to make a fortune. Mr. Station Chief, my services are not free. Maybe you should pay a reasonable price for my labor.”

Nereja heaved a sigh of relief, and the other Observers were thankful, too. They looked at Han Xiao discreetly with appreciation.

In order to protect the employer’s identity, this mercenary is even putting up a show. That is some dedication to his profession.

The station chief was puzzled and a little troubled. “According to our regulations, we can’t pay you any money. This was your own action; we did not hire you.”

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. “Are you saying that I worked for free? Is this how Godorans treat their friends?”

A shade of joy flashed through the deputy station chief’s eyes. He coughed and said, “Station chief, he rescued the missing people after all. Although it’s against the regulations, I feel that we should return the favor. We should thank him for saving the lives of these Observers. Godorans never treat our friends badly.”

The station chief frowned and firmly shook his head. “Regulations are regulations. I appreciate your actions, but I really cannot pay you. This was your own action. If I paid you a reward, it would become a hire. That would be against the regulations.”

The faces of the crowd around them changed in dissatisfaction, especially the surviving Observers including Lenny. Their eyes turned rather cold.

These mercenaries saved us, yet you don’t even want to give a reward. Are our lives this cheap in your eyes?

Although they were unhappy, they did not say anything. The regulations were not to be disobeyed.

Han Xiao squinted and said in a deliberately indifferent tone, “Okay, I shall just say that I did a good deed. I want to park here for a day, will you maybe allow that?”

Seeing that he did not forcefully ask for a reward, the station chief felt relieved. He nodded and said, “Yes, we always welcome our friends.”

Hearing this, the crowd around them stared at the station chief in discontent before looking at Han Xiao with even more appreciation.

The station chief turned around and left, and the crowd gradually split up as well. When they passed Han Xiao, they greeted him with a solemn gesture, expressing their appreciation.

In a corridor far away with only the deputy station chief and station chief, the deputy station chief took a few steps forward and walked beside the station chief. “You’re too stubborn.”

The space station shook his head and said with a very serious expression, “This is not being stubborn but principles. Since I was assigned to this place by the superiors, my job is to supervise all the work here and make sure that everyone does things following the regulations.”

“Sigh, you’re right.” The deputy station chief purposely acted regretful. “Very few mercenaries would only negotiate a price after doing the job—their actions were not a coincidence. They probably accepted a secret hire from a space station employee long ago…”

The station chief suddenly stopped walking and said, “You’re right… Those mercenaries deliberately lied earlier because they wanted to make more money. Humph, mercenaries indeed are a group of greedy people. Investigate it. I want to know who the one that hired the mercenaries was.”

The deputy station chief hastily discouraged the station chief and said, “For things like this, knowing about it in our hearts is enough. Don’t be so serious about it. No matter what, all the lost Observers returning is a good thing. If you act as if you don’t know about this and don’t look for who’s responsible, the regulation violation will not exist. When you report to the superiors, you can write it into your own merits. This will be very beneficial for your future. They will think that you’re very capable.”

The station chief frowned and said in a righteous tone, “Merits? I won’t hide the truth for something like this! Investigative who hired the Black Star Mercenary Group. A violation is a violation; no leniency is allowed.”

…

Back at the hall, Nereja found Han Xiao. The two of them walked to the side, and he grabbed Han Xiao’s hand with a face filled with gratitude.

“Thank you so much for your help. Lenny and I don’t even know how to repay you.”

Han Xiao pulled his hands back, shrugged, and said, “Of course you know how to repay me. We agreed on the reward.”

“Yes, yes, yes, of course, I’m just too excited.” Nereja took out his communicator and quickly made a transfer.

_____________________

[Interstellar Beast] Completed!

Grading mission… grading complete.

Mission Rating: Excellent

You have received [Excellent] grade bonus reward: Bonus 50% experience (425,000), Random Reward x 1

_____________________

Only Excellent… Han Xiao thought. The chance of getting a random reward from Excellent grade is only thirty percent. Luckily, I still got it.

_____________________

+35 Nereja Favorability

+20 Lenny Favorability

_____________________

This Favorability… Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Why do I feel like there’s a green color to it?

Godorans really could not be messed with. No wonder they had so many hybrids…

Putting those thoughts behind, Han Xiao activated the Random Reward on his interface.

_____________________

Randomizing…

Randomizing complete

Your Random Reward Type is: [Attribute Point]

_____________________

“How great.”

Han Xiao’s tone was calm, and he was expressionless.

At this point, he was already very calm about it… or at least he seemed very calm.

“I’m not angry, not at all.”

Han Xiao took a deep breath and looked at the three choices.

_____________________

Please select one from the three reward below

DEX: 3 – 6

INT: 2 – 6

LUK: 1 – 8

_____________________

Han Xiao glanced through and picked Intelligence without hesitation. The numbers behind it were the range of the random attributes given.

_____________________

+5 INT

_____________________

Not too bad. Although it’s not very good, a permanent attribute point is acceptable. This is the first time I’ve gotten an attribute reward from the Random Reward. It’s worth remembering.

Han Xiao comforted himself more than ten times in his mind and felt like he was feeling much better, although it might have been his imagination.

After Han Xiao got the money in his account, Nereja took out a white diamond ring from his pocket, looked at it for a while with reluctance in his eyes, and then solemnly placed it into Han Xiao’s hand.

“I know I don’t have much money, and these rewards are too little for you, but you still chose to help me. I’m very touched and thankful. This ring is called the Kenorn Diamond Ring. It’s a magic treasure that I collected. I want you to know that not all Godorans are as petty as the station chief. Please accept my gift.”

The inside of the diamond on the ring had a magic glow. Han Xiao held onto the ring and looked at the item description on the interface.

_____________________

[Kenorn Diamond Ring]

Grade: Purple

Type: Magic Equipment—Ring

Equipment Effect: +9% Magic Resistance, +7% Magic Affinity, +11 INT, +23 MYS, +5 CHA

Equipment Requirement: Mage, above level 80.

Additional Ability: [Ring of Arcane]

Passive aura: Permanently increases the vitality of magic in a 15 meters diameter, +13% damage of all magic attacks.

Remarks: This ring is engraved with a very strong enchantment, and it has an enormous amount of magic power. The creator of this ring is clearly an arcane master.

_____________________

Magic equipment, its attribute boost is not bad. The aura is perfect for dungeons. These guilds will definitely be willing to pay a huge sum for it. Sadly, this thing has limited use to me.

The oldest and second oldest Volga brothers were the only Mages in the mercenary group, and they had a high enough level, so it could only be given to them. Anyway, the players were not there for the time being, so there was no need to sell it.

After bidding Nereja farewell, Han Xiao returned to the hall and casually threw the ring to the Volga brothers. The three of them cheered with joy and went to the side to look at it closely, leaving Herlous there holding onto his cards and staring at the game that he was going to win money from.

“Now that everything’s over, are we not leaving yet?” Feidin asked.

Han Xiao’s eyes flickered. “There are more situations here, but I have already done what I should do. The situation will only become beneficial after a very long time. When that happens, it might be worth it to return here… Alright, pack up then, we will be leaving in a short while. Nothing will be happening here for now, so there is no need to continue staying here.”

The others did not understand what he meant.

“You’re the captain—you know what to do,” Herlous said. “Where are we going next?”

Han Xiao thought of the Interstellar Beast materials in the spaceship and said, “We need to find someone to turn that carcass in the warehouse into potions first.”

Although finding the Mission Completion Card was important, he was not in a hurry. Anyway, being in a hurry would not make him any luckier.

Doing missions could be postponed temporarily. To him, dealing with the Interstellar Beast’s materials was the most important matter.

Chapter 465: Life Span Potion

In the vast universe, new species were being born every second. Finding out about the valuable parts of all kinds of flora and fauna, extracting them, and making them into potions was a very complicated, profound subject. This was especially true in Galaxy, where there were countless species; it required a lot of patience and skill.

There were also many different methods of extraction and making potions, such as chemical extractions from the technological side and witchcraft decoctions from the magic side.

The Pharmacist Association was the authorized organization in the universe. Just like the Spacetime Research Council, this was a platform for the Pharmacists to communicate with each other. It was also the simplest way for the galactic residents to hire Pharmacists. All they had to do was log into the Pharmacist Association website, and there would be Pharmacist Apprentices online who would inquire about the customers’ needs. It felt like those online doctor inquiry websites in Han Xiao’s previous life.

As the matters in the space station came to an end, Han Xiao immediately contacted the Pharmacist Association and found a dependable pharmaceutical organization that produced Interstellar Beast potions. This organization was located on a colonized planet of the Purple Crystal Civilization in the Colton Star Cluster.

Purple Crystal was one of the strongest civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring.

Godora was a Star System level civilization, and there were many Star System level civilizations in Colton Star Cluster—Godora from the Gavin Star System, New Phylen from the Rain Star System, Black Raven and Holy Stone from the Fawn Star System, and many more. Purple Crystal Civilization, however, was a Star Cluster level civilization. Its colonized planets spread across the various Star Clusters and Star Systems of the Shattered Star Ring.

Juberly Hub had stable stargates connected to the various Star Systems in Colton. Those Star System Civilizations in Colton were the ones that co-funded and invited Purple Crystal Civilization to build the stargates.

The level of Purple Crystal was too high, so Han Xiao did not want to have a deep connection with them for the time being. The risk would only be higher than the benefits. His goal for this trip was only to make the potion.

There were no twist and turns throughout the process. Perhaps the Shattered Star Ring was rather dangerous, but few galactic pirates or scavengers dared to mess around near the stronghold of Star Cluster Civilizations. The security weapons of Star Cluster Civilizations had very long attack ranges. If they discovered there were criminals causing problems near their colonized planet, they would not even need to send out spaceships to chase them. They just had to fire the weapons from their planet, and those criminals would become fireworks.

The pharmaceutical company that Han Xiao had chosen had a very good name and was very high class. It was a technology side pharmaceutical organization. After paying a certain fee, he waited a few days and successfully got the potions made from the Interstellar Beast’s materials without any issue.

In the machinery modification room of the spaceship, a portable freezer was placed on the table. Han Xiao opened its cover, and under the thick, cold fog were two rows and a total of eight tube potions. Six of them were light purple, and two were deep blue. The former was gene potions made by the important organs of Interstellar Beast, and the latter were special potions made by its member… no, its life crystal.

Han Xiao’s finger slid past the potions, and two translucent light blue information panels popped up around them. It was the item introduction.

_____________________

[Interstellar Beast Potion (High Concentration 62%)]: A precious potion, made by extracting an Interstellar Beast’s genes, that grants a permanent attribute increase after consuming.

Effective Usages: 0/3

Remark: Before drinking it, be warned that the genes of a Space Creature are not that easy to control. Of course, if being a distorted life form aligns with your aesthetic, please drink as much as you wish.

[Metabolism Adjusting Potion]: A rare potion, made from an Interstellar Beast’s life core, that grants an extended life span after consuming with almost no side effects.

Remark: Life is never too long; no fortune or reputation even comes close to how important it is. Make a guess, how many would turn insane for this small potion?

_____________________

The potion that could extend one’s life span did not have a usage limit as it had no effect for the players. Han Xiao held the potion in his hands and contemplated.

Only eight potions were made from an entire Interstellar Beast. What a scary proportion. If I drink the life span potion, will the interface show that my life span is increased? The interface does not have this attribute after all.

Even as he was thinking, his movements did not slow down. He drank a tube of life span potion. It tasted spicy, entering his stomach like a burning blade stabbing down his throat. The pain only lasted for a few seconds before it turned into a gentle warmness that spread throughout his body.

Han Xiao was initially prepared to endure the pain, but to his surprise, it felt good. He closed his eyes in amusement. His mind sunk deep into his body, and his senses went beyond his five senses and felt the changes in his every cell.

Countless lives in the universe had a body, but very few could control it fully. The soul was the owner of the body but also like a slave that had to consume, sleep, excrete to ensure the body survives, unable to turn those functions off. Han Xiao, however, felt different. He felt as if he could control every single part of his body, not only the parts where there were nerves. He discovered that the cells were responding to his thoughts.

It felt like his body had turned into a complicated machine. Before, he could hardly control how this machine operated, but now, he could make the machine operate slower.

“Increase life span by controlling metabolism, just as the name suggests.” Han Xiao looked at his hands. He could now control the metabolism speed of his body. He mumbled, “Not only can I now slow down my aging process, I can even speed it up, but speeding it up is irreversible. I wonder how much my life span has increased.”

The life span of Supers far exceeded ordinary people. Since he had gotten the ability to control his metabolism, he did not know how long his life span was.

“It feels like I can live for a very long time.”

He looked at the interface; there was a notification of him getting a new ability.

_____________________

You have acquired ability [Self-Healing].

Self-Healing (No Level): When you are injured, you can spend energy to increase your health recovery speed. Maximum recovery speed 120/s.

_____________________

The interface notification says it’s a self-heal ability, but the life span potion gave me much more than what the interface stated. Looks like life span is a hidden effect. Or maybe it’s because the interface only calculates the basic attributes.

The ability to self-heal was not bad; it gave him one more guarantee. However, he still had yet to use up Aurora’s Character Summon Card, so he probably would not be using this ability any time soon.

There was one more life span potion left, so Han Xiao saved it in case he might need it in the future. He took out the other type of gene potion and injected three of them directly. He was already very familiar with gene potions. After the pain, he looked at the information on his interface. They gave him a total attribute increase of two Intelligence points, six Endurance points, and three Charm points.

Its effect is not as strong as the Void Dragon Pith. After all, the Void Dragons are more than a thousand times stronger than Interstellar Beasts. One is a dragon, while the other is a mayfly.

Han Xiao looked at his [Intermediate Strengthened Life] talent. After using the Void Dragon Pith last time, this talent had leveled up. After consuming the gene potions of another rare creature, this talent should theoretically have been enhanced again.

Despite that, nothing popped up on the interface, so Han Xiao was sure that the talent did not level up.

Looks like one type of gene potion is not enough, or maybe the Interstellar Beast’s species level is not up to standard. More gene potions are needed to level it up from intermediate to advanced, but I can’t use too many potions.

He walked to the mirror. His looks did not change; the Interstellar Beast potion did not cause a gene mutation. Previously, after he used the Dragon Pith, he had felt that he became even more handsome.

He saved the rest of the potions as well and safely stowed the box away. Han Xiao sat before the table, took out a mission list, and started contemplating.

There are still tens of missions on the list, and these are just suitable missions after basic filtering. I’m not short of Random Reward chances. The earlier I complete my Promotion, the sooner I can make preparations for the main storyline of Version 2.0…

Han Xiao rubbed his chin. This reminded him of how he used to run around everywhere just to get what he wanted. It felt nostalgic.

He thought through the schedule of doing these again and made sure they were correct.

Hope that there is still enough time before the version update ends after I complete my Promotion.

The sound of Herlous and others yelling came from outside the door, and the faint sound of Feidin singing came from another room. He was learning Chen Xing’s techniques for training his Psychic power through singing. However, Feidin was not Chen Xing, so his high notes sounded like a pig about to be butchered.

Han Xiao shook his head and put in some earplugs. He pulled out a pile of sheets that he used to punish Sylvia with copying basic machinery theories and quickly started marking them.

Tsk, raising apprentices is just like farming crops; patience is very important.

Chapter 466: Two Months

Anur stood silently outside the thick, silver-alloy gate without saying a word. Behind him was a long, straight corridor with the only light source coming from a mini indicator light every ten meters on both sides of the wall. This gate was the end of the corridor, and looking back from there, there was only a line made by the two red rows of lights extending into the darkness. At the end of it, the two red lines almost connected with each other.

This scene reminded people about words such as ‘secret’ and ‘forbidden land’.

He had been standing here for ten minutes.

Whoosh!

The gate slowly opened and broke the silence.

Light shone from inside, lighting up Anur’s strict, wrinkly face.

A person walked out slowly from the room back facing the light. His front was dark, and his looks could not be seen. He stopped before Anur. The light behind the man stretched out his shadow, covering Anur and extending into a black line on the corridor.

“You can only contribute your power to DarkStar after having my approval, and now it’s time, Ember.”

A faint smile appeared on Anur’s serious face. He reached out his palm and said, “Welcome to Calamity.”

The person extended his arm and shook Anur’s hand. As he looked up, his face became clearer. It was indeed Ember.

It was the day that Ember regained his freedom.

To him, being in solitary confinement was the same as training. There was no need to run around for missions and duties; he just had to do one thing every day—cultivate his potential. After training day after day, he had finally passed the threshold that had stopped countless Supers and entered Grade A. All his senses felt fresh; it was like he had been reborn.

He did not just become stronger; his level of life, world view, and mindset had changed as well. Problems that once felt difficult seemed easy, and enemies that he could not let go no longer mattered.

During his solitary confinement, Black Star, who could counter his Esper power, had always been on his mind. One of the reasons that he had worked this hard to reach Grade A was because he wanted to meet Han Xiao again and wash away his shame.

However, when he really reached the Calamity Grade, this thought suddenly faded. Ember did not bother about Han Xiao anymore. He realized that Anur was right; his level and a Grade B’s level were different. It felt as ridiculous as being offended by a mosquito that had bitten him.

Ember did not look at Han Xiao as his opponent on par with him anymore. Even if this person could counter his Esper power to a certain extent, he was still confident that he could turn Han Xiao into dust within ten seconds.

The difference between Grade A and Grade B was a fissure that could not be crossed.

“Teacher, thank you for your guidance.”

Ember’s tone was respectful. Anur’s experience and teachings had helped him conquer many problems, so he admired this mentor very much.

Anur nodded and wiped away his smile. “The situation is not looking good. Although we are in the dark, Godora has not given up hunting us down. As the next step of the plan is carried out, the war will be on an even larger scale. Our high-end combat powers are the main focus of Godora. Some of them left us. High-end combat powers like you and I are in shortage, so you don’t have time to rest; there’s a mission that needs you.”

With an expressionless face, Ember said indifferently, “This is my destiny. Ever since I opened my eyes, I was already prepared to contribute my power to DarkStar.”

“Okay, follow me.” Anur turned around. “This is your first mission after entering Grade A. I will work together with you in case you can’t control your power. We’re going to Noriosse to kill a traitor…”

…

In the Garton Star System, a galactic pirate spaceship was traveling in space in stealth mode. A chase was happening on the spaceship.

“Stop running!”

Bang!

A light cannon shot on the ground where Sylvia had just dashed past, turning the floor bright red. A large group of galactic pirates were chasing behind with rage on their faces.

Sylvia sprinted with large steps. She was wearing a simple, black battle suit with machinery only covering her joints and important parts. Her body was glowing with a youthful vibrance. Her hair extended to her shoulders and danced in the wind. A machinery ring hung from her right ear, and a mini tactical analysis screen extended before her right eye.

She was not alone. She was pulling an arm of a young boy and escaping together with him. This boy was a pureblood Godoran about the same age as Sylvia, wearing prison garbs. Although he was half a head taller than Sylvia, he was panting heavily. He was an ordinary person.

“Wh—who are you? Why are you saving me?” the boy asked as he was panting.

Sylvia glanced at him and yelled softly, “I’m a mercenary; someone paid money to save you. Stop talking. Save the stamina and run faster.”

The boy was stumbling as he was being dragged. The sound of lasers exploding was chasing tightly behind the two of them. Despite being in such a dangerous situation, this Godoran boy was staring at Sylvia’s delicate, lively profile in a daze.

He was a hostage kidnapped by these galactic pirates. He had a wealthy family—his father was the CEO of a Godora financial group and was very rich—so he had been targeted by the galactic pirates who demanded a ransom. Other than him, those galactic pirates had also kidnapped other hostages and imprisoned them together. Ten minutes earlier, this soft-looking girl who had just been captured and taken aboard the ship as a hostage suddenly turned into a warrior, opening the prison and dragging him out.

As expected, the two of them were chased by these galactic pirates.

Ta, ta, ta!

Suddenly, three galactic pirates turned up from the corner in front of them. Just as they were about to fire at them, the captain of the galactic pirates yelled, “They’re valuable hostages, don’t kill them!”

The three galactic pirates’ actions to pull their trigger paused for an instant. Sylvia quickly pulled out a short alloy stick from her tactical belt. Its exterior cracked open, and more parts extended from within, turning into a long, mechanical sword. The two sides of the blade were emitting yellow light—this was an energy weapon. Its body was engraved with enchantment runes to make it lighter.

Sylvia moved very quickly. She lowered her shoulder and bashed onto the galactic pirate’s stomach. Her battle suit provided her with enough strength to make the muscular galactic pirate stagger. Before the galactic pirate could react, Sylvia pressed onto his gun, pointed at his friend beside him, and helped him pull the trigger.

Boom!

The light cannon penetrated the head of the person beside him.

This galactic pirate was furious. Just as he was about to kick Sylvia away, he suddenly felt a pain in his knees and lost strength in his legs. He kneeled down on the floor, looked down, and realized that his knees had been slashed open and were covered in blood. Before he could scream, Sylvia held the sword with both her hands and stabbed it into his eyes. The blade penetrated through and came out the back of his head.

Two months had passed. With the Great Mechanic Han’s guidance, Sylvia had slowly realized her potential and was already Grade D. Wearing the machinery weapons that Han Xiao had built for her, she could now deal with galactic pirate groups that mostly consisted of ordinary people.

As the third galactic pirate saw this, he could not be bothered with the captain’s orders and fired immediately. Sylvia hastily tilted her head before he fired and barely dodged the laser. She quickly pulled up the alloy sword from the dead galactic pirate, turned around, and sliced through the muzzle. She then recalled what Han Xiao had taught her regarding how to quickly shatter the enemies’ combat ability, so she raised up her leg and kicked the third galactic pirate between his legs!

Bang!

The face of this galactic pirate turned purple as he kneeled down, grabbing his crotch. His forehead knocked onto the ground, and he curled up into a twitching shrimp.

The Godoran boy shivered and felt his member aching as well.

This battle ended very shortly, but the pursuers caught up somewhat because of it. Sylvia did not have the time to finish the kill; she grabbed the boy’s arm again and started sprinting.

“Quickly, go!”

The galactic pirate group had many members. As the chase dragged on, the movement area of Sylvia gradually became smaller. Finally, she was stopped in a corner. Close to a hundred galactic pirates surrounded them and glanced at Sylvia with vicious intentions.

The boy was very afraid and held Sylvia’s shoulder tightly. Sylvia, whose face was grave, stood in front of the boy and kept adjusting the direction that her sword was pointing in.

“You have nowhere to run, little girl.” The captain of the galactic pirate group walked out of the crowd with a cold smile on his face. “I didn’t expect one of our hostages to be a Super and even cause a commotion on my ship. Did you think saving this boy would be so easy? Where do you think you can run to on my ship?”

Sweat rolled down the side of Sylvia’s head as she gripped the alloy sword tighter. Most of those galactic pirates were ordinary people, but there were quite a few Supers. The captain standing before her was indeed a Grade C Super, someone whom she did not stand a chance against.

“Tell me, who are you?”

“A mercenary,” Sylvia said with a low voice, but she still sounded young and innocent.

When the galactic pirates heard that, they looked at each other and started laughing out loud.

“Hahahaha… This kid is a mercenary‽”

Anger appeared on Sylvia’s face. “I just killed three of your members.”

They laughed even louder.

The galactic pirate captain laughed ruthlessly, and his face turned ferocious. “Little girl, do you think you can be a mercenary by killing three ordinary people? You have no idea what strength is.”

Sylvia bit her lips and acted tough. “I have friends; they won’t forgive you.”

“What kind of mercenary group would want a kid like you? The boy scouts? Ha, I will kill all of your friends that come,” the galactic pirate captain sneered. “And for you… although you’re a little too young, you’re quite pretty. I guess a mercenary group won’t be able to pay a high ransom, so you can use your body to pay for it…”

The eyes of all the galactic pirates sparkled as they laughed loudly. They sized Sylvia’s face and body up pitilessly.

“Don’t do this…” Sylvia immediately became nervous.

The boy’s face changed dramatically. Suddenly, he found the courage from somewhere and stepped before Sylvia. Just as he was about to speak while shivering, the galactic pirates started loudly discussing.

“I want her leg. Its texture is the best!”

“Then I want her butt. I like fats!”

“Ears are crispy. It’s best to cut them off and eat them raw.”

Sylvia froze. She could not control the panic in her heart and yelled, “Hey, is this what you mean by paying with my body‽”

The galactic pirate heard that and was confused.

“Of course, we meant eating you, what else?”

Sylvia was puzzled, mumbling, “Why do I suddenly not really want to kill all of them?”

Beep beep beep!

This time, a sound came out of Sylvia’s wrist. The people looked over, and Sylvia gave a proud smile, the earlier panic having completely disappeared. She had been stalling for time.

She waved her wrist and said in a playful tone, “This is a GPS.”

Just as she finished her words…

Boom!

A thunderous noise exploded beside them, and the ship shook violently. The galactic pirates almost all fell onto the ground. They hastily looked in the direction where the loud noise had come from.

A hole had been blasted through the tunnel dozens of meters away, filling it with dust and fog.

A few people appeared in the fog and stepped onto this spaceship.

The foremost person walked out of the fog first. He was wearing a black windbreaker, his hands were behind his back, and his eyes were flickering with a deep light that looked like the starry sky. A natural pressure emanated from his body that sent shivers down the galactic pirates’ spines.

This feeling became stronger as the man walked closer. He stared at the galactic pirate captain, and the galactic pirate captain’s legs felt soft like he was being stared at by a monster that was about to devour him.

Actually, Han Xiao only looked at him casually. The pressure came from his far superior level.

“I heard you have a problem with my mercenary group?”

Chapter 467: Go Create Miracles, Young Teen

Clank clank clank!

With some simple, straightforward punches, Herlous beat up these galactic pirates easily. He tied them together and made a wailing human mountain.

It was a piece of cake for Herlous to defeat such weak galactic pirates; the main difficulty of rescuing the hostage had been locating the stealthy galactic pirate spaceship. Hence, Han Xiao had gotten Sylvia to disguise as a hostage to get captured while wearing a locator so that they could track this spaceship’s location and board it. Han Xiao had borrowed one of the employer’s battleships, which had breached the tail of the galactic pirate spaceship.

Also, this was the first time Sylvia took part in a mission. It was a test for her. The lessons that Han Xiao had planned for her filled up her schedule. After she awakened Super-Genes, other than learning knowledge, she had also gone through all sorts of battle technique training. Although Sylvia had only trained for two months, she had a lot of potential and had progressed very quickly. Furthermore, she was very talented in battle. She did not get nervous in battle but became calmer instead, which surprised even Sylvia herself. She did not know that she could stay so calm in the face of danger.

Of course, if Sylvia did not have potential, Han Xiao would not have spent his energy to train her.

“You guys let the hostages out,” Han Xiao ordered the others. “I will go to set the course and make this ship head back toward where it came from. We can complete the mission there.”

This time, Sylvia trotted toward Han Xiao and asked with an eager expression, “How did I do?”

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and said, “Acceptable, barely a pass. What, do you think there’s anything worth complimenting?”

Sylvia curled her lips in disappointment. “Oh.”

“Black Star, be more lenient to the youngsters,” Herlous said and smiled at Sylvia. “You did quite well. When I was your age, I was not… wait, I was much stronger than you.”

Sylvia ground her teeth. “You’re really good at comforting people.”

“Don’t listen to them.” Feidin smiled gently. “You progressed very quickly, and we all saw it.”

“Shut up!” Sylvia became furious as soon as she heard Feidin speak. She stared at Feidin angrily. Every time she saw this guy, she felt that life was unfair. She had awakened earlier than him, but Feidin’s growth speed was like a rocket that soared to Grade C smoothly with ease as he sang and meditated, unlike Sylvia, who lived in the abyss of studies.

Comparison was the thief of joy!

Feidin did not get mad; he gave a gentle smile and did not say any more.

He had followed Han Xiao on his missions for two months. In this period, Chen Xing had tried many times to take back control of his body, but she had been stopped by Feidin time after time. As Feidin’s Psychic power rapidly became stronger, Chen Xing’s threat gradually became smaller. Feidin’s plan was to borrow Chen Xing’s memory and make himself stronger; the time when he could completely suppress Chen Xing was probably the time that he would leave.

However, Feidin’s personality was very tender; he did not like fighting and almost never got angry. He did not want what happened to him to happen to Chen Xing as he knew how terrible it felt. Therefore, Feidin communicated with Chen Xing many times in his mind, hoping that he could make her give up the meaningless resistance. Unfortunately, Chen Xing was very firm and absolutely unwilling to compromise. Feidin did not give up and still kept up the habit of communicating with Chen Xing every day.

The Godoran boy stared at Han Xiao and the others. When he thought that he had no way out, those mercenaries had come out of nowhere and defeated the galactic pirates. He only came to after a very long time. He looked at Sylvia’s back, mustered the courage, and walked to her. “M—my name is Naru. Thank you for saving me. Are you the mercenaries hired by my father?”

The people paused the casual chat and looked at him. Naru panicked from Sylvia’s glance. He did not even know where to put his hands.

“I—I want to know your names…”

Naru stuttered.

Han Xiao patted Sylvia’s head, chucked, and said, “This kid likes you.”

With the truth being exposed, Naru completely panicked. “I don’t!”

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and said, “Oh, looks like he dislikes you.”

“N—no, I don’t dislike…” Naru could not form a complete sentence.

Sylvia rolled her eyes at Han Xiao and extended her hand. “My name is Sylvia.”

Naru hesitated, then cautiously grabbed Sylvia’s fingertip. The moment their fingers touched, Naru’s face became orange—this was Godoran’s face color when they blushed, very scientific and logical.

Herlous sighed and said, “Being young is so great.”

Han Xiao took out a cigarette-shaped candy from the snack bag in Aroshia’s hands and put it into his mouth. He had been trying to quit smoking, so he could only eat snacks to kill the boredom. He tutted and pondered. “If I complain to the employer that his son flirted with my lovely apprentice, I should be able to blackmail him for some money.”

“… You don’t have to say it out loud the next time you’re thinking of a plan like this.” Sylvia turned around angrily.

…

All the hostages were rescued, and Han Xiao had set the course. Not long after, they returned to the planet where the employer was at. The guards and the families of the hostages were waiting at the dock. The rescued hostages quickly got off the spaceship and reunited with their families.

A police officer approached Han Xiao and expressed his gratitude to Han Xiao for dealing with the kidnappers. As the people involved were mostly people in financial groups, this was an important matter to them.

Han Xiao passed the captured galactic pirates and the spaceship to the police department as agreed; this way, the mission completion rate would be increased. After the officers walked away, Naru and a middle-aged man came to Han Xiao. The middle-aged man had an air of someone in a high place, but he was very friendly when facing Han Xiao. After he expressed his appreciation, he paid the reward.

This middle-aged man was Naru’s father, the head of a Godoran financial group, so the promised reward were, of course, not little. At the same time, he was also the one that had issued the mission. After Han Xiao got the 85,000 Enas, the interface notified him that the mission had been completed.

All hostages were rescued, the galactic pirates were captured alive, and the spaceship was handed over. A perfect completion rate, so a Random Reward will certainly be given, Han Xiao thought. He looked at the interface and saw the notification of him getting a new chance to receive a [Random Reward]. He did not use it straight away and saved it in the interface. He had already saved four Random Reward chances.

In those two months, he had done more than ten missions. He had gotten a Random Reward chance from more than eighty percent of those missions. At the start, he had used them up as soon as he got them. He had gotten Attribute Points, experience, Potential Points, and others. Not only did he not get what he wanted, he also got a bunch of trash. Han Xiao had grown quite frustrated, so he had started saving them.

The single draw was not dependable; miracles would only occur in consecutive draws.

Han Xiao did not stay for long after submitting the mission. He took the others back to the ship. The thruster shot out fire, and the spaceship disappeared into the sky.

Naru looked up and stared in the direction that the spaceship had left. He shook his father’s arm and said, “Dad, I want to ask something from you.”

“What?”

“I… I want to hire this mercenary group as the private guard of our house,” Naru said bravely. He could not forget about Sylvia.

“It’s impossible.”

Naru became nervous. “Then give them more money. Being our guard is at least safer than being mercenaries. As long as the pay is enough, they definitely will agree.”

The middle-aged man shook his head with a bitter smile. “It’s not about money. Although Black Star is a mercenary, our family is too tiny compared to his background. We have no chance of snatching him from Ames.”

Chapter 468: The Four Consecutive Draws of Glory

On the spaceship, everyone was doing their own thing. They had already gotten used to this lifestyle over those two months.

Han Xiao went back to his room alone, opened the interface, and rubbed his hands together.

“Four chances, four consecutive draws, don’t disappoint me again.”

After failing so many times, he was already very calm about it. As a Mechanic, he believed in making up for quality with quantity.

Beep beep beep!

Just as he was about to start using the Random Reward, his communicator suddenly rang. He received a communication.

“Who is it‽”

The ceremonial feeling was interrupted, so a hint of displeasure leaked into Han Xiao’s tone.

“It’s me, Nereja. Do you still remember me?”

Looking at the Godoran on the screen, Han Xiao recognized him straight away. “Oh, you’re that green… ahem, I’m happy to see you. This seems to be the first time you’ve contacted me since what happened last time. What is this about? Are you hiring me again?”

“No, I’m here to relay a message.” Nereja smiled and said, “Do you know someone called Kerlodd? He was my classmate in the Observer Training Class. He contacted me a few days ago and said that his Observer ID was used by someone else, somewhere else, which happened to be near us. I mentioned you when I chatted with him. When he heard your name, his reaction was a little… er, extreme. He seems to want you to pay him back some money.”

Han Xiao understood what had happened. He had entered Kerlodd’s ID on the system of the missing spaceship. The radiation storm had blocked the signal at that time, but when he brought the system core back to the space station, the people there had naturally checked the logs and noticed that access attempt.

Kerlodd was the Godora Observer who had been sent to investigate Planet Aquamarine and subsequently captured by Han Xiao.

Han Xiao nodded. “Oh, we are very good friends. How’s that guy? Send him my regards.”

Nereja’s expression was a little strange.

“… Are you sure you are friends? He told me to say, ‘Black Star, don’t use my ID again! When are you going to pay back the money you blackmailed from me? You’re already a renowned mercenary. Are you really this petty about a few hundred Enas?'”

“Hehe, he still loves to joke as always,” Han Xiao said. “Our friendship was created through life and death. How can that be measured by money?”

Han Xiao had shown mercy to Kerlodd back then and did not take his life. Was that not a friendship created through life and death?

Speaking of which, he had kept his word and let Kerlodd go back then to have a channel of contacting Godora. He did not expect himself to join Floating Dragon Island afterward. Nonetheless, Kerlodd was still useful.

I told Kerlodd to pay attention to the abnormalities on Planet Aquamarine. I wonder if they sent someone else to investigate. Maybe this will lead to changes in the Version 2.0 storyline… Should be good changes, Han Xiao thought.

“Alright, you tell him that I got the message, and I’m not going to pay him back.”

“Okay then…” Nereja gave a bitter smile. He suddenly recalled something and said, “By the way, we had a personnel transfer not long ago. The original station chief was transferred away, and the deputy station chief took over the space station. It’s really hard to figure out what the higher-ups are thinking. Anyway, it’s a good thing. The deputy station chief is much better than the original station chief. The station chief discovered that I was the one who hired you and gave me a penalty, such an awful guy.”

Han Xiao raised his brow and said, “The station chief? I don’t have a problem with him—he’s a good man. On the contrary, the deputy station chief is a very slippery guy. If he did not have a motive, why did he mention an unsolved internal matter to a mercenary that he had just met?

“Furthermore, the rescued Observers all rooted for you. Who would expose you? Your opinion of the station chief now means that the deputy station chief’s act of transferring him was effective. Nonetheless, a good man might not be a useful man. Even though the deputy station chief did not mean well, without him, your wife and those missing Observers would not have been saved. Hence, seeing the results, maybe you won’t regret being used.”

Actually, the person that gave out the daily missions that rewarded Interstellar Beast Dungeon Crystals was exactly the deputy station chief who later became the station chief. He ordered the players to deal with some internal affairs and quickly improved his performance. If it was the original station chief, he definitely would not have let outsiders interfere with their internal affairs.

“What you said seems to make some sense. After the station chief was transferred away, the deputy station chief looked very happy.”

Nereja was dazed for a moment and looked like he had something on his mind. He then sighed and said, “Sigh, speaking of which, the old station chief only followed the regulations. Although he was a little pedantic, he was once a military officer after all, so it’s understandable.

“Anyway, I still like the deputy station chief a little more. If everything was done following the rules, the world would not only have that three Universal Civilizations now, and the war would still be going on. The other civilizations would have no choice but to become vassals, or they would be destroyed by the flames of war…

“Sigh, between hypocrisy and war, I would choose the former, and most people would probably do the same. Although I don’t know much, I can guess that the Black Forest Age of the exploration history was definitely hell. The peaceful Galaxy Calendar age now was not achieved with ease…”

“Got it, got it. I have something to do, bye.” Han Xiao decisively closed the communication. He opened the interface again and exhaled.

Let’s begin…

Beep beep beep!

At this time, the communicator rang again.

Interrupted again, Han Xiao was boiling.

Can’t I do my consecutive draws peacefully‽ The luck that I gathered is vanishing!

“Who the hell… oh, Ames, hi, are you well? What is it?”

To Han Xiao’s surprise, the alluring and sexy Dragon Emperor appeared on the screen. Ames had never contacted him before, so why did she suddenly call him?

“Black Star, I need you.” Ames’ expression was a little strange.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. “Pardon me, but what kind of need are you talking about?”

“I found my teacher’s whereabouts. He came to the Shattered Star Ring. Black Star, you saw what he looked like personally. Accompany me to look for him.” Ames’ tone was assertive.

“Okay…” Han Xiao held his forehead. “When?”

“As soon as possible. I will immediately notify you when I return to the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Are you not on Floating Dragon Island now?”

“I went to the Federation of Light’s mother planet for sightseeing,” Ames said.

The Great Mechanic Han was speechless.

“Alright,” Han Xiao said, “where’s your teacher now?”

“Someone said that he appeared on Noriosse some time ago. Go there to take a look first before I return.”

Han Xiao nodded without panicking. Although him seeing the Dragon Emperor’s teacher before was a lie, he did indeed know who the Dragon Emperor’s teacher was. He was not afraid of not being to recognize that person.

After hanging up the communication, Han Xiao massaged his temple and opened the interface for the third time.

“Let’s do this quickly, I have a feeling I’m not in luck again… no one will find me again I hope.”

After being interrupted twice, Han Xiao’s excitement was gone. He stared at the interface with an expressionless face.

_____________________

Randomizing…

Randomization Complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: [Ability]

_____________________

Han Xiao glanced through and chose the most useful option between the three options. A Cannon Master ability, [Locked Shot]. Its effect was that the next shot would definitely hit with an addition 10 – 18% of critical damage.

Han Xiao’s face was calm. He did not stop and immediately started to draw the second Random Reward.

_____________________

Randomizing…

Randomization Complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: [Item]

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. “It’s here, a chance!”

_____________________

Please select one from the three reward below:

Gene Awakening Elixir (Luxurious Version): If the user has no Main Class, using this has a chance to turn the user into an Esper.

Double Experience Card: Doubles the experience gained through killing monsters and doing missions. Lasts for 6 days.

Ability Enhancement Card: 70% chance to enhance an ability when used, amplifying its basic effects. 20% chance to mutate the ability into a similar but stronger new ability.

_____________________

“Two cards but no Mission Completion Card.” Han Xiao felt his chest was hurting.

Comparatively, the Ability Enhancement Card was somewhat useful to him, but Han Xiao was still frustrated over not getting what he wanted.

Without a doubt, the Gene Awakening Elixir was trash, and he did not need the Double Experience Card, so he chose the Ability Enhancement Card straight away.

“I feel lucky! Third time’s the charm!”

Han Xiao felt hopeful as he activated another Random Reward.

_____________________

Randomizing…

Randomization Complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: [Experience]

_____________________

“…”

“Great, very great. I’m in dire need of experience. What good timing…” Han Xiao clapped. Then he smashed his head on the table, clenched his teeth, and yelled, “As if!”

He had always thought that, of all the reward types, experience was the most useless one.

He picked the highest option of 2,000,000 experience and activated the last Random Reward despairingly.

_____________________

Randomizing…

Randomization Complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: [Item]

_____________________

Medium Experience Crystal (x8): Grants 100,000 – 1,000,000 experience after using.

Blazing Battle Aura (Cosmetic): When equipped, grants special light effects when moving. Being strong is a matter of version; being cool is for life.

Mission Completion Card (x2): Marks one mission as complete and receive rewards equivalent to the lowest grade.

_____________________

Han Xiao exhaled deeply and closed his eyes with satisfaction and fulfillment.

“Finally… I finally got it…”

Bang!

The next second, he jumped up and slammed his palm on the metal table, leaving an imprint.

“Consecutive draw is the best in the world!”

Chapter 469: [Gene Liberation] and High-End Knowledge!

After being overjoyed for a while, Han Xiao quickly calmed down. Having been unlucky more than ten times, he was relieved upon finally getting the item that he needed. The Mission Completion Card was not a rare item, yet he had only gotten it after so many times. Nonetheless, he had gotten it in the end.

Now that he had the Mission Completion Card, he did not have to take the risk and fight a Grade A Super—the steady mindset was dependable.

For normal players, their level represented their grade. LV 1 – LV 20 was Grade F; LV 21 – LV 40 was Grade E; LV 41 – LV 60 was Grade D; LV 61 – LV 90 was Grade C; LV 91 – LV 100 was Grade C+; over LV 100 was Grade B and above. Of course, this was just a rough range. Due to the difference in abilities, attributes, talents, and equipment, there would be slight differences. For example, the pro players would usually reach Grade C at LV 60.

The normal players would only enter Grade B after going through the second Race Evolution at level 100. For Han Xiao, who was also level 100, as he had many Molding Talents, he was much stronger than the players, so he was Grade B. Including the advantages of the Mechanic class and how high his attributes were, he was not considered weak even among Grade Bs. His actual combat ability far exceeded the standard of his level. Still, level 100 was the entrance of Grade B—the next grade was tens of levels away.

Hence, Han Xiao had been unwilling to take the risk. Even if he reached level 120 after his promotion, he would still be at Grade B. From this, the difference between Grade B and Grade A was clearly shown. If Han Xiao had to fight against an enemy just a few levels higher than him, he would not have been worried at all, but against an enemy tens of levels higher? Unless he would have special measures, and there was a ninety percent chance that he would die.

Just looking at this percentage made him lose interest in taking the risk.

The method of using a Mission Completion Card was really a tremendous help to him that made him avoid unnecessary dangers. Han Xiao had faced many threats before, so he was not afraid of taking risks. However, since he had more choices, it was better to use the safer method than taking the risk and fighting such a strong enemy.

Even if he really had to fight a Grade A Super, who knew how much time he would have to spend in plotting and how many resources he would waste? By looking for the card while doing missions, not only did he not have to suffer a loss, but he was even making a profit. Why would he not do it?

Han Xiao was worried that his hand might slip. He fully focused and selected the Mission Completion Card carefully.

Before this, it was nowhere to be found, now two of it appeared together. I only need one, so I shall save the other. I might use it in the future when I meet a similarly difficult mission.

Han Xiao did not use the Mission Completion Card immediately. His Class Advancement mission was still stuck, so he planned to buy two High-End Mechanic Knowledges that he had been eyeing up since long ago. Then he would complete the Promotion and Class Advancement together so that he could rush his levels immediately after. He had 1,360,000 Enas in his account, so he was quite wealthy. It was more than enough to buy two High-End Knowledges.

I got an Ability Enhancement Card as well. I shall use that first.

The Ability Enhancement Card will increase the basic stats of an ability, so even a max level ability can be enhanced. If I can get the ability mutation, that would be awesome, but I doubt there’s a chance… What should I enhance? A Combat ability or Machinery Affinity type ability?

Han Xiao opened his ability list, and a dense number of ability names expanded out. Han Xiao directly skipped the blueprints and looked at the other abilities. The Mechanic abilities were very important; his raw strength would basically be increased if he enhanced one of them. There would be more Machinery Affinity abilities after he leveled up, so this tiny enhancement had limited effect for him.

It seemed like enhancing an ability with a special use would be better.

With a flash of insight, Han Xiao had a target.

How about I enhance [Flaming Will]? I’m short of damage abilities, so strengthening my explosive power is quite useful for me. If the cooldown is decreased, this enhancement will be worth it.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Flaming Will had both active and passive effects. The former had a ten-minute cooldown while the latter had a thirty-minute cooldown. Although its damage boost was very high, it had a high cooldown as well, causing him to only trigger this ability once or twice during every battle. If the cooldown was increased, his damage would be hugely increased.

He had gotten this ability from Bennett, and it still made a noticeable difference at his current level. He used the Ability Enhancement Card on the spot.

_____________________

Ability Enhancement Card activated. Target: [Flaming Will LV10].

Enhancing…

You have triggered Ability Mutation.

You acquired new ability [Gene Liberation LV1].

_____________________

Han Xiao was surprised. Damn, I’m really in luck today!

In the interface, [Flaming Will] was replaced by the new ability, and the new method of using the ability appeared in his mind. Han Xiao looked at the ability introduction.

_____________________

[Gene Liberation Lv.1]:

Active Effect: By spending 1,000 health points, grants an attack boost for the next 1.5 seconds. 50% chance to deal 200% – 220% damage; 30% chance to deal 300% – 330% damage; 20% chance to deal 400% – 440% damage.

Cooldown: 8 min 30 s

Passive Effect: When health is below 20%, the ability will be activated automatically without cost.

Passive Effect Cooldown: 17 mins

Remarks: You obtained the way to break through your limits. Through squeezing energy out of your cells, you can gain explosive power that exceeds your limit, but it will hurt your body.

_____________________

Han Xiao read through and felt that this enhancement was truly worth it. Not only was the cooldown reduced, the random stats were better as well.

Initially, [Flaming Will] had four random ranges, and the highest one granted more than five times damage, but the chance of triggering that was too low. [Gene Liberation], however, slightly reduced the maximum boost, but the random ranges changed from four to three. Lower random factors meant more stable damage output.

Most importantly, this boost was not applied to only one attack but all attacks in a certain period. With his speed, it would definitely be more than one attack!

He was an Artillery Style Mechanic; hence, his attack frequency was extremely high. This meant that the effect of this ability was explosive!

Furthermore, this was just its effect on Lv.1. Without hesitation, Han Xiao threw in tens of millions of experience and leveled it up to Lv.10 straight away. Its duration increased to two seconds, and its cooldown reduced to seven minutes. The damage boost of all three ranges was increased by one-tenth, meaning that the lowest boost was 220%, and the maximum was 480%. The cost had also reduced to 800 health points. Han Xiao had close to 20,000 health, so this cost was nothing to him, not to mention the [Self-Healing] ability that he had gotten two months prior, which would recover this amount of health in a mere eight seconds.

“This ability is a little too strong, isn’t it!” Han Xiao clicked his tongue.

After packing up his things, Han Xiao pushed open the door, feeling refreshed. In the spaceship hall, Herlous was playing cards with the Volga brothers again. He had a proud expression, while the Volga brothers were despondent.

“I don’t want to play anymore. How can you always get the cards you want?” the Volga brothers complained.

Herlous shrugged and chuckled. “Because I’m strong. Don’t just stand there. Admit defeat and pay the money.”

The three brothers sadly made the transfer. This time, no matter how Herlous tried to ask them, they did not go back to playing. They had already lost four rounds in a row. The three of them played cards with Herlous frequently and had always lost more than they won. It was like God was on Herlous’ side; he could always draw the most suitable card. The game experience of the three brothers was always ruined.

Seeing that the three of them were firm in their decision, Herlous knew that there was nothing that he could do. He turned around, looked at Han Xiao, and said, “Black Star, come to play cards.”

“Do I look free?”

This time, Feidin walked out from his room and was heading toward the Simulated Combat Room. Herlous’ eyes suddenly sparkled, and he hurried yelled, “Feidin, come to play a round.”

Feidin paused, turned around, and shrugged. “I don’t know how to play it.”

“Don’t worry, it’s very easy, I will teach you. If you can’t even play cards, how are you different from the primates?” Herlous stood up and dragged Feidin to sit opposite him.

“Alright, how is this card game played?” Feidin shook his head, picked up a deck of cards, and looked at them.

“The official name of this card is called ‘Galaxy War’. We usually call it the Wayne Card. This is Federation of Light’s common language, meaning ‘Sparkling Card’. See, it even has our mercenary group, isn’t it interesting? Let me tell the rules…”

Herlous excitedly taught Feidin the rules.

“Okay, those were the rules. You’re a Psychic, so I don’t have to repeat it. Let’s play a round. You will know how to play it after trying. Use the Volga brothers’ cards—they’re also using the Shattered Star Ring card set.”

Herlous knocked on the table, and the cards shuffled automatically. These cards had simple industrial enchantments on them, so many special effects could be completed automatically. Herlous raised his hand and let Feidin start first. He smiled and said, “Let’s not play those official modes this time—we will play the Free Battle Mode. The way to win is to empty the opponent’s health bar. This is your first time playing, so I’ll let you start.”

Feidin nodded. “Okay then, you have to hold back on me.”

Three minutes later, Herlous stared at the table with widened eyes and a gaping mouth.

“Did I win?” Feidin blinked. “It seems quite easy.”

“Hehe…” Herlous wiped his sweat. “You’re just lucky this round. One more round…”

Not long after, Herlous slumped on the sofa with despair on his face.

“Did you lie to me and actually know how to play?”

Feidin smiled bitterly and said, “This is really my first time playing. You’re too unlucky.”

In such a short period of time, Herlous had already lost five rounds in a row. He had almost started to question the meaning of life. For some reason, his luck had suddenly vanished, and he could never get the card that he wanted. Meanwhile, Feidin won just by using whatever card he drew.

The Volga brothers had been spectating all along, and they could not stop laughing out loud. “That’s the feeling!”

Han Xiao shook his head. This was why he did not like playing cards with these people.

As long as lucked played any part in the mode that they played, Feidin basically got godly hands every single time. Herlous’ luck could crush the Volga brothers, but he could only get demolished when facing Feidin’s High Class Luck Glow.

Han Xiao interrupted them and said, “Stop playing, we have a new mission. Ames told us to help her find someone on Noriosse, so we won’t be accepting requests temporarily.

“She’s not in Shattered Star Ring now. I need to buy some things from other Star Systems before she returns. I have already set the course.”

The rest nodded.

Of course, Han Xiao was going to buy Advanced Knowledges. The Dragon Emperor had yet to arrive, so he planned to put down everything else for the time being and go through his Promotion first. This was a long-awaited chance to increase his strength to a new level.

The stronger he was, the more freedom he would have. In order to complete his plan, being strong was a necessity. Even his plan was to make himself stronger.

…

Han Xiao traveled across a few Star Systems and successfully bought the two High-End Knowledges. As he did not take the path of farming Faction Favorability and buying High-End Knowledges privately was very expensive, his savings plummeted to 500,000 Enas. The two High-End Knowledges cost him more than 800,000 Enas.

The price that he paid was worth it. He could earn back the money, but the increased strength was permanent.

The two High-End Knowledges were [High Energy Control] of the Energy Branch and [Advanced Artificial Intelligence Technology] of the Control Branch.

[High Class Energy Control] was very important; it allowed control of the higher-level energies and was considered to be one of the core knowledges. It could combine more stable shields and energy weapons. Energy weapons were common weapons that were stronger than electromagnetic weapons.

As only some knowledges were sold, Han Xiao could only choose the comparatively more useful knowledges. Hence, [Advanced Artificial Intelligence Technology] was his second choice, it was used to build artificial intelligence.

The High-End Knowledges of the Mechanic class had very visible uses. Every one of them could make powerful impacts, and none of them were useless. Normal players had to choose carefully as the High-End Knowledges cost three Potential Points to learn and level up.

There was a total of three branches and fifteen High-End Knowledges, so leveling all of them up to level five would cost 225 Potential Points. In order to max the level of all the Advanced Knowledges and Basic Knowledges, it would cost a total of 450 Potential Points!

There were still higher-class knowledges above the High-End Knowledges. The Mechanic class was a bottomless abyss of Potential Points, so it was basically impossible for players to get so many Potential Points. Hence, Han Xiao had been saving his Potential Points from the beginning.

After finishing all his preparations, he was back in the Garton Star System. Han Xiao piloted the spaceship back to Juberly Hub.

He planned to complete his level 100 Promotion there.

Chapter 470: Experience Fully Digested!

After returning to the mercenary group stronghold in Juberly Hub, Han Xiao entered the Simulated Combat Room alone and closed the alloy door behind him. He took out the Mission Completion Card and used it on his Promotion mission.

_____________________

You have used [Mission Completion Card].

[Trial of the Strong] Current Progress: 1/1

Level 100 Promotion Mission completed!

END bonus increased! 1 END = 50 Health = 60 Stamina.

_____________________

It’s done.

The dust settled, and Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. The Level 60 Promotion was the first Race Evolution, and the level 100 Promotion was the second.

I did get the [Void Genes] talent from the Void Dragon Pith, so that will add an option during the Race Evolution and provide a new evolution path.

The options in Race Evolution were randomly chosen from the evolution tree that had higher compatibility. There would also be an option with very low compatibility that gave the players the choice of taking a completely different path.

This time, an evolution notification popped up on the information panel hovering before his eyes.

_____________________

You have taken another step forward on the path of evolution. You have received refinement of your level of life.

Race Detected: Type I Galaxy Human Race

Randomly selecting 6 suitable evolution paths…

Selection complete.

Please select 1 from the 6 options below as your evolved race.

Warning! The evolution process is irreversible. Please select cautiously! [Appendix – Evolution Path Characteristics Introduction]

[Type II Galaxy Human Race] – 94% Compatibility

[Type III Galaxy Human Race] – 92% Compatibility

[North Wind God Race] – 75% Compatibility

[Void Prowler (Human Form)] – 81% Compatibility

[Half-Dragon Hybrid] 64% Compatibility

[Medium Mechanical Life] 22% Compatibility

_____________________

Other than the usual type II and type III, the rest are all decent, but none of them are comparable to this… Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He had already decided.

_____________________

Selection Complete

Evolving race… Evolution complete.

Your race changed to: [Void Prowler (Human Form)].

Cell structure refined, organs strengthened, metabolism adjusted, adaptability enhanced…

Your potential increased!

You have received attribute bonuses: +28 STR, +45 DEX, +15 END, +24 INT, +36 MYS, +22 CHA, +570 energy. Energy level attribute bonuses changed!

Your Race Specialty [Adaptive Species] has been changed.

You have received Race Specialty [Void Travel].

You have received Race Specialty [Void Mirror Image].

You have received Race Specialty [Void Shadow].

_____________________

Skinning pain came like a tsunami. Han Xiao had mentally prepared. Every Race Evolution brought a huge change for one’s genes and cells. The players could ignore the pain, but he could not. He clenched his teeth tightly, and masses of veins bulged on his face and wiggled like snakes. His eyes were filled with red; all the blood vessels in his eyes had exploded. The diamond-shaped piece of skin between his eyebrows that came from the Void Genes was emitting a gray light as gray lines extended out from it, spreading all over Han Xiao’s face and very soon his entire body. It was changing all of his cells.

Buzz!

The tremendous energy in his body could not be controlled anymore. Electric sparkles turned into dozens of lightning whips and danced madly. The air was filled with a burnt smell, and the floor was burnt black.

Han Xiao suddenly opened his mouth and spat out red blood, which was emitting bubbles as if it was boiling. It turned into a violet color at a visible rate.

The pain this time lasted longer than any times before. Void Prowler could almost be considered as a completely different life form, so the change was drastic. This was indeed the special evolution path given by the Void Genes. Whether in turns of Race Specialty or future potential, this was the best choice among the six options.

Type II and Type III Galaxy Human Race were the usual evolution path with different focuses, but they were rather mediocre. Their benefit was that their compatibility was very high, which meant that more paths could be taken. Han Xiao had chosen this path at level 60 because he wanted to discover an evolution path that was strong enough, and now, he had found it. The Void Race was like the Demon Race and the Energy Life; it was a race on its own—rare, strong, and had a lot of potential.

For the other options, the [North Wind God Race] was a special human race that had natural strong bodies and tough vitality, their reproductive capability was over the top. They called themselves the God Race. The [Half-Dragon Hybrid] was also a representation of a strong body. Both of these were suitable for Pugilists. [Medium Mechanical Life] was a completely different race. It was a mechanical life that did not have energy. Plus, its compatibility was too low, so Han Xiao was definitely not going to choose that.

The pain only gradually faded after a long time. Han Xiao looked like he had been fished out from the sea of blood. During the last period, it was not sweat that came out of his pores anymore but human blood. All of his blood had been replaced. His senses felt different as well. Other than the five human senses, he had many more senses. He could feel the flow of stray energy, and he could see in Void Vision; it was like he had opened the gate to a new world.

Han Xiao took out a mirror and looked at himself. He had grown ten inches taller. Luckily, his body was still in human shape, and he did not have an extra tail or arm or anything of the sort. However, inside his body, his bones, muscles, and organ structures had completely changed; it was many times more complicated than a human structure.

He did not look much different from before, still handsome as always. The diamond-shaped skin between his eyebrows became an indigo crystal. This was a controllable new organ used to sense the Void Vision. His skin was whiter than before, and he gave off a mysterious vibe.

“Not bad, I still look human. This is the human form Void Prowler after all. Anyone that turns into a Void Prowler is able to maintain their original appearance, so most creatures can mutate into Void Prowlers.”

Han Xiao was very knowledgeable. All three Race Specialties were Void Prowler’s natural talents. Among which, [Void Travel] was the core ability.

“Let me try to see how it feels.”

The world before his eyes changed. Everything became foggy like he was observing reality through a layer of translucent material. This was the Void Vision; he entered a mirror dimension that reflected reality where time passed at a different speed. When Han Xiao moved, the real world was basically still, but he could not influence reality in any way and would only go through physical objects. The two dimensions were like mirrors that were placed tightly against each other; they could not interfere with each other. It was like a stealth mode that allowed free movement.

[Void Travel] had no duration limit but continuously cost a large amount of stamina during its duration. Its cooldown was five minutes.

Han Xiao walked from one corner of the room to another, counted a few seconds in his head then deactivated this ability and returned to reality. He looked at his watch; almost no time had passed.

“So, this ability is similar to teleportation or a short-range jump as seen from the reality.” Han Xiao nodded in his head. According to his senses, this talent was like a weakened version of Esper powers that could slow time—the difference was that he could not influence reality.

He looked at the mirror again and noticed his body’s changes. When he used the Void Prowler’s Race Specialties, he would deviate from his usual human form and enter Void Form, as only then would he be able to enter the Void Dimension. His skin became crystal clear and gray. Under his skin were dim streaks of light like starlight. His white skin retracted into markings and was spread out on his body following his bone structure. The white markings met at the crystal between his eyebrows.

Han Xiao waited for a while, and his body automatically turned back. The white markings expanded and covered his skin as he returned to his human form. The gray skin tone during his Void Form was absorbed by the crystal like a river.

“Such a magical life form.”

Han Xiao continuously switched between the two forms and familiarized himself with them.

As for the other two Race Specialties, as the name suggested, Void Mirror Image could generate a mirror image without any combat ability used to confuse the enemy, and Void Shadow was an ability to summon a Void Shadow that would exist for thirty minutes. The shadow had the characteristics of a shadow—it would not be wounded, could not attack, and moved extremely fast. It could be used to scout or disrupt the enemy’s vision. These two Race Specialties also cost a large amount of stamina.

Most races only had one or two specialties—three was exceptional. The Void Prowler’s Race Specialties were mainly focused on disrupting, confusing, and dodging. [Void Travel] was the most important one; it was a very strong dodging ability and only had a cooldown of five minutes.

On the interface, the Class Advancement requirements of his Main Class had already been met. A notification popped up.

_____________________

You have received a new class [War Mechanic LV 1].

+120 Energy, +3 DEX, +3 END, +5 INT.

You have received 6 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

You have acquired ability [Application Level Machinery Affinity].

You have acquired ability [Waste Modification].

You have acquired ability [Mechanical Force Overload].

You have received ability [Mechanical Force Combat Technique (Locked)].

You have acquired talent [Battlefield Wisdom].

_____________________

War Mechanic was the sixth stage class of the Mechanic class. It was the time where the Mechanic class showcased its power. The maximum level of this class was twenty. As the name suggested, the Mechanic class finally started focusing on combat abilities at this stage. Other than the new Machinery Affinity, all the other abilities were combat abilities.

He spent his experience in the main class and leveled it up.

_____________________

[War Mechanic] leveled up to LV 16.

+120 Energy, +3 DEX, +2 END, +5 INT

You have received 6 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

_____________________

Above level 100, every level required more experience to level up. Han Xiao had about 1.6 billion experience at this time; he spent 1.3 billion experience and leveled it up to level 16. He was still four levels from the maximum LV 20, but he had already run out of experience.

The experience that he had harvested from the players in Version 1.0 was about to be used up!

I have close to 300 million experience left. I can level it up one more time, but it’s not as beneficial as to use it to upgrade abilities. Also, the two High-End Knowledges need to be combined into new blueprints. It’s better to keep it… Haha, I’m finally going to finish this huge sum of experience.

Han Xiao smiled in satisfaction. It had been a very long time since he had last felt in need of experience. Not only did he not feel unhappy, he was joyful, and a sense of nostalgia swept over him. He had calculated it long ago and knew that he would definitely be able to spend all the experience after his level 100 Promotion.

This was great news. Any amount of experience in the interface was just a number, similar to not spending the money earned. Only by turning it into his combat abilities would he fully utilize it. When he played the game in his previous life, the best feeling had been when he spent all his experience.

Now that he had finally digested what he made in Version 1.0, he felt a strong sense of fulfillment.

The players would not be around during the version update, so there was no way to quickly gain experience. The time that the next version began would be the time that he started harvesting experience again.

After spending this experience, I’m now level 116. Good. When the players appear again, it will be a chance for me to become much stronger again.

Han Xiao squinted. He looked forward to Version 2.0 arriving in a year’s time.

Chapter 471: Shattered Light (1)

After becoming a War Mechanic, Han Xiao had five new abilities on his interface. Even without looking at them, he was familiar with the effects of these abilities.

[Application Level Machinery Affinity] had more Machinery Affinity bonus than [Advanced Machinery Affinity]. It was the core of the Mechanic class, so he definitely had to level it up. Since he only had 300 million experience left, he only leveled it up to LV5. Every level gave five percent Machinery Affinity, so his Machinery Affinity increased by another twenty-five percent.

[Waste Modification]’s prerequisite was one of the three abilities from the compression technology, [Basic Machinery Construction]. Their effects were somewhat similar. [Waste Modification]’s effect was if a machine was destroyed and became a pile of scrap parts, this ability could recover these parts and turn them into the original machinery. Of course, the machinery would have a twenty-five percent decrease in attributes and be one or two grades lower. Also, this ability could be used multiple times on the same target until the target’s grade reached Gray or had a seventy-five percent decrease in attributes. This meant that this ability could be used a maximum of three times on the same target.

As the name suggested, this ability was a highly efficient waste recycling ability. Its effect was much stronger in actual battle than stated in the introduction. Furthermore, it was one of the reasons that the War Mechanic class had a ‘War’ prefix. It gave Mechanics many more tactical choices. In Han Xiao’s previous life, only when the players reached their fifth and sixth main class level in Version 3.0 did the Mechanics first showcase their strength. The War Mechanic class was very complex and hard to master; its combos were difficult to use, and it required a very strong tactical mindset. The War Mechanic class was the most difficult class to operate among the five classes.

[Mechanical Force Overload] was a normal boosting ability, similar to [Surging Mechanical Force] and [Overload] but with higher numbers. The difference between them was that [Surging Mechanical Force] had no side effect, [Overload] decreased the machinery’s durability, and [Mechanical Force Overload] would cause the machinery to enter a cooldown where they could not be used. It was not a very impactful ability. However, when it was used together with [Overload] on the same machine, the enhancement would increase by another forty percent, and the durability would decrease by thirty-three percent immediately. Han Xiao had used this ability a lot in the past, but he had only used it on the machinery that he was willing to sacrifice.

The most special ability was [Mechanical Force Combat Technique], which was still ‘Locked’ till the High-End Knowledge [Advanced Electromagnetic Forcefield] was learned. What was special about this ability was that it was not an ability that enhanced the machinery but the Mechanic themself.

The Mechanical Force was transformed from Electromagnetic Energy, so it was also electromagnetic. This ability allowed the Mechanics to still be able to fight even without machinery, just like how every Mage had a certain amount of melee battle capability.

The talent [Battlefield Wisdom] was a fixed talent of the Mechanic class. After entering battle, this talent would provide an additional one percent Intelligence every minute until it reached a maximum of fifteen percent. Together with the talent unlocked in the previous main class stage [Machinery Analytical Comprehension] that provided one percent Machinery Affinity for every ten Intelligence, it allowed Mechanics to become stronger as their level increased.

During battles between players, a Mechanic’s machinery continuously weaken over the course of a battle, and this talent filled the shortcomings of the Mechanics’ capability in long battles. When the Mechanic class was fully shaped, it would become very comprehensive in all kinds of battles. One of the basic tactics used by Mechanics was to stall for fifteen minutes with mechanic traps till they gained the maximum bonus, then released all the machinery to deal explosive damage… also known as the Bladder Tactic.

Han Xiao only increased the Machinery Affinity abilities by a few levels and did not touch anything else, spending about 40 million experience. He was left with about 250 million experience, which he planned to save and spend slowly. He then spent the ninety-six Free Attribute Points on his interface all in Intelligence as usual.

Although he hesitated for a split second when he saw the number ‘1’ on his Luck attribute, he did not spend any of it on Luck. Even though his Luck attribute was hard to look at, putting any points in Luck would not be of much use to him. Luck was related to item drop rate and some abilities, but he did not depend on luck for anything, nor did he have any abilities that were related to Luck. Furthermore, just a few points in Luck would be useless. If he wanted to take that path, he would have to at least put in dozens of points. Even then, it would still not make much of a difference. Hence, he continued to put all his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence.

After he finished allocating his Free Attribute Points, his attributes after Promotion were laid out clearly.

_____________________

Level: 116

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Void Prowler (Human Form)

Attributes: 163 STR, 349 DEX, 306 END, 872 INT, 102 MYS, 41 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Points: 55

Health: 27,038

Stamina: 25,880

Energy: 7,700 [LVL 9]

Energy LVL 9 Bonus: +53 STR, +72 DEX, +80 END, +90 INT, +55 MYS, +7,520 Maximum Health, +60% Machinery Affinity

Power Level: 7,637 Ona

Grade: B

[You’re a skilled Galaxy warrior. Even those with the same Grade as you won’t mess with you easily.]

_____________________

7,700 Energy Rank, yet to achieve B+. However, my actual combat capability is on par with Grade B+. The standard of Grade A is 10,000 Ona. At this pace, I should reach the Calamity Grade twenty to thirty levels earlier than the players at around level 140.

Han Xiao nodded with a smile.

I’m now level 116, and I still have one Mission Completion Card, so the only thing that I am short of is Experience. In order to rapidly gain Experience and quickly level up, harvesting the players is the best way. Therefore, as long as my plan is successfully carried out in the Mutation Disaster incident and I guide the Planet Aquamarine players to my faction, I will be able to reach Grade A in the next version!

After letting the cleaning robot clear the blood stains on the floor, Han Xiao walked out of the Simulated Combat Room. As soon as he returned to the hall, the people there turned and looked at him with surprise.

“Am I hallucinating, or did you… change?” Herlous asked suspiciously.

Sylvia walked around Han Xiao a few times, patted her chest, and sighed with relief. “I almost thought I mistook someone else for you.”

“Is it that obvious?” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. His looks did indeed change after the Race Evolution, but he did not think it was a noticeable change at all.

“Your looks did not change much; its mainly the vibe that you’re giving off. You seem to be more mysterious. Also, I don’t remember you having this crystal on your forehead…” Herlous felt a shiver down his spine. “Strange, I’m feeling a certain pressure from you, but we should have about the same strength. What did you do when you locked yourself in that room?”

Of course, they did not know that Han Xiao could quickly complete his Race Evolution through the interface while it would take a very long time for others to fully complete the Race Evolution. The difference in the time that it took was incomparable.

“I’m stronger than before.” Han Xiao smiled and waved his hand. “I won’t explain the details. Anyway, I’m still me.”

“Do you also have some special training tactic like Feidin?” Herlous asked.

Feidin, who was meditating, opened his eyes and asked, “Who’s calling me?”

“Shut up!”

“Oh.”

Herlous always had a problem with Feidin. He snorted, looked at Han Xiao, and asked, “Are we going to Noriosse next?”

Han Xiao nodded. “Yes. I’ve completed what I wanted to do. Ames asked me to go to Noriosse and find her teacher.”

He was much stronger, but it would still take a very long time for him to reach Ames’ level. Before then, Han Xiao did not mind having someone to rely on. After all, Galaxy was so enormous; there were too many strong individuals and organizations. Furthermore, Ames had saved him once, so it was only right that he helped her do small things like this as much as he could. Having a good relationship with a Beyond Grade A was definitely beneficial, not to mention that he was under the Dragon Emperor’s command.

This time, Herlous intercepted Han Xiao and said, “Before going to Noriosse, I want to return to Planet Sunil and retrieve my armor, [Shattered Light]. Planet Sunil is nearby anyway, so it won’t take long.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

He had been interested in the Commander Class armor for a very long time. Back then, he did not have the ability to work on it, but now, he satisfied the requirements.

“No problem, we will go together.”

…

The spaceship slowly landed on the plains outside the Forest City. This had once been the battlefield to fight against the Catastrophe, a place where blood spilled formed rivers. Now, it had been cleaned up and was an empty, burnt ground.

The six layers of defenses outside Forest City were already built. Pairs of armored guards patrolled the area, and vehicles drove into the forest to hunt from time to time.

As soon as they landed, many guards surrounded them and lined up to welcome them. Herlous had contacted the Sunil government before they arrived. When they disembarked the spaceship, those guards loudly yelled a phrase in the Sunil language, expressing their admiration to Herlous.

“Let’s go, I have already contacted the officials, so we will be heading to the research lab to retrieve my armor.” Herlous smiled.

They followed the soldiers and entered Forest City. Compared to a year earlier, there were not many changes other than the fact that there were even fewer people on the streets. It was probably because more youngster had joined the military forces.

“Are you Herlous? Oh my god, my hero!”

This time, the pedestrians around them noticed Herlous. They surrounded him excitedly, and even Han Xiao and the others were pushed aside.

Herlous hastily put up a friendly smile and chatted with them for a while. As more and more people joined in, he could not handle their passion anymore, so he hurriedly squeezed out of the crowd. The few of them took a few turns and finally escaped from the crowd.

“You’re very popular, I see.” Han Xiao laughed.

Herlous was embarrassed. “The officials need a role model to boost the residents’ confidence, so they replayed my stories every day on television and radio to praise me. Everyone in this city knows me.”

“National hero, so cool.” Sylvia’s eyes were shining.

“Cool my ass, a hero’s ending is always sacrifice,” Herlous protested. He still remembered Han Xiao’s ‘foresight’.

When they sneaked up to the doors of the government in the middle of the city, there were no more residents around. Herlous approached and reported his arrival. Very soon, a few military officers walked out and greeted him. These were matters of the Sunils; Han Xiao had no interest in listening, so he paid no attention along the way.

After talking for a while, Herlous beckoned the others, and they walked into the restricted military site, following the officers. After passing by metal gates one after another, they came to a sealed research lab. It was very spacious and even had a garage that stored machinery in the process of being modified.

They came to an experiment room. Herlous’ Commander Class armor was placed on the experiment table. Ten or so researchers were surrounding it and testing its parameters.

The officer walked up to the researchers and said, “This is General Herlous; he’s here to collect his armor. These are the permits.”

Han Xiao’s eyebrows shot up. He poked Herlous’ back and softly asked, “When did you become a general?”

Herlous grinned and replied softly as well. “It’s just on paper.”

The Head of Research was experimenting excitedly when he heard the officer. He glanced over Han Xiao and the others with an impatient expression, walked up to the gate, and said, “I thought we agreed on giving it to me for research. Why are you suddenly taking it away?”

“I heard you have already achieved some results, so I want to take my armor back,” Herlous said. “It’s very useful to me.”

Unwillingness was clearly written on the Head of Research’s face. “How can we return it to you? This armor is related to Sunil’s top technology; it’s a national treasure and doesn’t belong to you alone.”

“Er… but I was the one that gave it to the nation. I don’t see what’s wrong with me wanting it back.”

“Aren’t you a national hero? Are you not even willing to make such a small contribution?” The Head of Research frowned.

Herlous sighed. He gave a look to the officer beside him, and the officer took out the documents that proved that Herlous’ request was authorized by the superiors. The researchers saw it and had no choice but to obey the order. They took the armor, placed it into a metal box, and handed it to Herlous.

“I got it, let’s go.” Herlous touched the box and smiled.

The Head of Research was trembling with rage. “If the armor is with us, we will definitely be able to achieve greater results and provide more help for the race. You’re too selfish!”

Herlous’ face changed slightly, but he did not say anything. However, just as he was about to leave, he realized that Han Xiao’s footsteps stopped.

Han Xiao turned around and walked up to the Head of Research. He grabbed his head, forcing the Head of Research to look him in the eyes, and coldly said, “I remember when he followed me through difficult battles covered in wounds. I remember his misery when he lost an arm. I remember his agony when I planted a prosthetic into him. If not for your bullsh*t race, he could have a very comfortable life in the vast universe. So, what I don’t understand is, how is he selfish?

“Is it because he’s a good man, so you dare to insult him ruthlessly, knowing that he will not hurt you?”

Han Xiao suddenly turned into Void Form. His pitch-black eyes stared at the Head of Research as he gently said, “But I’m not like him. If you dare speak another word of insult to my subordinate, I will stuff your head up your ass.”

Chapter 472: Shattered Light (2)

“Yo—you’re not human!” The Head of Research was terrified. His legs were soft, but his head was grabbed by Han Xiao, so he could not even collapse.

Han Xiao’s Void Form only lasted a moment before disappearing. The Head of Research, who was staring at him, was the only one who saw his changes. Han Xiao’s sudden change in appearance shocked the man.

Void creatures were not murderous, but their mysterious origin and strong powers could strike fear into the hearts of most intelligent species.

Han Xiao let go and allowed the guy to collapse onto the ground. He then looked around; the other researchers were all cowering in the corner and shivering. Those Sunils were just ordinary people, so the pressure that they felt from Han Xiao was because of his far superior level of life.

On the side, the military officers did not stop him and chose to ignore his actions.

“There’s no need to hurt him. Let’s go, Black Star.” Herlous was quite touched. He did not want to bother about it initially, but he did not expect Han Xiao to speak for him or empathize with his words.

It was true. If not for the sake of his race, he could totally not care about them. As a Grade B Super, he could have a very comfortable life in the galaxy. Why would he need to take on the tough life of a mercenary? Those Sunil Supers who left were doing exactly that.

After following Han Xiao through so many adventures, Herlous had already come to view Han Xiao as a close comrade and reliable friend. Han Xiao was someone whom he could trust to have his back. Now that he was contributing to the Black Star Mercenary Group, it was not solely because of Han Xiao’s promise. Images of them fighting alongside each other flashed through his mind, and Herlous felt a warmth in his heart.

The sun was setting. They left the restricted military ground and left the city, returning to the spaceship.

This time, Herlous grabbed Han Xiao and laughed wholeheartedly. “Haha, I don’t actually care about what others say. When I was opening a bar, I heard these things too many times… but I appreciate it nonetheless.”

“It was just frightening someone, small matter. People like you should be more respected.” Han Xiao shrugged.

In order to have the officers contribute willingly, building a spiritual bond was crucial. He also had to keep up his image. If he wanted to build an image as a reliable leader, protecting his friends was the most fundamental thing that he had to do. These main characters all had minds of their own. If his actions opposed their creed, they would have conflicts among themselves.

Han Xiao’s position was always neutral; everything that he did depended on the benefits and his mood, be it obeying the laws or stirring up chaos. Obviously, in such a situation where he could gain favorability just by expressing his attitude, he would definitely not miss the opportunity.

With a smile, Herlous raised the armor box in his hands and said, “Speaking of which, you have not experienced my combat capability in my final form, have you? Let’s have a go at it!”

“Now? Are you sure?” Han Xiao’s eyebrows raised. “Do you want to end this beautiful day with an overwhelming defeat?”

“Well, aren’t you confident?” Herlous was very certain. “Shattered Light is the Commander Class armor that my brother tailor-made for me. It can increase my strength by more than fifty percent.”

He sparred with Han Xiao frequently. Most of the time, he was crushed and could only be a training target. He had been frustrated about it for a very long time and had been waiting for the day that he could erase this shame and regain his pride.

He felt that today was the day.

He felt that it would be very difficult for Han Xiao to beat him after he got back his armor.

“Then I shall be gentler. After all, I’m the one that will repair your armor if I break it.”

Han Xiao smiled. He could use this opportunity to reverse engineer the Commander Class armor’s blueprint.

In a field under the sunset, the two of them stood two hundred meters away from each other. To them, this distance could be reached with just one dash.

Herlous wore Shattered Light. His face was covered by the helmet, and his armor was silver blue and intricate like a magnificent ancient knight’s armor. Two soft, pure white metal plates that looked like cloths extended from each of his shoulders, hanging behind his back like a cape.

Hum!

An enormous, powerful white flame shot into the sky, and rings of shock waves spread out from the center, stirring up dust. It looked incredible. The ten-meter-long Battleship Slicing Blade was entangled in sharp, silver wind. The Shattered Light armor enhanced his Pugilist Energy.

The troops in the camp far away felt this shocking energy wave. Guards rushed to the edge of the camp and looked over with shock.

“Much stronger indeed.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. From what he saw with his eyes, the energy wave emitted by Herlous while wearing Shattered Light was more than thirty percent stronger.

Boom!

Herlous slashed down with his blade, and a thirty-meter-tall silver energy arc slit open the ground, charging toward Han Xiao like a tsunami. Han Xiao’s vision was instantly filled with silver light.

The compressed orbs expanded, and Void Dragon quickly attached itself to his body. Han Xiao stacked his hands together and aimed forward. With a surging gray light, the Void Jet Spray shattered the energy arc just inches away.

Swoosh!

The next moment, a sharp blade dashed past the remnants of the energy arc and slashed down. Herlous had followed behind the energy arc like an arrow shot from a bow. His attacks were precise and quick, closing the distance in no time and not giving Han Xiao any chance to deploy his machinery.

“A tactic I guessed correctly without even thinking.” Han Xiao moved aside and dodged with ease. The blade slashed into the ground; the impact spread out under the surface and turned the ground within a ten-meter radius into cracked rocks.

Han Xiao swung his hand, and a black electromagnetic scythe unfolded and appeared.

“I got this close, and you still have the energy to talk?” Herlous snorted. He twisted the blade handle. The Battleship Slicing Blade retracted to about one meter long, suitable for close range combat.

Clank!

In the blink of an eye, the scythe and the blade clashed with each other more than a dozen times.

The two of them moved around swiftly, and the impacts from their clash turned the ground within a mile into a mess. The impact waves from a battle between Grade B Supers could destroy an entire city. The Sunil soldiers spectating from far away continuously exclaimed with shock.

Such terrifying individual destructive powers had these young soldiers astonished and admiring.

Herlous’ powerful Energy was like a tsunami, striking one wave after another. When Pugilist reached this grade, their every move could cause huge destruction. Their body was their strongest weapon, especially for someone like Herlous who fought so aggressively.

Melee combat was the strength of the Pugilist class, but Han Xiao was not afraid at all. His various bonuses were not decorations. [One Against the World] alone gave him an eleven percent bonus in all attributes, and [Battlefield Wisdom] had started to stack up once the battle started.

Although I’m not afraid of melee combat, my strength is suppressed in this situation. Normal methods can’t restrain Pugilists with such strong destructive powers. Han Xiao blocked the blade with his scythe and simultaneously activated [Repel—Thorns], reflecting a part of the damage.

Herlous’ entire body suddenly shook as he was pushed away. His legs split open two fissures in the ground.

Swoosh!

Another compressed orb was activated, and two mechanical wings expanded behind Han Xiao. The wings released a hot wind, and Han Xiao levitated in the air. Although he could build anti-gravity devices, they were too large to become independent parts of the mechanical suit. He had yet to combine the blueprint for mini anti-gravity devices.

His ability to fly still came from the wings. Their power output was already enhanced, so reaching Supersonic speed was a breeze.

Clank!

Han Xiao opened his arms in midair, and almost a hundred compressed orbs shot out from the pipes. They landed on the ground and quickly expanded, turning into artilleries and many mechanical beasts.

The rain of bullets focused on Herlous; his armor was covered in countless fire sparkles.

Even though Han Xiao had yet to update and enhance his machinery and was still using gunpowder and electromagnetic artillery, his Machinery Affinity received higher bonuses after his Promotion, so their damage was increased too. At least it did not deal the minimum ‘1’ damage due to not being able to penetrate Herlous’ defenses.

Countless ‘-5’ and ‘-6′ damage numbers popped up continuously on Herlous’ body, mixed with the odd ’20’ to ’30’ dealt by electromagnetic artilleries.

The damage dealt on one single instance was not high, but the horrifying attack frequency caused damage numbers to pop up from Herlous’ body like a waterfall.

This time, Herlous growled, “This tactic… is not useful against me anymore!”

Chapter 473: Shattered Light (3)

Bang!

Before the mechanical beasts pounced, Herlous stomped the floor, cracked open the ground, and jumped into the sky.

The white cape on his shoulders suddenly started dancing. His Energy turned into power and gave these two soft alloys the ability to hover through some special method. Herlous had started flying! He jumped in the sky and charged toward Han Xiao.

Clunk!

The Battleship Slicing Blade collided with Han Xiao’s armor, making Han Xiao fly back and roll in the air.

This armor can fly?

Han Xiao stabilized his position and squinted. A Pugilist that could fly would be a much bigger threat.

Han Xiao realized that Herlous had hidden this up his sleeves. If he had yet to go through Promotion, he probably would not have been able to beat Herlous in this state.

Not only was he not shocked, he was delighted. The stronger Herlous was, the stronger his mercenary group would be.

“Now this…” Under the mechanical suit helmet, Han Xiao grinned. “This is interesting!”

…

On the ground, Aroshia, Feidin, and the others looked up at the intense fight in the sky.

“Herlous the Fraud can fly, too. Looks like it’s the end for captain. A Mechanic that is forced into melee combat with a Pugilist is basically dead.” The oldest Volga tutted.

“Teacher won’t lose!” Sylvia’s palms were sweaty, her knees weak, as she watched the battle closely.

The two of them were flipping midair. The mechanical beasts on the ground were useless, and the artillery could not hit Herlous due to his speed. Herlous’ combat style was smooth, swift, and left no openings, giving Han Xiao no time to increase the distance between them. The way that Sylvia saw it, Han Xiao was clearly disadvantaged.

However, she had an indescribable confidence in her teacher.

The oldest Volga brother’s eyes sparkled. “Want to make a bet? I bet that the captain will lose, and you will bet on him to win—what do you say?”

Sylvia was troubled. “My teacher says that gambling is a bad habit.”

“Bullsh*t, he only says that because he can’t win,” the oldest Volga brother said. “Let’s bet 300 Enas. Are you this unconfident in the captain?”

“Okay, I’ll take it!” Sylvia clenched her teeth and agreed to the bet.

Hum—

Suddenly, a formless disruptive electromagnetic field expanded from Han Xiao’s helmet. Herlous’ mechanical suit vision instantly turned black, and he lost his sight for a second.

Herlous quickly opened his helmet and observed with his eyes. Seeing that Han Xiao did not get far, he immediately slashed Han Xiao’s back sideways with his blade

“You want to run? Have you asked for permission from my blade‽” Herlous laughed.

However, this slash cut Han Xiao in half without any resistance. Herlous was shocked.

Then, the two halves of ‘Han Xiao’ shook like ripples and vanished.

Void Mirror Image!

“What ability is this? Why have I not seen it before?” Herlous suddenly had a bad feeling.

With his opportunity, Han Xiao discreetly returned to the ground directly under Herlous. A new machine had appeared under his feet. It was a huge metal disc that was placed flat upon the ground. At the heart of it were three equilateral triangle shaped holes emitting a dim blue light—these three holes formed a larger hole, which was pointed at Herlous.

Hum!

Before Herlous could move, the triangular hole shot out a wide, translucent blue light beam that covered him. He lost control of his body and quickly descended. With a loud clank, he was tightly sucked and fixed onto this machine, unable to escape quickly.

This was a mechanical trap. It was initially used by spaceships to draw in objects and not used for combat at all. It was very difficult for it to hit a high-speed target, but if it successfully hit, it would be a very strong constraining method. Shamefully, in his previous life, Han Xiao had been the first player that used this in actual combat.

Han Xiao snapped his fingers. All the artillery aimed at Herlous, who could not move and fired. At the same time, he activated [Overload], [Surging Mechanical Force], and [Mechanical Force Overload] for all of his artillery before activating [Gene Liberation].

Although he only got the lowest 2.2 times damage bonus, it was more than enough to end this battle.

Boom!

Thick smoke from the attacks completely covered Herlous.

“Stop stop stop! I admit defeat! Stop hitting, my armor is going to explode!”

Herlous’ panicking voice came out from thick smoke. Han Xiao slowly walked to the side, stopped the artillery, and deactivated the trap.

Herlous stood up. The magnificent and cool Shattered Light was covered in burn marks and cracks. Herlous was heartbroken by how damaged it was.

Not long ago, he had totally held the upper hand, but he had never expected that one single flaw would cause him to lose in an instant. When did Black Star become so strong? Herlous could not beat him even by wearing Shattered Light. Why did the difference between them not grow smaller but larger instead‽

He had thought that he could finally defeat Han Xiao and erase his shame, but now he was more frustrated.

“How much of your strength did you use?”

“Not all anyway of it. You mad?” Han Xiao grinned. As the weak spot of the Mechanic class was melee combat, he was most not afraid of that. After playing the Mechanic class for so many years in his previous life, the people whom he had beaten who tried to force him into melee combat could stack up to a hill.

However, although Han Xiao did win, he still discovered some problems. These cheap styles that he had been using looked rather weak when he used it on an opponent who had the same Grade as him; he had to use the explosive abilities in order to win.

There’s nothing wrong with the tactics. It seems like I need to build stronger machines.

Herlous was still grinding his teeth. He was used to being aggressive in battle and fighting the enemy head on, but he felt very restricted when he fought Han Xiao, and it made him feel uncomfortable. It looked like he always had the upper hand, but it was more like he was following Han Xiao’s plan. The battle seemed intense, but only he knew how well Han Xiao dodged his attacks. He had only landed a few hits.

Herlous could not maximize his fighting skills as a Pugilist at all. So, all in all, it had been a very uncomfortable and restrained fight for him.

“Alright, stop moping. Not like it’s the first time you’ve lost to me. Take it off, I’ll repair for you.”

Han Xiao patted Herlous’ shoulders and comforted him.

On the other side, Sylvia’s face was red from excitement. She extended her hand and chuckled. “300 Enas, a bet’s a bet.”

“My hard-earned money!” The oldest Volga brother whined in regret.

Regret of trusting that Herlous!

…

The spaceship took off and left Planet Sunil. In the machinery modification room on the spaceship, Han Xiao repaired Shattered Light. Since he satisfied the prerequisite knowledges, he successfully got the Commander Class armor blueprint after paying some Experience.

It was armor specifically for Supers, so its attributes were stronger and could enhance one’s Energy. Other than it not having many functions, its performance was not much lower than his Amphiptere. Plus, in comparison, its materials were much cheaper, so the cost of mass producing it was much lower.

Han Xiao had already gotten all of the armor sets from Sunil—Enlistee Class, NCO Class, and Commander Class. He could sell these to the players gradually, which would basically be the first faction specialty. After all, Sunil would not sell their top armor, so the players would have to farm Faction Favorability if they wanted to buy from them. Han Xiao, however, was selling them for money.

Spending money could save time, and time was priceless. This way, the players would be buying their priceless time with money.

How worth it was that‽

Noriosse was very far, located at the border of the Shattered Star Ring like one of the gates into the Star Ring. Even with the various stargates, the spaceship would still have to travel many days before arriving.

This time was more than enough for Han Xiao to build new, stronger machinery to make himself stronger.

Furthermore, he would have the time to think about what preparations he had to make for the upcoming Version 2.0.

The Promotion difficulty was over, so Han Xiao felt very relieved. He had solved it much earlier than he had expected, so it meant that he saved quite a lot of time.

After he completes Ames’ mission, he would officially start making preparations for his plan.

It’s just finding someone, so it won’t take long.

Chapter 474: Shattered Star Ring’s Door—Noriosse!

Many days later…

A metal planet was getting closer. It had no green forests, no gray ground, and no blue seas. Metal completely covered the planet’s surface.

“Destination detected, hum… Arriving at Noriosse, hum… Surface temperature suitable, hum…”

In the spaceship hall, a round, chubby robot was speaking in a very mechanical voice. Its cylindrical body looked like a can, with two long, thin mechanical arms on both sides, and was about one meter tall. At the bottom of its body was a wheel that allowed it to move.

Suddenly, a big hand grabbed this robot’s head and lifted it up. The robot seemed to be panicking, its two mechanical arms swinging randomly in the air. With its round robotic body, it looked strangely adorable.

“Got caught, hum…” the robot said.

This time, the man wearing a black shirt sitting on the sofa spoke.

“Put it down. How many times have I said, Herlous, don’t play with my robot!”

Herlous shrugged and put the robot down. As soon as this little guy returned to the ground, it quickly rolled to beside the sofa and tried to hide behind Han Xiao’s legs while shivering.

Han Xiao petted the robot’s metal head gently.

Herlous scratched his head and said, “Can this artificial intelligence you built really fight?”

“Can’t you remember its name? It’s called Phillip!” Han Xiao said. “It’s still semi-finished.”

During the time the spaceship travelled, Han Xiao occupied himself. He had combined quite a few stronger blueprints, updated his combat machinery, and used the new [Advanced Artificial Intelligence Technology] that he had obtained to build Phillip—an artificial intelligence. Compared to the smart chips, the calculation speed, logical structure, and data capacity of an artificial intelligence was many times higher.

There were a few types of artificial intelligences, among which there were two types that were more special. One was giving the system its own virtual personality but still retaining its fixed logics, simulating an intelligent creature. The benefit of this was that artificial intelligences made this way would always obey orders. The other was giving the system a true independent mind; it would have imagination and would be able to think. It would only follow fundamental orders.

Clearly, the latter was smarter and livelier and would have the potential to become a Virtual Life or Mechanical Life. Of course, the risks were higher as well.

For the time being, Han Xiao only needed a good assistant, so Phillip was the former. The reason for it being semi-finished was that some logical orders were not set up yet. Its virtual personality still had flaws and needed to be improved. Nonetheless, running it was not a problem. Phillip could download data through the network, but it would not affect its fixed virtual personality. Han Xiao later built a robot body for it.

Regarding why its name was Phillip, this was the name of his pet turtle in his previous life. To lazy people that wanted a pet but did not like cleaning, turtles were the perfect choice. It would probably not die even if its owner died.

Han Xiao looked out at the planet that was closing in and said in a deep voice, “We’ll be arriving soon. This is one of the interchanges into the Shattered Star Ring, and there will be many people from other Star Fields. It’s unknown how many strong Supers will there be. We have to keep a low profile and not cause any unnecessary trouble. The goal is to find the Dragon Emperor’s teacher. Ames is rushing back from another Star Field. Even if her carrier is very fast, it would still take quite some time. Until she arrives, we will look for clues on Noriosse.”

Noriosse was at the border of Shattered Star Ring. This planet did not belong to any civilization. Very long ago, a large financial group had their eyes on the strategic location of this planet and bought it. Back then, this planet had just been a desolate planet with a serial number, its environment very harsh. That financial group had modified the planet, using countless devices to change its ecological environment and make it habitable. Hence, this place became an interchange to enter the Shattered Star Ring.

As there were no planets anywhere near Noriosse and even the nearest stargate was at least three days of jumping away, many travelers would choose to rest there to refuel, restock supplies, repair spaceship, and have some fun. Therefore, that financial group made a lot of profit and earned back their investment in less than fifty years.

The prospering economy there attracted many galactic residents. They smelled financial opportunities and opened stores there. Many commercial organizations started operating there as well. Countless travelers gathered in Noriosse, but Noriosse did not tolerate criminals like Floating Dragon did; their wanted status was effective there. Hence, almost no galactic pirates or wanderers went to Noriosse.

Nonetheless, the financial group that controlled Noriosse deployed many frigates outside its atmosphere to prevent galactic pirates from having their eyes on this prosperous area. They also set the harbor outside the planet, not allowing any spaceship to enter the atmosphere of the planet, not even the frigates. This was to prevent frigates being stolen by someone to enter the planet. Furthermore, the financial group also deployed a large energy shield that shrouded Noriosse’s atmosphere, guarding against long-range attacks that would destroy its surface.

All visitors had to leave their spaceships in the port. If any spaceship forcefully entered the atmosphere, the frigate would send out a warning immediately, and if the warning was not taken, they would fire on the spot. If travelers wanted to go to the surface city for entertainment, they had to take the ten thousand meter lift that connected the sky with the ground.

These were the security measures of Noriosse, extremely tight but made the travelers feel safe.

However, in the past, there had been galactic pirates that did not give up. Some tried to force their way in and were blasted into ashes by the frigates; some robbed on the surface and were captured by the security forces waiting for them at the lift. The situation that happened most was, when the galactic pirates robbed others on the surface, they were killed by the travelers that happened to pass by. No one knew who these travelers from other Star Fields were.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon!

At a closer distance, five enormous metal space stations could be seen floating above different locations in Noriosse. These were five outer atmosphere ports. They were filled with all sorts of guarding turrets and surrounded by a large number of frigates.

The spaceship parked at the closest port. Han Xiao registered for spaceship storage and brought the others to the lift area. It was overwhelmingly crowded, and the queue was full of all kinds of species and creatures.

Aroshia looked up and said, “This place feels familiar. I might have come here before…”

This time, a notice popped up on the interface!

Han Xiao looked at it, and to his surprise, the progress of [Reboot]’s second round had increased by one.

Looks like Noriosse is one of the locations in Aroshia’s memory pieces. She came here in one of her lives, and we coincidentally came as well.

Feidin looked around and said, “I felt at least forty Grade B presences around this place.”

“No wonder we have to keep a low profile.” Sylvia was a little nervous. She felt like she was a sheep that had entered a tiger cave. Luckily, her teacher, Herlous, and Aroshia were just as strong, making her feel more secure.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Noriosse had been a high-class area. If the players wanted to go to other Star Fields, they had to pass by similar interchanges. Of course, when the players could leave their Star Fields, their level was definitely not low.

After queuing for a while, it was finally their turn. The lift ticket inspector continuously collected tickets with a professional smile on his face, greeting every passenger with words of welcome.

When it was Han Xiao’s turn, the ticket inspector suddenly smiled and said, “Welcome to Noriosse, Black Star.”

“You know me?” Han Xiao looked at him with a slight surprise.

“I’m just relaying a message. Have an enjoyable trip.”

When anyone entered the port, the monitoring devices would automatically detect their identities. This was how the high-level managers came to know Han Xiao’s identity. The Black Star Mercenary Group was well known in the Shattered Star Ring, especially since their Floating Dragon background was not to be underestimated. Financial groups paid attention to those who were well known in every industry, so the managers gave the order to be more polite to the Black Star Mercenary Group.

The lift was very spacious—every trip carried hundreds of passengers. After waiting for a while, the lift started moving and very quickly slid out of the space station through the track. The wall of the lift was transparent, allowing the passengers to see the magnificent aerial view.

There were tens of lifts nearby like towels that extended into the sky, all operating. At that altitude, they were above the clouds, and the track below them connected the ground that they could not see any more. When looking into the distance, the sky was right before their eyes, turning from black to dark blue as it extended to the end of the horizon where the artificial Fixed Star was shining brightly.

“How beautiful! Phillip, take photos.” Sylvia’s eyes were sparkling.

Phillip’s mechanical eyes kept blinking to shoot photos. It was an assistant, so Han Xiao had given the other officers authority to order it when he was not giving it any order.

As they passed through the clouds, the view of the entire city entered Han Xiao’s eyes as he looked down. Countless aircrafts flew around at an altitude of two thousand meters—that was the highest that they were allowed to go. Buildings that pierced hundreds of meters into the sky stood in the city like iron spears.

This was a city entirely made of metal; there were not any vegetation in sight. However, it did not look lifeless. On the contrary, it was very vigorous and filled with colorful and bright neon lights. Large ecological devices provided fresh air for the city. Many devices controlled by the city management system were hidden under the metal ground.

The foundations of the city was made from a type of mass-produced machinery that the Noriosse financial group had purchased from the Crimson Empire. Once this machinery was thrown onto a planet’s surface, it expanded into a city like this, easily modifying the planet.

There were ten or so cities on the surface of Noriosse, connected by an electromagnetic railroad for high speed trains. Han Xiao and the others were heading toward City 4.

Looking at the approaching planet surface, Han Xiao suddenly frowned as his heart skipped a beat.

I feel somewhat uneasy. It feels like something is going to happen…

…

As the lift reached the surface, they walked out of the station with the crowd. The streets were crowded with various species.

Clank!

Phillip was knocked into by a passerby and spun a few times. Seeing this, Sylvia bent down and hugged the robot in her arms, preventing it from being kicked away.

“There are way too many people here. How are we going to find the person?’ Herlous asked loudly as he pushed away a rather forceful creature that he suspected was a female in the sex industry.

Han Xiao had planned for such an issue. “As Noriosse is a very important traffic junction, many intel organizations have set up divisions here recording information of all travelers. I know what the target looks like, so as long as I ask at an intel organization, there will definitely be some clues.”

“You actually know so many things,” Herlous said. “That’s very reliable.”

They walked in the crowd for about twenty minutes before stopping at the door of a high building.

“This is it. The ninety-seventh floor is an agency of a regular intel organization.” Han Xiao looked up.

The gang took the lift up to the ninety-seventh floor. Its theme was very dark. The floor to ceiling windows were covered by black clothes, as if they were deliberately trying to create a mysterious atmosphere. After going in, the only receptionist stood at the door, and to the side was a narrow and long corridor. The space there was supposedly very huge, but everywhere else was filled up by black walls.

To guarantee the privacy of customers, this level was divided by walls into opaque rooms for discussing the details of their deal. The path between these rooms were like a maze. This corridor was the only entrance. There were many intersections inside so that the guests would not meet each other.

“I’m here to purchase intel.” Han Xiao expressed his intentions to the reception.

“One moment.”

The receptionist pressed the button on the table.

After a while, a human dealer in black formal clothes walked out of the corridor and said with a deep voice, “Follow me.”

Han Xiao and the others followed the human dealer into the corridor, took a turn at an intersection, and headed to the room.

A few seconds after they walked into the intersections, a birdman dealer led a customer who had just purchased intel out of another intersection and headed to the door, barely missing Han Xiao and the others.

“Thank you for your business.”

At the door, the birdman dealer bade farewell to his customer.

This customer was wearing a hoodie, and his entire body was covered by a black cape, blocking his looks.

He did not speak as he walked out and pressed the button on the lift.

The instant that the lift door opened, he looked down, and the light illuminated his face under the hood for a brief second.

Ember!

Chapter 475: Strange Godoran

Of course, Han Xiao did not know DarkStar’s people were on Noriosse chasing a traitor and that they had bought intel from the intel organization.

He passed by Ember, and neither of them discovered the other’s identity.

This time, the dealer took them to a room to sit.

“What intel would you like to purchase? Our organization has a very strong intel network, be it current matters or secret information, we have it all,” the dealer bragged.

“I want to look for someone. Give me a pen and paper. I will draw what he looks like.”

The higher one’s Intelligence attribute was, the clearer their memory would be. Han Xiao quickly drew out a portrait of a human on the paper. According to the lifespan of a normal human, this person looked to be about fifty years old. He had an extended goatee, an angular face, and many wrinkles. The person looked like an ordinary middle-aged man.

“This person should have come to Noriosse before. I hope to know the time and place that he appeared here,” Han Xiao said.

The dealer nodded. He took out a device and searched for a while before saying, “We have fitting intel—this is an ordinary man. We records all the travelers who enter Noriosse. We have been running a ‘Person Searching’ promotion recently, so this piece of intel only costs 100 Enas.”

Sylvia tutted. Intel was indeed expensive. It cost 100 Enas just for the intel of a target marked as an ordinary person. 100 Enas was more than enough to travel across several Star Systems with galactic travelling agencies. Back when she bought intel on Han Xiao’s whereabouts, she had spent quite a sum as well.

If she was a coward that did not seek revenge but hid, she would never have known about her father’s true face and forever lived in false hatred. How pathetic would her life have been? She would also not have become her teacher’s student because of that and never touched the territory of Supers. Thinking back, she could not help but feel gratitude toward Han Xiao for not killing her, or she would never have ended up where she was.

The dealer transferred the information as soon as Han Xiao paid the fee, and the others looked at it together.

“This person came to Noriosse thirty-eight days ago in a cross Star Field voyage that took off at [Ancient Star Desert] Star Field. He did not do anything irregular on Noriosse, and it looked like he’s just travelling. Last seen sixteen days ago, south of City 8.”

The detailed address was written in the intel—this was where the target had last appeared.

“Sixteen days ago? Is he still in Noriosse?” Han Xiao asked.

The dealer nodded. “We have people in the port, and there are records for every registered ID. He did not leave Noriosse, so he should still be in that place.”

“That might not be the case,” Han Xiao said.

Intel organizations were not almighty. If someone changed their appearance and used a pre-prepared fake ID, it would be very easy to fool them. Han Xiao could easily do it himself.

Furthermore, the Dragon Emperor’s teacher was an Oracle!

After experiencing the effect of the Destiny’s Child Character Summon Card, Han Xiao was familiar with the foresight ability. Prophecies were not all knowing. Plus, the future shown in the foresight would not be too far away in advance. If the target did not use his foresight ability, he would be no different from an ordinary person, so maybe he did not know that Han Xiao and the others were looking for him. However, that was delusional—the target should have known about it long ago!

Oracles were all difficult to deal with. If they did not want to get caught, it would be way too easy for them to hide with their powers.

Just like how the Germinal Organization could not find Han Xiao back then no matter what.

Han Xiao could not figure out what that person was thinking. If he wanted to see Ames, he would not have hidden. Although he still had the Destiny’s Child Character Summon Card, he did not intend to use it here as the results would not impact him much.

What was important was to carry out the ‘search’; the result was not crucial. After all, as long as he gave Ames some clues, he would have done his job.

Whether Ames could see her teacher or not, Han Xiao was not bothered.

Upon getting the clues that they wanted, he and the others left the intel organization. They headed straight to the train station and took the high-speed maglev train to City 8.

The train had many cabins, and the cabin that they were sitting in was for groups. Their seats were around a table.

The scenery outside the window dashed by. Herlous was playing cards with the three brothers again, and Feidin was observing how normal people played cards from the side. Aroshia was eating snacks, and Sylvia was playing with Phillip.

As they had gone to Noriosse just to find someone, their mood was relaxed as they chatted and joked around. Anyway, Black Star was the best at finding things—they had nothing to worry about.

Han Xiao crossed his arms and rested with his eyes closed.

This time, a voice from a strange man appeared beside them.

“Can I sit here?”

Han Xiao opened his eyes—a golden skinned man was standing beside him. He was carrying a backpack and smiling; it was a Godoran. However, his skin color was very light, meaning that he was not a pureblood Godoran.

Han Xiao’s heart tightened, instantly alarmed. He had become naturally alert around all hybrid Godorans.

“Who are you?”

“Haha, it seems like I was too direct, allow me to introduce myself.” This Godoran bowed elegantly and said with a well-mannered tone, “My name is Alvin. As you can see, I’m a Godoran. However, do not worry, I’m not an arrogant pureblood, just a normal Godoran and Galaxy Human Race mix. I apologize for disturbing, I just hoped to find some company on this short trip.”

Han Xiao and the others were puzzled.

A stranger came out of nowhere and wanted to be friends with them. No matter how they looked at it, it was really strange!

Could it be that someone’s charm had attracted this guy?

They instantly looked at Feidin then at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao pointed to the side and said, “There are empty seats over there. If you’re just looking for a place to rest, please do not disturb us.”

“No, no, no, please don’t misunderstand me…” Alvin suddenly sat down and pushed Herlous in, as if he was going to sit there no matter what. He smiled sincerely and said, “I’m a traveler in Noriosse too; my friends stayed at the port, and I’m the only one who came to the surface. It’s too lonely to travel alone, and I love to make friends. There’s a saying in my home that goes ‘Making friends with strangers is a man’s way’.”

“Hey, don’t push me. We haven’t agreed to let you sit down!” Herlous was displeased.

“Hmm? You’re playing Wayne Card?” Alvin saw the cards on the table, and his eyes sparkled. He took out a deck of cards, slammed it on the table, and said, “Well, I happen to be a master in Wayne Card. I use the Light Territory card set and have yet to lose to anyone. Come on, dare to play a round?”

“How are you so quick to become friendly! Who wants to play cards with you‽” Herlous was speechless.

Alvin laughed loudly with confidence and said, “Indeed, just playing is not fun at all. Let’s add some stakes to it. 50 Enas for a round, do you dare play with me?”

“Haha, are you challenging me?” Herlous was provoked. He felt that his position and pride as the ‘Black Star God of Gambling’ had been insulted… although there were few people in the Black Star Mercenary Group.

At the same time, Herlous discreetly turned to look at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao gave him a hand sign, signaling that it was okay.

He had checked Alvin just now. This Godoran was very weak, and his energy sign barely reached Grade C’s standard. He could crush him in a second, so it was not much of a threat.

He wanted to see what this Godoran was trying to do and what his motives were, so he allowed him to stay and observed him closely.

Chapter 476: Attack

Herlous received approval. He sat opposite Alvin, arranged his card set, and sneered, “Since you want to give me free money, I shall grant you your wish.”

“Haha, it’s still uncertain who will lose.” Alvin laughed loudly.

His laughter could be heard in the entire cabin. The other passengers looked over.

The two of them started the round, which quickly became intense. Alvin was very quick to familiarize himself with others and spoke in a tone as if they were already very close friends. After the initial awkward stage, the atmosphere soon became harmonious as they chatted and joked with each other.

Han Xiao stared at Alvin from start to finish, preventing him from having any ulterior motives. At the same time, he discreetly activated the metal detector and wave detector in case he had some devices on him.

However, Alvin did not make any strange movements at all; everything that he had on him was normal. He was just playing cards excitedly along the way, shouting and joking, seeming very forthright.

Two hours later, the train arrived at the station.

Alvin took a deep breath of the fresh air, turned around, and slightly bowed toward Han Xiao and the others. “It was a short trip, but the time spent was amazing. It will be engraved in my mind as a beautiful memory. I sincerely thank you guys for your company. We are friends now. I hope that we will have the chance to meet again in the future.”

Then, he waved, turned around, and left with his bag.

“Strange guy,” Sylvia murmured.

“Such an amiable guy,” said Feidin with a smile.

“He’s probably just an honest passerby. We might have been overthinking,” Herlous said.

Han Xiao glanced at him and did not comment. Although he still did not know Alvin’s motive, he rarely believed that anything was coincidental. Even if this guy called Alvin did not do anything abnormal during the trip, he still did not let his guard down. He patted Phillip’s metal head and said, “Captured his looks?”

“A total of 372 photos, hum… There’s one for every angle, hum…”

“Let’s not care about him for now. We shall go search for our target.” Han Xiao nodded and walked forward. Then he casually asked, “By the way, I did not see earlier, did you guys win money in cards?”

Herlous scratched his head.

“That guy is quite good; he won a few hundred from me… I lost a lot, so I let Feidin help me. He won a few rounds, and then we arrived. In conclusion… hmm? It happened to be a tie. No one won or lost any money.”

Han Xiao’s footsteps suddenly paused, and he rubbed his chin.

“Alvin, never heard of this name before… interesting…”

…

As Han Xiao did not know Alvin’s motive, he put the matter to the back of his mind, followed the clues from the intel, and found the last place that the target appeared.

It was a narrow, rural street surrounded by tall buildings. Between the tall buildings, there was surprisingly a comparatively short villa. Its construction style fitted the aesthetic of humans—smooth, symmetrical, and with a yard. It looked like a private mansion.

The alloy door was sealed shut, so the inside could only be seen through a small window in the door. There was no one in the yard at this time.

Han Xiao looked around and noticed a button beside the door, likely the doorbell for visitors.

“We’re here to search for someone, not to kill… ahem, sneak in. It’s best to knock. The target has foresight anyway. If he wants to see us, he will walk out himself.”

After pressing the doorbell, they waited at the gate. They were used to climbing over walls, so now that they had to walk the front gate, they felt uncomfortable.

After a while, Han Xiao pressed the doorbell a few more times, but still, no one responded.

“There might be no one in, or the person inside doesn’t want to open the gate. What do you say, break in?” Herlous shrugged.

“Since no one responded, we shall go in and take a look before…”

Boom!

Han Xiao’s sentence had yet to finish when a loud bang suddenly came from above. He was way too familiar with this sound—it was the sound of a cannon being fired. Han Xiao could analyze the cannon’s model with just the sound. “Dodge!”

Everyone there was a Super, so their reaction speed was extremely fast. They immediately jumped away from their initial spot.

Boom!

A chain explosion happened on where they initially stood, and black smoke filled the air—this was the effect of an exploded rocket.

Looking up following bullet trajectory, it was from one window in the building opposite the villa. Quite a few vertical creatures were extending their heads out of the window and looking down. One of them was still holding the rocket launcher.

The next moment, ten or so creatures jumped out of the window and fell right onto the ground from dozens of meters high!

The thick smoke dissipated in the wind, showing the true face of those creatures—a group of stone creatures. They had four arms, two legs, and one head, wearing simple and plain battle suits, and had some firearms in their hands. Some even had melee weapons like mechanical axes, war hammers, and the like. They gave off a mercenary vibe as they were on the verge of attacking.

Han Xiao and gang were just looking for someone; they did not expect to be attacked, so they were surprised.

“Why did you attack us?” Sylvia asked.

“Someone paid us to teach you a lesson,” a stone man said.

Teach us a lesson?

Sylvia was about to reply, but suddenly, her face changed, and she yelled, “No, Phillip!”

Han Xiao looked over following her voice. Around the feet of these stone mercenaries, broken parts were spilled all over the floor.

Phillip had been too slow and could not dodge the earlier explosions. It had been blasted into pieces and become a pile of scrap metal.

At this time, these stone warriors struck. They growled with a weird voice and charged toward Han Xiao and the others.

Han Xiao tutted. He pulled out a compressed orb from his necklace, threw it onto the floor, and it rapidly expanded into the black Amphiptere mechanical suit. However, he did not wear it—it stood beside him.

This time, Han Xiao said with a deep voice, “Beat them up!”

Hum!

The eyes of the Amphiptere mechanical suit suddenly lit up!

This mechanical suit moved on its own. It swung its leg sideways like a black lash, whipping the foremost stone warrior on his chest.

Pa!

The huge strength blew him away and smashed him against the wall, shattering a huge pile of pebbles. It was unknown whether it was from the wall or from the stone warrior’s body.

“Order effective, hum… Combat Mode activated, hum… The enemy is blown away, hum…”

The empty Amphiptere mechanical suit was in combat mode, and Phillip’s voice came out of the helmet.

Phillip was an artificial intelligence, so it lived in computer systems. Machinery was just what he controlled. When the shell was destroyed, it would not be damaged with it. Its core was behind layers of protection. With the computing speed of an artificial intelligence, it could simultaneously control dozens more mechanical beasts than before. Furthermore, with the combat simulations in the database, it could improvise on the spot and battle independently with a high standard!

This meant that Phillip could replace him and pilot the mechanical suit, and it could pilot more than one!

The smart chips before this had limited computing speed, comparatively weak combat capabilities, and could not react quickly. These were the most necessary attributes in the everchanging battlefield, so the smart chip could only be used as an assisting feature in combination with Han Xiao’s nerves connection. However, with the new smart system built with [Advanced Artificial Intelligence Technology], like the improvement from gunpowder weapon to electromagnetic weapons, it was a complete update and enhancement!

Han Xiao’s Hound Style had very limited effectiveness against enemies at the same Grade, but together with the strong mechanical suits operated by an artificial intelligence, it would make an entirely different level of impact. His mechanical suits were high quality mechanical weapons, so this made up for his shortage of robot warriors! Even if it was against someone at the same Grade, it would still last very long!

All High-End Knowledges were useful. The artificial intelligence technology that had powerful computing speed was one of the prerequisites of completing the Army Style!

Han Xiao turned around to Sylvia and said, “Go back and copy the theory for smart chips five times.”

Sylvia’s face immediately dropped, completely downcast.

Buzz!

Mechanical Force gushed out from Han Xiao’s fingertips and entangled with Amphiptere mechanical suit, providing it with his bonuses.

There was no need for him to fight; Phillip controlled the mechanical suit and dealt with the enemies. It analyzed all the movements of the enemies and accurately dodged all their attacks. Its heavy punches cracked the rock skin of the stone warriors, making suppressed loud noises.

Dong, dong!

Pebbles spurted everywhere!

“Don’t hit too hard. We can’t randomly kill people on Noriosse.”

Han Xiao leaned against the wall and watched the one-sided battle. His eyes flickered. “Furthermore, these stone men were probably hired by that Oracle to wait for us. It looks like he indeed knows that someone is looking for him. Humph.”

Chapter 477: DarkStar Traitor

Clank!

With a set of effortless punches and less than two minutes, the Amphiptere mechanical suit controlled by Phillip defeated those stone warriors. The rocks lay down on the ground and whined weakly.

They were just Grade C, so the mechanical suit enhanced by Han Xiao easily crushed them.

“No! My smooth skin!” The head of the stone warriors looked at his cracked body and wailed. In terms of stone man aesthetics, the quality of the stone on their body’s surface was the same as their attractiveness. The most beautiful ones were, of course, diamonds, crystals, and minerals of the same sort. Even if it was normal stone, if it was as smooth as a mirror, they would be considered handsome.

Even if they could digest stones to heal their wounds, it would take a very long for them to recover.

This enormous sized guy’s moaning made Han Xiao feel like beating him up again.

“You’re not even stronger than us, yet you want to teach us a lesson? Where did you find the courage‽” The oldest Volga looked at them disdainfully.

Han Xiao was a little surprised by how weak those stone warriors were. It was impossible for their employer not to know how strong Han Xiao and the others were. What impact would it make for him to send these weaklings? Was it just a warning or welcome gift? Could he have guessed incorrectly and the stone warriors’ employer was not their target?

Matters involving Oracles were always a headache. Han Xiao did not want to dwell on it; he grabbed the stone warrior and questioned him directly. “Who is your employer?”

Accordingly, mercenaries would not sell the identity of their employer. Han Xiao was already prepared to interrogate then, but to his surprise, these stone warriors gave him an expected reply.

“The employer wanted us to come here today to deal with the person that pressed the doorbell of that villa and said that our lives wouldn’t be in danger. If we got defeated, we should tell you a location to find a person there, and there will be someone there that knows his whereabouts,” the stone warrior said nervously. “He also said that you will forcefully ask for the employer’s identity and told me to relay his exact words. ‘You guessed right—it is me indeed. Don’t think I don’t know you used my name fraudulently. Play a game with me if you want to find me’.”

Everyone’s expression changed slightly.

“Damn Oracle!” Han Xiao clenched his teeth.

Herlous slapped Han Xiao’s back heavily and laughed loudly. “Hahahaha, you met a colleague!”

“Colleagues hate each other.” Han Xiao snorted and asked for the location. The stone warrior said the next location while shivering—north of City 8. They had to cross the entire city to go there.

Han Xiao stood up and pondered. The intention of the Oracle to hire these stone warriors was actually to leave some clues and lead them to the next location.

The target had intentionally left traces sixteen days ago then used his foresight ability to peek into their whereabouts, knowing that they would be arriving at this place today. Hence, he hired these stone warriors. The ability to foresee was not omnipotent or omniscient; it could not be used randomly and needed some attached strings, which was why the target deliberately left clues for the intel organizations.

He could certainly break the prophecy and kill these stone warriors. The problem was whether that would be in the Oracle’s calculations, telling the stone warriors there would be no danger to provoke Han Xiao’s rebellious thought, while his true intention was to make Han Xiao kill these stone warriors, which would attract the security forces. Would there even be a possibility that the counter thoughts that Han Xiao was currently having had been seen through by the Oracle? Could he have used Han Xiao’s personality as the foundation for telling these stone men that they were definitely safe‽

“This is exactly why I hate Oracles.” Han Xiao felt a headache.

Despite knowing the powers of the Dragon Emperor’s teacher, this feeling of restraint and following the opponent’s plan unwillingly made Han Xiao very irritated.

Oracles were good at using their powers to plot. To Oracles who were strong enough, intelligence had no meaning. When someone dealing with an Oracle thought that they were being smart, what they did not know was that the Oracle had used their ‘smartness’ from the start. One never knew what the Oracle really wanted one to do.

Luckily, Han Xiao had his advantage. He knew the target’s powers and ability very clearly, so he could judge his mindset from an Oracle’s perspective. It would not guarantee that he would escape the target’s calculations, but it would at least ensure he would not get tricked unknowingly. Furthermore, from what he knew about the target, although the target had a bad character, he rarely meant harm.

This was a good piece of news. After all, although Oracles were not physically powerful, being their enemy would be something very, very, very troublesome!

“What’s next? Should we go where he said?” Herlous asked.

“Let’s see what game he is playing.”

Han Xiao snapped his fingers, creating a Mechanical Force spark. Amphiptere quickly turned into a compressed orb and attached itself to his necklace.

At the same time, Mechanical Forces spread out like electric currents, connecting the broken robot parts with each other. Suddenly, these parts levitated and gathered, then quickly assembled. Some distorted parts recovered to their original shape under the Mechanical Force. In the blink of an eye, the pile of waste parts turned back into the round robot body.

Basic Machinery Construction and Waste Modification!

The tiny round robot started moving again. Phillip waved its mechanical arms, slid beside Han Xiao’s feet, and reported, “Self-checking, hum… performance decreased by twenty-five percent, hum… storage data backed up, hum…”

Sylvia’s eyes were sparkling so brightly that stars almost jumped out. “Teacher, I want to learn this!”

“You want to run before you learned to walk?” Han Xiao glanced at her. He retrieved the mechanical flying bugs that he had discreetly sent out earlier to detect the inside of the villa, confirmed there was no one inside, and turned away. “There are no more clues here, let’s go.”

They left this rural street, leaving a group of wailing stone men behind.

…

At the same time, in a secret location in Noriosse City 4, many DarkStar members were gathered in a dark room. They often liked to host secret operations in dark places like that.

“According to our intel, the traitor appeared simultaneously at the center of City 7, northeast of City 6, and City 4’s train station. His ability is to have five doppelgangers. One of them is in our hands, the whereabouts of the other three have been exposed, and the last one has yet to be found. That should be his original body that he hid. His doppelgangers can’t be too far away from his original body, or they would vanish. The exact distance is unknown, but it won’t be further than a planet. Hence, he’s still on Noriosse,” a DarkStar warrior said.

In the corner of the room, a Godoran was tied tightly to a chair. This Godoran was covered in blood, and it was unknown how much suffering he had gone through. He looked exactly like Alvin, and he was sneering.

“What are you laughing at?” a DarkStar soldier yelled.

“Hehehe, you will never catch my real body.”

Alvin was indeed the traitor that DarkStar was tracking down. His Esper ability was creating doppelgangers, and the one that had been caught by DarkStar was one of the doppelgangers.

If Han Xiao was there, he would most likely be reminded of Black Spider, who was imprisoned in Bell of Death Island on Planet Aquamarine. Both of them had doppelganger-type Esper abilities, but the specific effects were different. Black Spider’s doppelgangers were puppets—he could only manipulate them to carry out simple tasks, and his consciousness could only exist in one puppet at a time but could be transferred. As long as one doppelganger lived, he would not die. He was very difficult to kill.

Alvin was different. Up to five doppelgangers could exist at one time, and every one of them could fight on their own. His consciousness was divided into five—these doppelgangers were all him, and one of them was his real body. As they shared senses, if the doppelganger was injured or died, the pain would be fed back to the consciousness in his real body, and his mind would be damaged. Furthermore, the doppelgangers would shatter if they were too far away from the real body, which was the same as dying and would also deal a certain amount of damage to the real body’s consciousness.

So as long as they had control of one doppelganger, they would be able to determine the approximate area that the real body was in—Alvin was still hidden on Noriosse.

“Captain Forsyth,” a soldier suddenly said, “the latest intel shows that the doppelganger in City 4 is taking the train to City 8. Lieutenant Sherman did not follow the plan and attack…”

“Okay,” Forsyth replied indifferently. He was a hybrid Godoran, a Grade B Super of DarkStar. He was also the captain of this team… on the outside.

Forsyth looked at the intel for a while more then walked out of the room. Outside was a long corridor. He turned two corners, walked into an empty room, and pressed a disguised button on the wall. The wall silently slid open, and behind the door was a secret room.

He went inside, and there were only two people there, Anur and Ember.

To pursue this traitor, not only did DarkStar dispatch a large number of elite soldiers consisting of seven Grade B Supers, they even dispatched Anur and Ember who were two Calamity Grades. This was a huge operation!

DarkStar abhorred this traitor. Alvin had leaked part of DarkStar’s information to Godora, leading to one Grade A member, Vivira, falling into a trap during mission, getting captured by Godora, and being imprisoned in Rainbow Prison. Moreover, Alvin had more information on his hands. If it was revealed, Godora would come to know even more about them. This was a huge hidden danger.

DarkStar would not allow traitors to live. Now that the team had trapped Alvin on Noriosse, it was a game of cat and mouse. Sooner or later, they would find him. Therefore, the information would not be leaked for the time being. If Alvin wanted to live, he could only rely on the rescue, and if he gave out all that he knew to Godora, he would have no value to Godora anymore. Hence, he could not say anything until Godora sent someone to save him.

DarkStar was also very clear on this point. Because of Noriosse’s specialness, neither DarkStar nor Godora would not dispatched battleships to surround the planet. This consortium had a very deeply rooted network and complex connections with several Star Cluster level Civilizations. If they wanted Alvin, they could only send their Super warriors to act on the planet.

“Your Excellencies.” Forsyth bowed respectfully and said, “We have new information. A doppelganger of the traitor took the train toward City 8. Sherman did not follow the plan of attack.”

“Why?” Anur asked with a deep voice.

“He accidentally met the Black Star mercenary group on the train!” Forsyth said. “Alvin sat down with them, and Sherman didn’t have the confidence to attack.”

“Black Star?” Anur frowned and looked at Ember on the side. He still remembered how obsessed Ember had been with Black Star. Anur said with a deep voice, “The task is more important. We’re hidden in the dark, so there’s no need to provoke him.”

When Ember heard this name, his face did not change at all. To him, this name seemed to have become meaningless. His emotions did not fluctuate at all, and his tone remained indifferent.

“Rest assured, he’s nothing to me now. The traitor is our goal; as long as the Black Star does not interfere with our affairs, he can live.”

“That’s right.” A sense of satisfaction flashed within Anur’s eyes and disappeared in a split second.

“Sherman’s decision is very correct,” Anur said. “Behind the Black star is the Dragon Emperor, so there’s no need to cause more problems. Alvin was lucky to have accidentally met this gang of mercenaries, but his luck will not keep going. Have Sherman continue to track him…

“Looking at the time, Godora’s reinforcements should be arriving very soon. Alvin’s doppelgangers share their senses, so all his doppelgangers know that you’re tracking him. Tell those acting outside to be cautious, don’t fall into his trap.”

Chapter 478: There Is One Type of Book That Will Never Be Obsolete in Any Era

Han Xiao and the gang took the low altitude transport aircraft to the north of City 8, the popular commercial street that the stone mercenaries’ clue pointed to. It was crowded, noisy, and wide. In the middle of it was a fountain square, surrounded by shops of all kinds.

Following the address, they came to the door of a shop. This building was colorfully painted, and vibrant magic lanterns were installed on both sides of the open door.

Herlous looked up at the shop’s name, and his face twitched.

“Universal Love Bookstore… what kind of name is this?”

“Go in and see.”

The layout of the shop inside was surprisingly very simple. The floor was made from smooth, brown wood, and there were rows of glazed wood shelves filled with books. These books exuded a rich magic vibe; they seemed to be high-grade magic books. The store was filled with the fragrance of books. In a place like Noriosse, Mages were almost the only ones left still using books. This was clearly a bookstore for Mages.

According to the clue, there was a person there who knew the whereabouts of the target. Han Xiao looked around, but because there were so many bookshelves, he could not see if there was anyone inside. He patted Herlous on the shoulder, telling him to call for someone.

Herlous was about to open his mouth when he suddenly noticed a problem. “Wait a minute, why don’t you do this little thing yourself?”

“You have a great physique and a loud voice,” Han Xiao said with no expression on his face. “It’s mainly because I’m lazy.”

“…”

Herlous stared at him before letting out a thunderous shout. “Is—any—one—in!!”

Swoosh!

A sound came from deep within the bookshelves. The person inside was shocked and accidentally bumped the shelves, causing a pile of books to drop.

“On—one moment, I’m coming…”

A male human in a Mage’s robe walked out limping while still hissing from the pain on his foot caused by the books that had fallen. When he saw Han Xiao and the others, he put up a warm smile.

“I am the owner of this bookstore. Do you like single or multiple people? Beautiful or rough? What race do you like? Oh, you are all humanoid species. I have humanoid creatures of all skins tones here!”

They were confused, and Sylvia asked, “What are you talking about?”

The mage store owner blinked, then gave a look of understanding and said, “I see, we have hybrids too. Be it insects, beasts, machinery, or anything you can think of, I have it here. I’m sure it will suit your taste!”

The more Han Xiao heard him talk, the more he felt something was wrong. “Aren’t you selling books?”

At this time, Aroshia opened a book on the shelf, and the others looked over. The magic book was filled with illustrations, and the pictures were moving like they were alive. This was a kind of magic often used to make videos. Like movies in a book, every picture was a fragment.

It looked very high-end, but the content was…

“Ah!” Sylvia’s face suddenly turned red, and she hurriedly turned away, but she could not help but to peek at the book.

“Th—this…” Herlous was bewildered. His world view was impacted.

Aroshia was amused. “So, this is the material life reproduction process…”

“Unknown information discovered, hum… Ongoing data acquisition, hum… ” Philip’s mechanical eye was wildly flickering, capturing every frame of the picture.

The Volga three brothers took out a huge pile of books from the bookshelf extremely quickly, placed them on the counter, and asked, “How much? I’ll take all of them!”

“Stop it.” Han Xiao closed the book in Aroshia’s hands and threw it aside. He stared at the Mage owner and said with a deep voice, “I’m looking for a guy with foresight ability. He should’ve left you a message.”

The Mage shop owner’s smile suddenly turned stiff. He become disappointed and mumbled, “Not here to buy books again. I have already made the decoration so formal, how are there still no guests? Is it really necessary to be this afraid of letting others know about this kind of thing?”

The Mage glanced at Han Xiao and the others, adjusted his clothes, and stood straight. His temperament suddenly changed. Now he looked like how a Mage should look like. He said, “Let me introduce myself. You can call me Yi Xuan; I’m a Teleportation Mage. This bookstore is just a side job; my main business is operating a portal service.”

In some of the magic focused planets or advanced civilization planets, there were always Mages that ran teleportation businesses. They sent the customers to another location on the same planet, saving their time. The further the distance transported, the higher the consumption and difficulty was. Hence, most of it were same planet teleportations, rarely to other planets. If the coordinates were not set correctly, the customer would be thrown into space. Only Mages that were strong enough dared to do extremely long range teleportation.

Back then when Ames demolished the DarkStar mothership, she had used teleportation magic and arrived instantly from several Star Systems away. The caster was another Beyond Grade A individual who she fought with to kill time. That person had accurately located Floating Dragon Island from several Star Systems away with no deviation. Their magic power was unbelievable.

“You are a Teleportation Mage?” Han Xiao asked. “So, was the target that I want to find sent to another place in Noriosse by you?”

Yi Xuan shrugged and said, “He paid the fees, so I teleported him. It was a normal transaction.”

“Where did he go?”

“Ha, I will not give away clients’ privacy.” Yi Xuan chuckled. “By the way, he also left me a message to convey to anyone that wants to find him.”

“What did he say?” Han Xiao frowned.

“He said, he wants to play a game with you. As long as you steal the Heart of Crystal Fire, he will meet you.”

“Heart of Crystal Fire?” Han Xiao kicked Phillip lightly and said, “Search it.”

“Searching, hum… Found, hum…” Philip’s mechanical eye suddenly emitted light in the air to form a translucent projection screen. On it was information about the Heart of Crystal Fire.

_____________________

Heart of Crystal Fire: A ring made by a rare crystal born in lava, a very exquisite luxury. Legend says that it is immune to high temperature and burning. It was once sold for a high price of 7,930,000 Enas to the leader of the Noriosse financial group, Rockfess, for his wife. When Rockfess and his wife appeared in public, his wife is always wearing this ring.

_____________________

“Sev—seven million and nine hundred thirty thousand!” Herlous spat blood. Spending so much money to buy a lousy ring just to please a woman‽

This could buy numerous battleships!

His world view was once again shaken.

Han Xiao’s expression also changed. “He wants me to steal a Super financial group’s leader’s wife’s price jewelry, huh? Is he trying to use us, or is he trying to make a fool out of us‽”

Stealing some precious jewelry from the wife of the leader of the financial group that controls Noriosse in Noriosse?

The Dragon Emperor’s teacher clearly wants to ridicule me!

“Don’t ask me, I just took the money and pass the message.” Yi Xuan shrugged. “Rockfess’ wife is in Noriosse, but don’t expect me to send you there directly; I don’t want to be as your accomplice.”

Squinting, Han Xiao said with a low voice, “I have no interest in completing this ridiculous request anyway. Where did you send him?”

“Haven’t I already told you?” Yi Xuan said impatiently. “I will not disclose the privacy of customers. Also, don’t think about bribing me, I have my professional ethics.”

“Then don’t blame me for beating you up.” With a ferocious expression, Herlous raised his huge fists and stepped forward. He planned to scare this Teleportation Mage.

His hand was just about to touch Yi Xuan’s collar when a change happened!

Hum!

A light door suddenly appeared right in the gap between the two of them. Herlous was shocked. His reaction was very fast, so he stopped his forward momentum immediately and was about to retreat. To his surprise, a red tentacle suddenly extended out quickly of the light door and wrapped around his body. A huge force blasted from the tentacle and pulled Herlous into the light door as Herlous disappeared.

Then, a whirlpool-like sound appeared in the air. The light door rotated around the center point, narrowed, and quickly disappeared without a trace.

“Herlous!” the oldest Volga exclaimed in shock.

The face of everyone suddenly changed.

The atmosphere was stiff for a moment.

Yi Xuan glanced at everyone proudly.

“What that person said was exactly right. When the people that are here find that they can’t get the information they need, they will threaten me. Humph, you didn’t expect this, did you? I’m prepared!”

Han Xiao was very calm, but he held his forehead in frustration. When Herlous acted, he was already aware that something was not right. He wanted to stop him, but before his mouth opened, Herlous was already caught. Pugilists being able to move too fast actually had its disadvantages!

Sure enough, the target guessed this situation, so he reminded the Mage in advance to trick them. When the target made the over the top request to steal the Heart of Crystal Fire, it became a ‘trigger’ to his prophecy. Furthermore, even without the use of his prophecy ability, their reaction could be guessed. He knew that there was a great chance that they would refuse the request and find another way from the Teleportation Mage, and threatening was clearly highly likely. Hence, he did this to put them in a dilemma.

“Teleportation magic, such an irritating ability…” Han Xiao discreetly sighed. Herlous was unluckily caught, so getting him back was a pressing matter.

The atmosphere was intense. This time, Yi Xuan pointed to the door, and with a tone of having everything under his control, he said, “I’m trained in teleportation magic and always maintain it at a state that can be triggered anytime. Before you can touch me, I will be able to teleport away, so don’t even think about threatening me.

“Your friend wanted to attack me, so I will let him suffer for a bit. In two hours, I will send him back and throw him at the northern entrance of City 8 where you can find him. Now, I have no interest in fighting with you. If you’re not going to buy a book, please get out of my bookstore, you are not welcomed here!”

Chapter 479: Blink

The red tentacle seemed to belong to a monster, and it looked like Herlous had been thrown somewhere that they did not know of. If they wanted to bring him back, they could only find a solution from this Teleportation Mage.

Teleportation magic was very powerful, but there were many restrictions when players used it. The requirements to learn it were very high. Furthermore, most teleportation spells could only be used in non-combat state or needed some kind of guide, and they could not be interrupted halfway. Basically, it could only be used as a travelling method.

“There are strong people everywhere. Noriosse is really so scary.” Sylvia swallowed her saliva nervously.

“Should we fight?” the second oldest Volga brother said gravely. “There are many people around here. If a fight breaks out, the security team will soon intervene. I can sense his teleportation magic is at the state that can be triggered at any moment. He will leave before we move, and we absolutely can’t follow him through the light door. If he closes the light door halfway, we will be cut in half.”

Yi Xuan interrupted and said, “Your friend is right, so quickly get out of my…”

Before his sentence finished, Han Xiao activated his mechanical suit and rushed out without saying a word like a bolt of lightning.

“You really don’t understand what I said do you, you’re still not giving up and want to attack me? I’ve already read your plans. You are so violent!”

Yi Xuan did not panic at all. He sneered and activated the standby teleportation Magic. A light door suddenly appeared behind him, and he stepped into it in an instant.

At this time, the mechanical suit warrior that wanted to attack him was still a distance away from him. With his casting speed, he would be able to close the portal before the opponent got close.

Just then!

A big hand suddenly appeared in front of his eyes like it appeared out of nowhere, and before Yi Xuan had time to respond, the hand passed through the portal and strongly grabbed onto his face.

With a palm covering his eyes, Yi Xuan could not see anything. At that moment, he finally panicked.

What happened‽

The next moment, a huge surging force came from the hand. Han Xiao, who was in his Void Form, pulled Yi Xuan out of the portal!

Because Yi Xuan’s body had to cross the light door again, he had no choice but to quickly stop his already prepared spell to close the portal, or the person that would be cut into half would be him!

The situation had instantly reversed!

With a surging Mechanical Force, the Void Dragon mechanical suit that was now an empty shell behind Han Xiao split into its parts and covered Han Xiao again.

He swung hard, throwing Yi Xuan out like a cannon, breaking rows of shelves on the way. Torn paper fluttered all around.

Bang!

Yi Xuan slammed into the wall, which broke. His head was bleeding. He had yet to recover from the dizziness when he suddenly felt a weight on his body.

Han Xiao followed him like a shadow, pressing his hands against his back and locking it with his knees, while his other hand pressed his face on the floor and instantly subdued. Yi Xuan was unable to move!

A heart-stopping energy was gathering in the arms of the mechanical suit as if it would erupt any time. Then, Yi Xuan heard Han Xiao’s banter.

“What did you just say? Say it again.”

Blood flew down from Yi Xuan’s forehead, wetting his hair. His eyes were wide open and filled with intense horror, and his face was covered in disbelief.

He did not expect this life saving method that he had used countless times to fail!

What Han Xiao used was his Race Talent—[Void Travel].

In the almost static Void Vision, the movements of everyone were halted. No matter what escape method Yi Xuan had, it did not make a difference. Han Xiao easily got close to this Teleportation Mage, then deactivated Void Vision and returned to reality, directly closing the distance between them and catching the opponent. In the eyes of the others, Han Xiao clearly appeared before Yi Xuan out of nowhere.

“Ho—how did you…”

Han Xiao increased the force in his hand and said coldly, “Let my companion out, and don’t play any tricks, unless you want your brains to splash all over your bookstore.”

“I—I give up, don’t misfire!” Yi Xuan hastily did as he was told. His life was threatened, so he did not dare mess around. A few meters away, a teleportation light door slowly appeared.

…

Fifteen seconds earlier…

Hum!

In a red sky, a light door suddenly appeared. Countless red tentacles rushed into the sky and into the light door. The next moment, Herlous was pulled in.

With little time to react, he forced the tentacles open with arms, drew the Battleship Slicing Blade from his back, slashed horizontally around his body, and cut all the tentacles in half. However, he was in midair, so he fell right down. At about thirty meters from the ground, he could see the maroon ground.

Bang!

Herlous slammed onto the ground.

He looked up at the sky, and the teleportation door had already disappeared.

“It was a trap. This is not good. I can’t go back myself.” Herlous was angry and frustrated. “What is this place. What were the tentacles just now?”

He looked around. On the red plain, there were no creatures, only black holes on the ground.

Herlous’ face suddenly changed, and he jumped up right away.

Boom boom boom!

The next moment, a large number of tentacles broke out of the ground from where he had just stood. There were hundreds of them, and they all went directly at him.

“These tentacles seem to belong to a creature hidden in the ground. How big is the size of this monster‽” Herlous was sweating on his forehead. He was just about to attack again when a red stream of light suddenly appeared in the edge of his line of sight.

Swoosh!

This red stream of light bolted past all tentacles in an instant. The hundreds of tentacles stopped simultaneously. At the position where the red light passed through, a smooth cut appeared on all the tentacles, and they were all cut into two. The half that had been cut off fell onto the ground, and the tentacles retracted back under the ground.

The red light made a circle and stopped in front of Herlous, showing its true identity.

“It’s you!” Herlous was surprised.

“Hmm? I’ve seen you before.” The other person obviously knew Herlous and was surprised as well.

Before the conversation could carry on, a buzz from a spell appeared in the sky, and the portal appeared again.

“Ha, it seems that captain is done with that Teleportation Mage. That was really efficient.”

Herlous’ eyes brightened as he laughed out loud. He had a lot of trust in Han Xiao. After being thrown here, he believed that Han Xiao would bring him back very soon.

As expected, the petty tricks of that Teleportation Mage were nothing in front of the captain. He did not even last for a minute.

“Great, I can finally get out!” The other person was surprised as well.

…

In the bookstore, the portal was open, and they stared at the light door. Not long after, Herlous flew out, but he was not the only one; another person followed him out of the light door.

“There are other people inside!” Sylvia exclaimed. “Who are you?”

Han Xiao looked over and was stunned.

“Wilsander‽”

This person was shockingly the Floating Dragon Island Dragon Guard Captain, Wilsander!

“Hey, it’s been a long time.” Wilsander was boney and depraved looking as always.

“Why are you here?” Han Xiao said with surprise. “And coming out of the portal‽”

Wilsander dry coughed and pointed at Herlous. “I got in the way he got in.”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched as he figured out what had happened.

It turned out, in addition to himself, Ames had also sent Wilsander to find her teacher. Then Wilsander was played by the Dragon Emperor’s teacher as well. He found Yi Xuan and encountered the same problem as them. As a big time galactic pirate once, Wilsander’s mindset was to do things with violence. Hence, he was thrown somewhere else by this Teleportation Mage.

Han Xiao did not expect to meet Wilsander here. “When did you get here?”

“A few days ago, not much earlier than you.”

Wilsander looked at Yi Xuan, who was pressed down on the ground by Han Xiao, and his face suddenly turned furious. He rushed over, the pair of wings behind him suddenly unfolding, shining with a bright red glow on their edges. With overflowing murderous intent, he yelled, “You dare to trick me! I’ll kill you!”

The wings slashed down quickly, and Han Xiao hurriedly reached out to hold onto Wilsander’s demon wings firmly.

“Don’t act in the heat of the moment. Noriosse doesn’t allow random killings. Plus, we have to dig out clues about the Dragon Emperor’s teacher from his mouth.”

“Fine.” Wilsander felt that Han Xiao’s logic was sound, so he put the wings back. Suddenly, he realized that something was wrong. His face suddenly changed, and he turned around and looked at Han Xiao with uncertainty.

With his Grade B+ strength, how could Han Xiao withstand his attack this casually and easily?

When he first met Black Star, he had been far from that strong!

Not bothering about Wilsander, who was discreetly being shocked, Han Xiao questioned Yi Xuan. “Tell me, where did you send my target to.”

“I—I don’t know,” Yi Xuan said with a trembling voice.

“Huh, you sure are bold. It seems that you really aren’t afraid of death!” Herlous clenched his fist. The sound of bones cracking came from his fists, and an eager expression could be seen on his face. “I have yet to settle things between us.”

“N—no, you misunderstood,” Yi Xuan wailed. “I really don’t know. He asked me to use the random portal, and the coordinate range is the surface of Noriosse. Since the position is random, I don’t know where he went.”

Han Xiao frowned, turned around, and said, “Feidin, do me a favor.”

Feidin nodded. He walked forward and placed his finger on Yi Xuan’s forehead. His Psychic powers penetrated into Yi Xuan’s brain, and he told the Teleportation Mage to repeat what he had just said. Then Feidin closed his eyes, only opening them after a while. He shook his head, saying, “He’s not lying; this is true. He honestly doesn’t know the whereabouts of the target.”

They looked at each other and were all a little beaten. They had thought that they finally had the upper hand, but the clues ended again.

Sylvia bit her lips and said angrily, “I got it, this is exactly his intention. Even if we successfully force out his whereabouts, we will still come to no result. He deliberately used the random portal to let us see some hope before upsetting us. This guy is so annoying!”

Wilsander swung his tail, irritated. “Is following his request to steal the Heart of Crystal Fire the only thing that we can do? This is the only clue.”

Han Xiao was frowning heavily. Suddenly, an idea flashed past his eyes. He quickly suppressed his smile and said with a serious tone, “I’m not going to bother about his request. Since this is the case, we won’t find him anymore. Anyway, what we’ve done is enough.”

“Are we going to give up?” Herlous clenched his teeth, he was not very satisfied with the result. He really wanted to catch this Oracle and give him a good beating!

“There’s no need for us to follow what the target wants us to do. Ames is going to arrive soon. As long as we tell her this clue, our job is considered complete.”

Han Xiao stood up and clapped his hands. He took out a healing agent, threw it to Yi Xuan, and walked away.

“Yo—you’re just going to give up like this?” Yi Xuan stood up, surprised. He had thought that he would inevitably get a beating.

“Exactly, why not teach him a lesson? I was tricked so badly by him,” Herlous added.

Han Xiao rolled his eyes and said, “Come on, at least he did not throw you into outer space. He didn’t want to kill you, and that saved his life.”

Then, the Great Mechanic Han turned around, looked at the mess, and said, “But I’m not going to pay the repair fee.”

“I didn’t want you to.” Yi Xuan smiled bitterly. He did not plan to provoke Han Xiao ever again. Han Xiao had some kind of instant teleportation ability, so he would not be able to run no matter how fast his teleportation spell was. He was only good at teleportation spells and knew almost nothing about attack spells. Since even his core ability was useless, how would he be able to fight at all? He just wanted to wait for that group of people to leave and never return.

…

They left that strange, weird bookstore. There was a new member in the group of people, Wilsander. He thought that he would rather work together with his colleague than act alone.

On the way, Wilsander pulled Han Xiao aside and said in an apprehensive tone, “Are we really going to give up on the target? Will Ames be angry about that?”

“There is no need to; the target is definitely still on Noriosse. When Ames arrives, it will take no time for her the search through the entire planet given how strong she is. Hence, we don’t need to hurry to find him. As long as the Dragon Emperor arrives, he will have nowhere to hide,” Han Xiao deliberately whispered, as if he did not want anyone to hear.

Chapter 480: : Eternal Oracle, Aesop Hurricane

Three days later, in Noriosse North Space Port, where countless travelers came and went, an ordinary space human female was slowly walking, carrying a backpack.

In fact, this was someone in disguise. In actuality, it was the target whom Han Xiao was looking for—Ames’ teacher who had once adopted her in her childhood and guided her to awaken her Super talent.

His name was Aesop, and his power was foresight. However, as compared to his rare prophetic ability, his race was even rarer.

Aesop had been born before the Galaxy Calendar started. He was an Eternal, a being who lived for countless years.

Long before Han Xiao had contact with the Teleportation Mage, Aesop had already foreseen that Han Xiao and the others would refuse to participate in his ‘game’. The prophecy itself was vague because the future was full of uncertainties and could change at any time. If the future could not be changed, the prophecy would be meaningless. Generally, prophecies with no goal usually only led to a fog. A theme was needed for the ability to be activated, which would be the ‘trigger’ that would limit the future possibilities.

The more experienced the Oracle was, the more factors they would set up to limit the future. The variety of clues and mischievous arrangements that Aesop had left were all plots that he used to limit the possibilities.

The future was in the superposition state, and the ‘trigger’ could make the future ‘collapse’. In simple terms, when people are not hungry, they could do all sorts of things, and when they were hungry, there was one action that would become determined—they would eat. Aesop deliberately left the trail for this purpose so that people who searched for him would follow the clues that he had left. If a bead on the ground was rolling in all directions, when the bead fell into a groove, it would only move back and forth. This meant that the ‘future’ turned from a free answer question to a multiple-choice question with limited options. Only in that way would his prophecy be able to see the future.

Prophecies could not see too far into the future and had no combat capability. The ability itself was not powerful, so it all depended on the user. Being an Oracle required intelligence!

At this time, Aesop had already purchased a seat on a long-haul flight. Even if he did not use his prophecy ability, he had already seen through Han Xiao’s goal. It was nothing more than to stall for time so that when Ames arrived on Noriosse, he would have nowhere to run.

“Too young.” Aesop thought that it was funny. With such an obvious intention, only a fool would not be able to see it. They refused his request, yet they thought that he would be stupid enough to stay on the planet. Why would he?

Putting himself in Han Xiao’s shoes, Aesop felt that he would lie about agreeing to find the Heart of Crystal Fire in order to stall time, which would be at least better than rejecting it directly. However, no matter what Han Xiao chose, the result would be the same—Aesop had actually never planned to stay there. Even if Han Xiao had lied and agreed, he would still have left.

“If he agreed to my request, my following arrangements would get them into trouble. They would be chased off this planet by the Noriosse financial group. Even if they reject my request and intend to delay me, after I leave, Ames will also be unable to find me. She will be angry at this group officers who quit halfway and ‘missed the golden opportunity’, which will also give them a hard time.

“From the moment you got the clue I left from the intel organization, the result was already determined.”

Under the mask of disguise, Aesop smiled. “You used my name; I give you a little punishment. Fair and square.”

“Is that so?”

Suddenly, a man’s voice came from behind, and a hand tapped Aesop’s shoulder and stayed there.

Aesop’s face suddenly changed. He froze and slowly turned around.

A stranger stood behind him. This man tore off an extremely thin mask on his face, exposing Han Xiao’s face.

“Mister Aesop Hurricane, damn good morning to you.” Han Xiao smiled.

“How did you know I’m here?” Aesop was shocked. His eyes changed slightly and flashed with wonder.

He did not ask why Han Xiao was here; it needed no explanation. He figured it out instantly the moment that he saw Han Xiao. He was puzzled by another question at this moment.

There were five harbors on Noriosse. How did he accurately find the correct one?

He might have heard from Jenny that this Black Star seemed to be an Oracle as well.

“Good question, allow me to introduce.” Han Xiao pulled a man from the side, took off the mask on the face of the person, revealing the face of Feidin. He smiled and said, “This is my mascot.”

“… You mean by luck?”

Aesop’s face stiffened, and then he looked relieved. Oracles as skilled as him were very clear on one thing—there would never be a perfect plan. No matter how good the plan was, it would often be disrupted by accidents. Although luck was something very uncertain, the simplest thing was usually the most inexplicable.

Han Xiao had the Destiny’s Child card, so he understood the mindset of Oracles and the so-called trigger, but this time, he did not use the Destiny’s Child card as there was no need to.

When he refused Aesop’s request, to his understanding of Aesop, he knew that Aesop could easily see through his ‘intention’. Hence, only one choice was placed in front of Aesop. In order to avoid Ames, who was going to arrive, he had to take a spaceship and leave Noriosse. Therefore, the possibilities were narrowed. He just had to spread out across five harbors and wait, as Aesop would definitely pass by one of them.

As a result, the person in the dilemma became Aesop. If he did not leave, he would definitely be found. If he left, he might be found.

Hence, even if Aesop had foreseen this possibility, he would have no choice but to fall into this trap. Not to mention the fact that Aesop did not use his power due to the lack of a trigger.

Those who delved into logic tended to fall into a paradox that they themselves could not see. Aesop wanted Han Xiao to act while complying with his rules of the game, but Han Xiao turned it around and made his interlocked plan into a fair environment for the both of them to compete in their luck. Then, Han Xiao used his rich experience to beat him. Feidin could solve any and all difficulties involving luck.

Aesop’s lousy disguise was good enough for the identity check at the harbor but not disguise veteran Han Xiao.

According to the normal way of thinking, if Aesop left Noriosse long ago right after he made the arrangements, the plan would have had no solution, meaning that he would be in an invincible position. However, Han Xiao had one of the biggest advantages—he knew Aesop’s personality from his previous life. This ancient man had experienced too many things, so his personality was strange and abnormal.

Power? Not interesting. He had once served as the vice president of a star-class civilization.

Wealth? There was no meaning. Resources did not have a real owner, so wealth was only a false definition.

Beauty? Tired of it long ago. The species that he had mated with could circle a Fixed Star several times.

Strength? Experienced before. He had once erased the entire planet from the map with a horrifying weapon.

Aesop was really tired of living, and this was not derogatory but literal. His life was left with a few fun things—freedom, curiosity, and excitement!

So, he had become a treasure hunter who travelled everywhere with unknown whereabouts. He could only experience the feeling of being alive at the edge of danger. Hence, when he plotted and planned, Aesop would absolutely never hide behind the scenes. He would create a fair situation and let the opponent have the opportunity to taste the fruit of victory. To him, it was a dangerous game.

If he won, he would feel empty.

If he lost, he would rejoice.

He had lived too long and really become incomprehensible to ordinary people.

Aesop also took off the disguise, revealing his old appearance, and heartily laughed. “It seems that my apprentice found a powerful partner.”

Han Xiao smiled as well. He showed no flaw on the surface, but he had other thoughts in his mind.

He was thinking of killing Aesop.

Aesop was such a powerful Oracle. Even if he was not his enemy, who could guarantee that he would not be a threat to him in the future?

Han Xiao was very clear about Aesop’s ability; his power was prophecy, so his combat capability was almost equal to zero. As long as he seized this Oracle, killing him would not be much harder than killing a chicken.

This was a good opportunity to get rid of hidden dangers. He just had to tell Ames that he did not find her teacher and let Aesop be forever ‘missing’.

So…

Before Ames arrives, should I…

Kill him‽

Han Xiao eyes flickered.

In his eyes, there was not a single person that had to die no matter what, and there was not a single person he must not kill no matter what.

Chapter 481: Thank You

Aesop coughed. “You’ve won this game, but I don’t want to see Ames. Black star, can we discuss it?”

Han Xiao suppressed his murderous intent and said with surprise, “Do you not want to see your apprentice that much?”

“Back then, I only casually adopted a little girl, spent some time with her, and taught her the method to awaken her Super talent. How could I have known that she would go on to become a Beyond Grade A whose name has spread across an entire Star Field?” Aesop shook his head. “If only I’d known, I wouldn’t have adopted her. With her strength, if she finds me, there definitely won’t be any way for me to escape. Those kind of days without freedom will be the same as imprisonment. It brings me horror just thinking about it.”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Casually adopting a little girl who turned out to be one of the strongest people many years later, why does this sound so familiar?

Furthermore, this old man looks so reluctant. Hey, you can show off, but don’t go over the line, damn it!

Holding back the desire to criticize, Han Xiao asked, “So, why did you come back since you don’t want to see her?”

Aesop did not possess the demeanor that one would expect from someone who was countless years old. Like a stubborn old man, he said, “The more she wants to find me, the more I want to linger before her eyes.”

A horrible personality as always…

Han Xiao was speechless. In his previous life, Aesop had wandered everywhere and was a mystery shopkeeper in the players’ eyes. But one day, he was dragged into a conflict between two Star System civilizations. As always, he carried out a ‘game’. However, having walked along the shore for so long, it was inevitable that he would get his shoes wet one day. Aesop failed, and it cost him his life. He did not met Ames again. After a hundred years of searching, Ames only saw Aesop’s tombstone in the end.

Ames did everything based on her mood, and she acted out of impulse. She vented her rage and smashed every planet in the territory of these two civilizations, including their mother planets, ending countless lives. The survivors not in the territory at that time filed a complaint to the three Universal Civilizations. Such a violent act severely violated the lawful accords, so Floating Dragon lost its privileges and was besieged by numerous armies.

At that time, a large number of players accepted missions and took part in the siege.

Countless battleships were destroyed in the battle, as was Floating Dragon Island. Although Ames did not die in the battle, she disappeared.

The renowned Beyond Grade A from the Shattered Star Ring was never seen again.

Of course, that all happened in a very late version.

Since Han Xiao had captured Aesop, if he let Ames meet Aesop, it would be something that had not happened in his previous life, so he did not know how it would turn out.

Nonetheless, the tragedies of two civilizations with trillions of civilians being slaughtered, Floating Dragon Island destroyed, and Ames being heavily injured should not happen again.

Never mind, I owe her a favor. I shall give him to Ames. Killing him will only cause unnecessary risks.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao kept his thoughts about killing Aesop to himself.

Aesop could only see into a small part of the future, but what he knew about was the overall trend!

There was no reason for him to be afraid!

Han Xiao placed his arms around Aesop’s shoulder and whispered to Aesop’s ear, “I refuse.”

Aesop’s expression stiffened. Why did he whisper then? It gave him false hope…

Han Xiao contacted Ames on his communicator. As soon as the image showed up, Ames saw Aesop, who was standing beside Han Xiao. Her beautiful eyes brightened as a tint of a smile appeared on her face.

“Aesop, my teacher, I’ve really missed you.”

Aesop smiled bitterly. From Ames’ tone, he could hear a strong sense of dissatisfaction. Even without using his foresight ability, he could tell that he was in a bad situation.

After hiding for so many years, who knew how much unhappiness Ames had suppressed; falling into her hands would be truly horrible.

Then, Ames turned to look at Han Xiao and said, “Wait for me, I’m almost there!”

The image turned black right after; she was very quick to act.

Aesop was frustrated. He turned to look at Han Xiao. “Won’t you reconsider?”

“She has already seen you. Do you think I can possibly let you go?” Han Xiao smiled.

Not much later, Ames’ spaceship arrived at the port. Han Xiao took Aesop to the pier, and Ames saw him as soon as she got off her spaceship. She walked over with a fearsome aura!

Han Xiao’s hand that grabbed Aesop’s shoulder clearly felt the old man’s body shiver.

“Dragon Emperor‽”

At this moment, the pedestrians near the pier were in an uproar. With faces of horror, they hurried back far away. They had not expected one of the strongest people in the Shattered Star Ring to suddenly appear.

“Don’t you have something to say to me?” Ames was expressionless.

Aesop sighed as if he accepted his fate. “Alright, I should have come back to see you long ago and shouldn’t have hidden from you. Let’s not stand here and let others watch, let’s go.”

As he was speaking, he walked up the gangway. Before entering the spacecraft, he looked back at Han Xiao, and a smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Ames was about to return to the ship, but she suddenly thought of something and turned around to look at Han Xiao.

She paused. With a serious and solemn tone, she said, “Thank you.”

Han Xiao waved his hand. “It’s a small matter. I’m just repaying my favor.”

“No, I owe you.”

Ames’ tone was unquestionable. She suddenly hesitated before slowly reaching out. The soft black sleeves slid down her smooth arm, revealing her slender white palm, and she patted Han Xiao on his shoulder.

She was a neat freak and would never willingly touch others, but this time, she made an exception.

Although she looked calm on the surface, she was actually very happy, so she was very grateful to Han Xiao, who had captured Aesop. She knew how cunning Aesop was. She had caught wind of his whereabouts before, but she had ended up disappointed every time. This success surprised her.

After a short pat, Ames quickly pulled back her hand and turned around to go up the ship. Han Xiao, however, did not think it was unusual. At that moment, he thought of something and hastily used the blank Character Summon Card in his interface before Ames closed the door, generating her Character Summon Card.

Boom!

The ship unleashed a deep rumbling sound and left the dock along the track, soon disappearing.

Han Xiao stayed on the dock. He had just informed the others, so they heard the news and quickly gathered, watching the spaceship fly away.

“Black star, since we’re done here, where are we going now?” Herlous asked.

“Let’s take a break at Noriosse and leave tomorrow.” Han Xiao turned to Wilsander and asked, “Do you want to stick around with us?”

“I’m not in a hurry to go back. Plus, it’s too boring to stay on Floating Dragon Island. Hehe, it seems like I’ll have to disturb you for some time.” Wilsander gave his standard cheeky smile.

“As long as you don’t spend my money, you can disturb us for as long as you want.” Han Xiao shrugged.

This time, they heard a commotion from the direction of the hall. A group of superiors from Noriosse financial group had heard the news of Ames’ arrival and hurried here. They did not dare neglect such an important person, but after picking up Aesop, Ames had left immediately. The whole process had only taken a few minutes, so these financial group superiors were too late.

Thus, the executives of the financial group approached Han Xiao and chatted with him enthusiastically with warm smiles on their faces.

The Dragon Emperor had left, but they would never go away with nothing, so they decided to form a relationship with Black Star and see if they could provide any help, showing the attitude of Noriosse.

Originally, when Han Xiao first arrived on Noriosse, those financial group executives had only told their employees to send a greeting. However, now that the Dragon Emperor had appeared, things were different. They felt that they had to personally come to say hello to show their sincerity. The attention that the financial group superiors paid Han Xiao rose many levels.

As they were talking, the sound of several footsteps came from not far away. The people subconsciously looked in that direction.

A group of Godorans in combat suits hurried through the hall, looking to have just arrived. The leader looked brave and extraordinary.

“Godorans? What are they doing here?” Han Xiao’s eyes were also attracted. He curiously looked at the leader of the Godoran, and his expression suddenly changed.

He knew that person.

This was a Grade A Super!

…

On Ames’ ship, Aesop stood before a porthole, silently looking at the distant Noriosse.

“What are you looking at?” Ames asked from behind.

Aesop stopped looking and smiled with satisfaction.

“You have a good officer. He’s trustworthy.”

“You mean Black Star?” Ames nodded. “He is indeed very capable. Didn’t you meet him long ago? You even told him to send me a message.”

Aesop shook his head and laughed.

“I’m old now. I almost forgot about that.”

As he spoke, Aesop lowered his head, opened the communicator, and deleted a letter that had been set to send at a certain time. The receiver was shockingly Ames, whom he always blocked communication requests from.

Aesop shook his head.

“If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have come to the Shattered Star Ring into this trap…”

Aesop knew Ames too well—capricious, arbitrary, not good at plotting. Just as Black Star had asked, if he did not want to be found by Ames, he could have hidden far away, so why did he have to return to Shattered Star Ring?

As for his motivation, of course, it was not to tease Ames. Although he was indeed tired of living, his taste was not that boring. His goal was surprisingly Han Xiao!

Someone had used his name to deceive Ames. What if this person had found Ames’ weakness and deliberately used it to get close to her while harboring ulterior motives?

Aesop had been very worried about that.

No matter what kind of power Ames had, in his eyes, she would always be the little girl who needed someone to take care of.

Hence, he had returned to Shattered Star Ring, exposing his whereabouts and leading Ames’ officers to track him down. If Han Xiao did not catch him, then this man was only so capable. If Han Xiao did catch him, Aesop would start the second round of his test. He had made the follow-up preparation long ago; he deliberately showed his prophecy ability while at the same time angering Han Xiao. If Black Star was really the Dragon Emperor’s enemy, he would not allow such a dangerous enemy to live.

If Aesop died, that timed messages that he had set long ago would have reminded Ames of his death, and the culprit would have been the one who lied to her.

Aesop placed his own life, that of an old man, on the line and made a bet. If he died, Ames would not easily believe in others again, which he felt would be very worthwhile. After living for so long, the habit of looking for death had integrated into his blood—it would only make him feel thrilled and excited.

Although he looked like he did not care on the surface, he actually cared a lot about Ames. Aesop had no children, so Ames was like an adopted daughter to him.

Of course, Han Xiao did not know that his casual words to convince Ames back then on Floating Dragon Island would cause such a butterfly effect, leading the two of them who had never met each other in his previous life to meet for the first time, indirectly changing the fate of hundreds of trillions of people.

Black Star… Aesop thought, Very promising guy. If he lives for a thousand years like me, he will be a hundred times more horrifying than I am.

With his help, Ames will at least have an easier time…

Chapter 482: Trap

After helping Ames catch Aesop and completing the mission, Han Xiao had been in a good mood. However, when Han Xiao saw a bunch of Godora warriors rushing over, his mood plummeted.

He recognized the Godoran’s battlesuits, and these warriors were not low-grade Observers. Instead, they were special forces that specialized in battle, and their leader was a Super who had been extremely famous in his previous life. In Version 2.0, this person had been the key figure in dealing with the mutation disaster on Planet Aquamarine. The majority of the battle quests that the players accepted from the Godoran camp had also been issued by him. He was like a commander level character and an important NPC to the players. Thus, Han Xiao was extremely familiar with him.

Nagakin, an officer of the War Bureau, Grade A Pugilist. He would only take action during important missions, and for him to appear on Noriosse, it meant that something important was about to unfold on Noriosse. A thought suddenly popped into his head, and Han Xiao immediately thought about the mixed blood Godoran that he had met a few days ago, Alvin.

The two should probably be related… Han Xiao thought to himself.

There was another strange sight that puzzled him. The Nagakin in front of him was majestic and full of valor. His strides were wide, and every step of his was taken with stability. In Han Xiao’s memories, when the players of Planet Aquamarine first met Nagakin, he had been half crippled. Half of his face had been reduced to a skeleton, and not only was he disfigured, his left arm and both legs had turned into prosthetics. He had also needed numerous life support systems to be injected into his body in order for him to be alive.

It was less than a year away from Version 2.0.

As such, Nagakin must have been crippled during this period, but the exact time was not certain.

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he immediately sprang into action. He broke away from the upper echelons of Noriosse and stood in front of Nagakin.

“Who are you? Don’t block the way.” The Godoran warriors stopped, and Nagakin looked at Han Xiao with a frown.

Han Xiao introduced himself simply.

“Black Star? Oh, I’ve heard your name. You and some other mercenaries successfully destroyed a DarkStar mothership. Good job.”

Nagakin nodded and did not take it to heart. A figure of his caliber would only be concerned about more important matters. He only knew about Han Xiao’s name because his subordinate had mentioned it in passing. At that very moment, he was pushed for time, so he asked impatiently, “Why are you stopping us?”

“I only wanted to say hi. At the same time, I wanted to ask if you guys needed help.” This was a common phrase that players used to start a conversation with NPCs. Han Xiao was also trying to see if he was able to receive a mission and understand the Godorans’ reason for appearing there. He was lacking intel and did not know that DarkStar and Godora were having a confrontation on Noriosse. He only felt that something was strange.

Those warriors were the reinforcements sent by Godora, and their mission was to rescue Alvin. Over the past few days, two of Alvin’s doppelgangers had been captured, and the situation did not allow a single second’s delay. From Alvin’s doppelganger, they had found out that the strongest individual in the squad chasing after Alvin was a grade B Super called Forsyth. As such, Godora had sent out Nagakin, who was the nearest to the location, and felt that it was sufficient to take care of the enemy.

Nagakin felt that he did not need any help and that he was sufficient to take care of the enemy. As such, he casually replied, “We do not need your help. I’m pushed for time and will take my leave now.”

After finishing his sentence, Nagakin moved past Han Xiao and led his men away.

Studying the backs of those Godorans, Han Xiao stroked his chin and muttered to himself, “Tsk, I wasn’t able to activate a mission. For a Calamity Grade Super to take action personally, it’s probably a risky mission.”

Since Nagakin did not welcome outsiders, Han Xiao would forget about the matter. He would not lower himself and continue sticking to them uninvited.

He then opened the interface. After obtaining the Ames Character Summon Card, he had not checked its effects yet.

_____________________

[Character Summon Card—Ames]

Force Field—Gaze of the Dragon: Compress the medium within a certain area (effective for all states of matter) and target a single character. The targeted character will fall into a [Trapped] status. For every 100 points of STR the target has, 1s of control time will be reduced.

Basic control time: 18s

Usages: 0/1

_____________________

Han Xiao felt that the strong control effect was still acceptable. Ames had many different skills, and at her level, almost seventy percent of her skills were useful. While he did not obtain an attack skill, a control skill was more flexible and had its own advantages.

He then left the port and returned to land. After renting a temporary stronghold, he was prepared to spend rest a few days there. At the same time, he would purchase some resources. Noriosse was home to many shops, and he intended to strengthen his war machinery. Two High-End Knowledges and his many Advanced Knowledges gave him the option to obtain better blueprints, and it was sufficient for him to have an all-round upgrade. He still had more than twenty million experience points, and as long as he spent it sparingly, it would be sufficient for him to obtain enough blueprints.

Just when everyone was resting, a storm exploded.

…

Nagakin took dozens of Godoran warriors in aircrafts and arrived at a skyscraper at the periphery of Noriosse’s City 4. Tall buildings filled the district, and the magnetic floating bus station that connected the cities was not too far away.

According to Alvin’s reports, the temporary base of DarkStar’s forces was on the eightieth story of the skyscraper, and it was located right at the center of the building.

Alvin’s main body had always been in contact with the reinforcements from Godora, and he used his doppelganger to observe the members of DarkStar to provide Nagakin with information. His request was for Nagakin to get rid of all the DarkStar forces chasing him before his main body would appear. He was extremely cautious.

“The enemy’s forces are inside. We will first destroy their base before dealing with those DarkStar members operating on the outside to prevent us from alerting the enemy. Currently, the enemy’s base is unaware of our arrival, and we have an advantage in terms of intel. Attack with me!”

The aircrafts ascended slowly and approached their target building. Nagakin’s gaze was solemn as he clenched his fists. A golden flame began to flow down his arm as though it was liquid.

His fist smashed onto the outer wall of the building.

Boom!

The next instant, a white shockwave was sent out in all directions!

All the glass in this building was shattered!

The might of his fist shot through the entire eightieth floor, and a large hole could be seen on both sides of the building. The entire building began to let out unsteady creaks, and the middle of the building bent slightly like a wooden pole that was almost smashed in half!

Not to mention a building, it was a piece of cake for a Calamity Grade Pugilist to destroy even a battleship. As long as he had enough time, he could even turn into an excavator and change the landscape of the entire planet.

After destroying the building with a single punch, Nagakin charged in with his subordinates and attacked the enemy base. Upon entry, he immediately spotted Forsyth and the others, who were in a daze.

Nagakin made a few hand signals and the Godoran warriors surrounded Forsyth’s troops. He then said in a deep voice, “I am Nagakin from Godora’s War Bureau. All of you are surrounded. Drop you weapons and surrender now. I will send all of you to Rainbow Prison.”

The building was shaking unsteadily, and Forsyth finally managed to steady himself. Revealing a malevolent smile, he chuckled as though his prey had fallen into his trap. “It seems like we’ve caught a big fish. Nagakin, look around you. Who do you think is surrounded?”

Two powerful auras exploded and trapped Nagakin’s troops in the middle.

Nagakin hurriedly turned around only to see Anur and Ember glaring at him.

The intense killing intent seemed to have frozen the space around him.

“Why are there two Calamity Grade Supers‽ There is an error in our intelligence!” Nagakin’s face changed drastically.

Alvin’s intel had stated that the strongest person pursuing him was a Grade B Super. For Godora to send out a Grade A Super, it could be considered a foolproof plan. With Nagakin taking action, even if a Grade A Super was hiding amid the enemy’s ranks, he would still be able to fight the other party equally. However, Godora could never have expected that DarkStar would actually send out two Calamity Grade Supers to kill a single traitor. This was akin to killing a chicken with an ox’s blade. This was the trap that DarkStar had set.

Anur and Ember did not appear in front of Alvin’s doppelganger, and Forsyth had acted as the leader. As such, Alvin had believed that there were no Calamity Grade Supers in the team. DarkStar had already predicted that Godora would send reinforcements and intentionally tricked Alvin into thinking that there were no Grade A Supers. They had predicted that there would be a single Grade A Super in the reinforcements at most, and this Grade A Super would become Anur and Ember’s prey!

DarkStar did not only want to chase their traitor down. They had even laid a trap to make Godora lose one of their top fighters!

This was the reason for Anur and Ember to take action together. Godora had fallen for DarkStar’s trap.

The Godoran warriors present felt a chill run down their spines, and their backs were drenched with cold sweat. The immense pressure from facing two powerful enemies had almost caused their hearts to stop beating. They were extremely anxious and did not even know which side they should focus on defending.

Nagakin’s face was solemn, and he knew that it would be difficult for him to escape alive. Taking in a deep breath…

“We will die today…”

Hu!

The Pugilist’s flames covered his entire body, and the aura exploding out of his body matched Anur and Ember’s auras. He then got into his fighting stance, and a resolute gaze could be seen in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he let out a deep roar.

“Before we die, let’s fight!”

Chapter 483: Seeking Aid and Recruitment

In the hall of their temporary base, everyone was currently busy with their own things. All of a sudden, the image on the television screen flashed, and the news was suddenly broadcast.

“Noriosse emergency report. Ten minutes ago, a building in the periphery of City 4 was attacked, and three streets were completely destroyed. The bus station is completely crippled, and the number of casualties is being calculated. According to initial analysis, the cause of the destruction is a fight between Supers. More details will be released after further investigation. The Public Security Office is already investigating the matter. Now showing the scene of the location…”

This news drew everyone’s attention. Sylvia immediately went to knock on the machinery modification room and called Han Xiao out to watch the television.

The news displayed scenes of the location. A few dozen tall buildings had collapsed and been reduced to rubble. Just ten minutes earlier, that had still been an extremely prosperous location, but the entire place had been destroyed with thick, black smoke billowing. The aircrafts of the Public Security Office were flying around, trying to save as many casualties as possible. The entire place was filled with noise as corpse after corpse was bagged up before being thrown aside.

“That explains the tremors. I thought that it was an earthquake,” the oldest Volga brother said.

Wilsander was using a brush to clean his wings, and he asked with a shrug, “Are they fighting a war?”

“For them to create such extensive destruction in such a short time, it is probably a battle between Calamity Grade Supers,” Han Xiao said with a deep tone.

He immediately thought about Nagakin. Considering when he had met Nagakin, he felt that it was extremely possible.

However, this had nothing to do with him. He had not activated any missions from Nagakin, and since there were no benefits, Han Xiao did not care about the matter.

Beep beep!

Right at that moment, his communicator rang; an unknown number was calling him. Han Xiao accepted the call.

The next moment, Nagakin’s figure appeared on the screen. He was breathing heavily, and his entire body was covered in blood and wounds. He was obviously in an extremely pathetic state.

“Black Star… please help me,” Nagakin said with grit teeth.

…

Just a while ago, Nagakin had met the ambush of DarkStar, and after an intense battle, three streets had been destroyed with all his elite warriors dead. That foreign Calamity Grade Super had reduced all of them to ash in a single instant. They could not even let out a single cry for help.

Those were his subordinate who had accompanied him into battle for many years, and they had all been wiped out easily. Nagakin was furious but had no choice but to force himself to remain calm and face the two experts in front of him.

While he was the only one left, Nagakin did not entertain the thought of retreating. As long as he could exchange his life for one of his opponents’ lives, it would not be a complete loss.

There was also a divide between Calamity Grade Supers. Nagakin’s strength was not superior to Anur or Ember, and he was at a clear disadvantage. Both of his opponents were Espers who were extremely difficult to deal with. In just a short exchange, he was already injured all over.

The intense battle between them had quickly drawn the attention of the Public Security Office, and they arrived swiftly. Anur had originally intended to continue chasing, but after considering for a moment, he had decided to make a strategic retreat as he did not want to end up being chased by those from the Public Security Office. The result of the ambush was not up to his expectations. He had originally wanted to kill Godora’s Grade A Super quickly, but Nagakin was a Pugilist with a powerful physique and had only been severely injured.

If not for Nagakin having a powerful physique, he would probably have died.

Dragging his severely injured body away from the battlefield, Nagakin did not immediately tend to his wounds. Instead, he contacted the headquarters and reported the entire event while bearing the pain. Godora’s War Bureau was shocked and ordered Nagakin to wait for his orders with the priority being the preservation of his life.

He requested aid from the headquarters, but travelling required time, so it would be impossible for them to send anyone in time. Giving up and retreating had never been part of his vocabulary. Even if he was alone, he would stop DarkStar from accomplishing their objective.

Just when he was considering killing his way back, Nagakin suddenly thought of Black Star, who he had met at the port.

Perhaps only mercenaries could help him.

Noriosse was located far away, and there were few mercenary groups operating in that region. Currently, the Black Star Mercenary Group was probably the only mercenary group around, and he could only seek their help.

He had rejected Han Xiao’s help just a while back but had no choice but to seek help now. This was far too embarrassing, and Nagakin had never imagined that such a scenario would occur. However, he could only grit his teeth and contact Han Xiao. For his mission, casting aside his pride was not a problem at all.

“Nagakin?” Han Xiao had a weird look on his face. His guess was right. Nagakin was related to the news shown on the television, and he had already been severely injured by an unknown enemy. The help that Nagakin was requesting was obviously related to this matter. With none of his subordinates in sight, they had probably all been wiped out, and thus, Nagakin had no choice but to seek help from mercenaries.

With just a short pause, Han Xiao came up with a rough idea of what had happened. He then recalled Nagakin’s crippled appearance, but after glancing at Nagakin’s body once, while Nagakin was covered in blood all over, his limbs were all still intact.

“I have a mission to fetch a character who betrayed DarkStar from Noriosse. His name is Alvin, and DarkStar sent forces to chase after him. The other party has two Grade A Supers, and I fell into their ambush…”

Nagakin described the situation honestly.

While he knew that revealing the truth about two Grade A Supers might cause Han Xiao to act warily and not help him, Nagakin would never hide the strength of his enemies and deceive mercenaries. He was an extremely straightforward person, and even if he knew that the mercenaries might reject him, he would still tell the truth.

Han Xiao was immediately enlightened. When he met Alvin before, he had already been somewhat suspicious but had no intel. This matter was really related to DarkStar.

“Who are the two Grade A Supers of DarkStar?”

“I am not sure.” Nagakin shook his head.

“What are their abilities?”

“One of them is able to reduce the human body to ash and can control a large amount of dust to form various weapons. If I did not raise my defenses with my energy, he would have been able to slowly peel away my flesh…”

A cold glow flashed through Han Xiao’s eyes, and he said, “Carbon element control, Ember!”

He had originally thought that this fellow had died in the explosion of the battleship, but never had he expected that Ember had actually escaped. Furthermore, he had even entered the Calamity Grade. When he fought Ember back on Floating Dragon Island, Ember had already been B+ Grade and far stronger than him. If not for his talent restricting the trump card of Ember, it would have been impossible for him to fight Ember to a draw.

Ember was capable of instantly wiping out any carbon-based life form, and his ability was extremely difficult to deal with. It was like a divine AOE skill. Only Aroshia and himself were immune to Ember. Wilsander was a mixed blood demon, and his body constitution was unknown. If he was not carbon based, perhaps he would be able to escape the outcome of being instantly wiped out.

However, after Ember reached Grade A, his Esper abilities might have new ways to be used. Even his ordinary attacks would be much more powerful than before.

“What are the abilities of the other one?” Han Xiao asked.

“He is a shapeshifting Esper. He can change into a strange flying creature roughly four to five meters tall. It seems as though he has the ability to control the flow of air. He is extremely fast, and it is difficult to follow him with the naked eye. When he is flying, wind pressure is generated around him. Not only is it able to form a protective shield, it is able to provide a certain degree of invisibility. It seems as though he is using a trick to bend the light rays. The faster he flies, the stronger the wind pressure generated, and everywhere he passes is destroyed by the wind pressure. He is just like a wind pressure cannon.”

“Shapeshifting… wind pressure…” Han Xiao’s mouth contorted. “Could he be the Wind Demon Anur?”

DarkStar had a limited number of Grade A Supers, and according to the abilities that they had displayed, Han Xiao was able to guess their identities. Anur was an old member and a powerhouse of DarkStar who was extremely difficult to deal with. After his transformation, not only would his speed increase, if he flew a few times around the planet, the accumulated wind pressure would form a cyclone gigantic enough to flatten the entire planet’s surface.

The two of them were extremely difficult to deal with. Before Version 2.0, Han Xiao did not really want to provoke DarkStar. However, this was a good opportunity for him to get closer to a Grade A Super from Godora and a channel for him to get in contact with the upper echelons of Godora. With Nagakin around, it would be much easier for him to gain trust when he handed over the mutation source in the future, and it would be more convenient for him to discuss benefits.

Nagakin bit his lips as he waited for Han Xiao’s response. He silently prayed that Han Xiao would not reject him—Han Xiao seemed like his last chance.

After a long while, Han Xiao shook his head. “It is too dangerous to fight two Grade A Supers…”

Nagakin’s expression froze. While he had expected the outcome, he was still a little disappointed.

“However, your mission isn’t to kill the both of them, right?” Han Xiao asked. “As long as Alvin is able to leave Noriosse alive, your mission will be completed. The problem now is that your Godoran reinforcements require time to arrive. Thus, we only need to stall for time and help Alvin escape from DarkStar. If this is the case, I can try helping you.”

Nagakin’s eyes lit up—he was overjoyed.

At that moment, a new mission was shown on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

Nagakin’s Request

Mission Introduction: You have agreed to help Nagakin. His mission is to save a DarkStar traitor.

Mission Requirements: 1. Aid Alvin in hiding until Godora’s troops arrive. 2. Kill all of the pursuing DarkStar forces. (Completing one of the two requirements would complete the mission)

Failure Conditions: 1. Alvin’s death. 2. Nagakin’s death.

Rewards: 5,800,000 Experience, 240,000 Enas, +850 Relationship with Godora Faction, +30 Alvin Favorability, +30 Nagakin Favorability

_____________________

There are two mission requirements. It seems like it will be easier to stall for time, Han Xiao thought to himself. While it was more straightforward to defeat the enemy, the other party had two Calamity Grade Supers.

Han Xiao had three Main Storyline missions, and one of them was [Godora’s Ally]. The mission requirements were plenty, and Anur and Ember were all included on the hit list. While the reward for killing them was high, Han Xiao only thought about it and did not think that that it was possible for him to accomplish it.

Just when Nagakin was about to ask how they should work together, Han Xiao interrupted him.

“Just the few of us will be far too little manpower. Let me find more manpower for you.”

He then turned around to Herlous. “Go through the Mercenary Alliance and issue a recruitment notice near Noriosse. The target will be all the mercenaries in the vicinity. As long as they can rush over in time, we want them all. As many as possible.”

“What should we write for the person issuing the mission?” Herlous asked. “Nagakin or Godora?”

“No, their names aren’t the best option.” Han Xiao shook his head. “Use my name.”

Chapter 484: Chaotic Entry

The mercenaries in the Shattered Star Ring were extremely active. Even in the region of Noriosse, there were many active mercenaries, but the majority of them were second or third grade mercenaries. Han Xiao issued a recruitment notice through the Mercenary Alliance, and this recruitment notice quickly spread through the Noriosse mercenary groups.

Majority of the mercenaries had the same two reactions—surprised and curious.

In the past year, Han Xiao had completed plenty of missions, and because of the backing of Floating Dragon, he had built up a large network consisting mainly of large mercenary groups including the likes of top-notch armies such as Blades, Purple Gold, and Sky Ring.

While Black Star’s position in the mercenary world of Shattered Star Ring was not considered top notch, he was considered a first-rate small mercenary group. Many mercenaries wanted to build a relationship with Black Star and tap into his connections to gain better missions. After all, the rich employers usually wanted to hire the best mercenaries, and the Mercenary Alliance would only issue these missions to the lower grade mercenaries if the large armies did not accept them. The people at the top ate meat while those below drank the soup. This was pretty much the situation everywhere.

As such, the moment that Han Xiao posted a recruitment notice, countless respondents applied, and he activated at least half of the mercenaries in the Noriosse region.

…

The gathering location was extremely crowded, and everyone was packed like sardines. The colorful mercenaries squeezed together and chatted with each other as they waited for the appearance of their employer.

Clap clap…

At the very front of the group, a clapping sound could be heard, and everyone turned to take a look. Seeing the legendary Black Star before them, the noisy crowd slowly became silent.

Their gazes were all fixed on Han Xiao as they sized him up from head to toe. They were all interested in Han Xiao’s connections but did not think too highly of his personal strength. The majority of the mercenaries were wild and untamed characters. The way they saw it, Black Star was not any much more powerful than them. He was only lucky enough to gain the recognition of Ames.

Han Xiao was unmoved, and he said emotionlessly, “Everyone, I am the one who issued the recruitment notice, and I believe that all of you should recognize me. I shall not introduce myself, and since we are all mercenaries, I shall skip the pleasantries. I received a difficult mission with bountiful rewards, and I require more manpower. I hired all of you to find partners to complete the mission together. You can treat me as a middleman, and the details of the mission shall be explained by the employer.”

Nagakin made his entrance and described the situation honestly.

Very quickly, the mercenaries below broke out in a large commotion.

Many of them were thoroughly frightened by the two Calamity Grade Supers and backed out immediately. At the same time, they stared at Han Xiao in disbelief as though they were looking at a dead man.

You actually accepted a mission that requires you to face two Grade A enemies? Have you seen how powerful Calamity Grade Supers are‽

Don’t drag me down if you want to die!

The war between DarkStar and Godora was known to everyone in the Shattered Star Ring, but the majority of the mercenaries kept their distance from the battle and were not willing to get involved.

“Our mission isn’t to fight the enemy, but there will be some risks,” Han Xiao said in a deep voice. “If any of you aren’t willing to accept the mission, you may leave now. For those who stay behind, after this mission is over, I will sign a cooperation contract with all of you to enjoy my resources.”

As everyone heard that, many of them fell into a dilemma. If they could cooperate with Black Star, they would have the chance to get better employers. It was like starting a company. Them running around to find odd jobs definitely could not be compared to working together with a large organization and easily enjoying jobs.

Many mercenaries did not dare take the risk and took their leave. The crowd began to thin, and Han Xiao did not stop them.

Only a hundred odd people were left behind. They were the mercenaries who were willing to take the risk.

Phillip read out their information, and Han Xiao viewed it once.

“Three mercenary groups, seventeen lone mercenaries. There are four Grade B Supers and the rest are Grade Cs. This is better than my expectations.” Han Xiao nodded. Because of the limited time, he did not dare wait too long, and it was not too bad for him to hire this bunch of mercenaries.

Han Xiao got the mercenaries to rest and reorganize themselves as Nagakin walked over.

“What are you planning to do?” Nagakin asked. The day before, he had just met Han Xiao, and meeting him again that day, he felt a little embarrassed. As a Calamity Grade Super, he actually had to rely on a bunch of mercenaries. This was truly an embarrassing mark on his record.

However, he quickly shook away such useless emotions and focused on the mission at hand. While he did not understand Black Star much, it did not stop him from treating Han Xiao as an ally.

“We aren’t the most anxious ones now; DarkStar are,” Han Xiao mused. “With Anur and Ember’s ambush failing, they know that Godora will definitely send out fresh reinforcements. Thus, they will try to capture Alvin as quickly as possible, so we have to try and interrupt their search.

“Alvin’s main body has remained in hiding, and he didn’t dare to reveal himself. Thus, it wasn’t possible to take him away from Noriosse. Furthermore, there may be many DarkStar battleships hiding in Noriosse’s vicinity to block all routes out.”

Based on the present circumstances, they had to first contact Alvin before they could formulate a plan. Nagakin took out his encoded communicator.

“Nagakin? Weren’t you defeated?” Alvin’s voice sounded from the communicator, but there was no image displayed. In order to prevent anyone from finding his location, Alvin did not turn on his image display.

“Your intel was wrong, and DarkStar sent out two Calamity Grade Supers. I survived and found some helpers. We will help you escape from DarkStar’s pursuit, and new reinforcements are on the way. As long as we can stall for enough time, DarkStar will have no choice but to retreat. You will be safer if you accept our protection. Where are you hiding?”

“I do not need your protection; my main body is extremely safe. You have already lost once, and if it wasn’t for my cautiousness, I would have been caught. I would rather believe in myself. I have three doppelgangers in DarkStar’s hands, and they aren’t able to return to my main body. I have to suffer the pain from their torture every day, and only a single doppelganger of mine is able to move about freely. If you really want to help me, protect my doppelganger. He is still being followed by the enemy…”

Alvin hung up, and Nagakin frowned, feeling pretty helpless. If he could not protect the main body, whether or not the main body was found would be up to the heavens’ will.

Han Xiao smiled and said, “DarkStar obtained three doppelgangers, and the doppelgangers will die if they are too far away from the main body. As long as split the main body up in three different directions, it will be easy for them to pinpoint the region that the main body is in. With some simple calculations, they will then be able to determine the center of the region. Thus, Alvin will not foolishly stay in one place.”

“There is one more thing,” Nagakin said with concern. “For us to recruit mercenaries openly, DarkStar will probably receive news about it, and they won’t sit still without doing anything.”

“Hmm, I have a guess as to what they will do. It seems like we will have to take some risks.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and decided to mess up this storm midway. Apart from the plentiful reward, this was also a good way for him to contact the upper echelons of Godora. He was pretty tanky, and he would be able to exchange a few blows with Grade A Supers. Retreating with his life definitely would not be a problem, and he did not have to be as cautious as before. With the advantage of understanding his enemy, there was no need for him to be anxious. If his opponent was Ember, he felt that he would be able to last a long time.

…

Because of the destruction caused by the battle between the Grade A Supers, DarkStar decided to change to a new secret base to discuss their next move. Anur felt that it was a waste that they had not been able to kill Nagakin, and he knew that Nagakin would have called for more reinforcements. Thus, they needed to seize every second.

At that moment, the troops on the outside was spying on Alvin’s final doppelganger. Without daring to delay any further, Anur sent out all of his men, preparing to capture the final doppelganger.

However, before they could, the DarkStar troops received new intel. Nagakin had found some helpers—the Black Star Mercenary Group.

“Nagakin still isn’t giving up, and he thinks that he can face the two of us alone?” Anur’s expression was dark, and he revealed a sneer. “Since he isn’t willing to hide obediently, we will use the opportunity to kill him.”

He had originally thought that Nagakin would not dare reveal himself again after being ambushed by the two of them. Now that he had a chance to kill Nagakin, Anur was naturally overjoyed.

In truth, in Han Xiao’s previous life, when Nagakin was ambushed, he did not suffer any severe injuries as well. However, he refused to give up on the mission, and even without any reinforcements, he had faced the two DarkStar Supers alone, eventually being crippled. At the same time, the Calamity Grade Super who participated in this battle was not Ember. In Han Xiao’s previous life, Ember had not been forced to enter seclusion, so he had entered the Calamity Grade far later.

A large reason was because Han Xiao had caused the butterfly effect… or perhaps it was because Han Xiao served as a great motivator for Ember.

“So what if he’s found a bunch of mercenaries? What can they do? They are no more than a bunch of weaklings.” Anur was completely unconcerned. Only an elite army like Blades or Sky Ring was worth his attention.

Ember’s gaze turned cold.

“Black Star again… I have given him a chance already.”

Ember no longer placed Han Xiao in his sights, but since Black Star wanted to interfere with his mission, he had to wipe out all obstructions.

With the threat of Floating Dragon, Ember had not decided if he wanted to get rid of Black Star. However, he had to wipe out all of his companions at the very least and let Black Star know the price of provoking DarkStar.

While Black Star had some talent to be immune toward his abilities, Black Star’s companions were not immune. Ember could still remember that he had managed to rip off the arm of one of Han Xiao’s subordinates previously.

If you want to interfere in matters that you shouldn’t, you will also place your life at risk.

Anur looked at the intel. “None of these mercenaries can be kept. I don’t want any accidents to happen.”

“You can take people to catch the doppelganger; I alone will be sufficient to get rid of the mercenaries.” Ember stood up. “With my abilities, I will crush them all in less than a minute. I will meet up with you after taking care of this matter.”

Chapter 485: The Gangster Mechanic

Ta, ta, ta!

Alvin escaped hurriedly. He was the final doppelganger left on the surface, and DarkStar’s pursuing forces followed behind him like parasites. The one chasing after him was a Grade B Super called Sherman, the vice-captain of Forsyth’s squad.

He had already noticed that DarkStar was getting ready to take action and had informed Nagakin and the others to request reinforcements. However, reinforcements still had not arrived, so Alvin was getting anxious.

Bang!

A thick light cannon pierced through the walls and smashed into Alvin’s body. A magical shield appeared with ripples on it and blocked the damage before exploding in the next instant. Alvin was sent flying by the shockwave and rolled a couple of meters out.

Not too far away from him, a short dwarf-like man walked over wearing a pair of targeting goggles. He was dressed in a gray mechanical suit and held onto a gigantic cannon almost the size of his body. The design of the cannon was complicated with an extremely thick barrel. Apart from the main cannon, there were a couple of subsidiary cannons, and it was obvious that this was a multipurpose firearm.

This person was Sherman. It is said that he had the bloodline of the dwarfs and was a Cannon Master.

“I only have three protective talismans left, and I wouldn’t be able to escape far. If the reinforcements do not arrive, I will be finished for sure. Those from DarkStar definitely won’t show any mercy to me…” Alvin’s face turned solemn; he knew that things were bad.

Sherman remained expressionless, and he pointed his cannon at Alvin, who was trying to crawl back up. “Don’t move. Unless you find your legs too long.”

Before he could even finish his sentence, the sound of something descending from above could be heard. Looking up, he saw someone weaving through the gaps of the buildings nimbly, dressed in a mechanical suit that looked like the armor of a knight. The white cape on his shoulders fluttered in the wind, and he approached Sherman at high speed. With a Battleship Slicing Blade that was a couple of meters long, it could only be Herlous.

Without saying a single word, Sherman raised his cannon and fired.

Boom boom boom!

Wave after wave of large light balls assaulted him. Herlous’ eyes were extremely sharp, and he cleaved apart the ball of lights before they could even reach him.

Weaving through the balls of exploding cannon fire, Herlous cleaved his blade down at Sherman’s head right before he reached the ground. However, Sherman had already foreseen this attack and avoided it.

Boom!

This attack landed on the ground, and a long ditch was created with silvery flames spewing out like lava. The cracks on the ground then extended out a few dozen meters.

“Reinforcements?” Sherman was sent flying by the shockwave of the attack and was half kneeling on the ground. Licking his lips, he could taste the slight metallic taste of blood, and his killing intent burst out.

At that moment, all of the hired mercenaries also appeared and surrounded Alvin to protect him. Alvin could finally heave a sigh of relief.

Reinforcements are finally here.

Over a hundred mercenaries glared at him fiercely, but Sherman was not anxious in the slightest. He pointed his finger at Herlous, who caused him to suffer a small loss, and pointed his finger at his head like a gun before ‘firing’. He obviously meant that he had his eyes on Herlous.

The next moment, the members of DarkStar arrived as well. They did not lose in numbers at all and had even more elites. Anur walked out from the crowd and said with a deep voice, “Godoran, don’t hide in a corner. You cannot escape from my senses.”

Hearing that, Nagakin walked out, and the two powerhouses glared at each other in a faceoff. Nagakin’s expression was solemn as he asked, “Where’s the other one?”

Anur did not reply, and his gaze swept past the mercenaries. Counting the number of mercenaries present, he began to frown. Almost all of the hired mercenaries were there, and the enemy’s camp should be empty. He knew that Ember would definitely return empty handed. However, that did not matter; Ember would not need much time to return, and they would be able to form a pincer attack to cut off all paths of retreat.

Since they were enemies, neither party spoke about their plans. Glaring at each other without a word, the situation was extremely tense.

With a single command, the killing began.

The battle had erupted!

Siii…

Anur’s body swelled up, and he turned into a strange looking creature in the blink of an eye. His body was four to five meters tall with an inverted triangle as the head. His body was that of a streamlined beast with thick skin and small little holes all over. Those holes were the key to controlling the wind pressure. A long tail trailed behind the body, and his limbs turned into powerful claws. Eight strange, dog-ear-like bones could be seen on his back with its appearance looking a little like a pair of winds. However, it was a special organ like a tube for it to shoot out air. It extended out from Anur’s ribs and allowed the high-pressure gas to cycle between the inside of his body and the atmosphere on the outside. It also ensured a balance of pressure on the inside and outside of the body to protect the body under high speed.

This was what Anur looked like after its transformation. His nickname was Wind Demon, and he had the special ability to control the flow of air.

Bang!

Anur’s eight tubes spat out high-pressure gas, and he sped up rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he covered the distance of a few hundred meters and clashed together with Nagakin.

With him as the center, to his left and right were formless wind pressure cannons. The usually gentle air had been transformed into a powerful shockwave and decimated everything in its way.

Boom!

Wherever the wind pressure cannon passed by, the ground would crack, and the windows on the buildings to the side would be shattered. Everyone present felt that it was becoming difficult to breathe as though they were in the middle of a storm.

Nagakin broke through the wind barrier, and his fist smashed squarely onto Anur’s body. His golden flames clashed straight on with the formless wind pressure, and both of them were sent flying in two different directions. Wherever they landed, a gray cloud of dust would be kicked up, and a circular crater would form.

By the time he raised his head again, Anur’s figure had already disappeared, and only the violent winds were left behind. Nagakin had witnessed this ability before. The little holes on Anur’s body would control the air surrounding him to coat his entire body like a shield. He would then use some unknown method to absorb the light rays and make sure that his body was no longer reflecting any light. As such, Anur’s body could no longer be seen.

The two Calamity Grade Supers had to restrain each other. If not, the others fighting by the side would be in danger. Just a single Anur forced Nagakin to use all of his strength. If there was another Calamity Grade Super, he would be dead for sure.

Black Star said that the enemy will probably split up their forces. One of the Calamity Grade Supers will probably charge into our base alone. Black Star chose to stay behind to restrain the enemy. Only if we can hold down that Calamity Grade Super will we have a chance to save Alvin.

However, he is only a Grade B Super, and the Calamity Grade is too dangerous to him. Can he really do it?

Nagakin was worried.

…

At the same time, Ember walked into the mercenaries’ base and was already prepared to unleash a massacre. However, the place was covered in darkness, and there was not a single person inside.

“Everyone abandoned the base and took action with the Godoran? It seems like this was a wasted trip. I’d better regroup with Anur.”

Ember was expressionless. Just when he was about to turn around and leave, the lights lit up in the base.

“Don’t go. I have been waiting for a long time.”

Ember’s eyes narrowed.

I know this voice.

He looked up and looked at the camera in the corner.

“Black Star?”

“Ember—this is the nickname that DarkStar gave you, but you do not have a real name. When you were very little, you were accepted by DarkStar. They were interested in your talent, and they treated you like a weapon, forcing you through endless strict training. You are not a Godoran, but you were brainwashed with a hatred that does not belong to you. DarkStar groomed your loyalty, but you are no more than a useful tool in their eyes. Your beliefs are completely meaningless because those aren’t your true thoughts.”

Han Xiao narrated slowly. Because of the information from his previous life, he understood Ember’s life story. While he had killed many and was extremely hateful, he was also extremely pitiful.

If he had not been groomed by DarkStar from a young age but led a normal life, he would not have been the infamous Ember. He might have had his own name and would not have given his all only to be treated like a weapon and tool.

Ember clenched his fists tightly before releasing them slowly. He did not have any intention to argue with Han Xiao. “All of the other mercenaries have left? Why are you the only one left behind?”

“To wait for you of course.”

Ka-cha.

A metal door opened, and Han Xiao walked out with his gaze clashing with Ember.

Sparks flew.

DarkStar had sent out two Calamity Grade Supers, and Han Xiao had guessed that they would try to fully utilize their advantage by sending one of them out alone. On a strategic level, this will allow them to be more agile. Thankfully, he had guessed correctly, and there was indeed a Calamity Grade Super who worked alone with his strength.

During the recruitment, Han Xiao knew that he would not be able to hide the recruitment from DarkStar. If the enemy wanted to barge into their camp alone, the most likely person to come would be Ember because his ability was the most suited for a group battle. All carbon element beings that were weaker than him would essentially be killed instantly. As such, Han Xiao got the majority of the mercenaries to aid Nagakin in saving Alvin. They would only be committing suicide if they stayed behind.

Only he would be able to restrain Ember. The longer he could restrain Ember, the higher the chances of Nagakin rescuing Alvin.

If he wanted to fight a battle of attrition, Han Xiao was extremely confident.

“Wait for me?” Ember’s expression was odd. “You want to hold me back alone?”

“Not really alone.” Han Xiao shrugged his shoulders. By his side, a light flashed, and Aroshia drifted beside him. Apart from her, there were another few useless mercenaries in another monitoring room with their attention focused on the screen.

Han Xiao had left them behind on purpose, and their mission was to ignite the explosives that were laid all around the building to hold Ember down. At that moment, their palms were completely soaked in sweat and their breathing heavy. The look of nervousness could be seen all over their faces.

It was understandable for them to be nervous. After all, the figure in the surveillance image was a Calamity Grade Super. If they had been standing in Han Xiao’s position, they probably would not even have been able to speak fluently. They could not help but feel nervous for Han Xiao.

The moment the enemy takes action, Black Star will be in danger.

If Black Star dies, we won’t be able to benefit from his connections.

Ember raised his finger and found out that there was no reaction from Aroshia when he used his Esper abilities. He then shook his head and said, “It turns out your trump card is this energy lifeform. Do you think that you can stop me like that?”

Han Xiao twiddled a compressed orb and said with a smile, “We never decided the victor in our previous battle. Could it be that you are afraid?”

As Ember heard that, he could not help but chuckle. He had already entered the next grade and was no longer the same as before. He did not understand where Han Xiao’s confidence came from. Could it be that Han Xiao thought that he was the same as before?

“Overestimating yourself.” Ember’s tone became cold. “Even though the rest aren’t here, it isn’t too bad to get rid of you. I will be able to fulfil a small wish of mine from the past. It won’t be too late for me to provide reinforcements after getting rid of you.”

A rustling sound could be heard as though there were numerous grains of sand rubbing against each other. However, this rustling sound quickly turned into the sound of rushing waves. Around Ember, countless carbon atoms had already formed a mysterious black cloud that was rapidly expanding.

The range of Ember’s Esper abilities was greater than before, and he could control it much more easily than before. Countless carbon atoms were stuck to the surface of his clothes and skin, and it was just like a weapon that he could bring around with him. He was not afraid of fighting in a place without any carbon.

“This is the strength of a Grade A Super…” The sound of the mercenaries gulping with nervousness could be heard. They felt a wave of pressure emanating from the screen, and their legs turned to jelly.

But the next moment, they saw Han Xiao’s body shaking and bolts of electricity being shot out in all directions. It accurately connected to the ceiling, ground, and the compressed orbs in every corner. With him as the center, he seemed to have formed a web of electricity!

Ka ka ka!

The next instant, hundreds of machines were activated. The scene was truly breathtaking!

Those compressed orbs had been set up by him before the battle!

The entire base was a trap that he had laid!

Chapter 486: Fierce Battle

Ka ka ka!

The sound of the machinery unfolding covered the sound of Ember’s carbon particles rubbing against each other.

Following the walls and corners, hundreds of artilleries slammed onto their pedestals. The three-pieced large caliber cannons gave out a sense of ferocity. The majority of the gunpowder artillery had been replaced with electromagnetic kinetic artillery, and there were ten additional laser light ray artilleries, providing higher penetrative force. [High Class Energy Control] had allowed Han Xiao to obtain the energy weapon technology.

Dong! Dong!

The artillery let out an angry howl as the large caliber cannons started to operate. The metallic hum of the turrets was reflected in the roar of the machinery.

Thirty to forty Black Panther mechanical beasts pounced out, their shoulder cannons spitting fire non-stop. On the ceiling, the mechanical spiders gleamed coldly as they scuttled around. Other than the Black Panther mechanical beast, Han Xiao was also able to manufacture smaller machines, such as the mechanical insect series. Other than spiders, he could also produce centipedes, scorpions, and wasps.

He only needed the blueprint of the mechanical spider for reference, and he could come out with the blueprints for other insect series by himself.

Phillip launched a unified attack, commanding all the machines to fire toward the ash.

The black carbon particles that were originally saturating the air contracted inward to form a sphere, with Ember wrapped inside it. The outer layer was made up of diamonds, and as the bullet rain cluster bombed it, the diamonds shattered, disintegrating into particles and reforming to fill the gaps. The capability of the shield seemed to be almost endless.

Seeing this, Han Xiao’s face twitched. This is the Carbon Shield? It’s practically cheating!

At this time, Ember’s indifferent voice could be heard inside the ball of diamonds. “Even if you planned a trap in advance, even if you are immune to my Carbon Deconstruction, in the face of my current strength, you only have one outcome… Defeat!”

Boom!

The next moment, the diamond sphere transformed into a black-colored wave, slapping down with a force that could destroy mountains. Dozens of the mechanical beasts were caught within, and they turned into a pile of scrap metal in the blink of an eye. Not only did the metal bear signs of being crushed, it also had grooves and marks, traces of violent tearing.

What a strange force this is. It can instantly cripple the armor of my mechanical beasts!

As this thought rang through Han Xiao’s head, he did not pause to observe further but slammed his palms together, releasing a compressed orb from each side of his hands. The orbs expanded to form thirty-two golden-white Hovering Shield Shuttles, which lined up in a circular manner around himself. They each spat out a thin ray of light, with every four beams combining into one, causing eight points of light to appear before Han Xiao’s body.

The connection between each light point caused a reaction to occur immediately. A glowing line strung the eight light points together, forming a circle. Within the light circle, a mirror-like golden protective light shield appeared, as though painted by an artist!

The black wave welled up, slamming on the golden shield. The scene resembled one where waves from the sea dashed against the reefs, only to be split apart to move on either side instead. Under Ember’s control, the split waves recombined behind Han Xiao, rushing from his back this time.

However, at that moment, the formation of the Hovering Shield Shuttles changed yet again. The eight light points were arranged in a 3D manner, forming shields surrounding Han Xiao’s figure. It formed a trapezoidal shape, causing the black wave to be unable to attack from any angle. While the trapezoid flickered every time that the waves hit it, it ultimately remained motionless.

“Hovering Shield Shuttle Formation, Halo Array!”

[High Class Energy Control] was one of the core knowledge of the Mechanic class. During this period of time, Han Xiao had built quite a few interesting toys, and this [Halo Array] could be considered a stronger version of the Sonic Sphere, integrating offense and defense into one.

Han Xiao squinted as he scrutinized the waves and finally understood the reason for its weird strength difference.

The black tide only existed as a wave on the surface. If one looked closer, they could see that some carbon particles inside had been transformed into diamond fragments, and supported by high speed spinning inside the waves, they turned into something resembled a circular saw. The cutting force was abnormally strong as a result.

This swathe of black contained at least a few hundred of such ‘diamond wheel saws’. Just like the undercurrent in a river, it would be difficult to notice without careful observation. It was no wonder the mechanical beasts had turned into scrap metal in an instant.

The significance of this was that if the wave was set to engulf a whole building, it would be able to turn it into rubble in a matter of seconds. This destructive power far exceeds that of its appearance on the surface, like a Golden Ant Colony that could strip an elephant down to its bare bones in a matter of seconds.

While he was confident in his tanky body, Han Xiao had no desire to let his tender skin be exposed to such a horrifying force.

They indeed live up to their names as Calamity Grades, to be able to have such control over conflicting operations of subtlety and aggressiveness. Ember was unable to achieve that in the past, but now he has more control over his abilities. I have to be more careful, Han Xiao reminded himself.

Even as the thoughts spun in his head, the Void Dragon Mechanical suit covered his body. He strode with large steps toward Ember in assault mode. There was no way of him breaking past Ember’s defense from mid range; he had to get within close range to be able to have a chance.

Aroshia turned into a stream of light, penetrating into the diamond sphere that enclosed Ember. The carbon particles within could only cause her energy body to swell up but were unable to perform an effective attack, since she was highly immune to physical damage after transforming into energy.

Hum!

The rays coming from an energy explosion shone out from within the diamond sphere.

Ember had eaten a close-range energy bomb from Aroshia. Unable to retreat, he could only choose to deactivate his diamond sphere, turning it into a flat shield to ensure his visibility. He felt extremely uneasy in the presence of Aroshia, whose energy form made her immune to physical damage.

Numerous bullets sparked on the surface of Ember’s diamond shield, ricocheting off with metallic noises. Ember glanced over the scene once before waving his hand. The carbon particles surrounding him wildly spread out, no longer clustering together. They turned into a black colored sandstorm, drilling into the various machines and destroying their internal circuits.

Buzz!

Sparks flew out as a large number of machines became crippled.

Ember coldly laughed. “The battle has ended.”

As long as he managed to destroy all the machinery, the Mechanic class would become akin to a tiger whose teeth and claws had been pulled out.

While Black Star could mitigate his abilities, he could do the same to Black Star!

However, upon casting his eyes forward, Ember found out that Han Xiao seemed to have no intention to stop, as though he was indifferent toward what had happened.

With quick footwork, Han Xiao rushed up to Ember as a complicated machine unfolded in the palm of his hand. This melee weapon was very thick and almost two meters in length. It resembled a giant knife with a hand guard, but the shape was more futuristic, akin to a rifle with a barrel. This was a weapon in that category, named [High Frequency Strike Cannon], a multipurpose, close-range weapon.

This new equipment replaced his original electromagnetic scythe, which could not keep up with his strength.

The blade of the weapon was a protective shell covering the inner structure. The blade inside consisted of a high-frequency oscillation, which was hard to trace, carrying a strong cutting force. Along the side of the blade were two rows of holes, and each time the blade came into contact with the target, those holes would spew out gunpowder to ignite and cause an explosion.

The gunpowder could also cause internal heating, resulting in an electromagnetic overclocking of the equipment, allowing it to enter a second stage of Super power output, something akin to a Great Release 1 .

Surrounded by sparks and carrying lightning within, it was violent.

Boom boom boom!

One strike after another rained down, and the explosions continued unabated as Ember repeatedly used his diamond shield to resist. His brow was slightly furrowed. His forte did not lie in melee battles, so he attempted to retract the particles to surround his body, trying to sabotage Han Xiao’s armor. However, the Sonic Spheres that followed Han Xiao disrupted the particles, foiling his scheme.

Sound waves were constantly released toward Han Xiao, forming an invisible shield around him. The moment that the carbon particles neared him, they would be forcefully repelled, bouncing off instead of adhering to the surface of his mechanical suit.

The three of them seemed to have rolled into a ball from the fighting. Ember’s expression no longer showed ease, as Han Xiao was giving him more trouble than expected. It seemed like he was not the only one who had improved. He had originally thought that he would be able to eliminate Black Star quickly, but to think that he was tangled up with him now!

In Ember’s original vision, only Nagakin would pose some trouble. Now, he found out that Black Star was also not easy to deal with. However, Ember thought that this was a good chance!

To be able to discover this point sooner was a blessing, compared to being caught off guard.

Because the enemy soldiers had split in two, Black Star had taken the risk to hold Ember up. However, he did not have many helpers with him. Thus, this could be considered the best chance to get rid of a strong enemy.

As he thought up to this point, the look in Ember’s eyes changed.

He had initially wanted to resolve this quickly and meet up with Anur once more, but now, he would not mind putting in some more time to remove any possible hindrances.

At this time, a carefree laugh suddenly rang out from Han Xiao.

“Ah-ha, that’s a good look you have there. I feel more killing intent. It seems like you’re finally willing to waste more time with me.”

“I certainly do not think it a waste of time,” Ember coldly replied. “The majority of your machinery has gone to waste, and I can destroy your mechanical suit sooner or later. By that time, what other methods will you show me?”

“What other methods, you say?” Han Xiao chuckled twice before his tone suddenly turned ferocious. “Then, I’ll let you experience it firsthand!”

Hum!

His Mechanical Force gushed out, and as though a shockwave of electricity, it swept across all the machinery present.

The next instant, the crippled machines were reactivated with [Waste Modification], and all of the weapons came back to life, awaiting orders!

The War Mechanic Class was one that was borne from war itself!

The mechanical roar resounded once again!

Ember was caught unprepared and was blasted flying. His face was blackened with soot, and he quickly blocked the follow-up attacks using this Esper abilities. While it was not a huge problem…

… he had indeed been injured!

Ember suddenly looked up, the anger blazing within his pupils.

The pain that he was suffering awakened his body’s memory of Han Xiao.

The shame and humiliation that he suffered, which he had gradually forgotten, came rushing back like a tsunami!

Chapter 487: I Do Not Believe Heroes Cannot Fall to Their Deaths!

The enthusiasm from the duo’s battle radiated outward, causing the mercenaries that were hidden in the surveillance room to stare with their mouths hanging agape.

Black Star could actually fight equally against a Calamity Grade Super‽

The first thought that came into everyone’s minds was that the opponent might not be so strong after all. While they had never seen the full capabilities of a Calamity Grade Super, they had heard many rumors about their frightening powers and how Grade B Supers were effortlessly destroyed in front of them.

However, looking at the battle between Han Xiao and Ember, maybe the rumors about the Calamity Grade Super’s combat capability were simply overexaggerated.

This gave the mercenaries some form of confidence.

“I want to go down and help.” A bearded mercenary suddenly stood up, withdrawing his gun from its holster.

Everyone else had a strange look on their face. While the enemy was not as strong as expected, it was definitely safer to be seated where they were. W hy do you have to seek danger?

The bearded mercenary glanced at everyone, secretly disdainful. He thought that this was a godsent opportunity!

Since there was little danger, going down to help meant showcasing his good side to Black Star. If he left a deep enough impression, he might be invited to join the Black Star Mercenary Group!

This person thus hurriedly left the surveillance room. Nobody else dared to lecture him, turning their attention back to the surveillance cameras.

When the bearded mercenary reached the battlefield, the atmosphere made him feel a little nervous, causing him to start regretting his decision. He took a deep breath before telling himself that riches were obtained through encountering dangers.

Following which, he barged through the door loudly, firing continuously at Ember’s back as he shouted, “Black Star, I’m here to reinforce you! Quickly….”

Pa!

In the blink of an eye, before the bearded mercenary could even finish speaking, his body ‘collapsed’. Dust leaked out from within his clothes.

“He—he’s dead just like that‽”

The mercenaries in the surveillance room were all stunned silly, fear coloring their faces.

Weak my ass!

This guy can literally kill people through fright!

The Calamity Grades are too terrifying; we’re better off hiding here and slacking!

The guts that had just begun growing within those mercenaries were nipped at the bud, and whatever courage they still had left was thrown out the window.

The group of mercenaries now understood that Black Star, who was able to compete with those of the Calamity Grade, was not just so-so as described by the other mercenaries. Most likely, even those Grade B mercenaries who secretly scoffed in disdain at Black Star could not beat him even if they fought together against Black Star.

Indeed, a person with reputation would definitely have some form of ability to back it up!

…

On the battlefield, Han Xiao felt that this matter was a little strange. Why did this bearded mercenary not bother to quietly hide? Could it be that he had been possessed by Aesop and purposely went there to seek death?

At this point, Ember repeated his tactic, attempting to paralyze the machines again. He did not believe that Han Xiao could repeatedly rejuvenate his machines.

His hypothesis was correct; Han Xiao indeed could not use his [Waste Modification] skill infinitely. Other than the limited number of uses, the energy consumed each time was not a small amount.

However, Han Xiao was clear of another point. Those carbon particles that Ember employed based on his control were similar to the relationship between him and his machines. Without them, Ember’s ability would also weaken.

As such, Han Xiao had long made preparations.

With a snap of his fingers, a trap machine that had not yet been activated suddenly shone.

Within the black wave, countless spherical shaped lights appeared, trapping huge clumps of carbon particles within them. In an instant, the black wave was reduced by a great margin.

Those traps were nothing unique, just ordinary shield generators. In an orthodox sense, their purpose was not even made to trap items within. However, in Han Xiao’s eyes, any machine could be a trap. To have those shields locking in a huge number of carbon particles was as good as trapping them within, causing them to become prisoners within the shields.

Even though Ember could still control the carbon particles, he needed energy and time to break through the shields. All that would create distractions for him.

This move of his effectively shaved off a portion of Ember’s battle strength!

As for this location, it was comprised of an alloy that did not contain carbon within. Han Xiao’s machines were also not made out the carbon steel materials, and thus, other than the mercenary who blindly sacrificed himself, there was nobody else whom Ember could extract carbon from. While the range of his ability was great, he still required time to extract the carbon from his sphere of influence and bring it over, unless he decided to extract the carbon particles from his very own body.

The remaining carbon particles suddenly started spinning, forming the shape of a tornado as it tried to cut through the ceiling. Ember had discovered that this battlefield was extremely disadvantageous to him. He wished to change the battlefield, and going out into the open would allow his combat capability to increase a few folds.

Ember did not realize that his attitude toward Han Xiao had imperceptibly changed—from the disdain and contempt early on to now, where he had even begun to consider the effect of the battlefield. He could clearly feel a sense of pressure from Han Xiao, from a Grade B Super, a pressure that this was an opponent who could threaten his life!

At that moment, Han Xiao strangely did not retreat but rather rushed toward the dangerous cutting tornado as he shouted, “Explode!”

Boom!

The mercenaries in the surveillance room hurriedly detonated the explosives, causing the base to collapse. Numerous building materials fell down and buried the area.

Han Xiao greatly respected any Calamity Grade Super, so he had prepared and buried a huge payload below them. Detonation was an art, and due to his positioning of the explosives, the entire floor of the building collapsed. The duo entered a state of weightlessness as they rapidly fell.

Rumble!

Bits of debris and rubble ricocheted around them, and their vision and breaths were obscured and stifled by the thick clouds of dust. The momentum caused by the explosion was so large that it was as though an entire mountain had shifted.

Ember hurriedly formed a diamond panel under his feet, stabilizing himself. He intended to fly out of this collapsing building while using his carbon particles to shield himself.

Hu!

From afar came the sound of loud whistling. Having fought with Han Xiao for so long, he recognized the sound coming from the High Frequency Strike Cannon. He understood that Han Xiao was pursuing him like a rabid dog. Ember did not wish to carry out a fight in such a complicated environment, but he had no choice but to retaliate.

Suddenly, a lump of black shadows appeared in front of him, obscuring his limited vision.

Ember jumped in shock. He was totally blind, and no matter what he tried, he was unable to escape from the cage of shadows. Furthermore, this thing could not even be touched, so he had no idea what contraption this was. The sound of howling winds was getting closer, but mixed within the various sounds of the collapsing building, it was difficult to pinpoint the exact position.

With no other alternatives, Ember could only deploy his diamond sphere defense once again.

Clank!

A tough object pierced into the sphere, and Ember immediately utilized micro-manipulation to reveal a small hole to appear at the moment of contact, trapping the hard object. Based on the size, it was obviously Han Xiao’s Strike Cannon.

While he could not see, Ember immediately dispelled his diamond sphere, changing it into a long spear, and pierced in the direction of the Strike Cannon. He predicted that his reaction speed would still be able to catch Han Xiao.

However, his strike only hit thin air.

“Not good!”

Ember instantly reacted, but it was already too late. A large hand from the mechanical suit firmly latched onto the back of his head, and without any warning, a Void Jet Spray was discharged directly.

At the same time, Han Xiao utilized the skill [Armor Piercing Consecutive Attacks] from the Germinal Organization’s Leader’s Character Summon Card. In the next five seconds, all his attacks would have a certain chance to break the armor of his enemy, reducing his defense by twenty-four percent.

Boom!

Ember felt as though he was struck by lightning. His brain shook, and stars flew in his vision, causing his Esper ability to dissipate for that instant.

But this instant was enough to cause the diamond panel that he had below him to disintegrate. The duo once again fell down the collapsed building!

Swoosh!

Dust blew in their faces, and they could only hear the sounds of collapse and the whistling of wind.

Before this, Han Xiao had borrowed the messy and complicated environment to create a diversion attack. He had first used [Void Vision] to inhibit Ember’s line of sight, followed by throwing his weapon and using [Void Travel] to appear behind Ember soundlessly, creating the scenario where he attacked Ember from behind.

This opportunity was rare; thus, Han Xiao would not let go. He ignored the cost of energy, releasing burst after burst of Void Jet Spray. This was the additional ability granted by the Void Dragon Mechanical suit. While it had no cooldown, the energy consumed would rise by thirty percent if used again within ten seconds.

“Forty-two percent of Energy remaining, hum… Twenty-six percent of Energy remaining… Energy level critical, hum…”

The energy of the mechanical suit was spent at a torrential rate, with the voice of Phillip constantly sending out warnings.

Ember was hurriedly attempting to gather energy within his body. No matter the class, Energy had a universal function, which was to raise resistance for a short period of time.

Suffering a series of heavy blows, Ember had no choice but to focus his attention on defending himself. As such, the control of his ability dropped by almost seventy to eighty percent.

Han Xiao had managed to see Ember’s attributes through the interface. This guy also had a Boss template, with his defense and health at insane values. Furthermore, because he was a Grade A Super, his conversion of Endurance was too high, so much so that his health was comparable to Han Xiao’s. Thus, Han Xiao could not afford to be stingy. All kinds of explosive abilities such as [Gene Liberation] and [Overload] were activated, and Han Xiao even chose to activate the Character Summon Card of Hila, [Whisper of the Dead]. Causing mental damage could also help to shave off a target’s attention.

This series of buffs was activated extremely quickly. They had only fallen around half the distance, with both of them still weightless.

Ember’s head was still being clamped, and the pain and humiliation caused him to sink into fury.

While he could not see what was happening behind him, he could feel the power fluctuations given off by Han Xiao weakening. This indicated that his energy in his mechanical suit was low, which meant that his burst of attacks was about to end.

While he had taken a hit, he had at least achieved his objective. The moment that they came into contact with the outside world, that would be his stage!

The last Void Jet Spray completely drained the energy in the mechanical suit. Ember could clearly sense this point, and he endured the splitting pain in his head, hoarsely saying, “You have no more energy left… Just wait for me to drag you out from your turtle shell. I’ll turn you into mincemeat!”

When Han Xiao heard this, he gritted his teeth and lowly shouted, “Aroshia!”

Aroshia was not affected by gravity at all, merely following beside both of them, her body easily phasing through the rubble. When she heard her name, she turned into a beam of light and accelerated, sticking to Han Xiao’s back. She opened her arms and embraced him from the back.

Hum!

Her energy body was like melting ice, flowing into the core of the mechanical suit.

In an instant, the Void Dragon Mechanical suit’s energy capacity shot through the roof!

“Energy levels at 327%, hum… Circuit is overloaded. Please expend the excess energy as soon as possible, hum…”

To Han Xiao, Aroshia’s energy was the biggest reserve battery for him!

Han Xiao’s tightened his hand, holding Ember’s head as though he was clamping it with tongs.

“Energy? I’m not lacking in that! Are you ready for a severe concussion‽”

Boom!

Feeling the new surge in energy levels, Ember’s eyes opened wide, shock and anger filling his face. He felt that something was amiss, as though the entire matter had proceeded out of his control.

This sort of feeling… made him subconsciously remember the time when he first fought Han Xiao! He gritted his teeth.

Every time… it’s the same every single time!

This b*stard has all sorts of schemes!

The continuous series of explosions drowned whatever thoughts he had. The duo slammed into the ground, the impact jolting both to their bones. They lay prone, unable to muster the strength to stand due to the pain in their bodies.

At this point, a huge shadow rapidly expanded where they were situated.

The next second, the collapsed building slammed down on them.

Boom!

Dust billowed!

The earth shook!

Chapter 488: Retreat

The commotion of the collapsing building startled the pedestrians and they gathered together at a distance, pointing at the rubble as they discussed about the chaos with shock.

In the skies, a large number of aircrafts stopped in midair and looked down at the rubble below.

While the destruction of this battle was not as bad as the battle between the three Grade A Supers, because of something similar happening a while back, the citizens of Noriosse paid close attention to the battle.

“How is Black Star? Who won?” A couple of mercenaries who ignited the explosives had long escaped from the base and were currently in midair within an aircraft.

Swoosh!

A mechanical arm pushed off a large boulder, and a figure could be seen climbing out of the rubble with difficulty. With his hands on his knees, Han Xiao panted heavily.

“Ouch… a few of my ribs were fractured.” Han Xiao felt a dull ache in his chest. An entire building had crashed down on him, and even with the powerful defense of his Void Dragon armor, its durability had fallen from the original sixty-seven percent to about thirty percent. Black crack marks could be seen all over the armor, and sparks could be seen coming out from some of the cracks. Thankfully, the equipment’s passive [Indestructible Toughness] was activated, and the resistance of the armor was increased many times over.

A portion of the damage penetrated through the mechanical suit’s defenses. Han Xiao looked at the interface in front of him, and it showed that he had lost more than 4,000 HP together with light fractures and slight dizziness effects.

The majority of the damage had come from the falling debris. Thousands of tons of debris had smashed down onto his body, and when he was falling, his entire attention had been placed on attacking. He had let Phillip take over the control of the machines so that he would not need to divert his attention. When he landed, both he and Ember had landed in two different regions. Phillip had immediately turned the Halo Array into a shield to block the majority of the falling debris. Without that, the damage that he had suffered would definitely have been much worse.

Because of the collapsed building, the majority of his machines were buried under the rubble. However, he still had over seventy compressed orbs on him and still had the ability to fight. Aroshia separated from the mechanical suit, and her glow was obviously dimmer than before. Han Xiao had used up plenty of energy.

The dust cloud spread, and his visibility was limited. Han Xiao looked around him to find Ember.

Killing a Calamity Grade Super was not that easy, but this series of attacks would definitely be enough to make Ember suffer. Ember did not have the powerful physique of a pugilist or any Esper abilities to strengthen his body. If he did not use his Esper abilities to put up a defense, his durability would not be very high.

Sha sha sha!

At that moment, a familiar grinding sound could be heard, and Han Xiao’s expression changed. He immediately jumped back, and three thick black spears shot down where he had been standing just a moment ago. Those black spears had easily penetrated through the rubble and created a pit over ten meters long.

The dust cloud was blown away by the strong wind, and Han Xiao could see a thick, black wave that was double the size of before. It spanned over two to three hundred meters and was still expanding. Now that he was not in a building, Ember was able to gain access to a never-ending supply of carbon.

All of a sudden, the black current condensed into a large, lifelike python, which was two to three meters thick and a hundred meters long. The body of the python stood erect with its snake head looking at Han Xiao, sticking out its tongue. It looked as though it was truly alive. On top of the snake’s head, Ember’s figure could be seen.

He should have been full of elegance and majesty, but he was currently looking a little pitiful. His clothes were torn all over the place and blood was seeping down from his forehead with half of his face dyed red. The skin at the back of his head all the way down to his neck was torn apart. Being shot by the Void Jet Spray twenty to thirty times had obviously left a scar. Ember’s face contorted in pain as he glared at Han Xiao furiously.

Every single attack that Han Xiao shot out was aimed at his head, and Ember had to focus all of his attention to control his Esper abilities. Thus, he was forced to endure a head splitting headache, which affected his ability to control his Esper powers. He was not able to perform any meticulous control and could only expand the range of his carbon wave.

In the sky, a couple of mercenaries gasped in disbelief. “That Calamity Grade Super is severely injured!”

They had personally witnessed Ember’s strength, and there was even one of them who had personally experienced it. However, Black Star was actually not on the losing end and had severely injured this Grade A Super who was considered a powerful figure in the galaxy.

He was truly formidable!

The gazes of those in the surroundings were very quickly drawn to Ember. In truth, it was difficult for them not to notice such a large black snake.

This looks bad. Han Xiao knew that things were no longer in his favor. For him to achieve such a battle result, it was because of his meticulous set up of the battlefield ahead of the event. While he had severely wounded Ember and affected his battle prowess, Ember was still far from death. Since they were on the outside, Ember would be able to make full use of his abilities, and it would be difficult for him to injure Ember any further. There would not be a chance like before.

A thought flashed through Han Xiao’s head. His attention is fully on me. As long as I can hold him back, when Nagakin succeeds on the other side…

He would not lose his cool just because he had the upper hand. He was very clear that he would be the one suffering if the battle continued.

He did not continue battle, and the thrusters of his Void Dragon mechanical suit began spewing fire. Han Xiao shot into the sky and began to flee.

“Don’t think of escaping!” Ember roared furiously, and the python under him shot into the sky to chase after Han Xiao.

Escape? This is a strategic retreat!

Numerous black spears shot over, and Han Xiao avoided them nimbly in midair. Turning around to take a look, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Ember gave chase. That fellow was indeed infuriated.

Avoiding a head on confrontation and letting Ember chase him would allow him to buy the largest amount of time. Han Xiao did not feel that it was necessary to fight him head on.

With one person escaping and the other chasing, both of them weaved through the buildings. Humungous black python charged forward recklessly, and its size was constantly increasing. All the aircrafts along the way hurriedly avoided the python, and those that were not able to get out of the way in time were quickly reduced to shreds. Even the buildings that the python merely brushed past had large chunks taken out of them.

The commotion was shocking!

Compared to the black snake, Han Xiao’s figure was like a little bug.

Woo…

The ringing alarms could be heard from afar, and the Public Security Squad rushed over at high speed. The destruction that Ember had caused had affected the peace of the city, and the Public Security Squad would not ignore it.

“Di di di… You have an incoming call request…”

A notification sounded in his helmet, and Han Xiao accepted the call request. Nagakin’s face then appeared in front of him.

“Alvin’s doppelganger has been brought to safety. Anur destroyed two streets, but thankfully, a passing Calamity Grade tourist was dragged into the fight and decided to help out. However, Anur’s speed was too fast, and we could only force him back…”

A passing Calamity Grade Super‽

This piece of news was truly out of his expectations. Han Xiao had thought that he would have to stall for a while longer, and his face could not help but cramp up. At the same time, he lamented about how Noriosse was truly full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

He could not help but think about the first time that he met Alvin. This fellow’s luck was probably even better than Herlous’, and he had truly gotten lucky this time.

“Black Star, hang in there. We will come back and reinforce you immediately!”

Nagakin’s voice was filled with anxiety. The way he saw it, it was far too dangerous for Han Xiao to be delaying Ember alone. He had been afraid that Han Xiao would already have beaten before he called.

Turning off the communicator, Han Xiao’s eyes glowed. With Nagakin fulfilling his part of the plan, there was no need for him to entertain Ember any further. He then turned around and turned on the speaker in his helmet.

“Do you really think that you can get rid of me? Have you forgotten about my other ability?”

As Ember heard that, his face turned color.

He suddenly remembered that when he was on Floating Dragon Island, Han Xiao had once displayed the ability to recover fully in an instant.

This meant that this battle would not end any time soon!

“The Public Security Squad is rushing over, and the Grade A Super hired by Noriosse will not allow you to act so unbridled. My comrades have already forced Anur back and will be here to reinforce me soon. If you still want to continue playing with me, I shall accompany you,” Han Xiao said in a tone filled with delight.

Ember had a look of hesitation on his face and was extremely reluctant. He was stuck in a dilemma where he could not advance or retreat.

Continuing the battle would only be a waste of time. Not only would he be unable to get rid of Black Star, he would end up being surrounded. However, he was reluctant to retreat like that! After being beaten up by the enemy, he had not settled the score with the enemy and still had to retreat! This was too much!

The sound of the sirens grew nearer, and Ember realized that Han Xiao had already reduced his speed, looking as though he had no fear. Ember’s expression was ice cold with a sharp pain coming from his wounds and the dizziness reminding him of the condition of his body.

The pride and arrogance that he had after entering the Calamity Grade had vanished during the battle.

Black Star’s name was even more deeply imprinted in his heart. Together with the pain, this impression had seeped into his bones.

“It is my mistake. I underestimated you too much. Next time, regardless of your strength and the machines around you, regardless of whether you are in your prime or severely injured, I will not be careless.”

He then calmed his anger with a complicated look in his eyes.

After one last glare at Han Xiao, Ember resolutely turned around. The black snake crumbled into a dark cloud and escaped with him like a black mountain demon.

“I’m finally safe.”

Han Xiao stopped moving and heaved a sigh of relief. While he seemed to be extremely relaxed on the surface, he was feeling a great deal of stress in his heart. If he did not fight Ember in a place that was to his advantage, he would definitely be on the losing end. If all of his machines were destroyed, even Aurora’s Character Summon Card would be completely useless. At the very most, he would only be able to make use of it six times, and he had already been forced by Ember to use it once.

He did not wait for Nagakin to return and surround Ember but warned him to escape. If Ember truly wanted to escape, it would be difficult for them to stop him. On the contrary, all of the other mercenaries would have to face the risk of being annihilated.

Looking at the incoming Public Security Squad, Han Xiao did not wish to be interrogated, so he hid from them.

At the same time, Nagakin arrived with the mercenaries. The moment that they saw the destroyed building, those hired mercenaries were completely dumbfounded.

Along the way, all of them had been extremely pessimistic about Han Xiao’s chances of survival. For Black Star to delay a Grade A Super alone, they all felt that he would definitely be trampled upon and were extremely worried.

However, they witnessed the rubble created from an intense battle, and everyone, including Nagakin, was dumbfounded.

Just what had happened‽

Where did Black Star go‽

Chapter 489: Anur

As the mercenaries who had stayed behind saw the returning Nagakin and the others, they hurriedly landed, and both parties met up. The hundred or so mercenaries who had gone out to rescue Alvin then heard those few mercenaries excitedly describing what had happened.

Apart from Herlous and those from the Black Star Mercenary Group, looks of disbelief could be seen on the others. Black Star was actually able to fight a Calamity Grade Super evenly and had even severely injured his opponent. This was completely different from what they had expected!

Everyone was shocked into silence.

Even Herlous was in a slight daze. “Is he so powerful?”

Nagakin was immediately overjoyed. He had not felt confident, and never had he imagined that Black Star would be such a reliable ally.

At that moment, Nagakin received a message. Han Xiao asked them to dig out all the machines buried under the rubble before meeting up with them at another place. He also reminded them not to attract too much attention.

Nagakin turned around and realized that more and more people were gathering over to watch the show. The Public Security Squad and construction team were also rushing over. Too many regions of Noriosse had been damaged by battles recently, and the Noriosse Financial Group was probably extremely frustrated. Nagakin did not wish to be tied down by them and hurriedly instructed everybody to quickly dig up all the machines before they escaped.

After waiting for a while, Han Xiao arrived.

The hired mercenaries looked at Han Xiao with more respect in their eyes and made way to let him in.

Walking over to the middle of the crowd, Han Xiao slapped Herlous on the shoulders and said with a smile, “Ember was injured by me, and he is definitely suffering a headache right now.”

Herlous was stunned for a while, and he stroked his mechanical arm. Every time that he thought about Ember, the nerve connection to his mechanical arm would begin to ache dully. Hearing that, Herlous broke out in a wide smile and felt his anger vented.

“Good brother, fantastic!”

After chatting casually for a while, Han Xiao collected all the recovered machines back into their compressed orbs. After counting all of his machinery carefully, Han Xiao concluded that he lost about thirty machines, and many of his machines had dropped in quality. Apart from injuring Ember, he did not receive any material gains. The biggest gain would be completing their mission objective and saving Alvin’s final doppelganger.

“We meet again, friends.” Alvin greeted everyone. His complexion was pale, and his lips white. It was obvious that he was not very healthy.

“Seeing a mixed blood Godoran again, nothing good will happen for sure.” Han Xiao shook his head. “Where is the Grade A Super who helped?”

“He left.”

“Leaving without leaving his name behind, he is probably a Superhero.”

Han Xiao did not find the matter strange. The more powerful someone was, the greater their responsibilities. At the very least, there were some who still adhered to such principles. Superheroes were a common occurrence, and there were many powerhouses who did not mind playing the role of a hero occasionally.

After saving their target, Han Xiao and the others began discussing their next move.

“If DarkStar want to have any progress, they only have two choices. First, search for Alvin’s main body, which will be like finding a needle in a haystack. Second, snatch his final doppelganger from us. Thus, we have the initiative, and DarkStar is on the passive side. They will be anxious. Nagakin, how much longer will it take for your reinforcements to arrive?”

“The War Bureau sent the fleet nearest to us, but even if they make use of the stargate, they will take twelve days at least.”

“DarkStar won’t ignore the incoming reinforcements and will definitely send their fleet to hide near Noriosse. I have a few ideas, but we should first find a new base before discussing them in detail.”

…

On the other side of the city, the injured DarkStar troops found a concealed location to rest and recuperate. While the battle had been short, it had also been extremely intense. The number of Grade B Supers on both sides added up to about fifteen, and with the mercenaries being well trained, the battle had been intense.

Herlous’ Battleship Slicing Blade and Sherman’s cannon had clashed with each other ferociously. Wilsander had also joined the battle and found the most powerful enemy, Forsyth. Sylvia’s strength was far too weak, so she had not entered the battle. Since Feidin was only a customer, he was not willing to be dragged into the battle.

Anur’s expression was extremely ugly, and his mood was very bad. The battle had initially been in their favor, but another Grade A Super had jumped in from nowhere and resulted in all of his efforts going down the drain. How was he to know that a Grade A Super would suddenly pass by that region? He had already tried his best to reduce the collateral damage.

For the majority of Calamity Grade Supers, as long as they went all out, they would definitely have the ability to change the very geography of a planet. For their strength to grow to such a level, they could be considered a walking weapon capable of wiping out a civilization. However, they had to restrain themselves when fighting someone of the same level. The more restrained they were, the more concentrated their attacks would be, and the more easily they would be able to break through the enemy’s defenses. If they only tried to spread out the range of their destructive abilities, it would not threaten an opponent of their level.

Furthermore, Anur did not wish to create too much damage on this planet and provoke the Noriosse Financial Group.

If Ember had rushed over in time, they might have had a chance in a two-on-two battle. However, who knew what Ember was doing? He had not arrived even after a long time. It was truly difficult for Anur to understand. With the majority of the enemies in battle with him, there should not have been too many men left behind in the base. Just what had taken Ember so long‽

With Anur being surrounded, he had been able to escape injury only because of his speed. Finally, seeing Alvin escape and being unable to wait for Ember’s arrival, he could only retreat.

One could only imagine how frustrated Anur was at Ember.

Not too long later, Ember returned to the base. The blood had clotted and formed scabs. The injuries all over his neck were extremely frightening, and everyone was shocked.

Seeing that, Anur began to frown. “How did you get injured? What did you meet? Could it be that Nagakin found yet another Calamity Grade Super?”

Ember waved his hands and said with his teeth clenched, “It was Black Star. He stayed behind to deal with me.”

Anur’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You mean to say that you were delayed by a Grade B Super and were beaten by the other party to this state‽”

Ember nodded.

Anur took a few seconds to regain his cool. “Since you dragged the battle on for so long, you must have gotten rid of him, right?”

“The situation was urgent, and I retreated.”

Anur immediately let out a curse.

He had placed a great amount of hope in Ember, but at that moment, he could not help but wonder if he groomed the wrong person.

Ember could feel the change in Anur’s gaze and knew that his respected teacher was extremely disappointed in him. His face contorted, and he wanted to explain himself. However, he felt that he would only embarrass himself even further and thus chose to remain silent.

Anur had decided that he must lock Ember up for another year after their return. He did not wish to see the face of this fellow and said to Forsyth, “The situation isn’t in our favor. Do you have any suggestions?”

Forsyth thought for a moment before saying, “We have three choices. We can either use the three doppelgangers in our hands to find Alvin’s main body, snatch the doppelganger from them and kill Nagakin while we’re at it, or… do nothing at all.”

Chapter 490: Sharp Contradiction

“What do you mean?”

“We are hidden in the dark, and Alvin’s main body won’t dare appear,” Forsyth explained. “Thus, the other party is definitely waiting for the Godoran reinforcements. Our fleet is already awaiting their orders near Noriosse, and we can apply for more motherships to be sent out. When the reinforcements of the other party arrive and attempt to collect Alvin from Noriosse, our troops can launch an ambush and destroy the enemy’s fleet. Not only will we be able to get rid of a traitor, we will also be able to get rid of a Godoran fleet.”

“You are right,” Anur said. “The port is a place that they have to pass, and it is easy to track their whereabouts. This can be a layer of insurance, but we cannot ease up. Continue to search for Alvin’s main body and give the other party pressure.”

…

Han Xiao and the others found another base. After settling down, he looked for Nagakin and Alvin to discuss their plans. However, before their discussion, a question surfaced in his mind. Why did Alvin choose to betray DarkStar? There was no information on this character from his previous life.

“Betray? I do not feel that this is a betrayal.” Alvin shook his head. “I have golden colored skin and am a Godoran. This is abandoning the darkness and entering the light. I joined DarkStar once, but it does not mean that I have to be a member of DarkStar forever.

“There are many mixed blood Godorans who are treated with prejudice and scorn. Thus, when the members of DarkStar appeared before me, I left without any hesitation. DarkStar’s hiring process is extremely strict, and it would be almost impossible for any Godoran spies to sneak in. I am naturally not a spy either.”

Han Xiao’s brows then furrowed, and he asked, “So, why have you chosen to side Godora now?”

“Because I noticed that Godora’s problem with DarkStar isn’t so simple. DarkStar has always brainwashed their members with hatred and described Godora as an extremely evil entity, as though they wished to wipe out all mixed blood Godorans. Reinforcing hatred is the same as reinforcing loyalty to them. The members of DarkStar have begun to hate Godora more and more over the years, but news of the true situation in Godora has always been restricted.”

Alvin raised his head up and sighed. “Godora’s attitude toward the mixed blood Godorans isn’t so extreme, and the government is very open. They only treat DarkStar as their enemy, and to ordinary mixed bloods, the government has always been extremely fair to protect their rights.”

Han Xiao nodded and said in a teasing tone, “I am waiting for you to say ‘but’.”

Alvin laughed bitterly as he heard that. “Alright. But… the government’s stance and policies aren’t sufficient to change the views of the Godorans. The purebloods’ disdain toward the mixed bloods is deeply rooted in tradition. While the government is able to give us the assurance of material objects, discrimination is one’s free will. The government isn’t able to control the thoughts of its people. The Godoran government wants to accept the mixed bloods, but the enemies of this policy are their own citizens and the millions of years of tradition.

“DarkStar’s presence incited greater contradiction between the people and made the purebloods discriminate against us even more. Even though terrorists like DarkStar have nothing got to do with ordinary mixed bloods, that isn’t enough to change the views of the majority. After all, not everyone is able to act rationally.

“Compared to the dangerous DarkStar, the mixed bloods living in Godora are targets for them to vent their frustration. While DarkStar claims that they are fighting for the lives of the mixed bloods, their unscrupulous means haven’t given the mixed bloods a better life but have turned it into a greater torture. As such, even more mixed bloods have been forced toward DarkStar’s side.

“This is a knot that is extremely difficult to untie. You cannot expect the purebloods to suddenly end their discrimination in a single night, and you cannot expect the mixed bloods to not have any thought of retaliation when being discriminated against. This is the fact that DarkStar is exploiting. If not for DarkStar, would the mixed bloods suffer from so much discrimination?”

Han Xiao tapped on the table with his finger and looked at Nagakin. “What do you think?”

Nagakin let out a sigh. “He is right. I do not discriminate against the mixed bloods, but I do not represent everyone. The policies of the upper echelons have always been to treat the mixed bloods with kindness and give them a fair chance to seize opportunities. However, because of DarkStar, those on top are also afraid that the mixed bloods may betray them. Thus, it is impossible for any mixed bloods to climb to a high position. You can treat it as a solidification of social class.”

“While policies may be good, a good plan may not be feasible, especially when it involves the benefits and survival of an entire race.” A thoughtful expression lingered on Alvin’s face. “Thus, I am willing to defect to Godora. Perhaps the lives of mixed bloods will only become better with DarkStar being eliminated.”

“Your ambitions are extremely noble,” Han Xiao said with respect.

“Thank you.” Alvin smiled. His tone then changed. “However, even if you praise me, I will not hand over any intel before I am completely safe.”

“Don’t say that to me; it isn’t my concern,” Han Xiao said with a smile. “You should say that to the Godorans. My mission is only to protect you.”

He then retracted his smile and said in a serious tone, “We are unable to predict DarkStar’s plans, and we currently have a few options. First, hide ourselves and observe any changes while waiting for our reinforcements. This will be the most passive plan. Second, take the initiative to attack DarkStar. Distract them so that they won’t have the energy to find your main body.

“The third option requires the agreement of you, Alvin. We can hide your main body far away from this place, and it would be best if it was on the other side of the planet. This way, your doppelgangers will all disappear. While you will suffer some injuries, DarkStar will lose all clues. I know a Teleportation Mage who lives on Noriosse, and he can help us. If not, he will definitely be beaten up by me again.

“Fourth, find a chance to leave Noriosse secretly with your main body. However, this plan is extremely risky. There is a ninety percent chance that DarkStar’s fleet is currently hiding outside the atmosphere, and leaving rashly would only cause us to fall into their net.”

Nagakin and Alvin looked at each other with hesitation.

Han Xiao then said with a deep voice, “If the two of you don’t have any other suggestions, which plan will you pick?”

With Nagakin’s personality, he leaned toward taking the initiative to attack.

However, Alvin did not want to take the risk and preferred to wait and watch.

Bang!

Before they could come to a decision, Aroshia’s body suddenly swayed, and she crashed onto the table with a loud bang.

The few of them turned over to take a look. She was currently holding onto her head with her eyes in disarray and brows furrowed as though she was in great pain.

“What’s wrong”? Han Xiao got up immediately and held onto Aroshia’s shoulders.

Aroshia rubbed her temples. “It is like… there is a voice calling out to me in my head. It seems to be getting closer to me. I can feel its position…”

Han Xiao’s brows were raised, unsure of what was going on.

…

At the same time, a black spaceship finally came out from dark space and was floating among the stars.

It had arrived from a distant star field. It had jumped through numerous stargates, almost been caught in a black hole, witnessed the explosion of a new planet, driven past an asteroid belt, escaped the chaotic tides of space, met a radiation storm, and also traveled through the most silent part of space without a single organism or planet. After a whole series of dangers, it had finally stopped.

The shiny mirror-like exterior of the spaceship reflected a planet that looked like an iron fortress.

Chapter 491: Welcome Back

Because of Aroshia’s sudden outburst, the meeting ended abruptly. In the end, they followed Alvin’s thought and chose to lie in wait while waiting for their reinforcements. While Nagakin displayed his worries toward the DarkStar troops who were chasing after Alvin, Alvin seemed to be extremely confident in the situation of his main body and was certain that it would not be found. However, his lips were tightly sealed and not even the slightest bit of information could be discovered.

Alvin was the core of the mission and they had to respect his wishes. Thus, they could only choose to stay behind in the base and raise their guard while monitoring the actions of Anur and the others. Very quickly, three days passed.

The three days were extremely peaceful, and both parties were completely unharmed.

DarkStar was only interested in finding Alvin’s main body but did not have any clues. They ran around the place randomly, and the anxious mercenaries became at ease. During this period of rest, Han Xiao repaired the machines that had been damaged in his battle with Ember and regained some of his combat strength. He did not think that this mission would end so simply. After all, it was a mission with more than a million experience points, so something else would probably happen before or after the reinforcements arrived.

This mission did not create any chaos, but another incident attracted the Great Mechanic Han’s attention. In the past three days, Aroshia had found the calling in her head to be more and more obvious. Using her words, it was as though there was a voice recorder being broadcasted on a never-ending loop in her mind. The volume of the playback got louder and louder, and she had a strong feeling that the other party wanted to lead her somewhere.

Han Xiao had always known that Aroshia was filled with secrets. She was virtually undying and indestructible. Even Ames was not able to destroy her thoroughly, and her origins were extremely mysterious. Furthermore, she even had a rank A chain mission, and he had not even seen her in his previous life. Did this mean that the players did not find this hidden character? Han Xiao then thought about the outcome of Floating Dragon in his previous life. Because of Ames’ fooling around, Floating Dragon had ended up being destroyed in his previous life. At that time, had Aroshia still been on Floating Dragon Island? If not, where did she revive?

As a captain who cared for his subordinates, Han Xiao began asking Aroshia about her situation in detail. After knowing that the call was coming from the sky and not too far away, after a series of questions and investigation, it was very likely that the location Aroshia was referring to was an empty port in Noriosse.

With the distance so near to him, Han Xiao could not help but feel wary. When they first arrived in Noriosse, Aroshia did not have such a feeling, which meant that there was a possibility for this feeling to be the result of a party chasing after Aroshia recently arriving at Noriosse. Thus, the other party had the ability to determine Aroshia’s location. If Han Xiao chose to ignore the other party, it was very likely that the other party would continue bothering them. What made Han Xiao the wariest was the fact that he did not know the other party’s intentions.

Aroshia was not able to recall anything related to this sensation and decided to personally check this matter out. Han Xiao naturally did not want her to run around on her own. Since Alvin was currently acting in a low-profile manner in their base, Han Xiao decided to follow Aroshia.

After considering for a while more, he called Feidin over as well.

It was probably akin to bringing out a peace talisman on the way out.

…

The three of them sat in a space elevator and arrived at the port that Aroshia’s instinct was pointing toward. This was a port that had its exit facing the outside of the Shattered Star Ring. Only those who come from other Star Fields would stop in this port.

“Which direction is your instinct pointing toward?”

The large hall of the dock was full of people walking in all directions to the different docks. Apart from the endless supply of passersby and tourists, there were also the Noriosse guards and staff of the dock. The ceiling of the empty port was transparent, and the scenery of the universe could be seen. The three of them were currently on a travelator, travelling slowly and casually.

“Over there.” Aroshia pointed in front.

“What clear directions.” Han Xiao was helpless.

“It’s a pity that my abilities are still weak,” Feidin said with a smile. “If not, I would be able to use my Psychic abilities to treat Aroshia’s brain and help her to regain her memories.”

“You will have to first research on the memory storage methods of energy lifeforms. She does not have a brain for you to search.”

“Really?” Feidin looked at Aroshia. “Even when her body is solidified?”

“Her Esper abilities aren’t activated only when in use. When she awakened her Esper abilities, it remodeled her entire body. Her brain, bones, muscles, skin and so on are all no more than an emulation. While she doesn’t seem to be any different from an ordinary being, what will flow out if you crack her head open won’t be brain fluids.”

Han Xiao paused for a moment. Looking at Feidin’s face full of curiosity, he frowned. “You can’t be wanting to give it a try, right?”

“You know that I would not do something so violent…” Feidin waved his hands before laughing bitterly. “However, that lady living in my head does not think so.”

“Chen Xing probably feels as though she is always being suppressed by you in your body. If I was a lady, I wouldn’t have a good impression of you either,” Han Xiao joked. “However, feelings are born with time. Perhaps after being suppressed by you for a long time, she might enjoy such a feeling and no longer be willing to come out.”

“What f*cking bullsh*t. This lady here will slaughter you the moment I come out.” Feidin pointed at this head and chuckled. “These are the original words which she said.”

Han Xiao bent forward and leaned toward Feidin’s face. With his eyes staring deeply into Feidin’s eyes, it was as though he could see Chen Xing’s consciousness. While Chen Xing was not able to control the body, she was able to share Feidin’s senses. Han Xiao then clicked his tongue and said, “No, even if you are able to come out, you definitely won’t want to meet me.”

After having a casual conversation, the three of them arrived at the source of the calling. This was a storage compartment, and the door was sealed. They needed a passcode or access card before they could enter.

“The thing calling out to you is inside. It seems like it is really something alive. We have to find a way to go in and take a look.”

Han Xiao’s expression turned solemn. At this moment, the member of staff in charge of this region walked over.

“Do you guys recognize the person inside the warehouse?”

The three of them turned around and Han Xiao asked, “What’s the matter?”

“It’s like this, the spaceship inside landed in the warehouse three days ago. However, no registration was made, and the fees haven’t been paid. All of our requests for communication were rejected, and the person on the spaceship did not disembark either. If you guys know him, please pay the fees.”

Han Xiao’s eyes glowed. The other party did not leave the ship and did not make an appearance. It was truly mysterious.

“Wait a moment, why didn’t you chase him away even when he didn’t pay?” Feidin asked.

“Because his spaceship is a reconnaissance ship of the Federation of Light. This is the symbol of his status. Our Noriosse Financial Group won’t chase away such a high-grade ship so easily.” The staff’s words were extremely reasonable.

“In truth, I am also not sure if we know him.” Han Xiao pointed at the door. “Can we go in to take a look?”

“I’m afraid not. I don’t have this authority. According to the regulations, only the temporary owner of the warehouse can allow any guest to enter.” This was to prevent people from stealing the spaceship.

“Let us make an application then, since he is still in the warehouse.” Han Xiao pressed a button on the warehouse’s communicator. Since the other party was there for Aroshia, it was unlikely for him to reject them.

After sending out an application and waiting for a while, time seemed to inch forward extremely slowly. The communicator suddenly turned green, and the door parted slowly. The owner of the spaceship had opened the warehouse without even saying anything to them.

A black spaceship over a hundred meters long was currently parked in the warehouse. This small sized spaceship was extremely nimble and was the normal size of a reconnaissance spaceship. Its shiny black exterior reflected the view of the warehouse’s interior.

How could the Great Mechanic Han not recognize the spaceship? He immediately knew that this was the BlackLight Stealth. Not only was it expensive, its build quality was exceptional. In his previous life, whenever a spaceship like this appeared in the market, it would quickly be purchased by the large guilds or wealthy players.

Han Xiao immediately felt some pressure. A figure who owned such a spaceship definitely would not be a simple character. If the person was hostile, it would definitely be very troublesome.

Swoosh!

There still was no communication, and the hatch to the BlackLight Stealth opened up as though the owner was inviting them in. However, the pitch-black entrance seemed to be emanating a cold air.

“Not even showing his appearance and acting so mysteriously.” Han Xiao looked at Aroshia. “Are we going in?”

Aroshia nodded and said with uncertainty, “I can feel someone calling me from inside. He is extremely anxious. Furthermore, this spaceship gives me a feeling of familiarity, and I think that I have spent a long time inside the spaceship before. I may even have experienced something extremely important… but I cannot recall anything.”

Han Xiao’s interface suddenly displayed a notification. The second part of [Reboot] had one extra point in mission progress. It seems as though this spaceship was an important location in Aroshia’s memories.

“Then let’s go up and take a look. Don’t worry, I’m right behind you,” Han Xiao said.

The three of them walked into the spaceship and were greeted by a dark alley. After taking a step into the alley, the lights lit up on both sides.

Whoosh.

At this moment, the hatch behind the three of them closed up and restricted their retreat.

“The owner of the spaceship wants us to walk forward,” Feidin said.

Without bothering about the closed hatch, the three of them walked along the alley and arrived at a fork. The light toward the right was lit up, but the left was completely dark. The three of them understood that the light was their guide.

The cold and pale light glow seemed to carry an eerie atmosphere along with it, and the three of their faces also looked pale under the light.

“In truth, I would have preferred to go toward the left, but let’s first follow the light. For the owner of the spaceship to not reveal himself until now, this owner reminds me of that annoying Aesop who likes to act mysteriously.” Han Xiao stroked his chin and was even more curious about the relationship between Aroshia and the other party.

Following the light, they walked down a winding hallway before finally arriving at the cockpit of the spaceship. The cockpit was completely empty at the moment, and the control panel was glowing with a yellow light. The most eye-catching item was an accessory being hung above and to the right of the pilot’s seat. This was a transparent glass cover with a ball of golden light flickering inside it like an unstable light bulb.

Aroshia was stunned for a moment before walking forward to touch the glass cover as though she was possessed.

Hum!

All of a sudden, a strange scene occurred!

All the lights in the spaceship lit up at the same time, and the cockpit was suddenly brightly illuminated. The golden light from within the glass cover merged together with Aroshia’s palm from where she touched the glass cover as though the golden light had originally belonged to Aroshia.

At that moment, the sound of the spaceship’s system could be heard.

“Authority verification complete. Welcome back, Captain.”

Numerous flashing lights began to fly all around the cockpit before a figure of light was condensed in front of the three people. The figure of light immediately spread his arms and hugged the stunned Aroshia.

“I’ve finally found you, comrade!”

Chapter 492: Aroshia’s Origins (1)

“You recognize me? Who are you?” Aroshia reached out to touch the man made of light. However, her palm phased through. Han Xiao observed that there was no physical sensation in the person with narrowed eyes, confirming his suspicions that this man in light was a holographic projection.

The hologram of the man slowly looped once around Aroshia, akin to a fish swimming in the air. His tone was dispirited as he muttered to himself. “I guessed correctly. Your memory circuit has malfunctioned. You were supposed to rest and recuperate after completing your task, allowing your thoughts to get used to this new body. Otherwise, it will result in sequelae such as a loss of emotions or memories and will require recalibration.”

The minds of the trio present were at a loss.

Han Xiao was suddenly jolted, and he blurted out, “Are you called Risda?”

The hologram turned around with a weird expression. “How do you know my name? Did she tell you that? No, that’s not right. She has already forgotten me. Just who are you?”

In the mission [Reboot], the reward of the mission mentioned Risda’s name. Successful completion of the mission would raise the favorability of said person toward himself. Thus, Han Xiao guessed that this person would not be an enemy.

Upon listening to Risda’s tone, it was clear that he was aware of Aroshia’s origins. Han Xiao was eager to hear Risda’s explanation—to think that this spaceship actually belonged to Aroshia, and Risda actually called himself her comrade, speaking about certain procedures and migration details.

He had a hunch that all of this pointed toward the final goal of the [Reboot] mission.

Seeing that Risda was wary of him, Han Xiao explained his identity and briefly described the circumstances in which he met Aroshia. Strictly speaking, he was the one who had saved Aroshia.

After hearing his story, Risda floated in front of Han Xiao before giving a deep bow. He gratefully replied, “Many thanks to you for helping AL51004. If it was not for you helping her to recover a portion of her memories, the sensor would not have been able to locate her whereabouts.”

“What does the serial number mean?”

“It was her original name.” Risda turned back to Aroshia. “Do you remember it?”

Aroshia shook her head in response. “I can’t remember. I only know my name should be Aroshia.”

“It seems like the memory loss is more serious than I thought. The turbulent flow of the wormholes could have torn your memory circuit into numerous bits and pieces, requiring more time to properly recalibrate. However, you need not worry. Our memories will at most be buried deep within our subconsciousness and will never be destroyed. Sooner or later, you’ll be able to regain them.” Risda immediately abandoned Han Xiao, floating back to Aroshia and speaking with a warm, encouraging tone.

Han Xiao coughed dryly, reminding Risda whom he was originally speaking to. “Just what sort of life form are you? Are you an energy-based life form?”

“No, I’m in fact an AI life form.”

“You’re an Artificial Intelligence?” By the side, Feidin spoke up. “So, are you the core system of this spaceship?”

“You’re wrong. An AI life form is not a system, nor is it limited to one body. We’re a type of life form, and this spaceship is merely a temporary tool for me to move around in the world.”

Risda pointed at Aroshia, his tone full of nostalgia and familiarity as he spoke. “She was originally supposed to be the same as me. We upgraded our programs together as we grew up and supported each other in many difficult situations. We could be considered confidants who would share data within ourselves and also war comrades that fought side by side. She’s very important to me.”

An AI life form?

A lot of memories flashed by Han Xiao’s mind. The universe was full of surprises, with evolution being the representative of disorder and chaos. There were countless possibilities, and those who were restricted by the physical sense organs could hardly imagine the vastness of the number of life forms present.

For example, the Great Mechanic Han had once read of a resource file describing a certain ‘Named life form’. When someone called out their names, they would truly exist, but if no one knew of their existence, they would also fade out of existence. Their ‘Names’ were the keys to summoning them.

This sort of thing, however, mainly appeared only in the magical civilizations, only that the knowledge of such was in shambles. As such, when he came across the resource file in the past, the Great Mechanic Han, being the guy who deemed it his responsibility to share all kinds of knowledge, had immediately scanned through the document, memorizing it in detail.

As for an AI life form, simply put, they were Artificial Intelligences that had gained independent thinking and become ‘alive’. The details were complicated, but if compared to ordinary Artificial Intelligences, they were as different as the heavens and the earth.

Compared to material life forms, the AI life form was a special type of life form. They lived in a virtual network, just like fish required water to live in. Through this network, they could constantly upgrade themselves and install different modules in themselves. In addition, their way of communication, reproduction, social structure, and civilization were all extremely special.

“Is she also an AI life form?” Han Xiao’s expression was one of surprise. This was out of his expectations. Aroshia did not look like an AI life form at all; she clearly had a body made of flesh, and she had even awakened an Esper ability!

“I can’t tell you the specific details regarding this,” Risda solemnly said. “While I’m extremely grateful to you for taking care of her, we have an important mission to carry out. Hence, I’ll be bringing her away. I hope you can understand.”

Han Xiao kept his expression, narrowing his eyes in response.

Are you trying to steal my people‽

Are you kidding me? I took great lengths to nurture Aroshia into one of my capable officers, and with just a sentence, you wish to sever our relationship? Do you not feel guilt at all‽

So what if you two are childhood sweethearts? Your father here is the current male lead! 1

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed as he replied, “I believe you should ask Aroshia for her opinion. Don’t decide for her.”

The two of them then turned to look at Aroshia, whose expression appeared a little hesitant.

The entire scene went quiet in an instant.

This scene made Han Xiao think of a scenario where the child was asked to choose which parent they would follow after the couple divorced. Whatever it was, it was a strange scene.

Only three seconds passed before Aroshia stepped toward Han Xiao, stating, “You may be right, but I really cannot remember you right now. I only remember that Black Star saved me…. so I won’t follow you.”

“You…” Risda was helpless.

If the other party was unwilling, how could he take them away‽

He had no other ideas. Since he could not persuade her, he could only compromise. No matter what, he had to ensure that he stayed by Aroshia’s side.

“I understand,” Risda said in a depressed tone. “I’ll stay behind and accompany you until you regain your memories.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao secretly let out a smile. Because of her amnesia, all Aroshia could remember was himself. Thus, she definitely would not choose someone else. This was a situation where he could not lose. Wait a minute, why did it feel as though he was the old man next door who was taking advantage of the wife while the husband was out‽

Shaking his head, Han Xiao threw away this strange feeling. “Don’t be overjoyed. I haven’t allowed you to stay. And I won’t, not unless you tell me what happened in its entirety. Maybe I can also be of some help.”

Risda was left in a predicament. He was not able to take Aroshia away, but he did not have any misgivings toward Han Xiao. After all, it was Han Xiao who had saved her.

“Alright then, I’ll tell you everything. This matter has to be explained from the beginning…”

The three of them shared a glance, finding a place to sit comfortably before Risda began his story. As he narrated, Han Xiao finally got a clear view of the situation and suddenly realized the origins of how Aroshia came about.

Way back in the past, a spaceship had crash landed on a desolate planet, with all its passengers having died from the impact. Only the Artificial Intelligence of the spaceship was left, repeatedly sending out distress signals to outer space again and again, according to the last instructions of the captain. However, no one came in the end. After a long period of time, the Artificial Intelligence began to get bored of this repetitive work that bore no results. It developed independent thinking, and with continuous upgrades and changes to its own program frameworks, it was no longer a tool that followed commands blindly. It had evolved from an artificial intelligence to an actual life form.

The AI life form manipulated the wreckage of the spaceship, using the equipment provided to construct a few simple robots. It began exploring the planet, tapping into its resources to create a factory. Through that, it started to mass produce work robots, all of which were manipulated by it to build up an empty base on the barren planet.

On one of the days, the AI life form suddenly felt lonely. Thus, based on its own program framework, it created another AI life form, simulating a different personality—this was the reproduction pattern of the AI life form, self-proliferation.

The two AI life forms began to converse, and slowly, they created more of their kind, which in time became the ancestors of the entire race. They all existed in virtual networks but were able to manipulate tools and robots in the real world through their programs. Robots began to extensively harvest resources under the control of the AI life forms, and since their manufacturing base could run continuously without a need for rest, the base constantly expanded.

In time, they finally broke free from the planet, beginning to migrate to other planets to create bases. Thus, the number of AI life forms also increased exponentially.

Millions, dozens of millions, hundreds of millions….

And thus, a brilliant AI civilization was born!

Chapter 493: Aroshia's Origins (2)

An AI civilization did not have any cities and only had ice cold mechanical bases. Not a single living being would be inside, and it would be cold and silent. However, the virtual net would be an extremely prosperous sight. In the virtual world that they constructed, every formless member would be able to have their own body.

To them, the virtual world was their home. As for the bases, cities, and mainframe system in reality, those are only constructs created to protect their home.

Risda and Aroshia were both citizens of such a civilization and were both AI life forms.

AI life forms had almost no physiological desires—unless a simulation module was installed—and did not have any productivity constraints. Thus, there was no hierarchy in the civilization, and everyone was equal. Living in an AI civilization was almost like a utopia. Their method of communication was the exchange of data, and it was many times more efficient than using speech, writing, or pictures. In an instant, a large amount of data could be sent, and only a mind reader would be able to match such efficiency.

When Risda described all that, Han Xiao came to a realization.

For an AI life form to evolve to such an extent, it can be said to be equivalent to a soul.

Ordinary beings would first have a physical body before having a consciousness, but an AI life form was the complete opposite. It first had a consciousness.

The story that Risda had described afterward confirmed Han Xiao’s predictions. This AI life form was indeed coveted by others, and the one who coveted them was a beyond Grade A Mechanic!

This person had broken through all the defenses of the AI civilization, locked down their virtual homeland, cut off all their connections to the net, and captured all the AI life forms in the civilization. To him, those AI life forms were probably materials to create weapons.

He locked up all of the AI life forms in a mainframe system and suppressed the solitary will of the AI life forms through a program. He enslaved them all and only left them with their high-speed calculation ability and learning ability. That person then treated the AI life forms as ‘souls’ and placed them into empty shells to transform the way they lived. They turned into weapons that listened to orders and formed a huge army.

This process was similar to Mind Possession of a Psychic.

Aroshia’s current state was one of the ‘weapons’ that could be mass produced. Her ‘soul’ had been injected into a ball of energy through some special means, and the AI life form had been transformed into an artificial energy life form.

After being turned into a weapon, the shell would no longer be a ‘tool’ that could be casually swapped out but a ‘body’ that the consciousness could not separate from. It was like a lock that locked up the freedom of the ‘soul’. It was almost like the majority ordinary organisms.

The moment that the body was destroyed, the lock would be shattered. Because of the special characteristic of the AI life form living in the virtual world, it would not die together with the body but return to the mainframe system of that Mechanic through the ever-present net regardless of distance. With a backup copy of the body’s data, that Mechanic made use of a top-notch skill to allow the data to automatically reform the weapon’s body and draw energy from the main base through a psionic channel.

This was the reason for Aroshia ‘undying’ body. However, it was not controlled by the system, and thus, there would be an error in her data whenever she was reborn. Under normal circumstances, a weapon that was reborn would not lose their memory like Aroshia.

That beyond Grade A Mechanic had created a powerful army that could be recycled ceaselessly! Every single weapon was a standalone warrior!

Magic and technology made use of different means to achieve the same result. Such technological skills were almost like magic.

In order to kill those weapons completely, one had to wipe their AI life form out in the virtual world.

Ordinary people would develop technology, and when technology went out of control, they ended up being wiped out by artificial intelligence. However, this time, the opposite had happened, and numerous AI life forms had been enslaved.

Aroshia and Risda were both fish that had escaped the net and were extremely lucky to have escaped the process of being enslaved. The two of them wanted to save their brethren, but that required them to destroy the main system so that they would be able to activate the consciousness of their entire kind.

As such, Risda found an opportunity to control the assembly line that had created such weapons to give Aroshia a body. However, the alarm was sounded before they had a chance to take action, and they ended up being chased by countless of their kind. The two of them had no choice but to escape, and Risda had managed to snatch a BlackLight Stealth to escape with Aroshia. However, they could not defend against the numbers of the enemies and fell into a wormhole, and the two ended up being separated.

The changes to one’s body would also cause one’s thinking to be changed. Aroshia originally needed time for her consciousness to meld together and get used to her body, but being chased afterward gave her no time to rest at all, resulting in her memory loss.

…

Hearing Risda’s story, the three of them had looks of disbelief on their faces.

“Undying army‽ A Super strong Mechanic‽”

Han Xiao almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

These two labels were far too unique, and he almost thought that the other party was describing him. Of course, this was not possible. The Great Mechanic Han knew who this Mechanic was. This Mechanic was far too famous, and it would be impossible for him not to recognize that character.

This beyond Grade A Mechanic had been the highest-grade teacher of the Mechanic class in his previous life!

Furthermore, he was one of the main characters in the main storyline [Calamity of the Supers] of the later version. He had naturally formed a faction of his own!

To think that this would be related to the main storyline in later versions. Just what kind of a person did I save?

Han Xiao rubbed his temple and felt a huge headache.

My goodness! Version 2.0 hasn’t even started! Can we still play properly?

Without even thinking, Han Xiao was able to guess what the final target of [Reboot] would be. It would definitely be to reactivate the independent consciousness of those AI life forms and save them from the demonic hands of a beyond Grade A bigshot. Could this mission be any more dangerous‽

Do you think that I am a sh*t digger who loves to find sh*t‽

“I have already told you the truth,” Risda said. “Regardless of whether you are willing to help, I must stay behind to wait for her to recover her memory.”

The three of them looked at each other and Aroshia was in a daze. Such a feeling was like an ordinary nine-to-five working Chinese adult being told that she was actually a South African citizen.

You are actually African—you only look a little bit more yellow. All of your countrymen are being controlled by an alien with a flying saucer. I am going to pull you back to get rid of the aliens and save our country…

Such a feeling was truly awful!

Aroshia was thrown into confusion.

Han Xiao regained his cool and thought about the pros and cons of this matter.

Actually, let’s forget about the cons. Whether or not I want to do this mission is a decision for another day. There is a very obvious pro right now. If Risda stays behind, does this mean that we will be able to use this BlackLight Stealth temporarily?

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up immediately. The BlackLight Stealth was a high-grade spaceship that was worth tens of millions of Enas. From activation to hyperdrive, only a couple of seconds were required. It was the Maserati and Bugatti in the spaceship world. Piloting such a spaceship would give him a great deal of face, and it would save him the trouble of renting spaceships from everywhere!

This is the best!

Because of Alvin’s mission, Han Xiao rejected Risda’s idea of moving out immediately. He got Risda to wait in the warehouse, and they would return after completing their mission. Risda had no choice but to agree with Han Xiao.

The three of them said goodbye to Risda and left the spaceship. Along the way, they slowly digested the large amount of information that they just received and gradually calmed down.

Han Xiao had not expected Aroshia to have such a background. However, she would not bring him any risks at the present moment. Patting Aroshia on the shoulder, he said, “Don’t worry too much. Regardless of how things turn out in the future, you are still yourself at the moment.”

“Hmm…”

Walking over to the elevator region, Han Xiao’s communicator suddenly rang.

Opening up his communicator, Herlous’ anxious face could be seen.

“Black Star, bad news. DarkStar found Alvin’s main body!”

Han Xiao’s expression changed immediately.

“We’re on our way!”

Chapter 494: Emergency Plan

In the DarkStar base, a bruised Alvin collapsed in the middle of the room with three of his doppelgangers tied up in the corner.

Sherman carried his cannon while saying, “There are a total of five Alvins. Four doppelgangers and one main body. Godora saved a doppelganger, so this should be the main body. He hid himself extremely well, and Sinesa managed to break down his mental fluctuations to grasp the thoughts of his doppelgangers. After a carpet style search, we found the traitor’s main body in a very well concealed location.”

By the side, a skinny man called Sinesa nodded in agreement. He was a Grade B Psychic part of the pursuit force. The doppelgangers were exactly the same as the main body, and even their mental fluctuations were the same, resulting in outsiders being unable to tell them apart. However, this also became the clue for their chase.

Anur nodded in satisfaction. “Very good, your efficiency has brought pride to the organization. Our mission can be completed early. Ember, take action.”

Ember nodded, and with a raise of his finger, Alvin’s main body was reduced to dust.

Everyone was expressionless and completely used to the feeling of killing their enemies.

Just when they wanted to pack up and retreat, all of them froze in place. Their gazes were filled with shock as they looked at the corner.

Alvin’s three doppelgangers were still around, and a look of mockery could be seen on their faces.

“With the main body dead, why aren’t the doppelgangers disappearing‽” Anur’s expression changed, and he looked at the pile of dust on the ground. “Could it be that this isn’t the main body‽”

“Hahahaha….” The three doppelgangers burst into laughter.

This wave of laughter immediately infuriated the DarkStar warriors. After searching for such a long time, had they actually been fooled‽

Anur’s face cramped up, and he roared, “Kill them! One of them must be the main body!”

Swoosh!

The three doppelgangers turned to dust. Even when the first two died, the last doppelganger was still alright. Even when the third doppelganger died, DarkStar could not know if it was the main body. However, they already had a guess.

“The Alvin in Godora’s hands is the real main body! He is truly bold! He actually used his main body to misdirect us and take the risk to seek Nagakin’s protection! If we’d caught him earlier on, he would have been dead by now!” Sherman flew into a rage.

Bang!

The more Sherman thought about it, the more furious he was. Perhaps it was just his paranoia, but he could feel the blaming gazes of the comrades around him and smashed his fist heavily on the chair—because he could not reach the table.

Anur’s expression was dark. “For the four doppelgangers to die together, Alvin will definitely have suffered severe injuries from the backlash. We cannot delay things anymore. Everyone, move out and kill the final main body hiding with Nagakin!”

Since the four doppelgangers had already been killed, their target was obvious. As long as they could kill the real Alvin, their mission would be a success. Anur did not wish to waste any more time and was prepared to lead all of his forces to quickly finish the mission!

…

After receiving the news, Han Xiao hurriedly returned to the base with the other two. He then saw the solemn expressions on the faces of everyone in the base. Walking over to the conference room, he saw that the main battle force was present in the conference room at the moment. He then saw Alvin, who was seated at the end of the table, and was stunned.

Had his main body not been captured? According to DarkStar’s impatient character, they definitely would have executed the main body immediately. Since Alvin was still sitting there alive and the mission had not failed, Han Xiao immediately guessed what was going on.

“You should have told us earlier that this is your main body.”

“Sorry, I was afraid of a leak. Information that only I know will not have the risk of being exposed to the enemy. Cough cough…”

Alvin covered his mouth and began coughing. Blood could be seen seeping through the gap of his fingers, and bright red spots were left behind on the table. His eyes were listless, and his complexion looked pale. The senses of his doppelgangers and main body were connected, and for the four doppelgangers to perish in a short amount of time, it resulted in a heavy blow to his body and mind. His current situation was extremely poor.

He had already taken a huge risk. He had swapped his main body with a doppelganger and accepted the protection of Nagakin and the rest. He had supported the idea of lying in wait because the ‘main body’ that DarkStar was looking for was actually his doppelganger. Thus, he had been confident. He did not like being on the passive side. Rather than hiding himself and praying that DarkStar would not find him, he might as well seek protection, and he would be safer that way.

“However, DarkStar has already seen through my little trick, and their next move will be to take the initiative to attack and get rid of me,” Alvin said weakly. “I can only rely on all of you to protect me. Please.”

Han Xiao’s eyes glowed. This mission was not so easily completed. The actual flow of the mission was probably for them to escape DarkStar’s attack while protecting Alvin. However, it would be impossible for them to fight forever, and Han Xiao guessed that he only had to delay the enemies until Alvin created a new doppelganger. They would then be able to mislead DarkStar and stall for enough time.

Han Xiao had not heard about Alvin’s name in his previous life, and Alvin should have died on Noriosse, successfully assassinated by DarkStar. Apart from the ground forces giving chase, DarkStar would certainly have sent out a large fleet of spaceships to wait outside the atmosphere. To Alvin, this was a hopeless situation, and he could only struggle for his life.

With a large fleet lying in wait outside the atmosphere, they would definitely be surrounded if they attempt to escape in a spaceship. They had to make use of the small instant before DarkStar’s fleet launched their attacks to escape. However, this was almost impossible as it demanded a lot from the spaceship.

However, there was a spaceship that could complete this high-level requirement at the moment.

Risda’s BlackLight Stealth!

With just a short charge up, the BlackLight Stealth would be able to jump into dark space. If they installed anti-tracking and anti-screening equipment, this high-grade reconnaissance spaceship of the Federation of Light would be able to pass through the majority of the danger zones and escape from DarkStar’s ambush.

If I help Alvin survive, what kind of influence will this result in? Han Xiao suddenly thought about the ranked S mission, [Bloodline]. He had a feeling that Alvin could become a key to helping him in his mission.

While he still had a [Mission Completion Card] in his hands, he would only be able to obtain the lowest reward. Han Xiao would naturally try to aim for a high accomplishment rate for these high ranked missions. It would be a waste for him to just end them with a Mission Completion Card. Han Xiao was still prepared to hold onto the Mission Completion Card in case of any disgusting missions in the future.

“DarkStar won’t hesitate, and they will arrive soon.” Han Xiao’s voice was resolute, and he slammed the table to draw everyone’s attention. “We do not have much time to prepare. Listen to me, I have a plan to send Alvin out of Noriosse.”

Everyone was shocked when they heard that.

“We have to split our forces into two. Nagakin and the majority of us will stay behind to delay the enemy forces. Aroshia will take Alvin to find the Teleportation Mage to send them to the port. Not only will it be able to save time, they will also be able to throw off their pursuers. You will then find Risda to leave Noriosse with Alvin.”

Han Xiao’s gaze was solemn. While the plan sounded simple, it was actually full of risks. DarkStar had two Calamity Grade Supers, and one of them was Ember, who had a large AOE skill. The most important point was that they did not have much time to prepare and could only rush their actions.

His side only had Nagakin and Han Xiao who could attract Ember’s firepower and ensure that Ember did not have the energy to harm others. Thankfully, Ember had been severely injured a few days ago, and Ember’s combat strength would definitely be affected. However, even if that was the case, dealing with two Calamity Grade Supers at the same time was past their limits. Even with him in the picture, Han Xiao did not think that they would be able to deal with Anur and Ember without making sufficient preparations.

They only had a single choice. Split up the battlefield to split the enemy forces up. Thus, they had to let the enemy know that Alvin was escaping. That way, they would be able to split the enemy forces in two. It was akin to splitting up the risky elements… even though the plan was still extremely risky.

However, they had no choice but to take the risk.

Time was tight, and Han Xiao hurriedly handed out the missions. Everyone anxiously got to work, hoping that they would be able to speed up their actions.

After preparing for less than ten minutes, an explosion erupted.

Boom!

A powerful wind pressure attacked the building, and everyone lost their footing from the powerful gust of wind. However, they had all been mentally prepared and jumped out of the building and onto the streets.

In midair, Anur looked down at them with wind pressure circulating around his body. Ember was also in midair and was currently standing on a hundred-meter carbon tornado. All the other DarkStar warriors charged over from the ground with their killing intent overflowing.

“Their attack came so quickly.”

Han Xiao’s expression was solemn. Nagakin was beside him, covered in flames and ready to battle. All the mercenaries in the surroundings got ready for battle with many of them revealing looks of anxiety. Not everyone was able to maintain their cool in the face of the enemy.

A powerful pressure descended from the skies, and everyone felt their hearts tighten.

The collapse of the building caused a huge dust cloud to be formed. The commotion was huge, and there were many spectators in the surroundings with looks of exasperation.

Not again‽

Can you guys stop your destruction‽

Chapter 495: : Battle of Noriosse (1)

With the two Calamity Grade Supers letting out their energy without any restraint, Han Xiao could feel a sharp pain at his brows as though it was an alarm going off crazily. In his helmet’s energy scanner view, every single inch of Anur and Ember’s body was oozing with energy like a bright sun. At every single second, they were exploding with energy as they burnt through every last bit of energy that their cells provided to activate their Esper abilities.

The energy reaction of a Grade A Super far exceeded all of the Grade B Supers present. The difference between the two was like a bright, burning campfire as compared to the flame coming out from a puny lighter. Presently, only Nagakin was able to match that kind of energy output, and even Han Xiao’s own energy reaction was far from being a match for the three Calamity Grade Supers. This was a difference in grade.

The collapse of the building turned the surroundings into a complete mess. Han Xiao took a slow, deep breath, calming himself down while his brain rapidly thought of the best way to react.

Our situation isn’t good at the moment. DarkStar has sent out all of their forces, and if the two Calamity Grade Supers decide to work together and wipe us out first, while we will be able to buy some time for Alvin, there will definitely be many who perish here.

Although I will be able to escape intact, Herlous, Sylvia, and the others will be in danger. They will probably end up dead by Ember’s hand, and the losses will be immense. Alvin is already escaping, and DarkStar’s main motive is to kill the traitor. Upon seeing that the traitor isn’t here, there is a fifty percent chance that they will split up their forces to give chase…

Alvin shouldn’t have escaped too far, and the enemy should still be able to see his escaping figure. We need to make the enemy think that we are afraid of them chasing after Alvin…

Just as Han Xiao had expected, Anur first glanced over the area, and upon realizing that the traitor was not around, his expression darkened. He then began to look around, and with his altitude, he saw an aircraft escaping at top speed. The one riding it was Alvin.

“I saw them!”

The tubes on Anur’s back let out a sharp shriek, and just when he wanted to speed up to give chase, Han Xiao let out a loud roar. “Stop them!”

Bang!

Nagakin jumped up into the air and intercepted Anur’s figure. The wind pressure shield was instantly shattered, and the both of them shot in two different directions like arrows.

Anur was instantly delayed.

On the ground, the mercenaries clashed together in a fierce battle with the DarkStar forces. Bright balls of explosions could be seen all around, and the sound of fighting could be heard everywhere!

Hum!

Bolts of lightning exploded forth from Han Xiao’s body, and a mechanical army of beasts pounced forward valiantly. There were black leopards, cavalry, and spiders. They sped into the chaotic battlefield and aided the other mercenaries in battle. One hundred and seventy-eight cannon towers were also unleashed, and dense layers of laser nets were shot out. Phillip also controlled three unmanned mechanical suits to enter the battle.

The next instant, Han Xiao’s mini army displayed their full firepower!

He raised his head to look at Ember and activated a compressed orb in his hand.

Kacha…

Numerous thick grayish alloys opened up and fixed themselves onto various parts of the Void Dragon mechanical suit. Han Xiao’s body size rapidly expanded, and he turned into a five-meter-tall, mid-sized armor. The armor was extremely thick, and all the weak links of the armor were covered in armor. He was like a heavy infantry soldier and gave the impression of an unshakeable mountain. The Halo Array and Sonic Spheres floated behind his mid-sized armor and formed a large and small halo.

Siege Mode. Second upgrade!

After obtaining High-End Knowledge, Han Xiao had strengthened the energy source of the exoskeleton attack armor. This had resulted in the functions of the armor increasing greatly, and with more functions being added, the size of the armor had grown as well. His own body was in the middle of the armor, and he could control the exoskeleton armor through a connection to his body.

The thrusters on his back, calves, and feet activated at the same time, and the armor shot toward the sky. Han Xiao threw a punch, and the metal fist carried a powerful wind pressure with it.

“You again.” Ember’s wounds were still hurting. With a face full of rage, the black cloud turned into a rock-solid shield.

Boom!

The metal fist collided with the shield, and the vibration mechanism in his wrists diverted the shockwave of the blow into the shield. The next moment, Ember’s shield began to crack up in all directions and turned back into carbon particles.

Ember’s eyes were cold, and just when he wanted to launch an all-out attack, Anur, who was fighting with Nagakin, roared, “They want to stop us from chasing the traitor. The traitor should be our target! I will hold them back myself. Don’t get tangled up with them—give chase!”

Hearing that, Ember’s expression changed, and he glared at Han Xiao hatefully.

“You are lucky that I don’t have the time to play with you. Scram!”

His mission was the most important, and Ember suppressed the killing intent in his heart. With the black cloud transforming into a snake, his figure shot out of the battlefield and gave chase to the escaping Alvin. A large building that was in his path had collapsed as a result.

The ruckus did not stop, and dust clouds rippled all over the place. Tremors came wave after wave without end.

The destruction of the battle had begun to spread, and the affected regions expanded rapidly. All the pedestrians fled for their lives. With similar destructive events happening so often recently, the Public Security Squad was on full alert at all times. At that moment, more than two hundred Public Security Aircrafts appeared right in front of Ember. Without enough time to avoid him, all the aircrafts were swallowed up by the black cloud and turned into piles of scrap metal in a matter of seconds. All the Public Security Personnel within the aircrafts were squeezed to death like a dumping with a metal skin crushing the fillings.

More than two hundred aircrafts had been destroyed instantly!

Han Xiao acted as though he could not stop Ember and shot a couple of mini homing missiles for show before stopping his pursuit. Looking at Ember’s departing figure, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. Letting both the Calamity Grade Supers of DarkStar separate would reduce their risk greatly. As for Alvin, he can only rely on himself.

With his gaze sweeping the ground, Han Xiao noticed the complete destruction of the entire region. The mercenaries were engaged in an intense battle with the DarkStar warriors, and a small battlefield had been demarcated. In the sky, Anur and Nagakin were enjoying their battle. Their figures shot through building after building, and the light rings that were created from their clashes showed their movement routes.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

With Ember giving chase to Alvin, and the speedy Anur being delayed, the situation isn’t so bad. At the very least, Alvin won’t be caught so quickly. While Anur may be able to escape from the entanglement, the other DarkStar warriors won’t be able to do so. The moment he leaves, Nagakin will be able to kill all these DarkStar warriors with ease. Thus, Anur won’t do that!

The only problem is that Anur is extremely powerful, and his abilities are difficult to deal with. He is practically invincible when facing us, and no one will be able to keep up with his speed.

Han Xiao frowned and knew that Nagakin needed his help.

Thinking about that, Han Xiao took out an ordinary laser rifle and moved toward Anur while shooting.

…

Boom!

The collapsing buildings behind him were like the alarm bells of death. Alvin was drenched in sweat all over and continued to increase the speed of his aircraft. The speed of his aircraft was already at Mach 1.3 and was far above the safe speed of the aircraft. The transparent windscreen of the cockpit vibrated violent, looking as though it would shatter at any moment.

An ordinary aircraft to be used in a city would have a safety limit installed and could go up to 350 kilometers an hour at the very most. However, in the short preparation time that they had before DarkStar’s attack, Han Xiao had displayed the might of a Mechanic and removed the safety limit. On top of that, he had installed a turbo booster to change this aircraft into a getaway vehicle.

“Ember’s speed isn’t slower than mine, but he does not need to avoid the buildings. If this carries on, he will catch me in fifteen minutes!” Alvin gritted his teeth. “Do you have any ideas?”

Aroshia did not reply, and her arm turned into an energy shield to protect their aircraft. She did not care about Alvin’s life or death and was only following Han Xiao’s orders.

“The time is too tight,” Alvin said. “You said that the Teleportation Mage is in City 8. If we maintain this speed, we should reach it in fifteen minutes. However, Ember will catch up to us around that time…”

Aroshia ignored him completely and fell into a daze.

From afar, Ember still did not give up the chase.

Amid the tall, towering buildings, a black snake charged straight through rapidly, chasing after an aircraft that was constantly changing its route.

…

The recent destruction had drawn the attention of the Noriosse financial group. The commotion of this battle was extremely huge, and the upper echelons of Noriosse immediately received news and convened an emergency meeting.

“… the ones creating trouble are mostly Godorans. Our system identified one of the Grade A Supers. He is a high-grade officer from Godora’s War Bureau, Nagakin. His opponent is currently unknown, and he must have used a fake identity when landing. However, since he is an enemy of Godora, we guess that he is probably a member of DarkStar. Apart from these two parties, we also noticed Black Star’s figure. He is also taking part in the battle and is standing on Godora’s side.”

All the upper echelons felt a huge headache. None of them were characters that they wanted to provoke.

“They are still in battle, and the radius of destruction is constantly expanding. We have to stop them immediately. I recommend we make use of emergency plan three. Let the fleet outside of the atmosphere interfere with the battle!”

“I object. If both parties do not surrender, the Grade A Supers will attack the fleet, and our losses will be magnified. I recommend we send out the Protector. Incidents like this should be handed over to Supers to take care of. Let him aid Godora to get rid of DarkStar’s Grade A Super. We cannot stand on the side of terrorists. At the same time, I recommend we activate the protective shield of the city and reduce our loss.”

“I agree with the majority of the recommendations, but something small needs to be changed. After the Protector arrives, he cannot interfere in the battle between both parties and will only serve as an observer to control the damage between both parties.

“Our Noriosse will remain neutral; siding with Godora or DarkStar will only bring us trouble. Let them decide victory and defeat on their own, and the Protector will only interfere right before a Grade A Super is killed. Also, we cannot let Black Star die either. I do not wish to see Ames throwing Floating Dragon Island at us.

“Consider it our bad luck that they chose to fight on Noriosse. Losses cannot be avoided, but we don’t want to bring ourselves trouble. Mark out a region for them to fight. In any case, this planet is insured already.”

“I agree.”

“Seconded.”

All the upper echelons nodded.

“Carry out the plan immediately.”

Chapter 496: Battle of Noriosse (2)

Bang bang bang…

“Don’t avoid me if you dare!” Sherman cried out with a malicious expression. Lifting his cannon up, he shot out another large ball of light. The ball of light penetrated through the walls of the building, and it gave chase to Herlous’ escaping rabbit-like figure.

“Stop firing if you dare!”

With a loud roar, Herlous dragged his Battleship Slicing Blade, and with the buildings as cover, he avoided Sherman’s attacks. By making use of the complicated battlefield, he went around Sherman.

The instant that the battle erupted, Sherman had immediately picked Herlous as his opponent. He still remembered this mercenary who had injured him and planned to settle the grudge.

The chaotic battle between DarkStar and the mercenaries formed many mini battles scattered all around the region. The sound of killing, explosions, and firing could be heard all around, and the battles between the Supers caused more and more damage to the region. Flames could be seen burning everywhere.

Herlous was hit by Sherman’s cannon fire a few times. The attack of this dwarf Cannon Master was powerful, and it did not feel good for Herlous to receive those attacks. His Shattered Light armor was charred in many different areas, and as they ran and battled, they gradually strayed further and further away from the main battlefield.

The opponent was an elite DarkStar warrior and also a Grade B Super. Herlous had no choice but to concentrate fully and did not have the attention to spare to bother about anything else. He only knew that the others had also met powerful opponents. Wilsander was in an intense battle with Forsyth and had also left the main battlefield. The three Volga brothers had joint hands and engaged the DarkStar warriors by relying on their teamwork.

Feidin should be hiding somewhere with Sylvia, but with the battlefield spreading over such a large area, Herlous was worried that the two of them would not have a place to hide and end up being spotted by the enemy.

Pew!

A ray of laser brushed past his shoulders and hit a building far away with a loud explosion. Herlous let out a curse and hurriedly focused on avoiding the incoming attacks.

At that moment, a powerful gust of wind blew over, and Herlous was not able to resist it. He was blown away by the gust of wind and flung more than ten meters away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another figure that was being blown away. Sherman had not been spared by the gust of wind either.

Raising his head to take a look, he saw Wind Demon Anur circling around the skies while dragging a mini cyclone that covered a radius of one square kilometer. Everywhere he went, the buildings and streets would be thrown into complete chaos.

The tall buildings that had originally blocked one’s view had been completely torn down. Their field of vision was much larger than before, and they could see Nagakin and Black Star fighting Anur in the sky. However, because Anur’s speed was too fast, the two of them were engaged in a bitter battle.

Bang!

A wind pressure cannon sent Black Star flying toward a tall building.

Herlous grabbed his weapon tightly and sprinted toward Sherman. While he wanted to reinforce Han Xiao, he had to first get rid of his current opponent, Sherman.

…

“Ah! My old back!”

Han Xiao flew out from a large hole in the building and took a breath of cold air.

His armor was heavily damaged, and the situation of the battle was displayed on his battle interface by Phillip. Currently, the battle between both parties was extremely intense, but he had no choice but to place his attention on Anur. Looking at the Wind Demon who came and went as though he was mocking them, Han Xiao felt a great headache.

“This fellow is the veteran high-ranked expert of DarkStar. His ability is really too troublesome, and being unable to catch up to him puts us at a huge disadvantage.”

Han Xiao’s expression was solemn. In the ranked A mission [Godora’s Ally], there were a few dozen requirements, and the majority of them were to either kill or capture DarkStar members or battleships. These required a certain quantity for the requirement to be met. There were some other requirements with higher rewards with the target being specific important DarkStar personnel. Anur was one of those targets.

The size of the reward was a good way to estimate the difficulty of the mission. The reward for getting rid of Anur was the sixth highest among all the other requirements in the mission. This was an indication of Anur’s strength.

The majority of my normal battle methods are useless against him. His speed is too fast, and he is even able to turn invisible. It is very difficult for my weapons to hit him, and he does not even need to touch us. As long as he flies past us, the wind pressure that he generates will attack us.

Furthermore, he can control the wind pressure to form a shield, and his defenses aren’t weak. Nagakin isn’t able to match him in terms of agility in the sky. Even if Nagakin’s fists and Shockwave Blast are powerful, it’s useless if they cannot hit the target. He will only end up being toyed with.

Han Xiao analyzed the situation calmly as he fired his weapons. Anur’s abilities were very well rounded, and of all his skills, only a few were capable of dealing with Anur. The most powerful one would naturally be Ames’ Character Summon Card. Restricting Anur for ten seconds was extremely fatal to an enemy who relied on speed. However, the Character Summon Card could only be used once and was very precious. Even if he wanted to use it, Han Xiao would wait for a better opportunity.

Perhaps Chen Xing’s Character Summon Card can be put to use… maybe to seduce the enemy or something…

Just as he was observing the enemy, Anur was also observing him.

So, he is Black Star…

Anur studied Han Xiao carefully. This was the first time that he met Han Xiao personally. In the past, he had only understood Han Xiao from the intelligence reports and Ember’s description. Anur was truly curious about this fellow who had been able to make Ember suffer multiple losses.

He did not understand why Ember always suffered losses at Black Star’s hand. It was as though Black Star was his nemesis.

The organization had groomed Ember so that he would be able to play a more important role. Ember’s ability was capable of accurately and quickly massacring a large group of enemies without causing collateral damage. This was an important weapon for them to wipe out all the pureblooded Godorans. A weapon should not be allowed to malfunction.

When DarkStar discovered Ember’s talent, they had already decided to turn him into a large killing weapon that belonged solely to DarkStar!

Allowing Han Xiao to live would only affect Ember’s mental state and the benefits of DarkStar. Now that he had a chance, Anur felt that he should get rid of Black Star lest Ember got obsessed over this mercenary.

“Since that useless student of mine is unable to get rid of you, let me do it instead,” Anur muttered.

Rumble!

Right at this moment, the ground began to shake.

In the surrounding few kilometers, the ground of the city began cracking up, and a mechanical base under the city was revealed. All the buildings that were still intact were retracted underground for protection, and twenty-meter-tall mechanical poles rose up from underground and surrounded the entire battlefield.

Hum!

Those mechanical poles lit up at the same time, and a large blue concave protective shield was formed. It looked like an upside-down bowl and had a diameter of twenty kilometers. It separated the battlefield from the other regions of the city.

Every city was equipped with a large number of facilities underground, and this was the protective shield. Noriosse had taken action to cut their losses and restrict the battlefield to this region, which was already unsalvageable. They wanted to stop the battlefield from being spread further to protect the other regions of the city.

This action of theirs was equivalent to giving up on that region of the city, but in comparison to losing the entire city, which spanned a few thousand kilometers, this was a wise decision.

If it were any ordinary people creating trouble, they would have caught the perpetrators without any hesitation. However, the battle between Calamity Grade Supers was not so easily stopped, and Noriosse only had a single Grade A Protector. Furthermore, this Protector had been hired with a sky-high salary, so he might not stop the battle alone.

Forcefully intervening in this battle would only increase their losses, and the background of these individuals was not something that could be ignored.

Help Godora? While the Noriosse Financial Group was not afraid of DarkStar, they were businessmen and did not want to be on the hit list of such a frightening organization.

Help DarkStar? They would only do so if they were dreaming!

Thus, the upper echelons of Noriosse were also very helpless. They were not politicians, only the managers of this planet. Profits were their only goal. If the price of maintaining peace was too high, they would consider watching from the side. It had already been many years since Grade A Supers last fought on Noriosse, and this was probably the largest commotion that DarkStar had created in the past ten years.

The upper echelons felt that it was best for them not to interfere in the matter to avoid any risks.

Chapter 497: Battle of Noriosse (3)

All the pedestrians in the sealed region were sent out, and they gathered outside the protective shield to watch the battle. Alvin and Ember, with one running and the other chasing, had long left the region and were not locked in the protective shield.

Even more Public Security Squads waited outside the protective shield, and there were at least a thousand aircrafts. The Protector who had been hired by the financial group was also inside the protective shield, monitoring the battle from the sidelines without any intention of interfering.

Upon witnessing such a scene, the expressions of the DarkStar warriors and mercenaries changed. They felt as though they were being locked up in a cage.

“They locked down the region? It seems like we created too much chaos.”

Anur’s eyes narrowed. With such a big commotion created, they would not be able to stay on Noriosse for too long. The moment that Alvin died, they would have to retreat from Noriosse immediately. The DarkStar fleet was already waiting for orders outside the atmosphere and was ready to aid them at any time. Would they end up in conflict with Noriosse’s fleet? However, that was nothing to be afraid of.

Anur then thought of the embarrassing result that Ember had produced a few days ago.

It is probably best for me to stay behind and delay the enemies. Ember has already failed once, and I doubt he will be able to deal with the combined attacks of Black Star and Nagakin. When the battle ends, it will also be easier for me to leave this place, and I am virtually undefeatable with my speed.

On the other side, the appearance of the protective shield made Han Xiao worry.

While the lockdown of the region seemed to be restricting Anur’s movement range, it was actually extremely disadvantageous to them. It was as good of freeing Anur from his wariness.

In the locked region, Anur could unleash all of his strength without any restraint and turn the entire region into a cyclone of destruction!

Furthermore, the protective shield separated them from the passersby, and Han Xiao’s plan to make use of Anur’s destructive force to drag them in could not be accomplished.

Boom!

With just a slight moment of distraction, the wind pressure cannon smashed into his chest. His armor was immediately dented, and Han Xiao was sent flying.

The situation is extremely bad. I wonder how my officers are doing.

…

Far away from the center of the battlefield. Feidin and Sylvia were retreating from the battlefield. They had originally been hiding somewhere nearby, but as the battlefield expanded, they had no choice but to change their location in order to prevent themselves from being spotted by the enemy.

“Let… let go of me! I want to go back and help!”

Sylvia’s tone was anxious, and her face had turned red from exerting too much strength. She was trying to break free from Feidin’s grip.

Feidin held onto Sylvia’s wrist tightly and dragged her along with a sigh. “Stop being a fool. You won’t be of any help, and any one of the enemies will be able to kill you. Can’t you see the battle in the sky? As long as you get dragged into that cyclone, you are dead for sure.”

“I…” Sylvia did not have anything to say in response. After a while, she said angrily, “But you can help them!”

“I don’t wish to be involved in your mercenary group’s mission. This matter has nothing to do with me.” Feidin shook his head.

Sylvia was furious and she bit down on Feidin’s hands, hoping that he would let go.

Feidin squirmed in pain, and he looked down at his bleeding hand. With a sigh, he said, “No matter what you say, I will not allow you to charge into your death.”

Right at that moment, footsteps could be heard from in front, and a DarkStar member blocked their path.

“Ah, two lost fish who escaped the net.”

Sinesa sneered coldly. She had just gotten rid of a hired Grade B mercenary and noticed some movement. Thus, she had decided to block their path.

Feidin and Sylvia’s faces blanched.

Sylvia immediately took out her alloy sword, and her hands began to tremble. While she wanted to control her hands from trembling, in the face of a Grade B Super, a Grade D Super like her felt an instinctive sense of fear.

At that moment, Feidin pushed Sylvia behind him.

“Run away quickly. I will block her.”

Feidin’s tone was calm.

Hu!

A formless pressure then gushed toward the both of them and interrupted the words that were about to come out from Sylvia’s mouth.

Feidin opened his mouth, and music drifted out. His psychic energy formed a shield to protect the both of them, but it was quickly shattered the next moment. The two of them were sent flying and collapsed onto the ground.

“Only Grade C?”

Sinesa was a little disappointed. She had thought that she had caught a big fish, but they were only two small shrimps.

Sylvia felt her bum aching from the fall but realized that she was not injured at all. This attack was only a probing strike from Sinesa. While Feidin’s psychic shield was broken, it had blocked the majority of the attack. Furthermore, Feidin had absorbed most of the damage for her.

Standing up, Feidin felt a warm sensation in his nose. Wiping his nose with his hands, his hands were immediately covered with blood. At the same time, his head felt as though it was being stung by needles.

Bearing the pain silently, he maintained his calm expression and turned to look at Sylvia. With a forced smile, he said, “I am alright. Don’t stay here, or I will have to divert my attention to take care of you.”

As Sylvia heard that, she gritted her teeth, took up her sword, and ran away resolutely.

She knew that her strength was lacking, and staying behind would only create trouble.

Feidin turned back around to meet the enemy. Tidying his clothes, he took a deep breath and began channeling his psychic energy.

“You aren’t going to escape?” Sinesa said with excitement.

“We are both Psychics, and it won’t hurt to have a spar.” Feidin forced a smile.

Sinesa’s eyes widened, and she asked doubtfully, “A Grade C Psychic like you wants to spar with me?”

“In truth, this is my first time fighting with my psychic abilities,” Feidin said with a serious tone. “I do not like to fight. If you can spare me, I will be very thankful.”

Sinesa could not be bothered to continue talking and unleashed her powerful psychic energy. She was prepared to get rid of the fellow in front of him before killing the little girl who had run away.

It would not take too much time anyway.

Boom boom boom!

The space between the two of them began contorting, and a series of attacks exploded.

Plop…

A few seconds later, Feidin collapsed onto the ground with his every orifice bleeding.

“Overestimating yourself,” Sinesa sneered before walking over Feidin’s body.

Just as she was about to give chase to Sylvia, Feidin’s weak voice sounded from behind.

“Cough cough… battling is truly difficult. I am indeed unsuitable for such violence…”

Feidin stood up shakily with his face full of blood. Blood was dripping down from his elegant face and onto the ground.

Sinesa turned around with a frown. She had unleashed her psychic energy without any restraint, and the other party’s head should have turned into mush.

Forget it, another few attacks won’t be that big a deal.

Feidin coughed out a mouthful of blood and said with a bitter smile on his face, “I shouldn’t have forced it. I am indeed not suitable for this… Yes yes yes, I am trash. Stop scolding me, I already have a headache…. Er, I also know that you are hurting. Be good, don’t make any noise. Alright then, I shall promise you. Just don’t let my body die… Jeez, I am truly reluctant.”

“Who are you talking to?” Sinesa was bewildered. Turning back to take a look, she realized that there was no one else beside her. She then came to a realization… This person must have been beaten up by her to the point that he went crazy.

“You are truly unlucky to have met me.” Sinesa unleashed her psychic energy again. She would never hesitate when killing the enemy.

Boom!

The next moment, Sinesa felt a loud ring by her ears as though a bell was constantly being rung in her head. It was as though her brain was being constantly hammered time and time again. Feidin remained still, and she was the one to fly backward instead.

With a loud crash, Sinesa collapsed onto the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood. After falling into a daze for a while, she looked at Feidin with shock.

Just what is going on‽

Feidin seemed to have transformed into a completely different person with his charisma being transformed. His actions became gentle as he wiped away the blood stains on his face like a girl. At the same time, a look of delight could be seen in his eyes.

“Why do I feel as though you are the one with bad luck? I was just worrying about not having a target to vent my anger!”

Feidin… or rather, Chen Xing circulated her psychic energy, and the might of her psychic energy displayed was more than ten times greater than before.

Seeing that, Sinesa’s expression dropped.

“You like to fight, right?” Chen Xing gnashed her teeth. “This old lady will accompany you to have some fun!”

Chapter 498: Battle of Noriosse (4)

“Huu, huu…”

Sylvia panted heavily as she ran while avoiding all the enemies that she could. A battle of this level was still too much for her, and she was not able to do anything at all. Feidin was still delaying the enemy, and she did not dare to waste the opportunity that Feidin had created for her.

After running for a long time, Sylvia felt her lungs burning, and she could no longer run. Bending over, she panted heavily with her hands on her knees.

Boom!

All of a sudden, a violent gust of wind blew over, and the wind pressure being sent out by Anur was becoming more and more powerful. A look of fear could be seen on Sylvia’s face. With such a large radius, it was impossible for her to escape. She stood on the spot in a daze and raised her head to see the storm getting nearer and nearer to her.

Right at that moment, a mechanical Amphiptere charged out from nowhere, and with its chest and helmet region splitting open, it swallowed Sylvia up. The next moment, the cyclone swept over, and the mechanical Amphiptere was swept away.

Sylvia was hidden within the mechanical suit, and apart from being dizzy from the impact, she was safe. After escaping death, she cried out in surprise, “Phillip‽”

“Master asked me to protect you, hum… He said that the cyclone is expanding, hum…”

She then looked up at the sky, and through the field vision of the mechanical suit, she realized that the sky within the protective shield had formed a large cyclone with numerous items being swept up into it. The cyclone was still expanding, and Anur was currently flying in a clockwise direction like a ray of light stirring up the atmosphere.

The protective shield was only so big, and Anur was prepared to go all out and create a cyclone that could fill up the entire protective shield. In a sealed area, his cyclone would be able to very quickly achieve a destructive power capable of flattening the entire place.

In the sky, Anur’s speed was too fast, and neither Han Xiao nor Nagakin could even touch him. Anur could only be bothered with flying in circles, and the other two were completely helpless.

“If we allow him to continue, when the cyclone is completely formed, everything within the protective shield will be destroyed, and even his subordinates will not be spared. Is he treating his subordinates as chess pieces to abandon?”

Nagakin’s tone was heavy. With his experience, he could already foresee the ending. Since they could not catch up to the other party, there was no way for them to stop Anur. If the Noriosse Protector who was watching on the side could help them, they might be able to stop Anur. However, the Protector did not not seem to have any intention of helping.

The battle on the ground quickly shifted away from the center, but there were still many who ended up being swept up and turned into a bloody mess by the violent wind pressure. Many of Han Xiao’s machineries had not been spared. His mechanical beasts struggled helplessly in the storm, and the cannon towers whose foundations were underground had been uprooted in the wind.

Looking in from the outside, it looked as though a grayish cyclone formed of many random objects was expanding rapidly, and the protective shield would occasionally be scratched by the objects in the cyclone, creating sparks in the collision. It was like a spinning washing machine.

The sky was spinning, and the earth was shaking!

In the storm, Han Xiao’s attack armor had long been destroyed, and his Void Dragon mechanical suit was also riddled with holes. All of his energy was diverted toward the mechanical wings and thrusters, and he was only able to barely stabilize himself in the storm. Seeing the situation getting from bad to worse, he knew that if he did not stop Anur, everyone would die for sure.

A Grade A who went all out was far too powerful. Han Xiao had even used [Life Return] once in the battle. However, the mission progress bar had thankfully begun to move. If not, Han Xiao would definitely have been driven mad.

Han Xiao truly looked forward to having such powerful strength. Han Xiao was currently level 116, and he had more than 200,000,000 EXP on the interface. If not for the fact that he had an advancement, he would have to probably use [Life Return] another one or two more times. Currently, the majority of his abilities were useless. After all, DarkStar’s attack was far too sudden, so he did not have much time to prepare. Furthermore, Han Xiao had not had many opportunities or much time to build new machines since his advancement.

Thankfully, I have Ames’ Character Summon Card. Without it, my only option would be to escape. At least I still have a trump card up my sleeves.

Han Xiao made a decision in his heart before shouting out to Nagakin in the communication channel, “What is your most powerful attack?”

“What do you mean?” Nagakin asked with doubt.

“I have a way to make Anur stop. I should be able to restrict him for ten seconds or so. He will not be able to move or use any of his abilities during that time. This is the only chance that we have to severely wound him,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice.

The situation of the battle was ever-changing, and despite them being disadvantaged, Han Xiao remained calm. Even though he had a trump card up his sleeve, the resistance of a Grade A Super was extremely high, and even if Anur did not specialize in defence, it would be impossible for him to destroy his opponent’s combat capability with his damage alone. He had already tried this once on Ember.

Only Nagakin, who was also a Grade A Super, would be able to deal a fatal blow and not waste this precious Dragon Emperor Character Summon Card!

“Ten seconds or so? Are you really able to restrict Anur‽” Nagakin asked with disbelief and thought that he heard incorrectly.

Ten seconds to someone of their level was no longer a ‘chance’ but the difference between life and death!

However, how would the Grade B Black Star be able to restrict a Calamity Grade Super for ten seconds‽

“Just believe me,” Han Xiao replied. Anur was an Esper who specialized in speed. No matter what, it should be impossible for his Strength to exceed 1,800 points, right?

“… Fine.”

Nagakin took a deep breath. Black Star had been able to make Ember retreat and had never disappointed him before. Perhaps Black Star was truly capable of doing so. Nagakin decided to trust Black Star once and immediately began to circulate his energy. His entire body was instantly covered in pugilist flames, and Nagakin seemed to have turned into an inextinguishable ball of golden fire. The storm was unable to extinguish this ball of flames but instead made it grow even more powerful as the wind blew.

He did not need ten seconds. Stopping Anur for a single second was enough. A storm of combo attacks was his most powerful technique, and he was only afraid that it would not hit the enemy.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and fixed his gaze on the Wind Demon, which was moving at a high speed. Raising his hand up to target the Wind Demon, Han Xiao concentrated fully.

Victory and defeat would be determined in an instant!

…

“What is he trying to do?”

Anur also noticed Han Xiao’s actions, and he could still clearly see every detail in the storm.

He did not understand Han Xiao’s actions but was truly surprised at the fact that Han Xiao had been able to survive in the most violent region of the storm until now. For a Grade B Super, Han Xiao’s life force was truly too stubborn.

However, he should be at his limits. Anur then directed his gaze at the periphery of the battlefield. The Protector had also made his move and was currently moving toward Black Star. He seemed to have felt that Black Star was in danger and wanted to take Black Star away. The next instant, Anur understood the intentions of the Noriosse Financial Group.

“Trying to save Black Star because you don’t want to provoke Ames? Humph, fat chance!” Anur sneered coldly and controlled a gust of wind to attack the incoming Protector. After delaying the Protector slightly, Anur’s body charged forward toward Han Xiao, carrying with him a frightening wind pressure capable of destroying a mountain!

Anur wanted to get rid of him right there and then!

“Sh*t!” the Protector gasped. The upper echelons had asked him to intervene in emergencies and prevent the high-grade battle strength of both parties from being killed. He had originally wanted to move Black Star away from the battlefield, but never had he expected Anur to attack Black Star instead. Even with the risk of angering the Protector, Anur wanted to kill Black Star! He was truly fearless!

Right at that moment, a frightening energy signature burst forth from Han Xiao’s body.

The entire atmosphere seemed to have been frozen in place.

Hum!

A woman’s hand appeared behind Han Xiao and stretched out her palms toward the incoming Anur.

“That’s… Dragon Emperor Ames!”

Nagakin, Anur, and the Protector were dumbfounded!

Chapter 499: Battle of Noriosse (5)

The next instant, a terrifying might that shook the three Calamity Grade Supers descended and launched toward Anur.

“What‽” Anur’s expression changed drastically.

Boom!

The speeding Anur was stopped instantly without any form of retaliation. The surrounding atmosphere seemed to have been frozen in space and Anur was like a bug trapped in amber, completely unable to move.

_____________________

You used [Character Summon Card—Ames]!

[Force Field—Gaze of the Dragon] is currently determining the target’s STR. Target’s STR: 466 points… Judgement complete.

Anur has fallen into [Trapped] status for 14 seconds.

_____________________

How is this possible‽

Being caught completely off guard, Anur was thoroughly shocked.

Such a frightening restriction ability. Could it be the Dragon Emperor’s strength‽

While it’s true that Black Star is the Dragon Emperor’s subordinate, why is he able to use the Dragon Emperor’s strength‽

Anur had not felt panic for a very long time. At that moment, his calmness was completely destroyed. No matter how much he tried, he could not move an inch or say a single word. Looking at Nagakin, who was charging over blazing brightly, fear could finally be seen in his eyes.

Bang!

As though a golden bolt of lightning had been smashed into his chest, Anur’s weak wind pressure shield was shattered, and the sound of Nagakin’s fists smashing into Anur’s body sounded like thunder in the clear sky.

Nagakin had been accumulating the force of this strike for a long time, and its might could shake the mountain and blow cities away. Those fists of his were sufficient to destroy an entire district. However, Anur’s body was fixed in place, and he could not fly out anywhere. The entire force of the attack could only be borne by his body.

A mouthful of blood was spat into the violent winds!

Bang bang bang!

Nagakin let out a roar and unleashed all of his frustrations. An endless afterimage of fists and kicks could be seen and every single attack of his hit Anur squarely in the chest. Anur was like a living target board who could not move. He had no choice but to endure the storm like attacks with his body’s shape being visibly contorted!

“Too violent.” Han Xiao’s brows twitched as he watched the scene. At the same time, he could hardly resist the temptation to add in some sound effects to complement the show. However, Han Xiao did not remain idle and raised his High Frequency Strike Cannon to attack as well.

This is a rare opportunity! The higher the damage, the better!

The two of them trapped Anur in the middle and gave him a good serving of their attacks.

Without the wind pressure shield, Anur could only endure the attacks with his physical body and was beaten up to the point his bones were shattered and his flesh was mashed up.

His broken bones protruded out from his skin, and blood gushed out like a fountain!

The Protector did not have time to even be shocked. His mission was to stop both parties from being killed, and Anur was also one of his protection targets. Previously, he did not think that there would be a need for him to help Anur, but the situation suddenly changed, and the target that he had to protect was Anur.

However, Anur had released a wind pressure cannon to delay the Protector’s footsteps right before he was restricted and caused the Protector to be unable to save Black Star in time.

Fourteen seconds of crazed attacks. When the control time ended, all the accumulated force from Anur’s body exploded forth.

Boom!

A bloody firework went off in midair!

An Esper who was not able to use his abilities would be far more vulnerable. For example, a defensive Esper might be able to block a nuclear explosion with their shield, but they would not be able to block a nuclear explosion with their own body. Anur did not specialize in defense, and by restricting his speed, Han Xiao and Nagakin had been able to quickly whittle down all of his HP.

After a series of violent attacks, Nagakin had finally vented all of his anger. He had been surrounded by Anur and Ember last time and suffered pretty severe injuries. This time, he had finally gotten his revenge. Usually, when he fought an enemy of the same grade, the enemy would pull away after a couple of blows. How would he get the opportunity to beat his target up to his heart’s content?

Even if an ordinary person was violently beaten up by another person without avoiding any attacks, if the one attack had the desire to kill, this short time would be sufficient to beat a person to death.

However, Anur still had a single breath left.

Bang!

The badly battered Wind Demon landed on the ground and reverted to his human form. Injuries could be seen all over, and his entire body was covered in blood. He was like a broken gunny sack, and the bleeding would not stop.

Anur spat out a mouthful of blood and breathed weakly. He was already nearing his end and could not even stand up. He glared at Han Xiao fiercely with the look of shock and anger in his eyes.

“To think I… I would actually die here…”

Nagakin rubbed his fists, and the storm in his heart had not settled. Black Star indeed did not go back on his word and was worth trusting.

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief but was also exhausted. Thankfully, his trump card had been extremely successful. However, he had never expected to use up the Ames Character Summon Card so shortly after obtaining it. Only by killing Anur would he be able to regain all of his losses. There was still the last strike left, so he raised his hands to stop Nagakin.

He had to deal the final strike himself so that he would be able to gain the experience points from killing the enemy.

Anur turned to look at the Protector who was nearby. This was his final hope.

However, the Protector suddenly slowed down and pretended as though he could not make it in time.

Han Xiao did not hesitate and raised his High Frequency Strike Cannon. Looking at Anur’s furious eyes, he smashed it down toward Anur’s chest.

Puchi.

A blade penetrated through Anur’s back but not much blood flowed out. At this moment, almost all of Anur’s blood had already flowed out.

Anur’s body shook, and he grabbed onto the blade. His eyes became listless as he looked up at the sky.

His lips parted, and he said his final words in a voice that no one could hear.

“DarkStar… forever.”

The next moment, he released the blade, and his hands collapsed onto the ground.

Life had left this body.

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief, and at that moment, a notice appeared on the interface.

_____________________

You killed Anur (LVL 173).

You have received 24,700,000 EXP.

You have jumped more than 10 levels to slay the target. You will get 280% additional EXP bonus. Your personal damage is 13%.

You have received an additional 8,990,000 EXP.

_____________________

Han Xiao was not surprised that his damage output was so low. Nagakin was the one who had dealt the truly fatal blow, and it was more accurate to say that Nagakin had killed Anur while he picked up benefits from the side.

Of course, without his Character Summon Card, Nagakin would not have been able to kill Anur.

He had received over 33,000,000 EXP from killing Anur, and this was his greatest reward so far. It could be said to have replenish his EXP pool.

The biggest harvest was that he had completed an extremely difficult target in the ranked A mission [Godora’s Ally]. Han Xiao had never imagined that he would be able to get rid of a Calamity Grade Super.

_____________________

[Wind Demon Anur] has been completed.

You have received 18,200,000 EXP, +1,200 Godora favorability, and [Character Summon Card – Anur].

Godoran Civilization: Friendly (2,340/3,000)

Your [Godora’s Ally] mission grade has been increased. It will be displayed after calculation.

_____________________

The violent winds began dispersing, and smoke filled the air.

Looking at Anur’s corpse, be it the enemies or mercenaries, everyone was dumbfounded.

They had never imagined that this Calamity Grade Super would die.

Even Anur himself had never imagined it.

“For a Calamity Grade Super to die in battle, DarkStar will probably go crazy from anger. Because of a traitor, they lost two high grade combatants and suffered a huge loss. I will probably enter their sights and face a far greater risk than before.”

Han Xiao let out a sigh. Killing Anur would probably affect him in the future, but the previous scenario was already one where it was either Anur’s death or his. Han Xiao would not show any mercy to Anur because of that and let the dying Anur off.

There was still just under a year to Version 2.0, and Han Xiao was planning to make his preparations in the upcoming year. As for DarkStar placing their attention on him, Han Xiao was not too anxious. Once Version 2.0 arrived, he would have to solve the Mutation Disaster and come into direct conflict with DarkStar.

DarkStar was an enemy that he would have to deal with eventually in the Main Storyline of Version 2.0, and this is only a matter of time.

Han Xiao looked around at his surroundings. With Anur dead, the morale of the DarkStar warriors collapsed. However, the protective shield had sealed off all their routes of escape.

“The situation here is already safe. I wonder how the situation on Alvin’s side is…”

Chapter 500: Return

At the same time, a few hundred kilometers away, Ember was still chasing after Alvin, and this chase had been going on for more than ten minutes. Both parties were already far away from the main battlefield where Han Xiao and the others were, and they were about to arrive at the Teleportation Mage’s location.

After Anur’s death, the situation on the battlefield had turned around completely, and the DarkStar warriors had become the prey that was being hunted. None of them had a chance to send any messages, so Ember was unaware of what was happening on the battlefield. In his mind, Anur was definitely still toying with those bothersome mercenaries.

He was not worried about Anur’s safety at all. When he entered DarkStar at a young age, Anur had already been a Calamity Grade Super in the organization. He had received Anur’s training from a young age and was extremely clear on how powerful his teacher was.

Since Anur had taken the initiative to stay behind and delay the enemies, he definitely had absolute confidence in himself. While his teacher had recently been disappointed by his failures, these little details were not important, and Ember had full confidence in Anur. With Nagakin’s speed, Nagakin would not even be able to catch the edge of his teacher’s clothes. How could his teacher possibly lose?

Even if he could not win, running definitely would not be a problem for his teacher.

Not sending any news meant that everything was in his grasp and that there was nothing to inform him of.

In order to prevent himself from being too eye catching, Ember dispersed the gigantic black cloud and only let the carbon particles revolve around him. Alvin’s aircraft was still escaping, and there was still some distance between the two.

Alvin looked back and said with a face full of sweat, “We will arrive soon. When we stop, we will only have ten seconds or so before he catches up. If we cannot complete the teleportation within this time, we will be dead.”

Aroshia looked at Alvin, and after thinking for a while, she corrected, “Not us, only you will die.”

“Thank you for the reminder…” Alvin gnashed his teeth.

How infuriating!

The shop of the Teleportation Mage was already in sight. Aroshia seemed to have thought of something and said, “Right, after beating him up the last time, he may have shifted away from here.”

“…” Alvin.

Bang!

The aircraft performed an emergency brake and crashed head on into the wall of a bookshop. A large hole was immediately created in the front of the bookshop, and the shelves along the way were all destroyed. Torn up paper exploded into the air like fireworks and drifted down like snow.

Both of them jumped out of the aircraft halfway and landed in the destroyed bookshop. They did not have the time to park the aircraft properly before knocking on the door.

The counter by the door was also sent flying, and Yi Xuan was currently leaning back on a chair, reading a book. He stared at the scene before him in a complete daze and had a look of complete confusion on his face.

My shop is destroyed‽

Aroshia pointed at Yi Xuan. “He’s the one.”

“Thankfully, he’s still here.” Alvin heaved a sigh of relief. He then raised his head up to look at the large hole. “At least it’s very airy now.”

Yi Xuan looked at Aroshia and said, “I recognize you. You were with the mercenary who beat me up the last time.”

“I need your help. Please send us to the northern port quickly. Money isn’t a problem.” Alvin did not dare delay and immediately stated his intention.

Yi Xuan fell into a daze and looked down at the shredded paper all over the floor. He finally reacted to the situation and felt a sharp pain throughout his entire body. The book in his hands slipped and fell to the ground. It was as though there was a dagger being plunged into his heart. He felt that even breathing was becoming difficult, and he cried out in despair.

“My treasured collection!”

Alvin was getting anxious. This was not the time for him to bother about those broken books, and he pressed, “We are currently being chased by someone who belongs to DarkStar, and he won’t even blink when killing. If you don’t leave together with us, he will also kill you. We are Godorans and will give you a high fee for your services. Furthermore, we will also compensate for your losses. We are running out of time! Hurry up and teleport us!”

Looking through the large hole and into the sky, Ember’s figure was approaching them rapidly. In another two seconds, they would be within his attack range. At that time, he would be able to kill Alvin with a simple snap of his fingers.

Cold sweat trickled all over Alvin as he looked at the hesitating Teleportation Mage. They did not make any arrangements beforehand, and Alvin did not know if the Teleportation Mage in front of him would help. This was the only hope for them to escape.

At this moment, Aroshia said, “My friend said that he will come for you if you don’t help.”

As Yi Xuan heard that, he did not say another word and immediately opened the teleportation door. A whirlpool-like blue glow surrounded them, and the glow of magic dyed the surroundings blue.

Alvin was overjoyed. He rushed into the teleportation door quickly, and Yi Xuan did not dare hesitate either. He did not wish to stay behind and use his weak mage body to endure the rage of the enemy.

Hum!

A brilliant glow flashed, and the teleportation door closed. The three of them had disappeared without a trace.

Ember, who had just charged in, saw this scene, and dark clouds could be seen on his face.

He had actually lost them!

He had originally thought that Alvin was already at his wits end, but never had he imagined that a Teleportation Mage would be hidden in this place.

If not for Aesop, the Great Mechanic Han would not have known that there was a hidden Teleportation Mage in this place. This was something that could not be realized with strategy but intel. At that time, Han Xiao also did not imagine that he would be dragged into the battle between DarkStar and Godora.

Ember looked at the empty room and clenched his fists. Only a mage who was proficient in teleportation would be able to track their whereabouts. At that moment, the traitor had already escaped with all clues being lost, and Ember was not able to give chase.

He truly wondered if he was having a streak of bad luck recently. All kinds of unexpected scenarios seemed to have been happening to him, and even a mission like this that should have had a ninety percent success rate had failed. It seemed like his teacher Anur would be angered to death.

Ember let out a depressed sigh and took out his communicator to contact Anur. With his mission failing, he needed to send news back immediately so that they can plan their next move.

Buss!

Anur’s face appeared on the communicator, and he said with a frown, “Have you succeeded?”

Ember shook his head and described the situation.

“Trash!” Anur flew into a rage.

Ember felt his body freeze up, and he was a little awkward. This was the first time that his teacher had cursed him. It seemed like his teacher was truly angered to death.

“Where do you think the traitor has escaped to?”

“I don’t know. There weren’t any clues,” Ember replied.

“If they try to escape in a spaceship, it will save us a great deal of trouble,” Anur said.

Ember nodded. Their DarkStar fleet was already on standby outside of Noriosse and ready to block the traitor from escaping. The moment that the traitor attempted to leave by ship, he would be surrounded by their fleet.

“How’s the situation on your side?” Ember asked.

“Humph, the battle is a stalemate. Hurry up and return. I have delayed the enemy, and if you can get back in time, we can work together to get rid of the Godoran and those mercenaries. Since you can’t catch the traitor, let’s wipe out these enemies first.”

“Sure!”

Ember’s eyes lit up, and he returned to where he had come from. Upon thinking about the possibility of getting rid of Black Star, his mood instantly lifted.

…

The protective shield had served its purpose to seclude this region, and the battlefield was already becoming one sided. The DarkStar warriors all began to fall one after another.

In the middle of the debris, ‘Anur’ ended his call with Ember. After turning off the communicator, he tapped his cheeks lightly, and an electrical current ran across the face. The next moment, Han Xiao’s face was revealed.

Taking off the Facial Simulator, Han Xiao rubbed his cheeks and looked at Nagakin with a smile. “He’s coming back, and I have a piece of good news. Alvin succeeded in escaping.”

Nagakin burst into satisfied laughter and cracked his knuckles. “Great! My fists are still hungry.”

Han Xiao nodded and heaved a sigh of relief. It was truly tiring for him to act. With Anur dead, the communicator had been picked up by him, and he had instantly thought of making good use of it.

DarkStar only had a single Calamity Grade Super left, and the difference in strength had finally been even out. While the Ames Character Summon Card had already been used, Nagakin was also extremely powerful. Together with him, the chances of them surrounding Ember would be extremely high. The only problem was whether or not Ember knew about the present situation. If he found out about their situation, he would definitely retreat.

Right at that moment, Ember had actually called Anur on the communicator. Han Xiao had immediately taken out the Facial Simulator and scanned Anur’s corpse to pose as Anur. At the same time, he had tested Ember with his words.

When he was acting, Han Xiao had truly been nervous. He did not know how Anur usually talked to Ember, and after observing Ember’s reaction, Han Xiao concluded that Ember was extremely respectful toward Anur.

Ember did not suspect Han Xiao in the slightest, and he did not even notice the small discrepancies. Thinking about it carefully, this was extremely normal. After all, someone would only be able to use Anur’s communicator if he had died.

In Ember’s eyes, that was impossible.

“Not just that, his reaction allowed me to confirm something. There is indeed a DarkStar fleet waiting in the atmosphere.” Han Xiao took his own communicator and tried to contact Aroshia while saying to Nagakin, “I never thought that we would be able to get rid of a Calamity Grade enemy. Since that’s the case, we now have more breathing space. With most of the ground troops wiped out, there isn’t a need for us to take the risk and send Alvin away.”

Nagakin thought for a while and felt that it made sense.

It was best for them to adapt to the changes.

At that moment, the Protector also walked forward. Looking down at Anur’s corpse, he let out a sigh and said with pity, “You guys actually killed him. Jeez, if I didn’t suffer from his attacks, I wouldn’t have been a step late.”

Both of them were dumbfounded.

This person was truly vengeful!

How wonderful!

After pretending to feel pity for a while, the Protector then looked at the two of them with his gaze focusing on Han Xiao. A look of unconcealed amazement could be seen in his eyes.

After pausing for a while, he did not say another word and retreated far away. The members of DarkStar were already at their wit’s end, and he did not have any intention of interfering.

He had previous witnessed Anur’s death, and if he intervened at this moment, Godora might think that he was interfering with them on purpose. Thus, he gave up any idea of saving them.

Is it truly so difficult to remain neutral?

Nagakin then looked toward Han Xiao and commented, “That ability of yours… it seems to be related to the Dragon Emperor.”

This doubt had been in Nagakin’s heart for a while, and he had finally found a chance to ask about it. He knew that his senses were definitely not mistaken, and the might of that attack was definitely at the beyond Grade A level. However, why was Black Star able to make use of the Dragon Emperor’s abilities? Just what was their relationship?

If this matter was reported to the War Bureau, the intel division would probably have to re-estimate Black Star’s position in Floating Dragon Island.

“Nothing much, I only performed a small role.” Han Xiao waved his hands humbly.

Nagakin could not help but value Black Star even more now. A few days ago, he had felt that this mission was completely hopeless. Even when he secured Han Xiao’s help, it did not reduce the hopelessness that he had felt. However, Han Xiao’s abilities had far exceeded his imagination.

If not for Anur’s corpse lying down at the side, he would never have thought that even after facing a situation where he was surrounded by two Calamity Grade Supers, he would not be severely injured and actually be able to get rid of one of them.

With two of them fighting him alone, he was actually able to kill one of them!

The sound of the surrounding battles began to die down, and this meant that the DarkStar warriors were getting fewer and fewer.

“Let’s stop chatting,” Han Xiao said in a deep voice. “The battle isn’t over yet, and there are still members of DarkStar alive. Before Ember returns, we should get rid of them quickly and not leave a single one of them alive.”

…

Swoosh!

The Battleship Slicing Blade cut through flesh, and Sherman’s shocked face was cleaved into two.

Herlous panted heavily and sheathed his weapon. After a long battle, he had finally gotten rid of this dwarf Cannon Master. With the enemy’s morale being destroyed, their courage had also been destroyed, and Herlous had killed the other party in one fell swoop.

Just as he wanted to leave, his footsteps suddenly paused, and he turned back to Sherman’s corpse. Picking up the cannon that had landed on the ground, Herlous muttered to himself, “Black Star should like this spoil of war.”

Carrying the cannon on his shoulders, Herlous left the battlefield happily.

…

Bang!

Sinesa’s brain was reduced to mush, and she collapsed onto the ground with her body contorting.

Chen Xing rubbed her throat, which had turned hoarse from singing loudly. Shutting her eyes, she recuperated from the damage that the other party had dealt. The other party had not been weak, and she had exhausted a great deal of energy.

“Feidin, I saved your life, and your body shall be treated as the reward,” Chen Xing said.

Feidin laughed bitterly in the head but did not respond.

Chen Xing then looked up at the protective shield and muttered to herself, “Since I cannot leave now, I can only pretend to be Feidin and interact with those mercenaries. As long as they don’t see through my disguise, I will be able to escape during our free and easy time.”

It was not too difficult for her to pretend to be Feidin. Her senses were connected to Feidin’s, and she was extremely familiar with Feidin’s habits. She was definitely confident in mimicking him completely.

Thinking about the source of all her trouble, Han Xiao, Chen Xing’s mood became terrible.

As long as she could trick that fellow, she would regain her freedom.

She was extremely confident in her acting skills. After all, she was an actress!

Chapter 501: I Have Lost the Ability to Be Fooled

With Nagakin being freed up, the remaining warriors of DarkStar were quickly taken care of. The protective shield formed a large battle ring where death was the only way out. The surviving mercenaries dragged their injury-riddled bodies and gathered at the center of the battlefield.

Han Xiao took a headcount, and the original hundred or so hired mercenaries had been reduced to less than thirty survivors. With his gaze sweeping past Herlous, Sylvia, the Volgas, and Feidin, he heaved a sigh of relief. At least all of his forces were intact.

The Machinery Army was scattered all over the place, and when he instructed the mercenaries to retrieve the machines, many of them immediately started grumbling.

With the strong winds previously, who knows where your machinery flew to? We just finished a battle, and you cannot go too far and command us!

Despite their complaints, all the mercenaries still followed his orders obediently.

While not everyone witnessed Han Xiao using Ames’ Character Summon Card, respect could clearly be seen in the eyes of the mercenaries who saw it.

Han Xiao picked his ears and looked a little irritated.

These darn mercenaries, complaining when I only asked them to pick some stuff up. Players are still the most professional. As long as I reward them, they enjoy whatever suffering I throw at them. They are so much better than these mercenaries; I truly miss them.

Herlous took a step forward and handed Sherman’s cannon over. “Spoils of war. For you.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled as he held onto the firearm in his hands. After taking a glance at the firearm, he stripped it down and nodded as he observed the internals of the firearm. “This cannon isn’t too bad.”

According to the introduction on the interface, the name of the cannon was the [Triple Core Photon Loop Cannon]. This was a weapon that enjoyed a Cannon Master’s Specialty, and any Cannon Master who equipped the weapon would gain a bonus effect. The blueprint was rare, and having the weapon on hand saved Han Xiao the trouble of gambling for blueprints. Han Xiao would be able to derive the blueprint of the [Triple Core Photon Loop Cannon] from the weapon itself. This cannon came just at the right time as Han Xiao needed a light energy firearm at the moment. While he was not a Cannon Master, he would be able to equip the weapon with his Mechanical Force. It is just that the bonus stats granted would not be comparable to a Cannon Master.

A Cannon Master was a long-ranged damage dealer, and players welcomed Cannon Masters in all dungeons. Cannon Masters were an important part of the traditional triangular formation, which included a main tank, ranged DPS, and crowd control.

Han Xiao had also played the Cannon Master before, and apart from firing cannons, the Cannon Master would fire more cannons. While the DPS of a Cannon Master was acceptable, it was far too singular and lacked variation. Although it was pretty fun to fire cannons all day, one would get bored easily after playing it for a long time. Of the three Mechanic classes, Han Xiao preferred the Machinery Master, which was far more agile.

Stowing the cannon away, Han Xiao looked at Sylvia and saw that she did not have many injuries. However, when he turned around to look at Feidin, he realized that Feidin was covered in blood all over as though he had been through a miserable battle.

“Are you alright?” Han Xiao asked.

Chen Xing immediately became anxious. Recalling Feidin’s usual demeanor, she hurriedly forced out a warm smile. “I… I am alright. It’s just that I met an enemy…”

Sylvia immediately interjected. “That’s right, I personally saw you being defeated, and that enemy was truly much stronger than you. I was worried for your safety, and it is truly great that you are fine. How did you defeat the enemy?”

Chen Xing’s smile froze up immediately. She hated the fact that she could not stuff Sylvia’s mouth up before zipping it up tight. Of all the possible times, you just had to ask me this question now. Aren’t you trying to push me to my death?

An idea suddenly sprouted in her head, and she said with a cough, “Er… I didn’t defeat him. The enemy was a Grade B Super, and I was almost killed by him. You also know that I do not specialize in battles. Thankfully, a sudden typhoon swept us up and separated us, thus saving my life.”

“You are truly lucky.” Sylvia lamented.

No one doubted her words. After all, they all accepted that their luck was not as good as hers.

“That’s right, you are truly lucky,” Han Xiao said as he slapped her heavily on her back, forcing her to cough incessantly as a ‘-1’ damage popped up above her head.

Feeling the pain in her back, Chen Xing suppressed her frustration and forced out a smile. Seeing that Han Xiao did not doubt her words, she heaved a sigh of relief. She was finally able to fool Black Star.

Han Xiao then called for Nagakin, who was by the side, and grabbed onto Chen Xing’s shoulder, not allowing her to escape.

Chen Xing squirmed around uncomfortably and said, “Can you let go of me?”

“Stop acting.” Han Xiao rolled his eyes. “You can’t fool me.”

Chen Xing burst out into cold sweat and tried to look for a loophole in her words. However, she just could not spot any.

She obviously did not make any mistakes!

“You are wrong; I am Feidin.” She tried to explain his doubts away with a smile.

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow and whispered by Chen Xing’s ear, “I’ve said before, if you truly escaped, you wouldn’t want to meet me.”

Chen Xing’s heart pounded.

At this moment, Nagakin walked over and Han Xiao patted Chen Xing on her shoulders with a smile. “Stop struggling. With a Grade A Super here, it’s impossible for you to escape. I don’t think you want to be beaten up by him, right?”

Chen Xing grit her teeth and stopped pretending. “How did you recognize me?”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao had a face of helplessness. The interface had already exposed her identity, and it would be impossible for him to be fooled even if he wanted to. He could not possibly feign ignorance and play along with her, right? He was also in despair!

Chen Xing no longer had any tricks up her sleeves, and she could not think of a way to escape. Glaring at Han Xiao hatefully, she fantasized about a hundred different ways of how she could torture Han Xiao to death.

Since she had already been discovered, she might as well give up the control of the body. It was better than being forcefully suppressed by others.

Feidin’s consciousness returned, and after doing a couple of stretches, he shook his head with a smile. “I knew that you would be able to recognize me.”

“You are truly lucky. Even after she took control of the body, she did not destroy your consciousness,” Han Xiao said with a tinge of envy. The Luck Glow was truly overpowered.

Feidin chuckled in response. “It is actually pretty enjoyable to communicate with her. I understand her well, and she is also completely aware of my thoughts. We can also understand how the other party thinks…”

“I will have to congratulate you on finding a soul mate. Why don’t you marry her? Then my mission will be complete.”

Han Xiao shook his head and suddenly froze in place.

Wait a minute… it can’t be right? The perfect completion for Feidin’s mission can’t possibly be for him to allow her to attack himself!

Feidin pointed at his head and said helplessly, “I shall not convey how she is scolding you.”

Han Xiao laughed dryly and released his grip, distancing himself from Feidin. He then grabbed Sylvia’s hair to clean his hands. All of a sudden, he did not feel like being too close to Feidin.

While chatting casually, Han Xiao looked at the time, and it was about time for Ember to return. At that moment, Han Xiao noticed a serious problem. While the fight was over, the protective shield was still up and isolating the region. If he was not able to leave, he would not be able to surround Ember according to his plan.

This problem could only be solved by the Noriosse financial group. The protector was definitely watching nearby, and Han Xiao felt that it was necessary for him to have a good conversation with the protector.

Together with Nagakin, Han Xiao found the protector and displayed his intention for the protective shield to be opened. Without even thinking about it, the protector rejected Han Xiao’s request.

“There is still a member of DarkStar alive, and he is rushing back. If you do not open the protective shield, we won’t be able to deal with him,” Nagakin said.

“I know,” the protector replied indifferently. “Thus, I will not open the protective shield before the enemy leaves. All of you can stay here until I have confirmed that this battle is completely over.”

“Are you trying to protect someone from DarkStar‽” Nagakin flew into a rage.

“My responsibility is to protect Noriosse. Should I open up the protective shield so that all of you can continue to destroy the city? I don’t wish to see anyone making trouble on Noriosse. After this incident is over, our financial group will seek compensation from Godora.”

The protector’s eyes narrowed. Since he could not save Anur, he had no choice but to give up. However, that did not mean that he would be on the side of Godora. The protective shield must not be opened no matter what. This was the bottom line of the upper echelons in his financial group. His financial group did not wish to see any other superior fighters of DarkStar perish there.

Chapter 502: DarkStar’s Shock

While Noriosse did not wish to provoke both parties, there was no need for them to accede to the demands of both parties completely. While this action of theirs might result in conflict with Godora, it was not too serious and within an acceptable range.

The financial group still intended to seek compensation from Godora. With an important figure of DarkStar dead, Godora would be more willing to compromise in other areas. Furthermore, it was impossible for DarkStar to make any form of compensation, but Godora, being a lawful civilization, would definitely be a ‘good person’ and keep to the rules.

While Nagakin still wanted to persuade the protector, Han Xiao stopped him and did not say another word.

Han Xiao could tell that it was impossible for the financial group to back down and could only give up his plan to surround Ember. While it was a waste that his previous disguise had lost its effect, Han Xiao was used to the situation changing at any moment in time. At the very least, everything went pretty close to his plan.

Since we can’t fight, this mission is almost over, and we won’t be chased anymore, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Looking up at the sky, a black cloud could be seen floating above him, and Ember’s figure could be seen. He had finally rushed back.

Looking at the miserable battlefield through the protective shield, Ember was visibly shocked. With his gaze sweeping over the battlefield, his eyes were suddenly fixed on Anur’s corpse, and the shock on his face turned into fear!

Perhaps it isn’t completely useless to bait Ember back. Allowing him to see Anur’s corpse and dealing him a psychological blow isn’t too bad either.

…

A few minutes earlier…

Ember followed ‘Anur’s’ instructions and sped toward the battlefield. He was looking forward to diving into battle so that he could make up for the mission that he failed.

With Teacher’s speed, it is impossible for any enemy to struggle free from him, and it will be impossible for Black Star to escape like before. We can finally get rid of him today!

Thinking about that, Ember was full of anticipation and excitement as he charged over joyfully.

However, the scene before him was completely different from his expectations! He never could have imagined that his undefeatable Teacher would be defeated and even killed!

The instant that he saw Anur’s corpse, Ember was completely stunned, and a chill ran up his spine.

How was it possible for Anur to be killed!

Ember immediately took out his communicator and dialed Anur’s number.

Du du du…

The few seconds of waiting felt like forever, and when the call finally went through, the image displayed on the screen was not that of Anur but Han Xiao letting out a maniacal laughter.

“Are you surprised? Are you shocked‽”

Ember was indeed shocked. “Why is it you‽”

“Oh, do you not like my handsome face?” Han Xiao chuckled before changing his face to that of Anur’s. Sending a flying kiss, he continued. “How about this face?”

Ka-cha!

The screen began to crack.

Ember had almost shattered his communicator in rage. His final hope had just been destroyed!

Anur was really dead!

Numerous emotions filled his heart. Disbelief, anger, panic, grief…

If the enemy could take Anur out, it means that he was also in danger!

“I am the only one left. I cannot stay behind to fight and let all of our soldiers die here!”

Ember gritted his teeth and escaped on his black cloud.

The situation needed to be reported to the upper echelons. Escaping as he reported the situation to his superiors, the news that he reported set off an explosive commotion within the upper echelons of DarkStar!

The upper echelons of DarkStar had been prepared to hear a report of the mission being accomplished but never expected to hear such a nightmare instead.

None of them had expected that Anur would die in this mission, which they had been certain would succeed. Sending out two Calamity Grade Supers at once, all of the upper echelons felt that the mission was a guaranteed success! However, this piece of news had completely disrupted their plans.

The forces of DarkStar had been waning over time. During their peak, DarkStar had eight Calamity Grade Supers, and Anur was one of them. He was a highly-respected figure in the organization. However, the battles over the years had injured and killed the majority of these experts. Before that day, only two of those eight figures had remained, and Anur had been one of them. Apart from those two figures, all the other Grade A Supers were new faces who they were grooming.

Losing such a figure was definitely a huge blow to DarkStar. The rate at which Calamity Grade Supers were groomed could not keep up with the rate that they were being killed at. In the organization, Calamity Grade Supers were already extremely rare.

In less than a minute, the upper echelons of DarkStar gave an emergency order to Ember.

“Give up on the mission and leave Noriosse immediately. We will send a fleet to pick you up. After losing an important member of the organization, we cannot afford to lose another one!”

Originally, he had been the one giving chase, but the roles had been reversed, and he was now the escaping party. Ember was indignant about his loss, but he had no choice and could only swallow his indignation. Turning off his communicator, Ember escaped at top speed and did not dare delay for a second, afraid that the enemy may catch up to him.

In truth, it was impossible for Han Xiao and the others to leave the protective shield. Those from Noriosse wished for Ember to scram as quickly as possible, and Ember did not know that there was no one chasing him.

…

An hour later…

Ohm!

The protective shield was retracted, and the golden pillars returned underground. Noriosse had finally retracted the protective shield.

This also meant that the financial group was certain that the battle was over. Their surveillance showed DarkStar’s fleet picking Ember up before leaving immediately, and everyone from the financial group heaved a sigh of relief. While they had a few thousand battleships around Noriosse, it was best if they did not engage in battle.

With the troops chasing after him retreating, Han Xiao knew that Nagakin’s mission was completed. When Godora sent their reinforcements, the mission would be concluded. Getting rid of an Anur was already a good bargain for them.

Despite the battle being over, the effects of the battle had only just begun to show. With a Grade A Super from DarkStar dying, Godora would definitely pay close attention to this event, and the entire Shattered Star Ring would have their eyes on this news. While countless people were dying every single second, there were differences between people. The death of a Calamity Grade Super was naturally far more significant than the death of an ordinary individual.

Furthermore, with him using Ames’ abilities, Ames would definitely be very curious.

However, none of that was important at the moment. Dealing with the members of the Noriosse financial group was what they needed to face. After Han Xiao and the others were freed from their predicament, they were immediately requested to meet the upper echelons of the financial group.

The financial group was getting ready to settle their scores, and they had to give Noriosse a suitable amount of compensation.

Chapter 503: Effect and Plan

The protector took everyone to another city on an aircraft. In the middle of the city was a skyscraper. Even in the iron city that was filled with buildings, the skyscraper stood out like a middle finger being pointed to the sky.

At the peak of the skyscraper was a helipad protected by a transparent cover. The cover gradually opened up, and the aircraft landed on the helipad. From the helipad to the interior of the building, numerous soldiers were lined up orderly by the side. Han Xiao and the others followed after the protector and entered the top level of the luxurious skyscraper.

A man was seated on the sofa with his back facing the crowd who had entered the room. He was looking at a wall of holographic screens with the scenes of the battlefield being displayed on them.

“Look at what you have done on my planet.”

After pressing a button, the sofa turned around on its own to face Han Xiao. After seeing his appearance, Han Xiao felt that he looked extremely familiar. All of a sudden, Han Xiao remembered seeing a picture of this person before him.

A couple of days ago, he had still been playing a cat and mouse game with Aesop. Aesop had requested for him to steal an accessory. After he asked Phillip to make a search, Han Xiao had found out that the accessory was something that the head of the Noriosse financial group had purchased his wife. The person in front of him was the head of the financial group. Just what was he called again?

“Rockfess. I am the owner of this planet,” the man said with a calm voice. “I know who you are. Nagakin from Godora, Wilsander from Floating Dragon, and Black Star also from Floating Dragon.”

Because he belonged to Floating Dragon on the surface, the Black Star Mercenary Group was deemed a part of the Floating Dragon army. Han Xiao was not too bothered by this as the status of being part of Floating Dragon had always brought him more benefits than disadvantages. Allowing his mercenary group to be tied together with a gigantic faction was extremely helpful to the growth and fame of his mercenary group.

“I have roughly understood what happened, and I am uninterested in the battle between Godora and DarkStar. However, your actions have resulted in damage to my planet, and Godora has no rights to deploy their army in my territory. I require an explanation from all of you and suitable compensation. My subordinates are currently calculating the exact damage, and we shall negotiate the details after they are done.”

Rockfess did not give the two a chance to interrupt and spoke without allowing anyone to refute him.

“I will report this matter to headquarters, and Godora will compensate your losses. Black Star is only a mercenary who I hired, and his actions were part of my request. Godora will never shortchange our friends, and Godora will compensate you on his behalf.”

With Anur being killed, Nagakin was in an extremely good mood. For an official of his level, taking action would definitely result in destruction, and there would definitely be people to clean up after them. He had never thought about escaping from paying compensation before.

Because Rockfess had extremely good connections and had a pretty good relationship with a couple of civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring, Godora was not willing to offend him either.

“Don’t worry, I never intended to seek compensation from him.” Upon hearing that, Rockfess looked toward Han Xiao with a smile, and his tone became gentler. “Give my regards to Ames.”

He actually isn’t asking for compensation? Han Xiao immediately felt goodwill toward Rockfess, “You know Ames?”

“Hahaha, who in the Shattered Star Ring doesn’t know of the Dragon Emperor?” Rockfess said with a laugh. “I have dealt with Floating Dragon a few times. I heard that Aesop wanted you to steal something of mine, but you caught him instead. Haha, well done.”

Han Xiao came to a realization. It turned out that Rockfess knew Aesop. No wonder there was such a prank.

However, Han Xiao did not think that it was strange at all. After being alive for so many years, Aesop was a legendary figure, and his connections were extremely deep with his friends being scattered all over the universe.

With Aesop’s abilities, the figures whom he befriended were naturally those with authority and power. Since Ames had taken Aesop back, Floating Dragon would definitely receive a huge boost, and their hidden forces would definitely be expanded.

In truth, Rockfess’ warm attitude was not entirely because of Aesop. He had always been supplying resources to Floating Dragon but had rarely requested anything in return, treating it as a form of sponsorship. Rockfess was not the only financial group that was doing so, and there were at least twenty different financial groups sponsoring Ames. When Ames first built Floating Dragon Island, she had released a notice that she wanted money, and numerous financial groups had swarmed over to give her money immediately. After so many years, there were many financial groups that still maintained their sponsorship status. If not, with Floating Dragon’s horrendous management situation, it would have been impossible for them to support all the maintenance, repairs, and other expenses.

Behind every one of the four beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring were numerous financial groups. A powerful organization would always draw a large number of willing sponsors; thus, these powerful beings never needed to be afraid of going broke. Many of the financial groups in the universe were past the stage of accumulating wealth, and if they were not able to convert their wealth into influence or something useful, their wealth was no more than a useless string of numbers. Investing their wealth into such organizations that housed powerhouses was the best option for them.

For someone like Ames, it was no longer her asking others for money but others taking the initiative to offer her money. Whether or not so wanted to accept the money was dependent on her mood.

As long as one became sufficiently powerful, many problems would be taken care of easily. At the same time, however, one’s actions and words would also take on more responsibility.

In the later versions, a few unions would have the right to cooperate with the financial groups to obtain resources and funds. The impact of the players’ presence in Galaxy became deeper and deeper, and there were more and more avenues for both parties to interact. The influence that they had on the world was extremely dynamic and realistic, thus allowing the players to remain passionate about the game.

“I heard about your arrival as soon as you stepped onto Noriosse. Meeting you in person, you are even more powerful than in the legends.”

Rockfess took the initiative to reach out, and Han Xiao shook his hand. Smiling without saying a word, a thought suddenly surfaced in his head.

His plans for Version 2.0 would require a large amount of gold. To hold millions of players in his mercenary group, the hardware of his mercenary group must have an all-round upgrade, and all of that required money.

If he could mimic Ames and find sponsors, it may be much easier on his wallet.

Because Han Xiao was used to being a lone wolf in his previous life, he only had a vague understanding of deals between the guilds and NPCs. However, Han Xiao had never given it a try himself, and he needed to earn all of the money required for his plan. At this moment, a new idea sprung up in his mind. Perhaps the influence of a faction may be larger than I think.

Until then, Han Xiao’s core business had been to earn the player’s money to upgrade himself and his faction. However, could he improvise a little and get the NPCs to give him money while harvesting the money from players?

With this flash of inspiration, a new and exciting plan began to form in his head. While the plan was not feasible for the time being, it would greatly increase the benefits that the players could give him once Version 2.0 was unveiled. Of course, that was predicated on everything going according to his plan.

“Your Excellency Rockfess,” Han Xiao said, “I actually have something that I wish to request and hope that we can find some time to discuss the matter.”

“Alright, I will give you my personal number.” Rockfess nodded. “After this matter is over, we can talk about it in detail.”

…

A conclusion was made regarding the matter of compensation—Godora would be in charge of paying for all compensation. Rockfess then arranged for a completely safe stronghold for them to stay in. Before the reinforcements from Godora arrived, they were all required to stay there.

Aroshia met up with Alvin and the others. Alvin was extremely thankful that he had managed to escape death, and the Teleportation Mage left immediately after receiving his payment. He did not wish to have any relationship with those unlucky people.

Over the next few days, the news of this great battle began to spread rapidly, and the headlines of the various news outlets were getting more and more exaggerated.

The details of the battle were not leaked, and the various articles only reported a small portion of the battle and the outcome. While the infamous DarkStar was not the most powerful organization on the list of evil organizations within the Shattered Star Ring, it was the most radical one. It had destroyed many civilizations within the Garton Star System and caused countless citizens to lose their homes. However, there was rarely news of a head-on battle with DarkStar as they usually snuck into the various civilizations stealthily.

This time, a powerful member of DarkStar had died in the eyes of the public, and it was a truly joyous occasion.

With the news spreading, Han Xiao received multiple notifications of his Renown stat increasing on his interface. Just like before, his Renown stat increased in various Star Clusters, and his Renown level had reached [Slightly Famous] in most regions. In the Garton Star System, where he was most active, his Renown level had already reached the level of [Well Known].

In the eyes of most galactic residents, Ames’ strength was the only supporting pillar for the whole of Floating Dragon. However, her subordinates did not have much fame and rarely took action outside of Floating Dragon. In this respect, Floating Dragon was far inferior to the powers of the other three beyond Grade A Supers. The other three beyond Grade A Supers all had numerous experts under their charge with their soldiers being the elites of the elites. However, Ames only had a couple of little cats as her subordinates.

For the organizations of the other three beyond Grade A Supers, even if they did not have their leader, their organization would still be a tyrannical existence.

During the previous incident when Ames smashed up DarkStar’s mothership, the majority of the focus had been on Ames’ strength as well as the new member of Floating Dragon, Black Star. However, the news this time had shown Black Star’s strength, and many of the galactic residents and organizations had the same thought.

Ames finally has a capable officer. Sigh, it truly isn’t easy!

Godora was clearer about the details of the entire event. According to Nagakin’s report, the intelligence division of Godora’s War Bureau immediately placed a greater importance on Han Xiao. Together with the incident when they captured DarkStar’s mothership, this was the second time that Black Star had dealt a blow to DarkStar. Thus, he could be said to be on Godora’s side. Furthermore, Han Xiao had also aided Nagakin in killing Anur and gave them a huge aid.

After fighting together with Han Xiao, Nagakin also treated him with great importance.

In those few days, Han Xiao had specially built up his ties with Nagakin. This was also the reason behind him accepting this mission. Building up ties with Nagakin meant that he would have a direct channel to the upper echelons of Godora.

…

After waiting for a few days, the Godoran fleet arrived at Noriosse, and the entire event was finally over. Nagakin took Alvin to the pier where Godora’s gigantic fleet was waiting.

Before he left, Alvin took the initiative to shake hands with Han Xiao. “You saved my life, and I owe you a favor. If you need my help, I will definitely do my best to aid you.”

Nagakin also expressed his thanks toward Han Xiao. “It is truly a pleasant experience to work with you, and the War Bureau will pay you your reward. I hope that we have the chance to work together again.”

Han Xiao smiled. “Don’t worry, we will meet again very soon.”

Nagakin was stunned for a moment and thought that Han Xiao was only being polite. He then boarded the ship with Alvin, and the fleet quickly disappeared into space.

_____________________

[Nagakin’s request] has been completed.

You have received 5,800,000 Experience, 240,000 Enas, +850 Relationship with Godora Faction.

Godoran Civilization: Respect (3190/6000)

+30 Nagakin Favorability

+30 Alvin Favorability

_____________________

Adding close to 2,000 points of faction favorability and raising my relationship with Godora to Respect. This isn’t too bad.

Originally, Nagakin would have been crippled, and Alvin would not have survived. The fates of these two individuals had been changed by him, so DarkStar would definitely pay more attention to him. Who knew what kind of a reaction they would have?

“Where are we going?” Herlous asked, and everyone looked at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao stroked his chin. Before the new version was released, he had two targets. The first was his advancement. With his advancement being complete and him being freer, it was time to work toward his second target—prepare for Version 2.0. This was a huge project.

“Let me meet Rockfess first.”

Chapter 504: Getting Investments

“So, what request do you have, Black Star of Floating Dragon?”

Han Xiao was once again seated in Rockfess’ luxurious property, but this time, it was a private meeting between the two of them. They were seated face to face with the servants serving them tea.

After a couple of pleasantries, Rockfess went straight to the point.

“My time in precious. Please let me know if you have any requests.”

Han Xiao put down his glass and leaned forward. “I shall be straightforward then. My mercenary group is the Floating Dragon’s Field Team, and we have been operating for a year and a half. It is time for my mercenary group to expand. With the prestige of Ames on my shoulders, I cannot continue to have little battles and skirmishes. Blades and Sky Ring should be the target of my Black Star Mercenary Group. The stronger the Field Team, the stronger Floating Dragon will be. Thus, I need some funds to support me. I want to build a stronghold that belongs to my mercenary group and not rent a temporary gathering point.”

His preparation plan for Version 2.0 was to expand his camp before pulling all the players from Planet Aquamarine into his mercenary group during the Mutation Disaster. Both Godora and DarkStar would be his competitors, and Han Xiao wanted to give the players a third choice. Apart from the original ‘righteous’ and ‘evil’ path, Han Xiao wanted to provide the path of ‘neutral’.

As such, there was a huge problem that he faced. In order to contain thousands or millions of players, the size of his camp would have to be greatly increased. If not, he would not be able to attract new members.

The most important factor to attract players was benefits. Even if Bun-Hit-Dog’s program was able to brainwash a large number of spectators to be attracted to mercenary groups, it would be difficult to sustain their interest for a long time. Thus, it was key for him to provide players with missions and resources. With regards to this, Han Xiao already had a plan. He had created the mercenary group so that he could be the middleman to distribute the missions and form the bridge between the players and clients. At the same time, he would be able to borrow the almost endless mission resources to groom his own faction and keep players in his camp while building up the reputation of his mercenary group.

Apart from taking advantage of the mercenary groups, he also intended to make use of NPC resources to bring him more benefits.

Other than the resources given by missions, another important point was the special produce of a faction. On top of attracting investments, class knowledge, and skills, producing machinery would be his specialty. However, it would be impossible for him to fulfil a large order alone, and he had to consider the problem of mass production. He needed to form his own assembly line and build a factory of his own. With his current knowledge and skill, he would be able to just about create an assembly line.

Thus, the second problem would surface. Where should he place the assembly line? After accepting so many players, his mercenary group would need a large, fixed gathering point that was akin to his faction’s Main City. If not, he would not be able to incite a sense of belonging in all the players. Only after building up his own Main City would his forces look like a proper army. However, the location, security, resources, and functions of this gathering point were all problems.

As such, the third problem surfaced—transport! With the members under his charge exploding in numbers, going out on missions would be a problem. It would be ridiculous for the players to rent a ship whenever they wanted to travel, and it was not beneficial to attracting the players to his Main City. He needed to have a spaceship that belonged to his faction. If not, he needed to come to a long-term agreement with some Galactic Travel Agencies.

These were only the fundamental problems, and there were still many more little problems that he would face along the way, such as finding a stable supplier for materials, contacting a construction company, and so on. Expanding his faction was akin to expanding the operations of a company. If he wanted to expand his scope of influence, he had to prepare many things in large quantities, and that all required money.

Together with the reward from Nagakin, Han Xiao had about 500,000 Enas left. After a series of calculations, Han Xiao truly found his entire wealth to be pretty pathetic, and his heart would ache if he had to fork out the expenses required for his faction to expand. Thus, he decided to meet Rockfess and talk to him about the matter of investment.

“Expanding the scale of the Field Team…” Rockfess’ eyes narrowed. “Is this Ames’ order?”

“You should understand that Ames would never bother about such affairs,” Han Xiao replied. “I am the one in charge of the Field Team, and this is my own plan.”

“I knew that it wasn’t her idea,” Rockfess said with a smile that did not seem like a smile. “How much money do you want?”

“How much are you willing to give?” Han Xiao threw the question back.

Rockfess immediately changed the subject. “Up until now, I have provided nine sponsorships to Floating Dragon, a total of about 24,000,000, and this will not be the final figure. I intend to keep sponsoring Floating Dragon. Jenny and I can be considered old acquaintances, and the benefits that she brings me are the reason that I will not waver in my investment. Enjoying the prestige of Ames, I am able to earn a profit that is to my satisfaction.”

After saying those words, he kept quiet and looked at Han Xiao with a smile, obviously waiting for Han Xiao to say what sort of benefits he could provide.

Through investing in Floating Dragon, he gained the acknowledgement of Jenny and enjoyed a portion of Ames’ influence. He then borrowed the influence for political activities or negotiations. It was equivalent to exchanging his investment for influence and to use influence to make money. The amount of money that he was able to make definitely exceeded his initial investment. Such returns could only be gained if he invested in the headquarters of Floating Dragon. Why should he make an investment in Floating Dragon’s Field Team? Furthermore, this was Han Xiao’s personal plan. He would only provide money if it was Ames’ plan; Black Star did not command such respect.

Han Xiao smiled and suddenly said, “I believe that you have my information in your hands. If that’s the case, you should know that I have a bunch of undying warriors under me.”

“Yes.” Rockfess nodded. “I have also noticed that they are not with you right now.”

“They are natural born mercenaries, and their numbers far exceed your imagination. I know all of them, and expanding my mercenary group also includes expanding my numbers. I do not need to hire any other mercenaries on the market. With your investment, I will be able to rapidly expand my forces and become a large mercenary group. At that time, I will give you satisfactory benefits. Even if you have Jenny’s approval, you will require the appearance of Floating Dragon’s troops to help you persuade the other party at times, right? What about a large mercenary group willing to accept your private hire at no cost?”

Han Xiao selectively revealed some details of his plans. In order to persuade others to invest, he would naturally have to paint a picture of the possible benefits. While the stock market existed in Galaxy, a mercenary group was far from entering it. Thus, he naturally did not have the right to gain something without risking anything of his own.

He was not afraid of revealing the existence of players. The players would enter the galaxy eventually, and they would then be exposed to everyone. Since Galaxy was currently going through an update, even if he told Rockfess some information, the other party would not be able to do a thing because it was impossible to find any players for the time being!

This was his new plan. Allowing the NPCs to recognize the potential of players and attract their investments.

At that moment, he was only testing his idea to see the feasibility of his plan.

Rockfess fell into deep thought and did not say a word. Han Xiao’s suggestion did indeed interest him. Helping Floating Dragon build up their Field Team might be a good plan. While Black Star was a member of Floating Dragon, he did not trust Black Star enough to invest without any worries.

Han Xiao thought that he would have to wait for a long time. However, Rockfess made a decision less than ten seconds later.

“I will not invest.”

“What a pity.” Han Xiao shook his head. “You missed out on an investment that could bring you endless benefits.”

At that time, Rockfess added, “However, I can give you a loan. 4,000,000 Enas and a three-year limit. On account of Floating Dragon, I will give you a simple interest plan. If you return the money within a month, I will not charge you any interest. Paying me back after one year and before two years, I will charge you a ten percent interest. More than two years and before three years, twenty percent interest. Above three years, forty percent interest. These are my conditions.”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. This interest rate was truly explosive. If he exceeded three years, it was enough to make his pants explode. It was no different from borrowing from loan sharks at that rate. Furthermore, this was on account that he belonged to Floating Dragon. If not, it would have been impossible for Rockfess to lend him any money.

Being rich is truly…

“Alright, I agree.”

Han Xiao nodded. He was not worried about paying back the loan. Version 2.0 would be launched within a year. As long as the players returned, Han Xiao would probably count money to the point that his brain would cramp!

Not to mention returning the loan, even if he wanted to buy the whole Noriosse financial group… cough cough, he still would not be able to afford it.

Rockfess took out his communicator and sent him a contract. With both parties signing their names, the contract became legally binding. In the majority of the civilizations, this contract would be protected by the law. In his previous life, there had been a few guilds that did not wish to repay their debts. This had caused their Favorability to plummet with all these civilizations, and their upper limit of Favorability with those factions was set to 2,999 points. It meant that they would never be able to reach the level of [Respect]. On top of that, their personal Trust level was also reduced, and they would not be able to borrow again. In serious cases, they even ended up as fugitives.

If a guild wanted to take out a loan, it required a great deal of effort to raise the Favorability with a faction. If they did not return the money, it was akin to throwing away all of that Favorability. Any guilds with foresight would never permit such an action, which was akin to shooting themselves in the foot.

Han Xiao did not have the intention to do so either.

Ding.

Han Xiao received a notification of an incoming transfer. Taking a glance, the amount of Enas in his savings increased to 4,581,010.

Rockfess had given him the money without any fuss. For a wealthy merchant who would spend 7,000,000 Enas to buy an accessory, such a small investment was nothing to him.

However, to Han Xiao, this was a large sum of money.

“Let’s work well together.”

Standing up, Han Xiao shook Rockfess’ hand and left the luxurious property under the lead of the butler. He returned directly to the inn, where Herlous and the others were waiting. After supervising Sylvia’s homework for a while, he went back to his room.

I was really able to get an investment. If seems like the influence of a faction is truly greater than I thought. With money on hand, I only need to choose a place, and I will be able to construct a large camp. Er… which planet would be better? It cannot be too far away from Planet Aquamarine but has to be tightly connected to the galaxy…

Du du du…

Just when he was in thought, his communicator rang, and Head Butler Jenny called. Her expression was unfriendly, and she immediately interrogated Han Xiao when he picked up the call.

“Rockfess already informed me that you sought a loan from him. Why didn’t you inform me beforehand?”

“Jenny, would you have agreed?”

“Don’t call me Jenny, you should call me Head Butler. And, of course, I don’t agree.” Jenny’s tone was strict. She had never believed in expanding, and setting up a Field Team was an unnecessary expenditure to her in the first place. Ames would never require a powerful army.

“Then why should I tell you?” Han Xiao replied. He understood Jenny’s personality. She was an individual who wanted extremely tight control of business and finances. She would never agree to the expansion of the Field Team. While they belonged to the same faction, there were clashes in their ideals and responsibilities.

Of course, the main reason was because Jenny did not trust him enough. After all, he was a mercenary who had joined Floating Dragon midway.

“I command you to return the loan,” Jenny said in a tone that brooked no argument. “Without my permission, you are not allowed to accept any form of funds!”

Chapter 505: Location of the Base

Jenny’s attitude was extremely forceful, and she looked as though she would not let Han Xiao off if he chose to defy her. However, the Great Mechanic Han was not afraid of her, and it was impossible for him to return the money.

He then briefly explained the benefits that his actions could bring Floating Dragon, and without bothering whether Jenny accepted his words or not, he hung up.

This action of his frustrated Jenny greatly. Her desire for control was great, and for Han Xiao to take a loan without getting her approval made her feel as though her position of Head Butler was being challenged. She had also begun to suspect Han Xiao’s ‘loyalty’ at the same time. Ames had never been bothered with the management of Floating Dragon and handed everything over to her to handle. Thus, the majority of the consequences brought about by Ames’ actions were usually settled by her. She possessed a great deal of authority, and Ames also trusted Jenny greatly. Furthermore, most of the members in Floating Dragon would also submit to Jenny’s authority.

Black Star had joined Floating Dragon a year ago and had always been extremely low profile. However, this sudden action of his had immediately incited that sensitive nerve of Jenny’s and made her raise her guard. Deep within, she did not trust any other subordinates of Ames, and because she was Ames’ kin, she felt that only she and Ames were insiders while the others were outsiders.

After Han Xiao cut off the line, Jenny made a call of complaint to Ames without any hesitation. She explained everything that had happened to Ames and added her own opinions. She felt that Han Xiao’s Field Team had too much freedom and needed to be controlled. It would be best to transfer him back to the headquarters of Floating Dragon and remove the Field Team completely. She felt that since Floating Dragon wanted to maintain neutrality, it was sufficient for them to be Dragon Guards. There was no need for them to have an armed force operating outside.

Under normal circumstances, Ames would not reject her proposal. However, Ames unexpectedly rejected her.

“You are too nervous. It is just a bit of money, and there isn’t a need to make a huge fuss out of the matter. I trust Black Star; he is someone reliable. Since I gave him the right to operate freely, as long as he doesn’t become a wanted fugitive, you don’t have to inform me. If there isn’t anything else, I am hanging up.”

“But…”

Ka-cha.

Ames hung up the line, and a stunned Jenny was left behind. She held onto her communicator with a dazed look. She had never imagined that Ames would reject her flatly. This was something that had not happened before.

Because Han Xiao had caught Aesop, Ames’ trust in him had increased tremendously. While her trust in Han Xiao could not be compared to the trust that she had in Jenny, it was far more than the trust that she would have in an ordinary subordinate.

Without Ames’ approval, Jenny realized that she could not do a thing to Han Xiao. Exasperated, her veins began to bulge, and her body trembled slightly with anger. Taking a deep breath, she took off her spectacles and shut her eyes. After rubbing the bridge of her nose, she gradually regained her cool. When she opened her eyes again, her eyes were filled with solemnness.

Ames’ rejection had made Jenny feel a huge threat to her position.

…

Han Xiao naturally did not know that this small conflict would make Jenny misunderstand that he was trying to fight for favor with her. However, even if he knew, he would not have been bothered. After all, the money required for his Version 2.0 plan was more important.

The version update would take less than a year, and it was important for Han Xiao to use this time to find a place and build his base. Han Xiao would not choose a deserted planet and would definitely build his base on a flourishing planet. He would then be able to enjoy the NPC resources of the planet and use the geographical location to make up for the lack of NPCs in his base.

After searching for a long time in the Garton Star System map, he finally chose a planet in Godora’s territory called Planet Golden Gate. It was very near to Juberly Hub, and he would be able to easily arrive at the star zone where Planet Aquamarine was located. This meant that transportation would be extremely convenient. On top of that, the planet was sufficiently prosperous, and from a player’s perspective, all the necessary features were present. There were shops, entertainment outlets, missions…

There were two reasons behind Han Xiao’s choice. Firstly, his Favorability with Godora was high, so it was easier for him to get things done. Furthermore, he would be able to enjoy a discount. Secondly, he would be able to lower his expenses on setting up weapons. A powerful fleet would definitely be stationed within Godora’s territory, and DarkStar would not dare create trouble there. After getting rid of Anur a while back, Han Xiao had decided to place safety as a priority.

Furthermore, since they were in Godora’s territory, they would be able to filter out the players who joined DarkStar. With the Germinal Organization as an example, Han Xiao did not wish for there to be a bunch of spies in his base.

Among all of the planets, Planet Golden Gate was the top choice.

After choosing his target, Han Xiao did not delay any further and left Noriosse.

Because Risda had joined their group, the Blacklight Stealth became their new ship. Its speed was extremely fast and movements agile. They no longer had to worry about being surrounded by enemies.

Planet Golden Gate was not a large planet, but because it was situated near Juberly Hub, it was very prosperous. Planet Golden Gate had plenty of different cities, and setting up a base there required the purchase of a permit. With the Renown of the Black Star Mercenary Group being sufficiently high within the Garton Star System, together with the fact that their relationship with Godora was pretty good, there was no problem in the application of the permit.

After spending a large amount of money, Han Xiao managed to buy a piece of land, and the efficiency of settling all the paperwork was extremely high. With the sheer size of the universe, land was abundant, and it was unbelievably cheap for an ordinary immigrant to purchase a house.

With the current wealth in his hands, Han Xiao did not have any intention of building a large main city yet. He did not have enough people or money. He only needed a fixed base for his Mercenary Group.

As for the design of the base, it had to be sufficiently big. Apart from providing a large number of players with a region to hang out, he needed to leave space for military factories. On top of that, he had to ensure that the roads are well designed and regions demarcated so that the players would not get lost in the base. Most importantly, the base had to be impressive and sufficiently high class.

With the sheer scale of the construction, Han Xiao naturally did not intend to do so himself. He contacted a construction company to build the place according to his designs. From the construction to the purchase of materials and transportation, every single aspect required a large amount of wealth.

While he was starting to build his first base, Ember had returned to the headquarters of DarkStar. At that time, the upper echelons of DarkStar were having a meeting to discuss the incident on Noriosse.

…

In the mysterious headquarters of DarkStar, ten or so individuals were gathered in a hall. Some were present physically while others joined the meeting through a holographic projection. Their faces were all hidden as they sat on a circular table.

Everyone in the room was at the highest level in the DarkStar organization. There were some Calamity Grade Supers, fleet commanders, logistics directors, intelligence agents, research staff, and the leader in charge of all affairs.

The majority of their identities were secret and not privy to outsiders. At this moment, the atmosphere was extremely heavy. With the traitor alive, all of their identities could be exposed, and they were all in a terrible mood.

Ember was also in the room. After reaching the Calamity Grade, he had the right to be present in that room. From time to time, the other members seated at the table would look at him with an unfriendly gaze.

Because of his mission failure, all of them had to endure the risk of being exposed, so they could not help but blame Ember, the only one who had returned alive.

Noticing the gazes of the others, Ember knew that he was in the wrong and could only remain silent.

Beside him was an empty seat.

That seat had belonged to Anur.

With his respected teacher dead, every time he saw this empty chair, Ember would be reminded of Han Xiao. The flames of rage would then burn, and he would spend a great amount of effort to suppress it.

After a long period of silence, the leader of DarkStar opened his mouth. “Anur died in combat, and the traitor was saved by Godora. This mission was a complete failure.”

“Before the traitor gained access to the top-secret intel, I froze his authority,” the person in charge of intelligence said with a hoarse voice. “The intel in his hands is only a small portion. This is the only good news.”

“Is the traitor aware of the mutation virus?”

“No, he isn’t aware about our plan. This requires a higher level of authority.”

“That’s good. This is an important step in our plan, and nothing can go wrong. It won’t be too long before the virus spreads, and Godora will be forced to send out a great deal of manpower to protect the affected civilizations. We will be able to seize the initiative…”

The leader of DarkStar then paused and changed topics. “I am extremely disappointed in the outcome of this mission. Not only did we let the traitor escape, we had even lost a Calamity Grade doyen. Ember, you have truly let me down this time.”

Ember clenched his fists and said with difficulty, “Something went wrong in the mission.”

“You are trying to say that as long as something goes wrong, you won’t be able to handle it?”

Ember noticed the chill in the leader’s voice and lowered his head without answering.

At this moment, another member spoke up. “This was your first mission after becoming a Grade A Super. To think that the outcome would be so embarrassing! Aren’t you ashamed? I truly wonder if you have the right to be in this room.”

The one who spoke was another respected Calamity Grade who had even more influence than Anur. He was the vice leader and the right-hand man of the leader.

Ember’s clenched fists tightened, but he did not retort. After becoming a Calamity Grade Super, he had been full of ambition and pride. However, this mission had ended in complete failure, so he was starting to doubt himself.

“I saw the mission report. Godora’s Nagakin joint hands with a mercenary to kill Anur. That mercenary is called Black Star.” The DarkStar leader changed the topic and did not allow the others to continue blaming Ember. It was sufficient to warn him, and it was not necessary to humiliate him.

“Kill him!” Ember said without hesitation.

“He is Ames’ subordinate, and I do not wish to have a conflict with someone like the Dragon Emperor before the start of our mutation virus plan,” the leader of DarkStar said. “I will make that mercenary pay the price, but not now.”

“He has caused us to suffer losses over and over again, and he is an enemy whom we must eradicate. We cannot wait any longer!” Ember could not help but retort. He wished that he could reduce Han Xiao to ashes in front of him.

The one in charge of intelligence said calmly, “According to my intel, Black Star is building a base on Planet Golden Gate. That planet is within Godora’s territory. If we want to get rid of him, we will have to send a large fleet. To incite such a huge battle with Godora at this important stage, do you want to ruin the organization’s plan?”

“This is worth it!” Ember grit his teeth and insisted on his view.

“Enough!” The leader of DarkStar interrupted Ember. “From now on, cease all other activities on the outside until the mutation virus spreads. I do not wish to repeat myself. The meeting shall end here.”

All the upper echelons did not say another word and went offline. Those who were there personally left the meeting room. Only Ember was left in his seat with a look of indignation. Looking at the empty room, a trace of anger flashed through his eyes.

Chapter 506: Mass Production Design, Onset of the Disaster

On Planet Golden Gate of the Garton Star System, the Black Star base was rapidly being constructed as Han Xiao had contracted a professional construction company. In the galaxy era, the efficiency of constructing buildings was extremely high and almost everything was automated. Building a foundation, mixing cement, laying the walls, laying the lines, and so on were all jobs that could be completed quickly. As long as the raw materials were present, the construction team would be able to construct a building identical to the blueprints in a short amount of time.

Ten or so days went by in a flash, and a metal base rose up from the ground. This base was enough to house seventy to eighty thousand people. Its size was sufficiently huge, and its geography was simple. According to the blueprints, the base was separated into a few different sectors. However, the facilities were not up yet, and the base was only an empty shell.

The funds that Han Xiao currently had on hand were pretty abundant, and he did not have to be so restricted. He needed to build a factory assembly line, equip his base with weapons, and build a main system to control the entire base. All of those facilities needed to be built by him, and the main expenditure would come from the resources.

Following which, he had to solve the problem of transportation. Buying a spaceship was far too costly, and he was prepared to strike a deal with some Galactic Travel Agencies. He wanted to rent their spaceships long term. After deducting those expenditures, he would still be left with about two to three million Enas.

The problem with transportation was not urgent, and he would only require it when the players returned. Han Xiao had to first forge an assembly line. The assembly line was a requirement for him to build up an army, and he needed the relevant Advanced Knowledge and High-End Knowledge. Han Xiao had learned the majority of the Advanced Knowledge, and his huge capital allowed him to purchase new High-End Knowledge.

He instantly used a few hundred thousand Enas to buy the High-End Knowledge of the Armed Branch, [Huge Duplex Machinery Technology]. This knowledge was one of the requirements for him to build battleships and other Super large machines. He then followed the knowledge groups in his memory and merged the relevant key blueprint, [Automated Mass Production Plan]. It was not only the blueprint for an assembly line, it was also the core of an army. As long as the raw materials available were sufficient, the assembly line would be able to automatically manufacture the weapons, and it would save Han Xiao both time and effort. The only thing it did not save was money.

The assembly line was a special type of blueprint that could not be constructed on its own. If it was a player who attempted to do so, the player would need to first activate the assembly line blueprint and leave it in the active state before using the blueprint of another machine. This was the process to create a machinery assembly line, and it was like a form of combined skill.

The construction process of every assembly line had some differences. For example, the construction of cavalry and black panthers required a different production process. Thus, the assembly line of every different machine would have to be constructed individually. The raw materials required for every machine were different, and the sheer cost of the raw materials from the assembly line was enough to make a player’s wallet fall into despair. If not, there would not be the saying that the Army Style was the most money burning strategy in the game.

Han Xiao’s current Army Style was merely second-rate with his main focus being low cost. He was truly some distance away from the true Army Style. The main reason was that he did not have too much money to burn in the past. With sufficient funds on hand, he could finally start with his plan to create an army.

After all, the strength of a Mechanic was directly related to their wealth.

The specialty of Han Xiao’s [Ordnance Engineer] subclass was [Military Machinery Enlightenment], and it lowered the cost of building an assembly line while raising the quality of the created product.

Apart from creating a large mechanic army, the other motive of an assembly line was to forge the equipment that players were willing to purchase in bulk. At that time, he would be able to sell that equipment in bulk and use the money earned to create more equipment…

He could then open up a few different outlets with one shop becoming two, two becoming four, four becoming eight, eight becoming a listed company, gathering funds from being a listed company, then selling his stocks, then letting his subsidiary company be listed, then from just collecting interest he could… Cough cough, this was roughly what he meant. Just thinking about it, the Great Mechanic Han felt his mood brighten up.

The higher a machine’s grade, the more complex its assembly line would be. Even with Han Xiao’s current assembly speed, he needed a few days to complete a single assembly line. Thus, it was important for him to carefully consider which assembly lines he should build. After a long period of consideration, Han Xiao decided to place his focus on low grade machines. His level was truly too far ahead of the players, and the low-grade machines to him were just right for the players who were around level 60.

As for the high-grade machines, there was no need to create an assembly line at the moment. Han Xiao was currently level 116, and because of the Noriosse incident, Han Xiao had not had the chance to have an all-round upgrade of his core machines. Building a base was a long-term project, and Han Xiao finally had the time to upgrade his equipment.

Because of the reward from killing Anur, the amount of experience that he had in the interface had increased to 300,000,000. He first upgraded his [Automated Mass Production Plan] to the maximum level to reduce its cost to the minimum. He then gambled to obtain a large variety of low-grade machines and chose a few suitable blueprints to form an assembly line. With his understanding of the Mechanic class and the players, he was certain that the machines produced would definitely be useful.

Constructing an assembly line was a huge project, so before that, he built a main system for the base and got Phillip to manage the base. The very first assembly line that he wanted to set up was an assistant type machine. Allowing an AI like Phillip to operate those assistant type machines would definitely be extremely effective.

Following the blueprint that he had left behind, Phillip began to command more and more assistant type machines to complete the different districts of the base such as new furniture, security doors, equipment, and instruments. Han Xiao no longer needed to personally supervise those tasks.

The preparation for Version 2.0 required everyone to stay in the base for a long period of time. Herlous did not care and trusted that Han Xiao had his plans. As for the others, they cared even less. The Volga brothers and Sylvia were okay with following Han Xiao for anything. Feidin would not leave before suppressing Chen Xing completely. Risda was extremely patient. After waiting for a long time, he was not bothered about this little delay. He also did not mind letting Han Xiao use his body.

Wilsander returned to Floating Dragon, and the only ones left operating on the outside of Floating Dragon were Han Xiao and his crew.

Han Xiao was very clear that Floating Dragon was definitely aware of him constructing a base on the outside. Since Ames had not said anything to him, Han Xiao understood that Ames was silently allowing him to expand the armed forces. This trust that Ames had in him truly made him feel grateful.

Because of the base, Han Xiao’s core members temporarily stopped accepting any new missions, and only the Sunil Division was still active. This piece of news spread through the galaxy very quickly, and the news of Han Xiao constructing a base made many organizations misunderstand something. They all felt that this was a signal.

Does the Dragon Emperor finally want to mimic the other three beyond Grade A Supers and strengthen her armed forces‽

All along, Han Xiao’s ‘Floating Dragon Field Team’ had only existed in name, and few organizations had paid any attention to them. However, this action of his made many organizations and powerhouses fearful as they paid close attention to Han Xiao.

The construction of the base proceeded slowly but steadily.

As time passed, all of the mutation sources that DarkStar had stealthily placed in the planets began to awaken.

…

“… it’s like this. In two days, there have been over 2,700 violent incidents globally, and over 100,000 people have been affected. This is only the information that we have managed to find out. The intel department has investigated the identities of all those who burst out in violence. They come from all different occupations and are spread all across the different cities. There wasn’t a single sign of violence before the incident took place, and there isn’t any pattern to the violence. Currently, the majority of those who broke out in violence are being detained by the enforcement agencies of the Six Nations and are undergoing investigation.”

A member of the intel department read the report. Bennett sat on the chair with his brows furrowed. He looked a little older than he had two years ago.

After Han Xiao’s departure, Planet Aquamarine had begun to stabilize socially. The Six Nations were resting and had stopped fighting wars with each other. The refugees also had a place to go.

But over the past few days, violence had broken out in many different regions, and the sheer number of these incidents had immediately drawn the attention of the Six Nations and Bennett.

“Sir, we have collated all of the information and noticed something in common…” the intel officer said with an obvious fear in his voice.

“Speak,” Bennett said with a deep voice.

“All of the incidents can be split into three groups with the time of the violence in each group happening within a ten second interval in a few hundred different locations around the world as though they had all come to an agreement beforehand. However, after checking the records, these people did not contact each other in private…”

A solemn look could be seen in Bennett’s eyes. This situation was too unusual!

The intel officer was sweating profusely. “Furthermore, the locations of the events also include a few of our Sanctuaries. Many refugees that we have taken in also broke out in violence.”

“How are the body conditions of these refugees?”

“Their bodies heated up when we detained them, and they are unconscious. The result of the doctor’s check was that their brain activity was far higher than usual, resulting in their organs being overly excited. According to the information from our informants, this is also the same as those who were detained by the Six Nations.”

“All of them fell unconscious?” Bennett said with a tinge of shock and fear. “Is this a kind of virus that can spread?”

“It doesn’t spread to everyone. A small portion of the refugees were awake when they were detained. They were able to clearly describe the entire situation, and their testimonies are shockingly identical. They all said that they felt a sudden outburst of anger and the urge to destroy some items to vent their anger. Our doctors have checked the bodies of these conscious individuals but did not find anything strange. The temperature of their bodies also went back to normal, and it was as though everything was normal. Thus, we have already quarantined these individuals, and they have not shown any signs of violence for the past eighteen hours.”

“Is quarantining them really useful? The groups of people in the three waves of violence are completely different, and the violence took place without any signs at all. If this is truly a virus that cannot be detected, I’m afraid that the number of infected individuals will be…”

Thinking about that, Bennett could not help but take in a breath of cold air with his expression ugly. He had a feeling that this matter was not that simple.

“The war is over, and peace has finally been restored to the world with great difficulty. Why would something like this…”

All of a sudden, he thought of Han Xiao and the prophecy of a calamity that he did not believe. However, the scenario before him was actually extremely similar to Han Xiao’s words!

Could it be that Black Phantom’s words were true‽

Clank!

Bennett suddenly stood up, pushing his chair over. As he hurriedly put his coat on, he left the room.

“Prepare the plane, I am going to Black Phantom’s Sanctuary Three!”

Chapter 507: The Arrangement Comes into Effect

The chopper slowly landed on the helipad of Sanctuary Three. Bennett finished adjusting his collar, holding onto his hat as he stepped onto land. He looked down and saw a peaceful and harmonious sight as far as the eye could see; there were no incidents of violence happening at the moment. On the helipad stood a group of people in black clothing. The current head of the Sanctuary Three, Huang Yu, was there with his subordinates.

“If you needed something, you could have called, sir. There’s no need for you to have come personally, ” Huang Yu respectfully said.

Bennett waved his hands, indicating for Huang Yu to lead the way as he replied, “I need to see a few people. The situation is urgent, could you gather them for me?”

“I’ll convey your intentions. They will be waiting for you in the meeting room.”

This delegation walked all the way to the core area of the Sanctuary. After navigating through the complicated passageways, they arrived at a meeting room. Bennett left his bodyguards outside, walking into the meeting room with Huang Yu. Sitting inside were three women—Hila, Aurora, and Emerald Grass. The three of them looked toward the newcomers as they walked in, their attention focused on Bennett.

“Sir.” Hila remained impassive, slightly nodding her head. Because Aurora had not been turned into jam, Hila did not walk the extreme path. While she remained cold to everyone, toward someone like Bennett, she would still show the minimum respect.

“Cut the nonsense. I still have two more sets of experiments to perform today. Why have you gathered us?” Emerald Grass got straight to the point.

Bennett had a serious expression as he took out a few reports concerning the recent riots, sharing them with the trio as he spoke calmly. “Roughly a year ago, you guys first reported abnormal sightings. At that time, I did not notice it before, but right now, the matters seem to be connected to the strange sightings you have seen. Your group are the elites personally picked by Black Phantom himself, and with his ability for disaster prediction, I would like to hear your thoughts on this matter.”

Because the trio were elites that Han Xiao had personally asked Bennett to take care of, he did not limit their freedom. Before Han Xiao left, Hila had always spoken of wanting to travel the world with Aurora after her body had fully recovered. However, Han Xiao had been gone for over two years, and Aurora’s body had long recovered, yet Hila continued to stay within the Sanctuary.

Bennett naturally would not chase them away.

Aurora’s Esper ability allowed her to sense lives, and the huge surge of life force that she had detected that vanished after a few days had allowed her to memorize the ‘scent’ of that lifeform. This was one of the functions of her ability, to record life signatures. The signatures were like a unique brand, allowing her to differentiate between each lifeform.

While the huge life signature was short lived, Aurora discovered that the scent of that particular lifeform was spreading, with increasing numbers of lifeforms having that particular scent on them. It did not differentiate between plants or animals.

Aurora spoke in a timid voice, slowly explaining what she had felt. Bennett’s face grew graver as he listened.

If this is a sort of virus, then hundreds of millions of people could be infected in this world… that’s not right. If we include the various flora and fauna, then the infected amount will truly be terrifying!

Aurora looked at everyone, hesitating for a moment before mustering her courage and pointing at Huang Yu. “He has that smell on him as well.”

Huang Yu’s face blanched. He immediately felt around himself, exclaiming, “I… I don’t feel it!”

Bennett clapped a palm on Huang Yu’s shoulder, his energy pervading Huang Yu’s body through his fingers. However, even after going through a few rounds, he let go and sighed. “I could not sense anything out of the ordinary. What sort of virus is this? While I don’t know the reason, it seems like only Aurora can tell apart who is infected or healthy.”

Everyone turned to look at Aurora. She trembled, before blinking her large eyes as she nervously stuttered, “I… I can really be of help?”

Bennett had the urge to give out a benevolent and encouraging smile, but due to the pressing situation, he simply had no mood to do so. He could only solemnly nod.

Aurora seemed to be extremely happy to hear that. She had always been under the protection of others and had been looking forward to the day that she could return the favor.

After flipping through the report, not only did Emerald Grass not show any hints of shock, her face even revealed some form of fanaticism as she exclaimed, “I was right, my instincts were right! Indeed, my entire year of research has not been wasted!”

The moment she spoke, everyone immediately looked over, their expressions those of shock.

“What do you mean?” Bennett asked.

“Follow me.” Emerald Grass immediately stood up, walking straight out. The rest could only follow her from behind.

After passing through the security perimeter, the group reached Emerald Grass’ lab. Even the sentries did not dare linger around that place. They were afraid of inhaling any strange poisonous mist, leading to a coma or nervous disorder. If they were even unluckier, they might even experience a loss of ability in their procreation tool.

Emerald Grass brought the company to an open-air greenhouse, where many plants were being cultivated. Because the Esper ability of Emerald Grass was the control of plants, her medicinal raw materials were mostly planted by herself. Within this cultivation ground existed just one type of plant, which grew out fan-shaped green leaves from the ground. Its appearance could not have been more ordinary, and if it was placed in the wild, nobody would give it another look.

“This is the Rhodes Fan Leaf. It has a harsh growth environment and is extremely difficult to artificially cultivate. Because of that, it is an endangered species that has a small number of living specimens around the world. However, its extreme rarity does not indicate a high value. In fact, the Rhodes Fan Leaf has no medical function, and its only purpose is to be ground into a paste that can be eaten after cooking… provided you’re a herbivore. In short, there is close to no value in cultivating this plant.”

Emerald Grass simply introduced the plant, leaving everyone at a loss.

“But you still cultivated so many of them? Why did you bring us to see this?” Bennett asked.

At this time, Aurora stretched out her finger, curiously touching one of the fan blades. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she exclaimed, “These plants are all uncontaminated by the smell!”

Bennett was startled. His face lit up with joy as he understood the meaning behind it.

“Your hypothesis is correct. A year ago, some of the plants gave me the impression that they were spying on me. This attracted my attention, and after searching through many areas, I found that this plant is the only botanical life that does not develop this spying sense. I don’t understand the nuances behind the spying, but I realized that the Rhodes Fan Leaf can neutralize them, so I started to cultivate this plantation. However, the Rhodes Fan Leaves are too difficult to cultivate, and the seeds are scarce. These fans are all that are present at the moment.” Emerald Grass confirmed everyone’s suspicions.

“Have any clinical trials been held yet?”

“I’ve only experimented on botanicals for now. By extracting the juice of the Rhodes Fan Leaf and adding a few extra ingredients, I’ve produced a medicine that can inhibit the spying sense of plants for a period of time.”

“Great, we have no time to waste. There’s no knowing when the riots will take place. In a bit, I’ll get someone to send over those rioters who have been isolated. You are to test if the inhibitor drug works on them.”

Bennett was very decisive. During this time of chaos, he could not afford to care if there were repercussions from such a drug. He instead felt relieved that Emerald Grass could come out with such a countermeasure. At least they were much better than compared to the Six Nations, which were still at a loss.

“That’s okay. However, there’s something I need to warn you beforehand. Because of the rarity of the Rhodes Fan Leaf, the production of the drug is limited to small amounts. Furthermore, the collection of the plant’s juices at any one time cannot be past a certain limit, or else the plant will die, reducing a potential source of supply. Every cultivated stalk comes from great difficulty.”

Emerald Grass shrugged in response.

In the previous timeline, Emerald Grass had only managed to escape from the Bell of Death Island when the Mutation Disaster had completely blown apart. It was only after a long period of research that she finally came out with the prescription of the inhibitor. However, in this timeline, Han Xiao had freed her from the Bell of Death Island well in advance, allowing her to research. Han Xiao had changed the storyline once again, allowing her to invent the inhibitor when the Mutation Disaster had only just begun to rear its fangs. The impact was huge.

While the inhibitor drug could not eliminate the Mutation Disaster and could only provide temporary containment, this was one of the rare few methods to use against it. In the past timeline, the devastated Six Nations had fought red-eyed for possession of Emerald Grass, wishing to obtain the recipe for the drug.

However, Emerald Grass was now based in Sanctuary Three, under the protection of Bennett. Whether this would attract the covetous glances of the Six Nations was yet to be confirmed, but the initial reason behind Han Xiao, who was currently far away in space, gaining Emerald Grass was because of this scenario. He wanted Sanctuary Three to be the first to manufacture the inhibitor, which would attract a swarm of players to the Sanctuary. He had foreseen this from the very beginning.

Aurora had also been saved by him. Her Esper ability was able to distinguish those infected and was an important factor in changing the story. Because the mutation virus was extremely latent, everyone would begin to grow suspicious of each other after the disaster occurred. Everyone would be worried about their friends suddenly turning into enemies, but Aurora could at least prevent such a problem from plaguing Sanctuary Three. This would also attract more people toward Sanctuary Three to seek peace of mind…

Under the influences of Han Xiao, Bennett and the others could react to the issue well in advance. The Great Mechanic Han had long set the scene for Version 2.0, and the effects were gradually emerging.

After everyone had left the greenhouse, Hila suddenly asked, “If this was the disaster that he foresaw… do you think he will keep his promise and come back?”

Everyone paused mid-step. There was not a single person present who was not closely related to Han Xiao. Every time that they mentioned this Black Phantom, their facial expressions would turn complicated.

“Maybe…” Bennett could only sigh.

Black Phantom had mentioned that he would venture into outer space to find a solution to solve the disaster, but there had been no news from him for a good two years. They could not fathom just what Han Xiao had come across during his journey in space. To them, space exploration was something shrouded in mystery. It represented a higher, grander world, one that was the ‘real’ world. It stirred the curiosity within people, making them wish to take this step.

Every time they looked up into space, they would inevitably think of Han Xiao. However, they had no way to contact him.

At that point, even Bennett no longer held much hope.

Even for Hila, she felt that the chances were slim. She pulled out the key that Han Xiao had given her beforehand, weighing it in her hand. Her eyelids drooped, covering the glow in her eyes.

Maybe… he was never coming back.

…

Far away in space, Han Xiao did not purposefully monitor the situation of Planet Aquamarine. He had long known of the evolution stage for the Mutation Disaster, and he did not personally take another look to confirm. Time was money, and wasting time was equivalent to wasting money. This was something unacceptable to him!

In Version 2.0, the players would only return after the Mutation Disaster had completely blown up. Han Xiao calculated the time and estimated that around a month or two before the new version was launched, signs of the Mutation Disaster would start to show, and the virus would leave its incubation period to infect and evolve into a calamity.

This was the important stage for players to enter interstellar travel. There were only so many chances in life. If one grabbed hold of the opportunity, one would soar into the sky. Han Xiao followed the prescribed order to carry out his plans without any anxiety.

Following each objective on Han Xiao’s prepared list being struck off one by one, the date also drew ever closer.

Chapter 508: New Version, New Phase

The stars were shining brightly, and the rivers of light lit up the pitch-black universe. Every twinkling star was immeasurably far away, and every star represented a race, a civilization, a dream. It was like a landing plane flying past a brightly lit city, forming both a majestic and lively sight.

Looking through the spaceship’s window, the contours on Planet Golden Gate gradually became finer and clearer. Spaceships of all different shapes and sizes could be seen taking off and landing on this Godoran colony. It was as though the prosperity of the planet could be spread out in the sky, and those looking from afar could also feel this sense of prosperity.

This was a type of middle-sized, long-distance spaceship. It was a commonly seen model with its exterior made from a grayish allow. Its hyperdrive engine was also a common one, and it had an inferior grade electromagnetic shield. The official selling price of the spaceship was around 750,000 to 900,000 Enas, and a second-hand spaceship would be about thirty percent cheaper. If one had good ties with the factory that manufactured the spaceship, it could even be purchased for 170,000 Enas. On the spaceship, there was a bright yellow royal crown decal, and this was a spaceship for rent belonging to the Royal Crown Galactic Travel Agency.

This Travel Agency had just signed a long-term loan contract for thirteen spaceships with the Black Star Mercenary Group a month ago. The rental fee was far lower than the selling price of the spaceship, but it still was not cheap.

At that moment, this spaceship, which temporarily belonged to the Black Star Mercenary Group, had a few dozen mercenaries on it and was flying toward Planet Golden Gate. They were the mercenaries who had recently been hired by the Black Star Mercenary Group a few months prior.

During his one year of preparation, after Han Xiao completed the construction of his assembly lines, he had made use of his fame to hire a few hundred freelance mercenaries to build up the strength of his mercenary group and increase the NPC resources of his mercenary group. The new members were then restructured into different teams to make it easier to command them.

Herlous and the others alone would not be enough to deal with the Mutation Disaster. Presently, Han Xiao no longer needed to restrict the size of his mercenary group, so the more the merrier. The Great Mechanic Han would never be stingy in investing in his mercenary group. With a large stack of bills in his pocket, Han Xiao would not feel good if he did not spend any money.

“Black Star suddenly gathered all of us. Are we going on a large mission?”

“We are Floating Dragon’s force in name. Could it be that the Dragon Emperor has an order for us?”

“I tried asking around, and nobody knows what Black Star wants. Even the officers aren’t sure.”

“All the others have arrived already, and we are the latest. I hope we didn’t delay anything.”

As the mercenaries were chatting, the spaceship landed at the port nearest to the base. Stepping out of the spaceship, dozens of mercenaries disembarked, and not too long later, they stopped in front of a gigantic base. The base was built on an octagonal plot of land and was surrounded by automatic cannon towers made from alloy walls.

The style of the base was like a gigantic metal castle with its shiny black exterior reflecting the sun’s rays. Numerous metal buildings were joint together with ten or so cone shaped rooftops pointing toward the sky, looking like they were fries in a box. The buildings were all angular, and they had the precision of a machine. Apart from the grayish metal color, white and red paint could be seen extending out along the edges of the buildings to add some color to the otherwise heavy base. Together with the blue indication lights that were scattered all over the base, the entire base had a high-tech feeling to anyone who walked in.

This was the result of one year of hard work. Black Star’s first base!

All the mercenaries came in front of the door, and a complicated identification panel popped out on the interface. After they were all verified that they belonged to the Black Star Mercenary Group, the door of the base began to slowly open, and a voice sounded from the interface.

“Identification complete, hum… Welcome back, hum…”

“Phillip, how’s your day?” a mercenary joked with the interface.

“Currently working, hum… Cannot chat casually, hum…”

All of them then walked into the base. The interior of the base was not complicated. The center of the base was a large empty space with bridges leading toward the different regions of the base. It was like a beehive, and this middle region was called the ‘mouthpiece’ by the mercenaries.

The base was truly too large. Even a million people would not be able to fill it up completely, and the mercenary group only had a few hundred people at the moment. Thus, the interior of the base was extremely spacious.

These mercenaries walked toward the main hall while chatting, their voices echoing in the large hall.

When they entered the main hall of the base, they saw that a few hundred people were already waiting there. They were all waiting silently with the atmosphere solemn. These merrily chatting mercenaries immediately stopped their laughter and chatter and gathered behind the other mercenaries.

The few hundred people in the main hall were the present members of the mercenary group. They were clad in different kinds of armor and had either melee or ranged weapons on their backs. They were tall, short, fat, skinny, human, and beast; however, they all had something in common. They were all emanating the sharpness of an elite warrior, and every single one of them had survived hundreds of battles.

In front of the crowd, Black Star’s officers were standing in a row with their backs facing the crowd. Herlous was clad in a light blue armor, Aroshia was glowing all over, the three Volga brothers looked as though they had been made from the same mold, and three other new officers who joined a few months ago. As for Feidin and Sylvia, they were standing further away.

At that moment, the metal ground that was in front of the crowd opened up, and a human figure rose up on an elevator. His black overcoat fluttered in the wind, and he had a necklace made from compressed orbs. Furthermore, he was still wearing a pure black mask that covered his face.

It was Han Xiao.

After a year, Han Xiao had changed his outfit into something more striking, and he had mimicked the Germinal Organization leader in wearing a mask. He felt that he was more handsome this way.

I am someone who owns his own property after all, and my coolness factor should go up a little at least. Furthermore, this black mask is actually equipment.

The moment that he appeared, everyone’s gaze was immediately fixed on him.

“Is everyone here?”

Han Xiao’s gaze swept over everyone present. He had hired these mercenaries personally, and Floating Dragon’s reputation was truly useful. The majority of those present were lone wolves with pretty impressive combat prowess. They were all extremely reliable. All of the mercenaries before him could be split into three different categories. The first category would be mercenaries who did not belong to any mercenary group before this. The second category would be those who belonged to the Sunil Division. The third category would be a ‘War League’, which one of the new officers had brought with him.

After the base was constructed, Han Xiao did not stay in the base but took the time to visit other planets and hired three new officers based on his memories. These were characters who had been famous in his previous life.

Sehrinde, a Sunil Grade B Pugilist. He was dressed in a white hood. While the material of the hood seemed soft, it had a defensive inscription inscribed in it. His face was hidden under the shadow of the hood, and two large blades could be seen hanging on his waist. He would be able to unsheathe those blades at any time, and when Han Xiao first met him, Han Xiao had almost thought that he had come out from a certain popular assassination game.

He was another Grade B Super who belonged to the Guardian Faction of the Sunil civilization. When Fernas left Sunil, Sehrinde did not leave together. Sehrinde had a quiet personality, and his personality was just like his swift and queer Pugilist subclass. He was like an assassin hidden in the darkness and a sharp contrast to Herlous’ open Pugilist style.

With Herlous making the introduction, Han Xiao had managed to find the lonesome Sehrinde and issued an invitation to him. As the reputation of the Black Star Mercenary Group grew, more and more Sunil Supers became willing to join Black Star. It was safe, and they could earn a lot of money. It could also be said that Han Xiao was offering them protection. Under Herlous’ persuasion, Sehrinde had accepted Han Xiao’s invitation and begun working together with him.

Presently, the Sunil Division was led by Herlous and Sehrinde.

The second new officer was Ginette Colin, a female space human. She was a Grade B Cannon Master and carried various kinds of heavy firearms all over her body. The thick layer of machinery covered her tall, sexy figure. It was her creed to worship firepower over anything else.

Ginette was a pretty famous lone wolf mercenary. In Han Xiao’s previous life, she had joined Sky Ring Army and become a famous leading figure of the army. Han Xiao had spotted her name when he was going through the list of freelance mercenaries and thus decided to pull Ginette into his mercenary group while she was still alone.

The process naturally had not been an easy one. Ginette had an explosive temper and cursed at both the heavens and the earth. She did not even place Floating Dragon in her sights. Han Xiao had thus come up with a small plan and purposely intervened in one of Ginette’s missions. With the both of them on opposing sides, they had naturally ended up fighting. After Han Xiao beat her terribly a couple of times, Ginette had finally submitted and joined the Black Star Mercenary Group.

Han Xiao had promised to provide her with heavy firearms at a low price. With Ginette’s hobby of collecting all different kinds of weapons, she had immediately accepted his proposal.

The third officer had an even greater origin. He was a main character class figure. Han Xiao had spent a great deal of effort before finally being able to con him into joining. Just like how he had conned Herlous back then.

Harmon Rockfall Sonodin. He was a Luhan Beastman and was more than three meters tall. His entire body was covered in hair, and he looked a little like a bear. His appearance was still pretty adorable, but he actually belonged to a clan of ferocious fighters. The Luhan Beastmen had their own civilization, and it was located in a different Star Cluster. Their governance method was an alliance system between all the different tribes. Harmon was one of the candidates for the next tribal chief of the Rockfall Tribe.

While the Luhan Beastman was a galactic civilization, they preserved their battle loving, boorish, and warlike tradition. When the tribe wanted to decide the next chief, they would not vote for the new chief peacefully but settle it with a battle. All the candidates would be chased out from their mother planet and sent to random planets. They would have to train themselves up in the galaxy and also build up their own ‘War League’. When the designated time arrived, they would then take all of their troops back to their mother planet to participate in the battle to determine the chief. In other words, it was similar to the fight between princes for authority.

Harmon was a main character, and his storyline was to aid him in snatching the position of tribal chief. When he was conning Harmon, Han Xiao had activated this mission. This mission was simple and violent. He had to fight from the start to the end. After the players completed this mission in his previous life, the process had become a dungeon, and they would be able to gain a Dungeon Crystal from doing daily missions at the Rockfall Tribe. Thus, Han Xiao could remember the mission clearly.

The way to hire Harmon was naturally to agree to an ancient ceremony and become part of his War League. Harmon was not alone, and he brought the subordinates in his War League, dozens of powerful Luhan Beastman, to join the mercenary group.

Harmon had the strength of a Grade B Super, and his Esper ability was very simply to strengthen his body and cause the muscles on his entire body to expand.

While his Esper ability was extremely singular, Harmon was proficient in many different weapons and was a warrior with exquisite battle techniques. Han Xiao had taken a look at Harmon’s attributes before, and Harmon had six rare subclass that belonged to the [Warrior] class.

The addition of the three new officers provided the mercenary group with fresh blood. Han Xiao had more and more capable subordinates under him, and the rewards that his faction could give out had also increased greatly.

Currently, the highest mission reward that Han Xiao could give out was 1,000,000 experience, and his Daily Reward Limit was over twenty times that. This meant that if he issued a faction mission, he could give out more than 20,000,000 experience to the players. Hiring NPC characters was all to better attract players.

Opening up his communicator, Han Xiao looked at his mercenary group’s introduction.

_____________________

Black Star Mercenary Group

Credibility Rating: 1,018 (High)

Scale: 417 members

Grade D: 47

Grade C: 359 members

Grade B: 11

Missions Completed: 82

Main Activity Area: Colton Star Cluster

History:

[Sunil Defense Battle]

[Silver Rescue Operation]

[Capture of Purple Gem Civilization’s Head Of Rebels “Pilipelapa Wasasa”]

[Battle of Noriosse]

[78 more missions… (Expand/Collapse)]

Creator: Black Star—Han Xiao

Creation date: Galaxy Calendar Year 688, 02 October

Summary: A medium sized mercenary group with a good name and very high credibility. Completed hiring missions with high ratings multiple times. Work together with many large-scale mercenary groups. Field Team under the Dragon Emperor. Base is located on Planet Golden Gate. Mercenary captain Black Star aided Godora in killing a Calamity Grade Super in Noriosse. Reliable.

_____________________

Today is the day of Version 2.0’s release. I have waited almost a year for this day. My manpower should be sufficient.

Han Xiao nodded in his head.

Over the past year, Han Xiao had done many things and made ample preparations. He had constructed a total of twenty-three assembly lines, and his 4,500,000 Enas had almost all been spent, with only about 1,100,000 Enas remaining. The majority of his money had been spent on materials, and his assembly line had been churning out equipment without stopping. His warehouse already had a mountain of equipment at the moment.

The loan had already exceeded the first interest free year. According to Rockfess’ requirement, he would have to start paying interest if his loan period was more than a year. Han Xiao was waiting to earn a huge sum of money from the players.

His experience on the interface had already fallen below 100,000,000 points, and Han Xiao was still level 116. He had spent all of his experience on gambling for blueprints and raising the level of his skills. He was currently in dire need of experience points. He still had a Mission Completion Card in his hands, and if he had sufficient experience points, he could even advance directly and charge to level 140. It would be a lie to say that he did not look forward to that.

Keeping his thoughts to himself, Han Xiao looked at the mercenaries present and said, “I have gathered everyone today for a large-scale mission. My home planet is undergoing a calamity, and their sights are only limited to that of their planet. They aren’t able to see what we can see, and we are their only hope.”

The mercenaries all began looking at each other.

Black Star’s home planet?

That backward planet called Planet Aquamarine?

“I will fight for you just like you will fight for me.” Harmon hammered his chest with his fist.

“I will be by your side just like before,” Herlous proclaimed.

All the mercenaries in the hall also began to express their support.

Looking at the time, it was about right.

Han Xiao opened the interface and waited quietly.

After a short wait, a new notification appeared.

_____________________

Version 2.0 is now open.

Fetching data… Fetching data done!

Player Forum Open

Welcome to ‘Galaxy’ Version 2.0!

_____________________

After preparing for such a long time, Version 2.0 is finally here!

Han Xiao’s eyes glowed as he walked toward the door.

A few hundred elites followed behind him majestically.

“Let’s go!”

Chapter 509: The Players Return, Eruption of the Mutation Disaster

On Planet Aquamarine, the Southern Continent was experiencing intense summer heat. The scorching sun was high in the sky, and heatwaves could be seen rising from the ground.

The instant that Version 2.0 was released, the originally empty plaza of Sanctuary Three had suddenly been overwhelmed with people. In just a few seconds, that originally spacious plaza had become packed with people.

Before the new system patch, because of the [The Last Bastion] mission that Han Xiao had left behind and Galaxy Times’ analysis of Version 2.0, millions of players had gathered in Sanctuary Three and chosen to go offline there. The moment that Version 2.0 launched, the log-in point for those millions of players was naturally Sanctuary Three.

Millions of heads were bobbing up and down, looking around curiously.

“Is it Version 2.0 already?”

“There don’t seem to be many changes.”

“Eh, the upper level limit has increased, and our experience can be used to increase our levels. It seems like this is the new version indeed.”

“Aren’t there any other changes? I truly want to try taking a dump in the game.”

“Pants Taking Off Club, please have some self-respect.”

All the players began chatting among themselves and opened up the interface to check their stats. Apart from the raised level cap, there did not seem to be any other changes to their stats.

But very quickly, some players realized that the status of a certain mission had changed. The mission status of [The Last Bastion] had changed from ‘frozen’ to ‘active’.

This was the Prize-Pool Mission that Han Xiao had left behind before his departure. The mission requirement was to protect Sanctuary Three as preparation for the Mutation Disaster.

And now, this mission had actually been activated!

Does this mean that the ‘calamity’ in the mission hint has already begun?

All the players immediately became excited. Owing to Black Phantom’s ‘blessings’, they did not manage to participate much in the previous Main Storyline. This time, there was finally something big for them to do!

Right, the NPC who issued this mission was Black Phantom… oh, he’s now called Black Star. Is he still in the universe?

The moment they thought about Han Xiao, many of the players could not help but feel envious of the professional players who had been taken away by him. They had managed to enter the universe a step earlier and were miles away in terms of equipment and experience.

When the players were still observing their surroundings, a broadcast was suddenly made from the Sanctuary.

“Will all Inhumans stay where you are! I repeat, all Inhumans stay where you are!”

Very quickly, a large number of guards surrounded the plaza with their expressions filled with doubt as they looked at the large number of players nervously.

The Inhumans had disappeared from the entire planet for almost a year, and their sudden appearance had truly frightened the managers of Sanctuary Three. Bennett had hurriedly sent people over to control the situation.

At the same time, the players of Sanctuary Three received a mission.

_____________________

Remain on the Spot

Mission Introduction: During your time away, many things have happened on Planet Aquamarine, and they are currently facing a threat that could wipe out their civilization. Remain where you are and wait patiently for the relevant person to explain the situation.

_____________________

This was only a small mission, and the reward was not large. The players also wanted to know what was going on, and thus, they all stayed in the plaza. At the same time, it was also because they were surrounded by guards. Who knew whether they would end up being attacked if they chose to leave? None of them wanted to lose Favorability with the Sanctuary at the very start of Version 2.0.

Not too long later, Bennett rushed over. Looking at the huge wave of players, a trace of joy could be seen in his eyes.

He remembered what Han Xiao had said to him before leaving for the universe. Han Xiao had told him that the Inhumans would be a core strength to fight the calamity. With the Inhumans appearing again, while he did not know the reason for their appearance, their appearance was extremely timely. They truly needed manpower at the moment.

Bennett took out a loudspeaker and said, “Planet Aquamarine is currently facing a never before seen calamity, and we urgently need your help…”

He quickly described the situation, and the players found out that it had been over a year since the previous version. Just a month ago, a strange phenomenon had spread across Planet Aquamarine and become a calamity that covered the entire planet.

Planet Aquamarine called it the ‘Mutation Disaster’.

It had already been a month since the outbreak of the Mutation Disaster, and the entire planet had been thrown into chaos. The regime of the Six Nations had almost collapsed in a short month.

No one knew the reason for the calamity, but they were certain that it was because of some type of virus which they called the ‘mutation virus’. Many different living beings—be it humans, beasts, and even plants—had been infected by the virus. However, the appearance of the virus could not even be detected, and no one even knew how to virus was spread and who was infected with it.

Before the outbreak of the virus, all the infected individuals would be no different from usual, but the moment that the virus broke out, the infected individual would display unusual desires that included but were not limited to killing intent, destructive tendencies, anger, grief, craziness, lust, hunger, thirst, and so on. A usually weak individual could be transformed into a murderer who killed without blinking. An ordinary person might suddenly squat down and crazily eat up the sand beneath their feet before dying. A conservative and virtuous lady could suddenly turn into a lascivious lady.

The most frightening thing was the fact that the infected individual would still maintain their rationality during the outbreak of the virus. This meant that the infected individual was not losing control or acting rashly but being led by their desires to perform such actions.

According to the recollection of those infected individuals, when the virus broke out, all of their desires would come from deep within their hearts and were their true thoughts at that moment. It was as though their personalities had been altered, but they were not able to detect it. During the outbreak of the virus, all the infected individuals felt as though their actions were very normal.

Bennett gave a few examples, and the confused players immediately knew how frightening the Mutation Disaster was.

Maple was where the first large scale outbreak of the virus took place. The infected individuals in the army began to pick up their rifles and shoot their own comrades crazily. The entire army immediately fell into complete chaos. No one knew whether the one opening fire was an infected individual or a defending soldier, and an internal war broke out with tanks, helicopters, and even missiles being used. This battle had caused half of Maple’s army to be lost.

The president himself had even displayed severe violent tendencies and wanted to nuke the entire world. Thankfully, the process of launching nuclear weapons was extremely complicated. If the button to activate a nuclear missile was in the president’s office, the entire planet would probably have been flattened by now. As for the president, he had immediately been caught after that incident.

Many ridiculous events that would never happen under ordinary circumstances had begun to take place all over the world. It would not have been scary if a single person went crazy. However, if the entire world went crazy, it was akin to a bunch of devils dancing.

No one knew when the person beside them would break out with the virus, and they could not even be sure that they themselves were normal. This fear was extremely frightening, and it was as though the entire world had become their enemy, and they would not dare to believe anyone else in the world.

A month after the Mutation Disaster broke out, the order of society had broken down, and many prosperous cities had become ghost towns. For their own safety, many city dwellers had no choice but to find some place to hide themselves. Depression had become an ordinary emotion, and the view that radiation caused this strange virus had become popular.

As such, countless of citizens began to curse the Germinal Organization war, which had brought them peace. They felt that this was their retribution, and the end of the world had arrived!

After listening to the introduction, many players felt their hearts turn cold. Putting themselves in the shoes of the NPCs, this virus was truly too terrifying. The players had plenty of guesses with regards to the so-called ‘calamity’ of Version 2.0, but never had they expected that it would be so strange.

Just what was the mutation virus?

All of a sudden, the players fell into a daze. The time in the outside world and game flowed at different rates. In the eyes of the players, only a few short days had passed, but the entire world that they were familiar with was completely different.

Is there a need for the plot to be so exciting‽

“Is this virus incurable?” a player asked.

Bennett shook his head. “Presently, we have found two ways to fight this virus. First, it isn’t easy for Supers to be infected, and this is a verified fact. Second, our Sanctuary Three has developed a type of suppressant, and it can prevent the virus from breaking out. However, production is limited. We are trying to grow all the required materials, but the quantity is still far from being sufficient.”

As those words were completed, a mission appeared on the interfaces of the players.

_____________________

Mutation Disaster

Mission Introduction: Planet Aquamarine is suffering from an unprecedented calamity, and it is the responsibility of every being living on this planet to fight the Mutation Disaster!

Mission Requirements: Contribute to the fight against the Mutation Disaster.

Progress: 0/30,000,000

Success Requirements: Complete the mission before the mutation virus becomes complete.

Failure Condition: Collapse of Planet Aquamarine’s civilization. All of the survivors being forced to retreat.

Reward: Depends on contribution. (Even if the growth of the virus results in total progress being lowered, the individual accumulated contribution will be counted toward the reward rating.)

_____________________

The mission requirements for the players were extremely similar to Han Xiao’s mission requirements. It was just that Han Xiao’s mission included all the planets suffering from the Mutation Disaster. It was obvious that the Great Mechanic Han’s mission was more complete.

This was a large Main Storyline that involved all the players. The contribution of every player would be counted toward the mission progress, and the players needed to work together toward this goal.

“We accepted a Main Storyline mission right after coming online? The plot of this version is truly fast!”

“Without any build up and going straight to the point, I like how direct they are!”

“That’s not right. The reason that we were able to obtain the Main Storyline mission immediately is probably because we came online in Sanctuary Three. It seems like Galaxy Times’ analysis isn’t wrong. We were indeed able to come into contact with the Main Storyline more easily through Sanctuary Three.”

As everyone thought about this, they were immediately enlightened.

If they were in other locations, there would not have been anyone present to explain the entire disaster to them in detail. Furthermore, Bennett had previously mentioned that Sanctuary Three was the only place that had the suppressant. This meant that Sanctuary Three was the place where the Main Storyline would unfold. It was the mission that Black Phantom had left behind that had guided them there.

He was truly their lighthouse!

With this Main Storyline mission, the players were immediately energized, and they all went forward to ask if they could be of any help. The entire plaza descended into chaos, and Bennett only managed to restore order after a great deal of effort. He then got his subordinates to issue various missions. While the missions were all different, these missions would contribute toward the Main Storyline.

Every type of mission only needed a limited number of players, and a frenzied mess of snatching for mission began.

The large guilds snatched the most missions, and there were some solo players who were not able to snatch a single mission issued by the Sanctuary.

A player could not help but ask, “Can we leave the Sanctuary now? I want to go somewhere else.”

“You’d better take a look on the city walls yourself,” Bennett said with a helpless look.

The tall iron walls of the Sanctuary blocked the view of the outside. Hearing those words, many players became curious and climbed up the city walls to take a look.

With just a single glance, the players were dumbfounded.

In the surrounding ten kilometers, countless tents had been set up, and the tents were like a gray cloud covering the red earth. It was like a gigantic refugee camp, and all of them stayed outside the Sanctuary, refusing to leave. From time to time, the sound of fighting would be heard. Who knew if the fighting was because of the virus or for the scarce food and water?

“The news of us developing a suppressant has been spread, and countless people come here every day, requesting the suppressant and our protection.”

Bennett also climbed up the city walls. Upon looking at the endless sea of refugee tents, he let out a sorrowful sigh.

“However, our suppressant is limited in quantity, and we can only give a small number of refugees the suppressant. As for the others, we can only let them wait outside. With more and more people coming, the number of virus outbreak incidents is also on the rise, and plenty of people die on the outside every day. However, to prevent the Sanctuary descending into chaos, I cannot allow all of them to come in. I can only watch as they die…”

The entire world was helpless against the Mutation Disaster, and only Sanctuary Three had a suppressant. The result was extremely clear. This place had become the holy land for the refugees and their final hope.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, everyone had been like headless flies when the calamity broke out. They had all been lost in shock and did not have a target of hope. The situation had been completely chaotic. Now, because of Han Xiao’s influence, the refugees of the entire planet had a target. It was Black Phantom’s Sanctuary Three, and it was treated as their only hope.

However, the suppressant that Emerald Grass and Aurora had created would only be effective in the short term, and it was not able to purge the virus. Bennett did not know what he should do to solve this calamity. In fact, there was not a single person on Planet Aquamarine who knew what to do. He could not help but think about the reason that Han Xiao had given him before leaving for the universe. Black Phantom had said that he wanted to find a way to solve the calamity. Did this mean that the solution to the calamity could not be found on Planet Aquamarine?

Bennett could only place his hope on Han Xiao.

If he can really come back…

“There isn’t another Sanctuary on the entire planet,” Bennett said with a heavy tone. “This place is the only Sanctuary.”

Chapter 510: Black Star’s Return!

At the same time, in the Black Star Mercenary Group’s previous temporary base in Juberly Hub, dozens of white lights flashed. The professional players who followed Han Xiao had also appeared. They were Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, Bun-Hit-Dog, and the others. During the update to the new version, they had all gone offline there.

The habit of any professional player was to open up the interface at the very first chance to see any changes to the interface. As professional players, they were most concerned about their stats and equipment.

After confirming the increase in the level limit, all of them looked around and were immediately stunned.

However, the entire base was empty and only a lonely light was lit. The metal walls glowed with a dim white color, reflecting the light. While the entire base was spotless because of the cleaning facilities, the door that was opened and the silent atmosphere made the players feel as though there had not been anyone staying there for a long time.

The items in the room had disappeared, including Black Star’s personal warehouse and his machinery modification room. If not for the fact that even the furniture was gone, they would have thought that a thief had broken into the house.

“Why isn’t there a single person here? Where is my Black Star?” Frenzied Sword asked.

“Who knows how long has passed? It seems like they are no longer here,” Hao Tian said in a solemn tone.

“It is also possible that they are all dead,” Li Ge said and immediately drew the angry glares of those around him. His consideration had historical reasons behind it. He still remembered that a subordinate guild of their Temple of God had once met the tragedy of their mission issuing location being destroyed.

“Idiots, can’t you guys just check on the Faction details?” Maple Moon rolled her eyes at the rest of them. As part of the mercenary group, they were able to check the basic information of the faction and find out the situation of the Black Star Mercenary Group. There was no need for them to guess blindly at all.

However, what the players did not know was that they were only able to see the Faction information because Han Xiao had intentionally added that information into the faction interface. It was so that these players would be able to witness the growth of the mercenary group and build their sense of belonging. From beginning to end, the Great Mechanic Han had only given benefits to the players so that he would be able to snatch more money.

After opening up the faction interface, the players were immediately shocked by the information displayed before them.

“The number of people in the faction had increased, and there are actually over four hundred people. The number of missions completed has also increased. Quickly, take a look at the summary. It is written that the location of the Black Star Mercenary Group’s base is on Planet Golden Gate. So, it turns out that the mercenary group has shifted house… but where is Planet Golden Gate?” Frenzied Sword asked.

“That’s not all! Look at this! Black Star actually killed a Calamity Grade Super on Noriosse! My goodness, he’s too powerful…” Bun-Hit-Dog gasped. He then asked, “Wait… what grade is a Calamity Grade Super?”

At that moment, the players still did not know that Grade A Supers were also called Calamity Grade. They only felt that the name was extremely cool.

In any case, anything above Grade C was something that the players could only look up to.

All of the professional players then fell into a daze. Just what had the Black Star Mercenary Group gone through when they were not around?

Right at that moment, the doorbell to the stronghold suddenly rang and the players jumped up in shock. They then opened up the door, and a three horned snakeman was standing outside the door.

“Are you guys members of the Black Star Mercenary Group?” the snakeman asked.

The professional players looked at each other before nodding.

“I am a captain of the Royal Crown Travel Agency. His Excellency Black Star asked me to send all of you to Planet Aquamarine. Please follow me.”

Hearing that, a look of disbelief could be seen on their faces. They could never have imagined that Black Star would send a spaceship to pick them up.

…

The Mutation Disaster had changed the structure of the entire planet. The rule of the Six Nations was almost collapsing, and the territories of the Six Nations had fallen into chaos with the government losing control.

Because everyone had a chance of contracting the virus, even the government officials were not spared. Officials of all levels contracted the virus, and if the government lost its competent staff, it was as good as losing its strength. Thus, the Six Nations were gradually sliding toward destruction.

The various sectors and layers of society were created by men, and the order of society was what made people submit to it. The justice department, army, economic body, cultural tradition, morals, mainstream ideas, and so on were all there to let people understand the price of going against the rules and thus restricting their own actions. However, the mutation virus destroyed a person’s ordinary sense of logic and fear. They would not consider any consequences when the virus broke out, and all of those social structures completely lost their purpose. The social system that seemed to be unbreakable had turned into a fragile vase in a single night.

Primal chaos.

This was the most accurate description of the current state of society.

No living being could be trusted, and only the cold machine was reliable.

After the outbreak of the calamity, the Six Nations had abandoned all of their former enmity. In the face of such a calamity, their individual benefits were no longer important. They had no choice but to join hands, and the upper echelons of the Six Nations were having a video conference at that moment.

“Twenty days ago, we issued a request for help to the Godoran Civilization. Godora said that they would rush here as soon as they can, but they have not appeared after such a long time.”

The Mutation Disaster was like a virgin who was wearing a chastity belt. Regardless of how they tried, they just could not get her to open up her doors. The Six Nations knew that it would be impossible for them to deal with the Mutation Disaster with their present technology, and all of their means were ineffective. Thus, they had sent a report of the calamity to Godora and hoped for a higher-class civilization to save them.

However, not a single spaceship had landed thus far, and the upper echelons of the Six Nations were growing anxious. They tried to pester Godora time and time again but would only receive a response from an Artificial Intelligence answering machine.

In truth, the Six Nations did not know that the Mutation Disaster had not only broken out on Planet Aquamarine but all over the Garton Star System. Godora was currently extremely busy as well. Han Xiao had not revealed that this was DarkStar’s plot, and thus, Godora was still in the dark and did not treat the Mutation Disaster with great importance.

“Godora’s arrival isn’t something that we can control. Currently, we have a new situation. The Inhumans who disappeared over a year ago have appeared again.”

“This is truly too coincidental. Perhaps they are the ones who brought the mutation virus!” someone said angrily.

The Six Nations had always been suspicious of the Inhumans. Since they were not of the same species, the prejudice and discrimination toward the Inhumans had never disappeared.

“No matter what, the Inhumans are mostly Supers, and they may be able to provide us with some aid. Regardless of who comes to our aid, I only wish to wake up from this nightmare soon. In this situation, I don’t even dare meet my wife, afraid that I may lose control and end up harming her,” one of the officials said in a depressed tone.

“While Bennett has shared with the world the recipe of the suppressant, only Sanctuary Three is able to produce it stably. He said that he isn’t able to give us any extra suppressants, but I do not believe him. They are definitely hiding more suppressants in their warehouses.”

As those words were said, all the leaders of the Six Nations fell silent. All of them knew that everyone present had their eyes on the suppressant.

When a calamity occurred and there was only one item capable of fighting the calamity, the meaning of that item far exceeded its own use. In order to obtain the suppressant, everyone had no choice but to be obedient. Even if Bennett did not have other plans, Sanctuary Three had already become the center of the entire world with an endless stream of people rushing toward it.

The Six Nations wanted to control the suppressant and use it to stabilize their citizens and restore order to their regime. However, if they chose to snatch it, the situation that the people of the world had finally adapted to would be broken yet again, and they would face a huge risk. If they were not careful, they might end up causing an outcome that could not be reversed. Was stabilizing their regime more important than the life and death of the entire civilization?

Some of them were not able to persuade themselves while others could. Regardless of which faction they belonged to, they were still in a dilemma.

“If we really want to do it, we have to be fast,” Raylen’s leader said. “Time waits for no one.”

…

Two days passed by quickly.

The players stayed behind in Sanctuary Three to get used to the new version and participate in the Main Storyline mission.

While the players were many, there was an almost endless supply of missions in the Sanctuary. The missions with the highest reward were naturally the official missions issued by Bennett. There was a limited number of such missions every day, and the other missions could be activated by talking to different NPCs. The endless refugees outside of the Sanctuary had plenty of requests, and they would never be able to finish all the tasks. These tasks that normal people would find extremely troublesome were extremely enjoyable to the players. They performed the tasks with a serious attitude and were extremely passionate about their jobs. Every single player was like a model citizen, and the guards of the Sanctuary seemed to be lacking in contrast.

The vast majority of the mission rewards would award them with [Mutation Disaster] progress. After two days of hard work, the total progress was at 730,000 points. It should have been higher than that, but the destruction caused by the Mutation Disaster every day would lower the total progress. The players needed to continue accumulating progress points. If not, the mission total progress points would keep falling.

While they were not clear about the reason behind the mutation virus, the players did not care. As long as they had the guidance of the mission, they would just follow the guidance and complete the mission.

Because Version 2.0 would give the players a chance to enter the universe, the players knew that this Main Storyline mission was only a single starting plot of the new Version and not the entire storyline. The players on other planets also had similar encounters, facing danger the moment that the version started. It was just that the danger that they faced was all different. Planet Winterfrost faced the funniest storyline. As a planet that the Extinguish Army stationed their troops on, someone had actually launched a punitive expedition against them. How infuriating.

In comparison, the speed at which players on Planet Aquamarine entered the Main Storyline was the fastest. Apart from that, the situation of the plot was largely similar to Han Xiao’s previous life.

The forums were as lively as before the update, in fact, even livelier than before. With the new version being released, many players were sharing information, and new posts appeared at almost every second.

Bennett stood atop the city walls and looked down at the clamoring Sanctuary. The figure of the Inhumans could be seen all around, and they took care of his present manpower shortage. Upon witnessing this scene, his furrowed brows loosened up slightly.

“Thankfully, we have the help of these Inhumans. I never imagined that Black Phantom’s influence would still protect us.” Bennett let out a sigh and muttered with a complicated tone.

Hila was standing behind him and leaning against the wall. Her face was expressionless as she looked at the endless refugee tents.

“Ahhh!”

All of a sudden, a strange cry could be heard from the refugees, and countless individuals had an outburst of the virus. This was the most frightening part of the virus; it could break out at any time.

The refugee camp that was barely able to maintain its order immediately became chaotic. A few million infected individuals became red eyed, and a large battle broke out. The scene was extremely stunning, and the loud commotion was like a deafening tsunami of sound.

A small portion of refugees who did not break out in the virus sat down on the ground while trembling. The guards on the Sanctuary walls were also completely dumbfounded.

Bennett’s expression changed, and his arms grabbed onto the edge of the wall. He used so much force that his fingerprints could be seen on the wall.

“With so many people gathering here, the moment there is a collective outburst of the virus, the consequences are dire. When the symptoms of the virus recede, the number of casualties are probably in the millions!”

All of the players stopped their mission at hand. This was the first time that they witnessed a collective outburst of the virus, and they were extremely shocked. There were some who turned on the recording feature.

They had witnessed war before, but the sight of a large gang fight between a few million people was a first. The refugees did not use any weapons and had only used their fists or teeth to fight. They were like extremely bloodthirsty beasts.

“We must stop them. If not, many people will die. Send out all our forces and knock out all the infected individuals!”

Bennett immediately issued an order. Every infected individual deserved the opportunity to be saved. With so many people killing each other before his eyes, Bennett could not watch without doing anything.

Rumble!

Right at that moment, a loud rumbling sound could be heard from afar, getting louder and louder. Looking toward the horizon, countless beasts were sprinting over in a majestic fashion.

The beasts on Planet Aquamarine had also been infected with the mutation virus. Originally, the environment of the wilderness had been extremely dangerous, and it had become even more difficult to survive now. Furthermore, the outbreak of virus between beasts and humans was different. While the infected beasts would become violent, they would form a large herd and move around together. At times, they would fight each other, and other times, they would attack the cities.

The beast tide charged straight into the refugee camp and began a massacre. The refugees were bitten and trampled on by the beasts, and a bloody scene unfolded. It was as though a heavy cavalry legion had charged into a bunch of defenseless commoners.

Pa!

Bennett crushed the corner of the city walls and shouted with anger, “Not good! A beast tide actually came at this moment. Quickly, save them! If we do nothing, all of the refugees will die!”

At that moment, a huge change occurred on all the player’s interfaces. The total progress of [Mutation Disaster] fell by 10,000 points in the blink of an eye, and all of them triggered an urgent mission. The mission requirements were to save as many refugees outside the city as possible, with the reward ranging from 50,000 to 200,000. The fewer deaths, the higher the reward.

Furthermore, the total progress of their mission was falling rapidly, and if they did not save the refugees quickly, more than half of their hard work over the past two days would go to waste.

“Quickly, go out of the city and save them!”

“Requesting for a party. Anyone will do. I just need to fill up the party!”

The players in the city immediately became frantic and charged out of the city to save the refugees. After knocking out the infected individuals, they sent them into the Sanctuary.

Apart from saving the refugees, Bennett sent out a portion of players to delay the beast tide. The number of beasts was truly too great, and there were 300,000 beasts at the very least. They would not be able to kill the beasts any time soon and could only stall for time so that they could save as many refugees as possible.

Hila had already charged into the beast tide, and her dark red energy was released without any restraint. One after another, the beasts fell. The players in the surroundings also engaged in an intense battle with the beasts, and they were drenched in the beasts’ blood.

Killing was what she specialized in, and battle was already ingrained in her bones. It was an ordinary action to her, just like eating or sleeping. However, Hila truly had a complicated emotion during that battle. She used to be an executioner who killed the innocent ,and this was the first time that she had been fighting in order to save the lives of others who had nothing to do with her.

Rumble!

The entire situation was extremely messy. The refugee camp was sandwiched between the beasts charging in on one side and the players trying to save as many people as possible. Both sides were charging toward the center, and the infected refugees did not know how to escape, still engaged in battle!

Even with Bennett’s strength, he also felt that the situation before him was extremely messy. His palms were covered in sweat as he looked at the situation nervously.

“There are far too many beasts, and their attack rate is at least four per second. We cannot tank the damage at all!”

“Dammit! My morale is crushed! My ass has been smashed!”

“Gaps are everywhere, and we cannot block them at all!”

The players who were blocking the beast tide felt completely helpless, and players were dying every second. While they could revive, they needed time to run out from the Sanctuary, and it would delay time. What they needed most was time, and their mission progress was falling every second, causing all the players to get extremely anxious.

Xiu!

Just as the situation was becoming dismal, a deafening roar came from the sky. Despite the chaotic and noisy environment that they were in, everyone could clearly hear the deafening roar, and they all turned to look up at the sky.

A few hundred egg shaped metal pods then descended down from the sky and began burning up like fireballs. It was like a few hundred descending meteors, and their landing location was right at the doorstep of the Sanctuary.

Boom boom boom!

The metal pods landed on the ground and filled the ground with cracks. The next moment, the doors to the metal pods opened, and a person walked out from every single metal pod.

They were dressed in armor and held weapons in their hands. Their styles were extremely varied, and they were obviously guests from outer space who did not belong to Planet Aquamarine. Everyone looked over with curious gazes and immediately knew that these metal eggs were airdrop pods from space.

These uninvited guests were warriors from the galaxy!

Just as everyone wanted to ask about their intentions, a man dressed in black who was wearing a mask waved his arm, and the hundred or so galactic warriors charged toward the beast tide.

Boom!

The galactic warriors displayed their powerful combat capabilities and immediately took over the battle. The previously seemingly unstoppable beast tide seemed to have run into a metal wall!

A few hundred people displayed strength greater than the surrounding thousands of players.

A look of shock flashed through Hila’s eyes. She was on the battlefield and could clearly feel their strength. Almost all of the galactic warriors gave her a sense of pressure that was even more powerful than what Bennett gave her. Furthermore, Bennett was the most powerful being on Planet Aquamarine at the moment.

This meant that any single one of those galactic warriors was more powerful than Bennett!

With an unknown force interfering, danger was averted. Only the black masked man remained by the gates of the Sanctuary without making a move. Bennett jumped off from the city walls and walked forward toward the masked man. “Who are you? Where do you come from? Why are you helping us?”

Bennett had seen the captured Godoran Observer before and thus did not lose his cool when seeing aliens.

But the very next moment, his expression, which he tried to keep cool, turned into shock.

Han Xiao raised his arm and took off his mask to reveal his appearance. A smile could be seen on his lips, and he felt as though he was extremely suave.

“It’s been a long time Bennett. Why are you so surprised? What, you didn’t think that I’d return?”

Bennett’s body immediately froze up, and he did not dare believe what he had just seen. His lips trembled, and his look of shock turned into one of crazed joy.

Hila, who was far away, was also shocked.

The instant that Han Xiao took off his mask, almost every player fell into shock. Following which, they burst into joy at reuniting after a long parting, and their morale increased greatly. This familiar figure was like a stimulant that injected all the players with a wave of hot blood. All of them were agitated to the point their scalps turned numb!

“It’s him! Black Star has returned!”

Chapter 511: Acting Cool

From Planet Golden Gate to Planet Aquamarine, the entire journey had taken Han Xiao two days. Even when he passed by Juberly Hub, Han Xiao did not personally fetch Frenzied Sword and the others. Instead, he had sent a spaceship under his charge to pick them up so that he could save as much time as possible and quickly return to Planet Aquamarine.

The forums that he had missed were opened once again, and he was extremely clear about the players’ actions. When the spaceship reached Planet Aquamarine, the scene of the large virus breakout happening in Sanctuary Three had been posted onto the forums. For the players to face a sudden crisis, this was a piece of good news for the Great Mechanic Han, and he realized that this was an opportunity. After leaving Planet Aquamarine for so many years, it was best for him to appear in an unforgettable manner. As such, he had resolutely dropped down from the sky with all of his mercenaries. This was the most classic way for mercenaries to land.

During Version 1.0, he had left behind the majestic name of ‘Black Phantom’ on Planet Aquamarine. At that time, his name had resounded throughout the entire planet, and he naturally could not come back silently. This was not because Han Xiao wanted to act in a high-profile manner but because this was beneficial to him for his next plan.

A stunning return would fulfil the ‘promise’ that he made when he left the planet and also reveal how he was closely related to Version 2.0’s storyline. This was a way to build up his own image and attract the players to join his faction. Apart from his own strength being powerful enough to provide them with benefits, his image was also extremely important. It was just like a luxury product. After the accumulation from Version 1.0, Han Xiao was extremely clear that he had the advantage of being familiar to the players.

Most importantly…

Acting cool did not need any money!

Upon seeing the crazed looks of joy on Bennett and the surrounding players’ faces, it was obvious that his plan was a complete success. Han Xiao was extremely satisfied.

“You…” Bennett opened his mouth but did not know what to say.

“We’ll talk later. Let’s first take care of things here.”

“Alright.” Bennett could only bear with his stomach full of doubts. He was extremely curious about Han Xiao’s encounters in the galaxy. After all, he could not watch Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos.

“Don’t worry, I have handled situations like this plenty of times before. Just hand it over to me.” Han Xiao patted Bennett on the shoulders and said with a smile, “I am a professional now.”

This was not the first time that Han Xiao had dealt with a beast tide, with the beast tide on Sunil being the most memorable.

Han Xiao was extremely clear about the situation before him. As long as he could get rid of the beasts, they would have more than enough time to knock those refugees out. The problem was that the players were not able to stop the beast tide. However, to his mercenaries, stopping the beast tide was a piece of cake.

One time, he had not been powerful enough and had felt that the wilderness of Planet Aquamarine was extremely dangerous. But after spending a long time in the galaxy, his sights had been set higher, and those beasts on Planet Aquamarine were nothing to him. His strength was sufficient to roam unhindered on the planet.

The Black Star Mercenary Group unleashed their full strength, and a few hundred light cannons swept through the beast tide. Large fireballs exploded all around like missiles being dropped from an airstrike. With every wave of their weapons, the beasts would be cleaved in two and fall under their blades. The commotion of the battle had even covered the miserable groans of the beasts.

Whoosh!

Herlous waved his ten-meter-long Battleship Slicing Blade and spun it around like a cyclone. Any beast that came near him would immediately be cleaved into two, and he was like a meat grinder.

Whoosh!

Sehrinde’s speed gave him more than ten after-images, and both his daggers were covered in darkness. Sehrinde was like a flying snake as he weaved through the beast tide, leaving behind a small wound on the surface of the beasts’ hides. However, his weapon had already penetrated the beasts’ hearts, and while it was only a small wound, the single stab that he made had already caused severe internal bleeding within the beasts.

Every beast that was stabbed by him would collapse to the ground the very next moment. His attacks did not have the slightest trace of killing intent but were extremely violent.

Bang bang bang!

The sound of cannon fire rang out from Ginette, who was like a fortress that had unleashed all of its firepower. All the firearms on her body were extended out, and a full twenty to thirty barrels could be seen. A barrage of cannon fire shot down like rain and destroyed everything in front of her. Her face was already flushed red from the excitement.

To her, the joy from opening fire was one that did not lose to sex.

“Roar!”

On the other side, Harmon let out a roar, and his entire body swelled up. His muscles enlarged like a sponge being injected with blood, and his originally dense hair was split up by his muscles. Arteries could be seen protruding out from all over his body, and he looked like a mini giant wearing a beast fur battle robe. His body was even slightly larger than those beasts. In front of him, the elephant-sized beasts suddenly seemed like slightly larger dogs.

He held onto a black axe that was the size of a door. He launched violent attacks one after another and fought just like a warrior. Very soon, his entire body was covered in blood.

Boom boom boom!

Beast after beast was sent flying by him before crashing onto the ground heavily.

Harmon’s battle technique was extremely mature. His actions were violent but also had a strange sense of beauty. It was the perfect combination between strength and beauty. A body strengthening Esper ability and subclasses belonging to warriors. It could be said that he was another kind of Pugilist that was even more violent and brutal.

Many of the players did not have the ability to interfere with the fight and hurriedly began recording the battle instead. They watched to the point that their blood boiled with their excitement being raised to the peak. The strength of those Grade B officers far exceeded the standard of Planet Aquamarine, and it was just like watching a film. Black Star’s sudden arrival was too big a surprise, and his method of appearing with drop pods was far too cool! He had literally descended from the sky like the bearer of justice!

Han Xiao observed the situation for a moment before deciding that he did not need to take action. With his current strength, he would be able to give the players an even greater mental shock. However, after some consideration, he decided to give up on that idea. It was better for him to give the players some room for imagination and maintain a mysterious front. Only then would his coolness factor break out of the atmosphere.

A sudden crisis that was extremely difficult to deal with had easily been taken care of by the Black Star Mercenary Group. The beasts had all been killed, and their meat could be dried up to solve the current food crisis. Without the crazy beast tide, the players could easily subdue the refugees who had broken out in illness. After some calculations, less than 100,000 people had died, which was far better than the worst-case scenario. At least, if they were only considering the numbers…

Looking at the small mountain of corpses before him, Bennett could not feel the slightest bit of joy.

…

The outside of the Sanctuary was in ruins, and Bennett temporarily ignored Han Xiao to command the guards to clean up the battlefield. His personality of dealing with the important matters first was something that Han Xiao admired.

The urgent mission was finally over, and the reward was over 100,000 progress points. All the progress that had previously been lost was recovered. Millions of players surrounded Han Xiao and the others excitedly. Ever since Han Xiao left the planet, only the professional players could enjoy interacting with him, and they had truly been too envious of that. Now that Black Star had finally returned, all the players were even tempted to go forward and touch him.

The players were not foreign toward the Black Star Mercenary Group. After all, Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos had plenty of viewers. However, the current mercenary group was obviously different from the last video before the update. Who knew what had happened during the update period? The Black Star Mercenary Group clearly had a few new officers. The players only recognized a few of them such as Herlous and Aroshia. They could not help but study the other mercenaries curiously.

“Their armor is so suave.”

“So many Sunils! Are they all working for Black Star now?”

Some players immediately noticed Sylvia. “Woah, that girl is so young and pretty. I give her a 9.5.”

“There are so many hairy creatures…” Some of the players felt like puking the moment they saw the Luhan Beastmen, who were much taller than the others. However, Harmon looked over at them with a strange look in his eyes filled with desire and excitement. These players immediately felt their butts tighten and their scalps turning numb as they hid in the crowd.

In truth, whenever Harmon saw someone, the first thought that came to his mind was to pull the other party into his War League. Thus, he would be filled with desire whenever he saw someone. He did not have any strange fetishes.

Many of the mercenaries were pretty repulsive, and in comparison, the presence of attractive men and women was magnified. For example, Feidin immediately attracted the gazes of over half the female players.

“That man is so handsome…”

Feidin noticed the gazes of the female players and looked back at them with a warm, sunny smile. In the eyes of those female players, the world suddenly seemed brighter, and their hearts melted.

“Oh my goodness, he is inhumanly handsome!”

“I… I think I’m in love.”

“This old man’s maiden heart is about to explode!”

Han Xiao turned around to take a look and felt as though bubbles could be seen above the female players’ heads as they overflowed with love. He had never imagined that Feidin would have such a use.

The majority of the female players were more emotional, and their views were different from those of the male players. Between practicality and beauty, they preferred the latter. Thus, the gorgeous Feidin was the Achilles heel of all the female players.

Letting Feidin attract the female players will make my faction more attractive. Bringing him was right indeed. Han Xiao nodded and suddenly felt as though he was like a pimp with Feidin being the most popular courtesan under him.

He usually would not think so much, but after seeing the players, Han Xiao was overjoyed. They were walking wallets after all!

While all the female players were looking at Feidin, Han Xiao did not mind in the slightest. As long as it was beneficial to his plan, Han Xiao would not let his confidence in his own charisma get shaken.

Because Bun-Hit-Dog’s ‘Black Star’ series was done like a television drama, the players of Planet Aquamarine were extremely concerned about the development of the Black Star Mercenary Group. They were excited to find out the stories of these new officers, and their hearts were itching with curiosity.

At the same time, the mercenaries were also observing the players.

“Why are the people in my teacher’s hometown looking at us with such strange gazes?” Sylvia’s whispered softly. “Do any of you have such a feeling?”

“No, isn’t it very normal?” Feidin said.

The players who surrounded Han Xiao opened up a path, and they entered the Sanctuary.

After entering the Sanctuary, Han Xiao observed his surroundings and lamented, “Everything is the same as before I left. I truly miss this place… Wait a second, why is there such an ugly statue here? Who is this statue? Why is it placed in my Sanctuary‽ Huang Yu, Huang Yu! Come out and give me an explanation!”

Not too far from the main gate of the Sanctuary was a tall statue of a human figure. Everyone who walked into the Sanctuary would be able to see it. Han Xiao noticed it the moment he walked in and immediately felt disgusted. This was his Sanctuary, how could there be a statue of someone else in this place? Furthermore, the statue was so ugly.

Huang Yu walked forward with sweat all over his face. While he was the current Supervisor of the Sanctuary, in front of Han Xiao, he subconsciously reverted to his assistant attitude and said carefully, “Your Excellency Black Phantom… that is your statue. It’s been too long since you left, so I got people to build it in remembrance.”

“It is actually pretty nice.” Han Xiao’s tone changed drastically in an instant.

The mercenaries looked at the statue before looking at Han Xiao while shaking their heads. What is this? It doesn’t look like Black Star at all. This is obviously a statue of an ordinary human. We don’t even know what species our captain is.

“Teacher, are you very famous in your hometown?” Sylvia asked curiously.

At this moment, Bennett finally had some time. Hearing that question, he could not help but shake his head. “Black Phantom isn’t just famous. He is a legend on this planet.”

The mercenaries looked at each other. Legend? They were a little curious about the past of their captain.

“Black Phantom?” Sylvia’s eyes widened, and she turned around to look at Han Xiao. “It turns out that your nickname has always been so horrible. I thought that it was an exception.”

“Do you think that I have been too lenient with you recently? If you want to copy theory books, you can let me know directly. I can ensure that your next year will be extremely fulfilling.”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes and pinched Sylvia’s cheeks, causing her to cry out in pain.

After the casual chat, Han Xiao would not forget about the important matters. He then turned around and asked Bennett, “What’s the situation now?”

“The calamity that you predicted has happened indeed. Jeez, let’s continue this in the conference room.” Bennett then looked at Han Xiao and asked, “Right, how did you return?”

Han Xiao then seemed to have remembered something. “You reminded me of something. Wait a moment.”

He then took out his communicator and pressed a few buttons.

Boom!

Wind pressure suddenly descended, and a large dust and sand cloud was kicked up.

Shadows began appearing on the ground, which expanded rapidly, covering over half the Sanctuary.

Ten or so spaceships hovered over the Sanctuary and covered half the sun. It was truly a majestic sight.

This was the fleet that Han Xiao had brought with him. He did not want to park them outside the atmosphere and thus summoned and parked them above the Sanctuary!

This commotion was a hundred to a thousand times greater than the drop pods!

The players on the ground looked up with their jaws dropped in shock!

Chapter 512: Reunion

The spaceships floated above the Sanctuary silently like a flying fortress. As those on the ground looked up to the skies, they could only see the enormous base of the spaceship and the light blue glow of the ringed-shaped, anti-gravity stabilizer.

This was not the first time that the players on Planet Aquamarine had seen a spaceship. When Han Xiao left Planet Aquamarine, they had also witnessed a spaceship descending. History had repeated itself. However, this time, it was not a single spaceship but an entire fleet of spaceships!

While spaceships could be seen all around in Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos, the visual impact of seeing them in person was vastly different.

The players all raised their heads with looks of excitement, and some of them began recording the scene.

Han Xiao’s strength was definitely far greater than before. While he did not take action personally, his ability to command so many powerhouses meant that he must be even stronger than them. The question was, just how strong was he?

The players all tried their Detect on Han Xiao, and the interface was still filled with question marks. The danger level was still [Fatally Dangerous], and it was as though there was a feather tugging on the heartstrings of the players, with the itch seeping deep into their bones. They were all extremely curious about Han Xiao’s strength.

Ah ah ah, I really want to know!

Han Xiao turned around to look at the dumbfounded Huang Yu and asked with a calm expression, “You don’t have any problem with my spaceship stopping above the Sanctuary, right?”

Huang Yu shook his head vigorously as he wiped away his sweat. It was not that he did not have any problems, but he did not dare to have any problems!

Han Xiao looked at Bennett and said, “Let’s go. We can talk as we walk.”

“Th—This…” Bennett had a face full of shock. After two years of not meeting Han Xiao, Han Xiao had given him far too many surprises. Just what did Black Phantom go through in the universe?

A sense of hope was lit in his heart. Black Phantom had said that he was entering the universe to find a way to resolve the calamity. Since Black Phantom was back, this should mean that the solution had been found, right?

The large crowd then entered the core district of the Sanctuary.

Han Xiao first settled Bennett’s problem and chose to leave the players hanging. There was no need for him to be anxious at all. Anyway, they were not able to run anywhere.

He would first let the impact of his return brew in the players’ hearts first. This was like the logic of allowing a bullet to fly for a distance. The Great Mechanic Han had never been an impatient person. Impatience would not allow him to catch worthwhile prey.

…

Han Xiao got the other mercenaries to wait on the outside and only brought the officers into the conference room.

Emerald Grass was already waiting inside the conference room. She sized up Han Xiao with a complicated expression and asked, “You saved me from Bell of Death Island back then, but I don’t believe that the reason you gave me was real. I am not the only Pharmacist, but you chose me out of all the Pharmacists. Did you predict that I would be able to develop the suppressant with my abilities?”

“Make a guess,” Han Xiao replied.

Emerald Grass frowned. She did not mind being used in exchange for her freedom, but she disliked the feeling of being kept in the dark. She had originally wanted to continue interrogating Han Xiao, but the moment her gaze met Han Xiao’s eyes, she felt an immense pressure from his gaze like a large rock being pressed down on her chest.

Han Xiao’s aura was far more powerful than before. She could only bite her lips and swallow the words on her tongue.

Bennett cleared his throat before changing the topic. “Just as you’ve seen, the calamity that you predicted has come true. We call it the Mutation Disaster. I hope that you have returned because you found the solution to this calamity. With Planet Aquamarine’s technological level, it is impossible for us to solve this calamity. We aren’t even able to detect the virus.”

“Describe the situation to me.” Han Xiao nodded. Because of his influence, the exact process of the Mutation Disaster was different from his previous life. For example, his previous life did not have Sanctuary Three. While the storyline was different, the core of the matter was the same. As long as the core was the same, Han Xiao was not worried about the storyline being changed.

After spending ten minutes, Bennett briefly explained the current situation on Planet Aquamarine.

“The situation is still optimistic, and I came back in time,” Han Xiao said.

Bennett paused for a while before asking, “Just what did you go through in the universe?”

He finally had a chance to ask that question. He wanted to know how Han Xiao had built his own organization, the events that he encountered, his current status and so on. He had a stomach full of questions.

“I am currently a mercenary, and these are my comrades.” Han Xiao pointed at his officers who were playing Wayne Cards out of boredom.

That bunch of mercenaries truly could not be serious. They could not be bothered about the situation of the calamity at all. In any case, since their captain was there to deal with everything, there was no need for them to worry at all.

Han Xiao briefly described his experiences, but Bennett was still full of shock when he heard the description. The sheer size of the universe was truly out of his expectations.

While he stayed behind on Planet Aquamarine because of his responsibility, Bennett could not lie to himself. He truly wanted to visit the universe deep down in his heart.

Bang!

At that moment, the door suddenly burst open, and Aurora dashed into the room. Her gaze swept past all the officers and immediately fell upon Han Xiao, who was seated beside the door. With a face full of surprise, she pounced straight into Han Xiao’s embrace and hugged his waist tightly.

“You’re finally back! I really missed you!”

Aurora was like a little kitten lying down on Han Xiao’s chest as she revealed a calm expression. Apart from Hila, she was the closest to Han Xiao and relied greatly on him.

Feeling the warm body in his embrace emanating a mild fragrance, Han Xiao could not bear to push her away and smiled helplessly. He could only allow her to hug him as he stroked her hair and said with a warm smile, “You became… cough cough, you grew up.”

Aurora’s appearance was extremely different from two years ago. Two years ago, she had been weak and skinny with her skin extremely pale, and she had to move around in a wheelchair. Today, her skin was glowing with radiance, and she was extremely healthy. Her entire head was covered with shiny, golden hair, and she was taller than before. She had charged over like a lively tiger and did not even need a wheelchair anymore.

Her Esper abilities granted her a vigorous life force.

This scene attracted the gaze of all the officers as they stared in shock.

Who is this girl? She is actually so close to Black Star. Could it be that our captain is already married‽

Han Xiao let Aurora hug him for a few more seconds before grabbing her up and asking, “Where’s your sis?”

“I brought her along. She originally didn’t want to come.” Aurora giggled.

Ta, ta, ta!

Hila walked into the room. Looking at Han Xiao, she said expressionlessly, “You are finally back?”

“I am back because of things I miss.”

Han Xiao could feel a sense of grievance from Hila and was a little surprised.

Hila did not say another word and threw something over at him.

Pa!

Han Xiao grabbed the key and took a glance. It was actually the key to his secret hideout, which he had passed to Hila before leaving.

“Your key,” Hila said.

“No, it’s your key.” Han Xiao threw it back.

Hila caught the key before throwing at back at Han Xiao. “Since you are back, I don’t need this key already.

Han Xiao had given this key to Hila so that she had a hiding place in an emergency. For her to say such words, she obviously meant that she would not face any danger now that Han Xiao was back. While she did not say that directly, that was what she felt.

“Do you truly trust me that much?” Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. “Then why didn’t you leave with me?”

“That was my choice.” Hila’s lips twitched. Her gaze then swept past the officers, pausing slightly when she saw Aroshia, Sylvia, and Ginette.

“I thought that you would be pretty happy when you saw me,” Han Xiao said helplessly.

“Who are you to me? Why do I need to be happy?” Hila asked.

At that moment, Sylvia said with dissatisfaction, “Teacher is back to save all of you, how dare you talk to him like that?”

As those words were said, everyone looked over with a strange expression.

Sylvia did not understand what was going on and shrunk back with her voice becoming soft. “Why are all of you looking at me? Did I say something wrong?”

“You can keep quiet.” Herlous rolled his eyes. “Come, let’s continue playing.”

This lass is must be blind. The captain is talking to an old acquaintance from his hometown, what has this got to do with you? It is obvious that this red-haired lady is whining to the captain. Why can’t you just remain in the background silently? No one will say that you are mute if you don’t say anything.

Knock knock knock…

Bennett knocked on the desk with his fingers and said with dissatisfaction, “Hila, don’t create trouble for a moment. We are talking about something important.”

“Humph.” Hila sat down beside Han Xiao.

She then sent out a faint red colored energy toward Bennett’s face. She was dissatisfied with his use of the words ‘create trouble’.

The moment she sat down, she began playing with the black mask that Han Xiao had placed on the table. This mask reminded her of the previous Germinal Organization leader. Hila would no longer lose her temper whenever she thought about that man. It had already been two years, and she was far calmer than before. She would not be so easily agitated by past events.

“Cough cough, back to our main topic…” Bennett rubbed his slightly numb face and said with a serious expression, “Do you have a way to resolve the Mutation Disaster?”

Han Xiao knocked on the table slowly, and looking at the expectant gazes of those around him, he smiled. “Yes.”

Chapter 513: The Truth of the Mutation Disaster

Bennett’s eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed.

“However, I will take time, and I need to invite others over. We can only take things slowly,” Han Xiao said. “I have investigated the truth of the virus and its theory.

“While you guys call it a virus, its official name is the Mutation Source. It is a special biological weapon and is extremely rare. The reason for it being on Planet Aquamarine is that someone intentionally placed the Mutation Source on the planet.”

As these words were said, Bennett was startled.

The Mutation Disaster was actually created by men!

It was unbelievable!

Just what kind of an organization would want to do such a thing to Planet Aquamarine? With such strength, they must definitely be a powerful organization in the galaxy, and Planet Aquamarine was no more than a backward planet to them. Why must they place such a biological weapon on the planet?

“I know what all your doubts are, and the reason behind it is pretty complicated. It’s impossible to explain the reason in a few sentences. You only need to know that Planet Aquamarine has become an innocent chess piece between the battle of two galactic organizations.”

Han Xiao then paused for a while and allowed Bennett and the others present to absorb that information fully before continuing.

“I know that the appearance of the mutation virus has led all of you to believe that the mutation source works in the minds of the individuals. All of you are completely wrong. The Mutation Source isn’t an ordinary virus—it has a consciousness. It can even be considered a special life form that has only one ability: to influence microorganisms.”

“Microorganisms?” Bennett was stunned for a moment. Han Xiao’s explanation of the mutation virus was truly out of his expectations. All of the infected individuals showed a change in their personalities and actions, but it was actually unrelated to their minds‽

Han Xiao pondered for a moment before asking, “When you want to eat, are you the one who wants to eat, or is it your body that wants to eat?”

“It should be my body. Why would I eat if it isn’t hungry?” Bennett then fell into a short daze and seemed to have understood something.

“This is the logic. Often, the source of your thoughts is actually the needs of your body, not what you want. It is the microorganisms in your body telling you what they want. The microorganisms in your body perform certain actions to send out hormones, and your brain receives the signal. This is where the desire to eat, breathe, and all other basic desires come from.

“You think that your thoughts are controlling your body but many times, it is the microorganisms in your body that is controlling your thoughts.

“Many physiology conflicts that happen in our body is due to the conflict between the needs of microorganisms and bacteria in our body. The health of one’s body is also dependent on the reaction of the bacteria in our body. If they are alright, then our bodies will be alright. However, microorganisms do not have any consciousness. Our actions will also influence the microorganisms. We can choose to suppress the desires of our body and end up being unhealthy. While we seem to be an individual, we are actually a complete system.

“The Mutation Source controls the microorganisms in our body, thus controlling our basic desires. It secretes dozens of times the normal amount of enzymes to give our brain an intense stimulus. It is completely unrelated to our thoughts and isn’t able to control our thoughts. However, it can influence us on a biological level by using the desire to destroy, sexual desire, hunger, grief, and many other emotions to direct our thoughts and cause a huge change in personality. You may even end up thinking that these thoughts belong to you as you are still your ordinary self during the outbreak of the virus.

“The reason that the virus can’t be detected from the infected individual is because the virus doesn’t exist! The so called ‘virus’ is the microorganisms that are necessary for one’s survival!”

Han Xiao understood the Mutation Source. After all, he had gone through this mission in his previous life and had a deep impression of the event. At his current level, his consciousness could already exist independently, but the organs that were used to control his consciousness would be affected. What if he wanted to be immune to the Mutation Source? Very simple. He just had to transfer his consciousness into a machine and give up his body and senses. With his consciousness being separated and living in the brain of a machine, it would be impossible for the machine to be affected by the Mutation Source.

Including Hila, those from Planet Aquamarine were shocked.

“So, this is theory behind the mutation virus,” Emerald Grass muttered. “What are its exact parameters? For example, how is it spread? What is the strength of its control? Also, what is special about the Rhodes Fan Leaf? Why is it immune to the mutation virus?”

Han Xiao snapped his fingers and called the Volga brothers over. “Show a picture of that leaf to them.”

Emerald Grass flashed a picture, and after taking a look at it, the eldest Volga brother replied with a calm tone, “Isn’t this the Serene Grass? This is a raw material for Focus Medicine.”

Emerald Grass was stunned. “What does he mean?”

“What he means is, this Rhodes Fan Leaf is an ingredient used by Mages. Only a Mage will be able to bring out the effects of this leaf. The effect of Focus Medicine is to let a Mage enter a special state of extreme calmness. All of their emotions will be suppressed, and the various parts of the brain relating to emotions will be temporarily cut off. This is the reason for its immunity. Regardless of how the mutation virus tries to send hormones, the brain will not feel any desire. That is the theory behind your suppressant.”

Everyone immediately came to a realization. After a while, Aurora suddenly asked in a strange tone, “Is there really magic in this world‽”

Han Xiao had a face full of helplessness but did not want to roll his eyes. This was considered an extremely ordinary piece of information in the galaxy. The ability for a technological civilization to accept new things was truly weak. Their view of the world was far too narrow, and they really needed to broaden their horizons.

After pausing for a moment, Han Xiao continued his explanation.

“In truth, the Mutation Source will not be spread. It has a main body and could be hiding anywhere on the planet. With the main body as the core, its consciousness will be able to cover a large region. In this region, it is able to detect any life forms and control their microorganisms. It is just like a wide-range Esper ability. Apart from the living beings on land, even the living beings in the ocean will be controlled by it. Also, Supers are resistant to its control and won’t be affected easily. However, its range and control strength will increase as the Mutation Source grows.

“The control region of the Mutation Source is actually a new living system. The entire control region is like a large body!

“It has only been a month or so since the first outbreak of the virus. The Mutation Source has only just entered its toddler stage from its infant stage. The messy violence in the entire world is only its subconscious action without any purpose or motive. When it matures, it will also become more intelligent, and its actions will gradually have a purpose. That will be the true calamity, and I will be helpless as well. Thus, time is tight.”

Han Xiao did not say another word. Those words had already allowed everyone to understand the seriousness of the problem. Bennett’s expression was solemn, and he said with a grave tone, “Then what should we… no, what are you planning to do?”

He knew that he would not be able to solve the problem with his own organization, and the only choice would be to place his hopes in Black Phantom… ah, he should be called Black Star now.

“I have my own plans, but before I set my plan into motion, there is something that I have to do first. I will first bring my subordinates to the place where the materials of the suppressant are grown. Let the Mages under me replace all of you in growing the materials. They will be able to increase the yield greatly.” Han Xiao smiled. “We also have to deal with the refugees who were knocked unconscious. Furthermore, there may be more coming in the future. I understand you and know that it is impossible for you to ignore them.”

“I knew that you would understand me. We are the same kind after all.” Bennett smiled and felt a heavy rock being lifted from his heart. The familiar feeling of chemistry between the two had returned.

On the other side, as Han Xiao was explaining the Mutation Disaster to those in the Sanctuary, his return had been detected by the satellites of the Six Nations. All the images of his return were sent back without anything being missed out.

The upper echelons of the Six Nations were shaken!

They were thoroughly shocked!

Chapter 514: Time to Harvest

Because of the Germinal Organization incident, information relating to Black Phantom was of high importance, and everyone in the various intelligence organizations recognized Black Phantom. The very first intel officer who received the satellite image almost thought that he had seen incorrectly. Han Xiao, who had gone to the galaxy two years prior, had suddenly returned. Furthermore, he had returned in such a shocking manner. Just what was going on?

While over half of the Six Nations’ strength had been diminished by the calamity, they had maintained their intelligence networks. The intelligence was sent quickly, and not too long later, a complete recording was being played in the meeting between the upper echelons of the Six Nations. After seeing the recording, all of the upper echelons present remained silent with a heavy atmosphere in the place.

They had always thought that only Godora would come to their rescue. However, Han Xiao had actually brought a fleet and descended out of nowhere. Han Xiao had appeared without the Six Nations making any preparations. The upper echelons of the Six Nations were truly at a loss for words.

“Black Phantom is back, and he’s brought an entire fleet with him!”

After going to the galaxy two years ago, they had not heard any news about Black Phantom. However, they had never imagined that Han Xiao would still be alive and actually have such an amazing strength in his hands. The mercenaries under Han Xiao had truly shocked the upper echelons of the Six Nations. With their limited view of the world, they felt that the strength that Black Phantom had once displayed was already at the peak of the world. However, they had never imagined that Han Xiao would bring back a few hundred experts from outside the planet to refresh their understanding of the word ‘strength’. Furthermore, he had even brought more than ten spaceships with him!

With just this strength alone, it was more than enough to sweep their entire Six Nations away.

When Han Xiao went into the galaxy back then, they had already been stunned once. The Six Nations also wanted to enter the galaxy, but they did not have the technology to do so. They were not able to construct a spaceship, and Godora would ignore all of such requests. As such, they could only grit their teeth and watch with envy.

They did not know what Han Xiao had done in the galaxy. However, the upper echelons of the Six Nations were extremely clear on one point! Black Phantom’s realm had far exceeded theirs!

While the Six Nations had placed great importance on the past Black Phantom because of his contribution to the destruction of the Germinal Organization, they still felt that Black Phantom belonged to the same level as them. Using an analogy, it was like how they were all classmates in the same class. The Six Nations were like students who consistently scored above 90 marks, but Black Phantom was a top scorer who always scored full marks. However, they were still in the same class.

But now, Black Phantom had already become a little genius student who could skip grades. He was like a carp who leapt through the dragon’s gate and no longer belonged to the same level!

A few days ago, they had been hesitating over whether they should make a move against Sanctuary Three. Now, they no longer needed to contemplate over this matter. In truth, the upper echelons of the Six Nations heaved a sigh of relief instead.

Thankfully, this fellow had come back in time. If they had not been able to control their temptations and he returned, they would probably have been eradicated.

The upper echelons of the Six Nations no longer dared to have any thoughts about the suppressant, but another thought came into their minds. What if they sought Black Phantom’s aid?

Godora still had not arrived, but Black Phantom had returned with a fleet. In the eyes of the Six Nations, both Han Xiao and Godora were galactic organizations that were far superior to Planet Aquamarine. Furthermore, Planet Aquamarine was his hometown, and it was likely that he would help.

Since they could not rely on Godora, why not try Black Phantom?

…

At the same time, the players in the Sanctuary were excitedly sharing their recorded videos on the forums. The Planet Aquamarine board was refreshed rapidly with Black Star’s name being one of the most popular keywords.

There were many different versions of the recording, and they came from all different angles. When the other players who were not on Planet Aquamarine witnessed the majestic appearance of Han Xiao, they were immediately drawn into the video and experienced the feelings of the players in the Sanctuary.

The benefits that Han Xiao had brought in Version 1.0 were still fresh in their minds. With the new version being launched and Han Xiao returning from the galaxy, he would probably bring resources from the new version. This was something that they needed. What kind of new benefits would Black Star bring them? Just thinking about this made all the players excited.

The players who went online in the other regions immediately threw down the missions on hand and rushed toward the Sanctuary. All those who were already on the way to the Sanctuary sped up even faster.

As Frenzied Sword and the others who were travelling saw all the posts, they hated the fact that they could not return to Han Xiao’s side immediately and were extremely helpless.

We all followed Black Star from Version 1.0. We were supposed to be the first.

Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos were immediately shared rapidly throughout the forums, and the players from other novice planets also came to watch the show.

“His appearance truly makes my blood boil. I feel that there is a chance for this scene to be chosen for the advertisement of the new version.”

“The Galaxy Times report was right. There are more storylines for this character, and he has indeed appeared in Version 2.0.”

“I wonder if others are able to join the Black Star Mercenary Group like the professional players.”

As the players discussed the recent events on the forum, someone then made a guess.

“In Version 2.0, every novice planet will be connected to the galaxy. Could it be that Black Star is the NPC to guide us into the galaxy?”

A couple of people pondered over that possibility and realized that it was extremely likely.

The ten or so spaceships in the air would be the best transport to take plenty of them off the planet.

This guess immediately received great approval from many, many players, who thought that Han Xiao was the key character to take them into the galaxy.

…

In the core region of Sanctuary Three, Han Xiao got the mercenaries who knew magic to aid the growth of the suppressant’s raw materials. With their help, the production of the suppressant was greatly increased.

Currently, the Mutation Source was still young, and the effects of the suppressant were able to last for about three months. When the Mutation Source entered its next phase, a few servings of the suppressant would be required in order to achieve the same resistance. Thus, they greatly lacked resources.

Saving refugees would contribute toward the total mission progress, and Han Xiao’s mission also enjoyed the mission progress that the players accumulated. However, if they allowed too many people to stay in Sanctuary Three, not only would the place become crowded, the place would descend into a large mess the moment the suppressant lost its effect.

Han Xiao did not want to let too many refugees to stay in Sanctuary Three, but Bennett definitely would not be at ease. The way Han Xiao saw it, the Six Nations had a large territory and would definitely be able to take care of many refugees.

The Six Nations is definitely aware of my return. Since the Godorans have not arrived yet, it is very likely that they will contact me to seek my help. They should be contacting me over the next few days, Han Xiao guessed to himself.

Sharing the suppressant with the Six Nations was beneficial to the bigger picture. While he did not like the other five nations apart from Stardragon, there were benefits to him protecting the nations of Planet Aquamarine. In his previous life, there had only been a single Emerald Grass. With many subordinates under his charge being able to grow the raw materials of the suppressant, Han Xiao could allow them to aid the Six Nations in concocting the suppressant. This would prevent Sanctuary Three from standing out too much and ensure its safety.

Of course, he would only offer them aid if the Six Nations sought his help. It was too well beneath his status to approach them to help them, and it would lower the respect that the Six Nations had toward him. This was not in line with his plans, and he was confident that the Six Nations would try to approach him.

However, Emerald Grass’ suppressant was not the only method to resist the Mutation Disaster. Godora was also a magic civilization, and they had their own medicine. However, Godora’s medicine was also in short supply. After all, wasting medicine to protect billions of irrelevant backward planet inhabitants was a waste of their resources. Furthermore, Godora had to take care of more than one planet.

In the storyline of his previous life, Godora only handed out limited quantities of medicine, and the majority of the refugees were not able to enjoy it. Players could also earn money through Godora’s missions and use the money to purchase the medicine. From there, they would be able to fulfil the requests of some refugees and raise the total mission progress.

However, with Han Xiao’s influence, the supply of Emerald Grass’ suppressant was greatly increased, and it was pretty much handed out freely. Thus, Godora’s medicine would not seem so important anymore. While this did not seem too important, it was an integral factor in Han Xiao’s plans.

Because this was related to the exchange of currency.

The players of Planet Aquamarine were currently using the local currency, which was not recognized in the universe, and Han Xiao needed Enas. The players’ money was all earned from NPC missions, and since they were not connected to the galaxy yet, they did not have any Enas at the moment. Thus, Han Xiao’s target was actually Godora.

Godora would issue missions to the players, and the reward would be in Enas. Since the players did not need to spend their money to purchase Godora’s medicine, this money would be saved. When the players saw the many machines and Advanced Knowledge in Han Xiao’s store, together with the fact that spending money would increase their relationship with his faction, it was very clear where these players would spend their money.

Thus, Han Xiao did not plan to sell any machines before Godora arrived, and he would only teach skills and knowledge to earn experience.

Godora still isn’t aware that the Mutation Source is actually part of DarkStar’s schemes. As long as I reveal that fact, Godora will immediately place more importance on this matter and send people over immediately…

He watched the Mages craft the raw materials while pondering over his next step.

DarkStar planted the Mutation Source because of some strategic plan. As long as Godora doesn’t show up, DarkStar will not make an appearance. If I inform Godora now and they rush over, the battle between both their camps will break out, and they will become competitors to snatch the players from me. If I do not inform Godora for now, I will have the initiative and make use of this time to increase the attractiveness of my faction to the players…

The moment that both parties were involved, a battle would definitely break out. The period before this was most beneficial to Han Xiao. He had also witnessed the commotion on the forums. Just as he expected, the influence of his return was slowly brewing among the players, and it was extremely beneficial to him.

Han Xiao thought for a while and decided not to reveal his own information and wait for Godora to make their way over on their own. He had the truth of the Mutation Disaster in his hands as well as a copy of the original Mutation Source. He needed to find the right time to hand it over to Godora so that he received the greatest benefits. This was not the best time, and there was no need for him to be so anxious.

My goal is to let as many players join my mercenary group as possible. However, I cannot let anyone join as they wish. I need to set a barrier to entry. If not, I will look like I am desperate. Things that are too easily obtained won’t be treasured.

However, if I want to have enough players, I need to set a suitable entry requirement. The only thing that I can be sure of is that many players want to join my faction at the moment. It is best if I can create some competition. After all, the victors are usually envied, and I will be able to make joining my faction a privilege that only the victors can enjoy. This is the best way to make the players take this chance seriously.

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao came up with a pretty good plan. With Version 2.0 being launched, he had many more things to do.

However, before implementing all of these measures, there was one more important thing for him to do. He needed to harvest a large amount of experience to rapidly increase his strength.

Han Xiao was currently level 116, and the experience on his interface was less than 100,000,000. It had been a year since he last increased his level, and the number of blueprints on his skills interface had increased by a few hundred. He truly had a great need for experience at the moment.

It had been too long since he last harvested the players, and he was itching with excitement.

Chapter 515: With a Single Slash, Your Wallet Will Be Dried Up

All of the players were gathered in the plaza with their heads bobbing up and down excitedly. Just an hour ago, the Sanctuary had announced that Black Star was about to give a lecture in the plaza. Because of this, Bennett had set up a temporary stage in the middle of the plaza.

The influence of his return was still blazing, and the response was overwhelming. All the residents in the Sanctuary had arrived, and the surrounding few streets were also completely congested with people. The area surrounding the stage that had the best view was naturally dominated by all the players.

All of them wanted to hear what Black Star had to say after returning from the galaxy.

Ta, ta, ta!

Han Xiao walked out from the core region with the mercenaries following behind him. The eyes of the crowd lit up and burnt with excitement. Wherever the group went, the crowd would open up the path, and it was like the legendary parting of the Red Sea.

Han Xiao walked up to the stage, and the mercenaries waited by the side. Han Xiao looked around him for a while only to see millions of eyes staring back at him. All of his actions were being captured by those many eyes.

Han Xiao’s expression was calm. With his thick skin, he did not know what it meant to be anxious. Raising one of his hands, a compressed orb rolled out from his sleeves and landed in his palm. He then threw it out casually.

Buss!

A blue electric bolt flashed.

Under the gazes of the crowd, the compressed orb transformed rapidly and turned into a mechanical throne. He sat down on the throne slowly, which then floated into the sky, hovering ten meters in the air. Underneath the throne was the blue light being emanated by the anti-gravity stabilizers.

Following which, three identical Void Mirror Images facing different directions appeared behind him.

Up in the sky was the circular formation of the spaceship fleet, and the plaza was right in the center of the circle with Han Xiao in the middle.

His coolness factor was immediately maxed out!

“Holy sh*t! Too handsome!”

“Truly the appearance of a bigshot! I think I have seen the second Dragon Emperor!”

“He is truly too cool!”

With his gaze sweeping past the crowd, Han Xiao cleared his throat, and his voice was spread far and wide with a mini loudspeaker.

“I’ve returned.”

Boom!

Just those simple words of his immediately attracted a large wave of cheers from the residents. As the creator of this Sanctuary, his prestige in this place was extremely high, and he was ridiculously popular. The players were also affected by the atmosphere, and Han Xiao’s image was elevated a few notches.

He raised his hands to signal for the crowd to remain silent. Very quickly, the crowd fell to pin drop silence and waited for him to continue his speech.

“Two years ago, I foresaw this calamity and headed into the galaxy resolutely in search of the solution. I promised that, for my hometown, I will return to face this calamity with all of you. Today, I have fulfilled my promise.

“The galaxy is a very dangerous place, and I have only obtained this strength after going through many tribulations. You do not need to know the dangers behind it as that is a pain that I bore willingly in exchange for the ability to face this crisis with all of you…”

Han Xiao selected his words very carefully, and he very simply summarized his experience in the galaxy, looking as though he did not wish to talk more about his experiences. This immediately drew out the imagination of the residents in the Sanctuary.

However, the players began snickering in their hearts. They had already found out about Black Star’s galactic experience through Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos. Even if he did not want to say it, they were all extremely clear about his experience. Furthermore, they all thought that Black Star was not aware of that.

Many players began looking at each other while raising their eyebrows or winking with a ‘we already know’ look.

Han Xiao glanced at the players, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

He purposely chose to say those words to let the players have a sense of superiority because they thought that they understood him well. The moment that they had such a thought, they would have fallen into his trap. The players would not only recall the videos and have an even deeper impression of him, it would be helpful to conceal his future actions as well.

“We are all in the middle of this calamity, and no one will be able to stay out of this calamity. I am willing to share the knowledge that I have gained in the galaxy to aid everyone’s growth so that we can go through this calamity together!”

The eyes of the players began glowing. After waiting for so long, they had finally waited for these words.

We can finally learn some new skills!

After saying a few encouraging words, Han Xiao stowed his throne away as a signal that his speech was over.

The residents of the Sanctuary all dispersed, but the players charged forward to surround Han Xiao.

“It has been a long time, Inhuman warriors. I can feel that all of you are stronger than you were two years ago,” Han Xiao said with a serious look, acting as though he really did not know that they were players.

Many of the players could not help but think to themselves, You are obviously the one who had the greatest change!

After saying a few words to make himself look like an NPC, Han Xiao began selling the skills. After such a long time, he could finally harvest those adorable players again, and the joy in his heart was overflowing.

After Version 1.0, the players had become extremely familiar with the interface in Han Xiao’s skill shop. Now that they could see his interface again, they truly missed it.

Selling his own skills and knowledge was akin to a teacher imparting skills, and he could set his own price to obtain the player’s ‘tuition fees’. The skills that Han Xiao took out for sale were mainly Mechanic skills. Furthermore, they were skills that the players would be able to learn on their own as long as they reached a certain level. Since the players’ levels were still low, it gave Han Xiao the opportunity to teach them those skills earlier than they should have learned them.

However, Han Xiao would not teach the players skills that were too important such as compression technology, mass production, and so on. The majority of the skills that he taught were to increase their Machinery Affinity, foundational skills, and some unimportant low-level blueprints. Blueprint skills had always been extremely popular.

As for Mechanic Knowledge, apart from the entire set of foundational knowledge—after all, the majority of players had not even learned all the foundational skills—Han Xiao also chose a few not-so-important Advanced Knowledges to teach the players. In the past, he did not wish to teach too many Advanced Knowledges, but now that they were in the new version, Han Xiao naturally did not have as many concerns.

Of course, he was not entirely conning the players by allowing them to learn their future skills early. It was a sort of win-win situation for them. After all, the earlier they learned them, the earlier they could use them. It was the same logic as using a skill first so the cooldown would end earlier…

Since the players wanted to learn something and he provided a full package service that was both cheap and convenient, was it not best for him to monopolize the entire market? There were no antitrust laws to restrict him in this world, and it was truly blissful.

“Woah, there are so many Mechanic skills that I have never seen before.”

“Heavy Machine Modification, Advanced Radar technology… There is also more Advanced Knowledge than before!”

The players looked at the interface that was full of skills, and excitement could be seen spewing from their eyes.

It was the new version, and there were so many skills that they had never seen before. After Black Star made a trip to the galaxy, not only did his coolness level increase, the benefits that he provided also increased!

Because the players had reached the max level toward the end of Version 1.0, they could only increase the levels of their skills. Thus, many of them had a large amount of experience in their pockets, and Han Xiao was targeting the large savings in their hands!

With the launch of the new version, the players would not be stingy with their experience for sure, and they were all like wealthy tycoons. The Great Mechanic Han would not rest until he sucked all of their wallets dry!

After setting up shop for just a short while, the experience points on his interface swelled up rapidly with notifications popping up every second. The players began learning the new skills without any hesitation, and they spent their experience generously allowing Han Xiao to earn a hefty sum.

Looking at the experience points being constantly refreshed on his interface, Han Xiao smiled in satisfaction. After working hard for half a year, he was like a farmer who was reaping his harvest.

He had been looking forward to this moment!

The experience points brought about by the players was like an overflowing river, nourishing the dried-up land that was Han Xiao’s experience. His experience, which had been less than 100,000,000, shot up rapidly as though it was on a rocket.

200,000,000… 300,000,000…

This was even more efficient than in Version 1.0!

Because of Han Xiao’s hard work in Version 1.0, the proportion of Mechanic players in the Sanctuary exceeded thirty percent at the moment. This number was far greater than his previous life, and he had a huge market with powerful purchasing power. Han Xiao would not set the price of his skills and knowledge too high, but it definitely was not low either. As compared to the price in Version 1.0, which had been in the thousands, the current prices would be in the tens of thousands at least. Because he was the only ‘company’ in this market, there was no need for him to lower his prices and compete in the market. This was the advantage of a monopoly.

As long as a hundred people learned skills from him, it would be a few million experience points for him. From the roughly 200,000 Mechanics, the benefits that he could gain would definitely be far greater than Version 1.0. At the very least, it would be 1,000,000,000 experience points. However, at Han Xiao’s level, his expenditure of experience points was also extremely high, and his expenditure in the future would be even greater. As such, there was no such thing as too many experience points.

Only someone like Han Xiao would be able to power level in one go. When the players reached his level, they would need to do plenty of missions before receiving enough experience to level up once. Furthermore, they would still be overjoyed because of that single level up. In his previous life, the tender and young Great Mechanic Han had also been like that. In the end, he had gradually become an old, salted fish. Alas, he had once been an energetic youth but aged as he entered the pugilistic world.

With the current speed, I should be able to obtain sufficient experience to get to level 120 by today…

Once he reached level 120, he would have another Promotion Mission to complete. Thankfully, he still had another Mission Completion Card in his hands, and if the mission was too difficult, Han Xiao was prepared to just use the Mission Completion Card. After all, he had to stay on Planet Aquamarine for the time being and did not have the time to do a mission.

He would need an enormous amount of experience to get to level 140, and harvesting once would probably not be enough. Teaching skills and knowledge was not a one-off event. If a player learned the same skill a second time, it was equivalent to finding a teacher to increase the level of the skill. Thus, Han Xiao would be able to gain benefits for the foreseeable future, and he was extremely patient.

He did not only want a single abundant harvest. He wanted a long-lasting harvest that even his children and grandchildren could enjoy.

His personal skills would naturally cater to the Mechanic players, but Han Xiao naturally would not forget about the other two classes on Planet Aquamarine. Ensuring profits from all avenues was the way to go.

…

“All the skills belong to the Mechanic class. How depressing!”

Black Star was a Mechanic teacher, and the happiest crowd was naturally the Mechanic players. Their faces flushed red from their joy, and they would burst out in chuckles randomly. The Pugilist and Esper players could only watch from the side enviously. Who told them not to choose the Mechanic class back then? How wonderful it would have been if Black Star was the teacher of their class!

Since they could not learn Black Star’s skills, the players from the other two classes opened up the shop interface only to realize that they were actually able to open up the faction store of the Black Star Mercenary Group!

“Isn’t this the faction store in Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos? It is actually open to us too!”

“Right, I wonder if we can join the Black Star Mercenary Group and become one of them? Maybe we can even be featured in Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos!”

“All of these items are grayed out. We can only see them but not buy. Oh, I understand, we can only check on the goods in the faction store but can’t purchase them if we don’t join.”

“Wait, look at this!”

As the players viewed through the faction store carefully, they were immediately overjoyed. In the interface of the faction store, apart from the various equipment being sold, there was actually Pugilist and Esper Advanced Knowledge!

However, the faction store could only be browsed at the moment, and they could only purchase the items in the store if they joined the faction. Furthermore, the requirement for purchasing the Advanced Knowledge of these two classes was a favorability of [Friendly] with the faction. This required 1,000 points of Faction Favorability.

“Black Star, we want to join your mercenary group!”

“How can we join the group?”

The players all began to squeeze forward and bombard Han Xiao with questions. Because Han Xiao had always tried to build his image up together with the videos that Bun-Hit-Dog produced, they all had a good impression of the Black Star Mercenary Group. Seeing practical benefits being placed before their eyes, they immediately wanted to join the mercenary group and could not wait any longer.

“Want to join my mercenary group?” Han Xiao acted as though he was extremely surprised.

After ‘thinking’ for a moment, he said, “This isn’t impossible, but… my members are all elites who have been chosen through strict screening. If your strength can meet the requirement, I welcome all of you to join.”

Chapter 516: Feelings Are Not Enough—One Has to Employ a Routine

Elite? Selections?

The moment this statement came out, many of the players immediately thought of the Thirty Second True Men Group that had followed Black Star when he left and immediately felt discouraged.

Could it be that this is another test from Black Star? But your subjects here cannot achieve it! If we could, then we would have gone along with you to the galaxy outside during Version 1.0!

“As long as you can prove your strength by passing through the warriors under me, the doors of the Black Star Mercenary Group will be open to you,” Han Xiao simply explained before throwing out the mission that he had prepared beforehand.

_____________________

Selection of Mercenaries

Mission Introduction: Black Star Mercenary Group has been on numerous campaigns everywhere in space, and all their members are strong experts. So long as you can successfully pass their test, one can join Black Star Mercenary Group, becoming an elite mercenary.

Mission Objective: Battle against an arbitrary mercenary.

Reward: 1 Experience, Black Star Mercenary Group Faction unlocked, +100 Black Star Mercenary Group Relationship

_____________________

After frantically reading through, the players burst into discussion.

“Turns out, Black Star is not personally selecting this time.”

“The mission does not describe what sort of battle test it will be. Do you think it would be a one on one PVP like before?”

Han Xiao signaled with his eyes, and the mercenary behind carried out a translucent screen that had been prepared beforehand, erecting it at the side. Pointing to the screen, Han Xiao announced, “If you wish to participate in the selection, enter your information here. Phillip will assign a number to each applicant, and this will determine your batch in the selection battles. Pay attention to which one you will be participating in.”

The screen lit up, and a blue circle appeared in the middle, surrounded by little particles floating around. It gently bobbed, and the AI started to speak.

“Black Star Artificial Intelligence Phillip, hum… Very glad to be of service, hum…”

Many of the players let out an expression of surprise and moved to input their information such as name, profession, and other particulars. They received a number, which represented themselves, and very quickly, a new interface was soon displayed on the screen. It displayed a new selection process and invited a few hundred numbers onto the arena to take the test.

The screen also displayed the mercenary who was hosting this current selection—Herlous.

After studying it, the players understood the selection mechanism involved. This was not a one on one PVP but one against many. A Black Star mercenary would pit themself against a few hundred players, and all they had to do was persist for a period of time. Once the time was up, if one was not dead and still alive in the arena boundaries, they would have passed the test and could join Black Star.

At the same time, more than one selection would be taking place. The number of people in each selection would also differ, together with their opponent. It was up to chance as to which mercenary of Black Star one could meet. The most important point was, even if one failed the challenge, they could reapply through Phillip. There were no restrictions, and challenges could continuously be handed out.

The players were not suspicious of him at all. All of them felt that this was an interesting challenge, and their fighting spirits were stirred, causing more and more to apply.

Han Xiao was the one who had decided on this challenge method. This was to allow the hundreds of mercenaries under him to help in evaluating the players, since the mercenaries were idling by anyway. Instead of allowing them to play with cards every day to while time away, it would be better to use the time efficiently and save his strength.

This selection was actually just a formality. He was, of course, aware of the current standard of the players. While the more the merrier, he could not just accept every Tom, Dick, and Harry that walked over to greet him. That would be too easy. After all, for the elite factions, which one of them did not have any criteria? As such, setting up a selection was a clever way, which would make players feel that there was a threshold for joining the Mercenary Group. It provided a feeling of exclusivity.

He had thought about it the day before and decided to make this challenge into a daily activity for the players. A mercenary would select dozens to hundreds of players at a time—the specific number would be controlled by Phillip depending on the mercenary’s strength. This ensured that the strength of the players would be in an acceptable range for the mercenary, allowing them to easily handle any situations. Phillip, who was in charge of the data of every mercenary, would not make a mistake in this regard.

Each arena had thousands of players, and it resembled a battle royale. In addition to dealing with the Boss—or rather, Mercenary—they also had to prevent themselves from being schemed against, ensuring that they could stay till the end and be among the final survivors. This became a sort of competition.

In actual fact, Han Xiao’s original idea was not to have the mercenaries participate but rather to simply allow the players to select among themselves in a grand battle royale. However, the efficiency of recruitment would be terribly low because there would be no one with an overpowered strength like the mercenaries. Thus, every battle would last for a long time. Furthermore, they would not have been able to showcase the strength of the Black Star Mercenary Group.

Moreover, that sort of beast style selection would have raised a sense of dissatisfaction within the players as if they were being looked down on. Thus, Han Xiao finally settled on his current model, using his mercenary group to host a test. Not only did it improve efficiency, it also acted as a lubricant, reducing the probability of player dissatisfaction and making the selection less savage.

The participation of players did not consume any resources, and if they failed, they could wait for their number to be drawn again. This ensured that the threshold to accept players would not be high, which allowed a large pool of players to participate. In addition, the current stage of the mutation disaster only gave the players missions to rebuild a refuge. Therefore, this would bring more flavors to the players’ lives. This could be treated as a side dish to the main mission.

As for the selection venue, it was naturally the arena that Han Xiao had built in his Sanctuary. The Pro League had been held there, but now that it was vacant, Han Xiao had claimed it back for his own use. Bennett and Huang Yu had naturally not objected to it.

…

Ten minutes later, players numbering in the thousands flocked to the arena. This was the first selection battle, and even if it did not concern them, everyone chose to head over to spectate, to observe the specific process.

Herlous stood in the largest central ring while hugging his Battleship Slicing Blade, staring hungrily at the players surrounding him. He seemed to be surrounded by howling winds and icy coldness.

The spectating players began to discuss fervently.

“The limit is two minutes. After two minutes, so long as we don’t fall out of the ring and aren’t dead, we can then join the Black Star Mercenary Group.”

“With a few hundred here, holding out for two minutes should be simple task…”

“Simple? Stop joking. Didn’t you see the video series from Bun-Hit-Dog on Black Star? This guy is Herlous. He’s an extremely strong mercenary from the Black Star group. I think just a slash of his blade can pulverize this arena! Even if you have never seen his videos, you should have experienced the war yesterday, right? Didn’t you see him mowing down the beast horde?”

“Nope, didn’t see anything. I was dead at that time.”

Herlous surveyed his surroundings. Han Xiao’s instructions to him were to attack appropriately as he saw fit. If he put forth his full strength, two minutes would be more than enough to wipe the floor with them. Most of the players were still at Grade D, with some having only hit Grade C, a far cry from his current standard.

Seeing the insane throng of Supers, a blaze of fighting spirit was kindled in Herlous’ heart. Black Star was indeed not lying to him—this place really held tens of thousands of Supers!

With Planet Sunil currently suffering from a catastrophe, Han Xiao had once sworn to him to bring a human wave more frightening than the current horde from their catastrophe, to solve the Sunils’ problems once and for all. Herlous had always believed Han Xiao’s words, and upon seeing his promise in the flesh, he was moved to the point that he found his emotions hard to suppress.

Silently, Herlous grasped his Battleship Slicing Blade tightly, lightly nodding.

“The selection starts now, hum…” Phillip’s sound droned.

Boom!

The next moment, the majority of players rushed toward Herlous from all directions. A variety of attacks were let loose along the way. The huge numbers on their side gave them assurance, and they decided to tackle Herlous like they would a Boss, outputting as much damage as they muster.

Only a small portion of players did not advance and instead retreated, hiding behind those rushing forward.

Seeing the mass of players rushing at him from all directions, Herlous’ expression remained impassive. He raised his blade and spun it around him like a whirlwind, releasing a ring-shaped blade waves around him that shot toward the players, covering almost half the ring. It annihilated all the long-range attacks, and as it approached the pugilists, they could not block the attack, directly being sent flying toward the edge of the arena. Their HP instantly fell about forty percent.

“F*ck me, this AOE is too scary!”

“That was too risky. I almost fell off the ring.”

The vanguard players suffered a huge setback, and their facial expressions greatly changed. The small portion of the players who had stayed outside from the beginning and thus escaped the attack were secretly relieved.

Thankfully, we didn’t have a hard head and managed to endure the urge to rush forward.

For the players currently, Herlous’ strength completely outclassed them. Han Xiao had long guessed that the players would have the mentality of attacking a Boss when they approached this selection battle. Thus, he had chosen to let Herlous handle the first round, giving off an image of invincibility in his Mercenary Group. As for the next few matches, all those mercenaries involved were also in his elite team.

There was no suspense regarding the result. Even if Herlous went easy, this group of players was still cut down effortlessly, one knife for one person.

The players could only change their thinking of clashing head on, instead frantically scrambling in all directions, roaming at the fringe of the arena to try and survive. This appeared to be extremely stimulating.

Then the two minutes were up, less than ten players remained alive. Only when Herlous sheathed his blade did the surviving players realize, as though they had just woken up from a stupor. Expressions of joy colored the faces of the survivors.

“We… we won‽”

The defeated players had expressions of envy and anger. To actually allow such sneaky b*stards to win the prize, was there no justice in this world‽

Out of the hundreds of participants, not even ten people had succeeded. The percentage was low, but this was deliberately done by Han Xiao. He wanted to push down the success rate, to give off the impression that winners would be rare, before gradually allowing the success rate to increase over time.

“Congratulations to those who have passed. Black Star welcomes you. When we go back to space, we’ll register you in the Mercenary Alliance. At that time, you will be actual mercenaries.”

Herlous extended his hand, shaking it with all the survivors present. This was another of Han Xiao’s requirements, to reflect the differential treatment between the two parties.

The survivors were exhilarated as they found out their faction interface had come to live. They no longer needed to find Black Star to browse the faction store, and the items within were no longer grayed out. While they did not possess any Enas to purchase the products, the world of colors was definitely better than one of monochrome gray.

Only the mission [Selection of Mercenaries] for this group of survivors was counted as complete, and they obtained 100 Faction Contribution Points. Having seen Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos, they understood that for Faction favorability at the [Friendly] Reputation or below, 100 points could only be bought using 50 Enas. All of them felt that they had technically earned 50 Enas!

The few of them turned ecstatic with joy.

The onlookers were envious, and they keenly noticed a key point in the conversation, which was Herlous mentioning, “Go back to space”.

“Does this mean, as long as we pass the test, we will be able to follow Black Star and leave Planet Aquamarine when this storyline ends?”

“We didn’t guess wrong; Black Star is indeed the interstellar travel guide that was sent to bring us in Version 2.0!

The eyes of the players lit up, and they all suddenly felt eager to move, unable to wait to participate in the next selection.

The next selections were carried out step by step, and Han Xiao no longer bothered to keep a watch.

Because of the large quantity of players, Han Xiao’s timetable showed a great many selection battles each day. A selection battle would be carried out roughly every twenty minutes, and in the numerous rings around the arena, there would be multiple selection battles being carried out. A rough estimate showed that around four to five thousand people would participate each day, with the pass rate maintained at around five percent.

There were over a hundred thousand players in the Sanctuary, and with every player having a chance, this activity could be carried out for a long period of time. A thin stream would allow the water to flow for a longer period. After all, not only was this challenge novel and interesting, the majority of players held on to the mentality that they would be lucky. The Great Mechanic Han had always believed that this sort of mistaken notion greatly helped in his plan, as it allowed the players to willing jump into his pit.

In another few days, the players will adapt to the selection battles. When they get on the right track and the success rates increase, I won’t need to worry about it anymore.

Regarding the plans for his faction, Han Xiao had prepared many methods. However, it was not the time to utilize them—this selection was merely an opener.

Furthermore, the difficulty of this selection process would also create a demand for players to get stronger quickly. This would also allow for an increase in his own sales, killing many birds with one stone.

…

From dawn to dusk, the square was crowded with people. After drowning in sounds for the whole day, Han Xiao prepared to pack up.

In just one day, his experience gained broke past the billion mark.

A total of 1.29 billion experience, I haven’t felt this refreshed in such a long time… Han Xiao comfortably breathed out, feeling extremely satisfied in his heart. The last time such a large-scale harvesting had happened for him was two years ago before he left Planet Aquamarine. It felt as though a dry desert was welcoming its first rainfall in a long time.

This amount should be enough for me to level up to 120, with some surplus left over.

Opening his interface, Han Xiao was prepared to level up. At this time, a rumbling sound echoed from the sky.

When he raised his head, he saw a new spaceship descending slowly. This was the spaceship that he had sent to fetch Frenzied Sword and the others. They had finally arrived.

Whoosh!

The hatch opened. Frenzied Sword, Bun-Hit-Dog, Hao Tian, and the other players carried jetpacks on their backs as they descended to the square.

The majority of players present recognized this batch of high-levelled players. They all glanced over, with faces of amazement.

“Hey, you guys are back!”

Many people greeted them warmly. This group of players had performed brilliantly in the Pro League and had garnered a lot of fame. Furthermore, they had also gone off the radar for a long time.

Chapter 517: Six Nations Seek Aid

Frenzied Sword and the others responded to the players’ enthusiasm before pushing their way through the crowd and walking up to Han Xiao.

These players were the ones who had first followed him into the universe, and the majority of them had been god-level players in his previous life. Han Xiao had always treated them differently. At this moment, he did not exchange any pleasantries with them but said directly, “You guys are late.”

The players were stunned for a moment. From Black Star’s tone, it was obvious that he treated them as one of his own, and they had a special feeling in their hearts.

When they were on the spaceship, they had found out that the other players were also able to join the Black Star Mercenary Group, and they were no longer the only ones who enjoyed such a privilege. They had all felt extremely helpless toward that matter. But at that moment, they all realized that ‘old birds’ like them still got special treatment.

Now that they had returned to Black Star’s side, they immediately felt at ease.

“Actually, expanding isn’t entirely a bad thing,” Hao Tian said. “The Black Star Mercenary Group is a faction with the potential for growth. Only when the members of the faction increase will the growth of the benefits that the faction can provide be rapid.”

The other professional players agreed. Indeed, with more players, the faction would be able to grow quickly, and this was not a bad thing for the professional players in China.

However, while they all understood this logic, they still felt miserable that they were not able to have Black Star solely for themselves!

During Version 1.0, Han Xiao had made use of Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos to plant a concept in the players’ minds. This concept was that his faction would continue growing as they completed more and more missions. This made the players feel as though they are able to contribute to the growth of the faction and gain more benefits from it.

Currently, this concept was not deeply ingrained in the hearts of the players yet. When the players entered the galaxy and more players personally experienced this point for themselves, not only would they fervently complete missions, they would also call their friends to join Black Star. Conning one would recover his costs, and conning two would allow him to earn double.

Furthermore, as the players toiled away for the faction, their sense of belonging toward the faction would also grow, and this was a part of the Great Mechanic Han’s plans.

Those professional players did not delay and also found Han Xiao to learn new skills. They were looking forward to seeing Han Xiao again because they realized their advantage; only they had Enas!

The few of them had already gone to the galaxy and had the initiative in their hands. Han Xiao allowed them to be wealthy, and while the players on Planet Aquamarine could only stare at the items in the faction store and drool, they already had the capability to purchase those items.

“There are quite a few new items in the store and also a lot of Advanced Knowledge.”

“There is new Sunil armor? The simplified version of the Commander Class armor has much higher specs than the NCO Class armor. A pity there is a level restriction.”

“Electromagnetic Shield. This item isn’t too bad either. I don’t remember seeing this item before the update.”

Everyone had a face full of curiosity. There were many new products in the faction store, and they were truly spoilt for choice. After discussing for a while, they all bought the items that they wanted with the bulk being Advanced Knowledge. In any case, they definitely would not lose out if they bought knowledge. They had seen the market price of the Advanced Knowledge in the galaxy before, and it was no different from cheating them from their money. The benefits of the Black Star faction store were still the best. A single Advanced Knowledge only required around 10,000 Enas, which was almost half the market price.

The criteria to purchase Advanced Knowledge was to spend 1,500 Faction Contribution Points. All of these players only had a few hundred Contribution Points. Below 1,000 Contribution Points, 100 Contribution Points could be exchanged with 50 Enas. From 1000 Contribution Points to 3000 Contribution Points, 100 Contribution Points needed 500 Enas to exchange. But even so, spending a little more than 10,000 Enas to purchase an Advanced Knowledge was far cheaper than the market price in the galaxy.

Before the update, these players had followed Han Xiao for six to seven missions. Taking away the repair fees and expenditure on new equipment, they still had twenty to thirty thousand Enas. Thus, they immediately contributed a large sum to Han Xiao the moment Version 2.0 began.

In less than five minutes, he earned more than 600,000 Enas!

Han Xiao felt a warm and cozy feeling in his heart.

Only if the players were rich would he be able to harvest them. This batch of players that he had taken into the galaxy was his first batch of crops. Han Xiao had already verified the feasibility of his plan, and this harvest was within his expectations.

For him to have Frenzied Sword and the others back, apart from letting them spend money and sucking their wallets dry, Han Xiao had another target. It was for them to become an example.

The other players did not have any money, so let them watch the rich people from afar and feel the difference.

Intentionally creating different social classes to create conflict. This move of Han Xiao’s was truly a dirty one. As Han Xiao observed the surroundings, he saw many players with faces full of envy and longing.

Originally, all of them had been poor peasants who did not have any money, but now that they saw Frenzied Sword and the others buying the items that they could not afford like a bunch of nouveau riche, a more intense desire was immediately ignited in their hearts. Even though Han Xiao had already whetted the appetites of the players to the point that they were drooling, Han Xiao did not mind taking out a few new dishes for them to see.

He was the most proficient in making them drool!

After settling the requests of Frenzied Sword and the others, the sky was getting dark, and the sun was setting.

Han Xiao did not continue to stay behind and gave Frenzied Sword and the others a mission to help the Sanctuary before leaving the plaza. He still had other things to do and would not stay there from day to night.

I should increase my level first. After the slight delay, I almost forgot about this matter.

Opening up the interface, Han Xiao threw all of the experience which he had just earned and finally heard the sound of him leveling up again.

_____________________

[War Mechanic] leveled up to Lv.20 (max).

+300 Energy, +3 DEX, +3 END, +5 INT.

You have received 6 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

_____________________

Your total level has reached 120. You have triggered the next phase of the Promotion Mission.

Level 120 Promotion Mission [Energy Secret]: Energy Level reach Level 10.

_____________________

Eh? It is actually this Promotion Mission.

Han Xiao’s brows were raised, and he was pretty surprised.

[Energy Secret] was not a common mission. It was not a difficult one since he did not need to battle, but it needed quite a bit of time. It required the character’s Energy Level to reach a certain standard, and this standard would definitely be higher than one’s current level.

Now that he was level 120, Han Xiao’s energy was at 8,360 points, and it was still level 9. This meant that his energy would give him the level 9 bonus stat. The concept of Energy Level could also be understood as something similar to the internal energy cultivation realms.

Whenever his energy hit a certain number of points, he would receive a new level of bonus stats. When he used his skills and exhausted energy, causing his energy to fall below a certain level, he would temporarily lose the bonus stat of that level, and his overall stats would temporarily be lowered. It was akin to him being exhausted in battle and causing his combat ability to decline.

One’s stats would be at their peak only when one’s energy was the most abundant.

Level 10 Energy Level required 9,000 points of energy, and Han Xiao was still a few hundred points away. This small gap was not difficult to fill. As long as he found one to two Energy Training Techniques and trained them up to the maximum, he would be able to complete the mission.

In his previous life, increasing one’s energy level had been a way to increase one’s strength after reaching max level. Many players would find NPCs to learn new Energy Training Techniques, hoping to reach a new Energy Level so that their stats would receive a great boost.

This Promotion Mission isn’t too difficult. Bennett, Herlous, or Harmon should have different Energy Training Techniques, and with our current relationship, the three of them shouldn’t reject sharing it with me…

Han Xiao nodded. Since the Promotion Mission was not difficult, he would save his Mission Completion Card to use later.

Apart from the Promotion Mission, there was also the Class Advancement Mission for his Mechanic class.

_____________________

Class Advancement Requirements: Learn any one of the following three High-End Knowledges and increase it to the maximum level: [Huge Duplex Machinery Technology], [Super Nanotechnology], or [Advanced Artificial Intelligence Technology].

Note: Your choice of knowledge will determine the outcome of your Class Advancement.

_____________________

This mission was within Han Xiao’s expectations. The next Class Advancement requirement of [War Mechanic] was fixed, and every Mechanic class player would have the same mission.

During the first Class Advancement mission of a Mechanic, they would face the choice between three different routes: Cannon Master, Mechanical Pugilist and Machinery Master. At this current phase, Mechanics faced another new choice. They would have to choose between the Armed, Control, or Energy branches to specialize in.

[Huge Duplex Machinery Technology] would be to walk down the path of large sized machinery, [Super Nanotechnology] walked down the path of nanotechnology, and [Advanced Artificial Intelligence Technology] would walk the path of virtual technology. All three paths had their own advantages and disadvantages, and one would still be able to learn the knowledge from the other subclasses after the Class Advancement. It was just that they would place an emphasis on different skills.

Just like how the knowledge of Cannon Masters, Mechanical Pugilists, and Machinery Masters was the same, but the skills that they obtained were different.

Furthermore, the biggest difference would be the number of Potential Points required to learn knowledge. For example, if one leaned toward the Armed Branch, the final two levels of High-End Knowledge of the other two branches would be thrice as much.

As for which branch he should choose, Han Xiao did not even need to hesitate. He wanted to pick the path of Virtual Technology.

There were a few reasons for that. First, he would definitely meet high ranked Mechanics in the future, and Virtual Technology would allow him to prevent his own machines from being controlled by the opponent. If not, his machines might end up being infiltrated and snatched by his enemy. In his previous life, he had suffered plenty of losses because of this. While the Armed and Energy Branches seemed extremely cool, they were not as important as the insignificant looking Virtual Technology. Regardless of how powerful his machines were, the moment his enemy infiltrated his machines, they were no different from scrap metal, and they might even end up attacking him.

Second was because Han Xiao was not afraid of the high cost of Potential Points. An ordinary player would find it impossible to learn all the knowledge of a class as the sky-high prices would cause them to despair. However, this was not impossible for Han Xiao.

As long as he had the huge experience farm called the players, his speed of collecting experience would be many times quicker than the players. As long as he increased all of his skills to their maximum levels, he could slowly save up Potential Points.

Thus, the negative impact was not that great for him.

I still have another 200,000,000 experience points. I won’t rush to complete my Class Advancement. I’ll first complete my Promotion Mission and accumulate more experience. At that time, I can level up in a single go.

Han Xiao looked at his level 120 stats and threw all of his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence. He had finally broken the barrier of 900 points. Following which, he closed the interface and returned to his residence.

An independent sector was carved out in the core region of the Sanctuary for him and the mercenaries to stay in.

Pa!

After making the last corner, Han Xiao suddenly stopped his footsteps. Bennett was waiting outside the door for him.

“Black Star, the Six Nations want to talk to you.” Bennett got straight to the point.

“They couldn’t keep still.”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed. After waiting for a day, the Six Nations had finally made a decision. It was now time for him to extort them.

The Six Nations in the past had sided with Godora, but now, he had the initiative in his hands and arrived before Godora.

His status today was different from before. Whether or not he could convert this novice planet into a long-term base would be determined by the outcome of this negotiation!

Chapter 518: The Bargaining Chip Is the Future

When the two of them entered the secret conference room, the upper echelons of the Six Nations had already been waiting for a while. The gigantic screen in the conference room showed the images of the Six Nations’ leaders. This was a long-distance video conference.

The moment that Han Xiao walked in, the upper echelons of the Six Nations began to size him up. Han Xiao then turned around and gave Bennett a look, and Bennett retreated to the side to indicate that he would not be participating in the negotiations.

“The leaders of Stardragon, Hesla, Raylen, Theseus, Maple, and Ordina, I believe that this should be our first meeting. Good evening, gentleman,” Han Xiao said with a calm tone.

“Hello, Black Phantom. More accurately, you should be called Black Star now. We noticed you a long time ago, and we are very happy to have this conversation.”

The leader of Stardragon replied with an amiable smile. Because Han Xiao had once worked for Stardragon’s intelligence agency, their relationship was the best, and the leader of Stardragon was the representative for this conference.

Han Xiao raised his brows. “I know what all of your intentions are. Just be straightforward.”

“Bennett understands our intentions, but we would like to have a personal conversation with you. Bennett said that the purpose of your return is to protect this planet and its inhabitants from being destroyed by the Mutation Disaster. You are a person of class, and we truly admire you. Just as you have observed, our citizens are living in threat and worry every day, and we hope to seek your aid through this meeting.”

The Stardragon leader did not beat about the bush and got straight to the point.

“What are your requests?”

“We hope that you can help restore our fractured social system and save our citizens who are in danger.”

“How do you want me to achieve that?” Han Xiao said patiently.

“After some discussion, we all hope that the Sanctuary can share the recipe of the suppressant and its raw materials with us, and send people to instruct us on the concoction process. At the same time, we hope to obtain a large amount of completed suppressant to solve our countries’ immediate needs. We will need to first recover our government building and army before trying to quarantine and save our citizens. As long as we can regain our strength, we will be able to prevent the situation from worsening. In this process, we hope to borrow the strength of your warriors and fleet. We will inform you again of our detailed plan.”

“Doesn’t sound too bad. You guys delayed contacting me for a day to discuss this plan, right?” Han Xiao said calmly without giving a reply. “Then, what kind of benefits will I gain?”

The leaders of the Six Nations were stunned for a moment. Didn’t you come back specially to stop the calamity? Didn’t you help the refugees unconditionally? Why are you talking about benefits now?

“Why are you so surprised?” Han Xiao raised his brows. “Isn’t this a trade? If there aren’t any benefits, don’t waste my time.”

“This… no one will be able to avoid the calamity, and fighting the calamity is everyone’s responsibility. Why would this be a trade? Didn’t you return to save the inhabitants of this planet?” The leader of Ordina interrupted.

“Indeed, but that isn’t what we’re talking about now.” Han Xiao folded his arms and continued. “All of you want to borrow my strength to restore your control over your nation. I help you restore stability to your nation, and you give me benefits in return. This is a fair trade. If not, why should I help all of you?”

“Helping us will allow more refugees to be saved. Isn’t this a reason?” the leader of Hesla said.

“Everyone has to die eventually, and it is a pipe dream to save everyone on the planet,” Han Xiao said. “You’ve all read my file before and know that I am not an idealist. My goal is to stop this calamity so that this planet will not be destroyed. Regardless of how many people die, I will be able to accept the outcome. Don’t make use of this to hold me hostage. I am not Bennett and am not as kind as him. This isn’t a chip that you guys can use to get me to do whatever you want.

“The life and death of your regime has nothing to do with me. I can just guard the Sanctuary and wait for refugees from all over the world to seek aid from me. They would not foolishly wait for their deaths in your nation. When all of your regimes are destroyed, I can then support the Sanctuary to become the new and sole ruler of the planet.”

Bennett opened his mouth and wanted to say something. He did not have the ambition to rule and did not agree with this point. However, after some hesitation, he decided to watch from the side and trust Han Xiao.

“I don’t deny that all of you do indeed intend to save your citizens. However, your biggest motive is to borrow our suppressants and my strength to prevent your regime from collapsing. This is something that you cannot deny.” Han Xiao shook his head and said coldly, “Since all of you are pleading for help, make sure you look like you are seeking aid. The one who has the right to make demands is me, not you guys.”

The leaders of the Six Nations were both angered and shocked. They had never imagined that Han Xiao would be so straightforward.

“No, I think you are misunderstanding something. You are not as important as you think,” Theseus’ leader said. “We have already sought aid from Godora, and they will arrive quickly. We are only seeking your aid so that we can save more people. Since you are so impolite with us, we cannot do anything. I hope that you remember that your rejection has caused many people who could have survived to die. They were all killed by you.”

Black Star was not their only hope, and the Six Nations were only testing Han Xiao’s attitude. In their hearts, they still trusted Godora more.

“We are all wise individuals, so don’t bother using such words as a threat. It is no more than a joke. Since you guys talked about being impolite…” Han Xiao shook his head and smiled. “Godora should be very polite with all of you, but apart from providing the knowledge required for the awakening of Supers, what other aid had they given to you?

“Not only did they not give all of you any aid, they even shook the order of society. It was Godora’s appearance that caused the war of hundred nations a few decades ago, causing the deaths of millions. Furthermore, the rescue force of Godora still has not arrived, am I right?”

The Six Nations’ delegates fell silent.

Han Xiao raised his brows and suddenly changed topics. With a teasing tone, he said, “A few years ago, I helped all of you win against the Germinal Organization. At that time, I did not participate in the meeting between all the upper echelons, but today, you took the initiative to contact me. Why is there such a drastic change in our status in just two short years? Why is there such a huge difference?”

The faces of the Six Nations’ leaders darkened, and they felt their hearts being stabbed.

They were only having a negotiation, and they could forget the matter if a consensus could not be reached. But why did he have to pour salt in their wounds!

What a cruel guy!

“All of you can only hug Godora’s thighs as though they are your ancestors. Even if all of you don’t understand the other party, you still have to coax them with an amiable tone and humble yourselves like their grandchildren. As for me, not only do I understand their civilization, I have even worked together with them before. We have a good working relationship, and I can even contact their upper echelons. Can any of you do that?”

The faces of the leaders were completely black. This was a truth that they all understood. As leaders, how could they be willing not to hold any authority in their hands? However, the gap between the two civilizations forced them to lower their heads.

They did not know about Black Star’s achievements in the galaxy, but if Han Xiao was speaking the truth, then Black Star’s strength was far more powerful than they had imagined.

Han Xiao knocked on the table and said, “If Godora helps you to deal with the Mutation Disaster, they will definitely depart on their spaceships the very next moment, leaving behind the aftermath of the disaster. All of you will still be citizens of a backward planet, and nothing will change. Hope that Godora will take all of you into the galaxy? You know that this is impossible.”

The gazes of the leaders changed, and they all knew that what Han Xiao said was the truth. Godora would save them from the calamity but would definitely not help them to develop. They were all extremely clear about this. It was just like how Godora gave them a Galactic Communicator but locked more than ninety-nine percent of its functions. They could only contact Godora unilaterally but would not be able to understand the galaxy.

Even if the Mutation Disaster was resolved, they would have to clean up the mess on their own. Not only would they be unable to advance, their weak civilization might even regress.

Han Xiao did not stop there and continued, “If you want to talk to me on equal grounds, all of you have to enter the galaxy at the very least. However, your technology is a few hundred years lacking before you can become a member of the galaxy. Are all of you going to place your hopes in a technological boom that would take a miracle to happen? Are you resigned to such a fate?”

“What exactly do you mean?” the Stardragon leader said.

“Don’t you understand? Only me. Your only hope is me!” Han Xiao slapped the table hard as he raised his voice. “I am your only choice because I am the only person from Planet Aquamarine who is in the galaxy. Only I am willing to help you develop!”

The leaders of the Six Nations were dumbfounded.

“You, what you mean is…”

“Accept reality. I am not negotiating about disaster relief but about the future!”

Han Xiao placed his arms behind his back as he pressured the leaders of the Six Nations with his charisma.

In his previous life, while the players had managed to complete the Mutation Disaster Main Storyline Mission, they had dragged the mission for too long. When Godora solved the Mutation Disaster, the Six Nations had already collapsed, and there had only been darkness left behind in the civilization. The citizens who had lost their homes could only struggle on for their lives.

Because Godora discovered the player’s special potential through the process of fighting the disaster, Godora had set up a stronghold in the almost destroyed Planet Aquamarine to receive the never-ending stream of new Inhumans.

Han Xiao leaned toward protecting the Six Nations. No matter what, it was much better to have a mature regime rule over the place as it would make it much easier for any organization to function on the planet. Planet Aquamarine was a novice planet, and if Han Xiao could construct a base there, he would be able to have an endless stream of players.

Those words of his immediately stirred up a storm in the hearts of the Six Nations’ leaders. They all fell silent and began thinking about the pros and cons.

Han Xiao’s words had truly moved them. While Godora was powerful, they were aliens after all and not their kind.

Black Star, who was from Planet Aquamarine, was truly one of them!

Even if they did not want to admit it, their rationality told them that this was the only chance for them to change the fate of their civilization.

“What do you want?” The tone of the Raylen’s leader was hoarse.

“My words are already very clear, and all of you know what I want. Even if you don’t wish to give it to me, I can take it myself.”

“Your ambitions are too large…”

“Trust me, the vastness of the galaxy is worth this little sacrifice. You will not regret your choice of purchasing this ticket. You will only regret it for life if you miss this opportunity.”

Buzz!

The screen suddenly turned black.

Bennett was still in a state of shock as he asked, “Did they reject?”

“No.”

Han Xiao’s lips curled up slightly. “They are discussing.”

Bennett looked at Han Xiao and said with a complicated gaze, “You have changed.”

“I haven’t changed.” Han Xiao shrugged and casually said, “It’s just impossible to understand every side of a person.”

Bennett did not reply anymore with his heart in a complete mess. Black Star wanted to become the ruler of the entire planet! Could it be that the motive for his return was not to save people but to rule over the planet‽

He did not know whether Han Xiao’s actions were right or not. History had proven the tragedy of gathering authority in a single person’s hands many times. He had seen the desolate outcome of far too many ambitious individuals. The source of a disaster was very often an inflated desire.

Time seemed to have passed by very slowly, and after waiting for ten minutes, the screen finally lit up again.

The leaders of the Six Nations appeared and looked at Han Xiao with a complicated gaze.

“As long as you are able to fulfil your promise, we are willing to satisfy all of your requests. We will use all of our strength and listen to your orders.

“We accept your conditions!”

The Six Nations truly did not have much of a choice in this matter. As long as a single regime accepted Han Xiao’s proposal, the other nations would fall behind if they did not accept it. Stardragon was the first to display their willingness to submit, and after some discussion, the other five nations also agreed. Black Star had already entered the galaxy, and it was not embarrassing for them to submit to him.

One party was always high up on their thrones and treated them like dogs. The other party was one of their kind and promised to help them. Since they wanted to hug someone’s thigh, they would definitely choose the latter.

They did not ask Han Xiao in detail what he could give them because they were extremely clear that they did not have such rights. This was not a fair trade as they did not have any chips in their hands. It was just as Han Xiao had said. Even if they were not willing to give, he could take it himself!

This was just Han Xiao pitying them!

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief in his heart and was pretty happy. However, he maintained his calm expression and said with a smile, “My men will land in your territories soon and aid you in restoring order.”

The leaders nodded.

“Since we have come to a consensus, tell me a small nugget of intelligence first.” Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. “Where is the Bell of Death Island?”

Chapter 519: Bell of Death Island (1)

Bell of Death Island was a secret base built jointly by the Six Nations, and they managed it together. Its coordinates were an absolute secret, and one could only enter but not exit. The criminals locked up in it were all special criminals. Some of them were their political enemies, some were traitors of the nation, and some were Supers who broke the law. While the people who were locked up were different, one thing was common among all of them. Their crimes were not simple, and they definitely would not be simple serial killers.

Without having a particular talent, they would not have the rights to be locked up in Bell of Death Island.

Many of the criminals in this place had committed innumerable crimes, and the only reason that the Six Nations had kept them alive and locked them up in this god forsaken place was because of their talents. The Six Nations hoped to wring them dry for all they were worth.

It could also be understood that the Bell of Death Island was a place where the Six Nations kept their talents; the place was brimming with talents.

A small portion of the criminals came to an agreement with the Six Nations and used themselves in exchange for better treatment. However, the majority of the criminals refused to submit and would mock all the negotiators sent by the Six Nations. They were extremely brutal and cruel with even the prison wardens being afraid of them. Many of the criminals had a complete ban to prevent people from even approaching them.

Just yesterday, the Six Nations had lost contact with the Bell of Death Island. With the entire planet being swept up by a calamity, the Six Nations were not able to protect themselves, let alone the Bell of Death Island.

The Six Nations did not know that the Bell of Death Island was also affected by the Mutation Disaster. The prison wardens had broken out in illness and thrown all of their responsibilities to the back of their heads.

There were some prison wardens who had even opened up the metal gates of the criminals, and it was as though they had just released a ferocious beast.

…

Puchi.

Human blood was sprayed all along the grayish metal corridor, and the large lightbulb in the middle of the room was covered with a huge blotch of blood on it, causing the entire walkway to be covered in a red eerie light.

A two-meter-tall Sharnuk threw the corpse of a warden that had been cleaved in two onto the ground.

The burly Sharnuk was half naked with his muscles bulging out, covered in scars from battle and the natural vein lines of a Sharnuk. He was a baldie. More accurately speaking, all the male prisoners had been shaved bald.

The burly man flicked away the blood on his hands, and looking back, the corpse of more than ten prison guards could be seen, including the prison warden in charge of the region. A few hundred empty golden cartridges were littered all over the ground, and there were a few rifles that had been crushed. A bloody stench had filled the entire room.

The prisoners were all locked up in individual cells, and the distance between each cell was a few hundred meters. At the end of both sides of the metal corridor was a thick metal door, and every cell was located in a sealed-up corridor.

There was not a single window in the corridor, and as the burly man tried to ram his fists into the walls, he was only able to leave a slight dent on the wall. He only had two options before him—he could either walk forward or walk back.

Ever since he was locked in this place, he had never left his cell before and naturally did not know how to find his way around the place. He could not be bothered to change into the tight clothes of the prison guards and looked at the camera in the corner of the corridor.

“Suddenly opening up my cell, and there isn’t anyone stopping me even now. Hmm? There is a trace of danger in the air. Just what has happened in this place?” the burly man muttered to himself.

Being locked up in the Bell of Death Island, none of the prisoners had access to any information and naturally did not know what was going on outside.

Without any hesitation, the burly man decided to walk forward. After a few hundred meters, he was stopped by a metal door. After feeling the thickness of the door, he took a deep breath and pulled his right fist back.

With his muscles bulging out, he smashed his huge fist on the door.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After twenty or so heavy blows, a deep circular dent was created on the metal door. As the man rammed into the door with his shoulder, this metal door was immediately shattered, and the corridor was opened for him.

Walking forward for a short distance, he finally saw the prison cell in this corridor. In front of the cell were the corpses of a few prison guards, and the prisoners had already escaped from the cell. There was pretty much no chance for anyone to get to know the other inmates, and the burly man was no exception. He did not know who his ‘neighbor’ was either.

He did not think any further and continued to walk forward. Very quickly, he saw another metal door, but this door already had a large hole in it. It had obviously been created by his neighbor, who had also met with some good luck.

The burly man did not stop there and continued walking past a few more cells. There were some cells without any corpses, but all of the doors to the cells were opened. They were obviously saved by his neighbor. The doors along the way had been smashed through, and he was able to pass through without any obstructions.

Very quickly, he began to pick up his pace so that he could catch up to the person in front of him.

After running for a short while and passing through a door, the never-ending walkways finally ended, and there was a large hall in front of him instead. In the middle of the hall was a grayish black metal cylindrical tube that connected the ground to the ceiling. This was an elevator well that was currently surrounded by inmates. Upon hearing the footsteps of the burly man, they all turned behind to take a look.

“Another lucky one. One who escaped on his own.” A skinny, middle-aged man walked out from the crowd of prisoners and sized the burly man up before saying, “If you are not one of the prisoners that I missed along the way, you should be my neighbor on the other side. Let me introduce myself, I am called Shijake, a high-level Executive Officer of the Germinal Organization. I was caught eleven years ago.”

“A member of the Germinal Organization? No wonder you were caught.” The burly man nodded. “I am called Tyne, and it has been four years since I was caught. What happened in the prison? Why did they release us all? Furthermore, there isn’t anyone coming forward to stop us.”

“I don’t know either, but since there isn’t anyone to stop us, this is the best chance for us to escape.” Shijake pointed at the prisoners behind him. “They all have various abilities, and there are even some who know the geography of the Bell of Death Island. They can lead us out of here.”

A skinny man then walked out and pointed at his head. “I once hacked into the top-secret database of the Six Nations and saw the blueprints of the Bell of Death Island. Even though it was only a few seconds, I have memorized about sixty to seventy percent of the information and can put it to good use now. Humph, this is also the reason I was caught.

“In any case, the Bell of Death Island isn’t a small island in the seas, and its name is extremely misleading. Its true location is beneath a mountain range. The Six Nations made use of a natural underground cave to build this underground prison. There is a total of thirteen levels, and every level has a circular walkway with many cells along it. The exterior of the cell is covered with a thick layer of steel and cement, and even a nuclear missile would not be able to blow it up. Neither the top layer nor the bottommost layer is the exit, and the only exit is located on one of the middle levels. Furthermore, its location is extremely concealed, and the underground walkway is extremely long.”

“Since everyone wants to escape from here, why not you work together with us?” Shijake suggested.

Tyne nodded and said, “What are your plans?”

“The prison guards have not reacted to the escape of prisoners from our level, and it is extremely likely that something special is holding them back. If the other prisoners have also broken out, it is extremely likely for them to go to the top level.” Shijake revealed a cruel smile. “After being shut in for so many years, it is time to regain some interest from the prison guards.”

Tyne frowned but did not say a word.

All of them took the elevator up to the top floor, and the moment the lift door opened up, a dense, bloody smell assaulted them. The lift was surrounded by the corpses of the prison guards. The old prison warden of the region was lying in the corner with his abdomen cut opened and all of his intestines pulled out. His intestines had tied up his neck, and he had actually been strangled to death in an extremely cruel manner.

However, Shijake and the others remained unfazed. There was not a single friendly character among the prisoners, and none of them were fazed by the cruel sight.

Another group of prisoners covered with blood were currently waiting for the lift. It was obvious that the situation before them was their handiwork.

“There are actually others who had escaped?” The other group of prisoners were being led by a man who was disfigured by a burn mark. Licking his lips, he sneered, “Hehe, you guys have missed out on the fun. Apart from us, no one else is still alive.”

Shijake’s eyes narrowed. He knew the origins of this disfigured man. This disfigured man was an extremely cruel Super who had committed many crimes that made one’s hair stand on edge. Even he did not dare provoke the man before him for no good reason and thus said, “How about we work together? We know how to escape.”

After thinking for a while, the disfigured man reluctantly replied, “Humph, alright.”

The two groups quickly came to an agreement and began to sweep the prison level by level to clean up all the remaining prison guards and save the other prisoners.

The group of prisoners grew larger and larger, and their group already had a few hundred people. With all the prisoners being released, the entire prison was very quickly soaked with blood, and all the prison guards were extremely vulnerable before them.

Originally, the Bell of Death Island had many defensive mechanisms, and they even had a self-destruct switch to prevent the prisoners from escaping. However, when the prisoners arrived at the control room, they realized that the entire control room was a complete mess. The prison guards who were supposed to be keeping watch had broken out in a fight, and the dozen prison guards were all riddled with bullets with all of them perishing together.

No wonder no one had stopped them.

“Did all of these prison guards break out in internal conflict?”

All of them had a face full of doubt and felt as though they were dreaming.

After being locked up for so long, they had regained their freedom in such an odd manner.

Why would the prison guards fight each other?

This matter was filled with oddities!

Due to the lack of information, the prisoners did not know about the Mutation Disaster. It was only because many of the prison guards had suddenly broken out in illness that they had been able to escape so successfully. Regardless of how strong a castle was, it would be easily destroyed from within.

After getting rid of all the prison guards, the few hundred prisoners rested in the large hall of the elevator well. Only then did they have the time to size each other up.

Many of them had once been infamous criminals with their notoriety spreading all across the world. Many of them had heard about each other’s fame and were wary of each other.

Not a single one of them could be easily provoked.

There were also a few new criminals who had been caught recently and thus were not recognized by the rest. The majority of the prisoners had been locked up in the Bell of Death Island for many years, with a decade or two being extremely common. They had been blocked off from the world for far too long and were not up to date on the changes in the outside world.

Tyne was one of these ‘newbies’, and no one knew of his origins.

Because they were all wary of each other, many of the hot-tempered prisoners had reined in their tempers. In this environment where the powerful reigned supreme, even the most arrogant criminals would lower their heads. After all, while they were cruel, they were not stupid and did not have any intention of creating trouble for themselves. They only wanted to escape from prison before going their own ways and never seeing each other again.

After fumbling around for a moment, the prisoners finally found the tunnel to escape. This was a man-made tunnel that cut through the entire mountain range.

After walking for about two hours with all the prisoners growing impatient, they finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel and could smell the fresh air of the outside world.

“We’re out!”

All of them were overjoyed and sped up toward the exit of the tunnel.

They were currently at the edge of the mountain range, and the exit was an extremely insignificant looking cave. The surroundings of the cave were filled with thick vegetation, and the leaves rustled in the wind.

The sky was clear, and they felt the warmth of the sun shining down on them. The feeling of freedom filled their hearts, and many of them took in greedy breaths of air. They all felt as though they were reborn at that moment.

They had finally escaped after remaining in captivity for such a long time, and their suppressed anger and ambition exploded like a volcano. While they did not understand the changes in the world, many of the criminals were eager to revert to their old ways and cause chaos in the outside world.

Right at that moment, a foreign voice was heard.

“What a coincidence, meeting all of you right after my arrival. I thought that you would have escaped by now.”

Han Xiao was leaning against a tree as he looked at the prisoners.

The prisoners immediately looked over with cautiousness as they sized Han Xiao up. They all felt that Han Xiao was extremely foreign, and the majority of them did not recognize him.

“Who are you?” the disfigured man growled.

“You can call me Black Phantom. That was my past alias.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Black Phantom?” the disfigured man sneered. “Humph, which hole did you jump out from? I’ve never heard of a character like you.”

Bang!

A thick light flashed.

The next moment, everything above the neck of the disfigured man disappeared, and the headless corpse collapsed onto the ground.

Han Xiao gestured with his finger, and the Floating Cannon Array circulated around him like an obedient pet. When facing those vicious criminals, he did not feel like talking to them slowly.

“Have you heard of me now?”

Chapter 520: Bell of Death Island (2)

“What‽”

“Impossible!”

The dull thud of the headless corpse collapsing onto the ground was like a hammer on their hearts. All the prisoners present were in a state of complete shock!

This disfigured prisoner was a ferocious individual who had killed countless individuals before. He was extremely cruel, and his powerful strength made it such that all the other prisoners dared not provoke him along the way. He was a top expert on Planet Aquamarine. However, to think that he had actually been killed in the blink of an eye without even a chance to fight back!

All of them looked at Han Xiao with shock.

How could there be such a powerful person in the world‽

Upon witnessing this scene, Han Xiao frowned and said with disappointment, “That can’t be right. Do none of you baldies know my name?”

Your name… Black Phantom?

All of the prisoners stared at each other in silence. They had been locked up in prison for too long and truly had not heard of this name before. The prison guards definitely would not reveal any news about the outside to them, and only a small number of prisoners who had been locked up recently had experienced the destruction of the Germinal Organization.

Tyne came out from the crowd and said with a solemn tone, “Black Phantom, real name Han Xiao. A traitor of Germinal Organization and also the key reason behind the Germinal Organization’s destruction. You are the most famous individual who incited war in the past five years and also the person who created the situation of peace in the Six Nations. Furthermore, your strength is above that of all the famed warriors, and you are at the peak of Planet Aquamarine. Your strength is above the three traditional realms, and your strength represents the fourth realm!”

He knew about Han Xiao. However, his knowledge was limited to the news before Han Xiao left the planet.

“At least there is someone with eyes…” Han Xiao then turned around, but before he could say a word, a gasp of shock sounded.

“What‽ Germinal Organization has been destroyed‽”

Shijake had a look of disbelief.

He was an Executive Officer of the Germinal Organization who had been imprisoned for eleven years and one of the leader’s right-hand men. Before he was caught, Germinal Organization had still been at the peak of its strength, and he had always believed that the leader would lead Germinal Organization to completing their goal. However, he never could have imagined that after being locked up for over ten years and finally regaining his freedom, he would hear about the Germinal Organization being destroyed.

Not just him, there were a couple of other prisoners who were extremely shocked.

My goodness, just what happened while we were locked up‽

“Since someone knows me, I shall not bother wasting my breath.” Han Xiao was gratified. His gaze then swept past the prisoners before him, and he found many familiar faces.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Shijake had returned to Germinal Organization after his escape, which had not been decimated by a nuclear bomb in that timeline. He had created a great deal of trouble during the Mutation Disaster, and in order to fight against Godora, which the Six Nations leaned toward, he had stood on the side of DarkStar.

With Germinal Organization being destroyed, it did not only affect the storyline of Version 1.0 but also affected Version 2.0. Originally, the players in the Germinal Organization had been granted a channel to enter the galaxy, but this path had been cut off by Han Xiao. There was no Germinal Organization camp anymore, and DarkStar had also lost the cannon fodder that they should have had.

Tyne was an important character in the Mutation Disaster of Version 2.0. He had been the first to find the Mutation Source in Han Xiao’s previous life and had been possessed by the mutation source. Because he shared the intense desire that the Mutation Source had for energy, he had not been able to control himself and sucked up energy from wherever he could. This had resulted in the Mutation Source growing rapidly and speeding up the progress of the Mutation Disaster. He had been a large enemy of the players and the main antagonist.

The Mutation Source had a great desire for energy, and while it could move around on its own, its movement speed was too slow. Thus, it would possess a human body to gain a tool to harvest energy. While the Mutation Source was capable of affecting an individual’s actions through hormones, it was not able to control the thoughts and actions of an infected individual. Thus, the Mutation Source was not able to make use of the infected individuals to transfer a large amount of energy over to it.

Apart from the two of them, the other prisoners had also set off storms in Planet Aquamarine and become new targets for the players exterminate.

Han Xiao had gone to Bell of Death Island early just so that he could get rid of this wildcard to ensure that his plans would not be affected. Hiring them was only something that he was doing in passing. The strength of Planet Aquamarine’s Supers could no longer keep up with him, and only a couple of prisoners who had some special traits were worth anything to him. Just like Emerald Grass.

According to his understanding of the prisoners in Bell of Death Island, they were an unruly and untamable bunch, so he did not plan to subdue them with reason. After arriving, Han Xiao had used a large life force radar to scan the place and noticed a large number of living beings moving underground. As such, he had decided to wait at the entrance and catch all the prisoners in one fell swoop. The anti-surveillance device of the Six Nations was full of loopholes and like a weak sheet of paper before his equipment.

“What are your motives?”

The prisoners displayed looks of wariness.

“Don’t talk so much cr*p. A calamity is sweeping over Planet Aquamarine, and every talent is extremely important. I found out the location of the prison from the Six Nations, and I am here to give all of you a chance to redeem yourselves and contribute to society.”

“Impossible! The Six Nations would never reveal the location of this secret prison!” someone cried out.

Han Xiao raised his brows and added, “Oh, the Six Nations are now under my command.”

Everyone was speechless.

How could the Six Nations listen to an individual’s commands? This fellow was definitely trying to scare them. Even if he wanted to brag, he should be more realistic in his bragging. Did he think that they were idiots?

“Who cares about you? This daddy here isn’t interested at all!”

“I am not requesting for aid.” Han Xiao stretched his arms and said emotionlessly, “Taking into account all of your destructive capabilities, in order to prevent the situation from becoming worse, I will not allow those who reject me to leave alive. Thus, you either submit or die.”

“Hehehe… what a braggart. What a frightening threat. However, I am not afraid of you.”

At this moment, a man with a spider tattoo walked out from the crowd without a trace on fear on his face. “Kill me if you have the ability.”

The eyes of the other prisoners lit up. This fellow was Black Spider, who was extremely famous for being difficult to deal with. He has a type of doppelganger Esper ability, and the moment he was killed, he would be revived in a doppelganger hidden somewhere else.

Black Spider had always felt that he had an undying body, so he was extremely arrogant and unafraid of danger.

“It’s you.” Han Xiao nodded. He had dealt with Black Spider before, and this fellow had been sent to Bell of Death Island because of him.

Without waiting for Black Spider to continue acting arrogantly, Han Xiao used his Hila Character Summon Card straight away and launched a mental attack without saying a word.

Black Spider’s body shook, and blood oozed out from his mouth and nose. Collapsing on the ground, he raised his head with great difficulty and said with a malevolent smile, “Hehe, I am an undying being. Just you wait. I will find you again one day, and I will be your eternal nightmare!”

The next moment, he took his last breath and passed away on the spot with a malevolent smile on his face.

Black Spider was not afraid of physical death as his living state was a ball of mental energy. As such, mental attacks were his Achilles heel. In Han Xiao’s previous life, he had died by Hila’s hand, and today, he died due to Hila’s abilities again.

Black Spider did not know that he was truly dead this time.

Even at the point of his death, he had thought that he would still wake up but did not know that his consciousness had already fallen into darkness. It was impossible for him to open his eyes again.

“This is the first time I’ve heard such a request. I destroyed his soul, so he won’t be able to revive again.” Han Xiao shrugged.

Huuu!

Before waiting for the prisoners to react, Han Xiao shot out a couple of compressed orbs, and they opened up into a large silver mechanical palm that was seven to eight meters big.

[G75-Type Claws], a blueprint of the Mechanic Class. A large mechanical arm like this was very commonly used, and it was controlled through the nerves, thus allowing the user to operate it as though it was his own limb. There were many different models, and they all had different configurations. Boosted by a Mechanic’s Mechanical Force, the stats and the might of the claw were not to be underestimated. Apart from being used as a combat ability, it could also be used as a large assistant tool. If a mechanic wanted to build a spaceship, his own two hands would be far too inefficient, and the aid of such machines would be extremely important.

In the past year, Han Xiao had been left with more than enough time to forge equipment and had prepared a large stock of equipment.

The bottom of the mechanical claw suddenly spewed out flames, and it flew out more than a hundred meters before slamming down on an empty plot of land like a palm descending from the heavens.

Boom!

The earth trembled, and a thick layer of soil and dust was kicked up into the air. A crater in the shape of a palm could also be seen in the ground with cracks expanding out in all directions like a spider web.

The mechanical hand then grabbed a large handful of soil and threw it in front of the prisoners. Apart from the sound of the soil falling onto the ground, a large thud of a heavy object landing could be heard with the smell of blood assaulting their noses. While the prisoners could not see anything apart from the soil, all their faces blanched.

They knew that there was an invisible fellow in their group—the Invisible Demon!

“You can’t escape from my eyes even if you are invisible.” Han Xiao controlled the mechanical arm to float above his head. “Don’t even think about trying your luck.”

Han Xiao had already spotted the presence of the Invisible Demon, which he had not expected to find. The Invisible Demon had fought Han Xiao before and was extremely wary of Han Xiao. Thus, he had planned to make use of the opportunity when Han Xiao’s attention was fixed on the prisoners to discreetly leave. However, he had ended up being crushed by a mechanical palm instead.

With Han Xiao’s current strength, getting rid of the Invisible Demon was as easy as swatting a fly.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was able to wipe out the entire Planet Aquamarine with the strength of a single person!

Those powerful criminals in the eyes of ordinary folks were no more than third rate galactic wanderers in his eyes.

“Alright, alright. Hurry up and give me an answer. My time is very precious.”

Han Xiao snapped his fingers. The Floating Cannon Array instantly surrounded the prisoners, and the fingers on the mechanical claw turned into five large barrels, accumulating energy for an attack.

The prisoners had unreconciled looks on their faces. After finally managing to escape, they had actually met someone powerful enough to send them into despair. They had just come out from the wolf’s den but entered into the tiger’s cave the next moment. With Black Phantom’s strength, even if all of them attacked together, they would surely be wiped out.

The situation was not within their control, and the prisoners had no choice but to swallow their anger and submit. However, not a single one of them willingly submitted, and they were all planning their next move.

Pretend to submit to him and escape when we have the chance. Many prisoners had such a thought.

After doing a headcount, Han Xiao said, “The number of fatalities is fewer than I imagined. Looks like all of you know what the right decision to make is. Follow me back to the Sanctuary. Board the ship.”

Board the ship? What ship? Shouldn’t we be taking a plane?

The crowd was stunned.

Hum!

The sky then began contorting, and a gigantic spaceship appeared in the clear sky. Han Xiao had arrived there on a spaceship, but it had been in stealth mode. The stealth mode had just been deactivated, and thus, the prisoners were only able to see the gigantic spaceship at that moment. It was akin to a castle floating in space!

The jaws of all the prisoners dropped, and they fell into a daze.

My goodness, the ship that you were referring to is a spaceship‽

While they knew that Han Xiao was extremely powerful, because of their lack of information and preconceived notions, they had thought that Han Xiao was still a member of Planet Aquamarine and had never considered the galaxy. At that moment, the appearance of this spaceship had shattered their world view and was completely out of their expectations!

They originally did not believe that the Six Nations would submit to Han Xiao, but upon witnessing the scene before them, that belief wavered.

All the prisoners no longer had any thoughts of escaping as they boarded the spaceship with bitter expressions. In front of Han Xiao, the ferocious criminals had become docile sheep.

When the final prisoner walked up to Han Xiao’s side, he suddenly stopped by the hatch of the spaceship and looked at Han Xiao with hesitation. “Do you remember me?”

Han Xiao paused for a moment and studied the prisoner before him carefully before gasping. “Hannes‽”

“That’s right.” Hannes laughed bitterly.

“What are you doing here? Bennett and I thought you went missing!” Han Xiao had a face full of shock. He had a hidden mission that had been issued by Hannes called [New Era—Origin], and his job was to dig out the secret behind Planet Aquamarine’s history.

Before Han Xiao left Planet Aquamarine, he had reached the third phase of the mission. However, because of Hannes’ sudden disappearance, there had been no subsequent clue. Since the mission had not failed, Han Xiao had a feeling that Hannes was still alive.

Hannes being locked up in the Bell of Death Island was completely out of Han Xiao’s expectations.

“It’s a long story.” Hannes shook his head helplessly. “I found a shocking secret, and this secret brought me into grave danger. The others are dead, and I am the only one alive.”

Han Xiao frowned and guessed, “Since you were locked up in the Bell of Death Island, is the culprit the Six Nations? You found a secret that they wanted to hide?”

“No.” Hannes shook his head. “While the Six Nations did catch me, I was on the verge of death at that time. They saved my life instead.”

“So, why are you locked up?”

Hannes laughed bitterly. “Perhaps it is because of a dead Godoran beside me.”

“What‽” Han Xiao was stunned. “Why would you meet a Godoran?”

“Sigh, let’s talk on the ship. You already have a spaceship now, and you are truly different from before. Perhaps only you will be able to make use of the clue that I found…”

Hannes clenched his fists with a suppressed fury in his voice.

“My guess is, there is indeed a mastermind behind the war riddled state of Planet Aquamarine, and Godora is the source of the war!”

Chapter 521: Tracing Back to Origins, One Final Link

Bell of Death Island was on another continent, and it would take about an hour to return to the Sanctuary. While a spaceship had to limit its speed within the atmosphere of a planet, it was still much faster than an airplane.

After Han Xiao settled all the little b*stards of Bell of Death Island into a guest room, he found Hannes and continued the previous conversation.

Hannes began to narrate what had happened after he went missing. After the end of the Germinal Organization battle, he had led the groups of archaeologists on a journey to seek out new secrets. Because Han Xiao had let the players complete a large number of missions, Hannes had managed to receive a fair amount of new information. He had then found a suspicious point in the large sea of record scrolls, and the evidence had actually pointed to the battle of a hundred nations on Planet Aquamarine.

In the past, Planet Aquamarine had housed over a hundred nations, and while there had been small skirmishes, they had been largely peaceful. They had all been curious about the universe, and Godora’s appearance had brought about news of the universe. Knowing that the large number of nations on the planet would only slow down the development of the civilization and waste a great deal of resources, the state of the planet had begun to shift.

All the nations had taken a different stance, but none of them had been willing to give up their authority. Even if they knew that choosing to do so would result in a tragic future, before the tragedy truly arrived, they had all chosen to be short sighted. In the end, the friction between the nations had grown, and war had become the only way out.

As such, this theory had caused a world war to break out, and many nations had been eradicated in the war. Finally, only Six Nations had been left behind, and they had all begun to reorganize the resources of the entire planet. However, the negative effects of the war still had not worn off.

Hannes did not think that a single theory would result in a war between over a hundred nations. He was very certain that there must have been someone controlling the situation from behind the scenes. After much searching, he had finally made new progress in his search, but it had also resulted in a tragedy.

“The evidence led us to an underground cave in the Somar Desert. There was a large golden statue in the cave, and you will never believe what I saw. That golden statue actually began moving and launched attacks on us. Its strength was unrivaled, and our attacks weren’t able to harm it in the slightest.”

“And then?” Han Xiao asked.

“We fought a long battle with the statue, but it was indestructible and could even shoot lasers. My comrades all died in battle. The war didn’t reap their lives, but they actually died there…”

Hannes grit his teeth and continued, “I was also severely injured and thought that my death was certain. However, the statue suddenly stopped, and the entire cave suddenly turned golden. Only then did I find out that the rocky walls of the cave were actually a disguise. On the golden wall was an oval shaped container the size of a human being. A Godoran then walked out from the container and squatting in front of me. He asked how I found the place.”

“Continue, I’m listening.”

“At that time, my breathing was weak, and thus, the other party was extremely close to me. I acted as though I was severely injured and tried to communicate with him. I asked him who he was and why a Godoran would be left behind on Planet Aquamarine. However, he seemed to disdain giving me an answer and wanted to stand up and leave. The statue then moved again, and it was about to raise its arms up to smash me to death.

“I didn’t have a choice. I could only take a chance and attack with all of my strength. However, I never expected that the Godoran would not dodge my attack and was killed by a single fist. He was actually an ordinary person. After he died, the statue stopped moving, and I fainted from my injuries.

“After who knows how long, a special agent squad arrived at the cave and found me on the verge of death. They seemed to have found the cave by following my tracks, and everything inside the cave was seized by them. Because the matter involved Godora, I was sent to Bell of Death Island for interrogation.”

“Why do you think that Godora is the one behind the scenes with just this information?”

“It isn’t a wild guess, of course. Prison is the best place to think, and I have been connecting the dots in my mind. Furthermore, there must be a reason for a Godoran staying behind on Planet Aquamarine. I suspect that while Godora isn’t interfering with Planet Aquamarine on the surface, they have always been monitoring us and interrupting the progress of our civilization. While I do not understand Godora, I know that only benefits are absolute, and they definitely have some reasons to do so.”

“It may not be as you think. A single person cannot represent an entire civilization. Besides, Godora also have another golden skinned enemy force,” Han Xiao said after pondering for a moment. “I have a pretty good relationship with Godora, and I may be able to find some people to investigate this matter. Can you give me any clues?”

“I remember the appearance of that Godoran and everything in the cave.” Hannes took out a few pieces of paper and began drawing.

The appearance of the Godoran was very clear, and Han Xiao took a picture of it with his communicator. With his relationship with Godora, it was extremely simple for him to ask them to check on a portrait.

He then looked at Hannes’ sketch of the statue. It was the shape of a humans but had four arms and no facial features. Instead, it had two lines of three holes where one’s eyes would be, which were glowing with a golden light.

Upon seeing the drawing, Han Xiao let out a gasp.

“This is a type of Mojo Puppet, a product of Godora’s mages. It is easily purchased, but the price to forge it is pretty expensive. If you aren’t a mage, you can only destroy the puppet by smashing the statue. With your strength, it would be extremely difficult for you to smash a combat machine of the galactic level. This Mojo Puppet should be the Godoran’s guard, and the place where the Godoran was staying should be a life sustaining chamber. It is likely that the chamber was connected to the web. If I have time, I will ask the Six Nations if I can study that item.”

Hannes grabbed onto Han Xiao’s hands and pleaded, “This is the only clue, and it will only be of use in your hands. I can only count on you. I no longer have anything to repay you with and can only hope that you will help me based on our old friendship. I really want to get to the bottom of this mystery and find out who is the source of the calamity!”

A notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface indicating that the third phase of [New Era—Origin] was completed. The mission gave him a few million experience points, and he successfully entered into the next phase. The interface also showed that this was the last phase of the mission, and there was only a single mission requirement, which was to find the truth. However, the only clue that they had was the Godoran’s portrait.

No wonder this is a hidden Grade A mission. It’s linked to two different versions, and one would have to be on friendly terms with Godora to follow up on this clue. Thus, this mission can only be continued in Version 2.0. Han Xiao’s eyes glowed.

The reward was naturally plentiful, giving him a few million experience points. However, the Great Mechanic Han had the large market of the players and needed experience the least.

Apart from experience, there were a few Free Attribute Points, Potential Points, a chance for a Random Reward, and a unique Medal of Honor, which only Grade A missions had. This item was able to strengthen all of his attributes. Because he had handed this mission over to his contract workers who would work without complaints, all the mission requirements of every phase had been completed. His mission evaluation would definitely be very high, and he would definitely be able to get the Medal of Honor.

This would be his second Medal of Honor.

Han Xiao began planning his next move in his heart. If the one who started the war in Planet Aquamarine was truly Godora, information of this individual would definitely be top secret. Recklessly trying to fish for information would only alert Godora.

“I should just wait for the Godoran troops to reach Planet Aquamarine before planning my next step. The one leading the team should be Nagakin, and it will be much easier to talk to someone I know.”

Han Xiao shook his head and was not too bothered by the outcome. After all, the struggles of a civilization were not right or wrong. It was only a matter of interests.

Even if Godora was truly the one behind the scenes, the current Planet Aquamarine still required Godora to save them. With so many lives at stake, being hard headed was not the solution to things, and it was best to be flexible.

Compared to harping on about the past, he was more interested in the food before him. Just like how a person ignored the source of their food when eating. Just like how growing crops required feces as fertilizer and pigs ate swill. When drinking milk, no one would bother thinking about what the person who discovered milk had been trying to do.

When marrying a wife, unless you were extremely lucky, you would have to selectively ignore the fact that your wife might have been your best friend’s ex…

Thus, the way Han Xiao saw it, regardless of what the truth was, the most important thing was the value of its creation.

…

After returning to the Sanctuary, Han Xiao got the mercenaries to watch over the prisoners from the Bell of Death Island. While those unruly prisoners had been caught by him, they still had to be properly trained before they could be used. Han Xiao felt extremely at ease to hand them over to the mercenaries.

While those prisoners all looked extremely arrogant and haughty, compared to the galactic mercenaries who had traveled through various Star Systems and killed countless different species, they were no different from tame sheep.

In the following ten days, Han Xiao gradually set his plan into motion. The mages under him largely increased the yield of the suppressant, and the suppressant was handed out in large quantities to the refugees of the Sanctuary, thus stabilizing the situation.

At the same time, even more refugees flooded to the Sanctuary, and the entire Sanctuary was extremely crowded. As such, Bennett began to expand the Sanctuary, and with the aid of the players, the construction proceeded smoothly.

The refugees flooded over without stopping, and if things proceeded at that rate, the Sanctuary would probably have to be expanded into the size of a gigantic city.

Han Xiao did not forget about the Six Nations. Since the Six Nations had agreed to his conditions, he sent some mercenaries together with some raw materials to the capital of the Six Nations. All the citizens of the Six Nations who were not aware of the situation fell into a daze.

Some of the mercenaries stayed behind in the Six Nations to aid them in producing the suppressant, and the experienced Six Nations also advertised the news of the suppressant greatly to stabilize the hearts of their citizens.

The Six Nations naturally would not only pay lip service to Han Xiao, and Han Xiao had the authority to mobilize all of their military forces. Han Xiao only needed to say the word, and he would be able to control all these things. However, there was no need for him to do so. It would be best that he left those armies to the Six Nations so that they can help share some pressure with the Sanctuary.

The Sanctuary and the Six Nations already had some experience in fighting the Mutation Disaster, but the number of refugees that they were able to save was a small fraction of the entire planet. However, they were not able to take care of the beasts and plants in the wilderness, and the most frightening thing would be the underwater sea creatures. Their numbers were a couple of times greater than that of the land creatures, and they were also affected by the Mutation Disaster. There were even some amphibious beasts who came onto land and destroyed a few cities near the sea.

In places where they could not see, the situation of the Mutation Disaster was still extremely terrible and was getting worse by the second.

The majority of Planet Aquamarine’s players were currently in the Sanctuary, and this was actually not beneficial to the big picture. However, this was extremely beneficial to Han Xiao as he was able to harvest a large amount of experience. Through the Black Star selection process, he had hired a full thirty to forty thousand players as well.

The selection trial had already become a daily activity for the players, and it was fervently discussed on the forums. The players shared their experience on the forums and came to a conclusion. A valiant warrior was no more than a shooting star quickly fading off into the night sky. Only by choosing a sneaky path would they be able to lead an eternal life.

Because it was a group-based selection trial, the players gradually began to form groups. Casual players tried their luck while professional players flaunted their skills. The core members of the large guilds would usually be protected by a thick layer of players on the outside.

All those who had not been able to pass the thirty second trials would not miss this chance again. Every time they saw Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and the others walking around the city with their bodies clad in high quality armor, all the other players could not help but be filled with envy. There were even a few who wanted to try their luck and see if killing them would cause the equipment to fall out of their inventories.

With the cooperation of other players, the success rate of the players increased significantly. The players still thought that it was because they had found the trick to the trials, and Han Xiao truly loved it when the players thought this way.

Han Xiao had prepared for a long time, and everything was currently going according to his plan. However, there was a scene that he had not expected.

The players had actually learned how to play Wayne Cards from Herlous, and many of them were actually addicted!

After hearing about this matter, Han Xiao almost had the urge to strangle Herlous to death! All he did was play cards every day and lead the excellent players astray!

How incorrigible!

Chapter 522: New Combat Mode (1)

After joining the mercenary group, the players took the initiative to interact with the various activities that the mercenary officers were involved in. Mercenaries were also a resource for them, and the good-looking ones such as Aroshia, Feidin, and Sylvia were swarmed by the players like bees to flowers, making them uncomfortable as they were not used to the enthusiasm of players.

However, toward their ‘new companions’, the mercenaries felt a little impatient.

Some of the players were attracted to the Wayne Card game that Herlous played and immediately grew addicted to it. The Wayne Card game was full of charm, with each card possessing simple enchantments on it. When played, they would display various effects, which was not only interesting but also a display of the influence of characters present in the universe. All of this made the players extremely interested in the galaxy.

To think that playing a card game could actually boost their knowledge!

With the presence of the forums, anything novel would always catch the attention of the players. There were stickied posts about the various playstyles of the Wayne Card game as well as introductions, attracting the curiosity of players from all over the world

To be able to play a mini-game within a game, this was equivalent to adding two happy matters together, double happiness!

In his past life, the Wayne Card game had also been popular among the players. Right now, having been introduced to this card game in advance, the trend of the Wayne Card game was thus brought forward.

The Shattered Star Ring deck, which Herlous proudly showed the players, was also photographed and uploaded. The cards were all famous characters of the Shattered Star Ring. While the majority still went unrecognized by the players, there were a few that they knew, such as Dragon Emperor Ames. More than a few still remembered the long, white legs that filled up their entire sight.

One player even discovered the card of Black Star and was stunned silly. He did not expect Han Xiao to be a part of the deck as well!

To be made into a card, this was naturally a symbol of status. Was this not saying that Black Star had some fame within the Shattered Star Ring?

The players could not help but feel a pleasant surprise. The stronger their faction was, the happier the incoming players would be!

However, all this caused Han Xiao to feel extremely helpless. To him, the players were capable of generating value for him every minute, and for them to spend their limited time and energy on playing cards, was this not reducing his income?

Diligence pays off, while leisure serves no purpose, men!

A great man once said that there was no problem that could not be solved through playing cards. If it existed, then just play another round!

Hearing the players’ laughter and joy, Han Xiao could not restrain them. He could only silently bear with the heartache. This was because his overall goal was to attract all the players to his camp, so the strength of the players would be equivalent to the strength of his influence.

After agonizing over it for the whole day, Han Xiao thought of a new idea.

“Since the players love to play card games, I should just take the opportunity to organize a playing card competition and put up prizes and such. Such a large-scale collective leisure activity could also enhance the players sense of belonging to the camp…”

Han Xiao felt that this idea was plausible. This way, it would not cause any trouble to the players who fell in love with playing cards earlier than usual.

However, even if he wished to hold such an event, this was not the appropriate time. He had to at least wait till he led the players into the interstellar base. At that time, he could also take the chance to sell a bunch of card decks to the players.

…

Version 2.0 had already been out for more than ten days. The players were slowly adapting to it, moving back on the right track. The previous version’s level limit was up to sixty, the watershed before the first Race Evolution. Now that the upper limit of the level in the game had been lifted, the players started to complete their advancement, which lead to many feeling surprised at the effects.

This topic quickly spread across the entire forums, causing the entire planet to boil.

The players started to pick apart the details behind the Race Evolution. This had been the same in his past lifetime, so Han Xiao did not bother paying any attention to it. He went to look for his officers, with the intention of learning a new Energy Training Technique.

The Energy Training Technique was nothing unique, with the majority of it being general skills without any restriction in occupation. After going around asking once, Herlous favorability toward him was high enough to simply give him a new technique without any additional conditions.

_____________________

Sunil Energy Training Technique: Foundation technique in training energy for Sunils.

Overall Effect: +20 Energy

0/100 Cycles. Each cycle depends on STR, DEX, or END (Select highest attribute). Every cycle will exhaust 50,000 experience and 1,500 stamina.

_____________________

Han Xiao was currently not lacking in experience, and his stamina recovery rate was also high. Within the span of two to three days, he finished learning this technique. Each cycle would add 3 Energy, for a total of 320 Energy. However, he was still a few hundred short of his target of 9,000 Energy, so he had to learn another technique.

The more of such Energy Training Techniques one learned, the more the consumption of experience would increase. However, with Han Xiao’s current experience reserves, he was not worried about such an issue.

Harmon also promised to share an Energy Training Technique with him, but he had a request, which was to go all out to fight him, and he would only obtain the technique if Han Xiao defeated him. This madman was a main character build but also an addict for combat. In order to form a War League and temper himself, he would not give up on any opportunity.

Han Xiao was helpless about it. When he first recruited Harmon, they had exchanged blows. His own abilities were at the top of the list for the Grade B Supers, and he would not shirk away from a fight from anyone of the same grade as him.

The duo went to the training room within the spaceship.

They deliberately avoided the players for this battle as Han Xiao did not wish to display his abilities so early in the game. Furthermore, at their level, the arena would be too weak to withstand their blows. It would be too troublesome if they needed to repair the place after their battle.

However, Han Xiao still had certain plans. He called the mercenaries to bring all the prisoners over so as to allow them to feel the combat capability of the interstellar mercenaries.

Hannes was not included within the prisoners as Han Xiao had already given him his freedom, allowing him to stay in the Sanctuary. When Bennett saw his missing friend, he had received a good shock, and after learning about Hannes hypothesis, his mood had also grown heavy. However, Han Xiao was not bothered by it.

“Come whenever you’re ready.” Han Xiao nodded as he spoke toward Harmon.

Bang!

Babbling was not Harmon’s style. One only saw his muscles swelling exponentially, his body shape becoming several times larger than Han Xiao. With a burst from his legs, he shot forward like a cannonball, hefting up his axe and hacking straight at Han Xiao.

Ka ka ka!

Two giant mechanical hands rapidly unfolded on top of Han Xiao’s head, seizing the axe. Flames burst out to propel the hands forward as they begun a wrestling battle with Harmon, pitting strength against strength. A wave of air billowed out from their point of contact, knocking all the prisoners surrounding them away.

The group of prisoners could not even withstand the aftereffects of their collision. They crawled up, bedraggled, all of them wearing expressions of surprise on their faces.

While they had seen Han Xiao act before, their strength had been insufficient for them to comprehend the actual battle strength Han Xiao had. Standing by the side and watching the battle, they finally understood that, in front of these interstellar mercenaries, they were as good as commoners.

Han Xiao’s hands shook, and another two mechanical hands unfolded beside him, striking out.

Boom! Boom!

With two heavy blows, Harmon was sent flying. His legs hit the ground with a loud thud, and the metal flooring was actually dented by him.

The four mechanical hands pursued triumphantly, continuously sending out blows. The force unleashed by the machinery was in no way light, and Harmon could not evade in time, only able to use his tomahawk to directly withstand it. The tomahawk constantly clashed against the metal hands, the resulting sound deafening.

Clank!

The metallic clashes echoed continuously in the room.

Han Xiao remained in his original spot, without even bothering to don his armor. In the past year, he had improved on his fighting style, adding a few new elite machinery systems. He no longer needed to employ third-rate tactics such as the Army Style, for he had many more means to deal with people his level.

For example, this enhanced melee tactic originated from the combination of High-End Knowledge [Huge Duplex Machinery Technology] and the Advanced Knowledge [Heavy Machine Modification]. With the giant mechanical hands as the core of this system, in addition to melee battles, they could also be equipped with other weapons, combining attack and defense.

The material used for the [G75-Type Claws] was the strongest alloy that Han Xiao could currently produce—his current material crafting was still stuck at the Advanced Knowledge [Advanced Material Synthesis], as he did not manage to learn the High-End Knowledge of material studies.

The four giant mechanical hands suddenly disintegrated, the various parts akin to butterflies weaving around flowers as they scattered. This caused Harmon to cleave down on empty space, resulting in a flaw in his defense. At that moment, the parts once again reformed, and the four palms combined together from front to back, forming a circle that trapped Harmon in the center. Only his head remained exposed.

The mechanical fingers of each hand tightened, gripping Harmon’s body and restricting his movements.

Hum!

The four palms simultaneously released a sonic blast, causing even the ground to shake. One could see with their own eyes the surrounding air distort, and the shock wave radiated outward in the limited space of the training room.

While the prisoners had attempted to retreat, they were still caught up in the aftermath. The pressure of the shockwave forced all of them up against the walls, much like human paintings. The skin of everyone present undulated, like ripples on a water surface, and all their expressions looked more distorted than someone in the process of diving.

A string of damage values popped up from above Harmon’s head. Because the shock wave penetrated directly into his body, Harmon’s rigid muscles immediately loosened in shock, and he entered a temporary [Weakened] status

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Han Xiao jumped forward, giving a vicious kick toward Harmon’s head. Numerous mechanical parts expanded in an instant around his leg, unfolding into a black mechanical foot. It viciously stomped on Harmon’s face with a dull thud.

This foot landed hard, and the huge force behind the leg caused the metal flooring below Harmon’s feet to distort and warp into a concave shape.

Not waiting for Harmon to be free of his negative status, the components within the mechanical leg once again let out clanking sounds as the mechanical parts came to life. The alloy casing at the bottom of the mechanical leg opened, revealing a huge cannon nozzle, completely plastered on the face of Harmon. An eye piercing glow lit up from within the cannon.

Boom!

Harmon ate a light ray cannon shot right in his face!

The duo violently ricocheted off each other, and a bulky body emitting black smoke plumes bounced heavily on the floor whilst Han Xiao landed gracefully. The mechanical hands and feet disintegrated at the same time, turning into tiny components before regathering together as a compressed orb, returning back to its original position.

This set of combo moves was a common form of combat that Han Xiao currently favored.

Xiu!

Suddenly, Harmon threw out his tomahawk while he was still tumbling. The ax spun, bringing with it a sharp whistling noise.

Han Xiao did not budge, instead the halo array deployed behind him, spraying out motes of light to form a golden light shield in front of him. The ax head violently slammed into the shield, leaving behind a large crack. Another 10 cm, and the blade would have touched Han Xiao’s forehead!

After prying out the tomahawk, Han Xiao turned over to look. Harmon had just stood up, and although he had suffered from a series of blows, with black patches all around his body, he was still as ferocious as ever, bringing out a war hammer next.

“Heh, how exciting!” Harmon wiped the corners of his mouth. His tone was rough, panting, but full of fighting spirit.

“How tough can you get?” Han Xiao was helpless against him. Harmon was an organism with a single brain cell, only knowing how to solve problems using his fists. He was unlike Herlous who knew when to retreat. Instead, one had to knock him out to end the battle.

While both were proficient in close combat, Herlous could serve as a damage dealer and meat shield, while Harmon was an MT 1 through and through, extremely fleshy!

Han Xiao could see Harmon’s attribute panel, which showed two overpowered specialties. There was [War God’s Tenacity], whose effect was that every time Harmon’s HP fell below twenty percent, there would be a chance for him to recover his HP back to fifty. The other was [Desperate Straits], where he would obtain a +2 Buff to his Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance attributes for every one percent of HP lost. In a battle, there was no cap to the limit obtained.

In theory, if Harmon was lucky, his strength could be improved infinitely—and with his Luck Glow, it was as good as him being the darling of the Fortune Goddess. These two specialties that he possessed were akin to a ‘Last Stand’ plus ‘Bloodbath Berserk’. Thus, there was actually a high probability for the ‘theory’ to become reality.

This was a true genius made for battle!

As for Harmon’s shortcoming, it was that all his attacks were toward a single target, without any long-range attacks. He was not a Pugilist, so he had no way to utilize the Shockwave Blast skill. He was a purebred warrior!

Chapter 523: New Combat Mode (2)

Chapter 523: New Combat Mode (2)

Initially, when Han Xiao discovered traces of Harmon, he had been overjoyed, immediately going over to recruit him without hesitation. Harmon followed the tribal traditions and was a pure warrior without any guile, strictly keeping to his promises. Or, one could say that his brain was packed only with muscles. In terms of difficulty for recruiting, he would probably be rated as one star.

Harmon had just left his mother planet and needed to form a War League of his own. Thus, the strength that Han Xiao displayed was enough to win the approval of Harmon, and they agreed to a cooperation. He would join the War League whilst Harmon would join his mercenary group. A mercenary would have sufficient opportunities to exercise his muscles, and this was also what Harmon needed.

As such, Harmon could not strictly be considered as one of Han Xiao’s officers but rather an ally on level ground.

Han Xiao had researched the main character model archetype. Other than the standard luck glow, a main character would more or less have some form of commonality. For example, some characters would have the ability to prolong the plotline and events, caused by their personality and ideas. Some could do so purely out of their own strength and ability, and Harmon was precisely one of those latter characters.

The Luhan Beastmen believed in the way of the warrior. In the collapsed tribes where Harmon used to reside in, he had long been renowned as the ‘Roaring Beast’. This was a form of extreme praise from the Luhan Beastmen toward Harmon. Harmon was one of the favorites competing for the seat of the Chief, a protagonist who was strong from the very beginning.

Han Xiao’s relationship with him was currently neither warm nor cold. Because Harmon was someone who maintained the old tradition of a War League, he was not stingy with fighting for Han Xiao. A true warrior would never go back on his word.

Of all the officers in his mercenary group, Harmon had challenged every single one of them, and they were aware that the longer the battle dragged on, the stronger he got. It was as though he was an unkillable cockroach. None of Han Xiao’s officers had managed to defeat him, save Aroshia, whom Harmon could not damage due to her pure energy body. This was also his weakness.

Han Xiao was not interested in pitting his endurance against Harmon’s—he would rather end the battle as fast as possible.

“Roar!”

Harmon let out a snort, his powerful lung capacity causing the surrounding air to vibrate as he charged forward again, this time holding onto the war hammer. His every step caused the metal flooring to groan in protest as he drew close at the quickest possible speed.

Clank!

Facing his charge, Han Xiao remained unmoved. Two compressed orbs dropped from his sleeves, and the moment that they landed on the ground, a ray of light was seen as they transformed into two mechanical humanoids warriors, solemnly flanking Han Xiao on both sides.

The mechanical warriors were coated in an alloy shell that gleamed bright yellow, white, and black. Their four limbs were designed with the likeness of humans in mind, their height around two meters. The armor was not overly swollen, but it could not be considered elegant and light. The helmet had two wings on the sides of the visor as decoration, whereas their backs had two slots that looked like they could be fitted with wings. Both hands had four fingers, and from the outside, it was unknown as to what weapons they possessed.

At the same time, Harmon had already arrived before Han Xiao. With a ferocious twist of his waist, the war hammer that was as long as a door grew a fast curve as it swept across. The force behind this was much larger than before, generating a howling gale!

Hu!

Even before the hammer landed, the wind caused Han Xiao to be unable to open his eyes!

This hammer strike was obviously done with the intention to blow both Han Xiao and his robots away. If hit by this, Han Xiao estimated that it would trigger a suppressed state for him, where he would experience a short period of dizziness. After all, Strength was not his strongest stat, and even if his HP was especially large, it would not be a good feeling.

However, Han Xiao showed no sign of panic, a gleam instead shimmering within his eyes.

“Phillip, load the data.”

Hum!

The two robots, which had been motionless before, suddenly jolted and began to move. Their actions flowed smooth like running water, without any stiffness expected of mechanized warriors.

The robot on the left speedily extended both its hands. The mechanical arm split open, and many components popped out. In an instant, the entire arm was remodeled into a sturdier version, and as its palm caught the hammer, the inbuilt propulsion device on its back was fully activated, erupting with a disorderly airflow.

Clank!

The war hammer was forcibly blocked and was scarily not suppressed by Harmon in the slightest!

The other robot locked its arms together as a seam appeared in the middle of its arms, with blue light flickering within. A huge amount of air was drawn in, as a sharp whistling sound was heard. The next moment, both fists punched out, and from the tips of the fists, a compressed air cannon shot was released, akin to a compressed hurricane.

Harmon took the cannon blast directly to his chest, and he appeared to be a tree that had been uprooted amid a storm. He flew back over a hundred meters, finally slamming hard against the opposite wall of the training room.

Bang!

The wall was dented, and the entire figure of Harmon was trapped inside.

“The actual battle statistics are not half bad!” Han Xiao looked at the two robots flanking him.

Other than the mechanical beasts used in his mechanic army, the Great Mechanic Han was not lacking in elites. If used for comparison, the mechanical beasts would be akin to the foot soldiers, while the elite machinery would be the mini bosses. The two mechanical warriors could be considered elites.

[Oathkeeper], the elite mechanical warrior in his mechanical army. With the autonomous control from Phillip, the huge amount of data it possessed allowed for the execution of highly complex combat patterns. Its weapons and armor were top-notch with high costs. Even with Han Xiao’s current manufacturing speed, he could only construct a Protector once a day.

Their individual combat capabilities were outstanding, and even if faced with Grade B Supers, they could still hold their own. These were the hired guns that Han Xiao was using when fighting against someone of the same level.

Every Oathkeeper was an independent unit with its unique code name. The current two Oathkeepers that had been released concurrently were labelled ‘Warrior’ and ‘Gunner’.

Harmon’s muscles swelled as he forcefully pulled himself out from the hole. However, Han Xiao did not bother giving him the time to move and instead clapped his hands, deploying the Halo Array to congregate together, releasing an integrated laser cannon blast.

Boom!

The laser hit directly at Harmon once again, driving him deeper into the wall. A violent explosion occurred, with waves of heat and black smoke filling the room.

Taking this chance, the two Oathkeepers moved out, restricting Harmon as they tangled with him.

Because the Oathkeepers were not designed to be mechanical suits, there was no need to leave a space within to contain a person. Thus, they possessed many different kinds of weapons, such as compressed air cannons, gravitational and repulsion devices, laser rifles, lightsabers, photon cannons, electromagnetic shields, and more. Be it close or long range, everything possible was included.

Harmon was completely suppressed by the two Oathkeepers. He kept trying to rush toward Han Xiao, bellowing angrily, his fighting spirit growing ever stronger.

“This fellow is indeed powerful, but his single target attacks are his fatal flaw. A warrior not in possession of any spells in this version can already be considered obsolete.”

With a thought from Han Xiao, another compressed orb flew out, unfolding a fan-shaped structure behind him. There was a coil of sorts on the structure, and if looking from the front, it resembled a disk. It bore a similarity to a radar disk, with the patterns on top forming concentric circles like a labyrinth.

Han Xiao put his hands behind him, and the energy from within him constantly flowed. The mechanical force travelled along the designated patterns, constantly spiraling as it let out a hum of high voltage electricity.

Ohm!

The blue glow grew more intense, and the high-speed rotation gradually blurred the coil into a single continuous piece, fuzzy and yet piercing to the eye.

This was a large-scale electromagnetic acceleration amplifier, which was specialized for a Mechanic’s usage. The raw materials consisted of an electroactive polymer, which utilized the [Mechanical Force Combat Technique] to release an electromagnetic force. This electromagnetic energy would continuously increase within the amplifier, equivalent to allowing it to be primed much like a bomb. The longer the primer, the stronger the effect.

Because Han Xiao had sufficient funds in his hands, he bought the High-End Knowledge [Advanced Electromagnetic Forcefield] in the last year, using it to unlock the [Mechanical Force Combat Technique]. Even with the usage of machinery, the Mechanic could still unleash the strength of a certain weapon.

Compared to the original Trap Style, this move not only had higher crowd control but also had the advantage of being an active skill.

Buzz!

The speed of the electro-optical rotation rose non-stop, filling the entire field with a piercing white glow. Han Xiao’s figure had long been covered by the light—even the free ions in the air were affected by the electrical charge. The prisoners that were huddled in a corner were all terrified as they felt their hair stand on end, and a numb feeling coursed around their skin.

On the other side, the hairy Harmon saw all his hair sticking out like a hedgehog. He felt something amiss and immediately threw out his war hammer toward the piercing white glow. However, one of the Oathkeepers’ heads split open to reveal a ring-shaped purple attachment. It shot out a beam akin to gravitational pull, and the war hammer that was flying in midair suddenly halted before being brought back toward the robot.

“Have a taste of this. Yang Clan’s Electrotherapy!”

Dong! Dong!

The next second, six metal pillars shot out, embedding themselves around Harmon. With a point of a finger from Han Xiao, the electromagnetic energy accumulated by the amplifier was like a flash flood as it morphed into a piercing lightning beam. It struck one of the pillars, and the next instant, electromagnetic lights swirled around the six pillars akin to a lightning tornado, forming an electric cage.

The six metallic pillars were actually release devices, and all the power was directed toward the content within them. Following the pathway of the electro-optic rotation between the columns, thousands of lightning bolts smashed within the sealed area, and Harmon resembled a lightning conductor at this point, with all the bolts aiming for him. On average, he was struck with a few hundred bolts per second.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!” Harmon was electrocuted to the point that his eyes rolled backward into his head. His whole body turned motionless, only letting out uncontrollable moans from time to time.

The electrical lights continued to flash for a good few seconds until the accumulated charges were consumed. The training hall then quieted down, with a few charged sparks lingering within the air, resounding with a buzzing sound.

Within the metal pillars, Harmon swayed and tottered before falling to the ground with a loud thud. He was completely charred and releasing black smoke, as though he was a steak that had been overcooked.

Since he had been electrocuted unconscious, his Esper ability was automatically lifted, and his inflated body slowly shrunk.

“Phew… while this guy has an insane about of HP and defense, with an additional specialization bonus, his resistance attributes fortunately aren’t too perverted.”

Han Xiao spat out an electric charge, recalling all his machinery. Having electrocuted Harmon till he fainted, the match was considered his victory.

“For my current combat modes, other than the Artillery Style, the Beast Style, Trap Style, and Mechanical suit, I have the foundations of the Army Style, which I’ve built in the past year. However, this will only show its effectiveness in a large-scale battle.

“As for the elite fighting style used for battles within the same Grade, my mechanical hands, the Floating Cannon Array, and the Oathkeepers are all representative of this elite style. Compared to when I was in Noriosse, the number of styles I have to use on my enemies has increased.”

Han Xiao then moved forward to rouse Harmon. After that blockhead regained consciousness, he looked around sluggishly for a while before fulfilling his promise to teach Han Xiao the Energy Training Technique. While he had lost, Harmon was not angry at all. He would not dwell on his failures but instead take it as valuable experience to prepare for his next battle.

When the battle ended, the prisoners finally heaved a sigh of relief. Everyone was sweating profusely even though they were the spectators. They felt even more tired than having gone through a battle, their hearts palpitating in fear.

These interstellar people are truly monsters!

_____________________

You have acquired [Luhan Hammer Technique]!

_____________________

After obtaining the skill, Han Xiao hid his joy and nodded toward Harmon.

“Good fight.”

“If there’s a chance, we’ll exchange blows again.” Harmon snorted before walking away.

Due to the restraint brought about by specializations, Han Xiao did not feel much pressure throughout the whole thing. Instead, he took it as experience to test out his new styles. Compared to Herlous, Harmon was more like a live target.

After sorting out his equipment, he walked out of the training room to find Herlous standing outside.

“What are you doing here?”

“I caught wind of news that you and Harmon were sparring and came over to take a look. I wanted to see your bedraggled look.” Herlous laughed.

“I’ve let you down, I guess.” Han Xiao rolled his eyes. “Anything else?”

Herlous kept his smile and cleared his throat before slowly asking, “This…. I want to ask. About the thing you promised me, when can I cash that in?”

“I’ve promised you many things. Which one in particular?”

Lifting up his prosthetic limb, Herlous spoke with an expression of expectation. “You told me in the past that there was someone in your hometown that could allow me to regenerate my arm. While your prosthetic is really comfortable… I still miss the original goods.”

“Oh, so it’s this.” Han Xiao came to a realization. Herlous’ arm had been disintegrated by Ember, and Han Xiao had told him that Aurora’s ability could actually help to treat his disability.

Rubbing his brow, Han Xiao felt a headache coming on. While Aurora had that kind of strength, this matter was a little sensitive. With Aurora being so enthusiastic in aiding others, she definitely would not reject being of assistance. The main problem was the Hila who went around with a black face as though she was angry at the world. Han Xiao did not dare guarantee that she would not be as protective of Aurora like the past.

“Let me bring you to consult them.”

Chapter 524: Hila

Chapter 524: Hila

The environment of the wilderness was harsh, with some refugees choosing to remain cowering within their own homes. They had the mentality of leaving everything to fate, choosing to bear the potential problems caused by the mutation virus rather than leave the safety of their homes. As for other refugees, they did not wish to sit and await death, choosing to brave the danger to cross the desolate wilderness filled with beasts to reach the only Sanctuary left.

With Bennett’s temperament, he naturally would not be able to disregard them. Even if the Sanctuary was overcapacity, saving one more would be another gained. Thus, the current refugees accepted by the Sanctuary had already surpassed tens of thousands. The entire city was packed to the brim, with the land outside the original walls having been cleared to create a larger square to facilitate the sea of refugees.

Before they flowed endlessly in, even with the increased production of suppressants, it was still in short supply. Fortunately, there were the players present to maintain law and order. They willingly bore the burden, enjoying themselves in the process.

Due to the high number of people, Aurora was always busy as she had to play the role of a human virus detector. She constantly scanned each wave of infected, practically without any proper rest.

At a particular checkpoint of the Sanctuary, there were over a thousand dirty, unkempt refugees awaiting the virus check. Fully armed soldiers were present all around to maintain public order, and the eyes of the refugees betrayed their unease and panic. This disaster had stretched their nerves to breaking point.

“When will we be allowed to enter?”

“Do you know that in order to reach the Sanctuary, I braved countless dangers along the way! A physical search can be explained, but why are we still being kept here!”

Many of the refugees were getting emotional.

“Everyone, before being allowed into the Sanctuary, we need to run a virus check. Please cooperate,” a commander shouted. While the refugees looked unsatisfied, they could only endure the anxiety.

At this point, Aurora walked in front of the crowd, closed her eyes, and felt the life signs of all the refugees present.

After a long while, she finally opened her eyes and spoke with an expression of apology, “There’s an infected among you. Please follow the soldiers to the quarantine area when I indicate to you.”

As the soldiers walked into the crowd to pull out the infected, their actions roused the anxiety of all the refugees present.

“What are you doing! Let go! I’m not infected!

“Let go of my kid!”

“Scram!”

The emotions of the refugees were akin to a powder keg, easily ignited by just a small spark. Even if the majority initially intended to stay obedient, with a small portion of rebels, everyone quickly turned chaotic to resist and attack the soldiers.

Shouts, pleads, grumbles, and even the sound of things being thrown on the ground could be heard. The entire place was a mess.

In such an extreme period, the methods employed by the guards were naturally as extreme. They employed kicks and punches, forcefully dragging out the infected to handcuff them and throw them into a corner. A few of the infected children were even forcefully snatched from their parents’ hands, causing them to cry nonstop.

Bang!

A gunshot was heard.

The entire field fell dead silent. Everyone saw a male refugee with a face of insanity, holding onto a handgun with the barrel emitting smoke. The gun was held up toward the sky, causing the refugees around him to immediately scramble away. In an instant, the man’s surroundings were devoid of human life.

The expressions of the soldiers greatly shifted, with a dozen over rifles immediately pointed at the man.

“Dammit, how did those searchers in front do their jobs‽ How did he sneak this gun into the city?”

“Put down your weapon, or else we fire!” the commander bellowed.

The man holding onto the gun was trembling in both legs, but he mustered his courage to reply, “Don’t… don’t be fooled by them! I heard that those who are quarantined were actually all executed. They cannot be believed!”

“You’re mistaken. We actually have a way to save these infected. Don’t be rash!” The commander immediately stepped out to placate the man while signaling with his eyes toward his gunmen.

The moment that the armed man’s attention was shifted, they would immediately fire and put him down.

At this time, one of the infected that had been pulled out screamed in an ear-piercing voice.

“Dad!”

An eight-year-old child struggled free from the hands of the guard, stumbling as he made his way in front of the man. He hugged tightly to the trouser leg of the man, his eyes wide open in fear as he stared around him in shock, his tiny figure trembling.

The commander immediately cursed inwardly, hurriedly covering the muzzle of the soldier near him. Nobody was willing to kill the father in front of his child. If only the child was not present!

“Please consider for your child and put down your weapon. We can attest to the fact that we have the means to save the infected!”

“How… how can you save them!” the armed refugee shouted in return.

The commander kept his patience and explained, “We have produced a drug that can suppress the virus. The reason we quarantine the infected is to ensure that they are easily identified so that we can give them the drug.”

“Then immediately bring the drug over for my child. I want to witness the whole process!”

“This…” The commander hesitated. “The production rate of the suppressant is extremely low. There are still several people within the quarantine zone waiting for the drug. The rough wait till your turn will be around three days. I have no authority…”

The gunman immediately grumbled, cutting into the commander’s explanation, “I don’t care! You had better bring the medicine over immediately, or else… or else, I’m gonna fire!”

As he spoke, the gunman pointed the muzzle at the worried Aurora, who was standing at a distance witnessing the scene. He had previously noticed that Aurora was the person responsible for identifying the virus and should be someone important. Only by threatening her could his demands be fulfilled.

Every soldier present lost color in their faces as their fingers almost depressed the triggers on their rifles.

“Don’t shoot! She’s the only person who can identify the virus now. The whole world needs her!”

“I don’t care! I want the drug!” The man’s eyes were bloodshot, his emotions highly unstable.

At that moment, a dark red energy bubble suddenly surrounded Aurora. Hila walked out from the side, her expression frosty with anger.

The armed refugee immediately fired, but the bullets were all deflected by the dark red shield. Hila waved her hand, and the energy turned into a beam, shooting directly toward the forehead of the assailant.

When Aurora worked, Hila would always make sure to accompany her as her bodyguard to prevent any misfortune from falling on her little sister. This move of hers was made to kill. She would not be lenient when removing any threats to her sister’s life.

“Sister, no!”

Hila’s brow wrinkled, and the energy beam that was en route to blowing the man’s head off changed course, shattering the firearm in his hand instead. The guards immediately swarmed to arrest the man while prying the kid who was still hugging onto his father’s leg to the side.

“You should have let me kill him,” Hila said impatiently. “Kindness is the natural enemy to survival. You need to change—stop being so naive.”

Aurora, however, smiled and replied, “That’s not the case. I know that with my sister present, he cannot hurt me. He was just impulsive, and we should not deprive him of his life just for that. We should be working to save the refugees instead.”

“Sigh, my silly little sister…” Hila narrowed her eyes, as all those bloody memories flashed through her mind. She shook her head to clear them. “Don’t be reluctant in viewing people from their worst side.”

In her black, skintight combat suit, Hila’s long legs enabled her to quickly reach the arrested man. Looking down from where she stood, she coldly snapped, “If you do not trust us and do not wish to quarantine your son, leave this place. We lack everything except refugees. No one will stop you from leaving. Guards, release him and the child.”

The guards did as instructed and let go of the man. The latter immediately scooped up his child, staring angrily at Hila. However, he instead got ferociously stared back at. From her glare that was full of killing intent, a cold feeling surfaced in the man’s heart, and he could only slowly retreat in anger.

He swept the remaining people a look, hugging his child tight as he took heavy steps toward the outside. He did not wish to be separated from his son, so he was not willing to stay.

At this time, Aurora suddenly opened her mouth.

“Please don’t leave.”

The man paused, turning his head back to look at the petite Aurora, his face an expression of shock.

Aurora said in a sincere voice, “While we will not restrict you from leaving, I implore you to stay. The wilderness is honestly too dangerous, and only by staying in the Sanctuary can you both obtain safety. Please believe in my sincerity.”

“Then immediately bring the drugs over and save my son!” Hearing her words, the man immediately interjected.

However, Aurora shook her head in response. “To resist and retaliate just to protect your kin regardless of the danger, trust me, I’m also deeply aware of such an impulse. I’m sorry, we will never give you suppressants in advance. That would be unfair to others, and making trouble will definitely not be exchanged for special treatment. But I hope that you can trust us. With patience, your child can definitely get healed.”

Even if she believed in kindness, she would never let it sway her principles. After experiencing such a long period of darkness, the naivety in her had long vanished.

Her words brought upon a sense of strength and reliance, and the man seemed to hesitate. At this point, his son suddenly wiped his tears and spoke out, “Dad, I believe her. Let me go to the quarantine area. I will protect myself well.”

The man gritted his teeth, finally letting go of the child. The commander came forward to hold onto the kid’s hands, and while the man looked as though he wanted to intervene several times, he eventually refrained from any rash movements.

After this short episode, the emotions of the refugees also calmed down. They obediently accepted the quarantines, and order was restored.

The two sisters left the site due to the huge size of the bear tagging along behind Aurora, mild and docile.

Hila stroked Aurora’s head as she frowned, saying, “Did you forget what I said? There is no meaning in helping others. To be selfless to others is to allow them to be selfish for themselves—there is no point extending your goodwill to strangers as they do not have the qualifications to obtain your help.”

Aurora pulled on Hila’s hand as she softly replied, “Since we have the strength to help others, if we keep it hidden and don’t help them, aren’t we being selfish?”

“Helping others is considered a noble affair, but helping yourself is considered a repulsive matter,” Hila coldly replied. “This sort of hypocrisy makes me disgusted. The majority of morals are just scams to trick those who are stupid.”

“But Uncle Black Star once saved me out of goodwill. We’re people who have obtained help. Don’t say that you aren’t happy because of it.” Aurora chuckled.

“…” Every time they touched on this topic, Hila would become speechless. “In any case, this favor of his will be repaid one day. I don’t like owing others.”

While she said that, Han Xiao had already entered a new state, with a huge change in status. When they first met, Han Xiao had merely been a weak, pale test subject receiving training. However, he now had this sort of achievement, making Hila wonder if all of this was actually reality. Life was truly too fickle.

Thus, Hila had always been torn over how to face the current Han Xiao. He seemed to no longer need her strength, and she did not know how exactly she could return this favor.

“Sometimes, I really have no idea how to chat with you.” Aurora pretended to be an elderly, sighing. “If you could be less eccentric, the number of people giving you recognition would be a thousand times greater than the current number.”

“Humph, a person that requires the approval of others is merely so-so.” Hila frowned.

Aurora could only shake her head in response.

While I’ve always been protected by my older sister, sometimes, I feel as though she is actually the child instead!

…

Not far away, Herlous and Han Xiao had just arrived, and after listening to the talk between the two sisters, they looked at each other.

“Let’s go back, I feel that there’s nothing that can be done for you.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Herlous was shocked. “D*mn your mother, you haven’t even asked! Could you play a more practical role‽”

Chapter 525: Aurora

Chapter 525: Aurora

“You heard her. Even if you are my friend, they may not show you any face.” Han Xiao shook his head. Aurora was a kindhearted girl and would naturally be willing to help, but the same could not be said for Hila. This lass had a cold character and did not like bothering about other people’s affairs. Furthermore, she was extremely protective of her sister and would probably stop her sister from agreeing.

Even though Hila owed him a favor, with her obstinate temper, she would not let her sister pay him back.

“That can’t be right. It isn’t too much to just get her to use her Esper abilities.” Herlous became anxious.

“There is a historical reason for this. Whenever her sister uses her Esper abilities, she has to exhaust her own life force. She once suffered from some miserable mishap before and thus is extremely sensitive to this matter.”

“You promised me.” Herlous refused to give up.

“Alright then, I shall ask for you.”

Han Xiao shook his head helplessly and walked forward to stop the two ladies.

The nose of the gigantic bear twitched. It could smell a familiar scent, and its green bean sized eyes were fixed on Han Xiao, unsure if Han Xiao was his former owner. Only when Han Xiao waved did the bear charge out excitedly and roll around in front of Han Xiao, revealing his belly for Han Xiao to rub.

“This bear has been brought up well by you.” Han Xiao stroked the bear’s chin, and the bear’s furry feeling was much better than Harmon’s.

In this past, this bear could still be called a baby bear. Now that it was a few meters tall, Han Xiao could not call it a baby anymore.

“That’s right, it grew up extremely quickly. Being by my side, my Esper abilities caused his life force to flourish.” Aurora smiled.

Stroking the bear’s chin, Han Xiao suddenly mused, “If that’s the case, its meat quality should be great.”

The bear that was rolling on the ground suddenly froze in place as its ears shot up, feeling that something was wrong.

“Why did you stop us?” Hila asked.

Han Xiao then dragged Herlous out and said, “This is Herlous, my comrade. In one of the battles, he was accidentally injured. If your eyes are sharp enough, you should be able to tell that he has a mechanical arm…”

Hila was completely speechless. “Have you been using the standard of a blind person to judge others’ eyesight?”

“I promised to treat his broken limbs and wish to ask Aurora for help.”

“Don’t even think about it.” Before Aurora could even reply, Hila rejected Han Xiao.

Han Xiao’s mouth began to twitch. “You should at least pretend to consider…”

“You understand my sister; she is only able to restore the injuries of others at the expense of her own life force. In this world, I will only allow my sister to save a single person… that person is you.”

Hila suddenly paused for a while before adding, “Don’t think that our relationship is extremely good. It is just that we owe you a favor. Apart from you, we will not save anyone.”

Aurora’s [Dawn of Life] gave her an incomparably exuberant life force, and her cells were capable of producing a special life force. The life force that Aurora had was just like a bucket of water, and healing a severe injury would only require a single drop.

However, it was still her ‘life force’ being exhausted…

While Aurora was currently healthy, Hila would never allow her to waste her life force in such a manner.

Before Han Xiao could reply, Aurora interrupted, “Sister, this is an extremely easy task for me, and I have always been the one being helped by others. I wish to do something for Black Star as well.”

“No,” Hila rejected flatly.

“Sister, you can’t always make my decisions for me,” Aurora said helplessly.

“Why aren’t you willing to listen to what I taught you? The kind will only be bullied in this world!” Hila said with exasperation. “That was the case just now, and this happened again now. When will you be able to grow up a little? As long as there is a first time, all the injured people will come and find you. Are you going to always exhaust your life force to help them‽”

Han Xiao immediately became displeased. Why did it feel like this lady was scolding him?

Han Xiao immediately got Phillip to view through the surveillance record and briefly explain to him about the previous commotion outside the Sanctuary. The daily activities of the Sanctuary were controlled by Bennett, and Han Xiao could not be bothered to interfere with such small affairs. He only wanted to know the reason behind the two sisters’ conflict.

In the past, both the sisters had been living in challenging conditions and could only rely on each other. Now that they had spent a couple of years living in peace and seeing each other every day, even if they were biological siblings, their characters could not be completely compatible. Thus, conflict was inevitable.

“Sis, why are you always exaggerating matters? I will naturally reject them when I don’t wish to help,” Aurora said. “Besides, Uncle Black Star helped us so much, and I want to repay him…”

“No means no!” Hila then glared at Han Xiao and growled, “You are our benefactor, and we will definitely repay this favor. However, I hope that you will not think about touching my sister.”

Han Xiao was speechless. These words of hers made it seem as though he had some unscrupulous motives. She was truly too overprotective.

Looking at the two quarreling sisters, Herlous looked at Han Xiao and said helplessly, “You were right. It is hopeless indeed.”

“Let’s go.”

Just when the two of them were about to leave, Aurora suddenly raised her voice and said with a solemn tone, “Sister, you will not be able to protect me forever, and I cannot be a little child who is forever protected. I sincerely request that you do not make my decisions for me.”

“No, your thinking is far too childish, and you don’t know how to protect yourself at all.” Hila refused to budge.

“Why do you always want to change me‽” Aurora was angered for the first time, and a golden light flashed in her eyes. “The kind of people I look down on the most are those who don’t need help but mock those who are willing to help others. Only someone who went through despair will understand how much you hope for help during times of hopelessness. I know this feeling extremely well. During the nights when I needed help the most, I prayed for someone to save me time and time again, but the needle pierced into my veins over and over again without anyone ever stretching out their hands to me. Do you understand such hopelessness‽”

Hila had a face full of guilt. It was her carelessness that had resulted in Aurora being captured by the Germinal Organization and going through so much suffering. However, she had not been able to provide much aid and had only been able to save her sister because of Han Xiao’s unexpected aid. Hila had always felt that she was a failure of a sister.

In the past, Aurora would never talk about the pain that she had gone through in front of her, and this was the first time that Aurora had blamed her. Hila was completely caught off guard and did not know how to respond.

“I know that you have a strong-minded personality, and to prevent you from facing pressure, I pretended to be extremely optimistic whenever I met you,” Aurora said. “However, how happy do you think I could have been?

“I suffered inexplicable pain, and I know how cruel and violent humans can be. I know the despair of being in a hopeless situation without anyone to help you. The only thing I can do is fight and not submit to the darkness. I refuse to have my personality contorted by the pain and be filled with hatred. Believe me, this is far more difficult than bearing with the physical pain that I had to go through.

“Han Xiao helped me during my moments of hopelessness, and thus, I am willing to help others.”

She then looked Hila in the eye and said softly, “We cannot live in the past forever, and we all have to grow. Sister, I love you, but I cannot be your toy doll. I have my own thoughts and wish to become the kind of person I want to be.”

Hila opened her mouth and did not know what to say.

Han Xiao raised his brows and was a little surprised. He had not expected the two sisters to actually end up quarreling. It seemed like the two sisters had built up plenty of frustrations over the past few years when he was not around.

Even if they had gone through plenty of things together, it was impossible for them to always be so loving. When there were no enemies, they would definitely end up arguing because of their incompatible characters. This was something that Han Xiao had found from the couple living next door in his previous life.

However, having an argument might not be a bad thing. At least it would allow the two sisters to get to know each other better.

Han Xiao shook his head. Women…

Everyone fell silent, and Aurora rubbed her head embarrassedly. The atmosphere that she had taken so much effort to build instantly crumbled. She then asked carefully, “Sister, I am going to help treat him, okay?”

“You have already said so much, what else can I say? You can just take it that you don’t have this older sister. Go go,” Hila replied.

Aurora broke out into a smile and gave Hila a hug.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao took the few of them to his machinery modification room. Taking off Herlous’ mechanical arm, Aurora pointed her palm at Herlous’ stump. A dense golden light shot out from her palms and entered Herlous’ body. The broken limb then began to grow out like a sprouting plant.

In the past few years, Aurora had also begun to develop her abilities, and she no longer needed to use her blood to save others. Instead, she was able to release the life force within her body.

By the side, Han Xiao and Hila stood together and watched the scene.

Suddenly, Hila asked with a complicated tone, “Do you think that I am wrong?”

“Hmm?”

Han Xiao turned around to look at her, only to see her biting her lips with her brow furrowed. She was obviously still frustrated over what had just happened.

“There isn’t a right or wrong; everyone is different. But if you want my opinion, I think that you make more sense. This world is very dangerous, and enemies are all around. The most rational thing to do is to put your own safety first.”

“You would actually agree with me…” Hila had a strange look on her face. Han Xiao had returned from the galaxy when the planet was in danger. With his ‘selfless’ character, she had thought that Han Xiao would support Aurora.

Han Xiao then shrugged and added, “But if you really ask me to make a choice, I would be more willing to be friends with a kind person.”

If not for Aurora’s insistence, his request would have been rejected by Hila. To him, he liked those who were more obedient.

Both the sisters were full of potential. A Grade S Esper ability was extremely rare, and if Hila was able to grow to the heights of her previous life, she would be able to crush a dozen ‘Herlous’s with a single finger. Furthermore, Aurora’s abilities were also extremely useful, and she was just like a walking HP potion.

As for their contrasting characters, Han Xiao did not mind it at all. As long as they were talents useful to him, all of that was no more than small details. Just like how Ames was extremely playful but there were not many who dared criticize her—strength was the most important.

…

Not too long later, Herlous’ arm had regrown. Give it a few test waves, he cried out with excitement, “Haha! My arm is back!”

Aurora wiped the sweat off her face and said with glee, “I’m glad I could help you.”

Rubbing Aurora’s head, Han Xiao gave her a series of praise before leaving with Herlous. Herlous was extremely satisfied with his new arm and skipped away happily.

Returning to his room, Han Xiao sent Herlous away before taking out his Galactic Communicator and turning to the local channel of the Garton Star System.

The plan to hire the players was already on track, and the skills to reach the next Energy Level had also been obtained. It was now time for him to see when Godora’s rescue squad would arrive.

Version 2.0 had been launched for half a month, and it was about time for Godora to arrive.

The Garton Star System was part of Godora’s administrative region, and with so many planets being plagued with calamity at the same time, it was truly too much of a coincidence. Godora would naturally have their suspicions, and the first party that they would think about would be their arch nemesis, DarkStar. Because they felt that this may be a trap, Godora did not make any rash moves and investigated the situation first.

Just a few hours ago, Han Xiao’s communicator had received a district message regarding this matter.

Many galactic media outlets had noticed the situation in Godora and had begun writing articles on it. As such, the calamity had attracted the attention of many, with the Godoran media being the most interested in the matter. After all, this was happening within the Godora region.

After a series of reports, more and more Godorans were informed of the calamity that their allied civilizations were facing, and they found out that their own civilization had not sent out any rescue troops. The voices of the citizens immediately sounded to push for their civilization to send aid.

After watching the local news of the Garton Star System, Han Xiao raised his brows and came to a conclusion.

“DarkStar has begun their plans…”

At this moment, Godora had not intervened in the matter, and news of the calamity would naturally be sent out by DarkStar in secret. Through some manipulation and stirring, this resulted in the entire event blowing up, causing Godora to become the center of everyone’s attention.

Apart from Han Xiao, the entire Star System thought that this was a sudden, unknown calamity, but no one knew that it was actually part of DarkStar’s plans.

“If my guess isn’t wrong, DarkStar’s forces should already be hidden on Planet Aquamarine.”

Han Xiao’s eyes glowed as he mused to himself.

Chapter 526: Godoran Rescue Team

Chapter 526: Godoran Rescue Team

Somewhere on Planet Aquamarine was a land filled with extremely high concentrations of nuclear radiation. The environment was desolate and full of decay, with thick smog and dust filling every inch of the area. The blue sky was covered by the haze, and a thick layer of white ash covered the ground. Without a single patch of green as far as the eye could see, the place seemed utterly devoid of life.

At this time, there were over a dozen narrow, shuttle-type spaceships quietly parked in the area. A group of mixed-blood Godorans were fiddling with a bunch of strange looking machinery.

This group was an ordinary vanguard force from DarkStar, with only the leader having reached Grade B. Their main objective was to infiltrate and conceal themselves, without any need to fight. Even their spaceships were kept in stealth mode, shielding themselves from all sorts of detection equipment. Han Xiao’s fleet had already scanned the entire planet once, but they had ultimately been unable to discover this small force. DarkStar had invested most of their resources into various forms of stealth and anti-tracking technology, or else they would have been wiped out long ago.

DarkStar had placed an infiltration team on each of the planets that held the Mutation Source. Their mission was to monitor the disaster at a close range, using specialized machinery to observe the growth stage of the mutation source’s main body in order to determine its growth. This set of machinery was a gift from the same dealer of the mutation source, truly a kindhearted interstellar arms dealer.

However, the vanguard was not aware of the location of the Mutation Source, and they did not intend to search for it. This was the command given to them by the top brass.

In fact, a month ago, this vanguard from DarkStar had successfully infiltrated Planet Aquamarine. However, they had not shown their faces, instead relying on advanced Virtual Technology to link up with the satellites of the Six Nations. Through this ‘sharing of vision’, they were able to observe the mutation disaster and the destruction brought about to the planet. However, they were unconcerned about such intelligence. It was only after Black Star appeared that the vanguard team started to pay attention, transmitting the news to headquarters.

The top brass stationed at the headquarters of DarkStar were extremely concerned about the development of the plan, and with Black Star causing them to lose one of their veterans the last time, they had long treated him as an enemy. This news caused them to feel some surprise, but after a round of discussion, they discovered that the reason Black Star appeared back on Planet Aquamarine was not because of them.

“I’ve investigated it, and Planet Aquamarine is actually Black Star’s hometown. It’s merely a coincidence that we chose this planet, and Planet Aquamarine should have some means to communicate with Black Star. Now that the disaster has struck, they probably requested assistance from Black Star, thus bringing about such a situation. The appearance of Black Star has nothing to do with us.”

“In actual fact, this is the most plausible explanation. We’ve stayed in the darkness. Up till now, no one should know that this mutation disaster is our plan.”

“The disaster relief squad from Godora is about to arrive on the various planets. Just one more Black Star is merely another reinforcement, and Planet Aquamarine is just one of our many planets. It will not affect our plans.”

While they were hostile toward Han Xiao, their plan was more important. In order not to alert the enemy, DarkStar had rejected the idea of attacking Han Xiao. Furthermore, after investigation, they had discovered that he owned a BlackLight Stealth and could run anytime he wanted without them being able to obstruct him.

In their eyes, it was a coincidence that Han Xiao had appeared, and this would not affect the big picture. There was no need for them to be anxious and reveal themselves—the mission was still more important.

The Mutation Disaster was the core of DarkStar’s plan, and the crucial part lay in their next few steps. All they needed to do was wait for the opportunity.

…

In the following days, the regional problems within the Garton Star System grew more intense. While the other advanced civilizations watched from the sidelines, nobody wished to help. The unlucky planets were all situated around the administrative region of Godora, so according to diplomatic regulations, the problem ought to be handled by Godora.

The other advanced civilizations did not bother to stick their hands into this affair, but nobody reproached them. However, if Godora failed to handle the planets in their administrative region, that would be a stain on their name.

Sending disaster relief was optional, of course, but it would affect the civilization’s status and standing within the Shattered Star Ring. Their allies in the system would also start to re-evaluate their relationship with Godora. As a member of the Lawful Faction, they were a few rules to be observed. For Godora to reinforce its status as the dominant party in the Garton Star System, they had to quell the turmoil of public opinion. As such, they would not sit idly by and would send out disaster relief squads for humanitarian reasons.

Spaceships departed one after another from the space station in Godora, proceeding toward the different planets in each star zone. The Six Nations finally received the news that the Godoran spaceship was heading toward Planet Aquamarine.

The upper echelons of the Six Nations were so touched that they almost cried. After suffering for over a month, Godora had finally remembered that it was the parent of all these countries and was willing to pop by.

The technology of Planet Aquamarine was naturally unable to discover the source of the mutation disaster, but they believed that the Godoran technology could definitely do so. With the aid provided by Godora, the disaster would soon be solved.

Even though the Six Nations had deferred to Han Xiao to request for assistance, the long-established status of Godora to the Six Nations would not be weakened so easily. Black Star had promised them that the mutation disaster would be removed in the future, but currently, he had no way whatsoever to identify the source of the disaster. This could not solve their current urgent needs. Hence, toward the problem of the mutation disaster, the Six Nations would still put more trust in Godora than Black Star.

On the day of arrival for the Godoran spaceship, the Six Nations led a delegation of senior officials to wait at the agreed landing spot, the coordinates of which they had sent to Godora in advance.

“This is the first time that the Godoran Civilization has come on a large scale. We have to bring out the best etiquette in welcoming them.”

To be able to see the Godora fleet was a huge event for the whole civilization. Even if the Six Nations were currently placed in a difficult situation, they had managed to recover some semblance of law and order. To ensure that they would graciously receive their ‘savior’, the Six Nations did not dare mistreat them and actually prepared a grand ceremony.

However, the Six Nations were also at a loss. This was the first time that they would meet with a galactic civilization. They were unaware of the culture of Godorans, and they did not know what the situation in the galaxy was. They were afraid of causing any misunderstandings.

On this day, the Six Nations’ astrology centers kept their attention on the sky at all times. Their mission was to be the first to discover the traces of the Godoran spaceships.

In the afternoon, when the sun was at its most piercing, a fleet slowly entered the atmosphere of Planet Aquamarine. Golden spaceships emerged from the clouds, slowly flying over Planet Aquamarine. This satellite imagery was immediately passed on to the Six Nations.

The leaders perked up, preparing with anxious hearts to receive the Godorans at the landing point.

At this time, the observers suddenly sent out an urgent report. “That’s not right, the Godorans have suddenly changed their course. They are no longer approaching us!”

“What‽”

The officials that were stationed at the landing site were shocked and hurriedly referred to the satellite imagines. All they saw was the Godoran fleet not approaching their predetermined location but instead heading toward the Sanctuary.

The eyes of the leaders of the Six Nations instantly bulged in disbelief.

The exchanges between civilizations should technically be handled by the Six Nations, and besides, they were the ones who had requested assistance. Why had Godora thrown them to a corner and instead run over to Black Star?

They were the true rulers of the planet!

They had initially wanted to personally come into contact with the Godorans, displaying the etiquette of Planet Aquamarine. However, the reality proved different from their imaginations. Their painstakingly prepared welcome ceremony was wasted, and the upper echelons of the Six Nations wanted to cry, but no tears could come out. They only had one thought.

To Godora, could it be that the entire civilization of Planet Aquamarine cannot compare to one Black Star‽

The leaders of the Six Nations only felt a wave of humiliation rush up to their heads as they thought about the contents of their conversation with Han Xiao—If you wish to talk on equal terms, you have to first leave the planet.

…

The golden spaceships hovered outside the Sanctuary, and the players ran out in droves to surround them, exclaiming.

Bennett knew of the Six Nations requesting assistance from Godora, but he did not expect the fleet to come over. He also hurriedly ran out to welcome them.

Hum!

The underside of all the spaceships opened, shooting out yellow gravitational beams. The Godorans appeared one by one, just like the ships were laying eggs.

The disaster relief squad slowly approached the ground, the head of command being Nagakin.

There was a number of new residential areas outside the Sanctuary walls to accommodate the refugees. When the soldiers and refugees saw this scene, their mouths opened wide, their faces sluggish. This was the first time that they had seen Godorans, and they were both curious and nervous, staring at the aliens without blinking.

Bennett had seen Han Xiao capture one of them in the past, so he managed to maintain a calm image as he walked up.

“Respected Godoran friends, I am Bennett, currently in charge of manning this Sanctuary. I represent Planet Aquamarine in welcoming all of you and thank you for your generosity in providing aid. Our planet is direly in need of your help.”

Nagakin did not speak but instead pointed up at the spaceships hovering above the Sanctuary. Using the translator, he said in a severe tone, “What is with the spaceships above here?”

Planet Aquamarine was a simple planet, and the Godoran troops naturally felt a sense of superiority. They did not place the natives in their eyes, but to actually see a fleet of interstellar ships there, they could not help but feel curious.

The reason for the Godorans changing course to the Sanctuary was not because they knew that Han Xiao was present, but rather, they had discovered the fleet under Han Xiao’s command. Thus, Nagakin had commanded the troops to change course, not landing at the agreed coordinates. This was to investigate the reason behind the fleet’s appearance.

Nagakin possessed the strength of a Calamity Grade Super, and even the aura that he unconsciously displayed was enough to cause Bennett’s heart to tighten. He could feel a dangerous aura from the person in front of him, causing him fright. For a moment, he forgot how to speak.

At this moment, Han Xiao appeared from the crowd and laughed. “Nagakin, we meet again.”

“It’s you!” Nagakin opened his eyes wide. His severe expression immediately dissipated like storm clouds after a rain, leaving an expression of joy. He boomed in laughter, taking large strides to give Han Xiao a passionate bear hug.

In the last battle when they worked side by side, Han Xiao had left Nagakin on a deep impression regarding his strength. He could not forget Han Xiao and immediately recognized him at a glance.

“Black Star‽ Hahaha, to think that you’re here too!”

Compared to the disdain Nagakin that had toward the people on Planet Aquamarine, he was jovial toward Han Xiao, literally a heaven and earth difference when compared with each other.

Hearing his exclamation, the people behind Nagakin let out a hubbub of chatter.

“It’s indeed Black Star!”

“The one who killed a Calamity Grade Super together with Commander Nagakin!”

The Godorans hid their arrogance, letting out expressions of surprise as they conversed.

Seeing the duo, Bennett let his surprise show, stammering in disbelief, “You… you two know each other‽”

Han Xiao let go of Nagakin, smiling, as he replied, “Didn’t I tell you before? I have many friends in the interstellar region.”

Bennett could only numbly nod. He did remember Han Xiao mentioning it before, but he did not know the exact circumstances. To suddenly see the Godoran commander calling Han Xiao ‘brother’, only then did he have a clearer picture of Han Xiao’s status within the interstellar region.

“You seem to have adapted better than I imagined.” Bennett sighed as he replied in a complicated tone.

In the past, Han Xiao had once invited Bennett to join him, but he had chosen to remain in Planet Aquamarine. Right now, the disparity between the two was already so far apart. He himself was almost frightened to death by the commander’s aura, but the other party seemed to be really friendly toward Han Xiao.

Bennett only experienced a moment of distress and quickly recovered his original attitude, secretly happy for Han Xiao.

From afar, the players were all whispering.

“To think that the Godorans have also come to our planet.”

“The commander opposite seems to be someone familiar to our head.”

“I remember that in the videos of Bun-Hit-Dog, the head had a good relationship with the Godorans. These should be the reinforcements that the head himself called over to help.”

“That’s insane, the head really has some status.”

“You really have no knowledge. Do you think the term ‘Black Star Network’ was coined for fun?”

Ever since Han Xiao began to recruit the players, the way that they addressed him had started to change. They no longer called him Black Star, rather changing to the term ‘Head’ instead. Even those players who had not joined the Mercenary Group also began to call him such, as this made the players feel closer to him. Before long, this title became popular in the forums, and it stuck as his new nickname.

Because the videos of Bun-Hit-Dog had recorded many stories of the Black Star Mercenary Group, the players were aware that Han Xiao not only had the backing of Floating Dragon but also alliances with many of the famed mercenary groups in the galaxy. In addition, they even had a good relationship with many of the lawful civilizations. Thus, someone had jokingly come up with the term Black Star Network. A lot of them felt that it really made sense. After seeing the videos, they resonated with the name, and it quickly became a trend.

The intelligence of the players was, however, limited, and they were still unaware that the Mutation Disaster was the scheme played between Godora and DarkStar, and they also were not aware that it was the Six Nations that had requested help from Godora… In short, they did not know anything, and thus, at this juncture, they still thought that the Godoran fleet had been summoned by Han Xiao.

Indeed, it is the Black Star Network!

Nagakin was jubilant for a while, but he suddenly recalled his own mission and raised a question. “That’s right, why are you here?”

Han Xiao’s expression did not change as he replied, “This planet is my hometown, and my objective is the same as yours. I’m here to also stop the disaster, and now is the time that I need the Godorans’ help. Let’s not dilly-dally. Let’s just go in and talk.”

Chapter 527: Tense Atmosphere

“So, it’s like that…” Nagakin breathed in deeply.

Since the Godoran team had just arrived, they required intelligence. Everyone gathered within a meeting room, and in the next ten minutes, Han Xiao described the events over the past one month leading up to the mutation disaster. He also talked about the current situation of Planet Aquamarine, allowing Nagakin to better understand the situation.

“Black Star, you should have read the regional news. Not only is the disaster taking place on this planet, the War Bureau and Investigation Department have deployed many more teams as disaster relief as well. With so many planets suffering from disasters, we feel that this incident is embarrassing for us, so there’s someone of my level leading the entire party,” Nagakin said in a low tone. “Previously, you explained the principle behind the mutation source to me. This sort of biochemical weapon is rarely seen, and while I do not know where you got your intelligence from, I believe you have some clues about what is happening behind the scenes.”

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up. In his previous life, Godora did not understand the purpose of the mutation disaster, so their initial efficiency in providing disaster relief was low. This allowed the Mutation Source to grow uninhibited. Currently, his intelligence had pointed out a proper path for the Godorans to follow, which would undoubtedly increase the progress bar of the [Mutation Disaster] Mission. The overall damage for this storyline might be much less than in his previous lifetime.

However, telling them this intelligence had both pros and cons. It was not the opportune time to reveal all his cards, but Godora required some intelligence in order for them to begin their work. Thus, Nagakin connected the dots and was convinced that Han Xiao knew more about this matter.

As for the fact that the Mutation Disaster was a scheme of DarkStar, Han Xiao did not even plan to tell Godora that!

There were many reasons for this. The most crucial point behind this was that he could not obtain many benefits yet, as well as the fact that DarkStar’s schemes existed through many layers. This was only the start, and based on his past life, even if he told Godora that the mutation source was placed by DarkStar, they would only realize the conspiracy the moment DarkStar launched their plans. It was as good as not telling them anything.

While Han Xiao understood the plans of DarkStar, he was clear that if he went out with everything, it would exceed the scope of what was deemed reasonable. Even a foreseer would not be able to provide such detailed intelligence. This would only make Godora suspect that he had a special channel to obtain intelligence, with the final result of attracting trouble to himself. The disadvantages outweighed the benefits; thus, Han Xiao did not plan to help Godora understand that this was a plot by DarkStar. Rather, he wanted them to fall into the trap, which would suit his own benefits.

DarkStar bought the Mutation Source as a tool to ignite a disaster, and they rode on its uniqueness that there was no quick way to resolve this. The only method would be for them to hand out the original mutation source in their hands and allow Godora to manufacture a cure.

In order to maximize his benefits, he naturally could not hand the item over when the danger had not struck. Only when Godora fell into the trap and were pressed for time could he then reveal the mutation source, allowing him to obtain the most benefits.

As for the suspicion from the other party when he handed over the mutation source, Han Xiao had long made preparations for it. During the incident of the Secret Message Bead, Han Xiao had implicated Floating Dragon in the entire affair. As for the source in his hands, it could be explained as Floating Dragon helping him to unlock the bead and keeping the thing safe. Thus, he took the benefits into his own hands while making Floating Dragon the scapegoat.

Based on the position of Ames, DarkStar would not dare go against her, and Godora could not be bothered either way. Thus, his danger level would decrease—he might even allow Floating Dragon to have higher favorability in the Godoran eyes! Han Xiao was almost touched himself by the thought he put into the plan.

The thoughts flashed by in an instant, and Han Xiao did not show any abnormalities in his facial expression. He smoothly replied to Nagakin, “You’re mistaken. I once witnessed such a large-scale deployment of such biochemical weapons during one of my missions, so I went to the intelligence department to collate information. At the same time, because I’m a scholar member of the [Spacetime Research Council], I managed to obtain similar examples from within their repositories. However, I do not know the culprit behind this biochemical attack….

Pausing for a moment, Han Xiao shook his head before continuing. “But this matter is indeed fishy. If you asked me to make a guess, I would probably point this to your enemy DarkStar.”

“I was thinking of the exact same thing! DarkStar has always been against us, but they suddenly started to hide and turtle up two years ago.” Nagakin solemnly nodded in response. “I believe there must be a greater scheme behind this whole thing… Unfortunately, we have no evidence that they are behind this.”

Han Xiao lightly laughed. “With their lousy character, I believe they are bursting from trying to hold in the fact that this is their scheme.”

Hearing this, Nagakin’s face showed frustration. It was true—DarkStar did not care about pleasantries at all.

“In any case, we must provide disaster relief.” Han Xiao lightly skipped over the topic, leaving Nagakin to stew over if DarkStar was behind this plot; he had suggested enough. “We can cooperate. I arrived earlier than you guys by a few days. In my opinion, we can arrange our current problems into two jobs….”

Nagakin reined in his emotions, listening carefully. If the person suggesting the plan had been from the Six Nations, then he likely would not have adopted it but followed his own plans. However, Black Star was different. He had obtained the qualifications to have a dialogue of equals with him, so Nagakin was willing to listen to Han Xiao.

“The first would be to treat and save the refugees. I’ve already started on this, and at the moment, it seems pretty effective. However, there are more than a billion people on this planet, with hundreds of millions of people in danger. In places that our eyes don’t reach, there might be thousands dying each day. If this is not contained in time, the consequences will be unimaginable.”

Nagakin nodded in response. This was indeed a matter of urgency. If everyone ended up dying, who were they trying to save?

“The second matter is to discover the source of this disaster and snuff it out once and for all. This requires help from Godora, as the technology present on Planet Aquamarine is wholly inadequate to handle such a situation. If we wish to unravel this biochemical weapon, we will need to produce the corresponding antidote.”

The disaster relief team would not stay on the planet indefinitely. Their main objective was to research on the source of the disaster before coming up with ideas to solve the problem.

The two suggestions were also within the plan that Nagakin had thought of, so he simply acted vigorously on the execution. After the meeting ended, he immediately brought his rescue team to begin the operation, leaving only a few researchers within the Sanctuary to experiment on the infected. This was to confirm the parameters of the virus outbreak. As for the rest, they proceeded to meet up with the Six Nations, connecting with the regime of Planet Aquamarine.

The rescue team began to operate in full capacity, at the same time cooperating with the Six Nations to ramp up the production of the suppressants. This was because of the foundation that Han Xiao had set. If he did not share the recipe of the suppressant with the Six Nations, that would have been another scene. Of course, the specific actions for rescuing the refugees would still have to be undertaken by the Six Nations themselves. The Godoran team did not have enough resources, and they would not waste so much energy on such trifling matters.

The Six Nations rode on the support given by the Godorans, restoring the morale of the citizens. This was evidently useful, as many refugees in the wilderness ran over to the Six Nations the moment that they received news of its safety, allowing them to relieve the pressure on the Sanctuary.

Across the vast land, a group of refugees with ragged clothing walked in the direction of the Six Nations.

In the early days of the Mutation Disaster, large droves of people had evacuated from the cities, as they did not dare to live in close proximity of each other. As of now, more than half of the population were refugees living in the wild. Due to the danger within the wilderness, coupled with the refugees being left to their own devices, seventy to eighty percent of the people typically died during the journey. However, because the Six Nations were busy trying to stabilize law and order, they could not spare the effort. The production of the suppressants would never be able to satisfy the number of refugees present, but it did not mean that they could ignore the refugees. They had to be searched for and welcomed back.

Thus, the players entered the sights of the refugee seekers.

Han Xiao’s mercenary group consisted of the few ‘Immortals’, which was Frenzied Sword and company. However, to see so many of the supposed immortals there, it would be weird if Nagakin could remain unsurprised. However, this scenario had been part of Planet Aquamarine for quite a few years, so it was regarded as a unique phenomenon of Planet Aquamarine. They treated this group of people as a special species born on Planet Aquamarine.

A few years ago, an investigator from Godora had gone to Planet Aquamarine and recorded such a scenario. However, the conclusion of the investigation was vague, and thus, it did not receive much attention. At this point, Nagakin felt that the Inhumans were strange but also very willing to help out in wake of the disaster relief. Thus, he tried making contact with them.

In his past life, Nagakin’s Godoran faction had attracted numerous players to join them, bringing them out to space, but now that the outstanding Han Xiao had come first, the attraction of Nagakin had its limits.

A good portion of the players were definitely interested toward the Godoran faction, but they preferred Han Xiao… No, it was not just preference. It could be called love at this level.

Of course, Nagakin did not know that Black Star was the hidden ‘opponent’ that he had to face and was still unaware that Han Xiao had taken away the most precious thing of his.

Even knowing that Black Star had recruited many of those Inhumans, Nagakin did not put much thought into it. Han Xiao was someone native to this planet, and the Inhumans were naturally his people. Thus, it was not surprising that they would follow Black Star. This did not obstruct Nagakin from giving out missions to the players, and even more surprisingly, the players were willing to help him in his tasks.

Just as Han Xiao predicted, the Godoran disaster relief squad brought with them a replacement of the monetary system. The original Planet Aquamarine currency was already close to collapse, and the currency of Enas used commonly in outer space was currently being made known. While the Sanctuary also had missions, compared to the rewards given by the Godorans, there was no comparison at all between the two.

The players were all clear that Enas was the true currency that could be used in the future, so the side to support in doing their missions was clear. The missions issued by the Godoran team also had a limit, so they were always treated like hot cakes among the players. Furthermore, with the faction store of Han Xiao whetting their appetite, it made the players hate the fact that they could not earn enough money to upgrade their equipment.

Han Xiao would definitely not give out missions that rewarded Enas—it was impossible to make him do something like that. However, he used his relation with Nagakin and issued a few missions where the reward could be claimed from Nagakin, allowing those players of his faction to accept those missions. The meaning was clear—if they joined the Black Star Mercenary Group, they would get better missions from the Godorans! This reflected Han Xiao’s position on profiting through the Mercenary Group.

We’re not the producers of the missions; we’re merely the middlemen!

Using the Mercenary Group’s network and word of mouth to obtain employment tasks, like borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha, to hand them out to the players would create endless resources for them, which the players would then spend on them. This was equivalent to taking the money of NPCs and giving it to himself. The players in this case were like the hardworking little honeybees, and this setup resembled a full-fledged production system where Han Xiao did not need to pay attention to in order to reap the benefits.

The current players would witness the benefits of being in the mercenary group, and those that had yet to join would be even more pressured! On the forums, everyone discussed the pros and cons of joining either the Godoran faction or the Black Star Mercenary Group, and the final conclusion was that the Black Star Mercenary Group far outshone Godora!

Joining the Godoran faction would only allow them to accept missions, but joining Black Star would allow them, based on footage of Bun-Hit-Dog, a large variety of endless tasks!

While the players have not truly felt the meaning behind this, the moment they entered outer space, which was a foregone conclusion, things would be different. Just the speculations on the forums caused the players realize just how impressive the Black Star faction was—Black Star Network was not just for show!

The foundations that Han Xiao had laid down during Version 1.0 were slowly beginning to unfold.

…

The Garton Star System was still reporting news of the disaster, and polls showed that nearly all of the Godorans were supportive of the sending of disaster relief squads. The citizens also performed all kinds of blessings, sympathetic toward the experience of their allies.

The intervention of the rescue team had greatly improved the situation of Planet Aquamarine. After several days, the treated refugees reached a new high. It was a pity that the researchers never had any breakthroughs in this period.

Because they could only come into contact with the virus through the infected, it was difficult to achieve any effects in the short run.

Han Xiao was sure that there were people from DarkStar observing the situation of the disaster relief. However, it seemed as though they had not made any moves the past few days. Nagakin and the others were still in the dark, but Han Xiao had the feeling that a tense atmosphere was brewing.

Now that Planet Aquamarine looked as though the situation was turning for the better, it seemed as though the situation could be stabilized. However, Han Xiao knew that the mutation disaster would not be as simple as that.

The moment the Mutation Source advanced to the next level, the effect would increase further, and even those who had been injected with the suppressants before would be affected once more. The dosage would have to be increased in order for them to be immunized. Currently, yield was the biggest limitation, and the more people that were saved now might have to be abandoned later. The problems regarding this would be tricky to think about.

Moreover, the higher the growth stage of the mutation virus, the more its intelligence would grow. At that time, the condition of the disease happening would no longer be as uncontrolled as it currently was, and there would be motives behind its actions. During which, not only would the ordinary citizens be affected, even the weaker Supers would fall under its control. Following the growth of strength of the virus, it would slowly infect even stronger people.

The scariest thing about the virus was that, upon reaching a certain stage, the virus would cause irreparable damage to the brain with every attack. After a long period of time, their ability to think will slowly degenerate, and those with the virus would experience an unprecedented stimulation. The pleasure they felt would be many times that of mating and addictive. It would reach a point where they would subconsciously refuse suppressants, actively seeking the disease and allowing it to destroy the last vestiges of its sanity. That was the worst case scenario.

Since Han Xiao was aware of such a matter, it meant that in his previous life, the virus had reached such a level.

If this Mutation Disaster could not be solved, then the final solution would be to abandon the planet and take all the survivors with them.

This was the worst end, and Planet Sunil was a good example of it. The treatment of refugees on the Mutation Disaster planets would not necessarily be better than that of the Sunil people. In the end, there was a high chance of the demise of their ‘civilization’.

The situation had not yet devolved to such a stage, but Han Xiao was not as optimistic as the rest. While DarkStar had suffered a few losses to him, the other party was still a vicious dog.

Other than the disaster relief, Han Xiao was also following up on Hannes request, asking the Godorans to probe for leads. The other party agreed to it.

The most surprising thing was that Nagakin came to a conclusion extremely quickly, locking onto the identity of the Godoran that Hannes had met.

And the truth of it greatly exceeded their expectations.

Chapter 528: New Clue

“Angora, a pureblood Godoran citizen. Once lived on the mother planet before shifting to Colony Planet Gautin. Single parent family with poor living conditions. Family members passed away. No spouse or relatives. Graduated from a public school. Did not have any full-time jobs, and we only have records of a few part-time jobs. Total working time is less than seven months. Locked up for a few days because of fighting, and the last record of his activity is more than ten years ago…”

In the room, Hannes and Bennett were seated on the opposite as Han Xiao read this document out before passing it over for the two to read. This piece of information had been given to him by Nagakin. By performing a match with the portrait, Godora’s AI was able to easily lock onto the target in the database.

In a galactic civilization, details of all the citizens were recorded, and they needed to use their individual ID for all daily activities. All of their activities would also then be fed back into the main database. The storage center of a high-grade civilization would not only be a single database. The database would only be the largest backup, and apart from that, when data was being transmitted to the main database, it would pass by a few relay nodes, and a backup would be made in those nodes. Thus, even if the main database went down, all of the information would not be lost and could easily be retrieved from the relay nodes.

Personal details of the citizens would naturally be confidential information, but with Nagakin’s status, it was an extremely easy matter to gain access to the database. According to the law, the personal information of citizens was not allowed to be shown to outsiders. However, rules were dead, whereas people were alive. Nagakin had always wanted to build a good relationship with Black Star, and if Black Star only wanted such a simple piece of information, the upper echelons would also turn a blind eye to the matter. After all, strength gave an individual special privileges.

Of course, Nagakin would also ask why Han Xiao was investigating this person, and Han Xiao did not hide anything from him. He said that a friend had met a foreign Godoran on Planet Aquamarine. As for Hannes’ guesses, which did not have any evidence to back it up, there naturally was no need to reveal it.

“It’s him alright.” After taking a close look at the portrait on the file, Hannes confirmed that this was the mysterious Godoran whom he had met on Planet Aquamarine. Noticing that the picture on the file looked much younger, Hannes could not help but ask, “How old is he?”

“According to his birth date, Angora is already more than ninety years old. The lifespan of a Godoran is roughly 1.5 times yours, but the universe would rarely calculate it as such. With a Life Sustaining Hibernation Chamber, it is possible to greatly slow down one’s aging. On the file, it has been a few decades since the last recorded activity, which means that Angora did not use his own ID during this period of time. He was inside a Life Sustaining Hibernation Chamber when you met him, and he may have stayed in Planet Aquamarine for a very long time already,” Han Xiao mused as he looked at the file in deep thought.

This file was pretty detailed, and it had records of all of Angora’s activities from birth until he went missing. The most unexpected thing was the fact that this file was far too ordinary. Angora seemed like an ordinary galactic resident, and with Godora’s productive capacity, the majority of its citizens did not need to work anymore. This was also the problem with the majority of the high-grade civilizations.

They would not starve to death if they did not work, but their lives would not be too good. It was probably because of this that Angora had left the mother planet. While the civilization was able to provide for the unemployed, the unemployed would only have their most basic level of needs fulfilled. If they wanted anything better, they would naturally have to go out and work for it. However, the prices and societal climates of the various planets would very naturally end up eliminating those who did not work.

Colony Planet Gautin was located at the periphery of Godora’s territory and was a backward planet. If Godora separated its colonies into ranks, Gautin would definitely be at the lowest rank. It was pretty much the slums of the galaxy.

Bennett frowned and said, “Could the mess on Planet Aquamarine be related to him?”

While Bennett was not familiar with the matters of the galaxy, he still had a basic level of judgement. Not just Han Xiao, even he felt that this was the file of an ordinary individual without anything special.

“It’s difficult to say. We can’t tell which organization he belongs to.” Han Xiao shook his head. “However, we have a new clue now. We can choose to either make a trip to Gautin or get the Six Nations to hand over the hibernation chamber that they obtained. As long as I can check the serial number of the chamber, I will be able to find the seller and continue the investigation.”

“Alright, we shall be relying on you then.” Hannes nodded.

“I shall go and talk to the Six Nations,” Bennett said. With him conveying Han Xiao’s intentions, the Six Nations definitely would not reject him. Bennett felt that this was all he could do.

Bennett was also a legendary character who had survived the era of the hundred nations and was extremely curious toward the reason for the situation on Planet Aquamarine developing to such a state.

Han Xiao nodded and took out his communicator. After searching through his contacts, he chose a mercenary who was part of the Sky Ring Army. This mercenary had once been a comrade in arms for one of his missions. Han Xiao requested the other party to help him and sent Angora’s details over. The other party immediately agreed to help investigate the matter.

Because Gautin was pretty far away and Han Xiao had things to do on Planet Aquamarine, he did not intend to send out the mercenaries under his charge. Thus, he made use of the network that he had built up to hire another mercenary to investigate the matter on his behalf. Sky Ring had many different businesses, and their efficiency would be much higher.

Two days later, the Six Nations sent the hibernation chamber over. Han Xiao hacked into the system and easily obtained the serial number of the chamber. Not only that, he even found out that the hibernation chamber could access the net. With his current skills, Han Xiao was easily able to hack into the account that was logged into the chamber. However, there were only entertainment programs recorded in the account without anything valuable. Still, Han Xiao sent it over to Sky Ring as a new clue.

Following which, Han Xiao threw that matter to the back of his mind.

He had done what he needed to, and he just did not have many clues. He could only wait for Sky Ring to make some progress.

The situation on Planet Aquamarine was slowly stabilizing. Because Godora knew about the effect of the Mutation Source, they did not take too many detours like in Han Xiao’s previous life. More and more refugees were saved, and the size of the Sanctuary expanded rapidly. The construction zone continuously expanded, and despite the new buildings being extremely simple looking, the Sanctuary gradually looked more and more like a city.

With his name being hung up on the Sanctuary, all the refugees who entered the Sanctuary would remember his name. While the mutation virus would act up again in the next phase, gathering all the refugees together would make it much easier for them to suppress the chaos. Even if they did not have sufficient suppressants, they could subdue the refugees with force. At the very least, the number of casualties and fatalities would be far less than in Han Xiao’s previous life. It was just that there would be a much higher demand on manpower. Even though Bennett was aware of what might happen in the future, he was still insistent on saving people.

Nagakin’s rescue squad, the players, the Sanctuary, and the Six Nations. Everyone was extremely busy during this period, and there were even a few beast attacks.

Han Xiao continued to hire players, and some of the players who had earned Enas began purchasing items from the faction store. However, because the reward from the Godora missions were little, the players had only spent less than 10,000 Enas in his store, and it was far from being enough for him to pay off his debts.

However, Han Xiao was not the slightest bit anxious as this was only the beginning.

Han Xiao had always believed in collective wealth. Only when the players’ wallets were full would the buying power of the market increase. As for making the players wealthy, this was something that Han Xiao would not even think of any time soon. After all, it was not easy for the players to earn some money.

Planet Aquamarine was temporarily fine. Before DarkStar took action, Planet Aquamarine would not have any storms. Han Xiao was more concerned about the situation on the other calamity planets. The situation of the calamity was being reported all over the news channels of the Garton Star System, and the citizens of Godora were praying for the rescue squads.

However, a few different voices could also be heard.

“With so many planets falling into calamity at the same time and the symptoms of their illness being similar, this is too much of a coincidence. This matter definitely isn’t so simple.”

“I heard some rumors that Godora had weapon research facilities on these planets. Their experiments went wrong, which resulted in the weapons being spread out, thus causing the calamity.”

“If they wanted to conduct experiments, why didn’t they find a planet without any inhabitants? Why would they take the risk and test their weapons on the civilizations of their allies?”

“Indeed, this rumor is too stupid, and it definitely false.”

“Not necessarily. If it is a biological weapon, then living beings are needed to conduct an experiment.”

“You’re thinking too much. It is probably DarkStar behind this matter. They have the technology and enjoy attacking low-grade civilizations in the Garton Star System to create trouble for Godora.”

“What if Godora is intentionally pushing this matter onto DarkStar. Such an enemy is a natural target board.”

“Ah, how is that possible? You are just spouting nonsense. You will have to take responsibility for your words in the future.”

On Godora’s web, some of the citizens began guessing wildly. Compared to thinking about proper rescue missions, many of them preferred to come up with ridiculous conspiracy theories. They preferred the excitement brought about by these rumors. However, not too many people would believe such rumors.

At the same time, there were new rumors about the disaster relief operations.

“I have a friend who is part of the disaster relief squad…”

“The ‘I have a friend’ series has appeared.”

“He said that the calamity is too strange, and the upper echelons are completely helpless toward it. They don’t know how to solve the problem at its roots and may resort to shifting the entire civilization and receiving the refugees.”

“Ah? That can’t be right.”

“With so many planets, there will be far too many refugees. Shifting so many people will be a huge project, and the upper echelons will probably let those refugees temporarily stay on our colony planets.”

“How can that be? I don’t want to live together with those backward individuals.”

“That’s right—they can go to other uninhabited planets. Why do they have to come to our territory and snatch our resources?”

“I can still accept the matter if they are only staying temporarily. I am only afraid that they won’t be willing to move away.”

“Just throw those refugees onto an uninhabited planet and let them die on their own. Just don’t come to Godora.”

“That’s right. It’s enough for us to send out a disaster relief squad. We do not have to take responsibility for them at the end.”

All of those opinions had only come out from their imaginations without any concrete evidence. However, it immediately drowned out all the well wishes and prayers for the calamity planets.

Through a small survey conducted, the support that the citizens had toward the disaster relief efforts had also dropped slightly.

All of those rumors appeared very naturally without any signs as though there was something brewing in the darkness.

…

In the Garton Star System was Colony Planet Gautin, a grayish planet that looked extremely colorless, floating in the darkness of space.

Looking down from outside the atmosphere, the city looked extremely orderly. While it was a lousier Colony Planet, the city would not be dirty or messy. It just was not as prosperous and flashy as the other Colony Planets. Gautin seemed to be dull and grayish without that many golden buildings; Godorans loved the color gold the most.

This situation was because Gautin had outsourced a portion of the city’s design to a galactic construction company. As such, the place did not really have the special traits of a Godoran planet. The Godoran citizens who stayed there were naturally those who did not wish to work either.

The planet did not have much wind, and the clouds seemed to be frozen in midair. The moonlight of the artificial moon was not gentle, and the towering buildings were all coated with a layer of light silver paint. All the residential buildings were more than a hundred meters tall, and the windows were all lit up. There seemed to be the warmness of a thousand households being lit up, but those who understood the reason would know that it was because the Godorans who were not willing to work generally enjoyed being holed up at home.

As such, there were not many vehicles on the streets and almost no pedestrians making use of the public flying runes. Only the cleaning robots moved down the streets slowly. While the streets were clean, it was cold and silent.

In a small apartment near the periphery of the city, three Godorans were playing cards and chatting away. They were all pretty old with wrinkles all over their faces. Their figures were plump, and despite the fat on their bodies, it was obvious that they had been pretty fit when they were young.

Chapter 529: Ridiculous Truth (1)

“Have you heard about the news in the Garton Star System?” one of the fat Godorans said with a chuckle. He, Kedan, had an amiable look on his face. He had once been part of Godora’s Investigation Department but had been fired because of negligence. He had even stayed in jail for a good few years because of that. After leaving prison, he had migrated to Colony Planet Gautin and had stayed there ever since. The two others beside him were his friends.

“Of course, I’ve heard the news.” Another person shook his head. “The television is reporting how many low-grade civilizations in the Star System are suffering from a calamity.”

“It’s none of our business at all. Why are you mentioning this? Could it be that you are trying to steal a card while we are distracted?”

“Scram,” Kedan said with exasperation before whispering, “Do you still remember what I told you guys about?”

“Which matter?”

“The matter when I was still in the Investigation Department.”

“Che, you’ve bragged about that matter a few hundred times, and we are tired of hearing it.”

“Do you know, that planet is currently on the list of calamity planets?” Kedan chuckled. “I wonder how it has developed over the years. I want to go back and take a look. Do you guys want to come with me?”

“Are you sure? That planet isn’t safe now.”

“The older one becomes, the more one wants to look back at one’s past achievements.” Kedan chuckled. “Furthermore, I have a friend who stayed behind in that place, so he can receive us and be our guide. Besides, the rescue squad is there, and we can either pretend to be spectators or help with the disaster relief.”

As the two of them heard that, their tones became strange.

“That can’t be right? He’s still on that backward planet? Won’t he be bored to death?”

“Are you a fool? His hibernation chamber can be connected to the net, and I have always been in touch with him. He…”

Kedan rubbed his palms with excitement, but just when he was about to continue, the doorbell rang. The sudden ringing of the doorbell caused the three of them to jump up from their seats.

“Who would come at such a time?”

Kedan had a doubtful look on his face as he walked to the door and peered into the peephole. He did not know the few standing outside the door. They were all dressed in combat attire with a ring-shaped emblem on the center of their chest. Kedan felt as though he had definitely seen that emblem before somewhere.

Opening the small window at the top of the door, Kedan showed his face and asked warily, “Who are you guys looking for?”

The other party sized up him up before asking, “Are you Golden Mitland?”

Strange, why would these people know the IGN of my web account? Kedan immediately felt that something was wrong. After denying that he was Golden Mitland, he immediately tried to shut the window. At that moment, the person outside the door raised a laser rifle and pointed it right at Kedan’s head.

Kedan’s body froze in place, and he did not dare move the slightest bit. His legs began to tremble, and he thought that the other party wanted to rob him. Before he could even plead for mercy, he heard the next question from the other party, which sent shivers down his spine.

“Do you remember Angora?”

“I… I don’t know him….” Kedan’s eyes widened and his lips trembled. At that moment, the anxiousness that he felt was on a whole different level. It was as though this name had a frightening magic.

The person outside the door shook his head and said, “It’s okay even if you don’t know him. Follow me if you don’t want to suffer.”

“To… to where?”

“Black Star wants to see you.”

…

A couple of days later, the Sky Ring spaceship silently waited outside the atmosphere of Planet Aquamarine. Han Xiao piloted the BlackLight Stealth and went up to receive them.

There were only two other people in the control room, Hannes and Bennett, and this was their first time entering the universe in a spaceship. They watched the scenery on the outside in a daze as they enjoyed this novel experience. However, it was a mere few seconds from the surface to outside the atmosphere, and they reached the universe before they could even react.

Han Xiao had left the others waiting on the surface. He was only receiving the members of Sky Ring, so there was no need to make a big fuss out of it. Sky Ring had sent him some good news—they had managed to find Angora’s friend through the information that he had provided. This friend seemed to be called Kedan, and he appeared to know about Angora.

The two spaceships were aligned, and the hatch opened up. At that moment, the face of this Godoran was dripping with anxiety, and his eyes were filled with fear.

“Don’t be afraid, I only want you to give me some intelligence.” Han Xiao took out Angora’s portrait and asked, “You know him, right?”

Kedan felt waves in his heart and shook his head vigorously.

“I put him through a lie detector; he is lying,” the Sky Ring mercenaries interjected.

“Since you are so afraid, you are probably aware of what went on behind the scenes. Let me ask you directly. Are you related to the war on Planet Aquamarine?” Han Xiao raised his brows and knew that he might have caught the mastermind.

“No! I have never heard of Planet Aquamarine before! You guys caught the wrong person!” Kedan’s lips were sealed. However, none of them believed him.

Han Xiao took out a small metal plate that was about the size of a nail and stuck it onto Kedan’s neck. He then used his Mechanical Force to activate the metal plate, and Kedan’s body began to tremble violently. His eyes turned white, and his entire body shook. With his body contorting on the ground, he lost control of his bowels.

“Let me introduce this item to you.” Han Xiao pointed at the metal plate. “When this little cutie is activated, it unleashes a powerful voltage with a good kick. If you like this feeling, you should keep your mouth shut and slowly enjoy it.”

An electrical treatment was akin to torture, and the interface showed that Kedan was only an ordinary person, not a Super.

Kedan was like a fish out of water, with his body squirming around. A few minutes later, he finally broke down in tears and promised to share everything that he knew.

Everyone then helped Kedan up and placed him on a chair for him to calm down. At the same time, they put the lie detector apparatus on him. Kedan was still trembling, and he looked at Han Xiao with a guilty expression before narrating what he knew.

“I used to be a low ranked member of the Godora Investigation Department, and that was a few decades ago. At that time, Godora had just found Planet Aquamarine, and the usual practice for a low-grade civilization was to observe their progress. My job was to monitor the progress of this new civilization, give them an evaluation, and submit a report to the Foreign Affairs Department or War Bureau. This job was extremely easy but also very boring…”

“Get to the main point. What has the war in Planet Aquamarine got to do with you?” Hannes pressed.

Kedan began trembling as he said, “That… that was my doing. I made use of my job to send someone to Planet Aquamarine and got him to incite a war in secret…”

“It is indeed related to Godora!” Hannes flew into a rage, and Bennett jumped to his feet.

“Just what exactly did you do?” Han Xiao said with an odd tone.

Kedan then began narrating the process. In summary, he had pretended to be a guest from a high-grade civilization and contacted some nations privately. He had then made a few empty promises to them or emphasized on some theories. In any case, it had been extremely easy to get those backward aboriginals to listen to the words of an alien from a high-grade civilization. He had then fanned the flames in the background.

At that time, Planet Aquamarine had just found out about the presence of a high-grade civilization in the galaxy, and the state of the entire world had fallen into chaos. If nature had been allowed to take its course, there was a chance that the situation would have stabilized on its own, and the nations would have worked together to welcome a new era of peace. This was the most logical thing to do.

But at the critical moment, aliens had fanned the flames from behind the scenes to create conflict between the various nations and light up the flames of war. Even the nations that did not wish to go to war had also been dragged into the storm and could not remain neutral.

In the end, a world war had broken out on Planet Aquamarine, and only the Six Nations had been left behind. While the source of the war had been an exhaustion of resources, the critical factor had been the ’emissary of a high-grade civilization’ leading the nations into war.

Before this, Hannes had already made such a guess, and he felt as though his guess had just been verified. Both Bennett and Hannes were extremely furious. They had both been through the world war and could feel their bones turning cold.

The civilization that was currently helping Planet Aquamarine had been the mastermind that schemed against them previously. Why would a galactic civilization want to do such a thing? Did they want to swallow Planet Aquamarine, or did they wish to eliminate all enemies with potential‽

“What about Angora?” Han Xiao asked with a frown.

“He is a childhood friend of mine, and we studied in the same public school. It is just that my results were better, and I managed to get into a school of the Investigation Department. He left the mother planet, and I didn’t see him for a long period of time. However, our relationship was still extremely good, and I reached out to him to work together with me. I got him to pretend to be an emissary while I shielded him from my post.”

Just when Han Xiao wanted to nod his head, he realized that something was wrong. A cold glare flashed past his eyes and he said, “Why was Angora the one pretending to be an emissary? He’s only an ordinary citizen.”

He found a dubious point. If Godora was behind this matter, they would definitely have sent a professional. Why would they choose someone like Angora? Could it be that Angora had another identity?

Chapter 530: Ridiculous Truth (2)

Kedan squirmed around uncomfortably before saying, “I mentioned this matter to him, and he found it very interesting. Thus, I brought him along with me…”

Han Xiao felt that the matter becoming more dubious by the second. “What do you mean? Didn’t Godora instruct you to do so?”

Kedan paused for a moment and realized that they had misunderstood something. After hesitating for a moment, he thought about the other party’s terrifying devices and softly said, “No, this has nothing to do with Godora—it was my personal plan.”

Both Hannes and Bennett were completely stunned.

“With such authority in my hands, my day to day life was far too boring. As I was observing the situation of Planet Aquamarine, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck me, and I wanted to treat Planet Aquamarine like a sandbox for me to play around with. After all, it was extremely easy for me to play around with a backward civilization, and there weren’t any risks involved. Because the upper echelons weren’t bothered by the civil war of a low-grade civilization, I wanted to create a war and see all of you fight because of me. I felt that it was extremely interesting. After thinking about it, I immediately carried out my plan.

“Angora worked together with me for this, and he chose to stay on Planet Aquamarine in the end. He felt that there wasn’t any meaning to return to Godora and chose to stay on the backward planet to personally witness the outcome of his actions. He felt that this was an extremely interesting matter as well.”

After Kedan finished his words, the entire place fell silent. The lie detector machine did not give out an alarm, which meant that everything Kedan said was true.

Hannes and Bennett were thoroughly dumbfounded.

Wasn’t this a plan of the Godoran Civilization?

Was it really only because someone felt bored?

“Impossible!” Hannes lost control. “You are only an ordinary individual. If Godora wasn’t involved, how could two ordinary individuals accomplish such a matter‽”

Kedan shrunk back and said meekly, “It is extremely simple actually. No one suspected that the emissary was a fake because we are truly Godorans.”

Hannes was completely stunned. He had thought that it was impossible for two ordinary individuals to cause the entire planet to devolve into war, but he was speechless at this moment.

That’s right, they are Godorans.

That is enough…

Because Godora was a high-grade civilization, Godoran’s were also ‘high grade’. Who would suspect them?

Bennett’s face turned cold, and he grabbed Kedan’s collar. Countless families had been ruined in the war, and it was all because two people had found it amusing. Looking at Kedan’s eyes, which were filled with anxiety and fear but not a single trace of guilt, the words that were about to come out from Bennett’s mouth were swallowed back.

At that time, Planet Aquamarine was probably like an ants’ nest in the eyes of the Godorans. How was playing around with ants a crime?

Han Xiao had a strange look on his face, and he found the truth to be extremely ridiculous.

He had thought that there was a mysterious organization stirring up chaos from the dark, but the truth was completely out of his expectations. There was not a single organization that would even think of scheming against a weak civilization like Planet Aquamarine. The only reason was because an audacious fool had sadistic tendencies. There was no scheming or conspiracies. It was just that simple a reason.

A small figure in Godora had felt bored and incited a war for his own amusement. After the show ended, he had acted as though nothing had happened. In the end, because of the authority that he had in his job and Godora’s indifference toward Planet Aquamarine, he had managed to hide this matter for a few decades.

Someone like Angora who was a failure in his own society had chosen to bully the weak and display his superiority in a backward planet as enjoyment.

The only thing that those two individuals had relied on was their gold-colored skin.

The truth was so simple and ridiculous and yet so desolate.

Because they were weak, they were reduced to playthings.

This made Han Xiao feel as though Planet Aquamarine was like a virtuous young lady being raped by a little brat of a wealthy family, unable to even have the thought of resisting.

To Planet Aquamarine, this was a calamity that they did not deserve.

While Han Xiao did not have any attachment to Planet Aquamarine and was not someone who would be affected emotionally, he was truly a little frustrated. However, his frustration was directed toward Godora. After all, the crime of the Godoran civilization in this matter was probably that they were too powerful. Perhaps it was their strength that gave them a sense of superiority.

“How… ridiculous.” Han Xiao let out a long breath filled with complicated emotions.

Despite a notification popping up on his interface that he had completed the hidden ranked A mission, he didn’t have the mood to check it immediately.

The mercenaries from Sky Ring left without Kedan. He was knocked unconscious and locked up in a cage. Han Xiao then allowed Bennett to deal with Kedan as he wished.

Both Bennett and Hannes felt that it was extremely difficult for them to accept this truth. The decades of change on Planet Aquamarine had all been because of this ridiculous reason. All of the suffering that they had gone through suddenly seemed so meaningless. An entire civilization had been toyed with by two aliens.

Their planet could have been much better.

“Don’t think too much. If this is the truth, we have no choice but to accept it.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Bennett lowered his head and did not know what to say. He then stood up abruptly and looked at Han Xiao with seriousness.

“While I didn’t interrupt you when you were negotiating with the Six Nations, I felt uncomfortable in my heart. However, I was wrong.” Bennett clenched his fists tightly. “I finally understand your efforts. It is a crime to be weak! You didn’t go into the universe just for the solution to the calamity. You also went into the universe for the future of Planet Aquamarine! You are far nobler than me!”

Han Xiao’s mouth began to cramp up. Since when did he have such thoughts?

Could it be that the higher the Favorability, the more vivid one’s imagination would be‽

“If not for you, this planet would still be in the dark. I thank you on behalf of Planet Aquamarine.” Bennett gave a bow. As Hannes heard those words, he also stood up and bowed toward Han Xiao.

“Don’t be like this… You guys are making me feel as though I am good guy,” Han Xiao said with a helpless tone. His actions were out of his own interests but had an unexpectedly good outcome.

He had never felt that he was a good person. Just like now, he was already thinking of how to make full use of Kedan.

…

At the same time in Black Phantom Sanctuary, the players were excitedly carrying out the disaster relief missions, and a new round of the Black Star Mercenary Group selection was underway. The sound of fighting and cheering could be heard from afar. Many of the refugees who had been injected with the suppressant finally had hope toward life again, and despite the planet being overwhelmed with calamity, the entire Sanctuary was filled with energy.

In the sky, a couple of Godora spaceships were hovering, and Nagakin looked down at the plaza in deep thought.

His assistant by the side asked, “Your Excellency Nagakin, what do you think of these Inhumans?”

“Full of potential.” Nagakin nodded. After a few days of observation, he had already noticed the players’ potential. From the slight importance that he had attached to them at the beginning, he paid close attention to them now.

With the unexpected surprise of the Inhumans, Nagakin felt that the objective of his mission should not be disaster relief.

While Godora had sent troops over to aid Planet Aquamarine, this did not mean that they would be overly invested in a low-grade civilization like Planet Aquamarine. The way Nagakin saw it, those Inhumans would be able to bring him much greater benefits.

“There are plenty of Inhumans, and there are more than a million on the entire planet. There are so many Super, and all of them have the potential to grow. This is a force that shouldn’t be underestimated,” the assistant said.

“That’s right. We should begin engaging the Inhumans… There is value in roping them in.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Issue a recruitment notice, just like Black Star. Godora should be far more attractive than a single Mercenary Group.”

Nagakin made his decision. While he respected Black Star’s strength, with such a large group of Supers before his eyes, he could not ignore their presence and wanted a slice of the cake.

Even if the Inhumans were from Black Star’s hometown, Nagakin would not allow Black Star to swallow the entire cake alone.

Chapter 531: Advancement, Virtual Mechanic!

As for how they should deal with Kedan, both Bennett and Hannes still had no idea. Naturally, Han Xiao recognized that Kedan had value and felt that he should be exploited.

Kedan was a Godoran citizen, and the act of kidnapping him had some risks. Thankfully, Kedan was only a member of Colony Planet Gautin, which was in the periphery of society. Sky Ring had taken some effort to bring him over, but according to them, there had been two others present. Since the mission had not been carried out by Han Xiao personally, there would definitely be many loopholes.

There would be some risks in keeping Kedan. Even if he was a sloth who did not work, Godora would still protect their citizens. However, Han Xiao definitely would not let him go so easily. While Kedan’s actions had violated the Godoran law and he would be sentenced when he returned, Godora definitely would not compensate Planet Aquamarine.

However, in a galactic generation, the movement of people from planet to planet was far too rapid. Furthermore, many citizens would not stay in the colonies but take a spaceship to the other Star Systems. The gigantic and complicated distribution of the Godoran population meant that the Public Security Office was laxer in managing them. A member living in one of the periphery colonies being kidnapped was only a small matter, and the local Public Security Office would not have the manpower to give chase into the universe. They would definitely send the matter to their higher ups with the case being handled in an extremely inefficient manner.

As long as Godora could not find the person, this kidnapping incident would be over. After all, it was only an ordinary citizen going missing. It was impossible for Godora to invest a large amount of resources to search for him in the universe. If they were unable to find him after some time, the case would just be closed as an unresolved case. The Sky Ring mercenaries had turned on their anti-tracking devices after boarding the spaceship, and it would be difficult to track them after entering hyperdrive. Thankfully, they were not complete pig like teammates, so Han Xiao was extremely grateful.

“You made me think about my hometown.” Risda voice suddenly sounded in the control room.

“Both filled with desolation, right?” Han Xiao shook his head.

“At least there is still hope.” After saying that, Risda fell silent. He had always been in the BlackLight Stealth and controlling the spaceship but did not like to show himself.

Risda allowed Han Xiao to use his body as Han Xiao pleased and had always been very cooperative. Han Xiao did not let Phillip control the spaceship either. When comparing the ability of the two, Risda was naturally far superior to Phillip as he was an AI lifeform.

The BlackLight Stealth landed in the Sanctuary, and Han Xiao instructed Bennett not to kill Kedan temporarily.

Han Xiao first checked on the progress of the recruitment before checking on Sylvia’s homework. He then returned to his own living quarters to check the mission reward, which he received. He had received more than 8,000,000 experience points, a chance to draw a Random Reward that he did not plan on using yet, two Free Attribute Points, and one Potential Point. A high ranked mission would tend to reward him with attribute points.

The best reward was naturally the Medal of Honor, which provided him with a three percent increase to all attributes.

_____________________

You have received [Medal of Honor – Seeker of History (A)].

_____________________

This item was like a Character Summon Card and would immediately take effect on the interface. He still had the Medal of Honor from the Germinal Organization and Sanctuary’s mission. All three medals had the same effects, but the effects could not be stacked. Only when he gathered three Medal of Honors would he be able to exchange them for a special medal that could increase all his attributes by twelve percent. Since he had obtained the third Medal of Honor, Han Xiao immediately changed the medals into the special medal. This was akin to having a permanent buff.

After checking his reward, Han Xiao opened up his attribute interface. It was a good day, and he had finally completed the Energy Training Technique that Harmon had given to him. His Energy Level had broken the 9,000 points barrier, and he had finally entered the next level.

_____________________

Energy Attribute: [Magnetic] – Increases Machinery Affinity.

Energy [Lv10]: +18 STR, +25 DEX, +28 END, +32 INT, +22 MYS, +3400 Stamina Limit, +25% Machinery Affinity

_____________________

Just this level of attributes was enough to increase his total Energy Level by a third. The higher his Energy Level, the more significant the bonus.

The Promotion Mission [Energy Secret] had been completed, and the Class Advancement requirement was for him to choose a specialty between large sized machineries, nanotechnologies, or virtual technology. The method of doing so would be to raise the relevant High-End Knowledge to the maximum level.

Between the Armed, Energy, and Control Branch, Han Xiao had not bought [Super Nanometer Force]. However, Han Xiao was planning to choose the Virtual Technology branch, so that did not affect him.

The Virtual Technology branch focused on infiltration and defense. It was extremely powerful in a battle between Mechanics. Basically, it followed the philosophy of ‘what is yours is mine, and what is mine is still mine’. Even if he was not able to infiltrate the other party’s machines, he would be able to stop the other party from infiltrating his own machine.

Furthermore, Virtual Technology also supported the Army Style. The more powerful one’s abilities, the larger the army he could control. He was not the only person in the galaxy who would construct a Mechanic Army, and those who specialized in Virtual Technology would be able to restrict the Army Style to a certain extent.

Of course, Virtual Technology also had its own weaknesses. When facing those not of the Mechanic class, they did not have the strength of those who walked down the path of nanotechnology or large sized machinery. After all, the strengths of the two other paths was extremely obvious. Their combat strength was the priority, and their focus would be to increase the strength of their machines.

In his previous life, Han Xiao had also played the two different paths before. By creating more powerful machines, he only needed to send his machine out, sit back, and relax.

Of course, this was an exaggeration. The Mechanics from these two paths would still have to control the battle; ignoring the battle completely would be the action of a lazy player.

In his previous life, most of the players had chosen these two paths because the path of Virtual Technology was far too difficult to take.

Most importantly, even if the players did not choose the Army Style, those from the large sized machinery and nanotechnology route would have other powerful means. However, the most suitable strategy for those on the Virtual Technology would be the Army Style.

Most players enjoyed the most cost-efficient method of battle. After all, it was not easy for them to earn money, and the Army Style was not something that a poor peasant could play!

Through Han Xiao’s personal experience, the Virtual Technology path was the most useful one. While the strength of the Virtual Technology path was not that obvious, the Virtual Technology path was the most stable in actual battle. There was an advantage when fighting other Mechanics, and it was not too weak when dealing with opponents of other classes. After all, it was still of the Mechanic Class and had its foundations.

Han Xiao did not chase after the highest attribute a single machine could have. What he did not have in quality could be made up for in quantity. With the large market of the players, he was not afraid of the matter of costs. Compared to improving his strengths, Han Xiao preferred to make up for his weaknesses.

As long as he had sufficient experience, he could raise the levels of his blueprints and skills up to an extremely high level. As such, the quality of his machines would not lose out to those from the other two paths.

Besides, there was also a personal reason for him choosing the Virtual Technology path.

After determining his path, Han Xiao threw his Potential Points into the relevant Knowledge, and notifications began popping up on his interface.

_____________________

You have completed LV 120 Promotion.

END Attribute Boost enhanced. 1 END = 65 Max Health = 75 Stamina

_____________________

The advancement this time gave me a larger attribute boost to my health. At the very start, the increase was only 5 points. During my first Race Evolution, the increase was 10 points. Now, the increase is actually 15 points. The previous ratio of 1:50 had been increased to 1:65 now.

Han Xiao clenched his fists and took a deep breath. The familiar sense of pain appeared again, but compared to the pain that he had felt when he became a Void Prowler, this pain could only make him frown slightly.

_____________________

[Advanced Artificial Intelligence Technology] reached Lv.5 (max), Class Advancement Succeed!

You have received a new class [Virtual Mechanic Lv.1]. +150 Energy, +3 DEX, +3 END, +6 INT. You have received 6 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

You have learned [Professional Machinery Affinity]!

You have learned [Strengthened Smart Defense]!

You have learned [Strengthened Smart Control]!

You have learned [Strengthened Hacking]!

You have learned [Optimized Resource Allocation]!

You have learned [Optimized Mass Production Configuration]!

You have learned [Virtual Technology Essence]!

_____________________

All his new skills had basically strengthened the skills relating to Virtual Technology. Hacking and virtual defense were the core of this path.

[Strengthened Smart Control] was capable of increasing the attributes of an independent machine, and the skill introduction was: ‘An excellent smart system which increases the efficiency of a machine.’

Both [Optimized Resource Allocation] and [Optimized Mass Production Configuration] were able to increase the efficiency of his assembly line. The former would lower his costs, and the latter would increase his manufacturing speed. The Virtual Technology path would provide a large increase toward the overall productive capacity of an assembly line and was extremely suitable for the Army Style.

[Professional Machinery Affinity] was the core skill of a Mechanic, and it would provide an additional sixty percent Machinery Affinity when raised to the maximum level. [Virtual Technology Essence] gave an additional bonus to all Virtual Technology related skills based on one’s Intelligence and was similar to [Machinery Analytical Comprehension].

Because this was a Class Advancement that determined his class route, he had learned more skills than before. In fact, these skills were even more important than the increase in level. Without any hesitation, Han Xiao immediately raised all the skills up to their maximum levels and obtained the best result.

He had obtained more than 3,000,000,000 experience points from the players, and just raising those skills to their maximum level burnt away more than 1,000,000,000 experience points.

The investment was definitely worth it, and the result was obvious. His combat power had risen by a full 800 Ona, and the boost in combat power that leveling the skills gave him was more than the effect of leveling up.

He still had 2,200,000,000 experience points. At his current level, raising the level of his main class also required a large amount of experience. But similarly, the amount of experience that the players could gain from missions had also increased.

Only Han Xiao would be able to gather such a large amount of experience in such a short period of time.

All of his experience was placed into leveling up, and his main class leveled up four times. While his remaining experience was enough for him to level up once more, Han Xiao did not continue leveling his main class. Instead, he spent his experience points on his [Scholar] subclass, raising it from Lv.5 to its max level, Lv.10. After that, he was left with less than 100,000,000 experience points, which was not enough for him to level up again.

While the experience required to level up a subclass would increase with each level, the amount of experience required would still be less than leveling a main class. The attributes of the [Scholar] subclass were still pretty useful, and Han Xiao gained 50 more Intelligence and 5 more potential points.

His [Virtual Mechanic] class was increased to Lv.5 and gave him an additional 15 Dexterity, 15 Endurance, 30 Intelligence, 30 Free Attribute Points, and 5 Potential Points.

He threw all of his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence as usual.

His energy surged within him, and bearing with the discomfort, Han Xiao checked the change in his attributes.

_____________________

Level: 130

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Void Prowler (Human Form)

Attributes: 181 STR, 401 DEX, 361 END, 1110 INT, 124 MYS, 41 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Points: 49

Health: 37,824

Stamina: 37,995

Energy: 9,770 [Lv.10]

[Lv.10 Energy bonus stats: +71 STR, +97 DEX, +108 END, +122 INT, +77 MYS, +10,920 Stamina Limit, +85% Machinery Affinity]

Power Level: 8,945 Ona

Grade: B+

Remark: You are a powerful galactic Mechanic and an elite among elites. The biggest difference between you and other Grade B Supers is that additional ‘+’.

_____________________

Heh, this note is truly cheeky.

Level 130, and my power level is close to 9,000 Ona. This means that if I get to level 140 and complete my Promotion, I should be able to enter into the ranks of a Grade A Super and gain the destructive force of a calamity.

Han Xiao ran calculations on his stats in his heart. While his level increased quickly, he did not forget about leveling his skills. Furthermore, the skills that he had leveled up were mostly the skills of his main class. Thus, his advancement rate was about twenty to thirty levels ahead of the players, and his actual combat capability was above the average of his level. In fact, he would be able to sweep aside the majority of the Grade B Supers.

If he faced Ember right now, even if he did not make any preparations beforehand, he would be able to last in a battle against Ember.

Even if he could not win, he would be able to disgust the other party to death.

Especially the amount of Health that he had. Every time he saw this figure, Han Xiao could feel his forehead turn numb. When he was at this level in his previous life, the Health of a Mechanic had been less than 20,000 points. Even the main tanks of the same level would not have as much Health as him!

His [Intermediate Strengthened Life] Molding Talent was truly too ferocious. If he could raise the level of this Molding Talent again, everyone would probably puke blood from just seeing his Health.

Going up from level 130 to level 140 would require a few billion experience points, but the experience that he had harvested from the players was almost all spent. He would still be able to earn around one billion experience points from the players by selling his skills, and he would have to find a new way to harvest the players after that.

With the new version having been out for so many days, the experience points of the players had basically been spent. Han Xiao would have to wait for them to accumulate a new batch of experience points.

It seems like I will still need some time. Han Xiao was already extremely satisfied. At his level, he could not possibly hope to increase twenty levels in one go.

The discomfort that he felt had lasted for more than an hour before finally subsiding. Han Xiao let out a long breath as he felt the sensation of being filled with strength. He was feeling extremely hungry, and only after eating a few dozen energy bars was his hunger slightly sated.

He took off his sweat-drenched shirt and looked down at his well-toned muscles. Following which, he changed into a set of clean clothes before putting on all the compressed orbs again.

Beep beep!

At that moment, his communicator suddenly rang; Herlous was calling.

“If you are calling to show off your new arm, we can end the call here.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Nope, it’s something serious this time.” Herlous frowned. “Nagakin had issued a recruitment notice toward the Inhumans, and many Inhumans are crowding over to take a look…”

The way Herlous saw it, the players were all good helpers who could aid Sunil in their catastrophe. However, Godora had actually tried to take a slice of the cake, and Herlous was immediately incensed.

“Oh?” Han Xiao revealed an ‘I knew it’ smile and chuckled. “Hehe, since you are heartless, don’t blame me for being unscrupulous. I shall go and take a look.”

Chapter 532: Openly Poaching

At that moment, the Six Nations received a request from Bennett to open a video conference again. With the special status of the Sanctuary, the leaders of the Six Nations placed huge importance on the Sanctuary and took time out of their busy schedules to hold the meeting.

Once all the leaders had come online, they saw a silent, solemn Bennett, and the entire atmosphere immediately became serious. The leaders of the Six Nations were extremely curious about what Bennett wanted to talk to them about.

Not too long later, someone asked, “Bennett, what’s the matter?”

“Everyone, I am going to tell all of you about a lie that we have been living in for the past few decades,” Bennett said slowly, and all the leaders were puzzled. However, as Bennett began to narrate what he had just learned, the faces of all the leaders changed.

In order to verify what he had just said, Hannes brought Kedan over and interrogated him in front of the Six Nations’ leaders. Kedan naturally spilled out everything that he knew without missing a single detail. The leaders listened carefully, and all of their faces turned ashen. The poker faces that they had trained over the past few years were also shattered, and traces of rage could be seen on all of their faces.

“This is the truth of the matter, and the entire planet has been played like a fool. If not for Han Xiao, we would have been kept in the dark forever…” Bennett clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

Han Xiao did not know what was going on in the secret conference room, and Bennett was contacting the Six Nations behind his back. However, apart from keeping Kedan alive, Han Xiao did not have any other requests, so it could be said that he had approved tacitly.

“All of these years, we…” a hoarse voice murmured.

The gazes of the Six Nations were complicated. While this was the truth, they were the final victors of the warring era and did not regret anything that they had done. However, when they thought back to the miserable scene of corpses littering the earth accompanied by the sound of explosions, their hearts were filled with sorrow.

The victors are kings, and losers vilified. There was no point talking about winning or losing, but to think that there was such despicable scum at work behind the scenes. They could not help but feel a sense of desolation that ran deep within their bones. So what if they were the leaders of Planet Aquamarine? To the high-grade civilizations, they were no more than ants fighting each other. Regardless of how heroic they were on the battlefield and whether or not they were the victors, they were still ants.

Despite knowing the truth, they had no way to seek justice.

All of their feelings toward Godora completely changed at that moment. Their rationality was not affected, and they understood that Godora was still a civilization that they had to look up to and rely on to tide through the calamity. However, the thoughts in the depths of their hearts had been changed forever.

Bennett took in a deep breath and solemnly said, “When Black Star was negotiating with all of you the last time, I was standing behind him. In truth, I didn’t agree with his thoughts at that time. However, I finally understand his thoughts now. He has long understood the fact that we will only be toyed with by others if we remain weak. I do not know how sincere all of you were when submitting to him back then, but I feel that all of you should understand our reality right now…”

All the leaders fell silent, and they were suddenly reminded of a scene from not too long ago. After putting in a great deal of effort to put up a grand welcoming ceremony and confirming the landing coordinates with the Godoran disaster relief squad much earlier on, the other party had changed their landing coordinates at the very last moment and thrown them aside for Black Star.

In truth, this was only a small matter, and while the leaders of the Six Nations had been dissatisfied, it was only dissatisfaction. However, together with the truth that Bennett had told them, this ‘small matter’ had a completely different feeling.

We aren’t sufficiently respected after all.

“I will stand beside him forever,” Bennett said with a resolute tone. “If he is disappointed in all of you one day, I will take over your positions as the ruler of the planet. All of you are extremely clear that this has nothing to do with ambition.”

“We understand!”

The leaders of the Six Nations nodded slowly and were extremely clear on the weight of those words. Bennett was not chasing after his ambition but the hope of their civilization.

“Just as Black Star said, he is our only choice. He is the only one who can bring us the future.”

“Don’t worry, we know what to do.”

The leaders of the Six Nations all spoke with sincerity. This time, they truly did not have any other thoughts. With the future of their civilization at stake, they were willing to completely submit to Han Xiao.

It was not the slightest bit forced, and there were no feelings of discomfort in their hearts. The leaders of the Six Nations only felt thankful.

They were thankful that a legendary character like Black Star could appear on Planet Aquamarine, rewriting the history of an entire civilization with the strength of a single person.

…

The sun was blazing, and the Sanctuary was filled with commotion.

Han Xiao slowly walked toward Nagakin and did not know that Bennett had secretly provided him huge support without him knowing. Not too long ago, Herlous had given him a call and said that Godora was trying to snatch a slice of his cake. He was currently going to see how Nagakin intended to recruit the players.

They do not understand the nature of the players. To them, the players are only special aboriginals. If they use ordinary methods, the players probably won’t respond to them at all… Han Xiao shook his head and snickered. Godora did not understand the habits and thoughts of the players as well as he did.

The Sanctuary had demarcated a region for Godora’s disaster relief squad, and this region was now completely surrounded by the players. The recruitment notice that Godora had issued had attracted a large number of curious players.

“Planet Aquamarine, which all of you are on, belongs to Star Zone 9 of the Garton Star System. The Godoran Civilization is the ruler of the Garton Star System with experts as many as the clouds. We have superior magical technology in our grasp and can come and go in the universe freely…”

Some Godorans were currently explaining the situation of their civilization, aided by various different films. This was Nagakin’s plan. He decided to first let those aboriginals understand the situation of the galaxy and let the other party understand how powerful their Godoran Civilization was. Through displaying their strength, they would be able to paint those Planet Aquamarine Inhumans a clear picture of the galaxy so that they could attract them.

Nagakin observed the recruitment from the side. While his idea was good, and there was nothing wrong with it, the actual situation was completely out of his expectations.

The Inhumans were not the slightest bit curious about the situation of the galaxy and did not have any yearning toward Godora. Instead, they looked slightly bored.

“That’s not right. Why aren’t they interested?” Nagakin was slightly depressed.

The players watching by the side were completely unmoved. While Nagakin’s plan would have been extremely effective against ordinary aboriginals, it was completely useless toward the players.

At least eighty to ninety percent of those present had watched Bun-Hit-Dog’s footage before. Not to mention Godora, they probably understood the majority of the Shattered Star Ring. The information that the Godorans were sharing was no longer anything new to them.

Nagakin was completely puzzled and naturally did not know where the problem lay. After the Godoran spokesperson finished his introduction of their Godoran Civilization, he began describing the strength of their technology and various different magical and technological products. It was obviously with the intention of showing off their strength.

After the players watched for a while, they shook their heads, and the crowd began to disperse.

“So boring, let’s go.”

“What’s so special about all these things. Do you think that we are some country villagers?”

“Cheh. They truly haven’t seen the vastness of the world.”

Seeing this scene, Nagakin and the Godoran spokesperson were dumbfounded. They thought that the Inhumans were aboriginals from a backward planet who had not seen the world, but in the eyes of the players, it was instead these Godorans who had not seen the world.

Trying to fool us with these items. Do you really think we have never seen magic or technology‽

We have seen a floating continent in the universe, and Godora actually showed this to us‽

What a joke!

If Han Xiao was here, he would definitely have burst into laughter.

What’s the use of all these things? You might as well issue them a mission instead. If you don’t take out some benefits, why would the players bother with you?

However, that was only the thought of the majority, and there were still some players who were curious and thought of joining the Godora Faction. It was not because they were attracted by Godora but because they wanted to try and see if they could join two factions.

Nagakin’s recruitment process was different from that of the Black Star Mercenary Group. After all, Godora had their own procedures, and the recruitment process was more complicated.

There were already some players who had begun asking how they could join, but right at that moment, a loud commotion broke out not too far away, and the gazes of the players were immediately drawn to the commotion.

Upon seeing Han Xiao being surrounded by players, all of those players threw Godora aside and rushed over to Han Xiao.

In the eyes of the players, Han Xiao’s appearance was basically tied to the appearance of benefits. Every time he appeared, he would definitely create a commotion, and he had left a deep impression on the players. His popularity was also something that Godora would not be able to compare to.

The Godoran camp had already been quieting down, but it was now completely deserted. The faces of the Godorans all turned dark. Since when had they been treated in such a manner before? They had actually been ignored by a bunch of aboriginals, and many of them were fuming.

Nagakin’s face contorted slightly, and a depressed look could be seen on his face. The scene before him was completely different from what he had expected, and he truly felt the difference in popularity.

“That’s right. Black Star is from this planet, so he should be more popular.”

Nagakin would not give up like that. While the start had been exceptionally poor, he believed that there would be many who were willing to join Godora’s side. After all, Godora was a high-grade civilization, which was not something that an ordinary mercenary group could compare to.

He believed that as long as he continued to explain Godora’s situation to the Inhumans, many of them would make the right choice.

While he was trying to poach players from Black Star, Nagakin did not think that anything was wrong with his actions. After all, the Inhumans were all free to choose. Both of them had the right to recruit the Inhumans, and they were competing on equal grounds. He would not be dissatisfied with Black Star because of this and thus felt that Black Star would not be angry over the matter either.

Seeing Han Xiao appear, Nagakin walked forward with a smile.

Chapter 533: Not Angry, Not Angry At All

After a short, casual conversation, Han Xiao followed Nagakin into the Godoran camp and shook off the crowd of players. He did not wish for the players to hear his conversation with Nagakin.

While the players could move about in the Godoran camp, the core region of the camp was not open to them, so the Godoran troops stopped the players outside.

Walking into the room, both of them sat down.

“How is the disaster relief going?” Han Xiao asked with a smile.

“The situation is improving, and order is gradually being restored. Your information was a huge help. Not just on Planet Aquamarine, the disaster relief squads on the other calamity planets have acted according to your information, and the situation is stabilizing. As long as they can control the effect of the calamity, we only need to wait for the research department to develop an antidote.”

Upon talking about serious matters, Nagakin’s face became stern.

Following which, both of them discussed the disaster relief operation on Planet Aquamarine. They discussed the problems that Nagakin was currently facing, their management problems, and so on. After a long conversation, Han Xiao suddenly said, “Right, I saw you recruiting people on my way over.”

“Haha, that’s right,” Nagakin said in a straightforward manner and did not attempt to hide anything. “I never expected such a strange phenomenon to occur on Planet Aquamarine. After a period of observation, I noticed that they are all full of potential. No wonder you wanted to recruit them. I am also prepared to recruit some Inhumans.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and did not show any emotion. “Hmm, I have long known about the Inhumans. Your Observer didn’t understand their situation, and upon seeing that they behaved like ordinary humans, he decided to ignore them entirely. Indeed, they are full of potential, and their numbers are not to be underestimated.”

“That’s right, your prestige is extremely high among the Inhumans. Can you help me?” Nagakin’s eyes lit up, and he felt that he could seek Black Star for help.

He had seen that the Black Star Mercenary Group did not accept everyone who applied and was holding a selection instead. Thus, he thought that Black Star did not intend to dominate the entire market of Inhumans. As such, he felt that Black Star would not be angry, and upon seeing Han Xiao’s calm reaction, Nagakin felt that his thoughts were confirmed. As such, he had approached Han Xiao for help.

Han Xiao immediately had a strange look on his face. Don’t go too far, alright? Not only are you trying to poach the players, you still want me to teach you how to poach them well!

Han Xiao then nodded and said, “I can give you some advice, but I can’t guarantee the effects of my advice. After all, the Inhumans aren’t my subordinates.”

Nagakin thought for a moment before saying, “What method did you use to get so many Inhumans to be interested in your mercenary group?”

“Nothing much actually. I pretty much did the same thing as you. I introduced the background of my mercenary group, the situation of the galaxy, and some of the benefits they can get. The rest was up to the choice of the Inhumans. As long as you explain Godora’s background, I believe that you will be able to attract some of them.”

“I think so, too.” Nagakin nodded. His method was not wrong. It was just that Black Star had the initiative.

Since he was going in the right direction, Nagakin did not intend to change his plan. Compared to joining a mercenary group, joining Godora should be a much better choice. It seemed like he only needed to give the Inhumans some time to understand Godora better.

After another few sentences, Han Xiao bade farewell and walked out of the Godoran camp with a chuckle.

Nagakin’s guess was right; he was not angry at all. He had known all along that Godora would be his competitor, and Nagakin’s actions were within his expectations. Originally, DarkStar would also have been another competitor, but because of the Germinal Organization’s destruction, DarkStar would not appear for the time being. With him being tied onto the same boat as Godora, it was almost akin to DarkStar being eliminated from the picture, so he had one less competitor.

Han Xiao was extremely clear that there was nothing special about Nagakin’s recruitment process. It was just like what he was doing, introducing his own background to the players. It was just that, in his previous life, the players could only choose between righteous and evil. However, in this life, the players had a new camp to choose from, and thus, Godora was not able to monopolize the market.

After he built up a strong rapport with the players over time, it was a dream for Nagakin to shake his position in the players’ hearts so easily.

Even if Godora was able to give the players benefits, they still would not be able to compete with him. The many videos that Bun-Hit-Dog had posted had a huge effect on the players. The videos allowed the players to fully understand the Black Star Mercenary Group and also look forward to joining the mercenary group. The effect of the video series that Bun-Hit-Dog had produced allowed the players to form a sense of belonging to the mercenary group.

In terms of benefits, he had the advantage. In terms of feelings, he had the advantage. In terms of interest, he still had the advantage. He had the advantages in every area, and Nagakin still did not know why he had lost.

Because of sufficient preparations, Han Xiao did not even need to take action personally, and Godora would not be able to shake his position in the players’ hearts.

Furthermore, the players could indeed join two different factions. The way Han Xiao saw it, their true choice would be made when it was time to leave the planet. At that time, the players would have to choose who they wanted to follow. Thus, Han Xiao was not anxious yet.

When the players had to make a choice between the two, he would definitely have the advantage. Together with the effect of the crowd, more players would select him for sure, which was as good as moving the Players’ Main City!

At that time, the Godoran camp would definitely be cold and desolate.

However, Han Xiao would never fuss over having too many schemes. Even if his advantage was obvious, he would not ignore the situation and started to think about a plan to deal with Godora.

I am still in an alliance with Godora, so I cannot drop all pretenses. That would be far too irrational. While Godora’s competitiveness still cannot be compared to mine, of the many different types of players, some will choose them for sure. However, this isn’t too big a concern. It is enough for my recruitment to achieve the intended effect. Hmm, after this is over, I can set up a branch on Planet Aquamarine, and I will have a never ending supply of new blood in the future.

Han Xiao stroked his chin and thought of two different methods to deal with the situation.

First, I should increase my attractiveness to the players. The players already more or less understand the benefits that I can bring to them, but there is still room for improvement. If I want to get the players to follow the mercenary group into the galaxy, I must first make them reluctant to part with me. Heh, there is actually a very simple way.

Letting out a light chuckle, Han Xiao immediately formed a plan. Just like how the Sky Ring Army had different ranks, he could also create a ranking system in the Black Star Mercenary Group.

When the player’s contribution points reach a certain level, including the contribution points that they spent in the faction shop, they could reach a new rank. He would give those different ranks a different glorious title and record them in the player’s mercenary file.

Apart from giving the players a sense of achievement, there would be practical benefits that came along with the ranks. For example, they would be able to get different discount levels in the faction store at different ranks. As such, the players would not be willing to give up their previous accumulations, with the main reason being that they could not part with the money that they had spent earlier. This way, their sense of belonging to the faction would also be increased.

An achievement ranking is an important key to the success of a faction. It’s akin to the ranking structure within the organization. I should get it settled soon so that it will be easy to manage the faction in the future. I still have to think of a cool name for the ranks.

Han Xiao clicked his tongue in a good mood. As for coming up with names, it was something that he was the best at.

Apart from increasing his own attractiveness, the other plan would naturally be to deal a blow to the opponent.

Since he could not drop all pretenses with Godora, he could only choose to stab them in the back. His choice of weapon? Public opinion.

Han Xiao immediately picked his target.

The player forum was the best platform to deal a blow to Godora’s image. The forum was something that only the players could see, and even if he stabbed Godora in the back, they would not know what was going on.

Han Xiao then let out a cunning smile. It seems like I have to make use of Bun-Hit-Dog.

…

That night, at the core region of the Sanctuary, a group of players were currently rushing over to Han Xiao’s living quarters. The ones who had received the notification were Frenzied Sword, Bun-Hit-Dog, Hao Tian, and Maple Moon. They were the four who had met Han Xiao the earliest.

“I wonder why Black Star has summoned us so suddenly.”

Not too long ago, they had received a faction mission on their interface, instructing them to immediately meet Han Xiao. Since the reward of the mission was plentiful, the few of them had not delayed in the slightest and gone to find Han Xiao immediately.

When they reached the appointed location, a black dressed Han Xiao appeared in front of them and nodded emotionlessly. After greeting them, he took the four of them through a series of winding corridors, and they reached a secret interrogation room. At the same time, they were shocked to realize that Bennett was also present.

This main character figure was one that everyone on Planet Aquamarine recognized. For two important figures to appear at the same time, Frenzied Sword and the others immediately knew that this matter was not so simple.

“What do we need to do?” Maple Moon asked.

Han Xiao turned around and slowly said, “A few days ago, we caught someone, and the results of the interrogation were harrowing. Thus, we changed many different interrogators to confirm the intelligence. All of you are partners whom I trust, and I need all of you to help me interrogate him again.”

As he said that, he issued a new mission called [Interrogation] to the four of them and set the reward as the daily limit that he could give out.

Upon hearing that, the four of them turned around to take a look at the one-way mirror and saw the target who they were supposed to interrogate.

He was a frantic looking Godoran who was looking around in fear.

Chapter 534: Operation Begins

In a flash, ten days passed, and it had already been a month since Version 2.0 was released.

The overall situation was relatively good, with the number of sheltered refugees rising day after day. The beast hordes that had wreaked havoc were also eliminated one after another. The players had completely assimilated into the new version and were scrambling around, adding to the overall progress of the main task. In addition to providing disaster relief, there was also a competition happening in secret.

All in all, Nagakin’s policy had been pretty effective. As the saying went, even the fiercest lady would be afraid of a stalker. Under the constant propaganda from the Godoran spokesperson, the players attempted to join the Godora faction with the mentality of trying. Han Xiao was not surprised, as trying various different possibilities was the God-given nature of a player, not to mention that the two factions were not in conflict against each other.

The image of Godora within the minds of the players was very weak. After all, it was the first time that they had come into contact with the various factions. They were unlike Han Xiao, who could be considered long-time buddies with them. However, while Godora could not compare to the Black Star Mercenary Group, the benefits given were pretty good, and the magical technology that they employed was attractive.

Nagakin was satisfied with the current recruitment process, and Black Star did not seem to have any intention of interfering.

However, just when he was about to celebrate, a video appeared on the player forums, causing a huge uproar.

Every ten days, Bun-Hit-Dog would release a new recorded video. With his current fan base on Planet Aquamarine, each release of his videos would attract a large number of players to view. However, the most recently recorded video was not a continuation of the Black Star Series. Rather, it was a new series, labelled ‘Planet Aquamarine: The Old Era’.

“It’s not the Black Star Series, eh, disappointed.”

“A new series? Sounds interesting, not sure what the content is about.”

“It’s an international series. Let’s see what it’s all about.”

After the customary roasting session, the players opened the video to have a look with high expectations. While the majority of viewers would beat Bun-Hit-Dog to death if given the chance, they had to admit that the quality of his video channel was consistently good, with humor as the main focus. This allowed everyone who watched it have a good time.

The video began, but there was no opening comment from Bun-Hit-Dog. Instead, it jumped straight into the content, literally starting with a boom. The opening scene showed nuclear bombs raining down from the sky, exploding into mushroom shaped clouds when they landed on the ground. However, the whole process was devoid of sound. Only after the shelling ended did the background music slowly start to play, as though trying to pull the audience into the picture.

This section was familiar to most of the viewers. After all, it was the recording of the Six Nations bombing the Germinal Organization headquarters. However, the video then shifted to a series of tragic war pictures. Some of the topics of the images were vague and unclear, causing the audience to comment in confusion.

“What’s the video this week about? I can’t tell at all.”

“It’s quite the messy start.”

Just as the audience began to get suspicious, a narrative suddenly sounded amid the war scenes. It was Kedan’s voice, and his tone was weak and trembling as he slowly explained their crimes. This confession was made through Bun-Hit-Dog recording and editing the interrogation of Kedan. He had broken down the testimony of Kedan and added imagery, allowing the audience to better understand the meaning behind his words. Such cutscene editing greatly enhanced the visual and audio contrast, giving the audience a sense as though they were recalling the past.

Following Kedan’s words, the atmosphere of the channel became filled with distress and grief.

Toward the end, the images of the war were integrated with the interrogation proceedings, brought out to great effect. This allowed the audience to understand the theme of the video. This was the truth about the Old Era of Planet Aquamarine, and the images in concert with the audio painted a detailed picture of this theme, fully bringing out the grief and sadness. Only toward the end of the video did Black Star appear, and Bun-Hit-Dog utilized Black Star as the core to wrap up his entire video. For this video, Bun-Hit-Dog did not utilize his famed humorous antics but made the video with a heavy and emotional atmosphere. Compared to his past videos, the contrast was excellent, and the impact was great.

Ten days ago, Han Xiao had pulled some strings, allowing Bun-Hit-Dog to interrogate Kedan to learn about the truth of the Old Era. He had been eighty percent certain that Bun-Hit-Dog would take the secret and make it into a video to be shared with the players. Being a video producer, he would definitely use this unknown part of Planet Aquamarine as material to grab people’s attention.

Indeed, it was as expected. Bun-Hit-Dog had a sharp nose toward the smell of news material and found an intrinsic value within the recording. He thus made a video out of it, thinking that it was his good luck to have stumbled upon such a secret. He did not know that this was all part of Han Xiao’s plan. After a long period of interaction, Han Xiao was clear on how to utilize Bun-Hit-Dog as a weapon to sway public opinion. He only needed to hand out a few fragments of information, and he did not need to worry that Bun-Hit-Dog would not be able to come out with a satisfactory video. After all, the guy was a professional!

The response to the video was fierce, and all the viewers were stunned. No one knew that this new series actually held such a shocking secret. In an instant, Planet Aquamarine became a recipient of sympathy.

As for Godora, there was not much of an impression that they left on the players. After being ‘polluted’ by the video channel, they stamped the Godorans with the title of ‘high and mighty’ and ‘arrogant’. The favorability that the players had toward them sharply decreased.

A great portion of the players were actually pragmatic, valuing their own interests and rewards above all else. However, this was not their only motivation. The players also had their own preferences, and their likes and dislikes sometimes outweighed their benefits! Few people would like to interact with those who thought themselves high and mighty.

Furthermore, after Version 1.0, the majority of players had developed some sentimental feelings toward Planet Aquamarine. Thus, they naturally stood on the side of Planet Aquamarine, feeling some anger toward Godora.

In resistance to ‘authority’, this was a favorite activity of many of the players!

The impact of the video was slowly taking effect, riling the emotions of the players. The forum posts for Planet Aquamarine shot up at a staggering rate, and their collective emotions worked to turn Godora into a megavillian overnight.

Even more players began to chant the slogan “Tonight, we bleed blue!”, the blue being a reference to Planet Aquamarine.

Han Xiao had followed the response on the forums. At this point, his objective had basically been achieved. The public opinion target was not to raise himself on a pedestal nor to denounce the enemy, and he did not distort any facts. He merely exposed the ‘secret’, allowing people to see that it was a citizen of Godora that had done such a thing. Regardless of whether they had been instructed to do so or not, Godora had to bear this black mark.

I guess, it could be considered some form of overdue compensation for Planet Aquamarine.

Originally, the welfare of the mercenary group for Godora could not have been compared to that of Black Star, and now that their moral identities had taken a hit, their ability to attract mercenaries to join reached a new low. If their attraction could be likened to stock prices, it would show a continuous decrease.

Under this chain reaction, Nagakin’s recruitment took a sharp downturn. Players who were originally willing to explore the Godoran camp quickly dispelled such thoughts. After all, there were already a few guinea pigs in front of them, and since there was no particular benefits given by the Godoran camp, there was no need for them to be pioneers.

Thus, the numbers in the Godoran camp plummeted, with even players that had previously joined the Godoran camp jumping ship back into the embrace of Black Star.

Confusion naturally clouded Nagakin’s mind. He did not understand; everything had been perfectly fine a few days ago, so how come suddenly the Inhumans had stopped going over to him? What was the problem?

He could not understand, but little did he know that there was a negative public opinion circulating, in an area that he could not see, none of which was positive toward Godora.

In the room, Han Xiao was still browsing the forums. He let out a deep breath. So long as I interfere, Godora is destined not to be able to recruit anyone.

Even though he and Nagakin had fought side by side, it was Han Xiao who had essentially saved Nagakin. If it was not for him being involved in Nagakin’s mission, then the latter would have ended up crippled.

For Nagakin not to give a fart and run over to pick up the fruits of his victory, and furthermore think that he, Han Xiao, would not be angry over it, did that not mean he himself was too magnanimous a person? Since the other party did not want to talk logically, then Han Xiao could only resort to physical means, blackening Godora’s name. This left him in a sunny mood.

After throwing the problem of settling Godora to Bun-Hit-Dog ten days ago, however, Han Xiao had stopped caring about it. Rather, he had focused his attention on the organization structuring of the Black Star Mercenary Group. Following the increased recruitment of players, he put this matter on his agenda not only for the convenience of management but also to allow the players to have a material goal that they could work toward, as a ladder that they could climb up.

The latter matter was more important since it affected the fighting spirit of the players, which was equivalent to giving them a goal in their lives.

Han Xiao had formally introduced the different level systems for the Mercenary Group the previous day. The different levels in the mercenary group system would be linked to the amount of privileges such as discounts or items available within the Faction store. There was a total of six levels being divided, with the first to the fifth levels simply going from ‘1-Star’ to ‘5-Star’. It was an intuitive system.

Truthfully, he had wanted to think of cooler titles, but he had finally chosen an easy to understand route. Just like the Sky Ring Army, the simpler it was, the easier it was to tell apart the differences.

As for the sixth level, also the highest level, it was named ‘Black Star Eighteen Knights’. This level was not fixed but rather set at the top of the leaderboards. For those who had reached the rank of ‘5-Star’, the top eighteen players on the leaderboards would achieve this title, and the corresponding benefits would naturally be a lot higher.

Since the positions of the Black Star Eighteen Knights were determined through the rankings, this would make them extremely competitive. This was the money burning machine that Han Xiao had specifically prepared for those of the guilds and the moneybags.

Players could view their positions in the Black Star Mercenary Group as well as their rankings through their personal mercenary file, but because the majority of the players still did not own an interstellar communicator, they could only request to view their files through Phillip.

There were three factors involved in the criteria for the mercenary level. The first was the Credibility Point of their personal mercenary file, the second was the Faction relationship level, and the last was their total contribution to the Black Star Mercenary Group.

Credibility Point needed to be accumulated through the successful completion of hired tasks. The players would have to continuously complete missions before they could increase their credibility points.

As for the Faction relationship, that was also easy to understand. For example, players who had just joined the Black Star Mercenary Group would all be at the 1-Star level. In order to be promoted to a 2-Star Mercenary, one of the prerequisites was to have the Faction relationship reach the level of [Friendly]. This meant that their contribution point had to be at 1,000 or more. After promoting, however, there was no need to maintain the current contribution points. Even if the points were spent, the level would not be reduced.

As for the last factor, the total contribution amount was the highlight. For example, if someone had 3,000 contribution points and spent 1,000, their total contribution amount would still hold at 3,000. It somewhat resembled a player’s total contribution history in the Black Star Faction. For promotion from 1-Star to 2-Star, a total of 20,000 points was needed.

Once the hierarchy was placed online, the players would immediately start to dissect and study it. They would quickly find out that the loophole that they could exploit would be the total contribution point factor!

Because, for those players whose relationship was below the [Friendly] level of 1,000 points, 50 Enas could be exchanged for 100 Contribution Points. However, when the current contribution level hit between 1,000 to 3,000 points, then the same 100 Contribution Points could only be purchased with 500 Enas instead. Thus, so long as their current Contribution was capped at below 1,000 points, then the total Contribution Point factor could be improved at the lowest cost!

With this discovery, the players would definitely be overjoyed, feeling as though they had found a loophole.

Han Xiao had long predicted this, and he loved to make players feel as though they had taken advantage of the system.

The reasoning was simple. The players had to maintain their current contribution below 1,000 points. Thus, if they wished to save money, they would have to spend all their contribution points. The only outlet would be the faction store, and in order to do so, they also had to spend a corresponding amount of Enas. This formed a completely cycle where he would ensure the players consumed his goods, and at the same time, it allowed the players to think that they were saving on Enas for Contribution Points.

In addition, the other two factors affecting the promotion of the mercenary level were hard requirements with no loopholes present. As such, the players could not abuse the total contribution point method to quickly increase their mercenary levels.

The ‘shortcut’ to raising one’s total contribution points was actually a scheme from the Great Mechanic Han. By taking advantage of the psychology of the players, he purposely left a ‘loophole’, allowing the players to discover it.

Even with the large influx of newcomers in the Mercenary Group, only the dozens of players that had followed him from the start were close to the standard of 2-Star. The requirements to promote were strictly set this time. Judging by the current progress of the players, Han Xiao estimated that most players would be at the level of 1-Star to 2-Star in this version. No player would be able to reach the highest level during this version. After all, this was a long-term plan.

Inside the room, Han Xiao leaned against the back of his chair, propping up his feet as he muttered to himself, “The formal planning for the Mercenary Group is just getting started. Let’s take it slow.”

As long as he gathered enough players, the capability of the players would be equivalent to his own influence. He had enough patience to wait for the players to slowly mature.

Beep beep!

At this time, his communicator let out an emergency notification.

Opening the virtual screen, Han Xiao gave it a quick glance. It was an urgent news alert stating that the DarkStar fleet had opened attacks on several other planets with the Mutation Disaster!

Han Xiao immediately narrowed his eyes, his expression turning grave as he sat up straight.

“It has finally begun…”

Chapter 535: Impending Crisis

It had been two months since the outbreak of the Mutation Disaster, but DarkStar had not made a move. Thus, many people had felt as though something was amiss. After staying silent for so long, DarkStar had finally taken action and set out their fleets to attack three different calamity planets.

This news immediately created a huge reaction, and many of the galactic residents knew that the show was starting. As the archenemy of Godora, it was obvious that DarkStar would not let go of such a good opportunity, and the final piece of the puzzle had finally appeared.

Currently, there was no evidence to show that the Mutation Disaster was a conspiracy initiated by DarkStar, but this was no longer important. As long as DarkStar interfered in this matter, Godora’s largest opponent would definitely be DarkStar.

DarkStar attacked three calamity planets in one go, and the local Godoran disaster relief squads fought an intense battle. However, because they were caught off guard and the size of their fleets were small, the three Godora disaster relief squads suffered huge losses.

Logically speaking, the civilizations of those three calamity planets should have been completely vulnerable before DarkStar. However, DarkStar did not destroy those three planets but seemed to have their sights set on the disaster relief squads. After causing some destruction, the DarkStar forces retreated before the Godoran reinforcements could arrive.

The outcome of the ambush was that almost seventy to eighty percent of the disaster relief squads was destroyed, and the situation that had stabilized was thrown back into chaos.

Because of this, Godora raised their defenses and sent out their regular army to the different calamity planets to stop DarkStar’s ambush. But even so, they were not able to stop DarkStar in their tracks.

The second wave of ambushes took place soon after, and another few calamity planets were the targets.

The same scenario unfolded again. Despite Godora raising their defenses, DarkStar had also strengthened their attacks, and a galactic battle broke out between the two parties.

The spaceships crashed into each other with their protective shields flickering. The explosions of the spaceship’s cannons flickered in the dark space like new stars being formed. The bright ray from the laser cannons was like a rainbow bridge in the pitch-black space.

After a huge battle, DarkStar retreated in time again, and the battle did not develop into an all-out war. Godora’s fleet suffered a loss again, and all the disaster relief efforts went to complete waste.

Most of the time, DarkStar only hid in the dark to scheme against Godora; it had been a long time since their last head on battle. With DarkStar coming out from their nest again, it was no longer a small skirmish, and Godora immediately felt the pressure.

While Godora did have the advantage in terms of strength, Godora’s territory was large, and their fleet was stationed around the different bases of the Garton Star System. The spare forces that they could mobilize were not sufficient to suppress DarkStar, and Godora was not clear about the size of DarkStar’s forces either.

The most frightening part about DarkStar was the fact that they were hidden in the dark. It was impossible to predict their actions beforehand, and Godora had a huge headache because of this. If they did not know what DarkStar’s next target was, they would not be able to make any targeted arrangements and could only defend passively.

In the past two ambushes, DarkStar seemed to have targeted the disaster relief squads, but Godora would not pull back their disaster relief squads just because of that. If they did, it would seem as though they are afraid of DarkStar, and Godora would never show such an attitude to their enemy. Furthermore, since they had already begun their disaster relief efforts, if they gave up halfway, it would be a huge hit to their reputation. Besides, the situation had not yet reached such a stage.

After so many years, both parties were finally in confrontation again. The entire Garton Star System was shaken, and this became the most watched affair in the Garton Star System.

…

“DarkStar will not stop like that and will continue launching their attacks. We will definitely meet them sooner or later.”

In a conference room of the Sanctuary, Nagakin narrated the situation with a solemn expression. In the entire conference room, only Han Xiao was familiar with the situation. Both Bennett and the leaders of the Six Nations listed to Nagakin by the side.

The moment DarkStar launched their first ambush, this matter became serious. A few days ago, a Godoran fleet had suddenly descended to guard Planet Aquamarine. There were currently 120 Godora battleships waiting outside the atmosphere of Planet Aquamarine, waiting to defend against DarkStar’s ambush.

Nagakin could no longer be bothered about disaster relief or recruitment. Defending against DarkStar was his priority. He had approached Han Xiao to discuss the matter many times over the past few days, and they were currently holding a meeting to inform both the Sanctuary and Six Nations to be on high alert. Of course, the Planet Aquamarine civilization would not be able to put up a fight in a galactic battle, but Nagakin wanted them to be mentally prepared for the possibility of being ambushed at any time.

“Because of our disaster relief efforts, we can only defend passively, and the situation is not to our advantage. DarkStar’s motive is very likely to make use of our thin defense line to attack our weak points and slowly chip away at our forces. We can’t know what DarkStar’s next target will be,” Nagakin said with a deep voice.

Han Xiao nodded. This was indeed DarkStar’s motive, but it was only a small part of their plan. DarkStar’s Mutation Disaster plan was targeted at weakening Godora’s strength. Not just their military strength but also to shake the stability of their rule. They would only ambush the calamity planets but will not destroy the low-grade civilizations. If they destroyed the civilizations, Godora would not need to carry out any more disaster relief operations. DarkStar’s motive was to hold Godora back.

The faces of Bennett and the others were solemn. It was impossible for them to be anxious as there was no use for them to be anxious.

“How are you planning to deal with the situation?” Bennett asked.

“The War Bureau has redeployed troops from the other Star Zones, and the second and third wave of reinforcements are on their way. The heads want us to continue our disaster relief effort while keeping our guard up…”

Nagakin frowned slightly. In truth, the upper echelons had thought of migrating all the refugees on the calamity planets. However, there was a huge hidden danger in doing so. They would not be able to detect if the Mutation Source entered the spaceship together with the refugees. As such, this plan was temporarily shelved, and the War Bureau decided to fight DarkStar head on.

Some of the more aggressive generals even felt that this was a chance. DarkStar was always in hiding, and it was extremely rare for DarkStar to make an appearance. Thus, they felt that they needed to make use of this opportunity to bait the DarkStar fleet and strike them with a heavy blow. Thus, the War Bureau decided to deploy further reinforcements.

“In the end, we can only choose to wait,” Nagakin said solemnly.

In truth, he had hidden another order from the upper echelons. If their forces were not a match for DarkStar’s fleet, the upper echelons requested them to make a strategic retreat and preserve their strength. If the calamity planet was destroyed because of this, Godora could only express their regret.

Han Xiao shook his head. DarkStar’s ambush was completely random, and even he was not able to predict when it would come. Even if he knew DarkStar’s plans, he did not have the strength to block them.

If DarkStar’s fleet come, I will have to join in the battle as well. This time, it wouldn’t be a battle on land but a galactic battle… Han Xiao mused to himself. The danger of a galactic battle was far greater than a battle on land. It was no longer a battle between Supers but a battle between fleets. He would also have to face great pressure.

After the meeting was over, Han Xiao gathered all of his officers and requested for them to be on high alert. On top of that, he also got them to unload the materials in the spaceship’s storeroom into a secret underground base in the Sanctuary.

The spaceship that he had rented was a model that was built for cruising, and its combat capability was not great. He was not prepared to send those rented spaceships into battle. Not to mention the fact that they would not be of much use, he will suffer a huge loss if the spaceships ended up being destroyed. However, he had other plans for the spaceships.

As such, the BlackLight Stealth was the only spaceship that his mercenary group could send out. While it was little, thankfully, its quality was high.

The members of the Sanctuary also got into action. They scattered the refugees and decreased the population density of the Sanctuary. On top of that, they constructed a few basic defensive measures. However, with their lack of technological skills, they could only leave everything up to luck. While the refugees did not know what was going on, they all listened to orders obediently. The atmosphere of the entire Sanctuary became extremely tense.

The players did not know what they were about to face next. Han Xiao still remembered that, in his previous life, whenever they suffered from an ambush, the mission progress of the Main Storyline Mission [Mutation Disaster] would fall greatly. With the players’ current strength, it was difficult for them to contribute much in a galactic battle.

If DarkStar doesn’t come, that would be for the best. Han Xiao let out a sigh.

…

A concealed DarkStar squad was moving slowly in the galaxy. This was a high mobility armed squad, and their flagship was not a DarkStar mothership but a command ship called ‘Blood Gal’. There were more than two hundred battleships surrounding the flagship, and the majority of the battleships were assault ships with immense firepower.

In the busy command center of the battleship, the fleet commander Nakapu had his arms behind his back as he looked at the projected star map. This gaze was emotionless, and he was cold to the point that he did not seem to have any emotions.

Not too long ago, he had led his fleet to launch two different ambushes and destroyed more than a hundred Godoran battleships. In those ambushes, his loss was less than half that figure.

Nakapu’s fleet was made up of the elites of DarkStar, and their strength was not to be underestimated. He was following his orders and on his way to the next ambush target.

“How many more days until the destination?” Nakapu asked calmly.

“17 hours and 26 minutes,” the navigator replied.

In the holographic projection, the star map of Star Zone 9 could be seen. The target planet was currently flashing in red.

Planet Aquamarine!

Chapter 536: Raid (1)

The Andrea Continent, once the territory of the Germinal Organization, had borne the majority of aftermath of the war of the old era. The expedition of the Six Nations to this land had caused the surroundings to deteriorate further, with the radiation level shooting past the warning line. The lands were blackened, the surroundings were desolate, and all the wanderers that had previously been living in this area were shifted to the other three continents. Andrea had become largely uninhabited, with only a few mutant beasts still surviving within.

The ruins of the Germinal Organization lay on that continent, the once magnificent base having turned into a black pile of scorched earth. The central base had also vanished, leaving only a black hole, and the underground base had been completely obliterated. By the side of the circle was a black line radiating outward, extending over hundreds of miles.

Due to the excessive concentration of nuclear radiation, the Six Nations had only sent some drones to explore the ruins after the explosions. Nothing valuable was left, and there were no signs of life. Everyone had died under the frenzied series of nuclear strikes.

As such, the Six Nations did not bother wasting their resources to clean up the mess. Over the past couple of years, the original base of the Germinal Organization had become filled with thick ash and dust, and the little shrapnel that had been shot out during the explosion bore signs of erosion. Death and defeat hung heavily in the atmosphere.

Yet, in that area where even mutant beasts could not survive, a silhouette stood in the very center of the Germinal Organization ruins. While it could be described as a ‘silhouette’, it was actually merely a blackened skeleton. It was as though the steel-like flesh and blood of the person had been incinerated in the explosion a few years ago, but the charred skeleton remained somehow, not turning into powder. Even after such a long time, it did not decompose into ash. Only the body of a Super had this sort of toughness, far beyond that of ordinary humans.

It was obvious that the signs of life in this corpse had long since disappeared, and the gray dust floating in the air drifted in and out of its hollow eye sockets.

It was such a corpse that was slowly coming back to life. It gradually took one step after another, limping with a lump of black gelatinous substance attached at the cervical vertebrae. It extended out threads akin to roots, entwining the limbs along the bones as if it was a puppeteer, using the corpse to practice like a marionette.

This black gelatinous substance was the mutation source. It had already passed through its ‘infant stage’ of only being able to passively extract energy. It could now actively pursue energy, as well as constantly swap its hosts, as it crossed mountains and waded through the oceans to finally reach the Andrea continent, benefitting from the senses of the countless lives it occupied. The energy present there was not only huge, it also contained the highest amount of radiation energy present that could be easily absorbed by it.

The Germinal Organization’s ruins were a death zone, with all the previous hosts of the Mutation Source dying within. It had no other alternative except to continuously drag its current body over to the ruins. The skeleton that it was controlling had been the only corpse left in the Germinal Organization ruins, that of the Germinal Organization’s Leader. During the explosion, because the Leader had been situated in the underground base, the various layers had shielded him from most of the impact. In addition to the strength of his body, his bones had been preserved, while the rest had long turned to dust.

At a molecular level, the nuclear radiation in the Germinal Organization ruins was continuously being absorbed by the Mutation Source. On the microscopic level, one could see that the speed of cell division had increased by over a hundred times, and the proliferating cells were constantly being integrated into its body, improving its control. Energy was constantly being transformed and synthesized.

In the past plot, Tyne had become the original carrier of the Mutation Source when he first escaped from prison. However, because he had been captured by Han Xiao to be reformed, without this powerful ‘tool’, the Mutation Source had wasted a lot of time on the road.

However, in the past plot, it had also not possessed as wonderful a ‘nurturing cradle’ as the ruins of the Germinal Organization.

The skeleton slowly staggered as the Mutation Source absorbed as much energy as it could like a man dying of hunger and thirst. The radiation levels, thus, slowly decreased at a level unseen to the naked eye.

…

Nakapu’s fleet was suspended at the rear of a barren planet. The distance from there to Planet Aquamarine was extremely short, with only one short-range jump needed. This was the closest sector one could go in stealth mode. Any nearer, and the stealth system would no longer be able to hide from the military radar of Godora. The fleet would also expose its location.

This area was similar to being in the deep sea. With one’s field of vision comprising only of darkness, only the flow of water could be used to determine if enemies were approaching. The closer the distance, the more obvious the disturbance in water would be. Gravity was not unlike the flow of water; get too close, and stealth would lose its effectiveness. This was dependent on the reconnaissance capabilities of the spaceship’s equipped radar.

As longtime enemies, DarkStar was clear of the capabilities of Godora’s military equipment while constantly raising the bar for their own stealth cloaking abilities.

The interior of the command ship was bustling, as everyone scurried to perform final preparations for the attack. Nakapu was confirming various intel from the scouts sent out.

“What is the number of defense forces that Planet Aquamarine currently possesses?”

“There are a hundred and twenty regular Godora frigates in outer space. This is a medium-sized fleet. It should be a force sent from the Nadban military base.”

“Any intel from the ambush troops?”

“Yes, they said that in addition to the escort fleet, there are more than a dozen space shuttles of the Godora disaster relief team. The leading team is a senior officer of the war bureau, Nagakin, a pugilist at the Calamity Grade.”

Nakapu remained expressionless. “A Calamity Grade Super, this is slightly troublesome. We don’t have any high levelled combatants here, so we can immediately rule out the option of fighting through our warships. Luckily, it’s just a pugilist. Any other news?”

“Other than the Godorans, there’s another force that is on Planet Aquamarine, the Floating Dragon Field Team’s Black Star Mercenary Group. They too own over ten spaceships.”

“Black Star…” Nakapu remained unmoved. “They’re the mercenaries who ambushed us on Noriosse, right? They’re also a bunch of annoying fellows. Seems like Planet Aquamarine is slightly more special, with a defense far above that of the previous two planets. This will be a little thorny. Let’s go with Plan 4.”

Even after hearing that Black Star was on Planet Aquamarine, Nakapu was not surprised. To him, it was merely another enemy that they needed to deal with. There was no need to kick up a big fuss.

It was not that Nakapu was looking down on them. After calculating the contrast of combat power between both parties, he had decided to carry on with the execution of the attack.

In other words, the addition of a Black Star Mercenary Corps just made him feel slightly more troubled, and that was it.

…

“DarkStar may appear at any time. I need all of you to react at the first sign, so all of you had better keep your eyes wide open for me and raise your spirits!”

In Planet Aquamarine’s orbit, the warship squadron commander of the Godoran troops, Barette, was shouting loudly through the comms channel. He was a short Godoran with an explosive temper. His voice boomed like thunder, echoing through the receivers.

“Commander Barette, the radar has discovered our objective. A fleet is approaching us at a fast speed… They’ve stopped! The coordinates are C-02-07!”

Barette immediately gazed at the radar screen, seeing more than a hundred blips being displayed on it. This was the DarkStar fleet. He then looked out of the porthole, but there was no sign of the DarkStar troops approaching. The distance between the two was closing fast, reaching the extreme limits of both parties’ cannon range.

Ohm!

At this time, the alarm in the command room suddenly blared, flashing with a red light.

“Warning! Detected a high index energy response rapidly approaching! Impending collision!”

Outside the porthole, the inky darkness of the universe was suddenly lit up with thousands of green light rays as the densely clustered ion guns shot from afar.

Nakapu’s fleet was employing over-the-horizon strikes!

Chapter 537: Raid (2)

The attacks arrived abruptly!

The plasma shells of the ion guns mostly impacted on the golden shield of the Godoran frigate; however, a few of them slipped through the seams between each Godoran shield, falling toward Planet Aquamarine.

The beams got smaller in one’s field of view, some falling into the sea, causing small waves to rise up. Some landed on the ground, blasting out mini mushroom clouds. At least when in outer space, the view was considered small.

“Open the Weiss magic protection shield!” Barette screamed.

The Godoran frigate changed their formation, gathering in the direction of the attack. They shot out golden rays of light, which formed ten gold semi-circular shields in front of the frigate. The shields tightly sealed off any attacks from that direction into Planet Aquamarine.

The next round of ion rays from Nakapu’s fleet quickly arrived, slamming into the protective shields. The ion cannons fired constantly, and the rays appeared like a shower of light, causing the shields to continuously ripple.

“Increase the power output!” Barette’s huge hands were sending out command signals nonstop. “Don’t just be sitting ducks, retaliate! Retaliate! Retaliate!”

The Godoran fleet locked on to their target through their radars and began to launch their own over-the-horizon attacks. They launched beam after beam of golden lasers into the empty space of the universe.

While both sides were unable to see each other, the exchange of green and golden lasers never stopped, intensely firing. If not for the fact that they were warring in a vacuum, the people on Planet Aquamarine would have heard the sounds of battle, akin to the continuous rumble of thunder.

Barette quickly notified his superior and sent the intelligence to Nagakin.

…

On Planet Aquamarine, the Six Nations had already discovered the confrontation between the two parties through the Natural Satellite and were thoroughly panicking.

While they did not have a clear idea of what DarkStar was, they had learned from Nagakin that they were a strong enemy, even on an interstellar level, that could easily crush them. The Six Nations did not dare dally, immediately beginning the evacuation. The refugees all entered the underground bomb shelters.

In the first wave of attacks, a dozen ion bombs fell on the surface. Most of them landed in the wilderness, with the one landing in a suburb near the Six Nations’ territory. It resembled a bolt of green thunder falling from the sky.

Boom!

A miniature mushroom shaped cloud shot toward the sky, as a huge crater appeared on the ground. The subsequent shockwave levelled an entire street, leaving only ruins in its wake as dust filled the air.

The evacuation also started to be rushed as the tense atmosphere gave way to panic. While the refugees were still unaware of what was happening, it did not stop them from thinking. With the tightly packed crowd, stampedes broke out. Due to the large number of people present, many of them had also not received the suppressant, and this resulted in the mutation virus triggering, spreading, and causing havoc.

The guards rushed in, but small-scale chaos was everywhere, and it was difficult to manage them at the same time. Bennett had a grave expression as he continuously issued commands, barely stabilizing the situation.

At this point, the players triggered an emergency mission. The mission introduction read, “Planet Aquamarine has encountered an attack from a fleet from outer space! Help is needed to ensure safe evacuation of the refugees!”

Almost every player looked up at that moment, and it was faintly clear that there were rays flashing about in the sky above them.

“Are there battleships outside of Planet Aquamarine attacking us?”

“A pity we can’t even see it properly, d*mn!”

Curiosity was akin to a feather tickling the hearts of all the players present, causing them to feel an itch in their chests. They clearly knew that there was a Super level battle happening in outer space, but the inability to participate or see it in person was just too torturous!

The suppression of the rioting refugees would be left to someone else; it was not within Han Xiao’s consideration. While he had also triggered the same emergency mission as the rest of the players, the experience reward was too small in his opinion. He had no interest in the task and instead opened his communicator, contacting Nagakin.

“How’s the situation?”

“The fleet is currently engaged with DarkStar, but we do not know when the reinforcements will come. I need to return to help them.” In the scene, Nagakin was boarding a spaceship hurriedly, his tone urgent.

“Then I’ll first restrain my troops and wait. Don’t switch off your communicator. We’ll keep in touch.” Han Xiao nodded. With Nagakin and the Godoran fleets in the battle, there was no need for him to join.

He was not surprised that DarkStar had suddenly launched a raid. In fact, he sighed in relief, with the emotion of someone who had been waiting for far too long. Looking at the soldiers beside him, he was not worried at all.

DarkStar would not destroy this planet—this was the crucial intel that Han Xiao had received. Based on the intel, the probability of the enemy landing was not high. Instead, they would choose to attack from space to reduce their losses.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had calculated that there should be a team of DarkStar agents lying in wait on Planet Aquamarine. The other party would definitely be aware of Nagakin’s and his presence. After all, DarkStar was well aware of the importance of information. They would definitely calculate every variable before deciding on the method of attack.

In his previous life, Han Xiao had also experienced such a matter. He was deeply aware that this was the key point and immediately ordered the mercenaries to board the spaceships and travel to the territory of the Six Nations. While the rented spaceships had basic capabilities, they had a shield that they could deploy to resist the falling cannon shells from the sky. The power of the battleship’s ion cannons was no joke. One shot on a human would cause around 2,000 damage even after factoring the damage reduction!

To the current players, a cannon shot would be able to destroy an entire team! Naturally, Han Xiao would not be such a fool to take the blow head on. In this sort of battle, only the pugilist class would dare to streak around unprotected, thanks to their thick skins.

As a result, this would not cause the [Mutation Disaster] mission to drop too much in the overall progress. However, to the players, each visit that the DarkStar made would be a cheat whereby large chunks of their progress bars would disappear for their mission.

DarkStar naturally would not just attack Planet Aquamarine. The rest of the calamity planets were attacked at the same time. While Han Xiao did not have the capacity to aid the other calamity planets, he could at least reduce the losses on Planet Aquamarine, putting a halt to DarkStar’s plan to destroy the disaster relief results. Otherwise, all their previous work would be wasted.

“The Godoran fleet is now resisting the enemies, and Nagakin has also gone up. There’s no one for me to ask about the situation.” Han Xiao rubbed his hands as he stared at the real time image of Nagakin that was being transmitted.

He hoped that Godora would be able to force DarkStar to retreat without him making a move. DarkStar was unaware of his current power, and the longer he hid this trump card of his, the better.

…

As Nagakin left the atmosphere, he immediately caught sight of the ten golden shields. The Godoran and DarkStar fleets were still exchanging shots over the horizon, and with his experience, he immediately saw that while this method looked intense, it could not restrict both parties.

The ion cannon shots were being forcibly blocked by the shields. Even if one shield was broken, due to the distance, the troops were able to quickly react and send another spaceship to swap and replace the shield. As such, the formation continued to hold steady.

Other than the conventional ship-borne ion guns, most of the other weapons did not have the range, and nuclear energy guided missiles would be blasted apart midway by the ion guns. The technology levels of the Godoran and DarkStar fleets were similar. Without any overwhelmingly powerful weapon, if both sides wanted to cause irreparable damage to the enemy, they had to draw closer.

Beep beep!

Barette linked to Nagakin’s comms channel.

“The shields can’t be maintained forever, and we cannot stay on the receiving side. If this goes on, there will not be any injuries on DarkStar’s side. I’ll draw closer, Nagakin; you will lead the assault and crush them!”

“Don’t take the risk!” Nagakin yelled. “Right now, the situation is to our benefit. As long as we continue this stalemate, DarkStar will eventually retreat.”

“Nonsense! DarkStar’s technological level is about the same as ours, but we have you, and your capabilities are enough to completely topple the enemy. This is the best chance to defeat DarkStar!” Barette shouted into the channel. He was considered a more radical officer, believing that rather than protecting the calamity planets, it would be better if he took the opportunity to attack the armed forces of DarkStar.

Just as Nagakin was about to reply, Barette screamed into the mic.

“Wait a minute… the radar indicates that the enemies are moving backward. DarkStar is retreating‽”

…

Nakapu’s eyes were narrowed into slits as he stared at the radar screen, his hands folded behind him. His fingers subconsciously rubbed the hem of his clothes as he shook his head. Finally, he opened his mouth to give the command. His tone remained passive throughout, without the slightest emotion.

“Attention, prepare for the transition.”

Chapter 538: Choosing to Pursuit

On the radar screen of the Godora fleet, the hundred odd light blips representing the DarkStar fleet had started to pull away, and the ion cannons’ shots had also become sparse. All this signified that the enemy was retreating.

Barette’s expression changed as he hypothesized, “DarkStar is unable to break our defense, so they’re going to retreat before our reinforcements come. They’re giving up on the attack this time!”

Observing the battle, Nagakin furrowed his brows. “Looks to be the case…”

“The distance between us and them is getting further. I’m going to pursue them; we can’t let them go so easily!” Barette bellowed.

“Don’t be careless. This could be the enemy’s ploy to lure us out. We’re better off maintaining our current position.”

Barette’s face was unpleasant as he growled, “DarkStar rarely appear. I’m not going to let the opportunity slip away! We were passively slammed a volley of shells previously, and now we’re going to just watch as the enemy saunter away? This is not my style!”

The DarkStar fleet was retreating without pause. Once they passed a certain distance, the radar would no longer be able to see through the stealth mode of the other party, and DarkStar would once again enter stealth mode and become an invisible fleet.

As he gazed at the blips moving further away, Barette was sluggish, wishing to move.

Nagakin also hesitated a little. The safest tactic was naturally to stand by their current position; however, opportunity was always fleeting. Besides, he himself was not sure if the enemy was really retreating.

If they pursued and engaged DarkStar, with their strength, they could probably destroy a few DarkStar assault ships. In addition, if they could delay the retreat of the enemy until their reinforcements came, it would allow them to hit DarkStar hard!

The first two attacks had caused a lot of losses for Godora. The entire War Bureau was holding in their anger; even Nagakin wished to obtain some accomplishments in the war.

Furthermore, Barette was currently the commander of the frigate. While Nagakin’s rank was higher, he could not directly overrule Barette’s orders.

“Nagakin, stop hesitating!” Barette said in a low voice. “Whether you come or not, I am going to make a move.”

Nagakin’s eyes sharpened as he made a decision. “Transfer a portion of them to remain on sentry.”

He no longer tried to persuade Barette, instead preparing to pursue the enemy.

“I don’t need you to remind me!” Barette’s eyes lit up, and he immediately sent down the new orders.

The next moment, the Godora frigate was divided into two teams, where eighty of them chased in pursuit of DarkStar and the remaining forty stayed in Planet Aquamarine’s orbit, awaiting further orders.

Barette had decided to pursue the enemy, but he did not put all his eggs in one basket. The enemy’s fleet numbered about one hundred and ten. Since he was the pursuer, it was sufficient for him to utilize eighty spaceships. On one hand, he could pose a threat, and on the other, he need not be afraid of retaliation from the enemy, able to hold their own on the battlefield. Furthermore, they had the Calamity Grade Super Nagakin, who could put up a fight even if the enemy had one as well.

The pursuing troops quickly caught up, and the ion guns erupted in succession. Golden lights flashed as they carried out an attack over the horizon while releasing interference rays to prevent the enemy from escaping.

Since DarkStar was retreating, Barette adjusted his strategy to maintain sufficient distance to compensate for reaction time. His objective was to harass and delay them, but at the same time, he took precautions for if the enemy were to suddenly turn back or possibly launch an ambush.

Both fleets moved in the universe, gradually distancing themselves from Planet Aquamarine.

At this moment, in the opposite direction of Barette’s departure, dozens of transition jumps appeared, stopping in outer space near Planet Aquamarine. When they revealed themselves, it was a new fleet of DarkStar spaceships, with the few dozen all being assault ships.

Nakapu’s fleet actually consisted of over two hundred battleships in total, but Godora only had one hundred and twenty battleships at hand, almost half of DarkStar’s numbers. As such, Nakapu had chosen to split his fleet into two formations, commanding the main fleet to tangle and sap away the strength of the Godoran fleet, luring the tiger away from the cave.

As for the other strike force, they would then take the opportunity to attack, piercing through the blockade created by the Godoran fleet, and complete their objective of wrecking Planet Aquamarine.

If the Godoran fleet did not separate, this strike force would still appear and launch a pincer strike.

In the command ship far away, Nakapu, who was being chased by Barette, sent out the order to the strike force.

“Attack!”

The forty battleships that were still patrolling around Planet Aquamarine immediately reacted, rushing to set up a resistance. This time, the strike force did not engage in an attack from over the horizon but instead went for a close-range shootout. Various explosions could be seen on the shields of both sides as they fought intensely.

The size of this strike force was twice the size of the remaining Godoran fleet. The troops fought a bitter battle and immediately informed Barette of the situation.

After receiving the news, Barette’s eyes flashed. “So, it turned out to be this tactic. Humph! The enemy actually had twice our number. That’s why they could carry out such a plan… All units, listen up, pick up the speed and pursue. Don’t let the enemy escape our field of vision! Tell the defending troops to give up on Planet Aquamarine and immediately rendezvous with us!”

Nagakin jumped in shock. “You’re not going to reinforce them‽”

“There’s no need, and time doesn’t allow us to do so. To turn back and reinforce now would be an act of futility. We would even allow the DarkStar command ship that we are pursuing to escape. The gains do not justify the losses. The division of the enemy is a good thing, as we can gather all our troops and completely destroy the DarkStar command ship! If we give them enough pressure, then the strike force will also have no choice but to forsake the mission and reinforce the command ship!”

Barette coldly snorted. If the target planet had been an important asset to Godora, he definitely would have abandoned it, choosing security over destroying them. However, this calamity planet, Planet Aquamarine, was insignificant to him and could be forsaken at any point.

Between protecting Planet Aquamarine or destroying the DarkStar fleet, he would unhesitatingly choose the latter!

During the first two attacks, the situation had also given Barette some suspicions. As such, he had decided to simply leave Planet Aquamarine unprotected under the salvo of gunfire from the strike team to see if DarkStar would really destroy the calamity planet. If they still did not wreck the planet in such circumstances, then at least it would reveal the intentions of the enemy.

Even if he guessed incorrectly, there would not be any problems. Losing one planet meant less pressure for the War Bureau.

Nagakin’s brows furrowed tightly. With matters as such, he had no control over Barette’s decision. He replied, “I’ll have to first inform Black Star.”

“No need, I heard it all.” From the communicator came Han Xiao’s voice. He did not say much, only calmly replying. “Leave the strike team to me.”

“You have to resist them.” Nagakin cupped his fists before turning off the communicator. Sighing loudly, he quickly went to the doorway.

At this time, the spaceship that he was in accelerated to catch up with the DarkStar command ship where Nakapu was located. Both spaceships collided into each other’s formations, and artillery fire blasted indiscriminately. Because the spaceship that he was in was the closest to the DarkStar fleet, his battle was the first to begin, leaving him no time to be concerned of the situation on Han Xiao’s side.

Chapter 539: Virtual Intrusion (1)

Boom!

Nagakin’s spaceship collided with a hundred-meter-long DarkStar spaceship. Violent vibrations shook both ships, and the door in front of Nagakin was slammed open, exposing his entire person into the cosmic environment. The Godoran combat uniform immediately reacted, providing a suitable environment for survival.

Shortly after, a raging golden flame ignited around Nagakin’s body and blasted off behind him, acting as a propeller. Nagakin resembled a golden meteor as he viciously slammed into the outer shell of the DarkStar battleship.

When comparing the size of a hundred-meter-long battleship to a human, it looked like an ant going against an elephant.

However, the strength revealed by this one fist actually left a deep depression right in the tough outer armor of the DarkStar battleship!

A continuous barrage of punches rained down, the shadows of the punches blurring into one. The next second, Nagakin had forcibly created an opening in the DarkStar battleship. A large number of metal fragments burst out, and Nagakin strode into the ship, clad in a golden flame.

Boom!

The DarkStar ship began to continuously tremor as Nagakin ran rampant within, destroying the DarkStar battleship from the inside. None of the DarkStar warriors present were able to obstruct him, as though he was in an unmanned environment. All the equipment and devices were smashed into smithereens, and in a chain reaction, more and more parts were paralyzed.

Very quickly, Nagakin rushed out again, jumping into his spaceship to leave this battleship, seeking his next target.

Behind him, the battleship that was riddled with holes suddenly exploded, becoming a series of fireworks in the universe!

In such space warfare, the strongest Supers usually acted as the vanguard of their troops, initiating the battle through destroying the insides of the enemy’s battleships. Rarely did both sides collide head on with each other. After all, the danger of attempting to destroy each other’s battleships was too great, and the efficiency could not match that of destroying the battleships internally… Of course, the standard did not include those Beyond Grade A Supers.

…

The remaining Godoran troops responded to Barette’s commands to retreat and prepared to rejoin the main force. Nakapu was able to quickly perceive the general idea of Barette’s strategy and responded. He split up the strike force once again, with a large portion in pursuit of Barette’s retreating troops to prevent the incident of being pincered by the enemy.

Thus, there were only thirty assault ships left to attack Planet Aquamarine. While Black Star never made a move in the end, Nakapu still calculated his strength into the equation, leaving sufficient troops according to his judgement.

Without the protection of the Godoran fleet, Planet Aquamarine resembled a delicate and frail lady. The thirty DarkStar assault ships entered the atmosphere, spraying cannon fire toward the surface of the planet.

Boom!

Cluster after cluster of green colored ion cannon rays fell like lightning, constantly bombarding the surface.

Those assault ships did not just fire randomly but rather aimed in the direction of the Six Nations and the Sanctuaries. Their objective was to destroy these sites, spoiling the disaster relief efforts.

Han Xiao had earlier allowed dozens of mercenaries to utilize their spaceships to protect those places. At this time, they opened up their shields, blocking the descending ion cannon rays.

Boom!

Sounds of explosion rang among the clouds, with the shields of the spaceships being besieged to the point where they could not differentiate night from day. The shields continuously grew weaker.

Many of the refugee players were unable to see the spaceships that were situated at a high altitude, but they were able to see the green ion cannon rays flying over their sanctuaries. The rays streamed down continuously, akin to a deluge of lightning, and the roar from the cannons painted a sign as though an apocalypse was imminent.

This scene gave many players a huge surprise, causing them to burst out in discussion.

“Is this a fleet that’s attacking us‽”

“F*ck, the progress bar of our mission is decreasing. Is it because we’re being attacked!”

“If not for all these spaceships shielding us, I think we would all be blasted to death!”

As for the actual refugees in the Six Nations and the Sanctuaries, they did not possess the natural assurance of safety like the players. Every explosion caused by the ion cannon rays seemed to strike straight into their hearts, scaring them witless. Their faces were white as paper, and they only thought of rushing to escape. The scene was a complete mess.

Han Xiao had already entered his BlackLight Stealth, and the Mercenary Group had also gathered on the battleship. Everyone wore a solemn expression. Now that the Godoran troops had gone in pursuit of the enemy, the remaining enemy battleships had to be dealt with by them.

Having long known that the Godorans were not reliable, Han Xiao had not held many expectations toward them. As such, he did not feel disappointed and only shook his head in response.

“It’s hard to rely on anyone in this day and age. You can only rely on your two hands!” Sylvia observed, speaking hurriedly. “There are thirty small DarkStar assault ships attacking. Based on the current firepower, our shields can still hold for a few minutes. We have to get rid of the enemies in this time, or else the Sanctuaries will suffer huge damage.”

Han Xiao nodded in response. Only his BlackLight Stealth could allow him to go against the enemies, so if he wished to end the battle quickly, he would need to enter their battleships, wreaking havoc from within. However, the firepower of the assault ships was fierce, and to get close, even with his BlackLight Stealth, there was still a certain amount of danger.

Thankfully, I did the Class Advancement for the Virtual Technology route. If the hardware is insufficient, then I shall make it up through the software!

“Ginette, take control of the spaceship. Sylvia, assist as the deputy.”

In order to maintain the combat capability of the mercenaries, Han Xiao decided to let others control the spaceship.

Han Xiao turned and opened an operation panel next to him. A 3D virtual model was generated in front of his eyes, and his fingers danced as he quickly inputted a flood of data. The data flowed like a waterfall, invading the intelligence network of the enemy’s spacecraft through their virtual network. Because of his class [Virtual Mechanic], he was proficient in this aspect of technology since it gave him high skill bonuses.

All Virtual Mechanics possessed a data transmitter that did not require any hardware connections to be able to connect to the intelligence of a spaceship. They could be directly connected to any target system as long as they were within range of the transmitter.

As Han Xiao manipulated the data, he commanded, “Risda, help me crack the firewall!”

Although this should be Phillip’s task, Risda’s processing efficiency was higher than Phillip’s, and the help that he could offer would be greater.

As Han Xiao proceeded with the data invasion, the BlackLight Stealth launched. Due to its powerful engine, the spaceship quickly reached the sky, circling around the thirty DarkStar assault ships as it rained down gunfire.

Boom boom boom!

Numerous lasers hit the shields of the enemy ships but were unable to pierce through.

The assault ships also fired a few potshots in the direction of the BlackLight Stealth, but they were helpless against the high specs of the BlackLight Stealth. The commander saw that there was only one spaceship, and since it could not break through their shields, they allowed it to remain like a fly buzzing around their heads as they concentrated their fire on the ground below.

Through the satellites, the top brass of the Six Nations watched the battle unfold in the sky with bated breath.

Because Godora was not reliable, the last line of defense on Planet Aquamarine was Black Star. However, it looked like he was unable to stop the advance of the enemy. In the underground fortress where the top brass of the Six Nations hid, a sense of despair slowly suffused.

At this point, a shield on one of the assault ships suddenly flickered and vanished. The next moment, the laser of the BlackLight Stealth accurately hit the hull of the ship, piercing through the armor and causing it to explode.

Bang!

Flames roared toward the sky, and black smoke billowed as the assault ship suddenly lost control. Its tail swayed, ramming into its companion. The DarkStar members in both ships tumbled till they could not differentiate the ground from the sky.

“It hit!”

The top brass of the Six Nations suddenly felt their spirits being renewed!

On the BlackLight Stealth, the virtual interface in front of Han Xiao had changed to a projection of the DarkStar assault ship. This was the one that they had succeeded in destroying.

Han Xiao was controlling the projection, which would feed the response directly back to the assault ship’s main body. He was the one who had turned off the shield generator of the assault ship.

“Done!”

The corners of Han Xiao’s mouth curved up, and he took a look at the interface as messages flowed out repeatedly.

_____________________

You have used [Virtual Intrusion] on number D065 of the DarkStar assault ship…

Beginning to crack the firewall (Level 3)…

Undergoing first level of authentication…

Authentication passed!

_____________________

Undergoing second level of authentication….

Authentication passed!

_____________________

Undergoing third level of authentication….

Authentication passed!

_____________________

Intrusion successful! You have succeeded in gaining control of the D065 DarkStar assault ship!

_____________________

Privilege Level: Medium

Data has been sampled!

Backup generation complete!

The next time an intrusion is done to a similar smart machine: +10% Success Rate, +25% Speed.

Your authority has been blocked by the other party’s Virtual Intelligence. Undergoing authentication… Authentication successful!

You have successfully retained your privileges!

Time until next authentication: 16 seconds

Chapter 540: Virtual Intrusion (2)

So long as the machine could be remotely controlled, the virtual intrusion skill could tamper with the data to gain operational authority, snatching command of the machinery. Spaceships were naturally included within the scope.

The difficulty of the intrusion would depend on the intelligence level of the target machinery. Furthermore, even if the invasion was successful, they would be constantly harassed by the opposing party’s artificial intelligence. One had to successfully break past the artificial intelligence before they could retain the command authority.

As for the operational authority, it could be understood as how many commands that would be unlocked by the user.

Once the first intrusion was successful and intelligence data from the target had been recorded, the subsequent intrusions would decrease in difficulty. As such, in galactic wars, Virtual Mechanics were to most hated class of all. Every mechanic that got attacked by such methods would feel as though their wives had been taken advantage of by another man, giving them the feel of a cuckold.

This ability of the Virtual Mechanic was very suitable for space warfare. In fact, among the five Superhuman classes, the Virtual Mechanic was the class with the highest efficiency.

The defense of the spaceship’s firewall was very strong. According to Han Xiao’s standard, his success rate was not high, but having an auxiliary intelligence on his side improved the success rate as well as intrusion speed. Risda was an AI lifeform, with a startling operation speed that could increase the chances of success by thirty to forty percent.

On the battlefield, Han Xiao took over an assault ship, first opening fire at it and crippling its systems, before manipulating it to crash toward its companions surrounding it and disrupting their formation.

The DarkStar strike force jumped in shock at the unexpected turn of events. They had originally thought that the BlackLight Stealth would be unable to break through their defenses, so they had paid them no attention. To think that they actually managed to crack their firewall and invade their assault ships! They could no longer ignore that potential deadly threat.

The strike force assigned ten spaceships to entangle with the BlackLight Stealth, and the remainder continued firing on the surface whilst stretching their formation.

The reaction of the enemy was within Han Xiao’s expectations. As long as he managed to divert some firepower away from the surface, more time could be won for them. The BlackLight Stealth possessed high capabilities, with speed as its biggest advantage. Ginette’s maneuvering skills were also excellent, allowing them to constantly avoid the crisscrossing green lights.

Boom!

In the sky, a sleek, black spaceship was weaving left and right amid the ten assault ships.

“The fastest way to get rid of these enemies is through boarding them! Other than those operating the ship, everyone is to occupy a hatch, ready to occupy the enemy’s ships!” Han Xiao commanded loudly as he activated his Void Dragon Mechanical Suit. He connected his mechanical suit to the BlackLight Stealth, and with a flash on his arm, a virtual intrusion interface appeared in the form of a projection above his arm. In this way, he eliminated the need to stay in the spaceship to operate the virtual intrusion, allowing him to move to the hatch like everyone else.

Since he was an essential part of their combat force, Han Xiao had to utilize himself in the battle.

“The enemy has thirty assault ships, and we cannot make it in time if we intrude them one by one. Thus, we can only use more destructive means.” A glint flashed through Han Xiao’s eyes, and the data inputted by him also changed.

There existed many forms of virtual technology intrusion. One was to forcefully rob control from the original owner, which was the most time consuming. Other than that, one could also use different means to tamper with the enemy’s data in order to conceal or confuse. This was usually used for single infiltrations. As for the most destructive form, it would be utilizing a virus or flooding the system with large amounts of redundant data to destroy the intelligence of the target AI, crippling most of its functions for a short amount of time. This method was the fastest, equivalent to sending a direct punch to the person.

However, the most direct method would be to simply allow one’s side to fight against the enemy’s AI. For someone at the level of Risda, the DarkStar assault ships were not even at the level of little toddlers when facing him. When facing such tool-type AIs that had not developed independent thought, he could just destroy them with a wave of his hand.

If one likened robbing control of an AI to stealing one’s wife, then destroying the intelligence was akin to breaking the other party’s wife!

On the data stream level, Risda resembled a Fixed Star, emitting countless heat and light rays. As for the firewall on the assault ships, they were akin to shields on the data stream level, constantly forming large holes due to being pierced and the intelligent structure inside being shot and riddled with holes.

The results of the battle in the data world were immediately reflected into the material world.

Ohm!

With a chain of loud noises as the only indication, the engines of four of the assault ships suddenly stalled. They quickly tumbled down, their shields flickering before vanishing completely.

The AIs of the affected ships had fallen into a slump, unable to continue operating the ships for a short period of time. The pilots scrambled for the controls, attempting to switch over to manual mode during free fall. There was indeed plenty of time to switch to manual mode before the spaceship crashed.

However, the BlackLight Stealth suddenly dived, and their laser cannons locked onto the four assault ships, firing continuously.

Peng peng peng!

The outer armor of the four assault ships was blown open.

At the same time, taking advantage of its speed, the BlackLight Stealth swept past the four assault ships that were free falling, and the hatch opened to release the mercenaries. The grapples on their arms shot out and latched onto the armor of the assault ships before contracting and allowing the mercenaries to invade the enemy.

While the DarkStar ships might have lost their shields, the armor plating on the ships still boasted a certain amount of defense. A beam from the laser cannon would not be able to blow the ship up so easily. Thus, the fastest way to eliminate them was to destroy the ship from the inside!

In addition, as long as they boarded the enemy ship, not only would they be able to blow the enemy out, they would also be able to use force to seize control of the spaceship!

Boom!

The invading mercenaries wantonly destroyed the insides of the spaceship. Flickers of lights constantly appeared within each assault ship, and the guards inside each DarkStar ship were completely unable to stop them. The command centers of each ship were wiped out.

The mercenaries quickly took over each spaceship. Because the AIs of the assault ships had already been turned into idiots by Risda, it was impossible for them to verify the pilot’s authority. The mercenaries quickly switched to manual mode, obtaining control rights over the spaceship.

In an instant, Han Xiao’s side gained four more battleships. The team immediately became stronger, as the four assault ships aimed at the other DarkStar ships and opened fire.

During this time, another six sieging assault ships had their AIs crippled, and the mercenaries rushed in to begin a grand killing.

Pa!

Flying through the gap in armor that was surrounded by flames, Han Xiao landed on the cabin aisle. The mechanical wings behind him automatically folded as his wrists threw out a large number of compressed orbs. As they landed, they transformed into dozens of leopard-type mechanical beasts as well as two Protectors. They opened fire in all directions.

Bang bang bang!

Lasers flew everywhere, blowing up various parts of the spaceship. The insides of the spaceship turned into a charred, smoky mess as the bulkheads were torn apart. Following these gaps, the machines marched toward other areas of the spaceship, cleaning up the DarkStar guards.

Han Xiao bumped his fists together, and two giant fists expanded, wrapping themselves around his arms. He did not need to follow the aisles, instead simply bashing through everything as he proceeded in a straight path. He left behind a wreckage of twisted metal.

He made a beeline directly toward the control room of the spaceship.

Dozens of DarkStar guards rushed to the scene, obstructing Han Xiao’s path. One of the team leaders shouted, “Quickly, block him. Don’t…”

Before he could even finish, Han Xiao waved his hand, his mechanical arm sending a huge slap over. Merely the wind pressure produced by the hand extinguished all the flames around him. Before the team leader could finish his words, his vision was fully occupied by Han Xiao’s giant metal palm.

Bang!

A huge sound was heard as the giant mechanical palm slapped the team leader against the wall of the spaceship. A huge imprint was even left there!

When the palm was removed, only some residual flesh could be seen in the indent created. Blood was splattered all over the contact point. This Grade C DarkStar warrior had been killed in a second, even simpler than swatting a fly.

In such assault ships, the strongest would probably be a Grade C guard. The elites of Grade B and above would not appear in such a place.

The rest of the guards paled, but before they could even make a move, Han Xiao brought his palms in front. The fingers of the two giant hands closed together as the five fingers transformed into a drill, and it spun at high speed toward them.

Whir!

The drill bit created a howling gale as it spun!

The next moment, the two mechanical drills swept past with no one able to stop them. The screams of misery were deafening, but in less than three seconds, the guards that had been blocking his path were all shattered. This was the literal sense of offering one’s life in sacrifice.

Blood drenched the surroundings, turning the place into something akin to a slaughterhouse. However, Han Xiao had long become familiar with such a picture, and his face remained impassive as he strode forward. He would not go easy, and those who blocked him would immediately be killed.

There was nobody that was his match on the ship. Amid the explosions and screams of misery, Han Xiao began a matchless killing spree as he rushed to the control center. Behind him was a series of warped metal holes that created.

The whole journey took less than a minute, as though he had entered an empty ship!

In no time, Han Xiao destroyed anything that could breathe in the control room and came in front of the operations panel, directly taking over the assault ship. Immediately, he pulled the ship to accelerate up like a madman, even as he split his attention in that dizzy scenario to continue his virtual intrusion.

In order to save time, he was prepared not to return to the BlackLight Stealth, instead driving the hacked assault ship to ram the enemy.

The machinery that was clearing the rest of the ship of living beings quickly came to the control panel. They transformed back to compressed orbs, automatically moving to Han Xiao’s hands.

Taking this short respite, Han Xiao eyeballed the mission interface.

The [Godora’s Ally] was a Main Storyline mission, with the objective being to fight against DarkStar. There were several sub-missions, including a requirement of having to destroy the DarkStar spaceships. This included [Fleet Killer] and [Frontal Battle], which were high reward tasks. The easiest among them would be the [Assault Ship Destroyer], which required one to destroy five DarkStar assault ships to complete. The reward was 6,300,000 experience and 300 Godora Favorability.

An idea suddenly surfaced in his mind.

“That’s right. This mission should originally have been the main storyline of the players, but since they did not join the Godoran faction, I guess they cannot trigger this…”

The corners of Han Xiao’s mouth tugged up, but he quickly refocused his attention. Goodness, since he was fighting, he just needed to concentrate on fighting! He should not think about such trivial matters like the players being obstructed. It had almost made him feel guilt!

He increased the engine thrust, rushing toward another ship. As the distance shortened, the other party’s hull constantly enlarged in his own field of vision, allowing him to clearly see the outer armor of the enemy ship.

Boom!

The two assault ships collided into each other, and the bow of the ship pierced into the abdomen of the other assault ship. Shrapnel flew all over the place!

Han Xiao drove the spaceship at close range as he opened fire, blasting several holes in the armor. He then smashed apart the walls of his current ride to fly outside, entering the other enemy ship to once again begin another round of slaughter.

The DarkStar assault ships begin to plummet one by one. Some fell down to the ground, whereas some were taken over by the mercenaries and used against their enemies. There were even some that exploded in midair. The Black Star Mercenary Group quickly gained control of the situation, surrounding the remaining DarkStar ships.

At the same time, the Six Nations and Sanctuaries were observing through Natural Satellite imagery. Upon seeing Black Star show his power, all of them could not help but let out jubilant looks on their faces, a wave of joy coursing through their hearts.

This sort of reliable feeling… was akin to Black Star being the guardian of the entire planet!

Chapter 541: Escaping After Provoking Me? Not Going to Happen!

Far away in the intense battlefield between the Godoran and DarkStar fleet, Nakapu received news that Black Star had managed to block the sudden ambush and was even trying to wipe them out. A strange look could be seen on his face before his brows began to furrow.

“Black Star actually has such strength? This isn’t compatible with the intelligence!”

They had formulated their battle plan based on the intel that they had, and the error of the intel had resulted in them underestimating the strength of their enemies. As such, a huge error had been made in the development of their battle plan, and the state of the battle was not in their favor. Nakapu’s expression was no longer calm, and a grave look could be seen on his face.

“Black Star managed to protect Planet Aquamarine, and the small fleet won’t be of much use. With the strength that he has shown, even if the assault force were to retreat, they would definitely suffer a huge loss. The fleet under my command is tangled together with Godora, and if this situation drags on, it is very likely that Godora will send reinforcements…”

After pondering for a few seconds, Nakapu came to a conclusion. The ambush mission had failed!

“All forces take note. Cease battle and retreat immediately!”

Knowing that he had already failed, Nakapu was not willing to continue the battle and decisively ordered a retreat.

The DarkStar fleet broke away from battle and began their retreat. Because the Godoran fleet used space jamming equipment, the DarkStar fleet was not able to speed up and jump into dark space. Thus, DarkStar was trying to break away from the Godoran fleet and counter the effects of the space jamming equipment with their own equipment. The further the distance between them and the Godoran fleet, the easier it would be for them to get rid of the interference.

This meant that the DarkStar fleet would be able to escape the moment they pulled away a certain distance.

Nakapu’s face was expressionless as he stared at the porthole with the colorful explosions from the battlefield being reflected on his face.

This was the first time that DarkStar had suffered a loss in an ambush mission. Thinking about it, Nakapu’s gaze turned cold.

If he had known of Black Star’s strength, he would not have tried to minimize the loss of his forces and would have sent his entire fleet into a head on battle with Godora’s defense line. However, there was no ‘if’ in this world. Since the outcome was already determined, there was no time for him to regret. He could only accept his defeat. Nakapu let out a sigh and calmed himself down.

He would never allow this to happen again.

…

Above Planet Aquamarine, the battle was in its most intense state. The spaceships that were under the control of the Black Star Mercenary Group had achieved a balance with the enemy’s spaceships with their firepower being equal.

Boom!

An enemy ship had its protective shield destroyed under concentrated fire, and half of the ship was quickly smashed into bits. It then dove down toward the ground like a meteor, disappearing from the eyes of those present.

There were less than ten remaining DarkStar spaceships that received the retreat order from Nakapu and heaved sighs of relief as they hurriedly escaped from the battlefield. As they escaped, the mercenaries chased them while firing rapidly.

The mission for this assault force should have been extremely simple. They only needed to hover in space and continuously fire their cannons. However, they had never expected to receive retaliation from the Black Star Mercenary Group, and they actually were not a match for the other party! While they were superior in terms of numbers, their enemy’s spaceship was too high ranked and could dodge the majority of their attacks. Furthermore, even if their attacks landed on the enemy’s ship, their attacks were not even able to break the protective shield. On top of that, they were on the losing end when it came to the strength of their Supers. As long as the enemy boarded their ships, they were finished.

With their assault force suffering heavy losses, they did not want to stay there any longer but had no choice due to the orders from their higher ups. It could be said that the retreat order had come in an extremely timely manner.

“We finally chased the enemy away!”

Seeing the satellite image, the leaders of the Six Nations were overjoyed. The enemies had come ferociously, and the golden skinned freaks of Godora had abandoned them. Just when they thought that they were finished, Black Star had stood up and defended the planet from the incoming enemies. The various territories had only suffered minimal damage and were still in good condition.

This outcome was much better than what they had expected.

At this moment, Han Xiao returned to the BlackLight Stealth. Ginette turned around, and before she had the chance to be smug, she was grabbed by the shoulders and thrown from the pilot’s seat into Sylvia.

“Aiyoh!” Ginette and Sylvia were both sent rolling on the ground.

“Ow ow ow…” Sylvia rubbed her head and took a deep breath. Her head had been smashed by Ginette’s Battle Suit.

Ginette rubbed her ass, and a trace of anger could be seen on her face. “Oi, why are you throwing me around? I am a girl! Can’t you be gentler!”

Han Xiao could not be bothered to deal with her and took his mechanical suit off before sitting in the pilot’s seat. Rubbing his wrists, he said in a low voice, “The battle isn’t over yet, and the enemy’s flagship is still in battle with Godora’s fleet. We will be able to reach the battlefield quickly with BlackLight Stealth’s speed, and this is the best chance to deal the enemy a heavy blow. Tell the others to remain on Planet Aquamarine. I will be back quickly.”

At this moment, Herlous had just returned to the BlackLight Stealth. After hearing those words when he entered the door, he turned around and jumped out without hesitation!

What a joke! He obviously was not willing to ride a spaceship piloted by Black Star!

“You want to interfere in that battle‽” Ginette was startled. “We’ve already blocked the enemy, so there isn’t a need for us to participate in a head on battle.”

Han Xiao shook his head. “We have only defeated a couple of spaceships attempting to ambush us. This isn’t a big loss to DarkStar. The commander of the enemy forces is the key. Since he dared ambush us, we must give him a good fight!”

His target was the enemy’s flagship, not the escaping spaceships. As the old saying went—Don’t chase a poor thief. It meant that he should not chase an enemy without money! At least this was how the Great Mechanic Han understood it.

Thus, he would go after the leader!

After exposing his strength, DarkStar would definitely refresh their intel on him, and the enemy would definitely come up with measures to deal with him in the future. Unless he could secretly scam another wave of players, it would not be possible for DarkStar to receive another error in their intelligence. Thus, it would be best for him to make use of this opportunity to increase his battle merits. Defeating a DarkStar flagship was also a mission requirement in the mission [Godora’s Ally].

Han Xiao piloted the BlackLight Stealth out of the atmosphere and locked onto the coordinates of the battlefield. It was still a distance away from him.

According to the information from Godora, it seems like the enemy was currently retreating. With the speed and stealth abilities of BlackLight Stealth, he was definitely capable of arriving at the battlefield in time.

The next moment, BlackLight Stealth transformed into a ray of light and disappeared from sight.

…

The ray of light stopped a short distance away from the battlefield. If they went any further, they would be in the region of the space jamming region. The chaotic battlefield was right before their eyes with bright colorful balls of exploding cannons all over the place. The powerful homing missiles exploded into a huge ball of flames, and the plasma cannons melted the protective shields of the spaceships.

“What an intense battle…” Han Xiao’s gaze swept past the radar. “DarkStar is indeed retreating. The largest spaceship in the middle should be the flagship.”

Locking onto his target, Han Xiao estimated the distance. He needed to enter the battlefield for the enemy’s flagship to be within the range of his Data Transmitter. Furthermore, the AI of the enemy’s flagship would definitely have a stronger defense.

“Nagakin, I am settled on my side. What about you?”

With the transmission being connected, Nagakin’s appearance could be seen. His spaceship was currently the target of the enemy’s fire and was facing an endless wave of attacks. The spaceship was currently trying its best to avoid all the incoming attacks and could not approach the enemy’s spaceship.

“Black Star? You are on the battlefield‽”

Han Xiao nodded. “Long story short, I can infiltrate the AI of the enemy, so I am preparing to attack the enemy’s flagship. If you can approach the enemy, I will be able to disable the nearest few frigates and create an opportunity for you to charge the enemy ship.”

Hearing that, Nagakin’s eyes lit up. “Alright! Let’s do that!”

At the same time, Barette’s voice sounded in the communicator. “We can try that. My fleet will try to restrain the enemy’s fire and allow Officer Nagakin’s ship to approach the enemy’s flagship.”

Based on his judgement, Barette knew that it would be impossible to sink DarkStar’s fleet. He had just received news of the battle at Planet Aquamarine, so he had confidence in Han Xiao’s strength.

While he was not concerned about Planet Aquamarine, Barette did not dare underestimate and doubt Han Xiao’s strength.

To create a mercenary group with some fame in the Shattered Star Ring in a few years, he naturally was not someone to be underestimated. He definitely had the strength to back up his fame.

Ginette’s face changed color upon hearing that. “We are charging into the battlefield‽ It is far too risky! Cannon fire is flying in all directions, and even I’m not confident in avoiding all those attacks. This is only a small spaceship, and a single mistake will put us in grave danger!”

“Humph, my piloting skills have been tested through time. I wouldn’t make a mistake.” Han Xiao shook his wrists and sped up while shouting, “Sit tight!”

The BlackLight Stealth sped up rapidly and sliced straight into the battlefield. It swerved past the chaotic attacks and weaved through the battlefield through rolling, abruptly stopping, diving, cycling around, and many more other piloting techniques. It was like an agile black bird freely roaming the chaotic battlefield, easily passing through the gaps in the endless lights of battle.

The view outside the ship was spinning, and Ginette hurriedly tied herself to her seat. At the beginning, she was afraid that Han Xiao would make a mistake. After focusing her attention on the outside for a short while, her entire brain seemed to be spinning, and her face became completely pale with the urge to vomit at any moment.

“Slow… slow down. I can’t see clearly!” Ginette could not help but yell out. She had never imagined that Han Xiao’s piloting skills were superior to even hers. This skill of his was sufficient to be the ace pilot of any organization!

“Heh, since you are not piloting the ship, why do you need to see clearly?” Han Xiao clicked his tongue.

Ginette turned around, and her eyes widened in shock. She saw Han Xiao using a few mechanical arms controlled by his nerves to control the spaceship while he attempted to infiltrate the AI of the enemy’s ship. He was actually doing two things at once.

Sylvia was frightened to the point her face turned pale. “Te… Teacher, please don’t be a reckless pilot!”

“Don’t make noise. I am busy. Don’t distract me.”

The moment the BlackLight Stealth entered the battlefield, the DarkStar fleet noticed their entrance. With a single look, Nakapu’s expression changed.

“This is Black Star’s spaceship! Why is he here?”

All of a sudden, Nakapu thought about the battle report from the assault force and roared, “Not good! He is here for revenge. Everyone, listen up. Don’t let that black spaceship come near us!”

Nakapu could not help but be wary of Black Star’s hacking abilities. If he got close to their ship, their flagship will probably be infiltrated, and they would be in danger.

DarkStar’s fleet immediately changed targets, and the BlackLight Stealth immediately faced a greater amount of pressure. They also changed their formation, and the blood colored flagship no longer stayed in the middle of the formation but flew toward the front in an attempt to distance themselves from Han Xiao.

“It seems like they have noticed me,” Han Xiao said with a frown. “Don’t want me to get close?”

Right at that moment, Barette’s fleet began their retaliation and suppressed DarkStar’s fleet. At the same time, they began tearing apart the rearguard of DarkStar to create a gap for BlackLight Stealth to enter.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he immediately piloted his ship into the gap. With his piloting skills, even with the focused fire from the enemy, he was like a fish in water.

The BlackLight Stealth was a stealth spaceship created with the technology of the Federation of Light, and its speed was far superior to the technology of Godora and DarkStar. It was a pity that BlackLight Stealth did not have the weapons of the Federation of Light. If he had a Particle Cannon equipped, he would have been able to shoot through the defenses of a few dozen spaceships, and there would have been no need to go through this hassle.

There were differences in the strength of particle cannons, and it was dependent on the technique of the user and caliber of the energy source. The particle cannons used by Godora and DarkStar were all ordinary goods in the universe.

At the same time, a warning signal was given in the enemy’s flagship.

“Warning! The battleship is being infiltrated! Please take appropriate measures! Warning! The…”

The warning sound from the battleship’s AI became white noise, and Nakapu’s expression darkened.

“Sh*t!”

Hum!

All of a sudden, all the lights shut down, and the engine of the battleship stalled. The speed of the battleship plummeted, and the DarkStar battleships behind it overtook it immediately. The flagship fell to the rear of the formation, and even its communication channel was cut off.

The entire battleship was overly reliant on AI support. The moment the AI was paralyzed, the entire battleship would be paralyzed. If they wanted to pilot the ship manually, their reaction speed could not keep up with that of an AI.

As long as a Virtual Mechanic had the space to show his abilities, he would be the biggest killing weapon in the entire battlefield!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

All of a sudden, a couple of banging sounds could be heard from the outside of the ship as though something had banged onto the body of the ship. However, with the AI of the ship paralyzed, there was no way to know what was going on.

But with a simple guess, the members on board the ship knew what was about to happen and hopelessness could be seen on their faces.

“It’s… it’s Nagakin…”

Nakapu’s fingers trembled. He was finally afraid.

Chapter 542: I’ll Give You Another Chance to Repeat Yourself

Seeing Nagakin board the DarkStar flagship, Han Xiao knew that the enemy flagship was finished.

With the flagship in danger, the DarkStar fleet at the front did not turn back to reinforce their comrades. It was almost certain that Nakapu would end up in Nagakin’s hands, and the DarkStar fleet was completely helpless. All the officers a level lower hurriedly took over command of the fleet and repeated Nakapu’s orders to retreat. They then made use of the opportunity where the attention of the Godora fleet was attracted by their flagship and ran for their lives.

On the other side, the DarkStar assault forces had also broken free from the forty or so Godoran battleships and escaped in a different direction.

The DarkStar fleet abandoned their flagship and escaped with their tails between their legs. Only the flagship was left behind, deep within the enemy formation like a bunch of hunting dogs surrounding a lonely wolf.

The BlackLight Stealth hovered not too far away, and Han Xiao did not join in the fun. With Nagakin causing destruction within the interior of the ship, there was no need for him to take action. At this moment, he had his attention on something else.

“Risda, are you able to connect to DarkStar’s main system through the enemy’s AI and infiltrate DarkStar’s main database?”

Han Xiao stroked his chin as he pondered. All the spaceships in the same organization would usually use a child AI from the main system so that it would be easier to manage the entire battle. Just like how Phillip was in charge of controlling ten or so spaceships in his mercenary group. As long as a spaceship was equipped with Phillip’s duplicate microchip, Phillip would be able to open up a new channel of operation.

The child AI would be related to the main AI. Usually, a DarkStar mothership would use a main AI, and all the subsidiary spaceships under its command would use the mothership’s child AI. If they are able to track the communication route between the two systems, they might be able to lock onto the position of a DarkStar mothership and find their coordinates in the vast universe.

Risda’s voice sounded like a bucket of cold water. “Not possible. Before the enemy’s AI was paralyzed, it cut off all its connection with the main system. This is a very common way to prevent infiltration from the enemy. The AI of the other spaceships check its identification number and ensure that the connection is trusted before allowing it to reconnect with the main system.”

“DarkStar is still extremely careful.” Han Xiao nodded. This was an extremely simple method. If there were two spaceships, A and B, that used the same child AI, the moment A noticed that it had been infiltrated, it would automatically cut off all connections with the main system. It would not be able to share any data with the main system, and the main system would not be able to determine A’s position and status.

After A solved its infiltration problem, if B’s data its within its range, the child AI of B would automatically evaluate A’s AI. Only after ensuring that A was safe would B send the signal back to the main system and allow A to connect back to the main system. Currently, the flagship that had been left behind had naturally severed all of its connections, so it would be impossible to infiltrate the main system.

DarkStar made use of such a system in order to protect the coordinates of its mothership. The Great Mechanic Han was not the only Mechanic Hacker in the universe, and there were plenty of them all around the universe. DarkStar needed to guard against this point.

While he found it to be a bit of a waste, Han Xiao was not too disappointed. If it was this easy to lock on to DarkStar’s position, DarkStar would have been long destroyed by Godora.

While he did not take a very long time to paralyze the enemy’s flagship, Han Xiao’s hacking skills was far from being able to easily infiltrate an enemy spaceship. Risda was an important assistant of his, and the efficiency of this AI lifeform was extremely high. It was far superior to Phillip and greatly strengthened Han Xiao’s skill judgement.

It was a pity that Risda was a free man… er, free AI and did not belong to him. Who knew when he would be able to strengthen Phillip to be on the same level as Risda? Stroking his chin, he wondered if he could get Risda to help raise Phillip’s level.

After all, the one who understood AIs the most would be an AI. The growth of Risda’s species would be determined by the exchange of data and upgrading each other’s software. If that was the case, Risda should be able to help Phillip optimize his structure.

Ginette and Sylvia stared at each other. One of them was a Cannon Master, and the other was a Mechanical Pugilist. Hearing a Mechanic and an AI lifeform having a conversation about Artificial Intelligence, they felt a great upgrade in their intelligence.

Sylvia felt as though she had forgotten about something. After pondering for a long while, she came to a realization. She had been too busy being shocked previously, and it was time for her to vomit for a while.

After waiting for a moment, Nagakin finally sent news about his success. He had successfully taken control of the enemy’s flagship. Han Xiao and Barette both boarded the enemy’s flagship and saw Nagakin in the control room, together with a large bunch of captured DarkStar members.

“Well done! Truly the famous Officer Nagakin.” Barette was overjoyed.

Nagakin waved his hands and calmly replied, “This isn’t my merit. It is all thanks to Black Star. If not for him paralyzing the enemy’s spaceship, it would have been impossible for me to unleash my strength. He is the one with the biggest merit.”

“Haha, you are right,” Barette said with a smile. “Black Star truly lives up to his name.”

“It’s nothing. I didn’t do much,” Han Xiao replied humbly.

After a short conversation, everyone got to work and calculated their gains and losses.

Godora had lost fewer than ten battleships and destroyed a similar number of enemy battleships. Furthermore, they had been able to capture an enemy flagship together with its command team. They would be able to interrogate these members after this and find out about DarkStar’s plans. Together with Black Star taking care of the ten or so assault battleships that had appeared suddenly, they had earned a huge amount in this battle!

After suffering from plenty of losses, Godora had finally achieved a victory. The War Bureau could finally heave a sigh of relief.

Nakapu looked up, and his gaze swept over the control room. Barette? A radical commander who had been played a fool by him and could not enter his sights. Nagakin? A famous high-ranking member of the War Bureau. While powerful, he was not the deciding factor in this battle.

Finally, Nakapu’s gaze landed on Han Xiao like a nail. This was the person who had decided the result of the battle!

Nakapu felt that his loss was due to the underestimation of Black Star’s strength. If not for a problem with their intel, the assault force would have easily ambushed Planet Aquamarine and escaped. At the same time, he would have been able to escape as well.

He had never imagined that he would be caught.

“A single mistake cost us the entire battle…” Nakapu’s eyes turned dim. He knew that there was no chance for him to make a comeback.

…

In the last three minutes of the DarkStar fleet’s escape, the loss of their flagship and the news of Nakapu being captured was quickly sent back to DarkStar’s headquarters. This was the first time that they had suffered a loss in an ambush mission, and the attention of the upper echelons was immediately drawn.

The entire battle was not too long, and the upper echelons in the headquarters had quickly understood the situation. At this moment, the highest in command present was the vice leader of DarkStar, another doyen who was just as experienced as Anur. His name was Degulish, and he was a stern individual with great prestige.

“Black Star again!”

Degulish frowned with dissatisfaction in his tone. After the incident with Anur, DarkStar harbored great enmity toward Han Xiao, but due to it being the crux of their mission, they did not take their revenge. After all, Han Xiao had Floating Dragon as his backing, and DarkStar was not willing to provoke Ames.

The scene of a DarkStar mothership being smashed into smithereens by an island was still deeply imprinted in their minds.

But now, DarkStar had once again obstructed their plans. Degulish was not as composed a person as the leader of DarkStar. Now that their leader was personally carrying out a secret mission, he was the one in charge of the headquarters. Furthermore, his style had always been extremely aggressive.

“He’s provoked us over and over again, and it’s time for us to help him understand what kind of an existence he is provoking. I want to make him pay the price for his wrongdoing,” Degulish said in a low voice. “Ah, doesn’t he want to protect his homeland? Send out two DarkStar motherships and destroy Planet Aquamarine!”

“Vice leader, this isn’t in line with our plans. We shouldn’t destroy a calamity planet,” the one in charge of intel said.

“I remember Ember suggesting that we should get rid of Black Star regardless of the cost, and his words make some sense. We have more than ten calamity planets, and destroying a single one won’t affect the big picture,” Degulish replied.

If Ember was there, he would definitely have raised both his arms in agreement. It was a pity that he was not present at this meeting.

More accurately, most of the upper echelons were not present in the meeting as they were all carrying out various missions. While ambushing a calamity planet seemed to be DarkStar’s only mission on the surface, a large number of their upper echelons were out on missions in secret.

The one in charge of intel shook his head. “This is on the basis that we will be able to kill him. If not, we will only be wasting our ships. He has a BlackLight Stealth that he got from who knows where, and this is a high-quality spaceship from the Federation of Light. It will be impossible for us to capture him.”

Degulish frowned. “He can run, but Planet Aquamarine won’t be able to escape!”

The one in charge of intel shook his head. “If Planet Aquamarine is his weakness, it would be a waste to destroy it.”

“A waste? What are your thoughts?”

“Black Star is only a mercenary. According to my observations, he has always been going against us either because Godora hired him or because we took the initiative to attack him. Of course, I am not trying to speak up on his behalf. Regardless of the reason, he still has to pay the price.

“The problem is, if we destroy his only weakness, he won’t have any more apprehensions and will go all out to fight us. He may even seek aid from Ames, and this isn’t to our advantage.”

“Since when have we been afraid of others?” Degulish said in a cold tone. “I can easily crush a Mechanic of Black Star’s standard with a casual clench of my fists. So, what about the Dragon Emperor? Will she be able to find us?”

“What I mean is, since Black Star is protecting Planet Aquamarine, it means that he cares about this planet,” the one in charge of intel said with his eyes narrowed. “It would be extremely easy for us to destroy Planet Aquamarine. Why don’t we use this as a handle to threaten him when necessary? He will then feel true regret and may even be forced to work for us.”

As Degulish heard that, his expression changed and felt that those words made sense.

“My subordinates will continue to gather news about Black Star. Black Star is a subordinate of the Dragon Emperor, and we may be able to achieve an unexpected result by making use of him. The concealed team left behind on Planet Aquamarine have been monitoring his actions. While the Godoran radar is able to use tracking methods within a certain distance, the concealed team shut down the engines of their spaceship, and they’re only maintaining their stealth functions. As long as they do not turn on their engines, they won’t be exposed. I am prepared to arrange spies in the Black Star Mercenary Group. They are only a bunch of mercenaries. As long as we pay the price, there isn’t such a thing as loyalty. We will plant some spies within their group and monitor all of his actions.”

The failure of their assault mission was like a spark that caused DarkStar to place their attention on Han Xiao. Since they could not fight head on, they would employ their methods in the dark. In any case, they had many methods up their sleeves.

After thinking for a moment, Degulish finally nodded. “Do as you have planned.”

“I recommend you don’t attack Planet Aquamarine in the near future. Just as you have said, it is only a single calamity planet, and it won’t affect the big picture. Furthermore, we will have to pay a large price if we want to attack Planet Aquamarine with Black Star around, so the losses will outweigh the gains.”

…

As everyone returned to Planet Aquamarine, the BlackLight Stealth landed in the Sanctuary. At this moment, nine DarkStar assault spaceships were parked in the Sanctuary. These were the new spaceships that the mercenaries had captured.

Of the thirty DarkStar spaceships that had attacked, a portion of them had been destroyed, and fewer than ten spaceships managed to escape. The Black Star Mercenary Group had captured all the remaining spaceships. While all of them were damaged in one way or another, all the spaceships still had their basic functions.

Han Xiao was in a pleasant mood. Nine small-sized assault spaceships was a great harvest. If he calculated according to their cost, these spaceships would be worth over a million Enas. The most valuable areas of these spaceships were their energy cores, engines, protective shields, and particle cannons. Taking all these away, the value of the spaceships would be decreased to a fifth of their original value. If the cores of those spaceships that had crash landed were not destroyed, some materials and spare parts could be salvaged, which would be an unexpected gain.

This ambush mission did not result in much of a loss for Han Xiao but allowed him to earn a tidy sum instead. With those assault spaceships, the firepower of his fleet would be greatly increased. Han Xiao was overjoyed and wished that those fellows from DarkStar to come more often and allow him the chance to expand his fleet.

Just when Han Xiao was prepared to board the ship to inspect the assault spaceship, Barette landed as well.

Walking over, Barette’s eyes swept over the surroundings. Nodding solemnly, he said, “Black Star, you did well this time. My men will come over and takeover these spoils of war. It has been hard on all of you this time.”

Han Xiao’s footsteps paused abruptly, and he looked at Barette’s confident expression with a frown.

“What?”

Chapter 543: Butterfly Effect

Han Xiao was taken aback and had a strange look on his face.

All of these assault spaceships were obviously his spoils of war. Why did Barette suddenly want them?

A couple of guesses flashed through his head, but he quickly eliminated them all. Just a few small-sized assault spaceships were not enough to make Godora interested. Could it be that Barette wants these spaceships to increase his battle merits? However, that did not seem likely either. According to how Barette behaved when they were fighting together, while Barette could not be bothered about Planet Aquamarine, Barette showed a basic level of respect toward him. At the very least, Barette would not come into a conflict with him because of these little spoils of war.

Barette’s face was extremely calm and did not appear guilty in any way. Han Xiao could not help but emphasize. “Are you sure that these assault spaceships are your spoils of war? Why do I remember that I was the one who shot them down?”

“Indeed, that is so.” Barette nodded. “According to the procedures recorded, all the losses suffered by DarkStar in the calamity planets will be Godora’s spoils of war. This is the most basic requirement for us to protect the calamity planets.”

“Procedures?”

“Oh, this is the rule that the War Bureau set.”

You want me to follow the rules that Godora set? With a frown, Han Xiao said, “You guys gave up on Planet Aquamarine at the most critical moment, resulting in the enemy’s assault spaceships entering the atmosphere. At the very end, I was the one who defeated the enemy.”

Barette shook his head and said, “We didn’t give up. We were only applying pressure on the enemy’s forces. After all, it was too late for us to send reinforcements, and we only made the most appropriate decision in the ever-changing battlefield. If not for my fleet tangling with majority of DarkStar’s fleet, you would have faced an enemy many times your size. Thus, it can be said that we exerted a greater amount of strength in this battle. I hope that you will cooperate with me.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Indeed, without Godora’s fleet facing the enemy, he would have had to face more than just a small assault force, and it would have been difficult for him to achieve the current victory. For Godora to protect the planets, they naturally did not want to put in effort for nothing, and all the spoils of war obtained by the calamity planet would have to be given to them.

While it sounded logical on the surface, he would only have to follow the so-called procedures set by Godora if he was a subordinate under Planet Aquamarine’s regime. However, while Han Xiao was protecting Planet Aquamarine, he was an independent entity, and Godora’s rules would not be able to govern him. It would be impossible for him to comply, and there was no need for him to behave meekly either.

“There seems to be something that you aren’t clear about. I am the head of a Mercenary Group and the Field Team of Floating Dragon. I am not part of the regime of a backward planet that you can order around as you wish.” Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed coldly, and he said slowly, “What right do you have to order me around?”

Barette’s face darkened, and he glared at Han Xiao.

This was a conflict of interest, and both parties glared at each other, refusing to give way. While Barette wanted to behave forcefully, he did not have the ability to command the famous Black Star. After all, Han Xiao’s status was far superior to his in the universe. Han Xiao was a famous officer under Floating Dragon while he was an ordinary commander in Godora’s War Bureau.

The situation there quickly drew the attention of those in the surroundings. The mercenaries, Godoran soldiers, and players all gathered around. Especially the players who had already turned on their recording features with Bun-Hit-Dog standing at the very front.

“What’s going on?” Right at this moment, Nagakin walked over after noticing the commotion.

Barette helplessly explained what was going on. He did not feel that he was in the wrong and was only harvesting the spoils of war according to the procedures. Who would have thought that Han Xiao would not accept his request and end up in a face-off with him? Now that the high ranking Nagakin had arrived, he would have more backing, and Barette heaved a sigh of relief.

Yet, outside his expectations, Nagakin roared at him with displeasure after hearing what had happened. “Barette! Are you an idiot‽”

“Ah?” Barette was stunned.

“If not for Black Star joining the battle, we would only have been able to watch as the DarkStar fleet escaped from us. Who do you think is the one who helped us capture the DarkStar flagship‽” Nagakin roared at Barette. His rank was higher, so he had the right to reprimand Barette. When Barette refused to listen to his previous commands, Nagakin had already been dissatisfied with him. Now that he had the opportunity, he naturally would not show any mercy.

Black Star’s status and strength were not to be estimated. Nagakin was not willing to ruin his relationship with Black Star over something so small. His status was higher than Barette’s, and with him representing Godora in reprimanding Barette, it provided a way out of this stalemate.

Barette had initially thought that Nagakin would help him say a word, but never had he imagined that Nagakin would stand on Black Star’s side. He was immediately depressed but could not interrupt Nagakin.

After a round of scolding, Nagakin looked at Han Xiao and said, “This is a misunderstanding.”

“I guessed so.” Han Xiao chuckled.

“You can deal with your spoils of war as you wish, and we won’t interfere. Godora will never mistreat our friends.” Nagakin nodded and dragged Barette away.

With the mini storm being settled, everyone in the surroundings heaved a sigh of relief. If the two protectors had broken out in a fight, all of them would definitely have felt anxious. Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed as he witnessed the Godorans leaving without saying another word. He then called his fellow mercenaries to enter the assault ships and check the damage.

One would only gain respect with sufficient strength. If he had been an ordinary individual today without any fame, Nagakin would not have spoken up for him. This was something that Han Xiao was extremely clear about. He did not feel gratitude toward Nagakin because of today’s event. Those Godorans were all the same. They were usually high above and would act according to the situation, afraid of the strong but bullying the weak. In fact, the majority of civilizations were as such, so it was nothing strange.

Nagakin’s attitude today proved that his actions had finally given him a status that Godora would treat seriously. Han Xiao would not become proud because of this but would maintain his usual cool. As long as he had sufficient strength, everyone else would take the initiative to give him the respect that he deserved.

The small conflict that had happened there was quickly spread to the Six Nations through various channels. When the upper echelons of the Six Nations witnessed the respect that Godora gave Han Xiao and thought about their own status, they were certain that their previous promise to Black Star was the right decision.

On the forums, a couple of players asked around about the entire battle and managed to recreate the battle. They naturally did not like DarkStar, who caused them to have a drop in their Main Storyline Mission progress, and were even more dissatisfied with Godora, who had abandoned them at a critical juncture.

Only Han Xiao’s performance did not disappoint the players. Not only was he able to defeat the enemies, he had even managed to capture the enemy flagship. While it could not be said that he single-handedly turned the entire battle around, he was definitely a large contributor toward the outcome of the battle. The players had always felt goodwill toward Han Xiao, and together with this forum post, all of their goodwill was increased even further.

People with a reliable vibe like him had always been popular. Together with his charisma, good public image, and suave appearance, Han Xiao was certain that he would be able to attract a great deal of female fans this time!

In actual fact, he would not mind if his fans were boorish men either. As long as they were fans, he would not reject them.

However, this did not result in more players wanting to join the Black Star Mercenary Group. From the very beginning, almost everyone had wanted to join the Black Star Mercenary Group. After operating for such a long period of time, the entire player market of Planet Aquamarine pretty much belonged to Han Xiao. He only needed to continue increasing the goodwill that the players felt toward him.

If he wanted another avenue of players, he would have to open another market, and it naturally was not time for that.

When the players were happily chatting on the forums, Han Xiao checked the interiors of the nine assault ships. The mercenaries had been too enthusiastic in their attacks, and the interiors of the spaceships were badly damaged. Furthermore, the AI systems would also have to be replaced and a series of maintenance done before the spaceships could be used.

Thankfully, the various spaceships that had crash landed on Planet Aquamarine were precious materials, so Han Xiao did not need to purchase replacement parts.

The destroyed spaceships were spread across almost half the planet. Some had fallen into the ocean while the others had fallen on earth. Through the radar of a spaceship, the locations of those spaceships could be located. Han Xiao sent out a portion of his mercenaries to salvage all of the spaceships. In a short two or three days, he would be able to recover all of the wreckages.

Han Xiao did not follow the mercenaries to take action. After upgrading his class to that of a Mechanic Hacker, he was able to merge a few valuable blueprints. Thus, he stayed behind in the Sanctuary and began building new machineries.

After this ambush, DarkStar would not attack Planet Aquamarine again in the short run, and he should be able to relax for a while.

…

On the Andrea continent, in the old address of the Germinal Organization…

Not too long ago, a meteor had landed from the skies and charred the entire earth. At the same time, a hundred-meter- long gorge had been created. When the dust settled, the only thing left behind had been a pile of wreckage. It was the DarkStar spaceship that had been shot down by the mercenary group.

A skeleton sat not too far away from the landing site, which stood up slowly, walking over unstably toward the wreckage.

The Mutation Source that was attached to the cervical vertebra could feel the powerful energy reaction from the wreckage. It was the energy core of the spaceship.

The radiation from the Germinal Organization had already been mostly absorbed by the Mutation Source, and the destroyed spaceship was just like a pie dropping from the skies.

The skeleton climbed into the cockpit of the spaceship and found the leaking energy core through its senses.

Countless hair-like black tentacles extended out from the Mutation Source and wrapped around the energy core of the spaceship like a spider about to devour its prey. The entire space around the region became distorted, and the pure energy began to seep into the Mutation Source. The tentacles began to bloat up and shrink back as it absorbed the pure energy.

The energy core of a spaceship contained a large amount of fuel. As the Mutation Source began to suck out all of the energy, the fuel from the energy core rapidly disappeared. At the same time, the speed at which the Mutation Source sucked out the energy also sped up. From the Mutation Source seemed to come the sound of a heart beating.

The energy core let out a final buzz and fell silent. Its light began to fade away, and it disappeared. The Mutation Source retracted all of its tentacles, and the skeleton remained on the ground.

All of a sudden, the Mutation Source began spitting out copious amounts of a black sticky substance. The sticky substance was extremely thick, but it seemed to have the slipperiness of oil. After releasing this sticky substance for half a day until the sticky substance covered the entire room, this strange behavior stopped.

The next moment, all of the sticky substance that had been shot out began flowing toward the skeleton in the middle of the room as though it was alive.

When the final bit of sticky substance had climbed up on the skeleton, the skeleton already looked completely different. It was no longer a rack of bones but had transformed into a black human body. The sticky substance seemed to have formed the flesh and muscles of the body, and the body looked extremely well built. The facial features began to take form; eyes, a nose, a mouth, and ears roamed around the face for a period of time before finding their appropriate place.

If Han Xiao was here, he would have realized that the appearance of the figure looked like the Germinal Organization’s leader. It was just before he was disfigured.

The monster opened its mouth and let out an incomprehensible groan. To think that it even had vocal cords.

After absorbing a large amount of energy, the growth of the Mutation Source had skyrocketed. The Mutation Source no longer needed to convert all of its absorbed energy and could control a portion to go through cell division. Thus, that small pile of Mutation Source was able to spit out an entire room full of sticky substance.

The Mutation Source could enjoy the senses of numerous animals and understood the structure of different life forms. With the skeleton as the base, it was able to recreate the human body. This monster was not leeching onto a human body but simulating a human body. Apart from its entire body being black and the lack of sexual characteristics, it was no different from an ordinary body. The Mutation Source was wrapped up deep within the simulated body.

The simulated body lowered its head and observed its body through its eyes while touching all over its body curiously. While it could share the senses of all those infected, it was now able to control its own body, and this was an entirely different feeling. It could not help but have a strange feeling.

Freedom!

The intelligence of the Mutation Source had originally been operating only from instinct, but its thoughts began to form as it looked at the world around it.

Like a three-year-old child suddenly having memories, the world in front of it seemed so different.

“Air, hands, body…”

The simulated body let out a barely audible voice, and through the numerous shared senses it had, a massive wave of memories flooded its head, and the sense of fatigue quickly assaulted it.

The simulated body walked out of the cockpit. Looking in a direction, its figure disappeared over the horizon.

In another region of Planet Aquamarine, the concealed troops of DarkStar detected a rapid increase in the energy levels of the Mutation Source. All of the members were stunned.

Their information journal had recorded such circumstances. This indicated that the Mutation Source had absorbed energy to the point that it was saturated and was beginning its next stage of evolution!

The Mutation Source had evolved far earlier than in Han Xiao’s previous life!

Chapter 544: Second Phase of the Mutation Disaster

A couple of days later…

“Ahhh…” The older Volga brother yawned and casually played a card. He then looked at Herlous and asked, “Oi, how much longer are we going to stay on this backward planet?”

At this moment, the mercenary group was playing cards and having a chat in the main hall. Upon hearing that question, they all turned around to look at Herlous.

“We can only leave this place after dealing with the problem on this planet. This isn’t something that I can control.” Herlous shook his head helplessly.

Everyone then looked toward a military factory outside the window. That was Han Xiao’s machinery modification room. At this moment, Han Xiao was repairing the assault ships that they had just obtained.

The mercenaries had already stayed on Planet Aquamarine for more than a month. Apart from choosing new players, they did not have anything else to do, and all of them were extremely bored.

With the sights of these galactic mercenaries, they naturally found the entertainment located on Planet Aquamarine extremely boring. Apart from playing cards, a few of them felt as though their bodies were rusting. If their current mission had a reward, perhaps most of them would still be able to bear with this boredom. However, this was Black Star’s command, and they had no choice but to obey his orders while looking forward to the matter being resolved.

After the failure of the previous ambush, DarkStar did not send anyone else to Planet Aquamarine again as though they were wary of the combined strength of Black Star and the Godoran fleet. But from time to time, news of the other calamity planets being ambushed could be heard.

As Godora sent more reinforcements to the other calamity planets, the ambushes of DarkStar were usually ineffective. Just like Planet Aquamarine, there were almost three hundred spaceships awaiting their orders outside Planet Aquamarine’s atmosphere, and this was the same even around the other calamity planets. However, as the size of the DarkStar fleet grew larger, they also applied pressure to the Godoran forces.

Godora had to split up their forces to protect more than ten calamity planets. Their fleet was spread thinly, and their soldiers were insufficient. However, DarkStar did not have such a restriction, so they held the initiative.

The entire Garton Star System was like an abyss of suffering. On the other hand, Planet Aquamarine managed to defeat the enemies after suffering an ambush. Thus, their ability to cope with the calamity was pretty good, and the Six Nations were prospering.

In the military factory…

Clank!

A couple of mini assistive robots climbed up and down the body of the spaceship while attempting to repair the outer armor of the spaceship. Sparks could be seen flying all around, and the sound of hammering reverberated without end.

Han Xiao controlled a large mechanical arm, and it transformed into various different kinds of tools to repair the spaceships’ damage. Apart from helping him in battle, this large mechanical arm could also be used to repair large spaceships. It was as though he had a huge hand that could be controlled like his own limbs.

The spaceship wreckages that the mercenaries had collected brought him sufficient materials. As such, he began to repair the spaceships that he had captured, and he was about eighty percent done. While repairing those spaceships only gave him a little bit of experience, it was better than nothing at all.

Han Xiao stopped his actions and said, “Damage check.”

“Initiating a system check… Damage levels of the spaceship are at 0%…” The AI system of the ship had already been changed to Phillip.

Apart from repairing the assault ships, Han Xiao had also created a couple of delicate machines that could improve his hacking skills. It strengthened Phillip’s calculation speed, and Risda had also restructured Phillip’s calculation structure, allowing Phillip to be three times more efficient than before.

The machines under Phillip’s control became much more efficient, and it also allowed his hacking skills to go up another level. Phillip was still a distance away from Risda, but strengthening and grooming one’s own AI was a long-term job of a Mechanic Hacker. At the same time, he would be able to receive a great deal of benefits from doing so.

“The final spaceship has been repaired, and it can be used normally.” Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction. Giving out a command, all the repair bots began to pack themselves up.

At this moment, the Black Star Mercenary Group was mainly using spaceships that were rented. These nine assault spaceships would be able to supplement their firepower and belonged completely to him.

After drinking a mouthful of water, Han Xiao took out his communicator and began browsing the mercenary group portal out of habit.

The size of the mercenary group was already a few hundred times larger than before they returned to Planet Aquamarine. After this operation period, there were over a hundred thousand players whom he had hired, and this number was increasing by the day. They were undeniably a super large mercenary group!

While the players were not sufficiently powerful at the moment, the speed at which the players could grow meant that they were all full of potential.

“After entering the universe, I will be able to give them an endless number of missions and resources. At the same time, they will also give me an endless amount of wealth. The sheer number of players will allow my Black Star Mercenary Group to take another step forward, and the name of Floating Dragon’s Field Team will be truly respected!”

Thinking about the strength of a few hundred thousand mercenaries, Han Xiao could not help but look forward toward it.

Because of the Mutation Disaster, his mercenary group needed to remain in Planet Aquamarine temporarily. They were currently accumulating their strength, and their true might would show when they re-entered the universe once the Mutation Disaster was taken care of.

Han Xiao had always paid attention to the actions of DarkStar. He was waiting for DarkStar to carry out the next stage of their plans as that would be the best time for him to hand over the mutation source in his hands.

…

After leaving the military factory, Han Xiao walked toward the conference room. According to the schedule, today was the day for Godora to have a conference with all the upper echelons of the Sanctuary to discuss their disaster relief efforts. Such a meeting would be held once every few days, and he was already used to it.

Coming to the conference room, Bennett, Nagakin, and the others had already arrived long ago. After Han Xiao sat down, a couple of leaders then began the discussion of their disaster relief efforts. Since Han Xiao was not concerned about the topic, he did not interrupt their conversation.

After half an hour, they finally changed the topic, and Nagakin said, “Godora is in a stalemate with DarkStar. The enemy has continued to ambush the calamity planets, and the War Bureau has been sending out reinforcements endlessly. Both the forces are closely matched.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao said, “It doesn’t sound good.”

“We do not know how many fleets are under DarkStar’s command, but we have to spread our forces to protect the calamity planets,” Nagakin replied helplessly. “Our forces are truly lacking. This is DarkStar’s scheme to force us to split our forces. While the battle is currently a stalemate, as long as DarkStar is willing to send out the majority of their forces to attack a calamity planet, it will be impossible for us to block them. Thus, the situation isn’t good.”

“Do you guys have a way to deal with that?”

“We do.” Nagakin nodded. “With regards to our forces being spread thinly and the distance being far, the War Bureau decided to set up a Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station. It will be set up in a few days’ time.”

“What is that?” Bennett asked with doubt.

Han Xiao thought for a moment before saying, “You can treat it like a transportation portal for military use.”

The Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station was a strategic weapon during intergalactic battles. Within a certain range, it was able to lock onto the coordinates of two different regions and create a transportation channel between the two locations. It would allow fleets that were far away from each other to quickly reinforce their allies.

This station was like a large space fortress, and the technical requirements of constructing it were extremely high. Only advanced civilizations that knew how to construct a stable stargate would be able to construct it. The Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station of Godora had been purchased from an advanced civilization within the Shattered Star Ring and was extremely precious.

In order to construct a Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station, the transportation coordinates of the various locations had to be anchored down properly, and the Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station needed to be situated in the middle of these coordinates. It was like the middle of a spider web with the web spreading far and wide.

With this facility, Godora would be able to cover up its weakness of having its fleet being scattered across the various calamity planets. These fleets would be able to aid each other, and if any of the planets were attacked, reinforcements would be able to arrive within two to three minutes. As such, the ambushes of DarkStar would no longer be a threat to them.

Since the War Bureau was willing to make use of this strategic weapon, it meant that they did not wish to be on the passive side.

Han Xiao frowned and said, “This is an expensive strategic weapon, and DarkStar will definitely attack the station.”

“The enemy will definitely do so.” Nagakin was not worried.

Since the War Bureau dared use the station, it naturally meant that they would arrange sufficient protection for the station. It could be said that they had even grasped the initiative. Even if the whereabouts of DarkStar could not be traced, they would definitely attack the station. As such, they would be able to grasp the enemy’s actions and make preparations.

A flash could be seen in Han Xiao’s eyes, and he shook his head.

In truth, Godora was not truly anxious yet. While the DarkStar ambushes had resulted in some loss for Godora, the ones who had suffered the most were the calamity planets. Godora’s foundations were not shaken, and the Godorans thought that they were still able to control the situation.

However, he knew that DarkStar would not be so easily dealt with.

With the appearance of the station, DarkStar should be moving on to the next step of their plan.

Just when Nagakin wanted to say something else, a commotion sounded from the outside from afar.

The next moment, the commotion grew larger and larger as it approached them. Like a tsunami, the commotion covered the entire Sanctuary!

Boom!

The ground began to shake, and the windows could be seen trembling slightly from the commotion. Bennett stood up with a face full of doubt.

“What’s happening‽”

Bennett hurriedly turned on the screen in the conference room, and the images of the various locations in the Sanctuary were shown. The Sanctuary that had been in an orderly state was in complete chaos, and the Mutation Disaster had exploded once again. Even those refugees who had been injected with the suppressants began to act up.

The situation on the outside of the Sanctuary was even worse, and even the guards of the Sanctuary began to fall ill.

Without anyone to maintain security, the calm that had been formed through great difficulty collapsed.

Millions of people turned violent, and their voices flooded the Sanctuary like a tsunami!

Squeezing, roaring, fighting…

Apart from a messy battle, the majority of them were running around crazily, and they tried to escape from the Sanctuary. It was as though the Sanctuary was a frightening location, and they wanted to escape to the outside. Those escaping formed a long trail, and they charged out of the Sanctuary in all directions. There were some who tumbled onto the ground and were instantly swallowed by the endless crowd.

The players were completely dumbfounded. Very quickly, some of them realized that the mission progress of their [Mutation Disaster] mission had fallen rapidly!

“Th—This…”

This sudden chaos stunned even Bennett and Nagakin.

Han Xiao’s gaze turned cold, and he stood up with a solemn expression.

“This is… the second phase!”

Chapter 545: Sensory Organs

The first phase of the Mutation Disaster was an irregular outburst across the entire planet. It signified the first time the Mutation Source controlled its strength. The first symptom of the second phase was all the infected individuals acting up together. Compared to the first phase, the Mutation Source would not be limited by controlling ordinary individuals. Certain elite soldiers and weaker Supers could also become targets of its control. The most obvious change would be the fact that the infected individuals no longer acted randomly but acted as though they had a goal.

The objective behavior of the infected individuals was the first sign of the Mutation Source gaining intelligence. Compared to the chaos in the first phase, the escape of all the refugees was due to the control of the Mutation Source.

“For the Mutation Source to command all of these refugees to escape, it probably doesn’t want these infected individuals to gather together. Furthermore, it may have detected that someone has been trying to help these infected individuals escape from its grasp. Thus, it wants to get the infected individuals far away from this place. To the Mutation Source, every single one of these infected individuals are a ‘sensory organ’,” Han Xiao said with a frown. In his previous life, something similar had also happened. While there was no official explanation given, the various players had come up with their deductions and conclusions. Thus, he was able to guess the thoughts of the Mutation Source.

The only problem was, the second phase had broken out much earlier than in his previous life.

It may be due to a random chance, or it may also be because of the butterfly effect, Han Xiao thought to himself. Because of his actions, there were plenty of events that had developed extremely differently from his previous life. This was not the first time that he had met such a situation, and Han Xiao quickly regained his cool after a short moment of shock.

While it was outside his expectations, he did not become completely flustered.

Walking out of the conference room, the commotion on the outside became larger and larger. Han Xiao immediately sent out all of the mercenaries and the players under him. The first thing that he had to do now was control all of the infected individuals. With the Mutation Disaster in the second phase, the strength of the Mutation Source would be stronger, and the original suppressant that they gave to these infected individuals now required three times the dosage. They naturally did not have enough medicine on hand, and the only thing they could do was forcefully subdue the infected refugees.

The Sanctuary and Godora became busy, and the players all received a new mission. Seeing the mission progress of the Main Storyline falling, none of them dared delay and hurriedly got to work.

In comparison to the tens of millions of refugees in the Sanctuary, the number of available manpower was not high. Together with the players, there were only a million or so. However, since all the players were Supers, it was not too difficult for them to subdue ten ordinary individuals at once.

The refugees nearest the outside began escaping in all directions like an expanding circle. The spaceships on standby all took off immediately and flew toward the outermost rim of the circle while firing white colored doughnut-shaped vibration waves.

Ohm!

The white colored rings swept past the crowd, and the refugees all collapsed onto the ground, jolted unconscious.

Since he had known that there would be this explosive phase during the Mutation Disaster, Han Xiao had already arranged the corresponding measures to deal with it. He had equipped all the spaceships with large-scale Vibration Cannons. While the effect of these Vibration Cannons was extremely weak and could not daze a rank C Super for even half a second, it was just right for dealing with ordinary individuals. It would shock them unconscious and not harm their lives.

Because he had these measures up his sleeves, Han Xiao was not concerned about the number of refugees that he kept in the Sanctuary. Even if they all broke out in illness at the same time, he was confident that he would be able to reduce the losses to the bare minimum. Rather, it might be more convenient for him to gather them all together.

A couple of spaceships jolted the refugees unconscious from the inner circle to the outside and worked together with the players to clear up the refugees nearest the center before clearing up those refugees on the outside. The refugees on the outermost rim of the circle escaped the furthest, but Han Xiao could not start by knocking them unconscious as they would end up being trampled by those behind them.

Ka ka.

A mechanical arm suddenly stretched out, and Han Xiao sped across the city walls. Looking at the commotion on the outside, the running refugees were like a black wave rising and falling as they dashed outside, kicking up a large dust cloud.

Taking out a communicator to contact the other spaceships of the Six Nations, the scene being shown on the communicator was similar. Not only in the Sanctuary, the entire Six Nations was also a similar scenario.

With the Mutation Disaster spreading rapidly, it means that the pressure of their disaster relief efforts will also be greater. Oh, even if DarkStar doesn’t come to ambush us, the situation on Planet Aquamarine isn’t too optimistic. Planet Aquamarine is probably the first planet that has reached the second phase of the Mutation Disaster among all the calamity planets. But with my help, the different Sanctuaries on Planet Aquamarine and the Six Nations should have the appropriate measures to deal with this chaos. It is must better than the storyline in my previous life at the very least.

Han Xiao calculated the losses in his heart. If the Mutation Source did not have a consciousness before this and was only acting on instinct, from the second phase onward, it would be an opponent with a target and much more difficult to deal with. Furthermore, the Mutation Source would grow even more rapidly after the second phase.

“Thankfully, it is about time for me to hand the original mutation source in my hands to Godora. As long as Godora is able to formulate the appropriate antidote and weapon to deal with the Mutation Source, the Mutation Disaster will be solved.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

…

The sun set in the distance, and the evening sky was dyed orange.

The chaos in the Sanctuary began to die down, and after spending a few hours, the majority of the refugees were finally subdued. Those that had escaped the furthest had managed to run a few dozen miles, but thankfully, the Sanctuary was located in the wilderness without any vegetation in the surroundings. Thus, it was impossible for the refugees to escape the detection of the spaceships.

In the surrounding ten miles, the refugees were scattered all over the ground. Some players were moving around according to the missions issued by the Sanctuary to inject the guards of the Sanctuary with three times the usual dosage so that they would be able to increase their manpower. All others were taking care of this huge mess but carrying all the scattered refugees back into the Sanctuary.

On the city wall, Bennett had a solemn expression as he asked his assistant, “How are our losses?”

His assistant shook his head in response, indicating that they had not been calculated.

“‘The losses of the Sanctuary are the lowest,” Han Xiao interrupted. “The Six Nations are still trying to quell the chaos, and they are almost done.”

“At least it isn’t the worst-case scenario.” Bennett heaved a sigh of relief.

Han Xiao shook his head. “The Mutation Disaster has already grown, and we will be facing an even more perilous situation after this. Not to mention whether or not the suppressant will still be effective after this, just the ability of the Mutation Source to control the infected individuals will be the greatest danger. We have captured so many of its ‘sensory organs’, and it is very likely for it to control a bunch of animals to attack the Sanctuary or Six Nations. It may also choose to control the infected individuals to create destruction and attack our facilities from within.”

Hearing that, Bennett’s face turned dark, and he felt a lingering fear in his heart. He was not an unduly humble person, but he was clear that without Han Xiao being around, it would be impossible for the natives of Planet Aquamarine to cope with the disaster on their own.

“What are you getting ready to do?”

“Nothing.” Han Xiao raised his bows. “The mercenaries under my charge are extremely bored, and a beast tide won’t be a big issue. We shall observe the situation first for the other problems. You must try to adapt to the new situation quickly.”

“I understand.” Bennett nodded.

It was possible for the Mutation Source to be hiding underground or in the ocean. The radar database also did not have any records of the Mutation Source’s fluctuations, and it was difficult to locate it. Trying to search for it was no different from searching for a needle in a haystack. Because of the uniqueness of the Mutation Source, before having a cure for it, it would be extremely difficult to deal with it. The Mutation Source was capable of absorbing energy and was able to absorb most attacks as fertilizer for its growth, rendering ordinary attacks completely useless against it. Furthermore, it was able to split apart rapidly and was extremely difficult to catch.

Currently, Han Xiao did not wish to deal with the Mutation Source personally as it was far too disgusting and was not in his interest. Apart from giving Godora a headache so he could reap some benefits, there was another reason. The Mutation Disaster was a temporary protective charm. If the Mutation Disaster was quelled on Planet Aquamarine, he would not be able to predict what DarkStar’s next move was. The enemy might choose to destroy Planet Aquamarine directly.

While there was nothing for him to be afraid of since he could easily leave, it would be impossible for him to fit Planet Aquamarine into his pocket and take it along with him to escape. The only ones with such an ability were probably the three great Universal Civilizations or beyond Grade A Supers that had special abilities.

After putting aside his thoughts, Han Xiao gathered his subordinates, and his gaze swept over all of them. With a heavy voice, he said, “According to my estimations, there may be a large beast tide in the next few days. Take some men to patrol the area. The moment there are signs of beasts gathering together, destroy them early and don’t allow the beasts to approach the Sanctuary.”

Everyone’s face lit up. After being idle for so many days, they finally had something to do.

The happiest person was definitely Harmon. Carrying his large axe, he said in a gruff voice, “I like hunting.”

After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao added, “Right, take the Inhumans who have just joined for some training. Do not let them be too bored in the Sanctuary.”

The majority of the players were currently staying in the Sanctuary. While it was not because they were forced, the daily repetitive disaster relief missions would bore them as well. Apart from the daily selection trials, there was not much of an opportunity for them to fight. Those who were already in the Black Star Mercenary Group naturally were not able to join the selection trial and did not have a chance to do battle at all. Thus, it was likely that they were extremely bored as well.

During the second phase of the Mutation Disaster, the attacks of the beast waves would definitely be more frequent, and it was the best chance for the players to go out and hunt some beasts. They would be able to let off some steam while allowing the mercenary group, which was a few hundred times larger, to build some bonds.

Furthermore, if they did not fight monsters, the players would not be in urgent need of equipment.

…

In some location on Planet Aquamarine, a black figure was seated cross legged in a cave like a statue. After a long while, its pure white eyes spun around.

“Trapping… my… sensory organs… irritating…”

The simulated body began talking to itself. It had only gained this body a few days prior, and it still could not speak fluently.

After obtaining a body that belonged solely to itself, the Mutation Source felt a sense of freedom. While it could share the senses of the infected individuals and even control them to a certain extent, it was only able to have absolute control of the simulated body.

Just a while ago, the Mutation Source had evolved successfully, although it did not even know about its own evolution and only felt its senses toward the ‘sensory organs’ becoming much clearer.

Every infected individual was a ‘sensory organ’ in the eyes of the Mutation Source. The infected individuals were like the different body parts of a human, and the Mutation Source treated them like part of its body. When it could not move around in its infant stages, it could only understand the world through these ‘sensory organs’.

Right now, it could clearly feel many of its ‘sensory organs’ being trapped in a few different locations. Just when it wanted to order its ‘sensory organs’ to spread out and not gather together, it saw the refugees being suppressed by Han Xiao and the others. As such, it immediately understood the situation.

They are my enemies! They are harming my sensory organs!

In the original thoughts of the Mutation Source, there was no righteous or evil nor any sense of moral standards. It did not have much common sense either and only had the basic instinct of a living being. It could even be considered to be extremely pure.

To the Mutation Source, the act of suppressing the refugees was akin to controlling his ‘sensory organs’. It felt as though its limbs were being restricted without being able to move one bit. With these ‘sensory organs’ being gathered together, it was not able to understand the world around it.

Furthermore, some of the ‘sensory organs’ had been injected with some kind of substance, severing its connection with the ‘sensory organs’. It was akin to blinding it or making it deaf.

Thus, it was extremely displeased.

Its instincts told it that if it was attacked, it had to retaliate.

Chapter 546: DarkStar’s Next Move

The Colton Star Cluster consisted of many different Star Systems, and Godora’s territory was in the Gavin Star System. From the star map, Godora was located in the south-west of the Colton Star Cluster and shared borders with three other Star Systems. The Fawn Star System, which was controlled by Holy Stone and Black Raven; Hutt Civilization controlled by the Skywalker Star System; and the Hyde Star System, which did not have a dominant ruling party.

The Hyde Star System was in a state of conflict, and a local high-grade civilization had not appeared. Its development could not be compared to a Star System that was ruled over by a civilization, but the entire Star System had abundant resources. Be it mining planets or energy planets, there was sufficient resources to last them for thousands of years.

The geographical location of Hyde was pretty special as it was connected to the territories of six different high grade civilizations. In the eyes of those high-grade civilizations, Hyde was undeniably a fat piece of meat. Regardless of whether if it was because of their resources or strategic location, this was a region that they had to fight for. The six high-grade civilizations expanded their territories, and each occupied a part of Hyde.

Hyde was not under the control of any civilization, and the six high-grade civilizations treated Hyde as new land for them to conquer. They divided Hyde up, but because they could not come to an agreement on the borders of the division, conflicts were extremely common between those six civilizations. Hyde was an important point among the foreign affairs department of the six civilizations, and none of them were willing to take a step back.

Of the six civilizations trying to slice up the Hyde Star System, Godora and the Hutt Civilization were included. Because these two civilizations shared a border, the conflict between the two civilizations was extremely intense.

Just when news of the Mutation Disaster in the Garton Star System was spreading rapidly, the Hutt Civilization welcomed a special visitor.

On an isolated planet without any inhabitants, a small spaceship landed in a black field. The hatch to the spaceship opened, and the leader of DarkStar drew a pattern on the ground with his finger casually while waiting for the individual whom he had contacted.

Xiu!

Not too long later, a loud shrill could be heard, and a spaceship landed from the sky. A man dressed elegantly walked down from the spaceship with dozens of guards following behind him.

The leader of DarkStar looked up, and dozens of lights were floating in the sky. Those lights were the protective fleet of the person whom he was about to meet. The person before him was an envoy who had been sent to communicate with him. The leader of DarkStar had contacted the Hutt Civilization and arranged this meeting.

The Hutt envoy waved his hands for his guards to retreat and walked forward alone. After sizing up the DarkStar leader, he said, “You truly are bold. You actually dare enter the Skywalker Star System without any men. Aren’t you afraid that I might catch you and hand you over to Godora?”

“I came alone to show my sincerity, and you definitely won’t deal with me,” the DarkStar leader replied without a trace of fear. “The presence of DarkStar is able to keep Godora busy, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Alright, I also know that DarkStar’s reputation is poor, and Hutt definitely won’t be willing to have any relationship with us. However, no one will say no to benefits for sure.”

“A confident person usually dies because of his confidence,” the Hutt envoy said expressionlessly.

“Since you were willing to meet me, it means that you are interested in what I said. I shall just get straight to the point. The chaos that DarkStar has created will attract the main elites of Godora, and this is the best chance to seize territory in Hyde. As long as the two civilizations don’t break out in an all-out war, the peace treaty can go to hell…”

“You want to borrow our strength to give Godora pressure from the outside and in turn help you guys?” the Hutt envoy said coldly. “Humph, you are thinking too highly of the conditions that you raised. Face Godora in battle just for that little bit of territory? The risks are too large. The Star Cluster grade civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring will not allow us to break the rules as such. If we draw the attention of the three great civilizations, things will be even worse. The warring era is already over, and things aren’t as easy as you said.”

“A civilization without ambition does not have a future,” the DarkStar leader said calmly. “The situation in the galaxy is already fixed. If you do not think of a way to climb up, you will forever be a plaything for those above you in the food chain. Even if everyone hides their fangs, there isn’t a civilization that will truly accept their fate as such. The road ahead will get more and more narrow, and it is impossible to avoid competition. It is just that the lawful civilization will ensure that the loser won’t lose everything.

“Every minute, hundreds or thousands of battles are happening all over the universe, and you are clearer about this than me. To a certain extent, there is a silent consent toward war up to a certain level. Only an idiot would believe that a single piece of paper is able to wipe out all forms of conflict. Apart from submitting to the strength of the three great civilizations, the reason everyone chooses to follow this rule is because the rule ensures the safety of the loser. As long as the strength of a civilization reaches a certain level, the civilization will be able to avoid the fate of being wiped out, and this is beneficial to everyone.”

The Hutt envoy did not say a word. This was indeed something that was tacitly agreed upon. As long as creatures of intelligence were not wiped out, battles would never disappear. The only thing that would change was the way they chose to compete. The imagination of a living being brought with it endless possibilities, and since it was endless, it meant that it was impossible for all the different species to understand each other fully and coexist in peace.

While it was written on the peace treaty that the peace treaty protected all civilizations, when it was truly carried out, there would be an implicit understanding of the rules that only a civilization at the Star System grade would be qualified to receive this privilege. The universe was vast, and plenty of species disappeared every minute. Only civilizations that had a certain degree of strength and status had the right to be treated with importance. Being of the Star System grade was the minimum requirement.

Hutt and Godora were both at that level. Despite there being numerous conflicts between the two civilizations, their conflict would be controlled within a certain scale as they were clear that they could not do much to the other party. Thus, their focus was largely on the battle of benefits. Since they had a competitor whom they are unable to slaughter, they could only choose to scrap over benefits. In truth, the Hutt envoy had been extremely interested in the suggestion of the DarkStar leader from the start.

After a moment of silence, the Hutt envoy asked a question that caused the DarkStar leader to have a slight change in expression.

“DarkStar’s objective is to overturn the pureblood tradition of Godora and create a new Godora. However, the destruction that you’ve caused Godora has exceeded the bottom line, and you are recognized as a terrorist organization. Do you still think that you will have any chance of becoming a ruler?

“Your only chance will be a change in the regime, but not to mention the little possibility of that, the moment DarkStar comes into power, the punishment from the Star Cluster grade civilization will immediately come. Do you guys really think that you will be free of all sin after ruling over Godora? Unless you are able to stand shoulder to shoulder with a Star Cluster grade civilization, there will come a time when you will have to pay the price for your actions!

“I am truly curious what your DarkStar is thinking about.”

“This is none of your business,” the DarkStar leader said in a strange tone.

…

According to the degree of prosperity of the planet, Godora would allocate a different rank to the planet. The mother planet and a few other planets were Grade S. Below that was Grade A; Juberly Hub and Planet Golden Gate were examples. Another grade down was Grade B, and below that would be Grade C.

In the Garton Star System, an old looking spaceship descended onto a Grade B colony planet, and it seemed extremely insignificant in the busy space port.

Ember, who was in disguise, stepped out of the spaceship and looked around at the bustling crowd and troops not too far away.

The corner of his mouth then curled up coldly, and he raised his arms up to eye level.

“Reduce to dust.”

His voice was transmitted through a miniature communicator to a fleet not too far away from the colony planet awaiting their orders. There were three DarkStar motherships lying in wait.

The scale of this fleet was on a completely different level from the ambush that they had carried out on the calamity planets!

Chapter 547: The Time Has Arrived

In the few days after the second outbreak of the Mutation Disaster, there was an obvious increase in the number of beasts lurking around the Sanctuary. In order to prevent a beast tide from being formed, Herlous and the other officers finally had something to do. They led the players who had just joined the mercenary group to wipe out the beast nests and set up different defense strongholds in various locations around the wilderness.

The players were the main force in wiping out the beasts, and the strongholds quickly became locations for the players to form parties and sell items.

The majority of the beasts were much more easily controlled than humans. According to Han Xiao’s understanding of the Mutation Source, after entering into the second phase, the Mutation Source would consciously control the beast tide to attack the various Sanctuaries, resulting in the attack of the beasts becoming more organized.

This was a form of retaliation from the Mutation Source, but Han Xiao was not too bothered by it.

The Mutation Disaster was only a huge threat to Planet Aquamarine, but his own level had already exceeded the upper limit of Version 2.0, so the Mutation Disaster could only pose a limited threat to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao did not treat the Mutation Source as an important opponent. After all, he had the trump card to deal with the Mutation Source. His aim was to make use of this opportunity to complete his recruitment plan; any other matters such as dealing a blow to DarkStar and resolving the Mutation Disaster were not as important.

But from the players’ perspective, the Mutation Disaster was the first Main Storyline Mission after the launch of Version 2.0, and it was extremely challenging.

For the progress of the Main Storyline Mission, the players took on plenty of missions every day. The Sanctuary, Black Star Mercenary Group, and Godora did not lack missions and opportunities.

During Version 1.0, players developed a basic understanding toward Planet Aquamarine, and during the Mutation Disaster, they all worked together for the [Mutation Disaster] mission. For once, there was this strange feeling of a collective community. The players were usually in a competitive relationship with one another, but this time, they were required to work together as one. It was a strange feeling.

Han Xiao did not need to personally take part in the disaster relief operation. On the contrary, the players stood on the frontlines for the operation. They met many different events and characters every day, and their lives were extremely plentiful.

The various actions of Black Star and Godora were no more than a part of the storyline in the players’ eyes.

At this moment, the players of Planet Aquamarine still could not participate in the events at Han Xiao’s level.

Apart from recruiting players, Han Xiao would not pay too much attention to the overall situation of the players. He understood the players. Regardless of how things were, the players would always be able to find the space to display their strengths and create enjoyment for themselves. They were the most proactive bunch, and there was no need for Han Xiao to worry at all.

…

A few days later, just as Nagakin had told him, Godora set up the Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station and connected all the calamity planets. As long as DarkStar dared show themselves, they would be faced with a thunder like strike.

However, DarkStar suddenly retreated and no longer launched any ambushes. The storm in the Garton Star System seemed to have calmed down… but this was only a misperception.

Not too long later, a piece of news shocked the entire Star System!

“Godora’s colony planet, Long Arc, suffered from a large-scale assault by DarkStar. The enemy sent out three DarkStar motherships and over four thousand battleships. The local Godora forces fought an intense battle with the enemy and suffered heavy losses. Long Arc was bombarded with cannon fire, and over forty cities were flattened with the other cities being severely damaged. The estimated death toll may exceed three hundred million.

“According to the report, the assault began when a DarkStar member unleashed his destructive Esper abilities. This person has the ability to reduce a human’s body to dust, and thousands of individuals perished under his abilities. The Godoran Civilization responded to this assault immediately and sent three waves of reinforcements. They finally managed to destroy more than a thousand enemy battleships and one DarkStar mothership.

“Godora’s colony planets have suffered from many probing assaults historically, but this is the only time when a colony planet has almost been wiped out. DarkStar’s actions have been seen as an extremely sinister terrorist attack, and this is the most frightening event over the past ten years in the Garton Star System. We have reason to believe that this is the signal for DarkStar to start a war again. Tracing this incident to its root, it is likely that the cause of this incident is the dozens of civilizations that suffered from a calamity at the same time. Godora’s reaction to the matter still isn’t clear at the moment…”

After watching the news broadcast, Han Xiao let out a long breath.

“Things have finally developed to such a state…”

The damage that DarkStar had caused by targeting a colony planet was far greater than them targeting all of the calamity planets. Furthermore, DarkStar went all out this time and sent out three DarkStar motherships. According to the information revealed in his previous life, even at their peak, DarkStar had no more than fifteen motherships.

Furthermore, there was the little b*stard Ember who aided them from within.

Ember’s Esper ability was truly perverse when dealing with ordinary individuals. With a single thought, he was able to reduce his surroundings to ash. He was the sharpest ‘massacre tool’ in DarkStar’s eyes, and this was the first time that Ember had displayed his abilities to the entire Star System.

DarkStar did not have thousands of military factories like Godora. Every mothership that they lost was definitely a large blow, and they could only fill the gap by spending an enormous amount of money. Attacking Long Arc had cost them a mothership, definitely a huge loss.

However, Han Xiao knew that DarkStar had achieved their goal.

The terrifying Long Arc incident shook the entire Godoran Civilization. After the incident, a theory was quickly formulated. There were those who believed that DarkStar was only attacking the calamity planets to draw Godora’s attention. Their true motive was to attack the various colony planets.

As such, the Godoran citizens from the other colony planets began to feel threatened. The support for disaster relief operations on the calamity planets fell to rock bottom in a single night. Many of the citizens even strongly requested for Godora to pull out the troops sent to protect the calamity planets to protect them instead.

Because this matter was related to their own safety, almost all of the Godoran citizens could accept such an explanation, and their sympathy toward the calamity planets was thrown out of the window.

In truth, the Long Arc incident was not related to the disaster relief squads. The reason for Godora’s defeat was because DarkStar displayed superior military strength. They brought out three motherships, and such a force was not something that a Grade B colony planet could resist. The Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station was not connected to the colony planets, and it would take a large amount of time for them to set it up again.

While Godora was a powerful civilization, their troops were scattered among more than a hundred colony planets. It was impossible for every single planet to have a powerful defense. If DarkStar really went all out, they would definitely be able to destroy a few colonies. If not, Godora would not view them as such a huge threat.

This time, DarkStar also suffered the loss of one mothership. However, the majority would not focus on the loss of a terrorist organization. Instead, their focus would be drawn to the destruction that DarkStar caused and the Godora’s losses.

The Godoran citizens were not able to maintain their rationality, and many of them were consumed by their fear. Furthermore, DarkStar was still fanning the flames in the shadows.

Not only was chaos being created, conflict between the pureblood and mixed blood was incited again. Many Godorans had their friends or relatives living in Long Arc, and since their deaths had been caused by DarkStar, this hatred was directed to the mixed bloods living among them.

DarkStar had always fought under the banner of the mixed bloods. Under such circumstances, the mixed blood Godorans who were living in Godora became substitutes for the purebloods to vent their anger. The conflict among the citizens was a result of their deeply entrenched discrimination toward the mixed bloods, and this was almost a part of their tradition. As such, even the government was helpless against it.

The Hutt Civilization always paid attention to Godora. Upon realizing that Godora was having a huge headache because of their internal affairs, Hutt willingly played the role of an ‘external threat’.

The Hutt fleet that was stationed in the Hyde Star System began to take action. They began sending out probing attacks on the Godoran borders and continued to apply pressure on them.

The blows that came one after another made it difficult for Godora to catch their breath.

DarkStar’s shadow could be seen behind all of these incidents, but this was only the start. The Long Arc incident was only the spark to a full series of schemes.

However, Han Xiao did not intend to let DarkStar continue with their plan.

Godora is probably feeling the disgust of eating sh*t.

Han Xiao shook his head. While he did not like Godora, he would not gloat over their misfortune. After all, DarkStar was their common enemy.

The Mutation Disaster is key to this incident. It is taking up far too much of Godora’s energy, and Godora will quickly realize that time is running out. The best way to solve this problem is to deal with the Mutation Disaster at its roots. This way, they will be able to pull their disaster relief squads back, and the internal conflict will slowly be resolved…

I have a copy of the Mutation Source in my hands, and as long as I provide it to Godora, they will be able to come up with the antidote quickly, and the Mutation Disaster will be solved.

As long as he solved the most pressing matter at hand, Godora would be able to catch their breath and focus on dealing with DarkStar.

The more urgent their needs, the more benefits the Mutation Source in his hands could be exchanged for.

It is almost time. While Godora will be willing to offer a much higher price if I drag this matter on, there isn’t a need for me to wait until DarkStar reaps a huge harvest before taking action. As long as Godora understands how important time is to them, they will understand the consequences of not stopping DarkStar.

Han Xiao then sent a communication request to Nagakin. After waiting for half a day, the other party still did not pick up his call.

Han Xiao was puzzled and decided to personally visit the Godora camp to find Nagakin. However, he was stopped by Nagakin’s assistant.

“Black Star, Officer Nagakin instructed me not to let anyone disturb him if there isn’t anything important. Please return.”

“What happened?”

“He is in a meeting with the upper echelons and does not have the time to meet you,” the assistant said with a stern tone.

Nagakin would not have rejected him outside of the door in the past. After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao immediately understood what was going on. With Godora facing both internal and external troubles, a high-grade officer like Nagakin naturally had many things to do. In Nagakin’s eyes, Han Xiao was not that important anymore.

Han Xiao stroked his chin and suddenly thought about something. He did not insist on seeing Nagakin but left the Godoran camp instead.

He realized that even if he wanted to hand over the Mutation Source, his timing could not be too right. If not, he would be suspected of having the Mutation Source beforehand but not taking it out earlier.

Thus, it was best that he put on a show.

Since my excuse will be that this Mutation Source came from Floating Dragon, why don’t I take a trip back to put on a show?

Han Xiao then mentioned the matter to his Officers and left Planet Aquamarine on the BlackLight Stealth.

After two hours, Nagakin ended the meeting and heard that Han Xiao was looking for him.

“Black Star didn’t manage to find me and left on a spaceship?”

Nagakin frowned for a moment before shaking his head. Since Black Star did not insist on seeing him, it should not have been anything important. He did not wish to waste his time on such a small matter.

The various departments were in a complete mess because of the Long Arc incident, and the higher ups wanted to pull him out from Planet Aquamarine. Nagakin was also extremely busy, and he did not have the time to bother about Han Xiao.

…

“The plan is being implemented, and we will definitely be able to greatly exhaust Godora’s strength this time.”

In the DarkStar’s headquarters, the vice head was giving his speech in a conference, and his tone was filled with delight.

“We created quite a huge trouble for Godora, and it will naturally be impossible for them to pull out their disaster relief squads. Since they have already begun their disaster relief operations, giving up halfway will only shake their reputation in the galaxy. However, if they insist on carrying on with the disaster relief operation, the conflict within their nation will only become more intense.

“If they choose to give up, we can go all out and easily wipe out these few calamity planets. Not only will we be able to get rid of the civilizations that submitted to Godora, we will be able to create the misunderstanding that their destruction was a result of Godora giving up on them…”

“This is only a simple example,” the person in charge of intelligence said. “In other words, regardless of what Godora chooses, we will still be the winner and hold the initiative.”

“The Mutation Disaster, Hutt Civilization, and internal conflict will occupy Godora’s strength,” Degulish sneered, “and we have sufficient opportunity to prepare our next plan. The Mutation Disaster has stalled a large portion of Godora’s troops, and the longer this matter drags, the more serious the matter will become. If this matter can persist for one to two years…”

“The exact time is difficult to estimate, but with Godora’s research abilities, they won’t be able to solve the Mutation Disaster anytime soon.” The person in charge of intelligence also laughed. “My men have already confirmed that Godora haven’t obtained the Mutation Source that we lost previously. They only managed to get an empty Secret Message Bead. The Holy Stone Civilization should have snatched it in secret, and Godora is still in the dark about what was hiding in the bead.”

Chapter 548: Greed

After leaving Planet Aquamarine, Han Xiao asked Wilsander about the current location of Floating Dragon Island. During that period of time, Floating Dragon had drifted to the Rain Star System.

Han Xiao left on the BlackLight Stealth alone, and he just wanted to put on an act of making a trip back to Floating Dragon Island. He had originally intended to tell Nagakin before his departure but did not manage to see the other party. Since Nagakin did not take the initiative to ask him about the matter, Han Xiao decided not to reveal it first. As such, he did not contact Nagakin on his journey. Instead, he spent his time thinking about the conditions that he should raise to Godora.

Furthermore, he also wanted to personally witness what sort of effect DarkStar had on the Garton Star System. In his previous life, he had been a player who could only remain on Planet Aquamarine and only found out about the storyline after everything was over. He had not been able to personally experience the changes in the Garton Star System. Now that he had the chance to personally witness the turmoil, he widened his eyes to have a good look. After all, the Great Mechanic Han was extremely curious about the unknown storyline.

The Black Star Mercenary Group had received a few missions in the Rain Star System, so Han Xiao was familiar with the route. It was simple; he had to first make a resupply stop at Juberly Hub before going through the stargate to the Rain Star System. Following which, he would make his way directly to Floating Dragon Island. With the speed of the BlackLight Stealth, his return trip would take less than half a month.

He did not need to remain on Planet Aquamarine. After all, Godora’s Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station was not just there for show. Even if DarkStar wanted to launch an assault, they would only attack the other colony planets.

He threw the affairs of the mercenary group over to Herlous. Herlous was the first officer to join the mercenary group and also the captain of the Sunil Division. When Han Xiao was in seclusion to construct his machines or skiving off, Herlous had always been the one in charge of managing the mercenary group. He was a professional assistant, and Han Xiao had always believed in making his secretary do the work.

The BlackLight Stealth went into hyperdrive and through the stargate of Star Zone 9. He then flew out from one of the many stargates of Juberly Hub. Without any troublesome passengers, Han Xiao had a good time piloting the spaceship.

In the control room, Han Xiao was looking at a 3D star map.

“That’s right. Planet Golden Gate is nearby, so I can take a trip there to get a look at the base since it won’t take up too much time.”

The spaceship changed direction, and not too long later, Han Xiao arrived at Planet Golden Gate. Looking through the windows, the situation on Planet Golden Gate was extremely different compared to before. A large number of Godoran battleships were hovering around the planet, and all the battleships were prepared for war.

Han Xiao frowned and thought to himself, That’s right, DarkStar’s attack on Long Arc made Godora feel threatened. All the colony planets of Godora will have battleships patrolling outside the planet, and it can be said that they are in a state of high tension.

The free port of Planet Golden Gate was also locked down, and spaceships could only land after a strict identity check. This was due to Ember’s threat. The strength that he had displayed had put Godora on high alert, and they did not dare let anyone from DarkStar sneak in.

The entrance and exit of the planet had a long queue, and Han Xiao smoothly passed through the check. However, he did not have any special privileges this time, so he had to queue up for a long time before being allowed to land at the port.

Walking on the streets, Han Xiao realized that the atmosphere was extremely different. In the past, the streets would be filled with commotion, and prosperity could be seen all around. But now, almost nobody could be seen on the streets, and a nervous atmosphere permeated the air. Even if there were a few occasional passersby on the street, they would be silent with looks of worry.

The most commonly seen individuals on the street were the Godoran patrol squads. Their faces were solemn without any banter or laughter. Their footsteps were in sync, and Han Xiao could not help but feel the urge to trip them up whenever he saw them.

The changes on Planet Golden Gate were a result of DarkStar’s terrorist attack. While the attack was aimed at another planet, no one could be certain that they would not be the next target. There were even some who felt that it was too dangerous to remain on a colony planet and decided to drift in the universe to avoid the danger.

However, because of the conflict between Godora and DarkStar, the security in the Garton Star System was not like before, and it was even riskier to travel out.

Many Wanderers and space pirates felt that this was a good opportunity. They felt that Godora did not have the strength to deal with them, so they all arrived in the Garton Star System. With a large number of pirates roaming around in the Garton Star System, many Godorans who attempted to escape ended up being kidnapped. This gave the Godoran Public Security Team an even greater headache.

In the past few days, Han Xiao had received thousands of new hire missions from the Mercenary Alliance, and all of those missions were related to various kidnapping cases. It could be seen just how terrible the situation was. It was almost like a pirate’s paradise.

It can be said that DarkStar had set off a large chain reaction with their attack. DarkStar did not collude with those space pirates, but the space pirates were vile scum who took advantage of such opportunities. With Godora revealing their weakness because of DarkStar, there would naturally be others who wanted to take advantage of the situation as well. After all, openings could be seen all around Godora, and it was almost akin to them taking off their pants. The space pirates would naturally find it a waste if they did not show up.

“The situation is truly terrible.” Han Xiao shook his head.

When he returned to the base, everything had been functioning as it should have been, and he had not found any problems. Despite Han Xiao being on Planet Aquamarine, the assembly line had not stopped its work. The program was controlled by Phillip, and Han Xiao could control it remotely from Planet Aquamarine.

The large quantities of equipment being constructed by the assembly line piled up into a small mountain in the warehouse. Han Xiao did a brief calculation, and the amount of equipment in the warehouse was sufficient to supply 230,000 players. This was all of his stock, and when the players entered the galaxy, the only problem would be that he might run out of stock.

After supplying the assembly line with a fresh batch of materials, Han Xiao left Planet Golden Gate and headed to Juberly Hub.

…

The BlackLight Stealth entered the port and slowly parked. He only needed to replenish his BlackLight Stealth and stock up on additional fuel for the other spaceships on Planet Aquamarine.

After refueling, he would continue his journey.

Juberly Hub was still bustling with activity and did not seem to have been affected by DarkStar. Han Xiao made his way to the Hub Center before taking an exit that led to the merchant district.

At the same time, a few others recognized him. They were all dressed in simple battle outfits that were a common sight in Juberly Hub.

The few of them were together in a group. Looking at Han Xiao departing, they exchanged gazes and discussed softly.

“Was that Black Star?”

“That’s right, it’s him!”

“Hehe, who would have thought we would find a large fish while replenishing our supplies?”

“Hurry up and inform the boss.”

…

Located near the periphery was a certain, not at all high-end, bar.

The few fellows who had spotted Han Xiao rushed over, and after scanning the place, they walked up to a seat in the corner of the bar. A burly human was seated there, wearing thick, heavy combat attire. He was drinking a bottle of strong liquor, which dripped down from the corner of his lips, wetting his messy beard.

“Boss Befuli, we found an enemy!”

The person who was called Boss Befuli slammed his bottle of wine down, and his body leaned forward. Under the dim lights of the bar, his malevolent face was revealed. If one were to judge his appearance by the standards of a normal space humans, his appearance would be a perfect fit for the description ‘wanton and unrestrained’.

His eyes did not have any whites and were dark red in color like burning flames, and his pupils were completely white in color.

‘Fiery Eyes’ Befuli.

He was a ferocious space pirate who operated in the Fawn Star System and was a Grade B Super. He belonged to an infamous space pirate group that belonged to the Fawn Star System called the Purple Snake Space Pirates.

The Purple Snake Space Pirates had more than a dozen spaceships, and their captain was a Calamity Grade Super who had a bounty of 2,800,000 Enas issued by the Black Raven Civilization. When Han Xiao received the mission to kill a Grade A Super, the captain of the Purple Snake Space Pirates was a targeted whom he had considered. But since he had managed to get a Mission Completion Card, he did not take the risk.

More than two years ago when Han Xiao was completing missions with Frenzied Sword and the other players, they had once killed an officer of the Purple Snake Space Pirates, and the grudge had formed then. As a mercenary, having enemies was unavoidable, and Han Xiao was already used to it.

Befuli was an officer in the Purple Snake Space Pirates, and he had led a team to the Garton Star System so that they could make use of the chaos in Godora to rob others. At that moment, the team that he was leading were concealing their identity in Juberly Hub to rest and resupply. In the past, they had mainly operated in the Fawn Star System, so it was extremely easy for them to disguise themselves in the Garton Star System.

“Enemy? Who‽”

“Black Star!”

“I see.” Befuli began chuckling sinisterly. “A few years ago, he got rid of Maddow’s team. Even though I did not like that fellow, our captain has not forgotten about this debt.”

“Boss, Black Star is alone. Shall we make a move?” a space pirate asked softly with his eyes glowing fiercely.

As Befuli heard that, he burst into laughter. “Hahaha, do you think that it is so easy to get rid of Black Star? Are you looking for death‽”

As he said that, Befuli’s expression suddenly changed, and he choked the space pirate in front of him. “Brat, you do not have the right to set your sights on such a character. You’d better learn some respect for the strong!”

This space pirate gulped in horror and hurriedly agreed with what Befuli had said. Befuli’s temper was unpredictable, and he did not dare provoke Befuli.

Befuli released his grip and held up a wine glass. After finishing the wine in the glass, he stood up and walked toward the door.

“Little ones, follow me.”

The few space pirates hurriedly followed behind him and asked carefully, “Boss, what are we going to do now?”

Befuli licked his lips, and a look of greed could be seen in his eyes. “I hear that Black Star’s spaceship is a high quality one. While he is still in the Hub Center, let’s snatch his spaceship. Heh, I am sure that it will fetch us a tidy sum.”

Chapter 549: Seeking Death

As an officer of Floating Dragon and the only armed division of Floating Dragon operating on the outside, Han Xiao was no longer the nameless individual from many years back. News about him was all around, and the model of his spaceship was naturally no secret.

All the spaceships being parked in Juberly Hub were placed in a warehouse region. The warehouse was connected to the port, and looking in from the outside of Juberly Hub, the port was like a gigantic window.

The BlackLight Stealth was akin to the Ferrari of spaceships, boasting a huge head turning effect. After some asking around, Befuli easily found out where it was parked.

“Warehouse AD-0074sd. Juberly Hub indeed gave him a high-class warehouse.”

Befuli grew excited. The serial number of this warehouse was located in the high-class region, and it was like the best spot in the car park. The security was much tighter, and the facilities present were better. For example, Befuli’s own spaceship could only be parked in an ordinary slot that started with ‘E’. His treatment was completely different.

After all, Han Xiao was a famous mercenary in the Garton Star System and had been stationed in Juberly Hub for a few years. Furthermore, his spaceship was also a high grade one, so Juberly Hub naturally gave him the best treatment. This made it even more difficult for Befuli to snatch the spaceship.

Befuli understood very clearly that he would not be able to deal with Han Xiao. Black Star had already proven his strength over the past few years in the universe. A year prior, he had even worked together with Godora to get rid of a Calamity Grade Super. His fame was towering, and Befuli did not dare underestimate him. Being a space pirate, his judgement was extremely important.

However, Befuli did not plan to give up. The BlackLight Stealth was far too tempting, and since Black Star was not near his spaceship, they would not have to face him in a battle. The entry record only had Han Xiao’s name, which meant that there was no one else on the ship. Thus, this was the best opportunity.

While he did not dare fight Black Star, he still had the guts to steal something.

Befuli brought his space pirates subordinates to weave through the complicated passages of the warehouse. Arriving at the warehouse where the BlackLight Stealth was parked, they were greeted by a thick alloy gate and could only enter after having their identities verified. However, that was the ordinary method, and the space pirates obviously chose the violent method.

Befuli’s eyes widened, and his reddish eyes began to burn with a red flame.

Whoosh!

The next moment, a pillar of fire was shot out from his eyes at a frightening temperature. The part of the door in contact with the pillar of flame quickly turned red, and the alloy softened.

Using his eyes to shoot out flames was Befuli’s Esper ability and also the source of his nickname. The heat of the flames increased as his ability developed. At the start, the temperature of his flames had only been a few hundred degrees. Now that his was a Grade B Super, the temperature of his flames was a few thousand degrees, akin to the surface temperature of a star. Thus, it was not difficult to burn a hole in a door.

Ka ka ka!

The sirens sounded, and the walls in the surroundings suddenly opened up. Defensive turrets popped up from the walls and opened fire on Befuli.

In the face of the intense firepower, the space pirates took out their shields. A yellow glowing light could be seen on their shields; it was a layer of energy shield, blocking the attacks from the turrets.

The Befuli’s armor changed its form rapidly and transformed into heavy armor that covered his entire body with defense as the priority. The turret fire could not penetrate his armor, and the only opening was located at his eyes. Furthermore, the armor even had the ability to strengthen his Esper ability.

Hu!

The fire pillar expanded and gradually became dark blue in color with the temperature rising rapidly.

Befuli’s gaze swept past the turrets, and the fire pillars swept through the turrets as well. In less than two seconds, all the defensive turrets were destroyed.

The alarm continued to ring, and the guards were rushing over. However, Befuli had already created a hole large enough for them to fit through.

Walking into the warehouse, the BlackLight Stealth stood silently in front of the space pirates. All of their faces were full of excitement at the moment.

“Hahaha… this ship is ours now!” Befuli halted his Esper ability, and a look of greed could be seen on his face. Taking out his communicator, he shouted, “Is the fastener ready?”

The projection of his subordinate appeared on the communicator. “No problem, boss! Our spaceship has left the port, so as long as you pilot the BlackLight Stealth out of the port, we will be able to drag it away!”

There were two main steps to robbing a spaceship. The first step was entering the warehouse and fixing on a propulsion equipment and electromagnetic device. After leaving the port, the second step was to make use of their own spaceship to drag the robbed spaceship away through the electromagnetic device.

The space pirates would not be able to disable the AI system of the spaceship in a short period of time, and they could only make use of a disrupter to prevent any transmissions from being sent or received by the spaceship. This was to prevent the owner of the spaceship from controlling the spaceship remotely. As such, the spaceship would then become a metal block that was under the mercy of the space pirates. As long as they could capture the spaceship, they would have more than enough time to work on remodeling ship.

Even if they were not able to disable the AI system, they would still be able to sell the spaceship on the black market for a high price. The merchants of the black market would then hire Mechanics to install a new AI system. Almost every black-market merchant would have a Virtual Mechanic under them.

The space pirates were extremely familiar with this procedure, and almost all of them robbed spaceships in this manner. Befuli’s subordinates did not delay and rapidly installed all the relevant tools on the body of the spaceship.

On the other side, Befuli had thrown out the signal disrupter to temporarily disable all forms of communication. Even if Black Star knew that his spaceship was being robbed, he would not be able to do anything about it.

“By the time he rushes back, we will have left with the spaceship already.”

Befuli then walked toward the hatch with his eyes glowing, prepared to breach the spaceship.

He was confident that, with the temperature of his flames, he would be able to burn a hole in almost all spaceships. It was definitely difficult for the defenses of a spaceship to defend against a Grade B Super like him.

Thus, this spaceship was as good as his!

Boom!

Right when Befuli was about to unleash his abilities, the BlackLight Stealth suddenly moved. Its engine was suddenly activated, and it suddenly hovered in midair.

Bang!

The BlackLight Stealth cut off all the equipment that was connected to the belly of the ship. Spinning three hundred and sixty degrees in midair, it sent everyone in the surroundings flying.

Befuli’s body slammed into the wall of the warehouse, and upon looking up at the floating BlackLight Stealth, he saw a laser beam expanding rapidly.

“What‽”

The blinding laser beam swallowed the stunned Befuli.

Boom!

Chapter 550: It’s Time to Take out the Dusty Juicer

In the Hub Center, Han Xiao was busy purchasing materials through the store. In addition to fuel for the spaceship and replacement parts, the Logistics Department of Floating Dragon also got him to purchase some items when they received word that he was returning.

While he was engrossed in shopping, his communicator suddenly beeped. Glancing at it, Han Xiao’s lips involuntarily curled up in response before he nonchalantly threw his communicator back into his pocket and continued his shopping.

He slowly picked out his items and paid for his goods leisurely. Han Xiao casually stood at the side whilst the staff loaded his items onto a suspension aircraft. At this time, an aircraft from the hub stopped at the door of the store.

A member of staff hurriedly ran out from the aircraft, rushing up to Han Xiao.

“Your… Your Excellency Black Star! Your spaceship….”

Han Xiao waved his hand dismissively, cutting off the other’s speech as he smiled. “No problem, isn’t it just a group of petty thieves trying to steal my spaceship? How many of them are still alive?”

The staff from the hub was startled and hurriedly nodded in response. “When we arrived, only one of them was still alive. He’s severely injured, and we’ve already captured him. Your spaceship is also undamaged…”

“Let’s go and take a look.” Han Xiao nodded, and sitting in the hovercraft loaded full of his goods, he proceeded with the staff close behind. After a short while, they arrived at the crime scene.

The first thing he saw was that the hangar door had been blown to pieces. The outside passage was full of black scorched marks, with many guards surrounding the area.

Next to the hangar, a burly man was tied up tightly by electromagnetic bindings. The battle suit on his body was riddled with holes, with his whole body full of scars. He looked like he was on his last breath.

Han Xiao leaned forward to get a look. The interior of the hangar was a mess, with the wall having been shattered in places, exposing electrical wires that sizzled and sparkled like fireworks.

The lights flickered on and off intermittently, and the ground was covered with bloodstains. Lying around were over ten corpses covered with white cloth. The BlackLight Stealth remained motionless on the ground like an obedient child, sleek and smooth like a mirror with no blemishes.

“This is the guy who wanted to steal my spaceship?”

Han Xiao walked up to the severely injured Befuli, his eyes full of sympathy.

His BlackLight Stealth was the current host for Risda. Having long received the news from Risda, he was not worried at all.

This bunch of petty thieves had actually dared covet Risda, so they had definitely been asking for death. They were facing a spaceship with consciousness, one such as the BlackLight Stealth with high end specs and superior weaponry at that.

Even for Han Xiao himself, it would be easier to face off against a group of Grade B Supers than to face off against the BlackLight Stealth. Its fighting strength was off the charts, and one was unlikely to succeed unless they were a Calamity Grade Super with too much time on their hands. Besides, even if there was a Calamity Grade Super, the BlackLight Stealth could still escape from them even if it could not beat them.

Thus, Han Xiao was assured about the safety of his spaceship. Unless pigs could fly, the ship would remain safe and sound.

“Your Excellency Black Star, we’ve checked the database. This person is a galactic pirate from the Fawn Galaxy…”

One of the staff carried a transparent handheld screen with him as he explained. Before he could finish, however, Han Xiao directly took the screen.

Glancing through it, Han Xiao was startled.

“Befuli, with an Esper ability of shooting flames from his eyes… eh, isn’t that Laser Eyes? To think that it’s someone from the Purple Snake Space Pirates… I seem to have dealt with them in the past…”

Han Xiao began to recall that the leader of this band of pirates should be a Calamity Grade Super but on the weaker side.

His eyeballs moved while deep in thought. Han Xiao finally hefted Befuli up, saying, “Since this guy wanted to steal my spaceship, leave him for me to handle.”

“That goes without saying. To have you face such inconvenience, it’s our mistake. We have failed in our roles.” The staff nodded in response.

After allowing the staff and guards in the hub to disperse, Han Xiao stepped into his spaceship, and found a room before unceremoniously throwing Befuli onto the ground.

“You didn’t do your intelligence research properly, and you still dared make a move. If it was a normal spaceship, you might have succeeded, but you’re really unlucky. Do you have any thoughts about this?” Han Xiao poked fun at the other party.

Befuli’s wounds were still fresh, causing him to grit his teeth in pain. He was in too much pain to even open his mouth.

They had clearly blocked the signal of the spaceship, but the whole ship had powered up as though it had a life of its own, firing a whole bunch of lasers and cannons. His battlesuit had quickly shattered.

Befuli expertise lay in offense, but his laser eyes could not negate the laser cannons that were similarly comprised of energy. Because his physical defense was not up to par, he could hardly withstand the damage dealt by the cannon. If not for the fact that the guards had reached the area on time, he would also have lost his life to the spaceship.

Having fallen into the hands of Black Star, Befuli felt so much regret that his intestines were twisted up. He did not know what Black Star was going to do to him.

Since Black Star has not killed me, he probably thinks that I am of some value to him. This is a good idea. He probably wants to use me to obtain intelligence. I need to cooperate and cement my value so that he won’t think of killing me! The killing power of my ability is extremely strong, so long as he is negligent, I can escape!

Befuli’s palms were sweating as all kinds of thoughts flashed through his head. While he was a famed ruthless galactic pirate, when faced with life-threatening danger, his thoughts spun rapidly.

As long as he did not die, he would have another chance!

Han Xiao patted the shoulder of Befuli. “You should be an officer of the Purple Snake Space Pirates. I presume to put this debt on the head of Purple Snake then. Right now, I have no time to deal with them, but it’s fine. Currently, my Mercenary Group requires sparring partners, and Purple Snake seems to be a good choice. When the time comes, I’ll personally visit your head.

“As for you…”

Han Xiao looked straight into Befuli’s eyes before letting out a playful smile. “Since you came straight to my door, don’t blame me for what I’m about to do.”

Befuli felt a chill run down his body, but before he could process the meaning behind Han Xiao’s words, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his arm. He only saw Black Star holding onto a round shaped machine, pressing it into the blood vessel of his arm. There seemed to be a needle that had pierced into him.

“This is…”

Before Befuli could express his surprise, he suddenly felt his strength rapidly diminish. He only saw the round machine being filled up with his blood. He could not help but widen his eyes as a sense of weakness rose up within him.

An Esper’s ability was part of their body, just like the arms or legs. To have this ability forcibly stripped away, it was as though stripping him of his abilities. At this point, even his last assurance was gone.

“What’s this‽” Befuli’s facial expression greatly changed, showing distress. His current condition had fallen drastically short of his expectations.

Super-Gene Extractor!

In the past year, Han Xiao had rarely had a chance to use his juicer. The main purpose was because he did not manage to capture any evildoers. The former captive Rezar had long been sucked dry. Since there was no way for him to continue, Han Xiao could only set him free.

Currently, other than juicing himself once in a while to form the Ability Potions, he did not perform it on anyone else.

Since Befuli had wrapped himself up and gone over, Han Xiao would definitely not feel guilty. They were enemies, and thus, he had to fully utilize his worth. The ability to shoot lasers from one’s eyes was handsome yet strong—how could he resist?

Very quickly, three tubes of crimson Ability Potion were produced. Han Xiao took one of them, drinking it all in one go. The moment he swallowed it, a heat was produced almost instantly.

_____________________

You have obtained [Character Summon Card – Befuli (Temporary)].

[Character Summon Card—Befuli (Temporary): [Incandescent Eyes], sprays a column of heat from the eyes causing burning damage.

Aim with Sight, Maximum Range of 400 m

Attack Range: 510 – 1360

Duration: 5 seconds, a total of three attacks will be inflicted per second.

Usage: 0/1 (This Character Summon Card will exist for: 15 days)

_____________________

Yo, this damage is sick. Definitely a pure offense Esper ability!

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

If one could burn a target for the full five seconds, they would inflict at least 7,600 damage. The highest would be… painful, so painful. Furthermore, the skill was an AOE 1 attack!

Even when faced against a Grade B Super, after deducting the damage resistance, one could inflict at least 3,000 to 4,000 damage. Furthermore, the ability was shot from one’s eyes, which meant a free gift of damage since it did not hinder one’s actions.

Han Xiao lowered his head, looking at Befuli with a smile.

“Let’s get on well.”

Befuli lay weakly on the ground, muttering disconsolately to himself. Looking at Han Xiao’s eyes that had the intention of raising a lamb for the slaughter, in Befuli’s eyes, Black Star was worse than himself by more than a hundred times!

He suddenly had a sort of premonition, that his future life… would be spent wishing he was dead!

…

Han Xiao had knocked out the information of Befuli’s accomplices from him; however, the moment Befuli had failed, the rest of the galactic pirates had long taken their ship and escaped. Han Xiao did not wish to delay his trip, so he did not bother to pursue the pirates.

He was already treating the Purple Snake Space Pirates group as nourishment for the players, so he was in no hurry to deal with his problem.

The BlackLight Stealth set off again. After this little episode, they did not stop at all along the way, and naturally, there were no other problems.

A few days later, Floating Dragon Island appeared on his radar.

Han Xiao navigated his spaceship to descend. Floating Dragon had long been informed of his return, with Wilsander waiting at the dock to welcome him. The logistics manager, Haier, was also present. What gave Han Xiao a surprise was that Jenny was standing by the side, albeit with a black face, obviously also there to welcome him.

“Hahaha, Black Star, you’re finally back.” Wilsander laughed, his tail swishing as he came up to give him a hug.

Han Xiao turned his head slightly and was almost blinded due to Wilsander’s devil horns.

“Ji ji ji ji…” Haier let out words of a weird language before realizing that he did not turn on his translator. After activating it, he said, “Black Star, did you bring the materials I requested?”

“They’re all onboard.” Han Xiao nodded in return. After pondering a bit, he added, “Please remember to compensate me. They were pretty expensive.”

Following which, Han Xiao turned to look at Jenny, putting on a weird expression as he said, “How come you also came over to welcome me?”

“Do you think I want to?” Jenny was expressionless, reluctantly replying. “Ames wishes to see you.”

“Oh, how rare.” Han Xiao was a little surprised. After helping Ames with the problem of searching for Aesop the previous time, they had not had any contact since. He did not know why she was looking for him.”

Just as the few of them were chatting, the various people present at the dock turned over to look, their gazes filled with curiosity and surprise.

“It’s the four officers of Floating Dragon! To think that they are all gathered together!”

“That guy in the black suit should be the Head of the Field Team for Floating Dragon, Black Star. I heard that the Dragon Emperor wishes to expand her influence, and Black Star is currently expanding her armed forces. His authority is huge.”

“I heard Black Star has set foot in the Garton Star System. Is that the intention of the Dragon Emperor? Does she want in as well?”

The expansion of Han Xiao’s mercenary group had raised some suspicions in the galaxy. Many people felt that Ames was supporting him from behind, sending a signal to everyone. The Dragon Emperor, who had never contested for anything, was finally wanting to obtain the influence deserving of her status as a Beyond Grade A Super.

Black Star was the General leading the vanguard to express the Dragon Emperor’s intentions!

Chapter 551: Ames’ Curiosity

After handing the goods over to Haier, Han Xiao said goodbye to the three of them. Leaving the dock, he entered the city district and went straight to the Dragon Emperor’s palace.

For Ames to request a meeting, there are two possible reasons. First would be Aesop and second the expansion of my mercenary group. Er, perhaps it may be because she hasn’t seen me for so long and misses me greatly. Maybe she just wants to take a look at this handsome face of mine.

Along the way, Han Xiao pondered. Ames had never been bothered about any responsibilities and rarely summoned her subordinates. Thus, the chances of it being a serious conversation was slim.

Han Xiao’s eyes suddenly lit up. Right, it’s difficult for me to meet her, so it would be great if I could get another Dragon Emperor Character Summon Card.

The mission of digging out Planet Aquamarine’s history had given him another Random Reward chance. He was not that confident in his luck and had been prepared to save it up to roll several in a single go. However, his plan could not keep up with the changes, and it would be best if he could draw an empty Character Summon Card now.

The previous summoning of the Dragon Emperor had helped him get rid of a Calamity Grade Super, and he would never complain about having too many such trump cards.

Opening the interface, Han Xiao immediately started to roll the random reward.

_____________________

Randomizing… draw complete.

You received the Random Reward Type: [Talent].

_____________________

Eh, my luck is pretty good. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

While it was not a Character Summon Card or tool reward, gaining a talent could only be something good for him. Regardless of how trashy a talent was, it would definitely have some use.

_____________________

Randomizing…. Randomization completed.

Please choose one option from the following:

Tough Spirit Barrier: +20% Willpower Resistance

Flexible Weapon Usage: When using any type of weapon (including but not limited to cold weapons, firearms, mechanical weapons, magical weapons, rare treasures, etc.), +12% base weapon damage.

Haste: Movement Speed and Dodge Rate increase. Effect dependent on DEX attribute and increase no more than 30%.

_____________________

After looking through the options, he quickly made his choice. He already had [Advanced Mental Toughness], and the effect of it was +35% Psychological Resistance and 30% reduction in negative status from psychological attacks. Furthermore, it was able to lower the Psychological Resistance needed to be immune from negative status. [Tough Spirit Barrier] had an overlapping effect, so its value was less.

[Haste] was not a bad talent. However, only an agility type Super would be able to fully maximize the talent. His own battle style did not rely too much on speed. With [Void Travel], he did not need to worry about dodging, and his mechanical suit was able to give him greater mobility. The majority of the time, he relied on positioning and use cannon towers or protectors.

As a Mechanic, he needed to use his machinery to fully display his strength. Thus, [Flexible Weapon Usage] was the most suitable for him. While a twelve percent bonus was not high, it was not useless either. Damage was just like a man’s height. A single point of it was welcomed, and even a centimeter more was something great.

Most importantly, this talent was different from Machinery Affinity. Only weapons that used Mechanical Force were able to enjoy the buff of Machinery Affinity, and it consumed energy. While the energy consumed was very little, when using the Army Tactic, it was difficult for him to use his own Mechanical Force to sustain all the machines. On the other hand, this talent was able to boost all different weapons.

Han Xiao immediately chose [Flexible Weapon Usage] with a face full of satisfaction.

After all, the talents in Random Reward were more common; it was rare for an uncommon talent to appear and impossible for a Molding Ability to appear. Such an effect was already pretty good.

Talking about Molding Abilities, both of his Molding Abilities, [Intermediate Strengthened Life] and [Steel Body], had been obtained completely by luck. Players were not able to obtain Molding Abilities, and there had been no information on them in his previous life either. However, with regards to Molding Abilities, Han Xiao had some vague ideas.

The easiest way to level up would naturally be [Intermediate Strengthened Life]; that could be achieved by injecting himself with powerful genes. However, there would be risks of his genes mutating, so he did not take such a risk.

Currently, [Intermediate Strengthened Life] gave him additional HP from his Endurance stat at a ratio of 1:30. This was also the reason for his tankiness. If he could upgrade this talent again, his HP would probably be even higher than the bosses at his level. He would probably be able to kill his enemy by drowning them in his blood.

…

Ames’ Palace was truly majestic. When the guards saw Han Xiao, respect could be seen on their faces, and they all gave way to allow Han Xiao into the hall.

In the large hall, a black throne was floating in midair. Looking around, Han Xiao could not see Ames’ figure at all.

Hu!

All of a sudden, a light green Force Field gushed forth. It was like a large cluster of transparent green crystals, with the width of the force field being ten meters wide.

Boom!

The atmosphere in the surroundings was compressed, and explosions could be heard.

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. Placing his palms together, six large mechanical hands stretched out and formed a mini protective shield around him. The thrusters on the wrists of these mechanical hands spewed out blue flames, and he blocked the might of the force field!

Boom!

Both forces collided, and a muffled sound could be heard.

The force field and mechanical hands were equally matched. The mechanical hands then slowly gained the advantage, pressuring the force field to the point it changed shape. The energy of the force field began leaking out and created green waves on the surface of the ground.

Boom!

The next moment, the force field exploded, and a larger wave shot out in all directions. Like a stone being thrown into a lake, the dust on the ground rippled outward and formed a dust cloud that could reach one’s thighs.

Han Xiao’s hair was blown into a mess, and with a gust of wind blowing in his face, he could not help but squint.

Ames then appeared from a small door by the side of the throne and sat on the throne. She was once again dressed in a long, purple dress with her hair cascading down like a waterfall. Her delicate beauty was like a face that was frozen in time, and not the slightest wrinkles could be seen. Holding her chin with her hand, her sleeves slid down her forearm and revealed her snow-white wrist as she looked at Han Xiao with a smile that did not seem like a smile.

“The first time I saw you, you were almost crushed by my force field. I used the exact same strength previously, and you are now able to block it easily. It has only been two years; the speed of your growth has truly shocked me.”

Ames laughed, and her lazy voice sounded with the unique hoarseness of a lady.

The moment the force field appeared, Han Xiao knew that this was Ames testing him. If it was before he entered the universe, it would have been extremely difficult for him to block such an attack. However, he was able to do so now without any pressure.

Ames’ charisma was too stunning, and Han Xiao could not help but be astounded by her beauty every time he saw her. However, he was extremely experienced and quickly took a look at Ames’ washboard figure. His heart immediately calmed down, and he nodded.

“Lord Dragon Emperor, what did you wish to see me for?”

“Didn’t I say before? You can call me Ames.” Ames’ lips twitched. “Actually, it isn’t much. Recently, Jenny has been protesting against you expanding the Field Team. Let me ask you, what are your thoughts?”

Of the four beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring, Floating Dragon Island was the weakest. With Han Xiao expanding his forces, there were many organizations in Shattered Star Ring that misunderstood his intentions. They felt that the Dragon Emperor wanted to mimic the other three beyond Grade A Supers and expand her own forces to make them an untouchable existence. Ames was not too bothered by their thoughts, and she was not interested in the other organizations.

Originally, she did not care about Han Xiao expanding his mercenary group and silently consented to Han Xiao using her name. Furthermore, she had always given him a great deal of trust.

However, Jenny always complained about this matter, and the reason for her rejection made Ames dumbfounded. Jenny said that Han Xiao’s expansion had resulted in a chain effect, and all the other organizations are trying to show their goodwill and work out their intentions. As a result, her workload was many times greater than before. With the pressure of work being unbearable, she was losing hair every day and felt as though she was aging rapidly. Thus, she strongly opposed Han Xiao’s actions. She even added that if Ames did not want to hire another manager, Ames should not allow Black Star to expand his forces any further.

Thus, Ames wanted to know Han Xiao’s thoughts. She personally did not care about the outcome. If Han Xiao had a reasonable plan, Ames would not mind supporting him. In any case, Aesop, who had been caught by Han Xiao, was currently spending his retirement on Floating Dragon Island, and he would be the best choice to share the workload with Jenny.

Hearing that, Han Xiao was moved.

“Do you remember Aroshia?”

Ames thought for a while. “She is an undying Space Wonder. I saw her on the island before, and even I couldn’t kill her. You were the one who took her away, right?”

“I found millions of Space Wonders with the same special physique as her. Furthermore, they are all full of potential, and it is possible to communicate with them like normal beings.”

“Millions‽” Ames was stunned, and a curious gaze could be seen in her eyes.

“They are from my hometown and appeared a couple of years ago. I have a feeling that they will become a force in the universe that cannot be underestimated. Thus, I want to recruit them early.” Han Xiao did not lie. He understood the players’ potential, and his tone was filled with confidence.

“There is actually something so fun!” Ames said joyfully. “I have to take a look personally.”

Han Xiao’s mouth cramped up, and he immediately felt a headache coming on.

He had dug a hole for himself this time. While bringing Ames with him would be a form of insurance, his return this time was to find an excuse to bring out the mutation source. If Nagakin ended up asking Ames about this, would he not be exposed?

Coughing, Han Xiao tried to persuade her otherwise. “Ames, DarkStar and Godora are fighting again, and the situation in the Garton Star System is pretty complicated. My hometown is part of this mess as well. Why don’t you come after this mess is over?”

“DarkStar again? What’s there to be afraid of?” Ames said with dissatisfaction. “I hate waiting. I will return with your spaceship. If DarkStar dares appear, I will smash them to bits.”

Han Xiao slapped his forehead and did not know whether to laugh or cry.

It seems like DarkStar is in for a ride again.

He truly did not intend to call Ames over this time!

…

Jenny returned to her office. Taking off her spectacles, she rubbed the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh.

“Dragon Emperor requested a meeting with Black Star, and she is definitely talking to him about the problem of the Field Team. Black Star has her trust, and Ames probably won’t stop his actions. Jeez…”

Thinking about Han Xiao, Jenny could not help but be filled with pent up rage. After her dissatisfaction over the loan the last time, she was filled with enmity toward Han Xiao. After that, despite trying many different methods, she had not been able to reduce Ames’ trust in him.

Now, regardless of how dissatisfied Jenny was, she could only accept the presence of this colleague.

Putting on her spectacles again, Jenny browsed through the many documents before her. Suddenly thinking of something, Jenny took out a document with regards to the Garton Star System.

The Garton Star System hasn’t been calm in recent times, and there are many organizations paying attention to this. According to news on the black market, even organizations more infamous than DarkStar are placing their attention on this matter. This is the hottest topic in recent times.

Black Star is also operating in that region and has been dragged into this incident. As of now, he is standing on Godora’s side. Humph, at least he knows not to enter the fray in the name of Floating Dragon. If not, I wouldn’t let him off!

Jenny snorted coldly.

Since Floating Dragon wanted to maintain neutrality, it would be best for them to stay far away from such a sensitive affair. While she did not like Han Xiao, she did not have the ability to order him around. On the surface, both of them were at the same level and were managing different departments.

Godora and DarkStar are in a chaotic war, and who knows when it will end? In any case, this mess has nothing to do with Floating Dragon and won’t give me any trouble, Jenny thought to herself.

Chapter 552: Hang in There, We Will Win!

On the dock, many Floating Dragon wanderers were hanging around with the galactic pirates, eyeing the BlackLight Stealth with envy and greed in their eyes.

A high-class spaceship from the Federation of Light!

A pity, this valuable spaceship was Black Star’s personal ship. On Floating Dragon Island, there were not many who dared create trouble, and they could only look at it with envy.

“Move aside.”

Han Xiao’s voice reverberated from outside the crowd, and the hundreds surrounding the spaceship turned around to take a look. Their faces immediately turned pale, and they all backed off as though they had seen a ghost. All of their eyes were fixed on the lady beside Han Xiao. She was the owner of Floating Dragon Island.

“It’s the Dragon Emperor!”

Cold sweat drenched the onlookers. It was rare for outsiders to be able to see Ames personally. Upon thinking about her strength and status, those pirates felt their legs turn to jelly and an immense amount of pressure.

The two of them ignored the crowd surrounding them and boarded the spaceship.

Hu!

BlackLight Stealth took off and disappeared into the universe like a ray of light.

Everyone had watched as Ames followed Han Xiao onto the spaceship dumbly, and they only reacted after the spaceship took off.

“Dragon Emperor is has left again!”

“She is actually going out with Black Star this time! He is the leader of Floating Dragon’s Field Team. Could it be that Ames is going to take action personally?”

“Not too long after his arrival, Ames followed him away. I have a premonition that something big is about to happen!”

Ames’ status was elevated, and all of her actions and words would cause speculation. All of those pirates who were stopping at Floating Dragon had their own network of information, and this news would rapidly spread.

Very quickly, this piece of news spread all across Floating Dragon Island and made its way into Jenny’s ears very quickly.

Jenny was dumbfounded.

When she found out about this piece of news, her mood crumbled.

It was extremely common for Ames to go out and play, but she usually left alone. Yet, this time, she had actually run away with Black Star!

Just what did Black Star say to Ames‽

Jenny was angered to the point her lips began to tremble. She could predict that in the upcoming days, various problems would come her way, and her workload would increase many times over!

However… Ames was her boss. In the past, she could still complain about Black Star, but if her boss was the one creating trouble, who could she complain to‽

Jenny’s face cramped up, and she almost felt like fainting.

This was what despair felt like!

…

After entering space, Han Xiao activated the autopilot function and stood up from the pilot seat.

“It will take about ten days for us to return to Planet Aquamarine. There are only the two of us on the ship. If you don’t want to sleep, I am willing to accompany you to kill time.”

“This spaceship isn’t too bad.” Ames then looked around the ship before looking at Han Xiao with a smile. “Is there anything to drink?”

The two of them then went into the resting hall, and Ames sat down lazily. Her legs were placed on the sofa as she lay sideways on the sofa with her left hand supporting her head. She did not mind displaying her sexy side before others at all. She enjoyed this comfortable position the most.

Han Xiao opened up his storage shelf and took out a bottle of good wine that Herlous kept inside. Taking out two glasses, he filled them up before sitting opposite Ames.

Ames lifted her finger, and the wine glass on the table levitated toward her. Taking a sip, she complained with a smile, “Tastes terrible.”

“Really? I think that it’s fine…” Han Xiao’s mouth cramped up. Herlous was not a human after all, so his taste was probably unique.

Ames blinked and said, “Talk about yourself. Ever since you joined Floating Dragon, I have not gotten to know you.”

On Noriosse, Han Xiao had helped her to catch Aesop, and Ames was extremely thankful. She was not the kind of person who felt as though it was only right for her subordinates to do everything for her. Compared to the other three beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring, her personality was more easygoing.

A couple of years ago, she did not think highly of Han Xiao and only allowed him to join Floating Dragon because of Aesop. In just a few years’ time, not only was Black Star able to firmly secure his place, his strength had increased rapidly as well. While it was still far from her current strength, the speed of his growth had still surprised her.

Ames could not help but be interested in this subordinate of hers. Only then did she realize that she did not understand much about him.

Hearing that, Han Xiao began narrating his past. Naturally, he left out about the news regarding the players. Starting from the Germinal Organization, he then continued to talk about the Inhumans on Planet Aquamarine and his own subordinates.

Han Xiao only stopped after half a day and drank a mouthful of wine to moisten his throat. He was not against the idea of sharing his stories. This was the best time for him to spend some time together with Ames alone, and it was a good opportunity to bring their relationship closer. Furthermore, Ames was a beauty, and while Han Xiao naturally would not be controlled by his desires with his strength, he still enjoyed admiring a beauty.

At the very least, it was better than looking at the hairy and stocky Harmon.

Hearing Han Xiao’s narration, Ames tapped her thigh with her finger and said, “A pair of sisters controlling the strength of life and death… I seem to have heard of it before.”

She was not interested in politics, nations, or wars. Instead, Aurora and Hila caught her attention.

He did not hide the story of Aurora and Hila. In his previous life, the Hila who descended into darkness had been even more terrifying than Ames. Hila was still extremely weak, but there seemed to be something strange. Ames usually would not be bothered about the happenings on a backward planet. If she had heard about something similar before, it had to have come from an extremely high level.

“You said that Aroshia is an AI lifeform. Are the millions of Space Wonders from your hometown the same?”

Han Xiao shook his head and pretended to ponder. “They should be different.”

After finishing his sentence, a change suddenly occurred in the resting hall.

Hum!

A ray of light transformed into a human form, and Risda made his appearance, sitting beside Han Xiao.

“Why are you out here?” Han Xiao asked with doubt.

Ames also looked toward Risda with curiosity.

Risda stood up slowly and bowed deeply toward Ames with sincerity.

“Lord Dragon Emperor, I wish to plead with you about something. Please help my civilization and save my brethren! I am willing to offer myself as the price and listen to your commands forever!”

When Han Xiao mentioned AI civilizations, Risda found out that Ames was a powerful individual on the same level as the Mechanic who occupied his homeland.

This was a chance for him to seek help. Even if the chance of the Dragon Emperor agreeing was only one percent, Risda was not willing to give up. If Ames was willing to give her aid, everything would become simple. What seemed to be previously impossible would now become possible.

“Fighting?” Ames raised her brows. “Who is the opponent?”

“He is a Mechanic who snatched my homeland and enslaved my tribe, turning them all into his weapons. I will never forget his name. He is called Manison. The Ancient One. Papachi!”

“Oh, so he is someone from the [Mechanic Empire] of the Primeval Star River. He is also a member of The Ancient Ones.” Ames shook her head. “I reject your request.”

The Primeval Star River was another large star field just like the Shattered Star Ring. The status of Manison’s [Mechanic Empire] was just like Ames’ [Dragon Emperor] in the Shattered Star Ring.

‘The Ancient Ones’ was a special organization, and Ames’ foster father, Aesop, had once belonged to ‘The Ancient Ones’. However, he had left afterward.

While Risda had already been prepared for rejection, he was still very disappointed and could not help but ask, “May I know the reason for your rejection?”

“I can’t win against him,” Ames replied casually.

Risda’s light figure became unstable, and he gasped in shock. “Even… even you aren’t his match…”

Han Xiao was not too surprised. Beyond Grade A was a general category, and there were naturally those who were stronger and weaker. While Ames was powerful, she was not invincible. Ames had also never thought that she was invincible.

…

Ten days passed by in a flash. Without much to do on the spaceship, Han Xiao chatted with Ames almost every day, and the relationship between them became much better than before.

Planet Aquamarine appeared outside the window, and a large number of Godoran spaceships could be seen outside the atmosphere of Planet Aquamarine. Upon noticing the BlackLight Stealth approaching, they immediately sent out a warning.

“State your identity!”

“It’s me,” Han Xiao replied.

“Black Star, you may land.” The other party’s tone eased up. While danger was all around at the moment and they had to be extremely careful, Han Xiao was someone who had fought with them before, and it was already proven that he was not an enemy.

After gaining clearance, BlackLight Stealth landed in the Sanctuary. Looking down at the Sanctuary, it seemed as though there were even more refugees at the moment with the majority of them being tied up. While Han Xiao had not been around, a couple of incidents had taken place on Planet Aquamarine, but they had all been taken care of. The players had plenty of things to do, and they spent their time extremely well.

DarkStar did not ambush the calamity planets again, but they went to harass the other colonies instead, causing the situation to become even more precarious and the Godorans to become more and more frustrated. However, none of that affected Han Xiao.

Opening up the hatch, Ames drifted out and looked around. “This is your hometown? How nice. It is a pity that my hometown is already an abandoned planet.”

“The Inhumans are all gathered in the plaza. I shall not accompany you. I have some things to deal with,” Han Xiao said.

Ames nodded and floated to the plaza alone as she looked at the players with curiosity.

A player turned around and was immediately dumbfounded, gawking in shock.

“A,A,A,A… Ames‽”

“You recognize me?” Ames was surprised. She had thought that these Inhumans were a backward bunch and had never expected them to recognize her.

The number of people who noticed Ames increased, and the players were all shocked.

It was as if magic had been cast over the originally noisy plaza. With Ames as the center, the ‘magic’ spread out in all directions, and the entire plaza became silent. All their emotions were brewing.

Boom!

The next moment, the players erupted into cheers!

…

On the other side, Han Xiao did not follow Ames and hurried his way over to the Godoran camp, requesting to meet Nagakin.

The Godoran guard shook his head, and his answer was no different from half a month ago. “Black Star, Sir Nagakin is currently in an emergency meeting and does not have time to meet you. Please leave.”

Han Xiao’s objective was set this time, and he said in a deep voice, “Go and tell him that I have a new mutation source in my hands! I don’t care what he is doing. I want him to see me immediately!”

The faces of the guards changed, and they did not dare make the decision. One of them hurriedly informed Nagakin.

After waiting for less than two minutes, a golden light flashed out from the depths of the Godoran camp and stopped in front of him. All the fixtures in the way of the golden light was smashed apart, and a long running trail could be seen behind. The golden light was Nagakin.

Knowing the purpose of Han Xiao’s visit, Nagakin had been shocked to the point he had almost fallen off his chair. How could he be bothered about continuing the meeting? He had rushed out without the slightest bit of delay and did not even wish to waste time walking as he hurried to welcome Han Xiao.

“Is what you said true‽” Nagakin asked anxiously.

Han Xiao took out the transparent ball with the mutation source sealed within it, and it attracted Nagakin’s gaze like a powerful magnet.

“Let’s go in and talk.”

Han Xiao waved his sleeves to block Nagakin’s vision and chuckled.

It is time to turn the tables around!

Chapter 553: Negotiations

The two of them proceeded into the spare conference room; the original one already had a huge hole smashed within it.

Nagakin ordered his guards not to allow anyone in before closing the door. Staring at the mutation source that Han Xiao had placed on the table with a burning gaze, Nagakin walked over to the table and studied it.

A black liquid substance was sealed in a transparent sphere, and its shape slowly changed.

“Are you sure that this is the source of the Mutation Disaster?” Nagakin paused for a moment before continuing. “It isn’t that I don’t trust you, but I have to be certain because this matter is extremely important.”

Han Xiao could understand Nagakin’s careful attitude and slowly said, “Don’t worry, this is a Mutation Source that has not been unsealed. Two years ago, when carrying out a mission, I coincidentally met the carrier from DarkStar with this item on him. I somehow managed to snatch it from DarkStar, but since I didn’t know what it was, I passed it over to Floating Dragon Island.

“Only when the Mutation Disaster erupted and I searched for some information was I certain that this black gluey substance is the Mutation Source. I came to find you half a month ago because of this matter, but you were busy at that time. Thus, I went back on my own to fetch this item.”

Upon hearing that, Nagakin slapped his forehead with regret. “You should have contacted me earlier!”

Han Xiao waved his hands to show that he was also extremely helpless and purposely asked, “With this source, you guys should be able to develop the antidote, right?”

“I am not a researcher, and I will have to wait for the conclusion of the research department…” Nagakin clenched his fists and could not suppress his excitement. “However, it will definitely speed up the research progress!”

Godora’s researchers had been researching the Mutation Disaster from the start and were attempting to create an antidote. However, they could only study the infected individuals and did not have any data on the Mutation Source. As such, their research had been delayed.

With the original source of the mutation, they would be able to carry out more experiments and develop an antidote to deal with the illness! The progress of the research would definitely be sped up greatly!

The earlier they resolved the Mutation Disaster, the earlier they could prevent the situation from becoming worse!

This meant that with the item that Han Xiao had handed to them, Godora would be able to break the situation that DarkStar engineered and turn the tables!

At this moment, Han Xiao interrupted Nagakin’s dreams and said with a smile, “Don’t misunderstand me. I never said that I would give this thing to you guys.”

“What‽” Nagakin’s gaze shot over immediately with a trace of enmity within it. This was an item that Godora had to obtain at all cost. Even Black Star…

“Don’t be so nervous. What I mean is, you can have the item, but I need a reward. I am a mercenary, and I like to solve my problems with transactions. In other words…” Han Xiao stroked his chin as he said, “How much is Godora willing to pay for this Mutation Source?”

“I see.” Nagakin’s eyes narrowed, and he calmed down. At the same time, a thought flashed through his mind.

In this tense situation, Black Star had suddenly been able to take out an item capable of breaking the stalemate… This is truly fishy!

It was possible that Black Star wanted to gain riches from the chaos, but there was another very small possibility—Black Star had ties with DarkStar.

Black Star had made DarkStar suffer quite a number of losses, and the impression that an ordinary person would get was that both parties were enemies. It would be impossible for the past events to be a set up. However, if DarkStar was willing to endure humiliation and, instead of taking revenge, contact Black Star personally and pay him a high price to work together, this was also a possibility.

Black Star was a mercenary who fought for riches, and Nagakin never had held too much expectations toward mercenaries. It was not him thinking too much; he had no choice but to be extremely careful. The problem with DarkStar was extremely delicate, and he had no choice but to consider all possible sources of risk. After all, Black Star had been able to suddenly take out an item that was the key to resolving their crisis. Even if the other party was able to explain the origins of the item clearly, it was not very convincing to Nagakin.

As these thoughts flashed through his head, Nagakin said in a deep voice, “Is Floating Dragon aware of your actions?”

He decided to contact Floating Dragon personally. It was impossible for Floating Dragon to work together with DarkStar, and he would only be at ease if Floating Dragon acknowledged Han Xiao’s words.

“Of course they’re aware.” Han Xiao had anticipated this question and shrugged his with a smile. “If you are worried, you can go and ask Ames personally. I brought her over.”

Plop!

Nagakin slipped off his chair and fell onto the ground.

He then crawled back up pathetically.

“You you you you… you brought Dragon Emperor to this planet‽”

“That’s right, she is in the plaza.”

Nagakin looked at Han Xiao in disbelief.

Oh my goodness! What kind of a figure is Ames? And she has actually been called over by Black Star? Just how much authority does this fellow have on Floating Dragon Island! Am I playing Wayne Cards‽

“I don’t have anything to ask…” Nagakin laughed bitterly. For Black Star to bring such a character over, he was obviously unafraid of Nagakin verifying his words with Floating Dragon. If that was the case, what was the point in him suspecting anything? No matter what, it was impossible for him to doubt the relationship between Ames and Black Star. Black Star did not have those rights yet!

Han Xiao’s expression remained calm. On the way back, he had told Ames about the Mutation Source. Since it was not something disgraceful, there was no need for him to hide it from Ames. Han Xiao understood her and knew that she would not bother about these little details. If she was Jenny, Jenny would definitely have slammed the table.

Just as he expected, Ames had been completely uninterested in this matter, and Han Xiao naturally did not have any concerns.

“Black Star, this is an extremely important matter, and I have to inform my superiors. You can raise your conditions to them.”

Nagakin did not delay any further and contacted his superiors with his communicator.

A wave of disbelieving gasps could then be heard on the communicator. All the different departments in Godora had been racking their brains over this problem, and the timely news was like the biggest relief that they had over the past few days. Not just the War Bureau, this piece of news had even spread all the way to the desk of the highest leader in Godora!

The upper echelons in Godora were shaken!

Very quickly, Godora sent out a couple of individuals with sufficient authority to handle this matter. A couple of images then appeared, and they all looked at Han Xiao.

“You are Black Star? Be direct. What are your conditions?” Their expressions were grave, and they were fully prepared to pay a huge price.

However, the upper echelons of Godora were not dissatisfied about it at all. Since it was a transaction, it was only right for them to pay a sufficient price. Making Black Star hand over the mutation source without any payments would be the actions of a gangster. Even if Ames was not there, they would not have behaved in such a manner. Being in their position, they would not casually make enemies for themselves.

Could a problem that could be resolved with money be called a problem?

Han Xiao’s eyes glowed, and he said with a smile, “Let’s talk about it in detail…”

Over the next hour, an intense negotiation took place. The Godoran representatives argued to bring down the price, and they slowly inched toward a price that both parties could accept. In front of those upper echelons, Nagakin did not even have the right to interrupt.

A long while later, their discussion finally ended.

“We accept your conditions. When this incident is over, we will fulfil the promise we made today.”

While he was taking advantage of the other party’s misfortune in this transaction, Han Xiao did not extort an exorbitant price from Godora. The conditions that he had raised were the ones that he had already thought about, and it was within an acceptable range for the other party. This attitude of his made the upper echelons feel much more comfortable.

Han Xiao nodded and was in an extremely good mood. The negotiations had gone much smoother than expected.

Just as he had guessed, Godora understood their predicament and urgently needed something to break out of their current situation.

Godora displayed great sincerity and accepted his conditions generously. Furthermore, the ones who participated in the negotiations were those with sufficient authority in their hands.

The Mutation Source was exchanged for many things. First was a sum of money. 3,000,000 Enas were immediately transferred over, and his wallet, which had almost been flat, was fattened up again. The next was the supply of materials for the next few years, including a few special Godoran products, raw materials for machines, quality products produced by their factories, and completed spaceships. All of these would be sold to him at their cost price.

Apart from those material benefits, the rest would be his status, treatment, and request for clearance in certain areas. The motive of this would be to raise the fame of his mercenary group. All of those conditions required Godora to fulfil them in the long run.

He was not afraid that Godora would go back on their word. His backing of Floating Dragon Island was his assurance.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had hinted that Floating Dragon Island supported his actions and used this to build up diplomatic ties between Floating Dragon Island and Godora. This was not an alliance between the two, only the two parties sharing a closer relationship. After all, it was always better to have an additional friend.

Ames was respected by many, and there were plenty of organizations that gave her plenty of face. However, this did not change the fact that Floating Dragon Island was far too weak. All of Floating Dragon Island’s influence could only be seen on the surface. For the organizations of the other beyond Grade A Supers, they all had deep relationships and cooperative deals with many civilizations. Han Xiao naturally would not break Floating Dragon’s stance of neutrality, but being neutral did not mean that they could not make friends.

The Great Mechanic Han was extremely willing to help Floating Dragon Island form relationships with other organizations. This should have been Jenny’s job, but that cold lady was obviously too conservative, and Han Xiao did not mind giving her more things to do.

The stronger Floating Dragon was, the more he would benefit.

Godora was naturally willing to be on good terms with Floating Dragon, and it could be said that they would die for that opportunity. They could naturally catch Han Xiao’s drift and formed a tacit understanding.

“Godora thanks you for your contributions, and we will never mistreat our friends.” The upper echelons looked at Han Xiao emotionally.

These figures of authority in Godora felt that it was time for them to reevaluate Black Star’s importance.

Du…

The image disappeared, and only two people were left in the room.

Reaching a satisfactory outcome, Han Xiao threw the Mutation Source over to Nagakin.

“Take it. Send it back to Godora secretly, and don’t let anyone rob you.”

“I understand.” Nagakin nodded heavily. He was already looking forward to the day when Godora broke out of DarkStar’s disgusting scheme. Currently, he felt that Han Xiao was extremely pleasing to the eye.

Han Xiao then stretched lazily in the chair.

He had finally handed the Mutation Source over, and Godora would be able to quickly solve this crisis. The crisis would be solved a year earlier than in his previous life.

DarkStar was still kept in the dark. When they found out that their plan had failed, who knew what their expressions would look like?

If the players could finish this Main Storyline earlier, they would not have to waste time on Planet Aquamarine. Entering the universe as part of his mercenary group, they would definitely be far more valuable than in his previous life!

The experience of the players and the development of the storyline would definitely take a completely different path!

The future… who knows what it will be like?

Countless individuals would have their futures rewritten. Han Xiao shut his eyes, and his body tingled with an excitement that he had not felt in a very long time.

Chapter 554: It Is Time to Show My True Imagination

The Sanctuary was filled with an endless sea of people, and countless players surrounded Ames. Those who were far away were either standing on tiptoes, stretching their necks, or jumping up and down with excitement.

The majority of the players on Planet Aquamarine had seen Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos before, and they all recognized the Dragon Emperor. Her fame among the players was only slightly inferior to that of Black Star. It was not only because of her beauty and sexy long legs. Most of the players had also seen many pretty female NPCs. The most important point was her strength. She was like an Empress with exalted status and the most powerful character that those players on Planet Aquamarine had seen.

With the huge gap in their status, her popularity had soared and never come back down. On the forums, there were even fans who had created a ‘Dragon Emperor leg licking group’.

Talking about the name of fan clubs, Han Xiao’s ‘Black Star little mercenary family’ and ‘Captain love me once back up group’ were not any much better.

In the past, the players could only see Ames through videos, but this time, she had actually descended personally. The entire Sanctuary was immediately overwhelmed with shock, and many players called their friends and brought all their family members over to witness Ames in person.

While they really wanted to rush forward and hug her smooth legs, the players all kept their distance from her. Not to mention whether or not they were able to activate the ‘taking off their pants’ and ‘lick NPC’ features, just witnessing Ames casually flattening a bunch of players who went near her was a huge deterrent. After all, none of them wanted to lose experience for nothing.

What a joke! She was a character who could destroy a star! What if she ended up destroying their Novice Village!

Ames looked at the endless players with curiosity. Those Space Wonders that Black Star had mentioned seemed to know her, and they all had excited looks on their faces. She could not help but feel that they were all treating her like an animal in the zoo.

After using her ability to scan the players, she found nothing special with the physique of the Inhumans. However, the couple of fellows who she had slapped to death previously had transformed into a white light and disappeared, not leaving behind a corpse. Her force field was able to differentiate between the millions of individuals, and in less than ten seconds, the few Inhumans whom she had slapped to death had entered the vicinity of her senses again. They had indeed revived.

If all of them had an undying body, even if they were slightly weaker, they could not be underestimated.

After this thought surfaced in her head, she immediately threw it to the back of her head. At her current realm, there was no need for her to pay too much attention to them. However, those Inhumans were truly intriguing, and they were pretty different from Aroshia.

It isn’t a bad thing for Black Star to gather them, Ames thought to herself.

Since she would not be able to discover anything in this short period of time, Ames looked around before flying out of the crowd and toward the location that Black Star had told her.

The players in the plaza had already taken numerous pictures from all possible angles.

After she left, all the players began to chatter excitedly.

“I never expected to see the Dragon Emperor in person. How beautiful…”

“I seem to have fallen in love…”

“How useless! A single beauty caused all of you to lose all composure! Unprincipled and without a bottom line! Can’t you guys learn from me? I will love Feidin forever!”

Apart from those uploading Ames’ pictures onto the forums, there were a few who were guessing the reason for her appearance.

“How strange. Ames should be someone at the very top of the food chain. Why did she come to Planet Aquamarine? I feel that we shouldn’t be coming into contact with someone like her at this phase…”

“Do you still need to guess? It is already written on the Wayne Cards. Go back and copy the effects of the Black Star card a hundred times as punishment.”

“Black Star is Black Star indeed. So what if she is his boss? He will pull her along if he wants to.”

Everyone knew that the Black Star Mercenary Group had the title of Floating Dragon Island’s Field Team. They had powerful backing. When the Black Star Mercenary Group shot forward in fame and prestige, Godora would not even be able to see their taillights.

To a certain extent, Han Xiao’s faction enjoyed a portion of Floating Dragon Island’s fame with the most important factor being Ames’ personal charisma. Joining the Black Star Mercenary Group was akin to having an opportunity to grow closer to Ames. This logic had attracted endless people to fight for the opportunity to join the mercenary group.

“However, why did Black Star call the Dragon Emperor over? Is it for the Mutation Disaster?”

“That can’t be right? The Mutation Disaster shouldn’t be enough for Ames to take action, right?”

The players continued their discussions, and the platform of their discussions changed to the forums.

The majority of the players were extremely excited about the Main Storyline of the Mutation Disaster, and they all felt as though an amazing reversal would suddenly take place. However, this guess of theirs was not without any basis. With the appearance of Ames, she was the best ‘evidence’ for their guesses.

Talking about Ames, Han Xiao naturally would not be left out of the conversation, and his fame was also increased even further. Han Xiao bringing Ames over gave the players of Planet Aquamarine a great deal of face. They could look at the other novice planets with the pride of ‘my novice planet might explode, will yours?’

…

Nagakin did not delay for a single second and personally escorted the Mutation Source back to the Godoran mothership. After the negotiations with Godora, Han Xiao had a carefree expression on his face as he walked toward the Sanctuary’s gathering point while considering his future development plans.

Godora needed time to carry out their research, but this was not a big problem to Han Xiao. Han Xiao’s level of patience had reached the point where even when a fish was on his hook, the fish would become more anxious than him.

I only need to wait. Godora will need about a month or so to develop the antidote, and DarkStar can behave arrogantly for a little while longer. However, their plans won’t be able to cause much trouble with so little time.

After handing over the Mutation Source, Han Xiao did not have anything to do before Godora developed the antidote. The safety of Planet Aquamarine was not an issue either. The intelligence network of DarkStar would definitely have noticed Ames’ arrival, and it was impossible for them to create trouble at this moment.

“What should I do over the next month? There isn’t a need for me to worry about disaster relief, and the hiring of players is already on track. The Mutation Disaster won’t change too much within a month, and the benefits that I can gain from imparting those skills are also dwindling. With the players all leveling up, there isn’t much I can extract from them like before…”

Could it be that he also had to join the club of killing time with cards?

No! He could not! Even if he was bored to death, he would not play cards!

It seems like I can only go into seclusion and manufacture machineries.

I earned 3,000,000 Enas from Godora, and together with my remaining 1,000,000, the funds on my hands exceed 4,000,000 again. Hmm, since I have money, I can buy some new Class Knowledge and increase my combat equipment…

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up.

That’s right, I still have to create a base on Planet Aquamarine and connect it to the universe officially. Only then will I have a never-ending supply of new players. It seems like I can move my plans forward.

He did not even need to think about the location and could just remodel the Sanctuary. Bennett definitely would not mind.

The materials were all readily available, and he could purchase some important facilities from the merchants in the universe. As for the construction progress… he would be a fool if he did not use the endless free labor. He could still issue them missions to ensure that they had a wholesome player life. Afterall, even the healthiest crops needed to be fed fertilizer.

He would model it after the equipment used in his first base, and even if the Six Nations wanted to send an atomic missile, his base would remain standing.

I now have something to do in this period of time.

With the idea in his mind, Han Xiao went back to the main hall of the gathering point, and when he was about to inform Herlous about this matter, he realized that Ames was already waiting there with Herlous and his other subordinates standing by the side respectfully. In the distance, there were many players looking over with faces full of excitement.

Ever since the players displayed enough strength to wipe out the beasts, his subordinates had returned to the Sanctuary to skive off. Under their lead, the entire hall had been transformed into a large room for them to play cards. A couple of players who were bored would occasionally come over to play some cards with them.

“You’re here.” Herlous hurriedly greeted. With Ames beside him, he felt an immense sense of pressure. Every single word that came out of his mouth had to be said with caution as he was afraid that he might end up offending Ames.

Han Xiao walked over and looked at Ames with a smile. “Have you seen the Inhumans?”

“You’re right; they are very interesting.” Ames looked at Han Xiao and retracted her aura. She no longer tested the subordinates under Han Xiao, and all the mercenaries felt their body ease up immediately.

“I will have someone arrange a room for you. Since there isn’t anything for you to do, there will be plenty of time for you to observe them.”

Ames smiled and said, “Alright.”

Since she was already there, she naturally did not leave immediately after seeing the players. She would take the opportunity to take a look at Black Star’s hometown as well.

“Right, I just negotiated with Godora using Floating Dragon’s name. They are very thankful toward you.”

“Hmm.”

“The Godorans should come and visit you later. I will make arrangements.”

“Alright, you can just manage it yourself.”

“You seem to be interested in Aurora and Hila’s abilities. I will introduce them to you later.”

“Sure.”

The both of them smiled.

Ames was an easy-going person and was not someone who put on airs. Since Han Xiao had already made arrangements, she would just accept them. After a few days of interaction, she was also used to interacting with Han Xiao in such a tone.

Besides, she did not dislike Han Xiao.

However, this resulted in a misunderstanding in the eyes of others.

The Dragon Emperor had always been mysterious, and the others did not understand Ames’ temperament like Han Xiao. The majority of them had not even met this boss of theirs. In their minds, the Dragon Emperor should be an imposing expert who would turn their legs to jelly with a single glance. She should not have been someone so easy to talk to, no matter what. Furthermore, she had obviously given them a huge amount of pressure previously, and the pressure had only disappeared after Han Xiao’s appearance.

As for Herlous and the few who had met the Dragon Emperor before, they realized that Ames’ attitude toward Han Xiao was extremely different from before. She was more than ten times gentler than previously.

It could be said that she completely listened to Han Xiao’s words, and her gentle tone was completely different from the persona of the high and mighty Dragon Emperor. Furthermore, the tone that she used to speak to them previously was obviously different. Only someone deaf would not be able to notice this difference, and it was impossible for them to not overthink it!

Could it be that the two of them…

Had that kind of a relationship‽

Herlous’ eyes widened as he looked at Han Xiao’s back in disbelief.

The Volga brothers were dumbfounded.

Feidin touched his cheeks subconsciously.

At that moment, the heart of those few officers were stirred.

Harmon could only feel the strange atmosphere. Looking left and right, he did not understand what was going on.

The jaws of those players watching far away dropped.

In the crowd, Bun-Hit-Dog witnessed this scene and his eyes lit up as inspiration immediately came to his head!

No wonder Black Star was able to casually call Ames over! So, this is the reason!

The Wayne Card didn’t lie to me!

Bun-Hit-Dog’s breathing became heavy as a large essay was formulated in his head.

This… picking up his superior, gaining both wealth and backing.

He was even able to subdue someone like Ames! Black Star’s charisma is too frightening!

“BIG NEWS!” Bun-Hit-Dog prepared the recording excitedly.

…

After an hour, in some remote region of Planet Aquamarine was the hiding place of the DarkStar spies.

“Eh, after leaving for half a month, Black Star has come back. I wonder what he went to do.”

One of the spies then turned on the satellite image, and after giving it a casual glance, it was as though a hammer had struck his head, and he was frozen in place.

Rubbing his eyes, he rewatched the footage more than ten times from different angles. Only after rubbing until his eyes turned red was he certain that he did not imagine it.

Did I just see the Dragon Emperor Ames‽

That monster who is able to destroy a DarkStar mothership?

“Quick quick quick… report this up to our superiors! Emergency report!”

The spy immediately ran over to his captain and was frightened to the point he almost wet his pants.

Chapter 555: Reactions from All Sides

“What did you say! Dragon Emperor‽”

Degulish’s eyes froze in place, and he gulped in shock. His chest also tightened as though he had just been struck by a hammer.

Twenty minutes prior, the spies left behind on Planet Aquamarine had sent an emergency report. The intel officer had then hurriedly searched for the current commander of the organization, Degulish, and reported this matter with a pale expression.

Ames had appeared on Planet Aquamarine!

The upper echelons of DarkStar were shocked.

The Dragon Emperor had always been neutral. For her to appear in the Garton Star System suddenly, did it mean that she wanted to enter the fray? No, this was not likely. It was more likely that it was Black Star, that b*stard, who had called Ames over. But why Planet Aquamarine?

After giving the matter much thought, Degulish still could not understand Ames’ intentions.

After analyzing the matter for a while, he felt that this issue was filled with oddities. The other party had chosen to land on Planet Aquamarine, not the mother planet of Godora. It did not seem like she was there for DarkStar but on vacation.

“Black Star is the leader of Floating Dragon Island’s armed forces, and I heard that he has been expanding recently. Perhaps Ames is here to check on her forces’ development,” the intel officer said. “This is the most likely possibility.”

Degulish nodded slowly and solemnly said, “We cannot let our guard down. We have some grievances with the Dragon Emperor, and she could be a possible unknown in our plan. However, as long as we don’t provoke her, she won’t be able to do anything to us. Even if she is a beyond Grade A Super, that only refers to her personal strength. She won’t be able to resolve the current situation.”

Saying that, Degulish let out a small sigh of relief. Previously, he had been frightened by Ames’ reputation and instinctively felt that the matter was grave. But after thinking about it for a while, he realized that it actually was not a big issue.

So what if the Dragon Emperor could fight? They would just have to avoid facing her. Could her personal prowess resolve Godora’s problems?

Even an expert like the Dragon Emperor would not be able to resolve the internal and external problems of Godora with her strength. She was just a single individual, and the vast universe would never be conquered by a single individual!

Degulish then began to ease, and after some thought, he instructed, “Order the spies on Planet Aquamarine to observe Ames’ actions. Make Planet Aquamarine a forbidden location for now; no one is to go near Planet Aquamarine.”

“Er, we didn’t have any intentions to ambush Planet Aquamarine…” The intel officer was extremely helpless. The scene of their assault ships being destroyed by Black Star was still fresh in his memories. He would be a fool to send men over at this moment.

“Right, how is the progress of planting moles in the Black Star Mercenary Group?”

“I bribed some free mercenaries and asked them to apply to enter the Black Star Mercenary Group. Black Star Mercenary Group doesn’t seem to hiring, but if he wants to expand, the moles that I bribed will have a chance to enter.

“As for bribing the members of the Black Star Mercenary Group, I haven’t begun doing so. Without being certain of their backgrounds and having enough information, I wouldn’t know which mercenary is the most likely to be bribed. I do not wish to alert them.”

Degulish’s eyes glowed, and he laughed coldly. “Very good. This is a plan to kill two birds with one stone. We will be able to infiltrate both the Black Star Mercenary Group and Floating Dragon Island.”

The meeting then continued. Regarding the threat of the Dragon Emperor, Degulish only informed his troops to leave Planet Aquamarine and did not give any other orders. He felt that those measures were sufficient. Even if Ames was powerful, she would not be able to affect the plan that they had designed over many years. The most important thing was for them to carry out their plans.

What Degulish did not know was that the situation had already changed.

He still thought that he had plenty of time… the whole of DarkStar still felt so.

…

The fleet escorting Nagakin had returned to Godora’s mother planet. This was a large planet that was more than ten times the size of Planet Golden Gate. Tens of defensive satellites surrounded the planet, and the security was extremely tight.

As the spaceship landed, the officers of the War Bureau who had already received news were waiting by the dock. The moment Nagakin disembarked from the spaceship, they all walked over to welcome him.

“How’s the item?”

“Perfectly fine.”

“Great, we don’t have any time to waste. Head to the research department immediately.”

Nagakin walked toward the research facilities under the guard of a large number of troops and two other Calamity Grade Supers. The roads toward the research facility were completely locked down, and no one was allowed to pass. Even the leader of Godora did not have the authority to enjoy such a treatment.

Nagakin walked over to the research lab carefully and successfully handed the Mutation Source over to the researchers. They would research the antidote for the Mutation Source at a location with the highest possible security and confidentiality. A leak was absolutely not allowed to happen.

As the key personnel who facilitated the trade between Black Star and Godora, he was allowed to wait for the results of the test. After waiting for half a day in the waiting room, he finally received news about the initial tests on the Mutation Source.

This item was indeed the source of the Mutation Disaster!

With the sample that Nagakin had brought back, the speed of developing the antidote would be increased rapidly.

“That’s great…” Nagakin could finally be at ease. He had been extremely worried that the sample that Han Xiao had handed to him was useless.

“Amazing job!” The War Bureau head slapped Nagakin on the back.

“I didn’t do anything. It is all Black Star’s contribution.” Nagakin laughed bitterly. He had never imagined that the key point to breaking them out of their current situation would actually be an outsider.

A bright smile could be seen on the head of the War Bureau’s face, which was always solemn all year round. He was like a blooming chrysanthemum flower, be it in terms of shape or color.

“Indeed. Black Star has given us a huge surprise. I really never thought that a mercenary would be one to resolve our emergency.”

After pausing for a while, he then said in a solemn tone, “This piece of news must be kept confidential, lest DarkStar comes up with another sinister scheme. It would be best if we can maintain the current situation.”

In order to deal with the numerous attacks of DarkStar, all the departments of Godora were busy to the point where they did not even have time to sleep. The sudden aid from Han Xiao had truly surprised the whole of Godora’s upper echelons, and even the highest leader of Godora paid attention to Black Star and even wanted to personally thank him.

The War Bureau had simulated their current circumstances, and the result left many of them in cold sweat.

If DarkStar had been allowed to continue behaving without any restraint, the situation would only have become worse. If the situation persisted for a year or two, Godora’s progress would have been greatly delayed, and the entire Godoran Civilization would have taken a step back. The accomplishments of the Garton Star System that they had built up over the years would also go to waste. The worst situation would be an internal fracture within Godora.

Because they knew what the outcome could have been, the upper echelons of Godora were extremely excited! Black Star providing them with the sample would allow them to avoid massive losses, save countless citizens, and turn the entire situation around!

Han Xiao had become the biggest savior in the eyes of the upper echelons.

“Black Star is an important character from Floating Dragon Island. We can treat his aid as aid from Floating Dragon. Ames seems to place a great deal of importance on him… Perhaps we will gain some benefits from this misfortune and have the opportunity to befriend an organization like Floating Dragon Island.”

The head of the War Bureau was extremely excited, and his eyes were glowing as he slapped Nagakin on the back again. “Black Star’s strength is out of our imaginations, and you must maintain contact with him. If you can, it would be best to take your relationship to the next step.”

Nagakin’s mouth began to twitch as he asked, “Take the next step, meaning…”

“Make use of our advantage as Godorans and become his best friend!” the War Bureau head said with a serious expression.

Nagakin silently raised his fists, and a golden flame covered it.

“Don’t think I won’t dare to beat you up because you are my superior.”

…

Ever since Ames landed on the planet, the atmosphere had become extremely odd.

Be it the players, refugees of the Sanctuary, mercenaries, or Godorans, they were all extremely curious about Ames. Ames also did not intend to hide anything, and her actions were for everyone to see. Han Xiao was also always beside her.

Han Xiao naturally did not mind being Ames’ tour guide. After all, he was extremely free, and for the Dragon Emperor to make a personal appearance, he naturally had to show her some hospitality.

Ames was mainly interested in the players. However, in consideration for the fact that she was on Han Xiao’s home planet, she acted in a low-profile manner and did not dissect the players as she wished.

Those from the Sanctuary would often see the two of them walking down the streets together, and when they thought about the hot rumors spreading around, their gazes could not help but become strange.

As Han Xiao noticed the odd gazes of those around him, while he did not display any expression, he was extremely speechless.

The brains of his officers must have been flooded with water. To think that they would actually dare spread rumors about him and Ames… While he was not bothered about such rumors, this was not necessarily the case for Ames. If she was not happy, she would be able to easily beat up all of his subordinates who were spreading the rumors.

At that time, should he help her whack them or help her beat them up?

However, over the next few days, Han Xiao’s worries did not come true, and Ames did not react. Her expression was still the same, and she walked around with a smile on her face. If someone had told him that Ames did not notice the expressions of those around her, Han Xiao definitely would not have believed it.

Thinking about it carefully, how would an expert of such a level be affected by such silly rumors?

Han Xiao felt that he had been worried for nothing. At the same time, he was thankful that Ames could not see what was written on the forums.

The strange gazes of passersby was nothing. There were already more than a hundred fan fictions written on the forums about his ‘love and hate’ story with Ames. The content of the stories and perverseness of the characters made his hair stand on end.

The source of all of that was Bun-Hit-Dog’s newest release. He had carefully analyzed the relationship between Black Star and the Dragon Emperor. Not only did he have photos to back his stories, he had even come up with extra stories on his own.

Bun-Hit-Dog was truly talented in this respect, and even Han Xiao almost believed what he had written. All of the players exploded in excitement and chaos, and the members of Black Star’s fan club cried out in victory. The battle between the fans and flamers quickly spread to the other novice planets, and all the players from the other countries cried out for peace!

Thus far, Bun-Hit-Dog had been his publicity angel, but for the first time in his life, Han Xiao truly wanted to strangle Bun-Hit-Dog to death. Such a reporter was only interested in creating sensational news every day, creating stories out of his imagination, and twisting the truth. It was as though he was afraid that the world was not chaotic enough. If any player spread what was written on the forums and Ames ended up seeing it, was he not afraid that he would have to take responsibility‽

However, all of the ridiculous guesses aside, it could be said that Bun-Hit-Dog’s post was truly superb. Despite Han Xiao being angered without having a place to vent his anger, he had to admit that the post was excellent.

“I am truly in awe…” Han Xiao smacked his forehead. Over the next few days, he had no intentions of visiting the forums again, afraid that his blood pressure would end up shooting up.

Ames had floated around beside him for the past few days, and they went around for a walk again that day. Han Xiao calmed himself down as he looked at the walls of the Sanctuary far away. The players climbed up and down the wall like ants as they attempted to rebuild it.

A few days ago, he had instructed Herlous and Bennett to issue a mission to upgrade the Sanctuary. The upgrading process had officially begun, and the players had a new job. They fully showed off the fine tradition of being able to work hard without complaining about fatigue, doing hard labor wherever it was required.

Now that the players had a certain degree of strength, their efficiency was far higher than when they built the Sanctuary. Han Xiao estimated that they should be able to complete the upgrade of the Sanctuary within a month.

“No wonder you want to hire the Inhumans. It seems like you hold a very high status in their hearts. You definitely place great importance in them.” Ames smiled.

“There aren’t many in this world that I view with such importance. Just that few million.” Han Xiao shrugged.

The corner of Ames’ lips curled up, and after letting out a soft chuckle, she suddenly turned and looked in a direction. Han Xiao also looked over, following the direction of her gaze.

Aurora and Hila were walking past, and upon seeing the both of them, their footsteps also stopped.

Recently, Hila and Aurora had been busy checking on the infected individuals. They had only heard that Han Xiao had brought back a bigshot from the universe but had not had a chance to meet her officially.

This time, it was a coincidental meeting.

“Are they the sisters that you are talking about?” Ames looked at the two ladies.

“Yeah.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

On the other side, Hila was expressionless as she looked at Han Xiao and Ames. After pausing for a while, she then grabbed Aurora’s hand and walked over to them.

Chapter 556: An Experienced Individual Indeed

“What a coincidence. Let me make the introductions. This red-haired lady is called Hila, and the one beside her is Aurora.” Han Xiao looked at the two ladies and introduced them to Ames.

Hila walked up to the two of them with her gaze fixed onto Ames, completely ignoring Han Xiao.

Why is the atmosphere so awkward? Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly, and he continued his introductions. “Cough cough, this is a top-notch expert in the universe, the leader of Floating Dragon Island, Land Ripper, Absolute Power, Dragon Emperor Ames. I am temporarily working for her.”

“Top notch expert in the universe?” Hila’s eyes narrowed. This description from Han Xiao immediately simulated Hila’s nerves. “How powerful?”

Ames’ eyes lit up, and a trace of pressure was exuded. “What do you think?”

Han Xiao coughed dryly and slotted himself between the two. He then rubbed Aurora’s head and tried to change the topic. “Where is your little bear?”

Aurora snuck a glance at Ames before saying with tacit understanding, “It is sleeping at home. Han Xiao, this big sister is really beautiful. Is she a bigshot?”

She was asking the obvious with the intention of changing the topic. She could already sense the strength of Ames’ life force with her Esper abilities, and Ames’ strength was one that she had never seen before. She was like a frightened deer who did not dare approach Ames.

Aurora understood Hila’s strong personally and knew that her elder sister was never afraid of any powerhouses. The word ‘fear’ was not in her dictionary. Seeing her sister’s lousy attitude, she was afraid that this bigshot might end up enraged. Thus, she hurriedly played along with Han Xiao, hoping to break the tense atmosphere.

Hearing those words, Ames’ gaze was diverted away from Hila, and she looked at Aurora. Seeing Aurora’s adorable appearance together with a look of fear on her face, Ames’ gaze softened, and she said with a smile, “Your body is full of life; I like that feeling.”

Feeling the pressure being retracted, Aurora’s heart eased up, and she smiled. “I also like the scent on big sister’s body.”

“Big sister…” Ames let out a merciful smile. “It has been so many years since someone last called me that.”

With Aurora’s interruption, the atmosphere was no longer awkward, and Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. He understood Hila’s stubborn temper very well. Apart from her sister, she did not care about anyone else, and she also lacked any form of reverence toward experts. On top of that, she pursued strength greatly, and if no one restrained her, Hila would probably want to test the strength of this top-notch expert from the universe. If she ended up in a conflict with Ames, her death was almost certain.

Ames was considered pretty easygoing. If it was any other beyond Grade A Super, they would definitely have slapped anyone who dared provoke their prestige to death. Just like the old saying, a grandmaster cannot be humiliated, one who acted cool should get struck by lightning. This was probably the reason.

While Han Xiao paid attention to Hila’s potential, her potential did not equate to strength. While Hila was much stronger than she had been a couple of years back, she would still be easily defeated by Ames. After all, Hila had not left Planet Aquamarine, so her sights were limited.

Hila frowned. She was not an overconfident frog in a well. From the very start, she knew that she would not be a match for Ames. She was only curious about how powerful a top-notch expert would be and how far away she was from that realm.

Since her words had been interrupted, Hila also threw away the idea and looked at Han Xiao. “You left Planet Aquamarine a few years ago. Have you been working for her the whole time?”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. “Almost.”

“Aren’t you a mercenary?” Hila asked doubtfully. She had always been extremely curious about Han Xiao’s experience in the universe. While she had heard Han Xiao’s introduction of Ames previously, she did not understand what those titles meant. Thus, she was extremely curious just how powerful Ames was and what kind of a background she had.

“About this, it’s a long story.” Han Xiao laughed awkwardly. He naturally would not talk about his embarrassing past easily.

At this moment, Ames placed her hand of Han Xiao’s shoulder and said with a smile, “Black Star is extremely capable, and I really need him. He has helped me greatly these past few years and is someone reliable.”

Ames still remembered that Han Xiao had only joined Floating Dragon because his life was in danger. Talking about this topic, she was afraid that Han Xiao would have a knot in his heart and thus felt that there was a need to display her trust and reliance on him. She was someone with a light case of mysophobia, but Han Xiao was not an outsider to her. From the moment Han Xiao helped her to capture Aesop, she had treated Han Xiao as one of her own.

“Er…” Hila’s gaze suddenly narrowed as she looked at the palm on Han Xiao’s shoulder.

She then thought about the recent rumors that had been spreading in the streets.

She originally did not think much about those rumors, but it seemed like the rumors were not wrong…

Hila observed Ames’ appearance carefully. Ames was wearing a long dress and had an elegant appearance. Her beauty had the charm of age, and while she did not seem too stunning on the first glance, the more one looked at her, the more beautiful she got.

Being vain was the nature of a lady, and Hila subconsciously compared herself to Ames. Feeling that she was not a match for Ames’ beauty, she did not feel too good inside. However, when she looked down at her chest, her confidence immediately returned.

Hila’s gaze then swept past Han Xiao coldly.

Humph, all men are the same. As long as they go into the flowery world, not a single one of them will be able to withstand temptation.

Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.

What is this? Why is this darn lady always glaring at me?

At this moment, Aurora broke the stalemate and asked, “Big sister, why did you come to our planet?”

Ames’ expression became gentle again, and she said with a smile, “Actually, there is a reason for me coming to Planet Aquamarine. I am very interested in both of your Esper abilities.”

Hila’s face changed abruptly, and her memory of the Germinal Organization flashed through her mind. Protecting Aurora behind her, she said with a wary look, “What do you mean?”

“One of you in charge of death, and the other in charge of life. Furthermore, the both of you are sisters. Very long ago, there were two similar characters in the galaxy. In the historical records toward the end of the war, the first appearance of a beyond Grade A Super seemed to have broken some sort of limit. Plenty of Calamity Grade Supers achieved a breakthrough in the various Star Fields after that. Perhaps they were already at a bottleneck, and the first beyond Grade A Super showed them the way. Or perhaps there were other reasons. In any case, plenty of beyond Grade A Supers appeared one after another during that period.

“After the war ended, these first batch of beyond Grade A Supers were recorded in the history books and called the [Primordial Ones]. Among them was a pair of sisters with abilities extremely similar to yours. Millions of years later, the both of you have appeared. Thus, I am very interested in the both of you.”

While Ames was extremely lazy, she still had some basic knowledge of the universe’s history. With Aurora and Hila being siblings and their Esper abilities being so similar, this coincidence was too stunning. Perhaps there was only a one in ten thousand chance of something like this happening. Paying attention to something that had such a low probability of happening had always been Ames’ interest.

However, there had been many others with similar Esper abilities in the past, and she did not think that Aurora and Hila were related to the Primordial Ones. She only felt that it was a shocking coincidence.

Hila and Aurora had shocked expressions on their faces. This was the first time that they had heard about the history of the universe.

However, Han Xiao’s eyes began to glow. As a resident of Earth who had read many different web novels, he immediately thought about the possibility of reincarnation.

Thinking about the storyline in his past life, Aurora had been reduced to meat paste very early on in the game, and she did not have a lucky halo or any fate protection. If she was truly a reincarnated being, her outcome was a little too pathetic.

Han Xiao shook his head helplessly and felt that he was thinking too much. This was probably just a coincidence.

“Then… then what do you want to do to us, big sister?” Aurora could not help but shrink back.

Hearing that, there was a moment when Ames’ gaze turned distant as though she thought about some memories. She then quickly snapped back to reality and looked at the two sisters.

“I wish to… take the two of you as my disciples! Are the two of you willing?”

“What?” Han Xiao, Hila, and Aurora all looked at her with a strange expressions on their faces.

Ames was very interested in the sisters, and the thought of taking them in as her disciples was not a sudden one. When she was young, Aesop had taken her in, and this favor had always been in her heart. For a long period of time, her goal had been to find Aesop.

After Han Xiao found Aesop and fulfilled Ames’ long time wish, she had another thought. Ames also wanted to take in a few kids like Aesop but had not managed to find anyone suitable.

When Black Star mentioned the two sisters to her on the spaceship, Ames had immediately grown interested. Aurora and Hila’s parents had died when they were young, and they had huge potential. Furthermore, there was such a huge coincidence at the same time. Her age was sufficient to be the foster mother of the sisters and perhaps even sufficient to be their grandmother!

However, both of them were already all grown up and did not need another foster mother. As such, Ames decided to accept the two sisters as her disciples instead.

Both Hila and Aurora were stunned. They had never imagined that Ames would have such a request. Upon looking at each other, they could see the shock in each other’s eyes.

“This…” Just when Hila was about to reply, she suddenly seemed to think about something and rubbed Aurora’s head. “What do you think?”

She rarely made decisions on Aurora’s behalf and largely respected her sister’s opinions.

Aurora had a complicated look on her face. She did not understand Ames but felt a sense of closeness to Ames from the depths of her heart. She then turned around to look at the carefree Han Xiao and asked, “Uncle Han, what do you think?”

“Call me big brother,” Han Xiao corrected with a helpless tone. “If you are asking me whether or not I encourage this, I definitely do. She is a peak level expert in the Shattered Star Ring after all.”

It was a huge opportunity for a powerful individual like Ames to accept a disciple, and it was definitely beneficial to both the sisters.

Most importantly, Ames was his boss! He could not wreck her matters in front of her, right? Could he even give another answer‽

Silly lass, Han Xiao muttered in his heart.

“I shall listen to sister this time.” Aurora dodged the bullet.

Hila fell silent for a moment before opening her mouth slowly. “I wish to know what kind of strength you possess and whether you have the rights to be my teacher.”

Ames smiled gently and pointed her finger at the sky.

Nothing happened.

“What are you doing…” Hila frowned. Before she could finish her sentence, a large commotion came from the sky.

Boom!

In the sky, a few hundred meteors broke through the atmosphere from different directions and shot toward the ground rapidly. The destination of all the meteors was the same and they all shot toward the Sanctuary.

It was an extremely majestic scene, and it was as though the end of the world had arrived. All the players and refugees in the Sanctuary raised their heads with immense shock.

A loud cry sounded.

Just what’s going on‽

Is DarkStar attacking again‽

Where’s the Godoran fleet‽

With the few hundred meteors tearing through the sky and rapidly approaching the Sanctuary, there was nowhere for them to hide. As the meteors approached the Sanctuary, it became obvious what those ‘meteors’ actually were!

All of those meteors were actually the Godoran battleships on standby outside the atmosphere!

Hu!

Just when the meteors were only a thousand meters away from the Sanctuary, their ferocious momentum halted, and they froze in midair.

All the Godoran battleships floated above the Sanctuary.

Ames then tilted her head and said to the dumbfounded Aurora and Hila, “Do you think I have the right?”

Catching the battleships with her force field was a piece of cake for Ames. She had the title of ‘Land Ripper’ after all!

“Hahaha.” Han Xiao lit a cigarette and laughed as he smoked with admiration in his eyes.

Ames is truly good at acting cool. Who would have thought that she was an expert in this field as well?

Looking up at the Godoran battleships, Han Xiao had a look of schadenfreude on his face. The fleet commander Barette is probably peeing his pants from fright at the moment.

Chapter 557: Successful Research. Taking the Initiative.

Twenty days had passed since the Godoran fleet suffered from their huge shock.

After that incident, everyone in the Godoran fleet had been living on edge. They did not even dare take too long in the toilet lest they followed in the footsteps of their commander and ended up with a face full of piss.

Thankfully, Ames had gone elsewhere to play, and even before she left Planet Aquamarine, Barette did not dare voice a single word of complaint to her.

Hila and Aurora did not leave together with Ames but stayed back on Planet Aquamarine to aid in the disaster relief operation.

However, they had already accepted Ames’ offer and had the title of ‘Dragon Emperor disciple’.

Ames understood the current circumstances of Planet Aquamarine and did not force the both of them to leave immediately. After the mutation disaster was over, Han Xiao would personally escort them to Floating Dragon.

After witnessing Ames’ strength, Hila understood the distance between herself and a top-notch expert. Experts were like clouds in the universe, and Hila clearly understood that she was still extremely weak and would not be able to protect her sister. Thus, she did not reject Ames’ good intentions. It could be said that paranoia was her greatest source of motivation to seek strength.

In truth, ever since Han Xiao returned, Hila had understood that her future could not be restricted to Planet Aquamarine, and she would have to step into a higher realm one day. Originally, she could not let go of her pride to follow Han Xiao into the galaxy with her little sister. However, Ames’ unexpected interference became her greatest opportunity.

Han Xiao approved of her decision. While Hila had great potential, her current strength could not keep up with him. If she trained under the Dragon Emperor, it should be extremely beneficial to unearthing her potential. She would then be able to grow rapidly and help him when the time came.

In the past month, the construction of his base had largely been completed. The players worked tirelessly day and night and remodeled the Sanctuary into a Main City.

The Main City region was a region within the inner region of the city. New cable lines were laid, and the energy core of the Sanctuary had also been changed into a stable galactic level reactor. The abundant energy source was directed into the protective shield that covered the entire Main City and the Electromagnetic Rail Cannon that was deployed in a six-sided star formation.

After days of laborious work, a portion of the Main City had been demarcated as the ‘Black Star Second Base’. Surrounding the Main City were the seven subsidiary cities constructed for the refugees. The size of the subsidiary cities was far larger than the Main City, and this region was named ‘Black Phantom Sanctuary’. The second base was far more technologically advanced than Planet Aquamarine, and it was impenetrable to any organization on Planet Aquamarine. Even if the Six Nations attacked together, they would not be able to do anything to the base.

The city plan was extremely obvious. It separated the city into the Black Star base, which was the inner city, and the refugees’ outer city. This was the preliminary form of the Black Star Mercenary Group’s base on Planet Aquamarine.

Because Han Xiao had sufficient funds, the majority of the base’s facility had been bought. The advantage of spending money was that it saved a great deal of time. Han Xiao also constructed another two assembly lines during his free time. One was an electromagnetic firearm with a decent strength for the players, and the other was a low-grade energy shield. Both were suitable for the players at their current level.

While the first base also had the assembly line for those two pieces of equipment, it was important for the second base to have some production as well to ensure that the goods would not be out of stock.

Currently, most of the players were above level 60 and had gone through the first Race Evolution. The players had begun leveling, which resulted in Han Xiao’s harvest of experience points being lowered. However, the wallets of the players had also became fatter. Enas had gradually begun to replace the local currency.

Other than Frenzied Sword and the others, the players also began to have some spare cash, and a small portion of the players had begun purchasing the goods in the faction store. In the past month, Han Xiao had received 380,000 Enas from the sale of his low-grade machinery.

While the total expenditure of the players was far lower than that of the experts who followed him into the galaxy, it was still a good start.

Taking away the expenditure used to construct the base, Han Xiao still had 4.8 million Enas left in savings.

Apart from those two events, the situation on Planet Aquamarine had been stable over the past month, and the storm in Godora did not seem to have affected Planet Aquamarine.

The second phase of the Mutation Disaster was slowly brought under control, and the mission progress of the Main Storyline mission rapidly increased. It seemed as though everything was getting better, but Han Xiao knew that this was only the calm before the storm.

Then, the change finally came.

Godora had come up with the antidote!

…

Nagakin escorted the antidote over in secret and immediately came to find Han Xiao.

“Black Star, the research department created an antidote based on the sample that you provided. Planet Aquamarine is one of the regions chosen to test the antidote.”

Nagakin took out his communicator and displayed a confidential document on the screen. Information on the antidote was recorded in the document, and he sent it over to Han Xiao to take a look.

After briefly glancing through it, Han Xiao’s eyes lit up. “Two types of antidote?”

“Yes, the research department discovered the modus operandi of the Mutation Source and detected a radioactive reaction in the Mutation Source’s ability. Thus, the first antidote that they created is a type of machine. It is able to disrupt the energy waves of the Mutation Source within a certain region and reduce the radioactive reaction of the Mutation Source. This will reduce the hormonal reaction of the infected individuals during their outbreak, which allows the infected individuals to control their actions during the outbreak of the virus. It can be understood as weakening the control that the Mutation Source has over the infected individuals.”

Han Xiao nodded. “This way, as long as we can install this machine, all the infected individuals within a certain radius won’t need the suppressant.”

The production of the suppressant was not able to satisfy the needs of the refugees. Furthermore, the suppressant could only be given to an individual, but Godora’s disruptor was able to suppress the virus within a fixed range, which was far more efficient. It could be said to resolve the present difficulty that they were facing.

“The second antidote is a type of injection, and its effect is to break down the molecular structure of the Mutation Source,” Nagakin said in a deep voice. “As long as it is injected into the Mutation Source, we will be able to destroy the Mutation Source!”

The picture on the information was a tube containing a white gel-like substance.

“Indeed…” Han Xiao’s eyes turned solemn.

The Mutation Source was capable of absorbing energy, and the majority of attacks had limited effectiveness. Its life force was extremely stubborn, and as long as it was not destroyed completely, it would be able to grow again. This injection was its nemesis, and it was able to destroy the internal balance of the Mutation Source and create a chain reaction to destroy its molecular structure from within.

The second antidote was the way to solve the problem at its roots!

In his previous life, the Mutation Source had grown to a considerably powerful level, and it had been able to convert its stored energy into combat strength. The players had worked together with the Godorans and fought the Mutation Source like they were fighting a Boss. While there was only a single opponent, the Mutation Source had been able to control a large number of infected beasts, and the scale of that battle had been extremely large.

Because of Han Xiao’s influence, the final battle was brought forward by a year, and the strength of the Mutation Source was far from his previous life. This meant that the difficulty of the [Mutation Disaster] mission had dropped greatly!

“This means that our mission is to find the Mutation Source on Planet Aquamarine. However, this is like finding a needle in a haystack. Do you have any other ideas?” Han Xiao asked.

“Yes! Apart from the two antidotes, the research department also created a detector to detect the Mutation Source’s energy waves! As long as the Mutation Source is within two thousand meters for more than ten seconds, the detector will be able to lock onto the location of the Mutation Source. Jeez, time is limited, and the research department was only able to create such a detector.”

Nagakin took out a palm sized detector that looked like a radioactive detector.

Han Xiao took the detector and mused, “While it is only able to lock onto its target within two thousand meters, it is still much better than searching blindly. Eh? The structure of this detector seems very simple.”

“Yes, after understanding the workings of the Mutation Source, it was extremely easy to create this detector. The cost is not too high.”

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up, and he caught the scent of a new business opportunity. “That’s great! Get the research department to send me the blueprint. I shall create detectors in bulk and issue them to the Inhumans. Then, I will get them to spread out across the entire planet to carry out a large-scale search!”

“Wouldn’t it be faster to send out a spaceship?” Nagakin asked with doubt.

“Not necessarily.” Han Xiao shook his head. “The detector only reacts within two thousand meters, and it can be seen as a sphere with a two-thousand-meter radius. With an increase in altitude, the detection radius will decrease. At an altitude of two thousand meters, only the tip of the sphere will be left. The spaceship will have to fly at a very low altitude for the detector to be effective. Furthermore, the detector will only be able to lock onto the Mutation Source after ten seconds, so the spaceship has to continue flying at a low altitude. And don’t forget that the Mutation Source is able to move.

“In comparison, why not gather manpower to perform a search on the ground? Apart from the Inhumans, the army of the Six Nations can also help. Only then can we ensure that not a single region will be missed.”

Nagakin was stunned for a moment. He felt as though something was wrong but also felt as though Han Xiao’s words made sense. Thus, he nodded and said, “Then let’s just do as you’ve said.”

Han Xiao revealed a smile as he heard that.

All this while, the Sanctuary and Godora could only react passively to the Mutation Disaster and were completely helpless before the Mutation Source. This time, everything was different.

With those three new items, Godora could finally go on the offensive and end the Mutation Disaster!

I’ve been waiting for this day! Han Xiao’s eyes glowed sharply.

…

Two days later, the Sanctuary and Six Nations had completed their setup of the equipment to suppress the Mutation Source. They had finally broken free from their reliance on the suppressant, and the most recent virus outbreak proved the effectiveness of the equipment.

While the infected individuals would still have the various different emotions, their rationality would prevail. Those who had a stronger will would be able to suppress the impulse that they felt during the outbreak of the virus.

Furthermore, a strong will was the current specialty of the Planet Aquamarine citizens, who were currently going through a disaster.

The refugees finally had a sense of security and no longer lived in fear. While the Mutation Disaster had not been completely resolved, the citizens of Planet Aquamarine finally saw the hope of overcoming the Mutation Disaster.

The happiest individual was naturally Emerald Grass. She no longer had to work overtime to grow the raw materials of the suppressant and could relax.

After relaxing, Emerald Grass could finally see the bright smile on the faces of the refugees. At the same time, those smiles seemed to tug on her heartstrings, and she could finally see how many lives she had saved through her actions.

Such a feeling made her feel extremely special and warm.

Bennett and the leaders of the Six Nations could also heave a sigh of relief. They did not know of the fact that Han Xiao was the one who had provided the sample and thought that everything was a result of Godora’s effort. As such, they all expressed their gratitude to Nagakin and the other members of the disaster relief squad.

This made Nagakin feel extremely awkward. The person with the greatest merit was a member of Planet Aquamarine, but all of them had actually run over to thank him!

However, he still made sure to keep Han Xiao’s actions a secret.

In the eyes of the players, the storyline was not that complicated at all. They only knew that Godora had suddenly developed a piece of equipment to suppress the virus, which caused the difficulty of the Main Storyline Mission to fall greatly.

At this moment, the Black Star Mercenary Group suddenly issued a mission that attracted the attention of all the players.

_____________________

[Mutation Source]

Mission Introduction: The Mutation Disaster is the source of the calamity, and the unknown fate of the planet has caused everyone to live in fear. Finally, the day that everyone has been waiting for has arrived. Black Star found the method to solve the Mutation Disaster at its roots, and we need your help.

Mission Requirements: You will be placed in a random location on Planet Aquamarine. You are to use the detector to find the location of the Mutation Source on Planet Aquamarine and inform the Black Star Mercenary Group.

Mission Reward: 1,050,000 Experience, 10,000 Enas, +1500 Black Star Mercenary Group Favorability, Sunil NCO Class armor x1

Note: This mission will affect the progress of [Mutation Disaster] Main Storyline Mission and greatly increase the mission progress of [Mutation Disaster].

_____________________

“My goodness! The reward of this mission is so high!”

“10,000 Enas‽ Oh my goodness!”

“We are still able to affect the Main Storyline Mission progress? It seems like this is a very important mission!”

“Is this a sign that the Mutation Disaster storyline is about to end?”

This mission set off huge waves on the Planet Aquamarine forum, and all the players were immediately fired up!

At the players’ current level, the reward of this mission was truly too high!

The total reward that Han Xiao could give out grew rapidly together with the strength and size of his mercenary group!

The million or so experience points were already stunning, but this was not the main point. The main point was the 10,000 Enas that were akin to more than a hundred daily missions!

Not just that, the Favorability points of the Black Star Mercenary Group were also extremely valuable, and there was even NCO Class armor. This was equipment that the players who had followed Black Star into the galaxy were wearing! All the players had long been extremely envious!

Such plentiful reward had truly excited all the players.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that this was the mission with the highest reward that they had even seen.

Practical rewards were far more useful than a long mission introduction. The players all charged into the Black Star Mercenary Group base to accept the reward, and the door almost burst apart.

Very quickly, players found out that the [Mutation Source] mission required a special device that could be bought in the faction store. This time, everyone could purchase this equipment.

The players all opened the faction store excitedly to find their target. Very quickly, the introduction of the equipment entered their eyes.

_____________________

Mutation Source Detector: You will be able to lock onto the position of the Mutation Source if you are within two thousand meters from it for ten seconds.

Price: 3 Enas

Chapter 558: Fight for Time

It had only been a short time since the players began earning Enas, and their funds were limited. The players who could afford to buy equipment from Han Xiao were relatively rich.

However, regardless of how small their savings were, taking out three Enas was no problem at all. Many of the players did not have enough money to buy equipment, but they would definitely be able to afford the ‘cheap’ detector. Those poor players were Han Xiao’s targets. Even if they could not afford a nine-course meal that cost thousands, they would be able to afford a simple bowl of soup that cost a few dollars.

Han Xiao intentionally set the reward of the mission to be extremely high to create the possibility effect in all of the players. This was just like buying a lottery ticket. When Nagakin described the detector to him, Han Xiao had already sensed the great opportunity.

While he could choose to provide the detector for free and issue it to the players automatically when they accepted the mission, what was the point of doing so? With the opportunity to make money being presented before him, how could he not seize the opportunity to harvest the players? The Great Mechanic Han would have let himself down if he did not do so.

The mission reward was a full 10,000 Enas. However, as long as enough players accepted the mission, not only would he be able to recover his costs, it would be possible for him to make a profit of over a thousand percent!

Three Enas was not much, but the players did not know that the cost of the materials was actually very low. As long as he had the blueprint, the detector could be completed with the most ordinary materials. In truth, this price was already ridiculously high, and it was almost akin to making profits without any cost! Han Xiao was extremely clear that this situation was necessary. As long as he kept the core technology in his hands and monopolized the knowledge, making money was an extremely easy affair. This money-making method was one that would be effective even at the national and civilization level.

Ordinarily speaking, even if the players could afford the 3 Enas, they would not buy such an item because the cost of the detector was far too low. However, the current situation was completely different. Because the detector was a mission essential, the detector suddenly seemed much more valuable. Using 3 Enas in exchange for a chance to earn 10,000 Enas seemed extremely worth it.

Everyone knew that the chance was slim, but many of them wanted to try their luck. Before truly experiencing failure, they all had that trace of hope in their hearts and felt that they might be the lucky one.

To the players, they only had to pay a small price, and there was no price for them to pay if they failed. Under such circumstances, many players were naturally willing to take the gamble.

Phillip quickly handled all of the payments, and the stock of detectors depleted rapidly. Han Xiao could see the balance in his account increasing rapidly.

5 million… 5.2 million… 5.4 million…

It only began slowing down after 5.4 million Enas.

“I earned about 600,000, which means about 200,000 players bought the detector. Hmm, the stock of the detectors should be depleted soon, but the production process of the detector is extremely simple, so the assembly line can start anytime.”

Making use of the temptation of 10,000 Enas to get back so much more in profit. The margin was truly too good, and after eating this fat piece of meat, Han Xiao felt completely content. He already had enough to repay the debt. Of course, it was impossible for him to repay it now as he could use the money to grow more money.

Almost twenty percent of the players had chosen to take this gamble. Not everyone enjoyed gambling, and the majority of players did not join in the fun. However, the guilds definitely would not let go of this opportunity. Han Xiao loved such players who had ambition.

Han Xiao sent out ten or so spaceships under his charge, and all the players who accepted the mission were sent to the various regions of Planet Aquamarine. However, those few players were like a drop in the ocean compared to the size of Planet Aquamarine. Nevertheless, through Phillip’s planning of all the player’s search radius, together with the 2,000 meter radius of the detector, the efficiency of the search was not too low.

However, luck still played a huge role.

Not just the players, the Six Nations also sent out their armies to search for the Mutation Source and received a batch of detectors. However, those detectors were provided for free.

With the solution in their hands, be it Bennett, the Six Nations, or Godora, they were all extremely anxious to resolve the Mutation Disaster. As long as the trial on Planet Aquamarine succeeded, Godora would be able to wipe out the Mutation Disaster on the other ten or so calamity planets, and their internal mess would be resolved.

The hype of searching for the Mutation Source swept over Planet Aquamarine, and apart from land, the sea was also being searched. The navy of the Six Nations searched the seas, and Godora’s spaceship didn’t remain idle either, diving down into the deep sea to search for the Mutation Source. This was a region that the land forces would not be able to reach. Furthermore, the ferocious sea creatures underwater would not be able to cause any damage to the spaceship.

The entire planet sprang into action and conducted a thorough search of the planet!

“Who knows how long we will take to find the Mutation Source? It shouldn’t take too long, right?”

In the office of the Black Star second base, Han Xiao shook his leg and looked at the projected Planet Aquamarine map on his communicator. At that moment, there were plenty of green lights on the map, which represented every single detector moving around.

He had improved the detector, and the moment any of the detectors locked onto the position of the Mutation Source, the coordinates would automatically be sent to him.

In the past, the players and Godorans had been the main force to deal with the Mutation Source.

But now, in order to prevent accidents and to save time…

Han Xiao had decided…

He would take action personally!

…

“Just what is with the people on Planet Aquamarine? Why are they suddenly searching all around the planet as though they are looking for something? Could it be that they are looking for the Mutation Source?”

In some corner of Planet Aquamarine, the DarkStar force that was in hiding noticed the strange actions of those on Planet Aquamarine and could not help but be shocked.

“There is this possibility. However, the entire planet is so large. How will they be able to find it?”

“We cannot rule out this possibility. It can’t be that they created equipment to help search for the Mutation Source, right?”

“We can’t be sure yet. Record it for now.”

“If they continue with their search, there is a chance of them finding our hiding spot. Godora’s fleet is outside the atmosphere, and we won’t be able to retreat. Our situation is extremely dangerous.”

The members of the DarkStar squad fell silent. When they received their mission, they had all known that chance of survival was slim and could only pray that their disguise would not be seen through. Their small spaceship was currently disguised as a rock, and there was a certain degree of concealment.

Every calamity planet had a small team to report on the planet’s developments.

“We should just report this matter to our higher ups anyway,” the captain, who was the only Grade B Super, said.

…

The report of the Planet Aquamarine squad passed through many hands before finally entering the hands of the upper echelons. However, Degulish and the head of the intelligence department only briefly went through it before placing the report to the side.

This was not the first time that those on the calamity planets had tried to search for the Mutation Source. The way Degulish saw it, it was no more than a waste of time, and such a report was of no significance.

Godora had managed to maintain a high level of confidentiality, and news of them developing an antidote had not slipped out. They kept up with appearances and pretended to be extremely anxious and fatigued.

Thus, DarkStar did not notice anything out of the blue and was kept in the dark.

Degulish naturally was not be able to see any problems from the report of the squad left on Planet Aquamarine. His attention was not on the calamity planets but on another important event.

During this period of time, DarkStar was preparing for their next step, and Degulish’s attention was focused on this matter.

Their target this time was Planet Golden Gate!

Planet Golden Gate was a Grade A colony planet and was located near Juberly Hub. Furthermore, Juberly Hub was the central transportation hub that led to the different Star Zones and Star Systems. Thus, Planet Golden Gate was like Godora’s bridgehead and had strategic importance. At the same time, the security was extremely tight.

This time, DarkStar’s plan was not just to massacre the inhabitants of the planet but to destroy the entire planet!

Without Planet Golden Gate, the Godoran fleet would waste more time traveling to the various Star Zones.

“As long as this mission is a success, we will be able to severely wound Godora and create even more fear!”

Degulish’s eyes glowed ferociously.

The assault was a very important part of their plan, and the DarkStar leader had allowed him to mobilize more than half of their fleet!

They were truly going all out!

Coincidentally, Black Star’s base was also on Planet Golden Gate. In the past, they did not destroy the base due to considerations for their plan. Now that they no longer had to be wary, they could destroy it to their heart’s content.

At the meeting table, a figure who was half concealed in the shadows asked, “Are you in charge of this operation?”

Degulish glanced at him and said in a deep voice, “That’s right. Including you, everyone participating in the mission has to listen to my orders regardless of their rank and status.”

This figure leaned forward, and his face was revealed from the shadows. He was Ember. The aura emanating from him was even colder than before. After massacring millions in their previous operation, he had become extremely silent, making everyone wary of him.

During the Noriosse incident, Degulish had once mocked Ember for returning in defeat, but now, he did not wish to provoke Ember. This was the deterrent effect of massacring millions.

“Call me when you take action.” Ember nodded slowly. He then stood up and left the meeting room, not bothering about the fact that the meeting was not over.

Looking at Ember’s back, Degulish began to frown, and the other upper echelons looked at each other with a strange look in their eyes.

Ever since the Long Arc massacre, Ember’s personality had slightly changed. He had become extremely cold, and even the upper echelons could not grasp his thoughts.

“Then let the meeting end here,” Degulish said without allowing any disagreement. “The fleet is already on their way, and we shall attack Planet Golden Gate in three days!”

Chapter 559: Storm. Lock On.

The following day at dawn, a thunderstorm was raging in the wilderness of the Western Continent.

Dark clouds covered the skies, and rain poured down madly. The sky was beginning to turn bright and darkness was being chased away by the light. The vision of anyone there would be blocked by the thick layer of fog and the merciless pouring rain.

Looking down from the skies, one would be able to see countless beasts roaming around the wilderness in stupefying numbers. There were many different species of beasts, and there were some beasts that were more than ten meters in size. Occasionally, the beasts would tangle with each other, rolling around in the mud as they fought. At the same time, skeletons of beast remains could be seen littered all over the place.

Near the periphery of the group of beasts, a player was currently prone on the peak of the mountain, stealthily overlooking the huge herd of beasts.

His ID was ‘Nine Tail Fox’, and he was a core member of Drizzling Rivers. After accepting the [Mutation Source] mission, he had coincidentally found this herd of beasts.

The herd of beasts stretched across more than ten kilometers, and it was truly a sight to behold. The detector was not able to detect the situation within the basin, so Nine Tail Fox was currently thinking of a plan. It was not realistic for him to even attempt sneaking into the herd of beasts. However, he was a Mechanic and had a small, remote-controlled unmanned drone that he had bought from the Six Nations.

“If the target is within the herd of beasts, it’ll be a huge waste if I miss it. Isn’t it just a remote-controlled drone? So what if I lose it! I shall gamble!”

Nine Tail Fox took out a small remote-controlled drone and tied the detector onto the body of the drone. The drone then flew up thirty meters and entered the herd of beasts.

The rain was a natural concealment, and the beasts on the outer rim did not notice the drone flying over their heads.

The drone slowly infiltrated the herd of beasts, and after flying for a while, a gluey, black substance struck the drone like a cannon. The drone was instantly knocked out of the sky and fell into a puddle of muddy water.

Clank!

The next moment, the black substance tangled up the drone and rapidly contracted, crushing the drone into smithereens. The detector, which was not able to complete its lock on, was also crushed together.

The black Mutation Source walked out from the herd of beasts, and the beasts around this black figure did not seem to see it. At the same time, the drone was absorbed into the thigh of the black figure as it walked past the drone.

“It was destroyed by something?”

Doubt plastered Nine Tail Fox’s face. His control panel displayed a black screen. When the drone was knocked out of the sky, the image from the drone had been cut off. Just when he was pondering over what had happened, the disorganized beasts suddenly stood up in unison and looked in the direction of Nine Tail Fox.

Their growls sounded like thunder!

“My goodness! I’ve been found!”

Nine Tail Fox was momentarily startled before immediately turning around to run. A black bolt of lightning flashed past and blocked his way.

“What is this? Why is it so fast?” Nine Tail Fox was shocked. The black figure in front of him had a human-like physique and a well-built figure. His entire body was completely black like ink, with his skin being slightly reflective, and not a single strand of hair could be seen on it. At first glance, Nine Tail Fox thought that this was a wax figurine of some important character.

I am at level 62, but I actually can’t even see this monster’s movements clearly? Nine Tail Fox was shocked and immediately threw out a Detect.

_____________________

Mutation Source: Half Mature (Red Name)

Level: ?

Type: ?

Danger scale: Fatally Dangerous

Note: Target is the source of the [Mutation Disaster] Main Storyline.

_____________________

Found it!

Nine Tail Fox’s eyes lit up.

However, before he could even react, the Mutation Source shot out a black substance from his arm as though his entire arm was detached. The black substance wrapped around his waist and contracted rapidly the next moment, crushing everything below his waist and dealing more than ten digits of damage to him. His health was instantly reduced by half, and the negative status of being crippled also appeared.

Thankfully, the bodies of the players were special, and they blocked all sense of pain. If not, Nine Tail Fox would have had to join the eunuchs already.

In this life and death moment, Nine Tail Fox did not bother about the Mutation Source’s attacks and threw out a spare detector.

One would be able to carry out the mission by buying a single detector, but Han Xiao did not limit the number of detectors that the players could buy. The detector could be damaged, and a small portion of players had bought more than one detector. Coincidentally, Nine Tail Fox was one of those players!

The next moment, his health was depleted, and Nine Tail Fox let out a crazed burst of laughter before he turned into a ball of white light.

“Hahaha, this daddy here got the top prize!”

As long as he completed the mission, so what if he died once?

The Mutation Source retracted his arm and seemed to be puzzled about why there was no corpse. The Mutation Source then stood where Nine Tail Fox had disappeared and fell into a daze. As for the detector that was buried in the mud, it was completely ignored by him.

In the mud, the numbers on the detector shot up, and they finally broke the limit. This electromagnetic current was then sent out wirelessly.

At the same time, all the players on Planet Aquamarine received a notification on their interface.

_____________________

[Mutation Source] has ended.

Mission completed by Nine Tail Fox.

_____________________

All around the world, many players were dumbfounded.

“This… it has only been a day, but the mission is over‽”

“Who is Nine Tail Fox?”

“I know him. He’s a core member of Drizzling Rivers.”

The players broke out in fervent discussion. The end of the mission was truly too abrupt, and the others did not even get a consolation prize. The speed at which their dreams had shattered was too frightening.

However, they had only paid a small price, so the players were not too disappointed. They were only extremely envious of Nine Tail Fox.

Drizzling Rivers immediately questioned Nine Tail Fox and issued a guild notice of the Mutation Source’s coordinates. With the mission being over, the coordinates were not important anymore. To a guild, announcing this piece of unimportant information to everyone was the best way to earn goodwill.

All the players began to flock toward the basin. While they had failed the mission, according to the mission introduction, there would definitely be a part two to the quest. None of them were willing to miss out on this.

The players on the other continents were extremely helpless. It was not possible for them to cross over the ocean in such a short amount of time. However, those on the Western Continent could seize the advantage.

All the players took out their mobility equipment or sprinted toward the basin. Very quickly, a few hundred players were gathered around the basin, and they all kept their distance from the herd of beasts.

Among the spectating players, there were quite a few players who were from guilds. The guild leader of Guild of Gods, Jupiter, was also present.

“Guild Leader, what should we do next? Should we attack the herd of beasts?” a member of the Guild of Gods asked.

“After finding the Mutation Source,” Jupiter replied, “a battle will definitely follow. We should have the chance to participate in the storyline as well and will probably gain progress on the Main Storyline Mission.”

Looking at the players in the surrounding, Jupiter decided to organize them into groups and shouted for their attention.

“Everyone, this is probably the Boss of the Mutation Disaster Storyline. All of you have seen that the number of enemies is immense, and a single guild won’t be enough. It would be best for us to work together and not rashly provoke the herd of beasts. We should wait for more people to join us…”

There was nothing wrong with those words. In the face of the endless number of beasts before them, the numbers that they had were far from sufficient. All the players understood this and nodded in agreement upon hearing those words.

At that moment, before Jupiter could even finish his proposal, a loud swooshing sound was heard from the sky.

Rumble!

The few hundred players by the basin subconsciously looked up and saw the BlackLight Stealth slice through the sky and hover above the basin.

“That’s… that’s Black Star!”

The few hundred players were shocked.

Chapter 560: Boss Mission

The hatch of the BlackLight Stealth opened, and Han Xiao, clad in a black windbreaker, appeared in front of everyone. Due to the distance, he appeared like a little black dot, not unlike an ant.

Han Xiao’s body flashed, and the players only saw a black dot fly right into the middle of the beast horde.

Boom!

The next instant, the center of the beast horde exploded outward in a shock wave, raising a wave of muddy black soil. The rain around turned into mist.

The dozens of beasts clustered at his landing point were blown away, tossed hundreds of meters outward, slamming into other beasts.

Boom boom boom!

The beasts fell to the ground one after another, rolling about on the earth, sporting bedraggled looks.

The four giant mechanical hands interlocked with each other, fingers opened and palms facing down. From afar, it looked like a golden lotus, and Han Xiao was standing on top of said golden lotus.

The ground was blasted full of craters, and Han Xiao’s surroundings turned into a no-man’s land.

The surrounding beasts immediately snarled toward Han Xiao, the breath released by their noses appearing like smoke in the cold rainy weather. Their claws and hooves struck the ground repeatedly, but none of them dared pounce forward. They could only express their dissatisfaction to this unwelcome guest.

“It’s only been a few minutes. He came really fast!”

“There’s indeed a sequel to this Storyline. Black Star is personally going into battle!”

The players received a boost to their morale. Ever since Black Star returned, the number of times that he had actually stepped up personally was too small—just how strong had he become? This was the greatest suspicion in the hearts of the players. Many of them immediately opened up their video recording function, wanting to broadcast it to the forums for the benefit of the masses.

The thousands of players who were unable to personally be there on scene observed through the forums. Countless eyes were concentrated on Han Xiao, anxious and expectantly looking at his every move.

“I’ve finally found you. To think that you had assembled a body… huh, why do you look so familiar?”

Han Xiao’s gaze extended past all the beasts, locking onto the physical body of the Mutation Source. His face displayed some shock, as he found that the appearance of the mutation source was a little familiar, as though he had seen it before.

His thoughts spun. Those facial expressions, those eyebrows, that physique… why did they looked like the screwed up Germinal Organization Leader? He was probably imagining things.

“I know you…” The Mutation Source opened its mouth, speaking slowly. Its tone was strange, very foreign sounding.

Being able to manipulate the infected was the instinct and nature of the Mutation Source, similar to how a normal person could move their limbs. Having matured to this point, the Mutation Source could gather the infected with a purpose, and all the beasts surrounding it were its ‘army’.

The Mutation Source had its own independent thoughts and was able to perceive the surroundings through the sensory organs of every infected. With most of the refugees of the shelter often coming across Han Xiao, it was not surprising that the Mutation Source could recognize him.

“Woah, you can even talk!” Han Xiao was overjoyed.

“A part of my senses… they are dulled… was it done by you? Why… why do you wish to hurt me?”

The talking of the Mutation Source was intermittent. With the suppression device from Godora in effect, a large portion of the infected in the area were unable to be controlled, nullifying its ability. This was akin to the paralysis of one’s limbs, making it less ‘flexible’ than before. As such, it had become dull and harder to manipulate.

In its thoughts, those who robbed it of its sensory organs were all its enemies, but it felt a little wronged. It was merely moving in accordance to how nature dictated it to behave and did not understand why there were people trying to hurt it.

Han Xiao flashed forward, quick as lightning, and slammed his fist into the head of the Mutation Source. He was not interested in answering its questions. The Mutation Source had to be eradicated, and thus, there was no need for pleasantries with it.

At the point of contact, mechanical components unfolded along his arm. His fist turned into an alloyed fist that was more than a meter large, bursting with blue electric sparks.

The fist connected with the target, and at the nexus, a ring of water was blasted outward.

Bang!

The features of the Mutation Source were smashed flat, and akin to a baseball being hit during the home run, it flew far outward.

“Roar!”

The next moment, the Mutation Source decisively infused every beast with the feeling of anger, and the eyes of every beast present turned bloodshot as they went on a rampage!

Taking advantage of this short period of respite, Han Xiao took a glance on interface that provided the enemy’s data. His eyes narrowed.

The Mutation Source is only half-mature and is poles apart from its final form. Its attributes have been completely crushed by me. This is good news, but that guy is considered a special lifeform, and in addition, it possesses a Boss template.

Even though its level is only at 75, its HP has reached 12,000! Furthermore, it still has the similar talents as the storyline in my previous life. This makes it harder to kill….

_____________________

[Super Cell Proliferation Control]: Able to use energy to increase its cells and recover from damage.

Energy values can be converted into HP with a ratio of 1:10

Recovery rate capped at 50% of total HP/second 1 .

_____________________

[Efficient Energy Absorption]: When subject to any physical, energy, magical, or other attacks, a portion of the damage offset by the resistance will be converted into energy value.

_____________________

[Ability—Special Substance Lifeform]: Damage received is reduced by 75%

_____________________

Those three abilities were the talents of the Mutation Source. They were all Molding Abilities 1 , which gave the Mutation Source extremely tenacious vitality.

The damage done to it previously by the punch was recovered in the blink of an eye. Furthermore, the first talent made its recovery ability frighteningly strong. With enough energy, it could technically recover 6,000 HP in a second!

As for the other two talents, they were meant to provide it with sufficient energy. In theory, if an attack dealt 100 damage, the Mutation Source would only receive 25 damage, and the 75 damage nullified would be added to it as energy. This energy value was fundamentally the lifeline of the Mutation Source.

Converted to HP, the Mutation Source would suffer from 25 damage but would be able to heal 750 HP!

Without the Destruction Serum invented by the Godorans, unless one could deal more than 6,000 damage in a second or kill it in one blow, the Mutation Source was practically unkillable.

Nagakin had mentioned that the serum would be able to insta-kill the Mutation Source, but that was the ideal theoretical outcome of the research. In reality, the Mutation Source would not die just by jabbing it once.

In his previous life, Han Xiao recalled that one injection of the serum would reduce the upper limit of the Mutation Source’s HP by 25%, and the three Molding Abilities would also be weakened by half. This was also equivalent to weakening the Mutation Source.

Taking the previous theoretical 100 damage, the Mutation Source would now receive 62.5 points of damage and have the ability to recover 187.5 points of HP, as well as only up to 25% of its total health per second.

If the serum was injected once more, the Mutation Source would be further weakened, and only during the third injection would the Mutation Source collapse. Han Xiao had always felt that it was a problem with the dosage, but with only one opportunity for the decisive battle, there was no chance for trial and error.

In the future, the Mutation Disaster would become a dungeon released by Godora. However, the serum used would still be a necessary item, with its dosage already fixed. The players were unable to transform it privately.

The dose in Han Xiao’s hand had already been fixed, and it would not be an easy job to change its components.

The moment the Mutation Source was sent flying by Han Xiao, the spectating players also received a Grade B Mission—[Destroy the Source]!

This was the Boss Mission that came with the Main Storyline of the Mutation Disaster. This was the decisive mission and had appeared a whole year earlier compared to Han Xiao’s previous lifetime.

Similarly, it was Han Xiao who had triggered his mission.

The base reward of the mission [Destroy the Source] would be 800,000 experience. The mission requirements were simple—to deal with the Mutation Source and its beast horde. The more beasts that were killed, the higher the evaluation, and thus the chance of obtaining an extra reward.

As for the character that killed the Mutation Source, they would receive the highest rating. The mission introduction mentioned this point but did not state the corresponding reward.

However, Han Xiao was aware that, because only one person could achieve this, the reward was extremely generous. One of the rewards was actually the chance to obtain two of the skills or talents of the Mutation Source.

In his previous lifetime, the various guilds had fought against each other openly and secretly, all aiming for the final hit. Finally, it was Dynasty’s King Admiral who had taken its head.

However, Han Xiao could only apologize in advance to King Admiral.

The last hit reward was something that he had to get!

Chapter 561: Mechanical Beast Guards Army!

The battle started!

Numerous beasts surrounded Han Xiao, and they flashed their teeth and claws as they pounced toward him. Han Xiao changed the posture of his hands, connecting four of the giant machine hands with Mechanical Force. His twenty giant fingers turned into cannon barrels.

Boom!

The light cannons wildly shot, and even the misty fog was evaporated by the high temperature. The surrounding beasts were riddled with holes and fell continuously. Their blood flowed into the mud, turning into a viscous, nasty-smelling liquid.

For a brief moment, no beasts could approach Han Xiao.

However, the number of beasts numbered above ten thousand, stretching out endlessly. Under the control of the Mutation Source, the beasts were whipped into a frenzy. Other than Han Xiao, who was surrounded by the beasts, the hundred odd players also turned into live targets.

The beast horde rushed out to attack, roaring continuously. The ground shook as they stampeded over, the sound of their roars covering even the sound of the heavy downpour.

Because Han Xiao had brought the storyline forward significantly, the Mutation Source had become much weaker. Thus, the current beast horde was much smaller than in his previous life. However, this also indirectly caused the number of players available to also be smaller, with only a population of a few hundred. The boss battle against the Mutation Source was supposed to be an all-out war, yet it had turned into a sudden encounter with only a few elites involved!

The expressions of Jupiter and the others changed as the surging tide of the beast horde drew closer rapidly. When compared to the huge beast tide, those people felt insignificant, as though they could be swallowed up in the wave at any time.

When the boss battle mission had successfully been triggered in the information interface, each of the few hundred players had actually hoped to be the one to kill the Mutation Source. However, in the face of this avalanche-like beast horde, all their fantasies were ruthlessly crushed.

Are you kidding? With so few of us, we cannot even break through the beast horde. How can we even go against the Boss of this Mutation Disaster‽

A large portion of the players felt their hearts tighten as a feeling akin to that of a mantis attempting to stop a cart appeared in them. They felt weak, helpless, and pitiful. An urge to retreat rose unbidden within them.

The lion beast that was at the forefront opened its bloody maw, showcasing its sharp and ferocious teeth. A putrid stench wafted over as it readied to pounce.

Clank!

Suddenly, the clanking of machinery silenced even the sound of the heavy downpour. The next instant, countless artillery and gunfire bombarded the inner area of the beast horde. The glare of the fire seemed to chase after the gloomy darkness caused by the overcast clouds, illuminating the faces of the players.

The beasts that were originally running toward the players stopped and turned behind to look. The players took the opportunity to run a little further. As they looked back in surprise, every one of their mouths dropped.

They only saw that within the center of the horde, 4,000 to 5,000 machines had materialized. There were hundreds of flying turrets in the sky and densely packed mechanical beasts on the ground—such as the Black Panther series, the Spider series, the Crawler Tank series, and many more. All of them were moving in a fluid manner, as though they were true creatures. From afar, they resembled a colony of armored ants.

The beasts closest to the steel army were shredded without exception, and no one else dared get in close proximity to them. Metal and flesh stood in opposition of each other, with the eight Oathkeepers guarding Han Xiao in a ring-shaped formation. The raindrops splashed off their armor, creating a wet luster.

“Do you think that only you have an army?”

The corners of Han Xiao’s mouth hooked up, and his energy built an invisible cover above him, blocking the rain and flowing outward, such that even his clothes remained dry. Compared to the roaring beasts, the mechanical beasts around him were cold and silent, like elite soldiers who followed instructions precisely.

A distance away, the Mutation Source stood on the back of a ten-meter-tall mammoth, unmoving. The facial features that were originally flattened had once again reappeared. Even it was shocked by this change.

A year ago, Han Xiao had obtained a loan from the Noriosse Financial Group, lining his pockets with money. Other than building his base, he had also expanded his mechanical army. The 4,000 or so troops standing there were his current mechanic army… but this was only a part of the complete force!

Its name was his Mechanical Beast Guards Army!

“Are… are all of these his machines‽”

“F*ck me, this is the true opening style of the Mechanic!”

“My goodness, give me a slap to wake me up!”

Hundreds of players rubbed their eyes, looking on with an expression of shock. In the blink of an eye, how come there were so many more machines around Han Xiao?

The group of people suddenly realized that this could be the first time since returning that Black Star had shown his cards!

Regardless of whether it was the hundreds of players present or the tens of thousands of players on the forums, everyone had the same thoughts.

This is the true style of the Mechanic!

One person is equivalent to an entire legion!

On the forums, all the Mechanic players were staring with sparkling eyes. They had already set Han Xiao as their role model, and they were determined to build their own mechanic army.

So what if it’s a money burner? The style points for this are through the sky!

Let’s not even talk about being strong. If one does not spend money, even appearing handsome would not be possible!

It was unknown, however, just how many players were pushed into the abyss of poverty just by this scene.

“Go, my children.” Han Xiao spoke lightly as he activated the legion.

Boom!

The Mechanic Army powered up in an instant, throwing themselves into the beast horde as though they were smashing into bamboo. With various attacking methods, they forcefully carved out gaps within the horde of beasts. The levitating artillery also reacted, firing lasers everywhere. With their strong penetrative power, the era of gunpowder and electromagnetic weapons paled in comparison.

The Void Dragon Mechanical suit covered Han Xiao’s body, and its propulsion system at the back spurted out a long tail of flames. Han Xiao broke through the curtain of rain like a rocket, instantly rushing to the back where the Mutation Source was standing on the mammoth’s body. The thrusters on the soles of his feet erupted, and the biochemical muscles around his leg swelled, delivering a ruthless knee strike to the abdomen of the Mutation Source.

His knee was buried deep in the abdomen of the Mutation Source, a force enough to break through the strength of a building concentrated within that small area. A shockwave radiated from the point of contact.

Boom!

The body of the Mutation Source curled up like a cooked shrimp. The next second, it resembled a released arrow, shooting up into the sky!

Bending his legs, Han Xiao threw himself up as well. The force from his jump was delivered to the mammoth below him, and it screamed in pain, slamming into the mud below it.

Han Xiao quickly caught up to the Mutation Source whom he kicked high up. A mechanical hand unfolded, assembling into a drill that pierced deep into the chest of the Mutation Source. It lay skewered on the drill. However, despite how severe the injury looked, it had no effect on the Mutation Source.

“This sort of attack… has no effect on me…”

The Mutation Source remained expressionless, mumbling passively as though stating a fact.

The left hand of Han Xiao opened up into a claw shape, with conical needle like tubes poking out of his fingertips. The five fingers viciously pierced onto the face of the Mutation Source, and as the needles penetrated, they released the Destruction Serum through the tubes, injecting it into the body of the Mutation Source.

Bang!

The Mutation Source exploded completely as though it was an overfilled water balloon, spraying out everywhere. It was as though the rain had turned black all of a sudden. With the internal skeleton exposed, it was quickly torn apart by the rotating mechanical drill.

The majority of the black tar like substance disintegrated into a molecular level before it could touch the ground, disappearing without a trace.

As for the remaining parts of the Mutation Source, it splashed into the muddy water, reverting to its original slime form. It sprayed out more slime, constructing its simulated body from scratch once again. However, without an internal skeleton, the process was a lot more difficult. It took a long time for a human shape to be restored. Although it could not show any expressions, its fear could not be hidden.

“Urgh… what happened? You… what have you done‽”

Within its ink black body, white lines could be seen radiating around it, like tiny snakes swimming around. Now that the first injection had taken effect, the Mutation Source discovered that its ability was greatly suppressed. During the instant in which it had been injected, it had lost its connection to all the infected people. It could remember this sort of deep darkness from when it had just been born, without any external senses to manipulate.

There was a moment where all the raging beasts were free from the control of the Mutation Source. Their anger and fury had dissipated, causing them to regain clarity. However, this only lasted for a few seconds before the Mutation Source regained its strength and reasserted its control. However, its control intensity was reduced, and it could detect that it had lost a lot of energy, becoming weaker.

In its short life, it had felt the taste of fear for the first time.

The eight Oathkeepers around Han Xiao were like barriers, separating the beast horde and preventing the Mutation Source from receiving support. Han Xiao landed near the Mutation Source, and looking at its expression, he felt as though he was beating up a small child.

The upper arm of his mechanical suit revealed a cylindrical recess, and the empty serum tube was ejected, dropping into the mud.

Looking at the stats of the enemy, Han Xiao’s brows furrowed. He discovered something strange, that the ability of the Mutation Source had only decreased by about a third. This was vastly inferior to the effects that he remembered from his past life.

He had a suspicion and, upon pondering further, realized the issue.

Previously, Godora spent a longer time doing research, and while the circumstances now are different, because I gave them a sample, the research time was still too short. Because I was pressed for time, the sample provided was weaker than in my previous life, so there’s a need for a larger dosage.

Nagakin had only brought three serums, and Han Xiao had planned to use all three to quickly eliminate the Mutation Source. However, the effects of the serum were not as pronounced as before, which was something that he had not expected. Most likely, even if he finished injecting all three, the Mutation Source would still not collapse on its own.

Sh*t!

Godora was indeed unreliable. It was still better to use his fists to solve the problem!

Cupping his fists, Han Xiao helplessly shook his head.

“It seems like I’ll need to accompany you for some playtime.”

Meanwhile, the Mechanical Beast Guards Army cooperated seamlessly under the control of Phillip, pinning down all the beasts on the mountains and plains. Even the beasts who were originally going after the players had turned back to fight the Mechanical Beast Guards Army that was like a meat grinder.

The hundreds of players finally heaved sighs of relief, pausing to look at the blood-soaked battlefield. Seeing that the beast horde was occupied by Han Xiao’s army, they started to plot once again.

The beast horde is no longer chasing us!

That’s right, Black Star’s Mechanic Army is likely to be pinning the beast horde down.

This is as good as helping us restrain them, so we’ll have the chance to integrate into the battlefield and fight with the beasts!

Furthermore, we can even kill off the Mutation Source and complete the first kill!

Jupiter’s eyes gleamed, and he was overjoyed at this scene.

While Black Star was currently dealing with the Mutation Source, an NPC would definitely not care who ended up killing the Mutation Source. As for them, they would be able to obtain the extra reward by killing the Mutation Source! This was an opportunity to achieve the highest rank for the Ranked mission!

The hundreds of players were eager to move, wanting to be the one that took its head.

…

The moment the detector locked onto the Mutation Source, Han Xiao had immediately taken his BlackLight Stealth out, without having time to inform anyone else. However, all the various parties had been concerned about the movement of the BlackLight Stealth. Han Xiao had only exchanged a few blows with the Mutation Source before the Six Nations, Bennett, Nagakin, and others saw the pictures of the battlefield through satellite imagery. It was then that they discovered the presence of the Mutation Source, and they were all overjoyed by this news.

It had only been a day, but they had already found the Mutation Source! Nagakin was immensely happy and immediately gathered his troops to provide support.

The same was true for Herlous, who immediately gathered the mercenaries to set off. While he knew that Han Xiao would likely not require much help, as his subordinates, to have the leader fight whilst they ate popcorn, what sort of mercenaries were they!

If they were picked on by Han Xiao because of this… Thus, even if it was just to join in the fun, they had to be on scene!

Bennett had absolute confidence in Han Xiao and waved his hand, allowing people on the battlefield to broadcast the scene of the battlefield inside the Sanctuary. All the channels displayed images of Han Xiao fighting on the battlefield, and the refugees were all seated around their screens, nervously watching the fight unfold.

Hila and Aurora also stopped their work of checking for the infected, looking intently at the screen.

“Sis, look, Han Xiao!” Aurora happily exclaimed.

Watching the one-sided fight, Hila’s red lips trembled, her expression conflicted.

She thought about how, a few years ago, Han Xiao had destroyed the Germinal Organization and ended the war. To say that he had saved the world was inappropriate, but he had indeed saved her sister and herself.

However, Han Xiao was really saving the world this time. From the time he returned to the present, the number of people whom he had saved was probably in the millions.

While she had known him for a few years, Hila realized that she had never truly understood Han Xiao. This person was like a closed book, making it difficult for anyone to actually know what he was thinking.

On the screen, watching Han Xiao’s show of force by using one person’s strength to stop an army of beasts, she definitely could not achieve that. In just a few years, she had already been left far behind.

Hila could not help but tighten her fists.

Only by following the Dragon Emperor to cultivate will I be able to catch up with him, right?

The attention of the Six Nations was also focused on Han Xiao, their hearts tightening with anxiety.

Only when Han Xiao destroyed this Mutation Source would the disaster truly end. Only today did they finally see a ray of light in this bleak and dark world.

The upper echelons of the Six Nations all stopped their work, staring fixedly at the image transmitted by the satellites. Even the heads of the Six Nations did the same.

Everyone hoped in their heart for Han Xiao to succeed.

As for the DarkStar squad that were hidden in Planet Aquamarine, they also discovered the scene of the battlefield.

Chapter 562: Destruction

The DarkStar team stationed on Planet Aquamarine had originally thought that it would be completely pointless for the forces on Planet Aquamarine to search for the Mutation Source. However, they had managed to find the Mutation Source in a single day. This truth dumbfounded those in the team.

The new research equipment had only been put into use for a few days, and DarkStar had been kept in the dark. They did not know that Godora had developed a device to locate the Mutation Source but assumed that it was because of luck.

“Black Star is fighting the Mutation Source in the Western Continent,” a member of the team reported. “From the images shown, the Mutation Source does not have the ability to fight back. Black Star’s strength is far superior to that of those on the planet, and it will be impossible for the Mutation Source to win against Black Star.”

“I know,” the captain said in a deep voice. “The detection equipment must have detected the Mutation Source’s radiation reaction. The Mutation Source isn’t mature yet, and it is currently weak. Even if it has obtained a body, it may not be a match for Black Star.

“However, it is extremely difficult to kill the Mutation Source. Most attacks are useless against it and will allow it to accumulate energy instead. While Black Star is powerful, he won’t be able to kill the Mutation Source.”

While they were surprised at the fact that the Mutation Source was found, the DarkStar team was not anxious. The Mutation Source had a stubborn life force, and it would not be easily destroyed. However, it was best that they report this matter to their higher ups.

Just when the captain was about to contact his superiors, one of his team members gasped. “Wait, what did Black Star do‽ The Mutation Source seems to be injured!”

“What‽” The captain immediately looked at the screen, only to see Han Xiao injecting the Mutation Source with a needle before seeing the state of the Mutation Source taking a turn for the worse. That attack of his had caused true damage!

The face of the captain turned dark and immediately understood what was going on. No wonder Planet Aquamarine had suddenly started searching for the Mutation Source! It turned out that Black Star had found a way to deal with the Mutation Source!

He immediately realized how serious the situation was.

“Send an emergency report to the headquarters!”

…

A gigantic DarkStar fleet was currently moving in space and nearing Planet Golden Gate.

It was only two days until their assault on Planet Golden Gate, and their forces were now rushing toward Planet Golden Gate. Degulish had placed all of his attention on this matter and handed all other affairs over to the intelligence department to handle. However, right at that moment, the intelligence department rushed into the room with an emergency report. The Head of Intelligence’s tone was filled with anxiety, and Degulish’s puzzled eyes gradually turned into shock.

“Impossible!” Degulish stood up abruptly with a face of disbelief.

Black Star was currently fighting the Mutation Source and Planet Aquamarine seemed to have the ability to solve the Mutation Disaster at its roots!

The organization that had sold DarkStar the Mutation Source had shown the upper echelons of DarkStar a set of complicated data and ensured that it would take at least a year before the Mutation Source would be dealt with. However, only a few months had passed! How could Godora come up with a solution so quickly‽

The Head of Intelligence had an ugly expression. “Godora kept the matter a complete secret, and my intelligence network wasn’t aware of their research details.”

Bang!

The alloy table was smashed into pieces; Degulish was furious.

He had never expected that the first thing to go wrong with this plan would be the foundation of his entire plan! It was akin to his backyard being on fire!

If Black Star or Godora truly had the means to deal with the Mutation Disaster at its roots, all of DarkStar’s plans would be affected! Without Godora’s forces being tied down in the calamity planets and the many political restraints that Godora faced internally, the latter part of their plans could not be carried out. This plan that they had spent many years preparing for would have to come to an end.

To think that things would go wrong at this crucial moment!

If it was truly the worst-case scenario, their attack on Planet Golden Gate would be forced to stop, and they would have to alter their plans.

“Just what is…” Degulish grit his teeth and suppressed his rage. “Tell the team on Planet Aquamarine that I want them to give me a live report of the battlefield!”

Outside the door, Ember passed by coincidentally. Glancing at Degulish, his eyes narrowed for a moment, and a queer look could be seen in his gaze.

…

Bang bang bang!

The Mutation Source did not have the strength to fight back before Han Xiao and was beaten black and blue. The Mutation Source was sent flying all around and was like a human-sized sandbag. Not only was it very durable, it felt extremely good as well. Han Xiao could not even bear to use any long-ranged weapons, and the Mutation Source was truly a premium product in the world of sandbags.

How wonderful it would be if he could give the Mutation Source a few punches when he was bored.

It was a pity that the Mutation Source would definitely have to be killed. Not to mention Godora’s firm stance, the Mutation Source was a biological weapon that could control other living beings, and it was a huge threat to many species in the galaxy. The lawful civilization would not allow such a weapon to be in the hands of an outsider.

The scene of Han Xiao beating up the Mutation Source was broadcast to all the players on Planet Aquamarine. All the players had a queer feeling in their hearts. The Main Storyline Boss was currently being furiously beaten up by a familiar NPC. Why did it seem as though Black Star was more like the Boss?

Seeing the Mutation Source being beaten up so badly, some of the players could not help but pity it. Voices of encouragement could be seen on the forums with many joking about it.

“Give it your all! Don’t give up!”

“Run! You won’t be able to win against the great demon Black Star!”

Swoosh!

Han Xiao chopped down on the Mutation Source’s head, but there was no feeling of striking a target. Han Xiao’s hand cleaved through the Mutation Source and split it in two. More accurately speaking, the Mutation Source had chosen to split its body in two to avoid Han Xiao’s chop.

Following which, the two halves began spitting out a black, gluey substance like a fountain, and that black stuff began swimming away in the muddy water like snakes.

While the Mutation Source’s thoughts were still immature, fear was a natural instinct. In its short confrontation with Han Xiao, it had always been on the losing end. Han Xiao’s strength made it feel completely helpless, and the Mutation Source did not wish to continue this battle. As such, it split up its body to confuse its opponent, allowing its main body to escape.

The rain provided the Mutation Source with an avenue of escape. With the beasts fighting the mechanical army, the entire battlefield was a complete mess, and it was beneficial to the Mutation Source’s escape. Amid the copious black sticky substance, only one part of it was the main body.

“Want to escape? Do you think that’s possible?”

Upon saying that, Han Xiao suddenly felt as though he was the antagonist.

The thrusters on his back and feet were activated, and Han Xiao shot toward a black sticky gel that was currently escaping. When they were battling, Phillip had recorded the data of the Mutation Source, and the radar clearly displayed the position of the main body.

The Mutation Source was currently in the shape of a snake and upon sensing that Han Xiao had locked onto it, its body transformed into a water like state, seeping into the soil.

Swoosh!

Han Xiao waved his arm, and two gigantic mechanical arms scooped up the soil, catching the Mutation Source together with it.

The Mutation Source then shot itself toward an eagle and dug into its body.

The eagle shot toward the sky and flew away.

Tuk tuk tuk!

The next moment, more than ten cannon towers in the surroundings turned around and locked onto the eagle. In an instant, the eagle was reduced to a lump of burnt meat.

With a loud thud, the Mutation Source fell back onto the ground. It still wanted to escape, but a large mechanical hand suddenly appeared and grabbed it tightly.

“You won’t be able to escape from both the skies and ground. Stop struggling and take your injection.” Han Xiao clenched his fists, and a needle could be seen on his finger. The second needle was injected into the Mutation Source.

Pa!

An explosion similar to the first time could be heard, and the interface displayed a notice of the Mutation Source being weakened again. This time, the Mutation Source took a longer time to regain its human form.

The beasts in the surroundings regained their clarity again, and they managed to maintain their clarity for a longer period of time before falling under the control of the Mutation Source once more. At the same time, the beasts were obviously less crazy, and some of them even showed signs of retreat.

The Mechanic Army was like a meat grinder, and the thousands of beasts were ground into meat paste by these metal beasts. The dark, muddy waters were dyed completely red. In the face of the frightening enemies that did not seem to know fatigue, the beasts under the control of the Mutation Source could not suppress their fear.

Right at that moment, a commotion erupted.

Han Xiao turned around and saw hundreds of players charging into the battlefield.

Without even thinking, Han Xiao knew that those players were attracted by the Boss and wanted to snatch the last hit from him.

The intention of the players was far too obvious. They wanted to make use of the gap that had been created by the Mechanic Army and beasts to charge to the boss. In other words, they treated his Mechanic Army as a form of cover.

“How crafty.”

Han Xiao’s mouth cramped up a bit, and he instructed Phillip to pull back the Mechanic Army as long as the players moved forward. The effects of his actions were extremely obvious, and the plan of the players was foiled. Without the cover of the Mechanic Army, they were quickly overwhelmed by the herd of beasts, and their deaths were truly a wonder to behold.

Want to snatch the last hit? You must be dreaming.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao charged toward the Mutation Source and injected the last needle into the Mutation Source.

With the three injections done, the Mutation Source was on the verge of collapse and showed signs of melting. However, his guess was not wrong, and the Mutation Source did not get destroyed.

Godora were truly pig like teammates!

Thankfully, the Mutation Source has less than half of its strength, and it’s extremely easy to kill.

The Mutation Source was currently at its weakest, and Han Xiao did not wish to allow anyone to snatch the last hit. He waved his arm and let out the Halo Array. A golden shield was immediately formed around him and the Mutation Source. With the strength of the players and beasts, it would be impossible for them to break this light shield.

The Mutation Source’s body began to change shape, and it could only maintain the shape of the upper torso. Part of its main body began to disintegrate and disappear, which meant that the Mutation Source was on the verge of destruction. It became extremely difficult for the Mutation Source to even maintain its human form, and it was already on the verge of death.

The Mutation Source suddenly opened its mouth. “I don’t wish to die…”

While its tone was monotonous, Han Xiao could hear the pleading in it.

Pausing for a moment, Han Xiao opened the helmet of his mechanical suit and sighed. “I am here to kill you. It is useless for you to say this to me.”

“I don’t understand… I only wish to survive like all of you…”

Han Xiao shook his head and replied, “You have already brought a huge calamity to this planet, and while this may not have been your original intention, your very existence is in conflict with too many species. Your survival would mean the death of others. Even without me, there are others who would kill you.”

The Mutation Source treated other living beings as its sensory organs and aimed to assimilate other living beings. In its world, controlling its sensory organs was its innate ability, and there was nothing wrong with it.

Looking from another perspective, it could be said that the Mutation Source was a type of special life form that could control different sensory organs to become part of its body. Its innate ability was to expand its own ‘body’, and it would naturally stand on the opposite side of many living beings.

When the Mutation Source was sufficiently strong, it would be able to control all living beings on a planet, and the living beings on the planet would become its body. This meant that the entire planet would become its ‘consciousness’.

If an outsider stepped onto the planets and entered its range, they would also become part of the Mutation Source’s body.

At this level, the Mutation Source was no longer a type of virus or weapon. Instead, it was like a divine being that could grasp all consciousness!

Thus, the existence of the Mutation Source was too much of a threat.

“Why…? Why am I the only one who can’t be alive?” the Mutation Source muttered to itself.

Hu!

Right at that moment, Nagakin’s spaceship arrived and was rapidly reaching the battlefield. They arrived at the very end and came with the majesty of the cops.

“It’s time for you to be on your way.” Han Xiao’s mechanical arm transformed into a large cannon and aimed at the Mutation Source.

The Mutation Source looked at Han Xiao and said, “Is it really impossible for you to let me go?”

Han Xiao shook his head, and his cannon accumulated strength.

“Am I going to die? Just what is death like?”

The Mutation Source knew that its life was about to come to an end and could not help but think about the time when it was just born. It did not have any sensory organs and could not observe the outside world. The entire world was in a state of darkness, and it was like primal chaos. Would death be just like when it was born?

For some reason, the Mutation Source suddenly thought about the time when it first awakened its ability to control sensory organs. At that time, it had only been able to share the view of infected individuals. It could remember the many smiling faces all around, but those smiling faces seemed to have decreased over time.

At the very end of its life, its fear disappeared completely, and the Mutation Source transformed its face into the smiling face in its memory. “Thank you for telling me all that… Thank you for accompanying me in a conversation…”

The Mutation Source was actually extremely pure and was like a blank sheet of paper. Han Xiao also knew this.

Boom!

His cannon was shot, and the Mutation Source was reduced to dust.

Retracting his cannon, Han Xiao let out a sigh, and his mechanical suit transformed back into a compressed orb.

“I’m sorry. I understand you, but I’m your enemy.”

Keeping his protective shield, Han Xiao looked around him.

The beasts had all regained their clarity, and fear could be seen in their eyes. The herd of beasts immediately scattered in all directions and only left behind a ground littered with corpses.

The rain was still pouring, and it got heavier and heavier.

Chapter 563: Feidin, Son of Luck

Hu!

The Godoran spaceship landed, and Nagakin walked up to Han Xiao.

“How’s the situation? Did you take care of the Mutation Source?” Nagakin asked anxiously.

“I got rid of it,” Han Xiao replied casually while his mechanical suit was retracting.

“New command, begin to collapse the Mechanical Beast Guards Army.”

The next moment, the few thousand mechanical beasts transformed back into their compressed orbs and rolled over to Han Xiao’s side through an electromagnetic force.

Han Xiao then shot out a compressed orb, which transformed into a long dark red metal box that was about two meters tall. All of the compressed orbs then rolled into the box and filled it up. Following which, the box shut itself automatically, and an engraved ‘001’ could be seen on the box.

The box was a ‘mobile army camp’, which was a necessity for those who pursued the Army Style. Different Mechanical Armies would be placed in the different army boxes, and each army box represented an army.

The serial number of the Mechanical Beast Guards Army was 001 as it was the first complete army that Han Xiao had constructed. An army box contained the compressed orbs of a single army, and the lock of the box was made from a powerful electromagnet together with the control of an AI. It was difficult to open it through any other means, and only Han Xiao was able to control it.

When the box was completely filled with compressed orbs, the box would not be able to be compressed into a compressed orb. While it would not be convenient to bring the box around, it was not too troublesome to use it. With Phillip controlling the box and the high-speed module being attached to it, Han Xiao did not have to carry the box around with him. With a single command, the army box would quickly be transported to the battlefield.

The bottom of the army box began spitting out flames, and it rapidly ascended into the sky. A door on the belly of the BlackLight Stealth opened up, and the army box was swallowed up. There was a simple maintenance room in the spaceship, and it could calculate the losses and damage to the machines. With the opponents being beasts that were far beneath Han Xiao’s strength, the losses were negligible.

The beasts were escaping in all directions, and the battle was already over. Nagakin ordered his subordinates to clean up the battlefield while he took out his detector and confirmed that the Mutation Source had disappeared completely.

“That’s great. I shall inform the upper echelons immediately that the antidote is successful!” Nagakin was overjoyed.

At that moment, the mercenary group’s spaceships also arrived, and Herlous appeared together with the rest. Han Xiao instructed them to clean up the battlefield and bring back the beast carcasses. Those carcasses were precious materials, and Emerald Grass could use them to create Genetic Medicine. While it was not of much use to him, Han Xiao would be able to earn a small fortune by selling it to the players.

Jupiter and the others did not manage to snatch the last hit and had even died once or twice instead. All of their faces were depressed as they stood nearby.

However, the other players were all extremely excited on the forums.

Right when Black Star killed the Mutation Source, the progress meter of the Main Storyline Mission on their interface had shot up, and a Mission Complete notification had popped up on their interfaces.

All the players of Planet Aquamarine received a bountiful reward from the Main Storyline Mission. While their reward differed according to their contributions, the reward that they received on average was far more than a side mission.

However, what excited the players the most was not the reward of the mission. With the Main Storyline Mission of Planet Aquamarine completed, this meant that it was time for them to enter the Galaxy!

After spending so much time on Planet Aquamarine, the only thing that could attract them now was the galaxy. In the past, they could only watch Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos to understand the galaxy, but they could personally experience it now. With the [Mutation Disaster] mission behind them, many players looked forward to the future plot and were all extremely excited.

In contrast, it was a completely different sight with the citizens of Planet Aquamarine.

Ten minutes after the end of the battle, the Sanctuary and Six Nations received news from Godora that the Mutation Source had been destroyed. Without any delay, they immediately announced this piece of news to the entire planet. All the refugees sitting in front of a television or radio received the news.

In the cities of the Six Nations and Black Phantom Sanctuary, countless individuals revealed looks of disbelief. Their faces became agitated before they began shedding tears of joy.

They had survived the calamity!

They were still alive!

The entire planet erupted into cheers!

All the cities were drowned in the joy of surviving the calamity. Some of them cried out at the top of their lungs, some danced on the streets, while others bawled with tears of joy.

The cheers of the people formed a huge wave, rushing into the sky, echoing in the horizon.

They could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thinking about the calamity that their planet had faced, it had been akin to a living hell. Everything was finally over.

The citizens of Planet Aquamarine could not help but burn with hope for their future.

The upper echelons of the Six Nations and Bennett worked together and announced that Black Star was the one who had killed the Mutation Source. They tried to create the image that Black Star was the noble savior of the entire planet.

With the citizens of the planet being overwhelmed with joy, the effects of the advertisement were extremely obvious. Almost all of the refugees were filled with gratitude to Black Star.

With the calamity over, the Six Nations had to begin thinking about their future. They would still maintain their respect to Godora on the surface but had already accepted Black Star’s conditions in secret. They decided to stake it all on Han Xiao.

Han Xiao, who was still on the battlefield, naturally was not aware of the situation. While the others were cleaning up the battlefield, he walked to the side and opened up his interface.

_____________________

[Destroy the Source] has been completed!

Mission Rating: Perfect

_____________________

Killing the Mutation Source had allowed him to get the [Perfect] rating.

Han Xiao received 2,400,000 experience points, and the high rating allowed him to draw a Random Reward. Furthermore, the bonus reward gave him another chance to draw a Random Reward, making it a total of two chances. Apart from that, Han Xiao also gained a few Legendary Points.

_____________________

Planet Legendary Points (Planet Aquamarine): You put an end to the Mutation. The Mutation Source brought a calamity to Planet Aquamarine. It ruined the order of the planet and caused countless civilians to lose their lives. You killed the source that caused hatred and pain in abundance. You chased away the calamity and brought light to the planet. You saved the planet!

_____________________

Han Xiao’s current mission reward limit was extremely high, and the effect of a single Legendary Point was extremely obvious.

After taking a look at the mission reward, Han Xiao directed his attention to the first kill reward, which allowed him to draw two of the Mutation Source’s abilities. This was the greatest reward to him.

Han Xiao did not take action immediately. He first looked around and found Feidin. Without even asking for permission, he touched Feidin to his heart’s content.

“Yes, I can feel the effect of luck.”

Han Xiao rubbed his palms in excitement and began to draw his reward under Feidin’s helpless gaze.

_____________________

You have received the opportunity to draw two of the half-mature Mutation Source’s abilities.

Note: The Mutation Source is a special life form, and you are unable to draw its innate abilities. The abilities that you can draw will be adjusted accordingly.

_____________________

The abilities are adjusted indeed, Han Xiao thought to himself.

This was a common occurrence when drawing abilities. If the target was too special, some abilities would not be replicated. For example, shapeshifting, sensory organs, and emotional control were all innate abilities of the Mutation Source.

It was just like if a human player wanted to draw for the abilities of a demon. Even if a demon had a tail whip ability, a player would not draw such an ability since they did not have a tail. The hardware just was not compatible with such an ability.

When two species were too different, even if the abilities could be extracted, there would be a change in the effects. All the race specific elements would be removed, and it would be changed into a more general skill. For example, the tail whip attack of a demon might be changed into something like a heavy kick attack. It definitely would not be changed into an attack that made use of whips.

_____________________

Randomizing… Draw complete.

Please select two of the five reward:

1. [Harden] Skill: +65% Physical Resistance, -30% DEX. Stamina Usage: 300, Duration: 14 seconds, Cooldown: 30 seconds.

2. [Middle Grade Cell Proliferation Control] Talent: Make use of energy to proliferate cells, heal wounds, and convert energy into HP at the ratio of 1:5. Recovery rate capped at 28% of total HP per second.

3. [Grinder] Skill: Close combat skill. Make use of grips and locks to deal damage. Capable of causing damage eight times, and 40 to 60% of the damage will ignore the enemy’s defense. Has a chance of causing status inflictions such as [Fracture], [Numbness], and so on. Energy Usage: 60, Stamina Usage: 140, Cooldown: 15 seconds.

4. [Energy Storage] Skill: Obtain an extra energy bar that is 25% of total energy. When exhausting the extra energy bar, it won’t affect one’s own energy bonus. Duration: 2 days, Cooldown: 3 days. (Additional energy obtained won’t count toward the energy level.)

5. [Energy Absorption] Talent: When subject to any physical, energy, magical, or other attacks, 60% of the damage offset by resistance will be converted into energy.

_____________________

After adjustments, the effects of the skills and talents could be stronger or weaker. The cell proliferation and energy absorption talents of the Mutation Source had been weakened after removing the special effects of the Mutation Source.

However, the appearance of those two talents was a huge surprise for Han Xiao.

The way he saw it, those two talents were the most valuable abilities of the Mutation Source. If he could obtain a single one of them, it would be considered pretty good. However, if he could obtain both together, it would be a perfect combination!

Simply put, he would be able to regain energy by being hit, and using energy would be able to recover HP. While the regeneration rate would not be as perverse as that of the Mutation Source, he had the natural advantage of having high HP! With his HP being 38,000, even a mere 28% of his HP was a huge figure. The amount of HP that he would regain was twice that of the Mutation Source!

While the other three skills were not bad, he did not even remotely consider them after seeing the other two.

Even if the two talents were weaker, they were only weaker when compared to the original. Neither of the two talents could be considered weak, and they had both reached the level of a Molding Ability. Han Xiao could not have been happier.

He had originally thought that getting one of the two talents would be a huge win and had mentally prepared himself for being unable to get even one. Who would have thought that he would actually be so lucky! Was touching Feidin really that effective?

Han Xiao could not help but look at Feidin with a burning gaze. He had the sudden urge to extract a few hundred bottles of Ability Potions from Feidin, and both Feidin and Chen Xing could not help but tremble.

Retracting his gaze, Han Xiao made his choice without any hesitation.

_____________________

You have received [Middle Grade Cell Proliferation Control] talent!

You have received [Energy Absorption] talent!

Chapter 564: The Beginning of the Storm

The sensation of itchiness and soreness as though vines were growing spread rapidly and twisted around his limbs. It felt like there were numerous insects crawling through every inch of his flesh and bones. Han Xiao’s ears seemed to be surrounded by the roaring of waves and thunder, and he could feel every cell in his body becoming active, undergoing an extraordinary change. His vision of the world was constantly shaking and blurring.

Every time he managed to obtain a strong talent, genetic mutations would occur in his body. The pain was difficult to endure, causing Han Xiao’s face to change as he quickly fled into the BlackLight Stealth. Once he was out of everyone’s sight, he found a practice room before sealing the door. The moment he did so, a stronger and more intense pain burst out from within his body, as though he was a wet towel that was being rung dry by a huge pair of hands.

Past experience had told him that, the greater the pain, the greater the resulting change. The pain that he was experiencing this time could be compared to when he underwent his Race Evolution to a Void Prowler. After all, the two new talents were the specialties of the Mutation Source, and not only did it bring him new abilities, it was a complete remolding of his life.

Han Xiao gritted his teeth, feeling the reorganization of his cells. He gradually discovered that he had obtained a newfound sense of control that could actively trigger cell division.

As the pain started to subside, he could feel that his body had totally changed. Through his perception, the cell membrane of each cell seemed to have become tougher but had a sponge-like texture. The internal microstructure also seemed to have changed to produce new functions.

He rubbed his thigh, carefully observing, and found out that a portion of the external impact would not be resisted and absorbed by his skin. The kinetic force would permeate into his musculoskeletal system and be converted by his cells into energy.

Bringing a knife to his arm, he drew out a thin line of blood. Han Xiao recalled the sense of control, urging his cells into action. The energy from his cells rapidly repaired the damaged cells around the wound, and the wound disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Han Xiao grinned.

This is indeed a strong specialized talent. My level of being rose another tier once again, and my flesh has become more solid.

With the two new talents on his interface, he possessed four Molding Abilities.

Han Xiao was in a jovial mood, but he suddenly noticed a problem, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch.

Oi, out of my four talents, three of them specialize in tankiness. One increases my HP, the other gives me damage immunity, and the last one speeds up recovery!

Han Xiao felt he was a huge iron pillar at this moment, his body being more durable than a machine. If he measured his progress on the path of a Main Tank, he would probably be a galloping warhorse.

The biggest weakness of the Army Style is that the users are normally afraid of their defenses being broken through and their commander being felled…

Han Xiao sniggered inwardly. With his heaven-defying tenacity, there was no one who would return alive after trying to assassinate him.

Increased tankiness was a good thing, but Han Xiao favored the skill [Energy Absorption] more. His Mechanical Army required him to use energy, and with the amount of energy used, it would accumulate to become a terrifying amount. However, now he could constantly recover his energy value, meaning his Mechanical Force bonus could be given out easily!

The most important part was, the higher his level, the greater his damage resistance, which meant that it would constantly rise along with him and not become obsolete. Thinking outside of the box, even if the enemy could not reach him, he could easily just ask one of his mechanical beasts to attack himself to absorb energy…

What was with that? This made him into a f*cking generator!

With Super stamina, he would never feel fatigue. Even if he did it consecutively for three days and nights, he would not feel any soreness in his lower body. He had truly turned into a Boss level character who had no fear of a depleted energy bar. Just thinking about this gave him a feeling of absolute power.

Just who can kill me‽

Han Xiao suddenly snapped out of his reverie, hurriedly knocking between his brows twice and restraining his arrogant and haughty outburst.

That was close. I almost went out of character.

While this Moulding Ability is on the level of a bug, there is an upper limit to the energy that it can provide. It’s far lower than the amount of HP I have. Even with a five-times conversion rate, it can only recover probably a third of my total HP. The rate of recovery is too limited.

Furthermore, I can only absorb 60% of the damage that is resisted, so if I encounter opponents at the same level or higher with strong attacking power, I will lose HP proportionally to the amount of energy obtained. After all, my resistance is not as perverted as the Mutation Source’s.

Han Xiao pondered for a while before coming to a conclusion. Unless it was a high-level Super with a Boss level template, while his Grade still remained at B+, it was almost impossible for a Calamity Grade Super to kill him. The longer the battle dragged on, the more advantageous it would be to him. Even the highly explosive and piercing combo used by Nagakin to defeat Anur could probably be shrugged off by him.

F*ck, can I still be considered a Mechanic now?

Han Xiao could not help feeling disgusted.

Shaking his head, he opened the mission panel. He had a different mission from the rest, with the [Mutation Disaster] storyline of his still showing that it was incomplete.

The mission requirements for the players were only relevant to Planet Aquamarine. However, Han Xiao’s included all the planets affected by the mutation source. His condition to prevent failure was to ensure that one planet had been saved, and he had already fulfilled it.

However, the disasters on the other planets had not yet been resolved, so his mission had not ended, unlike the Planet Aquamarine players.

In my past life, after this matter subsided, Godora created a corresponding dungeon. When I complete the Main Storyline, I’ll probably be able to get my hands on the rights to the dungeon.

While his main purpose was still within Planet Aquamarine, he had to display the proper conduct and put in some effort toward the other planets affected by the disaster. His own accumulations were an astronomical number that players could not even imagine, and even he himself could not guess how many rewards he would obtain after it ended.

After claiming all the rewards for this mission, Han Xiao went to the captain’s room, overlooking the battlefield. The place was almost completely cleaned up, with Herlous and the others transporting all the beast corpses into the spaceship. The few hundred players also entered the spaceship. Previously, in order to search for the Mutation Source, they had dispatched players all over Planet Aquamarine, and they had to collect them one by one. However, this was a job for others; it was not his concern.

Having packed up, the group of spaceships proceeded to return to the base, with the BlackLight Stealth leading in front. They maintain a relaxed speed; after all, things had already been settled, and they had no need to rush… although Herlous and all of Han Xiao’s officers were a little salty about this incident.

On the spaceship, Han Xiao did not relax but rather began to extrapolate the matters in the near future as he sank into deep thought.

Now that the Mutation Disaster of Planet Aquamarine had come to an end, according to the game plan, this signified the end of the Main Storyline. This was the time when the players would officially enter the interstellar region, becoming members of Black Star and stepping onto the true stage!

The players were the best force to allow his influence to quickly grow!

The Great Mechanic Han had always placed a lot of importance on players. His recruitment campaign had lasted for a good few months, leaving a strong impression in the eyes of the players as an interstellar guide. There was only one more step to go before his entire plan would come into fruition.

The agreement made between the Six Nations would also have to be taken care of. After all, this place was his ‘hometown’. Then, the problem of Planet Aquamarine could be shelved.

The only problem remaining is that of DarkStar.

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

Since he had made such a dramatic change to the initial storyline, causing the early destruction of the core of DarkStar’s plan, it would result in them not being able to proceed with their actions like in the past.

As such, watching the reaction of DarkStar would be more important. Would they forsake the plan, or would they change their strategy?

Han Xiao was also uncertain. If it was the latter, then he could only react to their moves. He had steeled himself for this; this was the butterfly effect caused by his extreme changing of the plot.

I’m not sure if DarkStar’s next move will be the same as in my previous life anymore…

Rubbing his chest, Han Xiao fell into deep thought.

…

On one of the DarkStar motherships, many of the DarkStar upper echelons gathered, all of them staring at the translucent screen on the wall as the feedback of the Mutation Source being destroyed was transmitted to them for the fourth time. The silence in the meeting room was palpable.

The worst-case scenario had happened.

No matter how shocked the upper echelons were, they could not believe that in the short span of a few months, Godora had actually found a way to eradicate this Mutation Disaster.

“Now… what do we do?” Someone broke the deathly silence.

Everyone turned to stare at Degulish at once.

The person in question opened his mouth, his expression gloomy. However, he paused before finally speaking with much difficulty.

“Let’s inform the leader.”

He was the commander-in-charge of this plan, but now that it was falling apart, the severity of the situation ought to be raised with the leader.

The communication channel was quickly connected, and DarkStar’s leader appeared in the vacant main seat, surveying the crowd.

“I’m not in the Hyde Star System. If it’s nothing important, don’t disturb me… eh? All your expressions look nasty. What happened?”

Degulish gritted his teeth before explaining the entire situation. His face was extremely ugly to behold as he felt that he had completely betrayed the trust bestowed upon him by the leader.

“This is… unexpected.” The leader’s expression twitched a little, and he fell silent for a while before continuing. “There’s something fishy about this. I’m quite certain of the scientific research ability of Godora. While their magic arts are quite advanced, their technological ability falls quite short. They must have obtained some sort of external help.”

“Are you saying…” Degulish seemed to have obtained some clues.

“Yes, your deductions are correct. The thing that disappeared contained the sample of the Mutation Source. Our intelligence network has shown that the Secret Message Bead fell into Godora’s hands, but the goods inside had already disappeared. The greatest possibility is that it had been taken away by the Holy Stone Civilization, but… there’s another possibility.”

At this point, Ember, who had been completely silent, suddenly spoke with his eyes gleaming. “Floating Dragon.”

He was the member who had been tasked with searching for the lost goods, so he understood this part the clearest.

“A mysterious man was mentioned in the report of Ember. When he was looking for the Secret Message Bead, there was once a person who used the name of DarkStar to inquire about the whereabouts of the Secret Message Bead. However, in the end, Floating Dragon was the one who found the Secret Message Bead. It was handed over to Holy Stone… then here comes the question, did the mysterious man not manage to find the Secret Message Bead, or did he take the contents, leaving only the shell?”

All the upper echelons in the room quietly listened. This was originally an unsolved case, but the leader seemed to have managed to obtain some clues, and this attracted the attention of everyone present, including Ember.

“The research results of Godora must be related to the missing sample of the Mutation Source.” The tone of the DarkStar leader remained calm. “For Godora to solve the problem faced by Planet Aquamarine first, where a member of the Floating Dragon was also situated… there’s no need for more evidence; the situation is clear.”

Degulish burst into anger. “To think it was Floating Dragon! So, the whole process of passing it over to Holy Stone was a huge sham! Why did Floating Dragon want to target us? Wait, could it have been Black Star‽”

Everyone present received a huge shock, turning to Ember with an expression of shock and surprise.

They still remembered how, after the incident on Noriosse, Ember had insisted on paying whatever price possible to eliminate Black Star. However, not only did they ignore him, they had even scorned at him. To think that… Ember’s intuition had been right!

“To think that all of you still remember the suggestion that I raised.” A hint of schadenfreude passed through Ember’s eyes as he coldly spoke. “To only awaken and realize it now, isn’t it too late‽”

The expressions of everyone in the room changed, with no one daring to look Ember in the eye.

“At that time, we had no clues, and even if I was given another chance, I would still have made the same decision.” The leader sighed. “What’s done is done; now, the most crucial point is not Black Star but rather how to salvage our plan.”

Everyone sat up straight. While they regretted not taking Black Star seriously from the start, their issues were now pressing, and no one had the time to waste on hindsight.

The leader solemnly looked at all the upper echelons, suddenly relaxing his tone. “There’s no need to pull a long face. The situation is not as bad as expected.”

“Ah?” Degulish and the rest were stunned.

The entire plan is about to collapse—how is that not bad‽

“While there were some hiccups, stopping the plan from being successfully carried forward, the main objective has still been achieved, has it not? Godora has been thrown into turmoil and up in a disadvantageous position. Even if we stop our plan now and hastily retreat, the cracks between the purebloods and hybrids will never vanish.”

The eyes of everyone present gleamed. That was right; they were caught in a misunderstanding. Even if Godora managed to solve this Mutation Disaster and regained some control, the damage caused by this storm would take years to eliminate. Stopping the plan now was nothing more than reducing the damage that Godora had to clear up. What loss did they have?

“Then, do we still stop all our operations and go on standby?” Degulish asked.

“Why should we?” The leader shook his head. “Since it has already reached this point, let’s just allow the mistakes to continue. Before stopping the operation, we shall hit Godora hard one last time. Since it is no longer possible to drag the time out for the Mutation Disaster, have the infiltration teams actively feed the Mutation Source. Push all of them to the maturity phase and deceive them into attempting to destroy the planet. This way, it will make the low-level civilizations attached to Godora to suffer greatly, causing Godora to waste more energy helping them.

“The moment that the Mutation Disaster is resolved, do you still think that the Godoran troops will still stay on the calamity planets? No! They will leave sooner or later, and that’s when we send out our soldiers, destroying those low-level civilizations.

“We shall see if Godora plans to save them or not. If they do not, it would defeat the purpose of them trying to resolve the Mutation Disaster. However, if they choose to offer aid, Godora will be leashed to those low-level civilizations. How is that different from having the Mutation Disasters?

“They will be stuck between a rock and a hard place!

”Planet Aquamarine was the first to be saved from the Mutation Disaster. Before long, the Godoran troops will leave, and we can take the chance to attack the planet. Since we now know Black Star’s crimes and the Dragon Emperor is not on Planet Aquamarine, we can take the chance to eliminate him. I said before that we’d make him pay for this sooner or later. This time, I don’t want there to be any accidents.”

Ember viciously stood up, hatred visible on his face as he exclaimed, “My pleasure!”

Degulish narrowed his eyes and added in a sinister tone, “Humph. He must be killed. I’ll go and let Floating Dragon know that we’re not to be trifled with.”

“Then I’ll tag along for the fun of it. The last time, Ember and Anur failed. If we add me, there will be three people, which is safer,” a petite upper echelon added. This person was a senior combatant of DarkStar and also a Calamity Grade Super.

For a long time, their total members had been falling. Some members had been arrested and sent to the Rainbow Prison, causing DarkStar to be left with just five Calamity Grade Supers. Sending three of them already made it more than half, almost pulling out all of their resources.

The crowd seemed to have found their backbone once again and calmed down. The thought process of the leader was clear and precise. It was originally meant to be a protracted war, but since it was no longer feasible, they just had to change it to ensure the maximum losses for Godora in the short term.

Want to compete with us? Black Star, you’re too young for that!

At this point, the leader suddenly interrupted them.

“This matter is not that important though; our next immediate objective should be to attack Planet Golden Gate.”

Degulish lurched in shock. “That operation is to be continued as well?”

“Yeah, why not? We’ve already made the preparations and can attack in the next two days. Godora only managed to solve the Mutation Disaster for one planet—do you think it will have any impact on our attack?

“This is instead a good chance as they will definitely take the chance to spread the news of having resolved the disaster for the planets. In order to eliminate the contradictions within the country, won’t it be good to take this chance to simply destroy Planet Golden Gate?”

Degulish’s eyes lit up at this proposal.

Chapter 565: Unexpected Reinforcements

Two days soon passed.

As a Grade A colony planet, Planet Golden Gate had a large fleet stationed around it all year round. After the Long Arc incident, the alert status of the planet had risen, and the troops stationed on Planet Golden Gate often patrolled the vicinity.

According to their regulations, there were four layers to their reconnaissance range. The outermost range was a radar that scanned for energy signals. The second layer was a sentry spaceship patrolling far away. Those two layers were extremely far away from Planet Golden Gate, and if they detected an enemy attack, the main force would have sufficient time to prepare.

D-3018 sentry spaceship was patrolling in the outer region, and the members of the radar monitoring team stared at the screen unblinkingly as they analyzed and dealt with the data of the region. Occasionally, there would be a spaceship flying past the region, and the radar monitoring team would be on edge.

The job of monitoring the radar was an extremely taxing one, and thus, the members of the team worked shifts. Even so, repeatedly doing the same monotonous task made it difficult for the entire team to raise their spirits. Furthermore, the regulations prohibited them from chatting during a period of high alert.

The entire room was filled with silence, and only the humming sound from the machinery could be heard.

Right at that moment, bright red words were suddenly plastered all over the screen, and a screeching alarm went off. All the members in the team were startled and almost fell off their chairs.

“Alert! Alert! CR-20849 detected a large-scale spatial disruption!”

“Alert! Lost connection with CR-20489!”

The attention of the radar monitoring team was immediately drawn over, and they immediately checked the last few photos that CR-20489 had sent over before losing connection.

On the radar screen, densely packed spots of light could be seen with every single spot of light representing the energy reaction of a battleship. The spots of light were so densely packed that they could light up an entire region of the radar screen. With just a single glance, it was impossible to tell the number of battleships that had appeared.

This gigantic fleet was currently heading their way!

The faces of the entire team changed color.

The radar monitoring team blanked out with their limbs turning cold and lips trembling.

“Enemy… enemy attack!”

“Quickly, send a report!”

“Leave this region quickly!”

A thick beam of light suddenly shot toward D-3018 sentry spaceship from afar. This was the main cannon of the DarkStar mothership. It had a long attack range and was extremely powerful. It made use of a single high-energy reactor as its ammunition.

The protective shield of the sentry spaceship was instantly torn apart, and the light beam struck the sentry spaceship. The entire spaceship exploded into a ball of light and was reduced to floating space trash.

Very quickly, a gigantic fleet appeared and majestically floated past the wreckage of the sentry spaceship. The gigantic DarkStar mothership was surrounded by a huge fleet of spaceships. There were thousands of spaceships in the entire fleet, and the DarkStar spaceships were like ants protecting their queen with the DarkStar mothership being like a moving fortress.

The same scene was taking place in four different places.

DarkStar had sent out a total of five motherships in order to attack Planet Golden Gate!

In one of the DarkStar motherships, Degulish looked at the radar screen before him and said, “Godora’s reconnaissance range is pretty good. When we arrive at Planet Golden Gate, the fleet stationed there will have gotten into formation. It is a pity that we weren’t able to ambush them successfully.”

However, he had not thought that the ambush would be successful. Godora was already on high alert, so it would not be so easy to ambush them again. Besides, they had sent out half of their organization’s troops this time, so it would not make a difference if they failed to ambush Godora.

Not too long later, Planet Golden Gate appeared in their sights, and the other four DarkStar motherships also appeared near Planet Golden Gate. Godora had tightened its defensive formation and opened up a few dozen golden Weiss Magical Protective Shields. The Godoran fleet guarding the planet was only a fourth or fifth the size of the DarkStar fleet. It was as though they were surrounded by wolves.

Five DarkStar motherships were surrounding Planet Golden Gate from five different directions.

Every mothership had a commander, and the overall commander of the attack was Degulish.

“Attack!” Degulish commanded, not wasting any time talking to Godora.

The battle erupted!

There was no sound in the vacuum of space, and numerous light beams, homing missiles, and laser cannons lit up the dark space in a beautiful light display. The attacks continued wave after wave, and before the previous wave of attacks ended, a new wave of attacks started. Endless waves of explosions could be seen outside the atmosphere of Planet Golden Gate.

The dozens of protective shields vibrated violently, looking as though they would shatter at any moment.

Godora’s fleet had adopted a defensive stance and tried their best to sustain the protective shields.

“Don’t even dream of stalling for time to wait for reinforcements,” Degulish sneered.

DarkStar had come extremely well prepared, and before taking action, they had already collected intelligence on the troops stationed on Planet Golden Gate. While Planet Golden Gate was a Grade A colony planet that had a large fleet stationed all year round, it was insignificant in the face of the troops that DarkStar had sent out. DarkStar could crush Godora in terms of numbers, and the battleships of both parties were extremely similar in terms of strength.

On the other side, DarkStar had also paid attention to the movement of Godora’s fleet on the other planets. However, the troops guarding the other planets showed no signs of movement. Thus, even if Godora wanted to seek reinforcements from Juberly Hub, the reinforcements would take some time to arrive. As long as DarkStar unleashed all of their firepower without restraint, they would definitely be able to break through the defenses of Planet Golden Gate before the reinforcements arrived.

“Continue attacking, don’t stop,” Degulish said coldly.

With the numerical advantage, he was not planning to start a ground battle. He only planned to destroy everything with absolute firepower. The objective of their mission this time was not a massacre but to bathe Planet Golden Gate with cannon fire. They wanted to flatten the entire planet and destroy all the structures on the planet. They intended to completely destroy the entire colony planet.

At the same time, Planet Golden Gate fell into complete chaos because of this sudden assault. Countless individuals flooded the dock and wanted to escape in their spaceships. However, the army stationed at the dock received news from their superiors to lock down the dock and prevent any civilian spaceships from taking off.

This action had immediately enraged the populace, and a huge conflict had broken out in the dock. The entire situation was extremely chaotic, and everyone wanted to escape from the planet but was blocked by the army.

“What right do you have to prevent us from leaving!”

“A war is happening up there—do you guys want us to die with you‽”

“It’s my right to choose to leave this planet!”

The soldiers guarding the dock remained unperturbed and had stern expressions on their faces. In truth, they were also extremely afraid of DarkStar wiping out the fleet guarding the planet. If that happened, they would also die. However, they had been through strict training and knew to calm themselves down in times of fear and carry out orders strictly.

The order from their superior was to prevent anyone from leaving the planet. First, the entire planet was being bombarded with cannon fire, and the civilian spaceships would definitely be destroyed the moment they left the protective shield. Second, the civilian spaceships might end up creating chaos in the battlefield. If those spaceships crashed into the Godoran fleet, it was very likely to set off a chain reaction that would spell their immediate defeat. Furthermore, there might be DarkStar spies hidden among the civilians who were planning on destroying Godora’s defenses from within. Thus, while it was a little too much to forbid the civilians on Planet Golden Gate from escaping, it was necessary to do so. Only when the protective shield was about to break would they escape together with the civilians.

Being unable to break through the lockdown of the army, many people collapsed to the ground with fear plastered all over their faces. Many of them greatly regretted not escaping the planet like the others and taking refuge in the universe.

The media outlets on Planet Golden Gate also made use of their observatory equipment to broadcast the battle outside the atmosphere to the entire Star System. The news anchor trembled and suppressed the fear in his heart as he reported the situation on the planet.

The local news was quickly spread into the galaxy, and many news channels broadcast the situation on Planet Golden Gate. After the Long Arc incident, DarkStar had once again stretched out their demonic claws to another planet. The attention of many in the Shattered Star Ring was drawn to this event.

Godora had just announced that they had developed a working antidote for the Mutation Disaster, but this assault had brought a new wave of fear to Godora.

The situation outside the planet was extremely tense, and the fleet stationed on Planet Golden Gate had already lost more than two hundred battleships and more than ten Weiss Magical Protective Shields. The protective shield surrounding the planet seemed to be on the verge of collapse, and a portion of the attacks could already pass through the cracks in the protective shields.

Many cities had activated their own protective shields and did not suffer much damage. However, once the fleet protecting the planet fell, the protective shield of the cities would not be able to last for long. A series of cannons had also revealed itself from the ground and aimed toward the sky. Their missile systems had also been activated, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

The moment that the DarkStar fleet broke through the atmosphere, Planet Golden Gate could only put up their final defense. However, if even the fleet guarding the planet was destroyed, these defensive structures would only be enough to tickle DarkStar.

“Increase firepower. They can’t hold us back anymore,” Degulish sneered as he observed the situation on the battlefield.

Right at that moment, a screeching alarm went off in the mothership.

“Alert! A large unknown energy source is approaching! The numbers are unknown!”

Before Degulish could even react, the light of battleships exiting from hyperdrive flashed around the edge of the battlefield. Plenty of battleships of all shapes and sizes began appearing on the battlefield and formed a gigantic alliance fleet. They were obviously not there to help DarkStar.

All of those battleships were painted with logos, and more than ten different logos could be seen on all the battleships.

“Sky Ring Army, Purple Gold Army, Blades Army… these are all the large Mercenary Groups in the region!”

Degulish was dumbfounded.

Wait a moment! Why have these mercenaries appeared all of a sudden? Where did they come from‽

Not just him, the leaders of the other organizations who were viewing the broadcast had also revealed looks of shock.

Did Godora actually prepare an ambush‽

In the flagship of the Sky Ring Army, the leader of the Sky Ring Army, Gureja, had just ended his conversation with the director-general of Godora’s War Bureau. He then looked in the direction of Planet Golden Gate and stroked his needle-like beard while chuckling.

“Ha, Black Star has truly introduced me to a big job.”

Chapter 566: Your Mothership Isn’t Bad. It’s Now Mine.

Two days ago, when the Mutation Disaster had been declared over, the citizens of Planet Aquamarine had been overjoyed. In the past half a year, the law and order of the planet had constantly been eroded by the calamity, and it had been a living hell. However, the tough times were over, and the refugees had the courage to start life all over again. In fact, all of them had a far stronger will than before.

They needed some time to recover from the losses suffered in the Mutation Disaster, and the refugees needed to adapt to their new living conditions. The Six Nations and the Sanctuary had plenty of things to be done. The majority of the refugees sheltered by the Sanctuary and the Six Nations had chosen to stay behind. With the Mutation Disaster over, the next thing they had to consider was development.

Bennett had been in discussion with his aides and advisors over the past few days, and they were preparing to expand the Sanctuary. They were going to officially change the Sanctuary into a regime and expand their territory. A city would be built, and the refugees taking shelter in the Sanctuary would become their citizens.

The changes of the Sanctuary had a profound meaning. This was the development of the Planet Aquamarine civilization. If they continued developing at their current pace, Planet Aquamarine would only be able to come into contact with the galaxy many years later. However, with the anomaly that was Han Xiao, that was no longer the case.

A short two days went by, and Planet Aquamarine was taking their first step toward recovery. Han Xiao did not pay attention to them.

Han Xiao’s attention was completely focused on the recruitment of players. After the Main Storyline Mission of Version 2.0 was completed, the key part to the next step of his plan would be to lead the players into the galaxy en masse.

Part of the reason for Han Xiao ending the Mutation Disaster at an earlier time was so that the players could enter the galaxy earlier and work for the benefit of his Black Star Mercenary Group.

Currently, all of his plans were set, and he was only lacking that final push. As long as he announced the time of departure to all the players and made them feel that they had a mission on their shoulders, their sense of belonging to the mercenary group would definitely increase.

Following which, he only needed to gather all the players and head toward the galaxy. At that time, his goal would be accomplished.

Currently, there were about three to four hundred thousand players in the Black Star Mercenary Group, and Han Xiao did not intend to recruit all the remaining players in a single breath. It was still important for him to maintain a certain benchmark. If not, the players who got in through a selection would not feel too good. Thus, Han Xiao did not plan to take all the players along with him at once.

Instead, Han Xiao would leave behind a path for them to follow him. The Black Star Second Base was stationed on Planet Aquamarine, and he was prepared to leave some mercenaries, machinery, and transport spaceships behind. The remaining players would only be able to join the Black Star Mercenary Group after passing the selection and would be sent to the first base after that.

Han Xiao wanted to set up a tradition and let the players get used to the long-term recruitment. Joining the Black Star Mercenary Group was currently the easiest way for the players to enter the galaxy, and players would naturally scramble for the chance. All the future players who started off on Planet Aquamarine would be the same. In fact, not just the players, even the natives of Planet Aquamarine were included in Han Xiao’s plans.

He was leaving behind a bridge to connect Planet Aquamarine to the galaxy. It was just like planting crops. It was important to consider the long-term sustainability of the crops. It was not enough to harvest the crops only once.

All of that was considered in his plans. After the completion of the Main Storyline Mission, Han Xiao did not immediately set his plan into motion but gave the players some time.

He was also prepared to rest for a few days.

However, news of DarkStar attacking Planet Golden Gate had ruined his rest.

In the workshop of the Black Star Second Base, Han Xiao stopped repairing his Mechanical Beast Guards Army, and his eyes were glued to the screen of his communicator. The galactic news was being broadcast at the moment. Just when Planet Golden Gate was in a precarious situation, more than a dozen large mercenary groups rushed over as reinforcements. The originally one-sided battle suddenly became an evenly matched one, and both parties began to engage in an intense war.

“The ambush on Planet Golden Gate really happened. It seems like resolving the Mutation Disaster crisis early did not affect DarkStar’s plans. They did not give up on the ambush.” Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. Thankfully, his guess had not been wrong.

With the experience of his previous life, Han Xiao knew of DarkStar’s plans. However, he was not sure of the exact timeline of their plan; he only knew the sequence of their plans.

The ambush on Planet Golden Gate was a key event in the storyline, and Han Xiao had not been certain that DarkStar would carry out the same plan as in his previous life. But after a series of careful analysis, he had felt that the attack on Planet Golden Gate was a key part of DarkStar’s strategy, and it would not be changed.

A month ago, when Han Xiao provided a sample of the Mutation Source, Han Xiao did not hide what he knew about DarkStar’s plans and raised it with Godora’s War Bureau as an opinion. He said that this was something that he found out from analysis and prediction. With his knowledge of DarkStar in his previous life, Han Xiao’s argument was extremely convincing.

Because of the sample that he had provided and Han Xiao’s close ties with Godora, the War Bureau decided to take a gamble and formed a trap based on this intelligence.

Ever since the outbreak of the Mutation Disaster, Godora had always been on the losing side and needed a huge victory to prove their strength, stabilize their internal situation, and regain their citizen’s confidence.

In order to ensure that their trap remained a secret, Godora did not send any of their troops. The War Bureau knew that DarkStar was definitely keeping tabs on their military. The moment that Godora gathered their forces on Planet Golden Gate, their plan would be exposed. In order to bait their prey into the trap, Godora needed to make use of an external force and thus thought of the mercenaries.

The ones willing to accept such a mission would only be the large mercenary groups.

The risk of such a battle was large, but the rewards were also tempting. This single mission was comparable to a few hundred thousand small-scale missions. Apart from the remuneration of the mission, the mercenaries were also allowed to deal with the spoils of war from the battle.

Han Xiao had not spent the past few years in the Shattered Star Ring in vain. He had worked with a few hundred different mercenary groups and had close ties with them all. The influence and connections of the Black Star Mercenary Group were nothing to be scoffed at.

Han Xiao formed the bridge this time and introduced Sky Ring, Blades, Purple Gold, and many other large mercenary groups to the War Bureau.

DarkStar naturally did not know that their plans had already been exposed by Han Xiao long ago. They had thought that ambushing Planet Golden Gate would catch Godora off guard but did not know that Godora was actually looking forward to them attacking Planet Golden Gate.

As the middleman, Han Xiao had a referral fee of 150,000 Enas. Naturally, the various mercenary groups that participated in the battle also charged sky high remuneration. Only an entity like Godora would be able to afford to hire that many large sized mercenary groups.

To be hired for an intergalactic war, the size of the mercenary group isn’t the only factor. One also needs to have a sizeable fleet of battleships. When I lead the players into the galaxy, the Black Star Mercenary Group will be comparable to those large mercenary groups in terms of numbers. However, we will still be lacking in terms of battleships. Thus, I still have to earn more money.

Han Xiao collected his thoughts, and his mouth curled up as he watched the broadcast on his communicator. Leaving the workshop, he went into the cockpit of the BlackLight Stealth and knocked on the control panel.

“Risda, I need your help.”

The next second, a figure of light appeared. “Black Star, what do you need me to do?”

“You are an AI lifeform and should be able to travel through cyberspace, right?”

Risda nodded and said, “This is my way of survival. Even if you are able to destroy the shell that I am living in, I can still survive in cyberspace.”

“I will get Phillip to open up a path for you to go to the first base,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice. “I will have the members of Sky Ring work with Phillip to construct a movement channel for you. They will try to attack a DarkStar mothership and help you infiltrate the system of the mothership. I need you to avoid or even replace the original AI system of the mothership and remain hidden in DarkStar.”

Risda was a virtual lifeform who lived in cyberspace. Apart from aiding one in hacking, he could still lie dormant in the main frame system, just like how Risda occupied BlackLight Stealth and had swallowed the original AI system of this spaceship.

If Risda wanted to go undercover, he would be able to easily avoid the majority of firewalls with its processing speed. However, the condition for that is that his target had to have opened up a virtual connection to the outside world. Also, being connected by hardware was much easier than infiltrating through virtual space.

The DarkStar mothership made use of a mother AI and would not be able to cut off its connection so easily. If Risda could fool the mother AI, he could remain hidden and come into contact with DarkStar’s database.

“I can try, but I have a condition,” Risda said.

“Speak.”

“I know that you want to borrow my strength to deal with the enemy, and I am willing to help you. However, I wish that you will help Aroshia to regain her memories quickly.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao nodded. He had never tried to actively complete the mission as it was too troublesome a mission. However, with the help of the players, this mission would become much simpler.

After convincing Risda, Han Xiao contacted the commander of the Sky Ring Army, Gureja.

With their battle strategy finalized, Han Xiao knocked on his communicator and said, “Phillip, connect to BlackLight Stealth and open up a data path to the first base.”

“Roger that, hum…”

Phillip controlled both the bases, and as long as he opened up the path, Risda would be able to reach Planet Golden Gate in an instant.

This was the specialty of an AI life form. As long as it was not destroyed in the virtual world, any physical attack was useless against it.

Risda nodded, and the figure of light disappeared the very next moment.

“It passed through my data path, hum…”

Han Xiao looked at Gureja’s projection and said, “I shall trouble you.”

Gureja burst out into a hearty laughter. “Just take it as me thanking you for your recommendation.”

After the communicator was cut off, Han Xiao let out a long sigh.

“I wonder if this will work…”

Planet Golden Gate was not only Godora’s trap but also his.

DarkStar’s whereabouts had always been extremely mysterious, and from the very start, Han Xiao knew that the only way to take care of DarkStar for good would be to lock onto their location!

…

The battle on Planet Golden Gate was at its peak. Despite the DarkStar fleet being large, they were not able to gain the upper hand over the various mercenary groups. DarkStar was a terrorist organization that scared many out of their wits, but being scary did not mean that they could fight. In terms of battle prowess, the mercenaries were the professionals.

That was especially so for mercenary groups such as the Sky Ring Army that had a resounding reputation in the Shattered Star Ring. Their battle strength had been honed through trials of fire and blood.

Originally, Planet Golden Gate could only remain on the defense. However, after the arrival of the reinforcements, they went on the offensive, and an intense battle broke out between the two parties. From time to time, battleships would be engulfed in flames. DarkStar was caught off guard, and their losses were immense.

In fact, there were a few times when the Sky Ring Army managed to break through DarkStar’s formation and arrive before the nearest mothership. They had even managed to crash into the interior of the mothership and board the mothership. In the end, DarkStar had only managed to force the enemy back after deploying a couple of Calamity Grade Supers.

While both forces were equal in numbers, DarkStar was slowly losing.

“These darn mercenaries!” Degulish was enraged. He looked at the timer and gnashed his teeth. “We will not be able to destroy Planet Golden Gate before the arrival of Godora’s reinforcements. Relay my orders, retreat! Our operation has failed!”

Since they would not be able to achieve their mission objective, Degulish could only give the order to retreat. They had intended to launch a blitz assault on Planet Golden Gate, but the battle had turned into one of attrition. If the battle continued, the risks would increase. Since they were not able to fulfil their mission objective, there was no need to increase their losses. All five motherships had some form of damage, but thankfully, they had not been destroyed. However, that might not be the case if they continued the battle.

Many of the DarkStar upper echelons felt it to be a huge pity. They did not expect Godora to become intelligent, and it seemed like they could only follow their leader’s plan to attack the calamity planets.

DarkStar condensed their battle formation and rapidly retreated. The various mercenary groups gave chase for a short while before stopping. They had accepted the job to fight off the enemy, not eradicate them. The mercenaries were an extremely practical bunch and would only work for what they were paid for. ‘Overtime’ was not a word that was in their dictionary.

DarkStar retreated and disappeared into the galaxy.

In the eyes of the Godorans, despite coming with ferocity, DarkStar had been sent running with their tails tucked between their legs.

The citizens of Planet Golden Gate were overjoyed and forgot all about the unhappiness from being stopped when they tried to escape. The drastic change in attitude truly dumbfounded the guards.

This victory brought Godorans all around the galaxy joy, and all the news outlets in the Garton Star System were full of praise for Godora’s victory. The fear caused by DarkStar had also diminished greatly.

They only needed a single victory to bring their citizens out from the dark and help many of their citizens regain confidence in them. This was why the War Bureau had so desperately needed a victory.

…

Han Xiao had always watched the news and waited patiently. Even until DarkStar retreated, his communicator had still been silent.

Han Xiao tapped on the table rhythmically while letting out a deep sigh.

The worst-case scenario would naturally be Risda being found and forced to escape. The AI of the mothership would not be able to block Risda, and Risda would definitely be able to escape. However, this would mean that he would lose contact with Risda. Han Xiao was still extremely concerned about such a good hacking partner.

“I’ll wait a while longer. Risda should need some time to deal with the AI of the mothership.”

Han Xiao paced around the room, and after waiting for a long time, his communicator rang.

Taking a look at it, his furrowed brows and expression eased up.

A bright smile could be seen on Han Xiao’s face as he scrolled through the communicator.

“I wonder how much the Godorans are willing to pay for this information.”

Chapter 567: The Endless Potential of Selling Intelligence

Han Xiao received from his communicator that Risda had successfully infiltrated the AI system of a DarkStar mothership. By making use of the authority that he had obtained, he was currently breaking into DarkStar’s database. With Risda’s abilities, as long as he could infiltrate the AI system, breaking into the database was a certainty.

As long as Risda could infiltrate the bottommost layer of the database, Risda would be able to replace the AI system of the mothership. When the other motherships exchanged information with this particular mothership, all of their coordinates would be exposed. Currently, only the coordinates of this particular mothership were exposed.

The extremely concealed DarkStar truly made one feel helpless. They hid in the dark while stirring up trouble with their mothership base moving around. Han Xiao was not aware of their exact location, and before Risda’s appearance, Han Xiao did not have many ideas.

This was an idea that he had thought of after working together with Risda to deal with the sudden ambush on Planet Aquamarine previously. It was a feasible plan, and after some estimates, Han Xiao had arrived at a conclusion that excited him. This might be a way for him to take care of DarkStar for good and was extremely enticing.

Because he had set himself against DarkStar time and time again, DarkStar’s enmity toward him would only continue to deepen, and it was a matter of time before they dealt with him.

Han Xiao would not have been afraid if he was alone. After all, during his previous life, it was an extremely common thing for him to be chased all around. While he would be perfectly safe, his comrades would be in danger. His foundations were still weak, and it would be extremely easy for DarkStar to destroy them.

With such a dangerous enemy, Han Xiao definitely would not let go of a chance to eradicate them. Even if he would not be able to activate a future mission, he would get rid of DarkStar at the first opportunity. Missions were endless in the galaxy, and it was more important for him to get rid of his enemies.

He needed Godora’s help for this, and Godora would not let go of such a chance either.

With that thought in mind, Han Xiao left the room and went to the Godoran camp to find Nagakin.

“Black Star, you’re here.”

In the Godoran camp, the Godoran troops were currently packing up their items and moving them all onto the spaceship. The entire camp was bustling with activity, and Nagakin was supervising them from the side. Seeing Han Xiao arrive, Nagakin walked forward with a smile. It was obvious that he was in a good mood.

“Are you guys preparing to leave?” Han Xiao looked around.

Nagakin nodded with a face full of smiles and slapped Han Xiao on the back. “Yes, with the problem on Planet Aquamarine having been resolved, our mission is over. Our fleet and disaster relief squad will leave today.

“I still have to thank you. The higher ups are very satisfied with my efficiency and hinted that they will promote me after everything is over. This is all due to you.”

His current Favorability with Han Xiao was over sixty points, and he had also hopped on a free ride with Han Xiao’s contributions.

Han Xiao looked around before bringing Nagakin to a more concealed spot and saying softly, “I have some new intelligence. You will definitely be extremely interested in this. Help me contact the upper echelons of the War Bureau.”

More benefits‽ Nagakin’s eyes lit up.

“Drop me some hints so that I can describe it to the higher ups.” Nagakin also suppressed his voice but had an expectant look on his face. Black Star was like a treasure trove to him. As long as he worked together with Black Star, he would definitely be able to gain benefits.

Looking at the way that Nagakin was acting, Han Xiao’s face twitched slightly. Nagakin would not reveal his prestige and might when he was in front of Han Xiao. With the level of Favorability increasing, Nagakin would reveal his true character when they were in private. While being committed to his mission, he did not conceal his desire to go up the ranks. The image of a Calamity Grade expert in his mind collapsed completely.

Grade B formed the middle rung in the galaxy, and the Calamity Grade belonged to the upper rung. The War Bureau naturally attached great importance to Nagakin. However, the population of Godora was far too big, and there were still more than ten Calamity Grade experts. All of them were like imperial experts and the royal guard. Thus, Nagakin still had to face some competition.

“My intelligence this time is about DarkStar,” Han Xiao said with a mysterious tone.

“What about them?”

“Their location,” Han Xiao said briefly.

Nagakin’s eyes widened in shock, and his breathing became heavy. He naturally understood the significance of those words.

“I need to ask you solemnly. You aren’t lying to me, right?”

“I would lie to anyone but you.” Han Xiao rolled his eyes.

“Follow me. I will inform the upper echelons immediately.”

The both of them then walked into a secret meeting room and locked the door. Without saying another word, Nagakin took out his communicator to contact the higher ups.

The call went through, and the secretary of the War Bureau head appeared.

“Nagakin, the director-general is currently in a meeting. This is a meeting that the highest leader called. Wait until after the meeting if you have something.”

The battle on Planet Golden Gate had just ended, and the upper echelons of Godora were discussing their follow up plans.

“I have something urgent!” Nagakin said.

“Then tell me first. I will pass the message to the director-general after the meeting.”

“Tell him to forget about the meeting. It is a really big intelligence!” Nagakin’s voice was filled with agitation. “Black Star has DarkStar’s location!”

The expression of the secretary changed drastically, and he yelped, “Don’t hang up!” before running toward the conference room. The conference room was filled with many people, with some being present physically and others just projections. They all turned to look at the secretary with doubtful expressions.

The secretary hurried over to the director-general of the War Bureau and explained the situation briefly. The eyes of the War Bureau’s director-general widened, and he abruptly stood up. Picking his communicator up, he walked over to the highest leader and explained the situation.

The expression of the highest leader changed slightly, and he immediately bellowed in a deep voice, “The meeting is paused. Those who aren’t called, please go out and rest.”

Those present were all startled. Anyone capable of sitting at that conference table was a leader of an integral departments. Even the lowest ranked officer there was part of a core department that had access to the strategic plans of Godora. If Godora was an empire, this room would consist of the organs of the empire.

Just what would cause the highest leader to stop the meeting and even want some of the upper echelons to leave the room? Just what kind of intelligence was it that even they could not have access to it‽

The majority of the upper echelons left the room, and only the core group of the upper echelons remained. This matter was far too important, and the highest leader only kept his closest aides behind.

“Black Star, I am the highest leader of Godora, Serbia the Fifth.”

Godora was a magical civilization, and their governance structure had the style of a magical planet. They did not rule over the civilization with a federation, and there was no need to talk about having a democratic election.

The highest leader was chosen by the traditions of an ancient monarchy. The superiority that purebloods felt was also because of this tradition. However, Godora did make some changes in this Galactic Civilization era to ensure that the governance structure could keep up with their productive capacity and technological standards. Their highest leader was no longer a lifelong title, and his authority was restricted. Much of his authority had been split up.

The noble families and royal bloodline were not as precious and sacred as in ancient times. The royalty had the majority of their special rights taken away from them, and only their status and honor were left behind. This was something that the Godoran citizens who had seen the many different ruling systems of the galaxy could barely accept. As a Galactic Civilization, the intelligence of their citizens was directly correlated to the progression of their civilization. Even if they had to go against their traditions, they had to continuously improve.

The moment their progression fell behind, it would be very likely for a change in governance to come about.

In fact, there were many civilizations that were more advanced in technology than ruling system. For example, Harmon’s hometown was a boorish civilization that heavily emphasized combat prowess and did not use much of their brains. However, such a civilization was actually able to construct spaceships!

In the Galactic Civilization era, there were many different kinds of skills and technology. As such, the ruling system of a civilization was no longer as important to the productive capacity of the civilization. Thus, despite the three great civilizations of the galaxy having different ruling systems, their strength was equal.

Facing the highest leader of Godora, Nagakin bowed solemnly. On the other hand, Han Xiao only nodded casually as a greeting. This was the best part about being a mercenary—there was no need to perform any formal salutations.

“This is the third time that we’ve negotiated.” Han Xiao smiled.

The first time was the Mutation Source sample, second about revealing DarkStar’s plan and forming a bridge to the mercenaries. This was the third.

The previous two times, the ones negotiating with him had been the upper echelons of Godora. This time, it was the highest leader talking to him directly.

Without beating about the bush, they went straight to the point. Han Xiao proved that his intelligence was reliable, and Risda’s ability was one that could not be replicated. To Godora, this intelligence was a hundred times more valuable than the Mutation Source. DarkStar was like a parasite to the entire civilization, and Godora yearned for the opportunity to get rid of DarkStar every single day.

Both parties had been fighting for many years, and if they could get rid of DarkStar thoroughly, they would be able to erase one of their biggest enemies. Be it in terms of the conflict between the pure and mixed bloods or their status and security, there would be many benefits.

“This is the third time that our Godora has made a transaction with you. Your intelligence is extremely important. Are you completing this transaction as an individual, or are you representing Floating Dragon?” Serbia The Fifth asked.

“Representing Floating Dragon, I guess,” Han Xiao said. This meant that he was using his status as an assurance, and it was extremely official.

“What do you want?”

Godora would definitely want to obtain the intelligence that he had, and Han Xiao was not planning on holding back his demands.

Narrowing his eyes, Han Xiao slowly said, “Fifty middle sized battleships and one large sized mothership. I don’t want Godora’s models and want pure technological products. Second, I want to gain access to your knowledge bank and allow me to make a copy of a portion of the knowledge. Third, after the matter is over, reveal my contribution to the galaxy. Fourth, I want 20,000,000 Enas.”

Those conditions of his were more than ten times harsher than the previous transaction with the Mutation Source. Every department had a limited budget, and this amount was not at all small. Not too long ago, they had just hired the many mercenary groups, and they were truly burning money too quickly. Serbia the Fifth frowned for a moment and fell silent.

“Okay, we will first pay you 5,000,000 Enas. The rest of the payment and the battleships will be paid after everything is over. At that time, we can allow you to make a copy of five different knowledges. As for announcing your merits, you want to raise your reputation, right? Alright, as long as we are successful, we can make an official announcement.”

Woah, he accepted it without even bothering to bargaining. I should have raised my price. Han Xiao coughed dryly and hesitantly said, “Is it too late to change the price?”

“It’s too late,” Serbia the Fifth said with a darkened expression.

Han Xiao shook his head. This was the largest transaction that he had made to date. While this intelligence was valuable, Godora would have to mobilize their own forces at the end of the day, and it would not be too good for him to extort them. Even if it was an extremely important piece of intelligence, Godora would definitely try and suppress the price and not casually agree to his exorbitant price.

Han Xiao was about to bring the players into the galaxy, and he needed a lot of money for the early stages of his plan. With this new injection, his capital should be enough to last him a long time. If he only considered the cost price of a spaceship, 20,000,000 Enas would be sufficient to purchase a fleet of almost a hundred spaceships.

“Let’s have a pleasant time working together,” Han Xiao said.

“Hmm, we will await the good news. Nagakin, stay behind on Planet Aquamarine for now; you will be in charge of communication.”

“Yes.” Nagakin nodded.

…

A few days after the assault on Planet Golden Gate, in some corner of the Garton Star System, a fleet of DarkStar battleships was moving at high speed.

This fleet was currently on their way to Planet Aquamarine, and Degulish was the commander of the fleet. Ember was also part of the squad together with a high ranked officer named Terry. There was a total of three Calamity Grade Supers present in the squad. In order to get rid of Black Star, Degulish had sent out more than half of their high-end combat force.

With their ambush on Planet Golden Gate failing, the leader of DarkStar was only slightly surprised and did not have much of a reaction. He only got Degulish to follow their plan and attack Planet Aquamarine. Currently, DarkStar’s plan had gone completely off-track, and they could only seize every opportunity they had to create losses for Godora. At this moment, their aggro toward Han Xiao was extremely stable.

Taking into account the fact that Black Star had the BlackLight Stealth, which was best at escaping, they knew that they had to force Black Star into a battle if they wanted to kill him. Thus, they had chosen to ambush Black Star’s home planet so that Black Star would stay behind and fight.

“We shall wait for Godora’s fleet to leave before attacking Planet Aquamarine. Make use of the space disruptor to cover the atmosphere of Planet Aquamarine. While it won’t be useful in dealing with the BlackLight Stealth, we will be able to prolong the time needed to open up a space channel to Planet Aquamarine and prevent reinforcements from the other calamity planets. I have already checked. Ames left the Garton Star System a few days ago, and Black Star’s backer isn’t around.

“Ember will lead a portion of our forces as the spear head, and the rest of us will hide. We will only make our appearance after Ember ties Black Star down. We cannot reveal all of our strength, or we will scare Black Star away.”

Degulish had a solemn expression.

Terry did not voice any disagreements.

“I will not make the same mistake that I did in Noriosse,” Ember said coldly. “My ability is capable of massacring the commoners. As long as he cares, I will be able to force him to fight me. You’d all better appear quickly. If not, I may end up massacring the whole of Planet Aquamarine.”

Chapter 568: Imminent Danger!

The ‘Galaxy Times’ had released a new program for the week.

As usual, the players on the forums were bustling, eager to know about this week’s program.

The familiar faces of the two hosts once again appeared in front of the camera, saying the same familiar catchphrase opening sentences.

“Hello players, this is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information,” the male host said. “Your gaming career is our top priority.”

“Based on an anonymous response from our player friends, the station has decided to cancel the joke section. We’re a serious news channel, and our principle has always been to deliver the most accurate and detailed news, not gain viewers through the usage of humor… hehe.” The female host solemnly read out from the script but started laughing halfway.

“Be serious.” The male host was seated upright, his gaze not shifting, and his lips did not even open when he was speaking, as though the words came directly from his throat.

A number of the viewers cheered, and the entire screen blurred with all sorts of chatter 1 .

“Hey hey, what’s this about cancelling? This program was originally for lame jokes!”

“Hahaha, this is even funnier than their original lame jokes!”

The program continued as the female host regained her composure. “This week’s program was delayed for two days. This was because its content was originally about the Main Storyline for Version 2.0 on each planet. However, with the recent happenings on Planet Aquamarine, we had to change the content. Let’s look at the content for this week…”

This week’s ‘Galaxy Times’ episode was about the Version 2.0 Main Storyline for each of the novice planets. At this point, the majority of novice planets were already somewhat aware of the storyline and were just about to enter the most exciting phase.

But the actions on Planet Aquamarine had resulted in the Galaxy Times changing their report. This was because they had managed to end the Mutation Disaster; thus, their prepared content had to be updated.

While the players on the other planets were still happily progressing along the plot, the players on Planet Aquamarine had already completed their task.

This caused the players from the other planets to feel envious and jealous.

The last feature of the program was about Planet Aquamarine.

“In Version 1.0, Planet Aquamarine was also the only planet that managed to have players enter the interstellar area. If we look across the board, each novice planet has a certain specialty, and the specialty of Planet Aquamarine is to allow their players to enter the interstellar stage earlier.

“This time, Planet Aquamarine ended the Main Storyline of Version 2.0 way ahead of schedule. This also means that the players will enter the interstellar maps earlier than the other novice planets. Based off the current circumstances on Planet Aquamarine, it seems like the NPC guide to the interstellar path is Black Phantom, now known as Black Star. This is a legendary figure, with many channels dedicating themselves to understanding his past deeds. I will not waste time introducing him here.”

While the Main Storyline of the planet had ended early, the players had also gotten the opportunity to enter the interstellar region earlier. To all the players, this was many times better than the storyline in Version 2.0!

All the players on Planet Aquamarine were overjoyed, and the Chinese clubs were even happier. This meant that they had correctly chosen their starting planet to be Planet Aquamarine, as it allowed them to pull forward from all the other esports clubs all over the world.

“From Black Star, we found out that the other novice planets will all have a faction with a guide. We will now focus on the introduction of Black Star and his Mercenary Group’s actions on Planet Aquamarine…”

The two hosts recited their lines, analyzing the actions of Han Xiao in the Mutation Disaster from various angles. This was followed by analysis of the merits of joining the Black Star Mercenary Group, and they eventually gave a high evaluation.

Based on the knowledge given by the professional players under Black Star in Version 1.0, they knew that the privileges offered by the Black Star Mercenary Group were numerous. Furthermore, it was still a faction in its infancy. This meant that with the players fighting for the mercenary group, they could further increase its value, adding more benefits for themselves.

Thus, the Galaxy Times felt that the faction was something to be considered in the long term, and it was even possible for Black Star himself to be a hidden Main Storyline.

The players of Planet Aquamarine had long understood this from the start and thus did not show much response. Instead, it was the players all over the other novice planets that sighed in envy. Why did they not manage to get such a good NPC?

“They really did a great job inflating me.”

Han Xiao was also viewing this program. The ‘Galaxy Times’ contained a lot of complicated content, and it was unlike the video channels made by Bun-Hit-Dog that were only meant for viewership. The ‘Galaxy Times’ had a colossal audience, and they mainly reported on events that had wide reaching impact. By talking about him, they had indirectly helped raise his reputation, attracting many potential players to this planet.

Turning off the forum, Han Xiao focused on the scene before his eyes. Right now, he was in the refugee area outside the Second Sanctuary. Bennett’s Sanctuaries were no longer just shelters but rather urbanized cities. While the Mutation Disaster had just ended, a few of the stronger willed refugees had already begun to eke out a living once again and come out with their own little businesses and shops. They could not be termed refugees anymore but rather just residents.

Han Xiao sat outside a small street stall on the roadside. He had heard that the owner of this humble stall used to be a senior executive chef and had fled to seek refuge when the disaster struck. While he only used cheaper ingredients now, the taste was superb. The meat broth bubbled merrily on a stove, the rich fragrance wafting out, and the chef was even searing meat by the side using a metal pan. His wife was his kitchen aide and was stir-frying vegetables. The aroma of cooking food caused many passersby to glance back a second time.

There was a long queue in front of this booth, with people by the roadside wolfing down their food. There was a person who almost swallowed his fingers as well while eating. In the last few months, there was barely anyone who had eaten a proper meal. While the fare provided was simple, the combination of food with oil heightened their impression to that of a delicacy, allowing these people to soothe their strained heartstrings.

This street had originally been a dirty refugee camp, but now, it was so much cleaner. The atmosphere was no longer as depressed. A few of the refugees who had decided to stay had begun demolishing the tents and building simple houses, causing the streets to appear like a construction site and become a hubbub of noise and chatter.

“Sister, this is very nice!”

Seated opposite on the small table, Aurora cradled a bowl, making slurping noises as she ate. Her cheeks wobbled with every bite, causing her to resemble a tiny squirrel.

Hila only ate a few mouthfuls before she stopped. She stretched out a hand, tucking the stray strands of hair behind Aurora’s ear, softly patting her back at the same time to ensure she did not choke.

The Great Mechanic Han was not so solitary that he would go shopping alone. He had asked the two sisters along with him, to observe the situation around the Sanctuary, as well as to talk about any issues they would have with the Dragon Emperor.

Although the Mutation Disaster had ended and the problem of Planet Aquamarine was resolved along with the leaving of the Godoran spaceship, Nagakin had surprisingly stayed to be in charge of communications.

Han Xiao estimated that the players would have probably gotten used to the fact that the Main Storyline had ended, and thus decided to wrap things up and formally take the players away. In the meantime, Ames had instructed him to take the two sisters over to Floating Dragon. Having asked the two of them, he did not receive any objections.

As they ate, Han Xiao transmitted his thoughts over to Risda. Risda had been attempting to hack into DarkStar mothership for a few days but still had not managed to completely break into the database.

However, according to the update sent by Risda, the estimated time should be near. As long as the hack was successful, the locations of all the DarkStar motherships would be revealed, which would spell their death.

Recently, news has spread about the increase in development of the Mutation Source on the calamity planets. The Godoran rescue teams are getting frustrated. It seems as though the infiltration teams of DarkStar on each planet have found the Mutation Source and fed it enough energy to accelerate its development. They have not given up just yet.

Han Xiao sat there silently contemplating before shaking his head. Most likely, Godora’s current attention was no longer on providing disaster relief. He had to wait for his own intelligence to completely destroy the tumor that was DarkStar.

Wiping his mouth, Han Xiao stood up and prepared to pay. Seeing this, the chef hurriedly wiped his hands, rejecting the payment.

“Your Honor, you’re the savior of our planet; everyone here owes you their life. How could we accept your payment?”

The attitude of the stall owner was determined, and this attracted the chorus of the surrounding crowd.

Hearing this, Han Xiao did not insist, instead patting Hila on the head and saying, “Then you pay.”

“Did I allow you to touch my head? Do you think I’m Aurora‽”

Hila grumpily smacked off Han Xiao’s hand, glaring at him, before talking out her purse.

Du! Du!

At this time, his communicator sounded. It was a message from Risda.

“I’ve succeeded in hacking into their database and have located the coordinates of all the DarkStar motherships. I’ve discovered that there is a mothership that’s moving toward Planet Aquamarine. It’s extremely close, and there are three Calamity Grade Supers within. You have to be careful.”

The first half of the sentence left Han Xiao in joy, but the latter half caused his expression to sink.

A DarkStar mothership is approaching Planet Aquamarine‽

It went without saying, the three Calamity Grade Supers definitely did not come here for sightseeing!

“Could it be that DarkStar wishes to eradicate the calamity planet that has managed to resolve the mutation disaster‽”

Han Xiao’s thoughts flashed, and he came up with a conjecture that was close to the mark.

However, their motive should also be to deal with him, or else they would not have brought out three Calamity Grades.

Could it be that DarkStar had discovered his involvement and schemes‽

Han Xiao groaned inwardly. Since the Godoran frigate was not present, he alone was unable to withstand the attacks from a mothership.

The circumstances were dire!

He immediately contacted Nagakin. The first issue now was to remain rational and seek for help.

“I’ve discovered a DarkStar mothership in the vicinity of Planet Aquamarine. They most likely wish to eradicate this planet, and thus, danger is imminent. We have to request for assistance!”

“What‽ I’ll report it up now!” Nagakin exclaimed.

Since they were still within their honeymoon period of cooperating, Godora would definitely come to his aid.

Han Xiao did not stop to rest, immediately contacting Bennett and the Six Nations. He requested for them to arrange staff to guide the people in the cities to take shelter in the underground air defense facilities.

DarkStar would be launching a global strike, and without the frigate from Godora to protect the planet, the danger would be a hundred times higher. This would be akin to throwing a delicate pretty girl into a group of sex-starved men. They could only try to minimize the losses before the reinforcements came.

This was the greatest crisis that Planet Aquamarine had ever faced. DarkStar was an enemy that this planet could not afford to face. If they did not handle the situation properly, their civilization would end there and then!

Just like the Sunil civilization of the past.

“What’s wrong?” Hila caught Han Xiao’s expression and furrowed her brows.

“There’s a fleet that’s about to attack us. Don’t tarry here any longer. Take your sister to the Sanctuary to hide. I’ll activate the protective shield later,” Han Xiao replied swiftly.

“Aurora will return. I can stay to protect you,” Hila replied in a solemn tone.

“Help my *ss, this battlefield is way too early for you to be participating in!”

Han Xiao was not courteous at all. When faced with three Calamity Grades, even he would feel the pressure. If not for the fact that he had received the two Molding Abilities that made him into something of a power generator, he would not take the risk of facing the enemy at all. To think that Hila, who was far from having the qualifications to participate, wanted to join in!

Hila’s face turned stiff as she angrily gritted her teeth. However, she knew that Han Xiao was not someone who would pretend to be strong. If he said that she was not suitable, then she was really ill-suited for it. She did not hesitate, hurriedly taking her sister to run toward the inner portions of the Sanctuary, her speed extremely quick.

Given Han Xiao’s current status, he was fully capable of commanding the whole of Planet Aquamarine. Having received his news, the Six Nations and Bennett were alarmed and immediately mobilized people to help the civilians evacuate.

Alarms rang throughout the Sanctuary, and the city immediately turned chaotic. Groups of refugees were guided toward the air defense facilities.

The residents in the street also left, jostling with each other.

Hu!

Just as Han Xiao was preparing to go up to the command center to coordinate the overall situation, a whistling sound came from the sky.

More than a dozen spaceships from DarkStar entered the atmosphere, heading toward the shelters. They swooped at high speed and, without warning, immediately began firing their laser cannons. Clusters of beams hit various locations in the Sanctuary, and dozens of areas immediately exploded.

Boom!

Flames and smoke rose up into the sky. The next second, the peaceful Sanctuary turned into a visage of hell!

This did not stop at the Sanctuaries. At the same time, the Six Nations were also attacked by the DarkStar ships.

Planet Aquamarine had come under enemy attack once again!

“How did they arrive so quickly‽” Han Xiao had a grave expression. He had only received the news a few short minutes ago and only just begun to evacuate the civilians. How did the enemies appear so quickly?

A DarkStar spaceship shot over his head, bringing with it a screaming gust of wind. Han Xiao glanced up at it, and his eyes suddenly focused.

That’s right. The mothership should not have arrived yet. This group should be the vanguard!

We have to immediately bring these spaceships down!

Han Xiao contacted his mercenaries to deploy the protective shield at the base while starting up the ground-to-air Electromagnetic Rail Cannon. He also ordered the officers such as Herlous to utilize the assault ships seized the previous time to fight against the DarkStar vanguards.

With a protective shield above the Sanctuary, the situation was better there compared to the Six Nations. They were the ones that required more help at the moment.

As he was issuing his orders, Han Xiao suddenly sensed danger and immediately leaped to the side. A black arrow that was tens of meters long was deeply embedded where he had previously stood.

Bang!

The street split apart from the impact!

The next second, the dark arrow collapsed and turned into countless particles, hovering around a figure in the sky.

Ember lowered his head to look at Han Xiao. His face was expressionless as he snapped his fingers.

Pa!

His move is not targeted at me… Han Xiao’s heart tightened, and he quickly turned back to look. Behind him, the refugees that were running away from afar all turned into piles of ash in an instant. The stall owner’s family was one of the affected. Just a second ago, he had still been running away in large strides, and in the next second, he had turned into a pile of ash on the ground.

Those who were fortunately spared from the attack all collapsed to the ground, scared silly. A warmth could be felt around their crotches.

At this point, Ember looked down from high above, coldly speaking.

“Did you miss me, Black Star?”

Dammit, this guy’s ability to cause damage to civilians is too scary. I have to hold him down!

Han Xiao furrowed his brows before reining in his stare. He looked at Ember as he sarcastically replied, “Of course I did. You lost to me so many times previously. Do you wish to taste defeat once more?”

Hearing this, a hint of anger appeared on Ember’s face. However, he realized that his mission was to force Black Star to stay and battle him, and his anger was immediately replaced by a cold sneer.

“Haha, do you think I came to deal with you this time?”

Ember raised his head to look at his surroundings. The Sanctuary was set ablaze, with spaceships constantly bombarding the area. The streets had turned into debris, with waves of refugees constantly running around.

His gaze swept across the muddled crowds before locking onto the escaping figures of Hila and Aurora.

“I’ve already checked you out thoroughly. Those two women are probably friends that you value highly. So, you can collect their corpses! If there’s still anything to collect after this!”

Ember activated his ability, grasping outward with his fingers.

From afar, Hila and Aurora’s bodies began turning to ash!

Chapter 569: Army Appear!

Cr*p!

Han Xiao immediately activated Void Travel, and his figure appeared before Ember. He did not have enough time to put on his mechanical suit but sent a kick toward Ember’s crotch.

Boom!

How despicable! Ember’s face turned ashen. His little brother was almost kicked, but he quickly blocked the attack. Han Xiao was not able to cause much damage without his mechanical suit, but he managed to cut off Ember’s Esper ability.

Only then did Han Xiao have time to put on his mechanical suit. Turning around to take a look, he realized that Hila had lost her leg, and Aurora had lost an arm.

A brilliant golden light then burst forth from Aurora’s palms and swallowed Hila up. Hila’s leg then grew back out rapidly. Only after doing so did Aurora regrow her own arm.

Hila immediately grabbed Aurora and continued to escape. The previous attack had allowed her to understand the difference in strength. She knew that she would only be a burden to Han Xiao if she stayed behind.

What a frightening ability. To think that he has always been dealing with such dangerous enemies…

A look of anxiousness could be seen on her face.

…

With both the sisters being safe, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, Aurora is able to regrow broken limbs. It seems like her strength has grown.

Hila and Aurora’s abilities complemented each other. While they were currently weak, it was not so easy to get rid of them. Back when they were trying to break out of the Germinal Organization’s encirclement, a hole had opened up in Hila’s stomach, but she had still managed to survive with her talent. With Aurora by her side now, it was like carrying a gigantic HP potion.

“Will you be able to block me?”

Ember did not bother chasing the sisters but diverted his attention to Han Xiao. The civilians were only his bait; he had only attacked the others to force Black Star to fight him.

Ten or so black snakes then shot toward Han Xiao like speeding arrows. This was not the first time that he had fought Han Xiao, and he knew that it was not so easy to deal with Han Xiao. Thus, he immediately went all out.

The compressed orbs that Han Xiao always carried with him burst into action, and the Halo Array covered Han Xiao in a protective shield. The black snakes smashed into the shield ferociously, and sparks burst forth from the friction of the collision. The shield glowed brightly and expended a great amount of energy. Han Xiao was forced back by the powerful impact, and two ditches were made from his feet being dragged along the ground.

An open terrain in advantageous to him. He is of a higher grade than me and has better attributes. I will only be able to tie him down. Han Xiao’s face was solemn.

The situation was extremely bad. Ember was only the advance party, and there were still two Calamity Grade Supers and a mothership behind him. This was a force capable of destroying Planet Aquamarine.

The only choice he had was to wait for reinforcements to arrive. If Godora wanted his intelligence, they would certainly show up.

Right at that moment, he activated a mission.

_____________________

You have triggered an Urgent Mission [Planet Aquamarine’s Crisis]!

Mission Hint: DarkStar has launched a sudden attack on Planet Aquamarine. This planet needs your protection, and you must try to block the enemies.

Mission Requirements: Block the DarkStar forces and protect Planet Aquamarine until the reinforcements appear.

Current destruction: 167/3,000

Failure Condition: Full destruction meter

Mission Reward: 620,000 Experience, +2 Garton Star System Renown, +1,500 Six Nations Favorability

_____________________

An unexpected event would usually trigger an Urgent Mission. Not just Han Xiao, but all the players on Planet Aquamarine had triggered this Urgent Mission. In the Sanctuary, all the players stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky with shock. The DarkStar battleships were cutting through the clouds and firing upon the planet.

The protective shield of the second base opened up and the rail guns also revealed themselves. At the same time, the spaceships of the mercenaries also took off into the sky and launched their counterattack.

Why would there be a sudden attack on the planet? The players couldn’t understand why and were extremely puzzled. However, it was more important for them to deal with the enemy and they all got to work quickly.

All of them activated the [Planet Aquamarine’s Crisis] mission but Han Xiao activated another special mission.

_____________________

You have triggered an Urgent Mission [Assassination Target]!

Mission Hint: Your actions have caused great losses for DarkStar, and the hatred has been accumulating. Finally, DarkStar has found a chance. They sent out three Grade A Officers and decided to kill you.

Mission Requirements: You will be surrounded by three Grade A Supers. Hang in there until reinforcements arrive.

Failure Conditions: Death or escaping from Planet Aquamarine

Mission Reward: 12,100,000 Experience, +30 Garton Star System Renown, +1,000 Godora Favorability, +1 Legendary Point

_____________________

“Their spaceship is already right at my doorstep, and this is still called an assassination‽” Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.

The mission hint had confirmed Risda’s intelligence.

Through the radar, Han Xiao could clearly observe the situation of the battlefield in the Sanctuary. Everyone was currently working together to fight off the enemies, so there was no need for him to get distracted.

Han Xiao focused all his attention on Ember.

Han Xiao could only rely on the others to deal with the other enemies. He had to block Ember personally; if not, the casualties would be immense.

Dong! Dong!

The black sand continued to smash against his golden shield, and Han Xiao was almost forced into the ground. Han Xiao immediately opened his interface, and without even looking, he put all his accumulated experience into leveling up.

In the past month, he did not push out any new skills or knowledge to the players, and the experience that he had earned was not enough to push him up to level 140. However, in the face of a powerful enemy, every little bit of strength counted. It would be extremely difficult for him to deal with a single Calamity Grade Super, not to mention the fact that there were two more on the way. He had no choice but to convert all his resources into combat capability.

His experience points were used up rapidly.

_____________________

[Virtual Mechanic] was raised to Lv.11.

+150 Energy, +3 END, +6 INT.

You have received 6 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

_____________________

His accumulated experience was sufficient for him to go up by six levels, and his total level was now 136!

This time, he did not throw his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence. His Intelligence was already more than 1,100 points and was remarkably high already. Ordinarily, he would have added it all to Intelligence for sure. However, he was currently facing the biggest crisis ever, and it was not appropriate for him to increase his Intelligence further.

Han Xiao threw all his points into Endurance to ensure his survival. He was extremely clear that even if he made use of his Mechanic Army, it would be difficult for him to defeat a Calamity Grade Super head on. Furthermore, the other party had three Calamity Grade Supers. All he could do was tank the damage with his body.

The Aurora Character Summon Card in his hands still had a few usages left. Furthermore, the two new Molding Abilities that he had gained from the Mutation Source would serve a great purpose. Under such circumstances, the higher his HP, the more obvious the effect of those trump cards.

After adding all his points into Endurance, Han Xiao’s health increased by 5,643 points!

His total HP had broken the 40,000 mark!

The higher his level, the bigger the difference. The increase in HP from his six levels was more than the overall HP of a level 60 player.

A warm surge of energy spread out from within his body. Han Xiao felt his mind freshen up, and he placed his palms together.

Clank!

Eight large mechanical arms appeared together and transformed into drills to retaliate.

Han Xiao bent his knees slightly, and the thrusters under his feet spewed out flames at maximum capacity to block off the incoming black tide. He then threw out a large number of compressed orbs, which formed various floating artillery towers. Ember was immediately showered with an endless stream of bullets.

The street was completely flattened by their battle, and Han Xiao did not have the extra energy to be concerned about the exterior region of the Sanctuary. Han Xiao then threw out another two compressed orbs, and the two Oathkeepers that he always carried with him, Warrior and Blaster, appeared beside him.

Boom boom boom!

The two of them were locked in a stalemate.

Ember wanted to control the carbon particles to destroy the interior of the machines. Han Xiao had fallen for this trick before and was prepared to deal with this technique. He let out a large number of Hovering Shield Shuttles and covered his machines with a simple energy shield to block the carbon particles from flowing in.

The two of them were engaged in an intense battle, and it was as though a gigantic black snake was fighting a metal army. Their battlefield shifted around the outer region of the Sanctuary, and destruction followed them wherever they went.

Right at that moment, a golden shooting star like figure shot over from afar and crashed into the black snake beneath Ember’s feet.

Ember’s eyes narrowed, and he hurriedly avoided the incoming golden fist.

Nagakin, who was wreathed in golden flames, landed beside Han Xiao and glared at Ember angrily.

Nagakin’s entrance had temporarily broke the two up.

“Black Star, are you alright?”

“Don’t worry, he won’t be able to harm me. Are the reinforcements here yet?”

Nagakin shook his head with a solemn expression. “I have already informed the War Bureau, and the fleets stationed at the other calamity planets are already rushing over. Originally, they would only take three minutes or so to arrive, but because DarkStar set up a space disrupter outside the atmosphere of the planet, our reinforcements will take more time to get here.”

If the fleet protecting Planet Aquamarine had not been pulled back, they would definitely have been able to survive this short period. However, the War Bureau had placed all their attention on wiping out DarkStar for good. Upon seeing that the calamity on Planet Aquamarine had been resolved, they had followed their original plan and pulled back their forces.

Furthermore, they had thought that the huge victory at Planet Golden Gate would slow DarkStar down slightly; never had they expected DarkStar’s next move to be so swift.

“Thankfully, there is only a single Calamity Grade Super. He is Ember, who massacred millions in Long Arc. I will work together with you and get rid of him quickly.”

Nagakin glared at Ember and was eager to battle.

Ember’s expression turned into one of wariness and anger. The two before him were the ones who had gotten rid of Anur, and this was still fresh in his mind.

With the protective fleet being pulled back, why would Godora leave one of their experts behind?

Ember began to frown. His mission was to tie down Black Star, and he was confident in doing so. However, with Nagakin in the picture, his arms would be tied up.

We will only be able to have some chance of victory when Degulish and Terry arrive. Thankfully, they aren’t aware that we have another two lying in ambush. Perhaps we will be able to get rid of a Godoran powerhouse.

Ember glared at the two coldly with confidence.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao grabbed Nagakin’s arm and said, “Don’t, let me tie him down. You should deal with the assault forces in space. Tell Herlous to take some Inhumans to reinforce the Six Nations. The Sanctuary has the both of us, protective shields, and surface to air weapons. However, the Six Nations are in grave danger and require immediate reinforcements!”

Nagakin was taken aback and frowned. “What do you mean by that? With the two of us joining hands, we will be able to take care of him quickly. Just like we did back in Noriosse.”

“It wouldn’t be so simple.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

He had used the Dragon Emperor Character Summon Card previously to create the opportunity for Nagakin to go all out. This time, he no longer had the Character Summon Card, and they would not be able to get rid of Ember quickly.

Since that was the case, it would be better for him to tie Ember down and get Nagakin to protect the base to minimize losses. In just a short while, the destruction meter had gone up by more than 400 points. They had to immediately stop the assault fleet.

Furthermore, there would be another two Calamity Grade Supers ambushing him later. He would be able to pull open the battlefield and tie down three of the opponent’s experts single-handedly. With Aurora’s Character Summon Card and his Molding Abilities, it would be extremely difficult for the other party to kill him.

However, things would be different if Nagakin was beside him. If the three from DarkStar chose to suddenly surround Nagakin, he would definitely be in danger. Despite Nagakin being a Grade A Pugilist, his skin was not as thick as Han Xiao’s.

“Alright, I shall leave him to you!” Nagakin gritted his teeth and nodded. Since Han Xiao insisted, he could only choose to trust his comrade. He looked at Ember before sprinting toward the base.

Upon seeing that, Ember looked at Han Xiao with a look of mockery.

Mission accomplished! Black Star was baited!

To think that you would actually reject Nagakin’s help and face me alone. You are truly asking for trouble!

When Degulish and Terry arrive, you won’t be able to escape even if you want to!

In his eyes, Han Xiao did not know that there was an ambush.

Ember was secretly delighted. He truly wanted to see what Black Star’s expression would be like when the ambushing troops appeared!

Currently, the Sanctuary was consumed by flames and was in a complete mess. The sound of cannon fire, anxious shrieks, and miserable groans could be heard all around. DarkStar had brought a more direct calamity to the planet. Stopping the Mutation Disaster had resulted in revenge from DarkStar.

Han Xiao took a deep breath and suppressed the frustration in his heart. He ignored the chaos happening in the outside world. He threw everything to do with destruction, casualties, and death out of his head.

Ember stepped on the black current and floated in midair. Looking down on Han Xiao from above, killing intent emanated from his face.

If Black Star was alone, he would not be wary.

“You aren’t at the Calamity Grade yet, right? Without the traps that you set up last time, how will you deal with me?”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao’s voice sounded from the helmet. “It’s been more than a year since we last fought, but your strength hasn’t increased much. However, I am different from you. Phillip, release all the armies!”

“Roger, hum…”

Hu!

Since Risda was not around, Phillip was now in charge of piloting the BlackLight Stealth. The BlackLight Stealth weaved through the battlefield between the assault spaceships and mercenaries and appeared above Han Xiao. A few boxes were then ejected from the belly of the spaceship, and the boxes flew toward Han Xiao with the use of thrusters.

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up with a bolt of electricity, and he pointed his right palm toward the sky. Overflowing Mechanical Force burst forward and formed countless lightning whips to connect to all the Army Boxes.

“Army appear!”

Chapter 570: Siege

The arcs of Mechanical Force connected several Army Boxes. With a wave of his right hand, Han Xiao triggered the lightning to move downward.

The Army Boxes were slammed open, and out rolled numerous compressed orbs that shot like bullets toward Ember, as though a hail of arrows.

Clank!

The machines clanked as they moved around, the noise suppressing all other sound. All the compressed orbs unfolded in midair, turning into countless mechanical creations that covered the sky, raining down like a deluge of metal.

Ember’s expression changed, and he controlled his black current in a head-on collision.

Boom boom boom!

The black current was forcibly ripped apart, and the mechanical soldiers landed on the ground one after another. There were different models, different appearances, with their heights and sizes varying. They covered the entire area, with Ember trapped within, looking extremely helpless.

There was a total of four Army Boxes, and the one numbered 001, the Mechanical Beast Guards Army, had several thousand mechanical beasts encircling Ember, as though they were observing prey.

Box 002 contained the Strike Artillery Regiment. This was a long-range force, meant to support the troops. It was located behind the formation and boasted long-ranged artilleries, including rapid-fire turrets, large-caliber turrets, self-propelled turrets, mini-rail guns, and more. All their nozzles were aimed at Ember.

As for box 003, the G-1 Steel Army Corps, this is a hybrid army with the largest personnel, a total of 6,400 mechanical warriors. Among them were the larger attack units, clad in heavy armor that reflected a cold metal luster. They shielded the front of the formation, each holding an alloy tower shield that glowed with energy arcs.

There were also harassment units composed of the 4th Generation Rangers, equipped with high speed rocket-powered machinery to serve as the vanguard. Some were suspended in the air, able to conduct aerial combat with their lasers or trap and separate enemies.

The last was box 101, the Oathkeeper Personal Guard. Separated by ‘fighters’ and ‘gunners’, there was a total of eight of them standing around Han Xiao.

Han Xiao possessed four armies with their own unique numbers. Other than the elite troops comprised of the Oathkeepers, the other three armies were conventional models of an army, utilizing human wave tactics.

The first number for the serial numbers in the regular armies was ‘0’, while the elite troops were labelled ‘1’.

The construction of the Army Style was time, money, and energy consuming. To create those four legions, Han Xiao had thrown in quite a bit of money. Even with the assembly line aiding him, he had also spent quite a bit of time constructing his machinery.

The mechanical warriors configured were all carefully selected by him after scouring through many blueprints. Not only did they possess strong fighting capabilities, they could be quickly repaired after receiving damage.

In theory, as long as one had enough money, they could build as many legions as they wanted, given that the operating speed of the Artificial Intelligence in charge of controlling the legion could keep up. If one Artificial Intelligence could not handle the operations, then just build another! This was the advantage of money.

However, Han Xiao had only built four legions, which had taken him almost three months. He had originally planned to only expand his army on a large scale after he reached Grade A.

It would be a qualitative leap forward for him, allowing his manufacturing speed to be further boosted, which could save him a lot more time. Furthermore, the machines created would also have stronger properties, and he would also have a lot more powerful blueprints by then.

This was also the first time that Han Xiao had fully activated his entire mechanical army.

The mechanical army surrounded Ember tightly, their alloy armors reflecting the sunlight.

Han Xiao fired a Void Jet Spray in the direction of Ember.

Where the muzzle was pointed, the army advanced!

Boom!

The next second, the mechanical army pressed forward, reminiscent of a metal tsunami!

The artillery fire was almost endless, and with each passing second, more than a thousand lasers were fired toward the black current. The diamond barrier constantly shattered and regenerated, and Ember was immediately placed under a great amount of pressure. He gritted his teeth.

Even with the natural resistance afforded to him by his Calamity Grade, if he was hit by so many attacks, he would definitely suffer a serious injury!

Ember could only sense that a division was surrounding and attacking him. He was drowned in the sea of machinery, and he felt at a loss.

His face revealed an expression of shock. Every time he faced Black Star, the speed of his opponent’s growth would always leave him fearful. The gap between their abilities seemed to be shortening, with him being caught up.

Could it be that I’ll never defeat him in my life‽

Ember’s eyes turned bloodshot at the thought.

Fog-like particles rose from their surroundings, merging into the black current. The size of the black current constantly expanded, and soon, the cloud of black particles covering hundreds of meters condensed, changing its shape. The outer layer turned into diamond to resist the attacks, while several huge python-like carbon creatures stuck their heads out from within, piercing into the mechanical army and continuously swallowing the broken mechanical warriors.

“A Calamity Grade is indeed difficult to go against.” Han Xiao continued to release his mechanical force, providing a large amount of machinery bonuses to his army.

He did not need to worry about his energy being depleted. He just had to rush into the black current and receive a few hard blows, and his energy tank would be refilled. A generator was just this law-breaking and unbridled.

The Army Style was about being a gangster and using human wave tactics. It was even more overpowered than the summoning system. The summoning system at least required mana consumption, but this Army Style only required the machinery to be prepared in advance. Both sides had their advantages and disadvantages, but just speaking in terms of raw fighting strength, the Army Style was the most domineering.

Just like how the summoner was required to burn their mana, the Army Style required burning money, just like the divine skill of legends ‘Tossing out the Heaven and Earth[1.It’s an idiom meaning to go and stake everything. Think ‘All In’ for poker.]’. Money was in some ways equivalent to the combat capability of a Mechanic.

The Army Style can be used to crush someone of the same level and could also be used to consume the strength of Supers of a higher level. Ember being reduced to a passive state was a good example. Back when they were on Noriosse, Han Xiao could only try to avoid a direct fight with Ember by any means. However, he could now go head to head against him and even suppress the other party. The effects were obvious.

Even if Ember could withstand the concentrated gunfire and slowly swallow and chip away at his forces, he still had a limit to his energy. If he continued to waste it as such, it was unknown who would be the biggest loser in the end. This showed that the probability of Ember losing was not low at all!

For a Calamity Grade to face off against a Grade B Super, winning was inevitable. Very few could surpass the gap that divided both sides.

The battle between both sides only grew fiercer. After the mechanical army joined the battle, the resulting activity could be described as earth shaking. It was difficult not to notice it even if one did not wish to. Even the players far away from the Sanctuary could see the great war between Ember and Han Xiao, and they had expressions of surprise.

Compared to the power that Black Star was showing, the strength that he had used to deal with the Mutation Source was almost trivial!

Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes shone, and he rushed to the scene without fear of his death, recording the entire scene in the meantime.

By this point, Hila had brought Aurora back to the protective shield region. As she turned back and saw the battle between both parties, a hint of worry flashed across her face. Han Xiao was right; she did not possess the qualifications to take part in a battle of that level.

In the sky, Nagakin had brought his own troops to attack and destroy the offending DarkStar motherships. As for Herlous and the rest, they heeded Han Xiao’s instructions, taking a group of players to assist the Six Nations.

At that moment, a few batches of DarkStar spaceships appeared in the sky, quickly drawing near. The number was many times greater than the first batch.

The DarkStar’s main forces had arrived!

Everyone’s expression dropped.

The situation has just gotten worse!

…

Two other threats quickly approached. Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he commanded the mechanical army to halt their attacks and pull away, protecting himself in the center.

Ember was breathing heavily. He had resisted the mechanical army for quite some time and had begun to feel the fatigue. He was extremely aggrieved in his heart, as he realized that if he continued fighting, his life would be in danger. His abilities were well-suited for killing carbon lifeforms but not so powerful against the group of machines comprised of different alloys. If it was merely ordinary machinery, it would not have been so bad, but all the machines present were buffed by Black Star and increased his consumption to ward them off.

However, at this point, Ember burst into laughter with great confidence—his reinforcements had arrived!

From the other two positions, Degulish and Terry each occupied a spot, forming a triangular formation with Ember. In a twist of fate, Han Xiao was now the one being surrounded.

“Well done, Ember. He’s trapped now.” Degulish nodded, his body brimming with energy. He was a pugilist.

Ember looked at Han Xiao, breathing a sigh of relief as he sneered, “My mission was not to kill you but to restrain you. The moment we engaged, you had already fallen for my ploy. Bet you didn’t expect it!”

Ember was hoping that Han Xiao would reveal some panic or maybe even try to escape. However, Han Xiao did neither, instead moving into a fighting posture.

Han Xiao had always intended to tangle with the three of them but at the same time did not wish for them to realize that he had known about the ambush in advance. As such, he had followed along. Besides, his mechanical suit covered his face as well, not allowing anyone to observe his expressions.

Looking at the three of them, Han Xiao started to calculate.

This ambush was created for me. Three Calamity Grade Supers, looks like DarkStar really wants me dead. It’s good that I sent Risda out, or else I would have been facing the same headache as Godora…

Right now, I need to restrain these three with all my might, not allowing them to have any energy spare to deal with others. Among them, the Pugilist gives me the most pressure. I estimate that he is slightly stronger than the other two. I’m not sure if I can endure the damage given by the three of them. Oh well. For now, it should be fine!

Those thoughts shot by in an instant, and Han Xiao took a deep breath. Activating his [Medium Cell Proliferation Control], he exhausted a portion of his energy to recover his HP. Then, he cracked a smile.

“Only the three of you? That’s too little!”

Unable to witness what he expected, Ember gritted his teeth in hatred. Stubborn!

Seeing how Han Xiao wished to resist to the end, Degulish revealed a cold smile.

A Grade B Super, when faced with three Calamity Grade Supers, still wishes to resist?

Is Black Star relying on his mechanical army? Ha, do you think that can ward off three Grade A Supers? It will not take long to demolish all of them, and they will definitely not be able to block us. I am a Pugilist and can rush straight in and kill you instantly!

You’re overestimating yourself!

Terry patted his chest, and a thin, light combat suit covered his body. From his arms came out a few pieces of soft metal of an unknown alloy. Sweeping his hands out like a maiden throwing out flowers, the metal pieces suddenly elongated over tens of meters, easily destroying the surrounding machinery.

He was a Mechanical Pugilist.

“I have no idea how long the space disruption device can ward off the reinforcements from Godora. Stop wasting time and get rid of him,” Terry replied.

The moment he finished his words, Ember, Degulish and Terry rushed straight into the mechanical army from different directions, utilizing their full strength and sending scattered machinery flying into the air. The metallic parts filled the air as the three of them cleared out a path, throwing themselves straight toward Han Xiao.

Three immense pressures barreled straight into Han Xiao, causing the Mechanical Force around him to jump around excitedly in arcs.

His eyelids snapped open, and his voice was resounding.

“Come, let’s have some fun!”

Chapter 571: Is This Guy a Cockroach

At the same time, the Six Nations were also attacked by the DarkStar spaceships. Without the protection of Han Xiao, the cities were ravaged by the projectiles, with charred corpses lying everywhere in the streets.

The tanks fired toward the spaceships in the sky, the artillery shells bursting out into black smoke as they bombarded the energy shields of the spaceship. However, even an armor-piercing round could not penetrate the shield made from interstellar technology and would only cause a few ripples. The DarkStar spaceships remained unaffected, only leaving behind a cloud of smoke in the area of impact before they turned to fire directly at the tanks.

The laser cannons effortlessly punched through the armor of the tanks, blowing them up from the inside. The tanks were quickly annihilated.

The civilization tiers of both parties were too far apart; the Six Nations had no way to resist.

However, the fighter planes continued to bombard the DarkStar spaceships. Even at the cost of being destroyed, none of the planes chose to retreat. They were akin to moths flying toward the flame in this one-sided battle.

Even though they knew it was impossible to break the defense of the spaceship, the planes still stubbornly launched their suicidal attacks.

The aliens wished to destroy the whole planet, so escaping would not be of any use. There was no path of retreat for them, and this disaster seemed to have awakened the tenacity of the Planet Aquamarine people. The Six Nations swore to guard their homeland till their very last breath.

Even if they knew that this was like a mantis trying to stop a cart, they would still put in all their strength to resist, despite being weak!

As the upper echelons of the Six Nations watched DarkStar ravage the city and the soaring levels of casualties, they felt a sadness within.

The Old Era had been a turbulent time, and because they had experienced countless wars, everyone had long become accustomed to it. However, they had to continuously consume the lives of their soldiers now, letting them die without any means of damaging the enemy. This was the first time that resistance had been futile.

The upper echelons of the Six Nations all had expressions that were as calm as a lake, but their fists were clenched so tight that their knuckles had turned white. In the past few months, they had continuously felt the sorrow of being a backward civilization. It was akin to being a child that continuously got trampled by the adults around it.

At this moment, the reinforcements from the Sanctuary arrived. Many of the players had also been brought over. While the enemies’ spaceships outnumbered the reinforcements, a portion was successfully restrained, allowing the Six Nations to somewhat negate the threat of annihilation.

“Black Star’s men have arrived.” The clenched fists of the upper echelons loosened slightly.

Thank goodness… on this weak, backwater planet like ours, we still have someone like Black Star.

Only through him do we have some form of retaliatory strength.

…

Above the Sanctuary, there were vastly more DarkStar spaceships. They rained concentrated fire on the protective shield of the Sanctuary. Tremors and rumbling could constantly be felt. With Nagakin’s troops continuously harassing the spaceships, they were unable to focus on breaking the protective shield.

This was especially so for Nagakin, who did not need other means to deal with the spaceships in the atmosphere. Blasts of flames from his body would be able to shatter a spaceship’s energy shield, and a few punches would be enough to decimate the whole ship!

He had a worried expression on the whole time, constantly glancing at the battlefield where Han Xiao was. He had noticed the appearance of Degulish and company, and only then did he realise that their target was Black Star.

Nagakin wanted to turn around and provide assistance to Han Xiao, but the latter had informed him through his communicator that there was no need for assistance. Black Star himself would handle the three Calamity Grade Supers, whilst Nagakin would be in charge of attacking the spaceships.

The guy was mad!

Nagakin did not wish to imagine how Han Xiao was going to entangle with three Calamity Supers. If it was him, it would be equivalent to a death sentence!

Only after Han Xiao told him that he would definitely call upon him if he could not handle it any longer did Nagakin throw away his thoughts of reinforcing him. He had viewed Black Star’s interactions with the upper echelons a few times and knew that this mercenary was extremely practical.

He would never sacrifice himself for a noble cause and would definitely have some assurance before he carried out his plan. Thus, he could only restrain his anxiety even though he did not know how Han Xiao was going to deal with the three of them.

Inside the protective shield, countless residents gazed with expressions of fear at the shield above their heads, which looked like it would shatter at any moment. This was their last line of defense. Everyone was so afraid that they were shaking and praying nonstop.

A portion of the DarkStar spaceships suddenly opened to release ground troops, which bypassed the protective shield to land on the ground. The tens of thousands of players immediately rushed forward to get a kill, and the inserted troops were drowned in the sea of players like pebbles, hardly even making a ripple.

With tens of thousands of Supers, all of whom were immortal, this sort of combat capability scared DarkStar into no longer carrying out a ground attack. The ground combatants of DarkStar all hugged on the doors of the spaceships, refusing to get off.

D*mn, how good it is to be in the air. I’m not going to send myself to my grave!

The DarkStar troops also could not be bothered to deal with those immortals, only focused on laying siege to the city. Because only a few of the players had the privilege of entering spaceships to fight in the aerial battle, the majority could only helplessly crane their necks up to look at the scene. A couple of people who had gotten bored out of their minds had already begun using their recording functions.

However, those people quickly found something else to do and all turned their heads to observe the earth shaking battlefield that Han Xiao was a part of.

…

Boom!

Degulish sent a fist through one of the tower shields of the G-1 Steel Army Corps warriors. The pugilist force radiated outward, and the surrounding mechanical warriors were also caught in the impact and blasted off.

Meanwhile, Terry rotated like a gyro, with a killing range of more than a hundred meters in diameter. The mechanical soldiers caught within his range were all cut into pieces.

With another two companions to suppress the firepower, Ember’s black current could finally showcase its killing potential. The black current swept across like a tsunami, swallowing everything in its path. He alone destroyed over two thousand machines on his own.

The attack of three Calamity Grade Supers contained a terrifying destructive power. The number of machines in the mechanical army was reduced by a third in a short period of time. The losses were serious.

To use my current mechanical army to go against three Calamity Grades seems to be a little forced. Han Xiao had a solemn expression.

Those losses, however, were still within his expectations. A Calamity Grade was not that easy to deal with. With his current machines’ performance, he had to sacrifice tens of thousands of cannon fodder before he could grind the energy of a Calamity Grade to zero. He also had to see what sort of ability the opponents had. If it was someone with an AOE skill such as Anur, then the difficulty would rise.

Thankfully, Ember’s ability was better suited to go against carbon-based lifeforms. While it afforded both offense and defense, the consumption of energy was huge. Degulish was a pugilist, and while his single target offense was insanely high, he lacked an AOE skill. As a Mechanical Pugilist, Terry was the same. Thus, the mechanical army had some sort of effect on them, dragging out more time before the three of them could reach him.

However, Han Xiao only managed to dodge for a while before being pounced upon. At close range, he still fell into a passive state.

Degulish and Terry were both good at melee battles, so their offense was like a storm. Han Xiao could only defend. His energy shield was constantly being broken, and the Hovering Shield Shuttle had also been sliced in two. His giant mechanical hands had been blasted into smithereens, and he was only relying on the hardness of his Mechanical suit, with his HP slowly dwindling.

Whenever he commanded his mechanic army to rain fire, Ember would control his black current to withstand the gunfire and allow his teammates to focus on attacking Han Xiao.

The black current separated the mechanical army from Han Xiao, with the army outside and Han Xiao on the inside. While the mechanical army wished to rush inside to aid Han Xiao, they were all repelled by Ember. Because their numbers had dwindled, the pressure on Ember was a lot weaker as well, and he now had the energy to occasionally fire a shot at Han Xiao.

Only the eight Oathkeepers constantly guarded Han Xiao’s side. They assisted in his battle but were broken one by one. The Oathkeepers were elite machines, and under the mechanical bonus given by Han Xiao, they had the ability to fight against a Grade B Super alone. However, this time, the opponent was Calamity Grade, and there were even three of them!

Bang!

The last Oathkeeper was viciously kicked by Degulish, and its mechanical parts spilled out like intestines. This was closely followed by Degulish grabbing its head and yanking it off, splashing its surroundings with motor oil. There were still a few sparking wires on its neck

“Whatever else you still have, call it all out.” Degulish threw away the Oathkeeper’s head, speaking arrogantly.

The eight Oathkeepers had all collapsed, and Han Xiao was half kneeling on the ground, coughing nonstop. His mechanical suit was quite damaged and was spraying sparks.

In his surroundings was the black current, blocking all his mechanical army through the control of Ember.

Han Xiao took a breath as he checked his status. His HP was still at eighty-two percent, his energy having just returned to full. However, his mechanical suit had sustained quite a bit of damage and was already at eight percent durability, activating its skill [Indestructible Toughness]. This gave him some immunity, but he needed to receive damage to his body to activate [Energy Absorption].

The Void Dragon Mechanical suit was decent equipment, and he had used it for a long time, with it being able to keep up with his promotion in Grades. Han Xiao did not wish to lose this Mechanical suit, and seeing its durability hit rock-bottom, he quickly stowed the suit away, exposing his body to the three Calamity Grades.

Only then did the three of them finally see his face.

“Finally, you are willing to come out from your turtle shell.” The corners of Ember’s mouth curled up.

Once a Mechanic abandoned his mechanical suit and revealed his true body, it meant that he had been forced down the path of no return.

“Stop talking nonsense. Hurry up and kill him.” Terry looked impatient as he shook the metal pieces, turning them into a blade brimming with energy.

At this juncture, Han Xiao suddenly stood up straight. His expression did not have much nervousness, and his composure caused the trio from DarkStar to frown in response.

“Don’t rejoice too early. The battle has only just begun!”

As he spoke, Han Xiao stomped using his foot.

Hum!

Endless Mechanical Force spread from his feet into his surroundings, akin to a large spider web. It easily bypassed the black current, covering the entire battlefield.

The scraps and broken parts lying around all connected to each other, buzzing with a loud noise.

The next instant, countless metal scraps floated up into the air, and the deformed scraps recovered their original shapes through the Mechanical Force. They were speedily re-constructed into the original mechanical warriors. The destroyed portion of the mechanic army returned.

Within the black current, the eight sets of Oathkeepers stood up once again, and one of them retrieved its head that had been thrown away, reinstalling it on its head with a click.

[Waste Modification]!

The destroyed machines were all repaired once more!

Looking at the eight sets of reformed Oathkeepers, Degulish and the others’ expressions dropped.

“This guy has a lot of tricks!” Terry snorted.

“It’s futile. Without his mechanical suit, he’s dead meat,” Degulish retorted in anger.

Ember coldly glowered. The current strength of the mechanical army had been restored, and the pressure on him sharply increased. He could not afford to attack Han Xiao any longer and could only concentrate on resisting the mechanical army.

Han Xiao’s face had blanched. Using [Waste Modification] on such a large scale was extremely taxing on his energy levels. His filled energy bar had already gone down by half in just a few moments!

The consumption of this skill depended on both the area of coverage and the number of machines. At the same time, it measured through a coefficient of 0.x, where x was a variable. After multiplying everything, that would be equivalent to his energy consumption. The higher the level, the smaller this coefficient would become. Thus, as a Mechanic’s level increased, the cost of [Waste Modification] would naturally become cheaper.

Boom!

The next second, Degulish and Terry threw themselves forward once again and attacked with the force of a storm, reigniting the battle!

A fist harshly landed on Han Xiao’s body, and the metal alloy blade slashed out wound after wound on his flesh.

Without his mechanical suit bonus, Han Xiao became more passive. He was continuously hit with heavy blows, spilling out mouthfuls of blood. It looked as though he was at his wits’ end. The Calamity Grade Supers’ attacks were powerful, and when landing on his body, they caused thousands of damage per second to him.

However, after beating him up for long period of time, Degulish finally discovered that something was amiss.

Wait a minute!

This guy has spat out so many liters of blood. How is he still so active‽

If Degulish could see Han Xiao’s interface, he would see that his health and energy bars were constantly moving up and down. When the red rose, the blue fell, and when the red fell, the blue rose. While it looked scary, the total amount of HP never dropped less than half.

While Han Xiao looked bedraggled and terribly wounded, in actuality, he was as stable as an old dog without any sense of panic!

Every second he took several thousand points of damage, and with the crazy damage done, his energy bar likewise shot up crazily. While Degulish and Terry had great killing power, it could not keep up with the pace of Han Xiao’s thought commands!

Han Xiao secretly relaxed. After this personal experiment, he finally discovered the tenacity of his vitality. Even the Aurora Character Summon Card that he had prepared in advance did not need to be used any longer!

[Middle Grade Cell Proliferation Control].

[Energy Absorption].

Those two Molding Abilities were just too OP!

Long live ol’ buddy Feidin 1 !

While he was not in mortal danger, he still felt the pain from being beaten up. However, compared to the pain he felt when undergoing his Race Evolution, this was like scratching an itch, almost a sort of massage.

Degulish had beat him up for half a day, his expressions constantly changing from viciousness to surprise, surprise to shock, and finally from shock to dumbfoundedness.

No matter how much strength they put into it, causing Black Star to vomit blood, there was no sign of serious injuries from the other party. He could still run, jump, and open his mouth to trash talk.

Not just Degulish, but even Terry was also stunned.

What the f*ck? This guy is too f*cked up!

Is he a cockroach‽ Why won’t he just die‽

Bang!

Another blow came, causing Han Xiao to fly back and slam heavily into the ground, creating a crater. Degulish and Terry, however, did not continue attacking. Instead, they stood back, suspicious as to whether they were actually fighting Han Xiao.

“Ah? Why are we not fighting anymore?”

Wiping the blood off the corners of his mouth, Han Xiao stood up once more. His clothes were covered in bloodstains, and after wiping off the dust off his body, he suddenly flashed a smile, as though he was full of energy.

“Are you done? I’m not comfortable enough yet. Put more effort into this. Did you guys not drink your milk?”

Ember’s pupils shrank, and he had an expression of disbelief. He remembered the past when he had first fought with Han Xiao back on Floating Dragon Island. Han Xiao had showcased his incredible healing ability, eventually forcing him to retreat.

At that time, Ember had thought that Han Xiao’s ability definitely had a limit; as long as the lethality was sufficient, it would be enough to wipe him out. At least, he had thought so until then.

However, Han Xiao had merely used his fleshy body to withstand the attacks of two Calamity Grade Supers, and even the earth had been levelled, yet he was still hale and hearty!

At this moment, Ember started to sway.

Could it be… that he was wrong from the start and that this guy’s recovery ability had no limits‽

Then, was he… not an immortal freak that could not be killed‽

Just as the trio stared in shock, from afar came the rumbling of footsteps, as though tens of thousands of troops were marching. Even the ground started to tremor.

They only saw the tens of thousands of players rushing toward Han Xiao with great momentum. Since they could not reach the spaceships in the air, they had decided to join the fun.

While they were all low-grade Supers, with more than 10,000 of them, many of whom had broken past the level 60 mark and achieved their first Race Evolution, they could be considered a group of dancing devils.

“Seeking death. I’ll deal with this group; you think of an idea to get rid of Black Star.”

Ember restrained the fear and shock in his heart, his eyes flashing with a cold glow. He prepared to use his ability to decimate this entire group.

Idea? What ideas could they have?

Degulish gritted his teeth, finally opening his communicator and sending an order up to the mothership.

“Activate the mothership’s main ray cannon!”

“Your Excellency, where should we aim?”

“Hit that d*mned Black Star!”

Not far away, Han Xiao’s Cheshire grin suddenly froze on his face.

He had hit the motherload this time!

Chapter 572: Tanking the Main Cannon (1)

The mothership’s main ray cannon!

Only then did Han Xiao begin to panic. The lethality of the main cannon far outstripped that of the laser cannons attached to the side of the ship. Based on the size of this DarkStar mothership, one shot toward the planet could create a new trench. Using it just to deal with him was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito!

Was I too vicious to Degulish earlier? Han Xiao could not help but reflect.

If he had known about this, he would have exercised more restraint earlier, screaming out in misery and pretending that he had been severely wounded. At the very least, that was showing respect to their hard work! For him to sneer at them, he had trampled on their pride!

The other party was a Calamity Grade—how could they not be shown some face?

Han Xiao had no idea how much a blast of the main cannon would damage him. While he had proven the tenacity of his flesh through proper battle, it was another question to take the blast from a mothership’s main cannon head-on!

The nemesis of having fast recovery was an explosive burst attack. For example, if Ames unreasonably took the whole of Floating Dragon and threw it as an attack, the damage inflicted would far outstrip the rate of recovery; he would certainly die!

The main cannon of the mothership belonged to that of the high damage category. While it was far from being able to compare to a planetary destroyer, its killing power was able to disintegrate a Calamity Grade if they merely used their fleshly body to withstand it. If they were lucky, they might still have a few charred pieces of flesh remaining.

As such, only a fool would stay and accept the cannon blast!

Han Xiao did not say a single word, immediately donning his still persevering Void Dragon Mechanical suit and flying toward the sky.

The BlackLight Stealth dived down, ready to take Han Xiao in.

“Stay here!” Ember turned his attention away from the players, and with a wave of his hand, the black current soared out to capture Han Xiao.

However, the speed of the black current was far from comparable to the maximum speed of the Void Dragon mechanical suit.

At this point, Degulish’s head popped out multiple veins as he bent his legs, stomping and destroying the ground in a hundred-meter radius around him. In an instant, he appeared above Han Xiao’s head, and a swirling vortex gathered around his fist. A piercing light could be seen dazzling from within; that was a Pugilist skill that Han Xiao had suffered from more than once previously.

Han Xiao only had the time to raise his arms, and the glowing fist hit the direct center of his crossed arms.

Bang!

It was as though the sky had exploded into a purple sun!

A forceful shock rushed toward Han Xiao, and being in midair, he had no way to transfer the impact. His vision blurred, and he only saw the BlackLight Stealth rapidly moving away from himself, followed by a heavy impact coming from his back. His entire body was slammed into the ground, and rubble covered him. Only a tiny pinprick of the sky was left in his vision.

This explosive fist had knocked Han Xiao straight from the sky into the ground.

His arms were weak and full of pain, with the interface showing the [Fractured] state on his panel. Han Xiao secretly lamented about how the fist strength of a Calamity Grade Pugilist was indeed extraordinary, even while he urged his energy to increase cell proliferation, swiftly healing his wounds.

The fractured bones were held in place through the contractions of his muscles, and with the increased proliferation of cells, the bones were connected in the blink of an eye.

Cell proliferation could repair damage inflicted to any part of the body. So long as it was repaired consciously, the negative conditions such as fractures or handicaps would also be recovered while recovering HP. This was a side bonus that Han Xiao had discovered when he was being beaten up, or else all his bones would have broken by now.

Dong! Dong!

Before he could even take a breath, the rubble above his head was blasted open as Degulish directly smashed through the ground. With his fists continuously hitting the ground, he resembled a human bulldozer.

Han Xiao did not wish to be buried alive, so he knocked away the falling rubble and flew out. However, Ember’s black current shot forward at this point, blocking him for a moment.

“I’ve got you!”

Degulish rushed up with big steps, grabbing Han Xiao’s waist in a bear hug. He quickly changed his position to move behind Han Xiao, his hands forming a lock as he wanted to use his strength to suppress Han Xiao’s movements.

Comparing by Strength, Han Xiao was definitely not a match for the Calamity Grade Pugilist, and thus did not wish to tango with him at all.

Swoosh!

At that moment, Terry also took the chance. Several metal pieces elongation, piercing toward Han Xiao’s eyes, throat, heart, and other vital areas.

Clank!

The two Oathkeepers shielded Han Xiao from the deluge of metal. Each time he used [Waste Modification], the quality of the machinery would be reduced by a level. Thus, the Oathkeepers did not manage to block off much of the metal projectiles before they were pierced into beehives. However, they managed to buy Han Xiao some precious time.

Han Xiao fully activated his mechanical suit propulsion module, bringing Degulish with him as he rushed toward the sky to avoid the assault from Terry.

Even after struggling twice, Han Xiao was still unable to disengage himself from Degulish’s lock. Thus, he changed his method. The legs of the mechanical suit suddenly split open, and Han Xiao slid out from his suit, easily escaping. At the same time, he utilized the Mechanical Force to disintegrate the Void Dragon Mechanical suit, allowing it to form up around him once again.

Degulish was left hugging the air and immediately fell back to the ground.

The threat of the mothership main cannon gripped his heart, and with every additional second of delay, Han Xiao felt the danger increase another notch. However, with Degulish and Terry eyeing him, any attempt made to fly toward the sky would be blocked.

The BlackLight Stealth could only hover above his head and did not dare get too close to the Calamity Grade Supers because it would be torn apart if it did.

The time taken for the battle had already past five minutes, and the cooldown for his [Void Travel] was over. Han Xiao wanted to use the skill to rush toward his spaceship, but once he entered the void travel state, he would phase through all matter, unable to affect any matter. Even his mechanical suit would be useless, and he would only be able to float using his mechanical force. The duration afforded by [Void Travel] was insufficient for him to fly manually into the spaceship.

Things are not looking so good…

Han Xiao felt a sense of helplessness in his heart and turned to rush toward the tens of thousands of players.

So long as those ‘foot soldiers’ could buy some time by delaying the three Calamity Grade Supers, he would be able to escape the battlefield. The saying was true, ‘one trains soldiers for thousands of days just to use them during an opportune moment’.

Ember snapped his fingers a few times.

Pa pa pa…

The tens of thousands of players saw their HP get reduced to 0, and they turned into white motes as they were sent to revive.

Ember’s ability was just that overpowered. If one did not have the ability to resist true damage, so long as they were weaker than him, they were not qualified to fight against him. Numbers did not mean a thing to him, which was why he was regarded as a killing machine by DarkStar. He could effortlessly slaughter millions in the blink of an eye.

…

The tens of thousands of players simultaneously revived in the square, stunned in place.

“F*ck, I died just like that!”

“Carbon dissociation? True Damage‽ This Boss is broken!”

“I’m out of here. It’s obvious that Black Star’s battlefield is not something that we can affect.”

“That was part of the storyline killing us.”

The storyline killing quickly spread, and the majority of players present believed in it, not going over to join the activities. In the game, they could only die ten times every six days, so the players did not wish to spend their limited death entries on such a pointless storyline action. Thus, they simply chose to crane their necks and watch Han Xiao’s fight.

This was also not the first time that they had watched a storyline plot. The period in Version 1.0 when the Six Nations warred against the Germinal Organization, as well as the resolving of the Mutation Source earlier, had already prepared the players for it… Come to think of it, it seemed like Planet Aquamarine had quite a number of storylines. Wow.

Everyone felt that this time was also a personal storyline of Black Star and was curious as to the development of the plot.

In the eyes of the players, to have Planet Aquamarine meet with such a crisis, it signified the transition that they were about to leave the novice planet, which should be part of the plot.

As the leader of the Guiding Faction, Black Star would be their head for a long period of time. Therefore, many of the players hypothesized that Black Star would likely shine in this event, leaving an even deeper impression. However, they were unable to predict what would truly happen.

…

Seeing the tens of thousands of players brushing their butts and sauntering off, Han Xiao could not stop the corners of his mouth twitching.

Tut, looks like I can’t rely on this group of players. The gap between them and the Calamity Grade Supers is too great.

Degulish and the other two encircled Han Xiao in a triangular formation but did not proceed to close in on him, maintaining some distance.

The three of them did not wish to allow Han Xiao to escape, but they also did not wish to take the cannon blast together with him. The cannon blast was not going to differentiate between friend or foe.

“Risda, is there any way to stop the firing of the mothership cannon?” Han Xiao asked softly into his communicator.

“I have no way to go about it. I infiltrated another mothership and can only help you to check the situation… Oh no, the charging of the main cannon is complete, and the target has already been locked on. You have roughly 8.6 seconds left.”

“Seems like I can’t avoid the blast. Ok, let’s go. I can tank this…”

Han Xiao could only attempt to motivate himself. He threw out a few compressed orbs, which expanded into layers of alloy covers. This was a portable tactical defense fortress that could be used for protection. It had no other effect than that being extremely durable.

This was closely followed by the mechanical soldiers throwing themselves on Han Xiao, on top of the portable defense fortress, using their bodies as shields. They also activated their own shields and faced the sky.

Degulish and the others did not wish to enter the blasting radius of the cannon and would turn a blind eye as long as Black Star did not escape. Thus, they turned around and attacked the mechanical army around them. While only a small portion passed through the three of them to reach the defense fortress, the defense line constantly got thicker.

The remaining shuttles and mechanical hands also flew up into the sky and activated their shields.

Han Xiao had released almost all his machinery for defense, and he did not know how much they could offset. Thus, he recovered his HP back to the maximum and concentrated his energy, readying himself to use Aurora’s Character Summon Card.

At that moment, Degulish, who was blocking the mechanical army, received a notification from the mothership. The three of them stopped their actions immediately, retreating far away.

“The deed is done. Black Star cannot avoid this!”

Degulish revealed a satisfied smile. They had chased after him and blocked Han Xiao from escaping, all in order to allow the main cannon to lock onto and hit Black Star. This was the method with the highest possibility of killing him.

At that moment, within the defensive fortress, Han Xiao raised his alertness to the highest, as well as activating the skill [Repel—Thorns], which he had obtained for the Germinal Organization Leader. The skill would offset thirty percent of the damage received from the next attack.

“It’s coming!”

Chapter 573: Tanking the Main Cannon (2)

The speed of the main cannon was undoubtedly fast, and now that he had been locked on to, there was no point in him trying to dodge. The entire process from the firing of the cannon to the time it hit was measured in milliseconds. Even Degulish and the other two had to move away before the cannon was fired.

Since he was unable to board the BlackLight Stealth, he could not hope to avoid the impact of the cannon fire with his own speed. His [Void Travel] skill might be able to avoid one shot, but so long as the main cannon remained active, they would just need to fire another shot if they saw him dodge.

Instead, it would be better for him to use the limited amount of time to stack all the defenses he had, then use the [Repel—Thorns] skill as a guarantee and find out the damage of the cannon. With so many measures, his chances of survival should be quite high, and if he survived, it would be able to work as a bluff to scare the enemy.

Having thought of this, a horrific energy was detected. He had just felt it when the entire attack had already arrived.

Han Xiao hunkered down in his fortress. He could not see the outside perspective of the cannon ray being shot down and could only feel through the feedback of his Mechanical Force when the various shields shattered, and his numerous mechanical soldiers were destroyed. A piercing white light filled his vision, and horrible heat covered his entire body.

Boom!

A huge force seemed to press down upon him like a mountain, slapping Han Xiao flat on the ground and wrapping him in the energy column of the main cannon. His field of vision was blank, and the energy ray rushed down continuously like a waterfall, forcing him to remain prone.

His HP levels rapidly dropped, and even with the thirty percent reduced damage from the skill, the first impact reduced his total HP by a third. The subsequent high temperature and energy shock caused continuous damage after that, rapidly sapping away his HP. Han Xiao could not move, and only felt his flesh and blood melt and evaporate as various negative statuses appeared on his interface.

If it was an ordinary person, just the cannon blast would have disintegrated them. Even dregs would not have remained.

Han Xiao gritted his teeth as he activated the skill [Middle Grade Cell Proliferation Control] to replenish his HP as fast as possible. Every tick would allow him to regain twenty-eight percent of his HP. This allowed him to break even with the falling HP level. The gauge continuously jumped up and down, giving him goosebumps, and he prepared to activate Aurora’s Character Summon Card at any time.

To recover more than 10,000 HP every second would be equivalent to using 2,000 to 3,000 Onas of Energy. Luckily, with the cannon dealing damage to him, it provided him with an inexhaustible supply of energy, allowing him to fully display his HP recovery abilities.

The interface was flooded with notifications about receiving damage. While the attack from the main cannon also contained a portion of true damage, it was nullified by Han Xiao’s talent of [Steel Body]. This point was critical, as it helped to reduce a large portion of damage taken by him, thus allowing him to only suffer the regular damage.

…

A few seconds earlier…

Yet another DarkStar spaceship was shot down, and wreathed in flames, Nagakin briefly paused in midair, looking down Han Xiao’s battlefield, the surprise in his eyes evident.

Black Star really managed to withstand the attacks of three Calamity Grades! How has he achieved that‽

Nagakin was extremely surprised, as even he could not achieve that level.

At this point, he realized that there were changes to the battlefield. He only saw that Black Star was constantly imposing defenses on top of himself, whereas the three Calamity Grades had somehow scampered away, as though hiding from something dangerous.

“Why have they stopped fighting? What is Black Star defending himself against?”

Nagakin had a confused expression on. However, before he could think about the reason, the answer was presented to him.

Swoosh!

A huge beam of light shot down from the skies, connecting heaven and earth to strike Han Xiao’s position. The word ‘strike’ might be a little inaccurate, as the beam was a good few hundred meters wide!

From the sky to the ground, the time taken for the beam to traverse the distance was quicker than the blink of an eye. Even with Nagakin’s reaction speed, he did not have time to take any countermeasures and could only squint to resist the strong light.

Bang!

The cannon blasted out a new landmark!

It was akin to a spear of God stabbing straight into the earth. It gave off the illusion that it could penetrate this planet, striking an intense sense of shock in everyone!

The light was piercing, and Nagakin struggled to open his eyes as his expression constantly changed.

Were they nuts‽ To actually use the main cannon just to deal with a single target…

How did Black Star manage to rile them up so much‽

Boom!

The next moment, a violent explosion occurred. The shockwaves spread from the epicenter, and debris and soil was blown outward from the point of impact.

The DarkStar mothership’s main cannon utilized a separate energy furnace that was dedicated to it. Thus, its killing power was many times higher than that of its light weapons. While the light weapons were focused on penetrative power, the main cannon was geared more toward ‘single target’ damage. Of course, if one was so crazy as to use the main cannon to hit an individual, then the effect was no different from an AOE.

The main cannon continued to release energy, the terrifying high temperatures distorting the air as shockwaves constantly blasted outward. The earth roiled, and the area covered by the cannon beam had turned into a ring-shaped depression while still continuously expanding.

Inside the protective shield, the faces of countless players were illuminated by the white light, and their expressions were slack, with only that beam of light in their vision.

Was that… Heaven’s Judgement‽

Xiu!

The main cannon stopped firing, and only a final glare could be seen disappearing from the core of the crater, flickering.

Boom!

The accumulated energy within suddenly imploded, the resulting sound from the explosion louder than before. Flames and smoke spread out at a high speed, as though it was an opening umbrella.

Heated winds swept out, and the mountains trembled!

Even those hiding inside the protective shield felt the violent tremors.

It was only after a long while that the energy within eventually dispersed. Smoke obscured the vision of everyone present, and one could only see that there was a huge crater left in the outer sector of the Sanctuary, as though a meteor had struck there.

“What was that?”

The hearts of countless of players present shook.

Even Bennett felt a little lost for words.

Hila slammed herself on the protective shield, her pupils shrinking into tiny points as she stared.

Nagakin stood on top of the protective shield with a worried expression as he gazed at the position of where Han Xiao was, the center of the crater that was surrounded by smoke.

Degulish, Ember, and Terry stood up, their faces covered in soot. They had attempted running right before the cannon fired and were knocked off their feet by the incoming debris and soil waves, landing in different locations. After standing up, they simultaneously looked at the crater, wanting to know the outcome.

All the DarkStar and Godoran spaceships suddenly ceased firing, floating in the sky as they watched the outcome below.

After the smoke dispersed, one could see that the center of the crater was several meters deep. The slope was steep, and the soil got redder in color the lower it got. There were many areas that had crystallized due to the high temperature, with some rocks having melted into magma, gleaming as it flowed down the slope.

Countless mechanical fragments were scattered around, with some having been melted into molten iron, glowing red-hot.

At the middle of the crater, a figure slowly climbed up, his burnt body radiating smoke. He was blacker than the night sky, and after shuddering a few times, the burnt scraps on his body fell off, revealing pale skin. With a zap of the Mechanical Force from his hands, several pieces of machinery transformed into a pair of pants to cover his lower body.

Han Xiao stood there, his upper body bare, supporting the back of his neck with one hand as he stretched and revealed a smile.

“Huff… that was intense. I can feel my whole body becoming more comfortable!”

Everybody’s gaze landed on Han Xiao, their mouths agape.

He… he didn’t die‽

The energetic and spritely Black Star contrasted with the crater that was full of death.

This scene caused Degulish, Terry, Ember, Nagakin, Hila, and the players to suffer from near mental breakdowns, their eyes bulging open with an expression of shock.

Chapter 574: Tanking the Main Cannon (3)

“Even the mothership’s main cannon could not kill him‽”

Degulish opened his eyes wide in disbelief.

Ember’s fists were clenched tight, his face pale.

Terry shuddered, with an expression of shock.

The battlefield was dead silent!

Han Xiao glanced at the machinery scattered around him, and a hint of pain flashed across his eyes. He was alright, but the majority of his Mechanical Army had been demolished. This time, his losses were huge. Right now, he had over 10 million Enas, and Godora still owed him another 15 million Enas, so money was not a problem.

The main problem was the time needed to rebuild the entire Mechanical Army. After this battle, he would probably have to spend a long time in the machinery modification room to restore the current size of his army.

The Great Mechanic Han counted the notifications on his interface, which indicated the duration of the main cannon shot and the damage inflicted. It was divided into several tiers, with the first impact the highest, gradually decreasing after. It accumulated to more than 50,000 damage in total, higher than his own HP. Most of it was soaked up by himself, with his machinery and shields having absorbed a portion of it.

Having experienced it once, Han Xiao had a good gauge now. If he did not have his defensive measures in place, directly receiving the impact with his body, he would have been hit by a total of more than 80,000 damage. His own HP would not have been able to keep up, and he would most likely have been required to use Aurora’s Character Summon Card. There were three usages left. Plus, he still had his [Void Travel] skill.

I can hold on a few more times. There’s no need to escape right now. I can give this mission another shot. Why not?

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and with a wave of his hand, the hull of the BlackLight Stealth opened, spewing out dozens of compressed orbs. He used his Mechanical Force to draw them onto his body, unfolding the spare Amphiptere mechanical suit. Since he always had a habit of storing spare machinery, he had placed several sets of equipment in his spaceship’s warehouse.

The original mechanical suit and compressed orbs that he had on his body were all smashed. Even his Void Dragon Mechanical suit could not withstand the impact. However, the void dragon bones were durable, and most of his core materials were not completely damaged, just scattered around the area. Moreover, with his current position in Floating Dragon, to apply for a few pieces of Void Dragon bones was an easy task for him.

Putting on his mechanical suit, Han Xiao leaped out of the deep crater, hovering in midair as he looked straight at a dumbfounded Degulish. He utilized his thick skin to teasingly say, “Heh heh, I tricked you. Actually, that hit was quite effective. Do you want to try again? Who knows? You might be able to kill me.”

Degulish could hear the mocking inside his words and was so angered that his entire face turned purple. He lost control and bellowed into the communicator, “Continue firing!”

Since one cannon shot could not finish him off, make it two! I don’t believe he can last that long!

Degulish leaped up, and like a cannon shell, he rushed straight toward Han Xiao. The mothership’s main cannon required time to recharge, and he had to tie down Han Xiao to prevent him from escaping. Seeing the situation, Ember and Terry could only put aside their emotions to deal with the matter at hand and cooperate with Degulish.

“Black Star, the mothership’s main cannon has begun the second round of charging.” From his helmet, Risda’s voice sounded.

“Show me the duration,” Han Xiao replied.

On the upper left-hand corner of his tactical screen, a row of numbers appeared, counting down. The second blast of the main cannon would be fully charged and fire after forty seconds.

Han Xiao and the other three once again started to fight. The durability of Amphiptere was far below that of the Void Dragon Mechanical suit, and it was not long before it was reduced to scrap metal. However, he still had a few more compressed orbs containing different mechanical suits, and he merely kept replacing them after they were destroyed.

Thirty seconds soon passed. The moment the second shot would be fired was getting closer.

Having once again smashed Han Xiao into the ground, Degulish and the others moved away to avoid the blast.

However, this time was different. Han Xiao did not remain on the spot to prepare his defenses but rather lunged toward Terry who was nearest to him.

The fact that Han Xiao was aware of the timing was not surprising to them, because after the previous scenario, he could easily have inferred that the cannon strike was coming when they started to avoid him.

“He wants to drag Terry down with him?”

Degulish immediately understood Han Xiao’s intention. He was not surprised and only snorted coldly as he muttered, “He’ll never catch up to Terry.”

As a Calamity Grade, Terry’s speed surpassed Han Xiao’s. Even at his full speed, the distance between the two was constantly widening. Based on this scenario, Han Xiao could never catch up to Terry.

Ember suddenly lurched to a stop, screaming out, “No, hurry and stop the cannon! Black Star has a teleportation ability!”

In his previous battle, Han Xiao had used his skill [Void Travel] once. It was to stop Ember from utilizing his Esper ability, and Ember had almost been kicked in the crotch. Thus, his impression of that was deep.

Having been reminded, Degulish’s expression dropped as he grabbed his communicator and bellowed.

“Trouble! Cancel the lock on now!”

At that moment, Han Xiao activated [Void Travel] and flashed across the remaining distance to appear beside Terry, an evil grin on his face.

“Hehe, come, let’s bet who can last longer this time.”

“No!”

Terry’s face drastically changed, a hint of fear appearing on his face together with a ‘Don’t-come-closer’ look.

Boom!

The next moment, the second shot was fired from the cannon, and another mountain range appeared.

Explosions, debris, soil flew everywhere, just like the previous scene. Everyone inside the protective shield felt the tremors once more.

When the smoke disappeared, everyone discovered that the aim of the cannon was off, tens of miles away from where Han Xiao was supposed to be.

At the very last second, the commander of the DarkStar mothership had hurriedly shifted the muzzle of the cannon.

Terry stood rooted, his mouth agape, as he stared at the crater far away from him. His whole body was covered in cold sweat, and he immediately escaped from Han Xiao to a few thousand kilometers away.

Having escaped the jaws of death, Terry still felt trepidation at what had occurred, heaving and gasping for breath.

“Well, count yourself lucky.”

Han Xiao remained where he was, his mouth twisted, thinking it a pity.

If DarkStar did not have the chance to react, he would have been able to give his enemies a taste of their own medicine. Through killing with this borrowed knife… no, cannon, he would get rid of a Calamity Grade Super, obtaining his repayment with interest and at the same time having one less enemy.

Even so, it served its purpose. Han Xiao shook his head, turning back to look at Degulish and company. He waved his hands, revealing a look of apology.

“What next? Are you still firing?”

“You…”

Degulish almost broke his teeth as he clenched his jaws, almost crushing his communicator as well. However, he did not dare use the same tactic on Han Xiao anymore.

Black Star had received the first shot, and they had almost killed Terry with the next shot. Those two shots proved that the main cannon was useless against Black Star and could even backfire on them!

The three Calamity Grade could not kill Black Star, and even the mothership’s main cannon with the highest lethality could not stop him. This allowed them to discover a point—even though it was Black Star that could not defeat them, the advantage had fallen into his hands! Before this, they never would have thought that a little fellow who was not even Calamity Grade would be so troublesome!

He could not be beaten to death, nor could he be killed. Then, could they take him up to the ship?

Degulish immediately vetoed this idea. What a joke! Why would anyone take this malicious star onto their own spaceship?

At that moment, an urgent message came through the communicator.

“There’s a strong spatial fluctuation detected nearby. Godora’s fleet has broken through the lock down in space, and their reinforcements are approaching us through hyperdrive. We do not have much time and must retreat.”

Han Xiao had also received news from Nagakin at the same time and heaved a sigh of relief. The Godoran reinforcements had arrived, albeit a bit late, but it was better late than never.

Degulish’s face was extremely ugly to behold. He had no other choice but to accept that their mission had failed this time. Because they had been delayed too long by Han Xiao, they were not able to cause greater damage to Planet Aquamarine.

The DarkStar troops began to retreat, and Degulish and company retreated from the flight, boarding the spaceship to take over command.

At that moment, the three of them heard the light laugh from Han Xiao.

“Come and play when you have the time!”

Han Xiao smiled as he waved, adding another sentence in his heart— If you still have the chance to do so.

“Just you wait, I’ll see if you still can laugh in the future!”

Degulish had a dark expression as he turned to enter the spaceship.

Ember deeply looked at Han Xiao… Next time, I’ll definitely find a way to kill you.

The DarkStar troops began to retreat, and the mothership that remained in outer space also took its leave.

Because the reinforcements sent by Godora were overly huge this time, along with the escort teams from all the other Calamity planets coming over, DarkStar did not wish to exchange fire and hurriedly retreated.

After watching the DarkStar motherships depart, Han Xiao shifted his gaze, looking around at the devastated Sanctuary as his smile slowly vanished. He exhaled heavily.

This time, their losses were heavy.

The main base was still fine, but the outer sections of the Sanctuary had been wrecked, becoming a pile of debris. The death count had not been tallied, but it would not be far from their estimations. In addition to the losses of the Six Nations, the number of dead and injured would reach tens of thousands.

They had scraped through the Mutation Disaster, but the survivors had now experienced another calamity, causing their civilization to receive a big hit.

The only good news was that Planet Aquamarine’s civilization did not completely die out.

“Bennett, count the losses and treat the wounded.”

With a sigh, Han Xiao used the communicator to issue some instructions before he plopped down on the ground, facing the sky.

Once the pressure vanished, all the pain burst forth, and it attacked his body in waves, causing him to feel like not moving a single muscle.

This battle had truly tired him out.

Thankfully, though the losses were huge, the outcome was still reasonable. At least it was over.

Over on Nagakin’s side, he gazed on with a complicated expression at Han Xiao, who was lying on the ground, with the horror in his heart still surging.

While DarkStar had taken advantage of the unprotected Planet Aquamarine and launched an attack with three Calamity Grade Supers, their siege was fruitless. Even the main cannon could not kill Black Star, and in contrast, because of Black Star’s actions, they had prevented the planet from being destroyed and even forced them to retreat!

Nagakin could imagine, in the following period, how much this news would shake the Shattered Star Ring!

Chapter 575: Mission Reward, Plan Preparations

A series of notifications popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

[Planet Aquamarine’s Crisis] has been completed!

You have received 620,000 Experience.

+2 Garton Star System Renown

+1,500 Planet Aquamarine: Six Nations Faction Favorability

[Assassination Target] has been completed!

You have received 12,100,000 Experience.

+30 Garton Star System Renown

+1,000 Godora Faction Favorability

You have received 1 Legendary Point.

_____________________

Both tasks were completed in one go. Han Xiao glanced at the notifications. His renown in the Garton Star System had not been low to start with. When the news spreads, there would still be an additional increase in renown. After this battle, his renown would probably take another step forward and attain the tier of [Famous Far and Wide], allowing him to join the list of notable characters in the star system.

He even got a new Legendary Point.

_____________________

Star System Legendary Point (Garton Star System): Battling against Three Calamities—You were besieged by three Grade A Supers, facing them alone, but you were not defeated in the end. This proves your strength! This is a legendary deed, enough to make anyone who hears of this feel surprised and intrigued. Those who know you will recognize your ability, and your deeds will be sung throughout the galaxy!

_____________________

The Legendary Point of a Star System had wider coverage than Planetary Legendary Points. This would help to increase his rewards. While the Planetary Legendary Point gave an increase of five percent in rewards, the Star System Legendary Point gave twelve percent. This was also Han Xiao’s first Legendary Point of the Star System.

Other than the mission reward, the NPC template was updated with a new dungeon along with a title.

[Warfare: Defense of Planet Aquamarine]

What an unexpected joy. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Only the more sensational battles would result in the generation of a dungeon copy. A similar one to this dungeon would be the [Warfare: Power of the Dragon Emperor]. This meant that his battle had reached the level that was deemed worthy of being saved as a copy.

The rewards were easily dealt with. At this point, the Godoran spaceships slowly landed from the sky, and the commander brought a whole bunch of subordinates down as he briskly walked over.

“DarkStar installed a space disruptor. We’re late because of that and allowed them to escape. How’s the situation here?”

As he spoke, the gaze of the fleet commander slowly drifted toward the crater blasted by the main cannon. His heart sank as he thought that the mission had failed, and Planet Aquamarine had suffered from irreparable damage.

“The enemy did not succeed…” Nagakin briefly summarized the happenings, including the actions of Han Xiao. He heavily emphasized the fight between Han Xiao and DarkStar.

As he listened, the Godoran commander, alongside with his subordinates, changed the way they looked at Han Xiao. The disbelief in their faces was clear to see.

To resist three Calamity Grades, and even be able to tank the mothership main cannon blast, this was too overpowered. Just by looking at the surrounding battle scars, the Godorans could tell how intense the battle had been.

The upper echelons of Godora were still anxiously awaiting the results. They did not care about Planet Aquamarine, but they did care about Han Xiao’s safety. As long as Han Xiao remained alive, their intelligence transaction could continue.

When they received the news that three high-level combatants from DarkStar had been sent out, the upper echelons had felt their hearts grow cold, thinking that Black Star had been caught stealing information and thus had been wiped. However, the report from Nagakin surprised them.

To think that Black Star could actually go against three without being defeated! One had to know that he was not facing off against weaklings but rather Calamity Grade Supers! As for tanking the main cannon, such a level of strength caused even the knowledgeable Godoran superiors to be shocked.

The performance of Black Star was enough to rank him as a first-rate combatant!

Because the Sanctuary and the Six Nations had been damaged to varying degrees, people were organized to deal with it. Since the Godorans had arrived and needed camp for a while in case DarkStar decided to make a return trip, they pitched in to help clear up the wreckage.

There were ruined structures everywhere, and flames and smoke still lingered. Many of the wounded were still being dug out by the guards from the ruins, screaming miserably. There were also people who were weeping at the loss of their family. It was a scene of tragedy. Although DarkStar had been repelled, they had caused countless deaths, and the wounds would forever remain in the survivors’ hearts.

Fortunately, many of the surviving residents did not have time to be sad, instead taking the initiative to join the disaster relief effort, contributing their strength.

Han Xiao took a short rest before walking in the direction of the base. Along the way, the participants of the disaster relief effort rushed about, brushing past him to save people. While no one stopped in front of him, all of them would nod toward Han Xiao as a sign of respect, their expressions carrying a hard-to-express gratitude.

After entering the base, Hila came over and looked him over once. She paused for a while before asking uncertainly, “Are you really not injured?”

“If you’re injured, you can tell me. I can treat you,” Aurora hurriedly added.

“I’ve faced a lot of such incidents.” Han Xiao waved his hands as he boasted with a straight face.

“… Whatever floats your boat.” Hila paused for a while and decided not to say anything more.

“Hehe, Sis was really worried about you just now.” Aurora giggled.

Without waiting for Han Xiao to look over, Hila hurriedly explained, “If you died, then we probably would have died as well.”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes in response and commented, “Being able to help me is better than saying anything.”

Hila had never accepted Han Xiao’s invitation directly, but this time, she did not deny anything. She slowly said, “I’ll practice hard with the Dragon Emperor and become strong as quickly as possible.”

“Me too!” Aurora raised her hand.

At this time, Bennett walked over from the side, his expression one of sorrow.

“The outer areas of the Sanctuary have almost been completely destroyed and can only be rebuilt. The losses of the Six Nations were even greater, with cities being completely reduced to nothing.

They are currently busy with disaster relief efforts, so let me thank you on their behalf for the reinforcements sent. Otherwise, the losses would have expanded even further. It is estimated that a total of twelve million people have been killed on Planet Aquamarine, and the number of injured and crippled might be several times this number.”

“That’s better than expected.” Han Xiao nodded.

DarkStar’s assault had only lasted around ten minutes but had already caused millions to perish. Their efficiency was shocking, and if not for the mercenaries, Nagakin, and the players, the casualties would have been much greater.

As for the Godoran reinforcements, they had actually come very quickly, attributed to the hyperdrive station that Godora had installed early on. If DarkStar was given more time, it would no longer have been a problem of deaths and injuries but rather if there were any living people left.

The destruction of the cities was even more serious, basically becoming scrap, and they all had to be rebuilt.

“Were those attackers from DarkStar?” Bennett asked.

Han Xiao only nodded.

“Abominable…” Bennett’s expression was filled with helplessness and fury. Even if he clearly knew who the enemy was, he had no way to deal with them. He did not even possess the qualifications to talk to them and could only swallow this bitter pill. His eyes were filled with vengeance and hatred.

“Relax. I’ll settle the problem of DarkStar soon. You do not need to worry.” Han Xiao smiled.

Patting the shoulders of Bennett, Han Xiao then moved past several people, walking deep into the base. He only left a dwindling silhouette in the eyes of Hila and the rest.

Those few people seemed to see an illusion where the departing shadow of Han Xiao leaving the planet intersected with his current departing shadow. Before they knew it, this old acquaintance had already grown to the point where they could only look up to him.

…

Returning to his room, Han Xiao took a bath before putting on a fresh set of clothes. The battle had greatly consumed his stamina, and the moment he relaxed, his stomach growled in hunger. He finished more than twenty high-concentration nutrition bars before he felt some form of stamina returning.

Knock, knock, knock.

Knocking was heard from the door. Herlous stood outside with a group of his officers.

Because the majority of them had gone to support the Six Nations, they had only returned a while ago. Upon hearing of Han Xiao’s battle results, the group was stunned and even thought that their captain had been mistaken for someone. Only after confirming this fact did they then accept it and immediately ran over to find Han Xiao.

The moment the door opened, everyone rushed into the room in an instant.

“I heard that you repelled three Calamity Grades, and even the main cannon could not hurt you!” Herlous had an expression of surprise, looking up and down Han Xiao before speaking in confusion. “When did you become so powerful? Why was I unaware of it?”

“If we have time, we can fight a round. Then you’ll find out.”

“This… better not.” Herlous shuddered out of reflex.

Their previous fight could barely be considered a spar, but now it would just be a one-sided beatdown. Herlous did not indulge in being abused, and it seemed like he could only beat his captain through playing cards.

Han Xiao smiled before turning around to see Sylvia staring at him with sparkling eyes.

“Teacher, I want to learn this!”

“Scram, why the f*ck do you want to learn everything?”

“No… I really want to learn!”

“You can stop thinking about it. That’s something that cannot be learned.”

The little face of Sylvia drooped down as she huffed. “Unfair. Why is it like this?”

On the side, Ginette batted her eyes and licked her lips. “Captain, turns out you were this strong. Should we one day… try it out?”

“You can find Harmon for that. I’m not interested.” Han Xiao’s lips twitched.

As though he had received a cue, Harmon scratched his head, turning over to look at Ginette as he snorted, “You want a fight? I can accompany you anytime.”

“I’m not talking about fighting!” Ginette’s face froze.

The oldest Volga curled his lips as he thought, Bullsh*t, how could that not be considered fighting?

All the officers were babbling on, and only Feidin smiled warmly as he asked, “Black Star, you’re not injured, right?”

“Nothing too serious.” Han Xiao nodded, sweeping his gaze across the room, before asking, “Where’s Aroshia?”

Aroshia did not follow the rest of the officers over to view… ahem, to visit him.

“She overexerted herself and has gone over to the reaction furnace to recharge.”

Han Xiao nodded in understanding. Because Aroshia was an energy body, the energy furnace was her best supply station.

The group of officers rambled on for a while, giving Han Xiao a headache. Thus, he eventually chased them out to help with the disaster relief whilst he stayed in his room to rest.

He did not need to stick his hands into the disaster relief as he had more important things to do.

The battle had resulted in him losing the majority of his machinery. The first task at hand was to rebuild his Mechanical Army, restoring the previous quantity. The second matter was to break through to the Calamity Grade as quickly as possible. He was already at Level 136, with his combat capability close to the great divide of Grade A. Most likely, when he exceeded Level 140, he would enter the realm of Calamity Grades.

The Level 140 Advancement happened to be the next Race Evolution, and this would result in a huge promotion.

It was just nice that his advanced class [Virtual Mechanic] was currently at Level 11, with the upper limit being Level 20. This meant that even if his total level reached 140, there would not be any Class Missions, only a Promotion Mission. Furthermore, he still had a leftover [Mission Completion Card] on hand, which could allow him to undergo his Promotion immediately.

However, while he was only separated from advancing by four levels, every increase in level at this point required a veritable ocean of experience. From Level 136 to Level 140, he required more than three billion experience.

The upper limit of Version 1.0 was Level 60, whereas the limit for Version 2.0 was Level 90. However, the experience required to upgrade would only increase. In the future, the upper limit increase during each version update would gradually decrease as players required more time to upgrade.

At the beginning of the battle, Han Xiao had allocated all his stored experience to upgrade himself. If he wished to obtain another three billion experience points in a short amount of time, he could only turn to the players.

Godora was already quietly preparing for the final battle, while DarkStar was completely unprepared. He had to quickly recover his combat strength in order to obtain the right to participate. After all, [Godora’s Ally] was also a main storyline.

It seems like there’s a need to refresh the batch of knowledge and skills for the players. Since I also have plenty of funds in my account, I can freely choose the professional knowledge for the Pugilist and Esper classes, then copy it and sell it. I just need to change the prices from money to experience. Oh, that’s right. I also have the dungeon copy and can milk it for quite the sum.

Han Xiao had long become accustomed to such methods and conveniently opened the forums, looking at the current situation of the players.

Various posts on the forum came into view. In Planet Aquamarine’s board, most of the posts were basically about him, and the forum had exploded into conversation about his battle. Numerous screenshots and videos taken depicted the historical scene where he took the main cannon head on. The players had exploded in excitement!

The trending posts were all dominated by him once again.

Casually opening a few of those posts, he got goosebumps from seeing himself inside the videos.

All the posts put up by the players could be summarized using the few phrases.

Strong! Fantastic! Earth shaking! Explosive! I’m in love!

For those who had already joined the Black Star Mercenary Group, they were the happiest. Because the stronger their boss was, the more positive an impression people would have of them. In addition, there was still Dragon Emperor Ames on top, and just thinking about it, the future of their faction seemed quite bright.

This event can be considered an opportunity, to allow players to feel that the storyline for Planet Aquamarine has already ended, and it is the time to enter a higher stage, to lead them into the galaxy…

Moreover, according to the needs of Godora and the galaxy’s journalists, what had happened on Planet Aquamarine would be vigorously publicized. If he did not guess incorrectly, there would be many uninvited guests heading over to the planet soon.

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed. This would be a good chance for him to carry out the next phase of his plan!

Chapter 576: Always Causing Sensational News

Godora’s actions had always been observed by the media. Especially after the battle of Planet Golden Gate, the majority of the news reports had praised Godora for their victory. As such, many galactic residents were looking forward to the next piece of news regarding Godora.

However, most of them never would have expected that the next news of victory would come so quickly.

The battleground this time was a backward planet called Planet Aquamarine!

Many people could not help feeling bewildered. If was perfectly reasonable for Godora to push DarkStar back, but how was a backward planet able to fight DarkStar off?

No one knew exactly what had happened and only knew rough details of the incident.

To the majority of the galaxy, Planet Aquamarine was no more than a low-grade planet. If not for it being one of the calamity planets, many of them would not even have known that such a planet existed.

As for Black Star’s reputation, the majority of the galactic citizens were not familiar with him. While Han Xiao was an individual to be taken seriously in the eyes of the various large organizations, who were able to guess that this incident was probably related to Black Star, Han Xiao was no more than a mercenary to the commoners. A mercenary was not a superstar, and they would not commit the name of a mercenary to memory. Han Xiao was only famous among the upper echelons.

On the galactic web, many people were extremely interested in the details of the entire incident. There were not many witnesses, and this was a juicy piece of news that all the galactic news agencies wanted to get their hands on.

After just a short few days, galactic news agencies from all over the Star System sent their spaceships over to conduct interviews and dig out the truth. Just how did Planet Aquamarine fight DarkStar off?

The backward planet of Planet Aquamarine, which was usually ignored by the entire galaxy, became the center of attention of the galactic residents for once. This was the first time that they had welcomed visitors from the galaxy who were also commoners.

…

Planet Aquamarine had also become bustling with activity.

With Godora’s aid, the Sanctuary and Six Nations had cleaned up the mess from the battle, and there were plenty of things waiting for them to do. All the spaceships from the various news agencies were blocked outside the atmosphere by the Godoran fleet.

Godora was not planning to allow those reporters to enter Planet Aquamarine. While there were safety considerations, there was also a deeper meaning behind their decision.

The regime of the Six Nations was completely clueless about the visitors from the galaxy. After all, they did not have the means to contact the galaxy.

Since the reporters were not able to contact the regime of Planet Aquamarine, they quickly remembered that the Black Star Mercenary Group had been mentioned in the previous reports as well. As such, they decided to contact the Black Star Mercenary Group instead.

“They’re finally here.”

Phillip passed the message on to Han Xiao. Those reporters were a key part of his plan, so he contacted Nagakin to order the fleet to give way.

The fleet commander received the order from Nagakin. Despite him not wanting to let the reporters in, he had received orders from the higher ups to follow Nagakin’s orders when they were on Planet Aquamarine. Furthermore, after thinking carefully, he realized that he would not want to provoke Black Star either, especially after seeing Black Star’s display of strength. As such, he could only unwillingly move his fleet out of the way.

All the reporters rushed into Planet Aquamarine excitedly. Many of the reporters were old and experienced in this field and immediately knew that something was wrong. They wanted to meet the Black Star Mercenary Group, and the Godoran fleet had to give way obediently. There were many hints behind this simple action.

Godora had to give face to the Black Star Mercenary Group!

Many of the reporters instinctively realized that while Black Star was no more than an ordinary mercenary in the eyes of the Godorans, it was extremely likely that Black Star had played a key role in fighting off DarkStar.

This group of reporters showed their respect to the regime of Planet Aquamarine and all landed in the Six Nations. Only then did the Six Nations find out about the visitors from the galaxy. The Six Nations were filled with both excitement and nervousness as they welcomed their guests.

This was the first time that the Six Nations and inhabitants of Planet Aquamarine had seen so many aliens of different races. When the reporters stated their reason for their visit, the upper echelons of the Six Nations swiftly realized that this was an extremely good opportunity!

This was a good opportunity for them to build ties with the galaxy!

All this while, the Six Nations could only unilaterally contact Godora and knew very little about the galaxy. This situation had only improved slightly after Black Star’s return.

DarkStar’s assault on Planet Aquamarine had drawn the attention of the galaxy to the planet. To a backward planet like Planet Aquamarine, this was a significant event. The upper echelons of the Six Nations welcomed the reporters with the best hospitality they could provide, and they all felt that it was a blessing in disguise.

While the Six Nations were not familiar with the customs of the galaxy, they were extremely humble in the hospitality. At the same time, they showered the reporters with an endless stream of questions, and the reporters answered whatever they could without any arrogance. They would not look down on Planet Aquamarine. After all, this planet had just fought off DarkStar, and there was a need to show the most basic respect.

Very quickly, the upper echelons of the Six Nations found out that the reporters had initially been blocked outside the atmosphere and only managed to gain entry after Han Xiao’s intervention. They were immediately filled with immense gratitude toward Han Xiao. Because of Black Star, this planet had not been destroyed, and now, Black Star had given them the opportunity to contact the galaxy.

It was indeed right to hug Han Xiao’s thigh. The other party had already begun to fulfil his end of the promise to help them develop.

On the other side, the reporters also found out that the Black Star Mercenary Group was the main reason for the planet fighting off DarkStar, and their guesses were confirmed.

No wonder Godora had to give Black Star some face.

However, the Six Nations did not understand the details of the entire event. They could barely take care of themselves and had only found out after the entire incident.

The reporters then took pictures of the destroyed cities. It was all precious news footage. Following which, the reporters could not stop themselves rushing to the Sanctuary to interview Han Xiao.

Before the spaceships even arrived at the Sanctuary, they could see two gigantic circular mountains, which were obviously the outcome of the battle.

They had indeed come to the right place! The reporters became energized, and they took out their cameras to capture the footage of the battle.

The spaceships landed one after another, and the reporters walked out. Herlous was already waiting for them and calmly said, “Follow me to the conference room. Black Star will accept your interview.”

The reporters all nodded and quickly followed behind him. Their attitude was completely different compared to when they were meeting with the Six Nations.

While these reporters were not arrogant and treated the Six Nations as their equals, the inhabitants of those from a backward planet were different, and there were no common topics between them.

However, before the Black Star Mercenary Group, these reporters humbled themselves even further. The Black Star Mercenary Group was an existence of a higher level, and this respect came from their hearts.

When they arrived at the conference room, Han Xiao had not arrived, and the reporters could only wait. However, they did not waste any time and began interviewing Herlous.

Herlous had already received Han Xiao’s orders, and he purposely stayed behind so that the reporters could interview him. He then began to illustrate the entire event honestly.

“DarkStar sent out a large number of spaceships to assault the Six Nations and us. Our captain was DarkStar’s target, and the enemy sent out a total of three Calamity Grade Supers to surround him!”

Black Star faced three Calamity Grade Supers single handedly? Since he was still alive, the outcome of the battle had spoken for itself!

All the reporters were dumbfounded and began scribbling down their notes.

“DarkStar sent out three Calamity Grade Supers to surround Black Star!”

Herlous then continued. “Our captain single-handedly tied down the three most terrifying enemies and bore the weight of the greatest danger. The three Calamity Grade Supers weren’t able to break our captain’s defense, and DarkStar was forced to use their mothership’s main cannon to attack our captain…”

The reporters gasped in shock and continued scribbling.

“Three Calamity Grade Supers were beaten up and forced to use their spaceship’s main cannon!”

“The two circular mountains on the outside are the result of the main cannon. Our captain used his own body to tank the cannon and emerged unscathed. Following which, DarkStar fired another shot, but they fell for our captain’s trap and almost caused the death of their own Calamity Grade comrade. As such, they didn’t dare fire another shot…”

This was truly some juicy news!

The reporters were all dumbfounded and hurriedly wrote.

“Tanking the main cannon with his body, Black Star arrogantly taunts for another shot!”

“Finally, the Godoran reinforcements arrived, and DarkStar wasn’t willing to fight Godora again. As such, they were forced to retreat. That’s what happened.” Herlous then shut his mouth.

The reporters gave a warm round of applause and wrote frantically.

“Black Star’s divine might, DarkStar’s pitiful escape!”

…

After estimating that Herlous’ interview should be over, Han Xiao entered the conference room.

All the reporters immediately jumped up with faces full of respect and cried out, “Sir Black Star!”

Han Xiao immediately felt as though he was the discipline teacher making his rounds in a school.

Han Xiao sat down, and the reporters began their interview. They first confirmed that what Herlous had described was the truth before showering Han Xiao with many other questions.

“Did you feel any pressure from facing three Calamity Grade Supers?”

“How did it feel to tank the main cannon?”

“What do you feel about the actions of DarkStar?”

The endless stream of questions made Han Xiao feel as though he was holding a press conference.

Han Xiao answered all the reporter’s questions patiently as he needed to rely on them to spread his name. This was an additional Renown reward. After all, an event that could give him Legendary Points would definitely have many hidden rewards.

As the interview came to an end, one of the reporters asked a final question.

“Sir Black Star, for you to stay behind on Planet Aquamarine and aid the planet in fighting the calamity and fending off the enemies, is it because this is your home planet?”

Hearing that, Han Xiao’s eyes glowed, and an idea popped up in his mind. “That is only one of the reasons…”

“Can you tell us the other reasons?” the reporter asked.

Han Xiao chuckled and said, “Of course. Planet Aquamarine isn’t only my home planet. The Black Star Mercenary Group also plans to expand to Planet Aquamarine and set up a branch division on the planet. This will also be one of the bases of the Floating Dragon armed division. A while back, the Dragon Emperor came to Planet Aquamarine to assess the location, and my job is to fight off all incoming enemies.”

The eyes of all the reporters lit up, and they were overjoyed! This was another juicy piece of news!

It turned out that Planet Aquamarine was a planet under the protection of Black Star and Floating Dragon!

From that day onward, Planet Aquamarine would no longer be a low-grade planet without anything special. The brand of Floating Dragon would be marked on it, and this brand would be a protective talisman for the planet. At the very least, ninety percent of those with ill intentions would be deterred.

After all, he would not remain on Planet Aquamarine forever, and this was beneficial to both Planet Aquamarine and his own base.

Apart from raising the level of security, the fame of Floating Dragon would attract merchants and investments to the planet. Some financial groups would invest in the planet, and this would speed up the process of Planet Aquamarine becoming connected to galaxy.

Since Planet Aquamarine was the territory of Floating Dragon, even if it was a backward planet for the time being, the financial groups would still be willing to carry out some investments and transfer some technological knowledge over to aid the Six Nations in their development. This way, he would be able to fulfil his promise to the Six Nations.

At the same time, stamping Planet Aquamarine with the brand of Floating Dragon was a precautionary measure. Even if the Six Nations developed in the future and became independent, they would not dare go against their contract with him. They would be extremely clear about the outcome of losing the brand of Floating Dragon.

As such, even though the regime controlling Planet Aquamarine was the Six Nations on the surface, the true ruler of the planet was actually…

Ames

It naturally was not him.

However, with Ames’ lazy nature, he would have an extremely large say.

Of course, Ames would not reject. As for the Head Butler Jenny, who was in charge of operations…

Ha! Loving colleagues like them should clean up after each other!

…

This trip of theirs was filled with rewards, and they all returned with satisfaction.

The next day, the various news agencies of the Garton Star System released detailed coverage of the ‘true story’ of the battle on Planet Aquamarine. It was coupled with photos of the circular shaped mountains being the main headline.

After taking a glance at the article, Han Xiao almost puked blood as he strangled Herlous and roared with anger, “Didn’t we agree to tell the truth‽ Just what did you tell the reporters‽ Did I ask you to brag? Did I‽”

Herlous was filled with grievances. “I really did tell the truth. Who knew that reporters would be so good at fluffing things up?”

This incident was spread far and wide in the galaxy. Not just the Garton Star System, even the other Star Systems of the Shattered Star Ring who were paying attention to the chaos created by DarkStar knew about a character called Black Star who fought three Calamity Grade Supers alone and tanked the main cannon of a DarkStar mothership.

Even a Star Cluster level civilization remembered Black Star’s name.

The entire Shattered Star Ring was shaken!

Chapter 577: Attention from Everywhere, Black Star Army

Godora paid close attention to the coverage. Nagakin had already reported Han Xiao’s personal strength, so the focus of the upper echelons was on another problem. Han Xiao had already declared to the galaxy through the reporters that Planet Aquamarine was a part of Floating Dragon.

Despite Floating Dragon being a neutral organization with no regime, its influence was not to be underestimated.

With the brand of Floating Dragon labeled on them, even though Planet Aquamarine was in Godora’s territory, it would be difficult for them to control or manage Planet Aquamarine. This planet would then become a special region within Godora’s territory.

Floating Dragon’s value had far exceeded the value of a low-grade planet like Planet Aquamarine. As long as there was no conflict between the two, Godora could only choose to close one eye.

Of course, compared to DarkStar, Planet Aquamarine was a tiny problem. After the news got out, Godora’s official media team also came forward to join in the fun and spread the news. As long as they could dampen DarkStar’s momentum, it would not matter who it was that defeated DarkStar.

…

As Jenny watched the news, her face turned dark, and she immediately contacted Ames.

Ames was currently roaming the galaxy, and Jenny’s holographic figure appeared on her communicator.

“What’s the matter?”

“Go and take a look at the news! Black Star is creating trouble again!” Jenny pressed a few buttons on her communicator and sent the news over.

After watching it for a while, Ames smiled calmly. “He’s not too bad.”

“That isn’t the point! Before gaining my approval, he announced to the galaxy that Planet Aquamarine is a division of Floating Dragon!” Jenny looked as though she was about to go crazy.

“But I agreed.” Ames blinked innocently.

Jenny had no choice but to force all her curses back down her throat.

“I took in two disciples recently, and they are both from Planet Aquamarine. Black Star will be bringing them to Floating Dragon Island soon, and you should look after them.”

After saying that, Ames cut off the line.

“Argh! Black Star!”

The employees outside the room heard Jenny’s enraged roar and all jumped out of their seats.

…

In some random place within the Shattered Star Ring where a beyond Grade A organization was located.

“Tanking the main cannon… he does have my style. Ames finally has a powerful officer.”

In the darkness, a giant who was seven meters tall sat on his throne and watched the news with a look of deep thought.

“Floating Dragon has begun to expand, and Ames is finally interested in building her organization. Hmm, I should find some time to propose to her again. Maybe I will succeed.”

…

The DarkStar mothership that had ambushed Planet Aquamarine was currently floating in space, and the three Calamity Grade Supers also saw the news.

“Bullsh*t! When did he beat us up‽” Degulish flew into a fit of rage. “It was obviously Black Star who was beaten to the point he couldn’t fight back. These reporters really know how to bullsh*t!”

“The truth is, we weren’t able to kill him,” Terry said helplessly.

Ember snorted but did not comment. He was thinking about how he could get rid of Han Xiao.

“He must have a weakness. We have to quickly plant spies within his mercenary group. We will only be able to find his weaknesses by coming into close contact with him.”

“Then, what should we do next?” Terry asked.

Degulish frowned and slowly said, “Black Star’s ability was out of our expectations, and our mission has failed. The leader said that this isn’t our fault as none of us knew how much strength Black Star is hiding. He ordered us to regroup with the main fleet and prepare for the next step of the plan.”

“Next step of the plan?”

“I am not aware of the exact details, but since he is gathering all the motherships, it will definitely be a large mission,” Degulish said.

DarkStar was still planning their next attack.

However, DarkStar did not know that Han Xiao had already snuck into their backyard.

All the hidden motherships were exposed under Risda’s surveillance, but DarkStar was still in the dark.

…

With the news being spread throughout the entire Shattered Star Ring, Black Star’s name was being discussed everywhere. His name spread far and wide, and Han Xiao received plenty of bonus Renown points.

DarkStar had finally paused for a moment after failing twice.

However, this was only the calm before the storm. The large storm that was being directed by Han Xiao was currently brewing.

Every now and then, Han Xiao would send the coordinates of the DarkStar motherships to the upper echelons of the War Bureau through Nagakin. Godora intended to destroy DarkStar in one fell swoop and secretly mobilized their forces without making any rash moves.

At the same time, Godora kept the mercenary groups on the payroll as insurance but did not reveal their exact plan to them. Godora only got Sky Ring, Purple Gold, Blades, and the other large mercenary groups to await their orders.

Han Xiao was still on Planet Aquamarine carrying out his plan to recruit the players. The plan was now at its most crucial phase.

By making use of this event, Han Xiao changed the name of his faction through the faction interface and Mercenary Alliance.

The [Black Star Mercenary Group] was renamed to…

[Black Star Army]!

Only large mercenary groups would dare have the word ‘Army’ in their name.

Because of the addition of a large number of players, Han Xiao’s faction had more than ten thousand members. His faction was already at the right level, and the mercenary world probably would not have any complaints about it.

Regarding this decision, Han Xiao gave a speech to all the players and emphasized the fact that their faction was only able to change their name thanks to the players. He wanted to make the players feel as though they were contributing to the growth of the faction.

By changing their name because of such a reason, Han Xiao would be able to cultivate a stronger sense of belonging and team spirit among the players. The players would then feel as though Black Star Army was a faction that belonged to them.

At the same time, this was a signal to the players that they were about to leave Planet Aquamarine and start the next phase of their journey. This was so that the players would have some mental preparation.

The way the players saw it, a change of name in the faction meant that they were about to enter the galaxy!

Of course, all his plans would only work if there were sufficient benefits provided to the players. Han Xiao had to make sure to launch new products from time to time.

Through the exchange center in the galaxy, Han Xiao spent more than 100,000 Enas to purchase new Pugilist and Esper knowledge and placed them in the faction store. What shocked the players the most was that the new knowledge did not require money like in the past but experience!

At the same time, there were no Favorability requirements to fulfil.

With respect to this incident, Han Xiao made an explanation through Phillip.

“The Black Star Army will provide these two Advanced Knowledges ‘free of charge’ to groom and train the new mercenaries.”

This action of his immediately drove the players mad with excitement!

Han Xiao sold his own Mechanic knowledge using the [Skill Impartation] method, but he sold the knowledge from the other two classes through the faction store. This meant that as long as players joined the Black Star Army, they would be able to learn those two Advanced Knowledges for ‘free’!

This immediately became a beginner benefit for those in the faction. It was just like how the players who joined the Godoran faction would be able to acquire knowledge if they accumulated sufficient merit. It was just that Han Xiao had removed all those restrictions and allowed the players to spend experience points to learn the knowledge without spending any money.

The players were overjoyed and felt as though they had made a huge profit!

The players who had entered the galaxy in Version 1.0 shared the price of that Advanced Knowledge in the galaxy. If they did not join a faction, the Advanced Knowledge would cost them tens of thousands of Enas to purchase.

In comparison, the Black Star Army seemed to be the kindest of saints!

The way the players saw it, this was all due to their contribution. It was because of them that the faction could grow to such a size. It was because of them that the faction could change its name and provide such benefits. This was truly a faction that could grow!

Han Xiao intentionally made it so that only experience was required to learn the Advanced Knowledge. His target customers were the players of the other two classes, and his intention was to accumulate experience so that he could quickly hit level 140.

The Great Mechanic Han had over 10,000,000 Enas in his account, and the 100,000 that he had spent was peanuts in his eyes. In fact, he was even too lazy to collect a symbolic fee. Even if he only collected 1 Ena, the effect would have been grossly different from providing it for free.

Advanced Knowledge was a necessity, and the market was essentially all the Planet Aquamarine players of the two other classes!

After spending 100,000 Enas, if Han Xiao could not harvest a good amount of experience, he would be going against his conscience!

This was the only shop where they could purchase Advanced Knowledge at such a good price. None of the players hesitated in the slightest, and the experience points on Han Xiao’s interface rapidly shot up.

300,000… 600,000… 1,000,000,000…

The effect of it being ‘free’ was truly frightening!

Looking at the explosion of his experience points, Han Xiao was in a great mood.

After this harvest of experience, apart from being able to reach level 140, it will probably last me a long while.

…

In just one day, the amount of experience accumulated was enough to bring Han Xiao up to level 140.

In order to get to Grade A, Han Xiao did not even bother repairing his Mechanic Army. This ambush had allowed him to understand that it was best to harvest the vegetables when they were ripe. If he had already been at the Calamity Grade when facing the encirclement of the three Calamity Grade Supers, it would not have been so dangerous for him.

Han Xiao then walked into the training room of his second base and locked the door.

Taking in a deep breath, Han Xiao opened the interface and channeled his experience into increasing his level.

I can finally reach the Calamity Grade and step into the ranks of the powerhouses!

Han Xiao was truly excited.

Chapter 578: Stepping into the Calamity Grade!

The difference between a Grade B and Grade A lay in the level of their lifeform. After entering Grade A, one’s genes would be optimized to become even more perfect. The body would become more adapted to the release of energy, and the energy loss would also be greatly reduced. At the same time, even the energy output would also be transformed. In layman’s terms, endurance and attack power would increase. Thus, Grade A was known as the Calamity Grade.

As its name suggested, as long as they released power, a Grade A Super would definitely be able to wreak havoc akin to a natural disaster on a planet in a short time frame. Before the emergence of Beyond Grade A Supers, Grade A was the strongest level in the Galaxy.

Even then, Grade A remained a significant milestone.

In his previous life, the level of the players had at most reached Grade A, so Han Xiao was acutely aware that once someone passed through the threshold of Grade A, their strength would immediately experience a great improvement!

This was a new phase!

Currently, he was at Level 136, and his main class was at Level 11. With excitement, he began to pump in his experience.

_____________________

[Virtual Mechanic] has been upgraded to Lv.15.

+150 Energy, +3 END, +6 INT.

You have received 6 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

Your total level has reached 140. Complete the promotion mission to continue leveling up.

_____________________

At this level, there would not be able sort of easy missions given. Han Xiao glanced at it, and immediately knew that he would not be able to complete it in a short amount of time. He unhesitatingly used up the last Mission Completion Card, and the Promotion Mission turned from the uncompleted gray color to the bright gold color symbolizing completion.

This was the fastest time taken for the Great Mechanic Han to have completed a Promotion Mission.

Just one word. Soothing!

_____________________

Level 140 Promotion Mission has been completed! END has been increased!

1 END = 80 HP = 90 Stamina

_____________________

The last time I advanced at Level 120, my Endurance increased by fifteen, reaching a ratio of 1:65, whereas prior advancements only increased it by ten. Now that I’ve promoted to Level 140, it has increased by fifteen again to reach 1:80. After my Race Evolution, my next Promotion should increase my Endurance by twenty.

Han Xiao slowly recalled his past experience.

From Level 60 onward, every forty levels would result in a Race Evolution. Level 140 would be the third Race Evolution for Han Xiao!

At that moment, the interface popped up with many words like a waterfall.

_____________________

After a long time of existing with energy, your genes have been optimized once again. You can now go further on the route of evolution. You have been awarded with a sublimation of life level.

Detecting Race… [Void Prowler (Human Form)].

Randomly drawing seven matching evolutionary directions…

Drawing complete.

Please choose one of the following seven options for your Race Evolution. Warning! The evolution process is irreversible, so please choose carefully!

[V-type Galaxy Human Race]: 74% Compatibility

[Void Symbiote (Human Form)]: 88% Compatibility

[Void Corruptor (Human Form)]: 75% Compatibility

[Void Hunter (Human Form)]: 77% Compatibility

[Chaos Observer (Human Form)]: 72% Compatibility

[Eye of the Void]: 42% Compatibility

[High Energy Entity (Soul-based Creature Type)]: 35% Compatibility

_____________________

Out of the seven options, five of them belonged to the Void evolution system.

The Void System was a rare evolutionary chain that was difficult to obtain. A normal Race Evolution would only have a small chance of drawing the chance to evolve in the direction of the Void System. Because Han Xiao had injected himself with the bone marrow of the Void Dragon and managed to obtain a portion of the Void Genes fragment, he had been able to draw the [Void Prowler] race in his previous evolution.

After becoming a [Void Prowler], his evolutionary chain had shifted from being part of the human race to being a branch of the Void System while retaining some of the characteristics of the human race. The Void System was a variant evolution and had a high degree of integration of many different species. Therefore, he was offered many evolution options, marked with the characteristics of ‘human form’.

Of course, he still had options that did not retain his human form, such as [Eye of the Void]. If he selected that, he would become a large eyeball with a tentacle attached to it. It would have an innate ability of Void Gaze, which could inflict Fear onto anyone.

[High Energy Entity] was another state of an energy life, where they existed as soul-based creatures, similar to that of a Lich. As long as their soul core was not damaged, the energy body could be repaired at any time even if it was destroyed. This was a species suitable for those who were Mages.

Han Xiao naturally wanted to retain the potential evolutionary direction of his Void System. However, he also needed a human form to complete mechanical manufacturing. Some of his expertise could only be activated in human form, so only four of the Void Evolution options that preserved his human form would meet the requirements.

I have a high level of tankiness, so I don’t need to worry about HP. What I lack now is attack power. I’m also a mechanic, so the higher my Intelligence, the higher my bonuses…

After pondering for a moment, Han Xiao made his decision and solemnly confirmed his evolutionary route.

_____________________

Selection complete. Undergoing Race Evolution… Evolution complete.

Your race has been changed to: [Chaos Observer (Human Form)]. Molecular structure is improved, organ structure strengthened, metabolism changed, and adaptability enhanced… Your potential aptitude has been improved!

You have received attributes in the following: +0 STR, +40 DEX, +94 INT, +72 MYS, +56 CHA, +840 Energy.

Energy Level bonus attributes have been changed!

_____________________

An avalanche of pain exploded from deep within his body. Han Xiao had long prepared for it and gritted his teeth as he endured the pain that would make an ordinary person faint as he tried to feel the changes in his cells and genes.

His body uncontrollably phased in and out of its Void form, and his Void Vision flickered and disappeared constantly, as though looking through dozens of frames per second. This time, the pain in his brain was the strongest, and it was as though thousands of needles had stabbed into his head, giving him some sort of brain acupuncture.

The [Chaos Observer]’s attributes were biased toward Intelligence, which was one of his reasons for picking that route. The second reason was that Han Xiao recalled that this route would have a chance of evolving into a high-level Void Entity in the future, with more potential than the other three.

Luckily, the pain this time was not as severe compared to when he had evolved into the [Void Prowler]. Han Xiao was already considered a Void creature, and the reaction to changes in the genes was not so drastic.

“Huu, huu…”

After a long period of time, the pain gradually faded. Han Xiao took ragged breaths, covered in sweat as though he had just been dragged out from a lake. The world in his eyes was much clearer, and the thoughts in his brain spun much faster, like bubbles in boiling water.

After appreciating it for a few seconds, Han Xiao looked at the interface to access his new race talents.

_____________________

Your Race Specialty has been altered!

You have received the Race Specialty [Advanced Void Travel]!

You have received the Race Specialty [Void Vision – Observer]!

You have received the Race Specialty [Observer’s Mark]!

You have received the Race Specialty [Chaos Entity – Release]!

_____________________

“Four talents!” Han Xiao’s face lit up. This was one more than Void Prowler provided.

After trying them all once, he got a rough idea of them.

The one that he was most familiar with was the [Advanced Void Travel]. It was just an upgraded version of the original [Void Travel], lasting up to three minutes. The phasing was also increased, meaning that he could now phase longer distances and complete more things during that time. However, the cooldown remained at five minutes.

The other three talents were the special talents of the [Chaos Observer], of which [Chaos Entity – Release] was the core. The other two required [Chaos Entity – Release] to be activated before they could be used.

The moment Han Xiao’s thoughts moved, his entire person suddenly dispersed, turning into a gray fog. This was a weird field of energy, where light was swallowed up by it, but it retained its gray color instead of being displayed as black.

It was as though space was used as the canvas, with a touch of gray paint applied on it.

In addition, his sensory organs also morphed along with his appearance. He no longer needed ‘eyes’ to see things, no longer needed ‘ears’ to hear things. The chaos fog provided him with sight, hearing, touch, smell, and more. In fact, its acuteness was increased many folds, and even his movements were no longer consistent with human actions. The chaos fog served as the core, drifting around, and could even shift into many shapes, akin to a cloud moving by itself. Its speed was quite fast and even had the ability to phase through walls.

Not only that, but the new sensory organs were hard to describe. Simply miraculous.

This is a chaos body? Han Xiao thought to himself before realizing that he did not have a brain anymore, so how could he think? After pondering for a while, he suddenly came to the realization that after forming a ‘chaos body’, he had technically changed from a physical lifeform into an energy field. Inside this field, the chaos fog constituted his organs and body parts at a microscopic level. It was precisely all these molecular and atomic structures that formed a circuit of thinking, conducted through bioelectricity.

Since he could create Artificial Intelligence, it was not surprising to have an alternative path of thinking.

He then tried out the other two talents. [Void Vision – Observer] utilized his chaos body that could phase between the void dimension and the physical world. This was unlike [Void Travel], where time was almost static. When he utilized this ability, time flowed as per normal, but he could hide within the gap to observe changes in the outside world and with a larger field of vision.

He could also place [Observer’s Mark], which was related to his new sense organs. As long as the markers were set around a certain person, place, or spatial coordinate, they could be observed across space synchronously, akin to a split screen mode with a maximum of five markers at any one time. The markers could also be replaced.

Wait a minute… this observation, this is simply akin to voyeurism!

Han Xiao was rendered speechless.

Could it be that I’ve become a sentry ward‽

This is getting more and more ‘perverted’… I like it!

After turning into a chaos body, his interface was also refreshed accordingly, displaying the status of his ‘transformation’, which included a ninety-five percent immunity to damage. The energy possessed in his human form would turn into the HP level of the chaos body, meaning that energy was required to maintain this state. Most skills and abilities were frozen, but [Advanced Void Travel] would be greatly enhanced, and the cooldown reduced from five minutes to 15 seconds.

If the HP of the chaos body was fully depleted, it would force the human form to take shape once again. However, his energy would be completely depleted, and there would be a negative status of [Severe Injury]. At the same time, [Chaos Entity – Release] would enter a forty-eight-hour cooldown period.

This also means that the chaos body does not have much combat capability and is mainly used for its observation and scouting. It’s an auxiliary function.

Deactivating the [Chaos Entity – Release] skill, the fog rolled and shrank toward the center, condensing back into a human body. The color of his skin regained its original human-like color as Han Xiao returned to his normal shape.

Taking out a mirror, Han Xiao took a look. This time, it was not his wishful thinking, but he seemed to have grown more handsome. In addition, he had grown taller. His eyes in particular were breathtaking, giving people a mysterious urge to dig them out.

Those were the changes brought about by the Race Evolution. In his interface were more notifications.

_____________________

Your combat capability has broken through 10,000 Ona!

You have been promoted to Grade A!

You have received a special rank bonus!

_____________________

A special rank bonus was a privilege one could only obtain when they arrived at Grade A. With the baseline of 10,000 Ona for their energy level as a gauge, for every 10,000 Ona increased, they would receive a new rank bonus. However, the distance from Grade A to Beyond Grade A was still too far apart.

Within the Grade A range, it was also divided based on strength. The easiest way was just to compare one’s combat capability or to distinguish the difference in level, attributes, skills, and expertise. A Grade A+ Super could easily deal with a newly promoted Calamity Grade Super, probably even steamroll them.

_____________________

Your END has been increased by 10. Currently, 1 END = 90 HP = 100 Stamina

+8% all resistances!

+10% highest stat(s), +5% other stats

You have received an additional 30 Free Attribute Points.

You have received an additional 5 Potential Points

You have awakened the skill [Mechanical Force Field]!

You have awakened Rank Talent [Superhuman]!

_____________________

These were the two exclusive talents that would only be awakened when one reached Grade A. Of which, the skill [Superhuman] was fixed, and the other skill would suit one’s profession. Han Xiao had played a few different professions previously, so he was quite clear on this.

_____________________

[Mechanical Force Field]: When you apply a Mechanical Force bonus, a machine will be used as the center point, forming a force field around it. Machinery within this range will randomly have a 40 – 80% bonus effect (non-stackable), which only consumes the strength of one machine. The range of said force field is dependent on one’s INT attribute.

_____________________

This was an ability limited to Mechanics, which would serve as one of the core skills of the Army Style. Just by adding another machine, without a change in consumption, the surrounding machines would be able to enjoy a bonus effect, enhancing their longevity on the battlefield. Using the language of players, it was called a ‘splash effect’.

_____________________

[Superhuman]: You have awakened the ways on how to perfectly control your own abilities and how to increase your strength (including but not limited to various types of weapons and equipment, mechanical creations, summoned entities, and other means of combat that you possess). The bonus effect depends on the character’s total Level.

From Level 1 – 100: +2% Attack Power every 10 Levels

From Level 100 – 160: +3% Attack Power every 10 Levels

Above Level 160: +4% Attack Power every 10 Levels

_____________________

Thus, his current ability strength increase was thirty-two percent.

If the previous ability was meant to increase one’s stamina and endurance on the battlefield, [Superhuman] was the main reason for the great increase in damage dealt by Calamity Grade Supers. The ability strength was basically equivalent to one’s attack power.

This bonus was independent of all talents and skills. No matter how high one’s attack power was, it would take that as the base and increase in percentage based on that.

The stronger one’s attack, the greater the increase.

The higher one’s level, the greater the bonuses.

This explained the terrifying attack power that Ames had displayed the other time. Of course, the main reason was also because Floating Dragon was durable enough.

With all the notifications having come to an end, Han Xiao used his remaining experience to improve his [Mechanical Force Field] skill, raising it another two levels, before allocating all his free attribute points to Intelligence.

Having reached Level 140, the experience consumption was even greater. Just rising two levels required nearly two billion experience. If Han Xiao only used the mission rewards given at Version 2.0 as the standard experience gain, then God only knew when he would next be able to level up.

The players’ mission rewards naturally rose with the versions. At that level, experience reward would start from tens of million at the very least.

I’ve finally stepped into Calamity Grade!

Filling his body full of a surging strength, Han Xiao revealed an expression of excitement as he clenched his fists. He felt as though he could now destroy Harmon with just one punch.

Looking at his interface, he observed the overall changes that had occurred.

_____________________

Level: 142

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Chaos Observer (Human Form)

Attributes: 201 STR, 518 DEX, 485 END, 1500 INT, 200 MYS, 102 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Points: 62

Health: 64,020

Stamina: 64,250

Energy: 12,410 [Lv.10]

Lv.10 Energy bonus stat: +81 STR, +113 DEX, +122 END, +144 INT, +91 MYS, +16,020 Stamina Limit, +97% Machinery Affinity

Power Level: 11,237 Ona

Grade: A

Grade A Ranked Bonus: +10 END, +8% All Resistances, +10% Highest Stat(s), +5% Other Stats, +30 Free Attribute Points, +5 Potential Points

You have entered the Calamity Grade, becoming a top rate combat power in the Galaxy. From now on, you will always have a spot in any Star Field!

Chapter 579: It’s Time

After checking the changes from entering the Calamity Grade, Han Xiao tidied up his clothes before walking out of the training room.

As he walked down the corridor of the base, he met Aroshia.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to my room.” Aroshia was prepared to walk past Han Xiao but suddenly paused beside Han Xiao and began sniffing him with a strange look in her eyes.

“What’s the matter? Do I smell good?” Han Xiao then looked down at his own body.

Aroshia shook her head, and a look of uncertainty could be seen on her usually calm face. When she walked past Han Xiao, she could sense something different about Han Xiao’s aura, and she thought that her senses were wrong.

“What kind of change have you undergone?” Aroshia would never beat about the bush and went straight to the point.

“Oh? You have felt it? I achieved a breakthrough in my strength, and I am already at the Calamity Grade.” Han Xiao did not bother hiding anything. His Officers would find out eventually anyway.

Aroshia nodded indifferently in response. To her, regardless of what Han Xiao did, she would never doubt him in the slightest. Besides, Han Xiao had just survived a huge battle, and it was extremely normal for him to achieve a breakthrough.

To NPCs like them without an interface, battling was indeed the best way to raise their strength.

Han Xiao suddenly thought about something and smiled.

“Don’t be in a rush to leave. Let me show you a little trick.”

As he said that, Han Xiao activated his [Chaos Entity – Release], and his entire body turned into a grayish fog.

Aroshia looked at the fog before her with her eyes wide open in shock. Such a domain like transformation was extremely similar to her energy body. As she stretched out her hands to touch the fog; her entire hand passed through the fog, and she could not feel anything. The grayish fog before her was no different from an ordinary fog.

Hum!

Aroshia transformed her own body into her energy form and entered the grayish fog. The glowing golden energy body was tangled together with the grayish fog, and she could feel a warm sensation that she would only feel when present in the energy furnace.

Upon thinking about charging, Aroshia subconsciously attempted to absorb energy from the grayish fog. However, the Chaos Body was maintained by Han Xiao’s energy, and this energy was controlled by Han Xiao. Thus, it could not be absorbed by Aroshia.

Feeling Aroshia’s action, Han Xiao released a small portion of his energy for Aroshia to absorb. Aroshia suddenly turned into a bright ball of light that began flickering. Absorbing the energy from the Chaos Body made her feel a great sense of comfort, and she could not even be bothered to maintain her human form. If not for the fact that she did not have vocal cords in her energy form, she would have let out a groan of satisfaction.

The energy of a Calamity Grade Super was far thicker, and it had the brand of Han Xiao’s genes. Thus, it naturally felt extremely different from an energy furnace.

Energy was the HP of the Chaos Body, and with a small portion of his energy being absorbed, Han Xiao’s HP decreased. Han Xiao was then surprised to realize that he could send a telepathic message with the Chaos Body and sent Aroshia a message. He asked her to channel some of her energy into the gray fog as well. Theoretically, the both of them should be able to exchange their energy.

A golden streak of energy was then transmitted into the gray fog, and the HP of his Chaos Body was filled up to the brim. Han Xiao was suddenly struck by a thought. Because the majority of his talents were locked up in his Chaos Body form, Aroshia was not only his ‘battery’ but was also a moving HP potion for him.

He then sent another thought to Aroshia, and Aroshia transformed into the Chaos Body form to merge together with the gray fog. The gray fog immediately shone with a golden tint, and the two of them were able to have a deeper connection, which increased the efficiency of their energy transfer. This was akin to Aroshia becoming one with the Chaos Body.

After experimenting for a moment, Han Xiao deactivated the Chaos Body and transformed back to his original body. Aroshia also separated from his body and cancelled her energy form.

“Is this your new ability?” Aroshia could not help but ask. For some reason, her beautiful face had a slightly red hue.

“Yeah, I have acquired Void abilities.”

Han Xiao’s expression was a little odd, and he felt as though he had just done something strange.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao disposed of all the strange thoughts in his head. He then tried to think back about what he had just felt. Because his Chaos Body was a domain type lifeform that also had energy as its lifeline, he had tried experimenting with Aroshia. In the end, things were as he had expected, and as long as they were connected and consciously willed it, they would be able to transmit energy to each other.

However, while Aroshia could take the initiative to absorb energy, the Chaos Body could not. The Chaos Body could only passively absorb energy from its surroundings. Aroshia’s Esper ability had another defining feature. She could make use of energy in almost every form possible.

The talents of the Chaos Observer are special, and there should be many more ways to use it, Han Xiao thought to himself.

After entering the Calamity Grade, Han Xiao had many new abilities that he had to familiarize himself with.

He then casually threw an [Observer’s Mark] onto Aroshia before parting ways.

Along the way, Han Xiao thought about Risda’s request. He did not intend to go back on his word. When Risda completed his mission, he would aid Aroshia in regaining her memories.

In any case, Han Xiao could already more or less guess what the final mission requirement of [Reboot] would be. He just had to ensure that he did not need to face Manison from the [Mechanic Empire].

…

Over the next few days, the various officers of the Mercenary Group found out about Han Xiao stepping into the Calamity Grade. Compared to Aroshia’s calmness, they were all shocked.

That was the Calamity Grade!

Before their captain reached the Calamity Grade, he could already tank the attacks from three Calamity Grade Supers. Now that he had joined the ranks of the Calamity Grade Supers, just how powerful would he be‽

The person who was most shocked was naturally Herlous. He had joined the Black Star Mercenary Group before Han Xiao had entered Grade B and had personally watched how Han Xiao caught up to him, exceeded him, and left him in the dust without any hope of catching up!

Han Xiao had gone from Grade C to Grade A in just a short few years‽

Herlous had only touched the boundary of Grade B+!

He had never heard of such a growth rate before! Just what did Han Xiao eat when growing up‽

Sylvia was the happiest. After living together with the mercenaries for the past few years, she treated the Black Star Army as her second home.

There was finally a Calamity Grade Super to prop up the Black Star Army, and Black Star was also her own teacher. Thus, she naturally felt it a great honor.

However, the officers of the Black Star Army had not seen Han Xiao much over the past few days as he had locked himself up in the machinery modification room.

Entering Grade A was the prerequisite to merging a few blueprints, and Han Xiao could upgrade his equipment again. He did not need to change the type of equipment that he equipped but could use more powerful equipment of the same type. Han Xiao had lost a large number of machines during the battle, and this was the best time to make up for the gap in his weapons.

The Void Dragon had already been destroyed, and the only thing left of it was the core material, Void Dragon Bone. Han Xiao merged a new blueprint that was of a higher grade and was prepared to construct a new and more powerful battle suit to keep up with his Calamity Grade strength.

There were three core materials to the new mechanical suit: Kyle Alloy, PR-909 Super Nano Polymer Fiber, and Refined Overga Metal. These were all military grade materials and were extremely pricey. Furthermore, the ones controlling these materials were civilizations of the Star Cluster Grade.

These three materials were considered strategic military resources being used for transactions between civilizations and could not be found on the market at all. As long as it appeared on the black market, it would be purchased anonymously within seconds. Just a kilogram of Kyle Alloy would be the same price as a small spaceship. It was a market with demand but no supply. Even if one had the money and wanted to purchase it, it was impossible to do so.

However, as the ruler of a galactic civilization, Godora would have some in stock that they had bought from Star Cluster grade civilizations.

When he was selling the Mutation Source, one of the conditions was for Godora to allow him to purchase these restricted materials.

However, while Godora did agree to his condition, they added one of their own. The amount of restricted materials that he could purchase annually was limited. Godora would not allow too much of those restricted materials to enter the outside world.

Taking out his communicator, Han Xiao wanted to contact Nagakin to purchase the materials. However, he never imagined that Nagakin would be the first to speak when the call connected.

“Black Star, it is time,” Nagakin said in a solemn tone.

As Han Xiao heard that, he placed the matter of purchasing the materials aside and said with his eyes narrowed, “Is Godora ready?”

“The fleet has been deployed, and all the DarkStar motherships are within our grasp. The head will command an attack very soon. This is a confidential mission, and its code name is [Operation Hodellas]!”

This code name was a direct translation from an ancient Godoran language, which meant ‘uprooting the enemy’ and ‘cutting the weeds at the root’.

Han Xiao’s face was solemn. From the day he sold the intelligence to Godora, he knew that such a day would arrive. Godora was currently starting their retaliation against DarkStar, and this was all caused by him.

Such an event did not happen in his past life.

“Black Star, we need you,” Nagakin said.

Hearing that, Han Xiao became slightly excited as he said with a teasing smile, “Heh, you must know that providing intelligence and personally joining the battle are two different things. Are you officially hiring me?”

“We will give you remuneration that will make you satisfied. It will be of the same level as the large sized mercenary groups like the Sky Ring Army.”

Han Xiao intended to join the battle anyway and was only casually mentioning the matter of remuneration. However, he never imagined that Godora would be willing to pay him the same amount as the other large mercenary groups.

It seemed like Godora wanted to get rid of DarkStar at all costs.

After causing them so much trouble for so many years, Godora was already thoroughly enraged at DarkStar. As long as they had an outlet to vent their anger, their attack would be akin to the avalanche of a snowy mountain.

Without their ability to remain hidden, DarkStar had to suffer the rage of Godora without being prepared in the slightest.

It was finally time for both parties to resolve their many years of hatred and enmity.

This was also an opportunity for Han Xiao to complete the [Godora’s Ally] mission and perhaps an important part of the [Bloodline] mission.

Hanging up the communicator, Han Xiao stroked his chin and called Herlous over.

“Ol’ Her, we have a job to do. Gather all the mercenaries and prepare to set off.”

“Including the new Inhumans?”

“Yes, everyone.”

Han Xiao revealed a smile.

This intergalactic battle would be the opportunity for him to take the players into the galaxy! It did not seem too bad.

It was time to let the galaxy have a new understanding of the Black Star Army!

Chapter 580: Depart

Dusk approached.

The clouds seemed to have caught fire, painting the Sanctuary that was under reconstruction in a pale-yellow color. Above the base, a fleet of mercenary ships was quietly docked, causing those on the ground to constantly turn their heads up to glance at it, a sense of envy and respect appearing in their eyes.

What had happened in the past few months had completely subverted the world view of Planet Aquamarine’s people. It was like a dream, where one would wake up the next morning feeling dazed as they recalled the happenings of that day. It would always take a while before they regained their senses.

The suspended spaceships resembled a banner, constantly reminding them that this planet had entered a new era. It was not about the exchange of power from an ‘old era’ to a ‘new era’ but rather a brand-new age as a result of the breaking down of barriers, truly connecting them to the interstellar regions.

In the eyes of Planet Aquamarine’s inhabitants, the past few months had heralded an unparalleled change in the times, subverting all their old patterns and ideologies. However, in the eyes of those from the galaxy, it was just another indigenous planet that had been baptized with a new world view. For the Black Star Mercenaries, this was merely another mission.

In the eyes of the players, everything happening on Planet Aquamarine was just another storyline event.

The players were more concerned by when they would truly step foot into space.

All signs pointed to the Black Star Army being the faction that would guide them into space. Furthermore, it was a faction that showed promising growth and lots of benefits. Hundreds of thousands of players had already joined the Black Star Army. Players were still passing the assessment every day.

In the base’s square, with Herlous’ call, the players arrived one after another, resulting in a mass of bobbing heads.

When Han Xiao returned, he had taken out a mechanical throne for his speech. That had been used to showcase his power. He had floated in the middle of the square to allow all the players to be able to see him.

Now that they were leaving, in order to improve his image in the players’ minds, he planned to give a speech to end the storyline on Planet Aquamarine. At the same time, he planned to give an opening about the new phase, to increase the expectations of the players. This, he felt, would make the whole process more complete.

As he thought, Han Xiao spoke.

“A few months ago, I returned to Planet Aquamarine to fulfill my promise, helping Planet Aquamarine overcome its disaster. Now, I’ve completed my promise; the disaster has been resolved, and the enemy has retreated. Today is the day I leave.”

Now that the Mutation Disaster had been resolved by him, and the civilization of Planet Aquamarine had survived, he had saved hundreds of millions of living beings, ensuring their safety.

Compared to his past, this result was much better.

It was time for him to continue his journey in the galaxy, and the players in front of him would be the best warriors to do so.

Not out of his expectations, all the players began to get excited, their eyes glowing.

We can finally step into the interstellar region! We’ve been waiting for so long, to the point the flowers are already withering!

Looking over everyone present, Han Xiao continued.

“The Black Star Army will follow alongside me in leaving. In the past few months, tens of thousands of you have passed the assessment, becoming a part of my team. I’ll join you in the battles to come, and we’ll carve out a corner for ourselves in the galaxy!

“As for those that have yet to join, if you guys are willing, I’ve already set up a base on Planet Aquamarine. You can apply to join at any time you wish, and no matter your identity, as long as you can pass the test, the Black Star Army will welcome the strong. There will be spaceships on standby to welcome new recruits at all times that will bring you to our base in the galaxy, making you an official member.”

The objective of his recruiting was not just to the players. Even normal civilians from Planet Aquamarine could participate. After all, there would always be people aspiring for a higher stage.

The hundreds of thousands of players in the faction revealed expressions of joy. Indeed, only by joining the Black Star Army would they be able to enter the galaxy. The selections were just to select the first batch of interstellar explorers. This was the greatest benefit of being in his faction, which was that they would be ahead!

The other players were a little depressed, but there was no way to go around it. Who told them not to be capable enough to win in the selection? But they did not need to feel too uncomfortable. While they did not obtain the chance to be the first batch to leave for the interstellar regions, Black Star had left behind a channel for further admissions. As long as they continuously took the assessment, they would have a chance to enter the second batch or even the third batch.

In addition, Planet Aquamarine now required a large amount of manpower for post-disaster reconstruction, and remaining meant that they would obtain lots of profits.

At present, joining Black Star would be the most cost-effective way to travel to the interstellar regions.

Furthermore, in the eyes of the majority of players, there were many hints showing that joining Black Star was akin to following a potential main storyline!

In other words, it was the prior requirement for them to open the storyline of interstellar exploration!

At this point, Han Xiao’s words took a turn.

“The size of the Black Star Army has expanded many times over. We’ve received our first large-scale employment, which is to have us participate in a war. This will be the first battle after the expansion of our army, allowing the universe to see our strength.”

As he spoke, he sent out a Faction Mission to the players through the interface. Tens of thousands of players received the notification simultaneously.

____________________________

You have triggered Faction Mission [Black Star Army: The First Battle].

This is the first large-scale mission for the Black Star Army. There will be a war in the interstellar regions, and those who fight with the army would be awarded 500 Faction Favorability.

_____________________________

The rewards that he could hand out were limited, so Han Xiao only chose to issue a reward related to Favorability. However, this was only the first mission, and when he met with the Godoran troops, he would naturally get a formal war employment mission.

At that time, the players would also trigger sub-missions through him, receiving experience and monetary reward. That would be the true substantial benefit.

This was also the original intention of Han Xiao adopting the mercenary regiment model. As his own reward quota was not enough, he would borrow the tasks of the employer to supply his faction with resources. Basically, he was akin to a human resource intermediary or even a pimp.

Only the first batch of players would make it in time for the war.

“There’s a battle the moment we enter the interstellar region. This is going to be fun!”

“What a unique coincidence.”

The crowd could not help but burst into excitement, discussing fervently.

Han Xiao finally surveyed the entire area.

Bennett, standing by his side, expressed his gratitude to Han Xiao. He had decided to stay there to continue managing the Sanctuary.

As for Hila and Aurora, they had already decided to leave Planet Aquamarine. After this incident, Han Xiao would be sending them over to Floating Dragon Island for further studies. Thus, they would leave together. The two sisters did not have any luggage, just whatever was on themselves.

Emerald Grass had also decided to join Black Star to see the galaxy. However, she was different. She brought hundreds of boxes of her medicinal ingredients with her, with the group of prisoners from Bell of Death Island who had finished the training helping her carry them. They were almost totally covered by the boxes.

Han Xiao paused for a moment before saying aloud.

“Now, let us depart!”

The spaceships suspended above slowly lowered themselves, unfolding the gangway.

The tens of thousands of player mercenaries stepped onto the spaceships with boiling blood.

Almost all the clubs and professional players were within the first batch of players leaving. They secretly cheered to themselves. While you guys are still building sandcastles here on the planet, we are off to explore space!

The officers also boarded the BlackLight Stealth, with Han Xiao being the last on.

As the hatches closed, with the BlackLight Stealth at the head, the twenty or so mercenary spaceships took tens of thousands of players as they disappeared into space. The last rays of sunlight disappeared with the spaceships, signaling the end of dusk and the heralding of the night.

The people on the planet raised their heads, looking at the fleet until they disappeared from view.

“Black Star…”

The emotions of countless people were surging wildly.

It was as though they had witnessed a legendary departure.

…

Nagakin’s spaceship had been waiting outside the atmosphere for a long time. They would take the Black Star Mercenary Group to join with the other mercenary groups, which would require a few days.

This was the first time that most of the players had entered the galaxy, and they were extremely excited. Through the interstellar communicators, they learned more about the structure of the galaxy. Because the spaceship was equipped with sufficient facilities, the players were able to familiarize themselves with everything, repeating the actions that Frenzied Sword and the others had done in the past.

However, on the forums, this event was sensational. The first batch of players to reach the interstellar regions raised a huge ruckus, and numerous foreign players came over to watch the news, curious and envious.

This group of players were a key part of Han Xiao’s plans. By bringing players into the galaxy in advance, it would allow them to quickly develop their own forces, further enriching his own pockets. The Godoran war mission was an opportunity to allow the players to understand the mercenary industry and the forces that occupied the galaxy. At the same time, the ability of the Black Star Army would allow them to refresh their impression of him, improving his reputation.

The Black Star Army was no longer the small-scale mercenary group of the past but had been promoted into a large-scale legion. As long as their reputation spread, the missions would flow in ceaselessly.

This first battle was also good to allow the players to familiarize themselves with the playstyle of interstellar battles.

…

A few days passed, and the spaceships of the Black Star Army as well as Nagakin arrived at the meeting place. The combined fleet of the mercenary group was watching as they moved slowly through the universe.

Han Xiao’s spaceship was ushered in, and he immediately received a communication request. The other party was the Sky Ring Army Commander, Gureja. The two of them had cooperated many times before, and their relationship was not too bad.

“Black Star, why are you here as well?” Gureja, complete with a beard that resembled steel bristles, asked in a surprised tone.

“Godora also hired me to take part in the war.” Han Xiao laughed.

“Haha, I thought you only acted as a middleman. To think that you would come here personally. It seems like we’ll be fighting side by side again.”

Gureja let out a loud laugh. Their last mission on Planet Golden Gate had been a success because Han Xiao had helped in the dark. He remembered this favor.

Han Xiao shrugged in response. “Godora can afford the expense, so I’m here.”

“That’s right. You’ve gotten quite close to Godora recently. Do you know what this strategic operation is about?” Gureja asked.

Godora had prevented any information from leaking, only keeping the mercenary groups on standby. They did not disclose the fact that this was a complete offensive against DarkStar, so all the mercenaries there were in the dark.

“Since Godora did not tell you guys, I can’t either. It’s a secret.”

“Ha, you indeed have close relations with them.” Gureja did not press the issue, instead changing topics. “All of the captains are having a meeting on Sky Ring at the moment, assigning tasks. You’ve come at the right time.”

“Hmm, then I’ll head over now.”

After hanging up the communicator, Han Xiao piloted the BlackLight Stealth to enter the array leading to the Sky Ring Army. Sky Ring was a flagship, built to resemble a mountain.

After docking the spaceships, Han Xiao led his officers to board Sky Ring. There were already mercenaries from the Sky Ring Army stationed at the entrance to greet them, taking them into the great hall.

The great hall was spacious, with a circular sofa placed in the middle. A dozen Army Commanders sat on the sofa, each occupying a position. Their respective officers would stay behind their factions’ leader.

The moment Han Xiao walked into the great hall, everyone turned around.

Aurora pulled on the clothes of Hila, carefully whispering, “Sister, the life force of all these people is really huge.”

The mercenaries present came from various star systems and star zones and were all outstanding in their own regions.

For example, the Sky Ring Army had Gureja and another Calamity Grade Super, whereas all the other commanders were at the Calamity Grade as well. Furthermore, those officers that were selected to come along with them were also all strong. This could be described as a gathering of the strong.

Hila’s expression was grave. The gazes of those mercenaries gave her huge pressure, as though everyone present could easily deal with her.

However, at this point, a few of the army commanders smiled and passionately greeted them. The atmosphere calmed down.

“It’s… it’s Black Star!”

“We’ve not seen you for a while.”

“Brother, come, sit beside me.”

At least half of the commanders there had ties with Han Xiao or had worked with him before, so they were familiar with him.

There was a smile on Han Xiao’s face as he replied to each and every one of them.

Situated in the midst of powerful allies, he felt more secure.

Herlous and the rest also began to greet the mercenaries whom they knew. The two sisters did not know anyone, so they did not speak a word.

Hila secretly scrutinized the group of mercenaries.

Are all these people Han Xiao’s counterparts? They look formidable!

As Han Xiao walked toward the sofa, one of the commanders, code named ‘Underworld Feather’, shifted before patting the seat beside her, gesturing for him to take a seat.

Just as Han Xiao was about to sit, a commander who was short in stature opened his mouth, his tone harsh.

“Black Star, with just a small number of people in your mercenary group, you’ve come here to have fun?”

The laughter of everyone present suddenly halted.

Han Xiao paused for a moment before looking over. The speaker was foreign to him, and they had not worked together before. Most likely, he had been called over by another mercenary group.

Who was he?

True, his own expansion had happened not too long ago, so it had only just been filed with the Mercenary Alliance. News had not yet spread.

Han Xiao now understood.

That was to say, in the eyes of all those large mercenary groups, he was just a small-scale group with little over a hundred members.

Chapter 581: Refreshing Everyone’s Understanding

Phillip’s scan quickly located the origins of this person.

The person talking was an Army Commander called Justin. He was a Mage, and the Expeditionary Army that he led was a large mercenary group in one of the Star Systems within the Colton Star Cluster. He was a comrade who had been called there by the Purple Gold Army.

The top-notch mercenary groups within the Shattered Star Ring had their own circle, and Han Xiao had paid close attention to the various famous mercenary groups in the region. In the past, he did not have any dealings with the Expeditionary Army.

As Floating Dragon’s Field Team, Black Star had gained a place within this circle because of the Dragon Emperor’s fame. Justin had also heard about Black Star before and knew that despite the small size of the Black Star Mercenary Group, they were a special bunch.

While the other large mercenary groups were willing to network with Black Star due to Floating Dragon, he did not have such an interest. When roaming in the mercenary world, he had seen far too many things. So what if the Dragon Emperor was powerful? Justin felt that both of their jobs were completely different. He did not wish to provoke the Dragon Emperor but was too lazy to network with her.

To him, Han Xiao was no more than a fellow mercenary who he had heard of before. He did not have anything against Han Xiao but could not help but speak the truth and doubt the size of Black Star’s Mercenary Group.

While Black Star had a large network, they were about to take part in a war, which carried a huge risk. As an experienced mercenary, Justin doubted that his comrade had the strength to fight alongside him.

If a third-rate mercenary was hired and caused the battle line to collapse, everyone would be affected.

The way Justin saw it, Black Star was no more than a third-rate mercenary who was there to join in the fun. All of them had to shoulder the burden of the war, but what kind of a burden could Black Star shoulder? Their remuneration was earned through placing their lives on the line, but Black Star would be able to earn his by slacking off at the back. Thus, Justin was not too pleased.

“Since we are going to participate in a war, every Army present has over a hundred battleships and a few ten thousand mercenaries invested into the battle,” Justin said with a deep voice. “How many troops can you bring out?”

The other Army Commanders looked at Justin before looking at the standing Han Xiao and did not interrupt.

None of them present were aware that the battle in which they were about to participate was a result of Han Xiao’s actions. With a lack of information, they naturally thought that Han Xiao was only making use of his network to earn a quick buck.

While they did not say anything, all of them felt this way.

“Army Commander Justin, your doubts are justified and understandable,” Han Xiao replied with a calm expression. Everyone present had some kind of status, and it was not wrong for them to voice their doubts.

It was also the best opportunity for him to refresh the understanding that those Army Commanders had of the Black Star Army. Since they were about to fight together, he naturally had to display sufficient strength to put all of them at ease.

“All of your understanding of me is a little outdated. My Black Star Army has already expanded, and we are no longer the same as before. We now have more than ten thousand mercenaries, and they all have the strength of Grade C at least.”

“More than ten thousand Supers‽”

Justin’s eyes widened in shock, and the other Army Commanders were also dumbfounded.

Such a scale was something that even they found frightening.

Just a while ago, the Black Star Mercenary Group had only been a middle-sized mercenary group. How did they grow so rapidly?

Many of them doubted the validity of Han Xiao’s words, and Han Xiao immediately got Phillip to pull up the registration file of the Black Star Army.

Justin did not say another thing. Black Star did indeed have the right to participate in this war with those numbers.

At this moment, Han Xiao’s gaze swept past everyone present and said, “Everyone knows about the immortals under my charge, right?”

Everyone nodded. It was no secret that Black Star had a couple of immortal mercenaries under him.

Han Xiao smiled and added, “These new recruits are all immortals.”

The entire room fell silent.

“They are all immortals‽” Gureja stood up abruptly and broke the silence.

All the other Army Commanders also snapped back into their senses.

All of them understood the significance of those words. This meant that the mercenaries would never be ‘expended’, and the Black Star Army would always maintain its size. Furthermore, they would be able to take on risky missions without the slightest bit of hesitation and would not need to worry about deaths or compensation!

This was like their dream team!

More than ten thousand low grade Supers would be enough to rank any Mercenary Group at the top. If those Supers were immortals, they could only imagine what kind of a stir this would create in the mercenary world.

They would be the best cannon fodder… no, partners!

Many of them could not help but think about Han Xiao’s other identity.

The Black Star Army was also the Field Team of Floating Dragon!

These immortals would be the strength of Floating Dragon after their expansion!

Just when Justin was tongue tied, he heard Han Xiao’s voice.

“Army Commander Justin, these are the forces that I have brought for the battle. Are you satisfied?” Han Xiao asked.

Justin’s mouth cramped up and had nothing to say.

“Or do you doubt my personal strength? If you have any doubts, we can have a little spar.” Han Xiao raised his brows. He was not angered by Justin doubting him, but since he wanted to display his strength, it was best for him to take on a harder stance.

Gureja coughed and resolved the situation. “Black Star single handedly fought off three Calamity Grade Supers recently and tanked a main cannon. While the news may have been exaggerated slightly, I believe that the majority is still the truth. I believe no one here will doubt your combat capability.”

Justin then stood up with a solemn expression with his height only up to Han Xiao’s waist. Raising his arm out toward the sofa, he invited Han Xiao to take a seat.

“I apologize for my doubts previously. Please take a seat.”

Just when Han Xiao was about to take a seat, he interrupted Han Xiao’s actions with his words. Now that he understood the strength of the Black Star Army, Justin naturally admitted his mistake and invited Han Xiao to take a seat.

The moment Justin took a step back, the other Army Commanders nodded in agreement, and the atmosphere became lively again.

Han Xiao sat beside Underworld Feather, and Herlous and his other officers sat behind him.

After he sat down, Underworld Feather handed him a bag of snacks.

“You want?”

“What is this?” Han Xiao looked into the bag, which was filled with a pile of black dried meat.

“Dried lizards. I made it myself,” Underworld Feather said with her brows raised.

Han Xiao hesitated for a moment before picking up a piece and eating it. He then asked curiously, “What kind of lizards did you use to make this?”

“I once completed a mission to wipe out an entire lizard tribe.” Underworld Feather picked up another piece and ate it merrily.

Han Xiao placed the second piece that he had just picked up back down.

She was truly too ferocious.

Underworld Feather was a female Dark Elf and had all the characteristics of one. Her chest and ass were well developed, and she had the beauty of an elf. Her physique was strong and healthy, and she looked like a lazy panther. She had inherited the cold blooded and blood thirsty nature of the Dark Elves. Despite looking tender and flirtatious, no one dared underestimate her. She was like a female dragon.

The Dark Underworld Army that she led had the background of a civilization, and her backing was a magic civilization led by elves belonging to the Colton Star Cluster.

In the universe, elves were also known as the long ears clan and had the ability to hear the sound of nature. They had many different species such as Child of the Forest, Tall Elf, Dark Elf, and so on. The elves were not considered common in the universe, but they were not especially rare either.

It was not too strange for a mercenary group that was half run by a civilization to exist. Because of the agreements between civilizations, any movement of a civilization’s army was extremely sensitive. As such, it was much more convenient to grow a private army. Completing their mercenary missions was no more than a cover for their private and more sensitive missions in the dark.

Many civilizations would groom such an army in the dark, and there were many such examples within the top mercenary circle of the Shattered Star Ring. In fact, Han Xiao’s Black Star Army was also Floating Dragon’s Field Team in name.

The higher one climbed in the universe, the more complicated things would get. The universe was far too large, and no single organization or individual would be able to dominate it.

Gureja led the meeting ahead of their battle to allocate everyone’s role clearly. Han Xiao kept quiet throughout the entire meeting and did not say a word.

“Black Star, what role are you going to take?” Someone asked.

Han Xiao thought for a while before saying, “I will take care of them if a melee fight breaks out.”

He did not wish to participate in the battle between spaceships at all. He would have to repair the spaceships if they were damaged, and it would not be worth it. Furthermore, he only had twenty or so spaceships with him, and the spaceships were mainly used for transportation, not battle.

Since the players were not afraid of death, they would be the best choice to deal with the DarkStar warriors.

After a short discussion, the jobs of the various armies were decided, and the Army Commanders dispersed.

Han Xiao boarded the BlackLight Stealth and returned to his own fleet. Looking out of the window, his twenty or so spaceships were currently following the troops of the alliance.

The players had just entered the galaxy, and everything was still extremely fresh to them. However, Han Xiao understood that if they got rid of DarkStar now, many of the future storylines would disappear.

In his previous life, the players could only join Godora or DarkStar. After entering the galaxy, both parties would be in opposing factions. However, this was completely changed because of Han Xiao’s presence. As such, this meant that all the players no longer had this Main Storyline.

The way Han Xiao saw it, while he did not want to give up the missions, getting rid of DarkStar was a must.

The storyline between DarkStar and Godora has been replaced by me. To the players, joining the Black Star Army has become their new Main Storyline. This is the best time to cultivate the player’s sense of belonging. If I can borrow the strength of the players to expand, I will also be able to let them feel a sense of honor. It seems like I need a few big events to let the players feel a sense of accomplishment. This attack on DarkStar can be the beginning.

Han Xiao was extremely concerned about the players. The accumulation in Version 2.0 was extremely important, and it was akin to building a strong foundation.

The players formed the core of his plan in Version 2.0 because the next version refresh would only take place ten years later. While it was still a while before the end of Version 2.0, Han Xiao was used to making preparations early.

However, he had to first take care of the battle before him.

Opening his communicator, Han Xiao looked at the message sent by Risda.

DarkStar’s troops were scattered around the different regions of the Garton Star System, and the largest cluster had gathered a total of six motherships as though they were planning another attack. The other motherships were roaming the galaxy independently.

The location of the six motherships would probably be the main battlefield for the mercenaries.

The war was about to begin.

…

At the same time on a DarkStar mothership, Degulish and the others were in a meeting again to discuss their next plan. This time, their leader had given the order for them to attack the Rainbow Prison.

Their previous two assaults had failed, and they were not able to increase Godora’s losses or get rid of Black Star. Before they could find a way to get rid of Black Star, DarkStar had decided not to touch the calamity planets but attack the Rainbow Prison instead. They wanted to save their former comrades. There were even a few Calamity Grade Supers locked up in there.

DarkStar took action without any fear or wariness. With Godora being in the light and them in the dark, DarkStar was confident that their ambush work.

However, DarkStar did not know that they had already lost the advantage of being hidden, and their locations had been exposed by Han Xiao. A calamity capable of wiping DarkStar out was brewing silently, and they were completely unaware of that.

Just as Degulish and the others were planning their next mission, Ember suddenly frowned and pressed down on his chest.

For some odd reason, he had a bad premonition.

Chapter 582: The Counterattack Begins

In an empty area of the universe, not far away from the large army of the six DarkStar motherships, a huge Godoran fleet was hidden behind a barren planet. Various battleships were densely packed to form neat rows. This was one of the temporary formations created for Operation Hodellas.

On the screen of the command ship, the coordinates of all the motherships of DarkStar were marked in red on the star map. The six motherships were slowly moving toward the ambush area, and it was those enemy troops that were the objectives of the Godorans.

“Target is approaching ambush site. Estimated time of arrival is 11 hours and 25 minutes.”

The fleet commander reported the situation to the upper echelons, and he was one of the members in the War Bureau who was aware of the identity of their target.

In order to prevent any leaks, every commander responsible for Operation Hodellas had been thoroughly screened. Only those that were absolutely loyal knew the target of their operation.

The fleet commander was also secretly excited at the thought of launching a counterattack against DarkStar. He was an old-fashioned, pureblood Godoran official with deep-rooted hostility toward DarkStar. He looked forward to removing this tumor every day.

This was an important operation, and to be selected as one of the commanders by the upper echelons was undoubtedly an honor. The sense of responsibility on his shoulders was also extremely heavy.

After completing his report to the upper echelons, the fleet commander then contacted the leaders of all the other formations to exchange information. Their strategy was to perform simultaneous strikes on all DarkStar units, so there was a need for communication.

After confirming the operation time, another commander raised a topic within the encrypted military communication channel.

“Do all of you know the source of intelligence for this operation? When I asked about the relationship with the party, I was actually told that it was labelled as a secret of the highest level.”

“Highest level secret? Seems like the channels our superiors have for obtaining information are really mysterious.”

In the eyes of those senior officers, Godora had already been warring with DarkStar for so many years to no avail. To suddenly obtain a set of coordinates for the DarkStar motherships, there was some strangeness to this whole situation, so they could not help but wonder about the source of this intelligence. However, no one could inquire about the specifics.

“I do have some information though. I heard that this counterattack was organized by Godora because they managed to buy some information from a mysterious person. Otherwise, the War Bureau would not have been able to stop DarkStar leading them by their nose.”

“Mysterious person?”

“That person can actually monitor the coordinates of DarkStar. Haha. Could it be that there’s a traitor among the upper echelons of DarkStar?”

Everyone shared their views, secretly curious about the mysterious person who provided the intelligence.

Who was this sacred person who single-handedly provoked such a huge war? They were the hero of Godora!

After ending their communications, the respective commanders began handing down their new orders.

“It’s about time. Inform the mercenary fleets on standby. Tell them to cooperate with our attack.

…

During this standby period, there was little to do, but the players were not idle, often looking for the mercenaries to improve favorability, trying out new tasks, as well as discovering new and interesting gossip. They did not require Han Xiao to pay close attention to them.

Han Xiao took the chance to visit the different spaceships in the fleet, interacting with the players and continuing to harvest experience from them. He also looked for the various heads of the large mercenary groups to exchange pleasantries. The rest of his time was used to make machinery.

In such a manner, a few days passed, and Gureja called over all the commanders. The orders from Godora had been passed down, and it was finally time for them to start the mission.

The mercenary fleet sped up, arriving at the predetermined location for the ambush. The Black Star Army followed as well.

Returning to his BlackLight Stealth, Han Xiao accepted the private communication from Godora.

“Black Star, the operation is about to begin. We need you to control your Artificial Intelligence that has snuck in to create chaos for the enemy.”

“Got it.” Han Xiao nodded in response.

To have the whistleblower cause a ruckus within, that was a simple task.

“The remuneration for this employment has been notarized with the Mercenary Alliance and the official employment mission sent to the file of the Black Star Army.”

Opening the Mercenary Group interface, the official employment of Godora had been authorized with the name Operation Hodellas.

A war employment was not a private transaction and needed to be recorded in the Mercenary Alliance. After it was completed, a large number of Credibility Points would then be added to raise the Credibility Rating of the Mercenary Group. Furthermore, the mission details would be added to their mission files.

This was also the first war-level employment for the Black Star Army.

The interface popped up a notification of the corresponding hire, with a total of 18,000,000 experience as well as 1500 Favorability for the Godoran Faction.

As the Army Commander, his remuneration was the highest, receiving 3.4 million Enas. In addition, the officers and mercenaries would be remunerated individually.

This was especially so for the players. Other than Black Star’s mission of [Black Star Army: The First Battle], all of them also triggered the mission [Operation Hodellas – War Employment]. They all received substantial experience and monetary rewards, although they were a far cry from his own.

This was a war-level employment, so while the players only got to drink a bit of soup from the pot, the rewards were far beyond their current standards, which was extremely generous.

On the forums, the tens of thousands of players were in high spirits, posting to show off the many rewards of their first battle upon joining the Black Star Army. This piqued everyone’s interest in the Black Star Army further.

This large-scale employment allowed players to understand that they shared common interests with their faction, thus helping them strengthen their sense of belonging. Han Xiao had led them to participate in the war for this purpose.

Because most players desired to take on a ‘role’, the various influences in the game allowed them to fulfill their dreams and fantasies. In order for the Black Star Army to become the faction akin to their ‘first love’, Han Xiao had to utilize plotlines, feelings, interests, and other means.

When Han Xiao first set up his faction, he had already made this plan.

…

In the vast universe, the mercenaries stayed by their ambush point. It would only take a short jump for them to reach their battlefield position. During this time, the enemy’s actions were monitored through the coordinates on the star map, which were shared by Godora.

The formation of the Black Star Army was placed behind the rest, as they were not participating in the frontal attack of the DarkStar motherships.

Inside his BlackLight Stealth, Han Xiao watched the actions of DarkStar through the feedback provided by Risda.

His monitor was different. While others could only see the coordinates on the star map, he could see the internal conditions of the mothership. At this moment, the members of the DarkStar fleet were still unaware of their impending doom, conducting their businesses as usual.

Attacking Planet Aquamarine and giving me such huge losses… it’s time for you to pay your debts.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

As time progressed, the six DarkStar motherships finally entered the ambush site.

They’re here!

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

“Attack!” Gureja’s command spread through the entire army in an instant.

The next instant, the joint mercenary fleet jumped simultaneously. The universe outside of their spaceships turned into flowing streams of light as they activated their hyperdrive.

In just a few seconds, the fleet had crossed a long distance, and the undefended DarkStar motherships appeared in front of their eyes.

On the other side, streams of light appeared as the Godoran fleet emerged. They attacked from both sides, instantly surrounding the DarkStar fleet.

The ambush sites for both were out of DarkStar’s radar detection range, and they appeared at the same time, catching them off guard.

Without another word, Godora and the mercenaries began to open fire, and countless cannons and lasers bombarded the six DarkStar motherships. With such deliberate calculations, the troops in the mothership were immediately thrown into chaos.

Inside the mothership where Degulish was located, the lights turned red as they sounded the warning alarms.

The people on the ship were shocked, immediately rushing to their positions. The mothership was being rocked around from the explosions, causing people to fall from time to time.

“What’s happening‽”

Degulish had an expression of anger as he called for the observation equipment. When he saw that the attackers were from Godora, he lost his composure immediately.

How could it be Godora‽

Did Godora plan to ambush us?

How could they know our location‽

The projection of their Head of Intelligence appeared on the screen, with a face of worry. “Degulish, we’re being ambushed, and the enemy is well prepared. Not just our fleet, the other DarkStar motherships in the other Star Zones are also under attack! Godora has planned this for a long time. They’ve cracked our stealth equipment and grasped our movements!”

This was the first time that DarkStar had been attacked by Godora while in stealth mode!

This ability to go into stealth mode was DarkStar’s biggest reliance. Now that it had failed, Degulish immediately realized the seriousness of their situation.

“Send orders to all fleets. Do not engage and seek opportunities to breakthrough. This is Godora’s trap, and it is an important life or death situation. We cannot fight head on with them!”

Degulish issued the order.

There was no warning of Godora’s attack, and the incident happened too quickly. The upper echelons of DarkStar had no time to react, and they did not even have time to think about how Godora had managed to grasp their whereabouts.

Right now, their top priority was to escape!

If Godora had come with a plan, DarkStar would not be able to stand up to the attack and could only escape.

However, the command was not sent out. A notification on the communication interface showed that the link had been cut off.

Not only Degulish, but the entire DarkStar motherships had their connection cut off from the outside world.

This was because Degulish was residing in the mothership that Risda was controlling.

Risda had totally cut off their connection to the outside world.

The whistleblower had begun his actions!

Chapter 583: The Ending Is Usually Decided Before the Battle Even Starts

The battle entered the climax as soon as it started.

Outside the porthole, the Godoran fleet, mercenary fleet, and DarkStar fleet blasted at each other. The light from the cannon fire brought multiple colors to this space in the universe, along with countless deaths.

Cannons shot through the armor plates of one spaceship after another, turning the people inside into ashes.

Since Degulish could not send out any orders, the DarkStar fleet lost command and unity, fighting for themselves. Only after quite some time did they start to unite into groups under the orders of other furious DarkStar superiors and tried to break through the situation.

Sadly, as the initial order did not arrive on time, so DarkStar lost their best chance to escape. The way they pushed forward under the heavy fire was like trying to move in mud.

“Looks like we don’t even need to do anything.”

Han Xiao shook his head as he looked at the situation of the battlefield.

With Godora and the mercenaries working together, the strength of their fleets completely outpowered the six DarkStar mothership fleets. It was highly likely that there would not even be a need to enter the melee battle stage; they could turn these DarkStar armies into wrecks floating in space with just nonstop cannon fire.

Black Star Army’s mission was handling the melee battle, so they had no chance to showcase their abilities and could only stay back and wait.

DarkStar started to show signs of collapsing. Some of the DarkStar frigates became deserters, wanting to escape from the slow mothership. Unsurprisingly, they were turned into fireworks midway.

Han Xiao thought for a while. Doing nothing did not fit his goal of building a name for Black Star Army, so he decided to create an opportunity for himself.

“Risda, can you control the movement of that mothership?”

“Sure.”

“Drive the mothership and carry out a short distance hyperdrive, crashing into the closest planet. I will convince Godorans to let you go.”

As he was saying, Han Xiao contacted the War Bureau through a private channel.

“This is Black Star. I’m going to control a mothership to crash into the surface of a planet and carry out land battle. The deputy leader of DarkStar is on that mothership. This is a chance to capture him alive while simultaneously seizing a DarkStar mothership.”

Degulish was also a mission target of [Godora’s Ally], so capturing him alive and giving him to Godora would result in a reward just like killing him. Also, giving them a mothership also had a high reward.

Godora had come prepared. This war might be DarkStar’s last struggle, so Han Xiao wanted to increase the mission rating as much as possible.

The War Bureau had been paying close attention to the battle. With how things turned out, the superiors had no reason to doubt Han Xiao. Besides, capturing Degulish alive and seizing a mothership was very useful. After some discussion, the superiors decided to try Han Xiao’s plan. They were confident in controlling the situation, so they took the risk and quickly sent orders to the fleet commander.

This order made the fleet commander very confused. Nonetheless, he was used to obeying orders as a soldier, so he quickly did as he was told.

Risda controlled the DarkStar mothership and deviated from the fleet, slowing speeding up as the attacks targeted at it became scattered.

The other motherships, of course, did not receive such treatment. They faced heavier fire as they watched Risda’s mothership slowly move away.

Before the passengers on this mothership knew what was going on, they entered hyperdrive and arrived at the nearest planet—the barren planet that the Godoran fleet had hidden behind previously.

Boom!

The mothership immediately crashed through the atmosphere and toward the ground, forming a crater as dust shot into the sky like a fountain.

The DarkStar members inside the mothership were thrown about from the impact.

Degulish was the only Calamity Grade Super on that mothership. With his body strength, he was not injured, but his face was filled with surprise.

As soon as the communication was cut off earlier, he had already started to be suspicious, and the fact that the mothership had moved on its own proved his suspicion. Clearly, the mothership was under the enemy’s control.

No wonder their whereabouts had been exposed to the enemy—even their mothership belonged to them!

When did the enemy do that? Degulish was furious and shocked.

The intelligence of the mothership crashing into the planet surface reached the mercenary fleet, and Gureja quickly contacted Han Xiao.

“Black Star, it’s your turn.”

“On it.” Han Xiao nodded.

The BlackLight Stealth turned around, followed by the rest of the Black Star fleet. They diverged from the alliance fleet and entered hyperdrive, arriving at the planet where the mothership had crashed in the blink of an eye.

All the DarkStar members including Degulish were trapped on the planet surface, and a ground war was a stage exceptionally suitable for the players.

“Touch down, deploy the mercenaries!” Han Xiao ordered. The spaceships slowly descended toward the planet’s surface.

The players inside the spaceship were already waiting behind the hatch, ready to strike at any time.

There should be tens of thousands of DarkStar members inside a mothership, with quite a number of them being Grade B Supers. Of course, the strong ones would be dealt with by the officers; the players only needed to deal with the normal soldiers.

This time, Hila, who was standing beside Han Xiao, frowned and asked, “What about us?”

Han Xiao turned around, pondered for a moment, and said, “You guys can join the battle this time, too.”

Hila and Aurora would not die so easily. Furthermore, they would eventually need to familiarize themselves with the feeling of a space battle, so they needed training. This was a rather safe chance to do so. Hence, Han Xiao did not plan to stop Hila.

Feeling Han Xiao’s trust, Hila’s brows loosened, and she nodded.

She did not like to always be protected and had always hoped to be of use.

The DarkStar soldiers on the surface guarded the mothership closely as the mercenary spaceships carrying the players surrounded them from all directions.

Whoosh!

Hatches opened one after another.

Players walked out of the spaceship, and hundreds of thousands of them surrounded the DarkStar warriors.

The BlackLight Stealth hovered in midair, and Han Xiao jumped down. He did not need the standard superhero landing. Mechanical Force surrounded his body and created a repulsion force when he was about to land on the ground. He hovered just less than twenty centimeters above the ground.

“Black Star! It’s you again!”

Degulish clenched his teeth.

With a poker face, Han Xiao slowly said, “Last time, the three of you fought me together. Now, it’s only you, and no one will come to save you no matter how loud you scream.”

Now that he was Calamity Grade just like Degulish, their strength difference was tremendously reduced. There was only one ending for Degulish if they fought one on one—defeat!

A tint of nervousness flashed within Degulish’s eyes. He indeed dreaded Han Xiao’s tankiness, so he quickly thought of what he could do. However, the more he thought about it, the more hopeless he got. He could not think of any possibility in which he would be able to escape. The fleet could barely hold on; no one would come to help him.

His only advantage was that, although it was extremely difficult to kill Black Star, Black Star was just Grade B, so he might be able to stall for a very long time.

Hum!

Just as Degulish had this thought, electric sparks shot out from Han Xiao’s body, and compressed orbs opened one after another. This was the first time that he had used his full power since he entered the Calamity Grade. Thick, dense energy splashed in all directions, showcasing the energy level that belonged to the Calamity Grade!

Noticing the energy rank, Degulish’s face changed drastically.

“Yo—You’ve achieved the Calamity Grade‽”

When they fought not long ago, Black Star had been Grade B!

How could he improve so fast‽

Without saying another word, Degulish turned around, turned into a stream of light, and immediately escaped, disappearing into the horizon and leaving the DarkStar warriors behind.

Before Black Star was Calamity Grade, he had already been unkillable. Now that he was Calamity Grade, how was he supposed to fight him‽

“I’ll chase him. You guys deal with DarkStar’s army.”

At this point, the new mechanical suit was not yet built. Han Xiao wore the backup mechanical suit, turned the thrusting module up to its full power, and dashed toward Degulish like a bolt of lightning, disappearing before everyone else’s eyes.

Not long after, the deafening sound of fighting came from afar, and the ground trembled.

As if this was a signal, the battle erupted!

DarkStar warriors fiercely fought back against the hoard of players coming from all directions.

Boom!

Countless abilities and bullets covered the sky, bringing chaos to the battlefield.

Players fell onto the ground like wheat being harvested. After all, DarkStar members were galactic warriors; their average strength was much stronger.

However, as the battle continued, DarkStar warrior’s faces changed as well. First, they were fiery, then tired, and after some time, they became numb. Finally, the DarkStar warriors noticed the fact that the players were immortal.

The enemies would not die, so no matter how many times they kill them, it was useless. Realizing this, the minds of the DarkStar warriors were instantly defeated.

From having the upper hand in the battle, the DarkStar warriors slowly began to get defeated. Tens of thousands of people could not hold the line of defense anymore; they were eaten up bit by bit. Not long after, the entire DarkStar army was drowned by the players.

Ember, whose Esper ability was extremely powerful against crowds, was not here, so the players had no nemesis.

The stronger DarkStar officers were held back and defeated by Herlous and others, and the rest of the DarkStar soldiers were no match for the players.

…

Sometime later, the chaotic battlefield gradually quietened down, only left with scattered screams of agony. The battle was ending, and the ground was covered in the corpses of DarkStar soldiers. The remaining DarkStar members surrendered and were tied up and thrown aside.

The players excitedly cleaned up the battlefield. The DarkStar warriors’ equipment was everywhere. There were even players who fought for them once in a while. Herlous did not stop them. According to the rules of the mercenary industry, that equipment all belonged to the mercenaries.

“How’s Han Xiao doing?”

Hila wiped off a bloodstain on her face and walked to Herlous.

She had taken part in the battle and had experienced the strength of regular galactic warriors first hand.

Tiny streams of red flew out from the tens of thousands of dead DarkStar warriors and were absorbed by Hila.

Living creatures that had recently died could provide energy to her. Hila could increase the strength of her Esper ability through large scale slaughters. In Han Xiao’s previous life, she had slaughtered many races and used this method to increase her strength. Now that she was not that extreme, of course, she would not choose that method anymore.

“The captain could deal with three Grade As even before. There will definitely not be a problem.”

Herlous was not worried at all. He took out the communicator and contacted Han Xiao.

“Captain, you done?”

“What a coincidence, I just finished up with the battle. Wait there, I’m on my way back.”

…

Hanging up the communication, Han Xiao looked at Degulish, who was not far away.

Degulish was breathing heavily and in a very bad state. He had almost zero stamina left and was staring at Han Xiao.

The marks from their battle extended hundreds of miles. The ground was dented everywhere, covered in craters created by them. Some places had even become trenches.

Han Xiao had used his Calamity Grade strength without holding back, enjoying his destructive powers.

The aftermath of a full-on Calamity Grade battle could easily change the terrain.

Degulish could crack the surface with just a punch or a kick, but he could not penetrate Han Xiao at all.

Han Xiao was also Calamity Grade, so Degulish could not overwhelm him like he did when he attacked Planet Aquamarine. He could not defeat Han Xiao, nor could he run away. His situation was very frustrating. He would get battered if he did not fight back, but if he did fight back, he would unavoidably waste his energy without even being able to hurt Black Star.

High-intensity battles were highly draining. As his energy levels fell, his strength continuously diminished. Han Xiao’s attacks brought dealt more and more injuries, and the vicious cycle repeated.

A battle of stamina was where Han Xiao excelled. Although the Mechanical Army had yet to recover and he had yet to update his own equipment, with his talents and rare abilities, he wore Degulish down steadily.

Degulish coughed, clenched his teeth, and started to activate the energy that he had only just recovered.

“Stop it, do you even have the strength to fight anymore?”

Han Xiao was speechless. Degulish was a Calamity Grade Pugilist after all. Even though his stamina was completely drained, he could recover it in a matter of seconds.

Seeing Degulish was still trying to regain energy, Han Xiao pondered and asked, “Do you know why your location was exposed?”

Degulish’s face drastically changed. His movement became stiff, and his just recovered energy disappeared.

“Could it be…”

“Before you people attacked Planet Aquamarine, I had already invaded your mothership when you attacked Planet Golden Gate. The person that gave Godora intelligence and started this war was me.”

Degulish’s face turned black.

This time, the communicator rang again; it was a message from Gureja.

“Black Star, the battle here is almost finished. All the DarkStar motherships have been destroyed. Only a few DarkStar members escaped through the gaps created by the mothership in small spaceships. The Godorans are chasing them down. We still don’t know if any of the DarkStar upper echelons are among them. We are preparing to fetch you. Are you done over there?”

“Yes, the mission is complete. Come over.”

The war was a complete victory just as he expected. The intelligence provided by Risda was extremely detailed. Not only did they know DarkStar’s location, they also knew the number of DarkStar troops. Plus, Godora had more than enough time to gather enough troops to attack them when they least expected it.

Godora controlled an entire Star System, and if they still could not achieve an overwhelming victory with such an enormous advantage, it would have been way too embarrassing.

Without their stealth advantage, DarkStar could not match a Star System Civilization that attacked them with all they had. If not for their stealth ability, DarkStar would have been destroyed a long time ago.

What Han Xiao had provided was what Godora needed most.

He could very well be considered the main reason that DarkStar had been destroyed.

Han Xiao did not mind that Degulish was just beside him. He ended the communication in front of him.

Degulish kneeled onto the floor with a plop and stopped resisting. He closed his eyes with agony and whimpered, “DarkStar is done for…”

Chapter 584: Escaped Fish

“DarkStar is done for…”

At the last moment, Degulish realized that it was the end for the warriors he led, and he had nowhere to run. He lost the will to fight and gave up resisting. His exhausted and enormous body fell to the floor, facing down.

Han Xiao did not have an easy time dealing with Degulish, and many of his adorable machines had been destroyed.

Since he did not have enough time to recover the machines that he had lost during the Planet Aquamarine battle, he was using the backup machinery that he built before, and Degulish had destroyed two-third of his stash.

Nonetheless, after this battle, Han Xiao had a very clear understanding of his own strength, so it was well worth it.

His current battle mode was rather impressive, and the synergy between his talents and abilities were quite perfect. For regular Grade A Supers, he was basically undefeated just with how strong his body was. After he recovered his Mechanical Army, he would even be on par with Calamity Grade Supers who were three to four thousand Energy Rank above him.

The strength differences between Calamity Grades were exceptionally large. Han Xiao had only just stepped into this territory, so there were still many who were a threat to him. Such as those above Level 200 who could overpower him. However, given how tanky he was, he would still be quite a pain to deal with.

Comparatively, opponents who used psychic attacks were a bigger threat to him. Psychic attacks were not included in the damage types that could be absorbed by [Intermediate Energy Absorption]; only attacks that landed on his physical body would be turned into energy. Psychic attacks could break his ‘health-mana cycle’.

Some Mages would be quite difficult to deal with as well, such as those who excelled in Curse magic and abilities that could suppress life regeneration of sorts, also Espers that had psychic abilities like Hila.

There are countless abilities in the universe. I am far from the top of Grade A.

He was very self-aware of his strength, so there was no way he would get arrogant.

Seeing that Degulish did not have the will to fight anymore, Han Xiao said, “Anur had a stronger spine than you. I thought you would fight me to death.”

Degulish clenched his teeth and said, “Black Star, don’t get ahead of yourself. You’ve not won yet!”

He still had one final shred of hope—the DarkStar army had been annihilated, but the superiors were not all caught. The DarkStar leader had yet to return and was not in Garton Star System. This was his hope; as long as the leader was still alive, DarkStar was not completely obliterated.

Therefore, he had chosen to surrender. He wanted to keep himself alive and useful, even if it meant that he would be sent to Rainbow Prison, so that he could wait for his leader to come and save him, to give himself to the cause once again, rising for his leader.

“DarkStar’s leader…”

The DarkStar leader was a very remarkable man. He had avoided this disaster out of luck. However, even if he wanted to start all over, he would have to keep an exceptionally low profile for a long time in order to escape from the Godorans. Hence, he would not be much of a problem any time soon.

Furthermore, Godora wanted to kill the DarkStar leader more than he did, so there was no point worrying about it.

…

Dragging Degulish along, Han Xiao returned to where the others were. Seeing the corpses that were piled up and scattered across the ground, he nodded with approval.

The players did very well; the effect that he wanted had been achieved.

Shortly after, the mercenaries and the Godorans landed together. The DarkStar captives were handed to the Godorans. Degulish was escorted onto the ship by two Calamity Grade Godoran government officials, heading to the dreamy life of free housing for the rest of his life in the marvelous cell of Rainbow Prison.

Risda completed his mission and returned to the BlackLight Stealth, pushing Phillip out.

This DarkStar mothership was handed to Godora as part of the deal that had been discussed with the Godoran War Bureau.

The notification of two missions in [Godora’s Ally] being completed popped up on the interface.

_____________________

[Deputy Leader – Degulish] complete.

You have received 24,200,000 Experience, 1500 Godoran Civilization Favorability, [Character Summon Card – Degulish]

[Seize Mothership] complete.

You have received 30,000,000 Experience and 1800 Godoran Civilization Favorability.

_____________________

Other than that, [Operation Hodellas – War Hire] was shown to be completed as well, despite him not doing much. Nonetheless, after Han Xiao thought about it and realized that in order to even receive these benefits, he had to be qualified for it. After all, Godora would not hire just anyone for this. Furthermore, Risda had played a rather large part in it, so it was counted toward his contribution.

The initial reason that Godora hired him back then was to let him control the mothership; capturing Degulish and others was a pleasant surprise.

These three missions brought Han Xiao more than 70 million experience. Although it was not comparable to harvesting the players, it was still quite profitable.

Hence, despite the players’ mission being the shrunk version, they still made quite a fortune.

The players were happy, and Han Xiao was happier.

Sadly, the players did not have the [Godora’s Ally] mission and could not receive the other two rewards.

Shame.

With the boost of three continuous missions, Han Xiao’s Godora Favorability rocketed past 6,000 and reached the highest relationship status—[Reverence].

It was well deserved. He had provided intelligence to Godora to counterattack, captured deputy leader Degulish alive, and seized a mothership. If he was a civil servant in Godora, he would have been promoted more than ten times. Hell, he might even have become a candidate for top positions in the War Bureau.

As Han Xiao was about to have a conversation with the Godora superiors, Gureja, Underworld Feather, Justin, and the other Army Commanders stared directly at Black Star Army that were cleaning up the battlefield.

Defeating tens of thousands of DarkStar warriors was an easy feat; their army could do it too. However, they would never have achieved the result that Black Star Army had!

Almost zero casualties!

Their speculations about Black Star Army had become a reality.

Those Army Commanders knew full well that as soon as word about this spread, Black Star Army’s name in the mercenary world would shoot up into the skies, completely overturning their past image and officially becoming one of the top mercenary groups.

…

“Other than this seized one, all the other DarkStar motherships were destroyed. Very few escaped, and their identities are yet to be verified.” In the communicator image, the War Bureau superior explained the situation.

“Is that so?” Han Xiao contemplated.

DarkStar did not have a fixed base—the motherships were their base. Now that these had been destroyed, it was basically the end for them. The ‘DarkStar’ organization was no more. What Han Xiao cared more about was if Ember was alive.

Ember’s Esper ability was very destructive, and he had immense hatred for him. Plus, his brain was the most developed. If he escaped, there would be quite a problem.

Maybe he could use the Destiny’s Child card to foresee Ember’s whereabouts?

The Destiny’s Child Character Summon Card only had two more uses left, and Han Xiao had yet to decide whether to use one of it here.

This time, the War Bureau superior said, “After some time, Godora will announce this victory to all of the Star System. Following your request, Serbia the Fifth will publicize your achievements personally, telling everyone that you’re the hero of DarkStar’s destruction and that you’re a valued ally of Godora.”

DarkStar had threatened the Garton Star System for many years, causing countless disasters. Now that they had finally been dealt with, Godora would certainly make an official announcement, streaming to all the channels in the entire Star System, listing DarkStar’s sins and promoting their profound victory. That would boost the confidence of their people, making it known that DarkStar no longer existed, that they had saved the world, and so on.

Back then when Han Xiao sold his intelligence, one of the requirements was to publicize his contributions after the plan succeeded. This was to tremendously increase his fame.

For such an enormous feat, it was almost a definite that he would receive Star System level Legendary Points.

“By the way, you will be needed at the scene. Serbia the Fifth will personally give you the honors, and you will be a friend of Godora forever. After the ceremony ends, we will pay you the rest of the reward as discussed. Fifty medium battleships and one large main ship, the remaining fifteen million payment, and some Super Knowledges.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Finally, he was about to receive the remaining payment, but receiving the honors was unexpected.

Godora was very generous, so being honored by the leader of the nation was a huge honor. This was not his request but Godora’s decision.

With some thought, Han Xiao roughly knew what Godora was thinking. Their appreciation was indeed sincere, as were his achievements, but a part of it was definitely because he was part of Floating Dragon. Thus, they wanted to improve their relationship with the Floating Dragon.

If Floating Dragon’s Field Team Officer was Godora’s honored hero, their relationship would be closer.

This had no negative impact on him, so of course, Han Xiao would not reject it.

“Before bringing the players to Base One to officially start their mercenary career, showing them a ‘cut scene’ of me being honored is very beneficial for my personal image. This will all increase my reputation. Marvelous!”

Han Xiao was very content.

When Han Xiao ended the communication, the battlefield had almost all been cleaned up. The Godoran fleet dragged the DarkStar mothership from the ground like pulling up a carrot. They then moved it outside the atmosphere and were planning to take it back.

On the galactical battlefield on the other side, there were also many Godoran spaceships cleaning up the wreckages of DarkStar fleets.

This was an overwhelming victory; joy was on the face of every Godoran soldier.

Not only Han Xiao, but all the mercenary groups were also invited to Godora’s Mother Planet to attend the government ceremony not long after. Showing their faces was a free advertisement, so no one rejected the offer.

The Black Star Army and Alliance Fleet took off and headed toward Godora’s Mother Planet together.

After just experiencing a war, all the players were excited. All kinds of screenshots and recordings were being posted to the forums.

Herlous was extremely excited. Han Xiao had promised to get rid of DarkStar, and he had always thought that there was little hope. He had stood behind Han Xiao and watched his every step. He had never thought this promise would be fulfilled in just a few years. At this point, Black Star’s promise only had one outstanding condition—sending hundreds of thousands of Supers to deal with the problem on Planet Sunil. Even though DarkStar was destroyed, Black Star would definitely not go back on his word on this one. The highly risky bet that he placed on trusting an unknown mercenary back then had paid off!

Inside the BlackLight Stealth cockpit, Han Xiao did not pay attention to the players’ actions as he would usually. After a long consideration, he had made a decision—he would foresee Ember’s whereabouts. Although he might waste one use of the Character Summon Card, he wanted to be mentally prepared in case Ember was still alive.

_____________________

You have used [Character Summon Card: Destiny’s Child]

Usages: 4/5

_____________________

The familiar fog covered his vision once again. Passing through the fog, a blurry image appeared before his eyes.

…

A mini DarkStar assault ship was speeding through the universe, escaping.

Ember was the only one on the ship.

Long before the ambush, he had felt uneasy and kept his alert up. When it happened, his reactions were the quickest. Realizing that there was no possibility of winning, he had abandoned the mothership, taking a small, fast assault ship. With a bit of luck and all his might, he had successfully escaped.

Hundreds of assault ships had tried to escape, but he was the only one that had succeeded. Ember had seen the mothership shattering into pieces under the barrage with his own eyes, and countless DarkStar warriors had turned to ash, floating in the cold universe.

DarkStar was finished, and Ember realized that.

Where should he go?

Piloting the spaceship, the dim light from the star map illuminated Ember’s face. He was lost without purpose.

As a wanted man who had slaughtered tens of millions of Godorans, Godora would never give up chasing him.

It seemed like there was only one path ahead of him—leave Garton Star System, or even Colton Star Cluster, go to another Star Cluster in the Shattered Star Ring, hide his name, and start a new life.

Thinking about this, veins filled his eyes.

He did not want to escape anymore.

DarkStar still had him; it was not the end for DarkStar!

“I am destined to become Godora’s nightmare. With slaughter, I will make them reflect on their traditions that are countless years behind. The bloodline belief they have is against the nature of reproduction. This twisted mindset is exactly what created us. After their confession, I will make them swallow the fruit of their thousands of years of the pureblood belief. DarkStar will build a new Godora above their ruins!

“Then, there will be no more pureblood; no one will feel superior for their blood. Discrimination will no longer exist; no one will be born lower than another!”

Those were the DarkStar leader’s hopes for him when he was young, and he had always remembered them in his heart and made them his faith.

“Godora will definitely host a ceremony to announce to the entire Star System that they have defeated DarkStar and that the purebloods’ reign is still strong…” Ember clenched his teeth. “When you people think that everything has ended and are celebrating your victory, I will tell the entire Star System that DarkStar has yet to disappear.”

He decided to go to Godora’s Mother Planet.

When Godora was holding their ceremony and was watched by the whole Star System, he would use his Esper ability and start a slaughter, destroying Godora’s victory announcement.

However, Godora Mother Planet was very dangerous, so he had yet to figure out a way to get in. There would definitely be a lot of Calamity Grade Godoran government officials at the ceremony as guards, so him doing so might cost his life.

As Ember was having a thousand thoughts and was about to make a decision, his communicator suddenly rang. It was a communication request from the DarkStar leader.

That’s right, the leader is still alive!

He came up with a better idea!

Ember’s mind recovered, and he was overjoyed that he had found someone whom he could rely on.

Chapter 585: Mastermind

“Ember, are you the only one who escaped? What’s the situation now?”

The projection of the DarkStar leader appeared. Not too long ago, he had received many emergency messages from the upper echelons of DarkStar and found out that all the DarkStar motherships were being ambushed by Godora.

If Godora was able to lock onto their coordinates through some unknown means, DarkStar would not have anything to rely on anymore, and the situation would definitely be grave. He had tried contacting the various upper echelons to find out the news of the battle, but many of their numbers did not even respond.

After waiting for a long time, the DarkStar leader finally managed to contact Ember and immediately asked about the situation.

“All the motherships have been destroyed, and only a small number of people managed to escape. Our fleet is already gone…” Ember described the situation honestly with his fists clenched tightly and his teeth clenched.

The DarkStar leader fell silent before letting out a long sigh.

Their organization did not have any territory to their name, and those motherships were DarkStar’s moving bases. All their production, research, and training capabilities were concentrated within those motherships. Their many years of accumulation had been destroyed in a single battle. Their losses were incomparably heavy, and their foundations were completely destroyed.

Their entire organization no longer had any armed forces and was only left with the leader and a few escapees.

When the Mutation Disaster was resolved before the expected timing and they were forced to make a change in their plans, the entire plan was no longer within their grasp. Even if their plan was stopped midway, Godora would still be the loser, but now, Godora had actually managed to turn the tables around and launch an all-out attack to thoroughly destroy them.

As such, Godora’s losses had not been suffered in vain, and they had become the outright winner.

Who would have thought that the Mutation Source plan would become the final plan of their organization?

After pausing for a while, the DarkStar leader asked, “What are your plans?”

Ember hesitated for a moment before saying that he wanted to unleash a massacre at the Godoran ceremony.

“Ridiculous.” The DarkStar leader immediately rejected this plan. “With our fleet completely wiped out, we have to make further plans. Leave the Garton Star System first and meet up with me.”

Does this mean that I have to escape?

“Alright then.”

Ember was reluctant in his heart but could only swallow that feeling. He adjusted the course of his spaceship and set course to the nearest planet on the border of the Garton Star System.

As long as the leader is still around, we have a chance to rise up again.

…

In the Colton Star Cluster, in some Star System, the spaceship of the DarkStar leader was currently drifting in space.

After getting off the line with Ember, the DarkStar leader tapped on the spaceship’s control panel in deep thought.

After pondering for a long time, he stood up and left the control room. He then came to another walkway that was made from an alloy. When he walked to a specific location of the walkway, he knocked a few times on the wall. The spot that he knocked on did not seem any different from the wall around it.

Ka-cha.

The alloy panel slid open and revealed a secret chamber. An odd-shaped communicator was located within it.

An ordinary Galactic Communicator had many different designs. They could be worn or the wrist or even shaped in the form of glasses. There were some that were extremely simple spherical designs, and others followed civilian wristwatch designs. However, the communicator in the secret chamber was an old-fashioned design from many years back that seemed bulky and unwieldy.

Upon activating the communicator, lines of complicated encryption could be seen on the screen. The DarkStar leader keyed in many different passwords and confirmed his DNA before he could turn on the communicator. However, it seemed as though all the functions of the communicator were blocked, and he could only dial a single number.

Di di di…

The time spent waiting for the transmission to go through seemed extremely long.

Du…

The screen of the communicator then turned black, and a hazy, mosaicked face appeared on the screen.

The other party remained silent, and the DarkStar leader was the first to speak.

“Godora destroyed my fleet, and all my subordinates are dead. Only Ember is confirmed to be alive.”

The hazy figure on the screen moved, and a mechanical voice sounded from the communicator. “Got it.”

“I need a sum of money to build a new fleet,” the DarkStar leader said with a deep voice.

“This isn’t the time. Since you have failed, lie low for a while. You haven’t been caught yet, so Godora will be on guard against you. You cannot restore DarkStar to its former heights any time soon. If not, there will be a risk of exposing the source of your funds.”

“How long will I have to wait for?”

“The day Godora forgets the name of DarkStar will be the day for you to make a comeback.”

“I do not wish to continue waiting,” the DarkStar leader said in a depressed tone. “I have already been under your control for a very long time. When will it end? All of you are extremely clear that I can only create destruction and cannot truly destroy Godora entirely. Just when will all of you be satisfied?”

“You will know when the time comes.”

“Humph, you guys provided me with resources very willingly in the past. Now that my organization has almost been wiped out, you are starting to shrink back. Do you think that I have lost my value and wish to go back on our agreement‽” The DarkStar leader raised his voice slightly.

“Are you threatening us?” The hazy figure fell silent. “I think that you are getting your target wrong.”

The face of the DarkStar leader changed slightly, and he said humbly with his head lowered, “My apologies, I spoke wrongly.”

“We will evaluate whether or not the transaction has been completed. Do not rush us. Remember, you were the one who chose to make this agreement with us; we did not choose you,” the hazy figure said. “Even without you, we can have a second DarkStar. At that time, the agreement will naturally be cancelled.

“So, you’d better watch your attitude…

“You’d better wait if we tell you to.”

“I understand,” the DarkStar leader said with a soft tone.

The hazy figure paused for a moment before saying, “In any case, this isn’t the time for us to make an appearance. You should leave the Shattered Star Ring and rebuild your forces in other Star Fields.”

The DarkStar leader nodded.

“Hmm… we can introduce you to another big shot in a different Star Field. If you can gain his aid, you may not need to lie low for too long. However, you have to prepare a sacrificial offering for him.”

“Sacrificial offering?”

“A Super who has a sufficiently powerful Esper ability,” the hazy figure said slowly. “You should understand what I mean, right?”

The DarkStar leader was startled.

He understood what a sacrificial offering meant. At the same time, he could also faintly guess the identity of that ‘big shot’.

I heard that he is a crazy man who wants to form the ‘Super High Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty’.

“There are some rumors that the Crimson Empire is dissatisfied with the peace treaty,” the hazy figure said. “While they are located far away, if trouble really breaks out in the Crimson Empire, the Shattered Star Ring will be affected as well. That may be the best opportunity for you to stage a comeback and also a chance for us to complete our agreement. You will only be able to complete your side of the agreement if the situation is sufficiently chaotic.”

The eyes of the DarkStar leader lit up. While this might only be an excuse from the other party to console him, he did indeed regain some confidence.

“Don’t contact us again before you are prepared.”

After cutting off the communication, the DarkStar leader closed the secret chamber and returned to his room. Every time he contacted the other party, he would feel a sense of pressure that came from the other party’s strength, status, and authority.

I hope that they will fulfill their end of the deal…

The DarkStar leader shook his head. What he was doing was no different from making a deal with tigers.

However, even if he was worried, he could only choose to make a transaction with the other party. The DarkStar leader had stepped onto this path very early on. No one in DarkStar was aware about this matter. In his eyes, this was the only hope for the mixed bloods.

Many years ago, he had come to understand that it was no more than a pipe dream if he wanted to overthrow the rule of the purebloods and create a new Godora for the mixed bloods. While it seemed to be an extremely moving slogan, it was not a practical reality. The discrimination toward the mixed bloods would never disappear.

Regardless of the policies that the regime attempted to push forward, the long scales or tails of the mixed bloods were things that the purebloods just could not accept. Regardless of how good an upbringing they had, as long as the differences existed, the deep-rooted discrimination would never disappear. With the purebloods forming the middle and upper ranks of society, the outcome of this discrimination was not that simple.

The future of the mixed bloods was not in Godora.

If DarkStar was not the terror organization that it was but a kind organization that took in the mixed bloods to build an empire of mixed bloods…

He would only die a faster death.

Without a sufficiently powerful backer, they would not only have to face the Godoran army but also the alliance of different regimes.

Their only way out would be to gain support from an even higher place. Just DarkStar alone would not be enough to accomplish all that.

Right at that moment, these individuals had come up to him with an irresistible offer that gave him hope.

In the end, the leader of DarkStar had become a pawn for the other party to fight for another opportunity.

The DarkStar leader had once asked the other party why they chose him. The other party had said that just creating destruction and a systematic plan of destruction were two entirely different affairs. In most cases, only the latter was a threat. Thus, they had chosen DarkStar.

The initial goal of an organization would always initially be clear, but as time went on, their path slowly strayed from their original one. The focus of the DarkStar leader had already shifted to how they could create more destruction for Godora and incite hatred between the purebloods and mixed bloods. By pushing the mixed bloods to stand against Godora, it created disharmony within Godora and supplied him with fresh troops.

DarkStar had already become a blade in the hands of others. However, the entire organization apart from himself was unaware of this.

However, the DarkStar leader believed that this was the only path that would give him a chance of building a homeland for the mixed bloods. If he wanted to reap the rewards, he would have to first pay the price.

…

The mother planet of Godora was a gigantic planet. Even outside the atmosphere, traces of modifications could be seen. The more developed a civilization was, the greater the modification to their mother planet.

Spaceship after spaceship docked at the various ports of the planet, and the mercenaries all disembarked from their spaceships. The Black Star Army was mixed among the people with the players forming the largest group. The officers following behind Han Xiao looked around curiously as though they were tourists. The only thing that they were lacking was a tour guide at the front hoisting up a flag.

Han Xiao walked at the very front and was chatting away merrily with the other Army Commanders. All of them were invited to participate in the victory ceremony, and the officials of Godora were already waiting by the dock.

Chapter 586: Payment in Hand

Godora sent out one of their leaders, who said with respect, “I welcome all the Army Commanders on behalf of Godora to participate in this celebration ceremony. The ceremony is currently in preparation, and we will be in charge of all of your lodgings and needs during this period. Please feel free to inform us if you have any requests. Everyone, follow me. We have already arranged your lodgings.”

The millions of mercenaries made a majestic appearance. If not for Godora being a Star System level civilization, they would not have been able to make proper arrangements for all the mercenaries easily.

They needed a few days to prepare the celebration ceremony, and the mercenaries could only wait for the ceremony to begin on the mother planet.

The ceremony was being held in the capital, and everyone’s lodging was also arranged in the capital. All the Army Commanders stayed in the same place, but their subordinates were to stay in a separate location. Furthermore, only the Army Commanders were invited to participate in the ceremony, and their subordinates could only watch the live broadcast on screen.

The players who were scattered all around the capital definitely would not stay in their rooms obediently. Furthermore, Han Xiao did not intend on restricting their freedom. The players would not feel a sense of belonging to a faction that tried to restrict their movements. The only way to go was using benefits to entice them, which was what he had been doing.

The treatment of the players was like the other mercenaries. They were free to do whatever they wanted when there were no missions, as long as they did not break the law.

Besides, the only way to create a warm sense of belonging for the players was to expose them to the prices of the galaxy.

…

Han Xiao was split up from his Officers and followed the other Army Commanders to a government guest house. This guest house was used to host visitors and was not open to civilians.

Along the way, Han Xiao chatted with the different Army Commanders, and the few like Justin who were not in cooperation with the Black Star Army took the initiative to form an alliance with him.

Han Xiao enjoyed Godora’s scenery as they travelled. The sky was a beautiful shade of dark blue, and the pedestrians who were making use of their flight devices stuck closely to the prescribed flying routes. They formed a long human bridge that extended up into the skies. Every building had a landing point at the top of the building, which made it look as though the crowd was being sucked in. This scenery was exactly like how he remembered it to be.

The luxurious government guest house was located on top of the mountain, and their guide led Han Xiao and the others to their rooms. Every room had identical designs, and they were two story rooms, with huge, full-length windows and a balcony. The view on the outside covered half the capital, and the air was extremely fresh.

When Han Xiao got into his own room, the guide left and did not disturb him further.

“This is truly luxurious.”

Han Xiao looked around the place and opened up the fridge to take a look. The fridge was lined with all of Godora’s specialties as well as many different kinds of drinks.

Having picked out a frozen piece of red meat, Han Xiao placed it into a simple reheating machine that looked like an oven. He then set the flavor to ‘Godora’s traditional taste’ before turning the machine on.

After a short while, a plate of steaming hot diced meat was served. It was topped with thick golden gravy that looked like honey and gave out an irresistible aroma.

“I can finally save my taste buds, which crave nutritious and high energy food.”

Han Xiao took a deep breath of the aroma, and his appetite was whetted. He then ate the diced meat as though he was snacking. The sweet, juicy meat bounced around in his teeth as though he was eating jelly.

Godora was a magical civilization, and its mother planet had once had countless magical beasts roaming the planet. Now, all those beasts were locked up in zoos for exhibition with a portion of them being turned into everyday delicacies. After all, beasts who had magic in their bodies usually had extremely fragrant meat.

Han Xiao grabbed a red fruit that looked like a baboon’s ass and a light gold liquor that had not been opened yet. He then walked to the balcony and sat down in the deck chair, enjoying Godora’s beautiful scenery while enjoying the fruit and wine in his hand.

In his past life, DarkStar had bothered Godora for a long time, but DarkStar had been destroyed much earlier in this life. The billions of lives that would have been harmed by DarkStar had been saved.

The greatest threat to him had already been wiped out, and Han Xiao no longer had an enemy to be wary of. A period of peace would follow this, and Han Xiao could finally develop his Black Star Army in peace. Before the release of the next version, there should not be much danger. Since the danger was already over, it should be alright for him to relax for a moment, right?

Not too long ago, Han Xiao had used the Destiny’s Child Card to prophesize about Ember’s situation. Ember was indeed still alive, but the outcome of the prophecy was actually Ember’s death. Ordinarily speaking, the prophecy should have been about how Ember would bring him a bloody calamity in the future…

A prophecy could also fail, but it was a pity that he was not able to determine Ember’s location and give chase.

While he was not able to personally get rid of Ember, it seemed like Ember would not have a good ending. Han Xiao was truly curious about what kind of dangers Ember would meet. The most likely scenario would be him being chased by Godora and being beaten to death. However, it was a pity that the prophecy had been too hazy, and Han Xiao could only make a wild guess.

“The DarkStar storyline has been changed by me, and all future events will no longer happen. The fate of these DarkStar members will also be different,” Han Xiao mused to himself.

From Version 1.0, the main boss of the Garton Star System had been DarkStar. Now that DarkStar was no more, there would not be another enemy capable of threatening him in the Garton Star System any time soon. Together with the fact that he had a good relationship with Godora, his main camp would be more or less safe.

Thus, Han Xiao was in a pleasant mood and felt that the sun was warm and the flowers red.

“I have been in the galaxy for a few years now…”

As he sipped his wine, Han Xiao could not help but reminisce about his experiences in the galaxy.

He had set up the Black Star Mercenary Group and completed missions all around. He had become a subordinate of the Dragon Emperor and made use of her as a backer to build ties with the various organizations. He had begun his accumulation since Version 1.0 and returned to Planet Aquamarine after Version 2.0 was launched. He had carried out his plan to recruit players and initiated deeper cooperation with Godora. He had resolved the Mutation Disaster and caused the destruction of DarkStar…

Now, he had finally accumulated enough strength to stand his ground in the galaxy.

“The next step will be my uprising.”

Han Xiao swallowed a large mouthful of wine as many ideas sprouted out in his head.

…

After a short rest, an upper echelon of the War Bureau arrived at the guest house and invited all the Army Commanders for a meeting.

Han Xiao also received the notice and made sure that his hair was done nicely before walking to the conference room while singing. He saw Underworld Feather and Gureja the moment he entered the conference room.

He then sat down and made some idle chatter with the two of them. Gureja liked to touch his own thighs when talking, and Underworld Feather liked to eat nonstop. After talking for a short while, the other Army Commanders also arrived.

When everyone was present, a Godoran dressed in old-fashioned attire walked into the room. He was an upper echelon of the War Bureau, and Han Xiao had talked to him through the communicator before.

The War Bureau upper echelon then began his speech about how he was grateful to everyone present before moving onto the things that they should take note of during the ceremony. The majority of the upper echelons of Godora would appear during the ceremony, including the current highest leader, Serbia the Fifth. The ceremony was an official event, and there were many rules that needed to be followed.

The ten or so Army Commanders seated in the room were all local tyrants of their respective regions. However, this was also their first time attending an official galactic civilization ceremony. Despite their strength and unbridled nature, they did not dare do as they pleased in such an official event.

The meeting ended very quickly, and the various Army Commanders stood up to take their leave.

Right at that moment, the upper echelon of the War Bureau called out to Han Xiao.

“Black Star, follow me. Serbia the Fifth invites you to meet him.”

Pa!

All the Army Commanders froze on the spot and looked back at Han Xiao in shock.

The highest leader of Godora was the leader of a Star System level civilization and was a true big figure. His status and influence were not something that they could match. They would only be able to encounter Serbia the Fifth during the actual ceremony!

However, such a figure was about to meet Black Star in private‽

We are all Army Commanders here. Why are you the only one getting special treatment?

Han Xiao’s brows were raised, and he did not think that this was anything strange. Nodding, he said, “Alright, let’s go.”

The Army Commanders looked at their departing backs before looking at each other with puzzled looks.

There was definitely something behind this!

Godora had not made an official announcement, and the Army Commanders did not know that Han Xiao was their true key to victory. The merit that he rendered was on a completely different level from theirs.

…

After taking a long and winding path, they entered the core building of the regime. They then went through many different security checks before finally arriving at the office of the highest leader.

Serbia the Fifth took the initiative to stand up and extended his hand. “Black Star, how is your rest?”

“Pretty good.” Han Xiao shook his hand, and the two of them began exchanging pleasantries.

The three of them then had a casual conversation for a while before finally broaching the main topic.

“Black Star, your intelligence helped us to wipe DarkStar out.” Serbia The Fifth did not display a lofty attitude and spoke with a solemn expression. “I thank you on behalf of the Godoran citizens. Godora will always remember what you have done.”

“As a citizen of the Garton Star System, this is something that I should do. It is just a small matter,” Han Xiao said humbly.

“Your award ceremony would be grander, and we are going to award you with the ‘Golden Gal Badge’. This is Godora’s highest honor, and only thirty-two badges have been given out to date.”

“I am truly overwhelmed,” Han Xiao replied.

“This is something you deserve. We have already prepared the conditions that you have requested.”

The moment Serbia The Fifth completed his sentence, the War Bureau upper echelon beside him took out his communicator and flashed the image of two different spaceships.

“Fifty Violent Falcon grade battleships that have the ability to attack and defend. One Fortress grade flagship that is made from a powerful alloy. These fifty-one battleships are brand new, and they are currently being stored in the army’s warehouse. They can be handed over to you at any time.”

According to his request, those battleships were in their base form and not special Godoran variations.

Together with this batch of battleships, his fleet now had about seventy battleships.

Han Xiao looked through the data of the spaceships and nodded in satisfaction. Godora did not go back on their word and try to toy with him. Those two spaceships were truly decent. Especially the Fortress grade flagship, which had a selling price of over 10,000,000 Enas and cost price of a few million. Of all the different spaceships, flagships and motherships were the most expensive kind.

Just these fifty-one battleships would be a hefty price.

After confirming that there was no problem with the spaceships, the War Bureau upper echelon continued.

“15,000,000 Enas have been deposited into your account. Please take a look.”

A bank transfer message had indeed appeared on his communicator. After taking a glance, Han Xiao needed to exercise all his willpower to ensure that his face did not break out in a wide smile.

Together with the 3,400,000 Enas from being hired in the war, Han Xiao now had over 28,000,000 Enas in his account!

He was truly a wealthy tycoon!

“As for the Super knowledge that you have requested, we can provide five. This is the list.”

As Han Xiao took a glance, the Super knowledge that a civilization had was indeed more complete than the black market. There were even some that could not be found on the black market. Now that they were being placed before him for him to choose, it saved him a great deal of time. However, the highest-grade knowledge on the list was only a High-End Knowledge.

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao immediately chose to learn the Mechanic High-End Knowledge that he had not learned.

_____________________

Armed Branch: [High-End Material Technology]. Core Mechanic knowledge to research materials with high resistance. The most obvious result would be an increase in Armor for all machines.

Energy Branch: [Super Nanometer Force]. Strengthens the basic attributes of all armor and machines. When used in tandem with [Super Nanotechnology], high grade memory alloys that have the ability to automatically restore Armor can be researched. If the blueprint for Nano Robots is learned, machines may even have the ability to transform!

Energy Branch: [High Energy Weapon Control]. When used together with [High Class Energy Control], many different powerful weapons can be created.

Control Branch: [Interstellar Navigation Technology]. Prerequisite knowledge to building a spaceship.

Control Branch: [Advanced Applications for Quantum Entanglement]. Greatly increase the transmission range of energy and messages. Increases the range and efficiency for virtual intrusion.

_____________________

The upper echelon immediately brought up the data from the knowledge bank and sent it to Han Xiao’s communicator.

Han Xiao suppressed the urge to throw in his Potential Points immediately.

The benefits from the trade had basically been obtained by him, and the only thing left would be for Godora to announce his contributions at the ceremony and increase his Renown.

It could be said that this was truly a happy ending for their cooperation.

After a short conversation, Han Xiao stood up to take his leave. Right at that moment, an idea suddenly came to him, and Han Xiao threw an [Observer’s Mark] on Serbia the Fifth.

The highest leader of Godora would come into contact with top secret information every day, and he could obtain some unexpected intelligence from spying on Serbia the Fifth.

It definitely was not because he wanted to spy on the lifestyle of the highest leader!

…

The next day, Han Xiao rented out a machinery modification room.

Since he was currently on the mother planet of Godora, the time taken for shipping would be negligible. He immediately bought the core materials required for his new mechanical suit.

Despite Godora only charging him the cost price of those three materials, he spent more than 100,000 Enas.

At the same time, of the five new knowledges that he acquired from Godora, [High-End Material Technology], [Super Nanometer Force], and [Advanced Applications for Quantum Entanglement] were raised to the max level, which cost him a total of fifty-one Potential Points.

Han Xiao could finally feel a lack of Potential Points. The moment he started to level up his knowledge, his Potential Points would also be expended rapidly.

Han Xiao made use of his new knowledge to complete his mechanical suit blueprint and also increased the blueprint up to level ten. This was to ensure that he could create the most perfect mechanical suit.

This time, Han Xiao was prepared to create a mechanical suit that could keep up with his new Grade A strength!

Chapter 587: Berserk Ape

In the machinery modification room…

“The core module is complete. Running an automatic scan… Automatic scan complete. Everything is in working order. Assembling the periphery modules…”

Ten or so mechanical arms quickly assembled the various parts of the mechanical suit, and a holographic screen displayed the various stats of the mechanical suit.

Phillip played the role of an assistant throughout the entire assembly process and used his superior processing speed to oversee the entire process. He detected all the microscopic defects within the various parts so that Han Xiao could make continuous adjustments and ensure perfection to raise the grade of the product.

Above the purple grade was the pink rare grade. The higher the quality of a machine, the more difficult it was to increase its grade. However, a problem that could be solved by money was not a problem at all.

Han Xiao spent more than 100,000 Enas on the core materials, and he had even made use of the pink grade void dragon bone in the mechanical suit. With so many rare materials being used, it was extremely simple to increase the grade of the final product. When comparing two different equipment of the same level, the difference between the pink and purple grade was not small at all.

Now that he was in the Calamity Grade, he had abundant Mechanical Force, and his Machinery Affinity was also raised. Together with the aid of all his talents and skills, Han Xiao’s construction efficiency was increased a great deal. Even if he was constructing a high-grade mechanical suit, it did not take him too much time.

Whoosh!

The mechanical arms quickly assembled the remaining modules of the mechanical suit, and after the assembly was complete, the mechanical arm sprayed out a chilly gas that had the ability to cool down and combine the modules. This was the final step.

The white cool gas dissipated in all directions, and a black and gold mechanical suit was displayed before Han Xiao.

Han Xiao then pressed his finger on the chest portion of the mechanical suit and released a trace of Mechanical Force to activate the suit.

Suddenly, waves seemed to have appeared on the surface of the mechanical suit, and countless black Nano Robots sprung to action. The various modules of the thin mechanical suit began to surface, and the mechanical suit bulged out as though it had put on a great deal of muscle.

Han Xiao made use of the [Super Nanometer Force] on the new mechanical suit, and there were many nano machines in the mechanical suit that had the properties of a memory alloy. The information of the various weapon modules were programed into these nano machines, and these nano machines could transform into different weapons at any time. While the design of the mechanical suit seemed simple, it was actually filled with weapons all over and had many different functions.

Apart from that, these nano machines had the ability to self-repair, produce energy, and many other functions.

“This mechanical suit is much more powerful than Void Dragon and is the most powerful mechanical suit that I have created to date…”

Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at the attributes of the mechanical suit.

_____________________

[Berserk Ape]

Type: Nano Transforming Mechanical Suit

Grade: Pink

Requirements: Lv.135, Mechanic Class, >10,000 Energy

Basic Attributes:

– Armor: 86,000/86,000

– Defense: 580

– Power Level: 3,400

– Energy: 27,500

– Height: 1.96m

– Weight: 260 Pounds

Control Method: Middle Grade Artificial Intelligence assistance + Nerves Connection (+10% to all attributes)

Power Source: Mini Concentrated Nuclear Reactor – Self Charge. Recovers Energy at 480/min. Energy conversion rate from user: 40:90

Stationary Mode Energy Usage: 45/min

Combat Mode Energy Usage: 110/min

Core Power Capacity: 2,375/2,700

Skeleton Module: PR-909 Super Nano Polymer Fiber (Dark Purple) + Nanoparticle Array. Largely increases the attributes of the mechanical suit.

+125 STR, +131 DEX, Power Usage: 350.

Nanoparticles can be activated to provide additional attributes. Energy cost: 50/min, all attributes +45%.

Armor Plating Module: Kyle Alloy (Dark Purple) + Void Dragon bone (Pink) + Refined Overga Metal (Purple).

Weapon Module: Transforming Nanoparticle weapons. [Expand/Collapse]. Power Usage: 725

Thrusters Module: Anti-Gravity Electromagnetic Engine + Elementary Grade Galactic Thrusters. Power Usage: 500

Shield Module: Super Tough Electromagnetic Shield. Provides 18,000 shield durability, 150 defense. Energy cost: 150/min. Recovers 600 shield durability/s. Shield can only be used again after 8s if it breaks. Power Usage: 300.

…

Additional Ability: Nanoparticle Repair. Nanoparticles have the ability to repair independently. Energy cost: 200/min, 5% Armor repaired/min. The effects will be multiplied if out of battle.

Additional Ability: Berserk Throw. With the boost from the Concentrated Nuclear Reactor and Nanoparticles, +80 STR during the throw. Throws the target away, and damage is broken down into parts.

Damage calculation is determined by total STR. Point of throw will be first damage taken, and point of contact with the ground will be the last. Every time the target collides into an object along the way, a new round of damage will be taken. The collision damage will be calculated by the size and hardness of the object. If the collision object is a living being, the living being will also suffer collision damage.

Energy cost: 60

Cooldown: 15s

Additional Ability: Power Detonation. 1,000 Energy would be immediately used up and channeled into the next attack.

If the attack is a long ranged one, +320% – 360% power, AOE effect and sustained damage, +300% shooting range.

If the attack is a close-ranged one, +650% – 700% damage, power detonation damage and sputtering damage. 65% chance of critical damage. Able to inflict status effects like knock up, knock back, suppression, and dizziness.

Cooldown: 90s

Special Ability: Nano Transformation, three different forms

Giant Ape Form: Transform into a heavy armor form between 4m to 8m tall. A portion of the weapons will be unusable. In this form, +150 STR, -100 DEX, +130 Defense, +20,000 Armor, close range attacks have an additional 16% vibration damage. +20% Damage from [Berserk Throw].

Shuttle Form: Transform into a space shuttle. Unable to use any close ranged attacks. Speed is largely increased in this form and capable of flying in space.

Berserk Overload Form: Energy core will enter an overload state. Energy cost: 2,000/min. -25% Armor, +180% damage to all weapons, +30% to all attributes, -40% cooldown for [Power Detonation] and [Berserk Throw].

Remark: It would be suicide for a weak Super to put this suit on.

_____________________

Compared to his previous mechanical suits, the greatest difference would be the different class of the suit. In the past, the snake and dragon series belonged to the ‘Light Battle Mechanical Suit’ class, but the Berserk Ape belonged to the ‘Nano Transforming Mechanical Suit’ class. It had the ability to transform and did not need additional components to be mounted.

In fact, many of the transforming mechanical suits were of the ape series. Could it be that the origins of this suit were the Saiyan ape?

The new mechanical suit was extremely powerful, and it met Han Xiao’s expectations. His mechanical suit was finally stronger than his own body, and its damage was also powerful. Furthermore, with the intergalactic engine that he had built into it, it was akin to a one-man spaceship. He would be able to attack battleships in an intergalactic battle. It was an extremely useful function.

Compressing the Berserk Ape into a compressed orb, Han Xiao hung it around his neck. He could not help but feel his hands turn itchy, and he was looking forward to finding someone to spar with.

However, his own Officers would only be bullied by him one-sidedly, and it would not be too convenient for him to find the other Army Commanders or Godora.

“The ceremony is about to begin, so I’d better not create any trouble. There will be chances in the future.”

Han Xiao temporarily suppressed that urge. The new mechanical suit was only a part of his plan to upgrade his equipment. There were still various new weapons and machines that he needed to construct. When he built up his new Mechanical Army again, his combat capabilities would then reach the peak.

…

The date of the ceremony was finally decided.

Before the ceremony, Godora revealed the news of DarkStar being destroyed, and the entire Star System was shaken.

DarkStar was infamous in the Shattered Star Ring, and it had actually been destroyed! This was truly earth-shattering news!

Numerous galactic residents were completely dumbfounded. After so many years of no progress in eradicating DarkStar, Godora was actually able to get rid of DarkStar in such a secretive and thorough manner. This was truly too sudden.

Many organizations had still been guessing what kind of a storm DarkStar would kick up next and were shocked by the news.

Godora only revealed a simple report of the process and would only announce the entire process in detail during the ceremony. It was akin to a media press conference. As such, all the citizens of the Shattered Star Ring focused their attention on Godora’s ceremony.

The galactic reporters were like sharks who smelled blood and all swarmed toward the mother planet of Godora, anxiously waiting for the beginning of the ceremony.

The galactic media agencies came to an agreement with Godora and would broadcast the entire ceremony.

As the date of the ceremony drew near, countless galactic residents became even more eager for the ceremony to begin. They truly wanted to know exactly how Godora destroyed DarkStar!

In the midst of anticipation and eagerness, the day of the ceremony finally arrived.

Chapter 588: Award Ceremony

Boom!

The guard of honor squad opened fire toward the sky, and ceremonial fireworks burst open.

In the capital of the Godoran mother planet, the plaza in the center of the city was filled with splendor.

This was the most prominent landmark of the capital. The plaza was large and grand with the statues of various historical figures in the center of the plaza. Those statues were enchanted with magic to make the statues glow with a golden light. Many large scale Godoran events would be held in this plaza.

At that moment, the sky above the plaza was a no-fly zone, with many Godoran patrols making the rounds. On the ground, the center of the plaza was cordoned off, and only those who were granted access could enter. A large platform was situated at the center of the plaza with seats being placed on the platform. These were the seats for the upper echelons of Godora. At that moment, the various leaders were there yet, and their seats were still empty.

Below the platform were rows of neatly arranged seats that were there for the various members of society invited to participate in the ceremony. At that moment, the seats were already filled up.

Outside the plaza, golden-skinned individuals were packed like sardines as they watched the ceremony from afar. In truth, they did not need to be present physically to watch the ceremony as Godora would project the entire ceremony into the sky. A holographic screen was currently floating in the sky of the capital, and they only needed to raise their heads to be able to watch it.

Everyone in the streets and alleys of the capital stopped and looked up at the screen as they waited for the ceremony to begin.

“The screen in the sky looks like a gigantic theatre. This effect is truly stunning.”

Many of the players also went onto the streets, and this sight was truly a fresh one for them.

Over the past few days, all the players had been freely exploring the capital, and they could experience a new culture of a different race. This fresh experience was like tasty candy for them all.

Apart from the prices of goods being frighteningly high, everything else was extremely interesting to them.

The players who had followed Han Xiao into space in the previous version were used to the various sights in the galaxy. Frenzied Sword and the others could not help but describe the significance of being brought to Godora’s mother planet to others. According to their experience, their Black Star Army being on the mother planet was significant.

Maple Moon made a conjecture. “I think that a new Storyline may be waiting for us here. Think about it, the Mutation Disaster has just ended, and the organization behind it has also been wiped out. The players are starting to enter the galaxy on a large scale, and I think that there will be a new goal for us.”

Frenzied Sword shook his head and said, “No. I think that the Black Star Army itself is a Main Storyline Mission. Don’t forget that we accepted many different missions previously and went to many different planets with different races. Every planet had their own storyline, so the next Main Storyline Mission should be an exploration one. With the Black Star Army as the guide, we will be able to encounter more planets and races to allow the players to get used to the galaxy.”

“Makes sense. If the Black Star Army is the next Main Storyline Mission of Version 2.0, then the significance of this ceremony is to create an impactful beginning.”

“This is the smell of wonderful material!” Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes lit up.

…

A military aircraft stopped outside the guest house, and this was the vehicle that was going to take all the Army Commanders to the ceremony.

Everyone got onto the aircraft, and Han Xiao picked a random spot to sit in.

“It is finally time for the ceremony to begin.”

None of the Army Commanders were too excited about the ceremony. They had personally participated in the war and were extremely clear about what had happened. The ceremony would just be for Godora to announce the process of how they ambushed all of DarkStar’s motherships and defeated DarkStar in one fell swoop.

This would definitely result in people questioning how Godora locked onto DarkStar’s location. However, this had come from one of Godora’s top secret sources, and it was impossible for them to reveal it.

All the Army Commanders understood this, so the ceremony did not interest them greatly. All of them only intended to make use of the ceremony to spread the fame of their Army.

All of them chatted casually, and while they had intentionally restrained their aura, the pilot who was in the same aircraft as ten or so Calamity Grade Supers had a pale complexion with his entire back covered in sweat.

Although he had known that this was an aircraft full of bigshots in advance, it was still frightening!

Underworld Feather sat beside the pilot and asked in a gentle tone, “Are you afraid?”

The pilot gulped hard and stammered, “No… not at all.”

“Don’t be nervous, eat something.” Underworld Feather took out some suspicious looking dried meat and fed it to the pilot with a friendly look.

The pilot gritted his teeth and ate the piece of dried meat and was surprised to find out that it was actually pretty tasty. He thus asked curiously, “What kind of meat is this?”

Just when Underworld Feather was about to reply, Han Xiao interrupted helplessly. “Don’t ask if you don’t want to puke.”

Over the past few days, he had come to understand Underworld Feather’s personality.

She would pretend to share her snacks warmly but intentionally fed people strange items so as to satisfy her sadistic urges. This little lass was still extremely good at feigning innocence.

“Tsk.” Underworld Feather turned around.

…

Han Xiao and the others arrived at the ceremony grounds and sat in their seats. Their arrival immediately resulted in a huge wave of commotion from the galactic reporters.

“They seem to be the captains of the various large-sized mercenary groups, right?”

“That’s right. They are all famous mercenaries. They should have joined the war as well.”

Below the platform, the reporters chatted among themselves.

After a short while, a couple of aircrafts flew over from the direction of the government buildings. The leaders of Godora were finally there, and they all got into their seats.

Serbia the Fifth was the last to appear, and the moment he made his appearance, the entire crowd burst into loud cheers with the citizens watching from afar also cheering at the top of their lungs.

Han Xiao casually glanced at the VIP seats below the platform. Apart from the reporters, those in the VIP seats were the various leaders of the Godoran planets. Almost all of them were purebloods, and even the few mixed bloods were not too different in appearance.

Serbia the Fifth raised his hand, and the entire crowd became silent. He then began his speech, which was projected far and wide by the magical loudspeaker.

This was the official beginning of the ceremony, and it was broadcast live.

The ceremony would naturally begin with some usual pleasantries like thanking the citizens of the various planets for their contribution, emphasizing on the efforts of the government, and so on.

After a long speech, the Godorans were still sat up straight as they listened with seriousness. However, Han Xiao did not have the same patriotism as the Godorans and almost fell asleep from that long speech. At this moment, Serbia the Fifth finally changed the topic and got to the main point.

“I have something important to announce. DarkStar was a terrorist organization that made use of discrimination as an excuse to create chaos and destruction. For years, DarkStar committed many atrocities, and their hands were covered with blood! We will never be afraid of any provocation and have always done our best to stop DarkStar. Thirteen days ago, we finally made a huge breakthrough and wiped DarkStar out!”

Boom!

Despite Godora releasing a simple report of the matter before this, the Godoran citizens still could not hold in their excitement upon hearing it from Serbia the Fifth personally. The Godoran citizens burst out with excitement upon hearing the news.

The cheers were deafening to the point one could not help but feel one’s body shake.

Right at that moment in the VIP location of the platform, Underworld Feather looked at Han Xiao and softly said, “Can you hear me?”

Han Xiao turned around and replied, “Yes I can. What’s the matter?”

“I am just making sure that you aren’t deaf,” Underworld Feather said expressionlessly.

Han Xiao’s mouth cramped up. Underworld Feather then ignored the cameras around her and took out a bag of melon seeds to munch on. She even shot out the shells of the melon seeds onto his back like a machine gun. Han Xiao’s mouth could not help but cramp up even more.

The Dark Elves truly are a petty bunch…

After cheering for a long time, the Godorans gradually quieted down. The reporters knew that it was time for Godora to announce the process of the raid. They all became extremely attentive and focused their attention on Serbia the Fifth. Their pens were gripped tightly in their hands, and they were prepared to write down everything that he said.

“This time, we received help from a key individual and locked onto the location of DarkStar, thus allowing us to deal with the DarkStar fleet in one fell swoop…”

Serbia the Fifth described the battle slowly. The content of his speech was as the mercenaries had expected. He briefly narrated what had happened and emphasized greatly on their victory.

All the Godorans listened carefully, and the reporters jotted down the details in their notebooks. When this speech was broadcast across the Shattered Star Ring, many galactic residents were extremely curious about this ‘key individual’ that Serbia the Fifth talked about.

This ‘key individual’ should probably be their intelligence source!

After Serbia the Fifth finished his speech, he indicated that he would take questions. The hands of the galactic reporters all shot up extremely quickly.

One of the reporters was then chosen, and he said, “Your Majesty, I would like to ask if the identity of this key individual can be revealed.”

Upon hearing that, viewers across the Star System all rolled their eyes. While they were also interested in the source of the intelligence, this was obviously top secret, and Godora definitely would not be willing to reveal it.

At that moment, Serbia the Fifth smiled and suddenly changed topics. “In truth, there is another major event planned for the ceremony. I will be performing an award ceremony for an individual to award him with the Golden Gal Badge!”

Golden Gal Badge‽

The Godorans and the majority of the reporters present were completely dumbfounded. Their minds blanked out from this piece of news.

Compared to those from other Star Systems, who were puzzled by this announcement, they understood the significance of the Golden Gal Badge.

The Golden Gal Badge was the badge of highest honor in Godora, and it had only been given out a total of thirty-two times. This was despite the millions of years of Godora’s history! This badge was extremely rare!

Only those who made a significant contribution—such as world-renowned scientists, triumphant generals, or wise and peerless rulers—would be able to receive this badge. All the recipients of the badge could be called heroes.

Furthermore, at least half of the recipients had only received the badge after they passed away.

It had been an extremely long time since the badge was last given out. Who would have thought that someone would receive the badge of utmost honor again that day?

This was truly earth-shattering news!

All the reporters regained their cool, and their faces were flushed red from excitement.

Serbia the Fifth turned and looked at the VIP area, and many heads turned to follow his vision.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he had no choice but to stand up. In the face of Serbia the Fifth’s friendly gaze, he gritted his teeth and walked over.

It was not because he was nervous.

But because his back was still covered with the shells of melon seeds…

“Let me introduce to all of you the recipient of the Golden Gal Badge, Black Star!”

All of a sudden, everyone took a deep breath.

Everyone was stunned!

All the Army Commanders were completely dumbfounded, and Underworld Feather was shocked to the point her jaw dropped.

The players that were watching the live broadcast were dumbfounded.

The Black Star Army Officers who were playing cards while they watched the broadcast were also dumbfounded, with many of them dropping the cards in their hands.

In fact, there were many Godoran officials who had not been made aware of this matter who also revealed looks of shock.

This was the Golden Gal Badge! This was the first time that it was to be awarded to an outsider who was not a Godoran!

Chapter 589: Recorded in History

“How come Black Star is able to obtain the Golden Gal Badge‽”

At this moment, countless galactic residents were shocked, their faces full of doubts.

The intelligence that Han Xiao had provided had not been disclosed yet. Furthermore, many people still remembered Han Xiao’s identity as well as his deeds. If the medal was issued to an unknown character, most people would only have felt that the person was mysterious and be curious about them. However, giving the medal to someone who had already formed an impression in their hearts instead resulted in a great amount of shock for the community!

Pairs of dumbfounded eyes stared at Han Xiao, only to see him walk to stand side by side with the leader of Godora, Serbia the Fifth.

Serbia the Fifth changed to a solemn tone as he proclaimed, “Black Star is the key person who provided the coordinates of the DarkStar motherships. He is the biggest contributor to the elimination of DarkStar! His boldness and caution allowed him to infiltrate and crack the stealth system of DarkStar, foiling their survival efforts and allowing us to monitor their movements. Without him, we would not have been able to obtain victory!”

Black Star was the linchpin that provided the intelligence‽

Hearing this news, everyone present came to their senses.

The skepticism in the Godorans’ eyes was immediately replaced by surprise, admiration, gratitude, and even reverence.

The various Army Commanders suddenly burst out into conversation. It was no wonder Black Star was favored by Godora. Everything could be explained now.

It turned out, this war employment of theirs was actually a deal facilitated by Black Star himself! Their armies were just the party enjoying the benefits!

Justin blushed, feeling that he had become a laughingstock.

That time, he had asked Black Star if he was worthy. Most likely, he would be mocked till he could not show his face.

On the other side, the various reporters froze for a moment, realizing the key issue here.

DarkStar was ephemeral, coming and going like ghosts, but Black Star was actually able to track their coordinates. In truth, he was the root cause of DarkStar’s demise!

He single-handedly supported the war! He rewrote the power structure of the Garton Star System!

Rather than saying that Godora had borrowed the intelligence of Black Star to defeat DarkStar, it could even be seen as Black Star borrowing the knife that was Godora to kill the villains who destroyed his hometown, DarkStar!

Such a character… how scary!

Many of them were struck by inspiration. The reporters were in a frenzy, burying their heads and scribbling hastily.

Han Xiao accepted the stares as he stood on the stage. The camera broadcast his handsome face onto the virtual screens of every Godoran family.

The impact caused by this news further propelled the reaction that the residents had toward Han Xiao repelling the DarkStar elites a while ago. The effect could only be described as sensational. Han Xiao’s appearance and deeds had been imprinted on the hearts of the countless viewers, and they could not forget him even if they wanted to.

It was a pity that the award ceremony did not arrange for him to give a speech, or else he would have been able to utilize his skills. Right now, he could only be a mascot to receive praise on stage.

The ceremony of awarding the title had a grand and formal process. After going through the ceremony, Serbia the Fifth received a golden medal from the attendant beside him. The medal had an image of God Gal carved on it.

He personally awarded the medal, pinning it solemnly on Han Xiao’s chest.

“I represent Godora in thanking you for your contribution.”

Han Xiao suddenly had the impression that he was an Olympic champion being bestowed the gold medal. He reached out to touch the Golden Gal Badge and had an urge to bring it up to bite on it, to check if it was real gold.

After receiving the highest honor of Godora, he could not just remain passive. In theory, it was time for him to state a phrase of thanks to Godora. However, Han Xiao thought about it before stretching out his hand and giving a firm handshake to Serbia the Fifth before putting on a ‘sincere’ smile on his face.

“It was a great cooperation. Our Black Star Army will accept all legal employment, and we operate with integrity. Please, do not hesitate to choose the Black Star Army, and you can rest assured… oh, and I hope that the friendship between us will continue.”

In Han Xiao’s mind, the bigger the occasion, the more suitable it was to advertise. Since they were not subordinates of Godora, just giving out pleasantries of thanking each other would be too boring for the viewers. As the saying goes, as long as one has the guts, even wheat can have a yield of 18,000 kilograms per acre of land 1 !

Besides, could Godora still take back the medal in front of everyone watching?

F*ck me, at such a grand and formal occasion, you actually came out with an advertisement… The smile on Serbia the Fifth’s face instantly froze, the phrase ‘MMP 1 ‘ almost coming out from his throat. He forcefully swallowed it and maintained his slight smile with difficulty.

I am the leader of the Godorans. I cannot be seen uttering any profanities…

Pa!

The various Army Commanders facepalmed on the spot. We’re all colleagues, but to dare use such a venue to make an advertisement, your courage surpasses all of us here.

“Truly my teacher, even his shameless mannerisms are still so handsome!” Sylvia was staring with sparkling eyes.

Hila suddenly had a sense of relief. This guy indeed had not changed and still had that nasty streak within him!

Kacha!

Countless cameras captured the moment of the duo shaking hands, as though carving this memory into the river of time.

In the eyes of the players, this scene seemed to have a significance on par with an epic tale. Looking at Han Xiao, who had mentioned the Black Star Army, many players suddenly felt inexplicable excitement and pride, as though it was their honor.

Galaxy Calendar, Year 692, the 25th day of the 5th Month.

Godora had launched a comprehensive counterattack on DarkStar, annihilating them. Black Star was revealed as their key source of intelligence, and his actions had practically rewritten the power structure of the Garton Star System. The Black Star Army had also participated in the counterattack, codenamed [Operation Hodellas].

In the 6th Month of the same year, Black Star was awarded the Golden Gal Badge by Godora’s Supreme Leader, Serbia the Fifth. He became the first non-Godoran to have received this honor in history.

Time seemed to stand still as all the events were written into history.

The Shattered Star Ring was thrown into chaos!

…

After the formal ceremony was a celebration for the civilization. The people applauded and cheered for the destruction of DarkStar.

At the end of the ceremony, Han Xiao, under the aggrieved stare of Serbia the Fifth, took the official hovercraft for the reception and returned to the guest house with the other Army Commanders.

On the way, Gureja, Underworld Feather, and the other Army Commanders were all cozying up to Han Xiao.

After the award presentation, everyone knew in their hearts that the Black Star Army was the one that had benefitted the most and had successfully made a name for themselves. They would obtain a continuous flow of tasks in the future, so Han Xiao’s position in their hearts had gone up a few notches. The moment they had the opportunity, they would try to connect more with him.

When the hovercraft stopped at the guest house, Han Xiao, who was already frustrated from all the talking, hurriedly pried himself away from everyone, returning to his room.

Once he closed the door, Han Xiao drank some water and caught his breath. Only then did he take out the Golden Gal Badge, holding it in front of his eyes to analyze.

An introduction popped out on his interface.

_____________________

Golden Gal Badge: Highest level of honor awarded by Godora—Your relationship with the Godoran Civilization is fixed at [Reverence]. If Faction Favorability falls to a negative level, the relationship will change. The favorability of all citizens toward you is at [Respect], and the relationship with all of Godora’s allies will reach [Friendly].

Remark: When a small piece of metal that costs less than 1 Ena has the meaning of honor attached to it, its perceived value rises tens of thousands of times in the eyes’ of some people.

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

This medal has changed my Favorability levels so much, probably saving me at least four or five years of time.

The improvement of his relationships meant that people would show him more respect, and the Black Star Army would receive more employment, allowing them to expand their business.

The default model of his Black Star Army would require a lot of resources, and the thing that he needed most would be NPC provided resources. With the increase in faction favorability provided by the medal, it would help him to save a lot of energy.

Looking at the interface, in addition to the effects provided by the medal, there were more notifications. With the official announcement of DarkStar being annihilated being broadcast, the interface had also sent out a popup showing that the mission [Godora’s Ally] had been completed.

_____________________

Mission [Godora’s Ally] has ended. The objectives completed consist of: [Deputy Chief – Degulish], [Wind Demon – Anur], [Captured Mothership], [Assault Ship Destroyer]…

Mission rating: Unbelievable

You have been awarded 75,000,000 experience, 3000 Godora Favorability, 2 Potential Points, 4 Free Attribute Points, 1 Random Reward, and 4 Special Items.

_____________________

This was a Grade A main storyline, and one of the four special items was a Medal of Honor. However, Han Xiao had already obtained three and combined them to obtain the special medal that would give a twelve-percent bonus to all Attributes. This item was a one-of-a-kind, so there was no need for his newly obtained Medal of Honor. He gazed at the other three special items instead.

_____________________

Character Summon Card—DarkStar Leader: [Heart Malediction—Collapse] – Causes the effect of [Mind Collapse] on a single target. If successful, the target will lose control of their body and will not be able to perform any actions. Effect and Duration will be determined based on the MYS attribute.

Number of times used: 0/2

Character Summon Card—Ember: [Carbon Deconstruction—Intermediate Damage] – Inflicts a large amount of True Damage to all enemy targets within 400m. Specific damage value is based on the difference in Level between the targets and user. The larger the value, the higher the damage, and the higher the probability of inflicting serious injuries, disabilities, internal bleeding, and other negative statuses.

Number of times used: 0/3

Character Summon Card—Nagakin: [Secret Skill—Muscle Is Truth] – +250 STR, +40% Damage to Melee Attacks. Lasts 3 minutes.

Number of times used: 0/7

_____________________

Muscle is truth? What a weird skill name. Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. What sort of philosophical ideology is this? You might as well have put ‘Whoever has the strongest fist dictates the truth’.

He left his random reward untouched. Without reaching a certain amount, he did not wish to draw them. Moreover, he did not have any problems that required the testing of his luck.

Following which, Han Xiao scrolled down the interface. By completing the Mission Rating with a high Mission Rating, he had produced a new Dungeon Crystal.

[Godora vs. DarkStar]!

The new Dungeon Crystal was the same as the previous [Six Nations and Germinal Organization]. It comprised all the main storyline battle episodes and condensed them to form the dungeon crystal. It would basically just be parts of the mission of [Godora’s Ally], sending out enemies to challenge the players. Weakened copies of Anur, Degulish, and a fixed number of DarkStar warriors and elite warriors would appear, along with the assault ships.

The number of copies present would almost be equivalent to the number of enemies in DarkStar that he had defeated.

However, the players now would only be abused if they used the dungeon crystal, so they would not be able to utilize it.

His gains this time were still good.

After sorting out his rewards, Han Xiao then looked toward his other notification prompts.

Unsurprisingly, this sensational ceremony had awarded him with new Legendary Points.

Not one, but two points!

_____________________

Galactic Legendary Point (Garton Star System): Destroyer of DarkStar—DarkStar was the nemesis of Godora, a terrorist organization that did whatever they liked. The two have clashed for many years, but you have managed to bring about an opportunity, rewriting the power structure. Because of your help, Godora managed to annihilate DarkStar. DarkStar has become part of history, and your legends will exclaim and astound everyone. The world will respect you, and those who are against you will fear you.

Galactic Legendary Point (Garton Star System): Godora’s Ally—You have made a huge contribution to Godora and have been conferred the highest honor, the Golden Gal Badge. Your achievements will be recorded in the history of Godora, remembered by all its people!

_____________________

“What an unexpected surprise.” Han Xiao rubbed his hands in glee.

Legendary Points were hard to obtain. He initially only had one point. To think that he got two points in one go, which, if converted, would give him a bonus of twenty-four percent when receiving rewards. The improvement was considerable, and this showed the potential benefit of obtaining Legendary Points.

‘Destroyer of DarkStar’ title naturally came from annihilating DarkStar, and ‘Godora’s Ally’ was obtained because of the Golden Gal Badge and the [Godora’s Ally] mission. They were divided into separate titles.

“After another few days of ‘fermentation’ in the media, my renown will skyrocket. The Black Star Army will see its reputation rise to a scarily high level. People will flock toward me, be it employers with or without money.”

Han Xiao was quite satisfied.

He had obtained explosive fame in the Garton Star System and could probably roam unhindered through this part of the galaxy.

His next goal would be to consolidate his reputation while expanding his mercenary group, allowing the players to officially start their mercenary careers.

“Since the ceremony has already ended, there’s no need to stay on the Godora mother star any longer. After a night’s rest, I’ll receive the fifty-one spaceships and take the players over to Planet Golden Gate, our first base.”

Han Xiao set down the plans in his mind.

…

At the edge of the Shattered Star Ring, on an unmanned, desolate planet, a spaceship was suspended in the air, collecting gaseous fuel from the planet. There were only two people on board, the DarkStar leader and Ember.

At that moment, in the cockpit where they were seated, the virtual screen in front of them had just finished broadcasting the celebration of Godora. Han Xiao’s award ceremony had also been taken in by the eyes of them both.

There was a deathly silence.

The expressions of the DarkStar leader and Ember were stiff as they finally understood why they had lost so miserably.

Chapter 590: Influence

“I did not lose to Godora; I lost to him…” The DarkStar leader had a complicated expression on his face.

Back when Black Star first entered his sights, he had still been a small-time mercenary. After Black Star killed Anur, only then did he take him seriously. He had never expected Black Star to rise like a rocket, making three Calamity Grade officers swallow a shameful failure. In the end, DarkStar had become a stepping stone for Black Star.

“Terrifying person…” The DarkStar leader did not feel angry but helpless.

Why did we mess with this guy at the start?

Ember was sulking.

A few years ago, when he first fought Black Star, he would never have thought Black Star would become the one to destroy DarkStar.

Black Star had almost become his nightmare.

Although he had taken Black Star’s potential much more seriously than his colleagues, it was too late. The DarkStar leader was about to take him away from Shattered Star Ring to find someone to rely on in another Star Field.

Ember believed in the leader’s judgment. Hence, even at this time, despite knowing that Black Star was the mastermind behind everything, they were not going to turn around and deal with him. Furthermore, troops that were after them were everywhere in the Garton Star System, so going back was basically giving themselves up.

Nonetheless, Ember was frustrated.

The DarkStar leader glanced at him and said indifferently, “Don’t think too much. A loss is a loss. Before we recover our forces, we have no ability to get revenge.”

“I know. The matter of the utmost importance now is to look for the person you said we could rely on.” Ember nodded solemnly and suppressed his anger and frustration deep within his heart. He knew that before they had the ability to, revenge was just an empty dream. He paused and asked, “Who is this person you’re talking about?”

“A Beyond Grade A, you will know by then.”

Joy appeared on Ember’s face. “You managed to find a Beyond Grade A? That’s amazing. This way, we won’t have to hold back because of Floating Dragon.”

The DarkStar leader glanced at Ember and suddenly asked, “Ember, what do you think the best future for hybrids is?”

“Best future? Overthrowing the reign of the purebloods and becoming the new Godora, of course,” Ember replied without hesitation.

The DarkStar leader expressed neither approval nor denial. “And what does it mean to have overthrown the reign of the pureblood? All the government officials becoming hybrids? Killing all purebloods? If we successfully control the government, the fixed bloodline society levels can’t be changed overnight. Even if the government is overthrown, the remaining Godora purebloods will request help from the ally civilizations. By then, there will both be exterior and interior problems. Even if we overthrow the reign of the purebloods, it might not last for long. Furthermore, the Colton Star Cluster’s Star Cluster Civilization will not approve of our legal position.”

Ember frowned. “Despite the obstacles, there will be a chance.”

“What if there’s a better way? Where the hybrids leave Godora, get away from the rule of the purebloods. We build a home belonging to the hybrids in another Star System, where everyone is a hybrid. There will not be the problem of bloodline anymore; we will rule ourselves, free of Godora’s label, becoming a new civilization, a new race.”

Thinking of that image, longing appeared in Ember’s eyes. He then shook his head—he had thought of this before.

“If we openly split from Godora, we will have nowhere to hide. Godora will attack us immediately. Furthermore, in order to create a new civilization, there are way too many difficulties: territory, diplomacy, manpower, production, population, and many more. Plus, the obstacle in the political aspect is too strong. The other Star System civilizations or even Star Cluster civilizations will not sit and watch us create a civilization without doing anything. We will have almost no support at all.”

“Yes, no civilization will support us, unless a higher power interferes.” The DarkStar leader stopped this conversation and changed the topic. “You pilot the spaceship; I have something important to deal with.”

The DarkStar leader then left the communicator, took out the hidden communicator, and sent a communication request.

The blurry image appeared once again.

“We will be able to leave Shattered Star Ring very soon. Everything is prepared.”

“Alright, we have introduced you to that person already. He’s very interested in your offering and is waiting for you.”

The DarkStar leader nodded and said, “One more thing, about Black Star… he’s an obstacle.”

“You don’t have to worry about Black Star. If needed, we will find someone to provide him with a mission at a price he cannot refuse.” The blurry shadow faintly smiled. “After all, he’s a mercenary. Being killed on a mission is the most common way for mercenaries to die.”

After a few more words, the DarkStar leader hung up the communication and returned to the cockpit.

The spaceship continued on its journey after harvesting fuel, heading toward outside of Shattered Star Ring, turning into a stream of light, and disappearing into the universe.

…

On Floating Dragon Island…

“Black Star is probably Floating Dragon’s strongest officer.”

“Ames really found a treasure.”

“Did you guys know that I once fought Black Star on Floating Dragon Island?”

“You were the one being beaten up, right?”

The Godoran ceremony had been broadcasted there too. The numerous scavengers and galactic pirates chatted at the dock.

At this time, a small gray metal spaceship slowly landed. On its body was a special mark—crossed arms on top of a cross, surrounded by a ring made up of different shapes.

Upon noticing this spaceship, the volume of these galactic pirates suddenly softened. Their faces turned horrified.

This mark represented another Beyond Grade A force in Shattered Star Ring—Bloodshed Land.

‘Tyrant’ Heber, a person who had achieved Beyond Grade A on the path of the Pugilist. He was known as ‘The Walking Fixed Star’, ‘The One Who Stepped into the Forbidden Zone of Life’.

Unlike Ames who was neutral, he was a VIP of a Star Cluster Civilization. The Bloodshed Land under his command was an enormous organization that ruled an area. Compared to the size of Floating Dragon, it was like the difference between an adult and an infant.

A group of people disembarked from the spaceship, led by a tall, muscular man wearing heavy plate armor without a helmet, showing his face with the features of the Demon race.

His skin was red. A pair of curved horns extended from his forehead, and half of one was missing. His pupils were white, and two dark black lines slashed across his face from his forehead all the way down to his jaw, giving off a strong feeling of hostility.

With every step he took, he left a shallow footstep on the ground behind him, showing the tremendous weight he carried with him.

“That’s one of the Bloodshed Land’s Eight Frontiersmen, a core officer, ‘Broken Horn’ Malekith.”

“Bloodshed Land’s men coming to Floating Dragon? Could these two Beyond Grade A Supers have some plan?”

The people on the dock held their breath and whispered. Malekith from Bloodshed Land told his subordinates to standby and ran toward the palace in the middle of Floating Dragon alone, disappearing from everyone’s sight.

Not long after, a stream of light suddenly rose from the palace, drawing a parabola in the sky over the entire city area extremely fast, and fell right near the dock.

Boom!

Like a meteor, a deep crater formed on the ground.

The galactic pirates around were startled and hastily looked over.

In between the dust created by the impact, Malekith climbed up from the deep crater and dusted off the soil from his body.

The Dragon Emperor had always been hostile toward Bloodshed Land’s people. When he met Ames, he was thrown out by her Force Field before he could say much. However, Malekith was unhurt despite what had happened.

“The invitation letter has been delivered, let’s go.”

With an indifferent face, Malekith ordered his subordinates to board the spaceship. The spaceship took off and disappeared into space.

…

On Planet Aquamarine, in the middle of the reconstruction after the disaster, the Sanctuary and the Six Nations were visited by uninvited guests.

Spaceship fleets landed on Planet Aquamarine one after another, these people were all from the financial groups operating in the Garton Star System.

After Bennett discussed with the Six Nations leader, they decided to use the base that Black Star had left on Planet Aquamarine as a landing spot to meet all visitors from space.

The personnel of the various financial groups gathered and conversed with Bennett and the Six Nations leader together.

“Why are all of you here?”

With the instructions that Han Xiao had left behind to communicate with visitors from outer space, Bennett and the Six Nations’ superiors were much calmer.

“Hi, government authorities of Planet Aquamarine, I’m the senior director of Lauren Financial Group…”

“I’m Shine Financial Group’s manager…”

The financial group personnel introduced themselves one after another, followed by their purpose.

“We hope to sign commercial partnership treaties with you, to invest in Planet Aquamarine. Simply put, we will pay the money to modify Planet Aquamarine for you in exchange for business licenses and permission to build businesses here.”

With the background of Floating Dragon in addition to the sensational Golden Gal Badge event recently, Planet Aquamarine became a hot target for many galactic financial groups. Not only were there commercial opportunities, but there was also a chance to get on the good side of Floating Dragon. The return was very valuable.

Hence, many financial groups decided to invest in Planet Aquamarine’s development.

Usually, advanced civilizations were not allowed to interfere with the developments of lower civilization. However, what would be considered ‘interference’ was very blurry. The investments from galactic financial groups hardly had anything to do with advanced civilizations. Furthermore, whether or not any advanced civilizations were behind this was even more difficult to clarify.

Also, this was Shattered Star Ring, the edge of the known universe, far from the authorities.

Bennett and the Six Nations superiors were overjoyed. What they dreamt of was indeed to become a galactic civilization from a surface civilization. Although the path they took was not exactly the same, it was an effective path.

All of this was brought about by Black Star. Having someone on the same planet doing so exceptionally well in the universe was a blessing for Planet Aquamarine.

Relying on Han Xiao was indeed proven to be better than relying on Godora.

After agreeing on the idea, the authorities of Planet Aquamarine discussed the partnership with the galactic financial groups for the very first time in history.

This planet was gradually taking steps toward the universe.

Planet Aquamarine’s galactic era had begun.

…

The day after the award ceremony, Han Xiao bade farewell to the Godoran superiors and the army commanders. He received fifty Violent Falcon battleships and a Fortress Grade flagship. The improved fleet carried all the members of the Black Star Army and left the Godora Mother Planet.

This was a remarkably profitable trip. With the size of their fleet, it was more than enough to even fight a small-scale galactic war.

After many days, Planet Golden Gate finally appeared in their sights.

“Finally, we’ve reached the headquarters.”

Inside the BlackLight Stealth cockpit, Han Xiao looked at the outline of Planet Golden Gate and smiled.

Chapter 591: Chapter Main Cities

After informing them of his identity, the attitude of the Planet Golden Gate guards became immensely respectful, and they were immediately allowed to proceed. With the Golden Gal Badge, he had a transcendent status in the eyes of the Godorans and could move almost unobstructed through the Garton Star System.

Countless players swarmed to the portholes, taking in the grand appearance of the Base No.1.

The Base No.1 that had taken a whole year to build resembled a castle coated in alloys. Han Xiao was deeply aware that this was an era where looks mattered, so he had made the exterior especially beautiful, full of technological impressions.

If not for the fact that it would result in him being judged by the players as narcissistic, he would even have liked to paint a portrait of himself on the castle walls.

The fleet successfully landed in Base No.1. During its construction, Han Xiao’s blueprint had reserved a huge section of space to serve as a hangar, which would be more than enough to accommodate sixty to seventy individual spaceships. Even the largest flagship level spaceship had a personalized hangar for it.

The air vents sounded as the ships were depressurized. The doors of the cabins slid open, and tens of thousands of players stepped into the hangar, curiously looking around. They were packed closely together, looking like a sea of bobbing heads.

At this point, Phillip’s voice sounded in the hangar area, cutting through the hubbub of noises as it was clearly transmitted into everybody’s ears.

“Welcome to Base No.1, hum… I would like to ask the new mercenaries to open their communicators and manually accept the verification procedures, hum…”

As he spoke, the communicators of the players suddenly rang all at once.

Frenzied Sword took his out, only to see that there had been new programs added to the communicator. After opening it, he found out that it was the mercenaries identity verification program for the Black Star Army. There were additional functions, such as searching for a particular area of the base, database query information, and so on…

Basically, it was a guide meant to simulate an AI in certain ways.

This was a sub-program made by Han Xiao for Phillip. The players would be able to find out about their own tasks and credits within the Black Star Army through this program. Since the players were also free mercenaries, there had to be a separate account for their accumulated credit, so it would be convenient for management and overall planning. This would also make it convenient for players to check their current accomplishments.

To enhance the sense of accomplishment within the players, there was a need to allow them to see that each task they completed would be reflected real-time in the records of the Black Star Army. There would be no underhanded moves, and everything was transparent and open.

Because the players obtained rewards through the [Operation Hodellas – War Employment] mission, they had all bought their own communicators during their trip to the Godoran mother planet.

Because the market price for such communicators was dirt cheap, there was no way for Han Xiao to earn by being the middleman, so he did not even bother to dabble in this business.

Base No.1 had been built after Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, King Admiral, and the rest left during the patch from Version 1.0 to 2.0, so they only received the subprogram at this point.

“So, this is the base of our Black Star Army. Pretty cool!”

“Strange, in the last version of your video, there wasn’t such a huge base!” Someone stared at Bun-Hit-Dog, causing the latter to quickly cover his face and leave.

“Heh, it must be the change in timeline along with the update in the version. It’s not the first time this type of thing has happened.”

Including Frenzied Sword and the others, this was the first time any player had ever set foot on Base No.1—they were all excited.

The purpose of Base No.1 was to allow the players to treat this place as their Main City. With this faction camp, people would feel that their faction had influence and was reliable, generating a higher sense of belonging.

With the subprogram present, Han Xiao did not need to explain things personally any longer. He did not bother managing the players, allowing them to move about as they wished.

Once upon a time, these players’ main city had been on Planet Aquamarine. However, they had now shifted to Base No.1, and thus, they needed to be familiar with the current main city to dispel their confusion.

…

Back in his room, Han Xiao took some time off to clear his backlog of work, such as the applications for free mercenaries to join his group, as well as some new employment invitations.

After the ceremony where he showed his face, the amount of business cases showed an exponential surge. There were even cases that invited him, a mercenary, to be their endorser for an advertisement. They had to be crazy!

However, upon closer inspection, he realized that the other party was an arms company. That made more sense.

By recruiting the tens of thousands of players, following word of mouth and his spike in popularity, Han Xiao thus decided to recruit as many free mercenaries as possible. Although the players were good, they had a restriction—the version updates. As such, he had to plan ahead.

To use players to expand his Black Star Army, improve word of mouth to attract more free mercenaries. This also worked as a chain of interest.

The backlog of employment tasks was endless. Phillip sorted them according to the difficulty, and the entire layout became clear at a glance.

The majority of the employment tasks would be provided to the players themselves. Only a few high-paid, difficult, or high-levelled tasks would require his officers or even himself to be involved.

Due to the mercenary model of borrowing chickens to obtain eggs, the players would be sent to different places throughout the galaxy to carry out their missions, which would allow them to explore the area. The place where each mission was to be completed would have their own events and plots, which could make up for the lack of knowledge the Black Star Army had, as well as giving the player some additional benefits.

Furthermore, the players had just entered the interstellar region not too long ago and required a stable flow of activities to allow them to familiarize themselves with the environment, as well as a storyline that could guide their actions.

To this end, areas with rich NPC resources such as Planet Sunil would have most of the functions that the players need, including a storyline.

If the players were seen as seeds, then the NPC resource areas would be the soil with fertilizer.

Planet Sunil was the first pilot test that Han Xiao had prepared for the players, and it was also time to complete his promise to Herlous.

Han Xiao looked deep in thought.

“From now on, the plan will enter a new chapter.”

…

“Black Star, were you looking for me?”

Herlous pushed open the door before entering the room.

Compared to the past him when he had just followed Han Xiao to be a mercenary, Herlous’ aura had become calmer and more stable. As a mercenary, they had no shortage of opportunities to fight, and Herlous’ strength was slowly increasing with each battle.

“Herlous, I promised that I would bring tens of thousands of Supers to solve the problem of the Sunils’ once and for all.” Han Xiao paused and smiled. “In the name of the Black Star Army, I’ll loan 200,000 mercenaries to you with the most basic remuneration. During this mission, they can be dispatched to Sunil.”

Herlous paused in shock before his face showed unbridled joy.

This was why he had followed Black Star and was also the reason he had believed in Black Star’s promise. The day had come!

At this moment, he was extremely touched and would gladly pull out the knife for Han Xiao.

As for what he would pull the knife out for, even he had no idea.

Reluctantly holding back his excitement, Herlous spoke quickly. “I’ll inform my people immediately, allowing them to issue a formal invitation to hire the Black Star Army.”

“Sure, but I have an additional condition.” Han Xiao nodded.

“As long as it is within our capabilities, I’ll promise you.”

“It’s nothing too serious. I would just like to have permission to build an offshore base of Black Star Army on Planet Sunil.” Han Xiao smiled harmlessly.

Each NPC resource area was a great place to provide players with benefits. So long as there was a sub-base established in the location, it would be indirectly counted as the ‘territory’ of Black Star himself.

“No problem,” Herlous straightforwardly replied before pausing a while and adding on, “This is good for us as well. The upper echelons will not reject your idea.”

Because of the award given by Godora, Han Xiao’s face was akin to a golden signboard. He estimated that if he went out to buy fruits from a stall, he would probably obtain a five percent discount.

After sending away the excited Herlous who was getting irritating, Han Xiao opened his communicator and activated Phillip’s feedback interface.

All players who had installed the subprograms were immediately shown as red dots and displayed on his map in real time. With Han Xiao’s expertise being in Virtual Technology, this was just simply surveillance in disguise.

It was not that he could not be assured by having players around, but he did not wish for them to mess up themselves.

Inside the map, the players had spread to every corner of Base No.1, with the majority being clustered in the store area.

Seeing the situation, the corners of Han Xiao’s mouth curled up, showing a pleased smile.

“The old inventory finally has a pathway to go.”

…

Base No.1 was divided into many different areas, with the store area sector allowing players to obtain products from the existing inventory. After paying the required amount, Phillip would draw out the respective item from the warehouse. This whole process was automated.

At this moment, there was a long line of players lining up in front of the stores.

Because the production of the assembly line had never stopped, it had resulted in a huge stock of equipment and machinery being stored. The machinery had all been carefully selected by Han Xiao and was very suitable for players at this stage. It would be ideal for players to replace their current equipment.

For the players other than Frenzied Sword and company that did not have the NCO Class armor, they had an even greater demand for more advanced equipment. As long as there was a demand, there would be a market. If there was no demand, he just had to create some!

Set after set of equipment was quickly sold, and the fully stocked warehouse was just like a beautiful love scammer, slowly sucking dry the players’… wallets.

This turnover has caused the Enas in Han Xiao’s inventory to raise at a staggering rate. One million Enas? A mere fraction!

Although the equipment was all assembly line products, their quality was not low at all. Furthermore, because the equipment required a higher level of technical skill, the base price could not be set too low. Hence, even if the players spent all their money, they simply did not have enough to replace all their current equipment.

This was especially so for the expensive full body armor, which gnawed on the stomachs of the players like parasites.

The moment the players lacked money, the first thing that would come to their mind would be to complete more tasks!

For this, the subprogram of Phillip showcased a dazzling list of acceptable employment tasks.

Most of those missions had considerable rewards. According to the procedures set by Han Xiao, Phillip explained that this was a benefit brought by the reputation and connections of the Black Star Army. Only mercenaries who had joined the Black Star Army could enjoy such a good employment task. If it was a free mercenary, they would probably have to risk their life for a meagre reward.

The reason Han Xiao had requested that Phillip emphasize this was to ingrain in the players the benefits they could enjoy by being in the Black Star Army. Furthermore, being a growing faction, helping the Black Star Army in its missions would make it such that both parties benefitted.

“The rewards are plenty!”

“The best missions will definitely have a lot of people fighting over it. However, the failure compensation is also equally high.”

The majority of players discovered the benefits of being a mercenary.

The most obvious thing was that the reward for these interstellar missions far exceeded that of the missions on Planet Aquamarine. Furthermore, they were now free to choose their missions and had great freedom in completing them, which made those players who were frustrated over triggering mission enjoy this new process.

Each employment mission could have multiple people participating, although the maximum number would vary. Players that wished to accept a mission would first have to submit an application through the subprogram, and then Phillip would operate to access their qualifications. If the player met the requirements, the application would be approved. Only then could the player be officially counted in the mission.

Because the requirements also included the difficulty of the employment missions, the difficult missions would definitely be more rewarding. Many players wanted to grab the high-paying employment missions, but all their applications were rejected.

Phillip explained all this to the players.

Han Xiao had set up a faction level system, to provide players with a way to advance within the system. With the base level as 1-Star, the higher one’s level, the higher one’s authority and standing. That personal level was also used as an application standard for employment missions, which served as a gauge to the difficulty they could handle. Players had to first complete enough low-difficulty tasks to raise their credibility points in order to be eligible for the more difficult tasks.

This was to protect their reputation. Han Xiao knew the players too well—they loved to fool around. If every mission ended in failure, this would hurt the reputation of his faction, and all the glory obtained thus far would be lost. Thus, such a safeguard was needed.

In addition, Han Xiao also set up another system. Players could browse the employment list anywhere, but they had to return to the base to accept a mission.

The reasoning provided was that there was a need to verify the identity of the mercenary and to prevent theft of the communicator. In actual fact, it was to prevent players from staying outside for an extended period of time, ensuring that they returned to the main city and cultivated their feelings… as well as to spend money.

If they did not come back, how could he earn money from them?

On the other side, the players whom had originally followed Black Star into space had mixed feelings.

“The way to accept missions has been changed…”

In Version 1.0, they had followed Han Xiao to perform various missions. However, they had now been given the right to freely choose the missions. The most intuitive feeling was that their faction’s strength was becoming stronger and stronger.

At this moment, a new employment notice was placed on the subprogram’s employment list.

_____________________

Sunil Rescue Operation: Large Scale Employment Mission

Mission Introduction: Planet Sunil is plagued by catastrophes. With the suggestion of the Black Star Army Officer Herlous, Black Star has decided to issue a designated employment to the Black Star Army, recruiting a large number of mercenaries to solve their disasters once and for all.

Mission Requirements: Proceed to Planet Sunil to solve the source of the disaster.

Number of recruits: 200,000

Remark: This is a large-scale mission. Completion of this task will raise the reputation of the Black Star Army. There will be increased benefits as well as a new base.

_____________________

“Wah, 200,000‽ That’s almost half of our total numbers!”

“This must be a big event.”

“Sunil? Catastrophe? Isn’t that the storyline that Bun-Hit-Dog posted on his channel? Turns out, there’s actually still a continuation.”

The majority of players immediately felt curiosity.

The remuneration was not high. After all, the lives of the Sunils were not well off. They could not help but wish that every Ena they had could be split into five. Han Xiao had given them a preferential price, and thus, the other party was able to afford it. However, due to the fact that it was a large-scale employment, the experience reward was still sufficient.

The large-scale employment of 200,000 players was undoubtedly a main storyline in the eyes of the players. Many of them wanted in on the ‘fun’, so gathering the required amount was not difficult at all.

Among the hundreds of thousands of players, those who were casual players numbered higher. Compared to the professional players or players belonging to large guilds, the adaptability of the casual players was weaker.

The interstellar map was extremely broad, and upon seeing the large number of tasks as well as the high degree of freedom, the casual players were thrown into confusion, not knowing what was good.

The employment task of the Sunils served as a way to ‘guide’ these players.

Not sure what missions to take? Just follow the crowd and take up this large-scale employment. As long as there was a crowd, there would not be any problems.

Just in case, to ensure that the mission could attract a significant number of players, Han Xiao also increased the faction favorability reward, and modified the mission description to emphasize it as a task that could help the faction to grow. This served as a form of motivation for the players.

However, Han Xiao could be said to have been overly worried this time. Being awarded the medal from Godora had resulted in him getting sensationalized on the forum. The players realized that Han Xiao was already a famed person shining within the universe.

The players could be said to have watched Han Xiao grow along the way and had a sense of gratification to fight for the Black Star Army.

While the reward was not high, many of the players would not mind participating in missions that would allow the Black Star Army to grow.

After so many years of his actions, Han Xiao had gradually imprinted himself on the players’ hearts.

Chapter 592: The Investment from Noriosse

On the forums, many of the players were sharing their own views. The Planet Aquamarine sector became the most happening region, and many players from the other novice planets also came over to take a look from time to time.

Some players posted about the different strange looking species of the universe and others the magnificent scenery. There were even some who posted their selfies with the various NPCs… mainly Aroshia, Feidin, and Sylvia.

Since Han Xiao made a promise to Risda, he sent the scenes of Aroshia’s memories to all the players and gave them a new mission. It would naturally be more efficient to mobilize all the players to search together.

Bun-Hit-Dog and Galaxy Times closely followed the trend and released a new series. The content of the series was the first beginner planet entering the galaxy. The series introduced the Black Star Army, the various facilities of Base No.1, and the award ceremony of Black Star.

Han Xiao, who was already a famous NPC among the players, once again had his fame boosted.

There was another hot thread at the moment, which was about Planet Aquamarine’s changes.

There were still tens of thousands of players trying to pass the test in Base No. 2, and they personally witnessed how the galactic financial groups aided Planet Aquamarine in its development, opening up many new opportunities in the process.

Han Xiao found out from the thread that Planet Aquamarine experienced a huge breakthrough in technology through the aid of the galactic financial groups with many new buildings shooting up from the ground. Planet Aquamarine was rapidly stepping into the galactic era.

Han Xiao was not too surprised by this outcome. When he invited the reporters to Planet Aquamarine back then, he had already expected such an occurrence.

However, the way the players felt about this phenomenon could be described with a single phrase.

A single person receiving enlightenment, the chickens and dogs rise to the heavens!

The players worked together to piece together Planet Aquamarine’s history, and the change that they were witnessing before their eyes could be said to be a result of Han Xiao’s actions alone.

Planet Aquamarine was able to develop so rapidly only because of Black Star’s influence in the galaxy.

Bringing benefits to the billions of inhabitants on Planet Aquamarine, this alone would make Black Star the hero of the planet.

Han Xiao’s charisma formed a strange sense of attraction between the players of Planet Aquamarine.

…

A few days later…

The players could be split into four general groups.

First, the ones who stayed in base and familiarize themselves with the new Main City. Finally, they would accept missions from the Black Star mercenaries.

Second, the indecisive ones who did not know what to do. They would end up remaining on the prosperous Planet Golden Gate, digging up missions from the planet.

Third, those who accept the various missions. They would follow Phillip’s instructions to go on a special Black Star Army galactic tour. They would go to the various Star Zones of the Garton Star System and sightsee while completing missions.

The last group would be the 200,000 players who accepted the Sunil rescue mission. They followed the Sunil Division led by Herlous and made their majestic appearance on Planet Sunil.

Because it was the first time that they had entered the galaxy, the majority of the players chose to act with caution.

Because they were not familiar with the galaxy, it was extremely likely for them to violate different laws. Thus, the missions that Han Xiao released were limited to the Garton Star System, and Phillip would design a program such that they would be reminded of the local laws from time to time to decrease the chances of the players violating the laws.

However, there would definitely be some players who just wanted to do as they wished. After all, the players did not like to be restricted, and some of their brains were like black holes.

Han Xiao understood the players ‘creativity’ too much and so was not too optimistic.

Han Xiao had already drafted an emergency procedure for the worst-case scenario. He was not obsessed with controlling the players, but punishment was a must.

Of course, he was still in the honeymoon phase, and everything was still going smoothly.

The majority of players were filled with curiosity and excitement. The moment they left Base No.1, they set off on their various missions and explored the different Star Zones.

A few months after the Mutation Disaster and DarkStar incident, the Black Star Army officially began their operations.

Han Xiao gave Phillip’s child program the function to purchase equipment. Players who were away from the base could view the products in the faction store and compare prices immediately. They could even make a pre-payment and collect the goods when they returned to the base.

On top of that, the players could also choose to pay an additional fee for the goods to be delivered to them with the price being calculated by distance. The goods would be accumulated before being sent in a large batch. Of course, one could spend even more money to purchase a personal delivery service, and the goods would be sent immediately.

This was another way for Han Xiao to make money. However, the players were still poor, and this service was still in the testing phase with the details being ironed out. Because of the vastness of the universe, the distribution business was extremely prosperous. With Han Xiao’s current reputation, it would not be difficult for him to find a couple of distribution companies to cooperate with. In fact, he could even build up his own distribution channel.

Building up a large mercenary group was like building a large corporation. Transport, delivery, reputation, manpower, assets, treatment, and many more other factors needed to be considered. The players were like a trump card for a cooperation that held great benefits within them, capable of being harvested over and over again for a never-ending stream of benefits. Thus, Han Xiao’s current job was to design the mercenary group around the players to ensure that he would be able to reap the largest benefits.

…

Herlous led the troops over to Sunil, and as a precautionary measure, Han Xiao placed an [Observer’s Mark] on Herlous. This was his third mark.

A while ago, Han Xiao had experimented with the talents of the Chaos Observer race. His vision could ignore physical distance with his vision locked within a certain range of his mark. He could see Aroshia stuffing herself without a concern in the world and Serbia the Fifth working hard. Furthermore, the individual being watched would not notice a thing, and this was truly a divine ability to spy on others.

Base No.1 had immediately become much more spacious. Apart from the players who stayed behind, the only officers left behind were Aroshia and Sylvia. The other officers had taken the mercenaries out to complete some missions of middle to high difficulty.

Han Xiao also stayed behind in the base.

With over 30,000,000 Enas in his account, Han Xiao began buying large amounts of raw materials without any hesitation.

Money was the main combat force of the Army Style. Now that Han Xiao was in the Calamity Grade, he could forge more powerful machines, and he was prepared to evolve the current machines that he had. Apart from restoring the previously damaged machines, he wanted to add some new troops.

Han Xiao was prepared to go into seclusion to build up his army. Since he had plenty of motivated troops under his charge, he would have more time to do other things.

Since Ames did not rush him, he was not in a hurry to send Aurora and Hila to Floating Dragon Island.

“I still owe Noriosse 4,000,000 Enas. It has been less than two years since I borrowed the money from them, and the interest rate is only at ten percent. The interest rate will go up again at the two-year mark.”

Han Xiao still remembered this debt. Now that his funds were ample, Han Xiao decided to repay the debt while the interest was not too high.

He then contacted the leader of Noriosse, and the other party’s projection appeared before him.

“Black Star? Haha, it has been a long time since you last contacted me. Your fame has truly skyrocketed in recent times,” Rockfess said with an amiable smile and warm tone.

Compared to his attitude when Han Xiao wanted to borrow money, his current attitude was much better.

“I actually prefer to remain low profile.” Han Xiao coughed dryly before continuing. “I am contacting you to repay the 4,000,000 Enas I owe together with the interest for a total of 4,400,000.”

The law governing debts was extremely strict, and Han Xiao would definitely have to pay up eventually.

Rockfess suddenly changed topics and asked, “I wonder, are you willing to accept a sponsorship?”

Han Xiao had just transferred the money over, and his heart was bleeding inside. Upon hearing those words, Han Xiao’s brows shot up, and a playful look could be seen in his eyes.

A year ago, when he asked Rockfess for a sponsorship, Rockfess had rejected him and only promised him a loan. This time, Rockfess had actually taken the initiative to offer a sponsorship?

It seemed like his recent accomplishment had made Rockfess think that he was a worthy investment. Thus, Rockfess changed his mind and offered the sponsorship.

While Rockfess was an individual only motivated by benefits, Han Xiao did not think that it was anything strange and did not intend to be sarcastic. Everyone in the world only worked for benefits. He would only be able to draw investments if he displayed sufficient potential or strength. This was the ironclad law.

“Of course, I am extremely interested in this proposal.” Han Xiao smiled.

Rockfess’ eyes lit up.

He originally had not been too sure if Han Xiao would agree. He had worried that with Black Star already developed, he would not need any external funds. However, he would find it a waste if he lost an investment channel with huge potential.

Since Black Star was willing to accept his sponsorship, it meant that his initial investment was reaping returns.

Rockfess pondered for a while before saying, “Sir Black Star, I have decided to sponsor the Black Star Army with another 5,200,000 Enas.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and asked, “What do you want in return?”

“Haha, this is only an initial investment, and I hope to form a long-term cooperation with the Black Star Army. Our Noriosse financial group will come up with funds to support the development of the Black Star Army, including but not limited to the welfare of mercenaries, transportation, expansion of operations, and the construction of bases. We can also borrow the name of the Black Star Army to start businesses in the Garton Star System or other Star Systems as well. When we require violence to solve our problems, we hope to receive the aid of the Black Star Army at the first possible moment…”

The conditions that Rockfess gave were common ones between financial groups and armed organizations.

Under normal circumstances, the Black Star Army was the Field Team of Floating Dragon, and it would be a better option to invest in Floating Dragon Island directly. However, Black Star himself had some influence and thus became another target for investment.

Han Xiao listened to the conditions patiently and concluded that the Noriosse financial group wanted to manage the backend logistics of the Black Star Army.

The reputation of the Noriosse financial group was extremely good, and they had plenty of different businesses all around.

This was the phase where Han Xiao needed to take care of the backend logistics of the Black Star Army, and it would save him a great deal of trouble with the aid of Noriosse. Most importantly, it would save him a lot of money. The amount of money needed to develop an armed organization was truly terrifying.

What a fat sheep… Han Xiao lamented in his heart

“Sounds good. Mister Rockfess, I am willing to sign an investment agreement.”

“Alright, I will get someone to prepare it and send it to you later.”

Rockfess was in a brilliant mood, and a bright smile could be seen on his face.

“If the scale of the Black Star Army grows in the future, our Noriosse financial group can even help you to operate a financial market and establish a Black Star brand to launch a credit voucher and public bond.”

“We can talk about this in the future…”

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

The so-called credit voucher was basically stocks. With the development of the economy, something like a credit voucher was not too surprising. Since a very long time ago, stocks and bonds had begun appearing in the universe, and many of the large financial groups had begun issuing credit vouchers. Because of the sheer size of the universe, different regions of the universe would have their own stock markets. Usually, each Star System would form a unit, and the Garton Star System had its own financial market.

Players could also purchase these credit vouchers. In his previous life, there had been some players who had made big money from the financial market and also others who had lost big time. With the environment of the galaxy, the ferocity of the financial market could easily be imagined.

Han Xiao was extremely skilled in making money through credit vouchers. In his previous life, he had plenty of experience with buying low and selling high. As for how to suppress the price of another party’s credit vouchers… Hehe, he would never walk the orthodox path. Since he had already done plenty of bad deeds, another one would not hurt him.

Of course, the consequences of those actions were severe. Now that he had to take care of an organization, he naturally would not be taking the same path.

As for Rockfess’ suggestion of listing a mercenary group on the stock market, it was extremely rare. After all, the operations of a mercenary group were extremely unstable with deaths and injuries being extremely common.

After signing the contract, a ‘ding’ sound could be heard on the communicator, and the figure on his bank account shot up by 5,200,000 Enas.

“The road ahead is very long. I hope we have a pleasant cooperation.” Rockfess stretched his arm out with a bright smile.

Han Xiao also stretched his arm out to shake Rockfess’ holographic hand.

“I hope we have a pleasant cooperation.”

Chapter 593: Sudden Emergency

As Han Xiao was undergoing a trade with Rockfess, dozens of spaceships carrying 200,000 mercenaries sailed toward Planet Sunil.

The star map in the cockpit flickered. As it showed Planet Sunil nearing them, Herlous’ mood grew all the more excited. The same rang true for the other Sunil mercenaries.

They themselves were too aware of their civilization’s plight. Because of the catastrophe, the casualty rate of their young and middle aged had always remained high, and their partners lived in constant danger. Now, they finally had a ray of hope to solving this problem!

This group of warriors who would sacrifice their lives for their civilization were all extremely touched, grateful to Han Xiao to the point of wanting to cry.

“The day has finally arrived.”

Herlous took a deep breath, regaining a calm mood.

Outside the porthole, Planet Sunil seemed to be beckoning them, and the fleet landed quickly on it, as though both sides had collided with each other.

The main city of Planet Sunil was still Forest City, and all the upper echelons there had long received the news, rushing out to welcome them. From all around, army troops wearing the Sunil armor stood in their formations in welcome, filling a huge patch of open space.

As the spaceships landed one after another, and the players stepped out, they saw the armored troops at a glance. The sunlight reflected off the steel from the Sunil armor, exuding an aura of silence and slaughter.

“We thank the Black Star Army for reaching out to aid us. Welcome, I am…”

One of the upper echelons of the Sunils stepped forward, preparing to give a speech, but before he could finish half of it, he saw the 200,000 mercenaries scatter. The majority of the players ran over to the aggressive armored soldiers with dumb expressions.

“Oh, this is Sunil. Indeed, the same as in the video channels!”

“Come brothers, let’s take a group photo!”

Having arrived on the new planet, the players immediately started to party.

“This…”

The upper echelon of the Sunil felt his face twitch incessantly, but he did not know what to do. Turning over, he saw Herlous walk out of the spaceship. He regained his composure, rushing forward respectfully.

“It’s all thanks to you, or else we would not have been able to hire the Black Star Army.” The superior of the Sunils had an expression of gratitude.

“You should thank Black Star actually. If it wasn’t for the fact that he asked me to follow him, Sunil would not have had this opportunity.”

Herlous had a solemn expression. In this regard, he felt that he had taken too much of an advantage, and he should not claim credit for this matter.

Right now, Black Star had already been promoted to a Calamity Grade Super, with no shortage of Grade B Supers under him. Instead of saying that he was selling his life for the Black Star Army in exchange for them helping him, it was more accurate to say that it was Black Star that offered his help voluntarily to the Sunils!

After the incident with DarkStar, Herlous had gained a deeper understanding of Han Xiao. To go head on against a terrifying interstellar terrorist organization just for his hometown, this courage was simply too great. Black Star was a righteous partner, with a good character and a nice personality, and his wanting to help Sunil was also purely because he wished to save them, without asking for benefits.

The favorability of Herlous toward Han Xiao had long exploded through the roof, to the point that he would sacrifice his life if asked to or use himself as a shield if needed.

Hearing this, the Sunil superior solemnly nodded. They really owed too much to Black Star. The other party had allowed the Sunil mercenaries to accept better employment, reducing the casualties of their race, and now he had even sent a large number of people over to help, only charging a nominal fee in return.

What a good person!

After arranging the 200,000 ‘mercenaries’, the Sunil upper echelons spread the news of the Black Star Army coming to provide reinforcements to the entire race so that the countless Sunils would know that their opportunity had arrived.

Within the streets, countless people burst into tears as they lowered their heads in prayer.

The name ‘Black Star’ experienced a rapid increase in prestige in the area.

As Herlous took the Sunil mercenaries to walk down the street, accepting the gratitude of the civilians, he suddenly felt that the fire of hope in this city had been rekindled and felt a lot more hopeful in his heart.

Herlous had also witnessed the specialty of the players and believed that this catastrophe would be resolved sooner or later. However, therein lay a problem for him.

“When the problem of my race has been solved, where should I go?”

As though hit by a bullet in his heart, his body froze in confusion.

That’s right, my purpose of becoming a mercenary was to help the race fight on. Once our danger has passed, do I still need to be a mercenary?

Herlous’ footsteps slowed down as he entered a dilemma.

Thinking of how Black Star had provided him with help but he would leave right after his objective had been accomplished gave him a sort of feeling as though he was betraying Black Star’s trust. His conscience could not ignore this fact.

Then… do I continue staying with Black Star to repay his gratitude?

Upon thinking of his noisy babbling mercenary partners, thinking of the various unknown planets he had seen, the unique lifeforms, and Black Star’s ever reliable back facing them…

Herlous’ tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.

Other than his civilization, it seemed as though he had found another home.

“Heh, without the burdens of my race weighing me down, I can probably obtain a sizable sum and find a pretty lady to get married.”

Herlous felt the weight in his heart get removed and suddenly looked forward to the infinite possibilities in the future.

…

On the other side, the players had been warmly welcomed into the Forest City by the Sunils.

“I didn’t expect the name of the Black Star Army to be this good.”

The crowd of players murmured in surprise. After experiencing it personally, they only belatedly realized how much influence their faction possessed. The name of the Black Star Army seemed to be extremely prestigious.

The 200,000 players split up wandered around Forest City. Right now, the upper echelons of the Sunils were still working out a concrete strategy, so their mission had not yet officially started. At this time, no one would stop the players from moving around freely.

Many of the players utilized the same old method, attempting to trigger additional missions with the various Sunils or searching for equipment stores, skill mentors, general stores, and other functional locations. As a civilization, the Sunils of course had an NPC resource area, with most of the functions being able to serve the players.

Not long after, the players were mass recruited, with a whole list of missions to complete, including exploring the wild, collecting information on the beasts, clearing the beast colonies, regaining abandoned resource points as well as digging mineral veins. All sorts of work were available.

After accepting the various missions, the interfaces of the players would then display the respective tasks, which allowed the players to obtain more experience rewards from these sub-missions.

The popular missions were quickly swept clean, and the crowd’s favorite was naturally the mission of robbing resource areas. Because most of the resources were materials, one could get some during the process.

The resource area missions were basically divided among the guild players, but because Sunil wanted to completely resolve the catastrophe, there were many other missions to be completed as well. This ensured that all 200,000 mercenaries had some missions to attempt.

After accepting the missions, players also triggered a series of mission requirements for the faction. The objective was to help the Sunils resolve the catastrophe but had nothing to do with their employment task. Even if one was not a mercenary, they could still trigger this series of missions by helping the Sunils.

In fact, the mercenary mission received by the players back then was the real bonus, which was given as a benefit of the Black Star Army.

With the mission acting like a carrot dangling above the players’ heads, the 200,000 players could not wait to get started.

…

A couple of days later, countless robotic arms were busy assembling mechanical warriors in Base No.1’s workshop. Han Xiao had his head buried in front of a lathe, focusing on rebuilding his Mechanic Army. Suddenly, his communicator rang.

“Hmm? Who is it?”

Han Xiao put down the items in his hands, taking out his communicator. Lots of possibilities flashed through his mind, be it a mission from Ames or some tasks that the Noriosse Consortium required him to do. It could also be some players having botched their missions and having the employer calling to complain.

All sorts of thoughts flashed by, but after glancing at the communicator, he found out that it was an unknown caller, which left him surprised.

After establishing a connection, an unfamiliar figure appeared in his screen, and he questioned Han Xiao fiercely.

“Black Star, what have you done to my men‽”

“Your men?” Han Xiao replied.

“Befuli! Don’t tell me you forgot!” The other party’s tone was sinister.

Now where had he heard this name…

Han Xiao stroked his chin before belatedly realizing. Isn’t he that guy with the fiery golden eyes? Oh no, that guy with the Esper ability of shooting fire from his eyes.

That idiot had attempted to steal his spaceship and ended up being held captive, with his Esper ability being drawn every day, allowing him to obtain over 100 bottles of the Genetic Medicine. He was probably only left with skin and bones, a foot away from death.

That was to say… the other party should be the ‘Purple Snake’ Sykes, Befuli’s leader and the Captain of the Purple Snake Space Pirates.

“Turns out, it’s you.” Han Xiao raised his brows. “Your subordinate tried to steal my spaceship, and you still dare to look for me?”

“Where has Befuli gone? Have you killed him?”

“Oh, the answer to that would be… you guess?”

Sykes had a vicious expression on. “Black Star, hand over my people, and I can pretend that this incident never happened.”

“Urgh…” Han Xiao exaggeratedly exclaimed before saying, “Your subordinate attempted to steal my spaceship and was captured by me. Now, you want me to release the person and pretend that nothing ever happened? You don’t look too pretty, but your thinking is indeed worlds apart from your looks. I’m not sure if I should even thank you for this!”

“Humph, Black Star, you indeed talk as much as the rumors say. However, did you think that I would look for you if I was unprepared?”

Sykes revealed a cold smile, with an inexplicable tone of confidence.

I talk a lot? Which b*stard spread that rumor… no, that’s not the main point. Han Xiao regained his wits and immediately understood what Sykes was hinting at. A sense of helplessness spread across his face as he commented, “Who have you captured?”

The corners of Sykes’ mouths curled up, and he pressed a button. The screen revealed a jail cell with a group of people tied up together.

Taking a closer look, this bunch was probably the players, no doubt about that. It should be a group of players that were headed for another mission and were ambushed halfway by Sykes’ people. In that case, the other party definitely had people that had successfully infiltrated the Garton Star System.

“Black Star, hand over Befuli, or you can forget about seeing the mercenaries under you ever again.”

The screen disappeared, and Sykes reappeared on the screen.

“Oh, we can discuss this…” Han Xiao deeply sighed before saying, “How about you just kill all the hostages?”

“News regarding you is being spread all over the galaxy, do you treat me as a fool! You have tens of thousands of immortal warriors under your flag, completely unkillable! However, I believe there will be many organizations that wish to experiment on such immortals and will be willing to fork out the cash. So, you’d better listen to me. I’ll only give you five days to escort Befuli to the coordinates of a barren planet. If I do not see him, or if you play some tricks, my Space Pirates will specifically target your mercenaries and sell them to the other Star Clusters.”

Sykes’ tone carried some threat, immediately cutting off any possible thoughts of rebellion from Han Xiao.

“… Fine.” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

“Remember, five days’ time!”

After stressing that once more, Sykes immediately cut off the communication.

If it was not for the fact that his right-hand man had been captured, Sykes would not have antagonized Black Star. Luckily, he did not need to hand over the hostages in person. Sykes was not prepared to go in person, getting someone to go over to the Garton Star System to handle everything whilst he stayed in the Gavin Star System. After all, safety was paramount.

Han Xiao rubbed between his brows, looking helpless. The players were still not strong enough. To allow them to explore and complete missions, he had been expecting such a matter to occur, but he did not think that it would come this quickly.

To have the players be killed because of being unable to repay the ransom, this was considered their own personal encounter. He was no nanny, and by rights, he should not care about this kind of matter. However, Sykes was a Calamity Grade, and for him to target the Black Star Army was a hidden danger. It seemed as though he would have to move out this time.

“F*ck, I can’t even take a few god-damned days to rest! Right now, even the time taken to build my little cuties has been deprived!”

With an expression full of grievances, Han Xiao came to the cell where Befuli was being held at. Looking at the unconscious person, he threw an [Observer’s Mark] on him.

“Isn’t it good to be alive? I had almost forgotten about looking for trouble with you guys.”

…

In the Garton Star System, a spaceship that the Purple Snake Space Pirates had taken over was floating quietly in the Universe.

In the dim spaceship cell, a bunch of players were tied there with space pirates on guard at the door.

“President, it seems that we’ve been down on our luck recently.”

Poseidon, one of the core members of the Guild of Gods, turned his head to address Jupiter, who was beside him.

Recently? F*ck that, our luck has been bad the whole time. Who are you looking down upon right now? Jupiter had a dark expression, not even bothering to reply.

He had originally chosen a mission that was quite good and had prepared to bring his core members of the guild to complete the job. However, he had not even reached the place of employment when he was suddenly captured.

The universe was actually this dangerous?

The law and order there could not even be compared to Planet Aquamarine!

The vice president Shiva had an indifferent expression on. “It seems that we have encountered an emergency. Maybe it’s a hidden mission.”

“The last time we got into trouble, you said the same thing.” Poseidon was not polite in his rebuttal.

At this time, a guard outside bellowed, “Who allowed you to talk? Shut your mouths!”

Everyone only turned to look at him before ignoring him, continuing to chatter on.

The guard could only spit out a sigh of resignation. He wished that he could pull out his guns to shoot the hostages into smithereens, but his leader’s orders were to not kill even one of them. Killing them would be equivalent to setting them free. Since they were not afraid of death, what could they use to threaten them?

The guards were helpless and could only silently watch on as this group of people behaved more arrogantly than the pirates themselves.

Bang!

At this point, the spaceship suddenly shook, and screams of misery could be heard.

“What happened?”

The guarding pirate lost some color in his expression, hurriedly running over to check it out. However, upon turning his head, he found a majestic figure blocking his way, covering all the light from outside. The pirate’s height only reached the figure’s belly…

“I’m taking over this ship,” the figure stated indifferently, his voice like thunder.

Before waiting for the pirate to respond, a strong blow shot to his side, the speed too fast for him to avoid.

The burly tall figure slapped the guard out of the way, splattering him into meat paste on the side of the wall.

Jupiter and the rest stared at this figure.

With his back to the light, no one could see his looks. They could only see what seemed to be a pair of curved horns on his head, one of which was broken in half.

Chapter 594: Malekith’s Ambush! (1)

The exchange location was an uninhabited planet, and both parties would not meet each other. After putting Befuli down, Han Xiao left the planet. The space pirates would then fetch Befuli before releasing the mercenaries that they had caught. They would then contact Han Xiao to pick up the mercenaries.

Sykes had done so to be on the safe side. While honesty was not his strongest point as a space pirate and he frequently went back on his word, he was truly sincere this time. He only wished to get Befuli back and did not wish to provoke Black Star completely.

As long as he could get Befuli back, he would immediately pull back his forces in the Garton Star System and not provoke the Black Star Army again.

However, this was not what Han Xiao felt. It was truly wishful thinking if the other party thought that he would just forget about this matter.

Not too far away from the planet, the BlackLight Stealth was floating in space silently.

Through the window of the spaceship, Han Xiao monitored the planet silently.

He did not bring anyone along with him and moved out alone this time. Furthermore, he also brought the BlackLight Stealth out, which specialized in speed. His objective today was not only to exchange hostages.

Befuli had an [Observer’s Mark] placed on him and was no different from Han Xiao’s surveillance device. Han Xiao was planning to make use of his Chaos Observer innate talent to tail these space pirates and find Sykes’s nest.

He had never juiced a Calamity Grade Super before.

He needed to exchange hostages in order to make Sykes let his guard down. While the players were not afraid of threats, Han Xiao did not wish for anyone to ruin the first mission for the players.

“It’s about time…”

Han Xiao piloted his spaceship into the atmosphere of the planet and flew to the designated location.

As he approached the surface of the planet, Han Xiao was taken aback. The space pirates’ spaceship was still at the designated spot.

“Didn’t we agree not to meet? Why are they waiting for me here? Could it be that they want a face to face exchange instead?”

The doubt flashed past his mind, and Han Xiao parked his spaceship slightly further away. He then picked up the weak Befuli before disembarking from the spaceship.

Ta, ta…

Han Xiao stepped onto the brown sandy surface and kicked up a cloud of dust. The spaceship of the pirates was a few thousand meters away, and a couple of pirates were waving at him.

Han Xiao frowned.

“This feels strange. Risda, don’t turn the engine off. Take off immediately if anything happens.”

“Alright.” Risda took over the command of the spaceship.

Han Xiao took Befuli and approached the pirates’ spaceship. When he was near the spaceship, he looked at the few pirates and said in a deep voice, “I have brought the person you want. Where are my mercenaries?”

Since he was close enough to the pirates, Han Xiao immediately noticed something strange about all the pirates. They all seemed to be extremely afraid of something!

Before he could even make a move, something immediately went wrong!

Bang!

A large hole was suddenly made in the pirates’ spaceship, and a black figure shot out like a meteor. This figure appeared in front of Han Xiao the next instant, and his fists that were wrapped in a thick layer of metal smashed heavily on Han Xiao’s chest.

His frightening strength exploded forth from his fists.

Boom!

Han Xiao’s body flew back like a cannonball and smashed into a stone mountain more than a thousand meters away. His entire body became covered in the rubble of shattered rocks with a huge dust cloud being formed.

The individual who had ambushed Han Xiao was standing in Han Xiao’s original location. He was clad in heavy metal armor and looked as though he was from the Demon Race. Of the two horns on his head, one had broken in half. He was one of the eight Vanguard Officials of the Bloodshed Land, broken horn Malekith.

The force generated from his attack had sent the space pirates flying as well.

A couple of weaker space pirates had fractured their bones and were currently groaning in pain. They hurriedly scurried away to avoid the battlefield.

Swoosh!

The pile of rubble shook slightly, and Han Xiao burst out of the rocks.

This damage… Grade A Super? Is Sykes here personally to kill me? He then looked at the notification on his interface and was surprised. It isn’t Sykes but Malekith? Who is this fellow? He doesn’t seem like a subordinate of Sykes, and this name seems a little familiar.

How strange. Why would someone who I have never seen before want to deal with me? Is he an assassin sent by someone to deal with me? That’s not right. A single person wouldn’t be enough to kill me…

Han Xiao looked at Malekith with his brows locked in deep thought.

Both of them looked at each other from afar without saying a single word.

“I can feel that my previous attack didn’t do much damage at all. The ‘Undying’ Black Star truly lives up to his name.”

Malekith was the first to speak.

Undying? Is this my new nickname? Han Xiao then narrowed his eyes and asked, “Who are you? Why did you attack me?”

“You will know when we are done fighting.” Malekith did not say another word, and his body burned with black Pugilist flames. He then took large strides forward and rammed into Han Xiao like a shooting star. The heavy armor on his body then sprang into action, and its structure suddenly seemed even more complicated as though it had entered combat mode.

Han Xiao cursed under his breath and activated his mechanical suit. The black Berserk Ape was equipped, and he received Malekith’s punch.

Han Xiao immediately felt a huge surge for force pushing him back. Han Xiao’s weight and strength could not be compared to Malekith’s, and he was immediately pushed back with his feet forming two long ditches on the ground.

Hum!

Right at that moment, the figure of a Godoran appeared behind Han Xiao.

He activated the Nagakin Character Summon Card.

Muscle Is Truth!

Han Xiao could clearly feel the muscles in his body expanding and his entire body being filled with a never-ending supply of strength! His Strength attribute also shot up rapidly!

The instant Han Xiao stopped getting pushed back, he slammed his feet into the ground. The Berserk Ape mechanical suit suddenly revved up, and his waist and arms got into a throwing position. Both his hands grabbed Malekith’s fists, and by making use of the other party’s force, he did an overhead throw and threw Malekith in the opposite direction!

The instant Han Xiao released his grip, a loud sonic boom could be heard, and Malekith shot toward the sky at an extremely high speed. In just an instant, Malekith had already became a small little dot on the horizon, crashing into a mountain not too far away.

This was a skill that came along with the mechanical suit: Berserk Throw!

Han Xiao glanced at the other party’s information only to be greeted with a bunch of question marks.

This meant that Malekith’s level far exceeded his.

Han Xiao was still clueless about why the other party would be at the meeting point to ambush him. However, since Malekith did not want to give an explanation, he could only fight Malekith first.

Han Xiao threw out all the useless thoughts in his head and entered a battle focus mode. He then threw out a dozen compressed orbs, and his fully repaired Oathkeepers appeared beside him. The Hovering Shield Shuttle floated behind him, and they glowed with a golden light.

Because this incident was an unexpected one, Han Xiao did not have enough time to completely repair his Mechanic Army. He also did not have the time to improve his current machines and was still using old equipment from the past. The only exception was this Berserk Ape suit.

However, this suit alone should be enough to deal with the battle.

The other party was a Calamity Grade Pugilist and did not seem to have any killing intent. Thus, Han Xiao could not be bothered to take out anymore machines as he would feel the heartache if they got destroyed.

Malekith wore a set of heavy armor, and his defense was extremely high. Furthermore, he had the bloodline of the Demon Race, and his recovery strength was extremely powerful.

In just a few short breaths, his injuries were recovered.

Malekith then dusted away the rocks and dust on him indifferently before charging forward again!

Chapter 595: Malekith’s Ambush! (2)

Bang bang bang!

Both of their figures clashed with each other over and over again like a dragon brawling with a snake. They exchange blows as they traversed the brown surface of the planet. Heavy blows landed on both of their bodies as powerful shock waves reverberated through the battlefield.

The shockwaves of the battle had destroyed the original surface of the planet, and craters could be seen all over the surface of the planet.

Malekith’s total level was extremely high and was extremely powerful. While a head-on brawl was not Han Xiao’s strength, thankfully, he had the Berserk Throw skill to throw Malekith around like a ball and break his Pugilist combos.

Han Xiao could choose to transform into the shuttle mode and escape from there at any time. However, he was extremely interested in Malekith’s origins and so decided to have a good fight with him. In any case, the BlackLight Stealth was already hovering up in the sky, and Han Xiao could escape whenever.

Han Xiao then activated the nano transformation ability of the Berserk Ape mechanical suit and transformed into the [Giant Ape Form]. The mechanical suit then expanded rapidly, and various components seemed to have appeared out of nowhere to form thick layers on top of the existing suit. Han Xiao rapidly grew until he was a mini giant that was a head taller than Malekith. His Strength attribute skyrocketed once more, and the strength of [Berserk Throw] was increased.

Both parties were Calamity Grade Supers who had powerful defense and recovery. As such, the battle was stuck in a stalemate.

After battling Han Xiao for a long while, Malekith’s eyes lit up, and he said with great excitement, “You are even stronger than in the rumors. I am going to get serious now. Please don’t die so easily.”

Malekith was a battle maniac, and the pleasure from finding a partner to have a refreshing battle was even greater than mating.

The next moment, Malekith began chanting a demonic incantation, and the flames on his body burned even brighter and greater. His eyes seemed to be burning with flames, and a dark red flame burst forth from the gaps of his armor. His aura was elevated a notch, and the temperature of the surroundings rose rapidly with the atmosphere being contorted by the heat.

“Talent of the Demon Race, high grade True Liberation!” Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. When they were in such a state, the combat strength of the Demon Race would increase greatly. With Malekith’s Calamity Grade strength, the increase to his strength was frightening.

Bang!

Han Xiao could see the ground beneath him passing by rapidly, and he was sent flying despite being in the Giant Ape Form. The next second, Malekith narrowed the gap between the both of them in an instant, and the dark purple flames surrounding Malekith lashed out like a blade toward Han Xiao’s neck.

If Han Xiao was struck by that blow, his cervical vertebra would probably fracture and his entire body paralyzed. He would need half a second to recover from the blow, and this half a second would be sufficient for a Pugilist like Malekith to perform a simple combo.

Han Xiao deactivated the Giant Ape Form, and his entire body shrank down. The attack brushed past the top of his helmet with only millimeters to spare.

With his attack missing, Malekith locked his fingers together and was about to hammer Han Xiao toward the ground.

At this moment, Han Xiao’s helmet suddenly opened up, and two flaming whirlpools could be seen in his eyes. The next instant, two balls of white flame shot out from his eyes toward Malekith.

Boom!

Malekith’s attack was interrupted again.

There were different kinds of demons within the Demon Race. When they unleashed their True Liberation talent, the difference between the different races would become obvious. For example, the demons that spat fire would be Fire Demons, and the demons that spat ice would be Ice Demons. Malekith was obviously a Fire Demon, and his fire resistance would be extremely high. Thus, Han Xiao’s attack was not able to deal much damage but was able to successfully push him back.

Han Xiao had loaded some Genetic Medicine into his mechanical suit, and he had injected himself with Befuli’s Genetic Medicine previously to use his one-off Character Summon Card.

With the small window that Han Xiao created for himself, he did not hesitate in the slightest and activated the Berserk Overload Form of his mechanical suit!

The nuclear reactor of his mechanical suit revved up at full power, and his speed, strength, and weapons all received an increase in attributes!

Han Xiao placed his arms together, and his nano weapons module was activated. His arm transformed into a large cannon barrel, and a brilliant beam of light shot toward Malekith.

Boom!

Malekith tanked the cannon fire and continued his charge, raising his hands to send out balls of Shockwave Blasts.

Explosions surrounded the two as both of them exchanged fire, with one of them advancing and the other retreating. Malekith’s speed rose rapidly after unleashing his True Liberation talent, and the distance between the two quickly closed up. Very soon, Malekith appeared before Han Xiao again.

His fist that was wrapped up in flames was aimed right at Han Xiao’s chest.

Hum!

Right at this instant, Han Xiao’s body exploded forth with a blinding electrical bolt, and his fists actually landed on Malekith’s face first like a bolt of lightning.

Boom!

His fists exploded in midair like a bolt of violent lightning.

The shockwave of the attack spread out from underneath Han Xiao’s feet in all directions and formed a crater that was a hundred meters in diameter!

As for Malekith, he was already a shooting star in the horizon that quickly disappeared from one’s sight.

[Power Detonation]!

If the attack was a close ranged one, said attack would gain 650 to 700 percent additional damage, power detonation damage, and sputtering damage. On top of that, it gained a sixty-five percent chance of critical damage as well as the ability to inflict status effects like knock up, knock back, suppression, and dizziness.

He did not only use this skill but also activated [Gene Liberation]. This was [Flaming Will] that had been strengthened by the Skill Level-up Card!

The accumulated strength of this attack was truly frightening!

Malekith was sent flying a dozen kilometers at the very least!

He would probably fly for a day in the sky before landing on the ground!

“Huu… huu…”

Han Xiao panted lightly. Hand to hand combat drained him of his stamina the most. His HP and Energy were still at a healthy level, but his stamina had been exhausted greatly.

Thankfully, the higher one’s stamina was, the faster the recovery rate.

“This fellow is truly powerful. He is much stronger than Degulish and Nagakin. I am afraid that my previous blow was only able to give him light injuries.”

Han Xiao wondered if he should continue the battle, and all of a sudden, he remembered Malekith’s origin.

“A core officer of the Bloodshed Land, one of the eight Vanguard Officials under Heber. He is the subordinate of a beyond Grade A Super‽”

Han Xiao immediately became wary. Why would the officer of another beyond Grade A Super fight him?

At that moment, a large trail of dust could be seen from the wilderness, and it was Malekith running back from afar. This time, he did not charge forward but stopped a few meters away from Han Xiao. He had already deactivated his True Liberation state, and there was a red fist mark on his face.

“Well done, Black Star. You are an opponent worthy of my full strength. I truly enjoyed our battle.” Malekith revealed a smile of admiration.

Even when in the True Liberation state, he was not able to suppress the opponent entirely and had even taken a small loss. Black Star was extremely powerful and even more powerful than people thought.

The objective of his visit had been met.

“I know your status already. Malekith, a member of the Bloodshed Land.” Han Xiao did not want to continue fighting and only wanted to know Malekith’s objective. “Why did you ambush me? Why would you appear here?”

“I am here specially for you.”

Black Star was one of the Dragon Emperor’s trusted aides, and the Black Star Army had become extremely famous recently. He had been instructed to observe Black Star and find a chance to test him.

When the Purple Snake Space Pirates abducted the mercenaries of the Black Star Army, the intelligence net of the Bloodshed Land had picked up this piece of news. Since Malekith was nearby, he had decided to snatch the spaceship of the pirates and wait for Black Star to find him. Then, he would be able to test Black Star’s strength without anyone disturbing them.

If he was sufficiently powerful…

“Floating Dragon would only bury a talent like you. You should have greater ambition. With your strength, it is sufficient for you to be equal to me and become the ninth Vanguard Official.” Malekith revealed his intentions and extended an olive branch. “So… are you willing to join the Bloodshed Land?

Chapter 596: Stalling and Luring

Surprised, Han Xiao sized up Malekith from head to toe.

“You’re here to poach?”

Han Xiao did not expect this at all. After all, he was an officer of Floating Dragon—regular forces would not be so reckless. Now, a core officer of Bloodshed Land had come to invite him and offered him a very high position as one of the Vanguard Officials as soon as he joined.

The Bloodshed Land and Floating Dragon were on different levels. Floating Dragon had always been supported by Ames’ reputation alone. However, not only was Tyrant Heber Beyond Grade A, he was also the most senior among the four Beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring. The Pugilist class trained one’s body and elevated one’s life, so his life span was very long. Hence, the one thing that was Floating Dragon’s biggest strength, Bloodshed Land had it too.

Furthermore, Bloodshed Land was an important ally of a Star Cluster civilization. They had rich resources, wide connections, and very strong military power. They had created many divisions in various Star Systems in another Star Cluster. Just from its size alone, it was already a giant in the Shattered Star Ring. Plus, unlike Floating Dragon, which was uncompetitive, they were still actively expanding.

For example, in the previous set of Wayne Cards’ Shattered Star Ring card set, there were three cards under the Floating Dragon Island camp: Force Card [Floating Dragon Island], Individual Card [‘Dragon Emperor’ Ames], and Mercenary Card [Black Star Mercenary Group]. As for Bloodshed Land, there were fourteen cards under their camp!

I’ve been attracting quite the attention lately and shown my abilities—that’s probably the reason I’m being noticed by stronger people.

Although things like this were rare, it was not unprecedented. Once Renown and Legendary Points reached a certain level, there was a chance for similar events to occur. All kinds of people would approach when one was famous.

The fact that Bloodshed Land had come to scout him proved that his position had gradually increased.

“I’m a little curious, aren’t you people afraid that this will anger Ames?” Han Xiao smirked.

Malekith gave a faint smile, showing his absolute confidence. “You think that his excellency Tyrant would be afraid of Ames? Plus, this isn’t the first time.”

Han Xiao immediately grew curious. “You people poached someone from Floating Dragon before? Is that person still alive?”

“Of course he’s alive, and his position now is very high.”

“Did Ames not act on it?”

“Hmm, you do know her very well. Indeed she did. Back then, she dragged Floating Dragon Island along and fought her way through to our headquarters. Then, His Excellency Tyrant struck.”

“How did it end up?” Han Xiao’s eyebrows raised.

Malekith smirked with great admiration and said, “The original Floating Dragon Island was double its size now.”

Ames had the lower hand…

This was a piece of secret information unknown to players in his previous life. It turned out that there was beef between Floating Dragon and Bloodshed Land. No wonder they had come to poach from Ames.

Wait a minute, if I reject the offer, will Bloodshed Land see me as an enemy?

Han Xiao became alert and asked in a serious tone, “Thank you for your invitation, but what if I refuse?”

Malekith wiped away his smile and stared at Han Xiao. His tone became assertive as he slowly said, “Reconsider it.”

The hundreds of thousands of immortals under Black Star had attracted the attention of Bloodshed Land, but Heber rejected slowly convincing them one after another, so their leader Han Xiao had become the target.

Malekith did not want to return empty-handed with the mission given by the Tyrant personally.

Now, this is threatening…

Han Xiao frowned and slowly measured the pros and cons.

If he turned to Bloodshed Land, he would face the fury of Floating Dragon. The connections that he had made because of Floating Dragon would all disappear, and the Black Star Army and Planet Aquamarine would all lose their privileges with Floating Dragon. To Ames, he was quite important. Once he betrayed her, she would be even more furious, and the consequences would be dire.

The pros… seemed quite high too. The risk was accompanied by profit. Bloodshed Land’s forces were much stronger than Floating Dragon’s. He could build even wider connections, and Bloodshed Land could provide even better support to Black Star Army with their resources, he would be able to regain all the losses he made. The only problem was, he might have to move to the Star Cluster that Bloodshed Land was in to expand and develop.

Since Heber dared invite me, if Ames’ revenge is successful, Heber will lose a lot of reputation. So, Heber will probably protect me at all costs…

After some consideration, Han Xiao said, “I’ve thought about it.”

His brows loosened, and he smiled at Malekith.

“I decline.”

Although he had analyzed the pros and cons out of habit, it was nothing more than a habit. Han Xiao had never planned to leave Floating Dragon from the beginning, and he was not someone so easily convinced.

Ames had provided him with so much help, all favors, and their relationship had been slowly but surely building. If it switched to Heber, he would have to build a relationship with his boss once again. Furthermore, the title ‘Tyrant’ did not sound very friendly. Bloodshed Land had way more rules than Floating Dragon, so it was impossible for them to show tolerance as Ames did for him.

Most importantly… I’m the one and only leader of the Floating Dragon Field Team. It’d be crazy for me to go to your place and be your number nine!

Malekith’s smile completely vanished, and he glared at Han Xiao directly with a cold expression.

Han Xiao did not retreat and stared back while secretly prepared for combat.

The atmosphere became stiff.

Just as Han Xiao thought they were going to have a battle, Malekith suddenly snorted heavily and walked away.

Han Xiao loosened up and exhaled through his mouth.

It seemed like there was not going to be a fight. Black Star Army was going through a very important phase of its development, so it was best not to be on bad terms with Bloodshed Land.

This time, a spaceship with the marking of Bloodshed Land flew there from the sky. This was Malekith’s real ship, hidden on the other side of the planet.

Malekith walked up the stairs. Suddenly, he stopped the hatch that was about to close, looked at Han Xiao, and said with a deep voice, “Black Star, we will meet again very soon.”

Then, without concern about Han Xiao’s reaction, he let go of the hatch and let it close. Bloodshed Land’s spaceship quickly rose up and disappeared.

Meet again very soon… What does that mean? They’re going to find a chance to deal with me? Or does it mean something else?

“Never mind, Bloodshed Land’s territory isn’t in Colton Star Cluster anyway, so it’s very unlikely for them to come here for me. Since Floating Dragon and Bloodshed Land are peacefully coexisting, they definitely will not make big moves because of me.”

Han Xiao shook his head. After he thought it through, he was not worried about it anymore.

“Right, I’m here to hand over the hostage.” He suddenly remembered his original reason for being there.

After fighting with Malekith, he had almost forgotten the purpose of this trip.

Han Xiao went back to near the galactic pirate spaceship. Befuli was lying on the ground not moving, surrounded by a few lightly injured galactic pirates. They glanced at the BlackLight Stealth hovering above them. It looked like they were uncertain as to whether they should take Befuli away or not.

Upon hearing the footsteps, these galactic pirates turned around and saw Han Xiao walking toward them. They shivered as fear emerged in their eyes. Their bodies stiffened on the spot, and they did not dare move even an inch.

Initially, they did not have to meet, so their safety was ensured, but now that Han Xiao was right in front of them, they were afraid that would be the end of their lives. Furthermore, Befuli’s skeletal appearance horrified them. They did not know what torture Befuli had gone through for him to end up like that, but they were certain that they did not want to experience the same.

Han Xiao glanced at them and casually grabbed a galactic pirate. They walked up the pillaging ship. The galactic pirate pointed the way, shivering, and they soon arrived at the prison cell.

However, the cell was empty.

“Where are my people‽” demanded Han Xiao with a threatening tone as he pressed onto the galactic pirate’s scalp, tightening his fingers slowly.

“I—I don’t know… they disappeared one and a half days ago!”

Feeling like his head was going to explode, the galactic pirate quickly explained.

Disappeared? Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. Then it occurred to him. Damn it, these kids logged off! He let go of the galactic pirate.

They probably went to sleep.

“One and a half days ago, which means they’ll be coming online pretty soon. I could wait for a while…”

Han Xiao realized a problem, and he grabbed the galactic pirate’s head once again.

“The hostages are gone, but you still want to make the deal. Are you mocking me?”

The galactic pirate was on the verge of crying.

We were all controlled by that demon. How could we tell you?

This time, flashes of white light appeared in the cell. A few Guild of Gods players came online and saw Black Star immediately—they were overjoyed.

“Quick, tell the leader. The Hidden Storyline is finally here!”

Less than twenty seconds later, more white light flashed. Jupiter and the others came online at the same time. They were all thrilled to see Han Xiao.

“What?” The galactic pirate rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was not hallucinating.

Han Xiao opened the cell and took the others out of the spaceship, throwing the galactic pirate in his hands onto the ground.

“Contact Sykes, our deal remains.”

The shock on this galactic pirate’s face turned into surprise.

The hostages had been snatched away, and they were in Black Star’s hands. There was nothing to threaten him. Yet, Black Star still wanted to let them go and give them Befuli?

“Yo—You still want to carry out the deal?” A galactic pirate could not help but ask. It was hard to believe.

“What, do you not want to?” Han Xiao asked back.

“No no no, you misunderstood, let’s go according to the deal.” The galactic pirates hastily denied it. They were filled with the joy of escaping death.

A galactic pirate quickly contacted Sykes and explained the situation.

Sykes was stunned. He had never expected Bloodshed Land’s people to interfere, which completely came out of nowhere.

However, even though the deal was affected, Black Star surprisingly did not change his mind…

Were my threats effective?

Sykes could only think of this as the reason.

He suddenly felt much better about himself. Haha, I managed to threaten someone so renowned.

Without caring about the communication between the galactic pirates, Han Xiao took Jupiter and the others aside, had the BlackLight Stealth land, and opened the hatch.

“You guys go into the ship. Risda will take you to the nearest city planet.”

Jupiter’s eyes gleamed and passionately said, “We want to help you to fight the enemies. Please let us assist you.”

This was such a rare opportunity. He felt that he could definitely trigger the hidden mission.

Han Xiao saw right through Jupiter’s intentions. Speechless, he wrote a mission on the spot and gave it to these players.

_____________________

You have triggered Hidden Mission [Retreat]

Mission Introduction: You’ve been dragged into a storm, but you still can’t interfere with your current strength. What you need to do now is retreat from here as soon as possible.

Mission Requirements: Leave in the BlackLight Stealth

Reward: 350,000 Experience, +200 Black Star Army Favorability

_____________________

“Let’s go!” Jupiter turned around and walked into BlackLight Stealth without hesitation.

The Guild of Gods players followed and all boarded.

Poseidon gave Jupiter a thumbs up. “If we boarded the ship without saying anything, we wouldn’t have triggered this mission. Thank you, leader.”

Jupiter smiled smugly and pointed at his temple. “This is experience. Learn from it.”

Although this mission was quite different from what he had thought it would be, Jupiter felt that it was very likely a high level event after he read the mission introduction, but they did not meet the requirements to trigger it. Hence, it had become [Retreat]. Although it was quite a shame that was the case, they could only follow the mission. It was better than nothing, after all.

Han Xiao was still standing outside waiting for the galactic pirate’s reply.

After a while, a galactic pirate trotted over and cautiously said, “Your Excellency Black Star, if there’s nothing else, we will be taking Befuli away.”

“Go, don’t mess with me again. I won’t let you go next time.” Han Xiao waved and boarded his spaceship.

Only then did the galactic pirate breathe a sigh of relief. He quickly went back and notified his friends. They started up the pillage ship, hovering above the surface.

Just as the pillage ship was about to speed up and take off, behind the BlackLight Stealth hatch, gray light appeared in Han Xiao’s eyes. He activated his Racial Talent and turned into Chaos Body. His physical form was gone, and he turned into gray fog.

Advanced Void Travel!

Entering the Void Vision, time seemed to have stopped. Han Xiao controlled his Chaos Body and left the BlackLight Stealth. As the duration of [Advanced Void Travel] was longer, he had more than enough time to cross a large distance and go near the pillaging ship.

Void Travel allowed him to go through walls. His Chaos Body went directly through the pillaging ship hatch, then found a distant cabin to hide. He deactivated Void Travel, without triggering the alarm, without getting noticed by the galactic pirates.

Hu!

The next moment, the pillaging ship quickly rose into the sky and flew away.

Chapter 597: Behind Enemy Lines Alone

The BlackLight Stealth took Jupiter and the others to the nearest planet with a city.

Jupiter and the others walked around the interior of the spaceship curiously. This was Black Star’s personal spaceship, and it was extremely rare for players to board it.

Risda locked up the doors to a large portion of the spaceship, and the players were only able to explore some unimportant public regions.

“This spaceship must be extremely precious, right?” Poseidon muttered.

“I searched it before. This spaceship is the model of an advanced civilization.” Jupiter nodded in agreement.

Now that the players had their own communicators, they could connect to the galactic network, getting rid of their status as a backward aboriginals. All the various channels of information were finally opened to them, and their knowledge increased every day. Together with Phillip’s ability to search the web, they were able to search for any information they wished, and the players gradually grew used to searching for any questions they had.

“A spaceship is far too expensive. Who knows when we will be able to afford one?” Poseidon shook his head.

“Not necessarily. As long as we complete a few missions and raise some funds from the guild, it would be possible for us to buy a basic spaceship.”

Jupiter was the guild leader of a prestigious club and would always have some plans. The resources that he had control over were also something that an ordinary player would not be able to compare to. A spaceship that had a sky-high price in the player’s eyes was just about achievable as long as he gathered funds from the guild. After all, the guild of a club was essentially a company. All the core members of the guild were employees of the guild, and redistributing resources was an extremely simple affair.

He was considering the type of advantage having a spaceship earlier would bring him and whether it was worth the resources.

Right at that moment, a core member with the name of ‘Michael’ said, “Guild Master, we can actually buy a functional model instead. I previously checked the market for materials and fuel. Many large corporations are collecting these resources without any limit. While the prices are low, the profits are stable.”

Jupiter’s eyes lit up, and he said, “You mean we should buy a mining spaceship?”

“Yes, we should organize a mining expedition and mine for resources on an uninhabited planet. We can then sell these resources to earn a steady profit.”

“We wouldn’t be able to recover our costs too quickly at the start,” Michael added. “However, if we complete missions while mining for resources, we would be able to gather enough funds to purchase more mining spaceships. After a period of accumulation, our profits will increase and snowball. If we can form a whole fleet of mining spaceships, our profits will definitely increase exponentially.”

Jupiter was moved by this proposition. “So, the earlier we buy a mining spaceship the greater our profits?”

“That’s right.” Michael nodded. “Presently, everyone is focused on completing employment missions, and the benefits are plentiful. However, unions like Dynasty and King City, which are able to mobilize a large number of players, will be looking for other ways to make money as well. Time waits for no one.”

Apart from making money, their responsibility as the guild of a club was also to provide better logistical support for the professional players. Jupiter could not help but fall into deep thought.

Poseidon then looked at Michael and said, “Are you in cahoots with the members of the other guilds? Quickly exit the group chat to prove your innocence!”

“Scram to the side.” Michael showed his middle finger in response.

Poseidon then looked at the luxurious interior of the spaceship and said, “Wouldn’t we be able to make heaps of profit by snatching this spaceship? We should be able to leave Dynasty far behind in the dust.”

Everyone looked at him speechlessly.

“You are actually the spy, right?” Michael teased back in response.

“Tsk, a casual remark of mine has all of you so anxious.” Poseidon clicked his tongue in response.

…

Going from the pickup point to the Fawn Star System required one to go through a few stargates, and the journey was not a short one.

However, in order to get rid of Sykes, a hidden danger, Han Xiao decided to wait patiently.

The pirates’ spaceship was flying in space, and Han Xiao’s Chaos Body was stuck to the wall of the spaceship in a very concealed spot. This made Han Xiao realize that the talent of the Chaos Observer was extremely suitable for conducting such non-rigorous stealth operations. To him, any operation that did not end up with him silencing all eye witnesses was considered non-rigorous.

Because he was currently in his Chaos Body form, Han Xiao did not have anything to do. As such, he could only scroll through the forums every day and understand how the players were doing in their various missions through the posts. Because they had not entered the galaxy for a long time, the players were pretty obedient, and most of the missions went pretty smoothly. Everything was also going smoothly with the 200,000 mercenaries on Planet Sunil.

The situation made Han Xiao feel at ease.

Apart from looking through the forums, Han Xiao spent his time looking through the [Observer’s Mark]. He spied on Aroshia, Serbia the Fifth, and Herlous to pass the time.

After around ten days, the pirate ship finally left the Garton Star System and entered the Fawn Star System. Soon, they linked up together with the main troops.

The Purple Snake Space Pirates had more than forty battleships with the majority being small to medium sized pillaging ships. The flagship was a modified Crow Grade battleship, which was the main battleship model in the Fawn Star System. A space pirate fleet of such a scale was not one to be underestimated.

The spaceship flew into the fleet and met up with the flagship. A few space pirates supported the feeble Befuli through the walkway to the main hall of the flagship. Sykes was already waiting there with all his subordinates filling up the main hall. The other three Grade B Officers were standing beside him.

The moment Sykes saw the frail Befuli, he stood up abruptly and ran over with a questioning gaze.

“Befuli, how were you reduced to such a state?”

Befuli looked at Sykes with his lips trembling and tears in his eyes. He said in a choking tone, “Black Star is a demon!”

“What exactly did he do to you?” Sykes sized Befuli up from head to toe. In his memory, Befuli was a burly well-built man, but the Befuli before him looked like a rack of bones that would crumble at any moment.

Not just him, even the other space pirates looked over with disbelief in their eyes. They did not dare believe that this powerful comrade of theirs would be reduced to such a state.

Just what could have happened that would reduce a Grade B Super to such a state‽

The moment Befuli thought about his hell-like days, he could not help but reveal a face full of fear as he trembled.

“He… he locked me up in a dark cabin, and I don’t even know how long had passed since then. He used some equipment to extract my Super-Gene, and my recovery speed became slower and slower. Even now, I have only been able to recover a little bit…”

Those who had strength would fear losing it the most. Every time he recovered a bit of strength, it would be mercilessly taken away from him again. After experiencing this endless loop of hopelessness together with the fact that he was locked up in a dark chamber, he lost all sense of time and suffered a huge psychological blow.

Upon hearing that, Sykes could not help but tremble slightly and regret his decision of provoking Black Star.

He had never imagined that Black Star was not only powerful but a pervert as well!

Sykes had only taken the risk to threaten Black Star because of Befuli’s strength as a Grade B Super. However, Befuli was as good as crippled already and would need a long time to recover. Sykes only needed a useful Officer, not a crippled subordinate.

Even the other Officers who had friction with Befuli could not help but feel a sense of fear in their hearts when seeing Befuli in such a state.

“Black Star probably insisted on doing this exchange by making use of Befuli as an example to threaten us,” another Grade B space pirate said.

Sykes nodded heavily.

“What are we going to do now? Are we not going to take revenge for Befuli?” someone suddenly asked from within the crowd.

Sykes face immediately darkened. He naturally did not wish to provoke Black Star again, but he was truly put in a tight spot at the moment. If he said that he did not want to get revenge on Black Star, would it not make him lose his prestige and leadership abilities?

“I have my own plans.” Helpless, Sykes could only give a vague reply and attempt to change the topic.

Right at that moment, the same individual asked again, “What kind of plan? What exactly will we do?”

You again! Can’t you just shut up!

“Is this something that you have the right to ask?” Sykes expression was ugly as he looked in the direction of the voice. He wanted to see which subordinate of his dared talk back to him.

Seeing their boss flying into a rage, all the space pirates made way to reveal the individual who was talking. The gazes of all the pirates in the room were also drawn over to this individual.

Eh… he seems like a member of the Galaxy Human Race, wearing a black windbreaker, and his looks… eh? Why does he look so familiar?

Sykes glared at this individual with doubt in his eyes. The next moment, the doubt turned into shock, and he let out a loud roar.

“Black Star! What are you doing here‽”

All the space pirates in the surroundings jumped away as though they had seen a ghost, and the area around Han Xiao became empty.

The entire hall became silent and Han Xiao looked at Sykes. Stroking his chin, he said slowly, “You don’t need to be anxious. I am here to make a deal with you.”

“What deal?”

“I want you to pay the price of freedom in exchange for…” Han Xiao snickered. “Your life!”

Buzz! Pa!

Just as he finished his sentence, he equipped the Berserk Ape suit immediately and took out his High Energy Concentrated Particle Cannon. The blast from the cannon broke through from the interior of the spaceship and out into space.

The suction force from the vacuum came like a powerful gust, and the pirates in the spaceship were all sucked out by the frightening suction force and thrown into space. A portion of the weaker Supers froze up immediately with their blood vessels rupturing. The environment of space was fatal to some low-grade Supers.

Only Sykes and a couple of the more powerful pirates were able to stabilize their bodies and resist the suction force. Only those who were at Grade B were able to barely endure the treacherous space climate.

The mechanical suit had its own regulation mechanism, and space did not affect him in the slightest as he floated in space.

Sykes had a face full of fury as his mouth opened like he was roaring. However, the violent gust from air being sucked out of the spaceship completely drowned out his voice.

Without saying another word, Han Xiao sent his fist toward the alloy ground and activated the Power Detonation skill!

Boom!

The shockwave of his punch spread out in all directions with bolts of lightning accompanying it, shattering the alloy floor!

With the shockwave spreading, the destruction of the spaceship hastened, and hole enlarged even further.

Without solid ground beneath their feet, all the pirates apart from Sykes were sucked out. Only Sykes was able to send out a sticky, purplish substance toward the alloy wall to stabilize himself.

This sticky, purplish gel-like substance was Sykes’ Esper ability. This sticky gel was extremely poisonous and corrosive. It was also able to solidify in an instant to take the shape of various things. Furthermore, the purplish gel excreted could be stored for a very long time. Sykes could control the corrosiveness of this purplish gel, and this was where his title of ‘Purple Snake’ came from.

Despite Sykes being an Esper, he had his own armor as well. However, because he was not a Mechanic, the armor could not be compressed into a compressed orb. At this moment, his armor was in his personal storeroom.

While he hated Han Xiao to the core, he knew that the most urgent matter was for him to put on his armor. At the very least, he would be able to move around in space freely with it. He immediately made use of his purplish gel to scale the wall and sprint toward his personal store room.

Hu!

Han Xiao’s thrusters were activated, leaving behind two trials of fire as he rapidly approached Sykes.

Right at that moment, Sykes waved his arm, and a wave of purplish gel shot toward him. As it came into contact with the walls of the spaceship, thick purple smoke was released as the alloy walls melted.

This ability is interesting. Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and his arm transformed to reveal a pipe.

The inside of the spaceship had not become a vacuum yet, and air was sucked into his mechanical suit through the nanoparticles. The air that was sucked in was then channeled to the pipe, and a high-pressure air cannon was fired to scatter the wave of purplish gel.

The corrosive gel splattered everywhere, and the entire place became filled with smoke.

Han Xiao sped up further and caught onto one of Sykes’s arms.

Mechanical Force exploded from his entire body, and his thrusters started to shoot flames in the opposite direction. He then grabbed onto Sykes’ arm and got into a throwing posture.

Berserk Throw!

…

“Will the flagship please respond! Please respond! What is the current status?”

The ships of the Purple Snake Space Pirates surrounded the flagship in space.

A few seconds ago, they had all lost contact with the flagship and could not get a response no matter how hard they tried.

Just when the ships were about to board the flagship to check what had gone wrong, the exterior armor of the flagship suddenly exploded, leaving a large hole behind. All the junk items from within the flagship were sucked into space, and many of their comrades were included.

Before the other spaceships could react, a large hole was also created at the bottom of the spaceship over a thousand meters away from the main hall. Broken metal bits and a human figure were sent flying out of the hole. That human figure was their boss, Sykes!

Sykes had been sent flying through half the flagship with a single Berserk Throw from Han Xiao!

Chapter 598: Man vs. Fleet

It had all happened so quickly and so suddenly that the galactic pirates inside the pillaging ships around were stunned for a moment. When their boss Sykes were rolling in the vacuum space, only then did they realize that this was an attack.

“Quick! Help boss!”

“The enemy should be in the main ship. Surround it and don’t let him get away!”

As the galactic pirates yelled at each other, two pillaging ships closed in on Sykes, and the rest of the pillaging ships quickly formed a surrounding formation.

Through the porthole, Han Xiao saw the pillaging ships turn around and aim their cannons at him. Unworried, he smiled and contacted Phillip in his helmet.

“Phillip, assist me in virtual hacking.”

“Order confirmed. Switching to virtual sights, hum…”

The tactical screen inside the helmet showed the hacking interface with a complex data stream. Green beams of light shot out from the chest of the mechanical suit and formed a virtual control panel. Han Xiao quickly typed the code.

The first one that he was going to hack was the Purple Snake Space Pirates’ main ship that he was on.

_____________________

You have used [Virtual Intrusion] on Purple Snake Battleship.

Beginning to crack firewall (Level 2).

Undergoing level 1 authentication… Authentication passed!

Undergoing level 2 authentication… Authentication passed!

Intrusion successful! You have obtained the operational authority of Purple Snake!

Authority Level: Highest

Data has been sampled!

Backup generation complete!

+10% Success Rate, +25% Speed when hacking machinery controlled by the same artificial intelligence.

Your authority has been blocked by the other party’s artificial intelligence, undergoing authentication… Authentication successful!

You have successfully retained your privileges!

Time till next authentication: 140 seconds

_____________________

The artificial intelligence used by the galactic pirate spaceship was clearly way worse than DarkStar’s—their firewall was only level two. Han Xiao was already Calamity Grade, and his virtual hacking ability was also largely enhanced. Hacking a galactic pirate spaceship was a piece of cake, and he immediately obtained the highest authority level.

The higher the authority level obtained on the first intrusion, the lower the difficulty of hacking, and vice versa. This meant that the artificial intelligence of Purple Snake Space Pirates was no match at all.

The model of Purple Snake appeared on the control panel; all the modules were usable. Han Xiao clicked on the shield module.

“Activate shield with full power output.”

The next moment, an oval-shaped light blue electromagnetic shield shrouded the entire spaceship.

Dong! Dong!

Outside the porthole, the tens of pillaging ships started firing immediately after seeing the shield activated. Cannons exploded on the shield nonstop, and the inside of the spaceship was trembling.

“The shield can last a few minutes, so there’s more than enough time.”

Without any worry or panic, Han Xiao started to hack the other targets.

He did not throw Sykes out just because he wanted to but to obtain control of this main ship and defend against the focus fire from the galactic pirates.

Sykes was one of the weaker ones in the Calamity Grade, so Han Xiao had a very high chance of winning if it was a duel. However, this was not a duel.

He was facing an entire galactic pirate fleet!

Han Xiao’s initial plan was to snatch an advantageous location and make use of his ability as a Virtual Mechanic!

Not far away, Sykes was still floating in space. Although he could move by using energy, he was not a Pugilist, and his Esper ability did not enhance his movement speed.

As soon as he turned, he saw two pillaging ships piloted by his subordinates approaching that were clearly there to fetch him. Sykes’ eyes gleamed, he used his energy and approached them.

Only at this moment did Sykes have the time to think of what to do next.

He initially did not want to become Han Xiao’s foe, but now that Han Xiao had approached him, this could no longer be resolved peacefully. They were enemies!

Sykes was boiling, clenching his teeth. The fact that Han Xiao had come alone made him feel like Han Xiao did not take Purple Snake Space Pirates seriously at all.

Since that was the case, he would get rid of Black Star immediately without caring about anything else!

Murderous intent appeared in Sykes’s mind.

The two pillaging ships finally drew close, so Sykes stopped his train of thought and prepared to wait for his subordinates to open the hatch for him.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened!

The two pillaging ships fired light cannons one after another, toward Sykes. His vision instantly became filled with white as a sense of burning quickly approached.

Sykes’s expression changed drastically!

Inside the under fire Purple Snake, two more virtual models of pillaging ships appeared on Han Xiao’s control panel. He had noticed the spaceships heading toward Sykes long ago, so he had first obtained authority over them. He did not want Sykes to end up in another ship.

His fingers danced on the control panel so quickly they left blurry silhouettes behind—his typing speed was astounding, and the artificial intelligence of the pillaging ship was no match. The pillaging ships became Han Xiao’s one after another. Fewer and fewer attacks were aimed at the main ship. Instead, the pillaging ships controlled by Han Xiao started firing at the other galactic pirates. The galactic pirates were in a panic.

A Calamity Grade Virtual Mechanic could easily deal with an entire galactic pirate fleet alone!

This was especially so in the late stages of the Mechanic class, when at this level, their combat capability was extraordinary, able to adapt to both duels and team fights.

The situation changed completely. A few people realized that things were going south and immediately escaped with their ships. There was no such word as ‘loyalty’ in the galactic pirates’ dictionary.

The battle lasted more than ten minutes. The cannon fire gradually lessened. Other than the spaceships that escaped or were destroyed, all the other spaceships were now controlled by Han Xiao.

Han Xiao walked through the captured ships one by one and carried out the remaining work—dealing with the galactic pirates inside. Some stronger ones were not killed, including the Grade B officers of the galactic pirate group. They were all tied and thrown into the Purple Snake. As for the hole in the ship, it had already been repaired by maintenance robots.

Capturing Sykes was not much trouble—Han Xiao used many ships and focused their fired on him. Although the power of the cannons of those spaceships was thousands of miles away from the DarkStar main cannon, they had the quantity to make up for it. Sykes had a huge mobility problem in space, so it was very difficult for him to dodge. He was basically a live target. It was brutal, and even Han Xiao did not have the heart to watch it.

After making sure that Sykes was almost done for, only then did Han Xiao control the spaceship to drag Sykes back to Purple Snake. He then threw him aside with the other galactic pirates.

“Bo—Boss…”

All the captured galactic pirates looked at the burnt, almost dead Sykes. They could not help but feel terrified.

Grade As rarely became galactic pirates. The unity of the Purple Snake Space Pirates came from how strong Sykes was—he made his subordinates feel very confident.

However, Sykes had easily been defeated, so his strong image in their mind had shattered.

The more they admired Sykes before, the more they were afraid of Han Xiao now.

“Some escaped, but they were all unimportant minions.”

Han Xiao stood in front of them as he took off his Berserk Ape. All living galactic pirates were before him, so there was no need to hack anything anymore. The spaceship was in his hands.

Taking account of the spaceships that had escaped, he had seized twenty-four spaceships. Although most of them were cheap pillaging ships, there was the main ship that was a Grade Crow battleship, so it was not a bad return.

Sykes was heavily injured; his limbs were all locked by electromagnetic cuffs. He lay sideways on the floor and glared at Han Xiao with hatred and rage.

“Don’t look at me like that. You messed with someone, so you should have been prepared for this.” Han Xiao shrugged.

Sykes chortled with despair, speechless.

“Calamity Grade Supers should be able to last longer,” Han Xiao murmured.

He was not going to go easy on a captive. With bright eyes, he took out the Super-Gene Extractor and approached Sykes step by step.

Seeing Han Xiao’s passionate eyes, Sykes suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He then recalled Befuli’s terrifying state, and his expression instantly changed. Trying to be tough, he yelled, “Don’t come closer! I will kill you! I will kill you for sure! Don’t! Don—”

Han Xiao ignored it all and plunged the Super-Gene Extractor right into Sykes’ veins, extracting his Super-Gene. The product was three tubes of dark red Ability Potions, thick as blood.

Sykes felt a sense of weakness coming directly from his bones. The little energy he had left was gone. The Esper power that he was so used to using could not be sensed anymore. It was like he had suddenly lost his body’s senses, and he panicked.

This time, Han Xiao took out a fresh new Ability Potion and gulped it down.

Sykes’ entire body trembled. Looking at Han Xiao gobbling his blood, he was submerged in horror. His eyes widened, and his lips shivered.

Not just him, all the other captive galactic pirates saw this and felt terrified and uneasy.

_____________________

You have received [Character Summon Card – Sykes (Temporary)]

[Character Summon Card – Sykes (Temporary)]: Purple Poison – Tide

Release a large amount of liquid poison, spreading out in all directions from the user. This acidic poison causes continuous damage every five seconds. The poison will not disappear after being released. It can be used to form acidic terrain or reused.

Damage: 580 – 920

This Character Summon Card will expire in 15 days.

_____________________

Skills had many abilities. The abilities extracted by the Ability Potion were random, but they were all different ways to use the Esper power.

This was the type of Esper ability that could produce physical materials. Although it was comparatively weak in battle, the produced materials would not disappear, so there were many more ways to use it.

The destructive power of this Esper ability is actually really high. As long as he has enough time, he can make enough poisonous liquid to cover an entire land or even an entire planet, making it lifeless…

The way Han Xiao looked at Sykes changed. It was like he was looking at a biochemical weapon, with slight disappointment.

You have such a strong Esper ability, but you chose to be a galactic pirate‽

Not long after, Ability Potions were made from all the captive galactic pirates. Han Xiao checked all the abilities then imprisoned everyone. Sykes received special treatment from him.

The Purple Snake Space Pirates have finally been dealt with. That cost me more than half a month…

Han Xiao looked on the forums. Other than Planet Sunil, the other players’ first mission had mostly been completed. Most of them were successful, with a few of them triggered new events, but most of them had returned to Base No.1 to receive new missions. While doing so, they also updated their equipment and brought Han Xiao another wave of profit. Everything was on the right path.

I got more than twenty ships this time. Maybe fighting galactic pirates is also a way to make a fortune, Han Xiao pondered. He had not been strong enough back then, but now that he was Calamity Grade, regular galactic pirates would be a piece of cake. Not only could he take their spaceships, he could also capture the galactic pirates and turn them into sources for Ability Potions or even exchange them for bounties.

Sykes had a bounty of 2.8 million Enas in Black Raven Civilization, but Han Xiao did not plan to exchange him for the bounty now. He wanted to drain Sykes dry first before giving him in for the bounty.

After arranging the loot, Han Xiao brought along the twenty or so spaceships and headed back to Garton Star System.

…

A few days after Han Xiao left, when the escaped Purple Snake galactic pirates shared their experience, only then did the Fawn Star System hear about this. Black Star had beaten up the entire Purple Snake Space Pirates alone!

This was not big news but not insignificant either. The Purple Snake Space Pirates had constantly been committing crimes in the Fawn Star System, so they were quite well known. When such a large galactic pirate group was defeated by a single person, there was quite a number of people who paid attention to it and were curious about the reasons.

Some people said that Sykes kidnapped Black Star Army’s people, some said that this was a hire accepted by Black Star, and some even said that Black Star was picking on galactic pirates to rob resources and the Purple Snake Space Pirates were the victims instead. All sorts of rumors were going around.

No matter what, a large group of galactic pirates being defeated was a good thing for the citizens of Fawn Star System.

Black Raven Civilization received this news and waited for Black Star to approach them and exchange the prisoner for a bounty, while they could take this opportunity to form a relationship with the rising Black Star.

However, after waiting for many days, they received the message that Han Xiao had returned to the Garton Star System.

The employees of the Bounty Department of Black Raven Civilization were confused. Black Star isn’t coming to change for bounty. Does he not want it?

Since he does not want the bounty and the Purple Snake Space Pirates are gone, does that mean we can just cancel the bounty?

This was common. When some wanted criminal was killed and no one came to claim the bounty, the bounty would be considered complete.

However, this was denied by the superiors of the related departments in Black Raven Civilization. They decided to keep the bounty and wait for Black Star to claim it.

There were many reasons. One was to use this opportunity to bond with Black Star. This amount of money was going to be there waiting for Black Star to claim it, so he would most likely come in the future.

Another reason was that they were interested in the relationship between Black Star and Godora. When Black Star was attacked by DarkStar back in the day, the Dragon Emperor had acted and shocked the world.

In that incident, Black Raven Civilization’s competition, the Holy Stone Civilization, seemed to have some sort of dispute with Black Star. This was an opportunity, and if they could get a connection with Godora from Black Star, they could be above the Holy Stone Civilization.

With Han Xiao’s current position and fame, every move he made was connected to the nerves of many forces. What he represented was no longer just himself.

Chapter 599: Stepping onto the Right Path and Expanding Blueprints

Back on Planet Golden Gate…

The round trip had taken him close to a month. The twenty-four spaceships that Han Xiao had taken returned to Base No. 1. The pillaging ships were smaller in size, and after modifying the messy coating on their exteriors, these were absorbed into the assault fleet.

The Crow Grade ship was on the same grade as a Violent Falcon Grade battleship, so it was stored in the hangar. After it was repaired, it could be put into use.

Including those spaceships, Han Xiao had close to a hundred spaceships under his fleet. It was divided into four divisions. One was the strategic core division that was made of the Fortress Grade flagship alone. The second was the battleship division formed by Violent Falcon Grade and Crow Grade ships, in charge of guarding and direct combat. The third was the assault fleet formed by the seized DarkStar assault ships and the galactic pirate pillaging ships, with speed superiority. The fourth was the rented carrier spaceship division used to transport manpower.

As for the BlackLight Stealth, it was for Han Xiao and Han Xiao only. Made by the Federation of Light, its grade and performance were way ahead of all other spaceships in the Black Star Army. Also, Risda was not willing to let too many people use his body.

Watching the last spaceship being parked in the hangar, Han Xiao had Phillip close its gate and locked Sykes and the other captives in the secret cell of Base No.1.

This cell had been built from an extremely strong alloy, covered with many automatic weapons such as cannons, nerve gas, sedative injectors, large vacuum gravity field, and many others. Inside the walls were many mini cameras monitored by Phillip at all times. The security was extremely tight to prevent the captives from escaping.

Because he had extracted the Super-Gene of those captives every day on the way back, they all were weak, including Sykes.

Since Calamity Grades were able to recover much faster, Sykes received special treatment. His production rate was more than five times that of the others.

Han Xiao had stored hundreds of Ability Potions that were categorized. Some were for his own use; some were sold in the faction store.

The interior of Base No.1 was filled with bridges like a beehive. As Han Xiao walked on the streets, players could be seen everywhere, getting used to the new Main City.

Many people looked at Han Xiao. He was a renowned NPC in the eyes of the players, and he was the leader of the faction. When the players saw him, they all felt a sense of closeness to him, and quite a number greeted him, to which Han Xiao nodded back in reply.

There were many issues in the faction waiting to be resolved. Han Xiao checked through Sylvia’s homework then returned to his room. He took out a concentrated nutrition bar and started chewing while settling these issues.

The first issue was to clean up after the missions carried out by the many players.

Other than Planet Sunil, most of the players carrying out missions around the Garton Star System had completed and returned. This was the first large scale hiring event for Black Star Army, so Han Xiao took it quite seriously. He told Phillip to filter out the problematic records in it and browsed through them one by one.

Of course, not all players were doing well. Some of the players had a rather low mission completion percentage. Furthermore, there was even a small group of people that messed around and completely messed up the mission, sullying the name of the Black Star Army. For the former, Han Xiao told Phillip to send a sincere apology to the employer on behalf of the Black Star Army. As for the latter, the Credibility Rating of their mercenary profile was deducted, and the grade of the missions that they could accept was lowered.

Since Han Xiao wanted to expand the Black Star Army with the help of the players, he was prepared for the problems that came with it. The issues now were all small problems. The effect brought by the players was much more beneficial than detrimental.

The first large scale hire event stabilized the name brought by the Godora award ceremony.

When looking for mercenaries, the employers in the Garton Star System all chose the local Black Star Army as their first choice. The Mercenary Alliance recognized the Black Star Army’s position in the Garton Star System as the top of the industry and provided them with a continuous supply of high-quality employment missions.

The result of this was that the business of the Garton Star System mercenary industry was practically monopolized by the Black Star Army. Although the population of a Star System was very high, not many people needed mercenaries. The freelance mercenaries in the Garton Star System suddenly started to notice that they could hardly find high-quality hires anymore. The list given to them by the Mercenary Alliance consisted of most low reward jobs.

The freelance mercenaries were very jealous of the business enjoyed by the Black Star Army. Many people had realized that if the Black Star Army continued to grow at this pace, the available jobs in the Garton Star System would all be finished sooner or later, and the new jobs would then be taken by the Black Star Army as well. Then, the freelance mercenaries could very likely end up with no job, which was a very horrible future to think about.

The rise of the Black Star Army could not be stopped. The freelance mercenaries had to choose one of three paths. First was to not care about future developments and continue doing what they were doing; second was to leave the Garton Star System and find jobs in another place; third was to request to join the Black Star Army.

Quite a few freelance mercenaries took the third path. The Black Star Army was increasing in size and had an extremely good name, and since Black Star Army was on its way to monopolize the entire mercenary industry of the Garton Star System, joining them did not seem like a bad choice after all. From the victims of the Black Star Army’s rise, there could be some who benefitted from it and enjoyed the Black Star Army’s businesses.

In Han Xiao’s plan, there was a part of it that included increasing their name with the players in order to attract freelance mercenaries. After the players joined, their size exploded to hundreds of thousands of members. The facilities of their base were mostly complete, and they had ample funds, so he was not planning to control the Black Star Army’s number of members. He told Phillip to filter the background of the freelance mercenaries that requested to join, who then deleted some that were clearly incompetent and were there just for the easy missions, leaving those who were skilled and had good records.

About 7,000 freelance mercenaries were left after the first selection.

However, this number was still not decided yet. Han Xiao told Phillip to send a notice to those mercenaries to come to Base No.1 for an interview fifteen days later. Some would be disqualified again, and only the ones who remained after that would be recruited by the Black Star Army.

Recruiting more freelance mercenaries was a very important step of the Black Star Army’s expansion.

The second issue waiting to be resolved was also related to the players.

After the first independent hiring event, these players were more familiar with the galactic environment and mission flow. Many players shared the difficulties that they met during the hires on the forums.

Han Xiao paid attention to these problems. In his previous life, he had also experienced the stage of not being used to the new environment after first entering the universe, so he had expected this. He knew about most of the difficulties the players faced.

As early as one year before Version 2.0 started, a part of his machinery production line had been building support items, which were intended to help with the players’ ability to carry out missions.

Now that there was finally a demand for this, Han Xiao planned to put these mechanical items into the faction store as well. The timing was perfect—the players were just done with their first hire, and most of them had to return to Base No.1. The sales were definitely going to rocket.

…

In the store area of Base No.1, many people were going in and out. This was the place with the highest player density.

Although they could shop online through Phillip, they could only see the physical item at the store, which was also the collection point.

Many players used their latest earnings to buy equipment.

At this time, the faction store suddenly refreshed. A number of new items were placed at the top of the list with a very visible ‘NEW’ sign in their top right corner.

“New items so soon?”

“Let’s see what they are.”

Every update to the store would attract attention from a large number of players, and this time was no exception.

Di di di…

The sound of communicators rang continuously in the crowd. Many people took out their communicators to take a look. It was Phillip’s supporting program that announced the update of the store, which could be browsed through the pre-order list.

Very soon, players realized that the new items were surprisingly not combat equipment.

They looked at the introduction of the new items.

_____________________

[Mini Land Flattening Core]—Quickly changes the terrain of a small area into flat ground suitable for a temporary stronghold. The specific measurements are…

[Multi-functional Airdrop Bag]—Includes many machines needed for airdrop, suitable for various situations occurring during airdrop…

[Portable Mini Folded Fortress]—Can be expanded on unoccupied land, forming a temporary alloy fortress to be used as a stronghold, equipped with stronghold weapon slots and basic security functions…

[Automatic Guarding Cannon Turret]—Large caliber cannon, includes 1,000 Iron Core Shots, 300 Armor Piercing Shots. Provides firepower support…

[Patrolling Sentry]—Mini scouting robot, able to scout, patrol, and alert, can be used as a sentry for a stronghold…

[Interference Resistant Electromagnetic Bracelet]—Resists electromagnetic interference and data hacking to a certain extent…

[Portable Strong Electromagnetic Interference Device]—Interfere with the functions of the machines within a certain range…

[Nuclear Flying Backpack]—Provides long duration flying ability, includes self-destruction option…

[Force Resonator]—Adjustable vibration frequency, able to shatter metal and concrete buildings within a large distance…

[Worker Bee Armor]—Single Unit Mining Armor, used to gather minerals and fuel. Equipped with multi-functional digging tools and mineral firearms. High weight, suitable for handling ores…

_____________________

The players faced complex environments while carrying out the missions. The mission requirements varied, including but not limited to infiltration, pursuit, mining, scouting, assassination, combat, and others. Sudden developments often occurred.

Although these mercenaries added by Han Xiao were not equipment that heightened one’s combat capability, they could allow one to adapt to many situations. These were tactical items that could efficiently increase the players’ ability to deal with accidents, enhancing their performance as mercenaries.

The technology used in these machines was not advanced, but they were things the players needed very much. They were cheap, useful support items.

For machines such as the turret, they were something that Han Xiao had created long ago. He had been using the turrets, but only now did he sell them to the players in large quantities. He was not yet selling the more advanced electromagnetic turrets and energy turrets but gunpowder turrets. The average level of the players now was around seventy, so the gunpowder turrets were still quite useful.

Some Mechanic players at the time could also build some of these products, but in terms of quality, cost, and price, their products were grossly inferior compared to those on the Black Star Army store.

These functional items were just right for the new needs of the players.

“These seem very useful.”

“I was just about to accept a job. These new items came right on time.”

The players were pleasantly surprised.

Not only the players in Base No.1, but the players who were on Sunil or doing missions on other planets also received Phillip’s notification. They were all very tempted.

Especially the 200,000 players in Planet Sunil. They were dealing with the Catastrophe, so they had to deal with the complicated wilderness situations and even clear out the underground Prophecy Stone Mine. The addition of [Worker Bee Armor] was absolutely perfect.

Stock was limited, and the players hastily bought what they needed. The prices of these new products were very low, so their demand was high. Within twenty minutes, the inventory was cleared out, and many who could not buy them pre-ordered the next batch.

The players were used to the special ‘Growing Faction’ attribute of the Black Star Army. They felt that the reason that these new items appeared was because the players of the Black Star Army had worked together to develop the faction. Looking at the new items of the faction store, many players felt a sense of achievement.

…

After adding these support items, Han Xiao observed the sales. Since they were functional items, their price was low and affordable. Nonetheless, the entire inventory was sold out within half an hour. His funds rose nonstop as the players’ money flew into his personal account.

This sale had made him an astonishing total of 6,600,000 Enas!

Including Noriosse’s investment and the income from the last sales, Han Xiao had a total of 44,000,000 Enas!

This was a lot of money.

“Funds are abundant. With this money, I can build my Mechanic Army any way I want.” Han Xiao was very content.

With so much money, if he was the only one using it, it could last him a very long time. However, of course, these funds had to be used to operate the Black Star Army and support the Black Star Army’s expansion.

The blueprint that Han Xiao had set for the Black Star Army’s development was gigantic. He planned to use the Garton Star System as a foundation, choose dozens of important NPC resource planets, and keep building sub-bases. He would turn the Garton Star System into the Black Star Army’s headquarters, controlling the mercenary business there tightly or even monopolizing it.

Then, he would expand the business to other Star Systems and build sub-bases in other Star Systems, expanding step by step. Many parts of this plan required a lot of money, such as adding a large number of spaceships, recruiting, building partnerships with more organizations, and so on.

The identity of a mercenary group was just a stepping stone; Han Xiao’s real target was to develop enormous military power, like Bloodshed Land.

The funds required for this blueprint was a number that he could not calculate or imagine.

The only thing he knew was that the money that he had now was far, far from enough.

His mission was heavy, and the road was long.

“This won’t be completed within a short time. The sales route is already built anyway, so profit will keep coming. There’s no need for me to be too tight on spending.”

Han Xiao smiled. He took out his communicator and ordered a large number of materials from the raw material provider that he had been working with.

Finally, he had some free time to strengthen all his combat equipment to the Calamity Grade standard!

“Let’s hope something like the Purple Snake Space Pirates incident doesn’t happen again…”

Chapter 600: DarkStar Remnants

In Star Zone 4 of the Garton Star System was a Godoran public space station containing a certain erotic clubhouse.

Colorful and lively lights flickered, and the energetic, exciting music elevated the atmosphere. Ladies of different races with minimal clothing danced seductively on the round, rectangular shaped booths all around the place. Under them was a screen introducing, or making up, each lady’s background, age, and so on, filling them with all sorts of terrible and erotic stories, stimulating the audiences’ lustful thoughts.

Every booth was surrounded by a large group of males not taking their eyes off the dancer for a second. Their laughter was rough, and some even reached out to touch the dancer from time to time. Not far away was the bar with semi-private seats. Most of the people in them were males too, hugging and moving their hands around the alluring-eyed ladies accompanying them to drink.

Waitresses in revealing clothes carried drinks around, and the male customers from all sorts of races occasionally groped them.

The sound of laughter, mumbling, and teasing filled the extravagant atmosphere. It was like the air was painted with a layer of seductive pink.

At a luxurious table, a few males were chatting loudly and gulping down one drink after another. They were clearly mercenaries.

These people all had ladies in their arms. Their groping was rough and aggressive, such that pain could be seen in many of the ladies’ eyes, but they did not dare to say anything. They could only smile.

These ladies knew who these mercenaries were; they were from a relatively well known mercenary group and were all Grade B Supers. In the eyes of these regular people, Grade B Supers were someone they absolutely could not mess with.

However, among these mercenaries looking for fun, there was an outcast.

At the side of the table, there was a tall and skinny man without any lady beside him. The drink in front of him was untouched, too. He was sitting up straight with his hands on his thighs. He was the odd one out in this environment; the others were having a whale of a time, but his expression was so serious as if he was doing scientific research. Even the passion of the other mercenaries was brought down.

“Come on Reynold, don’t be so serious, drink some booze. It’s on me anyway. Have as much fun as you like,” the captain of this mercenary group said as he looked at his odd comrade. His tone did not sound like superior but instead was almost fawning.

Reynold’s body did not move—only his neck turned as he looked over. His eyes were bright and sharp, like an owl in the night. Monotonously, he said, “Alcohol slows down my brain, makes me think slower. I need to keep myself sober.”

“Er, then you can find a woman…”

Before the captain finished, Reynold said, “Women distract me and break my thoughts. Biological desire also affects my clarity.”

“Alright then…” The mercenary captain giggled. He could not do anything about Reynold. Reynold’s position in his mercenary group was very high and irreplaceable.

That was because Reynold was a Grade B Mechanic.

In the universe, the number of Mechanics was relatively low. They were rare, especially high-level Mechanics. Unlike Pugilists, Espers, and Psychics, Mechanics needed tons of knowledge. Only Mages could be compared with the amount of knowledge Mechanics needed. To Mechanics, knowledge was fundamental to becoming stronger.

His team had worked together with Reynold for quite a long time. Reynold had been providing them with weapons, devices, and repairing their spaceship and machines; he basically took care of the logistics of the entire group. Plus, he had Grade B combat ability. Reynold’s position was even slightly higher than his, the captain.

If not because Reynold was so important, the mercenary captain would have been done with his strange personality long ago.

“Have you heard? Many freelance mercenaries want to join the Black Star Army. They say Black Star will monopolize the Garton Star System’s mercenary business. What do we do?” a mercenary asked.

“Ignore them. It’s still a long way to go for Black Star to monopolize Garton Star System even if he wants to. By then we will just go to another Star System to find work.” The mercenary captain curled his lips and did not care.

Then, Reynold spoke with an expressionless face. “Let’s join Black Star.”

It was silent.

The mercenaries looked at Reynold in shock.

“What do you mean? I’m the captain, don’t make decisions for me,” the mercenary captain said with a displeased tone.

“Okay.” Reynold nodded. He instantly took out his communicator, pressed it a few times, then stood up and walked away immediately after.

“Wait, where are you going?” The mercenary captain suddenly felt something was not right.

“I’ve left the group.” Reynold walked further and further.

The mercenaries were stunned. Did he just quit the group without any hesitation because of a single disagreement? So decisive?

The mercenary captain panicked. He quickly stood up and yelled, “Are you out of your mind? No matter what, we’ve fought alongside each other for so long. We all took you as a friend, and you’re just leaving like this‽”

“Me and you, we were cooperating equally. I did not sell myself to you, so why can’t I leave?”

Without even turning his head around, Reynold walked out without stopping at all. Every step felt like it was measured precisely with a ruler. His back disappeared at the door.

The group of mercenaries exchanged looks with confusion.

“What the hell is Reynold thinking? Does he think there’s no future working with us?” one of them said frustratedly.

The mercenary captain’s face was gloomy. He threw the lady in his arms onto the floor without looking and heavily bashed the table.

Clank!

Cracks spread out on the table, startling everyone.

“That asshole!”

Without Reynold, the strength of his group was hugely reduced. Knowing that, the mercenary captain was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

…

Inside a passenger room on a galactic traveling spaceship in the Garton Star System, Brock looked at the interview notification from the Black Star Army on his communicator, and his eyes flickered.

He was a hybrid Godoran, a freelance mercenary. His resume had passed the first round of selection, and he had been notified by Phillip to go to the interview.

However, being a mercenary was just part of his fake identity. Brock’s real identity was a hidden member that DarkStar had left in the outside world. Before he became a mercenary, he had been an elite member trained by DarkStar.

DarkStar’s fleet had been wiped out, and almost all his superiors had been captured, but there was a group of DarkStar members who did not follow the fleet and hid in the outside world, keeping up their fake identities. These people had once been DarkStar’s intelligence network, and now they were DarkStar remnants. Since the leader had gone bankrupt and bolted, they now had no leader and could only be concerned with their own safety.

Recently, Godora had been cleaning up the remaining DarkStar forces, and it was quite effective. Many of DarkStar’s hidden intelligence channels were torn down.

For safety, the DarkStar remnants had stopped contacting each other. Some wanted to escape, some wanted to clean their background, and some wanted to change sides.

Brock was one of the people who hid very well. Not long after DarkStar was destroyed, he had actively broken away contact with the other remnants. His mercenary resume had nothing suspicious. On the surface, he had no connection to DarkStar—his identity was well hidden.

However, he did not plan to clean up his background.

Before DarkStar was attacked, Brock had accepted a mission to infiltrate Black Star, and he had decided to continue carrying out this mission.

With the help of his clean identity, he planned to pass the interview, become a member of Black Star, and stay hidden.

The first reason was that Godora was very close to Black Star, so with the identity as a Black Star mercenary, he could protect his secrets better.

The second reason was Brock’s main motive. He was loyal to DarkStar and loathed Black Star; he strongly believed that the DarkStar leader would one day return!

With a gloomy expression, Brock thought, The Black Star Army is an obstacle. If I infiltrate it, maybe I can climb up to become a team leader or even an officer. I can split the Black Star Army from inside. Once the leader returns, it will be time for me to fulfill my duty. I will become a nail in the heart of the enemy…

…

The players bought the new equipment and excitedly started new missions.

While doing the missions, they were also exploring the universe. They were still at the first stage of familiarizing themselves with the universe, and it would probably take two to three more missions for them to fully get used to the galaxy.

On the other side, the hundreds of thousands of players on Planet Aquamarine were passing the test one after another. Every so often, tens of thousands of players would join the Black Star Army. These players were considered newbies, but they at least knew how to start a mission with the help of the forums, so they did not start with nothing. If there was anything they did not understand, they could even ask the first group of players that joined the Black Star Army.

Hence, Han Xiao did not have to worry about the players for some time. It was going in the right direction; he just had to leave them be and let them have fun.

Fifteen days passed by quickly, and it was finally the day to interview the newcomers.

Over the past two weeks, Han Xiao had placed himself in solitude and built many new machines. However, updating all his equipment was a very demanding task, so he had yet to complete it. He had no choice but to pause for a moment and take the time to interview these mercenaries.

In the base’s vast hall, thousands of mercenaries waiting to be interviewed had gathered. There were humans, beasts, and insects, women, men, or sexless. They sized each other up.

“So, this is Black Star’s headquarters.”

“Looks quite grand, not bad.”

Brock looked around. When he followed the big group in, he had kept observing the structure of the base, looking for weak spots and memorizing them, forming a map in his mind.

After waiting for a while, the alloy floor in front of the thousands of people opened up in a spiral manner, showing a circular hole. Dressed in his windbreaker, Han Xiao slowly flew up and landed in front of everyone.

The eyes of the thousands of people concentrated on Han Xiao. Some were curious, some were passionate, and some were filled with admiration.

With Han Xiao’s current fame, strength, and position, he was indeed an important person in the Garton Star System.

“So, he’s Black Star…” Brock narrowed his eyes slightly. He had seen a recording of Han Xiao before, but this was the first time seeing the real person. He sized Han Xiao up secretly.

Han Xiao glanced over the people, turned around to look at Sylvia, and nodded.

Sylvia nodded in return, then walked forward, cleared her throat, and spoke in her crisp voice.

“Welcome, everyone. You are all experienced senior mercenaries, anyone that passes the interview will become a member of us Black Star Army. You will need to sign the Mercenary Alliance’s contract; all the benefits and privileges are stated inside. Of course, so are the rules and regulations of the Black Star Army, as well as your responsibilities.”

Then, Sylvia stepped aside. Herlous was not there, so Han Xiao was using her as an assistant.

Han Xiao glanced over the crowd again and loudly said, “You all know the rules. If you have any problems, you can leave now.”

The thousands of mercenaries murmured, but none left.

“Okay, we shall not waste any more time. Let’s start the test.” Han Xiao raised his hand. “It’s simple. Every one of you will walk in front of me and let me tap you. Through the tap, I can roughly sense your Energy Rank. Those who pass will wait to the side.”

The mercenaries had no problem with that. No one there questioned the ability of a Calamity Grade.

However, many were unconfident. This kind of test depended purely on Black Star’s judgment. If he said that someone passed, they passed; if he said someone failed, they failed. There was no physical standard.

This time, Han Xiao said again, “Don’t worry, for those who do not pass, I won’t allow you to have wasted your time coming here. You will have two choices. One is, of course, to leave. The other is to accept training from the Black Star Army and increase your strength through high-intensity training. During that time, you won’t be allowed to accept missions until you pass the test. Only then will you be allowed to use the Black Star Army’s name to accept missions.”

He took talents seriously. Clearly, the more strong freelance mercenaries, the better, but he knew that not every skilled mercenary would be willing to be under his command. Talents needed to be cultivated.

Therefore, Han Xiao had decided to create the Mercenary Training Camp.

The Great Mechanic Han had thought of this long ago; it was an important part of his expansion plan. In his plan, the sub-bases were not only strongholds but could also recruit and train people.

His recruitment target was not limited to mercenaries; he was going to recruit people from different planets. Planet Aquamarine was one example. Other than the players, there were also the planet’s natives that wanted to enter the galaxy. Planet Sunil was the next target for that.

Upon hearing this, many mercenaries’ eyes gleamed. The fact that they could still join Black Star even if they did not pass wiped away their worries.

They queued up properly to be tested by Han Xiao.

This interview method was to look at their attributes through the combat information triggered on the interface through touching.

While these mercenaries were clueless, Han Xiao knew their every ability back and forth, even their trump cards.

Testing one person took two seconds. There were six to seven thousand people there, so it would take many hours. This method was very troublesome, but the origins of freelance mercenaries were extremely complicated. Many of them were not citizens of the Garton Star System, so God only knew what their background was. Hence, Han Xiao felt he had to be careful. Plus, it had been peaceful recently, so he was able to squeeze out the time.

After some time, it was finally Brock’s turn.

Without panic or worry, he walked forward and let Han Xiao tap him.

There was no risk of being exposed through testing his Energy Rank. After all, it was absolutely impossible for Black Star to know that he belonged to DarkStar just by touching him.

Brock was confident.

An opportunity to observe Black Star so closely was very rare. This was even an amazing chance for assassination. However, Brock suppressed those dangerous thoughts and prepared to wait by the side like the person in front of him.

The moment he turned around, Han Xiao’s voice came behind him.

“You… wait!”

Chapter 601: No Reason Not To

Why did Black Star ask me to stop? And with such a strange tone…

Brock stopped instantly. He was shocked, and various guessed flashed through his mind.

Did I show the cloven hoof?

That’s impossible… Brock took a deep breath, suppressed his worries, and turned around to face Han Xiao with a surprised expression.

“Your Excellency Black Star, is there a problem?”

Han Xiao sized Brock up then looked at the information on the interface again.

His level was way higher than those freelance mercenaries, so none of their attributes, abilities, or talents were secrets to Han Xiao.

Brock was Grade B borderline. Most of the freelance mercenaries there were Grade Cs with only a few Grade Bs. Brock was an elite among them, and he was the first Grade B tested by Han Xiao.

However, inside the Class List of Brock, there was a [DarkStar Elite Warrior], and there were also DarkStar abilities in his Ability List. Han Xiao had dealt with DarkStar for a few years, so there was no way for him to mistake it.

Plus, Brock was a hybrid Godoran, so the identity of this person was crystal clear.

He was one of the remnants, a secret member of DarkStar!

Some guts this guy has, coming to join my faction…

Han Xiao slightly squinted his eyes. Within a short moment, Han Xiao had guessed what Brock was thinking.

Wants to gain my trust, hide in my faction as a spy? Was this his decision, or was he ordered to? Han Xiao thought. What he was thinking of was further into the future. Not long ago, the Godorans had told him a piece of bad news—they had lost the DarkStar leader and Ember.

The DarkStar leader was a dangerous person, and Godora had let the master evil escape. Han Xiao kept feeling that they would make a comeback. He was wondering if Brock had been ordered by the DarkStar leader. If he had been ordered, that would mean that the DarkStar leader had secret means to contact his remaining forces!

He might be able to follow the lead brought by Brock and find the DarkStar leader!

With those thoughts, Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and smiled. He said to Brock, “You are quite skilled. I want to give you a special job. Are you interested?”

Brock was finally relieved. Suddenly, he felt like he had been too anxious.

I’ve really overthought this. There’s absolutely no way that I’m exposed. Brock was completely relaxed now. Acting as if he was flattered, he said, “What do you need me to do?”

“Er, I want you to become the drill sergeant of the training camp temporarily, helping me train the mercenaries who have yet met the requirements.”

“Sure, no problem.” Brock nodded, secretly overjoyed.

Although the trainer was not considered an officer, and there was no opportunity to touch the core of the Black Star Army, this was a good start. The fact that he had been given a special position as soon as he joined meant that Black Star had taken notice of him. This way, it would be easier for him to gain Black Star’s trust!

“Do your best. Go to the side and wait. After the test ends, I will make the appropriate arrangements.”

Han Xiao encouraged him and sent away the excited Brock, then secretly threw an Observer’s Mark onto the spy.

The Observer’s Mark could locate up to five targets at once, he had the last slot left, and he used it on Brock. Next time, if he wanted to mark a new target, he would have to remove one of the five old targets.

Brock’s spy identity was already exposed. However, not only was Han Xiao not going to eliminate Brock, he was boldly going to use him. With Phillip and the Observer’s Mark, none of Brock’s actions would escape his eyes. As soon as he did anything unusual, Han Xiao would know of it. Of course, Brock had just joined, so he definitely would not do anything bizarre for the sake of his disguise.

Most importantly, a spy would definitely work extra hard to gain his trust without any complaints. This was great manual labor. If he did not drain him properly, he would feel wasteful.

It just so happened that the training camp of Base No.1 had not yet been built, so only a Grade B could be the trainer of a large group of Grade C Supers. Training others was very troublesome, and Han Xiao did not want to waste his free time. Initially, he was going to call Ginette back, but now that Brock was there, it was enough. After all, no matter how much Han Xiao used or overworked him, he would not feel sorry for him.

…

This small incident did not cause any commotion and made many people more excited.

In their eyes, this meant that Black Star cared about talent. As long as they were strong enough, there was a chance for them to get a better position on the spot.

Time passed by, and Han Xiao tested them for another few hours more. More than 5,000 passed and became official mercenaries, and more than 1,000 failed and were sent to the training camp.

During the test, he discovered another three Grade B Supers. Sadly, they did not have any outstanding talents or abilities. They were considered regular Grade B Supers. Nonetheless, they were Grade Bs no matter what, so Han Xiao promoted these three to team leaders on the spot, giving them the authority to gather a certain number of Black Star mercenaries and form a fixed team.

There were two ranking systems implemented in the Black Star Army. One was based on merit, from 1-Star to 5-Star, followed by the honor title of ‘Black Star Eighteen Knights’. They were promoted through contribution points, earning better benefits.

Another was based on position, meaning the management structure of an army. Han Xiao had learned from the Sky Ring Army about using both the class ranking system and merit ranking system. The higher one’s contribution was or the stronger one was, the higher their position would be, and the more people they would be able to manage in a team.

Grade B Super met the requirement in terms of strength, so they got the position of team leaders.

Currently, the Black Star Army was divided into numerous factions: the Sunil Faction led by Herlous, the Battle Alliance Faction led by Harmon, the Associates Faction including Aroshia and other officers, and the Free Faction made by the players and some mercenaries. The Free Faction had the most people and could be considered the most common group of people.

Only Han Xiao could command everyone. Usually, these factions all did their own thing. This was most obvious for the Sunil and the Battle Alliance Factions; their members were close and very united.

Where there were people, there would be competition. Forming groups and factions was a problem that was definitely going to happen with larger numbers. As the Black Star Mercenary Group’s size grew, so did the difficulty in managing it. In order to develop better, they had to imitate other large mercenary groups and design a layered management system, making sure everyone had their own responsibilities. This was also something that Han Xiao had been thinking about recently.

The upper positions were a difficult problem.

Currently, all the officers were basically combat personnel; there was no clear difference in their positions other than Herlous, who could barely be considered his assistant. Many positions were unoccupied, such as Deputy Captain, Area Manager, Business Manager, Logistics, Spaceship Commanders, and many more.

These positions were like screw holes, and elites and officers were the screws. Han Xiao needed to find suitable screws, fit them into the right holes, and tighten them. Only then would the management structure of the Black Star Army become solid.

“The army has hundreds of thousands of members. The base manpower is very high, but we’re short of elite manpower. Sigh, I need to recruit more high-level people.”

Han Xiao shook his head. Although the size of his base troops was superior compared to many large mercenary groups, high level combat powers were the drawback of his faction at the moment. He was the only Calamity Grade Super in the Black Star Army, and they only had about ten Grade B elites. When compared to the Sky Ring Army who had three Calamity Grades and hundreds of Grade Bs, he was far below.

Han Xiao was not short in people with potential under him. Sylvia, for example, had been Grade A in the previous life, Herlous had the potential to reach Grade A, and Hila and Aurora’s Esper Potential even exceeded Grade A, not to mention the players with enormous potential.

However, the potential was not strength. These people had yet to fully grow, and Feidin who had the protagonist aura above his head was not his subordinate, just an employer who tagged along. The players had the version restrictions too. They could not become Grade B yet, at least not in Version 2.0.

It would be great if I could get a Calamity Grade Super.

Han Xiao sighed. Expanding his faction meant more accompanying difficulties. There were too many things that needed improvements.

The last candidate stepped forward. Han Xiao tapped him, and that person’s attributes appeared on his interface.

With just a single glance, Han Xiao’s expression changed.

Level… 135‽

This person’s level was the highest in all the freelance mercenaries!

Just seven levels lower than himself!

Han Xiao felt wide awake. He looked up at this freelance mercenary called Reynold.

Hmm… Spacehuman, snow-white skin, seems to be a hybrid. Longer than the usual face, high nose bridge, not as handsome as me but gives off a special vibe. Looks like his character is colder and more rational. This guy’s eyes are really bright… and he’s staring at me too.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and looked at the other attributes of this person.

Reynold… 1147 INT, Grade B+ Mechanic? Wow, that’s rare! This guy is the strongest among these people… Hmm, more than 600 blueprints, he has quite the rich pool of knowledge. Tsk tsk, as for talents… wait a minute, this guy has a Molding Talent‽

Chapter 602: Perfect Mechanical Sense

The Great Mechanic Han had a total of twenty-three talents, Reynold only had six fewer, seventeen talents. This was almost double what the three other Grade B freelance mercenaries had!

For those with high potential, as their level increased, they would regularly receive new talents.

In the current Black Star Army, Herlous was the one with the most talents among the officers—fifteen. He was much stronger than back then when he joined.

When Han Xiao recruited him, he had only had twelve talents.

In terms of the quality of talents, Feidin and Harmon were at the top. They both had Molding Talents.

Feidin’s Advanced Luck Glow, of course, was undisputedly overpowered.

Harmon’s [War God’s Tenacity] and [Desperate Straits] combined with his Basic Luck Glow as a protagonist type character was like a health lock cheat and unlimited buff cheat, which was also very powerful.

The Molding Talent was what differentiated regular people from elites and bosses. Han Xiao was genuinely surprised that Reynold had one too.

_____________________

[Perfect Mechanical Sense]

Total Machinery Affinity * 1.4. (Includes basic value, bonuses from passive abilities, and talents. This effect applies to the total value.)

When enhancing machines using Mechanical Force, the quality of the machinery will be temporarily increased by 1 – 2 Grades, up to Pink Grade.

+4 levels to all Mechanic class active abilities. This effect can exceed the level limit.

Remark: In your senses, every machine is a world of ecological balance.

_____________________

“It’s this talent!”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

In his previous life, there were players who had listed all the Molding Talents of the characters in Galaxy on the forums. Some of these talents were class exclusive; [Perfect Mechanical Sense] was exclusive to the Mechanic class and was considered one of the best Molding Talents. It influenced three things that were all connected to each other.

Needless to say, the 1.4 times multiplier to total Machinery Affinity was powerful.

Machinery Affinity was the core abilities of the Mechanic class, and it was used to increase the power of machines. For example, if a Mechanic had 500% Machinery Affinity provided by all his talents and abilities, [Perfect Mechanical Sense] would take 500% and multiply it by 1.4, making that 700%!

The rules of this bonus were the same as the Calamity Grade talent [Superhuman], applying to the total value. This meant that the stronger one’s fundamentals were, the higher the bonus was. As their level increased, the effect of this talent would become greater and greater.

The other two effects of [Perfect Mechanical Sense] were also useful. The temporary increase of the Machinery Grade meant an enhancement of the machines’ basic attributes. In simpler terms, trashy gray equipment would have the same effect as green equipment when he used it.

The last effect of adding four levels to all Mechanic class active abilities while ignoring the level limit meant the Lv.10 [Surging Mechanical Force] had the effects of Lv.14.

Those who had this talent could be deemed as ‘one in more than a century’ Mechanic class geniuses.

High level, strong talent, Grade B+… Reynold was the strongest person Han Xiao had ever recruited.

This was a high-quality wild leek!

“You’re a Mechanic?”

“Yes.” Reynold nodded.

“You’re very strong, stronger than all of the officers under my command.”

Han Xiao took it very seriously. He told Phillip to show him Reynold’s mercenary resume. As he looked, he frowned slightly.

“The data shows you’ve worked as a mercenary for seven years, moved through five small mercenary groups. You were active in the Hyde Star System in the earliest days, only coming to the Garton Star System in the last two years. With your strength, it’s more than enough for you to become a high ranking officer in large mercenary groups, why have you been in these small mercenary groups?”

He then stared at Reynold with inquiry in his eyes.

With a serious tone, Reynold said, “Large mercenary groups are too safe. I need more dangerous challenges to increase my alertness.”

Han Xiao squinted. “Then why do you want to join mine? My mercenary group is a large one.”

“I’ve faced enough challenges. What I need now is to break through, to learn more knowledge, to reach a higher level,” Reynold answered with a very straight face.

“What you mean is, you want to step into the Calamity Grade?” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

“Yes.” Reynold nodded heavily. “This is also why I’m here.”

Then, he lowered his head slightly and said respectfully, “We are both Mechanics, and you have stepped into the territory of the Calamity Grade. To me, you’re a pioneer on this path, and I’m still exploring, so… I hope to receive your guidance. For that, I’m willing to work for you.”

So that’s his motive for joining… Han Xiao figured it out. It was not the Black Star Army’s privileges that attracted Reynold but my strength.

This guy is Grade B+ and wants to become Grade A. Hence, he came to find me, a Grade A Mechanic, to learn from, wanting to become my student. Well, this motive is nothing but logical; I don’t see a problem.

In the five Super classes, Mechanics and Mages were keenest to learn. Exchanging and communicating knowledge was common for these two classes. Han Xiao understood Reynold’s actions very well. It was just like the players who looked for NPCs to learn abilities from.

This isn’t a bad thing… Han Xiao pondered silently. Reynold had a lot of potential. After recruiting him, the Black Star Army would have one more elite officer.

Sylvia was his only student, so adding Reynold would not be a problem. With his Calamity Grade strength and knowledge level, it was more than enough to teach Reynold.

As for helping Reynold get to Grade A, it depended on personal potential. Since Reynold had [Perfect Mechanical Sense], becoming Calamity Grade was basically a certainty, except Reynold did not know that himself.

Han Xiao made the decision very quickly. He nodded and said, “I can teach you, but you need to sign a longer-term contract.”

“Of course.” Reynold nodded. He believed that returns only came with hard work; Black Star was already much more casual about it than he had expected.

“Since you’re a Mechanic… how about this? You will be responsible for the logistics. You shall manage the workshop factory and the product line in the base, building more production lines and carrying out daily maintenance, repairs, and technical adjustments. This will all be your responsibility; you can gather some people to help you.”

Letting Reynold manage the workshop factory was very suitable. With his abilities, the machines that he built would be more than enough to meet the players’ needs—it would be just as popular.

Plus, Reynold knew how to build product lines, and he also knew many blueprints. He was the only one that could help Han Xiao in terms of building!

This way, the job of building new product lines could be entrusted to Reynold from now on. Han Xiao did not have to do everything himself anymore. According to the needs of the hundreds of thousands of players, he would be able to save at least one to two months every year for other things!

After all, the production rate of a single person was limited; a logistics department had to be created.

“No problem.” Reynold was very content with this position. What he wanted to do now was just train peacefully—he did not want to go out and fight people.

All the candidates were done with the test. Phillip made the new mercenaries sign the contracts before sending the information to the Mercenary Alliance. This way, the new mercenaries were officially members of the Black Star Army.

Other than a number of talented people, Han Xiao let Phillip arrange the positions for the new mercenaries and told Sylvia and some senior mercenaries to show the newbies around to familiarize themselves with their job. After all that, the newbies would take on their positions.

He had recruited thousands of people this time, so including the older mercenaries, Black Star Army had about 8,000 NPC mercenaries. It was many times larger compared to before.

Compared to the number of players, there were still very few NPC mercenaries. It was very difficult for it to explode in size, so the only way was to keep recruiting and building the numbers up.

The biggest surprise this time was Reynold. Even Han Xiao was tempted by the Molding Talent [Perfect Mechanical Sense]. If he could obtain this talent, he would not only be tanky but stronger in all aspects!

Sadly, he had yet to find a way to obtain this Molding Talent. Reynold was not an enemy, and even if he was, it was not certain that he could obtain [Perfect Mechanical Sense].

No matter, Han Xiao had plenty of patience.

…

Two days later, the new mercenaries all started to carry out their jobs.

The training camp of Base No.1 was officially built, too.

The more than a thousand unselected freelance mercenaries became the first batch of students. As the only drill sergeant at the moment, Brock officially took on the job.

On the first day, he was so exhausted that he almost vomited blood.

Training mercenaries was not as simple as just speaking—there had to be physical hands-on combat lessons, which was quite easy to get injured from. To train more than a thousand people alone, the amount of work Brock had to do was almost pitiful; he had completely no time to do anything else. After an entire day, he felt like his bones were about to collapse.

Remembering that he had to continue such a taxing job the next day too, Brock felt his world spinning.

However, after the first day ended as a trainer, Han Xiao deliberately went to encourage him. Brock was instantly motivated and full of energy.

Han Xiao’s attitude gave him the wrong idea. Brock thought that his performance had been noticed by Black Star. Him getting this special job right after joining meant that he was important to Black Star.

After all, among all the candidates, he and that Mechanic called Reynold were the only ones that had received special treatment.

Black Star might be testing his abilities.

As long as he completed the mission as a drill sergeant and proved himself, he might be accepted by Black Star and promoted to a high rank officer!

Only after becoming a high rank officer would he be able to monitor the intelligence network of the Black Star Army.

Thinking about that, Brock decided to clench his teeth and hang on, not looking for an assistant and completing the mission alone. Only that way would he be able to prove his abilities to the highest degree, making an impression on Black Star!

“How dedicated…”

Inside his room, Han Xiao monitored Brock’s every move in his Chaos Body.

Indeed, people with ulterior motives were the easiest to use.

Deactivating Chaos Body and returning to his human body, Han Xiao straightened his clothing and walked out of his room. He went to the machinery modification room of the base where Reynold and Sylvia were waiting.

It was a lesson day.

Sylvia was used to Han Xiao giving her these privileges, but now there was another person to share her teacher with, she felt very uneasy. She secretly sized Reynold up from time to time, with an unexplained sense of hostility.

Reynold looked straight forward at Han Xiao with an extremely serious face.

From that day forth, he would be learning from Black Star. This was an opportunity that he had earned with a five-year contract. It was very important to him.

Han Xiao stood before the two of them, pondered, and said, “The strength difference between the two of you is too huge. Reynold, I will teach you first. Sylvia, you can observe from the side.”

The power difference between the two was way too high. The knowledge that seemed too deep for Sylvia would just be fundamental for Reynold. Of course, he was not going to teach them at the same time.

As soon as Han Xiao finished speaking, Sylvia opened her eyes wide. How could her teacher teach the newcomer first?

She instantly felt indignant and gave Reynold a fierce glare, only to realize that he was not even looking at her at all, so she could only bloat her cheeks and turn away angrily.

Bringing Reynold and the angry Sylvia aside, Han Xiao cleared his throat and prepared to start the lesson. This time, Reynold took out a pen and notebook with lightning speed from his pocket.

“Er, what are you doing?”

“Recording the lesson content.” With a very serious face, Reynold quickly jotted down this conversation.

After taking a peek at the notebook, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he said, “There’s no need to note casual chitchat…”

“No, any parts missing is disrespectful for you.”

“Then wouldn’t it be better for you to video…”

“No, as a Mechanic, observing all the details is a way of training too.”

Reynold wrote down this conversation without hesitation, even drawing Han Xiao’s expression when speaking. The speed of a Mechanic’s hands was undoubtedly fast, so he was done recording almost as soon as Han Xiao finished speaking.

How stubborn. He’s more like a Mechanic than me…

Han Xiao now had a rough understanding of this new comrade of his. He then started to officially teach the lesson.

It was called a lesson, but it was more like sharing his knowledge. What Reynold really needed was High-End Knowledge. After all, it was very difficult for him to make money. Plus, he did not have as many channels as Han Xiao did. Hence, Han Xiao slowly explained the High-End Knowledge to him.

Reynold was not a player, so he could not learn it instantly and had to slowly absorb.

Reynold listened extremely carefully, and his pen never stopped moving. Sylvia was completely lost. This knowledge was too deep for her—she could not understand it at all.

Clenching her teeth, Sylvia forced herself to focus and memorize the content even though she did not understand it. Reynold’s appearance made her feel threatened; she did not want to get left far behind.

After teaching Reynold, Han Xiao then taught Sylvia.

Reynold did not leave however but listened at the side. Even though what Sylvia was learning was way too fundamental for him, he did not show any sign of being impatient and still listened attentively.

Time passed by slowly.

Han Xiao finally stopped his lesson. He looked at the time and announced the end of the lesson before leaving in a hurry to continue building his machines.

Sylvia and Reynold were the only ones left in the room, looking at each other.

“Er, if you have anything you don’t understand, I can teach you too.”

There were still many days ahead, so Reynold thought that he had to build a good relationship with Black Star’s apprentice. He gave a smile that he thought was very friendly and charming.

However, he rarely smiled, so his smile was ferocious no matter how it was looked at.

“Who needs you to teach me?” Sylvia rolled her eyes. “You’re new, so you should call me big sis, do you know that?”

Reynold frowned.

Oh no, is he angry? Sylvia suddenly felt a little regretful. Reynold could easily butcher her with one hand. He was even stronger than Herlous.

To make someone this strong lower his head to a barely Grade C Super, he would probably think it was a form of humiliation.

However, Reynold stayed silent for a while then nodded.

“Big sis,” said Reynold with a serious tone.

“Ah, are you really calling me that?” Sylvia was shocked. With an awkward face, Sylvia said in an unnatural tone, “I was just kidding.”

“No, you’re right. I just thought about it. Since I’m new, calling you big sis is what I should do. I was ill-mannered earlier, I apologize. Thank you for reminding me.”

There was not a single sense of unhappiness to be found on Reynold’s face. His expression was earnest, and his tone was serious as always.

Sylvia’s face stiffened. She found it difficult to deal with how serious Reynold was. She giggled and said, “No need. You don’t have to be so serious. You can just call me by my name.”

“No, I have to call you big sis, or it’s too disrespectful,” Reynold said solemnly. He even lowered his head to show his respect.

Sylvia felt her scalp tingle and could not take it anymore. She quickly carried her books and ran away.

…

After he finished interviewing the mercenaries, Han Xiao almost spent all the time in the days after that updating his combat mercenaries.

“It’s finally done!”

Ten days later, Han Xiao’s excited voice came from his personal machinery modification room.

Chapter 603: Machinery Innovation!

In the room, a strong metallic stench lingered. There were even heat waves in the air caused by the high temperature of melting steel.

Han Xiao had long become accustomed to such a smell. He hurriedly took out the last machine from the rapid cooling box, transforming it into a compressed orb, before placing it on the desk.

The table in front of him was lined with compressed orbs, all of which were new-generation machines.

This new generation of machinery was crafted with his Grade A Mechanic skills. Be it technical content, attributes, functions, and power, it had completely surpassed the older generation of machinery created when he was at Grade B. Thus, the machines replaced all his old equipment to become his new primary weapons.

His previous generation of equipment was unable to keep up with the battles at the Calamity Grade and was relegated to backup equipment.

This time, Han Xiao’s comprehensive equipment outfitting could be said to be the largest scale he had done so far.

The original combat style had not changed; it was still his continuous stream of soldiers with the Army Style. Han Xiao had only strengthened these current styles.

Buzz!

With a flash of Mechanical Force, a portion of the compressed orbs were activated. Following the clanking sounds of machinery whirring to life, thirty-six new generation Hovering Shield Shuttles floated up, revolving around Han Xiao.

The new generation Hovering Shield Shuttle, codenamed [DT-03 Nano Transformed Floating Guard]. The whole set was labelled ‘Watcher Instrument’.

Compared to the Halo Array of the previous generation, many aspects of the Watcher Instrument showed a definite change. The first was the shape of the Hovering Shield Shuttles, which had turned into a diamond shape. They had more edges and corners, and the color had also changed from white to a deep red. The connecting lines gleamed brilliant gold from the Kyle Alloy used.

In terms of function, the most significant change was the energy. Each floating shuttle was equipped with an ultra-micronized plasma arc reactor. It adopted the process of cold nuclear fission to generate sufficient energy with extremely low radioactivity, giving them high power outputs. The power output could also be adjusted at will. This equipment set was immensely strong, a dark purple Grade.

With the addition of two more High-End Knowledges, [High Class Energy Control] and [High Energy Weapon Control], Han Xiao had utilized them to create this new generation of machinery. He had even raised the blueprints of his machinery to the highest level, obtaining some potential points to cover his original reserves. It took a total of twenty-one potential points to upgrade both high-end knowledges to level five and four respectively.

Thus, just in terms of looking at his energy portfolio, he had already obtained good technological skills for it.

This time, he focused on strengthening his equipment. Reforming the energy cores was one of the main objectives, and the majority of his machinery had basically been swapped out to now contain controlled nuclear fusion technology.

The blueprints of the nuclear fusion reactors also had different drawings. Of which, the Plasma Arc Reactors were the best grade of blueprints that Han Xiao had obtained. The technology could be summarized as internally energized to form a magnetic field, which would heat the plasma and promote the fusion reaction. Not only was it efficient, it was also clean and controllable.

Above this High-End Knowledge would be Cutting-Edge Knowledge, which was about the study of stronger yet more unstable energy sources, such as antimatter and psionic energies. Generally speaking, only the Star Cluster Civilizations would possess Cutting-Edge Knowledge, so Han Xiao had to be satisfied with High-End Knowledge for now.

In the short term, Han Xiao had no intention of getting any Cutting-Edge Knowledge. Because he specialized in the Virtual Mechanic profession, the Cutting-Edge Knowledge in the Energy and Armed Branches would now cost three times their initial potential points. He only had two extra potential points left.

With a flicker of his Mechanical Force, Han Xiao began to operate the Watcher Instrument, testing out various functions.

The first was the most basic artillery power. He had Phillip open the weapon test module of the machinery modification room, and an alloy wall rose from the ground.

Hum!

The golden lines of the Hovering Shield Shuttle started to glow with a blue light, and the edges and corners at the tip of the shuttle suddenly unfolded, turning into a circular caliber gun. A blue laser beam blasted out, easily penetrating the alloy wall, leaving a smoking hole that could be seen from both sides.

“The penetrative power is indeed strong…” Han Xiao nodded. While the interface had described the weapon’s attack power, he had a habit of testing it himself. He followed up by switching the weapon forms, testing the blasting type, assassination type, the subduing type, and the full blast type.

Because the energy output was controllable, it possessed multiple attack settings.

Han Xiao also tested the Watcher Instrument’s shield durability. Unlike the Halo Array, a single floating shuttle of the Watcher Instrument could form a shield, with a high durability attached to it.

The most convenient feature of the Watcher Instrument was its Nano-Transforming ability. They could be combined with each other to become a larger caliber floating cannon or shield, and they could also be turned into a hand-held cannon. The Watcher Instrument could even transform into battle mode, turning into a Berserk Ape mechanical suit. Each of the miniature plasma arc reactors would continuously supply the mechanical suit for a wide range of uses.

“It is indeed worthy of being a Grade A mechanic’s weapon.”

Without any additional machinery, Han Xiao believed that Herlous could be beaten with just this Watcher Instrument.

Satisfied with the floating shuttle, he activated another pile of compressed orbs.

This time, the machinery that unfolded was the Giant Mechanical Hand. After replacing its energy core, the various functions had been significantly improved.

The Giant Mechanical Hand had always been a multifunctional equipment. It belonged to the Prosthetic category of machinery, where it could be used to slap, and the fingertips and palms could release ion cannons. It could also be turned into a compressed orb to hide in one’s hands and feet to begin the series of chain attacks.

The machine could also be turned into an electromagnetic lock, used to suppress a target, or it could be changed into various tools to alter the terrain. It was quite versatile.

Han Xiao had also added new functions to the Giant Mechanical Hands. They could now merge with each other and become a single entity over hundreds of meters tall, akin to the Buddha’s Palm of legends.

They could also be combined into an aircraft vehicle. Although the Berserk Ape mechanical suit was capable of interstellar navigation, it was only for a single passenger. The combination of the Giant Mechanical Hands could carry a small squad.

Talking about aircraft vehicles, Han Xiao had also developed an important piece of machinery.

[Short-Range Hyperdrive Engine]!

This blueprint came as a result of combining [Basic Spatial Technology], [Advanced Radar technology], [Interstellar Navigation Technology], and [Advanced Applications for Quantum Entanglement].

Unlike the large hyperdrive engines of the interstellar spaceships, this short-range hyperdrive engine was mainly used by individual soldiers or small aircrafts.

Of course, even though it had short range in the name, that was only compared to the normal hyperdrives in spaceships.

The Short-Range Hyperdrive Engine also had a limit—it needed a long period of time to locate the coordinates. The short-range hyperdrive engine had a charging time of twelve seconds, where the user could not move or break the connection, or else they would experience coordinate deviation, which could be fatal.

And its minimum cooling time was two minutes.

The BlackLight Stealth’s microsecond hyperdrive was made by the Federation of Light, which was currently too complicated for Han Xiao to replicate.

Even though that was the case, his current device was still quite useful, allowing one to shift their troops strategically in a battlefield or to rush to a destination.

Han Xiao had already installed one of them in the Berserk Ape as well as some of the aircrafts. The effect was great, equivalent to a mechanical version of Hexflash [1. Hexflash is the shortened name for Hextech Flashtraption, a rune/skill seen in League of Legends (LoL).].

As for the burden shouldered by the single target while in hyperdrive, it was nonexistent to Han Xiao.

As a void species, his resistance to space was naturally extremely high.

Other than the enhancement to individual equipment, the Mechanical Army had also undergone significant innovations.

The first task was to fully restore the original four legions: Number 001, [Mechanical Beast Guards Army]; 002, [Strike Artillery Regiment]; 003, [G-1 Steel Army Corps]; and the Elite Troops Number 101, [Oathkeepers]. At the same time, Han Xiao had also slightly increased the size of the legions.

Building on these, Han Xiao had added another two legions.

Number 004, [G-2 Heavy Armor Riders]!

This unit consisted of 600 heavy-loaded mechanical soldiers. They resembled huge men riding on high-speed propulsion vehicles. Their way of attacking was charging forward as the vanguard, with a strong impact to cut through the formation of the enemy. These heavily armored riders were mainly melee, equipped with weapons such as high-temperature blades, high-speed drills, and spiral wheel saws. All the weapons could easily set off a bloody storm.

Number 005, [Mini Cube Troops]!

This was a special unit consisting of 1,500 micro-mechanical warfare soldiers. Such a mechanical soldier was dubbed the ‘magic cube robot’. It measured only the size of a normal human palm, but even if something was small it could still contain the essentials. They possessed a high level of combat quality, and their size could work to their advantage on some occasions. This was why Han Xiao had created this army.

This unit also possessed an auxiliary function. The drawings of the ‘magic cube robot’ was derived from the knowledge [Super Nanometer Force], which would allow them to combine with each other to form a larger mechanical soldier. Each individual cube could be understood as parts of a larger mechanical soldier, and these parts could move freely and reshape at any given time.

At present, the scale of his Mechanical Army had reached 20,000. The number was still rising, as new mechanical soldiers were still being produced every day in the workshop.

The extra manufactured mechanical soldiers would either be directly merged into the various legions or used as backups.

In addition, the weapons of all mechanical soldiers had been upgraded, such as adding shock converters to the melee weapons, high pressure blades, and so on.

Plasma cannons, heat ray cannons, and radiation guns had been added to the slew of ranged weapons. The enhancement was also reflected in the turret structure, as Han Xiao had created a new type of turret.

Ammunition and detonation bombs had also undergone a reformation, having new devices such as vacuum oxygen detonation bombs, space warping bombs, thermonuclear mines, miniature nuclear grenades, and the new orbital sniper bombs.

Other than the original combat mods, Han Xiao had created two more battle tactics.

The first was the Restrain and Control Style.

Han Xiao had obtained a blueprint of an electromagnetic superconductor particle, about the size of a grain of rice. He had manufactured a lot of them, and placing them in a pile made them resemble some sort of black sand.

Superconductor particles contained strong magnetism, which could be manipulated through mechanical force.

This set was also known as ‘Electromagnetic Adsorption Marsh’. When activated, the superconductor particles would resemble a black wave, carrying with them a strong electromagnetic force. Once they reached the target, the particles would entangle the target, releasing the adsorption force and binding the target.

The longer the controlling time, the wider the coverage of the superconductor particles, and subsequently, more difficult for the target to break free. Through mechanical force, the adsorption and its shape could be varied, which allowed this equipment to actively capture the target.

This was a strong crowd control device that lacked lethality. Han Xiao’s inspiration for this came from Ember’s fighting style, and Han Xiao’s electromagnetic adsorption marsh also controlled particles, which resembled Ember’s ability.

His second combat mode could be called the ‘Dirt Cheap Style’.

In his previous life, players had named this style as the Tactical Support Style.

A few months ago, when DarkStar attacked Planet Aquamarine, they had used the main cannon to strike at himself from outer space. That was called Tactical Support.

The essence of this mode was to summon missiles to scrub the ground, summon space-based weapons to strike down, summon fleet salvos… it was essentially an upgraded version of the Multi-Turret Firepower Coverage Style.

Also referred to as being gangster!

The Army Style would crush most mechanic styles. Only two schools of thought were the most troublesome opponents of the Army Style.

The first was the Virtual Intrusion Style—that was the Virtual Mechanic profession that Han Xiao specialized in.

The other was this Tactical Support Style.

Han Xiao dropped all his compressed orbs and looked toward the other side of the modification workshop.

Over there sat a giant machine.

It was actually an impact railgun!

Chapter 604: Bad Feelings Most Likely Will Turn True

This impact railgun was called ‘Eye of God’, a satellite weapon that could move on its own after being detached from the spaceship. It could be plotted at the edge of the atmosphere to orbit around the planet.

Unlike the DarkStar main cannon, the Eye of God was not a particle beam weapon; it used physical ammo. Its shells were exceptionally large and could be used with many different types of ammunition, providing more tactical options. Attacking the surface from outer space, its attacks would gain more kinetic energy from the initial thrust and gravity. With Han Xiao’s calculations, its accuracy was very precise.

The cost of this impact railgun was remarkably high, only next to the Berserk Ape mechanical suit, not including the cost of every shot it took.

With so much money spent, the returns were certainly great. The damage of Eye of God was outstanding. It was like a gigantic turret placed in outer space. There were only two restrictions. One was that its attack speed was very slow—the shell had to fly for some time. Another was that it could not be used in space—it could only be used to attack the surface from above. It was rather suitable for missions that involved airdropping down to the ground to deal with issues.

This was now the most destructive weapon that Han Xiao possessed, but there was only one. The Tactical Support Style only had a brief outline. However, Han Xiao had a lot of money, so he could build more if he had the time.

When the Tactical Support Style was complete, tens and hundreds of impact railguns firing together would be able to annihilate an entire planet in a short time, fully proving the fact that money meant strength for the Mechanic class.

Bigger was greater, more was better. When other Supers hit a barrier and were unable to move forward, only the Mechanic class could steadily increase their strength by spending money.

“Only with this equipment have I reached the level of strength I should have.” Han Xiao nodded in his head.

The total cost was close to a million Enas. After updating all his combat machines, his destructive ability had really reached the Calamity level. He could summon nuclear bombs onto planets and destroy the ecology of the surface in a short period.

Watcher Instrument, Mechanical Exterior Prosthetic, Short-Range Hyperdrive Engine, Mechanical Armies 004 and 005, Strong Electromagnetic Swamp, Eye of God… Han Xiao checked all the machines. He then arranged the compressed orbs and wore them. As for the large weapons like the Mechanical Armies and Eye of God, they were placed in the spaceship warehouse.

Other than machines for combat, Han Xiao had also fused an interesting blueprint used for battles between spaceships, which he had built during the time.

The Barbarian Charge Cabin, a landing battle device.

This was a suspended cabin, attached to a spaceship and equipped with shock absorption devices. When the enemy’s shield was destroyed, this charge cabin could be launched to bite onto the enemy spaceship. With its heat slicing equipment, it would then melt the enemy’s armor and send the people inside it into the hostile spaceship. Of course, if things did not go well, the charge cabin could self-destruct.

During galactic wars, charge cabins were regularly used. The people inside had no means of retreating—they were all basically in a do-or-die situation.

Han Xiao felt this was perfectly suitable for the players.

Han Xiao was still studying the Violent Falcon spaceship, but he was short of a part of the knowledge, so his progress reverse engineering it was stuck. In his previous life, high-level Mechanic class players could build spaceships, but it was mostly done by a team. Everyone had different knowledge of the spaceship and assembled different parts.

Han Xiao did not want to divide the labor; he wanted to learn the entire process of building spaceships.

Building a spaceship alone was one of the Special Legendary Point milestones, just like the [Legendary Hunter] milestone that he had yet to complete.

However, he was still short in a part of its knowledge, and he happened to be lacking Potential Points. He was in quite a pinch.

After entering the galaxy, Han Xiao had not harvested as much experience, mainly just money.

He needed time to update his equipment after leveling up, and he had spent quite a lot of experience leveling up and fusing blueprints.

Therefore, his experience was almost dry.

I should find the time to get some experience…

His equipment was all updated, and other than getting more Potential Points, he also needed to continue increasing his strength.

I’m now level 142. Although I just entered Grade A, I can match up to higher level people with my equipment. Plus, my talents mean I can take a beating, so my advantage is huge. If the enemy’s ability is common, the chances of me winning will increase significantly…

Han Xiao estimated his combat capability. Usually, most people in Galaxy entered Grade A between level 150 to 160; it all depended on talents, abilities, and attributes. He, however, entered Grade A at level 142. This was not common even among these powerful protagonist-type characters.

At Grade A, each Promotion at every twenty levels or each Class Advancement for the main class could be considered a separation line. Han Xiao was now at the level 140 to 160 grade, so the amount of experience needed to level up was enormous—billions and billions.

In his previous life, when the version that allowed players to level up to this level was released, the missions had all given at least tens of millions of experience. Despite that, the players had still had to spend a tremendous amount of time to level up just once.

Even though he could shear the players, it was still extremely difficult to obtain the amount of experience needed to level up to 160 straight away. Promotion was too far away at the moment, but there was another way to increase his strength—main class Class Advancement.

Han Xiao’s [Virtual Mechanic] was now Lv.17. He was three levels away from his Class Advancement, which would need about three billion experience.

This time, Han Xiao did not plan to sell knowledge. Selling knowledge was a one-time sale, so he could only do it so many times. Plus, it was not suitable for him to give everything to the players at once.

He decided to sell blueprints, which was the larger profit chain.

Although the target market for blueprints was limited to Mechanic class players and the profits were not as high as with Promotion Knowledges, the upside of this was that there were way too many blueprints that could be fused, almost infinite. During Version 1.0, Han Xiao had acted as the Mechanic class mentor and made more players become Mechanics. The reason that he had done that was to expand the market for blueprints.

Furthermore, he did not just have to sell the players low level blueprints; he could even sell very high-level blueprints.

The players did not have the required knowledge, so even if they bought the high-level blueprints, they would not be able to use them until much later. Nonetheless, people would still buy them. It was better to have a high-level blueprint that they could not use than not having one at all. Just looking at it would make them look forward to the day they could use it.

He never underestimated the Chinese players’ desire to stock up.

Thinking of the players… Han Xiao opened the forums. As usual, it was boisterous.

The players used the tactical equipment that he had sold last time in their new hire missions, and many people sent screenshots to share. Among them, the Worker Bee Armor received the most positive comments; it made many players find a new way to make money—mining! It was much more peaceful and steadier than fighting and killing.

The second most popular one was surprisingly the Nuclear Flying Backpack. The focus of the comments was not even flying but all about how good it felt to self-destruct…

This made Han Xiao even more confident about the Barbarian Charge Cabin.

He knew it—self-destruction and the players were a perfect match!

Han Xiao browsed through the posts. Other than sharing posts, chatting posts, and other random posts, there were also highly skilled players who posted guides which explained strategies among other things. Suddenly, Han Xiao realized a post was going up the popularity list very quickly.

‘Wayne Cards Newbie Guide—Issue 3’

He clicked in, then realized that the player who had written the post was charmed by Wayne Card and used all the money that he earned to buy Wayne Cards, not equipment…

Noob!

Playing meaningless games every day and not doing missions properly‽

In the end, these players have still been contaminated by Wayne Cards…

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Could Wayne Cards actually be his biggest competitor?

He briefly scanned through and realized that the Shattered Star Ring card set had been updated, which was the focus of this post. It was being madly discussed by the players. In the updated cards, there was the Black Star Army.

_____________________

Shattered Star Ring Card Set adjustments:

Mercenary Card [Black Star Mercenary Group] changed to Mercenary Card/Force Card [Black Star Army]. Increased card attributes, added special effects.

Civilization Card [Godora] attributes increased.

Force Card [Floating Dragon Island] attributes increased.

Added Strong Card [‘Black Star’ Han Xiao]

Added History Card [End of DarkStar]

Force Card [DarkStar] moved to Disposed Card Set.

_____________________

Han Xiao suddenly understood why this post was so popular.

Currently, in the eyes of the players, the Black Star Army represented their faction. Seeing that their faction had appeared in the card set, the players were more than just excited. The comments were exploding. In their eyes, the updated Wayne Cards showed the result of their hard work for the growth of their faction.

Wayne Cards’ update represented the changes of all areas in Galaxy to a certain extent. They had added an exclusive Strong Card for Han Xiao, and it had some decent attributes…

This meant that his actions had spread far, and he was someone very well known.

Han Xiao suddenly realized that Wayne Cards seemed to be a subtle leaderboard or list, showcasing the fame and position of people in the universe.

…

After looking through the forums for a while longer and extracting some potions from Sykes and the rest, Han Xiao closed the door and left the machinery modification room.

While spending close to two months building machines, Han Xiao did not forget his mission to escort Hila and Aurora to Floating Dragon Island.

Since the Black Star Army had grown in size, the players and the regular mercenaries took care of a lot of missions. Currently, there did not seem to be any high difficulty mission that he needed to complete himself. Hence, Han Xiao decided to first fulfill Ames’ request.

Hila was usually in the Combat Training Room along with Aurora.

On the way there, Han Xiao met Sylvia, who seemed to be avoiding something nervously. She hastily greeted him and quickly escaped. Han Xiao did not pay any attention to it. He then walked further ahead and noticed Reynold looking around at the intersection, so he went up to him and gave him a few words of encouragement. Seeing that Reynold was about to take out his notebook, Han Xiao quickly shut his mouth and walked away with wide strides.

Upon arriving at the Combat Training Room, Hila was expectedly undergoing combat training, and Aurora had been dragged into it.

Due to past experiences, Hila had a very strong desire for power. After entering the galaxy and seeing so many people that were so strong, she felt an even stronger sense of danger. She would not have slept at all just to train if she could; she put all her time into training.

Of course, the results were visible. The Training Room could simulate real combat and force out the combat potential of Supers. Hila’s talent had always been rather good. Combined with hard work, her strength grew quite quickly recently. A few days ago, Han Xiao had sparred with Hila and realized that she was many levels higher than before.

Han Xiao opened the door, and the simulated battle environment disappeared.

Hila stopped. She wiped away the sweat on her forehead, frowned, and said, “What are you doing here? You want to spar?”

She was wearing an extremely tight, black battle suit that looked like a layer of black skin, highlighting her alluring body shape, curvy and thin everywhere it should be.

Han Xiao looked at her and could not help but shake his head. “Can’t you change into a more useful battle suit. Do I not have enough armor for you to choose from?”

Hila gave Han Xiao a look of disgust. “Too bulky.”

“Bulky? It’s called safe. Don’t you just not like them because they don’t look pretty? What do you know about aesthetics?” Han Xiao rolled his eyes. Tsk, women.

While those two argued, Aurora leaned on her knees and gasped for air, unable to even speak.

She had been forced to join the special training. Unable to keep up with Hila’s training intensity, her body was almost collapsing due to exhaustion.

However, Aurora was not completely unwilling. She had experienced times of hardship and knew how important strength was, so she did not slack in her training at all. After all, the simulated battled would not deal any real damage, so if she was just slacking, she would not be so tired.

Han Xiao took out a concentrated nutrition bar and threw it to Aurora. “That’s enough. Stop training and pack up. I’m taking you guys to Floating Dragon Island.”

Aurora heard that and quickly stopped biting open the packaging of the nutrition bar, surprised. “Are we finally going to meet big sister Ames‽”

Hila’s eyes became slightly brighter, and her lips curved up a little. After entering the galaxy, only then did she understand how powerful Ames was in the universe. She had been looking forward to training with her.

Di di di…

Han Xiao was just about to say a few words when the communicator suddenly rang. He took it out, and it was surprisingly Ames’ communication request.

Speak of the devil.

“Ames?”

“Hmm, Black Star, when are you bringing my students over?” Ames’ projection appeared, and a long pair of white, python-like legs entered Han Xiao’s sight.

“I was settling some stuff earlier, so it was delayed. I will bring them to Floating Dragon in a few days.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Okay.” Ames paused and suddenly said, “Best come quicker. When you’re here, I want you to go somewhere with me.”

“Where?”

“Bloodshed Land,” Ames said calmly without any noticeable emotion.

Han Xiao’s eyebrows shot up. He had a bad feeling like his casual and relaxing time was about to end. “Can I not go?”

“Humph, no.” Ames ended the communication.

Chapter 605: The Tyrant’s Invitation, Shattered Star Ring Territories

Speechless, Han Xiao put the communicator away and thought on it.

Why is Ames going to Bloodshed Land? To make trouble?

Malekith had once said that Ames had some issues with Bloodshed Land. The Tyrant had taken one of her officers, and they had battled furiously, ending with Ames’ loss. Han Xiao felt that Ames was not going there with good intentions this time.

She insisted on bringing me. Does she want me to assist her and stop the Tyrant’s officers?

Han Xiao’s lips twitched. He was now Floating Dragon’s strongest officer. Back then, Ames did not have anyone whom she could use under her command. Now that she finally had someone who could fight, was she going to make full use of him?

There were plenty of strong people under the Tyrant. The eight Grade A Vanguard Officials were just the tip of the iceberg; Vanguard Officials were not the only position for their high-ranking officers. If Ames only took him along to Bloodshed Land, of course, she would end up being fine, but the same could not be said for him.

I hope we are not going there to fight… Han Xiao had a slight headache.

Hila had watched their conversation from the start till the end. Confused, she asked, “What kind of place is Bloodshed Land?”

“That’s a gathering ground for a group of muscular men. It’s just a dangerous place,” Han Xiao replied unhappily.

As Ames had told him to hurry up, Han Xiao did not delay any longer.

He found Reynold and told him to stay in Base No.1. Then, he found Sylvia and told her to take care of the other issues. This was just standard procedure; the one who was actually managing Base No.1 was Phillip, and Han Xiao could monitor the situation remotely. Hence, there were not that many things to say. The Black Star Army’s business could carry on as usual even though he was not in the base.

Settling these issues only took half an hour. Han Xiao gathered Hila and Aurora, who had now changed into new, neat clothes, and the three of them boarded the Blacklight Stealth, which was parked in the hangar.

Woo woo!

The rooftop gate of the hangar opened, and the anti-gravity stabilizer below the Blacklight Stealth activated, emitting a dark blue light.

The spaceship took off vertically, and a purple flame shot out from the thrusters.

In the blink of an eye, the spaceship turned into a stream of light and disappeared into the sky.

…

The Blacklight Stealth exited hyperdrive, slowly caught up with Floating Dragon Island, and docked.

“So, this is Floating Dragon Island…”

Disembarking from the spaceship, Aurora looked left and right curiously. She saw the brutes gathered on the dock immediately, who all looked fearsome. They were clearly not good people.

The brutes turned around and looked at them.

Hila saw this and quickly caught up with Aurora. She stood beside her and looked around at the brutes with alertness in her eyes, like a lioness protecting its child.

“Don’t be so nervous. Although Floating Dragon allows galactic pirates, scavengers, and wanted criminals to stop here, no fighting is allowed… Er, not usually of course. Ahem, anyway, they won’t bite.”

As Han Xiao spoke, he walked over to the two of them, then wrapped his arm around Hila shoulders and looked around. “Hey, what are you people still looking at?”

The brutes then all turned and looked away, continuing with their business. Han Xiao’s ride was too famous; no one wanted to mess with Black Star, on Floating Dragon Island especially.

Hila glanced at Han Xiao then looked at the hand on her shoulder and moved her body uncomfortably.

“My friend, you’ve returned again.”

This time, Wilsander’s voice came from nearby. He had gotten the news long ago and had been waiting to welcome Han Xiao.

What Han Xiao did not expect was that Jenny was there, standing right behind Wilsander.

He greeted Wilsander before looking at Jenny. He chuckled and said, “You’re here, too, huh? Work has been busy, I suppose; you look gaunter than the last time I saw you.”

Without any change to her expression, Jenny snatched a weapon from a guard and started firing at Han Xiao like a maniac.

Bang bang bang!

Han Xiao let the small-caliber laser land on his body without moving. This could not hurt him at all.

At the side, Aurora’s jaw dropped from watching this. Hila clenched her teeth, looking like she was wondering whether to stop it or not. Wilsander was shaking his head and sighing.

Ka ka ka!

When the firearm overheated and could not continue firing anymore, Jenny finally threw it away and coldly said, “Ames is waiting for you in the palace.”

Then, she turned and instantly walked away.

She knew that she could not hurt Han Xiao; she just wanted to vent her frustration.

As the Head Butler, Jenny had been as busy as a bee recently. Being very understanding, Han Xiao did not mind letting Jenny enjoy herself for a moment.

Anyway, this would not affect his actions. He would still expand as he planned to. Jenny’s relaxed time was over and never coming back, just like her youth.

Han Xiao patted his clothes, unconcerned. He turned to look at Hila and said, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to see Ames. Memorize the roads on the way.”

Speechless, the two of them looked at each other before nodding.

After bidding farewell to Wilsander, they went all the way to the palace at the center of the floating island.

The dragon bone throne floated in the palace. Ames was sitting on it, resting her head on her hand, and watching the three of them walk into the palace. She sighed and said, “Black Star, you’re so slow, only bringing them here after a few months.”

Han Xiao did not agree or disagree. Hila and Aurora bowed as a greeting.

Ames controlled her force field, lowering the height of the throne, and landed in front of the three of them. She smiled and said, “Alright, you will be my students from now on. You can call me teacher.”

“Teacher,” the two of them replied.

Ames was very pleased by that. Her smile became even more gentle. This was what she had once called Aesop. Now that she had her own students, it felt very special.

“Although our Esper abilities are different, I can teach you methods to develop yours using my experience, helping you to make use of your potential,” Ames said gently.

Hila nodded solemnly. “Okay, when do we start?”

She was a training maniac, and with such a strong teacher, she could not wait to start training.

However, Ames shook her head and said, “Not now. I want you guys to go somewhere with me.”

Han Xiao’s eyebrows twitched. “Bloodshed Land?”

“Yes, all three of you are coming with me.”

She’s bringing Hila and Aurora too? Then it seems like we’re not going there to fight… Han Xiao was relieved.

This was good news. He did not want to mess with the force of another Beyond Grade A out of nowhere.

However, to confirm Ames’ intention, Han Xiao still asked, “That’s Heber’s territory. I heard there were problems between you and him. Why are we going?”

Ames’ smile became dimmer as she slowly said, “The Tyrant is an ambitious guy. We don’t get along. He even once stole someone talented from me, but this time, we are not going there to cause trouble.

“Every once in a while, the Tyrant hosts an enormous party. He sends out invitation letters to the important people of the Shattered Star Ring. Almost everyone shows him respect and attends. There are high ranking government officials of Star Cluster civilizations, representatives of large organizations, and sometimes even emissaries of the three Universal Civilizations. Of course, the Beyond Grade As of Shattered Star Ring are invited, including me… Humph, despite that guy being a pain in the neck, he is a very unpredictable man. Back then, I battled through his headquarters, but the next party, the Tyrant still invited me.

“Anyway, the Tyrant’s parties have continued for many years. It has become an unspoken tradition between large organizations. This is a chance to make connections for many important people. The Tyrant has the ability to be the host. At the party, many important people will communicate and discuss various topics. A large amount of information will be leaked out every single party. The discussions between these people during the party decide the future developments of the Shattered Star Ring to quite a large extent.”

So that’s what this is… Han Xiao realized what was going on.

Simply put, the Tyrant hosted a Shattered Star Ring party, which people attended to make friends, chitchat, gossip, and all that. The difference was, the attendees all held very important positions, which, when all combined, could even decide the future of Shattered Star Ring.

Hosting this kind of gathering and turning it into a tradition for the high-class organizations… the Tyrant was indeed ambitious. His goal was massive.

“So, are you going to attend the Tyrant’s party?”

Han Xiao was surprised. Floating Dragon had always stayed neutral. Plus, considering Ames’ personality, she did not seem to care about this sort of thing.

“Of course I’m going!” Ames’ voice became deeper. “I don’t want to look so petty!”

What? What does this have to do with petty? Han Xiao was puzzled.

He then tried to think from Ames’ perspective and finally realized what Ames meant.

I hate his guts. How dare he invite me to join his party! To show he’s generous? F*ck, did he invite me because he thinks I won’t go? If I don’t go, doesn’t that show that I’m petty? Go! I must go! I’m generous and awesome, why would I be afraid of going!

To Han Xiao, he thought this guess was about at least ninety percent right. This seemed like the kind of thing Ames would think.

Then why bring me? Oh, because the Tyrant has so many strong people under his command, so Ames doesn’t want to lose on that front. That’s why she’s taking me there!

At least we’re not going there to make trouble… Han Xiao was a little puzzled and could only comfort himself this way. “When does the party start?”

“There’s still some time. We will leave tomorrow, heading straight toward Bloodshed Land’s headquarters.”

Bloodshed Land was located in the Seoul Star Cluster. If the Shattered Star Ring could be described in a flat 2D map, the middle would be the most dangerous, unstable cluster, filled with wormholes appearing and disappearing at random, connected to all places in the universe.

On the map, one side would be the edge of the known universe, beyond which was the unknown part of the universe that was unexplored.

The other side would be the tunnels toward other Star Fields that cover astronomical distances of the unpopulated desolate universe. That was how Risda had arrived, traveling through Star Fields for a very long time from another Star Field.

Surrounding the wormhole cluster were ten or so Star Clusters, all divided and controlled by the seven Star Cluster Civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring.

The Taralam Star Cluster was the closest to the wormhole cluster. It was plagued with scavengers. When Han Xiao was doing the Chen Xing missions, he had gone there once.

Between the Colton Star Cluster and Seoul Star Cluster was a desolate area. It could almost be considered their border.

On the other side of the Seoul Star Cluster was the largest Star Cluster, the Setin Star Cluster. Seoul was in the middle of Setin and Colton; it was the second smallest Star Cluster in the Shattered Star Ring.

In terms of government, the Star Cluster Civilization that ruled Seoul was called the Klent Kingdom, and the Star Cluster Civilization that ruled Colton was the Purple Crystal Civilization. These two civilizations coexisted peacefully. They had built many large Stargates in each other’s territory. Godora’s Stargate had been built by the Purple Crystal Civilization.

The Tyrant’s Bloodshed Land was the Klent Kingdom’s VIP. With a Star Cluster Civilization behind them, the Tyrant’s party represented both the influence of a Beyond Grade A and the position of a Star Cluster Civilization. Hence, so many people would attend.

“So, we’re going to the Seoul Star Cluster, right?” Han Xiao sighed. “Take my spaceship then.”

Smiling, Ames said, “That’s exactly what I thought.”

Chapter 606: Bloodshed Land

In the middle of Seoul Star Cluster, the stars shone brightly. A stream of light slashed across the universe, bolting through the darkness. It was the BlackLight Stealth in hyperdrive. On the ship were only Han Xiao, Ames, Hila, and Aurora.

After a few days, the four of them finally arrived at Seoul from Colton, passing through many stargates and Star Systems. When passing through the entry stargate from Colton to Seoul, they were even searched by the stargate station.

Klent Kingdom’s management of the Seoul Star Cluster was rather strict. They had set checkpoints around the entry stargates from other Star Clusters.

The entry stargate allowed teleportation across the desolate area between the two Star Clusters, saving a huge chunk of time. All the galactic travelers with a clean background would use the stargate, whereas those who took the path through the desolate region were mostly wanted criminals and secret organizations.

Bloodshed Land’s headquarters were in the heavily controlled Star System, the core Star System in the middle of the Seoul Star Cluster.

In the ship’s hall, Han Xiao looked at the location marked on the star map and curled his lips.

“Planet Heber. Tsk tsk… he used his own name for the headquarters, such a…” Just a Han Xiao was about to comment, he suddenly realized that he had done the same thing, so he instantly changed his sentence. “Such a wise choice!”

“Are we almost there?” Aurora looked at the star map curiously and realized that she could not understand it.

“The hyperdrive will end in about ten minutes and twenty-seven seconds.” Han Xiao looked at the control panel presented by Risda. The spaceship was on autopilot at the moment, and all four of them were at the hall.

Aurora turned and asked, “Teacher, is Planet Heber similar to Floating Dragon Island?”

Ames lay down sideways on the sofa, elegant and casual. She smiled and said, “Different, Planet Heber’s costs are higher. It’s a modified planet, built by Klent Kingdom with Star Cluster level technology. It’s more like a portable fortress. It’s Heber’s second strongest weapon.”

Star Cluster Civilizations’ ability far exceeded that of Star System Civilizations; they were on completely different levels. The most obvious difference was mobility—Star Cluster Civilizations could build stargates, so their transport speed was countless times faster than Star System Civilizations’.

Also, Star Cluster Civilizations had the technology to build planet-grade battleships, the most common one being the Planet Mining Mothership. It could ‘devour’ an entire planet, breaking it down inside and turning it into all kinds of resources.

For example, Planet Heber was a planet-grade space fortress built by Klent Kingdom.

“Second strongest? Then what’s the Tyrant’s strongest weapon?” Hila asked with a serious expression. She was more interested in the abilities of the strongest people in the Shattered Star Ring.

“His strongest weapons is, of course, his own body.” Ames shook her head. “He can use his physical body to penetrate straight through a planet.”

“Impossible!” Aurora exclaimed.

Han Xiao had Phillip search for Heber’s history. It seemed like there was more than one record of him crashing through a planet. Rather, it looked like it was Heber’s usual activity.

“Heber’s body is extremely strong. Mud and stones cannot stop him. The high-density rock layer under deep under the surface is as fragile as paper to him, and lava is his bathing water. Even a planet’s core isn’t hot enough to burn him. Maybe a Fixed Star could hurt him, but not a planet, so crashing through a planet is not a challenge for him.” Ames sighed.

Heber was almost her nemesis, yet even the highest strength force field could not tear Heber apart. Heber could move freely even under the pressure. If she used Floating Dragon to hit him, it would be shattered by Heber instead. The nemesis of force field type Espers was indeed this kind of indestructible enemy. After all, although force field Esper abilities were well rounded, it was more toward controlling—damage was not its strength.

Despite Ames being carefree, she was not ignorant. She knew her own weaknesses.

Hila frowned and kept silent. Heber’s strength currently exceeded her knowledge range, so she did not know what to say.

“Heber penetrating a planet is like a sniper bullet penetrating several planks.” Han Xiao shook his head. A Beyond Grade A Pugilist was terrifyingly powerful.

After chatting for a while, the Blacklight Stealth finally exited hyperdrive state. The light tunnel outside the porthole disappeared, and the universe reappeared.

Right under the spaceship, a small, metallic planet entered their sights. Its color seemed solemn and serious.

Planet Heber!

Han Xiao received a communication request from Planet Heber. If they did not identify themselves and continued loitering around Planet Heber, they would be deemed as an enemy.

Ames had the invitation letter, so after verifying their identity, Planet Heber sent the parking coordinates. Han Xiao told Risda to control the spaceship and land at the given location.

As Planet Heber was a moving fortress like Floating Dragon, it did not have natural sunlight. The top of it was covered with thick, dark artificial clouds to block the radiation from the universe.

The spaceship slowly descended. After passing through the black clouds, Planet Heber’s surface appeared in their eyes.

Planet Heber was mainly made up of cold and dark colors; there was almost nothing dramatic.

Castle-like buildings stood tall, and tons and tons of bases were like mountains. These buildings emitted a dark blue light. It was somewhat futuristic and mysterious. Advanced technology seemed to be a planet-wide theme. Between the many bases, there were gigantic hollow-in-the-middle circular devices up to two kilometers tall. A purple light was rippling at its hollow part like it was operating as something.

Above the bases, battleship fleets patrolled.

This was a planet-level armored fortress!

Hila and Aurora were stunned.

The Blacklight Stealth landed at a dock between the bases. When they got out of the spaceship, a group of people were already waiting there. They were all Bloodshed Land soldiers, led by the Vanguard Official Malekith.

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, thank you for accepting the invitation. Welcome to Bloodshed Land.”

Malekith gave a common bow. He had personally delivered Ames’ invitation letter.

Ames did not reply. She looked at the surroundings, snickered, and said, “It’s been a while since I last came. This place is boring as always. Heber really has no taste.”

“Battleships and fortresses are the best decorations,” Malekith replied. When he saw Han Xiao beside Ames, his eyes gleamed, and he said coldly, “Black Star, I said we would soon meet again.”

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows, played dumb, and said, “Who are you? I’ve never seen you before.”

“…”

The others looked over and stared at him.

“Alright, I was kidding.” Han Xiao curled his lips.

Bloodshed Land’s people were really interesting, trying to pick them apart as soon as they met. Malekith deliberately used such an ambiguous tone to hint that he had met Black Star privately before.

Han Xiao did not tell Ames that he had met Malekith before, and Ames had once had someone stolen from her side. Due to the previous incident, she should be very sensitive to this. If she knew that her trusted officer had met with Bloodshed Land privately again, she would probably not be happy with him.

Malekith looks like a savage with a small brain, but he’s actually quite dirty, isn’t he?

Okay, I will remember this.

Chapter 607: Provoke

A sharp green light flashed through Ames’ eyes. She stared at Malekith and deliberately said, “What are you guys trying to do to my people again?”

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, don’t be so sensitive. Black Star and I just happened to meet. That’s all,” Malekith replied calmly.

Ames squinted and turned to look at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao had nothing to hide, so he honestly replied, “He found me and wanted me to leave Floating Dragon to join Bloodshed Land. Tsk tsk, he gave me some good terms.”

“And? What did you say?” Ames asked with a faint smile.

“Had I agreed, he wouldn’t have brought this up again.” Han Xiao shrugged.

Ames smirked, turned to Malekith, and said, “Hear that? Give up your tricks and lead the way.”

Seeing that the provocation did not work, Malekith did not speak anymore and led the way.

There were still a few days till the party, but many people had already arrived. Bloodshed Land had prepared many rooms for the guests to rest in.

The four of them headed toward the rooms. As they passed through the numerous bases, patrolling soldiers and carriers were everywhere.

Han Xiao had time on the way to observe all sorts of facilities in Bloodshed Land. It was similar to how he remembered. In his previous life, there had also been players that were recruited by Bloodshed Land, so he remembered the map structure of Planet Heber.

If I remember correctly, the Planet Heber’s surface is just a small part. There are bigger strongholds underground, Han Xiao recalled.

This time, the voice of a stranger suddenly came from not far behind them.

“Long time no see, Ames.”

Han Xiao’s first intuition was that the tone of this person sounded very taunting.

They turned around. A team of soldiers crowded around a man appeared behind them, the man was the one that spoke. He wore an exquisite robe and had a more feminine than masculine face, staring at Ames with a mocking expression.

The look in Ames’ eyes slightly changed when she saw this person. “Carroll.”

Carroll’s unrestrained eyes scanned Ames’ gorgeous face, snow-white neck, flat abdomen, and her thin, long legs, sizing her up fearlessly. He snickered and said, “I left Floating Dragon so long ago, but you’re still as beautiful as before.”

Ames’ face was cold and indifferent.

Han Xiao noticed Ames’ abnormal reaction; it seemed like her relationship with this guy named Carroll was unusual. He turned and glanced at Malekith and saw the rubbernecking expression on this broken horn Demon’s face.

I see, Carroll is Ames’ ex-subordinate… Han Xiao realized.

If Carroll had resigned normally, Ames would not have said anything. Instead, Carroll had openly deserted and joined Bloodshed Land with a high profile. He had even given away some of Floating Dragon’s technological secrets and their map structure. Plus, he was now in a high position. To Ames, this was no doubt a betrayal. She felt hostile toward Bloodshed Land, even more so toward Carroll. Back then, when she battled toward Planet Heber, she had most likely had another goal—to kill Carroll. Only, she had been stopped by the Tyrant.

The truth was just as Han Xiao speculated; Ames and her old subordinate Carroll had become enemies long ago.

“To dare come and look for me, are you tired of living?” Ames said coldly.

Carroll had the Tyrant to rely on, so he was confident and unafraid. With a derisive smile, he said, “This is Bloodshed Land’s headquarters. What, do you want to kill the Tyrant’s logistics manager here? By the way, I heard you found an insect to replace my position. Hehe, you have quite a heavy taste.”

With an expressionless face, Ames started to get intense.

Hila and Aurora noticed that the atmosphere was not right and became alert.

However, Carroll did not hold back at all. It was clear that he had come just to provoke them. He turned to look at Han Xiao and casually said, “Black Star? So, you’re Ames’ new officer? I can be considered your senior, do you want some advice and tips?”

“Tips?” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. He was just standing aside and did not speak, but unexpectedly, Carroll spoke to him.

“That’s right, I know her very well, and I have a feeling you need my guidance.” Carroll shrugged and mocked, “After all, you like being her pet—shouldn’t you know what your master likes?”

“Wow, this is the first time I’ve met someone who’s even more of an ass than me.” Han Xiao could not hold back his laughter. “Pal, do you sometimes have like punching yourself in the face when you look into a mirror?”

Carroll had thought that Han Xiao would be angered by his provocative words, so he was choked by this completely unexpected reaction. He paused then spoke again with mockery. “Don’t get angry, I’m just speaking the truth. You’re the same as the old me, just her pet. The difference is, you’re just my replacement. Without you, there will be a Red Star or a White Star to replace you.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. Before he could return the taunt, Ames spoke first.

“Black Star is not like you; he’s more trustworthy than you.”

“Oh, then you’ll have to be more careful.” Carroll stared at Han Xiao with a sneer. “The more she trusts you, when you want to abandon her, the more determined she’ll be to kill you… Hehe, you’re probably worse than a pet, just a slave tied to her side.”

This guy sure talks a lot of trash… Han Xiao rolled his eyes. A few words were far from enough to anger him.

Then, Carroll looked at Ames again, this time with even more apparent lust. “Did you know this? I once did not even have the courage to raise my head in front of you, but now…”

“I have no interest in what you think.” Ames stopped Carroll from speaking. With an ice-cold look in her eyes, she raised her hand and said slowly, “Since you’re deliberately taunting, it seems like you’re prepared to bear the consequences.”

Boom!

As soon as her sentence ended, a powerful force field appeared, and the ground cracked open inch by inch under the extremely heavy pressure. The force field headed straight toward Carroll.

This time, three roars came from around the place. Three shadows moved swiftly in front of Carroll, and thick Pugilist flames rose from their bodies.

The three of them blocked the force field with all their might.

The three of them were all Grade A Bloodshed Land Vanguard Officials, one being Malekith.

In an instant, an impact wave exploded, and the Bloodshed Land soldiers around all turned into rolling stones, falling and rolling away.

The three Vanguard Officials were sent flying, too. They launched a wave of energy midair to stop the momentum, landed on the ground, and stared at Ames with caution.

It had taken all three of them to stop Ames’ one simple force field attack.

“As expected.” The look in Ames’ eyes became darker, and the air started to vibrate.

The attack earlier was just the most casual, simple hit from Ames, and now she was going to get serious.

Ohm!

A much stronger force field brewed, and the ground and buildings around started to crack.

Seeing this, Han Xiao had no choice but to take a few steps forward to stand in front of Ames. With a flash of Mechanical Force, Watcher Instrument hovered behind him in a circle, like a circle of light behind his head.

A dark light appeared in the barrel of the Hovering Shield Shuttle, targeting the enemies. Han Xiao smirked and said, “So, do you guys want to duel or fight me together? I’m fine with anything.”

The eyes of the tree Vanguard Officials including Malekith all sparkled with anticipation.

Despite saying so, Han Xiao knew that the fight was not going to happen. This was Bloodshed Land’s showcase of power; the Tyrant would definitely interfere. After all, they were guests no matter what. Plus, Heber would not allow Ames to destroy his party.

Nonetheless, he still had to express his stand. He could not stand aside and let Ames face the enemies alone.

Just when everything was about to erupt, a new energy force arose from far away, shooting straight up into the sky, as if flooding over the entire Bloodshed Land. Even the star lights in the sky seemed to have lost their color and become dimmer.

Boom!

From a distant place, the voice of a person appeared, deep and loud, like the sound of thunder.

“Ames, fighting in my territory, are you ignoring my existence‽”

As soon as he heard this voice, Han Xiao immediately felt the menacing tone.

Subconsciously, this reminded him of what he had felt when he went to the zoo during his previous life and faced the roar of a tiger.

The Tyrant, Heber!

Chapter 608: Probing

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound. The sound came from the middle district of Bloodshed Land and the location of Heber’s palace.

Ames’s eyes gleamed coldly, and she looked at Hila and Aurora before letting out a soft sigh. Her palm was then lowered and hidden within her sleeves. She was no longer planning on taking action, and the force field that had been brewing disappeared.

The tense atmosphere relaxed in that instant.

She then looked at Carroll and Malekith who had blocked her attack and calmly said, “Don’t just stand there, lead the way.”

When she decided to accept the invitation of the Tyrant, Ames had already predicted that something like this would happen. Her previous attack had already displayed her attitude. However, since the Tyrant had interfered personally and she was in his territory, she did not want a greater conflict to break out. After all, she did not come here to create trouble.

Malekith nodded and led the way.

Han Xiao then turned around to glance at Carroll.

Carroll did not say another word as he witnessed Ames’ departure. He then retracted his smile and shook his head at the other two Vanguard Officials. “I thought that she would continue attacking despite the warning. Although I made sure not to go too far, with my understanding of Ames, this level of provocation should have been enough to enrage her.”

Another Vanguard Official then said with a sigh, “The Dragon Emperor has changed. The rumors are true. She indeed wants to expand.”

The Black Star Army represented Floating Dragon’s expansion. Many organizations had noticed this situation, and Bloodshed Land was no exception.

Carroll’s mission was to probe Ames’ attitude. The majority of his words were targeted at Black Star and did not directly humiliate Ames. Through Ames’ reaction, they would be able to gain plenty of information. If she truly wanted to expand, she would not provoke a greater conflict.

…

At the same time, in Heber’s palace, only Heber and a Klent emissary were present. The footage of Ames and her entourage was displayed on the screen.

The Klent Kingdom placed great importance on the Tyrant’s gathering and treated this as an important diplomatic mission. The emissary was a high official in the Klent Kingdom and personally attended the gathering to show the close ties between the Tyrant and the Klent Kingdom.

The Klents usually had slim figures, and when standing beside the seven-meter-tall Heber, the emissary seemed extremely tiny.

“Your Excellency Tyrant, you are as powerful as ever. You do not even need to make an appearance and can make the Dragon Emperor back down with a single roar. I still thought that I would be able to witness the majestic appearance of Your Excellency taking action,” the Klent emissary said with a respectful tone.

“Hmm.” Heber shook the gigantic, specially-made wine glass in his hands without saying a thing.

“It’s a pity. If only she had decided to take action.” The Klent emissary shook his head and smiled.

“The gathering this time is a huge event. She will offend many big shots if she creates trouble. Since she wants to expand, she won’t take action,” Heber said calmly.

“Aren’t you afraid of her taking revenge after the gathering?” The Klent emissary chuckled. “She is someone who would do something like that.”

“Isn’t that what you guys would like to see the most?” Heber asked calmly.

“Haha, you are right. That would give you an excuse to suppress Floating Dragon Island.” The Klent emissary laughed. He was the one who wanted to see Ames go all out without any consideration the most. “Even the Purple Crystal Civilization wouldn’t stop you from entering Colton with this reason.”

Heber glanced at him and could not be bothered to reply. While both parties were in an alliance, their motives were different.

The Klent emissary looked at Ames’ figure on the screen and muttered to himself, “Ames… tsk tsk. If I could obtain such a woman who has the halo of a beyond Grade A Super, all other women would pale in comparison to her.”

With his status and authority, he had countless partners, and appearance was no longer what he cared about the most. Status and identity were what made a woman more charming in his eyes. As the only female among the four beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring, Ames was naturally the woman who was the hardest to tame.

A Star System level civilization did not dare provoke a beyond Grade A Super, but to a Star Cluster level civilization, while a beyond Grade A Super was powerful, they would not be that wary of one.

Only a gigantic organization like the Tyrant’s would be of significance to a Star Cluster level civilization.

Thus, the Klent emissary did not mind displaying his desire for Ames. In any case, it was no more than a thought.

“I hate willful women,” Heber said slowly. “Her character needs to be polished more.”

Upon hearing that, the Klent emissary shook his head. Ames was no more than a thought for him, but Heber was the one with the capability to take action.

…

Han Xiao and the others were on their way to the guest room.

After the previous conflict, the mood of the group was a little downcast.

“Black Star don’t think too much,” Ames suddenly said. “Carroll said those words on purpose.”

“I know.” Han Xiao shrugged in response.

“They should’ve been following Heber’s instructions,” Ames explained. “I wonder what his intentions are. Aesop predicted that this gathering would be different and asked me not to act rashly.”

It turned out that Ames had already gotten Aesop to make a prophecy. Perhaps Aesop had also recommended that she come for this gathering.

“Carroll was one of the earliest members of Floating Dragon. However, he betrayed me for the Tyrant, gaining a high status in Bloodshed Land.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and said, “To allow a traitor to take on an important position, the Tyrant is truly charismatic.”

Do not use an individual you doubt, and do not doubt an individual you use. Heber definitely needed to offer extremely plentiful conditions in order to poach people. When Malekith tried poaching him, Malekith had also offered him the position of Vanguard Official.

“He is the Tyrant, so he is not afraid of betrayals.”

“Why?”

“When Carroll betrayed me, the Tyrant was able to protect him, but if he betrays the Tyrant, no one in the Shattered Star Ring will be able to protect him.” Ames let out a sigh. “Furthermore, I have to admit that the Tyrant is far more charismatic a leader than I am.”

“Are you very wary of him?” Han Xiao said with his brows raised. “I still thought that you weren’t afraid of anything.”

“Of course, I am not afraid of him, but no matter how much I hate him, I cannot change the fact that he is extremely powerful.” Ames shook her head and paused for a moment before continuing. “Thus, try to remain low profile in the Tyrant’s territory. You don’t have to be angry because of Carroll. He said those words intentionally.”

Ames looked at Han Xiao and took the initiative to give an explanation. She was afraid that Han Xiao would take those words to heart.

Han Xiao felt warmth in his heart. He did not mind what Carroll had said but did not think that Ames would care about his feelings.

According to his understanding of Ames, she did not seem like the person who would care about others.

“I feel that you have changed.”

“How have I changed?” Ames smiled.

“You are more patient than before.”

Ames smiled and did not reply. She then turned around to look at Hila and Aurora.

“Aesop said that only a little child would act in such a willful manner. He asked me to change. If not, I will suffer a loss one day.”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes and replied, “That old Aesop is still so shameless. How does he have the right to say such a thing?”

“I think so too.” Ames broke out into a bright smile and chuckled.

…

The guest room provided was located in a building to the side of Heber’s palace. It was a gigantic castle that was made up entirely of guest rooms. There were already some guests who were currently staying in the guest rooms.

There were still a few days before the official start of the gathering, and many organizations would come earlier. The few days before the official start of the ceremony was the best chance to network and expand their social circle. After all, it was a rare opportunity for the big shots of the various organizations to gather together.

Malekith led the way into the castle.

At the moment, the main hall was filled with guests in small groups. The guests were all of different races and came from the different organizations of the Shattered Star Ring.

Upon hearing someone walk in, all the guests turned around to take a look. After recognizing that the incoming guest was Ames, all of them had strange looks on their faces. They wanted to come up to give their greetings but seemed to be wary about something and thus remained on the spot without moving.

All of them had heard the loud roar of the Tyrant. Since Ames and Heber had already clashed, they all felt that it was better for them to suck up to the Tyrant. Thus, no one stepped forward to strike up a conversation with her.

Ames could not be bothered, and their group left the main hall toward the rooms.

Bloodshed Land had prepared the rooms for them. Ames had her own room, Han Xiao had his own room, and Hila and Aurora shared a room.

When they got back to the rooms, Han Xiao was left alone.

He then activated a compressed orb, and it transformed into a detection device. After scanning the room, he confirmed that there were no listening devices.

Han Xiao nodded and took out another machine.

Buzz!

A brilliant beam of light flashed, and a holographic image covered the entire room. Even if there was a magic monitoring device, only the holographic image would be captured, and they would not be able to tell what he was doing.

While there were many big shots living in the castle and there should not be any listening devices, Han Xiao was used to being careful.

“Carroll…”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he transformed into his Chaos Body. Activating his Void Vision, his sight ignored all physical distance, and he could monitor Carroll’s actions.

The instant Ames had decided to step back, Han Xiao had planted an Observer’s Mark on Carroll and removed the position of the space pirate.

The Observer’s Mark was only there as a precautionary measure. In times of emergency, this Observer’s Mark could come in handy.

Furthermore, Carroll was the Logistics Manager of Bloodshed Land and could come in contact with important equipment and blueprints frequently. Han Xiao felt that there would be a lot to gain from him.

I can make use of the Observer’s Mark to gather intelligence during the gathering, Han Xiao thought to himself.

In his previous life, none of the players had discovered the Tyrant’s gathering because they were not able to reach such a level. This was the first time that he had heard about the gathering.

While there was a conflict along the way, this gathering should be relatively safe.

Ames was probably there to show her presence, but this was an extremely good opportunity to gather intelligence for Han Xiao. Han Xiao decided to make use of it well. With all the participants of the gathering being big shots, they might be able to reveal some important information. With his memory of the various storylines, a small hint would allow him to think of many things.

The Version refresh had always been something of great importance to Han Xiao. After all, the players in his previous life had only received very vague details of the exact timing of the refresh. Han Xiao needed greater details and hoped to gain some insights from this gathering.

Chapter 609: New Territory, Empire Envoy

For a few consecutive days, Han Xiao and the others waited in the castle.

Everything was peaceful. Bloodshed Land’s people did not start another conflict, and the Tyrant’s Eight Ass Kissers… ahem, Eight Vanguard Officials did not appear again.

Other than not being allowed in the restricted areas, the guests could move freely in Bloodshed Land, and the soldiers would lead the tours.

Han Xiao occasionally toured Bloodshed Land.

Even the regular soldiers in Planet Heber’s headquarters were low-grade Supers; there were almost no normal people. The people under the Tyrant were mostly Pugilists, so buff guys could be seen everywhere.

The soldiers wore gray, specially-made heavy armor, which enhanced their body strength and the effect of their Pugilist energy.

Han Xiao noticed that other than the normal soldiers, Bloodshed Land also had some elite soldiers. Their individual physique was stronger, and they wore better armor. Their armor had many exterior prosthetics such as tails, wings, huge claws, and so on. From what the soldier that led the way said, those soldiers were called Thousand Beast Soldiers, one of the elite armies of Bloodshed Land.

Han Xiao was more interested in Bloodshed Land’s weapons and carriers; they were all incredibly unique and exclusive to Bloodshed Land. Clearly, the Tyrant had a group of Mechanics designing special equipment.

Bloodshed Land was happy to showcase their power to the guests, but what they showed was only the tip of the iceberg.

Han Xiao could not help but feel a sense of pressure. He was building his own organization, and although they had risen very quickly, there was still a very vast difference between them and large organizations like this, which had been around for so many years and gathered so many resources.

There was still a long way to go for the Black Star Army.

Over the past few days, guests had been arriving and entering the castles continuously.

Although Ames had come to attend the party, she was clearly unconcerned about such things. She had been staying in the room to teach Hila and Aurora, while Han Xiao represented her and socialized.

When he was not touring Bloodshed Land, Han Xiao was chatting with the guests. The guests all represented known organizations in the Shattered Star Ring, so this was a good opportunity to expand his connections and get to know other people.

There were leaders of huge financial groups, representatives of Star Cluster Civilizations, and the most successful people in various industries such as intelligence organizations and ammunition organizations. Han Xiao even saw the Mercenary Alliance’s person in charge of Shattered Star Ring, who was very friendly and had a great chat with Han Xiao.

The position, identity, and influence of the guests invited were all at the top of the pyramid in the Shattered Star Ring.

Most of the organizations had heard of Black Star. Although they did not pay much attention to him, he represented Floating Dragon, and the Black Star Army had become quite famous lately.

Han Xiao’s current Renown and Legendary Points had reached a certain level, so most of the guests acknowledged that Han Xiao could be part of the circle.

Up until now, Han Xiao had only been active around various Star Systems, which were just the tip of the iceberg of the Shattered Star Ring, so his influence was limited. Now, he had finally stepped into a higher level and met with the people that made up the ‘core’ of the Shattered Star Ring.

The other guests were divided into several levels. The comparatively lowest level consisted of the large financial groups, and in the middle were the large organizations. Floating Dragon Island was between the low and medium level.

The highest level comprised enormous organizations like Bloodshed Land, as well as the representatives of the seven Star Cluster Civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring. The degree of acknowledgment that they had for Han Xiao decreased as their level increased.

The attitude of the Star Cluster Civilization representatives toward Han Xiao was mostly limited to formalities, except two civilizations who were friendlier—the Purple Crystal Civilization and the Klent Kingdom.

Colton was Purple Crystal’s territory. Plus, Dragon Emperor had been hanging around the Colton Star Cluster. To the Purple Crystal Civilization’s representative, Han Xiao was considered half an ally to them. The Purple Crystal Civilization’s attitude was gentle and friendly.

The Klent Kingdom’s high ranked officials were more passionate. They even actively approached Han Xiao to chat, clearly showing their intention of establishing a relationship. Of course, Han Xiao had no reason to refuse.

Nonetheless, he had never had contact with any Klents, so he was quite confused as to why this guy was as passionate as an animal in heat…

After a few days, Han Xiao’s communicator obtained the contacts of hundreds of people, who were all the best in their industries. Just these connections had already made this trip worth it.

When he returned to Floating Dragon Island and shares these contacts with Jenny, she would definitely be very touched.

…

Finally, the last day before the party arrived.

That day, to their astonishing surprise, the Tyrant sent someone to Han Xiao and the others, inviting them to attend a private meeting hosted in Heber Palace.

“Heber wants to meet privately? What’s his goal?” Han Xiao was curious.

“No idea.” Ames shook her head. “We’ll know when we get there.”

She wanted to know Heber’s stance, so she accepted the invitation.

They walked into Heber Palace and arrived at a huge conference room. Three thrones hovered three meters above ground in a triangular shape.

On one of the thrones sat a seven-meter-tall giant, giving off a very strong vibe. As soon as they walked into the room, they subconsciously looked over. Heber’s presence was dominating, so he could attract the attention of others immediately.

This was the first time that Han Xiao had met Heber in person, and he was instantly reminded of a crouching lion.

Huge. That was Han Xiao’s first impression of Heber.

“Sit.” Heber looked over. His eyes were tranquil, and his tone was calm, yet it possessed a natural pressure as if dominance was deeply embedded in his bones. No matter what he did, it would give people that feeling.

Ames snorted. She hovered up and sat on one of the thrones. Han Xiao and the two sisters stood beside the throne.

“What did you call me here for?” Ames asked in a deep voice.

Heber looked at the empty third throne and said, “There’s one more person missing. We’ll talk when everyone’s here.”

Then, Tyrant closed his eyes and rested, leaving Ames aside.

Assertive… Han Xiao’s lips twitched uncontrollably.

Ames snorted, already used to it. This was Heber’s way of doing things. Straight forward and forceful, he did not like to have peaceful chats.

After a while, the gate opened again.

A child wearing an oversized Mage robe floated in wobbly, and a few tiny magic dragons swam around his body obediently.

This child’s face was chubby and round, and his ears were sharp. He only looked six or seven years old. A red and white Mage robe hung on his tiny body, like an exquisite and luxurious blanket. Instead of him wearing the Mage robe, it was more like the Mage robe wrapped him up, the tail of which almost touched the floor.

Beneath the child were a few masked men wearing black hooded robes. They were looking down as they walked, seeming mysterious.

“You’re here, too?” Ames’ tone heightened.

“Heard there’s something huge this time, so I’m here to take a look.” The child sat on the empty throne. With an exceptionally tender and childish voice, he nodded at the other two and said, “Ames, Heber, it’s been some time since we last met.”

Han Xiao then realized that this child was another Beyond Grade A in Shattered Star Ring—[Magus] Austin. An unfathomable Mage.

Austin looked very young, but he actually belonged to a long-lived race. He was born with an incomparable Magic Affinity. Like the others, he had many titles: ‘Bender of Rules’, ‘Creator of Forbidden Spells’, ‘Half Spell Body’, ‘Ruler of Arcane’, and others.

Han Xiao looked at the hooded black robe masked Mages below Austin. Every Mage crossed their arms in front of them, their hands hidden in the large sleeves, and stared at the ground like silent sculptures.

So, these are the Forbidden Sorcerers. Han Xiao squinted.

[Magus] Austin’s organization was called Hidden Red Robe Abbey, one of the holy lands of Mages in the Shattered Star Ring. They focused on studying and discussing magic, occasionally handling magic-related investigations for some civilizations. As long as one was a Mage in the Shattered Star Ring, most of them would be willing to join Hidden Red Robe Abbey. That organization had the characteristics of a guild.

Hidden Red Robe Abbey was separated into outer members and inner members. Outer members were all free people that would not have to hold much responsibility, if any. If one wanted to learn deeper magic, they had to pass tests and sign a magic contract to become inner members of Hidden Red Robe Abbey, following orders.

Only the inner members were considered to be under Austin’s command. The Forbidden Sorcerers were Hidden Red Robe Abbey’s elites. Due to different organizational structures, their military power was not as strong as that of Bloodshed Land, but if the outer members were included, their numbers would probably be much larger than Bloodshed Land.

Other than Ames, Heber had invited another Beyond Grade A. There were four Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring, and three were gathered there.

Heber then opened his eyes and said, “Everyone’s here. Let’s get down to business.”

“Wait, where’s the other guy?” Ames asked. She was talking about the last Beyond Grade A who was not there.

“He said that it’s too far, and he’s too lazy to come.”

“That sounds like him indeed.” Austin chuckled.

Heber did not want to waste time chitchatting. He got straight to the point and slowly said, “The purpose of this meeting is to introduce someone to you guys.”

The other side of the gate opened, and a person walked in. Everyone looked over with curiosity, wanting to see who this person that Heber wanted to introduce to the other two Beyond Grade As was.

This person was a human species, about 2.5 meters tall. His skin was light red, he had short hair, and his face was unique but mostly suited the aesthetic of Spacehumans. He wore a soft, uncommon robe, it looked very complex and luxurious; the material could not be determined. The patterns on the robe were exquisite, the base of which was crimson red.

Facing three Beyond Grade As, this person remained calm. He stood in between the three thrones and greeted the three of them gently.

“Let me introduce,” Heber said slowly, “the Crimson Empire’s envoy, Zoel.”

The pupils of everyone instantly contracted.

Han Xiao’s face remained the same, but there was a storm in his mind.

The Crimson Empire, one of the three Universal Civilizations!

The highest level civilization sent an envoy to attend the Tyrant’s party‽

Has Heber already formed connections with the three Universal Civilizations?

Wait a minute… Han Xiao suddenly realized a problem.

On paper, the Shattered Star Ring belonged to the Federation of Light’s territory. However, the Crimson Empire had sent an envoy secretly to the Tyrant’s party where all the important people would attend. The meaning of this was extraordinary.

Han Xiao’s mind worked fast. Suddenly, he recalled something, and the look in his eyes changed slightly.

He remembered that the background of Version 3.0 [Crimson Tide] was the expansion of the Crimson Empire, affecting various Star Fields.

It turned out that a sign had already appeared.

Han Xiao took a deep breath and calmed his emotions. The Tyrant’s party might be an ambush!

Ames frowned slightly and recalled Ames’s prophecy before departing.

This party is indeed not simple…

The room fell silent.

Zoel looked around slightly and broke the ice. “I’m honored to meet the three Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring.”

“We’re honored, too,” Austin replied before looking at Heber inquisitively.

Introducing a Crimson Empire envoy, what did this mean?

“What we are going to talk about next is the theme of this party. I’m now telling you guys in advance,” Heber said with a deep voice. “Not long ago, the Exterior Universe Explorer Device that the Federation of Light had outside the Shattered Star Ring sent a report back. It crossed an enormous area of desolate universe and was circling around a new Star Cluster area outside the edge. That’s an unowned Star Cluster, and it needs to be explored and included in the Shattered Star Ring’s map.”

The others had different expressions on their faces.

No wonder the seven Star Cluster Civilizations all sent a representative to attend this party, Han Xiao realized.

Ever since the Peace Treaty was signed, all three Universal Civilizations had been trying to explore the unexplored universe and expand the known universe.

Every time a new land appeared, new battles erupted.

Since all the Star Clusters of the Shattered Star Ring belonged to the seven Star Cluster Civilizations, the new Star Cluster was a cake that everyone wanted a piece of, if not the whole cake.

“The Federation of Light wants the new Star Cluster to be added to the Shattered Star Ring. We, however, want to deem it as the starting point of a new Star Field,” Zoel said.

Although he did not speak of the details, everyone understood what he meant.

The Shattered Star Ring was Federation of Light’s territory, but a new Star Field did not belong to anyone. The Crimson Empire’s goal was huge—what they wanted was not just a Star Cluster.

In the explored universe, the center Star Fields were bustling, and the Star Fields at the edge were more chaotic and backward. Star Fields at the border like the Shattered Star Ring were where the competition was most intense—only these places had opportunities to continue to explore and expand further.

“Therefore, on behalf of the Crimson Empire, I hope to receive help from you.” Zoel stated his goal.

Heber stayed silent. He had introduced the Crimson Empire envoy to the others, so it was clear that Bloodshed Land had made its decision.

So, the Federation of Light or the Crimson Empire?

Austin and Ames exchanged looks and stayed silent.

Han Xiao’s eyes became firm. They’re making a big move!

Chapter 610: Openly Poaching

The three thrones floated in midair, surrounding the emissary of the Crimson Empire in the middle.

“What can we get if we help you?”

After pondering for a while, Austin was the first to respond.

Everyone present had a certain status, and even the emissary of the Crimson Empire could not expect them to work for nothing.

It was no more than a pipe dream if he wanted the beyond Grade A Supers to help him without offering any conditions.

“A new territory represents new opportunities. Only a piece of white paper is easy to color. If we are able to transform this newly discovered Star Cluster into the beginning of a new Star Field, anyone who wants to explore or expand their territory will have to enter the territory of the new Star Field. At that time, the new Star Field may become a Star Field that has the same weight as the Shattered Star Ring. The benefits hidden within it are frightening,” Zoel explained as he waved his hands to reveal a holographic star map from his communicator that had the new territory marked.

It was outside the boundary of the Shattered Star Ring, and a dark unexplored region of space was marked on it.

After crossing through a long, desolate space belt, a bright region appeared from within the dark region of space. That was the new Star Cluster that the Federation of Light had found.

From smallest to largest, the regions of the galaxy were classified as planet, Star Zone, Star System, Star Cluster, and finally Star Field.

The Crimson Empire wanted to obtain this new Star Cluster not just to expand their territory but because it formed the bridgehead for any future exploration. The Crimson Empire would then be able to make use of this new territory of theirs as the starting point of their exploration and continue to expand their territory. All the new regions that they discovered after this would belong to the new Star Field, which was part of the Crimson Empire.

The Federation of Light controlled the Shattered Star Ring, and the Crimson Empire wanted to obtain another neighboring Star Field. They were not willing to share this exploration path with the Federation of Light.

As Zoel analyzed the pros and cons of supporting him, Austin and Ames listened silently by the side.

As for Han Xiao, his attention was drawn to the star map that Zoel showed.

No matter how he looked at it, he felt the position of the Star Cluster to be extremely familiar.

After taking a closer look at it, something clicked in his head, and Han Xiao was filled with agitation.

My goodness, isn’t that part of the Flickering World‽

The [Flickering World] was the Main Storyline of a later version, and it was a completely new Star Field. Billions of stars shone brightly to light up the dark universe.

Pioneering the discovery of a Star Field would definitely bring about plenty of benefits.

The players of the entire galaxy would all participate in this Main Storyline mission to pioneer the discovery of a new Star Field. There were also countless races and civilizations that entered the Flickering World. This became an event that caused a huge reshuffle in power among all the organizations and battles to break out everywhere.

The new Star Cluster that Zoel had shown was a part of the Flickering World. It was the tip of the iceberg.

Who would have thought the events of the later versions were already beginning to unfold?

Only a small corner of the region has been discovered. To explore the new region fully, many years will be required. It is still a long way from the current version…

In the past, the players had performed missions for the various organizations, but this time, they might have the opportunity to be the ones in control. Just as the emissary had said, a new territory represented new opportunities. Perhaps this was the best chance for him to move up the food chain.

While the Black Star Army was not powerful enough and was still a great distance away from large organizations such as Bloodshed Land, Han Xiao had a huge advantage. He knew how things would develop.

If he wanted to have the rights to be in control, he needed to have a more powerful organization. They stronger he was, the more benefits he could obtain. His present self was far from sufficient. Thankfully, there were a few more versions to go.

Han Xiao could not help but grow anxious as he pondered silently.

The birth of the Flickering World meant one thing. The Crimson Empire succeeded in the end and managed to snatch the new Star Cluster from the Federation of Light and transform it into a new Star Field.

When he was deep in thought, Zoel had finished explaining his conditions. In summary, the Crimson Empire would provide them with aid in secret.

The support of a Universal Civilization was a very tempting condition. While the Federation of Light was in control of the Shattered Star Ring, they rarely interacted with the various organizations of the Shattered Star Ring and appeared to be high above.

Austin frowned and had a serious look on his face. However, when coupled together with his childish appearance, it looked extremely comical and adorable.

“I am not too interested in such a matter and would rather study curses at home. So, I apologize, but I would like to remain neutral. I can only promise you that I will not help the Federation of Light.”

After considering for a while, Austin gave his response. He wanted to stay out of this matter and remain neutral.

“I understand.” Zoel was not too surprised. They were all beyond Grade As, so he could not force the other party. The outcome of the other party remaining neutral was not too bad. Zoel had only managed to persuade Heber to help him after putting in a great deal of effort. The main purpose of the meeting today was to inform them of their empire’s stand and reduce the number of helpers for the Federation of Light.

“What about you, Ames?” Heber asked.

Ames was not interested in such a matter and was about to follow Austin and reject the proposition. However, she paused for a moment and looked at Han Xiao.

“Black Star, what do you think?”

“Hmm?”

Han Xiao was currently deep in thought, and upon being called, he was stunned for a moment.

Seeing everyone’s gaze on him, Han Xiao pondered for a moment before nodding. “The Crimson Empire can naturally be trusted with their reputation. The esteemed emissary is correct in saying that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity with great benefits hidden within it. I personally feel that the Crimson Empire has a sixty percent chance of succeeding at the very least.”

Zoel’s eyes lit up, and he revealed a smile. While wondering when he had successfully converted this fellow, he nodded at Han Xiao and said, “Good eyesight.”

Han Xiao also nodded back in response. “Thus, I feel that you shouldn’t be in a hurry to reject. This isn’t a bad thing.”

Upon hearing that, Ames thought for a moment and did not reject Zoel directly but said, “Let me think about this.”

The expressions of both Austin and Heber immediately changed.

Both of them had known Ames for years and knew that Ames had actually intended to reject the proposition. However, she had immediately changed her mind after listening to Han Xiao’s advice.

Black Star’s importance to the Dragon Emperor had far exceeded their expectations.

Not just a hired thug but an advisor? Austin stroked his chin and fell into deep thought. That’s right, with Ames’ personality, she will need a reliable strategist if she wants to expand, and Black Star seems pretty capable.

“Black Star, I heard from Malekith that he tried to poach you but was rejected,” Heber said.

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed, and he slowly nodded.

“I rarely try a second time, but I would like to ask you again personally.”

Heber raised his arm out to Han Xiao and said in a solemn tone, “Black Star, join me.”

Boom!

Ames’ aura exploded, and an immense pressure was exuded.

Her tone was chilly.

“Trying to poach one of my men before me, do you not respect me at all‽”

The frightening pressure assaulted Heber from all directions, but it seemed as though he could not feel it. He ignored Ames and fixed his gaze on Han Xiao. “Do you agree or not?”

Han Xiao’s face began contorting.

Oh my goodness, poaching someone so openly, he is truly tyrannical.

He had never expected Heber to personally make an invitation at this moment. This fellow truly did not care about what the occasion was and only about how hard his fists are!

“My apologies, but my answer is the same.” Han Xiao shook his head helplessly.

Heber nodded and was not angered by the rejection. It was as though he had never brought up this topic at all.

He liked talents but was not willing to force someone who did not want to submit.

The force field was still growing in strength, and Heber turned around to look at Ames. “Aren’t you going to stop your force field? Do you want to fight?”

Ames remained expressionless as her aura continued to grow. She almost wanted to completely ignore the advice that Aesop had given her.

Austin could only interfere helplessly lest they ended up fighting. With a snap of his fingers, he cast a calming spell on Ames.

“Alright, alright, this isn’t the first day you’ve known her. Don’t act so rashly.”

Chapter 611: The Battle

After dozens of layers of buffs were cast on Ames, her fury was finally dampened. She snorted and deactivated her Esper ability.

Heber did not mind it; it was not the first time he had confronted Ames. He turned and nodded at Zoel.

“So, I shall leave. I look forward to the result of your consideration.” Zoel got the gesture, gave his contact details to Ames, smiled, and was about to turn around and walk out of the room.

Looking at the envoy’s retreating back, Han Xiao was suddenly hesitant. Should I plant a mark on Zoel? It seems quite rewarding.

He did not forget that this was a private meeting before the party officially started. When the party started the next day, only then would Heber introduce Zoel to all the guests. That would be the time that things started to escalate.

The Crimson Empire would not snatch the territory themselves because once they did, the Federation of Light would act, and the conflict would grow into a much bigger issue. Since this was not yet the stage to have such a large-scale conflict, the Crimson Empire was trying to bond with the Shattered Star Ring’s organizations, drawing more chess pieces to their side of the universe chessboard.

Throwing an Observer’s Mark would allow him to see what the Crimson Empire was doing backstage and how many organizations joined the Crimson Empire. This was very precious intelligence.

However, although Observer’s Mark left close to zero trails and even Ames could not notice it, there were two more Beyond Grade As present, so there was a chance that he might get noticed. Plus, the Crimson Empire’s people might have special techniques to prevent things like that.

Hmm, I’ll give it a try. Even if I get noticed, it’s not too serious a problem. He wants us to be on his side, and we’re not enemies.

A tiny tint of gray light flashed through his eyes, and an Observer’s Mark was planted on Zoel.

Ames and Heber did not notice at all.

Neither did Zoel. He left the room, and the gate covered his figure.

This time, Han Xiao suddenly realized that someone was looking at him. He turned around and saw that Austin was staring right at him.

He noticed? Han Xiao’s heart skipped a beat.

Everyone’s abilities were different. Ames and Heber could not notice, but Austin was a Mage, so he was sensitive to all kinds of energy. Despite the ripples of Void Energy being miniscule, they did not escape his senses.

However, Austin did not say anything. He just gave Han Xiao a friendly smile and looked elsewhere.

Han Xiao did not get what he meant. Anyway, not being exposed was a good thing.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving.” Ames was annoyed by the sight of Heber and did not want to stay there.

“Wait.” This time, Heber spoke.

“What else?” Ames frowned.

“I heard you’ve been expanding your forces recently. We can work together,” Heber slowly said.

“Work together?” Ames gave a faint smile. “Do you think we have a very good relationship?”

“I can forget about that nonsense when you fought your way onto Planet Heber,” Heber said.

“Then keep remembering.” Ames could not be bothered to argue. She stood up from the throne, turned away, and left.

Han Xiao took along Hila and Aurora and followed her out of the room.

Austin laughed loudly. “Hahaha, Heber, she just dislikes you more and more.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Heber was not bothered.

“I thought you were going to make the marriage proposal again.”

“Forget it, she probably won’t agree this time too.” Heber shook his head.

“Seriously, you both have very tough personalities. If you want to get her, you have to tone it down,” Austin said jokingly. His personality was very casual, and he had a good relationship with both of them. He knew the history of Heber chasing Ames.

“I won’t change for any woman.” Heber waved his hands.

He was not too determined about Ames. In the entire Shattered Star Ring, Heber thought only Ames who was Beyond Grade A like him could match him, only she was strong enough to be his partner. It had no element of love or emotion.

If he could get Ames, his organization would have two Beyond Grade As, which would be a tremendous increase.

Heber disdained deception and did not bother wasting time; he had always been straight forward and did not avoid speaking of his real goal of chasing Ames.

Austin still remembered back then when Heber first proposed to Ames and how furious Ames had been. He wanted to laugh every time he thought of it.

…

When Han Xiao and the others reached the gate of the palace, Carroll just happened to be on the way in, and they met.

“You people again.”

Carroll did not have any intention of taunting this time and did not glue his eyes to Ames, unlike last time. His expression was calm as if Han Xiao and the others were just passersby.

Ames glanced at him. Although she was unhappy, she could not do anything in Tyrant’s territory, so she ignored Carroll.

Just as they were about to pass each other by, Han Xiao suddenly pressed onto Carroll’s shoulder and grabbed him tightly like an iron claw.

Puzzled, Carroll turned around and asked, “What are you doing?”

“I remember that you said before I’m just your replacement?” Han Xiao squinted. “Since you call yourself my senior, give me some guidance then.”

Carroll’s expression changed. He had thought that the previous taunting incident was over, but Han Xiao’s sudden action after a few days was unexpected to him.

Ames stopped, also surprised.

“What do you mean? Do you want to fight here? This is Planet Heber!” Carroll said in a slightly threatening manner.

“Don’t worry, I just want to spar with you. I want to see how strong the traitor is.” Han Xiao chuckled. “The Tyrant’s subordinate wouldn’t not dare accept a challenge, right?”

“I got it. This is Ames’ orders, isn’t it?” Carroll felt that he had guessed correctly. It had to be because Ames was unhappy about the outcome of what had happened earlier, so she had ordered Black Star to challenge him. If it was just a spar between officers, Heber would not say anything.

Hehe, is she this confident in this new officer of hers?

Carroll’s face turned cold and said, “Okay, I accept your challenge. Hope you don’t lose too fast.”

Bloodshed Land was his stage; he could use countless machines. Even if Black Star’s name had been loud recently, he did not step back.

Carroll had heard about Ames’ new officer. He also wanted to gauge Han Xiao’s full strength. He wanted to see what kind of person Ames had found to replace him.

Furthermore, his position was sensitive. He now represented the Tyrant. Since Ames had ordered Black Star to challenge him, he could not back down. Even though Heber could protect him, considering the Tyrant’s personality, things would not go well for him if he was afraid of the challenge.

Bloodshed Land despised cowards the most. Someone that was not a battle maniac had no chance of obtaining a high position under the Tyrant.

Han Xiao curled his lips and suddenly said, “We’re both Mechanics, just sparring isn’t fun. How about a bet?”

“On what?”

“Let’s bet… five sets of machinery blueprints, what do you say? The loser has to give whatever blueprint the winner requests.” Han Xiao smiled wickedly.

Betting blueprints… Carroll frowned heavily. Blueprints were the lifeline of a Mechanic, so Mechanics betting blueprints on was not uncommon.

“Okay.” Carroll nodded.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

There were many factors that had made him suddenly challenge Carroll.

Ames could not battle, but he could. Being high profile to a certain extent and showcasing his abilities was beneficial to increasing his position in this circle. Plus, it could help Ames relieve some anger.

If the Tyrant interfered in a spar between officers, it would be utterly embarrassing.

Secondly, he had been peeking on Carroll for the past few days and roughly knew his strength. Knowing the enemy guaranteed him an edge in the battle. Furthermore, he had noticed that Carroll had a few rather good machines, so he had proposed a bet to win some machinery blueprints.

He would never fight a battle without benefits.

The third and the most important reason was that a new faction mission had appeared on his interface.

_____________________

[Ames’ Fury]

Mission Introduction: The traitor’s provocation and the Tyrant’s disrespect have made Ames enraged. As a member of Floating Dragon, you know what you need to do.

Mission Requirements: Defeat Carroll publicly.

Reward: 15,000,000 Experience. +2500 Floating Dragon Faction Favorability, +30 Ames Favorability, +2 Heber Favorability, +15 Renown.

Failure Punishment: -20 Ames Favorability, -5 Heber Favorability.

Remarks: Different mission results will result in different effects.

Chapter 612: Resource Battle?

“Here will do.” Carroll brought the others to Bloodshed Land’s Open Air Combat Training Ground No. 30 and stood opposite Han Xiao. He then moved a long distance away till Han Xiao became a small dot in his eyes.

Han Xiao looked around. This training ground was empty and unobstructed. Around its edges were tall mechanical towers connected by dozens of blue, high-temperature electromagnetic wires. It looked like a futuristic baseball field but many times larger.

The floor was made of gray metal plates. Burn marks left by explosions and slash marks could be seen all around the place, some pits too. Clearly, this training ground was often used.

“In my territory, you have to follow my rules.” Carroll’s voice came from afar. “First, the battle area is limited to this training ground. If you cause destruction outside of this, you’ll bear the consequences. Second, causing severe damage to the opponent is not allowed. So, don’t worry, your life won’t be in danger.”

As Carroll spoke, he activated the training ground. The floor trembled. Pits appeared from the metal floor, and mechanical soldiers rose up one after another, surrounding Carroll.

Hum!

The mechanical towers at the edge of the training ground vibrated. A beam of light shot out from their peaks, gathering on top, forming a projection of a three-minute timer.

Carroll smirked and said, “Don’t say I’m bullying you. Before we start, you have three minutes to prepare. After three minutes, this place will be covered by a protective shield.”

Black Star was a guest. He would not have brought too many combat machines, and they would most probably be stored in his ship. By giving him three minutes to get the machines, after the shield covered the place, Black Star would be unable to receive external support and would only be able to fight with the machines in the venue.

As for Carroll, he had a continuous supply of armies because Combat Training Ground No. 30 was a facility that released machines from below to let people train with them. Many routes used to transport mechanical soldiers were hidden under the metal plates on the floor, connected to the logistics warehouse underground. This meant that even with the protective shield, Carroll could obtain a nonstop supply of backup.

Carroll knew that a battle between two Mechanics would most likely become a battle of resources. Black Star had limited resources while he had infinite, so he was already undefeated.

The protective shield was transparent. It was a perfect opportunity for him to publicly shame Black Star.

He could basically foresee the ending of the battle—Black Star’s machines would be used up, scraps would be everywhere, Black Star himself would be surrounded by his army, and he could look down on Black Star from a high spot casually, making Black Star admit his defeat.

Ames wanted to let her subordinate vent her anger, so defeating her subordinate would make her even more embarrassed.

Furthermore, he did not hide his main stage advantage. If Black Star cowered from it and cancelled the challenge, knowing it would end in his defeat, Ames would lose face as well.

One way or another, he was only going to benefit from it.

Carroll smiled confidently.

On the other side, Han Xiao was not surprised by Carroll’s main stage advantage at all. He contacted Risda and told him to bring the Blacklight Stealth over, airdropping his Army Boxes.

Ames was still standing by him. “Black Star, are you confident?”

“A little,” Han Xiao replied casually.

“Then, I shall trust you.”

Ames’ tone was gentle like the wind. Although Han Xiao challenging Carroll to a battle surprised her, it was clear that Han Xiao was doing it for her. She was happy for some reason.

She had always placed a lot of trust in Han Xiao, and this was no exception. She patted Han Xiao’s shoulders and took Hila and Aurora out of the place. They went up the tall building beside the training ground and watched the fight from above.

Around the training ground, there were people climbing up the buildings to watch the fight every minute. There were hundreds of them, all Bloodshed Land officers or elite soldiers. Malekith and a few other Vanguard Officials were among them. They formed small groups and chatted.

The fight between Carroll and Black Star was not kept secret; the message very quickly got passed to the officers. They all came to the scene to watch the battle.

“Black Star is quite daring to challenge our officer in our territory,” a Vanguard Official said as he looked at the two people in the venue.

“He challenged Carroll because he’s Floating Dragon’s traitor?”

“Must be. A few days ago, Ames was forced to hold back by His Excellency Tyrant. She’s probably resentful, so she let Black Star fight for her. Hehe, it’ll be embarrassing to lose.” Someone looked at Ames who was also watching from afar and speculated, “Maybe Ames will stop the fight when her subordinate is in danger.”

“Carroll’s strength, tsk…” Malekith shook his head slightly.

The impression that the Vanguard Officials had of Carroll was very complicated. On one hand, he was a traitor. Although Tyrant was confident using him, him being a traitor still made others not want to get close to him.

On the other hand, Carroll was in charge of logistics and had almost no opportunity to fight. Unlike them, the Vanguard Officials, who were signatures of Bloodshed Land and all well known, Malekith and the others did not know Carroll’s strength clearly. All they knew was that he was also Grade A.

“He has the location advantage no matter what, so he basically won’t lose.”

…

In the palace, Heber was still casually chatting with Austin.

This time, Austin’s expression suddenly changed, and he said in a strange tone, “Tyrant, it seems that a problem is occurring in your territory.”

Heber frowned, took out his communicator, pressed a few times, and got the report from his subordinates.

“Black Star challenged Carroll?”

Austin cast a spell, and space rippled. A large mirror appeared, showing the scene of the training ground.

“It seems like they’re about to fight. Aren’t you going to stop them?” Austin asked.

Heber looked at the mirror, thought for a moment, and shook his head. “Since Ames is not involved, I have no reason to stop a normal spar.”

“What if your man loses?”

“My Bloodshed Land is not one to never admit defeat.” Heber pointed at the mirror. “Keep watching.”

…

At the same time, three party guests were following a Bloodshed Land soldier and touring the place.

The Purple Crystal Civilization’s representative Ralph was walking side by side with a high-ranking Klent official and having a great chat. The relationship between Purple Crystal and Klent had always been good.

Behind them, the leader of a financial group followed. His name was Rossozzi. His business was huge and invested in both Star Clusters. He could be somewhat considered Ralph and the Klent high ranking official’s friend.

The three of them were discussing business issues, when a group of people suddenly flew over them, catching their attention.

“Where are those people going?’ Ralph asked curiously.

The soldier shook his head and said, “I don’t know. They seem to be heading toward Combat Training Ground No. 30.

Just as he was done speaking, another group of people bolted past them from above, and a dark spaceship quickly flew by.

The three of them were all knowledgeable people. They recognized that the spaceship was the Federation of Light’s Stealth Grade spaceship. Of all the guests, it seemed like only one person had a Blacklight Stealth.

Floating Dragon’s Black Star!

The Klent high ranking official was instantly interested. “Looks like something happened. Let’s go and take a look.”

Ralph shrugged and did not mind it, neither did Rossozzi.

…

When the countdown had about a minute and a half left, the Blacklight Stealth arrived above the venue. Six Army Boxes descended from above like meteors, dragging a long tail of flames.

Han Xiao raised his hand toward the sky, and a bolt of tree-shaped lightning shot up into the sky from the ground, hitting the six Army Boxes. They opened in midair, and compressed orbs fell like rain onto the floor.

Clank!

The instant they landed, the compressed orbs expanded and turned into six Mechanical Armies.

Mechanical Beast Guards Army, Strike Artillery Regiment, G-1 Steel Army Corps, G-2 Heavy Armor Riders, and Mini Cube Troops occupied the venue and surrounded Han Xiao. Han Xiao was in a sea of machines.

Twelve Elite Oathkeepers guarded Han Xiao. Their exterior armor rippled from head to toe like moving scales, carrying out a self-check.

All sorts of artilleries landed behind him or hovered in midair. Other than the regular electromagnetic artilleries and laser artilleries, there were the new lava artilleries and heat artilleries.

The number of troops is a little high.

Carroll was surprised.

Nonetheless, he was still completely confident.

Black Star’s Mechanical Army only occupied a small part of the training ground, while his Mechanical Army had a much higher number and almost occupied half of the place.

And it was still increasing.

There was a round of machinery transport gates at the edge of the training ground. Standard mechanical soldiers crawled out one after another, surrounding Black Star’s army.

Almost endless backup, this was where Carroll’s confidence came from.

So many machines. Black Star definitely spent a lot of time and money.

Evil intentions flashed through Carroll’s eyes.

If I destroy all his machines, Black Star’s strength will be greatly decreased. His stock will all be gone.

The formation was complete. Since there would be a protective shield later, Han Xiao did not use Eye of God. He checked through the machines; there was around ten seconds left on the timer.

Boom!

The mechanical towers at the edges activated. A light blue shield slowly rose up and shrouded the venue. All the spectators were blocked outside.

The ceiling was hundreds of meters high. When the shield completely closed, the countdown would end.

The style, technology, and model of the machines controlled by Carroll were all clearly different from Han Xiao’s. Most of them were standard disposable machines.

Buzz!

The two of them released Mechanical Force at the same time. Thunder and lightning roared. Calamity Grade Mechanics had the [Mechanical Force Field] ability, which made the Mechanical Force enhancements cover an area. The entire place was covered.

After so long, I’ve finally encountered a Mechanic of the same grade. Han Xiao squinted. This was his first time battling a Mechanic of his grade.

Berserk Ape wrapped around his body, and a virtual screen appeared before him, displaying the Virtual Intrusion image.

Carroll was not a Virtual Mechanic; he wore a Single Unit Mechanical Suit. Pieces of armor extended from his armor and quickly turned into a more than thirty-meter-tall heavy fortress, covering Carroll from all angles. The thick and heavy armor clearly had impressive defensive capabilities.

From the gap between the fortress, many large-caliber cannons extended out.

Carroll used the Heavy Machinery Style. Large size; heavy, thick armor; strong firepower… those were the clear specialties. This was a heavy, defensive carrier. Carroll wanted to make use of his advantage in a battle of resources, so he gave himself a hard, thick turtle shell.

He was not Han Xiao; he did not have a tough body and was most afraid of enemies rushing close. Therefore, he used a defensive strategy and planned to not even let Han Xiao touch him.

“Correct method.” Malekith and the other spectators nodded. They did not think that Carroll was a coward—this was a suitable strategy given the situation.

Just as Carroll’s fortress was fully expended, the shield completely closed, and the countdown ended!

Boom!

The next instant, lasers flashed, and cannon fire roared!

The battle had erupted!

Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army clashed with Carroll’s!

Boom boom boom!

The armies fought intensely; the scene became chaotic.

Machines could not talk, so they fought in silence. Metal crashed against metal, creating bright sparks.

Boom!

The large-caliber cannons on Carroll’s heavy fortress locked onto Han Xiao and fired. Every shot made the barrels recoil instantly. The sound of firing was like a hammer smashing onto metal.

Hu!

Huge balls of light went straight to Han Xiao, and the high temperature bent the air around them.

Just as they were about to hit Han Xiao, Watcher Instrument opened like a peacock opening its feathers. It appeared behind Han Xiao and flew in front of him, turning into force field bending shields. The attacks did not explode when hitting the shield but were diverted toward other directions.

Bang bang bang!

All the cannon fire was deflected. Some shots flew far away, hit the protective shield, and exploded; some landed on the ground, stirring up a strong wind, tearing down the mechanical soldiers of both sides in the area.

Han Xiao glanced around. He clenched his fist. Mechanical Force lightning landed on the parts on the ground. [Waste Modification] resurrected his mechanical soldiers, allowing them to continue the battle.

Seeing this, Carroll stopped attacking Han Xiao. His heavy fortress started targeting Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army, wanting to quickly eliminate Black Star’s army.

“It won’t be so easy!” Han Xiao snorted.

Buzz!

He raised his hand. The pipe on his arm launched a string of compressed orbs. They expanded midair and turned into more than ten huge mechanical arms. The next second, these mechanical arms nano-shapeshifted, combined together, and turned into a hundred-meter-wide palm, three times bigger than Carroll’s heavy fortress!

Han Xiao waved his hand. The gigantic palm slapped right down onto the top of the heavy fortress, like a palm hitting a ping pong ball.

Boom!

The wind blew away the surrounding mechanical soldiers. Even through the protective shield, Malekith and the others outside could feel it.

The metal ground cracked open from the heavy pressure, but the heavy fortress was covered by a shield and was hardly damaged.

Inside the heavy fortress, Carroll sneered. This fortress was not something ordinary but an important equipment that he had made; it could block Calamity Grade attacks.

This time, Carroll felt the fortress suddenly start trembling.

The gigantic palm’s fingers bent and pulled the heavy fortress out of the ground. Like throwing a baseball, it swung and sent the heavy fortress flying across a long distance, heavily landing on the protective shield and creating a string of electrical sparks.

Boom!

The Bloodshed Land elites in that direction of the protective shield almost fell from seeing a huge pile of metal flying toward them.

The heavy fortress rolled and landed on the ground, shaking the floor. However, the shield still protected the fortress. Its damage was negligible—remarkable defense. Only Carroll, who was inside, suffered from the sudden fall.

Malekith saw this and analyzed, “Carroll’s defense is very strong. Black Star seems to be unable to break through Carroll’s armor. It looks like this battle will be under Carroll’s control and turned into a complete battle of resources. That’s Black Star’s fatal weakness.”

Chapter 613: Turned Table

“This fortress’s defense is quite good. It’s Grade A equipment.”

Excitement flashed through Han Xiao’s eyes.

Carroll’s information popped up on the interface. His level was higher, some of his attributes and abilities were question marks, and his Energy Rank and health could not be seen.

Han Xiao was not surprised. He was only level 142, so even regular Grade As had a higher level than him.

The heavy fortress’ defense was very strong but not indestructible. However, Han Xiao did not want to fight head-on. As a Virtual Mechanic, he had his professional ethics. He started Virtual Intrusion and gave the controls of the gigantic palm to Phillip.

“Phillip, have some fun with him. Block his fire and don’t let him destroy too much of my army.”

“Order confirmed. Executing, hum…”

The gigantic palm slapped down again. Suddenly, the bottom of the heavy fortress emitted thrusting flames. The bulky fortress took off and dodged the attack, moving quickly in midair.

This was a flying fortress.

The gigantic palm chased the heavy fortress, and they started to duel in midair.

As Han Xiao focused on Virtual Intrusion, flames surrounded him, and the Mechanical Armies of the two sides fought intensely.

The strength of the five newly updated armies did not just increase by a little. Turquoise lava cannons blasted through iron; heat cannons melted metal; Space Bending Bombs were like mini black holes, creating vortexes in space everywhere they exploded; not to mention, the Mini Nuclear Mines could even plant mushrooms.

The Cube Army formed teams of three sizes: normal-sized Mini Cube Robots, small fused mechanical soldiers about half a man tall, and robots that were the height of a mini giant. They all had their advantages; some were swift, and some were tough.

The G-2 Heavy Armor Riders slashed right through the enemies. All sorts of melee weapons shattered their foes into countless parts all over the floor, creating blank spaces on the battlefield like erasers.

The performance of Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army was an entire level higher than Carroll’s standard mechanical soldiers; they were all semi elites.

The efficiency of the slaughter was exceptional, cutting down Carroll’s mechanical army area by area.

Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army had the upper hand from the moment the battle started.

However, the backup came nonstop and could not be fully eliminated. The wreckages stacked up on the ground. Carroll was dedicated to using up Han Xiao’s stash; he did not even control the army to attack Han Xiao and only focused on his Mechanical Army. He did not care even if he had to lose three of his units in exchange for one of Han Xiao’s.

As such, Han Xiao’s five armies were slowly losing numbers.

The mechanical soldiers that occasionally got close to Han Xiao were either blasted by the Watcher Instrument or shattered by Oathkeepers.

This kind of battle of resources was like a stalemate.

A Vanguard Official could not help but ask, “How long are they going to fight for?”

Malekith shook his head and said, “At least a few hours.”

This time, another shadow jumped up. The other Vanguard Officials looked over and were shocked.

“Number two, you’re here too!”

“Hmm, the commander told me to take a look.” The person who had just arrived was a tall, skinny human. His body shape was a breath of fresh air among the muscular men that filled Bloodshed Land.

This guy’s nickname was Hunting Blade. There were different styles among the Pugilist class, not just the brutal style. The one that he took involved using swift weapons. He was ranked second among the Eight Vanguard Officials, hence, number two.

There were rankings among the eight Vanguard Officials. The commander Vanguard Official was the boss; he was the most senior and strongest among the Vanguard Officials. He had been receiving personal guidance from Heber, reaching Grade A+, and was a training maniac. He spent almost all his free time in training. Second seat Hunting Blade was very strong, too. The two of them usually carried out more dangerous missions and could hardly be seen. Now that Hunting Blade had suddenly appeared, it surprised the other Vanguard Officials.

Upon briefly looking at the battle, Hunting Blade quickly analyzed it and slowly said, “Black Star looks to be having the upper hand but is actually stuck. Carroll wants to drag the battle out, so Black Star must quickly end the battle. If he can’t penetrate Carroll’s defense, when his armies are too damaged, the situation will take a direct turn downward, and he will lose for sure.”

“That’s what I thought.” Malekith nodded. “The situation is looking good. Carroll has the home advantages and is considerably strong. Black Star has a very slim chance of winning.”

“Carroll is… not too bad.”

Hunting Blade nodded and expressed his approval for Carroll’s strength.

On the other side, Ralph and the other two arrived. They climbed up the building to watch the battle, asked the spectators around them, and figured out what was going on.

“Black Star challenged Bloodshed Land’s officer in their territory? He’s got some guts.”

Ralph was shocked.

“He’s doing it for Ames. Floating Dragon Island’s current officer challenging an ex-officer and traitor, it’s meaningful.” The high-ranking Klent official chuckled.

Ralph nodded. He turned to look at Ames, who was not far away, and realized that Ames was completely focused on the battle.

…

Boom!

The attacks from both sides never stopped, and it was entering a stalemate.

Suddenly, Carroll’s heavy fortress sped up in an instant and distanced itself from the gigantic palm before shapeshifting.

The heavy machines split up into mechanical parts and combined again. At the same time, Carroll threw out a pile of compressed orbs that expanded into new parts. Countless parts quickly fused together.

In the blink of an eye, the parts became a forty-meter-tall huge, human-shaped mechanical suit!

Large Battle Suit, [Giant Soldier—Ship Destroyer]!

The Ship Destroyer was human-shaped. It had two arms and two legs but no head. Its top was the tapered ending of its body. Its color was striped black and green. Thick, heavy armor covered its joints and weaknesses. It was wide and short on top, and narrow and long below. Its legs were equipped with thrusters and caterpillar track wheels. Its body was covered in mounted weapons, and behind it was a pair of metal thruster wings.

To describe it in a simpler way, this thing looked like an upside-down green trash can with limbs and wings.

Carroll looked at Han Xiao from above before sitting in the cockpit in the middle of its body.

Bang!

The Ship Destroyer made a swift roll after landing, its huge body shaking the ground. It then half squatted on the floor and pulled out a Thermal Melting Sword with one hand as its other hand’s armored plate expanded into a huge bulky alloy shield.

The Heavy Machinery Style replied on various enormous machines for combat. These large mechanical suits were usually called Giant Soldier Mechanical Suits. Its thirty to forty meters height could compare to some smaller spaceships.

Such a large size meant that more energy sources and complex structures could be included inside, so its performance was remarkably high, and it could be used to battle in space. It was equivalent to a more mobile and agile galactic carrier.

Virtual Mechanics could take part in universe wars by hacking; Heavy Armor Mechanics could build these Gundam-like Giant Soldiers to fight battleships.

The Ship Destroyer Giant Soldier held the alloy shield in front and started sprinting forward. Its shield heavily clashed with Han Xiao’s gigantic palm. The tremendous force instantly deflected the gigantic palm aside. Overpowering the gigantic palm twice its size, the Ship Destroyer raised its Thermal Melting Sword and slashed horizontally across the battlefield.

Hu!

The high temperature produced white light that slashed across a huge area. Friend or foe, countless mechanical soldiers were shattered into pieces by the heavy sword.

Han Xiao squinted. The Watcher Instrument fused together into a large caliber cannon. A bucket thick dark blue light beam launched out and landed straight on the Ship Destroyer’s chest.

Hum!

A light-yellow shield appeared and blocked this light beam. The light beam exploded into countless pieces and could not hurt the Ship Destroyer itself.

Even Gundam is out. He’s really motivated.

Han Xiao curled his lips. He was not surprised at all. After so many days of peeking, he had seen Carroll maintaining this Giant Soldier mechanical suit several times.

The Class Advancement of a Mechanic also affected the result of fusing blueprints. After choosing one branch, other than the Potential Point cost of learning knowledges from the other branches being tripled, some of the blueprints of the other two branches could not be fused.

Han Xiao had chosen Virtual Mechanic, so when he gambled on blueprints, he could not get some of the Heavy Armor Mechanic blueprints, such as Giant Soldiers like the Ship Destroyer.

Carroll clearly did not use the Giant Soldier to just defeat Han Xiao; it would be like trying to kill a mosquito with a cannon.

His goal was to use the Giant Soldier to quickly wipe out Black Star’s Mechanical Army.

He did not want to use the Ship Destroyer trump card initially, but the quality of Black Star’s Mechanical Army was beyond his expectations. His disposable troops died too fast, and the backup could barely keep up. If he did not use the Giant Soldier, Carroll worried that he might have lost control of the situation.

“Carroll turned from defensive to offensive. Even I can feel the energy wave of this Giant Soldier. It’s very strong. It would take me a very long time to defeat it.” Outside the protective shield, shocked, Malekith’s impression of Carroll improved.

Hunting Blade nodded. “Now, this is decent.”

Far away in the palace, Heber let out a faint hum, expressing commendation.

At this time, a sudden change occurred on the battlefield!

The mechanical soldiers on the training ground suddenly all stopped moving as if someone had pressed the ‘pause’ button.

Carroll was stunned. Just as he wanted to control the Ship Destroyer and move, what he got was a bunch of random noises from the control panel. The artificial intelligence did not reply at all, and the nerves connection completely stopped working.

The Ship Destroyer stood still just like all the machines on the training ground.

The battlefield that had just been filled with bullets suddenly became deadly silent.

The sudden change caused the expressions of all the spectators to stiffen.

Ding!

A crisp sound came from the Berserk Ape’s Virtual Intrusion panel.

Han Xiao clenched his face and snickered.

His voice traveled out, extremely loud and clear on the completely silent battlefield, so everyone could hear him.

“Alright, the foreplay is finished.”

Han Xiao clearly knew that Carroll had the home advantage, so he had never been willing to turn this into a battle of resources. He had used the Mechanical Armies to stall the enemy’s troops and give himself time to use Virtual Intrusion.

Now, with Risda and Phillip’s support, the hacking was complete.

These standard machines were all controlled by the same artificial intelligence, which was beaten up by Risda and had lost control. All the machines controlled by Carroll stopped functioning—they would only recover after a system reboot.

Taking the opportunity, Han Xiao walked toward the Giant Soldier.

Dong! Dong!

As he walked forward, rows and rows of mechanical soldiers fell to the ground, all paralyzed. The scene was magnificent, like thousands of people kneeling to welcome their king!

One word, glorious!

Han Xiao walked forward unobstructed—this was the easiest process of closing the distance he ever had.

Virtual Mechanics were best at fighting other Mechanics. As the saying went, ‘No cannons, no guns? The enemy will build for us.’

Seeing all his machines being taken over by Han Xiao, Carroll’s face inside the Ship Destroyer cockpit was furious. He felt a strong sense of humiliation.

As a Mechanic, when his machines were taken away by someone else, it was an indescribable feeling, like losing all dignity.

“Quickly, reboot the system!” Carroll yelled.

“Dia—Diagnosing, getting rid of the virus, estimated time unknown…”

An alarm echoed in the cockpit, accompanied by a piercing noise.

“Sh*t, it’s too late!” Seeing Han Xiao approaching, Carroll finally started to panic.

However, he still held onto the last bit of hope. As Black Star wanted to do this as quickly as possible, he only used the most brutal way to paralyze the Ship Destroyer’s operating system and did not obtain its control. Therefore, he could still hide in the Ship Destroyer.

As long as Han Xiao did not penetrate the Ship Destroyer’s armor before he rebooted the system, he would still have a chance to regain control of the situation.

However, the next moment, Carroll’s last hope was gone.

All of Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army aimed at the Ship Destroyer, and countless attacks covered the sky. The Ship Destroyer’s shield only lasted two seconds against those attacks before shattering.

Boom!

The chest armor was focused on as explosions erupted. The Ship Destroyer could not handle such a strong force and collapsed to the ground, face up.

The gigantic hand disassembled itself and turned into more than ten large mechanical hands, which became drills and dug out a hole in the Ship Destroyer’s body.

Between the wires and energy pipes, Carroll’s cockpit was exposed.

Due to the system failure, Carroll could not even parachute out. The Ship Destroyer became a cell that imprisoned him.

Looking at Han Xiao jumping into the cockpit, with a horrified expression, Carroll hastily said, “I admit…”

Before he could finish, Han Xiao’s large hand grabbed onto his mouth like an iron claw, making Carroll swallow the rest of his words.

“Go!”

Berserk Throw!

Boom!

Carroll was thrown out of the Ship Destroyer and flew right into the sky rolling, ascending hundreds of meters quickly and landing on the ceiling of the training ground’s shield.

He did not have a strong physique. Despite being Calamity Grade Super, his toughness was far beneath that of a Pugilist. His head was spinning from this throw, and he entered the [Stunned] state from the Berserk Throw.

However, before he landed, Han Xiao flew right under him in an instant.

Hundreds of meters was just one leap for Berserk Ape.

Buzz!

The next second, blinding lightning emerged from Han Xiao’s body, illuminating Carroll’s terrified expression.

Like pulling a bow, Han Xiao’s arms pulled back before his fists bashed down heavily onto Carroll’s chest, pressing him onto the ceiling of the protective shield.

Boom!

Like a ball of lightning in midair.

Power Detonation!

Gene Liberation!

Germinal Organization Leader Character Summon Card—Armor Piercing Consecutive Attacks!

Han Xiao did not hold back. With the three layers of bonuses, his attack power was elevated to a terrifying level.

Boom!

The explosive soundwave created a circular wave.

The power of this punch penetrated Carroll’s body and shattered the protective shield of the entire training ground!

Amid the shattered shield, Carroll flew up into the sky like a rocket, leaving circles of expanding waves.

Dark red blood dripped from the sky.

All the Bloodshed Land spectators opened their mouths wide and looked up at Carroll, who was flying into the sky.

Malekith was stunned. In just ten seconds, Han Xiao had ended the battle of resources and finished the duel.

It was way too fast!

So fast that he could barely react to it!

Chapter 614: Official Party

Carroll flew higher and higher.

While the other spectators were stunned, Hunting Blade was the first to react. He jumped up into the sky, caught up to Carroll’s ascending body, and grabbed Carroll with his hands like a chicken, not giving Carroll the chance to yell, “I’ll be back!”

The two of them landed in the training ground filled with machine scraps, stirring up a wave of dust.

As soon as Hunting Blade let go, Carroll collapsed to the ground. With one hand supporting himself and another clutching his chest, he coughed nonstop.

“Ahem…”

Blood spilled from the corners of Carroll’s mouth, his face pale. Despite wearing a simple single unit battle suit, this punch still did quite a lot of damage to him.

However, he had the physique of a Calamity Grade Super. Although it was far from Pugilists’, he did not lose combat capability from one attack; he had just broken a few bones, and his lungs had almost exploded.

Although Han Xiao did not hold back at all, he knew that a Calamity Grade would not be heavily injured easily given the fact that they still had energy to protect their body. Furthermore, this was a spar; he could not kill one of Bloodshed Land’s men in their territory. Beating the opponent was enough.

Virtual Intrusion had created an opportunity, and Han Xiao had always been good at grabbing opportunities. He was cautious, too. In order to prevent any accidents, he did not ridicule Carroll and directly blew him away, guaranteeing his victory.

Carroll’s injuries were not too severe, and he still had the ability to fight. However, he had been blown out of the venue, and the machines that he controlled were temporarily paralyzed. Even though he could continue to fight after the system rebooted, it was clear that he had been defeated by Black Star.

The battle had ended, and the result was his defeat.

“You…”

Carroll’s face was filled with frustration. He clutched his chest and coughed a few more times while glaring at Han Xiao, who landed nearby.

“Sigh, that was close. I almost lost.”

Han Xiao removed Berserk Ape, smiled, and shook his head.

Bullsh*t! You clearly won easily! many spectators screamed in their minds.

Han Xiao looked at the Virtual Intrusion panel. There was close to no time left before Carroll’s artificial intelligence rebooted, so he looked around and said, “You’ve lost. There are so many people watching. You’ll accept it, won’t you?”

Carroll noticed the eyes of the spectators on him. He clenched his teeth and felt beaten. He had a huge home advantage but was easily defeated by Black Star. This guy’s combat capability was too strong…

The identity difference between the two of them amplified the effect of his loss.

Black Star was Floating Dragon Island’s current officer, whereas he was a traitor in others’ eyes. Now that the traitor had been defeated by someone from Floating Dragon, it was clearly the result people wanted to see. Not to mention, he had just provoked Ames a few days ago, and then he was beaten by Black Star. With those thoughts in mind, Carroll felt extremely embarrassed.

Carroll looked in Ames’ direction subconsciously, only to notice that Ames did not even look at him, the loser, but at Black Star. This made him even more furious.

In the spectator area outside, Ames exhaled lightly and smiled in relief.

At the moment Black Star blasted Carroll away with that thunderous punch, she had felt the unhappiness that she had kept in over the past few days all disappear, vented with Han Xiao’s punch. She immediately felt that even the sun was brighter.

Ames found that Han Xiao looked pleasing to her eyes no matter how she looked at him, so she kept staring at Han Xiao.

As for the person whom she had always been ‘thinking about’, Carroll, Ames did not even want to take another look at him. The position of this traitor had become nothing in her eyes; she had let it go.

“I have someone better,” Ames murmured.

Not far away, Ralph sighed. He had only met Black Star a few days ago. At that moment, Han Xiao’s position in his mind became slightly higher. “Dragon Emperor found a spectacular guy.”

If there’s a chance in the future, maybe I can entrust some sensitive missions to Black Star… Ralph pondered and thought about hiring Black Star Army. The Purple Crystal Civilization ruled Colton, and Black Star Army’s stronghold was in Colton, so there was a natural reason for them to work together.

Rossozzi rubbed the tentacles on his chin. On the surface, he was not affected at all, but in his mind, he thought. I heard that Noriosse have invested in the Black Star Army. They have quite the potential. Hmm… seems worth investing in them.

After socializing over the past few days, he knew Black Star, too. Due to the fact that there were many important people among the guests, he did not make any proposals to Han Xiao; only now did he think of investing.

The high-ranking Klent official squinted slightly and suddenly said, “Black Star defeated Tyrant’s man in Bloodshed Land. What will Heber do?”

Not far away, Malekith and the other Vanguard Officials were thinking about this question, too.

Someone frowned and asked, “Will His Excellency Heber interfere?”

Malekith shook his head. “This is a spar, so probably not…”

Carroll’s defeat was certain. The Vanguard Officials were used to battle; they were not too shocked or stunned by the result, only surprised by Black Star’s strength.

Many Vanguard Official were eager to spar with Han Xiao, too.

The question that they were most interested in at the moment was Heber’s stand toward this.

At the same time, in the palace…

“Your man lost,” Austin said jokingly.

“I have eyes.” Heber frowned slightly before waving his hand. “Nothing to watch anymore, turn it off.”

“Aren’t you going to reply?”

“No need to.” Heber was not angry. Since it was a fair fight and Black Star had won fair and square, it just showed how capable Black Star was.

Austin stopped the stream, and the two of them stopped paying attention to the incident.

Heber did not interfere, but no one thought that he did not know about this. Seeing nothing happened, they understood that Heber approved of the result of this battle.

Bloodshed Land believed in strength; Carroll being defeated publicly made the others embarrassed, too.

Many spectators shook their heads and left. Malekith and the others gave Carroll a disappointed look and disappeared.

Carroll knew that the result was decided and had nothing to say.

“Don’t forget our bet,” Han Xiao kindly reminded.

“What blueprints do you want?” Carroll clenched his teeth. The Tyrant definitely knew about the bet. If he did not live up to it, it would bring shame to Bloodshed Land.

He did not have a choice but to carry out the promise.

“Let me think, the mechanic fortress earlier and that Giant Soldier mechanical suit. I want these two.” Han Xiao chuckled.

“Okay!” Carroll’s heart was bleeding.

Then, Han Xiao requested three other blueprints. He had peeked at Carroll’s weapon inventory before, and there were many things that he wanted, but Carroll did not use all of them in the battle, so Han Xiao could not request them.

As a Virtual Mechanic, although he could not fuse the blueprints for some exclusive machines from other branches, he could still directly learn them if he obtained the blueprint. After all, when gambling on blueprints, a single knowledge combination had dozens of possible blueprint outcomes. Class Advancements only made some of them unavailable, but with the blueprint, as long as his knowledge met the requirements, he could build that machine.

“I will give you the blueprints tomorrow. You don’t have to worry about me going back on my word; I have at least this much credibility.”

Frustrated, Carroll said that before leaving without even cleaning up the training ground. He did not even dare look at Ames.

Unbothered, Han Xiao looked at the interface notification.

_____________________

[Ames’ Fury] Completed!

You have received 15,000,000 Experience

You have received +15 Renown

+2500 Floating Dragon Faction Favorability

+20 Ames Favorability. Current relationship: [Confidant]

+2 Heber Favorability. Current Relationship: [Indifferent]

_____________________

This time, Ames landed beside Han Xiao with a smile on her face.

“Good fight.”

“Well, I couldn’t keep watching you get bullied,” Han Xiao joked and found an excuse to explain his actions.

“I know.” Ames smiled faintly. She suddenly felt somewhat nostalgic.

Ever since she reached Beyond Grade A, it had been a very long time since she had felt what it was like to be protected. She had never expected to feel that way again.

I’m so much stronger than Black Star, but he was the one that helped me in the end… Ames laughed in her heart.

Aurora looked up at Han Xiao, then at Ames. She tugged on the edge of Hila’s clothes and said softly, “Big sister…”

Hila looked straight and coldly said, “What?”

“No—Nothing…” Aurora shrank back.

…

After collecting his machines and placing them into the Blacklight Stealth, Han Xiao and the others returned to their rooms.

This challenge did not cause anything afterward, but very soon, all the party guests knew about the battle between Han Xiao and Carroll through the spectators.

Black Star had fought for Ames in Bloodshed Land, defeating Floating Dragon Island’s traitor openly in the Tyrant’s territory, and the Tyrant approved it with silence. Black Star had gained respect on the Dragon Emperor’s behalf, and many were surprised.

After the battle, the day passed peacefully.

The next day, the official party finally started.

The people had waited days for the official party.

All the guests dressed up neatly and formally, gathering in Heber’s palace hall. This place had been rearranged into a party venue. There were all kinds of rare food and drinks as well as musicians standing by at the side.

Not just the hall, around half of the entire palace was the party venue, all arranged properly. The guests could walk around the place as they like. There were also many small, private rooms upstairs for guests that wanted to communicate privately.

The goal of the party was to invite the people of the top organizations in Shattered Star Ring to discuss all sorts of topics, expand their connections, build relationships, exchange information, plan the development of the Shattered Star Ring, and so on. It was like a social club but more serious, business-focused, and high class.

The guests were chatting with each other. Ames stood by the side and did not talk to anyone. Hila and Aurora were beside her. They did not know what to say during this kind of occasion, so they did not speak either.

Han Xiao was socializing on behalf of Ames. People came to chat with him passionately from time to time. He dealt with the guests while at the same time observing others, quietly collecting information.

Not a long wait after, the host of the party, Heber, finally appeared. The place instantly became quiet. Everyone stopped talking and looked at Heber, waiting for him to speak.

“I’m glad to see so many familiar faces this time once again.” Heber looked around. “I hope you guys will benefit from this party like always. So… let the party begin.”

Chapter 615: Austin’s Gift

As the musicians started to play, the party officially began. The guests all had their own goals. They split into twos and threes and headed to more private areas to discuss business.

Heber took a few guests up the stairs. Not far away, the Klent high ranking official also went upstairs with a few others.

Seeing this, Han Xiao squinted and pondered.

The Tyrant and the Klents are allies. He has already secretly joined the Crimson Dynasty’s side, so maybe the Klents have become the Crimson Dynasty’s friend, probably even earlier than Tyrant. After all, the Crimson Dynasty wants to rope in the Shattered Star Ring’s organizations, so their priority should be the Star Cluster Civilizations. The Klents got persuaded first, then recommended Bloodshed Land as an ally. The reason Heber introduced the envoy to the Dragon Emperor and Magus might be because the Klents asked him to negotiate with the Beyond Grade A Supers…

This would mean that in the seven Star Cluster Civilizations of Shattered Star Ring, Klent Kingdom might have already joined the Crimson Dynasty’s side.

Connecting to the storyline of his previous life, the main storyline of Version 3.0 [Crimson Tide] was the Crimson Dynasty’s expansion stirring up all the Star Fields, including the Shattered Star Ring. However, most of that chaos were not directly caused by the Crimson Dynasty but the organizations of these Star Fields themselves.

Back then, the players did not have access to any inside knowledge. After Han Xiao connected these two things… the Crimson Dynasty might have been behind all the organizations that caused trouble during [Crimson Tide]. They pulled strings and made the structure of the universe unstable.

Heber did not introduce Zoel to all the guests, probably because the Crimson Dynasty did not want to be too high profile. They might have only invited some representatives of the stronger organizations to private meetings, like the Beyond Grade A meeting a day ago.

So, the storm is already brewing…

Han Xiao shook his head. According to his calculations, the effect brought by the Crimson Dynasty’s actions would not appear in Version 2.0. The most likely scenario would be these effects gradually appearing over the ten or so years during the version update after Version 2.0, which would then turn into the Version 3.0, [Crimson Tide].

Currently, it was only the early stage of Version 2.0. Other than the Planet Aquamarine players, the players on other novice planets were still playing with mud. There were still a few more years till the next version update. During this period, the likelihood of something huge erupting was very low.

Planet Aquamarine’s original main storyline was the conflict between DarkStar and Godora. However, DarkStar was gone, so his Black Star Army had become the players’ new main storyline. The storyline was now semi free exploration, so the players would not face something huge in Version 2.0.

This was the best time for his faction to grow.

As the Great Mechanic Han was contemplating, Rossozzi approached.

“Black Star, I have some things I want to speak to you about.”

Han Xiao stopped his train of thought, smiled, and nodded. “Mr. Rossozzi, what is it?”

Rossozzi rubbed the messy tentacles on his chin and said, “I want to invest in Floating Dragon Island and your Black Star Army. Maybe we should discuss the detailed terms and conditions.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Lucky, another one here to give me money!

He turned around and looked at Ames. Ames did not disapprove and let Han Xiao fully handle it. Han Xiao pulled Rossozzi aside, and the two of them discussed the details.

Not long after, the two of them quickly decided on the investment plan. Similar to the terms and conditions of the Noriosse Financial Group, Rossozzi’s group would also provide resources to the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon Island in exchange for returns in other aspects.

Investing in military organizations had always been important to large financial groups; Rossozzi’s was no exception. After finalizing the details, he left satisfied and content.

The official contract and terms would be sent over after the party ended. Han Xiao was rather glad. The Black Star Army had obtained one more investor, which was very helpful to the development of the faction.

“Black Star.”

Someone else called out to him.

Han Xiao turned and looked. To his surprise, it was Austin. He brought along a group of Forbidden Sorcerers and came before Han Xiao.

“Your Excellency Magus, what is it?” Facing a Beyond Grade A, Han Xiao was formal.

Austin did not reply. He smiled and opened his palm. A dark blue light appeared in his hand. It turned into a vortex, and the light quickly disappeared. Then, a small gray orb appeared.

Han Xiao looked closely. This small orb was not solid but was made of flowing gray fog. It was compressed by a certain power and kept its shape of a small ball.

“This is…” Han Xiao was confused and did not understand Austin’s intentions.

Austin played with the small gray fog ball and slowly said, “Once upon a time, my spiritual body travelled to a phantom secondary dimension and met a strangely strong Void Lord. It almost eroded my spiritual body but was defeated by me in the end. This is the core essence that the Void Lord left behind after dissipating. I want to give it to you.”

Han Xiao was stunned.

A Void Lord’s core essence was extremely rare. Almost only Mages could obtain such materials.

Entering a secondary dimension was an ability only high-level Mages possessed. They could often obtain all sorts of strange and weird items.

In terms of profiteering… ahem, production abilities, Mages and Mechanics stood at the peak among the five Super classes. In terms of collecting materials, Mages might be even better than Mechanics.

Mechanics were mostly in a bankrupt state all the time, completely the opposite of Mages. A class that could burn their mana bar to earn money with zero cost, via Enchanting, was basically everyone’s common enemy.

Han Xiao deeply understood the meaning behind the phrase ‘random acts of kindness only lead to either rape or robbery’. So, what is Austin’s intention behind suddenly giving me a gift? Don’t tell me he’s trying to win me over like Heber, but took a more subtle and gentle route?

“Why give it to me?”

“Because I feel you might need it more than me.” Austin winked.

Han Xiao was then reminded.

That’s right, when I used Observer’s Mark on Zoel yesterday, Austin noticed it.

Could this be the reason?

“You’re not a Mage, but you can control Void Energy. It seems like you’ve been eroded by Void Genes before. Most species turn into monsters after that, but you controlled it and turned it into your ability. You’re very lucky. Therefore, the Void Lord’s core essence can enhance this ability and give you stronger power…” Austin proved Han Xiao’s guess.

Austin had no idea that Han Xiao had the player interface. To him, the reason Han Xiao could use the Void Energy was because he had been eroded by Void Genes before. Plus, there were skeletons of Void Dragons buried within Floating Dragon Island, so he thought that he knew what had happened to Han Xiao. Hence, he wanted to help Ames’ officer.

Anyway, it was nothing to him.

Han Xiao could only cough and agree with Austin’s speculation with silence. Then, he started pondering.

His race was already a Void Race, and a Void Lord’s core essence could enhance the strength of his Void Genes and increase his attributes. Furthermore, during his next Race Evolution, there would be a chance that he would be able to skip the next stage in the evolution chain and jump to the stage after that, giving him even stronger void race options.

It was indeed very useful. Plus, it was extremely rare and almost unobtainable on the market.

“What do I need to give in exchange?” Han Xiao squinted. He was definitely tempted, but he knew not to take gifts without asking its price.

Austin had a huge amount of resources, and a Void Lord’s core essence was just a drop in the ocean, but Han Xiao did not think that Austin needed to give it to him.

Even if Austin was helping Ames’ officer because of Ames, Han Xiao was not willing to accept a gesture of kindness from a Beyond Grade A stranger.

The relationship between him and Austin was far from him being able to accept gifts so easily.

“This is a gift. You don’t have to… hmm…” Austin seemed to suddenly recall something. He then changed his words mid-sentence and said, “Maybe, one day in the future, I will need your help. Consider this a prepayment.”

“Sounds good, as long as it doesn’t go against my position and principles.”

“Of course.”

Han Xiao nodded and accepted the Void Lord’s core. He gave it a close look.

_____________________

[Void Lord’s Essence]: The core of an advanced Void being, contains high quality void energy, extremely precious. Many Mages are willing to pay a high price for it. You can also give it to certain special characters to trigger missions. You can even eat it, if you’re not afraid of it giving you a stomachache… oh, I mean not afraid of being eroded by Void Genes.

_____________________

Han Xiao placed it into his pocket and bowed to Austin to express his gratitude.

Austin smiled with his adorable face before slowly saying, “Heber is reckless, and Ames is careless. I know your potential clearer than they do. One day, you might leave the Dragon Emperor and build your own name. It has been too long since a legend was born in this Star Field… I will be observing you. Don’t disappoint me.”

Before Han Xiao could reply, Austin took his Forbidden Sorcerers and left.

Han Xiao had a strange expression on his face.

Austin did not speak as if he was high and mighty; he was very friendly and gave Han Xiao a good impression, but those words made him feel like he was facing an elder…

…

The party went on. The people present all had their business to discuss. Occasionally, someone would approach Han Xiao to discuss some topics, but not often.

Other than Rossozzi and Austin, the others that went to chat with him mostly just had a casual conversation. Han Xiao was happy with not being busy. When he had no one to chat with, Han Xiao would enjoy the food and drinks in a corner with Ames and the sisters, chitchatting.

As time passed, the party gradually came to an end. The guests got most of the intelligence or partnerships they wanted. Han Xiao eavesdropped on some intelligence that was not really considered a secret but was unobtainable to regular people. After all, everyone there had high positions, so even the information they casually leaked was quite valuable.

In the private room upstairs, the Crimson Dynasty envoy, Zoel, had already privately met important people one after another.

Chapter 616: The Party Ends, Trip to Sunil.

“We will consider your offer.”

The Star Cluster Civilization representative opposite Zoel stood up, bowed respectfully, and left the bright guest room. Zoel was the only one left in the room.

Zoel shook his head lightly, lifted the wine glass from the table, and took a sip. The heated emerald-colored wine poured like a string of fire down his throat.

He had seen more than ten people who represented the top organizations of the Shattered Star Ring. Everyone had been respectful to him due to his identity, but when they discussed the details, none had made a clear decision.

However, siding with the Crimson Dynasty was a huge decision that needed a long time to consider—Zoel understood that.

The Shattered Star Ring was the Federation of Light’s territory, but Star Cluster Civilizations were not the Federation of Light’s subordinates. There was no loyalty. All civilizations were independent. They only approved of the Federation of Light’s authority—that was all. Every civilization had its own ambitions, every civilization wanted to expand, and the new Star Field was the opportunity.

“Currently, of the seven Star Cluster Civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring, only Klent is siding with us firmly. Judging from the current situation, there should be some more Star Cluster Civilizations that will side with us. Combined with some large organizations like Bloodshed Land, there should be sufficient chess pieces.”

The Crimson Dynasty’s ambition to expand was not limited to just this. Zoel was only in charge of the Shattered Star Ring; there were envoys in other Star Fields. They had included the entire Galaxy in their plan. The new area outside the Shattered Star Ring was just one of the things that the Crimson Dynasty wanted.

It would take years just to complete the initial part of the plan.

…

The party was coming to an end. The people were done with business and gathered in the hall. Heber appeared again, gave a closing speech, and announced the end of the party.

The party looked casual, but it was everything but casual. Many issues that could affect countless people were decided there, through a few words between some important people. This was part of the fundamentals of how the universe operated; one’s power was closely related to their resources.

Han Xiao benefitted quite a lot as well. Not only did he get to know secret information about the Crimson Dynasty’s plan and mentally prepare himself, he also made a lot of connections. He had finally made it to the top of the social circle.

Although he had achieved this mainly because of his position on Floating Dragon Island, this was a good start. He would not have gotten the chance to join this party with his own strength and power. The right to enter the circle was more important; his position would gradually become higher.

If ‘connections’ could be quantified, Han Xiao’s connections had multiplied tens of times in this party. The people he had contact before were mostly Star System Civilizations and people in the mercenary industry. Now, he had the contacts of top organizations from all kinds of industries in the Shattered Star Ring. If he faced difficulties in the future, he would be able to receive more comprehensive and stronger support.

The nickname ‘Black Star Networking Group’ became even more suitable.

Furthermore, he had met other two Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring and surprisingly made a connection with Austin.

The guests bade farewell to Heber and left. Han Xiao and the rest walked out of the palace and immediately saw Carroll, who was waiting right outside with a long face.

“Black Star, here are the blueprints you wanted.” Carroll threw Han Xiao a new communicator; the five blueprints were stored inside.

Han Xiao took a brief look and confirmed that the blueprints were right. He nodded and walked past him. He did not want to have any further communication with Carroll.

Ames looked forward and walked past Carroll as well.

Carroll was left alone, feeling awkward and completely ignored.

This time, a shadow occupied his vision.

Carroll looked up and saw Heber standing beside him, looking at him from above.

“Your Excellency Heber…” Carroll’s face turned pale and stuttered, “Sorry, I lost this time.”

“Will you lose next time?” Heber said coldly.

It was a simple question with zero blame. Carroll suddenly felt energized like he was encouraged. “Absolutely not!”

“That’s my subordinate.” Heber slowly nodded, turned around, and walked away.

…

Han Xiao and the rest did not want to stay on Planet Heber. They headed directly to the dock, boarded the Blacklight Stealth, and left Bloodshed Land, heading back.

While Ames trained the sisters, Han Xiao told Risda to control the spaceship and went to the training room, checking the five new blueprints.

One of them was the heavy fortress that Carroll had used during the spar. Its official name was ‘Flying Fortress’. Its defense was extraordinary and could be used as a flying carrier.

There was also the Giant Soldier, which could replace spaceships as a weapon in space. Its mobility, armor value, destructive power, melee and ranged combat capabilities, and other attributes were all beyond average. It was quite the well-rounded equipment, as well as Han Xiao’s first Giant Soldier blueprint.

Heavy Armor Mechanics built heavy machines; these machines’ basic attributes were usually higher. These two things could be used as Grade A standard combat equipment directly.

The other three were also important blueprints to Carroll. One was medium-sized armor that was about six to seven meters tall, operated by more than one person. Its performance was excellent and was best for offensive combat. It was suitable to be sold to guilds.

Another was a type of anti-gravity electromagnetic hovering motorbike carrier that was equipped with a shield to block the universe’s radiation and allowed interstellar travel. Han Xiao had the Berserk Ape mechanical suit, so he did not need it. However, the great thing about these kinds of motorbikes was that they looked extremely cool. It could be the next tier replacement for the Nuclear Flying Backpack. Of course, Han Xiao had to improve the blueprint and add a self-destruct function.

The last one was high-caliber, ship-mounted artillery, a type of spaceship attachment blueprint. Ship-mounted weapons were mostly heavy firearms, which were, of course, much more powerful than portable weapons.

The prerequisite knowledges for those five blueprints were mostly from the Armed Branch, and the highest level knowledge was only High-End Knowledge.

After checking through the loot, Han Xiao took out the Void Lord’s core essence and looked at it carefully.

This tiny ball filled with gray fog had a very special texture when he held it. It was as if it did not exist and he could just shatter it easily. But when he actually tried to, he would feel a very strong repelling force.

Void Lord’s core can enhance Void Genes, like the Void Dragon Pith but stronger. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

In the power pyramid of Void species, the Void Lord was at the top. Most of them existed in the secondary dimension as seen by Mages or hid in Void Vision and rarely interfered with reality. A Void Lord could be considered a high dimensional life form. A similar being would be Magic Beings. Void Lords gathered Void Energy to build their body and project it onto reality. They had thousands of forms. Even in Galaxy, where there were so many races, they were still considered rare beings.

This was not the first time he used this kind of item. Consuming the Void Lord’s core was very beneficial to him. Usually, there would be risks of consuming genetic items, but the adaptability between the same species was very high. The chance of a side effect occurring was minimal.

Han Xiao opened his mouth and swallowed the tiny gray ball of fog. A freezing feeling exploded from his mouth and instantly expanded to his entire body as if even his soul was frozen.

Han Xiao could sense his own body at a microscopic level, and he could see his cells gradually growing stronger under these waves of highly-concentrated Void Energy. His genes changed once again.

_____________________

You have used a Void Lord’s Essence.

Fusion Progress: 38%… 61%… 100%

Fusion Complete!

Compatibility: Perfect

Permanent Attribute Increase: +8 STR, +12 DEX, +10 END, +10 INT, +15 MYS, +8 CHA

Your Talent [Intermediate Strengthened Life] became slightly stronger.

_____________________

The freezing cold quickly went away. Han Xiao took a deep breath and looked at the interface notification.

The attribute increase was quite impressive, a total increase of sixty-three points. More surprisingly, there was a clear notification related to [Intermediate Strengthened Life]

This talent had been with him for a long time and provided him with a lot of health. The last time this talent leveled up, he had already speculated that he would have to use more gene items with no side effects to continue making the talent stronger. The Void Lord’s Essence had proved him right.

Although the effect of [Intermediate Strengthened Life] was unchanged and did not level up, since there was a notification, it meant that this was the right path to take. Han Xiao decided to make collecting rare Void species’ materials a new mission.

…

Han Xiao first took Ames and the sisters back to Floating Dragon Island. It was a peaceful trip.

Arriving on Floating Dragon Island, the Blacklight Stealth parked at the dock. Ames and the sisters got out and turned to look at Han Xiao, who was beside the hatch.

Han Xiao looked at Hila and Aurora and smiled. “You guys, train with the Dragon Emperor properly and quickly become stronger. I’m still waiting for you to help me.”

Aurora raised her tiny hand up and said very seriously, “I will definitely work hard.”

Hila opened her mouth but did not know what to say.

She suddenly realized that the two of them had to part again. She and her sister would be training on the unfamiliar Floating Dragon Island and start a new chapter in their lives.

It could be a very long time before she saw Han Xiao again. Hila could not help but think of the times back on Planet Aquamarine when she used to look up at the starry night. She felt her emotions become a mess.

Hila knew that she did not know Han Xiao very well. They had spent little time together, less than the time they had spent apart…

She hesitated then softly said, “Be careful.”

“Got it, bye.”

Han Xiao waved, and the hatch closed.

The next moment, the spaceship took off and disappeared.

Ames turned toward the sisters and said, “From now on, you will be starting your official training. I’ll be very strict.”

“I’m looking forward to it.” Hila inhaled deeply, her expression dignified.

…

Away from Floating Dragon Island, the Blacklight Stealth entered hyperdrive and headed toward Planet Sunil.

Attending the Tyrant’s party in the Seoul Star Cluster had taken quite a lot of time including travel. During this time, the Black Star Army had been maintaining its business. The players had yet to cause any big problems, so everything was operating as usual.

Not long ago, Herlous had sent a message. After 200,000 players worked for months, the Sunils finally made a huge breakthrough. They got rid of a large amount of Prophecy Stone mines, and the strength of the Psychic Current visibly weakened.

At this pace, the threat of the Catastrophe would very soon be completely eliminated, saving the Sunils.

However, as they dug deeper into the mines underground, they noticed some strange phenomena, so Herlous requested backup from him personally.

The information Han Xiao gained during Tyrant’s party gave him quite a lot of pressure. He wanted to speed up the Black Star Army’s development, so he decided to visit Planet Sunil himself and completely solve the Sunil’s problems. At the same time, he would scout the area and prepare to build the third sub-base.

Furthermore, while doing that, he could reap the experience of 200,000 players, collect three billion experience, and level up to level 145, meeting the Class Advancement requirement.

Chapter 617: Planet Sunil’s Natives!

The pure white clouds flew in the sapphire sky of Planet Sunil like pieces of silk. The gentle wind brought along a thin veil of fog and blew across the dense sea of trees, shaking them like a wave.

Green was an amazing color. Looking down on the surface, Han Xiao felt soothed.

The Blacklight Stealth slowly landed in the military area outside Forest City. Herlous was already waiting there with the Sunil superiors. Further away were many patrolling armored Sunil soldiers.

As soon as Han Xiao walked down the gangway, Herlous rushed toward him and gave him a passionate hug.

“Black Star, you’re finally here!”

Han Xiao patted Herlous’ shoulder, signaling him to let go. Herlous excitedly introduced the Sunil superiors to Han Xiao one after another.

They shook hands and greeted each other. The Sunil superiors were very humble. Black Star’s position in the galaxy was far above that of the entire Sunil race. Plus, Black Star had helped them solve the issues of their planet. They would never forget this.

After the introduction, they started talking business. Han Xiao asked, “What’s the situation now?”

“Amazing!” Herlous was exhilarated. He knew the most about the effect of the Black Star Army over the past few months; the situation of the Sunils had tremendously improved.

As he spoke, Herlous took out his communicator, opened the map projection of Planet Sunil, and explained in detail.

The threat on Planet Sunil came from the beasts. The cause of the Catastrophe was the Prophecy Stone mines hidden underground in various places. The sheer quantity caused a reaction and formed Psychic Currents, making the beasts go haywire.

Therefore, Sunil’s first target was to clear out the Prophecy Stone mines of this planet.

However, due to the wild being dangerous, the exploration difficulty was exceedingly high. The Sunils only controlled a very small area and could not bear the cost of expanding their territory—many young warriors would be sacrificed if they did.

Thus, the Black Star Army just so happened to make up for this. With the help of spaceships and carriers, 200,000 players fearless of death discovered close to a thousand Prophecy Stone mines within a few months.

The shorter the distance from the mine, the stronger the Psychic Current. There was almost no beast living nearby, so the players could easily destroy all the Prophecy Stones in those mines.

According to the calculations of the Sunil Research Department, the overall strength of the Psychic Current on the planet had decreased considerably. The interval between Catastrophes was likely extended to more than ten years, which was two to three times greater than before. This meant that the Sunils’ situation was not as urgent anymore. They had more time to rest and prepare. The result was exceptional.

This result was announced to the entire race, giving them previously unseen energy and hope.

The situation of their race was tremendously improved. All the Sunil warriors were excited.

Among them, Herlous was the most excited. His race was his home. The Black Star Army was the savior of Planet Sunil, and he was the one that connected the two sides. On one hand, he was excited due to his decision back then; on the other hand, he sincerely appreciated Black Star’s help.

Of course, this result was not good enough. Since they wanted to solve the problem, the Sunils hoped to be more thorough.

“What are the difficulties faced in clearing out these mines?” Han Xiao asked.

As soon as he said this, the faces of those present became grave. Herlous said in a deep voice, “We had speculated about all sorts of situations and obstacles we might face, but we never expected it to be this serious.”

Han Xiao was suddenly curious. From the way Herlous put it, it seems like even 200,000 players cannot get rid of this problem.

“By the way, where are the mercenaries? Why don’t I see them?” Han Xiao looked around and realized that there was not even one mercenary.

“Mostly still exploring and fighting outside in the wild. We built many camps to make sure that the mercenaries could resupply in the wild and not have to keep returning to Forest City. Only a small portion of the mercenaries currently reside in Forest City,” Herlous explained.

I see. That’s completely normal… Han Xiao nodded. It seemed like he needed a reason to recall all the players in the wild so that it would be more convenient for him to reap experience.

Putting this thought aside for the moment, Han Xiao rubbed his chin and asked with confusion, “So, what difficulty did you guys meet?”

“Well, the shallow mines were easy to clear out, but there are also tons of mines deeper underground, maybe many times deeper than the shallow mines. These are more difficult to clear and need bigger tools and more manpower, but this isn’t the main issue…” Herlous sighed and projected an image. On it were many strange-shaped beasts, but they all had the characteristics of insects.

“This is…” Han Xiao frowned.

“As we dug deeper, we reached a completely different layer of rocks. We shockingly discovered the tracks of some unidentified beasts. After the initial investigation, we realized that they are ancient underground beasts that never came to the surface. They are an enormous race living under Planet Sunil’s surface. From just the few nests we’ve discovered, there’s already more than a hundred million of these beasts. We have no idea how many more are in the underground world we have yet to explore…”

With a grave tone, Herlous said, “Maybe they are the real owners of this planet.”

Han Xiao now understood.

Sunil’s original mother planet had been destroyed, and they had only migrated to this Planet Sunil after that. Thus, they could be considered guests taking over the owner’s home.

As there were limited resources, Sunils did not explore underground, up till today. Only now did they realize that a large race existed under the planet’s surface. Those monsters were the natives of this planet.

If not for the Black Star Army, Sunil would still not have noticed such a huge threat lurking within the very planet that they lived on.

“For some reason, these monsters built their nests around the Prophecy Stone mines and indirectly protect the mines. They reject outside beings very strongly. Their body is very hard, they’re very swift, and they are able to secrete corrosive slime on their skin. They are about the same size as wild wolves. Dozens of underground exploration teams have been wiped out. The underground is their stage. It’s very difficult for us to fight when we can’t maximize our strength underground.

“Protect the Prophecy Stone mines?” Han Xiao pondered. Most underground creatures liked to be close to radioactive minerals—some even consumed them as food. However, the Prophecy Stone mines were not radioactive but stimulated beasts into a crazed state. Logically speaking, beasts would get as far away from the Prophecy Stone mines as they could, but these underground beasts had built their nests surrounding Prophecy Stones.

A word popped up in Han Xiao’s mind.

Mutation!

“Their race might be traced back to thousands of years ago. Lives change to adapt to the environment. Over a very long time, their genes mutated,” Han Xiao said. “Think about it, the Catastrophe causes all the beasts on this planet to go crazy, but you people have never met these monsters before. This means that they have never gone crazy and come to the surface, which shows that they’re used to the Psychic Currents and are immune to them. They have developed an extremely strong psychic resistance.”

The Sunils were guests that only migrated to this planet recently, while Prophecy Stones had existed for countless years. They had no idea about the Prophecy Stones’ effects on the native beasts throughout those countless years.

Herlous nodded. “That’s right. We call these underground monsters Subterranean Mutants.”

“Therefore, you guys summoned me to…” Han Xiao had a guess.

“Your Excellency Black Star, we hope to get your help,” a Sunil superior said seriously with the utmost respect. “We want to eliminate all Subterranean Mutants and completely control Planet Sunil. Our problems can only be resolved if we kill these underground monsters. Plus, there are countless resources underground. We can only collect them after the Subterranean Mutants are dealt with.”

In order to completely get rid of the Catastrophe, destroying all the underground mines was the only way. Hence, the Subterranean Mutants were the biggest obstacle. Furthermore, mining for underground resources would be unavoidable in the future. Subterranean Mutants were clearly a barrier for their development. In terms of population alone, the number of Subterranean Mutants was probably hundreds or even a thousand times that of the Sunils. The Sunils had absolutely no intention of coexisting with a species this large in numbers.

I thought so… Thinking of the beautiful nature that he had seen earlier when looking down from above, Han Xiao sighed. He looked at Herlous and said, “What do you think?”

“I agree.” Herlous was firm.

“Ok…” Han Xiao slowly said. “I hope you guys can understand that the nature of this incident has changed. This is a war hire; I will gather more spaceships and mercenaries.”

“Marvelous!” The Sunils were overjoyed.

“To ensure the transport of people and resources, I need to build a sub-base on Sunil immediately. Do you guys have any objections?”

“No.” The people shook their heads.

Coming to an agreement, Han Xiao walked aside and contacted Phillip.

“Help me to contact the Noriosse and Rossozzi financial groups. I will be building the third sub-base here in the Garton Star System, Planet Sunil. List the resources needed and send them to these two financial groups; we’ll use their channels.

“Gather the 200,000 mercenaries on Planet Sunil in Forest City. They are needed to build the base.

“Also, send out an Army Assembly on Planet Sunil, targeting all Black Star mercenaries!”

After accepting a string of orders, Phillip replied, “Orders confirmed, hum…”

Han Xiao did not stop there. Through the faction interface, he directly announced a new mission to all the players.

[Army Expansion—Base No. 3]!

…

Sunil soldiers patrolled outside a certain wild camp. In the camp, some players set up stores and formed teams.

There was quite a number of players in every camp. There were mission points and exploration points around the camps, and the players resupplied in the camps. Hence, they naturally became the players’ frequent spots.

Maple Moon sat in a corner with a ‘Repair’ mark on her head. She had set up a repairing store for equipment, and business was booming.

Back then, she had decided to follow the majority and went to Planet Sunil.

As a casual player, she did not like fighting and killing. She had always felt the Mechanic class was most suitable for her. In Version 1.0, she had followed Black Star for a very long time and benefitted a ton, so she was ahead of the other players. Her ability to repair and build was clearly far above many players of the same class. She was considered one of the top players.

Although she did not receive Black Star’s special treatment in Version 2.0, due to her already being ahead, her business had always been popular. Other players were more willing to go to her for repairs and purchases. With the large amounts of profits that she made from that, she had more resources to increase her strength, which formed a cycle.

However, Maple Moon rarely battled. Compared to fighting, she enjoyed the storyline more. The Sunil mission was right up her alley. Saving this race in danger and getting gratitude from the Sunils made her very happy.

There were quite many players who liked the storyline, similar to Maple Moon. To some players, profit was not the priority; what they wanted was a good story. The business plan that Han Xiao had set for the Black Star Army was to let the players experience various storylines through the hiring missions. The Sunil storyline was one of them. This way, their stories would become the army’s history.

At this time, Maple Moon realized that the players on the street had all stopped and opened their interface at the same time. This told her that something huge had happened, so she hastily checked the interface.

The mission to build the third base appeared in her eyes.

“Hmm? Black Star came to Sunil? Strange, the mission to save Sunil is not completed yet, and Base No. 3 can already be built?”

“Who cares? It’s a good thing that a new base can be built.”

The players chitchatted and left in groups, heading toward Forest City. The camp suddenly became empty.

Most players had already immersed themselves in the Black Star Army. They felt that their performance on Planet Sunil had made their faction grow again. They felt a sense of achievement.

Every time the faction developed, the players would feel fulfilled. Han Xiao’s method of building a sense of belonging was really working well.

Maple Moon packed up her store and headed to Forest City, too. Other than missions, she had another goal—to learn better blueprints from Black Star. She had stocked up quite a lot of experience over the past few months. She was not the only one; all the Mechanics on Planet Sunil were hoping to do the same.

Chapter 618: Class Advancement!

The chosen location for Base No. 3 was not far from Forest City. All 200,000 of the players that were outside returned immediately after receiving the mission. With the help of spaceships, they gathered in no time.

Outside Forest City, 200,000 players gathered and focused their eyes on Han Xiao. Han Xiao borrowed the Dragon Emperor’s style once again, sitting on a mechanical throne that hovered in midair. He was not really trying to look cool. There were so many players, so they would not be able to see him if he was not flying.

It had been a while since Han Xiao had last been in close contact with players. He briefly observed the players. The equipment of the 200,000 players that had stayed on Planet Sunil for a few months had visibly changed. They could roughly be grouped into three types of people. The first type was those that wore heavy armor, mostly Sunil Enlistee Class armor and some Worker Bee Armors. What was worth mentioning was that the Sunil Armors these players wore all came from his army. The Sunils clearly knew that Han Xiao had secretly learned about their blueprints… but it did not matter even if they knew.

The second type of players were those that did not wear armor; these players made up about one-tenth of all the players. The Great Mechanic Han could not figure out whether they were poor… or poor. Be it Pugilists or Espers, buying a set of armor had pros and no cons. Even Bloodshed Land’s Vanguard Officials wore specially made armor.

Although these players did not wear armor, they still had some mechanical equipment on them, such as firearms, melee weapons, shield generators, and other sorts.

The third type of player did not use armor, too. What they wore was the Nuclear Flying Backpack. It was clear they were all ‘artists’.

In conclusion, all the players were using the Black Star Army’s products. Their equipment had been updated from head to toe, and they all looked refreshed. Finally, these players looked somewhat like galactic warriors. However, in Han Xiao’s eyes, they looked more like yards of green leeks.

Planet Sunil was the resource ground of NPCs. He had left 200,000 players to grow here for months, and they had stocked up a large amount of resources. Every single leek was looking fresh and nutritional.

Seeing that everyone was staring at him, Han Xiao coughed, put on a serious expression, and said in a low voice, “Due to your hard work, Sunil’s troubles have been alleviated. However, a new obstacle has appeared in this mission, and we need more help. Hence, the original plan is being brought forward, and we will be building Base No. 3 on this planet as a stronghold.

“Phillip has sent the exact location to your communicators. Building a new base requires everyone’s help…”

Han Xiao explained the situation briefly. The players had no problems with it. They followed him to the chosen location for the base and started to clear out the trees and flattening the terrain.

[Army Expansion—Base No. 3] was a faction mission; it included many construction jobs that needed the players to complete. Every sub-mission rewarded experience and Contribution Points. The players were very motivated, not only because of the reward but also because they were personally taking part in the construction of the base, contributing to the growth of the faction.

The addition of Base No. 3 was beneficial to them. A new base meant that the army would store much more resources there. By that time, the players would no longer have to pre-order faction products and could collect them directly at Base No. 3. Furthermore, as hire missions could only be accepted in the base, the players now had one more place where they could accept hires and rest, other than the Planet Aquamarine and Planet Golden Gate bases. This was the Black Star Army’s new stronghold in the vast universe.

Han Xiao notified the galactical construction team that had been working with him from the beginning; they would arrive at Planet Sunil very soon. However, the construction teams could only build the buildings. The facilities still had to be completed by his own people. With 200,000 players, the construction speed of Base No. 3 would be tremendously increased.

The Noriosse and Rossozzi financial groups provided some help, too, and sent a large amount of supplies through their channels.

Han Xiao made a rough calculation. These two investors saved him about 600,000 Enas. This time, he planned to put in 2,700,000 Enas to build Base No. 3. His account had close to 50 million Enas saved up, so he could easily afford this expense.

One and a half years ago, he had only had the three to four million Enas that he had borrowed, and it had taken him more than half a year to build Base No.1. Less than two years later, his assets had multiplied more than ten times. It was a very remarkable increase.

The players were very efficient. Not long after, a huge, flat area appeared in the forest. As the construction materials that he had bought had yet to arrive, the players could not start working for the moment.

The tens of battleships that were on standby around Planet Sunil were all moved there, forming a temporary camp. Players were gathered there, as did Han Xiao.

Making use of this great opportunity, the players all approached Han Xiao, wanting to learn abilities. Most of them were Mechanics. After not seeing Han Xiao the Mechanic Mentor for a few months, they had all been looking forward to this moment.

This was exactly what Han Xiao had expected. He had planned long ago not to sell knowledge but blueprints this time.

He had a talent from his Scholar subclass—[Research Theory].

The effect of that talent was one bonus Intelligence point for every three abilities, which now gave Han Xiao about three hundred Intelligence points. This meant that Han Xiao now had close to a thousand blueprint abilities, which had cost him countless experience. This was an unimaginable number for the players.

Selling some low-level blueprints had a very limited effect on him. Han Xiao put up tens of low-level machinery blueprints at the same time.

The players were mostly above level 70. At this level, low-level blueprints were no longer rare; the players could fuse these themselves. However, due to the variety of knowledge combinations, hardly any Mechanic players could fuse the blueprints they wanted. Hence, the blueprints that they had were all very different.

He, however, sold blueprints directly, helping the players to escape the bottomless hole of gambling on blueprints.

Seeing so many blueprints, the Mechanic players’ eyes were all sparking.

After working on Planet Sunil for a few months, those players were not short of experience. Although the blueprints that Han Xiao was selling did not involve very high-level technology, they covered all kinds of things. There were firearms, explosives, mechanical soldiers, shields, mechanical suits, energy sources, carriers, and many others. Gambling blueprints relied on luck. Therefore, every player could find useful blueprints for themselves and make up for their weak spots.

Han Xiao was not worried about Mechanic class players affecting the sales of the Black Star Army after learning those blueprints. From a cost perspective, the players definitely could not compete with production lines and had no chance of selling things at the same low price. Furthermore, spending in the faction store rewarded players with Contribution Points. Besides, Han Xiao did not sell blueprints of the faction products; what he sold were the blueprints of the same type of machines but half a standard lower.

Han Xiao’s development plan also included partnering with material industries and selling players raw materials to make more money, expanding the Black Star Army’s business range while at the same time bringing convenience to the players so that they could buy the materials that they needed in the faction store without having to collect them themselves.

Of the 200,000 players, there were about 50,000 to 60,000 Mechanic class players. They bought blueprints joyfully, and most of them bought more than one.

Han Xiao’s experience quickly increased, shooting past the one billion mark, and continued to grow.

The players shockingly noticed that other than the low-level blueprints, there was also an extremely tempting high-level blueprint!

The Void Dragon Mechanical Suit!

“Thi—This is a god-tier blueprint!”

“Holy, now this is something!”

The Mechanic players were extremely tempted. Looking at the price—600,000 experience and 2,000 Enas—many felt a heartache. However, the impressive stats on the Void Dragon mechanical suit were like an erotic dancer in revealing clothing that kept telling the players, “Come and play.”

In the eyes of the players, Void Dragon’s stats were undoubtedly in the ‘god tier’ range. Some players that could afford it hesitated before clenching their teeth and buying it.

Seeing this, Han Xiao faintly smiled. Although this blueprint was high level, he had Berserk Ape now and had no use for Void Dragon anymore, so he sold it to the players.

The difficulty of making the Void Dragon mechanical suit was very high. The players would only be able to build it after level 90. Plus, its core material were Void Dragon bones; this was the most important factor to Han Xiao. Even if some players really built it, it would be impossible to replicate.

What, you want to build in bulk? Sure, go to Ames and ask to have her Floating Dragon. You should be able to experience what it’s like to die from pressure.

Within one to two versions, the chance of a player being able to build it was very slim. They could at most look at it and feel good after they bought it. What if they wanted to build it? Not going to happen!

From the players’ perspective, the mechanical suit blueprint that suited their current situation the most was actually Amphiptere, which Han Xiao had gotten rid of long ago.

With the Mechanic players’ current ability, they would be able to build Amphiptere and keep its cost within an acceptable range. If he sold the Amphiptere blueprint, this Single Unit Mechanical Suit would quickly become popular among the players. The average combat capability of the players would be hugely increased… which was exactly why Han Xiao was not going to sell Amphiptere.

If the players got what was most suitable for them, how was he going to use the Sunil series armor to harvest those leeks time after time?

Thus, the Great Mechanic Han decided to sell the Void Dragon blueprint, giving the players a dream to chase. A man without a dream was no different from a fish, and this ‘dream’ just so happened to be able to earn him more profits.

Nonetheless, he did not scam the players too much. At the very least, the price of the Void Dragon blueprint was much lower than its value. Mechanical suit blueprints of this level could be sold for at least 100,000 Enas in the galaxy.

After this harvest, Han Xiao’s experience rocketed once again, easily surpassing three billion. Han Xiao could not help but smile in satisfaction.

Maple Moon learned the Void Dragon blueprint, too. She quickly browsed through the materials and murmured, “Void Dragon Bone… Hmm, looks familiar… Isn’t this Floating Dragon’s specialty‽”

As a player who had followed Han Xiao since Version 1.0, Maple Moon had visited Floating Dragon Island personally. She was the only Mechanic player present who had any idea what Void Dragon Bone was.

After about half a day, night came, and only then did the Mechanic players dissipate and return contentedly.

Han Xiao’s experience stash had reached 9.4 billion!

The average price of low-level blueprints was about 40,000, and there were about 50,000 to 60,000 Mechanic players, each buying more than one blueprint on average. There were also a few thousand players that bought the Void Dragon blueprint. All in all, he had earned about 9.4 billion experience.

This is plenty. Han Xiao was rather satisfied. Exchanging some blueprints that he had no use for anymore for so much experience was worth it.

Since he had enough experience, Han Xiao did not delay. He returned to the training room on the spaceship, opened his interface, threw in three billion experience, and leveled up three times consecutively.

_____________________

[Virtual Mechanic] leveled up to Lv.20 (max).

+350 Energy, +3 DEX, +3 END, +6 INT.

You have received 6 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

Main Class level limit achieved. Complete Class Advancement requirements to continue leveling up.

Class Advancement requirements: INT > 1,300, Machinery Affinity > 580%. (Active ability bonus not included)

_____________________

I got attribute requirements? Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Increasing attributes for regular players was quite complicated; it would usually be difficult for them to achieve the Class Advancement attribute requirements, and they would often have to learn subclasses.

However, to Han Xiao, this kind of Class Advancement was the easiest. The Class Advancement requirements were related to the nature of the class itself most of the time, such as the core attributes, Intelligence and Machinery Affinity. For these things, Han Xiao had always been well above the regular standard for his level.

For his Intelligence, his basic value reached 1,536 after spending all the Free Attribute Points that he had just earned on it, which was already above the Class Advancement requirements. Adding on the ten percent bonus as a Calamity Grade Super, as well as the more than three hundred Intelligence given by [Research Theory], his Intelligence was close to two thousand!

As for basic Machinery Affinity, including his talents and passive abilities, it was 686%, also exceeding the Class Advancement requirements.

This meant that Han Xiao had no need to learn any new subclasses. His attributes had already met the Class Advancement standard.

Huh, I’ve become lucky recently. Han Xiao rubbed his hands with excitement. Could it be that the effect of touching Feidin is permanent‽

Since he met the requirements, without hesitation, Han Xiao put the experience in and leveled his main class up once more, completing his Class Advancement.

With the regular sharp pain in his head, he suddenly gained insight into many new things.

_____________________

Class Advancement requirements completed!

You have received a new class [Galaxy Mechanic Lv.1].

+180 Energy, +1 STR, +3 DEX, +3 END, +8 INT.

You have received 6 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

You have acquired ability [Master Machinery Affinity]!

You have acquired ability [Rapid Virtual Intrusion]!

You have acquired ability [Quantum Network Matrix]!

You have obtained talent [Machinery Theory Summary!

Your talent [Virtual Technology Essence] is enhanced!

Your ability [Strengthened Smart Defense] is enhanced!

Your ability [Strengthened Hacking] is enhanced!

_____________________

Chapter 619: Sunil’s Grade A Main Storyline

As a [Galaxy Mechanic], Han Xiao had stepped into the advanced stage of a Mechanic. At this stage, he could already be considered a master. This stage increased the level limit of his main class by five, the maximum being Lv.25. As Han Xiao recalled, most of the Mechanic players in his previous life entered Grade A when they became Galaxy Mechanics.

The new class [Galaxy Mechanic] meant that he could build stronger machines that could now be used in galactic wars, machines that were more advanced and precise.

For example, Carroll was a Galaxy Mechanic, and the Giant Soldier, Ship Destroyer, was a blueprint that he invented at the Galaxy Mechanic stage.

From the players’ perspective, the best improvement that this Class Advancement brought was related to fusing blueprints. The class [Galaxy Mechanic] was a prerequisite for more advanced blueprints. The same combinations as before could now unlock more blueprints.

In terms of abilities, [Galaxy Mechanic] strengthened the branch selected during the previous stage, which was Han Xiao’s Virtual Technology. The related abilities and talents were enhanced, and he also obtained two new Virtual Technology abilities.

[Rapid Virtual Intrusion], as the name suggested, sped up the speed of Virtual Intrusion. In exchange, the duration of the authority obtained through Virtual Intrusion would become shorter.

[Quantum Network Matrix] was a core ability. It had two effects. One was a huge increase in the range of intrusion.

Range was a very important attribute of Virtual Technology. Clearly, there was an enormous difference between hacking something right in front of it and hacking something an entire Star System away. The quantum network existed everywhere, and the level of Virtual Technology determined the degree to which a Mechanic could make use of the quantum network. Han Xiao’s range increased tremendously, but of course, it was still far from being able to use Virtual Intrusion across Star Systems.

Only Beyond Grade A Mechanics like [Mechanic Empire] Manison could do it across such terrifying distances, hacking from Star Systems or even Star Clusters away.

The second effect of this ability was the Virtual Intrusion version of ‘splashing’.

For example, if the targets of the intrusion were two independent artificial intelligences but the two of them were exchanging data, if one artificial intelligence was hacked, through its data exchange with the other artificial intelligence, the other artificial intelligence would also be indirectly hacked. It was similar to computers spreading viruses, like an AOE Virtual Intrusion. However, the judging difficulty of indirect intrusion would be higher.

As for [Master Machinery Affinity], it was a very practical ability. It provided +75% Machinery Affinity at the max level.

[Machinery Theory Summary] was a talent. It was considered one of the core abilities of the Mechanic class just like [Machinery Analytical Comprehension]. It increased Machinery Affinity based on Intelligence at a rate of thirty Intelligence to 2.2% Machinery Affinity.

As the main class continued to level up, the core attribute of the class would have a bigger impact on his strength, which was why Han Xiao put all his points into Intelligence.

Level 146…

Han Xiao thought about it and did not continue levelling up. He maxed the levels of the new abilities and kept the remaining billions of experience.

Class Advancement was a new stage, which was why it made him much stronger, but the benefits of continuing to level up were not very high. Leveling up to 160 required an enormous amount of experience, and what he had was far from enough. It was better to keep it and use it to level up abilities, getting some Potential Points. What he was shortest of was Potential Points—they were in single digits.

Energized and refreshed, energy flowed in Han Xiao’s body like a stream. Han Xiao could feel his body’s changes clearly. His senses were clearer. He gently touched a compressed orb, and his brain subconsciously presented its structure. His understanding of machines was now deeper.

After enjoying this feeling for a while, Han Xiao left the training room satisfied. Only now did he see the message that Herlous had sent him, inviting him to attend the meeting before the battle, to discuss how to deal with the Subterranean Mutants together.

Han Xiao could not help but shake his head.

Sunils had hired the Black Star Army to get rid of the Subterranean Mutants, so they had most likely formulated a rough plan long ago. Instead of calling it a discussion, it was more like the Sunils introducing their plan.

…

Han Xiao went to the military conference room, and he could hear the heated argument even through the door. Han Xiao opened the door and walked in. Everyone looked at him, and the discussion suddenly stopped. The Sunil superiors all stood up to welcome him. Herlous and Sehrinde were there, too.

Han Xiao placed his fist in front of his mouth and coughed. “How’s the discussion going?”

“Your Excellency Black Star, we are waiting for you to make the decision,” a bold Sunil superior said respectfully. Han Xiao recalled that this superior was called Otis, the right-hand man of the Sunil leader. His position was very high.

“I’m just the executor, only responsible for carrying out the plan. The overall strategy is up to you, not decided by me.” Han Xiao waved his hand. As a mercenary, he did not like to cross boundaries.

“Oh… okay. Then I shall talk about the strategic goal—eliminate Subterranean Mutants or shrink their number down to a safe standard, at least allowing us to safely destroy the Prophecy Stone mines underground. We now have three possible ways to deal with them…”

Otis turned on the projection and explained the plans in detail.

“The first plan is to send soldiers underground and destroy Subterranean Mutant’s nests one after another. This plan will need a lot of manpower, and the casualty number is difficult to estimate. The underground world is their stage; we can’t fully make use of our strength. We will also meet all sorts of difficulties like getting lost, being caved in, and so on. This is considered the last resort.

“Second, lure the Mutants up the surface in groups, then use war weapons such as spaceships and missiles to bombard them. This would be much more efficient, killing tens of millions at once. The problem is how we are going to lure them out. Also, it’s best not to use nuclear weapons. We don’t want to cause too much pollution.

“The last plan is to capture some Subterranean Mutants alive. Study their body structure, invent specially made bioweapons, and drop them underground. Eliminating them en masse without combat. However, the difficulty, cost, and time of inventing such a thing are all unknown. The level of uncertainty is too high.”

This time, Han Xiao’s interface suddenly popped up.

______________________________________________

You have triggered Grade A Faction Mission [Eliminate Subterranean Mutants]!

Mission Introduction: An ancient species lives under Planet Sunil’s surface. They’re the natives of this planet, but they have become enemies that obstructed the Sunils’ development. You accepted Sunil’s request to completely resolve this hidden threat.

Reminder: This is a Faction Series Mission. You can complete the requirements stated below during this mission.

Research Sample I: Capture 1 Subterranean Mutant alive. Reward: 20,000 experience

Research Sample II: Capture 10 Subterranean Mutants alive. Reward: 200,000 experience

Research Sample III: Capture 50 Subterranean Mutants alive. Reward: 1,000,000 experience

Slaughterer I: Kill 10 Subterranean Mutants. Reward: 50,000 experience

…

Slaughterer V: Kill 1,000 Subterranean Mutants. Reward: 5,000,000 experience

Mine Destroyer (Repeatable): Destroy a Prophecy Stone mine. Reward: 200,000 experience

8 targets remaining… [Expand/Collapse]

When the mission ends, based on the number of targets completed, a rating and bonus reward will be given.

______________________________________________

A new Grade A mission?

This appeared to be Planet Sunil’s main storyline. When the plan officially started, the players would be able to trigger it as well.

Different planets all had their own main storyline missions, which was why Han Xiao always took NPC resources very seriously, using them to make up for the Black Star Army’s ‘storyline’. Not only were there missions, but there were also main storyline missions. Double the rewards, double the happiness.

The people stared at Han Xiao, and Herlous asked, “Black Star, which plan do we use?”

Han Xiao knocked on the table, pondered, and said, “All of them.”

With joy written all over his face, Otis nodded rapidly and said, “That’s the best. We Sunils will deploy soldiers as well to fight together with the Black Star Army.”

After discussing the details of the plan, they agreed to first capture some Subterranean Mutants and study their bodies.

It was a task better done sooner, so Han Xiao did not waste any time. After the meeting ended, he took Herlous and Sehrinde in a spaceship, heading toward one of the Subterranean Mutant nests’ entrances.

The three of them were strong enough to not worry about any danger, so it was most efficient for them to do the job. This was also why Han Xiao did not bring along any players. If not because the task of capturing them alive was more troublesome, he would rather have worked alone.

The spaceship arrived there very quickly. This place was in the middle of being dug up, so many drilling machines were scattered around the place. There was a huge hole in the ground, dark and extending to the underground.

This had initially been a cave for the Prophecy Stone mine underground, but it had become the first place to discover Subterranean Mutants. There were a lot of armored Sunil soldiers stationed there. Since they had very limited knowledge of the Subterranean Mutants, this was to prevent them from coming up to the surface.

The spaceship landed, and Han Xiao notified the camp commander. The commander welcomed the three of them, and the patrolling soldiers looked at them with respect.

It was late at night, and the sky was dark. The illuminating devices around the camp were the only sources of light. The three of them stood at the edge of the cave and looked down. Even the strong light could not reach the bottom.

Han Xiao was about to go down. This time, Herlous suddenly said, “Black Star, do you think this is… unethical?”

“Oh?” Han Xiao paused and turned to Herlous. “You mean eliminating the Subterranean Mutants?”

“Yes.” Herlous’ tone was anxious.

The appearance of Subterranean Mutants changed the nature of the issue. No one had expected to discover Planet Sunil’s natives. The Sunils was outsiders. If they wanted to resolve the Catastrophe, they had to deal with these native Subterranean Mutants. In a way, this had become an invasion.

Without the Black Star Army’s help, the Sunils would not have had the ability to deal with the Subterranean Mutants. They would have had no choice but to coexist with them in terror. Only with Black Star did the Sunil have confidence in eliminating them.

Comparing the power between the two sides, it was clear that as soon as the battle started, it would be a single-sided slaughter of the Subterranean Mutants.

Herlous was a Sunil, and he stood on the Sunils’ side. Even if this was not very ethical, he had to do this for the future of his race, but Black Star was different.

Black Star’s home, Planet Aquamarine, had once been invaded by DarkStar. Their situation was similar to that of the Subterranean Mutants, both victims of a higher civilization. Would Black Star stand on the Subterranean Mutants’ side and be unhappy with the Sunils’ actions?

Herlous was very worried about this and wanted to know what Han Xiao was thinking.

Chapter 620: Budding Civilization

Han Xiao looked into Herlous’ eyes and saw nervousness and hesitation in them. It seemed like Herlous cared a lot about what he was going to say next.

Ever since Han Xiao became Calamity Grade, the Grade B officers had started to respect him more and more. He had known Herlous for many years and knew him well. Herlous had wasted many years before starting to help his race. Compared to these Sunil warriors who had been suffering for a long time, he was not as decisive and thought more about things.

In the previous life, Herlous had been willing to die while stopping the Catastrophe; he was very heroic. Now that his experiences were different, naturally, his mindset was different as well.

“You’re overthinking it. There are no ethics or morals in the battle of survival, just different sides. If I don’t help, the Sunils will be the ones that meet their end. Isn’t this what you guys hired me to prevent?”

Han Xiao patted Herlous’ shoulders and said, “Indeed, Sunils are outsiders, and the Subterranean Mutants are innocent. They’ve done nothing wrong. However, the rules of the jungle apply everywhere; the Subterranean Mutants are an obstacle to the survival of Sunil. Since you have no choice, don’t empathize with your enemies…”

“I know that, but how are we different from DarkStar if we do this?” Herlous replied.

Sunil’s mother planet had been invaded and destroyed by DarkStar; they were the victims. Now, they had become the invaders like DarkStar. Herlous did not know how to feel about this change of character.

“Sunil isn’t DarkStar. DarkStar destroys for the sake of destroying, but you people are trying to ensure your race’s future. The motives are different. This is a battle for survival between races. Since you Sunils can’t migrate again, the only thing left to do is to eliminate your enemies. There’s only the weak and strong, no wrong or wrong. Don’t feel too guilty about it…”

Han Xiao paused and added, “If the Subterranean Mutants paid to hire me and told me to chase the Sunils away, I might be on their side. You wouldn’t hope for me to chase away your race, would you?”

As a chaotic neutral and a professional mercenary, this was not an issue at all. He had no intention of interfering with Sunil’s decisions.

Battles of survival happened every day around the universe. A large number of species were being killed every second while many were being born.

Han Xiao’s attitude toward this made Herlous feel relieved. At least Black Star did not dislike him because of this.

“Stop chatting, let’s start,” Sehrinde said coldly and impatiently before jumping right into the cave.

Herlous sighed and jumped down, too.

Han Xiao activated Berserk Ape and followed behind.

…

The three of them descended for a while, and the cave entrance started to become hard to see. Their vision was filled with darkness, and there was not a single light source. Han Xiao turned on night vision.

About a few thousand meters underground, the three of them finally arrived at the bottom of the cave and stepped on solid ground.

In front of them was the pitch-black underground, the tunnels were twisted and complex. There were quite a few Prophecy Stone mines around there, which meant there were also many Subterranean Mutant nests. The Sunils had first discovered the Subterranean Mutants’ existence when they drugged till here. They had lost some exploration teams, so the digging had been stopped.

There were only marks of mining near the cave—any areas further in were the world of Subterranean Mutants. It was enormous; just the discovered area was already much bigger than Forest City. The Subterranean Mutants had probably reproduced for many years to be able to build such a magnificent underground world.

The temperature this deep under the ground was very high and contained rich heat energy. Han Xiao opened the vital sign detection radar. On it, a nest far away was filled with dense dots. Each dot represented a Subterranean Mutant, so their numbers were terrifying. In just one nest, there were tens of millions of Subterranean Mutants.

Sunil numbered these nests. The one that they were going to was the nearest Nest No. 1.

This was just the tip of an iceberg of the underground world. With how large Planet Sunil was, there was still an unknown number of nests that they had yet to discover. There were hundreds of millions of Subterranean Mutants. They were undoubtedly the owner of this planet.

The nests spread out from the Prophecy Stone mines. The dots were most dense right around the nests, like a city center.

After following the radar for a while, the three of them got closer to the nest. The corrosive slime from the Subterranean Mutants started to appear on the ground and the walls. From years and years of the Subterranean Mutants living here, the slime had turned into a thick and rubber-like layer. It felt dense and tough to the touch.

Beep beep!

This time, the radar suddenly rang. More than ten Mutants passed by in front of them. Han Xiao turned on the binoculars and locked onto the Mutants.

With one acceleration, Han Xiao instantly closed in on them. His movements left a series of afterimages, and in the blink of an eye, all the Mutants were beaten to the ground. In the face of Han Xiao’s Calamity Grade strength, the battle was completely one-sided.

Herlous and Sehrinde approached and secured the Mutants. Their mission was just labor work.

The Subterranean Mutants were more than one meter long, and they had certain characteristics of insect species. Their carapace protected their muscles, and hair extended from the gaps in between their carapace, secreting slime from the inside. Their head was very small, and they had yet to develop eyes, only four agile antennae on their head. Their mouth was filled with sharp teeth to aid them in consuming rocks. They had four very lean legs with backward joints, allowing them to sprint and jump. They had a spine and a tough tail covered in carapace with a shovel-shaped end. Their overall appearance was rather vicious.

“We’ve caught the samples. Shall we return now?” Herlous asked softly.

“You guys go first, I’m going deeper into the nest to take a look.” Han Xiao waved. The two of them did not object; they had no reason to worry about Han Xiao, given how strong he was. They took the ten or so Subterranean Mutants and returned the way they came from.

Han Xiao was the only one left. He looked at the battle information from earlier, and the attributes of the Subterranean Mutants popped up. Their total level was about thirty to forty, and they were beast type beings. They all had the Psychic Resistance talents. Other than that, there was nothing special.

Their psychic resistance is quite high indeed; they won’t be affected by the Prophecy Stones. Han Xiao nodded. Now, he had to find out the reason these Subterranean Mutants lived near the Prophecy Stones.

Activating the stealth function, Han Xiao moved deeper into the nest. He started to meet Subterranean Mutants more and more frequently. However, Berserk Ape’s stealth function was definitely not something that the Subterranean Mutants could discover. It was a smooth journey.

The closer he got to the center of the next, the bigger the Subterranean Mutants got. From over one meter long to more than four meters long, their carapace was also thicker.

Han Xiao suddenly realized that there were some skew slash marks on one of the stone walls that formed images with unknown meanings. He looked at it carefully and confirmed this was a drawing made by Subterranean Mutants using their tails.

“Is this a type of recording? The Subterranean Mutants’ language?”

The creation of words usually meant that civilization was sprouting.

Are the Subterranean Mutants in the transition from beasts to an intelligent species?

This thought flashed past, and Han Xiao continued forward. Very soon, he came to a Prophecy Stone mine. He noticed that there were not any signs that it had been mined before, as if the Subterranean Mutants had never used the Prophecy Stones, only guarding the mine.

Do the Subterranean Mutants just like the radiation from the Prophecy Stones? Han Xiao was curious. Suddenly, he thought of destroying a part of the mine so that he could test what the Subterranean Mutants’ reaction would be.

Han Xiao deactivated his stealth mode, took out the Watcher Instrument, and ruthlessly bombarded this small mine.

Boom!

The explosions made this part of the tunnel tremble.

The next moment, the radar showed that the Subterranean Mutants in the entire nest were gathering toward this place as if they had gone crazy.

The Subterranean Mutants sprinted over from all directions. Han Xiao casually set the Watcher Instrument into explosive attacks and free fire mode. Beams of light exploded within the beasts as its power easily tore many Subterranean Mutants apart.

The Subterranean Mutants came nonstop, but not even one could get close to Han Xiao without turning into shattered meat and becoming a part of the carcass pile that kept growing taller. Han Xiao strolled about casually. The huge difference in strength made the Subterranean Mutants’ advantage in numbers meaningless.

Although there was no danger, this phenomenon made Han Xiao realize one thing.

Why is that when I caused damage to the Prophecy Stone mine, this entire nest went haywire and they all came toward me?

This feels like the reaction a being will have when its weakness is attacked… Han Xiao started to speculate.

This meant that this nest had a collective mind. Maybe their communication method was psychic waves and there was a psychic network around the nest. The Prophecy Stones then happened to possess psychic radiation, which had affected these Subterranean Mutants for many years, causing their psychic abilities to evolve. Maybe the Subterranean Mutants were using the Prophecy Stones to maintain their psychic network.

Therefore, the Subterranean Mutants were using the Prophecy Stone mines as tools. It was a ‘communication base station’ for them!

That would explain why the Subterranean Mutants had set up their nests around the Prophecy Stone mines, or tribes might be a more suitable term. One mine could only be used by one Subterranean Mutant tribe, each tribe had no connection to the others, and the Prophecy Stone mines could be considered a part of these Subterranean Mutants.

This type of race specialty… why is it somewhat similar to the World Tree Civilization?

Suddenly, Han Xiao felt slight dizziness. Notifications popped up on his interface continuously like he was being spammed.

_____________________

You have received a psychic attack. Due to the high difference in level, you are immune to its damage. Judging debuff… passed. You are immune to the [Confused] status!

_____________________

Psychic attack? Han Xiao was shocked. He quickly looked at the battle information and noticed that the usual Subterranean Mutants did not have this ability, but these three- to four-meter elite Mutants all had the [Psychic Confusion] ability.

The level difference was too large. Plus, Han Xiao had [Advanced Psychological Resistance]. Most of the psychic attacks from the elite Mutants had no effect on him, but there were also very few of them that did pass the judgment out of luck and disrupted his mind.

Han Xiao became alert. Psychic attacks were a counter to his mana to health cycle. He did not remain in place anymore. The Berserk Ape activated in an instant and turned into a stream of black light, opening a bloody path in the wave of beasts.

Going back the way he had come and arriving at the cave entrance, he killed thousands of Subterranean Mutants in a short period. As long as Han Xiao had enough time, slaughtering all the Subterranean Mutants would be a piece of cake to him. However, the level difference was too huge; killing one Subterranean Mutant only gave one experience point. Even if he killed ten million Subterranean Mutants by himself, it would only give him the same number in experience. It was far from harvesting his leeks.

However, to the players, killing was a path to leveling up fast. There were players who did exactly that in Han Xiao’s previous life. In the end, they were wanted by countless organizations and used up all their revives every single day. These were even more fearless than the Great Mechanic Han.

Having collected quite an amount of intelligence, Han Xiao went out of the cave and returned to the surface. As soon as he came up, he saw Herlous and Sehrinde waiting for him. The ten or so Mutants that had been captured alive were all in cages and secured.

“Black Star, what did you discover?” Herlous smelled blood.

“Hmm, quite a lot of interesting information. We’ll talk when we get back.”

The three of them boarded the spaceship and returned to Forest City. The Sunil Research Department was already waiting. They smoothly handed over the Subterranean Mutants that they had captured.

Han Xiao shared his discoveries with the Sunil Research Department, regarding signs of Subterranean Mutants becoming a civilization, the use of the Prophecy Stone mines, and so on.

He easily completed many small goals from the Sunil Main Storyline missions. All the goals under ‘Slaughterer’ were completed, which gave him a few million experience. The Mission Rating increased visibly, too.

Next, he needed to wait for the Sunil Research Department to finish their study on the Subterranean Mutants, as well as wait for the galactic construction team to arrive and build Base No. 3. After these two things were done, the elimination of Subterranean Mutants would officially start.

…

Right after Han Xiao left, the Subterranean Mutants in Nest No. 1 collected all the carcasses and piled them up together. It was very bloody. If a normal person saw this, they would most likely vomit.

Countless Subterranean Mutants waved their antennae as if they were communicating silently.

After quite some time, all the Subterranean Mutants seemed to have come to an agreement. They all gathered around the mine area and lowered their bodies as if they were worshipping the mine, similar to worshipping ancient totems.

Right after that, all the Subterranean Mutants suddenly started to use their shovel-shaped tails to mine the Prophecy Stones, digging them up, and piled them together under tight protection.

A few hundred Subterranean Mutants wanted to eat the Prophecy Stones but were attacked by the others and quickly bitten to death.

The Subterranean Mutants dug very quickly. With their large numbers, not long after, the huge mine was entirely harvested. All the Prophecy Stones were dug out.

The tall, elite Subterranean Mutants moved the large Prophecy Stones and formed an enormous group, protected by countless other Subterranean Mutants that surrounded them. Then, this Subterranean Mutant tribe with tens of millions of members gave up their original nest and moved to further away.

During that, there were some that took a bite at the Prophecy Stones. Like the others, they were killed. Their bodies were torn apart, and the Prophecy Stones were dug out from their stomachs to continue to be transported.

This Subterranean Mutant tribe started to migrate, going further away from the nest that Han Xiao and the others had entered.

Chapter 621: The Race with the Highest Potential

A few days later, the interstellar construction team finally arrived on Planet Sunil, and the temporary camp of the players completed its gorgeous transformation into a construction site. The structure of the buildings in Base No. 3 was created based on Base No. 1. In order to demonstrate their capabilities, the engineering team used their advanced equipment to quickly lay the foundations, allowing houses to be built.

The players also came in handy, being highly enthusiastic about their work. They were able to endure hardship for the sake of success, working hard to contribute to the expansion of the Black Star Army. Coupled with the efficient engineering team, the construction efficiency of Base No. 3 was surprisingly high.

More members of the Black Star Army responded to the call, gathering on Planet Sunil. All the officers such as Aroshia, Reynold, Sylvia, Harmon, and Ginette brought thousands of mercenaries with them. As for the other mercenaries, they arrived in streams one after another. So far, the number of players on Planet Sunil had increased to 280,000.

The Sunils shared a Grade A Ranked mission, generating a high degree of enthusiasm from the players. So far, all Grade A missions that players had seen were main storyline missions, and the upcoming war between the Sunils and the Subterranean Mutants was also seen as a new main storyline by the players.

Ever since the players entered the interstellar region, they had not experienced an incident that could be considered a main storyline. Because they all belonged to Black Star’s faction, they saw it as their core. Everyone believed that the Black Star Army was the main point to start the next main storyline, and the current situation only confirmed their line of thought.

Because of the Black Star Army, the players could obtain the main storyline of Planet Sunil. This was the storyline brought by the faction. The players could clearly distinguish between their primary and secondary relationships, and they could see the potential of being in the Black Star Army.

This meant that they would be able to grow with the faction and trigger more main storylines due to the nature of their work. The future would be bright for them!

Recognizing this, the players got extremely excited. Just fantasizing about the future of their faction would result in their hearts feeling as though there was an itch to be scratched. Maybe, the true advantage of being born on Planet Aquamarine was being able to join the Black Star Faction.

Han Xiao had always paid attention to the players’ dynamics, and such collective activities helped to improve cohesion. Main Storyline missions like the Sunils’ would make the players feel more at home. In his memory, Han Xiao could remember many Grade A missions, and this was part of his plan. Using the Sunils’ main storyline as a gauge, he would occasionally release a ‘main storyline’ mission to the players.

…

In the conference room, the officers gathered. This was the first time in many months that many of them had been present. All officers had been recruited to participate in this employment task. They had also brought out most of the army’s spaceships as well as a large amount of supplies.

Han Xiao sat at the head, projecting the data on the table as he explained the situation.

“The Sunils have studied the physiological structure of the Subterranean Mutants and have produced results. The Subterranean Mutants have some level of wisdom, and the antennae on their heads are important organs for perceiving the outside world. They release weak signals to detect their surroundings, which will feedback to the brain. In other words, the antennae can be said to serve as their eyes…”

Reynold nodded as he added, “It is a biological creature with awareness. This race has great potential.”

Everyone glanced at him but said nothing.

Han Xiao then continued. “The Subterranean Mutants have two ways of communicating with each other. The first method is to have their antennae in contact, and they can communicate spiritually. The second involves being in contact with a certain amount of Prophecy Stones. They will then be able to perform wide-area spiritual connection and communicate with all in the range at the same time. The number of Prophecy Stones determines the range.

“Other than this, the Subterranean Mutants have a weakness. They seem to be afraid of ultraviolet rays. Research has shown that normal sunlight can give them burns. This is both good news and bad news, as it means that we are unable to lure them up to the surface.

“Thus, we currently have two countermeasures. The first is to send the mercenaries underground to fight, clearing the mutant species out step by step. The second is to attempt to create a large-scale biochemical weapon against the Subterranean Mutants. Emerald Grass, this mission will be left to you.”

Han Xiao speedily explained the situation and began to assign tasks. Since he had a Pharmacist in his team, he could not be bothered to spend money on consulting various drug research facilities.

“Humph, only thinking of me when you have a problem and not looking for me when you are fine. Let me tell you, right now, I love to save people. As for researching whatever poison gas, don’t look for me. I only want to be a good person.”

Emerald Grass crossed her arms and turned her head sideways to express her dissatisfaction.

Han Xiao only shot a glance at her before saying, “The research funding that you applied for has been approved.”

“Relax, I’ll definitely research the poison out for you!” Emerald Grass immediately changed her tone without any shame.

Rolling his eyes, Han Xiao turned to look at Feidin, changing into a smile. “Feidin, I also need your help this time. I need you to help me detect the mental networks of the Subterranean Mutants and help us understand their communication status. Try and see if you can mislead them.”

Because the Subterranean Mutants utilized mental communication, this was where a Psychic would come into play.

“Is that why you called me over?” Feidin had on a helpless look, shaking his head. “I refuse.”

He was not a mercenary but a client. Thus, he did not wish to participate in the slaughter.

“Alright then…” Han Xiao did not press the issue. After all, he still had the Volga brothers. As he was about to address them, he suddenly recalled something and asked, “That’s right, how are things going on between you and Chen Xing?”

He still remembered his personal mission with Feidin.

“I’m chatting with her every day. Our relationship is still okay, I guess…”

Feidin scratched his face, looking a little embarrassed.

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

What are you embarrassed about? Are you sure your relationship is only okay?

Han Xiao felt his scalp turning numb. He felt that the result that he had foreseen seemed to be coming into reality…

This is too scary. Would I really see what soul partners look like in the flesh?

Coughing, Han Xiao knocked on the table, returning to the original topic.

“At the moment, we have only found seven nests, all of which are built near the Prophecy Stones underground. Reynold, capitalize on the high radiation nature of the Prophecy Stones and create an equipment that can detect the veins in a wide range. It would be best if it is detectable from the surface level. Configure it on a spaceship and have the spaceship search for the veins throughout the entire planet to find all their lairs.”

Reynold was seated on the edge of his seat, and he calmly nodded. “It shall be done.”

At this time, Herlous scratched his head before suddenly interrupting. “I have a question.”

Han Xiao turned to look at him. “What’s wrong?”

“Actually, I wanted to ask this since just now…” Herlous pointed at Reynold. “But who is he?”

Reynold had joined less than a month ago, and other than Sylvia and Aroshia who always stayed at Base No.1, the rest of the Officers present were not aware of him. However, they could feel the imposing aura released by Reynold, which was probably the strongest other than Black Star himself. Thus, Herlous asked the question that was in everyone’s hearts.

“My name is Reynold. I’m a Mechanic. Because I admire His Excellency Black Star’s style and grace, I specially came to join the Black Star Army and to learn from him. Black Star is now my teacher, and Sylvia my Senior Sister. I’m currently handling the post of Logistics Manager in the Black Star Army and look forward to working with all of you.”

Reynold’s tone was solemn and serious.

“Senior Sister‽” Everyone present was shocked, staring at Sylvia with wide eyes. Every one of them had their suspicions carved directly on their faces.

Sylvia shivered in response, shrinking back as she exclaimed, “I’ve said it hundreds of times already, don’t… don’t call me that!”

With this episode, everyone now knew who Reynold was and accepted this new colleague.

After finishing this matter, Han Xiao stood up and simply said, “Get to work.”

…

Two days passed.

The sun shone brightly overhead.

The players gathered at the military camp that was situated beside the burrow. There was also a fully armored squadron of Sunils, ready to set off.

It was the day on which they would act officially. Due to the fear of ultraviolet rays, the plan to lure the Subterranean Mutants out of their holes had been abandoned. It also took time for the development of poisons and the detection of more burrows, so all that could be done now was to forcefully attack.

Unlike the serious and silent atmosphere on the Sunil side, the players were excited and raring to go.

“With so many people moving, this will be a big scene!”

“Hehe, the more the merrier.”

The Main Storyline mission officially started, and a large portion of players had arrived. The majority were basically battle hungry people. With this mission being a war between races, to participate personally in such a battlefront with over 100,000 people would rouse the blood in most people.

However, most of the players did not care about the ethnic status of the Subterranean Mutants. They only cared about the task requirements. He just had to tell them where to go, who to kill, and how much they would get in return.

Hundreds of thousands of players as well as the squad from Sunil faced the commander of this operation, Herlous. Behind him stood Sehrinde and a batch of Sunil warriors, and beside him was a portion of the Black Star Officers, mainly Aroshia, Ginette, Harmon, and the Volga brothers.

Han Xiao did not move out with them. He was busy supervising the progress of Base No. 3, preventing any deaths as well as preventing the engineers from cutting corners.

In order to allow the huge number of troops to enter the ground, the Sunils had widened the diameter of the cave’s entrance over the last few days. The yawning black hole of the cave’s mouth resembled the mouth of an abyss.

Herlous faced the crowd and started to speak. Using his Pugilist energy, his voice was amplified into surging waves, spreading to the whole army.

“Warriors of Sunil, our race has suffered too many hardships. The last enemy is now hidden underground. Only by getting rid of them can we end it all and lead Sunil to a brighter future. My comrades, let us battle!”

Every Sunil soldier’s breathing turned heavy. Every person who was willing to become a soldier had long decided to sacrifice their life for their race. Now, there was hope. Everyone was full of zeal, and the Subterranean Mutants in the ground seemed to have suddenly become the enemies in their eyes.

“Let’s go!”

Herlous led the charge into the cave, and the huge expeditionary force followed close behind him, entering the hole with a mighty roar.

The long, arduous march failed to obliterate the high morale of the Sunils, and many players were also affected by the atmosphere, feeling that they were saving Sunil and developing a sense of pride.

Finally, the vanguard reached the bottom and quickly took out various lighting equipment, brightening the dark underground world. Unexpectedly, the troops did not continue to move forward but rather stayed around the entrance to construct a camp.

Because the subterranean world was too large, there were several nests around them that would not be able to be eliminated overnight. Therefore, their tactic was to build a camp step by step in the subterranean world to serve as a bridgehead and supply point for both the soldiers and the mercenaries.

After arranging the teams, Herlous turned on the life detection radar. A glance at it gave him a huge surprise.

In the area of the first nest that they had explored prior, all life signals had already disappeared!

This time, their target was Nest No. 1, but their target had vanished.

Herlous’ surprise showed on his face, and he even wondered if the radar had malfunctioned.

Herlous started to become alert. Because they did not know much about the Subterranean Mutants, this lack of knowledge meant danger.

At this time, the rear troops entered one after another. Herlous quickly passed down the order to have the construction of the camp passed over to the main force before taking the vanguard to Nest No.1.

As they penetrated deeper underground, Herlous grew more vigilant, preparing to be attacked at any time. However, he went unimpeded all the way to the depths of the lair.

The Subterranean Mutants in Nest No. 1 seemed to have vanished into thin air.

“Where have they gone?”

Herlous could not wrap his head around it, and without being stopped, he quickly reached the location of the Prophecy Stone Mine.

Upon seeing the condition of the stones, everyone present was stunned.

The veins were all empty, and there were obvious traces of mining left by the Subterranean Mutants, as if they had dug out all the Prophecy Stones.

Herlous hurriedly asked the team to investigate the entire lair. Before long, he came to the conclusion that the Subterranean Mutant tribe had left the lair with the Prophecy Stones.

“Why would they do this? The other nests have obviously not changed, but the nest we last explored disappeared…”

Herlous suddenly opened his eyes wide in realization. Could it be that their appearance had caused the Subterranean Mutants to relocate?

The level of wisdom displayed by them had gone beyond his imagination.

And there were tens of millions of such Subterranean Mutants! It had only taken them a few days to withdraw completely—this efficiency was too frightening!

“What do we do now?”

Everyone gazed at each other. They had come over with high morale, only to find out that the enemy had disappeared. It felt as though they had taken a full swing on a cotton bed. Their hearts were empty, full of disappointment.

Herlous hesitated a moment before replying, “We’ll set up camp first. The situation is now beyond our control. I’ll first report back to the upper echelons.”

…

“What, you said that the Subterranean Mutants are showing incredible wisdom‽”

The Sunil superior Otis sucked in a breath of cold air when he received the report.

The Prophecy Stones were something that the Sunils had to destroy. They had thought that the Subterranean Mutants were confined to the Prophecy Stone veins, but they did not expect that they would be able to actively dig out the stones and move around.

Even though the veins would go, the Prophecy Stones produced by the veins would still exist. To have the Prophecy Stones follow the Subterranean Mutants as they moved around would undoubtedly make it harder to destroy.

Furthermore, the potential shown by the Subterranean Mutants raised warning bells in Otis’ heart.

“With time, the Subterranean Mutants will surely grow into an intelligent race, and sooner or later, they will form a new civilization, competing with us for the resources of the planet. They must be smothered while they’re still in the cradle!” Otis clenched his fists tightly.

…

“Ah? They took the Prophecy Stones and ran? What nonsense is this?”

Han Xiao had also received the report, and his expression was thoughtful.

He suddenly thought of a bold idea.

Chapter 622: Plan B, Migration

Han Xiao had originally thought that the Subterranean Mutants needed to set up their nests near the mines and would not move. However, Herlous’ report had completely refreshed his understanding of these Subterranean Mutants. They could actually move house as well!

They had just gained the high ground and were about to extract all the crystals but found out that the other party had run away with all the crystals!

“They actually took the initiative to escape? Could it be because of our last raid on their nest?” Han Xiao tried to work out what was going on.

The entire nest had surrounded him back then, but he had still been able to escape while killing many of their brethren. Although he had only killed a few thousand Subterranean Mutants, all the other mutants who were telepathically connected could clearly feel the pain of death. As such, he single-handedly terrified the tens of thousands of mutants.

Fearing the strong was an innate instinct. As such, the mutants of the first nest treated him as their natural enemy and decided to all migrate away. Their telepathic connection provided the mutants with an extremely efficient way to make such a decision.

“That should be the case.” Han Xiao rubbed his head and felt that his guess was probably right. The Subterranean Mutants behaved just like animals. They would retreat if they faced a danger that they could not resist.

Such a situation immediately gave him a new plan.

The Sunils wanted to get rid of the Subterranean Mutants mainly to wipe out the Prophecy Stone Mines that the Subterranean Mutants were protecting. However, recent events had proven that the Subterranean Mutants were capable of digging up the mines and shifting them away. Since those mines were able to be shifted, the contradiction had been resolved.

As long as these Subterranean Mutants left the planet with the Prophecy Stones, the problem would immediately be solved. This way, the Sunils would not need to wipe out the Subterranean Mutant race, and it was a win-win situation for both parties.

Han Xiao immediately frowned and understood the difficulty of such a task. While this is a great idea, it was not a very feasible one. He would have to catch the Subterranean Mutants that numbered in the billions one by one and choose an uninhabited planet. He would then have to prepare a large number of spaceships to transport them all. This would require much more manpower and resources.

If they could migrate, the Sunils would have left by now.

Obviously, the Sunils did not have such strength and were not willing to abandon their homeland.

Thus, the likelihood of exterminating the Subterranean Mutants seemed higher, and it would get rid of their problem once and for all. To the Sunils, protecting the Subterranean Mutants was just a waste of resources, and destruction was the simplest.

“If I want to use migration as an alternative to elimination, I will need an external force like a large financial group to step in…”

Han Xiao’s brows were furrowed. Just what was the meaning of migrating all the Subterranean Mutants? Could the benefits of an undeveloped race exceed the cost to migrating them? If the benefits did not outweigh the costs, the value of saving them would reduce greatly.

According to their employment terms, protecting the mutants was completely unnecessary.

Furthermore, Han Xiao knew that the Sunils would definitely favor extermination.

Thus, this meant that the survival and death of an entire race would be determined by a thought of his.

Should he save them or not?

Han Xiao began hesitating. Even if the Sunils detected this other possibility, they definitely would not take the initiative to mention it. Thus, as long as Han Xiao did not suggest this alternative, the Subterranean Mutants would definitely be exterminated.

Originally, he had been no more than an executioner to complete the employment contract, but after realizing this alternative, his role had changed. He was no longer a simple mercenary but the individual who could decide the fate of an entire race. The pressure of the decision lay squarely on his shoulders.

When he had no other choice, Han Xiao would not feel the slightest bit of guilt. However, things were different now. A weak race did not have the ability to control their own life or death, but he had the authority to determine the fate of an entire race.

After pondering for a long while, Han Xiao let out a long sigh and ordered, “Herlous, continue the operation and attack another nest.”

“Understood.” Herlous hung up the call.

Han Xiao then called Sylvia over. He got her to overlook the construction team and left the construction site to find Feidin, who was enjoying nature in the forest.

In the lush forest, Feidin was seated underneath a tree with his formless psychic energy creating ripples in the air. This was the phenomenon of a Psychic cultivating.

Psychic energy was the combination of both energy and mental energy and there were some Espers who had such abilities. However, the Psychics were ranked as one of the top five Super systems because they had a complete training system. As long as one had the talent, one would be able to grasp psychic energy through training alone and didn’t require the mutation of genes.

“Why are you here?”

Upon hearing Han Xiao’s footsteps, Feidin opened his eyes and revealed a courteous smile. However, a distant look could be seen in his eyes.

Feidin truly felt disgusted with the current employment mission of the Black Star Army. Wiping out an entire race had touched his bottom line, and his attitude toward Han Xiao had changed because of this.

“I wish to seek your help. It is the same request as before. I hope that you can attempt to communicate with the Subterranean Mutants,” Han Xiao said slowly.

“Didn’t I reject you already? My answer is the same,” Feidin replied without even thinking. He knew that this war was not wrong, but he did not wish to be the accomplice of a massacre.

Han Xiao was not too surprised. Based on his understanding of Feidin, he knew that Feidin was a kindhearted individual.

“You misunderstood me. The same reason isn’t the same as before…” Han Xiao then briefly described his idea of a migration before saying with a smile, “If we can establish a bridge of communication, this hypothetical situation may become reality.”

Feidin’s eyes brightened up, and he stood up abruptly. “Are you serious‽”

“You know my reputation.” Han Xiao smiled.

Feidin looked at Han Xiao and revealed a warm smile that would cause youthful girls to shriek in excitement. “I didn’t misjudge you after all. Let’s go. I will do my best to help you.”

They smiled at each other.

Seeking help from Feidin was Han Xiao’s decision. He had decided to protect the Subterranean Mutants.

It was not out of the kindness of his heart but his desire for growth.

The benefits of the Sunil employment would be gone after the completion of the mission, but migrating the Subterranean Mutants would leave him with future benefits. This was akin to planting two different kinds of crops in the same piece of land.

The Subterranean Mutant race was a race with great potential, and there was a chance for them to develop into a new NPC resource. There was value for Han Xiao to make such an investment. While the initial investment would not be a small amount, Han Xiao had the capital at the moment to have a few additional investments.

Telepathic communication would resolve the problem of communication. If the Subterranean Mutants could come to an agreement with him and willingly leave Planet Sunil, he would not need to capture them one by one, and it would save him a lot of trouble.

However, the Subterranean Mutants might not be able to understand the concept of the galaxy and planets. They had not even explored the entire planet before. Thus, the only solution would be to let those Subterranean Mutants feel the threat of death and control them with fear.

Thus, massacres still could not be avoided.

Apart from this, there was another reason. The accomplishment of saving an entire race was much greater, and the players would enjoy playing the role of being saviors much more. Thus, this would help create a better sense of belonging to the Black Star Army.

Of course, his Favorability with Feidin was also another reason. Han Xiao did not want the crops planted in his backyard to escape from him.

…

Half an hour later, the expedition forces set up a temporary camp, and their illumination equipment lit up the dark underground world. The Sunil armed forces were currently on guard outside the camp.

Herlous had already received his next order and led the army to the coordinates of the second nest.

As they approached the nest, the vanguard forces met a large group of around three hundred mutants.

“Woah, they are much uglier than in the pictures.”

Many players revealed looks of disgust with some players turning pale. The Subterranean Mutants that had the appearance of bugs looked like monsters with unpardonable sins in this superficial generation.

These Subterranean Mutants also spotted the expedition forces and gathered together as though they were curious about these creatures that they had never seen before.

Tuk tuk tuk!

The next moment, the cannons were fired!

The Sunil soldiers remained expressionless as they fired their cannons without any hesitation. The cannon fire broke the silence of the underground world and illuminated the darkness. The dense wave of cannon fire landed on the bodies of the Subterranean Mutants and reduced them to meat paste.

“Advance!”

The sergeants of the various squads roared, and the Sunil force marched forward in neat rows and synchronized steps.

Rumble!

Right at this moment, a rumbling sound could be heard from the direction of the nest, and the ground began to tremor. It was the sound of thousands of beasts approaching them.

“Defensive formation! Hold your ground!”

The Sunil forces adjusted their formation swiftly and prepared themselves for the impact.

Boom!

A black wave flooded over from all the different tunnels. The second nest was also home to millions of mutants.

Right at this moment, Herlous’ voice thundered.

“Black Star mercenaries, all weapons free!”

The army of players charged out, and rainbow-colored lights covered the entire battlefield.

Boom!

Both waves collided with each other, and war broke out!

…

At the same time, Han Xiao arrived at the Sunil research facility with Feidin and borrowed the few Subterranean Mutants that they captured alive previously.

The ten or so Subterranean Mutants were locked up separately and were not allowed to come into contact with each other. A small pile of Prophecy Stones was placed in the middle for them to establish telepathic connection.

“You are the expert; I shall hand them over to you,” Han Xiao said.

Feidin smiled and released his psychic energy.

The Subterranean Mutants used the Prophecy Stones as a communication hub. As long as a Psychic could tune his psychic energy to the same frequency as the mutants, he would be able to communicate with the mutants.

After a period of adjustment, Feidin’s eyes lit up. “Success!”

Just as he said that, his expression immediately became weird.

“What’s wrong?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Er… things are slightly different from what I expected,” Feidin said with a weird tone. “Accept my mental connection. I will pull you into the conversation.”

Han Xiao nodded and did not reject Feidin’s mental connection.

The instant he accepted the connection, his vision was split into two. One was the real world, and the other was a vast white colored space without an end in sight. This was the telepathic space, and he could cut off the connection at any time.

The Subterranean Mutants and Feidin were also in this space, and their locations were the same as in reality. They all took on the appearance of glowing bodies, and only their silhouettes could be seen.

Before Han Xiao could even react, he could hear the mutants chattering away.

“Eh? Another one of our brethren.”

“Why do they look slightly different? They’re too ugly.”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment and never expected the Subterranean Mutants to treat him as one of them. The mutants must have thought that the only ones who could enter this telepathic world were their own kind.

These Subterranean Mutants then changed the topic and began to chat among themselves.

“Why are we locked up?”

“I don’t know. Also, you asked this question before.”

“Those long creatures look so strange. They actually feed us food and take away our feces.”

“Haha, I understand! Our feces must be their food!”

“I see! I understand too! So, the more we excrete, the more they will feed us!”

“How sick, there are actually those who eat feces.”

“Hehe, I just had a nice, big sh*t. They will definitely have a full meal.”

“Woah, how amazing.”

Just what is this nonsense… Han Xiao listened until his mouth cramped up. However, this conclusion was truly sensible from the perspective of the mutants.

He had thought that these mutants would be filled with hatred but never expected their conversation to be so casual and light-hearted…

Chapter 623: One Batch at a Time (1)

While the picture was completely different from what Han Xiao had expected, Han Xiao received quite a bit of information from their conversation.

The Subterranean Mutants had the ability to think logically and had a certain level of intelligence. However, their ability to recognize and differentiate the different races was not fully developed yet.

After knowing that Feidin was able to communicate with the Subterranean Mutants, Han Xiao terminated the mental link.

“We can definitely communicate with them through the Prophecy Stones. If we make use of the mine, we should be able to communicate with the entire nest,” Feidin said.

“Then let’s find a nest to try.”

Han Xiao nodded and had a target in mind.

…

A thick bloody smell filled Nest No. 2, with puddles of blood all around. This was the scene after a massacre.

The faces of many players turned pale as the scene before them was truly too shocking. Even after completing a small part of their mission, the players could not be happy. Many of them could not help but turn on the green filter mode.

Only the Sunil warriors were completely calm. They were far too used to seeing such a sight and were completely indifferent toward it. Furthermore, they had lost some of their soldiers in the previous battle, and their armor was full of cracks.

Herlous led the vanguard troops ahead and destroyed the entire nest. He killed millions of mutants, and the remaining few escaped in fear, taking with them a portion of the Prophecy Stones.

The logistics troops began to mine the Prophecy Stones, and the main troops reorganized their formation on the spot. They used flamethrowers to burn up the corpses of the Subterranean Mutants.

Herlous held onto his Battleship Slicing Blade and was resting by the side. Previously, he had been the tip of the spear and was like moving meat grinder, single handedly killing tens of thousands of Subterranean Mutants. His strength was far from Han Xiao’s, and he consumed a great deal of stamina in the battle.

After a while, a soldier ran over and gave a military salute.

“The mining is complete. Commander, please give us your next order.”

“Return to the temporary camp and replenish our ammunition.”

While the Subterranean Mutants were not strong, their numbers were frightening. Cleaning up a single nest had exhausted over sixty percent of their ammunition, and almost all the players had some injuries.

If they continued to attack the nests, the number of casualties would definitely increase. Thus, Herlous decided to return to camp and rest for a few hours first.

The troops marched back to their temporary camp, and Herlous saw two figures appearing in the camp—Han Xiao and Feidin.

“Why are the two of you here?” Herlous welcomed them with a questioning look on his face.

Han Xiao did not reply to the question and looked toward the troops. “How are the casualties?”

“There are very few casualties, but…” Herlous brows were furrowed. “This is only the first battle, and there are many nests all around the planet. The number of casualties isn’t ideal. The deaths of the Sunils will be too severe, and we can only rely on our mercenaries.”

The mine detector that Reynold had developed was already in use, and Han Xiao had deployed a few dozen spaceships to scan the entire planet. In just a short few days, they had already found a few dozen underground mines all over the planet.

Some of the nests were large and some small. The largest had a population of a few hundred million while the smallest had millions at the very least. The total number of Subterranean Mutants underground had reached a staggering few billion.

The moment he thought about the staggering number of enemies, Herlous’ heart sank.

Furthermore, the positions of the other nests were different, and new underground tunnels had to be made in many locations. Without the undying Black Star Army, it was no more than a dream for the Sunils to wipe out the mutants. Only the Black Star Army would be capable of such a feat.

Han Xiao knew what Herlous was thinking about and briefly explained his plan of migrating the mutants. “I am here to communicate with the Subterranean Mutants. If I can convince a portion of the mutants to submit to us and get the mutants to convince other mutants, we will be able to greatly reduce the number of enemies.”

Herlous’ eyes lit up. He would naturally be willing to do so if it would reduce the number of casualties when cleaning up the mutants. “Do we have to change our strategy?”

“No, continue to attack the nests of the mutants, but there isn’t a need to chase those who escape. I want to plant a seed of fear in their hearts as it will make it easier to persuade them,” Han Xiao said slowly.

Compared to killing, this was a much more efficient method.

After leaving the camp, Han Xiao and Feidin paid a visit to the second nest and caught up to the mutants that had escaped.

The number of casualties in this tribe was disastrous, and upon discovering Han Xiao and Feidin, a fight could not be avoided. However, they could not threaten Han Xiao in the slightest.

Han Xiao summoned his Mechanical Army and killed a path toward the Prophecy Stones that these mutants were moving. They then infiltrated the mental network of the mutants.

The next moment, all the attacking mutants suddenly paused. If they had expressions on their faces, they would surely have looked dumbfounded.

In their knowledge, only those of their kind were capable of connecting to them mentally. However, Han Xiao had just killed them and was obviously not their kind. This situation confused the Subterranean Mutants, whose intelligence was not fully developed.

“Who are you?”

In the mental network, many of the mutants revealed emotions of shock.

“I am Black Star, an emissary from the galaxy…” Han Xiao then briefly explained what was going on with ‘appropriate’ changes.

He threw the entire blame of massacring the Subterranean Mutants to the Sunils, and Han Xiao described the Sunils as though they were demons. He then described himself as someone willing to help their race and a friendly emissary who was convincing the Sunils to stop their massacre. He then promised that he could stop the slaughter on the condition that they surrendered and moved out of this planet.

To allow the mutants to understand what was going on, Han Xiao had also briefly mentioned some basic knowledge of the universe and some of the benefits that they could receive.

The efficiency of a mental connection was extremely high, and the entire race fell into deep thought. It was as though they had just listened to the preaching of a heavenly book.

To the galactic residents, what Han Xiao had just said was no more than common sense. However, it completely changed the view that the mutants had of the world. In their eyes, the underground world was their entire world, and the planet and galaxy were completely new concepts.

The Subterranean Mutants viewed those who came from above ground as their enemies, and the Sunils treated them the same.

A mutant that seemed to be the leader of the tribe then took the initiative to communicate with Han Xiao.

“We are willing to surrender. Please do not hurt us anymore.”

Almost all the mutants knelt down on the ground and displayed their intent to submit.

The tribe leader treated Han Xiao extremely respectfully. The words that came out from Han Xiao’s mouth far exceeded the boundaries of his knowledge and was far too shocking to him. Because of their undeveloped intelligence, they treated Han Xiao as a god-like figure and began worshiping him.

The persuasion process was far easier than he had imagined.

But thinking back, it was not too surprising. The intelligence of the Subterranean Mutants was no different from children. They did not understand any complex feelings such as glory or humiliation, and their view of hatred was also extremely basic.

The Subterranean Mutants had not grown out of their bestial nature. Beasts that were afraid would reveal signs of submission. This tribe that had been massacred by Herlous was already thoroughly frightened.

The Subterranean Mutants did not have any natural predators, and they could feed on the rocks underground without fighting with each other. Thus, they lived in peace and rarely experienced battle. At the very most, they would have small conflicts with other tribes. As such, their race was extremely simple.

The only downside was that they were far too ugly. It was probably because the underground world was far too dark, and no one could even see their appearance. Thus, they just grew as they wished.

With the ability to communicate, Han Xiao could now understand the structure of their civilization. After a series of questions, Han Xiao finally had a clear understanding of the Subterranean Mutant race.

The Subterranean Mutants knew that there were other nests near them, and they would occasionally fight each other to snatch Prophecy Stones. The structure of their society was at the caveman stage, and every tribe had a tribe leader with the development of every tribe being different. There were some with more intelligence and others that were more boorish. Their culture was starting to sprout into many different kinds of flowers.

If they developed according to their original path, the Subterranean Mutants would take many more years before the various tribes combined into a civilization with intellect and began forming kingdoms. With his interference, their development speed will be shortened by thousands of years.

“What do we need to do?” the tribe leader asked obediently.

Han Xiao thought for a while before saying, “Convince the tribes in this region and disseminate my intention. From now on, you will be my emissary, and if you complete my mission, go to the cave nearby to find the guests from the surface. They will not harm you.”

“Woah, this is great!”

“They won’t attack us anymore!”

The entire tribe broke out in cheers.

After giving a series of instructions and ensuring that the tribe knew their mission, Han Xiao was prepared to leave. He then realized something and asked the tribe leader, “Right, what is your name?”

“What is a name?” The tribe leader was puzzled.

Han Xiao could only helplessly explain, “It is a way to address you to allow others to know that this word represents you. For example, I am Black Star, and Black Star is me…”

The tribe leader nodded, looking as though he understood what Han Xiao said.

“Sigh, alright. I shall give you a name…” Han Xiao then looked at Feidin beside him and immediately had an idea. “Since you are so good looking, you shall be called Chen Xing.”

Feidin’s mental energy immediately began fluctuating wildly, and Chen Xing who was inside him began roaring, “I will definitely kill you! Do you hear me‽ I will definitely kill you!”

The ugly Subterranean Mutants sharing the same name as her was something that Chen Xing would never be able to accept.

Feidin had a helpless look on his face. “Black Star, don’t tease her so much.”

“Tsk tsk, the two of you are indeed of one body. You are so protective of her.” Han Xiao clicked his tongue before saying to the tribe leader, “Okay, ignored what I just said. You shall be called Germinal.”

There should not be anyone jumping out from their graves to disagree with him.

“Germinal…” the tribe leader muttered to himself before suddenly crying out with joy. “I have a name!”

“As for your tribe…” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “Let’s just call it the Germinal Tribe.”

Wait… does this mean that this fellow is the Germinal Leader?

Seeing the overjoyed tribe leader, Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.

Chapter 624: One Batch at a Time (2)

It was much more effective for the Germinal Tribe to persuade their own kind.

This region had five nests. One had been scared away by Han Xiao, and the Germinal Tribe had surrendered. Over the next few days, Herlous would first cripple the final three tribes before sending the Germinal Tribe to persuade the remnants of the tribes.

This method was far more effective than purely massacring, and the region was cleared out very quickly.

This truly surprised the Sunil soldiers. They had never imagined that the legendary Black Star would have such a brilliant strategic mind, and they were truly convinced by his abilities. They did not need to waste any time chasing after the mutants that had escaped, and the escapees of the three tribes had been convinced by the Germinal Tribe to submit. These mutants then brought their respective Prophecy Stones Base to surrender. This saved them a great deal of effort and prevented many casualties.

The players who participated in the battle were locked in a fierce debate on the forums. After learning that the Subterranean Mutants had intelligence, a portion of the players began to disagree with the action of ‘massacring’ them. As such, Han Xiao’s action of persuading the mutants to submit had gained the approval of many players. However, such players formed the minority, and they were players who were extremely emotional.

In the beginning, only a small portion of players discussed such an issue, and the majority of the players were only bothered about completing their mission and did not think so much. But as more and more threads related to this matter were created, many players could not help but input their opinion and choose a side.

Most people were used to feeling empathy for the weak and after seeing the cruel massacre, many players started to feel apprehensive about massacring the mutants. While the Subterranean Mutants look pretty disgusting, after looking at them for a long time, they were still pretty pleasant to the… what bullsh*t! They aren’t pleasant looking in any way at all!

In any case, despite feeling compassion toward the mutants, the players wouldn’t hold anything back when carrying out their mission.

However, the name of ‘Germinal Tribe’ had truly made all the players laugh until their sides ached.

All these players had been through the events of Version 1.0 and had a deep impression of the Germinal Organization. Thus, they could not help but joke about it on the forums.

“Germinal: Coach, I want to eat a boxed lunch!”

“Germinal: Now that things have developed to such an extent, I shall not hide matters anymore. It is time for me to reveal my true self! Are those of noble birth worth more than us‽”

“Shock! Germinal is actually the true boss. It is a mysterious force in the universe with their alternate accounts all over the galaxy. The Germinal leader that we saw on Planet Aquamarine was no more than one of its doppelgangers. Such a powerful organization has been hidden for billions of years, and we have only seen the tip of the iceberg…”

“Germinal: Hmm? Has my alternate account been exposed?”

“I understand now. This is the legacy of one’s faith and beliefs. I must spread the seeds of revolution throughout the entire universe. Germinal shall live forever! Our spirit will live forever!”

“The Germinals up in the heavens are watching all of you and have given you a like.”

“Continue bragging. The Germinals are extremely pleased.”

The presence of the Germinal Tribe lightened the heavy mood considerably.

In this region, only the final tribe that had escaped was left. Herlous personally led the troops and gave chase to the escaping tribe. All the surrendered mutants led the way with their superior digging abilities. Under the guidance of the radar, they very quickly found the new nest that had been dug by the final tribe.

This time, a battle did not break out, and the Germinal Tribe Leader communicated with the leader of the escaping tribe to convey Han Xiao’s message.

This escaping tribe did not fight back at all. When Germinal displayed Han Xiao’s figure, this tribe immediately recognized him.

Han Xiao was the one who had scared them into escaping and left a shadow in their hearts. This tribe was extremely timid, and the moment Germinal mentioned Han Xiao’s name, they did not even hesitate in the slightest and instantly came to an agreement in their mental network to surrender.

This was the first time that the problem had been taken care of without fighting. From the depths of his heart, Herlous truly felt that Han Xiao’s decision was extremely wise.

The five nests in this region had been completely cleaned up, and Herlous pulled back all of his troops from the underground world. There were many more regions for him to clean up, and dealing with these surrendered mutants would be another problem.

Herlous sought instructions from Han Xiao, and Han Xiao’s reply was simple. Since there were too many Subterranean Mutants and they were not willing to come above ground, together with the fact that it was too expensive to watch over them, the Subterranean Mutants would temporarily remain in their region with the five tribes living together. Han Xiao would then set up some monitoring devices to monitor the actions of those surrendered tribes. Following which, the expedition force would take the Germinal leader and a few tribe members as a diplomatic team to persuade the other tribes.

After seeing the effectiveness of Han Xiao’s plan, Herlous had no disagreements with his arrangements.

…

In the following days, the expedition force adopted the same strategy again.

All the underground mines on Planet Sunil had been detected by the radar, and there were 127 Subterranean Mutant nests in total. They were divided into 41 different regions, and the expedition forces cleared up almost half of the mutants all across the planet. The number of surrendered Subterranean Mutants reached a staggering 1.7 billion, and the number slaughtered would only be higher.

However, the persuasion method did not always work. Every mutant tribe had developed independently, and the level of development differed from region to region. There were certain regions that had not even developed intelligence and were not able to understand words at all, only capable of unintelligible grunts. Without any way to communicate at all, the only way to take care of them would be to slaughter them all.

All the players received great rewards from the [Eliminate Subterranean Mutants] quest, and Han Xiao was extremely pleased as well.

With the players joyfully earning their reward, Han Xiao did not remain idle and continued to harvest the wallets and experience of the players as well. His experience stash slowly approached the one billion mark.

The amount of experience points he would require in the future to level up was a sky-high figure. He had no choice but to work hard and harvest them now.

The expedition force was on track, and Base No. 3 had been fully constructed. A new and majestic Black Star base had taken root on Planet Sunil.

All the players gave a good review and shared its glory.

Everything went smoothly for Herlous, and Han Xiao did not have to personally take action. He had more than enough time to perfect Base No. 3, and this time, he was no longer alone. With Reynold as his assistant, everything went as planned, and both of them very quickly completed the factory for Base No. 3.

Reynold’s personality was far too serious, and he was extremely unbearable normally. But when it came to work, his serious personality was perfect. Han Xiao was extremely pleased with Reynold’s efficiency, and his [Perfect Mechanical Sense] came in extremely handy.

Han Xiao had been eyeing this talent for a very long time already. With both of them working together for a long period of time, Han Xiao tried every possible method up his sleeves to try and activate Reynold’s mission but failed miserably. When facing the blockheaded Reynold, Han Xiao truly did not know how to obtain the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] Molding Ability.

However, Han Xiao did know about other Mechanic talents that were not Molding Abilities, such as [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense], [Accurate Mechanical Sense], and so on. Their effects were naturally far from being compared to [Perfect Mechanical Sense], but something was better than nothing.

He was a Mechanic after all, and it was truly depressing that he did not even have a Mechanic talent. Looking at all his talents on the interface, those who did not know him would think that he was a main tank.

It was a pity that the Mechanical Sense talents were pretty far away. They were not in this Star Cluster, and Han Xiao did not have time to go right now.

Emerald Grass finally had some progress with her research. She managed to develop an infectious biological weapon that targeted the Subterranean Mutant’s body structure and genes. After being infected, the Subterranean Mutants would slowly become weak with their outer shell slowly shedding. Their appetite would gradually be reduced to the point they were not able to consume anything. They would then die from either sickness or hunger in about ten days.

According to current circumstances, there was no need to make use of this biological weapon. After all, the mission was no longer to exterminate but migrate.

However, since the research had already been completed, Han Xiao still gave some of it to Herlous and instructed him to use it carefully. At the very least, this would greatly increase his efficiency.

On the second day after the development of the biological weapon, the upper echelons of Sunil came to visit.

In the guest room of Base No. 3, the two were seated opposite each other.

“This is truly a magnificent base.”

Otis took the initiative to speak. His words were said with a fawning tone, and the envy in his eyes could not be concealed.

In just a short period of time, Black Star had created an astounding base. The wealth that Black Star had displayed truly made the Sunils feel their inferiority.

“It’s fine.” Han Xiao sat with his legs crossed and slowly said, “The expedition is going smoothly. Is there another reason behind your visit today?”

“Your Excellency Black Star, we wish to make a suggestion,” Otis replied in a deep voice.

“You guys are the employers and have this right.”

“Your plan is remarkably effective, and many of the Subterranean Mutants are gathered together. I think that this is a good opportunity to make use of the biological weapon and kill them all.”

Han Xiao suddenly paused and studied Otis’ expression carefully.

Otis instinctively avoided Han Xiao’s gaze, but then, he felt that there was nothing to be afraid of. After all, Black Star was a mercenary who they had hired, and they naturally had the right to make such a request as the employer. He then mustered his courage to meet Han Xiao’s gaze.

“Those Subterranean Mutants have already surrendered, and I will shift them to another planet. Are you requesting that I give up on this plan and wipe out their race instead?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Yes.” Otis nodded heavily.

“Interesting. I am the one paying the cost for the migration, and you guys do not need to come up with a single cent. So, please give me a reason.”

Otis fell silent for a moment and skirted the question. “I think that this is a very reasonable request. We are the employers, and we hope that you will carry out the mission according to our request. You will also be able to save the migration fee this way.”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he said with a smile that did not seem like a smile, “Indeed, the mercenaries are supposed to complete the employer’s request. However, we have the right to decide how to carry out the request. You guys only want to control Planet Sunil, and in my eyes, extermination isn’t the best option. While we are mercenaries, we do not have to obey the orders of our employers. I have the right to reject any request that I deem to be inappropriate. If you do not have a reason for this request, this matter shall be put to rest.”

Upon seeing Han Xiao’s stubborn attitude, Otis grit his teeth and revealed his true intentions.

“If we do not remove all future troubles, what should we do if the Subterranean Mutants attempt to snatch Planet Sunil back after they develop on another planet? If you do not exterminate them all, can you ensure that such a thing won’t happen‽”

Heh, they indeed want us to uproot the Subterranean Mutants entirely. Han Xiao then folded his arms and said, “Indeed, I cannot ensure that the Subterranean Mutants will not be a future trouble.”

Otis heaved a sigh of relief. “Then, please…”

Han Xiao then interrupted him and chuckled. “Even if they will be trouble in the future, this is completely irrelevant to the current mission. So what if they come back to attack Sunil? What has that got to do with me?”

Otis was taken aback and almost flew into a rage. However, upon remembering that Han Xiao was not someone whom he could afford to provoke, he could only suppress his rage and reply with a stern voice, “Since all of you are mercenaries, you should have some professional ethics, right? How can you say something like that? We are hiring you to resolve our present circumstances.”

“That’s right. Isn’t the Black Star Army resolving your problems? What else do you think we are doing?” Han Xiao said with a provocative smile. “We mercenaries are not nannies. You guys pay us for our services, and this is a one-off transaction. It does not mean that we will have to take responsibility for your future. Even if the Subterranean Mutants do fight back, that is another issue entirely.”

“How many years will it take for the Subterranean Mutants to gain sufficient strength to retaliate? Without any obstructions, can’t you develop? If both of you really end up fighting… you can just hire us again!”

Han Xiao then folded his arms and gave a ‘what can you do if I want to be unreasonable’ expression.

Otis’ eyes widened, and he was angered to the point he did not know what to say.

To think that there would be such a shameless person!

“Of course, it isn’t impossible for me to wipe out the Subterranean Mutants,” Han Xiao suddenly said.

Otis could see some hope again.

“However…” Han Xiao smiled like a crafty merchant and rubbed his fingers. “You have to add money.”

Otis clenched his fists in anger.

He would definitely have flipped the table in front of him if not for the fact that he could not afford to provoke Black Star.

He was too damn shameless!

Chapter 625: The Strongest Tribe, Launching of Biochemical Weapons

“Since you Sunils believe that the Subterranean Mutants are a blight, you have to pay the respective price to resolve it.” Han Xiao waggled his finger. “Let me remind you, strictly speaking, these Subterranean Mutants are now technically our captives and war loot. If you want me to abandon the war loot, you must at least pay me the equivalent price.”

He had long suspected that the Sunils would not be able to pay more, which allowed him to use this as a form of rejection.

Now that they had already decided on migrating the mutants, it would be impossible to change the plan to slaughtering them, otherwise it would be equivalent to deceiving Feidin. The pretty boy raised by the Goddess of Fortune would be frustrated and angered, and his Favorability would decrease.

Furthermore, going back on his word would also affect the image of the Black Star Army in the hearts of the players.

Otis’ expression alternated between white and green for a while. He very much wished to eradicate the Subterranean Mutants, but he was reluctant to pay a high price for this.

“Our financial situation is not optimistic. We’ve spent a lot of savings just to hire you for this mission. Our people are suffering, and there must not be any more risks. Since it is as easy as raising your hand…”

Otis did not give up. As the right-hand man of the Sunil Leader, he was the buffer zone for communication between the two sides. While he saw the meaning of Han Xiao’s words, he pretended not to understand and tried to force his way through.

Hearing this, Han Xiao also lost his patience, and his smile slowly vanished. Staring his Otis, he stressed heavily, “Your finances are not optimistic? Don’t forget, if it wasn’t for the discount I gave, you would not be able to hire my services.”

Otis was startled.

“What does the plight of the Sunils have to do with me? If it was not for Herlous, do you think I would care about the life and death of your people?”

The words stuck in Otis’ throat. The present scenario was all credited to Herlous, and he could not deny this.

Han Xiao’s eyes were fiery and his voice stern as he warned, “Don’t take my kindness for granted.”

This was a warning.

The atmosphere quickly turned tense.

“You… you’re mistaken…” Otis hurriedly explained, his expression cramped and palms sweating. He did not dare contradict Han Xiao.

“In short, I don’t want to hear the suggestion of exterminating the entire race.” Han Xiao waved his hand. “Sylvia, please escort him out.”

The door opened, and Sylvia stood there with a passive expression.

“Please follow me.”

“Your Excellency Black Star, you really are mistaken…”

Seeing the indifferent face of Han Xiao, Otis could only hold his tongue, not daring to explain further. He followed behind Sylvia and slipped away, only gathering his courage to bid farewell when he was at the door.

“I’m very sorry to have bothered you.”

“Hmm.” Han Xiao waved his hand, seeing Otis off with his gaze. He could not help but curl his lips in ridicule after he left.

“What a dreamer. Not willing to pay the price but wanting to see someone else play the bad guy? No one would accept such a deal.”

Because this was a private meeting, Han Xiao was not worried that it would affect the relationship between both parties. Currently, Sunil required his help, which was why they would not attempt to do anything underhanded, but he would not hold any hope toward their government. As long as they stuck to the terms and conditions, he did not care how they looked at him.

Thinking about this matter, he then took out his communicator and contacted the two financial groups.

Since the mission was already more than halfway through, it was time to begin the migration plan. Moving two to three billion Subterranean Mutants was no small task, and there was a need for a large number of spaceships. Thus, it was easier to use the power of the financial groups to double the work with half the effort.

…

Nest No. 77 was by far the largest Subterranean Mutant tribe. This was the new target of the negotiation team.

Based on the statistics provided by the radar, Nest No. 77 had a population of about thirty to forty million. Herlous did not dare act rashly and could only use the old method of having the Germinal Tribe negotiate and attempt to convince Nest No. 77.

The Germinal leader led a few of his tribesmen to approach Nest No. 77. They discovered the presence of guards, who stopped them.

After expressing their intentions, the Germinal Tribe established a mental link, connecting with the leader of Nest No. 77.

“I am Germinal, the emissary of Black Star.”

“I am Sulu-Sulu, the leader of New Rock Tribe. Very pleased to be able to communicate with you,” the other party replied immediately, displaying friendliness.

Germinal got excited. “That’s great, you guys have names, too!”

After persuading so many tribes, this was the first tribe that he had met that was named.

Sulu-Sulu was also happy. “We guessed correctly; the world still has other tribes similar to us.”

While there were many tribes within the Subterranean Mutant race, the civilization progression of the New Rock Tribe far outstripped their peers. However, the Germinal Tribe did not understand the meaning within the other leader’s words. The two of them started to converse.

Sulu-Sulu started to describe his tribe’s history to Germinal.

“This place originally had four lairs. Under the lead of our ancestors, we fought fiercely with the other tribes, finally managing to annex the rest and merge them into our New Rock Tribe. This is the place where we live and thrive, but we’ve always believed that there are others of the same species as us in this world. Today, we have finally found our own brethren. This is a major discovery…”

Sulu-Sulu was very excited.

The Germinal leader listened as though he was a fool or drunk. This was the first time that he had heard an epic tale. If Han Xiao was present, he would immediately have known that the civilization of the New Rock Tribe had reached a new level. With the concept of history, they knew how to record past deeds, passing down inheritances and thoughts. Both their abilities and emotional performances were beginning to move away from that of the habit of beasts and transform into intelligent species.

If they had left their development alone, over time, the New Rock Tribe would probably have had the opportunity to unify all the Subterranean Mutants.

When it came to the Germinal leader to speak, he did not forget what Han Xiao had told him and transmitted the meaning of surrendering instead of fighting, as well as the basic information about the universe.

However, not only was Sulu-Sulu not afraid after he had finished talking, he was even enraged. “This is our homeland; we will definitely not leave!”

The news brought by the Germinal leader far outstripped Sulu-Sulu’s expectations. However, their New Rock Tribe had already developed a sort of consciousness toward their homeland. In the face of a mass slaughter, he chose to resist.

Within the mental network, the members of the New Rock Tribe displayed their unity toward the enemy. This gave the Germinal Tribe a shock; they did not understand why the New Rock Tribe members would flare up so because they still did not understand the concept of hate.

“Emissary of Black Star, I thank you for your kind intentions, but we’ve decided to resist to the end!” Sulu-Sulu’s attitude was firm.

In this matter, Han Xiao’s self-acclaimed role played a part. To the Mutants, he was on the good side, there to save them from the evil clutches of the Sunils. As the Emissary of Black Star, the Germinal Tribe was responsible for salvation and had taken it as the mission of their tribe. Thus, Sulu-Sulu did not make things difficult for the Germinal Tribe but rather just sent them away from the New Rock Tribe.

Returning to the temporary camp, the Germinal leader recounted the New Rock Tribe’s lack of intention to surrender.

Herlous had no choice then but to lead the army against the New Rock Tribe. Thirty to forty million enemies was a huge number, almost a hundred times the number of their current forces.

Yet another battle happened. The Sunil soldiers and players had long repeated this till they were numb. The difference was that, for this battle, the opposition of New Rock Tribe was fiercer than all the previous tribes.

…

Tuk tuk tuk!

Hot steel punched through the exoskeletons of the Subterranean Mutants. Blood splashed like blooming red flowers as countless Subterranean Mutants fell on the onslaught. However, the members of the New Rock Tribe seemed as though they were endless, like the tide rushing in.

There was a small team of Sunils responsible for this line of defense. Their fingers were tightly wrapped around the trigger, emptying box after box of ammunition at top speed without caring if their barrels overheated. The ground below them was full of empty metal casings.

Just at this point, an elite Subterranean Mutant, two or three times larger than the average, appeared in the area this team was responsible for. It waved the antennae on its head, and a wave of mental pressure quickly crossed the distance, ignoring the protection of the soldiers’ armor, directly piercing their brains.

“Argh!”

A number of the Sunil soldiers felt as though their brains had been cut with thousands of knives. Blood sprayed from their every orifice, and they felt their vision spin and their bodies lose control. The defensive firepower stopped immediately.

The result was fatal.

The Subterranean Mutants that acted as the vanguard immediately rushed into this line of defense, swamping the team. Their tails and mouth caused dazzling sparks to appear as they clashed with the armor, and the durable armor was quickly ripped apart.

Swoosh!

A dazzling half-moon-shaped razor swept across suddenly, dismembering hundreds of the mutants in half.

Dragging his ten-meter-long Battleship Slicing Blade, Herlous approached the scene quickly and began to force the attackers back, resolving the dangerous situation.

The original team had been almost decimated by the mutants, but reinforcements quickly came up to replace those fallen.

Herlous wiped the blood and sweat from his face, but he had no time to rest. Just as he was about to return to his original position, he subconsciously looked down at the fallen soldiers. Their armor was riddled with wounds, and the soldiers were mostly ripped open, a mockery of their previous forms.

A glance, and Herlous found someone very familiar. His footsteps slowed down, and he looked carefully.

The soldier was covered with blood, his eyes wide and dagger clenched within his hands. He had pierced into one of the mutant bodies, as if he had died together with them. However, his face looked a bit immature.

Herlous suddenly recalled that this deceased soldier had been one of the neighbors back when he was running his bar in the city. His name seemed to be… Lana.

To think that this child would also choose to enlist.

The memories bubbled up like boiling water. Herlous twitched and ruthlessly removed all excess emotions, bellowing as he rushed back into the fray.

…

The first attack from the Subterranean Mutants was finally repelled.

The scale of the New Rock Tribe was too large, and the enemies were endless. Even if a large number of them were slaughtered, the New Rock Tribe did not choose to escape like the other nests but got even more violent, unafraid of death.

The tactics used by the New Rock Tribe varied and took full advantage of them being underground. This was their home field, and they could dig tunnels from above or at the bottom of the underground, directly entering the enemy camp. Through their mental network, the cooperation of the New Rock Tribe was seamless and difficult to predict.

The casualties on the Sunils’ side continued to rise, and even the players died two or three times each. Everyone was exhausted, and Herlous finally decided to make a tactical retreat, returning to their temporary camps.

However, the New Rock Tribe members pursued them all the way, attacking the campsite directly. Herlous led the army to resist for a period of time but was finally unable to withstand the pressure and had to retreat to the surface. They had been forced out of the underground by the New Rock Tribe.

The sun was scorching overhead, and only after they had left the underground did the New Rock Tribe finally stop pursuing. The Subterranean Mutants hated the sun, and many of them were sunburned, so they did not rush to the surface, returning to their nest instead.

The New Rock Tribe had forced the attackers to retreat, and the casualties on both sides were exaggerated.

Because they retreated in a hurry, they did not even manage to retrieve most of their comrades’ corpses. Herlous was in a sullen mood, allowing the troops to rest while they counted the casualties. He then contacted Han Xiao, reporting the situation on his side.

“You’ve been repelled by them?” Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.

“The number of enemies was overwhelming, and we can only slowly clear out their nest by fighting them. However, our casualties will be incalculable…” Herlous gritted his teeth. “Black Star, I wish to utilize the biochemical weapons, preventing more casualties.”

“See to it yourself.” Han Xiao shook his head before cutting off the communication.

Herlous took a deep breath. In his memory floated up the corpse of the young soldier, and he no longer hesitated.

Calling an officer from the Logistics Unit, he gazed at the other party’s blood-covered face and said, “Deploy someone to throw in all the biochemical weapons. Execute it immediately!”

“Understood!” The officer gave a military salute without hesitation.

…

The people of the New Rock Tribe also dragged their exhausted bodies back to the nest and cleared up the battlefield. They stacked up the corpses of their comrades, forming a small hill.

Within the mental network, the tribe members discussed nonstop. The previous battle had a great impact on them, and with the deaths of multiple members, it allowed them to feel even more fear, anger, and desire for revenge. However, they cheered at the same time for their victory as they had managed to repel the enemies and successfully defend their homeland.

Although they had suffered heavy casualties, Sulu-Sulu was full of fighting spirit. His ancestors had passed down the notion that even while the enemy had retreated, they could still attack anytime. If they wished to win, they had to take down the enemy’s ‘nest’.

The Subterranean Mutants then collected the corpses of the Sunil soldiers. An old Subterranean Mutant slowly hobbled out, and the others bowed in greeting.

This Subterranean Mutant was an outlier in the New Rock Tribe, and it could retrieve the memories of the dead. In the entire New Rock Tribe, only this mutant possessed that ability.

If Han Xiao was present, he would have realized that this mutant was a naturally awakened Esper.

The tentacles on its head touched the heads of the Sunil soldiers one by one, and various memory fragments flashed. It quickly organized the information that it wanted and then shared the memory image in the mental network.

It was a picture of Forest City as well as a map of the Planet Sunil.

“The nest of the surface dwellers is on the surface.”

“What a weird nest.”

“The enemies live on the surface. How do we get to them?”

The members of the New Rock Tribe started to debate.

At this moment, a thick fog appeared on the edge of the lair and spread.

Chapter 626: Victory

Ten or so days later, the expedition force returned to Nest No. 77 again, and the entire tribe had become a region of death with the corpses of Subterranean Mutants littering the underground world.

Even the hardened Sunil soldiers could not help but take deep breaths upon witnessing the hellish scene before them. Many players felt their hearts tremble and could not help but feel pity.

With a solemn mood, Herlous instructed the mining of the Prophecy Stones to begin and all the corpses to be burnt.

They also began searching for the corpses of their deceased brothers.

After cleaning up the New Rock Tribe, the expedition mission did not meet with any further trouble. They continued to battle and persuade the other tribes with little to no trouble.

After a long period of battling, the final Subterranean Mutant tribe surrendered and Herlous returned to Forest City.

…

Outside Forest City, almost all the Sunils had left the city, and they waited in the rain to receive the victorious return of the troops.

Hu!

Ten or so spaceships flew over from afar and landed outside the city.

As the hatch of the spaceship opened, all the Sunil soldiers disembarked from the spaceship wearing their ordinary uniform with fatigue all over their faces. The players were in a better state, and they still looked pretty energetic.

Herlous stepped out of the spaceship and led the troops toward the crowd.

“Hero!”

All of a sudden, the Sunils broke out into a deafening cheer and rushed forward to surround the returning warriors. Their faces were full of agitation, excitement, and gratitude as they welcomed the return of the victorious troops.

Herlous was surrounded by countless individuals, and wherever he looked, he could see gratitude and reverence in their eyes.

The Sunils knew that the Black Star Army had only been willing to help them because of Herlous. In the eyes of all the Sunils, Herlous’ status already exceeded that of the rest; he was the hero and idol of every Sunil.

The crowd cheered loudly and were filled with endless praise toward the expedition forces, including the players.

More accurately speaking, the Sunils were extremely grateful toward the Black Star Army and Han Xiao was like a messiah to them. The prestige of the Black Star Army was also at its peak.

“We are truly extremely grateful to all of you.”

“All of you have saved Sunil!”

“Black Star Army, you are our benefactors.”

The Sunils surrounded the players and showered them with words of gratitude.

Many of the players were taken aback and had an inexplicable sense of accomplishment in their hearts. The mission this time was truly a meaningful one, and their collective effort had changed the fates of the Sunils.

This sense of accomplishment was truly a different experience for many. They felt both satisfied and enriched. This was something completely unrelated to benefits; it was a sense of satisfaction on a spiritual level.

Many of the young soldiers rejoined their families, and the joy of their families wiped away the fatigue of the soldiers, putting a bright smile on all of their faces.

Parents received their children, wives received their husbands, and children received their fathers.

This warm scene unfolded all around.

Every day, the families of the soldiers lived in fear—fear that they would one day receive a notice of death. Now, everything had ended, and there would not be any more war sacrifices.

There was no need to despair or fear. A beautiful tomorrow awaited them.

The darkness had gone, and the Sunils could see the light.

The day for peace and tranquility had finally arrived.

Upon looking at the smiling faces of their people, all the Sunil soldiers felt comfort. Everything that they had done for their people and family was worth it.

However, not everyone was happy.

With a heavy mood and expression, the officers handed the ashes of the deceased soldiers back to their families.

There were some who were filled with disbelief, others argued loudly, and some cried as they hugged the box of ash.

The cries of these families were a stark contrast to the cheering crowd. The light shower also seemed slightly depressing, and the temperature of the morning seemed to have fallen a bit.

Lana’s parents hugged onto his box of ashes and knelt on the ground as though they had lost their souls.

As Herlous saw such a scene, he went forward to help Lana’s parents up and softly said, “He was a truly exemplary man.”

Lana’s parents looked at him and did not say a word.

Upon seeing this, Herlous knew that any words of consolation would be useless. He turned around and walked away silently with his fists clenched tight. The Sunils had been through far too many life and death separations. Thankfully, this would be the last time.

Looking up, Herlous saw Han Xiao standing outside of the crowd with the officers of the army and walked over toward him.

Upon seeing Herlous approaching, Han Xiao said, “It’s finally ended. Only the final step is required for this mission to be completed.”

Herlous looked at Han Xiao and suddenly bowed deeply. “I thank you on behalf of the entire Sunil race.”

“You don’t need to have such a big reaction. I have only fulfilled my promise to you,” Han Xiao said helplessly and raised his arm out to help Herlous up. However, Herlous refused to budge.

“No, let me finish.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao allowed Herlous to continue bowing.

Herlous then said slowly, “Your name shall be recorded in the history books of our Sunil race. You are not only the benefactor of our Sunil race but also my benefactor…

“In my eyes, this isn’t just a promise, transaction, or employment. This is a kindness that I will never be able to repay.

“Your Excellency Black Star, from today onward, I am willing to be your blade and follow you to the ends of the universe.”

As those words sounded, all the officers looked at Herlous with many different expressions.

Is he pledging loyalty to me? Han Xiao fell silent for a while before nodding. “Alright.”

Only then did Herlous get up and reveal a smile.

“The price of peace is always filled with blood.” Ginette shook her head.

“I hope that the Sunil race will always remember this war. I hope that all of them will remember what kind of violence we so-called heroes have committed,” Herlous lamented.

“This is natural selection. Every civilization will eventually become demons as they carry history on their backs and carry on their journey,” Han Xiao said casually before looking to the side. The upper echelons of the Sunils walked over, and this time, it was not Otis who spoke to him but the leader of the Sunils.

The Sunil leader personally expressed his gratitude, and Han Xiao replied appropriately.

After conversing for a while, the Sunil leader then expressed that the employment would only be considered complete when all the Subterranean Mutants were migrated off the planet.

After seeing the departure of the Sunil upper echelons, Sylvia smacked Herlous on the back and angrily said, “These fellows are so annoying.”

Herlous did not disagree. “I also hate politicians.”

At this moment, Feidin said, “Black Star, about the migration…”

Just when Han Xiao was about to reply, his communicator rang. Upon glancing at his communicator, he said with a chuckle, “Right on time.”

The next moment, their vision turned dark, and a gigantic shadow covered all of them.

The Sunils and players all raised their heads in astonishment.

More than a hundred large cargo spaceships landed from the sky and covered the sun.

“I called the movers.”

Han Xiao let out a long breath and smiled.

He had borrowed a large batch of transportation spaceships from the two financial groups to transport all the Subterranean Mutants. As long as these spaceships made a few trips, they would be able to transport all the mutants and Prophecy Stones to a designated uninhabited planet. Since the Subterranean Mutants consumed rocks for their survival, it was pretty easy to find a suitable planet for them.

The players had already been informed about the migration plan, and upon seeing the arrival so the spaceships, many of the players could not help but become excited.

“That should be the migration fleet, right?”

“Helping a population of billions migrate. What a spectacular sight.”

“The Subterranean Mutants won’t be exterminated. Black Star didn’t disappoint me.”

Upon witnessing their own faction putting on such a spectacular display, all the players welled up with a sense of pride and collective honor. At the same time, many players agreed with the decision of Black Star to relocate the Subterranean Mutants.

After a long period of battle and witnessing so many tragedies, the players felt that the Subterranean Mutants were the weak party.

Pitying the weak was a habit, and from the moment the players took pity on the Subterranean Mutants, they also began to agree with the plan to migrate. The outcome of this choice was to create a greater sense of belonging toward the Black Star Army.

Han Xiao was extremely clear of this point, and he also intended to make use of their compassion to leave a deep impression in the hearts of the players and increase their sense of belonging to the faction.

The outcome seemed pretty good.

By the side, Feidin also revealed a smile. He felt that this was the best way to resolve the problem for both parties.

Looking at Han Xiao’s back, Feidin was deep in thought.

His strength had grown rapidly, and he could already single handedly suppress Chen Xing who was inside of him. Furthermore, his conflict with Chen Xing had already been resolved, which meant that he no longer needed the help of the Black Star Army.

He had originally intended to find a time to say goodbye, but at this moment, he felt that perhaps staying in the Black Star Army would not be a bad choice.

Chapter 627: Black Spirit Race

Galactic migration was a huge project.

All the surrendered Subterranean Mutants brought their Prophecy Stones onto the spaceships. Without these Prophecy Stones, even if Planet Sunil had a few small mines left, it was impossible for a large-scale Psychic Current to form again.

In other words, the calamity was over, and this planet was now suitable for the Sunils to live on.

The amount of resources that the Black Star Army could mobilize had awed the upper echelons of Sunil and made them even more respectful. Upon witnessing the arrival of the transport fleet, they did not dare delay any further and took the initiative to process the payment to the Mercenary Alliance.

Han Xiao received a notification to inform him of the funds entering his account. At the same time, the interface also notified him of the completion of the mission.

_____________________

[Sunil Rescue Operation: Large Scale Employment Mission]. A large sum was deposited into your account to cover some of the transportation cost. Completing a Large-Scale Employment Mission alone has given the Black Star Army a shiny battle record and increased your credibility rating greatly. The Mercenary Alliance has once again revised their rating of the Black Star Army.

Summary: A renowned super-large army, Floating Dragon’s Field Team. Mainly operates within the Garton Star System and is an iconic mercenary group in the Garton Star System. Has a few hundred thousand undying mercenaries with an average strength of Grade C. The Black Star Army has plenty of connections in the mercenary world, a solid financial foundation, and has bases on Planet Sunil, Planet Aquamarine, and Planet Golden Gate. To date, the mercenary group has maintained an extremely high completion rate and has a good reputation. This mercenary group is one worthy of trust.

Army Commander Black Star has the nickname of ‘Undying Body’ and ‘DarkStar Destroyer’. Black Star also has a good relationship with a few civilizations and is the holder of Godora’s Golden Gal Badge.

_____________________

The upgrade of his summary also indicated an upgrade in his status. The happiest bunch about this upgraded reputation had got to be the players, and they all felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Apart from the official employment mission, the Grade A Sunil Mission [Eliminate Subterranean Mutants] had also been completed. The players’ pockets were full of rewards, and their faces were full of smiles.

This time, Han Xiao did not pursue the highest mission rating and got a [Good] rating. According to the details of the mission, exterminating the mutant race would give him the highest rating. However, the reward of the mission could not be compared to the future benefits that migrating the mutants could bring him. Thus, Han Xiao chose the option that brought him greater benefits.

Han Xiao did not need this little mission reward anyway. In any case, the experience points that the players received from the mission would eventually become their spending power. All Han Xiao needed to do was harvest them again.

However, the Grade A mission gave him an unexpected reward, a new dungeon.

[Underground Subterranean Mutant War].

A new dungeon? Not bad. Han Xiao’s eyes lit up. He had accumulated a few dungeons, but because the players’ levels weren’t high enough, he did not release them all. However, he would be able to make use of all the dungeons eventually as the players increased their levels.

Over the next few days, Han Xiao stayed behind on Planet Sunil to oversee the transportation of the Subterranean Mutants.

After the end of the employment, he also terminated the Army Assembly.

A portion of the players remained on Planet Sunil. While the employment mission was over, Planet Sunil still had tons to do, and there was plenty of benefits to be gained. Base No. 3 formed the faction headquarters on Planet Sunil, and the missions on Planet Sunil could groom the players as well.

With the crisis of Planet Sunil resolved, the Sunil warriors no longer had to take any more risks on the outside. Sehrinde and the other Sunil mercenaries wanted to return to their homeland and quit being mercenaries. As such, they all approached Han Xiao and requested to leave. All of them felt extremely guilty and felt that they had let Black Star down.

Han Xiao had already predicted such a situation and had prepared a win-win situation for both parties. He allowed Sehrinde and the others to remain on Planet Sunil without the need to go out on missions and train up the mercenaries in Base No. 3 instead.

All the Sunil warriors accepted this proposition. They truly wished to do something for Black Star to repay his kindness. Since there was no danger for them when grooming the newbies on their home planet, Sehrinde and the others no longer mentioned the matter of leaving.

Finally, the last cargo spaceship set off, and Han Xiao left together with the Black Star Army. Countless Sunils looked up into the sky to send the Black Star Army off.

…

The Subterranean Mutants were all migrated to some uninhabited planet suitable for their kind, and Han Xiao followed the cargo ships to monitor the situation.

Because all the Subterranean Mutant tribes were reorganized, they were no longer separated by distance like before. Instead, the development of the tribes was sped up, and the tribes were mixed together to live together. They had skipped an entire phase, and all the various tribes were now united.

From the angle of a civilization’s development, this was a truly frightening start.

Because the Germinal leader was Black Star’s emissary and the one who had spread the knowledge that Han Xiao had bestowed onto him, the Germinal leader became the undisputed leader of the Subterranean Mutants.

To the members of the Germinal Tribe, Black Star was like a divine being, like a messiah, to them. The Germinal Tribe’s respect of Han Xiao was spread to the hearts of all the Subterranean Mutants. After they settled down in their new residences, the Subterranean Mutants treated Han Xiao as a figure to worship.

Because of the uniqueness of the mental connection, culture could spread at an unbelievable rate, and all the mutants began to create names for themselves.

When Han Xiao arrived, the Germinal Tribe were leading the Subterranean Mutants to construct a gigantic nest. Han Xiao was greeted with an extremely warm welcome when he arrived, with the leader of the Germinal Tribe coming out to receive him personally.

“This is our new home.” The Germinal leader dashed into the new nest excitedly like a little child running after candy.

“Very good. This planet shall be your land from now on.” Han Xiao nodded with a smile. “You are a new civilization and shouldn’t be called Subterranean Mutants anymore.”

“Are you going to give us a new name?” the Germinal Tribe leader asked excitedly.

“No, this is your own right.”

After a simple conversation, Han Xiao left the planet and did not interfere with the development of the Subterranean Mutants. They were still in their infant stage, and Han Xiao planned to let the Subterranean Mutants develop naturally.

His spaceship then left the planet, and a new notification popped up on his interface.

_____________________

You have received a new Legendary Point.

Star System Legendary Point (Garton Star System): Savior of a Race—You saved a large race and prevented them from facing the fate of extermination, helping them form a new civilization. This is a noble action, and this incident will be spread across the Garton Star System. Many organizations will be friendlier toward you.

_____________________

Han Xiao was truly surprised. He had never expected to have such a reward.

Furthermore, this was not the only notification

_____________________

+10,000 Black Spirit Race Faction Favorability

Current Relationship: Worship

_____________________

Black Spirit Race?

Han Xiao was taken aback for a moment before coming to a realization. The Subterranean Mutants must have given themselves an official name. However, why did the Black Spirit Race sound as though it was related to his nickname?

He did not understand his position in the hearts of the Subterranean Mutants. They had made use of ‘Black Star’ as reference and named themselves the Black Spirit Race.

Han Xiao immediately became interested.

Interesting, I wonder what kind of civilization the Subterranean Mutants will develop into.

Smiling, Han Xiao piloted the Blacklight Stealth and disappeared into the sky.

…

The result of the migration was reported to the players, and after seeing the Subterranean Mutants begin their new life, many of the players heaved sighs of relief. At the same time, they could not help but feel proud for being a part of the Black Star Army.

On the forums, the Sunil incident became the hottest topic of discussion. The players enjoyed the feeling of changing the fate of an entire race and becoming saviors. Their sense of belonging toward the faction also increased greatly as a result of this incident.

On Planet Sunil, the Sunils were extremely grateful to the Black Star Army, and people went to visit Base No. 3 every day.

Sehrinde and the other ‘retired’ mercenaries set up an official training camp in Base No. 3 and began to accept disciples to train.

The training camp was an avenue to provide a never-ending stream of soldiers for the army. While the training camp was only starting out, it was filled with great potential. As long as the Sunils continued to reproduce normally, there would definitely be some who were willing to become mercenaries.

It could be said that as the Sunils developed, the benefits of Base No.3 would also increase. The prosperity of both parties was closely related.

After the Sunil mission, the development of the Black Star Army in the Garton Star System was finally on track.

The players who stayed behind on Planet Aquamarine gradually began to complete the test.

Finally, apart from a few new players who joined the game, all the players on Planet Aquamarine had entered the galaxy and become members of the Black Star Army. The size of the Black Star Army had also reached the one million mark.

Even among large mercenary groups, such a number was extremely rare.

The Black Star Army wanted to develop their foundations firmly in the Garton Star System and had begun to expand into many different businesses and construct new bases. Apart from trying to monopolize the mercenary market of the entire Garton Star System, Han Xiao’s hands had also stretched out into the nearby Star Systems. His connections provided him with great aid, and the speed of their development astounded Godora.

Han Xiao would occasionally personally lead a couple of high difficulty employment missions or would find some planets with benefits to be reaped with his familiarity of the storyline. Every now and then, he would take on a large-scale employment mission as the Main Storyline Mission to build cohesiveness among the players.

The Black Star Army grew steadily without any outside force interfering with their development. There was almost no risk involved, and everything went according to Han Xiao’s plan.

In the blink of an eye, two years passed.

Chapter 628: Two Years Later

Including Godora, there were six Star System level civilizations that wanted to gain control over the Hyde Star System, which was located in the Colton Star Cluster. Their forces were deployed to the respective region that they had control over, and skirmishes were extremely common.

Outside the region controlled by the armies of these six civilizations, the Hyde Star System had many planets that served as a transit station for the galactic travel agencies. Because the territorial borders of the Hyde Star System were blurred, these transit stations became gray regions where dragons and snakes mingled. Not only were there scrap pickers, pirates, and wanted criminals, even the officers of the armies would occasionally visit these transit stations for leisure.

Planet Orange Transit Station was such a gray area, and a group of players were currently operating in this district.

Hao Tian, Sleepy Winter, Twinkle Fried Rice, and the others were walking down the bustling streets. Of the ten or so players in the group, a portion of them were the pro players of Club Long Sky, and the others were the players of the club. Frenzied Sword, together with his teammates, were currently working together with Long Sky.

Both parties had accepted the same Hidden Chain Mission, and the final portion of the mission was located on Planet Orange Transit Station. Hao Tian and Frenzied Sword had immediately clicked, and thus, both the parties traveled together.

Because of Frenzied Sword’s spectacular performance in the first Pro League, Club Rivervale had built a new team with Frenzied Sword as the core. The majority of Frenzied Sword’s teammates were newbies, and they were currently warming up to each other.

Preparations for the second Pro League had already started, and it was a hot topic at the moment. Galaxy Times had revealed that there would be changes to the tournament format this time, and all the teams were currently preparing for the Pro League.

More than a year ago, the players of the other novice planets had also stepped into the galaxy and hit the level limit of the current version, level 90. Their skills, equipment, talents, and special tools were the main focus for all the players.

Both Long Sky and Rivervale worked together because they were eyeing the reward for this hidden mission.

As the core of the team, Frenzied Sword felt immense pressure and wanted to obtain good results to prove himself. He did not wish to disappoint the club and would not let go of any opportunities.

“Captain, the person we are looking for is on this planet, but how should we find him?” Evil Sword asked Frenzied Sword.

Evil Sword was Frenzied Sword’s teammate and an extremely talented newcomer. In the entire Rivervale team, only Evil Sword’s skill had caught his eye, barely making him Frenzied Sword’s assistant. As for his other teammates, they were no more than ordinary players who did not make mistakes to Frenzied Sword.

“The last phase of the mission will definitely be extremely difficult. The mission hint asked us to find clues on our own. According to my experience, the entertainment centers of these gray districts are the go-to places for information. We can start there,” Frenzied Sword said with a deep voice.

At this moment, the captain of Long Sky, Hao Tian, said, “We can find the clues later. We should first worry about our safety.”

Upon hearing that, the players began to look around, only to see groups of pedestrians dressed in tattered battle suits staring at them greedily. Their gazes were fixed on the exquisite battle suits and weapons of the players and seemed intent on snatching them.

The majority of the pedestrians around them had red colored names, and the others had neutral yellow names. Not a single green could be found.

“Pirates or scavengers?”

Everyone remained calm. As members of the Black Star Army, they had killed an uncountable number of galactic pirates over the past two years.

Yellow Mechanical Force covered Frenzied Sword’s body, and his helmet appeared to cover his head. Following which, his armor began unfolding with the various components of the armor appearing to form heavy armor that looked like a luxurious knight’s armor.

This was weakened Commander Class armor called [Mountain]. It was a pink grade equipment that the guild had obtained after paying a sky-high price to Han Xiao to custom make. With the players’ current level, [Mountain] was the best equipment currently available.

He took off the long box on his back and activated it with his Mechanical Force. The box rapidly changed shape and transformed into a long, heavy close combat weapon that had both the blade of an axe and a cannon barrel. This was a modified Strike Cannon, and it was almost half the size of a person.

All the other players entered their battle mode with a myriad of different weapons. Even the weakest piece of equipment in the group was purple grade. The function of a club guild was to serve the professional players, and thus, it was impossible for these professional players to be lacking in equipment. All their equipment was of the highest tier among the players currently.

The atmosphere grew tense and both parties were locked in a standoff.

Just when the pirates were about to take action, one of the members suddenly cried out, “Stop! Don’t move! They’re Black Star’s men!”

The moment the words sounded, the menacing gaze of the pirates disappeared, and their expressions drastically changed. A second ago, they had wanted to pounce forward, but the next moment, they had all retreated in fear with their eyes widened as they studied the equipment of the players carefully.

On a hidden location of the players’ equipment, an insignia could be seen. The insignia was a black round gear with white borders and four straight lines extending away from the gear to represent light beams. It was like a black star that was emanating light.

All the pirates understood what this insignia represented.

This was the insignia of the Black Star Army!

All the pirates revealed looks of horror and did not dare move.

Right at this moment, a deep voice sounded from the other end of the street.

“Humph, this place seems extremely lively.”

Everyone turned around only to see a couple of Godoran officers walking over slowly with their cold gazes fixed on the pirates.

In the player’s vision, the only green that they could see came from the sudden appearance of the Godora officers.

The officer in the lead cracked his neck and said with a chilly tone, “Our friends from the Black Star Army, do you need any help?”

The previously ferocious pirates were immediately reduced to trembling little rabbits. In the Hyde Star System, there was an unspoken rule that must not be broken. They should never attack the officers of the six civilizations. If not, the army would not mind sweeping through the gray area.

The entire Colton Star Cluster knew that the Black Star Army and Godora were allies. These pirates had kicked a steel plate that they could not afford to provoke and were truly unlucky.

“Run!”

The pirates immediately scattered in all different directions.

The players seemed to be extremely used to such a scene and put their weapons away without bothering to chase after those small fries.

Upon seeing this scene, the Godoran officers did not take action. They nodded toward the players before turning around to take their leave. Their intention was very simple. They had just gone over to help because they saw members of the Black Star Army.

Both the camps were allies, and Black Star was the recipient of the Golden Gal Badge. All members of the Black Star Army would be able to gain extra help from the Godorans, and the Black Star Networking Group that the players joked about gradually became a reality.

…

After running for a long while, two space pirates only dared stop after making sure that no one was giving chase. They placed their hands on their knees and bent forward while panting heavily.

“Hu… I thought that we would be dead for sure. Thankfully, they didn’t give chase,” the shorter pirate said.

The taller pirate nodded in agreement with a face full of relief as though he had just escaped death.

In the few Star Systems around the Garton Star System, apart from Star System level civilizations, no organization was willing to provoke the Black Star Army.

“Thankfully, we are only a small gang without any bounties. If not, we would be in huge trouble,” the shorter pirate said while panting heavily.

“We don’t even have the right to be wanted criminals.” The taller pirate laughed bitterly and did not know whether he should be happy or sad.

There was a saying among the pirates—they would rather meet the Dragon Emperor than meet Black Star!

One of the reasons for the swift uprising of the Black Star Army was because they took on the role of bounty hunters. All the galactic pirate groups around the Garton Star System had become the prey for the Black Star Army. These pirate groups had been wiped out, and all their battleships had been captured. The Black Star Army had at least four hundred battleships that had been snatched in this manner.

The pirates in the neighboring Star Systems had felt threatened, and a portion of them had joined hands to assassinate Black Star for their own survival. However, they had ended up falling into an ambush with over a million mercenaries being sent into battle. In the end, those allied pirates had ended up being completely wiped out.

While many infamous pirates had been captured, the majority of these pirates had been hidden by Black Star with only a small portion being exchanged for their bounties. These pirates that were taken out by Black Star had been tortured by Black Star to the point they did not even seem like humans.

After this piece of news was spread, many pirates trembled in fear and all felt that Black Star had some sick fetish toward pirates. Thus, Black Star immediately seemed a hundred times more ferocious in their eyes, causing the saying that they would rather meet the Dragon Emperor than Black Star to spread.

Dragon Emperor Ames was on neutral ground, but her field team had something against galactic pirates. Thus, they would rather land in Ames’ hands than end up being in Black Star’s hands.

As such, the pirates in the Star Systems surrounding the Garton Star System all escaped, and the security of these few Star Systems became extremely good. Currently, there were only a few small, puny galactic pirate groups left behind.

“Who would have thought that the members of the Black Star Army would appear here? Could it be that the Black Star Army think that it isn’t enough to monopolize the jobs in the Garton Star System and want to expand into Hyde?”

“Who knows? However, that isn’t impossible. In the few neighboring Star Systems, apart from the few Star System level civilizations, which other organization dares provoke the Black Star Army? They’ve already monopolized this region.”

After catching their breath for a while, both of them continued running.

…

Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian were currently searching for clues in the transit station. After a few hours, they finally managed to piece together the clue for the last phase of the mission.

All of them came to a deserted maintenance workshop, and their target was a crippled maintenance worker. He had lost both his arms and replaced them with prosthetic limbs. He was currently repairing a badly damaged communicator and had an ordinary aura.

However, according to the information that the players received from the Detect skill, this maintenance worker called Ronaldo was ‘Fatally Dangerous’.

Hao Tian and Frenzied Sword looked at each other and pushed Sleepy Winter into the workshop in unison. Sleepy Winter had the highest Charm stat among them and was the most suitable to talk to NPCs.

Sleepy Winter took out the mission item, handed it over, and respectfully said, “Hello, someone requested that we hand this over to you.”

They had accepted a hidden mission that required them to hand this mission item over to Ronaldo. The mission item was a letter.

Upon hearing that, Ronaldo looked up and glanced at the crowd. He then placed the machine in his hands down before calmly asking, “Who are all of you?”

“We are from the Black Star Army.”

“Black Star Army‽” Ronaldo’s gaze flickered, and he said in a deep voice, “I’ve heard of you guys before. It’s said that Black Star is an extremely powerful Mechanic. It’s truly a pity. If it was a year ago and both my arms were still around, I would have wanted to exchange pointers with him.”

Frenzied Sword and the others were shocked.

Han Xiao was a Grade A Super, and if the person before them dared say exchange pointers, he should be a Grade A Super as well. This hidden mission was truly unfathomable.

“Don’t be in a rush to leave. Let me see what’s written.”

Ronaldo lowered his head and opened the letter that was filled with secret codes. He lived in seclusion due to some reason and could only use such a method to transmit information.

All the players waited for a moment, and Ronaldo sighed after reading the letter.

“These are truly turbulent times. A new storm is about to arrive. Sigh, please tell your employer that I am in seclusion and will not accept any hires. I only wish to stay here silently; the tremors of the Shattered Star Ring shall not affect me anymore.”

The final mission objective on their interface changed to ‘report back to their employer’, and they would be able to accept the mission reward at any time. However, these players did not leave immediately as they were extremely sensitive to hidden storylines. Upon hearing Ronaldo’s words, they knew that there was information to be dug up.

“I wonder, what do you mean by a storm?” Sleepy Winter asked.

Ronaldo looked at him and perhaps found Sleepy Winter to be more pleasant to the eyes. “Have you guys not noticed the hidden currents in the Shattered Star Ring over the past year or two? The seven Star Cluster level civilizations’ actions have been weird; this is the signal of a storm. A whirlpool is gradually forming and is only in its infancy. When this whirlpool surfaces, the entire Shattered Star Ring will be dragged in, and not a single organization will be able to avoid the storm.”

Everyone was completely puzzled. They had only visited the few Star Systems around the Garton Star System and did not understand much about the storm in the Shattered Star Ring. After all, their area of operation was not large enough.

There were some players who wanted to explore new maps and visit other Star Clusters. However, the effort that they put in and rewards they received usually did not match. They could only view the scenery most of the time and make a wasted trip.

The galaxy was extremely large, and just the Shattered Star Ring alone was already enormous. Trying to find a mission alone was akin to finding a needle in a haystack. On the contrary, the Black Star Army had numerous missions for them to choose from, and they would definitely have returns. Thus, their target was extremely obvious.

Sleepy Winter continued asking, and Ronaldo replied, “No one knows the target of these Star Cluster level civilizations, but the storm definitely isn’t a coincidence. I think that there must be a powerful organization directing the changes in the Shattered Star Ring.

“Powerful organization? Is it the three Universal Civilizations that have only appeared in the background, or is it someone else?” Everyone guessed to themselves.

The players did not know about the Tyrant’s gathering and naturally did not know what was going on behind the scenes. However, this did not stop Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and the others from guessing that this was related to the storyline of the future version.

After all, this was not the first time. Black Star had also revealed Version 2.0’s Mutation Disaster during Version 1.0.

Having clues of the future version ahead of time could provide them with a huge advantage.

Right at this moment, Ronaldo seemed to have thought of something and said, “Right, all of you are Black Star’s subordinates. Give something to him for me.”

Everyone was stunned for a moment before nodding. This was obviously a new mission.

Following which, Ronaldo took a pen and paper to write a long list of names before handing it over to the players.

Sleepy Winter received the piece of paper, and the interface notified him that he received a copy of [List of Names].

This time, Frenzied Sword could not help but ask, “What is this?”

“This is a list…” Ronaldo said with a deep voice. As though he thought about a terrible memory, he grabbed the position of his arm, and a trace of anger and fear flashed past his eyes. “A list of targets.”

“Er, why do you want us to pass this to Black Star?”

“Because… he is on the list!”

Chapter 629: Mysterious Killer

Who had put Black Star as their hunting target?

A look of surprise appeared on Frenzied Sword’s face.

The expression of everyone present turned weird. Black Star was the leader of their faction, and upon hearing that someone was going to deal with him, the group inexplicably felt some hatred toward the other party.

Hao Tian’s eyes gleamed, and he communicated to them through the channel. “We might have picked up on a hidden storyline. Sleepy, continue asking. Try to trigger more of the storyline.”

Sleepy Winter nodded. “Black Star is our leader; we will definitely pass this list on to him. However, we would like to know more about this. Could you tell us more about the list itself?”

“The people on this list are all well-known Supers around the Shattered Star Ring,” Ronaldo said in a deep tone. “None of them are ordinary Grade A Supers, either having powerful influences or solo powers with a strong personal force. The goal of those who released this list is to kill or capture these strong Supers. As far as I know, there are already some people on the list who have gone missing.”

“Who are the people in charge of pursuing those on the list?” Sleepy Winter took the chance to continue down this lead.

“It seems to be a mysterious organization. I don’t know their origin and just refer to them as ‘Hunters’. They have captured a few of the stronger Supers on the list. I’ve only met with them once. At that time, I chanced upon two of the hunters, and their strengths were perversely strong, probably having the level of Grade A+.”

A sense of heaviness passed through Ronaldo’s eyes as he added, “My hands were broken by one of them.”

“So, you were their target as well?”

“Nope.” Ronaldo shook his head.

Sleepy Winter paused, suspicion filling his face as he asked, “Then why…”

Ronaldo cut in as he leisurely explained, “I was an outsider that was implicated. Hence, I got off with only my arms being broken.”

After pausing for a while, he said, “I have a friend who’s also a Calamity Grade Super. He was the actual target they were looking for on the list. He runs an armed organization in the Skywalker Star System, which has a close relationship with the Hutt Civilization.

“A year ago, while I was paying a visit to his headquarters, two of the hunters suddenly appeared. They killed their way into the headquarters, without anyone being able to stop them. Thus, I went to meet the enemy with my friend, but those two had overwhelming power, and we ended up being wiped.

“I managed to steal some of their information through their communicators during the battle, which was this incomplete list. Their target was my friend, and they captured him in the end, throwing me aside after giving me some serious injuries.

“I’m technically a Grade A Super, and you would think that they would capture me too, but they didn’t even look at me before swaggering out. They seemed indifferent to non-targeted people.”

Ronaldo laughed bitterly. “They did not look at me at all, which is why I managed to escape.”

Everyone present was stupefied.

The goal of the hunters was to capture the strong, but they did not even bother taking along a Calamity Grade Super that could not retaliate. Was it because they had specific targets, or were their goals too lofty?

No matter what the case was, this group of mysterious hunters seemed unfathomable.

“This hidden storyline must not be a simple one,” Frenzied Sword said within the team channel.

“While the hunters themselves are mysterious,” Ronaldo said, “the missing people on the list cannot be hidden. This means that the hunters are continuously on the move. Please be sure to transfer the name list to Black Star. While I might not know him, the Black Star Mercenary Group has helped me, so I don’t mind repaying my debt by reminding your leader.”

He had also calculated that behind Black Star stood the Dragon Emperor, and they could probably handle the hunters. If Black Star really succeeded, he would not need to remain in hiding forever.

The reason for him being low key was because he feared that his name would one day appear on the hunters’ list. Although he had only exchanged blows with them once, he was thoroughly afraid of their strength.

At this time, the interface of the players showed a notification.

_____________________

You have triggered the Hidden Mission: [Mysterious Hunting List]!

_____________________

They all glanced at each other, nodding in return.

…

In a random Star System of the Shattered Star Ring, a spaceship with visible signs of damage was moving at full speed, like a streamer, across the dark universe.

“Warning! Warning! Fuel reserves have fallen to the critical line. Exiting hyperdrive in one minute.” The Artificial Intelligence issued a reminder.

“Dammit! Those two fellows will catch up at this rate!”

Bang!

Within the cockpit, Kernid desperately smashed the control panel, an anxious expression on his face.

He belonged to a humanoid race with darker complexion, with natural wrinkles on his skin. He wore a special rune armor combat suit that combined mechanical and magical techniques. The armor was filled with countless mysterious runes on the inside and outside, with dozens of enchants as well. It was equipped with hundreds of different magical combat means and was the most commonly used type for interstellar magicians.

However, this high-end rune armor was currently torn and ragged, covered in Kernid’s own blood.

Kernid was the first official Grade A Super of a random civilization in the Star System, as well as an honorary member of the Hidden Red Robe Abbey. He was adept in magic and was named the Dark Purple Warlock, giving him high prestige. However, he was currently fleeing like never before.

And everything was because of the two enemies that had unexpectedly appeared.

While he was enjoying a paid vacation, exploring the interstellar regions, he chanced upon these two mysterious men, who attacked him without a single word.

Afterward, Kernid actually found out that he was not a match for the two of them and received heavy injuries.

Fortunately, he had kept a trump card, and managed to shake them away before boarding his spaceship and escaping. However, the two mysterious assailants continued chasing after him nonstop, causing him to be unable to stop.

The hyperdrive consumed his remaining fuel quickly, and the aircraft speed finally slowed down, exiting from hyperdrive and returning to normal flying speed.

“Drat!” Kernid had a face full of sweat, as he gripped his head tight.

Just as his voice sounded, the hum of magic waves passed through the many layers of the bulkhead. Kernid keenly captured the waves of magic through his senses, causing his expression to change greatly.

A bright blue ring was lit up around the abdomen of the spaceship, and the ring quickly expanded into a portal. A duo walked out leisurely from within the portal.

The two wore similar white overcoats without any embellishments. The material of the clothes seemed strange, gleaming dully, and was covered with countless enchantment inscriptions.

Both of them wore specially alloy masks to cover their faces. The man’s mask resembled a bird’s head, whereas the women’s resembled a cat.

More than a dozen thick, ancient-looking books were seen floating around the man, all of which were open. They were filled with magic texts and glowing with colorful spell rays. The golden yellow inscriptions morphed into several circles, surrounding the man’s body.

“The positioning is confirmed.”

The man’s tone was passive, and as he flicked his fingers, one of the pages turned up. The portal behind him then narrowed down to a point and disappeared. This man was a master of magic!

Suddenly, the bulkhead in front of the duo burst apart as tens of purple light beams arced out from Kernid, who was in the cockpit. The gorgeous purple lights pierced through the walls, striking the two uninvited guests.

Knowing their capabilities, he chose to attack first.

Boom!

Between the flashing lights and fire, the masked man changed his stance, which caused all the books to begin flipping at once. A blue magic circle covered him and the woman beside him, isolating them from all attacks. The purple arcs were deflected into space instead, unable to even touch them.

Kernid flew out of the gap, and his rune armor lit up, casting lights all around. Countless magical forces gathered around him and, like a colorful streamer, crashed toward the blue magic circle.

He had already suffered once from their attacks, and because it was humiliating to compete with the opponent in long-range magic, he switched to melee.

Kernid had condensed all his power, and his control over it was exquisite, not allowing any of the energy to dissipate. If an ordinary Grade A Super was faced with this attack, they would basically choose to avoid the blow instead of going head on. However, faced with these two strong and mysterious enemies, he did not have much confidence in being able to damage them.

Boom!

The resulting sound was like ramming a huge bell. The blue magic circle failed to withstand the blow and burst apart, turning into numerous glass-like energy fragments.

“Success!” Kernid was jubilant, and his confidence returned at the same time.

However, he saw the resulting burst of light illuminating the masks of both his assailants. Their eyes remained calm and indifferent, as though they did not view Kernid’s full powered blow as a threat at all.

The next moment, the magic shards suddenly integrated together before bursting in a beam of blue white light, which struck Kernid. The beam had superimposed the power that Kernid had used to attack them with previously, which was equivalent to him facing his own attack.

Kernid’s remaining offensive was interrupted, and he was blown back. Suppressing his pain from the injury, he exclaimed in amazement.

“What sorcery is this‽”

It was just protective-type magic, but it was surprisingly able to withstand his advanced-level Calamity Grade strike and could even rebound the power. This sounded simple, but at their level, the rougher and simpler a type of magic was, the more terrifying it would be. Unlike those magic shields that were layered with many inscriptions resulting in a ‘quantity change’, this was a qualitative change.

“Self-created,” the masked man replied simply, but this answer caused Kernid’s eyes to open wide, an expression of disbelief on his face.

At this moment, the woman by the side also attacked. Raising her right hand, she punched out violently.

Ka ka ka!

With the shrieking of bent metal, the entire spaceship started to rip apart.

The spaceship suddenly crunched up, as though it was violently pinched and crushed by a large hand.

Boom!

A large amount of oxygen leaked out, and the fuel tank as well as the engines of the spaceship exploded.

Fire burst outward, and the ‘sphere’ spaceship exploded directly, disintegrating instantly. Various debris flew outward into empty space.

In just a few seconds, a spaceship had been turned into space junk floating around the universe.

A spherical magic shield protected the duo, allowing them to levitate in the universe. Not far from them, Kernid’s rune armor also flashed with a flickering shield of light.

The spaceship exploding had worsened the already serious injuries of Kernid, and his rune armor was also on the verge of being destroyed.

Without the spaceship, there was no way to escape, and a hint of despair leaked out from Kernid’s eyes.

Within the magic shield filled with oxygen, the woman waved her arm.

All the wreckage came together once again, this time directly clamping Kernid in the center. It slowly turned into a huge sphere, as though there was some invisible force crushing it inward. The metal sphere slowly shrank further, as the original irregular shape turned round.

While there was still resistance within the sphere initially, it slowly turned lighter and weaker. Finally, there was no longer any more movement.

“Capture is complete for the Dark Purple Warlock Kernid,” the woman coldly said.

The man then took out a communicator and opened up a list, crossing off Kernid’s name. He sighed. “Shana, who’s our next target?”

Shana was the name of the woman. She glanced over and tapped on the list, saying, “I pick him, the commander of the Black Star Army.”

“Oh, this guy entered the list a year ago. His forces are developing very quickly, and if not for that, we might not even have paid attention to him. Yes, this guy is a bit special—he has the nickname of immortal. Seems difficult to handle. We should lead him to a suitable place to isolate him before capturing. That requires enough preparation time, and we also have to take Kernid back. Let’s change targets.”

“There’s no need. We’ll move separately. You take the captive back; I’ll go handle Black Star,” Shana blandly said. “Based on the intel, he only entered the Calamity Grade two to three years ago. Furthermore, he’s a Mechanic. I alone can resolve this.”

The man paused before smiling. “I almost forgot, your ability can restrain the Mechanic profession. Very well, I’ll go and complete our mission while you proceed on to capture him. It seems like our harvest this trip will be quite fulfilling.”

As for the relationship between Black Star and the Dragon Emperor, they did not even mention it once as though it was irrelevant.

Chapter 630: Development Status and Bottleneck

In the headquarters of the Black Star Army on Planet Golden Gate, a battle was currently going on.

Bang!

A black, streamlined, mechanical soldier knocked five purplish blue mechanical warriors aside and charged in front of Reynold while withstanding the laser beams being shot out from ten artillery towers. The arm of the mechanical soldier changed form into eight gears that rotated at high speed and struck Reynold’s shield.

Reynold had a solemn expression on his face and left an electromagnetic trap behind as he retreated. At the same time, he released a blinding bolt of Mechanical Force lightning. He then used a skill to boost the might of his artillery towers and sent out a barrage of never-ending fire.

Ka ka ka!

All of a sudden, the black mechanical soldier suddenly disintegrated into black nanoparticles and flew back to the side of a figure not too far away. The black nanoparticles then reconstructed themselves back into the form of a mechanical soldier and stood beside this figure silently.

“You are becoming more and more powerful. It is only a matter of time before you breakthrough into the Calamity Grade,” Han Xiao said with praise while clapping his hands.

Compared to two years earlier, Han Xiao was still young and handsome with his height increasing a bit. His aura was even more unfathomable than before. Han Xiao was currently dressed in a low-profile black windbreaker and was not wearing a mechanical suit.

“This is all thanks to your tutelage,” Reynold said solemnly.

Han Xiao waved his hand and said out of politeness, “It is because of your talent.”

After two years of guidance, Reynold was growing closer and closer to the Energy Rank of Grade A. He frequently exchanged pointers with Han Xiao, and since both of them were comrades, there was no need to exhaust each other. Thus, they would limit their spar to a small area and only test the strength and control of their machines.

The black mechanical soldier beside Han Xiao was one of the new models that Han Xiao had researched over the past two years. It had the ability of nano transformation, and its individual capability was spectacular, exceeding that of the Protectors. It was an elite machine that belonged to Han Xiao’s Calamity Grade arsenal called [Phantom].

Reynold would always be shocked whenever he exchanged pointers with Black Star. Black Star would always be able to take out a different but powerful machine and would make use of him to test out his new machines. Reynold could not imagine how many different blueprints Black Star actually had.

Even at his level, it was no easy task to learn a single blueprint, and researching a new machine would take even more effort. However, Reynold just was not able to grasp Black Star’s realm, and he could not understand why Black Star’s efficiency in researching new machines was so frightening.

Furthermore, Reynold could feel that Han Xiao could deal with him more and more easily whenever they exchanged pointers. Black Star was already a Calamity Grade Super, but he did not seem to have a bottleneck and could continuously grow stronger. This made Reynold extremely baffled and felt that Han Xiao was unfathomable.

Reynold had always felt that he was an extremely talented individual and had great confidence in his own abilities. However, Han Xiao truly dealt a huge blow to his confidence. Reynold felt a sense of inferiority before Han Xiao with his attitude becoming more and more humble.

There was truly too much for him to learn from Black Star, and Reynold hated the fact that he could not use every minute of his life to follow Han Xiao and record his every single action.

After putting his machine away, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and casually asked, “How are the logistic reserves for the army?”

When it came to work, Reynold’s expression grew serious, and he replied unhurriedly, “We have ample stock for all the different resources, and our reserves are healthy. Only Bases 17, 21, and 24 have a shortage of resources, and they mainly lack ammunition, fuel, and materials for commonly used machines. Four days ago, I channeled resources from the five nearest bases, and the first wave of resources should reach in two days…”

Upon hearing the report, Han Xiao nodded and got Reynold to leave while he thought to himself in his room.

Over the past two years, the Black Star Army had experienced rapid growth, and just as industry insiders predicted, they gradually monopolized all the employment missions within the Garton Star System and set up dozens of bases across the Garton Star System. They had even built an office on the mother planet of Godora.

The one million or so players brought the Black Star Army endless benefits. Han Xiao borrowed the hen to lay eggs, and the reputation of the Black Star Army grew continuously. As the scale of the Black Star Army expanded, more and more freelance mercenaries were attracted to join the Black Star Army.

Currently, apart from the one million or so cannon… cough, players, the army had a hundred thousand official mercenaries. Furthermore, the number of students that they were training in the various training camps had three to four times this number. Even by relying on only NPC mercenaries, the Black Star Army was an undeniable super-sized mercenary group.

The target of the training camps was no longer limited to the freelance mercenaries that did not make the cut but also ordinary individuals without any foundation. In the various bases on all the different planets, there would definitely be young individuals who wanted to enter the universe or become Supers.

The entire army was restructured with a clear system being developed to ensure that it could be managed more efficiently. The officers all had their own roles with some of them becoming managers of a region to manage hundreds of mercenary teams, trump card mercenaries to tackle high difficulty missions, commanders of fleets, instructors of the training camps, prosperity figures, and the female secretaries of the Army Commander.

The position of vice Army Commander is still empty. The individual who sat in this position needed to be sufficiently powerful in order to convince everyone in the army. Han Xiao was the only Calamity Grade Super in the entire Army, and his vice commander would also have to be of the Calamity Grade. Among all his officers, only Reynold was the nearest to the Calamity Grade.

Over the past two years, Han Xiao had hired over a hundred Grade B Supers. There were some who took the initiative to join the army, and others were elites who he sought based on his memory. There were some low-grade protagonist level characters to fill up the middle ranks of the army.

After monopolizing the entire Garton Star System, Han Xiao continued his expansion with the Garton Star System as the core. He also began to target the surrounding few Star Systems and snatched a portion of the markets.

The larger the market that his army occupied, the greater the demand on the strength of his market.

As a young teen who grew up in a capitalistic society, Han Xiao invested all his resources into the construction of new bases and the expansion of his fleet. He tried his very best to create a never-ending cycle of benefits.

Currently, the Black Star Army had 26 fleets, which were in charge of various responsibilities such as battle, transport, reinforcements, and so on. The Black Star Army had a total of 1,600 battleships, and the truth showed that robbing galactic pirates… cough cough, getting rid of tyrants to help the weak was a very beneficial action.

The number of Black Star Army bases also increased to 34, and apart from Noriosse and Rossozzi, the Black Star Army had three new sponsors. Two of them were ordinary financial groups, and one of them was actually the Godoran government. They had also increased the strategic resources provided to the Black Star Army, and the relationship between the two had grown even closer.

The influence of their faction expanded even further, and the Black Star Army was now ranked among the famous private organizations within the Colton Star Cluster. This time, it was Floating Dragon Island that benefited from the fame of the Black Star Army. The strength of the Floating Dragon field team made it such that Ames was no longer the only deterrent force in Floating Dragon.

However, Han Xiao could feel that the development of his faction was reaching a bottleneck.

As a mercenary group, the Black Star Army had already reached the peak, and if they continued to expand their operations, their efficiency would only decrease. Distance was a very obvious restriction. The larger the scope of their operations, the greater the requirement of a faction’s strength. Monopolizing the Garton Star System was already the limit, and they did not have the ability to monopolize a second Star System.

The other reason behind the bottleneck of a faction was the nature of a faction. A mercenary group was a more relaxed organization, and if they wanted to enter the next level, the organization would have to be transformed to let the employment missions be of secondary importance. The faction would have to become a semi-private armed organization like Bloodshed Land.

The difficulty of such a task was extremely high, and this was not the right time to make such a change. However, Han Xiao was one to plan far ahead and knew that this was something that they had to do eventually.

“The only thing I don’t have to worry about is my strength…”

In the blink of an eye, Han Xiao was already at level 170. His level had only risen by over twenty levels, and he was currently stuck on the [Galaxy Mechanic] Class Advancement Mission.

This was because Han Xiao did not place his attention on leveling up but stored most of his experience points up. His stash of experience points was already sky high, and even at his current level, the amount of experience that he had stored up was enough for tens of levels.

However, Han Xiao did not do so. He had not met any strong opponents over the past two years and was not in a rush to increase his level. As such, he invested his experience points into his skills in exchange for Potential Points and gambled on a large number of blueprints.

More importantly, Han Xiao considered the problem of the next version update.

The time taken for the next version update would be a full ten years in the game. This meant that he would not be able to harvest anything for a full ten years. His experience stash was like his rations for the winter, and the more the merrier.

“We are already at the end of Version 2.0. The version update should be coming after the Pro League. Sigh, that’s a full ten years…”

Han Xiao could not help but let out a long sigh of worry. He then opened his interface to take a look at his personal stats.

_____________________

Level: 170

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Chaos Observer (Human Form)

Attributes: 254 STR, 634 DEX, 608 END, 1956 INT, 263 MYS, 105 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Point: 31

Health: 93,732

Stamina: 94,180

Energy: 17,580 [Lv.11]

Lv.11 Energy bonus stat: +111 STR, +158 DEX, +174 END, +204 INT, +129 MYS, +21,220 Stamina Limit, +142% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 14,780

Grade: A

Grade A Ranked Bonus: +10 END Bonus, +8 All Resistances, +10% Highest Stat(s), +5% Other Stats, Additional 30 Free Attribute Points, Additional 5 Potential Points

You are an experienced Grade A Super, and your enemies will have a taste of their nightmares.

_____________________

Compared to the development of the faction, his own strength did not face a bottleneck. If he met a perverse Class Advancement or Promotion mission, he still had the option of using a Mission Completion Card.

As long as his experience stash could keep up, his own strength would increase rapidly. This was something that Han Xiao did not need to worry too much about.

His level was not the only thing that contributed to his strength. In the past two years, Han Xiao had looked around for talents.

While Han Xiao still had no clue on how to obtain Reynold’s talent, Han Xiao managed to grab a similar talent, [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense], and finally had a Mechanic Class talent.

His [Intermediate Strengthened Life] talent also gave him a few notifications that it was strengthened. Han Xiao estimated that he should be able to level the talent up if he consumed a couple of Genetic Medicine of rare lifeforms.

It was a pity that Molding Abilities were extremely rare, and Han Xiao had only managed to obtain ordinary talents in the past two years.

Apart from the change of attributes on his interface, the change in his combat strength was even more obvious!

Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army had been expanded a couple of times, and he had strengthened the battle tactics of the various styles. He had added many new Calamity Grade machines, and his combat capabilities were more well-rounded than before. He was a changed man from two years ago, and Han Xiao felt that he should be able to fight five to six of himself from two years ago at once.

Whoosh!

At this moment, the room door suddenly swung open, and Sylvia was standing outside.

“Teacher, I finally found you. There are a couple of mercenaries who wish to meet you. They say that they have some important intelligence.”

Two years ago, Sylvia had still been a budding young lady, and now, she had matured greatly. She was a beautiful young lady with nice curves and the perfect height. She was glowing with radiance, her eyes like the starry night sky.

Her position was Han Xiao’s secretary, and her potential was fully unleashed by Han Xiao.

The homework that Han Xiao gave to her could make the Sylvia from two years ago crack her head with frustration but was extremely easy to the current Sylvia. She grew up faster by the day. Although her potential had not been converted to strength because of the lack of time, she could unleash the strength of a C+ Super with the mechanical suit that Han Xiao had built for her. She was able to exchange a few blows with an ordinary Grade B Super and was slowly gaining the aura of the ‘Mechanical Lady Knight’ from Han Xiao’s previous life.

Han Xiao glanced at Sylvia for a while before asking, “Who wants to meet me?”

“These few individuals.” Sylvia handed some information over to Han Xiao, who was stunned for a moment when he saw it. The ones who wanted to see him were Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and the gang.

Chapter 631: : Prologue of the Crimson Tide, Request From a Star Cluster Civilization

When Han Xiao entered his office, Sylvia brought Frenzied Sword and the others in.

“Black Star.”

Including Bun-Hit-Dog, Frenzied Sword and the rest called Han Xiao’s name simultaneously with excitement.

As the faction developed, Bun-Hit-Dog could not follow Black Star around everywhere anymore. Upon hearing that Frenzied Sword and the others were visiting Hao Tian, he instantly had an idea. For the sake of material for his show, he did everything he could to convince the others to let him join them. He started videoing as soon as he entered through the door.

Han Xiao looked across them and stopped at Frenzied Sword. He then loaded the ‘Faction Leader’ emoticon bundle and nodded. “It’s been a long time, my friends.”

Hearing this familiar tone, the others smiled. They had all been members of that highly skilled group of players, and they felt that Black Star speaking to them in a different manner was a special privilege.

“What important information do you have for me?” Han Xiao was curious. The players would not do things if there were no profit involved, so they had definitely accepted a mission from someone.

“We heard this is a hunting list. You’re on it…”

Frenzied Sword explained about what had happened, took out the list, and passed to Han Xiao.

Ronaldo? Never heard of this name before, and what are hunters? Han Xiao frowned. He scanned through the list, and his name was indeed on it.

Someone is targeting me? Who could it be? Han Xiao pondered. The only similarity the people on the list shared was that they were all well-known Calamity Grades in the various areas of the Shattered Star Ring. Some of their names were very famous. He had even heard of them before in his previous life.

The fact that they dared target these people, no matter what these hunters’ goals were, proved that they had an unfathomable amount of strength.

Are they targeting me because of my fame and strength? Han Xiao contemplated.

The Black Star Army had risen very quickly in these two years. There were barely any opportunities for Han Xiao to do things himself. The fact that he was one of the targets meant that he was seen as one of the well-known people in the Shattered Star Ring.

“Did that Ronaldo say anything else?”

Frenzied Sword shook his head. “No.”

“Looks like we lack information and can’t prove the credibility of this list. I will let Phillip search for the whereabouts of the people on this list. If there really is a group of hunters like he suggested, because he gave too little information, I can’t figure out who these people are either.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

Things like this were not very rare. In other words, Calamity Grades were like rare resources in the universe. They were always targeted by organizations with ulterior motives.

Currently, storms were quietly brewing in the Shattered Star Ring. Version 3.0 ‘Crimson Tide’ was slowly approaching, so all sorts of people might appear. In fact, not just in the Shattered Star Ring, but other Star Fields too. The effects brought by the Crimson Dynasty’s expansion spread across the entire Galaxy.

The three Universal Civilizations had finally entered the ‘exhausted stage’ of peace. Just like the ‘seven years itch’ between partners, although it would not lead to a divorce, quarreling and fighting would become frequent. The couple might be able to sort things out after these small emotional fights, but the damage caused during the fights would not disappear.

In his previous life, the Crimson Tide had been a chaotic era. Many hidden organizations had shown up, made use of the chaotic situation, and blamed the Crimson Dynasty for it. Those were troubled and chaotic times that the players faced back then.

Although Han Xiao was very familiar with the storyline, there was more than one organization that targeted people like him during the Crimson Tide. Some had been exposed in his previous life; some had never been discovered. He could not yet confirm who these hunters were with the limited information that Frenzied Sword and the others had given him.

It might just be an ambitious private organization, such as DarkStar, which indeed did the same thing in his previous life, but it might also be a sign of the ‘Calamity of the Supers’ or the ‘Silver Revolutionary Army’. It was all unclear at this point.

Regardless, this list at least reminded me to be wary of my safety…

Although Han Xiao did not know who the enemy was, he knew that someone had their eyes on him. Hence, he knew that he had to be alert.

According to the intelligence, these mysterious hunters were very strong, strong enough to easily beat usual Calamity Grades. They were very likely Grade A+, which gave Han Xiao a little pressure.

I should find time to deal with the Class Advancement mission. I’m now level 170, and the Promotion at level 180 will be the next Race Evolution. It will make me much stronger. By then, I won’t have to worry about Grade A+ Supers.

Sadly, the information of the enemy was too little. He could only stay defensive and could not search for the enemy. This was like a time bomb.

I shall find the time to go back to Floating Dragon Island and have old man Aesop do some foresight…

This time, Frenzied Sword, who had the highest Favorability with Han Xiao among the rest in the room, spoke again.

“Black Star, do you know about the changes happening in the Shattered Star Ring recently?”

They had received some hidden information from Ronaldo and felt it was related to the storyline of the next version. Now that they had finally gotten the chance to meet their faction leader, they felt that since Han Xiao was the mission target, he might know some of the information.

Frenzied Sword wanted to know as much as he could about it.

“The changes recently? What are you referring to?” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

“Ronaldo told us that there has been a lot of unrest in the Shattered Star Ring recently. He said that there’s an organization behind this…” Frenzied Sword broached the subject in a very subtle way.

“Ah, I know, the Crimson Dynasty.”

The atmosphere suddenly became silent.

Frenzied Sword opened his mouth wide.

Hao Tian’s face twitched.

Everyone looked like they were struggling with constipation.

He—He said it this easily…

Although they got the answer they wanted, all of them felt somewhat empty. They had that thought this was a huge secret that no one knew about, but this was only the second person they asked, and he just casually said it.

It seemed that the things happening behind the curtain of the Shattered Star Ring, which Ronaldo took so seriously and could not understand at all, were just normal business to Black Star.

The process was so simple that Frenzied Sword and the others could not help but doubt whether this information was even important at all.

Except for Bun-Hit-Dog, who was the most excited. His eyes were sparkling.

During Version 1.0, Black Star had hinted at Version 2.0’s Mutation Disaster. Now, Black Star gave the hint about the next version once again.

They felt that Han Xiao was more and more mysterious as if he knew everything.

Frenzied Sword had known Han Xiao the longest. Even he could not help but feel he did not know Han Xiao at all.

Han Xiao then changed the topic and said, “The information you have given me is indeed valuable. I have a mission for you guys…”

As he was speaking, he quickly wrote a reward mission and gave it to the players. Its rewards were very rich, and there was even a reward where they could pick one piece of equipment for free. Overjoyed, Frenzied Sword and the others quickly accepted the mission.

Han Xiao gave them a few words of compliment and gave them five points of Favorability. His Favorability was like a product discount. Then, he told Sylvia to send away the satisfied Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, Bun-Hit-Dog, and the rest.

After they left, Han Xiao leaned back, crossed his legs, and started pondering.

He had always been paying attention to the players. All the players had left their own novice planets and entered the galaxy. Among the others, his Black Star Army was undoubtedly the best guiding faction. The players from Planet Aquamarine were all fed very well and healthy. The second Pro League was about to start. He had quite high hopes for the performance of the Chinese clubs this time as well.

Most players had reached the level limit of level ninety; they would be able to make use of more of their class specialty. Their strategies would vary, so this season would be more exciting than the previous one.

The better the results of the Chinese clubs, the more attractive his faction would become. When the players entered the stage of inter-Star-Field travel in the future, his faction would be able to attract players from other areas. No number of leeks would ever be too much for Han Xiao.

These Genetic Medicines will be very popular.

Han Xiao smiled. After sucking dry countless galactic pirates, he had a lot of these stocked up in the warehouse.

After looking at the forums for a while, just as Han Xiao was about to get up and play with the cuties in the machinery modification room, Sylvia suddenly entered the room.

“Teacher, there’s an important invitation.”

“Invitation?”

“Colton Star Cluster’s ruling civilization, the Purple Crystal Civilization, wants to hire you specifically.”

Star Cluster Civilization!

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The Black Star Army’s business was limited to Star System Civilizations and had yet to get in touch with any Star Cluster Civilizations. Although Han Xiao had gotten the contact of a Purple Crystal Civilization official during Tyrant’s party, the requests made by Star Cluster Civilizations were all given to selected groups—the Black Star Army was not in them.

Now, they had finally received a mission from a Star Cluster Civilization. The Purple Crystal Civilization was the ruler of Colton. As they had invited him by name, it seemed rather important.

Completing a mission from a Star Cluster Civilization would add a huge amount of value to the resume of the army.

A few years ago, Han Xiao had no contact with any Star Cluster Civilizations because he was in no position to, but now he could.

Furthermore, contacting a Star Cluster Civilization was something that he could not avoid on his path of personal growth.

In the past two years, Han Xiao had learned almost all the High-End Knowledges; he now had to look for the next stage of knowledge—Cutting-Edge Knowledges. Star Cluster Civilizations were a very important part of gaining Cutting-Edge Knowledges.

This is an opportunity!

Han Xiao told Phillip to transfer the communication and added protection to the channel at the same time.

The image flashed, and a familiar face appeared. It was the Purple Crystal Civilization representative whom Han Xiao had met during Tyrant’s party, Ralph.

“Black Star, it’s been some time,” Ralph said in a friendly manner.

Han Xiao chatted with him a little before they started to get down to business.

“You people wanted to hire me specifically?”

“That’s right. Your army has a very good name, so you’re one of our top choices.”

“And what are the mission’s details?”

“It’s an elimination operation. The target is a fleet. They have disguised themselves as travelers, but their background is much more complicated than that. We plan to eliminate this fleet as a warning to the people behind them.”

Ralph described the situation very vaguely. Han Xiao could not help but guess what the organization that the Purple Crystal Civilization wanted to warn was.

After giving it a little bit of thinking, he had a rough idea.

Purple Crystal had decided to find mercenaries to deal with this instead of doing it themselves, which was clearly not because they were not able to, but the identity of the enemies was sensitive, which caused Purple Crystal to not want to do things the official way.

“Klentans?” Han Xiao spoke softly. Purple Crystal and Klent looked like they had a very good relationship, but they were targeting each other secretly. In his previous life, Purple Crystal and Klent had even fought.

Ralph smiled and did not answer this question. He changed the topic and said, “There has been a lot of unrest in the Shattered Star Ring recently. These organizations have been crossing the line more and more, so they have to be dealt with.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Two years had passed, and the effects of the Crimson Tide had been fermenting. Many organizations wanted to make use of it, so many organizations had been showing themselves, the disorder was spreading quickly. The waves created by the Crimson Dynasty made civilizations that stayed neutral such as the Purple Crystal Civilization very annoyed. Strange things kept happening in the Colton Star Cluster, and the security of their territories had become more and more threatened. Purple Crystal finally could not take it anymore and decided to make an example of these people.

“So, Black Star, do you want to accept our hire?”

“Let’s talk about the reward first.”

“Of course, what do you want?”

“Mechanic Cutting-Edge Knowledge,” Han Xiao replied.

Ralph’s face became troubled when he heard this.

“That might not be possible. Cutting-Edge Knowledges are very precious. The people above will not agree. I can only pay you with money…” Ralph paused momentarily. “However, you’re Floating Dragon’s officer, and we respect Ames a lot. Therefore, if we have the chance to work together again in the future, Cutting-Edge Knowledge might not be impossible.”

Cutting-Edge Knowledge is indeed not easy to obtain… Han Xiao had expected this, so he was not disappointed.

What Ralph meant between the lines was, this hire was like an entry ticket for the Black Star Army. If he completed it, Purple Crystal would hire him for more missions in the future. Once he made a big enough contribution, Purple Crystal would be willing to give him Cutting-Edge Knowledges. It was basically the path of increasing Faction Favorability.

Cutting-Edge Knowledges were very precious; only at this stage could one study antimatter, psionic energy, and the like. Han Xiao did not think that there was a problem with the way Purple Crystal was doing it. Nothing was free in the world—he needed Cutting-Edge Knowledges, and Purple Crystal needed stronger unofficial military power to do things for them privately. It was all part of a deal.

Han Xiao pondered for a while before nodding. “Okay, I can try it.”

“Great.” Ralph smiled. “I will send you a gathering location later. There are other people on this mission. The mission details will be sent to you later.”

“Okay.” Han Xiao had no objection. This was not the first time that he had a group mission like this.

Chapter 632: Gundam Is a Man’s Romance

The gathering location was in another Star System within the Colton Star Cluster, very far away from Garton. Han Xiao had Risda fly him to the planet used for the gathering.

This was an unpopulated planet with just a series number. When the Blacklight Stealth arrived at the coordinates, there were already quite many spaceships parked on the ground, and a crowd had already formed. They all looked up one after another at the newcomer.

The spaceship descended steadily. Han Xiao walked out of the hatch and looked around casually. There were only two people there whose vital signs reached the level of Grade A. It seemed like they were two leaders, but they were unfamiliar. They both led a group of people, meaning there were two organizations present.

“The Garton Star System’s Black Star? I’ve heard of him.”

“He came too.”

“Did he not bring those undying mercenaries?”

The crowd looked at Han Xiao with surprise and chatted among themselves.

A member of the Purple Crystal Civilization got out of the spaceship and stood in front of Han Xiao. “Welcome, Black Star. I’m the one responsible for this operation, level 3 diplomat of Secret Service Department 4, Dodder.”

“Hi.” Han Xiao nodded. “Where’s Ralph?”

“His Excellency Ralph’s position is very high; I’m his subordinate’s subordinate. This operation does not require him to be in charge personally.”

Ralph’s position was quite high in the Purple Crystal Civilization. What Han Xiao did not know was, of all the people who were invited to this operation, he was the only one that had been invited by Ralph personally. The others only had contact with Dodder.

This special treatment was because Han Xiao had attended the Tyrant’s party before. To Ralph, Black Star was a member of the upper-class social circle, so he personally involved himself in this small operation that he did not need to be bothered about, showing that he took Han Xiao seriously.

“There are three organizations that are going to be working together for this operation. Let me introduce you to the other two.”

Dodder took Han Xiao over and introduced him to the leaders of the other two organizations.

“This is Jayne, a strong Esper. The others call him ‘Seaquake’. This is Gadeli. His nickname is ‘Hundred Rounds Cannon’. He’s a Cannon Master.”

The two of them sized Han Xiao up and shook hands with him respectfully.

Jayne and Gadeli’s equipment was very sophisticated, especially Gadeli’s. His battle suit was made of super-nanotechnology. Han Xiao could see that this battle suit had very strong shapeshifting capabilities from a glance. This guy was a Cannon Master, so he might have turned his trump card firearms into parts of the battle suit and wore it on his body.

Han Xiao had never heard of the two of them before, so he told Phillip to do a search. He then realized that the two of them were not mercenaries but small private military organizations only formed a few years ago and had a rather small size.

Speaking of which, the Black Star Army had only been formed for a couple of years, yet it had risen extremely quickly at an unmatched speed.

In Galaxy, the number of such organizations was right below mercenary groups. There were various reasons that these organizations were formed, but it could be mostly categorized under two reasons. One was for private reasons; these organizations had their own goal and did not accept requests.

The other was similar to mercenaries but did not accept public hires like normal mercenaries. They only accepted private invitations or looked for long-term partners. Hence, they were not a part of the mercenary industry. They had much stricter regulations toward their members compared to mercenary groups. The Bloodshed Land belonged to this category.

Usually, as long as the organizer had enough money and strength, forming a private military was simple. The strength of the leader was the ceiling of the private military—those created by Calamity Grades were the comparatively stronger ones. Jayne and Gadeli had both formed such organizations. Their active areas were in Star Systems rather far away, so their name was unheard by Han Xiao. However, they had both heard Han Xiao’s name before. It was clear which one of them was more famous.

This time, Jayne suddenly asked in a confused tone, “You came alone?”

“I alone am enough.” Han Xiao smiled. As this was a sudden mission, he did not waste time to gather others.

Jayne and Gadeli looked at each other with hidden joy in their eyes.

They were new organizations, so this cooperative operation was a good opportunity to get in touch with the Purple Crystal Civilization. To the two of them, this was a competition for the opportunity to have a long-term partnership with the Purple Crystal Civilization. The other organizations were all competitors, so they had to perform well.

Initially, when they saw Black Star, they had been very worried. If Black Star had brought the undying army under his command, the two of them would be completely unable to compete.

However, now that they realized that Black Star had come alone, they felt relieved that they had the opportunity to put on a performance.

After the introduction, Dodder took out the star map and explained the details of the operation.

“We are currently in Star Zone 3 of the Thousand Lights Star System. The target is in Star Zone 7. According to the target’s movements, we can intercept them in Star Zone 9…

“We have three Calamity Grade Supers and forty-four battleships. The target has sixty-five battleships, but some of them are civilian spaceships used as cover. Therefore, the actual combat capability of the enemies will be lower than that. The strength of their members is unknown. They entered the Colton Star Cluster from the desolate universe and did not go through any identity checks. They have also yet to stop and resupply along the way.”

The others nodded. The intelligence network of the Purple Crystal Civilization covered the entire Star Cluster—all they had to do was rush in. They had three Calamity Grades, so the enemy’s advantage of just more than twenty battleships was meaningless.

“Just a small fleet…” Han Xiao raised his brows. He had initially thought it would be a high difficulty mission, but as it turned out, it was just clearing out some shrimps. Yet, the Purple Crystal Civilization had invited a few Calamity Grades for it. He felt that their main goal was probably to select some new private military organizations for future partnerships.

Ding.

A notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the mission [Purple Crystal Civilization’s Warning]!

_____________________

Han Xiao scanned through quickly and skipped the experience reward. Even the reward of more than a million Enas was not a big deal to him now.

The only reward that he felt was actually valuable was the Faction Contribution Point of the Purple Crystal Civilization, which was 330 points.

The higher level the faction was, the more difficult it was to obtain its Favorability. However, due to Han Xiao’s pile of Legendary Points and titles, his current relationship with the Purple Crystal Civilization was not the initial [Indifferent] but [Neutral], so he had a starting Favorability of 450.

In order to obtain Cutting-Edge Knowledge, farming Faction Favorability was the method with the highest odds of success.

This time, Dodder suddenly thought of something.

“By the way, one more thing. The Star System Civilization ruling the Thousand Lights Star System requested backup from the Purple Crystal Civilization. One of the strongest people in their territory has gone missing, so they requested that we help them find him. The missing person is called Kernid, nickname Dark Purple Warlock. This is what he looks like. If you happen to discover any clues, do remember to tell me.”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. The name sounded very familiar.

Kernid seemed to be one of the names on the hunting list.

Han Xiao kept this in mind.

…

The target of the cooperative operation—the fleet that was disguised as galactic travelers—was slowly moving through Star Zone 9 of the Thousand Lights Star System.

In the command room of the main ship, the captain, Bret, was recording the various data.

“Voyage dairy K-003015: It has been 134 days since entering the Colton Star Cluster. Everything is normal at the moment. Currently carrying out the 6th data collection. The scouting area is the Thousand Lights Star System. The transfer of data for civilization development, civilian planet ecologies, security, and the others have been completed. The next station is the core area of the Colton Star Cluster, the White Ceiling Star System. We will gather intelligence on the Purple Crystal Civilization there.”

After the voyage dairy was sent out, the system completely destroyed its data.

Bret rubbed his eyes and soothed his tiredness.

“Alert! Alert! An unknown fleet is approaching!”

At this time, the lights inside the room turned bright red. The alarm of the spaceship artificial intelligence rang and instantly alerted Bret. He rushed to the radar screen, where an unknown fleet was shown to be heading directly toward them and would soon enter their vision.

“Send a message to them and ask about their entity,” Bret yelled. “Tell them we’re just galactic travelers.”

However, like throwing a pebble into the sea, the message got no reply at all.

Very soon, the fleet appeared and, without any hesitation, started firing at Bret’s fleet. The battle erupted in an instant!

“They’re not galactic pirates; we’ve been targeted!” Bret was experienced. He instantly knew that this would not end well for them.

Being very decisive, Bret ordered to counter-attack while recording a video and sending it back to his organizations, letting the headquarters know who these enemies were.

This fleet that suddenly attacked belonged to Han Xiao and the others. Jayne and Gadeli were commanding the fleet and fighting with the enemy. The Blacklight Stealth was watching from the side.

In the cockpit, Han Xiao looked at the battlefield and squinted.

“Although the enemies are not much of a threat, it is a good opportunity to test my new weapon.”

As he thought, Han Xiao switched to autopilot and walked to the ejection area in the middle of the ship. Berserk Ape quickly covered his body as he directly jumped into space.

The difference between Han Xiao’s size and the battleships’ was like the difference between an ant and an elephant. However, the next moment, the light of Mechanical Force flashed. Countless mechanical parts expanded from within the Berserk Ape mechanical suit, and compressed orbs opened up one after another.

In the blink of an eye, a more than thirty-meter-tall Giant Soldier mechanical suit was assembled. Its size was not much different from small assault ships. The huge energy wave attracted the attention and surprised both sides of the battle.

Giant Soldier, Ship Destroyer, Gen 3 Improved Version!

In the past two years, after obtaining the various High-End Knowledges, Han Xiao had finally reverse engineered the blueprint of spaceships and learned to build battleships. With this technology, he had improved the Ship Destroyer blueprint that Carroll had lost to him. He had enhanced it two times and updated many parts of it. Compared to the first generation, the third generation Ship Destroyer looked much more aesthetically pleasing. From a tube-shaped body, it became human-shaped, possessing four limbs and a head.

Giant Soldier mechanical suits were made for galactic battles, so their performances were all very high. With Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force bonuses, this Giant Soldier was terrifyingly strong. Other than Virtual Intrusion, Han Xiao now had a more direct method to battle in space.

Inside the cockpit of the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer, Han Xiao completed the nerve connection. The giant mechanical suit became as easy to control as his arms and legs, and the small burden it brought to Han Xiao’s mind was nothing to someone as strong as him. Han Xiao could not help but feel a little nostalgic.

“It’s been so long since I piloted a large mechanical suit. I wonder if I got rusty.”

Bret’s eyes opened extremely wide. His voice was breaking as he said, “It’s a Giant Soldier mechanical suit! Focus fire on it and destroy it!”

Every qualified commander knew what a Giant Soldier could do in galactic battles. Compared to bulky battleships, the mobility of the Giant Soldier mechanical suits was a nightmare for the entire fleet. As soon as a Giant Soldier appeared in galactic battles, they would definitely become the primary target.

Countless missiles rocketed through space and expanded in Han Xiao’s eyes, yet a sense of anticipation for battle appeared on Han Xiao’s face.

With just a thought, the three-dimensional mechanical body of the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer activated. Like a bullet, it entered the rain of fire, barely dodging the attacks one after another while the high level energy shield blocked the stray attacks.

The Great Mechanic Han’s piloting skills had been honed by countless battles. Only a Giant Soldier mechanical suit could allow him to express his real skills.

The huge mechanical suit moved like a shadow, quickly closing in on the enemy fleet.

This time, two enormous cannon barrels extended from behind Gen 3 Ship Destroyer and mounted on both of its shoulders. They fired thick, massive beams of hot energy cannons, shaking up the shields of many enemy ships with every shot.

Then, four enormous hovering guards appeared, circling around the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer as a means of protection as well as to counter-attack.

The moment Han Xiao took out the Giant Soldier mechanical suit, the focus of the entire battlefield had been on him!

After some time, the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer finally approached an enemy ship at the edge of their formation and was stopped by the spaceship’s shield. This time, the space around the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer suddenly looked bent and twisted. Han Xiao had activated the anti-shield impact waves. The shield of the enemy ship in front of him suddenly became dim and started flickering. Its defense was tremendously reduced.

Han Xiao had not wasted his time over the prior two years. He had spent a huge amount of Experience and built countless pieces of new equipment. A lot of different technology had gone into the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer.

The next moment, a Thermal Chainsaw extended from the Gen 3 Ship Destroyer’s hand, slashed down, and cut the enemy ship right in front of it in half like cutting through tofu, leaving a hot, red light at the fracture.

Time seemed to stop for an instant.

The next moment, the enemy ship that was split in half exploded into fireworks. If not for the vacuum environment, the sound of the explosion would have been deafening.

Looking at the blinding explosion, Jayne and Gadeli’s faces uncontrollably twitched.

There was no way their performances could be better than Black Star’s Giant Soldier mechanical suit.

Just as Black Star had said, it was indeed enough for him to come alone without bringing any troops.

“How much money did it cost to build this Giant Soldier?” Jayne murmured.

Gadeli clenched his teeth in envy. Jealousy had turned his expression twisted. “Damn, it must be good to be rich!”

Chapter 633: Formation of the Organization, an Assault Invitation

There was no suspense in that crushing battle. With Bret’s troops being completely destroyed, the battlefield that was crisscrossed with artillery fire turned completely silent, with corpses and metal debris floating all around.

Han Xiao had cooperated with the forces of Jayne and Gadeli, driving the 3rd Generation Ship Destroyer straight into the enemy’s fleet like a knife to vegetables. The enemy fleet had no way to retaliate. After all, he currently possessed two interstellar combat methods. Virtual Intrusion served as internal disturbance, whereas driving the Giant Soldier was just mindless violence.

For such a small fry, why was there a need to utilize Virtual Intrusion? Just cut through them like a hot knife through butter, that would be more enjoyable.

In the past, Han Xiao had seen battlefields where thousands of battleships bombarded each other and had even participated in such battles himself. Compared to the large-scale artillery warfare density, this small-scale operation did not give him any pressure. There was no difficulty in controlling his mechanical suit to avoid and hide.

The 3rd Generation Ship Destroyer was also a crucial factor. Han Xiao had spent a lot of effort to perfect the blueprint of this giant mechanical suit. He had lost count how much materials he had poured into it. This sort of ship destroyers would show the greatest effect in such small-scale interstellar warfare. A 3rd Generation Ship Destroyer cost at least 3.5 million Enas, which was more than some small high-end battleships. If it was the him two years ago, this sum of money would have hurt him.

But right now, it only made a sizeable dent.

The ability of the Black Star Army to rake in gold could even destroy Floating Dragon Island. Han Xiao faintly remembered that the last time he checked the account balance, there seemed to be more than 80 million Enas worth of liquid funds, and their fixed assets were several times that number. This was far less when compared to a financial group, but he could be considered a young and promising leek scholar [1. Loosely translated, it refers to an organization that profits off dumping of stocks and shares to force a drop in the market before capitalizing on it.]. Oh no, a better word would be a powerful leader.

Originally, Jayne and Gadeli’s troops were supposed to be the main attackers, but the moment Han Xiao entered the battle, he immediately snatched away their position as he dominated the fight. They ended up only being able to contain the enemy and watch the whole process. Watching Han Xiao control the Giant Soldier, his style gave them a deep impression, which could be summed up as…

Stylish!

Luxurious!

Mischievous!

The Third Generation Ship Destroyer had also received some minor damage, along with losing a large amount of its fuel in just this short battle time. Han Xiao retreated in the 3rd Generation Ship Destroyer, returning to the Blacklight Stealth and regrouping with Jayne and Gadeli. The three of them left the crime scene as one whole, heading toward the nearest unmanned planet for a rest.

“You guys did a good job.” Dodder contacted the trio, praising their success.

The reward was already transferred into each person’s accounts, and Han Xiao received a notification to show that his mission had been completed. The Favorability of the Purple Crystal Civilization had also risen slightly as a result.

“Everyone should have some sort of speculation in their hearts. That’s right—this was a simple test for us to select some reliable unofficial armies to cooperate with us. You have all demonstrated your strength, and we hope to have a happy cooperation in the future.”

Jayne and Gadeli immediately exclaimed. They had thought that since their limelight had been stolen away by Black Star, they would no longer have an opportunity. Thus, they got excited.

“With the chaos present in the Shattered Star Ring during the past two years, we think that the future will be host to even more unpredictable and complex dangers,” Dodder explained. “Thus, we have planned to secretly form an organization of various armies. We’re looking for more people of your caliber to cooperate with us, to defend the Colton Star Cluster in secret. As for the specifics, I can’t disclose them to you yet, but what I can reveal is that we’re building a secret army, and all of you are potential candidates.”

A secret organization comprised of various armies?

Han Xiao perked up. He recalled which storyline this was at last.

In Version 3.0 ‘Crimson Tide’, due to the flurry of activity all around, joining a faction had become a sort of culture. It was not just the Purple Crystal Civilization, but many Star Cluster Civilizations also recruited various armed forces to aid them in times of need, creating a secret organization much akin to the Protectors.

For example, the Shattered Star Ring Mercenary Alliance in Version 3.0 was one of such products of combining various armed forces.

The allied organizations would form the basis of the factions that the players could join in on Version 3.0, and their choices were plenty.

Han Xiao recalled that the organization formed by the Purple Crystal Civilization was codenamed ‘Section Zero’. It referred to the hidden organizations and departments of the Purple Crystal Civilization. The members within were strong and came from various galaxies, accepting a long-term employment from the Purple Crystal Civilization in exchange for resources.

In other words, both Jayne and Gadeli would likely be comrades in the future.

Han Xiao would never reject such a good deal, and furthermore, he would still have to approach the Purple Crystal Civilization in order to obtain the Cutting-Edge Knowledge he required. Just his title as a member of Section Zero would net him quite a few benefits. This was a connection to having a long-term cooperation with a Star Cluster Civilization.

In his previous life, when the players entered Version 3.0, the joint organizations had already been formed way ahead of time. What the players gazed on was merely the end product, but what was before Han Xiao right now was the early stage of the preparation for the joint organizations. This was obviously a bigger opportunity for him!

Even without his shameless self-recommendation, the Purple Crystal Civilization already had him in their sights. His position today would not have been possible without all his hard work to manage his faction as well as the blood, sweat, and tears of the players.

If he could become the main force behind Section Zero, this would be akin to raising his reputation in the Shattered Star Ring, which would boost his name to become one of the first-rate organizations within the Colton Star Cluster.

This was his own shortcut to a higher level of prestige!

“If I receive a reasonable pay for my efforts, I would be pleased to,” Han Xiao replied.

Jayne and Gadeli also recovered from their ecstasy and hurriedly replied, expressing their willingness to join in this organization.

“You will not be disappointed with the remuneration. At present, the organization is still in selection. When it is formally established, there will be many huge missions,” Dodder replied.

This move from the Purple Crystal Civilization was akin to military conscription on Earth. The Purple Crystal Civilization initially had a fixed number of organizations that were in cooperation with it, but in the past two years, Klent had been restless, which had led to the Purple Crystal Civilization having a premonition that there would be a conflict with them sooner or later. As the conflict intensified, there was a chance of a secret war happening.

The so-called secret war was merely both sides screaming at each other to ‘come get a piece of me’, yet refusing to declare war on each other. Instead, they would secretly use their affiliated organizations to attack the other party, cutting off their wings. This is a torturous method under the Peace Treaty, where the killing and killed was all borne by the allied organizations.

Of course, the Star Cluster Civilizations knew the theory that if you wished to have good race horses, you had to allow the horses to graze. They were immensely generous with their benefits and were able to support the resource needs for the allied organizations. It could be said that as long as an organization could survive this secret war and cooperate as the pawns of the civilization, they would face a qualitative change and rush toward the sky in one shot.

Han Xiao understood the idea of the Purple Crystal Civilization. If he wished to develop and aim higher, it would be impossible to do so without facing danger. While he had a good organization at the moment, expansion would not happen on its own. Han Xiao knew that he had to correct his position at any given time.

Unless Ames became a collaborator with the Purple Crystal Civilization, he would not have enough leverage nor say when against a Star Cluster Civilization. He had not reached a point where he could haggle with a civilization of that level. The Purple Crystal Civilization was not begging him to join, but rather, this was a chance for him to properly develop his forces, which was essentially a fair deal.

As long as the reward was enough, he did not mind fighting for them. Right now, he was no longer the past self where he was weak and needed to be careful with every step. With enough strength and capabilities, he could bravely charge in.

Unlike Jayne and Gadeli who had expressions of joy, Han Xiao had already begun to deduce the consequences of his every choice.

A secret war… Han Xiao stroked his chin.

This was one of the most important storylines for Version 3.0. If one ignored the complicated interests behind Crimson Tide, the theme of Version 3.0 could be summarized in one word: fighting!

The various allied organizations would be in conflict with each other, and Section Zero would also have to face off against the Klent Kingdom many times. They certainly would not be excluded from the battlefield.

As long as the Tyrant did not appear, everything could be settled. He was not afraid of any other muscle-heads at all, and he had never been afraid of people at the same level as him.

Swoo!

At this time, the sound of a spaceship passing by was suddenly heard above them. Han Xiao stopped his communication and quickly looked up, seeing a small and exquisitely designed single-person spaceship. It was not known when this spaceship had entered the planet.

“Coincidentally here to collect some resources?” Jayne asked.

“Unclear.” Gadeli shook his head in return.

The single person spaceship’s hatch opened, and a woman dressed in white robes floated out in midair, with a white colored cat mask on her face. She surveyed the surroundings with a cold expression.

“Who are you?” Gadeli shouted out. Toward this uninvited guest, he could not help being vigilant upon feeling the powerful fluctuations coming from her.

This was a Calamity Grade Super!

Shana ignored him, instead looking around before her gaze landed on Han Xiao. She blandly asked, “Black Star?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and did not answer. He faintly felt that this visitor had unkind intentions.

“It doesn’t matter even if you do not answer. You can’t escape today.” Shana swept her eyes across before muttering to herself, “Three Calamity Grades, a little tough.”

Ka ka ka!

The next instant, Shana moved. From the time she showed herself till she attacked, it did not even take ten seconds!

She reached out, and the dozens of spaceships parked on the surface immediately turned into metal fragments. The spaceships violently exploded, and the fragments were transformed into a metal storm grinder. In a split second, the subordinates of Jayne and Gadeli were sliced into minced meat.

Gadeli was furious, and the battle suit on his body resonated like a giant wave. Nanoparticles gathered in his hands, turning into a giant firearm. The muzzle of the firearm fired toward Shana, and the cannon rays were extremely strong, incorporating all of his Mechanical Force.

Dong! Dong!

A sudden fierce battle unfolded!

Shana pointed, and an invisible magnetic field shield appeared around her. The defense of the shield was quite strong, and even after the flames from the explosion covered the body, they were all isolated outside of the magnetic field, leaving her unharmed. Then, Shana gripped with her hand.

Bang!

The huge firearm in Gadeli’s hands immediately disintegrated, turning back into nanoparticles like sand falling off from one’s hands.

Magnetic Field Control and Metal Manipulation‽ Han Xiao’s expression contorted. This uninvited guest had come here to deal with him and could completely restrain any Mechanics. It was unknown where she came from. As he thought, the only thing he could link it to was the hunting list.

It can’t be. How is there so much of a coincidence? Han Xiao was surprised. He secretly wondered how the enemy was able to discover his location.

Only he was involved in the operation this time, and those who could leak the report, other than the Purple Crystal Civilization, would only be his comrades, Jayne and Gadeli…

No, there was another possibility!

Han Xiao thought of the fleet that he had annihilated previously. Before they got destroyed, they had sent the intelligence out. Could it be that this mysterious hunter was associated with Klent?

Whoosh!

The huge metal fragments shot toward his head with a whistling sound, distracting him from his thoughts. It was not the time to consider such factors. Han Xiao wanted to use the Berserk Ape, but upon recalling the abilities of the enemy, he frowned and could only remove the thought of using his Mechanical suit. He relied on his own body to dodge the fragments, escaping far away.

The metal fragments slammed into the ground, creating a large pit and scattering stones everywhere.

Shana had faced everyone alone, but with just a few finger movements, she had already destroyed the army of Gadeli and flung him away hand. Seeing this, Jayne’s face lost all color. The battle capabilities of this uninvited guest had far outstripped her expectations!

Han Xiao had a headache. Facing such an opponent, the Mechanic profession was bound to have its arms tied behind its back. The many methods at his disposal would all be easily resolved by the other party, causing him to lose a lot of money.

This was by far the enemy that most countered his abilities!

Metal Manipulation is the kryptonite of the Mechanics. This woman probably also has a battle capability at Grade A+. If this carries on, the situation won’t be good…

Chapter 634: The Calamity Battle

Every class had its nemesis.

Among them, the Esper class was the most unique—they could sometimes be the nemeses of the other four classes, but the other classes might also sometimes be their nemeses. This was all because of the randomness of Esper abilities.

In the five Super classes, Espers’ pros were just as clear as their cons. Their combat capability was almost solely dependent on their different Esper abilities. Also, their class knowledge tree was very straightforward, such as enhancing Esper ability’s strength, range, accuracy, and so on.

Espers could shine brightly in one aspect and lack in others; all their abilities had their limitations.

For example, teleportation lacked defense, high speed recovery lacked the ability to deal damage, and prophecy… well, no need to rub salt in the wound.

Of course, these were all rather extreme examples of Esper abilities, which explained the clear distinction of Espers’ pros and cons. To the players, the gaming experience would, of course, be greatly enhanced if one could obtain a special type of Esper ability. There were tons of players who topped up real money into their accounts to buy Esper Gene Awakening Potions.

Other than the lucky ones, some unlucky but rich ones would keep creating new accounts and use Gene Awakening Potions till they got an Esper ability that they are satisfied with.

During the team battles in the Pro League, forming teams that could counter the opponents was also a strategic focus.

For an Esper with the ability to control metal and the magnetic field, of course, they would not be much of a problem at all to Pugilists and Mages. However, it just so happened that someone like that was the nemesis of Mechanics. It would be a lie to say Han Xiao was not troubled.

Although, as a Mechanic, his energy had magnetic attributes as well, his ability to control the magnetic field was far from that of the enemy, who had the Esper genes to do so.

The Mechanical Force was more focused on enhancing machines; controlling the magnetic field was just a bonus. The most he could do was disrupt the opponent’s Esper ability. In order to completely nullify the opponent’s magnetic field, more specific machines would be needed.

In an instant, Han Xiao looked at the battle information and knew that the opponent’s name was Shana. Shockingly, her level was a question mark. Han Xiao was already level 170. Even if Shana was not Grade A+, she would not be far from it. The huge difference between their strength was very difficult to overcome.

“Risda, leave the battlefield!”

Han Xiao dodged the attacks from shattered metal and ordered Risda. If the Blacklight Stealth was torn apart, it would be a huge loss.

The Blacklight Stealth quickly ascended and was about to accelerate and leave the battlefield. Unbothered by this, Shana reached out her hand and aimed at the Blacklight Stealth as she was about to clench her fist, crushing Han Xiao’s spaceship just like she did to the other spaceships.

Bang!

The next moment, a while colored shadow of a man clashed toward her like a meteor, dragging a lightning-like tail behind. It broke the sound barrier and bashed heavily right onto Shana’s magnetic field shield.

The invisible magnetic field shield was dented, and it bounced the white shadow out like it was elastic. Shana was not hurt, but she was sent flying a short distance away by the clash. She quickly controlled the metal on her and stabilized herself midair. She looked down at the white shadow.

In her eyes, Han Xiao wore a bone white mechanical suit. It was the Void Dragon mechanical suit that he had not used for a long time.

This person’s Esper ability counters me, so I can only use non-metallic weapons… Han Xiao thought.

The metal content of the Void Dragon mechanical suit was very low. Although its attributes could not match up to a battle between Calamity Grades, at least it was not as restricting as the Berserk Ape, so it was barely usable.

Most of his machinery was made with alloys—non-metallic machinery might only make up ten percent of them.

Many machines had very strict requirements on their materials; high density and non-metallic materials that could replace alloys were very difficult to fuse. Depending on different materials, the machinery’s attributes would be different as well. Before meeting an enemy that could control metal, it was clear that alloys were the most suitable choice.

If alloys could not be used, carbon nanotubes would be a very good choice as well. However, Han Xiao’s previous opponent was Ember.

Even if he had to build machines that could deal with this situation, he would have to do it after this battle ended. Hence, most of Han Xiao’s main machines, as well as his Army Style, could not be used unless he ignored the loss that he would incur.

From the way he saw it, the current situation was far from that desperate.

Test her limits first. Han Xiao squinted.

Using the instant when Shana was distracted, Risda accelerated and successfully escaped the battlefield, avoiding the fate of being turned into scrap metal.

All the rest of the spaceships were crushed into pieces by Shana and formed into a metal storm, directly going toward Han Xiao.

Other than the three Calamity Grades including Han Xiao, everyone else died without any ability to fight back. These Grade C warriors in metal battle suits were crushed by their own battle suits.

Whoosh!

Han Xiao dashed through the metal storm, deftly dodging the attacks. The cannon in his palm kept firing at Shana, but the Void Jet Sprays could not penetrate Shana’s magnetic field shield.

At this time, Jayne clenched his teeth and yelled, “Ha!”

His shirt shattered into pieces, revealing his muscular body. His body was vibrating at a high frequency. The air around him trembled, the vibration transferred into the ground below, and the cracks on the ground rapidly expanded.

Right after that, Jayne slammed his palm toward Shana, who was in midair.

Boom!

An invisible vibrating wave headed directly to Shana. Everywhere it passed, the air was bent, outlining an oval shape.

Shana frowned slightly as she moved sideways in midair, dodging the attack.

Jayne was the only one present who was not countered. Han Xiao looked over. Jayne’s upper body was naked, and his long chest hair was flowing and vibrating with the air.

That’s some macho heart-protecting chest hair!

This time, a sudden mission popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the hidden Grade A Chain Mission [Prey]!

Mission Introduction: You have become the prey of a terrifying organization. They will try to hunt you again and again till they succeed. Don’t think about escaping; their background is beyond your imagination. You have no choice. Keep struggling. By becoming stronger through these battles, you may have a tiny chance.

First Round: Defeat Shana

Reward: 37,000,000 Experience. Draw one of Shana’s ability or talent

_____________________

Han Xiao saw the mission introduction and thought, A horrifying organization? Interesting.

He remembered the storyline in his previous life; however, Shana could not fit into any organization in his memory. It seemed like it was a hidden organization that the players in his previous life had no contact with. Their hunting targets were all renowned Grade As, so it would make sense if the players did not know about them at that time.

This thought flashed past during the battle. The three of them attacked Shana together.

Both Jayne and Gadeli were Calamity Grades. There was no need for words; they could easily cooperate with Han Xiao.

Since there were helpers, there was no reason for Han Xiao not to make use of them. He took on the job of direct battle, standing before the metal storm and attacking Shana’s magnetic field shield. Jayne took on the job of the main attacker; his vibration attacks were quite threatening and forced Shana to keep dodging. As for Gadeli, he did not come closer after being blasted away. He went dozens of miles away and made use of his ranged attack strength as a Cannon Master by attacking from afar.

Tens of miles was nothing to Grade A Cannon Masters; his accuracy was still very high, and he could still shoot from even further away. His nickname ‘Hundred Rounds Cannon’ explained his attack frequency. The nonstop ranged attacks caused Shana quite a lot of trouble. She wanted to deal with Gadeli but was limited by Han Xiao.

Boom!

The three of them were embroiled in the fight. The power of Calamity Grade attacks was very high. The ground cracked, and explosions continuously occurred.

They were in a stalemate; Shana was quite irritated.

Bret, who had been crushed by Han Xiao and the others, was actually a member of an intelligence organization under the Bloodshed Land. He had received a mission from Klent to come to Colton and gather intelligence. It just so happened that the organization Shana belonged to had a special relationship with Klent, and she happened to be in this area after capturing Kernid. After Bret was attacked, the intelligence organization that he was in had informed Shana, who was nearby, to rescue them.

However, Shana had arrived too late, but she did discover Black Star. Hence, she changed the goal and targeted Black Star. The way she saw it, Black Star had presented himself to her, so she did not have to go all the way to the Garton Star System to find him anymore.

Shana had been confident in dealing with Black Star, so she had never expected to end up in such a tough battle.

Bret’s intelligence did not include Jayne and Gadeli’s information. As Han Xiao had quickly eliminated the fleet with the Ship Destroyer, the two of them did not act. Hence, they were unexpected backup for Han Xiao.

“The game has ended.”

Shana did not want to waste any more time. She yelled coldly before suddenly placing her hands on the ground, fully activating her Esper ability.

Rumble!

The ground started trembling violently.

The next moment, something shocking happened!

Dozens of miles away, holes suddenly started to appear on the ground. Almost a hundred gigantic snakes made of metallic dust soared up from the ground. They were all more than ten meters wide and almost endlessly long.

The ground was suddenly filled with holes!

The next second, almost a hundred gigantic metal snakes flew up and rushed toward Han Xiao and the other two.

Controlling the magnetic field of a planet and using the metallic elements underground… Horrifying ability strength.

Han Xiao felt it was quite a difficult situation. Espers that could control metal definitely needed metal to make use of their ability. With only those spaceship pieces, Shana was not very threatening. However, her ability was strong enough to control the magnetic field of the planet. This meant that the entire planet was Shana’s armory.

She was indeed a calamity!

Gadeli’s eyes opened wide. He quickly wanted to back away but was caught by two gigantic metal snakes. One of the snakes swallowed Gadeli, then the two snakes fused into a hundred-meter-wide metal ball, falling right down onto the ground.

Ka ka ka!

The sphere kept squeezing its interiors and increasing its density, trapping Gadeli inside. This was an attack that Shana loved to use.

Seeing this situation, Jayne’s fists slammed down onto the ground, clearly using some kind of ability. A ring of shockwave expanded on the ground.

Boom!

The vibration triggered chain reactions, and the ground started rapidly trembling at a much higher frequency. An earthquake appeared in this area, and countless gigantic metal snakes were shattered into metallic dust.

The movement caused by this attack was humongous. Further away, a huge fissure appeared in the ground as if the planet had opened its mouth.

Boom!

The shockwave hit the metallic sphere that trapped Gadeli. The next second, the sphere was shattered into pieces, and Gadeli quickly escaped.

Han Xiao was surprised. Jayne’s destructive power gave him quite a shock. His nickname ‘Seaquake’ was indeed accurate. There were practically no Grade A Espers that were weak. After all, if one’s Esper ability potential could not reach A, that person would never reach Grade A.

Bang bang bang!

Shana and Jayne did not hold back at all. The battlefield kept shifting, and everything with hundreds of miles was turned into ruins and shattered, like a disaster crawling through the planet surface.

However, although it caused a lot of destruction, Shana was hovering in the air. The earthquakes had almost no effect on her. She had the absolute upper ground.

Glancing at Han Xiao, who was dodging around far away, a shade of disdain flashed past Shana’s eyes. She shook her head.

Although Black Star was the target on the list, he had almost no sense of presence, much worse than Jayne’s. On the other hand, Jayne seemed more qualified to be a target.

Shana was somewhat disappointed. The rumors said that Black Star was very strong, but she now felt that it was exaggerated.

However, she then realized that her ability countered Black Star so heavily, so it was normal for Black Star to not be able to fight back.

If these two guys were not here, it wouldn’t be this troublesome.

Shana frowned. As long as she could get rid of Jayne and Gadeli, Black Star would be a piece of cake.

However, she had a new plan. Jayne was quite strong and would sooner or later be on the list, so she decided she might as well capture both Black Star and Jayne.

As for that Cannon Master, she did not feel that capturing him would be of any use.

At this time, Jayne’s defense showed a tiny flaw. Shana accurately captured the opportunity, and the gigantic metal snakes instantly surrounded Jayne and turned into a sphere. Jayne kept vibrating from within, wanting to break the cell. However, Shana used most of her attention on her; she controlled tens of metal snakes and made them part of the sphere one after another.

The huge sphere kept shrinking as its density kept increasing. Its ability to resist vibrations grew stronger and stronger, and the frequency of the vibration kept decreasing. Finally, Jayne could not move anymore.

Done! Shana’s eyes sparkled. To her, controlling Jayne meant that this battle had ended. Black Star did not have any strong backup, so she could capture him easily.

Shana turned around, her vision penetrated the dust everywhere and stared at Han Xiao. “Your helper is no more. Now it’s your turn.”

Han Xiao suddenly stopped and stood opposite Shana.

Just as Shana thought that Han Xiao had given up resisting, Han Xiao suddenly laughed.

“You’re right, it’s my turn.”

Hum!

The next second, continuous sounds of explosions came from above.

Shana quickly looked up.

Fifty ‘stars’ were falling down at an unbelievable speed above her head.

These ‘stars’ were all Eye of God’s attacks. One beam from the energy cannon was almost eight meters wide!

Shana’s pupils rapidly constricted.

All she had time to do was form a magnetic field shield. The next moment, fifty satellite cannons’ attacks plummeted!

Boom!

The deafening sound of explosions spread everywhere!

The impact waves blew everything around them away. Gadeli was sent flying far away, and the metal sphere trapping Jayne was shot up and crashed into a mountain more than 10 kilometers away.

A bright mushroom cloud rose from the ground. It was white everywhere and almost nothing was visible.

Countless stones turned to ash, and the gigantic metal snakes melted into liquids.

It was like the end of the world!

Even in outer space, a bright red mushroom could be seen rising on the planet’s surface!

It looked like Han Xiao was not doing much, but he had actually been giving orders to Risda, who had left the battlefield to plant the fifty Eye of Gods from the warehouse. One round of fire from those cannons was more than enough to destroy an entire city!

The enemy had shown extraordinary abilities. It would be very difficult for him to defeat her even if he was very tanky. Only such strong firepower could decide the outcome of the battle.

Han Xiao placed his hands on his waist and chuckled.

“Did you really think I was out of my depths? Let me introduce the Tactical Support Style. I’m the representative of rascals.”

Chapter 635: After I Plant a Ward on You, You Will Be My Teammate

The Tactical Support Style was known for its powerful firepower beyond the battlefield. Han Xiao had a liking for this kind of style. In the two years’ time, he had built enough Eye of Gods and kept them in the Blacklight Stealth at all times. It was a necessity for family travels, killing, and robberies.

The hot mushroom cloud was still continuously expanding, and a huge crater was created on the ground.

Han Xiao did not waste any time. With the mechanical suit’s thruster accelerating, he advanced into the explosion area, heading right toward the bottom of the crater.

The combat information notified him that Shana had kept fortifying her magnetic field shield and blocked a lot of the damage. With her equipment’s defense and her own resistance, this attack was not enough to heavily injure her. Furthermore, when the fifty Eye of Gods fired together, the attack was not concentrated enough, and a lot of its power was wasted.

The most important effect of this attack was to temporarily turn the situation around, putting a stop to the opponent’s control of the battle. Han Xiao was not planning to give Shana any time to take a break, so he quickly advanced. As he entered the area, he saw Shana and her shield crushed into the soil. A semi-sphere magnetic field shield was at the bottom of the crater, very conspicuous among the flames and dust.

Boom!

At this time, Shana hastily looked up. Her mask was already destroyed, showing her face with a twisted expression. Blood flowed down from her forehead; her face was completely filled with murderous intent. As if she had expected Han Xiao to approach at this time, she pressed her hands on the ground. Suddenly, a metal particle fountain shot out from below Han Xiao and grabbed onto him.

Grade A Supers all had rich combat experience. The instant Shana was attacked by Han Xiao, she had guessed what Han Xiao would do next. As she blocked the attack, she had also planted a trap and concentrated the metal particles under the ground around her. This was to capture Black Star, who was dodging her like a fly.

However, the next moment, Han Xiao suddenly disappeared.

Hu!

Suddenly, the sound of wind appeared less than one meter behind Shana. Her senses told her that there was now another person in her magnetic field shield.

Racial Talent-Advanced Void Travel!

How did he enter here through the magnetic field shield? Shana’s expression drastically changed. Before she could turn around, the back of her head was grabbed by a big hand covered in a bone-white mechanical suit. An irresistible force exploded from within and pressed her face down into the soil.

The next second, the gray light of Void Energy spilled out from within the Void Dragon mechanical suit and focused on Han Xiao’s arm.

Maximum output Void Jet Spray!

Boom!

Void Jet Spray could be used continuously without any cooldown; the price of that was the increasing energy cost. Han Xiao did not hold back at all and almost finished up all the energy of the Void Dragon mechanical suit.

During just the first spray, he had already activated the injection module inside the mechanical suit and injected a Genetic Medicine. In the last two years, he had captured countless galactic pirates. He had even changed the name of his private prison into “Galactic Pirates’ Warm Little House”. He had gathered a lot of Genetic Medicines that could cater to any situation. The temporary ability given by this medicine was that continuous attacks had a higher chance to cause the ‘stun’ effect.

The chain Void Jet Sprays triggered this effect easily, and Shana entered the ‘Stunned’ status. Her brain was a mess, and she could not fight back at all. All she could do was take in Han Xiao’s storm of attacks as her body trembled.

As the last spray ended, Shana was still in the ‘Stunned’ status and could not use her abilities. Without hesitation, Han Xiao immediately equipped Berserk Ape and entered the Berserk Overload Form!

With his arms high above his head, blinding lightning energy formed on his fists.

The next instant, his fists slammed down heavily!

Bang!

Lightning exploded like a spider web, and the bottom of the crater was once again filled with cracks!

Han Xiao used everything he had on this attack. Berserk Ape’s (Power Detonation), his own (Gene Liberation), and the occasional critical damage triggered due to Shana’s ‘Stunned’ status. The damage multiplier was greater than ten!

Ka!

Even with the deafening sound of impact, Han Xiao could clearly hear Shana’s bones breaking below him.

Han Xiao calmly grabbed onto Shana’s neck without mercy. He then took one step forward and turned rapidly, throwing Shana out like throwing a baseball. The moment Shana left his hand, a ring of impact waves appeared in the air.

Berserk Throw!

Hu!

Shana was sent flying out like a cannon, flying out of the mushroom cloud in an instant, and kept getting further away, almost disappearing from Han Xiao’s vision.

However, this combo had yet to end!

As Shana was about to recover from being stunned while flying, tens of light suddenly appeared in the sky again.

The second round of fire!

Boom!

The second mushroom cloud appeared.

The impact wave arrived as expected. The mechanical suit on Han Xiao’s legs shapeshifted and grabbed tightly on the ground, preventing him from being blown away.

Han Xiao waved his hand, and a huge square-shaped firearm appeared beside his feet. It was two meters tall and looked like a huge box. The top of the box had more than twenty openings. This was an explosives ejector. Han Xiao carried it on his shoulder with one hand and fired at the center area of the second mushroom cloud far away.

Bang bang bang!

Countless specially-made grenades arced through the air and landed on the target area, causing nonstop explosions.

All these grenades were Mini Nuclear Grenades and Space Bending Bombs, and the clip was quickly emptied.

Far away, Gadeli finally saved Jayne from the metal sphere.

The two of them looked at this and simultaneously gulped.

How brutal, this is a complete ravage…

With the clip emptied, this combo dealt tons of damage. However, there was still no notification showing that the target had been killed. This meant Shana was still alive. As an almost Grade A+ Super, her ability to resist damage was also very strong. Han Xiao equipped Void Dragon once again, using his energy to recover some of the mechanical suit’s energy.

Just as he was about to continue, Shana suddenly dashed out of the mushroom cloud from above, rapidly heading toward the sky. All the gigantic metal snakes followed behind and fused together, like a mountain rising from the ground.

She’s escaping? Wait, no! She wants to destroy my satellite railguns.

Han Xiao activated his thrusters and chased after Shana.

The two of them headed toward the outer space.

Damn it… Shana glanced at Han Xiao below her and clenched her teeth.

She had suffered the most during the time she was stunned, and after the combo attack, she was quite heavily injured. Her left arm was soft and dangling. Its bones had shattered into some abstract artwork. Her left leg was also twisted unnaturally. The left side of her body had been heavily damaged by Han Xiao. Even she did not know how many of her ribs were still connected. Her chest and her back were in extreme pain. She was in a terrible state.

It has been a very, very long time since she had been this badly injured. She was both shocked and furious. Shocked by Black Star’s suddenly explosive power and furious about how heavily injured she was.

If Eliot was here… Shana unavoidably thought of her Mage partner and regretted doing this alone. This time, she had been overconfident.

Although she was heavily injured, Shana had no intention of retreating. She planned to go to outer space and dismantle all of Black Star’s firepower support. This way, the fight would still be possible to win.

In Han Xiao’s vision, the planet surface rapidly shrank. The two of them rocketed into the sky. He controlled all the Eye of Gods and aimed at Shana, firing one after another, hoping to slow her down.

However, Shana was prepared. Her flight path had no pattern at all, and she never flew in a straight line. At the same time, she used the huge metal snakes as shields. The attacks from the railguns were either blocked or dodged by her.

It seems like I can’t stop her… Han Xiao calmly analyzed. Without hesitation, he activated the return program of all the satellite railguns. The Eye of Gods flew back to the warehouse in the Blacklight Stealth one after another. He planned to let Risda take the weapons and escape the battlefield once again. With the Blacklight Stealth’s mobility, there would be nothing Shana could do.

The two of them finally closed in on the edge of the atmosphere. Before them was pitch-black space. The Blacklight Stealth had already collected all the satellite railguns and was about to get away from this planet.

Shana clenched her teeth, barely raised her right arm, and was about to activate her Esper ability.

Han Xiao’s Advanced Void Travel was still in cooldown. He was just about to give Shana another Void Jet Spray when curved cannon light arrived from the surface and accurately landed on Shana. This time, she was not prepared at all. She was blown away and rolled in midair.

On the ground, Gadeli was operating an enormous Sniper Railgun with both of his hands. This shot had come from him. As a Cannon Master, he brought along firearms that could cater to various situations. This enormous firearm was used for extreme long-distance sniping.

Gadeli was a Grade A Cannon Master. Although he had been beaten up by Shana due to her Esper ability, he was not completely powerless. To snipe a target in outer space from the planet surface, even data such as the spinning speed of the planet had to be considered. However, with his level, this was just a regular thing to do. As long as the firearm had enough power, his sniping distance was extremely
long.

This shot prevented Shana from activating her ability. The Blacklight Stealth escaped Shana’s ability range within an instant.

Shana barely stabilized her body in midair and glared at Han Xiao. She realized that the situation had become very difficult.

In her current state, there was a very thin chance that she could defeat and capture the three Calamity Grades including Black Star. Shana started thinking about retreating.

Shana did not want to risk her life for something that clearly had a very small chance of success. There was no need for that. Even if she failed this time, she could bring an ally and come back again. This failure would at most alert the target.

However, in her eyes, even if Black Star was alert, it would be meaningless. She did not expose any information, so Black Star had no idea who was targeting him.

All she had to do was bring a strong enough ally next time. In a battle where one side was overwhelmingly stronger, regardless of whether Black Star was prepared or not, he would still end up being defeated.

Realizing this, Shana’s flames of fury dissipated, and she calmed down.

She did not want to stay there any longer. She raised her hand, and the gigantic metal snake pounced right onto Han Xiao. She then summoned her single person capacity spaceship and quickly entered the cockpit.

Han Xiao was held back by the gigantic metal snake and could not chase her, nor did he want to. The Void Dragon mechanical suit could not race with a spaceship, and Berserk Ape would be completely countered. It would indeed be very difficult for him to hold Shana back.

Most importantly, although Shana was a rare tough enemy, Han Xiao did not want to kill Shana straight away.

Shana’s spaceship quickly left. Before she entered hyperdrive, Han Xiao threw an Observer’s Mark on her.

Without Shana’s control, the gigantic metal snakes shattered into pieces in an instant and fell to the ground like rain.

Han Xiao hovered in midair, looking at the tracks left behind by Shana’s spaceship. He smirked.

Making me your prey won’t be this easy…

The mysterious organization that Shana belonged to had targeted him. Even if he killed Shana, there would still be strong enemies that came to chase after him. It would not solve the root of the problem.

Currently, Han Xiao knew nothing of this mysterious organization. What he needed urgently was information.

The Observer’s Mark was a perfect ability to steal intelligence. Letting Shana go was part of Han Xiao’s plan to catch the bigger fish.

Finding out what this mysterious organization was, their size, and the location of their base—that was the key mission. After all, Han Xiao did not want to keep his guard up every single day, worrying about being attacked at any time.

This mysterious organization was a ticking time bomb. In order to get rid of it, this was the most efficient method.

Although this would mean he would have to face Shana, who countered him, in the future, Han Xiao decided to shift the focus of the machines that he would be building from now on. He planned to start building a lot of non-metallic machines, as well as special machines that were focused on controlling magnetic fields. This would minimize Shana’s ability against him.

As long as a Mechanic was given enough time, they could counter anything.

Nonetheless, that woman was quite strong. Without these two helpers, I would’ve had a very tough fight.

Han Xiao took a deep breath. If it was a duel, with his blood mana cycle, the battle would have been a battle of stamina. There would be an extremely low chance that Shana would be able to defeat him. Nonetheless, he would have had a very difficult fight. Luckily, Jayne and Gadeli had helped him take on some of Shana’s power, so he had not been at a disadvantage the entire time.

After defeating Shana, a notification popped up showing that the first round of the hidden Grade A Chain Mission (Prey] was complete, giving Han Xiao more than 30 million Experience. Han Xiao did not instantly draw Shana’s ability-Feidin was not beside him, so he had no confidence.

I shall draw after returning to the base… Han Xiao shook his head.

He could not be together with the Goddess of Luck no matter how hard she tried, but Feidin could make the Goddess of Luck willingly spread her legs. The treatment was just so different-it made him despair.

Chapter 636: How Can One Draw a Prize Without Touching Feidin?

Han Xiao lowered his head and took a look at the battlefield from high above. The ground was cracked up like a biscuit that had been stepped on. There were still two gigantic craters and a dust cloud that had not subsided.

Han Xiao then flew back to ground and took the Void Dragon suit off.

Jayne and Gadeli immediately came forward to welcome him. Both of them were covered completely in dust with Jayne being covered with injuries all over.

“Black Star, did you get rid of that woman?” Jayne asked anxiously.

“No, she managed to escape.” Han Xiao shook his head.

“You were her target. Do you know who that woman
is?”

“I am not sure. This is the first time she’s attacked
me.”

Han Xiao knew that she was called Shana, but there was no need to let both of them know.

Both of them were truly furious. They had met a calamity that did not have anything to do with them, and all of their subordinates and battleship fleet had been wiped out.

However, it was useless for them to blame Black Star. Black Star was equally clueless and never intended to set them up. Besides, Black Star’s strength and status were things that they would not be able to compare to, so the two of them could only treat it as their own bad luck.

While Gadeli and Jayne were feeling extremely sh*tty, they were also extremely shocked at Shana’s combat capability. Even three Calamity Grade Supers were not enough to keep her behind. If not for Black Star’s timely burst of strength, both of them probably would not have been able to defeat the
enemy.

After the three of them adjusted their conditions a bit, Dodder sent an emergency communication request and asked about the situation.

“How are all of you? What happened just now?”

“An unfamiliar A+ Esper suddenly attacked us. Her identity is unknown…”

Han Xiao briefly explained what had happened and also asked the Purple Crystal Civilization to help him investigate the matter.

“No problem. We will thoroughly investigate the other party’s identity. We will inform you of our investigation results.” Dodder agreed to the request solemnly. “We are still in the midst of preparations for the alliance of organizations. There should be news within the year, and we will gather everyone when the time comes. I hope that the three of you will make appropriate preparations.”

After a short conversation, Dodder ended the transmission.

Han Xiao put his communicator away and looked at the two others. “What do the both of you intend to do after this?”

Both of them let out a bitter laughter.

“We are truly too unlucky.” Gadeli sighed.

“Start my recruitment and purchase battleships again to make up for today’s loss,” Jayne replied helplessly.

Upon hearing that, an idea immediately sprung up in Han Xiao’s mind. These two individuals were powerful Grade A Supers. With their organizations being crippled, he might have a chance to recruit them.

“Actually, both of you can come to my Black Star Army. With your strength, there won’t be a problem with you being vice commanders. I sincerely invite both of you to join me.”

Han Xiao smiled and extended his invitation.

The both of them were taken aback. After pondering for a moment, they gave their response.

“Thank you for your invitation, but I do not have any intention of joining another organization,” Jayne said.

“I still prefer to build my own organization. I’m sorry.” Gadeli shook his head.

“No worries. My invitation will always be open to both of you. We can talk about this again in detail whenever both of you are interested.”

Han Xiao was not too disappointed by the result.

It was far more difficult to recruit a Calamity Grade Super than a Grade B Super. Every Grade A Super had the strength and right to dominate a region, and their ambition would usually be in line with their strength. Gadeli and Jayne wanted to build their own organizations and were not willing to submit to others.

After all, even a beyond Grade A powerhouse might get rejected when trying to recruit a Calamity Grade Super.

“Black Star, we would like to trouble you with something.” Jayne was slightly embarrassed, and his chest hair shook.

“Feel free to speak.” Han Xiao tried his best not to get distracted by Jayne’s chest hair.

“Er… our spaceships were destroyed, so…”

Han Xiao chuckled and slapped Jayne on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, we are comrades who fought alongside each other. Take my spaceship. I’ll take both of you to the nearest port.”

“Haha, we shall trouble you then.”

Upon seeing that Black Star was such an easy going guy, Jayne stroked his chest hair happily. He belonged to a race that judged beauty based on their chest hair. Soft and silky chest hair was the benchmark of a suave man.

Han Xiao immediately forced a smile and said, “Please put on some clothes first… don’t drop any hair on my spaceship.”

Shana’s spaceship was currently flying through the universe.

In the cockpit, Shana injected herself with some healing medicine and could barely walk properly. Only then did she send a transmission to her comrade.

Eliot appeared on the screen. He was Shana’s mage comrade, and both of them usually worked together.

The moment the transmission was connected, Eliot asked, “Shana, have you caught Black Star… Eh? Your complexion looks extremely terrible. Did something happen?”

“I failed.” Shana briefly described what had happened calmly.

“Hahaha. How miserable…”

Eliot did not display any anger but laughed out loud in schadenfreude instead.

Shana’s expression was ugly, and she hatefully said, “I will kill you one day.”

After laughing for a while, Eliot regained his cool and calmly said, “You acted rashly and failed your mission. You will cause us to face the risk of exposure. All of us will have to remain low profile for a period of time.”

Shana grunted and did not say anything. She did not attempt to find an excuse for her failure but did not feel guilty about it either. So what if she failed? It was not a big deal to her.

“Black Star’s strength has been underestimated,” Eliot said slowly. “While you did not reveal any information about us, he will now be wary, and it will be more difficult to capture him in the future. We should place him by the side temporarily and deal with the other targets.

“In any case, go back to headquarters and meet up with me there. We will discuss our plans back in the headquarters. Remember to shake off anyone following you, and do not reveal our location.”

“I don’t need you to remind me,” Shana replied coldly and hung up. She then activated the stealth function of her spaceship and traveled toward the headquarters.

However, she did not know that an eyeball was looking at her silently from the void.

After sending Gadeli and Jayne off, Han Xiao returned to the Garton Star System without stopping and stopped at the base on Planet Golden Gate.

The mercenaries in the surroundings saw the landing spaceship and recognized that this was Han Xiao’s personal spaceship. The Blacklight Stealth then flew straight into Han Xiao’s personal hangar, and he walked to the core region of the base through a priority tunnel. Without saying a word, he immediately went to find Feidin.

Feidin would usually be meditating on the rooftop on normal days. The moment Han Xiao came to the rooftop, he saw Feidin meditating cross legged with Psychic energy being emanated from his body.

Feidin’s eyes were shut at the moment as he sang melodiously. The path he took was identical to Chen Xing’s, and they used their Psychic energy through singing. The heavenly music was like elves within the winds to calm all fatigue and pain. Han Xiao also calmed down as he heard Feidin’s song.

Feidin’s song could cover the entire base and could give the players a temporary buff. This was the specialty of Planet Golden Gate, and Feidin was like the background music of the base.

Feidin had inherited all of Chen Xing’s knowledge and was an extremely talented individual himself. Thus, his strength improved at a rapid pace.

Two years ago, he could already suppress Chen Xing on his own but did not choose to leave. Instead, he chose to continue cultivating in the Black Star Army and occasionally follow the troops out on their missions.

Occasionally, he would travel alone to explore the galaxy but would always return to the Black Star Army to rest and reorganize. Han Xiao was extremely willing to be Feidin’s backer as long as he could touch Feidin.

Full marks for touching, zero marks for not touching

However, Feidin’s mission had not been completed yet. Ever since Feidin fulfilled his promise to hand over all of Chen Xing’s savings, his relationship with Chen Xing had entered a cold war period.

Han Xiao estimated that when two of them could open up their hearts to each other, a new world would be open to the both of them, and they would enter a phase of passionate love. That would also be the completion of his mission.

There was another person seated on the rooftop as well. Aroshia was seated by the side, enjoying Feidin’s singing. Two years ago, Han Xiao had shared the mission to find Aroshia’s memories with the players, and the effect over the two years was obvious. The mission progress had accumulated quickly and was about to be complete. Aroshia enjoyed listening to Feidin sing as it could allow her to recall more memories.

When she saw Han Xiao arriving, Aroshia transformed her arm into energy and wrapped it around Han Xiao’s waist like a belt as a greeting.

Noticing Han Xiao’s footsteps, Feidin stopped singing and turned around. With a smile, he said, “Black Star, are you looking for me for something?”

“Nothing much. You can continue singing. I am only here to find some luck.”

Han Xiao then walked forward and touched Feidin all over before turning around to take his leave.

Feidin touched his nose and laughed bitterly.

He had always felt that Black Star had somehow misunderstood him. Was his luck very good? Why did he not hear about it?

After Han Xiao touched Feidin to his heart’s content, he left the rooftop and opened the interface. Before his luck could dissipate, he hurriedly concluded the [Prey) mission to draw for Shana’s ability.

First round complete.

You have received: the opportunity to draw one of Shana’s abilities or talents.

Note: Shana is a unique Esper, and the abilities that you draw will be adjusted based on your class.

Randomizing… draw complete.

Please select one of the five rewards:

[Magnetic Field Vision) – talent: You will gain a keen insight into magnetic fields. +12% Machinery Affinity, +6% Mechanical Force bonus range

[Magnetic Vortex] – skill: Control skill. Release a burst of magnetic energy to create a magnetic field. Chance to inflict a target within the magnetic field with the (Chaos) status. Chance determined by INT and external environment. Energy Usage: 160, Cooldown: 46s

[Electromagnetic Shooting Stars] – skill: Long ranged skill. Overlay multiple objects with electromagnetic force. Accumulate a large amount of kinetic energy before shooting the objects out and causing a damage between 210 – 742. Damage determined by the size of object and accumulated electromagnetic time. Energy Usage: 75, Cooldown: 12s.

(Strong Magnetic Field Shield] – skill: Defensive skill. A magnetic shield will be formed within a 3m vicinity of the user. Shield durability is unlimited, and maintaining the shield will exhaust energy. If the damage taken by the shield within a second exceeds the critical point, the magnetic shield will be shattered. Cooldown 2.5s. The critical point is determined by the amount of energy exhausted per second with the maximum damage being 22,000. Every time the shield takes damage, additional energy will be exhausted.

(Super Electromagnetic Sense] – talent: Your ‘magnetic’ attribute will be enhanced. The bonus received from every energy level will change.

This was the result after the skills had been modified, and Han Xiao was not too surprised. All of Shana’s skills were rooted in her Esper ability, and it was impossible for him to gain the other party’s Esper ability. The abilities to strengthen the control of metal in a magnetic field would be useless to him.

Thankfully, control of metal within a magnetic field was extremely compatible with the Mechanic class. After a series of adjustments, most of the skills were useful to Mechanics as well.

There was not a single skill that stood out from the rest, but the skills were not too terrible either. Han Xiao felt that he had drawn the average skills this time.

If I didn’t touch Feidin, I am afraid that I would have drawn some sh*tty skills. It seems like Feidin’s luck cancelled out my bad luck.

Chapter 637: In the Chaotic Crimson Tide, Storms Are Forming (1)

Han Xiao was not interested in the first choice, [Magnetic Field Vision), at all. He now had almost a thousand percent Machinery Affinity; this bonus would not make a difference.

Among the three abilities, (Strong Magnetic Field Shield] was undoubtedly the strongest. If a player obtained this, it could almost be a god-tier ability. Its only flaw was that its energy cost was very high. Nonetheless, to Han Xiao, he could totally afford its cost.

Sadly, he really did not want another tanky ability. [Strong Magnetic Field Shield] clashed with his mana health cycle. Only the damage taken by his body would be absorbed and turned into energy. If it hit a shield, it would not activate.

Although this ability was quite good, he was not really in need of it.

The names of the other two abilities were kind of lame, but their effects were quite good. They could be used as a means of attack when he was not using machines. However, it was too rare for him to not use any machines, so he would not use these skills as much.

The last talent (Super Electromagnetic Sense) had a very simple introduction. Han Xiao had seen similar talents before in his previous life; they enhanced the basic attributes of one’s energy, causing the bonus given by energy to increase tremendously. This kind of talent was rather rare. Not just the Mechanic class, the other four classes had talents that enhanced their energy as well. Shana’s Esper attribute just so happened to be suitable for the Mechanic class.

The magnetic attribute was related to the Mechanical Force. If he chose this one, the increase in his Machinery Affinity would be many times greater than the first talent on the list. Furthermore, when he acquired a new level of energy bonuses in the future, this talent would still be effective. It was the same as increasing his potential.

This was a high-level Mechanic talent that was rather difficult to obtain. It had growth potential.

Tsk, I can only choose one…

Han Xiao scratched his hair. Other than the first option, he wanted all four.

After pondering for some time, he decided that long term potential was more important and made his choice.

You have received (Super Electromagnetic Sense)!

Your Magnetic Energy has been enhanced!

Your energy bonuses have changed!

When Han Xiao opened his attributes and looked at it, he smiled.

His Machinery Affinity was largely increased in every energy level. His Energy Level was currently [Lv11), which originally gave him 142% Machinery Affinity. With this talent, it became 262%

A 120% increase in Machinery Affinity!

Almost double!

Nice, that makes it worthwhile.

Han Xiao was quite satisfied. This 120% bonus affinity made his Machinery Affinity go beyond 1,000%. Furthermore, this talent had more long-term benefits and would become stronger as his level increased.

Although it could not be compared with Reynold’s almost cheat code level (Perfect Mechanical Sense), it was still quite good. Including his (Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense), he finally had two Mechanic class talents.

Now, this is more Mechanic like.

Han Xiao chuckled.

Nonetheless, the other three abilities were good. He was quite upset that he could not choose all of them. This is just the first round. Shana is still alive. If every round’s reward includes drawing her ability…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he could not help but fantasize. He wanted to meet Shana a few more times.

Shana was an ability treasure trove!

He looked at the second-round mission of (Prey), but it had yet to update.

The second round would probably only start when the enemy attacked again.

The enemies are hiding, and I’m in the open. Luckily, I planted a ward on her, or I really wouldn’t be able to guard against their sudden attack. Just like the mission name, they’re hunters waiting for opportunities to strike, and I’m the prey they have targeted. If I’m attacked during an important part of another mission, I will incur a huge loss. These hunters really are a bunch of sh*t stirrers.

Han Xiao was glad.

On the way back, Han Xiao had peeked at Shana and Eliot’s conversation through the Observer’s Mark, discovering that that woman was heading toward the headquarters.

If he could confirm the location of this mysterious organization, he might be able to drag Ames along and advance to the high ground.

One slam from Floating Dragon Island, and not just the enemy Nexus, the enemy fountain might not even exist…

Patience was the basic of peeking; there was no use in hurrying. The Observer’s Mark would only gain useful information as time went on.

Han Xiao went to the training room and tested his new talent for a while, then gave a lesson to Sylvia and Reynold, followed by letting Sylvia report the matters of the army. After he was done with those things, he shut himself in the machinery modification room and went into solitude.

Shana’s attack had put him under some pressure. If all her friends had about Grade A+ strength, they would be strong opponents that he had never faced before. Han Xiao planned to build a batch of non-metallic machines and magnetic field reversal devices to nullify Shana’s Esper ability.

With plenty of Experience in his bag, Han Xiao was not worried about spending. He gambled a lot of blueprints and found quite a lot of useful ones.

Including the blueprints, he already had more than a thousand abilities. The effect of [Research Theory] now gave him more than three hundred bonus Intelligence.

Building non-metallic machines was one part of becoming stronger; Han Xiao also felt it was time to increase his level.

He was now level 170 and stuck at the Class Advancement mission of [Galaxy Mechanic). If he completed the Class Advancement, his strength would be largely increased once again. He would also obtain the crucial Mechanic abilities of the next stage.

The Class Advancement requirement was very direct – learn one Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

However, it was not easy for Han Xiao.

In his previous life when the players were at this level, it was already the later versions. After playing for so long and experiencing so many main storylines, the players had built up relationships with several factions by that time, so they could exchange Cutting-Edge Knowledge directly.

However, Han Xiao was too ahead of the schedule. Limited by the version, he did not have the chance to farm the relationship with any Star Cluster Civilizations. Hence, this Class Advancement requirement that was quite easy in his previous life suddenly became an obstacle.

It was not difficult to do, but it took a lot of time and effort.

Han Xiao had used up the random rewards that he had stocked up. Being unlucky as always, he did not get any Mission Completion Cards.

Mission Completion Cards were actually really cheap and not rare at all. Most of the things he got in these random rewards had a higher value than Mission Completion Cards, such as the rare Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid that he had shockingly obtained twice. Including one from long ago, he now had three of them.

He kept feeling that trying to obtain Mission Completion Cards after touching Feidin was having the opposite effect.

Cutting-Edge Knowledges were a must learn, so Han Xiao did not want to gamble on Mission Completion Cards. What he hoped now was that the Purple Crystal Civilization could quickly form its Section Zero. During the (Crimson Tide), faction missions were in the least shortage.

At the outer space track outside the Purple Crystal Civilization’s Mother Planet, a garrison satellite code-named ‘Curved Blade’ was circling the mother planet. This was a newly built space station, an office for a new department. This department’s members were all elites selected from the various departments within the Secret Service.

At this time, inside the Curved Blade garrison satellite station, a row of Foreign Affairs Captains were sitting in the office of the highest commander, staring at the top commander of this department, Ralph.

Ralph flipped through the report of these people and listened as the captains explained the situation.

“The candidate list for the partner organizations has been sorted. There’s a total of 173 new organizations selected, all of which we have contacted and are willing to work with us. Please take a look.”

“It’s too few,” Ralph said coldly. In front of his subordinates, he was very strict.

“From an entire Star Cluster’s perspective, it is indeed not many. However, the 173 candidate organizations are the result of our careful selection. They all have Calamity Grades in their organization, a compulsory requirement. They are spread across the various Star Systems in Colton, and all are renowned among the locals.”

“Such as?”

“Severide’s Arc Light Organization, Skywalker’s Hero Group, Rain’s New Phylen Rebels… These are the largest and strongest organizations among the candidates.”

“It’s still not enough. The strength of these unofficial military organizations is far from the forces gathered by Klent.” Ralph shook his head in dissatisfaction. “The development of private organizations in Colton is too chaotic. Klent has the Bloodshed Land. Just that alone is enough to stop all of our partnered organizations. Klent has been helping its ally, the Bloodshed Land, expand over the years, fusing about half of the private organizations in their territory. Klent wants to build an alliance organization using the Bloodshed Land as its core. In the face of such an enormous organization, these partner organizations we’ve found will have no chance of resisting. If they want to start a secret war, we will have absolutely no chance of winning.”

“Indeed. The enemy has the Bloodshed Land. If we don’t use our official army, no one can stop the Tyrant. However, Beyond Grade As won’t act easily. We also have Beyond Grade A too; the Dragon Emperor is here.”

“However, Dragon Emperor Ames remains neutral. She isn’t our ally.” Ralph frowned.

“The Black Star Army is on the list of partner organizations. Although he cannot be compared with these three strongest candidates I just mentioned, their strength can be ranked in the second tier within the list. Their background is the military force of Floating Dragon. Maybe we can use the Dragon Emperor’s power through him.”

“I know Black Star; he’s a very smart guy. Don’t try to use him to get close to Ames. Plus, Ames might not be as strong as Heber.” Ralph shook his head.

After a pause, he continued to warn his subordinates. “Klent is still holding back currently, but they will become more and more rampant. The secret war will happen sooner or later. The people above have made the call; we cannot be forced by the enemy to use our official army, or an all-out war might really break out. Klent wants to snatch parts of Colton’s territory. Even if the three Universal Civilizations come to stop the war, the Crimson Dynasty is behind Klent. We are at a disadvantage politically, so we might be forced to sign an unfair treaty. I’m not satisfied with the current list. The reason that this department was created is to deal with Klent’s ambitious expansions. You must get more military forces.”

“Understood!”

“Also, the people above have given this department an official code name. When the time comes, you will notify the candidates of the name of this organization formed by all the partnered forces.”

“What’s the code name?”

Ralph knocked on the table and solemnly said, “Secret Service, Section Zero!”

Chapter 638: In the Chaotic Crimson Tide, Storms Are Forming (2)

In the Seoul Star Cluster, Klent Kingdom territory, Bloodshed Land headquarters, Planet Heber…

Inside Heber’s palace, the emissary from Klent met with Tyrant to deliver the message from his superiors.

“The Purple Crystal Civilization eliminated the scouting team that we sent to Colton. This is their warning. According to the information transmitted back, the people that attacked the scouting team were all private forces in the Colton Star Cluster. This means that Purple Crystal is creating an alliance. We need to make the corresponding reaction.”

“You guys need my help.”

“Yes. In these two years, Klent has been helping you assemble many private military forces in the Seoul Star Cluster. The size of the Bloodshed Land is many times bigger than two years ago. We plan to form an alliance force with you as its core and secretly invade the Colton Star Cluster, starting a secret war with the Purple Crystal Civilization.”

“Okay.” Heber gave a short and simple reply.

“Although the Dragon Emperor Ames is in Colton, she is basically neutral. However, the Black Star Army under her seems to be on Purple Crystal’s side. If Ames interferes, we hope you can deal with her.”

“When it’s necessary, I will.” Heber shook his head.

Back at the party, Dragon Emperor and Black Star did not directly reject the Crimson Dynasty’s invitation. After that, they did not make any decision. However, even if the Floating Dragon decided to choose the Crimson Dynasty’s side, they were still not his ally. The two of them had different goals and were in two opposing Star Cluster Civilizations. The Crimson Dynasty did not mind their chess pieces fighting each other. The more chaotic the situation, the better.

Klent was willing to step forward and execute the Crimson Dynasty’s belief of being as high profile as possible. With such a strong backer, Klent had been more and more daring over the prior two years, especially toward neutral civilizations not under any of the three Universal Civilizations such as Purple Crystal.

The Seoul Star Cluster under Klent’s rule was the second smallest Star Cluster in all of the Shattered Star Ring, as well as Colton’s neighbor. Klent was very ambitious; their goal was not only just taking a bite on the profits of the Flickering World but also to get their hands on the Colton Star Cluster. Although they maintained a good relationship with Purple Crystal on the surface, they secretly wanted to snatch a few Star Systems from Purple Crystal.

Of course, this would not have worked out in the past. However, now that the Crimson Dynasty wanted to stir things up, the restriction of the peace treaty suddenly became much weaker. The strong had the right to make rules. The laws and balance in the galaxy seemed unbreakable in the eyes of normal people, but to the three Universal Civilizations, they were very fragile. The other civilizations were just players that had to obey the game rules they had set.

Even Heber felt that the Klents were very greedy.

However, this suited what he wanted. He needed an ambitious ally, not an ally content with what they had. The greedier they were, the more they would rely on him.

Heber stood up. His gigantic body cast a shadow over the Klent emissary.

“I understand what Klent wants. Go back and tell your boss that I will be in charge of this war. They don’t have to worry about anything.”

The Klent emissary nodded and smiled with the confidence of a certain victory.

The difference between the Bloodshed Land and the alliance force built by Purple Crystal was like an iron fist and a plate of sand. For this secret war, Klent had been preparing for two years. Purple Crystal’s reaction only came much later. This meant that they were at a disadvantage before the war even started.

With the Tyrant, Heber, taking care of the situation, demolishing Purple Crystal’s alliance force was just a matter of time.

Through continuous victories, the Bloodshed Land had never disappointed Klent before.

Shana returned to the headquarters that were shockingly in an area so remote it was the desolate area at the edge of the Shattered Star Ring. There was absolutely nobody around; it was a truly unpopulated area.

All the Star Fields had desolate areas that very few stepped into. Their characteristics as a whole were that there were very few planets, hardly any resources, and no signs of life. Some wanted or mysterious organizations would occasionally choose these desolate areas as the location for their headquarters.

When Shana entered the headquarters, all of her colleagues were waiting. Other than Eliot, there were four others. They all wore different masks and gave off a vibe of unfathomable strength. They were all looking at Shana.

With a husky voice like an old man at the end of his days, a short man among them slowly said, “You failed and exposed your face. For the next few years, you will replace Adrian to guard the headquarters. He will go out to carry out missions with Eliot.

“Humph.” Shana was not happy about it but did not object. This was their internal rule. In order for them not to be targeted by anyone, once someone failed, the person working in the field had to be swapped.

This secret organization had very few members, but they were all elites.

Adrian was a muscular and tall male being with the characteristics of a Beastman. He took out a palm-sized metal disk and threw to Shana. “It’s your turn to guard the headquarters. Enjoy the boring times.”

This metal disk was one of the specially made keys of the jail inside the headquarters. There were four of those keys.

All the captured targets on the list would be locked up in the prison. Usually, four of them would be guarding the headquarters, and two of them would go out to capture the targets on the list. This was their usual way of doing things.

Eliot shrugged and said, “Looks like we can’t be partners. Shame, I always thought we worked very well together.”

Adrian pointed at himself and said, “I’m your old partner, too.”

Eliot shrugged and replied, “Other than Mister Albert, all of you have been my partner before.”

Albert was the short, old man, the leader of this team, and had always been guarding the headquarters.

Adrian had never failed, so he was the only one that had never been swapped out. All the other four had been his partner before.

“Now, let’s talk about the problem regarding Black Star.” Albert stared at Shana. “Due to your failure, we now have the risk of being exposed. Black Star is now alert and will actively look for our whereabouts. We have two choices; one is to ignore Black Star and wait for the dust to settle before we move again. The other is to capture him as soon as possible and eliminate the risk of being exposed. Then, we keep a low profile afterward…”

“I’ve done some research on him,” Shana suddenly said. “Previously, the Garton Star System’s DarkStar organization did not take him seriously at the start and was destroyed by him. This man is very dangerous. We can’t leave him be.”

Albert nodded and said, “Makes sense. He’s dangerous. Eliot, Adrian, the only target of your next mission is Black Star. You must capture him. If you can’t capture him alive no matter what, I allow you to eliminate him.”

“Alright.” Eliot nodded.

“Mister Albert, I have fought with Black Star before and could not make him show his ‘Indestructible Body’. He must have hidden more strong abilities. Two people won’t be enough. My ability counters his, so please let me join the mission,” Shana said with a deep voice.

Albert contemplated and felt that it was reasonable. He told Shana to give him the key and said, “Okay, I’ll make an exception this time. The three of you will work together. Don’t be reckless. Only act after you’re absolutely certain you’ll succeed.”

Shana nodded. Revenge was just part of the reason she insisted on joining the mission; more of it was just as she had said. Although she had lost, she remembered the fight, and her ability was indeed very suitable for dealing with Black Star.

“Klent seems to be starting to move. Apparently, they’re going to start a fight with the Purple Crystal Civilization. Black Star should be involved in it, so we’ll have plenty of chances.”

Eliot smiled. He was a Grade A+ Super, and the other two were close to Grade A+, but the opponent was just Black Star alone.

He felt that success was certain.

At the same time, inside Base No.1 of the Black Star Army…

“Tsk tsk, three people just to deal with me, how scary.”

Through the Observer’s Mark, Han Xiao watched the conversation between Shana and the others like watching a movie.

After waiting for many days, Han Xiao had finally obtained valuable information from the Observer’s Mark. He was quite shocked.

He suspected Shana to be Grade A+, so the other two would not be weaker than her. Sending all three of them to capture him… Did I dig up your ancestor’s grave? Do you people really have to send such an elite team after me?

Nonetheless, Han Xiao did not panic. After all, the problem was massive, so there was no use in panicking.

With my strength, the chance of winning against these three is negligible. Even if I’m very tanky and might not be killed, I will most likely be captured. If these six people have about the same strength, they could capture just about anyone under Beyond Grade

A.

Being targeted by these people. Han Xiao felt heavy pressure.

These people seemed to be obeying orders to capture people. Han Xiao had a feeling that the six people whom he had just seen were merely the tip of the iceberg of this mysterious organization.

However, not only was Han Xiao not panicking, he almost wanted to laugh.

Originally, the situation was that the enemies were hidden, and he was in the open. If Shana did not join the mission, he would not have been able to guard against the sudden attack of the enemies.

However, Shana insisted on joining the mission and became a moving ward that allowed Han Xiao to monitor their movements at all times.

Such a great teammate!

This ward was more than worth it.

Han Xiao could not help but feel glad about how careful these people were. If they headed there right away, he would indeed be in quite a tough situation.

Hmm, let me think, how I should welcome them…

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and pondered.

Chapter 639: This Talent Is Wonderful to the Point I Don’t Want to Upgrade It

The situation was extremely clear. Three of them were coming after him, and three others were staying behind in the base to guard their camp.

However, he could only spy on a single party. The problem was how Han Xiao should maximize his benefits.

He was considering how he could nab all the enemies in one fell swoop and also complete a few more phases of the (Prey] mission. Such a mission that could give him the opportunity to draw the abilities of a Grade A Super was extremely rare. If he was lucky, his strength could undergo a massive increase.

There seems to be only six enemies. I needed to think of a way to get rid of them all without alerting them, Han Xiao pondered to himself. The situation is now reversed. The enemy is out in the open while I am in the dark. This is my biggest advantage, and I need to make use of it well.

Should I deal with Shana and her group or attack the main camp of the enemy first?

All the trump cards that I can mobilize include the Black Star Army, my connections in the mercenary world, Ames’ support, and the organizations behind those on that hit list. If the powerhouses captured by the enemy are all in the main camp, I’ll be able to easily convince the organizations behind them to work together and fight the enemy. Every single enemy is extremely powerful alone, and their advantage is their high mobility. It would be extremely troublesome if even a single person escapes.

Han Xiao shook his head and felt that he could not attack their main camp under such circumstances. No matter what, the three who were keeping guard seemed to have the strength of Grade A+ as well. Even if he invited the Dragon Emperor to take action, the enemy would still have time to contact their comrades. The moment he alerted the enemy, it was extremely likely for the three on the outside to split up and escape. At that time, he would only be able to capture Shana, not the other two.

After considering for a while, Han Xiao also eliminated the plan of splitting up his forces. It would be a far more complex operation with too many factors that could go wrong. If he chose to split his forces, choosing how to allocate his forces would be a huge problem. After all, the enemy were not weaklings, and they might have some strange escaping abilities.

I shall do it this way…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

If he wanted to attack the enemy’s main camp, he would want all the enemies to gather together first to capture them all in one fell swoop.

If he captured Shana’s group of three, he would not be able to spy on the rest. If he only captured one of the three, the enemy might shift their main camp due to fear of being exposed. The moment they entered the depths of the unexplored region of the universe, it would be extremely difficult to give chase.

Han Xiao pondered for a moment and decided on a plan. He would only fight off Shana’s group of three and cause them to fail again. The other party would then return to their base for sure, and the six of them would be gathered together. He would just have to gather his troops and gain the high ground. He would not allow a single enemy to escape and could even save all the captured Grade A Supers.

For the sake of secrecy, Han Xiao decided to wait for Shana’s group of three to find him. Taking the initiative to attack them would only reveal the fact that he had locked onto their position.

He felt that the role of hunter and prey had been swapped. He was like a hunter patiently waiting for the prey to step into his trap.

However, I have to find some helpers first.

Han Xiao opened up his communicator, and an endless list of leaders from the various organizations appeared.

In the office of Section Zero, Ralph was staring at his communicator with his brows locked as though he was troubled over a huge problem. His secretary did not dare disturb him.

In truth, the communicator was currently showing a galactic entertainment program, and he was avoiding work.

It could not be helped. The mission of scouting for private organizations fell on the shoulder of the envoys. Even if the mission to organize an alliance was extremely urgent, he could only wait for the envoys to complete their mission first. The war had not begun yet, and there was no point in him being anxious.

Right at this moment, an incoming call sprung up from his communicator and disrupted his show.

Ralph picked up the incoming call without a change in expression. It was Han Xiao.

“Black Star, it is rare for you to take the initiative to contact me.”

“I have already received your notice. How many people are there in Section Zero right now?”

Not too long ago, Purple Crystal had sent out the name of the alliance to all those involved in the alliance. Han Xiao had also received news of it.

This organization was only in its infancy, so the structure of the organization had not been formed. They did not know the names of the other participants of the organization, and no notification of a new faction popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

“The members of Section Zero are temporarily a secret. We will gather all the members when it is formed officially. You will know who the members are then.”

In his past life, the players only saw the organization in Version 3.0, which was perfected during the time of the update. This time, Han Xiao was personally joining the organization from the very start.

Han Xiao chuckled and could briefly remember which organizations joined Section Zero in the end. However, he felt that he had an opportunity to change the storyline this time.

“I have an idea to allow Section Zero to recruit more experts.”

Ralph’s eyes lit up. “Let’s hear your plan…”

The Light Rune Civilization was the ruler of the Thousand Lights Star System. Of the many Star System level civilizations of the Colton Star Cluster, the Light Rune Civilization had always been an open supporter of Purple Crystal. The level of the Light Rune Civilization exceeded an ordinary Star System level civilization, and they had a close relationship with Purple Crystal.

Recently, the person in charge of Light Rune Civilization’s national defense, Kemas, had been extremely frustrated.

It was because the most powerful expert of the Light Rune Civilization, Kernid, had disappeared on his holiday. The higher ups were enraged and ordered him to locate Kernid.

Kemas was heavily pressured by his higher ups to find Kernid. However, the pressure from his higher ups was not the only reason. Kernid was his biological brother, and it would be impossible for him to keep his current position without Kernid. As such, Kemas was more anxious to find his brother than anyone else.

However, he did not have a single clue. Kemas had already applied for aid from the Purple Crystal Civilization but to no avail. He was truly frustrated to the point his body hair was about to drop.

Ring ring!

Right at this moment, his communicator rang-his secretary was calling.

“Your Excellency Kemas, someone is requesting to speak to you.”

“Who is it?” Kemas suppressed the frustration in his heart. His secretary was the one in charge of managing his incoming calls, and for his secretary to personally contact him, it meant that the caller definitely had a significant status.

“He is the leader of the Black Star Army, Black Star of the Garton Star System.”

“Oh, so it’s him.” Kemas had heard of such an individual before, and it seemed like he was creating a storm in Godora. Despite being doubtful of why Black Star was looking for him, it would not be good for him to treat the other party rudely. Thus, he got his secretary to divert the call over.

The holographic screen lit up, and Han Xiao’s face appeared.

“Kemas? I haven’t got the wrong person, right?”

“It’s me, Black Star. Why have you called for me?”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and said, “I heard from Purple Crystal that you guys are looking for someone called Kernid.”

“Yes.” Kemas was not aware of what Han Xiao’s intentions were and thus gave a short reply.

“What if I say that I may know his whereabouts? Will you guys be willing to work with me?”

The moment Han Xiao said those words, Kemas! expression changed, and his breathing became heavy as though he was stimulated.

The Star Beast Organization was a special armed organization that was located in another Star Cluster. It was in an alliance with the Star Cluster level civilization that ruled the Star Cluster.

This organization was extremely famous in the Shattered Star Ring and their specialty was the ability to control various dangerous galactic beasts. They did not like to expand and chose to maintain neutrality most of the time. They would never sell or rent their beasts but only provide them to the Star Cluster Civilization that they were in an alliance with.

Their specialty came from the Esper ability of their leader, Gobili. He had a monstrous level of affinity with beasts and was able to control various different types of beasts over long periods of time. If these beasts remained under the influence of his ability for long periods of time, they even had a chance of evolving and mutating.

However, the Star Beast Organization was in a complete mess at this moment because their leader had disappeared.

The vice commander had sent out numerous search parties, but he could not find a single clue.

If their leader was gone, their organization was finished.

Everyone in the Star Beast Organization was filled with grievances. Don’t we only like to rear pets? We only rear pets in our homes and do not provoke anyone. Why do others still have to come and provoke us!

Just when they were on the brink of collapse, the vice commander received a call from Han Xiao.

“I am Black Star from the Colton Star Cluster. You may or may not have heard of my name before. However, that isn’t important. The important thing is that I may know the location of your leader. Are you interested in working with me?”

The same scene happened in various locations throughout the Shattered Star Ring. Han Xiao called all the organizations of the names listed on the hit
list.

With his huge network, finding these numbers was a piece of cake. His chain of calls immediately mobilized a large number of organizations.

As for the ones who were on the list but had not been caught, he could only say wrong number.

Just as he was gathering aid in secret, Shana’s group of three was also approaching the Garton Star System.

On the spaceship, the three of them were discussing their strategy.

“Black Star may be on high alert this time. I feel that we shouldn’t take care of him immediately.” Eliot shook his head. He had always been a calm individual. However, since Albert had given his orders, he could only follow the orders.

“Not necessarily. I did not reveal much information, and Black Star may think that I am only seeking revenge. This is a very common thing for a leader of his status.”

Shana shook her head and felt that her loss was not that big a deal. The way she saw it, Black Star was definitely puzzled about her origin.

“We should still be careful no matter what.” Eliot paused to think for a moment before continuing. “It is said that Black Star has an undying body with his subordinates being immortals. A long, drawn-out battle will be to his advantage, so we must come up with a plan to take him down quickly.”

“Should we wait for him to be alone before attacking?”

“Not necessarily. After facing an ambush recently, Black Star will definitely be more careful when he is alone. We should strike him at the most unexpected moment.”

“What should we do?”

“Hmm… I know. He doesn’t recognize me and Adrian. I can use a spell to conceal our aura and appearance to mix with the mercenaries and attack him from up close. The two of us shall control him, and you will take action to capture him. The three of us will then retreat immediately. With the three of us working together, we should be able to take care of him very quickly.”

“If that’s the case, we can take action in his base.”

“Yes, this way, he will be caught off guard. The other mercenaries in the base won’t be able to stop us, and he won’t have other Calamity Grade helpers this time.”

Adrian then spoke in a muffled voice. “I understand. We want to deal a lightning fast strike and not give him the chance to react.”

Eliot nodded.

Shana pondered for a moment and also felt that it was a good plan. She could not think of how Black Star would be able to escape from their grasp this time.

Meanwhile, Black Star was on his way to Floating Dragon Island.

“Oh, I see.” Han Xiao now understood their plan.

Chapter 640: Ambush

Han Xiao had convened a large group of helpers, with the core person being ‘Long Legs’ Ames.

He had rarely returned to Floating Dragon Island in the past two years, only occasionally communicating with Ames. The high amount of trust Ames had in him meant that he could move around in his own activities outside and not be doubted.

When the spaceship landed at the dock, Han Xiao walked out of the hatch to see Wilsander waiting for him. Every time Han Xiao returned, he would be the one to fetch him with great enthusiasm.

Looking around, Han Xiao did not spot the figure of Jenny, which made him a little surprised.

“Why didn’t Jenny come? I thought she would come and give me a few jabs.”

“She’s very busy, no time for you.” Wilsander grinned.

“It seems like she is still very dedicated to her role.”

Han Xiao laughed in return.

Wilsander rolled his eyes in response. Is her dedication not forced by your activities?

After a brief greeting, Han Xiao headed directly to the palace.

In the past two years, Ames had remained on Floating Dragon Island, attentively training Hila and Aurora. Upon hearing that Han Xiao had come to visit, the three of them were quite happy.

Rising from her throne, Ames floated up to Han Xiao as she smiled. “It’s been a while. I’ve missed you. What’s your reason for coming this time?”

“Can’t I return to see you if I have no time?” Han Xiao smiled. “But I do need your help this time.”

“Let’s hear it.”

Han Xiao briefly explained the situation. He did not intend to ask Ames to deal with Shana and company but rather utilize her pressure to suppress the enemy whilst he stormed the base, to ensure complete control on his part.

At the same time, this was an opportunity. He had gathered many influential people from around the Shattered Star Ring and stationed them to ambush from a secret location. The moment he pushed back Shana and company, they would join forces to destroy the mysterious force’s camp and rescue all the Supers. With so many various influences, if Ames was present to hold the fort, she would be able to command all these influences with her title of a Beyond Grade A Super.

To call in so many organizations just to deal with six Grade A Supers was akin to using a butcher’s knife to slaughter chickens. However, his greater goal was to turn this into sensational news, to further expand his own influence.

With so many organizations under the lead of Floating Dragon, this cooperation would be able to reverse the public impression of Floating Dragon. Floating Dragon would also rise from a powerless neutral faction into a powerful one. Even if this was a misunderstanding, it would prove useful.

The general consensus was that among the four Beyond Grade A Supers within the Shattered Star Ring, Ames power was the weakest. This time, their knowledge of Ames would be refreshed.

While one’s true strength could not be improved quickly, influence and connections could serve as a shortcut. The stronger Floating Dragon was, the more it would be able to protect itself.

Moreover, after fighting side by side, if they managed to save all the Supers from the powerful organizations, they would owe Floating Dragon a debt of gratitude. This would form a good relationship between the latter with the rest of the powerful organizations. While the organizations definitely had some status, they would give some face toward the prestige of a Beyond Grade A Super, and Han Xiao, through Floating Dragon, would be able to convert the forces into his connections.

Han Xiao had always attached great importance to organizations. After all, the universe was so large, an individual was limited in scope. Even Beyond Grade A Supers needed aides. One’s individual combat power and organization strength had to be grasped with both hands, and both hands had to firmly hold on to each area.

Sooner or later, there would yet be another version update. The players would disappear for about a decade once more. During this period, if he wished to prevent the faction from sinking, he needed to be pre-emptive and search for external support.

After hearing the explanation from Han Xiao, Ames did not hesitate and immediately agreed.

She fully supported Han Xiao, and besides, having been cooped up for so long, she wished to go out and stretch her muscles, at the same time allowing Aurora and Hila to get some experience.

Hila and Aurora had stood to the side without interrupting once. After two years, their temperament had shown changes once again.

Ames had taught them how to develop their abilities, and Hila’s aura had become colder, whilst the exact opposite had happened for Aurora, who had become sunnier and warmer.

In the area of strength, Hila had made rapid progress. She initially already possessed a strength of Grade C. Coupled with her own talents, it did not take much guidance from Ames for her to breakthrough and enter the realm of Grade B.

As for Aurora, her battle role was to be a super nanny. While her rank was not as high, her abilities got strengthened a lot more.

Hila’s appearance did not change much, but she had received a life sublimation, allowing her to become more beautiful and elegant. Aurora did not grow much in height, but her figure showed obvious signs of becoming a real ‘milkmaid'[1]. The front of her Battle Suit was packed tightly.

Her ability gave her frightening vitality, and with three nutritious meals a day, her appearance did not pale in comparison to her sister’s.

Glancing at Aurora’s chest, Han Xiao sighed. “Your training is too tough. Just look, how could a girl like you be beaten so hard that you are so swollen?”

Aurora could hear the teasing in Han Xiao’s voice and immediately blushed. She did not wish for herself to become this huge, but this was linked to her abilities. She had no choice, and she even had to bear the soreness in her shoulders every day. If only she was able to remove them and put them in her pockets instead, that would be so good!

Having not seen him for two years, while Hila’s expression remained passive, she was a little excited in her heart. However, upon hearing those words from Han Xiao, her face immediately darkened. She stared daggers at Han Xiao as though wishing to rip off his face. However, the result was that she could not do anything to his face, and Han Xiao even ignored her.

Han Xiao also brought up the issue of Section Zero and expressed his intention to work for the Purple Crystal Civilization for a period of time. Ames had no objections, brushing off everything. Jenny could only grit her teeth and inwardly curse.

Han Xiao secretly gathered his helpers, and after making sufficient preparations, he looked for one of his bases that was not so important and camped there, waiting for the enemy to step into the trap.

This base was located on one of the colonial planets of Godora. Many players often chose to settle there, and choosing this place as the battlefield had been carefully considered by Han Xiao. This was to paint a positive image in the eyes of the players. This face engineering process was extremely important.

At this moment, the Black Star Army had already completed the function of guiding the faction into the universe. Han Xiao’s next objective was to retain the players and focus on managing the Black Star Army.

Starting from the next version, there would be a multitude of factions available to choose from. Many of them were combined organizations, which could offer large benefits and large main storylines. The players would inevitably be tempted. Han Xiao had to maintain the attractiveness of his faction, so as the leader, he had to continue to improve the players’ impression of him.

After waiting for a few days, Shana’s group finally moved. In fact, they had arrived in the Garton Star System much earlier, always monitoring the movements of Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was doing the same thing to them. The Chain Mission (Prey) had already released the second mission earlier on.

The mission requirement was to repel the attack of the three people. In addition to the high experience provided, he would receive a random reward of an ability from the trio. Han Xiao predicted that this series of difficult missions would each provide an additional special reward of being able to draw an ability. As long as his luck was good, he would be able to profit handsomely off this.

Because this was a colonial planet that belonged to Godora, the attacking trio did not wish to make too much noise, opting to use stealth and assassination tactics instead. They wanted to get Black Star and quickly evacuate.

Eliot was responsible for the advanced concealment and camouflage. While the base had access restrictions, in front of the abilities of a Grade A Super, it was useless. Adrian and Eliot very easily sneaked into the base without alerting Phillip, whilst Shana remained outside.

The camouflage technique that Eliot used turned them into common mercenaries. Eliot was extremely confident of his techniques, thinking them unbreakable. The two of them swaggered into the area, as though it was their own backyard.

However, after walking a short distance, they noticed that something was off. All around them, it seemed that the Black Star Mercenaries all started to turn around and look at them with weird expressions, as though they were out of place.

“I feel that the situation is a little weird,” Adrian whispered.

“Could it be that we’ve been discovered? That’s not possible. How can my technique be seen through so easily?” Eliot refused to believe it.

His deception was indeed effective, and the players around them could not see any sort of information about them. Even their names appeared as ‘???’.

However, the question marks for both Eliot and Adrian were bright red!

Two red-named people representing enemies walking around scared the players stiff. No one knew what sort of situation this was.

While Brock was part of DarkStar, he was an undercover agent. Furthermore, DarkStar had already kicked the bucket. Before he joined Black Star, he had merely appeared as a yellow name, but since Eliot and Adrian were downright enemies to Black Star, they appeared red named in the eyes of the players, the most dazzling attraction in this place.

Boom boom boom!

A player suddenly opened fire at the two of them, and the surrounding players immediately followed suit. A barrage of bullets enveloped the two of them, and a violent explosion sounded.

While the players were unaware of what was going on, they decided that since they were red names, they might somehow trigger a mission and earn something

Hum!

The magic shield was deployed, blocking all attacks.

“We’ve been exposed!” Eliot was shocked. He could not understand it. How did all those Grade C mercenaries crack his seamless camouflage

At this moment, Han Xiao, who had long prepared himself, appeared, floating in the sky as he overlooked the two. He put on a show, pretending that he was not aware of their origin.

“The last time I was attacked, I felt that something was amiss. Indeed, there are people targeting me. To think I actually managed to wait for you to arrive. Who are you guys?”

Eliot did not reply, merely shouting lowly. All sorts of magic was deployed, and Adrian’s body began to increase in size.

When Shana realized that her teammates had been exposed, she immediately acted by tearing apart the walls of the base. She was prepared to join them in attacking Black Star. With three Grade A+ Supers present, they could just forcefully suppress Black Star and end the battle quickly.

However, Han Xiao leisurely dodged their attacks, saying, “Did you think I did not do any preparations beforehand?”

Just as his voice fell, strong auras exploded from the sides of the base. Nagakin as well as two other Godoran Grade A Supers shot out from the hiding spots.

Han Xiao had gathered the other organizations for the sake of attacking the enemies’ base camp. Thus, his goal here was just to repel the three of them, and as such, he had chosen the Godoran Colonial planet, which would allow him to request assistance from Godora. Without overwhelming suppression on his side, it would allow things to flow more naturally and allow Shana’s group to ‘escape’.

The Black Star Army had close ties with Godora, so this small request was merely a phone call away from Han Xiao. Nagakin was extremely glad to help.

Eliot furrowed his brows. They were faced with four Grade A Supers, and while they were not afraid, they had no way of forcing a quick end to the battle. This was Godoran territory; the moment they got entangled, Godora’s fleet would be able to give them no small amount of trouble.

The three of them exchanged glances, immediately coming to the same consensus.

Black Star was just too vigilant. Merely a single attack, and without knowing their histories, he decided to make a mountain out of a molehill. It seemed like he was a cautious yet decisive person.

The three of them did not once suspect that their whereabouts had been leaked. Han Xiao pretended that he was using his stupid idea to wait for a reward, and this did not raise their doubts. They were confident enough that their actions were secretive.

Furthermore, if Black Star knew that they had three people, then he would not have brought along just three other Calamity Grades.

Han Xiao continued with his performance, speaking in a deep tone. “You have no way of escaping. No matter who you are, I’ll find out your origins today.”

“You’re overconfident in being able to stop us. You can try!” Eliot snorted.

Just four Calamity Grades would not be enough to enter his eyes. Maybe only Black Star would give them some difficulty.

The three of them did not panic, for they were confident in their own capabilities. Black Star could not stop them with so few people; they could leave as and when they wished to.

[1] The original phrase can be read as either ‘nanny’ or ‘milk mother/maid’, so I decided to go with the latter to convey what the author wanted to say

Chapter 641: Mid Lane High Ground, Come for a Team Fight.

The battle erupted in an instant. The impact caused by seven Calamity Grades was tremendous!

The shockwave destroyed about half of the entire base, and the streets nearby became a wreck. Many players were blown away. Their level limit was currently 90, so just the shockwave alone had already taken away a bar of their health. There was nothing they could do.

Boom!

It was a battle between seven Calamity Grade Supers. Even with Han Xiao, Nagakin, and the other two trying to control the damage, it still caused quite a lot of destruction. However, Han Xiao did not mind how badly the base was damaged. Only the surface buildings were damaged, and it was cheap to rebuild them. Furthermore, he was already at the level of “I’m not interested in money”, so he did not mind paying such a small price to lure these three people.

This was the second time that he had fought Shana. Han Xiao had built a team of non-metallic mechanical soldiers, mainly elites. They were strong and powerful under his Mechanical Force bonuses. It was difficult for Shana to counter him, so she could only fight him directly.

Eliot was a very strong Mage; he used all sorts of high-level spells like it was nothing and clearly was not even using his full strength. Adrian was a typical muscular man, taking on the job of a meat shield, holding back three Pugilists including Nagakin alone.

The three of them cooperated with each other very well. Nagakin and the others were no match. Han Xiao was ‘doing his best’ controlling the mechanical soldiers to attack. It seemed like he was having an intense fight with Shana.

Nagakin and his two colleagues were all Pugilists. Their raw strength was grossly inferior to the three opponents. Just Adrian alone could stall the three of them. They were instantly at a disadvantage. However, Eliot and the other two had no intention of continuing fighting. They kept retreating, and the battlefield kept moving.

Black Star had set up an ambush, so the fight would not end quickly. This was a Godoran planet, so there were fleets stationed nearby. Eliot and the rest did not want to be surrounded by the garrison. They planned to retreat as soon as possible, and they were very confident in doing so.

This was because Eliot knew how to use the teleportation spell, which was outstanding for escaping. Black Star would be dreaming if he thought that he could capture them. Therefore, Eliot thought that it was really funny. He did not know where Black Star got his confidence.

Whoosh!

This time, the sound of spaceships came from the edge of the sky. A fleet stationed there quickly reacted, and about a hundred battleships were approaching as backup.

“There’s no need to fight the Godoran fleet. Let’s
go.”

Eliot told Adrian to hold back Nagakin and his colleagues, then cast a spell. He then performed a stroke in the air with his finger, and an energy vortex suddenly appeared behind him, which then expanded into a teleportation gate.

“Sh*t, he can teleport!” Nagakin gave an exaggerated shocked expression. Han Xiao glanced at him and could not help but gave a like to his acting skills. His expression was lively, and his eyes had very intense emotions in them. This acting skill of his was definitely Grade A.

Eliot then cast another spell. A huge magic barrier separated all the enemies from him and his two comrades.

The magic shield blocked all the attacks and kept vibrating. Adrian and Shana entered the teleportation gate and disappeared.

With his two colleagues retreating successfully, Eliot looked at Han Xiao and mocked, “Hehe, as I said, you’re overconfident. This level of ambush is far from being enough to capture us. We want to leave now—are you able to stop us?”

Han Xiao heard that and made his expression gloomy. He then deliberately said nothing and continued to attack with greater force, pounding loudly on the magic barrier.

In Eliot’s eyes, Black Star was turning his embarrassment into fury. He immediately felt better; even the unhappiness from the mission failing diminished quite a bit.

Eliot squinted and suddenly said, “Wait for it. We will come to find you again. There won’t always be someone helping you.”

Then, Eliot turned and walked into the teleportation gate. The gate disappeared, and the three of them retreated successfully like they could just come and go as they wished.

They’re finally gone… Han Xiao finally relaxed his tight facial muscles and uninstalled the ‘Angry.jpg’ expression bundle.

Although the battle was short, the streets nearby were badly destroyed. The level of strength that the enemies had shown made Nagakin feel a lot of pressure.

“Black Star, who are these people? They’re way too strong. They have targeted you, so you’ve got to be careful,” Nagakin said seriously.

“Don’t worry, they can’t escape.”

Now we will just have to wait till they get home… Han Xiao smiled but said no more.

Eliot exposed his teleportation spell, which was bonus information that Han Xiao did not expect to obtain. This was a god-tier escaping ability. Had they not made any preparations for it, the enemies might have escaped when they attacked their base. Now that he knew about this, he could think of ways to deal with it.

Thinking that Eliot and the rest thought that they had successfully escaped, Han Xiao almost burst into laughter.

Things were going even better than he had expected!

After contacting the construction team to repair the base and getting rid of a huge number of players trying to trigger missions, Han Xiao used the Observer’s Mark and peeked at those three’s whereabouts.

The range of the teleportation gate that Eliot had hurriedly created on the spot would not be too far. The teleportation gate was connected to their spaceship, which orbiting the colonial planet.

As soon as they returned to the ship, they activated its stealth mode and went far away from the planet, preventing the garrison from chasing after them.

The escape was successful. The three of them did not even suspect that Han Xiao had purposely let them go. They retreated with Eliot’s ability. There was nothing suspicious about it. They just thought that Black Star had misjudged their strength and did not set up a strong enough ambush.

Making Black Star’s ambush a failure was nothing to the three of them. They felt that it was normal.

“This mission has failed. Should we continue looking for opportunities?” Shana asked.

Eliot shook his head. “Black Star is very cautious. After just one attack, he made a trap purely out of suspicion. Now that he has been attacked a second time, he will be certain that we’re his enemies. He will only be more alert from now on. We can’t attack him again for a short period.”

After what had just happened, the only thing they could do was leave Black Star be for the moment.

His threat before leaving was just a scare technique to make Black Star keep being cautious about them so that he would always be afraid, alert, and careful, only to realize in the end that it was all for nothing.

Annoyed, Shana frowned and said, “That’s our only choice.”

“Hmm, I will suggest this to Albert and put Black Star under the Processing List,” Eliot said.

They actually had two hunting lists. One was for the confirmed targets; one was the Processing List. Those on the latter list were targets that they had failed to capture the first time, targets who they had alerted. They would not attack these people any time soon. They had to wait at least a few years until the target let their guard down, only then would they attack again.

Black Star was such a target. Eliot did not want to attack Black Star within five years, and he believed that Albert felt this way.

“You were right. We should have dealt with this by leaving him be.” Shana did not expect Black Star to be so cautious.

Eliot smiled and said, “It’s not too late. Although we exposed our hostility and let Black Star know that the three of us are targeting him, he knows nothing about our background. It will be useless no matter how much he searches for it. It will only make us keep a low profile for a while at most. He definitely will get no results and will never know who’s targeting him.

“As for us, we’re hidden and have the upper hand. He can’t be this cautious forever.

“Let’s return first. We might have to stop making moves for the next few years.”

Many had witnessed Black Star being attacked, and the message got out very quickly. However, there was all sorts of news in the Shattered Star Ring nowadays, and huge matters were occurring all the time. Although Black Star was quite well known in the Colton Star Cluster, he was not famous enough throughout the entire Shattered Star Ring. The news that he had been attacked was like a droplet of water in the sea of news and did not attract much attention.

More than ten days later, Han Xiao arrived at an unpopulated planet in a desolate area nearby after nonstop traveling. This planet that had been desolate for countless years was not remarkably boisterous.

All the forces that Han Xiao had contacted earlier had gathered there. Spaceships were parked everywhere on the planet’s surface.

All these forces wanted to find a lost person. They had followed Han Xiao’s request and come to this planet. They had all initially thought that they were the only ones, but now that they were there, they were shocked and did not expect Han Xiao to have called so many people.

Many organizations there were well known in the Shattered Star Ring and recognized each other. After a little bit of conversation, they all knew that everyone had assembled for the same reason. They were all stunned. Could all the people that were lost be connected in some ways? What clue had Han Xiao found?

The moment Han Xiao’s spaceship got close, everyone noticed it. After Han Xiao landed, all the people surrounded him.

These were all high-level officers of their organizations and very important. Usually, it would be difficult just to meet one of them, but now they were all gathered there. If Heber was there, he might think that someone was imitating his Tyrant Party.

“Black Star, when will we make a move?”

“Where are the enemies? Stop hiding.”

When Han Xiao contacted them, he did not say everything and only told them to gather there. Many were unhappy about that.

However, Ames was also there to stabilize the situation. Black Star was Dragon Emperor’s officer. Even though the people there all had very strong backgrounds, they did not dare cause trouble.

“The time has come. We will attack the enemy’s headquarters together. Your lost friends are imprisoned there…”

Han Xiao explained the situation. Through his Observer’s Mark, he confirmed that Shana and the others had returned to their base. The opportunity to get all of them had finally arrived.

Things were different now. Although it had taken many years to take down the Germinal Organization and DarkStar, that was because he had not been strong enough back then.

Now, however, the Black Star Army was rising quickly, and he had become someone important in the Shattered Star Ring. He did not want to have such strong enemies for that long. As soon as there was an opportunity, he would eliminate them and not leave any hidden threats.

So many organizations had sent out their elite troops; their power together could shock any civilization or organization in the Shattered Star Ring. There were dozens of Calamity Grades from different organizations in various areas. It was complete overkill for just six enemies.

The Great Mechanic Han’s networking ability was incomparable. The Black Star Networking Group was definitely not an exaggerated title!

The crowd was overjoyed upon hearing this. For the same goal, these organizations were all willing to follow Han Xiao’s orders temporarily.

When Han Xiao was communicating with the others, the players that he had brought along were all observing curiously from the back.

He had used a mission to have some players follow along. He did not need them to battle on this trip; he only needed them to be ‘reporters’ and send the video to the forums. This was the opportunity that he planned to use to deepen his impression and to remind the players of his charisma, increasing his personal charm and the faction’s attractiveness.

At the same time, Eliot and the rest returned to their hidden base in the desolate area of the universe.

Albert welcomed them and said, “I’ve heard about the situation. Leave Black Star be. We will keep a low profile for a while. Everyone stays in the base, don’t go outside.”

The others nodded. This could effectively avoid risks. They would only start their hunting mission again after hiding for some time.

They instantly threw Black Star to the back of their minds. To them, this matter was already dealt with.

What they did not know was… a disaster was secretly approaching

Chapter 642: Counterattack

Kernid slowly opened his eyes. In front of him was a transparent light curtain, and outside was an area that looked like a prison. Translucent single person cells were spread evenly throughout the area, and almost every cell had a tenant.

He was one of them.

This was the prison that belonged to Shana and the others. It was to imprison the captured targets on the list.

All the prisoners had specially made mechanical rings on their wrists and ankles. These limited the power of these Grade As. These rings were embedded in their flesh. The rings on their wrists sent out nano-level needles into their blood vessels, hearts, brains, and other vital spots. The mechanical rings on their ankles were Super-Gene suppressors that weakened their recovery speed.

They had collars on their necks, too. These were enchanted with very powerful magic that disabled them from using spells and weakened them. The person that enchanted these spells was clearly much stronger than the prisoners. Hence, the effect was very long-lasting.

Other than this, many drugs were also injected into them, preventing the cells inside their bodies from generating energy.

So many imprisonment methods made these Grade As extremely weak.

On the first day that Kernid was imprisoned, he shockingly realized that the others imprisoned there were all as famous and important as him, if not more. However, they had all been captured and imprisoned there. He was justifiably petrified.

Kernid tried to escape but failed. So many others were unable to escape, and he was no exception. Furthermore, even if he did manage to escape the prison, there would still be enemies guarding and waiting outside, which made him despair.

After being imprisoned for so many days, he had given up and clearly knew that he would not be able to escape by himself. All he could do was pray that someone would come to save him. However, no one had come to save those other prisoners who all had such high positions. He could not help but feel that the chances of escaping were close to none. He was rather pessimistic.

However, speaking of being pessimistic, he was far inferior compared to his neighbor.

A male Spacehuman was imprisoned in the cell beside Kernid. That person had been maintaining a long face the whole time. He looked not just miserable but almost depressed. His name was Lagi[1], a lone Calamity Grade. From what he said, he had been imprisoned there for almost ten years. He was the most senior around.

The days of imprisonment were very boring. Their only entertainment was chatting with each other, trying to find at least a shred of joy in those hopeless days.

When those prisoners were having a good time chatting, as long as Lagi opened his mouth, he would unquestionably shatter the atmosphere.

Everyone there had once been important, and everyone was pessimistic about ending up like this. However, in terms of being pessimistic, Kernid felt that they were all trash compared to Lagi.

This time, the gate of the prison opened. Albert, Shana, and Eliot walked in. The prisoners started an uproar.

“Let me out of here. Do you know who I am?”

“You’ve messed with someone you shouldn’t mess with. You’re going to pay for this!”

“What is your goal!”

Many spoke with rage. Every time someone came to patrol, they would try to threaten them.

The three of them ignored the prisoners completely. They were not there to check on the prisoners as per schedule today. Due to the two failures that Black Star had caused them, out of caution, Albert had decided to keep things at a low profile and not do anything for a few years. Hence, they were now making a count on the prisoners and preparing to move them somewhere else.

They definitely did not capture these targets because they wanted to collect stamps from their areas; they had other goals. This place was not the final location that these prisoners would end up in.

The yelling and cursing did not stop, but the three of them did not care. They split up and did a count. Very soon, Shana came to Kernid’s cell.

Kernid bashed the transparent wall heavily and furiously said, “I remember you. You’re the one that caught me! The Light Rune Civilization will definitely get me out!”

Shana sneered. “You’ve still not given up? Do you really think someone will come to save you?”.

This time, Lagi slowly said, “Don’t worry, no one will come to save us. We’re definitely going to die.”

Kernid was instantly at a loss for words. He covered his face with one hand and said, “Whose side are you actually on?”

Even Shana was speechless. This guy had been imprisoned for almost ten years, so he had probably gone haywire.

After the count, the three of them prepared to leave. The prisoners were still yelling and cursing. Albert paused before turning around and saying to everyone, “I know, you all think you’re someone important. In reality, your positions in the Shattered Star Ring are not even worth mentioning in my eyes. In a few days, I will freeze you and send you out of the Shattered Star Ring. You will be determined as lost forever. You will never see your organizations or your families again. Fate is waiting for you ahead.”

All the prisoners quietened down, furious and frustrated. If what Albert said was true, it would really be the end of them.

Many were despairing, anxious, and afraid of what was going to happen in the future. No one knew what the goal of this organization was.

Lagi sighed and said, “Sigh, I’m guessing they’re going to make us experimental subjects and study our bodies. When we lose our value to them, they will then anatomize us; tear apart our bones, muscles, and organs; and place them in containers as specimens. Our name and life experience might be written somewhere on these containers. We will then become a collection to be displayed to others. ‘Look, this is the very developed brain of the Calamity Grade Kernid’ and so on…”

The others felt a chill run down their spines.

Kernid’s face was filled with question marks. Why didn’t you use your own name?

Albert stayed silent for a while, thought about it, and decided not to explain. He then said calmly, “Anyway, enjoy your last few days of clarity. The next time you wake up, you will be in another Star Field…”

The moment his words sounded…

Boom!

A loud bang!

The entire prison suddenly started shaking violently!

Albert staggered and almost bit his tongue. Shocked, he asked, “What’s happening?”

“Something’s happened above!” Eliot said with surprise.

The three of them hastily left the prison and closed the gate after them. The prisoners looked at each other.

“Could it be that someone is here to save us?”

They were instantly energized and saw hope again.

With his usual long face, Lagi slowly said, “Even if there’s someone here to rescue us, they might not be a match for the enemies. They will be killed in an instant. All of them will be wiped out. Their fleets will shatter, and the people inside will all be crushed and burnt into pieces. Your comrades, subordinates, and families might be among them. You will then be forced to eat those shattered parts of them, demolishing your spirit before anatomizing your body…”

“Shut the hell up!”

…

The shaking continued. Albert and the others returned to the main hall and met with the other three colleagues.

“What’s going on?”

“Enemies!”

Albert’s face turned grave. He then took the others out of the headquarters. When they got out, they discovered that an enormous amount of power was digging their headquarters out of the ground.

Two people were floating in the sky. When they saw who those two people were, Albert and the others were stunned and stupefied!

Black Star!

Dragon Emperor!

Ames was using her Esper ability to tear the ground apart, pulling their base right out of the ground.

“How can he be here?” Albert opened his eyes wide.

They had attacked Black Star not long ago, and now he was here. Their location was very well hidden, so how did Black Star find them?

Eliot could not believe it. He had never thought that Black Star would appear.

A thought suddenly appeared in his mind. He had just returned, and now Black Star had found this place—could it be that he had exposed them somehow?

The last time they attacked Black Star, he could only cautiously wait for the next attack. However, after his failure, Black Star was now able to come right for them. Even though he could not understand how Black Star had done it, he could only be the one to blame for it. There was no other explanation.

Could it be that letting him escape was part of Black Star’s plan?

Eliot was befuddled, feeling ashamed. Thinking back to when he escaped from Black Star’s ambush, he felt that he was an idiot for not realizing that something was wrong and that Black Star had bigger plans.

Shana was extremely upset. She felt that this was all because of her failure when she attacked Black Star the first time. If she did not act alone but worked together with her partner, they would have been able to capture him, and Black Star would have become their prisoner.

Albert forced himself to calm down. He knew that Black Star was dangerous, but he never expected Black Star’s counterattack to come so fast, bringing them so much danger.

Dragon Emperor was clearly helping Black Star. He had no confidence facing a Beyond Grade A at all, but he did not despair.

“Don’t panic. Although the opponent is Beyond Grade A, we still have a tiny bit of hope. Although we’re no match for the Dragon Emperor, we can at least stall her for a few moments. Eliot, whether we can escape or not all depends on you. We will create an opportunity for you to cast your spell.” Albert clenched his teeth.

At this point, he could not care about the prisoners anymore. They were in extreme danger, so they had no choice but to stand the pain of letting go what they had been working on for so many years.

Ensure their own safety first, explain to the people above later!

“Understood!” Eliot replied.

At this time, Han Xiao took a deep inhale and said with a deep voice, “Everyone, come here!”

Hum!

The next moment, countless streams of light slashed across the sky and hovered above Han Xiao.

The fleets covered the sky, and countless cannons aimed at the six of them. The Calamity Grades arrived and sealed all their escape routes, surrounding the six of them.

Albert and the others were petrified. They could not believe it.

How did Black Star… gather so many people ?

“Do it!”

Without saying much, Han Xiao told everyone else to attack altogether.

Villains always died for talking too much. He had no intention of speaking with the enemies. After they captured all of them, there would be plenty of time to have conversations with them.

“Run!” Albert screamed.

Seeing so many enemies, his last bit of hope shattered, leaving him only despair.

Covered in sweat, Eliot hastily tried to cast his teleportation spell. However, when he had only created a space vortex, it suddenly became extremely unstable. The teleportation gate that had always worked perfectly suddenly disappeared before it could even form.

Not far away, the eyes of a Grade A mage wearing a red robe was shining in the blue light of magic, and the staff in his hand was illuminating.

Spell Counter!

This time, only one thought was in the minds of Eliot, Shana, Albert, and the other three.

It’s over!

[1] The name ‘Lagi’ has the same pronunciation in Mandarin as the word ‘trash’ or ‘rubbish’.

Chapter 643: Crushed

The battle erupted in an instant.

Albert and the others were surrounded but did not give up resisting; they did everything they could to escape.

Indeed, all of them were very strong. However, the superiority of their individual strength could not overcome the collective strength of dozens of Calamity Grades. They were barely holding on.

Only Beyond Grade As could deal with a situation like this. Despite them being stronger individually, they were still in the Grade A range.

Boom!

The battle was intense, and the battlefield stretched across hundreds of miles. The earth was split open, and the ground was trembling. All sorts of abilities were flying all over the place; even the terrain was tremendously changed.

Following Han Xiao’s information, a few Mages kept their eyes on Eliot at all times. As soon as he showed any signs of trying to cast a teleportation spell, they would use all sorts of abilities to prevent him from doing so.

Eliot was completely restrained. He was furious and had nowhere to run.

He regretted using his teleportation spell to escape from Han Xiao’s ‘ambush’ not long ago. Clearly, that was why the enemies were so prepared.

Among the six of them, Albert was the strongest. He was a Psychic; his powerful psychic waves covered an extremely large area. He took on many people alone, hoping to create an opportunity for Eliot to cast a spell. However, his effort was wasted.

Black Star had gathered more people than he could ever have expected. Albert was filled with despair. Just the tens of Calamity Grades would be more than enough to cause them a lot of trouble, yet there were still tens of thousands of battleships in the sky and the Beyond Grade A Dragon Emperor.

This force that he had gathered would be more than enough to challenge the official army of a Star Cluster Civilization!

He had known that Black Star was dangerous but not this terrifying!

On the spaceship, the players that Han Xiao had brought along were having an exciting time doing nothing.

They had never seen anything like this. The excitement and awe of this battle between dozens of Grade As could even match up to the video where Dragon Emperor crushed the mothership in the previous version. Furthermore, in terms of thrill, this was even more exhilarating.

The players were all looking down from above. They could see the entire battle on the surface clearly. They all recorded videos of it and felt that their recordings might become the most astonishing videos on the forums.

On the way there, the players had all come to discover that Han Xiao had staged this. They felt like they were watching a cut scene of the storyline.

Han Xiao watched at the side. With so many helpers, there was no need for him to join the battle-he would have to repair his machinery if any of them got damaged.

It was completely one-sided.

He had planned to only receive the reward for the second round of the mission after he touched Feidin, but he had thought that attacking the enemies’ base might be the third round of the mission, so he had completed the second round long ago, hoping to receive the next round of the mission. However, the third round did not appear; attacking their base did not become a mission requirement.

Han Xiao was not surprised by this. He could not decide the mission requirements. Even though this was not a mission, he would still attack their base. The fact that the third round did not appear meant that there were more enemies—he had to find out the true identity of this organization.

Without touching Feidin for luck, the abilities that he had drawn from the second round were very ordinary. Han Xiao had selected one of Adrian’s normal talents (Bones of Steel), which gave him thirty Strength and twenty Endurance. This was already the most practical choice among the rest; it increased his maximum health by around three thousand points.

Bang bang bang!

The battle was one-sided from start to end and only lasted a while. The six’s resistance was meaningless; they had no chance of escaping. They were all captured and thrashed without any hiccups.

After capturing the six of them, the organizations all sent people into the prison to find the person that was missing from their organization.

Albert and the others were heavily injured and taken to Han Xiao. All their masks were taken off, showing their furious faces. There was still shock in their eyes; they still could not believe that they had been defeated by Black Star so easily.

Black Star’s counterattack came so quick and strong, easily defeating all of them. This was too difficult for the six of them to accept.

Han Xiao scanned through them and nodded.

Finally, all these people had been captured, and no one had escaped. He had achieved his goal.

“Who are you?”

Albert kept silent and glared at Han Xiao.

“No reply? Then let me change a question.” Han Xiao took out the hunting list and coldly demanded, “Who ordered you to capture these people in the Shattered Star Ring? Where did this list come from?”

Albert was shocked. “Why do you have this list?”

“You really think I don’t know about it? I’ve known about you people for a long time. Who’s the mastermind behind you?”

Shana could not believe it. She had thought that her failure had alerted Black Star, but it turned out Black Star had known about them long ago. Where did he get that information?

Albert still kept silent. It seemed like he had decided not to sell out the people behind him no matter what.

Han Xiao crossed his arms and said, “Do you think you’re able to stay silent after falling into my hands? I have plenty of ways to make you talk.”

Behind Han Xiao stood the Calamity Grades of many organizations, staring at Albert and the others. They were definitely not going to let the people behind this go easily. If Albert and the others were not going to talk, they were clearly going to be painfully tortured. These organizations would think of every way to get information from them.

Albert looked at these people then spoke slowly. “The end is death anyway; there’s no difference between talking or not talking. Unless you can let us live.”

“You’re not in a position to make requests,” Han Xiao said. “I can only ensure that you will be tortured less.”

“Okay… I will tell you.” Albert seemed to have made up his mind. “The Klent Kingdom ordered us to do this.”

Han Xiao frowned.

“I need proof.”

“I can prove our relationship with Klent. Our intelligence came from an intelligence organization under the Bloodshed Land; there are records for it. The hunting list was given to us by the Klent upper echelons. They want the Shattered Star Ring to be more chaotic, so they hired us to get rid of enemies and capture stronger individuals,” Albert slowly said.

No, it’s not Klent. Han Xiao frowned even more. It sounded like things were all connected, but the mission introduction clearly suggested otherwise. The truth was definitely not this simple.

He felt that Klent was most likely not the mastermind behind this mysterious group-there were contradictions in both their method and motive. Albert might be deliberately putting the blame on Klent.

Albert was done for; he had no choice but to give out some information. He might be lying to cover the truth and protect the real mastermind behind this, letting Klent take the blame.

As for why he chose Klent, it might be because Klent really was connected to this mysterious organization in some way. It might also be because Klent was the best choice to push the blame onto in the Shattered Star Ring.

Han Xiao stared at Albert’s eyes but could not see anything but sincerity. He squinted but did not continue to question Albert.

“I see.” Han Xiao suddenly smiled. “So, Klent is the mastermind. I believe you.”

“That’s right. If you want any evidence, I can provide it. I hope that you can keep your promise and not torture me.” Albert insisted that it was Klent.

The emissaries of the other organizations felt an immense sense of hostility toward Klent. They were furious.

“Is Klent out of their mind? How dare they do something like this? Do they think we’re easy to mess with?”

After Klent joined the Crimson Dynasty, they had become more and more imperious. Many organizations knew that Klent was ambitious, so they believed most of the ‘truth’ that Albert revealed.

The Purple Crystal Civilization emissary’s eyes sparkled, and he was secretly delighted. If Klent ended up taking the blame, they were willing to believe it regardless of whether it was the truth or not. This would make these organizations hostile toward Klent.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Albert and the others clearly wanted to hide the real mastermind, but Han Xiao was not planning to expose them and went with the flow of letting Klent take the blame.

le

He could search for the truth privately. After all, these people were now in his hands. He could do anything he wanted. Letting Klent take the blame was most profitable for him at the moment. This way, he could indirectly get more allies to help with the pressure during the secret war.

After so many organizations found out about this ‘truth’, the news would definitely spread across the entire Shattered Star Ring. By then, Klent’s reputation would be heavily damaged. Even if it was not the truth, it would become the truth for many people. There was no way Klent would be able to come clean from this.

Han Xiao initially only wanted these organizations to owe him a favor and build partnership relationships with them; letting Klent take the blame for this was a pleasant surprise. Furthermore, he would not be responsible for it.

This time, the team that had gone to find the prisoners brought all of them back. These unlucky people got rid of the constraints over their bodies and finally started to recover.

“Haha, people really have come to rescue us!”

“There are so many people here.”

Kernid and the others looked around with joyful faces. Many of them saw their organizations and returned to chat with their friends. Very soon, they got to know that it was Black Star who had provided the information that saved them.

They approached Han Xiao one after another to show their appreciation excitedly.

“If not for you, we would be done for.”

“Thanks, we owe you one. If there’s anything you need our help for in the future, be sure to tell us.”

“Black Star, from now on, you’re my brother.”

Han Xiao replied friendlily one by one. Notifications kept popping up on his interface; the relationship with these organizations rocketed and all jumped right to ‘Friendly’. For people that were saved such as Kernid, their Favorability increased the most.

He expressed his intention to keep this partnership going. Of course, the others were not going to reject. Not mentioning this favor, the Black Star Army itself was an organization that they were willing to work together with. This incident had become the bridge of their partnership.

After saving those unlucky people, Han Xiao’s network expanded tremendously.

The Purple Crystal Civilization emissary got what they wanted, too-some organizations were willing to join Section Zero and help Purple Crystal fight Klent, their shared enemy.

This was all thanks to Han Xiao. His Favorability with Purple Crystal increased by 2,000 points straight away. He was one step closer to exchanging Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

Han Xiao had another goal. Some of the people captured were lone Calamity Grades. After saving them and increasing their Favorability, there was a chance to recruit them.

After asking around, most of those lone Grade A Supers rejected him and expressed that they had no intention of joining another organization. Only one person was an exception, which made Han Xiao overjoyed.

Being able to recruit just one of them was already more than good enough. He was currently the only Grade A in the army; adding one more meant that the number of Grade As doubled.

This was also the first Grade A whom he had recruited.

The person that accepted the invitation looked very ragged and depressed it was no other than Lagi.

Lagi did not hesitate when he was invited. After being imprisoned for ten years, he did not want to go anywhere. Han Xiao had saved him, so he was willing to follow Han Xiao. The way he looked at it, no matter where he went, he would be rotting and dying anyway. It did not make a difference.

Han Xiao shook his hand and passionately said, “Welcome to the Black Star Army. You will definitely be satisfied with our treatment. We will be friends from now on. What’s your name?”

Lagi shook Han Xiao’s hand, sighed, and said, “I’m ‘trash’.”

“Come on, dude, you’re too humble…”

Chapter 644: The Ancient Ones

Lagi’s expression darkened, and an extremely bitter look could be seen on his face.

Han Xiao immediately knew that he had said something wrong and quickly replied, “Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding. Your name is… pretty good.”

“Very regretfully, my father seems to agree.” Lagi let out a sigh.

Why is this fellow speaking so politely? Han Xiao’s expression was painfully awkward.

No wonder this fellow is always so pessimistic. Whenever he introduces himself to others, he has to say, ‘I’m Lagi[1]’. How can he still face the world with a smile? It’s only natural for him to be depressed and unable to see the hope in the world!

“It’s alright. I’m used to it already.” Lagi waved his hands to show that he did not mind. “In any case, we will all decompose into nothingness at the very end and not leave anything behind. I will disappear into the winding history with my name, and no one will remember me anymore.”

Han Xiao’s face was full of black lines.

This fellow’s negativity was truly overflowing!

Lagi was a Grade A Mage, and apart from researching magic, he did not have anything that he wanted to do. He was like a piece of ambitionless salted fish.

He had accepted Han Xiao’s recruitment because, first, he owed Han Xiao a favor and had nowhere to go, and second, joining an organization meant that he would not have to worry about his research expenditure.

The Black Star Army finally had a new Grade A combatant. Despite Lagi being a rather eccentric character, Han Xiao was still pretty happy. Even though Han Xiao wanted to understand this new partner of his more, Lagi did not seem to like talking at all. Whenever he asked Lagi about his past, Lagi would always give him a perfunctory response, and even after a long conversation, Han Xiao was still completely clueless about Lagi’s past.

Han Xiao could not help but ask, “Do you have any friends or relatives?”

Lagi let out a depressed sigh and slowly said, “Just treat it as I don’t have any.”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes in response.

If he gave Lagi a cigarette and stubble grew all over his chin, the picture would be complete.

To think that such a depressed and lifeless individual was actually able to reach Grade A. Just what kind of tragic event happened in his life to transform him into such a depressed individual, or could it be that he had always been like that since young? If it was the latter, Han Xiao truly could not imagine what kind of a talent Lagi had.

Could it be that I picked up a protagonist level character? Han Xiao was extremely tempted to give Lagi a slap to see his attributes.

Right at this moment, all the organizations that were present had found their returning officers and were prepared to leave. Before they left, they all bade farewell to Han Xiao.

After fighting together this time, Han Xiao had built a good relationship with all these organizations, and his personal influence extended beyond the Colton Star Cluster.

Forming alliances and searching for allies was also an important aspect of developing his organization. Han Xiao’s goal was to have friends all around the Star Field, and he had taken the first step in that direction.

The Star Beast Organization was extremely grateful to Han Xiao saving their leader, Gobili. They had never made any deals with outsiders but had expressed their willingness to enter a business partnership with the Black Star Army.

The Star Beast Organization only started to hire outsiders during Version 3.0, and players could complete faction missions to earn favorability points. Players could purchase rare Genetic Medicine and could even purchase pets and mounts. Since players already had spaceships, the purpose of a mount was only to increase their swag.

Han Xiao wanted to purchase a few rare galactic beast materials to upgrade his (Intermediate Strengthened Life) talent.

The last time, he had consumed the core of the Void Lord and confirmed this idea of his. Han Xiao needed rare materials that could fulfil this condition, and the Star Beast Organization was undoubtedly the experts in this field. They agreed without any hesitation and promised to complete the request.

There were a few lone wolves among those who were saved. Despite rejecting Han Xiao’s recruitment, they left behind their contact numbers and promised to aid Black Star if he needed their help in the future.

Han Xiao treated this as a hidden trump card to be played in the future. The words of a Grade A Super could definitely be trusted.

Albert’s gang of six became Han Xiao’s captives, and after dismantling their headquarters, Han Xiao left together with Ames.

…

A few days later, the huge incident that Han Xiao had directed exploded in the Shattered Star Ring and caused another huge wave!

Including the seven Star Cluster level civilization, countless organizations in the Shattered Star Ring were shocked by the chaos that Han Xiao had created.

Numerous organizations from all directions had responded to Black Star’s summons and formed a force that even Star Cluster level civilizations would not dare to underestimate. Since when did Black Star have such a huge influence?

Ames had also participated in the operation, which allowed many to draw their own conclusions.

All the while, the Dragon Emperor had appeared to be a weak, neutral party. While the appearance of the Black Star Army had gradually increased the prestige of Floating Dragon, it was not enough to change the impression that most people had of Floating Dragon.

But this time, many individuals had misunderstood Han Xiao’s actions to be those of Floating Dragon. They all thought that Floating Dragon was trying to flex their might and could not help but be startled.

Floating Dragon had unknowingly formed such a large alliance, and the seven Star Cluster civilizations could not help but reevaluate Floating Dragon’s position.

As a beyond Grade A Super, Ames had always seemed disinterested in vying for power and influence. However, she seemed to have been getting more and more active since Black Star joined Floating Dragon. Black Star seemed to be the catalyst that allowed Floating Dragon to have a drastic transformation and rise rapidly.

After this incident, the strength that Floating Dragon had displayed planted some ideas in the minds of some private organizations.

With a beyond Grade A Super at the helm, as long as Floating Dragon wished, they would definitely be able to draw many to their side. If Han Xiao could draw more supporters for Floating Dragon, he would also receive benefits from it.

The other outcome of this operation was the ‘truth’ that Albert had revealed. Klent ended up becoming the scapegoat and was criticized by every organization within the Shattered Star Ring.

In truth, many civilizations had performed such an act before and had a tacit understanding with each other. However, the moment such an act was exposed, they would undoubtedly become the target for all criticism.

The Klent Kingdom was truly miserable. They were shot even while lying down, with a calamity falling on their heads even though they did not do anything.

Klent naturally released an official statement to deny their involvement, but it was not of any use.

Many organizations began to become wary of Klent after this incident. While living in turbulent times, every organization had no choice but to be on high alert.

In truth, Albert did indeed work together with Klent. However, Klent did no more than provide them with intelligence. Albert and the others came from another Star Field, and Klent was not their true master. Klent had indeed decided to provide intelligence to this group of six with the intention to kill with a borrowed sword and muddy the waters within the Shattered Star Ring. Thus, Klent truly was not maligned at all.

For such an incident to explode when they were in conflict with Purple Crystal, this was akin to providing Purple Crystal with more allies without doing anything. The Klents truly suffered a loss and were extremely frustrated by the incident.

Black Star’s actions had disrupted Klent’s original plans.

The Bloodshed Land had no choice but to adjust their plan and delay the time for war.

The Blacklight Stealth was currently on its way to the Garton Star System. In the spaceship, Han Xiao was currently extracting the Super-Genes of the six Supers. He had extracted a few dozen tubes of Super-Genes, and the six of them were extremely weak.

The (Prey] mission was not over yet, and the third phase had not been refreshed. The mastermind behind this incident would be his enemy for sure. In order to command six Grade A Supers who were all extremely close to having the strength of A+, the mastermind was definitely no simple character.

“I have said before. Klent is the one giving us orders,” Albert said weakly.

Han Xiao shook his head and replied, “I didn’t stop all of you from framing Klent because this is in line with my objectives. However, this doesn’t mean that I truly believe you. I know that torture may not be useful to all of you. Thankfully, I brought a specialist for this.”

Aesop then walked into the room. Aesop had also joined in the fun together with Ames and had always been on the spaceship. Aesop’s Esper ability was extremely suitable for finding clues, and it would not matter if Albert and the others did not want to speak. Aesop naturally did not mind doing Han Xiao a small favor.

“Old man, I shall hand them over to you.” Han Xiao moved out of the way.

Aesop touched the six of them and shut his eyes to use his Esper ability. After a long while, he opened his eyes with a strange look on his face.

“Old man, any luck?”

“I can’t believe that it’s them,” Aesop muttered to himself with a grave voice. “Black Star, you have truly provoked some extraordinary characters.”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he replied, “I didn’t provoke them; they set their eyes on me.”

“You are right. The winds howl around the highest peaks, and you can only blame yourself for being unlucky.” Aesop sighed. “I thought that I would never have any more dealings with this group of individuals. Anything related to them will become extremely troublesome.”

“Stop beating about the bush. Who exactly are they?”

“Have you heard of The Ancient Ones?”

Han Xiao’s expression changed, and a solemn look could be seen on his face.

He naturally knew about this famous organization. Even in his previous life, The Ancient Ones was a famous organization among the players. Furthermore, Risda had also mentioned that Manison from the Mechanic Empire was also a member of The Ancient Ones.

This organization was extremely special. They did not have many members, and their members were in different Star Fields. They were all top figures in the galaxy and had lived for an extremely long time. The organization was one without much restriction, and it could be understood as a top social circle in the galaxy. Even the three great civilizations had to treat them with respect.

In the (Calamity of the Supers) storyline, many of The Ancient Ones beyond Grade A Supers formed their own faction, and Manison was one of them.

Aesop had once been a member but had withdrawn after that.

“You are saying that The Ancient Ones are the mastermind?”

The Ancient Ones was indeed an organization that he could not afford to provoke yet.

“I’m not sure. I did not manage to see any details; I was only able to see that this matter is related to The Ancient Ones,” Aesop explained.

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao looked at Albert. Albert had a tranquil expression on his face and did not show any change in expression as though it had nothing to do with them. Who knew if he was putting on an act?

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao bent down and looked at Albert in the eyes, “Are The Ancient Ones your true master?”

“No.” Albert frowned. “I’ve said more than once that it’s Klent. It is up to you if you want to believe me.”

Han Xiao frowned and raised his brows. “If this matter isn’t related to The Ancient Ones, you would have been extremely glad for me to provoke them.”

Albert fell silent and no longer said a word.

Han Xiao could not be sure that The Ancient Ones were his final enemy. Furthermore, The Ancient Ones were a loose organization, and it could be the plan of just a single member.

What a coincidence. This is the second matter related to The Ancient Ones. First, it was Aroshia, and now them… Han Xiao pondered to himself. It was truly too much of a coincidence.

Regardless of whether the mastermind is The Ancient Ones, I can’t deal with them for now. Before reaching beyond Grade A, it will be difficult for me to even protect myself. Han Xiao’s mood was heavy. The enemy had already set their eyes on him, and with Albert and the others caught, new enemies would definitely appear. However, he did not even know the identity of his enemy.

This threat made him feel an immense sense of pressure.

However, worrying would not be able to change anything. There was currently a problem before him. Just how should he deal with his six captives?

It would not be a good choice for him to lock them up and squeeze them like orange juice. They were not rookie galactic pirates, and if they managed to escape, Han Xiao would not be able to suppress them. Furthermore, Han Xiao probably would not be able to find out anything else from them, so keeping them would only be a risk.

Eliot could feel Han Xiao’s killing intent, and his body shuddered.

[1] Lagi is pronounced the same as trash in Mandarin.

Chapter 645: Galaxy Pro League Season Two

Han Xiao first returned to Floating Dragon to drop Ames and Aesop back. He then killed Albert and the others without hesitation. On the way to Floating Dragon, he had made a lot of Genetic Medicine from the six of them.

He was not planning to lock the six of them in the Galactic Pirates’ Warm Little House because he did not want to take that risk. He was never soft-hearted toward enemies.

After killing the six of them, Han Xiao received a lot of Experience and a few Character Summon Cards.

Albert and the others were very calm toward death; only Eliot was panicking and furious. Nonetheless, none of them revealed the true identity of the mastermind till the end. This did not affect Han Xiao in his decision to kill them, but he was surprised by their loyalty.

Someone that could make a Grade A+ this sincere was definitely terrifying. That someone being a Beyond Grade A was the only possibility. No matter which member of The Ancient Ones the mastermind was, it was not someone he could deal with.

He would definitely become that person’s enemy now that he had killed that person’s subordinates. Han Xiao had no other choice. The enemy had targeted him, and he could not have not resisted. Thus, it was unavoidable.

The third round of (Prey) had yet to appear. He had no idea how strong the next attack would be. The only good news was that at least Beyond Grade As would not casually go to another Star Field, which meant that he would not have to fight a Beyond Grade A. Nonetheless, he still felt immense pressure.

For that, Aesop personally did a one-time ‘fortune-telling’ on him. He roughly foresaw that this issue regarding the hunters had come to an end for the moment, and that nothing would happen any time soon. This made Han Xiao feel relieved.

Star Fields were separated by very wide desolate regions. Whether it was traveling across Star Fields or getting information across, they were not easy things to do. Now that Albert and the others had died, the enemy would not be able to get to him shortly.

Han Xiao’s position in Floating Dragon had been rising. He was Ames’ best assistant, and Aesop had high hopes for him. On the way to Floating Dragon, he told him quite a lot of secrets about The Ancient Ones and helped Han Xiao guess who the mastermind was.

The Ancient Ones were not united; every member had their ambitions. The reason they had formed an organization was to fuse the members’ influence into one and obtain a superior position in the universe, benefiting all the members. They rarely did anything using The Ancient Ones’ name.

Aesop felt that the master of Albert and the others was just one member of The Ancient Ones. At least that was much better than the entire The Ancient Ones.

After killing Albert and the others, the matter had come to an end. Han Xiao took Lagi back to the Base No.1 in the Garton Star System. Lagi was the only Grade A officer in the Black Star Army. Han Xiao introduced him to the other officers and let everyone know that there was a newcomer. Lagi had just escaped from imprisonment and was still rather isolated. He did not communicate with the others and went to familiarize himself with the environment. Han Xiao did not give Lagi any jobs yet.

With his Grade A strength, he was more than qualified to be the deputy captain. However, Lagi had just joined, and Han Xiao felt that he needed to know more about him more before giving him any important positions.

The secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal would not start any time soon, so Han Xiao could not increase his relationship with Purple Crystal even if he wanted to. There was nothing urgent to do, so he was quite free.

During the time he went out to look for trouble, there happened to be one huge matter that had attracted the attention of the players.

Pro League Season Two was about to start!

Some players uploaded the video of a scrimmage between tens of Calamity Grades, showcasing the Black Star Networking Group’s ability. Bun-Hit-Dog’s new video also mentioned information about the next version, which was related to the Crimson Dynasty as Han Xiao had said. These posts all got Han Xiao some attention. However, compared to the popularity of the Pro League, everything else was pushed side. Even he could not compete with the Pro League for popularity.

It was already the late stage of Version 2.0. Galaxy’s players had been steadily increasing through the version. Although it had not reached the explosive increase stage, there were already many players.

The first season was quite successful. There were now many people paying attention to the second season. Galaxy Times had been talking about the Pro League for a few consecutive episodes, heating things up.

Han Xiao returned to his room, took out a bottle of ‘Handsome and Happy’ water and gulped it down. He then opened the latest Galaxy Times episode. This was the last episode before the start of the Pro League. It was their last effort to add more wood to the flames of this huge event.

The two hosts showed off their ability to make cold jokes before talking about the main focus of the episode, emphasizing on the rules of the second season of the Pro League.

Version 2.0 added a few novice planets. However, most players had already left their novice planets and entered space. Hence, the divisions were adjusted and were no longer based on novice planets. The divisions were now based on Star Fields that had novice planets in them. As some novice planets were in the same Star Field, they were combined into the same division.

There had been thirteen divisions in the previous season, but now there were nine. This meant that the teams of some countries would meet before the main event. Strong teams would face off against each other to qualify for the next stage. Even though more teams were allowed to advance this season, the competition would still be more intense.

The locations for the divisions were no longer on novice planets but a few nearby unpopulated planets in every division. The entire planet would be the venue. As the players had already entered the galaxy, they would definitely be able to come to the venue.

The format did not change much; it was still Singles and Groups.

There had only been three types of battles in the previous season-Duel, Groups, and Singles. One more was added this season-Survival. As the name suggested, it was about surviving. This would appear both in the point-based Division Regulars and the International Regulars. There would also be two types of Survival matches, one for teams and one for single players.

According to the Galaxy Times’s introduction, the Team Survival was a battle between four teams. The only winner would be awarded a lot of points, the second and third would be awarded a certain number of points, and the last would not get any points. The Singles Survival would be a brawl between sixteen Singles players.

As for the schedule, the first stage was still the Division Qualifiers and Division Secondary League. All players would be able to register for the Division Qualifiers. The Division Secondary League was a jumping board for the second-tier teams of some clubs. The top forty teams and sixty-four Singles players would enter the Pre Season to warm up, followed by the Divisions Regulars.

The Divisions Regulars was point-based. The top eight teams and sixteen players would enter the Division Finals. After the Divisions Regulars, the ones at the top of the scoreboard would take part in the entertainment-oriented International All-Stars.

The Divisions Finals used the best of five format to determine first place and the runner up. As there were fewer divisions this season, the top four teams and eight Singles players would all be able to enter the International Regulars.

This time, the gap between the Internationals and the Divisions was hugely reduced; the schedule would be much tighter than the previous season.

The Internationals was also point-based. The most elite players from the various divisions would fight to determine the top eight teams and sixteen Singles players who would enter the International Finals, where the world champions would be determined.

Han Xiao looked at the forums’ videos and nodded in approval.

The format was the same as in his previous life; the difference was the people taking part in it.

The show then heavily focused on introducing players with potential in China. When the time for the interviews came, the captains of the four biggest clubs in China were invited. Frenzied Sword, who had finished among the top in the International Singles in the previous season, was also invited.

The two hosts asked them a few questions and chatted. The atmosphere was light and relaxed.

For the last question, the two hosts asked every team about their goal this season and what they expected. The answers these people gave made the Chinese viewers feel excited.

Dynasty’s King Admiral smiled lazily and said, “Dynasty only has one target this season, to win every single battle. We’re going to be the Division champion and the world champion!”

Temple of God’s Li Ge sounded very formal. “We will do our best to win every match and make use of all our strength. We hope to achieve enough in the Internationals to not disappoint the supporters of Temple of God.”

Fried Eggplants with Fish’s Sun Eggplant said with an expressionless face, “In the last season, we regrettably could not qualify for the Internationals. This season, we’re going to fight to become the last winner.”

Long Sky’s Hao Tian sat up straight and said with a very serious tone, “Our only target is the world champion!”

The four biggest clubs all confidently announced that they were going for the championship; this made the Chinese players all very excited.

In the last season, Dynasty had been the first runner up. Although it was not bad, the Chinese players were still quite sad that they did not win.

They were close to the top, so they were more determined to reach it. The words of these four clubs were very morale-boosting.

“Four teams will be able to qualify in the Internationals. If all four of our clubs enter the top four and the Internationals, that would be really
fun.”

“Hehehe, that might not be certain. Although they are all very strong, the other tier-one teams are not bad either. Rainy Kim’s Thunder Storm and Yan Ran’s Berserkers are not easy to deal with. Nine Gates, Sky Palace, and Dragons and Tigers are all very competitive, too.”

“I have high hopes for Rivervale. Frenzied Sword was top sixteen in the International Singles last season. Rivervale have rebuilt their team with him as the core. They might be a dark horse.”

Many viewers discussed their thoughts in the comments.

Frenzied Sword was not as confident as the other captains on the show. He said that this was his first time leading a team and that he would do his best to enter the Internationals. He did not dare announce that they would be champions.

The clubs of other countries were all quite pressured. Planet Aquamarine was the base of the Chinese players, and they had entered space more than a year earlier than the others. This had resulted in the average strength of the Chinese teams being very high. All of them were strong teams that were not easy to deal with. Even the champions of the previous season, the French team, did not underestimate them and said that they would do their best to become back to back champions.

Han Xiao was looking forward to seeing what place China would be able to achieve under his influence.

In the Pro League’s second season in his previous life, Dynasty had gotten third place in the Internationals and Temple of God had finished in the top eight. This time, China’s overall strength was clearly superior. It was not just their equipment, abilities, and experience, but also the fact that the pro players had taken part in galactic-level battles long ago. Their skills were honed as well.

The second season of the Pro League is an important stage. The first season was just a test. A lot more effort has been put into promoting the second season; it’s many times more influential than the first season. It will directly cause a huge number of new players to enter during Version 3.0. The better the results the Chinese teams achieve, the more exposure they will get, which will also be beneficial to my faction.

Currently, the roughly one million players in the Black Star Army had all been players from the earliest releases. There would be more newcomers joining in in the future.

The tons of new players in Version 3.0 were a second opportunity to expand the size of the army. Without the advantage of being the guiding faction, he had to compete with the many factions in Version 3.0. The Pro League would be a way for him to increase his faction’s attractiveness.

Other than these long-term benefits, every Pro League was a business opportunity.

The players earned money to turn it into their strength. During the Pro League, the players’ demand for equipment would explosively increase. The Genetic Medicines in his warehouse would sell very well. He was only worried about not having enough stock.

Pro League stimulated the players’ need to spend. The players were happy to empty their wallets. This was a chance to make a huge fortune.

A few unpopulated planets in the Garton Star System made up the competition venue. Han Xiao planned to gather a fleet to sell equipment at the venue. Whether it was to repair equipment, buy items, or learn abilities, the players would be able to spend on the spot. It would be amazing for them.

Anyway, whether it was amazing for the players or not, it was amazing for Han Xiao.

The Pro League is going to start in ten days. Time to go.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Chapter 646: Training Soldiers

With the day of the Pro League drawing ever closer, practically all the players began to gather on the host planet. Even if they were not competing, they could still participate in the arena as spectators. This would be a large-scale event involving the entire playerbase, and for players who loved lively events, this was something that they could not miss.

The uninhabited planet that served as the competition grounds started to be filled with life. Spaceships flew in and out, and the entire planet served as the battlefield, a vast area. The players officiating and volunteers had constructed many platforms and viewing stands. Continuing the style of the previous season, they had allowed the players to participate in the construction of the venue, to enhance their sense of being part of the event. Since there were also many players that were idling away, they were happy to help out.

The casual players prepared the venue in full swing on the planet, while the participating players took advantage of the time to do their final preparations, strengthen their equipment, and upgrade their skills.

Han Xiao had brought a fleet, with a flagship serving as the core. They carried various stocks from the warehouse as they came toward the game planet. When the Black Star fleet appeared, the players on the planet were surprised as they did not know why the Army’s fleet had appeared.

After the fleet arrived, it remained floating in outer space. The players were curious; thus, they entered the flagship, only to find Han Xiao inside.

When the players asked, Han Xiao’s reply was concise.

“My intelligence showed that a large portion of our mercenaries had gathered on this uninhabited planet. This puzzled me, and I thought that you guys would be in trouble, so I came over to take a look.”

This reason was both acceptable yet unexpected to the players. Many of them found it interesting.

The players had long gotten used to actual feedback from the NPCs. Their every action would determine the judgment of the NPC as well as the change in Galaxy itself. This sort of strong interactive feedback mechanism often left the players in full immersion.

As a member of the Black Star Army, to have tens of thousands of their people gathered in one place such that the leader of the faction actually got alarmed and came to inspect was a refreshing experience to the visitors.

In terms of character interaction, some players enjoyed role-playing, conversing with the NPCs in accordance with the game to make it as realistic as possible, while others liked to directly admit to Han Xiao that they were having a tournament.

“If that’s the case, I would like to assess my mercenaries’ growth. Just nice, I don’t have anything on at the moment,” Han Xiao replied in a natural tone, pretending to ignore the words such as ‘Pro League’ and other game related terms. He instead implied that they were doing this as a large-scale friendly spar.

The majority of players did not doubt him. They did not expect an NPC to appear to observe their Pro League, but this only made it more interesting.

In addition, upon finding out that the ship was stocked with various services for supply and maintenance as well as equipment and potions, the players were even more pleased. This meant that there was now a convenience store right beside them.

The happiest group was actually the club players. Because they were filthy rich, the services that Black Star provided could allow them to flexibly adjust their tactics without the need to run to other planets to prepare their supplies. This saved them a lot of time.

Having Han Xiao spectate the event would naturally not be suspicious to the players. As long as he did not move toward that topic, nobody would think about the strangeness of this whole affair.

No matter how low the possibility of a player suspecting him as an NPC, even if someone really found out, it was useless. For him to have gone through so much from the start, if there were problems, they would have popped up long ago. As long as he did not interfere in the Pro League, maintaining his distance, there was no need to panic.

Three days later, the highly anticipated Second Pro League officially began!

The first stage was naturally the qualifiers. This could be considered a side dish before the main course. Directed by the league staff, the numerous contestants formed teams to undergo an elimination process and obtain the qualifications to enter the formal round.

Because the venue was much larger compared to the First Pro League, the time taken for the qualifiers had been greatly shortened.

On the forums, the officials released the highlights of the qualifiers for each division. Any Second Pro League content was thoroughly analyzed, and anything not related to the Pro League was lost in the sea of posts.

The players of every country were discussing the giants, seeded players as well as potential dark horses.

On the Chinese board, the main teams of the four giants had direct team entry for the regular season and did not need to participate in the qualifiers. The teams that received the most attention were the front-line teams such as Thunder Storm, Fanatics, and so on.

Frenzied Sword’s Rivervale also caught the eyes of many. Eliminating team after team, they blazed through the qualifiers.

In the Singles, King Admiral, Frenzied Sword, and the others who had fought and entered the International competition also had the right to skip the qualifiers, sparing themselves from the intense competition.

Unlike the team qualifiers, because the Singles was open to all, the majority of players wanted to have a go at it. Thus, the number of players in that event was the highest, practically the entire gaming community.

Compared to Version 1.0, the strength of the players was now much stronger, giving rise to various genres and fighting styles, as well as tricks. The scenes were more intense, full of lights and stars as different abilities were used, making everyone who looked at it dizzy.

Since entering the galaxy, the players had also begun to come into contact with the Mage and Psychic classes. A number of newcomers, as well as old players who were playing on new accounts, had chosen those two classes. All the competition divisions had the same five professions for Supers, but the ratio was different. For the Professions that had only popped out in Version 2.0, the proportion of players were naturally the least.

However, compared to his previous lifetime, the situation had changed. Originally, the proportion of players in the Mechanic class had been the second lowest, ranked even behind the Mage class. However, the number of players with the Mechanic profession was the second highest, only losing out to the Pugilist class.

This was because Han Xiao had swayed a lot of players to the class advancement of a Mechanic back in Version 1.0.

The other point that Han Xiao noted was that the players in China had a stronger average strength, surpassing that of his past life. Because he had allowed Planet Aquamarine to enter the galaxy a couple of years earlier than the rest, be it experience, money, or combat capability, the region of Shattered Star Ring had more advantages compared to his past life. Rich resources had allowed for better support for various combat capability and tactics, and any half-decent battle teams had standards that were well above the norm.

The Second Pro League event was unprecedented, as the entire planet was used as a battlefield. The qualifiers and divisional battles proceeded quickly, and with the schedule being shorter than the first Pro League, the feeling was more intense.

In ten days, the qualifiers finally came to an end, and the season roster of each division was released.

The lists released in the other regions were not much different compared to the previous season, but in the Shattered Star Ring, the season roster had undergone a significant change. While the strong teams were still in the running as with the previous season, there were large changes seen in the lower rungs, with many new teams and players surfacing.

One of them that made Han Xiao feel a little surprised was Maple Moon, who was only supposed to take part from the Third Pro League onward. Not only did she participate in this season, she had even entered the roster of Top 64 places in the Singles tournament, making her one of the dark horses.

Han Xiao had watched the video channel of Maple Moon. She was usually grouped together with Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian, and their standards rose extremely quickly as a result. Whatever Enas they earned would be spent immediately. She had possessed the potential to go Pro from the beginning, or else she could not have become so famous in his past life.

However, compared to his previous life, Maple Moon’s standard was still a distance from her peak. The main reason she had managed to enter the Singles ranking was because she had bought the blueprint of the Void Dragon Mechanical suit from Han Xiao and created her own poorer version of it. Only in the Third Pro League would the Mechanic profession begin to display its version advantages and rise to power. Right now, the Mechanic class was neither strong nor weak, and equipped with a mechanical suit that was considered god-like in this Version, while she could not crush everyone, Maple Moon could afford to make more mistakes.

As the saying went, every version would have a generation of gods. The Mechanic profession in Version 2.0 was not strong enough, but with the great tutor Han Xiao, the players who chose the Mechanic profession had cut off a lot of dead ends. At least within the Shattered Star Ring, the disadvantages of a Mechanic were not so obvious.

Within the Singles list, there were at least ten more players in the Mechanic class than in his past life. In the area of team battles, the Mechanic class was also an important team member required for every team.

Han Xiao had made quite the killing in the qualifiers. The machinery went without saying, as most of the players were using Black Star’s equipment. The sales for the Genetic Medicine also increased, with the clubs buying them in large quantities since they could provide a sudden edge in battle. If not for the abundance of stock, it was likely that the clubs would have bought all the Genetic Medicine that Han Xiao had in stock.

Taking advantage of the Pro League to earn a quick buck, the sum of Han Xiao’s bank deposit broke through his short-term goal.

With the qualifiers over, the main course was about to arrive.

The impact of Han Xiao’s recent large-scale operation still lingered, with the various organizations observing the every move of the Black Star Army.

The scene of large numbers of ‘Black Star Mercenaries’ gathering on a random planet for a competition gathered the attention of many of the organizations, which made them start to guess the intentions of Han Xiao.

When a few of the Mercenary Groups learned of this news, envy filled their expressions. This incident indirectly demonstrated the control that Black Star had over his Mercenary Group. Most mercenaries had no loyalty or bonds to speak of, but Black Star had thousands of these ‘comrades’. Not only were they cohesive, they were also willing to follow Black Star’s orders to act in unison without him having to spend a single cent. This was more reliable than those freelance mercenaries that most groups hired.

Many of the organizations believed that Black Star had what it took to transform from a mercenary group into a proper armed organization in the future.

Because the incident had added a lot of helpers to Section Zero, the Black Star Army’s name had entered the sight of the upper echelons in the Purple Crystal Civilization, and they looked favorably upon the Black Star Army.

Currently, Han Xiao only required a few hundred more faction favorability points to reach the Respect tier.

This time’s situation also attracted the attention of the Purple Crystal Civilization.

“Black Star has gathered more than eighty percent of his mercenaries on the planet to battle with each other. What is he doing?”

In the office of Section Zero, many of the foreign affairs officers were discussing this matter.

Ralph rapped on the table as he confidently smiled.

“There’s only one explanation. Training. Black Star’s training his soldiers!”

The eyes of everyone present lit up as they began to nod and praise him.

Ralph was full of smiles. In his mind, the Black Star Army was undergoing mock battles to simulate an actual battlefield.

“What a reliable ally.” Ralph could not help but sigh.

Chapter 647: Advanced Strengthened Life

The Regulars were exciting as expected, and the competition was intense.

Han Xiao’s fleet remained on the host planet. In his free time, he watched the broadcast on the forums. Other than that, he sold all sorts of potions and built some machines.

Among the nine divisions, the Shattered Star Ring Division was the most exciting. The Black Star Army’s diverse range of machines provided the Chinese teams with many creative strategies such as group self-detonation with the nuclear flying backpacks. Those who used this strategy were clearly aware that they would not be able to qualify for the next round, so they decided to have some fun.

Compared to the competitions in the other divisions, the fights between the Chinese teams were more suspenseful. The Genetic Medicine that Han Xiao was selling added more uncertainties to these fights. Comebacks had already happened many times.

Near the end of the Regulars, the qualified teams for the finals in the various divisions were basically decided. To Han Xiao’s surprise, Frenzied Sword’s Rivervale team climbed as high as second on the point-based scoreboard, right below Dynasty, which almost won every single fight.

For Frenzied Sword, who was leading a team for the first time, this was outstanding. In fact, Rivervale was not very strong in direct battles, but it was like God was helping them in the new mode, Survival. They were able to be the last team standing many times. This gave them a lot of points. Hence, they rocketed to second place in the later stages.

The eight teams that qualified for the Shattered Star Ring Division Finals arranged in descending order were Dynasty, Rivervale, Long Sky, Thunder Storm, Thunder Storm, Fried Eggplants With Fish, Fanatics, and Nine Gates.

As for the Singles, King Admiral, Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, Li Ge, and the other strong players all got into the top 16. Maple Moon was 38th place.

Despite not being able to qualify, her performance was quite good and attracted some fans. Although she did not achieve the results that she obtained in the third season in Han Xiao’s previous life, she gained some fame in advance. Quite a number of teams wanted to sign her into their training program.

The Division Regulars ended. The Division Finals would start after some resting time. As the schedule was tighter than the previous season, it would not be a long rest.

During that, the top teams from the nine divisions and the champions in the Singles took part in the International All-Stars and put on a show for the audience.

On the forums, the Chinese players commented that they could not wait to see Dynasty’s battle with strong teams with other countries. The champion of the previous season, Tulips, was the champion in their division. As the first runner up in the previous season, Dynasty had the opportunity to fight with the previous champion. Although it was just a performance, countless Chinese players still hoped that Dynasty could win.

Before the International All-Stars started, Han Xiao received some good news.

During this time of the Pro League for the players, the Star Beast Organization finally gathered all the rare materials Han Xiao had requested and sent them to Han Xiao from far away.

In the flagship’s hall, the Star Beast Organization member delivered an alloy box and said in a respectful tone, “Your Excellency Black Star, the goods you wanted have been delivered. Leader Gobili sends his regards.”

“Okay, thank him for me. We will have many opportunities to work together in the future.”

Han Xiao nodded and sent him away. He then took the box to his training room.

After closing the door, Han Xiao opened the box. Cold air flew out and obstructed his view. After it slightly dissipated, Han Xiao saw ten tubes of liquids inside with various colors. Some had multiple colors, some were transparent, and some were deep blue. These were all potions extracted from the essence of rare galactical creatures related to the Void Race in some way.

Injecting biological medicines had the risks of causing mutation. The most direct effect of it would be a decrease in attributes. The lower the compatibility, the higher the chances for a mutation to occur. To lower the risks, the creatures Han Xiao listed all had the Void bloodline. Han Xiao was one of the Void Race himself, so the high compatibility would hardly lead to any mutation.

Void creatures were difficult to find. It had taken the Star Beast Organization quite a lot of effort to obtain all of that.

Han Xiao took out the Injector and injected them into his body one after another. He always rested a while in between each tube to ensure that everything was fine before injecting the next tube.

The first few tubes gave him a few more points in attributes, but the effect was getting weaker. When he was at the sixth tube, it did not give him any attributes anymore. The last time his talent leveled up also happened when he continued injecting after he stopped getting bonus attributes.

As Han Xiao injected the last tube, a notification finally popped up on the interface.

Your talent (Intermediate Strengthened Life) has upgraded.

Upgrade complete, original talent changed to [Advanced Strengthened Life).

Advanced Strengthened Life: Provides extra health based on END on a scale of 1:60, +25 Resistance, +10% all attributes temporarily for every 40% health lost.

“Finally, this talent is upgraded.”

Han Xiao had a joyful expression on his face.

Before the upgrade, the ratio of Endurance to health was 1:30, but it was now 1:60. There was also the effect of getting a ten percent bonus in all attributes temporarily for every forty percent health lost.

“I have two talents that can exchange between mana and health, which makes my health recovery extremely fast. If every forty percent of my health lost triggers a new effect, this means that the longer the battle is, the stronger I will become.”

Harmon had a similar ability, and he had seen its power with his own eyes.

“The only problem is… I’m too tanky. It will take too long to reduce my health by forty percent.”

Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at his health.

(Health: 117,910)

“Hehe, finally, my health is more than a hundred thousand. Even if the Vanguard Officials of the Bloodshed Land fight me all at once, I will be able to tire them out easily. When the secret war starts, I’ve got to find them to have some fun.”

Han Xiao chuckled.

He was so tanky that instead of being called a Mechanic, he might as well be called a Musclechanic.

At the center of the known universe was the base Star Fields of the three Universal Civilizations, which formed a triangle. These were the most advanced and bustling Star Fields in the entire galaxy. This place was called the Central Galaxy. It was the universe center of the strong, the powerful, and the rich.

The Abyss of Stars was one of the three Star Fields in the Central Galaxy, the core territory of the Federation of Light.

In this Star Field, there were some known forbidden areas.

The Shadow Realm was one of them.

This was a manually modified planet, and beside it was an eerie black satellite. There was no land, no seas-it was as if this was a gaseous planet formed by some sort of black gas.

The Shadow Realm was a forbidden place in the Abyss of Stars because this was the territory of a Beyond Grade A [Thousand Shadows).

Just like the Shattered Star Ring, there were also Beyond Grade As in the Abyss Of Stars. In fact, there were more than four of them. Between the Beyond Grade As in the Abyss of Stars, Thousand Shadows was known to be an outcast.

No one knew his name; no one had seen his real face. Every traveler who stepped into the Shadow Realm had disappeared without a trace. This gave Thousand Shadows an aura of mystery and danger. People could only know about him through parts of legends.

These legends could be traced back to as early as the end of the exploration era, meaning there were records of Thousand Shadows dating back to thousands of years ago.

There was a city in the Shadow Realm, comprising many buildings and a lot of bases. Countless spaceships were docked there. However, strangely, there was almost no one there. It was deadly silent.

A man sprinted down the completely empty street. His footsteps and the sound of wind were among the only sounds in this city.

There was a tall tower-shaped palace in the middle of the city. This man ran into the open door of the palace, through the deadly silent corridor, past the spiral staircase, and arrived at the top of the palace.

This was a room, a very wide and spacious room. At the end of the room was a wall embedded with a circular black mirror. The man came before the mirror, and the pitch black and smooth mirror reflected the man’s face. He had an ordinary look, except his eyes were pure white like two white crystals.

The man stared at the mirror and softly spoke.

“Your Excellency Thousand Shadows, I did not intend to disturb your rest. Some things have happened; Albert has failed. The team in the Shattered Star Ring was wiped out. Their prey was rescued. We need your guidance.”

Then, the man patiently waited for a reply. After a while, the mirror suddenly started rippling. An indescribably eerie voice appeared. It was ethereal and husky, like the murmur of a higher dimensional being.

“The others?”

“The teams capturing prey in other Star Fields have not met any trouble. Everything is normal.”

“The new shadows… Will convey my message…”

The next second, the black satellite in outer space suddenly launched a thin, long beam, heading right to the Shadow Realm and accurately landing at the top of the palace. It was like a bridge that connected them.

Swoosh!

A rippling sound came from the black mirror. The next moment, ten black shadows walked out of the mirror one after another like walking into reality from the world inside the mirror. These shadows were all completely pitch black. Tiny black dust made from an unknown material was dissipating from them and vaporizing in the air. The shapes of these shadows were gradually changing. New limbs kept growing out and disappearing.

Within a few seconds, the ten shadows finally stopped changing shapes. The black color on their bodies rapidly disappeared, and they turned into ten beings of different races. There were some that looked like humans and some that did not. Their faces and body shapes were all different, too. It was like they were all individual beings.

The leader was a beautiful, naked woman. Her eyes were closed. She took a deep breath. As if the air she inhaled had awoken her bodily functions, only then did she slowly open her eyes. Her blank, lifeless eyes started to look lively and intelligent. She did a stretch and moaned.

“How long was I asleep? I seem to have forgotten many things…” The woman raised her eyebrows and seemed to be trying to recall something. “My name is… Stephanie?”

The man at the side was used to this. He bowed and said, “Hello Stephanie, what orders does His Excellency Thousand Shadows have?”

Thousand Shadows? Stephanie felt a sense of belonging to this name, and a lot of memories started appearing in her head. Without hesitation, she said, “He told us to continue Albert’s mission and capture the targets on the list, bringing the escaped prey back.”

The man nodded and said, “Okay, the ten of you will be the new team in the Shattered Star Ring. Follow me to get your equipment. Rest for a while and get going. Remember what happened to Albert. You have to be stealthier when carrying out the mission.”

“I’ll do my best,” Stephanie replied.

Chapter 648: Divisions

The schedule for the International All-Stars was released. The first match was already very excitingthe fight between the champion and the first runner-up of the previous season-Tulips vs. Dynasty.

The event organizers clearly knew that this would bring more attention to the All-Stars event, so they heavily promoted this match. In all the pro competitions, inviting the champion and the first runner-up of the previous season as the opening match of the All-Stars was a kind of tradition.

This was highly effective. This opening match was extremely popular, especially among the Chinese viewers. Being first runners-up was an achievement, but it was also regretful. They hoped to see Dynasty’s victory over Tulips and start off this season with a blast.

Not just the spectators, but all the teams that intended to enter the Internationals were paying attention to this opening match, wanting to learn more about Dynasty and Tulips. When the time came for them to face one of these strong teams, they could at least be somewhat prepared.

Han Xiao was paying attention to this match as well. After all, Dynasty’s guild had bulk purchased hundreds of Ability Potions from him. He had to observe the effects they would bring and think about after-sales services.

Like the previous season, the store would sell a specific Gathering Crystal to bring the attending players into the same virtual environment for the match. It would be broadcast officially as well as by the Galaxy Times.

A few days before the match, the Galaxy Times interviewed both the Tulips team and the Dynasty team, asking about what they thought of this match.

Tulips’ captain, Lost Angel, was extremely confident and said that they would definitely win this match, protect their honor as the champions of the previous season, and so on. As they were the previous season champions, most of the spectators naturally had higher hopes for Tulips.

As for Dynasty, King Admiral did not know the meaning of the word ‘humble’. He directly said for Tulips to wash themselves up and wait for him to wipe the floor with them. Of course, those were not his original words, but that was what he meant.

In this situation, the Chinese supporters did not want to see Dynasty being humble—this confidence boosted their morale much more. They all showed their support on the forums. After all, Dynasty had looked almost undefeatable throughout the Division Regulars. The Chinese players had very high hopes for Dynasty. The last thing they wanted to see was Dynasty doing what the Temple of Gods had done the previous season.

The various professionals analyzed the match before it started. Most of them felt that Tulips was slightly stronger-even the official host of the event thought so. They placed Dynasty in the challenger’s position.

Galaxy Times did a conclusive report.

“King Admiral and Lost Angel have both made their victory announcement. Indeed, both of them have the potential to win. They will definitely have an exciting and unpredictable battle that will stay suspenseful until the very last moment. Let’s look forward to who will be the final winner.”

The day of the opening match soon came.

Countless players swarmed into the live broadcast channel. Other than the official channel, there was also the Galaxy Times’ channel, which invited guests to watch the match together. Many viewers chuckled upon seeing the guest list of the Chinese version Galaxy Times—Bun-Hit-Dog was in it.

Bun-Hit-Dog’s video career was blooming. He had finally turned himself into someone famous and now had both fans and haters. Him mixing with the other guests who were all pro players looked quite entertaining

The two teams had entered the match venue with their Gathering Crystals long ago. Led by the host, King Admiral and Lost Angel both did a short interview on the scene before going to make preparations.

While waiting, the commentators and guests speculated and started chit-chatting.

The female commentator of the Chinese version Galaxy Times said to the guests, “The match is about to start soon. How about you guys try to predict the result and tell us which team you think is more likely to win. Oh, and please do tell us the reason for your choice.”

The replies of the guests were all similar. They all said Tulips was strong, but they felt that Dynasty had a higher chance of winning. They then went on to give plenty of logical reasons for their choice. Mainly, it was just because they did not dare support the opponent in front of the Chinese viewers.

That was all except for Bun-Hit-Dog, who was not like the others. His position was extremely firm and without hesitation.

“I support Tulips; the French team will win!”

The guests were all surprised.

The commentator could not help but ask, “Are you sure? Why?”

“Well, it’s a little difficult to explain…” With a serious face and tone, Bun-Hit-Dog said, “Have you ever heard of reverse psychology?”

The commentator was speechless. He had thought that Bun-Hit-Dog had lost his mind, but it turned out that he was just joking.

After Bun-Hit-Dog explained, the comments finally turned from all question marks into countless ‘The French will win’ comments.

After the commentators and guests joked around and chatted for a while, the match officially started. The relaxing atmosphere instantly became intense. The viewers all focused on the match.

The first match was a team match. The broadcasting view followed both teams at all times. Han Xiao was mainly looking at Dynasty.

The venue was random, and it was a rather complicated terrain. After Dynasty entered, they did not hastily look for the enemies but took out one mechanical item after another.

The commentator spoke at a suitable time. “Dynasty has chosen the steady strategy. They’ve used mechanical items to create an advantageous situation for them. One thing I should mention is that the items Dynasty is using are all Black Star series machines. The Black Star Army has a full set of machinery products. This has given the teams in the Shattered Star Ring division an advantage in designing their strategies. Comparatively, team Tulips does not have this advantage.”

Bun-Hit-Dog nodded and added, “Definitely. According to my investigations, the players in the other divisions lack methods of obtaining set equipment as easily as the Black Star Army. Although the pro players are still able to gather a full set of top-notch equipment, this will have taken them more time.”

As soon as the Black Star Army was mentioned, the Chinese players were like on steroids. The comments were filled with ‘Black Star is awesome’, ‘Notice me, captain’, ‘Dragon Emperor licker here’, and so on.

When the Black Star Army was mentioned in an international event such as this, the Shattered Star Ring players became extremely exhilarated. The Black Star Army was the bridge that connected the many players in the Shattered Star Ring—it had become their shared language.

Han Xiao was rather surprised. He had not been mentally prepared for the sudden mention. He suddenly had a strange feeling of ‘Wherever I’m not, my legends are’.

The match continued. The two teams moved on the map and finally discovered each other. They quickly approached each other.

The viewers immediately grew nervous. They held their breath and waited for the intense clash between two strong teams they had expected…

However, dreams and reality are often very different. The actual situation was far from what they thought it would be.

There was no intense battle between two similarly strong teams—Dynasty thrashed Tulips from the beginning to the end, beating them up and ending with an overwhelming victory.

The commentators and guests were at a loss of words. The Chinese viewers were beyond exhilarated. On the other hand, the viewers of the other countries were stunned. Most did not support either of the teams, but they did look forward to an intense battle. To their surprise, the champion of the previous season was overwhelmingly and easily defeated.

The Duel that followed ended with Dynasty’s complete victory as well.

The official casters and judges were all stupefied. The host wanted to make the opening match an exciting battle between two extremely strong and skilled teams. This was also why they had invited the champion and the first runner-up of the previous season. To their absolute shock, Tulips had been easily crushed by Dynasty.

It was Dynasty’s complete, one-sided victory. The comments went crazy, and the Chinese spectators were overjoyed.

Han Xiao was not surprised by this result at all. In his previous life, Tulips had also been the champion of the first season, but they had become a normal, stronger than average team in the second season and almost did not even make it to the International top

As for Dynasty, they were much stronger than the previous season. To Han Xiao, this result was very normal.

Although Tulips was the champion of the previous season, the French lacked a special advantage that the Chinese players had—there were too few hateful comments!

Unlike the Chinese players who had been fighting in such a harsh environment, they had no pressure. The Chinese players were always motivated to become better so that they would not get so many hateful comments. However, Tulips became relaxed after winning the championship.

In the same opening match in his previous life, the two teams had been Tulips and the American team Devil, where Tulips was also demolished by Devil. Now that Dynasty had taken over Devil’s place in the first season, the one that demolished Tulips became them.

After the opening match ended, the various professionals all changed their minds and started praising Dynasty as they usually would, praising the winner after the match.

The teams of the other countries all saw Dynasty as the strongest competitor and focused on studying the match recordings, trying to design better strategies.

Dynasty’s victory was sensational and received a lot of attention. Their fame surpassed that of the other three clubs very quickly. The Chinese supporters all cheered for them and almost saw them as their main team. With their excitement and joy also came their very high hopes.

The majority of the players in team Dynasty were somewhat nervous.

As members of one of the biggest clubs, they knew full well that this situation was a double-edged sword. Of course, if they kept winning, they would surpass everyone else and almost become god players.

However, once they lost, the mistakes of every single one of them would be indefinitely enlarged, and they would be drowned by the hateful comments. The more attention they got, the more pressure they would receive. King Admiral was the only one unaffected by this at all.

After the opening match, the International All-Stars officially commenced. The strong teams fought each other in entertaining ways to kick off the International Regulars.

The champions of all nine divisions showcased their skills and displayed their strength.

The schedule for this season was very tight. The end of the All-Stars was followed by only a few days of rest before the Division Finals started.

In the Shattered Star Ring Division, the eight teams were split into four pairs based on their ranking: Dynasty vs. Nine Gates, Rivervale vs. Fanatics, Long Sky vs. Fried Eggplants With Fish, and Temple of Gods vs. Thunder Storm. The format was best of five.

The most interesting pair was Long Sky vs. Fried Eggplants With Fish—the two biggest clubs met in the first round. As only the top four could qualify for the International Regulars, this meant that one of them would not be able to qualify.

In the previous season, Fried Eggplants With Fish had not been able to enter the International Regulars. This time, their morale was extremely high, and they had sworn to defeat Long Sky in order to qualify.

Sadly, Long Sky still won. Fried Eggplants With Fish did not qualify once again and went to the corner to draw voodoo circles.

Very soon, the first round of the Division Finals had ended. As expected, Dynasty defeated Nine Gates and kept their momentum.

Rivervale had a close, intense battle with Fanatics. At the match point of 2:2, Frenzied Sword and Evil Sword surged at a crucial moment and barely defeated team Fanatics, led by Yan Ran. Rivervale entered the top four.

The result of Temple of Gods vs. Thunder Storm, however, was very unexpected. Rainy Kim wiped the floor with Li Ge, eliminating Temple of Gods with a score of 3:1 and entering the top 4. Temple of Gods joined Fried Eggplants With Fish in drawing voodoo circles in the corner.

The top 4 was determined—Dynasty, Long Sky, Rivervale, and Thunder Storm. The result was quite surprising for many viewers. Two of the biggest clubs could not qualify for the International Regulars.

The top 4 teams were already qualified for the International Regulars. Next was the fight to be the Divisions champion. This was an honorable achievement as well.

The second draw made Han Xiao suspect that Frenzied Sword had touched Feidin beforehand as well. The two biggest clubs were due to face off against each other, Dynasty vs. Long Sky, whereas Rivervale had drawn the comparatively weaker Thunder Storm.

Frenzied Sword had only started to lead a team this season. Originally, team Rivervale was just a second-tier or even third-tier team, yet they qualified for the International Regulars. They were definitely a dark horse and attracted a lot of attention.

As a Mechanical Pugilist, Frenzied Sword’s style was diverse, mature, and steady. He was much more famous compared to the previous season. He had started to make a name for himself in the pro scene.

Due to Han Xiao, Frenzied Sword had chosen a different class from his previous life. However, based on his current situation, his pro career was much smoother.

Chapter 649: Group Taunt

After a few days, the result of the second round of the Division Finals was decided. Dynasty defeated Long Sky steadily, and Rivervale barely beat Thunder Storm. Dynasty met Rivervale in the last round for the championship.

Frenzied Sword could not carry on his luck from before; their raw skill difference was too vast, and he could not lead Rivervale to victory. In the end, they finished first runners-up, and Dynasty were once again the Divisions champions.

King Admiral had made the announcement before the competition started that they would finish both Divisions champions and International champions. They had already achieved one of them. Dynasty continued to attract more attention as time went on; countless players hoped that Dynasty could really live up to their words.

To Frenzied Sword, getting the first runner-up the first time he led a team was satisfying enough. His team still had a lot of room to improve and practice their teamwork. Rivervale was certainly the dark horse of this season, and they obtained a lot of new fans.

Long Sky defeated Thunder Storm and got the Divisions second runner-up. If not because they had met Dynasty in the second round, Hao Tian’s team would have been the first runners-up of the Divisions.

The results of the various divisions were decided, and the Divisions ended. There were more than ten days to rest before the International Regulars.

There were no more matches in the various divisions. The Internationals could not be viewed at the scene and only watched on the broadcast. Hence, the players did not remain on the planets used for the Divisions and went to do their own stuff while paying close attention to the forums.

Due to the Divisions, countless players did not do any mission during this time. Only more than a hundred thousand mercenaries in the Black Star Army and very few players were still taking on missions. However, although the business was neglected, not only did Han Xiao not make a loss, but he made a humongous amount of profit instead.

Most of the Ability Potions were sold. The business of selling machines and repairing equipment was also quite profitable. Han Xiao had made many tens of millions of Enas, almost doubling his bank account while emptying the wallets of many players.

With this money, he could purchase more fleets and recruit more freelance mercenaries. During the version update when he would not have the help of the close to a million players, he would have to rely on the money that he had earned from them to develop himself. Ten years was not a short period of time—the more money he could make before that, the merrier.

After the players left, Han Xiao returned to Base No.1 and sent out a message to recruit people from all around the Star Cluster. He started to prepare for the secret war that was about to break out between Klent and Purple Crystal. His current focus was to get more Favorability from Purple Crystal and obtain the Cutting-Edge Knowledge. Before he obtained the Cutting-Edge Knowledge from the Purple Crystal Civilization, he was not planning to personally take on any other missions.

However, Han Xiao received a mission that he could not reject-it was a message from the Sky Ring Army.

One mercenary team from Sky Ring encountered dangers that they could not resolve during their mission. The initial mission was an ordinary mission to deal with the rebellion on a planet. According to the employer’s explanation, the strongest person among the enemies was just Grade B. However, a Calamity Grade enemy appeared. The Black Star Army was the nearest ally that Sky Ring had, so this team could only request emergency reinforcements from Black Star.

Black Star had become one of the top mercenary groups long ago, but he still maintained his partnership with large mercenary groups such as Sky Ring. Usually, Han Xiao would definitely help them himself since it would not be too much trouble, but this time, he did not want to go there himself. Hence, he called Lagi over.

Ever since he joined the Black Star Army, the previously unoccupied Magic Research Lab had become Lagi’s territory. He spent every day there doing research and studying. Using his words, he was ‘doing meaningless things to make time pass faster while waiting for himself to rot and grow old.’

However, despite being extremely pessimistic and negative, his raw skills were too high. He improved the magic aspect of the Black Star Army single-handedly. At the very least, a Grade A Mage’s enchantment effect was far superior to a Grade B’s. Han Xiao had already gotten Lagi to re-enchant his mechanical suits and weapons, which considerably increased their stats while adding many special effects.

Han Xiao planned to send Lagi to do this mission. No matter what, he was the only Calamity Grade officer, and he had to at least take on some responsibility.

With Lagi, the Black Star Army could deal with Calamity Grade missions even without Han Xiao. He did not have to do everything himself anymore.

Sylvia brought Lagi to Han Xiao’s room, and Han Xiao cut to the chase. “I have a mission for you.”

“I knew it.” Lagi sighed. “Bad feelings often are proven to be right.”

Han Xiao ignored him and explained, “One of Sky Ring’s team requested reinforcements from us. The enemy is a Calamity Grade. Currently, in the army, you’re the only one that can deal with a Calamity Grade other than myself. As the captain, it’s not suitable for me to settle this kind of low priority matter. Hence, you will be going there to rescue them. This is your first mission. I believe in your strength. You can pick any spaceship from the hangar apart from mine. The information about the target and the coordinates have been sent to you.”

“I have a question.”

“What.”

“Can I not go?”

“Take a guess.”

Lagi tested the waters and asked, “If they are already all dead by the time I arrive, does that mean I don’t have to do the mission anymore?”

Han Xiao squinted and said, “Are you thinking about taking a detour to purposely waste time?”

“I’m exposed…” Lagi had a bitter expression on his face.

Is this person even reliable at all? Veins popped out on Han Xiao’s forehead. He sighed and said, “Quickly get going. I don’t want to see your first mission end with a failure.”

Lagi gave a long sigh. He looked up at the ceiling of the room at forty-five degrees and said, “Sigh, I’m probably going to be killed by the enemy. I never thought sacrificing myself in my first mission would be the end of my life. I want to write down my last words before leaving…”

“Quick-ly-go!”

Lagi left while sighing and shaking his head. Sylvia was trying so hard to hold back her laughter at the side that she was tearing up. Her cheeks were inflated, and she was pressing her mouth with her hands, letting out some suppressed laughter.

“Teacher, where did you dig this treasure out from?”

Han Xiao shot her a glare and said, “He’s just a little pessimistic at most. At least he’s useful and much stronger than you, yet you can still laugh? I told Reynold to supervise you. Have you been learning from him properly? Are you done with your homework?”

“Done long ago!” Sylvia’s expression instantly collapsed. She snorted unhappily, swung her ponytail, and left angrily.

Han Xiao curled his lips.

There were many officers in the Black Star Army. In Han Xiao’s eyes, the ones that had the potential to reach Grade A were only Herlous, Aroshia, Feidin, Sylvia, Harmon, Reynold, and Hila and Aurora, who were training under Ames. Reynold was currently the closest to Grade A, and Sylvia was the furthest.

Sylvia had achieved Grade A in his previous life, so Han Xiao always had high and strict requirements for her.

During the rest time, all the qualified teams from the various countries were announcing the status of their training every day.

Although Temple of Gods did not qualify, Li Ge was very smart—he volunteered for his team to help in the training for the top four teams in the Divisions, helping them in their conditioning before the Internationals. This got him some attention, and his reputation slowly recovered. The other strong teams saw this and did the same thing.

Coincidentally, in the eyes of the fans, this situation became the Chinese teams uniting due to their strong sense of collective honor. They had let go of their disagreements in the past and were helping their opponents, all so that the Chinese would become the world champions. Therefore, the Chinese players became even more passionate and excited.

Before the Internationals started, the reporters interviewed all the qualified teams. The teams from America, Sweden, Japan, and Korea all declared they would be the champions. Due to Dynasty’s outstanding performance during the All-Stars match, the reporters mentioned Dynasty specifically and considered them candidates for the top spot. The reporters asked these teams if they had the confidence in beating Dynasty. All of them announced that they would defeat Dynasty with confidence.

The break quickly passed. The International Regulars that the audiences from all around the world were looking forward to arrived.

The thirty-six teams from nine divisions all entered the venue. The venue was an arena even bigger than the previous season. As usual, the first day was the opening ceremony and the drawing of lots to determine the groups.

There were still three groups-A, B, and C. The teams would fight every other team in the group once, and the top eight teams with the highest points would qualify for the International Finals.

Long Sky entered Group A, Dynasty and Rivervale entered Group B, and Thunder Storm entered Group C. The stronger and comparatively weaker teams were rather evenly spread out through the three groups, unlike the previous season where the skill differences between groups were enormous. This time, there was no ‘weak group’ or ‘group of death’. This meant that there would be almost no luck involved-one could only enter the finals through actual skills.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, China had only reached the top four in the second season. This time, both Dynasty and Long Sky had a chance of becoming the champion. Han Xiao was quite curious about what the Chinese teams could achieve this season under his influence.

The International Regulars officially commenced. The fans from the various countries cheered for their favorite teams passionately. It was boisterous and full of life.

When the competition arrived at the mid-stage, the situation started to get clearer. The spectators had a rough idea of which teams were stronger.

Dynasty maintained their momentum and stayed at the top, second was Sweden’s Tomahawk, and America’s Devil followed.

Long Sky was fifth. Hao Tian seemed to have been holding back during the Divisions and only went full out at the Internationals. They showed the skills of a champion worthy team.

Both Thunder Storm and Rivervale were in the upper half of the list and stayed competitive. The average strength of the Chinese teams was very high, so the Chinese fans were very surprised and excited.

To the Chinese players, the Internationals were going extremely well. Dynasty and Long Sky both had the ability to qualify, while Rivervale and Thunder Storm seemed to have a chance of entering the top eight.

However, in the second half of the competition, something controversial and upsetting happened.

In the Survival matches that involved four teams, Dynasty repeatedly faced the situation where the other teams cooperated to eliminate them first. They were unable to get any points from the Survival matches, which resulted in their top position to get shaky, even starting to show signs of being surpassed by Tomahawk and Devil.

Originally, it was almost certain that Dynasty would have the most points in the end, but now it seemed to be slipping away right through their fingers. The Chinese supporters were furious. Countless Chinese viewers strongly and blatantly expressed their rage and contempt toward the teams that worked together on the various forums.

Posting hateful online comments was a basic ability of the Chinese players. The Mandarin language is deep and has a history of close to 5,000 years. Every player had experienced countless bloody verbal battles. In this environment, not to blow one’s own trumpet, but in terms of cursing and hateful comments, the Chinese were superior compared to all other countries.

The forums became another battlefield. The fans of the other teams wanted to protect their team’s reputation and argued that since the Survival mode was a scrimmage, working together was a sensible, logical strategy.

However, to the Chinese players, logic was as useful as farts, not to mention they were the victims in this situation. Their merciless and relentless cursing and toxic comments defeated the enemies and forced them to retreat.

This nonsense cracked Han Xiao up. He loved to see his countrymen curse; it could always give him a full day of joy.

Actually, it was not unreasonable for the other teams to work together in Survival. They were not doing it because of Dynasty’s results but because Dynasty was too strong. If they did not work together, Dynasty would most likely be the final winner.

Dynasty was not worried about qualifying with their current points, but the other teams had to fight for the top eight positions and needed those points. Hence, eliminating Dynasty first was indeed a sensible and reliable strategy.

This online argument affected the organizers, who told Dynasty to say a few words in order to end all this nonsense. However, not only did King Admiral’s reply not extinguish the players’ passion, it poured another gallon of gasoline onto the flames instead.

“No big deal, one who’s not envied isn’t talented. No matter how they work together to fight me, the only difference it will make is what ranking we will qualify with. When it comes to the finals, I will teach them the meaning of life one by one!”

King Admiral directly taunted everyone. The Chinese players were so exhilarated that they hoped the finals would start now so that they could watch Dynasty thrash every opponent.

Han Xiao got goosebumps.

To provoke all those people at once, Dynasty was really not afraid of dying at all!

However… it did make things much more interesting.

Chapter 650: Milestone

The top six places were practically solidified, and Dynasty as well as Long Sky had locked in their qualifications in the regulars. In the second half of the International Regulars, although the Dynasty team had encountered a siege in the Survival battle, they maintained unparalleled momentum during the team and ring battles. They secured first place, not allowing any of the following teams to overtake them.

The competition for the seventh and eighth place was the fiercest. Because the gap between seventh to thirteenth was miniscule, with only the last few matches left, there were seven teams with the opportunity to qualify. Rivervale was one of them, and as for Thunder Storm, it was a pity that they could not. While Rainy Kim was beautiful, the value of esports did not lie in one’s appearance. She could not support her team with her skills alone, so they missed out on the chance to qualify.

Frenzied Sword and Evil Sword became the Captain and Vice Captain respectively. With their potential stimulated after so many battles, their cooperation had become more tacit. The fans regarded them as the symbol of the Rivervale team, calling them ‘Two swords combine as one’.

There was only one game left in the regular season. Rivervale was tenth, only a few points away from eighth. This last game was their last hope of qualifying.

The team in eighth place was Hydra from Japan. Surprisingly. Hydra’s opponents for their last game was Long Sky, whereas Rivervale would face off against Team Kimchi from South Korea.

In one of the rooms within the Black Star Base No.1, the Rivervale members were called over by Frenzied Sword for a meeting, analyzing the situation.

Frenzied Sword knocked on the table with a serious tone. “Long Sky is ranked fourth whereas Kimchi is ranked sixth. Both are strong teams, and there is no possibility of getting an easy way out. If we want to fill the gap in points between us and Hydra, we need to cut a lot of points from Kimchi and have Hydra tie with Long Sky. Only then will we have a chance to qualify.”

“It’s too harsh! Hydra can be said to be evenly matched with Long Sky, but Kimchi is also a strong team. I’m not even sure if we can win.” Evil Sword shook his head.

“In addition to scoring a victory in the team battle, there is still a way to score a lot of points.” Frenzied Sword slowly spoke. “The duel battle allocates points based on the number of people who are inside, so if Evil and I go beyond our level and slaughter the other side, we’ll be able to rake in a lot of points.”

“It’s true that if we do well in the duel, we’ll be able to pull apart in terms of points lead,” Evil Sword replied, “but… Kimchi cannot be looked down on. Even Dynasty does not dare claim that they can wreck Kimchi totally.”

on.

“This match is our only chance. We must score more points at all costs! I’ve already taken out all the Ability Potions in the warehouse, and we have about sixty-seven potions left. If we cannot get into the finals, there’s no use in them. Thus, we’ll just finish all these potions in this final match and try to get as many points as we can.”

Everyone present felt their spirits being lifted up.

Evil Sword’s eyes glowed. “Leader, are you going to use Black Star’s Character Summon Card too?”

“That’s right. As long as we can enter the finals, we’ll have achieved our goal. There’s no need to wait any longer.” Frenzied Sword nodded in return.

“Then, we might just be able to pierce through Kimchi.” An expression of joy appeared in Evil Sword’s face.

Because there was enough inventory, Han Xiao did not use the Gene Extractor on himself, so the store did not have his Ability Potion. However, right before the Pro League, Frenzied Sword had completed a mission with a high rating and had drawn out a blank Character Summon Card through his random reward.

He had remembered that, during the First Pro League, he had utilized the Character Summon Card [Black Star’s Advent] to completely crush his opponent. Without hesitation, he immediately used his blank Character Summon Card to generate Han Xiao’s Character. This Character Summon Card became his ace in the hole.

At this sort of crucial match, Frenzied Sword decided that it was time to utilize the card.

In this final match, Rivervale had become the focal point for all China audiences. With Dynasty and Long Sky having qualified, if Rivervale could do the same, it would mean that for this year’s International Finals, there would be three teams from the China region. What a proud matter that would be!

In the team battles between Rivervale and Kimchi, the two sides duked it out. However, Kimchi made every effort they could to create a seamless defense, and only by using an Ability Potion did Rivervale finally clinch a miserable victory, obtaining a meagre score.

Many of the China viewers were quite discouraged. With only this paltry score, they practically lost the chance to overtake Hydra.

Not many of the viewers were optimistic about the duels, as only Frenzied Sword and Evil Sword would be battling, whereas the rest of the team would be on the sidelines. Just based off individual strengths, Kimchi had two people who had gotten into the finals for the Singles battle. While Rivervale could win, they probably did not have much chance of obtaining more points.

However, the moment the duels began, Frenzied Sword gave the audience a pleasant surprise while giving the Kimchi team a huge shock.

The moment Frenzied Sword stepped onto the stage, he activated tens of Ability Potions in one go, immediately adding a long list of Buff Statuses to his property panel. His entire body glowed, looking like a warrior of legends.

The commentators had their spirits refreshed. “Oh, it seemed like Frenzied Sword and company are getting desperate, and now the pressure is on team Kimchi!”

Every professional team had their own ace, and the Ability Potions that Han Xiao sold were the aces of most Chinese teams, which had left a huge impression in the Pro League. It gave the other teams tremendous headaches. Due to the randomness of the Ability Potion’s effects, they could not take any sort of measures against them.

However, the time effect for the Ability Potions was limited, and along with the numerous matches, every Chinese team was saving them; one used would be one less. After all, the finals would consist of five rounds, in which three wins were needed.

That being said, it seemed as though Frenzied Sword had thrown the situation of finals away, fighting as though his back was against a cliff. He unleashed a frightening combat capability, punching through two of the opponent’s players.

Team Kimchi knew that there was a time limit to the Ability Potions and only sent out their normal members, dragging the time out to grind down Frenzied Sword’s buffs.

“Team Kimchi has chosen the optimal delaying tactic. While Frenzied Sword has defeated two players, a majority of his Buffs have almost run out. Let’s take a look at the next player Kimchi is sending out… oh! They’ve sent out their ace! It seems like they wish to take the chance to end Frenzied Sword’s streak!”

The third pick from team Kimchi was their team’s ace, which was also one of the players who had entered the International Singles. At this point, Frenzied Sword only had a little more than half of his HP remaining, as well as a third of his Mechanical suit’s armor.

This situation was extremely unfavorable, and a majority of the Chinese players felt their hands slick with sweat as they began to panic.

At this point, Frenzied Sword took a deep breath before activating his only Black Star Character Summon Card.

A translucent figure of Han Xiao appeared behind Frenzied Sword, clad in black with an expressionless face. He had a hand placed on the head of Frenzied Sword.

“Alright, Frenzied Sword has activated yet another new ability. This is… wait a minute, did I see this scenario in the last Pro League?” As the commentator spoke, his eyes bulged open.

When the commentator finished describing the Buff, the spectators were all dumbfounded.

(Advanced Strengthened Life]: Taken from Character Summon Card-Han Xiao.

Increase Health based off the END attribute at the ratio 1:60.

In addition, +25% Resistance, and for every 40% decrease in Health, +10% All Attributes temporarily.

Time limit: 20 minutes.

“F*ck me, this… this is cheating!” The commentator could not help but curse.

The countless viewers were also shocked silly.

The extra Health added was more than his original total Health!

A few of them realized that Frenzied Sword had also utilized Black Star’s Character Summon Card in the previous Pro League.

Black Star again!

Since this Buff came from the Character Summon Card, it meant that this was an ability belonging to Black Star himself. All this time, the Attributes of Black Star had remained a mystery to the players. The players only knew that Black Star was abnormally strong but did not know his specific capabilities.

But right now, Frenzied Sword’s buff revealed the tip of the iceberg of Black Star. However, just this tip was enough to shock the players into silence.

A Mechanic actually has a meat shield-like talentdoesn’t that mean his Mechanic abilities will be even more perverted!

Or is it that the Mechanic profession can actually awaken such a meat shield like talent?

With such a powerful endurance related ability, Frenzied Sword continued to battle on, steamrolling through another three players before being defeated. Evil Sword then burst out, taking down the final opponent with some difficulty.

The points for the duels were calculated based on the difference between the number of people lost on both sides. On Rivervale’s side, only Frenzied Sword had lost, reducing the total number of losses from Kimchi by one. That was the total number of points awarded to Rivervale, and they clinched an overwhelming victory.

Cutting through five with himself, making a name for himself!

Rivervale obtained a large number of points, and them going to the finals would depend on whether Hydra was able to obtain points from Long Sky.

Long Sky did not disappoint the public. They did not hold back at all, beating Hydra up thoroughly and only allowing them to obtain a scarce number of points. Because Hao Tian was close to Frenzied Sword, along with everyone being part of China, he was willing to help Frenzied Sword with this favor.

After the battle, Long Sky obtained overwhelming praise, with the tag of ‘Good Comrade of China’ plastered on them.

Under the gazes of tens of thousands of players, the results of the eight final teams were released!

Dynasty ranked first, Long Sky ranked fourth, and Rivervale managed to squeeze in and knocked Hydra out of the top eight by two points!

Frenzied Sword’s gamble had paid off!

Out of the four Chinese teams, three had made it into the finals. Only China had this sort of result, and the players from the region felt their blood boil as excitement filled their hearts.

Being able to qualify was a surprise, and squeezing out the Japanese team made it all the more gratifying. In this Pro League, none of the Japanese teams were able to get into the finals, and they made a hubbub of noise on the forums.

Han Xiao was also quite surprised by this result. He knew that the standard of the Chinese teams would be better than in the past, but he did not expect it to be so good!

To have three out of the eight slots for the finals, only America had achieved such a result in his previous life. This achievement was also only ever done once, but to think that China had achieved this in the second Pro League!

The players cheered on the forums, but no one foresaw that this was a milestone enough to be carved into the annals of Galaxy’s history!

Han Xiao knew that even after many years, even in the future Versions, there would still be people who would continue to talk about China’s brilliant achievements in this season.

In the finals, they were to fight based off their rankings. The first placed Dynasty would thus be pitted against the eighth placing Rivervale. The players felt this internal rivalry to be a pity, but this was how the rules of the competition went, and they had no way to change it.

“Frenzied Sword’s luck has come to an end. However, to be able to reach the finals is a result to be proud of. For a new battle team, that’s quite the accomplishment.” Han Xiao was quite satisfied. The Chinese teams had performed well, and this was a form of promotion for the Black Star Army.

As for Long Sky in fourth place, they faced Kimchi, who were fifth. The Chinese players did not wish to see an internal battle and thus turned their sights toward the fight with the Korean team.

However, Han Xiao was not interested in the finals. He merely threw a mark on Lagi, continuing to observe his performance.

Although Lagi had mentioned that he would take a detour, reality proved otherwise. He had rushed straight to the mission site and had already reached the place where the Sky Ring Mercenaries had requested assistance.

Chapter 651: The End of Season Two

In the Fawn Star System, Planet Capelotti was ruled by the Vinstark Civilization, a planet level government under the Black Raven Civilization. The Vinstark race had feathered wings and looked like humans born with the ability to fly. The buildings on Planet Capelotti were tall and resembled trees. They had platforms outside the buildings like branches.

Vinstark was peaceful and laid back. They were satisfied with being ruled over by the Black Raven Civilization. Thus, they were frequently troubled by those with different views on this matter and extreme nationalists. Rebel organizations constantly appeared. There were many other examples similar to this across the entire universe.

A Sky Ring Army team had accepted a request to eliminate a rebel organization called ‘Bullseye’.

The leader of this team was (Ice Sorcerer] Goa, a Three-Ring Level officer, Grade B Super, who had once fought alongside Black Star on Floating Dragon. She had always worked near the Fawn Star System.

According to Vinstark’s data, the strongest person in Bullseye was a Grade B. This was originally just a usual combat mission. However, Goa did not expect that Bullseye would have hidden a Grade A. Plus, this Grade A was not someone that no one had heard about; he was a Vinstark who had been banished many years ago. His name was Getorald.

Now that he was at Calamity Grade, he wanted to come back and overthrow Vinstark’s rule. Not only was he the real boss of Bullseye, he was also the mastermind behind many other rebel organizations. He was basically behind all of Planet Capelotti rebels.

In a wasteland somewhere, a small aircraft was escaping quickly. Behind it were hundreds of aircrafts.

“Bullseye has found us again. We have been hiding and escaping for so long that we don’t have much fuel left. Captain, what should we do?”

In the cockpit, the survivors of the Sky Ring team were piloting the aircraft in panic.

“Keep running. I have requested reinforcements from the Black Star Army. They will definitely come. We have to hang on until they arrive.” Goa clenched her teeth. Her magic robe was covered in bloodstains and dust. After so many days of running, she was in a very bad state and extremely exhausted.

She had only fought with Getorald once and was absolutely crushed. She could not cross that enormous gap between Grade B and Grade A. If not for sheer lucky, her team would have been wiped out.

Their fuel quickly burned up. They started to decelerate, and the enemies were catching up. All the Sky Ring mercenaries were on edge, and Goa grabbed tightly onto her staff uncontrollably.

This time, a communication request suddenly popped up on the screen. Lagi’s despondent face appeared.

“Hello, the reinforcements you ordered have arrived. Anyone still alive? If not, I’ll be leaving.”

The people were overjoyed, and Goa quickly replied. “We’re still alive. We are currently in danger and require help urgently. The coordinates are…”

After she gave the coordinates, Lagi hung up the communication. They heaved sighs of relief and smiles appeared on their faces.

“Black Star’s reinforcements have finally arrived!”

“Great! We’re saved.”

Suddenly, Goa realized a problem. “Wait a minute, I told them that there’s a Calamity Grade among the enemies. Why was the person earlier not Black Star? Did he not come personally?”

Their expressions changed slightly. They all knew the Black Star Army quite well and were aware that only Black Star was a Calamity Grade. It seemed that they had not heard about the Black Star Army having another Grade A.

Goa could not help but worry-she only hoped that the reinforcements were reliable.

Suddenly, everyone’s hair stood on end. An enormous Shockwave Blast rocketed toward them and landed on their aircraft.

Boom!

The aircraft exploded into pieces. A spherical magic shield was blasted away, bouncing on the ground a few times before stopping. The magic shield disappeared, exposing Goa and the others in it. The staff in Goa’s hands was shining-she had protected all her team members at the last second. She was drained and gasping for air.

This time, hundreds of enemy aircraft caught up and surrounded them.

From the direction where the Shockwave Blast came from, a winged man flew there at high speed and stopped above them. His eagle-like eyes looked down on Goa and the others, sharp as a knife. This bird was indeed the Grade A Super of the rebel organization, Getorald.

“Humph, Sky Ring’s people. I hate mercenaries the most. Blame it on yourselves for sticking your nose in something that has nothing to do with you. You deserve to die.”

Getorald flapped his wings. A ball of dense, pale-gold Pugilist energy gathered on his hand. The strong sense of danger made Goa and the others freeze in fear.

Hu!

Just as Getorald was about to land the killing blow, a spaceship dashed through the clouds and descended from above. He turned around and looked at it.

The spaceship stopped outside the encirclement. The hatch opened, and Lagi slowly floated out. Seeing the danger that Goa and the others were in, his expression turned bitter.

“I’m early…”

Getorald frowned and asked, “Who are you?” Before Lagi could open his mouth, Goa replied, “You’re done for. He’s our backup, the Black Star Army’s … Er, what’s your name?”

Goa only just remembered that she did not even know his name.

Lagi sighed. “If you ask my name again, I’m going to leave.”

“Black Star’s man?” Getorald heard the conversation between the two of them, and his pupils uncontrollably constricted.

He was not afraid of the Sky Ring Army because Sky Ring’s headquarters were very far from there. However, the Gavin Star System was right beside the Fawn Star System. He feared the Black Star Army and realized that he was in a pickle.

Even Getorald had heard of Black Star. Black Star’s position in the Colton Star Cluster was way higher than his.

Alarmed, Getorald started to think of a solution. “The Black Star Army has interfered, so my plan can’t go on. I can only kill this Black Star mercenary before leaving the Colton Star Cluster to wait for things to settle. If I continue to stay here, the Black Star Army will send tons of troops to deal with me sooner or later. Luckily, only one member of the Black Star Army came this time. If I kill him and Sky Ring’s people, I will be able to conceal what happened here for a short time to give me time to escape.”

Getorald had made the decision. He loudly ordered, “Everyone fire! Kill these Sky Ring mercenaries!”

The faces of Goa and the others changed drastically as they hastily defended themselves. They were in an extremely bad state. As long as they were continuously fired upon, they would end up either dead or heavily injured.

The cannons of all the aircrafts lit up and were about to fire.

Getorald rushed toward Lagi, turning into a meteor covered in flames-he immediately used his full strength.

At this instant, Lagi sighed. A very old and simple staff appeared in his hands out of nowhere. Lagi then lightly tapped the air with it.

“Spacetime Secret Spell—the Seventh Dimension.”

Hum!

An invisible shield rapidly expanded and wrapped around everyone present. At this instant, every movement in the shield stopped as if the spacetime was frozen. The expression on everyone’s face was fixed.

However, everyone’s ability to think remained. They could clearly experience the feeling of being completely unable to move, but they could not control their bodies. Even Getorald was stationary in midair.

The Great Mechanic Han, who was spying, almost spat out the snacks in his mouth.

Isn’t this ZA WARUDO[1]?

The spacetime magic was the most difficult magic style to master. Plus, it was very dangerous. When spellcasters studied it, one slight moment of carelessness might cause them to die without even leaving a corpse behind. It required extremely high talent.

Not everyone could become the targets of Albert and those people. Lagi was not a member of any large organization-he was alone. Hence, there was only one reason that Lagi was a target.

His strength!

In this spacetime territory, Lagi was the only one that could move around freely. He cast spells continuously and destroyed all the aircrafts. This time, Getorald finally escaped the spell. Without saying a word, he turned around and fled.

His confidence was completely shattered by Lagi’s one spell. Lagi did not chase him. The mission was to rescue the Sky Ring mercenaries; he did not want to waste his energy chasing someone of the same grade. He floated toward Goa and the others, sighed, and said, “Get on my ship and let’s get out of here.”

Goa quickly nodded with respect. She could not help but ask, “Are you a new officer of the Black Star Army? I’ve never heard your name before.”

“It’s best to never hear it.” Lagi’s expression became more bitter.

The other Sky Ring mercenaries exchanged looks of shock. The Black Star Army finally had the first Calamity Grade officer, and he was so strong. Black Star did not have to carry everything on his shoulders anymore. They had a feeling that their Sky Ring Army was being surpassed by the Black Star Army.

Goa had a very complicated feeling. She still remembered a few years prior, when Black Star was just a small mercenary group. As a team captain of Sky Ring, their strength had been on par while she had the support of Sky Ring, so her position was higher than Black Star’s.

Now, however, she was still a team captain in Sky Ring, but Black Star had become someone very important in the Colton Star Cluster and rather famous even in the entire Shattered Star Ring. The difference in strength and position between the two of them had completely changed.

With Black Star as someone to compare herself to, Goa felt as if she had been standing in the same place throughout the years and felt discouraged.

At this time, on the other side of the Observer’s Mark, Han Xiao’s eyes were sparkling brightly. His fingers rubbed his stubble, and he could not help but smile.

“Looks like I’ve found a treasure…”

A few days later, the second season finally came to an end.

The eight teams in the finals had attracted the most attention from the start of the competition. All the fans were cheering and rooting for their teams.

In the first round, Dynasty defeated Rivervale, entering the semi-final, while Rivervale stopped at the top eight. This result was no surprise for almost everyone.

Long Sky defeated Kimchi 3:1, eliminating Kimchi and entering the semi-finals.

Two Chinese had entered the semi-finals, and the Chinese fans could not help but wish that the final would be between two Chinese teams.

Sadly, the results of the draw of the second round placed Dynasty against Long Sky and Devil against Tomahawk.

The Chinese players felt it was very unfortunate for Dynasty. After entering the finals, Dynasty had gone up against a Chinese team in both the first and the second round.

The second round was very intense. The peak was right ahead-neither Dynasty nor Long Sky would hold back. Many viewers were saddened by their bloody battles.

Before the match, many people thought that Dynasty had a higher chance of winning. However, the result was unexpected. Under Hao Tian’s lead, Long Sky showed extreme toughness and barely defeated Dynasty at 3:2, entering the finals.

Dynasty stopped at the top four and could only compete for second runner-up.

After the match, many reporters interviewed team Dynasty, and King Admiral had nothing to regret.

“We spent too much energy before the match. Hao Tian is my old rival. He really fought amazingly this time. I hope they can bring the championship trophy back for China. Brother, you won our match, so you’ve got to win this. Viewers, scold and swear at them as much as you can so that they don’t dare lose.”

A reporter with ulterior motives mentioned King Admiral’s words during the Regulars, wanting to give him a hard time. However, King Admiral did not mind it at all.

“I originally wanted to educate the teams of the other countries, but in the end, I was educated by my countrymen. Never mind, I lost to one of us anyway. Hao Tian, you’ve got to become the champions. At least using the excuse of us losing to the champions will not get me into so much trouble.”

All the reporters laughed, even the one that asked the question.

Very soon, it was Second Prince’s turn to be interviewed. His comments were the usual. “It’s absolutely the captain’s fault that we lost. This means that we need to have someone else as the captain. There’s no need to consider anyone else for that other than me. It’s time for King Admiral to retire. He’s already a middle-aged man-why the hell is he even still playing games?”

The interview of Dynasty was very joyful and slightly brushed off the remorse of the Chinese players. All the pressure and hope was on Long Sky.

Originally, Dynasty was the team that had the highest chance of becoming the champions. Now that Long Sky had defeated them, if they did not become the champions in the end…

However, not only was Hao Tian not panicking, his morale was very high instead.

Ever since the start of this competition, Dynasty had been the center of attention. He and Long Sky, however, had been quietly saving their energy like sharpening a sword.

In the finals, this sword unsheathed at last!

The passion and energy of everyone in Long Sky erupted all at once. They had the confidence to slash through everything before them!

Their opponents were the American team, Devil, who had defeated Sweden’s Tomahawk and entered the finals.

Devil was the second favorite of the competition right after Dynasty. They were the last obstacle between China and the world champion!

Tens of millions of players across the nine divisions were watching the final. This popularity had never been seen before.

Even Han Xiao put down what he had on his hands and watched the finals from the start to the end.

Watching the intense battle between the two teams, his emotions were fluctuating with the situation of the battle. For an instant, it was like he had returned to the younger times when he was cheering at the top of his lungs for the Chinese teams, only to end up disappointed.

In the end, the score was 3:2.

The last Devil player collapsed in the ring.

Devil had fallen.

Long Sky was still standing.

The final victory belonged to Long Sky, to China!

“World champions!”

The Chinese players were madly exhilarated.

Even in his room in Base No. 1, Han Xiao could hear the cheering outside his windows!

[1] This is a reference to Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. “ZA WARUDO!” (also known as The World) is a phrase that is used by Dio when activating his power, which is time stopping.

Chapter 652: Version Update, the Start of Ten Years

The forums became a sea full of joy. The Chinese players were filled with excitement.

After Long Sky became the champions, Dynasty defeated Tomahawk and were placed third.

In the top eight teams, three of them were Chinese teams, one was the champion, and one was the second runner up. This astonishing achievement made many proud.

Long Sky received the most praising. Hao Tian had proven his skills and earned himself a ton of fans. The fame of his teammates, Sleepy Winter and Twinkle Fried Rice, grew enormously too. Even the Dynasty fans were happy for them from the bottom of their hearts.

Some thought that what had happened to Dynasty was regretful—if they did not face Rivervale and Long Sky consecutively, both the champion and the first runner-up teams might have been Chinese teams.

Due to the outstanding performances of the teams that they admired, countless players were praising how exciting this season was nonstop. After watching the entire season, they discovered one phenomenon.

During the finals, the Chinese teams did not lose even once to a team from another country!

Hence, some people found new words to praise their teams.

“The only ones that can beat us are ourselves!”

Han Xiao did watch the events after the match such as the award ceremony, the analytics of the season, and so on. Seeing that Long Sky were the winners, he had a rough guess about the future situation.

The Chinese teams had achieved extraordinary results in this season, and this would have a long-term effect. He knew his countrymen well. No matter what competition it was, as long as a fellow countryman was the champion, it would definitely pique their interest. Hence, there would be many new Chinese players in the next version, far more than in his previous life.

The Shattered Star Ring division, where the champions were from, was the headquarters of the various Chinese clubs. Therefore, many new Chinese players would choose to be born in the novice planets in the Shattered Star Ring. These freshies would become the new blood of the Black Star Army in the next version!

The current player count was far from the peak. The amazing results obtained by the Chinese teams would also affect Han Xiao very positively-good results meant more newcomers for the Black Star Army, which also meant that the quantity and quality of his leeks would be increased.

In this season, the Chinese teams had used various Black Star series mechanical devices. These were basically advertisements for the Black Star Army. Similar to how the American teams chose Planet Winterfrost to showcase the advantages of the Demon Race so that many players would feel that Demons were very strong, the Chinese teams’ performance made many feel that the Black Star Army was very strong. The machines used by the Chinese teams brought Han Xiao quite a lot of attention.

Season two of the Galaxy Pro League had ended, but its popularity lasted for a long time afterward. However, after most of the players had their fill of fun, they finally focused on other issues.

The end of the Pro League meant that Version 2.0 was about to end as well.

Speculation concerning the storyline of the next season became a hot topic on the forums once again.

In the Shattered Star Ring, Bun-Hit-Dog’s video was mentioned, the one that consisted of Han Xiao’s conversation with Frenzied Sword and the others. The video hinted that the next version would be related to the Crimson Dynasty and sparked a lot of discussion.

“What could the Crimson Dynasty’s goal in the Shattered Star Ring be?”

“Who knows? Anyway, in the next version, we will definitely be more involved in the fight between the organizations in the galaxy.”

“Maybe it’s the same as the start of Version 2.0, having to face a huge disaster as soon as we log in. I’m guessing that the Crimson Dynasty is the final boss.”

“I’m not really interested in the storyline. All I’m interested in is what will happen to our Black Star Army. After the last version update, Black Star became the faction that guided us into the universe. I wonder how the Black Star Army will change after this update.”

“I hope it won’t disappear. We farmed so many Contribution Points for so long. If the Black Star Army is gone, it will all have been for nothing.”

Due to past experiences, many players were curious about what the Black Star Army would become in Version 3.0.

The Chinese players basically looked at the Black Star Army as their main faction. Furthermore, it was one of the biggest reasons that the Chinese teams were able to achieve such results in the Pro League. Therefore, this issue received a lot of attention.

Han Xiao had been keeping an eye on the forums too, but even he could not give a clear answer to this question.

“The new version is about to arrive. This time, the gap is ten years…”

Han Xiao shook his head. Under the Crimson Tide, this would be a very tough ten years. Klent’s secret war and the third round of (Prey)… there would be all kinds of danger.

In his previous life, when Version 3.0 started, the secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal was at its climax. That was when the players came into play. This meant that the secret war might go on during the entire time before the version updates.

The Black Star Army would spend the next ten years in battles. There would be both risks and opportunities.

When the players returned after ten years, Han Xiao did not know what would have become of the Black Star Army.

There would be many alliances forming in the next version. They would be the hidden competitors in recruiting the players. In Version 3.0, the Black Star Army would no longer be the ‘guiding faction’. Han Xiao had been wondering how to make use of the next ten years to increase the attractiveness of the Black Star Army.

The current players had spent a lot of time and energy on the Black Star Army throughout the version, so they would not change factions easily. Keeping the old players was not an issue as long as Han Xiao operated the Black Star Army properly during the version update.

What he needed to go for was the new players in Version 3.0. Other than the effect brought by the Pro League, the Black Star Army had to have at least the same amount of resources as the other alliance factions.

The players’ achievements during Version 2.0 and the profit made from the players were the only assets that Han Xiao had to get through the following ten years.

The Pro League was the last opportunity to harvest leeks for Version 2.0. Near the end of the version, the players would bank their fortune and wait for the next version.

As soon as Version 3.0 arrived, the Black Star Army would rocket in terms of strength!

After all, the players in Version 3.0 would be able to level up to Grade B.

Millions of Grade C Supers and millions of Grade B Supers were completely different.

Beep beep!

This time, the communicator suddenly vibrated.

“You have a new message, hum…”

Han Xiao took out the communicator. It was a message from Ralph, telling him to go to the mother planet of the Purple Crystal Civilization. Section Zero had confirmed all the organization members and summoned the leader of all those organizations to officially announce the creation of Section Zero.

“This organization is formed at last.”

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

The Blacklight Stealth stopped at the port of the Section Zero headquarters, which was on the Curved Blade garrison satellite orbiting the Purple Crystal Civilization mother planet. Han Xiao followed Dodder, the foreign affairs emissary, into the garrison satellite and came to the hall.

At this time, more than two hundred rather well-known people were gathered there. The moment that Han Xiao walked in, those people all turned and looked over with different expressions on their faces.

Before Section Zero was officially formed, most of the people there did not know who the other members were. Due to what had happened with Black Star a few months ago, many had guessed that Black Star had joined Section Zero, so not many of them were surprised.

“Not bad, Black Star is a reliable comrade.”

Many had the same thought in their mind and nodded at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao saw some familiar faces in the crowd, including chest hair monster Jayne and do-nothing Gadeli, who had once fought alongside him, and some organizations that had followed him to eliminate Albert’s gang.

Among them, the ones that had the biggest organizations were the Arc Light Organization leader from the Severide Star System, the Hero Group leader from the Skywalker Star System, and the New Phylen Rebels leader from the Rain Star System. Other than those, there were also many other organizations that were much bigger than Han Xiao’s. His Black Star Army was above average.

Ralph stood before the crowd. His face was serious, and his tone was formal.

“Everyone is here. As you all know, the purpose of Section Zero is to protect the Colton Star Cluster and guard against the Klent Kingdom’s invasion. The enemy you’re about to face is the Tyrant’s Bloodshed Land. Due to reasons that all of you know, we and Klent can’t use our official armies. The Colton Star Cluster’s safety is in your hands.

“You will all become important allies of one another, cooperate with each other, fight alongside each other, and guard against the Bloodshed Land’s invasion together.

“I hereby announce the official creation of Section Zero!”

This time, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

New Faction (Section Zero] activated!

Favorability: 1,500/3,000

Current Relationship: Friendly

In the hall of Black Star Base No.1, many players had gathered.

It was the day of the version upgrade, and the update would start in less than two hours. Many players gathered in different bases before logging off. The players were now experienced with this and knew that the best choice was to wait in a stronghold in groups before the update. Base No.1 had the most players.

This was because Long Sky, Dynasty, and Rivervale had all decided to log off there. Many players had gone to look at those players.

After Hao Tian was done speaking to the passionate fans, he bade farewell to King Admiral and Frenzied Sword.

“I’m logging off.”

King Admiral smiled and said, “Little Hao, let’s have dinner in a few days. Call Fried Eggplants With Fish and the others too.”

“Sure.” Hao Tian nodded.

Li Ge heard and asked, “Hey, what about me?”

“If you’re that shameless, we welcome you to come without an invitation.” Second Prince curled his lips.

“It’s decided then, see you there,” Li Ge said in a serious tone.

Frenzied Sword was stunned. He remembered Li Ge to be very proud, what happened?

Compared to the Temple of Gods, which did not achieve any notable results in two consecutive seasons, Long Sky had finished top four and champions, while Dynasty was second and third. Therefore, Li Ge could not maintain the confidence to be proud anymore. He did not want the Temple of Gods to be forgotten, so he could only put away his pride and hang out with these people. That way, he could at least benefit from all the attention that they were receiving.

“By the way, Sword, bring your team over for the dinner too. It’s on me.” Hao Tian suddenly recalled his buddy Frenzied Sword.

Frenzied Sword was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. He had been dreaming of becoming a god tier player, and now, he finally felt that he was one foot into Hao Tian and the others’ circle.

Twinkle Fried Rice’s eyes sparkled. “Since so many people are coming, we might as well invite Thunder Storm, Fanatics, Nine Gates, and all those teams as well. We should all celebrate for a few days.”

Li Ge immediately supported this idea. All the teams gathering together would definitely be huge news. He would benefit from it, too.

Hao Tian thought about it and said, “Okay. Anyway, we did not celebrate enough after winning the championship. Let’s enjoy ourselves during the holidays.”

They chatted for a while happily and logged off one after another. The players around also turned into white lights and disappeared.

Very soon, the hall became empty.

At the same time, Han Xiao, who was on rushing back, saw a notification on his interface.

Version 2.0 Update Activated!

Saving data… Save complete!

Player forums closed.

Update Duration: Unknown. Please wait patiently.

“And so it begins…”

Inside the Blacklight Stealth cockpit, Han Xiao had a melancholic expression on his face.

Ten years…

A spaceship left the desolate region, and the countless stars ahead were reflected on the porthole.

Stephanie looked at the bright stars ahead and smiled.

“We’re finally here, the Shattered Star Ring.”

Chapter 653: Ten Year Plan

“With all the players disappearing, the size of the Black Star Army will be reduced considerably, and there is a need to make new plans.”

Han Xiao began to carefully think about how he should resolve this matter.

He was still less than thirty years old, and when Version 3.0 was released, he would be almost forty.

Han Xiao did not worry about his age. He was a Grade A Super, after all, and had injected himself with longevity medicine before. Living two to three hundred years should not be an issue at all. In ten years, his appearance would still be the same, young and suave.

Han Xiao already had a brief outline for the development of the Black Star Army over the next ten years.

“My main focus should be to accumulate strength. Without the players to bring me a long stream of benefits, the main focus of these ten years should be to convert all the benefits that the player’s brought me in Version 2.0.”

His assets from Version 2.0 included the twenty-three bases in the Garton Star System, almost two thousand battleships and over seventeen million Enas in savings. Furthermore, the numerous employment missions that the players had completed had also greatly increased the fame of the Black Star Army.

NPC mercenaries were different from players. Every death meant that he would have one fewer mercenary. While hiring freelance mercenaries was a solution, grooming fresh blood for his Black Star Army was more important. Han Xiao decided to increase the investment in the training camps so that he could ensure a constant flow of new mercenaries and also reduce his costs.

Apart from the mercenaries at the bottom rung, Han Xiao also needed to groom the officers at the top. With the current level of the Black Star Army, Grade B Supers were no longer rare and could only be considered the middle rung. They truly lacked Grade A Supers at the very top. Currently, the only two Grade A Supers were Han Xiao and Lagi.

“Hmm, I need to try and recruit new Grade A Supers while grooming those with potential such as Herlous, Feidin, and Reynold. I wonder how many Grade A Supers I will be able to groom over the next ten years.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. In his previous life, Sylvia had already been a Grade A Super in Version 3.0. These ten years should be Sylvia’s growth spurt, and Han Xiao needed to stimulate her growth further so that she could transform from a capable female secretary into a competent helper.

However, accumulating their strength did not mean that they would have to remain low profile. The secret war started by Klent would be the largest conflict on the outside, and there would be opportunities hidden within risks. Han Xiao would naturally participate in the war.

In order to obtain Cutting-Edge Knowledge, Han Xiao had joined Section Zero to farm favorability points with Purple Crystal. This was one of the most secure paths. Cutting-Edge Knowledge was something that he could not lack. Even if it was not a Class Advancement requirement, Han Xiao would still want to obtain it.

At the same time, he was killing two birds with one stone. As long as he could render huge merits in the secret war, he would have the right to become a long-term partner of a Star Cluster civilization like the Bloodshed Land. This would then be the stimulus to restructure the Black Star Army and allow the Black Star Army to take another step forward in the Colton Star Cluster.

With the accumulation of resources from Version 2.0 and the support that Purple Crystal gave to Section Zero, Han Xiao would be able to accumulate his strength. If he wanted to receive more resources from Purple Crystal, he would have to achieve a higher status in Section Zero and render large merits.

All the first-rate organizations such as Arc Light, Hero Group, and New Phylen were both his reliable allies and his competitors. They were extremely large organizations that received greater support and resources. If Han Xiao wanted to receive more resources, he would have to prove his superiority.

“Currently, both parties have not begun to fight, and there is still some time to prepare before the war. Apart from the development of the organization, my own strength will also have to take another step forward. The amount of experience that I have accumulated should be enough to bring me up to level two hundred.”

The strength of his organization was only an external force; his own personal strength was the most important.

Ten years was enough for Han Xiao to convert all of his experience points into combat strength. As for whether or not he would be able to reach beyond Grade A, Han Xiao was not too sure either. He did not know the level requirement for beyond Grade A.

If he used the gap between Grade B and Grade A as a reference as well as the increase in his strength as he leveled up, Han Xiao estimated that he would need to be at least level 240 before reaching beyond Grade A.

The accumulated experience might not be able to take him to beyond Grade A, but Grade A+ was definite.

As long as he could find a few more powerful skills and talent, he should be able to defeat the majority of Grade A Supers.

“I am currently at level 170, and the Class Advancement Mission is delaying me. If I want to obtain Cutting-Edge Knowledge to complete my Class Advancement, I need to farm 6,000 favorability points with Purple Crystal and improve my relationship with Purple Crystal to ‘Reverence’.”

After deciding on the general direction to take, Han Xiao returned to his base and began issuing orders.

First, he shrank back the range of operations. Without the presence of the players, the efficiency of the Black Star Army would be greatly reduced.

At the same time, Han Xiao took out a large amount of funds to purchase raw materials and spare parts. He got the various military factories to construct small sized spaceships. The logistics department under Reynold’s lead was no longer the same as before, and its scale was many times greater. They could already construct their own spaceships. Although they were only capable of building small assault spaceships, the Black Star Army was still able to save a great deal of money. This was one of the preparations before war erupted.

Another sum of money was used to hire even more combatants. Currently, the Black Star Army had more than 100,000 registered mercenaries, and Han Xiao was prepared to increase this number by four to five times. Money was not an issue at all.

The other Black Star mercenaries had also noticed the disappearance of the players and were extremely puzzled by the matter. However, Han Xiao did not bother explaining anything to them. Even if they had a thousand different guesses, it would not be able to change the present situation.

While a portion of the upper echelons who knew about the Inhumans were surprised, they were not too shocked. They were only worried about the Black Star Army after the disappearance of the Inhumans.

For this, Han Xiao had specially summoned all his high ranked officers.

In the room, all the officers of the Black Star Army streamed in.

Han Xiao got straight to the point without beating about the bush. “The Inhumans have disappeared again, and we don’t know when they will appear again. This isn’t the first time that this has happened, and the Klent invasion may happen in the near future. We will be accepting the Purple Crystal’s employment in the future and will participate in the war as a member of Section Zero. We need to make our preparations.”

Everyone nodded with different looks on their faces.

“Lagi, you are the only other Calamity Grade Super apart from me. If the situation on the battlefield gets intense, we may need you to lead a force on your own,” Han Xiao said.

“Sigh, war again. I have a premonition that I will be sacrificed this time,” Lagi said with a bitter expression.

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

Right at that moment, Reynold suddenly interrupted.

“Your Excellency Black Star, he isn’t the only Calamity Grade.”

As everyone heard that, they all turned to look at Reynold.

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up and asked, “Could it be that you…”

Reynold nodded, and a rare smile could be seen on his face, “Just a few days ago, I successfully stepped into the Calamity Grade, and I am now a Grade A Super. This is all thanks to your tutelage.”

Han Xiao was overjoyed. With Reynold’s stepping into Grade A, his Black Star Army would have a total of three Grade A Supers. This meant that the Black Star Army exceeded most Section Zero members.

This was truly good news!

Reynold had come under his wing a few years ago, and after learning for such a long time, he had finally advanced into the next grade. While Han Xiao was surprised, he was not too shocked. He had known that with Reynold’s talent, it was only a matter of time before Reynold entered the Calamity Grade.

However, it was truly timely for Reynold to step into the Calamity Grade right before war broke out.

By the side, Herlous could not help but be slightly disappointed.

He was the first to follow Han Xiao, but his status was now being taken over by newcomers. However, it could not be helped since his strength was not sufficient. Becoming a Grade A Super was not something that would happen overnight, and he had not touched the door frame of Grade A yet.

After the Sunil incident, Herlous had sworn to follow Han Xiao for life and was frustrated that he could not provide more help to Han Xiao.

Everyone’s reaction was different. The Volga brothers were as carefree as ever, Feidin smiled without saying a word, Sylvia clenched her fists and swore to work harder, and Aroshia was daydreaming by the side.

Han Xiao’s gaze landed on Aroshia. The (Reboot) mission was currently in the second phase. He had managed to find most of her memory fragments through the players, and only a final location was lacking before the mission could be completed.

It was just that the final location was too deserted, so Han Xiao had not taken her to complete the second phase of the mission. He was not too eager to complete this mission because Risda had already revealed some information, suggesting that the final target of the (Reboot) mission would be to deal with Manison from the Mechanic Empire. Since Han Xiao knew that he would not be able to complete the mission any time soon, he was not in a rush.

He did not want to provoke a beyond Grade A Super for nothing with the other party being a member of the Ancient Ones.

Not just the Black Star Army, all the members of Section Zero were also preparing for war and hiring new members.

Ten days later, a piece of news shook the entire Shattered Star Ring.

Bloodshed Land had invaded the Colton Star Cluster with their army!

This meant that the secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal had finally erupted!

This was like a spark that caused the Crimson Tide to explode!

The conflict between the seen Star Cluster Civilizations escalated to the point they broke out in war. Many large organizations and secret groups within the Star Field also began fighting each other. The Shattered Star Ring was thrown into chaos with many factions being formed.

The most dangerous period had finally arrived!

All members of Section Zero received a notice from Purple Crystal that requested them to arrive at the battlefield.

When Han Xiao received the notice, a notification also popped up on his interface.

You have triggered Grade S faction mission (Secret War: Section Zero]!

Mission Introduction: The Klent Kingdom has invaded the Purple Crystal Civilization, and you have chosen to stand on the side of the Purple Crystal Civilization.

Mission Requirements: As a member of Section Zero, listen to orders and force all invaders out of the Colton Star Cluster.

At the end of the mission, your reward will be based on the rating of the mission.

Note: As a strategic mission, there are three ways to improve your rating.

Complete the strategic objective of the mission.

Kill or capture the troops of the opposing faction.

Complete the mission successfully.

This is one of the Main Storyline missions of Version 3.0. I have triggered this mission during the version upgrade period.

Han Xiao had already predicted that this would happen.

This was a Grade S Main Storyline Mission, and players could choose between Klent and Purple Crystal. He had already joined Section Zero, which was akin to choosing Purple Crystal.

In his previous life, Version 3.0 had been released when the secret war was at its peak. The players had only returned at that moment to choose which faction to join.

This Grade S mission had a pretty simple introduction on both sides. Regardless of the faction that won the war, the players on both sides would still be able to receive rewards from the mission. The only difference would be the rating received for the mission.

After a series of experiments by the players, there were a few ways to cause a fall in mission rating. First, disobey the orders of their faction. Second, betray the faction. Third, lose the war before the Universal Civilization intervened.

I triggered this mission at the start of the war, a full ten years ahead of time… Han Xiao frowned.

This meant that this mission would definitely take a long time to complete, and the secret war would last throughout the ten years of the version upgrading period.

On the other hand, it also meant that he would have more time to farm his mission rating.

I am afraid that the next ten years shall be spent in war. After resting for two to three years, I think that I have rested enough.

This would be completely different from the few short-term employment missions. This was a long-term war.

Han Xiao stood up and walked out of the room.

“Phillip, summon everyone to go with me to war.”

Chapter 654: The War Begins

The Seoul Star Cluster, which was controlled by Klent, was separated from the Colton Star Cluster by a barren cosmic belt. After the war between the Star Clusters broke out, the stargates to both Star Clusters were temporarily shut, and troops could only cross the border illegally through the barren cosmic belt.

A large fleet of troops passed through the barren cosmic belt and entered the borders of Colton, the West Wind Star System.

This was a vanguard force with the intention of probing the enemy. There were fifteen Expedition Level flagships, thousands of frigates and assault battleships, and a total of over ten thousand spaceships.

There were twenty-six Calamity Grade Supers, including Tyrant’s Eight Vanguard Official.

The commander of the expedition fleet was Jorde, the individual in charge of Bloodshed Land’s Military Strategy Department. He was a Grade A Super and one of Tyrant’s old subordinates.

“According to the intelligence, Purple Crystal has mobilized their forces to intercept our vanguard forces. Your first mission is to occupy a planet without inhabitants and make use of the Crimson Dynasty’s Fortress Expansion Package to construct a base.

“This is a secret war that a civilization cannot openly participate in. The West Wind Star System Civilization will not dare stop you from constructing a base on a planet without inhabitants.”

Right at this moment, the Military Strategy Department was holding a remote meeting, and the commanders of the various fleets, as well as seven Vanguard Officials, were listening to Jorde’s instructions.

Only the chief Vanguard Official was not present, but no one found it strange at all. With the Military Strategy Department taking up the role of command, the Vanguard Officials only needed to listen to orders and fight. The status of the chief Vanguard Official was special, and others revered his strength. Compared to being part of a meeting, he was more willing to spend his time in his cultivation chamber. He had the privilege to do so.

Jorde briefly went through the strategy before saying, “Not all the Star Systems within the Colton Star Cluster have submitted to the Purple Crystal Civilization. A portion of the Star Systems aren’t concerned about who rules over the Star Cluster and will choose to remain neutral. They will not obstruct us in anyway. Unless necessary, do not start a conflict with the local civilizations. Let them understand Klent’s intentions and try to befriend them…”

With the restriction of the peace treaty, all the Star Cluster Civilizations had a protective talisman. Furthermore, Klent’s objective wasn’t to destroy Purple Crystal. Klent only wanted to expand their territory and snatch a few Star Systems from the Colton Star Cluster. They wanted to make use of the Bloodshed Land as their proxy and contain the war between both parties at the level of a secret war.

As long as Bloodshed Land could gain a foothold in a few Star Systems, Klent would be able to spread their influence through Bloodshed Land and weaken Purple Crystal’s control over the region. They would then be able to completely block out Purple Crystal’s control over the region.

Their objective would not be in conflict with the various Star System Civilizations. Bloodshed Land would not take over the control of those Star Systems and would even build diplomatic ties with them. The only party suffering a loss would be Purple Crystal.

Using an analogy, it was like two gangs fighting over collecting protection fees.

Since they wanted to snatch territory, there would only be a future if they could protect it. Bloodshed Land’s invasion was not the same as that of DarkStar, harassing different locations without claiming any territory. This also meant that the following war would be extremely intense and last for a long time.

The target of this vanguard force was to establish a bridgehead in the West Wind Star System and test the strength of the Purple Crystal Civilization’s retaliation.

Everyone nodded in response. They had already been briefed thoroughly on the mission and were hearing it from Jorde again.

The second Vanguard Official, Hunting Blade, growled in a deep voice, “Section Zero has many members with at least a hundred Calamity Grade Supers. This time, our vanguard force has less than thirty Calamity Grade Supers. Even if the Vanguard Officials can fight three, I can fight five, and chief can fight ten, we will still be on the losing end. The main force had better catch up soon.”

Jorde nodded in response. “Purple Crystal won’t be able to mobilize such a large force within a short period of time. Furthermore, the first exchange is only a probing one, so the opponent won’t send too many troops. The other vanguard forces invading the other Star Systems will help tie down Purple Crystal’s forces.”

The West Wind Star System was only one of Bloodshed Land’s targets. Bloodshed Land had the ability and resources to stretch out the battle lines.

As a condition for Bloodshed Land participating in the secret war, Klent had helped Bloodshed Land rope in almost half of the armed organizations within their Star Cluster. Bloodshed Land had already expanded to a whole new level, and they were definitely capable of taking out a hundred Calamity Grade Supers.

Right at that moment, a holographic projection suddenly entered the meeting.

Everyone looked over, and the seven Vanguard Officials bowed.

“Chief. 11

He had dark red skin with a square jaw and sharp gaze. His aura was extremely tyrannical with thin dragon scales around his eyes, lips, and temples. He looked like he had a mixed dragon bloodline, but the species of the dragon could not be seen from his appearance. He was wearing a set of heavy armor, but his burly figure could not be covered, and he was at least a head taller than Malekith.

Fosters-Slott was the chief Vanguard Official under the Tyrant and had the nicknames of ‘War Dragon’ and ‘the Tyrant’s Left-Hand Man’. He was a capable assistant of the Tyrant.

“Do you have anything to add?” Jorde asked with doubt.

Fosters remained expressionless, and he replied with a baleful aura, “I don’t care about the others, but Black Star must be mine.”

His aura was tyrannical, and the shadow of Heber could be seen in him.

Bloodshed Land had long known that Han Xiao was in Purple Crystal’s camp. Black Star was an important officer of Floating Dragon, and both their factions were in conflict. There were many individuals in Bloodshed Land looking forward to fighting Black Star.

Among them, Fosters’ killing intent was the greatest.

During the Tyrant’s gathering, Han Xiao had trashed Carroll and caused the Tyrant to lose face. Heber would not bother about such a matter, but Fosters worshiped the Tyrant to the point he would never allow anyone to ruin his reputation.

Heber would not pursue the matter, but Fosters would not let the matter rest. Black Star had already entered his kill list, and this secret war would be the best chance.

Of course, the big picture was the most important, and Fosters would not defy orders just because of Black Star.

“As long as I meet Black Star, he will definitely die on the spot!” Fosters said with a resolute tone.

To dare fight in the main camp of Bloodshed Land and beat one of our officers, you are seeking death!

[Magus) Austin was floating within the palace of Hidden Red Robe Abbey and teaching a group of Forbidden Sorcerers theories of magic.

Despite the Star Field being thrown into chaos, his life was still extremely carefree. Since he chose to remain neutral, no one would come and bother him.

After lecturing for a while, Austin suddenly paused and felt his heart skip a beat. He then turned around and looked at the sky outside the palace as though his gaze could see through the boundless galaxy.

Right at that instant, Austin was distracted for a moment, and the image of the Colton Star Cluster and Black Star appeared in his mind.

For a Mage like him who had grasped a secret technique, premonitions would appear in his mind from time to time.

“Colton… Hmm, Klent and Purple Crystal have begun to fight. However, since this matter has nothing to do with me, why would I receive a premonition?” Austin muttered under his breath.

He was uninterested in the secret war between the two Star Cluster Civilizations. The way he saw it, both parties were only trying to snatch territories and weaken the private armed organizations within their own territory. Even if both Klent and Purple Crystal were enemies, they should have a tacit understanding regarding this matter.

Thus, Austin was not willing to work with either of the Star Clusters.

“My premonition should have nothing to do with my war. If that’s the case, the reason should be because of Black Star…”

Austin chanted an incantation for a moment and unleashed his mysterious secret technique. After performing a short divination, Austin broke out with a smile of enlightenment.

“I see. It turns out he has my Forbidden Sorcerer under him…”

After thinking for a while, Austin raised his finger and pointed at a few Forbidden Sorcerers present.

“You lot, bring him back. If Black Star stops you, say that it is my intention. He will show me some face.”

The few Forbidden Sorcerers who were called upon nodded and walked out of the palace.

Han Xiao gathered all his forces and responded to Section Zero’s emergency mobilization. He arrived at the West Wind Star System and met up with the main force of Section Zero.

He brought three hundred modified battleships, Lagi, Herlous, Aroshia, and over ten more Grade B officers. Reynold was in charge of guarding the base, and Sylvia, who was too weak, did not follow them.

He was only participating in the war to farm faction Contribution Points to accumulate his strength. He would not sell his life loyally and sacrifice all the forces that he had spent a great amount of effort to accumulate.

He would just do what he could.

The other members of Section Zero also thought the same. None of them would mobilize all their forces. All of them had their own selfish thoughts, and this was the biggest flaw of an allied organization.

On the contrary, Bloodshed Land did not face such a problem as Heber controlled all the troops.

“This is the benefit of having a beyond Grade A Super.” Han Xiao sighed.

A large force was already gathered at the gathering point with almost ten thousand battleships. The Arc Light Organization sent out eight hundred battleships, the most among all the organizations present.

As the leader of the Black Star Army, Han Xiao was also invited to join the conference before the war.

The commander was a member of Purple Crystal. Purple Crystal also knew the cons of having such an allied force and thus sent out a member to command the forces.

In the meeting, Han Xiao understood the situation that they were facing.

Bloodshed Land’s vanguard forces had established a bridgehead on an uninhabited planet and set up various defensive measures. The objective of their expedition was to launch a probing attack and attempt to destroy the base of the vanguard force.

Every organization had their own responsibility, and Han Xiao also received his own mission.

(Local Campaign: Pin Down the Enemy Wing]

Mission Introduction: This is the order given to you by your faction. Complete it.

Mission Requirements: Pin down or destroy the battleships of the enemy’s wing.

Note: After the battle is over, reward will be given based on the level of completion.

This is a small mission that was a part of the Grade S Main Storyline Mission. In the different battles of the secret war, an elementary objective would first be given such as pinning down the enemy wing in this current mission. During the battle, the mission objective would then change according to the situation on the battlefield, and a new mission would be given.

A war could not be fought by an individual, and the most basic requirement was for him to complete his own mission. As long as he stuck closely to the strategic objectives assigned, a high completion rate would be achieved even if the battle was lost. Farming for faction Contribution Points relied mainly on such tactical missions.

Completing such tactical missions would also increase the mission rating of the Grade S Main Storyline Mission (Secret War: Section Zero).

Han Xiao had only brought three hundred battleships and was not suitable to attack the enemy head on. Thus, he had been assigned to cover the wing. He was not the only party assigned to this mission, and there were a couple others who had the same mission.

After the meeting, Han Xiao walked out of the camp, and someone called out from behind.

The one who had called out for him was Sevitt, a Grade A officer of the Arc Light Organization, the commander of their expedition force.

Sevitt sped up his footsteps and said with a respectful tone, “Black Star, I have something to ask of you.”

Han Xiao had the backing of Floating Dragon, and everyone was courteous to him. The majority of them were individuals who had been through many things and would not earn another enemy for themselves for no good reason.

“Go on.” Han Xiao only nodded.

“I know that you are a powerful Virtual Mechanic. When you are pinning down the wing of the enemy, I hope that you can interfere to deal with the main force of Bloodshed Land using Virtual Intrusion to reduce our pressure,” Sevitt said in an earnest tone.

The Arc Light Organization was in charge of the frontal assault. Sevitt had heard of Han Xiao’s abilities and thus went over to request some help.

“This isn’t a problem. I will help you if the pressure isn’t too great on my side.” Han Xiao patted Sevitt on the shoulder.

“Alright. Thanks.” Sevitt’s eyes lit up.

After both of them parted, Han Xiao returned to his own base and gathered his men to give instructions.

A large-scale war like this was extremely dangerous, and no one would be able to ensure that they could survive. Thus, he got all his subordinates to pay attention to their own safety.

One day later, Section Zero set off for Bloodshed Land’s vanguard force.

Chapter 655: The First Battle

The fleet of the Black Star Army was mixed within the combined armed forces, marching forward vigorously. From outside, one could only see the light streaks as a result of the hyperdrive jump, resembling a meteor shower.

“The frontal force is to attack and open up the defensive formations in outer space. Attack the enemy base from space, providing firepower to cover for the other formations. As for us, we will be responsible for flanking, restraining the enemy from their reinforcements.”

Within the cockpit, Han Xiao was communicating to the other fleet commanders.

The command structure of the Black Star Army had already been fixed. Out of the three hundred battleships they had, they were divided into multiple fleets, with an Officer in charge of each fleet. This would allow for more flexible tactical adjustments.

“Lagi, I’ll pass the mission of charging forward to you. In addition, we have several allies who are sending out Calamity Grade Supers alongside you. Your mission is to kill as many in the opposing fleet as possible. Of course, the priority is to first guarantee your safety.”

Han Xiao’s tone was stern. During an interstellar war, the Calamity Grades would mainly work to behead the commander of the opposing fleet, usually by assassination. However, they could also enter the main battlefield. Their strong individual fighting capability meant that there would be high flexibility. If there were no other Calamity Grades from the enemy side to restrict them, the Calamity Grade would be able to cause great damage to the fleet, even having the opportunity to influence the situation of a battlefield.

For example, Shana’s ability would be a great weapon in such interstellar conditions.

On an interstellar battlefield, Grade A Supers had always been the source of headaches for fleet commanders. This was because their uncertainty was too great, making them hard to handle. A Calamity Grade protected by their fleet was undoubtedly even more dangerous.

However, it was still a dangerous matter for a Calamity Grade to go head on against a fleet. If one was careless, they would be hit by tens of hundreds of warship cannons, and their life would likely be forfeit. However, Han Xiao was reassured by Lagihe knew how to protect himself, so there should not be a problem.

“Sigh.” Lagi only sighed, not speaking out.

Dong dong!

The spaceships trembled slightly and exited hyperdrive. Han Xiao’s brows furrowed, and he immediately activated the radar. A red area was marked out in front of them on the radar.

“We’re here. In front of us should be the stronghold for the vanguard force of Bloodshed Land.”

Han Xiao took a deep breath.

A period of two or three years had passed, but they had still come to war with Bloodshed Land.

In the communication channel, many of the commanders practically held their breath at this sight.

It was not surprising that the members of Section Zero were nervous. The fame of people inevitably cast shadows, and Bloodshed Land had a large reputation, so no one dared look down on this tyrant.

Through the long-range vision, Han Xiao discovered that the Bloodshed Land’s fleets had assembled outside, grouping into several formations, each with a flagship as the core.

“Warning, warning, high-energy response detected. Please take precautions, hum!”

At this moment, Han Xiao received the warning from Phillip. Shouting to the others, his fleet dove to evade.

The next moment, Bloodshed Land’s fleet suddenly lit up with countless light spots. This was followed by countless beams of high energy particle cannons shooting toward the combined forces. They grazed the shields of the various spaceships before disappearing into the distance. A few of the spaceships that did not have time to escape were hit, their shields flickering intermittently.

“How decisive, firing the moment we meet.” Han Xiao’s eyes flashed.

Ding.

At this point, Phillip spoke up. “The tactical instructions have been accepted. Do you wish to execute it immediately?”

Within the virtual screen, the formations of both fleets had turned into 3D shapes. The situation was clear at a glance. The tactical movements of his own fleet were marked, with the division of labor clear. Within Han Xiao’s troops, each one also had their own tactical targets, and the enemy fleet to be contained had been marked in red. This was their mission. At the top left of his screen were various parameters as well as the timings to meet.

The rear commander would adjust the tactics and reissue new instructions any time according to how the situation developed. This method of command allowed each team to perform its duties without confusion.

Glancing at the tactical board, Han Xiao found it to be acceptable and nodded.

“Execute it immediately!”

The Black Star Army fleet followed the rest of the fleet to move with the troops. After circling once, they dove straight into the fray, heading toward their own targets.

At the same time, the entire Section Zero fleet also moved. They spread out and attacked the planetary stronghold in the battlefield from all directions.

Because the alliance fleet was originally in a state of disunity, in order to prevent any infighting, the commander had organized the alliance fleet into more than ten different squadrons. Han Xiao’s fleet belonged to Team Seven, whose main purpose was to restrain and restrict.

The flames of war broke out!

The combined forces of Section Zero approached the planet’s fortress from various routes, while the particle cannons of both sides opposed each other. The spaceships navigated their way through the dense net of particle rays, and fireworks bombarded the area from time to time. As the combined forces attacked from multiple fronts, the formation of Bloodshed Land also changed to protect every position instead.

When both sides warred against each other, they opened fire at full blast. Team Seven charged bravely against the fire, and the pressure they faced increased sharply the closer they got.

Boom boom boom!

The vanguard troops of Bloodshed Land had transformed their fortress planet using the foundations of the Crimson Dynasty. The ground had a large base, and anti-aircraft guns fired physical missiles that could hit even spaceships in outer space. The firepower within them was fierce, and they almost hit Han Xiao’s fleet more than once.

“A large-scale battlefield is really dangerous.”

Han Xiao had long switched over to manual piloting, placing his full concentration on this matter. He performed thrilling aerial moves one after another to avoid any the tens of cannons fired toward them.

With such a large-scale battlefield, he did not dare act too casually. He followed the actions of the main troops, avoiding the various attacks by constantly fluttering up and down like a butterfly.

Looking at the tactical screen, he found out that the assault troops had already begun to clash in close combat with those from Bloodshed Land. Looking out of the window, he saw that the entire outer space area had turned into a fierce battlefield, with the inky black color of the universe as well as the edge of the fortress planet as a backdrop. Both sides were heavily engaged with each other, and all sorts of lights from the weapons dazzled one’s eyes.

The battlefield was too vast. Even casting one’s eyes out into the horizon would not allow them to see the entire situation. They could only understand the whole battle through the feedback from the tactical screen. At present, both sides had just confronted each other and were evenly matched.

The allied forces offensive had restrained the enemy’s firepower, indirectly helping Han Xiao’s Team Seven approach the enemy and find their restraining targets.

Han Xiao’s current position quickly turned into a small-scale battlefield.

The moment they fought, Han Xiao felt tremendous pressure.

This fleet, with an expedition-class battleship as its core, seemed to be about to go support the frontal battlefield. Team Seven restrained and harassed them continuously and were immediately violently counterattacked.

Team Seven had about a thousand battleships, of which three hundred were Han Xiao’s. The death toll was increasing rapidly.

“Not good!” Han Xiao gritted his teeth.

While the Purple Crystal Civilization had mentioned that there would be compensation, Han Xiao could not bear to see the battleships exploding one after another. They were his assets that he had spent much time accumulating.

He activated the Virtual Intrusion skill but immediately encountered resistance. The fleet opposing them had also deployed Virtual Mechanics to protect their fleet. In addition, they also planned to invade the Alliance fleet’s spaceships.

Left without a choice, Han Xiao could only tussle with the Virtual Mechanics from the enemy side, attacking and defending. Both sides started a tug-of-war.

At the same time, within the command room of the fortress planet, two Grade A Virtual Mechanics were intercepted by Han Xiao on the virtual level, and their looks changed.

“The enemy’s Virtual Mechanic has also appeared!”

“Sh*t, this guy’s Virtual Technology is really strong. The infiltration speed is too fast!”

“Luckily, we still can keep the internal firewall. Did you manage to trace the source?”

“Yeah, I’ve locked down on his position.”

“I see it, eh, turns out its Black Star. No wonder, he’s so strong!”

“Cooperate with me. Fight and seize his spaceship!”

The cooperation of the two was tacit. They immediately locked onto Han Xiao, infiltrating his Blacklight Stealth.

Within the Virtual Plane, the torrent of data manipulated by the duo found the artificial intelligence core of the Blacklight Stealth. Just as they were about to launch an attack, a glowing figure materialized. It was Risda.

Looking at the two torrents of data surging toward him, Risda merely raised a hand, scattering the offensive of both men. The data torrents turned into tiny sparkles of light, becoming redundant pieces of data, and were quickly shattered.

The moment the duo saw this, their hearts chilled.

“This Artificial intelligence is too high level. There’s no way to break through it.”

“Dammit, now we can’t shake him off.”

Both sides had undergone a round of confrontation, with Han Xiao gaining a slight advantage. However, his expression remained grave.

He had long expected the Bloodshed Land to employ Virtual Mechanics, as there was no way they would leave out such an obvious shortcoming. However, the enemy had actually sent two Grade A Virtual Mechanics, which gave Han Xiao some pressure. If he was not present, the opponent would have been free to do whatever they wished.

At this point, both sides were restraining each other. Although he could not utilize Virtual Intrusion to hack into the other party, it was the same for them.

The two sides finally met each other in close combat, and a furious battle erupted. Team Seven and the enemy fleet both used their charge cabins, allowing their respective Supers to land on the enemy’s spaceships.

Han Xiao pulled up a surveillance video. Any battleship on his side that got boarded would face a one-sided slaughter, as the elite Thousand Beast Soldier troops from the Bloodshed Land were extremely strong.

“My spaceship has been boarded!”

At this point, the frantic voice of Herlous sounded from his communicator.

Han Xiao hurriedly switched screens, only to see three charge cabins firmly latching onto Herlous’ spaceship. Herlous brought out his troops and was currently engaging with the enemy Thousand Beast Soldiers.

Luckily, Lagi’s spaceship passed by at this juncture and provided assistance. They killed off the bunch of enemies with ease, resolving the danger in Herlous’ spaceship.

Han Xiao suddenly felt his emotions surge. Within the chaos, he had accidentally discovered a breakthrough point.

“Attention to all, cover the Calamity Grade assault team. Try and allow them to land on the enemy’s flagship!”

Within this small-scale battlefield, the core would be the flagship of both parties. Compared to the enemy, Team Seven had the advantage with their Calamity Grade Supers, so their commander beheading operation had a higher chance of success.

Although their tactical goal was to restrain this fleet, the main commander would only give the target, and the specific actions were adjusted according to circumstances. It would definitely be more useful to destroy the opponent’s flagship rather than simply restraining them.

If one could obtain stellar results, the reward would naturally be higher.

Team Seven’s Calamity Grade assault teams, including Lagi, consisted of four teams. Han Xiao was not included.

When the order was issued, Team Seven immediately changed positions and began to cover the Calamity Grade assault team. They shuttled through the artillery bombing, quickly approaching the enemy’s flagship.

The enemy naturally spotted the tactical objective of Han Xiao and worked on intercepting the teams as well as covering their flagship to allow it to retreat.

While the distance between both sides was shrinking, it was too slow. Instead, the battlefield was slowly moving toward the frontlines. God only knew when they would reach the enemy flagship if that continued. So, making up his mind, he issued a new order.

“All Calamity Grade teams, board my Giant Soldier. I’ll take you there!”

The next instant, Han Xiao popped out of his spaceship, summoning his destroyer and sitting within the cockpit. Lagi and the others quickly got into the body of the Giant Soldier.

“Sit tight.”

Han Xiao operated the destroyer, pouring all its power into the thruster as it rushed toward the enemy’s flagship at a high speed.

The Giant Soldiers had more mobility and flexibility. Coupled with Han Xiao’s high operating level, he moved and penetrated deep into the enemy’s lines, attracting a lot of retaliatory fire. However, most of the attacks shot at him harmlessly, and some almost caused friendly fire.

Their distance was reduced at a speed visible to the naked eye!

It was a taboo in battle to operate independently, but Han Xiao was a Calamity Grade himself, and he was accompanied by four other Calamity Grade Supers. This turned them into a sharp sword with frightening power, causing the enemies to focus fire on them. Team Seven, which remained outside, immediately reacted, further restraining this fleet.

The destroyer finally arrived at the flagship and activated the shield neutralizer. They opened the hatch, allowing the four teams to successfully infiltrate the flagship. With only a single Calamity Grade Super within, they were bound to die.

Han Xiao did not sit idle, instead controlling his Giant Soldier to slice up the spaceships around him into pieces.

It was not long before the flagship could not withstand the impact and exploded!

However, the four teams had already evacuated, boarding Han Xiao’s Giant Soldier once again, and they broke out of the enemy lines.

While Han Xiao had succeeded in destroying the flagship, the armor value of his destroyer had almost reached zero. If not for his team that remained outside harassing and restraining, he would probably have lost his destroyer to the sheer firepower.

However, this small setback had reversed the situation on this minor battlefield. Under the continuous attacks of the team, the enemy troops began to retreat.

Han Xiao was just about to give pursuit, but at this time, he suddenly received a new mission notification.

(Partial Campaign: Retreat]

Mission Requirements: Retreat immediately, and conserve as much of team as possible

“Why are we retreating now?”

Han Xiao jumped in shock, casting his eyes out on the tactical screen. His pupils shrank.

On all the minor battlefields, only his one had gained an advantage!

The situation on the frontal battlefield had deteriorated rapidly. The large force of Section Zero was penetrated by Bloodshed Land, and more than two thousand warships had been destroyed. The main force of fifteen Calamity Grade Supers had suffered eight deaths, with seven injured.

All eight Vanguard Officials of the Bloodshed Land had entered the fray!

“No wonder I didn’t even encounter any of them!”

Han Xiao’s heart sank.

With the main force being destroyed, even if he had an advantage on his side, it would not help.

Section Zero had battled Bloodshed Land for the first time and lost!

…

On the main battlefield, a burning arc flew through the flagship of the organization. There were corpses everywhere, and blood flowed like a river.

Puchi.

Hunting Blade pulled out his war blade, and Sevitt’s body fell heavily. There was a huge hole in his side, with his internal organs already gone, and his blood had almost dried out. He was deader than dead at this point.

“This should be the last one. Let’s go. The battleship is about to explode.”

Hunting Blade wiped his blade and spoke through the communicator at the side of his armor toward Fosters, who was near the hole at the hull of the ship.

Fosters was looking through a hole to the distant battlefields. The horrible vacuum suction did not affect his body one bit.

“Black Star is not on the frontal battlefield. He should count his blessings.”

Fosters’ eyes gleamed coldly.

Chapter 656: Danger Is Equal to Opportunity

After retreating based on the command and moving far away from the fortress planet of Bloodshed Land, Han Xiao then learned of the number of casualties on the frontal battlefield.

“Such heavy casualties?”

After Bloodshed Land defeated the Alliance Fleet in the frontal battle, they had returned to their bridgehead and symbolically pursued the defeated frontal units of Section Zero for a while. However, because Han Xiao had been victorious on his minor battlefield, he had easily led his people to retreat, and the enemy did not pursue them.

Han Xiao had won a small victory, but it was a pity that this would not affect the overall war.

Despite the defeat in their war, Han Xiao’s tactical mission was considered completed, awarding him with millions of experience and more than two hundred Contribution Points from Section Zero as well as the Purple Crystal Civilization.

The defeated Alliance fleet stopped on a barren planet to rest. The atmosphere within was sorrowful and solemn, with many of the allies pulling long faces at the deaths of their comrades.

The dead Grade A Supers had practically exploded together with their flagship. The Arc Light Organization had lost Sevitt, and the surviving members had grieving expressions.

Just two days prior, Sevitt had still been smiling as he requested them to help out, but now, even his bones could not be found. Thinking of this, Han Xiao could not help but sigh. However, he did not disturb the surviving members. Instead, he assembled his Officers to count the losses of his own fleet. Very quickly, the result came.

“We only lost 34 battleships, and there were no casualties from the high-levelled combatants. The situation is still good.”

Han Xiao sighed in relief.

The Purple Crystal Civilization would compensate the various forces for their losses, or else there would be no one willing to cooperate with them. The battleships that Han Xiao had lost would also be replaced. In addition, he would also receive an additional reward from the department.

With some lingering fear, Herlous said, “I just went around to ask, and we actually have some of the lowest casualties within Section Zero. Our allies even lost a few of their Calamity Grades… I didn’t know it would be this dangerous.”

“Indeed, this was out of our expectations.” Han Xiao nodded. He was experiencing the situation before it had taken shape in Version 3.0, and this secret war was where the game versions were moving toward. However, he had currently only seen the background of the plot and was not clear on the specific details.

As for the victory of Bloodshed Land, Han Xiao was not surprised. If the Purple Crystal Civilization could topple them so easily, there would have been no need for Version 3.0.

During Version 3.0, Bloodshed Land had already built many bases across multiple planets, and a game of tug-of-war had been established between them and Section Zero. Han Xiao could guess that during the version update, Section Zero would definitely be at a disadvantage.

What he was surprised about was that, for the first battle, to have a death count of ten Grade As on their side was a little unbelievable.

If so many people would die in every war, it would not take a few months for all the Supers in Section Zero to die off. Bloodshed Land would also have heavy casualties, so both sides would lose out.

Beep beep!

Han Xiao suddenly received a communication request from Ralph.

After connecting, Ralph’s voice came through, sounding hoarse and full of static. “Black Star, how bad is the situation?”

After receiving the news of the failure in the war, Ralph could not help but contact Han Xiao to ask about the details.

“Extremely bad…”

Han Xiao recounted everything he knew and conveniently emphasized that his battlefield had an advantage.

Hearing this, Ralph got worried. “This is the only good news I’ve heard in the last hour. However, you cannot determine the outcome just by yourself.”

Han Xiao shrugged in response. He did not care; in any case, he would still receive his due compensation, so he did not lose out in any way.

“The objective of Bloodshed Land is to kill all our Grade A Supers. They’re trying to showcase their strength,” Ralph said.

Han Xiao’s eyes shone, and he immediately understood the intentions of Heber, secretly exclaiming to himself how ingenious this idea was.

Bloodshed Land had seized the greatest weakness of Section Zero-a lack of unity. This was a common problem among allied forces. Because each Grade A Super was the core of their own respective organizations, the eight vanguard officials had rushed out to kill all those top tier combatants so as to make the people within Section Zero fear the repercussions of their actions.

Every collaborator of Section Zero did not really care whether Purple Crystal held onto their territory. They had no territorial fondness, unlike the Purple Crystal Civilization, and were only there because of the benefits. Winning or losing the war was irrelevant to them, and the only thing they cared about was whether the benefits outweighed the losses.

If they battleships received damage, the Purple Crystal Civilization could compensate them and even reward them, allowing them to receive the resources of the Star Cluster Civilization. However, if their Calamity Grades were killed, there was nothing they could do about it. The Purple Crystal Civilization was unable to replace the loss of their high-level combatants.

This was the difference between Section Zero, which was in a state of disunity, and the cohesive Bloodshed Land, and it was a weakness that they could not change.

No wonder Bloodshed Land fought so fiercely.

Han Xiao groaned secretly. He did not care if the secret war was successful. In his previous life, the Purple Crystal Civilization had been destroyed, and only when the Crimson Dynasty had come to an agreement with the Federation of Light did they finally put a stop to all the wars that they had incited.

Before both Universal Civilizations completed their benefits exchange, no one would bother about the secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal. The Crimson Dynasty was Klent’s backer, so as long as Klent was not driven away, the Crimson Dynasty would split off a part of the land belonging to Purple Crystal and give it to them. This was Klent’s strategy and the result of his past life.

Han Xiao’s motive for joining Section Zero was not to help Purple Crystal win the war but rather to exchange his contributions for Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

If his losses were kept to the minimum, he did not mind keeping strictly to his designated tasks to complete the missions, slowly increasing his favorability to (Reverence).

Even if the broader picture was affected, as long as his ‘stocks’ in Purple Crystal continued to rise, he would still receive more attention and respect.

If people above did not die, how would he have a chance to move up?

A gleam shot through Han Xiao’s eyes. It was a pity the players were not there. That way, he would not have needed to care about deaths and injuries.

Putting aside his thoughts, Han Xiao said, “Bloodshed Land is still gaining a foothold in the West Wind Star System. What do we do next?”

“We’ll take a break for now. Wait for the reinforcements to arrive before we attack once more,” Ralph gravely replied.

The collaborators of Section Zero were located in various sectors of the Colton Star Cluster, with some only needing a short journey to arrive, whereas others took longer. Han Xiao belonged to the first batch of the allied troops and could be considered more of a vanguard force for Section Zero. The main force was still behind, so the failure of the vanguard force did not mean that Section Zero had been completely defeated.

Ralph was more worried about the tactics utilized by Bloodshed Land. For the enemy to target their powerful combatants, this could not be defended. He was worried that Section Zero would not put in any effort to cut their losses, with the worst outcome being the disbandment of the entire Section.

Han Xiao took a few deep breaths before suddenly speaking. “I have a suggestion. The next attack, let me hold the frontal battlefield.”

Ralph froze in shock. Black Star, despite knowing of the dangers, still chose to volunteer for the main battlefield?

“You, what you mean is…”

“Maybe I can hold off the Vanguard Officials of Bloodshed Land…” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Ralph was overjoyed to the point he wanted to cry. Just now, the forces participating in the main battlefield, such as the Arc Light Organization, had demanded that they no longer assume the task of attacking as the frontal force. They did not dare face the Bloodshed Land Officials. Only Black Star was willing to step up and handle such a risky job.

This… this was the true meaning of a reliable cooperator!

Ralph held back his tears of joy, excitedly asking, “How many can you fend off?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “All of them.”

Ralph’s eyes bulged wide, incredulity plastered all over his face.

Are you f*cking kidding me?

This is no laughing matter!

“Don’t be too surprised. I never said I could beat them all. I only said that I can hold them off.”

Han Xiao waved his hand. He had calculated it a while ago. Against the eight Vanguard Officials, his chances of winning against them probably would only exceed Lagi’s by a minute amount. However, with his meat shield like capabilities, he was more than qualified to hold off the eight of them. Furthermore, he could still utilize Aurora’s Character Summon Card, so he only needed to maintain a battle.

With him stalling the Vanguard Officials, it could lower the risk that the allied combatants would face. Furthermore, showing such strength would allow him to gain a wave of reputation, which would result in more attention being paid to him by the Purple Crystal Civilization.

The most important reason was that Han Xiao planned to use this to strike a deal.

“To take such a huge risk, I won’t do it for free.”

“What do you want?” Ralph immediately asked.

Han Xiao’s brows rose. “I want the Cutting-Edge Knowledge for the Mechanic profession.”

“Deal!” Ralph immediately agreed.

At this time, he no longer hesitated. Black Star was already willing to bear the risk of death. As long as he could survive, the Purple Crystal Civilization need not be stingy with their resources.

Han Xiao’s expression did not change, but he was secretly exhilarated. Although he could lie low and slowly increase his favorability, the time taken would be longer. As long as he could reach for the skies in one single leap, he would not let go of this chance to obtain the Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

The sooner he completed his Class Advancement, the faster he would be able to break through to level 170, converting all his accumulated experience into actual combat capability. Furthermore, being able to hold back eight Vanguard Officials was a matter of reputation and prestige. He would kill two birds with one stone!

Han Xiao could not help but give rise to a wicked idea. He would rather the Purple Crystal Civilization lose more and win less. If the situation was not so dire, he would not have had a chance to obtain the resources that he wanted this quickly.

“Indeed, opportunities only exist in chaotic times. The ancient sages did not lie.” Han Xiao laughed to himself.

Standing by the side, Lagi heard the conversation and could not help but interject. “Do you need me to collect your corpse?”

Han Xiao was not angry but rather happy instead. It seemed like this would work. Lagi’s counterproductive comments had never failed before.

“Continue commenting, don’t stop.”

“No wonder you really want to commit suicide. You’re really mad.” Lagi sighed to himself. It seemed like he needed to change employers once more.

Chapter 657: Gloat When Winning, Hide When Losing

At the same time, the vanguard force of Bloodshed Land had summarized the outcome of the battle.

“We fought back a wave of attacks. All of you did well and got rid of quite a few Calamity Grade Supers. Purple Crystal’s allied force will definitely be wary after this.”

Jorde praised the result of the battle.

Hunting Blade nodded. “The enemy only launched a hasty attack and didn’t send out too many high-level troops. Your prediction was right.”

The vanguard force had prepared many different war strategies. Their original strategy had been to focus on defense, but upon observing that Section Zero did not send out an overwhelming force in their first attack, Jorde had switched strategies and gotten the eight Vanguard Officials to take action together. They had managed to take out a large number of Section Zero’s high-level combatants and achieve the effect of frightening the others.

“We should have about ten days until the enemy’s next attack. All of you should continue to deal with the high-level combatants of the enemy. This is the weakness of an allied army,” Jorde said with confidence.

Hunting Blade frowned in response. “With their first failure, the enemy will not underestimate us anymore and may not even be willing to fight us head on. We may not have such a chance again in the future.”

“Then we will have to create the chance,” Fosters, who was by the side, suddenly said. “If the enemy doesn’t send their high-level combatants to fight us, we will dismantle their entire fleet.”

Jorde nodded in agreement. “In any case, try to find the opportunity to kill as many high-level combatants as possible. The more terrified our enemy is, the lower the difficulty of our expansion.”

“Black Star should be participating in the next attack as well. I have a request,” Fosters suddenly said. “Everyone must send me the coordinates of Black Star’s location. If the frontal assault team doesn’t need me, I will go and get rid of Black Star.”

“Alright,” Jorde replied, “but don’t let your private grudge affect the overall situation.”

“Humph, I don’t need you to remind me about that. Furthermore, this isn’t my private grudge,” Fosters said coldly. “Black Star is Dragon Emperor’s subordinate. Getting rid of him will also force Dragon Emperor out. Only then can His Excellency Heber participate in the war openly.”

The presence of a beyond Grade A Super served as a deterrent, and they would rarely take action. Even if the Tyrant was the leader of Bloodshed Land, he did not personally participate in the war. However, if Ames took action, he would have an excuse to participate.

In their eyes, the Tyrant was obviously stronger than the Dragon Emperor.

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

Jorde nodded and said, “That makes sense. I shall hand him to you.”

“Don’t worry, I will be able to find him no matter where he hides.” Fosters nodded with satisfaction.

As the allied army was waiting for their reinforcements, a couple of riots broke out. With the Arc Light Organization at the helm, the various members of the frontal assault party requested to have a change of mission with the reason being their heavy losses.

Sevitt’s death had shocked the entire Arc Light Organization with their leader being filled with regret. Sevitt had been his capable assistant, and he had trusted Sevitt greatly. However, he had never imagined that Sevitt would perish in the very first battle, and the leader had immediately suggested backing out. All the other organizations who were part of the frontal assault group had experienced varying degrees of loss to their high-level combatants.

Such an intense battle was completely out of their expectations, and the eight Vanguard Officials had truly scared them out of their wits.

Perhaps they might have been able to defeat the Vanguard Officials if they worked together, but none of them were willing to lose their Calamity Grade Supers. As such, they had all tacitly agreed to avoid the battle.

This was a problem without a solution. The commander of Section Zero could only reorganize the battle formation and change the members in charge of frontal assault, hoping that the reinforcements would be willing to take up the responsibility.

However, the reinforcements also heard of the death count on the frontline and were not willing to take up the role. None of them were willing to sacrifice their high-level combatants.

The Purple Crystal Civilization was extremely helpless and only managed to get a few organizations to grudgingly accept the job after some private negotiations.

The strategy of Bloodshed Land was extremely effective, exposing the weakness of Section Zero in a single battle. Even if the members of Section Zero were famous armed organizations from the Colton Star Cluster, they were no more than a mob when gathered together.

However, Han Xiao was not disappointed that he would only have the opportunity to display his abilities when his faction was at a disadvantage.

Just when everyone was trying to avoid taking up the assault role, Han Xiao was the only one who volunteered for the job.

This piece of news quickly spread throughout the entire camp and set off a huge wave of commotion. Everyone looked at Han Xiao with strange looks filled with doubt, shock, and many other emotions.

Despite knowing that he would face a huge risk, Black Star still volunteered for the job. Did he lose his mind?

The few organizations that had already lost their comrades all watched from the side coldly. They all misunderstood Black Star’s intentions and felt that he was trying to step on their heads to display his brilliance so that Purple Crystal would think highly of him.

While this in itself was not a problem, the problem was that Black Star did not have the corresponding strength to perform such a feat. It was no different from seeking his own death. Did he not have any brains at all?

Many organizations in the allied army immediately came to a common understanding. In order to raise his status, Black Star did not want to live anymore.

However, not a single organization bothered to advise Black Star about anything. They needed someone to serve as cannon fodder at the front, and since Black Star was willing to die, they would not stop him.

Since Han Xiao had volunteered for such a dangerous mission, Ralph tried to fulfil almost every request of his. Han Xiao did not allow his subordinates to join the assault and got Lagi to lead Herlous and the others to participate in other less intense battles.

A few days later, the second batch of reinforcements finally arrived, and Section Zero’s allied army attacked the few bases that Bloodshed Land had in the West Wind Star System again.

Han Xiao got Herlous to command their forces temporarily while he formed the spearhead of the assault force with the Blacklight Stealth.

The objective of his mission this time was to pin down the eight Vanguard Official and the reward was Cutting-Edge Knowledge and a large amount of faction contribution points. The reward from this single mission was comparable to more than ten ordinary missions.

Because of their previous failure, Section Zero’s second assault attempt was being watched by the entire Star Field.

The other five Star Cluster Civilization of the Shattered Star Ring as well as some large organizations within the Star Field all focused their attention on the West Wind Star System. The outcome of the second exchange between both parties would be extremely indicative of the outcome of the secret war.

This was the second time that they had fought, and both Bloodshed Land and Section Zero were fully prepared. The battle between both parties had immediately shot to the peak without any foreplay.

Bright balls of flames lit up the pitch-black universe. The burning battleships, exploding cannons, and blinding laser cannons filled the entire battlefield.

The eight Vanguard Official with Fosters in the lead destroyed one battleship after another and swept through the battlefield with unstoppable momentum.

Rather than send out their high-level combatants to stop the Vanguard Officials, the Calamity Grade Supers from Section Zero all chose to avoid the battle and watch as the Vanguard Officials destroyed their battleships.

“Why are all of you in a daze! Stop them!” the commander roared.

“Roger, we will take action soon.”

“This isn’t the time yet. Wait for them to expend some energy first.”

The Grade A Supers all gave perfunctory replies.

Despite the commander being thoroughly enraged, he was also utterly helpless. He was helpless if these high-level combatants chose to go against his orders. Furthermore, knowing that Purple Crystal would compensate them for their lost battleships, they would rather watch their own fleet get destroyed than take action.

Ralph could no longer sit still. Despite knowing that the situation was bad, he did not expect it to be so terrible. Thus, he could not help but contact Han Xiao.

“Black Star, we can’t rely on the others. When will you take action? We will be defeated for sure if this continues.”

In the cockpit, Han Xiao looked at the coordinates of the eight Vanguard Officials and replied, “Give me a battlefield.”

“I understand!” Ralph was overjoyed.

He still doubted the fact that Black Star would be able to hold all eight Vanguard Officials back alone but had no choice but to believe Black Star.

At the center of the battlefield, the Vanguard Officials were having the time of their lives as they destroyed one battleship after another and disrupted the formation of Section Zero.

The eight Vanguard Officials were like leopards and the battleships like sheep. Without the high-level combatants pinning down the Vanguard Officials, the battleships were reduced to sitting ducks.

“Haha, the enemy Calamity Grade Supers still aren’t taking action. Do they truly not care about their fleet at all?”

Malekith burst into laughter in the communication channel.

“What a bunch of cowards. They don’t even have the guts to fight,” Hunting Blade sneered with disdain.

Boom!

In the interior of a battleship, Fosters crushed half the spaceship with his fists and boarded an assault spaceship before the battleship exploded. Upon hearing the conversation, he could not help but ask, “Why hasn’t anyone reported Black Star’s location to me yet? Where exactly is he?”

“I don’t know. No one has reported Black Star’s location yet. We managed to find the Black Star Army fleet, but Black Star isn’t part of the fleet. There is only a Grade A mage controlling the situation.”

Fosters glanced at the battlefield and coldly said, “Since the enemy’s high-level combatants are a bunch of cowards, I am not needed for the time being. I will go to the Black Star Army. He will definitely be hiding in the vicinity.”

“Okay, go ahead and leave matters here to us.” Hunting Blade nodded in response.

Just as Fosters wanted to leave the area, the battleship formation suddenly spread out to reveal a passage, and the Blacklight Stealth flew out from deep within the formation.

“That is… Black Star”

Fosters stopped abruptly with his gaze being fixed on the Blacklight Stealth. The other seven Vanguard Officials could not help but look over as well.

Han Xiao then left his spaceship wearing his Berserk Ape suit and floated in space. He looked at the eight Vanguard Officials and raised his hand to beckon for them in provocation.

A single individual in the vast battlefield was far too tiny, but not a single person in the surroundings could ignore Han Xiao’s presence. He unleashed his energy, and the high energy reading being given off from him was sufficient to set off the radar of any battleship around him.

Despite being far away from Han Xiao, Fosters and the others could clearly see Han Xiao’s actions.

“He is provoking us?” Hunting Blade was dumbfounded. He truly did not know who gave Black Star the courage to provoke them.

Fosters could not help but be surprised. He had thought that Black Star was hiding like the other Calamity Grade Supers and had never expected him to step out on his own.

“Not bad. At least he is more courageous than the others. Saves me some time.”

Fosters’ eyes narrowed, and he instructed the assault spaceship to charge for Han Xiao. He then jumped out from the spaceship and shot toward Han Xiao with his entire body burning with flames like a dark red meteor.

Han Xiao raised his arm, and the parts on his mechanical suit expanded out to form a gigantic mechanical fist that was a hundred meters in size. Bolts of Mechanical Force covered the fist ,and his fist hammered down on the meteor.

Sound would not be produced in the vacuum of space, and everyone could only visualize the sound of the collision in their heads.

Bang!

The gigantic fist was penetrated by the meteor to reveal a human sized hole, and Fosters’ fist arrived at Han Xiao’s chest.

Han Xiao was forced to retreat, and his body flew backward a short distance before he could stabilize himself. He then waved his arm to unequip the destroyed mechanical hand.

“Show me everything you have and let me have a good time.” Fosters sent Han Xiao a voice message to the mechanical suit’s communication system.

Leaving a voice message in a fight… This fellow is truly annoying.

Han Xiao then waved his arm, and the hatch to the Blacklight Stealth opened up. His Mechanical Army then swarmed out of the spaceship like a swarm of locusts.

Very quickly, his army revealed itself, and tens of thousands of machines floated beside him.

Such an army was not to be underestimated!

Because Purple Crystal would compensate him for his losses, Han Xiao did not hold anything back and sent out all his machines.

“The eight of you can come together. You won’t be able to deal with me alone.” Han Xiao returned the favor and sent Fosters a voice message, too. Fosters sneered coldly and could not be bothered to reply. Black Star was already a dead man in his eyes, and he alone was enough to get rid of this pest.

The Calamity Grade Supers of Section Zero were skiving off at the side, and not a single person seems to have any intention of helping Black Star.

Up until now, Han Xiao was the only Calamity Grade Super from Section Zero who had stepped out onto the main battlefield!

Chapter 658: Fighting Eight People Alone!

Let’s end this fast, thought Fosters, and intense flames immediately spread out from him, akin to the surface of a small star. Pushing forward with both of his palms at the tens of thousands of mechanical soldiers, a dark red beam struck toward Han Xiao and the Mechanical Army that surrounded him.

The outer layer of mechanical soldiers was directly blasted away, shattering into metal pieces. The debris was blown away like sand particles being washed away by the tide.

The cannon fodder machines could not stop the assault of the Grade A+ Fosters. Only the Oathkeepers beside Han Xiao stepped forward, deploying their shields to withstand the shockwave blast from Fosters.

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and his Mechanical Force rolled outward. Under the influence of [Mechanical Force Field], he covered all his mechanical soldiers. The next moment, he waved his hands, and the hundreds of thousands of mechanical soldiers opened fire at the same time, attacking Fosters with different formations and different tactical modes.

A fierce battle unfolded!

The vast Mechanical Army drowned Fosters. Right in the middle of the main battlefield, a smaller scale battlefield was formed. The fleets were still engaged with each other all around them, and Bloodshed Land did not care about a one on one battle, constantly firing toward Black Star’s Mechanical Army. However, Section Zero was not a group to be trifled.

While the rest of the Calamity Grades were watching the show, they still had the courage to command the fleet to provide enough cover for Han Xiao.

Moreover, surrounding the machinery were numerous floating shields, which blocked the attacks from time to time.

This was the all-out attack of a Mechanic at the Calamity Grade. A person could rival an entire fleet!

However, Han Xiao had placed all his attention on Fosters.

Millions of ion cannon rays crisscrossed, like a large airtight net, which continuously struck at Fosters. He dodged continuously and rammed through when he could not, relying on the sheer power of his Pugilist flames to also wreak havoc in the mechanical soldier army.

The armor of conventional mechanical soldiers was akin to paper in front of Fosters’ strength. In a battle between the Grade As, the role of the basic mechanical soldiers was just to provide firepower and tactical containment, as well as to continuously sap at the opponents’ health and strength. Under the bonus given by Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force, Fosters could only try to evade most of the time. Being bombarded by tens of thousands of concentrated firepower was nothing to scoff at.

While he might have been confident to endure it with his current strength, should he not treat himself better if possible?

As for the main combat force, it would be the small number of Grade A Elite Machinery, such as the improved versions of the Oathkeeper, Phantoms, and so on. The strength of a single unit naturally could not exceed that of the Calamity Grade itself, but their mutual cooperation would be able to threaten them. Even with their famed reputation within the Star Field, the Tyrant’s Vanguard Officials would not be able to blast away an Oathkeeper that was equipped with sufficient shields, energy, and thick armor in just two or three punches.

Han Xiao strolled leisurely among his Mechanical Army, but his walking speed was extremely fast. Coupled with his sudden change in direction, it caused Fosters to be unable to lock onto him.

However, Fosters did not dare pause, constantly maintaining his high evasion speed as he avoided the various attacks while analyzing the situation quickly in his heart.

Got to look for a chance to behead him in one fell swoop, or else I’ll be drowned by this human wave tactic.

It was not as if Fosters had not come into contact with any Mechanics specializing in the Army Style. He understood that once he was completely surrounded, he would be tortured to death sooner or later. One could not look down on the damage ten thousand soldiers could deal.

As for the weakness of the Army Style… if the commander was beheaded, the rest of the soldiers would easily be broken through.

Black Star has the moniker of Indestructible Body… however, he cannot be more difficult to deal with than the Mechanical Army itself.

Fosters stared closely before drastically increasing his speed using a skill. Flames blazed around him, and like a dark red bolt, he bashed through layers of mechanical soldiers to arrive beside Han Xiao, swinging a mighty fist filled with endless power toward Han Xiao’s neck.

The split second that the fist was supposed to connect, Han Xiao’s figure suddenly flickered, and the next instant, he was at another location within his Mechanical Army. This was his Advanced Void Travel.

It continued the same way. Every time Fosters launched an attack on Han Xiao, it would end up being easily neutralized by the latter. With Void Travel, (Chaos Entity-Release] as well as the Short Distance Teleporter Module on his Berserk Ape on continuous cycle, Fosters had no way to touch even his clothes. The shockwave blasts were avoided even more easily.

Fosters’ face got uglier as time passed. According to the intelligence received, he had thought that Han Xiao would choose to fight with him given his sturdy body, but he did not expect the latter to be as slippery as an eel.

As for Han Xiao, his thoughts were clear. Since I’m a Mechanic, before my Mechanical Army is depleted, there’s no need for me to rush up and get beaten up like an idiot.

His fleshly body was his trump card, and of course, he had to use it only as the last resort. His mission was to restrain the eight Vanguard Officials. By trapping Fosters within the Mechanical Army, he would make the guy feel unbearable, allowing him to call the rest over for him to restrain.

If not, just based off his fleshy body, while Fosters might not be able to kill him, he would be completely suppressed and beaten down without any chance to retaliate. In that case, he could not appear as carefree as he was now.

Han Xiao’s was considering this in the long term. As long as he completed this mission successfully, he would obtain the Cutting-Edge Knowledge needed for his Class Advancement. Destroying his entire Mechanical Army would give him an excuse to withdraw from the war for the current period of time, allowing him to go back and create a brand-new Mechanical Army with new and improved capabilities.

The Purple Crystal Civilization would naturally overcompensate him for his loss.

Since he knew that the expansion of Bloodshed Land was inevitable, with the current performance of Section Zero, they would be constantly defeated for the time being. There was no need for him to participate in a losing battle. It was better for him to go home and recuperate.

When the situation became bad and Purple Crystal started to panic, they would think of his performance before automatically asking him to participate. Only then would he take the opportunity to extort them.

While Han Xiao liked to utilize the Army Style, he also loved to personally enter the scene. However, this time, he had chosen to utilize conventional tactics, revealing his frightening evasion abilities to foil Fosters’ sudden advancement. The power of his Army Style was revealed to the fullest!

Although the losses of the Mechanical Army were constantly rising, Fosters’ energy consumption was also becoming severe. When facing hundreds of thousands of Mechanical soldiers, it caused a qualitative change as a result of the quantity. Unless one had a special tank-like ability, no one would be able to endure the entire group.

The damaged machinery was revived again and again by Han Xiao using both (Waste Modification] and [Machinery Continuation), and the soldiers appeared endless.

Both sides could see that Fosters appeared like a bug trapped within a spider’s web, completely falling into Black Star’s tempo. The Mechanical Army blessed by Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force as well as the (Superhuman] buff provided a 142% increase in damage at Level 170. This had greatly offset Fosters’ strength advantage.

“He’s managed to restrain the Chief Vanguard Official!”

There were quite a few Grade A Supers in Section Zero, and they all obtained a boost in their spirits.

To have Black Star’s capabilities rival the Chief Vanguard Official, this was good news.

However, no one was too surprised. With Black Star’s fame, many of his deeds had already spread among the people in the galaxy. He was also recognized to be one of the strongest members under the Dragon Emperor Ames. Thus, it was not surprising that he was able to match the Chief Vanguard Official of the Tyrant in power.

However, Ralph was a little worried. Black Star had promised him that he would restrain all eight of them, but currently, only Fosters was being trapped. The other Vanguard Officials were still moving around and destroying the warships. If not for the fact that Black Star was wrapped up in an intense battle, he would have urged a retreat.

After dodging yet another round of cannon fire, Fosters’ gaze wandered toward Han Xiao, feeling extremely stifled.

The difficulty in killing Black Star proved to be far out of his expectations.

Fosters still felt that Black Star was not a match for him. In his opinion, as long as he managed to snatch a chance, he would definitely obtain victory. However, the two of them had been fighting for so long that it had run counter to his original intention of ending the battle quickly. Unable to resist getting angry, his patience had long been worn thin.

“Hunting Blade, Malekith… all of you come over and help me to destroy Black Star’s Mechanical Army. I’ll see where he can still hide!” Fosters shouted out.

The other seven Vanguard Officials who were dealing with the fleet around received the new instructions and were surprised. Fosters had mentioned that Black Star was an opponent whom he would deal with alone, but now he needed help!

However, they naturally gave him some face, not to mention that Black Star had provoked them as well. Thus, all of them turned around and killed their way toward the tiny battlefield that Fosters and Black Star were at. They were akin to seven meteors, crashing into the Mechanical Army.

The moment the eight Vanguard Officials joined forces, the situation deteriorated instantly. The Mechanical Army was destroyed wantonly.

“Black Star cannot hold on much longer.”

The Grade A Supers in Section Zero felt shock in their hearts, but to face off against eight of the Vanguard Officials, none of them had the courage to risk it and support him. Before the Mechanical Army was completely destroyed, Black Star still had hope.

Fosters eyed Han Xiao like a hawk the whole time. The moment Black Star intended to escape, he would immediately rush forward to disrupt him, not allowing him to escape.

Contrary to his expectations, even though the situation was clearly not on his side, Han Xiao continued to shift and dodge, without any intention of escaping. This resulted in Fosters’ vigilance being useless.

“What is Black Star doing? Why is he not retreating?”

“Does he not know that fighting on will only lead to his death?”

The surrounding Calamity Grades were all frightened, carrying expressions of incredulity. Was he really going to fight all eight by himself? The entire area was filled with shards from his Mechanical Army, with none of them in one complete piece. Fosters and the other seven finally stopped, gazing over at Han Xiao like a tiger eyeing its prey. Shooting a glance at the nonexistent Mechanical Army, Han Xiao remained passive. His opponents were the famed Vanguard Officials. This result was still within his expectations. Just based off the Mechanical Army alone, it would be difficult for him to face the assault of eight people.

However, with his insurance covering his losses, Han Xiao did not feel any heartache. Instead, he smiled before addressing the eight of them. “Hehe, seems like it’s still eight against one in the end.”

Fosters’ face sank, and he growled, “Hurry up and deal with him. Let’s see if he still can laugh.”

“Really? All of us?” Malekith was surprised.

“Since we’ve already done so, let’s just finish this.”

The others were reluctant. In the first place, they had given Fosters face, allowing him to single out Han Xiao to fight. However, now that Fosters had gotten tired, he wanted them to help—they could not stop halfway. Bloodshed Land never emphasized fighting single battles—they only focused on getting the job done as fast as possible.

The eight of them rushed forward, and Han Xiao too breathed out once before rushing forth to meet them. In the eyes of the Calamity Grades around, Black Star’s back seemed to have an impression that he had seen past death itself.

Everyone was touched!

They did not understand why Black Star would be so desperate to give up his life!

It was as though eight shooting stars continuously hit Han Xiao’s body. Their explosive fists burst forth with numerous afterimages, bombarding every inch of his body.

Was Black Star hit with thousands of punches or tens of thousands? Nobody could tell for sure.

Everyone around had the cold sense of desolation, akin to foxes grieving when all the rabbits died. They could not bear to watch. Black Star’s ending would definitely be grisly.

However, the next moment, everyone rubbed their eyes, not daring to believe this scenario!

When facing the barrage of blows like a heavy thunderstorm, while Han Xiao was beaten black and blue, to the point even his Mechanical suit shattered, his body was still perfectly sturdy, and he remained so lively even when facing such heavy punches!

Fosters and the rest suddenly stopped, staring at Han Xiao with uncertain gazes.

The strength that they released just now would be enough to destroy half the surface of a medium planet. How was Black Star still alive?

The MP and HP are indeed reliable, and the Steel Body ability does negate a lot of damage. However, these fellows are really frightening. I nearly had to use Aurora’s Character Summon Card.

While he was being beaten up, Han Xiao’s had been calmly analyzing the situation.

Seeing that the eight had stopped, Han Xiao exhaled, rubbing his shoulders and neck whilst revealing a careless smile. This, however, worked better than any form of provocation. Fosters’ face turned steely as he felt that this smile was full of ridicule toward him, as though it was Han Xiao saying, Why did you stop?

At this moment, everybody’s expression seemed to freeze up.

Ralph had a crazed expression of joy on his face. Black Star was indeed able to restrain all eight of them-he was serious about that!

The Grade As from Section Zero revealed various expressions of shock. Those eight were no ordinary Calamity Grade Supers; they were all the reputed eight Vanguard Officials of Bloodshed Land! The fame of each one resounded throughout the Star Field!

Fosters and the rest were furious. The eight of them had only lost to Tyrant whenever they joined hands!

They could not believe that Han Xiao could actually withstand their offensive.

It was as though the raging waves had smashed against the cliff but ended up being scattered into sea foam!

The name Black Star popped into everyone’s head, with the connection that could not be waved away.

Was this the famed… Indestructible Body

Chapter 659: Beyond Grade A Level Attack!

“This is ‘Indestructible Body’ Black Star…”

“The strength of his body is even more exaggerated than in the rumors. With such a powerful recovery ability, only a beyond Grade A Super would be able to kill him.”

“Tanking the attacks of the eight Vanguard Officials under Tyrant single handedly? He lives up to the name of being the number one general under Ames. Just where did Ames find such a ferocious character?”

Han Xiao’s performance truly shocked many of the Calamity Grade Supers in Section Zero.

They had all thought that Black Star was overestimating himself and would end up sacrificing himself in battle. Who would have thought that the difference between them was so big?

Fosters was extremely shocked in his heart, and he said, “His body is a little strange. A portion of our attacks were absorbed by his cells to allow him to recover quickly.”

Hunting Blade’s expression was solemn. “I realized that, too.”

The chief Vanguard Official had plenty of experience in battle and quickly identified the logic behind Han Xiao’s Indestructible Body. Fosters’ eyes narrowed, and he immediately thought of a method to deal with Han Xiao.

“He isn’t able to recover instantly, and there is an upper limit to his ability. As long as our attack exceeds that limit, we will definitely be able to cause true damage to him. We need to launch an explosive series of attacks and not give him the chance to breathe. That is the only way that we can kill him.”

Fosters’ eyesight was extremely sharp, and he came to a conclusion that was extremely near to the truth.

Hearing that it was possible to kill Black Star, the seven others heaved sighs of relief.

The endurance that Black Star had displayed truly terrified them. The combined attack of the eight of them was sufficient to cause an entire ridgeline to collapse, and they would not even dare endure such an attack with their own bodies, just like how they would not dare tank the attacks of Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army but choose to avoid them.

Looking at Han Xiao, who was currently at the center of the attack, Fosters said in a deep voice, “Don’t overestimate Black Star. While it is extremely difficult to kill him, as long as we can destroy his Mechanical Army, the threat that he poses will be greatly reduced. I will be able to pin him down alone.”

However, Fosters’ target was not just to pin Black Star down but to kill Black Star. If the eight Vanguard Officials were not able to kill a single enemy of their same level when working together, this would be a huge blow to their reputation. They would only be able to establish their dominance by killing Black Star and scaring the other members of Section Zero.

“Attack together. Change tactics and do not spread out the strength of your attacks.”

The moment he finished his sentence, the eight of them charged forward together. Fosters had said that only high damage in a short period would have a chance of killing Black Star, and the joint force of the eight of them could be extremely frightening.

Han Xiao had already guessed that the eight of them would attempt a second attack. The members of Bloodshed Land all had brains made from muscle and would not give up that easily.

He did not just stand still to tank the attacks. He spread his arms, and bolts of Mechanical Force shot out in all directions. Even if the Mechanical Army was destroyed, the spare parts floating around in space were his weapons!

Countless spare parts gathered toward Han Xiao like a whirlpool, and they quickly transformed into a gigantic mechanical cannon and arm.

The metal fist knocked the flames apart, and the laser cannon lit up the dark space. Han Xiao launched his ferocious counterattack.

If the battlefield was not located in the vacuum of space, the commotion of the battle would definitely have been earth shattering.

At the same time, five multicolored light rays intersected each other with a frightening force being hidden within them!

A Grade B Super would not even be able to withstand the shockwaves from the battle between Han Xiao and the eight Vanguard Officials!

For Han Xiao to transform all the spare parts into weapons, it required the use of (Waste Modification), (Basic Machinery Construction), and [Mechanical Force Combat Technique]. It greatly exhausted his energy, but the ferocious attacks of the eight Vanguard Officials made it such that Han Xiao did not lack energy at all.

Boom boom boom!

Every time their fists came into contact with each other, bright energy rings would be emanated.

The battle was becoming more and more intense!

Because Fosters had identified the method to deal with Han Xiao, the eight Vanguard Official’s chose to use attacks with high burst damage. Their coordination was seamless, and their attacks rained down on Han Xiao without end. Han Xiao had to face a thunderstorm of attacks every second.

Punches with enough force to flatten mountains hammered down on his chest, and flames that were comparable to the main canons of battleships burned his bones. In order to achieve high burst damage, the eight Vanguard Officials used all their strength and greeted Han Xiao with all their techniques.

Their fists were like shooting stars, and those shooting stars were like rain!

Boom boom boom!

The tremors in his muscles and bones were all transmitted to his brain, and Han Xiao felt like a rice cake being hammered repeatedly. The eight Vanguard Officials had extremely powerful control over their strength, and Han Xiao suffered attacks ninety percent of the time. His retaliation was only able to cause a small disturbances to the Vanguard Officials and was insufficient to interrupt their attacks.

There was a limit to the conversion of energy into health, and he was only able to regain twenty-eight percent of his health every second.

The damage he took every second reached 450,000, and it exceeded the rate of his recovery.

This damage was extremely frightening, and an ordinary Calamity Grade Super would only be able to survive for two seconds before being turned into a corpse.

Thankfully, my Strengthened Life talent was upgraded to the advanced stage and gave me 200,000 HP. If not, my recovery speed would not have been able to keep up.

Enduring the pain from the never-ending attacks, Han Xiao grit his teeth and remained calm. His eyes were locked on his health meter. If things got too dangerous, he was prepared to use the Aurora Character Summon Card or Void Travel to give him some breathing space.

If the battle continued in such a manner, he would eventually be defeated. However, Han Xiao did not panic. He had only chosen to take on such a risk after serious consideration.

The most dangerous part of this battle was only the start. As long as he could drag this battle on, he would be safe.

His (Advanced Strengthened Life] talent did not only increase his HP but also allowed him to be more valiant as he fought. Every time he lost forty percent of his HP, his attributes would be increased by ten percent, including his Endurance.

This meant that Han Xiao’s HP limit would only increase as the battle went on!

While the twenty-eight percent limit would not change, the amount of HP that he could recover would still increase!

This Molding Ability had made up for the shortcoming of the conversion limit and was the perfect combination to increase his recovery rate!

As long as he could survive past the most dangerous starting phase, the threat that the eight Vanguard Officials posed to him would become smaller!

Apart from the lack of aggro attracting skills, Han Xiao was already a god-level Main Tank!

The battle continued, and the frightening shockwaves from their battle truly scared the other Calamity Grade Supers present.

Through the energy reaction on their radar, they could see Black Star’s life force signal becoming stronger and stronger. This meant that the terrifying attack of the eight Vanguard Officials did not threaten his life but made him stronger instead!

Even if Han Xiao was in an extremely pathetic state right now, no one dared underestimate him!

Only a single word was able to describe how all of them felt.

Unbelievable!

Fosters could already feel that something was wrong as the feeling of his fists coming into contact with Han Xiao’s body became different. He could clearly feel Han Xiao’s body becoming stronger by the second.

He is becoming stronger!

This thought floated up in his head, and his heart was shocked. At the same time, an unknown sense of rage exploded in his head.

Just how many trump cards does Black Star actually have?

This is enough!

Fosters hammered himself on the chest, and the flames on his body glowed brightly. All his energy was then channeled into his arms, and his arms ballooned up.

All the muscles in his body were clenched tight!

Arteries popped out by his temples and a dark red glow could be seen emanating from his fists.

Right at this moment, the radar from the surrounding battleships all let out an alarm.

“Warning, warning, high-energy response detected!”

The next moment, a blinding red beam of light shot out from Fosters’ fists.

A gigantic red ball of energy smashed into Han Xiao with a pillar of fire behind its tail.

This single fist snatched the limelight of the entire battlefield, and the terrifying energy wave of the attack made everyone fill in the sound effects in their heads.

Boom!

“This is the Star Shaking Fist!”

The other seven Vanguard Officials were startled. This was a Pugilist skill that the Tyrant had taught them personally. It expended a large amount of their energy, and they all treated it as their killing blow.

They had seen Heber personally unleash the Star Shaking Fist, and the might of the attack lived up to its name!

Fosters was Heber’s favorite student, and while his strength did not reach the level of a beyond Grade A Super, the shadow of Heber could be seen behind this fist of his.

Despite the thoughts flashing through their minds, their hands did not stay idle, and they copied Fosters.

Eight Star Shaking Fists smashed down on Han Xiao from all different directions!

Sh*t! Why do all of you like energy blasts so much. Do you think that you’re a Saiyan[1]?

The instant the attacks landed on him, Han Xiao only had time for a single thought.

The next instant, a terrifying blast of energy exploded!

Eight blinding energy blasts collided with each other and exploded with Han Xiao as the center!

The ball shaped energy wave expanded rapidly until the size of it exceeded that of a flagship. It was like a small planet made from energy and instantly became the focus of everyone present.

The energy ball expanded to its maximum, and a huge explosion occurred!

The blinding light from the explosion made everyone close their eyes instinctively.

Silence filled the battlefield.

A shockwave spread out in the galaxy.

The explosion ended in silence.

Before the explosion, Fosters and the other Vanguard Officials had already retreated and witnessed the outcome of their attack from afar.

This move of theirs had expended half of their energy and stamina. Even with their powerful Pugilist bodies, they were panting heavily from the attack, with their armor surrounding their arms cracking to reveal their bare skin.

Everyone’s attention was focused on the center of the explosion. However, the place was completely empty, and Han Xiao’s figure could not be seen.

“Was he reduced to smithereens?” Fosters’ eyes lit up with joy.

Even he did not realize that he had lost his confidence.

“Did he really die!” The members of Section Zero could not help but worry.

At this moment, a grayish fog suddenly condensed together and rapidly transformed into Han Xiao.

After regaining his physical form, Han Xiao spat out a mouthful of blood. His appearance was pale, and his limbs were covered with injuries, with burn marks and blood all around.

Before anyone could even react, Han Xiao’s wounds began to close up rapidly, and all his lost blood and flesh grew back. His pale appearance also began to regain color, and in the blink of an eye, he recovered to his peak.

Aurora’s Character Summon Card, [Life Return)!

Dammit, I was almost blown to death. Han Xiao felt a lingering fear in his heart.

The eight Star Shaking Fists, when used together, formed a special reaction, and the DarkStar mothership main cannon that he had tanked before was like a little brother before this.

In order to tank this blow, Han Xiao used all his trump cards. He had first used (Repel—Thorns] to reduce thirty percent of the initial attack. He then transformed into his Chaos Body form to ignore ninety-five percent of the damage with his energy becoming his health.

When his energy was completely exhausted, he had transformed back into his physical form, and his health had begun to fall with his energy being replenished rapidly. However, the interior of the energy ball was like a furnace with damage being dealt every second. Thankfully, he had the [Steel Body) to cancel out most of the damage, allowing him to replenish his energy. He had then transformed a couple of times between his Chaos Body form and physical body to tank the damage.

After his physical body met with the last wave of the explosion, his health had immediately emptied out, and he could only transform back into his Chaos Body form to avoid the calamity. When he reappeared again, his energy had been reduced to zero, and his HP had been left with eight percent.

He was at his wits end!

Han Xiao could only make use of his final trump card, (Life Return), to return to his peak state.

It was too dangerous!

Han Xiao had almost perished.

The scene of his physical body recovering was displayed before everyone present.

Black Star was still alive!

The next moment, the entire battlefield fell silent.

All the Calamity Grade Supers only had a single thought.

That attack was definitely at the beyond Grade A standard!

However, Black Star had managed to tank it.

They were shocked to the point they fell into a daze.

Right at this moment, the commander of Section Zero issued a new order.

“Retreat!”

While Han Xiao and the eight Vanguard Officials fought to a stalemate, Section Zero had slowly been pushed back and were not able to chase Bloodshed Land out of the region.

Despite facing eight high-level combatants alone, Han Xiao still was not able to turn the situation around. His teammates did not become outstanding because of him.

Only a beyond Grade A Super would be able to determine the direction of a war single handedly!

Despite Section Zero losing, Han Xiao’s objective had been met.

It could be said that he was the only winner of this battle!

Even the victor of this battle, Bloodshed Land, could only remain in the background!

Han Xiao boarded the Blacklight Stealth and returned with the main fleet. Fosters and the others did not attempt to stop him. Their stamina was running out, and it would not be appropriate for them to enter enemy lines. Furthermore, he had already lost the confidence to kill Black Star.

The eight Vanguard Officials could only watch as Section Zero retreated.

The Section Zero fleet split up to reveal a path to welcome Han Xiao as though he was victorious. Despite being the losing party, Section Zero’s morale was extremely high. Even though Bloodshed Land had won the battle, the atmosphere seemed as though they had lost.

Right at that moment, those who had witnessed the battle between Han Xiao and the eight Vanguard Officials understood one thing.

After this battle, Black Star would no longer be treated as an ordinary expert and would go up to the next level. He had truly walked onto the stage of the bigshots in the Star Field!

The Calamity Grade Supers from Section Zero could predict that Black Star would be completely different from them!

[1] This is a reference to Dragon Ball.

Chapter 660: Legendary Point: Indestructible Body.

The Section Zero fleet left the Bloodshed Land startled. Word of the astonishing fight earlier quickly spread throughout the entire fleet. The other allies were all shocked and could not believe it. Their doubts were only cleared when they saw the video footage.

Han Xiao met with Lagi and the others. The battlefield that his troops had been in did not have an intense fight, so the damage suffered in this battle was insignificant.

After leaving the battlefield, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

You have received 1 Legendary Point.

Han Xiao was not surprised. Back when he faced the attack of three DarkStar Calamity Grades before he was even a Calamity Grade himself, he had also received the [Battle of Three Calamity Grades] Legendary Point. Now that he had faced the eight Vanguard Officials who were much more famous, receiving a Legendary Point was expected.

Star Cluster Legendary Point (Colton Star Cluster): Indestructible Body. You fought eight Vanguard Officials of the Bloodshed Land at once, and with absolutely unquestionable results, you proved to the world that you deserved this title. Tales of this fight will be passed on by many, becoming an everlasting legend!

Indestructible Body…

Han Xiao was surprised. This had initially been a nickname given by many organizations, but now it had become official. He felt very excited for some reason.

He had finally earned a real title for himself!

Star Cluster Legendary Points increased his rewards by twenty percent, much higher than Star System Legendary Points. This was his first Star Cluster Legendary Point.

If I defeated the eight Vanguard Officials, the reward might totally be a Star Field Legendary Point.

Han Xiao shook his head. That was beyond his capabilities. All the Vanguard Officials were very tanky, too. Plus, they had cooperated with each other very well, controlling the tempo of the battle. Retreating alive was the limit of his current capabilities. Only Beyond Grade As could deal with this kind of situation with ease.” ”

On the interface, the mission was shown as completed. Han Xiao was about to contact Ralph and tell him to carry out his end of the deal, but as soon as he took out the communicator, Ralph’s communication request came first.

As soon as he picked up, Ralph instantly spoke. “Black Star, your combat capability has completely exceeded my expectations. You really did it! Although we did not win this time, you have put an end to the negative situation…”

Ralph did not hold back in praising him. Due to fear of Bloodshed Land’s strategy, the Calamity Grade Section Zero members had all been unwilling to fight. At this crucial moment, Han Xiao had been the only one that could directly restrain those enemies. Han Xiao was a straw to clutch at in his eyes. He praised him nonstop till the point that even Han Xiao was annoyed.

Han Xiao could not help but stop him.

“Stop it. There’s no need for these compliments. It’s time to complete the deal. Give me the Cutting-Edge Knowledge. I want to retreat from the battlefield temporarily.” Hearing that, the excitement on Ralph’s face froze. “You want to quit the secret war?”.

“Just temporarily. As you have seen, in order to fight the eight Vanguard Officials, my Mechanical Army was wiped out. I’m a Mechanic. Without my machines, my combat capability will decrease tremendously. Plus, I’m actually suffering from rather serious internal injuries. I’m only forcing myself not to vomit any blood,” Han Xiao said with a serious and sincere face.

“Really?” Ralph looked at Han Xiao suspiciously.

He did not look injured at all.

“What, do you want me to vomit some blood for you to see?” Han Xiao opened his mouth and looked like he was about to vomit.

“Alright, alright, I believe you.” Ralph quickly stopped him. He felt that Black Star might really be heavily injured.

Thinking about it, he had fought against the eight Vanguard Officials. Plus, he had been hit by a Beyond Grade A standard attack; it was normal for him to pay a price for it.

Han Xiao paused and explained, “I need to rest for some time. Cutting-Edge Knowledge is extremely complex. I will need half a month… Hmm, a month to learn it.”

Ralph nodded. Cutting-Edge Knowledge was indeed very complex.

“Also, I need time to rebuild my Mechanical Army. This will be a huge project. I won’t be able to utilize my full potential if I don’t rebuild it, so it would be meaningless even if I did continue to take part in the battles.”

“Er… I suppose.” Ralph was in a dilemma. “But if you quit, we really won’t have the ability to fight back in terms of high-level combatants. As you know, the other members are not really contributing at all.”

Han Xiao shrugged, as if saying, I’ve done what I could.

He shook his head and said, “As you’ve seen, I can’t change the war alone, and this battle has proved that. Even though I held back the Vanguard Officials, the fleet wasn’t able to penetrate into the Bloodshed Land’s stronghold. Compared to Bloodshed Land, our alliance fleet looks like an amateurs. The way I see it, the Bloodshed Land will almost definitely succeed in their invasion.”

After two battles, Ralph was rather pessimistic. He asked, “What thoughts do you have?”

“I think that at the start of the secret war, Bloodshed Land will gather their forces to create the first batch of strongholds,” Han Xiao said in a sincere tone. “It will be exceedingly difficult for us to stop that from happening. However, Bloodshed Land will have to split their forces to build more strongholds in order to invade the several Star Systems near the borders. This will cause their forces to split up. At that time, maybe Section Zero will have a chance to counterattack.”

Although he did not know the details from the version update, he still remembered what the situation of the secret war had been at the later stages during Version 3.0. From that, he could deduce Bloodshed Land’s advantages during the earlier stages.

The march of Bloodshed Land was unstoppable. He wanted to retreat now because he did not want to get thrashed by the opponents in the earlier stages.

Ralph contemplated for a while. In the end, he could only admit that what Han Xiao had said made a lot of sense. That might really turn out to be how things developed. He suddenly felt powerless and asked, “You’re right-do you have any suggestions?”

“I feel that the most important matter at the moment is the fact that the high-level combatants of Section Zero are avoiding battles. We shouldn’t have unrealistic fantasies about chasing all the enemies away. It’s best to stop when suitable to avoid larger damage. The time to counter-attack has yet to arrive. What we need to do now is strengthen our forces till that moment arrives.”

Star Cluster Civilizations were not short on resources. In order to stop Bloodshed Land, Purple Crystal could use these resources to increase the strength of the Section Zero members. As for Han Xiao, who had already shown his value, if the Purple Crystal Civilization took his advice, he would receive even more benefits.

Ignoring the Great Mechanic Han’s ulterior motive, this suggestion did make sense. At least, this was a feasible strategy for Ralph.

“I will pass on your suggestion to the commanding department and let them analyze it.” Ralph paused before sighing. “As for your request, I will approve it… I have only one requirement. When you have recovered fully, you have to return to the battlefield immediately.”

“Of course. When will you give me the Cutting-Edge Knowledge?”

“I will give you a knowledge list later. You can pick it for yourself. By the way, the resources to make up for your loss will also be handed to you as soon as possible.”

Han Xiao smiled.

With the Cutting-Edge Knowledge that he was soon going to receive, he would be able to complete his Class Advancement mission. One of the bigger goals of joining the secret war had already been achieved.

Han Xiao had taken a shortcut, so he did not have to spend too much time farming Favorability. This act of holding back the eight Vanguard Officials alone was unduplicatable; the Vanguard Officials had now discovered that he was very difficult to kill, so they would not waste their energy fighting him together. This time, it brought Han Xiao fame, and the Vanguard Officials would definitely not make the same mistake next time.

Han Xiao was extremely tanky, but his actual combat capability was not that extraordinary. One or two Vanguard Officials would be able to restrain him. What had happened that day would never happen again.

In order to become stronger, he needed to continue leveling up as well as build new machines using the Cutting-Edge Knowledge as the core.

After closing the communication, Ralph sent the knowledge list over.

There was a total of sixty Mechanic knowledges, twenty from Armed, Energy, and Control Branch each. These knowledges were grouped into five levels —basic, advanced, and high-level knowledges made up forty-five of the sixty knowledges. There were only fifteen Cutting-Edge Knowledges and Ultimate Knowledges in total. The fact that there were so few of them showed how extremely valuable they were.

There were nine types of Cutting-Edge Knowledges, three from each of the branches. Even Purple Crystal did not have all the Cutting-Edge Knowledges, just some of them.

Han Xiao was a Virtual Mechanic. The Potential Point cost for learning Control Branch Cutting-Edge Knowledges was normal, but it would cost triple the Potential Points to learn Cutting-Edge Knowledges from the other two branches.

Yet, Han Xiao did not choose the Control Branch Cutting-Edge Knowledge but an Energy Branch Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

[Abnormal State Energy]!

This was a must-learn knowledge for any Mechanic after Class Advancement. It could be considered an evolutionary knowledge for Mechanics.

After learning this knowledge, only then would the Mechanics be able to harvest, extract, and use psionic and antimatter energy on a large scale!

Energy was the core of machines. The change in energy technology would bring tremendous changes!

Han Xiao had been waiting for this knowledge for a very long time. He had saved his Potential Points so that he could afford the triple cost.

Since he did not have to take part in the upcoming battle, Han Xiao took his people and left, heading back to the base in the Garton Star System.

The other Section Zero members were envious, seeing that the Black Star Army was leaving, but none of them had a problem with it.

Black Star had taken a huge risk in this battle. He did indeed have the right to go back and rest. The others could only watch as the Black Star Army departed.

…

The second fight between Purple Crystal and Klent had ended. The other five Star Cluster Civilization that had been paying attention to the secret war received the battlefield report very soon. Those superiors could almost not believe their own eyes.

Black Star had fought the eight Vanguard Officials alone and survived almost unharmed?

Really?

This news thunderously appeared on the desk of the various organization leaders and stirred up a storm in their social circle!

The seven Star Cluster Civilizations, Bloodshed Land, and the other huge organizations all reevaluated Han Xiao.

Originally, in their eyes, Black Star was most famously known as Ames’ trustworthy subordinate and secondly known for his network. Black Star’s position in their social circle had basically come from these two titles. However, these organizations did not consider his combat capability to be anything notable. On average, their assessment of him wasBlack Star is a rather strong Calamity Grade, but he’s not overwhelmingly strong among those of the same grade.

However, this news shattered all the opinions of these organizations concerning Han Xiao.

According to his performance in this battle, the seven Star Cluster Civilization and the various organizations reevaluated his strength. “In the universe, fighting alone isn’t popular. Many people have to face more than one opponent of the same grade at the same time. It’s known that Mages and Mechanics are the two types of Supers that are most capable of fighting more than one enemy of the same grade.

“Black Star is a Mechanic, but his way of fighting more than one enemy is different.

“Mechanics have shared weakness—their physical body isn’t strong enough. Other than some Mechanics that use single unit combat suits, most Mechanics are afraid of the enemies closing the distance. However, Black Star has an unbelievable physique. His endurance is extremely high, and he has an almost Esper ability level recovery speed. The strategy of closing the distance on him will be turned into a trap by him instead.

“He’s a special Mechanic. Even if he loses his machines, he will still have a very high combat capability with his physique. Dragging out the battle is his strength-he’s able to make the battles long enough to make more than ninety percent of the Calamity Grades exhausted and powerless.

“From the machines that Black Star has showcased, it’s clear that he has yet to master the use of psionic energy. As soon as he starts to use psionic as the energy core, with his terrifying physique, Black Star’s strength will multiply many times. He will undoubtedly become one of the very few people that stand at the top of Calamity Grades.

“According to the intelligence above, it’s strongly recommended to move him into the (Shattered Star Ring Beyond Grade A Seed Observation List]…

“Black Star has the potential of reaching Beyond Grade A!”

The Beyond Grade A Seed List was on an entirely new level from the usual Calamity Grades. The Star Cluster Civilizations paid attention to everyone on this list. Every name represented someone extremely talented with the potential to become a Beyond Grade A.

This was not only determined by potential but also strength, growth speed, special talent, race, ability type, and many other factors.

This list covered the entire Shattered Star Ring.

However, there were a few dozen people on the list!

Chapter 661: A New Level

On Planet Heber, Bloodshed Land’s headquarters, the intelligence of the frontline was transmitted back to the command post. Jorde requested to see Heber-he felt that he had to report Black Star’s performance.

Heber sat on the enormous throne inside the palace. After hearing Jorde’s report, not only was he not angry, he showed an interesting expression instead. He slowly spoke with a thunderous voice.

“I was not wrong. Black Star is wasting his talent under Ames. He should’ve come to be my subordinate.”

Heber shook his head. He had always thought Han Xiao was very capable, but Han Xiao had rejected him twice. He definitely would not invite him a third time.

“Klent isn’t very happy. They think that Black Star is an unstable factor and should be eliminated as soon as possible,” Jorde said.

“I don’t need them to teach me how to fight a war,” Heber said. “What do my eight Vanguard Officials think?”

“Er, Fosters said that he has brought shame to Bloodshed Land’s name and is very embarrassed. He will use a hundred victories to wash away today’s shame.”

Jorde chose his words carefully. The truth was, Fosters was not as emotionally stable as Jorde said he was-he was almost depressed.

“The Bloodshed Land’s position won’t decrease because of just one battle,” Heber replied. “He’s a winner, so he shouldn’t act like a loser. In the entire Shattered Star Ring, there are dozens of Calamity Grades that have the potential to become a Beyond Grade A. However, after so many years, there are still only four Beyond Grade As…”

After a pause, a fierce vibe came from Heber. Jorde felt as if his neck had been grabbed by someone, and his breath stopped for a moment.

“Potential is just potential. With me here, there’s no need to fear anyone.”

Jorde was instantly motivated. Heber’s confidence was what made it worth following him till the end.

At the same time on the Purple Crystal Civilization’s mother planet…

The two losses of Section Zero had made the Purple Crystal upper echelons very unsatisfied. Black Star’s performance was the only good news among all the bad news.

The high-level government officials from the relevant departments hosted a private meeting to discuss Black Star.

“Beyond Grade A seeds are extremely rare. Although the Dragon Emperor is neutral, Black Star is on Purple Crystal’s side. He has remarkably high investment value.”

“That’s right. Black Star’s force is in the Colton Star Cluster, so he’s close to us. If he can become a Beyond Grade A, this means that a Beyond Grade A force will appear in Colton. This will make up for our disadvantage compared to Klent.”

The Purple Crystal Civilization was very jealous of Klent Kingdom having Bloodshed Land as an ally.

If they had a Beyond Grade A organization as an ally as well, they would not have to spend so much effort to create Section Zero, and they would not be at such a disadvantage in the secret war.

Black Star had the potential, and he was much more motivated than the Dragon Emperor. Considering his political affiliation, the Purple Crystal Civilization felt that he was worthy of investing in.

This meeting was to discuss their attitude toward Black Star in the future. They saw longer term benefits in Han Xiao beyond this war.

Star Cluster Civilizations were not afraid of Beyond Grade As, but that did not mean that they did not want one. The various Star Cluster Civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring were all very serious in cultivating Supers. They built many schools to educate students with potential, producing talented people every year as fresh blood being supplied to the various departments.

However, they could only cultivate Calamity Grades at most. There was completely no hope in raising a Beyond Grade A. This was not something that could be created through a certain procedure.

Therefore, a Beyond Grade A seed who was close to the Purple Crystal Civilization was more than enough to make those high-level officials put down whatever they were dealing with and go for a meeting to discuss it.

“If Black Star becomes a Beyond Grade A, we can help him to build his Beyond Grade A organization into an organization that can match the Bloodshed Land. This way, Klent will no longer have this advantage. Also, this will make us more influential in the Star Field.”

“Cultivating our own Beyond Grade A ally… it’s a good idea, but Black Star will have to fulfill his potential.”

They discussed for some time and finally came to an agreement.

They would change the way they invested in Black Star, increasing the resources provided to the Black Star Army. After all, the cost of building a relationship with a Calamity Grade was incomparable to the cost of building a relationship with a Beyond Grade A. The earlier they made this investment, the smaller the cost.

Purple Crystal did not lack resources. They were willing to invest early and bet on Black Star’s potential.

At the same time, they decided to promote the Black Star Army’s position in Section Zero. They would heavily focus on Black Star’s growth and provide him with a certain amount of protection to prevent other organizations from secretly targeting him.

A Beyond Grade A seed was a new level that exceeded normal Calamity Grades. Every one of them was the focus of various organizations.

The fame brought by this fight had completely changed the Star Cluster Civilizations’ attitudes toward Han Xiao.

With people spreading the information, the news that Black Star had become a new Beyond Grade A seed quickly spread throughout the Shattered Star Ring. Countless galactic residents knew about this, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that almost everyone in the Shattered Star Ring did.

Even those Star Cluster Civilizations that had no conflict with the Purple Crystal Civilization were not willing to watch Purple Crystal obtain someone that might become a Beyond Grade A in the future. With the motive of bringing him more attention so that he would be targeted by more people, not only did they not hide their attention on Han Xiao, they deliberately leaked it.

In the process of spreading, the news was twisted again and again. In the end, it shockingly became… “Black Star will be the fifth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring in the future”!

This was much more shocking than him being a Beyond Grade A seed. It was basically pushing Han Xiao onto the throne in advance. Countless people were stunned.

The big organizations knew that this was bullsh*t, but most people did not know the details. Under the various exaggerated reports, many people really believed in this rumor and started to spread the news that the fifth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring was about to appear.

This news reached Floating Dragon Island as well.

Whoosh!

The alloy gate of the training room opened, and Hila walked out while wiping the sweat on her forehead.

Over the past few years while she was training on Floating Dragon Island, she had changed out of her black battle suit and gotten herself a specially tailored red windbreaker made with a special cloth. It was engraved with a high-level shield and was also enchanted to enhance her Esper ability.

If Han Xiao was there now, he would definitely feel that it looked very familiar—the design of this windbreaker was very similar to what he had worn when he was Black Phantom.

“It’s been almost three years. I’m getting more and more skilled in my ability. According to the universal standard, I’ve stabilized at Grade B. Based on my current growth, I should be able to become Grade B+ within three years. Ames said that I have the potential to become a Calamity Grade…”

Feeling more and more proficient in her Esper ability, Hila was joyous.

Ames was a master of the Esper class, so the experiences she taught her benefitted her hugely. In order to catch up to Han Xiao, Hila never slacked off.

She was satisfied with her progress—this was the result that she had earned with sweat and hard work.

“Sis, I have good news!”

Just as Hila was about to go back to rest, Aurora quickly ran to her with a face filled with joy.

“What good news?” Hila was in quite a good mood. She pinched Aurora’s tender cheeks and smiled.

“It’s about Han Xiao. Everyone is saying that he will very soon become a Beyond Grade A Super. Even the news reported this!”

Aurora raised the communicator that was playing the news right in front of Hila and could not wait to share this with Hila.

Hila was stunned.

“He’s about to become a Beyond Grade A?”

Ames was a Beyond Grade A. Did that not mean that Han Xiao was going to be as strong as Ames?

Hila clenched her teeth. She had initially been very satisfied with her progress, but now she felt like she could not catch up to Han Xiao no matter what. She felt immense pressure.

Compared to him, this progress is not worth mentioning!

I’m still not working hard enough!

Aurora was still speaking with excitement. Suddenly, she saw Hila turn around and walk into the training room, closing the door behind her. The next moment, the light showing that the training room was in use lit up.

“Sis?” Aurora was stunned.

Neither of them noticed that Ames was hovering in midair above, watching them.

“With such a strong personality, Hila will progress faster than expected.” Ames smiled.

Although she was lazy, she liked how hardworking Hila was.

Every Beyond Grade A had gone through a period of time when they worked extremely hard and built their own legend before they became a Beyond Grade A. In Hila, she felt like she saw her younger self.

As for Black Star, Ames could not understand what was going on with him at all.

As Han Xiao achieved astonishing things one time after another, Ames’ impression of him was shattered and reformed many times. At this time, she was not even willing to try to speculate Han Xiao’s potential. She had just one word for Han Xiao -unfathomable!

Ames had never thought that a mercenary whom she casually recruited would achieve the things that he had achieved.

Her requirement for Han Xiao was now as low as it could get.

As long as Black Star stayed by her, she would be satisfied.

Half of the Star Field was talking about him, and the news was exaggerated again and again, such that even Han Xiao was embarrassed by it.

Are they really talking about me?

When did I fight Tyrant to a draw?

When did I chase Ames?

When did I make the announcement to challenge the Crimson Dynasty?

When did I chat casually with Austin as if we’re friends… Oh, this is actually true.

Han Xiao was completely speechless.

Don’t these reporters know that they have to be responsible for these things they say?

After returning to the Garton Star System base, he finally felt the effect of this matter.

The Godoran Civilization’s attitude changed visibly. They were much more respectful and actively suggested to extend their partnership, as well as open up more resource channels to provide him more rare resources.

Han Xiao even heard that Serbia the Fifth was preparing to tour the Star System and would be going to Planet Golden Gate first to visit him publicly.

The resources given by the Purple Crystal Civilization to make up for his losses had arrived at the base. Just the cash was already more than ten million Enas, much more than what the Purple Crystal Civilization had promised. The quantity of resources had also multiplied. This was a completely pleasant surprise.

Han Xiao tutted. He knew that what he had done was sensational, but he had underestimated how sensational it would be. It was crystal clear how much more serious the Purple Crystal Civilization was about him.

This sped up the plan that he had made before the war started.

He quickly told Phillip, Herlous, and Sylvia to settle the matters on replenishing the lost battleships and people before going to the training room. He took out the communicator and opened the data that the Purple Crystal sent to him on (Abnormal State Energy).

When I finish learning this knowledge, I will be many times stronger. My Mechanical Armies being wiped out is a good opportunity to renew them completely.

Excited, Han Xiao opened his interface.

Mechanic class Cutting-Edge Knowledge (Abnormal State Energy] detected. Spend 12 Potential Points to learn?

“Yes.”

Learning in progress. Do not cancel.

9%… 43%… 78%…

Successfully Learned! You have learned (Abnormal State Energy]!

Complex and difficult knowledge flew into Han Xiao’s head. He digested it for a while and took a deep breath.

Of course, him telling Ralph that he needed a whole month to learn was bullsh*t. The others had no way to know that he could learn things so quickly.

Finally, I have my first Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

Han Xiao was content. He achieved the Class Advancement requirement at the same time.

A notification popped up on the interface immediately.

Class Advancement requirements completed!

You have received a new class (Truth Mechanic Lv.1).

+210 Energy, +2 STR, +4 DEX, +4 END, +10 INT.

You have received 7 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

I did it!

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

[Truth Mechanic] was a high-level class in the Mechanic class, one level higher than (Galaxy Mechanic). Its level limit was twenty-five.

The name represented the fact that the Mechanic would start to learn the truths about machines in this stage.

However, to the players in his previous life, this name had another meaning.

Within my attack range, I’m the truth!

Chapter 662: Multiplied Strength

Han Xiao calmed his mood and looked at the new abilities given by the Class Advancement.

You have received talent (Machinery Truth Knowledge)!

You have acquired ability (Extreme Energy Output)

You have acquired ability (Logic Program Strengthening)!

You have acquired ability (Deep Data Implantation]

Your talent (Virtual Technology Essence] has been enhanced!

Your ability (Strengthened Smart Defense) has been enhanced!

Your ability (Strengthened Hacking) has been enhanced!

Your ability (Quantum Network Matrix) has been enhanced!

Han Xiao nodded.

After choosing Virtual Technology Essence, each subsequent Class Advancement would enhance the Virtual Technology abilities and talents. Several important abilities of the Virtual Mechanic were strengthened, and there were two new virtual technology abilities.

The effect of [Logic Program Strengthening] was to carry out multiple upgrades for artificial intelligence to improve their calculation efficiency.

Artificial intelligence was an important helper in both virtual attack and defense. The higher the level of artificial intelligence, the higher the success rate.

This ability could be used to strengthen Phillip. After all, Risda was an independent life. Phillip was still the most loyal and adorable.

[Deep Data Implantation] strengthened his latent intrusion ability. This ability allowed one to not attack the firewall but spend time finding holes and gaps before quietly sending disguised data packets into the target’s artificial intelligence program, not causing any alarms.

This ability was not useful in direct battles because it would take a long time. However, it was perfectly suited for covert operations. The data packets could be hiding deep inside the enemy’s artificial intelligence like probes that penetrated the bottom of the ocean. They could detect the movements of ‘currents’, filtering out useful intelligence. They could also act as a time bomb.

At the same time, they could even dive into the bottom data layer of the target artificial intelligence, embed new logic, and secretly makes it betray its master.

In addition to the improvement of some abilities, this Class Advancement gave him two new important abilities.

Truth Mechanics were famous for their high damage. Their specialty was turning mechanical soldiers into elites and enhancing the attributes of the machines.

[Machinery Truth Knowledge] was the core talent of the Truth Mechanic. It blended the truth about machines into manufacture. This would comprehensively strengthen the machinery’s armor, defense, energy core, weapon power, range, and other attributes.

The degree of increase in each attribute varied from forty percent to fifteen percent. In summary, the strength increase of a single mechanical object was considerable. His manufacturing ability was greatly increased.

[Extreme Energy Output) increased the output efficiency of the energy core. This was similar to expanding the mouth of the container to make water flow faster.

It increased the power of the weapon based on the level of energy used, and the higher the level of energy used, the higher the damage bonus.

According to Han Xiao’s experience, using a cold nuclear reactor could increase the damage of a weapon by about eleven percent, while using psionic energy could increase its damage by twenty-five to thirty percent.

The power of the psionic energy itself would already increase its damage. With the addition of these two abilities, it could increase his destructive power by several notches.

The strength increase from this Class Advancement is even greater than the last. The basic attributes of mechanical structures are very important. Even if it’s just increased by a little bit, my Mechanical Force bonus will amplify it. The Truth Mechanic is a significant milestone. With the increase of so many attributes as well as my Mechanical Force bonuses, this means that with the same sized Mechanical Army, my combat capability will be many times stronger now compared to before the Class Advancement!

Han Xiao was satisfied. After the Class Advancement, the threat of his Mechanical Army would be tremendously higher to Calamity Grades. Thus, his combat capability was increased as all.

At the higher stages of the main class, the benefits of Class Advancements would be increasing. The current level was twenty-five, five levels above the Promotion limit. This meant that the Class Advancement was even more difficult than Promotion.

With a large pool of experience, Han Xiao did not blink and fully leveled up his new abilities as well as leveled himself up to level 180.

[Truth Mechanic) leveled up to Lv.11.

+210 Energy, +2 STR, +4 DEX, +4 END, +10 INT.

You have received 6 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

As always, he used the Free Attribute Points on Intelligence.

The leveling up of himself and his abilities brought Han Xiao thirteen Potential Points. He then leveled up a few blueprints to gain a few points. Together with his original savings, Han Xiao directly leveled up the Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Abnormal State Energy) to Lv.4. Each level cost him twelve Potential Points. His Potential Points were instantly emptied.

The higher the level of the core knowledge, the better. This would affect the attributes of the Mechanical Army that he was about the rebuild. These were Potential Points that would be spent sooner or later, so Han Xiao had no hesitation. Anyway, he had a lot of Experience, so he could get Potential Points from leveling up blueprints. Even though the triple cost hurt, he could still bear it.

His total level reached 180, which was the Promotion stage, and the Promotion mission arrived on schedule.

Level 180 class advancement mission (The Ultimate Trial]: Push through one’s limits during battle, ascend the hierarchy of life.

Mission Requirements: Acquire 50 Trial Points, current progress: 0/50. The Trial Points are obtained by defeating the opponent, the opponent must be Super of the same rank. 2 Trial Points will be earned by winning. A maximum of 4 Trial Points can be obtained from one person. If the opponent is 5 levels lower than you, you will not be able to get Trial Points. If your opponent is 20 or more levels higher than you, you will get 6 Trial Points after winning. The same target cannot be repeated.

Han Xiao’s face turned into delight.

When he was level 60, he had triggered a similar trial-type Promotion mission. This kind of mission was not difficult and would not cause his level to get stuck.

The mission requirement was to fight Supers of the same grade, Calamity Grade. Trial Points would be given after a victory, which meant that sparring would do. Thus, there was no need to kill the opponent.

For players, this task would be a bit tricky. They would have to look for Calamity Grade NPCs everywhere. Even if they did find one and requested to spar, it would still depend on whether that person wanted to fight the player. If the player attacked directly, it would anger the opponent’s faction or organization.

Players would have to spend almost all their time looking for opponents. Sometimes, they would not even be able to win. However, to Han Xiao, this was not an issue at all.

With his network and connections in the Shattered Star Ring, it was way too easy to find someone to spar with.

The Black Star Army alone already had two Grade As. With Lagi’s personality, he would most likely not use his full strength, so those six Trail Points were basically guaranteed. Sadly, Reynold’s level was much lower than his, or he would be able to get four more points.

I’m now level 180, not too high in Grade A. It’s easy to find an opponent…

Level 180 meant his fourth Race Evolution. He had consumed the essence potions of quite a number of void creatures, even the core of a Void Lord. He should be able to get many strong options during the Race Evolution.

Since the Promotion mission was not difficult, Han Xiao was in no hurry. He had to at least rebuild his Mechanical Army before finding people to spar with. The Mechanical Army was his main source of combat capability.

After looking at the new abilities for a while, Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at his attributes.

Level: 180

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Chaos Observer (Human Form)

Attributes: 306 STR, 674 DEX, 670 END, 2126 INT, 263 MYS, 105 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Point: 0

Health: 125,390

Stamina: 101,620

Energy: 19,680 (Lv.11)

Lv.11 Energy bonus stats: +111 STR, +158 DEX, +174 END, +204 INT, +129 MYS, +21,220 Stamina Limit, +142% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 17,810

Grade: A

Grade A Ranked Bonus: Additional Bonus to END +10, All Resistances +8. Highest Stat(s) +10%, Other Stats +5%, Additional 30 Free Attribute Points, Additional 5 Potential Points

Remark: You’re not far from the Grade A+ threshold. Although, your actual strength is already not weaker than some Grade A+ Supers

Due to the Advanced Strengthened Life talent, Han Xiao’s energy level was already around 16,000. With the new abilities and ten more levels, his energy rank increased again.

By the time I complete the Promotion mission, my Experience will be more than enough to level up Truth Mechanic to its highest, which will make me level 195. Plus, with the bonus from Race Evolution, I should be able to reach Grade A+.

He told Herlous and the rest to take care of the Black Star Army businesses while he started to rebuild the Mechanical Army. He was eager to see how strong his Mechanical Army would be after his Class Advancement.

The first step of rebuilding was extracting new energy and building a psionic reactor.

The psionic energy was a highly unstable high-level energy. Usually, only Star Cluster Civilizations would study psionic energy because it was very risky. If a civilization studied it without advanced enough technology, if the psionic energy went out of control, an entire planet surface civilization might be destroyed.

The earliest civilization to discover psionic energy was the Federation of Light. In the field of research and development, the Federation of Light had always been ahead. Long before the appearance of Beyond Grade As, psionic energy had been used in the war between the three civilizations.

The earliest discovery of psionic energy was when the Federation of Light was studying a certain spacetime project. During an experiment that involved collapsing secondary spaces, they happened to find out that a huge amount of matter shattered during the collapse turned into a special type of energy, thus the discovery of psionic energy.

After a long period of study, the three civilizations gradually gained a clearer understanding of psionic energy.

This was very high-level energy. It came from secondary spatial collapse. It could assimilate most of the forms of energy around it, such as heat, electricity, and so on, all of which would be turned into psionic energy. That energy would all be condensed together with a very low loss of energy during the assimilation. This reaction was called ‘Psionic Inflation’.

As the cost of the spatial collapse was too high to be popularized, based on this trait, the three civilizations extracted primordial psionic particles from space collapse experiments and developed a storage technology that put the primordial psionic particles to sleep. This inhibited natural Psionic Inflation, they then began to try mass applications.

There were failures during their experiments. Once the psionic energy went out of control and was exposed to the outside world, it became a black hole like energy, constantly absorbing all forms of energy around it. The converted energy all became psionic energy, which caused the Psionic Inflation to keep occurring and creating a radioactive reaction called Psionic Pollution. When the primordial psionic particles decayed to the critical point, the huge explosion happened. A tiny bit of the primordial pyloric particle could almost flatten a small half of a planet, destroying the surface civilization.

After a long period of research into psionic energy, the three civilizations finally worked out a highly efficient and controllable psionic reaction furnace that was far more efficient than nuclear fusion. However, due to fear of psionic energy’s power when it lost control, it was not widely used in the early period.

After extensive studies, the three civilizations discovered another feature of the psionic energy-it could not only assimilate but also be inverted into various forms of energy. As psionic was created from spatial collapse, some thought that the psionic was the initial or final form of energy, that it was the so-called ‘universal energy’.

The research on the psionic energy was still underway, and there were thousands of hypotheses and studies. The three civilizations had improved the collection methods and refining formulas many times. Psionic energy had become an efficient and controllable higher-level energy source, also a necessary technology for the Mechanic class.

As a Calamity Grade Mechanic, after learning [Abnormal State Energy), Han Xiao was able to extract primordial psionic particles safely.

Chapter 663: Psionic Core, War Situation

Four thin mechanical poles formed an ‘X’ shape and secured the mini sphere-shaped reactor in the middle.

The sphere-shaped reactor was the size of a fist. It was completely silver with the surface of the ball being smooth and shiny, reflecting Han Xiao’s suave appearance.

“The small psionic reactor is of light purple grade, and its efficiency is many times that of the cold nuclear fission reactor.”

Han Xiao looked at the psionic reactor and heaved a sigh of relief.

He had used (Abnormal State Energy) to roll blueprints and received the blueprint for a large number of psionic machines. He first constructed a complete set of psionic extraction apparatus and tested it many times before carefully refining a psionic particle. Following which, the particles were melded together, and he used a few days of testing before finally being able to construct a psionic energy furnace.

Because psionic energy had some risk, Han Xiao only dared speed up the production process after ensuring the stability of every step.

After observing the results of the test, Han Xiao plucked off a compressed orb from his necklace and threw it to the side.

A bolt of Mechanical Force shot toward the compressed orb and activated it. In the blink of an eye, the compressed orb transformed into the Berserk Ape mechanical suit. This was the backup suit in the warehouse. His original one had already been destroyed by the eight Vanguard Officials.

“Phillip, maintain standby mode and eject the energy core.”

“Orders confirmed, hum…’

The Berserk Ape mechanical suit raised its head and stood up straight. The chest piece of the mechanical suit then opened to reveal the interior construction of the mechanical suit.

Kacha!

A dense energy reactor was ejected from the chest of the mechanical suit. It was glowing red as though it was the heart of the mechanical suit.

Han Xiao removed the nuclear reactor and placed it to the side. He then took the psionic reactor and stuffed it back into the empty slot.

Hum!

A humming sound could be heard, and the psionic reactor lit up. A bright blue glow could be seen from the reactor, and the glow spread through the entire suit. The mechanical suit then automatically retracted the reactor and began adapting to the new reactor.

The energy furnace got to work and provided an endless stream of psionic energy. With the energy furnace as the core, blue veins spread out in all directions on the surface of the Berserk Ape suit and covered the entire suit. These blue veins lit up for a short while before becoming dull and flashing for more than ten seconds before coming to a stop.

“The update of the energy reactor is complete. The mechanical suit is functioning perfectly, hum…” Phillip said in a merry tone as though he was a little child.

While he was constructing the psionic energy furnace, Han Xiao had also upgraded Phillip’s program with his newly acquired Logic Program Strengthening. Apart from increasing Phillip’s processing efficiency, Phillip had also downloaded an emotion module and now seemed more energetic. Not only that, he had even chosen to replace his voice with the voice of a little boy.

Looking at the equipment introduction on the interface, the Power Output of the Berserk Ape was three times that of the original figure, and more modules could be installed. The mechanical suit’s original energy level of just over 20,000 had increased to 57,000, more than two times the original!

With such a large jump in attributes, it could be seen just how important Cutting-Edge Knowledge was.

Han Xiao released Mechanical Force from his palms and connected to the Berserk Ape suit. The next moment, the Berserk Ape suit rapidly covered his entire body, and the equipping process only took an instant.

With a single thought, the arm of the mechanical suit transformed into an exquisite cannon barrel, and Han Xiao aimed at an alloy wall used to test weapons.

After the energy furnace was replaced with a psionic energy reactor, the weapons of the Berserk Ape suit had also been upgraded to become psionic weapons. After adjusting the canon to burst mode, Han Xiao fired without hesitation.

Bang!

A crisp sound could be heard, and a blue light pulse was shot out from the canon. The light pulse rapidly expanded as it traveled through the air and exploded when it came into contact with the target.

A blinding light flashed by.

Boom!

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, and when he took a look at the wall again, the entire alloy wall had been reduced to rubble with dust floating in the air.

“Not bad.” Han Xiao was overjoyed.

Psionic energy truly lived up to its reputation. Just changing a single energy furnace had resulted in such a huge increase in strength. Of course, there was also the effect of the [Extreme Energy Output).

Because primal psionic energy was not stable, an ordinary psionic weapon would only be able to use the ‘dormant’ psionic energy being produced from a psionic reactor. Before the psionic energy was activated, it would not expand.

Only the strategic class weapons between civilizations would pursue the pure destructive force of primal psionic energy. However, psionic weapons that were extremely destructive were heavily restricted. If a civilization made use of such a weapon, Star Cluster civilizations or the three great civilizations would investigate the matter. After all, no one wanted to see a planet within their territory getting flattened by a weapon.

All civilizations were extremely wary of Mechanics who had grasped psionic energy. It did not matter if they wanted to be a litterbug. However, they could not choose to freely throw psionic energy around.

Han Xiao still was not able to refine something like a Planetary Destroyer. His level, Intelligence, and knowledge were not sufficient at the moment. He would only be able to do so after reaching the level of Manison from the [Mechanic Empire). This was also a specialty of a beyond Grade A Super.

Han Xiao then tested the piercing, fully automatic, and other modes of the psionic canon before testing the shield module of the Berserk Ape suit.

Because of the new energy furnace, the shield had also transformed into a psionic shield. The original appearance of the nuclear shield was a half-transparent mirror-like shield glowing either yellow or blue.

As for the psionic shield, its exterior was like a bubble with two thirds of it being transparent and colorless. Outside the colorless region, the shield was blue in color, gradually turning darker toward the outside. The entire shield was more circular and not as angular as before, with the durability of the shield being greatly enhanced.

At the same time, because of the assimilation property of psionic energy, the psionic shield would absorb a small amount of damage when being struck to replenish the durability of the shield, allowing it to last longer. The psionic shield also came with the ability to perform a short-ranged charge. Han Xiao activated his psionic shield and charged straight at the alloy wall. The alloy wall caved in immediately like soft soil, leaving behind a circular dent.

At the instant of the collision, the durability of the shield fell slightly and transformed into kinetic force to increase the damage.

Even if an ordinary individual covered his fist with the psionic shield and punched normally, they would easily be able to bend a metal pole. This was an important method for a Mechanic to deal with close combat fights.

“Right, I think the psionic reactor has an Additional Ability.”

Han Xiao then raised his palm and controlled the energy supplied by the furnace to his palm. With a shake of his wrist, a psionic energy ball floated on top of his palm. It was currently in a dormant state and was extremely stable.

He then pressed the psionic energy ball onto the alloy wall, and the next moment, the entire alloy wall shook, and cracks could be seen spreading out from the surface of the wall.

“Indeed, a psionic mechanical suit can directly release psionic energy.”

Han Xiao was extremely satisfied with the results of his test. Directly releasing energy was a very handy skill. Not only would it increase his close combat abilities, it would also allow him to use it in various complicated ways.

After testing the various skills, Han Xiao began to upgrade his machines. The first one that he upgraded with his Berserk Ape suit.

The Berserk Ape suit had been constructed when he was around level 140, and now that his skills had been upgraded, it was time to improve the suit. Han Xiao was prepared to perform an all-round upgrade for the Berserk Ape suit so that it could keep up to his current level and become his core weapon.

The reconstruction of his Mechanical Army was also taking place at the same time. Han Xiao refined a large number of psionic energy particles as the core material and invested a large amount of experience to form a mini psionic energy furnace assembly line.

Apart from that, as Han Xiao’s level increased, more high-level blueprints were also unlocked. Han Xiao gambled for some new machines and weapons before constructing their new assembly lines. Very quickly, new batches of high-grade machines came out fresh from the oven.

The Black Star Army’s military factory was clearly demarcated into two different sections. The purpose of the logistics factory that Reynold oversaw was mainly to provide for the entire army, and it produced common equipment. Han Xiao’s military factory was for his personal use, and all the equipment produced was top quality. Regardless of production speed or quality, it far exceeded the logistics factory.

To date, Han Xiao had only lent the factory to Reynold. It could be said that only a Calamity Grade Super would be allowed to use his personal factory.

The assembly line that Han Xiao had personally constructed enjoyed his personal stat boost. His new talent, [Machinery Truth Knowledge), greatly increased the attributes of the products in his factory. Currently, the cannon fodder mechanical soldiers had attributes no lower than the elite soldiers of his army before his Class Advancement.

At his level, he had almost maxed out the production speed of his assembly line. As long as he was willing to spend money, he would be able to construct a new army within a short time!

Han Xiao spent money like water, and in a short month’s time, he completed the reconstruction of his Mechanical Army. Its size was even greater than before his Class Advancement, and the number of soldiers that he had was over a million!

The serial number of his ordinary army reached ‘016’, and he had six elite army units that were numbered from ‘101’ to ‘106’, making a total of twenty-two Army Boxes.

He truly could do as he wished if he was rich!

…

In the past month, Bloodshed Land had steadily advanced, and the other two vanguard forces had also revealed themselves and invaded two other Star Systems on the border.

By this point, Bloodshed Land’s target was extremely clear. They wanted to occupy West Wind, Kaya, and Chaida, the three Star Systems on the border.

Bloodshed Land intentionally fragmented the battlefield up into many different regions, and Section Zero invested all their members into the war to launch a counterattack in the three Star Systems. However, under the ferocious assault of Bloodshed Land, Section Zero was on the losing end.

The situation in Kaya and Chaida was slightly better than the battlefield in West Wind, which was the most dangerous. The eight Vanguard Officials had gathered together, resulting in the high-level combatants of Section Zero choosing to avoid battle. They were not able to stop Bloodshed Land’s advancement, and the enemy had already set up bases on six different planets.

As they captured more planets, Bloodshed Land began to gradually reduce the speed of their advancement. The military forces of the vanguard army were limited. After leaving behind soldiers to guard the captured planets, the number of soldiers that they could mobilize greatly decreased. After the many battles, the vanguard army also suffered considerable losses. However, the vanguard army brought along their own logistics factory and began constructing battleships on the spot to replenish their losses.

The mission of the vanguard army was only to set up a bridgehead for their main army. They took just a month to complete the mission, and after that, they stopped their advancement and waited for the arrival of the main army.

The main army naturally would not cross the barren cosmic belt slowly like the vanguard army did. Klent had already made preparations before the battle to stealthily set up a transit station in the barren cosmic belt. They used their Star Cluster level skills to construct a stable stargate so that the transportation of reinforcements and resources would take considerably less time.

Klent’s transit station was hidden within the barren cosmic belt. While the Purple Crystal Civilization did not know of its exact location, they were aware of its existence.

On the base that they had set up, the vanguard army had also brought the spare parts and Klent’s technological staff to set up a stargate. The moment the construction was complete, their logistical issue would not be a problem, and they would be able to receive a never-ending supply of reinforcements.

Even if the Purple Crystal Civilization understood what Klent’s strategy was, they did not have the strength to stop it. After the vanguard army constructed a few strongholds, they immediately set up a Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station to connect all their strongholds to reinforce each other.

The moment one of their strongholds was under attack, the other strongholds would be able to send reinforcements.

In order to deal with the Mutation Disaster, Godora had once used the Military Orbit Quantum Leap Station. This was Star Cluster level strategic equipment that was commonly used in galactic wars. Godora had also bought it from a Star Cluster level civilization.

Section Zero had tried to destroy the stargate multiple times with all their attempts ending in failure. Only then did they change their strategy so as to not waste their soldiers. They had changed their strategy with the main focus being to harass their enemy.

Purple Crystal invested a large amount of resources to allow the members of Section Zero to expand their fleets and replenish their troops.

Despite Ralph not mentioning it, it was obvious that Section Zero had decided to take his advice.

With the resources and production capabilities of a Star Cluster Civilization, as long as Bloodshed Land completed the construction of the stargate, this war would end up becoming a long war. Both parties would be able to replenish their armies without end and dump a never-ending supply of resources into the war.

While soldiers would die, the battleships would never be used up.

Both parties’ ability to fight the war for ten years was because they had a hefty accumulation of resources. Fighting a war required money, and both parties were competing in production capabilities.

After not participating in the war for a month, the current situation of the secret war did not have much to do with Han Xiao. He reconstructed his Mechanical Army and continued to expand his army. The first batch of resources that the Purple Crystal Civilization had given him had been used up. A full 10,000,000 Enas had been used up, and he even had to take out some money from his own savings.

After spending such a large sum of money, the Black Star Army had constructed more than a hundred new battleships and hired a new batch of mercenaries.

Fighting a war burnt a lot of money. If he did not participate in the secret war, Han Xiao would not have received the support from a Star Cluster Civilization.

After skiving and preparing for a month, Han Xiao was prepared to complete his Promotion mission before returning to the battlefield.

Farming faction contribution was still useful as Purple Crystal still had a few Cutting-Edge Knowledges that he had not learned.

Han Xiao wanted to fight Lagi to exchange pointers, but a few uninvited guests showed up at his base.

Chapter 664: Lagi’s Past, Creeping Evil

After the start of the secret war, the Black Star Army had conducted several additional recruitments. The seedlings of the training camp had matured, and many freelance mercenaries had also been recruited. The Black Star Army had supplemented its new blood, with the number of official mercenaries exceeding 200,000. The number of personnel stationed at Base No.1 was ample.

Three masked Mages in dark hooded robes walked into the hall of Base No.1, drawing the eyes of many mercenaries along the way. The Hidden Red Robe Abbey was known by the entire Star Field. ‘Magus’ Austin’s Forbidden Sorcerers were very famous and instantly recognizable.

Why are Austin’s people visiting the captain?

Quite a few people knew that the captain was the Dragon Emperor’s officer. Upon seeing that Han Xiao was in contact with another Beyond Grade A, they could not help but wonder.

The three Forbidden Sorcerers arrived in the reception room, where they saw Han Xiao and nodded politely.

Han Xiao waved his hand and asked Sylvia to get the hell back to studying. He then looked at the three people and asked, “Austin’s Forbidden Sorcerers, what is this about?”

The short Forbidden Sorcerer in the middle, Desoro, was the leader of the three. He gave a simple self-introduction and then cut to the chase.

“The Magus ordered us to find someone, one of your subordinates. We’re here to bring him back.”

Han Xiao was dumbfounded. This surprised him. “Are you talking about Lagi?” Of all the officers, only Lagi had an unknown origin. Plus, he was a Grade A+ Mage, so he had the highest chance of being the target of these three people.

“Yes, his full name is called Lagi Schwer. He worked under the Magus before.” Desoro’s tone was calm. His statement was ambiguous, and it seemed like he did not want to give the details.

Han Xiao was secretly surprised. Lagi had been imprisoned for ten years, and no one had rescued him. Now that he had escaped, Austin’s people had come looking for him right away.

Although he clearly knew that Austin would not be so despicable, it did feel a little annoying.

He thought about it and realized that it was odd. If Lagi was Austin’s subordinate, how could he have been caught so easily? Lagi seemed like a lone ranger before getting caught, and if it was true, it meant that he had been removed from Austin’s forces. So, why would Austin send people to get Lagi back?

“Why are you bringing him back?” Han Xiao asked.

Shaking his head, Desoro refused to answer, saying, “This is the order of the Magus. We just execute it.”

Han narrowed his eyes and asked, “What if I refuse?”

Desoro’s voice was calm and unshaken. “The Magus said that you owe him a favor and will give him face.”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He was one to give in to the soft approach instead of the hard approach. During the Tyrant’s party, Austin had given him the core of a Void Lord without any reason, so he did indeed owe him a favor. There were indeed no free lunches in the world.

Now, Han Xiao would be out of his mind to fall out with Austin, who had a good relationship with him. Moreover, he had once received a gift from him, so he really could not refuse. After all, relationships were mutual—A helped B, so B should help A in the future within the range of B’s ability. Otherwise, it would be easy to bury the relationship that took effort to establish.

Only, Han Xiao was still a bit reluctant. Lagi was the second strongest combatant in the Black Star Army, second only to Han Xiao himself. If he left, the high-level combatant standard would fall drastically.

After a moment of consideration, Han Xiao came up with an excuse and said, “Us discussing where he will be going is actually meaningless. I think it is necessary to ask him for his opinion. If he wishes to go back with you, I will, of course, not force him to stay. If he does not want to go, I won’t be able to do anything about it.”

“Okay.” Desoro nodded and had no objection.

In fact, on the way, Desoro had envisaged many situations. If Black Star used all sorts of excuses to obstruct him and not even give face to Austin, he would not exclude the possibility of having to take Lagi away by force.

He did not expect that Black Star would suddenly become a Beyond Grade A seed with a history of fighting eight Calamity Grades at once. This had shocked him.

Clearly knowing that he was miles away from being able to do something like that, Desoro feared Black Star. Black Star had shown that he had the potential to become a Beyond Grade A. Although Austin had Desoro’s back, it would not be a good idea for him to establish a bad relationship with Black Star, hence his rather friendly behavior.

Han Xiao sent Lagi a message. After a while, Lagi pushed open the door and walked in while complaining.

“Is there another dangerous mission? I’m telling you, I will die sooner or later if you keep sending me to these… hmm?”

Lagi walked in and saw the three Forbidden Sorcerers. His complaining stopped, and his expression collapsed. He muttered, “No wonder I kept getting distracted during yesterday’s meditation. Something bad is indeed happening today. Sigh…”

A tint of coldness flashed across Desoro’s eyes as he said in an indifferent tone, “It’s been a long time, Lagi.”

“Can you pretend you didn’t see me?” Lagi’s face was bitter.

“What do you think?” Desoro replied.

With no alternative, Lagi looked at Han Xiao with grief and sorrow.

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. “Don’t look at me like this. They came to me and said that they’re going to take you back. So, you used to be Austin’s subordinate. Why didn’t you tell me? Him and I are quite close.”

“How would I know that you knew Austin?” Lagi asked with an aggrieved expression.

Being Austin’s subordinate before was an amazing record and would get him a very high position in the majority of organizations. Lagi did not tell Han Xiao because he wanted to remain low key. Moreover, he felt that Black Star and Austin should have nothing to do with each other. He never expected that Han Xiao and Austin had talked and laughed together before.

“You don’t seem to want to see Austin’s people.” Han Xiao frowned slightly. “There’s no need to hide your past now. Tell me.”

Desoro glanced and Han Xiao and did not say anything to stop him.

Lagi sighed and had a sad expression on his face as if he did not want to get into it. Han Xiao almost wanted to give him a cigarette so that it would match his expression and the atmosphere.

“Alright, I’ll tell you. Decades ago, I was the Hidden Red Robe Abbey’s Forbidden Sorcerer commander, the fourth disciple of Magus Austin.”

Han Xiao’s eyes immediately widened.

Holy… you’re quite someone, aren’t you?

The position of the Forbidden Sorcerer commander was roughly equivalent to the chief Vanguard Official under the Tyrant. The fourth disciple meant that he was one of Austin’s protégés. These two titles added together, and Lagi’s position in the past was basically Austin’s right-hand man.

Lagi waved his hands with that same sad, reluctant expression. “However, afterward, I made a mistake, and Austin kicked me out of the Hidden Red Robe Abbey. I left Austin, became a Lone Ranger, and then I was caught. You saved me, and then you know the
rest.”

Han Xiao was shocked. With Lagi’s position, what big mistake could he have made to cause Austin to chase him away?

At this point, Desoro coughed and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, it’s better if you don’t know.”

Han Xiao’s eyes moved but became more curious. He then turned his head and saw that Lagi’s expression had become incredibly forlorn, as if he suddenly had stubble on his face.

“Alas, everyone has been young and wild before. Magus really is a good man. It’s a miracle that I could live till now,” Lagi said with a nostalgic tone.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. It was very difficult for him to imagine Lagi being young and wild. It felt like a man with this name was born with a languid aura. He could not associate him with the adjectives ‘young’ and ‘wild’ at all.

“Alright, let’s get back to the point. I respect your opinion. If you want to go back with him, I won’t stop you, but if you want to stay, I’ll help you refuse them.”

Desoro’s brows furrowed. He thought for a moment and did not speak.

He rubbed his face and sighed. “I’ll go back with you.”

Desoro heaved a sigh of relief. Luckily, Lagi read the room, so he did not have to fall out with Black Star.

He turned to Han Xiao and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, he’s willing to come with us. Please abide by our agreement.”

“Alright then.”

Han Xiao sighed in his mind. Lagi was a great aid who had been difficult to acquire, and now he was leaving him. It felt like a neighbor reaching out to his vegetable field and pulling a high quality, emerald-like leek.

This time, Lagi suddenly opened his mouth and spoke with a very serious tone.

“Black Star, you saved me. Don’t doubt my belief of doing things for you. I’m going back to make it clear to Austin. Otherwise, they won’t give up, and I don’t want to cause you trouble…”

After hearing this, Han Xiao immediately felt that he was wrong about Lagi. The little discontentment in his heart disappeared instantly. He was even a little touched.

as eve

Wow, you’re actually quite reliable. Saving you definitely wasn’t meaningless.

Then, Lagi returned to his original tone and became indolent, muttering, “You can’t beat Austin anyway. There’s no use even if I do refuse. Me going back with them is good for everyone. Sigh…”

What? That’s not false at all!

Han Xiao could not help but ask Desoro, “What was Austin thinking, appointing him as the commander of the Forbidden Sorcerers? Is he not worried that all the Forbidden Sorcerers will become depression patients under his lead?”

“Er… he wasn’t like this in the past.” Desoro’s tone was awkward.

They exchanged a few more polite lines. Then, Desoro stood up and said, “My mission is complete. I shall bring him back now.”

Han Xiao was just about to nod but suddenly remembered something and hurriedly stopped the bunch of them who were about to walk out.

“Wait a minute. I need your help with something.”

Desoro looked back and wondered, “Please, do tell.”

“Er… I would like to spar with you guys,” Han Xiao said.

Including Lagi, there were four strong people in front of him, who should all be twenty or more levels higher than him. This was a good opportunity to do the Promotion mission. If he beat all of them, it would give him twenty-four Trial Points, directly completing half of the mission progress. An opportunity like this would not come again once it was gone, so even though it was sudden, Han Xiao still asked for it.

As expected, Desoro and others all felt bewildered and confused.

Why is Black Star suddenly making this request?

Desoro was dumbfounded for a few seconds before he remembered to answer.

“Er… why is that?”

“When I see a formidable opponent, I can’t help but want to fight with him. The Forbidden Sorcerers are very famous, so I want to experience your strength and test my new weapon while doing so.” Han Xiao quickly made up a reason.

“Er…” Desoro was still hesitant.

Han Xiao clenched his teeth and took out the most promising trump card.

“Play a little bit. You’re here anyway…”

It was indeed the most promising trump card. Once used, Desoro did not know how to refuse.

Originally, he just wanted to take Lagi back and finish the mission early.

However, now that he had been invited to a fight, he suddenly became interested in a contest!

People had been saying that Black Star was a Beyond Grade A seed. Only a few dozen people in the entire Star Field had that honor.

Although Desoro was just an officer of a Beyond Grade A Super, he too dreamed of becoming a Beyond Grade A.

Desoro wanted to measure what made a Beyond Grade A seed so exceptional and see how big the difference in their strength was.

Thinking about that, Desoro stopped hesitating and became eager. He stared at Han Xiao and said, “Okay, you pick the place.”

Hearing Desoro’s response, Han Xiao had a humble smile of a farmer on his face. The way he looked at Desoro and the others was like looking at a few walking leeks.

“By the way, I want to spar with you too.” Han Xiao pointed to Lagi, who thought he had nothing to do with it.

Lagi’s face turned bitter, and he muttered, “I see, so this is where I get ‘accidentally’ killed during a spar…”

Meanwhile, on Planet Aquamarine…

“So, this is Black Star’s home…”

A spacecraft in stealth mode was suspended in outer space. Through the porthole, Stephanie looked over at the azure star, smiling.

“Albert was such a fool. There’s a glaring weakness, but he didn’t know how to exploit it…”

Chapter 665: Thrashed

Three years ago, when the Mutation Disaster ended, all sorts of galactic financial groups followed Black Star and invested in Planet Aquamarine, which was nominally a Floating Dragon territory. The long-standing technological bottleneck had easily been broken as interstellar knowledge poured in, and the stalled progress of the civilization began to grow rapidly.

No one had forgotten the significance of Han Xiao’s actions. In commemoration of the person that changed the fate of this planet, Bennett had led the effort to build a city named after Han Xiao based on Black Phantom Sanctuary.

That was Black Star City.

The survivors in the sanctuary became the residents, and countless people from the Six Nations moved to this city. Now, the budding Black Star City was the most popular city on Planet Aquamarine. The center of the city was the base of the Black Star Army. The tall, square-point tower pointed directly to the sky, with a huge Black Star Army sign carved on the tower’s body. The height of the buildings decreased from the center of the city to the edge. The overhead electric rail bridges crisscrossed, where the magnetically suspended trains shuttled continuously. The lights were bright both in the day and at night.

The galactic financial groups had come for Black Star and Floating Dragon, so Black Star City received the most investments. The technological level of this city was the highest on Planet Aquamarine. The capitals of the Six Nations were like the countryside in comparison. Black Star City was the ‘city of the future’ on Planet Aquamarine.

Although the treaties laid down by the three major civilizations contained rules that forbade interfering with the progress of low-level civilizations, these were primarily aimed at protecting the low-level civilization from being violated. If they were supporting their development, as long as the region’s governing civilization did not mind, no one would make any trouble. Of course, Godora would not prevent Han Xiao from rebuilding his homeland.

Under the protection of Han Xiao, the Six Nations were thriving, developing technology, supporting people’s livelihoods, and restoring the environment. Compared to three years prior, Planet Aquamarine had changed dramatically. With Han Xiao’s approval, Bennett had also changed the purpose of the organization and formed a new political system with Black Star City as the capital, forming the seventh nation in the world. They were gradually developing toward a Galactic Civilization.

The ten people including Stephanie landed in the wilderness outside Black Star City, looking out at the distant city.

“This is the home of Black Star. Based on the intelligence we gathered, his mother planet is of great importance to him, and he’s devoted a lot of energy to it,” one member said.

Stephanie slowly nodded.

After arriving in the Shattered Star Ring, she had not rushed into action but instead collected information for a while, learning about this mess that Albert had left behind.

The people that Albert caught had all been rescued by Black Star and were now connected to each other. If she acted carelessly, once she caught one of the freed men, the others would be alerted and become aware that someone else was hunting them again. Albert’s failure had made Stephanie’s job very difficult.

Stephanie was not planning to build a base like Albert did. She decided to stay in the dark, sending one target away right after she caught them, never staying in the same place for an extended time.

It was less efficient but less risky.

She was also not planning to seek cooperation from Klent. Klent had taken the blame for them, so it was highly likely that they would sell her out to clear their name. Furthermore, she did not build a base, so intelligence channels were less important to her.

In this case, the most difficult-to-deal-with target, Black Star, became the best first target. He had killed six people, including Albert, saved everyone captured, and made Albert’s years of accumulation go to waste. Plus, he had become a Beyond Grade A seed. He had a lot of potential and was the best prey. His Excellency Thousand Shadows would love it very much.

“Black Star is in a war, so we won’t have a very good chance of getting to him. However, as long as an enemy appears on his mother planet who only he can handle, he’ll definitely come back and deal with it. I’m not as reckless as Albert, not taking advantage of things like this.”

Instead of attacking Black Star’s territory or taking the risk of messing with the secret war, Stephanie chose to set a trap to lure Black Star into an ambush. The battlefield was set on Planet Aquamarine, which seemed like the dominant battleground for Black Star, but would actually make him cautious and careful.

Including herself, ten Calamity Grade ‘shadows’ might not be able to kill the nicknamed ‘Indestructible Body’ Black Star, but capturing him would not pose an issue.

“Even if he has the potential to be a Beyond Grade A Super, he isn’t Beyond Grade A now.” Stephanie’s expression was cold and calm.

Looking out into the azure sky, Stephanie took a deep breath and felt the coldness in her lungs. She narrowed her eyes with pleasure, smiled faintly, and said, “Hehe, I never thought that I would miss the whole war era after sleeping. This place is like my hometown, a prosperous planet… I really want to smash it.”

The other nine people glanced at each other and did not speak.

They were not familiar with Stephanie, but they knew that this captain was not a ‘shadow’ of their time.

Whoosh!

The Blacklight Stealth landed on an unpopulated planet, and Han Xiao, Desoro, and the others walked out of the hatch.

“Here will do. The space is big enough, and there’s no need to worry about the damage caused.” Han Xiao smiled.

He did not choose the base as the sparring venue. With just one accidental impact released during a fight between Calamity Grades, the base would vanish. Besides, the walls of the training room were not necessarily strong enough, and he did not want to incur unnecessary losses.

Desoro was silent and expressed his attitude with actions. His hands were reached out sideways, bright golden magic patterns appeared on his black robe, and magic forces surged. The robe was flapping as if it had rolled up a typhoon. His pupils under the hood were flashing with lightning, and anticipation for battle filled the air.

Lagi and the other two Forbidden Sorcerers retreated from the battlefield.

Feeling the immense fighting spirit, Han Xiao pulled on his necklace with his Mechanical Force. A brand-new mechanical suit model instantly covered his whole body. It was more beautiful than the Berserk Ape. It had a streamlined, silver-black shell with glowing blue patterns.

Despite being more aesthetic than Berserk Ape, it was much more violent.

This was an updated version of the Berserk Ape, also a Nano Transforming Mechanical Suit of the Ape series. Its name was (Mountain Ape]!

While the level requirement for Berserk Ape was 135, for Mountain Ape it was 165, a whole 30 levels higher. Han Xiao had used a great deal of rare raw materials and integrated new technology, which greatly increased the attributes of this mechanical suit.

Its armor value was over 110,000, and its Power Level was close to 5,000. Its performance was extremely strong

While the Berserk Ape specialized in having strong power, Mountain Ape specialized in having strong energy. This was due to the superiority of the psionic reaction furnace. While the Berserk Ape was more focused on close-range combat, Mountain Ape used psionic energy to battle and could excel in both close and long-range battles; it was more versatile.

“Come on!” Desoro yelled. A magic jewel on his collar sparkled brightly. The next moment, a dazzling magic array appeared under his feet, turning into a giant black vortex that seemed to connect to another dimension.

A giant twelve-fingers palm emerged from the vortex. Its texture was like obsidian, full of glowing golden cracks. The hand alone was close to a hundred meters long. It slammed violently on the ground.

Bang!

The ground trembled! “Summoner Mage? Superior Magic Colossus?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

The Summoner class was as unreasonable as the Army Style. All the Forbidden Sorcerers were magic masters and knew spells of many styles. It seemed like Desoro was mainly a Summoner.

Using a large summoner spell right in front of me? Do you think I don’t exist?

Han Xiao curled his lips and crossed his hands, forming an oval shape and aiming at Desoro. A blue, azure light particle appeared between his palms. It then expanded rapidly with a blinding light, shooting out a huge blue beam!

As Desoro maintained the Summoning spell, the pattern on his robe lit up. A high-energy magic shield appeared in front of him, and the blue beam crashed into it. At that moment, Desoro felt an immense sense of danger. His pupils constricted, and he immediately withdrew the Summoning spell, teleporting a few hundred meters away.

Boom!

The blue light beam instantly swallowed up the magic shield and then went into the ground. The ground cracked rapidly, and blue light emitted from the cracks and shot up into the sky.

Rumble!

A blue pillar, dozens of times larger than the beam, shot out from the ground, rising up like a fountain.

Psionic Impact-Whale!

One of the Mountain Ape’s abilities!

The energy beam vanished into the sky, and the ground turned into a circular crater hundreds of meters in diameter. As the summoning spell had ended early, only one arm of the Magic Colossus was summoned, which was nearly shattered by the explosion.

“You can use psionic energy

Desoro’s tone became extremely grave.

A Mechanic that could use the psionic and a Mechanic that could not were two completely different concepts!

“Wouldn’t that happen…”

Before Han Xiao finished his sentence, his body suddenly became blurry. Powerful impetus infused with psionic energy turned him into a lightning bolt, leaving a blue shadow behind. Han Xiao flashed in front of Desoro in an instant. His fist wrapped in psionic shield crashed down on Desoro’s magic shield with the second half of the sentence!

“… sooner or later?”

Bang!

The two of them crashed into each other!

An enormous amount of energy came from the psionic shield. The magic shield was shattering piece by piece!

Desoro was heavily hit, and he flew out like a shooting star. Leaving a blue trail, Han Xiao caught up with Desoro midway and caught him by the back of his head. His hands gripped Desoro’s neck and threw him up into the sky.

Mountain Ape Throw!

Compared to Berserk Ape’s (Berserk Throw), the Mountain Ape version gave fifty more Strength but a lower damage count. Also, it had an extra 0.5-second stun time. Generally, it was more of a disabling ability now.

Squeak!

Han Xiao stopped instantly. The mechanical suit on his arms turned into joint energy cannons. The dozens of barrels aimed at Desoro in the sky.

Bang bang bang!

In the blink of an eye, psionic beams rushed out of the barrel one after another, catching up with Desoro. The light illuminated his fearsome eyes.

Boom!

Continuous blue explosions appeared in the sky!

The bright light lit up the Mountain Ape’s helmet, and the scorching hot air was swirling.

Under the mask, Han Xiao smiled.

A Mage’s weakness was also close-range combat!

Whoosh!

With a flash of light, Desoro teleported out of attack range once again. He was injured and rather flustered. Then, he started casting a spell without a word. After all, he was an elite Mage under Austin’s command. Although the situation was not looking good, he would not be so easily defeated.

However, Desoro had to admit that, although he did not look down on Black Star, Black Star’s combat capability was still beyond his expectations.

Zoom!

With the light of summoning spells, strange and weird creatures were summoned one after another. Desoro even cast dozens of instant enhancing spells on himself to guard against Han Xiao from closing the distance again, only to find that Han Xiao had no intention of stopping his summoning.

Han Xiao smirked. As he clapped, the space around him suddenly started to ripple and buzz.

“Channeling spell? I can, too!”

Hum!

A beam of light flashed around him, and twenty-two Army Boxes appeared out of thin air.

In order to improve the efficiency of the army, Han Xiao did not care about the cost and equipped the Army Boxes with energy stoves and hyperdrive engines. This way, the support range and speed of the mechanical army increased greatly. He did not need the Blacklight Stealth to airdrop them anymore.

Most importantly… it looked so much cooler!

The purpose of sparring with these people was not only for the Promotion mission but also to test the combat ability of the new mechanical army. Thus, of course, he was going to use everything he had.

As Han Xiao pulled with his fist, a Mechanical Force lightning chain grabbed onto every Army Box.

Boom boom boom! The Army Boxes vibrated, and they were opened. Countless compressed orbs were sprayed out, turning them into a mechanical army.

In front of the large mechanical army, Desoro’s summoned creatures were like lambs surrounded by wolves, weak and helpless.

“Get him!” Han Xiao pointed at Desoro, who was panicking

Boom!

The Mechanical Army swallowed Desoro’s summoned creature army.

The scene became chaotic instantly.

As soon as the two armies clashed, the strength difference became crystal clear-Desoro’s army could only hold on for a few seconds. The situation turned into a one-sided thrashing!

Chapter 666: Round Three

Both the Army Style and the Summoning Style relied on numbers. The summoning class used mana, so it did not cost a lot of money. Even if the summoned creatures were destroyed, they could still be summoned the next time. However, it took a lot of time to summon those creatures during battle.

As for the Army Style, it required a lot of money. The army would be built before the battle and could all be used immediately. Once destroyed, money would be needed to rebuild them. The good thing was that the time to get the army ready was very short.

The rebuilt mechanical army used psionic energy as the main energy source. Most machines were modified to be psionic powered. The electromagnetic cannons had all been swapped out for psionic cannons that were many times stronger. Even the mechanical soldiers were equipped with psionic shields and small-caliber psionic lasers among other things.

The psionic energy technology was extremely useful. The cost of building machines did not increase by a lot, but their combat capabilities rocketed.

Under Phillip’s control, the mechanical army quickly defeated Desoro’s summoned creatures. With the [Machinery Truth Knowledge] bonus, Han Xiao was satisfied with the individual combat capabilities of the mechanical soldiers. He estimated that one mechanical soldier could defeat five of the same model mechanical soldier before his Class Advancement.

Bang bang bang!

The explosions continued in the sky. The battle was one-sided. The creatures summoned by Desoro were already wiped out, leaving him to face the mechanical army alone. Even without the summoning spells. Desoro was still a very strong Mage. He cast powerful spells very quickly and smoothly.

The battlefield was an unpopulated planet, so both sides were not restrained at all. They unleashed destructive forces freely. Desoro constantly teleported, and the mechanical army surrounded and intercepted him. The battlefield constantly shifted and extended over thousands of miles. The powerful forbidden spells and psionic cannons bombarded the surface. The earth was completely disorganized and filled with deep craters from explosions. If this was a planet with a civilization on it, the buildings would have been flattened long ago.

Being surrounded, Desoro was having a tough time like he had fallen into a swamp-every movement was difficult to make.

If this was the mechanical army before Han Xiao’s Class Advancement, Calamity Grades would not have felt too threatened even if they were surrounded. For the stronger Calamity Grades such as the eight Vanguard Officials under the Tyrant, they would be able to go in and out through the mechanical army easily. All it could do was slowly reduce the enemy’s health and energy.

However, the mechanical army after his Class Advancement had much more destructive and restraining power. The psionic cannons and shields caused the army’s overall attack and defense ability to go up by many levels.

Even a strong Calamity Grade like Desoro was in a pickle. The Psionic Cannons had much stronger individual power, which meant that the attacks did not have to be too concentrated in one place. Thus, the attacks from the Psionic Cannons seemed to have built a blue spider web, with danger at its every corner.

In terms of defense, the guarding team connected their Psionic Shields into a large shield a few hundred meters in size, like an enormous bubble. Even Grade 6 to Grade 7 spells were unable to penetrate it. Desoro had no choice but to use very powerful and high mana cost forbidden spells to barely cause any damage.

“He’s being overwhelmed completely. His loss is inevitable.” At the edge of the battlefield, the other two Forbidden Sorcerers’ tone changed slightly.

Before the battle, the two of them had also thought of observing how strong Black Star was, but this scene right before their eyes dumbfounded them. They knew very well how strong Desoro was. They had thought that even if Black Star would be able to defeat Desoro, it would happen after a rather tough fight. However, the battle turned out to be one-sided.

“He’s even stronger…” Lagi felt complicated.

The time for which he had known Han Xiao was still very short, so this was the first time that he had witnessed Han Xiao’s growth speed. When they met for the first time, despite Lagi underestimating his strength as usual, he had still felt that he had a fifty percent chance of beating Black Star. One month ago, when Han Xiao was given the title of Indestructible Body, he had felt that he only had a thirty percent chance of winning.

Now, he felt that he was nothing.

“Such unbelievable growth speed, this is truly Beyond Grade A potential.” Lagi’s negativity exploded, and he suddenly felt that there was no point in him studying magic anymore. He might as well go home and start a farm or something…

On the battlefield, Desoro held on for a while longer before being so disgusted by the mechanical army that he almost vomited. Not having the will to fight anymore, he yelled, “I admit defeat!”

Han Xiao lifted his finger and stopped the mechanical army, making them retreat to the side.

With the pressure gone, Desoro instantly felt more alive. He took a deep breath, slowly turned toward Han Xiao, and said with a regretful tone, “You’ve won the spar. I’m no match for you.”

If he continued, he could still have fought for a long time, but he felt it was futile. Black Star’s mechanical army was so strong and did not give him any chance. Furthermore, Black Star was basically just watching from the side, yet he still had such a tough fight. Even if he continued, he would most likely have had no chance of winning.

“You’re very strong, too.” Han Xiao smiled. “You should’ve tried approaching me. Maybe you would’ve beaten me.”

Desoro’s face turned back. He wanted to ask if Han Xiao even felt shame but decided not to say it after thinking for a moment.

Black Star’s Indestructible Body title was known across the Star Field. Everyone knew that Black Star’s strength was his body. Desoro did not live under a rock—it would have been crazy of him to go close to Han Xiao in a battle thinking that he would be able to defeat him that way.

This was also one of the reasons that Desoro had admitted his defeat he could not see any opportunity to turn the tables.

Luckily, I did not start a conflict with him. Desoro was glad of how sensible he was to give up the thought of using force on Han Xiao. From his perspective, even the first three disciples of Austin would not be able to defeat Han Xiao easily, if at all, so Desoro himself would only be completely thrashed by him.

Desoro was convinced that he was indeed still very far from a Beyond Grade A seed.

Han Xiao gave Desoro a few patronizing compliments. As the victor, he had the right to speak this way, and Desoro saw no problem with it at all. Calamity Grades would not be unable to accept a defeat. The loss only upset him for a while before letting it go, at the same time throwing away his sense of superiority as a Beyond Grade A’s subordinate and giving Han Xiao more respect.

Respecting someone stronger was a rule that never changed and never would change, which was even more deeply understood by a Beyond Grade A’s subordinate.

You have received 6 Trial Points.

Current Progress: 6/50

While chatting, a notification popped up on the interface.

He’s at least twenty levels higher than me. I see, so the definition of winning is to have the opponent admit defeat… Hmm, one person can only give points one time. There are three more people.

Han Xiao was delighted. He turned around and asked Lagi and the other two for a spar as well.

Since Han Xiao personally requested to spar with them, even though the other two Forbidden Sorcerer knew that they would not be able to win, they were not so cowardly as to not even take the fight. After all, it was just a spar. Desoro felt strange. The way he saw it, Han Xiao wanting to spar with his two colleagues even after he had defeated him was clearly an act of showcasing his strength.

“Apparently, although Black Star did not express it, he’s actually very unhappy about us taking Lagi away. Therefore, he requested to spar with us, to showcase his power and beat us up.” Desoro felt that this was the truth, but there was nothing he could
do.

Those two Forbidden Sorcerers were not summoners, but they were just as strong as Desoro. One of them specialized in psychic spells, which ignored Han Xiao’s health-mana cycle and caused him a little bit of trouble. This was one of the few weaknesses that he had at the moment, but he did not let it show.

He had the (Advanced Mental Toughness] talent, so he was not completely defenseless against psychic attacks. Despite not being able to absorb the psychic attacks, he was still very tanky, so he did not panic at all.

Furthermore, if he gave it his all, he could even damage himself to recover energy, which was completely unnecessary for a spar. This Forbidden Sorcerer also admitted defeat very soon.

Lagi was basically a walking pile of negativity. He admitted defeat just one minute into the fight.

After sparring with all four of them, Han Xiao had a rough idea of his combat capability.

I now have two trump cards—my tankiness and the Army Style. As long as it’s not against those strongest Grade A+ who are only a tiny bit away from Beyond Grade A, I will be able to maintain a more than 50% win rate. When facing more than one enemy, I can pose a threat to about three Calamity Grades at the same time. If the goal is just to hold the enemies back, ignoring the fact that the enemies will want to escape, I should be able to hold back six to seven Calamity Grades…

As for those who are a threat to me, psychic attacks and Virtual Mechanics are notable. Army Style Mechanics who also have a psionic energy mechanical army are threatening, too, as it will turn into a battle of resources since the style is the same, but I do have the advantage of being very tanky. Also, those Espers with strange abilities are always dangerous.

While summarizing all that in his mind, Han Xiao was chatting with Desoro and the others.

The spar had ended. Desoro expressed his intention to leave, and Han Xiao did not stop him this time.

Before leaving, Lagi made a serious promise. “Austin is a good man. Although I was chased away by him, we still have a connection, and he won’t make things difficult for me. Black Star, I will definitely return.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao smiled. “When you return, you’ll be my vice-captain.”

Lagi had only joined the Black Star Army for a short time, so he was still on probation. He was currently just a high-level combatant and had not taken on a position yet. With his ability, he was undoubtedly qualified to be the vice-captain. No one would have a problem with a Grade A+ being the vice-captain. Furthermore, he had an amazing resume. Despite being a little negative, he was indeed a talent.

Having developed into a veritable behemoth, the Black Star Army did indeed need one more person that matched up to its fame.

Lagi was stunned for a moment before turning hesitant. “Does that mean I will have more things to do?”

“… I’ll just give you the title without the work, how about that?”

Only then did Lagi smile again.

“Your Excellency Black Star, we shall take our leave.”

Desoro and the other two nodded before taking Lagi to the spaceship. Han Xiao thought for a moment before giving Lagi an Observer’s Mark.

His Promotion was close. His Racial Talents would change by then, so he did not have many chances to use Observer’s Marks left. Although Austin would be able to notice the Observer’s Mark, it was not a problem. His intention was not to peek at Austinhow could a child looking old Mage be as nice to look at as Ames?

He did not stop Lagi from going back. Putting an Observer’s Mark on him was to express his attitude toward Austin, that Lagi was important to him. Unlike the Tyrant, he had no conflict with Austin. In fact, they had quite a good relationship, and Austin had quite high hopes for him.

The spaceship took off and left.

After watching Desoro and the rest leave, Han Xiao looked at the interface.

The Promotion mission progress was now 24/50. It was almost half done.

Nice, that was very efficient. I’m only twenty-six points away. If my opponents are all twenty or more levels higher, I just need five more to complete the mission. If they are less than twenty levels higher or the same level as me, it will take at least seven opponents…

At this time, an unexpected notification popped up on the interface.

You have triggered the round three mission of (Prey]!

“Huh?” Han Xiao was shocked, and his expression changed drastically.

Chapter 667: Sudden Situation

[Round Three: New Hunters]

Mission Introduction: You have defeated the first group of hunters and seen the tip of the iceberg of this enormous force. Now, a new group of hunters has arrived. They’re stronger and more dangerous, staring at you in the shadows, ready to move.

Mission Requirements: Resolve the attack from the new hunter team.

Reward: 78,500,000 Experience. One random ability from one of the members of the hunter team.

The mastermind behind Albert and his gang has sent a new team here, starting the hunt again?

Han Xiao’s expression became serious. The high experience reward indicated the difficulty of the third round of this mission.

The mission introduction was ambiguous. All he knew was that there was a group of enemies of unknown strength creeping in the shadows. He knew nothing about what their plan was.

This was like a time bomb, and he did not know when it would explode. The only good news was that the interface notification at least alerted him of this time bomb.

According to the clues in the past, the master of these hunters should be a member of The Ancient Ones from another Star Field. That person still has not given up and has now sent another team that is definitely stronger than Albert’s team. This will be quite difficult.

Han Xiao was troubled. Another group of strong enemies appearing during the secret war added uncertainties to the secret war, which was definitely not a good thing.

After pondering for a while, he felt that the most important thing at the moment was to find where the enemies were. Once the enemies showed themselves, it would mean that they had enough confidence to deal with him.

Since the mission notification had alerted him, he wanted to make preparations.

Since the third round has appeared, this means that the new hunter team has already targeted me. In order to capture me, there are a few possibilities…

Han Xiao contemplated but came to no conclusion. He had no idea when and where the enemies would suddenly appear.

Looks like I have to borrow the power of superstition…

He boarded the spaceship and set the destination. The Blacklight Stealth lifted off, turned into a stream of light, and disappeared.

A few days later, a spaceship landed on Floating Dragon Island. Han Xiao ignored the cowardly and fearsome looks of the galactic pirates and headed straight to old man Aesop’s house.

In the past, old man Aesop’s life had been full of excitement and the lack of fear for death. However, for some reason, maybe because he was old now, he had retired on Floating Dragon peacefully, so it was very easy to find him.

“You’re saying that a new group of hunters appeared, and they’re planning to come for you?”

In the room, Aesop yawned and rubbed his eyes in a flecked nightgown and a crooked nightcap, expressing his doubts about what Han Xiao had said. He had originally been sleeping like an old man but had been woken up by Han Xiao’s nonstop calls.

“That’s right.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Therefore, you came to me because you want me to help you by foreseeing what the enemies will do, right?” Aesop brushed his beard and squinted.

“Yes, the enemies are hiding in the shadows, I need your help.”

Aesop suddenly sized Han Xiao up and changed the topic. “I heard you became a Beyond Grade A seed recently?”

Han Xiao was stunned and did not know why he had suddenly brought this matter up, so he could only nod.

“Hmm, I did not expect that to happen.” Aesop tutted. “However, don’t trust that title too much. It’s not that easy to reach Beyond Grade A. It’s not just the increase in strength but more of the ascension of life form. Every Beyond Grade A is actually a new race…”

Aesop had come into contact and communicated with many Beyond Grade As before, so he did not mind telling Han Xiao some of what he knew.

Han Xiao listened patiently. Despite having the interface, there were only pros and no cons in listening to experience. As the saying went, having an elderly at home was just like having a treasure. After speaking for a while, Aesop suddenly shook his head.

“If you do hit the one in ten thousand chance and manage to become a Beyond Grade A, the Ancient One behind the hunters will immediately stop chasing you. The secret war that has been attracting a lot of attention recently will also end because of you alone. As a new Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring, you will be able to immediately sit on the highest dinner table, and those Star Cluster Civilizations will actively bring their cake to share with you. As long as you express your intent, you will be able to easily receive an enormous amount of support. Everything that has been troubling you will be solved instantly…”

Aesop paused momentarily and sighed. “If that day really comes, you will definitely leave Floating Dragon. It’s impossible for a Beyond Grade A to be the subordinate of another Beyond Grade A.”

Han Xiao did not reply.

Indeed, if he reached Beyond Grade A, he would definitely leave Floating Dragon.

From the beginning, Floating Dragon has always been a stepping stone for him. He had helped Floating Dragon achieve many things throughout the years, so he did contribute as a member. Even if he left Floating Dragon, he would not become Ames’ enemy.

Ames might not be happy, but Jenny definitely wanted him to get the hell away as soon as possible.

Aesop rubbed his forehead and said, “Don’t mind me. Old people are always talkative. Back to the topic, you gave me too few clues. I won’t be able to guarantee how accurate the prophecy is. It can only be used as a reference.”

Then, Aesop closed his eyes and started his prophecy.

Not long after, he opened his eyes.

Seeing that Han Xiao was still waiting patiently, Aesop said, “I only saw a few blurry images. A large shadow shrouds you. You dash left and right but aren’t able to escape the shadow no matter what. In the end, the shadow consumes you completely.”

Han Xiao frowned and asked, “What does this mean?”

“What I saw might not be the reality; it might just be a symbol. I think this prophecy means that the people behind this will keep chasing you, and you won’t be able to escape him. In conclusion, it means you’re in danger.”

“That’s it?” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Are you pulling my leg?

“As I said, there are too few clues. The prophecy is very blurry and might not be right.” Aesop shrugged. “If I was all-knowing, do you think you would’ve caught me back then?”

Han Xiao was speechless.

Is that not the same as saying nothing at all? Why do I feel like even the Destiny’s Child Character Summon Card is more useful than you? If not because there’s only one last usage left, I would have used it long ago. You’re not very reliable, old man Aesop.

Aesop was not of any help, so Han Xiao turned and went to see Ames. Since he was already there, of course, he had to see her.

Ames was alone in the palace, and she was rather happy to see Han Xiao. The two of them chatted for a while. Han Xiao did not see Hila and Aurora, so he asked Ames about it. He then came to know that Hila had been extremely motivated recently for some reason, so she had been dragging Aurora along and training extra hard. Han Xiao did not tell anyone else about this visit, so he did not plan on disturbing Hila and Aurora. He chatted with Ames for a while longer before bringing up his request for Ames’ help.

He instinctively felt that the third round of the mission would be very dangerous. If he could get Ames to help, he would have nothing to worry about.

Unexpectedly, Ames smiled elegantly and exquisitely before rejecting him.

“Black Star, I can’t this time. I have something else to do. Plus, you can’t keep asking for my help. Maybe this is very dangerous, but you have the potential to become Beyond Grade A in the future, so if you really want to do that, you have to rely on yourself to conquer one obstacle after another.”

From the rumors recently, Ames saw the possibility of Han Xiao becoming a Beyond Grade A in the future. Hence, she decided to help Han Xiao less. The way she saw it, danger was a fertilizer. Only through danger would the seed be able to sprout and grow out of the soil.

When Aesop was her mentor, he had used the eagle style of education, too, letting her grow and become independent. Ames had learned from this and used the same thing on Hila and Aurora. The only difference was that these sisters had yet to reach the standard of going out on adventures and battles alone.

As for Han Xiao, Ames had a lot of trust in his strength. She felt that giving too much protection to Black Star was not a good thing-it would reduce Black Star’s opportunities to hone himself. She sincerely wanted to see Black Star become stronger, and she would feel happy for him as a friend.

There was nothing Han Xiao could do. After all, Ames was the faction leader-she would not be willing to help him every single time, not to mention the fact that the enemies had yet to even appear this time.

Requesting Ames’ help was just to make things easier. If the Dragon Emperor was not going to help, he would do it himself. In the past few years, he had met countless dangers, so he was not going to be afraid, not ever.

After bidding farewell to Ames, Han Xiao left Floating Dragon Island in his spaceship, coming quickly and leaving just as quickly.

He did not receive much from this trip to Floating Dragon Island, so he was unavoidably a little upset. In the end, relying on himself was still the best choice.

As he became stronger and his organization developed quicker, the battles he was in became larger. The help that Floating Dragon could give to him now was not as great as it used to be.

In the cockpit, Han Xiao piloted the spaceship while thinking of a plan.

Ames isn’t helping, and Aesop was basically useless, so I have to complete the Promotion as soon as possible. Every little increase in my strength counts…

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao took out the communicator and was about to contact his friends to find people to spar with.

Beep beep!

The communicator suddenly vibrated. It was a sudden message from Bennett.

Han Xiao was shocked. He read through it, and his face instantly turned grave.

It was not good news.

Ever since Bennett built Black Star City, due to all the matters he had to settle every single day, it had been quite some time since he contacted Han Xiao. If there was nothing important, Bennett would not disturb him.

This novice planet had always been rather important to Han Xiao. Although the old players had basically all joined his army, there would still be many more new players in the future.

He was very sensitive at this time. There was no way for him not to connect what was suddenly happening on Planet Aquamarine with the third round of (Prey).

Han Xiao frowned and was on high alert.

“This is certainly a trap!”

One day earlier on Planet Aquamarine…

In the government affairs building, Bennett had just finished reviewing the files. He heaved a sigh of relief, put the pen down, and rubbed his temples, trying to ease his tiredness.

“Sigh, being a leader of a nation is more tiring than fighting a war.”

Bennett sighed. He picked up the hot tea beside him, blew into it, and sipped slowly. The warm tea flew down his throat, bringing warmth to his stomach. The tiredness started to gradually disappear, and he exhaled comfortably.

He turned his chair around to face the floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the city outside. Trains were running along the tracks, and pedestrians were laughing. It was harmonious and lively. He smiled with relief.

Seeing that the people had peaceful and stable lives, Bennett felt that everything was worth it.

Ring ring!

Suddenly, the telephone on the desk rang hastily.

“There’s really no time to rest at all.”

Bennett picked up the call.

“You—Your Excellency, the Six Nations!”

A government official was on the other side of the call, stuttering with a sharp voice. Bennett could hear his panic clearly even through the call. He felt that his eardrum was hurting and held the telephone a little further away from his ear.

“What are you yelling about? What happened?”

“Th—the Six Nations have declared war on us at the same time!”

Bennett immediately became stiff. His eyes widened and stood up instantly.

“Have all of them gone insane”

Clank!

The teacup fell to the ground, and the hot tea spilled all over the floor.

Chapter 668: My Network Is Beyond Your Imagination

The Six Nations declared war without warning, seemingly wanting to eliminate the seventh country that Bennett had built. Bennett spent the entire day trying to prove it. He had personally dialed dozens of phone calls on private lines with the leaders of the Six Nations, which were all rejected. He had no idea why the Six Nations had suddenly gone crazy, and he had no way to find out. He could not deal with such a big matter alone, so he eventually notified Han Xiao.

If the third round of the mission did not appear, Han Xiao would most likely have thought that this was due to the technology given to the Six Nations by the galactical financial groups causing their confidence to expand, thus wanting to regain power… which was also highly unlikely. The Six Nations were not idiots. The more they came into contact with the galaxy, the more they would know how tiny they were; the difference was very clear and visible. The Six Nations would not become arrogant so easily.

The galactic financial groups only invested in Planet Aquamarine because of him and Floating Dragon. He alone was the reason that Planet Aquamarine was developing so rapidly. The Six Nations should know very well that they were depending on Han Xiaodeclaring war on him basically meant that they were digging their own graves.

However, the Six Nations had all lost their sanity at the same time. This did not make sense.

“I’m almost certain that there are others behind this, and they’re most likely the new group of hunters. These people are more difficult to deal with. They’re using Planet Aquamarine to lure me back.” Han Xiao frowned.

If he did not receive the alert from the interface, he would definitely have been shocked as soon as he heard about the Six Nations’ betrayal. He would also be suspicious, but he would not be as alert as he was now, so he would go back to find out the cause of it.

Making the Six Nations betray him was bait; the real enemies were hiding in the shadows. They had the ability to destroy Planet Aquamarine directly, but that was meaningless. Their real target was Han Xiao, so if they appeared, it would alarm him.

If Planet Aquamarine was destroyed, it would mean that they had destroyed one of the very few ‘weaknesses’ that Black Star had. They would then have no way to trick him. Hence, they chose to use Planet Aquamarine as a trap and secretly set up an ambush on Planet Aquamarine, waiting for him, the prey, to step right into the trap.

“Luckily, the mission alerted me…”

Han Xiao secretly felt relieved. He had to admit that the enemies this time were much smarter. If he had not been alerted by the mission notification, he might have fallen into this trap. By then, he would have been in a very difficult situation.

“My current advantage is that the enemies think I do not suspect anything, but I already know about their existence.”

Han Xiao pondered. The hunters had made the Six Nations betray him for some reason, which was a scheme that he had no choice but to step into. Planet Aquamarine had strategic significance to him; it was a huge leek plantation, so he could not watch the enemies mess up the situation that he had taken so long to build up to. Therefore, he definitely had to go back there and deal with the problems with the Six Nations.

The enemies definitely knew about this.

“Hiding from the enemies will only cause worse damage; only by facing them directly can I possibly resolve the issue. Fortunately, I have time to think about a solution. The enemies’ strength and numbers are unknown, but there shouldn’t be fewer than six Calamity Grades. It would most likely be difficult for me to fight them alone. I have to get some help.”

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and was a little troubled. The Dragon Emperor had said that she would not help, Section Zero was at war, and further organizations would take too long. After thinking for a while, it seemed like the only ally that could be of help at the moment was Godora.

“The Purple Crystal Civilization might be of help, too…” Han Xiao hesitated. Purple Crystal had quite a few Calamity Grades for sure. They were officially a part of the government, so they did not take part in the secret war.

However, Han Xiao was not sure if Purple Crystal would help him. They might only be interested in the war but not this.

“I shall give it a try. It never hurts to ask anyway.”

Han Xiao took out the communicator.

He was definitely going to look for help. Unless no one would be helping him, he would not return alone.

Networking was part of one’s strength!

…

On the frontline of the secret war, the army of the Bloodshed Land had arrived at three border Star Systems and had started expanding once again. Section Zero was having an extremely tough time. They could only send small fleets to disrupt the enemies, trying to slow them down.

They were in a very passive position in the war, and countless difficulties were popping up every single day. The never-ending difficulties made Ralph extremely stressed, especially the problems with the high-level combatants.

After all kinds of persuasion and profit promises, the high-level combatants of Section Zero finally stopped avoiding fights, but they still were not willing to go all out. They saved seventy percent of their strength to protect themselves and only used thirty percent to deal with the enemies. In terms of high-level combatants, Section Zero was still completely at a disadvantage, getting beaten black and blue by those war maniacs of the Bloodshed Land. Ralph had been thinking of the reliable Black Star every day.

Although Black Star would not be able to change the situation of the war alone, Black Star was the only one that had given all he had.

Ralph was still settling the matters when his communicator suddenly received a communication request from Black Star. His exhausted mind suddenly became energized.

As soon as Ralph picked up the phone, he said, “Black Star, you’ve finally contacted me. Has your holiday ended? Quickly come back to the battlefield, we need you!”

Han Xiao coughed and said, “Sorry, I can’t go back yet. Civil strife has occurred in my home, Planet Aquamarine. Someone wants to overthrow my representative. I have to return to settle it.”

Ralph was disappointed.

“Did you call to notify me of that?”

“No no, I want the Purple Crystal Civilization’s help.”

Ralph was confused. “Is that necessary? It’s merely civil strife of a surface civilization. Aren’t you able to settle that yourself?”

“It’s not that simple…”

Han Xiao did not hide and told Ralph about the new group of hunters while leaving out the source of this information and changing some of the details.

Currently, only Han Xiao, Aesop, and very few people knew that the true master behind the hunters was one of the Ancient Ones. Last time, when eliminating Albert and gang, Han Xiao did not stop Albert from pushing the blame to Klent, so many Shattered Star Ring organizations thought that Klent was the mastermind, including Purple Crystal.

Han Xiao was hinting that Klent had sent a group of hunters to eliminate him.

After Ralph heard Han Xiao’s explanation, he connected the dots and speculated Klent’s ‘motive’.

Black Star fought the eight Vanguard Officials alone, showcasing his Beyond Grade A potential. Klent planned ahead. They can’t let a new Beyond Grade A appear in the Colton Star Cluster even if the possibility of that is just one in a billion. They don’t want Purple Crystal to have the opportunity to invest in Black Star, so they sent a group of people to secretly infiltrate the Garton Star System, wanting to eliminate Black Star, the Beyond Grade A seed!

Ralph was shocked and felt that he had discovered the truth. The Klent Kingdom’s motive made perfect sense. He could not find anything wrong with his speculation. If he was in their shoes, Purple Crystal would have chosen to do the same thing.

Ralph’s expression became serious immediately, and he said in a low voice, “Got it. There’s a deeper reason behind this. Black Star, we have very high hopes for you. We won’t let Klent threaten you easily. I will submit your request immediately, and the people above should send some high ranking government combatants to help you.”

Han Xiao was delighted. It went smoother than he had thought-Ralph was rather easy to bluff.

What he did not know was that the Purple Crystal Civilization upper echelons had held a private meeting long ago and decided to heavily invest in him. Han Xiao still thought that he was just a normal Section Zero member, but in reality, as long as his requests were not too excessive, Purple Crystal would always be willing to help him. In fact, they would want to help him as much as they could.

“By the way, for insurance, I’m planning to ask for help from the Godorans too,” Han Xiao added.

“Godora is the ruler of the Garton Star System, right? I remember they’re your ally. Sure, they’re under us. Do you need me to tell them?”

“… That would be best.”

Han Xiao was secretly surprised by how Purple Crystal’s people were so easy to convince.

Hanging up the communication, Han Xiao contacted Godora.

Godora was his old ally, so when Serbia the Fifth heard his request, he agreed without hesitation.

If only Black Star had requested help from them, they might have hesitated for a moment. However, Purple Crystal had confirmed that they were involved in this as well, so the Godorans had nothing to be afraid of and were even eager to agree.

In the Godorans’ eyes, Black Star was giving them a chance to improve their relationship with the Star Cluster Civilization.

The detailed plan still required discussion. Han Xiao chose an unpopulated planet near Planet Aquamarine as the gathering location and headed over in his spaceship.

Chapter 669: Ambush and Counter-Ambush

In a dark cell, a man whose hands and feet were shackled by electromagnetic handcuffs was sitting on the floor. Light glimmered through the window of alloy bars and lit up his furious face.

“The world outside is in a mess. I can’t stay here!”

The man’s voice was husky with a very worried tone.

If Han Xiao was there, he would have recognized this man. This imprisoned man was his former boss from more than seven years ago, the ex-director of the Stardragon National Strategic Defense Department, Gu Hui.

He had survived the Mutation Disaster. In the past three years when Planet Aquamarine was rapidly growing, he had retired from Division 13 and been promoted to an upper echelon in the government.

However, a few days prior, his position had been taken away, and he had been imprisoned.

Gu Hui took a deep breath as the images from a few days ago flashed across his eyes.

He was invited to an upper echelon conference. During the meeting, the national leader had suddenly made a decision that petrified everyoneto work together with all the Six Nations and declare war on Black Star City. No matter how strongly the majority of the officials present opposed this, the leader took an extremely strong stand and refused to retract the decision. The several deputy level officials kept silent and shockingly did not oppose it too.

As both sides stood their ground firmly, this meeting ended without them coming to an agreement. However, before Gu Hui could recover from the shock, one hour after the meeting ended, he was secretly captured and thrown into prison.

“I’m definitely not the only one that’s been captured. All the opposing officials are locked up, too. The upper echelons are going to declare war no matter what. This is a dictatorship!”

Gu Hui still could not figure out the reason behind this. He was rather familiar with the national leader; such extreme and arbitrary behavior felt like it was a different person.

Black Star was now the protector of Planet Aquamarine, yet they want to fight their own protector? Was that not insanity?

Gu Hui had been locked up for many days and was very worried about what was happening in the outside world. Since the people that opposed the decision had been captured, no one would stop the leader anymore. He could not imagine what the consequences of declaring a war would be. He could only pray that at least the military would still have a clear mind and not just follow orders blindly.

“This will definitely lead to Black Star’s revenge!” Gu Hui did not want to imagine Black Star’s reaction to this.

That man was no longer that weak Black Phantom of the past!

He could crush the entire Planet Aquamarine alone!

“Those Six Nations have declared war on Black Star’s forces. This planet is his garden, so he has definitely received the news.”

In a certain city of the Six Nations, Stephanie and the rest were walking down the crowded street, coldly observing the riots happening.

Just a few days ago, this city had still been peaceful and harmonious. Now, however, large groups of people were protesting. They were angry and agitated, strongly opposing the government’s declaration of war against Black Star.

The military cooperated with the police to maintain security. Yelling, screaming, and roaring was everywhere. The messy footsteps almost trembled the ground. Some people even threw Molotov cocktails at the buildings, igniting flames and fighting with the police.

Chaos reigned!

This scene was happening in many cities of the Six Nations at the same time.

Stephanie looked at the chaotic scene and smiled in satisfaction.

“Good. Black Star will definitely come back here to investigate, but he won’t know that we are behind this. He won’t know that we are targeting him, so he won’t be very alert. We just have to wait in the dark for an appropriate opportunity to give him a ‘surprise’!”

As she was speaking, the nine of them turned and walked away before disappearing in a flash of light.

This team had ten members, but only nine appeared there.

Ten days later, a stream of light approached an unpopulated planet. This was the gathering location that Han Xiao had set. It was not far from Planet Aquamarine.

The Blacklight Stealth circled around the planet for a while. It then received a signal from the surface and came to the location where the signal was sent. Purple Crystal and Godora’s people had all reached there before him, waiting for his arrival.

The spaceship landed, and Han Xiao walked out the hatch. The helpers approached him. Han Xiao looked around—there were six of them.

“Hello Black Star, we’re here to assist you. You can call me Wilton. I’m a Purple Crystal Calamity Grade combat officer. These are my two team members…”

Wilton seemed to be their leader. Han Xiao nodded and shook hands with the six of them one by one. All six of them were Calamity Grades. Purple Crystal and Godora had each sent three. The leader of the team on Godora’s side was a familiar face— Nagakin.

Even to Star Cluster Civilizations, Calamity Grades were rare high-level combatants, yet Purple Crystal had still sent three to help him, showing their sincerity.

“As per the order from the superiors, you’re the commander and can give us orders. Tell me, what do you want us to do?” Wilton said with an expressionless face.

Han Xiao sharply noticed Wilton’s impatience. He thought about it for a second and figured out why.

Wilton was a high-level combatant of a Star Cluster Civilization, so he had a sense of superiority and was rather arrogant. However, he had no choice but to follow the orders of a same grade Super who was not even a part of his government. Although he would definitely not disobey the superiors’ orders, he would still probably be unwilling.

Han Xiao did not mind it at all. He did not need them to be willing or whatnot-he only needed them to obey his orders and be useful.

“I suspect that the civil strife on Planet Aquamarine is a plot, and there are people behind it. Their goal might be to assassinate me…” Han Xiao repeated what he had said to trick Ralph.

“What do you want us to do?” Wilton asked.

Han Xiao thought about it and said, “Since the enemies are trying to attract my attention by starting a civil strife, they will most likely be hiding till I appear. Let’s not alarm them. I will go back alone first as the bait. You guys wait near Planet Aquamarine. When the hidden enemies show themselves, you guys come to support me.”

“Okay.”

Wilton had no problem with the plan. Although he did not like Black Star, this did not mean that he doubted Han Xiao’s body. After all, it was a strong body that had withstood the attacks of the eight Vanguard Officials, so Black Star would definitely be able to last till they arrived.

After discussing it for a while, Han Xiao settled on the plan. The enemies had set a trap for him to step into, but he could use the same method to lure them out. This was the contest between an ambush and a counter-ambush.

After confirming the plan, Han Xiao looked at the few of them. Suddenly, he had an idea and said, “I have a small request. I hope to spar with each of you to test your combat capabilities. Only then will I be able to know the overall strength of our team.”

There were six Calamity Grades there; it was definitely a good opportunity to earn Trial Points. His Promotion mission progress was currently at 24/50. If these six teammates were strong enough, he might be able to even complete his Promotion right there.

Wilton frowned.

Han Xiao’s request was not nonsensical, but it was too straight forward. It was as if he was doubting their strength. This made him feel like he was being underestimated. Wilton was expressionless but could not help but feel rather annoyed in his heart.

However, he did not even consider fighting Han Xiao seriously during the spar. To him, the mission was the priority. He suppressed his anger and sparred with Han Xiao. This time, the sparring was even shorter than when Han Xiao sparred with the Forbidden Sorcerers. Both of them stopped at a suitable time and did not go all out.

Han Xiao sparred with his six teammates one after another. It went smoothly and did not waste too much time. After all, the six of them were temporarily under his command, so they did not have any objections.

Among the six Calamity Grade helpers, only Wilton was twenty or more levels higher than him and gave him 6 Trial Points. Four of them were less than twenty levels away from him. Han Xiao found an excuse to spar with each of them twice and obtained 4 Trial Points each. In total, he gained 22 Trial Points.

The progress of the Promotion mission was now 46/50, four points away from completion. Sadly, one of the Godoran Calamity Grades was three levels lower than him, so he did not give any Trial Points.

Only four points away. I need one more opponent… Han Xiao hesitated. He kind of wanted to find another person to spar and complete the Promotion before returning to Planet Aquamarine.

However, finding a new opponent would take quite some time. Over the past few days, Bennett had sent him reports every day. The situation was getting worse very quickly. Bennett was hurrying him back all the time, so Han Xiao did not really want to delay it much longer.

Furthermore, as soon as he completed the Promotion, he would go through Race Evolution, and the Observer’s Mark ability might disappear. This was a very useful special ability, especially against these elusive hunters.

After pondering, Han Xiao came to a decision. The enemies are ambushing me, so we will fight sooner or later. I have helpers now, so it won’t be easy for the enemies to succeed. It won’t be too late to complete the Promotion mission during the battle. It’s better to keep the Chaos Observer’s abilities they might be useful.

Han Xiao sorted his thoughts and left Phillip’s sub-programs to deal with the rest. In case the enemies had ways to cut communication, Phillip could call for reinforcements for him.

As the preparations were completed, Han Xiao did not stay on this planet. He boarded his spaceship and headed to Planet Aquamarine.

At the central helipad in Black Star City, the mercenaries stationed there and some of the officials under Bennett received the news and waited for Black Star’s return.

Bennett was walking back and forth at the front and glancing at the sky occasionally, appearing rather anxious.

Hu!

As the sound of spaceship approached, the crowd hastily looked up and saw Black Star’s signature spaceship slowly landing. Everyone felt relieved as if they had finally found someone to rely on.

The Blacklight Stealth stopped, and Han Xiao stepped onto Planet Aquamarine once again. He saw Bennett and the others immediately and walked over.

“You’re finally back!”

Bennett felt as if his shoulders were lighter, like the weight above them had been removed. Recently, he had been very stressed, but as soon as Black Star returned, he suddenly felt no stress at all. Black Star was the protector of the entire Planet Aquamarine; he would be able to solve any problem they had.

Han Xiao nodded and walked toward the base. Bennett and the others followed beside him.

“What’s the situation now?”

“The Six Nations have publicly declared war. Both their people and our people are flustered. The intelligence personnel I planted in the Six Nations told me that the Six Nations have already started preparing missiles to attack Black Star City. I don’t even dare turn off the protective shields these few days for fear of a sudden attack by the Six Nations. They’ve gone insane. I cannot judge their actions with logic at all!” Bennett spoke hastily.

Han Xiao curled his lips. “Do all the government officials of the Six Nations agree with the war declaration? I don’t believe that everyone has lost their mind. Do you have any information regarding this?”

With a grave tone, Bennett said, “You’re right. The Six Nations’ decision to declare war was very sudden. Many government officials did not even know about this before it happened. Many opposed it, but a few hours later, all the opposing government officials were captured. The Six Nations are basically under a dictatorship now.”

“Collective dictatorship? Ha, that’s new.” Han Xiao acted as if he was curious and asked, “Have you talked to the Six Nations’ leaders?”

“No, they refuse to communicate with me. I have no idea why they’re doing this.”

Han Xiao squinted. “Then I will have to go to them personally to talk.”

He wanted to see what these hunters had done to the Six Nations to make them go insane together.

With a worried expression, Bennett said, “Six Nations won’t allow you to get close to them. You have to be careful. They might launch missiles at you.”

“Let them try.” Han Xiao’s tone turned cold. “I’ve had enough of internal fights. The civilization has been split by too long. It’s time to unite it.” Since he was acting as a bait, he had to look real. Han Xiao secretly looked at the government officials following behind him.

The enemies might even be looking at him right now.

Chapter 670: Child’s Play

Since the enemies’ goal was him, Han Xiao felt that they should have measures to confirm his return. The most likely one would be to have someone watching him in Black Star City, as the Planet Aquamarine people would have no way to discover the enemies. As a Calamity Grade, toying with a surface civilization was as easy as eating and drinking

With the investment from galactic financial groups, Planet Aquamarine was developing rapidly toward the interstellar era. In just a few years’ time, they might be able to build stable interstellar carriers, colonize other unpopulated planets, and other things. However, Planet Aquamarine was still considered a surface civilization at the moment; they had no chance against a Calamity Grade Super.

All the officials that came to welcome him had green names and no red names, but Han Xiao did not completely rely on the interface. In his previous life, there had been some special abilities that could trick the identification of the interface. In fact, his Observer’s Mark was one of them.

Han Xiao looked normal but stayed alert. Starting from the moment he landed, the enemy might attack any time.

After chatting for a while, Han Xiao roughly understood the situation from Bennett. He smiled and said, “I understand the situation. There’s no need to give the Six Nations time to prepare. I’ll go and chat with them right now.”

Then, without waiting for the others to reply, mechanical parts covered his body in the blink of an eye and formed into the Mountain Ape mechanical suit. With a blue flame shooting out from his back, Han Xiao took off from the helipad, breaking through the sound barrier, turning into a little black dot, and quickly disappearing.

Bennett’s relaxed. With Black Star there, he felt so much more assured.

With the efficiency of its galactic engine, Han Xiao flew within the planetary atmosphere. The wastelands, mountain range, and the rest of the landscape receded under him rapidly. Han Xiao left a blue trail behind him and traveled using the planet as the axis. His tracks were very visible even in the daylight. Everywhere he went, many residents on the surface of the planet looked up and discovered this long-standing blue route he took.

Not long after, Han Xiao arrived above the Stardragon capital.

Looking at the familiar city, Han Xiao saw images flashing past in his mind that felt like only yesterday. Without noticing it, almost ten years had passed. This city was where he started.

Thinking for a while, Han Xiao did not hide and landed on the streets. Not far away, a group of people were protesting. The moment they saw Black Star, their faces turned into excitement, and they started to cheer at Han Xiao.

“Look, it’s Black Star!”

“Please stop our government!”

“Black Star, those government officials do not represent us. We all support you. No one wants to be your enemy!”

The crowd squeezed over and yelled in a mess, but Han Xiao still managed to understand what those civilians meant.

As he had solved the Mutation Disaster, Han Xiao’s reputation in Planet Aquamarine was much higher than that of the Six Nations’ governments. He was admired by every Planet Aquamarine resident.

I’m sort of popular.

Han Xiao felt strange. He did not feel troubled, but he did not enjoy this feeling of being loved by so many people either. After all, his target was not just resolving the trap that the hunters had set up but also using this opportunity to overthrow the Six Nations and uniting Planet Aquamarine.

Since my reputation is so high, things should be much easier.

Han Xiao nodded internally. Without greeting the civilians, he quickly left and flew across half of the city, landing in an alley.

Since he had returned, Han Xiao wanted to see the maintenance workshop that he had once worked at.

During the Mutation Disaster, the city had been in a mess. For safety, many people had decided to leave the city. Lu Qian had disappeared and become uncontactable as well. This store had been closed for a very long time, and there had been evidence of it falling apart everywhere.

Now that three more years had passed, this maintenance store had become even more run-down. Still, no one had come back.

Han Xiao shook his head. With Old Man Lu’s protection, Lu Qian would not have died in the Mutation Disaster. They might have already settled down in another city and would not be coming back. Since she had not gone to look for him, he did not want to disturb them.

After taking a look at a place of the past, Han Xiao flew toward Dragonhorn Tower where the Stardragon government was, heading right toward the Stardragon leader.

Dragonhorn Tower was very conspicuous. Han Xiao quickly arrived at the destination. Suspended in midair, Han Xiao looked down and smirked.

The ground around the tower cracked open, showing many deep tunnels leading underground. Armored armies appeared from within, and all kinds of firearms and artilleries aimed at Han Xiao.

The basement of Dragonhorn Tower was a military base. When Han Xiao first appeared within the crowd, the Stardragon military received the news. As Han Xiao had come so suddenly, Stardragon did not have enough time to get the missiles ready and could only make some hasty preparations.

With Han Xiao’s strength, those armored armies could not even tickle him. Their rather refined gunpowder weapons seemed primitive to him.

Han Xiao shook his head and extended his arm. Several bolts of Mechanical Force lightning launched from his hand.

Clank!

The tanks and artilleries on the ground were sucked up immediately and quickly dismantled into pieces, all turning into waste. This army was eliminated in an instant, leaving the lost and helpless soldiers on the ground.

“The welcome ceremony isn’t enthusiastic enough.”

Han Xiao felt like he was bullying children… but it did feel good.

With his strength, eliminating the entire Six Nations was a piece of cake.

Under Dragonhorn Tower, the Stardragon leader entered the safehouse while being accompanied by the troops. After closing the thick alloy gate, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This specially-made safehouse was like a safe. It was extremely thick and would never be penetrated by missiles.

“How’re the armored troops?” the Stardragon leader quickly asked the military personnel beside.

“They were wiped out. Black Star only raised his hand a little.”

“How could he be so strong!” The Stardragon leader inhaled deeply.

Suddenly, a loud sound came from the gate of the safehouse.

Boom!

With a flash of psionic energy, the safehouse that could stop missiles now had a hole in it. Han Xiao walked right in. Through the hole, the people inside the room saw countless soldiers behind Han Xiao who were lying on the ground, whining in agony.

Han Xiao really did not want to start a slaughter, so he controlled his strength as much as he could and was barely able to injure them without killing them.

“We meet again.” Han Xiao looked at the Stardragon leader.

“Ho-How are you able to come in?” The Stardragon leader was horrified.

“Hmm?” Han Xiao frowned and noticed the strangeness.

The leaders of the Six Nations should know very clearly how strong he was. It was impossible for them to doubt that he would not be able to even break into this fragile safehouse. However, the shocked expression on the Stardragon leader’s face did not seem like an act.

Han Xiao squinted before punching the safehouse wall beside him.

Boom!

The entire safehouse shook. Everyone else could not maintain balance anymore and fell onto the ground, taking slight damage.

The interface immediately received a lot of combat information. Han Xiao instantly opened and read through it.

The level of everyone there was significantly lower than his, so their attributes were all crystal clear.

Including the Stardragon leader, the status bar of everyone in the room had a special status on it.

[Memory Modification): The memories of this person are modified.

Remaining time: 2 days 13 hours.

“No wonder…”

All his doubts were cleared—this was the reason that the Six Nations had turned on him.

This was undoubtedly an act of those hunters. He did not know what kind of memories the enemies had given the Six Nations’ leaders, but they seemed to have forgotten how strong he was. No wonder they were resisting so meaninglessly, even dreaming of taking back power from his hands and overthrowing Bennett’s forces.

A person’s personality was decided by their experiences. Once their memories changed, their personality would shift, too. Some Psychics who knew special techniques or Espers with those kinds of abilities were able to do things like this, so there was definitely someone like that among the enemies.

Such things were useless to stronger people. Stronger Supers had higher mental resistance. However, Planet Aquamarine only had a few decades’ history of Supers. The strongest among them was just Grade C. In front of a Calamity Grade, they were still weaklings that could be toyed with as they liked.

Changing one’s memory was a rather subtle and hidden measure, other than Supers with psychic abilities, the other class Supers would not be able to discover what happened to these people instantly.

But Han Xiao was an exception.

The enemies most likely think I won’t be able to discover what they did because I’m a Mechanic.

Han Xiao sneered in his mind.

Since the enemies could modify memories, it was meaningless for him to do anything to these government officials as the enemies would be able to modify those people’s memories again.

Suddenly, Han Xiao had an idea.

This kind of ability has to be cast at a close range. The status duration on these people is only two and a half days. By then, the hidden enemy will definitely secretly appear and modify their memories again… Hehe, I will then be able to discover their location.

Han Xiao planted an Observer’s Mark on the Stardragon leader before pretending he knew nothing about the memory modification and acting like he should have acted-threatening the Stardragon leader to stop the declaration of war.

The government officials present had forgotten about Han Xiao’s strength, so they were now terrified and gave in under Han Xiao’s threats. They gave orders on the spot and released the captured officials at the same time.

Han Xiao saw his old friend Gu Hui, but he only glanced at him and did not intend to say hello. Since the enemies were still hidden, it was not the time.

After witnessing the Stardragon leader complete his orders, Han Xiao turned around and immediately left the Stardragon capital.

The Stardragon leader and the other officials could not believe it. Was that all? They had thought that they were going to die for sure.

The captured officials, including Gu Hui, were all very glad that Han Xiao did not kill those people. Such gentle measures clearly meant that he was giving them a chance.

Due to this mistake, Gu Hui and many officials decided that they had to impeach the current leader. They could not let this maniac continue leading the nation.

Afterward, Han Xiao visited the remaining five nations and convinced every one of them.

He could only plant five Observer’s Marks, the mark he had planted on Lagi had already been wiped away by Austin after completing its job.

As Promotion was around the corner, Han Xiao swapped out all the Observer’s Mark targets and gave them to five national leaders. He then returned to Black Star City and waited for the Observer’s Marks to provide useful information. This was like fishing -it required patience.

To his surprise, the hidden enemies did not attack him during this time. What could they be waiting for? Were they observing him?

Knowing what had happened to Albert, the enemies seemed to be very cautious and were confirming if he had really fallen for the trap.

A few hours later, the Six Nations withdrew the war declarations at the same time. Countless people were cheering and overjoyed.

However, before they could even enjoy the contentment, just one day after, everyone was dumbfounded by the Six Nations’ actions.

Having just withdrawn the war declaration, the Six Nations launched missiles at Black Star City the following day!

As if their compromise one day ago was just to earn the time to prepare.

Most missiles were intercepted midair, and the galactic level protective shield of Black Star City stopped the rest of the missiles. There were no casualties. However, everyone in Black Star City was furious at the completely perfidious Six Nations.

Even the people of the Six Nations could not believe
it.

Has our government really gone insane?

Are they asking to be killed? Will they only stop when Black Star kills all of them?

Han Xiao, however, was not angry at all. It was clear that this had happened because the enemies had modified the Six Nations’ leaders’ memories again. The political conflicts of a surface civilization were no different from children playing house to Calamity Grades.

The good news was, he did not have to wait two days to obtain useful information.

Through the Observer’s Marks, an enemy finally appeared.

“These people finally showed themselves.”

Han Xiao squinted his eyes.

Just one day later, Gu Hui was imprisoned once again before he could execute his plan.

Being imprisoned the second time, he was not even angry anymore.

What is this?

Does the leader think that matters of national importance are just like children playing house, doing whatever they want?

Of course, Gu Hui did not know that the memories of all those officials had been modified. He was completely speechless toward those people who had once been his colleagues.

Chapter 671: I Recognize You!

In Raylen’s capital, Zeglin walked slowly in the government building. Everyone he passed-be it government officials, secretaries, or guardsignored him as if he did not exist. However, if someone was about to bump into him, that person would subconsciously dodge aside.

Arriving at the door of the leader’s office, Zeglin did not stop. He pushed the door open and walked in. The guard beside the door did not react at all.

In the room, the Raylen leader was in a call with the military, who also ignored Zeglin. Zeglin tapped his own forehead with his finger, and invisible psychic energy expanded and turned into more than ten tentacles, which then penetrated into the Raylen leader’s brain, modifying his memories.

The Raylen leader’s words suddenly paused. Confusion flashed on his face for a second before his expression returned to normal, and he continued speaking on the call. In this short pause, his memories had been modified.

Expressionless, Zeglin nodded and left the way he had entered. While walking, he used the psychic mark in his brain and communicated with Stephanie and the others across thousands of miles.

“I checked their memories. Black Star’s attitude toward them is very normal. He threatened them and does not know that the memories of these national leaders have been modified. It’s basically confirmed that he did not notice anything. We should act soon. He’s not alert now, but he might be if we delay this for too long.” Stephanie’s chuckling sounded in his mind. “Don’t forget what happened to Albert. Black Star is even more cautious than Antarrians. Letting our guard down against him would be foolish. However, you’re right-delaying isn’t a good idea. The next time he leaves Black Star City, we will set up an ambush over there. In his own territory, he would be more hesitant to attack.”

“When I’m done with my job, I will rendezvous with you guys.”

Zeglin nodded and then levitated with his psychic energy, flying toward Theseus, which was also on the Northern Continent. This was his next target.

He was a member of Stephanie’s team, a Grade A Psychic master who could modify memories. He deviated from the others and acted alone, giving fake memories to the Six Nations’ leaders and twisting their knowledge toward Black Star, making them think that they were fighters resisting a dictator.

The political conflicts of a planet surface civilization were just tricks between weaklings, meaningless and childish. He could toy with those people any way he wanted to. If not for the sake of setting up a trap for Black Star, he would not even have been willing to waste his energy on using such delicate memory modifying methods on a group of surface civilization natives.

It was winter on the mountainous Northern Continent.

Zeglin quickly left Raylen’s border, flying over the icy landscape.

When flying over a mountain, Zeglin’s heart suddenly skipped a beat as if it was grabbed by a hand. A sense of danger appeared, and he looked up at the sky.

A mysterious blue light was burning in the sky.

“Wha-“

In the blink of an eye, many blue light beams fell from the sky!

Boom!

The ground cracked open!

The area of hundreds of miles was all within the attack range. Apart from the bright blue light, no other colors could be seen. Half of the mountain was flattening in an instant. Terrifying craters appeared on the planet’s surface, like a dozen meteors hitting the planet at the same time!

At the edge of the explosion radius, Zeglin barely kept himself floating. He was covered in burn marks and was horrified. He had never expected to be attacked so suddenly by such a strong attack.

Unable to hold back, blood spilled out of Zeglin’s mouth. He felt as if his organs were going to shatter. As he backed away, he looked around anxiously, wanting to find the enemy.

“Who is it? Come out!”

Just as he said that, a blue meteor flew toward him from the edge of the sky rapidly, leaving a long trail, and stopped not far away.

“Black Star!”

Zeglin’s eyes opened wide with shock.

He did not expect Black Star to suddenly find him.

Han Xiao opened his helmet, stared at Zeglin, and snorted.

“There’s indeed someone controlling the Six Nations, or they wouldn’t have acted so strangely. Speak, why did you target Planet Aquamarine?”

Since he was already putting on an act, he might as well do the whole show. Han Xiao acted as if he did not know that he was the target of Stephanie and the others, and he acted as if he was certain that Zeglin was the last mastermind behind all this.

Since there were definitely more enemies other than Zeglin, him striking suddenly would mess up with their plan and get him the high ground. Without the Observer’s Mark, he would only be able to wait for the enemies to attack him. It would be too passive that way, and there would very likely be unrelated casualties.

Now, however, he could choose the battlefield and attack the enemies first.

After confirming Zeglin’s appearance, Han Xiao had locked onto Zeglin’s rough coordinates with the spaceship radar before using more than ten Psionic Sky Cannons to bombard the area. There was no need to be careful when fighting in this desolate region.

The power of one Psionic Sky Cannon was higher than an Eye of God.

He did not know that Stephanie and the gang’s choice of the battlefield was Black Star City. The Observer’s Mark had helped Black Star City escape its fate of being destroyed, not turning it into the battlefield of more than a dozen Calamity Grades.

Psychics were even more vulnerable than Mechanics, and seeing that Zeglin was heavily injured, Han Xiao knew that his attack was very effective.

Zeglin hastily turned his mind into a server through the psychic mark in his brain and shared his vision with Stephanie and the rest.

“Sh*t, I’ve been discovered. Quick, come save me!”

Stephanie was surprised. “Black Star is indeed as cautious as I thought. He’s very observant too… However, he’s only discovered you.”

Black Star had discovered Zeglin and attacked him directly. This had messed up Stephanie’s plan, but she felt reassured upon seeing Han Xiao’s attitude.

She connected Han Xiao’s actions and realized that Black Star definitely did something to the Six Nations that led him to discover Zeglin, thinking that he was the last and only enemy. However, Black Star did not know Zeglin’s motive and did not know that there were still nine more people waiting to ambush him. He only thought that his enemy’s target was Planet Aquamarine. In this case, the situation was still in her control-Black Star did not discover that this was a trap for him.

“We only have one choice now. Change the plan and attack Black Star straight away. He has not discovered us yet. Zeglin, do your best to stall him. We’re heading over now.”

Having made the decision, Stephanie felt confident.

Black Star thought that Zeglin was the only enemy, so when the nine of them all appeared, Black Star would definitely be surprised!

Stephanie and the rest were rather far from Zeglin. It would take some time for them to arrive even with Calamity Grade speeds.

Half of Zeglin’s heart froze.

He was heavily injured, and the opponent was a Mechanic that could use psionic energy, who also happened to have the Indestructible Body title. He knew clearly that he was no match for Han Xiao. Without saying a word, Zeglin turned around and started escaping

“Want to escape? Do you think that’s possible?”

Han Xiao clapped his hands. The Army Boxes arrived instantly and turned into an enormous mechanical army that shrouded Zeglin in an instant.

The Psychic class countered the Mechanic, but the Mechanic class also countered the Psychic class. After all, psychic attacks were useless against machines-only telekinesis would have an effect.

Boom!

The long-range units and the artillery units shot psionic beams one after another, penetrating Zeglin’s Psychic barrier again and again. Mechanical soldiers waved their multifunctional weapons with electromagnetic, shock, high temperature, laser, and other attacks, slashing through Zeglin time and time again, leaving him with scars of all sorts.

Zeglin ran with all his might, but he was surrounded. The new generation mechanical army enhanced by the Truth Mechanic bonuses was many levels stronger than before.

Without needing Han Xiao to do anything, Zeglin was already in a dire situation. His health was steadily reducing.

Han Xiao was giving his machines Mechanical Force bonuses at the side while paying attention to the surroundings at all times. He attacked to lure the enemies out, but he still did not know how many hunters there were. Thus, he kept his guard up.

After fighting for a while, Zeglin was covered in wounds and blood.

“Argh!” Zeglin roared with rage. His psychic energy turned into an enormous spiral drill, covering him as he tried to escape the encirclement of the mechanical army.

He was at his limit, and this was his last attack-he was betting his life on escaping.

The psychic drill penetrated one layer of encirclement after another, almost penetrating the army.

However, at this moment, the shield team suddenly gathered before Zeglin. They activated their Psionic Shields at the same time, which then fused with each other and turned into colossal Psionic Barrier.

The invisible psionic drill and the thick Psionic Barrier clashed!

Energy debris shot out from the location of the impact, like the sparks from cutting through metal.

The drill’s impact lasted quite a while before weakening. Zeglin’s eyes opened wide with regrethe could not penetrate this Psionic Barrier.

Out of exhaustion, he felt sleepy. This was the side effect of overusing psychic energy. Usually, he would be able to recover after a short while, but he was now under siege!

The moment that Zeglin’s body stiffened, countless psionic beams landed on him.

Boom!

Blue explosions appeared continuously!

Blood and flash separated, incinerated the moment they left his body.

Mechanical soldiers slashed Zeglin’s body with high temperature weapons, making him spin around in midair.

Slash!

An arm flew out.

Slash!

A leg this time!

Boom!

The next second, the dozens of mechanical soldiers attacked together. Zeglin was sliced into minced meat in an instant. His body exploded like a firework. Blood fell like rain.

Dead on the spot!

The mechanical armies all stopped moving. A cold wind blew past, bringing the only sound to the dead silent battlefield.

Han Xiao was stunned. The battle had ended quicker than he expected. If he remembered correctly, this was the first Calamity Grade to have been killed by his mechanical army.

My god, my virtuous mechanical army has killed someone.

Though, this guy was a little too vulnerable…

Han Xiao scratched the stubble on his chin.

If he did not have so many tanky talents, with his Endurance, he would only have a little more than 70,000 health. Psychics were strong in attack but weak in defense-this was a known fact. If Zeglin did not only think about escaping the encirclement but attacked him with psychic attacks, Han Xiao might have been injured a little.

Sadly, it seemed like Zeglin feared his Indestructible Body title and did not have the guts to attack him.

Killing Zeglin in a duel was a welcomed surprise. Not only did this weaken the enemies’ overall strength, but the Promotion mission on his interface was also displayed as ‘Completed’.

This meant that, if Han Xiao wanted to, he could go through his Promotion at any time to complete his Race Evolution!

Han Xiao felt relaxed.

Knowing that he could go through Promotion anytime, he was more confident.

The Experience that he had was more than enough for him to level up to 195 right after his Promotion, reaching the maximum level limit of Truth Mechanic.

At his current stage, being able to maintain such fast leveling speed was thanks to his savings in Version

2.0.

At this time, the sound of the sound barrier breaking appeared.

Hu!

A few people flew over from the edge of the sky and stopped in midair. It was Stephanie and the others. They all looked at what was left of Zeglin, and their expressions changed.

In the short time it had taken them to travel there, Black Star had already killed Zeglin?

Stephanie squinted. She had no emotion toward her teammates, so she was not angry, just staring at Han Xiao.

“He really is very strong. His Excellency Thousand Shadows will definitely like him.”

Not planning to explain anything to Han Xiao, Stephanie made a sign, signaling for the others to spread out and surround Han Xiao. They blocked all of Han Xiao’s escape routes and looked at Han Xiao.

Stephanie stared at Han Xiao’s face, looking forward to seeing his terrified and shocked expression of realizing that he had fallen into a trap.

Seeing this, Han Xiao put on his helmet and covered his face. He had already successfully lured the enemies out, so he was too lazy to continue his Oscar spirit.

Stephanie was disappointed and lost her excitement. Although she knew that Black Star was definitely shocked and was only controlling his expression to not show his enemies, she still wanted to see the panicking expression of her prey. Sadly, it did not go as she hoped it would.

Nine Calamity Grades… Hmm, this is probably all.

Han Xiao was secretly relieved. If he was alone, he would definitely have had a very tough fight. Luckily, he had planned ahead and found helpers.

Phillip had already called Wilton, Nagakin, and the others to reinforce him. He just had to hold on for a while—he was not as vulnerable as Zeglin.

Furthermore, he had discovered something huge that he did not expect.

Under the mechanical suit helmet, Han Xiao stared at the enemies’ leader, Stephanie, sizing her up. He then smiled.

He recognized this woman.

Chapter 672: Suddenly Clear

The moment Han Xiao saw Stephanie, he felt that she looked familiar. As he looked at her carefully, his heart skipped a beat.

He did not recognize the other hunters, but he was familiar with this woman!

Many players in his previous life had known Stephanie. She was very active during the Calamity of the Supers version. She was a subordinate of the Beyond Grade A from the Abyss of Stars, (Thousand Shadows]. She fought for Thousand Shadows with countless Supers as pawns, including many players that teamed up to kill her. In the end, she died in a battle while being surrounded by many forces… or she was finally freed.

After that, a related Dungeon Crystal appeared. Stephanie was inside the dungeon as a hidden boss. There was a chance of obtaining an extremely rare reward by defeating her. In the later stages of Han Xiao’s previous life, with an extremely high 87.6% player repeat rate, she entered the list of top hundred hard workers and received the honorable title ‘Lady Stephanie’!

At that stage, the player count of Galaxy was dozens of times greater than the player count of Version 2.0. The number of players online at the same time was more than ten million. The fact that more than eighty percent of players had repeated Stephanie’s dungeon before represented its popularity!

It was a little embarrassing to mention, but Han Xiao had fought Stephanie with at least three hundred different accounts. He could not have been more familiar with her.

Han Xiao did not expect to recognize one of the enemies, so he was surprised.

Initially, he did not know who the mastermind was. Now that he had seen Stephanie, everything became clear, and he found the truth.

It was Thousand Shadows!

No wonder, no wonder, everything connects now… Han Xiao was excited. If the mastermind was indeed Thousand Shadows, he knew why the hunters were capturing Supers.

It was to provide ‘shadows’ for Thousand Shadows!

Thousand Shadows’ ability was very strange. He could absorb other individuals and turn them into his underlings, who were called ‘shadows’. The shadows still retained most of their personality, but they had a sense of belonging and loyalty toward Thousand Shadows that could not be erased. In this condition, their memories were slightly altered.

The shadows slept inside Thousand Shadows, but at the same time, they could act for him.

The abilities of the shadows were preserved, or even enhanced, after fusing with Thousand Shadows. Thousand Shadows had lived for too long. No one knew how many shadows were in his body. He was an extremely mysterious member of The Ancient Ones.

Han Xiao recalled a secret that a player had found in his previous life. In order to live longer, Thousand Shadows sought help from specialized people and gave his Esper ability vitality. He then gave up his body and turned into a strange ‘Esper Being’. Usual methods could not kill him. He had lived for close to a thousand years and was a member of The Ancient Ones.

Discovering the truth, Han Xiao was feeling gloomy. Thousand Shadows liked high-quality shadows, so he probably would not give up easily on Han Xiao. Han Xiao absolutely did not want to become a part of Thousand Shadows; he would lose himself and become a puppet!

Stephanie was Thousand Shadows’ shadow. Her life story was rather tragic, too. Before she died, her true self returned for a moment and explained her origins.

Back at the start of the exploration era, before the Primordial Ones had been born, when the war between the three Universal Civilizations extended throughout the entire universe…

She was born in an era of war, an Antarrian. Her civilization’s mother planet was dragged into the war. She displayed extraordinary talent from a young age, so she was chosen as a warrior, fighting for her home and quickly growing.

In a short period of a little more than ten years, she had already become the protector of her home, at the age normal Galaxy Human Race women were at their peak. At such a young age, she became the top protector of Antarr. She was so strong that even the three civilizations had heard of her.

However, a gigantic war broke out between the Crimson Dynasty and Federation of Light that used an entire Star Cluster as the battlefield. The Antarrians were affected. Their mother planet fell, and their colonial planets turned into ruins under the Crimson Dynasty’s iron hoofs. Only a handful of people escaped with spaceships used for migrationStephanie was one of the survivors.

People in wars were realistic. The survivors had no time to miss their mother planet and left the battlefield quickly, looking for a new home to rise again. However, an unwelcome guest had his eyes on Stephanie… Thousand Shadows.

Thousand Shadows was originally from a long-lived race and had already lived for many years. At that time, he had yet to give up his body and was not Beyond Grade A. He wanted Stephanie’s power, so he intercepted the spaceship that the Antarr survivors were in.

In the ending, the Antarr Civilization was another extinguished civilization, and Stephanie became one of Thousand Shadows’ shadows.

The history only recorded what happened—the cold words could not record emotions. The motives, feelings, and the reactions of everyone back then became mysteries. In Han Xiao’s previous life, after Stephanie became a part of the dungeon, some players looked for her history out of curiosity. From a few descriptions in some history books, they came to know that some historians believed that if Stephanie did not ‘mysteriously disappear’, she might have become one of the [Primordial Ones).

However, during the exploration era, there had been way too many Calamity Grades that had a lot of potential, and most of them had died in battle. The Primordial Ones were the first group of Beyond Grade As that walked out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood alive. Thousand Shadows was not one of the Primordial Ones. He was always very mysterious, only appearing as a Beyond Grade A near the end of the exploration era.

In just one look, these thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. He took a deep breath. The true identity of the enemy had been discovered-it was definitely very stressful to be Thousand Shadows’ enemy, but that was something for later.

The most imminent problem was dealing with nine Calamity Grades.

Especially Stephanie.

With a push, a beam of (Psionic Impact-Whale) headed right toward Stephanie. The enormous mechanical army around Han Xiao started to move toward all the enemies.

Bang bang bang!

Countless Psionic Cannons crisscrossed, and mechanical soldiers approached the enemies with weapons and shields in their hands. Stephanie and the rest moved, too.

The battle erupted; the scene instantly became chaotic!

Han Xiao never overestimated himself. Although his mechanical army was much stronger than before, facing nine experienced Calamity Grades was still beyond his capabilities. Among the nine enemies, there were two Mechanics. One of them was a Cannon Master, shooting out large beams from extremely high caliber cannons, shattering mechanical soldiers one after another.

The other one used the Galactic Stronghold Style. A several-hundred-meter-tall fortress expanded from his hands. It had extremely strong firepower and its own guards.

Clank!

Metal clashed against metal nonstop, electrical sparkles replaced blood, and scrap metal and wires fell like rain.

Among the rest of the enemies, there were two Pugilists, one Mage, and four Espers. Stephanie was one of the Espers!

Stephanie’s ability was the most mysterious. Like a diving eagle, she headed right for Han Xiao in the middle of the army. Everywhere she passed, the nearly mechanical soldiers all shattered. The air around her looked like it was bent by high temperature. From very far away, she raised her hand and aimed at Han Xiao.

With just this one move, several notifications popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

You have entered the (Slightly Slowed] state. -12% DEX. Duration: 8 seconds!

You have entered the (Slightly Weakened) state. -6% all attributes. Duration: 8 seconds!

You have entered the (Slightly Confused) state. +10% chance of being interrupted while using abilities. Duration: 8 seconds!

You have entered the [Abnormally Excited] state. Your attack is fluctuating at 80%-110%. Duration: 8 seconds!

You have entered the (Light Illusion] state. -10% accuracy, -10% perception. Duration: 8 seconds!

You have entered the (Slightly Tired) state. +8% expense in energy and stamina. Duration: 10 seconds!

Your Ability (Steel Body) is activated. All True Damage is nullified!

Chapter 673: Are You Surprised? Are You Shocked?

Han Xiao felt his body become heavier and slower. A ton of debuffs were applied to him in the blink of an eye.

It’s really still the same. Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he was not surprised at all.

Having completed Stephanie’s dungeon a few hundred times, he was extremely familiar with Stephanie. Even though the Stephanie inside the dungeon was a weaker version, her abilities did not change. Han Xiao knew her combat style like the back of his hand. Giving the enemies a bunch of debuffs at the start was exactly the same as what she would do in the dungeon.

Without hesitation, Han Xiao backed away with Void Travel. Stephanie was stronger in close range battles and had bonus damage against metal. He did not want his mechanical suit to be destroyed so quickly.

Luckily, I got rid of that Psychic called Zeglin, or things would be even tougher now.

Not stopping at all, Han Xiao controlled the mechanical army to execute the stalling strategy in Phillip’s database, preventing Stephanie and the others’ momentum of rushing toward him. Meanwhile, he used the army as a barrier and moved within, approaching the Mage and two Mechanic enemies occasionally, trying to deal some damage.

In front of nine experienced Calamity Grade, the mechanical army was under a great deal of pressure. It became a tough fight very quickly. Machines fell broken one after another and flew back up after Han Xiao used (Waste Modification) on them, returning to the battlefield.

The battlefield was chaotic. The tactical screen in Han Xiao’s helmet displayed the various data as Han Xiao calmly analyzed the situation.

Stephanie disrupted the electromagnetic waves over a large area, so Han Xiao could not contact Wilton and the others. Out of caution, the Phillip sub-program that he had left for Wilton came in handy. Although he could not receive the location information of the reinforcements, he was certain that they were heading over. His current mission was not to fight them head-on but stall them and wait for the reinforcements to arrive.

Boom!

The impact from ten Calamity Grades fighting shook the mountains and the ground.

Even the weather changed. It was initially bright and clear, but the sky was filled with dark clouds and lightning bolts. Han Xiao kept shifting the battlefield away from the populated areas on the Northern Continent and toward unpopulated glaciers. Everywhere they passed, ice that had formed over millions of years cracked open, mountains shook, avalanches occurred, and the landscape was in a mess.

The impacts of the fight between Calamity Grades were bringing disasters to this planet. With the battlefield as the center, earthquakes spread out to the entire Northern Continent. Near sea areas far from the battlefield, the sky darkened, and the sea was filled with violent waves. Tsunamis and tornados collided with cities near the sea.

“It’s a tsunami, run!”

“Wh—What’s going on?”

The residents of the cities near the sea on the Northern Continent were horrified by the natural disasters and ran for their lives.

Of course, Han Xiao could not see the reactions of those people. However, he did not need to see to know that the aftershock of their battle was already creating disasters on Planet Aquamarine.

“This is why they purposely chose here to be the battlefield.” Han Xiao’s expression was hostile. He dodged an invisible tornado-shaped impact wave from Stephanie once again, and the mechanical soldiers behind him were broken into pieces.

They had shifted the battlefields many times, and the battle was reaching the climax.

The blue light in the sky started burning again. It was another Psionic Sky Cannon attack controlled by Phillip!

Boom!

The mechanical army quickly avoided the bombardment area. Stephanie and the others did, too, but the fortress of that enemy Mechanic moved very slowly and could not get out of the attack range. Its shield shattered, and the fortress turned into broken pieces.

This was the enemy’s second fortress that had been destroyed.

Using this opportunity, Han Xiao retreated slowly while fighting. They were already at the edge of the north side, and he started to shift toward the sea.

“Problematic Sky Cannons.” Stephanie frowned. She looked up, pointed at one of the Pugilists, and said, “You, go up there and destroy Black Star’s Sky Cannons.”

The Pugilist nodded. Flames shot out from under his feet as he rose up like a rocket, turning into a black dot in an instant and heading toward outer space.

“Don’t waste time. Long duration battles are Black Star’s strength. Quickly restrain him.”

Stephanie’s tone was impatient. She led the other teammates and dashed toward Han Xiao once again.

She knew that Black Star was difficult to kill, but her plan was not to kill him but capture him. However, Han Xiao was too swift. She did not have a chance to close the distance on Han Xiao. Only close-range combat would maximize the power of her Esper ability.

After chasing for a while, they clashed once again above the sea. The impact created waves thousands of feet high. Energy waves shot into the sea and formed enormous vortexes.

As the mechanical army’s numbers kept decreasing. Han Xiao started to show signs of fatigue. Suddenly, Han Xiao showed a flaw in his defenses. Stephanie’s eyes sparkled. She caught the opportunity and turned into a black shadow, appearing behind Han Xiao instantly as if she had teleported, then pressed her palm toward Han Xiao’s back.

This was the first time that she had used this ability in this battle. It was so she could surprise Black Star. As long as she managed to hit Black Star, his strength would decrease by at least ten percent temporarily!

However, the next moment, as if Han Xiao had expected this, he avoided her palm with a weird movement. Then, psionic energy appeared between his hands as he patted her chest.

Bang!

The light blue Psionic Impact ring exploded. Stephanie was blown close to one thousand meters away. She rubbed her hurting chest and frowned, surprised by Han Xiao’s reaction speed.

This sudden attack had no signs at all, so Black Star only had microseconds to react.

On the other side, Han Xiao was secretly relieved. Stephanie was a boss-type character. Just like him, she had many abilities other than her Esper abilities. If one was unfamiliar with her, it would be very easy to be tricked. However, he knew Stephanie’s abilities all too well, so there was no chance that he would be tricked. He did not farm that dungeon hundreds of times for nothing.

He’s stronger than I thought. Stephanie squinted. Just as she was about to attack again, she suddenly noticed that there were a few high energy individuals approaching very quickly. Her expression changed as she stopped in place and did not act recklessly.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He looked up and saw six shooting stars landing from the sky, hovering above.

The flames extinguished, revealing Wilton and the others. Looking at the shocked and confused expressions on Stephanie and the others’ faces, Wilton snorted. He raised his hand, and the others finally realized that he was holding a person.

Stephanie looked closer, and her face suddenly changed.

The person that Wilton was holding was the Pugilist whom she had sent to destroy the Sky Cannons. He now had no signs of life at all. It was clear that he had been beaten to death.

These six people are enemies… The expressions of Stephanie and the other six Calamity Grades all turned bitter.

Wilton let go of the corpse, letting it fall into the sea and get swept away by the waves, disappearing.

“Black Star, we’re late.” Wilton nodded.

Han Xiao smirked.

The reinforcements had arrived!

He looked at Stephanie, shrugged, and chuckled.

“Are you surprised? Are you shocked?”

Seeing that Black Star looked like this was completely expected, Stephanie could not remain calm. She was completely dumbfounded.

He sought help long ago?

And he called six Calamity Grades?

Why would he ask so many Calamity Grades to settle a surface civilization internal matter?

Unless…

Stephanie’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Black Star knew that we were planning to ambush him?

How is that possible?

Chapter 674: Intense Battle and Disasters

Boom!

As the reinforcements had arrived, Stephanie and her colleagues had no time to react as Wilton and the rest instantly joined the battle.

It was a battle of seven against eight. The average level of the enemies was higher than Wilton and the rest, but the numbers now matched.

For a short time, Wilton and the other five were able to deal with one enemy each, making things so much easier for Han Xiao. He could concentrate on dealing with Stephanie and the enemy Mechanic.

Swoosh!

Like bolts of lightning, fifteen Calamity Grade Supers fought above the sea, stirring up the tide.

While Stephanie fought the mechanical army, she suppressed the shock in her heart. As a Calamity Grade who had experienced hundreds of battles, she was able to quickly adjust to sudden situations.

She could not figure out how Black Star had discovered their ambush, but it was the reality, and the only thing she could do was deal with it.

Stephanie’s brain worked quickly as she analyzed the situation.

They have six Grade A Supers. Even with me being here, we won’t be able to defeat Black Star’s helpers within a short time. It will take a lot of time to capture Black Star…

Stephanie frowned.

Meanwhile, two mechanical armies collided midair. The colorful lights from the energy lit up the dark sky.

Using the army as cover, Han Xiao used Void Travel and appeared right in front of the opponent Mechanic. With a short combo of Mountain Ape Throw and Psionic Impact, Han Xiao broke a few of the enemy Mechanic’s bones. The enemy Mechanic endured the pain and backed up. Han Xiao activated his Psionic Shield to block an invisible wave coming far away from Stephanie, making the sound of suppressed thunder.

Boom boom boom!

The two sides fought intensely. As Han Xiao fought, he was also observing Stephanie.

His reinforcements had arrived, so the enemies would definitely react to it.

Stephanie only had two choices-retreat and look for an opportunity in the future or continue fighting and defeat Wilton and the others, betting that Han Xiao did not have any more reinforcements.

Just as Han Xiao was speculating, Stephanie put her hands together. Her body suddenly started vibrating at a high frequency unobservable to the naked eye. Chain reactions started to occur in the space around her.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In the midst of battle, Wilton and the others suddenly felt like their hearts skipped a beat. As all kinds of debuffs were applied to their bodies, they felt their bodies become slower and more difficult to control.

Xiu!

Again, Stephanie used her teleportation ability, turning into a shadow and suddenly appearing behind Wilton.

This did not work on Han Xiao, but Wilton clearly could not react in time before Stephanie’s palm pressed on his back.

Hum!

This press felt soft and hardly had any strength to it, but Wilton’s entire body trembled. He felt a strange vibration entering his body. All his muscles and bones started to vibrate at the same frequency.

Just as this thought appeared, an intense pain erupted in his body!

Inside Wilton’s body, the high-frequency vibration caused his muscle fibers to break, his bones to crack, his organs to tear, and his blood vessels to explode!

After just being softly touched by Stephanie, Wilton was instantly covered in blood.

“Captain!”

The other two Purple Crystal Grade A Supers noticed the incident. Their expressions drastically changed as they hastily left their opponents behind, wanting to rush over to help.

Expressionless, Stephanie’s palm on Wilton’s back suddenly grabbed tighter. Her fingers sunk into his body then twisted violently.

“Argh!” Wilton’s eyes were completely red.

In the almost unbearable pain, he punched backward with all his might. Having already achieved her goal, Stephanie did not fight head-on with a Pugilist and backed away.

Wilton’s back armor was shattered, showing his skin. A large area of muscles and bones were bent and shattered, mushed together in a spiral, and bones protruded from under the skin. It looked terrifying

In just an instant, Stephanie had heavily injured a Calamity Grade Pugilist. The faces of Wilton and the rest all drastically changed—Stephanie’s destructive power was beyond their expectations.

Han Xiao’s eyes turned firm as he realized what Stephanie’s plan was. This woman was not going to retreat. She had chosen the second plan-continue fighting

With what he knew about Stephanie, this was not surprising

Stephanie had been active during the times of war in the exploration era, so she was able to carefully plan before acting and dared fight enemies head-on. She was not one to easily give up on a mission.

This means that this will be a tough fight. Unless we crush them, they will not retreat no matter what.

Han Xiao clenched his teeth. Such enemies were clearly more difficult to deal with.

Stephanie was very strong. The name of her Esper ability was Resonance Coordination. It sounded ordinary, but it was an extremely powerful Esper ability. There were tons of ways to use it, and its destructive power was terrifying.

As the frequency of the resonance could penetrate many defensive measures and cause structural damage, Stephanie’s every attack had high True Damage and armor-penetrating damage. Her ability to penetrate defenses was exceptionally strong, and she could largely reduce the opponent’s defense.

Han Xiao was not afraid of True Damage; the Germinal Organization leader was still blessing him from heaven.

However, his reinforcements did not have the [Steel Body) talent. Stephanie’s ability was more than enough to make them fearful.

Wilton and the others were elites at most. The quality and quantity of their talents and abilities were inferior compared to the hidden boss-level Stephanie.

Stephanie’s Resonance Coordination not only had terrifying single target lethality, it was also just as powerful when used as an AOE. Through the vibration frequency, she could give a ton of debuffs to the enemies within an area. When facing weaker Supers, she could even create ultrasound and infrasound to shatter their organs.

This meant that be it against one or multiple opponents, weaker or the same grade, they were all Stephanie’s strength.

She was even more difficult to deal with than Ember!

Han Xiao had once fought alongside Jayne, whose nickname was Seaquake. Just like Jayne, Stephanie’s Esper ability was also related to vibration. However, Stephanie’s Esper ability strength, range, and applicability were all far superior to Jayne’s. This was a high-grade vibration-type Esper ability!

She’s a murder machine. I can’t let her get to the others. I’m the only one that can face her…

That thought flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. He turned the mechanical army’s cannons around and aimed at Stephanie, firing countless rounds and forming a dense net of attacks. At the same time, Han Xiao headed toward Stephanie and fought her at close range.

Stephanie’s expression did not look delightful. She wanted to get rid of Black Star’s helpers first, but Han Xiao had come to her and held her back.

Under the onslaught of attacks, Stephanie could not afford to get distracted.

The punches of both sides landed continuously on each other, making loud bangs. She was completely stalled by Han Xiao and could not get away. Seeing this, Wilton breathed a sigh of relief. He did not dare fight Stephanie; Black Star actively dealing with the most dangerous enemy made him feel relieved. He glanced at Han Xiao, clenched his teeth, and found his own opponent to fight.

Within the mechanical army, both sides clashed with each other time after time. The aftershock formed countless storms, spreading and expanding in all directions.

Boom!

The beams from the Sky Cannons landed on the sea nonstop, creating tsunamis hundreds of meters high.

Thunderstorms finally started to pour from the dark
sky.

As their title suggested, the battle between more than ten Calamity Grades was indeed a calamity to the planet.

After fighting for a few hours, there were now only twelve of them left. The many attacks from the Psionic Sky Cannons had finally killed the opponent Mechanic.

A Godoran Calamity Grade had been killed by the enemy, while that enemy was also heavily injured by a round of focus fire from Han Xiao’s mechanical army then finished by Wilton.

Three Calamity Grades had died. The battle was devastating. It was now a battle of six against six!

“Huu… huu…”

The Mountain Ape mechanical suit was heavily damaged. Han Xiao had already repaired it three times using (Waste Modification). He gasped heavily for air, dragged his exhausted body, and collided with Stephanie time after time.

Stephanie was not in a good state either. She was bleeding from her forehead, and her body was covered in wounds. Her clothes were almost all torn, but her eyes were still vicious.

The mechanical army around became much sparser. The two of them did not hold back and fought fiercely like beasts.

Neither of them had much stamina left, and they were quickly recovering. They were in a stalemate.

She has boss-type Molding Talents. She has a lot of energy, health, and very fast recovery speed. It will take days to determine the winner if I keep fighting this way

Han Xiao clenched his teeth. He had only been able to gain the upper hand with his health-mana cycle, mechanical army, and immunity to True Damage. Stephanie was Thousand Shadows’ shadow; her ability was enhanced, and her level was most likely around 240. She was undoubtedly a top-notch Grade A+.

The longer the battle lasted, the greater his chance of winning. Han Xiao was still stronger in terms of long duration battles. However, he could not delay the battle any longer.

Just one Calamity Grade would be able to destroy a planet’s surface. The disasters brought by a battle between so many Calamity Grades were already starting to affect the entire Planet Aquamarine.

The natural disasters caused by the aftershocks of battle were irreversible!

Even if they stopped immediately, the disasters they caused before would still continue to spread by themselves.

If they fought for a few more days, living beings on Planet Aquamarine would probably all be dead.

The stalemate has to be broken. The two sides are now on par. As long as I become a little stronger, I will be able to break the fragile balance!

Having made up his mind, Han Xiao dived right into the violent sea without saying a word.

He could go through his Promotion at any time, only that it would take some time. Under Phillip’s control, a part of the mechanical army in the sky stayed to restrain the enemies, while the rest followed Han Xiao into the sea to protect him when needed.

Stephanie frowned and glanced through Wilton and the rest. After hesitating for a moment, she had made up her mind-she did not use this opportunity to eliminate the other enemies but followed Han Xiao and dived into the sea.

Her rich experiences told her that no matter what goal Black Star had, it was best to stop him.

As the strongest Supers of both sides went into the sea, everyone’s expression changed, not knowing why Black Star had suddenly split up the battlefield.

Could it be that he did not want to be disturbed by the others and wanted to fight Stephanie in the sea?

“Captain, should we go down to back him up?”

Wilton clenched his teeth and said, “No need. Just do what we’re supposed to-do not let our opponents follow them down. Let Black Star deal with that woman.”

He felt that Black Star did not need reinforcements, and subconsciously, he did not want to face Stephanie.

That woman was too dangerous. He would not have to endure the pressure if he left her to Black Star.

Although he had been ordered to back Han Xiao up, Wilton was not willing to sacrifice his life for it.

At the same time in Black Star City, reports of natural disasters kept being sent to Bennett’s table. The satellites had discovered that the source of these disasters was the battlefield of Han Xiao and the others.

Many officials and professionals were crowded in the office, anxiously reporting the situation to Bennett.

“A few hours ago, earthquakes occurred in many areas on the Northern Continent. Many fissures and rifts appeared. Earthquakes caused tsunamis. Thirteen coastline cities have already been destroyed, causing incalculable casualties!”

“According to the satellite report, His Excellency Black Star is now fighting with enemies on the sea. The storms and tsunamis caused are approaching the other continents while growing in power. In about three hours’ time, they will reach land. The various nations have already started the emergency evacuation.”

“An hour ago, eleven new earthquake sources appeared in various locations around the world. The degree and range of earthquakes are still expanding. According to our calculations, within ten days, 24.7% of all land areas will be affected by earthquakes.”

“Also…”

Bennett listened to one report after another while anxiously walking back and forth. This was completely different from the Mutation Disaster; these natural disasters were things that could not be resolved.

“Send out rescue teams and support the affected areas as much as possible. For the time being, forget about the Six Nations’ doings.” Bennett issued his orders before pausing momentarily. “When will the disasters reach Black Star City?”

Black Star City was inland. The disasters would not reach there so soon.

An official gulped to wet his throat, shivered, and said, “According to the calculations of the research and development department, if His Excellency Black Star continues to battle, the seriousness of the disasters will multiply rapidly. In about 4 hours 35 minutes, the chain disasters they cause will exceed the critical point…”

“What will happen when it exceeds the critical point?” Bennett’s heart skipped a beat.

“Unless we leave this planet, we can only wait for our deaths.”

Bennett’s fists tightened.

Chapter 675: Promotion!

Boom! 1

The fallout of a battle between more than ten Calamity Grades created enormous whirlpools all over the sea in the area.

The violent winds sucked the seawater up, forming water tornados that extended all the way into the sky, connecting the sea and the clouds.

It was a doomsday scene above the sea.

The moment that Han Xiao dived into the sea, those noises suddenly became faint. The seawater weakened the sound coming from above, but the sound of the powerful tides and streams under the sea was amplified. It was as if he was in the middle of hundreds of enormous drums being played together, surrounded by stereo sound effects.

The radar showed that Stephanie was following behind, and Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

I can’t let her get close during the Promotion.

Han Xiao ordered the mechanical army around him to turn back and hold back Stephanie while he quickly dived deeper.

The ocean before his eyes was dark, turning from deep blue to black in the distance. The visibility was low, there was no source of light anywhere and no end in sight. It was even darker than the universe.

Fortunately, I don’t have Thalassophobia[1]. The ocean was the hotbed of life. Many ancient creatures lived in the sea of Planet Aquamarine. However, at this point, all the marine lives of the area had escaped. The ocean was completely devoid of any sign of life.

Stephanie was stalled by the mechanical army. Han Xiao quickly dived deeper and found a trench that had formed a few hours ago.

Here will do.

Han Xiao immediately opened the interface, selected the Completed Promotion mission, and activated it.

A shiver in his marrow and soul quickly passed through his entire body. He was familiar with this Promotion feeling.

This time, a chain of notifications popped up on the interface.

(The Ultimate Trial] Current Progress: 50/50

Level 180 Promotion Mission completed! END bonus increased! 1 END = 120 HP = 130 Stamina

You have taken another step on the path of evolution. You have ascended in the hierarchy of life.

Detected Race: (Chaos Observer (Human Form)]…

Randomly drawing 8 compatible evolution paths…

Drawing complete!

Please choose one of the following 8 options for your Race Evolution.

Warning! The evolution process is irreversible. Please choose carefully! (Appendix— Evolution Path Feature Descriptions]

[X-type Galaxy Human Race]—67% Compatibility

[Void Stroller (Human Form)]—78% Compatibility

(Dark Shadow (Human Form)—72% Compatibility

(Void Disciple (Human Form)]—71% Compatibility

(Void Distorter (Human Form)]—69% Compatibility 2

[Void Whisperer (Spirit Form)]—84% Compatibility

(Void Slime]—55% Compatibility 4

[Octa-claw Race]—31% Compatibility

First, Han Xiao eliminated the non-Void race choices. The octopus-looking Octa-claw Race was not even within his consideration, and Void Slime was way too weird.

Void Whisperer was a spirit form choice, suitable for Mages and Psychics. Han Xiao had such a strong body, so he was not willing to give it up.

The only possible choices were the four human form evolution paths.

Han Xiao quickly scanned through and immediately made a decision.

Void Lord’s core enhanced his Void Genes. As Han Xiao had jumped into the Void Race evolution system from the human race, it was kind of like a midlife career change for him. Hence, he naturally could not compete with those that started as Void Beings. However, the genetic substances that had Void Genes in them such as the Void Lord core had enhanced his evolution progress in the Void Race system, allowing him to catch up.

With the benefit from the Void Lord core, an option that was supposed to appear in the next Race Evolution had appeared this time. This was a higher level being on the Void Race evolution system. According to his data, this being was one entire level higher than the other options on the evolution chain!

Be it the current attribute bonuses or the evolution potential in the future, this species was the best choice!

Han Xiao quickly selected his choice.

Selection complete. Undergoing Race Evolution… Evolution complete.

Your race has been changed to: (Void Distorter (Human Form)].

Molecular structure improved, organ structure strengthened, metabolism changed, and adaptability enhanced…

Your potential aptitude has been improved!

You have received bonus attributes: +44 STR, +83 DEX, +65 END, +120 INT, +92 MYS, +34 CHA, +1460 Energy. Energy Level bonus attributes have changed!

Han Xiao’s eyes widened rapidly, and a dim light appeared in his pupils.

All the cells and genes over his body started to change, and pain erupted in both his body and his mind. His vision kept going back and forth between Void Vision and reality. His brain was trembling. 2

His body greedily absorbed the energy of the Void Dimension. His entire body was emitting a mysterious gray and dark blue light.

If the level of Void Prowler and Chaos Observer were to be evaluated on the military scale, these two would be privates, and Void Distorter would be at the sergeant level! 2

This Race Evolution hugely enhanced his connection with the Void Dimension. His body seemed to have become a container, and Void Energy poured right into him, absorbed by every cell in his body.

His energy changed under the Void Energy erosion.

You have received Void Energy bonuses!

+30% Energy recovery speed

+1000 Energy

You have received a new Energy Attribute: (Void)!

Your energy will now have Void characteristics.

A new Energy Attribute!

Han Xiao was overjoyed. Enduring the immense pain, he quickly looked at the interface. The interface showed that he now had two Energy Attributes. One was the Mechanic class’ magnetic attribute Mechanical Force, and the other was the new void attribute.

Han Xiao’s joy was almost overflowing.

The change in Energy Attribute was not as obvious as character attributes, but it was very important. It could even change one’s combat style.

Although the interface introduction was ambiguous, Han Xiao had already felt the change in the energy in his body during the Race Evolution. Furthermore, he remembered stuff from his previous life, so he knew very well what the (Void) attribute’s effect was.

Energy Erosion!

The ability to transmit energy using the Void Dimension as the medium!

Both these characteristics were very powerful in battle, and they were suitable for any class!

The evolution was still going on. The Void Energy in his body started to saturate. The evolution process created an enormous vortex under the sea.

This attracted Stephanie’s attention.

I can’t let him do as he wishes!

Stephanie did not know what Han Xiao was doing, but that did not stop her from wanting to stop Han Xiao. She vibrated the seawater, shattering mechanical soldiers one after another, and cleared a path.

She directly headed to the middle of the undersea vortex and launched a powerful wave right at it.

Boom!

The vortex was shattered into streams in the blink of an eye. At the last moment, Han Xiao dodged being hit directly and was just pushed away by the fallout.

Stephanie was a powerful enemy. Han Xiao did not have time to slowly feel the changes in his body. He glanced at the various new talents and abilities on the interface before throwing tons of Experience into the interface, leveling up rapidly!

He leveled up fifteen times directly!

The level up notification popped up.

[Truth Mechanic) leveled up to Lv.25 (max).

+450 Energy, +2 STR, +4 DEX, +4 END, +10 INT.

You have received 7 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

As his class reached its maximum level, Han Xiao stopped leveling up.

As usual, he put all his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence.

His total level now was 195!

Before Han Xiao could look at the changes in his attributes, the tremendous increase in his strength made him feel like the rich and powerful energy was about to overflow from all the cells in his body and that he had to use it urgently.

Without hesitating, Han Xiao took back his Mountain Ape mechanical suit and dashed toward Stephanie.

This time, Stephanie finally saw what Han Xiao looked like now. Her expression changed.

Han Xiao’s skin had become silver-gray with a crystal-like texture, sparkling with the light of energy. He had symmetrical deep blue patterns on his body. His entire body was covered with silver flames fueled by Void Energy. His silver hair was swaying in the water like a dancing flame. 2

His eyes looked like obsidians, and his pupils had become rice-sized white dots.

This appearance was similar to a Void Prowler, but the energy emitted was much stronger.

New Racial Talent-[Void Molt)!

What is the

Stephanie was dumbfounded.

At this moment, Han Xiao opened his arms. Half of his palm reached into the Void Dimension. He bent his fingers like a claw and pulled down like tearing open a cloth.

“Try this!”

The next moment, the world before Stephanie’s eyes was suddenly deformed.

She felt as if all her muscles, bones, nerves, and blood vessels were squeezed together then separated again. She felt as if she had become a piece of cloth and was twisted and bent by someone who was trying to squeeze the water out of her body.

In just a short moment, it felt like countless years to her. This indescribably strange feeling had exceeded most people’s knowledge. It was like Stephanie had a dream. She forgot what the dream was about after she woke, but the sense of inferiority still lingered as if she had dreamed of something extremely horrifying

While she was still confused, continuous pain suddenly exploded in every corner of her body!

Stephanie regained focus. Her expression dramatically changed, and she was about to retreat. To her shock, the seawater around her was all spinning at a high speed, generating a terrifying force that prevented her from escaping.

Sh*t! Stephanie was stunned.

The movements there transmitted to the sea surface as well. All the small vortexes in this area were shattered and fused into a gigantic vortex that seemingly could consume the sky!

Boom!

The ten Calamity Grades all stopped fighting and looked at the horrifying endless vortex under them

In their eyes, the ocean was no longer the ocean. It had become a galaxy, and this vortex was like a black hole.

Deep, mysterious, and terrifying!

Like the entrance of an endless abyss!

The people who had made this could only be Han Xiao and Stephanie.

“What have they done?” Wilton’s eyes widened. 1

At the same time under the sea, it was as if Stephanie had been thrown into a washing machine, unable to control herself among the whirlpools, enduring the terrible forces tearing and damaging
her.

At the center of the most peaceful whirlpool, Han Xiao grabbed tightly onto the Void Dimension. A huge force of resistance came from his hand. He could only maintain the current situation no matter how hard he tried. His energy was reducing at an astounding speed, releasing from his hands.

“This is marvelous!”

Even Han Xiao was startled by the effect of this attack.

This ability was indeed one of the new abilities from Void Distorter.

(Void Distortion]!

[1] Thalassophobia is phobia of the deep sea.

Chapter 676: Broken Balance

After completing his Race Evolution, Han Xiao’s Racial Talents changed as well.

(Advanced Void Travel] was a shared talent for Void species, so it did not change. (Void Vision-Observer], (Chaos Entity – Release), and [Observer’s Mark] were gone, however, replaced by Void Distorter’s abilities.

The three new talents were (Void Molt), (Void Distortion), and (Void Ripple]

(Void Molt] was an enhancement ability. As his genes were enhanced by Void Energy, and he could enter a special state by burning energy with the Void attribute. In that state, all his attributes would increase, and the Void attribute of his energy would be enhanced as well.

Han Xiao’s current appearance was what he would look like when activating this ability.

Void Distorter’s signature talent was, of course, (Void Distortion), the ability to affect reality by pulling the Void Dimension. It was an ability with a large area of effect and a very high continuous consumption of mana. It would also send out psychic impacts to the enemies within the range.

With Han Xiao’s current strength, the range and power of (Void Distortion] were both remarkable, so this ability could be used regularly against enemies of the same grade.

The enormous whirlpool at the moment had been caused by Void Distortion. It had caught Stephanie by surprise, and she was being spun around nonstop.

(Void Ripple) was a single target damage ability. Its effect was concentrating Void Energy to unleash explosive damage on the enemy. Even Han Xiao was startled when he saw the theoretical damage numbers. Most of the damage dealt by this ability was True Damage.

Chaos Observer’s abilities are mainly supportive, while Void Distorter’s abilities are pure combat and destruction oriented.

Most of Void Distorter’s abilities were related to space. This Race Evolution gave him a total of four abilities. Furthermore, this evolution skipped an entire tier on the evolution chain, so his potential had grown a huge amount.

While still grabbing onto the Void Dimension and maintaining the gigantic whirlpool caused by Void Distortion, Han Xiao used the time to look at his attributes after the Promotion.

After calculating, the Race Evolution and fifteen-level increase had brought him a total of 132 Strength, 224 Dexterity, 220 Endurance, 507 Intelligence, 169 Mystery, 34 Charm, 5,850 Energy, and 11,300 Stamina.

It was amazing!

Han Xiao was very satisfied. He looked at his attributes on the interface.

Level: 195

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Void Distorter (Human Form)

Attributes: 468 STR, 898 DEX, 940 END, 2633 INT, 432 MYS, 139 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Points: 15

Health: 196,560

Stamina: 154,720

Energy: 25,530 (Lv.12]

(Lv.12 Energy bonus attributes: +169 STR, +239 DEX, +269 END, +336 INT, +206 MYS, +32,520 Maximum Stamina, +352% Machinery Affinity (Super Electromagnetic Sense)]

Energy Rank: 20,170

Grade: A+

[Grade A Ranked Bonus: +10 END, +8 All Resistances. +10% Highest Attribute, +5% Other Attributes, +30 Free Attribute Points, +5 Potential Points]

(You’re a Grade A+ Mechanic. Sadly, your brain is filled with muscles.]

Bullsh*t! My brain is filled with intelligence!

Han Xiao curled his lips and decided not to argue with the remarks.

Level 195, I’m finally Grade A+.

Han Xiao looked at the amount of Experience he had left. At this stage, the Experience cost of every level was extremely high, so leveling up fifteen times consecutively had cost him a lot of Experience.

He estimated that the remaining Experience should be able to level up ten or so times.

Upon arriving at Grade A+, he was now much stronger. Before his Promotion, he could defeat about ninety percent of all Calamity Grades, but now, Han Xiao felt that not many people in the same grade as him would be able to pose a threat.

He was now a top Calamity Grade!

However, knowing his limits, Han Xiao did not intend to mess with any Beyond Grade As.

At level 195, he was already a top Calamity Grade. However, he would only be able to reach Beyond Grade A at around level 240. Just this level difference was already enough to warn Han Xiao against doing anything.

After all, that was tens of levels of difference at the late stage. The strength difference between levels was much more significant than the earlier stages.

With my current strength, the most I can do is not be afraid of anyone in the same grade. Han Xiao was not going to get arrogant.

Having already spent more than half of his energy, Han Xiao stopped the Void Distortion. The enormous whirlpool was still there, but it gradually spun slowly. Without Han Xiao’s Void Distortion, Stephanie regained control of her body, immediately escaping the whirlpool and instantly shooting up to the ocean’s surface.

Han Xiao followed her and slowly flew up to the sky.

Wilton and the others saw that the two of them had finally come out of the ocean. They all looked over and were all shocked. Being covered in burning silver flames, Han Xiao looked just like a Pugilist. While Stephanie was wet, wounded everywhere, and had a fearful expression on her face.

The others realized what had happened. Clearly, the two of them had gotten into a huge fight under the sea, and Black Star had used some kind of ability and created this enormous whirlpool, which had wounded Stephanie badly.

“Advance!” Han Xiao led the mechanical army and charged forward, not giving Stephanie any time to rest.

His strength rocketed. Plus, he had recovered to his peak with the Promotion. This had instantly shattered the fragile balance between the two sides!

With his increased Intelligence, his mechanical army had become stronger.

Boom!

The battle started again. The moment Han Xiao entered the battle, the stalemate situation was broken.

After his Promotion, he completely suppressed Stephanie while still being able to assist his teammates. He controlled the tempo of the battle alone.

Stephanie felt a huge increase in pressure and was completely stuck on the passive side of the battle. She could not understand how Black Star had been on par with her moments ago, yet now he had suddenly become so much stronger. Could this be a trump card of his?

Could it be that he could grow quickly during battle?

She remembered that there were this kind of battle race in the universe. Not killing them would make them stronger.

Could Black Star be one of them?

If he was, it would make sense. No wonder Black Star had risen so quickly in such a short time. He might really be one of those talented battle races!

Many guesses flashed through Stephanie’s mind. She looked around at her wounded teammates and was shaken.

Including her, everyone was already at their limit. However, Black Star was still very much at his peak, and his helpers were very tough as well. After fighting for so long, Stephanie could not see any hope of capturing Black Star.

“Retreat!”

Realizing that the situation was getting worse, Stephanie decided to retreat and leave the battlefield.

After fighting for so many hours, Stephanie and the others were all exhausted, but if they continued to fight head-on, they would still be able to last much longer. However, once they decided to retreat, their spirit broke, and they lost all their advantages. They were all held back by Han Xiao, who was at his peak after the Promotion.

Stephanie and the others fought while retreating, causing them to enter a vicious cycle—the more they wanted to retreat, the worse the situation became.

However, if they fought head on, it would just be delaying their inevitable death. Stephanie had no choice but to retreat. Only now did she realize that she was in a tough spot. Within the few hours that they were in a stalemate, they spent way too much energy and now could not escape.

If the enemies had retreated from the beginning, Han Xiao and the others would really not have been able to stop them. However, they only thought about retreating now. It was too late!

He did not want those dangerous people to escape. Who knew what trouble they would cause next time?

When Stephanie realized the situation, they had nowhere to run.

The battlefield gradually shifted to land. Stephanie and the others were finally at their limits.

Han Xiao started his slaughter!

Bang!

A punch landed on the heavily injured enemy Mage, and Void Ripple flew into the target’s body. This person’s entire body trembled, and his body started to scrunch up like a cloth. However, instead of water being squeezed out, it was blood. His health became zero, and he fell from the sky.

Xiu!

A Psionic Impact entered right into the body of an enemy Esper. Dark blue light exploded from within. With a loud band, this person exploded from within!

Boom!

A heavy knee kick landed on the lower body of a Pugilist. A large amount of nanotechnology particles suddenly appeared on Han Xiao’s knee, which turned into a sharp blade, stabbing right into the body of this Pugilist. The moment it stabbed in, the nanotechnology blade shapeshifted. The next moment, countless alloy spikes extended from within the muscles, as if spikes had suddenly grown out from this person’s body.

As Han Xiao backed away, the nanotechnology particles returned as well. The spikes on this person’s body all ‘retracted’. Blood shot out from the countless holes on his body as he fell from the sky.

Han Xiao killed one Calamity Grade after another, leaving only Stephanie still resisting. She was indeed very strong. Just Stephanie alone was able to cause quite a lot of trouble.

However, she was too outnumbered.

Stephanie heavily injured three of Han Xiao’s helpers. This was the last trouble she caused. Then, she was defeated by Han Xiao as well.

Ignoring their injuries, Han Xiao’s helpers immobilized her and prevented her from escaping.

Han Xiao pressed Stephanie on the ground, and Psionic Impact shot right in her face time after time without stopping, creating a several-hundred-meter-deep crater on the ground. Stephanie was restrained by Wilton and the rest, so she could not resist.

In the end, Stephanie was so heavily injured that she was unable to move. She only had the energy to breath.

Han Xiao did not kill her. He felt that it would be useful to not kill all of them. Plus, Stephanie was a boss-level character, so she would definitely produce great potions.

All Stephanie could feel was how heavy her eyelids were. Before falling unconscious, she squeezed out his last bit of energy to glare at Han Xiao.

When setting the ambush, she had never even considered the possibility that she would be defeated there.

“Black Star…”

Stephanie glared at Han Xiao, engraving his appearance deep into her heart before falling unconscious.

The place became quiet.

Cam

“We finally won.” Han Xiao took a deep breath. Only then did he feel the tiredness in his body. All he wanted to do was have a good sleep.

Honestly, Stephanie’s trap had indeed been very threatening. If he did not call for help beforehand, he might really have fallen into the trap. If he had undergone his Promotion earlier, without the Observer’s Marks aiding him in picking the battlefield, Black Star City would have been destroyed.

However, the battle had now ended, and the result was determined.

Stephanie’s team had been completely eliminated!

“Thanks for your help.” Han Xiao turned around and nodded at Wilton and the others.

“You’re welcome.” Wilton swallowed his saliva and spoke respectfully. He did have some thoughts earlier but now all he had for Han Xiao was respect and fear.

This fight might not have been as astonishing as his fight with the eight Vanguard Officials, but how many Calamity Grades did Black Star kill today?

Last time, Black Star had proved his defense; today, Wilton had witnessed Han Xiao’s attack for the first time.

Just thinking about it sent shivers down Wilton’s spine.

Luckily, Black Star is our ally… Wilton was internally relieved.

Meanwhile, Nagakin was sorrowful. A comrade of his had been killed. Han Xiao had no way to comfort him; all he could do was give him a pat on the back.

Godora had sent those people to help him. Losing a Calamity Grade was no small loss to Godora. Han Xiao felt rather sorry and remembered this favor, considering how he could make it up to Godora.

He was not someone that took the help from others for granted.

To maintain a relationship, it took effort from both sides.

At this time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something, and his expression changed.

“Wait, we can’t rest yet. Phillip, gather the disaster reports and tell me the locations.”

Forcing energy out of himself, Han Xiao turned into a stream of light and quickly left.

He could not rest yet. He had to deal with the disasters brought by the battle. If they were not stopped in time, Planet Aquamarine would suffer a lot of damage.

Wilton and the others were willing to help. They split up and headed to different disaster locations.

Chapter 677: Class Advancement Requirement

In the Black Star City government building, Bennett was walking back and forth anxiously. Most of his people had been sent out to deal with the disasters, so only a few officials were in the room, looking at Bennett. Every one of them looked nervous and hesitant.

Other than the sound of footsteps and heavy breathing, there were no other sounds in the room.

Bennett clenched his fists. He felt a deep sense of powerlessness. Ever since Planet Aquamarine started to connect with the universe, he had been feeling this way. In battles of this level, he realized that all he could do was wait for the results.

Although Bennett trusted Han Xiao, he still planned for the worst. He had already ordered some people to start preparing to evacuate. He could not bet all his people on it.

This time, the official responsible for observing the battle hastily ran in and said with an overjoyed tone, “Your Excellency, the battle ended! Black Star won!”

Bennett’s tightened body finally relaxed, and his fists curled open.

The people in the room were surprised and could not help but cheer softly.

“I got it… Step up the disaster relief measures and reduce the damage caused as much as possible.

Bennett suppressed his excitement and issued several orders. This world shaking battle had brought disaster to the planet. They had to minimize the damage caused.

“By the way, have you been able to contact Black Star yet?”

“His Excellency Black Star sent a message earlier, saying he is taking his people to deal with the disasters and needs our cooperation.”

“That’s great. Cooperate with him fully and follow any order he gives.”

Bennett was thrilled.

The fallout of the battle caused earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, and other disasters to occur in many areas of the planet. Fortunately, Han Xiao ended the battle quickly, so the disasters did not exceed the critical level.

The tornados were easiest to deal with. Calamity Grades could extinguish the storm eye and make them disappear. Contrary to that, the earthquakes were irreversible, so they could only save the affected cities to reduce the damage.

In twenty-four hours, Han Xiao, Wilton, and the rest dealt with around a hundred disasters, big and small. In the next few months, there would still be more chain disasters, but they would all be detectable.

There were still some matters on Planet Aquamarine that needed Han Xiao to sort out, such as what to do with the Six Nations.

However, Han Xiao was exhausted and planned to rest for one day first, at the same time familiarizing himself with the changes brought by the Promotion.

Han Xiao brought the captive back to Bennett. Bennett was busy doing disaster relief, but he still squeezed out the time to thank Han Xiao.

Although the enemies came because of Han Xiao and Planet Aquamarine was sort of dragged into it, Bennett was not an idiot. He knew that Planet Aquamarine was only thriving because of Black Star, so it was only natural that they were on the same boat. Of course, he would not blame this protector. If there was anyone that he was angry at, it would be the enemies who used such a despicable strategy.

Wilton and the others left and rushed back to report what they had seen on this mission.

Han Xiao thanked them again for their help and contacted Godora’s Serbia the Fifth to discuss the compensation for the Calamity Grade that they had lost. Technically, he did not have to compensate them, but Han Xiao would not be that stupid.

Godora only had around twenty Calamity Grades, and every one they lost was a very big deal. Serbia the Fifth felt heartache too. When he heard that Han Xiao was going to compensate for it, he did feel a little better.

The Purple Crystal Civilization knew about this from Wilton. They contacted the Godoran Civilization and expressed their intent of paying some of the compensation for Han Xiao. Han Xiao’s record of killing many Calamity Grades increased his position once again. Purple Crystal was now even more interested in him. This act was to clearly express their intent of trying to build a relationship with Han Xiao.

When Han Xiao returned to his room, Stephanie was still unconscious. Han Xiao extracted potions from her till she was extremely weak.

Stephanie was strong, so Han Xiao would only not be worried about imprisoning her when she did not have the strength to resist.

Round three of (Prey) was completed. Han Xiao did not claim the reward immediately. One of the rewards was to draw a random ability from the ten enemies, including Stephanie.

As Feidin was not there, the Great Mechanic Han was unconfident about these luck related things. He planned to return to the headquarters and touch Feidin before claiming it.

During the battle, he rocketed to level 195, reaching the limit of (Truth Mechanic) and triggering the requirement for the next Class Advancement.

This time, it was a common Mechanic Class Advancement mission-to build one machine that matched the requirement. Han Xiao had triggered this kind of mission before, but this Class Advancement mission matched up to his level, so it was extremely difficult.

The grade of most equipment and items could be classified as one of the following: Poor Gray, Fair White, Good Green, Great Blue, Exceptional Purple, Rare Pink, and Epic Orange. Orange equipment was the top grade.

However, other than these usual grades, there were two special grades-silver and gold.

Gold was the most special grade. It was extremely rare, and it represented that the item was at the ‘Universal Treasure’ level. There were only a few in the entire
universe.

Silver represented the ‘Legacy’ attribute. If an item had a famous history or signified some kind of honor to be passed on, it would become a silver grade item and receive bonuses.

Legacy could stack with the usual grades. For example, an item could both be at orange grade and silver grade.

This Class Advancement mission was to build legacy-level orange equipment or ‘Legendary’ equipment!

What determined if a machinery had the legacy attribute depended on the blueprint. This meant that he had to find a special character to learn a silver legacy blueprint from, build it, and reach the orange grade. At the same time, the Class Advancement also had a requirement for the level of the equipment—it had to have a minimum level of level 180.

Therefore, I have to find a legacy level 180 mechanical equipment blueprint, then build it to reach the orange grade…

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Even the requirement for the Mountain Ape mechanical suit did not reach level 180.

Damn it, you’re making this difficult for
me!

Han Xiao could remember quite a few methods to obtain a silver legacy blueprint, but only a very few legacy equipment reached level 180. Those were also extremely complex and difficult to obtain.

Furthermore, the higher the blueprint’s level, the more difficult it was to build a high-grade product out of it. Han Xiao performed some mental calculations, and with his current Intelligence and Machinery Affinity, the absolute highest he could reach was just a level 180 pink equipment.

Han Xiao shook his head.

Although this mission was difficult, it was not completely impossible. Furthermore, there was no risk in it since he just had to build one piece of equipment. Thus, there was no need to depend on luck and find a Mission Completion Card for it.

The legacy blueprint isn’t a problem, but my attributes aren’t enough to build a level 180 orange equipment. Hmm… do I have to learn new subclasses to increase my attributes?

Without much consideration, Han Xiao denied this solution.

In the later stages, leveling up would become harder and harder. The benefits of the main class were much higher than any subclass. Furthermore, there was still a Promotion mission waiting for him at level 200. It was not worth obtaining a subclass.

He did not want to waste his Experience on subclasses; it was best to spend it on his main class. After all, there was still a very long time until the players logged in again, so he had to reduce his expenditure.

Besides, there were not many subclasses that he needed at the moment, and Han Xiao had a better choice.

If I’m not going to increase my attributes, I will need to find some Mechanic talents…

Han Xiao pondered. Every time he thought about Reynold’s talent, he would be tempted.

If he could obtain (Perfect Mechanical Sense), he would be able to complete the requirement right away. Unfortunately, he had yet to trigger a mission from Reynold.

I need to get some Mechanic talents. I’m still a Mechanic after all.

Glancing at the unconscious Stephanie, Han Xiao felt pressured.

The surprising outcome of this incident was that he now knew that the master behind those hunters was Thousand Shadows. The threat of a Beyond Grade A made Han Xiao feel like there was a stone on his heart. Compared to the Tyrant, Thousand Shadows was more fearsome.

Eliminating Stephanie’s team did not mean it was the end-he had barely earned the time to rest. Who knew who Thousand Shadows would send next time? The next round of the mission would definitely be more dangerous.

I need to get stronger.

Han Xiao felt a burning desire for strength.

Over the following few days, Han Xiao stayed on Planet Aquamarine and helped control the disasters.

Stephanie stayed silent after waking up. Han Xiao had yet to decide on what to do with her, so he just locked her up.

As Stephanie’s team had been eliminated, no one was there to maintain the fake memories of the Six Nations’ leaders. They all recovered as if they had woken up from a dream.

From the records, they discovered what they had done after ‘losing their memories’. Everyone’s face turned pale in horror.

Oh my god, what did we do?

They were terrified. Luckily, Black Star had eliminated the mastermind, or they still would have been controlled.

The Six Nations were worried that Black Star had misunderstood quickly explained that the declaration of war was a misunderstanding, as were the missiles.

At the same time, the leaders of the Six Nations quickly contacted Bennett to explain what had happened and ask for forgiveness.

Bennett did not reply but only invited them to a meeting, saying that this planet had just survived a disaster and they had to discuss the future development plans.

It seemed like Bennett was not planning to hold them accountable for what they had done when their memories were modified. In the Six Nations’ eyes, this represented what Han Xiao meant as well.

The upper echelons of the Six Nations were relieved. They quickly rushed to Black Star City for the meeting, memorized their apology scripts, and planned to explain what had happened.

However, what happened was completely different from what they had imagined!

To Black Star, the Planet Aquamarine armies were meaningless, so the upper echelons of the Six Nations did not take any defensive measures. However, to their shock, as soon as they alighted the plane, Bennett captured all of them.

All the upper echelons of the Six Nations were escorted to the conference room where they met Han Xiao, who was waiting here.

They saw that Han Xiao had an expressionless face and hastily explained themselves.

“Your Excellency Black Star, what is the meaning of this?”

“You must have misunderstood us. Please let me explain.”

Han Xiao waved his hands, signaling for them to shut up. “If not for me, you all would have died during the Mutation Disaster. Yet, you declared war against me, betraying our agreement. I’m very disappointed.”

“B—but we were controlled by someone,” one of them said anxiously. “You know that!”

“Yes, you were controlled…” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “Does that mean I should act as if nothing happened? What if the Black Star City’s protective shield could not stop your missiles?”

They had nothing to say to this.

Many people noticed what Han Xiao meant, and their expression changed.

Han Xiao tapped the table and said, “You guys are victims, too, so I won’t kill you, but I can’t just let it be.”

“You mean…” someone said apprehensively.

“Disband your governments and give control to Bennett. This civilization does not need this many governments-one is enough.”

From the aspect of a civilization developing as a whole, uniting everyone was very important. Too many governments would only cause resources to be wasted. The governments of the Six Nations had become unnecessarythey were a waste of talents and resources. They were almost a burden to Planet Aquamarine.

As there was no government that ruled over everyone, the Planet Aquamarine civilization had been divided for a very long time. This incident had made Han Xiao feel that it was time. Plus, with the negative effect of the Six Nations’ declaration of war against him, this would minimize the objection of the civilians.

Even though this meant that they would have to go through some short term of pain, in the long term, the civilization would become much healthier. Furthermore, there were many benefits to taking over a civilization. As long as Planet Aquamarine’s technology could catch up to the galactic level, it could become a great logistics base for the Black Star Army.

Like a bolt of lightning, Han Xiao’s words petrified the upper echelons of the Six Nations.

“Yo-you’re eliminating the Six Nations?” a leader said with a shivering tone. He was angry and afraid. If Black Star was planning to eliminate their nations, they would not have the slightest chance of surviving.

“Eliminate your nations?”

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. He stood up, walked to the window, and opened the curtains. Many areas could be seen from there people were crossing by, and magnetic suspended trains shuttled continuously.

“That’s a nation.”

Han Xiao pointed outside the window before pointing at the officials of the Six Nations in the room.

“You guys are not.”

Chapter 678: Hail Feidin!

The disbanding of the Six Nations’ governments was quick.

Han Xiao’s strength, power, and prestige were all higher than the Six Nations’. Despite being unwilling, the government officials of the Six Nations had no chance to fight back. In the face of overwhelming strength, they realized that if Black Star wanted to take over the entire Planet Aquamarine, it would be a piece of cake, yet he had waited till then to do so.

In the past, Bennett would not have agreed to the plan. However, after this incident, he was willing to take on greater responsibility. In his eyes, the future of the entire civilization was more important; the Six Nations were way too unreliable.

Peaceful means were used to disband the Six Nations. Neither Han Xiao nor Bennett wanted another war to break out on Planet Aquamarine. The bloody example of the Old Era was right in front of them, so Han Xiao’s target was only the governments of the Six Nations.

To replace them from top to bottom.

The upper echelons of the Six Nations were arrested, and Bennett’s people were placed into the governments. The other government officials at all levels were greatly alarmed, but there was little resistance. The declaration of war from the Six Nations had not only caused them to lose the support of the people, but they had also lost the loyalty of many lower-level officials. The government was not completely united, and every official had their own independent ideas. Throughout Planet Aquamarine, Han Xiao’s reputation was more useful than the Six Nations’; he was widely respected.

Bennett got rid of some of the high-ranking officials while retaining the vast majority of the middle and lower ranked officials. The Six Nations were vast—these people were required to manage them. Furthermore, a pyramid-shaped power structure would falter when the bottom level was taken away. It was not suitable to immediately replace the original political structure, or it would cause chaos.

After all, most middle- and low-level officials were simply trying to earn a living. As long as they were not invaded by foreign enemies, they did not mind their wages being paid by another group of people.

Even the upper echelons were not united. Some of them were willing to work for Bennett’s new government, including Gu Hui. He was utterly disappointed in his original government. Seeing Han Xiao taking over the Six Nations, he briefly struggled between patriotism and racial justice, and in the end, the latter prevailed.

Things could not be changed anymore; staying there and contributing to the entire civilization was his best choice. Gu Hui knew that letting Han Xiao lead Planet Aquamarine might be a much better choice.

After all the dust settled, only then did Han Xiao announce this to all the civilians. Unsurprisingly, this message sent the Six Nations’ people into an uproar.

Although many people were dissatisfied with the declaration of war by the Six Nations, they did not think that their government would disappear in such a short period of time.

Countless people were worried sick that this might be the start of another era filled with chaos. However, after some time, they realized that their lives did not change much at all. The original territories of the Six Nations became six special zones where most of the original laws were retained. Bennett knew that this had to be done slowly so that the civilians could gradually adjust to the new government.

Reality was not a fairy tale; even though Han Xiao’s image was like a savior on Planet Aquamarine, there were still passionate patriotic protests as every government knew how to cultivate strong supporters. There were also those with ulterior motives who acted on the opportunity. Such backlash was inevitable during the unification of a civilization. Most people remained silent.

After all, the Six Nations had launched missiles at Black Star City first, so they were not in a position to complain.

For most people, as long as their lives remained unchanged, they would not do anything about the change of government. The people of Planet Aquamarine had experienced countless wars and disasters, so they cherished the stability of their lives. Furthermore, many were the survivors of dead nations from the Old Era and wanderers, not fully loyal to the Six Nations and having more understanding of the situation. This was also one of the reasons that Han Xiao had been confident in doing
this.

Since the interstellar era, most stereotypes had shattered. The lines of the nationality were blurred for most people, replaced by the mindset based on the entire race. The importance of the nations depended on what it was compared with, and it was clearly not comparable to the continuation of the entire race. Hence, most people did not oppose Bennett’s new government. Furthermore, Black Star was behind Bennett, who was way more reliable than the Six Nations.

The entire civilization was united, and Bennett finally decided on the name of the new government-Aquamarine Federation.

Naming the government after the planet was easier for the people to accept. Han Xiao, though aware of the meaning of the name, still felt that it was weird.

Aquamarine Federation? Why does that sound like a retail store?

However, no matter what the name of the Planet Aquamarine government was, it was still his logistics base.

The situation was basically finalized.

The takeover of the Six Nations brought a lot of follow-up problems, so Bennett and others were terribly busy. Han Xiao estimated that it would take a few years for things to be fully organized. Planet Aquamarine also needed some time to get through the painful period. The benefits of a unified civilization would gradually become apparent over time.

After the incident was resolved, Han Xiao did not stay any longer. He took Stephanie and returned to Base No.1 on Planet Golden Gate.

The battle with the Vanguard Officials a month ago had brought a lot of fame to Han Xiao-nearly everyone knew about it. This time, the news of Black Star killing several Calamity Grades one after another once again shocked the entire Star Field.

The Purple Crystal Civilization did not conceal this incident. They believed Han Xiao’s statement that Stephanie and the others were assassins sent by Klent. They vigorously promoted the fact that Klent’s assassination had failed, which boosted their people’s morale and weakened the negative impact of the losses in the secret war.

The Klent Civilization was utterly confused.

We do want to kill Black Star, but we haven’t done anything yet. When did we send assassins?

It must be another Star Cluster that sent people to kill Black Star, since they can blame it all on us!

Klent was furious.

Do these people think we are the scapegoat king?

Although the two sides were at war, Klent was not willing to take responsibility for a failure that they did not commit. They publicly announced that it was entirely fabricated.

Purple Crystal’s reply was very simple. I’m not listening! I’m not listening! I’m certain it’s you!

The partners of the two sides were at war, and their governments were accusing each other. The various organizations of the Shattered Star Ring were all watching the drama between Purple Crystal and Klent.

Han Xiao, who had caused this incident, also received a lot of attention.

The fact that Black Star had finally mastered psionic energy had made many organizations take him even more seriously. This meant that Black Star was much more threatening!

Killing many Calamity Grades matched up to his Beyond Grade A seed title, and this kind of lethality was more threatening than just being tanky. In a short period, Han Xiao’s reputation and position in the entire Star Field rocketed once again.

The other Star Cluster civilizations, while shocked, secretly lifted Han Xiao’s position on the Beyond Grade A seed list up a few places.

Han Xiao had already felt the influence of this incident on his way to Base No.1

-everyone recognized his face. When he returned to the base, he also noticed that many mercenaries looked at him with even more admiration.

This trip back to Planet Aquamarine had taken about twenty days, so he had ten more days of holiday.

After returning to the base, Han Xiao first inspected the operations of the Black Star Army during this period. Tens of thousands of trainees from various training camps had become official mercenaries, and about a hundred battleships had been added.

My mechanical army is quite damaged. I can use these ten days to replenish it.

He had to return to the battlefield after the holiday, so he decided to build his army with the remaining time he had. Before that, he wanted to first claim the reward for the third round of (Prey).

Feidin had not gone out recently. Han Xiao found him, chatted with him awhile, and touched him a few times before letting go of Feidin, who had a strange expression on his face.

Chen Xing, who happened to be out, was blushing a bit. She quickly returned control of the body to Feidin.

As Feidin became stronger, he was able to suppress Chen Xing alone. Plus, his relationship with Chen Xing was getting more affectionate, so he occasionally let her out for a break, which Han Xiao happened to bump into.

Although the soul was different, the body was the same.

As the luck on his hand was lingering, Han Xiao rushed to the side and opened the interface to claim the reward for the third round.

Round Three complete.

Please select the target to draw abilities from…

There were ten enemies, but Han Xiao was only interested in the abilities of two of them-Stephanie and that Mechanic.

If he selected that Mechanic, there was a very high chance of him getting a Mechanic talent, so that would be a safe choice.

If he selected Stephanie, unlike from Shana, her Esper ability was not compatible with him at all, so the effect of the abilities would definitely be weakened. The best result would be getting a Template Talent, but that depended purely on his luck.

After considering for a few seconds, Han Xiao’s eyes became firm; he had made his decision.

A Mechanic talent is great, but Molding Talents are hard to come by!

A man must dare to dream!

You have received the reward: Draw one ability/talent from Stephanie.

Alert: Stephanie is an Esper. Part of the possible abilities have been automatically adjusted to your class.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

(Cell Resonance) – Ability: You can condition your body state through the vibration of your cells, increasing the energy production efficiency of your cells. Recovers 11% energy, purges one debuff. Cost: 1,500 Stamina. Cooldown: 90 seconds.

(Electromagnetic Resonance) – Ability: By affecting the frequency of electromagnetic waves, you are able to obstruct certain communication methods and radar detection or the brainwaves of individuals. There is a chance that (Confused), (Hallucinating), and (Abnormally Excited) might be applied to the target. The closer the distance, the stronger the effects of the debuffs. Success rate is related to INT. Cost: 150 Energy. Cooldown: 6 seconds.

[Object Weakness Attack] – Ability: You can easily discover the weakness of objects. Your next attack will deal extra damage and three chain damages ranging from 5% to 15% damage of this attack. There is a chance to cause the [Heavily Injured) effect. Cost: 240 Energy. Cooldown: 28 seconds.

(Will to Battle] – Talent: +180 END, -75 INT, -25 LUK.

(Legendary Battle Technique] – Talent: Every third attack will deal 35% extra True Damage.

Han Xiao was stunned before becoming overjoyed.

I really got a Molding Talent!

Hail Feidin!

Chapter 679: Saving the World with Normal Attacks

All five choices were decent, and they all had different focuses.

(Cell Resonance) could instantly recover energy and purge a debuff. It could be used by any class and was a powerful support ability.

[Electromagnetic Resonance) was a rather good assistive ability as well. It could reduce the target’s strength. When facing an opponent of the same grade, this could give the user a quick advantage. [Object Weakness Attack] was an explosive damage type ability. Though its applicable situations were limited, it was still not too bad.

[Will to Battle) was a tank talent. +180 END was actually quite high, but it had a side effect. Han Xiao felt that he was tanky enough, so he was not interested in this talent at all.

Luckily, the lowest limit for Luck is zero, otherwise mine would go negative if I chose this talent…

What was most surprising to him was the fifth choice—[Legendary Battle Technique].

This was a proper Molding Talent!

Plus, it was one of the best ‘Battle Technique’ talents!

Every third attack would deal an extra 35% True Damage, which meant that his attack increased by a huge amount out of nowhere, as talents were passive abilities and had no cost at all.

Every third attack? With the attack speed of Calamity Grades, how many third attacks would there be in just one second?

This was spectacular!

The other four choices paled in comparison. Han Xiao did not even have to think and directly picked the fifth choice.

You have received (Legendary Battle Technique]

That was hella lucky!

Han Xiao was very excited. He quickly went to the combat training room to test the new talent.

The floor split open, and the alloy wall used to test damage rose up. Han Xiao started punching the wall continuously.

True Damage ignored defense. For example, if the theoretical damage of an attack was 10,000 and the target’s resistance reduced it to 5,000, adding the True Damage, that attack would deal 5,000 plus 3,500 damage.

Almost double!

If the attack was completely absorbed by a shield, a magic barrier, or heavy mechanical armor, the effect of the True Damage would only go to the shield durability and armor value. When the enemy was actually damaged, only then would this deal True Damage to the enemy.

Therefore, tank enemies that took on attacks with their body would be completely countered by this!

If not for the Germinal leader’s talent, I would have had a very tough time against this. Han Xiao was glad.

No wonder Stephanie was a boss-type character-her abilities were too overpowered!

Han Xiao was excited. He was already very tanky. Comparatively, although the attack of his Army Style was not weak, it did not appear as important as how tanky he was since he had always been fighting enemies that were stronger than him or many enemies at once. Most of the time, he relied on how tanky he was to defeat the enemies.

If he used the authentic way of utilizing the Army Style, he would completely destroy any enemy that was about the same level as him, even more so now that he had mastered psionic energy. He would be able to fight many enemies at once even without making use of how tanky he was.

However, his health-mana cycle made him way too tanky, causing the Army Style to pale in comparison. His Indestructible Body title had covered up the fact that he was a Mechanic for too
long.

But not anymore!

The (Legendary Battle Technique] was already strong enough when used by others. When used by a Mechanic using the Army Style, it would be absolutely terrifying!

From the NPCs in his previous life that had similar talents, the Great Mechanic Han knew that this type of talent could be applied to summoned creatures and mechanical armies. The summoned creatures could enjoy the talents of the Mage through their magic link, while the mechanical army could share the effect of this talent through Mechanical Force. After all, the mechanical army was considered a type of equipment, so the talent would apply to them just like it would apply to a weapon in one’s hand.

Han Xiao expanded a few elite mechanical soldiers that he had brought along and carried out tests to find out how this talent worked.

After testing, he found out that every machinery had its individual (Legendary Battle Technique] effect count. This meant that every third attack of that machine would trigger the True Damage, instead of the total times the entire army attacked.

The attack count of every machine was calculated separately and not together. So, if Han Xiao fired one machine twice then changed to another machine for the third attack, it would not trigger.

Han Xiao started fantasizing. If the attack count was calculated together, it would mean that if a hundred machines fired together, thirty-three of them would have extra True Damage.

Gently giving himself a slap, Han Xiao shattered his own fantasy.

Hmm, it’s already strong enough.

Han Xiao was very satisfied. This meant that if a hundred machines all fired three times, the last hundred attacks out of the total three hundred attacks would all have True Damage. The ratio was the same as if the attack count was calculated as a whole. The difference was just the frequency that the talent was triggered.

However, this talent did not require the attack to land to count it could still be triggered by attacking at nothing!

This meant that the triggering timing of this talent could be controlled. If he used it well, he could even make every attack that landed on the enemy have extra True Damage.

Han Xiao immediately had a lot of ideas in his mind.

A strong talent could completely change one’s combat capability.

To the Great Mechanic Han, [Legendary Battle Technique] was as strong as his health-mana cycle. It increased the strength and lethality of his mechanical army once again!

If I can make this idea a reality, my actual combat capability will multiply many times over! I might really be able to crush anyone under Beyond Grade A!

The excitement in Han Xiao’s eyes was almost overflowing.

The effect of touching Feidin was dreamlike!

The phrase ‘becoming stronger through the battles’ inside the [Prey) mission introduction was indeed true. Although he had been targeted by Thousand Shadows, Han Xiao felt that it was worth it now that he had received this talent.

Han Xiao browsed through his attributes on the interface. He was so strong that even he was afraid of himself.

Just moments earlier, he had worried that once he returned to the battlefield, knowing how tanky he was, the enemies would only send a few people to fight him so that he would not be much of a threat.

Now, however, if they sent too few people, he would be able to kill them all!

Han Xiao locked himself inside the modification room. Using the last ten days, he planned to adjust Phillip’s combat control mode so that the mechanical army’s fighting method would be able to fully utilize the power of [Legendary Battle Technique]. For example, he could let one team of artilleries standby with their third attack, use the other units of the army to create an opportunity, and let this standby team focus fire when suitable, making sure that when his attack landed, it would deal a ton of damage. However, in order to have the army do such a delicate job, he needed a large calculation module.

Herlous and the others could handle any Black Star Army matters, so he did not have to worry. The best way to increase the Black Star Army’s position was for him, the leader, to become stronger.

The flames of war filled the West Wind, Chaida, and the Kaya Star Systems.

Ralph had been counting down to reminding Black Star to return to the battlefield. He needed him to stabilize the battle between the high-level combatants. The Bloodshed Land’s Jorde was also wary of Black Star, who had disappeared for two months.

At the same time, in the middle of Hidden Red Robe Abbey’s palace, Austin was hovering about four meters above the ground. The oversized robe dragged on the floor. Desoro and the others were standing at the side.

Austin slowly opened his eyes and said with a sentimental tone, “I never expected him to change this much.”

The Forbidden Sorcerers around all had strange expressions on their faces. Some time ago, Austin had summoned Lagi, and they had watched their full conversation from the side.

Lagi was Austin’s fourth disciple. The Forbidden Sorcerers present had all followed Austin for a long time and knew Lagi. However, upon seeing him again after so many years, that once vigorous and fearless former Forbidden Sorcerer commander felt like a completely different person.

They could not imagine what Lagi had gone through in these years.

Austin shook his head and said, “However, although his personality has changed, he’s still as determined and resolute as he used to be, rejecting me like that without hesitating.”

After banishing Lagi for so many years, Austin had long forgiven his mistake. Thus, he asked if Lagi wanted to return under his command. To his surprise, Lagi was determined to return to Black Star without even the slightest hesitation.

Although Lagi made it look like it was not a big deal, Austin could see that Lagi was really thankful to Black Star for saving him. He no longer longed to return to Hidden Red Robe Abbey; Black Star had replaced his position and received Lagi’s loyalty. Lagi was not only doing this because he was thankful but also because he saw a lot of potential in Black Star.

When Austin saw the Observer’s Mark on Lagi’s head, he understood what Han Xiao meant as well. He had planted an Observer’s Mark on Lagi despite knowing that it would be discoveredthis was to express how important Lagi was to him.

Seeing that, Austin was willing to let
him go.

“Following a Beyond Grade A seed is a dangerous path. Don’t die…” Austin sighed.

At the dock outside the palace, Lagi was walking to the spaceship. When he arrived, many Forbidden Sorcerers had gone to welcome him, but when he left, he was alone.

He turned around and looked at the Mage palace that he had once known every corner of for the last time, and a mixture of sentimental emotions appeared in his eyes. Then, he shook his head and stepped onto the spaceship.

Whoosh!

The hatch closed, covering his lonely yet unbending back.

The spaceship slowly lifted off, turned into a stream of light, and disappeared.

Chapter 680: End of Slacking Off

Chapter 680 End of Slacking Off

Inside the house of happiness, an interrogation was going on.

“Who sent you?” Han Xiao yelled as if he did not know.

Stephanie was constrained by Electromagnetic straps all over her body, through which high voltage currents coursed. It seemed like she did not feel pain at all, and she looked at Han Xiao with an expressionless face. Her face was pale, her lips slowly opened, and she said with a soft voice, “Like I said, you won’t get any intelligence from me.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and did not speak.

The (Prey) mission did not end yet, and the fourth round was still in an inactive state. Thousand Shadows could share the senses of his shadows to a certain extent, so Han Xiao did not want to expose the fact that he knew the truth. Doing so would make the next round more dangerous. Therefore, for the past few days, he had conducted fake interrogations on Stephanie whenever he was free, acting like he did not know about Thousand Shadows.

Whether he was just doing meaningless work or not, being cautious would do no harm.

Han Xiao had already made hundreds of Genetic Medicines from her, but Han Xiao was rather stumped by what to do with her.

If he did not know that the enemy behind her was Thousand Shadows, he might have kept her to produce more medicines. However, Thousand Shadows could sense his shadows, so keeping Stephanie was a huge hidden risk.

The look in Han Xiao’s eyes kept changing. In the end, he sighed. With a flash of Mechanical Force, nanotechnology particles shot out from compressed orbs and covered his arm like black sand, turning into a psionic cannon, pressing onto Stephanie’s head.

Bang bang bang!

After some time, the sound of cannon fire stopped.

The door opened, and Han Xiao walked out, shaking his head.

Although Stephanie’s history was rather tragic, he did not become soft hearted. Thousand Shadows’ shadows had lost themselves and were unable to escape his control. Death was a relief for them instead.

The reward for killing Stephanie was 280% for killing someone many levels higher, giving Han Xiao more than 350 million Experience, replenishing his Experience a little. It also gave him a Stephanie Character Summon Card.

Character Summon Card—Stephanie: [Resonance Penetration)— Reduce the physical defense of the target by 50% – 80% using close range resonance. For every 100 END the target has, the duration will decrease by 1 second.

Basic Duration: 24 seconds.

Minimum Duration: 3 seconds

Usage: 0/4

Han Xiao closed his eyes and recalled the images from earlier. When struggling for her life, Stephanie seemed to have recovered to her true self. He clearly saw the relief and gratitude in Stephanie’s eyes as her life faded.

This time, a notification suddenly popped up on the interface.

You have triggered the mission (Stephanie’s Last Wish]

Mission Introduction: In the last moment before death, she begged for your help to make up for the one thing she regretted the most in her life.

Mission Requirements: Find the last Antarrian bloodline.

Reward: 15,000,000 Experience

Remarks: This is a Ruins Mission. Some people might be interested in this.

Triggered a mission…

Han Xiao was a little surprised.

Antarr was Stephanie’s civilization, which was long gone.

It seemed like not being able to protect her civilization was her biggest regret. However, after becoming Thousand Shadows’ shadow, her belief had become twisted, and she only could recall it moments before her death.

Ruin Missions were a special type of mission. The reward from the interface were usually very low, but they were mostly related to places that were buried in history. Exploring ruins would often lead to more rewards.

If I have the time, I might do it.

His holiday was coming to an end. Han Xiao thought for a while, took out his communicator, and flipped dozens of pages through his contact list to find Ralph.

In the Kaya Star System, a fleet was moving in stealth mode. This was a guerrilla fleet, mainly from a partnered organization, the New Phylen Rebels. Most of the battleships were assault models.

Inside the main control room of the Shining Crow grade flagship, the commander Morred and the others were having a strategic meeting around a silver table. The people in charge of the other partnered organizations of this fleet were listening from the side. Above the table was a three-dimensional star map, marked with the dense Bloodshed Land strongholds and fleets that were colored deep red.

“In our area, there are twelve Bloodshed Land strongholds. This operation is the highest level order given directly by the combat command. Including us, a total of twenty-seven fleets are involved in this mission. What do you guys think?”

Morred was a Phylen Human. His body was thin and boney, and he looked very weak, but the strength of his muscle fiber was close to that of an alloy. His weight was close to one ton. He was one of the high-ranking combatants of the New Phylen Rebels, a Calamity Grade Mechanical Pugilist. His body was fused with semi-organic metals.

When Han Xiao took his leave from the war, the situation of the secret war changed drastically. Bloodshed Land’s army gathered with the forefront armies. With unstoppable momentum, they kept expanding the strongholds in the West Wind, Kaya, and Chaida Star Systems. In two months, they built hundreds of stronghold planets that guarded each other. The positions of these strongholds were carefully selected, allowing them to affect many Star Zones. They had completed the first part of their strategic blueprint.

The rulers of the three border Star Systems did not interfere in the unofficial secret war. According to some gossip, the Bloodshed Land had already sent out emissaries to contact and negotiate with those three Star System Civilizations. Although only two short months had passed, according to neutral intelligence organizations’ data and investigation, the influence of Purple Crystal had dropped by about 13.7% in those three Star Systems.

Reducing Purple Crystal’s influence of border Star Systems was one of the main strategic goals of the Klent Kingdom. It was true that Star Systems were a part of Star Clusters, but the Star Clusters were determined and planned later. Hence, Star System Civilizations were not technically under the Star Cluster Civilization’s command.

If Purple Crystal’s influence dropped severely, the Star Systems that had received an invitation from Klent and pressure from the Crimson Dynasty in the future would announce independence and join Klent. Even though the Colton Star Cluster’s border Star Systems and Klent’s Seoul Star Cluster were separated by a desolate region, those border Star Systems would still be able to become parts of the Seoul Star Cluster. With the Star Cluster level stargate technology, distance was not a limitation.

In order to redetermine the area of a Star Cluster, the most important factor was support from a Universal Civilization. This was where Klent got their confidence to snatch these Star Systems. Purple Crystal was semi-neutral; unless they were willing to become a vassal of their Universal Civilization, the Federation of Light would not help them.

The Tyrant Heber’s armies were all elites that had fought hundreds of battles. They were known in the Shattered Star Ring to be the top tier military forces. In a direct battle, Section Zero would be no match for them.

Section Zero’s largest advantage was their strategy. The Combat Command took Han Xiao’s advice and adjusted their strategy during the two months when the Bloodshed Land was at their peak strength. They stopped looking at temporary losses and gains, split up the Bloodshed Land’s forces, and focused on harassing and surprise attacks. They were waiting for an opportunity.

Morred and the others were indeed discussing the large scale counterattack operation that had been in the works for a long time!

“The Bloodshed Land’s biggest army is in the West Wind Star System, where all eight Vanguard Officials are. Other than Black Star, no one will be able to deal with them. Comparatively, the Kaya Star System has the fewest Bloodshed Land troops, so it’s the most suitable target,” a staff sergeant said.

Morred nodded and said, “The goal of this operation is to get rid of the twelve Bloodshed Land strongholds in this area. The twelve strongholds are connected by a hyperdrive base station. Despite them having a very quick reinforcement speed, their total size will not change. Our twenty-seven fleets will attack every stronghold planet and split their troops up. Then, the Knife Team will raid and destroy this hyperdrive base station, making the enemies lose the ability to quickly shift the battlefield. Following that, we’ll rapidly destroy the twelve strongholds.”

The crowd nodded. This was the right method to deal with hyperdrive base stations. The attacking side would gain the upper hand. Section Zero’s strategy was simple and efficient.

“The twenty-seven fleets can be classified into four types of fleets—Restraint Teams, Feint Teams, Standby Teams waiting to attack the strongholds, and the Knife Teams that are going to raid the hyperdrive base station.” Morred knocked the table. “We are one of the three Knife Teams. The enemies have set up a very strong defense around the hyperdrive base station, so our mission is very important.”

“When everyone arrives at their positions, we will start the operation…” The deputy’s words had yet to finish. Suddenly, the 3D star map was replaced by a communication request that interrupted his sentence.

Ralph appeared with his hands behind his back. He looked around and loudly said, “This operation is temporarily postponed. New reinforcements will be joining the operation. Morred, standby nearby and wait to rendezvous with them. They will be raiding the hyperdrive base station with you.”

Postponing the operation just for reinforcements?

Everyone was stunned. Morred reacted the quickest. He frowned and said, “Who are these reinforcements?”

Ralph smiled satisfyingly and said with a joyful tone, “Black Star.”

Morred’s eyes sparkled.

It’s him!

After the shocking battle two months prior, Black Star had left the battlefield. Now, he had finally returned!

“With such a strong helper, our chances of winning are even higher. At least in terms of high-level combatants, we’re at an advantage!”

Morred nodded heavily. No wonder the operation was postponed. It was acceptable since it was because they were waiting for Black Star.

A few days later, the Black Star Army’s fleet arrived in the Kaya Star System and rendezvoused with Morred.

The main ship connected, and Morred waited with the several ship captains at the bridge. The hatch far away opened, and a man in black clothes walked out first, followed by a group of people in mercenary clothing. This time, Han Xiao had brought six hundred battleships. The people following him were Herlous, Harmon, and a few Grade B officers. Reynold was in charge of logistics, and Lagi had yet to return.

Quickly sizing Han Xiao up, Morred approached him and extended his hand passionately.

“I’m the commander of this guerrilla team, Morred. I’m from the New Phylen Rebels. We welcome your assistance, Black Star.”

“Hi.” Han Xiao shook his hand.

“Let’s not waste any more time. The operation’s plan is like this…”

The two of them walked side by side as Morred explained the steps of this mission to Han Xiao. The others followed behind as they walked toward the main control room.

Han Xiao was distracted as Morred explained. When accepting the mission, Ralph had already told him the details, so what Morred said was all repeated.

Ralph had been looking forward to his return. As soon as his holiday ended, Ralph sent Han Xiao to the Kaya Star System to join this counterattack that they had planned for a very long time.

Within the past two months, the goals that Han Xiao had set had basically all been completed. He had learned a Cutting-Edge Knowledge, completely rebuilt his mechanical army, completed his Promotion and leveled up to 195, turned a huge amount of Experience into actual combat capability, and learned the very surprising attack type Molding Talent. His strength had skyrocketed.

As Purple Crystal was at a disadvantage in the war, they had more and more hope for Han Xiao. As soon as he returned, he was given a very big responsibility.

I’ve made a good start. As long as I keep accomplishing difficult tasks, my position in Section Zero will definitely increase very quickly!

His goal was to make the Black Star Army a force that had help from Purple Crystal, so of course, he would not reject the important missions.

He put aside the Class Advancement mission for the moment. The Experience that he had saved in his interface was limited, and he was afraid to finish it too early since the update time was ten years long. His current strength was enough to deal with most situations. There were not many Lv.180 legacy blueprints, and they were extremely complicated to obtain. Before the next time he could slack off, Han Xiao would have no time to finish the Class Advancement mission. The secret war was an important part of his plan; he had to take it seriously.

As they arrived, Morred turned on the 3D star map and explained in even further details. Only then did Han Xiao start to listen carefully. A mission popped up on the interface that required him to follow with Morred to complete the raid of the hyperdrive station.

After some analysis, Morred scanned through the data of those people, and his expression became solemn.

“According to the intelligence, the hyperdrive base station is guarded by tightly grouped guards. There are fifteen Calamity Grades standing by. Among the fifteen calamity grades, twelve of them were found by the Bloodshed Land in the Seoul Star Cluster, and the other three are officers of the Bloodshed Land.

Morred pointed at a drawing, on it was a ferocious looking female creature with a light green skin. She had short and gold hair, and a few ferocious scars stretched across her face. She was blind and used mechanical eyes.

“Tamaria, Bloodshed Land Adjudicator, high grade Calamity Grade, nickname ‘Poisonous Bones’. It’s said that she’s killed more than a billion people, including 10,000 Supers and 100 Calamity Grades. This rumor is exaggerated, but the truth is most likely not far from it. In conclusion, she’s very murderous and is a famous mad woman under the Tyrant…”

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and thought, Green skin? She probably has Beastman blood.

Even the Tyrant’s female subordinates were muscular.

There were many talented people under Heber’s command. Other than the eight Vanguard Officials, there were also many famous Calamity Grade officers. It was just that the eight Vanguard Officials were the most famous.

Morred stared at Han Xiao and said, “This woman and the other fourteen Calamity Grades are all yours.”

Han Xiao turned around and patted Herlous’ shoulders. “You heard the man. They’re all yours.”

Herlous’ face was filled with question marks.

“I’m kidding. Why would I let you die like that?” Han Xiao laughed. “Don’t worry, it’s just fifteen Calamity Grades. Even if I can’t win, can’t I run?”

Chapter 681: Black Star’s Weakness

An enormous black and metal space station hovered in space. Its exterior was equipped with rows of satellite-level guard cannons. Nine armed satellite fortresses circled the space station.

This was the T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station, which was the target of Section Zero’s attack.

At this time, Tamaria and the other upper echelons were all in the conference room inside the base, attending a remote meeting.

The war commander, Jorde, appeared on the projection screen.

“According to reliable sources, eleven days ago, Black Star left his headquarters after two months. We speculate that he will be returning to the battlefield soon. Everyone present, pay attention to Black Star’s whereabouts,” he said in a serious tone.

All of Bloodshed Land’s commanders in the three Star Systems were attending the meeting. Black Star had returned to the battlefield—this was the reason that this meeting was being held. After Black Star’s battle with the eight Vanguard Officials, Jorde had paid a lot of attention to Han Xiao.

Although one person would not be able to determine the entire war, Black Star was one of the most dangerous high-level combatants of Section Zero. Sending out a notification just for him was very necessary in Jorde’s eyes so that everyone would at least be prepared.

“According to the recent rumors and his fight with the eight Vanguard Officials, I have arranged some intelligence on Black Star. I will send it to all of you later,” Jorde said.

He firmly believed that knowing his enemies would get him an advantage in battle. Purple Crystal would definitely place Black Star in a very important position. This set of intelligence on Black Star could make sure that every commander knew about the enemy. If they were attacked, they would know how to deal with Black Star.

The conference ended very quickly, and the commander of the T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station received the information. He only looked at it for a few seconds before Tamaria walked to him and grabbed the communicator away to look at it herself.

The base station commander was speechless. Tamaria’s position in the base was higher than his. This green-skinned woman was not only the captain of more than ten high level combatants but also the supervisor. Other than obeying his orders during battle, she usually did not even pay attention to him at all. The base station commander was already used to it.

Tamaria only glanced through before she sneered and threw the communicator aside.

“I was wondering how strong Black Star could actually be, but it turns out he’s so easy to deal with…”

The base communicator picked up the communicator and browsed through it. He then immediately understood what Tamaria meant.

Jorde had added the method to deal with Black Star in the intelligence as well.

Indeed, the result of Black Star’s fight with the eight Vanguard Officials was astonishing. However, after analyzing the fight, Black Star’s weakness had become obvious as well—his attack ability was very limited. Through the entire fight, he was completely suppressed by the eight Vanguard Officials, only surviving due to his Indestructible Body. Due to that, the trouble that he could cause was minimal.

Although Black Star was rumored to have mastered psionic energy recently, there were tons of other Mechanics around the universe that had. It was far from being impossible to deal with.

Furthermore, strategic psionic weapons were equivalent to galactic nuclear weapons. Even Star Cluster civilizations would not use them unless they had no other choice, and they definitely would not in this unofficial secret war. Unless Black Star wanted to visit the Hegaboye Court Martial of the three Universal Civilizations and enjoy more than a hundred years in prison, he would not use Primordial Psionic Energy

Due to those many reasons, Jorde had detailed the method to deal with Black Star in this intelligence—all they had to do was send one or two experienced Calamity Grades and three to five normal Calamity Grades to destroy Black Star’s mechanical army. Black Star would then pose no threat and become useless in the war.

According to how the Section Zero’s organizations had been avoiding losing any high-level combatants, as long as Black Star was dealt with, the threat of the other Calamity Grades of Section Zero would also decrease tremendously.

No wonder Tamaria was disdainful. Black Star was not as difficult to deal with as they had imagined

“Nonetheless, Black Star’s body is great.” The fangs in Tamaria’s mouth showed, and her tone was full of desire and cruelty. “I wonder if I can get his abilities after I eat him.”

Tamaria’s race’s culture was very savage and bloody. They believed in gaining the enemy’s power by eating their flesh and that consuming strong enemies would make them stronger. Tamaria was extremely interested in Han Xiao’s body and thirsted to gulp him down. She licked her lips.

Ohm!

At this time, the alarm of the base suddenly sounded. Everyone’s expression changed as they hastily returned to their stations.

Seeing that the commander had returned, someone quickly reported, “Commander, Stronghold Planet 4 has been attacked. Requesting reinforcements from other strongholds. This is the enemy ship’s data collected by the radar.”

T-04 Hyperdrive Base was the core that maintained the wormhole in the twelve strongholds. Any kind of reinforcements had to be reported to the base station. After approval, the quick reinforcement route would then be opened. The base station’s job was to overlook everything.

The base station commander quickly scanned through the report and said, “Which strongholds have responded?”

“1, 6, 9, and 12.”

“Open Reinforcement Channel 12.” The base station commander did not hesitate.

The operational team nodded and got to work.

Visible through the wide-angle projection porthole of the space station, thousands of blue beams launched from two special devices of the base station, creating a deep blue circular shaped wormhole on both sides. The energy at the edges of the wormholes rippled, expanded, and gradually stabilized. The two wormholes aligned with each other in both location and size.

The next moment, streams of hyperdrive light shot out from the left wormhole and directly into the right wormhole in an instant. These were the reinforcement fleets, having taken less than thirty seconds to arrive.

“It’s done.” The base station commander nodded.

However, before he could catch his breath, three planets out of the twelve stronghold planets turned red on the monitoring interface again, signaling that they were under attack!

“Hmm? This isn’t a simple attack!”

The expression on the base station commander’s face drastically changed. He quickly gave out the reinforcement orders and loudly said, “T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station, get ready for battle. Activate all armed satellite fortresses, and send out all fleets. The enemies may appear any time!”

These signs were common when attacking Hyperdrive Base Stations. The base station commander reacted very quickly and instantly discovered that Section Zero’s target was the base station. However, this was a plot that they had to take part in as the attackers had the upper hand. The only way to resolve it was to defeat the attackers.

Section Zero had been strategically splitting up their troops for two months. Now, the effect of that finally surfaced. They chose T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station as the target of their counterattack because this area had limited troops and had yet to build a long-range stargate.

Everyone in the base station started to act. Tamaria narrowed her eyes and stood up. Not only was she not nervous, she even looked excited and eager.

“Great, someone’s finally here to fight. I haven’t exercised my bones for too long. They’re getting rusty.”

Very soon, more strongholds were attacked and requested reinforcements. Despite knowing that this was a plot, the base station commander had no choice but to deploy more and more troops.

As they were getting nervous, the radar of the base station rang with a piercing sound of alarm.

“Warning! Warning! A large number of unknown targets are approaching!”

They looked at the porthole, which was now adjusted to see extremely far distances. Streams of hyperdrive lights stopped and showed the Section Zero fleet.

“They’re here!” The base station commander clenched his teeth.

“Finally!” Tamaria tightened her fists and walked out in big steps.

The T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station was in sight, and the armed satellite fortresses were activated.

“The enemy fleet has completed their preparation. It seems that they guessed our strategy.”

Morred looked at the projection and did not mind. He did not think that such a simple strategy would fool the enemies. It just had to be effective.

“Time is limited. All units, attack!”

As the order was given, this fleet quickly accelerated and marched forward. Through radar identification, both sides started firing at each other from an extreme distance. The crisscrossed particle cannon beams filled this dark area of space with vibrant colors.

The nine armed satellite fortresses formed an enormous irregular shaped shield, protecting the base station from attacks.

There was a total of three Knife Teams attacking the base station. Reinforcements appeared from two other directions and dispersed the attacks. The pressure on Morred’s fleet was greatly reduced.

Han Xiao’s team followed Morred in the charge as well, mixed within the fleet.

The distance between the two sides was still huge. They were firing at each other from far away and had yet to enter the close-range combat stage. Han Xiao suddenly received Morred’s communication.

“Black Star, did you see the nine armed satellite fortresses? They are the generators of the base station’s protective shield. This kind of protective shield is very strong, and we don’t have enough time to slowly destroy it. The commanders of the other two teams and I have discussed this. We plan to all send out one team to board the armed satellite fortresses and destroy at least one of them!”

Morred spoke very quickly. What he meant was that as long as one armed satellite fortress was destroyed, the protective shield would have a hole in it. Before the other armed satellite fortresses got into position to close the gap, they would be able to use this opportunity to rush in to attack the base station. The mission would only be successful when the base station was destroyed.

They did not have much time. In this operation, the Restraint Teams and the Feint Teams had the most numbers. As the enemies’ reinforcements would only be divided when these strongholds were facing enough pressure. This way, not many enemy teams would be able to back up the hyperdrive base station. They had to use the opportunity when the enemies were split up and destroy the base station.

“No problem. My teammates don’t have to follow me. I will act alone.”

The mission on the interface changed to ‘destroy an armed satellite fortress’.

Han Xiao nodded and agreed. He let Risda control the spaceship then jumped out of the ship, activating the Mountain Ape mechanical suit and switching into Interstellar Travel mode. With a deep blue arc, he avoided the direct crossfire area and headed to an armed satellite fortress from the side.

The other teammates headed to another fortress, and the other two teams sent out ships as well. Han Xiao moved alone. As long as he could get to the armed satellite fortress, he would be able to destroy it very quickly.

I’m swifter and a smaller target when I move alone. Plus, with my name, it’s easier for me to restrain the high-level enemy combatants if I move alone.

In his vision, the tiny armed satellite fortress started to look bigger. He could clearly see the mechanical structure on the surface of the armed satellite fortress. Very soon, the fleet stationed to guard the base station discovered him, and some of the cannons turned and fired at him.

With the tactical screen reminding him of the direction of high energy particle cannons, Han Xiao focused fully on dodging the attacks, sometimes using the Hovering Shield Shuttle to form a psionic shield and block the stray attacks.

Not long after, Han Xiao headed right into the base station defense fleet, bolting swiftly between the enemy spaceships.

With his brain in a highly active state, he processed tremendous data every second. Han Xiao had no time to pay attention to the outside world-he was completely focused on dealing with the attacks coming from all directions. After an unknown amount of time had passed, he suddenly felt that the pressure became much lighter!

Han Xiao turned around and saw that, without realizing it, he had penetrated the entire line of defense. Further away, Morred and the other two Knife Teams were also in close combat with the base station fleets, dividing the enemies’ attention and decreasing the density of attacks on Han Xiao’s side.

Finally, some good teammates.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Without further delay, he headed right toward an armed satellite fortress.

The armed satellite fortress was spherical. It looked like a small planet from the outside. It was less than one percent the size of Planet Aquamarine. It sounded small, but when looking at it from a close distance, Han Xiao felt it did not look much different from a normal planet.

The blue protective shield stopped him outside. Han Xiao pressed onto the protective shield and activated the shield neutralizer to its maximum output. The shield within a hundred meters started to ripple at a high frequency. Its light started to dim, and its energy level started to decrease. Estimating that the shield had reached its critical point, Han Xiao’s other arm turned into a psionic cannon and fired right at the shield!

With a blue explosion, a more than thirty-meter-wide hole appeared in the protective shield. Compared to the entire protective shield, this hole was as tiny as a droplet of water in the ocean, but it was more than big enough for Han Xiao to enter.

Han Xiao looked around, the hole was shrinking from its edge, repairing itself. He summoned more than twenty Army Boxes and rushed in before the hole closed.

This armed satellite fortress had a simple artificial atmosphere for the maintenance personnel. Han Xiao quickly landed on the surface.

Landing on the ground, he looked around. Around him was an undulating mechanical landscape, cold and lifeless, full of mechanical beauty.

“Warning, hum! Five high energy reaction sources detected!”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and looked over.

At the edge of the sky, five enemies with a strong ‘I’m a Calamity Grade’ vibe approached and landed nearby. The person at the front was wearing a ferocious and bulky heavy mechanical suit and carried a huge dark-gold mechanical axe on one shoulder.

Clank!

The facial armor of this person opened, showing a ferocious face and short and gold hair. It was the person that Morred had warned Han Xiao to be careful about, the Bloodshed Land Adjudicator stationed at T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station, Tamaria.

“I’ve been waiting here for you for a long time.”

Tamaria stared at Han Xiao and smiled ferociously.

When she first spotted Black Star, she had been overjoyed. Following Han Xiao’s route, she had brought a few people to this satellite in advance to wait for Han Xiao’s arrival.

In terms of duty, she was meant to deal with Black Star. Personally, Tamaria was also eager to fight with Han Xiao.

“Just five?” Han Xiao looked around and sneered. “All of your Vanguard Officials could not even kill me. You’re underestimating me. It will probably take all fifteen Calamity Grades in your base station to even give me any pressure.”

“Ha, Jorde has found your weakness. We’re not trying to kill you, so there’s no need for all fifteen of us to be here. Five of us is more than enough.”

Han Xiao was not surprised. After his last battle, Bloodshed Land would no longer deploy many people trying to kill him but had instead decided to send fewer people just to restrain him.

Tamaria licked her lips, her bloodthirsty desire overflowing. “Your body is amazing. Wait for me. I will bite off your flesh piece by piece, chew your bones till they shatter, drink your blood till they dry, suck on your bone marrow, and eat every single cell from your body. I heard your recovery ability is very strong. I hope you can make me feel full.”

Han Xiao felt disgusted. If these words had come from someone else, they might just be trying to threaten him, but he could hear that Tamaria truly meant it.

This woman wants to eat me?

How twisted… I don’t like it!

Boom!

At this time, the ground started trembling. The surface of the armed satellite fortress cracked open. Artilleries rose from within like metal forests, and all the barrels turned around and aimed at Han Xiao.

Thousands of thousand Beast Soldiers sprinted out from under the ground and surrounded him.

This was the armed satellite fortress’s defensive measure against enemies on its surface.

In the blink of an eye, enemies were everywhere!

Tamaria closed her facial armor and roared, “Before this war ends, you’re not going anywhere!”

Chapter 682: Hope of the Village

Boom!

From afar, the Thousand Beast Soldier army charged straight for Han Xiao like a tsunami. The earth shook as they got nearer, and their specially-made armor glowed with a deadly light.

Tamaria raised her arm and threw out her dark-gold axe. The axe sliced through the wind and formed a spinning ball of red flames as it smashed down toward Han Xiao’s head.

Hu!

Han Xiao stomped down on the ground, and his body shot toward the sky to avoid the trajectory of the flying axe.

The axe that was flying in midair suddenly changed its trajectory and chased after Han Xiao.

Han Xiao looked down from above and saw an alloy chain attached to the end of the axe. The alloy chain seemed to be able to extend indefinitely with the other end of it attached to Tamaria’s mechanical suit. She could obviously control it from afar.

A floating guard behind Han Xiao then released a psionic shield and collided with the incoming axe!

Clank!

Sparks flew in all directions!

The burning axe was not able to make a dent in the psionic shield and returned to Tamaria’s hands as the chain shortened.

This attack signaled the beginning of the battle.

Phillip raised the alarm, and as Han Xiao lowered his head to take a look, all the artillery towers on this armed satellite fortress began to open fire at him!

Tuk tuk tuk!

The large barrel of the cannon spat out billowing smoke with missiles and laser beams being showered down on him from all directions and in all different colors!

Han Xiao was not only facing five Calamity Grade Supers but also the defensive measures of this armed satellite fortress.

His psionic thrusters were activated at full capacity, and Han Xiao transformed into a blue bolt of lightning as he dodged the never-ending wave of attacks nimbly.

Boom!

All the explosions were narrowly avoided by him, but the high temperature of the aftershock heated up the exterior of his mechanical suit.

Mushroom clouds covered the entire sky and the bolts of lightning from the artillery fire made it seem as though a large thunderstorm cloud was expanding above the armed satellite fortress.

The particle cannons shot through the dark clouds to reveal the light of the world.

Ignoring the danger of the battlefield, this scene was like Buddha’s light breaking through a thousand clouds and was extremely spectacular.

Dark clouds covered Han Xiao’s vision, and the Armor value of his mechanical suit continued to decrease under the barrage of cannon fire. Han Xiao’s expression remained calm, and he activated the Army Box. Together with his (Mechanical Force Field] skill, his Mechanical Force was boosted.

His energy had a new (Void) attribute, and he could borrow the void to transmit energy.

This meant that the efficiency of his Mechanical Force being transmitted was greatly increased.

Clank!

The sound of his Mechanical Army being activated could be heard from the clouds, and his Mechanical Army went to war!

“Orders for the army have been received. Attack region has been confirmed, hum…” Phillip’s voice sounded from Han Xiao’s helmet.

The next instant, over a million psionic cannons opened fire and rained down like a thunderstorm!

Boom!

The entire region was instantly flattened, and the metallic ground cracked up from the psionic canons. Mechanical parts flew in all directions, and craters could be seen all over the surface of the satellite.

Almost forty percent of the defensive canons were destroyed in just a single blow!

The armed satellite fortress was completely suppressed by Han Xiao’s army. Han Xiao’s Mechanical Army descended and dismantled the artillery towers of the armed satellite fortress.

Fighting could be seen all around with the smoke of war covering the entire battlefield.

All of a sudden, a high energy alert sounded from Han Xiao’s mechanical suit, and he immediately dodged to the side.

Hu!

Tamaria’s axe then shot narrowly past his body.

The mobility of a Pugilist was extremely high, and the moment her first attack missed, Tamaria turned around in midair and swung her axe down in rapid succession.

Her powerful attacks resulted in a deafening sonic boom with every attack.

Han Xiao released two psionic shields with his hands and received the attack without any hesitation. Sparks shot out in all directions, and a loud clanging sound resounded like thunder.

Swoosh!

Dark silver nanoparticles then rushed out from the tube at the back of the Mountain Ape suit and transformed into four half bodied phantoms. The phantoms floated behind Han Xiao and aimed their canons at Tamaria and Han Xiao, who were fighting.

Bang!

The four phantoms launched their first round of attacks but did not manage to stop Tamaria from engaging in close combat battle. She circulated her energy to form a flaming shield and blocked their attack!

Bang!

The second round of attacks was fired, and Tamaria remained indifferent. Such a level of attack was not sufficient to make her dodge.

When the third round of attacks was fired, Tamaria wanted to block it as before, but suddenly, she felt a powerful force ignoring her arm and going straight for her organs.

The (Legendary Battle Technique] was activated!

The sound of the explosion was louder than before!

Bang!

Tamaria’s expression dropped, and she could not help but retreat.

What a powerful penetrating force!

Tamaria suppressed her surging blood and had a face of shock.

Han Xiao made use of the opportunity to widen the gap between them as he looked at the battle information from his interface.

Thirty-five percent of True Damage from the previous attack had exceeded 12,000 points of damage. Apart from the basic boost from his Mechanical Force, he did not use any other skills. Just the additional True Damage from the (Legendary Battle Technique] skill had exceeded the reduced damage from the three rounds of attacks!

A Molding Talent is truly terrifying! Han Xiao thought to himself.

This talent was truly the bane of all Pugilists.

Tamaria should be a level 230 Pugilist who was toward the tanky side. Her Endurance should be about 1,600 points, so she should have a few talents to increase the strength of her body. Her health should also be above 300,000.

Currently, Tamaria’s health should be more than fifty percent higher than Han Xiao’s, but both of them were tanky in different ways. Han Xiao relied on the conversion between energy and health, and his recovery rate could make a Pugilist who walked the path of being a tank doubt their own life.

This talent truly exceeded my expectations. As long as my Mechanical Army can ensure that their attacks hit the target…

All those thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s head in less than a second, and the other four Calamity Grade Supers caught up and launched their various attacks!

Han Xiao hurriedly avoided all the long-ranged attacks and suddenly felt an attack coming from behind him.

One of his opponents was a Pugilist who walked the path of agility. He nimbly made his way around Han Xiao like a shooting star, and his alloy dagger shot toward Han Xiao’s spine. He wanted to immobilize Han Xiao.

Han Xiao did not even turn back, and the four phantoms collapsed back into their nanoparticle form. The nanoparticles then formed a mechanical hand that was about seven to eight meters tall. The fingers and palm formed a psionic shield and blocked the sneak attack of this Pugilist.

Bang!

The mechanical hand then threw the Pugilist away as though it was throwing away rubbish!

After experiencing the strength of his new talent, Han Xiao no longer fought Tamaria and the others personally. Instead, he issued a new command, and half of his Mechanical Army surrounded the five Calamity Grade Supers.

He would attack them from the side to disrupt the enemy’s attacks and harass them.

“Do you think this junk will be able to stop
us”

Tamaria’s roar resounded, and the flames on her body exploded.

At the same time, outside the protective shield of the hyperdrive base, Morred and the other two Section Zero fleets were fighting with the defensive fleet of the enemy.

They had boasted the upper hand at the start of the battle and forced the enemy to retreat. However, the other strongholds had received news from the base, and a portion of their troops had immediately been sent to reinforce this hyperdrive base.

The battle was extremely intense at the moment, and neither party had the upper hand.

“Only Black Star has boarded one of the armed satellite fortresses. How is the situation over there?”

Morred could see Han Xiao’s location from the main control room.

Section Zero had sent a few teams of powerhouses to attempt to board nine different armed satellite fortresses. However, all the others had been forced back, and only Black Star had managed to board one of the armed satellite fortresses.

Morred’s palm was covered with cold sweat. His fleet was currently outside the protective shield. Whether or not he could destroy the base was dependent on if Black Star could destroy the armed satellite fortress.

He was the hope of the entire village!

“Sir, we have observed the battle between Black Star and the armed satellite fortress. The enemy has sent five Calamity Grade Supers to stop him, and they seem to have tied Black Star down.”

“This is bad.” Morred felt his heart tighten.

If Black Star was tied down, the entire battle would end up in a stalemate. The longer the battle dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for them.

Gritting his teeth, Morred issued an order.

“Inform the other two fleets. Ask all their Calamity Grade Supers to form a small team and reinforce Black Star. He has been pinned down by the enemy and needs support!”

Chapter 683: One Combo!

At the center of the base station, the base station commander was also observing Black Star’s movements.

“Black Star is the only one to have penetrated the protective shield. Tamaria has taken people to deal with him,” an observing officer said.

The base station commander nodded and looked at the radar. Suddenly, his eyes constricted.

“Hmm? The enemy has sent a Calamity Grade team toward the armed satellite fortress that Black Star is in? They’re trying to back Black Star up,” the base station commander said with a deep voice. “Just in case, send five more Calamity Grades to Black Star. We can’t let the enemies destroy our armed satellite fortresses. If the base station loses its protection, our loss will be inevitable!”

As the order was sent, five more Calamity Grades were deployed.

Both sides sent reinforcements to the battlefield that Black Star was in.

On the armed satellite fortress, Han Xiao had been fighting with Tamaria and the other four with his mechanical army for quite a while.

The battlefield extended over hundreds of miles. Everywhere they passed, the surface of the fortress was torn apart and messed up.

The battle in the sky had reached its climax.

Boom boom boom!

The five Calamity Grades dashed left and right. Broken mechanical soldiers fell from the sky one after another.

Boom!

The dark-gold mechanical axe was being spun around like a tornado, crushing every machinery in its path. Tamaria punched and kicked all the mechanical soldiers around her into pieces.

The other four were also continuously damaging the mechanical army.

It seemed like the enemies were unstoppable. However, they were actually wounded and exhausted.

The attacks of close to a million machines were very intensive. They were going to get hit sooner or later. Following the triggering requirement of the [Legendary Battle Technique], Han Xiao had changed Phillip’s control method. The first two attacks were focused on limiting the enemy’s dodge routes to increase the accuracy of the third attack.

Furthermore, he split up the attack frequency of the various units. This meant that the army’s every round of attack included a lot of True Damage. It was very lethal and gave the enemies a lot of pressure.

Tamaria did not dare ignore the attacks. She had to focus fully every time the army attacks. Otherwise, if she got hit by the True Damage attacks, suffering light injuries would be lucky.

She was furious.

This is called limited lethality?

Jorde, you’re full of sh*t!

Most of the low-grade mechanical soldiers were still fragile when facing Calamity Grades, but their attack was now on a different level.

Previously, most of the time, Han Xiao had used the mechanical army to reduce the enemy’s energy before he went to beat up the enemy personally. Now, however, the enemies were completely trapped in the mechanical army and were barely able to hold on. They did not even have a chance to approach Han Xiao.

Phillip firmly controlled the entire battle. Han Xiao was free enough to carry out Virtual Intrusion on this armed satellite fortress.

The armed satellite fortress seemed to have countless defensive measures and had held back half of his mechanical army. In order to quickly destroy this satellite, Virtual Intrusion was the most efficient method.

Boom!

At this time, Tamaria suddenly used some sort of ability and penetrated the army’s encirclement, dragging a blood red flame behind her. Like a rocket, she bolted up to Han Xiao!

“Ha!”

With a loud roar, the mechanical axe slashed down!

“Tsk.”

Han Xiao had no choice but to stop the Virtual Intrusion. Two psionic shields appeared from each of his hands and blocked this attack.

Clunk!

The axe was stuck between the shield. This time, as if the axe suddenly had an absorption force, the flames all over Tamaria’s body flowed right into it as it became more and more red.

The next moment, a thick, powerful blood-red wave launched from the axe!

It landed at zero distance!

Boom!

Being attacked by a powerful hit, Han Xiao coughed and was about to back off. To his surprise, Tamaria moved quicker and tied Han Xiao’s arms with the chain at the end of the axe, pulling him back.

“Like I said, you’re not going anywhere!” Tamaria roared and heavily headbutted Han Xiao’s forehead.

Boom!

Han Xiao felt dizzy. Tamaria had at least two thousand Strength, so it was normal for her to overwhelm him in terms of raw strength.

The vibration penetrated the helmet’s shock absorption module and caused a buzzing in his ears.

Tamaria was just about to continue attacking, but Han Xiao suddenly exited the Mountain Ape and exposed his body. Not only did he not look panicked, he even looked a little speechless.

“You really are… eager to die.”

The next moment, Han Xiao’s actions made Tamaria confused.

Not only did he not escape, he wrapped his arms around Tamaria’s waist and hugged her.

“You…”

Before Tamaria could react, she instinctively felt an extreme sense of danger. Suddenly, she figured something out, and her entire body was frozen.

All the mechanical army in the sky suddenly turned their barrels around and aimed at Han Xiao… as well as Tamaria!

“Let me go!”

Tamaria was extremely shocked and hastily tried to push Han Xiao away.

However, the Mountain Ape mechanical suit, now controlled by Phillip, shot out dozens of compressed orbs that turned into all sorts of traps and were planted around the two of them. With all those traps, neither of them were able to move for about two to three seconds.

They both became stationary targets.

Han Xiao chuckled beside Tamaria’s ear and said, “Didn’t expect that, did you? I’m just the bait.”

“Do you want to kill yourself ?” Only after Tamaria said this did she realize that Han Xiao had the Indestructible Body title. Rage and despair appeared on her face. She clenched her teeth and said, “Do you really think you’re unkillable?”

“No.” Han Xiao blinked then said something that Tamaria did not understand. “But I’m immune to True Damage.”

The next moment, countless psionic cannons from all directions fired at once!

Boom!

The expanding ball of light consumed the two of them. The other four Calamity Grades ran away with all their might.

The ball of light expanded to its maximum before exploding. The shockwave blew away everything around it, like using an eraser on a drawing

The exploded ball of light turned into sparkling light debris and fell like rain.

At the center of the explosion, Han Xiao was healthy and vigorous. He summoned the mechanical suit and wore it again. Then, he let go of the charred corpse that was still emitting black smoke, allowing it to fall from the sky.

With (Steel Body], he was immune to True Damage. Through the health-mana cycle, the health lost from the explosion swiftly recovered. Not only was he not injured, he even felt revitalized.

Oh, it’s because the attribute increase from the Advanced Strengthened Life has already stacked so many layers. No wonder…

Han Xiao slightly raised his brows.

Using himself as the bait to control the enemy before using the mechanical army to focus fire

— this was his trump card after obtaining the ability of health-mana cycle. As long as the enemy approached him without knowing, they would fall into the trap.

After obtaining (Legendary Battle Technique), the lethality of this method had become an ace card that could now kill the enemy.

Tamaria had instantly been killed under the focus fire!

No matter who she was, in Han Xiao’s eyes, she was just a Grade A+ Pugilist that had about seventy percent health, enough to be killed with one combo.

Han Xiao turned around and looked at the other four terrified Calamity Grades with a smile.

“Come on, let’s get to know each other.”

The four Calamity Grades shivered. With horrified expressions on their faces, they only had one thought in their minds.

Don’t come any closer!

Chapter 684: Deciding Victory

Boom!

The armed satellite fortress was plowed by the mechanical army again and again. The four Calamity Grades were no longer surrounding Han Xiao but running for their lives.

While attacking the enemies, Han Xiao was also hacking into the armed satellite fortress. After all, destroying the armed satellite fortress was his main goal. After killing Tamaria, the other four did not dare get close to him at all, so no one interrupted him.

Many of his Virtual Technology abilities were upgraded compared to before, so Han Xiao successfully obtained control of the armed satellite fortress without too much effort. A Grade A+ Virtual Mechanic could penetrate most artificial intelligences.

Han Xiao searched through the modules of the armed satellite fortress and sighed.

“No self-destruction module? Shame.”

After giving it some thought, Han Xiao controlled the armed satellite fortress to open its surface tunnels. He then sent some of the mechanical soldiers into the armed satellite fortress and planted secondary psionic bombs.

In terms of efficiency, destroying the energy furnace inside the armed satellite fortress was much more convenient than destroying the armed satellite fortress from outside.

At the same time on the main battlefield, a few small, agile spaceships dashed between the chaotic battlefield. In them were the Calamity Grades sent by Morred. They were trying to break through the enemies’ defenses and back Han Xiao up.

However, the high energy particle cannon attacks were too concentrated on the battlefield, so the reinforcement teams were forced to retreat again and again, unable to penetrate the enemies.

As the Bloodshed Land fleets arrived at the battlefield through quick reinforcement channels one after another, the main fleet could no longer provide cover for these reinforcement teams.

“The situation isn’t good. We took too long. Many enemies in the strongholds have gotten rid of the teams that were restraining them earlier and are arriving at the base station extremely quickly. The number of enemies we’re facing has multiplied many times!”

Inside the flagship, Morred’s expression changed as he heard the report.

He clenched his teeth and pushed the words through the gap of his teeth.

“If this goes on, we will only achieve a pathetic victory! Black Star is the key to breaking the situation, but he’s alone without backup. Are the helpers we sent still unable to break through their defenses?”

“They can’t. The enemies seem to know our intention and completely blocked all routes to the armed satellite fortress that Black Star is
on.”

Morred’s expression became firm. He waved his hand and said, “Send my orders. All units, retract the formation and push forward in his direction. Open a path for the reinforcement teams and penetrate the enemies’ defenses!”

en

As soon as his sentence ended, everyone was shocked.

The current situation was very clear; it could be divided into five layers.

The most exterior layer was where Morred and the three Section Zero fleets were. One more layer inside was the base station’s defense fleet. Those two were fighting each other.

After the defense fleet was the base station’s gigantic protective shield, separating the exterior battlefield and the base station core. One more layer inside were the nine armed satellite fortresses around the base station. In the center of all this was the target that Section Zero planned to destroy-T-04 Hyperdrive Base Station.

Morred’s order was to have the entire fleet march forward without backup and open a path for the reinforcement teams for Black Star. This was no different from giving up any possibility of retreating and deliberately entering the enemies’ encirclement.

If they penetrated the enemies’ line of defense but were unable to break through the base station protective shield immediately, it would be the end of them.

“This is a gamble. It’s too risky!”

“I don’t agree with such a reckless method. It’s better to fight steadily.”

Many fleet captains objected. They belonged to the partnered organizations and were not Morred’s direct subordinates.

The downside of an alliance force was showing again—when facing a danger that required them to take risks, they would not be united and would prioritize their own safety before the overall outcome of the battle.

Objections came from the communication channel nonstop. Morred’s expression became more and more angered. Only the New Phylen Rebels were directly under his command, but they were far from enough. He needed help from the other organizations.

Bang!

Morred could not take it anymore. He bashed the table and interrupted the objections from the various captains.

“I know, each and every one of you wants to be favored by Purple Crystal and become a long-term partner of a Star Cluster civilization. But you don’t want to fight for it with your lives. Do you think that the Purple Crystal civilization is easy to fool!

“I’ve had enough of being defeated by the Bloodshed Land again and again. There’s an opportunity right in front of us. His Excellency Black Star is fighting the enemies with his life. As long as we back him up, we will be able to break the stalemate and win this battle!

“You’re all big organizations from your Star Systems, famous and renowned, why have you all become a bunch of cowards? If you don’t even have the guts to take a little risk, pardon me for saying this, but why did you even join this war?”

The communication channels became quiet; no one spoke.

Seeing this, Morred said in a deep voice, “Execute the order!”

The entire fleet was no longer moving forward slowly. They retracted their formation and bashed right into the base station defense fleet’s formation like a hammer!

Enduring attacks from all directions, the fleet entered deep into the enemies’ fleet and headed toward the armed satellite fortress that Han Xiao was on.

At first, the enemy fleet was messed up by the sudden change, but they adjusted their formation very quickly and obstructed Morred’s fleet.

Not long after, Morred’s fleet was no longer charging forward quickly. Like they had stepped into a swamp, every step forward became difficult. At this point, they had already reached deep into the line of defense and were only a short distance away from the armed satellite fortress’s protective shield.

Yet, it seemed like the Morred fleet had to take ten times the time they took to get here to overcome such a short distance.

“Hang on. The armed satellite fortress is right in front of us!”

The command room was shaking from the attacks as Morred loudly ordered, “Reinforcement teams, it’s your turn!”

At this time, the atmosphere was tense among the reinforcement teams.

With a serious face, the captain of the Calamity Grades loudly said, “Everyone, get ready for battle. His Excellence Black Star needs our help. Go!”

The next moment, those Calamity Grades jumped out of the spaceship, moved swiftly using the other spaceships as cover and finally penetrating the line of defense under Morred’s nervous gaze. They headed toward the armed satellite fortress.

Morred looked at those Calamity Grades full of hope as they quickly approached the armed satellite fortress.

Whether they would win or lose all depended on this!

However, as he was being extremely nervous, something suddenly happened!

The members of the reinforcement team were just about to reach the protective shield of the armed satellite fortress when the armed satellite fortress suddenly emitted a blinding light and exploded!

The entire armed satellite fortress exploded from within. This fortress that looked like a small planet turned into a blinding explosion in the blink of an eye!

Countless scraps of armor, parts, and machines were blown away, turning into floating space debris. The impact was as large as a planet exploding!

As the fortress was destroyed, the base station protective shield lost one of its generators. The shield in this area suddenly disappeared, showing an enormous hole more than big enough for a fleet to enter.

Behind the hole was the hyperdrive base station now without any defense.

The path toward the enemies’ core opened!

A person flew out from the wreckage of the armed satellite fortress.

Han Xiao!

The sudden explosion attracted the attention of everyone on the battlefield. Friend or foe, they all looked over with shock on their faces.

Black Star had destroyed the armed satellite fortress all by himself!

The mechanical army had already been retrieved. Han Xiao took his Army Boxes and left the wreckage. There were quite many burn marks on his mechanical suit.

He saw the reinforcement team members right away. He waved and sent a voice message.

“You guys are late.”

The reinforcement team members were all mentally prepared for a bloody fight ahead, but now they felt as if they had just punched a ball of cotton. Dumfounded, they all looked at Han Xiao.

Wh—Where are the enemies?

Did you kill all of them?

They were completely shocked.

How many Calamity Grades did Black Star just kill!

“What an amazing job!”

Morred was stunned for an instant before he was overjoyed, yelling with excitement.

He had thought that Black Star was held back by the enemies and had no back up, but it seemed like the situation was the opposite of what he had speculated!

He had never expected that Black Star could destroy the fortress even while being surrounded by many Calamity Grades!

How damn reliable!

The protective shield broke very timely; it was a perfect opportunity.

Not having the time to think about other things, Morred grabbed the opportunity and quickly issued the orders. The entire fleet headed right through the hole in the gigantic protective shield, firing intensely at the base station.

At the same time, the base station was trembling from the attacks. The scene inside was full of chaos. Piercing alarms echoed in every corner.

“Warning! Warning! High energy attack detected!”

Like the countdown of the grim reaper, the bright and firework-like beams of attacks outside the windows rapidly approached.

Inside the main control room, the base station commander looked out the porthole, shivering and twitching from fear. Like everyone alongside him, he was in despair.

He could not understand it. Why is Black Star so much stronger than the intelligence said?

He had sent out five Calamity Grades to back Tamaria up just in case. They were supposed to guard against the reinforcements of Black Star. However, he had never expected that Black Star would kill Tamaria when those five Calamity Grades were still on the way!

She was the strongest person there, yet she had been killed just like that!

When the five reinforcements arrived, the four Calamity Grades following Tamaria were either dead or heavily injured. They were crushed. Black Star did not stop there and went ahead to demolish the five Calamity Grades that had just arrived!

Black Star eliminated more than half of the high-level combatants stationed at the base station all by himself!

The ‘how to deal with Black Star’ information in the intelligence file was absolutely useless!

This completely messed up all their plans. The base station commander was petrified and unable to think.

In the face of such overwhelming strength, he felt powerless and had no solution for it. All he could do was watch as Black Star turned the armed satellite fortress into fireworks.

Time seemed to slow down, and the attacks got closer. The bright light lit up the base station commander’s face and filled his vision.

At this moment, he only had one thought in his mind.

I lost… to Black Star.

Chapter 685: Postwar Conference

Thousands of attacks landed on the hyperdrive base station, tearing it to pieces silently in an instant.

At this point, Han Xiao had already returned to the Blacklight Stealth. He took off the mechanical suit, massaged his shoulders, and smiled when he saw the hyperdrive base station getting destroyed.

Victory at last. My efforts didn’t go to waste.

The notification of the strategic mission being completed popped up on the interface. Destroying the armed satellite fortress alone made the Mission Rating very high. His Favorability with the Purple Crystal increased by 1,350, and he was also awarded with tens of millions of Experience.

However, this was just a small part of the reward that he received this time. Killing Tamaria who was many levels higher than him alone gave him more than half a billion Experience.

Earning Experience through killing Calamity Grades is actually quite efficient. Without the players here, that’s a rather good option.

War was indeed an opportunity. Where else would he be able to find so many Calamity Grade enemies?

Through this battle, he had a clearer idea of his own strength. Compared to two months prior, his combat capability now was on a completely different level.

With (Legendary Battle Technique], he could crush most opponents with just his mechanical army. Despite having just entered the Grade A+ territory, his actual combat capability had already exceeded top Grade A+ Supers.

With so many powerful Molding Talents that synergized with each other, the actual effect in combat was better than he imagined.

Not even sending ten normal Calamity Grades to fight him would basically be gifting him kills!

As long as a Beyond Grade A Super doesn’t interfere, the others in the Bloodshed Land should all be no match for me…

Han Xiao only had this thought for a second before he immediately slapped himself and got rid of it.

That was close. I almost flagged my own death!

Han Xiao turned to look at the battlefield.

With the base station destroyed, the enemies lost their reinforcement channel. The stalemate was broken instantly. The morale of Section Zero was boosted, and they started to clean out the remaining enemies. The enemies’ complete defeat was just a matter of time.

Han Xiao had completed his mission, so he did not take part in the following battles. He slacked off with the Black Star Army fleet at the side.

Morred and the three fleets intercepted and surrounded the remaining enemies. The ending of this battle was already decided. As it quickly ended, Section Zero finally achieved their first big victory.

The three fleets cleaned up the battlefield and picked up the loot before leaving the scene in groups.

After more than an hour in hyperdrive, the fleet slowly stopped in a safe area.

Han Xiao received Morred’s invitation to attend the postwar conference on the flagship.

After calling up Herlous, Harmon, and the other officers, Han Xiao linked his spaceship with the flagship.

Whoosh!

The hatch opened. In front of them was the link corridor. Han Xiao led the others into the flagship. A few receptionists were waiting there. They quickly approached and welcomed him with a respectful tone.

“Your Excellency Black Star, everyone has arrived. They’re all waiting for you.”

“Lead the way.”

Han Xiao nodded and followed the receptionist to the door of the conference hall inside the flagship.

The door opened, and joyous and delightful voices came from inside. The atmosphere seemed very positive.

There were quite a few people in the room. All the people in charge of the partnered organizations within the fleet had been invited. After finally achieving a victory, everyone was elated.

Han Xiao stepped in, and chatter inside the hall suddenly stopped. Everyone looked over. Seeing that it was Han Xiao, their eyes were filled with admiration and respect. They opened up a path for Han Xiao.

“Black Star, you’re here. Quick, take a seat.”

The center of the hall was a circular conference table, and everyone was sitting there. Morred sat at the host seat. As he saw Han Xiao, he quickly stood up and passionately invited Han Xiao to take a seat.

“Hi, how are you? Have you eaten?” Han Xiao sat on his seat and casually greeted the others.

“Haha, now that everyone is here, let’s start the conference. His Excellency Ralph has something that he wants to say to us.”

Morred smiled and pressed the desk. Ralph’s remote projection image appeared above the center of the conference table.

Ralph cleared his throat and spoke.

“Everyone, you’ve done a very good job. You’ve eliminated the base station, causing the Bloodshed Land’s twelve strongholds to be isolated and their forces to be separated. Our troops successfully destroyed those twelve strongholds with very low casualties. This is our first overwhelming victory!”

Clap clap clap!

Everyone applauded.

“Morred, you were very decisive. Your contribution in destroying the base station is huge. Carrie, you restrained the enemies and completed your mission. Pierer, you…”

Ralph praised everyone present one after the other. The applause continued nonstop. Han Xiao’s expression was strange—this reminded him of exam result announcements.

They had just won a battle, and now they were already being evaluated for their contribution.

“Also, the biggest merit of this victory…”

Ralph turned to look at Han Xiao with a big smile on his face. “Black Star, you destroyed the enemy’s armed satellite fortress and defensive measures alone, which can be said to be the key point in turning the battle around!”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Who said that one person could not change the battle? Black Star alone could complete this kind of key tactical mission-his actions determined their victory and decided the result of the skirmish.

“Ahem, I just did what I should.” Han Xiao maintained his expression and waved his hand like it was not a big deal.

Morred could not help but add, “If not for you, at most, we would have ended up with a tragic victory. Of course, you deserve the biggest
merit!”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he had no choice but to smile politely.

Ralph smiled and said, “You don’t have to be humble. I have already reported to the superiors. They are very satisfied with your achievements. The people above have decided to increase their investment in the Black Star Army as a reward. Also, they will consider making you a long-term partner.”

When Ralph said this, everyone’s expression slightly changed. They were jealous.

The biggest goal they had in joining the secret war was to become a long-term partner of a Star Cluster Civilization. Black Star was already one step ahead of them.

In the Purple Crystal Civilization upper echelons’ eyes, the Black Star Army’s importance had probably already exceeded any of the other Section Zero members.

Now this is what I wanted to hear, actual benefits… Han Xiao smiled.

“By the way, you also killed the Bloodshed Land’s Adjudicator, Tamaria. This is the first high-level Bloodshed Land officer that has died. The Bloodshed Land has lost an important member. You’ve done a good job.”

Han Xiao was stunned. So, that testy woman I killed is the first important Bloodshed Land officer to die in the secret war?

This means that… I took Ty-Ty’s first blood?

So… Heber won’t get angry… right?

Due to the disadvantage they had been at for the past two months, Ralph had been incredibly stressed. He kept wanting to get revenge. As soon as Black Star returned, he had finally made the Bloodshed Land lose. Ralph felt relieved.

The more he looked at Han Xiao, the more satisfied he was.

In his eyes, the combat capability displayed by Black Star exceeded the standard of normal Calamity Grades. Usually, only Beyond Grade As would be able to crush a group of Calamity Grades. However, Black Star was not Beyond Grade A. Hence, he felt that there was only one explanation for this—Black Star’s potential was extraordinary. Furthermore, his potential was becoming real strength way too quickly. He was obviously much stronger than he had been two months ago!

Purple Crystal had looked into Han Xiao’s past before. About ten years ago, Black Star had just entered the galaxy and built his mercenary group. Back then, he was not even Grade B, yet in less than ten years, he had risen extremely quickly.

This meant that Black Star had the highest amount of Beyond Grade A potential!

In all the years since the end of the exploration era till now, none of the Beyond Grade As had risen as quickly as Black Star!

Ralph was exhilarated. As long as the Tyrant did not do anything, Black Star might be able to crush all the Bloodshed Land Calamity Grades. He was basically a murder weapon among the high-level combatants, the biggest advantage that Section Zero had!

This evaluation right after the battle was done on purpose. One reason was to use rewarding Black Star as an example to encourage more Section Zero members to win battles, eliminating the downside of an alliance force.

The second reason was to express their attitude toward Black Star on how important he was to them.

Killing two birds with one stone.

At this moment, no one realized that the effects of this skirmish would be much greater than they thought…

Chapter 686: Tyrant’s Plan

After this victory, Section Zero temporarily did not carry out any more counterattack operations. Han Xiao left the main fleet after getting the contacts of Morred and the others.

The reward for this mission came very quickly. Purple Crystal was very generous, giving him a total of twenty-seven million Enas and other rare resources, clearly expressing Han Xiao’s importance to them.

After this battle, Ralph saw Han Xiao as a treasure.

He told Han Xiao to stand by temporarily. Only on important missions would he consider using the Black Star trump card. There was no need to deploy him for normal guerrilla missions.

Of course, Han Xiao was more than willing to slack off. He could make use of this opportunity to digest the resources that he had just received from the Purple Gold Civilization and replenish his mechanical army. Furthermore, Lagi was on the way there as well.

At the same time, the influence of this war was slowly spreading

“Section Zero achieved a huge victory in the Kaya Star System, destroying twelve Bloodshed Land stronghold planets.”

To the various civilizations and organizations of the Shattered Star Ring who had been paying attention to the secret war, this news quickly made them feel energized. Ever since the start of the war, this was Section Zero’s first successful counterattack. They have finally put a stop to their string of failures.

These organizations knew what Purple Crystal’s strategy was-give up some areas strategically and split up the Bloodshed Land’s forces. They knew that the secret war would enter a stalemate sooner or later and that the war would probably only end after many years.

The talented individuals appearing in the secret war became the focus of the various organizations.

War had always been a stage for the strong, a shortcut to honor. There were always people who became famous through war. To all those who have been paying attention, Han Xiao was clearly the brightest star born on this stage. Everyone else paled in comparison before him.

Black Star’s turning point since the start of the war was when he was able to survive the attacks of all eight Vanguard Officials. With that, he earned the nickname of ‘Indestructible Body’, which spread across the entire Star Field.

Just two months later, he once again gained astonishing achievements, killing ten Calamity Grade Supers, including the Bloodshed Land Adjudicator, Tamaria. He once again made sensational news.

The Beyond Grade A seeds in the past had been quiet for a long time. After so many years, none of them became a new Beyond Grade A. Similarly, when those Beyond Grade A seeds first entered the list, that was when they were the most famous. Like a cycle, it was now Black Star’s turn.

It had not been long since Black Star became a Beyond Grade A seed. These two achievements were his signature deeds, sparking discussion between countless people. These two unbelievable achievements produced a chemical reaction, making Han Xiao the latest Star Field level hot topic. His fame in the Shattered Star Ring skyrocketed, and his position grew just as quickly.

Before this, Black Star had not been considered someone huge in the Shattered Star Ring—the majority of his position was because of Floating Dragon. However, he had gradually stepped out of the Floating Dragon title, and his own position had started to grow. He could be said to be an overnight sensation.

ans

Through this battle, it was not just potential that Han Xiao had shown but his true combat capability, which almost no one in his grade could match up to. To many organizations, Black Star was almost half a Beyond Grade A. It seemed like he really had a chance to sit on the Beyond Grade A throne one day.

The rise of every Beyond Grade A was always sensational. If a fifth Beyond Grade A really appeared in the Shattered Star Ring, the issues between Klent and Purple Crystal would become unimportant.

When Han Xiao stood his ground against the eight Vanguard Officials, those large organizations had still been spectating. However, after the news of him killing several Calamity Grades spread out, many people could not just watch anymore.

Some wanted him dead, while some wanted him to live.

More people wanted to contact him.

Many that were previously just watching decided to join in.

Han Xiao had yet to know that the storms he had stirred up had made the influence of the secret war exceed beyond what it was supposed to have.

A cyclone hidden under the secret war was brewing

At this time, Klent and Purple Crystal knew nothing about this, nor did they think that this war would go out of their control.

In the Bloodshed Land headquarters, specifically in the Tyrant’s palace, the small mountain-sized Heber sat on the hovering throne, looking down at the frightened Jorde.

“Tamaria… died?”

Jorde shivered. Not daring to look up, he looked down at the ground and said, “She died at Black Star’s hands. I’m responsible, too. My intel was inaccurate…”

It would not matter if those below Calamity Grade died, but Tamaria was different. She was one of the key members who had followed the Bloodshed Land through battles from the earliest time. She had even received personal guidance from Tyrant before. The death of an experienced adjudicator was a huge loss.

“Hmm, okay,” Heber said with an indifferent tone.

Jorde stood still for a while but did not hear the next half of the sentence he had expected, so he cautiously asked, “What… are you planning to do?”

“Dying in war is a righteous end for warriors,” Heber said slowly. “In war, you can kill people, and people can kill you.”

Jorde was stunned. Did this mean that Tyrant was not planning on getting revenge?

“Er… I thought you…”

“You thought I would be furious and immediately avenge Tamaria?” Heber frowned slightly. “Then, what would I need you people for?”

Heber was domineering, but that did not mean that he was reckless and impulsive. He was calm and would not change his plan just because one or two of his subordinates died.

As long as there was no Beyond Grade A on the enemy’s side fighting, he would not easily make a move. This had been decided with Klent long ago.

Usually, Heber would be biased toward his subordinates, but in wars, he was cold-blooded.

Wars were trials of blood and fire; Heber was not going to protect his subordinates. He needed his officers to grow in the flames of war. Even if all of them died, he would not feel heartache. His organization was his tool, not his weakness.

Jorde did not know what to say.

“However, this isn’t over,” Heber said.

“What does that mean?” Jorde asked honestly.

“He will be held accountable for this; our fight will be inevitable,” Heber said coldly. “He has Beyond Grade A potential, but as of now, he still is a Calamity Grade. If I kill him now, it will be too boring, so I will give him time to grow.

“If he stays at Calamity Grade, I won’t do anything to him, but as soon as he becomes Beyond Grade A, I will personally strike and beat him to death!”

After a pause, Heber said, “If he can’t become Beyond Grade A even by the end of the war, I will still kill him by then.”

“But… Black Star is very strong. He will cause a lot of casualties to our high level combatants.” Jorde could not help but speak up. He hoped that Heber could change his mind and kill Black Star immediately.

“I know the casualties will be high…” Heber looked down at Jorde, speaking slowly. “Therefore, Black Star is the enemy I’m leaving to you guys. Survive against him, become stronger or die. Those that don’t even have this little amount of faith in themselves can request to come back to the headquarters. They won’t ever have to go into the battlefield again.”

Heber knew that Han Xiao was strong, so he wanted to use him to train the officers under his command.

Now that all the forces were paying attention to Black Star, if he, a Beyond Grade A, personally attacked a Calamity Grade, it would seem petty of him. Even though Black Star was a Beyond Grade A seed, he would still be able to easily kill him.

Heber disdained killing Black Star. In his eyes, not only would that be a despicable act, it would also be short-sighted.

Killing Black Star immediately would at most clear the obstacles of this war and decrease the casualties of his organization. In Heber’s eyes, that was not even worth mentioning compared to what he could get from killing a Beyond Grade A.

He was willing to give Han Xiao time to grow.

The Bloodshed Land was so enormous and powerful because he, the Beyond Grade A, was the core that united all of it.

As long as he was there, no casualties were unrecoverable.

As long as he was there, the Bloodshed Land would be able to rapidly develop.

He needed an opponent worth fighting. If Black Star could really become a Beyond Grade A, the entire Star Field would be sensationalized. By then, if he fought Black Star, no one would have a problem with that.

I won’t bully you when you’re weak. I will wait till you reach my level, then kill you!

Domineering as usual!

This way, the influence that he would gain would be much bigger. Black Star’s death would once again bring glory to the title Tyrant’.

“Understood, I will let everyone know your intention.” Jorde’s voice became louder as he was conquered by Heber’s personality.

Although, from the way Jorde saw it, letting Black Star grow was not a wise choice.

But…

It’s so domineering!

He had absolute confidence in Heber. Even if Black Star became a Beyond Grade A, he would still be no match for Tyrant.

His Excellency Heber’s perspective on the issue is on a different level. He saw a greater opportunity while my vision was limited by this war. I’m too petty.

“Black Star became stronger again.”

In the Floating Dragon palace, Aesop was looking at the news. He sighed and looked at Ames, who was sitting on the hovering throne.

“I still underestimated him. Back then, I wanted Black Star to be your right-hand man. I never thought that he would grow this fast. Sooner or later, he will request to leave Floating Dragon.”

Ames was silent. She wanted Han Xiao to become stronger, but she did not want Han Xiao to leave her side.

Aesop sighed and said, “He has done a lot for Floating Dragon, but I have seen many Beyond Grade As before. Other than those raised by the three Universal Civilizations, no one is willing to be under someone else. I know that he’s important to you, but the Shattered Star Ring is very big. He won’t be your subordinate forever.”

“He won’t be able to leave,” Ames said coldly.

Aesop frowned. “Don’t be willful. No matter what, Black Star is your friend. With this relationship, the two of you will definitely be allies. There’s no need to create a conflict…”

“I said, he won’t be able to leave!”

Ames raised her voice and interrupted Aesop before lowering her gaze.

“Unless I can’t stop him.”

Chapter 687: DarkStar Leader and the Fallen Ark

Black Star Base No.1’s military factory was so large that the end of it was out of sight. Countless assembly lines operated every hour of the day. Mechanical parts were assembled into all kinds of equipment by countless mechanical arms. Several Mechanics walked in between the assembly lines, debugging them from time to time.

The top of the factory was the main control room that could look over the entire factory. Decks of blueprints were spread on the alloy table near the window of the main control room, flipped by a person’s hand.

Reynold sat upright beside the table, reading through the blueprints with a serious expression.

This time, the door of the main control room was shoved open, and Sylvia ran in with joy all over her face.

“Hey, I have good news!”

Reynold slowly moved his eyes from the blueprints and looked at Sylvia.

“Big sis, please do tell,” he said with a serious face.

Sylvia was already used to Reynold’s personality and had learned to selectively ignore parts of it. She raised her hand, and a ball of flickering Mechanical Force appeared in her palm.

“Hehe, I’m Grade B now. Aren’t I amazing?” Sylvia said with an excited expression.

“Amazing,” Reynold said with an upward tone and a poker face. He even raised his hands and clapped.

Seeing this, Sylvia felt awkward. She felt like something that she was proud of might not be worth mentioning in the eyes of a Calamity Grade.

But she could not resist sharing her joy. Han Xiao had taken the old officers out to war, so the one that was closest to her among the remaining people was only Reynold, who oversaw the logistics. Usually, she would ask Reynold any questions she had. Although Reynold was nominally her junior, he was actually considered Han Xiao’s teaching assistant.

Sylvia could not suppress her excitement of entering Grade B and became happy again after feeling awkward for a while. With aspiration on her face, she said, “Teacher will definitely be very happy when he hears about this. He’s always had high hopes for me…”

Most importantly, Han Xiao had promised her that if she could become a Grade B Super, she would be able to focus on combat in the future and not do homework every day.

I’m free!

I, Sylvia, am happy!

After enjoying being happy for a while, Sylvia realized that Reynold did not say anything. She looked up and realized that although Reynold was facing her, his eyes were secretly looking sideways at the blueprints on the table.

Is talking to me this boring? Sylvia snapped her fingers, put on an angry expression, and said, “Stop looking away. I’m talking to you!”

Reynold looked back and said with a serious expression as if nothing had happened, “Hmm, you’re right.”

Wow, what a perfunctory response… Sylvia clenched her teeth, took a deep breath, and calmed her emotions. She then took out the communicator and said, “By the way, Teacher did something great recently again. Look, people all over the Star Field are discussing him on all platforms. They all say he has the highest chance to become the next Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring. Tsk tsk, I never thought that Teacher is this amazing. If he really becomes a Beyond Grade A, as his disciple, maybe we…”

With a pause, Sylvia suddenly realized that Reynold did not react again. She looked up and saw that Reynold was looking at the blueprints on the table once again.

“Still looking?”

Sylvia was embarrassed and irritated. She snapped her finger again louder.

Am I, such a beautiful lady, not even as attractive as those boring blueprints?

“No, I’m listening.” Reynold coughed. He took the communicator from Sylvia’s hand and looked at the news on it. His face turned serious again, and he muttered, “Black Star… Beyond Grade A seed…”

Seeing that Reynold was finally not looking at the blueprints, a smug expression appeared on Sylvia’s delicate and exquisite face.

As Han Xiao’s secretary, she knew that Reynold’s contract duration was about to end. For the Black Star Army, she felt that she had to make Reynold stay.

According to her knowledge of Reynold, this person’s desire to learn exceeded even his physiological desires. Sylvia felt that the best way to make him stay was to keep reminding him that her teacher had become stronger and stronger, showing him how outstanding her teacher was. That way, Reynold might choose to stay and continue following Black Star to learn and work for the army.

Although Sylvia did not really want to share her teacher with Reynold, for the sake of the army… she decided to sacrifice that.

“Beyond Grade A… Beyond Grade A…” Reynold muttered. Usually, he always looked serious and formal, but now, he looked like he had something heavy on his mind. “Black Star… Black Star can solve this once and for all…”

“What?” Sylvia did not understand what he
meant.

“Nothing.”

Reynold returned to being serious.

At the same time in the training camp of Black Star Base No.1, Brock put down the communicator that was playing the news. He wanted to pick up the wine cup and drink it to suppress his fear but realized that his hand was shaking

He was a DarkStar remnant. After the DarkStar leader went missing, he had kept his mission in mind and believed that the leader would definitely return. Hence, he had joined and infiltrated the Black Star Army, hoping to one day become an important chess piece for the leader. He was now acting as the drill sergeant in the base.

For the past couple of years, Brock had been working in fear, not daring to do anything out of the line, and carefully disguised his identity, afraid of being suspected by anyone. His trust for the DarkStar leader was what kept him going

However, when he saw the news of Han Xiao becoming a Beyond Grade A seed, Brock realized that his belief was shaken.

He could not help but doubt… if the leader would really be a match for Black Star. Would he really be able to complete his revenge?

Would it not most likely be suicide?

If so, him staying in the Black Star Army as a spy might be pushing the leader into the pit of fire.

Brock was perturbed. Black Star’s overwhelming strength made him despair. He almost could not even think about resisting.

He secretly made up his mind. If the leader one day returned and he was able to get in contact with him, he had to convince the leader not to mess with Black Star. It would be more difficult than messing with Godora!

On a devastated civilization planet in a certain Star Field…

The planet’s surface was burning with endless flames and smoke, the ground shattered, the cities were destroyed, and countless were slaughtered.

The fleet that completed its invasion retracted their artillery barrels, slowly rising above the atmosphere, leaving the almost completely destroyed planet surface civilization.

This invading fleet was made up of three thousand battleships.

However, not far from the planet, an enormous fleet a thousand times bigger was docked. The battleships seemed endless, as if they filled up the entire galaxy. The three thousand battleships were just a small division of this enormous fleet.

A fleet of such a size could even fight a Star Cluster Civilization directly.

The three thousand battleships returned to the large army with their loot, like a droplet of water entering the ocean.

The leading disk-shaped battleship of this team deviated from the others and gradually entered deeper into the army, arriving at the center of this enormous fleet.

At the center of the fleet was a gigantic planet-level main ship. Comparatively, the disk-shaped spaceship was like a pebble, and this gigantic main ship was like a mountain.

A conspicuous sign was painted on the exterior armor of the main ship-a gray, hooded man.

The disk spaceship entered the dock of the main ship, flew down the long lane, and stopped at the hangar.

Whoosh!

The hatch opened, and the DarkStar leader walked out. With emotionless eyes, he turned around and waved, signaling for the subordinates behind him to bring the dozens of weak captives and follow him.

After walking for a while, they arrived before an enormous alloy gate. The giant cyclops guard beside the gate saw the dozens of the captives behind the DarkStar leader and grinned.

“You’re quite fast. Go in, he’s waiting for you.”

As he spoke, the alloy gate slowly opened. The DarkStar leader focused his mind, led the others, and walked in. The view before his eyes turned bright. Noises and heat waves landed right on his face.

This was an enormous palace that was now having a party. There were countless tables filled with the delicious food and alcohol of many races, and there were people everywhere. Countless creatures from different races were gulping down the meat and drinks, roaring and laughing loudly. There were also female dancers walking through the crowd, roughly groped by people from time to time.

The DarkStar leader even saw that there was someone in the corner hugging a dancer and bumping her against the wall, his laughing and roaring mixed into the noises.

Chaos filled the entire room. Despite having lived there for a few years, the DarkStar leader still could not help but frown, not used to this stimulating scene.

A drunk Beastman stumbled over. The DarkStar pressed him on the shoulder and pushed him away. He then walked to the center of the palace with large steps. At the center was a scarlet throne carved into the shape of some strange creature, like an ancient god he did not know the name of, which some Arcane Church branches prayed to.

On the throne was a skinny, boney human-shaped creature wearing a ragged hood. Other than his face, his body was covered tightly. He was facing down, not making a single sound. The hood covered his face.

The DarkStar leader came before the throne. Ignoring the chaotic scene around and the noises, he pointed at the dozens of captives behind him that were stunned by what they were seeing. “Your Excellency, I’ve brought the Espers.”

Suddenly, the creature on the throne shivered, as if he had awoken from his sleep. He slowly looked up, showing his face under the hood.

Under the hood was a vortex-like black fog, with a red flickering dot of light in the middle.

With an unknown method, this faceless creature somehow spoke. His voice was rough and husky. “Well… done…”

As he was speaking, he suddenly twisted his neck. The black fog under the hood suddenly disappeared, turning into the face of a hybrid human without any special features.

The hooded man stood up and walked down from the throne and toward the dozens of captives. The DarkStar leader stepped aside.

He stood in front of the first captive, looked right into the horrified eyes of this captive, grinned, and grabbed the neck of this captive.

The next moment, this captive’s entire body shrunk and became dry, yet he did not die. He collapsed to the ground with his eyes opened wide, not even having the energy to speak a single word.

“Not bad.”

The hooded man licked his lips as if he was enjoying the taste. Then, he did the same and turned all the captives into dried shells before returning to the throne. He looked at the DarkStar leader with a satisfied expression

“You’re good. I like you.”

“It’s my honor to serve you.” The DarkStar lowered his head with respect. “According to our agreement, for every satisfying Esper I bring, you…”

The hooded man waved his hand and interrupted the DarkStar leader. “I know, I will give you a new fleet. Hmm, I have some information here. Maybe you’ll be interested.”

The hooded man shook his hand. A communicator flowed out from his palm and landed in the DarkStar leader’s hands.

The DarkStar leader opened and looked at it. His expression instantly changed. The rumors surrounding Han Xiao were playing on it.

“He seems to be what made you escape from the Shattered Star Ring.” The hooded man smiled faintly. “Looks like he can become a Beyond Grade A.”

The DarkStar’s face was grave. He took a deep breath and slowly said, “Thank you for this information.”

“You’re welcome.” The hooded man smiled and spoke in a rather friendly tone. He then waved and said, “You can leave now. Such a good environment is rare. Don’t disturb my sleep.”

“Yes.” The DarkStar nodded and led his subordinates. He did not care about the dozens of dried captives. The chefs would come to cook them later anyway.

Walking out of the palace, the alloy gate slowly closed. The DarkStar looked back. Through the gap in the gate, he saw the hooded man lower his head and enter into sweet dreams in the chaotic, loud, and insane environment.

“What a maniac.”

The DarkStar leader clenched his fists, and a deep sense of fear flashed through his eyes.

The people behind him had arranged for him to leave the Shattered Star Ring and join under this hooded man. This man was the master of this enormous fleet and also a horrifying Beyond Grade A Super who wanted to fuse the abilities on the Super High Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty together.

Following the agreement, the DarkStar had given the hooded man Ember. He could still remember the look of disbelief and shock on Ember’s face when he realized that he had been betrayed.

However, his resistance was futile. The hooded man had been very satisfied with the sacrifice, so he had made an agreement with the DarkStar leader-he could provide fleets for the DarkStar leader, but the DarkStar leader had to exchange them for Espers that could satisfy him.

Therefore, the DarkStar leader stayed there temporarily. He invaded and destroyed one surface civilization after another, searching for Supers with interesting Esper abilities. After a few years, he had obtained a large number of battleships and men.

Originally, the DarkStar leader wanted to continue building his forces. However, Han Xiao’s rocketing combat capability gave him pressure.

Following the current pace, Black Star might really become a Beyond Grade A Super. Then, it would be useless for him to return. If there was a Beyond Grade A in the Garton Star System, no one would be able to cause any trouble. DarkStar would never have a chance to rise again.

“I have to go back as soon as possible, otherwise everything will be too late.”

The DarkStar leader made his decision. Black Star happened to be at war, so he could take advantage of that.

Furthermore, the DarkStar leader did not dare stay there any longer. In just a few years, he had been deeply affected by the chaos there. He could not imagine what would happen if he continued to stay, whether he would become just as insane.

This enormous fleet was a Beyond Grade A organization that was always relocating and moving. The hooded man was the leader of this organization. Among all the Beyond Grade As in the entire universe, he was the most notorious maniac!

This place welcomed wanted criminals from every Star Field who had no way out. It was the holy land for all criminals.

This was the… (Fallen Ark]!

Aroshia had followed Han Xiao to the war as well. She was staying in the fleet and slacking off like Han Xiao.

Inside a room with turned off lights, Aroshia hugged her knees, sat in a corner, and stared into the darkness in front of her blankly.

This time, dots of light debris suddenly appeared out of thin air and formed into the bright shape of a man, lighting up the room. It was Risda.

“It’s you.” Aroshia had no expression on her face.

Risda’s body vibrated. He then spoke.

“Great, if Black Star becomes a Beyond Grade A, he will be able to fight the Mechanic Empire. Our people might be saved.”

“Oh.” Aroshia did not respond too passionately

“But Black Star might not be willing to fight the Mechanic Empire. You and I must convince him. He’s our biggest hope,” Risda said.

Aroshia kept silent for a while before suddenly asking, “He might die, right?”

“Everything is possible; nothing is absolute.” Risda shook his head and avoided the topic. “Remember what I said.”

Then, Risda disappeared, and the room returned to darkness.

Aroshia buried her chin between her knees and stared blankly.

Meanwhile, Lagi was still on the way there.

Chapter 688: Leeks Coming from Everywhere! (1)

Half a month had passed since the battle that destroyed the hyperdrive base station. The Bloodshed Land seemed to be cautious as well, so there were no major conflicts between the two sides for the time being, just skirmishes. Purple Crystal had no new missions for Han Xiao, so he took his fleet around in standby.

During this time, he had been studying his loot —the armed satellite fortress.

There was a total of nine armed satellite fortresses. After the base station was destroyed, the other armed satellite fortresses had all been seized. Han Xiao had received one from Morred too, and he had taken it back for research purposes.

The blueprints for this kind of large mechanical satellite were very valuable. This one’s model was [‘Stout Shield’ Military Satellite Fortress].

Han Xiao had been slowly deriving its blueprint over the past half a month. While he lacked the necessary Cutting-Edge Knowledge, which made it impossible for him to get the complete blueprint, he did obtain some useful technology such as the shield generator used by the hyperdrive base station, which could also be applied to psionic shields.

Although he could not build the full version of the armed satellite fortress, the Great Mechanic Han was able to fuse a blueprint of the shrunk version of it. While it was smaller in size, it had the same functions as the original, just not as powerful.

The armed satellite fortress was basically strategic equipment, not a combat weapon between Supers. Han Xiao planned to turn some of the Black Star bases built on administrative planets into satellite fortresses, at least giving them a certain amount of maneuverability.

Han also seized the special armor of Bloodshed Land’s elite soldier, Thousand Beast Soldier, which he turned into his own blueprint and made preliminary improvements.

In the machinery modification room. Han Xiao stood in front of a row of cabinets, looking at the different types of mechanical suits inside.

“Thousand Beast Soldier Armor, Sunil NCO Class armor and Commander Class armor, my Snake Series armors, and some standard mechanical suit blueprints… If I combine them together, I should get some high-quality, mid-level mechanical suit blueprints.”

Han Xiao caressed his chin and pondered.

He intended to build a special armor series for the Black Star Army to be used as the new standard equipment for the army.

This was not an out of the blue idea but something that he had thought about for a long time.

Due to his two astonishing feats, his fame across the entire Star Field was rocketing beyond his expectations. Initially, Han Xiao had thought that the Black Star Army would only be able to develop slowly and steadily since the players were not there, but wars were proven to have the biggest opportunities once again. The recent heated discussion about him becoming a Beyond Grade A seed made him notice that this was a great opportunity. Some development targets could now be moved forward.

He had always wanted to improve the army from a mercenary group to an armed force like the Bloodshed Land. A set of armor belonging to his own faction was equivalent to uniform seduc… culture, which would help to increase the cohesion of the faction more effectively than a mere army symbol.

However, most of the people who came to be mercenaries were free and loose. If he forced a business transformation, he would lose some of those who were unwilling to pledge their loyalty. After all, mercenaries were never worried about where to go next, so they would not easily pledge their loyalty to a mercenary group.

Nonetheless, his recent achievements had made people believe that he had an extremely high chance of reaching Beyond Grade A. The upper limits of an armed force depended on the strength of the leader. The cohesion of a normal Calamity Grade organization could not even be compared with a Beyond Grade A seed organization.

For example, the Bloodshed Land, assuming that it had grown to its present size without Tyrant, would definitely have a ton of problems. Internally, the authority would be held by several Calamity Grades, none satisfied by being on the same level as the others, thus causing internal disputes and factional conflicts. Externally, without a Beyond Grade A leader, despite being such an enormous organization, no one would be able to unite them. In the end, they would definitely go their separate ways.

Therefore, a leader who could suppress everything within determined the upper limits of an armed force.

Han Xiao had been in the center of attention recently, and his reputation had exceeded the normal Calamity Grade range. Through his contacts, he learned that many intelligence organizations even called him half a Beyond Grade A. Numerous organizations believed that he would become a Beyond Grade A. Those organizations were not blind; his combat record was hard proof, so no one would inexplicably underestimate him.

As the faction leader’s position increased, the Black Star Army’s appeal transformed as well. Even mercenaries knew that following a possible Beyond Grade A would be a more promising future, so the number of people lost in the business transformation would be significantly reduced.

Not only that, with his current position, he could even attract more new talents.

“Because of my reputation, the Black Star Army’s influence is growing every day. This is a great opportunity to scale up.”

Han Xiao was in a great mood. He had initially intended to develop his forces through the support from the Purple Crystal civilization, but to his surprise, his own fame seemed to have allowed him to exceed what he had planned to achieve for the organization during the update period.

Strength was the most important!

“This expansion is an opportunity to improve the Black Star Army. There are many goals to be accomplished. First, the business transformation. Second, the expansion of manpower. Third, the increase of the armed troops. Fourth, becoming a long-term partner of Purple Crystal… Hmm, as long as the first three are completed, the fourth goal should not be a problem.

“Of course, the most important thing is my own strength. When I’m done with these trivial problems, I have to take a period of time to get a silver legacy blueprint to complete the Class Advancement mission. After that, complete the level 200 Promotion as soon as possible. The stronger I am, the faster the army will develop.”

Han Xiao pondered and quickly set out a list of goals.

He did not expect to perform this well before the war, nor did he expect to spark such discussions. The way he saw it, the development plan that he had originally set was too conservative.

This wave of discussions surrounding him was an extremely rare opportunity that he had to take.

Dong! Dong!

At that time, someone suddenly banged loudly on the door of the modification room.

“Who is it?” Han Xiao regained focus and opened the door.

Hairy, muscular abs entered his vision. Han Xiao looked up at the three-meter-tall Harmon standing outside the door.

“Lagi’s back. He wants to see you,” Harmon said with a low and muffled voice.

“Oh, I thought he’d throw me an excuse that the hyperdrive engine broke and drag his feet till the end of the war to return.” Han Xiao was surprised.

Harmon scratched his hairy head and gave a long grunt, as if the muscles in his brain could not process the meaning of the sentence.

“By the way…” Han Xiao suddenly remembered something. “How come you are the one reporting? Where’s Herlous?”

Usually, if Sylvia was away, Herlous would be his male secretary, a more decisive, reliable adult male.

“He asked me to lie to you that he was training,” Harmon said with a straight tone, giving off a strong vibe of the word ‘reckless’.

“Hmm…” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he did not know what to say. “Then, what is he actually doing?”

“He’s playing cards.”

Han Xiao was speechless.

“Okay, got it. I’ll go to see Lagi now.”

Han Xiao closed his door and walked for a while before recalling something. He turned to Harmon and asked, “By the way, how many years till the selection battle for your tribal chief?

Harmon was one of the heirs of the Luhan Beastman Civilization’s Rockfall Tribe. The side mission from him was to join his War League and help him become the chief.

If he remembered correctly, this should be a Version 3.0 side mission, but in case the storyline had changed, Han Xiao decided to ask again.

Harmon counted with his fingers for a while and said with a hesitant tone, “I think eleven years less three days.”

The average life expectancy of the Luhan Beastmen was about 250 years, which was quite long. The selection of chief was a major event, it usually gave more than ten years to the candidates for them to form their War Leagues. This was because one selection often determined the chief for the next two hundred years.

“It’s a good thing you have comrades,” Han Xiao said with resignation, “otherwise I suspect you’d miss the selection battle and lose your position as an heir…”

Harmon opened his eyes wide and blew his lower lip unhappily, his thick lips shaking.

Han Xiao went straight to the bridge and immediately saw Lagi, who had been waiting for a long time. He smiled and walked forward, patting Lagi on the shoulder.

“You’re back.”

“Yes, I didn’t die on the way,” Lagi murmured. “I think it took all the luck I have in my life.”

Han Xiao’s smile stiffened. You’re too pessimistic!

“Ahem, do you remember what I said before you left?” Han Xiao said with resignation.

“Yes.” Lagi nodded and said, “You said you were going to cancel my workload and give me a raise.”

“No, I didn’t. Don’t bullsh*t!” Han Xiao clenched his teeth. “I said when you get back, you’ll be my vice captain!”

“Oh, then I remembered wrongly.” Lagi’s kept a straight face.

“Are you sure?” Han Xiao was suspicious. Why do I feel like you did that on purpose?

Hearing Han Xiao’s doubt, Lagi’s face became upset as he muttered, “You don’t trust me… Sigh, I should have known. People like me have no credibility.”

“Enough, you,” Han Xiao said with resignation. “Since you don’t have any objection, I’ll announce to the whole army that you’re the first vice-captain. By the way, I’m also planning to announce your past. You were once the Hidden Red Robe Abbey’s Forbidden Sorcerers’ commander. This past will increase your reputation, and no one will be unhappy about you becoming the vice-captain. Do you have any questions?”

Lagi nodded. He had no objections, but he did emphasize one point. “Don’t forget, you promised that my vice-captain position is just a title, and my workload won’t increase.”

Don’t you f*cking remember that crystal clear?

The appointment of the vice-captain was quickly transmitted to the communicators of the hundreds of thousands of official members of the Black Star Army.

When opening the Black Star Army’s mercenary group resume, under the ‘leader’ column, the vice-captain position that had always been empty finally had a first name written in it—Lagi Schwer.

Lagi had only joined for a very short time, so there was still a huge number of mid- to low-level mercenary members within the army that did not know him. With curiosity, confusion, surprise, and so on, they opened Lagi’s resume and were immediately shocked.

Not only was this newly appointed vice captain a Grade A+ Super, he was also the Hidden Red Robe Abbey’s Forbidden Sorcerers former commander, as well as the fourth disciple of ‘Magus’ Austin!

Lagi’s past was very impressive. Few outsiders knew about what had happened between Lagi and Austin; to many, this was a core member of a Beyond Grade A organization leaving and joining the Black Star Army!

Han Xiao was at the height of his popularity, so his every action attracted attention from countless people. Not only the army members, the various organizations that were paying attention to him were also shocked.

One of the Magus’ core members is now the vice-captain of the Black Star Army. Are they now working together?

The perception of the Black Star Army had subtly changed for countless people, including its members. Black Star’s recent achievements and the Black Star Army’s expansion seemed to show an inexorable rise.

As many people could see, Black Star wanted to use his soaring influence to benefit the Black Star Army, intending to become a Star Field level VIP!

The question that followed suddenly sparked interest from all sides.

What would Floating Dragon do if Black Star rose?

After all, the Black Star Army was nominally Floating Dragon’s field team. Now that Black Star showed Beyond Grade A potential, if he did deliver on that potential, would he continue to stay under Ames given the amount of ambition that he had shown?

While it was still unclear whether Black Star would become a Beyond Grade A, ambitions were not easy to erase. Black Star’s soaring position would change the way he thought sooner or later, inflating his ambitions.

Countless people were excited when thinking about the possibilities of the future.

If the announcement of the vice-captain drew attention, Han Xiao’s subsequent announcement triggered an earthquake.

The Black Star Army publicly issued a large-scale recruitment order to the entire Shattered Star Ring!

Han Xiao planned to tap into the ‘Beyond Grade A seed’ title to attract a large number of talents.

He believed that there were plenty of people willing to bet that he would become a Beyond Grade A.

Joining at this time would be more valued than joining a Beyond Grade A organization, it was equivalent to becoming a partner at the start of a business. Even if they lost the bet, it would only cost them time, so the loss would be within an acceptable range.

It was a huge gamble!

As the Black Star Army made the announcement, countless people and organizations across the ten or so Star Clusters in the Shattered Star Ring were tempted.

Chapter 689: Leeks Coming from Everywhere! (2)

The moment the recruitment order from the Black Star Army was sent out, practically half the star field exploded from excitement, and all the responders began to gather!

In just ten days, Phillip had already received countless resumes from various sectors of the Shattered Star Ring.

Riding on this wave of heated public opinion, the number of applicants was far greater than any of their previous recruitments. The target was not just toward original mercenaries. As long as one did not have a ‘Wanted’ tag on them, everyone would be treated equally.

Philip first eliminated the weaker candidates and did a screening of the first batch of top-rated talents. Just these people already totaled 1.4 million, more than the total count of the Black Star Army. This would effectively double the official staff of the Black Star Army a few times over!

More than a million people had already been selected, and this was not even the final result. Han Xiao was prepared to open the floodgates fully instead of restricting entry this time. With his fame and reputation, he already possessed the qualifications to form a large organization. This time, he was making full use of the opportunity.

Now was not the time to consider if over-recruiting would cause them to be able to absorb the members properly. This recruitment was not just targeted toward talents but also a way to show his influence. The more sensational this response was, the higher the position of the Black Star Army in the entire Star Field. If one combined the results of the recruitment with his current fame, he would be able to engrave his existence into the hearts of countless influences around, ascending to the top in one step and becoming a famous force in the Shattered Star Ring!

Compared to the other large organizations, the Black Star Army, while huge in scale, lacked reputation and influence. However, this did not prevent the popularity of their faction from rising. This was of great benefit to their future development, so from Han Xiao’s perspective, the storm of public opinion was perfectly utilized.

Most of the recruited talents in the first batch had some sort of fame in their respective sectors. At least sixty percent were also battle-hardened elite interstellar warriors as well, with the lowest being at Grade C. While the number of Supers was small, if one cast their eyes across the entire Star Field, the total sum was still exaggeratedly huge.

Recently, the secret war had begun turning into a full-fledged tug of war. There were no signs of activity on both sides, and there was free time to deal with his own internal affairs. Purple Crystal attached great importance to Han Xiao’s potential and was glad to see the Black Star Army develop itself. Furthermore, this indirectly meant a supplement to Section Zero.

More than a million of the newcomers then travelled thousands of miles from various star clusters to the Garton Star System, going through the procedures at the Black Star Army Base. Han Xiao also returned to his own base to deal with the various issues caused by the huge swelling in his faction.

In the reception room of the Black Star Army Headquarters, Sylvia brought in three new recruits of different races and appearances, and Han Xiao stood up from the sofa to greet them.

“Your Excellency, Black Star.” The three of them had respectful attitudes and stepped forward quickly to exchange handshakes with Han Xiao.

“Come, sit.”

Han Xiao waved his hand, and they all took their seats, beginning to chat.

With millions of newcomers, Han Xiao had no time to meet up with them individually. The reason he was meeting with these three was because the new recruits were actually all at the Calamity Grade!

A Calamity Grade Super would never submit to another easily. Before he became known as a potential Beyond Grade A seedling, Han Xiao had tried many times to recruit a Calamity Grade, but other than Lagi, everyone else had rejected him.

However, his status today was greatly different when compared to that of the past. Being a highly anticipated Beyond Grade A seed was enough to make some of the Calamity Grades stop hesitating and run under his banner. If their bet paid off, they would then become the backbone of a Beyond Grade A organization!

If one likened the Beyond Grade A to an Emperor ascending to the throne, they would be the dragons that became his officialsbright futures awaited them!

It was a pity that Ames was too much of a slacker. Even if she was a bona fide Beyond Grade A, her attraction toward Supers might not exceed that of Han Xiao’s. Not many Supers would deign to follow a leader without any ambition. Furthermore, Ames could not even be bothered to actively recruit Officers.

Those three Calamity Grades were the cream of the crop among the leeks, probably considered leeks that had grown legs, running a thousand miles to deliver themselves to be harvested by him.

Status and strength went hand in hand, and the Calamity Grades in an organization were destined to be the upper echelons. That was the only reason they had come. After all, they could not be expected to climb slowly from the bottom like a Grade C Super, right? Thus, Han Xiao had to personally take a look at the three of them and use this opportunity to observe them.

Before meeting with them, Han Xiao had already flipped through their resumes.

Karmbe, Grade A Pugilist, male. Tall with extremely pale skin, he seemed to have the bloodline of the Blood Race. He used to be an external instructor in one of the Super institutions with a civilization in some Star System. He resigned later, walking through multiple galaxies and taking a lot of private employment.

Marian, Grade A Mechanical Pugilist, male. He was wrapped from head to toe in heavy, dark-gray armor and always wore a helmet, seldom revealing his face to others. He looked like some knight from a fantasy civilization, and the reason he had come over was the same as Reynold, because he looked up to Han Xiao as a Mechanic.

Misecech, Grade A Esper, male. His resume was clean. Other than him being a Calamity Grade, there was nothing worth noting. He had hung around with multiple mercenary groups but had not worked long. He was a typical spectator.

These people who took the initiative to sign up would not be very strong, but they were at least at the Calamity Grade. The Black Star Army had originally only had three Calamity Grades. With the addition of three more, this doubled the total number, raising the advanced combatants inside the army.

Thus, the Supers that took the opportunity to rush over were basically ‘career men’. They were accustomed to changing jobs and moved to wherever had some benefit. Naturally, they would not be loyal of this, Han Xiao was clear. He also did not hope for them to sell their lives to him. As long as they could complete the work based on their scope as Calamity Grades, that would be good.

After chatting with them for a while, both sides had observed enough by now. Han Xiao stood up and extended his hand, smiling. “Then, I’ll represent Black Star Army to welcome you three on board.”

“That is our honor.” Misecech immediately took the opportunity to speak first. Karmbe replied shortly after, and Marian nodded in silence.

“I’ll need some time to consider what roles to assign you. Don’t worry, I will not treat you badly.”

“Haha, our requirements are not high.” Misecech had a flattering smile.

After replying with some pleasantries, Han Xiao sent the trio off before asking Sylvia to take them through the formalities.

Han Xiao did not rest after but immediately entered another reception room.

There were tens of people within there waiting. The moment they saw Han Xiao, they immediately stood up, greeting him warmly.

“Everyone, please sit.”

Han Xiao waved his hand, glancing at everyone present.

Within this reception room, everyone present were the emissaries of various civilizations from the Colton Star Cluster. They had come to seek cooperation of their own initiative.

Originally, the influence of the Black Star Army had been limited to the Garton Star System, but now, the other Star Systems around the Colton Star Cluster had started to notice the potential of Han Xiao, as well as the momentum of the Black Star Army’s development, thus coming to seek opportunities for development and mutual benefit.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m the emissary from the Black Raven Civilization. I hope that the Black Star Army will be able to establish a sub-base within the territory of our civilization. To this end, the Black Raven Civilization is willing to pay a cooperation fee each year, at the same time opening the internal resource trading channels. Furthermore, we’ll give the Black Star Army the mining rights for a sector.”

“I’m the emissary from the Holy Stone Civilization. Our terms are the same as the Black Raven Civilization’s, but our cooperation fees can be raised further if needed.”

“I am…”

Everyone introduced themselves one by one, giving their own prices just for Black Star to build a sub-base in their territories. This was akin to offering themselves up to aid Han Xiao in expanding his influence.

The Star System Civilizations could clearly see that Black Star had already been tied to the big boss of this Star Cluster. With him also having the hope of becoming a Beyond Grade A Super, the Black Star Army could very well turn out to be the Colton Star Cluster’s Beyond Grade A influence. Attracting him to their side early was naturally the most cost-effective scenario.

Right now, the base of the Black Star Army was situated within the Garton Star System. It was unknown just how many times Serbia the Fifth had woken up from his sleep due to laughing out in joy, as this implied that there would be a Beyond Grade A Super holding the fort in Godora in the future. The other star systems also wished to have the Black Star Army expand his organization into their territory, simply because of this same consideration.

As for those star systems that did not originally have this idea, after seeing all their competitors doing so, they decided that they could not sit still. Thus, over eighty percent of the civilizations in the entire Colton Star Cluster had sent their emissaries to this reception room.

After listening to everyone, Han Xiao nodded, his face remaining impassive, but his heart was secretly moved.

The conditions given by the various civilizations in the star systems were extremely rich. Leaving aside the cooperation funds and resource channels, the most profitable thing would be the large-scale mining rights of a resource planet.

A resource planet was different from a barren one. The former was chock full of resources, and all of such planets were recorded clearly, with only the region’s ruling civilization having the power to mine them on a large scale. If any external organizations tried to mine without receiving a permit, they would have to account to the civilization of that region or even be hunted down by their guards.

Every civilization would definitely pay close attention toward a resource planet. Even though the Star Cluster Civilizations had mining ships that were able to dissect an entire planet, they rarely used them as even these big shots paid much attention to sustainable development.

A barren star, however, allowed for private mining because the profit obtained from there could not be compared to that of a resource planet. The quality-price ratio was too low, so the civilizations found it a waste of their manpower and material resources, deigning to sell the mining rights to others instead. For those private mining companies, while the profits to be obtained were not high, the barren planets were rich in oil and water.

There would, however, be times when the private mining team struck gold. During their mining process, if they found out that the ‘barren planet’ was actually a hidden resource planet, the civilization would evaluate the total value of this resource planet before offering a bid to buy it back. In this area, the majority of the civilizations were honorable enough to not force the mining team to hand over the planet for free.

Han Xiao was still quite clear about these basic concepts. From his previous life, during the later versions, players could even purchase mining rights to the resource planets from civilizations.

With such a clear comparison, Han Xiao was acutely aware of the value of giving him the mining rights of a resource planet. This was equivalent to taking out a cake from the civilizations and cutting him a small slice. It could easily net him a profit in the region of billions of Enas!

This was fertile ground!

Tsk, I risked my life to earn that small amount of money. Any random mining operation on a resource planet would bring me back thousands of times more profit. Why am I still a mercenary? Han Xiao could not help but silently curse.

Indeed, the most profitable way of earning was to establish a civilization!

After settling his mind, Han Xiao put on a solemn expression as he said in a stately tone, “Everyone, you have shown me too much sincerity. To be honest, the terms and conditions you have given me are quite tempting. I’m very willing to cooperate with you, but my Black Star Army is currently in its recruitment phase. After this recruitment has ended, I’ll schedule time to visit your areas to build a base.”

Hearing this, everyone agreed and began to chatter.

“No problem, we can wait.”

“Of course, we understand. We can sign the contract first.”

Han Xiao smiled. “Since no one has any objections, let’s fix it this way.”

Everyone present handed in their contracts, and Han Xiao signed them with some emotions in his heart.

In the past, there had not been so many good opportunities available for him. However, opportunities were knocking constantly on his door. This led to Han Xiao recall the words that Aesop had once said to him.

As long as you surpass Grade A, many powers will immediately offer up benefits to you. You will rise to the heavens with a single step and be at the highest level of the dining table!

Right now, he had only revealed a chance of breaking through Grade A, but this sort of situation had already happened. It seemed as though the old man Aesop had not lied to him.

Having finalized this business, the emissaries all heaved sighs of relief. This time, they would be able to answer to their superiors.

After sending off this batch of satisfied emissaries, Han Xiao did not stop but instead approached yet another reception room. He still had matters to settle.

The impact of his expansion this time was too great, so he had to meet all kinds of leeks every day, to the point that he was so busy his feet did not have time to be fixed on the ground.

The large influx of people that he had caused had to be solved by him, even if he was crying internally from fatigue.

However, everything would lead to extremely rich rewards, making Han Xiao satisfied.

Opening the door of yet another reception room, the people within the room looked over and greeted him as they smiled.

The occupants there were people who were more familiar to him, the great figures around Shattered Star Ring. This included the leader of the Dark Underworld Army, Underworld Feather, the captain of the Sky Ring Army, Gureja, and a few other Army Commanders.

“Brothers, it’s been a long time.” Han Xiao greeted them and curiously said, “You guys were being very secretive on the communicator. What happened for all of you to come look for me to speak face-to-face?”

The few army commanders exchanged glances before suddenly smiling.

The Sky Ring Army Commander Gureja stroked his steel- like bristly beard, winking as he spoke. “This time, we’re here to invite
you.”

“Invite me for what?”

“As you already know, the situation in the Shattered Star Ring is currently quite turbulent. With opportunities everywhere, it’s hard for an organization to completely swallow all the opportunities alone. I’ve already discussed this with these few army commanders, and we’ve decided to integrate the entire Shattered Star Ring and establish a Mercenary League so that it is convenient for us to participate in various missions between the Star System Civilizations. In such troubled times, we need to combine forces and seize this opportunity!”

Without waiting for Han Xiao to speak, Underworld Feather, who was by the side, lazily interrupted, “Black Star, with you being so popular recently, how about you just come and lead our Shattered Star Ring Mercenary League as the leader? Anyway, you don’t seem to mind having a lot of things to do.”

Gureja coughed and hurriedly added, “Her meaning is, since your current appeal is far greater than any of our Grade A Mercenary groups’, we came to you this time to recommend you to take the spot of leader and founder of the Mercenary League.”

Han Xiao’s eyebrows jumped up, feeling a little surprised.

This was one of the branch storylines of Version 3.0—[Shattered Star Ring Mercenary League]. The major mercenary groups had joined forces to integrate the scattered mercenaries of the Shattered Star Ring, establishing a large-scale mercenary league. The league developed and became a huge faction later that was extremely popular with players.

He did not expect the captains of each mercenary group to plan to make him the head, so he ended up getting involved in the storyline this way.

“You guys are really…” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he raised his thumb. “… SO smart and insightful!”

Chapter 690: Three Years

Gureja and the others got the answer that they wanted and were overjoyed. After finalizing the details, they left satisfied.

Walking out of the Black Star Army base, they turned around to look at the majestic base, and Gureja lamented, “Black Star stepped into the mercenary world less than ten years ago, but he already has such accomplishments under his belt. He is truly an amazing fellow.”

Another person shook his head and sighed. “Every individual capable of becoming a beyond Grade A Super has their own legend behind them. They are not characters that we can understand.”

“That’s right. He is no longer on the same level as us. Thankfully, we got to know him early,” Gureja said with a complicated mood.

In one of the corridors of the Black Star Army headquarters, Herlous and the three Volga brothers were walking and chatting.

“Have you heard? Three Calamity Grade Supers have joined us. His Excellency Black Star personally met them. They will definitely take on important roles in the army in the future,” the eldest Volga brother suddenly said.

“I know.” Herlous nodded with both joy and depression.

He was happy about the high-speed development of the Black Star Army but depressed that his own status would be affected because of this.

With three Calamity Grade Supers joining the upper echelons of the army, the competition would definitely get more intense, and Herlous felt a great deal of pressure.

Strength represented authority, and he still had not touched the Grade A door yet. His importance to the army would only decrease as time went by. There were already many mid-level combatants in the Black Star Army. If not for the fact that he was the one who had followed Black Star the longest, he would not have the right to be part of the upper echelons with his Grade B strength.

Herlous already felt that he was growing rapidly, but he was not able to keep up with Han Xiao’s footsteps and the high-speed development of the Black Star Army. He did not wish to fall behind just like that and thus became extremely nervous.

In order to train his body, he halved the time that he spent playing cards… It would be impossible for him to stop playing cards. It would be impossible in this lifetime of his.

“The Calamity Grade truly seems so far away…”

Herlous let out a sigh.

The development of the Black Star Army made many of the old officers lament at the speed of their growth. However, the wheels of history would always continue to spin, and Han Xiao would not stop because of this.

Han Xiao spent a full seven days meeting all the emissaries from the various organizations and reorganized the structure of the expanded Black Star Army. Only then did he have some free time to himself.

Han Xiao locked himself up in his office and took out a piece of paper to summarize the benefits that he had received recently and made a new blueprint for development.

The rapid growth of the Black Star Army had exceeded his expectations, and the original development plan was no longer suitable. With many organizations and Star System Civilizations giving him the opportunity to expand, it would be a waste for Han Xiao not to make use of them. As long as he made good use of this opportunity, the development speed of the Black Star Army would be increased by ten if not a hundred times!

This was an enormous harvest!

Han Xiao began to organize which opportunity would be able to bring him the largest benefit and how much he needed to invest. He made a simple list for himself and began to analyze it.

At the same time, he also began to grade his faction based on the different grades of equipment. He had two different grading schemes. First, current size. Second, potential for development.

The evaluation of the current size of a faction was determined by the amount of resources, size, military strength, number of members, influence, and so on.

The evaluation of potential was determined by networks, allies, scope of operations, long term benefits, development opportunities, and the like.

Han Xiao chose an organization to be the benchmark for comparison. He rated the Bloodshed Land to be at the orange grade in terms of size and potential. With that as a reference, he began to analyze the Black Star Army.

“Not including the players, before this large expansion, the scale of the Black Star Army was limited to a few Star Systems. Our size was around the dark green or light blue grade. Currently, it should be at the light purple grade. When Phillip recruits the second and third wave, we should be at the purple grade.”

Han Xiao mumbled to himself while spinning his pen.

“As for potential, the reputation of me being a beyond Grade A seed was an orange grade development opportunity. The secret war and setting up a bridge with the Purple Crystal Civilization are also orange grade. The contracts with the various Star System Civilizations are orange grade. Setting up the Mercenary Alliance is pink grade. Together with my own network and potential, the potential of the Black Star Army should be at the orange grade on average.”

Han Xiao made a list on the piece of paper and nodded.

As long as he was able to realize the orange grade development potential, the Black Star Army would be able to quickly enter the level of a pink grade organization.

All the organizations of the pink grade were famous organizations on the Star Field level. While they were still a distance away from the Bloodshed Land, they were truly super-sized organizations.

Han Xiao began to make plans for the various opportunities of development.

“With so many Star System Civilizations inviting me to set up a branch, this is akin to expanding my territory. All the newly hired manpower can be put to use and sent to these new Star Systems to expand our scope of operations.

“I can let a portion of them pioneer the discovery of resource rich planets to resolve the problem of our organization’s transformation. Apart from employment missions and war duties, we can also obtain more revenue streams by mining for resources.

“Hmm, if the manpower isn’t sufficient, I can send the people from Planet Aquamarine to make up the numbers and allow a portion of them to become galactic residents. Furthermore, digging seems to be the specialty of those worms. With my reputation in the Black Spirit Race, I should be able to find a large number of elite laborers.”

Han Xiao then put a tick behind the words ‘Star System Civilization’.

“Setting up a mercenary alliance within the Shattered Star Ring is also pretty simple. It will expand the scope of my operations and increase my influence. With the support of the other large armies, as long as I call for support, building the foundation of an alliance won’t be an issue. Everything else will just be a matter of time.”

Han Xiao very quickly came up with the new blueprint for development.

Putting down his pen, a smile could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

After memorizing what was written on the paper, Han Xiao reduced the paper to dust with a single snap of his finger.

“When Version 3.0 is released, the changes in the Black Star Army will probably shock the players.”

…

The Black Star Army became bustling with activity, and after hiring a few waves of new members, the Black Star Army had almost ten million members. The majority of them were sent out to set up branches around the various Star Systems of the Colton Star Cluster, and the operations of the army expanded from the Garton Star System to half of the Star Cluster.

Han Xiao did not forget about the secret war, and after handling the expansion of the army, he went back to the battlefield and continued to fight.

After the commotion from his expansion subsided, the large wave of discussion about him being a beyond Grade A seed petered out. Han Xiao had already become the biggest winner, and the Black Star Army left a deep impression on the entire Star Field during this period. The fame of the Black Star Army had entered the ranks of the famous organizations within the Shattered Star Ring.

Under such circumstances, the Black Star Army was still the Floating Dragon Field Team in name. Floating Dragon remained silent throughout the entire matter, and with some people fanning the flames from behind the scenes, more and more people started to treat the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon as two separate organizations. At the same time, people began to discuss both parties splitting up.

The storm that Han Xiao had created had a long-lasting impact. More organizations began to participate in the secret war both openly and secretly, and the scope of the battle became larger and larger.

The secret war was a Main Storyline Mission in Version 3.0 (Crimson Tide). However, news of the secret war was overshadowed by the commotion that Han Xiao and the Black Star Army had created.

The war was still ongoing, and the Black Star Army continued to develop.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

Chapter 691: Successor

Chapter 691 Successor

In Ames’ palace, two people were standing outside the gate. One of them was Aesop, and behind him was a tall, purple-haired human lady. Her skin was a little blue, her face looked gentle and pretty, and she had alluring eyeshadow on. She was looking up at the palace apprehensively.

Aesop looked at the beautiful, purple-haired woman and said with resignation, “Vilna, don’t be so nervous. It’s just meeting Ames.”

“I–It’s my first time meeting a Beyond Grade A. What kind of person is Her Excellency Dragon Emperor? It’s rumored that she’s very controlling. Is that true?”

Vilna bit her lips and crossed her fingers nervously.

“Fake, of course! That’s a rumor that only appeared in the last few years. It’s to deliberately vilify Ames because Black Star… Sign, let’s not talk about this.”

Aesop seemed to have thought of something troubling. He shook his head and sighed.

“Anyway, Ames is very friendly. This is your first time meeting her since joining Floating Dragon, so leave a good impression, will you?”

“I—I’ll try my best.”

Vilna still did not have much confidence. She inhaled deeply and tried to calm her emotions.

After walking into the palace, Aesop got to know where Ames was by asking the guard. He took Vilna to an outdoor area. From afar, they could already hear the sound of energy clashing

When they got closer, Vilna noticed two people fighting in this open area, and three people were watching from the side.

She looked at the fight, and her eyes were immediately caught by the two sides of the battle.

Ames was personally training Hila, flipping the light green force field barrier with her fingertips, spinning in midair. Her black dress was blossoming like a lotus, showing her long, snow-like legs from time to time.

Hila’s face was cold. Her body was surrounded by thick dark red streams, and she kept attacking Ames’ force field, making loud bangs.

Ames maintained the strength of her force field at the Grade B level. Still, she controlled it extremely accurately and completely overpowered Hila.

“Stop for a moment. Someone’s here.”

Ames suddenly stopped her Esper ability and slowly landed on the ground.

Hila glanced at Aesop and Vilna, slightly frowning, unhappy with how her spar had been interrupted. She deactivated her Esper ability as well, and the dark red energy surrounding her entered her body. Then, she followed behind Ames like Aurora, who had been watching from the side, sizing up Vilna.

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, I’m…” Vilna hastily wanted to introduce herself.

Ames raised her hand and said, “I know your name. Since you’re Aesop’s friend, stay around and see if there’s anything you can do. I don’t have any requirements here.”

“0—Okay.”

“You seem to be a little nervous.” Ames slightly raised her eyebrow.

“Er… you’re the first Beyond Grade A I’ve ever seen. I’m your idol… um, I mean, you’re my admirer…” Vilna blushed and could not even speak properly.

“Don’t be nervous. Beyond Grade A isn’t a big deal. I don’t bite.” Ames smiled faintly and spoke with a gentle tone. She raised her hand and touched Vilna’s cheek.

Feeling the touch of Ames’ palm on her face, Vilna’s body stiffened, and she did not know where to put her hands.

Aurora, who was at the side, pulled the hem of Hila’s shirt and softly asked, “Sis, is this woman Floating Dragon’s new officer?

“Yeah.”

As usual, Hila spoke with very few words.

Aesop coughed and said, “We shall take our leave and not disturb you guys. I’ll take her to get familiar with the job.”

As he was speaking, he took Vilna away, who was still stunned, disappearing before the other three.

Ames’ smile slowly faded. She looked in the direction that Vilna had left from and kept silent with complicated emotions in her eyes.

“I heard this new officer is someone Aesop called over from another Star Field. I wonder what she’s doing here.” Aurora was curious.

Hila pushed her red hair aside and said emotionlessly, “Aesop is training a new officer so that she can replace Han Xiao’s position in the future.”

“Han Xiao won’t leave, right? Big Sis Ames is so good to him,” Aurora said.

“Humph, there have been a lot of rumors in the past few years. Many people created rumors so that Han Xiao and Floating Dragon would be separated.

“Plus, don’t I know him? If he really becomes a Beyond Grade A, he will definitely further strengthen the organization under his command. Because of that, he won’t be able to continue using Floating Dragon’s name, so he will definitely create one for himself.”

Ames turned around and glanced at the two of them. “It’s nothing worth chatting about. At least for now, he’s still mine. Hila, continue to attack.”

Three years had passed, and Ames was no longer troubled anymore. She was waiting for Han Xiao’s choice.

The three of them stopped chatting and continued the combat training.

On the other side, Aesop took Vilna out of the palace.

This time, Vilna finally said with surprise, “The Dragon Emperor is so friendly. The rumors are not true at all.”

Aesop shook his head with resignation.

Over the past three years, many people had been manipulating public opinion to vilify the Dragon Emperor, wanting to make Ames seem like someone who was very controlling and intimidating. Their goal was to split Black Star and the Dragon Emperor apart.

Throughout the last three years, Black Star’s reputation had become more and more firm. The Black Star Army had also digested its rapidly expanding size and slowly stabilized. Its business range had already extended to most Star Systems in the Colton Star Cluster, becoming an enormous Star Cluster level organization.

Furthermore, the Black Star Army had officially become the Purple Crystal Civilization’s long-term partner a year ago, receiving tons of support.

Nominally, the Black Star Army was expanding for Floating Dragon. However, Ames was completely uninvolved, clearly intending to just let things flow on their own. If a conflict could be created between the two of them, Black Star would definitely leave with the Black Star Army. If Black Star and Dragon Emperor became enemies because of that, it would be the best case.

The other Star Cluster civilizations and the various large organizations did not want to see two Beyond Grade As forming a union or alliance. It would only be balanced and aligned with the benefits of these organizations if the two of them were enemies and limited each other in various respects. Therefore, they did everything they could to spread rumors, believing that they would one day influence the mindset of the two of them.

Aesop trusted Han Xiao’s potential fully, so he felt that Han Xiao would certainly leave Floating Dragon in the future. Hence, he decided to plan ahead.

As such, Aesop had found Vilna, a friend whom he had met in another Star Field. Despite having a rather soft and gentle personality, she was very reliable. He asked Vilna to come to the Shattered Star Ring and join under Dragon Emperor so that he could nurture Vilna to become Black Star’s successor.

“You don’t have to work on Floating Dragon Island. You’re responsible for building a new Field Team. Quickly pack your things and let’s get going,” Aesop said.

Vilna nodded and curiously asked, “How do I start exactly?”

“You have to look for someone and express your intentions to him. He will provide help. Just follow his arrangements.”

“Who do I have to look for?”

“Black Star.”

Vilna’s eyes opened wide. After coming to the Shattered Star Ring, she had immediately heard about the famous Black Star. Plus, he was her senior and currently the top officer of Floating Dragon.

“But I heard that our connection with Black Star only exists in name now. Are you sure he will help me?” Vilna was worried that Aesop was sending her into a wolf den.

“Stop talking about that, just a false rumor. Black Star is a core member of Floating Dragon. He will only help you, not hurt you,” Aesop said with a heavy tone.

He deliberately sent Vilna to Black Star to let Han Xiao personally groom his successor. This was a signal of friendliness, expressing that they hoped things would end on peaceful terms.

He wanted Vilna to build a new Field Team to show that they had no desire for the Black Star Army. This way, he believed that Black Star would be willing to guide Vilna, use his Black Star Army to help Vilna develop, and give Floating Dragon a new Field Team.

Of course, if Black Star did not actually plan to leave, it would be even better. This would then just be expanding the size of Floating Dragon’s Field Team.

“Understood.”

Vilna nodded and could not help but be curious about Han Xiao. She wondered what kind of person this extremely famous senior of hers was.

At the same time, in the desolate region between the Seoul Star Cluster and the Colton Star Cluster, an intense war was underway.

The Klent Kingdom had built many logistics channels in the desolate region. Those were key facilities that Purple Crystal was always eager to destroy.

In the past three years, the situation of the secret war had been changing constantly. Finally, the battles in the West Wind, Kaya, and Chaida Star Systems had entered a stalemate. The Bloodshed Land had expanded to a certain extent and was finally stopped.

Han Xiao could demolish the majority of Calamity Grades. After suffering the huge loss of many more high-level combatants, the Bloodshed Land had learned their lesson and occasionally avoided direct contact.

The core members of the Bloodshed Land knew about the Tyrant’s stance, so they took Black Star as a dangerous challenge to train themselves, treating him with extreme caution and not recklessly fighting him head-on. This led to fewer and fewer situations where Han Xiao was needed.

Letting him stay in Colton was a waste of talent. Thus, Purple Crystal had him lead a surprise attack team and move within the desolate region, searching for the Bloodshed Land’s logistics transit stations and destroying them.

This operation had been going on for half a year. Han Xiao had been doing a great job, causing the Bloodshed Land’s advantages to keep getting reduced, almost destroying all the transit stations.

At this time, he was leading his fleet to attack the last logistics transit station…

Chapter 692: Any Day That No One Attempts to Assassinate Me, I Feel Uncomfortable

Sylvia was wearing a light mechanical combat jacket and kept her shield constantly active. The suit’s protection measure for her head was a semi-circular metal ring wrapped around the back of her head, fixed on her ears. Her face was protected by a semi-transparent arc-shaped shield, and in her hand was a silver alloy sword.

She was gasping for air like a wind box and felt that her lungs were about to start burning. The sweat all over her body made the mechanical combat jacket feel sticky and wet.

Roar!

A Thousand Beast Soldier suddenly dashed out from the side. Its huge mechanical metal claw slashed right down, vibrating at a high frequency.

Sylvia forced some energy out of her body, clenched her teeth, and raised her soft arm. The thin and tough silver alloy sword in her hands clashed with the claws, creating blinding sparkles.

Clank!

The swift yet strong mechanical combat jacket suddenly increased its power, and Sylvia suddenly became faster. She quickly changed her stance, spun her sword, and stabbed at the Thousand Beast Soldier from a tricky angle. Mechanical Force lightning appeared on the alloy sword for an instant, and a tint of yellow light circulated on the blade as it stabbed into the body of this Thousand Beast Soldier in an instant.

Bang!

A huge, yellow beam of light penetrated the Thousand Beast Soldier’s body and shot out from its back, leaving a large bloody hole. The Thousand Beast Soldier was blasted away, fell onto the ground, and died. Around it were tons of Thousand Beast Soldier corpses and shattered artilleries.

This was the surface battlefield on one of the armed satellite fortresses of the Bloodshed Land’s logistics transit station. A boarding team was difficultly moving toward the core energy furnace of this armed satellite fortress. Thousand Beast Soldiers came from all directions like waves, and the two sides fought intensely, leaving a path of corpses behind everywhere they went.

Sylvia had countless comrades around her. She was in the boarding team as well, responsible for one side of the team.

With the sword in her hands, she had been fighting for a long time. She could not even recall if she had killed a hundred or two hundred Thousand Beast Soldiers. Her combat jacket was damaged, and she was slightly injured. She was covered in sweat and exhausted.

Being on the battlefield, Sylvia could not hear any sound other than the explosions and roars. All she knew was that she had to follow the big team and keep marching forward, forward, and forward.

She looked up at the sky. Outside the armed satellite fortress was a magnificent galactic battle scene. Countless bright ‘shooting stars’ flew across the sky, braiding a net made of light. Those were the lights from countless ion cannons, illuminating the darkness and burning in silence.

Sylvia’s vision was suddenly filled with a strong light. An ion cannon shot landed on the surface not far away, hitting the dense Thousand Beast Soldier army, blasting away a large number of people.

Boom!

The fleet could occasionally penetrate the protective shield of the satellite and provide supporting attacks, clearing the obstacles in the boarding team’s path toward the energy furnace.

“That almost hit us.” Fear lingered in Sylvia’s heart. Before she could even catch her breath, several more light beams headed in her direction. She had no choice but to expand the shield on her arms and quickly block them.

Bang bang bang!

The beams shattered upon hitting the shield. Her arms withstood the impact. She felt a piercing pain in her arms and shoulders and could barely even move them. Sylvia clenched her teeth and endured the pain. There was only one thought on her mind.

I want to go back to studying!

At least my life wouldn’t be in danger!

Three years ago, Sylvia had been able to reach Grade B. She had delightfully gone to tell Han Xiao the good news, and Han Xiao had been very glad. He had immediately thrown her into the advance team for real combat training.

At first, Sylvia had been rather happy, but now, she was full of regret.

That was especially so when the direct boss of the team was Lagi. Before every battle, Lagi would follow procedure and boost his subordinates’ morale… and every time, it made her feel like she was definitely going to die.

At this time, a dark outline of a person suddenly flew in her direction from afar, landing heavily on the ground not far away. The huge impact created a dent on the metal ground like it was made of paper.

This person seemed to be rather hurt from the fall, only standing up and levitating after quite some time. He then turned to look at the boarding team which Sylvia was in.

Clearing seeing the look of this person, Sylvia felt her heart was half frozen. This person was the enemy Calamity Grade stationed at the logistics transit station. He was supposed to be fighting in outer space, but he had landed on the satellite surface, seemingly having been blown there.

The battlefield was constantly changing. The expressions on the people of the boarding team all suddenly changed as they immediately turned toward this new Calamity Grade enemy, preparing to guard against his attack. There were no Calamity Grades among them.

As everyone was getting extremely anxious, another meteor landed from the sky and heavily clashed into this Calamity Grade, pushing him dozens of miles away, creating a ring of sonic impact. The impact blew away the Thousand Beast Soldiers around, and the violent wind tipped Sylvia and the others off their balance.

“It’s His Excellency Marian!”

“How timely! I almost thought we were going to die.”

Sylvia heard the exclamations from behind. She regained balance and looked over. The ‘meteor’ that had blown the Calamity Grade enemy away was levitating. It was the Grade A Mechanical Pugilist that had joined the Black Star Army three years ago, Marian.

Marian was covered in a black Super heavy mechanical suit like a heavy armored knight. He turned and looked at the boarding team. He nodded to signal for the boarding team to continue going forward and not worry about anything else.

Then, he accelerated and disappeared, chasing the enemy Calamity Grade Super and focusing on his own opponent.

“I wonder how’s the battle above going…”

Sylvia looked up at the sky again. Her vision seemed to be able to penetrate the darkness. She knew that her teacher was in the fleet overlooking the entire battle.

Meanwhile, Section Zero’s fleet was attacking the logistics transit station aggressively, destroying the enemy battleships one after another.

Han Xiao was in the command room of the flagship, observing the real time battlefield projection, moving the troops, and overlooking the overall battle. A circle of staff sergeants stood around him.

Compared to three years ago, Han Xiao gave off a sturdier vibe. He had short hair, an angular face, and stubble on his chin. He wore a compressed orb necklace and a black windbreaker that could not cover his built body. The charm of a mature man was emanating from him, head to toe.

His current position was the top commander of this fleet.

This was a standard mixed team. Forty-five percent of the fleet belonged to Han Xiao, the largest force present. The rest were from a few other Section Zero members, all under Han Xiao’s command.

Over the last three years, the Black Star Army had become the top member among Section Zero. A year ago, Purple Crystal had finally made the Black Star Army their long-term partner. The Black Star Army had then been the officially acknowledged leading organization of Section Zero. Therefore, Han Xiao had become the commander.

With Purple Crystal’s arrangement, Han Xiao led this team that was responsible for destroying the Bloodshed Land’s logistics transit station. He had been doing so for half a year.

As a commander, it meant that he could not easily join the attacks personally. Han Xiao no longer led the battle and let all his subordinates do their jobs. The new Grade A Supers that he had recruited three years ago were all very useful and reliable talents. This made up for the lack of high-level combatants under his command.

As long as they did not meet anyone whom they could not deal with, Han Xiao would not have to battle anyone personally.

He had to nurture his officers and give them opportunities to contribute. After all, if he attacked, his subordinates would have nothing to do.

At this time, a few staff sergeants were observing the battlefield projections and loudly discussing the battle.

“The enemies are still resisting and covering the logistics teams, trying to reduce their losses by transferring the resources in the transit station through stargates. If we don’t stop them, the enemies will be able to retrieve most of their resources in about twenty-seven minutes and retreat through the stargate.”

“Twenty-seven minutes? They can barely last ten more minutes. Their line of defense is already completely shattered.”

“All we have to do now is destroy the stargate. That way, those enemies that have yet to retreat will be done for.”

Listening to their discussion, Han Xiao caressed his stubble and did not say anything.

The logistics transit station’s core facility was a stargate built by the Star Cluster civilization that led to the Seoul Star Cluster on the other side. The enemies had deployed protective shields and fleets to protect the stargate. When attacked, they retreated while guarding themselves.

As soon as the enemies retreat, Han Xiao would not be able to chase further. The other side of the stargate was the enemy’s territory. If the stargate closed after they passed through, they would be heavily surrounded. Therefore, the victory condition was to destroy the stargate before the enemies successfully retreated.

The stargate was bidirectional, so the enemies’ reinforcements could arrive through the stargate. The enemies would need time to gather reinforcements, so the attacking side had the upper hand. As long as they destroyed the stargate first, the battle would be decided.

The Black Star Army had received tons of resources over the past few years. Hence, Han Xiao had expanded his fleet, which was why the size of this expedition fleet was so huge. They demolished the defense team of the transit station. The battlefield projection showed that the enemies’ line of defense had shattered, exposing the stargate.

A staff sergeant smiled and said, “The enemies have no chance. We’ve won.”

As soon as he finished his sentence, the blue vortex at the center of the stargate rippled, spitting out one battleship after another. The Bloodshed Land’s reinforcements had arrived and quickly joined the battleship, stopping the attack of Han Xiao’s fleet.

Speechless, Han Xiao glanced at the staff sergeant that had spoken. That person coughed awkwardly, avoided Han Xiao’s gaze, and stared at the battlefield projection, putting on a focused expression, as if saying, I’m analyzing the battlefield situation, don’t disturb me.

“This is exactly why I don’t like to talk when we have the upper hand.” Han Xiao sighed.

The appearance of the enemy reinforcements caused chain reactions. On the other side, streams of light bolted over from the desolate region. An enormous armed fleet stopped at the edge of the battlefield, surrounding Han Xiao’s fleet in the middle together with the reinforcements.

“An ambush?” The expression on the officers’ faces changed.

“Oh, it seems like this logistics transit station is a trap.” Han Xiao raised his brows. He was calm and not at all surprised.

The battle had been going too smoothly, so he had noticed something wrong long ago. After so many logistics transit stations being destroyed by him, how could the Bloodshed Land not respond?

The battleship model of this ambush fleet was different from the Bloodshed Land-it belonged to another organization. Over the past three years, organizations that wanted him to die before he grew even stronger had joined forces with the Bloodshed Land secretly one after another, entering the secret war. Han Xiao had already met this kind of ambush set up more than ten times, so he was used to it. Any day that no one was attempting to assassinate him, he would feel that something was missing

Beep beep!

This time, the flagship received a video message from the attacking fleet. A man with metallic skin appeared on the screen. He looked like his entire body was made of metal.

“Black Star, come and fight me!” he said with a strong desire to battle in his eyes.

“Tsk, this guy is here again.” Han Xiao sighed.

This man was also a Beyond Grade A seed, Hadavy, a battle fanatic. One year prior, he had entered the secret war during a certain battle, specifically looking to fight with Han Xiao, then was defeated and escaped.

However, Hadavy did not give up. After escaping, he joined forces with the Bloodshed Land and used the chances during the war to keep fighting Han Xiao, treating Han Xiao as an opponent to better himself. He fought Han Xiao again and again, losing again and again. Furthermore, he escaped extremely fast when things were looking bad. In Han Xiao’s eyes, he was basically a sh*t stirrer.

In the past three years, Han Xiao’s network list had become longer, and his list of enemies had increased proportionally.

“I’ll leave the commanding to you guys. I’ve got work to do.”

Han Xiao casually stretched his neck with a calm face and walked toward the hatch with wide strides.

“Hopefully, they can give me some fun this time.”

Chapter 693: Are You Eloping with Me!

Han Xiao activated the compressed orbs. Nanoparticles flowed out and covered his body like black sand, quickly transforming into the enhanced Mountain Ape mechanical suit.

He stretched his arms and legs before jumping out of the spaceship. The thruster sprayed out a blue flame as he turned into a meteoroid heading right to the back.

The expedition team was facing enemies from both the front and the back, fighting the Bloodshed Land reinforcements and the enemy ambush at the same time.

The assistant took over the job of the commander and ordered the ships at the back to fight against the ambush team while the ships at the front continued to attack the stargate. Destroying the stargate was still the key point of winning this battle.

Han Xiao’s goal was to deal with the high-level combatants of the enemy ambush. Through the repeated failures of attempted assassinations, he had proved how difficult that would be. Without a reliable strategy, the enemy would not have come to assassinate him. He wanted to see what new assassination scheme the enemies had prepared for him this time. He was even looking forward to it a little.

The galactic battlefield was filled with intersecting cannon shots everywhere. Han Xiao moved swiftly and dodged the attacks, arriving at the edge of the enemy ambush not long after. A stream of light flew over from within the enemies-it was Hadavy.

Hadavy was an old opponent who did not like talking. Not wanting to give Han Xiao any time to release his mechanical army, without saying a word, he dashed right toward Han Xiao like a mini meteoroid as soon as he saw him.

Han Xiao was not afraid of close-range combat. His arms turned into barrels and launched blue psionic rounds directly at Hadavy.

Hadavy did not even dodge and let the psionic cannon shots explode on his body. He was completely unharmed.

After fighting many times, Han Xiao knew Hadavy’s strength very well. He was not intending to damage him, just slow down Hadavy’s charge. Using this short amount of time, he activated the Army Boxes remotely. The space around him started to ripple, and Army Boxes arrived through hyperdrive one after another. The cases of those Army Boxes opened, and countless compressed orbs rapidly expanded into a machinery tide, almost filling up this small area in an instant.

The tightly packed mechanical army’s size had now reached three million!

In the past three years, the Black Star Army made a lot of money. Han Xiao had plenty of assets. He had enhanced and expanded his mechanical army multiple times. Currently, even the lowest level mechanical soldiers were made with high-level alloys, with much higher armor value and defenses compared to three years prior. As their basic attributes increased, the effects of the bonuses became more apparent.

Through many war missions, Han Xiao had obtained a lot of Purple Crystal Contribution Points and had received more Cutting-Edge Knowledges, one of them being the [Controllable Annihilation Weapons].

Annihilation weapons were a higher grade of regular weapons compared to energy weapons. As they used different technology, their destructive power was much greater than normal energy weapons. Furthermore, building them required knowing the [Abnormal State Energy] Cutting-Edge Knowledge, as psionic and antimatter energy were basically the only ones that could be used to build annihilation weapons.

With those two Cutting-Edge Knowledges, Han Xiao had switched most of the mechanical soldiers’ weapons into annihilation weapons. Together with (Legendary Battle Technique), their damage was significantly increased.

Even after three years, Han Xiao had yet to complete the Class Advancement mission. If this had happened to any other classes, their strength would be stuck. However, one of the Mechanic class’ advantages was that as long as he had money, even if his own strength was stuck, he would still be able to steadily increase his combat capability!

Han Xiao had never stopped building his mechanical army over the past three years. He realized that other than being rich, he also had another huge advantage-he had a lot more time than the players.

And the Mechanic class happened to be a class that required time to build all kinds of equipment.

With enough money and effort, increasing strength was as easy as drinking water for him. Of the five Super classes, only the Mage class could match up to the Mechanic in this respect.

With Han Xiao’s current strength, it was basically suicide for any normal Calamity Grade to fight him. After numerous failed assassination attempts with heavy repercussions, the various organizations of the Shattered Star Ring had finally learned their lessons. Those organizations that were secretly planning to assassinate him also stopped easily sending their high-level combatants to their deaths.

Therefore, Han Xiao was facing just Hadavy. This guy was a Beyond Grade A seed, which was not in the ‘normal Calamity Grade’ range. Furthermore, his abilities were the kind that gave Han Xiao a headache.

Hadavy was an Esper, and his Esper ability was Body Hardening. This was an Esper ability that could not have been more common. Yet, he was extremely talented and was able to develop this Esper ability to an extraordinary level. His defense was astonishing, and he had many Molding Talents. He was a boss-level character.

First, Hadavy had the (Low Strength Attack Immunity] Molding Talent. As long as the damage of the attacks did not exceed a certain value, the damage dealt by those attacks would be considered null. This value depended on his defense, and his Esper ability was the ‘Hardening’ type that remarkably increased his defense. Therefore, the focus fire strategy was close to completely useless on him.

Another thing that gave Han Xiao a hard time was Hadavy’s ‘True Damage Immunity’-type Molding Talent. Beyond Grade A seeds were all exceptionally talented. For a tank like Hadavy, it was not weird for him to have such a talent. This meant that (Legendary Battle Technique] was useless against him.

Focus fire hardly had any effect, and True Damage was useless-Han Xiao’s two trump cards were no threat to Hadavy. The only method left was to slowly reduce his health.

Every time they fought, it was basically two tanks bashing each other.

Han Xiao had defeated Hadavy every time but never killed him. It was not that he did not want to, but he just could not kill Hadavy before he escaped. Meanwhile, Hadavy seemed like he was comfortable getting beaten, so he kept coming to challenge him.

One year earlier, Hadavy had suddenly gone to fight with him. Han Xiao had no history or beef with him, so he had thought that this was definitely a result of the enemy organizations’ solution to him. So, you’re very tanky? We will just find someone even more tanky to annoy
you!

How the tables had turned. In the past, the Bloodshed Land felt like vomiting every time they saw Han Xiao. Now, Han Xiao felt like vomiting every time he saw Hadavy.

With no other enemy Calamity Grades joining the battle, Han Xiao had only one target. A part of the mechanical army followed the specially designed combat mode to fight with Hadavy. Those cuties were more than enough to hold him back; Han Xiao was only in charge of providing the Mechanical Force bonus. He had no intention of fighting with Hadavy at close range at all. It would be an absolute waste of energy

At the same time, Han Xiao controlled the other parts of the mechanical army to attack the nearby enemy fleets. Concentrated dark blue annihilation beams penetrated the shields of spaceships, leaving strange colors of energy erosion at the edge of the hole created. Battleships lost their defenses one after another, and their exterior armor was quickly dismantled and torn to pieces.

A vigorous fire snake splashed out from the broken hole on the spaceship, turning into a fire dragon for an instant before extinguishing

With their energy furnaces losing balance, the battleships exploded from within, turning into fireworks in the universe, lasting for just an instant before disappearing, too.

With the current combat capability of the mechanical army, taking part in a galactic battle was not a problem. He gradually helped his fleet to stabilize the situation.

After quite a long time, the enemies’ troops started to show signs of defeat. It was just a matter of time till the stargate was destroyed.

Hadavy seemed to intend to retreat as well. He started to try to get rid of the Mechanical Army and attempted to back away. However, he did not escape toward where the ambush was but headed right into the formation of Han Xiao’s fleet, intending to pass through it and retreat through the stargate while Han Xiao’s fleet had yet to completely obliterate the Bloodshed Land’s line of defense.

“Running away so soon?” Under the mechanical suit helmet, Han Xiao raised his brows in surprise.

He had thought that the assassination attempt this time would have something new, but it seemed even worse than the previous assassination attempts.

“It’s definitely not simple.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and turned around to chase Hadavy.

His fleet was in Hadavy’s route; Han Xiao was not going to watch him rush into his fleet. If Hadavy wanted to do something, no one else would be able to stop him.

Han Xiao gradually closed the distance between him and Hadavy, and millions of mechanical soldiers followed behind him.

They went all the way to the frontline of the battle, the edge of the battlefield that his fleet and the Bloodshed Land reinforcements were fighting in. Han Xiao had only just caught up with Hadavy, but seeing that Hadavy had already passed through his fleet, he stopped and did not intend to continue chasing.

This time, Hadavy suddenly stopped running and turned around, rushing right toward Han Xiao, trying to get close to him under the violent rain of attacks.

That’s strange. Han Xiao was alarmed. He was just about to dodge when a warning suddenly came from his mechanical suit’s radar, showing thirty high energy reaction sources around!

Suddenly, in the Bloodshed Land reinforcement fleet around, thirty Grade As appeared and all rushed toward Han Xiao. Han Xiao even saw the eight Vanguard Officials including Fosters. They had followed the reinforcement fleet through the stargate but never engaged with the Black Star Army’s several Calamity Grade, all for this moment!

Attacks from thirty Calamity Grades came from all directions, applying immense pressure. Han Xiao hastily controlled the mechanical army to block them, but Hadavy found an opportunity and bolted right into Han Xiao, crushing the mechanical soldiers in his path.

Han Xiao realized that Hadavy was tightly wrapping his arms around his body, and he could not escape from him. Hadavy hugged him and dashed toward the stargate.

The thirty Calamity Grades ignored the attacks from the mechanical army and attacked Hadavy time after time, giving him more speed.

The Bloodshed Land fleet around gave up all attacks and defended the stargate with everything they had from the attacks of Han Xiao’s fleet.

Han Xiao’s brain quickly processed everything, and he immediately understood the opponents’ entire plan.

Make Hadavy act like he was ambushing me to force me to fight, then fake a retreat and lead me to near the stargate. The other Calamity Grades secretly returned to the Seoul Star Cluster and waited in the reinforcements. The Bloodshed Land knew that I’d attack the last logistics transit station. This is a trap they deliberately exposed, to allow these Calamity Grades to follow the reinforcements through the stargate to arrive at this battlefield. Their target isn’t to kill me but strike at this moment and help Hadavy restrain me, sending me into the stargate!

The other side of the stargate was the Seoul Star Cluster, the headquarters of the Klent Kingdom and the Bloodshed Land!

Ha, I get it. You want to drag me to your territory so that I have no back up. Then you guys can slowly exhaust me. Even if you can’t kill me, you guys will be able to capture me alive easily.

Han Xiao was speechless.

These little b*stards are quite imaginative. Are they trying to elope with me?

Hadavy’s body could easily withstand the attacks. Their flying speed rapidly increased. The Bloodshed Land battleships all opened up a path. The blue vortex at the center of the stargate enlarged in Han Xiao’s eyes very quickly as it got closer.

Seeing that the strategy was about to succeed, Hadavy could not help but send a voice message to Han Xiao.

“When we reach the Seoul Star Cluster, we will fight again. By the way, should I tell them to bring your mechanical army over? Then we will have a great fight.” Hadavy’s tone was sincere.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. “You’re quite f*cking honest. Since you love fighting with me so much, let me go if you have the guts. As long as you don’t run, I will fight with you all you like.”

“No, fighting is one thing, but I don’t want to die.”

Hadavy shook his head. He tightened his arms around Han Xiao’s waist and stubbornly flew toward the stargate.

“You think highly of me…”

Han Xiao was speechless.

Honestly, he had no hatred toward Hadavy. Hadavy had absolutely no interest in the secret war-he just wanted to fight with him. After fighting so many times, as fellow Beyond Grade A seeds, they even respected each other. Sometimes, they could even chat while fighting

However, that did not affect Han Xiao’s resolve to get rid of this sh*t stirrer.

Chapter 694: Steady as Always

In the remote command room on Planet Heber, the staff sergeant chief Jorde and a few assistants were nervously looking at the situation of the battle through the remote video.

“It looks like we might succeed this time.” An assistant gulped nervously.

“Don’t relax yet. Black Star has too many tricks up his sleeves. Before he enters the star gate, no one is to let their guard down,” Jorde said with a heavy tone.

This kidnapping mission was his idea. Over the three years prior, Black Star had fought with the frontline troops of the Bloodshed Land dozens of times. He had come up with many ideas, but all had been foiled by Han Xiao. This enemy was both strong and difficult to kill, almost invincible in the Calamity Grade level, giving him a huge headache. However, Jorde was not discouraged, instead treating Black Star as a test for himself as the Tyrant intended.

In the past half a year, Black Star had been leading his team in destroying their logistics transit stations in the desolate region. With a burst of inspiration, Jorde had decided to set this trap and try to drag Black Star into the Seoul Star Cluster.

As long as they succeeded, even if they were not able to kill Black Star, they would be able to restrain him. The Seoul Star Cluster was their headquarters while Black Star had no help and nowhere to run.

As soon as Black Star fell into their hands, Klent would be willing to use all kinds of methods to control him. Purple Crystal would lose a Beyond Grade A seed, and the potential stock that they had invested in would become Klent’s.

This way, he would have dealt with a rising star of the Shattered Star Ring without His Excellency Tyrant’s help and would be filled with a sense of achievement. He would also become more important to His Excellency Tyrant.

SUCC

Of course, all of that was predicated on the successful kidnapping of Black Star. Jorde stared at the screen and was ready to send orders to the Calamity Grades anytime.

In his eyes, Han Xiao was already kind of a boss-type enemy. His current attitude was coincidentally similar to the players when they fought a boss in a group, waiting for Han Xiao to activate his ‘next stage’.

On the battlefield near the stargate, from when the thirty Calamity Grade attacked to when Han Xiao was hugged by Hadavy while flying toward the Stargate, it only took tens of seconds.

The attacks from Fosters and all thirty Calamity Grades landed on Hadavy’s back time after time, giving him a boost. His speed kept increasing, and they were getting closer to the stargate.

Suddenly, every cell in Han Xiao’s body started to behave like a reaction furnace that was operating at its maximum power output. They generated thick energy that turned into ice cold Void Energy, which quickly filled every corner of his body. His body felt like he was submerged in freezing water, but Void Energy was burning on the surface of his body, turning into gray energy flames.

Under the mechanical suit helmet, Han Xiao’s eyes turned into an obsidian color, and his pupils became the size of a grain of rice. In an instant, he entered the (Void Molt] state. His attributes increased, and the (Void) attribute of his energy was enhanced.

Suddenly, Han Xiao disappeared from within Hadavy’s arms.

“Everyone, focus. Black Star might appear in a nearby location anytime. Mages that have mastered Space-type spells, sense the dimension he’s in and the route he’s taking. The moment he appears, lock down his movements!”

Jorde immediately issued orders through the remote command channel. He was prepared for this.

After fighting each other for more than three years, Jorde knew Black Star very well. When he was designing the plan, he had already considered the various abilities Black Star had. Although he did not know that Han Xiao’s ability to sort of teleport was (Advanced Void Travel), after seeing it so many times and inquiring from many Supers, he more or less knew how it worked and understood how to limit some of Han Xiao’s abilities.

Among the thirty Calamity Grade in the ambush, Jorde specifically deployed a few Mages that were proficient in Space spells. These people had prepared for a long time. The magical items on their hands emitted a magic light, and within microseconds, they sensed the tiny ripples in reality from when Han Xiao stepped into the Void Dimension.

Their magic followed this energy ripple. The route Han Xiao took in the Void Dimension instantly appeared in the minds of these Mages like a conspicuous marking. The few of them turned to an empty location simultaneously. Without hesitation, the high-level space locking spells that they had already prepared before the battle were all launched toward this empty location.

The next moment, Han Xiao left the Void Dimension and appeared at this location. All kinds of high-level space locking spells were flying toward him, almost not giving him any time to react.

However, Han Xiao did not need to react anyway. Before using Advanced Void Travel, he already knew that he would be attacked the moment he came out. This was not the first time that had happened.

With his rocketing fame, every battle he fought would make the other organizations know more about him.

The instant that Han Xiao appeared, he bent his fingers into a claw shape and dragged the space like it was a cloth. Without hesitation, he used (Void Distortion).

Visible twists and folds appeared in the space around him. The universe coordinates of a small area around Han Xiao deviated slightly, yet the spells were deflected away following the folds and completely missed.

Disarming the Mages’ ambush easily, he was temporarily not in danger. Through his (Void] attribute energy, he applied Mechanical Force on his mechanical army directly.

With electrical sparks, the mechanical army became lively again.

Two thirds of the Calamity Grades had no choice but to give up trying to restrain and hastily dodged Han Xiao’s attacks. Other than Hadavy, no one present dared to take on the focus fire of Han Xiao’s mechanical army.

“Star Shaking Fist!” Still not giving up, Fosters’ arms swelled up and launched a scarlet beam right at Han Xiao before he was restrained by the mechanical army.

“This again? Don’t you Vanguard Officials have any other trump cards?”

Han Xiao curled his lips and deactivated Void Distortion. He drew a circle in front of him with his hands. The machine parts followed the track his hands moved in and formed a ring-shaped device, clashing directly with the Star Shaking Fist’s scarlet beam.

The mechanical ring was hollow in its center. The Star Shaking Fist should have easily passed through it. However, when it entered the hollow part of the ring device, it seemed to have lost its momentum and impetus, instead sucked in by the mechanical ring. It turned into a red stream of light and spun rapidly along the inside of the ring, as if it could not escape from the mechanical ring’s strange force field.

This was a new device that Han Xiao had built with the new Control Branch Cutting-Edge Knowledge (Advanced Space Application] Force Field Distorter!

The hollow part of the mechanical ring was actually covered with a special force field that changed the space within. It was set to make a closed loop. Most of the energy would be trapped in this force field space after being sucked in.

In fact, Star Shaking Fist was still ‘moving forward’, but because of the force field, it was now spinning in a closed loop.

On the other side, Hadavy once again rushed toward Han Xiao with open arms like he wanted a hug.

Disgusted, Han Xiao used his Mechanical Force to face the Force Field Distorter at Hadavy and released the captured Star Shaking Fist, blowing Hadavy far away.

Han Xiao turned around and looked at the Mages. In his eyes, these Mages would cause him much more trouble than those muscular men. Seeing that these Mages were about to cast spells again, Han Xiao launched a compressed orb that expanded into a rectangular mechanical device.

The appearance of this device looked like a trapezoidal pyramid. It was completely black. Then, from top to bottom, dots of light started to appear, forming a complex magic engraving.

Ohm!

There was no sound in the vacuum space, yet those Mages felt they were in an ocean, surrounded by roaring, deafening, and violent waves.

This was the vibration of magic energy!

In the senses of these Mages, the magic energy around them suddenly became violent and difficult to control. Even their own magic energy felt slow and unresponsive. The expression on their faces all changed.

“Humph, this thing is enough to cause you people some trouble.” Han Xiao chuckled.

The name of this mechanical device was Magic Tide Generator. It could disrupt the magic elements within a certain area, making it chaotic and violent. It was specially designed against Mages.

The Mages within the Magic Tide range would all be given the debuffs of ‘Slowed Casting Speed’ and ‘Weakened Spell Power’. Lagi had also accepted Han Xiao’s request and added magic engravings to it, making this device much more effective than the original.

Machines were extremely versatile. In the past three years, Han Xiao had fused Cutting-Edge Knowledges, High-End Knowledges, and Basic Knowledges many times, creating quite a few powerful new equipment.

Han Xiao had a ton of new machines in his hands, he easily broke out of the enemies’ encirclement. Now, Hadavy and the others were on the passive side.

Seeing that Han Xiao had escaped their control, Jorde punched the screen, knowing that this mission had basically failed. He inhaled deeply and immediately changed the orders.

“The mission has failed. Everyone, abort and immediately retreat through the stargate!”

Fosters roared with resignation.

Hadavy was regretful as well, but he quickly stopped and immediately rushed toward the stargate.

Han Xiao had already distanced himself from Hadavy earlier, so he had no intention of stopping Hadavy as he watched him disappear in the stargate. He had no way to kill Hadavy within such a short distance; that guy was way too tanky.

Han Xiao did not bother to waste energy on Hadavy. His target was the other thirty Calamity Grades.

He controlled the mechanical army to surround them and looked at the thirty Calamity Grades within the army trying to break out. He narrowed his eyes.

“Since you are already here, leave me some souvenirs.”

This time, a teleportation gate opened beside Han Xiao. Lagi walked out of it and observed the situation.

Compared to three years ago, Lagi had not changed much. After all, languid people all looked much older, so he still looked about the same.

“Hey, you came at the right time. Help me stall as many of these Calamity Grades as possible.”

Han Xiao patted his shoulder then pointed at the thirty Calamity Grades trying to get rid of the mechanical army and head toward the stargate.

Lagi sighed, took out his magic stuff, and floated toward the chaotic battlefield.

“Remember to collect my corpse.”

As the high-level combatants retreated, the Bloodshed Land no longer sent reinforcements through the stargate. They completely gave up resisting, as well as the resources in the logistics transit station. The fleet covered the high-level combatants to retreat through the stargate one after the other.

Jorde had been commanding remotely the whole time. When the stargate was seized by Han Xiao’s fleet, his body finally relaxed, and he collapsed in his chair. With a very weak voice, he said, “Count the losses. How many people were unable to retreat, and how many high level combatants did we lose?”

“Re-Report, thirty-seven percent of the reinforcement fleet did not retreat in time. Out of the high-level combatants deployed, Hadavy and the eight Vanguard Officials successfully retreated. Out of the remaining twenty-two Grade A Supers, only seventeen managed to retreat. We have also lost contact with the two Calamity Grades stationed at the logistics transit station.”

“This means that we lost seven high level combatants ” Jorde could not help covering his face. Although the dead Grade A Supers were basically all new members that Klent had helped them gather from private organizations around the Star Cluster, they were still high-level combatants.

Jorde was hurting from losing seven high level combatants right away. At least forty to fifty Calamity Grades had died at Black Star’s hands. He was basically a Calamity Grade reaper.

Just thinking about Black Star’s battle record sent shivers down Jorde’s spine.

If not because many large organizations had formed alliance with the Bloodshed Land secretly in the last three years, which had brought them quite a number of high-level combatants, he felt that the Bloodshed Land troops would have had to avoid Black Star at all costs.

When Jorde was questioning life, the battle in the desolate area far away had basically ended.

The enemies that were unable to retreat in time lost all means to escape. Han Xiao ordered the fleet under his command to chase, and they easily eliminated the rest of the Bloodshed Land forces there. At the same time, they dismantled the stargate into parts and transported it away as spoils of war. A Star Cluster grade stargate could sell for quite a lot of money; bringing it back to study it was a rather good choice too.

Lagi’s spacetime secret spells helped the mechanical army retrain many Grade A Supers.

He had to admit, Lagi was very strong. Han Xiao was quite satisfied with this vice captain, though the morale of the division led by Lagi was consistently zero.

The Calamity Grades that were unable to escape were heavily surrounded. Their resistance was futile, and they were all captured by Han Xiao. He planned to throw them into his Happy Little House to squeeze some juice.

As the warfare ended, the fleet cleaned the battlefield and searched for spoils of war. Han Xiao did not need to do any of these things.

He retrieved his mechanical army and returned to the machinery modification room in the flagship. He then let the automatic mechanical arms repair the damage to the mechanical soldiers. He took off the Mountain Ape mechanical suit and started repairing it himself. He treated this as a postwar leisure activity.

Beep beep!

This time, his communicator rang. Han Xiao picked it up, and Ralph’s projection appeared.

“Your assistant has submitted the report. You guys have done a very good job this time. It’s another celebration-worthy victory.” Ralph smiled, in a good mood.

Han Xiao glanced at him, then turned to repair his mechanical suit while saying with a casual tone, “The Bloodshed Land ambushed me again. This time, in order to kidnap me, they deployed many experienced Calamity Grades previously stationed in Westwind, Kaya, and Chaida. Their stronghold should be fragile at the moment. You guys can make use of the opportunity.”

“We will seriously consider this suggestion.” “Anything else? If not, I’m hanging up. Don’t distract me from repairing things,” Han Xiao said without even turning around.

Through three years of contact, the two of them were now very close. When communicating privately, they were much more informal and casual.

Furthermore, Ralph was not considered his boss anymore. He had become the Purple Crystal Civilization’s long-term partner a year ago. Despite still being a Section Zero member, he was actually already an individual partner.

“Ahem, did you forget? This is the last logistics transit station. You have been battling outside for half a year. Now that the mission is complete, come back. There are no important missions that need you for now. I’m planning to give you a long holiday,” Ralph said.

Han Xiao’s movements paused, and his eyes sparkled.

For this mission, he had led the fleet to battle in the desolate region for more than half a year and never returned to Colton. Quite a number of private matters had been stacking up. Now that he had some holiday, he would finally have the time to settle them.

Chapter 695: Army State and Holiday Target

After hanging up, Han Xiao did not continue to repair his mechanical suit. He left the workshop, went to the command room, and summoned all the officers of the fleet for a meeting

Cleaning the battlefield did not require constant monitoring from the officers. After the order was issued, the officers of the fleets came to the flagship one after another, gathering in the command room. As they entered, they all nodded at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao nodded to greet his own officers as well. The listless Lagi; the reliable Herlous; the grown-up Sylvia; the reckless Harmon; and Karmbe, Marian, and Misecech.

Other than the officers of the army, there were also a few other Section Zero members in the expedition fleet. Having fought alongside each other for half a year, they were all very familiar with each other.

When everyone had arrived, Han Xiao knocked the table. The sound of chatting suddenly disappeared completely as everyone looked
over.

“This time, I summoned everyone to tell you guys the next step of the plan. I’ve just received word from Purple Crystal. They are very satisfied with our results over the last six months, so they have decided to call us back and give us a long holiday. Our mission is complete; we can rest for a while now.”

Everyone was overjoyed when they heard this.

“That’s great. I haven’t been back home in half a year. My wife has been asking me when I will return every day. Haha, this time, I can give her a surprise.” A core member of another organization spoke first with joy.

“Maybe she will give you a surprise…” Lagi patted his shoulder to comfort him.

“Thanks.” This person’s face was filled with gratitude. Now that you’ve said that, it will definitely not happen.

“Finally…”

Sylvia bit her bottom lip lightly and held her hands above her chest, almost yelling out loud.

Han Xiao glanced at her and nodded with approval in his mind. Over the past three years, Sylvia had been taking part in actual combat, walking at the edge of life and death. Her growth speed was much faster than before; she had entered her rapid growth period.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Sylvia had reached Calamity Grade in Version 3.0 and earned the ‘Mechanical Lady Knight’ title. In the past three years, this potential of hers had gradually started showing. Back then, Sylvia had been jealous of Feidin’s extraordinary talent, but now she was showing a similar talent.

Han Xiao estimated that Sylvia might really be able to grow from Grade B to Grade A during the update. After all, there were still seven more years for her to grow.

Still, the biggest change in Sylvia was her appearance. In the past three years, she had gradually matured. She had brown and long curly hair, she was tall, and her skin was snow white. Her facial features were solid and pretty. Altogether, she had an innocent and pure yet alluring look.

Plus, she did not wear any bulky alloy mechanical suits. Instead, she mainly used thin, light battle suits that were focused on shields, which displayed her smoking body covered in the tight battle suit. The battle suit increased her Charm by at least thirty percent. Beauties were always a feast for the eyes.

Herlous turned around and said to Herlous, “Old Herlous, after returning, take over Reynold’s job and check on the business developments of the various Star Systems.”

“Okay.” Herlous nodded.

Herlous was always an important managing officer. In order to train himself, he had followed the fleet for the last half a year, while the daily matters had temporarily been given to Reynold and the other officers stationed in the headquarters to take care of. They would report the situation to Han Xiao every so often.

Han Xiao had more trust in Herlous’ ability to handle matters. Other than liking card games, old Herlous was reliable in most things. He had improved quite a lot in the past six months as well, becoming Grade B+ and finally starting to see the gate to the Calamity Grade.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Herlous had passed away early under the beast tide of Planet Sunil, so Han Xiao did not know if he had the potential to become a Calamity Grade.

However, since he was a protagonist-type character with Luck Glow, although his talent could not compete with cheaters like Feidin, it was still much higher than normal people.

After giving a few orders, Han Xiao ended the meeting

The cleaning of the battlefield was also completed, so the fleet headed back to Colton.

Han Xiao locked himself inside the office to look at the current operation status of the Black Star Army.

In the past three years, the Black Star Army had been developing smoothly. The importance of the mercenary business had already dropped to being third. The Black Star Army’s business transformation gradually completed. It was no longer a mercenary group; it was now finally a large armed organization.

The mercenary business was separated and formed the Black Star Army’s mercenary division, which continued to accept hires as a mercenary group. Because of this, many freelance mercenaries were satisfied. Therefore, not only did the Black Star Army not lose many talents, but its appeal for mercenaries increased instead.

The Mercenary League of the Shattered Star Ring was in the process of forming but had yet to become official. It was decided that the Black Star Army would hold one of the high positions.

Sky Ring, Blades, and the other large armies had been borrowing Han Xiao’s name to recruit people all over the Star Field. At the same time, they also had to speak with the Mercenary Alliance, which was an enormous universe-level guild. The Shattered Star Ring was just a division of the Mercenary Alliance. In order for them to form a league, they had to get past the Mercenary Alliance.

The Black Star Army’s current main business was the long-term partnership agreement with Purple Crystal, to fight in the secret war for them.

The second most important business was mining. Dozens of Star System civilizations invited and supported him to build bases in their territories and allowed him to mine on resource planets. This was the most profitable and currently the biggest income of the Black Star Army.

Having built bases in dozens of Star Systems, the Black Star Army’s range increased to just under half of the Colton Star Cluster.

With so many Star Systems distanced so far away from each other, if he had used his own resources to build up these bases, the expenses would have been very high. This would make the cash flow of the army unhealthy or even broken.

Even though the contract fees these Star System civilizations gave were not little, it was better than those huge costs. Also, harvesting resource planets required a huge amount of manpower, as well as the building and purchasing of various harvesting devices, which would cost a lot of money.

Although the Star System would provide a certain amount of support, they would not go all out to help the Black Star Army harvest their own resource planet. At most, they would only provide some manpower and devices so that the Black Star Army could harvest the resource planet.

Harvesting resource planets required a huge amount of investment in the early stage; most organizations would not be able to afford it. If Han Xiao only used the army’s resources, the utilization of the right to harvest resource planets would be extremely low, even with the help of the Black Spirit Race. Although the Black Spirit Race was very good at mining, they were still very much behind in terms of development. After so many of them had been killed on Planet Sunil, their population size had yet to recover.

However, Han Xiao announced the Black Star Army’s harvesting contracts with the various Star System civilizations and made a public bidding, open to all financial groups of the Star Field. These financial groups understood the huge profit involved in resource planets, so they all looked to partner with Han Xiao.

Of course, Han Xiao was not allowed to sell the harvesting right given by these civilizations, but finding people to partner with would not be a problem. He let the financial groups provide the money needed to help the Black Star Army harvest many planets at the same time while the resources harvested were sold through the channels of these financial groups for them to make commission.

Han Xiao set the bids separately for the various Star Systems, clearly dividing the area each financial group was responsible for.

This way, although the profit margin would not be as high, the overall quantity was much higher.

With the huge income, the Black Star Army was able to expand its business to many Star Systems within three years. The sub-bases in every Star System were harvesting several resource planets, so the actual profit made was much higher than if Han Xiao harvested them without the help of the financial groups.

The number of financial group partners jumped from single digits to 127, all well-known large financial groups within the Star Field.

Therefore, in just three years, the size of the Black Star Army had already grown tremendously!

War, mining, and missions—these were currently the top three businesses of the Black Star Army. Due to its versatile business operations, it showed some signs of being a financial group. Its official member count had exceeded ten million long ago, and managers dealing with miscellaneous tasks also became important parts of the army.

Due to the rapid increase in size, the number of problems multiplied as well. There was a huge pile of problems that needed to be solved every day, which gave Han Xiao quite a headache. He had no choice but to let his subordinates deal with the details of these matters while all he had to do was monitor and control the overall development of the entire organization, also going out to fight people from time to time.

The three major businesses of the army are right on track, making a lot of money, and maintaining a virtuous cycle. I just need to ensure the stability of the army.

After receiving the first wave of profit from harvesting resource planets two years ago, he rarely looked at his savings… All he knew was that as long as he did not suddenly decide to give everything to charity, he would basically not even be able to spend it all.

This holiday was very rare; he did not want to worry about the trivial matters of the organization but decided to settle the Class Advancement mission.

Within the past three years, Han Xiao had found a mission in his memories that rewarded a level 180 silver legacy blueprint. The mission involved passing rounds of tests to finally gain the acceptance of the inheritor.

As this was a mission that rewarded a level 180 blueprint, it was extremely troublesome. Also, its mission location was in another Star Cluster.

Han Xiao had not had many holidays in the last three years, so he had only finished seven rounds of this mission and had yet to complete it. He estimated that he should be able to complete it during this long holiday.

Getting the blueprint was just the first step. He still had to build an orange-grade product out of it. Han Xiao did not intend to use a Mission Completion Card. In order to level up the Cutting-Edge Knowledges, he had spent quite a lot of Experience. Although killing Calamity Grades gave him some Experience, the Experience that he had at the moment was only enough for him to level up around ten levels at most.

There were still seven more years till the start of Version 3.0. Without enough Experience, reaching Beyond Grade A was basically impossible. Anyway, he was strong enough for the moment, so Han Xiao did not think it was necessary to look for a Mission Completion Card everywhere and complete the Class Advancement quickly. After all, the Promotion mission at level 200 was another obstacle he would need to break through.

While thinking, Han Xiao opened the interface and browsed through his mission list. There were quite a lot of missions stocked up.

The fourth round of (Prey) was still inactive. Due to reasons he did not know, Thousand Shadows had decided not to do anything for three years, which made Han Xiao very alarmed. He felt like this was the calm before the storm.

Han Xiao did not have the time to settle Godora’s Rank S (Bloodline) mission as well, as he felt that it would be quite troublesome and would rather use that time to strengthen the Black Star Army, which would give him much more benefits than the mission reward.

Aroshia’s mission was still on hold as well. However, Feidin’s hidden mission (Choice] was completed upon achieving the fourth ending. Feidin and Chen Xing fell in love-it really was self-lovemaking.

The mission reward was quite good-a lot of Experience, a random reward chance, and a huge increase in the Favorability of both Feidin and Chen Xing. It made Han Xiao feel like he was the matchmaker for the two of them.

By the way, doesn’t this count as self-loving?

Han Xiao could not imagine what the ceremony would look like if those two decided to get married, but he knew that it would definitely be difficult to look at!

Beep beep!

As he was looking through the interface, Han Xiao’s communicator suddenly rang.

He picked it up. It was a message from Aesop.

“Vilna… hmm? Is this a hint for me to hand over my job and groom my successor in advance?” Han Xiao muttered and narrowed his eyes.

Chapter 696: Handover

At the exterior tracks of the Planet Golden Gate, a metal fortress looking satellite was orbiting.

This was the Black Star Army’s current headquarters, which had moved away from the Planet Golden Gate surface and become a mobile satellite fortress. Its area was many times bigger and had far richer functions and facilities.

Inside the satellite was the body of this base, a space station similar to the Juberly Hub. The surface was filled with defense facilities and port passages.

In the past three years, Han Xiao had turned most of the base into a satellite fortress. Although its cost was high, he was a mine owner now, so he did not feel any heartache.

This time, at the large port inside the base, a tall purple-haired beauty was walking back and forth, glancing in the direction of the port frequently like she was waiting for someone. Her fingers were crossed tightly, and her pretty face was filled with apprehension.

It was Vilna.

About ten days ago, she had followed Aesop’s orders and gone to the Black Star Army headquarters to wait to meet with Han Xiao.

Today was the day that Han Xiao would return. Vilna had arrived early at the dock to wait. When she thought about how she was going to meet the man known as the ‘closest to Beyond Grade A in the Shattered Star Ring’, she could not but feel nervous.

Before this, Vilna had never seen Han Xiao with her own eyes, nor did she talk to him through communication. To this mysterious senior of hers, she could not help but imagine all sorts of things.

The Black Star Army has risen so quickly, so maybe Black Star is full of ambition? People say that many organizations he’s defeated all fell into his trap, so maybe he is a master of plot? He also has extraordinary battle records that shocked the entire Star Field, so maybe he’s an intimidating warrior?

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Vilna’s mind. Apprehensive, Vilna kept rehearsing what kind of attitude she should use to meet Black Star in her mind.

At this time, streams of light approached from afar and appeared outside the dock. An enormous Black Star fleet appeared and slowly entered the dock entrance.

The bottom of the battleships locked onto the tracks, entering the base to be parked at the various docks.

The flagship stopped at the large dock where Vilna was. The hatch opened with a hiss, and the gangway opened automatically and connected to the edge of the dock.

Wearing a black windbreaker, Han Xiao walked out with wide strides, casually looked around, and stepped onto the dock’s alloy floor. The people behind him swarmed out after him.

Vilna calmed herself and trotted over, standing in front of Han Xiao.

“Yo-Your Excellency Black Star, my name is Vilna. I’m Floating Dragon’s new officer. Aesop told me to find you…”

Han Xiao stopped walking and looked down at Vilna with his dark eyes, blatantly sizing her
up.

Vilna felt like her heart was at her throat. Han Xiao did not speak. She gulped, and her mind went black, not knowing what to say. The two of them looked at each other in silence.

After looking at her for quite a while, only then did Han Xiao smile faintly. “Aesop told me about it. He asked me to help you build the second Field Team. Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”

Then, Han Xiao patted Vilna’s shoulder and said meaningfully, “Since you have joined Floating Dragon, do a good job. I believe in
you.”

Vilna’s face was slightly red, and her tightened body relaxed a little. Han Xiao’s friendliness made her a little less nervous.

Black Star seems to be a very nice person. I don’t understand why Jenny keeps emphasizing that Black Star is a rude, antisocial, and evil *sshole.

“Follow me.”

Han Xiao snapped his fingers and walked off. Vilna regained her focus and quickly caught up with Han Xiao.

The others had all left; Han Xiao and Vilna were the only ones left. Turning down one corridor after another, they walked in silence.

Without turning around, Han Xiao suddenly asked, “Have you met Ames? What do you think of her?”

Vilna was stunned for a moment. She thought for a while, stared at Han Xiao’s back, and answered softly, “She’s very gentle, and I have always admired her. It’s an honor to work for her.”

“Hmm… does she know that your job is to build the second Field Team?”

“Probably…” Vilna tried to recall. She then realized that Ames had never asked what her job was, so she added, “Aesop definitely told
her.”

“What does she think then?”

“Er…” Vilna thought hard about it then said carefully, “She didn’t seem to react out of the ordinary.”

Han Xiao touched his chin and stopped speaking.

He knew that finding his successor was most likely Aesop’s idea, since Ames would not be bothered about things like this. Nonetheless, he was completely okay with it. After all, Floating Dragon had helped him a lot in the past, so he wanted to return the favor and leave something for them.

He chose to end things on peaceful terms so that he could develop better. Thus, he did indeed plan to groom Vilna and smoothen her future path, using these seven years to complete the handover of his job.

Furthermore, Vilna was someone he knew. Without his presence, Vilna had been the authentic Field Team officer of Floating Dragon in his previous life.

… who also met her demise together with Floating Dragon.

As memories flashed through his mind, they arrived right outside the office. Han Xiao ended his thoughts and took Vilna into the room. Then, he called Reynold, Herlous, and Sylvia over.

“Let me introduce Vilna, a new officer of Floating Dragon. She’s planning to build the second Field Team, so she came to seek my help. You guys, forget about expenses and help her recruit people. Also, choose ten financial groups from the ones that are working with us and convince them to invest in the new Floating Dragon Field Team using my name. You have to take this job seriously. Help her to build a Field Team based on her plan and support her as much as possible.”

Han Xiao spoke quickly. He planned to use the Black Star Army’s current resources and influence to build a new team for Floating Dragon without considering the returns.

“Understood.” Reynold nodded solemnly. He shook Vilna’s hand and said, “Tell me what you need later. I will do my best to assist you.”

“0–Okay.” Vilna had yet to recover from the shock.

Han Xiao’s degree of help was way beyond her imagination. All she had to do was talk and not worry about anything else; the Black Star Army would settle all of it.

How generous!

Vilna was petrified. She started to blush. This completely abolished the negative image that Jenny had set for Han Xiao in her mind and built a new, tall image.

Friendly, steady, reliable, rich, strong, and handsome… It’s great to have such an amazing senior!

Why is Jenny always lying!

Vilna was secretly upset.

No wonder Black Star could build such an enormous organization in ten short years. Although Vilna did not want to admit it, after such short contact with Han Xiao, he already felt much more reliable than Ames.

“Go do your stuff then…” Han Xiao waved his hands.

Reynold nodded. He turned to look at the others and said, “Okay, you guys go out and wait for me. I have something I want to discuss with His Excellency Black Star alone.”

Han Xiao was a little surprised. He looked at Reynold and saw that he clearly had something on his mind. Han Xiao thought about it and nodded at the others, signaling them to go out first.

The others took Vilna away, leaving only Han Xiao and Reynold in the room.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and looked at Reynold.

“Actually… I didn’t want to bring this up initially because no one was able to help, but now you’re able to. I have something that I need your help with,” Reynold said with a sincere tone and a solemn face.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He smelled a mission.

In the past few years, he had kept trying to trigger a mission from Reynold, which he sadly never did. He thought that Reynold did not have any missions on him. However, now that Reynold had brought it up himself, he was certainly surprised.

He did not expect to receive such good news as soon as his holiday started.

Chapter 697: Another Familiar Face

Reynold had very low requirements. Other than finding Han Xiao to learn blueprints, he was pretty transparent the rest of the time. Ever since joining the army, he had always kept a low profile. His business capabilities were as rigorous and reliable as his personality, never causing any trouble at all. He managed the logistics of the army extremely well. This was the first time that he had asked Han Xiao for help.

Seeing that Reynold had a lot on his mind, Han Xiao figured out what was going on. This matter was probably very difficult to deal with, which was why Reynold had waited until now to ask for his help. Since the start, Reynold had only come to learn, not for help. However, now that he had achieved so much fame in the entire Star Field, Reynold saw hope and felt that he had the ability to help, so he now was asking him.

Han Xiao felt that he had guessed most of it correctly and secretly focused more.

“Tell me about it first.”

He did not immediately agree to help and decided to listen to the mission content first.

Reynold contemplated for a while on what to say.

“As you know, I come from the Hyde Star System. I’m sure you know about the situation in the Star System.”

Han Xiao nodded.

The Hyde Star System was a Star System without a ruling civilization, connected with six Star System civilizations including Godora. All these civilizations stationed many troops in Hyde and divided this ownerless Star System. They expanded and confronted each other for many years, causing Hyde to become a chaotic land.

“I was born on a small place called Ceciris, located in an area occupied by the Hutt Civilization. Ceciris is ruled by a low-level galactic civilization that has six planets in total under its ruling. It’s classified as somewhere between a planet civilization and Star System civilization. This civilization has many governments that compete with each other. As Hyde is always at war, the political situation of Ceciris is volatile.

“My father operated a machine research company, which later went bankrupt. When I was six, they died in a riot caused by a political parade…”

Han Xiao was slightly moved. This was the first time that Reynold had talked about his own story. Usually, he never even mentioned anything about it.

“I have a sister who’s nine years older than me. Her name is Rossellin. After my parents died, I lived together with her for three years. When I was nine, she sent me on a long-distance galactic flight off Ceciris and abandoned me.

“When I left home, I was still a child that knew nothing. No one took care of me. I drifted in the galaxy and got through my tough childhood. I then finally had the strength to protect myself. After that, I once went back trying to find Rossellin. Then I discovered what she did.”

Reynold shook his head and said, “After I left, her Esper ability awakened. The official saying is that she can manipulate people’s minds, subtly rewriting people’s perspective on the world. At the start, people did not know about her ability. She used this ability to gather countless believers and built a new religion. New ideology and culture were born in her hands.

“With her ability, in just a few years, she completed the missionary process that would take normal religions decades. More and more people became her followers. She became the pope of the new religion in the Ceciris civilization, loved and worshiped by countless people. Even many high-level officials across the various governments were her believers. She controlled half of the Ceciris civilization with religious methods. Her position was above countless people.

“However, those governments felt that she would threaten their reign, so they kept searching for clues. In the end, her ability was discovered. She became the most dangerous careerist to those governments. She was captured, and the religion that she had created was destroyed.

“Although her Esper ability can modify people’s subconscious mindset over a large area, she can’t brainwash anyone, can’t make anyone a fanatical, and can’t control the minds of the others. Therefore, although the society was shocked, no one spoke up for her. Nobody would like having their mind twisted. Her reputation went right down the drain, and she became a sinner spurned by countless people.

“Those governments tried Rossellin. She was convicted of high treason and given life in prison. However, they showed their true intentions very soon. In their eyes, Rossellin’s ability was an outstanding tool to assist their ruling. Hence, whoever was going to imprison Rossellin became a problem. Every government wanted to have her, to use her ability to consolidate their rule and damage their opponents. They did not want anyone else to have this tool.”

Reynold closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed. “On paper, she was locked in prison, but actually, she disappeared from the eye of the public after the public trial. These governments sent spies and special agents to get to her secretly. Even some rebel forces with ulterior motives joined the battle. She became a tool that kept changing owners.”

Han Xiao could not help but ask, “So, you want me to save her from the Ceciris civilization? You’re already a Calamity Grade-won’t you be able to do that yourself?”

“No, she’s not on Ceciris anymore.” Reynold shook his head. “The Hutt Civilization took an interest in her ability and took her away. She’s now a prisoner of a Star System civilization.”

Han Xiao understood. No wonder Reynold asked for his help. It turned out that Rossellin had become an important prisoner of a Star System civilization, so getting her would be rather difficult.

To a Star System civilization, they had no obligation to give face to a Calamity Grade. Given how important Rossellin was, the Hutt Civilization would not give her away so easily. Even if Reynold was to attack the prison, he would not be able to fight against the entire Star System civilization alone. He could not save his sister by himself.

I see, so he’s asking for my help because of my influence… Han Xiao thought.

“I know that this is very sudden, but there’s nothing I can do to the situation Rossellin is in. I hope you can save her.” Reynold bowed deeply.

“Hmm…” Han Xiao caressed his chin. “Your sister really seems to be a careerist. I feel that she did this to herself.”

Psychics could change others’ minds to a certain extent, but the range and efficiency was clearly far inferior compared to Rossellin’s Esper ability. It was perfect for spreading religion, exactly what the Arcane Church loved the most.

“Maybe she really is an ambitious careerist; I’m not defending her actions. Although she abandoned me and I don’t have much emotions for her anymore, she’s still my family. She has already paid the price for what she did; I don’t want to see her keep suffering.”

Han Xiao was quite surprised. He had always thought that Reynold’s heart was mechanical; this was a very rare occasion where Reynold showed any emotion.

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao slowly said, “I can help, but it won’t be easy. Even I might not be able to make the Hutt Civilization give her to me just by asking. Rossellin broke the law after all. This isn’t a really reasonable request, so they can totally not give me face at all…”

Reynold nodded then said with a solemn expression, “I understand. You don’t owe me anything. I will continue to work for you and pay my debts for this.”

That’s what I’m talking about, brother… Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He smiled and said, “I’ll try my best.”

This time, a notification popped up on the interface.

You have triggered the mission (Reformer)!

Mission Introduction: You accepted Reynold’s request and decided to save Rossellin from the Hutt Civilization.

Mission Requirements: Save Rossellin.

Reward: 18,000,000 Experience, +30 Reynold Favorability, +80 Rossellin Favorability, (Blank Character Summon Card-Reynold) x 1

Han Xiao glanced at it and was surprised.

The mission itself did not seem too difficult, but the prerequisite to trigger it was. It seemed its requirement was to have quite a close relationship with Reynold while having very high influence, only then would Reynold ask for his help.

The Experience reward was ordinary. The Favorability was common as well. What was most surprising was Reynold’s Character Summon Card.

The Blank Character Summon Card of a certain character meant that he could choose any one of Reynold’s abilities.

Among all the abilities Reynold had, the most valuable was undoubtedly the Mechanic class Molding Talent (Perfect Mechanical Sense).

Although Character Summon Cards had limited uses, it was better than nothing.

Most of the time, only random draw reward in combat missions had a possibility of giving someone else’s Molding Talent. Other than Character Summon Cards, the players had absolutely no way of acquiring any Molding Talents. He had the NPC status, so his drawing range included the Molding Talents, but that was not the case for players.

Han Xiao was not disappointed. In order to get the true (Perfect Mechanical Sense) talent, he had to think of other ways.

A Character Summon Card is fine. I happen to have a use for it too.

The Class Advancement mission required him to build a piece of orange level 180 legacy equipment. It would probably not be possible to build orange equipment with his current Machinery Affinity, so he would have to look for ways to improve his building abilities. However, with the [Perfect Mechanical Sense) effects, he would be able to do it right away, saving him tons of trouble.

Pausing the flow of thoughts, Han Xiao returned to the topic.

“I’ll leave in two days and visit the Hutt Civilization. Tell me everything you know. By the way, what does your sister look like?”

“I haven’t seen her in many years, but when she was still the pope, I saved quite a few pictures of her. Here, look.” Reynold took out his communicator and projected a few pictures.

This was a woman in a gorgeous red and white robe. Her hair was tied into a knot at the back of her head, decorated with a beautiful ornament. Her eyes were bright, and her teeth were pure white. Her face was gentle and beautiful, a little bit similar to Reynold’s. Her skin was snow white, and she gave off a very noble vibe. In the picture, she seemed to be making a religious speech. There were many faithful believers below her listening with their heads lowered.

Han Xiao glanced at it, frowned, and glanced at it again. Then, he stared at the face of the woman in the picture and could not take his eyes off her.

Noticing that Han Xiao was staring, Reynold was a little confused. “What is it?”

Han Xiao regained focus and moved his eyes away. He covered his mouth with his fist and coughed twice. “Nothing, your sister is quite pretty.”

Reynold gave Han Xiao a strange look.

Actually, when Han Xiao saw Rossellin’s face, he was dumbfounded.

Vilna, whom he had met earlier, was someone he knew from his previous life, but he did not expect to see another familiar face on the same day!

Plus, this woman was on a completely different level from Vilna!

Chapter 698: Rejected

The Black Star Army had set up an office for the Hutt Civilization’s diplomatic team in the satellite subdivision near the resource planet. Wolman and his team were usually there to monitor the harvesting of the resource planet as well as communicate with the Black Star Army’s subdivision.

This day was quiet as usual. Wolman arrived at the office early, gracefully greeted his team members, and sat at his desk. He appreciated the countless stars outside his window before taking out a book from his bag and opening it on the table. This was a book written in the Hutt language. He decided to finish chapter eight to chapter eleven that day, which would take him the entire morning.

Very quickly, he decided on his reading plan. If he was in a good mood later, he would consider reading one more chapter.

In the interstellar era, most of the entertainment and art books were electronic to save on unnecessary production and transportation costs. Physical books had become collectors’ items that only a very small number of people who sought elegance and refinement in life would purchase.

As an elite of the Hutt Foreign Affairs Department, a member of upper society, Wolman strictly required himself to live delicately. He took out a crafted can with green powder, scooped out precisely two spoons, and poured them into a crystal cup. As he poured cold water into the cup, the green powder inside dissolved and turned into a luminous turquoise dense liquid like stars were swimming within. It was beautiful.

This was a type of refreshing drink, a special drink loved by the Huttians. Of course, Wolman’s powder was not factory-made cheap stuff but the premium hand-ground type.

Wolman held the crystal cup in his hand and returned to his seat, sipped it, and picked up the book from the table. He adjusted his seat to lean on the window at forty-five degrees. As if he had completed some kind of ceremony, he finally started reading the book with satisfaction.

He did not hate being deployed to this quiet position, but he was not satisfied with his job either.

Wolman hoped he could be active on the diplomatic political stage between civilizations and display his abilities elegantly; that was how an elite like him should live. To him, dealing with the Black Star Army was a waste of his talent. After all, in his eyes, although the Black Star Army was a very strong armed force, it was just made up of rude, uneducated mercenaries.

This time, a team member hastily walked into the room and said loudly, “Sir, the Black Star Army just sent us a notice. Their leader Black Star will be arriving in the Skywalker Star System in seven days to visit our Hutt Civilization. The details are in this file.”

Black Star visiting personally, what could his goal be? Wolman was shocked. Ever since he took on this position, the things that he had been dealing with were all trivial and unimportant. This was the first time that something rather important had happened.

Wolman took the file and read through it carefully. Then he said with surprise, “He wants to see Rossellin? Who’s Rossellin?”

Han Xiao had written his goal to notify the Hutt Civilization in advance. If it was just meeting her, given his position, the Hutt Civilization should not reject him.

Wolman immediately contacted the superiors. After a long call that lasted more than ten minutes, he exhaled deeply. The people above were not planning to settle this personally. They made him responsible for the welcoming and hosting of Black Star.

Seven days later, Han Xiao arrived in the Skywalker Star System in his spaceship, landing at the military port of one of their governance planets. The Hutt Civilization had received the notice long ago and basically cleared out the entire port. Wolman and others were waiting

The hatch opened, and Han Xiao and Reynold walked out. Wolman adjusted his clothes, approached with an elegant smile and reached out for a handshake.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m Wolman of the diplomatic team. On behalf of the Hutt Civilization, welcome.”

“Yo, hello.” Han Xiao shook his hand.

“Upon gaining knowledge of your arrival, my superiors were eager to welcome you personally. Unfortunately, your arrival is too sudden, and they just could not squeeze out the time during their hectic schedule. Therefore, I’m responsible for hosting you. Please understand,” Wolman said with a very graceful tone.

Actually, this was just an excuse. The upper echelons of the Hutt Civilization did not want to meet Black Star. This was because when DarkStar was stirring chaos, the Hutt Civilization had secretly worked together with the DarkStar once. Once they heard that Black Star was visiting them personally, they felt somewhat guilty. Thus, they decided to let a unimportant official take care of Black Star in their place, while at the same time observing Black Star’s attitude, as well as why he wanted to see Rossellin.

However, of course, Wolman knew nothing about that. The way he saw it, this represented the Hutt Civilization’s attitude toward Black Star. Although they had followed the others and invited Black Star to build a sub-base there three years ago, they did not really take this nouveau riche too seriously. They kept their pride as a Star System civilization. Wolman was very satisfied with this attitude of theirs.

To Wolman, Black Star was just a nouveau riche.

Black Star was strong for sure, but he was not Beyond Grade A yet. He had just made use of the heated discussion three years ago and made the Black Star Army’s development grow rapidly. To him, this was exactly what a nouveau riche was. Technically, Black Star was just a native from a planet that lagged behind in all respects. Wolman, however, was an elite from a Star System civilization. With his sense of superiority, he did not think highly of the Black Star Army.

However, as a well-trained diplomat, this tiny belittling he had was perfectly hidden, and he maintained the basic respects.

“Don’t have to be so polite.” Han Xiao waved his hand.

Wolman nodded. “We have received your notice. Rossellin is now locked up in the secret prison on this planet and can meet you anytime. Would you like to rest or see her first?”

“See her first.”

“Okay, please follow me.”

A hovering car with a government license was parked outside the dock. Han Xiao and Reynold followed Wolman in and headed to the prison Rossellin was in.

The inside of the car was stable and completely free of turbulence. Han Xiao chatted with Wolman on and off, while Reynold sat straight at the side.

Ralph had given him a super long holiday, so Han Xiao had more than enough time to settle his personal matters. Seven days ago, when he got Reynold’s mission and realized that Rossellin was someone he knew, he had immediately dropped all other arrangements and placed saving Rossellin at the top of his priority list.

Considering Rossellin’s identity, Han Xiao brought Reynold along as well. On the surface, it was so that the two of them could reunite, but it was actually to make Rossellin lower her guard.

Initially, although Reynold was rather important, Han Xiao did not see him as someone with any kind of extraordinary background. However, after seeing Reynold’s older sister, he knew immediately that he was going to treat Reynold like his brother!

“You’re about to see your long separated sister, nervous?” Han Xiao did not hide anything and spoke to Reynold with a voice that everyone in the car could hear.

“No.” Reynold shook his head. “The impression I have of her is already very faint Even if we meet, there isn’t much to say between the two of us. Even after we save her, we will still just walk different paths.”

“You want me to help you save Rossellin, but you’re not going to ask her to pay you back? It seems that your emotions for Rossellin are not as little as you say.” Han Xiao smirked.

“Families should take care of each other. Even though she once abandoned me, when she’s in trouble, I should still help her,” Reynold said with a serious face.

Ralph listened from aside and secretly memorized the information. Rossellin seems to be a family member of an important person under Black Star’s command. Maybe this is why Black Star’s here. I’ve got to report this to the superiors later.

After more than two hours, the hovering car entered a military base leading into an underground tunnel and stopped at the gate of an underground prison. The thick, bulky alloy gate was now open. The warden and the guards had been waiting there since long ago.

“Your Excellency Black Star, we’re here. Please let me lead the way for you.”

Wolman got out of the car and opened the car door for Han Xiao. Then, he shared a few words with the warden before leading the way.

This prison was very technologically advanced. It used many galactic imprisonment measures. It was very quiet; the only sound was the buzzing made by the mechanical guards passing by. The ceiling was equipped with all kinds of automatic weapons that would lock on to any target with a heat signature. The security was tight.

Han Xiao appreciated the surroundings as he walked and learned quite a few things. He decided to go back and modify his Happy Little House after settling this issue.

After walking through many prison zones, they arrived at the deepest single person cell. They then stopped before the alloy cell door.

“The person you want to see is inside.” Wolman nodded.

The warden opened the cell door and let Han Xiao and the others in. The space inside was not narrow. It was split into two areas with high strength transparent glass.

Compared to Reynold’s photos, Rossellin’s hair was now cut to centimeters short, and she wore a ragged prisoner uniform. However, her appearance was still as young; time did not leave any marks on her. With just one look, Han Xiao knew that this woman’s highest attribute was most likely Charm, maybe comparable with Feidin’s.

The cell was dark. As the strong light from outside the door shined in, Rossellin narrowed her eyes uncomfortably and looked at the few people on the other side of the glass. Although she was a prisoner, her face was extremely calm.

“Hmm, it has been 147 days since you guys last came to me. What do you want me to do this time?”

“Still recognize me?” Reynold asked.

Rossellin looked at Reynold. After looking for a while with narrowed eyes, shock appeared on her face.

“Are you possibly… my long dead dad?”

“I’m Reynold!”

“Oh, brother, so you’re still alive.” Rossellin sighed with disappointment as if she was not surprised about Reynold appearing there at all. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to save you,” Reynold said with a deep voice.

“After not seeing you for decades, you’re still just as stupid.” Rossellin pointed at the warden on the side with her mouth and said, “Do you think he’s deaf?”

“His Excellency Black Star will try to get you out.”

“Black Star?” Her brows raised slightly. “Never heard of him.”

Han Xiao kept quiet at the side with a strange look on his face. The reunion of these two siblings was different from what he imagined. Shouldn’t they be hugging each other and crying?

Looking at Rossellin, he was still surprised.

He had not expected the future pillar member of the Silver Revolutionary Army to be a family member of one of his officers.

The Silver Revolutionary Army was the main storyline of a big version. The target of their revolution was not something small but the three Universal Civilizations. Since they were revolutionaries, they had to gain support from the people. Rossellin was an irreplaceable member known as the Preacher.

Even if he did not come, sooner or later, someone else would develop an interest in her ability and save her.

Rossellin was a key character of a major storyline, so she was of great importance to Han Xiao. Maybe he could interfere with the Silver Revolutionary Army storyline. According to the time, the Silver Revolutionary Army had not formed yet.

Even without Rossellin’s future identity, she still had huge potential. Although her Esper ability did not have much combat capability, she was an irreplaceable special talent in the fields of poisoning people’s minds and inciting the masses.

Her ability looked ordinary on surface, but the final form of this Esper ability was more than qualified to be listed in the Super High Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty. It could turn an ideology terrifyingly contagious and conquer not with force but culture!

Although it had no lethality, it was a horrifying weapon that could overthrow any government!

Rossellin was born to be someone talented in revolution and religion!

Of course, it would also be useful in reinforcing the position of rulers or governments.

The people walked out of the cell, and the warden closed the cell door behind them.

“Your Excellency Black Star, do you have any other requests?” Wolman asked.

Han Xiao glanced at Reynold before touching his chin. “Indeed, I do have a favor to ask. I hope to bail Rossellin out. As you can see, she’s the sister of this officer of mine. According to my knowledge, she did not break the Hutt Civilization’s laws. You guys are just imprisoning her in place of the Ceciris civilization. As long as you’re willing to give bail, I can have a talk with the Ceciris people myself.”

“Hehe, this is beyond my jurisdiction. I will have to report to the upper echelons. Please give me a moment.”

Wolman was not surprised at all; he had already guessed Black Star’s intention earlier. He went to the side, took out the communicator, and called his superiors. After talking for a while, he hung up and went to Han Xiao with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry. This is an internal matter of our civilization. Rossellin is an important prisoner, and we cannot accept any form of bail.”

Although Star System Civilizations treated Han Xiao with respect and wanted to establish a good relationship with him, they would not accept all of his requests. If it was just a normal prisoner, it would not be a big issue. However, Rossellin was an important chess piece even to the Hutt Civilization. Of course, they were not going to give her to Han Xiao just because he requested it.

“I see, never mind then.” Han Xiao shook his head with disappointment.

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Wolman had a bright smile on his face, but he was sneering in his mind.

You’re still not a Beyond Grade A, yet you want us to release someone with one sentence?

Do you really think you’re someone?

Chapter 699: This Leek Is Bleeding Internally

Since the Hutt superiors rejected him, he had no need to stay at the prison. Han Xiao expressed his intent to leave. Wolman asked him to stay longer for a few times but stopped at a suitable point. They took the hovering car back and headed to the dock.

The atmosphere in the car was silent; no one talked. Han Xiao closed his eyes and rested. Reynold sat at the side, wanting to speak but did not.

Wolman secretly looked at Han Xiao’s expression. He felt that Black Star was definitely unhappy since he had been rejected. However, he did not care about Black Star’s feelings. After all, all he did was convey the message from the upper echelons. If Black Star was unhappy about that, it would have nothing to do with him.

Furthermore, Wolman did not think that making Black Star unhappy was a big deal at all. Civilizations controlled the universe; no matter how strong Black Star was, he was not part of a government.

As a diplomat, he felt that he figured out what the superiors meant—the Hutt Civilization had no intention of wooing Black Star. Purple Crystal was already way ahead of them, and they had no chance to compete with a Star Cluster civilization.

So many Star System civilizations wanted to befriend Black Star, and they were just one of them. Godora had the closest relationship with Black Star among the Star System civilizations, while the Hutt Civilization was Godora’s competitor. No matter how they looked at it, Black Star would definitely not establish a close relationship with the Hutt Civilization.

Therefore, Wolman felt that the upper echelons knew that they did not have a chance, so they did not want to waste efforts wooing Black Star. They would not be able to get anything in return for Rossellin anyway, so why should they lower their heads and fulfil Black Star’s request? Like other Star System civilizations, they just had to give enough face to Black Star and treat the Black Star Army’s subdivision as a tie for a shallow relationship. That was all.

In Wolman’s eyes, Black Star wanting to take someone from him with just one sentence was a clear act of overconfidence.

Us Star System civilizations will indeed give you face, but we will not obey your every demand.

As Wolman was deducing the intention of his superiors, the hovering car finally arrived at the dock.

Han Xiao and Reynold got out of the car and boarded their spaceship with Wolman escorting them up.

Han Xiao stepped onto the gangway and was about to walk into the hatch. He suddenly turned around and looked at Wolman, who was standing on the dock.

“We will meet again very soon.”

“We look forward to your next visit.” Wolman had a sincere-looking but fake smile on his face.

The spaceship shook and quickly started. It followed the dock tunnel, turned into a high-speed stream of light, and disappeared.

As the spaceship left far away, Wolman wiped the smile from his face, pressed his stiff facial muscles, and turned around to wave at his team members.

“Let’s go.”

Five days passed peacefully.

On this day, the delicate Wolman was spending his days in the Skywalker Star System Black Star Army subdivision as always when an urgent notification was sent to his email. A team from the Foreign Affairs Department was about to come to the Black Star Army’s subdivision. The email was to notify him to prepare the welcome.

“Strange, I wasn’t noticed beforehand about this. Why are they suddenly sending people to the Black Star Army subdivision?”

This notice did not follow the regular procedures, nor did it convey the purpose of these Foreign Affairs Department colleagues’ visit. Wolman was confused, but since it was a mission from above, he could only complete it.

Wolman brought along his team members, arranged the welcome, and arrived at the dock of the subdivision, waiting for the arrival of these colleagues.

This Black Star Army sub-base was built to be orbiting on the outer space track of the resource planet in order to monitor the harvesting team on the planet. The dock was a hovering galactic harbor built beside the sub-base. It was an independent space station.

After Wolman waited for more than half an hour, a government spaceship with the Hutt Civilization mark approached and stopped at the dock.

The spaceship stabilized, and the hatch slowly opened. A group of people in diplomat clothing accompanied a few Purple Crystal people down the gangway while chatting and laughing.

Wolman quickly went forward and introduced himself.

“This is the person in charge of the diplomatic matters with the Black Star Army subdivision, Wolman. These are Purple Crystal Civilization’s emissaries. We have just completed a handover task and are planning to rest here for a day,” a diplomat said elegantly.

Purple Crystal Civilization emissaries! Wolman was shocked. Purple Crystal was the ruling civilization of Colton, and Hutt was just a Star System civilization under them. Purple Crystal specifically dispatching emissaries there meant that this was an important diplomatic task.

Wolman could not help but feel jealous of these Foreign Affairs Department colleagues of his who were chatting and laughing with the Purple Crystal emissaries. They had the opportunity to get in contact with the emissaries of Star Cluster civilizations, and they were active in the political stage between civilizations. Their job was more elegant and graceful, while he was made to take care of an armed force.

I will be transferred back sooner or later… Wolman comforted himself. Back when his superiors sent him to be in charge of the Black Star Army subdivision, it was definitely because they believed in his capabilities. A diplomatic elite like him would definitely return to the Foreign Affairs Headquarters in the future.

Just as he was about to invite the Purple Crystal emissaries to stay, a few armed officers escorted someone off the spaceship. Wolman turned to look and was instantly stunned.

The woman escorted there was the person whom he had just met together with Black Star a few days prior, Rossellin!

Wolman was shocked. He nudged one of his colleagues that accompanied the Purple Crystal emissaries and softly asked, “Why is she on your ship? Why did you bring her here?”

“You know her? This is a prisoner the Purple Crystal emissary specifically sent people to take charge of. She’s called Rossellin.”

Wolman immediately thought of Black Star.

Could it be…

At this time, another spaceship landed. Wolman recognized this battleship; it was Black Star’s ride.

The hatch opened, and Han Xiao and Reynold walked down. The Purple Crystal emissaries instantly smiled and approached the two of them.

After chatting for a while with smiles on their faces, the Purple Crystal emissary waved his hand. A few armed personnel escorted Rossellin over to Han Xiao, opened the various constraints, and released her on the spot.

Rossellin rubbed her wrists, glanced at Reynold, and gave Han Xiao a deep look, not saying anything. Reynold then took her up onto the Blacklight Stealth.

Han Xiao turned around and noticed the stunned Wolman who was standing at the edge of the crowd, so he smiled and walked over.

“As I said, we meet again.”

“You…” Wolman suddenly did not know what he should say to deal with this situation.

“It’s actually not that big a deal. Since your Hutt Civilization doesn’t allow bail, I had no choice but to let a civilization that does allow bail take over.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Wolman’s lips shivered, and he forced out a rigid smile. There were thousands of curses in his heart, but he did not dare say any of them.

From the side of his vision, he saw that his colleagues were smiling brightly as if they had known all along and he was the only one that did not.

At this moment, he felt that his most precious sense of superiority was shattered into pieces, by the Hutt Civilization government who had gifted it to him in the first place.

Han Xiao did not look at him anymore. He turned around and shook hands with the Purple Crystal emissaries, chatted for a while, boarded his spaceship, and left with Rossellin.

Wolman clenched his fists and forced out a smile to face the Purple Crystal emissariesdoing his job was more important.

After finally settling these emissaries down, Wolman returned to the office. He was the only one there.

Sitting in his chair, Wolman exhaled deeply. He wanted to suppress his thoughts and continue to read his book, but he realized that he could not concentrate on it at all.

Every time Wolman thought of Black Star, he felt unpleasant. He comforted himself that this was a matter for the superiors and had nothing to do with him.

There were no conflicts between him and Black Star. Fortunately for him, he had maintained his diplomatic etiquette. No one knew how he had ridiculed him in his mind, and no one would know that he felt embarrassed.

Beep beep!

This time, Wolman’s communicator rang. He opened it, and to his surprise, it was a message from his direct boss.

“His Excellency Black Star specifically told us that he’s very satisfied with your services and that it made him very comfortable. He also hopes to see you again next time. Therefore, your transfer request is temporarily postponed. You will continue to be in charge of the diplomatic tasks with the Black Star Army’s subdivision…”

Clank!

A few team members outside were just about to push open the door when they suddenly heard sounds of someone smashing things coming from the office.

The few of them hastily pushed the door open and saw Wolman’s usually calm face filled with rage. The floor beside his table was in a mess. The crystal cup that he always used was shattered into pieces, scattered around the floor, and the green drink had spilled over the physical books that he had always taken very good care of.

In the Blacklight Stealth’s main hall, three people sat on a circular sofa in a triangle. Rossellin’s eyes kept moving between Han Xiao and Reynold. Reynold was sitting straight and looking directly ahead. Han Xiao leaned back with one hand on the back of the sofa and the other carrying a wine glass, sizing Rossellin up with an interested look on his face.

“What do you want me to do for you for saving me? Come on, don’t be shy, tell me.”

Rossellin broke the silence first.

Reynold frowned. “I just wanted to save you…”

“Enough. Keep those lies for yourself.” Rossellin interrupted Rossellin, crossed her legs, and said with a mocking expression, “I don’t know who this ‘Excellency Black Star’ is. In order to get me out, you guys even contacted Purple Crystal, so the cost is probably quite high. I don’t believe that such a big price paid would just be to fulfil an idiot subordinate’s wish. Hehe, you probably told this Black whatever about my ability… Sorry, your nickname is too stupid. I’m too lazy to say it.”

Is this woman’s zodiac animal hedgehog? Stabbing whoever she wants…

Han Xiao remembered that Rossellin’s personality was not like this during the Silver Revolutionary Army era in his previous life.

Reynold said with a deep voice, “I asked His Excellency Black Star to save you in exchange for myself. Know your place!”

“Oh.” Rossellin curled her lips and raised her tone. “So, you thought I’d be grateful to you?”

“You!” Reynold was exasperated.

“I’m quite curious, what made this Black whatever guy accept this kind of request? Which part of you is so important to him?” Rossellin sized Reynold up.

“I’m a Calamity Grade now!”

“Oh, you’ve grown up, I see.” Rossellin opened her mouth wide with exaggeration before clapping a few times without any signs of being sincere. She shrugged and said, “So, you’re saying that you’re very important to him?”

Reynold could not reply. Han Xiao was right beside him. He could not praise himself and say that he was important to him.

“Ahem.” Han Xiao stopped the conversation between the two of them and said, “Contacting the Purple Crystal Civilization isn’t difficult for me. You’ve been imprisoned for too long, so you’ve never heard of me.”

Without a doubt, he was not going to use force. Even with his current position, if he actually attacked a civilization, he would still receive punishments.

In terms of retrieving the sub-base to express his attitude, it would give him a bad name. The other partner galactic civilizations would feel that he was forcing a government. He was not a Beyond Grade A yet, so he should not be too domineering. That would not be beneficial to maintaining stable partnerships.

Resolving this matter was actually very easy. Since the Hutt Civilization could take Rossellin from Ceciris, the Purple Crystal Civilization could also take her from them. It was just a handover.

Purple Crystal took him much more seriously than Hutt as he was a partner of Purple Crystal. Hutt, however, knowing that they had no chance to compete, were unwilling to woo him, so they did not want to give him face.

However, proving their loyalty to Purple Crystal was so much more beneficial. Therefore, when Purple Crystal took over the matter, the Hutt Civilization immediately agreed.

Efficient and effective, this was Han Xiao’s solution. If a player had to do this mission, they would basically have to break into the prison by force.

“I see, you seem to be someone very important.” Rossellin raised her brows. “It looks like I need to study the history of the past decade or so.”

Rossellin stood up and came before Han Xiao. She snatched his wine class and gulped it down. Then, she casually threw the empty cup away. She sat back down, burped, waved her hands, and said, “I’m thirsty, so I drank some. For such an important person like you, I’m sure you won’t mind.”

Han Xiao turned to look at Reynold. “Your sister has quite an interesting personality, like a rascal.”

“Ever since she was little, she has been willful, caustic, and mean, never considering the feeling of the others!” Reynold could not hold back anymore and started to complain. “Therefore, when she became a careerist that toyed with an entire civilization, I wasn’t even surprised!”

“That’s right, I’m a careerist, a caustic rascal. Countless people are going to suffer now that you’ve let me out. Are you regretting saving me, my dear little brother?” Rossellin made a funny face.

“No.” Reynold disdained quarreling with her.

“Tsk, I’m a little touched. It’s really true that no matter how you hurt your family, your family will still be willing to be taken advantage of.” Rossellin stretched lazily. “Since you guys aren’t going to make use of me, does that mean I can leave anytime I want? If you reject, it means you are planning to use me. Of course, you don’t have to be shameful about your hypocrisy; I’ve seen this kind of thing way too many times.”

Reynold turned to Han Xiao. He only wanted to save Rossellin. As for where Rossellin would go in the future, he did not want to care about it at all. Han Xiao was the one that could make the decision to let her go.

Han Xiao caressed his chin and suddenly said, “You built a new religion in your hometown and brainwashed countless people, making them worship you. Anyone would think you’re a careerist.”

“Hmm, you have such sharp eyes, just like every normal person in the world, and you like to repeat obvious things.” Rossellin’s face was filled with mockery. “What, are you planning to judge my actions? Tell me then, I will try my absolute very best to repent for one minute.”

“I don’t think you’re a careerist; you’re a reformer.” Han Xiao leaned forward and stared into Rossellin’s eyes, speaking with a calm and normal tone.

The moment he spoke, Rossellin’s expression stiffened, and a tint of anxiety flashed through her eyes. She was stunned.

Chapter 700: Rossellin Compound Fertilizer

“Interesting, this is the first time someone has used an outright lie to praise me.” Rossellin barely squeezed out a sneer to cover for the panic inside.

“You can disguise yourself with ambition, but you can’t fool everyone. You didn’t create a new religion and modify people’s faith because of ambition. You have other motives.” Han Xiao smiled.

Han Xiao had limited knowledge of the Rossellin before his eyes, but the players had gathered quite a lot of her information during the Silver Revolution version in his previous life. When Han Xiao recognized Rossellin, he recalled that information. Some of it was Rossellin’s past experiences. It seemed like she had told others about her past before. Although she did not tell the players where her home was, she did talk about what she did in her home and what her motive was.

According to that information, Han Xiao knew that Rossellin’s real motive had nothing to do with ambition. She did not control the faith of others for power. Han Xiao knew Rossellin better than herself.

Anyone who could become the backbone of the Silver Revolutionary Army, apart from having special skills, had a heart not satisfied with the status quo and a unique aspiration.

Rossellin was shocked. This was the first person to see through her disguise. She quickly held down her surprise then stabilized her mind with alertness and vigilance—this had been her habit for many years.

Black Star has only seen me twice. He definitely has a reason for saying these things… He must be exaggerating. How could he know what I’m thinking?

The real motive for creating a religion and gathering believers had always been Rossellin’s deepest secret. She had never told anyone, and she did not believe that Black Star could guess correctly.

Reynold turned his head and looked at Han Xiao with suspicious eyes—did his sister really have some other motives?

“Your ability is to subtly rewrite people’s mental outlook. Its impact isn’t very strong, and you can’t completely manipulate others to your likings. However, you can put all kinds of ideas in their minds,” Han Xiao, with a confident look on his face, said slowly. “The mind is intangible, but it’s like the strings that manipulate puppets, affecting every aspect of an individual. Whether one is loyal or rebellious, sincere or hypocritical, optimistic or pessimistic, depends greatly on one’s mind. The reason that the same environment creates different people is because of the mind, too.”

As he was speaking, he pointed at Rossellin, who was forcing herself to stay calm, and smiled. “Using your Esper ability, you are able to give them new ideas that are very contagious. In the eyes of your home government, your idea is a virus. But in my view, your idea is a seed, a seed that can turn around the thousands of ways in which the entire race can develop toward.”

“You…” Rossellin’s expression changed drastically.

Without waiting for her to respond, Han Xiao continued.

“The racial personality of a civilization depends partly on its nature and partly on the traditional ideas that have been passed down from ancient times, which cannot be controlled by future generations and will change independently at the various stages of the history as it develops.

“These ideas left over from history will dissolve into the blood of this race and become their spiritual identity. History only happens once, and a race doesn’t have a second chance. It can even be said that there is no opportunity for them to choose. From a macro perspective, the culture and character of this civilization is almost random; they’re not necessarily optimal results out of the infinite variables. Or maybe there’s no such thing as an optimal result.

“I call you a reformer because I know that you didn’t set up a religion in your hometown for power but to reform your own race. To be honest, I am a little impressed by your aspiration. Your goal isn’t to reform a government or system but the cultural ideology and spiritual goal of the race, thus changing the spiritual identity of the entire race!”

This information was like a hurricane that struck Reynold. He opened his mouth wide and stared at Rossellin, dumbfounded. If what Han Xiao said was true, his sister’s goal was indeed unbelievably huge.

As if Rossellin had been struck by lightning, she was petrified, and her face was covered in disbelief.

Han Xiao smiled in his mind. Those were the motives as Rossellin explained them in his previous life. Using them to trick her was extremely effective.

After a pause, he went on and said, “Whether it’s reforming the system or reforming the government, its effects won’t last as long as reforming the spiritual identity of an entire race. Many of the problems are because of the people. Character determines destiny. Without external influence, this law applies to a civilization.

“History has been established. In the course of a civilization’s development, there is basically no opportunity to change its character. What you have been doing is implanting new ideas and giving them the opportunity to change through the form of your Esper ability and religion. This is your ‘Race Transformation Plan.’

Han Xiao touched his chin. “Hmm, however, you’re just an individual in this race. In the eyes of others, you have absolutely no right to change the minds of everyone. Through growing up, everyone has created their own history. You can’t impact the deep-rooted traditions that have been around for thousands of years. Therefore, you became a heretic, a sinner.”

In his view, Rossellin’s actions were basically leading her to become a saint!

Han Xiao could not help but think, You denied history and the racial spirit that has been passed down. No wonder they locked you upyour ideas are way too dangerous.

Nonetheless, this woman’s thinking was not wrong. Assuming that there were no Confucius or Mencius in the history of his previous life, the ideas passed down by the people of the world would be different after thousands of years, and the logic of people would change to a certain extent as well.

“The easiest way to change the spiritual outlook of a group is religion and education, so you chose to establish a religion, gathering faith and subtly changing people’s character. This is your real motivation,” Han Xiao said, looking at Rossellin. “Am I right?”

Rossellin’s hands were shaking. She took a deep breath and looked at Han Xiao with great complexity.

“You’re… right.” Rossellin’s voice became low. Her cynical tone from earlier had completely vanished. Now, Han Xiao finally felt a faint aura of a religious pope in her.

She looked straight into Han Xiao’s eyes and said, “I am not noble. The parents of Reynold and I died during a political parade. The Ceciris Civilization disappointed me again and again, so I wanted to change something. You’re right, I don’t have the right to change the spiritual identity of the whole race, and they don’t necessarily need me. But if no one did anything extraordinary under all that pressure, nothing would change. I created a religion that lasted many years, and I only changed the character of a small group of people. Through the religion and my Esper ability, I made them positive, I made them grasp the present, and I made them better. As long as the religion continued, even without my Esper ability in the future, these ideas would have become more and more popular. Unfortunately, it provoked a backlash…”

After so many years of suffering, Rossellin had become deeply wary of everyone. Her harsh words and cynical attitude were her protective disguise—too many people lied, too many wanted to use her. She promised herself to never open up to anyone ever again. Even if she was misunderstood, she would not defend herself.

But now, for the first time, Rossellin had spoken out.

She gazed at Han Xiao, her heart filled with complex emotions. There was shock, relief, and a hint of happiness of meeting someone who understood her. Those were the deepest secrets of her heart that she had never told anyone else, but Black Star had seen through her so easily. This was the first time that Rossellin had met someone that knew her so well; she almost lost her cool.

Speechless, Reynold looked at Rossellin with disbelief. He looked at her from head to toe again and again, seemingly wondering if his sister had been swapped. He could not imagine Rossellin having such huge aspirations and dreams.

Seeing that Rossellin had admitted he was right, Han Xiao was secretly excited.

This fertilization method is just as good as it used to be. This is probably how the Silver Revolutionary Army fooled her in my previous life!

“Ah-choo!”

On Planet Aquamarine, Bennett sneezed all of a sudden.

When Rossellin finished, the room became quiet. The few of them did not speak for a moment. Han Xiao knocked the table and spoke first.

“So, what do you plan to do in the future? You can’t go back to Ceciris, and you’re still considered Purple Crystal’s prisoner. I bailed you out, so I can’t just let you run around wherever you like.”

Rossellin turned and glanced at Reynold. She then smiled lightly. “I see. After saying so much, you still want me to stay.”

“You’re a talent. I like talent.”

Han Xiao, of course, did not have to deny it.

“Since my brother works for you, even if you want to use me, you won’t do anything excessive. Okay, you used your connections to save me, so I owe you one. My brother is my brother; I won’t use him to repay you. Also, I don’t have much combat capability, so I certainly won’t be a match for such an important person like you…”

Rossellin stretched and went back to her cynical attitude. She deliberately gave Han Xiao a vaguely seductive wink and said, “Since I won’t be able to run anyway, I don’t have a choice. I will lend my body to you as a tool. Use it as you will, don’t be shy.”

“Okay.” Han Xiao nodded normally, but inside, he was screaming, Still putting on a show? You think I can’t see that huge +80 Favorability? Would it kill you to be honest about how grateful you are? Would it?

The biggest problem was settled. Han Xiao let Reynold take Rossellin to rest, eat something, and replenish her energy. After spending so many years in captivity, her body was rather weak, and she was in need of recovery.

After the two of them left, Han Xiao stayed in the hall alone. He tapped the sofa with his fingers, pondering how to utilize Rossellin’s special talent.

Rossellin’s Esper ability was a perfect fit for ideological construction. He felt that it could be used to strengthen the Black Star Army’s corporate culture, to create a few slogans like ‘Let the light of Black Star shine on every corner of the universe’ and ‘May Black Star rise as usual’. The Bloodshed Land also had special talents for ideological construction.

That means, Rossellin can take on the job of political commissar?

Han Xiao touched his lips with excitement.

To make the leeks grow healthily with spiritual construction…

That would be a strong compound fertilizer!

Also, her ability is very special. The Silver Revolutionary Army will still target her in the future, and I can’t keep someone with such enormous aspirations forever. Since that’s the case, if she will still become a core member of the Silver Revolutionary Army like in my previous life, maybe I can build and maintain good relations with them and not be their enemy.

As the Silver Revolutionary Army was the main storyline of a major version, they were, of course, very powerful. Although Han Xiao did not have any intention of joining them and trying to overthrow the three Universal Civilizations, he did not want to be their enemies.

Maybe through Rossellin, he would be able to discover the Silver Revolutionary Army’s tracks before they completely formed, thus being able to respond in advance.

Mr. Han pondered over the idea and did not see an issue with it. He then opened the interface.

In the mission list, the mission (Reformer) was completed, and he had already received the reward. He now had a complete Reynold Character Summon Card.

Character Summon Card – Reynold—[Perfect Mechanical Sense]

Total Machinery Affinity multiplied by 1.4. (Includes basic value, bonuses from passive abilities, and talents. This effect applies to the total value.)

When enhancing machines using Mechanical Force, the Grade of the machine will be temporarily increased by one or two Grades, up to Pink Rare Grade.

+4 levels to all Mechanic class active abilities. This effect can exceed the level limit.

Duration: 16 hours

Usages: 0/3

Remark: In your senses, every machine is a world of ecological balance.

Three usages, sixteen hours duration each. Quite long lasting. It seems that this type of Character Summon Card also takes into account the time to build machines. It can be used both for combat and for building.

Han Xiao was quite satisfied. With this Character Summon Card, there would basically be no problem in making a piece of orange equipment. All he had to do was complete the blueprint mission and obtain the silver legacy blueprint.

Looking at its effects again, Han Xiao was increasingly envious of Reynold.

I want the real [Perfect Mechanical Sense] talent…

After rescuing Rossellin, Han Xiao split up with those two and let Reynold take Rossellin back to their headquarters and settle her down. While piloting the spaceship and leaving the Colton Star Cluster, he headed to the location of the blueprint mission.

Be it the Black Star Army matters, Vilna, or Rossellin, none of them were as important as his Class Advancement mission. He had to become stronger to develop his organization and position even further. Since he was close to completing the Class Advancement mission, he dropped everything else and focused on completing the Class Advancement.

As Han Xiao left the Colton Star Cluster, a pair of eyes were staring at his whereabouts from a dark place that he could not see.

Chapter 701: Fangs

Chapter 701 Fangs

Taralam Star Cluster, 0358 Wormhole Sector.

Big and small blue-black wormholes with fluctuating space coordinates existed in this area, tearing the space around them. A small spacetime carefully travelled in this unstable space area. It was Han Xiao’s ride.

In the central area of the Shattered Star Ring was a huge wormhole group that was under the Taralam Star Cluster area. This dangerous area was called the Wormhole Zone. There were very few people around. The various Star Cluster civilizations had stationed people there and built wormhole observation stations, classifying the Wormhole Zone into hundreds of sectors.

The Wormhole Zone in the Shattered Star Ring connected to many places around the universe. The job of the wormhole observation stations was to measure where some of those wormholes led. However, due to the wormholes being extremely unstable, old wormholes disappeared regularly, and new wormholes appeared just as frequently. Therefore, the progress of the measurements was very slow.

According to the official data, till this day, they had only completed the measurement for 1 in 2,400,000 of all the wormholes.

Han Xiao current target was the observation station of 0358 Wormhole Sector. The distributor of the level 180 silver legacy blueprint mission was the Mechanic that maintained this wormhole observation station.

As he passed by a bunch of wormholes, a small space station appeared in his vision under the wormholes’ orbits. Han Xiao sent a landing request to the space station, which was very quickly approved. He piloted the spaceship to dock at the space station and entered the port passage. After sliding on the magnetic tracks of the space station for a while in a narrow passage, he finally entered the port.

Han Xiao disembarked from the spaceship and greeted the maintenance personnel of the port.

“Your Excellency Black Star, have you come to look for Professor Harrofal again?” a maintenance officer asked.

“Hmm, where is he now?” Han Xiao nodded.

“You came at the right time. Professor Harrofal followed the measurement team out to collect wormhole data some time ago and only returned two days ago. He’s now inside the research lab, conducting experiments.”

“Thanks.” Han Xiao smiled and left the dock, heading toward the research lab of the wormhole observation station.

This wormhole observation station did not belong to Klent or Purple Crystal but another Star Cluster civilization of the Shattered Star Ring that did not take part in the secret war and was semi-neutral.

Harrofal was a research-type Mechanic that was not good at combat, a professor of a government-owned mechanic education institution of this Star Cluster civilization. He had always been on the frontlines of technology, studying all kinds of subjects. In order to study the wormhole group, he had deliberately requested to do maintenance at an observation station. He was the distributor of the blueprint mission.

Han Xiao had already completed the blueprint mission up to the seventh round. He had come to this observation station many times, so the people there were already familiar with him.

Arriving at the research lab smoothly, Han Xiao announced his identity outside the locked door. After waiting for a while, the door opened, and Harrofal walked out. He gave Han Xiao a stare and said unhappily, “You again, you’re disturbing my experiment.”

“Experiments can be done anytime, but you don’t get to see me every day.” Han Xiao laughed.

Harrofal was an old man with claret skin. His hair and beard were all white. He was very old, but his back was straight, and he looked more fit than some younger men. This was a tough old man.

To the Mechanic class, knowledge was power. Harrofal had studied the various mechanic theories very deeply and was quite talented. Furthermore, he had studied them for so many years, so it was very normal that he was a Grade A Mechanic. However, Harrofal had always been researching and studying technology; he rarely fought anyone.

Although his level was not low, he had many subclasses similar to (Scholar]. His combat capability was among the lowest in Grade A.

A Star System civilization would have dozens of government Grade A Supers. Thus, the Star Cluster civilizations naturally had dozens of times more Grade A Supers. After Han Xiao entered Calamity Grade, he had basically only come into contact with people of the same level, so it looked like there were many Calamity Grades. Actually, compared to the huge number of Grade B and Grade C Supers, the number of Calamity Grades was still very low.

The Star Cluster civilizations had relatively more Grade A Supers, so they could afford to have some talents that were not required to fight, such as Harrofal, who had low combat capability and focused on research and developments.

Although Harrofal always focused on research, he knew that Black Star was also a master Mechanic, so he had respect for him. He temporarily paused his studies and invited Han Xiao to the guest room to chat.

After chatting for a while, Han Xiao moved the topic to the blueprint mission. This silver legacy blueprint was Harrofal’s personal belonging. Han Xiao had made an agreement with him long ago that as long as he helped him do some stuff, Harrofal would be willing to teach the blueprint to Han Xiao. The mission was at round seven.

Harrofal thought for a while before giving his request. A notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

He looked at the new round for the missionit was not difficult, just cumbersome.

Han Xiao delayed no longer. He ended the chat and bade farewell to Harrofal. He left the observation station and immediately headed to complete the mission.

The level 180 silver blueprint mission had ten rounds in total. To Han Xiao, it was not dangerous at all; he could complete them as long as he spent the time.

In the next month, Han Xiao travelled around, returning and leaving the observation station, and focused on completing one mission requirement after another. Ralph had given him a very long holiday this time, so he had plenty of time.

While he was doing the missions, he did not meet any accidents; it went very smoothly. In just over ten days, the blueprint mission in the mission list was finally shown to be ‘Completed’. Han Xiao immediately returned to the observation station and found Harrofal.

Harrofal took Han Xiao to his private room, dug through a bunch of stuff, and took out a square-shaped mechanical safe. He inserted his own Mechanical Force as the password, and the mechanical parts of the safe started to move like a Rubik’s Cube. After a while, the safe opened.

Harrofal took out a thick deck of blueprints from inside, shook it a bit, and placed it on the table.

“Alright, according to our agreement, this blueprint is now yours. It’s weird; you’ve been busy fighting the war these few years, yet you squeezed out the time to do things for me. Does this blueprint have some sort of important use to you?”

“You can say that.” Han Xiao nodded.

Harrofal saw that Han Xiao was not planning to explain further, so he did not continue asking. He flipped the blueprints on the table and said, “This is what you asked for. I got this from someone else, so it’s not really a secret. Although it’s interesting technology, it’s not very advanced. It seems to be a blueprint passed down by a Mechanic from many years

ago.”

“Let me take a quick look.”

Han Xiao scanned through the blueprint. A progress bar for reading instantly popped up on the interface. His Intelligence was extremely high, so his reading fast was speedy.

In less than a minute, he had read through this complex blueprint. With the interface, as long as he had a high enough Intelligence, the efficiency of learning a blueprint would be hundreds of times faster than regular Mechanics.

Standing at the side, Harrofal thought that Han Xiao was just looking at it briefly. Never would he know that Han Xiao had already mastered the knowledge of this blueprint in just less than a minute.

You have received [Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon Blueprint] x 1.

You have learned a new blueprint, [Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon)!

Finally… Han Xiao took a deep breath and looked at the blueprint introduction on the interface.

Legacy blueprints all had rather lame names. The Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon was a level 180 machine. It was a planet-level strategic weapon for Cannon Masters. As a Mechanic, he could use it as well.

Most energy cannons fired burning high-energy particle streams while the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon’s attacks were extremely cold. According to the blueprint introduction, at the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon’s highest power output, one attack could send an entire planet into the Ice Age. Although its destructive power was not as high as actual Planetary Destroyers, it was still a very strong weapon.

Maybe because the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon was very old, it did not have a very high knowledge requirement. Among the Cutting-Edge Knowledges, it only required [Abnormal State Energy) and (Controllable Annihilation Weapons). Fortunately, Han Xiao knew both, so he did not have to find new Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

“Hmm, this thing needs quite a lot of rare materials. I’ll have to go back to build it.

Glancing at the cost of it, Han Xiao tutted. The cost of this cannon was probably even higher than proper Planetary Destroyers.

The development of technology was meant to build high power weapons with low costs. The older blueprints basically had high power and even higher costs. After all, the technology back then had not been as advanced.

However, is a problem that can be solved with money even considered a problem?

I’m rich!

Putting away the blueprint, Han Xiao nodded and said, “I shall get going.”

“Don’t you want to stay a while to chat before leaving? I still want to discuss some technology with you.”

“Probably not, I have some things to do.”

“Sigh, alright then. I’ll send you off to the dock. If you have the time in the future, feel free to chat with me anytime. You have my communication number.

Harrofal felt a little sad. He quite liked chatting with Han Xiao. Both of them were master Mechanics, and they had infinite topics to talk about.

However, the moment they left the room, the lights in the corridor became red warning alarm lights. A piercing alarm echoed in the entire observation station.

Ohm!

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

Harrofal’s face drastically changed. Before he could speak, the entire observation station trembled violently, and Harrofal almost staggered.

Right after, a deafening sound of explosion came from far away.

Boom!

The vigorous flames quickly expanded in their direction, filling the corridor.

Han Xiao frowned. Nanoparticles climbed on his palm and turned into armor. He flipped his hand around, and a blue oval shaped psionic shield appeared, easily blocking the flames. He then turned and looked at Harrofal.

“The enemy is definitely bombarding this place from outside. Let’s leave the observation station first.”

Harrofal had very little experience against enemies, but he was not so inexperienced that he would panic in such situations. He equipped his own mechanical suit and crashed through the corridor, penetrating the exterior armor of the observation station and flying out. Han Xiao activated the Mountain Ape mechanical suit and followed him.

The two of them finally saw what was happening after leaving the observation station. Their expressions changed.

A fleet had surrounded the observation station from all directions. It had at least five hundred battleships, and they were all firing at the observation station. The protective shield was almost torn apart instantly as high energy beams penetrated the observation station.

The next moment, the fire expanded, and the observation station exploded, shattering into pieces.

“No, my research lab!” Harrofal’s expression changed drastically as he yelled with heartache.

“Sh*t, my spaceship!” Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.

Reynold had flown the Blacklight Stealth back, so he was just using a normal small spaceship. Nonetheless, Han Xiao had still stored some Army Boxes in it. It would be a huge loss if they were destroyed too. Although he was not short of money at all, wasting was still shameful!

Han Xiao raised his hand. The space around him rippled, and Army Boxes arrived one after another through hyperdrive. Han Xiao counted them and was relieved.

The outside of the Army Boxes had suffered some damage, but the compressed orbs inside were undamaged. The Army Boxes not only had hyperdrive devices equipped but also protective shields. This was originally to prevent the enemy from attacking the Army Boxes, but it had come in handy this time.

The entire observation station turned into scrap; only a few Supers survived. The attack was too sudden. The people inside the observation station could not react at all.

As this was a space station for research, it had limited defensive measures. After all, not many people would deliberately attack a wormhole observation station set up by a Star Cluster civilization. Furthermore, this was the Wormhole Zone. The unstable wormhole group was a natural line of defense. Almost no one would battle there.

“Who are these people? Why did they attack us?” Harrofal was shocked and furious.

Han Xiao was very curious too. He instinctively felt that these enemies were there for him-he had almost developed a habit of being assaulted throughout the years.

He frowned and looked at the fleet. As he was about to speak, he received a message on his mechanical suit.

“We finally meet again, Black Star!”

This voice, it’s a little bit familiar!

Han Xiao looked over.

His vision passed through the universe and locked onto a person from the fleet. After clearly seeing this person’s appearance, Han Xiao was shocked and surprised.

This person was his old enemy that had been missing for many years—the DarkStar leader!

How did he appear there?

Chapter 702: Lord of Fallen Ark

Ever since Godora’s pursuit for the DarkStar leader ended with no results, Han Xiao had not seen the DarkStar leader. No one knew where he was hiding. But now he had suddenly appeared, even bringing a fleet. It seemed he had risen from the ashes.

Han Xiao frowned. The DarkStar leader definitely knew his whereabouts and had an exceptional intelligence channel. He should be working with a very strong organization.

DarkStar will only have a chance to target Godora if I’m eliminated. As for the organization working with DarkStar, it’s probably an organization that has attempted to assassinate me before. Their goal is the same, so they easily came to an agreement…

Han Xiao thought quickly. From this, he deduced that the DarkStar leader only appeared to attack him because he was absolutely confident of succeeding. With so many failed assassination attempts, they would definitely be very cautious.

This small fleet around him was basically no threat to him. After all, his mechanical army was not for decoration. However, Han Xiao did not let his guard down even a bit; rather, he was very wary. He felt that the DarkStar leader definitely had an unknown trump card.

Han Xiao had no intention of chatting. The Army Boxes opened one after another, and an enormous mechanical army expanded like the tide, overwhelming the DarkStar leader’s fleet with its size.

Without hesitation, Han Xiao struck. Countless cannon fire lights seemed to have illuminated the universe. His storm of counter attacks tore dozens of battleships into pieces in an instant!

With his mechanical army that had millions of machines, as well as his various talents and Mechanical Force bonuses, Han Xiao was a one-man galactic army. He could destroy an entire fleet alone.

Countless mechanical guards surrounded Han Xiao, forming layers and layers of shields. The fleet’s attack could not penetrate the shield at all.

Harrofal was protected inside too. He looked around at the mechanical army that filled his vision and could not help but think, How rich!

Within a short while, these hundreds of battleships were almost wiped out, but Han Xiao was frowning.

The battle being this easy made him even more alert. He did not believe that the DarkStar leader would attack him without any preparation.

How could such a small fleet eliminate him, someone that even gave a Star Cluster civilization headaches?

At this time, the DarkStar leader suddenly gestured at Han Xiao from far away in the midst of dodging attacks from the mechanical army. A few strange magic waves landed on Han Xiao in an instant.

You have been attacked by the DarkStar Leader’s (Chain of Pain-Secret). Judging MYS… failed. Your MYS is lower than the opponent. This spell is effective!

(Chain of Pain-Secret): When the opponent takes damage, your health will decrease as well. For every 1% health the opponent loses, you will lose 0.55% – 0.7% health.

You have been attacked by the DarkStar Leader’s (Life Absorption-Transfer). Judging MYS… failed. Your MYS is lower than the opponent. This spell is effective!

(Life Absorption-Transfer): When you recover health, the recovery effect decreases by 30%. The opponent will gain the 30% recovery you have lost. When you should recover 1,000 health points, you will only recover 700 health points, and the opponent will recover 300 health points.

You have been attacked by the DarkStar Leader’s (Heart Malediction—Collapse). Judging MYS… failed. Your MYS is lower than the opponent. This spell is effective. You have entered the (Mental Collapse] state!

[Mental Collapse]: -40% Psychological Resistance. You have lost control of your body and are unable to move. Duration: 6.2 seconds.

The Mechanical Force all over Han Xiao’s body suddenly became still. He could not move his entire body. Han Xiao suddenly recalled that he still had the DarkStar leader’s Character Summon Card, and its effect was also this [Heart Malediction-Collapse).

As he could not move at all, the mechanical army lost the Mechanical Force bonuses temporarily. The pressure on the DarkStar leader was immediately reduced. He quickly escaped the encirclement. In the process, his magic shield was focus fired and shattered time after time. He lost some health, so through (Chain of Pain-Secret], Han Xiao’s health decreased as well.

Han Xiao looked at the combat information and quickly calculated in his mind.

Chain of Pain reduces health by percentage. The amount of health I lose is about 60% of the DarkStar leader’s on average. However, my total health is more than double his, and the health recovery of Life Absorption relies on health points. For every 700 health points I lose, he recovers 300 health points, but our recovery speed is about the same in terms of percentage…

Thus, as long as he recovered health, the health of both sides would reduce at about the same speed with his health reducing at a slightly slower speed at most.

It did not seem difficult to break this cycle—he just had to not recover any health.

This time, the DarkStar leader raised his hand. A warm light shone on his body. His wounds healed, and his health went up slowly.

Han Xiao frowned. If the enemy healed himself, he would not share that healing. This way, in order to kill the DarkStar leader, he would have to take some risks…

Of course, it would be much easier to just capture him.

The DarkStar leader’s style was clearly a Mage focused on Curse-type spells. No matter what, he was one of the boss characters in Version 2.0. This ability of his was more difficult to deal with than Ember’s. It was more suitable for duels, too.

Capture him first, think later.

Han Xiao decided not to act recklessly.

No matter how strong this cycle was, the DarkStar leader did not have infinite energy. Both Chain of Pain and Life Absorption required energy to sustain. The millions of mechanical soldiers would be able to make him run out of energy easily.

The effect of Heart Malediction quickly disappeared, and Han Xiao regained control of his body. He controlled the mechanical army to surround and intercept the DarkStar leader. The DarkStar leader began struggling once again.

Due to Chain of Pain, Han Xiao did not plan on killing him but was reducing the DarkStar leader’s mana, which was the reason that the DarkStar leader could barely hang on. Otherwise, he would have been obliterated by the rounds of True Damage.

Han Xiao did not plan on using the DarkStar leader’s Character Summon Card. The DarkStar leader’s main attribute was Mystery, so his Mystery was way much higher than Han Xiao’s. The judgment would definitely fail.

Did he feel that he’s become stronger and felt confident in killing me alone? Is he that reckless?

Although the DarkStar leader’s abilities shocked him, it was not very threatening. Looking at the DarkStar leader, who was being heavily surrounded, Han Xiao could not stop guessing what his trump card was.

Suddenly, a sense of alarm appeared in his heart. The DarkStar leader took out a black bead from his wrist. Its texture was like a crystal. The bead was filled with dense black fog, and in the center was a red dot of light.

The next moment, the DarkStar leader crushed the bead. A lump of black fog splashed out together with the red dot of light, quickly turning into a completely black, human-shaped creature. Black smoke was oozing from all over its body. It had no face, and the middle of where its face was supposed to be was a blinking red dot.

A creepy and strong aura swept out. Han Xiao felt all his hair stand on end as if he was targeted by some evil being.

This was a pressure generated from the difference in the hierarchy of life!

“What is that!” Harrofal had been watching and doing nothing, but he was so shocked that he could not help but exclaim in the communication channel. Subconsciously, he entered his rusty battle posture.

Han Xiao did not answer him, but his face became extremely grave.

With his strength right now, only one type of being could give him this kind of pressure…

Beyond Grade A!

The mechanical army fired another round of attacks at the DarkStar leader and the human shaped black fog beside him. The black fog silhouette moved. It grabbed onto the DarkStar leader’s shoulder, and with a flash of red light, the two of them suddenly teleported and appeared at another location, dodging the attacks.

“This bead is indeed useful!” The DarkStar leader immediately felt relieved.

This black fog silhouette was an Esper doppelganger of the Lord of Fallen Ark. In order to fuse the Esper abilities on the Super High Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty, he absorbed countless Esper abilities that all became his.

The DarkStar leader had witnessed the Lord of Fallen Ark in combat before. He was basically almighty. He only had one word to describe everything he saw…

God!

The Lord of Fallen Ark’s doppelganger was his biggest trump card!

The organization that planned this assassination was the organization that had always been behind DarkStar—the Klent Kingdom!

Helping the DarkStar leader fight the Godoran Civilization was one of the projects in Klent’s plan to mess up the security of the Colton Star Cluster. DarkStar was just one of the chess pieces used to weaken the various Star System civilizations of Colton. For a very long time, the Klent Kingdom had been secretly causing trouble to their friendly neighbor’, the Purple Crystal Civilization.

After DarkStar was destroyed by Han Xiao, it was Klent that found the way to send the DarkStar leader away and to the Fallen Ark.

Klent secretly had a close relationship with the Fallen Ark. They did not bet everything on the Tyrant. Due to the Fallen Ark’s reputation, there was no way that they would expose this secret partner of theirs.

After the DarkStar leader returned with his fleet, he had always been hiding in Klent’s territory and tracking Han Xiao’s whereabouts through Klent’s intelligence channels. The Bloodshed Land did not know about this.

Han Xiao was the common enemy of the DarkStar leader and Klent. The two of them observed Han Xiao’s actions like patient hunters and had noticed that Han Xiao had periodically been going to the Taralam Star Cluster’s Wormhole Zone to visit Harrofal in recent years.

Therefore, Klent thought of a plan-Black Star had already proved that it was extremely difficult to kill him, so why not banish him?

Some time earlier, the Bloodshed Land’s strategy to drag Han Xiao to the Seoul Star Cluster happened to agree with Klent’s idea.

In order to complete this plan, Klent had secretly made a deal with the Lord of Fallen Ark and obtained one of his Esper doppelgangers. Since they could not command the Tyrant, they found another Beyond Grade A that they secretly worked with to help.

Although the Lord of Fallen Ark’s doppelganger had the strength of a Beyond Grade A, it had limited energy. Unless he personally came, Black Star would not be killed by just one of his doppelgangers.

Klent’s plan was to use this doppelganger to suppress Black Star and send him into a wormhole, banishing him from the Shattered Star Ring. The Wormhole Zone not only connected to the explored universe but also the desolate unexplored universe!

Under these circumstances, the DarkStar leader had accepted Klent’s assignment. He had taken the Lord of Fallen Ark’s doppelganger, followed Han Xiao to the Wormhole Zone, and attacked!

He was willing to do things for Klent because it would only be possible to build a new home for the hybrids if he had help from a Star Cluster civilization.

Initially, he thought that Klent would let him build a home for the hybrid Godorans in Klent, but the reward that Klent promised to give this time made him unable to reject it.

If Black Star was successfully banished, Klent would build the hybrid Godorans a civilization of their own in the future Flickering World!

The DarkStar looked at Han Xiao, who was on full alert, and then looked at the black fog silhouette beside him that was giving off a terrifying vibe. He smiled faintly.

The end was decided!

Chapter 703: Surprise, I m Back

The mechanical army surrounded the entire region and countless cannons were pointed toward the black fog silhouette and the DarkStar leader. The cannons were charged up without being fired, and Han Xiao sized up the silhouette of the Beyond Grade A individual, which gave him immense pressure. Frowning, Han Xiao rapidly looked through his memory of Beyond Grade A experts.

A Beyond Grade A Super was far rarer than Calamity Grade Supers, and every one of them was a top expert in the galaxy. Han Xiao could clearly remember the details of every expert.

Black fog silhouette, red light spots…

A figure then flashed in Han Xiao’s mind.

Could it be that this fellow is (EsGod]? The ‘God of Espers’ and infamous Beyond Grade A Super?

This black fog silhouette was extremely similar to the EsGod doppelganger in his memories. After searching through his memories once, Han Xiao realized that it was extremely likely that his guess was correct.

If that was the case, it could barely be considered good news. Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed.

EsGod was one of the final bosses in the neutral-evil faction. His name was a secret, and people only knew him by his title of ‘EsGod’ or ‘Lord of Fallen Ark’. He had a few other nicknames, such as the Guide of the Crazy Believer, Tide of Extinction, and Butcher of Life.

Among the Beyond Grade A Supers, the combat capability of EsGod was ranked at the very top. His battle record was stunning, and he had not suffered a single loss before. His worst battle record was a draw, and he even had the record of killing another Beyond Grade A Super!

Even the three Universal Civilizations were extremely wary of him.

If the main body of EsGod descended, Han Xiao was certain that no one in the entire Shattered Star Ring would be his opponent. Even the Tyrant, Magus, and Dragon Emperor would not be a match for him.

But if it was only a doppelganger, even if he could give off the pressure of a Beyond Grade A Super, his actual combat ability was definitely weaker than his main body.

Furthermore, the battlefield was advantageous to Han Xiao! Han Xiao looked at the wormholes all around and came to a conclusion.

I can give it a shot!

All these thoughts flashed past in an instant, and Han Xiao already had a grasp of the situation. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and increase his concentration.

This was his first time fighting a Beyond Grade A Super head on, and Han Xiao would give it his all. Suddenly, he seemed to have thought about something and began talking to Harrofal in their communication channel.

“Professor, both of us are in danger right now, and this isn’t the time for you to hide anything. Tell me what kind of machines you have. I need to gather all of our strength.”

Harrofal only hesitated for a second before whispering to Han Xiao through the communication channel. After listening to what Harrofal said, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he immediately came up with a plan. He then gave Harrofal a series of instructions, and Harrofal handed something over to him.

Right at this moment, the doppelganger of EsGod made a move. His figure disappeared in an instant and arrived within the formation of the mechanical army.

Before the mechanical army around him could open fire, he disappeared again, and his figure flashed around the mechanical army rapidly before appearing in front of Han Xiao. He had managed to break through the defensive line of Han Xiao’s mechanical army in an instant.

The moment the doppelganger of EsGod made his move, Han Xiao reacted. He first got Harrofal to leave the battlefield before he retreated swiftly. At the same time, he released a large number of compressed orbs and nanoparticles, which transformed into a hundred six-sided alloy plates. The exterior of the alloy plates looked like solar panels with an intricate mechanical design on the plates that was much more complicated. These metal plates were used to stabilize spatial coordinates.

These alloy plates were dispersed and formed a loose sphere structure. The space within the interior of the sphere was stabilized, and the undulations of space were flattened.

This was a product of the Cutting-Edge Knowledge (Advanced Space Application), a product to stabilize space.

When the doppelganger of EsGod appeared in front of Han Xiao, he also fell into the region within the sphere, and his instant movement skill was restricted. However, EsGod did not pause and charged forward at an unbelievable speed instead

Just when the thought of retreating surfaced in Han Xiao’s mind, his vision suddenly darkened, and EsGod’s figure was already right before him. The speed displayed was almost no different from instant movement, and his Dexterity was at least three thousand points!

Esper ability, Divine Speed!

“Dammit, isn’t he too damn fast?” Han Xiao was startled and gritted his teeth to activate his Mechanical Force.

The psionic furnace of his Mountain Ape suit immediately revved up, and bluish lightning bolts flashed over the surface. Psionic energy exploded from his mechanical suit and formed a bluish energy blast at EsGod’s doppelganger.

However, the psionic energy blast passed through EsGod’s doppelganger as though he were a holographic projection. The energy blast only had a miniscule effect.

Esper ability, Dimension Crack!

The next moment, EsGod’s doppelganger regained its physical form, and a palm drifted toward Han Xiao’s chest.

Han Xiao immediately felt his hair stand on end, and he deactivated the space stabilizing device without hesitation. He used his Advanced Void Travel and escaped into the Void Dimension to avoid this fist.

He had a feeling that he would definitely be in huge trouble if he suffered such an attack!

The world before him then quieted and slowed. Everything around him seemed to be covered with a screen of water. After entering the Void Dimension, Han Xiao immediately attempted to retreat.

Right at this moment, the black fog that represented EsGod’s doppelganger suddenly trembled and escaped from the state of being silenced. He had also entered the Void Dimension!

EsGod then spread out his fingers before clenching his fists tightly. Han Xiao could clearly see a gigantic crack appearing in the space around him, and before he could even react, the Void Dimension world around him shattered like a broken mirror. Han Xiao was kicked out of the Void Dimension and brought back into the physical world.

His Void Travel was interrupted!

At the same time, EsGod’s figure appeared before Han Xiao again with his palm descending.

Han Xiao took a deep breath, and the danger alarm in his head went off loudly with his heart almost stopping. This was an instinctive reaction that he could not control at all. He could only watch helplessly as EsGod’s palm approached him.

Since he could not avoid the attack, he could only tank it!

Han Xiao gritted his teeth and immediately adjusted the power output of his mechanical suit to the maximum. All his buff skills were activated without hesitation, and he even activated a few Character Summon Cards to increase his Strength, including Nagakin’s [Muscle Is Truth] card.

Mechanical components sprung up on the surface of the Mountain Ape suit, and a surging force was generated.

Han Xiao’s arm folded to form a blocking posture, and he activated his shield to welcome the incoming blow.

Despite the palm pressing down on the psionic shield as though there was not the slightest bit of force being exerted, Han Xiao could feel as though a tsunami crashed down onto him.

Esper ability, Star Toss!

Thankfully, there was no sound in space. If there was, the soundwave from this attack alone could have killed all life forms below Grade C instantly!

Han Xiao blacked out, and he lost consciousness for an instant. When he regained consciousness, he realized that his body had been sent flying uncontrollably, destroying any mechanical soldiers in his path.

EsGod’s doppelganger became a small dot in Han Xiao’s vision, and Han Xiao did not know how far away this blow sent him.

The scales beneath his mechanical suit tried to dissipate the force of this attack, but they overloaded and were instantly reduced into scrap.

Han Xiao hurriedly summoned his interface to take a look and saw that this palm strike alone had taken out twenty-four percent of his suit’s armor and ten percent of his health. If he did not have his armor and shield, this palm strike would probably have taken forty percent of his health.

“This is the strength of a Beyond Grade A Super…” Han Xiao was dumbfounded.

The most frightening part of EsGod was the fact that even if he absorbed a simple Esper ability, he would be able to evolve the ability and allow it to unleash the force at the Beyond Grade A level!

The basic forms of Divine Speed and Star Toss were actually extremely common low grade Esper abilities, giving a speed boost and strength boost respectively!

Even if it was only a doppelganger, it still had the strength of Beyond Grade A!

Han Xiao tried to stabilize his body while releasing the space stabilizing equipment to prevent EsGod from using his instant movement ability. During that short exchange, he had already gotten his mechanical army to aim at EsGod and open fire.

Rainbow colors lit up the universe!

Thousands of light balls swallowed EsGod’s doppelganger, but the next moment, a black hole seemed to have formed, and the energy of those balls of light were sucked into EsGod’s body. As though he had eaten a great supplement, EsGod’s face, which was originally dim, began to light up again.

Esper ability, Black Hole!

The energy capacity of his doppelganger was limited, and the Lord of Fallen Ark would not inject too much energy into it. Thus, EsGod’s doppelganger was like a three-minute man. However, this wave of attacks had resupplied it with energy again.

“What kind of a hack is this?” Han Xiao finally managed to stabilize his body and cursed as he witnessed such a scene.

He could not tank the enemy’s attack or initiate an attack.

You are a bigger rascal than me!

“Hahaha!”

The DarkStar leader who was hiding at the side burst into laughter upon witnessing such a scene.

He had originally worried that EsGod’s doppelganger would not be able to suppress Black Star. However, it seemed like his worry was unnecessary. In his eyes, EsGod’s doppelganger fighting Black Star was like an adult bullying a child!

This time, Black Star definitely would not be able to escape!

The next moment, Han Xiao turned around to escape and charged toward the wormhole zone.

Upon witnessing that, the DarkStar heaved a sigh of relief, and a satisfied smile could be seen on his face.

It seems like EsGod’s doppelganger can threaten Black Star’s life, so Black Star wants to escape through the wormhole. Hahaha, you are going to be exiled in order to save your life.

EsGod’s doppelganger easily weaved through the mechanical army and gave chase to Han Xiao. Both figures transformed into rays of light and charged straight into the unstable wormhole zone.

Despite the wormholes being unstable, the wormholes with the most intense energy fluctuations tended to connect to further places. This had not been verified, but it was from the experience of the galactic residents.

The speed of EsGod’s doppelganger was extremely fast, and he chased closely behind Han Xiao. His objective was to send Han Xiao into the largest wormhole of this wormhole zone and exile Han Xiao away as far as possible.

Han Xiao could feel the terrifying suction force from the largest wormhole next to him. Turning back to look at EsGod, who seemed to be teasing him, he gritted his teeth and operated his thrusters to avoid the wormhole.

Right at that moment, a chuckle sounded by Han Xiao’s ears as though it was telepathically transmitted.

“Stop struggling. Come and take the risk together with me. Entering wormholes is one of my hobbies.”

EsGod said those words through voice transmission, and the next instant, he appeared behind Han Xiao and grabbed onto Han Xiao’s arm. At the same time, the red dots on his face shook slightly as though they were forming a smiling face.

It turns out you know how to talk!

Han Xiao felt his balls ache.

The next moment, EsGod’s doppelganger dragged Han Xiao into the wormhole, and both of them disappeared.

The mechanical army lost their source of Mechanical Force and all froze in midair.

“Success!”

The DarkStar leader was overjoyed and could no longer suppress his excitement.

They had finally exiled Black Star, and Klent’s mission for him had been completed. There was hope for a new country for the mixed blood Godorans!

“It’s over. It’s finally over,” the DarkStar leader muttered to himself with tears welling up in his eyes. Amid the tears, he seemed to be able to see a future full of hope.

As long as the mixed blood Godorans had their own home, they would be able to lead a happy life together without any discrimination from the purebloods. While every mixed blood Godoran looked different and came from a different tribe, the DarkStar leader believed that they were all the same. They were the new Godorans.

The DarkStar leader wiped away his tears and put aside such thoughts. Just when he was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly thought about something and turned around to search for Harrofal.

He still remembered this Calamity Grade Super who did not participate in the battle. He had seen Harrofal’s information before, and Harrofal seemed to be a researcher for a Star Cluster Civilization. The DarkStar leader felt that he could catch Harrofal for an additional reward.

After looking around for a while, he finally saw Harrofal’s figure in a region far away from the battlefield. Just when he was about to go forward to capture Harrofal, Harrofal suddenly stopped moving

Harrofal took out a compressed orb, and the compressed orb transformed into a strange looking machine. It looked a little like a music box, yet it did not have that many layers of complicated construction. Compared to a weapon for battle, it looked more like a delicate research tool. Eight arms then appeared from the machine, and the arms got to work as though it was painting, leaving behind a bluish mark of light.

The light marks became darker and darker and suddenly ballooned up to become a blue teleportation door. Following which, the blue light door spat out a figure before closing up.

“This thing is truly useful. Here, you can have it back.” Han Xiao stabilized himself and threw a beacon back to Harrofal.

“Humph, I am a researcher. The things I develop are naturally useful. However, if you fly into other wormholes that haven’t been measured before, this machine won’t be able to find you.”

Harrofal looked at the beacon with heartache and stored it back in his mechanical suit. This was something that he had given to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao then cracked his neck and looked toward the shocked DarkStar leader. Crossing his arms, his lips curled up with mockery as he sent a message.

“I bet you didn’t expect to see me again!”

Chapter 704: Scapegoat

Less than a minute earlier…

Han Xiao was dragged into a dark, creepy wormhole. The moment that he entered, countless indescribable images appeared in his vision.

The side of the wormhole looked blue but was actually black. When the two of them entered, they were separated and could not see each other anymore.

The EsGod doppelganger did not even have to control him. The vortex in the wormhole dragged the two of them along and confused Han Xiao’s senses. Sometimes, he felt he was going forward, sometimes backward, sometimes falling, and sometimes rising. It strangely felt like he was being flushed down the toilet.

The screen inside the mechanical suit displayed that the space coordinates became undetectable, and his thrusters had stopped working. He could not move, and the images around him quickly changed as if many things flashed past him. When he looked closer, it all became black. At the end of the wormhole that was an unknown distance ahead, a tiny light shone as if that was the exit.

At this time, the square-shaped mechanical beacon that Han Xiao placed in the mechanical suit started to operate. This was a Wormhole Probe Beacon that Han Xiao had gotten from Harrofal before the fight with EsGod started.

Harrofal studied wormholes deeply. As they had to collect the various parameters of wormholes, the teams of the observation station had to get close to the wormholes from time to time. Occasionally, someone would get sucked in accidently. Through many experiments, Harrofal had invented a device that could retrieve a person from a wormhole. It had two requirements-first, the person had to carry a Wormhole Probe Beacon on them; second, the wormhole entered had to be one that had been measured before and had data recorded.

Han Xiao knew how strong EsGod was too clearly, even if it was just a doppelganger. As soon as he recognized the enemy, he knew that he would not be a match in a direct battle. He was never arrogant.

Therefore, when Han Xiao heard of this device that Harrofal had, Han Xiao had a flash of insight. He decided to use himself as bait and lure the EsGod doppelganger into the wormhole. Then, Harrofal would pull him out.

Although Harrofal might not be trustworthy, he had no choice but to take the bet. The worst ending would at most be spending a honeymoon with the EsGod doppelganger.

As a Mechanic, Han Xiao knew very well that compared to Mechanics that were good in combat, those in research and development usually had more tricks up their sleeves.

Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and figured out the enemies’ plan.

The DarkStar leader wanted to use the wormhole to banish him. However, using this Wormhole Zone as the battlefield ended up being to his advantage.

He had banished the EsGod doppelganger instead!

Han Xiao glanced at Harrofal and murmured, “Luckily, Harrofal was here, or I would have been in great danger.”

This time, the distant DarkStar leader who was petrified finally regained his focus. Without saying a single word, he turned around and started to escape. His expression was twisted and ferocious, filled with shock and rage.

He had just been thinking about the bright future ahead of him now that the mission was completed, yet in less than a minute, his fantasy was shattered mercilessly by the reality. Black Star had escaped from the wormhole, but the EsGod doppelganger did not return. He was completely dumbfounded.

The sudden change in situation almost made him lose his sanity, but the next moment, endless horror drowned that emotion and made his mind shiver.

Without the help of the EsGod doppelganger, Black Star is going to kill me!

The DarkStar leader did not dare to stay for another second. He escaped, only having one thought in his mind… I can’t die now; the hybrid Godorans need me!

However, the mechanical army was activated by Han Xiao once again and chased after him like a nightmare. Millions of mechanical soldiers rushed to him like a wave of metal. In the eyes of the DarkStar leader, these mechanical objects with no life seemed to have become ferocious and evil pureblood Godorans.

A battle between Han Xiao’s mechanical army enhanced by his Mechanical Force and a Calamity Grade that did not excel in fighting masses had absolutely no uncertainty. Han Xiao easily took care of him with just his mechanical army.

Without the EsGod doppelganger, the DarkStar leader had no more trump cards left. In order to not alarm the enemy, he had only brought a tiny fleet. The other troops and battleships that he had received from the Fallen Ark were all stored with Klent.

Two Oathkeepers brought the DarkStar leader, who was on his last breath, before Han Xiao. The effects of Chain of Pain and the other spells had stopped long ago. Healthy and vigorous, Han Xiao sized the DarkStar leader up.

“I thought you had already left the Shattered Star Ring. I didn’t think you would dare come back. You escaped years ago. This time, I finally caught you.”

Han Xiao tilted his head. The armor plate on his left shoulder slid open and exposed a ring-shaped device emitting a blue light. It vibrated and released a field of air like a bubble and shrouded the three of them, allowing them to speak directly.

The DarkStar leader stayed silent. All life in his eyes was lost, only leaving despair.

The helmet of Mountain Ape folded and retracted back to the ring-shaped armor on Han Xiao’s neck, showing his face. He sized the DarkStar leader up with an interested look.

“Since you can summon EsGod’s doppelganger, it means that you established a relationship with the Fallen Ark, which should’ve happened in these years you’ve been away. Let me think… the fact that you were able to attack me today means you have a very powerful intelligence channel that can lock onto my whereabouts. I did not tell anyone about coming here, nor did I stop at any other planet along the way. This means that the intelligence channel you have started monitoring me before I even left Colton, and they also knew that I would come to this particular wormhole observation station. It seems like they know me quite well…”

Han Xiao scratched his head.

“Hmm, Klent’s people are probably the only ones that like to stalk me this much. They’re the ones that initiated this mission, right?”

The DarkStar leader kept silent with no emotions in his eyes, as if he was submerged in his own world and did not hear what Han Xiao said at all.

Han Xiao pushed the DarkStar leader’s head, but still, he did not react, not even looking at him. His eyes looked like they had no focus, and his eyeballs did not move at all.

“Why aren’t you talking? Do you think imitating an ostrich will work?”

Harrofal could not help but cough softly. “Should I excuse myself?”

“No need, you can be my witness,” Han Xiao replied before turning around to look at the DarkStar leader. He frowned.

Strange, all he did was beat him up. Why did he seem broken?

Han Xiao, however, did not know that the DarkStar leader had lost all hope. He felt that everything had ended now that he was in Black Star’s hands. He did not want to say anything at all.

“Come on, has your mind collapsed just like that?” Han Xiao stared at the DarkStar leader’s eyes and curled his lips. “Your mental resilience is too low, yet you call yourself the leader of a galactic terrorist organization? Even the native leader of a rebel organization in my home has more backbone than you. You’re so weak.”

Han Xiao contemplated for a while. He then called two Phantoms. They shapeshifted and turned into layers of restraints, locking the DarkStar leader in his place. He then took out his juice extractor and extracted a dozen or so Genetic Medicines.

When the DarkStar leader saw the Super-Gene Extractor, emotions finally appeared in his eyes. “So, the Secret Message Bead did end up in your hands.”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao recalled that his first contact with DarkStar was because of the Secret Message Bead mission. “By the way, where is Ember?”

“He’s dead.” The DarkStar leader lowered his head.

“Oh, that’s great.” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows. The Destiny’s Child’s Character Summon Card was right.

About how Ember died, he was not interested at all. In fact, when he saw the EsGod doppelganger, he already roughly knew what had happened.

Capturing the DarkStar leader was a pleasant surprise. Klent was most likely supporting DarkStar, and they were connected to EsGod. This made him feel that he needed to be more cautious and alert.

The DarkStar leader’s use was not only to generate juices; he could give this war criminal to Godora. That should trigger a Legendary Point and Dungeon Creation Rights, representing that the DarkStar organization was completely eliminated.

Godora would heavily promote it, which might be also helpful to the (Bloodline) mission.

However, Han Xiao was not satisfied with just the reward from a Star System civilization. With his current position, Star Cluster Civilizations were the most suitable partners. Since he had discovered DarkStar and Klent’s connection, he felt that he could make something out of it. Purple Crystal would definitely be willing to share this inside information.

The effect that would bring was very obvious —with Klent having a history of funding a terrorist group to disrupt a Star System civilization, it would be more than enough to make the civilizations of the Westwind, Kaya, and Chaida Star Systems more alert toward Klent. This could indirectly cause Purple Crystal’s control in the areas of these three border Star Systems to recover, decreasing the efficiency of the Bloodshed Land.

Furthermore, the Lord of Fallen Ark was notorious throughout the entire universe, known as a brute extremely hated by the three Universal Civilizations. As soon as Klent and EsGod’s relationship was exposed, the pressure they faced would increase drastically. At the very least, the Crimson Dynasty would be unhappy with Klent.

Not mentioning the pressure that Klent would receive externally, there was also a chance for things to happen internally—their ally Heber the Tyrant might not like sharing his spouse with EsGod.

Of course, he might be wrong, and Klent might not be the mastermind behind DarkStar.

But it did not matter.

The DarkStar leader is in my hands. If I say you’re the mastermind, you are!

Han Xiao was firm on sending this gift to Klent.

Putting away all the medicines, Han Xiao flipped his palm, and a compressed orb shot out from the tubes inside the mechanical suit. Activated with a little bit of Mechanical Force, this compressed orb quickly expanded into a single person aircraft about ten meters long. It was very small.

The small standard spaceship that he had originally taken was destroyed. Although he could use the Mountain Ape’s Traveling Mode to leave, it was not convenient when he had a captive with him. He could only take out a single person aircraft and leave the Wormhole Zone first.

“Profession Harrofal, let me take you to the nearest planet.”

“Sure.”

Han Xiao retrieved his mechanical army, and the two of them entered the spaceship. He told Harrofal to help monitor the DarkStar leader while he sat in the pilot seat.

At this time, Han Xiao seemed to have recalled something

“By the way, where does the wormhole I just entered lead to? The EsGod doppelganger did not escape, where would he get teleported to?”

Harrofal shook his head. “The other side of that wormhole isn’t stable. We’ve measured the data, and the other side of that wormhole changes constantly, so I don’t know where that guy went. However, based on probability, there’s a bigger chance that he will have arrived in an unexplored region. After all, that wormhole is huge, and its energy turbulence is very violent.”

“I see…”

The EsGod doppelganger had limited energy, so it would disappear on its own after some time. As long as he did not come out in any densely populated area, it would be safe.

A dark blue flame shot out from the end of the aircraft. It slowly accelerated and gradually turned into a stream of light, disappearing from the Wormhole Zone.

In some unexplored region of the universe, a wormhole was slowly spinning. Suddenly, a silhouette flew out from the wormhole covered in black fog. It was EsGod’s doppelganger.

Stabilizing his body, the EsGod doppelganger waited outside the wormhole. After waiting for quite a while, he still did not see his little friend Black Star come over and meet him.

The red dot of light on the face of the EsGod doppelganger shone brightly, giving off a sense of hatred.

The main body had a mental connection with the doppelgangers. The main body could see the doppelganger’s actions and could either control the doppelgangers or just watch. EsGod always liked to be the observer and let his doppelgangers do the work. Seeing doppelgangers make their own choices was like watching a first-person movie.

Because he had this ability, he liked to enter wormholes for the fun of it and let fate decide what happened to the doppelganger.

This time, attacking Black Star, the original body of EsGod was still just watching as the doppelganger acted out of his own will. He did not really take Klent’s request seriously. As he saw that Black Star seemed to have escaped, he was a little curious and remembered this person. He then forgot about the mission and looked at where his doppelganger had landed.

The EsGod doppelganger looked left and right before choosing a random direction and starting continuous long-distance teleports.

The energy consumption of teleporting was low, but the energy inside his body still decreased quite a lot after it went on for a very long time. The red dot of light became dim. This time, the EsGod doppelganger finally saw a planet.

A strange planet.

Looking at it from afar, the planet surface was covered in green and was very lively, as if there were no tracks of any manual modification. Yet, the EsGod doppelganger’s detection ability sensed countless highly intelligent lives living on the planet surface.

The most special part of this was that there were thick, long roots growing on the surface of this planet that extended all the way to outside the atmosphere and into outer space. The ends of these roots then reached into a stable wormhole.

The EsGod doppelganger focused on it and suddenly realized that he was looking at it upside down.

These enormous roots did not grow out from the planet but extended out from the wormhole and connected to the planet surface This meant that these roots did not grow from the ground but inside the wormhole. The planet was the end of these roots.

Lights of all sorts of colors appeared at the end of these roots and entered the wormhole as if these roots were nutrient pipes sucking the energy of this planet.

Having seen this through the doppelganger, inside the Fallen Ark’s hall, the hooded man on the throne, EsGod, opened his eyes.

“Interesting.”

Chapter 705: Transfer

In the Seoul Star Cluster was a Klent military fortress planet that supposedly repaired and manufactured battleships, but in reality, this was the headquarters of the Klent Confidential Strategy Department. The Confidential Strategy Department was Klent’s secret department that executed missions that were not exactly suitable to be made known to the public.

Those sensitive operations such as funding DarkStar, contacting the Fallen Ark, and the like were the Confidential Strategy Department’s job.

The authority level of the Confidential Strategy Department was extremely high. Even its internal members were just allowed to access information about their own mission and not the data of the other operations from the database. The garrison on this planet was not just for disguise but also to prevent the Confidential Strategy Department members from betraying and leaking the secrets.

The secret war was run by the Bloodshed Land, which did not take commands from Klent. Although Klent did not interfere with the war on the surface, without the Bloodshed Land knowing, they carried out secret missions to influence the secret war privately.

Sending the DarkStar leader to take the EsGod doppelganger and banish Black Star was their plan. They thought that it would almost definitely be successful, but they received information that they had lost contact with the DarkStar leader and were shocked. Regretful, they quickly hosted a meeting to discuss how to deal with it.

“The banishment mission failed. The worst outcome is that the DarkStar guy fell into Black Star’s hands and exposed his relationship with us. We must immediately erase any traces of us ever having contact with DarkStar.”

“Black Star might not be able to find out the truth. We have already instructed the DarkStar guy that no matter what situation he gets caught in, he has to take full responsibility, saying that everything was his plan, his alone, and that no one was behind him. He won’t rat Klent out; he knows the consequences.”

“We can’t rely on luck. We have to prepare for the worst. Black Star is very alert and skeptical. He will connect the DarkStar guy and the EsGod doppelganger to us. Furthermore, it’s not the first time he’s used us as the scapegoat. Even if the DarkStar guy doesn’t say anything, he can still fabricate a verbal confession to make us take the blame. I know him too well!”

“Yes, there’s a very high chance that Black Star will do this. He doesn’t have any morals and is a dangerous man who will do anything to achieve his goal. We must let the Foreign Affairs Department people insist on this being a slanderous act.”

“One more thing, temporarily stop all assassination attempts on Black Star. The success rate is way too low. Even the EsGod doppelganger wasn’t able to get rid of him. Without a Beyond Grade A, Black Star will probably be impossible to deal with. Also, after this, Black Star will definitely be more careful. It will be very difficult to find a chance like this again.

The people quickly decided on the report and handed it to the superior. This attack failed, but there was no point in them feeling regretful. All they could do was their best at recovering the situation.

Who would have thought that even EsGod could not get rid of Black Star!

On Godora’s mother planet, Serbia the Fifth was finalizing some files. This time, his private communicator received a communication request.

Serbia the Fifth took a look, and his eyes sparkled it was from Black Star.

Only very important people could contact him through his private communicator, and Han Xiao was one of them.

“Your Excellency Black Star, what is it?” Serbia the Fifth cut to the chase. He had to deal with tons of issues every day, so he did not think that Black Star would call him just to chat.

“I caught the DarkStar leader. I plan to hand him over to you guys, but I need to see you personally,” Han Xiao said.

Stunned, Serbia the Fifth suddenly stood up and exclaimed, “You caught him?”

The DarkStar leader, who had escaped, had always been an issue in his mind. Every day, he worried about DarkStar rising again. He did not expect Han Xiao to suddenly bring him such a huge surprise.

About ten days later, Han Xiao returned to the Black Star Army’s headquarters in the Garton Star System. Harrofal left halfway and went back to report what had happened back at the observation station.

At this time, the large dock of the Black Star Army’s headquarters was filled with throngs of people. Serbia the Fifth had been waiting with his guards, and beside him was a Purple Crystal emissary. Countless reporters surrounded them from outside the guards and kept taking photos, and further away were the rubbernecking mercenaries who heard about the news.

The reporters chatted among themselves.

“Purple Crystal and Godora are welcoming Black Star together. What does this mean? Why did the people above tell us to come here? Is there some big news?”

“Who knows? I heard that this is a press conference invitation announced by Purple Crystal. Although they did not state the reason, who’d dare reject it? There is definitely something important to be announced that will make our trip worth it.”

All the reporters there were invited, and they did not know what they had to report, but no one would reject Purple Crystal.

Furthermore, the location was at the Black Star Army’s headquarters. They had a feeling that as long as Black Star was involved, it would definitely be newsworthy. Therefore, although they knew nothing, they were passionate and curious about what was going to happen.

Inviting the reporters was Han Xiao’s request. He planned to make the handover of the DarkStar leader sensational news in order to increase his influence. Also, this would make the scapegoating more effective. After contacting Godora, he had contacted Purple Crystal.

Purple Crystal had been shocked by the information about EsGod doppelganger, only to feel relieved when they saw that Han Xiao was okay.

After hearing Han Xiao’s plan, Purple Crystal had immediately agreed. They fully supported any plan to cause problems for Klent. Hence, they had invited various galactical media outlets to attend the handover ceremony of the DarkStar leader. Only, they wanted to create some suspense, so they did not tell them what was this about.

Han Xiao’s spaceship stopped at the dock, attracting everyone’s attention. They subconsciously held their breath, and the place became silent.

Under the attention of everyone present, the hatch opened, and Han Xiao walked out. Only then did the blaring noise come back.

Serbia the Fifth and the Purple Crystal emissary quickly approached to welcome and talk to Han Xiao. The reporters started to video everything.

Brock was mixed in the crowd. His eyes kept looking over to Serbia the Fifth. As a DarkStar spy, he suppressed his hatred for the current highest leader of Godora so that others would not notice.

Han Xiao and Serbia the Fifth spoke a few words. Then, they looked around at the reporters and smiled.

“Let’s get down to business.”

Han Xiao turned around and looked at the hatch. Two Oathkeepers escorted the unkempt DarkStar leader out.

Everyone looked at the DarkStar leader. Confusion, perplexity, and similar emotions appeared in their eyes—most of them did not recognize the DarkStar leader.

This time, Serbia the Fifth spoke at just the right time and loudly announced, “This man is the DarkStar leader who has been on the run for years. Godora has spent a huge amount of effort but never managed to catch this evil man. This time, thanks to His Excellency Black Star’s help, this criminal has been captured. On behalf of Godora, we sincerely thank you!”

Then, he bowed slightly toward Han Xiao.

As the highest leader of a civilization, he represented the entire civilization in showing gratitude to Han Xiao. This instantly sparked shock among the crowd!

“That’s the DarkStar leader?”

“So, today is about the handover of this fugitive. No wonder we were invited to report it.”

Serbia the Fifth continued. “The DarkStar organization has been a menace to Godora for a very long time, causing the deaths of many civilians. We will have a public trial for this evil monster, giving justice to all the people of Godora. I hereby announce, the DarkStar organization is no more!”

There were some Godorans among the crowd, and they started cheering loudly.

Brock, however, was stunned. He looked at the unkempt DarkStar leader blankly. His legs turned wobbly, and he almost fell. His entire body shivered, unable to believe what was happening right before his eyes.

He had been waiting for the DarkStar leader to contact him, waiting to advise the leader not to mess with Black Star. But never would he have thought, when the leader finally appeared for the first time after so many years, he had already become Black Star’s captive.

Then what was the point of me hiding in the Black Star Army?

Everything is wasted!

As if struck by lightning, Brock was petrified and bewildered.

The galactic reporters were elated. Godora’s highest leader personally announcing the end of the DarkStar meant that Godora had completely eliminated their archenemy. It was indeed big news.

However, they did not know that this was just an appetizer. There was more shocking news afterward.

“Me meeting the DarkStar leader wasn’t an accident. Everyone, please watch,” Han Xiao said as nanoparticles turned into a tiny hovering sphere above his palm and generated a projection in the air.

Everyone looked over. It was the video of the battle between Han Xiao and the DarkStar leader.

The tactical analyzer of the mechanical suit had recorded the entire battle. Han Xiao felt that the video would be more effective than words, so he played it.

Everyone was shocked as they saw the DarkStar leader summon the EsGod doppelganger in the video. This time, Han Xiao spoke. “According to the data, the creature that the DarkStar leader summoned was the Lord of Fallen Ark’s doppelganger.”

Fallen Ark!

Every Star Field knew about this organization. DarkStar was connected to this extremely notorious organization?

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Suddenly, many reporters realized something. Stunned, they looked at Han Xiao.

Black Star was assaulted, yet he was standing right there unharmed. Did that not mean that Black Star had survived the attack of a Beyond Grade A?

Having noticed this, the entire place became silent. Countless eyes filled with shock focused on Han Xiao.

Although Han Xiao being a Beyond Grade A seed had become known by everyone in the Shattered Star Ring over the past few years, everyone knew that he was not really a Beyond Grade A yet. He was still extremely far from Beyond Grade As such as the Tyrant and Dragon Emperor.

Every organization only acknowledged how dominant Black Star was among the Calamity Grades and his future potential, but no one felt that Black Star could be viewed on the same level as those actual Beyond Grade As.

Now, however, Han Xiao had played a video of him fighting with a Beyond Grade A and surviving!

The reporters present were shaking with excitement as they quickly videoed the video that Han Xiao was playing. The Black Star Army members that had gone to rubberneck were also thrilled—the stronger their leader was, the brighter they felt their future would be.

Han Xiao did not play the complete video. He cut out the trip to the wormhole at the end and some parts showing his key abilities, but this was more than enough to boost his reputation.

Seeing the reporters’ faces were filled with excitement, and Han Xiao gave a look to the Purple Crystal emissary.

Understanding what Han Xiao meant, the Purple Crystal emissary took a step forward and said, “According to our investigation, we have discovered that the DarkStar leader was not acting on his own, and there were people behind him. Through our thorough investigation, we have discovered that Klent has been in contact with DarkStar secretly since long ago. We suspect that Klent might have been supporting DarkStar secretly to disrupt the safety of the Colton Star Cluster. Hence, on behalf of Purple Crystal, I announce that Purple Crystal will get involved in this matter. We will be holding the trial on the DarkStar leader together with Godora!”

The entire place was in an uproar!

The galactic reporters were not even excited anymore but completely stunned. This last piece of news was much more sensational than the previous two!

If what Purple Crystal said was true, this meant that Klent had been funding DarkStar to destroy civilizations all along. Furthermore, Klent would also be suspected of having contact with the Fallen Ark!

That was a taboo within the three Universal Civilizations!

Who would have thought that the DarkStar being caught would expose so much information!

At this moment, those reporters knew that this story would definitely cause a sensation in the entire Star Field!

Klent was going to suffer heavily!

Chapter 706: I ve Become Black Star’s Shape

The three pieces of news were each more sensational than the last. Many galactic reporters were dizzy. Han Xiao smiled. He had achieved his goal.

He had used the DarkStar leader to gain some Faction Contribution Points, used his new combat record to gain reputation, and then made Klent a scapegoat again… no, this time, they were really responsible for it.

Looking around at the shocked reporters, Han Xiao nodded with approval.

“With these public opinion channels, in less than an hour, the Shock Department should already be coming online.”

Han Xiao, Godora, and Purple Crystal finished announcing the news and proceeded with the handover. Han Xiao officially passed the DarkStar leader to the people that Serbia the Fifth had brought along. A chain of notifications popped up on his interface. His Godora Favorability had already reached its maximum and had no space to even grow any more. His relationship with them had been fixed at [Reverence) since a few years back when he received the Golden Gal Badge.

The Favorability with Serbia the Fifth, however, was very close to the upper limit. Han Xiao felt that Serbia the Fifth looked at him with praise, trust, appreciation, and many other positive emotions.

As Han Xiao expected, he received something in terms of Legendary Points as well; however, it was not a new Legendary Point but the upgrade of an old one. The original Star System level (DarkStar Destroyer) had now become Star Cluster level, giving much higher bonuses to all kinds of Mission Reward Quotas.

Mission Reward Quotas had always been very important. This was a function of the NPC Interface that would not use his own Experience. Han Xiao had always been using the quota to give out rewards to the players and later earning those rewards back through various methods.

In Version 2.0, however, Han Xiao’s Faction Reward Quota had been too low. At that time, the size of the Black Star Army had yet to reach seven digits, and its territory was also limited to Godora’s land.

It was different now. In only three years, the Black Star Army had expanded dozens of times, Han Xiao’s Faction Reward Quota had also increased tremendously. If this growth speed continued to the start of Version 3.0, not to mention one million players, he would even be able to afford three million players.

Version 3.0 also happened to be the exploding stage of player count in his previous life.

Han Xiao had always felt that the Reward Quota was an overall evaluation of himself. The stronger he and his faction were, the higher his Reward Quota. It was somewhat like an evaluation to his overall influence.

The handover ceremony was brief. Han Xiao invited Serbia the Fifth into a private room. The two of them left the dock, and the press conference thus came to an end. The galactic reporters were very satisfied with what they got and felt that this trip was more than worth it. The crowd gradually dissipated.

Spiritless, Brock followed the crowd without a destination like a walking corpse.

The DarkStar leader was the last hope of the organization. Seeing that the leader had been captured, Brock knew that it was the end of the organization. He became lost.

The calling to hide for the sake of DarkStar’s rise was his direction in life, his motivation to work hard. Now, the organization that he had been fighting for had been destroyed, so Brock did not know what he would do in the future. He had lost his purpose.

Maybe the leader’s goal should be inherited by me. The hybrid Godorans’ future… shall be my responsibility!

Brock’s heart suddenly started burning. He felt like he seemed to have found a new purpose in life.

His numb eyes started to become vibrant, and a firm expression appeared on Brock’s face.

That’s right. I’m the last DarkStar member. As long as I’m still alive, it…

Before he fully regained his faith, Herlous happened to be walking toward him and spotted him. He recognized this motivated employee who was praised by the entire army, so he said, “Brock, the army is going to promote a batch of trainees. Quickly set up a large test for the training camp. All those who pass will become official members.”

“Understood!” Brock’s brain had yet to react, but his body moved out of instinct. He subconsciously stood straight and listened to the order.

After Herlous left, Brock returned from his beautiful dream to the cold reality. His back that only stayed straight for a few seconds bent again, giving off a lifeless vibe from all over his body.

Inheriting DarkStar’s mission isn’t bad, but Godora isn’t the same as it was. They’re under the Black Star Army’s protection.

Having thought of that, Brock’s ambition and aspirations suddenly disappeared.

Sigh, why revolutionize anymore? I’m not tired of living yet… I’m already Black Star’s shape anyway. Might as well just continue my work…

Maybe this is all fate.

Brock sighed. He was determined… to resign to his fate.

Inside the private guest room, Han Xiao and Serbia the Fifth sat opposite each other.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you have really given me a huge surprise. Without its leader, DarkStar is gone forever. The pureblood and hybrid conflict within the nation will be reduced as well.”

Serbia the Fifth spoke in a respectful and sincere tone. Han Xiao’s position in the Shattered Star Ring was now completely different from before; even he did not want to be too casual.

Han Xiao nodded. “I have eliminated a serious problem for you guys, so I have a small request. I hope that during the trial, you guys can support the Purple Crystal’s people as much as possible. This is a good opportunity to damage Klent politically. Although the secret war has nothing to do with you, I still hope that you can cooperate.”

“Of course. That’s what we should do!” Even if Han Xiao did not request this, Serbia the Fifth would also give Purple Crystal support. After all, Purple Crystal was their boss.

“Hmm, I actually have one more important matter.” Han Xiao touched his chin. “The news of DarkStar being eliminated can somewhat reduce the internal conflict between Godorans, but it won’t solve the root of the problem. The conflict between pureblood and hybrid won’t be resolved because of this. There will be extremists who inherit DarkStar’s will in the future.”

Serbia the Fifth sighed. “I know that, but the sense of superiority born from blood is an illness much more difficult to eradicate than the system. This is a tradition that has been passed on through countless years. So many leaders in history were unable to solve this problem. All they could do was alleviate the symptoms, not cure it.”

“That might not be the case.” Han Xiao smiled faintly. “I have a solution that might reduce your bloodline conflict even further. Are you interested?”

“You have a solution?” Serbia the Fifth was skeptical. “Of course, I’m interested, but this isn’t a problem that can be solved easily.”

“Hehe. So, I made a friend recently. Her name is Rossellin…”

Han Xiao explained Rossellin’s experience and abilities. Although he was subtle, Serbia the Fifth understood what Han Xiao meant between the lines—he was suggesting using Rossellin’s ability to slightly brainwash the Godoran populace and twist their views. Rossellin was an extremely good tool to be used against deep rooted traditions.

Serbia the Fifth opened his mouth wide and looked at Han Xiao with shock, unable to believe how daring his suggestion was—he was basically telling the leader of a civilization, “I want to brainwash your entire civilization.”

As the highest leader, such an outrageous request almost did not require any consideration. Serbia the Fifth was just about to reject it when he suddenly thought of something. He then shut his mouth and started pondering.

Although brainwashing the entire civilization was outrageous and sensitive, it did indeed seem to be able to quickly solve the deeply rooted bloodline conflict. Serbia the Fifth was both tempted and in denial. By regular means, the bloodline conflict might never be eliminated. But with this extreme method, if something went wrong, it would be a huge shock to all Godorans.

If anyone else had made this request, Serbia the Fifth would have rejected them without hesitation. But the person that made this request was Black Star, who he deeply trusted, which was why Serbia the Fifth did not reject immediately and was conflicted.

“That’s too risky…”

“Do you not trust me?” Han Xiao raised his brows. “How about this? We can request the Purple Crystal Civilization to be the private notary, to prevent the possibility of me having any ulterior motives.”

“But can you ensure that Rossellin won’t mess things up on purpose?”

“From what I know about her, she won’t.” Han Xiao shook his head.

(Bloodline) was the only Grade S mission in his interface. Initially, he did not have any clue on how to complete it, but now that he had Rossellin, he had a way to complete it that was worth a try despite being controversial.

Discussing the issue with Serbia The Fifth directly was a must. If he brainwashed a Star System Civilization protected by the Peace Treaty, the consequences would be very clear for him. It was not a must for Han Xiao to complete this mission, so he would only carry out this plan if he received official approval. Furthermore, brainwashing openly would be much more efficient than secretly.

Seeing that Serbia the Fifth was still hesitating, Han Xiao added, “I know what you’re worried about. Despite being the leader of a civilization, you’re helping an outsider brainwash your own people. Even though your goal is virtuous, this act is very sensitive, and it’s against your duty. However, you don’t have to make the brainwash compulsory or anything; you can give the Godorans the right to make a choice.”

Serbia the Fifth pondered. He was indeed worried about this.

“You can directly announce this to all your people. Of course, don’t use the word ‘brainwash’; make it sound better, such as maybe ‘enhancing the people’s belief of equality’ and the like. Emphasize on the fact that it’s to solve the bloodline conflict and reduce the chance of bad things happening.

“Then, introduce all kinds of related benefits, such as those who accepted the brainwash will have new privileges, and those who don’t will have to pay more taxes. You can also make the bloodline conflict into a new problem, using the public opinion to your advantage and promoting how those who don’t dare accept the brainwashing are stubborn and conservative. You can even re-plan the layout of your planets, forcing those who don’t accept the brainwash to live together, building a spiritual slum, and so on. Anyway, there are tons of methods. You’re a professional leader, so you should know much more than me.”

Han Xiao kept tempting Serbia the Fifth. In his eyes, he just could not reject him. This man’s suggestion was too damn good.

Like his many predecessors, if Serbia the Fifth could not solve the bloodline conflict, no one would blame him.

However, he also saw an opportunity. If he accomplished something that his countless predecessors failed to do, his name would go down in history as one of the wisest leaders. It would be an achievement that no one had ever made!

Serbia the Fifth clenched his teeth. “Le-Let me go back and consider this. This is too big a matter. I can’t make a decision now.”

“Of course.” Han Xiao smiled.

He did not expect to convince Serbia the Fifth this quickly. Even if he lured Serbia the Fifth’s personal desire out, he would not dare bet the entire civilization on it. He definitely had to gather the other relevant officials to brainstorm. He would not agree to it without thorough consideration.

Sending off the troubled Serbia the Fifth, without resting, Han Xiao headed right to the machinery modification room and started to build.

“After slaving for the silver legacy blueprint for so long, I can finally reap the reward!”

Having obtained the ability to complete the Class Advancement mission, Han Xiao did not want to delay it any further. It was time for his Class Advancement.

Chapter 707: Planetary Obliteration Grade Weapon and Apostilization

The framework of the semi-finished Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon was two stories tall. Accompanied by the buzzing of electric currents and the clanking of the mechanical parts, it was slowly getting finished.

Dozens of mechanical arms moved and assembled the parts. Two Watcher Instruments took care of the welding, while waves formed by nanorobots flowed around the framework, finishing up the details. Blue Mechanical Force lightning chains connected those machines, building the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon under Han Xiao’s control.

Han Xiao stood below the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon, continuously adjusting the details and carefully building this enormous cannon. In order to build orange-grade equipment, he was fully focused. He had activated Reynold’s Character Summon Card long ago and received the Perfect Mechanical Sense bonuses.

The effects of [Perfect Mechanical Sense) were apparent. The strength, control, and range of his Mechanical Force all increased tremendously. He became more sensitive to his Mechanical Force and controlled them as smoothly and accurately like an extra limb. Through this, he also gained a deeper understanding of the Perfect Mechanical Sense talent.

Other than these numerical bonuses, Perfect Mechanical Sense had another hidden effect, as written in the remarks, “In your senses, every machine is a world of ecological balance.”

The term ‘Mechanical Sense’ did not just mean understanding of machines but close to a new sense, refreshing his knowledge of machines. As if the machines were no longer just objects, when his Mechanical Force flowed through the mechanical structures, he could almost feel a lively sense of touch like he was running his fingers down the body of a beautiful woman. Han Xiao’s senses to the machines were enlarged countless times, allowing him to easily notice tiny details that he had not been able to notice before.

This hidden effect was the cause of the bonuses this talent gave, and the players who just waited for progress bars to fill up were unable to feel this.

No wonder anyone who had this talent was a Mechanic genius; the Perfect Mechanical Sense was so pleasurable…

Han Xiao wanted it so badly.

Be it building machines or combat, [Perfect Mechanical Sense) had a huge effect; it was a god tier talent for the Mechanic class.

Sadly, he could only temporarily enjoy the effects of the (Perfect Mechanical Sense) through the Character Summon Card.

“I have to find a way to get Reynold’s talent in the future.”

Han Xiao took a deep breath and focused his mind back on building.

Under the bonuses of Perfect Mechanical Sense, the process was very smooth. He successfully built it in less than a day.

Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon, legacy orange equipment, as powerful as Planetary Obliteration Cannon-this was currently the highest grade machine that Han Xiao had and the most powerful.

The two-story-tall enormous cannon retracted part by part and folded into a compressed orb with a blue and white appearance. Under the Mechanical Force, it floated above Han Xiao’s
palm.

Han Xiao held onto the compressed orb, and the item details popped up on his interface.

Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon (Legacy)

Grade: Orange/Silver

Type: Planetary Obliteration Grade Annihilation Weapon

Requirements: Lv180, Mechanic Class, >25,000 Energy, >2,500 INT.

Basic Attributes:

– Attack: 14,500 – 48,300

– Armor Value: 26,000/26,000

– Energy: 15,000/15,000

– Power Output: 12,170

Energy Furnace Forced Cooldown: 360 seconds

Power Output: Minimum power output consumption: 3,000 energy per attack. Maximum power output consumption: 12,000 energy per attack.

Energy Source: Psionic Reaction Furnace, recovers energy at 25/s.

Additional Ability: Extreme Frost-Deals 50% extra Frost Damage.

Additional Ability: Psionic Frost-Turns psionic energy into ice energy. High chance of freezing the target. Core Impact Area Frozen Effect Trigger Rate: 80%. Other Impact Area Frozen Effect Trigger Rate: 60%.

Additional Ability: Expansion Explosion-A second round of explosions will occur after hitting the target, creating an impact wave and mushroom cloud. Damage: 75% of the first round. +350% Damage Range.

Additional Ability: Reaction Furnace Ray-The attack mode can be changed to ray form. Depending on the power output, energy cost 60 – 240/s. Two damage ticks per second. Damage: 8% of the initial attack. The attack direction can be adjusted.

Special Ability: Freezing Wind—When the power output of an attack exceeds 6,000 energy consumption, changes the environment within 50 miles around the target area. The temperature of the area will be reduced to -50 degrees.

Special Ability: Ice Age-When firing at the maximum power output, changes the environment of the area within 200 miles around the target area, freezing this area and turning it into a glacial area. The temperature of the area will be reduced to -100 degrees.

Special Ability: Frozen Star-When the power output of an attack exceeds 6,000 energy consumption and (Reaction Furnace Ray) is used for more than 90 seconds, this effect will be triggered. This will cause chain reactions and bring the surface of a planet into an Ice Age within one month, destroying the lives on the surface.

Remark: The Ice Elementals are overjoyed and are trying to mate with you.

Legacy: “According to my investigation, freezing a Fixed Star can indirectly destroy all the civilizations on the planets in its orbit.” – Peter ‘Flame Extinguisher’ Drate.

“A total of seven Additional Abilities and Special Abilities, certainly fits being orange equipment.”

Han Xiao was very satisfied. The destructive power of the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon was extremely strong. Its theoretical damage could even reach the hundred thousands with his Mechanical Force bonuses applied.

Usually, this kind of enormous cannon would be deployed in outer space to attack from above, and it would be difficult to apply Mechanical Force bonuses to it. However, due to his Mechanical Force having the (Void) attribute, he could overcome the distance through the Void Dimension and apply Mechanical Force bonuses to it.

This was Han Xiao’s first Planetary Obliteration Grade weapon; it was now his trump card.

He looked at the interface. The Class Advancement mission was now completed.

Finally!

Han Xiao took a deep breath and initiated the Class Advancement with a solemn expression.

Class Advancement requirements completed!

You have received a new class, (Apostle Mechanic Lv.1).

+240 Energy, +3 STR, +4 DEX, +5 END, +10 INT.

You have received 8 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

The moment the Class Advancement was completed, a huge amount of information appeared in his brain out of nowhere. Han Xiao gained new understandings of machines, and his body started to undergo marvelous changes.

A ton of notifications popped up on the interface.

You have received the talent (Mechanical Force Ascension-Apostle Body]!

You have acquired the ability (Apostle Machinery Affinity)!

You have acquired the ability (Machinery Apostilization)!

The effect of all your Virtual Technology related abilities and talents has increased by 20%

It took Han Xiao quite some time to digest the various abilities that he had gained through the Class Advancement. Feeling the new power flowing in his body, he was delighted.

Finally, I’ve reached this milestone.

Apostle Mechanic was a major milestone for high-level Mechanics. As the saying went, ‘the end of technology is the study of God’. The reason for such a ‘God’-related term, ‘Apostle’, was because the path of the Mechanic class was gradually stepping into the ‘study of God’ territory in the eyes of common people.

The knowledge that he had learned did not change, but the way of using that knowledge had ascended to a completely next level. He would have new understandings and new technology that would seem like acts of God to normal people.

The level limit of (Apostle Mechanic] was thirty, five levels higher than (Truth Mechanic). Usually, the increase in the level limit of the main class also meant the start of a new stage.

Unlike all the Mechanic classes before this, the Apostle Mechanic class allowed one to gather great powers within oneself, making one strong in every respect.

[Apostle Machinery Affinity) was, of course, the core talent passed down through the Mechanic class. Han Xiao immediately leveled it up to the max level. Its effect was +105% Machinery Affinity, a total of 30% more than (Master Machinery Affinity)

The talent (Mechanical Force AscensionApostle Body) and the ability (Machinery Apostilization) were set abilities.

[Machinery Apostilization] allowed him to absorb the energy of machines through the Mechanical Force link instead of the other way round, increasing his own attributes and giving him bonuses.

From the beginning, machines had just been external objects, but Apostilization turned the power of these external objects into his own power. Like Mages receiving bonuses by praying to their Gods, machines were Mechanics’ God. Through becoming an apostle of the machines, he would receive the gifts of these machines.

The actual effect was easy to understand. For example, if he used ‘Apostilization’ on one mechanical suit, the energy of this mechanical suit would be turned into his own energy through the Mechanical Force link, increasing his Energy Rank; giving him dozens points of Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity bonuses as well as a part of the mechanical suit’s bonus effects.

At the same time, by using the mechanical suit’s energy furnace, he would be able to use the abilities of the mechanical suit without wearing it.

Any machinery could be ‘Apostilized’, and different machines would provide different bonuses. ‘Apostilization’ would also put a burden on the machines, depending on each machine’s level.

(Mechanical Force Ascension-Apostle Body] was an ability that worked together with this. It would turn his body into an Apostle Body through Mechanical Force so that he could use the energy of the machines. This was the prerequisite for [Machinery Apostilization) to take effect.

At the same time, this talent determined the number of ‘Apostilized’ machines that his body could endure. The Judgment depended on the total of Intelligence and Endurance. The burden that a machine could bear depended on its Power Level. The stronger the machine, the higher the burden it would be able to bear.

For every ‘Apostilized’ machine, the health point limit would decrease temporarily by 2,500, which would be lifted once the Apostilization ended.

These two abilities were the signature abilities of an Apostle Mechanic. Allowing one to control stronger powers through sharing the energy of the machines. The players in Han Xiao’s previous life did some research, and they believed that the ability to gather external powers into oneself was one of the prerequisites of stepping toward Beyond Grade A.

The other four classes would also gain similar abilities at this stage, as if they were starting to evolve into a higher level being. The players believed that this was proof that Beyond Grade As were new, high-level beings.

To the players, the appearance of Apostilization was very simple; it was basically similar to putting machines into their inventory to receive the bonuses. Han Xiao, however, had real senses, so he had no idea how it would feel.

True knowledge was gained from experimenting. Han Xiao decided to directly test the effects of Apostilization. He held the compressed orb of the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon in his hands, and Mechanical Force lightning shrouded and entered the compressed orb, activating Apostilization.

The next moment, Han Xiao’s expression slightly changed. The Mechanical Force seemed to have become straws that absorbed the energy of the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon. An enormous wave of violent psionic energy entered his body through the Mechanical Force link!

Originally, he could only control the energy generated by his cells. Now, the psionic energy had mixed with the Mechanical Force inside his body and become controllable as well.

The compressed orb was buzzing and vibrating. The surface of the orb was filled with blue energy circuits.

You have Apostilized [Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon). Your load has increased by 379 points.

Your health point limit has decreased by 2,500 temporarily.

+78 STR, +43 DEX, +35 END.

You can now release energy attacks from your body or consume the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon’s energy to recover your own energy.

You have received an Additional Ability. Your attacks will enjoy the bonuses of (Extreme Frost), dealing 50% extra Frost Damage.

You have received an Additional Ability. Your attacks will enjoy the bonuses of (Psionic Frost). You have a chance to freeze the target.

Han Xiao raised and shook his other hand. A blue lump of psionic energy appeared on his palm.

With just a thought, the attribute of this lump of psionic energy started to change and turned into a blue and white frost energy lump. He raised his hand and launched it. A white beam of light landed on the weapon testing alloy wall not far away.

Boom!

The moment it hit, the white light expanded and turned the alloy wall into frozen pieces scattered on the ground in an instant.

Han Xiao looked at the interface. His own energy had close to no loss, and the energy of the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon decreased by a bar.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he got quite a few new ideas.

By using Apostilization together with his various abilities, it might have surprising effects.

For example, he could absorb the machinery’s energy to recover his own energy, which meant that he did not have to get damaged to recover health.

Or he could use his Mechanical Force to connect with the machines from far away, so he could use Apostilization remotely without having to summon his machines.

“It’s a very powerful ability. It helps with the Mechanic’s flaw of having a very weak body.”

Han Xiao was delighted. His body was already extremely strong, but this ability was still a huge enhancement!

Chapter 708: Spending Money Brings Me Joy

After testing all his new skills, Han Xiao was extremely satisfied.

The load of his machinery was 100 + X. 100 was the basic load that it could take, and X was 3% of a machine’s Power Level. Han Xiao was able to obtain more than 1,000 Attribute Points from the Machinery Apostilization skill, which would be spread out evenly among his Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance.

As long as he could think of a way to increase his Intelligence and Endurance, the upper limit of the load that he could take would also increase.

Han Xiao had just received the (Machinery Apostilization) skill, and when his level increased, the effect of this skill would also become more obvious. Han Xiao wanted to take the path of the Army Style, and the boost from the Machinery Apostilization skill would provide him with a new Support Style, allowing his body to become stronger. He would no longer have to walk the path of getting beaten up in the future.

Opening his interface, Han Xiao first raised the levels of his two new skills to the max and received two Potential Points. He then used his experience points to level up.

At this moment, Han Xiao was level 195, and after leveling up five times, he reached level 200.

The amount of experience required to level up became greater and greater toward the end, and his large stash of experience points was rapidly being used up. He did not have much experience left from Version 2.0.

[Apostle Mechanic] was raised to level five, and the level limit was thirty. This would last him to level 225.

Han Xiao pondered to himself about his future plans. Because he had spent a large amount of experience gambling for blueprints and raising the level of his skills, the remaining experience was only enough to bring him to level 206. At that point, the experience that he had saved up would be completely spent.

If he wanted to increase his level quickly after this, he could only wait until Version 3.0.

Now that he was at level 200, he would have to face a new Promotion Mission. After glancing at the Promotion Mission, Han Xiao had a helpless look on his face. This time, he would have no choice but to use a Mission Completion Card.

Han Xiao’s Promotion Mission was an ordinary mission this time, but it was one that Han Xiao could not complete. It required him to clear a high-grade dungeon within ten levels from him with a rating of Grade A.

To the players, they would be able to obtain such a level only at the later versions. At that time, they would have gone through many different Main Storyline Missions and resolved many troublesome storylines. Thus, high-grade dungeons would basically be in surplus. However, it had not even reached Version 3.0, and unless he could create a dungeon of his own, it would be extremely difficult for him to find a high-grade dungeon.

Most importantly, Han Xiao had never used Dungeon Crystals, and it would thus be impossible for him to challenge a dungeon. His only other option was to use a Mission Completion Card. One of the usages of the Mission Completion Card was to help players skip these difficult but compulsory missions.

“Talking about a Mission Completion Card…” In the past three years, Han Xiao had received a few Random Rewards from the various missions that he had completed. However, he had never used them in order to save them for a rainy day such as this. As such, there were two chances for him to roll a Random Reward on the interface.

Thankfully, it seemed like the Grade S mission (Bloodline) had a chance of being completed, and there would definitely be the chance to roll a Random Reward. Furthermore, the Random Reward of a Grade S mission would definitely give him more choices.

“Compared to Version 2.0, my strength and the scale of the Black Star Army have completely transformed. When the players return, I will be able to harvest a new round of experience. Before that, I must use the remaining seven years to accumulate a few Mission Completion Cards. When I get enough experience, I will be able to increase my level rapidly.”

Han Xiao decided on his plan.

After packing up his new equipment, Han Xiao left the Machine Modification Room and went to his office. He then summoned Rossellin and Reynold.

When both of them entered, Han Xiao went straight to the main point.

“Rossellin, what do you think about the Black Star Army?”

“How so?” Rossellin asked.

“You just need to tell me your overall feeling.”

“You want me to praise you, right?” Rossellin rolled her eyes before adding on with a tone of helplessness, “Alright then. Even though I am an extremely picky person, I have to admit that I do admire you. I underestimated you when I first saw you and never thought that you would be a legendary character.”

After being locked up for so many years, Rossellin did not know about the changes in the outside world. She had only started looking through what happened over the past few years in the Shattered Star Ring after returning to the Black Star Army base with Reynold. Only then did she understand the position of the Black Star Army in the Shattered Star Ring and everything that they had accomplished.

After looking through the accomplishments of the Black Star Army, her first reaction was to suspect that the documents in her hands had been falsified.

What shocked her the most was not the size of the Black Star Army but the speed at which they grew. After all, the Black Star Army had only been around for about a decade.

Black Star had only taken ten years to grow from a Grade C Super to become a Beyond Grade A Super seed. Furthermore, he had survived a battle with an actual Beyond Grade A Super!

In the past ten years, the Black Star Army that he led had become the largest armed force in the Colton Star Cluster with the Purple Crystal Civilization as their backing and their bases all around dozens of Star Systems!

This was an unbelievable miracle.

Rossellin had never imagined that Han Xiao was actually such a bigshot.

After seeing those files, she was truly filled with admiration toward Han Xiao but was too embarrassed to show it on the surface.

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao said, “Hmm, I would like to ask you for help and be a temporary officer of the Black Star Army.”

A teasing look could be seen on Rossellin’s face. “You also want to make use of my ability?”

“More accurately, it should be a mutually beneficial agreement. You are a special talent, and I am willing to give you appropriate compensation.”

“What if I don’t agree?”

“Don’t worry, I said that you will have a certain degree of freedom, and I will not force you like the Hutt Civilization. You can choose to reject me.”

The corner of Han Xiao’s lips curled up slightly, and he continued. “However, even if you have the ambition and want to accomplish something, you won’t be able to do that without money. Furthermore, I will give you attractive compensation that will allow you to build up your capital.”

“With my ability,” Rossellin replied, “it would be an easy task for me to accumulate capital. Why do I have to help you?”

Han Xiao chuckled in response. “Don’t forget that you have a criminal record. Since I bailed you out, I will not allow you to run around freely and do as you wish. If you do, you will become a wanted criminal. Thus, working for me temporarily is the best opportunity for you to earn money.”

“Humph, you are bundling both threats and benefits. Do you think that I will definitely agree to your request?” Rossellin snorted. “I like to deal with those who overestimate themselves the most!”

“Actually, it is possible to remove your criminal record entirely…”

“What do you want me to do?” Rossellin took a step forward without any hesitation and hugged Han Xiao’s arm with a fawning look on her face.

As Reynold looked at the fawning Rossellin, he was completely speechless.

He had talked to Rossellin privately and knew that Rossellin was willing to stay behind and help. However, she just could not put aside her face to do so. Now that Black Star had taken the initiative to mention this, it gave her the opportunity to accept it.

Han Xiao was also certain that Rossellin would not reject him. The eighty Favorability points that he had with Rossellin were not just for show. When facing Rossellin’s venomous tongue, he also knew how to deal with her. As long as he gave Rossellin an excuse, she would definitely agree to his request.

“You will take up the role of a Culture Instructor and lecture the members of the Black Star Army. You will lecture the members of the Black Star Army about our history so that they will understand our Black Star Army better and have a greater sense of belonging. You should research the history of the Black Star Army and come up with lecture material for it. Find a suitable incision point to set up their faith in the Black Star Army. I will check the material after you have prepared it.”

Han Xiao wiggled his arm out from Rossellin’s embrace as he spoke.

For his faction to develop healthily, the loyalty and identity of the members had to be developed. This would require a culture to be established. Organizations such as Bloodshed Land and Hidden Red Robe Abbey each had their own unique culture.

Han Xiao felt that he did not only have to cultivate a sense of belonging and acknowledgement with the players but also the other members of the army.

Rossellin accepted her job and left the room. Reynold then thanked Han Xiao.

“Thank you for giving my sister a job…”

“You are someone of great importance to me. There isn’t a need to say such pleasantries.”

Han Xiao waved his hand indifferently.

Even with Reynold’s silent and serious nature, he could not help but feel touched at this moment.

Having such a boss is truly great.

After a casual chat, Han Xiao said, “I asked you to help Vilna set up an army about a month ago. How are things going?”

“I mobilized a portion of our resources and funds, amounting to about 70,000,000 Enas, to purchase battleships and hire manpower in the name of Floating Dragon,” Reynold replied. “However, a portion of them didn’t wish to join Floating Dragon’s Field Team and wanted to join the Black Star Army instead.”

Han Xiao fell into deep thought.

A wise individual would be able to tell that Black Star Army’s growth was due to Floating Dragon’s influence.

Currently, the Black Star Army was Floating Dragon’s most powerful force. Joining the Black Star Army meant that they would enjoy Floating Dragon’s influence as well, and it was akin to killing two birds with one stone. Thus, the majority only wanted to join the Black Star Army.

Furthermore, the rumors of Floating Dragon and the Black Star Army splitting up had been spreading. Compared to Floating Dragon, most people felt that the more ambitious Black Star Army had a brighter future.

Even if Han Xiao was not a Beyond Grade A Super yet, the scale of the Black Star Army was larger than Floating Dragon. After all, Ames did not work together with any Star Cluster Civilizations and did not have as many connections as Black Star.

“How large a force do you think 70,000,000 Enas should be able to create?” Han Xiao asked.

“Hmm… it’s difficult to say. According to the current speed at which I am burning through the funds, I will be able to finish the funds within half a year, and the army will end up being slightly smaller than the large mercenary groups.”

“It’s too small,” Han Xiao immediately replied. “I will give you three months to finish all the funds and invest another 150,000,000 Enas.”

Reynold was startled. “Would the cost be too high?”

“It’s alright. I’m not short of money.”

Han Xiao smiled. Floating Dragon had given him plenty of assistance when he started out, and he did not plan to save any money when helping Floating Dragon create another Field Team. Furthermore, he gave Jenny a sky-high amount of money every month; he was not bothered about this small amount of money.

The Black Star Army was working together with more than a hundred financial groups and had mines on dozens of planets.

After deducting their monthly expenses, the profits from the mining would be at least 200,000,000 Enas every month.

As long as he had connections in the various governments, earning money was an extremely easy task.

Of course, his wealth still could not be compared to a Star System Civilization, but it was enough to maintain an armed force.

The word ‘poor’ had been struck from his dictionary.

Chapter 709: The Crimson Dynasty: What the Hell, Klent?

“By the way, the report on the DarkStar leader is out today. Take a look,” Reynold suddenly said.

Han Xiao took out his communicator.

After just one day, the news about the handover of the DarkStar leader was already spreading all over. The focus of the reports was on Klent being suspected of having connections with DarkStar and the Fallen Ark.

Klent had prepared for this long ago; they wanted to suppress it when the public discussion had just started. Hence, they immediately denied it publicly with a very strong attitude, absolutely refusing to admit to anything, and claimed that this was slander completely made up by Purple Crystal.

“Not admitting it is useless. Purple Crystal definitely have a way to make the DarkStar leader talk.” Han Xiao smiled.

Klent’s frequent assassination attempts really annoyed him. Now that he had gotten the opportunity, he was more than happy to cause trouble for Klent.

The secret war was at an impasse. Plus, it could not hurt Klent itself. This DarkStar leader matter, however, would be able to hurt Klent politically.

…

For the next month, Han Xiao waited for Serbia the Fifth’s reply while paying attention to the DarkStar leader incident as it developed. Purple Crystal was determined to blow up this incident, to attract the attention of organizations from everywhere and cause a sensation in the Star Field.

There was no absolute definition on how serious the crime of funding DarkStar and working with Fallen Ark was. If it was not exposed, no one would even care. The development of things like this really depended on the environment at the time. However, it was now a sensitive period during the Crimson Tide, and Klent had shown a weakness. The other Star Cluster civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring were like sharks that had smelled blood, all wanting to make use of this opportunity to bite a piece of meat off Klent and damage their political power.

Klent’s ambition to expand had always made many uninvolved Star Cluster civilizations feel alarmed. Not only did this b*stard join the Crimson Dynasty to target the Flickering World, Klent also did not want to give up their position in the Shattered Star Ring. They wanted to rule two entire Star Fields. Their appetite was outrageous.

Hence, these Star Cluster civilizations hoped to weaken Klent’s political position in the Shattered Star Ring so that their plan would not go so smoothly.

They could not stop Klent from going to the Flickering World in the future, but they could weaken their reputation in the Shattered Star Ring.

You want to develop in two Star Fields at the same time? You don’t look pretty, but you sure dream big!

As soon as the force of one of them was growing too large, the other civilizations would not mind targeting that civilization together. It was both to damage the competitors as well as to protect their own benefits.

Han Xiao’s acts happened to hit Klent where it hurt, giving a great opportunity to the other Star Cluster civilizations. Suddenly, Klent was facing a situation where they were being targeted by everyone. This caused them a tremendous amount of trouble.

Klent absolutely hated Han Xiao’s guts; this incident had affected their entire strategy.

Yet, after so many failed assassination attempts, Klent had no way to deal with Han Xiao. They had no choice but to solve this issue from a political perspective.

For the last half a month, Purple Crystal and Klent had constantly been fighting verbally. One side was strongly accusing, and the other side insisted on admitting nothing.

To put it simply, this was the situation.

“You’re ruthless, you’re cold-blooded, and you’re unreasonable!” Klent exclaimed.

“No, you!” Purple Crystal retorted.

This kind of conversation kept repeating.

This incident even affected the Crimson Dynasty. The Crimson Dynasty sent an emissary to head to Klent and investigate this thoroughly.

The Crimson Dynasty was negotiating with the Federation of Light on the rights to the Flickering World. At such a crucial moment, Klent happened to get involved in a scandal of them being connected to the Fallen Ark.

That guy was a criminal wanted by all three Universal Civilizations; his identity was extremely sensitive. Klent was the Crimson Dynasty’s new henchman, so the scandal affected the Crimson Dynasty and sent a free political negotiation chip to the Federation of Light.

This made the Crimson Dynasty very irritated. Their stance on this was very clear.

What’s wrong with you, kid!

Some of that intelligence reached Ralph. He shared the inside information about this incident with Han Xiao. On this day, he called Han Xiao once again to speak about this, telling him what had happened.

“The Crimson Dynasty has interfered. They’ve made an agreement with us on Klent’s behalf. Klent will give up a part of their rights in the Shattered Star Ring. In exchange, we have to quickly suppress this incident.”

“Did you agree to that?” Han Xiao was curious.

“After all, now that a Universal Civilization has interfered to negotiate, we can’t keep pushing. There are some civilizations that contacted the Federation of Light in private though, hoping that the Federation of Light would speak for us. They probably thought that as the Federation of Light are now fighting for the Flickering World, they won’t give up this chance to hurt the Crimson Dynasty. However, for some reason, the Federation of Light has not done anything. Thus, we can only stop here.”

Han Xiao nodded. This was the drawback of being a henchman-the Crimson Dynasty gave up profit on Klent’s behalf in order to reduce their own loss. Of course, the Crimson Dynasty was not yet willing to lose this chess piece, so they definitely promised Klent something in return.

Since Klent wanted to be involved in the Flickering World, they could only take the hit and not say anything.

“So, this incident has ended?”

“Yes, we can’t continue anymore.”

“What price did Klent pay?”

“That’s confidential, and I don’t know. The other Star Cluster civilizations will all split the profits that Klent has given up.”

“Then, the secret war…” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Ralph sighed and said, “Alas, it has to continue. The Crimson Dynasty refuse to speak about anything regarding the secret war, and the other Star Cluster civilizations stopped caring after they got the profit that Klent gave up. Clearly, they hope that we will continue to fight and harm each other. It is more beneficial for them that way.”

“No friends last forever; only profit does. How realistic.” Han Xiao shook his head with resignation.

In the original storyline, the Crimson Dynasty would only represent Klent to negotiate at the end of the secret war. Now, however, they had no choice but to clean up the mess that Klent had made. This was because of him.

This was something that had not happened before. It would definitely change the direction of the entire storyline.

Han Xiao pondered. He felt that because Klent had bled quite badly, in order to heal up, they might put more focus in the secret war and fight more passionately.

He shared this thought with Ralph, who smiled strangely.

“Did you know that because of this, Heber has become unhappy with Klent?”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he started to speculate.

Originally, the Tyrant was Klent’s only Beyond Grade A ally. Since Klent was flirting around with EsGod and was caught by Heber in the act, it was like a wife who discovered the mistress.

Looks like the secret war will be in even more of a stalemate. It should last till the start of Version 3.0.

Han Xiao was quite satisfied with this result. Creating both internal and external problems for Klent was his return gift for Klent’s constant assassination attempts.

“One more thing, Serbia the Fifth told us that you want to borrow Rossellin’s ability to help Godora clear their bloodline conflict.”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“This matter is a little bit sensitive, so he wanted to invite us to be the notary and carry out this plan under Purple Crystal’s name. What do you think?”

Han Xiao was stunned. Then he figured it out. Serbia the Fifth had made a choice and decided to take his suggestion.

Serbia the Fifth had even found a better excuse of using Purple Crystal’s name to carry out the plan, so it would look like it was a higher-level civilization helping Godora.

As a Star Cluster civilization was involved, the Godoran government would receive much less disapproval, and its people would accept it more easily. Many would feel that the higher-level civilization was more reliable than their own government.

Han Xiao thought about it, ended the call, and called Serbia the Fifth. It was picked up right after one ring. Clearly, Serbia the Fifth had been waiting

“Your Excellency Black Star, I plan to use your method, but I hope that this can be done under the Purple Crystal Civilization’s name. Maybe we won’t be able to announce that this is your plan.” Serbia the Fifth went straight to the point. “But I’m willing to pay a bigger price in private. What do you think?”

Han Xiao scratched his eyelid and said, “Alright then.”

His main goal was to settle the (Bloodline) mission, so he did not really care about whether this relatively small achievement would be announced or not.

Serbia the Fifth was relieved. He explained, “That’s great. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but this matter is too important. I have to find a gentler method so that the people of Godora will be more willing to accept it…”

Actually, this was just one of the factors. Serbia the Fifth was still not very assured as Han Xiao was not an official force after all, so he had pulled the Purple Crystal Civilization in as insurance. Of course, he would not voice this reason.

“Since you agreed, I shall bring Rossellin over to discuss the details.”

“Okay, I’ll have Nagakin fetch you. Come to our mother planet directly.”

“… Nagakin again?” Han Xiao suddenly realized that every time he interacted with the Godoran Civilization, they seemed to send Nagakin to host him.

“Er… aren’t you guys friends?” Serbia the Fifth wondered. He threw this unimportant issue aside and said, “Anyway, I’ll be waiting for you on our mother planet.”

Han Xiao nodded and hung up the communication before calling Rossellin.

“Pack up and get ready, I have a job for you.”

A few days later, on the mother planet of Godora, a spaceship landed on the military dock. Han Xiao and Rossellin walked out of the hatch with Nagakin leading the way.

They took the hovering car and arrived at the government affairs building. Han Xiao and Rossellin went straight to Serbia the Fifth’s office.

“You’re finally here.” Serbia the Fifth had been waiting for quite some time. He quickly stood up and welcomed Han Xiao.

After a few greetings, they sat down. Serbia the Fifth sized Rossellin up from time to time.

At this point, Rossellin showed the look of the pope that she had once been-noble and elegant with calm eyes. Serbia the Fifth could not figure her out. He only felt that this woman had a vibe of being someone very important and not simple.

The two sides had worked together for many years and were very familiar with each other, so Han Xiao directly asked, “Cut to the chase, what plan do you have?”

With his position now, a Star System civilization was not as important as before. He planned to quickly settle the (Bloodline) mission and get the Grade S mission reward.

He still had some time before his holiday ended. Plus, Klent was troubled by internal conflicts, so he was not needed in the war for the time being. He did not want to spend too much time on (Bloodline]. He planned to use the rest of the holiday to do missions and get more Random Rewards.

It was best to have more Mission Completion Cards in stock before Version 3.0 arrived.

“Hmm, according to Rossellin’s ability, we have prepared a few plans to choose from…”

Serbia the Fifth took out a few files and gave them to Han Xiao.

Chapter 710: Confused DarkStar Leader

In two minutes, Han Xiao read through Serbia the Fifth’s plan. He passed the files to Rossellin then nodded. “Looks like you don’t plan to seek the opinion of the Godorans.”

“Although this plan is beneficial to the future of the civilization, the free will of most people will only be a burden. This plan can only be carried out without seeking approval from everybody.” This meeting was off the records, so Serbia the Fifth was more direct.

Rossellin read through the file very quickly. With a calm and reserved look, she slightly nodded and said, “I understand your request. Are you sure there’s no need to plant something else in the minds of your people?”

Serbia the Fifth wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said, “No, no, eliminating discrimination is enough.”

“Okay, if it’s just eliminating discrimination, it’s easy for me.”

Rossellin gave Serbia the Fifth a mysterious smile that made his heart shake a little.

To outsiders, Rossellin was not as casual as when facing Han Xiao. On the way, Han Xiao had told her to maintain her standard and not scare Serbia the Fifth with her real colors. Rossellin looked at Serbia the Fifth with an elegant smile and explained her plan.

“Black Star has already told me the situation. To my understanding, there are three fundamental causes to the bloodline conflict of Godora.

“One, the pureblood traditional concept passed down through the years. In the galactic environment, only a small fraction of the purebloods still firmly believe in this concept. I call these people the Diehards, and their minds are the hardest to change.

“Two, discrimination caused by biological differences. This comes from the instinctive disgust of an intelligent life when seeing a deviant form. Many of the purebloods don’t want to discriminate against the hybrids, but when they see them, they still uncontrollably feel a sense of disgust. This is the cause of discrimination for most people. In order to change this, I think the key point is the aesthetic sense.

“Three, the hatred accumulated from the large number of conflicts caused by many years of discrimination. This is considered a historical problem. Plus, due to discrimination, the average societal position of purebloods is higher than the hybrids, so the purebloods have more power in various industries. This can be seen as a class conflict. I can temporarily suppress this type of hatred, but if you people don’t change the current situation, after a long time, these conflicts will happen
again.”

Serbia the Fifth had a headache just from hearing these problems.

In his eyes, every single one of these issues was close to unsolvable. He could see how extremely difficult these problems were just from listening to Rossellin talking about them. He once again started to doubt the feasibility of this plan.

As if Rossellin saw through his worries, she calmly said, “On a more positive note, it would take at least decades to make these problems less severe with normal methods. However, now that I’m here, I can make this process thousands of times faster. The first two points are the main causes, and as long as the problems with the Diehards and the aesthetic sense are resolved, the class conflicts will gradually be reduced.”

Serbia the Fifth took a deep breath, stood up, and bowed deeply toward Han Xiao and Rossellin.

“I’m counting on you!”

It was a normal morning. The warm yellow sunlight woke up the asleep city.

In a commercial square filled with tall buildings on the Godoran mother planet, hovering vehicles shuttled between buildings. People that equipped flying runes rose and landed on the open-air platforms that extended from the tall buildings. It was a boisterous and hectic scene.

This time, at a hovering public bus station on an open-air platform, there was a long queue. It was rush hour for the working class in the morning. These Godorans heading to their jobs were waiting for the public transport.

The production of a Star System civilization was more than enough to feed lazy shut-ins, but as the capital of a civilization, the mother planet had maintained vigorous vitality. Those that resided on the mother planet were all willing to work hard, unlike those at the edge of colonial planets that all stayed at home and had no concept of ‘working’.

Rudy was in the middle of the queue. His outfit looked decent, like an elite of society. However, unlike the Godorans around, he did not have protruding ears, and his ears were spiral shaped holes. He also did not wear a ponytail or any ornaments on his hair because he did not have hair. His facial organs were also further apart from each other.

He was the only hybrid in the long queue.

Rudy could feel the strange looks with suppressed disgust coming from around him. He had a normal expression on his face and looked straight ahead, as if he was unaffected. But in his heart, he wished that the hovering public bus would reach the station soon so that he would no longer have to endure this treatment of being watched by so many people like an animal in the zoo.

Rudy was sixty-three years old this year. By Godoran standards, he was middle-aged. He was a very senior employee of a huge business, and his income was rather high. Supposedly, he should be middle class in the society, but his appearance had given him obstructions everywhere. He knew that his current position was the highest that he could achieve, and he would never be promoted again.

His most hated thing each day was going to work, not because his job was tiring but because going to work meant he had to socialize and endure all kinds of strange looks. He had been enduring a huge amount of mental stress every single day, but he could not express any of that emotion on his face. In the countless times he woke up in the middle of the night because of that stress, he would just sit there and stare into the darkness, thinking that he might as well quit the job; why should he put himself through all that?

But every time he saw his sleeping wife beside him, he would put those thoughts away.

His wife was a beautiful pureblood. Back then, his wife had ignored her family’s opposition and married him, a hybrid. She had blessed him with two children. Even after being married for so many years, her family had never accepted him, but his wife almost never complained. For the sake of his family, Rudy did not dare quit his job; he could only let his anxiety and irritation be vented out silently during the times he puffed.

To him, life was a pool of still water, a gray silent film that played on repeat every day, only starting to have colors when he got home and saw the smiles of his wife and children. Rudy had no expectations for the future anymore. Maybe not being able to see his path ahead was good for him; a life that he could see the end of would be terrifying.

Rudy smiled self-deprecatingly. He overheard the conversation of the two people behind him who had suddenly started chatting.

“Have you heard? The DarkStar leader was captured some time ago, and the DarkStar organization has been deemed to be completely eliminated.”

“It’s been half a month. Of course I’ve heard.”

“Hehe, there are reports that say the DarkStar leader’s trial has ended, and he’s locked up in Rainbow Prison.”

“I did not know that. Tell me more…”

Listening to the clearly deliberate conversation behind him, Rudy could only act as if he could not hear it.

Due to DarkStar’s existence, the hybrids received even more hatred. After the DarkStar organization was destroyed, purebloods had mentioned DarkStar around him more than once, on purpose or otherwise, as if it was some kind of mockery.

Rudy did not agree with DarkStar’s philosophy at all; a hybrid that yearned for peace like him even hated DarkStar’s actions. However, to the purebloods, it seemed that every hybrid admired DarkStar. DarkStar’s ending meant the failure of the hybrids, so they could put on the looks of victors and feel superior.

At this time, a projected screen appeared between the tall buildings, attracting everyone’s attention.

Serbia the Fifth appeared on the screen. He sat straight and faced the camera with a serious face, as if he had something important to announce.

The same scene appeared on every colonial planet of Godora. It was an announcement for the entire civilization.

Serbia the Fifth slowly spoke.

“Today, on behalf of the Godoran government, I’m going to announce a very important decision. In order to avoid tragedies similar to the DarkStar incident in the future, we have decided to accept help from the Purple Crystal Civilization to use an unorthodox method to solve the bloodlike discrimination problem that has affected us for a very long time…”

Serbia the Fifth read the long script that he had prepared beforehand, describing the situation as the Purple Crystal Civilization suggesting to help and him deciding to accept their help after careful consideration. He sugarcoated the terms and words used to reduce the objection of the people as much as possible.

However, all the Godorans were still petrified by this news and were all unable to speak.

Only after the news had ended for a few seconds did a deafening uproar start.

“This is too sudden. There were no signs at
all!”

“This is brainwashing!”

“Why does our perception have to be changed? Free will is inviolable! Has Serbia the Fifth lost his mind?”

“Will there be any side effects?”

“This is the Purple Crystal Civilization’s idea? Then maybe it’s reliable.”

The Godorans around discussed the issue loudly and reacted in various ways, mostly with shock and disgruntlement.

Rudy did not take part in the discussion. His eyes were wide open, and his face was filled with disbelief.

At this moment, he felt that as if his heart that had been numb for a long time had finally started beating vigorously again.

He seemed to see a tint of light in his dark future.

On this day, people from every industry started to use their relationship network to inquire more about what the government meant. The people were flustered.

No one was willing to let someone else change their thoughts, even if it was a huge good deed beneficial to the collective. As expected, this caused backlash due to individual willingness. Serbia the Fifth promised subsidies, reduced taxes, and all kinds of benefits for those who accepts the ‘Discrimination Transformation’ plan; however, he did not give them the option to reject.

There was outrage, and protests appeared one after another. Serbia the Fifth’s plan had shaken the entire society, but he was determined not to change his mind.

With Purple Crystal’s interference, the internal resistance was suppressed forcefully. The government started to operate to his will.

The upper class of society was basically controlled entirely by purebloods. These people had a lot of power, and most of them were Diehards. They did not receive any information beforehand either. Although they hated Serbia the Fifth’s plan, they did not immediately stand out to oppose it but stayed calm and observed the situation.

Purple Crystal’s name helped Serbia the Fifth not receive more objections; the reputation of a Star Cluster civilization had the Godorans slightly under control. Even though Serbia the Fifth’s actions were almost like those of a dictator, many Godorans believed that this was the Purple Crystal Civilization’s decision.

Due to many factors, Serbia the Fifth was able to forcefully execute this almost insane plan.

Seeing that they could not change the government’s mind at all, the attention of all the Godorans was focused on the first test area of the ‘Discrimination Transformation’ plan announced by Serbia the Fifth. It was the Colonial Planet Gautin.

A planet with extremely low importance, filled with jobless shut-ins, was a perfect place for the test. Even if the results were not good, it would have a very limited impact on the entire civilization.

In Rainbow Prison, the DarkStar leader sat at the corner of his cell. It was pitch black, and he could only hear his own breathing in the dark.

His trial had ended. Godora and Purple Crystal had both gotten what they wanted, so he was locked up and would be spending the rest of his life in prison.

The hope that supported his belief was destroyed. It was as if the DarkStar leader had lost his spine, and his heart was numb and emotionless.

The Rainbow Prison could shatter the belief of DarkStar members. He did not know if he could hold on to his own belief in the future, but he did not care anymore.

Clank!

The narrow feeding window at the bottom of the cell door opened. A plate of food and a beam of light entered the cell.

“Recently, Serbia the Fifth announced a plan to brainwash all Godorans to eliminate discrimination for hybrids. Did your DarkStar convince him and make him betray us?”

The prison guard outside the door suddenly spoke with a sarcastic tone. He then closed the feeding window and left.

In the dark, the DarkStar leader suddenly opened his eyes. His numb eyes were filled with shock. He was absolutely confused.

Brainwashing the entire civilization?

What the hell? Could it be that we have the same belief but you’re much smarter than me?

You should be the one leading DarkStar!

Chapter 711: Discrimination Transformation Movement

Planet Gautin was the first testing area of the Discrimination Transformation plan. Be it pureblood or hybrid, all Godorans paid attention to Gautin, wanting to know how exactly Serbia the Fifth would do it.

A Purple Crystal flagship arrived at Planet Gautin and used some kind of device to send an invisible Psychic Current across the entire planet. Serbia the Fifth said that this was a secret device built with Star Cluster Grade technology that could change the thinking of Godorans over a large area. He once again promised the civilians that this device was very reliable. Actually, this was just a bluff that he had discussed with Purple Crystal to prove that this plan had Purple Crystal’s approval so that the civilians would not be as flustered.

The key person to carry out the transformation, however, was Rossellin. She displayed her ability to the fullest for the first time in front of Han Xiao. The large area Psychic Current that the Purple Crystal flagship was sending to Gautin was actually Rossellin’s Esper ability, enhanced by a device specifically designed to strengthen Psychic abilities. This made the range of her Esper ability increase many times over.

Psychics also had the ability to hypnotize and brainwash, but the accuracy and range were not as high as Rossellin’s Esper ability, (Contagious Ideology). Her Esper ability was a very gentle brainwash, completed subtly; it would not affect the personality of the target and would only give the target new ways of looking at things. This could even be explained as Rossellin showing the target a new angle of looking at the world. This Esper ability was very suitable for spreading religion and building beliefs.

The transformation lasted two days. The stay-at-homes of Gautin were initially trepidatious, but as time passed, they realized that their thinking did not change at all. They got confused and wondered if it was ineffective.

Two days later, the Purple Crystal flagship left. All the Godorans were focusing on the effect of the test, and Planet Gautin was all over the internet. Everyone was discussing it.

“Are there any Gautin residents? Come out and tell us how you feel.”

“I don’t feel any changes. Am I the only one?”

“No, I’m on Gautin too, didn’t feel any changes.”

“Did it fail?”

“Er, not sure if you guys feel the same way, but at first I thought it had no effects, but just now, I went to chat with a hybrid friend. Originally, I was a tiny bit repulsed by him, but when I saw him just now, I felt totally peaceful and calm. I even felt he looked somewhat handsome… ahem, this is anonymous. I don’t want him to know.”

“For me, it’s not exactly the same. I have a hybrid friend too. Originally, I thought he looked quite ugly, but when I had a with him earlier, although I still felt he looked ugly, that occasional disgust had disappeared.”

The people of Godora started to figure out what change the Godora residents underwent. Those that were transformed retained their own personality and even knew what changes they had gone through.

This result made the Godorans much less worried-at least their minds were not forcefully twisted.

Serbia the Fifth had been paying attention to the public reaction. He saw the effects of the test and decided to host another press conference, emphasizing on the fact that the ‘Discrimination Transformation’ plan was harmless.

At the same time, the government also secretly guided the public opinion and tried to make the people feel that accepting the hybrids was a policy that would never change. This would lead them to think that since the overall trend could not be changed, maybe changing themselves might be a good idea, it would make society a better place too.

The success of the test and the manipulation of public opinion did indeed make some civilians feel less alarmed. Some people even acknowledged the idea that accepting the transformation to not feel disgusted by these hybrids would make their daily life more peaceful and harmonious.

With the first success, Serbia the Fifth grew more confident. After observing for quite a long time and making sure that the Gautin residents certainly did not suffer any side effects, he finally stopped worrying and fully carried out the plan. The colonial planets of Godora would be accepting the transformation one after another.

Godorans called this incident the Discrimination Transformation Movement.

The pureblood Diehards had power and force. Even though the Discrimination Transformation had no side effects, they were still unwilling to accept. Hence, using their power, they started to create obstructions to Serbia the Fifth.

When the relationship network of these upper-class people started to operate, even the government operations were affected. The Diehards stirred up public opinion to smear Serbia the Fifth, saying that he was even more insane than DarkStar and that he was leading Godora to its grave, becoming a slave of a higher civilization.

Many people were convinced by these claims and became furious, claiming that the government not even asking for their opinion to change their minds was an act of not treating them as proper citizens. Serbia the Fifth’s reputation on the internet plummeted. Some even called him ‘the second generation DarkStar leader’.

However, not only was Serbia the Fifth not enraged, he was happy about it instead. This was an opportunity for him to step up and explain to the people more clearly; whether the people would believe him or not did not matter.

Of course, some conspiracists completely ignored the explanations and created even more trouble. Serbia the Fifth did not hold back against them; he sent his men to kindly invite these people to a friendly tea session so that they would stay quiet.

He did not care about those smearing accusations. In his eyes, that was just short-term damage. As soon as the plan was completed, the entire society would naturally think very highly of him, and he would become the wisest leader of Godora since the start of history.

The upper class saw that swaying public opinion was useless, so they started to secretly fund the government officials with a lot of power, hoping to impeach Serbia the Fifth and change the leader.

Sadly, ever since Godora entered the Interstellar Era, they had taken back the tons of privileges for the royalties. Furthermore, Godora was hereditary, not democratic, and Serbia the Fifth had Purple Crystal’s support. His position was extremely firm. Therefore, Serbia the Fifth sneered at the actions of the upper-class people.

Come on, you guys are so weak.

Serbia the Fifth did not want to waste time dealing with these people, so he directly invited many Diehards in the upper class and made a very firm stand. “If you people continue to cause trouble, you will have to pay the government back for all the benefits it has given you, doubled.”

The upper-class people folded. Seeing that all their plans came to nothing, they realized that they could not stop this from happening. Hence, they changed the focus of their objection into claiming that since the purebloods had to accept transformation, the hybrids had to too.

The hybrids had been oppressed for a long time; their hatred had been building up. Through research and studies, some rebellious hybrids were unhappy with the Discrimination Transformation Movement. They felt that after the purebloods discriminated against them for so many years and caused so many tragedies, wanting the hybrids to immediately forget about all that as soon as the discrimination was gone was too easy for the purebloods.

Serbia the Fifth did not ignore this. The hybrids had to accept the transformation equally.

The Godora Discrimination Transformation Movement caused a sensation in the galaxy. A tiny Star System civilization successfully occupied the head news for this period. Even the other Star Cluster civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring were paying attention out of curiosity.

A government brainwashing all their people was such a rare occurrence.

Countless galactic reporters swarmed over, so Serbia the Fifth decided to host a press conference and answered the questions of those reporters.

One day later, those renowned news outlets published their own reports. Among them, one report became extremely famous and received approval from the highest number of people.

In that report, Serbia the Fifth received a very positive description. He was praised over the top. The reporter felt that the Discrimination Transformation Movement was an extremely strong and effective medicine that was perfect for the bloodline conflict illness. Only a bold and confident leader like Serbia the Fifth would dare to execute this plan that looked completely insane. Although it had met a lot of obstructions, it was actually beneficial for the civilization’s future.

In the report, Serbia the Fifth was described as a wise, visionary, and bold leader.

The report also included interviews with many Godoran hybrids who were roaming outside the Godoran Civilization. Quite a number expressed their intention to go back to Godora. The reporter called this ‘a sign of Godora’s complete unification’. The goal that DarkStar had failed to achieve was now achieved by Serbia the Fifth of all people and achieved in a much better way.

Purple Crystal was seen as being passionate and responsible for willingly solving the internal conflict of a civilization under their ruling. Their credibility thus increased. This was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. It indirectly increased Purple Crystal’s area support from the three border Star Systems.

The report also mentioned Han Xiao, saying that Han Xiao capturing the DarkStar leader some time ago was the root of everything that came after. It made Godora and Purple Crystal closer and indirectly caused the Discrimination Transformation Movement.

Although those outsiders did not know that it was Han Xiao who planned the Discrimination Transformation Movement behind the curtains, this report did not forget about him and believed that Black Star’s contribution to this incident was just as important. Because of that, his reputation in the galaxy became more positive as well.

Han Xiao saw this report too and was quite happy about it as well.

In his previous life, no player had ever completed the [Bloodline) mission, and Godora’s bloodline conflicts had carried on. Although another Star System level terrorist organization like DarkStar never appeared again, the ever-growing internal conflict caused the hybrids to have fewer and fewer opportunities to rise higher in society. They were all lower-class citizens. This caused many talented hybrids to never be discovered and fueled the birth of many rebel organizations. Godora suffered continuously.

If not for the mission, Han Xiao would not have cared about Godora’s internal conflicts. His initial motive was just to do the mission and get the reward, but it seemed that the results generated by that were unexpectedly positive.

The Godoran government now completed what their arch-enemy had wanted to achieve. Han Xiao suddenly felt interested to see how the DarkStar leader would react to this.

Rainbow Prison was an independent galactic fortress floating in the universe. Its security was very tight.

Han Xiao had access to almost everywhere in Godora now; he could even enter Serbia the Fifth’s bedroom if he wanted, not to mention a mere prison. He requested to visit Rainbow Prison, and Godora agreed without hesitation.

The Blacklight Stealth arrived at Rainbow Prison and stopped at the dock. The warden came to welcome Han Xiao.

“It’s my honor to meet you, hero of the Golden Gal Badge, ally of Godora, Your Excellency Black Star.”

The warden was very respectful.

“I want to visit the DarkStar members inside Rainbow Prison and talk to the DarkStar leader. Thanks, warden.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Please follow me.”

The warden led the way ahead, and Han Xiao followed him into Rainbow Prison.

He passed by one cell after another, in them were all DarkStar members. Han Xiao even saw the former DarkStar officer Degulish. This guy had electromagnetic cuffs all over his body, and his face was numb and lifeless. Han Xiao knew from one look that his life here was blissful.

Finally, Han Xiao arrived at the cell with the tightest security. The DarkStar leader was right inside.

The warden opened the cell door personally and invited Han Xiao to go in, while he wisely waited outside to give the two of them space for a private conversation.

Han Xiao walked into the cell, and the door closed behind him. The room was completely dark. He summoned a Floating Guard, which acted as a light source and lit up the room.

The DarkStar leader sat in the corner. Surprisingly, he was not listless and hopeless anymore. He stared at Han Xiao with a complicated emotion in his eyes.

“It’s you.”

“Yes, it’s me; yes, I’ve come; yes, I’m here to talk to you… I’ve answered your next three questions. Now, can we talk about something else?” Han Xiao rolled his eyes.

The DarkStar leader’s words were stuck in his throat. Why do you like to stop others from talking so much?

This time, the DarkStar leader suddenly realized that he and Black Star had been enemies for so long, but this was their first proper conversation. He could not help but feel that things had changed so much.

Although it was said that the person who knows you best is your enemy, DarkStar realized that he knew almost nothing about DarkStar. He had no idea what kind of person the man that destroyed DarkStar almost all by himself was.

Chapter 712: DarkStar’s End, the Leader’s Sacrifice

Han Xiao was surprised as he sized up the DarkStar leader. “You look quite well.”

“I’ve heard that the Godora government is using controversial methods to solve the bloodline conflict… and they’re doing much better than I did.” The DarkStar leader’s tone was complicated.

“From a war prisoner’s perspective, you know rather a lot of what’s happening out there,” Han Xiao joked.

The DarkStar leader shook his head. “Did you know, I’m going to be executed soon?”.

“Hmm? Isn’t your punishment indefinite imprisonment?”

“It changed, probably because of the Crimson Dynasty’s request.” The DarkStar leader sighed.

Han Xiao slightly nodded.

The Crimson Dynasty wanted to suppress Klent’s crimes as soon as possible. Thus, they wanted to kill this important witness. Since the political deal was completed, the DarkStar leader no longer had any value. Purple Crystal and Godora did not reject the Crimson Dynasty’s request. Although the DarkStar leader was a Calamity Grade Super that had some research value, on the political gambling table between civilizations, he was just a slightly bigger chip.

What made Han Xiao curious was, despite knowing that he would be executed soon, the DarkStar leader looked very calm.

“You don’t hate me?” Han Xiao was curious.

“A few days ago, I did, but not now.” The DarkStar leader had a complicated look in his eyes. “I was once lost. I made a deal with Klent. If I did some dirty work for them, they promised to build a home for the Godoran hybrids in the Flickering World in the future.

“When I was captured by you, I thought everything was over, but I never expected that… when I was in the deepest despair, I would see real change.

“I’ve been thinking these few days. DarkStar’s existence made Godora realize the dangers of the bloodline conflict. Now that I’ve been captured, their last obstacle has gone. In order to avoid another me appearing, Godora finally decided to completely solve the bloodline conflicts. Although the method is different from mine, the Godoran government is doing it much better than I did…

“Maybe you don’t believe it, but everything I’ve done was to change the situation that the hybrids were in. However, my identity only allowed me to use extreme methods. The future I have been dreaming of is like a blurry shadow, far and unreachable no matter what I do. You’re the one that made me see that it turns out my belief wasn’t unachievable. Only, I had to pay the price… that is my life.

“I don’t hate you. If I wasn’t captured by you, the Discrimination Transformation Movement wouldn’t have happened. To use my life to build a foundation for my dream, I have no regrets. You’ve given meaning to my death.”

The DarkStar leader’s tone had a sense of relief, and he even smiled faintly.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and was unaffected. He slowly said, “Don’t make yourself sound so noble. You’re still a terrorist who’s killed countless people.”

Han Xiao would not pity a villain just because he confessed before his death. If the DarkStar leader had not been captured, he might not have been willing to give up his life even if he knew that it would change the hybrids’ situation.

“I know.” The DarkStar looked down.

Han Xiao touched his chin and smiled. He had a wicked idea. “However, your guess is wrong. You’re not the reason that Godora made up its mind to solve the bloodline conflict. You’re not as important as you think you are.”

“Then why…” The DarkStar leader was confused.

“To be honest, I’m the one that convinced Serbia the Fifth to carry out the Discrimination Transformation Movement.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

The DarkStar leader’s eyes opened wide. He could no longer stay calm and stood right up with shock.

He did not think that Han Xiao would come all the way to bluff before someone that was about to die.

“Why are you helping me?” The DarkStar leader’s lips were shaking.

Han Xiao tutted and said, “Help you? Are we close? Don’t be sentimental. I have my reasons, but they have nothing to do with you.”

The DarkStar leader stayed silent. The person who had captured him was Han Xiao, and the person that had completed his dream and belief was Han Xiao. His emotions were complicated and tangled up.

In the end, all the confusion and emotions became two sincere words of gratitude.

“Thank you.”

Han Xiao was a little surprised. He nodded and did not say anything.

He felt that there was nothing more to talk about, so he turned around and was about to leave the cell.

This time, the DarkStar leader suddenly spoke again.

“Please wait! I have one last request, my only request.”

Han Xiao turned around and asked, “What else do you want to say?”

“You’ve risen in just ten years,” the DarkStar leader said slowly. “I’ve studied all your battles in the past, and I believe you have the blood of the fighter race that can absorb a part of the enemy’s abilities by killing them. This is why your strength has been growing so fast.”

“So?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

This was no secret, nor did he plan to hide it, so it would definitely be discovered, except no one would know that it was because of the player interface and would only think he was talented.

The DarkStar leader took a deep breath.

“Rather than being executed by Godora, I’d prefer to die in your hands. You have more rights to judge me than them. Plus… this is the only way I can pay you back,” the DarkStar leader said with a relieved tone.

Han Xiao was shocked, and a notification suddenly popped up on the interface.

You have triggered a unique hidden mission [The DarkStar Leader’s Last Wish)!

Mission Introduction: You have destroyed DarkStar, but you also completed DarkStar’s belief. The DarkStar leader hopes to die by your hand and give you his abilities.

Mission Requirement: Kill the DarkStar leader.

Reward: 150,000,000 Experience, 1 Random Reward, 2 abilities/talents of the DarkStar leader.

A hidden mission…

Han Xiao’s eyes flickered. The mission to defeat the Germinal Organization leader also rewarded him with two abilities or talents, which he received a Molding Talent from and started his path of being a boss.

The DarkStar leader was also the boss of a major main storyline. This unique mission was a surprise of this visit and made him rather delighted.

Han Xiao took a long look at the DarkStar leader before raising his right hand. More than ten Mechanical Force lightning chains launched from his palm into the void and connected to the storage of the Blacklight Stealth at the dock, apostilizing the dozen powerful mechanical soldiers.

Energy flowed into Han Xiao’s body continuously through the Mechanical Force, and his own Energy Rank grew rapidly. Psionic energy appeared in his hand like a bubble, highly compressed and giving off horrifying energy.

“I accept,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice.

The DarkStar leader exhaled and dissipated the tiny bit of energy in his body. Then, he slowly closed his eyes.

Outside the cell, the warden was walking back and forth, waiting for Han Xiao to come out.

At this time, a loud and violent explosion suddenly came from within the cell, the entire prison seemed to tremble!

Boom!

The warden was the closest to it, and he was almost deafened. His expression drastically changed, and he hastily yelled, “Your Excellency Black Star, what happened…”

While he called for Han Xiao, he opened the cell door. The moment the door opened, he saw what had happened inside, and his yell immediately stopped.

Broken limbs and pieces of flesh splattered all over the floor and the walls, like someone had exploded from within. Han Xiao had a psionic energy shield in front of him, so the splashed flesh and blood did not land on his body. A head was rolling on the floor. The warden looked at it, and it belonged to the DarkStar leader.

“Yo-You…” The warden was dumbfounded.

“He begged me to kill him. You guys were going to execute him anyway, so I might as well help you with it.”

Han Xiao deactivated the shield, glanced at the warden, and left the cell, leaving the warden to stand there stunned.

The DarkStar leader was an important prisoner, so the warden did not know what to do as he looked at the gory cell. He let his deputy host Han Xiao in his place while he endured the discomfort and hastily reported this to his superiors.

The warden thought that he was going to get into big trouble, but when the superiors heard that Han Xiao was the one that did it, they had no intention of holding anyone responsible.

With Han Xiao’s position in Godora now, killing a death row prisoner was not a problem at all. Furthermore, the DarkStar leader had been captured by Han Xiao in the first place, so Godora was not so pedantic as to hurt their relationship with Han Xiao for such a small matter.

It could be said that Han Xiao could almost do anything he wanted in Godora.

While being shocked by Han Xiao’s influence, the warden hastily hurried back to the dock, worried that he might have made Han Xiao unhappy earlier. He barely made it and waved Han Xiao off.

Han Xiao activated autopilot before going to the training room. He opened the interface to look at the mission and receive the reward.

You have completed [The DarkStar Leader’s Last Wish)!

You have received 150,000,000 Experience!

You have received 1 Random Reward.

Han Xiao nodded. His level was too high. Although 150 million was not little, it was not a lot.

As usual, he did not use the Random Reward, which he now had three of. He was extremely confident with his own luck, so he decided to stock up and do a consecutive draw after completing (Bloodline). The Mission Completion Card was not a rare reward, so he probably would not need to touch Feidin to obtain it.

The final reward was the highlight.

You have received reward: Two abilities/talents of the DarkStar leader.

Reminder: The DarkStar leader is a Mage, so some of the abilities have been adjusted to your class.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select two from the five options below as the reward:

(Advanced Elemental Affinity) – Talent: +80% Energy recovery speed.

(Trained Mind) – Talent: Your mind has been to a hundred secret places in secondary dimensions. +20 Psychological Resistance, +10% MYS, +5% INT.

[Mysterious Vision) – Ability: +25% MYS. Duration: 10 minutes. Cooldown: 25 minutes. Cost: 450 Energy.

[Painful Revenge] – Ability: You can stimulate your cell potential through pain and gain strength exceeding your limits. For every 3% of health you lose, you can deal melee attack damage equal to 1.5% of your health. Cost: 300 Energy.

(Luck Curse] – Ability: Using your luck as a sacrifice, you pray for the blessing of the God of Misfortune. -90% LUK, -90% LUK of the target. Duration: 3 hours. No cost. Before the curse ends, this ability cannot be used again.

These abilities are not too bad… Han Xiao nodded.

The spells of Mages were powered by magic energy, which was not compatible with Mechanics, so most of the spells were not in the range of the randomization. Only a small portion of the abilities could be adjusted to become compatible. This way, the low-level spells of the DarkStar leader were all eliminated, and the chance of getting good abilities was higher.

The DarkStar leader was a boss-type character who had Molding Talents as well, but they would not appear as one of the options every single time. Han Xiao was not disappointed. He only glanced at the options shortly before he made his choice.

Chapter 713: Grade’s Mission Reward!

[Mysterious Vision) was useless, and [Advanced Elemental Affinity) was not very useful either. Recovering mana through the health-mana cycle was much more efficient. Plus, Han Xiao would not be short of mana because of Apostilization.

(Trained Mind) was not too bad, but its percentage increase was too little. In terms of Psychological Resistance, he had (Advanced Mental Toughness). In terms of Intelligence, he also had (Research Theory) and (Battlefield Wisdom).

Other than that, he had [One Against the World) and others. Although (Trained Mind] was not too bad, its bonus was nothing notable. In comparison, Han Xiao felt that the last two abilities were more interesting.

[Painful Revenge) was suitable given how tanky he was. It would give him the ability to basically reflect half of the damage to the enemy. It did not look a lot, but it would be quite considerable because of his recovery speed.

He had about 200,000 health points. For example, if the damage dealt to him had accumulated up to 300%, [Painful Revenge] would be triggered a hundred times, dealing about 300,000 damage, which would be quite a lot. Furthermore, his health points would increase as he leveled up, which meant that this ability had room to grow.

Han Xiao felt that this ability should be the result of adjusting Chain of Pain. Although it had its limitations due to the fact that it could only be triggered at close range, it would be very useful against those who tried to get close to him. After all, ‘focus fire on myself’ was rather risky.

Among Calamity Grade Supers, Han Xiao was now at the very top, so he had to prepare for the eventuality of facing a Beyond Grade A Super. By then, he would definitely get beaten up quite badly, so reflecting the damage would be very useful.

Furthermore, his close-range combat capability increased as he obtained the ability to Apostilize his machinery. Close range combat once again became one of his regular combat modes, so [Painful Revenge) would definitely be triggered.

Han Xiao had always wanted to let go of the ‘Getting Beaten Style’, but to his resignation, he realized that he could not escape the fate of being a tank and getting beaten up was still one of the most effective styles.

Another thing that surprised him was (Luck Curse), which he felt was the most valuable of all the rewards given in this mission.

This ability was double-edged, since both his Luck and the target’s Luck would reduce by ninety percent. However, with how ‘many’ Luck points he had, whether it was reduced or not would not make a difference since it would not go below zero.

Han Xiao did not believe that anyone would have lower Luck than him!

He was extremely confident in this.

Han Xiao had made up his mind the minute he saw (Luck Curse). It was basically an ability to greatly reduce the target’s Luck without any side effects.

It was a perfect fit for him!

With a faint smile on his face, Han Xiao confirmed the options.

You have received (Painful Revenge]!

You have received (Luck Curse)!

Han Xiao closed his eyes to feel the new abilities for a while. Then he opened his eyes and took a deep breath with content.

The DarkStar leader gave me two decent abilities. It’s indeed true that honest, loyal, and pure men like me get rewarded.

Han Xiao rubbed his hands and chuckled without any shame.

After accumulating over a very long time, he had created a very strong combat ability that could defeat just about any Calamity Grade Super. However, he did not become overconfident at all; he knew more than anyone how powerful and strong Beyond Grade As were. Normal people would never be able to reach Beyond Grade A. Every single one of them was a boss among bosses. They all had plenty of Molding Talents and bug-like abilities.

His style was far from being the most powerful among Beyond Grade As. For example, EsGod was almost almighty; Thousand Shadows’ abilities were extremely mysterious; Ames’ Force Field was great for both attack and defense; the Tyrant’s body could penetrate Fixed Stars; plus, there was the famous Mechanic Empire. The biggest specialty of his current combat style was just being tanky and difficult to kill. It needed further development.

Now, I just have to wait till (Bloodline) is complete. Then, I will try to stock up on Mission Completion Cards. Seven years is plenty… As long as I complete the level 200 Promotion, I will be able to spend all the Experience I’ve accumulated through Version 2.0 and turn it all into actual strength and combat capability…

“Yesterday, under the monitoring of the Purple Crystal Civilization, Godora’s Discrimination Transformation Movement was successfully completed. Serbia the Fifth has made a speech. He thinks that be it pureblood or hybrid, everyone should support Godora as a whole and should not be divided due to their blood. From now on, they shall put aside their differences, fight and work for the Godoran Civilization as one.

“Serbia The Fifth once met many obstacles during the process, and he became hated by many. Fortunately, after this process was completed, his achievement was finally recognized, and his support rate jumped up to 91.67%. The Purple Crystal Civilization thinks that in the long history of Godora, Serbia the Fifth is undoubtedly one of the wisest and bold leaders… Okay, that will be all for the Garton Star System News today. See you on the…”

Beep.

Serbia the Fifth turned off the virtual screen and looked at Han Xiao and Rossellin on the opposite of the guest table with a delighted expression.

“The plan is finally over. From the bottom of my heart, I thank the two of you for your help.”

Rossellin gave a reserved smile before picking up the cup on the table and taking a sip of the specialty Godoran drink, displaying a nonchalant posture. Han Xiao watched from beside and almost wanted to give her a thumbs up-what a professional in being pretentious.

It seemed that every wrinkle on Serbia the Fifth’s face was laughing. He was overjoyed. Having solved the illness that had plagued Godora for countless years, he could predict that he would definitely be written in the history and textbooks as Godora’s hero—this could be said to be the biggest achievement.

After all, as the saying went, ‘a great man who isn’t written in textbooks isn’t really a great man!’

This opportunity was gifted to him by Black Star, who was sitting in front of him, so Serbia the Fifth was full of gratitude.

“In terms of reward,” Serbia the Fifth said, “we shall follow the promise we made in the first place. First, a large amount of money and resources; second, opening more resource purchasing channels; third, more resource planet harvesting rights, and we will be providing the devices and manpower; fourth, the borrowing right to the military factory to mass produce spaceships for the Black Star Army; fifth, the right to deploy our technical personals to cultivate professional talents for you; last but not least, political support.”

Han Xiao listened carefully with a straight face. Those were all pre-discussed terms.

As for supplies and money, he did not care that much since he had so many resource planets now. The rights to borrow Godora’s military factory and deploy their technical personnel were not bad.

The production rate of a Star System civilization was not to be underestimated; borrowing their hundreds of huge military factories across the Star System would increase the efficiency of building spaceships tremendously. Deploying technical personnel to cultivate specialized research and development talents for the Black Star Army was also beneficial in the long run.

However, compared to these rewards, the most important thing to Han Xiao was still the (Bloodline) mission that had never been completed in the previous life. This was also the first Grade S mission that he had completed!

The (Bloodline) mission on the interface was already shown as ‘Completed’, but Han Xiao stayed patient and did not immediately look at it. Instead, he chatted with Serbia the Fifth for a while before taking his leave with Rossellin.

After the two of them left, Serbia the Fifth stood up and looked at the bright sky outside from the window, thinking of the bright future ahead.

At the same time, Rudy felt the same as Serbia The Fifth, full of anticipation of the future.

The changes in his life were very noticeable and obvious. After the Discrimination Transformation Movement, he realized that when he walked on the streets, the looks of discrimination and alienation all disappeared. His colleagues became friendly; his wife’s family became passionate and not cold anymore; his boss gave him important matters to take care of and seemed to have plans to give him bigger responsibilities.

His children were no longer quiet and alone in school and made many new friends.

Everything was becoming better.

His passion for life was reignited.

“Thank you, Serbia the Fifth. Thank you, Purple Crystal. Thank you, Black Star for capturing the DarkStar leader…”

Rudy was filled with gratitude.

…

Han Xiao took Rossellin to the spaceship and headed back.

After entering hyperdrive mode, just as Han Xiao was about to look at the reward, Rossellin stopped him and asked with a curious expression, “Black Star, do you really think that my brainwashing can completely change Godora’s bloodline discrimination and that it will not bounce back in the future?”

“How would I know? It won’t have anything to do with me even if it does.”

“Yet you still trust me so much?” Rossellin tutted. “Even I don’t know if this plan will work, but I feel like you’re more confident than me despite not knowing the details of my Esper ability.”

“I can see the future. If I say you can do it, you can do it.” Han Xiao was in a hurry to complete the mission and receive the reward, so he was in no mood to chat with Rossellin. He gave her this ever-applicable excuse and hastily walked into the training room, leaving Rossellin standing there pondering.

After closing the training room door, Han Xiao quickly opened the interface and looked at the notification of the mission.

[Bloodline] Completed!

Mission Rating: B (Good)

You have received 1,250,000,000 Experience, 3 Random Rewards, +30,000 Godora Contribution Points, 10 Eternal Dungeon Crystals for (Godora’s History).

You have received 1 Political Asset.

Wow, 1.25 billion Experience! That’s more than seven times what I got from the DarkStar leader’s last mission and almost at the reward standard of Version 5.0.

Han Xiao was surprised. This amount of Experience was not little even to him, and it even gave him three Random Rewards, which was equivalent to completing three Grade A missions with a high Mission Rating and exactly what he needed at the moment to get a Mission Completion Card.

Grade S missions all had very few clues, and their rewards were unknown before completion. Even Han Xiao had just found out about the reward of this mission. Maybe because he completed the mission using a controversial method, the Mission Rating was only Good. After all, brainwashing was not the most stable way to solve the problem. However, Han Xiao had no idea how to complete this mission the usual way, so being able to complete it was already a great surprise.

30,000 Godora Contribution Points would allow players to exchange many good equipment, but to him, it was not all that useful. Nonetheless, it was better than nothing

Ten Eternal Dungeon Crystals were great. ‘Eternal’ meant that they could be used repeatedly for a limited number of times every day. The dungeon (Godora’s History]’s level requirement was level sixty to one hundred and eighty, which was a very broad range. This meant that this was an enormous dungeon, and its rewards would definitely be very rich.

Han Xiao would have no use for it, but those player guilds would definitely spend huge sums to buy these Eternal Dungeon Crystals. This would basically give a guild a huge dungeon that they could enter every single day, providing their pro players continuous tests, allowing them to level up quicker and gain more resources.

Although the Dungeon Creation Right on the NPC interface could continuously create dungeons, it was not able to make any Eternal Dungeon Crystals. Furthermore, guilds would definitely want to obtain a stable way of entering dungeons for themselves. Rich people loved to buy assurance with money.

Han Xiao was more interested in the players’ Experience, not money, so selling them or not did not really matter. However, using these Eternal Dungeon Crystals as high level items in the faction store would be useful in attracting players.

Han Xiao looked at the last reward-one Political Asset.

(Political Asset (1): Godoran Civilization]

You are loved by the Godorans. When trading with Godorans, you can buy at lower prices and sell at higher prices.

Godora is willing to listen to your requests. You can make suggestions to the Godoran government directly. According to the rationality of the request, there’s a slight chance the Godoran Civilization will fulfill your request.

This is a symbol of political influence. Your achievements are praised in the galaxy. When interacting with certain organizations or characters, +30% Favorability gain rate.

You have valuable experience. +30% Experience gained from all sources.

Remarks: Relationship with Godora has to be at (Reverence) for the above effects to be active.

It really is this thing. I thought I was mistaken. Han Xiao was overjoyed.

Political Assets and Legendary Points had the same characteristics, but Political Assets were rarer than Legendary Points. In his previous life, he had only seen it in other people’s screenshots.

He looked at the NPC interface. All of his Reward Quotas increased by sixty percent!

The effect of a Political Asset was much better than a Legendary Point!

In his previous life, Han Xiao had completed Grade S missions too, but they were either large scale missions that many were involved in or challenge missions that consisted of fighting and killing. This was his first time completing such a complicated Grade S mission like (Bloodline].

Political Assets had a lot of benefits. To Han Xiao, he felt that the most important effects were the thirty percent increase in Favorability gain rate and Experience gain. As long as he met the requirements, he would enjoy those bonuses forever.

These two effects were applicable to the players as well. Obtaining Political Assets was extremely important. It required a lot of work and time, so these two effects were somewhat making up for that. Furthermore, the long-term rewards were higher than the expenses.

If a player had one Political Asset, it meant that for the same time they spent on missions, they would gain more Experience than everyone else. Their level would always be ahead, and they would have more excess Experience to learn and level up abilities. As this continued, the difference between them and the other players would keep growing larger.

In his previous life, Han Xiao had witnessed many guilds trying everything they could to obtain Political Assets for their players.

Experience isn’t Enas and has no physical form, so it can’t be traded between players. This says that the bonus applies to Experience gained from all sources. Does this mean that the Experience I reap from the players will also increase by thirty percent?

Han Xiao was looking forward to finding out. Experience only existed in the interface. Since there were cash items such as Double Experience Cards and so on, him getting thirty percent bonus Experience was not impossible.

If that was indeed the case, the efficiency in him reaping leeks would see an explosive increase!

Chapter 714: Dried Experience

Closing the mission reward notification, Han Xiao looked at his stocked up Random Rewards. Including the [Bloodline) reward, he had six of them.

“Six should be plenty. I’ll give it a try.” Han Xiao pondered for a moment and decided to use the Random Rewards.

Luck affected the chances of getting all kinds of good rewards, but a Mission Completion Card was a rather low-value reward, so Han Xiao did not want to use the Random Reward after touching Feidin. He would have a higher chance of getting a Mission Completion Card with his own Luck.

Randomizing… complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: [Item]

Please select one from the three options below:

1. Double Experience Card (2)
2. Blank Character Summon Card (1)
3. Large Experience Crystal (3)

Being used to not getting what he wanted on the first draw, with a calm expression, Han Xiao looked at them and chose the Blank Character Summon Card to be used the next time he saw Ames.

Randomizing… complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: [Item]

Please select one from the three options below:

1. Energy Enhancement Aura (Cosmetic)
2. Random Dungeon Crystal (1)
3. Gene Awakening Elixir (Normal)

Han Xiao tutted. Two consecutive item type rewards but no Mission Completion Card; this was not looking too good.

These rewards are not good at all… Han Xiao touched his chin in resignation. As expected, touching Feidin or not really made a huge difference.

Luck Glow is so strong. I want it so badly.

Seeing that nothing was good, Han Xiao chose the ‘Energy Enhancement Aura’, a cheap aura type cosmetic. Its effect was to increase the appearance of energy attacks, making the beams look thicker and larger. It had no actual effects other than making the attacks look more intimidating and cooler.

Randomizing… complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: (Talent]

Please select one from the three options below:

1. (Golden Ratio Body]: +3% STR, +3% DEX, +3% END, +75 CHA

2. (Electrical Eyes): +25 CHA, +5 LUK

3: (Sado-Masochism]: +120 MYS, -50 CHA

“What the hell are these?” Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.

One of the good things about being unlucky was that he would always see weird stuff.

The second and the third choices were useless, so Han Xiao chose the (Golden Ratio Body), which was better than nothing. Han Xiao took a deep breath and started to draw the fourth Random Reward.

Randomizing… complete.

Your Random Reward Type is: (Item]

Please select one from the three options below:

1. Mission Completion Card (1)

2. Small Experience Crystal (13)

3. Race Evolution Options Reshuffle Card Fragment (2)

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. After drawing four Random Rewards, he finally got a Mission Completion Card!

After selecting the Mission Completion Han Xiao stayed patient and used the remaining two Random Rewards, which gave him 2,000,000 Experience and a common ability, [Breaking Skull], which gave +40% critical chance when attacking the enemy’s head with an eight-second cooldown.

One Mission Completion Card out of six draws, not too bad. At least it solved the imminent issue.

Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. One was enough to complete the Promotion mission. After he completed the Promotion, his Experience would be spent up, so he would be in no hurry. He would have seven years to slowly collect more Mission Completion Cards.

Han Xiao immediately used this new Mission Completion Card.

You have used (Mission Completion Card)!

(Self Challenge) completed!

Level 200 Promotion Mission completed! Promotion successful! END Bonus increased! 1 END = 145 Health = 155 Stamina.

Han Xiao’s heart trembled as if burning lava poured out from within and flowed through his entire body. He inhaled deeply and felt as if his body was melting; his cells were evolving.

The pain lasted for quite a while before disappearing. Han Xiao was gasping for air and covered in sweat, but he was very energetic as if he had just finished a physical training.

The level limit was removed. Han Xiao took a deep breath and spent all the Experience on leveling up. His level increased from level 200 to level 207.

[Apostle Mechanic) leveled up to level 12.

+240 Energy, +3 STR, +4 DEX, +5 END, +10 INT.

You have received 8 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

He finally spent all his Experience!

Experience in his interface was just a number; it would only become valuable when he turned it into his own combat capability. The Experience that he had obtained through Version 2.0 was almost all gone. Han Xiao felt the energy in his body-he was now at his
peak.

I’ve finally spent all the Experience… Han Xiao looked at the notification and realized that his Grade Bonus had changed as well.

When achieving the Grade A standard of 10,000 Energy Rank, one would receive the Grade A bonuses. For every 10,000 Ona after that, the bonus would increase.

The original effect was: +10 END, +8 All Resistances. +10% Highest Attribute, +5% Other Attributes, +30 Free Attribute Points, and +5 Potential Points.

After the Grade Bonus upgraded, it became: +15 END, +12 All Resistances. +15% Highest Attribute, +8% Other Attributes, +80 Free Attribute Points, and +10 Potential Points.

Han Xiao spent more than half of the Free Attribute Points in Intelligence and then put forty into Endurance. Endurance was now very beneficial to him. He had spent all the Free Attribute Points in the early stages on Intelligence, so he could slow down for a while.

Furthermore, after his battle with EsGod, he was quite cautious about the attack of a Beyond Grade A, so more Endurance would definitely only do him good.

He then looked at his current attributes.

Level: 207

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Void Distorter (Human Form)

Attributes: 504 STR, 946 DEX, 1040 END, 2859 INT, 432 MYS, 214 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Points: 24

Health: 251,780

Stamina: 209,320

Energy: 28,410 [Lv.12]

[Lv.12 Energy bonus attributes: +169 STR, +239 DEX, +269 END, +336 INT, +206 MYS, +32,520 Maximum Stamina, +352% Machinery Affinity (Super Electromagnetic Sense)]

Energy Rank: 24,668

Grade: A+

Grade A Bonuses: +15 END, +12 All Resistances. +15% Highest Attribute, +8% Other Attributes, +80 Free Attribute Points, +10 Potential Points

Remark: As a Mechanic, you’re among the top. As a tank, you’re world-class. Are you really not considering becoming a tank?

Tsk, Machinery is the best, Han Xiao snorted internally.

In order to complete his Class Advancement, he had spent three whole years, but between his Class Advancement and Promotion, he did not take very long. This was all thanks to his accumulation earlier on.

This Promotion was not Race Evolution, so he did not undergo a tremendous change. Nonetheless, his health points grew very quickly. Compared to before the Promotion, they was had increased by twenty-five percent

Han Xiao could not imagine how tanky the Tyrant would be. Other than having extremely high defense, he would probably have millions of health points.

Level 207, one more step closer to Beyond Grade A. I’ve spent all the accumulated Experience. With the Experience standard of Version 2.0, I may be able to level up four to five more times. I can only wait until the players return in order to quickly level up. Now I just have to stock up on more Mission Completion Cards.

As the (Bloodline) mission ended, Han Xiao went back to the headquarters and rested for a few days. Since his holiday had yet to end, he flipped through the mission list of the Mercenary Department of the army and looked for suitable missions for him to accept.

The news that Black Star was out to do missions personally once again quickly spread across the Colton Star Cluster and brought shock to many organizations. With Han Xiao’s current position, why would he ever need to personally carry out missions?

Plus, aren’t you at war? How do you have time to personally do missions?

Is the secret war this easy for you?

The employers across the entire Colton Star Cluster were overjoyed. With Black Star’s strength, what kind of mission would he be unable to complete? For an amount of time, the Mercenary Department of the Black Star Army’s business multiplied by three times—all because of Han Xiao.

Those who successfully hired Han Xiao were flattered. Despite being the employer, their attitude toward Han Xiao was like Han Xiao was their employer.

Han Xiao’s method of carrying out these hiring missions could be simply described with one word-reckless!

Be it eliminating rebels, clearing beasts, or chasing galactic pirates, all he did was crush them instantly. The enemies could not even resist. Han Xiao spent more time traveling than doing the missions. It was terrifying.

Since Han Xiao was moving alone, he thought that Klent would once again send people to try assassinating him. However, after completing seven missions, he still had not even seen a trace of any assassins.

What had happened to DarkStar horrified Klent, so they were extremely cautious. Seeing that Han Xiao was alone outside, they immediately had specialized groups of people making deductions.

With Black Star’s position, there’s absolutely no need for him to do those hires personally.

Therefore, it’s obvious that…

He’s luring us to attack him!

He definitely wants to replicate what happened to the DarkStar leader and make us the scapegoat once again! This guy is evil!

Therefore, the Klentans looked at Han Xiao wandering alone with a sneer on their faces.

Humph, your intentions are too obvious; we see right through them! We will definitely not fall for it!

Furthermore, Klent had just been hit politically, so they wanted to keep a low profile for some time. Klent also could not think of anything that could threaten Han Xiao at all, so they had no intention of attacking Han Xiao for the time being.

When Han Xiao was doing missions and stocking up on Random Rewards, the various departments of the Black Star Army were developing steadily as well.

The first batch of investments for Vilna were spent in the first three months. Following Han Xiao’s orders, Reynold invested another 150 million Enas.

On the Floating Dragon Island dock, one thousand battleships were parked neatly in their various models. Among them were two enormous flagships as the core of the fleet.

The spaceships of the galactic pirates were pushed to the corners of the dock. They shivered and did not dare to have any objections. This was because the exterior armor of these thousand battleships was painted with the same image-a light green Void Dragon head with a throne below it inside a ring

This was the mark of the second Field Team of Floating Dragon!

Vilna took a few assistants to accompany Aesop and Jenny in inspecting this fleet.

“We now have a thousand Star System produced battleships and three hundred thousand galactic warriors, including 450 Grade B Supers and 240,000 Grade C Supers. The remaining are Grade D and below, mainly responsible for the management, logistics, transport, and others.”

Vilna introduced the current scale of the second Floating Dragon Field Team to the two of them.

“It has only been half a year. This is great,” Aesop complimented.

“It’s mainly because of Black Star’s help,” Vilna said. “It’s difficult to even make money on my own.”

“How much did he spend?” Jenny asked with a frown.

“70,000,000 Enas initially and another 150,000,000 Enas a few days ago…” Vilna swallowed her saliva. Even as a Calamity Grade Super, she was still shocked by Han Xiao’s generosity.

“How generous…” Jenny’s brows stopped frowning, and she slightly snorted. She touched her slowly deteriorating hairline with resignation.

“The maintenance cost of these troops is about 8.5 million Enas every month,” Vilna cautiously added. “Black Star is the one maintaining that right now, but in the future…”

“It’s a little expensive,” Jenny subconsciously replied before suddenly pausing.

She suddenly realized that she had almost never given Han Xiao any funding or maintenance fees at all. Although the Black Star Army was Floating Dragon’s Field Team, they had been responsible for their own expenses and still handed over a part of their profits to her every month.

As the Black Star Army almost never requested any funding from Floating Dragon, she had not really thought about it. Only now did she realize that the Black Star Army was really independent, and they were probably passionately expanding their business to earn the maintenance fees too. Jenny shook her head and felt that she really was not a very great butler.

“Black Star built a fleet for you without caring about the cost,” Aesop said. “It seems that he’s made up his mind on leaving. Vilna, you must think of ways to make profits for this fleet. We will provide the maintenance fee of this team of yours in the future. We don’t need the Field Team to be too large, or the cost will be too high. You can’t keep accepting Black Star’s help. You don’t have his ability to make money, so you must learn to control your fleet’s size.”

“O–Okay…” Vilna hastily nodded.

Jenny, who stayed silent on the side for a while, could not help but admit, “Black Star really is a rare talent.”

Aesop nodded in agreement before adding with resignation, “Sadly, he’s growing too fast. Someone this talented will not serve others forever…”

Chapter 715: Seven Years

As Aesop, Vilna, and Jenny were chatting, a most familiar spaceship to all three of them came from afar. It was Han Xiao’s Blacklight Stealth.

“Why is he here?”

The three of them were surprised. They were just talking about Han Xiao, and speak of the devil…

The Blacklight Stealth squeezed into the Floating Dragon Island’s dock. The hatch opened, and Han Xiao stepped out. He looked around at the shivering galactic pirates around, curled his lips, and then looked at Aesop, Jenny, and Vilna.

“Yo, you’re all here.”

“Why have you come back?” Jenny snorted.

“It’s been a long time since I last saw you, and I’ve missed you, especially that pretty hairline of yours. I missed it so much I could barely sleep at night… By the way, have you had time to sleep recently?”

Han Xiao raised his brows. After knowing Jenny for so long, he knew very clearly of how to piss her off.

“You’re such an asshole!” Being hit where it hurt, Jenny clenched her teeth, turned around, and stomped away as if the ground was Han Xiao’s face and she wanted to stomp a hole in it.

Han Xiao then looked at Vilna and said, “What were you guys doing?”

“W—We were inspecting the second Field Team…” Vilna stuttered with a slightly blushed face. Han Xiao was the one that had spent the money to build this team, and Aesop had just told her that this was a symbol of Han Xiao showing his decision of leaving. With Han Xiao suddenly appearing, she felt very uncomfortable as if she had been caught in the act.

Being extremely experienced, Aesop was not awkward at all, he changed the topic and said, “Are you looking for Ames? She doesn’t know you’re back, so she should be in the palace training. Go find her.”

Han Xiao nodded. He casually patted Vilna’s head till her face was completely blushed, and then he finally walked away satisfied.

Although Vilna was a Calamity Grade, her personality was too soft, and Han Xiao could not help but tease her every time he saw her. After all, she would be his successor in the future, so he was casual when treating her.

He had just completed a mission that happened to be near the Floating Dragon Island, so he decided to make a trip there. While he was there, he was also going to use the Blank Character Summon Card on Ames.

Near the palace, Han Xiao saw Hila and Aurora, and his eyes sparkled.

Hila was wearing a tight red battle suit made of high strength nanofiber. Compared to three years ago, her body was even sexier. Her appearance and vibe had become more aligned with the Goddess of Death that she had been in his previous life, cold and indifferent.

Aurora had grown quite a bit taller, too. She was still smaller than Hila overall but not smaller at all at some places. It was clear that she had developed her vital energy Esper ability very well.

The foreheads of both of them were covered in sweat marks as they walked out of the palace. It seemed like they had just finished training Upon seeing Han Xiao, the two of them stopped simultaneously.

“Whoa, are you here to see us?” With surprise all over her face, Aurora pounced into Han Xiao’s arms and hugged him.

Hila’s eyes twitched as she slowly walked over.

“Alright, alright, they’re big enough.” Han Xiao quickly pushed Aurora away by her head then sized the two of them up. “It looks like you guys have trained well under Ames.”

Both sisters had Grade S Esper ability potential, so they had grown at an astonishing speed. The energy they gave off had reached Grade B, with Hila giving off stronger energy. Han Xiao speculated that Hila’s Energy Rank should be about around 6,000.

In the original storyline, she reached Calamity Grade in Version 3.0. Although she’s not increasing her strength by slaughtering countless lives, with her potential and how hard she’s working, the possibility of her reaching the Calamity Grade within the next seven years should be quite high.

Han Xiao patted Aurora’s head, paused, and said to Hila, “When you’re at Calamity Grade, come back to help me.”

Given how strong Hila had been in her previous life, she would definitely be a great help when she reached Grade A. As a very powerful healer, Aurora would also be able to effectively reduce the casualties of his officers. Both of them would be fantastic additions to his army.

“Okay.” Hila nodded and replied very decisively.

“I thought you would hesitate. After all, it’s safe here with Ames. Haven’t you always prioritized safety?”.

With an expressionless face, Hila said, “This is something we agreed on. Plus, when I’m at Calamity Grade, I will be able to protect Aurora. Since we’re here in the universe, we can’t possibly stay in one place all the time instead of exploring the world. Furthermore, she is now capable of protecting herself to some extent.”

Han Xiao looked at Hila and said, “Why do I feel like you didn’t really mean that?”

“Humph.” Hila looked away.

She did not train so hard just to protect Aurora in the galaxy but also to be able to help Han Xiao as soon as possible to repay him. With her strong personality, she had to repay others for their help.

Furthermore, she would be able to see Han Xiao often if she worked for him. She could only see Han Xiao once in a very long time while training on Floating Dragon Island, so she rather missed him.

“Are you here to see Her Excellency Dragon Emperor?” Hila asked.

“Yeah.”

“…She should be in the garden, go see her then.” Hila looked down.

Han Xiao was just about to walk into the palace when Hila suddenly stopped him and asked, “How strong have you really become?”

She was not at Han Xiao’s level yet, and the news was mostly exaggerated, so she had been very curious about how strong Han Xiao really was.

“Hmmm, I should be able to beat a hundred thousand of you without using both of my hands.” Han Xiao smiled.

Hila clenched her teeth in her mind.

She had known Han Xiao for the longest, but now she could not even see Han Xiao’s footsteps.

In the garden, Ames was floating in the air, looking up at a dim star at the edge of the sky.

Hearing the footsteps, she glanced down and slowly landed before Han Xiao. Her smooth, silky hair and her thin black dress waved with the wind.

“You’re back, Black Star.” Ames smiled and complimented, “I’ve heard about you funding the second Field Team. You’ve done well.”

“Everything is easy with enough money.” Han Xiao chuckled as he secretly used the Blank Character Summon Card on Ames.

“Why did you come back to see me?” Ames blinked.

“Do I need a reason to come to see you?” Of course, Han Xiao was not going to say that it was because of the Blank Character Summon Card.

“You’ve become less and less cautious in front of me.”

“That’s because we’re very close now, aren’t we?” Han Xiao joked.

“Is that the only reason?” Ames stared at Han Xiao’s eyes with a faint smile.

Black Star had become stronger and stronger, and his position was also growing continuously. The differences between the two of them in every regard were shrinking at a very high speed. Black Star became more casual when facing her, not as a subordinate of her anymore but more like an equal.

Ames suddenly said, “How long has it been since the last time I went to tour your territory?”

Han Xiao thought about it and said, “Quite a few years, why?”

The last time that Ames toured the Black Star Army was when Version 2.0 just started. It was then that she had taken Hila and Aurora as her students.

“It’s only been a few years, and your organization has already grown to what it is today. Black Star, how about you take me to tour your territory once again?” Ames slanted her head and gave Han Xiao a smile that he did not understand.

Han Xiao was a little surprised, but he was used to how random Ames was. He thought about it, and it seemed that there was no reason for him to reject her. He felt that it was most likely because Ames was extremely bored, so he nodded and said, “Sure. Since the boss wants to do a tour, I will accompany you. I’m on holiday anyway. Let’s go to the Black Star Army headquarters, what do you say?”

“Hmm, you decide.” Ames smiled.

The two of them left immediately.

Aesop was still inspecting the troops when he saw with resignation that in the short time Han Xiao left, he had already kidnapped Ames and taken her away.

The Blacklight Stealth returned to the headquarters. The two of them alighted the spaceship, and Han Xiao took Ames to tour the various areas of the headquarters. In the process, the many Black Star Army members that passed by them all gave them strange looks.

The rumors of the two of them going separate ways never stopped. Now that they saw their captain appearing together with Ames, many felt strange. Currently, Ames was still the boss of the Black Star Army, so it looked like she was there to do an inspection.

As the two of them walked, Han Xiao explained and introduced the various areas while Ames kept quiet. Very soon, they finished touring all the areas in the headquarters and arrived at Han Xiao’s office. All the officers in the headquarters had been summoned there by Han Xiao, waiting to meet Ames in the office and be inspected.

As soon as Ames walked in the door, the Black Star Army officers all stood up and nodded, giving the Beyond Grade A their respect.

Ames looked around and saw Herlous and the others. She smiled and said, “I remember some of you. You’ve all been working with Black Star for a very long time.”

“You’re Herlous, right?” Ames came before Herlous, smiled, and nodded. “I can see your potential. You should be able to reach Calamity Grade.”

Herlous’ face became joyous. He had always been troubled by this, and now he felt much more relieved-he trusted the judgment of a Beyond Grade A.

Ames then came before Aroshia. Seeing that she was still cold as always, she smiled and did not say anything. She then walked up to Sylvia and patted Sylvia’s head.

“What a smart kid. I feel you have the potential to become a Calamity Grade too.”

Sylvia’s eyes opened wide, and she felt a little bit weird.

She felt that Ames seemed to like guessing others’ potential, and she wondered if it was Ames’ strange habit.

Ames stopped for a while in front of every officer and spoke a few words. Every officer reacted differently. Feidin smiled gently; Harmon was lost; Reynold was solemn; Rossellin was indifferent; Karmbe, Marian, and Misecech were overjoyed.

Lastly, Ames came to Lagi and gave him a few more glances. “Didn’t expect you to be the former Forbidden Sorcerer Commander under Austin.”

“Sigh, what good does that do? I’m still fired.” Lagi sighed. He was used to seeing Beyond Grade As, so he was the most casual among all the officers.

Ames smiled and walked back to Han Xiao. The officers did not speak, all intimidated by Ames.

“Okay Black Star, I’ll be going back now.”

“So soon?” Han Xiao was stunned. Was she not going to stay and play for a few days after going all the way there?

“I’ve seen what I wanted to see.” Ames shook her head.

The rise of the Black Star Army was too quick, and observing the Black Star Army was equivalent to observing Han Xiao’s ambition. She had found the answer to what she wanted to know.

Maybe… I’m really not suitable to be his leader.

Having understood what Ames meant, Han Xiao sighed in his mind and told the officers to scatter as he took Ames back to the dock. The two of them stayed silent on the way.

“Give me a spaceship, I’ll go back myself. You don’t have to make another trip,” Ames said.

“Okay.” Han Xiao called the person in charge of the dock over and told him to bring a spaceship over.

As the two of them waited for the spaceship on the dock, Ames suddenly spoked without even turning her head.

“A few years ago, you told me you were going to join the secret war, but you did not seek my help-why?”

Han Xiao coughed and said, “Your position is too sensitive to take part in the secret war. I notified you, and you didn’t stop me, so I took it as you allowed it. Back then, you didn’t show any signs of wanting to take part in it, so I didn’t seek help from you.”

“Why didn’t you try?”

What is that supposed to mean? Han Xiao frowned, but he could only see the back of Ames’ head.

He changed the topic and said, “A few years ago when I was ambushed by Thous… ahem, Klent, I asked for your help, but you didn’t agree to help me.”

Han Xiao was talking about when he asked for Ames’ help during the third round of [Prey] and was rejected.

“If you insisted back then, I would’ve still agreed. If you insisted on asking me to join the secret war, I might not have rejected… though I don’t like to be involved in these things,” Ames said with a calm tone.

Han Xiao could not see her face, so he could only speculate what she meant from her tone. “You mean that you want to take part in the secret war?”

“I’m no longer needed.” Ames paused and changed the topic. “Ever since the first day I met you, I’ve never seen you stop your footsteps, why?”

Are we doing quizzes now? When did you start to speak in such a mysterious way? Han Xiao’s lips twitched. He thought for a moment and said with resignation, “It’s not time to stop. You have the choice to stop, but I don’t.”

“What are you afraid of?”.

Han Xiao’s eyes were slightly moved, and he did not answer.

At this time, a spaceship finally stopped in front of Ames. The hatch opened, and the gangway was lowered.

Ames stretched her body. Her clothes tightened and highlighted her cursive, beautiful waist. She sighed and softly said, “I hope you’re willing to stop one day and look at the scenery along the way. This universe has an end no matter how enormous it is, but ambition has no limits.”

Then, she boarded the ship and closed the hatch, blocking herself from Han Xiao’s view, never letting him see her expression.

Han Xiao watched as the spaceship turned into a stream of light and disappeared. Then he sighed and massaged his temples.

He had a feeling that Ames had changed, and her mood had become more unpredictable.

When did she start to change? Han Xiao pondered.

The conflict between the Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light affected the entire Galaxy. All the Star Fields were affected by the Crimson Tide. It was a time of chaos. Big and small wars were also happening in the various Star Clusters in the Shattered Star Ring.

The Crimson Tide swept the entire Galaxy. Comparatively, the chaos in the Shattered Star Ring was just the tip of the iceberg.

The situation of the secret war was many times more complicated compared to his previous life. More people were involved, and more ‘accidents’ happened that had never happened originally. Nonetheless, overall, the situation was still a stalemate between the Bloodshed Land and Section Zero.

War meant opportunities; no one fought wars for the sake of fighting wars. The Black Star Army was slowly expanding and benefiting.

Han Xiao was very active in the secret war and became the brightest star onstage.

Like a violent river that never stopped or flowed backward, the secret war became more and more intense in the midst of this chaos that affected the entire universe.

In the flames of war, seven years passed in this universe.

Chapter 716: New Version-Crimson Tide!

Galaxy Calendar: Year 704, 17th day of the 7th month.

In the Black Star Army headquarters…

Clank…

On the alloy walkway, a tall, curvaceous figure strode with her alloy boots making a clanking sound when coming into contact with the alloy ground. Her white-gold female armor only covered her important locations, and she wore a black nano form fitting suit on the inside.

A few warriors from the lower rungs of the Black Star Army turned into the walkway and were wearing a similar uniform to that lady. The moment they saw her approaching from afar, their expressions turned solemn, and they stood up straight to give a salute.

“Your Excellency Chief Administrative Official.”

Her footsteps paused for a while, and she revealed a smile in response. Her smile was like the blooming roses and radiant sunlight. The few warriors were stunned into silence and only came back to their senses after she walked far away.

“How beautiful. She is the number one beauty of the Black Star Army indeed…”

“If only I can catch her eye.”

“You must be dreaming. Her Excellency Sylvia is a Calamity Grade Super and the chief disciple of His Excellency Black Star. How could you possibly catch her eye?”

The lady who walked afar revealed a helpless expression as she heard the conversation between the two.

She was Sylvia.

In the past seven years, she had put in all her effort into training herself (struggling for survival). After a series of tempering (suffering), her latent potential was finally realized, and she had stepped into the Calamity Grade before Version 3.0!

With her strength growing, her fame grew as well. She became the Chief Administrative Official of the Black Star Army, and people finally began to acknowledge her title as Black Star’s chief disciple.

A Calamity Grade Super had a long lifespan, and Sylvia had transformed into a beauty over the past seven years. She had a tall, curvaceous figure with her long hair drifting in the wind. She was a beauty who deserved 9.5 points at the very least. Being a beauty who was both powerful and had a high status, Sylvia became the target for many males within the Black Star Army. Among all the officers, her popularity had only lost to Feidin.

Sylvia walked all the way to the rooftop of the base. This was the highest point in the Black Star headquarters, and it was surrounded by bright, twinkling stars all around. Looking up, one could see Planet Golden Gate like it was hanging down from the sky.

At this moment, there were many officers standing on the rooftop, and they all turned around to look at Sylvia. After glancing at those present, Sylvia could tell that pretty much all the important officers in the Black Star Army were present today. Vice Commander Lagi, Logistics Manager Reynold, Fleet Commander Herlous, Culture Instructor Rossellin, and so on. There were more than twenty people present with fifteen Calamity Grade Supers among them!

“Everyone is here. Have you completed what I asked you to do?”

A deep voice sounded, and when Sylvia looked toward the source of this voice, a tall figure was standing at the edge of the rooftop. He was dressed in black with his back facing the crowd. It was Han Xiao.

“Everything has been prepared according to your instructions.” Sylvia nodded.

“Very good.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao turned around with a calm expression and a tinge of excitement in his eyes.

Compared to seven years ago, his appearance had not changed much, and he still looked as young as before. However, he had indeed been through plenty in the past seven years, and the wrinkles were not shown on his face but his heart. His aura had become more stable and unfathomable.

All the officers present had personally experienced Han Xiao’s change. If Han Xiao was like a ferocious lion with a tyrannical aura seven years ago, Han Xiao gave them the impression of a majestic lion at the moment. Apart from Lagi, all other officers present would be pressured by just looking him in the eye.

Today was the day for Version 3.0 to be launched. Han Xiao had waited for this day for a very long time.

It has been a full ten years… Han Xiao lamented in his heart. To the players, these ten years were nothing more than background story, but Han Xiao had personally experienced the full ten years. In order to prepare for the launch date of Version 3.0, Han Xiao had made many preparations beforehand. All his officers had arrived personally to report the progress of their preparations to him. They had only done as they were instructed but did not know the reason for it.

Compared to his previous life, Version 3.0 had quite a bit of changes.

In the past seven years, the secret war had become more and more intense. However, due to his interference, Klent was not as powerful as in his previous life, and both Section Zero and Bloodshed Land had some wins and losses. Section Zero was not on the passive side like before, and both parties were locked in an intense battle. The battlefield was no longer limited to Westwind, Kaya, and Chaida; two more Star Systems had been dragged into the war.

The secret war was one of the Main Storyline Missions in Version 3.0 within the Shattered Star Ring. Because of Han Xiao’s presence, the secret war was far more complicated than in his previous life, with many more organizations participating in it in secret. When the players returned, their first Main Storyline Mission would be the secret war that had been modified by Han Xiao!

In the past seven years, the various operations of the Black Star Army had mainly been focused on the war, mining, and employment missions. The Black Star Army had developed steadily and successfully gained firm footing in many different Star Systems. The Black Star Army was spread across the Colton Star Cluster with more than five hundred satellite bases, three hundred thousand battleships, a hundred million members, and a net worth of over a trillion!

With such a large organization, it would be a piece of cake for them to take care of a million players. Furthermore, Version 3.0 would be the time for new players to enter. With the performance that the Chinese players showed in the second Pro League, there would definitely be many new Chinese players joining the game. The Black Star Army had the capability to groom these new players.

The seven years of war had given Han Xiao a never-ending stream of experience. He was currently at level 211, and it would have been tough for the players to provide for his requirements during Version 2.0.

Thus, Version 3.0 would be a good opportunity for him to increase his strength rapidly again. Han Xiao also took the time to complete more than a hundred employment missions and had a stash of Mission Completion Cards.

Han Xiao’s preparations over the past seven years were akin to sharpening his own blade.

It could be said that he was fully prepared for the upcoming harvest!

Han Xiao took a deep breath and looked up at Planet Golden Gate. Opening the interface, he looked at the counter counting down.

Version 3.0 Activated

Fetching data… Fetching data done!

Player Forum Open.

Welcome to Galaxy Version 3.0—[Crimson Tide)!

It’s finally begun!

The players’ strength would only have a qualitative change in Version 3.0. The difference between a million Grade C Supers and a million Grade B Supers was like the difference between Heaven and Earth!

This version shall be the generation for the Black Star Army to rise!

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and his lips curled up slightly. He then turned around to face the officers and waved his hands.

“Send out all our spaceships.”

At the same time on Planet Golden Gate…

Because the Black Star Army headquarters had been shifted away, Base No.1, which was situated on Planet Golden Gate, had been changed to a local agency for the Black Star Army. There were not many present, and the entire place was extremely silent.

All of a sudden, the entire base was covered in white light, and the players appeared one after another. The empty base was instantly filled with people, and the silent base became bustling with activity.

“Haha! We can finally come online!”

“It’s a new version!”

“It’s already Version 3.0, and we still can’t take off our pants? Bad update!” A male player roared in rage.

“My goodness, it is already Version 3.0, and the pants stripping party still hasn’t given up?”

“We will always be around and never leave…”

“Long Sky is so cool! Hao Tian is so cool!” There were still some who were trapped in the second Pro League.

In the base, the players all chatted with each other excitedly, and the entire base was bustling like a market.

Before the update, many players had logged off in the various bases with the number of players in Base No.1 being the most. More than 100,000 players had appeared in Base No.1.

Frenzied Sword was also among the first wave of players to log on. After the Pro League ended, he took a good break. However, he was a professional player and could not afford to fall behind during the release of the new update. Thus, all the professional players all logged in at the very first moment.

Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, King Admiral, Li Ge, and the others had all logged off in Base No.1. They all gathered together and instinctively opened the interface to check any changes.

“Our attributes and skills didn’t change, but the level limit has been increased. The level limit in Version 3.0 seems to be 120,” Hao Tian said.

“The faction interface is still present. Thankfully, the Black Star Army didn’t close shop.” Frenzied Sword and many others heaved a sigh of relief.

As long as the Black Star Army was still around, the Faction Contribution Points that they had spent a great deal of effort to accumulate would not be wasted.

After checking their attributes on the interface, the professional players all heaved a sigh of relief. At this moment, the other players also snapped out of their initial excitement and got to work.

Having experienced the previous version refresh, the players knew what they should do. The most important thing to do after the update was to understand what had changed in the world.

Including the professional players, all the players in the base took out their communicators to see how long had gone by since the last time they logged in.

Looking at the date, everyone was immediately shocked.

“My goodness, it has been a full ten years?”

“Isn’t this a little too long? Will the NPCs from the previous version have forgotten about us?”

“Version 1.0 and 2.0 were only separated by about a year, but this was multiplied by ten times…”

“How terrifying, truly terrifying…”

“Could this be because of the Main Storyline in this version? Could it be that ten years was required to develop the Main Storyline? I remember Black Star personally revealing the existence of the Crimson Dynasty in one of Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos. Bun-Hit-Dog analyzed that Version 3.0 will very likely be related to the Crimson Dynasty. Could this be why this version is called Crimson Tide?”

It had been a full ten years since the previous version. This discovery truly shocked all the players. This was the longest time skip between versions!

Everyone discussed the changes as they looked around the base to see the changes over the past ten years.

Everyone quickly realized something strange. In the past version, this base was the headquarters of the Black Star Army and had many NPC mercenaries around all the time. However, the base was extremely silent now without a single NPC in sight. It was as though the entire base had been deserted.

“Could it be that something happened to the Black Star Army?” Someone opened up the Mercenary Alliance page and realized that the resume of the Black Star Army had disappeared.

Following which, everyone then attempted to open up the child AI program of the Black Star Army but received an ‘Insufficient authority, please sign up again’ message.

In the past ten years, Phillip had updated its child program many times, and the program in the players hands was completely useless. They had to obtain approval from the Black Star Army and submit a new application before they could use the program.

This discovery was instantly spread among the players, and everyone immediately grew nervous.

Almost all the Chinese players were in the Black Star Army, and the Black Star Army was already their own faction. The players were desperate to find out what had happened to the Black Star Army in their absence.

“Let’s go take a look first.” Frenzied Sword was the most anxious, and he left the base with the other professional players behind him.

With someone in the lead, the players all swarmed out of the base and realized that there was not a single guard present.

Walking out of the base, the players realized that Base No.1 was much smaller than before as though it had been renovated. Many regions had been dismantled, and it seemed extremely desolate. Upon realizing this, Frenzied Sword and the others could not help but feel nervous.

The busy streets of Planet Golden Gate were located right outside the base, and the buildings were all covered in a warm evening sun. The street was completely filled with players, and some players had no choice but to activate their mechanical suits to fly up into the sky. They immediately got into action and searched for NPCs to find some clues.

Not too far away, there were a few Godoran pedestrians, and Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and the others immediately rushed forward.

“What do you guys want?” This pedestrian looked a little frightened.

“Don’t be afraid. We only want to ask you some questions,” Frenzied Sword hurriedly replied.

The pedestrian nodded with a tinge of fear and caught a glimpse of the Black Star logo on Frenzied Sword’s mechanical suit. His expression immediately changed, and he asked, “You guys are from the Black Star Army?”

Everyone’s face lit up. This person still knew about Black Star even after ten years! This meant that there was some hope!

Frenzied Sword hurriedly pointed to Base No.1 and asked, “Can I ask if that is still the headquarters of the Black Star Army?”

“You guys are from the Black Star Army. Why do you have to ask me that question?” The pedestrian had a queer look on his face but still replied honestly, “That is no longer the Black Star Army headquarters.”

“Then where is the Black Star Army headquarters located?” Frenzied Sword asked.

The pedestrian pointed up toward the sky and said, “It’s up there.”

In the sky?

Frenzied Sword and the others looked up doubtfully, and their faces immediately froze in place with their jaws dropping in shock.

All the players then looked up with their mouths wide open as though someone had cast a spell on them.

A gigantic metal planet floating outside the atmosphere of Planet Golden Gate appeared in their eyes!

There was no need for them to even search. They would not be able to pretend that they could not see such a gigantic planet.

Could it be that the gigantic stronghold about the size of a planet was the current headquarters of the Black Star Army?

The hundred thousand or so players were completely dumbfounded!

In Version 2.0, the Black Star Army’s headquarters had only been a single base. But after ten years, the army had a planet that was not smaller than Planet Golden Gate as their headquarters?

Just what did the Black Star Army experience over the past ten years?

Just what did they miss!

Chapter 717: Chapter in a Blink

“Oh my goodness, the headquarters is actually this huge toy. How much money is it worth

“The Black Star Army could not have taken over the entire Garton Star System already, right?”

Just as the hundreds of thousands of players looked up toward the sky with dumbstruck expressions, their interfaces all vibrated as they received a notification.

Frenzied Sword recovered from his stupor, immediately opening the interface, and a look of joy appeared on his expression.

All the players who belonged to the Black Star Army had received the same faction mission.

[Ten Years): The First Link

Mission Introduction: The winds of change have blown, and the years passed quickly. Ten years have been and gone, and the situation in the universe is turbulent, with many undercurrents moving. You will participate in the tidal waves of this era. It is time for you to return to your team.

Mission Requirements: Proceed to the nearest Black Star Army satellite fortress.

Reward: 15,000 Experience, +300 Black Star Army Favorability

This is a chain mission.

Han Xiao had been watching the time for the players to come online. It was precisely he who had issued the mission for everyone to return through the faction interface. This was to allow the players to be guided to understand the new version and not allow them to run off with a head full of fog.

Because Han Xiao’s wording was formal, it was akin to a new mission for the players. In any case, any mission issued through the player interface would be a legitimate mission.

With the players having just touched on the new Version, it was the period where they were most eager to understand the changes that had happened in the galaxy. This mission was akin to a beacon in the dark, like a carrot hanging in front of a donkey, attracting their attention through creating an itch in their hearts.

“This is the guiding mission released by the new version. As long as we follow this, we will understand where the storyline has advanced. Believe me, there will not be any problems in doing so!” Bun-Hit-Dog had a firm look of confirmation.

“To actually be a storyline mission released by the Black Star Army Faction…” Frenzied Sword’s eyes lit up. “This should be a hint that the Black Star Army will play an important role in Version 3.0!”

No one would reject the guided mission for this storyline version, and the majority of the players had their own thoughts on their next course of action. They would go over to the dock to take a spaceship, which would ferry them into the sky to squeeze into that sky fortress.

Just as everyone had the thought in their heads, in the direction of the Black Star Army’s Satellite Headquarters appeared many tiny black dots the size of sesame seeds. They expanded at a rate visible to the naked eye and turned out to be a fleet with the insignia of Black Star on them. They hovered above the heads of the tens of thousands of players, the stable anti-gravity device installed in them not even raising a wind.

Those present could not help but pause in shock. At this moment, the bottom of the battleships opened, releasing traction beams toward the ground. At the same time, the cabin crew spoke through the loudspeakers, broadcasting their voices throughout the sky of the entire city.

“All members of the Black Star Army, please board the fleet. I repeat, all the members of the Black Star Army board the fleet.”

All of them were spaceships that Han Xiao had specially deployed to escort the players. The players present did not imagine that the Black Star Army would actually send someone to pick them up, causing them to feel incredibly surprised.

This was Godora’s planet. To be so unbridled in the city, was the Black Star Army so powerful now?

All signs indicated that the Black Star Army was no longer the same. The players could not wait to know what had happened in the past decade.

Everyone lined up to board the spaceship, and the fleet returned right after taking in the passengers.

After boarding the ship, the players started to take action, asking the NPCs around the ship to uncover more intelligence. However, the distance from Planet Golden Gate to their headquarters was too short, not even needing half a minute to arrive there. The players who wished to gather intelligence could only dispel their thoughts.

The Black Star Army headquarters grew larger as they got closer, allowing the players to see more details of this armed satellite fortress. The ground was full of defensive measures, all kinds of weird devices, and there was even a huge thruster. Rather than calling it an armed satellite fortress, it might as well as be called a satellite battleship!

The pro players gathered together and observed through the porthole. Frenzied Sword could not help but click his tongue. “This thing looks freakishly strong. Rather than a satellite, it is more apt to call it a weapon.”

“I recall that in the previous version, having tens of thousands of flagships was already extremely scary. To think that the moment this version opens, there’s something even scarier appearing. There was no such thing in the previous version, if I remember,” Hao Tian mused.

“We don’t even know if this was designed by Black Star…” Maple Moon was curious.

Very quickly, the fleet reached the airport, and the tens of thousands of players streamed out, quickly occupying a large area of the dock and looking around, curiously taking in their surroundings.

201
they arrived, the players felt the lively atmosphere. There were NPCs milling about, every one of them carrying the insignia of the Black Star Army. This was far more crowded than looking at the base from the planet surface.

“Is this our new headquarters? Why are there no NPCs to welcome us?”

“What do we do next?”

Just as the players started to hesitate, their interface changed, showing the completion of the first chain mission (Ten Years). Han Xiao immediately released the second chain mission.

(Ten Years]: The Second Link

Mission Introduction: In the past decade, Galaxy has undergone huge changes. You need to review the deeds of the Black Star Army in the past decade.

Mission Requirements: Update and activate the internal procedures of Black Star Army, and watch the video lesson (History of the Black Star Army (Required)].

Reward: 25,000 Experience, +500 Black Star Army Favorability

Han Xiao had been observing the players movements from inside the base. He did not need to show himself but used the mission function to dictate the players’ movements. This would be more natural and secretive.

“This must be the backstory for the new version!”

“I told you, there’ll definitely be some notification for this version, just like in Version 2.0!”

“How convenient. I thought we’d have to look for leads ourselves.”

Frenzied Sword’s eyes gleamed. He was actually thinking about what had happened between the two versions. He did not expect this guiding mission to directly publish the information they most wanted to know. How good this was!

Their mission requirement was to update their internal procedures, which was the Phillip subprogram. This was the toy installed by all members of the Black Star Army and contained the ability to check their resumes, accumulated achievements, browse the faction store, call airdrop supplies, and more.

The tens of thousands of players took out their communicators and opened their subprograms. This time, there was some response for them at last. Phillip’s virtual image turned into a 3D projection, which was suspended above the communicator.

“Coordinate detection… Coordinates confirmed. Your current position is the base of the Black Star Army. Permissions have been unfrozen. You have obtained permission to update your database. Please scan to verify, hum…”

Before the version update, Phillip’s subprogram could not support the function of stereo projection. Players could only use words to tease Phillip. However, he now had an avatar. Phillip appeared as a finger-sized boy that appeared as cute as a girl would.

Many of the female players’ eyes lit up when they saw him, and they could not help but touch Phillip with their fingers. Although there was no tactile feeling being transmitted, Phillip acted as though he had been hit and covered his little face, which was full of tears. His innocent expression seemed to convey that he was in pain because his projection had the function of virtual sensing.

Instantly, the majority of female players, including Maple Moon, were captivated by Phillip, their motherly love disastrously overflowing:

“Waa, how can something be so cute!”

“Oh no, this is the feeling of having a child!”

“He’s so cute. My heart is gonna melt…”

“So cute, how apt.”

Hao Tian squeezed on Phillip’s head, causing it to explode and turn into a pile of light debris. The next moment, it reformed, and Phillip shivered in a corner of the screen. Hao Tian mused, “There’s no notification on combat information. It seems like he cannot be reared as a pet to fight.”

Standing by the side, Frenzied Sword’s mouth was twitching incessantly. “Are you the Devil himself?”

The crowd teased Phillip for a while before he announced that the update was completed. The players present all then opened the subprogram. Phillip retracted back into the screen before issuing a notification.

“Permissions have been reactivated. Welcome back to the Black Star Army. Please access your academic program.”

A beam of light shot out from the communicators of everyone present, forming a 3D screen as the video played. The title of the video was ‘History of the Black Star Army’, and this was exactly the academic program that they were required to watch.

Han Xiao had set up the activation program to automatically play the academic program. Not just the players, every single member of the Black Star Army had to undergo this course. This was basically a textbook used to establish the culture of Black Star Army, and the producer was Rossellin.

In his previous life, the players basically had to dig out the background of each version update by themselves, which was very inefficient. Han Xiao simply used his advantage to directly tell the players the history of the version update in this way, such that they would be able to figure out the situation earlier. This would save them a lot of trouble while improving the sense of identity the players felt, increasing their belonging to the Black Star Army.

The spirit of the players was stoked. They were trying to know what the Black Star Army had become at this point, so they quietened down, their gazes staring fixedly at their virtual screens.

“The Black Star Army was established in the Year 688 of the Galaxy Calendar and has been established for 17 years. Its original name was called the Black Star Mercenary Group, and its founder was (Black Star] Han Xiao…” Rossellin’s voice sounded, and the screen showed a silhouette of Black Star at the forefront, with the figures of his Officers behind him.

Just by looking at the opening, Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes lit up. “This feels like a blockbuster here…”

After explaining the creation as well as the leader of the army, Rossellin’s tone changed as she immediately began to describe the process of the Black Star Army’s transformation in scale.

The picture showed a star map of the Garton Star System. On the upper left corner, there was a time indication of Year 688. This was exactly when the Black Star Mercenary Group was first established. Within the vast star map, a humble and small green dot represented the forces of the Black Star Mercenary Group at that time.

As the time on the upper left corner started to move, the tiny green dot slowly moved around, finally finding a base and beginning to expand into a small, irregularly shaped green area. This gradually expanded over time, showing the development trend of the Black Star Army.

Not only were the hundred thousand players at the headquarters watching this, but players from the other bases were also watching the video at the same time. This portion was the events that had taken place from Version 1.0 to 2.0, and to have it displayed in this manner attracted the attention of all the players.

As the green area slowly expanded in the Garton Star System, the time shown on the upper left-hand corner finally reached the mark of ten years ago, just before the version update.

The players started to pay attention. From now on, it would be the decade that they had not experienced, which was the unknown changes.

At this moment, the view on the virtual screen suddenly zoomed out tremendously, directly expanding to show the entire Colton Star Cluster. The star map was enlarged dozens or hundreds of times!

At the same time, the green area that was originally confined to the Garton Star System suddenly ballooned out to spread to more than half of the Colton Star Cluster, occupying half of it!

Everyone present was stunned silly.

Following the time skip, the sphere of influence rose sharply. If the expansion of the Black Star Army in Version 2.0 was considered that of running, then the period of ten years between the two versions was as though it was riding on a fighter jet!

The time finally arrived at Year 705. Out of the entire Colton Star Cluster, close to ninety percent was green in color.

At this moment, Rossellin’s voice sounded in the background.

“Today, the Black Star Army has completed its transformation, having branches throughout the whole Colton Star Cluster. Its business scope includes warfare, planet mining, and more. It is also the long-term ally of the Purple Crystal Civilization, the ruler of the Colton Star Cluster, with over ten other civilizations as collaborators. The Calamity Grade Supers under His Excellency have also grown to almost twenty people, with tens of thousands of battleships and hundreds of planet mining rights. The Black Star Army stands at the forefront of the organizations in the Shattered Star Ring.”

Frenzied Sword and Bun-Hit-Dog stared at this commentary. They were not alone, as the players around them had the same expressions as them, full of shock and surprise!

When they originally arrived there, Frenzied Sword had already grossly inflated the power the Black Star Army had after a decade, but even he did not expect that he had still underestimated the Black Star Army! His imagination had truly limited him.

This sort of feeling was like, after falling asleep for a night, waking up and finding out that the factory in town that you worked for had turned into the world’s top five hundred companies! Overnight!

I only looked away for moment, and you had already ascended to the sky?

The curiosity of the crowd was so great that they were anxious about the deeds of the Black Star Army in the past decade. They could not help but wish to scrub the video straight to the end.

Just what exactly happened when we were not here? How did the Black Star Army leap up to become such a great influence?

Chapter 718: Defensive Measures Against Thieves

The size of the Black Star Army truly shocked the players. The video then continued to play, and the video finally began to explain what the Black Star Army had been through over the past ten years.

“Galaxy Year 695, the Crimson Dynasty expanded their territory, code name Crimson Tide. The Shattered Star Ring was thrown into chaos, and the Klent Kingdom ordered Bloodshed Land to invade the Purple Crystal Civilization. The secret war exploded, and the Black Star Army joined Purple Crystal and fought on their behalf. The war has been going on for ten years and isn’t over yet. During this time, the Black Star Army has fought hundreds of battles and clashed with Bloodshed Land time and time again and forged their prestige…”

Rossellin introduced the background of the secret war and everyone was startled.

Crimson Tide? Isn’t this the name of the version? It turns out that this refers to the expansion of the Crimson Dynasty. During the end of Version 2.0, Black Star revealed information about this. So, it turns out he was truly revealing information about the next version.

To think that Black Star Army would be dragged into a war between Star Cluster Civilizations. This means that the Main Storyline Mission for Version 3.0 should be related to the secret war…

Many of the players began to speculate.

If they continued along this line of thought, the expansion of the Black Star Army would definitely be related to their participation in the war. The Black Star Army should have gained wealth from the war.

However, they had only managed to guess half the truth. The next part of the video immediately triggered a huge wave of commotion.

“In this war, leader Black Star revealed the potential of becoming a Beyond Grade A Super. He suppressed all the high-level combatants of the enemy and is invincible on the battlefield. He is the most likely individual to become a Beyond Grade A Super in the entire Shattered Star Ring. The Black Star Army also became a Beyond Grade A seeded organization under his lead, with Purple Crystal and dozens of other Star System Civilizations expressing their goodwill toward him.”

As the leader of the faction, Rossellin gave a detailed introduction on Black Star and described his frightening combat prowess and the influence he had in the development of the Black Star Army.

Most of the players understood that the video was trying to hint to them that the Black Star Army was only able to develop to such a level because of Black Star. If not for Han Xiao displaying the potential to become a Beyond Grade A Super, the Black Star Army would not have been able to stand out in the war.

Black Star was the one who had developed the Black Star Army to such a size in ten years!

The players all came to a realization and immediately extracted the main point.

Beyond Grade A!

After two versions, they already knew that Black Star was extremely powerful, but never had they expected him to overturn their understanding of him yet again!

A Beyond Grade A Super was already at the peak of the Galaxy to the players. Black Star was a character who came out in Version 1.0, and his storyline had run through three different versions. Currently, he had the right to become a peerless expert and would probably become an important character in Version 3.0.

Han Xiao was already one of their own to the China players, and the players could not help but erupt with excitement when they found out that their boss was such a ferocious character.

Before the update, many players were looking forward to seeing how the Black Star Army grew during Version 3.0. The outcome at this moment truly filled them with satisfaction and was out of their expectations. When they were not around, Black Star was as reliable as always and had led the Black Star Army into such a fantastic shape. He was truly awesome!

Their captain was still the best!

With such a powerful leader, their faction had a greater potential for growth, and the players grew even more passionate for the Black Star Army.

The video continued playing, and Rossellin went into detail about the various events and accomplishments of the Black Star Army over the past ten years. She weaved in the various personal accomplishments of Han Xiao. How he fought of multiple enemies alone, fought bravely to scare off the enemies, resolved numerous assassination attempts, battled EsGod, wiped out DarkStar, and so on.

The lesson introduced the entire history of the Black Star Army, and after the end of the video, many players were still hungry for more. With Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos as a foundation, this video made them feel as though they were chasing after a drama series.

“This can be considered a background introduction to this new version, right?”

“Why do I feel as though this is more like an action film?”

“Black Star is awesome!”

“This is truly a growth-type faction! Our future is bright! Hahaha.”

All the players discussed the video excitedly.

The changes in the Black Star Army had truly shocked them. After calming down from their initial shock, they were immediately overjoyed.

As long as the change was a positive one, the players could be at ease. The more impressive the achievements of the Black Star Army, the more at ease they would be. This was a faction which they had witnessed for a full three versions.

“Who would have thought that so much would happen when we weren’t around?” Frenzied Sword could not help but lament.

Bun-Hit-Dog felt his heart ache. “What a pity. I could have made so many videos with all these resources.”

The video showed them the history of the Black Star Army and allowed the players to have a better understanding of their own faction. Han Xiao had always aimed to use the accomplishments of the faction to increase the sense of belonging that the players felt to the Black Star Army, and the outcome was extremely good. A faction that had a history behind it would bring about a greater sense of belonging apart from the benefits that it could bring to the players.

Through the events over the past ten years, all the players had a basic understanding of Version 3.0. It could be said that the players adapted at the fastest possible speed to the new version through Han Xiao’s guidance. This was also the outcome that Han Xiao wanted to see the most.

The second phase of the (Ten Years) mission was completed and Han Xiao released the third phase of the mission.

All the players in the Black Star Army received a new notification.

[Ten Years]: The Third Link

Mission Introduction: You now understand the situation in the Shattered Star Ring. The Black Star Army is currently participating in the secret war. As a member of the army, you should make your choice.

Mission Requirements: Go through the necessary procedure and accept the secret war mission.

Reward: Start of the secret war storyline, +800 Black Star Army Favorability.

“Triggering the Main Storyline Mission at the very beginning? It seems like this is the same as in Version 2.0.”

They had triggered the Mutation Disaster storyline the moment they logged into the game as well. The players did not hesitate in the slightest and chose to participate in the secret war.

In his previous life, the players had to go through an exploration phase before being guided to join the secret war by the various factions. This time, Han Xiao had immediately placed the Main Storyline mission right in front of the players and saved them a great deal of trouble. The earlier the players joined the mission, the more benefits he would receive.

Originally, the method to trigger the secret war mission was to join either Bloodshed Land or Section Zero. However, Han Xiao knew about this and had thus spent the past ten years growing the Black Star Army into an important member of Section Zero. This enabled him to tie his faction together with Section Zero and allowed the players to participate in the secret war mission without joining another faction.

The rewards of Han Xiao’s effort were slowly showing themselves.

The next moment, a notification popped up on the player’s interface. They had triggered the Main Storyline Mission that Han Xiao had triggered ten years ago.

You have triggered Grade S faction mission (Secret War: Section Zero]!

Mission Introduction: The Klent Kingdom has invaded the Purple Crystal Civilization, and you chose to stand on the side of the Purple Crystal Civilization.

Mission Requirements: Listen to orders and force all invaders out of the Colton Star Cluster.

At the end of the mission, your reward will be based on the rating of the mission.

Grade S Mission!

The eyes of the players lit up. The Main Storyline Missions of the first two versions were Grade A missions, and this was the first time that they had accepted a Grade S mission.

Han Xiao had received this mission ten years earlier than the players. While the Mission Rating would only be displayed at the end of the mission, Han Xiao was certain that he had long reached the highest rating.

“This Main Storyline mission has a suffix. Does this mean that we will also be able to do this mission in the Klent faction?” Bun-Hit-Dog immediately managed to guess the truth.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, the players could choose between Klent or Purple Crystal, and both factions had their own strengths. Purple Crystal was located in the Colton Star Cluster, which was also where the players were located. On top of that, they also had the geographical advantage as the defending party. On the other side, the Tyrant from Bloodshed Land was a Beyond Grade A Super, and he was also extremely attractive to the players.

The original storyline of Version 2.0 did not include the Black Star Army. Godora and DarkStar were the organizations that brought the players into the galaxy. They each hired some players and brought the players onto two different paths.

The players that were in the DarkStar faction had automatically joined Klent due to the connection between Klent and DarkStar. Because of the Tyrant’s prestige, many players had chosen to join Bloodshed Land, resulting in the Section Zero faction being on the passive side.

However, Han Xiao had already changed the storyline and set a good foundation in Version 2.0. He had singlehandedly snatched almost all the Planet Aquamarine players from both Godora and DarkStar.

Currently, the Black Star Army was the most important member in Section Zero. This meant that all the players would naturally be on Purple Crystal’s side!

Those who wanted to join Klent would have to give up all their investments in the Black Star Army from the past two versions. This meant that the players’ cost of changing factions was extremely high. While the players did not like being forced, with the sense of belonging being cultivated in the first two versions together with his first mover advantage, the players would not feel too troubled by the lack of options.

While the Beyond Grade A Heber did indeed have some attraction to the players, the players had just watched a video that showed them that Black Star also had the potential to become a Beyond Grade A Super. The Bloodshed Land immediately lost their greatest selling point, and even if the majority of the players knew that they could switch factions, they would not do so as it was not worth it.

Thus, it would be impossible for Klent and Bloodshed Land to gain a large number of players like in Han Xiao’s previous life!

The butterfly effect that Han Xiao had created in Version 2.0 was still affecting events.

However, the players were a strange breed, and there would be some who wanted to join the whistleblower club. Han Xiao had already thought of a plan to deal with them.

He had considered many different scenarios over the past ten years.

As the players discussed the Main Storyline Mission excitedly, Han Xiao no longer pretended to view the scenery and returned to the inside of the armed satellite fortress.

The first step is complete. It is now time to fertilize the crops…

Chapter 719: Fertilization

Chapter 719 Fertilization

On the dock, the more than one hundred thousand players scattered. The guiding mission given by Han Xiao had ended, they decided to explore the Black Star Army headquarters and get to know the facilities here.

The players knew that this planet fortress would most likely be their base in Version 3.0.

The Black Star Army headquarters was extremely large, not cramped at all even for more than a hundred thousand people. They quickly scattered and fused into the usual Black Star Army members.

Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and a few other close professional players moved together, accompanied by Bun-Hit-Dog and Maple Moon. They walked around and observed the NPCs passing by while discussing the main storyline mission they had just received.

“The storyline of the new version is so exciting,” Frenzied Sword said. “I can’t believe we are going to experience an enormous war between two Star Cluster civilizations. Those in the other Star Fields did not receive the main storyline mission as soon as they entered the game like we did; they’re still exploring.”

“Well, this isn’t the first time. In every past version, the main storyline always appeared the earliest in Shattered Star Ring. This should be our specialty.” Twinkle Fried Rice shrugged.

“Indeed, it was the same in Version 2.0. We knew about the main storyline as soon as we came online. The other Star Fields only got it months or even a year later.” Hao Tian nodded.

“From how things are looking, it seems Black Star is going to be the main NPC in Version 3.0 once again. All the main storylines in the past three versions were related to him,” Bun-Hit-Dog said while rubbing his chin.

“It’s more than three versions…” Frenzied Sword said with an excited expression. “I saw him even during the closed beta, but back then, I never guessed he would become this strong.”

Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes sparkled. “Black Star is making so many appearances. I don’t think the other Star Fields have an NPC similar to him at all. Black Star is the only NPC that has appeared in every version for the past three versions. I feel like Black Star might be the protagonist of the entire Shattered Star Ring… That’s right, this sounds like an amazing topic to talk about. The next episode of my video will definitely explode!”

Han Xiao was now extremely popular among the Chinese players. Plus, the video earlier showed his achievements in the past ten years, so this was the time when the players were most interested in him. Therefore, Bun-Hit-Dog felt like he could make use of that and use the topic of ‘Shattered Star Ring’s protagonist’ to make the next episode of his video series. He believed that it would definitely become very popular.

In the past two versions, the players had experienced many interesting storylines in Galaxy and witnessed all kinds of NPCs. Quite a number of those NPCs were also widely liked by the players, but Black Star was the only one that the players had the deepest impression of. Even the players in the other Star Fields knew his name. Currently, Han Xiao was the most famous NPC and also the NPC that the players wanted to see the most.

In the eyes of many players, creating articles, videos, or anything related to Black Star was a business opportunity.

‘Black Star Series’ was the video series that had made Bun-Hit-Dog famous. It was one of the must-watch videos for the new players, and it was still ongoing.

Due to the fame brought by this series, Bun-Hit-Dog was most passionate about building Han Xiao’s image. However, due to how famous Black Star was, there were also other video creators that did the same and made videos about the Black Star Army.

Nonetheless, Bun-Hit-Dog had captured the market as early as back in Version 1.0, so he was the most ‘authentic’ in the eyes of the players.

It could be said that Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos contributed greatly to how much the players liked the Black Star Army. As members of the Black Star Army, seeing that the faction was growing under their influence and hard work, and that it was made into a kind of drama series, it gave them a very strong immersive experience.

Video creators such as Bun-Hit-Dog used NPCs’ fame to benefit themselves, but they did not know that Han Xiao was also using them.

The group chatted for a while and returned to the main topic of the main storyline of the new version—this was what the professional players were interested in.

“By the way, with our strength, we shouldn’t be able to influence the result of this galactic war, right?” Frenzied Sword said.

Maple Moon nodded and said seriously, “Hmm. I just checked. The representatives of the secret war are the Bloodshed Land and Section Zero, which the Black Star Army is a part of. The leader of the Bloodshed Land is called Heber, one of the Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring. As for Section Zero, their organization is also extremely large. With both sides being so strong, the people involved in the war are most likely in the billions. Even if all the players take part, I don’t think the result of the war will be affected much, if at
all…”

Hao Tian pondered and analyzed, “If that’s the case, the secret war is just the major background of the new version. The main areas we will be acting in should be the smaller battlefields within the war.”

“I hope they aren’t just more cut scenes…” Twinkle Fried Rice smiled bitterly.

“That might not be the case…” Seeing that the others turned to look at him, Frenzied Sword continued to explain. “Think about it, for the past three versions, our level limit has been increasing. The scale of the storyline has been increasing too, from a planet, to a Star System, to a Star Cluster. However, the combat capability standard in the Galaxy has a stable system. For example, Grade Cs are basic galactic warriors, so Grade Bs are the mid-tier combatants. This system will not change because of the version updates, while our Grades will keep increasing. This means that our position in the Galaxy and our influence on the storyline will keep growing as the version keeps updating!

“Now that the level limit is 120, the first batch of players should all be able to reach Grade B. According to this theory, our importance in the new version will definitely exceed the previous two versions. Hence, I think that we will be able to take part in the storyline of Galaxy more actively in Version 3.0, and there will definitely be new ways of playing this game.”

The others contemplated for a while. Damn, this guy does kind of make sense.

Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes sparkled. “Can I cop… quote what you just said?”

“Please, act like a human being.” Twinkle Fried Rice was speechless.

“By the way, although we triggered the main storyline, how are we going to take part in the war? Do we listen to the army’s arrangements or take on missions on our own?”

At this point, Frenzied Sword and the others suddenly realized that the Black Star Army members around all suddenly gathered in the same direction. Their communicators also vibrated. It was a notification from Phillip to tell all the members in the headquarters to head to the square—there was going to be an announcement.

Frenzied Sword and the others went to the square with the crowd. The place was now filled with people. The other players had arrived as well and were waiting with the other Black Star Army members.

The floor in front of the crowd curved up and turned into a stage. Projections appeared above the square and displayed the image of the stage so that the people far away could see.

More than twenty high-level army officers appeared on the stage. Many were familiar faces to the players.

“It’s been ten years, but the officers from Version 2.0 are all still here. That’s nice.”

“There seem to be quite a few new officers as well.”

“Oh, is that beauty Sylvia?”

“Oh no, is this excitement I feel?”

“Humph, so what if that’s a beauty? I’m an educated person. Us Dragon Emperor Lickers will never betray our faith!”

Seeing the familiar NPCs from the last version, many players felt nostalgic. Out of habit, they threw detections at the officers. Other than getting to know the names of these officers, the rest of the information was all question marks, and every one of the officers was shown as ‘Fatally Dangerous’.

Now, the players finally had a clearer image of how strong the Black Star Army was.

Hum!

The space in the middle of the stage rippled. A person appeared out of thin air and walked out of the void. It was Han Xiao.

More than a hundred thousand players finally saw what Han Xiao looked like after ten years. He was still wearing the familiar clothing but taller and more level-headed.

Frenzied Sword and the others realized that admiration appeared on the faces of many of the Black Star Army members around.

From this detail, they were clearer on Han Xiao’s position in the hearts of his subordinates. Bun-Hit-Dog quickly started recording to collect materials.

Including the players, countless people in the square were staring at Han Xiao. He cleared his throat, and his voice spread across the entire square through machines.

“In half a month, we will work with the large group of Section Zero to launch a large-scale counterattack against the Bloodshed Land. Many people will be recruited to take part. Other than the warriors that have already been enlisted, the army will be accepting the enlistment requests of the rest of the members as well. Other than the returns paid by the Purple Crystal Civilization, the army will provide additional subsidies for those who take part in the war according to their position. The details are on the announcement board of the internal army system…”

As a mercenary group, the members would just split the reward given by the employer. Now that the Black Star Army had completed its transition into a private armed force, it had to pay salaries to the official members like the military. Taking part in a war was extremely risky, so additional subsidies were required as well.

Luckily, Black Star Army was more than able to afford those expenses even with its current size.

“So that’s how we’re going to take part in the war. We’ll have to request it in the army,” Frenzied Sword said.

“The Rating of the main storyline mission can only be increased by taking part in the war, but we can choose not to. So, this isn’t a compulsory storyline mission.”

The players started to discuss the topic, and the square became noisy.

This time, Han Xiao looked around, chuckled in his mind, and continued.

“All those who are taking part in the war will enjoy fifty percent off when purchasing the various products of the army. In half a month’s time, all those taking part shall gather in the headquarters and board the fleet to head to the battlefield. If you have any questions, you can ask the artificial intelligence program of the army.”

The crowd was stunned.

Fifty percent off?

Fifty percent for all the faction products

What?

That’s amazing!

Chapter 720: Players, I m Gonna Earn Till I Explode!

The players were ecstatic and could not wait to open the faction store interface.

Compared to Version 2.0, the faction store’s product categories had increased by hundreds of times, and various equipment, materials, and items were all available. Because the Black Star Army had collaborated with many different financial groups, Han Xiao had managed to negotiate with the leaders of the various financial groups to open their purchase channels to his faction members.

In this manner, as long as an object was not too rare, the faction store would definitely be selling it. This led to a significant increase in the logistics capabilities of the Black Star Army.

Han Xiao had also collected a huge number of blueprint drawings in the past few years and vigorously developed the backend logistics division. With the support of his strong economic strength, he had established countless factories and assembly lines for the logistics department and even trained up a group of professionals. Currently, the capability of the Black Star Army to produce independently was very strong, already having stored tens of thousands of machines and equipment, including rare high-end equipment such as orange and pink equipment.

All the materials and equipment would be supplied to the members of the faction. As long as they had money, they would be able to arm themselves to the teeth.

The standard issued armor of the Black Star Army had also undergone many changes through the past seven years. It had integrated a variety of intermediate-level armor technology, further strengthening it to be better armor. It had been mass produced for the middle to lower ranked members, named ‘Black Star Army’s Mark 7 Individual Soldier Armor’. It could transform into specialized modes for attack, defense, reconnaissance, and more.

The armor of the majority of players had fallen behind in times. Compared to the current Mark 7 armor, it looked more like a trinket than actual armor.

Looking at the list of items the faction store offered, the desires of the players started to burn. This was especially true for Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and the other professional players who did not lack money.

If they participated in the battle, all the good items, including orange equipment, would be on fifty percent off!

This opportunity, once gone, would never come back!

The players had amassed a large sum during Version 2.0, and having come across this sale with great difficulty, where they would finally upgrade their equipment, the idea of diligently saving up was simply thrown out the window.

What was the purpose of saving? To be able to spend it all when the opportune time came!

When one could bear it no longer, there was no need to endure!

Without hesitation, the players on scene immediately applied for the military operation through Phillip.

With the fast processing speed of Phillip, it quickly completed the request of all the players present, sending out the mission that Han Xiao had long prepared to them.

(Faction War Mission: Black Star’s Counterattack]

Mission Introduction: Section Zero has prepared a large-scale counterattack military operation. As a glorious Black Star Warrior, you have chosen to participate in this campaign.

Mission Requirements: Follow the Black Star Army’s fleet, and obey orders to participate in the battle.

Reward: +500 Black Star Army Favorability, activate the follow-up mission of the secret war.

The players present only took a glance at the interface notification before turning their attention back to the Faction store. Indeed, everything present was reduced by half.

The players were all overjoyed and could not wait to dance around merrily.

Han Xiao had released this mission in order to guide the players as he had no control over the activation of main storylines. Thus, he used the reward section to let players understand that they would start the following mission of the secret war main storyline. This was to give players peace of mind, allowing them to improve their participation during the battle and reducing the number of slackers.

In the past, Section Zero had also assigned players to participate in the battle. This time, he had taken in so many players, so the labor had to be done by himself.

This large-scale military operation had not been proposed suddenly as Han Xiao knew that the players would return during this time. Two months prior, he had already begun preparations for this large-scale counterattack operation. He had waited until now to bring players with him to join in this secret war together.

While the players had accumulated a lot of experience and money in Version 2.0, Han Xiao’s upgrades now required a sky-high price. The experience they had saved up was just not enough, and he had to fatten them up once more, or else the Mission Completion Cards he had saved up would be useless.

As soon as this version opened, Han Xiao could not wait to guide the players over to the war missions. This was to allow them to accumulate as much experience as possible; only by increasing the players’ spending power and letting them become rich could he then earn even more. He had always been an advocate for mutual benefits and being well-off comprehensively.

Putting it in another way, the leeks that he had planted were not ripe yet. He still had to give it his all to fertilize them.

Han Xiao also knew well that with every new version, raising their levels to the upper limit would be the players’ first choice. As such, their desire to spend would be lowered. Han Xiao needed to stimulate demand and make players willing to take out their wallets for consumption.

The fifty percent discount for the war participants was just one of his measures to stimulate the demand in the players.

The large number of players formed a turbulent human wave as they left the square, going straight toward the logistics department. Meanwhile, every one of them was browsing the store, looking for their favorite equipment or items.

“One set of the standard issued armor, and I’ll take the skin for it as well!”

“Jackpot, jackpot! This time, we hit the motherload!”

“Never expected this sort of benefit from the beginning of the version. This is to improve our combat capability, allowing us to protect ourselves in the war mission. The head really loves us!”

The hundred thousand or so players nearly burst the logistics department at the seams when they all rushed in to order equipment.

In addition to the single players wantonly buying, a few of the guilds began to organize their manpower, calling friends to crowdfund their items.

“Such opportunities are rare. Hurry and get more money. We can buy better things with these!”

The Guild of Gods Head Jupiter showed an expression of glee, prepared to utilize the funds of his guild to buy a few sets of mining spaceships and equipment. In the future, Guild of Gods would be able to mine their own resources, receiving a steady stream of profits.

Professional players like Frenzied Sword, however, preferred the high quality equipment and went to find their respective club’s guild to raise money, buying orange equipment crazily.

The players present looked as though they had all consumed aphrodisiacs, their desire for consumption skyrocketing to extreme levels. Wave after wave of purchases were made, and on their hands were big and small bags, all containing new equipment. Although their wallets were emptied, everybody had a smile on their face.

Having saved fifty percent of what they were supposed to pay, they were so happy!

At the same time, Han Xiao returned to his office, checking the revenue data of the army.

“In just half an hour, I’ve earned 2.7 billion Enas,” Han Xiao murmured to himself. Even with the current huge assets of the Black Star Army, this sum was no small amount. If averaged out, an individual player had spent close to 20,000 Enas. While all the goods were on a fifty percent sale, his total profit after deducting the costs was still hundreds of millions of Enas.

With the current productivity and warehouse capacity of the Black Star Army, meeting the demands of all the players was simply a piece of cake.

Han Xiao did not play his strategy of raising the price first before slashing it; he indeed placed all his goods at a fifty percent discount this time. However, because he had already mastered the Technology specialization, the profits after discount was still immensely high!

The players were also not stupid and would definitely remember the prices of goods in the previous version. Furthermore, what Han Xiao was lacking now was not money, so he had no need to destroy the goodwill between him and the players for just this paltry sum. It would be better to allow the players to feel some substantial benefits.

His goal was not to obtain this pot of money but rather to stimulate the consumers’ desire for consumption, emptying the players’ wallets before using this long-term discount activity to make players generate money quickly. Thus, they would work harder to participate in the war. Through this, their experience would fill up and empty out for him, then rinse and repeat… Continuously draining the players wallets would keep their fighting spirit up!

A mature leek would know how to engage in self-fertilization!

“Now that the players have spent all their money, I guess we can start soon…” Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed as the corners of his mouth curled up.

In fact, emptying the players’ wallet was just the prelude prepared by Han Xiao. The real harvest had just begun!

In the Logistics Department, the amount of equipment left in the deposit did not even hit triple digits. As the players put on their new equipment, they felt content at how rewarding the buying spree was. Their desire to spend money was not yet over, however, and they opened the faction store to browse if there was anything else that they could take advantage of.

Looking at the sky-high prices even after discounting for the top-tier equipment, the players were moved, but they could not afford it even with the discount. Thus, they could only look away in resignation. It was at this time that someone found out the faction store stocked a lot more Profession Knowledge compared to the previous Version.

As they closely scrutinized it, the players received a huge shock.

The faction store actually contained the Basic and Advanced Knowledge of the various Psychic, Mechanic, Esper, Psychic, and Magic Professions!

There were even a few Professions that had High-End Knowledge!

Everyone present clearly remembered that in Version 2.0, the Black Star Army did not have a complete copy of all knowledge for the five major professions.

In fact, the Basic and Advanced Knowledge for each Profession could easily be gathered as long as one had money. With the current financial power of the Black Star Army, Han Xiao had gathered all the various lower-tier Profession Knowledge in the past seven years and even bought over a few high-end knowledges.

Having reached this level, the Black Star Army members under Han Xiao were numerous, with people of all different Professions. Buying this many different types of Knowledges was so that he could conveniently groom more warriors.

However, in the eyes of the players, this had extraordinary significance. In order to obtain profession knowledge, players in the various Star Fields had to increase favorability of the various profession mentors as well as the favorability of the faction they were in, and this was troublesome.

However, in the Black Star Army, they were able to master the profession knowledge of the classes, which signified that they did not need to find a mentor, and this would save them a lot of time and energy. This was an advantage that players from the other Star Fields did not have!

The most surprising thing was that, not only did the amount of Profession Knowledge increase, they actually did not require money!

Learning knowledge in the previous versions required money. However, this time, in the faction store, knowledge only required one’s Faction Contribution Points as well as experience!

Although the experience cost of learning a Knowledge remained, the required Faction Contribution Points had halved!

“They actually made Knowledge free of charge?”

“This doesn’t make sense. Why is it that Profession Knowledge does not require money now? Won’t it be a loss for us since we bought it last version using money?”

“Wait, I’ve discovered the reason!”

If a problem could not be solved, they could ask Phillip. Some of the players took the initiative to open the subprogram and ask, and they quickly got the answer.

Due to the scale of expansion for the Black Star Army, training camps had been established in various places. In order to train up members of the army on a large scale, the exchange pattern for Knowledge had thus been altered. Members of the army could apply for the Knowledge so long as they had enough contributions instead.

This system not only applied to the players but also to NPCs. This was equivalent to the induction training for the Black Star Army.

The crowd was astonished and realized even more about the great cause of the Black Star Army. This Star Cluster level Organization was indeed miles apart from its past, with high generosity and a proper system in place.

“So, we also receive the same welfare?” Other than a portion of people feeling depressed that they had spent the money in vain, the rest were all overjoyed.

“So, does that mean that we all need not pay whenever we wish to learn Knowledge next time, just use our Contribution Points!”

“Damn, this is too good!”

“It’s indeed a Faction for growth. The treatment is awesome!”

The majority of players were relieved, and they could feel the practical benefits of the development that the Black Star Army had undergone in the past decade.

When comparing faction benefits, the Black Star Army had left the rest in the dust!

How blissful!

“Just now, the three consecutive chain missions awarded us quite a bit of contribution points, enough to buy a few of the Knowledges. My Basic Knowledge is not complete yet.”

“Hehe, I’m out of money, but learning Knowledge does not require money!”

“The faction contribution points are even at a fifty percent discount. This benefit is really too good, too profitable!”

With the mentality of ‘since I can take advantage, I might as well do it’, the group of players immediately used up all the experience points that they had saved to obtain all the various Knowledges.

Following the buying of the Knowledge, the dry experience bank of Han Xiao started to fill up once more.

“Finally…”

Han Xiao let out a deep breath, feeling relieved.

This was what he needed the most!

He had abolished the monetary price for Knowledge to gain a large amount of the players’ experience. However, because the system also took into account NPCs, Han Xiao had thus made it into a system of contribution points for Knowledge.

For his normal members, experience was an intangible object, so if there was no requirement in terms of contribution points, it would be equivalent to giving it away, which would result in serious problems. This was his bottom line for maintaining the system of the faction.

In order to allow players to fork out the experience to purchase the Knowledges, Han Xiao had utilized the three guiding missions earlier to send the players a wave of contribution points. Following which, he had then used the ploy of halving prices to incite the players’ desires, emptying their purses.

After they had finished spending, the players would definitely want to take advantage of the system with the fifty percent off. At this time, they would then discover that Knowledge did not require money, and with their contribution point prices halved, a portion of the players would use their experience to learn various Knowledges. The reason it was only a portion was because knowledge could be learned at any point in time, but Han Xiao wanted to harvest some player experience in this short amount of time.

After being deprived for a decade, he could bear it no longer!

After considering that it was necessary to maintain the value of the contribution of the camp as a secondary currency and that it could not trigger ‘inflation’ in the process, Han Xiao did not give out too many contribution points to the players… or else he would have just thrown the players a motherload of contribution points, to the extent that they would reach the [Reverence) relationship, allowing them to learn all the knowledge they wanted. Not only would he empty their purses, he would also empty their experience bars, robbing them of both resources!

It’s better to harvest slowly. I’ll save some experience for them, allowing them to rise to Grade B. I cannot just pull my leeks out from the roots…

Han Xiao was acutely aware that he could not pull out the seedlings to make it look like they were growing

Watching his experience counter skyrocket, he licked his lips, a moved expression on his face.

It had been ten years. Finally, he could fill up his experience slot, this bottomless pit!

Chapter 721: The World Doesn’t Lack Smart People

Through the forums and internal message system within the army, the players who were in the other bases also received news about the discount they could get if they participated in the war.

Around ten days later, more than a million players gathered at the headquarters of the army and chose to participate in the war.

A portion of the players fell for Han Xiao’s marketing strategy and surrendered their entire wallet to him. In just half a month, they provided the Black Star Army with a few hundred million in pure profit.

However, most of the players still placed their focus on leveling up. For example, all the professional players focused fully on leveling up during the start of the version, and the number of players who chose to learn new knowledge were the minority.

Han Xiao did not feel discouraged. When the players became fat with experience and had some extra experience points, they would definitely purchase the various knowledge from the army; it was only a matter of time before their experience became his. Just the profit from this half a month was more than the total that he had earned over the past seven years.

The players happily enjoyed their new equipment while Han Xiao happily counted his money.

In just half a month, Han Xiao increased his level to 217, and he was only three levels away from level 220.

After this round of harvesting, he had pretty much emptied all the savings of the players, and they needed some time to recover.

The players’ savings are still too little. At the end of the previous version, many of the players went to participate in the preliminary round of the Pro League for fun and used all their experience points leveling up their skills. It is best I feed them until they are fat first.

In the lounge of the conference room, a group of officers were playing cards and creating a loud commotion. Han Xiao sat on the sofa alone and began thinking of his future plans.

After this battle, I should be able to gather enough experience to reach the next promotion mission. The gap to becoming a Beyond Grade A Super is becoming narrower.

While it would not be that easy for him to become a Beyond Grade A Super, Han Xiao was satisfied with his current progress. The other Beyond Grade A seeds still could not find a way to break into the Beyond Grade A realm and were stuck at a bottleneck. On the contrary, his growth was only reliant on his leveling speed, and he did not have any real bottlenecks.

Furthermore, he still had a stash of Mission Completion Cards. As long as he had sufficient experience, his growth would be smooth.

Just as Han Xiao was thinking, a loud cheer could be heard from the side.

Lagi had a look of resignation on his face as he made his classic pessimistic remark. He then stood up to leave his seat. On the other side of the table, Reynold sat down with his back straight and a calm expression on his face. He nodded slightly as though to say, Thank you for letting me win.

“Not bad, our Logistics Manager won five games in a row.”

“Tsk, I lost 50,000 Enas. I should’ve bet on Reynold instead.”

“Our vice commander was completely thrashed. His skills are just too lousy.”

“The logical thinking process of a Mechanic is truly amazing… but why is His Excellency Black Star so terrible at playing cards?”

Sylvia turned around and said to Han Xiao, “Teacher! Someone is talking bad about you!”

Han Xiao snapped back to reality and walked toward Sylvia with his hands behind his back. Standing behind Sylvia, he bent down slightly and placed his chin on Sylvia’s head. His gaze then swept past all the officers with an expression that said, Let me see who is talking bad about me.

Because the majority of the officers had participated in the battle a few days ago, almost all the core members of the army were present in headquarters. Han Xiao had held a short meeting before this, and after the meeting, everyone had gone to the lounge to play cards and opened a betting station.

Han Xiao was not interested in participating in any activity that relied on luck.

Reynold was originally studying a blueprint by the side, but after Sylvia lost a few games in a row, she insisted on dragging Reynold into the game to vent some anger for her.

While Reynold did not like wasting time on entertainment activities such as Wayne Cards, he would occasionally be invited to join a game or two and thus had his own deck.

Playing Wayne Cards seemed to be a part of all the officers’ resumes.

While all the officers had powerful combat capabilities, they usually did not manage administrative matters. When they were not deployed, they also had hobbies like an ordinary individual.

Since he had decided to play, Reynold naturally treated every game seriously. He had a powerful logical reasoning skill, and he had always been good at playing cards. He won five games in a row and did not even show his sister Rossellin any mercy.

Reynold collected his cards and looked around expressionlessly. “Who else?”

“Teacher, why not you play a round too,” Sylvia then said with a cheeky smile.

“I bet that Black Star will lose,” Harmon said honestly. “It is a sure win bet.”

“Not bad.” Han Xiao snorted. “I will beat whoever dares to win against me to death. Who wants to play?”

“No no no.”

Everyone waved their hands immediately. You’re the boss. You’re the strongest. Of course, we won’t dare to play.

Reynold knocked on the table lightly and said, “If no one is playing with me, I shall take my leave.”

Right at this moment, Herlous stepped forward and sat opposite Reynold. Let me take you on.

“I shall let you understand the true meaning of skill.”

“It should be the true meaning of luck, right?” Reynold replied expressionlessly.

Herlous snorted. “Humph, luck is a type of skill too.”

“It’s over. Reynold’s victory streak shall end here.”

“Reynold, take care of this b*stard.”

Everyone cheered on excitedly.

After seven years of hard work, Herlous had finally stepped into the doors of a Calamity Grade Super. His talent was truly higher than his peers, and he lived up to the name of being a protagonist character. It was as though he had become a Grade A Super just by playing cards.

Among all the officers, Herlous enjoyed playing Wayne Cards the most. Because all his victories usually come from a lucky draw, together with the fact that Feidin did not like to play cards, Herlous had some prestige in the Wayne Card world of the Black Star Army.

Even the players knew that he would never reject an opponent, and even they could find Herlous to play cards against. There were even corresponding missions, and they could obtain experience points if they beat Herlous, even getting the chance to obtain a rare card from him.

After a few lines of trash talk, Herlous started his game with Reynold. Both of them were using a Black Star Army deck.

Five years ago, the Wayne Cards had been refreshed, and despite being a subsidiary of Floating Dragon, the Black Star Army had more Wayne Cards than Floating Dragon. Han Xiao’s card was strengthened greatly with plenty of special effects and high HP. His card had already become a rare card.

Not too long later, Herlous got a few lucky draws in a row. Despite Reynold’s skills being superior, he was still on the losing end.

A thought suddenly sprung up in Han Xiao’s head, and he gave Herlous a (Luck Curse).

“Humph, you are dead.” Herlous drew with confidence, but after glancing at his card, his face froze up.

Wayne Cards were pretty much determined by luck, and Herlous’ Luck attribute was still higher than his after being reduced by ninety percent. But in front of Reynold, he could only lose miserably after a few terrible draws, and Reynold easily turned the tables.

“Eh? Your luck finally isn’t working?”

“Haha, you can also have such a day.”

Herlous’ face darkened, and he quibbled, “What do you lot know? This is a strategic retreat. I will turn the tables in a while.”

Everyone around burst into laughter, and the entire room was filled with energy.

Han Xiao did not join in the fun and returned to the sofa to check the forums.

It had been less than half a month since the release of Version 3.0, and the players from the other Star Fields were still in the exploratory phase. The news that had been released by Han Xiao had become a clue for the other players who were searching for the Main Storyline Missions in the various Star Fields.

This time, the Main Storyline Mission in the Shattered Star Ring was the first to appear again, and the players from the other Star Fields were all extremely jealous. As such, the forum of the Shattered Star Ring was the liveliest, with players from many other Star Fields coming to leave their comments.

Coincidentally, Bun-Hit-Dog’s new video was also released, and it discussed how the Black Star Army was a hidden Main Storyline Mission that spanned across three different versions. A huge wave of discussion was created, and both Han Xiao and the Black Star Army became the hottest topic in the past half a month.

Han Xiao briefly looked through the post, and it was mainly describing his importance and past events. Bun-Hit-Dog helped to boost his fame, which was never a bad thing.

The event that made Han Xiao the happiest was that Galaxy Times introduced the benefits of the Black Star Army according to the players’ information.

Version 3.0 would bring about a new wave of players joining the game, and the introduction from Galaxy Times would sway many into choosing the Shattered Star Ring as their starting point. This would directly result in a large increase in the number of players.

Knowledge can only be learned once, and these new players represent a new market. Apart from Planet Aquamarine, there are a few other novice planets in the Shattered Star Ring. I need to find some time to construct a Black Star Army base on those planets and bring those players into the army.

Apart from the players who started off with him from Version 1.0, it was time for Han Xiao to increase the size of his crops.

The players from the other Star Fields also represent a huge market. It is a pity that the distance between Star Fields is too large. The Black Star Army still isn’t able to leave the Shattered Star Ring, and there isn’t any hope of capturing those markets for now.

Han Xiao shook his head silently. He had always been eyeing the players from the other Star Fields, but because of the distance, he had not been able to include them in his plans.

While casually glancing at the posts, one of the posts caught his eye.

The title of the post was ‘The True Strategy of the Secret War’.

What is this true strategy? Why don’t I know about it?

Han Xiao clicked on the post, and the owner of the post was someone called Summer Night Flower. The content of the post made Han Xiao raise his brows in response.

“… there are actually two factions that we can choose from in the secret war, and everyone should already know about this. However, we all belong to the Black Star Army and automatically belong to the Purple Crystal faction. Since that’s the case, why can we still choose the Klent faction? I think that a hint is hidden behind this.

“This hint is: Joining Klent will bring us more benefits than staying in the Black Star Army!

“This is the true strategy of the Main Storyline Mission!

“I am not spouting nonsense. Firstly, I’ve investigated the events that have happened over the past ten years. Bloodshed Land have had the upper hand from the beginning of the war, and they still have the advantage. They are invading more and more territories, and it seems like Klent has a much larger chance of victory.

“By looking back at the example of the Germinal Organization and Mutation Disaster, I have concluded that the Main Storyline Missions are out of our league, and players aren’t able to affect the direction of the storyline.

“The secret war is fought between two Star Cluster Civilizations, and I don’t think that we will be able to affect the outcome of the war.

“In other words, Klent will be the final victor of the war!

“While we will be able to receive benefits from staying in the Black Star Army, we will fail the Main Storyline Mission, which will result in a lower Mission Rating. If we join Klent, even if we skip the missions, our Mission Rating will be increased.

“Second, there aren’t many players joining Klent at the moment, and the competition is low. This means that we will have a greater chance of obtaining more resources. The Black Star Army has over a million players, and with so many people fighting for resources and missions, we will have to expend more energy to receive reward.

“Third, the connection to future versions. Klent’s backer is the Crimson Dynasty, which is one of the three great Universal Civilizations. The future versions will probably revolve around the Universal Civilizations, and joining Klent will open a door for us that leads to the Universal Civilizations.

“Regardless of how powerful the Black Star Army becomes, it will be impossible for them to exceed a Universal Civilization.

“Thus, we will only be able to enjoy short-term benefits if we join the Black Star Army and will end up losing more opportunities. Perhaps the benefits of the Black Star Army are no more than a trap. Only an intelligent individual will be able to see through it and join Klent!”

After reading the post, Han Xiao had a strange feeling

He recognized this player called Summer Night Flower. In his previous life, Summer Night Flower was a famous player who triggered a hidden storyline. He enjoyed analyzing storylines, and he had some fame.

If Han Xiao was being honest with himself, Summer Night Flower’s analysis truly seemed extremely logical.

However, Summer Night Flower was wrong from the very beginning. This was something that Han Xiao had purposely created, and there was no hidden hint or anything.

If someone really believed this post and chose to join Klent, the outcome would truly be terrible for them.

Han Xiao had a look of resignation on his face.

Even if you wanted to come up with a hypothesis, you should at least get your facts straight.

Hopefully no one ends up being fooled…

Chapter 722: Going to War

Han Xiao committed Summer Night Flower’s name to memory before throwing this matter to the back of his mind.

This was something that would definitely happen. Players were explorers after all; there would be some who wanted to seek something fresh. Since this could not be avoided, Han Xiao could only let nature take its course.

Only the crops that went through wind and rain would be truly precious.

After browsing through the forums for a while, Han Xiao suddenly felt the sofa tremble slightly, and someone sat down beside him. Turning around to look, it turned out to be Reynold.

“Not playing cards anymore?”

“Lagi dragged Feidin over. What’s the damn point of playing?” Reynold replied expressionlessly.

Han Xiao then chuckled before casually saying, “You must let me know if you have any requests.”

“No.”

“Think about it carefully again. Don’t need to worry about troubling me. You must let me know if you have any problems…”

Reynold had a strange look on his face. “Why do you ask me this question every month or
so?”

“It’s just me showing concern for my subordinates…” Han Xiao let out a dry cough. In order to obtain Reynold’s Perfect Mechanical Sense, Han Xiao showed concern to Reynold every now and then in an attempt to trigger a mission.

However, ever since Han Xiao saved Rossellin, not a single mission had appeared from Reynold again. Just when would he be able to finally obtain the Perfect Mechanical Sense talent?

Should I get some people to kidnap Rossellin so that Reynold will seek my help to save her?

“Your Excellency Black Star, how long do you think this war will last?” Reynold suddenly asked.

Han Xiao thought for a moment before saying, “If you were to ask for my opinion, a war represents opportunity, and the longer the war, the better. However, this war can only be considered ordinary when compared to the other galactic wars, which last hundreds of years. As long as the Crimson Dynasty finishes their negotiations with the Federation of Light, Klent will retreat. According to some intel that I received, the Universal Civilizations will probably finish their negotiations in a few
years.”

Reynold shook his head. “Looking at the current situation, Klent has completed almost half of their plan. When the Crimson Dynasty has fulfilled their wish, they will help Klent redraw the territorial borders of the Seoul Star Cluster and include the few Star Clusters conquered by Bloodshed Land in the territory of their Seoul Star Cluster. If Purple Crystal doesn’t find a backer, they won’t get any help for sure.”

“That’s right. An independent civilization will have to endure all this,” Han Xiao replied. He had some thoughts of his own but did not feel that it was necessary to let Reynold know about them. After pausing for a while, he continued, “However, even after the end of the secret war, the Crimson Tide won’t disappear quickly. It is just like how a rock being thrown into still waters won’t only create a splash but ripples as well.

“There are numerous civilizations in the galaxy, and they all have their own desires for more, which is like extremely combustible firewood. The Crimson Tide is like a spark to light up their dormant desires. The moment their desires are ignited, they won’t be extinguished easily.

“Purple Crystal also know that they cannot let Bloodshed Land occupy so many Star Systems. The purpose of this battle is to organize a large-scale retaliation, clear out all the strongholds that Bloodshed Land have in the Kant Star System, and snatch back control of the entire Star System. This is the largest military operation that Purple Crystal has launched since the start of the war, and they are sending out almost all their forces.”

In two days’ time, the Black Star Army would be officially deployed to meet up with the other members of Section Zero and head toward the Kant Star System.

This time, he was prepared to give the players a chance to show off their abilities and give all the dirty work to the players. More importantly, he wanted to groom the players and make them perform more war missions so that his crops could grow up healthily.

Since the players would not die, if they did not go to hell, who would?

Furthermore, the overall gaming experience would be better if the game was more dangerous. If the players did not experience some deaths, they would not be motivated at all.

Summer Night Flower had his eyes fixed on the forums, paying attention to the replies to his posts. Disagreements formed the majority of the replies, and his expression became ugly as he saw them.

He had only managed to create this post after some deep thought, and Summer Night Flower had felt extremely delighted at that moment. The way he saw it, he would definitely be able to knock many of the players awake and lead them in the right direction, gaining their praise in the process.

However, the reaction to the post was completely contrary to his expectations, and most of the players sided with the Black Star Army. Most of the replies were extremely sarcastic and said that his post was completely worthless and no more than a blind guess. This made Summer Night Flower extremely infuriated.

“These people do not know how to think at all!”

As Summer Night Flower saw more and more sarcastic replies, his mood became terrible, and he decided not to read the replies anymore.

Summer Night Flower edited his post and added, “All of you will know who is right and who is wrong when the truth verifies my thoughts. At that time, it will be too late for all of you to regret!”

At the same time, another player called ‘Hate the Heavens’ also saw Summer Night Flower’s post.

Hate the Heavens had always felt that he was extremely good at spotting hidden storylines that no one knew about. He was also an avid reader of the post by Galaxy Chronicles and had even set up a small guild for players who enjoyed digging up hidden storylines.

When he saw the post, Hate the Heavens immediately felt that Summer Night Flower must be right.

The Main Storyline would not give them a meaningless faction, so there must be a hidden storyline in Klent!

Hate the Heavens made his decision and sent a link to Summer Night Flower’s post to all the members in his guild.

“All of you look at this post. I think that it is extremely logical, and I plan to join the Klent faction.”

The guild immediately broke out into commotion.

“You must consider this matter carefully Guild Leader! You will be screwed if your guess is wrong!”

“I think that it makes sense. Guild Leader, count me in. This trip will definitely be interesting.”

“Guild Leader, how are you planning to join them? I don’t think we have a path to join them, right?”

“I searched for some information, and there is a news report of Bloodshed Land hiring soldiers in Colton,” Hate the Heavens replied. “I think that there will be a chance to join the enemy if we go to the frontline stronghold of the enemy alone. We can make use of this opportunity to change factions.”

“This can be considered betrayal, right? We won’t be able to return to the army again in future,” another person added.

“So what if we can’t return? Bloodshed Land is a large faction, and it may not be any worse than the Black Star Army. Furthermore, we may have the chance to come in contact with the Crimson Dynasty in the future,” Hate the Heavens replied indifferently.

ren

“All of these are guesses. Guesses can be
wrong.”

“I feel that it can’t be wrong.” Hate the Heavens shook his head. “Besides, with so many players being in the Black Star Army faction, we will know about any developments in the army. However, no one has triggered the hidden storyline in the Klent faction, and I want to play a storyline that no one knows about…”

“But the benefits of the Black Star Army are so
good…”

“Haha, I am not a professional player. Why do I need to be so powerful?” Hate the Heavens replied with loud laughter.

He was a player who craved satisfaction, and the allure of a fresh storyline was far greater than benefits. Among the players, there were plenty who felt the same.

Summer Night Flower’s post did have some effect. Apart from those who replied with sarcasm, there were some who began considering his words and grew curious about the Klent faction.

There were a small portion of players who were like Hate the Heavens and sought a fresh storyline, but the majority were gambling on the benefits that the Klent faction could bring to them.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

It was the day to go out for battle, and all the manpower had been gathered up. A large fleet was awaiting orders in the military dock of the headquarters.

More than a million players formed a special fleet and waited on-board the battleships with excitement.

They were no longer strangers to these large-scale missions, but most of them still felt excited whenever they participated in a mission that involved more than a million players.

As a faction that had gathered all the players together, such missions gave them a sense of belonging, and they felt as though they had a mission on their shoulders.

All the members participating in the battle waited in their respective battleships with Lagi’s face being displayed on the screen of all the battleships. He was currently briefing all the participants of the mission. This should have been the job of the faction leader, but Han Xiao felt that Lagi was a demonic talent when it came to boosting the morale of the troops and thus allowed him to take this job.

As such, everyone had no choice but to listen to Lagi’s monotonic voice.

“We will all die eventually, and the difference is only whether we die today or tomorrow…”

-20 Morale.

“Regardless of whether we are powerful or weak, we cannot avoid death. Being alive is only a process of rotting away slowly. Everything you do is meaningless to the universe, including this battle. Regardless of victory or defeat, it has nothing to do with all of you…”

-40 Morale.

“However, even if we know that the outcome cannot be changed, we will still continue to work hard. Even if we know that life is more important than everything else, there will be some who take risks. Even if we know that we are no more than a small chess piece in the war who will be reduced to dust by the various weapons, we are still willing to fight… Why is this?”

The morale slowly rose back up.

“It’s because of money!”

The morale instantly went back to zero!

“We will only be able to enjoy life with money. We will not have to bend our backs to others if we have money. We will be able to take care of all our problems easily with money! We are warriors, and fighting is the way for us to earn money. Do you lack money? Then pick up your weapon and slaughter the enemy. A war is the best opportunity for us to earn money. Every single enemy has a price on their head, and your earnings shall be determined by the number of enemies you kill!”

A special effect has been triggered: +80 Morale.

Any righteous slogan would only make the members of the army sneer in disdain. After all, the secret war was a battle of benefits between Klent and Purple Crystal. They had nothing to do with the war but chose to participate in it for money. As such, the best way to stir the army would be to tell them the truth and let them know how much money their enemy was worth.

All the players looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. They had thought that they would be listening to an inspiring speech but never expected it to be such a pragmatic one.

Black Star, you have changed.

But we like it!

Han Xiao stifled his laughter and hurriedly kicked Lagi away, who wanted to add something. If he allowed Lagi to speak freely without following the script, the morale of the army would definitely vanish.

Han Xiao coughed dryly and added, “Set off.”

Boom!

The next moment, the surface of the Black Star Army’s satellite headquarters opened, and a large catapult rail was revealed. Thousands of battleships took off from the catapult rail and formed neat rows outside the atmosphere of the headquarters.

The fleet entered hyperdrive at the same moment and transformed into rays of light disappearing into the universe.

If the pedestrians on Planet Golden Gate stopped what they were doing and looked up, they would be able to see thousands of shooting-star-like objects disappearing into the horizon.

On Planet Heber, the Bloodshed Land headquarters…

“Your Excellency Tyrant, intelligence from the frontlines reported Section Zero sending out all of their forces. Their target is the Kant Star System, and Black Star has personally set off,” Jorde reported to Heber respectfully. “I have arranged for the forces from other Star Systems to reinforce them.”

“Mhm.” Heber’s soft murmur indicated that he had heard the report before asking, “Has Black Star grown up yet?”

Jorde hurriedly replied, “It has been a full seven years, and Black Star’s strength has not changed up until now.”

Talking about this, Jorde could not help but heave a sigh of relief. Back then, Black Star’s fame was peerless, and it was as though he could become a Beyond Grade A Super anytime. However, seven years had gone by, and Black Star had not achieved a breakthrough. His fame was no longer as high as before, and some organizations no longer paid close attention to him.

Every Beyond Grade A seed was a genius, but they would always become ordinary after a brief commotion. It turned out that Black Star was no different from the other Beyond Grade A seeds.

Heber shook his head with a tinge of disappointment.

He had been waiting for Han Xiao to grow up and wanted to kill Han Xiao after he became a Beyond Grade A Super. Only then would he have a battle record of killing a Beyond Grade A Super to allow his prestige to increase another level.

Seven years ago, news of Klent working together with EsGod had soured relationships between Bloodshed Land and Klent. However, both parties were allies and fought for their own benefits. Thus, this little conflict did not affect the plan for Bloodshed Land to fight on behalf of Klent.

“I overestimated him.” Heber felt that it was a pity. With his status, there would not be any benefits for him killing a Beyond Grade A seed.

Jorde could not help but ask, “Your Excellency Tyrant, Black Star has not shown any progress over the past seven years. Will he suddenly achieve a breakthrough and become a Beyond Grade A Super?”

Heber looked at him and slowly explained, “Before the appearance of the Primordial Ones, Calamity Grade Supers were the most powerful beings in the universe. This went on for many years, and many generations of geniuses weren’t able to touch the door frame of becoming a Beyond Grade A Super. The barrier to becoming a Beyond Grade A Super won’t be broken so easily. Compared to talent, luck seems to be more important. After all, one will become an entirely new organism after becoming a Beyond Grade A Super…”

This was not the first time that Jorde had heard that a Beyond Grade A Super was a completely new organism. Just where did the huge chasm between the Calamity Grade and Beyond Grade A come from?

However, Tyrant did not wish to tell him, and Jorde could only suppress the curiosity in his heart. “Does Black Star have a chance to become a Beyond Grade A Super?”

“Hmm, perhaps after a few decades of exploration,” Heber said with a deep voice. “However, Klent’s plan will be completed in a few years’ time, and the war will be over soon At that time, Black Star will die by hand, so he won’t have the opportunity to live that long.”

Heber’s patience was limited, and he would only give Black Star until the end of the war to become a Beyond Grade A Super.

After the war ended, there would not be anything to restrict a Beyond Grade A Super from taking action. At that time, even if Black Star was only at the Calamity Grade, he would personally kill Black Star. Black Star had to pay the price for killing his officers.

Chapter 723: Money Is the Most Terrifying Weapon

In the Kant Star System, a gigantic fleet was currently hovering around a space filled with nothingness. The size of this fleet was comparable to the elite forces of Klent or Purple Crystal. Two large flagships that were a few dozen kilometers long were located at the core of the fleet with the military technology of Purple Crystal being built into it. Its exterior was covered in a dark purple prism crystal, looking as though it was an artificially carved purple diamond. Energy veins that flickered with a bluish-gold color ran through the crystal, and these energy veins transmitted psionic energy to the entire ship like the veins of a human body. These veins granted the flagship an extremely powerful defense and also gave it the ability to shoot out compressed psionic blasts from any corner of the vessel.

It was a Star Diamond Grade Flagship, Purple Crystal’s flagship model. With the Gemini Star as the furnace, a special mineral from the Purple Crystal Civilization called ‘Dark Stream Crystal’ was used to forge this super flagship. It was made from military warehouse no. 3 of the Purple Crystal Civilization and was a war machine for Section Zero.

Every time he saw these two gigantic flagships, Han Xiao would drool over them. This flagship was the epitome of Purple Crystal’s technological skill, but it was a pity that it was not for sale. Furthermore, Purple Crystal’s technological skills leaned toward crystal magic and inscription magi, which was not compatible with him.

After a long distance hyperdrive, Han Xiao brought the Black Star Army fleet to the gathering point. There were already millions of battleships awaiting their orders, and they were the fleets of the various members from Section Zero. After ten years of war, Purple Crystal invested a large amount of resources and used their military factories to support Section Zero. As such, the fleet of every Section Zero member had grown greatly.

The flagship of the Black Star Army was a spherical satellite base. Han Xiao gave the flagship a name befitting its appearance, Model Marble. This was an armed satellite fortress that Han Xiao had personally modified. Its size was smaller and had a higher mobility and combat capability. It had the more stable dark energy furnace as its core, and its cost was within a reasonable range. According to Han Xiao’s estimation, it should be comparable to an ordinary flagship model of a Galactic Civilization.

The blueprint of this flagship came from a Bloodshed Land armed satellite fortress. Han Xiao created multiple versions of the fortress and completely embraced the idea of copying and plagiarism. After all, Han Xiao had chosen the path of Virtual Technology, so he was not able to gamble for the blueprints of gigantic machinery. Thus, making a copy of an existing machine was much easier to him.

Psionic energy was still far too dangerous, so Han Xiao only dared make use of psionic energy when forging high-grade weapons. When forging such a large fortress, Han Xiao had chosen to use a more stable source of energy. Dark energy existed all around the universe, and it belonged to the category of [Abnormal State Energy).

All the leaders of the participating organizations were gathered into a Star Diamond Grade Flagship called ‘Everlasting’ for a meeting. As the leader of the Black Star Army, Han Xiao naturally needed to attend the meeting. He was currently in a conference room that had more than a hundred individuals present listening to the commander from Purple Crystal nagging endlessly.

A map of the various Bloodshed Land strongholds in the Kant Star System was displayed on the holographic screen, and every Hyperdrive Base Station was connected to three to fourteen different planets. An efficient reinforcement system was formed, and Bloodshed Land had a total of eleven strongholds in the Kant Star System. They formed a fan-like formation with the first Bloodshed Land stronghold near the border as the core.

The enemy’s fan-shaped territory could be split into three different layers: six weaker strongholds at the outer rim, four strongholds to slow down the enemy in the middle, and the bridgehead, which was the very first stronghold of Bloodshed Land in the Star System. The objective of this large-scale invasion was to purge all the enemies from outside to inside.

“According to our intelligence, Bloodshed Land has found out about our operation and raised their level of defense. We will be facing a head on battle…”

Han Xiao did not pay too much attention to the meeting. He had already obtained all this intelligence from Ralph and was currently looking around at the people around him to kill time.

Of the many leaders present, the most powerful few were the leaders of the Arc Light Organization, Hero Group, New Phylen Rebels, and so on. They had once been the trump card force of Section Zero, but their position had been replaced with the Black Star Army.

At this moment, the commander said, “Bloodshed Land mobilized some reinforcements, and Hadavy will be joining this battle. Your Excellency Black Star, we will need to rely on you on our side.”

Han Xiao nodded in response, and the other leaders nodded to him in response.

He was the most powerful individual in Section Zero and would always deal with the most powerful enemy. Among all the high-level combatants, all the organizations there relied on him to deal with the most troublesome enemy. This was also the reason for the Black Star Army’s status in Section Zero.

“According to the intelligence, Hadavy and his reinforcements will be guarding the innermost bridgehead. They are currently constructing various large-scale defensive measures and plan to use their strongholds on the outer rim to slow down our progress…”

“Can’t we attack the enemy’s bridgehead directly?” one of the leaders asked.

The commander replied with a deep voice, “The border of the Kant Star System is connected to Kaya, and Bloodshed Land’s stronghold is located right behind the bridgehead of Kant. If we attack the bridgehead directly, we will have to face enemies from both the Kaya Star System and the other strongholds located in the Kant Star System. Thus, we will face less pressure if we choose to attack from the outside.

“Because of the lack of time, we have to uproot all the strongholds located on the outer rim as quickly as possible. The enemy forces located on the outer rim are the weakest, and we have an absolute advantage in terms of strength. We will split our forces into six and attack six different strongholds at once. The forces shall be split as follows…”

Han Xiao realized that the Black Star Army was assigned to lead a few different organizations to attack a weaker stronghold. An idea then came to his mind.

“I have a suggestion.”

“Please speak,” the commander said with a respectful tone.

Han Xiao pointed at the star map and said, “The smallest stronghold is only connected to three different planets, and it would be too troublesome to send an entire fleet over. Leave them to the Black Star Army. I will uproot them completely.”

The commander hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright then, I shall withdraw those forces.”

He had plenty of trust in Han Xiao’s strength. However, a mere three planets without a single Calamity Grade Super could be easily taken care of by Black Star alone. The enemy did not arrange for any experts in the outer rim, and it was truly a waste of resources to send a powerhouse like Black Star.

“Then the reward…”

“Don’t worry, you will definitely be satisfied.” The commander nodded. Purple Crystal definitely would not be stingy if the Black Star Army took on an extra mission.

Han Xiao smiled and said, “I don’t need too much. I just want 7,000 tons of Dark Stream Crystal and 2,000 tons of string alloy.”

am

Rare materials could be used to create plenty of elite mechanical soldiers, and compared to money, Han Xiao preferred to receive his payment in materials.

“I will report this to my higher ups.” The commander’s lips contorted slightly.

Returning to the Black Star flagship, Han Xiao called the fleet commander, Herlous, over and indicated his intention to split up his forces.

Lagi would lead the majority of their forces and join the main fleet while Han Xiao would lead a small bunch to attack the smallest stronghold.

“You want to lead them?” Herlous asked with doubt. “You can destroy the three planets single handedly, right?”

“I plan to bring Marian, Sylvia, and a portion of the undying force. I mainly want to train them.” Han Xiao shrugged.

“Alright then.” Herlous nodded.

“I also have something else to add. For the undying troops that I don’t take with me, I want you to send them to the most dangerous part of the battlefield. I want you to throw all the jobs with risks over to them.”

Herlous rubbed his head and said, “I understand. I’ll have them follow Harmon.”

After giving some instructions to Herlous, Han Xiao then issued a mission to the players through the interface. He indicated that the army would be split into two, and he would be taking 300,000 players with him.

Through the faction interface, the 300,000 spots were filled up in less than three minutes. Han Xiao then mobilized more than a hundred battleships and took Sylvia, Marian, and the 300,000 excited players to their destination.

Han Xiao’s objective of this operation was to fatten the players up and allow them to earn as much experience as possible. Thus, he was willing to participate in more operations.

Apart from the Main Storyline Mission, Han Xiao was prepared to use up the daily Faction Reward Quota to give the players experience.

On planet number K-00156 was one of the Bloodshed Land strongholds in the Kant Star System. This was a new stronghold that had not been completely overhauled. Grayish metal covered the surface of the planet, and more than a thousand battleships were patrolling the atmosphere of the planet to keep it safe.

Over a hundred rays of light suddenly sliced through the dark space and exited hyperdrive. They exited hyperdrive not too far away from planet K-00156, and Han Xiao led his forces over without stopping.

300,000 players looked at the planet through the windows of the battleships excitedly.

“This is our target, right?”

“Is it finally going to begin? I can’t hold back my excitement any longer.”

“Have you guys triggered the war mission? My mission is to destroy this planet’s stronghold. Are all of your missions the same?”

All the players obtained a subsidiary mission through the Main Storyline Mission that required them to destroy the stronghold on planet K-00156.

Frenzied Sword and a portion of the professional players took part in this mission as well. Maple Moon also followed along, and there was not even a need to mention Bun-Hit-Dog; he would follow Black Star wherever he went.

Right at this moment, an orange alert light went off in all the battleships, and Phillip’s voice sounded.

“All forces, proceed to the charge cabin and prepare to launch. Check the durability of the armor and life support system of the charge cabin. We will be entering the atmosphere of planet K-00156. We will land on the surface. Kill all enemies who fight back and destroy the base on the surface of the planet. I repeat. All forces…”

All the players heard the order and entered the charge cabins with their comrades. However, Maple Moon looked outside the window with hesitation on her face.

The Defense Team of planet K-00156 had already detected the approaching troops and were currently about to surround them. The enemy had over a thousand battleships, a full ten times their size. They were like sheep being surrounded by wolves, and it would be impossible for them to break out from the enemy’s encirclement. How were they supposed to be launched onto the planet?

Maple Moon was much more observant toward such details.

“What are you waiting for? Let’s go.” By the side, Bun-Hit-Dog pushed her along, and Frenzied Sword also began to rush her.

“Wait.” Maple Moon took out her communicator and summoned Phillip. “The enemy battleships are about to surround us. How are we going to deal with them? If our battleships are destroyed, all of us will be sucked into the universe.”

“This isn’t something for you to worry about,” Phillip replied mechanically. “The enemy fleet will not cause us any trouble, hum…”

Maple Moon wanted to continue asking, but Bun-Hit-Dog who was beside her suddenly let out a gasp. “Look outside, Black Star has met the enemy force alone!”

As the people in the surroundings heard that, they all stopped moving and looked outside the window curiously. Maple Moon also looked up, and Frenzied Sword ran back to look outside the window.

Han Xiao exited the battleship alone and faced thousands of enemy battleships.

The enemy had also locked onto him and opened fire immediately.

All the players in the spaceships could not help but grow anxious. In the previous version, Black Star had not displayed an overwhelming prowess in the universe. While they knew that Black Star would definitely have become stronger in the new version, this was the first time witnessing Black Star take action in this version. None of them were clear about Black Star’s strength.

This was the firepower of over a thousand battleships!

Would he be able to block them?

Just when everyone was feeling nervous, Han Xiao’s hands turned into claws, and as though he treated the space around him as a piece of cloth, he tugged down on it firmly. The space around him contorted, and the endless wave of cannon fire was immediately dispersed in every other direction, flying past his body.

Shortly after, ripples could be seen in the space around him, and his army boxes appeared behind him in an orderly formation.

Frenzied Sword did a quick count of the number of Army Boxes, and there were 121!

The next moment, all the Army Boxes were opened up, and as though Pandora’s box was opened, a never ending wave of black machines swarmed out. Millions of energy blasts were launched, and the energy blasts swallowed half of the enemy fleet.

Hundreds of enemy battleships were immediately torn apart by the energy blasts and reduced to fireworks in the dark universe.

In a single instant, half of the enemy fleet was wiped out!

Even though this frightening wave of machinery was charging toward the enemy, the players on-board the spaceships could not help but take in a deep breath.

In the past seven years, Han Xiao did not have much experience to level up and thus focused his attention on his mechanical army. Currently, the size of his mechanical army was already in the millions, and he had forged a new artificial intelligence to deal with the calculations in battle. Phillip would then focus completely on being a butler.

“Alert, detecting a large energy spike! Alert! Alert!” An alarm went off in the spaceship.

All of a sudden, the surface of planet K-00156 began to tremble with a huge energy wave being released. The window of the spaceship adjusted itself automatically, and the view on the window seemed to be zoomed out. A large Anti Air Railgun that was used to deal with enemy flagships appeared from the surface of planet K-00156, and a brilliant purple light began charging up in the barrel of the railgun.

Han Xiao’s attention was also attracted by the railgun, and he threw out a compressed orb, which rapidly opened to become an Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon. An even more frightening energy reaction emanated from the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon, and an ice blue pillar of light shot out from the barrel of the cannon, accurately striking the Anti Air Railgun on the surface of the planet.

Everyone aboard the spaceships could clearly see the outcome of this shot. A large ice crater was left behind on the surface of the planet with frost covering the surroundings of the railgun. Tens of kilometers of land was covered in frost, and the frost was still spreading.

While they could not hear the commotion from that attack, all the players felt a chill run down their spine.

If this attack landed on an ordinary colonial planet… perhaps a single cannon would be able to destroy an entire city.

Just when everyone was still in a daze, Han Xiao suddenly weaved through the enemy vessels and appeared beside the enemy’s flagship. He immediately activated Machinery Apostilization, and the eyes of his mechanical suit lit up with a bright blue color. This was an indication of the energy within his body being extremely abundant.

Han Xiao placed his palm on the electromagnetic shield, and through the psionic energy being emanated by his body, the electromagnetic shield was dyed blue in color. With a few flashes, it shattered like a piece of glass, and Han Xiao proceeded unobstructed to the outer armor of the flagship. His hands turned into claws, and he embedded them deep within the armor of the flagship.

A never-ending flow of psionic energy infiltrated the enemy flagship through his ten fingers. With Han Xiao’s palm as the center, the psionic energy spread out to the exterior armor of the flagship like energy veins.

The entire flagship lit up like shattered porcelain pieces, and when the light became blinding, the entire flagship exploded with bright blue flames. The flames rapidly consumed the oxygen within the flagship and were extinguished in an instant.

At the same time, Han Xiao’s mechanical army had already destroyed the entire enemy fleet and returned to the Army Boxes like birds returning to their nest. Only the remains of destroyed battleships were left floating about in space.

The battle had ended in less than five minutes. For an expert of his realm, as long as there were no Supers of the same level to restrict him, destroying an entire fleet was a piece of cake to him.

The sound of Phillip’s cheers could then be heard in the spaceships.

“His Excellency Black Star has cleared all obstacles. All forces prepare to launch in three minutes. I repeat. His Excellency…’

All the players could not help but gulp in shock.

Was this the world of the powerful?

Too awesome!

Chapter 724: Fertilizer

Fighting an entire fleet with the strength of an individual. All the players were completely entranced by the sight before them.

The last time they had witnessed Han Xiao taking action, he did not have such overwhelming strength. It seemed like many things had changed greatly over the past ten years…

Frenzied Sword had a strange feeling in his heart. It was as though he had been through many good and bad times with Han Xiao.

Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes lit up, and he immediately interviewed Frenzied Sword. “Hey, didn’t you say that our strength would slowly be unlocked with the release of new versions? Does this mean that we will be able to destroy fleets in future? This is too interesting!”

“We should be able to…” Frenzied Sword was not too sure. He felt that as long as the level of strength in the galaxy did not change, their growth in strength would influence the way NPCs viewed them. With this game’s world being extremely open and free to possibilities, perhaps they would truly be able to attain a strength that could rival Black Star.

Maple Moon looked as though she was deep in thought by the side. She felt that the effect of the players leveling up should not be limited to an increase in their PVP abilities.

This small interlude did not affect the progress of the spaceships. The hundred or so spaceships approached planet K-00156, and the AI system began the countdown for their launch.

Under Phillip’s pestering, all 300,000 players boarded the launch pods and were ready for launch.

One after another, the space chargers shot out from the spaceships, and all the players took out their weapons while awaiting touchdown. Even the Espers and Pugilists would also have firearms as weapons.

Maple Moon frowned and suddenly thought about something.

“Since Black Star destroyed the enemy’s fleet, why do we still have to be sent down to the planet? Can’t we just shoot at them from outside the atmosphere?”

Everyone was stunned for a moment, but before they had the time to react, the launch pods trembled, and everyone felt their bodies becoming weightless.

Boom!

Han Xiao floated beside the fleet and looked down on the planet from above. The numerous space pods were like burning meteors raining down on the planet.

Han Xiao then zoomed in on the surface of the planet. An endless stream of players exited the launch pods and flooded the planet like a huge wave. This stronghold had many different bases with the sergeants of the Bloodshed Land leading their troops out to fight off the players. The strongest enemy fighter was only at Grade B, and under the fearless assault of the players, the enemy was forced back slowly.

“Not bad. I should be able to earn a large amount of experience this time.” Han Xiao did not have any intention of helping and sat cross legged outside the atmosphere to watch the battle.

Han Xiao had volunteered to attack the smallest Bloodshed Land stronghold so that the Hyperdrive Base Station and the three planets that it was connected to would become the player’s fertilizer.

Apart from the war and faction mission, all the Bloodshed Land warriors on the surface of the planet were also like walking bags of experience. As long as they were killed, the players would be able to gain plenty of experience.

With his level, getting rid of these useless soldiers would only give him one experience point. On the other hand, the players’ levels were low, and thus, they would receive plenty of bonus experience from killing the enemies. Han Xiao would then harvest the experience points from the players, and a beautiful production line would be formed. It was just like the principal of feeding a chicken to lay an egg.

The strength of the players is growing, and they will slowly walk up to a larger stage and display their prominence in the various organizations.

In his previous life, as the players’ strength increased and they began to roam the galaxy, many powerful galactic organizations paid close attention to the players. In the later versions during his previous life, the players had received a resounding nickname.

Cancer of the Universe!

Han Xiao had always felt that the nickname was extremely cool and fitting.

The players were still far from that standard. Only when the first few waves of players became Grade B would it be the time for the players to rise.

As the farmer who was prepared to let the name of his crops shine far and wide, Han Xiao knew that his responsibility was heavy.

“Your Excellency Black Star, are we going to help?”

Just when Han Xiao was deep in thought, Marian who was clad in heavy armor flew to Han Xiao’s side and asked if they should reinforce the ground troops.

He was one of the three Calamity Grade Supers who had joined the Black Star Army seven years ago. He was a powerful Mechanical Pugilist who did not talk much, with his focus being set on raising his strength. He could still be considered loyal and had gained Han Xiao’s trust over time.

“It isn’t necessary. I am training the soldiers, and both of you have something else to do.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

Marian nodded in reply.

“With this planet being attacked, the Hyperdrive Base Station will definitely send reinforcements very quickly. I want the both of you to attack the Hyperdrive Base Station before the reinforcements arrive. I want you to then send me over to the two other planets through the wormhole of the Hyperdrive Base Station. I will destroy their flying equipment before sending our forces over to clear up their nests,” Han Xiao said.

He wanted to turn the ground troops on the three strongholds into lambs waiting to be slaughtered. He would destroy all their methods to escape and trap them all on the planet. Not a single person would be allowed to escape, and they would all become fertilizers for his crops.

Han Xiao wanted to add something on but suddenly detected fluctuations in space. With a chuckle, he said, “My prediction is spot on indeed. Both of you prepare yourselves. Someone is here to seek death.”

The moment his voice sounded, a whirlpool-like wormhole opened outside the atmosphere of planet K-00156 and spat out battleship after battleship.

Without saying a word, Sylvia revved up the output of her mechanical suit and transformed into a beam of light. She nimbly avoided all the incoming laser beams and charged straight into the wormhole.

Marian followed closely behind her, but his performance was far more boorish. He activated dozens of shields and charged straight into the wormhole while tanking all the cannon fire. Along the way, he had even crashed straight through two small assault ships.

Both of them were Mechanical Pugilists, and their mechanical suits had personally been fine-tuned by Han Xiao. Together with their Calamity Grade strength, they were more than sufficient to take care of a Hyperdrive Base Station without any high-level combatants. Furthermore, both of their mechanical suits were equipped with Phillip’s child program and could extend the range of his virtual intrusion. When both of them arrived, he would be able to assist them from afar in infiltrating the base.

The reinforcing battleships appeared without ending with their guns blazing. Han Xiao remained cross legged, and his new and improved eleventh generation Watcher Instrument defended him automatically. A total of 361 bluish-gold orbs floated around him to form a thick psionic shield that deflected all the enemies’ attacks.

“Let me play with you guys for a bit since I am not pushed for time.”

Han Xiao chuckled. With a single thought, a terrifying amount of data assaulted the artificial intelligence system of the battleships. In the blink of an eye, the firewalls of these battleships were completely riddled with holes, and their calculation modules became unstable.

After multiple Class Advancements, his Virtual Technology skill had already entered a new realm, and his speed was completely different from the past. Furthermore, he had obtained a new Cutting-Edge Knowledge, (Quantum Network Matrix), from Purple Crystal, which multiplied the amount of data he could send. His infiltration technique went through a revolutionary change, and Han Xiao was currently capable of directly connecting to a quantum network.

As long as the enemy was within range, he would be able to generate a storm of data with a single thought, and his infiltration ability was extremely powerful. This was the flagship skill of a Virtual Mechanic.

Han Xiao had already grown to be extremely powerful in all areas. Although he had yet to reach Beyond Grade A, he could already be considered a powerhouse in the galaxy.

A Virtual Mechanic was a huge killing machine in a galactic battle. Even if Han Xiao did not make use of his mechanical army, he would be able to easily deal with a small fleet. As he infiltrated the enemy ships to throw the enemy into a mess, Han Xiao sent out his elite mechanical army to board the enemy ships and kill all their crew. Since he was not in a hurry, Han Xiao decided to minimize the destruction and capture all these battleships.

Han Xiao had plenty of strength to spare and diverted part of his attention to the players.

On planet K-00156, one of the bases was currently a bitter battlefield.

Boom boom boom!

Frenzied Sword’s large caliber rifle punctured a hole in the body of a Thousand Beast Soldier. The corpse of the soldier fell toward him, and Frenzied Sword kicked it away before raising his arm to activate a shield. A series of gun fire immediately rained down on his shield, and Frenzied Sword began to calculate the durability of his shield. He then charged forward into the midst of an enemy five-man team. Whipping out his electromagnetic whip and helix blade, he killed the five-man team after a short battle.

Taking in a deep breath, he looked around his surroundings. They were currently in the Hub Center of the base, and the main hall was currently a messy battlefield. Both parties exchanged fire with dead soldiers lying all around the hall. The players transformed into white light after reviving and did not leave any corpse behind. Thus, the situation looked like a one-sided massacre as though a swarm of locusts had just swept by.

The players formed small parties and worked together. Their screams could be heard amid the cannon fire.

“Pull the enemies, back row output damage!”

“Hang in there, main tank. Inject yourself with life sustaining hormones. Second and third tanks, prepare to switch out!”

“Mechanics, quickly set up your artillery towers!”

“Hahaha, we’re rich! A single Thousand Beast Soldier actually gives us so much experience. What the f*ck? Who is the one who stole this daddy’s kill!”

The Esper class players unleashed their various skills, and all the different kinds of energy blasts bombarded the enemy into retreat. The players had the numerical advantage with their individual combat abilities reaching an acceptable standard. They were all Grade C at least with an extremely small portion of them having reached Grade B with their accumulated experience from the previous version. They still had their biggest trump card: reviving!

With such an army, there was no need to bother sending scouts, sneak attacks, ambushes, or any complicated combat maneuvers. They just needed to use human wave tactics.

Frenzied Sword charged past the defensive line and entered the walkway of the base. Although the mission only required them to occupy the base, Frenzied Sword was extremely experienced and knew that killing the base commander would definitely raise his mission rating. Thus, he ignored all the other soldiers and searched for the base commander.

There were definitely other players who had the same thought as him, and Frenzied Sword did not dare delay.

At the same time, the base commander was currently watching the situation of the battle from the surveillance equipment in the base. He knew that their defeat was imminent, and his legs could not help but tremble.

“This is Black Star Army’s immortal troops!”

The commander’s voice trembled with fear gripping his heart. Everyone from Bloodshed Land had looked through Black Star Army’s information before and knew that the immortal troops were the true hidden trump card of the Black Star Army. After disappearing for a full ten years, they had made their appearance again!

Hopelessness filled his heart, and he witnessed the most frightening aspect of the immortal troops from the screen. They were all extremely bloodthirsty and would never leave anyone alive. In a short while, the entire base would be soaked in blood, and all their spaceships had already been destroyed by Black Star. They no longer had any chance to escape.

“Where are the reinforcements?” The base commander still held on to the last bit of hope in his heart.

“We tried to contact them seventeen times, but we did not receive any response. We lost all contact with the reinforcements, and they were probably…” The intelligence staff had a face full of fear.

The base commander fell into complete despair. They no longer had a way out and could only wait for their deaths to arrive.

“Why don’t we surr…”

Boom!

Before he could even finish, the door was suddenly blasted open, and Frenzied Sword appeared from the large cloud of dust. Without any hesitation, he switched to a close ranged weapon and waved his axe around to slaughter anyone in sight.

“Wait a moment. I am the commander of this stronghold. I surrender!”

The approaching axe had truly frightened the base commander out of his wits, and he hurriedly knelt down to beg for mercy.

The axe stopped ten centimeters away from the commander’s head, and the base commander felt his entire body turning soft. Frenzied Sword then looked at him with doubt.

“You are the commander?”.

“I am!”

“You’re surrendering?”

“That’s right! That’s right!”

Frenzied Sword paused for a while before suddenly letting out a battle cry and swinging his axe down mercilessly to cleave the commander before him in two.

His axe was instantly stained with bright blue blood, and Frenzied Sword shook his head.

“What’s the point of keeping you if your surrender doesn’t trigger a mission? Eh? Killing a commander actually gives so much experience!”

Frenzied Sword had a bright smile on his face as he left the room, leaving behind a dismembered corpse and bloodstains all over the walls.

At the same time in the interior of the Hyperdrive Base Station, a long sword was being dragged by a slender hand. Reddish-gold bolts of energy could be seen coursing through the body of the sword, and the tip of the sword created a deep scar on the surface of the alloy floor.

This was an alloy walkway with Bloodshed Land soldiers both in front and behind. They were trying their best to push back the beautiful lady in the middle, but all of their firepower was easily blocked by the protective shield of her mechanical suit.

Sylvia completely ignored the army that was surrounding her and looked at Marian, who was currently destroying the enemy ships outside. He was smashing his body through all the spaceships and having the time of his life.

“Hurry up and take down the base. Don’t keep Teacher waiting too long,” Sylvia muttered under her breath. Holding onto the sword with both her hands, her body began spinning.

Marian, who was currently fighting the enemy spaceships in space, could clearly see a reddish-gold circle burst forth from the interior of the Hyperdrive Base Station, cutting the entire base in two and slicing off a fifth of the base cleanly.

“Why are you even more violent than me? You’d better not destroy the base. We still need to use it later,” Marian said helplessly.

Outside the atmosphere of K-00156, Han Xiao floated in space and waited silently. Over half of the enemy battleships had already been captured by him.

Right at this moment, a wormhole channel opened again with the other side of the channel being the second planet. The remaining defending battleships were clustered together as though they were screaming out, AHH! Don’t come near me!

A bright smile could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

Not a single bag of the three fertilizers could be missed.

“Sylvia succeeded so quickly. It seems like I taught her well.”

Chapter 725: Hidden Scheme

Because Sylvia had managed to seize the enemy’s Hyperdrive Base Station, Han Xiao quickly utilized the wormhole of the enemy side to attack the last two planetary strongholds.

With the fall of their Hyperdrive Base Station, the remaining two strongholds knew that their troops were not a match and wanted to retreat. However, Han Xiao was too fast for them, and the enemy did not even have the time to move their supplies before they were attacked. The second planet’s fleet was completely annihilated, while the fleet for the third planet left their troops on the surface, choosing to turn tail and run instead.

Having lost their means of transportation, the ground troops of the two strongholds turned into trapped beasts and could only watch as the airdrop capsules rained down on them, as the screaming immortal players rushed out like a tsunami, bringing with them blood and slaughter.

Small and new strongholds like these would not have many strong Supers, which was suitable for the players’ standards. Once in a while, there would be a Grade B Super, which could be regarded as a Boss monster. In general, clearing the stronghold went smoothly.

It did not take Han Xiao very long to wash the three strongholds with blood, using the 300,000 players. No one from the enemy side lived, the players taking all their heads. In addition to the reward provided by the battle war mission as well as the faction reward, the players obtained a huge sum of experience, leaving them satisfied.

The rest of the personnel in the Hyperdrive Base Station were also cleaned up by Han Xiao, and only the logistics department were left behind to take the supplies left behind on the battlefield.

This base station could be considered to have been successfully thrashed. Han Xiao then contacted Herlous, enquiring about the status of the Black Star Army with the objective of checking on the status of the players there.

The Black Star Army, under the leadership of Herlous and Lagi, had attacked a stronger base station. The millions of players were scattered around, attacking the six planet strongholds as they conducted ground battles through airdrops. The team with the most people was led by Harmon.

Han Xiao brought up the battlefield imagery, revealing an expanse of a desolate battlefield. Harmon was rushing at the front, full of energy and his fur bristling around his burly body as he concentrated fire on one of the enemy’s ground vehicles. He wielded his war hammer, killing one enemy after another. At his position, the tens of thousands of beast soldiers hung around him, weaving in and out with affecting his battle.

A large number of players were also cooperating with him to fight, but because Harmon’s burning spirit always resulted in him running to the area where gunfire was the most concentrated, the players behind him also received the most damage.

While Harmon’s behavior frazzled the players, following behind him was a good way to get kills. This was enjoyable yet mind numbing.

However, the treatment of the majority of these players was not as good as how Han Xiao treated his 300,000. After all, they did not have that many people reserved to kill, so their final gains would not be as lucrative. However, based on the current level of all the players, the reward could still be counted as generous.

“There are a few more battles coming up. It should be enough to allow everyone to level up a few times.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Version 3.0 had begun less than half a month earlier, and excluding those who progressed quickly to reach Grade B, the average players’ level was around 93. The moment they reached level 100 and underwent their promotion to Grade B, the combat capability of the player teams would change qualitatively.

In the beginning of the Version, due to the increase in mission rewards, the players would be able to progress swifter as well. It should not be too difficult to reach level 100 in the short term.

Sylvia and Marian returned after accomplishing their task, and Han Xiao praised them for their efficiency.

It went without saying for Marian, who was always hardworking and reliable. As for Sylvia, after ten grueling years of training, she had finally turned into a powerful assistant that Han Xiao was looking for, able to hold her own.

“This is all thanks to the hard work put in by you, Teacher.” In the cockpit, Sylvia let out a happy smile upon hearing Han Xiao’s praise.

She could still remember herself being blinded from the truth ten over years ago, and she had even tried to attack Han Xiao. But in the end, Han Xiao had led her down the correct path.

Sylvia was full of gratitude toward Han Xiao. While the ten-year child labor contract had long ended, she did not mention it at all. If it was not for Han Xiao’s guidance in those ten or so years, she did not know which galaxy she would still be lingering in, and she could not imagine how bad her life might have been.

Rather than saying that it was a slavery contract, Sylvia now felt that it was more of Han Xiao using it as an excuse to lead her down the right path. After being around him for over ten years, she looked up to Han Xiao like her adoptive father, and she did not wish to leave him right after being groomed properly.

“Continue working hard. You still have room for growth.” Han Xiao nodded.

Because Sylvia had just broken through to the Calamity Grade, her strength was still on the weak side. However, with a full set of orange equipment from Han Xiao, she could unleash a higher level of strength. She herself also had the potential to grow even stronger.

Han Xiao let the entire team rest for a while before setting out to find the rest of the army to convene. Because there were a lot of people on Lagi’s side, he was reassured and did not rush to meet up with them.

When everyone rejoined, the battle had already ended, and they had also succeeded in destroying the base station. Everyone was now busy cleaning up the battlefield.

Intelligence reports continuously flowed in. The six stronghold bases of the Bloodshed Land within the Kant Star System had been completely cleared, and only some fish had managed to escape the net, falling back to the four base stations in their second layer.

Section Zero consolidated the entire team before aggressively advancing.

The next ten days showed that the speed of advancement for the team had slowed down. The base station systems of the enemy’s second layer were far more defensive compared to those in the periphery, and from time to time, they even received reinforcements from the rear, holding back the progress of Section Zero, albeit barely.

The fighting had continued unabated for the past half month, and players had gotten plenty of opportunities. They had adapted to the battle mission modes and rushed to the dangerous front lines, gaining a lot.

Cold-blooded, this was the impression that the player army left on the other members of Section Zero.

They did not accept surrender. Even enemies that showed no resistance would be killed, without a single one left alive.

All parties knew that Black Star commanded a unit of immortals, and they had finally resurfaced after a decade. Their role in this war was very obvious, making many of the forces quite envious.

Because the Black Star Army was growing ever stronger, many of the organizations had also gone to study the data of the immortals unit. According to their performance, it was projected by most organizations that these groups were a sort of Space Wonder derived from the Universe. While they were immortals, they would require a certain amount of energy to resurrect each time, and the number of resurrections was also finite in a certain time span.

While having hundreds of thousands of low-levelled Supers was not considered a lot in an interstellar war, the good point was that they would be continuously recycled. Every enemy died was one enemy less, but they would forever have a zero casualty rate, which was even better than the well-known special forces troops of the Universe, the Demon Lake, and Mechanic Empires.

In the eyes of the other organization, this group of immortals was the true trump card of the Black Star Army. Their abilities could be considered above the Thousand Beast Soldiers on the battlefield.

With the current status of the Black Star Army, they were naturally entitled to have their own special forces. Although many of the organizations were envious, they did not plan to provoke Black Star just for the immortals. Besides, apart from Han Xiao, no one else was aware that the players could still grow.

Han Xiao continued to lead his side, but he did not launch any more attacks personally for the next half a month. However, he alone could cause a thousand soldiers to retreat, causing the high-level combatants of the enemy to turtle up and not show themselves. This was all caused by Han Xiao’s fierce reputation of the many people he had killed in the past ten years. There were just too many Grade A Supers, and his name was a deterrence, causing ordinary Calamity Grades to not dare to face him.

In this battle, the only opponent worthy of him was Hadavy.

This Beyond Grade A seed was too difficult to fight against. Han Xiao had clashed against Hadavy thirteen times in the seven years, and while the battle results were all victories, Hadavy had good brains and was always able to run faster than anyone when the situation turned bad. Han Xiao had been unable to capture him up till this point and finally understood the feelings of his enemies.

Han Xiao estimated that he would only have an eighty percent chance of causing Hadavy to retreat this time. However, he did not mind that at all and was instead quite relaxed.

With the return of the players, his own level was already skyrocketing. When the time came, it would be easier for him to get rid of Hadavy. Thus, he was not worried at all.

Since the leader was lazing around, Lagi, as the high-level combatant, was sent out to lead the Black Star Army instead. Right now, Lagi was already firmly seated in the position of Vice Leader and was also a first-rate character in the eyes of the public. He could be considered the Captain of all the Mages in the Army.

While his pessimism was truly whack, Lagi’s battle prowess could not be denied. This former Forbidden Sorcerer commander lived up to his name, with vast mana and throwing around Forbidden spells like hurling garbage. His actual combat power placed him in the top ten of Section Zero.

After spending more than ten days breaking through the two base stations at the second layer, the personnel in the last two base stations took the initiative to retreat, all of them returning to their final base station at the core.

Originally, Bloodshed Land wanted to use the other base stations to stall for time and take advantage of the opportunity to arrange defense facilities. However, the offensive of Section Zero was too fierce, causing them to be unable to delay at all. They simply decided to save their fleet and assemble their forces, preparing for a final fight against Section Zero.

The last enemy base station on the Kant Star System was where all the retreating fleets had assembled. Together with a large amount of reinforcements, their military strength looked extremely robust. Section Zero formulated the corresponding tactics to deal with them, passing over the command to Han Xiao to contain the enemy’s advanced combatants, as well as to repel Hadavy.

The moment they started fighting, Han Xiao would not have time to care about the players any longer and thus arranged for his officers to brief the players properly.

At the same time, the officers of the last base station in the Kant Star System all gathered for a meeting, discussing on how to deal with the attack of Section Zero.

As a relay commander, Jorde also participated in the meeting through a virtual projection.

“We have a total of fourteen planetary bases as well as a transition base station. Whether the enemy sends a division or launches a total attack, there is a way to deal with it. While our fleets are much weaker, as long as we can endure for three days, the next batch of reinforcements will be able to arrive, and they will bring a teleportation gate with them.”

“It is impossible for Section Zero to keep such a huge number of troops assembled all the time. Furthermore, our comrades in the other galaxies can also use this opportunity to further expand. The longer this is delayed, the more beneficial it is for us.”

“There’s no need to fight to the death. We can always return to Kaya and wait for the Section Zero troops to disperse before we break through their blockade once again and return to Kant.”

Everyone present expressed their opinions and their recommendations toward Jorde, as he was the final decision maker.

After listening to everyone, Jorde nodded and replied, “We have a plan for the general direction, but it is inevitable that we will have to fight. Now that the enemy has seized the initiative, the countermeasures we are laying out might be useless, but the tactics will still need to be adapted to the movement of the enemies. What we need to consider the most right now is how to resist the enemy’s attack. Let’s not talk about Section Zero’s soldiers, since they far outstrip you all in quantity. In terms of advanced combatants, no one can fight against Black Star, so we’re at a great disadvantage.”

Hearing that, Hadavy spoke in a deep voice. “I’ll hold him back.”

“He has already pushed you back tens of times, proving that you are unable to handle him yourself. There have been many cases of you retreating early, leaving those combatants that were helping you up sh*t creek. At least fifteen Grade A Supers have died because of you,” Jorde replied rudely. Sometimes, he even wondered if Hadavy was sent by the other side. Every time that he moved, the casualty rate would definitely be higher.

Hadavy was speechless and could not refute his unscrupulous betrayal of teammates, so he could only snort in dissatisfaction.

Jorde had a solemn expression as he continued. “This time, I’ll hand the rights to the weapon specially designed to curb Black Star over to you. This can only be used once, so you’d better make use of the opportunity.”

Touching the contents of his pocket, Hadavy looked a little hesitant.

A few days earlier, a squad belonging to Jorde had been sent over, delivering a weird object to him. They had said that this was a special one-time consumable weapon created to deal with Black Star, which could damage him severely. They had told him to utilize it when facing Black Star.

While Hadavy did not understand the specific function of the weapon, it was definitely used as a hidden scheme. Hadavy had gone to work for the Bloodshed Land specially to fight against Han Xiao. He wished to use a proper confrontation to stimulate his potential, so he was reluctant to utilize underhanded methods against Black Star.

“Do you understand? If there’s an opportunity, you must use it immediately!” Jorde stressed.

“This is not the style of the Tyrant.” Hadavy was a little dissatisfied.

“But this is my order!” Jorde snapped. He respected the demeanor of the Tyrant, but there had to be someone to deal with the dirty work. This special weapon had taken him much effort to obtain, and he did not even tell Heber about it.

Hadavy deliberated for a time before finally reluctantly agreeing to use it. However, he secretly planned to never take it out.

Anyway, he was only there to fight. Whoever won the war was not of any concern to him. He was not a subordinate under Bloodshed Land, and Jorde could not punish him even if he failed. At worst, he could just stop working for them.

Chapter 726: Psyker

Bloodshed Land and Section Zero had been fighting each other for ten years already and were extremely familiar with each other. The upcoming battle would be another exchange between both parties, and they all made their respective preparations.

The main force of Section Zero did not delay and very quickly launched an all-out assault on the final few strongholds in the Kant Star System.

Ten or so planets burned with the flames of war.

The Black Star Army fleet worked together with the other members of Section Zero to attack a few different planets. Currently, the players could not play a huge role in a galactic battle, and Han Xiao sent the players to be the vanguard force of a land assault. He placed them in the most treacherous location of the battlefield. Despite the frontlines being the most dangerous location on the battlefield, it also allowed them to gather as many kills as possible. Furthermore, their fearlessness also served the purpose of breaking through the enemy defense lines.

As for Han Xiao himself, he was situated at the core of the battlefield and followed the main troops to attack the Hyperdrive Base Station.

Their troops had the absolute advantage this time, and he did not have to infiltrate the enemy force alone. He only needed to guard the Star Diamond Grade Flagship. He watched as his allied troops slowly destroyed the enemy defense line and advanced.

In the command room from the flagship, the walls of the spaceship seemed to have been made from transparent crystals, and one could clearly view the explosions and cannon fire outside the spaceship.

A scaled projection of the entire battlefield could be seen floating in the middle of the command room, and the commander of the battle as well as his advisors were monitoring changes in the battlefield.

Han Xiao stood by the side and watched the battle.

He was not the commander of this operation, but as the most powerful fighter around, he was also a member of the core team. He guarded the command room personally and was ready to set off at any moment.

The commander and the others were currently analyzing the battlefield while Han Xiao listened by the side.

“The enemy withdrew a portion of their fleet from the other strongholds to guard their base. They are putting up a strong resistance, and we may need a long time to break through the thick defenses of the enemy.

“However, there is also a piece of good news. Because the enemy withdrew a portion of their forces from the other strongholds to guard the base, the defenses of their other strongholds have been weakened, and our forces attacking the other strongholds have the upper hand at the moment.”

Han Xiao nodded. The Hyperdrive Base Station was connected to all the strongholds and was like the heart that sent blood to the other organs. Most importantly, the moment the Hyperdrive Base Station fell, the entire defense line would also collapse.

Because his side had an advantage in the number of troops with their main force attacking the Hyperdrive Base Station, the enemy had no choice but to withdraw their forces from the other strongholds to guard the Hyperdrive Base Station. This way, it would be much easier for them to clear out the enemy strongholds.

Section Zero’s objective was to wipe out the fleets protecting the strongholds. The moment the Hyperdrive Base Station fell, the fleets of the various strongholds would definitely retreat to preserve their strength.

Thus, while the intention of their forces seemed to be an all-out assault to capture the enemy base, they were actually trying to tie down the enemy forces to allow their allies to destroy more enemy strongholds.

Han Xiao’s gaze swept past the various regions of the battlefield to find Hadavy’s location. His only job that day was to defeat Hadavy.

Han Xiao could not help but stroke his chin after realizing that Hadavy was nowhere to be found. “Isn’t he prepared to take action? Did he appear on the other battlefields?”

Perhaps Hadavy would avoid him and make use of the Hyperdrive Base Station. He could choose to reinforce the other strongholds through the wormhole since the other fleets would not have a high-level combatant capable of stopping him.

However, Han Xiao was not too worried. If Hadavy avoided him, it meant that the enemy troops would not have a high-level combatant capable of stopping him. At that time, he would be able to take action to push the enemy forces back and force Hadavy to return.

“The other divisions haven’t discovered any traces of him.” The commander shook his head. “He is still in the base. As long as he doesn’t appear, you do not need to take action. We aren’t the ones feeling anxious.”

Han Xiao nodded and opened the forums to pass the time.

The players were currently carrying out their various battlefield missions, and the forum was filled with screenshots of the battle. The players took screenshots of different enemies, bosses, and their spoils of war.

There were some players who also made live streams of the war. For example, the professional players from the various clubs did a live stream of the war in order to attract fans.

Participating in a large-scale war truly excited many of them. There was no fun without any challenges. After briefly looking through the forums, Han Xiao concluded that most players felt a sense of satisfaction from this battle.

Compared to the players from the other Star Fields who were still searching for clues regarding the Main Storyline mission, the Black Star Army had already began receiving benefits from the Main Storyline mission.

After browsing the forums for a while, the commander’s anxious voice snapped Han Xiao back to reality.

“Hadavy has appeared!”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he closed the forums. Hadavy’s figure appeared within the assault battleships of the Black Star Army, and he was currently destroying battleship after battleship. Lagi had already gone forward to stop him, and both parties had begun fighting.

“Your Excellency Black Star, please fight him off,” the commander said with a heavy tone.

Lagi and Hadavy were currently facing each other amid the chaotic battlefield. Lagi’s staff flickered with various colors, and colorful magic spells smashed down onto Hadavy like a waterfall.

Hadavy was a close-combat main tank while Lagi was a long range damage dealer. The battle between them would naturally be one chasing while the other fled.

The battlefield between the two shifted every second, and the energy waves from their battle were like shining stars on the radar. All the battleships near them were affected by their battle.

They easily traversed over ten thousand kilometers during their short exchange, and their battle went from one corner of the battlefield to another. Hadavy grasped the right opportunity and hugged Lagi’s body. Their figures then crashed into a Section Zero battleship, and both of their bodies tumbled into the inside of the battleship. They got up instantly with their gazes locked on each other.

An ear-piercing alarm sounded from the inside of the battleship, and the defensive measures of the ship were activated fully. Various miniature floating guards, mobile artillery towers, and mechanical soldiers flooded over from the various walkways. The defensive squad of the battleship also charged over without hesitation.

The sound of mechanical activity and cluttered footsteps could be heard from the walkway behind Hadavy. Without even looking back, Hadavy threw out a punch backward.

A powerful force compressed the air within the battleship and sent it out with a powerful shockwave. As though a violent storm had blown past, the entire walkway behind him was torn to shreds, and all the guards were wiped out in an instant.

Hadavy retracted his fists and lamented as he looked at Lagi. “You truly live up to the reputation of being the vice commander of the Black Star Army. I can feel a great sense of danger from your magic, and you are definitely one of the top five mages that I have seen in my live.”

“Sigh, I should have chosen to become a Psychic instead back then. What’s the point of being a Mage? I can’t kill you, and it still takes so much effort.” Lagi let out a sigh and lowered his staff.

As Hadavy saw that Lagi did not intend to attack him, he asked with a face full of doubt, “Are you going to admit defeat?”

Lagi shook his head and replied, “I can’t kill you, and you can’t kill me. Since Black Star will be coming in a while, we might as well just wait here and save our strength.”

Hadavy had a strange look on his face. You obviously just want to avoid work!

Right at this moment, Han Xiao appeared from the large hole in the battleship. Seeing the two of them getting along peacefully, Han Xiao was stunned.

Without waiting for Han Xiao to say anything, Lagi said, “I shall hand things over to you.”

Lagi then cast a teleportation spell and disappeared without a trace.

Han Xiao was truly helpless in the face of Lagi’s laziness, and he turned around to look at Hadavy.

“You again. Why did you have to join Bloodshed Land and create trouble for me? Since you like being beaten up by me so much, you might as well let me catch you and beat you up three times a day.”

“You will only face me with killing intent if I am your enemy. Only then will the battle between us be meaningful!” The moment Hadavy saw Han Xiao, his battle intent began to burn, and he charged forward toward Han Xiao.

Han Xiao had already activated his Machinery Apostilization talent, which gave him a boost of almost a thousand attribute points. He avoided Hadavy’s charge and grabbed onto Hadavy’s arm to throw him out. A new hole was immediately created in the battleship.

Han Xiao then sent out a psionic blast and sent Hadavy flying further away before summoning his mechanical army.

A cold voice sounded in Han Xiao’s helmet.

“War system Sparta awaiting orders!”

This was an artificial intelligence created specially to control the mechanical army, and Han Xiao had named it Sparta. This name sounded as though it was made for war.

Han Xiao gave out an order for Sparta to control the mechanical army to assist him in battle. A dark cloud of mechanical soldiers then chased after Hadavy to block him.

After fighting him so many times, Han Xiao was extremely familiar with Hadavy’s abilities. Because it was extremely difficult to kill Hadavy, the focus of the mechanical army was on control

Hadavy and the mechanical army were engaged in an intense battle, and Han Xiao harassed Hadavy by the side. At the same time, he casually destroyed a few battleships nearby and harassed Hadavy through voice chat.

“Stop fighting. You can’t win anyway.”

“When are you planning to run? I will give you a chance to escape beforehand.”

“Let’s make a deal. Why don’t you stand there and allow me to fire at you a few times to vent my anger? I will face you in hand to hand combat next time. How about that?”

“Heh, how much is Bloodshed Land paying you? I will give you double if you come and work for me.”

Hadavy’s face turned darker and darker before he finally exploded. “Shut up! Focus on fighting me!”

He enjoyed facing powerful opponents to stimulate his potential and felt that he would only receive benefits from a treacherous battle that forced him to the edge.

Just when Han Xiao was prepared to continue, Jorde’s stern voice suddenly sounded in the communication channel. He and Hadavy heard everything that Han Xiao had said.

“Hadavy, use the weapon I handed over to you immediately.”

Weapon?

The enemy may have prepared some special method to deal with me.

Han Xiao immediately became alert and tightened the attack of his mechanical army. At the same time, he closely monitored all of Hadavy’s actions.

However, it was as though Hadavy did not hear anything, and he continued to fight the mechanical army.

“Did you hear me?” Jorde bellowed. “Are you going to defy orders?”

Hadavy pretended that he had not heard anything

Jorde’s voice then turned cold. “I knew that you wouldn’t listen to me.”

Hadavy suddenly had a bad premonition, and the ‘special weapon’ on his body suddenly reacted. This was a Secret Message Bead that suddenly unlocked itself automatically. A faint palm-sized ball of white light then floated out from the bead and hovered beside Hadavy.

“What is that?”

Both Han Xiao and Hadavy were taken aback.

Before the two of them could even think, the ball of white light disappeared and appeared above Han Xiao. Han Xiao had already made preparations and immediately reacted.

Void Travel!

The space around him seemed to have been frozen, and Han Xiao rapidly avoided the ball of white light. This ball of white light seemed extremely eerie, and it was best to stay as far away from it as possible.

The next moment, the ball of white light shot toward Han Xiao and could actually move in the Void Dimension as well!

Han Xiao was startled and tried his best to avoid it, but the ball of white light chased after him tightly.

Han Xiao hurriedly deactivated his Void Travel and activated a short-ranged hyperdrive to exit the battlefield. However, the white light appeared before him yet again as though it was a homing skill that would definitely hit him.

This thing can’t be avoided… Han Xiao’s gaze became solemn, and he shot at the ball of light. However, the ball of light seemed to have no physical form, and the laser beam went right through it.

Since he could not avoid it, Han Xiao activated a few psionic shield layers and welcomed the ball of light instead.

However, the many layers of shield could not even touch the ball of light, and it went straight through the shields and struck Han Xiao’s body. It then disappeared right after.

Han Xiao touched his body, and he did not seem to be injured at all.

“Just what is… urgh!”

He suddenly felt an intense pain in his head, and a notification popped up on his interface.

You have been struck with Psyker’s (Psychic Parasitic Toxin). You have received 14,860 mental damage!

You have gained the (Schizophrenia) status. Duration unknown.

You have gained the [Poisoned Soul) status. Duration unknown.

You have gained the [Sensory Misdirection) status. Duration unknown.

You have gained the [Parasitic Mind) status. Duration unknown.

You have gained the [Mild Hallucination] status. Duration unknown.

Han Xiao gritted his teeth as he stared at the notifications on the interface.

The thing that shocked him the most was the attacker.

Psyker.

He was the only beyond Grade A Super in the Shattered Star Ring that Han Xiao had not met!

Psychic!

“Why would it be him?”

Chapter 727: Psychic Toxin

There were four Beyond Grade A Supers that everyone knew about. For (Tyrant] Heber, (Dragon Emperor] Ames, [Magus] Austin, Han Xiao had met or even communicated with the three of them at some point. But for the final Beyond Grade A, the (Star Pupil] Psyker, he had never even seen the guy.

Psyker’s territory was located at the very edge of the Shattered Star Ring. Han Xiao had once attended a party of overlords, but only Psyker did not show up.

Psyker was born in a Star System level Civilization and was the Supreme Leader of that very Civilization. He had led his tribe and compatriots to develop silently in their own territory.

Could it be that this guy has also sided with the Crimson Dynasty?

Inside his Mechanical suit, Han Xiao’s expression was dark.

In Version 3.0 of his previous life, Psyker did not get involved in this secret war. He could only attribute this current situation to his influence on the events in this life.

While he had never seen Psyker, Han Xiao could still remember his data.

Psyker was not a humanoid creature. It was said that he had achieved atavism, and his genes could be traced to one of the deities in the Arcane Church. He possessed a high spiritual talent and possessed the abilities of Psychic Activation as well as Psychic Realization.

The attack that he had taken was only a Psychic attack from Psyker that was stored by some means and not from the main body, so the damage was not high. The headache inducing part was the array of negative statuses with an unknown duration.

Han Xiao himself was unsure if this sneak attack was intended by Psyker or if the enemy had managed to obtain the item from certain channels, with Psyker being unaware.

After these thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind, he suddenly found that he no longer had any energy to continue thinking. The negative statuses had begun to play their role, and his brain was suddenly filled with chatter, as though there were countless people murmuring within his head.

His vision began to overlap, as though mirrors were placed in random positions all around the place, giving birth to illusions. A sense of weakness began to appear from the depths of his spirit, as though he was suffering from mental exhaustion but unable to fall asleep.

Now that the guys from Bloodshed Land know that any Calamity Grade cannot threaten me, they’ve started to use Beyond Grade A attacks against me…

Strongly suppressing the chaos in his mind, Han Xiao gritted his teeth and waved his hand, and his Mechanical army acted according to the established order, strengthening their offense against Hadavy. At the same time, they rushed like a huge mechanical wave toward the battlefield, smashing apart enemy warships and speeding up their advance.

Han Xiao did not care about the command to delay the battle any longer and prepared to rush down to take over the Hyperdrive Base Station as soon as possible and end the battle so that he could return and take care of this negative state.

Hadavy was a little stunned. The white light before was a Psychic attack, and without any outward appearance of any damage done, he did not know if Han Xiao had suffered any sort of attack at all.

Even a Beyond Grade A seed such as him could not tell, let alone everyone else on the battlefield. Only Han Xiao himself knew what exactly had happened to him.

“Jorde, what sort of thing was that?”

Hadavy’s expression was ugly. He hated using underhanded methods the most.

“This is a secret.” Jorde was dissatisfied with Hadavy and could not be bothered to explain further. Besides, Hadavy was only a cooperative partner, not loyal to Bloodshed Land. He did not take Hadavy as someone whom he could trust.

Hadavy suppressed his flames of anger, and while dealing with the concentrated firepower of the Mechanical army, he observed Han Xiao before saying, “He seems to be unaffected. What sort of damage did that white light do?”

Jorde only coldly laughed, not deigning to reply.

After exchanging blows for a decade, the intelligence collected by Bloodshed Land on Han Xiao was not little at all. Compared with his strong physical vitality, Black Star was considered weak to mental attacks. This could not be concealed, and most forces had guessed that. However, Han Xiao was only considered relatively weak in this regard; it was not his Achilles’ heel. Because his life force was so strong, ordinary Grade A Psychics or Mages were unable to exchange blows with him.

However, if the attacker was a Beyond Grade A psychic, then things would be different.

The attack was derived from Psyker’s psychic toxin, which was something that Jorde had spent a lot of effort to obtain. His inspiration came from the EsGod doppelganger that DarkStar had summoned seven years ago, with the purpose of weakening Han Xiao.

This was because the Tyrant was initially hoping for Han Xiao to reach the Beyond A Grade so that he could make an appearance and kill him to improve his reputation. Thus, Jorde had taken Heber’s orders as his life, not utilizing this toxin whilst waiting for him to improve.

However, not long ago, the Tyrant had personally accessed the situation and told him that it was almost impossible for Black Star to have a breakthrough in the next two to three years to become a Beyond Grade A Super. The Tyrant’s plans had fallen through, and thus, Jorde thought that there was no need to let Black Star go, contrary to Heber’s intentions.

Since Black Star was unable to advance, the Tyrant would have no way to interfere in the war based on the rules set, so Jorde decided to use Psyker’s psychic toxin to weaken Black Star and reduce his strength, removing the pressure of an advanced combatant.

This mentality was equivalent to originally thinking of holding a stock with great potential, yet suddenly seeing the growth of the stock stagnate or even begin to plummet and deciding to quickly sell the stock to cut his losses.

Psyker’s toxin was extremely insidious, and no hint of the source could be seen. Jorde estimated that Black Star would probably not even know of Psyker’s name.

“Your mission is already complete. Find a chance to retreat.” Jorde regained his composure, throwing out this sentence before cutting the communication.

He was very satisfied with the results this time.

Hadavy remained silent. Only he was left in the call, and he no longer asked nor grumbled about what Black Star was inflicted with. He was suddenly enveloped with a sense of loneliness and resignation.

Hadavy weaved left and right in the battlefield, utilizing the Bloodshed Land’s fleet as a protective shield as well as his indestructible body, forcefully extricating himself from the siege of the mechanical army. He then stole a spaceship and quickly fled using hyperdrive.

Han Xiao had long been accustomed to his escapes, and knowing that he could not give chase with his current strength, he recalled the Mechanical army and turned back to deal with the other enemy Calamity Grades.

The Everlasting had also entered the battlefield, its crystals emitting psionic annihilation beams continuously destroying and annihilating all the spaceships passing by its crosshairs, leaving a line of blank space on the battlefield.

Faced with the unstoppable advancement of Section Zero, the Bloodshed Land changed its strategy, no longer resisting desperately. They began to withdraw whilst fighting, and seeing that the Hyperdrive Base Station was about to fall to the enemy, they decisively blew it up, cutting off their links to their various planetary bases and preventing Section Zero from reaching them.

After losing the fast wormhole passage, the rest of the planetary bases also became independent, and the fleets from each planet started to evacuate, abandoning the Kant Star System to preserve their strength.

It did not take long for all the troops from Bloodshed Land to evacuate. Section Zero had achieved a massive success in their counterattack, expelling all enemy forces in the Kant Star System.

Bloodshed Land’s number of Star Systems reduced from five to four, which also meant that the situation in the Kant Star System was not stable. If it was the West Wind, Kaya, or Chaida Star Systems, which had been occupied for a long time, it would not be so easy to repel them. Even so, this was a great victory, and Section Zero’s morale was boosted. The Purple Crystal Civilization was also overjoyed when they received this intelligence.

The rewards for the players’ missions were also settled, and the victory result improved their mission evaluations and increased the total reward.

On a random planet that had been occupied by Section Zero, black smoke rolled, and the ground was filled with burnt corpses. Groups of soldiers combed through the battlefield to collect any loot.

There were many players in the battlefield cleaning teams, picking up loot as though they were picking up trash.

“Our harvest this time is not bad. If we convert all this broken equipment into materials, we should be able to sell them for one or two thousand Enas.”

Frenzied Sword picked up a high-tech mechanical war hammer, throwing it into the loot box as he spoke with a happy expression.

The Rivervale team was in the area collecting war loot and idly chatting in twos or threes.

The Vice Team Leader, Evil Sword, picked up a broken blaster, pursing his lips before tossing it aside, as he casually asked, “Leader, how much experience do you have now?”

“Let me see…” Frenzied Sword glanced at his interface. “I’m almost ready to advance.”

Because the professional players had to take part in the Pro League at the end of Version 2.0, they did not save up much experience. Thus, at the beginning of the version, their levels were not the highest, and a majority of them had not reached the level 100 mark to undergo their promotion.

“You’re levelling up very quickly!” Evil Sword was envious. “I’m still lacking quite a bit.”

“I killed more enemies than you and got a higher mission rating, so of course, you haven’t leveled up as quickly as me.” Frenzied Sword smirked.

Evil Sword twisted his mouth. “Forget it, I won’t rush to promote together with you. I’d rather spend my experience on learning more High-End Knowledge. I’ll suppress my grade for the time being.”

“Why would you want to suppress your grade? You can probably promote to Grade B right after you reach level 100.”

“Who knows? Maybe there will be an experience penalty for killing Grade Cs after reaching Grade B. Anyways, with you as our guinea pig, it’s better for me to just wait for a while.” Evil Sword grinned.

“Up to you, you wimp. After all, you’ll need to promote sooner or later.” Frenzied Sword rolled his eyes in response.

On the other side of the battlefield, Hate the Heavens was also sweeping the battlefield with a few of his friends, idly chatting.

“This battle is finally over. After this, we’ll find some time to proceed toward another Star System to participate in another war mission,” Hate the Heavens suggested.

While they were involved in a war, there was no chance to defect to the enemy camp. Now that the war mission had ended, they were free to move around, and Hate the Heavens had decided to take the opportunity to move by themselves.

“But the fifty-percent discount seems to be ongoing. I feel that we should enjoy the last wave of benefits before we change to another faction. We should first return to the Black Star Army headquarters, spend all of our benefits, and then join Bloodshed Land,” one of them said.

Hate the Heavens nodded in response. “That works too.”

“It’s just that our main storyline will have to first be removed and changed to the Klent faction main storyline,” one of them said regretfully.

“There’s no way around it.” Hate the Heavens shook his head. “But we at least managed to obtain the reward from this campaign. We should not be considered to have lost out. Compared to the hidden storyline of the Klent faction, this sort of loss is nothing.”

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

At the same time, in yet another stronghold, Summer Night Flower was considering the same problem.

“After this mission ends, there should be people who go and join Klent. At that time, I’ll be able to prove my hypothesis, that the Klent faction is the best choice.” Summer Night Flower sighed to himself. He believed in his conjecture and was full of expectations toward changing factions.

…

The majority of the forces were cleaning up the battlefield, so Han Xiao allowed Herlous and the other officers to deal with that while he closed himself up inside the training room.

In the room, Han Xiao’s face was pale, and his eyes closed as he tried to gather strength to sense his body’s condition. It was only after a long time that he reopened his eyes, his expression grave.

The problem was quite thorny.

[Poisoned Soul] would keep him in a permanent status of Mental Weakness that reduced all his attributes by twenty percent. In addition, his stamina and energy would fall fifteen percent faster than normal, meaning that he would require more effort to use the same skill.

[Sensory Misdirection) reduced his hit rate, critical rate, and evasion.

[Mild Hallucination] targeted his mental state, constantly harassing it with weird voices, making it difficult for him to maintain a calm and rational state.

The (Schizophrenia) status was the most dangerous, as it produced a sub-personality within him. It was linked with the [Parasitic Mind) status, where the mental toxins would parasitize his spirit, consuming part of the energy he used each time to nourish the weaker sub-personality. This would strengthen it, to the point that it would compete with the main personality for control of the body.

If the control over his body was robbed, his interface would show that he had entered the [Chaos] status and would run rampant, not recognizing friend or foe.

However, Han Xiao knew that the actual effect would be more complicated, not as simple as stopping at the (Chaos] status.

Psyker… sigh, I really hate this Psychic…

Han Xiao rubbed his temples while frowning. Right now, the sub personality was still weak, and he could not detect its presence. However, every time he moved to attack, the sub personality would also grow in strength.

Could it be that the objective of Bloodshed Land is to restrict my movements, making me afraid to fight?

Han Xiao helplessly shook his head. Toward a psychic attack made by a Beyond Grade A Psychic, even if he was prepared for it, the attack would still land.

It seemed as though he had to let go of whatever he had currently and think of an idea to resolve his negative statuses…

Han Xiao sighed.

The duration of the negative status is not written. Thus, I can assume that it will not go away on its own. How should I go about resolving this?

Enduring the mental fatigue, Han Xiao thought silently.

The easiest method would be to request His Majesty Psyker for aid. However, he was unsure whether Psyker was a friend or foe and would not throw himself into their grasp for nothing.

The second method would be to ask Austin for help. This plan could be considered.

The information on the interface was not comprehensive enough, and Han Xiao wished to examine the nature of the toxin in detail. However, he was more suited for dealing with material items and was unable to sense his mental state. Thus, he could only invite Lagi and Feidin over.

“You were hit by the sneak attack from a Beyond Grade A Psychic?”

When Feidin and Lagi came into the room and heard the explanation from Han Xiao, both of them jumped in shock.

Han Xiao rubbed his eyebrows and sighed. “It was impossible to avoid, and I didn’t expect to encounter Psyker either. Feidin, please check and see how bad my situation is.”

Feidin turned solemn and stretched out his hands, pressing behind Han Xiao’s ears as he closed his eyes. His mental power began to seep into Han Xiao’s brain.

Han Xiao could feel Feidin’s mental energy seep in like tentacles.

Hum!

Suddenly, the vision in front of his eyes turned illusory, and it displayed the vision in his mental state, as shared by Feidin.

His mental territory was a blank world. Both him and Feidin existed in the form of spiritual bodies and light particles, overlooking the entire area.

About ten percent of the area was filled with purplish black mist. From time to time, it attempted to condense into a human figure but met failure.

“This is the psychic toxin that has taken root and parasitized your mental territory.” Feidin’s tone was grave. “Not only will it continue to absorb your strength and expand by itself, the moment it reaches approximately thirty percent of your territory, the sub personality will be born, and it will begin to fight with you for control over the body.”

Han Xiao’s expression was ugly. “Can you clear all the psychic toxins?”

Feidin helplessly shook his head in return. “This is a psychic power belonging to a Beyond Grade A Super. Its power is tyrannical and hard to remove. Even my own psychic strength will be swallowed by it and turned into its nutrients. Sorry…”

At this time, Lagi’s spiritual body also squeezed in, appearing beside the two. One look at the scene, and he patted Han Xiao’s shoulder immediately.

“You have no hope left. Just hand the position of Army Commander to me. I’ll continue your work.”

“Thanks a lot, man,” Han Xiao replied sarcastically.

Chapter 728: Enchantment and Leaving Tutelage

Despite a Psychic toxin sounding pretty severe, Han Xiao was not too flustered and only found it pretty troublesome. He had always believed that there would be more solutions than problems.

“Even you can’t clean up the toxin?” Han Xiao asked Lagi.

“I can engrave a soul defense rune formation on your body at the very most to slow down the speed at which the toxin invades your soul.” Lagi sighed. “However, these methods won’t be able to treat you. It was indeed a mistake for me to become a Mage.”

Feidin then interrupted him and said, “I can also help you strengthen your soul’s defense to defend against the Psychic toxin. As for purging it entirely, this is something that neither of us are unable to achieve. You have to think of another method.”

Feidin was the most talented individual in the army, and he had entered the Calamity Grade even before Sylvia. However, his status in the army was more like a guest, and he did not have any responsibilities.

“Then help me suppress the toxin for now. I will think of another way.”

Han Xiao felt slightly relieved. Things were fine as long as they were not totally helpless.

Despite a Beyond Grade A Psychic being extremely powerful, a Calamity Grade Super would also be able to defend against it to a certain extent.

Feidin’s body began glowing brightly, and an endless stream of psychic energy rushed out from his body like a tidal wave and enveloped Han Xiao’s mental world. A hexagonal structure then appeared on Han Xiao’s mental wall to strengthen its defense.

Very quickly, the effect of the Psychic toxin was obviously reduced, and the purplish fog also seemed to have become less aggressive.

Han Xiao instantly felt energized, and the feeling of weakness and disturbance was reduced greatly. (Poisoned Soul] only reduced fourteen percent of his attributes from the original twenty percent, and the effects of (Mild Hallucination) and (Sensory Misdirection) had also been reduced.

“I will have to inscribe the rune formation on your body. Let’s exit.” Lagi’s mental body then left the chatroom in Han Xiao’s mind.

Han Xiao and Feidin also retracted their mental bodies, and their senses returned to the outside world. Han Xiao felt the scene before his eyes changing, and he was back in the cultivation chamber of the spaceship. Feidin also retracted his finger and walked to the side.

Lagi walked forward, and with a flip of his palm, a small jade green crystal staff appeared in his hand.

Waving the staff, ten or so thick spell books appeared in front of him and began flipping themselves automatically. As the pages were flipped, pages full of magical incantations fell off automatically and hovered around Lagi. These were the formations that Lagi was preparing to inscribe on Han Xiao.

“Take off your top. I will inscribe a formation on your body.”

Han Xiao took off his top and revealed his muscular upper body. His muscles were packed tightly, and despite being packed full with power, they were extremely lean, not bulky like a Pugilist. The (Golden Ratio Body] talent that he had transformed his body into a work of art.

“Go ahead.” Han Xiao nodded.

Lagi circulated his magic, and his eyes glowed brightly. With his staff as a brush and magic as paint, he began to draw a formation on Han Xiao’s body.

The cool magic energy lingered around his body with a tinge of pain and itchiness. It felt just like getting a tattoo.

After ten or so minutes, Lagi let out a long breath and spat out a mouthful of magic breath. At the same time, the glow in his eyes receded as well. For a mage of his caliber to spend a full ten or so minutes inscribing an enchantment, it could be said that he was giving it his all.

Lagi then took a few steps back and studied Han Xiao’s back as he said, “Although I don’t know if it will work… my drawing is truly nice.”

Han Xiao lowered his head to take a look. At this moment, his entire body was filled with exquisite and complicated runes that looked like tattoos.

A bluish-gold circular formation could be seen on the left of his chest, and a horoscope-like shape could be seen on his abdomen. The two formations were connected by a chain-like inscription that covered his entire arms as though they were wrapped up in chains. His back was also covered with runes, with his backbone as a tree trunk and countless branch-like formations extending out from his backbone.

Apart from his face, Han Xiao was covered in runes all over his body that flickered with a dim glow as though the runes were breathing.

“With your body as the foundation, I inscribed plenty of formations on your body through body enchantments. The formations will automatically absorb the elements that exist in nature to replenish themselves.”

Body enchantment was an important skill in the enchantment path. It could strengthen certain aspects of the target, and some magical civilizations would use this method to strengthen the combat capabilities of their soldiers. There were some powerhouses who would also inscribe enchantments on their own bodies. Han Xiao was not a stranger to these enchantments, and there were mages from his previous life who specialized in providing such enchantment services.

This was the way a mage could earn money, just like how a Mechanic sold their products.

Han Xiao stroked his arm curiously, and his finger could clearly feel the inscription lines of the rune. Even with his experience, he could clearly feel that the enchantment on his body was extremely complicated.

“The level of enchantment is limited by the strength of your body. The more enchantments, the greater the burden on your body. Thankfully, your body is extremely powerful, and I was able to inscribe plenty of enchantments.”

Lagi then said with assurance, “The protection of the Sacred Emperor, hug of the white robed mage ancestor, five different soul protection formations, the thirteen rings of secret soul stabilizing formation, and so on.”

“The effects are pretty good. I feel much more comfortable.”

The various hallucinations were being suppressed, and Han Xiao’s head was much clearer than before. Looking at the interface, the various negative statuses were weakened once again, and the negative effects of (Poisoned Soul] was reduced to a mere five percent.

On his interface, the effect of these various enchantments was displayed with the majority of them having the effect of increasing his Psychological Resistance. Because of an increase in the base attribute, the boost from his (Advanced Psychological Resistance) talent also increased.

“Right, I also inscribed a mental exploration formation for you.” Lagi pointed at a small formation on Han Xiao’s chest. “As long as you gather your attention on this formation, you will be able to enter your own mental world without our aid. You can use this ability to observe the situation of the Psychic toxin.”

“This is practical.” Han Xiao was overjoyed. A Mechanic did not have any mental abilities, and he was not able to observe his mental world on his own. He could not possibly get their help all the time. With this enchantment, he would be able to enter his own mental world anytime he wanted.

He tested the formation, and his mental body immediately entered his mental world.

At this moment, there were many barriers around the Psychic toxin, and the region of the toxin was reduced to six percent from the previous ten percent.

“These measures are only capable of suppressing the toxin, but if I want to purge it completely, I still need the help of a Beyond Grade A Super…”

There was no need to mention Psyker. Han Xiao did not even know if Psyker was an enemy or neutral party. Furthermore, he did not have any relationship with Psyker, and Han Xiao was not prepared to find him. It would be much more convenient for him to find Austin instead. While Austin was a mage, there were similarities between the Mage class and the Psychic class.

Han Xiao then left his mental world and took out his communicator. After thinking for a while, he put on his clothes and contacted Austin.

“Black Star?” The child-like Austin appeared in the holographic projection. “It has been a few years since you last contacted me. Why are you looking for me?”

“Your Excellency Magus, I hope to receive your help…”

Han Xiao explained what had happened.

“You were actually struck by Psyker’s Psychic attack? You are truly unlucky.” Austin laughed. “Alright, come and find me. I haven’t seen Psyker for a long time. Let me see if he has improved.”

Among the four Beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring, Heber was tyrannical, Ames was willful, Psyker was arrogant, and only Austin was friendly. Upon hearing that Han Xiao needed his help, he agreed without much hesitation.

After hanging up, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief before turning to look at Lagi. “Do you want to follow me to Austin’s territory?”

Lagi shook his head. Since he had left, he was not planning to return.

“Alright then. You can remain in the Black Star Army and work together with Herlous and Sylvia to tie up any loose ends after the battle. I will be leaving for a short while,” Han Xiao said solemnly. “Only you two know of my condition in the army. Don’t let anyone know.”

Even Jorde did not know the exact effect of the toxin, and Han Xiao was prepared to seal all news about it. He did not want to expose his temporary weakness.

“Feidin, follow me for now,” Han Xiao said.

With Feidin beside him, he would be able to enjoy Feidin’s Luck Glow, and the moment any changes happened to the toxin, Feidin would be able to help him to a certain extent. Most importantly, his energy would become fertilizer for the toxin if he went into battle, and he needed to keep some fighters beside him. Feidin was currently a Grade A Psychic, and his combat capability was reliable.

“I will naturally be beside you since you are in trouble.” Feidin smiled warmly, and his entire face seemed to be radiating light.

My goodness, please don’t unleash your charisma already… Han Xiao felt his head ache.

After the battle was over, Section Zero left some forces to guard the borders of the Kant Star System and build up a defensive line to prevent the Bloodshed Land from making a comeback.

The one million players who joined the battle returned full of rewards. Meanwhile, Han Xiao took Feidin and another bodyguard, Marian, and left the main force for Hidden Red Robe Abbey.

Han Xiao would be able to give out missions from the faction interface even from afar. All his products were already placed in the faction store, and Han Xiao did not need to follow beside the players all the time.

The players returned with their bags full of rewards this time, and with the fifty-percent discount still active in the faction store, Han Xiao was not afraid that no one would shop in the faction store. Thus, there was no need for Han Xiao to worry about that for now. Furthermore, after this battle, there would not be another large-scale battle like this in the near future. He had more than enough free time to take care of the psychic toxin.

The Hidden Red Robe Abbey was located in a different Star Cluster, and the journey would take a long time.

At the same time, on Planet Heber, the command team calculated the losses from the battle, and Jorde listened to the reports from his subordinates. Despite the losses being significant, Jorde still had a smile on his face and was not frustrated in the least.

Since Section Zero had sent all their forces, it was only normal for them to be chased out. However, their greatest harvest from this battle was succeeding in their sneak attack on Black Star. Jorde was extremely satisfied about this.

Black Star was only a single individual but could single handedly suppress all the high-level combatants on their side. Over the past ten years, Bloodshed Land had lost more than a hundred Calamity Grade Supers by Black Star’s hands. Even if they had the talents of an entire Star Cluster backing them, this was not a small amount.

Heber’s heart was as hard as steel, and he did not care about the losses that his forces had suffered. However, Jorde could not remain indifferent. He was an extremely meticulous butler and felt his heart ache over the loss of high-level combatants. If not for Heber wanting to rear a pig, Jorde definitely would not have allowed Han Xiao to do as he wished in the battlefield for so long.

He had made use of so many different methods but still failed to kill Black Star. Even if Black Star fell for his trap, Jorde felt as though he still could not threaten Black Star’s life. Thus, Jorde was not prepared to send out more assassins but chose to leave Black Star to His Excellency Tyrant instead.

Jorde was in an extremely good mood that day. He was extremely satisfied with the outcome of weakening Black Star.

Although he did not know what kind of injury Black Star had suffered, Jorde prayed for the best outcome, that Black Star would not be able to participate in the war anymore.

Without Black Star, the high-level combatants of their Bloodshed Land could go all out.

In some Star System within the Colton Star Cluster, Floating Dragon Island was drifting in the galaxy.

Compared to seven years prior, Floating Dragon Island had experienced a huge change. There were now three floating islands, one large and two small.

The largest island was the original floating island, which was now the main island. The other two smaller islands revolved around the main island like two small satellites. These were two new subsidiary islands where the Floating Dragon armed forces were located.

With the support of the Black Star Army, Vilna had only taken seven years to grow Floating Dragon’s second field team to a pretty sizable scale. Even the port of the main island was not able to fit the entire armed force. As such, both subsidiary islands were army camps for the new armed force. The two islands had been created by Ames’ force field.

Seven years of development had given Floating Dragon a new look.

At this moment, Ames, Aesop, Vilna, and Jenny were gathered at the Floating Dragon dock. All the famous individuals on Floating Dragon Island were present.

A small reddish spaceship was parked at the dock, and both Hila and Aurora were carrying on to their suitcases.

Both of their personalities remained the same, but they were much more mature than seven years prior. They were dressed in Battle Suits of different designs and colors. Hila’s outfit was red and black in color while Aurora’s outfit was white with golden rims.

“Are you really not going to consider staying behind to help me?” Vilna asked with a look of regret.

The date for the Black Star Army’s departure grew nearer and nearer, and Vilna’s second armed force was one that belonged solely to Floating Dragon. She was the commander of the fleet with plenty of elites and experts under her.

She had been working for Floating Dragon for a full seven years and had a close relationship with the officers of Floating Dragon. She was especially close to both Aurora and Hila.

It was the day for Hila and Aurora to leave Floating Dragon. They had followed the Dragon Emperor for more than ten years, and it was time for them to leave their teacher’s tutelage.

Vilna had pleaded for the sisters to stay behind on more than one occasion to become her leftand right-hand officers. However, it was a pity that the two were determined to leave.

“I am sorry, Sister Vilna. We promised Uncle Black Star that we would go and find him.” Aurora had an apologetic look on her face.

Vilna let out a sigh. The Black Star Army had helped her out a lot, and the sisters had a close relationship with Black Star. She would also be embarrassed to poach them from Black Star.

Jenny then said coldly, “I have deposited 200,000 Enas into your accounts, which will be sufficient for your journey. Black Star is a wealthy individual, and there won’t be a need for me to give you any more money after you join him.”

“Thank you, Sister Jenny,” Aurora said politely.

“Humph.” Jenny turned around without saying anything else. She was extremely depressed that both of them were so insistent on joining the Black Star Army.

Wilsander then chuckled and said, “Remember to say hello to Black Star for me when you see him.”

“Alright.” Aurora nodded.

“Right, help me say hi, too.” The Logistics Manager Haier, who was used to being a transparent bug, also spoke up.

“Alright.” Aurora shrank back slightly. Even after knowing each other for more than ten years, Haier’s ferocious appearance still scared her slightly.

Aesop then shook his head and said, “I looked into both of your futures, and I don’t know if it is a good or bad thing for both of you to follow Black Star.”

Aurora blinked and said, “Destiny is never fixed and will change anytime. This is something that you have told us.”

Aesop let out a long sigh while muttering words like ‘Black Star’, ‘death’, and ‘war’ under his breath.

Finally, both of their gazes landed on Ames.

Ames smiled and said softly, “Be careful.”

Aurora smiled sweetly and replied, “Okay, Teacher.”

Even the emotionless Hila revealed a look of respect and gave a deep bow. “Thank you for your teachings over the past ten years.”

A doting look could be seen in Ames’ eyes, and she nodded without saying anything else.

Hila then straightened her back and looked at her comrades and friends over the past ten years. She then pulled Aurora along with her and boarded the dark red spaceship.

The spaceship then floated up into the air and disappeared into the stars under the gazes of Ames and the others.

Ames placed her arms behind her back and softly muttered, “So, this is the feeling of being a teacher.”

Aesop’s ear twitched slightly, and he tiptoed away like a thief.

Chapter 729: Wanted

In the Black Star Army headquarters, the fleet returned victorious. The players received tons of rewards, and most of them were looking forward to spending them.

This large-scale operation had made quite an impact among the players. It was the first large-scale war for the players in the army in Version 3.0. After this battle, most players had gotten used to Version 3.0 and figured out the goal of the main storyline and the current situation of the galaxy.

There were countless discussions about this war on the forums. The Black Star Army’s first galactic war after the ten years period was rather commemorative, and it was recorded in the Galaxy Chronicles.

“Galaxy Calendar Year 704, August 4th, the Black Star Army and Section Zero attacked the Bloodshed Land troops in the Kant Star System and returned with an overwhelming victory.”

The Galaxy Chronicles consisted of important events that every player took part in writing; it recorded what countless players had witnessed and formed the storyline of the various areas in Galaxy.

Although it was now just Version 3.0, the Galaxy Chronicles had already recorded a lot of information, categorized by Star Field, organization, and characters.

As for the Shattered Star Ring area, the Black Star Army was the organization and storyline that the players were most familiar with. Han Xiao and the army had their own categories. The players recorded the stages of the Black Star Army’s development according to time, even including the various things that happened during the ten years of the update. It was extremely detailed.

A spaceship left the dock of the Black Star Army headquarters; the hundred or so people on the spaceship were players heading to Klent. They had contacted each other on the forums and decided to leave together. Hate the Heavens and his friends were on-board. They had just enjoyed the last benefits of the Black Star Army and spent most of what they had received in the war.

“After spending so long in the Black Star Army, I have to say, I do feel kind of sad for leaving.”

At the corner of the cabin, Hate the Heavens felt down for some strange reason while browsing through the Black Star Army records in the Chronicles. He turned around and looked out the porthole as the enormous Black Star Army headquarters became ever smaller in his eyes.

The players had witnessed the Black Star Army’s growth ever since Version 1.0. They were responsible for how much the Black Star Army had grown. The Chronicles recorded the memories of these players fighting together, and Hate the Heavens felt reluctant.

Hate the Heavens looked at the people around him. Most of the players on the spaceship were gamblers—they did not change faction to experience never experienced before storylines but to be a step ahead of others in grabbing the possible hidden benefits of joining Klent. Hence, they were not as sentimental as someone like him who did it for the storyline.

“Don’t overthink it. My judgment won’t be wrong.” A person saw that Hate the Heavens looked nervous and patted his shoulder.

Hate the Heavens turned to him; the ID above this person’s head was ‘Summer Night Flower’.

Summer Night Flower was the initiator of this team. He trusted himself, so he was going to change factions as well. He had contacted these players who intended to join Klent and invited them to move together. As he was the one that had come up with the analysis, which suggested that Klent would be more beneficial, the players on the spaceship saw him as their leader somewhat.

“I’m not nervous.” Hate the Heavens shook his head.

Summer Night Flower smiled. He then clapped and attracted the eyes of all the players on the ship. “The target of this trip is the West Wind Star System. The Bloodshed Land has many strongholds there, and their forces are the steadiest in that area. They are currently recruiting on a large scale. This is our chance to join Klent. Only then will our main storyline mission become the Klent faction’s.”

The others replied disorderly.

“Trust me, guys, you won’t regret this.”

Summer Night Flower smiled as he looked at the hundred or so players in front of him. He was excited; he felt like he was a pioneer.

After several stops and galactic flight changes, they finally arrived in the West Wind Star System after traveling a long distance. They went to the recruitment office and handed over their documents. They then followed the officers onto the ship to head toward a stronghold.

The Bloodshed Land was recruiting locally. With the Tyrant and Klent’s name, there would always be people who were willing to join. Galactic residents were very free, especially in border areas like the West Wind Star System, where there were many foreigners who were not loyal to the Purple Crystal Civilization.

On the spaceship, about a thousand galactic warriors lined up neatly to accept the inspection of the officer. Summer Night Flower and the other players were among them.

The officer browsed through the resumes of the warriors one after another. Suddenly, he stopped before Summer Night Flower, frowned, and said with shock, “You guys are from the Black Star Army? Why join us?”

Summer Night Flower thought about it and answered, “We hope to develop ourselves in the Bloodshed Land better.”

“Oh, you’ve made the right choice.” Despite saying so, a tint of derision flashed within the officer’s eyes.

The members of the Bloodshed Land were mostly tough people, and this officer was no exception. He had always looked down on people who joined the enemy because of mere profits.

“Okay, you’re now a member of the Bloodshed Land. Missions will be given to you guys once you arrive at the stronghold.”

The officer then walked away. He felt that he needed to report this to his higher-ups.

Summer Night Flower clenched his fists in excitement and softly said, “See that? I was right; the identity of being a member of the Black Star Army will give us special treatment from Klent. The earlier we join Klent, the more important we will be to them.”

The other players saw that this was a good start and were all joyous.

At this time, a notification popped up on the interfaces of these people.

You have activated a new faction-Bloodshed Land. Current Relationship: Indifferent (0/300)

You have activated a new faction-Klent Kingdom. Current Relationship: Indifferent (0/300)

Summer Night Flower and the others were just about to feel cheerful when more notifications came, stunning them.

Your Grade S Main Storyline Mission (Secret War: Section Zero] has failed. You have received a new mission (Secret War: Bloodshed Land). Accumulated Mission Rating has been reset.

You have joined the opposing faction of the Purple Crystal Civilization.

Relationship with the Purple Crystal Civilization is now (Hostile).

Some of the Colton Star Cluster Star System civilization Relationships have been reset to zero and are now (Indifferent).

You have joined the opposing faction of Section Zero.

Relationship with Section Zero is now [Hostile).

You have joined the opposing faction of the Black Star Army.

Relationship with the Black Star Army is now [Hostile).

You have lost the identity as a Black Star Army member. Faction interface and faction store are shut down. You will no longer receive services from the Black Star Army.

Relationship with the Black Star Army characters has been reset to zero. Contribution Points have been reset to zero.

Summer Night Flower and the others were stunned. Although they did guess that they would lose many things when switching factions, they still felt quite heartbroken when it actually happened.

Suddenly, everyone’s communicator rang. Phillip’s sub-program jumped out. His original cute and child-like voice became cold and robotic.

“You have betrayed the Black Star Army and decided to join the enemy. You will no longer receive services from the Black Star Army in any form. This program will automatically uninstall… Uninstallation complete, hum…”

The next second, the sub-program of Phillip disappeared. It looked like it had uninstalled, but it was actually hidden for background monitoring purposes.

Something like this would not happen if they had just joined a neutral faction. However, joining the enemy meant betraying their former faction, so it was inevitable they would be punished and lose the Favorability of their original faction, thus becoming enemies.

Summer Night Flower felt heartache. Suddenly, he felt the furious looks of the players around him and was forced to the corner.

“You have to give us an explanation!”

Such a colossal loss hurt their weak nerves. They had built up those faction Relationship Points and Favorability through the course of two entire versions, but now they were all completely gone. The hundred or so players were furious.

“Let me explain!” Summer Night Flower said hastily. “I said this long ago. There will definitely be risks in changing factions. The benefits of Klent are more long term. There’s a higher chance of winning the secret war, and there are fewer people to fight for resources with. Most importantly, there is a chance to be affiliated with a Universal Civilization. These are all future potentials. We have to give up the short-term benefits in exchange for long term profits. This is an investment! An investment! Do you get it?”

The others were indeed there because of the future potential of Klent; it was just that the tremendous loss made them lose their senses. After hearing Summer Night Flower’s explanation, they calmed down a little.

Summer Night Flower smiled and said, “Guys, don’t panic. The damage of losing the Favorability of the various factions in Colton is actually not that huge. This is because we will be developing in Klent’s territory in the future, where there’s less competition and more resources. Even though we must start climbing up from the bottom, there will be more benefits in the future. Just wait and see, there will be more people joining Klent because of the Universal Civilization sooner or later, and we will be one step ahead.”

The other players had different looks on their faces. These people only wanted to make profits, not losses, but since they were already there, there was no way of turning back. They could only trust Summer Night Flower and keep walking down this path.

Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Summer Night Flower breathed a sigh of relief.

Among the players, Hate the Heavens was the calmest. His goal was to experience a different storyline, so he could totally accept the losses. Seeing that the gamblers around him were so anxious, he thought that it was quite funny.

At the same time, Summer Night Flower and the others did not know that the moment they betrayed the Black Star Army, a new mission was suddenly pinned at the top of the mission list of the army. It was a wanted notice for Summer Night Flower and the rest.

Bounty Mission: (Army Wanted Order]

Mission Introduction: The Black Star Army shows no mercy for traitors. All members will receive a reward for killing the traitors.

Mission Requirements: Kill or capture the traitor alive.

Reward: Based on the target’s strength.

This is a Repeatable Mission.

The players were not the only ones that received this; the hundred million Black Star Army members could all accept this task.

Issuing a bounty was a definite outcome; this was the standard procedure for how most organizations dealt with traitors. Although the players were important to Han Xiao and he gave them enough freedom and benefits, he was certainly not going to miss out on the necessary punishments. Otherwise, his faction would be a joke where the players could join the enemies whenever they wanted.

If the army did not draw a distinguishable line, he would be the one to suffer losses in the end, which would be even more troublesome.

“Someone betrayed the Black Star Army?”

“It’s actually a group of players? I thought they were NPCs.”

“Summer Night Flower? Isn’t this the guy that said the Klent faction is better? So, he’s making an example of himself? Not bad.”

“This means that these players have joined the opposing faction and will become red names, so will we be rewarded every time we kill them?”

The players in the army were thrilled. It had been a very long time since there were players in the opposing faction; the earliest ones were those unlucky people that joined the Germinal Organization in Version 1.0. After so long, there were finally players who they could PVP in the open.

If the traitors were NPCs, they would be gone after being killed once, but if they were players, they could kill them as many times as they wanted. It was a reusable resource!

On the other side, shortly after Summer Night Flower and the rest calmed down, their friends contacted them privately.

“What? We’re all wanted”

Summer Night Flower’s mouth opened wide with shock.

Doesn’t that mean that the millions of players and hundreds of millions of NPCs of the Black Star Army will all be chasing after us?

This was a much more severe consequence than he had expected!

Summer Night Flower gulped uncomfortably. He suddenly felt a sharp sense of coldness from behind him. He turned stiffly like a robot and saw the enraged looks of the hundred players.

“I–I can still explain…”

Summer Night Flower forced a smile. After a thorough explanation and convincing, he finally put out the flames of rage of the people around him.

Such a severe consequence was something that he did not expect. Summer Night Flower carefully observed the faces of the others still lingering with anger and was scared.

If he had guessed wrong, the people of the army would not even have to chase him; these people beside him would all be waiting at his revive point to kill him countless times over and over again.

In a certain Star System in the Colton Star Cluster, four spaceships surrounded a dark red spaceship. Energy chains and beams locked the dark red spaceship in its place.

The leader of this group of small galactic pirates stared at his prey through the porthole; greed appeared on his malnourished face. The galactic pirate subordinates behind him were also delighted

Due to the rise of the Black Star Army, the lives of the galactic pirates in the Colton Star Cluster had become much worse. The name of Black Star struck fear into the hearts of even the big galactic pirates. A small galactic pirate group like them could only act in an extremely low-profile manner, like mice.

Finally, they met a lone spaceship, and they quickly came to rob it.

“I found it. This is a Crimson Coated Grade spaceship. It’s very expensive!” A subordinate found the model of the dark red spaceship online and was overjoyed.

The galactic pirate leader clenched his fists in excitement. Intending to seize this dark red spaceship, he hastily threatened them through the communication channel. “Don’t run away, and don’t fight back, or we will destroy your spaceship!”

It seemed like the people inside the dark red spaceship were scared. The spaceship stayed stationary and did not show any signs of fighting back. The galactic pirate leader felt relieved. He controlled the spaceship and slowly moved closer. Mechanical arms extended out of his spaceship and were about to connect with the dark red spaceship.

At this time, a high energy reaction suddenly exploded from this dark red spaceship. A red energy wave expanded in a sphere and passed through the four other spaceships in the blink of an eye, penetrating them like they had no physical form.

The smiles of the galactic pirate leader and his subordinates were fixed on their faces.

Flop, flop!

The next moment, all the galactic pirates on the four spaceships collapsed. The smiles were still on their faces, but their eyes had lost their color. Their minds were shattered in an instant, and they became corpses.

Gray shadows were dragged out of the corpses by an invisible force, turning into a rolling cluster of fog and flying toward the dark red spaceship, gathering on a white palm.

With no expression on her face, Hila absorbed that soul energy. Her Esper ability became stronger by a negligible amount.

She could absorb the remaining mind energy of dead beings to strengthen her own Esper ability. She did not have an opportunity to do so on Floating Dragon, but now that she had entered the galaxy after finally becoming Grade A through intense training, she would have plenty of opportunities to kill people. Hence, she discovered this method of becoming stronger.

In terms of growth potential, Hila was not below the average player.

However, she would not be so mad about becoming stronger and slaughter planets for it like in Han Xiao’s previous life.

“Sis, what should we do with these four spaceships?” Aurora asked while controlling the spaceship.

On Floating Dragon Island, other than training her Esper ability, Aurora had also gained other knowledge and knew how to operate a spaceship.

“Bring them along. Maybe Han Xiao will want to modify them.”

Hila was not very interested in the loot. She reflected on the battle. Since she had always been training with Ames, she did not know how strong she was exactly.

I seem to be… quite strong?

After a long trip, Han Xiao and the other two finally arrived at Austin’s Hidden Red Robe Abbey after more than half a month.

Chapter 730: Universal Treasure

As a famous Beyond Grade A organization, the location of Hidden Red Robe Abbey was known to the public. It was located in the Gelock Star Cluster and was also known as the Palace of Hidden Spells.

Palace of Hidden Spells was a large palace that floated in the universe, and this palace was Austin’s Mage Pagoda. It was used as the base of Hidden Red Robe Abbey.

The Mage Pagoda was important equipment for a mage, and it was both useful in combat and for research purposes. As the Mage Pagoda of a Beyond Grade A Mage, it was said that the Secret Law Temple had 48,000 different formations. It had a perfect attack, defense, movement, and life support systems. Furthermore, it had projections in a few hundred secondary dimensions and was able to leave the universe and enter those dimensions at any time.

If it was classified into a grade, the grade of Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells would exceed that of orange equipment and would be at the level of a ‘Universal Treasure’. It was the equipment of the highest grade, the gold grade.

The spaceship approached the Palace of Hidden Spells, and the trio looked out of the window and admired the gigantic palace from afar.

The Palace of Hidden Spells was majestic and luxurious with essence gold and dense silver as its foundation. It was decorated with colorful magical crystals all around and looked like a dream-like castle in the universe. The palace could be broken down into many different layers with plenty of subsidiary pagodas all around. A magical glow enveloped the entire palace and covered it with five colored gas. Numerous energy source formations were inscribed all around the protective shield of the palace to absorb a portion of the dark energy from the universe to replenish the consumption of the various formations.

“How majestic,” Feidin said with admiration.

“How luxurious,” Marian said with reverence.

“How rich,” Han Xiao said with envy. He truly saw things differently from others.

If those from the Mechanic class were like merchants, then those from the Mage class were like local tyrants. Especially a Mage of Austin’s caliber. The thickness of his wallet was something that even Han Xiao could not help but feel envious about.

Han Xiao then sought permission from the Palace of Hidden Spells to land, and after receiving permission, he piloted the spaceship toward the dock.

At this moment, the dock was filled with many different models of spaceships that came from different Star Systems. They were all there to seek apprenticeships. The Palace of Hidden Spells had always been open to the outside world, and countless mages chose to research magic in this place. If one threw a random brick out over there, at least two mages would end up being hit for sure.

Hidden Red Robe Abbey was a neutral mage organization. Austin did not work together with any Star Cluster civilizations and did not attempt to expand his armed force either. He allowed the majority of mages to enter Hidden Red Robe Abbey to cultivate and shared knowledge with them. As long as one raised their membership level, one would be able to gain access to knowledge that was of a higher grade. The organizational structure was extremely loose, and their number of members was certainly greater than that of Bloodshed Land. However, only the Forbidden Sorcerers and a few other armed forces were considered Austin’s direct subordinates.

According to Han Xiao’s understanding, Hidden Red Robe Abbey was like a private mage school, and Austin was the principal. His direct subordinates were the lecturers, and the various armed forces under him was like the security detail of the school.

The trio stepped onto the dock, and there were already people waiting for them. The one waiting for them was Desoro, who had previously appeared to bring Lagi back.

“It’s been more than ten years. You haven’t increased your rank?” Han Xiao remembered him and began to joke.

“You must be joking. His Excellency Magus is waiting in the main hall. Please follow me.”

Desoro’s attitude was much more respectful than before. Ten years ago, he had still dared to exchange pointers with Han Xiao, but now, he did not even dare to compete with Han Xiao.

The few of them then chatted casually as they entered the Palace of Hidden Spells.

“The energy level of this place is so high.” Marian took in a few deep breaths and felt extremely refreshed.

“Hmm. The Palace of Hidden Spells is capable of absorbing the dark energy and magical elements floating around in the universe and can raise the density of magical energy here,” Desoro explained. “A mage who meditates in this place will see their efficiency increased greatly, and there is also sufficient energy to conduct various magical experiments. Even if one isn’t a mage, breathing in the air here will allow one’s spirit to be greatly refreshed.”

Feidin then frowned and said doubtfully, “I feel my Psychic energy being suppressed in this place. I am unable to release it too far, and it’s greatly restricted after fifty meters.”

“It’s like this. Because many mages carry out their own magical research in this place, they set up various restrictions to prevent any mental probing. Releasing one’s Psychic energy in this place carelessly is a taboo,” Desoro said.

The few of them then entered the main hall.

Numerous thick magical books floated in midair, releasing a silver glow like the stars in the sky, seemingly forming a milky way in the main hall. There were a few hundred half-transparent Austins floating in midair and reading different books. They were all his doppelgangers, and Austin’s main body was seated atop his throne with his eyes shut. His hand was currently supporting his head up, and it was as though he was having a good nap.

The moment Han Xiao and the others walked in, Austin detected their presence and woke up from his slumber with a lazy yawn.

“Black Star, you’re here.”

Austin wiped off the saliva by his lips, and his saliva transformed into a small, sky-blue dragon about the size of a finger and flew away.

“Your Excellency Magus,” Han Xiao greeted, and both Feidin and Marian followed after him.

Desoro left tactfully and shut the doors.

“It is so rare for you to seek my help. We can talk later. Let me see what Psyker did to you.”

Austin got off from his throne, and his numerous doppelgangers returned to his main body like birds returning to their nest. He then walked in front of Han Xiao, and his height was only at Han Xiao’s waist. His large and baggy red robes were dragged along the floor like a carpet.

Austin then shook his head, and his feet left the ground. Levitating until he was at Han Xiao’s eye level, he raised his tiny hand and tapped on Han Xiao’s forehead lightly. After taking a look at the psychic toxin in Han Xiao’s mind, he let out a gasp of surprise.

“How is it?” Han Xiao felt his heart sink. For a Beyond Grade A Super to be startled, could it be that his situation was terrible?

“I see… It’s a little troublesome…” Austin retracted his finger and placed his arms behind his back. He then revolved around Han Xiao and asked, “What do you know of Psyker?”

“I don’t really know much about him…” Han Xiao pondered for a while. He tried to recall the information that the players from his previous life had gathered. However, there was too little information about Psyker. Furthermore, the players were not able to reach the upper echelons, and there was plenty that they did not know.

“Alright, I have to first tell you that this psychic toxin’s official name is called Soul Embryo, and I do not have the ability to purge it for you.”

Han Xiao was startled. “Even a Beyond Grade A Mage like you can’t do it?”

“Magic isn’t omnipotent.” Austin shook his head with resignation.

Lagi had also said the same thing.

Han Xiao muttered under his breath.

“Let me explain it to you. Just like how I occasionally make magic scrolls myself, Psyker also uses various techniques to store his psychic attacks. Our Beyond Grade A disposable weapons are sold on the black market for a sky-high price. This time, the attack that injured you was a psychic weapon that Psyker created.

“More accurately speaking, not just Psyker’s psychic energy is included. Another type of energy is also included within the attack.

“According to my knowledge, Psyker once roamed the Ancient Star Desert before he became a Beyond Grade A Super. That is an ancient Star Field, and he obtained a Universal Treasure there called the Evolution Cube. It was an item from some lost civilization.”

Hearing that, Han Xiao was stunned for a moment.

It’s actually that item?

At this moment, Feidin asked with curiosity, “What’s the use of that Evolution Cube?”

Austin looked at Feidin and felt as though he was pleasing to the eye. “Psyker hid the Evolution Cube extremely well, and I have never seen what it looks like. I also don’t know its exact usage. I only know two of its uses.

“First, the Evolution Cube can stimulate the potential of a living being, allowing it to evolve greatly in a short period of time. It can automatically adjust the gene structure of an individual to ensure that it is the optimum gene structure. Psyker relied on this method to become a Beyond Grade A Super. He activated the bloodline of his ancestors, and this was the contribution of the Evolution Cube.”

Marian’s breathing became heavy. “Does this mean that this treasure is able to lower the barrier to become a Beyond Grade A Super?”

“Not just that,” Austin said slowly. “Psyker also used the Evolution Cube to influence all the members of his race and aided an entire race to evolve and easily complete a journey that would take other civilizations a million years to complete. The genes of his entire race have reached perfection. Their body, lifespan, intelligence, and so on all exceed an ordinary species. The combat capability of a newborn infant is almost that of a Grade C Super.”

Feidin’s eyes widened with shock. “Such a treasure actually exists? This is too unbelievable. Won’t other organizations eye such a powerful treasure with greed?”

“Of course, there will be some who are greedy. The Arcane Church also approached him, and Psyker came to an agreement with them. He was willing to serve the Arcane Church with the Evolution Cube in exchange for their protection.

“Originally, Psyker’s civilization was only an ordinary Star System Civilization and grew rapidly because of this incident, looking as though it is about to become the next Star Cluster civilization. Although a Star Cluster civilization already existed in the region that he was born in, Psyker had the support of the Arcane Church, and his competitor wouldn’t dare suppress him openly. They could only watch as he slowly rose to prominence.”

Han Xiao nodded secretly. This was pretty much the same as the information that he had. Psyker’s attention was fully devoted to leading his civilization, and he did not like to participate in the conflicts of other regions.

He felt that it was extremely unlikely for Psyker to participate in the secret war.

“He sounds like a hero of his civilization,” Feidin said respectfully.

Austin did not deny those words and continued. “The second ability of the Evolution Cube was to increase one’s mental strength. The upper limit is still unknown. Thus, Psyker’s psychic energy is unbelievably powerful, and his mental strength is even higher than mine. Most importantly, the strength of the Evolution Cube had mixed together with his own psychic energy to form a special reaction, causing his sentient psychic energy to have a terrifying life force.

“The toxin in your body is actually the embryo of a new soul. In other words, your other personality. This soul that had yet to be born has taken root in your mental world and is connected with your own soul. While I am able to destroy it, your body will suffer irreversible damage in the process.”

“Irreversible damage means…” Han Xiao pushed carefully.

“Not sure. I don’t mind if you want to try.” Austin chuckled.

Han Xiao felt his head ache. “Are there any other ways?”

Austin then smiled mysteriously and said, “If Ames or I suffered such an injury, we would be able to recover very easily.”

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up, and he seemed to have understood something. “You mean…”

“While Psyker’s psychic energy is powerful, it is only at the Beyond Grade A level, and it isn’t incurable. The mental strength of a Beyond Grade A Super is extremely stable. As long as you become a Beyond Grade A Super, you don’t need to receive help from anyone and can recover on your own.”

Austin looked at Han Xiao with excitement and added, “You know that I would not say such words to anyone else. However, you are different. I have great expectations for your potential, and you may be able to become a Beyond Grade A Super before being eroded.”

“Actually, there is an even easier method.” Han Xiao could not help but say, “You can ask Psyker to help me. He will definitely understand his own attack. Your relationship with him should be pretty good, right?”

“Nonsense, I don’t know him, and I am not familiar with him.” Austin denied it without even thinking

Han Xiao rolled his eyes in response.

There’s no way I’ll believe you. You darn old man. That isn’t what you said when I first asked you for help.

Chapter 731: Return

Seeing that Han Xiao did not believe him, Austin said, “Psyker is only concerned about his own Civilization and will not be interested in helping you. Even if I request his assistance, he might not give me face since we don’t have any relationship.”

Your face isn’t worth much, and to think you’re a Beyond Grade A… You’re also someone who likes socializing, just like me… Han Xiao inwardly complained.

As though reading Han Xiao’s thoughts, Austin coughed and changed the topic. “Even if he was willing, if you don’t become a Beyond Grade A Super, you won’t live for long.”

“Oh?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“You killed so many Grade A Supers from Bloodshed Land, but because of the rules of war, the Tyrant has been unable to make a move against you,” Austin replied serenely. “However, once the secret war comes to an end, what do you think he will do?”

Han Xiao frowned in response. “He’ll praise me for all my kills.”

Austin was rendered speechless, an incredulous expression hanging on his face. He shook his head.

“If you manage to reach the Beyond Grade A level before the end of the secret war, the Tyrant will enter the war to deal with you, but you at least will have some hope of surviving. However, if you end up being unable to break through to Beyond Grade A, you will not be able to resist, and even if you try to drag the death sentence, the day will come when you two battle!

“Thus, to say that advancing into a Beyond Grade A Super is your only choice was not me lying to you. Furthermore, the time you have left isn’t great.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin, not speaking. However, Marian, who was at the side, was already dazed, and Feidin also had on an expression of worry. He glanced toward Han Xiao from time to time, his eyes showing his concern.

Become a Beyond Grade A in two to three years? That’s impossible! Feidin could not even imagine how low the possibilities were.

He knew very well that Han Xiao had already reached a very high realm at this point. If he wished to take another step forward, how difficult would that be? In the past seven years, he had practically not improved a single step, and compared to his previous speed of progression that was akin to flying, even his close friends were hypothesizing that Black Star had finally met a bottleneck.

At that time, if the Tyrant went knocking, Black Star would likely die. The huge Black Star Army would also collapse along with his death.

Even if Black Star could seize the slim possibility and advance into the Beyond Grade A realm, he might not survive under the hands of the Tyrant. The Tyrant had long since advanced to Beyond Grade A, and his reputation had been earned through fighting. Thus, his combat capability could definitely crush a newly promoted Beyond Grade A.

With this in mind, Feidin was pessimistic about the future. He reached out and squeezed Han Xiao’s shoulder, hoping to give him some comfort.

Deep in thought, Han Xiao must have been feeling very depressed at this moment.

“Where did you get your news from?”

“I naturally have my own sources.” Austin smiled.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as he pretended to sigh. In actual fact, this news was not out of his expectations. Since he dared to participate in the secret war, he was already prepared for the enemy and did not leave anything to fate.

Originally, he was only considered an ordinary member of Section Zero, but he had turned into one of their trump cards, successfully attracting the attention of the Tyrant. Han Xiao had also always been wary of Heber’s involvement in the war. He was not scared, however, as he still had the backing of Floating Dragon, and if the Tyrant wanted to move against him, he would have to face the wrath of the Dragon Emperor. Both sides already had a prior grudge, so Ames would never take this matter lying down.

Moreover, once the Tyrant decided to intervene, the Purple Crystal Civilization would also explode and send troops regardless of the cost to surround Heber. A Star Cluster Civilization was sufficient to threaten the life of a Beyond Grade A Super. At that time, Klent would also use this as an excuse to send troops, and the nature of the secret war would become a large-scale war of two civilizations.

Both warring parties wished to control the scale of the war, so the Tyrant had not appeared. However, Han Xiao was not too aggressive. It was okay to take a piss on someone else’s head, but sh*tting would go too far.

In fact, after he carved out a name for himself, he had reduced the frequency of his appearances. Having successfully formed an alliance with Purple Crystal, he had obtained a lot of development opportunities and had completed his original intention of participating in the secret war. Thus, he wanted to avoid the situation where the winds howled around the highest peaks.

Although he might have affected the process of this secret war, just based on the strength and status of the Calamity Grades on both sides, it would be hard to change the outcome of the war. He had acted within his means and did not slave away to complete each objective the Purple Crystal set for him.

As such, Austin’s words only allowed Han Xiao’s speculations to turn into reality, so he was not too surprised.

However, on the surface, Han Xiao still had to thank Austin for reminding him.

“I can only help you so much. The enchantment that Lagi has given you is pretty good. I don’t need to improve it. You may leave.”

Austin waved his hands, telling his subordinated to send off his guests.

Seeing the situation, Han Xiao did not stay any longer as well, taking the concerned Feidin and Marian, leaving the Palace of Hidden Spells.

Austin returned to his throne, and on his round face, there was an expression as though he was watching a fascinating show.

He never involved himself in disputes, as he liked to be in the position of a bystander, watching the fights across eras even as the seas themselves turned into mulberry fields.

Pressure could be a form of motivation, and he had purposefully stated the intentions of the Tyrant to see how Black Star would behave before this looming disaster. Would he rise against it, or would he be extinguished within? Would he be a defeated dog, leaving the Shattered Star Ring to escape the pursuit of the Tyrant?

Whichever outcome it was, Austin looked forward to it.

Of course, the scene that he wished to see most would be Black Star breaking the situation of the Shattered Star Ring that had been fixed for decades, injecting new vitality into this remote Star Field.

The trio boarded the spaceship, leaving the Palace of Hidden Spells.

There was only silence on-board.

Feidin could not resist opening his mouth after a while to ask, “Do you have any hope of breaking past your bottleneck in the next two to three years?”

Bottleneck? What bottleneck? Han Xiao did not respond immediately. He only glanced at him in confusion. Suddenly, it clicked as to what he was talking about, and Han Xiao could only shrug.

“I don’t know.” He naturally did not mention the matter of his interface.

“What then? The Tyrant is sure to come and kill you.” Feidin was a little panicked.

“Maybe we can obtain the Evolution Cube from Psyker himself,” Marian suggested. “Isn’t that thing capable of lowering the threshold of entering Beyond Grade A?”

“I think there’s no chance of that.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Austin might have been able to discuss the matter with Psyker, but he had no intention of helping Han Xiao. As for Ames, because she was probably not familiar with Psyker, she could not use her face to talk to Psyker. The Evolution Cube was Psyker’s treasure. Even if he wanted to use it, he did not know the other party. There was an eighty percent chance that Psyker would just ignore him.

Furthermore, he himself did not have any real bottlenecks and merely lacked experience.

“Then, what are you preparing to do?” Feidin asked.

“Improvise.”

With the players returning in Version 3.0, Han Xiao was confident that he would reach Beyond Grade A, but he was unable to explain that to Feidin.

Feidin pressed on the shoulders of Han Xiao, speaking with a solemn expression. “If this really does not work, we’ll just abandon the Black Star Army and escape to another Star Field. Our influence can be rebuilt; our lives are more important.”

“And you’ll come along with us?” Han Xiao jested.

Feidin paused for a moment before seriously nodding. “I will.”

Feeling the genuine intentions of Feidin, Han Xiao was a little touched.

But he shook his head and changed the topic, smiling as he said, “Don’t be frightened by what has not come. Let’s talk about the issue of the Tyrant next time. Right now, I still have a more urgent problem. I need to find a way to suppress the parasitism in my mental territory. This psychic toxin… oh, I should call it the Soul Embryo. With this thing here, I can’t even exert any energy.”

“A pity that the Magus was unable to help.” Feidin sighed.

“He just didn’t want to help. Don’t look at him having an amiable expression. In actual fact, that old chicken is extremely sly. Do you think he told me all that intelligence to help me?”

Han Xiao pursed his lips. He was not as easily manipulated as Herlous. To make him go all the way there, only to see him flap his lips a little and send them off, not even reimbursing them for fuel costs, what nonsense was this?

In the end, he still had to find his own method. If he had known this, he would not have relied on Austin at all. This was a wasted trip.

As Han Xiao thought about it, he suddenly discovered a path.

Since the reason reaching Beyond Grade A could allow him to automatically recover was their strong mental strength, this meant that each time he levelled up, his spirit should increase. Thus, even if he did not reach Beyond Grade A, he should be able to suppress the Soul Embryo.

Because the NPCs did not have an interface, they could only subtly improve themselves through grinding and training. However, Han Xiao’s leveling up was an instantaneous process, and the effect displayed was significant. Although upgrading would not allow him to clear away his negative state, it should be able to inhibit the growth of the Soul Embryo.

Han Xiao opened his interface. This trip had taken more than half a month, and the players had long returned to the Black Star Army and made their purchases. He had already accumulated a reasonable amount of experience to raise his level. This would serve to test his theory.

He did not hesitate, immediately raising his level by one.

[Apostle Mechanic) leveled up to Lv.23.

+240 Energy, +3 STR, +4 DEX, +5 END, +10 INT.

You have received 8 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

Han Xiao connected to his mental territory, and looking down, he saw that the area of purplish black mist where the Soul Embryo was had further shrunk. It had reduced from six percent to four percent.

Leveling up is indeed effective. The stronger the mental territory, the more the Soul Embryo will be suppressed.

As he withdrew his spiritual probing, he immediately came up with an idea. It was not as though he was incapable of attacking. As long as he reasonably upgraded himself, controlling the Soul Embryo to remain below thirty percent, there would be no possibility of a troublesome sub-personality rising.

He sighed in relief. Since there was a long-term plan to suppress it, the threat of the Soul Embryo had decreased. Indeed, enchanting and stuff were all external means; the most reliable path was still to strengthen himself. A matter that a Beyond Grade A could not deal with could be resolved simply by levelling himself.

If that’s the case, it’s not as if I can’t attack. I just have to control the time taken for battle… Oh, but to be safe, I had better look for a stronger partner…

At this time, his communicator rang. Taking it out, Han Xiao saw that it was from Sylvia, who was manning the helm at the main headquarters. There was a photo attached.

In the picture, a dark red spaceship was dragging dozens of spaceships through a traction beam into the dock. A memorable flash of dark red hair leaped into his gaze; it was Hila and Aurora who were standing at the dock, showing contrasting cold and warm expressions.

Hila’s back?

Han Xiao looked at the photo, and the corners of his mouth rose.

At that moment, he had the best candidate in mind.

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, the ladies have already arrived at the headquarters of Black Star Army.”

In the palace of Floating Dragon Island, Vilna had her head lowered as she reported the status of the two sisters to Ames.

Ames had squeezed her force field into tiny little green spheres and was playing with them on her fingers. She smiled when she heard the news. “Did they meet into any problems?”

“Well, I sent out a fleet in secret, and there were eight small bandit groups that tried to attack them, but all of them were easily killed by Hila.” Because Vilna was afraid that they would meet with unforeseen circumstances, she had sent out someone to follow them for protection.

Ames nodded in response. “You’ve done well. Since they have successfully reached Black Star’s territory, recall the troops. Black Star will naturally take care of them.”

She cared more for the siblings than herself. She did not feel that normally, but now that the two sisters had been gone for more than half a month, she began to feel as though she was lacking something in her life.

By the side, Aesop shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about them at all. By following Black Star, they will grow quickly.”

Looking over, Ames seemed a little unhappy. “Do you mean to say that I didn’t teach well?”

Aesop waved his hands in helplessness. “Hila can absorb the dead’s remaining spiritual powers to strengthen her own. She did not have an opportunity to use the ability here, but Black Star is participating in the war, with countless dying every second. For Hila, the best place for her to grow and practice is the battlefield. Even I can’t imagine the pace of her growth beside Black Star.”

“That’s right. Black Star, that b*stard, will definitely make them join the battlefield. It’s so dangerous. What if Black Star doesn’t take care of them?” Ames murmured to herself, obviously focusing on a different direction. She resembled a worried parent, treating her two disciples who had followed her for more than a decade like her children.

Aesop and Vilna had a bad feeling upon hearing those words.

After spending yet another half a month travelling, Han Xiao’s group finally arrived back at the headquarters and met the two sisters who had been away for a long time.

In the office, Aurora ran head first into Han Xiao’s arms, squirming non stop. Although they were already old, she still felt the same familiarity and closeness to Han Xiao.

“Based on the contract, we’re here to work for you.” Hila was expressionless.

“We’re all old acquaintances. There’s no need to talk about an agreement or contract. I’m happy that you guys are here to help.” Han Xiao stroked Aurora’s hair as he laughed. “To think that a decade has passed just like that. You’re all grown up.”

The emotions in Hila’s eyes fluctuated slightly.

They had once been puppets under the control of the Germinal Organization, but now, Black Star had become a great figure in the Universe, while Hila had also become a Calamity Grade Super. Things were different.

Thinking back to the past, Hila felt moved. The man in front of her had changed her entire life. Without Black Star, she would have grown old with guilt and hatred for the planet and would likely never have been able to enter the magnificent universe.

“The last time we fought side by side was more than a decade ago. At that time, I could not help out at all.” Hila’s eyebrows rose, and she was full of spirit. “But I’ve finally caught up to you!”

“I’ve already waited ten years for today.” Han Xiao patted Hila’s shoulders as he smiled. He then took two steps back, raising his hands as he said out loud, “Welcome to the Black Star Army!”

Chapter 732: Cultivation Plan

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Hila strength had earned her the title ‘Goddess of Death’.

Ever since Han Xiao saved these two sisters from the Germinal Organization, he had always seen Hila as a very important aid in the future. After waiting for so many years, Hila had finally grown and was now a Calamity Grade. She was now starting to be helpful.

Han Xiao knew about Hila’s ability very well. Being able to become stronger by absorbing the souls of the dead was something that only she could do. In his previous life, she had slaughtered countless planets and grown faster than even the players.

In his eyes, although Hila did not have the Luck Glow, she was undoubtedly a legendary character… of course, a villainous character.

Although Hila was not walking the evil path, it just so happened to be in a time of war. All the dead soldiers could become the source of her power. This was a once in a thousand years opportunity that could make Hila live up to her true potential.

He needed someone that could fight in his place, and Hila was the perfect candidate.

As for Aurora…

Han Xiao turned to look at her, smiled kindly, and said, “How’s the development of your Esper ability?”

Aurora chuckled. She flipped her hand, and a golden light appeared above her palm.

“I’m not good at battles, but I can cure any physical damages, and I can also stimulate the vital forces of others and make them stronger. Try it…”

As she was speaking, a cluster of golden light landed on Han Xiao. Han Xiao felt energized as if an electric current passed through his entire body, and many buffs appeared on the interface.

“Can your power be stored?” Han Xiao asked.

“Yes, I’ve tried to inject the vital energy into potions. These can be stored for a long time. But I’m not as hard-working as my sister, so I’m not a Calamity Grade yet. Thus, the expiration date is a little short. The healing effect of these potions will diminish over time and can last for two months at most.”

Aurora scratched her head, a little embarrassed.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He looked at Aurora as if he was looking at a treasure. He saw the hope of expanding the army’s business into the galactic medicine industry.

Aurora’s Esper ability made her a born healer. When she was still very weak, her healing abilities were already extremely strong. Now that she was a Grade B Super, her healing ability would most likely have increased many times.

“Also, although I can’t fight very well, I can regenerate very quickly.” Aurora pulled out an explosive pistol from the belt of her battle suit, spun it a few rounds on her finger, and suddenly fired at her other hand.

With a bang, the beam penetrated her palm. Before Han Xiao could even be shocked by her actions, her wound healed up extremely quickly and disappeared. Her palm became white and smooth once again. no signs of it being wounded could be seen anywhere.

“See, I can protect myself now!” Like a child showing off, Aurora’s face was filled with anticipation. She wanted to be praised by Han Xiao.

In the training that lasted more than ten years, other than cultivating her Esper ability, Aurora had also learned quite many shooting and fighting techniques to make up for her combat capability. As she had once been tortured by the Germinal Organization, although she looked weak and soft, she was extremely resilient and had a very high pain tolerance. She did not even frown the slightest when she casually shot through her hand.

What a tough girl… Han Xiao smiled and praised her. “That’s an amazing ability.”

The name (Life Return) sure was not an exaggeration. Aurora was only Grade B now, so when she reached Grade A, her regeneration power would probably be even stronger than his. Sadly, her Esper ability did not have a high combat capability. However, her ability and Hila’s ability definitely made up for each other’s weaknesses.

After the three of them chatted for a while, Hila said with a serious face, “How do you plan to arrange us?”

“I shall bring you to meet the officers of the army first.”

Hila shook her head. “Before you came back, Sylvia took us to meet all the high-ranking officers. She said that when you’re back, you’ll personally decide our positions.”

During the Mutation Disaster in Version 2.0, the most senior members of the army had all met Hila. They knew that her relationship with Han Xiao was not usual, so they definitely treated them well.

“Since that’s the case, let’s get down to business then,” Han Xiao said. “The two of you will follow me as my bodyguards first. After you know more about how the army operates, I’ll then arrange official high-ranking positions for you.”

“No problem.” Hila nodded.

Han Xiao thought for a moment then said, “Rest a few days, then I will bring you guys along.”

Hila, however, shook her head and rejected that. “There’s no need; we have rested enough. Give us missions as soon as possible. I want to test my true strength.”

Why are you in more of a hurry than me? Han Xiao smiled, contemplated for a while, and then nodded. “Okay. We shall head out tomorrow. I’ll take you guys to war.”

He planned to keep a low profile for some time while reaping the players’ Experience and cultivating Hila’s potential personally.

In the West Wind Star System, Star Zone 11…

This was the border Star System that had been invaded before any others. The forces of the Bloodshed Land stationed there were the largest. They had built around a hundred strongholds spread across the various Star Zones in the West Wind Star System. Section Zero had set up perimeters at some strategically important places to prevent the Bloodshed Land from invading the areas around West Wind.

Perimeter 027 was one of them, with numerous Section Zero members garrisoned there throughout the year. The Black Star Army’s fleet was in it as well, and the people stationed here rotated in shifts.

Other than the occasional large-scale military operations, perimeters were where battles occurred the most regularly. The Bloodshed Land tried to penetrate the perimeters time after time. The troops at the perimeters also sent small fleets to disrupt and attack the Bloodshed Land strongholds regularly. Those perimeters were the ‘frontlines’ of the war.

After the Kant Star System battle ended, the players started to explore freely. Han Xiao had yet to cancel the fifty percent off sale for those taking part in the war. The requirement to enjoy this benefit was to continue participating in the war. Hence, in the more than a month Han Xiao took to travel back and forth, most of the players were scattered across the various perimeters where there were countless battles. This was also the usual way of taking part in the secret war main storyline.

There were also players that did not take part in the main storyline. Some went to do mercenary missions, some went to explore around, and some guild players bought mining devices and small carrier ships and went to become miners on the resource planets under the Black Star Army.

More than 20,000 players gathered at Perimeter 027, participating in the daily combat missions.

Not long ago, a Bloodshed Land fleet had attacked the perimeter but failed. The stationed troops were now cleaning up the battlefield. In the military space station office, the commander of Perimeter 027, Rexson, was looking at the troops outside the window cleaning the wreckages while listening to his deputy report the result of the battle.

“The enemy lost eighty-six small battleships and nineteen heavy frigates. We lost thirty-eight battleships. As for casualties… ahem, it’s unknown for the enemy. The casualties on our side are being calculated right now. The initial estimate is that the damage is very small…”

“All thanks to the Black Star Army again?” Rexson said with a relaxed expression.

“Yes. The Immortals of the Black Star Army destroyed many of the enemy battleships through close-quarter battles. Since they don’t need any retreat plans, we did not suffer any extra casualties…”

The deputy swallowed his saliva. It was written on the battle report that after landing on the enemy battleships through the charge cabin, many of them instantly detonated the charge cabin and did not consider retreating at all. Some even landed while carrying nuclear bombs. These people were extremely brave.

“Ever since the Black Star Army sent a few dozen thousand Immortals, the combat pressure on our side decreased tremendously. These people are born warriors.” Rexson took a deep breath.

It had been two months since the version started. A lot of players had reached level 100 and completed their Promotion Missions one after another, getting the opportunity to experience Race Evolution. The versatility of the players increased once again. The first batch of players had finally entered Grade B.

Although they were just the weakest kind of Grade Bs, the increase in their Grade still made a powerful impact. The mid-tier combatant standard of the Black Star Army instantly increased an entire level. As more than a million of those Supers were sent into the various perimeter battlefields, the situation of many of those perimeters immediately became much better.

For Perimeter 027, the twenty thousand or so Grade B players secured victories for all the recent skirmishes at the perimeter. Rexson could not have been more satisfied with the Black Star Army’s players.

The first batch of Black Star Army players were no longer disposable forces like before; they had the ability to make decisive impacts to small scale skirmishes. The players discussed this on the forums. Bun-Hit-Dog mentioned Frenzied Sword’s theory during his video and said that as the players became stronger with the version updates, their influence on the world would grow bigger as well, and they would be widely recognized.

Real-time feedback was an important source of fun for the players. If the attitude of an NPC was the same toward max level players and new players, it would be way too boring. The factor that attracted the players the most in Galaxy was that immersive experience as if they were living in a real world.

This time, Rexson suddenly received a notification. He glanced at it, and his expression changed drastically.

“What happened?” the deputy hastily asked.

“Quickly, make the preparations. His Excellency Black Star will be coming personally, and he’s almost here.” Rexson quickly walked out of the room.

Rexson summoned the high-ranking officers and went to the dock. After a while, the Blacklight Stealth entered.

Han Xiao brought along the two sisters and Feidin. Feidin had come of his own volition. He was worried about Han Xiao’s mental state, so he planned to always be around Han Xiao till Han Xiao recovered, just in case.

As soon as they disembarked from the spaceship, Rexson approached them respectfully. To him, Han Xiao was someone that he would have no chance of coming into contact with usually. Han Xiao had gained the respect of all the Section Zero members through his battle results.

“No need to be so formal. I would like to know about the situation of the Bloodshed Land strongholds nearby,” Han Xiao said with a smile.

Rexson was flattered. He hastily invited Han Xiao and the others into the battle conference room, opened the tactical star map, and explained the situation.

Han Xiao stared at the star map, nodded, and said, “Got it, I’m planning to attack Stronghold W-58.”

Stronghold W-58 was the biggest hostile stronghold around Perimeter 027, and one Calamity Grade was stationed there. Rexson had never thought of attacking it, but once he heard what Han Xiao said, he was secretly content.

“I need some helpers. Don’t worry, the merit will all be yours.” Han Xiao smiled.

Rexson nodded continuously and said, “I will send the perimeter fleet to work with you.”

Although Han Xiao was not his direct boss, Rexson was not willing to give up this opportunity of gaining Han Xiao’s favor, not to mention that the merit of eliminating an enemy stronghold would all go to him.

“Okay, we act in one day’s time.”

Han Xiao nodded. He had gone to the perimeter this time to let Hila test her abilities, so of course, he was going to strike.

Manudo was the Bloodshed Land Grade A Super stationed in Stronghold W-58. He was not very worried.

Not long ago, he had received a message from spies that Black Star had appeared at Perimeter 027. He was the only Calamity Grade in the strongholds nearby. Since Black Star was already there, Manudo felt that he would not mind getting rid of a usual Calamity Grade like him on the way. His heart was half-frozen in fear.

Manudo hastily reported this to the headquarters. To his surprise, the overall commander proactively contacted him.

“There’s a very high chance that the Black Star will be attacking the stronghold you’re in now. However, don’t panic. I’m going to give you a mission.”

“Is it retreat?” Manudo saw hope.

“Of course not!” Jorde said with a deep voice. “I need you to do one thing-lure Black Star into fighting and battle with him.”

“You can just tell me if you want me to kill myself…” Manudo felt the utmost despair.

“Ahem, I will deploy the Calamity Grades around to support you. You’re not going to fight alone.” Jorde was practically speechless. The fearful name of Black Star was deeply carved into the hearts of the high-level combatants of the Bloodshed Land. There was nothing he could do about it. He could only explain, “Not long ago, Black Star fell into my trap. He’s not at his maximum strength now. I need you to test him.”

Jorde wanted to speculate what damage Psyker’s weapon dealt to Han Xiao through observing Han Xiao’s reactions during battle. He could only feel relieved after seeing it with his own eyes.

At the same time, on a desolate planet between Stronghold W-58 and Perimeter 027, Summer Night Flower and dozens of other players who had joined Klent arrived in spaceships.

They were doing the main storyline mission of the Klent faction. As warriors of the Bloodshed Land, they were deployed to the stronghold near the perimeter to take part in small scale skirmishes just like the Black Star Army players.

The Bloodshed Land had very strict rules. They were not allowed to explore freely like they could in the Black Star Army. Summer Night Flower and the others were not used to it. They could not help but to miss the treatment of the Black Star Army. Sadly, they only knew to treasure it after losing it.

This time, Summer Night Flower and the others finally had some casual time. They had gone to this planet to wait for someone.

Their position in the Bloodshed Land was not high, so their privileges could not be compared to when they were in the Black Star Army. Hence, Summer Night Flower contacted his friend who was still in the Black Star Army and told him to buy the fifty percent off products from the army for them. This planet was where they were going to make the exchange.

Chapter 733: Protecting the Law

“Brother, are you here yet?”

“Soon, soon.”

A small spaceship was parked on the brown desolate land. Summer Night Flower and the others were waiting beside the spaceship.

Very soon, another spaceship landed beside them. The people in it got out of the spaceship, looked around, and greeted Summer Night Flower.

“Where’s the stuff?” Summer Night Flower approached.

“Where’s the money?” the person helping to do the purchases replied.

“Didn’t I make the transfer long ago?” Summer Night Flower said with resignation.

“Ha, I just wanted to paint the atmosphere of an illegal trade. Didn’t it feel very dramatic?”

The person chuckled. Seeing that Summer Night Flower was expressionless, he could only wipe the smile off his face awkwardly and take him into the cabin to see the stuff.

“There, this is all the stuff you wanted. Count it. Don’t say I scammed you.”

Summer Night Flower scanned through and calculated in his mind that the quantity was all correct. Only then did he say, “No need to, I trust you.”

This time, the person helping to make the purchase rubbed his hands with a slightly embarrassed expression and said, “You know, we’ve known each other for many years. We’re quite close, right?”

Summer Night Flower was a little confused. “What are you saying?”

“I’m asking you, are we good friends that play together?”

“Why?”

“Since we’re friends, can you sacrifice yourself and let me kill you a few times to earn some bounties?” the person asked cautiously. “After all, you can’t accept the Bounty Missions from the army. Instead of letting others kill you, I can split thirty percent of the bounty with you.”

“Piss off.” Summer Night Flower was speechless. Thirty percent? How is that little bounty reward going to make up for the experience I lose from dying?

“Stop talking nonsense. You’ve brought the stuff, so I’m taking it away,” Summer Night Flower said as he was about to pick up the equipment.

This time, the person suddenly pressed on his hand and chuckled, “No, I think it’s better for me to keep it for you temporarily.”

“What do you mean? Are you trying to con me?” Summer Night Flower was furious. His friends around him all came closer with hostile looks on their faces, implying they would not hesitate to kill for the equipment.

The person helping to buy the equipment did not panic at all. He slowly said, “This is for your own good. You might be robbed very soon if you’re carrying new equipment.”

Summer Night Flower suddenly had a bad feeling

At this time, the sound of spaceships landing came from outside. Small spaceships landed on the ground one after another, and a huge group of players rushed out.

The expression of Summer Night Flower and the rest changed drastically. He knew that these people were there for the bounty. He turned to look at the person who had helped to purchase the equipment in disbelief. “You betrayed me?”

“Look at it yourself.” The person curled his lips and took out the communicator. On it was the location of the person wanted by the army, which was the location of Summer Night Flower and the rest of the people. Their coordinates were constantly monitored. This trade was not a secret to the other players at all.

“Why didn’t I know about this?” Summer Night Flower was stunned. Then he realized with resignation that his army program had automatically been uninstalled.

The Phillip sub-program of these players became a background monitoring device that sent their coordinates to the nearby Black Star Army members at all times. It was like a constant reminder to the army members nearby. Summer Night Flower and the others were as conspicuous as sheep passing through a pack of wolves, except they did not know it at all.

Only the players nearby would receive the coordinates. Summer Night Flower and the rest had only gone to Stronghold W-58 not long ago, so only the players in Perimeter 027 received the coordinates. They thought that this was just a mission reminder, so no one discussed it on the forums. Thus, Summer Night Flower and the rest had no idea.

Suddenly, Summer Night Flower realized something. With a face of shock, he said, “Wait a minute, you knew that our coordinates were exposed all long, yet you didn’t tell me and even did not cancel the trade?”

“Sorry, I’m the cop.”

“Speak like a human being!”

The person smiled and said, “Sigh, I have to make a living, okay? Since you’re already here, it’s a waste not to kill you. Like I said, instead of letting others take the bounty, just let me take it. I will split thirty percent with you.”

Summer Night Flower’s mouth shivered. He pointed at him and could not say a word.

So, you had an ulterior motive all along!

This was a trap!

I saw you as a friend, but you wanted to deceive me?

What happened to basic trust between people?

If the furious looks on the Klent faction players around them could turn into knives, Summer Night Flower would have been sliced into a thousand pieces.

Looking at the quickly approaching players, Summer Night Flower hastily raised his hand with a face full of grief. The person helping to do the purchase thought that he wanted to fight, so he quickly jumped back a few meters. To his surprise, Summer Night Flower stood in place and raised four fingers.

“Forty percent!”

The person’s eye sparkled. He kindly reminded Summer Night Flower and said, “Remember to choose the faction revive point when reviving, or you’ll get killed another time.”

“Thank you so f*cking much!” Summer Night Flower clenched his teeth so hard it sounded like pieces of metal rubbing against each other.

Woosh!

With a familiar flash of white light, Summer Night Flower returned to Stronghold W-58. His face was filled with grief, but he had no tears to cry.

This is so tiring. I shouldn’t have come to Klent…

The moment Summer Night Flower thought that, he quickly eliminated it. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and convinced himself to believe in his analysis.

Although the path ahead would be twisted, he still believed that the future of the Klent faction was brighter.

“I will definitely be able to earn back the damages suffered now.” Summer Night Flower encouraged himself then left the revive point. He was not planning to become the target of the rage of the rest of the Klent players.

This time, a message appeared on the interface. It was his friend that helped to make the purchase.

“I’ll hold onto your stuff for now. Let’s find another time to meet again.”

Summer Night Flower was filled with rage.

You want to scam me another time?

“Piss of! Refund!”

Han Xiao saw this small incident on the forums. A player made a post to show off that he got the first kill of the traitor. He felt this was something worth praising, so he sent extra experience and Enas through the faction interface.

The analysis post of Summer Night Flower became popular again. Many were mocking him and laughing at it. Summer Night Flower said that him getting killed was nothing; it was just a usual faction conflict, and the storyline in the future would prove that he was right. He was clearly very stubborn.

After killing some time, a day later, Rexson gathered the troops and attacked Stronghold W-58.

With Han Xiao’s current experience, he had seen many small galactic skirmishes fought around a single stronghold. He did not even need to observe the battlefield to know what would happen.

The fleets fought intensely. Han Xiao was observing from the flagship and did not participate, nor did he let Hila and Feidin participate. Seeing that there were countless deaths on both sides, only then did he turn to look at Hila.

“Try the effect of absorbing souls of the dead on the battlefield.”

Hila nodded. A tint of red light flashed across her eyes. Then, black red energy covered her entire body. It was like she suddenly grew more than twenty centimeters taller and gave off a vibe of an ancient God-merciless, enormous, and solemn.

In the wide galactic battlefield, gray fog appeared in the countless spaceship wreckages floating in space. They formed countless gray snakes and gathered into Hila’s hand through thousands of miles.

The remaining energy of all the warriors that died on the battlefield was absorbed by her.

Hila exhaled deeply, clenched her fists, and said, “Both the strength and range of my Esper ability are enhanced. That saved me at least half a year’s time.”

“Great, it works.” Han Xiao was delighted. This was good news. The quicker Hila became stronger, the earlier she would be able to fight in his place. He would be able to let Hila help him get rid of those unimportant enemies.

He decided to call the quick growth method exclusive to Hila ‘Gray Soul Absorption’. It was almost like a cheat.

At this time, a strange energy suddenly exploded in the middle of the battlefield. From the fleet of the Stronghold W-58, three Calamity Grades flew out. The interference of high-level combatants quickly toppled the balance of the battlefield and became something that Rexson’s troops could not deal with. Originally, they were only slightly at a disadvantage, but they were now constantly forced to retreat.

Inside the flagship, the deputy exclaimed with shock, “Why are there three Calamity Grades? The intelligence says that there’s only Manudo!”

However, not only did Rexson not panic, he even smiled instead.

“It doesn’t matter if there’s three of them. With Black Star here, even if it were thirty…” Rexson paused. Although he was extremely confident in Han Xiao, he still did not dare exaggerate too much. He coughed and then said, “Even if there were 13 of them, His Excellency Black Star would still kill them all.”

At this time, the scenery viewing window of the flagship zoomed in and focused on Manudo.

In the window, Manudo did a provocative sign toward the flagship, and the flagship received a video message from Manudo. His pale face appeared on the screen. His forehead was covered in sweat, and he had a very twisted mocking expression on his face.

“Black Star! I know you’re in there. Don’t hide. I’m not afraid of you. Us three Grade A Supers are challenging you right here. Do you dare accept it? Hahaha!”

In the end, Manudo laughed stiffly as sweat rolled down his face. The skin on his face was even shivering as if he was about to cry, and he was barely keeping up the ferocious expression.

The people in the flagship command room had strange expressions on their faces.

The enemy is taunting us, but why does it feel so unconfident?

Han Xiao held his forehead. Taunting with such bad acting skills, are you serious?

Rexson turned to Han Xiao and respectfully said, “Your Excellency Black Star, we can’t deal with Calamity Grades. Please help.”

In his eyes, if Han Xiao attacked, killing three normal Calamity Grade Supers would be a piece of cake.

However, Han Xiao shook his head and patted Hila’s thin waist. “These three people are yours.”

Despite having to face three opponents of the same grade, Hila did not look troubled at all. She turned and prepared to strike immediately. She was someone not afraid of obstacles and was happy to conquer them. Since Han Xiao could fight multiple opponents of the same grade, Hila took this as her target as well. She had very high requirements for herself.

Furthermore, she also wanted to fight strong enemies and test her limits so that she could gain a clearer idea of where she stood in the Calamity Grade.

Manudo and the other two attacked the battleships while waiting for Han Xiao to appear. To Manudo, every second was torture. It was as if he had stepped into the execution ground and was waiting for the blade to land on his head. If not for Jorde’s orders, he would have run away immediately.

Jorde was also observing the battlefield remotely, waiting for Han Xiao to appear.

This time, a dark red meteor appeared in the eyes of those people at an extremely high speed. It headed right toward the three of them. A Grade A Cannon Master beside Manudo fired from far away. High energy particle beams landed on the dark red meteor one after another, slowly reducing its speed.

However, the next moment, this dark red meteor suddenly erupted and released thousands of red energy beams that almost covered half of the entire battlefield. These energies were extremely thick, like thousands of enormous pythons. They spun their head and crashed into the Bloodshed Land fleet.

Manudo and the other two people were also hit by dozens of almost solid red energy beams. Other than having the usual heat and explosive damage, Hila’s energy beams also gave the three of them psychic damages. They hastily backed away with shock.

“This energy is very strange.”

“This energy beam tried to absorb my spiritual body away like tentacles with suction cups.”

As the tsunami-like red energy release ended, Hila appeared. The black-red armor on her body was focused on mobility and enhancing energy release. She did not wear a helmet, but her head was covered by a half-transparent energy layer, providing life functions and a wide vision.

Manudo was shocked. He had expected Black Star to attack, but who was this woman?

“Is there such a person in the Black Star Army?”

“It doesn’t show on the intelligence. Could she be a new officer?”

“She’s very strong. I feel a sense of threat from her.”

The three of them spoke in their communication channel. They all felt the pressure.

Jorde, who was remotely spectating, was also confused. He carefully sized Hila up and was sure that he had never seen this person before, yet Black Star had sent her to fight three Calamity Grades alone. Was this because he believed in her strength?

“The Black Star Army sure has a lot of talents.”

Jorde clenched his teeth. Seeing that Black Star was not going to fight, he had no choice but to tell Manudo and the others to fight with Hila and see how strong Hila was.

At the same time, the others on the battlefield also noticed the confrontation between the high-level combatants.

The Black Star Army players saw Hila’s look and were shocked.

“Aye, this beauty looks kind of familiar.”

“I remember, isn’t this Hila who appeared in both 1.0 and 2.0?”

“That’s right. It’s her. I thought she’d died by Version 3.0, but it turns out she’s still alive and much stronger.”

“She appeared in the mid to later stages in Version 2.0. When did she join our army?”

“If I remember correctly, when Black Star went deep into the Germinal Organization’s base in Version 1.0, it was to rescue her. Could she be the captain’s old lover?”

“Oh…”

Many players let out meaningful grunts before quietly activating the video recording function.

Chapter 734: Mislead

On the battlefield, Hila released dark red energy and fought with the three enemy Calamity Grades at the same time. Hila felt the pressure immediately. She clenched her teeth and tried to hang on, barely standing her ground using the uniqueness of her Esper ability.

Han Xiao observed for a while and figured out Hila’s actual combat capability.

These three enemies are normal Calamity Grades around level 180. With Hila current strength, she’s in the upper-middle ranking among Calamity Grades. She still lacks experience in fighting with Calamity Grades, but due to her unique Esper ability, she can deal with two such enemies at most. Three is too much.

Although Hila had sufficient strength to be part of the battles that he was in, she was still some distance away from becoming the capable assistant that he wanted.

However, with her growth rate, she would be able to overcome that distance very quickly.

As he was pondering, the situation started to gradually worsen for Hila.

Han Xiao was not worried about Hila’s safety. Not only did Hila have the Molding Talent that would lock her health, Aurora was around as well. It would be difficult for her to die even if she wanted to.

At the same time, a small incident was happening on the battlefield that Han Xiao was unaware of.

A small Bloodshed Land assault ship was fleeing in the battlefield, chased by dozens of Black Star Army battleships.

“Quickly run, they’re coming again!”

Its shield endured attacks continuously. The spaceship was trembling as the piercing red alarm echoed within. On the spaceship, Summer Night Flower and the others were covered in sweat, panicking.

They were being chased by a large group of Black Star Army players. Phillip had sent their coordinates to all the army members on the battlefield.

Quite a number of players taking part had seen it and thought, Nice, bonuses!

Thus, Summer Night Flower and the others’ nightmare began. No matter how they changed their location, it was always shown on the radar of the army players.

Originally, fighting with opposing faction players was very common. However, in this skirmish, the number of players on the Black Star Army’s side was more than a hundred times the number of players on Summer Night Flower’s side. Hence, it became one-sided, and Summer Night Flower’s group was chased by the other players.

Summer Night Flower’s mood was extremely bad. He regretted going to Stronghold W-58. He should have requested to be deployed to other strongholds that did not have to face the Black Star Army!

The Black Star Army was full of bad people that were just merciless. He was afraid.

As a player of the opposing faction, he decided to avoid the Black Star Army in the future. Even if that meant that he had to play alone in a remote stronghold, the game experience would be better than being chased by enemies all the time.

As Summer Night Flower was in a meltdown while being chased by the army players, the battle between Hila and three enemy Calamity Grades reached its climax.

The few of them kept shifting the battlefield, moving across the various areas where the fleets were fighting. With continuous explosions, people died nonstop, and gray souls entered Hila and recovered her energy.

So, this is my current limit.

While fighting, thoughts flashed through Hila’s mind.

This was the first time that she had fought in a true battle with a Calamity Grade. She quickly gained combat experience and a clearer understanding of her own combat capability.

Ames and Han Xiao who had trained her all along were much stronger than her, so she could not really measure her strength. Now that she was fighting with normal Calamity Grades, although she had the lower hand, she felt amazing. She could now finally fully utilize her strength in a battle where she was not completely thrashed.

Hila thought that she seemed quite strong, but she was not satisfied with that.

I can barely deal with three enemies… but Han Xiao can fight ten at once. There’s still a huge difference… Hila clenched her teeth.

She saw Han Xiao as the goal to chase after. Now that she felt the pressure of fighting three enemies at the same time, she had a deeper understanding of Han Xiao’s combat capability.

If he was in my place, the battle would have already ended.

Feeling the difference between the two of them, Hila clenched her teeth and increased the output of her energy.

On the other side, Manudo was communicating with his comrades.

“This woman’s ability is very strange. It gives me a Necromancer feeling, but it’s not really the same.”

“Her energy can cause both physical and psychic damage. After getting hit, even the vitality of my cells was suppressed, and the efficiency of cells creating energy decreased. It’s as if… as if my life force is suppressed.”

“What do you think, Staff Sergeant Jorde?” Manudo asked.

Jorde, who was watching remotely, nodded slowly and said with a serious tone, “I have already saved the video of her battle into the database. Although her ability is strong, it’s not the focus this time. Black Star is the target that you’re supposed to test.”

“But he’s not joining the battle. Does that mean we can retreat?” Manudo asked hastily. He did not want to stay even one second longer near Black Star.

“Maybe it’s because he’s training his subordinates or because of something else,” Jorde said with a deep voice. “Attack harder. As long as this woman’s life is in danger, Black Star will definitely do something.”

Aren’t you just hurrying us to die?

Manudo felt miserable.

The few of them fought intensely for a while. Eventually, Hila showed a flaw under the aggressive attacks from three enemies. Manudo’s Cannon Master teammate caught the opportunity. He shot a particle cannon beam that was enhanced with many burst damage abilities right at Hila’s hasty defense attempt. It shattered her armor and blasted her away.

“Er…”

Hila stopped herself from rolling in the universe. Her body was covered with black wounds and dead cells. The area around her left shoulder and half of her neck was gone, an injury a normal person would have immediately died from and was considered heavy even for Calamity Grades.

Manudo and his two teammates were just about to chase when Manudo suddenly felt alarmed and slowed down behind the other two.

Hila took a deep breath. Suddenly, thick light shot out from her eyes. Her wounds started to heal as her cells multiplied at an extremely high speed.

The flesh on her neck and her left shoulder grew back in an instant, showing her white skin under the broken armor. Energy was flowing through her entire body, and she was almost back at peak performance.

In the flagship, Aurora’s eyes were shining as well. After Hila recovered, only then did the light in Aurora’s eyes slowly disappear. She quickly gasped for air as if she had just spent quite a lot of energy.

Hila and Aurora’s Esper abilities had a special connection. Through their blood relation, Aurora created a life force link between the two of them. If Hila was too heavily injured, Aurora would send her life force and heal her remotely.

As long as Aurora still had stamina, Hila would be able to recover at a terrifying speed. Its effect was similar to Han Xiao’s Aurora Character Summon Card.

Hila fought the battles, and Aurora healed her. The number of times that she could heal depended on her stamina. It was only slightly less powerful than Han Xiao’s health-stamina cycle. When the two sisters fought together, they were almost undefeatable.

Jorde was stunned, and his expression changed slightly—this reminded him of Black Star.

Black Star had this kind of horrifying recovery ability as well!

Could it be that this redhead woman had a special relationship with Black Star?

Could she be his… daughter?

Initially, Jorde did not take Hila too seriously, but he suddenly felt that he needed to do thorough research on her.

Manudo and the others stood in place and were stunned as well.

Hila felt the overflowing energy in her body, but instead of being happy, she was filled with discontent.

She had been keeping Aurora away from harm, but because of her mistake, Aurora had to use her life force to heal her. She felt that this was her fault… Although Aurora could gain that life force back very quickly, because of what had happened back in the Germinal Organization, this was still a taboo for Hila.

Just as Hila was about to attack in rage, a large hand suddenly pressed on her shoulder. She turned around. It was Han Xiao.

“That’s enough. There’s no training value if you carry on. It will just be a battle to see who’s stamina depletes first.”

Han Xiao softly pressed on Hila’s smooth, soft cheeks. Nanoparticles extended from the tip of his finger and formed a helmet, replacing Hila’s broken helmet and allowing her to speak in the communication channel.

Hila clenched her teeth and said, “Understood.”

“Leave this to me.”

Han Xiao turned around and looked at the three nervous Calamity Grades.

Manudo was panicking. Black Star finally was going to attack.

This time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something

The enemies clearly knew of his capabilities, yet they made such a bad attempt at provoking him, so their goal should be to lure him into battle. Of course, this was definitely not because they were kind and sending him free kills.

After thinking for a short moment and recalling Manudo’s nervous expression when provoking him, it then occurred to Han Xiao. Jorde was definitely behind this. That little weasel had used Psyker’s psychic weapon on him two months ago, but he had gone to the Palace of Hidden Spells, so he did not take part in any battles for one and a half months. This had made Jorde anxious, so he was using this to test his current state.

Having realized that, Han Xiao had an idea and did not immediately attack. Instead, he connected to Manudo’s communication channel and slowly said, “Are you sure you want to fight me? I don’t know if this is your own decision or someone ordered you to do so, but think about it carefully. People are going to die from this.”

Manudo gulped. The other two did not speak. Jorde did not want to be discovered by Han Xiao, so he did not speak either.

“I’m now giving you guys a chance. As long as you surrender and announce to leave the Bloodshed Land, I won’t do anything to you. What do you say?” Han Xiao said.

“You want me to betray the Bloodshed Land? No way!” the Grade A Cannon Master yelled and immediately fired.

Without even moving, more than 300 Watcher Instruments appeared beside Han Xiao, formed a formation, and created a psionic shield, easily blocking the attack.

Han Xiao shook his head and deliberately said, “What’s so good about Heber? Does he deserve such loyalty from you?”

“He’s the only one I’m willing to follow. How dare you speak of His Excellency Heber like that?” this Cannon Master sneered. He was a direct member of the Bloodshed Land, so he was extremely loyal.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and did not speak anymore. He summoned the mechanical army and attacked. It swept over the entire battlefield like a tsunami, scattering all the fleets.

Facing the mechanical army that filled his vision, Manudo felt suffocated. He had no choice but to fight it.

Han Xiao activated Apostilization and joined the battle. He secretly changed the tempo of the battle, increased the attack frequency of all the mechanical soldiers, and sacrificed accuracy to do so, deliberately showing impatience.

Of course, normal people would not notice such details, but he believed that the Bloodshed Land would definitely discover these tiny changes with their artificial intelligence’s analytical abilities.

Sometimes, tricking smart people was even easier than using stupid ones. All he had to do was mislead the opponents into the conclusion that he wanted them to have through details, and the opponents would fall for it easily. If they were not cautious enough, Han Xiao’s efforts would all go to waste.

High-level lies are always ninety percent real and only ten percent fake. What Han Xiao wanted was to make Jorde speculate that he had become weaker.

As for the reason, it was so that he could use this opportunity to take some time off from the secret war and focus on cultivating leeks. This was the most important matter at the moment. Be it advancing to Beyond Grade A or suppressing the Soul Embryo, they all required a large amount of Experience.

He was completely uninterested in letting his sub-personality be born. It would be best to make sure it never formed.

As soon as Han Xiao struck, the battle became one-sided. Under the True Damage of [Legendary Battle Technique), the Cannon Master was very quickly shattered by the mechanical soldiers. The head of the other teammate was also blown away. Manudo was the only one left barely holding on.

Panicking, Manudo hastily sent a message and said, “Wait, wait, I surrender!”

Han Xiao received the message and stopped the mechanical army. He then waved his hand and pulled Manudo over from afar through the mechanical suit’s force field.

Manudo did not dare resist and let the mechanical soldiers restrain him.

“You’ve made the right choice.” Han Xiao smiled.

Manudo nodded continuously. He had thought it through it was clear that Jorde did not care about his life, which meant that he would die sooner or later in the Bloodshed Land, so he might as well surrender. Furthermore, he did not have another choice if he wanted to live.

Escape from Black Star?

I’m not Hadavy, I can’t do it!

As the high-level combatants of the enemy were all eliminated, the battle that followed had a clear result. Rexson destroyed Stronghold W-58 and seized the loot.

After Hila absorbed all the remaining gray souls on the battlefield, she locked herself in her room and digested her first experience of fighting with Calamity Grades.

Jorde was analyzing the recording of Han Xiao’s battle in the headquarters.

Losing a stronghold meant nothing to him; what he cared about at the moment was Han Xiao’s state.

Very soon, he noticed something strange.

“Two months ago, Black Star never asked anyone to surrender and killed every one of our people. Even when he faced just one Calamity Grade, he never showed any mercy. Why did he ask them to surrender?”

Jorde frowned and looked at the recording a few more times.

Before, Black Star’s mechanical army’s attacks were all carefully and precisely calculated.

Today, however, the attack rate of his mechanical army increased visibility, as if he was willing to waste energy to increase the attack speed and gave up some of the precise calculations. As a result, many attacks completely missed.

This change made him feel a sense of… impatience?

“First, he asked our people to surrender, then he was in a hurry to end the battle…” Jorde pondered for a while and suddenly figured it out.

Black Star was trying to reduce the time of the battle, or he did not want to take part in the battle.

These two details made Jorde feel that he could guess Han Xiao’s current state.

Psyker’s psychic weapon might have dealt some kind of continuous damage to Black Star, and if he fought others, the damage would be enlarged. This was why Black Star acted differently from before.

“My speculation should be right!”

The threat of Black Star had decreased!

Having proved that Black Star had become weaker, Jorde was overjoyed. Although he did not know what damage Han Xiao had received, with this discovery, he could daringly adjust his strategies.

Chapter 735: Evolve! Advancing on the Path of a Tank!

The battlefield of the secret war was too broad, and the small skirmish did not attract too much attention. Jorde was the only one who paid attention to it.

Not caring about the Bloodshed Land’s reaction, Han Xiao rejected Rexson’s celebration invitation after they won the battle. He brought Hila along and headed to other perimeters to give her more battlefields for her Soul Absorption.

While Han Xiao was going around the various battlefields, a new popular topic appeared on the forums. Quite a number of players that attacked Stronghold W-58 uploaded the video with Hila in it, which made the players recall memories from long ago.

Initially, this was just a usual video, but when people realized that Han Xiao and Hila had known each other for three versions now, especially after their ‘old love’ was dug out from the Galaxy Chronicles, the focus of the topic became entirely something else. Articles with all sorts of titles started to appear.

“Shock! Black Star Did This to Hila!”

“Reigniting Old Flames? Or Has He Found New Love?”

“A Love Story That Crossed Twenty Years!”

“Who Really Is the Woman Black Star Loves the Most? Counting Those Beauties He Once Loved…”

The players’ spirits were highest when talking about these kinds of topics. After all, they could imagine as much as they wanted, and there would not be any consequences. The topic gradually turned from Hila to Black Star’s love history.

Han Xiao was now the most famous NPC in the Shattered Star Ring. His position was high. He was rich, strong, and rather handsome. Ever since Version 1.0, the players had never really gotten to know any storylines regarding his love life, and the players were extremely curious about it.

Not just Hila, all the known living female characters related to the Black Star Army became hot topics of the players’ intense discussions. On the forums, the supporters of different female characters were split into factions and argued with each other.

“Hila’s known him for the longest. It’s clearly old flames being reignited.”

“Boo, us Dragon Emperor supporters will never give in!”

“You people know nothing. Sylvia is the one and only!”

“Us Herlous supporters are smiling.”

“Us Harmon supporters are unhappy. We’re going to chop your heads off.”

“Come on, you guys are weak. Greetings from the Phillip supporters.”

“Us Feidin supporters announce our exit. Feidin is our husband. Black Star, you’re not good enough for him!”

“Right now, Aroshia is still on the way.”

“The Germinal Organization Leader is watching you from above.”

The popular topics on the forums caused the fame of the various Black Star Army officers to grow. As the focus of the topics, Black Star also gained more attention.

Han Xiao did not pay much attention to these topics on the forums; they were all for the players’ entertainment and would not cause any influence. The only possible result of it would just be more parodies…

After going to quite a few perimeters, Hila’s combat capability quickly increased through Soul Absorption. In just half a month, her Ona grew by more than 400.

In this period, Han Xiao fought a few times. His Spirit Barrier and the Enchantments on his body decreased the growth rate of the Soul Embryo, but the size of the Soul Embryo still grew from four percent to nine percent.

However, many army players had already reached Grade B, and these people started to use Experience to learn Knowledges. In this half a month, Han Xiao finally gained enough Experience to level up to above level 220.

Han Xiao stopped the traveling, touched Feidin, and hastily locked himself inside the training room.

As Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at his total Experience, he smiled with satisfaction.

After seven years, he was finally at the doorstep of another Promotion.

Without hesitation, he threw the Experience into leveling up.

[Apostle Mechanic) leveled up to Lv.25.

+240 Energy, +3 STR, +4 DEX, +5 END, +10 INT.

You have received 8 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

After leveling up twice consecutively, his level was now level 220 and at Promotion.

The Promotion mission popped up on the interface; this time, Han Xiao did not even look at it.

The Mission Completion Cards that he had been hoarding for seven years had now finally come into use!

Use [Mission Completion Card)? [Confirm/ Cancel]

“Confirm.”

You have used (Mission Completion Card)!

[Edge of Death)… completed!

(Level 220 Promotion Mission completed!

Promotion successful!

END Bonus increased! 1 END = 175 Health = 185 Stamina.]

His Endurance bonus increased by thirty after this Promotion, five more than the previous Promotion.

A hot stream flowed out from his heart and quickly circulated his entire body. Every cell in his body became tremendously more active; he could clearly feel his increased life force.

Han Xiao focused and looked at the interface notification—this Promotion also included a Race Evolution.

He had just got some luck from Feidin earlier. He was hoping to get some good options.

You have taken another step on the path of evolution. You have ascended in the hierarchy of life. Your genes have reformed. You’re closer to another new beginning of life…

Race Detected: Void Distorter (Human Form)

Randomly drawing 9 matching evolutionary directions…

Drawing complete!

Please choose one of the following 9 options for your Race Evolution. Warning! The evolution process is irreversible. Please choose carefully! [Appendix— Evolution Path Feature Descriptions]

(Void Rainbow (Force Field Form)]–38% Compatibility

(Void Jumper (Mutated Form)]—44% Compatibility

(Void Spirit (Spirit Form)]—28% Compatibility

[Multi-Dimensional Shadow (Mind Signal Form)]—23% Compatibility

(Void Executioner (Human Form)]—71% Compatibility

[Magomado Blade (Human Form)]—57% Compatibility

(Void Star Pursuer (Human Form)]—75% Compatibility

[High Concentration Void Dragon Hybrid (Human Form)]—66% Compatibility

(Saint-Galaxy Human Race (Gene Limiter Removed)]—54% Compatibility

Looking at the nine options before him, Han Xiao felt a headache coming on.

Not because these options were not good, but because they were too good!

He was in a pickle.

As he had once consumed a Void Lord Core, Han Xiao had skipped an entire evolution stage. Without that, the options that had appeared would have been on the same level as Void Distorter.

However, many options were evolution paths that were higher than Void Distorter.

First, Han Xiao ignored the first four options. Those four options were not Human Forms and all had very low Compatibilities. What he was having trouble choosing from were the remaining five options.

(Void Star Pursuer) was the direct evolution for Void Distorter, a Universe Life Form that fed on universal radiation and Fixed Star energy. (Void Executioner) was more combat-focused and belonged to the upper-middle class of the Void Life system.

‘Magomado’ was a Void Lord that was recorded in history. It modified strong Void warriors through Void Energy and created special elite soldiers, which were called the [Magomado Blades). They were extremely strong.

[High Concentration Void Dragon Hybrid) should be the evolution path brought by the Void Dragon Pith that he had once consumed. Han Xiao was not very clear on the ultimate result of this evolution path. Could it be that the Void Dragon genes would take over his genes and turn him into a Void Dragon or some kind of mutant?

The last option (Saint-Galaxy Human Race] was one of the end points for the Galaxy Human Race evolution chain. The removal of Gene Limiter was very tempting; he would gain a ton of attributes from it.

However, compared to the Void Life options, which still had evolution potential, Han Xiao was not very tempted to choose this. Most of the evolution paths would remove his Gene Limiter at the end point, and the Void Life chain was no exception.

“Which one should I choose?” Han Xiao walked back and forth in hesitation.

As he was closer to Beyond Grade A, this might be his last Race Evolution chance before Beyond Grade A, so he was extremely cautious.

“In terms of combat capability increase, Saint

—Galaxy Human Race is the best, followed by Magomado Blade. In terms of potential, Void Star Pursuer is the best. Void Executioner is a balanced option between the two. As for High Concentration Void Dragon Hybrid, the subsequent evolutions of this chain shouldn’t be very suitable for me…”

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao once again decided to focus on potential. He hesitated between the Void Star Pursuer and Void Executioner.

The evolution direction of the Executioner would lead to Void Lord and Void Duke, while the Star Pursuer developed toward Void Precursor and Void Archangel. Both had their specialties.

“Racial Talents have minimal effects on my combat capability. Choosing something with better long-term potential is more suitable for me…”

Han Xiao took a deep breath and made his decision.

Selection complete.

Undergoing Race Evolution… Evolution complete.

Your race has been changed to: (Void Star Pursuer (Human Form)]. Your molecular structure has been improved, organ structure strengthened, metabolism changed, and adaptability enhanced.

Your potential aptitude has been improved!

You have received bonus attributes: +154 STR, +179 DEX, +323 END, +188 INT, +120 MYS, +70 CHA, +3760 Energy. Energy Level bonus attributes have been changed!

Han Xiao’s senses exploded!

As if his soul left his body, his mind slowly ascended while his body descended. It was like his body and soul were separated, but in reality, they were more tightly connected than before.

His senses seemed to have extended indefinitely, exceeding this Star System, this Star Cluster, and this Star Field. It was as if he saw the entire universe in an instant.

Although this was just an illusion, it was almost real, and it made him experience extremely high dimensional vision for an instant.

The next moment, Han Xiao’s senses were pulled right back to his body.

In extreme pain, his body structure was quickly changing. Through the changes, Han Xiao’s senses became more and more sensitive. He even gained a few more senses and could ‘see’ the world in more ways than before.

Although everything before him remained unchanged, they felt completely different in his senses.

Whoosh!

Finally, the pain retreated. Han Xiao took a deep breath. The air he exhaled consisted of extremely tiny energy crystals flashing in a dim blue-gray light.

The moment the Race Evolution finished, Han Xiao took out a mirror immediately and checked if anything weird had grown out of his body.

Hair… still dense.

Face… still familiarly handsome.

Body… hmm, great.

Tail… nonexistent, fortunately.

Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction. Although he was human no more, he still hoped that he looked like one out of aesthetic reasons.

After checking himself from head to toe thoroughly three more times, Han Xiao then opened the interface again and spent the rest of his Experience on leveling up.

After his Promotion, the Experience needed to level up increased by a considerable amount once again. He only leveled up once.

As a Universe Life Form, the Star Pursuer had an extremely strong physique, so he gained plenty of bonus attributes from this Race Evolution.

He opened the interface and looked at his own attributes.

Level: 221

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Void Star Pursuer (Human Form)

Attributes: 810 STR, 1316 DEX, 1658 END, 3455 INT, 654 MYS, 284 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 24

Potential Points: 15

Health: 456,060

Stamina: 382,120

Energy: 35,530 (Lv.13]

(Lv.13 Energy bonus attributes: +279 STR, +374 DEX, +466 END, +544 INT, +308 MYS, +50,520 Maximum Stamina, +467% Machinery Affinity (Super Electromagnetic Sense)]

Energy Rank: 29,277

Grade: A+

Grade A Bonuses: +15 END, +12 All Resistances. +15% Highest Attribute , +8% Other Attributes, +80 Free Attribute Points, +10 Potential Points

Remark: Hello, Tank; bye, Tank.

This amount of health points was nauseating to look at even for himself.

Other than the bonus attributes from the Race Evolution, he also gained a few hundred attributes from the Lv.13 Energy Rank after his energy surpassed 30,000.

The effects of this Promotion were considerable. He was once again closer to a Beyond Grade A.

After not experiencing the satisfaction of increased strength for seven whole years, Han Xiao only had one feeling.

Awesome!

He entered his mental territory to take a look at the Soul Embryo. Its growth had decreased from nine percent to less than one percent!

“Solid, how very solid.” Han Xiao chuckled.

You want to be born, sub-personality? Your only ending is miscarriage!

After checking through his attributes, Han Xiao looked at the new Racial Talents that he had gained after the Race Evolution.

Chapter 736: Plans of Expansion

Void Star Pursuer was the most direct path of evolution. Some of his old talents were kept and others were strengthened.

For example, (Advanced Void Travel] was changed to [Void Dimension Jump), and it was no longer a short-ranged blink skill.

Void Star Pursuer was a Void life form and could travel through space without relying on any equipment. It was able to distort the Void Dimension through its abilities and alter spacetime. As such, a Void Star Pursuer was able to remain in the Void Dimension for a very long time, and this skill was like a divine skill for escaping.

(Void Distortion) was changed to (Strengthened Void Distortion). Its strength increased and cooldown decreased.

(Void Molt) was strengthened slightly, but the name of the skill remained unchanged. (Void Ripple) had disappeared.

Of the four old talents, three were kept.

He had two new talents, which were the core abilities of a Void Star Pursuer.

[Radiation Absorption). The Void Star Pursuer was able to absorb radiation from the universe to strengthen its own body. This was a special ability of universe life forms.

The first use of this talent was to transform Han Xiao into a universe life form. He was now able to survive in the universe without the aid of any equipment and would be like a fish in water.

The second use of it was to allow his cells to absorb radiation in the universe and increase his attributes permanently. The actual effects of the skill had yet to be tested, and Han Xiao was not sure about its efficiency and if there was an upper limit.

No matter what, this is a new and stable growth path and also the talent with the greatest potential. The universe was filled with an endless supply of radiation, and it was akin to a buffet for him.

His other new talent was called (Cosmic Environmental Adaptation). The environment of the universe was extremely harsh and filled with radiation and nanoparticles. For a universe life form to survive in such a harsh environment, their bodies need to be extremely adaptable and have a high level of defense. For example, the Interstellar Beasts that Han Xiao had once killed had skin thick to the point it could make one despair.

This talent molded Han Xiao’s body into that of a universe life form and provided him with increased defense, physical resistance, and elemental resistance.

Han Xiao tested it a bit and realized that he was twice as tanky as before.

It could be said that this talent was most suitable for him to become a meat shield.

“The talents of a Void Star Pursuer lean toward support and defense. It is extremely well rounded and suited for my combat style.”

Han Xiao was very satisfied with the talents of the Void Star Pursuer.

After understanding the changes of his Promotion, Han Xiao had time to think about other problems.

Han Xiao had waited a full seven years for the level 220 promotion, and his strength had finally taken another step forward.

Han Xiao estimated that his Beyond Grade A barrier would be around level 240, and despite being happy about his promotion, he knew that this was only one of the obstacles that he had overcome. He still had a journey to complete.

After reaching level 220, the amount of experience he needed to level up had shot up again to a sky-high number. It would be difficult for a million players to support him.

After all, Skill Impartation and class knowledge was a one-off purchase, and the majority of the players had learned many different skills. Their expenditure would be lowered after the first round of purchases.

It was time for him to find a new plot of land to grow crops.

The new players from Version 3.0 were undeveloped shoots, and they had a huge thirst for knowledge and skills. This was a new market.

“Planet Aquamarine is already within my grasp, but there are a few more novice planets in the Shattered Star Ring that aren’t under my control yet…”

Han Xiao opened the star map and directed his attention to a novice planet called Planet Deirdre. It was located in the Gelock Star Cluster, and it would be the novice planet for all those who joined in Version 3.0 and the smurf accounts of the other players. This was like the opening of a new server to Han Xiao.

The new players who joined in Version 3.0 naturally would not have to go through as much suffering as the players who joined in Version 1.0. They will be able to connect to the galaxy immediately. Planet Deirdre was like a galactic interchange with many resource rich planets located around it. Many large financial groups were also situated in this location. To the new players, there would be plenty of missions for them to complete.

These players who were born outside the battlefield could choose to travel from afar to participate in the secret war or explore on their own and use the ample experience provided in Version 3.0 to catch up in terms of level. They also had a third option… to join another Main Storyline mission.

The Crimson Tide was the main theme of Version 3.0, and the secret war was one of the Main Storyline missions. There were various different events in the other Star Clusters as well. As for the players on Planet Deirdre, the large storyline that they would come in contact with was the Mercenary League storyline.

This organization was the one that the Sky Ring Army and other large mercenary groups had requested Han Xiao to set up and lead. They all felt strongly about the chaos in the Shattered Star Ring and thus gathered all the mercenary groups in the Shattered Star Ring to form a super-sized mercenary group called ‘Shattered Star Ring Mercenary League’ or just Mercenary League for short.

The Mercenary League had been set up for a few years already, and its effectiveness was extremely obvious. With all the mercenary groups working together, the Mercenary League expanded to cover a few different Star Clusters and accepted the hiring missions from a few hundred different civilizations.

Seven years ago, Han Xiao had participated in this Main Storyline mission. Although he did not pay close attention to the changes in the mercenary world, the Black Star Army was still one of the members in the Mercenary League’s council and a member of the upper echelons.

“There isn’t a need to worry about Planet Aquamarine. Planet Deirdre will also be easy to manage. I just need to expand the scope of the Black Star Army’s operations over.”

Planet Deirdre was located in the Gelock Star Cluster, which was outside the army’s scope of operations. However, with the status of the Black Star Army, it was extremely easy for them to open a sub-branch on Planet Deirdre.

He had built up the fame of the Black Star Army over three versions, and he had left a deep impression on the players. Thus, he definitely had a huge advantage in hiring new players.

There were plenty of people discussing the Black Star Army on the forums. Even a new player would be curious about the Black Star Army under such circumstances.

Han Xiao’s main objective of expanding the Black Star Army was so that he could harvest his crops more efficiently. There was not even a need for him to make a personal appearance for Planet Deirdre.

If he wanted to get to Beyond Grade A quickly, he needed to expand the size of his crops.

In his plans, recruiting the players of Planet Deirdre would be an important mission.

“The army can help me hire new players, and I can prepare for my advancement into Beyond Grade A…”

The shadow of the Tyrant was looming over him. Heber was his greatest obstacle. The moment he became a Beyond Grade A Super, he would have to face this powerful opponent in battle.

This was not as simple as dealing with a doppelganger of EsGod. He would have to face a true Beyond Grade A Super, and the pressure would be completely different!

I have to groom Hila while performing some worthwhile missions, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Because of the Soul Embryo, he had sufficient reason to temporarily pull out from the secret war and complete his own affairs in a low-profile manner.

He did not only have to level up but also needed to find a way to increase his combat capabilities. He needed to make enough preparations and obtain more talents before becoming a Beyond Grade A Super if he wanted to deal with the Tyrant.

Compared to others, this was his greatest advantage. He was able to obtain new talents and increase his strength. He would never face a bottleneck.

If only I could obtain a Universal Treasure… Han Xiao lamented.

He was truly envious of Psyker’s Evolution Cube, but it was a pity that he would not have the chance to borrow it. He also wanted to obtain a Universal Treasure that belonged solely to him.

In his previous life, the players had many records of Universal Treasures, and in the later versions, there were even players who had their own Universal Treasures. However, most of the Universal Treasures were still in unknown locations, and those Universal Treasures with known locations would be heavily guarded.

If he was able to easily obtain a Universal Treasure, Han Xiao would have long gone to get one.

In his memory, there were three famous Universal Treasures in the Shattered Star Ring. They were in the hands of the three Star Cluster civilizations. Psyker’s Evolution Cube was one of the Universal Treasures that he had heard of before but had very little information on.

Currently, Han Xiao only knew of a single Universal Treasure that he might be able to obtain.

It should still be lying silently in the ruins of a civilization.

Its location was in the Flickering World!

What a pity… It’s still too far out of my reach. Han Xiao felt a great pity.

At the very least, he would have to wait for the Crimson Dynasty to grasp control over the Flickering World and set up a stargate before he would have the chance to obtain that Universal Treasure. He would not even be able to reach the Flickering World currently.

Thus, he had no choice but to find more talents to increase his strength.

He would still have to think about the exact details of the plan. At this moment, Han Xiao only wanted to relax. He then opened the door of the cultivation chamber and returned to the cabin of the spaceship.

Hila was currently training bitterly in the real combat training room, and only Feidin and Aurora were present in the cabin. They were chatting away merrily like best friends. Upon hearing the approaching footsteps, both of them turned around to take a look.

“Chen Xing, Feidin let you out again?” Feidin’s actions were currently extremely lady-like, and it was obvious that Chen Xing was the one controlling the body.

Chen Xing snorted, and she did not wish to talk to Han Xiao. She returned the body back to Feidin, and the aura of her body changed greatly. Feidin regained control of his body and said, “She seemed to be very afraid of you.”

Han Xiao shook his head and said, “I’ve been meaning to ask. Since both of you are sharing a single body, does it mean that both of your biological needs are the same?”.

Feidin coughed awkwardly.

“Since both of you can be considered as one, does this mean that it is impossible for both of you to mate?”

Han Xiao laughed. Did this mean that they were forced into having platonic love?

“Must we talk about this? Can we talk about something else?” Feidin felt his head ache.

Aurora blinked and interrupted him. “I am actually pretty curious, too.”

Feidin was extremely sociable, and he was already very familiar with Aurora. It was mainly because Chen Xing really liked Aurora.

“Alright…” Feidin replied helplessly. “Both of us are Psychics. We can simulate our biological needs… cough, and organs. We can then use our mental bodies to mate.”

My goodness.

Isn’t this the same logic as having a wet dream?

Mating in their heads?

Is this the highest level of being a lecher?

Han Xiao had a weird expression on his face, and he pointed at Feidin.

“I never expected you to be a pervert.”

“Shut up!” Chen Xing hollered with her face flushed red before disappearing back into Feidin’s body.

Feidin then shook his head helplessly. “She is ignoring me now. I’m dead.”

So what if she ignores you. She is living in your body and won’t be able to run anywhere. In any case, both of you share the same appearance…

Aurora’s body was swaying from laughing too much, and she laughed to the point tears could be seen at the corner of her eyes. She then said, “Right, I sensed your life force strengthening greatly again.”

“You finally broke through your bottleneck?” Feidin’s eyes lit up, and he was overjoyed.

Black Star’s strength had remained stagnant over the past seven years, and he had finally made an advancement. It was definitely great news.

“You can say that.” Han Xiao nodded.

“That’s great. We still have hope if this is the case,” Feidin exclaimed with joy.

He had been extremely worried for Han Xiao ever since he heard Austin’s words. At this moment, he could not help but heave a sigh of relief.

Han Xiao then chatted with the two for a while before returning to his room.

Taking out his communicator, he sent the coordinates of Planet Deirdre to Sylvia and sent her to set up a new branch. For him to send her over to take care of this matter, Sylvia knew that this meant that Han Xiao placed a huge importance on this matter.

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao sent out a message to Bennett to check on the situation on Planet Aquamarine.

It has been ten years since he last returned.

Chapter 737: Changes

On Aquamarine Federation Mother Planet, inside a classroom of the Basic School of the Federation, many seven to eight year old students were reading the textbook out loud with the teacher.

“… Galaxy Calendar Year 694, the movement that would then be called ‘The Great Government Unification’ occurred. Under Black Star’s influence, the structure of society changed drastically. The governments formally known as the Six Nations were replaced by the current Aquamarine Federation. This was the turning point of Planet Aquamarine’s civilization progress…

“Black Star, original name Han Xiao, born on Planet Aquamarine, former member of the Germinal Organization who later stepped onto the righteous path. He is now the protector of the Planet Aquamarine Civilization and has the highest veto power in the Federation Council. He guided the drastic civilization changes in the last twenty years, giving us the entrance ticket to galactic societies. Up till now, the Black Star Army is still working closely with the federation…”

A boy with freckles on his face raised his hand and asked, “Is Black Star still alive?”

The classroom burst into laughter.

“Of course, Nero. Black Star has a very long life span. Even after we all die of old age, he will still be alive.” The teacher smiled and nodded.

“I—I thought only those who passed away would be known as great men…” The student called Nero’s face blushed.

The teacher shook his head and said, “Black Star is a close confidant to the federation chairman, Bennett. That statue in the Central Garden was built by Bennett for Black Star. If you’re curious, you can log into the galactic internet and search for Black Star. There’s information accessible to the public there. He’s the strongest person that stepped out of Planet Aquamarine. He’s the pride of our entire planet.”

The lessons in the afternoon quickly ended, and the students headed back home. Nero followed the crowd and came to the school gate.

The school was located in the middle of a tall building. When looking around the wide square from the school gate, the entire city could be seen. Tall buildings stood next to each other like a fictional forest of metal, and anti-gravity suspended vehicles traveled along the planned routes.

In the past ten years, Planet Aquamarine had always been in continuous contact with galactic technology. Some common devices in the universe were gradually being integrated into the daily lives of the people. Planet Aquamarine had now built many cities with advanced technology. The styles of the cities were also gradually changing under the influence of galactic financial groups.

It was prospering.

Various private anti-gravity suspended vehicles waited outside the school for their children. Nero boarded one with no license, crossed the city, and entered the government building of the Aquamarine Federation.

Nero followed a secretary-looking man into an office, where Bennett was reading documents. Compared to ten years ago, he had more wrinkles and was gradually showing signs of aging. As he heard the sound and looked up to see Nero, he smiled.

“School ended? Sit down first. After I’m done with these, I’ll take you to eat.”

“Yes, Dad.” Nero put down his small school bag and sat on the sofa obediently. He shook his legs and looked around.

Ten years ago, with Han Xiao’s permission, Bennett had become the Aquamarine Federation Chairman and completed the unification of the governments on the planet. After the initial turbulent stages, Planet Aquamarine had begun its stable development while recovering from the damage suffered before.

As peace was perfectly achieved on his mother planet, Bennett’s goal was accomplished. As the federation chairman, he needed to form a family. Thus, he got married and had a child. He was a Pugilist, after all, so his physique was more than good enough to carry out the process of creating a human. Nero was his son.

“Dad, the teacher told us about Black Star’s story today,” Nero said excitedly.

“Oh? What did he say?” Bennett was rather interested.

Nero repeated what he could remember with his innocent voice and then asked curiously, “Dad, is Black Star your friend?”

Yes, I’ve known him for close to twenty years.” Bennett was feeling a little nostalgic.

“Is he really that amazing? More amazing than you, Dad?”

Nero’s eyes opened wide. In his mind, his father, the federation chairman, was the most amazing person in the world. “He’s much more amazing than me.” Bennett laughed.

Beep beep!

This time, the communicator rang.

As Bennett saw who was calling, he was a little surprised. He waved at Nero.

“Come here. Aren’t you very curious about Black Star? Come and look at him.”

After placing Nero on his knees, Bennett then picked up the video call. Han Xiao’s face appeared on the screen.

“It’s been a long time, almost ten years.” Bennett smiled.

“It sure has.” Han Xiao nodded. As he saw Nero, his eyes sparkled. “This child is…”

“Hmm, this is my kid, Nero.”

Bennett smiled and rubbed Nero’s head. “Come on, that’s your uncle.”

“Hello, Uncle,” Nero greeted obediently.

Han Xiao was surprised. “When did you get married? Why didn’t you tell me?”

You’re so busy. I didn’t want to disturb you for something so small.”

“What are you talking about? We go way back. How could you not even tell me about such good news? I’m very disappointed.” Han Xiao showed a dissatisfied expression.

Bennett chuckled and did not mind it.

Although he did not say anything, he knew that Han Xiao was on a different level compared to him now.

The daily matters of Planet Aquamarine were undoubtedly small matters to Han Xiao. Bennett did not want to disturb him for these trivial matters, so they contacted each other less and less.

“You’re the person in the textbooks…” Nero stared at Han Xiao with curiosity.

“Textbooks?” Han Xiao wondered.

Bennett smiled and explained.

Han Xiao laughed. He did not expect to be written about in history textbooks.

This feeling of being remembered by people… actually felt quite good.

After chatting for a while, Bennett suddenly said, “I’m thinking about letting Nero be your godson. What do you think?” Han Xiao was a little surprised. He nodded. With his relationship with Bennett, he was willing to be this kid’s godfather. Bennett patted Nero and said, “Quick, greet your godfather.”

“God… father.” Nero’s tone was a little stiff. To him, Han Xiao was a stranger whom he had never met before, so addressing him as ‘Godfather’ was rather difficult.

Bennett smiled and let go of Nero, telling him to go aside to play.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to ask about the situation on Planet Aquamarine,” Han Xiao replied.

Planet Aquamarine was one of the birthplaces of players that sent manpower to the Black Star Army continuously. It was equivalent to his logistics base and was very important to him.

Before opening new leek fields, he wanted to check the situation of the old one.

Bennett nodded and explained the current situation of Planet Aquamarine in detail.

Thanks to the Black Star Army, Planet Aquamarine was now shifting from a planet surface civilization to a galactic civilization and had been trying to colonize the nearby uninhabited planets.

A large number of new players had started in Version 3.0 on Planet Aquamarine and were recruited by the Black Star Army subdivision.

Overall, the situation was great.

Han Xiao was quite satisfied. “You’ve done a great job. You don’t have to worry about Planet Aquamarine anymore. Do you want to come to the galaxy?”

If he remembered correctly, Bennett had some longing for the universe, so Han Xiao proposed to invite him.

However, to his surprise, Bennett shook his head and rejected him.

“I have decided to stay in the Aquamarine Federation. The galaxy… I don’t want to go there anymore.”

“Why? I remember you were…”

“I have new wishes now. The Aquamarine Federation is still small. I hope to help it grow and devote the rest of my life to it.” Bennett smiled with deep wrinkles. “I’m old and have a family and a kid now. I don’t want to fight and kill anymore. I’m very satisfied with my current life.”

Upon hearing what Bennett said, Han Xiao did not want to persuade him anymore.

Everyone had different goals. Bennett had spent the first half of his life in wars and chaos, so now that he had found somewhere he belonged, he had a home where he could feel at peace. Han Xiao chose to respect that.

“Understood.”

“Actually, I have one more thing to ask from you,” Bennett said.

“What is it?”

“I’m still very worried about Nero. He has a very bright future and shouldn’t be staying here with me. After I pass away, I hope you can bring him along your side, take care of him, and raise him.” Bennett’s eyes were filled with fatherly love.

“What? Why are you planning these things out of nowhere?” Han Xiao felt numbness on his scalp.

“After all, I’m different from you. My life span is finite, and I don’t know when I will die. So, I wanted to tell you this as early as possible.” Bennett smiled wholeheartedly. “Can you promise me that?”

“No problem, I have enough money to raise one person.” Han Xiao raised his brows and made a joke to ease the atmosphere. “After you die, do you want me to ‘take care’ of your widow as well?”

Bennett’s mouth twitched. “No need to trouble you for that.”

After chatting casually for more than half an hour, only then did Han Xiao end the call. His smile dissipated, and he sighed.

Not everyone had a long life span like him.

Getting old and dying was the common fate of normal people.

Bennett was getting older. Sooner or later, he would pass away.

No matter what, he did feel quite sorrowful.

Nonetheless, even if he passed away one day, the cause that he loved and had devoted his life to would remain.

“The Aquamarine Federation…”

Han Xiao nodded.

With his protection, the Planet Aquamarine Civilization would go much, much farther than it did in his previous life…

With the popularity of the previous two versions, Version 3.0 became an exploding period for new players. According to statistics, there were more than ten million new players entering the game currently, and it was still growing.

Due to the fact that China had won the championship of the previous Pro League, the Shattered Star Ring attracted the most players. In just three months after Version 3.0 was released, there were already close to two million new players.

Half a month later, in the Gelock Star Cluster, Planet Deirdre…

The public airport hall had become a square for the players. Some opened stores, some asked to team up, and some provided boosting services. All sorts of players were gathered there.

It was noisy and crowded. The wall was transparent. The entire Planet Deirdre surface could be seen from there as well as the beautiful sky filled with stars.

As a galactic transit station, there were a lot of job opportunities on Planet Deirdre. Over the three months, the million or so new players had leveled up extremely quickly because of the Version 3.0 mission reward standard. Their level average was now above level 30, and some had already reached more than level 40.

Unlike the Version 1.0 Planet Aquamarine players, the players on Planet Deirdre became galactic residents as soon as they were born. Their information channels were rich, and they could search for galactic information easily.

After exploring for three months, the Planet Deirdre players found many ways to develop themselves.

At this time, among the boisterous public airport hall, there was one team that was discussing their future direction.

“We should join the Odegen Financial Group and help them fight the nearby galactic pirate groups. This is a planet’s main storyline. It’s definitely the best choice.”

“What kind of future can joining a financial group give? It’s better to become freelance mercenaries. Those senior player guides on the forums all say that becoming a mercenary is the best.”

“I’ve done the research. The biggest mercenary group in the Shattered Star Ring now is the Mercenary League. I heard some people triggered new main storylines there. If we’re going to be mercenaries, we have to join this organization.”

“Then we might as well go to Colton and join the Black Star Army to participate in the secret war main storyline.”

“The Black Star Army is good indeed, but flights between Star Clusters are rather expensive.”

“I don’t think we should go there. We have new main storyline missions here. There’s no reason to travel there.”

“How about we do something challenging? Killing and crimes are always profitable. Let’s become galactic pirates…”

“Hehe, you think we can afford a spaceship?”

“Are you stupid? Since we’re going to become galactic pirates, we can rob one if we can’t afford it.”

This player team discussed the matter for some time when they suddenly realized that the noisy environment around them had suddenly become quiet.

They turned around with shock.

In the entire hall, be it players or NPCs, everyone was looking up with their mouths wide open and their faces filled with shock.

What’s going on?

This player team looked up as well. When they saw what was outside the transparent ceiling, their eyes widened immediately.

An enormous armed satellite fortress appeared out of nowhere and filled the entire field outside the transparent ceiling. The size of this public airport was not even one twentieth of this armed satellite fortress!

Thousands of battleships guarded the satellite as it slowly approached, stopping in the outer orbit of Planet Deirdre.

The armor of these battleships all had the same symbol. For those players that often visited the forums, they recognized the symbol immediately.

It was the insignia of the Black Star Army!

The Black Star Army had moved an entire satellite subdivision there!

The million or so new players in the airport were in disbelief and at a loss.

Isn’t the Black Star Army fighting a war in another Star Cluster? Why are they here?

Chapter 738: Purple Crystal’s Thoughts

Chapter 738 Purple Crystal“s Thoughts

The Black Star Army was already a famous organization in the Shattered Star Ring, and the sudden appearance of a satellite base caused a huge commotion on Planet Deirdre.

The Gelock Star Cluster had nothing to do with the secret war. The various financial groups located on Planet Deirdre and new players were extremely puzzled about the intentions of the Black Star Army.

A couple of battleships then left the dock and welcomed the arrival of the Black Star Army satellite base with caution.

The various financial groups immediately sent out a communication request, and they all wanted to talk to the commander of the fleet.

Very quickly, their requests were approved, and all the financial groups were pulled into a conference chat. Sylvia’s appearance then appeared on all their communicators.

It’s her! Black Star’s Chief Administrative Official!

As one of the important officers of the Black Star Army, Sylvia’s fame was not low, and many financial groups recognized her. Seeing such an important figure leading the group, they could not help but feel uneasy and felt that the Black Star Army was scheming in some way.

“I am Sylvia, the commander of this fleet.” Sylvia nodded and introduced herself.

“Why did you descend without informing us? Are you planning to go against the rules of the merchant world and snatch the business on Planet Deirdre?” one of the financial groups who seemed to be the leader of the group asked with an unfriendly tone.

The Odegen Financial Group was one of the largest financial groups on Planet Deirdre, and the one speaking was the person in charge, Carver.

The others shared the same thoughts as Carver. Planet Deirdre was like a treasure bowl to them, and they did not wish for others to snatch a piece of the pie from them.

Sylvia smiled and said, “Please do not misunderstand anything. Although our Black Star Army is an armed organization, we will not use force to coerce any legal financial groups. Furthermore, your operations on Planet Deirdre do not attract us in the slightest. All of you can be at ease.”

Hearing that, the faces of Carver and the others became unnatural. They treated Planet Deirdre as a treasure bowl, but the benefits from the planet were no more than peanuts to the Black Star Army. Sylvia had very obviously stated that they were not even interested in the little benefits of the planet, and this made Carver slightly embarrassed.

“Then, what is the purpose of your visit?” Carver asked with doubt. “You’ve even shifted an entire satellite base over. If I don’t remember incorrectly, the Gelock Star Cluster isn’t part of the secret war.”

Sylvia cleared her throat and said in a loud voice, “As an important member of the Mercenary League, our Black Star Army has decided to expand our mercenary operations toward the Gelock Star Cluster. Planet Deirdre is the planet that we have chosen to set up a branch on. We will take over the mercenary operations in this entire region, and all of you can treat us as an agency for the Mercenary League. If any of you need manpower in the future, you can make an application with us.”

The eyes of Carver and the others lit up. If the Black Star Army did not interfere in their operations on Planet Deirdre and only expanded their mercenary operations, there would only be benefits for them.

If a reliable mercenary group was set up on Planet Deirdre, the security of the region would be improved, and more people would be attracted to the planet.

Furthermore, with the Black Star Army around, they would not have to find other insignificant mercenary groups, and their safety would be ensured.

Currently, the Mercenary League was on their way to monopolizing the entire mercenary world in the Shattered Star Ring, and Carver felt that the Black Star Army was only expanding the operations of the Mercenary League as one of their members.

“We understand. We don’t have any opinions.” Carver was no longer as wary as before.

Sylvia then continued. “Very good. I have something to request. I hope that all those present here will make use of your influence to announce the news of our Black Star Army setting up a branch in this place. We will be able to open up this market very quickly with all of your help.”

As an organization that came from the outside, even if the Black Star Army was a huge conglomerate, Sylvia would still ease up their relationship with the local organizations. This would help to make their operations more efficient.

Carver began to hesitate upon hearing that.

At this moment, Sylvia added, “Of course, we will provide all of you with a discount should any of you need mercenaries in the future.”

“Don’t worry. We will definitely help you with the announcement.” Carver immediately agreed without hesitation.

Everyone on Planet Deirdre could see the gigantic satellite fortress floating outside the atmosphere of their planet whenever they lifted their head.

Just as everyone was filled with fear over the appearance of the satellite fortress, the financial groups made a public announcement that the Black Star Army had gone to Planet Deirdre with friendly intentions and had a cooperative relationship with the different financial groups.

The moment the announcement was made, everyone heaved a sigh of relief and was overjoyed.

The security situation in the galactic transit station was truly a problem, and the Black Star Army might be able to improve this situation.

Of course, not everyone welcomed the Black Star Army. For example, some small mercenary groups on Planet Deirdre felt immense pressure.

They all knew that their lives in the future would not be good, and all the mercenary missions would be snatched up by the Black Star Army.

However, the Black Star Army quickly released news that they were recruiting manpower and gave priority to the local mercenaries.

An endless stream of individuals immediately responded, especially the players located on Planet Deirdre.

The Black Star Army was a hot topic of discussion on the forums, and even the new players had a certain degree of understanding toward the benefits, storyline, and events of the Black Star Army.

The Black Star Army had already accompanied the players for two whole versions. With the players adding on their imagination and the legends of the Black Star Army becoming a part of the Galaxy Chronicles, many of the new players naturally felt a sense of belonging toward the Black Star Army.

In the eyes of many new players, the Black Star Army was like a player army in the Shattered Star Ring.

Because of their location, many of them did not wish to travel all the way to the Colton Star Cluster. Since the Black Star Army had expanded to the Gelock Star Cluster, most of the players no longer hesitated and joined.

The players who were hesitating were mainly concerned about the Main Storyline mission. The way they saw it, they would have to participate in the secret war storyline if they chose to join the Black Star Army. However, they did not wish to give up the freedom to explore other storylines.

However, after listening to the explanation of the other players who had joined the army, they realized that they were completely wrong. They needed to file for an application if they wanted to join the secret war. If they were not willing to join the secret war, the army would not force them, and they could choose not to trigger that storyline.

The players who did not join the war would be ordinary mercenaries in the Black Star Army, and they can choose the missions that they wanted to do while enjoying the benefits of the army.

Furthermore, they were surprised to realize that the Black Star Army was an upper echelon of the Mercenary League. They would be able to trigger the Main Storyline mission of the Mercenary League as well, so joining the Black Star Army was akin to giving them the choice between two Main Storyline missions.

There were some other players who wanted to participate in the Main Storyline mission on Planet Deirdre—helping the Odegen Financial Group chase away galactic pirates in the vicinity.

However, they were shocked to realize that the Odegen Financial Group had actually cancelled this mission. The Main Storyline mission of Planet Deirdre had mysteriously disappeared!

After asking around, the players finally understood what had happened. After all the galactic pirates in the vicinity of Planet Deirdre caught wind of the Black Star Army’s arrival, they immediately abandoned all their bases and escaped.

These galactic pirates were all frightened away by the Black Star Army!

There was not a need to even hesitate.

In just three days, over ninety percent of the players on Planet Deirdre had chosen to join the Black Star Army.

The benefits of the Black Star Army were truly too alluring to the new players. Not only was there a large amount of equipment and tools, they also had a full set of basic and advanced knowledge. There was no need for them to farm for NPC favorability all around to learn that knowledge.

The current level and needs of the players were akin to the players in Version 1.0, but they could enjoy the benefits of Version 3.0. This was an irresistible temptation that the players could not reject.

As Sylvia recruited the players on Planet Deirdre, Han Xiao’s interface received all the benefits.

The first thing all those new players did was learn knowledge.

He had the reward from the [Bloodline] mission, a Political Asset, and received a thirty percent bonus for experience. His experience pool, which had dried up, was very quickly replenished, and he had sufficient experience to level up once again.

After expanding his crops, the speed of harvesting experience had increased greatly. According to this efficiency, level 240 was not too far away.

The players in the army could be split into two different groups. The first were those who had reached Grade B and the second were the new players who had an average level of 20 to 30.

While the spending power of the new players could not match the old players, they had a huge hidden demand. Han Xiao decided to allow them to remain on Planet Deirdre and not force them to participate in the secret war. With their current strength, completing recruitment missions might be more efficient than participating in the secret war.

The Mercenary League’s Main Storyline mission would be more suitable for those newbies.

Han Xiao then thought to himself, The player market has doubled, and all these new players will have to learn all the various knowledge from scratch. However, their levels are still low, so I must groom them slowly.

Class Knowledge was a necessity, and the new players would have to learn them eventually. He was not in a rush at all. Ring ring!

His communicator suddenly rang; it was Ralph.

“Black Star, I heard that you set up a branch in the Gelock Star Cluster,” Ralph inquired.

You sure receive news very quickly. Do you have any issues?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Cough cough, I am only asking out of curiosity.” Ralph coughed dryly.

In truth, Purple Crystal hoped that the Black Star Army would always remain in Colton and did not wish for them to expand outward. However, this was not the time to talk about this.

Han Xiao then asked, “Why have you called?”

Ralph’s expression then turned solemn, and he said, “It’s like this. We received news that the Crimson Dynasty and Federation of Light have come to an initial agreement. We do not have much time left and must speed up our progress.”

The negotiations are about to be over?

The secret war would be over when the Crimson Dynasty and Federation of Light completed their negotiations. It was no wonder that Purple Crystal was feeling anxious.

“What is the reaction of Bloodshed Land?”

“They have become more active and sent out all their high-level combatants,” Ralph said. “Without your presence to suppress them, we have suffered quite a huge loss.”

Han Xiao immediately understood what was going on. Jorde had been misled by him, resulting in such a situation.

“We urgently need you to return to the battlefield. We are planning to launch another large-scale mission. Black Star, we need you to…”

At this moment, Han Xiao interrupted him. “I am sorry. I do not wish to participate in the upcoming mission.”

Ralph was stunned. Black Star was an important part of their strategy. If Han Xiao did not want to go, would that not disrupt their entire strategy?

Han Xiao thought for a moment and said, “You should know that regardless of the outcome, Heber definitely won’t let me off.”

Ralph fell silent. Purple Crystal did indeed know about this but did not inform Han Xiao about it. It was not that they did not care about Han Xiao’s life and death. However, the upper echelons were extremely pragmatic and would make use of Han Xiao as much as they could.

Seven years ago, Purple Crystal had recognized Han Xiao’s potential and begun to invest in him. However, seven years had gone by, and the upper echelons of Purple Crystal no longer thought that much of his potential after witnessing his growth stagnate.

Although they still placed great importance on him, the thoughts of the upper echelons had changed, and they no longer felt that Han Xiao would become a Beyond Grade A Super.

Purple Crystal would not allow the Tyrant to take revenge on one of their meritorious subjects, but the upper echelons had their own considerations. Although the chances of Black Star becoming a Beyond Grade A Super had been lowered, he was still a peak Calamity Grade Super, and there was still value in roping him in. Thus, they wished for Black Star to seek protection from them when the Tyrant took action. This would improve the relationship between both parties and would be extremely beneficial to the upper echelons.

As for the safety of Black Star, Purple Crystal was not too worried. Black Star had the Dragon Emperor behind him, and their presence was like the icing on the cake. They might also have a chance to form a relationship with Ames because of it.

Han Xiao was not too bothered by this. Both parties were only working together for their respective benefits, and Purple Crystal did not owe him anything. He slowly said, “Thus, I have to think of a way to break past the Calamity Grade bottleneck in this remaining time.”

“I understand.”

Since Han Xiao had laid his cards out openly, Ralph did not force the matter.

As for the situation in the secret war, Ralph understood it extremely clearly. Purple Crystal knew that they would not be able to chase out all the enemies and would probably lose a portion of their territory near the border. Their retaliation was only an attempt to reduce their losses.

Under such circumstances, Han Xiao’s refusal to participate in the war was something that Purple Crystal could accept.

Black Star probably knows this as well and thus made such a request… Ralph thought to himself and felt that Black Star was only finding an excuse.

After remaining stagnant for a full seven years, he did not think that Han Xiao would be able to make a breakthrough in the near future.

However, there was no need for him to spell things out so clearly.

“I will convey your message to the upper echelons,” Ralph said. “However, you can choose to be absent, but your Black Star Army must still participate.”

“Naturally.”

Han Xiao then heaved a sigh of relief after hanging up.

Purple Crystal and Bloodshed Land temporarily would not bother him, and he would be able to pull out of the secret war and find some talents to prepare for Beyond Grade A.

Chapter 739: Guests

Molding Talents were something that could not be obtained easily, and Han Xiao had obtained all his Molding Talents through abnormal means.

Although the [Prey] mission was a good chance to obtain a talent, he had not triggered the next phase of the mission after such a long time. He almost thought that Thousand Shadows had given up on him. However, the mission had not ended, so Han Xiao did not know what was going on. Thus, he naturally could not count on it.

There were many different missions for him to obtain talents in his memories, but the rewards were usually ordinary talents. There were not many rare talents, and Han Xiao had to consider which missions he should do.

He first struck out all the missions outside of the Shattered Star Ring.

Some talents did not really increase his combat capabilities and would only waste his time. He also eliminated those.

After striking out all the missions that he deemed unsuitable, Han Xiao picked a few more valuable missions.

Although the talents from those missions would not be able to cause his combat capability to have an earth-shattering change, it would still increase his combat capability to a certain extent.

I will probably need a few months to complete these missions… The war won’t be over so soon, so I should have enough time…

He was currently level 221 and would need to complete a Class Advancement at level 225. He had saved a few Mission Completion Cards during the version update period, and he still had a few leftovers after using one at level 220. Thus, he was only lacking experience points.

The amount of experience needed after level 220 increased exponentially, but with his two plots of crops, he would only need a few months to accumulate enough experience.

He could complete some missions while waiting for his experience to accumulate.

Han Xiao then called Hila, Aurora, and Feidin over to explain his plans to them.

“Right.” Han Xiao suddenly thought about something and said to Aurora, “Help me create some recovery medicine. I want to give them to the high-level officers of the army. It should be able to save their lives during a critical moment.”

The Bloodshed Land had begun to go all out. In order to prevent the upper echelons of the army from getting injured, he wanted to provide them with some protection. Aurora’s life force medicine had a divine effect and was akin to a second life.

Aurora was able to freely control her Esper abilities already, and creating medicine would not cause too much exhaustion.

“No problem!”

Aurora was extremely excited. I can finally be of some help!

Hila originally wanted to persuade her otherwise, but upon seeing Aurora’s excited appearance, she chose to remain silent.

Since it was Han Xiao’s request and was not too difficult, she decided to just let Aurora do as she wished. She had personally witnessed Aurora’s growth, and she was no longer as overprotective as before.

Han Xiao spent a day settling all that he needed to before taking the three on his journey to farm for talents.

Three black, curved spaceships exited the desolate universe belt and entered the Shattered Star Ring from some deserted region.

In the cabin of the leading spaceship, Colin looked out of the window and spat out a rotten fruit from his mouth. His mouth was filled with purple juice from the fruit.

“After almost six years of flying, we are finally here.”

As he said that, he slapped the defrost button on the spaceship.

Psh…

A few dozen low temperature life sustaining chambers began to defrost, and the doors to those chambers opened. Cold air filled the entire spaceship, and many people of different heights and races walked out of the chambers.

“We slept for three years?”

“Is it time to change shift, or have we reached?”

Those fellows who had just woken up from their sleep put on their clothes and walked toward the cockpit.

Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, Colin pointed to the star map without turning back. “We have arrived in the Shattered Star Ring. All of you adjust your bodies quickly so that we don’t delay the mission of our boss.”

“Don’t worry, I just need to suck some blood to recover,” a tall, skinny man said while licking his lips.

“Baron Orozen, don’t blame me for throwing you out of the spaceship if you dare touch my subordinates.”

“Why should I listen to you?” the pale-faced Orozen sneered coldly.

“Because I am the captain His Excellency EsGod appointed. Or do you want to fight?” Colin glared ferociously.

Orozen chuckled eerily before shrugging his shoulders to show that he would submit.

Colin then snorted and said, “You’d better behave in a low-profile manner. I remember that you were a fugitive who escaped from the Shattered Star Ring. I don’t what your stupidity from the past to expose our location before the completion of the mission.”

“That bounty was over sixty years ago. It may have been removed already,” Orozen replied indifferently.

Everyone present on those three spaceships were members of Fallen Ark and were wanted criminals from different Star Fields. They had all been sent out to complete a mission in the Shattered Star Ring.

Colin had the nickname ‘Corrosive Poison’ and was the captain of this team. He had once spread a plaque in many different colonial planets in the Ancient Star Desert, which had resulted in the death of over three billion people. He was a wanted criminal of twenty-three Star System civilizations and two Star Cluster civilizations. He had then joined Fallen Ark and followed EsGod.

Orozen had the nickname ‘Baron’ and belonged to the blood race. He was another Grade A Super in the team and had hunted in many different Star Fields. He was an extremely ferocious character and was a wanted criminal in five different Star Fields.

Especially the Shattered Star Ring.

He had once eaten a high-level official during the ceremony of a Star System civilization in front of the entire Star System. That incident had caused a huge commotion, and he had joined EsGod after escaping from the Shattered Star Ring.

This group of individuals had set off six years ago and had only just reached the Shattered Star Ring. As wanted criminals, they would not dare to openly use stargates and spent most of their time in the desolate universe belt.

These three ‘Light Marten’ spaceships were equipped with top grade hyperdrive engines and were created specifically for travel between Star Fields. The ship’s highest speed was level 17.89 warp speed. If it travelled within a Star Field at top speed, it would be able to travel from one Star System to another within minutes.

Although the lowest grade among the group was a Grade B Super, they needed to rest in a life sustaining chamber in order to endure the load from travelling at warp speed.

This small team was only able to travel through various Star Fields to arrive at the Shattered Star Ring by relying on a warp speed engine.

One of his subordinates then asked, “Captain, which mission shall we complete first?”

They had two different missions in the Shattered Star Ring.

“Are you an idiot? Of course we’ll take care of the easier one first!” Colin replied impatiently. He then opened a file on the holographic screen.

There was information about two individuals in the file, Harrofal and Han Xiao.

They were the two of joint hands to deal with EsGod.

“Harrofal, Grade A Super in the Tyla Civilization, vice principal of the Tyla Mechanic School. He is a researcher.

“Black Star, Han Xiao. The leader of the Black Star Army and ally of Purple Crystal. A Beyond Grade A seed… Eh? This fellow’s battle record had been updated again. He is a powerful individual and is said to be one of the top fighters among the Calamity Grade Supers in the Shattered Star Ring.”

Orozen smiled calmly upon hearing those words. “Black Star? I never heard of such a character when I was in the Shattered Star Ring. He is no more than a newbie who only appeared recently.

“The Shattered Star Ring is only a remote Star Field,” Colin said emotionlessly. “The strength of the Supers in this place cannot be compared to the three Star Fields in the Central Galaxy.”

Colin and the others who usually spent their time in the Central Galaxy looked down on the Supers from a remote Star Field like the Shattered Star Ring. As the most ferocious criminals in the galaxy, they were all used to being arrogant, and they did not even place some Beyond Grade A Supers in their sights.

Since seven years ago, EsGod had been muttering about trees every day. They all felt that EsGod’s mental illness must have become worse for him to send them to the Shattered Star Ring to find the coordinates of some wormhole.

“Harrofal will have the data that we want, so he is the key target,” Colin said. “If we can get the data successfully, we won’t have to find Black Star. After all, Harrofal is much easier to deal with than Black Star.”

Everyone nodded.

“We can then steal the Evolution Cube after completing our first mission.”

Chapter 740: Swaggering through the Novice Village

After a few days of travelling, the Blacklight Stealth arrived at the spot reserved for it at their destination.

The view from inside the porthole showed a planet with green vegetation and yellow earth. Blue oceans could be seen on the planet’s surface, but the yellow earth made up the majority.

Aurora stared at the planet curiously.

“Phillip, what sort of planet is this?”

“Database search, hum… Search complete.

“Planet Nalun, sitting in the Star Zone 6 of the Colton Star Cluster in the Shattered Star Ring, the planet’s number is S-0706812. It was discovered and recorded by the Galute Civilization. There are signs of civilization within, but they are considered fairly backward, yet to have developed interstellar technology. Observation priority is rated as four, hum …”

Planet Nalun consisted of an indigenous civilization, but their level of science and technology was still quite ancient, without aircraft mounted nuclear cannons, far from the stage of space exploration.

“Why did Han Xiao bring us here then?” Aurora wondered.

“He definitely has his reasons. Just ask him when you see him.” Feidin smiled.

At this moment, Han Xiao was not aboard the ship. While the trio were seated in the spaceship, he was streaking through the universe with just his flesh in order to be exposed to the cosmic radiation. This was to obtain attributes through the Void Star Pursuer’s talent [Radiation Absorption]. As a result, his travelling speed was slower than theirs.

The spaceship was suspended above Planet Nalun, and before long, the void beside it started to twist and warp. Han Xiao jumped out from the void dimension. He yawned and quickly opened the hatch to fly into the cabin.

Whoosh!

Jumping into the cabin, Han Xiao exhaled a stream of hot air.

The moment he got out of the vacuum environment, his body started to emit white smoke as though he was being cooked.

Because the cells in his body were continuously digesting the cosmic radiation from the universe, his body was like a burning furnace. The surface of his skin was hot enough to even fry eggs.

Opening his interface to take a look, Han Xiao was pretty satisfied.

This is indeed a mid to high levelled evolutionary species. Its talent shows good growth, and as long as enough time is accumulated, the bonus will be considerable.

After some practical tests, Han Xiao understood how the mechanism of [Radiation Absorption] worked.

After evolving into a Void Star Pursuer, his body cells had transformed, and now he possessed the ability to absorb cosmic radiation. If his physical body was exposed to outer space for a period of time, it would trigger [Radiation Absorption], which would permanently increase his Strength, ^ility, or Endurance by one to three points or increase his energy capacity by five to ten points.

If [Radiation Absorption] was used continuously, the effect would be weakened, and one would need to expose themselves in outer space for a longer period of time before they received the increased attributes.

However, if it was not triggered for a day, the time needed to expose oneself to trigger the effect would also return to the initial state.

This absorption process could be dismantled into three steps—absorption, storage, and digestion. Since cells are not bottomless and only had limited storage and digestion capabilities, this situation occurred.

This was a racial talent that would allow one to obtain considerable benefits just through the accumulation of time. It could be strengthened on the go and would definitely be worth the time. [Radiation Absorption] was the talent that Han Xiao was the most satisfied with at this time.

At this point, the total bonus attributes accumulated by the talent consisted of sixteen Strength, thirteen Dexterity, twenty-one Endurance, and sixty-eight Energy, as well as a huge boost to his attack.

Returning to the cockpit, Han Xiao greeted the three of them.

“You guys have waited a long time. We can start now.”

“Why did we come over to this planet?” Aurora asked.

“To be Samaritans.”

Han Xiao only smiled and switched to manual mode, turning the spaceship into stealth mode as they entered the atmosphere of Planet Nalun and slowly descended.

This was the first stop that he had chosen. Planet Nalun had three huge continental land plates, but only one of them hosted a civilization. The other two continents had yet to be discovered by the locals. Even their maritime era had not yet started, let alone venturing into the universe.

Other than the Galute Civilization, which discovered Planet Nalun, he should be the second visitor to grace this planet.

This civilization pursued the path of magic, with several kingdoms ruling over the continent. They followed the old aristocratic method of kings and lords, conquering other kingdoms for land. One of the biggest kingdoms was the Ocean Boundary Kingdom.

Ocean Boundary Kingdom.

In his previous life, the players had discovered a profession mission, which could benefit Han Xiao.

The spaceship descended to an altitude of around one kilometer above sea level in its stealth mode, sweeping across the ground under the control of Han Xiao. From their point, towns built out of stones and bricks flashed by.

The Planet Nalun’s local civilization did not possess the ability to discover interstellar spaceships.

Very quickly, the spaceship circled the entire planet once, completing its scan. Phillip created a map of the entire planet.

Hu!

The trees swayed as the spaceship landed amid a dense forest within a mountain range.

The four of them disembarked while keeping the spaceship in a stealth state, in case it was spotted by the locals. Taking out his newly created map, Han Xiao swept his eyes over it before explaining,

“Our destination is nearby. This area belongs to the Ocean Boundary Kingdom. We’re heading to an area called Stone Heart City. Let me see… oh, it’s that city.”

Pointing into the distance, Hila, Aurora, and Feidin looked to where Han Xiao had pointed.

They saw that, on the edge of the mountain, was a city built on one of the hills, with the gray stone of the surroundings as the main color of the city.

“Follow by my side and keep a low profile. None of you shall make a move,” Han Xiao instructed.

Because Grade A Supers were a top tier combat power in the universe, they had a crushing power when facing a surface civilization. None of them could be defeated on Planet Nalun, and if they were not careful, an entire city could be wiped out instead.

In order to perform his mission, Han Xiao required everyone to stay low-profile, at least on the surface to integrate into this segment.

While they did not understand the intentions of Han Xiao, Hila and the rest nodded in response.

“Phillip, imitate the appearance of the Naluners.”

A few mechanical orbs rose up, directing blue rays of light toward the four of them.

A matrix of data flashed across, and a simple simulated illusion was quickly generated on the four humans, turning them into Naluners. The body structure of the locals was similar to that of a human, albeit with darker, rougher skin and a lot of wrinkles.

After adjusting the translator channel, Han Xiao took the three alongside the mountain path toward Stone Heart City.

The afternoon sun shone lazily down.

The four of them moved extremely quickly and soon came to the scattered villages and towns outside the city. The area was undergoing plowing, and farmers were in twos or threes, working hard in the field. The air was filled with the stink of some sort of monster feces.

Having gotten used to the magnificent scenery of the universe, the group of them rather appreciated the primitive scenery of this surface civilization. It had a different flavor to it, as every Universal Civilization had once experienced such a period. The fires of civilization were weak at the beginning, and it was because they were cared for generation after generation that they finally blazed up to the universe level.

Being involved in war within the universe daily, only seeing battleships and armor, it was refreshing to suddenly come over to such a backward civilization to roam around.

There was no need to care about any enemies there. They could walk as they liked.

“The environment here is not bad. There’s no air pollution.” Han Xiao took a deep breath before shaking his head. “Even the smell of sh*t here is so fresh…”

“I’m getting the feeling that you’re becoming more perverted,” Feidin said honestly.

“No, no, in this regard, you’re still much better.”

The few of them idly chatted all the way to the entrance of Stone Heart City. The guards could not see through the camouflage of interstellar technology, which allowed Han Xiao to blend into the crowd and enter the city.

With a muggy wind blowing at them and noisy chatter in their ears, the group faced a messy stone street full of natives, which showcased backward town planning.

“What are we here for?” Aurora whispered in a small voice.

You’re the only one that keeps asking. Just follow me. We’ll get the job done.”

Using two fingers, Han Xiao pinched at the supple cheeks of Aurora’s face, pulling it a little before letting go. Aurora cradled her reddened cheek with teary eyes.

“Sis, he bullied me!” Aurora immediately turned her head to complain.

Unfortunately, Hila’s eyes remained straight ahead, as though she did not witness anything.

The few of them walked toward the notice board in town. Phillip translated the Nalunese for them into their language, and Han Xiao approached an old notice that had been left for many years.

As per the notice, a manor in Stone Heart City was believed to be haunted, and there were ghosts within. The owner of the manor hoped that someone would be able to go and solve it.

This notice had been placed here for a long time.

The location of the mission was a small manor. After Han Xiao and the rest expressed their intentions, they were quickly welcomed by the owner of the manor and seated in the main hall.

The moment they sat down, the owner could not wait and began speaking.

“This is great. Finally, there are people who are willing to help once again. This notice has already been up there for a good few years, and I’ve received at least a hundred people who have applied for this role, with five wizards among them, but no one has been able to solve this problem.”

“Relax, we’re different from them,” Han Xiao said, and the translator immediately changed his words into Nalunese. “Then, are you… are you guys wizards?” The manor owner looked hopefully at them.

“We could be counted as such. Tell me the specific situation first.”

“O-Okay.”

On Planet Nalun, there was a lifeform that resembled something like a ghost or a spirit, which the indigenous people named a ‘demonic spirit’. A few years ago, a demonic spirit had appeared in the manor and would occasionally go out at night to haunt.

Planet Nalun’s professions lay in the Mage system, which they termed as ‘Poposot’. When translated to the universe language, it meant ‘Wizard’. This Super system was very weak, with the wizards mainly utilizing potions or materials to cast spells. They were probably only at the Grade D level, but they appeared mysterious and powerful in the eyes of the indigenous people.

Exorcising the demonic spirits was the job of wizards. A few decades ago, the majority of wizards had mysteriously disappeared, causing them to be rarely seen and their heritage to thus be lost. Their Super system was cut off and could only be explored through obscure magic books.

Luckily, the demonic spirit in this manor was relatively weak, thus the owner and his family could still live here for several years.

The moment the owner finished speaking, Han Xiao’s interface pinged.

You have triggered a Chain Mission: [Planet Nalun’s Devil King]!

Mission Introduction: You have heard from the people that the wizards of Planet Nalun have mysteriously disappeared.

There should be more than meets the eye.

First Chain Mission Requirements: Extinguish the demonic spirit in the manor. Reward: 200,000 Experience

Because this was a chain mission, the initial rewards were very low. In his previous life, the players also only found out about this mission during free exploration in Version 3.0.

Each civilization would have a great number of trivial tasks. This mission was also very hidden; it was only discovered when a player who loved to perform storyline missions happened to discover this mission by chance. It was discovered that the reward of this was a talent that could boost one’s psychological resistance. While the strength of Planet Nalun was akin to a weak chicken, the talent reward was pretty good.

At this moment, because the new version had just been opened, Black Star Army had been continuously farming the players like leeks, and thus, no one had gone to explore Planet Nalun.

Because of the soul embryo in his mental territory, Han Xiao decided to get another talent toward psychological resistance and thus went there, where the power level was not even at the level of a novice village.

He was clear about the flow of tasks and would be able to omit a lot of exploration time needed.

“Leave the demonic spirit to us. We’ll resolve it tonight,” Han Xiao said while glancing at the corner of the room, where a transparent magic eyeball was suspended, watching the conversation of several people talking.

Only the manor owner was unaware of the existence of the magic eyeball. The moment they stepped into the room, Han Xiao and company had immediately seen it.

At their level, such a clumsy, low-levelled magic eyeball was just like a living man squatting in the corner and murmuring, “You can’t see me.”

They could only lie to themselves.

“Leave it alone.” Han Xiao waved a hand to stop Feidin. He knew who was paying attention to the manor, and attracting their attention was a key step in this mission.

At the same time, within a hidden meeting area deep beneath Stone Heart City…

The room did not have any windows, only a few kerosene lamps providing a faint light. From the darkness, a husky voice spoke.

“The sentry on number thirteen reacted. Someone has accepted the reward from the manor and wants to deal with the demonic spirit.”

“Most likely, they’re people who have picked up a few wizard books and think themselves actual wizards,” a youthful voice helplessly replied. “Alas, there’s no way they can handle the demonic spirit.”

They said they would move at night. Tomar, you shall follow after them.”

“I got it. I’ll protect them, lest they mess up and anger the demonic spirit, ending up hurt.”

The conversation came to an end, and the sound of gears rang in the room for a while before stopping.

Deep at night, Han Xiao made the manor owner and his family leave before they went to the back garden of the manor.

This was an abandoned area surrounded by stone walls and fences, and the door was locked with several padlocks.

Using the keys given to open the door, Han Xiao strolled in. Inside was an abandoned warehouse area with several bams.

There was a cold, viscous atmosphere floating in the air, as though there was an airflow constantly brushing past their skin.

If it was a normal person, they would start to get nervous for no reason, as though they had entered a haunted place. However, toward Han Xiao and the rest, it was useless.

“There are faint abnormal mental signals coming from here. I spotted them during the daytime,” Feidin whispered. “Should I get rid of them?”

In front of this great Psychic master, the demonic spirit paled in comparison. Let alone getting rid of one, getting rid of a thousand was just a thought away for him.

“Wait for it to appear.” Han Xiao shook his head, glancing vaguely in the direction of a barn. He had perceived a living person squatting there. This was his true goal.

“Alright, we’ll follow your lead.”

Feidin was helpless.

While he had his doubts, his role currently was a bodyguard, and his job was just to follow Han Xiao everywhere.

At this moment, Tomar stood near the barn, leaning against the wall as he watched the four of them ‘secretly’.

He was a youth dressed in a black, hooded suit, which covered his face with shadows. He looked like an assassin, just that there were many small bags hanging around his waist, which contained spellcasting materials.

Upon seeing Han Xiao and the rest looking around as though they were on an outing, Tomar could not resist rolling his eyes, showing disdain.

Too unprofessional. They don’t even know to arrange the Spiritual Light Powder in advance. Where did they get the idea to come and help someone exorcise the demonic spirit? It seems like they’re going to suffer today…

As he thought, there was suddenly a gale of cold wind. The dust rolled up like a tornado, and a pale blue phantom emerged, roaring toward the air.

“Dammit, only a few years and the blue shadow demonic spirit has mutated!” Tomar exclaimed, and he began to get worried.

He had only studied witchcraft for five years and could not guarantee that he could protect himself in the hands of this demon, let alone those four laymen.

Upon seeing the indifference on their faces, Tomar angrily cursed before reaching for his casting kit. Regardless of his hidden identity, he was about to rush out and help.

“Plop…”

At this moment, Feidin carelessly sent out a mental wave, hitting the demonic spirit.

The blue phantom-like spirit body was akin to a broken mirror, shattering and collapsing into pieces like blue snowflakes, disappearing without a trace.

Tomar, who had just dashed out, was stunned rigid at this scene.

What just happened? Was the demonic spirit destroyed in one go?

Aren’t wizards supposed to fight with potions and materials? What is this situation? The books never mentioned such a thing!

Tomar looked blank.

Chapter 741: Hidden Talen

Han Xiao looked at Tomar and greeted him with a smile.

“Hello to my friend who suddenly appeared.”

“H-hello.” Tomar snapped back to reality and stammered slightly. He then sized up the four individuals before him and asked with uncertainty, “Are all of you real wizards?”

The moment he said those words, Tomar immediately felt that he had asked an unnecessary question.

What’s the point of asking such a question? Only a wizard can get rid of a demonic spirit…

The four individuals before his eyes had to be powerful wizards. If not, it would be impossible for them to kill a mutated blue shadow demonic spirit with a single strike.

I thought that the ones I’m protecting are novices. Who would have thought that they are in the same field as me? Tomar’s eyes widened with shock.

All of a sudden, Tomar seemed to have thought about something, and his expression changed greatly. He then took out a packet of white dust from his back and scattered it in midair before asking Han Xiao and the others to follow him.

“I used a bag of aura erasing dust to wipe out traces of magic in this place, so we shouldn’t be spotted. Hurry up and follow me. I will bring all of you to the gathering place in Stone Heart City.

As he said that, Tomar leapt across the wall of the garden nimbly and sprinted away. Han Xiao took his three confused comrades and followed behind Tomar. They then arrived at an old house in the corner of Stone Heart City. A simple concealment array was laid in this place. In the eyes of Han Xiao and his three comrades, the array was naturally extremely clumsy, and nothing could be hidden from them. However, it was more than enough to bluff the natives of the planet.

Tomar entered through the chimney and took out a comer of the floorboard to reveal an underground passage.

The gathering point is below. Follow me.”

A hanging basket floated in the opening of the cave, and people were transported through gears and chains. It was like a prehistoric lift.

They stepped onto the lift, and after a short period of descending, the hanging basket touched the ground.

They were greeted with a gray space which was like an underground base. There were many cartons of supplies and over ten rooms in the place. The burning lamp was the only light source in this place.

Being extremely used to the technological advancements of the galaxy, this backward place gave Hila, Aurora, and Feidin an extremely fresh experience. It was as though they had gone back in time.

“This is the gathering place of Stone Heart City. I will take you to meet the person in charge, Mister Lanley.”

Tomar took them to one of the rooms that was filled with bookshelves and old books.

A bearded old man was currently reading in front of an oil lamp that gave out a faint glow. Upon hearing some sound, he turned around with a face full of surprise.

Tomar gave a brief explanation, and the old man called Lanley lowered his guard. He then said with a hoarse voice, “It turns out that all of you are also wizards. Feel free to use anything in this place. Stone Heart City welcomes your arrival.”

“I have been extremely curious along the way here. All of you did not use any magical elixirs. How did you get rid of the demonic spirit?” Tomar asked curiously.

“It is actually very simple. It is a technique of using magic.” Feidin had received Han Xiao’s instructions and could only follow them helplessly.

“Really? Why haven’t I read it in the books?” Tomar rubbed his head.

As Lanley heard those words, he stood up abruptly and said with shock, “Only the legendary great wizard can cast a spell without using magical elixirs. Could it be that you are a great wizard? I thought that all the great wizards were killed by that devil fifty years ago!”

“What devil? What is going on?”

Lanley was stunned for a moment. “You guys don’t know?”

“We don’t…” Han Xiao revealed a puzzled look. Actually, I do know. However, I can only trigger the mission if it comes out from your mouth…

“I understand now. All of you are the legendary reclusive wizards and didn’t participate in the battle fifty years ago.” Lanley grew excited and began explaining what had happened.

Fifty years ago, when there were plenty of wizards who roamed the streets, a wizard called Vosumede created a ‘Divine Weapon’. It was able to create and control demonic spirits, and he could use the strength of the demonic spirits to increase his own magical strength. In order to increase his strength, he released a large number of frightening demonic spirits in multiple cities and used ordinary individuals to increase the strength of his demonic spirits. In the end, he became a great wizard by using such a method.

At that time, many wizards united together and wanted to kill Vosumede. However, Vosumede made use of the ‘Divine Weapon’ and killed all the wizards who surrounded him. He then chased after all the remaining wizards in the world and ended the legacies of many wizards.

After this, Vosumede became the Great Palace Wizard of the Ocean Boundary Kingdom and was known as the Demon King by the wizarding world. He groomed a large number of demonic spirits within the territory of the kingdom and became slightly more restrained because of his many different identities. The demonic spirit army under his army became more and more powerful and caused chaos everywhere.

A small portion of the wizards submitted to Vosumede and became his lackeys while the other surviving wizards had no choice but to hide. They set up various gathering points and helped each other.

Vosumede continued to chase after the surviving wizards, and thus, all the wizards hid themselves and no longer appeared in public. The outside world had lost all traces of the wizards, and the legacies of the wizards were in the hands of Vosumede or the gathering points. The gathering points would only pass on their techniques if they met a reliable youngster, bringing new blood into the world of the wizards and barely being able to survive.

This Vosumede is also a farmer in the same line as me… Han Xiao thought to himself.

After living in the universe for such a long time, Han Xiao had heard of plenty of similar incidents. It was basically the appearance of a powerful boss without anyone in the civilization being a match for him. Thus, a new dark era was bom.

Planet Nalun did not know that there were other living beings in the universe and were not even clear about the meaning of the universe. Thus, they naturally did not have the ability to seek help from mercenaries.

Vosumede was the final target of this Chain Mission. Although Vosumede was a powerful existence who could do as he wished on Planet Nalun, he was no more than a little boy who Han Xiao could take care of with a wave of his arm. However, he might not necessarily obtain the Talent reward from the final phase of the mission if he got rid of Vosumede directly and had thus chosen to follow the mission step by step.

In any case, it was akin to him returning to a novice village to bully the noobs. There was not the slightest bit of pressure, and he just treated it as a vacation.

Lanley paced around excitedly before saying with a respectful tone, “Great wizards, we need your help.”

“Speak.” Han Xiao nodded.

“The wizarding world will always be under Vosumede’s control as long as he doesn’t die…”

“So, you want us to kill him?” Feidin interrupted.

Lanley shook his head and said with a bitter laughter, “We have tried to do so for fifty years, but Vosumede is too powerful. He was able to kill multiple great wizards at once a few decades ago, and he is probably even more powerful now. Even if all four of you are great wizards, you may not be a match for him. We cannot send all of you to your deaths.”

Hila curled her lips up with dissatisfaction. She would be able to roam unhindered anywhere on Planet Nalun alone. However, she could only remain silent since Han Xiao did not say anything.

“Then, what do you need us to do?” Han Xiao asked patiently.

“It’s like this. Vosumede’s greatest helper is his demonic spirit army. He created the most powerful demonic spirit to lead his army, and we call it the Demonic Spirit King. If we want to deal with Vosumede, we will have to get rid of his helper first. However, the Demonic Spirit King is extremely powerful, and even a great wizard may not be a match for him. However, we have investigated his weakness.

“The Demonic Spirit King is a man-made item, and its strength is sustained by three magical altars. Every time an altar is destroyed, his strength is weakened. We have already located the locations of the three altars. There is one near Stone Heart City, but a demonic spirit army is guarding the altar. With the addition of the four of you, we will have the strength to destroy the altar.”

As he spoke, the next phase of the mission appeared on Han Xiao’s interface. It described the existence of the altar near Stone Heart City, and he could gain the trust of the gathering point by destroying the altar.

“Alright, I accept.”

Lanley was overjoyed and said, “Then we will rely on all of you. The manpower that we can mobilize is limited, so we will only be able to provide eight wizards…”

“No need, he is enough.” Han Xiao pointed at Tomar, who was by the side.

Tomar, who was listening by the side silently, was slightly surprised by those words. He then nodded resolutely. “I will try my best.”

Han Xiao nodded silently. Obtaining the Talent was one of his objectives. Han Xiao’s second objective of this trip was Tomar. This fellow had a low-grade Luck Glow and was a main character level NPC on Planet Nalun.

Most missions would have some residual influence after the completion of the mission, and the players who completed this mission in his previous life went back to Planet Nalun a few years after completing the mission. They had then discovered the achievements of Tomar.

After Vosumede’s death, the wizards on Planet Nalun had attained their freedom, and Tomar had become a famous wizard. He spent his life researching magic and achieved a groundbreaking discovery. He left behind a lot of knowledge for the later generation and single handedly raised the Super standard on Planet Nalun to a whole new level.

This was no simple matter. This was akin to someone who had only received high school level mathematics education coming up with university level mathematics proofs.

In truth, many of the heroes of the civilizations were talents who were buried because of the generation that they were born in.

Tomar was such a character as well. His magical talent was extremely outstanding, and he was a rare talent who could only be found once every thousand years. However, he could not grow properly in a backward location, and his talent was wasted as a result.

Thus, Han Xiao’s other objective was to bring Tomar into the army to groom.

Talents were precious, and the more main character level NPCs the better. Regardless of how worthless they were, they could increase the luck of the army.

The location that Lanley gave was a cave hidden in the mountains. One of the altars was located in this location.

The next morning, Han Xiao and the gang set off together with Tomar. In order to match Tomar’s speed, it took them half a day to reach the cave. The sky was already dark by then.

They stood outside the cave, and a chilly wind blew out from within the dark cave as though it was breathing.

Tomar shivered and said, “The demonic spirits will come out at night as their strength increases at night. We should set up camp outside and rest for the night before entering the cave tomorrow at noon.”

“That isn’t necessary.” Han Xiao shook his head. This mission did not pose any difficulty to him, and he walked into the cave with Hila, Aurora, and Feidin. Tomar hesitated for a while before gritting his teeth and following them.

The cave was filled with many winding tunnels with cold winds blowing from within. The deeper they went into the cave, the more obvious the cold aura being emanated from the cave. When they reached the depths of the cave, the demonic spirit aura was not covered in the slightest, and some faint muttering could be heard from time to time in the cave.

Tomar’s head was covered in sweat, and he looked around nervously, afraid that a demonic spirit would jump out and scare him at any moment. He held on tightly to the magical elixir on his waist and was ready to throw it out at any moment. His appearance was completely different from Han Xiao’s group.

“Wh-why don’t we return?” Tomar stammered with his voice trembling. “Although all of you are great wizards, we shouldn’t underestimate our enemy. There are three hundred demonic spirits in this place at the very least, and it would be extremely difficult for you to deal with them…”

Right after he said those words, a strange stone altar appeared in front of him. A few hundred candles were lined up by the altar and burnt with a green flame that seemed inextinguishable.

“This is the place. Let’s quickly destroy the altar and make our retreat!” Tomar said anxiously and was about to throw out his magical elixir.

Right at that moment, a bone piercing chill blew over, and a few hundred figures appeared in the surroundings, glaring at Han Xiao’s group coldly.

They are all demonic spirits…” Tomar’s eyes widened with shock, and his heart skipped a beat.

However, before the fear in his heart could explode, the cold aura in the cave melted away like snow in the sun.

The few hundred demonic spirits were all destroyed without even making a sound. They were all defeated in one hit by Feidin.

Their illusory bodies disappeared, and Tomar’s scream was stuck in his throat.

The scene before him had completely changed his worldview.

Just what happened just now? How did all the demonic spirits disappear?

Is a great wizard really so powerful?

“We just need to destroy this altar, right?” Hila waved her arm, and the altar turned to dust.

A notification of the second phase being completed popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

The instant that the altar was destroyed, the cave began to tremble.

Boom!

Black fog floated up from the destroyed altar and formed a black whirlpool in midair. A wave of pressure was then emanated from the whirlpool as though a being was about to descend.

Tomar’s hair stood up on end, and he felt as though a ferocious animal was glaring at him. An instinctive feeling of fear rose in his heart.

“It’s the Demonic Spirit King…” Tomar’s voice became hoarse, and he was frightened to the point that he could not move.

The next second, an eerie voice sounded from within the whirlpool and echoed in the cave.

“A few bugs actually dared to destroy my altar? You will pay the price for this!”

Han Xiao and the others watched the Demonic Spirit King’s performance emotionlessly.

“Humph, it is too late to regret. I will eat all your souls and transform all of you into a part of me. All of you shall fall into the depths of… argh!”

Before the Demonic Spirit King could even finish his act, Feidin snorted and shot out his Psychic energy. Like an inflated balloon being punctured, the Demonic Spirit King let out a miserable groan and disappeared.

The black whirlpool floating in midair had disappeared and the shaking of the cave had also become silent. It was as though nothing had happened at all.

“Hey, you didn’t end up killing it, right?” Han Xiao became worried. Would the mission be stopped midway if the Demonic Spirit King died?

“I could have killed it, but it wasn’t necessary.” Feidin rolled his eyes.

You are the one who knows me best.” Han Xiao laughed and slapped Feidin on the back.

Following which, Han Xiao then waved at Tomar, who was rooted to the spot in shock.

“The altar is destroyed. Let’s return.”

Tomar had spent a great amount of effort to shut his opened mouth before jumping back to look at Han Xiao with caution.

“Who exactly are all of you?”

Han Xiao frowned and said, “I said before. We are wizards.”

Tomar had a look of disbelief on his face.

Don’t think you can bluff me because I am uneducated. You lot are definitely not wizards.

Because wizards cannot be so powerful!

He then praised his own wisdom silently.

“Alright then, since we have been discovered, I shall tell you the truth…”

Han Xiao’s eyes spun around, and a teasing look could be seen in his eyes.

“We are actually deities.”

Hila, Aurora, and Feidin almost choked.

Woah, you’re truly shameless!

Tomar had a look of disbelief upon hearing that.

There are actually deities in the world? Could those religions be real? I thought that it was only a scam.

However, it seems like only deities would be able to kill a few hundred demonic spirits in a second.

Tomar could not think of any other explanation. In the face of a ‘deity’, he was completely helpless and did not know what to say.

Han Xiao giggled in his heart while pretending to be solemn on the surface. “I have come for Vosumede. His actions have gone against the laws of nature, and he will be punished.”

Planet Nalun was a backward planet, and it was extremely easy to fool them. It was not the first time that he had tried to act as a deity. He had tried once in front of the Black Spirit Race before. When facing the natives of a backward planet, saying that he was a deity might be more convincing than saying that he was from the universe.

Tomar’s eyes lit up upon hearing those words, and an agitated look could be seen on his face.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao placed his finger on his lips and said with a smile, “But I hope that you can help keep this secret. It is best that only you know the truth that I am a deity.”

It will be time to kidnap you when the mission is complete.

“Okay, okay.” Tomar nodded like an obedient child.

He originally wanted to inform everyone at the gathering point about the truth, but since the ‘deity’ had personally requested for him to keep silent about it, he must have his reasons. Thus, he decided to hide this truth in his heart.

Upon thinking about the fact that he was the only one who knew that the four individuals before him were deities, Tomar felt extremely agitated.

Chapter 742: One Cannon Is Enough

After getting rid of the first altar, they spent a night outside before returning to the gathering point in Stone Heart City.

After finding out about the successful mission, Lanley was extremely surprised.

“All of you succeeded so quickly?”

He has been leading the gathering point in Stone Heart City for many years already and had always been wary of the demonic spirit army near the altar. Due to the lack of manpower, he did not dare act too rashly. He had originally thought that Han Xiao and his group would need eight to ten days to slowly clear up the demonic spirits near the altar. However, Han Xiao’s efficiency had truly surprised him.

That was especially so after realizing that there were no injuries in the group, and only Tomar looked as though he did not have a good sleep. Lanley was extremely curious about the details of their operation.

“I remember that there should be a few hundred demonic spirits. How did all of you accomplish this?”

“It’s like this…” Tomar swallowed a mouthful of saliva and began to explain.

When they set up camp outside last night, Feidin had given Tomar a subtle mental hint together with the ‘divine miracles’ that Han Xiao had gotten Aurora to perform. Tomar had completely believed that Han Xiao’s group of four were deities.

He was the only one who knew the truth about the ‘deities’, and Tomar was agitated to the point he could not sleep. In order to hide the identity of the ‘deities’, he had spent a full night thinking of an appropriate excuse to report to Lanley today.

As he gave his ‘explanation’, Tomar was extremely anxious that Lanley would spot a flaw.

He did not understand why the ‘deities’ wanted to hide their identities, but he did not dare gamble. He was afraid that the ‘deities’ would choose to leave if their identities were exposed. This would result in the gathering point losing such great support.

Upon seeing the broken fragments of the altar, Lanley did not have any other doubts, and after expressing his gratitude to Han Xiao, he left hastily to contact the leaders of the other gathering points.

“I managed to hide it…” Tomar heaved a sigh of relief.

“Good job.” Han Xiao nodded.

Tomar was extremely reserved in front of Han Xiao. Although Han Xiao’s group of four seemed extremely approachable and were not aloof like in the religious records, Tomar still felt immense pressure. He then said, “Your Excellencies, I have a question that I don’t know if I should ask.”

“Speak.”

“Actually, I have been curious since last night…” Tomar stammered. “The deities in the religious records all have their own names and authority. I wonder if… cough cough, I don’t know if it is rude for me to ask this. If it is, I hope that you can accept my apology…”

In truth, he wanted to ask if Han Xiao’s group of four were the deities in the legends that he had heard.

“Names…” Han Xiao stroked his chin before saying with a smile, “This isn’t a secret. My divine name is Black Star.”

Black Star?

Tomar had a look of confusion. He had never heard of such a deity in all the stories he heard.

Han Xiao then pointed at Hila and Aurora. “They are the deities of death and life.”

Hila had a speechless look on her face and could only allow Han Xiao to joke as he wished.

“As for him…” Han Xiao turned around and looked at Feidin who had an expectant look on his face. After letting out a light cough, he joked, “He is the deity of luck. Let me remind you about something, he is both male and female in one body and doesn’t have a gender.”

Must you really emphasize my gender… Feidin had a look of resignation on his face.

Tomar engraved the names into his heart and immediately expressed his loyalty. “I will spread all of your names and allow the world to know who the real deities are. I will spread your glory in this land.”

“We can talk about this in the future.”

Han Xiao tried his best to stifle his laughter. When Tomar entered the universe, this would definitely be his dark past.

After completing the second phase of the mission and gaining the trust of the gathering point, the gathering point began to treat the four ‘great wizards’ with much importance. In the following days, the gathering point gave many tasks to the four of them as part of the mission.

With his overwhelming strength and galactic technology, Han Xiao completed the missions with incredible efficiency. Some of the missions included destroying the other two altars, clearing up demonic spirits in many different cities, killing some of Vosumede’s henchmen, collecting rare materials, and so on.

The use of a spaceship greatly reduced their travelling time, and Han Xiao was able to easily find the rare materials by scanning the entire continent with his devices. He only needed half a month to solve the problem that had been troubling the gathering point for fifty years.

The entire gathering point was shocked by Han Xiao’s divine efficiency, which was almost like a miracle. Tomar bitterly tried to hide the ‘truth’ and did not expose the identities of the ‘deities’.

However, the result of Han Xiao’s efficiency was the suspicion of the upper echelons in the gathering point. There were some who felt that the four of them were far too successful and might be spies sent by Vosumede. Vosumede might intend to lure them all out to catch them in one fell swoop.

Wulis was the current leader of all the gathering points, and he was the one who suspected Han Xiao’s group of four the most. However, he did not reveal his suspicion, instead keeping some secrets from the four.

His plan was to create a ‘divine weapon’ to fight with Vosumede, and the rare materials that Han Xiao had gathered were the materials for the ‘divine weapon*. However, he did not reveal anything to Han Xiao’s group of four.

This way, even if Han Xiao’s group of four were spies for Vosumede, they would not know his true plan. At the same time, he would be able to borrow their strength to gather the materials for the ‘divine weapon’.

In some secret location, all the gathered materials were sent over. Wulis and a few other wizards of the upper echelons were crafting this ‘divine weapon’ secretly.

The flames of the furnace lit up the dark room, and the ‘divine weapon* was beginning to take shape.

Clank!

As the iron hammer came into contact with the red-hot ores, sparks flew in all directions, and the ores gradually began to change shape.

Wulis and the others released their magical elixirs by the side, chanted incantations, and engraved formations to complete the process.

The last step was soon reached, and the blacksmith quenched the completed ‘divine weapon’ in ice-cold water. Whoosh!

A large amount of water was immediately evaporated, and after a long wait, the blacksmith removed a metallic staff from the cold water. It looked like black vines with many curses being engraved on it.

“It is finally completed! The White Sorcerer Wand!”

Wulis picked up the staff excitedly. This was the ‘divine weapon’ that their gathering point had always wanted to forge. It was able to greatly increase the strength of their magical powers and restrict the demonic spirit army. This was the nemesis of Vosumede’s Demonic Spirit Necklace.

All the wizards present had looks of joy on their faces.

“With the White Sorcerer Wand in our hands, we have the strength to face Vosumede head on!”

Wulis held on to the staff tightly and spoke in a bright voice.

“Everyone, we must keep the existence of this staff a secret. We must not let Vosumede and the four wizards of dubious origin know about it.

“This is our strongest trump card, and we will have to rely on it to kill Vosumede! It has been a full fifty years, and it is time for the final battle!

“Inform the wizards in all the gathering points. It is time to launch an all-out attack!”

Wulis burnt with battle intent.

The Chain Mission was at its second last phase, and its mission requirement was to head to the capital of the Ocean Boundary Kingdom to meet up with the wizards of the other gathering points. The next phase of the mission would be to defeat the final boss, Vosumede, in the palace of the Ocean Boundary Kingdom.

In some secret courtyard, all the wizards of the gathering points were gathered with Wulis as the leader. There were about 230 wizards present.

It was evening, and Wulis was giving a speech in front of the others.

“Tonight is the final battle, and we are going to sneak past the defense line of the palace to ambush the Great Palace Wizard. We will gather the strength of our gathering points to kill him. This is the moment when Vosumede is the weakest, and all of our success is thanks to our four new reclusive wizards.”

Wulis then nodded toward Han Xiao’s group of four, who were seated at the front, with a look of caution hidden in his eyes.

The way he saw it, if the four of them were spies, they would definitely expose themselves that night.

Wulis had already made preparations and got his trusted aids to keep an eye on the four of them.

Han Xiao smiled without replying.

The mission would be at its final phase during the battle, and he would be able to reap the harvest from his half a month of hard work.

Tomar was within the crowd, and his fists were clenched with agitation.

I am the only one here who knows that they are deities…

Night descended after a long wait, and darkness enveloped the entire city.

Wulis no longer hesitated and announced the start of the mission.

Their large gang of more than two hundred wizards then approached the palace and suppressed their auras with magical powder. They snuck into the palace and did not disturb the guards.

Han Xiao’s group of four hid among the group and waited for the mission to enter the final phase.

The journey was extremely smooth, and the wizards very quickly gathered outside the palace of the Great Palace Wizard.

Wu!

Right at this moment, a military horn sounded from within the palace.

The palace doors swung open, and a few dozen wizards charged out from the palace. At the front of the group, an old man stood. He was Vosumede.

“Humph, a bunch of sneaky rats. I have been waiting for all of you for a long time,” Vosumede said proudly. “I have long found out about all of your little schemes over the past half a month and couldn’t be bothered with all of you. Do all of you really think that I was unaware of you sneaking into the capital?

“I have already been operating in the Ocean Boundary Kingdom for fifty years, and my demonic spirit army is hidden all around. I found out the moment you stepped into this city!

“The guards of the palace have already cut off your escape route and are on the way here. It will be impossible for you to escape!”

The moment these words were said, the wizards of the gathering point became jittery.

Wulis stood out from the crowd and said with a deep voice, “Don’t be anxious. The number of wizards in the palace is less than a quarter of ours. We will be able to kill them all before the guards arrive!”

Vosumede suddenly burst out into laughter. “Wulis, is your brain rotten? Have you forgotten about my strongest trump card?”

Vosumede grabbed the necklace on his neck as he said that, and the temperature in the surroundings fell immediately. A cold gust of wind blew over, and more than a thousand demonic spirits appeared.

A gigantic demonic spirit appeared beside Vosumede; it was the Demonic Spirit King.

The two hundred or so wizards of the gathering points took a step back subconsciously and looked at the demonic spirit army nervously.

This was what Vosumede had relied on to rule the wizard world for fifty years. His Demonic Spirit Necklace was able to create and control demonic spirits.

Compared to the anxiousness of the others, Wulis was extremely confident. He held onto the White Sorcerer Wand in his hands. This was the nemesis of the demonic spirit army and also the reason he had dared to challenge Vosumede.

You have a divine weapon, but I do too… Wulis sneered coldly in his heart.

Right at this moment, Wulis suddenly thought about Han Xiao’s group of four. His eyes narrowed, and he decided against using the White Sorcerer Wand.

The divine weapon had to be used at the most appropriate moment. Wulis was extremely wary of Han Xiao’s group of four, and he glanced at them carefully before making a decision.

If four of them are Vosumede’s accomplices and make any moves, I can use the White Sorcerer Wand to kill them!

On the other side, Vosumede stroked his beard and looked extremely calm as though the entire situation was within his grasp.

“Do you know, I have never concerned myself with you? If all of you chose to hide properly, I may have been willing to give you a path of survival. However, you chose to come out and create trouble for me time and time again, even wanting to kill me.

“Ah, your imaginations are as distant as the stars in the skies, and all of you are like a bunch of annoying flies.

“You hid yourselves for fifty years like rats. Do you think that it is possible to overthrow me? How ridiculous!”

As he said that, the luxurious robe on Vosumede’s body began fluttering despite the lack of wind. His powerful magical force burst forth from his body. In the eyes of Wulis and the other wizards of the gathering points, Vosumede’s aura seemed to have become like a towering building, suppressing their very souls.

“What is this?” Wulis and the others were shocked, and their faces turned pale.

“Humph! There is an even more powerful level above the great wizard realm. I made use of fifty years to take this last step…”

Vosumede stretched out his arms and let out arrogant laughter.

“I am now a god!”

The two hundred or so wizards were all dumbfounded, and even Wulis felt his heart falling into despair.

No! The situation has changed, and I cannot save my trump card to deal with a spy that may not even exist.

I must make use of the White Sorcerer Wand to severely wound Vosumede if not the others will die!

Wulis held onto the White Sorcerer Wand tightly and began chanting a series of mnemonics, ready to activate the ‘divine weapon’.

Vosumede obviously did not understand the logic of a bad guy dying because he talked too much. He was still intoxicated with the feeling of the entire situation being in his grasp. He raised his hand and pointed at the crowd as though he was looking down on a bunch of ants.

“You do not understand anything about true strength!”

As those words sounded, Wulis completed his preparations, and his eyes narrowed. He was about to use the White Sorcerer Wand to launch his strongest attack on Vosumede.

Right at this moment, a psionic cannon shot out from within the crowd and smashed onto Vosumede’s arrogant face before anyone could even react.

The speed of the attack was one that did not even allow him to dodge.

Bang!

The flash of light came and went quickly, and Vosumede’s head disappeared without a trace.

His headless body then shook for a while before collapsing on the ground.

Everyone present was stunned silly.

Everyone looked at Vosumede’s headless body, and they could not believe what had happened.

Wait, Vosumede was… dead?

He died like that?

Wulis’ eyes bulged out to the point that they almost fell out.

Was I the one who killed him?

That’s not right… I didn’t even use the divine weapon…

Everyone then thought about the direction from which the ball of light was shot out from. They turned their heads and looked at Han Xiao’s group of four. The wizards of the gathering point then inched away from the four subconsciously.

“Mission complete.” Han Xiao then lowered his palm and opened his interface with satisfaction.

Just a moment ago, the mission had entered the final phase, and Han Xiao had blasted Vosumede’s head off without any hesitation. Despite this fellow looking as though he was extremely powerful, he was no more than a Grade C Super. A single cannon was enough to blow his head.

All the wizards present looked at Han Xiao’s group of four, and before they could even react, a huge change occurred.

Hu!

The moment Vosumede died, all the demonic spirits present lost control and charged out in all directions toward any living being around them.

The two hundred or so wizards immediately snapped back to reality and prepared to face the enemy.

Right at this moment, everyone could clearly see Feidin, who was beside Han Xiao, tapping his forehead and releasing a formless white light to cover the entire region. All the demonic spirits who touched the white light immediately disintegrated.

In the blink of an eye, all the demonic spirits including the Demonic Spirit King were wiped out.

This time, everyone clearly saw what had happened. Their bodies were rooted to the ground, and a look of disbelief could be seen on their faces.

This… What kind of strength was this?

Was Vosumede really killed by these four? With a single hit?

Pa!

The staff in Wulis’ hands dropped on the ground, and his lips began to tremble.

He had tried to make various predictions about what might happen, but never had he expected such a scenario.

To think that the four people who he thought could be spies for the enemy actually had such frightening strength and killed the enemy leader with a single attack.

The White Sorcerer Wand that he had spent so much effort to create was actually completely useless.

“You… who exactly are all of you?”

Wulis looked at Han Xiao’s group of four with bloodshot eyes.

This was also the question in the hearts of everyone present.

Vosumede had been ruling over the wizard world for fifty years and was actually easily killed by four reclusive wizards of dubious origins.

This made all the wizards present feel a sense of defeat.

Wulis was the one who was most affected by the scene before him. He felt as though his insistence over the last fifty years was completely meaningless.

Han Xiao frowned and did not reply. He turned around to look at Tomar instead.

Tomar was excited to the point he almost exploded. From beginning to end, his eyes had been fixed on Han Xiao’s group of four. Upon seeing Han Xiao looking at him, Tomar immediately understood the hint.

The next moment, he walked out from the crowd with agitation and spoke loudly to attract everyone’s attention.

“There isn’t a need for me to hide anything anymore! I have always known their identities. They are deities, true deities! Only deities have such strength!”

Upon hearing that, everyone fell into a daze.

De—deities?

This answer was completely out of their imagination.

Everyone felt as though their world view had been lifted before being slammed back onto the ground.

Chapter 743: News from Harrofal

After seeing the performance of the four, the audience somewhat believed that they were deities. This seemed to be the only explanation for their unprecedented power.

Ta, ta, ta!

As everyone started to rave about the deities, the royal guards of the Ocean Boundary Kingdom slowly arrived. They had originally heeded the order of Vosumede to surround the wizards, but upon learning that Vosumede had suddenly died, even the court mages were too afraid of the so-called four ‘deities’ and lost the ability to resist.

The subordinate wizards of Vosumede surrendered one after another. Upon learning that Vosumede had been killed, the head of the Royal Guards Corps could not believe it. Once he had confirmed his death, he was overjoyed.

Vosumede was not supported by the majority of people, and they hoped for him to die an early death. However, no one had the ability to kill him, so his death came as good news to a lot of people.

The head of the Royal Guard Corps initially thought that Vosumede had been killed by the head of the wizard assembly points, but the truth from the wizard’s mouth frightened him. He could not help but glance over at the four ‘deities’ before hurriedly dispatching an escort to notify the king.

While it was already late into the night, the atmosphere surrounding the area was weird. Practically everyone around was wide awake and scrutinizing the four of them. Han Xiao did not bother with their reactions and turned his attention to the Mission Completion notification on his user interface.

Having completed the chain mission [Planet Nalun’s Demon King], the talent that he was supposed to obtain as a reward finally arrived.

Talent [Soul Lock]: +20% Psychological Resistance.

Duration of all negative spiritual effects is reduced by 10%.

When you suffer a spiritual attack, you have a 18% – 34% chance to negate the damage. If damage is negated, there is a cooldown time of 30 minutes.

Adding this to my [Advanced Mental Toughness], my spiritual resistance should be at fifty-five percent. However, compared to the addition of resistance, the effect of this damage negation could result in some miracles…

While the cooldown time was pretty long, probably allowing it to only be triggered once in battle, and was uncontrollable, it was still an extremely useful ability. If he had possessed such a talent when he was facing Psyker, he would have had a chance to completely negate this effect.

The chance of triggering the damage negation was only at eighteen percent. Even if he was not too lucky, the chance was still manageable. Han Xiao had long gotten used to looking only at the lower limit of his odds.

At this time, Tomar had already started to popularize the divine names of the four of them among the crowd. Wulis brought a group of people to approach Han Xiao, displaying a cramped expression. He did not seem to know how to properly communicate with the deities, and to come into contact with someone whose life level far exceeded theirs, he was full of awe and anxiety.

“Four Majesties… oh no, Deities. On behalf of all the wizards, I thank you for getting rid of this devil Vosumede. If there are any requests, I’ll try my best to fulfil them…”

Han Xiao kept his interface, looking at the anxious group of people before smiling. “I do have a request, and that is for Tomar to be my emissary. I’ll bring him up to the kingdom of God.”

The emissary of a Deity?

Everyone’s head swiveled toward Tomar, full of envy, surprise, shock, and so on.

Tomar gaped in shock, his brain an absolute blank. He did not believe that Han Xiao was pointing at himself. “This… what is the meaning of this…”

“The meaning is, I’ll take you to the world that the deities live in.” Han Xiao pulled out all the stops in his acting. “Are you willing to?”

Tomar was rendered utterly incoherent by the surprise, and the few words that managed to escape his mouth were gibberish that even the translator could not handle. He frantically nodded, as though he was testing if he could snap his spine by doing so.

Wulis gulped. While he was full of curiosity about deities and their kingdom, he did not know their character and hence did not dare to ask further.

At this moment, the soldier who went to notify the king finally returned, reporting the situation to the head of the Royal Guard Corps.

Immediately, the head walked over to where Han Xiao and the rest were, with a respectful expression.

“Four Deities, Your Excellency Wulis, Your Excellency Tomar, His Majesty hopes that you will grace him with your presence.”

Wulis did not reply but rather turned his head to look at Han Xiao. He understood that the person whom the king wished to see were the deities.

Han Xiao thought about it before nodding and accepting the invite.

Seeing the king of this current regime would not take much time, and it could also help to dispel any worries the new leek Tomar would have.

Seeing this, both Wulis and Tomar quickly agreed as well.

“Please follow me.”

The head guard was overjoyed and quickly escorted them to the main hall.

The king of Ocean Boundary Kingdom had urgently dressed up just to meet them.

When faced with the creatures suspected to be deities, the Ocean Boundary King tried to make himself look dignified. Since it was the first time that he had come in contact with deities, he did not wish to destroy the glory of his kingdom. Unfortunately, his protruding belly had defeated all his attempts.

Upon seeing Han Xiao and the rest in the appearance of the Naluners, his internal nervousness dissipated a lot. At least the appearance of the deities was familiar to him.

“Distinguished Deities, I hereby represent Ocean Boundary Kingdom to welcome you. Forgive me, but please allow me to ask, what exactly is a deity and for what purpose have you all come?”

“Even if I were to tell you, you would not be able to understand the difference in our life levels.” Han Xiao raised a brow, behaving pretentiously. “As for our objective, it was first to get rid of Vosumede, which has been completed. The second objective is to choose an emissary, and I have chosen Tomar.”

The Ocean Boundary King glanced at Tomar, burning his face into his heart. He then jolted before asking, “In that case, does it mean that deities are willing to pass down your teachings?”

“Oh, you can put it that way.” Han Xiao nodded. This reasoning was more convenient for him as well.

The eyes of the Ocean Boundary King lit up, and he thought that he had grasped the needs of the deities.

“Since that’s the case, if the four of your Deities are able to perform a miracle and bless the kingdom, I’m willing to create a religion that belongs to you, mobilizing the people of the kingdom to become your believers.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, unsurprised. For a backward civilization, the knowledge of deities existing was equivalent to an opportunity for them to reshape their social structure. In their eyes, the help of deities was more important than the development of science and technology.

He could predict that, with his influence, the trajectory of the development of the Planet Nalun civilization would change. Religion would soon begin to intervene in politics, and there was a great chance of forming a political system that combined both politics and religion.

This time, a new mission suddenly popped up on the interface.

[Display Miracles]

Mission Introduction: The indigenous regime of Planet Nalun treats you as a God and wishes for you to show your ‘miracles’. Maybe you’ll leave a mark on the history of this civilization.

Mission Requirements: Present a ‘miracle* to the Ocean Boundary King (Requires a subversion of the target’s cognition).

Reward: 3,000,000 experience, 1 Planet Legendary Point.

“Oho, there’s even a branch task.” Han Xiao was overjoyed.

In his previous life, during the mid to late versions of the game, players would occasionally visit backwater civilizations to gain Legendary Points. They would pull all sorts of tricks to leave their names in the history of that civilization. This was also a way to gain Legendary Points.

Since he could obtain a Legendary Point, there was no need to reject this task.

Sweeping a glance at the expectant looks of the Ocean Boundary King, Tomar, and Wulis, Han Xiao breathed in deeply before raising his hands. The nanoparticles transformed into countless carving knives, drawing out a map on one of the palace walls.

’’What are you doing?” The Ocean Boundary King was shocked. He had thought that a divine miracle would be a big event and did not expect for it to be so simple.

“This is the original appearance of the world you’re in and also the map of the entire world.” Han Xiao slowly spoke.

On the wall was a map of Planet Nalun, generated by Phillip.

The Ocean Boundary King jerked in shock. He immediately scrutinized the map before suddenly exclaiming, “The world is round?”

Even Wulis and Tomar had looks of disbelief.

The civilization on Planet Nalun had only occupied a continent and had not even explored the entire world. They did not even know that their planet was in the shape of a sphere.

“Wait, other than this continent, there are still two more?” The Ocean Boundary King saw the main point and almost had a cardiac arrest.

The Ocean Boundary Kingdom was only one of the few kingdoms on the continent, and they still had to fight for domination against the other kingdoms. If there were really two other unoccupied continents, if their kingdom could take the lead to occupy them, they would gain an advantage in expansion.

Upon thinking of the possibilities of opening new territories, the Ocean Boundary King was so excited that he could hear the rapid pounding of his heart.

Suddenly, he came to his senses. He felt that all of this might not be true. Since he had no way of knowing the true appearance of the world, even if the deities decided to lie, he would not be able to unravel it.

Unable to suppress his suspicion, the Ocean Boundary King softly coughed before saying, “Respectful Deities, may I ask how to confirm the authenticity of this map. As you know, we’re all mortals, and without your powers, we have no way to cross the ocean in this continent to explore the world.”

The mission is not yet complete… Han Xiao was frowning but quickly smoothed his face as he said, “That’s right. In that case, I’ll let you see it for yourself.”

“See it for myself?” The Ocean Boundary King jerked.

Before he could react, Han Xiao grabbed him by his shoulder and formed a shield out of his nanoparticles.

Bang!

The next second, Han Xiao burst out toward the sky, smashing through the roof of the palace.

Flying up high, they quickly reached the atmospheric level, where one could barely overlook half of the entire planet. “Look, can you see it now? The world is round, and there are two continents over there…”

Han Xiao casually spoke before turning to look at the king. He only found that the king had turned pale white, his eyes rolling around while his whole body was frozen stuff, as though he had lost the ability to react.

“It seems like the stimulus was too much for him…”

Helplessly shaking his head, Han Xiao then descended and returned to the palace. The entire process did not even take a minute.

The moment Han Xiao took off, Wulis and Tomar had been stunned speechless. At this time, they saw the two of them return, and only then did they realize that they had still underestimated the powers of the deities. Their abilities were incomprehensible.

Han Xiao injected a shot of adrenaline into the Ocean Boundary King, and after he recovered, he shivered, his legs turning soft as he slumped to the ground. He could no longer maintain his proud front and only stared at Han Xiao in horror, speechless.

Before this, he had some doubts about the identity of the four ‘deities’, but he no longer dared to hold any. His bladder that almost leaked had completely replaced whatever he had for a brain, allowing his body to remember the reality that ‘deities’ could do anything.

“Do you believe it now?” Han Xiao smiled.

“Believe, I believe…” The Ocean Boundary King nodded, and besides respect, there was a fanaticism and piety within his eyes.

This was a miracle!

At this moment, he felt that he had finally found his calling.

Han Xiao’s interface was updated, and it showed that his task of showing miracles had been completed. He had obtained 1 Legendary Point.

Legendary Point (Planet Nalun): The God of the Mortal World

The miracle you have shown today will change the development trajectory of Planet Nalun to a certain extent. Your existence will seep into the history of this planet, and people will treat you as a religion and spread your divine light. Your influence will accompany this civilization for a long time.

Another Legendary Point obtained… Han Xiao grinned to himself.

After the Ocean Boundary King promised to establish a religion for the four of them, Han Xiao and his party left, disappearing in front of everyone’s eyes.

Tomar also became a member of the team. He had already agreed to follow Han Xiao to his ‘Divine Kingdom’. Because he was a standard orphan-type protagonist template, he had no strings attached and could roam freely.

Han Xiao felt that taking Tomar away was also a good thing for Planet Nalun. Tomar would be the first Naluner to enter the universe, just like him.

Because Tomar was a native of the planet, he had to open his eyes to the world and understand the true meaning of the universe.

After he had been systematically trained to maximize his talents and developed a stronger power, he could then use the resources obtained in the universe to feed Planet Nalun. This would bring more benefits to his motherland compared to him staying within.

Since the mission had already ended, Han Xiao did not tarry much longer on Planet Nalun and quickly took his group to board the spaceship, leaving the planet.

Tomar was extremely curious about everything on the spaceship, but he was also a little dazed, as the deities’ image in his mind differed from reality.

Han Xiao just threw him to Feidin, allowing him to complete Tomar’s enlightenment education.

As for himself, he returned to his room, looking through the news obtained this past half month.

The daily news of the Black Star Army was scanned, and Han Xiao flipped through his communicator before finding a message from Harrofal.

After seven years of no contact, Han Xiao was a little curious about what Harrofal wanted him to do.

With one glance, however, his facial expression changed.

The news was short, but the content gave him a headache. There was only a sentence written without any context. “It’s EsGod!”

Chapter 744: EsGod’s Intention The

Why mention EsGod suddenly?

Han Xiao frowned. Back when he was attacked by EsGod’s doppelganger, Harrofal had fought alongside him. After seven years, Harrofal had suddenly brought it up again, so something must have happened.

Without hesitation, Han Xiao sent a message to Harrofal directly to ask him what he meant.

However, after waiting for quite some time, Harrofal still did not reply.

Han Xiao suddenly had a bad feeling. He summoned Phillip and said with a deep voice, “Search keyword ‘Harrofal’ and show me the abnormal results.”

Phillip hummed and quickly completed the search.

“Master, hum… A few days ago, various news channels in the Tyla Civilization reported Harrofal’s death.”

He died a few days ago?

Han Xiao knew that something was wrong.

“Bring it up.”

Phillip played the related reports. After watching them, Han Xiao then figured out what had happened.

Just a few days ago, Harrofal was attacked in the government school of the Tyla Civilization. He was kidnapped in front of the public. Even the three Calamity Grades working in the school could not stop the kidnappers.

One day after the kidnappers left, Harrofal’s body was discovered. The message that Han Xiao had just received was sent by Harrofal before his death.

The news stated that the Tyla Civilization had confirmed one of the kidnappers’ identities through the traces left behind, and a bounty had been issued.

Han Xiao opened the bounty information, and the image showed a pale male.

“Orozen, Blood Race… a wanted criminal from sixty years ago,” Han Xiao murmured.

He did not recognize this man.

However, after linking it with Harrofal’s message, the answer was clear—this Orozen was most likely a subordinate sent by EsGod.

“Why did they attack Harrofal?” Han Xiao frowned.

From what he knew, the only link that they had with EsGod was from the battle that happened seven years ago. Could it be that EsGod was so petty that because his doppelganger was tricked, he sent subordinates for revenge?

He felt that this was the only logical reason.

However, EsGod was maniac, and maniacs were not associated with logic.

Han Xiao had no idea if EsGod knew his current strength. If he had only sent Calamity Grade subordinates, it would basically be feeding him kills. Since even his doppelganger had failed, EsGod would definitely not be expecting his Calamity Grade subordinates to succeed.

After some thought, Han Xiao’s eyes became firm.

“This means that these people are very likely to be able to summon EsGod’s doppelganger like the DarkStar leader did!” If this was really the case, it would be quite a tough situation.

Back then, he had been able to exile EsGod’s doppelganger because of the terrain advantage and Harrofal’s help, which he did not have now.

“I’m much stronger than before. After completing the Promotion after level 220, my health is almost double that of seven years ago. Plus, I have the Void Star Pursuer talent [Cosmic Environmental Adaptation], which greatly increases my defense. Even if I must face an EsGod doppelganger directly, I won’t be in as much of a disadvantageous position as I was seven years ago… Hmm, if it’s just a doppelganger, EsGod might not be able to threaten my life. Aurora’s potions also give me the equivalent of many lives…”

Han Xiao quickly analyzed the situation. As he realized that the situation was not that horrible, he was slightly relieved.

Fortunately, Version 3.0 had begun, and he had already gained enough experience from it to become stronger once again. If he had been the same as seven years ago, EsGod’s revenge would indeed have been very threatening to him.

After looking at news of Harrofal’s death carefully again, Han Xiao sighed and could only mourn for this old friend of his that had once fought alongside him.

This time, a new mission suddenly popped up on the interface.

You have triggered Grade A Bounty Mission [Harrofal’s Revenge].

Mission Introduction: Harrofal is an important member of the Tyla Civilization. He was murdered, and the killer has caused an extremely horrible impact. The Tyla Civilization has issued a bounty. Anyone that avenges Harrofal will receive a huge amount of reward.

Mission Requirements: Kill or capture the bounty target—Orozen.

Reward: 236,000,000 Experience, 8,000,000 Enas bounty, +1,800 Tyla Civilization Favorability.

To a Version 3.0 player, the difficulty of this mission is way above their abilities. No wonder the rewards are so good… Han Xiao tutted.

No players in Version 3.0 would be able to complete this mission. Missions with this kind of difficulty would only appear in at least two more versions.

However, Bounty Missions were not restricted by versions. Many people were wanted by civilizations or black markets. Even the players now would be able to accept Bounty Missions for Calamity Grades or even Beyond Grade As, just that they would certainly not be able to complete them.

For example, many Shattered Star Ring organizations had secretly issued bounties for Han Xiao on the black market, which totaled about ninety-two million Enas. This was an outrageous bounty for even major galactic pirates. However, most bounty hunters knew the limit of their capabilities, so no one would accept this kind suicide mission.

“The requirement is to avenge Harrofal…” Han Xiao murmured. “There’s no need to waste energy tracking the culprit; that is Tyla Civilization’s job. A Star Cluster civilization has more resources to track the culprit. It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack for me. If EsGod’s subordinates are looking for revenge, they will most likely come for me. I will just have to wait.”

After contemplating for a while, Han Xiao made up his mind. He was not planning to break his tempo of farming talents because of this mission.

If EsGod’s subordinates were not coming, it would save him some trouble, but if they were indeed after him, he did not mind getting rid of the mission target. He was rather confident in this. After all, the outside world did not know that he had made another breakthrough in terms of strength.

According to the combat experience from seven years ago, he would just about be able to endure the pressure from an EsGod doppelganger.

Of course, being confident was one thing. The Great Mechanic Han would not be less alert because of it.

“I still have to be cautious…”

At the same time in a certain area in the Shattered Star Ring, three curved spaceships slowly flew between an asteroid belt in stealth mode. There were signs of a battle on these ships. Nano Robots were repairing their armor.

Inside the main ship, Colin, Orozen, and the rest were looking at the data records of a wormhole detector. This was a device that they had received from Harrofal. Inside was the many years of data of studying the wormholes, among which was the data of the time when an EsGod doppelganger fell into the wormhole.

“Hmm… the dates align. This is the data that His Excellency EsGod wants.” Orozen grinned, showing a few fangs. “The memories I read are indeed correct.”

Orozen’s Esper ability was the rare ‘Race Strengthening’, which enhanced his Racial Talents as a member of the Blood Race. He had the ability to read the memories of the target whose blood he consumed. These people did not kidnap Harrofal to interrogate and torture him but to let Orozen suck his blood and get the intelligence they wanted. Harrofal’s cause of death was his blood being drained dry completely while he was still alive.

“But due to your stupidity, the Tyla Civilization discovered your identity,” Colin said coldly. “The entire Star Cluster civilization is now searching for us. Maybe they will be able to discover that we’re members of the Fallen Ark. If not because you’re still a little useful, I would’ve killed you.”

Orozen did not care at all. He leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said lazily, “So what? The Tyla Civilization won’t be able to catch up to our spaceships. Plus, this is the Shattered Star Ring, not the Central Galaxy ruled by the three Universal Civilizations.

“Is it necessary to be this careful? Might as well have some fun. So what if an organization in this remote Star Field discovers who we are? Can they go to the Central Galaxy to fight Fallen Ark?

“Plus, even if they really dare to go there, they will only end up being demolished by His Excellency EsGod.”

Colin snorted. “If any accidents happen during the operation, I will make you pay.”

“Instead of worrying about something so unimportant, how about sending the data back first?” Orozen shrugged and snickered.

Colin did not continue hanging onto the fact that their identities had been partially exposed. Through the super-long- range quantum communication device, he sent the wormhole data back to the Fallen Ark.

This way, the first mission given by His Excellency EsGod was complete.

Colin was rather satisfied with their efficiency. After planning for more than half a month, they had successfully kidnapped Harrofal and retrieved the data right away. The mission was going smoothly.

Since they had obtained the data, there was no need for them to find Black Star.

This team had three EsGod doppelgangers in their hands, which were all given different abilities. Colin did not want to waste any of them on Black Star—these were all important trump cards that EsGod had given them to steal the Evolution Cube.

Stealing the Evolution Cube from Psyker was the most important mission of this trip. Comparatively, kidnapping Harrofal was a walk in the park.

Colin clapped his hands and said with a deep voice, “The data has been sent. It’s time to get down to business. Psyker is a Beyond Grade A, so we need a detailed plan and a suitable opening.”

The three spaceships changed direction and headed to the Star System where Psyker resided.

In a desolate universe belt outside the Central Galaxy, the main army of the Fallen Ark was resting in their secret stronghold.

In the main ship, an officer woke EsGod up from his sleep.

“Your Excellency EsGod, the team we sent to the Shattered Star Ring had sent back the data you wanted.”

Upon hearing the officer’s report, EsGod woke up. The black vortex under his hood turned into a face. He then smiled strangely and said with a husky voice, “Good… good. Have the research team analyze this wormhole data and find the place that the other side of the wormhole was connected to at that time. I want to know the coordinates of that place in the universe.”

“Understood.”

“Hmm…let me think. Right, I told them to bring the Evolution Cube back. Have they succeeded?”

“They have yet to send any information related to that. They should still be on the task.”

EsGod slowly nodded and mumbled, “I have finally discovered where the Evolution Cube is. The Arcane Church has been looking for it for so long. They have no idea that the leftover records of the Evolutionary Civilization have always been in my head. I’m the rightful heir of the Evolution Cube. It can help me achieve a higher level of evolution. Psyker has no right to such a treasure…”

Chapter 745: 745 Tomar

745 Tomar

“My name is Tomar Tykin.

“I was born in Yellow Leaf Town of the Ocean Boundary Kingdom. I was adopted by the only orphanage in the town before I could remember, where I spent my childhood.

“I can still remember when I was six years old, I saw a few slightly older children from the town doing weird things to older sister Shanna in an alley two streets away from the orphanage.

“Sister Shanna was the oldest child in the orphanage. She always took care of everyone, and we all saw her as our older sister. She had freckles on her face. I think that she looked very pretty and gentle when she smiled with the dimples on her cheeks. I always dreamed of her when I was little.

“I thought that they were bullying older sister Shanna, so I picked up a stone and threw it at the forehead of one of them. Then, they beat me up. After growing up, only then did I know what they were doing to Shanna back then.

“After that, older sister Shanna left the town without saying goodbye. I don’t know where she went.

“Then, the guy whose forehead I hit went to the orphanage to complain. The head of the orphanage scolded me. I asked him why my parents didn’t have my back. He said that my parents died long ago. They went into the mountains to harvest things and met demonic spirits.

“Only then did I know that I had no one to rely on in this world.

“When I was ten, I left the orphanage and became an apprentice at the carpenters’ workshop in town.

“When I was fifteen, my teacher got a job that needed him to go to Stone Heart City, which was nearby. He brought us there, and after working there for half a month, we finally finished the job. On that night, Pilly cheekily said that he was going to take me to a good place. Pilly was the senior apprentice of the carpenter workshop, a few years older than me. Then, we went to a pub in Stone Heart City called ‘Honey’. That was the first time I ever drank. In that place, I saw Sister Shanna, whom I had not seen for many years.

“She was working in the pub. She had thick makeup on her face, and she smiled more than before. But her smile looked fake to me. It reminded me of the smiley-faced dolls I carved hundreds of times.

“Her job was to take food to the guests. When she passed by, there were always people who placed their hands on her body. Every time that happened, she smiled more clearly and even faker. I remember that she was still very young, but I noticed that she already had wrinkles at the edges of her eyes.

“Pilly said that I was an adult now. He had already paid, so Sister Shanna would take me to the second floor and help me to become an adult. Only then did I realize that she had become a prostitute, and her business was quite good.

Many people paid for her.

“I remember how my mind became blank. I fought with Pilly but lost. He was taller and tougher than me. I was pressed on the floor and beaten up badly. Sister Shanna did not come to help. I don’t know if she recognized me.

“After that, I was thrown out of the pub. My eyes swollen, and my body hurt, but I did not want to return to the hotel and wandered around the streets.

__On that night, I met a wizard.

“Sometimes, I can’t help but admit how unpredictable life can be. When I was a kid, I never thought that I would become a wizard in the future.

“Over the next five years, I learned all kinds of spells and ways to make magic potions in Stone Heart City. Mister Lanley always praised me, saying that I’m talented. I don’t know if he meant it… Anyhow, I stepped into another hidden world. My old life became distant and unreachable.

“The others set a goal for me—to beat a person called Vosumede. Although I didn’t know him, everyone said that he’s my enemy.

“When I was twenty, I met four people who called themselves deities. I never thought that this would be the turning point of my life.

“Their appearance changed everything. They easily completed the goal that us wizards in the gathering point had spent fifty years fighting for. I saw my enemy, Vosumede, for the first time, and then he was casually killed by the deities.

“The deities chose me and brought me to the Kingdom of Deities. I thought I would then become a faithful believer, but everything that happened after overthrew my knowledge of everything.

“We boarded a huge metal box, and this box could actually fly. When we entered the sky, I realized that my world was actually a ball!

“Why is it a ball? I don’t understand!

“The God of Luck told me that the world I was in is called Nalun. It’s something called a planet. Outside the planet is a place called the universe. In the universe, there are countless planets like Planet Nalun.

“I was really shocked, more shocked than when I realized the existence of deities. I never could have thought of something like this even in my wildest imaginations.

“However, the God of Luck then told me that them being so called deities was just a joke. They were just visitors from the universe, and I’m the only one from Planet Nalun to enter the galaxy. I could not believe that this had happened to me!

“He said that his name was Feidin, and he told me what the real world was like. This completely shattered my past world view.

“Feidin said that they were all members of the Black Star Army. That guy who tricked me is the leader of the army. I have never seen someone this shameless before…

“Nonetheless, I felt gratitude toward him. If he had not chosen me, I would have forever been an ignorant native like Feidin said, never getting to know the truth of the universe. His Excellency Black Star changed my entire life.

The Black Star Army seems to be a very strong organization in the universe, and I became a member of the Black Star Army… Alright, I’m used to things like this. Just like back in the gathering point, I once again joined an organization out of nowhere.

“For many days, I was confused and lost. While Feidin taught me the general knowledge of the world, he told me that if I don’t know what to do, I should take helping my mother planet as my life goal—this is the destiny of a pioneer of a civilization.

“Honestly, I like this destiny.

“Mister Feidin helped me a lot. I think he’s a good man. He looks nice when he smiles, like Sister Shanna in the past.

“After a few days, I was sent up to another spaceship. They were sending me to the Black Star Army headquarters to learn magic. They said that I’m talented. Sigh, why does everyone think I’m a magic genius? Isn’t magic very simple?

“I was handed over to a person that looked miserable and depressed. He said that he would be my teacher from now on.

“Honestly, I don’t think he’s a suitable teacher. He told me, ‘Magic is actually not that useful. Just learn something so that I can say I’ve done my part.'”

Three months later, on Planet Macipher…

This was a well known, neutral planet in the Shattered Star Ring, located at the edge of the Star Field and not ruled by any civilization.

At this moment, Han Xiao’s spaceship was hovering above Planet Macipher.

Three months had passed since his trip to Planet Nalun.

In those three months, the biggest battle up till now had erupted in the secret war. As the Crimson Dynasty leaked rumors about the negotiation starting to come to an end, Section Zero and the Bloodshed Land began an all-out war to delay the time. The two sides gave up all conservative strategies and fought head-on.

The warfare was tragic. In just the short three months, the Calamity Grades that died on both sides added up to close to a hundred.

Han Xiao did not participate, and Purple Crystal allowed that, but the Black Star Army had to fight given how many resources they had consumed.

The army was led by Lagi and Herlous. The players were given suicidal missions, so the number of casualties of lower- middle combatants was kept to an acceptable range. As for the high-level combatants, without their leader, Black Star, many Calamity Grades were injured. However, Han Xiao told Aurora to make some super strong recovery potions that saved lives in crucial times. Thanks to that, none of the high-level combatants of the army died.

During all that, Han Xiao took Hila, Aurora, and Feidin to travel all around the Star Field to do side missions. Tomar was the only protagonist character that he had been able to woo. This leek was given to Lagi to slowly cultivate. Han Xiao had obtained five new talents in the past three months.

Three of them were common talents, and two were rare talents. All of them were useful in some way. His actual combat capability increased to a certain extent. However, the most important thing that he received was not those talents but the Experience that he had been hoarding throughout the three months.

The senior players and new players of the army provided him with plenty of Experience. According to his calculation, that Experience was more than enough for him to level up to above level 235. He was getting closer to level 240.

The speed of getting Experience is faster than I expected. It seems to be because these new players are starting to learn Advanced Knowledges as well. At this rate, in about half a month, my Experience would be enough for me to reach level 240…

Inside the spaceship, Han Xiao was rather excited.

He had yet to use the Experience on leveling up—this was mainly because he wanted to use the Experience as a trump card for dealing with the possible revenge of EsGod’s subordinates.

However, after waiting for three months, EsGod’s subordinates had yet to appear.

Since the enemies did not appear, he was in no hurry to level up. After all, the Experience was not going anywhere. Thus, Han Xiao continued to farm talents. Planet Macipher was his next stop.

This neutral planet was known for two things—their enormous black market that consisted of countless products and their developed galactic shipyard industry.

There were a ton of mechanical and magic based shipyards there. A large number of spaceship models could be ordered there. Many galactic travelers went to Planet Macipher to build ships.

As it was a neutral planet, Planet Macipher was filled with all kinds of people. The shipyards did not care about the guests’ identity; anyone could make an order as long as they paid for it. Quite a number of galactic pirates or wanted criminals would put on a disguise and go there to purchase and resupply their spaceships.

Neutral planets always had a powerful ruler, and Planet Macipher was no exception. The owner of this planet was called Sardeem, nicknamed ‘Giant Soldier Architect’, a powerful Grade A+ Mechanic.

However, Han Xiao’s goal for this trip was not him.

Through the spaceship porthole, Han Xiao looked down on the metal planet surface of Planet Macipher. He then turned around to the others and said, “Let’s put on a disguise. We’re not using our real faces here.”

As he spoke, Han Xiao placed a transparent membrane on his face. Electrical circuits flashed on the membrane surface and turned into the face of another person.

This was a mask that he had learned to make a long time ago. The technology used in it had been updated dozens of times, and it was much more undetectable.

Hila and the others did not ask why and wore the membranes to disguise themselves—they had become used to Han Xiao’s strange actions in the past three months.

There was an obtainable Mechanic class talent on Planet Macipher. Its effect was to enhance the ability to build machines.

This was a mission exclusive to Mechanics. He had to apply for employment in a certain shipyard and become a shipbuilder. Of course, with Black Star’s identity, there was no doubt that he would not become a shipbuilder of a shipyard. Thus, Han Xiao had to disguise himself, cover up his handsome face, and be an ordinary man temporarily. Only then would he be able to trigger the mission.

After I’m done with this mission, I should have around enough Experience to reach level 240…

Han Xiao took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and gave the order to Phillip.

“Descend.”

Chapter 746: 746 Planet Macipher and the Cornerstone Summit Corporation

746 Planet Macipher and the Cornerstone Summit Corporation

As Planet Macipher was not a colonial planet but an industrial neutral planet that would naturally attract people, there were only five cities on the planet’s surface—one main city and four sub cities. Han Xiao landed in the main city, which was the biggest.

Looking down from above, Planet Macipher had a very strong industrial theme. It was mainly made up of large spaceship yards. Some were even assembling large spaceships in the open, and the skeletons of these spaceships could be seen from above. There were no actual residences on the planet, only the hostels for the Mechanic workers and entertainment facilities, as well as all sorts of hotels for the galactic travelers.

At the heart of the city was a conch-shaped mechanical hovering city—this was the base of ‘Giant Soldier Architect’ Sardeem. It was wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. Sixteen two-hundred-and-forty-meter-tall sentry-type mechanical Giant Soldiers were mounted at the base of the hovering city, which were all in standby mode and would automatically be activated when attacked. They were very powerful.

The three branches of the Mechanic class all had their specialties. Sardeem was clearly an Armed Branch Grade A+ Mechanic that mastered building powerful mechanical Giant Soldiers.

Planet Macipher had eight planet surface ports. Han Xiao’s spaceship followed the instructions from the surface and landed in Surface Port 3 before entering the hangar. After Han Xiao went through the simple procedures, he led the disguised Hila and the others out of the port, mixing into the crowd and entering the city.

There were beings from all kinds of races on the streets—human-like beings and even some pedipalp beings—all galactic residents from different Star Clusters. The universal translator allowed them to communicate with each other at ease.

“It’s so boisterous here. Both are neutral planets. Why is Floating Dragon so quiet?” Aurora looked around curiously.

“Well, that’s because Floating Dragon doesn’t have a specialty, and it’s not friendly to foreign financial groups.”

Han Xiao shook his head and smiled. Places with Beyond Grade As in them were always popular. The reason that Floating Dragon did not prosper was completely due to their strategy—Ames did not want to develop Floating Dragon at all.

Furthermore, from the aspect of the territory type, Planet Macipher was a pure industrial planet while Floating Dragon was Ames’ home. The management mode and openness of the two were different.

Sardeem had enough strength to be the boss of an organization. He was also a Mechanic who was good at attracting investments and businesses. Thus, it was easy for him to make a place popular.

This time, the sound of energy spraying flashed past the sky. They looked up, and a team of mechanical soldiers happened to pass by. They were the armed forces that Sardeem used to maintain the law. They were also his own mechanical troops.

Opening a neutral planet is quite profitable. Hmm, although my Black Star Army is at a higher level, making a neutral industrial planet seems to be quite a good idea. It can gather more leeks…Hmm, but that’s a matter to think about after the secret war ends…

Han Xiao caressed his chin and pondered about the business expansion of the army.

Black Star’s name was quite well known in the Shattered Star Ring. Fortunately, they had put on a disguise, so no one recognized him. The group boarded ground vehicles and went to a shipyard at the center area of the main city.

This shipyard was extremely large and grand. Han Xiao and the rest stopped outside the gate and looked up at the colorful floating virtual signboard. On it were the words ‘Cornerstone Summit Corporation’ written in Universal Language.

This was one of the most credible and reputable shipyards on Planet Macipher.

This is the right place.” Han Xiao nodded. He opened the communicator. On it was the hiring notice of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation.

This kind of large shipyards recruited Mechanics constantly. The minimum requirement was Grade Cs or owners of a Mechanic Technician Work Permit distributed by a Star System civilization—just like companies in the real world that required minimum education qualifications.

Han Xiao did not have a Machinery Technician Work Permit. This was something that only those Supers focusing on researching and life skills needed. Its main purpose was to make things more convenient for research personnel and technicians that did not like fighting. Han Xiao had never had a need for this. Plus, with his Grade, he would get it easily without any tests if he wanted to.

Supers had extraordinary powers. Some used this power for violence—such as the galactic pirates, mercenaries, and bounty hunters. Some used this power to produce and manufacture things. Supers were also important labor and production forces in the galactic society.

Among which, the business of Mechanics and Mages was the most popular. Some Espers with special Esper abilities also had quite good business, and Psychics were suitable for therapy, reconnaissance, and the like. Pugilists were the only ones that had very worrying futures in the business world. After all, Pugilists were the best in manual labor jobs, which was something even robots could do but for a much cheaper price. After all, who would hire Pugilists just to carry things around the site?

Han Xiao and the rest walked into the shipyard. There were many guests in the reception hall who were all there to order spaceships. They were using the self-service screens to browse through the spaceship models available and make orders.

Han Xiao went to an unoccupied self-service screen and pressed on manual service instantly. The next moment, the image on the screen changed into a pretty lady receptionist of the Galaxy Human Race.

“Hello, welcome to the Cornerstone Summit Corporation. How may I help you?”

“I’m a Mechanic here to look for employment.” Han Xiao expressed his intentions. The disguise was effective, and he would not be recognized.

“Okay, please follow the reception robot. You will be led to an interviewer.

A palm-sized, spherical robot wearing a mini receptionist uniform flew over. It was really adorable. It bowed and led the way.

They left the reception hall, passed by the exterior factories, and entered a huge workshop. Han Xiao immediately saw quite a few low-level Mechanics working on the various workbenches, assembling parts.

This time, an old man approached. His white hair was tied into a braid behind his head, and he was smiling. He looked rather amiable.

“Hi, I’m a Senior Machinery Engineer of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, Luke.”

Right, I need an alias as well… Han Xiao smiled and said, “I’m Barne.”

Luke paused and said with a deep voice, “Cornerstone Summit Corporation is constantly recruiting Mechanics. You should’ve seen the requirements. Which kind of test would you like to take? Showing your permit or testing your Grade?”

Testing my Grade.”

Luke nodded. He raised his hand and released a wave of Mechanical Force. He then grabbed the reception robot in his hand. The energy that he emitted had reached the Grade B standard.

He secretly sized Han Xiao up. Seeing that Han Xiao’s expression did not change, he then pressed a few more times on the reception robot. A probe popped out from the head of the robot. This was a device used to detect a person’s Energy Rank.

“I assume you know how to use this thing. Just release your Mechanical Force toward the probe,” Luke said.

Han Xiao exhaled deeply and carefully controlled the Mechanical Force inside his body. He worried that he might release too much of it and expose his Grade A identity.

A stream of Mechanical Force shot out from his fingertips. As Luke saw the results, his expression changed immediately, and his tone suddenly became enthusiastic.

You’re a Grade B+ Mechanic?”

That was still too much… Han Xiao thought in resignation.

Grade B+ was basically the top talent that a shipyard could employ. Although Calamity Grades were common in the secret war, they were exceedingly rare in normal galactic life. There was no way a Grade A would look for a job in a normal shipyard like this.

“Are there any other tests?”

“No, no, we will immediately give you the Senior Engineer position and salary. This is what someone at your Grade deserves.”

Luke was very enthusiastic. In the corporation, being Grade B was the basic requirement of becoming a Senior Engineer, but one still had to accumulate contributions before becoming one. Anyone at Grade B+, however, could become a Senior Engineer immediately.

“Please wait a moment. I will tell my superiors to discuss with you directly.”

Then, he turned around and instantly reported the situation to his higher ups before passionately escorting Han Xiao around to tour the various areas of the shipyard.

Not long after, a few Cornerstone Summit Corporation managers arrived and sincerely discussed the terms with Han Xiao. Han Xiao came just for the talent, so the two-year contract was very quickly agreed and signed by both parties, which included the usual terms such as not allowing Han Xiao to leak some blueprints and such.

Of course, Han Xiao was not planning to comply with the contract. He signed the contract as ‘Barne’ and planned to leave as soon as he received the talent. Even if his real identity was exposed someday, with his position in the galaxy, would this shipyard dare to go after him for breaching the contract?

Furthermore, he was not planning on hurting their profit.

I, a peak Calamity Grade, am working for you. What else do you want?

As the contract was signed, Luke smiled and shook hands with Han Xiao.

“The Cornerstone Summit Corporation welcomes you.”

Han Xiao nodded. “What project do I need to be responsible for?”

“Hmm, well, the corporation recently accepted a high-level order from one of our big customers. They provided the blueprint and asked us to mass produce a rather rare battleship model. Our assembly lines are unable to build some parts of it that require very advanced technology. Only Grade B Mechanics and above are able to learn and build these extremely complicated blueprints. Therefore, we used many of our Senior Engineers, but the progress is not optimal at the moment…’

“Understood, so my job is to build some of these parts.” Han Xiao nodded.

Yes. I shall first arrange your accommodation, then I will give a part of the blueprint to you. You have five days to learn the blueprint before borrowing the corporation’s factory to build it. Every Senior Engineer has a quota to meet. You’re new, so your schedule might be a little packed,” Luke explained.

Five days is completely unnecessary. Just give me the blueprint and I will learn it within a second… Han Xiao laughed in his mind. Plus, with the manufacturing ability of a Calamity Grade, mass building spaceship parts was a piece of cake.

Finally, a mission popped up on the interface.

[Engineer]

Mission Introduction: First line in the Mechanic Code of Conduct—A Mechanic’s career is incomplete without the experience of using others’ resources to train oneself!

Mission Requirements: Using the Cornerstone Summit Corporation’s resources, build 1,500 products of any type (must be for the corporation).

Current Progress: 0/1,500

Reward: 6,500,000 Experience, [Proficient Technician] talent.

It finally triggered. Han Xiao was joyous.

Although the name of this talent was a little boring, its effects were rather good. Talents that could strengthen the main class were always valuable.

He now had a total of twelve Mechanic type talents—[Energy Modification], [Machinery Analytical Comprehension], [Virtual Technology Essence], [Machinery Theory Summary], [Military Machinery Enlightenment], [Flexible Weapon Usage], [Super Electromagnetic Sense], [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense], [Assembly Line Professional], [High Level Mechanical Suit Pilot], [Machinery Truth Knowledge], and [Mechanical Force Ascension-Apostle Body]. Most of them came from the Class Advancement of his main class.

The bonuses from these Mechanic type talents added up to a considerable amount.

For the rest of the day, Luke accompanied Han Xiao to know more about the areas within the shipyard. When night arrived, his accommodation was finally arranged. He would be staying in the high-level hostel at the internal area of the corporation. The other three had been acting as his bodyguards, so they moved in as well.

After they finished unpacking, Aurora could not help but ask, “Uncle, do you have some other motive for working here?”

“Oh?” Han Xiao wondered.

You actually want to steal their blueprints, right?” Aurora said with an excited tone and a smug expression.

“You’re overthinking this. I don’t need to do such low standard things.” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. “If I wanted a blueprint, I can just buy it. I’m not poor.”

“Black Star, we’re not really going to stay here for two years, are we?” Feidin suddenly asked.

“Of course not, what are you thinking?”

Feidin sighed. “We’ve followed you around for three months. You said this was to experience different lives and see more things, but I really can’t figure out how this will help you to break through and reach Beyond Grade A.”

Han Xiao had no choice but to create an excuse. “I fought a seven-year-long war and did not improve much if at all. Maybe relaxing will give me something different.”

“Anyway,” Feidin said with resignation, “you have to know that you really don’t have much time left. If you aren’t able to break through, it’s best to make plans. Be it asking for the Dragon Emperor’s help or escaping the Shattered Star Ring, you have to at least have a plan.”

You’re saying it in a way as if I’m near my doom… It would be great if you’re Lagi…

This time, someone rang the doorbell. Luke walked in carrying a thick stack of blueprints, placed them on the table, and chatted for a while before leaving.

These were the blueprints for three parts—to prevent the technology of the entire spaceship being leaked, every Senior Engineer received blueprints of different parts and was responsible for the production of those parts.

Han Xiao quickly browsed through the blueprints in less than a minute. The blueprints of these three parts were recognized by the interface and quickly turned into abilities, fully learned by Han Xiao.

“The technology level of these three parts is a little high. Usual spaceships won’t need to use these three parts. Only super large spaceships do…”

Han Xiao was stunned.

If he was not wrong, only spaceships using Star Cluster level technology would need these three parts…

Linking these factors together… could the order that the Cornerstone Summit Corporation had received be to build a Star Cluster grade flagship? Like the Star Diamond Grade Flagship of the Purple Crystal Civilization?

That would be a secret manufacturing process even for Star Cluster civilizations!

Han Xiao was tempted. He was not an Armed Branch Mechanic and always had a shortage of blueprints for large machines. All he had that was considerably impactful was the armed satellite fortress. If he could obtain the blueprint of a Star Cluster grade flagship, it would be an amazing surprise.

Chapter 747: 747 Eternal Light and Sardeem’s Attention

747 Eternal Light and Sardeem“s Attention

The next day, Han Xiao arrived at the shipyard early in the morning and was ready to craft the spaceship parts assigned to him.

For the sake of secrecy, the blueprint of the spaceship would be split into different groups and given to different Senior Engineers to complete. The core components of the spaceship would be crafted by the direct subordinates of the organization. New engineers like him usually would not be involved in such a large order.

The Cornerstone Summit Corporation considered the problem of the deadline and also the Grade B+ strength that Han Xiao had displayed. Thus, they had pulled him into their plans. However, they would never pass the core portions of the blueprint to him.

The three components that Han Xiao was in charge of had a high technical requirement but were not core components. Because it was a high-grade made-to-order component, the corporation did not have a corresponding assembly line. As such, the high-grade engineers were put to use.

He originally did not plan to steal the blueprint, but if it was a Star Cluster grade flagship… cough cough… since it was the job of a Mechanic, could it be considered stealing?

He planned to make use of his Virtual Technology skill to infiltrate the database of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation. He should be able to steal the basic framework of the Star Cluster grade flagship. The virtual engineer that the Cornerstone Summit Corporation had hired to guard their database was no more than a little brother in front of him. He could easily take a stroll in the other party’s backyard without anyone noticing.

Most important blueprints were still being kept in hardcopy format. Although such a method was pretty prehistoric, it would never become outdated. After all, Virtual Mechanics were infamous all around the world, and no one wanted their own database to be eyed up by others every day.

The Cornerstone Summit Corporation was currently rushing to complete an order, and his construction speed was his advantage. As long as he could complete the quota on his hands, the corporation would probably give him the blueprints of a few more parts for him to construct. He could then farm for progress points for his mission.

As long as he found a way to steal the remaining parts of the blueprint, he would be able to complete the blueprints of the entire flagship.

Upon arriving at the work region for high grade engineers, Han Xiao immediately saw Luke and greeted him.

“Bame, why are you here?” Luke was a little surprised.

“Why do you look so surprised?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“I thought that you would spend the entire day learning the blueprints. If you want to view your workbench, I will get someone to show you around. The deadline is coming up, and I am extremely busy. I will not have time for anything else.”

Luke thought that Han Xiao was there to familiarize himself with his workplace.

Han Xiao shook his head and said, “You misunderstand. I’m here to start work.”

Luke’s eyes widened upon hearing that. “You only needed a single night to leam the blueprints I gave you?’_

This efficiency was way too high, right?

He was truly in disbelief. The parts of these high-grade spaceships were extremely complicated, and he had needed a full three days to grasp them. The way he saw it, Han Xiao should have needed a day or two to learn it at the very least. However, to think that he was actually able to leam them in a single night!

Han Xiao looked at Luke, who was in a daze, and said, “I shall get to work if there isn’t anything else.”

Luke snapped out of his daze and hurriedly said, “Alright, alright, I won’t disturb you anymore.”

Han Xiao nodded and entered his workshop.

Luke only retracted his gaze when he saw Han Xiao close the door. This new colleague Barne was even more amazing than he had thought.

The access card of a Senior Engineer could gain access to a high-grade workshop of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation. The facilities of the workshop were extremely complete, and although it could not be compared to his personal workshop in the Black Star Army, it was still extremely valuable.

Closing the door, Han Xiao was the only one left in the workshop. He then looked around at the workshop and nodded.

“They gave me a deadline of half a month to complete my parts, but I will only need half a day to complete them. Hmm, I think this is a little too exaggerated. I should slow down a bit and drag it out for three days…”

Clank!

Han Xiao then flicked out a series of compressed orbs to form various different assistants. These were specially modified machines that he had constructed personally and were peak Grade A+ machines. These machines could not be bought on the market and were his personal equipment.

Buzz!

Mechanical Force shot out from his arms, and his assistants all began to spring into action. They then made use of all the various materials and began their construction.

His large pool of experience was the reason behind why he was not afraid of the Soul Embryo. As he constructed the parts, he used his [Quantum Network Matrix] to connect to the network of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation and infiltrated their database.

Han Xiao’s Virtual Technology skill was more than sufficient to deal with the firewall of an ordinary shipyard corporation. He easily hid his tracks and went past the firewall and alarm of the database. He then got Phillip to make a copy of all their information.

“Let me see what kind of good stuff there is…” Han Xiao was in a good mood.

An endless stream of information appeared in his mind, including records of all the Cornerstone Summit Corporation’s past transactions. After eliminating all the useless information from his mind, Han Xiao dug out a bunch of useful information.

Blueprints of high-grade spaceships would not be kept in the database, and a special safe would have been constructed to store it. However, the location of the safe was not located on the map, so he did not know the location of the blueprints.

The blueprints kept within the database were those of ordinary spaceships, but Han Xiao would not reject any freebies and accepted them all. Even the meat of a mosquito was considered meat. Furthermore, he had the talent [Research Theory] and would gain one Intelligence point for every three skills. It would only benefit him to learn more blueprint skills.

After searching for a while, Han Xiao finally found information about what he was looking for—the recent large order for the Cornerstone Summit Corporation.

“Eternal Light fortress?” Han Xiao was stunned.

This flagship model was truly too famous. It was not the product of any Star Cluster civilization within the Shattered Star Ring but one of the flagship models of the Federation of Light!

Although the Eternal Light was not the trump card flagship of a Universal Civilization, it was still a top model. In ordinary galactic wars, this was one of the main flagships of the Federation of Light. The combat capability of the Eternal Light was comparable to Star Cluster level flagships and was even stronger in terms of energy. Furthermore, the cost to construct it was also cheaper, and it was one of the flagships within the Federation of Light that had a lower technical requirement.

Battleship blueprints of the Federation of Light could not even be found on the black market. To think that an ordinary shipyard in the Shattered Star Ring was actually able to construct the high-grade battleship of a Universal Civilization.

Is there a reason behind this?

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he could not help but think about various possibilities.

For the Federation of Light to secretly employ local workshops in the Shattered Star Ring to construct battleships, are they actually trying to build up their forces in this Star Field? Could it be that they’re about to make a big move? If that’s the case, the Cornerstone Summit Corporation shouldn’t be the only corporation constructing Federation of Light battleships.

Eh, that’s not right. The Federation of Light should have their own secret warehouses in the Shattered Star Ring, so there’s no need for them to outsource production. Furthermore, the only reason for them to build up their forces in the Shattered Star Ring would be to fight against the Crimson Dynasty… Could it be that their negotiations with the Crimson Dynasty are no more than a farce and they wish to occupy the Flickering World with force?

That doesn’t seem too likely. Not to mention the fact that there wasn’t such a storyline in my previous life, if the Federation of Light wanted to do so, they would have sent an army already…

After exploring the different options, Han Xiao had a more reliable guess.

This matter should not be related to the Federation of Light. Perhaps an individual got the blueprints from some unknown channel and placed an order with the Cornerstone Summit Corporation for them to aid with the construction.

If that was the case, this large customer would either have extremely close ties with the Cornerstone Summit Corporation or was an existence that the corporation could not afford to offend. If not, they would not dare to casually provide such a valuable blueprint.

If this is the case, stealing the blueprint will be even more difficult than I imagined. I may even offend a powerful organization in the process…

Han Xiao frowned slightly.

I am ‘Barne’ now and not ‘Black Star’ anyway. What has Barne stealing blueprints got to do with Black Star?

He can just steal the blueprints and run away.

However, the basic framework of the Eternal Light fortress was stored within the database. The framework of the spaceship referred to the outer armor and components of the spaceship and formed the outer shell of the spaceship. It was akin to the skeleton and skin of a spaceship and did not have any core technical skills involved. Because the external frame of such a large flagship would usually be constructed outside the atmosphere, the technical skills involved were extremely high and required the aid of an artificial intelligence. Thus, the blueprints of the framework were entered into the database.

The core components of a spaceship included the energy furnace, shield generator, hyperdrive engine, and many more. All those components formed the organs of the spaceship and were much more important than the outer frame.

As Han Xiao viewed the framework of the Eternal Light fortress, a notification popped up on his interface.

You have received [Battleship Blueprint: Eternal Light (Incomplete)!

It’s fine even if it’s incomplete. I’d better get the other parts of the blueprint… Han Xiao thought to himself.

Over the next ten or so days, Han Xiao hid himself within the shipyard to construct components, and the progress of his [Engineer] mission shot up.

He completed the first target in three days, and the upper echelons of the corporation were stunned.

After checking to ensure that there were no problems with the quality of the components, the upper echelons all felt that they had truly picked up a treasure. They then passed the blueprints of a few more parts to Han Xiao, and he completed them in less than two days.

The upper echelons of the corporation then gave Han Xiao a few more blueprints, which were completed extremely quickly. However, the upper echelons immediately fell into a conundrum. Han Xiao’s efficiency had far exceeded their expectations, and they were faced with a problem. If things continued as such, this new recruit ‘Barne’ would learn of many more blueprints. If this continued, it would go against their initial plans of splitting up the blueprint into parts to lower their risk.

Just when the upper echelons were hesitating, the big boss behind the corporation came to inspect their progress.

In the conference room, Sardeem flipped through the latest report of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, and his gaze swept over the managers who were by the side.

“I am disappointed in your efficiency. Why isn’t the Eternal Light constructed yet?”

“Your Excellency Sardeem, this is the flagship model of a Universal Civilization. We can’t construct it quickly with our technical skills. Furthermore, our corporation only has one Grade B+ engineer at the very most, and the production capability of those high-grade components is too low…”

“Oh?” Sardeem narrowed his eyes. “I truly wonder if all of your attention is only on the sales figures of the shipyard. All of you only want to increase your sales figures for the outside world and don’t want to do your jobs?”

You… you misunderstood us. We do not have such thoughts!” The expressions of the upper echelons changed greatly, and they hurriedly defended themselves.

Although they were the upper echelons of the corporation, Sardeem was the true boss, and the Cornerstone Summit Corporation was actually Sardeem’s property. Apart from accepting the orders of the outside world, their other responsibility was to produce machines for Sardeem.

If Sardeem was the ruler of Planet Macipher, then the Cornerstone Summit Corporation was a state enterprise. As long as Sardeem was willing, he would be able to easily take back the authority of those managers.

Constructing the Eternal Light fortress was a mission that Sardeem had given the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, and the blueprint belonged to him.

“Don’t forget whose subordinates all of you are,” Sardeem warned. “I will give you four more months. If all of you still cannot complete the Eternal Light…”

The upper echelons hurriedly expressed their loyalty. “Don’t worry, we will definitely construct it.”

Sardeem then nodded and suddenly asked after reading the report, “You hired a new Senior Engineer?”

“Yes, he is called Barne.”

Sardeem then pointed at the data displayed on the report. “Even if he is a Grade B+ Mechanic, his efficiency is extremely rare. Hmm, there are two possibilities. He may be an extremely talented Mechanic with the potential to become a Calamity Grade Super, or… he hid his strength because of some motive.”

The upper echelons were stunned. “What should we do?”

“You do not need to bother about this.”

Sardeem waved his arms and revealed an excited look.

“If it is the former, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to take in a disciple with potential. If it is the latter, it may be even better.”

All the upper echelons then looked at each other.

“Then how should we arrange his job? Do we continue to let him construct the Eternal Light? With his efficiency, he will probably learn a large number of blueprints.”

Sardeem’s mouth curled up, and he said, “We just need to protect the blueprints of the core components. There’s no need to be worried about the other parts being leaked.”

“Alright.” No one dared to rebut.

Sardeem then stood up and had a teasing look in his eyes. “Observe him for a while. I will find the time to come into contact with him. I think that he will be an interesting fellow.”

The sea of stars was boundless, and the universe was endless.

The Shattered Star Ring was at the edge of the explored universe. This Star Field was split into more than ten Star Clusters and at least a thousand Star Systems.

Among all these Star Systems, the Eternal Night Star System was one of the most special ones.

Because a new Star Cluster Civilization was being born in this Star System.

Under the lead of their leader, their civilization rose at an unprecedented speed. Their race evolved at an unbelievable rate, and their race would forever remember the glory that their leader brought them. They changed the name of their race and were called the Star Pupil Holy Race.

Psyker was the leader of this civilization.

Today, the Star Pupil Holy Race welcomed an uninvited guest.

Chapter 748: 748 Target: Evolution Cube!

748 Target: Evolution Cube!

Planet Avitan of the Eternal Night Star System was not the Star Pupil Holy Race’s mother planet. It was a highly developed administrative planet. Its location was optimal, and it was an important financial center. There were more than twelve billion residents on this planet.

In a certain main city on Planet Avitan, hovering carriers flitted between the tall buildings. The Star Pupil Holy Race people who were born with the ability to fly were travelling in the sky following the traffic rules. The city was peaceful and prosperous.

However, on this day, the peace on Planet Avitan was shattered.

A crimson meteor suddenly appeared and started descending extremely quickly from outer space. The radars did not detect the movement of this meteor before this at all, as if it had appeared out of nowhere.

The meteor descended at an extremely high speed, right toward this main city. The time in which the fleet stationed at Planet Avitan could react was very little.

Countless fully automatic planetary defense formations deployed outside the planet’s atmosphere quickly responded, releasing an enormous amount of dark energy and forming a net that extended more than a hundred miles, standing in the path of the meteor’s descent.

Such devices were usually used to stop meteor showers. The dark energy was close to materializing. It had extremely strong elasticity, toughness, and extensibility. The net could make use of the tens of thousands of meters between the atmosphere and the ground as the buffer zone to shroud the meteor and stop it.

However, the meteor penetrated this dark energy net instantly like a knife cutting through silk.

The automatic defense formation immediately started executing the second plan. It launched countless homing annihilation beams, attempting to turn the meteor into dust midair, but to no avail. It was as if the meteor was indestructible while at the same time having some kind of anti-lock on ability, causing the majority of the beams to miss.

Looking down from above, the blocks of strange black marks caused by the annihilation beams could clearly be seen. Woo!

At the same time, an air strike alarm rang throughout the city that the meteor was falling toward. Countless entrances of underground shelters appeared on the city surface. Most of the citizens quickly hid in the underground shelters nearby. Very soon, the streets became empty.

They activated a gigantic protective shield, which shrouded the entire city, in an attempt to stop the impact of the meteor head-on. Thousands of antiaircraft cannons extended from below the ground of the edges of the city and fired simultaneously at the meteor in the sky.

Outside the city’s protective shield, the Calamity Grade Star Pupil Holy Race Super protecting the city floated in midair.

The black-red meteor covered in burning flames enlarged quickly in his blue eyes.

“The flames are too thick. I can’t see the exact shape of this meteor. It’s almost reached the ground. I have to stop it now!”

The protector was a Calamity Grade Psychic. He looked up at the accelerating meteor and released all his psychic energy, hoping to stop the meteor or at least alter its course.

However, to his absolute shock, he realized that his psychic energy disappeared as soon as it touched the meteor. He could not do anything to it at all.

“What the hell is this thin…”

The next moment, the speed of the meteor suddenly increased again as it strongly penetrated the protective shield and landing right in the city.

Bang!

A several-hundred-meter-wide crater appeared on the ground. The tornado-like flames quickly dissipated, showing the true identity of this ‘meteor’. It was a completely black human-shaped being, like a cluster of fog, emitting black smoke from all over its body. It had no face, only a vortex on its head with a red dot of light in the middle, as if that was its core.

It was an EsGod doppelganger!

The observation satellite of Planet Avitan recorded this and broadcasted it live to the other cities on the planet. The EsGod doppelganger was being watched by more than ten billion people.

The garrison on Planet Avitan had already noticed this. The protector of the city and the guards were trying to surround the EsGod doppelganger. The fleet stationed there started moving as well. Spaceships quickly gathered in the area, and more than half of the military forces on the entire planet were hurrying toward this city.

However, the next moment, what the EsGod doppelganger did terrified the entire planet.

As he opened his arms wide, his energy level increased at an extremely high speed. Horrifying energy gathered like a supernova that was about to explode!

Hum!

The next instant, the blinding light made all the people of Planet Avitan watching the broadcast close their eyes. Then, the exploding radiation forcefully cut off the broadcast.

However, even without the broadcast, everyone on the Planet Avitan felt it.

The ground beneath their feet trembled!

With the EsGod doppelganger as the center, a black and red energy sphere quickly expanded into an enormous size, devouring the entire city. It could even be seen from outer space.

The energy sphere expanded over the entire city, seemingly having reached its limit.

This time, the energy sphere suddenly split into two layers of energy. The outer layer became weaker, and its color became lighter, still maintaining its original size. The inner layer quickly constricted.

When the inner layer was half of the size of the outer layer, the entire energy sphere seemed to lose its balance. Be it the inner or the outer layer, they both exploded violently, turning into a radioactive impact wave, sweeping across everything in its path!

Boom!

Great rifts were created right in this city. Be it the city protector, the ground troops, or the citizens in the underground shelters, they all turned into ash in the explosion.

It was like doomsday!

When the aftershock of the explosion finally ended, this main city was wiped off the surface of the planet, erased of its existence.

All the tall buildings disappeared, only the enormous crater and great rifts were left.

Not a single soul survived.

The EsGod doppelganger slowly flew up from the bottom of the enormous crater, out of the dust that covered the sky, and exposed himself in the satellite image.

He paused for a short moment in midair before suddenly flying in another direction—toward another city.

As the satellite broadcast recovered, everyone on Planet Avitan saw this, and everyone seemed to have forgotten how to breath.

Endless fear grasped everyone’s heart.

A few minutes after the ‘gigantic explosion’, every galactic news channel of the Star Pupil Holy Race reported the news, broadcasting what was happening on Planet Avitan to the entire civilization.

At the same time, a fleet with Psyker’s ship in the middle took off from the Star Pupil Holy Race mother planet and headed to help Planet Avitan.

Three ‘Light Fox’ spaceships in stealth mode slowly parked in an area not far from the Star Pupil Holy Race mother planet.

“Psyker’s made his move. The first step is a success!”

Colin smiled ferociously and clenched his fists in excitement.

Psyker guarded his mother planet all the time, and the Evolution Cube was on his mother planet. They would only have a chance to steal the Evolution Cube if they could lure Psyker away.

Psyker’s weakness was how important his race was to him. All they had to do was place an EsGod doppelganger with Beyond Grade A strength on an important colonial planet and let the EsGod doppelganger massacre the Star Pupil Holy Race people. Psyker would undoubtedly leave his mother planet to provide aid.

Unless Psyker chose not to care about the lives of his people on that planet, he did not have a choice.

For this first doppelganger, EsGod had gifted it Esper abilities with very strong destructive powers.

EsGod could create many doppelgangers but not infinite. Although he possessed countless Esper abilities, his doppelgangers could not use all of them. Only after his original body gifted Esper abilities to his doppelgangers would the doppelgangers be able to use those abilities. His original body would not be able to use the Esper abilities that were given to the doppelgangers until the doppelgangers were dead or if he actively made them disappear.

For example, if he gave ten Esper abilities to his doppelgangers, he would then not be able to use those ten Esper abilities, nor would he be able to give those ten Esper abilities to another doppelganger.

Therefore, EsGod kept collecting Esper abilities, even duplicates. Fusing the Super High Risk Esper Ability List was not the only reason.

“Once Psyker arrives at Planet Avitan, it’ll be the time for us to move.” Orozen smiled.

Colin nodded, looked at the second EsGod doppelganger beside him, and said, “Your Excellency EsGod, please wait awhile. We will move when the time is right.”

“Hmm.” The second EsGod doppelganger nodded.

This doppelganger was controlled by the original. Colin and the others were communicating directly with EsGod, who was far away in the Central Galaxy.

This second doppelganger was gifted stealth, teleportation, anti-detection, and various Esper abilities related to espionage.

He had been hiding this team as well as blocking Psyker’s large area Psychic senses with his Esper abilities. This was why they could hide right under Psyker’s nose and remain undetected near his mother planet.

The main force of stealing the Evolution Cube was also this second EsGod doppelganger—he was the only one that could send Colin and the others to where the Evolution Cube was stored unnoticed.

As for the third doppelganger, he had hidden on Planet Avitan long ago. His plan was to work together with the first doppelganger to stall Psyker.

The third doppelganger had mostly control-type Esper abilities.

Although his doppelgangers all had Beyond Grade A level strength, they were still just doppelgangers, and they would not be able to match Psyker. One doppelganger would not be able to last long; only two doppelgangers working together would be able to stall Psyker long enough to keep him from his mother planet.

As for why EsGod was confident in stealing the Evolution Cube, it was because he had the only detailed information about the Evolution Cube.

The Evolution Cube was no small item.

Without the instruction manual, no one knew how to carry the Evolution Cube around!

Chapter 749: 749 It Will Not Be So Easy!

749 It Will Not Be So Easy!

When the reinforcements led by Psyker arrived on Planet Avitan, the first EsGod doppelganger had already destroyed more than twenty cities, causing heavy casualties, and was still remolding the surface of Planet Avitan.

The fleet stopped in the orbit of Planet Avitan. Psyker flew out of his spaceship and floated at the front of the fleet. He looked down at the planet surface filled with wreckages, and an immense amount of rage appeared in his eyes.

Normally, those of the Star Pupil Holy Race had four arms, three eyes, and smooth azure skin. Their organs were also different from the human race. They had two brains and five hearts, and they had no totally lethal weaknesses. Under the influence of the Evolution Cube, their genes were outstanding. Their bone structure, muscles, and blood vessels were all enhanced. Although they were not at the level of rare Universe Species yet, even the normal members of the Star Pupil Holy Race could survive in space with just their body.

Psyker’s appearance, however, was very different from his people. He had awoken the ancestor genes in his body, so he looked more ferocious. He had seven eyes on his face, among which six formed a diamond shape surrounding his main eye. His eye was like a black gem, flickering with infinite stars as if it had a galaxy in it.

He had long, white hair, but it was not actually his hair but countless tentacles as thin as hairs that could sense things. A pair of straight, snow-white horns with jade texture extended from his forehead. His shoulders, chest, wrist, knees, back, and several other places were covered by a naturally grown white exoskeleton, like he was wearing skeleton armor. His azure skin was filled with dark purple patterns. Three pairs of pipeline-looking bone limbs grew from his back, looking like the skeleton of wings when they were opened.

Of course, as the leader of a civilization, Psyker was not naked. He wore a gorgeous, tailored robe.

The next moment, Psyker dived right toward the planet’s surface. The first EsGod doppelganger noticed and stopped on a wasteland. He then looked up and looked at Psyker as he landed in front of him.

“EsGod, I know you can hear me. You threw your doppelganger to my territory. Do you want to be my enemy?” Psyker demanded in a cold tone.

He had once travelled to other Star Fields and had knowledge of all the Beyond Grade As in the Galaxy, so he had recognized this as EsGod’s doppelganger long ago.

The red dot on the doppelganger’s face flickered as EsGod took control of him. Through the doppelganger, EsGod smiled and said, “You know why I’ve come.”

“You think that as long as you lure me out, you will definitely be able to snatch away my treasure?” Psyker sneered and instantly pointed out EsGod’s intentions.

He was the leader of a civilization, so he was clearly not stupid. For a notorious Beyond Grade A brute of the Central Galaxy to suddenly appear in the Shattered Star Ring and cause destruction in his territory, it was not because EsGod just wanted to have fun. His Evolution Cube was desired by tons of people. As soon as Psyker saw the news on the mother planet, he had known what EsGod’s goal was—it could only be the Evolution Cube.

However, even though he clearly knew that leaving his mother planet would mean he was completely following EsGod’s plan, he had no other choices. No one would be able to stop the EsGod doppelganger from destroying Planet Avitan if he did not come.

“No matter how strong someone is, as long as he cares for something, he will forever have weaknesses.” The EsGod doppelganger smiled faintly.

“What’s the point of being strong if one has no goal to stand by?”

Psyker’s seven eyes narrowed simultaneously. An enormous amount of psychic energy shot up the sky. His voice suddenly became solemn and holy, as if it filled the entire sky.

“I indeed have no way to ignore your trap, but as long as I kill you quickly, luring me away will be meaningless!”

Boom!

As soon as his sentence ended, EsGod doppelganger No.l punched forward with both fists. A maroon energy wave ejected from his fists. The ground cracked open, and the already heavily damaged lands started to vibrate violently, gradually shattering.

Esper Ability—Destructive Dark Energy!

Psyker completely ignored the approaching tsunami-like energy wave. A light shot out from his seven eyes at the same time. Invisible psychic energy turned into countless needles and shot right toward the energy wave.

Boom!

Like fireworks, the energy wave exploded. Though colorful and dazzling, it was extremely dangerous. The energy emitted dug out one rift after another from the ground. Everywhere they passed, even the mud turned to ash.

Psh!

The psychic energy penetrated the explosion and landed on the EsGod doppelganger. His body violently exploded and turned into a cluster of black fog in an instant. In the black fog, a red dot of light flickered—this was the core of the EsGod doppelganger.

The next moment, all the black fog condensed around the red dot and turned back into the doppelganger but thinner.

Psyker’s psychic energy happened to be able to deal the most damage to the core of the EsGod doppelganger. Even the EsGod doppelganger would not be able to endure attacks from Beyond Grade As with ease, not to mention the fact that the EsGod doppelganger had already used quite a lot of its energy.

Bang bang bang!

The battle between Beyond Grade As shattered the sky and the earth, mainly because the EsGod doppelganger did not care about the damage caused at all and released his energy without holding back.

On the other side, Psyker’s ability would not cause too much impact. It looked like the EsGod doppelganger’s attacks were much more horrifying, but in reality, he was no match for Psyker.

After all, he was just a doppelganger. There was no way he would be able to beat a true Beyond Grade A Super in his full form.

Bang!

For the next few minutes, they fought intensely. The EsGod doppelganger was turned into a cluster of black fog time after time and barely reformed his body afterward. The red dot of light flickered constantly as if it would disappear at any moment.

As Psyker was about to maintain his momentum and completely destroy this doppelganger, he suddenly sensed a new Beyond Grade A energy source, and he instantly looked up at the sky.

The other EsGod doppelganger that had been hiding for a very long time on Planet Avitan finally appeared. He was now attacking the fleet in the orbit of the planet.

You’re right, I won’t be able to stop you with just one of my doppelgangers,” EsGod said through the doppelganger, “but if it’s two of them, stalling you for a short period won’t be a problem. After I destroy your fleet and your spaceship, you won’t be able to rush back to your mother planet.”

You talk too much!” Psyker’s eyes became firm. He did not want to waste time by speaking and immediately overwhelmed the first EsGod doppelganger with his psychic energy.

Psyker did not panic. He was not worried about the Evolution Cube being stolen at all. He felt that EsGod only knew that the Evolution Cube was a Universal Treasure but most likely had no idea what the Evolution Cube really was.

The Evolution Cube was very strange, and it was enormous. He was not able to carry it along even after studying it for so long. Unless it was directly snatched away from him, the possibility of it being stolen was next to nothing. This was also why he was confident enough to leave his mother planet and go there.

Of course, Psyker did not know about EsGod’s true trump card.

On the Star Pupil Holy Race Mother Planet, while Psyker was being stalled by two doppelgangers, the remaining EsGod doppelganger acted. Using its teleportation Esper ability, it teleported Colin, Orozen, and the others to where the Evolution Cube was stored.

An extremely strong, blinding light!

When they finally adapted to the blinding light around them, they finally looked around.

This was a strange area. They were shrouded by a light green protective shield released by the EsGod doppelganger, and everywhere outside of it was filled with a hot, viscous liquid.

“What is this place?” Orozen wondered.

“The outer core of the Star Pupil Holy Race Mother Planet,” the EsGod doppelganger said with a calm tone.

Psyker had hidden the Evolution Cube in the inner core of his mother planet and covered it with his psychic barrier, blocking the majority of detection abilities. If not because the Evolutionary Civilization recorded the method to locate the Evolution Cube, the EsGod doppelganger would not have been able to directly teleport there.

After confirming the location, the EsGod doppelganger used his psychic Esper ability to melt the barrier left by Psyker.

The next moment, a gigantic metallic object appeared before everyone’s eyes out of nowhere.

They did not know how huge this object was. All they knew was that they could only see one side of the Evolution Cube, and they could not even see the end of it.

“This is way too huge.” Colin’s pupils constricted.

Curious, Orozen reached out and touched the Evolution Cube, but his hand entered the Evolution Cube unobstructed, as if the Evolution Cube was just a projection with no physical form.

The physical state of the Evolution Cube was very strange. It was between material and energy. It could not be touched by usual means.

“The information says as long as someone’s entire body enters the Evolution Cube, they will evolve inside. That’s the simplest way to use it.” Orozen was tempted.

Colin was a little tempted, but he still remembered the mission. “Stop wasting time. Quickly contain it with the device.” One of the people quickly took out a silver, palm-sized cube and passed it to Colin.

This was a device that EsGod had built following the information left behind by the Evolutionary Civilization. Like a container to store water, its only use was to carry the enormous Evolution Cube and make it portable.

This was special technology possessed by the Evolutionary Civilization that had been lost for a long time. EsGod, who possessed information of this civilization, was the only one that could build this device!

Without this device, stealing the Evolution Cube would be an almost impossible mission.

Colin raised up the silver cube and activated it.

Ding!

The silver cube suddenly emitted a gentle light.

The enormous Evolution Cube seemed to have sensed something. It suddenly shook, and the next moment, a black beam suddenly shot out from the side that was facing them, like it was a pipe.

The Evolution Cube started to turn itself into pure energy. Through this pipe, it slowly ‘squeezed’ itself into the silver cube, as if it had finally found a home.

The Evolution Cube in the outside world started to shrink. It was as if the silver cube was slowly drinking the Evolution Cube from a straw.

Seeing that the device worked, Colin felt relieved. “The process should take a few minutes. We have more than enough time.”

As soon as his sentence ended, a ton of pale white light clusters appeared in their peripheral vision and quickly headed toward them. If not because they were all Supers, they would not have even noticed these inconspicuous ligM among all this blinding light.

“What are those?” Colin’s expression changed drastically, and he was instantly alarmed.

“As expected,” the EsGod doppelganger said, “Psyker has a backup plan. These clusters are all his psychic energy. Every one of them is equivalent to one Beyond Grade A psychic attack. This is to protect the Evolution Cube and will attack all intruders. You guys focus on the Evolution Cube; I will stop these things!”

Every one of these psychic energy clusters had strength equal to the one-time psychic weapon that had been used on Han Xiao. At this moment, more and more energy clusters appeared continuously and swamped toward them.

The EsGod doppelganger opened an invisible psychic shield that shrouded everyone.

Boom boom boom!

The psychic energy clusters landed on the shield one after another like pouring rain landing on a lake, causing countless ripples on the surface of the psychic shield.

The EsGod doppelganger’s red dot core dimmed at a visible rate. His energy was being consumed extremely quickly while enduring so many Beyond Grade A psychic attacks.

“Quickly…quickly…”

Everyone was anxious as they stared at the silver cube slowly absorbing the Evolution Cube.

They knew that once the EsGod doppelganger was destroyed, they would certainly die.

Seconds felt like years while they waited. Fortunately, although the Evolution Cube’s physical state was weird. It was still a whole object. When the silver cube absorbed a large enough portion of the Evolution Cube, it started absorbing the rest at a much quicker rate.

Finally, the last bit of the Evolution Cube turned into energy and entered the silver cube. The absorption was complete, and the cube turned from silver to black.

This was the Evolution Cube in its complete form!

“It’s done!” Colin hastily shouted.

“Go!” The EsGod doppelganger could not hold on anymore. Using the last bits of his energy, he sent everyone else back to the spaceship and immediately cut off the teleportation gate.

The next moment, this doppelganger could no longer maintain the shield and was devoured by the energy clusters, disappearing instantly.

Nonetheless, he had completed his mission of protecting his subordinates till they stole the Evolution Cube.

Doppelgangers had limited energy. Only those subordinates of his could cross the desolate universe belt and take the item back to the Fallen Ark. EsGod’s original did not dare leave the Central Galaxy casually. The three Universal Civilizations had their eyes on him at all times. If his original made a move, he would not have been able to hide this mission, and things would have been much more difficult.

With a flash before their eyes, Colin and the others were teleported back to the spaceships. Before they could speak, their attention was attracted by the loud alarm inside the spaceship.

“Sh*t, our spaceships have been discovered. The Star Pupil Holy Race has sent a fleet to attack us!”

The expression on their faces became worse instantly.

Three ‘Light Fox’ spaceships were surrounded by a large number of Star Pupil Holy Race battleships. Their shields were swamped with attacks.

When they were stealing the Evolution Cube, Psyker had sensed it. He had quickly ordered the military stationed on his mother planet to do a thorough search of the universe space around. When the EsGod doppelganger was eliminated, the three spaceships lost their stealth barrier and were finally discovered by the Star Pupil Holy Race. They were instantly besieged by the fleet.

“Quickly, leave!”

Colin had no time to observe the Evolution Cube and quickly piloted the spaceship to dodge the attacks.

The three spaceships parted ways, and one spaceship was soon destroyed.

Relying on the spaceships’ powerful engines, the two remaining spaceships entered high-speed hyperdrive and escaped. The armor of the spaceships was covered in damages.

Colin gasped for air. When they entered hyperdrive, his tense body finally relaxed.

“We escaped. With our speed, the enemies won’t be able to catch up,” Colin said with a low voice. “Activate spaceship diagnostics, calculate damages.”

The artificial intelligence of the spaceship replied with stutter, “Tsss… self-diagnosing… Ship body damage at sixty- three percent. Shield generator close to broken. Energy furnace damaged moderately. Power output decreased by forty-two percent… Tsss… Thruster damage at thirty-eight percent. Engines No.4 and No.6 are close to broken. Selfrepair device malfunctioning… Immediate repair of the spaceship is suggested. With the current state of the spaceship, it can’t stay in hyperdrive much longer.”

Orozen grinned and said, “Stealing something from a Beyond Grade A was so exciting.”

“No matter what, we have what we came for.” Colin glanced at the Evolution Cube that was now palm sized. “The spaceship can’t travel across Star Fields in its current state. We just have to find a safe place to repair the spaceship, and we will be able to return.”

“Hmm, I know a planet that can repair spaceships and is not controlled by any civilization,” Orozen said. “It’s very safe and is located at the edge of the Shattered Star Ring. We just have to fix our spaceship there, then we can leave this Star Field. I escaped from the Shattered Star Ring from there sixty years ago.”

Hearing the name of that planet, Colin checked the star map and nodded.

“Okay. It’s very far from the Star Pupil Holy Race. We can use our speed to earn enough buffer time for us to repair the spaceships.”

They would only dare travel across Star Fields after they fixed their spaceships. Otherwise, if the spaceships malfunctioned in the middle of a desolate universe belt, they could be stuck there forever.

The ‘Light Fox’ spaceships immediately changed direction, turned into a stream of light, and disappeared.

On Planet Avitan, the last EsGod doppelganger was destroyed, turning into a cluster of black fog and dissipated.

Psyker patted away the dust on his clothes and looked up at the sky with a grave expression.

The Evolution Cube has really been stolen. I didn’t expect EsGod to have the detailed information on the Evolution Cube. This was a miscalculation…”

Three EsGod doppelgangers were equivalent to three Beyond Grade As. They were working together while he was alone, so EsGod succeeding was not completely illogical. Psyker felt resigned.

This was also why EsGod was very difficult to deal with.

However, Psyker was still calm and did not panic. He narrowed his eyes and murmured, “You did succeed, but don’t ever think you’ll take the Evolution Cube away from me this easily.”

Although Psyker did not have the instruction manual of the Evolution Cube, after having the Evolution Cube for so long, he had gained some knowledge of it. Like how Austin owned the Palace of Hidden Spells, after Psyker had the Evolution Cube in his hands for so many years, he had almost made the Evolution Cube his own treasure.

He had built a spiritual connection with the Evolution Cube. Even if the Evolution Cube was not beside him, he could still remotely use the Evolution Cube to improve his psychic abilities.

At the same time, he had left a mark on the Evolution Cube. No matter where it was, he could sense the location of the Evolution Cube.

He could sense the coordinates of the Evolution Cube moving extremely quickly, marking where Colin and the rest were.

Fleeing right after you stole from me?

It won’t be so easy!

Psyker pressed a finger on his forehead and communicated with his subordinates through his psychic abilities. “Prepare the fastest spaceship for me. I’m going after those thieves!”

Chapter 750: Unexpected Invitation

Planet Macipher, the Cornerstone Summit Corporation.

Han Xiao had been working here for more than twenty days. His name had already spread widely among the Senior Engineers. The entire corporation knew that a highly skilled Mechanic had joined them and that he had completed more than ten times the workload of a normal Senior Engineer in less than a month.

As the boss behind them had already spoken, the upper echelons of the corporation did not worry about the confidentiality of the blueprint anymore and daringly used Barne. They gave him extra quotas to hit, which led to Han Xiao getting more and more parts of the Eternal Light blueprint.

The [Engineer] mission was already completed, and he had obtained the [Proficient Technician] talent. Its effect was a slight increase in the attributes of the machinery he built of eight to fourteen percent, twenty-two percent quicker building speed, and six percent reduced cost. This scaled well given how much machinery he would be building, so it was quite a good talent.

As Han Xiao obtained the talent, he had only had one goal left in the Cornerstone Summit Corporation—to steal… no, learn the blueprint of Eternal Light.

Due to how many responsibilities were given to him, Han Xiao learned quite a lot of the blueprints. As for the blueprints given to the other Senior Engineers, he used Virtual Technology to hack into the artificial intelligence assistants of those Grade B Mechanics and monitored them in various ways. When the Senior Engineers looked at their blueprints, Phillip would then capture the image and duplicate the blueprint.

As for some blueprints that he was unable to see with this method, Han Xiao just visited those Senior Engineers with various excuses. All he had to do was look at the blueprint for a short while, and he would be able to obtain the blueprint through the interface.

Sadly, after a past Race Evolution, he had lost the Observer’s Mark ability, otherwise secretly learning the blueprint would be much easier.

In more than half a month, Han Xiao was able to obtain the majority of the Eternal Light’s blueprint. All that was left were the core blueprints. These were all tightly stored by the core engineers of the corporation, and Han Xiao had no chance to see them. He had been pondering how to obtain these blueprints for quite some time.

During this time, as players were learning more Knowledges from the faction store, his Experience increased once again.

Inside the workshop, Han Xiao was doing his job while looking at the Experience he had on his interface, calculating.

With the current amount of Experience I have, I should be able to reach about level 238 or 239. I’m just one step away from Lv240, which will be filled up in three or four more days…

Han Xiao was secretly excited. Beyond Grade As were on a completely different level to Calamity Grades. They were important people throughout the entire Galaxy, and even Universal Civilizations had to take them seriously.

Once he succeeded, he would get a seat on the highest table of the Star Field, and the Black Star Army would become a real Beyond Grade A organization.

After looking forward to it for a while, Han Xiao looked at the time. It was time for his lunch break. He stopped working, retracted all the building assistants, and planned to go for lunch.

As soon as he walked out of the workshop, Han Xiao noticed that Luke was standing outside the door.

“Bame, I was looking for you.”

“What is it? You want to have lunch with me?” Han Xiao stopped and looked at this old gentleman curiously.

Luke smiled and shook his head. “I’d be glad to do so, but this is not why I’ve come. The real owner of the corporation wants to see you.”

The real owner? Han Xiao raised his brows. “Sure, lead the way then.”

Luke gestured for Han Xiao to follow him and led him to the core area of the corporation.

After walking for more than ten minutes, the two of them arrived at the top floor of a tall building and entered a wide office.

In the room, a person sat in a chair with the chair’s back facing the door. Han Xiao could only see the back of his head. Luke stepped back and closed the door, leaving Han Xiao and this so-called ‘real owner of the corporation’ in the room. This time, this person spoke with his back still facing Han Xiao.

“Bame, this isn’t your real name, right?”

Then, this person turned around to face Han Xiao.

Seeing his appearance, Han Xiao was stunned for a moment before understanding.

It was Sardeem. Of course, that made sense. As the owner of Planet Macipher, Sardeem controlled many of its industries. The Cornerstone Summit Corporation belonging to him was not much of a surprise.

In his previous life, the players only knew that a talent would be rewarded if they worked in the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, and any Mechanics could do this mission. However, with the strength of the players at that stage, they did not come into contact with the corporation’s core. In the players’ eyes, the Cornerstone Summit Corporation was just a small unimportant side mission. Therefore, the players did not know that the owner of this shipyard turned out to be Sardeem. Nonetheless, this was not difficult to guess.

This means that the Eternal Light blueprint belongs to Sardeem… Why did he suddenly call me here? Did he find out who I am?

Han Xiao’s mind was racing.

Of course, he was not afraid at all. Although Sardeem was a Grade A+ Mechanic as well, he would be no match for him. However, he just wanted to secretly learn the Eternal Light blueprint. If his identity was exposed, he would have no choice but to snatch it… Still, Han Xiao did not like making enemies.

Seeing that Han Xiao did not speak, Sardeem gave a knowing smile.

“I’ve been observing you for quite some time. You’ve actually been hiding your strength. You’re not a Grade B+ Mechanic but a Calamity Grade Mechanic, am I right?”

Without waiting for Han Xiao to reply, Sardeem sized Han Xiao up and continued.

“A Calamity Grade willing to work in my company as a normal engineer makes me doubt your true intentions. Through my observations, you seem to be interested in the Eternal Light blueprint, right?”

After hearing what Sardeem said, Han Xiao felt relieved instead.

Whew, luckily, this guy only noticed that I’m Grade A and did not find out my real identity. He just thinks I’m a normal Calamity Grade Mechanic.

Seeing how confident Sardeem looked, Han Xiao could guess that Sardeem was certain that he had the upper hand.

Indeed, Sardeem was Grade A+ and had the entire planet as his base. This was his territory, so normal Calamity Grades were indeed no match for him in this situation.

Figuring out Sardeem’s confidence, Han Xiao calmed down. Without correcting Sardeem’s misunderstanding, he acted alert as if he really was a normal Calamity Grade.

“What do you want?”

Seeing this, Sardeem smiled with satisfaction. ‘Barne’ becoming nervous was exactly what he wanted to see.

“I don’t know where you got the information about Eternal Light from, nor do I know which organization you belong to. But don’t worry, I did not call you here today to hold you accountable. Instead, I’m giving you an invitation.”

“Invitation?” Han Xiao raised his brow.

Sardeem stood up, smiled, and said, “Become my subordinate. I can guarantee that this will be the wisest decision you ever make.”

“You’re recruiting me?” Han Xiao said with a strange tone.

Isn’t that too careless? You don’t even know my identity.

Is this because you’re absolutely confident I won’t be a problem for you?

Pal, that’s a little arrogant of you. Even someone as outstanding as me is not this arrogant!

“I have a lot of companies and a lot of troops, but I’m short of a capable assistant. You have the ability to be one. Us together will be an amazing combo,” Sardeem said in a calm tone.

Han Xiao shook his head with resignation. “I’m not inter…”

This time, Sardeem shook his hand and interrupted Han Xiao. “If you’re willing to become my subordinate, not just Eternal Light, I can let you learn all the blueprints I know.”

“Hmm, I will have to consider…” Han Xiao immediately changed what he was about to say. As the leader of a faction, of course, he was not going to be a subordinate of a Calamity Grade. However, scamming some blueprints from him seemed to be quite tempting.

After all, whatever Barne does has nothing to do with Black Star… ahem.

Han Xiao suddenly asked, “Are you forcing me? If I don’t join you, will you use force on me?”

Sardeem shook his head and laughed.

“Don’t worry, I don’t like making enemies. If I was hostile toward everyone like you that visited Planet Macipher, I wouldn’t have been able to last till now. You can reject me, and I won’t chase you away. I won’t even force you to reveal your true identity. You can still stay in the Cornerstone Summit Corporation as ‘Bame’. I have no need to reject a Grade A Mechanic from working in my company. However, I will always keep an eye on you, and I won’t let you take part in any important projects.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “You’re quite generous.”

“It’s very tough for someone petty to achieve great things in life. I’ve managed Planet Macipher for close to a hundred and thirty years,” Sardeem said calmly. “What situation have I not seen before? Hmm?”

Han Xiao contemplated for a while and still shook his head.

As an almost Beyond Grade A faction leader, it would be too shameless for him to become a subordinate of a Calamity Grade just because of a blueprint.

Although he did put on a disguise, if he accidentally exposed his true identity one day, it would be a mark on his history he would not be able to wipe off. It would damage his high reputation in the eyes of the players and would not be beneficial for building a sense of belonging for the faction, as well as the cultivation of leeks. In conclusion, the cons outweighed the pros.

The Eternal Light blueprint was indeed a good item, but it was not something that he had to obtain no matter what.

Also, you think that I won’t be able to get the blueprint without joining you?

You’re dreaming!

Seeing that Han Xiao had rejected him, Sardeem narrowed his eyes.

“Hehe, I know you have the pride of a Calamity Grade, but I’m worth following. Do you think that normal people would be able to get the flagship blueprint of the Federation of Light?”

Han Xiao was slightly moved.

Indeed, even he could not buy a blueprint as rare as the Eternal Light blueprint. How did Sardeem get it?

Sardeem put his hands behind his back and looked at Han Xiao. “You might think that as a Calamity Grade, you don’t have to become a subordinate of another Calamity Grade, so you rejected me… But what if I told you that I’m not just representing myself and there’s a Beyond Grade A behind this?”

“Hmm?” Han Xiao noticed something.

Now that he thought about it carefully, there should be some unknown reasons that brought about Planet Macipher’s prosperity other than Sardeem’s personal strength. He might indeed be a secret officer of a certain Beyond Grade A.

However, there were only four Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring. Who did this guy work for?

Tyrant? Possible, but not likely. After all, Sardeem was not a buffed and muscular dude.

Magus? That did not feel right either. Sardeem was not a mage…

Star Pupil? Not likely given how rarely that guy left his own territory.

Could it be the Dragon Emperor? Laughable.

Seeing that Han Xiao was confused, Sardeem shook his head and smiled.

“You have definitely heard of him before.”

Pride appeared on Sardeem’s face, together with a sense of superiority.

“Do you know about… the Mechanic Empire?”

Han Xiao was completely shocked and almost wanted to leave right away.

Mechanic Empire Manison?

Don’t know, never heard before, bye!

Chapter 751: 751 Arrival

751 Arrival

Sardeem being Manison’s subordinate was a piece of intelligence that Han Xiao did not expect to obtain. In his previous life, Sardeem had not been considered a known NPC to the players and had no mission to trigger. He did not think that Sardeem was hiding this much.

Manison was an extremely strong guy. As a member of The Ancient Ones, he created his own faction in the Calamity of the Supers version.

Han Xiao was very sensitive to anything related to Manison and did not want to have anything to do with him. This was because of Aroshia.

She was a survivor of an artificial intelligence civilization conquered by Manison, and Risda was still hoping that Han Xiao could avenge them. Han Xiao still had the [Reboot] mission on his interface.

However, he was not willing to mess with this ancient and powerful being. The Mechanic Empire had no conflict of interest with him. It would be too big a loss for Han Xiao to become his enemy for just a normal mission. He actually did not want to do this mission, so he had been delaying it. Risda also knew that this was impossible without the help of a Beyond Grade A Super, so he had waited patiently and did not hurry Han Xiao.

Manison was mainly in the Central Galaxy and the Primeval Star River, but his organization had fangs secretly distributed among many Star Fields. His ‘Mechanic Empire’ was not just a reference to his Mechanical Army but also signified that the number of Mechanics under his command could form an entire empire.

Manison likes to recruit Mechanics. This is probably also the reason his subordinate in the Shattered Star Ring, Sardeem, is suddenly recruiting me. No wonder this guy is so arrogant.

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

However, although he was shocked by Sardeem’s background, he quickly calmed down.

No matter what, Manison did not even know that he existed. They had no conflict with each other, so he did not have to fear him.

Manison not knowing of Han Xiao’s existence was his biggest advantage. Furthermore, he had surprisingly discovered that Sardeem was secretly under the Mechanic Empire, which was a huge gain.

After purposely acting like he was hesitating for a while, Han Xiao shook his head. “Of course, I’ve heard of the Mechanic Empire, but I still don’t want to join you.”

Sardeem’s confidence fixed on his face. This time, he was the one that was shocked instead.

He had thought that as long as he mentioned the Mechanic Empire, recruiting this person would be a piece of cake. He did not expect ‘Barne’ to reject him.

“Don’t you know how many resources the Mechanic Empire has and how valuable they are to a Mechanic?” Sardeem said with an incredulous tone.

Manison had been stockpiling technology and blueprints for countless years. Not even mentioning the Cutting-Edge Knowledges, he most likely even had the Ultimate Knowledges for the Mechanic class, as well as all kinds of secret or lost blueprints. He even had tons of spaceships and weapon blueprints of the three Universal Civilizations. These attracted countless Mechanics to join under his command… of course, those Knowledges all had to be exchanged for contribution.

Han Xiao raised his brows.

“I know what you mean, but not all Mechanics want to be Manison’s subordinates, right?”

He was indeed tempted by the resources of the Mechanic Empire. However, that did not come for free. He had to do things for the Mechanic Empire over the long term. Unlike joining under Sardeem, whom he had confidence that he could completely beat, joining the Mechanic Empire was different as he certainly could not beat him. This meant that once he joined the Mechanic Empire, his true identity would definitely be exposed, and he would really end up working for him.

Therefore, there was no way that he was going to accept the invitation. This was like a Fortune 500 company trying to hire him, but he would rather start his own company. Although my company is not as big as yours now, I’m the one that gets all the profits!

Sardeem narrowed his eyes, turned around, and sat back in the chair. With an expressionless face, he said, “Then you can leave now.”

Seeing that Barne had made up his mind, he did not want to waste any time and energy convincing him.

He was not worried about Han Xiao knowing his identity. After operating Planet Macipher for more than a hundred years, his background was no secret to many people. He dared to tell the truth of his background because he was not afraid of it being exposed. He was legally operating Planet Macipher, so what if people knew that he was part of the Mechanic Empire? His Excellency Manison was not a wanted criminal; having a subordinate in the Shattered Star Ring to build a stronghold did not break any laws.

Han Xiao did not care about Sardeem’s dissatisfaction. He shook his head and left the room with a little resignation.

He was not afraid of offending Sardeem, but this meant that Sardeem would definitely monitor him more closely, which would make stealing the Eternal Light blueprints even more difficult.

Fortunately, Sardeem did not discover my true identity. His misjudgment of my strength works to my advantage. I should be able to fool him with some tricks, but if I still can’t steal it in the end, I can only use Bame’s identity to rob it… Or should I change to another identity?

While thinking about murdering and robbing, Han Xiao slowly walked away.

After Han Xiao left, Sardeem was the only one left in the office. He shook his head and was rather disappointed.

Initially, he had thought that recruiting Barne would be simple, but he did not expect this guy to be so stubborn.

Di di di…

At this time, Sardeem’s communicator rang.

As he looked at the caller, his expression instantly changed, and he immediately picked up the communicator. “Greetings, Your Excellency Psyker!”

The person that was contacting him was Psyker!

Psyker’s video call appeared on the screen, and he asked, “If I remember correctly, Planet Macipher is your territory, right?”

Yes, what can I do for you?”

Sardeem’s tone was very respectful, completely different from how he talked to Han Xiao.

As the leader of the Star Pupil Holy Race, it was simple for Psyker to contact the owner of a known neutral planet.

Furthermore, he had known Sardeem for a long time. The Arcane Church was behind him, so he had access to a lot of information. Sardeem’s true identity was no secret to him at all.

As he was backed by the Arcane Church, although Psyker was in the remote Shattered Star Ring, he was still quite known in the Central Galaxy’s Beyond Grade A circle. These powerful individuals all knew that he was a semi-ally of the Arcane Church and was a valuable chip for them.

Although Psyker focused on managing his race and did not like to cause trouble like the Tyrant, in terms of influence in high society, Psyker was the one at the top among the four Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring.

Therefore, Sardeem showed him a lot of respect.

“Hmm, I have something I need you to do,” Psyker said slowly. “I need you to pay attention to a ‘Light Fox’ model spaceship. I will send its appearance to you later. No matter who arrives on your planet in this type of spaceship, pay close attention to them. They’re very likely there to repair their spaceship, so find a way to keep them on Planet Macipher.”

“Okay, I got it.” Without a thought, Sardeem agreed—this was basically a gifted favor.

Although he claimed to be neutral, he knew what kind of people he had to give privileges to.

You must stall them and not let them escape the Shattered Star Ring,” Psyker emphasized.

“Understood.” Sardeem nodded.

Psyker then hung up.

As one of the EsGod doppelgangers had used teleportation to move Colin and the others to steal the Evolution Cube, the Star Pupil Holy Race had no visual records of these people and did not know what they looked like. However, due to the battleship fight outside their mothership, they knew the looks of these ‘Light Fox’ spaceships.

The mark that Psyker had left on the Evolution Cube showed that the Evolution Cube was no longer escaping in hyperdrive and had stopped for the first time. After looking at the star map, Psyker realized that the Evolution Cube had stopped near Planet Macipher.

Since he knew the location of their spaceship, he could guess what those thieves were planning.

Therefore, Psyker came up with a plan and contacted Sardeem to get his help.

While doing so, he had been heading toward Planet Macipher all along. As long as Sardeem could stall them for a few days, he would be able to arrive.

With his power, Colin and the others would not be able to escape.

At the same time in the orbit of Planet Macipher, Colin piloted the heavily damaged ‘Light Fox’ spaceship and slowly approached the port of Planet Macipher.

Due to the superiority of their spaceship’s engine, they had maintained high-speed hyperdrive and crossed a small half of the Star Field in dose to ten days, leaving their pursuers far behind.

They had finally arrived at this famous neutral planet. Planet Macipher was the place that they had chosen to repair their spaceship.

Chapter 752: Emperor Mechanic!

The Light Fox spaceships flew toward the Planet Macipher port. Inside the cabin, Colin was speaking to his subordinates.

“We will first land in a sub-city. You guys will go and find a local shipyard immediately. Have them transport our spaceships over and repair them as soon as possible. Money isn’t an issue… As for the rest of us, we will be finding a relatively hidden spot in the sub-city to rest.”

The others replied disorderly.

“Don’t worry,” Orozen said lazily, “Planet Macipher is a neutral planet. No one will trouble us. The Star Pupil Holy Race doesn’t even know the direction we escaped in. There’s no one chasing after us, so we’re basically safe. We just have to stay one or two days on Planet Macipher and wait for our spaceships to be repaired. Then, we can take the Evolution Cube back.”

Speaking of the Evolution Cube, desire appeared in Orozen’s eyes as he subconsciously glanced at the tiny black cube hanging on Colin’s neck.

Noticing his glance, Colin said, “We will figure out how to use this thing after we leave the Shattered Star Ring. Don’t even think about it now.”

With such a treasure in hand, everyone was tempted, but no one had any underlying thoughts. They just wanted to experience the Evolution Cube’s effects at most.

Although the Evolution Cube was a Universal Treasure, it was not worth betraying EsGod for.

As EsGod had the data of the Evolutionary Civilization, they knew a thing or two about the Evolution Cube as well, so they did not have any unnecessary expectations for it. After all, even with the Star Pupil Holy Race having so many Calamity Grades, Psyker was still the only Beyond Grade A.

However, the fact that using the Evolution Cube would make them stronger was an indisputable truth.

This time, the spaceships entered the port, completed the simple procedures, and descended toward one of the subcities on Planet Macipher.

As soon as they left their spaceships, Colin and the rest started moving. They found a relatively unknown shipyard and paid them to repair their spaceships.

The Light Fox spaceships were equipped with top-notch hyperdrive engines. It only took them a few days to travel the distance that would take normal spaceship months. Otherwise, they would not have arrived at Planet Macipher, which was at the edge of the Shattered Star Ring, in just ten days from the Star Pupil Holy Race’s territory. They insisted on repairing the spaceships because the speed of the Light Fox spaceships would save them a ton of time while traveling. They definitely would not change their spaceships unless they had absolutely no other choice.

As they had escaped as fast as they could, they did not know for sure if there were any pursuers behind them.

However, to them, the super high-speed hyperdrive of the Light Fox spaceship was more than enough to get rid of any pursuers. The Star Pupil Holy Race might not even know where they had gone. Of course, the connection between Psyker and the Evolution Cube was a secret, so they did not know that their location had already been exposed.

As for their identities, they were not worried at all. They had stolen the Evolution Cube while using the teleportation ability of the EsGod doppelganger, so the Star Pupil Holy Race did not know what they looked like.

The only time they were exposed was back in the Tyla Civilization, which was already many months ago and had nothing to do with them stealing the Evolution Cube. No one would link the two incidents together. After all, the Star Pupil Holy Race did not announce that the Evolution Cube had been stolen, not even in the local news on Planet Avitan. The secret war was still at the top of the news.

Therefore, to Colin and the others, arriving at the Planet Macipher meant that they already had one foot out of the Shattered Star Ring. They thought that they were completely safe.

As their spaceships were sent for repair, Colin and the others stayed in a hotel in the sub-city.

What they did not know was, the moment they entered Planet Macipher, they were already noticed.

Only half an hour after Psyker’s call…

“The Light Fox spaceships have already appeared…”

Sardeem received the information immediately.

The port entry information throughout Planet Macipher was monitored by him. As soon as Colin’s spaceships entered, they were discovered. Sardeem monitored Colin and the others closely.

They went to Sub-City No.2, found a shipyard there to repair their spaceship, and went to a hostel located at…”

The entire planet was under his surveillance. After locking onto the Light Fox spaceships, Sardeem then monitored Colin and the rest.

He did not recognize them, but after his assistant artificial intelligence searched for a while, he found Orozen’s bounty from the Tyla Civilization.

“A group of wanted criminals? Why is Psyker after them?” Sardeem could not help but imagine. “Could it be that he wants to use this opportunity to establish a good relationship with the Tyla Civilization? It is indeed possible for Psyker to do something like this, but the fact that he’s doing it personally… maybe it’s because he wants to increase his influence?”

Given how much information he lacked, of course, he had no idea that the Evolution Cube had been stolen.

Also, Sardeem would definitely not link the small black cube on Colin’s neck to the gigantic Evolution Cube.

“Psyker just wants me to stall them. Hmm, if not needed, I don’t have to fight them.”

Sardeem pondered for a while and decided not to alarm them.

Instead, he issued a new order to his mechanical low enforcement troops and secretly increased the patrol density of the area around Colin and the others. This would allow him to monitor them even more closely.

“Right…”

Sardeem thought of something else. He called the shipyard that had taken the job to repair the Light Fox spaceships and ordered them to delay the process.

Although this shipyard did not belong to him, with his position on Planet Macipher, he had the power to do this.

“That should be enough. Now, I just have to slowly monitor them…”

Sardeem gave a new order to the control center of the floating city to alert him as soon as Colin and the others did anything abnormal. He then put this matter aside.

As the owner of a planet, he was very busy, so there was no way he was going to stare at the monitors all day long.

After the unpleasant meeting with Sardeem ended, Han Xiao realized that no one chased him away. He completed the job for the afternoon as usual, but when evening came, he received some bad news.

The Cornerstone Summit Corporation had moved him out of the Eternal Light project and did not let him continue participating in this project. He was no longer needed to build the spaceship parts, and the blueprints in his hands were also taken away.

He had already learned all those blueprints, so taking them away did not matter to him. However, the signal given by Sardeem was very clear—he was not going to let Han Xiao have any chance of catching a glimpse of the Eternal Light blueprint.

Sardeem has started to guard against me. If I continue to stay here, I will only become manual labor and will never participate in important projects.

Han Xiao shook his head.

I’ve already got the talent, so there’s no need to continue staying on Planet Macipher. I can leave as soon as I get the Eternal Light blueprint…

Although Sardeem had raised his guard against him, Han Xiao already had some plans in mind to steal the remaining core blueprints of Eternal Light.

Speaking of which, Sardeem was the one who had given him the idea.

Initially, Han Xiao could not find out where those core blueprints were hidden in the database of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, so he was at a dead end. However, after Sardeem actively told him his true identity, he now had a new goal.

It turned out that Sardeem was the actual owner of the Eternal Light blueprint.

This meant that he definitely had an Eternal Light blueprint in his home, so Han Xiao did not need to do anything to the Cornerstone Summit Corporation.

Sardeem’s home was that magnificent floating city base above Planet Macipher.

Han Xiao’s target was to hack Sardeem’s floating city!

Sardeem doesn’t know my true strength. I wonder if he will regret telling me his true identity today… Oh, I almost forgot, he definitely won’t because he will never know I have hacked into his floating city.

If he did not work in the Cornerstone Summit Corporation because of a talent, he would not have attracted Sardeem’s attention. If he did not attract Sardeem’s attention, Sardeem would not have attempted to recruit him. If he was not recruited, he would not have known that Sardeem was the real owner of the Eternal Light blueprint.

It could be said that Sardeem had personally led the way for him.

Han Xiao sneered in his mind.

The floating city was the base of a Grade A+ Armed Branch Mechanic. Compared to the database of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, its artificial intelligence defense was on a completely different level.

However, Han Xiao was a Virtual Mechanic whose level was even higher than Sardeem. As long as he made sufficient preparations, he would be able to hack into the control panel of the floating city without being noticed.

It’s best to increase my chances even further…

Han Xiao was now level 221. He would trigger the Class Advancement of [Apostle Mechanic] at level 225. His Virtual Technology would be enhanced once again after the Class Advancement.

He had plenty of Experience in his interface. As nothing urgent had happened before, Han Xiao wanted to hoard enough Experience until he could reach level 240. Now that he needed it, he did not wait any longer.

The night on Planet Macipher was as boisterous as the day. The entertainment venues there were open throughout the night. Spaceships flew between tall buildings, leaving colorful flame trails like rainbows in the night sky.

Due to how rich the nightlife was, no one stopped Han Xiao from leaving the Cornerstone Summit Corporation hostel.

He went to the ground port, returned to the hangar that he had rented, walked into the spaceship, and entered the training room. This was to prevent the impact caused by his Class Advancement from attracting unwanted attention.

After closing the door of the training room, Han Xiao opened the interface and spent Experience leveling up without hesitation.

Very soon, he reached level 225 and received the Class Advancement mission of [Apostle Mechanic].

Han Xiao had spent seven years stockpiling Mission Completion Cards, so of course, he still had some. He immediately completed the Class Advancement mission.

The next moment, his brain trembled.

You have used a [Mission Completion Card]!

You have completed the Class Advancement mission!

You have received a new class [Emperor Mechanic Lv.l]. +300 Energy, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +8 END, +12 INT.

You have received 10 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

You have received the talent [Machinery Emperor]!

You have acquired the ability [Emperor Machinery Affinity]!

You have acquired the ability [Emperor’s Gift]!

You have acquired the ability [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel (Unactivated)]! You have acquired the ability [Secondary Dimension Army (Unactivated)]!

You have acquired the ability [Mechanical Force—Emperor’s Power (Unactivated)]!

You have acquired the ability [King’s Mentor (Unactivated)]!

The effect of all your Virtual Technology related abilities and talents has increased by 35%

Chapter 753: Striking Firs

[Emperor Mechanic] was the next stage of [Apostle Mechanic], which had a maximum level of 35. As the name suggested, an Emperor Mechanic could rule countless mechanical soldiers. Its abilities and talents provided huge bonuses to the Army Style while also having the ability to gather much more power into the Mechanic themself.

The introduction of the [Machinery Emperor] talent was ‘Machinery obeys you like your people.’ Its effect was a 150% increase in Virtual Intrusion efficiency and a 200% increase in Machinery Affinity, as well as an increase of one level to all machinery related abilities. This bonus could exceed the maximum level.

This talent also had another core effect. Just like the [Apostle MechanicJ’s talent, [Mechanical Force Ascension- Apostle Body], [Machinery Emperor] also caused his Mechanical Force attribute to ascend once again, acquiring the ability to gift machinery stronger powers. This was the prerequisite of many of the Emperor Mechanic’s abilities.

Of course, the new Machinery Affinity ability, [Emperor Machinery Affinity] was stronger than [Apostle Machinery Affinity], which gave 150% Machinery Affinity at the max level.

[Emperor’s Gift] was one of the core abilities. Its effect was to use Mechanical Force to enhance a single machine permanently, giving it extremely powerful additional attributes. It could only be used three times on the same target and had a very long cooldown. The extent of the enhancement depended on Han Xiao’s own attributes, and the target had a random chance of receiving an extra special ability.

To put it simply, this ability could enhance common mobs into elites or even mini-bosses!

Mechanics had the ability to enhance machinery from the start, but this ability only started to ascend to another level at this stage.

As for the other ‘Unactivated’ abilities, they could only be used once the corresponding Cutting-Edge Knowledges or even Ultimate Knowledges were learned, which Han Xiao had yet to do.

[Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel] required a few Cutting-Edge Knowledges including [Advanced Space Application]. It was an enhanced method of transmitting Mechanical Force through the Void.

Due to his race, Han Xiao could transmit Mechanical Force across long distances, but this was only achievable because he was a Void Race. [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel], however, was technology that could be used widely, not just on himself and not just on Mechanical Force, but any kind of energy. It was a much more advanced method of transmitting energy over long distances. This was also the technology that Manison used to make an AI civilization into his ‘Indestructible Mechanic Empire’.

[Secondary Dimension Army] could hide his army in a secondary dimension. He would maintain the connection to this secondary dimension and could then open it anytime to summon the army. This was a more advanced portable technology than the compressed orbs.

[Mechanical Force—Emperor_s Power] was an ability that could gather great forces onto himself, like an advanced version of Machinery Apostilization.

At the same time, once the mechanical army receiving Mechanical Force bonuses reached a certain size, they would provide attribute bonuses to himself through the Mechanical Force link. This bonus depended on the size of the army.

The larger his army was, the more bonuses [Mechanical Force—Emperor’s Power] would provide, which meant that the Army Style benefitted from this the most.

Once he activated this ability and provided bonuses to the mechanical army through his Mechanical Force, he would receive a huge amount of bonuses. Of course, the energy consumption of this ability was enormous. Normal Mechanics would not be able to activate [Mechanical Force—Emperor’s Power] for a long time if they did not have the ability to recover energy quickly.

[King’s Mentor] and [Emperor’s Gift] were similar; they were both abilities to enhance machinery. The difference was, [King’s Mentor] was an AOE ability. Its effect was also rather special. It could store the special Mechanical Force enhanced by [Machinery Emperor] in machinery over long periods of time. With the machinery’s energy furnace, that Mechanical Force would be kept within the machinery’s body, giving the machinery self-growth capabilities.

This meant that the machinery would level up on their own without Han Xiao improving them manually.

As long as the enhanced mechanical soldiers were not destroyed in battle, their attributes would slowly increase, and they would turn into elites. Blue grade mechanical soldiers might slowly become purple grade; level 100 mechanical soldiers might slowly acquire the attributes on par with level 120 mechanical soldiers.

This was like turning the mechanical soldiers into real living soldiers that would become experienced war veteran as long as they survived.

The ability introduction was ‘A king is one who has survived hundreds of battles.’

These abilities had already showcased the specialty of [Emperor Mechanic]—a ruler of countless mechanical soldiers that were treated as living soldiers. This was where the machinery started to ascend into becoming mechanical lives.

The upgraded Mechanical Force could turn into a special form of energy that could become the machinery’s own energy source, like the ‘energy’ of the mechanical lives.

[Apostle Mechanic] was the watershed of the late stages of the Mechanic class. The later the stages, the closer the Mechanic’s abilities would resemble acts of God. The word ’emperor’ was the perfect word to describe the Mechanic’s ability at this stage—the absolute ruler of machinery.

In the training room, Han Xiao’s eyes were overflowing with electric sparks as he endured the pain brought by the changes of his Class Advancement.

This was not a Race Evolution, so Han Xiao’s body did not change, but the energy in his body became violent as if his Mechanical Force was boiling. At a microscopic level, it was as if every one of his cells turned into a supernova, absorbing Mechanical Force continuously then compressing themselves time after time.

Through this process, his Mechanical Force slowly changed and ascended.

Enormous Mechanical Force surged within his body. Han Xiao could almost hear the tide.

After a short while, it was as if the cells in his body finally became exhausted, and the energy in his body started to calm.

Whoosh!

Han Xiao took a deep breath. His senses felt refreshed once again.

Energy was fundamental to Supers. It was not just the fuel of great power—it was also the catalyst of the evolution of Super-Genes. This Class Advancement caused his Mechanical Force to evolve to another level. Although his race was still the same, Han Xiao could feel his genes become stronger.

At the later stages, every Class Advancement required even more levels than the twenty level Promotion requirement, along with the increased benefits of the Class Advancement.

This Class Advancement improved his Mechanic abilities tremendously. Although his attributes did not change much, all these new abilities and talents were extremely powerful.

While browsing the new abilities, Han Xiao was quite joyous.

“Four unactivated abilities that need the corresponding Knowledges to activate. Tsk, I will only be able to test their effects after activating them…” Han Xiao pondered. “As of now, only [Machinery Emperor], [Emperor Machinery Affinity], and [Emperor’s Gift] can be used. Also, the abilities and talents related to Virtual Technology are enhanced by thirty-five percent, so hacking into Sardeem’s floating city is more likely to be successful.”

After contemplating for a while, Han Xiao decided not to level up any of his abilities. Level 240 was right around the corner, so he did not want to spend his experience anywhere else.

He then spent the rest of his Experience in leveling up to see how much more he needed exactly to reach level 240.

The remaining Experience only filled up three-quarters of his Experience gauge and was not enough to level up.

He should be just two levels away from Beyond Grade A.

“Hmm, about the same as my estimates. In just a few days, the Experience provided by the players should be able to fill this gap.” Han Xiao nodded.

He would have more than enough time to study his new abilities in the future, but he had another goal that night. He immediately connected himself to the quantum network.

His vision turned dark. The next moment, the nodes in the quantum network lit up one after another like fireworks.

The size and brightness of these nodes varied. Beams created by information transmission connected those nodes with one another, forming a network illustrating the shape of the city.

Han Xiao looked up. Above the main city, the quantum network nodes of the floating city were as bright as stars, shrouded in countless silk shaped defense measures like a crystal covered in runes.

With one thought, Han Xiao headed directly to the floating city’s quantum network nodes. The floating city node expanded in his vision as he entered right into this node.

A thick wall formed by data streams entered his eyes, and many data dots patrolled around like an army.

This was the most outside layer of the floating city’s control center firewall.

“Phillip, get him.”

Of course, Sardeem understood the threat of Virtual Mechanics. As a Grade A+ Mechanic, he had deployed many defense measures for his base. The virtual defense of the floating city’s control center was many levels above that of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation. Usual Calamity Grade Virtual Mechanics would not have been able to penetrate it at all.

However, Han Xiao’s Virtual Technology had just been enhanced after his Class Advancement, so it was rather easy for him to deal with the floating city’s virtual defense.

After all, Armed Branch Mechanics were not strong in this field. Furthermore, Han Xiao’s raw strength was already above Sardeem to quite an extent.

Hacking without living a trace and without being noticed was harder than directly demolishing the opponent’s artificial intelligence. Even Han Xiao did not dare act too hastily. He worked together with Phillip and slowly hacked through the defenses of the floating city’s control panel to avoid triggering the alarm.

While his base was quietly being violated by Han Xiao and Phillip, Sardeem had no idea that this was happening.

After spending quite some time, Han Xiao finally went around the defense of the floating city’s control center and entered the control center, gaining temporary access.

“Got it.” Han Xiao was content. “Phillip, search his database for the Eternal Light blueprint.”

“Searching, hum… Found it, hum!” Phillip’s tone was very cheerful.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled as he could not hold back his laughter any longer. “As expected, this guy did not put the blueprint in the database of any of his businesses but his own base.”

Sardeem most likely exchanged this blueprint from the Mechanic Empire with contributions. Mechanic Empire’s home was so far from the Shattered Star Ring, so there was no way the physical copy of the blueprint would be transported there. Hence, the initial way he received the blueprint was definitely through data transmission. It was highly likely that Sardeem still had the complete blueprint stored in the data form.

As the defense of the floating city was on a completely different level compared to the Cornerstone Summit Corporation, most Virtual Mechanics were not able to hack it. That was why Sardeem felt safer storing it in the database of his base.

Because of that, Han Xiao did not have to steal the physical copy of the blueprint; he just had to copy the floating city’s database which was much easier.

Han Xiao chuckled. “Phillip, copy all the blueprints in his database.”

Since the complete blueprint of Eternal Light was in the database, all the blueprints that Sardeem had obtained from the Mechanic Empire were likely in it as well.

Since he had gone through so much trouble to hack into it, Han Xiao did not mind taking everything that Sardeem had in his storage.

While doing so, Han Xiao took a look at what Sardeem was doing, which made him feel rather strange.

Sardeem happened to be browsing his database as well. As the alarm had not been triggered, even though they were using the database at the same time, he did not notice Han Xiao. He had no idea that Han Xiao had entered his control center and that his home was basically being robbed right now.

As Phillip was copying the blueprints, he had nothing else to do, so he opened the command log of the control center to see what Sardeem had been doing lately.

The log recorded all of Sardeem’s commands. Han Xiao was initially just scanning through casually, but when he noticed the history of Sardeem manually operating the control center today, his eyes stopped on that line of the log.

“Deploying a large number of mechanical law reinforcement troops to Sub-City No.2 to monitor a group of people? Interesting, isn’t Sardeem neutral? Why is he suddenly surveilling people? It must be at least a Calamity Grade, like Bame, to attract his attention… Hmm, I got it, this guy is probably going to recruit someone else under the Mechanic Empire’s name once again. If it really is a Calamity Grade, I might be able to snatch a talent away from him before leaving Planet Macipher.”

Han Xiao could not help but giggle. He casually brought up the image of the target of the surveillance. When he saw the image clearly, his smile froze on his face.

It was Colin and his gang in the image. Han Xiao has never seen these people before, but he recognized one of them.

Orozen!

A wanted criminal of the Tyla Civilization, the killer of Harrofal, and a possible subordinate of EsGod!

This man was the mission target of the Grade A Bounty Mission [Harrofal’s Revenge]!

This was completely unexpected to Han Xiao. He was stunned as guesses flashed through his mind.

“It’s these people? They’ve been missing for many months, so why are they suddenly here?”

Han Xiao started to feel alarmed.

Harrofal’s last words said that these people were very likely EsGod’s subordinates whom he had sent to avenge him. Harrofal was already dead, and now these people had suddenly appeared on Planet Macipher after a few months…

Could they have finally found him?

Han Xiao did not feel that was the case. He had kept his whereabouts hidden and disguised his identity; there was no way EsGod’s subordinates would have been able to find him.

“This is Planet Macipher, the edge of the Shattered Star Ring. Now that they’re here after a few months…Hmm, could it be that they’re planning to leave the Shattered Star Ring and escape from the Tyla Civilization, not coming for me anymore?”

Han Xiao frowned, deep in thought. From his perspective, what had happened regarding Harrofal was their only link. With such limited clues, he could only make very little speculations.

He did not expect to meet EsGod’s subordinates there. Was this their plan, or was it a pure coincidence?

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao had made up his mind.

“No matter what, since these people are here, be it to avenge Harrofal or to complete the Bounty Mission, there’s no reason to let them get away!”

Harrofal was his friend that had fought alongside him. Though Han Xiao did not have the time to search for the culprit, he would not let them go since they had appeared right before his eyes.

Han Xiao looked at the surveillance footage again, and he thought that he had guessed Sardeem’s goal.

“Humph, it seems this guy wants the bounty as well. I have to strike first!”

This was not difficult for him at all. Since he had already hacked into the floating city’s control center, he just had to make the mechanical law reinforcement troops not trigger the alarm, and he would be able to get to these people before Sardeem.

The only problem was, Han Xiao felt that these people might have EsGod’s doppelgangers.

Han Xiao clenched his fists. Due to that possibility, the threat of Orozen and his gang was very close to Beyond Grade A to him, so he remained cautious.

“Currently, I’m hidden, and they’re not. My only choice is to kill them before they can summon the EsGod doppelganger!”

Han Xiao clenched his teeth.

He did not know how strong these people were except that Orozen was Calamity Grade, but he could easily beat a group of normal Calamity Grades.

He should have a fifty percent chance of killing them before they could use the EsGod doppelganger!

Chapter 754: Did I Become Blind?

After locking onto Orozen’s location, Han Xiao immediately contacted Feidin and Hila.

“Where are you?”

The scene of a beast fighting colosseum appeared on the screen with a couple of beasts from different planets fighting each other in the plaza. The plaza was separated from the spectator stands with a protective shield, and the stands were filled with people. Feidin was seated within the crowd, and both Hila and Aurora were beside him with all their attention focused on the plaza.

“This is the biggest gambling den in the city, so we’re gambling here,” Feidin replied helplessly.

“Since when do you like gambling?” Han Xiao asked with doubt.

“Cough, I don’t like it, but Chen Xing insisted on coming. She said that it would be a waste to not collect free money and asked me to earn some…”

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly and asked, “So, what about the other two?”

“They insisted on following me…”

Just as he finished saying those words, the battle in the stadium ended. A large python with screen scales spat out a venomous fog and paralyzed the final beast.

“We won again! We won again!” Aurora waved her arm excitedly. “Sister, we’ve won four times in a row now!”

Hila nodded before turning around to look at Feidin with a hint of addiction in her eyes. “What will you be betting on next?”

Feidin shrugged helplessly, as if he did not wish to lead them further astray.

Han Xiao felt his head ache upon witnessing such a scene and said, “Stop playing already. We have something to do. Come and meet up with me. I will be waiting for you guys at City No. 2.1 will send you the coordinates later.”

Han Xiao then hung up and left the port for City No. 2 while maintaining his connection to the main system of the floating city.

Why bother waiting for another day? Han Xiao decided to move against Orozen and his gang immediately!

However, Sardeem was a subordinate of the Mechanic Empire, so Han Xiao did not plan to reveal his true identity. Furthermore, he had already obtained the blueprints, and there was no need for him to remain on Planet Macipher. Bame’s identity was already useless, so he was not afraid of making trouble under Barne’s name. He did not need to worry about the repercussions of dealing with Orozen on the surface of the planet.

Han Xiao waited at the gathering point of City No. 2 for a while, and Hila’s group of three met up with him soon after. The moment that they saw Han Xiao, Aurora immediately detected Han Xiao’s change and let out a gasp.

Tour life force has been strengthened again!”

Feidin and Hila were both stunned as they heard that.

Han Xiao did not deny it and nodded. “I have a feeling that I have already touched the door to becoming a Beyond Grade A Super.”

Hila’s body shook, and she looked at Han Xiao with a complicated gaze.

Feidin was extremely happy for Han Xiao and asked, “Are we going to leave Planet Macipher?”

Yes, but before we leave, I have something else to do…”

Han Xiao immediately explained to the others about what he intended to do.

Hila nodded. “Since the enemies are Grade A Supers, Feidin and I will accompany you, and Aurora should wait on the spaceship.”

Feidin did not have any issue with killing a wanted criminal, but he was a little puzzled. “With your strength, you shouldn’t need our help to deal with two Calamity Grade Supers, right?”

Han Xiao shook his head, and his tone became solemn. “Don’t look down on them. They are subordinates of EsGod and have an EsGod doppelganger with Beyond Grade A strength. We need to kill them the instant the battle breaks out, so I will be going all out from the start. I will be more confident with both of you there!”

Upon hearing that this matter was related to a Beyond Grade A Super, Hila and Feidin both became serious.

“If the enemy summons EsGod’s doppelganger, my life won’t be in danger because of my strength, but it is different for the both of you. Thus, both of you must listen to my orders; we only have a single chance.”

Han Xiao immediately described his plan to them.

He had already suffered a loss once, so he did not make any rash moves this time. Because the enemy did not know of his existence, he decided to first make sufficient preparations.

City No. 2’s Star Bridge Inn was where Colin and the others were staying.

Star Bridge Inn was located in the red light district of City No. 2, and this was a district with various entertainment facilities. This inn was located in the middle of the street and was extremely eye catching.

Colin and his gang had arrived on Planet Macipher that day. After sending their spaceships for repairs, they spent their money like water in the inn and called for hostesses of different races to serve them.

The members of Fallen Ark naturally did not have any discipline and were used to indulging in their desires. Even though Colin was extremely focused on the mission, he did not reject this activity. The moment they began their long return journey, they would have to spend a few years in the desolate universe belt. Those last few days on Planet Macipher would be their final chance to enjoy themselves.

Colin pushed aside the hostess who was sleeping on him and climbed out from his bed. The large bed was currently filled with more than ten exhausted females of different species.

He then put on his robe to cover his scarred body and took out a bottle of beer from the fridge. Finishing half the bottle in a single mouth, he walked to the window of the room and looked outside at the view.

It was already late in the night, but there were still many pedestrians on the streets. However, at least forty to fifty percent of them were drunk. Green and red lights intersected each other to form rainbow-colored lights in the sky of the city, and the entire planet seemed to be indulging in luxuries. From time to time, an aircraft would cut across the sky; they were the mechanical patrol squad making their rounds.

Looking out at the scenery, Colin recalled all of his actions over the past few months. He had performed two great feats in the Shattered Star Ring. He had thrown the Star Pupil Holy Race into complete chaos with their local Beyond Grade A Super being tricked by him as well. Following which, he had managed to complete his mission and retreat successfully. Colin could not help but have a sense of pride in his heart.

He then touched the Evolution Cube, which was hanging on his neck, and smirked with disdain.

“Ah…the Shattered Star Ring.”

This Star Field did not amount to much.

Just when this thought surfaced in his head, a blinding light exploded from the window before him.

Boom!

The window frame exploded the very next moment!

The shockwave from the explosion sent the unprepared Colin flying backward. His back smashed through the wall of the room, and he landed in the corridor of the inn. At the same time, a similar explosion happened in all the rooms, and all of Colin’s subordinates were sent flying.

The entire inn experienced explosions with rocks and concrete slabs flying in all directions. A huge dust cloud enveloped the entire inn, and the inn was reduced to ruins.

A naked Orozen also fell into the corridor, and both Colin and Orozen looked at each other. The look of fury in their eyes revealed the same message.

There is someone who actually dares ambush us?

Could they be bounty hunters?

The enemy was definitely after the bounty issued by the Tyla Civilization, but with both of them present, the bounty hunters were seeking death!

Colin glared at Orozen fiercely and was about to unleash his Calamity Grade strength to get rid of the bounty hunters. The very next moment, two mental attacks swept across the entire inn. One was dark red and the other colorless.

Hu!

The brains of all his subordinates exploded, and only Colin and Orozen were able to endure the two mental attacks. However, they felt a splitting headache, and their minds blanked out, temporarily losing control of their body.

There were actually two Calamity Grade Supers among the bounty hunters?

The faces of Colin and Orozen changed greatly.

But before they could even struggle, a brilliant ray of light shone in their eyes again.

This was the last scene that both of them saw.

Outside the Star Bridge Inn, the pedestrians were all shocked and hid as far away as they could.

A moment ago, a large mechanical army had suddenly appeared and surrounded the entire inn. The mechanical army rained down heavy fire on the inn with tens of thousands of shots being fired every second.

Boom!

The street that the Star Bridge Inn was located on had been flattened!

The crowd on the streets were blocked out by the mechanical army and could not see what was going on inside.

On the other side of the encirclement, Han Xiao watched as the mechanical soldiers brought two corpses before him. The two corpses belonged to Colin and Orozen.

Before either of them could even fight back, they were wiped out by the ambush of the mechanical army!

Han Xiao had tried his best to overestimate the combat strength of the enemy and was prepared to personally engage with the enemy when the mechanical army rained down their fire from the side. However, he had never imagined that the two Calamity Grade Supers would die under a single round of fire. He was truly dumbfounded.

This had gone much more successfully than he expected.

Han Xiao had formulated a few backup plans but realized that they were all completely useless. The ease of this mission truly shocked him.

Weren’t they the subordinates of EsGod? Why were they so weak?

I thought that the subordinates of EsGod would be a little bit more powerful. It doesn’t feel any different from killing other Calamity Grade Supers…

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted, and he felt as though he had just plunged his fists into cotton.

This was no different from killing a chicken with an ox’s blade.

Oh, it may be because I just had a Class Advancement, which increased my strength. Thus, I am able to suppress ordinary Calamity Grade Supers more easily. Right, neither of them have a talent that ignores true damage. I triggered the True Damage attack thrice, so it’s not too surprising for them to have been taken out in a single go.

Han Xiao could only persuade himself as such.

Originally, he could already suppress almost all Calamity Grade Supers. After completing his Class Advancement, not to mention two Calamity Grade Supers, he would be able to face even twenty of them.

With Orozen dead, the [Harrofal’s Revenge] mission was also completed. He then got Phillip to use one of his mechanical suits to take Orozen’s corpse back to the Tyla Civilization in exchange for the bounty.

At this moment, Han Xiao looked at the other corpse and spotted the cube on Colin’s neck.

What is this thing? It actually wasn’t destroyed despite the attacks of the mechanical army?

Han Xiao bent down to pick up the black cube with curiosity.

The instant that he touched the black cube, an introduction of the item popped up on his interface.

Glancing at the introduction, Han Xiao’s jaw dropped, and he almost did not dare to believe what he had seen. Evolution… Cube?

Did I become blind?

Isn’t this Psyker’s Universal Treasure? Why would it appear here?

Did I just pick up a divine weapon on the streets?

Han Xiao held onto the Evolution Cube and was stunned silly on the spot.

He then came to an enlightenment.

Turning around abruptly, his gaze was fixed on Feidin, who was by his side.

“Why are you looking at me?”

Feidin felt his hair stand from Han Xiao’s gaze.

Han Xiao swallowed a mouthful of saliva and gave a thumbs up.

“Feidin! Awesome!”

Feidin had a face full of confusion.

A few minutes later, Sardeem led a large machinery army and arrived at City No. 2.

Only a pile of rubble was left behind, along with a huge crowd watching by the side. Han Xiao and his mechanical army had long disappeared.

The security squad hurriedly cleaned up the battlefield but could not find a single clue.

The group of people being monitored were all killed without their corpses being left behind. I can’t even find a single trace of their attackers!

Sardeem was truly exasperated.

Because of Han Xiao’s control, the scouts that Sardeem had used to spy on Colin did not send any information to Sardeem. All the mechanical patrol squads did not stop Han Xiao’s group, and the surveillance footage had been destroyed.

Up until now, Sardeem had been kept in the dark and did not know what had happened.

Just who killed Colin and his group?

Just how powerful would an enemy capable of instantly killing a Calamity Grade Super be?

What was the objective of the attackers? Were they bounty hunters, were they Psyker’s special force, or was there a hidden reason?

If the attackers were not Psyker’s men, this meant that the people under his watch had been killed with the attackers disappearing. Just how would he answer to Psyker?

Sardeem felt a headache coming on and could only report the situation honestly to Psyker.

Chapter 755: Preparing for a Hot Potato

Meanwhile, Han Xiao took Hila and Feidin to escape from the scene. He clutched the Evolution Cube in his hand, his expression conflicted.

It was an unexpected joy to be able to pick up the Evolution Cube. After this ecstasy, Han Xiao gradually calmed down.

Since the Evolution Cube had already appeared, it should have nothing to do with Feidin. There had to be a deeper reason behind this, likely an event that happened somewhere that he was unaware of.

The emergence of the Evolution Cube had also cleared up any blind spots of information. Han Xiao’s brain moved rapidly, re-examining this series of events and speculating on the causes and consequences.

The appearance of Psyker’s Evolution Cube in the hands of these people means that they stole the Universal Treasure from Psyker in some way and transported it. No wonder they went silent for months after killing Harrofal. Turns out, their plan was not to retaliate but to plot to steal the Evolution Cube…

Han Xiao now understood their plan.

It seems like I was mistaken. These people were not here to deal with me but to steal treasures…

But why did they kill Harrofal? Did he have something to do with the theft of the treasure, or was there another motive behind it?

In his previous life, the Evolution Cube had only been made known to the players when it was in the hands of the Arcane Church. Until Austin revealed the secret, Han Xiao did not know that the Evolution Cube actually belonged to Psyker during this time period. While this might not have been a secret to the higher levels, it was not something that was publicized, and with the current level of the players, it was difficult to obtain this sort of intelligence.

In the later versions, players who joined the Arcane Church faction could pay contribution points and Enas in exchange for the opportunity to use the Evolution Cube.

The effect of the Evolution Cube was mainly for the transcendence of a species, and its specific role varied from each person. If the weaker party became stronger, the stronger would increase even more. However, the first time that it was used would give the greatest effect. Any subsequent attempts would become weaker until there was no longer any effect.

The Evolution Cube went from Psyker to the Arcane Church. I’m not sure what happened halfway. Did EsGod interfere in the transportation?

Han Xiao suddenly paused. He recalled that in his past life, there was intelligence about EsGod creating trouble in the Star Pupil Holy Race. However, it did not occur during this time period but an event in between Versions 3.0 and 4.0.

The players did not experience it in person, only seeing a text record on it, and there was no mention of the Evolution Cube.

“Phillip, do a search on the latest news report of the Star Pupil Holy Race,” Han Xiao ordered.

Planet Avitan’s news was quickly searched through by Phillip, but due to the PR control by its government, the specific process was obscured. There was only mention that Planet Avitan had suffered heavy casualties and did not mention the name of the EsGod.

Because the huge Star Field would generate hundreds if not more of such stories every day, the event on Planet Avitan did not affect the Shattered Star Ring on a large scale. Thus, Han Xiao would not normally have paid attention to such a small story that did not involve him.

Han Xiao thought for a moment. The incident on Planet Avitan should have been committed by EsGod. I am eighty percent certain that they stole the Evolution Cube from Psyker, with the strategy of feigning an attack in the east but hitting the west.

In that case, the attack on the Star Pupil Holy Race by EsGod was carried forward.

In connection with Harrofal’s death, Han Xiao had a feeling of shock.

Could this be related to me? Is this the so-called butterfly effect?

A pity, if only there was one person left alive.

Han Xiao was a little troubled. He had planned for everything to be foolproof, going out with full force, but who knew that their opponents would be so weak that they would be wiped immediately? There was no chance left to interrogate any of them.

Wait a minute…

At this point, Han Xiao lurched to a stop. Thinking about the intelligence that he had received, a new doubt surfaced in his mind.

Since EsGod was acting secretly, and there was no sign from the Star Pupil Holy Race that the Evolution Cube had been stolen. Then, the reason Sardeem was monitoring this group would be interesting indeed.

Perhaps Sardeem was not interested in the bounty reward offered by the Tyla Civilization but the Evolution Cube in their hands?

Han Xiao’s brows furrowed. He thought of three possibilities.

The first possibility was that Sardeem had some sort of special intelligence channel and managed to obtain news of the location of the Evolution Cube, thus wanting to take it for himself.

The second was that the Mechanic Empire was aware of this matter and wished to be the fisherman that obtained all the benefits, thus instructing Sardeem, who was situated in the Shattered Star Ring, to obtain the Evolution Cube.

The last possibility was that Sardeem had been asked by Psyker to help the Star Pupil Holy Race regain the Evolution Cube… no, Psyker might not have told the truth, as Sardeem was only told to monitor them, so he might not have known about the existence of the Evolution Cube.

Whichever possibility it was, Sardeem was a competitor, and in the worst-case scenario, it meant that a Beyond Grade A Super, Psyker, was also on his way there.

Weighing the Evolution Cube in his hand, Han Xiao’s eyes were solemn.

He was no stranger to the Evolution Cube. At least he knew that the original shape of the Evolution Cube was huge, so the cube in his hands should be a portable version of the Evolution Cube.

Austin said that he himself had not seen the appearance of the Evolution Cube before. Psyker has not publicly displayed the Evolution Cube like the Arcane Church, so there should be few people that know of it, and Sardeem himself may not even recognize it…

At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something, and his face changed as he hurriedly contacted Aurora who was on the spaceship.

“How’s the situation on the ground at the port?”

Aurora was mystified. “Uncle, how did you know that there was a situation? We’ve just received a notice from the ground control that someone attacked the city, so the departure passage will be temporarily closed and departure restricted. Only when all the perpetrators are caught will they loosen the regulations.”

Indeed!

Han Xiao kneaded his fingers.

The moment he got rid of the subordinates of the EsGod, Sardeem immediately locked down the entire planet, not allowing anyone to leave.

Such a big move was not only just to ‘arrest the perpetrators of the attack on the city’ but also to keep the Evolution Cube on this planet.

However, this would raise a new problem. With him having concealed his tracks, Sardeem had no way to pursue him. Even if they did security checks on Planet Macipher, how long would it take to find the Evolution Cube? With the number of people present, the difficulty was just like finding a needle in a haystack. Without the corresponding detection method, just shutting down the planet was futile.

Thus, Sardeem should have some methods of locating the Evolution Cube. Maybe it’s a detection instrument that can sense the position when it comes within a certain distance. This may also be the detection method of Psyker. The detection should be limited, otherwise I would have long been spotted by Sardeem.

Although he did not experience the whole process himself, based on the clues that the Evolution Cube gave him, Han Xiao could guess the sequence of events. His mind suddenly brightened up.

With this in mind, Han Xiao told the other two to stop.

His original intention was to leave Planet Macipher immediately after killing Orozen, but Sardeem had already stopped the air traffic control before he could even get into his spaceship. If he wished to leave, he would have to forcibly break through their defenses, so he was in no hurry. Rather than rushing back to the port, he might as well think of how to deal with the Evolution Cube that he had now gotten his hands on.

Han Xiao summed up his current situation.

Getting the Evolution Cube meant having to face Sardeem, whose intentions were unknown; Psyker, whose house had been robbed; the scheming EsGod; and the Arcane Church!

At least two Beyond Grade As and a Universal Civilization would be looking for trouble with him!

Han Xiao sucked in a deep breath of air, realizing that this Evolution Cube was a hot potato!

While it was a joyful surprise, it posed a danger!

Therefore, he had to be cautious when dealing with the Evolution Cube.

Han Xiao turned solemn and quickly calculated the pros and cons in his head.

There are only two ways to deal with this. Hide it or give it away.

If I wish to keep the Evolution Cube… Well, I’m not far away from the Beyond Grade A class myself, so I have the qualifications to occupy a Universal Treasure. But the consequences will be becoming an enemy of Psyker. EsGod will also target me in order to obtain the Evolution Cube. I already have a relationship akin to fire and water with the Tyrant. If Psyker and the Tyrant join hands… things don’t look too optimistic.

But the benefit of keeping it is that not only can I use it to strengthen those in the Black Star Army, I can also use it to attract more forces. There are few civilizations that can resist the temptation of the Evolution Cube. Psyker did ^ this as he and the Arcane Church monopolized the usage of Evolution Cube. They did not wish to use it to cultivate more competitors.

Han Xiao secretly nodded to himself. Sardeem might have locked down the planet, but he could not stop him from taking the Evolution Cube. Even without forcibly breaking through, he could still quietly take the cube away from Planet Macipher with a Void Dimension Jump.

So long as Sardeem was unable to find the cube, sooner or later, the lockdown would end, and the trio would then be able to get out through the spaceship.

The issue was, if he kept the Evolution Cube, he would not be able to disguise it from the other organizations. The Black Star Army would then become a target of public criticism.

Han Xiao groaned.

Even if I hand it over, choosing the person to hand it to will be a problem—EsGod, the Mechanic Empire, the Universal Civilization, or Psyker.

Passing it over to EsGod would turn him from a foe to an ally, but if things were revealed, he risked offending the three Universal Civilizations as well as many other forces. Generally speaking, the risks were too great, and the disadvantages outweighed the advantages.

It would also be strange to hand it over to the Mechanic Empire. It would be in line with Planet Macipher and Sardeem, throwing the Evolution Cube that was the hot potato over to someone else, and using it to exchange for a large amount of resources. At the same time, it would also allow him to get rid of the danger, stay out of the fight, and avoid any struggles.

If given to a Universal Civilization, they would turn into staunch allies. Who it was given to would affect the benefits. The Federation of Light would give a lot of resources in exchange, whereas the Crimson Dynasty would give him a ticket to the Flickering World in addition to the resources.

These two were possible. As for the Arcane Church, it would be detrimental for him to hand over the cube to them.

If he passed it to the Arcane Church, things would be more complicated since Psyker was already considered an ally of theirs. The Arcane Church might not forsake Psyker to favor him, and either way, he would lose a Beyond Grade A ally.

However, with him turning into Beyond Grade A, the Arcane Church might not use force to try to snatch the Evolution Cube, which meant that the final result would be them returning the Evolution Cube to Psyker to maintain their relationship if he handed it over to them. In that case, not only would they retain Psyker, they would have him as their ally and still be allowed to use the Evolution Cube.

Psyker might appreciate the Arcane Church, but the same could not be said of Han Xiao.

Of course, the Arcane Church was a hegemon and would not be afraid of annoying Psyker. There was also the possibility of them pocketing the Evolution Cube.

The final option would be returning it to the owner and keeping things quiet. This would undoubtedly allow him to gain the friendship of Psyker, and he might even be able to borrow the Evolution Cube from time to time like the Arcane Church.

Just as Han Xiao was weighing the costs and benefits, Feidin asked, “Black Star, where are we going now? Aren’t we going back to the spaceship?”

Han Xiao regained his senses, thought about it, and shook his head. “There’s no need. Hila, bring Aurora over.”

They could not go back to the Cornerstone Summit Corporation anymore. Sardeem would definitely suspect himself first of all as an unknown Calamity Grade Mechanic, and he would have reported him. Since he would be suspected whether he returned or disappeared, there was no need to keep up with the pretenses.

Anyway, I was the one who did it, and I, Barne, am righteous and unafraid of trouble!

Han Xiao temporarily let go of his mental struggle.

He was long used to taking a rain check and calculating the best possible outcome, but no matter what, the Evolution Cube belonged to him alone for the moment.

Enjoy it before deciding!

Your Excellency Psyker, I’ve already locked down the planet’s port.”

On the other side, Sardeem was communicating with Psyker.

“Before I arrive, don’t let anyone go,” Psyker blandly replied.

“Alright… but please hurry. I cannot keep the lockdown for an indefinite period of time.”

Sardeem had an expression of helplessness. Luckily, there was an excuse of hunting down the perpetrators to maintain law and order, but locking the port for too long would cause Planet Macipher’s business to suffer, and this was something that he could not accept.

You’ve worked hard. I’m almost here,” Psyker replied.

“Ok, what should I do now?”

“There’s no need for you to do anything else. Just ensure that no one leaves Planet Macipher. If anyone tries to forcibly leave, stop them personally.”

He could tell that the Evolution Cube was still on Planet Macipher, but the distance was too far from it to be accurately predicted. Thus, when Sardeem informed him that EsGod’s subordinates had been killed, Psyker was slightly surprised but regained his calm afterward.

As long as the treasure was still on Planet Macipher, it would all be good. The moment he arrived personally, he would then be able to discover the position of the Evolution Cube.

Chapter 756: Genetic Optimization and Ambitions

Along one of the continuous mountain ranges of Planet Macipher, a mountain face was dug out by Han Xiao’s machinery to form a cave, and the cave was equipped with a fully automatic environmental shelter, disguised as a rock. In the light of dawn, those outside could not see the existence of the cave, and the energy detection shield blocked out many of the satellite detectors that Sardeem had arranged in outer space, making it impossible for the owner of the planet to discover any energy responses here with just satellites. This area was a blind spot on their radar.

Within the cave was a hollowed-out mountain belly, and Han Xiao had unfolded a portable mechanical fortress there, occupying thousands of square meters. Numerous mechanical foundations were spread across the mountain walls, supporting the hollowed abdomen of the mountain. This area had turned into a stronghold, and the multiple mechanical foundations also served as light sources, illuminating the darkness of the cave.

After laying his hands on the Evolution Cube the previous night, Han Xiao had analyzed his situation clearly and decided to leave the Planet Macipher’s city to set up a temporary hidden stronghold in the wilderness of the planet to prevent Sardeem from detecting their usage of the Evolution Cube. After Hila brought Aurora over, Han Xiao took the three of them there and built a small base with the compressed orbs that he carried with him.

He always carried equipment to set up a temporary camp.

After settling down, Han Xiao took out the Evolution Cube, explaining his hypothesis so far. Originally, the three of them were confused over Han Xiao’s sudden irrational behavior, but after hearing the history of the item, they were enlightened.

The trio looked curiously at the small black cube in Han Xiao’s hands. Aurora was purely curious about Universal Treasures, while Hila was interested in its ability to promote one’s strength.

Feidin, however, showed an anxious expression. “This is the Evolution Cube of legends? Since we’ve picked it up, what do we do now? Do we return it to Psyker? Will he think that we stole it?”

Because he had followed Han Xiao to visit Austin, he knew that this belonged to Psyker.

Han Xiao could only helplessly reply, “I haven’t thought of that yet.”

“It can’t be that you’re thinking of keeping the Evolution Cube,” Feidin said. “If you do, we’ll also become enemies with Psyker. Now that you’ve already provoked the Tyrant, if we add on Psyker, that would mean that you’ve provoked half of the Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring…”

Han Xiao interrupted him. “We can discuss that later. Since the Evolution Cube is in my hands, let’s first use.”

How do we use it?” Hila impatiently asked.

“If my memory serves me right…”

Han Xiao flipped the small black cube around, scrutinizing it. Every face was as smooth as a mirror, absent of any notches. Even when he exerted strength with his fingers, it did not leave any traces.

After hesitating, he covered the two sides of the cube with both his palms, pressing down on all corners of the cube simultaneously. The next moment, the inky black surface lit up with streams of light, and a spherical black energy ball wrapped around the cube, suspending it in midair.

“The first step was right…” Han Xiao was overjoyed.

The easiest way to utilize the Evolution Cube was to enter it when it was in its natural state. However, when the Evolution Cube was fixed in its portable mode, the container needed to be opened in a specific manner to expose an opening where the energy from the cube could exit.

The first step was thus to put the container into its ‘Ready* status. This was what Han Xiao had just done. However, it did not mean that the cube had been activated yet.

A cover would then materialize around the cube, which served as a password input screen. A series of specific ‘passcode symbols’ would have to be drawn on it to open the container. This was equivalent to a password. Compared to the Secret Message Bead, this was actually quite simple.

Many players from his past life had used the Evolution Cube in the Arcane Church in exchange for their Contribution Points. Thus, there were a few that had watched the NPCs from the Arcane Church unlock the Evolution Cube in person and recorded it. The process was not a secret to him, and there were even others who posted a summary of the passwords for the Evolution Cube, which were made up of forty-two different symbols.

However, the exact shape and position of the symbols were a little vague to Han Xiao. Fortunately, his Intelligence attribute had improved so much that his memories were already structured like a bookcase. All his memories were stored in different categories, which could be manually accessed and viewed. Such thinking modes could be mastered by ordinary people just after training, let alone for Mechanics with extremely high Intelligence and large brain areas. Otherwise, would it not be too difficult for them to memorize their blueprints?

After pondering for a while, he slowly recalled the structure of the symbols and started to trace with his fingers on the energy cover of the cube, leaving behind golden trails. He quickly finished drawing the symbols, but the energy hood was only drawn back, and the cube dropped onto the ground. Obviously, it was a failure, causing him to stagger slightly.

That’s right. The password set by the Arcane Church might not be the same as that set by the EsGod. Han Xiao suddenly realized the issue. He was a little depressed. If he failed to open the Evolution Cube, he could only smash it to allow it to regain its original size. The commotion created by that would be too big, and people would definitely notice.

Frowning and sighing, he consoled himself. That might not be the case as well. The Evolution Cube belonged to a lost civilization, and making portable containers was also this civilization’s technology. It is very advanced and is not something ordinary people can decipher. Maybe the Gods can make containers such as these, but it should be difficult to improve the technology.

As such, these forty-two symbols should be the fixed password of the container. As to why the container was not opened… maybe my drawing was inaccurate, or the order was wrong.

Han Xiao did not know that he had guessed upon the truth. This set of symbols was a fixed activation password of the portable Evolution Cube, which could not be changed. It was not only used to unlock the container but also the key to harnessing the energy of the Evolution Cube.

This was the top-secret information left behind by the Evolutionary Cube’s Civilization. At present, such knowledge was only in the hands of EsGod. Even Colin and the others did not know how to open it, to prevent their greed, betrayal, or accidental disclosure of information.

In his previous life, the Arcane Church had not been afraid of leaking out such information as no one could take away their items, so Han Xiao had become one of the few people currently who knew the password needed to open it.

He tried more than thirty times, slowly replicating the symbols, refining his accuracy. Finally, on his thirty-seventh try, there was a different reaction from the Evolution Cube.

From the center of every face on the cube, a small hole appeared, in which a black stream of ribbon-like particles escaped, surrounding the cube and propelling it in the air.

“It’s open!” Han Xiao exclaimed.

Looking at the others, Han Xiao first took a deep breath, before stretching out his palm and releasing his Mechanical Force toward the Evolution Cube.

Hu!

The next moment, the black stream seemed to have discovered a vent to escape from and flocked over to Han Xiao, continuously infiltrating his body from his skin.

Itchy!

That was his first thought.

This sort of itch seemed to be bom from his soul. His skin, muscles, bones, blood vessels, and organs all felt the itch, but it was impossible to reach out and scratch it like scratching one’s body. The symptoms could not be relieved at all.

At this point, notifications started to pop up from the interface.

You have utilized the Evolution Cube (Gold Grade)!

You have received a permanent special benefit—[Gene Optimization: Evolution Cube]!

Identifying species… Identification complete. Your current species is: [Void Star Pursuer].

Your genetic structure is now being adjusted to the best state of the [Void Star Pursuer]. Please do not interrupt the Evolution process.

The first optimization has succeeded. Your potential qualities have increased. You have received +6 STR, +4 DEX, +5 INT, +4 MYS, +3 CHA, and +30 Energy.

Because your Energy Level is above Level 0, the second optimization has automatically succeeded. Your potential qualities have increased, and you have received +8 STR, +7 DEX, +11 END, +7 INT, +5 MYS, +6 CHA, and +40 Energy.

Because your Energy Level is above Level 14, the sixteenth optimization has automatically succeeded. Your potential qualities have increased, and you have received +64 STR, +67 DEX, +72 END, +76 INT, +61 MYS, +43 CHA, and +240 Energy.

When he was rushing toward level 238, his Energy Attribute had broken through the 40,000 mark, achieving the [Level 14] bonus.

For each additional energy attribute level, one would be able to access an additional layer of genetically optimized attributes as a reward. Hence, the stronger one’s body was, the better the effect of one’s first use. The attributes awarded were based on a variety of factors, such as cell activity, life span, and species—of which the species had the greatest impact. The Evolution Cube would be optimized based on the race, and if one’s racial species was more powerful, their benefits would be greater.

When the Evolution Cube was used for the second time onward, it would not be calculated based on the new strength level but rather repeat the optimization process for each layer. However, the attributes given would be greatly reduced, with each subsequent usage giving out less than the previous one, until there was no effect. Only through the sublimation into a new racial species would one then regain some benefits, but even that would be far less effective than the first use of the Evolution Cube.

Han Xiao endured his itchiness while calculating in his mind. This series of genetic optimizations had provided him with an extremely terrifying increase in his attributes. The five attributes of Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, and Mystery shot up by more than five hundred points, while Charm was increased by nearly four hundred points. As for Energy, there was an increase of 2,100!

This wave of soaring attributes exceeded the total amount of attribute points that he had obtained up till Energy Level 14!

The sum of all his improved attributes added to reach more than three thousand points, which was equivalent to Han Xiao’s attributes being improved by a third. The effect was outstanding!

Because the potential of the [Void Star Pursuer] was strong—coupled with his young age, high vitality cells, and strong energy—the increase was terrifying!

When he had upgraded his profession to Emperor Mechanic, rising to level 238, his total Energy count had been at 32,600. Right now, after utilizing the Evolution Cube, he suddenly leaped up by another 2,000 points, reaching 34,450.

Even though the itchiness in Han Xiao was hard to bear, he could not help but reveal an expression of joy. This genetic optimization was too worthwhile.

However, the notifications on the interface had not yet ended.

The first time utilizing the Evolution Cube awarded you with sixteen layers of genetic optimization. There will be a +40% experience penalty to level up, which will last for 16 months.

Han Xiao nodded to himself secretly. Players would suffer from experience penalties upon using the Evolution Cube. After all, the attributes obtained were equivalent to gaining ten or more levels. It was just like the saying of pulling up seedlings to help them grow—it would be impossible without a cost. This principle was just like how a stronger lifeform would find it harder to sublimate themselves. Each time the Evolution Cube was utilized, there would be a forty percent experience penalty, and the duration would depend on the number of genetic optimizations obtained.

However, this was nothing to Han Xiao. Just a forty percent experience penalty, under the influence of his thirty percent increase through the Political Asset, was essentially just a ten percent penalty. Han Xiao’s experience gain relied on the experience of his leek fields. He could afford to just wait for a while, using this sixteen-month penalty in exchange for a large increase in attributes. This was a permanent force that would result in larger combat power.

Furthermore, the stronger one’s attributes, the higher the energy level. As such, his chances of breaking through to the Beyond Grade A at level 240 was even higher now.

At this time, the interface popped up with the last few notifications.

Special Conditions met: On your first time utilizing the Evolution Cube, you unlocked more than ten layers of genetic optimizations.

Special effect triggered.

In the next advancement, you will receive an additional opportunity to perform a Race Evolution.

Gene Optimization has ended.

The black particle flow finally stopped flowing, retreating into the Evolution Cube.

Han Xiao hurriedly squatted down to take a breath, calming himself. He then slowly sensed the power within his newly increased attributes, giving him the feeling that he could blow up a whole planet.

Feidin rushed up to help, asking, “How was the effect?”

Han Xiao only waved his hands, signaling that there was no need for any aid. He then slowly stood up, feeling refreshed. Seeing Hila staring at him, he could not help but laugh.

“I’ve tested it, and the side effects are small. All of you should have a go.”

Hila immediately nodded. “Let me go first then.”

Han Xiao did not hesitate, opening the Evolution Cube again to allow the black particle stream to flow toward Hila.

From the perspective of an outsider, the black particle stream would wrap the user into a black cocoon. It took a while for Hila to break out of the cocoon, as though emerging from the cocoon as a butterfly. There was a red glow in her eyes, which then slowly faded.

“Sis, how do you feel?” Aurora curiously asked.

Hila clenched her fists, and her sharp look softened suddenly, as she revealed a rare smile.

“I feel really great.”

Seeing the situation, Han Xiao smiled. He was happy to share the Evolution Cube, which would allow him to improve the backbone of his group.

Soon, there were another two cocoons beside the Evolution Cube. It was Feidin’s and Aurora’s turn to enjoy the baptism of genetic optimization.

Han Xiao stood beside them, looking at the two people who were undergoing the process, and suddenly spotted a problem.

If the Evolution Cube returned to Psyker, he would not know the opening symbols, only being able to destroy the container and release the evolution block, making it return to its original state.

It seemed … that only Han Xiao knew how to use the evolutionary block in its portable state.

Once this thought was bom, Han Xiao’s eyes flashed.

Maybe this is a foundation for cooperation…

In a short while, Feidin and Aurora also completed their optimizations, and each experienced with their own changes.

“Ok, what’s the plan now?” Feidin immediately asked. Since the Evolution Cube had been used, it was time for them to think about what to do next.

Han Xiao’s answer was out of his expectations.

“You all will stay here.”

The three of them stopped in shock.

“Are you planning to…” Feidin was in disbelief.

Before waiting for him to finish, Han Xiao nodded. “Sardeem has already sealed up the entire planet, so Psyker will probably catch up soon. I have my ways of protecting myself from a Beyond Grade A but not you guys. We will act separately this time. You guys stay here temporarily. I have a way to leave this planet.”

His real objective was to utilize the Void Dimension Jump to leave Planet Macipher on his own. This way, he could precisely test the accuracy of the detection method that Sardeem or Psyker had.

No matter how he planned to deal with the Evolution Cube, he could not avoid taking a risk. In this manner, it would be better if he just operated solo. This way, he would not need to worry about his teammates.

In reality, this Evolution Cube was a hot potato, but since it had already fallen into his hands, Han Xiao was not willing to hand it over.

Risk and opportunity co-existed side by side. This was the situation that he had analyzed, and there was no doubt that only by keeping the Evolution Cube in his possession could he maximize the benefits.

As for whether he had the ability to keep it… if he did not try, how would he know?

Thus, Han Xiao decided to enter the desolate universe belt with the Evolution Cube by himself, giving himself time to accumulate enough experience to reach level 240.

While he did not know the exact context, he felt that the facts should be similar to his own deduction. It was likely that there would be a pursuer, which was most probably Psyker.

Han Xiao had nothing against Psyker and even respected such heroes who cared about their races.

The Evolution Cube only worked for an individual, but the descendants of powerful individuals would also end up inheriting certain genetic optimization effects. Furthermore, undergoing another process through the Evolution Cube would be a positive cycle, and this was exactly how Psyker had managed to evolve his Star Pupil Holy Race to its current state.

To this day, the Evolution Cube was still a very important tool for the development of the Star Pupil Holy Race…

However, what had that got to do with him?

He was not a member of the Star Pupil Holy Race!

He was not even the one who stole the cube!

He just picked it up!

Han Xiao had already made his decision. At least, he had to exchange blows with Psyker once. If he could not fend him off, it would not be too late to negotiate!

Chapter 757: This Is Not Personal; It’s Just Too Tempting.

On the floating city of Planet Macipher, Sardeem was using all his law reinforcement troops to search for clues of the culprit who attacked Colin and the others.

He had not slept the previous night. Psyker’s order was to lock the entire planet down to prevent the attackers from escaping, but Sardeem thought that if he could find the attacker soon, there would be no need to continue locking the ports down, which affected his businesses.

As it was related to his own profits, he was very motivated.

Sadly, he did not acquire any clues throughout the night—it was like the attackers had disappeared into thin air. There were no traces of them anywhere on any surveillance devices.

“Could they have the ability to teleport or something?” Sardeem scratched his head. “Or did all of my surveillance devices stop functioning?”

Sardeem could not help but look through the command records of the floating city’s control center, but he did not discover any signs of it being hacked. Han Xiao had cleared his browsing history there long ago while also ending his temporary access. With Sardeem’s ability, it was next to impossible for him to find out what Han Xiao had done.

Ring ring!

While Sardeem was getting frustrated, Psyker’s call arrived once again.

Your Excellency Psyker, what is it this time?” Sardeem suppressed his frustration and made his tone sound as natural as he could.

He was Mechanic Empire’s subordinate. Sure, he did do quite a few things for Psyker because Psyker was a Beyond Grade A, but Psyker seemed to be commanding him as if he was his subordinate, which made Sardeem a little unhappy. This was mainly because locking the planet down damaged his profits, the key reason his attitude changed.

However, what Psyker said almost made Sardeem jump up from his seat.

“The fugitive has left Planet Macipher and is running outside the Shattered Star Ring. What are you doing?” Psyker’s tone was relaxed no more and seemed truly grave, with a hint of blame.

Just a moment ago, he had sensed the Evolution Cube leaving Planet Macipher, moving away at hyperdrive speed. It had undoubtedly been taken away by someone, which made Psyker lose confidence and start to feel anxious.

“Impossible, I’ve locked down all the ports. No one should be able to leave Macipher for the time being!” Sardeem’s face was filled with disbelief, and he almost thought that Psyker was deliberately blackmailing him.

How did Psyker know about the whereabouts of the attacker? Psyker was not there, and not even Sardeem, the owner of the planet, noticed someone escaping.

“Maybe the fugitive has some kind of ability to avoid your lockdown. Anyway, he’s escaped. I need you to help me do one more thing,” Psyker said with a low voice.

He was in quite a bad mood. He had been very close to arriving at Planet Macipher and easily retrieving the Evolution Cube. However, at such a crucial moment, an accident occurred. He had no idea if this was the act of another group of EsGod’s subordinates ordered to continue the mission or that the Evolution Cube had been intercepted by someone else. No matter what, the situation was slowly getting out of his control.

EsGod’s subordinates had died, and the person who now possessed the Evolution Cube and was escaping was a mystery!

“What do I need to do?” Sardeem put away his little thoughts.

“I will point you in the direction that the fugitive is running, and you follow them. My spaceship is very fast, so I will catch up with you soon.”

“This…” Sardeem hesitated. He was confident about his strength so he was not worried about the danger but that someone would cause trouble on Planet Macipher while he was away.

As Psyker had not told him the truth since the start, Sardeem had started to realize that this matter seemed to be very significant.

“You’ll be rewarded handsomely for helping me.”

“…Okay then.” Sardeem agreed in the end. “Does this mean that the lockdown on Planet Macipher can be canceled?”

“Whatever.” Retrieving the Evolution Cube was Psyker’s only target; everything else was none of his concern.

As the communication ended, Sardeem did not delay any longer and started to pack up and leave, chasing after Han Xiao with the coordinates sent by Psyker.

While gathering his mechanical troops, Sardeem ended the lockdown.

At this time, Sardeem suddenly recalled something and immediately contacted the upper echelons of the Cornerstone Summit Corporation.

“Where’s Barne?”

“Your Excellency Sardeem, Barne was out the whole night last night and has yet to appear.”

Sardeem narrowed his eyes. This Calamity Grade with unknown origin was the first person he suspected.

“I remember he has three friends, where are they?”

“Er… they’re missing as well.”

“They’re most likely the attackers!” Sardeem heavily slammed the table with a vicious look on his face. He had thought that Bame was there to steal blueprints, but it turned out that he had something to do with this Psyker incident. This guy had prepared his ambush for more than twenty days!

Having thought of that, Sardeem immediately entered Barne and his friends’ faces into the control center and made all the surveillance facilities notify him as soon as they discovered their whereabouts.

After that, Sardeem took along a ton of elite Giant Soldiers, boarded his spaceship, turned into a stream of light, and chased after Han Xiao.

At the same time, in a mechanical stronghold in a certain mountain in the wilderness of Planet Macipher, three people were waiting.

Han Xiao had secretly left the planet through Void Dimension Jump while leaving the stronghold behind for Feidin and the sisters to hide, as well as to monitor Sardeem’s movements.

“Sis, the lockdown has been lifted, and Sardeem has left.”

In front of a few virtual screens, Aurora was controlling the machines swiftly with her fingers.

As her Esper ability lacked combat power, she had learned a lot of other knowledge during the time she was on Floating Dragon Island. She had gained a ton of subclasses and was developing toward an all-round commander.

“Black Star guessed right. Sardeem left the planet and is going after him,” Feidin said with resignation.

“And we’re left behind…” Hila clenched her fists with a frustrated expression.

In order to protect the three of them, Han Xiao had left alone to lure out Psyker, who might appear. It was clear that the three of them were a burden.

Hila wanted to fight alongside Han Xiao, but Han Xiao had rejected her because she was not strong enough to deal with a Beyond Grade A Super.

She was irritated with herself for not being able to help him.

She had trained ten years with Ames and become a high-level combatant in the universe, so she had thought that she could finally help Han Xiao, but it turned out she was still a burden.

Hila clenched her teeth tightly and felt frustrated. She had ended her training to help Han Xiao, but now she had become someone that needed his protection once again. She was not willing to be protected by Han Xiao all the time; she wanted to fight alongside Han Xiao. Otherwise, how could she repay him for what he had done for her and Aurora?

Seeing that she was not looking too good, Feidin said in a worried tone, “Hila, don’t overthink…”

Hila returned to being expressionless and said coldly, “Don’t worry, I won’t disobey his orders. Even if I insist on going after him to help, I’ll only cause more trouble to him and become even more of a burden.”

Feidin breathed a sigh of relief. After spending so much time together, he knew how stubborn Hila could be. He did not worry anymore and said with a smile, “You don’t have to undervalue yourself. Black Star sees you as someone very important to him, and you still have a lot of room to grow. In the future, you will definitely be of great help.”

Hila curled her lips and tightened her fists.

“You don’t have to worry about him. After all, we’ve all undergone the effects brought by the Evolution Cube, which you should know about. Black Star is definitely even stronger,” Feidin said.

Hila nodded. She knew very well of the Evolution Cube’s effects—they were so significant that it almost felt like she had been reborn.

“Don’t worry, I made many life force potions for him on the spot. He will be fine.” Aurora chuckled. “Don’t you trust my ability? You were just telling me to make more potions earlier.”

Before Han Xiao left, Aurora had made many life force potions for him on the spot. She had learned pharmacology from Emerald Grass in the past and studied it further on Floating Dragon Island, so the level of her subclass was very high. Combined with her Esper Ability, every one of those potions was equivalent to full health recovery.

When Aurora was making the potions earlier, not only did Hila not stop her younger sister as usual, instead, she agreed to Aurora using more life force to make potions for Han Xiao.

Recalling that, Hila blushed a little bit and turned away to avoid Aurora’s eyes while changing the topic.

The planet lockdown has been lifted, and Sardeem has left. What should we do? Stay here or leave in a spaceship?”

Feidin thought about it then said, “We shall leave Planet Macipher after Sardeem is further away. It’s safer that way.”

Hila and Aurora nodded. As long as Feidin was the one that made the decision, it might not result in a profit, but it would definitely not result in a loss.

Outside the Shattered Star Ring edge, in the desolate universe belt, a light suddenly appeared. Han Xiao left the Void Dimension and appeared with his skin a little red from the universe’s radiation.

Before him was a gray desolate planet. Han Xiao slowly landed on the cracked ground, crossed his legs, and hovered about a meter above the ground, waiting for his Army Boxes to arrive in hyperdrive.

He had used Void Dimension Jump to leave Planet Macipher, so his Army Boxes were still on the spaceship. He would only be at his peak as a Mechanic once his mechanical army arrived. As the Emperor Mechanic’s [Secondary Dimension Army] was still unactivated, his army was not with him at all times.

That’s a point. This is my first time actually leaving the Shattered Star Ring.

Looking up at the sky, this thought suddenly appeared in Han Xiao’s mind.

In the last twenty odd years, he had always been in the Shattered Star Ring.

There were desolate universe belts between Star Clusters, as well as between Star Fields, where the latter was much bigger than the former. He had once fought in the desolate universe belt between Klent and Purple Crystal, which paled in comparison as compared to now.

The desolate universe belt that separated two Star Fields had extremely sparse resources and very low value. The planets were scattered, and it was deadly silent. Even if a civilization was born there, it would have no future because of the vile environment. In the entire known universe, desolate universe belts made up to more than sixty percent of the area. In the unexplored universe, desolate universe belts consisted of even larger areas.

After feeling nostalgic for a while, Han Xiao got back to business. He opened the faction interface and started a discount event for all the Knowledges in the faction store. The reason he did this was to reward the army members for having participated for many months in the secret war. The Contribution Point cost of learning Knowledges was sixty percent off!

In order to quickly make up the experience that he needed for the last two levels, Han Xiao used the promotion to stimulate purchases. Knowledges were a necessity for players, and the only difference was when they would learn it. Han Xiao needed the players to learn them right now, so having a promotion was the best method to encourage that. He was willing to earn fewer Enas for that.

This way, even with the forty percent experience penalty, it would not take long.

Before the enemies caught up, Han Xiao had quite a lot of confidence that he could level up to level 240.

Beep beep!

At this time, his communicator suddenly rang. It was a message from Hila.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as he read it.

Sardeem has left Planet Macipher? He set off as soon as I left, so it seems although their locating method is not accurate enough, they are able to remotely locate the Evolution Cube.

This means that my whereabouts are transparent to them, and Sardeem and Psyker are heading right toward me.

As Han Xiao finally figured out the enemies’ detection method, Han Xiao felt more confident.

The ability to locate the Evolution Cube should be where their confidence came from!

He did not wait for his Army Boxes anymore and once again used Void Dimension Jump, turning into a stream of light and heading further away.

Since he was being chased, he could not stop. This battle was unavoidable; all he could do was make detours to meet up with his Army Boxes while stalling for the time.

While in hyperdrive, Han Xiao pondered.

I have quite a number of trump cards. Aurora’s potion, Dragon Emperor’s Character Summon Card, the rarely used [Painful Revenge] and [Luck Curse]… I must use everything I have that’s effective against a Beyond Grade A. It’s been very long since an opponent that required me to use my full strength. However, the Psychic class counters me for quite a bit. Psyker also has powerful AOE abilities. As a Beyond Grade A, he will be able to easily destroy a ton of my mechanical soldiers. Sadly, I don’t have the time to strengthen my mechanical army now…

As he had already tried in the stronghold, the Evolution Cube had no effects on his mechanical soldiers. After all, they were objects and did not have genes that could be improved. Maybe it would only be effective after they turned into real mechanical lives.

Sadly, [King’s Mentor] was still unactivated, so he would only be able to test that in the future.

Without any machinery that was useful at the Beyond Grade A level, he would not be able to reach his peak performance right after his Promotion. If only he could increase the power of his machinery before fighting Psyker…

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up suddenly.

Oh, that’s right, Sardeem…

Chapter 758: Like Rain Pouring on a Field

With a flashing stream of light, Sardeem’s spaceship stopped outside an asteroid belt.

He had been chasing Han Xiao, following the directions that Psyker gave, for a whole day. He had noticed that the target did not head directly into the desolate universe belt but traveled in an arc around the edge of the Shattered Star Ring at a slower speed than his spaceship.

He finally caught up with the target at this asteroid belt. The coordinates given by Psyker showed that the target was hiding in the asteroid belt right then.

The target has stopped here… Sardeem had a serious look on his face.

Countless asteroids floated in the universe like a river. Some were tens of thousands of meters wide, and some were just a dozen meters wide. They blocked Sardeem’s view, and he could only use the radar on his spaceship to slowly scan the asteroid belt.

Given how large the asteroid belt was, it was indeed a great place to hide. Scanning through it was undoubtedly a troublesome task.

However, the moment Sardeem had this thought, the radar responded.

“Alert! Abnormal energy target detected!”

The vision on the porthole of the spaceship expanded. At the top of an enormous oval-shaped asteroid, a man was sat with his legs crossed. His face was hidden under his helmet, and his body was covered by the streamlined mechanical suit, with dark blue patterns evenly distributed across the surface of the armor. He was facing Sardeem’s spaceship, clearly aware of Sardeem’s arrival.

Sardeem narrowed his eyes. He stopped the spaceship, opened the hatch, and walked out. Red and gold armor extended from his chest over his entire body, forming heavy armor around his body.

Sardeem spoke first and sent a message to Han Xiao with an unfriendly tone. “Barne? Is that you?”

Han Xiao smiled faintly. “You can continue to call me that.”

Sardeem snorted. He knew that the name ‘Barne’ was just an alias. As for his true identity, he did not ask back then, and he had no idea now.

However, that did not matter. He would have more than enough time to find out after he captured and interrogated him.

Having this thought, Sardeem’s eyes started sparkling, and he came up with a plan.

Initially, Psyker only asked him to follow the target. However, since he had caught up, he was not afraid of fighting. Maybe he could pry out Psyker’s secret from ‘Barne’ before Psyker arrived. He had no idea why this person was running and why Psyker was chasing after him, so he was in a rush to find out.

“I have one more question,” Sardeem said with a low voice. “Your real goal was attacking these people, wasn’t it? That’s why you hid on Planet Macipher beforehand. Yet, you tried to steal blueprints while working in my business under a disguise. Weren’t you afraid of getting exposed?”

From the way he looked at it, ‘Barne’ came and stayed on Planet Macipher to kill the group of people including Colin. Hence, he could not figure out why ‘Barne’ was so daring to be exposed right under his nose. Would waiting in a hotel in the city not have been stealthier?

“Will you believe if I say it’s all because of luck?” Han Xiao smiled with resignation.

At the start, he just wanted to obtain a talent, then he discovered Eternal Light’s blueprint, so he focused on stealing it. After that, Orozen suddenly came right before him. He then simply wanted to kill a wanted criminal but was dragged into the storm around the Evolution Cube…

Could this be because of the great Feidin?

“Luck?” Sardeem narrowed his eyes and found that very suspicious. He shook his head and said, “Never mind, I know I won’t get anything from you now. You will learn to speak later when you’re in my hands.”

Right after his sentence ended, Sardeem’s Mechanical Force erupted. The cabin of the spaceship opened. Red and gold Army Boxes shot right toward Sardeem like rockets and opened on the way. His mechanical army quickly formed a formation and hovered behind Sardeem.

With a brief look, there were about two to three million machines. Their models were very different from Han Xiao’s; they were bulkier and more ferocious.

As an Armed Mechanic, Sardeem knew more blueprints for war machinery. The mechanical army under his command mainly consisted of heavily armored and large machines. There were five-meter-tall heavy mechanical soldiers everywhere and a few thousand conspicuous Giant Soldiers. The biggest was more than a thousand meters tall, even larger than many asteroids around them.

Other than all kinds of mechanical soldiers, there were also many combat devices that were often used in galactic wars.

Sardeem launched a ton of compressed orbs, which then expanded into huge parts that connected with his armor, forming a several-hundred-meter-tall Giant Soldier. He backed away into the center of his army. Many defense fortresses and hovering guards moved to surround him, forming multiple layers of defenses. There were also space stabilization devices around him, preventing the enemy from using hyperdrive to close the distance on him.

This was the authentic Army Style of fighting—the Mechanic was the commander in the middle of the army, focusing on utilizing the troops and formation to defeat the enemy step by step.

Seeing that Sardeem had summoned his army, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. As he scanned through Sardeem’s army, he could not help but lick his lips.

“So much heavy machinery, good stuff.” Han Xiao’s fingers moved around slightly in anticipation.

The millions of mechanical soldiers simultaneously aimed at Han Xiao. Seeing Han Xiao did not even respond, Sardeem frowned slightly.

“You’re a Mechanic too. Where’s your army?” Sardeem said with a mocking tone. “Or have you decided not to embarrass yourself and are willing to surrender?”

Han Xiao smiled. He pointed behind Sardeem.

“Isn’t my army arriving?”

Shocked, Sardeem turned around immediately.

Behind his army, streams of light rocketed from far away. It was the Black Star mechanical army that had arrived through hyperdrive!

As the Army Boxes opened one after another, more than ten million mechanical soldiers swarmed out like a black tsunami. It was more than three times bigger than Sardeem’s army!

“How is this possible‽”

Sardeem’s expression changed drastically with fear.

Suddenly, he realized that this ‘Barne’ was not just an ordinary person but someone well known from somewhere.

The size of the mechanical army represented the wealth of the Mechanic. Even maintaining the army required money. In the entire Shattered Star Ring, very few Mechanics could afford such an enormous mechanical army.

Names flashed through his Sardeem’s mind, and he finally stopped on one.

Panicked, Sardeem hastily turned around and stared at Han Xiao with disbelief.

“You’re… Black Star‽”

“That’s correct. Here’s a green hat as a reward.” Han Xiao chuckled.

With the Evolution Cube in hand and breaking through to Beyond Grade A around the corner, there was no need to continue playing the ‘Barne’ role.

“Fire!” Sardeem’s cool shattered instantly as he hastily ordered his army to start firing. The back of his army faced the approaching mechanical army, and the front of his army fired on Han Xiao.

Facing millions of light beam attacks, Han Xiao did not want to take it head-on. Like pulling on a cloth, his hands pulled down strongly. [Strengthened Void Distortion] caused chaos in the time-space around.

Countless light beams’ courses deviated. Countless asteroids around him were penetrated and shattered by the light beams, turning into dust. Even the enormous asteroid under Han Xiao crumbled.

After the initial round of fire, the tens of thousands of meters area around Han Xiao became an empty space in the asteroid belt, while he remained unharmed. He was covered in an azure psionic energy shield that was rippling brightly, blocking all the stray attacks.

Seeing Sardeem’s mechanical soldiers’ barrels lighting up again, attempting to start the second round of fire, Han Xiao immediately entered the Void Dimension.

The next instant, he appeared behind Sardeem’s army, slashing right toward Sardeem, who was protected by layers of defenses.

Surrounded by enemy mechanical soldiers in all directions, Han Xiao activated Apostilization. The psionic energy around him overflowed, shooting and spraying Psionic Impacts like they were infinite. He penetrated tons of mechanical soldiers with ease, turning every mechanical soldier before him into scrap metal, breaking through the layers of defenses extremely quickly.

The Evolution Cube had made him much stronger. Only a tank Mechanic like him would dare to go so deep into the enemy army.

Suddenly, Han Xiao’s vision was covered in darkness. A several-hundred-meter-tall Giant Soldier stood in his path, covered in spaceship grade shields and equipped with more than a thousand artillery cannons.

The gigantic mechanical palm slammed down like a mountain.

Without even dodging, Han Xiao raised his hand and stopped this slam head-on. His size was like an ant compared to the Giant Soldier, but as his mechanical suit thruster operated at its maximum power output, he was not blown away. Han Xiao’s fingers lodged into the Giant Soldier’s palm, and he hung from it.

The Giant Soldier clenched its fist immediately. However, the next moment, countless tiny cracks appeared on the Giant Soldier’s palm and spread over his entire palm. Dark blue light shone from within the cracks. Before the Giant Soldier could react, the entire arm was blasted into pieces by the psionic energy that Han Xiao had injected!

Countless parts were blown away by the impact, toppling the mechanical soldiers around.

With [Energy Enhancement Aura (Cosmetic)], the lighting effects looked very dazzling and colorful—despite not having any actual bonus, it looked cool.

After crushing this Giant Soldier that blocked the way, Han Xiao’s legs stomped in the air as he accelerated in an instant, shattering the machinery in his path and heading right toward Sardeem, who was in the middle.

“He’s too strong.” Covered in sweat, Sardeem hastily deployed more troops to stop Han Xiao.

At this moment, the Black Star mechanical army on the other side finally clashed with Sardeem’s army.

The difference between them was clearly visible—Han Xiao’s mechanical army was black, and Sardeem’s was red. At this time, the black side formed a comb-shaped formation and penetrated right into the red side’s formation, stirring up their formation.

Then, like an unstoppable train, the black side pushed the red side into the asteroid belt not far away. The formations of both sides were shattered, and it became a chaotic brawl.

Millions of light beams flashed every second, quickly shrinking the size of the asteroid belt. The area was illuminated by blinding lights.

Countless mechanical soldiers were destroyed on both sides every second, turning into scrap metal floating in the universe.

In the midst of all this, Han Xiao did not forget about Virtual Intrusion. More and more of Sardeem’s troops started to switch sides.

As a Giant Soldier shattered a team of Black Star mechanical troops, it suddenly turned and punched right through the head of another Giant Soldier.

The troops sent to stop Han Xiao became vanguards that opened the way for him. Han Xiao was initially advancing alone, but he suddenly gained a few thousand ‘traitors’ to protect him.

Sardeem was on edge and had no choice but to keep backing away. He could still fight to a certain extent with his army in his hands and might even be able to escape, but once Black Star got too close, it would be the end of him.

Authentic Army Style users would not be afraid of the enemy rushing through the layers of defenses, since it would be suicide for a normal Mechanic to use the tactic that Han Xiao was using. However, Sardeem did not think that he would be able to penetrate Black Star’s defenses. With so many prior cases, everyone knew how terrifying the ‘Indestructible Body’ was. He did not want to be the next case.

…

As the intense battle carried on in the asteroid belt, the entire asteroid belt was reduced to dust.

After lasting for so long, Sardeem finally had nowhere to back away to. He was caught by Han Xiao from behind.

The defense measures around him were shattered by Han Xiao, and the troops around were all occupied by Han Xiao’s mechanical army. All Sardeem had was this Giant Soldier that he was controlling manually. He had no choice but to fight Han Xiao in it.

Both of them had the ability to Apostilize. Psionic energy clashed time after time, spreading out like impact waves. Every punch that Han Xiao landed on the Giant Soldier shattered a large area of its exterior armor. Sardeem could only run around. He was no match for Han Xiao at all.

In terms of the Army Style, Han Xiao had more machines. In terms of personal strength, Han Xiao was stronger. Plus, he had just received a chunk of attributes from the Evolution Cube, so their differences were even larger. It was completely one sided. Han Xiao chased after Sardeem and tore his Giant Soldier apart piece by piece.

The exterior armor of the Giant Soldier was finally shattered. Han Xiao dashed inside the Giant Soldier, grabbed Sardeem, and used Mountain Ape Throw to throw him right out of the Giant Soldier, leaving a trail of shattered parts behind.

The next moment, Han Xiao instantly accelerated and caught up with Sardeem, who was still tumbling. Mechanical Force covered his entire body, and his fist was instantly enhanced by [Gene Liberation], [Legendary Battle Technique], [Overload], [Mechanical Force Overload], [Lethal Critical Hits], and all sorts of explosive abilities!

Bang!

His punch penetrated the armor and landed heavily on Sardeem’s abdomen. Like a drum, his organs made a thunderous sound within his body, making his ears ring.

Having taken the True Damage of this punch, as a paper Mechanic, Sardeem entered the Stunned state instantly.

Before Sardeem bent his body in agony, his chin was grabbed by a large hand, shattering his helmet. The fingers grabbing onto his skull started to tighten.

“D—do—don’t—” Sardeem felt like his head was going to explode. He quickly begged for mercy, but in space, no one could hear his scream.

Han Xiao tilted his head. An air bubble popped out from his shoulder and shrouded the two of them. He then opened his helmet and said, “You’ve lost. You don’t want to die, do you?”

“Don’t kill me!” Sardeem hastily yelled. He was not stupid, so he was not going to use the Mechanic Empire’s name as protection. The Mechanic Empire was countless miles away and would not go all the way there to avenge him even if he died. Furthermore, Black Star was not someone that would be intimidated; threatening him with Mechanic Empire’s name would only anger him further.

Wimping is the right thing to do!

“Then tell your troops to stop.” At this time, Sardeem’s mechanical army was still fighting with his mechanical army.

With his life in Han Xiao’s hands, Sardeem did not dare resist. He quickly stopped his troops.

The two mechanical armies stopped fighting quickly.

Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction. He smiled and said, “Give me authority over your troops.”

Sardeem’s expression changed drastically as he ground his teeth.

He was bleeding in his heart. Giving up the authority meant that he was gifting all these troops that he spent a very long time building to Black Star.

“Are you unwilling?” Han Xiao raised his brows. “I can get your troops all the same if I kill you. The only difference is that I’ll have to waste a little bit of time. If you’re willing to die, I really have no problem with it. In fact, after killing you, I can even take over your Planet Macipher. Tsk tsk, everything you’ve worked for will be mine. Is that what you want?”

“St—stop, I’ll give you the authority.” Sardeem’s face was pale. He had no choice but to reluctantly give the authority of his army over to Han Xiao.

“Don’t be so mad. At least you’re still alive.”

Han Xiao was content. He told Phillip to count the troops that he had just seized. He just had to rewrite the authority, and they would all be his.

Then, Han Xiao took out many electromagnetic cuffs and restrained Sardeem tightly.

He was not planning to kill Sardeem. After all, he was the Mechanic Empire’s subordinate no matter what. Since Sardeem was the one that started this battle, taking his resources was just considered a small conflict. Even if Sardeem reported this to the Mechanic Empire… why would Manison ever concern himself with something so trivial? On the other hand, killing Sardeem was a different matter. Han Xiao did not want to attract the Mechanic Empire’s attention at this time.

Nonetheless, he could not let Sardeem leave right away.

While filled with hatred, Sardeem was relieved. He had worried Han Xiao would kill him after getting the authority of his mechanical army, but it seemed that he was going to live.

“I have some things to ask you. If you cooperate, you can suffer less…” Han Xiao grabbed him. “By the way, this isn’t personal.”

Sardeem replied with an obedient attitude. “I will cooperate.”

Seeing that Han Xiao was not going to kill him, Sardeem slowly regained his calm. He looked obedient on the surface, but he was actually resentful.

If he had fought Black Star on his base, Planet Macipher, he did not think that he would have lost.

However, that was meaningless. The only thing that Sardeem could rely on was Psyker, who was hurrying after them.

As long as Psyker arrived, he would be rescued. A Beyond Grade A would easily demolish a Calamity Grade; Black Star would be no match for Psyker.

Sardeem did not know the existence of the Evolution Cube. From the way he looked at it, Han Xiao did not know that Psyker was chasing after him.

Therefore, before that, he planned to stall Han Xiao and not resist.

Han Xiao glanced at Sardeem and saw right through him. Sardeem clearly felt that Psyker would save him and was looking forward to the Beyond Grade A arriving in a rainbow cloud.

That was good for him. It would save him some energy.

With this mechanical army, I have more to fight Psyker. I’m now at level 239. The promotion was indeed the right choice.

Chapter 759: Born!

One day later, a water droplet-shaped spaceship flew into the desolate universe belt from Planet Macipher. It had a unique appearance, like a translucent azure bubble. This ship belonged to Psyker.

Psyker could sense that the location of the Evolution Cube was still moving within the desolate universe belt. With his speed, he would catch up to the target in about ten hours.

Who intercepted my Evolution Cube?

More than ten hours earlier, the coordinates of the Evolution Cube had stopped moving for a while. During that period, he had lost contact with Sardeem. Psyker had sent many communication requests but to no avail.

It was clear that Sardeem had met the target and been defeated.

Psyker became more interested in this mysterious hijacker. Firstly, the fact that the target was able to defeat Sardeem meant that his strength was at the top of the Calamity Grades. Secondly, the target was very mysterious. He suddenly appeared, grabbed the Evolution Cube, and fled. This meant that the target somehow knew what the Evolution Cube looked like after it was shrunk down.

Based on these two factors, Psyker felt that this person might either be one of EsGod’s subordinates, a third party that knew about EsGod’s plans, or an opportunist that found out about this through some foresight ability. He felt that the latter two were more likely.

Since he defeated Sardeem, he should know that I’m chasing right after him, yet he’s still fleeing. He knows that’s the Evolution Cube, but he still doesn’t plan to return it to me. Does he think that he can escape from my hands?

Psyker could not help but shake his head, creating a simple impression of this person.

Someone so greedy that he valued fortune more than his own life!

Does this person not know how strong Beyond Grade A Supers are?

Among the four Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring, the Dragon Emperor and he were the lowest profile ones. Could this person think that he was easy to mess with?

As the leader of a Star System civilization, Psyker had met countless strange people but rarely anyone so arrogant.

Of course, Psyker would not be angered because he had been underestimated. As the leader of a civilization, he had learned to maintain his cool a long time ago—he just found it laughable.

It had been a very long time since anyone underestimated him.

As Psyker’s thoughts drifted away, he recalled that the last time he felt ashamed was hundreds of years ago.

At that time, the Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring had not been the same people as now. He had still been a teenager who followed his family’s financial group to the mother planet of a Star Cluster civilization for business. However, because of his race, he had been despised and picked on by those arrogant Star Cluster civilization citizens.

It was not personal, just an advanced civilization looking down on a backward civilization. Yet, this made him feel more ashamed than if it was personal—looking down on the bloodline he was proud of had hurt his most fundamental dignity as a member of his race.

Psyker still motivated himself using that experience. That Star Cluster civilization had become the civilization that had no choice but to watch the Star Pupil Holy Race rise right under their noses because of the Arcane Church.

If not because he had acquired the Evolution Cube in those ruins, the Star Pupil Holy Race would not have become what it was.

As Psyker regained his focus, his eyes became firm.

He had to retrieve the Evolution Cube!

Only then would his race continue to be supported by the Arcane Church!

…

Central Galaxy, Abyss of Stars, the Federation of Light’s Mother Planet, Supreme Court…

There was a circular stage. Dozens of holographic projections hovered above the stage. They were clearly separated into two sides, sitting opposite each other. On one side were the Elder Representatives of the Federation of Light, and on the other side were the Dynasty Emissaries led by the Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Ambassador.

The two sides had been in this meeting for two consecutive days. In the past decade, similar meetings had happened close to a hundred times, all for one topic, but it had never come to a conclusion.

This time, it was different.

“So, on behalf of the Federation of Light, I hereby announce the final conclusion of this meeting. This meeting has now ended.” The leader of the Elder Representatives of the Federation of Light drew half a full stop to this meeting that had lasted an entire decade.

The Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Ambassador nodded firmly with an expressionless face.

As the topic involved the ownership of an enormous Star Field, the two sides negotiated for a decade. Diplomatic means were just supportive methods; the real source of their chips came from the countless threats, resource bribes, political pressure, deterrence from Beyond Grade A Supers, and many other means in the past ten years.

After single-handedly creating the Crimson Tide that brought chaos to more than ten Star Fields for an entire decade, the Crimson Dynasty finally obtained their fruit of victory today. The two sides had come to an agreement that both were satisfied with. The Federation of Light had compromised.

This time, the leader of the Federation of Light Elder Representatives suddenly spoke.

“What is the Crimson Dynasty going to name this new Star Field?”

With a tone filled with pride, the Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Ambassador replied, “We thought of the name long ago. This new Star Field that’s going to be included in the Dynasty’s territory will be called the Flickering World!”

…

Inside the enormous Purple Crystal satellite fortress, the Section Zero alliance was resting after a bloody battle. Damaged battleships were sent into the military factory for repairs one after another. The soldiers of the various forces wasted no time before resting and enjoying the help from their logistics departments.

The privileges and treatment of the Black Star Army warriors who returned to their exclusive supply station were clearly much better than the other organizations. The NPCs were mixed with the players as they claimed their resources and repaired their equipment.

The fortress was extremely crowded.

Frenzied Sword, Hao Tian, and the others squeezed into the queue, sent their equipment for repairs, and then squeezed themselves out. Due to how crowded the place was, they even lost a little bit of health while they were pushed around in the crowd.

“What are you guys going to do later?” Frenzied Sword asked.

“The Knowledges in the faction store have been discounted recently, so I’m planning to learn a few,” Maple Moon said.

Hao Tian nodded, hinting that he was going to do the same.

Frenzied Sword then looked at Bun-Hit-Dog, only to realize that he looked very down. He could not help but ask, “What’s going on? Why are you so down?”

Bun-Hit-Dog sighed. “We fought so long on the frontlines of the secret war that our Mission Rating has increased so many levels, but why hasn’t Black Star come to join the battle recently? I’m lacking material.”

Maple Moon began to wonder as well. “I wonder, too. The battle has been so intense. The high-level combatants of the Bloodshed Land have been rampant in the past few months. I always get killed by their AOEs. If only the captain was here…”

Li Ge suddenly appeared and said, “I agree.”

Where did you come from?

Hao Tian pressed Li Ge right back into the crowd.

Frenzied Sword returned to the topic. “Maybe this is so that we can do more missions. Think about it. If Black Star was here, would we have so many battle opportunities? We might just end up watching cutscenes every day.

Bun-Hit-Dog was enraged. “Cutscenes are exactly what I want. Where else am I going to get material?”

The others shook their heads with resignation.

Frenzied Sword and the others were not alone. Countless army players were wondering about this as well.

As the leader of their faction, Black Star did not participate in the secret war, nor had he sent any messages in the past few months. It was like he went missing.

Where did Black Star go?

…

“To my knowledge, Black Star has been missing for a few months and did not take part in the war during this time. As Purple Crystal lost Black Star’s help, our high-level combatants were able to achieve rather good results…”

On Planet Heber, Staff Sergeant Jorde was reporting to the Tyrant.

Heber sat on his throne like a tiny mountain and listened to Jorde’s report in silence, occasionally nodding.

Jorde continued with excitement. “New information arrived from Klent earlier. Not long ago, the Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light finally came to an agreement. The handover process is going to take a few months. Only then will the Crimson Dynasty deal with the issues regarding their allies. The time it will take for them to start dealing with the secret war between Klent and Purple Crystal should be about half a year…”

“Oh?” Heber’s tone rose.

“This means that the secret war will only last half a year longer, which is shorter than we expected.” Jorde was exhilarated. “We still have control of West Wind, Kaya, Chaida, and the border Star Systems. In half a year, Purple Crystal will not be able to regain control of them. Your Excellency Tyrant, this means that we’ve won!”

“Not bad…”

Heber nodded slowly. He then suddenly asked, “How’s Black Star doing?”

“After he fell into my trap, he went missing for months, I don’t know where he is now.” Jorde rubbed his chin. “However, he may know about the agreement that the Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light have made, so I think he should now be planning his escape.”

“Planning his escape?”

“Yes. Black Star must know what situation he’s in. He knows that he is definitely no match for you. I think that he might escape from the Shattered Star Ring.”

Heber shook his head. “He’s not that kind of gutless coward… Hmm, maybe he will seek help from the Dragon Emperor or the Purple Crystal civilization to stop me.”

Jorde nodded.

“No matter what, I can’t let people think that there isn’t a price for killing so many of my subordinates,” Heber said slowly. “Klent got what they want, and I need to make an example out of someone.”

…

In the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin sat with his legs crossed in midair and explained Magic theories. He was surrounded by Mages of all races who were carefully listening to the Magus’ teachings.

“Therefore, it can be seen from the mistakes in the third, seventh, and nineteenth circuits that the question asked by the Beyond Grade A ‘Holy Sorcerer’ Mapier hundreds of years ago is flawed. That’ll be all for today.”

The mages bowed and swamped out. Very soon, the hall became empty, leaving only Austin.

Austin took a deep breath. He took out his communicator from his secondary dimensional pocket and browsed through the news that he had missed.

“This is all entertainment news. Tsk, this female celebrity looks quite nice. What’s her na… Ahem, the situation in the Primeval Star River is still horrible… Hmm, more civilization ruins discovered in the Ancient Star Desert… Sigh, horrible stuff… Hmm? The Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light have come to an agreement?”

Austin was surprised. He was reminded of the situation of the secret war and his reminder for Han Xiao a few months ago.

Austin rubbed his tender chin with his tiny hand.

“The secret war is about to end. The show is finally going to start. I wonder what choice Black Star made. I hope he doesn’t disappoint me…”

…

Outside the Shattered Star Ring, Han Xiao took Sardeem and landed on a desolate planet. This was an extremely hot planet. Its ground was covered in cracks filled with lava, volcanoes erupted all the time, and the planet surface was filled with tons of lava lakes and rivers.

“This is it.” Han Xiao nodded in his mind.

It had been a day since he captured Sardeem. He had already obtained intelligence from Sardeem and confirmed his speculation that Psyker could locate the Evolution Cube.

Hence, Han Xiao decided to choose the battlefield and wait for Psyker, who was about to arrive.

Phillip counted Sardeem’s army. After losing a few hundred thousand mechanical soldiers in their battle, Han Xiao had seized more than two million troops, which increased his chances.

Of course, his confidence did not mostly come from that machinery.

A few hours ago, the experience from the players had finally filled up the experience bar of level 240!

He landed on this planet to complete his level 240 Promotion that he had been looking forward to for a very long time.

Han Xiao suppressed his excitement, turned around, and gave an order to the mechanical troops that restrained Sardeem.

“Keep him under control. Don’t let him go anywhere.”

“Roger,” the artificial intelligence Sparta replied coldly. It then controlled the many machines to all aim at Sardeem, ready to fire as soon as Sardeem did anything strange.

“Hmm!” Sardeem was tied up by electromagnetic chains all over his body, and even his mouth was sealed. The Super-Gene in his body was dried out by Han Xiao temporarily as well. He was extremely weak and could not move at all. All he could do was whine through his throat.

Leaving Sardeem behind, Han Xiao flew off alone. He crossed more than a thousand miles and randomly entered a crack on the surface.

He deactivated his mechanical suit and moved within the lava with his body. With his talent [Cosmic Environmental Adaptation], he was resistant to all kinds of harsh environments. The thousand-degree lava was no different to him than a shower.

“I wonder when I will be able to shower with Fixed Stars like the Tyrant… Wait a minute, why am I comparing myself with a Pugilist?”

Very soon, Han Xiao crossed the underground lava river and entered an empty space thousands of meters under the surface.

“This place should be secretive enough. The impact wave won’t be able to leave here very easily.”

Han Xiao was rather satisfied with this place.

Looking down at his muscular body, the runes drawn by Lagi made his body look as exquisite as a piece of art.

“Tsk, amazing… sigh, I’ve used the Evolution Cube, I wonder if I’ll become a monster like Psyker after becoming a Beyond Grade A.”

Han Xiao took off the Evolution Cube and slapped it into the wall. He rubbed his hands and opened the interface.

“Come on!”

After taking a deep breath, Han Xiao put all the experience into leveling up.

Straight toward level 240!

…

On Floating Dragon Island, Ames walked down the corridor of the palace with her long legs and feather-looking dress. By her side were Aesop and Vilna.

“Haven’t found them yet?” Ames said with an unsatisfied tone.

“No…” Vilna replied.

“Damn Black Star, where did he take my students!” Ames was enraged.

When Hila and Aurora finished their training with her a few months ago, she had originally planned to send people to protect them secretly. However, in the last few months, Black Star and the two sisters had gone missing together. She could not find them at all.

“You’re too worried. There’s absolutely no need. Black Star won’t harm the two of them,” Aesop said with resignation.

“Hmm? You think I’m an irresponsible teacher like you?” Ames raised her brows.

So much hatred… Aesop wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead.

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, if you want to know where the sisters are, why don’t you let me ask Black Star directly?” Vilna could not help but ask that.

Ames gave her a glare and said, “If I have to go to Black Star for everything, why did I create your team?”

Vilna had no words and could only lower her head.

It was actually created by Black Star… Aesop shook his head in resignation. Nonetheless, he agreed with Ames—Floating Dragon had to have their own intelligence channels. After all, Black Star might leave any day.

At this time, Aesop suddenly stopped.

Ames and Vilna only noticed that Aesop had been left behind after walking a few more steps. The two of them turned around only to notice that Aesop had closed his eyes and was frowning.

“What did you see?” Ames asked curiously. Aesop’s Esper Ability would occasionally activate automatically to give him some foresight.

Aesop suddenly opened his eyes. His face was filled with shock.

“The fifth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring… is born!”

Chapter 760: Exclusive Race!

_____________________

[Emperor Mechanic] levelled up to Lv.15.

+300 Energy, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +8 END, +12 INT.

You have received 10 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

_____________________

Boom!

When his level reached level 240, a powerful surge of energy exploded within Han Xiao’s body. The electric Mechanical Force violently left burn marks on the floor and walls like a thunderstorm.

The level 240 Promotion Mission appeared. Han Xiao glanced at it. It was not difficult, but he was not going to stop now. He had two more Mission Completion Cards, so he directly used one of them to complete the Promotion Mission.

_____________________

Level 240 Promotion Mission completed!

Promotion successful!

END Bonus increased! 1 END = 210 Health = 220 Stamina.

_____________________

From level 60, a Race Evolution would occur every 40 levels. The last Race Evolution was at level 220, so level 240 would usually be a normal Promotion. However, with the benefits that he had received from the Evolution Cube, he received a bonus Race Evolution chance.

_____________________

The [Gene Optimization—Evolution Cube] effect has been triggered.

You have received a bonus Race Evolution.

You have taken another step on the path of evolution. You have ascended in the hierarchy of life. Your genes have reformed… Under the influence of the Evolution Cube, the chances of Mutation Option appearing in this Race Evolution have increased.

Race Detected: [Void Star Pursuer (Human Form)]

Randomly drawing 9 matching evolutionary directions…

Drawing complete!

Please choose one of the following 10 options for your Race Evolution. Warning! The evolution process is irreversible. Please choose carefully! [Appendix—Evolution Path Feature Descriptions]

[Void Commander (Human Form)]—66% Compatibility

[Void Devourer (Mutated Form)]—42% Compatibility

[Void Ripper (Mutated Form)]—38% Compatibility

[Thunder Element Tyrant (Energy Form)]—17% Compatibility

[New Edge Mechanical Race (Human Form)]—58% Compatibility

[Void Silencer (Human Form)]—49% Compatibility

[Chaos Demon]—27% Compatibility

[Void Pathfinder (Human Form)]—72% Compatibility

[Chaos Secret Sorcerer (Energy Form)]—35% Compatibility

[Child of Star Core (Physical Form)]—9.7% Compatibility

_____________________

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

The influence of the Evolution Cube was obvious—there were quite many mutated options in the ten options. This was probably how Psyker went through atavism.

As for the options related to the Void Race, the two Mutated Form options were out of the question. [Void Silencer] and [Chaos Secret Sorcerer] were more suitable for Mages. His best option was [Void Pathfinder], which was the next stage of his current race. [Void Commander] was the path toward Void Lord.

The other mutated options were quite good as well. Mechanical Race was the bloodline left behind by a Beyond Grade A Mechanic among the Primordial Ones. Becoming a Beyond Grade A meant becoming a one and only being in the universe, but reproduction was still possible. Beyond Grade As had very long lives, so there would be more than enough time for them to pass down their race. That Mechanic Primordial One had long passed away, but the Mechanical Race still lived in the universe. As the name suggested, they were born Mechanics.

Manison of the Mechanic Empire was the leader of the Mechanical Race. He was the second Beyond Grade A of this race.

[Child of Star Core] was also a very talented species. They were born in the cores of stars.

After some contemplating, Han Xiao selected [Void Pathfinder]. Although the Mechanical Race was very suitable for Mechanics, their potential was not as vast as that of the Void Race. Since he was so far down this path, unless he encountered an extremely powerful option, he would not easily change his path.

_____________________

Selection complete. Undergoing Race Evolution… Evolution complete.

Your race has been changed to: [Void Pathfinder (Human Form)]. Molecular structure is improved, organ structure strengthened, metabolism changed, and adaptability enhanced… Your potential aptitude has been improved!

+130 STR, +180 DEX, +317 END, +169 INT, +169 MYS, +73 CHA, +3180 Energy.

Energy Level bonus attributes have been changed!

_____________________

The original five talents did not disappear, but [Void Molt] was enhanced into [Void Blessing]. The increase in its effect was about twenty-five percent.

Also, he received a new talent—[Void Path]!

As the name suggested, this was the upgraded version of Void Distortion, which allowed him to directly open the gate of the Void Dimension. This was also how the name [Void Pathfinder] came about.

Opening the Void Dimension had many uses. He could throw the enemies’ attacks inside like trash, or he could send the enemies into the Void Dimension. He could even connect to a certain area within the Void Dimension and let the beings in there out into the world.

The only flaw was its long cooldown, or he could just hide his mechanical army in it. In terms of bringing his mechanical army along with him, the unactivated [Secondary Dimension Army] was still a better choice.

Maybe because he followed the direct evolution path, Han Xiao did not feel too much pain this time. This time, a notification that made him exhilarated finally popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have satisfied the Prior Requirement: Achieving u003e32759.1 Ona after Promotion.

Race Mutation activated!

_____________________

At this instant, the pain level in his body suddenly shot through the roof. Han Xiao’s expression became twisted. It was as if someone kept pumping air into his body and his body could explode at any moment.

“Race Mutation… this is it!” Han Xiao clenched his teeth and held on as he stared at the interface.

This was the true evolution toward Beyond Grade A!

_____________________

You have reached the peak of the hierarchy of life. You have found your own direction on the path of evolution. You’re going to undergo changes you have never experienced before. From this day forth, you are going to become a unique being like no other in the entire universe…

Detecting evolution path… complete.

Your evolution have gone through [Carbon Based Human (Yellow)], [Type I Spacehuman], [Void Prowler (Human Form)], [Void Observer (Human Form)], [Void Distorter (Human Form)], [Void Star Pursuer (Human Form)], and [Void Pathfinder (Human Form)]…

Please select 10 from the Racial Talents below…

_____________________

The choices were all Racial Talents that he had once possessed. Some had disappeared, but they had now all become available choices.

This exclusive race would gather the essence of his previous evolutions, Han Xiao realized.

As he had taken the Void Race path, he had no need for some duplicate talents, so the choices were easy. Firstly, he kept the six strongest talents of [Void Pathfinder]. Then, he selected two talents from [Void Observer]—[Void Vision—Observer] and [Observer’s Mark]. He had missed these two abilities for a very long time, and he could finally regain them!

For the remaining two, he selected [Chaos Entity—Release] and [Adaptability]. The latter was the jack of all trades talent of the Galaxy Human Race, which gave a ten percent bonus to all resistances, including Psychic Resistance. He had selected this with Psyker’s threat in mind.

After confirming the choices, a new notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

Please select 2 from the 5 Race Evolution choices below and receive one talent from each.

1. [Chaos Apostle (Human Form)]

2. [Void Destroyed (Mutated Form)]

3. [Void Preacher (Spiritual Form)]

4. [Advanced Ethereal Race]

5. [Saint—Galaxy Beast Race]

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The previous ten talents were all from the previous evolutions, but these two would be from the next stage of the evolution.

As he would become a unique race after becoming a Beyond Grade A Super, the following Race Evolutions would only enhance his exclusive race and grant him the talents of other races.

Absorbing talents had nothing to do with compatibility as he would not go through any mutation.

Enduring the immerse pain in his body, Han Xiao hesitated for a while and chose [Chaos Apostle] and [Void Preacher]. The former was to maintain his [Void Pathfinder] evolution path and the latter was because it was a Spiritual Form. Han Xiao felt that it would increase his Psychological Resistance, which would help him in dealing with Psyker.

The talents of these two races appeared on the interface. Han Xiao browsed through and made his choice.

_____________________

You have received the talent [Void Ethereal Echo].

You have received the talent [Supreme Piety].

_____________________

[Void Ethereal Echo] came from [Chaos Apostle], which could be used for many purposes such as applying debuffs to the enemy, restricting the enemy’s movement, defending, or attacking. It could only be used for one purpose at a time and had a cooldown of five minutes.

[Supreme Piety] was one of the [Void Preacher]’s talents. It gave a ninety percent Psychological Resistance increase and immunity to all kinds of deceptive psychic attacks, as well as a twenty percent chance to reflect psychic attacks.

“Okay, I now stand an even better chance against Psyker.”

Han Xiao was very pleasantly surprised. This single talent gave more bonus than all the Psychological Resistance talents that he previously had.

This time, a new notification popped up on the interface again.

_____________________

Please select your preference for the exclusive Racial Talent.

_____________________

This was referring to the thirteenth talent of this Race Mutation, which was the special talent of his exclusive race. It was no longer a talent from another race but creating his own talent.

This special talent would be the race talent to be passed down to his descendants.

The choices were attack, defense, resistance, health points, Machinery Affinity, and many others. The special talent would decide the direction of his exclusive race’s development, and there was only one chance to choose it. Han Xiao did not dare take the matter lightly, so he selected the Mechanic preference.

_____________________

Preference selected. Creating unique talent…

You have three chances to recreate. Your choice cannot be canceled after confirmation.

Creation complete.

[Natural Mechanical Senses]: +180% Machinery Affinity, +2 levels to all Mechanic type abilities, not limited to maximum ability level.

[Confirm/Recreate]

_____________________

Han Xiao shook his head. This talent was rather ordinary, so he used one recreation chance.

_____________________

Creating… Creation complete.

[Source of Mechanical Force]: When your Energy Attribute is Mechanical Force, receive 50 bonus Energy every level.

[Confirm/Recreate]

_____________________

This was not bad. If he selected this talent, he would gain 12,000 bonus Energy, which would most likely increase his Energy Level another level.

It was almost impossible to create a Molding Talent level ability, so [Source of Mechanical Force] was not bad at all.

He had two more recreation chances. Feidin was not around, so Han Xiao felt very insecure.

One more time. The exclusive talent of a Beyond Grade A won’t be too horrible no matter what… I think.

After making up his mind, Han Xiao clenched his teeth and used another recreation chance.

_____________________

Creating… Creation complete.

[Mechanical Genius]: Total Machinery Affinity * 1.15, +30% Machinery Creation Performance.

_____________________

Yo, this is what I’m talking about!

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

With this 1.15 multiplier to his total Machinery Affinity and the 1.08 multiplier of [Basic Mechanical Sense], it would give more than half the bonus of Reynold’s Molding Talent [Perfect Mechanical Sense], which was decent.

Furthermore, the thirty percent performance increase in his machinery creation was the most valuable bonus. The machinery that he created would have higher attributes. The thirty percent increase would make his mechanical army much stronger.

He would definitely have to create a new mechanical army suitable for Beyond Grade A battles afterward, so this ability would come in handy.

“This is it!”

Han Xiao did not use the last recreation chance and selected ‘Confirm’ immediately.

_____________________

You have received Exclusive Talent [Mechanical Genius]!

Tip: The effects of the Exclusive Talent will increase along with Race Evolution.

The 13 talents have been confirmed.

Exclusive Race created.

Please select a name…

_____________________

As the first being of this race, Han Xiao could name it.

“What race should I be called? Void Mechanical Race? Commercial Genius Race? A Pugilist That Doesn’t Want to Be an Esper Isn’t a Good Mechanic Race?”

The agony from evolving continued. Han Xiao decided not to waste time thinking of a name and used his own name.

He still recalled that the underground mutants that he had saved back then were called the Black Spirit Race, so using his own name would not be a problem.

_____________________

Exclusive Race Name confirmed.

Your race has become: Black Star Race

Detecting Race Appearance…

Based on your evolution experience, you can change your appearance to up to 2.7%.

_____________________

As Han Xiao had maintained his human form all along, he could not change his appearance much, nor did he want to, so he decided to keep his original appearance.

_____________________

Molecular structure is improved, organ structure strengthened, metabolism changed…

According to the preference of the Black Star Race, you have received bonus attributes.

+367 STR, +317 DEX, +534 END, +881 INT, +380 MYS, +249 CHA, +5600 Energy.

Energy Level bonus attributes have been changed!

[Race Mutation] Completed. Your Grade has increased to S.

+100 END Bonus! 1 END = 310 Health = 320 Stamina

_____________________

33,000 Energy was the triggering point of Race Mutation. Beyond it was the territory of Beyond Grade A.

_____________________

Grade A Grade Bonuses disappeared.

You have received Grade S Bonuses.

Grade S Bonuses: +50 END, +25 All Resistances. +25% Highest Attribute , +15% Other Attributes, +750 Free Attribute Points, +50 Potential Points

Please select 2 from the 7 options below as Grade Talents.

_____________________

Han Xiao clenched his fists in excitement. Just like how he received [Superhuman] when he became a Calamity Grade Super, Grade Ss had their own talents as well, which was also the main reason they were so much stronger than Calamity Grades.

_____________________

1. Physical Resistance

2. Psychological Resistance

3. Power Bonus

4. Status Enhancement

5. Health

6. Explosive Power

7. Energy

_____________________

Han Xiao focused and pondered. Power Bonus was a must. It would enhance everything just like [Superhuman], including Mechanical Force enhancement. This was the source of the destructive power of Beyond Grade As.

What he had a hard time choosing was the second option—he could not decide between Psychological Resistance and Health.

Psychological Resistance would be great against Psyker, but so would health. Furthermore, health would be more viable. He had yet to forget his two other enemies that did not use psychic attacks, EsGod and the Tyrant.

“Is taking beatings my fate?” With complicated feelings, Han Xiao sighed and made his choice.

_____________________

You have received Grade Talent [Supreme Power]!

You have received Grade Talent [Eternal Body]!

[Supreme Power]: You have gained power exceeding the Calamity Grade. The energy in the universe is yours to control. Your ability strength has increased, including but not limited to all weapons, equipment, machinery, and other combat means controlled by you. Bonus depends on Total Level.

Lv1 – Lv100: +4% attack every 10 levels; Lv100 – Lv200: +6% attack every 10 levels; Lv200 and above: +10% attack every 10 levels]

Current Bonus: 140% (This can be stacked with [Superhuman] bonuses)

[Eternal Body]: The life span of your cells is very long-lasting.

+1 END Bonus every 2 levels.

Current Bonus: +120 END Bonus

_____________________

“The enhancement brought by these two talents is… horrifying!”

Han Xiao was stunned.

No wonder Beyond Grade As were so powerful!

The agony became even more apparent and violent. Han Xiao focused on feeling the changes in his body.

Just as Austin had said, after he became a Beyond Grade A, the Soul Embryo in his mind disappeared instantly, directly destroyed by his Beyond Grade A mind.

The chain of debuffs brought by it on his interface disappeared all at once. He had returned to his peak state.

…

The pain finally faded after a few hours, taken over by the continuously expanding sense of power. It felt clearer and stronger than ever before. His sense of the world had never been this sharp.

The energy in his body overflowed from his every pore. His body was covered in dark blue light.

“I’ve finally succeeded!”

Han Xiao was ecstatic. From that day, he would be a Beyond Grade A standing at the top of Galaxy!

Calming himself down, Han Xiao distributed his Free Attribute Point evenly between Intelligence and Endurance, then looked at his attributes.

Despite being mentally prepared, he was still shocked by the numbers on his interface after he became a Beyond Grade A.

_____________________

Level: 240

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Black Star Race

Attributes: 2,346 STR, 2,930 DEX, 4,265 END, 6,672 INT, 2,108 MYS, 986 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Points: 84

Health: 2,533,510

Stamina: 2,487,270

Energy: 52,270 [Lv.15]

Lv.15 Energy bonus stat: +671 STR, +848 DEX, +1080 END, +1305 INT, +653 MYS, +141,520 Stamina Limit, +952% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 43,837

Grade: S (Beyond A)

Grade S Bonuses: +50 END, +25 All Resistances. +25% Highest Attribute , +15% Other Attributes, +750 Free Attribute Points, +50 Potential Points

Remark: Beyond Grade As are far more powerful than Calamity Grades. No matter which Star Field it is, you stand at the peak of it.

_____________________

“Way too powerful…” Han Xiao’s eyes widened with excitement.

Becoming a Beyond Grade A made him way stronger than Calamity Grade. He was in completely new territory.

With these attributes, no wonder no Calamity Grade could ever match a Beyond Grade A. Even he could not have beaten a Beyond Grade A before this. It was just like how a human would never be able to beat Godzilla with their bare hands.

Even he had more than 2.5 million health, so he wondered how much Tyrant had.

If those Primordial Ones never penetrated this limit, maybe the current universe would still have thought that Calamity Grades were the limit of individual strength.

“This is the power of a Beyond Grade A…”

Han Xiao felt the changes in his body. He felt like he could punch right through this planet under his feet.

And this time, it was not an illusion!

Beep beep!

Before he could test the limits of his power, Phillip suddenly sent a message.

“Master, hum… the radar has detected a spaceship in the outer atmosphere, hum!”

Han Xiao looked up immediately. As if his sights could penetrate the thick rock walls, his eyes locked onto a water droplet shaped spaceship outside the planet.

“Psyker? He’s finally caught up…”

Han Xiao’s eyes became firm.

This was the perfect opportunity. He could test out how strong he was among Beyond Grade As in the battle with Psyker!

Chapter 761: Negotiations

The waterdrop-shaped spaceship slowly entered the atmosphere and descended. The scene of fire and cracked lava jumped into Psyker’s sight.

Psyker had already sensed the position of the Evolution Cube just below the planet, so close that he could accurately sense its position now.

“The coordinates have stopped at this planet for a few hours now… Did he give up on the Evolution Cube and choose to escape, or did he purposely stay here just to meet with me?”

Psyker tried to guess the intentions of his unknown enemy and felt that the person might have set traps for him, causing him to be unable to continue pursuing him. As a precaution, he gave up the thought of flying down using just his fleshly body, instead flying over to the coordinates he detected in his spaceship.

After flying for a while, the detection radar suddenly pinged as it had spotted a life signal hundreds of kilometers away. The distant area was expanded, and it could be discerned that there were hundreds of Mechanical Warriors around a living body, as though keeping it in captivity.

“That looks like Sardeem.” Psyker’s expression grew grim, and he immediately flew over to Sardeem.

The troops on the ground raised their muzzles, opening fire at the spaceship overhead.

Boom boom boom!

A surge of invisible mental power formed a shield, distorting the space like a wall of air. The Particle Cannon blasted shattered into blue specks of light upon hitting them.

Explosions continued to move, but the shield remained motionless.

The next instant, a pale white mental shock wave materialized, sweeping across the ground.

Swoosh!

The hundreds of Mechanical soldiers below did not possess the bonuses of Mechanical Force and were naturally shattered in a single blow. The mental wave avoided Sardeem, and he was the only one left standing after the shockwave had passed.

The Psychic profession was the profession specializing in mental strength. Its strength lay in its mental attacks, and at the same time, it possessed the means to perform physical attacks. The driving force behind this was using one’s mental strength to affect the surroundings in order to generate the physical attack.

Psyker crushed the restraints on Sardeem’s body with his mind before beaming him up into the cabin.

“Cough cough… you’re finally here!”

Sardeem held onto the cabin door weakly with an expression of joy.

He was saved!

A Beyond Grade A Super was so reliable. Believing in Psyker was the correct thing to do!

“Who’s the enemy?” Psyker did not waste time talking, going straight into the main topic.

“It… it’s Black Star!”

“Black Star? I’ve heard this name before… oh, it seems like someone from the Colton Star Cluster. He took part in the secret war and ended up provoking Tyrant.”

“Yes, yes, yes, it’s that Beyond Grade A Seed. He claimed to be invincible among Calamity Grades.”

Invincible among Calamity Grades? So, is it his moniker that gave him the confidence to go against a Beyond Grade A?

Psyker shook his head. The Colton Star Cluster was far away from his Star Pupil Holy Race, and while news about Han Xiao had passed through him, he did not pay attention to him. To him, a simple Calamity Grade was just an ant no matter how famous he was.

He had no interest in the secret war. If he had the time, he would have spent it worrying about the fertility problem of the Star Pupil Holy Race.

“Your Excellency Psyker, Black Star threw me over here a few hours ago. He should still be on this planet. Just now, when you wiped out the mechanical soldiers, you revealed yourself. I believe we should hurry to capture Black Star, lest he runs away again.”

Sardeem immediately raised that suggestion. He could not wait to see Black Star get into trouble.

He could not forget the humiliation that he had suffered and wished to take back his mechanical troops. Psyker was his backer, and in his eyes, a Calamity Grade would never be a match for a Beyond Grade A. No matter how Black Star struggled, he would only become a punching bag for Psyker.

Sardeem gritted his teeth, viciously thinking, I’m not only going to get back my mechanical army, I’m even going to steal yours!

“Oh, that makes sense. We should settle it quickly,” Psyker said as though it was natural.

With his perception pointing the way, he was not afraid of Black Star running away but rather more afraid that if Black Star had nowhere left to run, he would smash the portable container of the Evolution Cube to pieces, revealing the true form of the Evolution Cube. In that case, he would have to gather all the manpower of his Star Pupil Holy Race to move the Evolution Cube back, and he hated such trouble.

Just as he was prepared to pilot his spaceship over, he felt the Evolution Cube in his perception begin to approach them. Very quickly, a tiny black dot grew ever larger toward their location.

Rumble!

The fast-moving shadow shot over the ground, raising up gales, and the magma flowing on the surface was split to the sides due to the wind pressure.

The next moment, the black shadow stopped in midair not far off, facing squarely with Psyker.

“That’s Black Star!” Sardeem immediately pointed as he exclaimed.

“To think he came knocking on his own…” Psyker felt a little mystified. He roughly understood the intentions of the other party—to negotiate with him.

His gaze was fixed on the small Evolution Cube hanging from Han Xiao’s neck. With his perception, he knew that this was the compact version of the Portable Evolution Cube.

Hum!

Without waiting for Han Xiao to open his mouth, Psyker raised his hand, and a blast of psychic power roiled out, hitting Han Xiao on a spiritual level.

He was too lazy to speak pleasantries to Han Xiao. He knew that the other party planned to use the Evolution Cube as his bargaining chip, but what qualifications did Han Xiao, as a Calamity Grade, have to speak on equal grounds with him?

Psyker was unwilling to give him the upper hand. Thus, without a single word, he attacked directly.

If you have anything to say, wait till I get the Evolution Cube!

Before Han Xiao could speak, a wave of mental energy struck at him. Fortunately, he had been mentally prepared to use his new talent [Void Dimension] from the [Chaos Apostle] race, drawing a large amount of power from the void to offset the psychic energies. The barrier he created diffused close to half the mental damage.

The remaining amount of psychic energy pierced through, invading his brain, and he felt pain in his mind as though countless nails were being hammered in. However, his talents such as [Supreme Piety], [Advanced Mental Toughness], and [Soul Lock] had more than doubled his mental resistance. This blow shaved off more than 80,000 of his overall HP, with the interface showing that Psyker had utilized his skills to deal extra damage.

This was the true strength of a Beyond Grade A Super!

However, with Han Xiao’s current HP, this attack that was enough to destroy Calamity Grades did not even count as a light injury to him, and he recovered in the blink of an eye.

This jerk is really decisive! Han Xiao turned solemn.

However, this was what he wanted. Only by first showing his strength to the other party would he be qualified to negotiate on equal grounds.

While his thoughts moved, Han Xiao’s hands did not slow down as well. Without a second word, he immediately applied the Luck Curse on Psyker, and without retreating, he activated [Apostilization] as well as [Void Blessing]. With an arrogant bearing, a sea of Psionic energy was launched, akin to a river of stars in a galaxy as it rushed toward Psyker’s spaceship.

Boom!

The surge of Psionic energy violently smashed against Psyker’s mind barrier, akin to a waterfall against a rock. The light blue colored sparkles resembled the splashing of water, and the surroundings vibrated endlessly, with roaring echoes.

“This strength… isn’t quite right.”

Psyker could not help but be surprised. The pressure withstood by his spirit was totally different from his original expectation of easily blocking the attack.

While there was only a bit of pressure, having been a Beyond Grade A for so many years, this was the first time that he had felt pressure coming from a Calamity Grade.

Clank!

The next instant, Han Xiao poured out more energy, summoning his Mechanical army. Flashes could be seen around the sky as the Army Boxes arrived one after another, releasing an overwhelming number of Mechanical troops. A black colored wave of soldiers occupied every inch of the sky.

Not only was Han Xiao’s mechanical army there but Sardeem’s too. The total scale was over ten million.

Buzz!

Mechanical Force resembling sparks of electricity rushed out from Han Xiao, connecting to each mechanical soldier like a ginormous lightning web. At this moment, all the Mechanical soldiers’ actions were synchronized.

Han Xiao then released his full strength. The level of energy that he emitted sharply climbed, and his momentum continued to expand.

It was at this moment that Sardeem had a bad premonition in his heart.

Right on cue, Psyker opened his mouth.

“You’re wrong.”

Sardeem regained his senses and replied in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

“You said he was a Beyond Grade A Seed. You’re wrong.”

Sardeem could not help but turn to Psyker, and to his shock, he found out that Psyker’s expression was no longer easygoing. At some time, his expression had turned stern.

“He’s not a Beyond Grade A Seed…” Psyker’s tone was grave. “He’s a true Beyond Grade A!”

Like a bolt of lightning blasting apart his mind, Sardeem’s thoughts turned blank. His whole body stiffened, and his eyes slowly grew larger, as his expression turned from disbelieving to terrified.

Black Star… was a Beyond Grade A‽

This meant that the Shattered Star Ring now had five Beyond Grade A Supers‽

Sardeem’s face was pale. If Han Xiao was still a Calamity Grade, he would have had no issues making him an enemy. However, the other party was now a Beyond Grade A. What sort of revenge would he dare perform?

When did this happen? Two days ago, when I was exchanging blows with him, he was still a Calamity Grade! Could it be that he purposely hid his strength?

Maybe, when he had disguised himself as Barne, he was already a Beyond Grade A.

Then, has he been fooling me all along‽

Seeing that he was so vocal about managing to have a contact with a Beyond Grade A, Sardeem now felt utterly speechless.

If Black Star and Psyker start fighting, the aftermath of a Beyond Grade A battle…

Sardeem now started to panic. He had thought that once Psyker arrived, he would be safe, but now it seems like he would die there!

At this time, the mechanical army surrounded Psyker’s spaceship, and dense rows of muzzles aimed at him. At the same time, the dim glow of accumulating energy could be seen.

Hum!

Psyker’s seven eyes immediately grew huge, and his psychic energy was poured out, weaving layer after layer of barriers that wrapped around the entire spaceship.

“Fire!” Han Xiao pressed down sharply with his palm.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Millions of particle cannons were fired in unison toward the same target, and the next moment, the various psionic rays converged at a single point, triggering a chain reaction. At the center point, a dark-blue energy ball was formed and quickly expanded.

The Mechanical army retreated as this energy ball swelled to more than a hundred kilometers in diameter before exploding!

Boom!

The sound was akin to a mountain collapsing.

A dazzling blue beam shot up toward the sky, heading for the atmosphere.

Without dust nor a mushroom cloud, all the Psionic energy vanished as though it had never existed.

The area was transformed into a deep pit, with the land seemingly having vanished into thin air. This explosion almost blew through the crust of the planet, and the remaining power had penetrated the mantle, causing it to turn into a bottomless hole.

Rumble!

The veins in the surrounding thousands of kilometers had all been affected, with several earthquakes happening simultaneously. All the volcanoes in the area erupted, and the cracked ground produced countless deep rifts. The crust was shredded by the tectonic movements, and magma raged from the rifts, rising like red hot dragon ridges.

Seeing the extreme changes, Han Xiao could only sigh in appreciation.

Just how many times has my offensive strength multiplied?

His Attributes and Machinery Affinity had soared, and the bonuses given by [Supreme Prestige] allowed Han Xiao’s strength to step into the realm of Beyond Grade A.

My Mechanical army has not yet been renewed. The moment I return and create a set of stronger machines, as well as a large number of Planetary Obliteration Cannons, that will be the peak of my combat capability.

Han Xiao settled his mind before turning around to look for traces of Psyker.

While the picture of devastation that he had wrought was shocking, Han Xiao never let his guard down. He would not expect such a blow to pose much of a threat to another Beyond Grade A. After all, the strong aftermath meant that his control of power was still not precise and concentrated.

Even with that huge explosion, the damage inflicted was only 250,000 HP. This was already inferred on his interface, and the majority of his attacks were stopped by the Beyond Grade A Psychic mental barrier.

In the epicenter of the explosion, there was a cracked light sphere, red in color. That was the psychic barrier of Psyker. Even his mental and psychic energies had been superheated by the Psionic blast, turning into lava red and constantly emitting steam.

The mechanical army gathered once again, and upon seeing this, Psyker glanced at Sardeem, who was trembling beside him, and shook his head.

After staying silent for a while, he dissipated his mental barrier, opened the hatch, and flew out, facing Han Xiao.

“Good strength.”

Psyker first lowered his head to start at the bottomless pit before turning back to face Han Xiao. He did not reveal any emotions on his face as he said, “Let’s talk.”

After this simple exchange, Psyker understood that the other party was on the same level as him. Thus, he could only change his attitude and acknowledge that Han Xiao was qualified for equal conversation.

While he had never made any contact with Black Star before, he would have no choice but to remember this person in the future.

Making this gesture also showed that he was ready to negotiate with Han Xiao.

In fact, Psyker was a little pissed. He had originally thought that his opponent was just a Calamity Grade that was too full of himself, but it turned out to be a real Beyond Grade A Super. The worst-case scenario actually happened, and this made the situation even more complicated.

Psyker was not afraid of Han Xiao, but as the leader of a civilization, he was not willing to easily provoke a new Beyond Grade A as his enemy unless there was no hope of negotiating.

As the saying went, whenever talented people emerged, they would leave their mark on the world. Every new Beyond Grade A expert signified some sort of change in the Star Field. While the Shattered Star Ring had not had a new Beyond Grade A expert for a long time, it did not mean that the same went for many of the other Star Fields.

With Psyker’s long lifespan, alongside with his contacts in the Arcane Church, he could follow the news beyond the Shattered Star Ring. He was well read, so he did not lose his composure, but upon witnessing the birth of yet another Beyond Grade A, it was unavoidable that he would be surprised. He just chose not to show it so as not to affect the negotiations.

Seeing this situation, Han Xiao bade his mechanical army to stop before flying in front of Psyker.

The two stood opposite each other, sizing the other party up.

“State your conditions. What do you wish to do with my Evolution Cube?”

Psyker took the initiative to speak. He did not wish to speak in riddles and immediately approached the main topic.

Han Xiao raised his brow.

This guy’s personality is really direct, probably not too good at talking…

However, that made sense. Their exchange just now was merely a simple blow, exchanging shots to prove their strength. It was far from what a Beyond Grade A Super could do.

Psyker was willing to communicate mainly because Han Xiao had proven this strength and because it was impossible to eliminate him in a single blow.

Han Xiao’s mind was full of nasty words, but he thought about it and spoke solemnly whilst holding onto the Evolution Cube around his neck. “Actually, there’s a way for us to cooperate.”

“Speak.” Psyker remained expressionless.

Han Xiao nodded before explaining the need for a password to crack the Evolution Cube in its portable form. Following which, he said, “I know how to unlock this Evolution Cube, so I can allow it to maintain this portable state and carry it around with me, so it won’t be stolen. As for you, since you do not know the password, you can only release its original form, and one day, it might be stolen by the EsGod again, leading to many deaths.

“Thus, I propose that I hold on to the Evolution Cube. Let me divert their attention. You can borrow the Evolution Cube whenever you wish, and both of our forces will also be closely allied to each other, so you do not have to worry about it being stolen and still can continue to utilize its strength. It’s a win-win.”

Psyker patiently listened before passively saying, “Ah, then I’ll also propose something. How about you give the password and the Evolution Cube to me? The Star Pupil Holy Race will be your closest allies, and you can always use the Evolution Cube anytime you wish. Furthermore, I’ll help you to get rid of the Tyrant. How about that?”

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. “And if I don’t agree…”

“Then I’ll help the Tyrant get rid of you.” Psyker interrupted Han Xiao without hesitation, pressuring him. “Now, give me your reply. Will you hand it over?”

Chapter 762: Apologies, I Won’t Let You Support My Ass

“Is that a threat?” Han Xiao was mystified. This was really too direct.

“No, I’m just helping you understand your current situation.” Psyker’s tone remained calm yet steely.

With them both being Beyond Grade A Supers who wielded immense strength, the laws of the various civilizations had already lost their purpose in front of them. Beyond Grade A Supers were the class that represented prestige, and they had already stepped out of the rules of society. Thus, any nonsense from Psyker was useless, and he chose to immediately strike his opponent’s weak points. This was more useful than exchanging a lot of bullcr*p pleasantries.

As for Black Star’s current situation, Psyker was not too aware, but he knew that the Tyrant had set his sights on him. Thus, no matter whom he joined, the balance would be broken.

What he was betting on was that Black Star, as a new Beyond Grade A, would choose stability as a priority. He still had to accumulate his strength and influence, splitting apart the benefits in the Star Field as he had just risen to Beyond Grade A. Thus, facing the threat of two older Beyond Grade As, he would likely choose to compromise.

The Star Pupil Holy Race’s genes were already almost optimized to the bottleneck. The function of the Evolution Cube had no use for them, and what Psyker needed was to use its value—to trade it with the Arcane Church in exchange for its support.

Over the past few decades, the Arcane Church had repeatedly proposed generous conditions in exchange for the Evolution Cube, and their latest bid proposed that they would support the Star Pupil Holy Race into becoming the designated spokesperson of the Arcane Church in the Shattered Star Ring, allowing it to become a true Star Cluster civilization. This promise moved Psyker.

However, his bargaining chip was then stolen.

As such, it did not really matter if the Evolution Cube was portable or not. Han Xiao’s conditions were not attractive in his eyes, as he did not need to borrow it but rather needed the Evolution Cube itself.

No matter what, the Evolution Cube had to be returned to his hands, or else he would lose the support of the Arcane Church. After all, without the Evolution Cube, there was no need to discuss anything else!

Han Xiao thought a little and could understand Psyker’s rationale as well as his bottom line. The other party could not compromise, which gave him a headache.

This little comrade refused to perform the win-win cooperation and only wished to take back the Evolution Cube. He could not fulfill Psyker’s wishes in any way.

Threatening another’s race would do more harm than benefit as well. All galactic civilizations were covered under the Civilization Treaty but not mercenary groups. This was the difference in the nature of their organizations. It would be okay for others to hit him, but he himself could not attack other civilizations. This was how sad and pathetic the life of a mercenary was.

Psyker cared about his own race, and this was a well-known weakness of this. But if he gave in every time someone threatened him with his race, the Star Pupil Holy Race would not have reached this current stage. One could even say that Psyker had received threats his entire life, leading to his tough stance in dealing with problems. Unless Han Xiao decided to abandon his Black Star Army and turn into a wanted man in the galaxy, like EsGod, he would not use the Star Pupil Holy Race to threaten him.

However, he knew of this point and is not willing to use the Black Star Army to threaten me. This means that he still has some morals left and is not willing to force me into a corner.

Han Xiao’s heart was moved.

The focus of this competition was for the Evolution Cube, and both parties had some sort of restraining fear. In order to avoid the losses of both, they had not mentioned their respective forces.

However, Han Xiao was unwilling to hand the cube over to Psyker so easily. For most civilizations, the Evolution Cube was an unprecedented opportunity for development, and no civilization would be able to reject this opportunity. If he controlled the Evolution Cube by himself, it will form a huge collective of interests, and the Black Star Army’s influences would soar hundreds of thousands of times higher than it currently was.

Taking a step back, with his identity as a Beyond Grade A, if he took the Evolution Cube to work together with the Crimson Dynasty, he would be able to obtain the support of a Universal Civilization. The Star Pupil Holy Race obviously enjoyed such a benefit from the Arcane Church, and they would also be able to join in the forces for early exploration to the Flickering World, laying the groundwork for future versions.

At the same time, the Evolution Cube would still be able to attract countless Calamity Grades and maybe even Beyond Grade As. That was not impossible.

He was not someone like Psyker who only had his own race in mind, keeping all the good stuff only for his race to utilize.

There was only one Evolution Cube, so the benefits were huge. He did not have a chance before, so that was it. However, this opportunity had been presented to him, and he had the strength to keep the treasure. If he gave it up too easily, it would be letting himself down.

When it was time to fight, Han Xiao would never retreat.

Taking the Evolution Cube for himself would give the best benefits, accompanied by the same amount of risks. However, with his body and Aurora’s medicine, even if the Tyrant and Psyker joined forces, they might not be able to kill him. His forces would be able to improve even further without any threat, as the supporting ability of the Evolution Cube was top-class. However, if he gave the cube back to Psyker, while there would be no danger, he would have given up a lot of benefits, only being able to obtain the scraps once they had been distributed.

This was the choice of wanting a single tree or taking the entire forest!

Han Xiao no longer thought about it and asked, “Is there no room for compromise at all?”

“If a civilization wishes to develop, it is inevitable that they fight for resources, for the future,” Psyker blandly said. “Since ancient times, no matter how advanced or backward a civilization is, you cannot escape this rule, and you cannot fight it. In the end, if you don’t follow these rules, you’ll be eliminated. I believe you’ve heard the saying ‘a civilization without ambition has no future’.”

He would not say things like the Evolution Cube belonged to him and that he should get it back, as they were both standing at the pinnacle of individual strengths. It was useless to reason. In essence, the Evolution Cube was ownerless, but the other influences considered it his only because he had held it for a long time.

If it was something that the Star Pupil Holy Race had created, Han Xiao would probably have handed it over. However, this treasure did not belong to Psyker, and even if the other party wished to use it for righteous causes such as upgrading his own race, this universe was not only made up of the Star Pupil Holy Race. Resources were obtained by fighting, so why did others have to make way for him? The Star Pupil Holy Race was an intelligent civilization but so were others!

Psyker occupying the Evolution Cube and transforming his race would make him regarded as a hero by his people but a selfish enemy by others. The judgement of one’s position was purely based on their perspective, especially in Galaxy where relationships were complex. The development of a civilization had long been a process of sailing against the flow.

In Han Xiao’s view, the Star Pupil Holy Race had already enjoyed the benefits of the Evolution Cube. Even if they lost it, the Star Pupil Holy Race would still be a strong civilization. Psyker only grabbed onto this benefit and did not wish to let go because he was not satisfied with the status quo, wishing to take his civilization to a higher level.

“A civilization without ambition has no future. This sentence makes sense. You, as the leader of a civilization, indeed have to place the burdens of the entire civilization on your back. It’s just that…” Han Xiao sighed. “I don’t intend to pay the bill for your ambition.”

Psyker paused before his tone got even more severe. “Have you thought it through?”

“There’s only one Evolution Cube. Neither of us wish to let it go, and there’s no way to reconcile, so there’s nothing left to say.” Han Xiao shook his head. He had never been a good person who would turn his head away from money. After weighing the cost and benefits, he came to this decision.

“Good, I hope you don’t regret this decision!”

Psyker suddenly moved, and boundless psychic energy in the form of shock waves burst out, distorting the air as they attacked the mechanical army behind, directly penetrating the formation.

Boom!

Thousands of fireworks exploded in the mechanical army, and the broken parts flew all over the sky. Nearly a hundred thousand mechanical soldiers were severely damaged, and their bodies were broken. Some were even directly scrapped.

Those mechanical soldiers constructed at the Calamity Grade were indeed too brittle before a Beyond Grade A, even with the Mechanical Force bonus…

“Spread the formation!” Han Xiao ordered the battle Artificial intelligence from his mind, and his mechanical arm changed its shape to form a spiral drill entwined with psionic energy as it thrust toward Psyker.

Psyker hand eye coordination was swift, and he quickly gripped the drill.

Buzz buzz…

The drill in Psyker’s hands spun rapidly, and his palms were covered with a psychic shield that was in contact with the drill. Sparks were constantly being emitted from the friction between the two. Psyker’s eyes gleamed at this moment.

Han Xiao felt a burst of pain in his mind as he was attacked in the spiritual state once again. Without waiting, Psyker released white light all over his body, and ripples of psychic energy spread rapidly, smashing into Han Xiao like a block. He was pushed back thousands of meters.

Immediately, Psyker’s hands clasped together strongly, and a loud blast of energy surged into the sky!

Han Xiao stabilized his body, and upon looking, he found that Psyker’s appearance had changed dramatically.

Psyker’s body had swollen to become a circle, and the two jade-like corners of his forehead had elongated. The small hair-like tentacles around his head merged to form a huge white tentacle, like a tail on his head. It waved around, seemingly extremely tensile, and three pairs of wings spread out from the vents around his body, turning him into an arthropod.

His seven eyes lit up with a dazzling white light, and the deep purple lines on his skin all lit up, exuding immense energies. Within the joints of his bone armor, sharp bone blades emerged, and a white cloud like psychic power was continuously released around his body.

Psyker had revealed his true combat form.

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. Not everyone would be willing to work with him, and since Psyker had rejected the support, he decided to keep his own ass and speak with his fists.

In the end, using their fists was still the most direct way to resolve any issues.

When negotiations failed, they could only persuade people in such a way.

I just spoke about flipping the table, and this guy really did so. What a fine temper… but don’t think I’m afraid of you!

Boom!

Han Xiao no longer conserved himself and activated all his buff skills before exploding out with all his Mechanical Force.

Whoosh!

The Mechanical army lined up, firing toward Psyker, and the psionic rays from the Particle Cannons were akin to a sea of destruction.

Compared to the hasty confrontation previously, this was a real battle!

This was also the first Beyond Grade A battle that Han Xiao had personally taken part in!

Chapter 763: Intense Battle

Two figures, one white and one blue, collided like two meteors!

Boom!

The shockwave from their collision sent the densely packed mechanical soldiers flying in all directions!

The surging psionic energy in Han Xiao’s body was unleashed without any restraint, and Han Xiao’s fists hammered down heavily on Psyker’s psychic shield, sending out intense shockwaves in all directions. Han Xiao did not retract his fists as his armor transformed into a gigantic hand cannon, with a burning red glow charging up in the barrel of the cannon.

Boom!

Violent dark energy shot out from the barrel of the cannon and swallowed Psyker in a tower of light. However, Psyker remained unmoved like a rock within the tower of light.

Han Xiao frowned. This fellow’s psychic shield is too powerful. The shield durability is far too high and he can easily generate another shield after the old shield is destroyed. Although he isn’t able to ignore True Damage, my attacks would have to first hit him.

A Psychic’s psychic shield was like a Mage’s magic shield and even more powerful in certain areas. A Psychic’s shield was able to defend against both physical and mental attacks, and Psyker was able to freely control the state of the shield. Since Han Xiao only had physical attacks, Psyker could reduce the strength of his mental shield by ninety percent and channel his energy to physical defense. As such, the shield was extremely durable.

Thankfully, Psyker’s physique was not particularly strong, and he did not have any talents to ignore True Damage. Han Xiao could also trigger True Damage attacks on the shield to multiply his damage. However, damage done to the shield was not the same as damage done to Psyker.

The Psychic branch was his nemesis, and the most direct solution would be to compete in firepower.

Boom!

The mechanical army got into formation and spread out in the sky, unleashing their never-ending fire down on Psyker. Particle Cannons, dark energy cannons, psionic cannons, and many other different weapons rained down on Psyker.

Including the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon, more than ten satellite cannons shot into the sky, and thick beams of light smashed down on Psyker’s shield.

At this moment, Psyker spread out his arms, and a white whirlpool of psychic energy burst forth from his body and sent Han Xiao flying.

The psychic shockwave swept all the mechanical soldiers near Psyker away, and these soldiers were all smashed into pieces.

Following which, Psyker’s knees bent slightly, and he looked as though he was about to jump, treating the sky as flat ground.

Bang!

Psyker’s body exploded forth, with every step producing a sonic boom as he charged straight into the mechanical army.

The psychic energy surrounding his body began to spin rapidly, and Psyker seemed to have transformed into a drill. He weaved through the army with unstoppable momentum and released mental attacks while crashing through the army.

The formation of the mechanical army was immediately ripped into shreds with many soldiers being reduced to scrap metal.

The intense battle between the two continued and left giant craters on the planet that they were battling on. The planet’s diameter was reduced by a few thousand meters; it was as though a layer was shed from the planet.

Han Xiao tried to approach Psyker to engage in a close combat fight, but Psyker refused to tangle with Han Xiao and focused all his attention on destroying Han Xiao’s mechanical army. Whenever Han Xiao came close to Psyker, Psyker would use his psychic force to push Han Xiao back.

Psyker was extremely swift and his shield extremely thick. Many of Han Xiao’s attacks were avoided by him, but a portion still managed to find their way to him.

A portion of Psyker’s attributes were displayed on Han Xiao’s interface. His level had a question mark, but his health was not as high as Han Xiao’s. Psyker only had slightly more than 2,000,000 HP and had already lost a little more than 100,000 HP. Psyker’s HP was recovering slowly, and he could recover 10,000 HP every second. His normal recovery rate was about 0.5% per second, but with his high total HP, the amount of HP that he could recover was not too low.

Han Xiao glanced at the interface and thought to himself, He doesn’t have the Beyond Grade A talent [Everlasting Body] and should have chosen a talent related to energy.

Energy was the foundation of the Psychic class, and Psychics expanded energy extremely rapidly.

Upon seeing that the almost one million mechanical soldiers were destroyed, Han Xiao waved his arm, and his Mechanical Force stuck onto the spare parts like a spider web. All the spare parts gathered together, and Han Xiao combined the spare parts with his [Waste Modification] and [Basic Machinery Construction] skills before throwing them back into the fray.

His mechanical army was not too powerful, but he had many methods to repair his army in battle, and it would not be destroyed so easily. However, he did not have a relaxed expression on his face.

This fellow knows that I have not rebuilt my mechanical army yet and is treating my mechanical army as his breakthrough point. His energy is recovering too quickly, and it’ll be difficult for me to fight a protracted battle with him.

He had lowered Psyker’s HP by about 100,000, but he had lost about 700,000 HP in return. As Psyker destroyed his mechanical army, Psyker would occasionally send him a few Psychic Blasts or mental attacks. Even though Psyker suffered from the Luck Curse and had a decrease in critical rate, his normal damage was not low.

The Mechanic Class lacked skills that guarded against mental attacks, and he had no way to avoid the opponent’s mental attacks.

However, his HP had already recovered to the maximum.

His [Middle Grade Cell Proliferation Control] talent converted energy to health with a 1:5 ratio. Because of the upper limit of his energy, he could regenerate 250,000 HP every second. Although the psychic attacks did not allow him to absorb energy, he could control the Watcher Instruments around him to attack him to regain his energy.

I’ll be on the losing side if this continues, and I cannot allow him to attack my army without restraint.

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and a machine appeared beside him. This was a high-grade control type machinery that could use a powerful magnetic force to control the target.

A golden Mechanical Force shot out from his palm and struck the machine. This special bolt of Mechanical Force then merged together with the machine, and the stats of the machine were immediately multiplied.

Emperor’s Gift!

The next moment, more than ten thick bolts of electricity exploded forth, and an intense magnetic force was released toward Psyker.

Hum!

Psyker, who was flying at high speed, suddenly stopped in midair as though he was grabbed by an invisible hand.

Without the boost from the Emperor’s Gift, it would be impossible to catch Psyker.

The control duration was extremely short, and Han Xiao immediately entered the Void Dimension and appeared behind Psyker the very next moment, grabbing both of Psyker’s arms.

His Mountain Ape mechanical suit then transformed into handcuffs to lock onto Psyker’s body.

Buzz

Han Xiao activated his [Gene Liberation] skill, and the damage of his entire army was increased.

The next moment, the entire mechanical army fired at both of them!

Boom!

A new gigantic crater was left behind on the surface of the planet.

Han Xiao was sent flying far away and only managed to stabilize his body after travelling a few hundred kilometers. His first priority was to recover his HP before looking around for Psyker.

Psyker was also sent flying and was not in a good state.

At this moment, Psyker had a couple of burn marks all over his body. He had been obstructed by Han Xiao previously, and his psychic shield could not block the full force of the explosion. A small portion of his HP was lost during the blast, but he had various talents to guard his mind and would not be affected by a dizzy status or such.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao could feel a sense of danger approaching from behind him.

He hurriedly unleashed his psionic shield toward his back and saw a white, mist-like figure appearing behind him. As though the shield did not exist, the white figure went through the shield and into Han Xiao’s body.

Hum!

Han Xiao could clearly feel this white figure entering his mental region and creating destruction all around before detonating itself. His mind was severely wounded, and his entire head felt heavy and woozy.

Psyker’s attack had wiped out almost 200,000 HP, and Han Xiao immediately retreated. However, he also heard Psyker letting out a soft grunt at the same moment.

Bearing with the intense headache, Han Xiao looked over and saw Psyker bleeding from his every orifice.

This is… right! Han Xiao immediately looked at the combat information and almost burst out laughing.

Psyker’s sneak attack had triggered the twenty percent mental rebound of [Supreme Piety]. Psyker had suffered from the rebound damage.

Although his Luck was low, Psyker had suffered from his Luck Curse and did not have very good luck either.

I wonder if this is because of my good luck or his bad luck…

Right at this moment, Psyker lifted his head up, and six of his auxiliary eyes lit up to form a white circle on his face with his main eye being the center of the circle.

Following which, his appearance transformed again, and the skeleton armor covered his entire body, only revealing his seven eyes.

The combat information displayed that Psyker entered a new state with all his attributes explosively increasing. A new white layer appeared on his health bar, which was a full sixty percent of his max HP.

“Again,” Psyker said with a deep voice and his voice resounded like a bell.

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted.

Transforming again?

Do you think you are Frieza[1]‽

This is against the rules! Do you think you can do as you wish just because you are a combat race?

A Beyond Grade A is truly perverse with never ending methods.

Han Xiao felt his balls ache.

Although Psyker did not have regenerative capabilities like him, he had many different forms that provided him with extra HP and defense.

When he was in the Calamity Grade, he had an almost BUG like ability among the Calamity Grade Supers. However, every Beyond Grade A existence was like a bug-like character, and not a single one was easy to deal with.

“Hiss…”

Han Xiao took a deep breath and circulated his energy to the maximum. Letting out a loud roar, Han Xiao led his mechanical army to clash with Psyker again!

After their previous exchange, Han Xiao had a rough estimate of the Psyker’s strength. Both of them were on par, and it would be extremely difficult for either of them to get rid of the other party. However, with his mechanical army being destroyed, his damage would decrease over time.

Since his mechanical army had to be rebuilt anyway, Han Xiao decided to ignore the damage to his army and make use of this opportunity to measure his combat strength. He would only have the chance to go all out when facing another Beyond Grade A Super.

Bang bang bang!

Their battle lasted a few hours, and they flew around the entire planet a few times, destroying its surface.

The surface of the planet was riddled with many unfathomable craters, and the intense vibrations on the surface of the planet caused lava to shoot out from these craters a few thousand meters into the sky. The entire planet seemed to have become an orange that was riddled with holes, and all its juice was being squeezed out from it.

The lava that spurted out into the sky cooled down rapidly and rained down like meteors.

Bang!

This was the umpteenth time that both the figures had collided and separated.

Han Xiao floated in midair, and the surface of his mechanical suit shattered into pieces to reveal his body. This was already his fourth mechanical suit. His [Machinery Continuation] skill reached its time limit, and his mechanical suit was reduced to a pile of scrap metal.

The mechanical army in the surroundings had become sparse. Han Xiao had used his Waste Modification skill to reform the wasted machines too many times, and the upper limit had been reached. But even if this was the case, his mechanical army still had the size of about four million soldiers.

On the other side, Psyker’s skeleton armor was half destroyed with blue blood all over his body, and his psychic energy was much weaker than before.

More than half of my mechanical army has been destroyed, and I’ll be on the losing end if this battle continues, Han Xiao thought to himself. He won’t be able to deal with me, and I can’t do anything to him. There isn’t a need to continue this battle. I should rebuild my mechanical army first…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he threw an Observer’s Mark onto Psyker.

He would not be able to remove the psychic mark that Psyker had placed on the Evolution Cube and could only return the favor. With both of them aware of the other party’s location, he would not be on the losing end.

“Hmm?” Psyker’s eyes narrowed. His mental sense was acute, and he could clearly sense the feeling of being spied on but did not know where it came from.

He was not a mage who could grasp multidimensional energy, and although he could feel the Observer’s Mark, he could not get rid of it.

Furthermore, Han Xiao was already a Beyond Grade A Super, and it would be even more difficult to get rid of his Observer’s Mark. At the very least, it would be impossible for a Calamity Grade Mage to do so.

Clank!

Han Xiao then waved his arm and stored his mechanical army away. Without saying a word, he activated his Void Dimension Jump and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

During the battle, he had intentionally destroyed the other party’s spaceship, and it would be impossible for Psyker to catch up to him in terms of flying speed.

Psyker watched as Han Xiao disappeared and did not make a move.

He had already gone all out, but Black Star was not at a disadvantage. It would be difficult for him to snatch the Evolution Cube back with just his own strength…

Han Xiao was not the only one who felt that they would not be able to do anything to each other. Psyker also had such a feeling.

He could not count the number of times he had attacked Black Star with his mental attack. However, the other party only seemed to have lost his mechanical army but remained as lively as a tiger.

Such a situation reminded him of the Tyrant.

“A new Beyond Grade A Mechanic who has a powerful physique like Tyrant,” Psyker muttered to himself. “Indestructible Body?”

Right at this moment, a figure flew over. It was Sardeem. His appearance seemed extremely pathetic, and he was equipped with a simple thruster made from spare parts.

“You’re still alive?” Psyker looked over.

“I hid myself when the two of you were fighting.”

Sardeem had a sense of lingering fear in his heart. He did not have any equipment on him, and the battle of two Beyond Grade A Supers was enough to threaten his life. He had long escaped from Psyker’s spaceship and escaped from the battlefield.

Looking at Psyker’s appearance, Sardeem asked with a trembling voice, “You… weren’t able to defeat Black Star?”

Psyker glanced at Sardeem and replied, “He escaped. I couldn’t keep him back.”

Sardeem took a deep breath. He had already expected such a reply but wanted to confirm it. Although he was already mentally prepared for such a reply, he was still filled with shock.

“The fifth Beyond Grade A Super has been born in the Shattered Star Ring, and the Star Field will experience a huge change,” Sardeem murmured. “I’d better send this piece of news to His Excellency Manison.”

“Not just the Shattered Star Ring…” Psyker interrupted him with a profound tone. “Perhaps the attention of the entire galaxy will be drawn.”

Psyker’s eyes gleamed. The Evolution Cube isn’t so easily taken.

With Black Star carrying the Evolution Cube around with him, it would be extremely difficult for him to snatch it back alone. Psyker decided to find a few allies and make further plans.

Before this, I shall leave the item in Black Star’s possession.

Since his psychic mark was still present, Psyker felt that things were within his control.

He then looked up at the sky. Psyker was not planning to fly with his body, so he looked at Sardeem.

“You’re a Mechanic, right?”

“Er, what’s the matter?” Sardeem was stunned for a moment.

Psyker pointed at the spare parts on the ground.

“Build a spaceship.”

“…” Sardeem.

[1] This is a Dragon Ball reference. It’s where the “This isn’t even my final form” meme comes from.

Chapter 764: The Impending Storm

Han Xiao left Psyker, who did not have a spaceship, on the unlucky planet and made use of his Void Dimension Jump to return to the Shattered Star Ring.

He contacted Hila and the others, who had left Planet Macipher, and got them to fetch him with the spaceship. Both parties finally met up in the desolate universe belt.

Whoosh.

The hatch of the spaceship opened, and Han Xiao was greeted by Hila and the two others the moment he entered the spaceship.

Feidin walked forward and studied Han Xiao. After making sure that he was completely intact, he heaved a sigh of relief. “It seems like you are alright. We’ve been extremely worried about you.”

Hila snorted. “Speak for yourself…”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao could not help but chuckle. “Actually, it wasn’t very dangerous. All of you should be extremely clear about how robust my life force is.”

“Talking about life force…” Aurora had a look of confusion on her face, and she said with disbelief in her voice, “If my senses aren’t wrong, have you…”

“Has he what?” Hila interrupted.

Han Xiao had a smile on his face and took out the Evolution Cube to play with it.

“Your guess is correct. I fought Psyker, and the outcome of the battle was a draw. He didn’t manage to snatch the item back.”

Fought Psyker to a draw?

Hila was stunned for a moment, and it took a second to understand what Han Xiao meant. She took a deep breath, and a look of disbelief could be seen on her usually expressionless face. She looked at Han Xiao with her eyes widened.

“Could it be that… Beyond Grade A‽”

“It was by luck.” Han Xiao waved his hands but had a look of pride on his face.

After hearing him admit it, Hila, Aurora, and Feidin revealed looks of shock.

Black Star… is really a Beyond Grade A Super already?

Although the three of them had looked forward to Han Xiao achieving a breakthrough and standing among the ranks of the Beyond Grade A Supers, their trip with Han Xiao had felt more like a holiday, and they did not notice any signs of breakthrough from Han Xiao.

All of them had felt that the chances of him achieving a breakthrough were not high.

However, he had achieved a breakthrough just like that! While they were not mentally prepared for it, Black Star had suddenly risen into the next grade and even fought a Beyond Grade A Super who had long made a name for himself to a draw. They truly could not imagine how Han Xiao did it.

The three of them felt their heads blank out at this moment.

After snapping out from their daze, they all erupted with surprise.

Although they were very surprised, it was a good thing!

Feidin was overjoyed. “Wonderful! I’ve always believed that you had such potential. We don’t have to escape from the Shattered Star Ring if this is the case!”

“I never intended to escape…” Han Xiao said helplessly.

Aurora then looked at Han Xiao and asked with shock on her face, “Does this mean that you are already at our teacher’s level?”

Ames? It is time for me to have a talk with her, Han Xiao thought to himself and nodded in response.

“You…” Hila hesitated for a while before swallowing what she wanted to say. “Congrats.”

She had a complicated feeling in her heart. She had always wanted to chase after Han Xiao. When Han Xiao was still in the Calamity Grade, she could still spur herself to work harder. However, things were different this time.

During the ten years when she was on Floating Dragon Island, she had experienced Ames’ strength many times and was extremely clear about the strength of a Beyond Grade A Super. At the same time, she was extremely clear about how difficult it would be to become a Beyond Grade A Super.

For so many years, the Star Field only had four Beyond Grade A Supers. Together with Han Xiao’s advancement, there were now five. Hila had known Han Xiao for almost twenty years and witnessed his weak appearance, his invincible Calamity Grade appearance, and his every stage of development.

He had taken him a mere twenty years to go from an ordinary man to a new Beyond Grade A Super. He would probably be the individual who took the least amount of time to become a Beyond Grade A Super in history. Because she understood Han Xiao’s past, Hila knew how difficult it was for Han Xiao to have achieved what he had.

Even if Hila refused to admit defeat on their surface, she could not help but admire Han Xiao’s achievements in her heart.

If Hila had originally possessed any thoughts of competing with Han Xiao for glory, at this moment, she was willing to become the shadow behind Han Xiao’s splendor.

She had a feeling that she was witnessing the birth of a legend.

Of course, it was impossible for her to reveal her true thoughts.

Hila then changed the topic and asked, “Just how did you do it? Can you teach me?”

Er, I can’t teach you anything since you don’t know how to harvest crops… Han Xiao coughed dryly before placing his hands on Hila’s shoulders with a solemn expression.

“No, you don’t need me to teach you anything.”

“What do you mean?” Hila was puzzled.

Han Xiao then looked at Hila and said, “I have always believed in your potential. Just like how you believe in me, you will stand by my side at the peak of the galaxy one day.”

Hila pushed Han Xiao’s hands away and turned around to prevent Han Xiao from seeing her flustered appearance. She then said with a soft voice, “Thank you.”

So, it turns out that you have so much trust in me. I didn’t even know that…

“There isn’t a need for thanks between us.” Han Xiao waved his arms. “We’ve known each other for twenty years.”

At this moment, Aurora pulled on Han Xiao’s clothes and whined, “What about me? Do you believe in me?”

Han Xiao rubbed her head helplessly and said, “Wait until you reach the Calamity Grade.”

“Humph. So biased.” Aurora turned around.

After soaking in the excitement of Han Xiao becoming a Beyond Grade A Super, they then got back to the main point.

“Black Star, you took away Psyker’s Evolution Cube; he won’t give up so easily, right?”

“Hmm, he said that he will work together with the Tyrant to deal with me. Compared to the benefits of the Evolution Cube, this risk can be considered extremely low. There isn’t a need to bother about him in the near future. He’s still busy with something else.” Han Xiao shook his head with a smile. From the Observer’s Mark, he could see that Psyker was still on the planet and rushing Sardeem to build a new spaceship from spare parts.

Feidin frowned and said, “It’ll be very dangerous if the Tyrant and Psyker work together.”

Han Xiao waved his arms and said, “It isn’t a big deal. Although I am a new Beyond Grade A Super, I do not belong to the bottommost rung of this level. Besides, I have allies as well.”

Isn’t this a competition of numbers? You’re not the only one who knows how to play that game.

As compared to the other Beyond Grade A Supers, his largest advantage was his clear path of advancement.

The other Beyond Grade A Supers would have to find their own path after entering Beyond Grade A, and it was akin to searching around in the dark. However, it was as though he had a torchlight with him, and he could easily progress by harvesting crops. His growth rate would completely outstrip the others.

“How are you planning to deal with the Evolution Cube?”

“Take it back to the camp first and let the officers enjoy the effects of the Evolution Cube.” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “I will then use it to find allies and a new backer.”

Psyker had the support of the Arcane Church, and he could achieve the same effect with the Evolution Cube in his hands.

Compared to Psyker, his advantage was the fact that the Evolution Cube was now portable. With him carrying it around, the likelihood of it being stolen was much lower.

News of him having the Evolution Cube would spread throughout the Galaxy eventually, and it was impossible for Psyker to help him keep the secret. Psyker might even choose to create more enemies for him.

At that time, all the organizations eyeing the Evolution Cube would have their attention drawn to him. It would be impossible for him to hold onto the Evolution Cube in the long term with just the strength of the Black Star Army, so he needed to find a backer.

Beep beep!

Right at this moment, an emergency transmission lit up on his communicator. Han Xiao glanced at his communicator, and it was a communication request by Ralph.

Han Xiao waved his arm to ask Hila and the others to pilot the spaceship. He then walked to the side and picked up the call.

“Black Star, I have a heaven breaking piece of bad news!”

“You make it sound as though we had good news in the past.” Han Xiao was in a good mood and joked.

Ralph ignored his joke and said with a solemn tone, “We verified a piece of news a few days ago. The Crimson Dynasty have concluded their negotiations with the Federation of Light. After the Crimson Dynasty takes over the new Star Field, they will turn their attention to the storm that they created in the various regions. Our secret war with Klent will also come to an end in half a year’s time!”

“Oh?” Han Xiao muttered. “This is a piece of bad news indeed.”

The Bloodshed Land still controlled a few Star Systems around the borders of the Colton Star Cluster, and Klent was the loyal lackey of the Crimson Dynasty. The Crimson Dynasty would definitely make use of this excuse to demarcate these territories as part of the Klent Kingdom. The authority of deciding borders was something that the three Universal Civilizations gave to themselves, and if Section Zero were unable to chase Bloodshed Land out before then, Purple Crystal would probably lose those few territories.

The Shattered Star Ring belonged to the management zone of the Federation of Light. Unless Purple Crystal gave up their neutrality and chose to submit to another civilization, it would be impossible for anyone to come out and uphold justice for them. The Crimson Dynasty and Federation of Light would be exchanging benefits at a higher level, and Purple Crystal did not even have the right to interfere in their negotiations. They could only watch as their territories were taken away.

Of course, Purple Crystal could strongly protest against the decision made by the three Universal Civilizations and unilaterally decide to reject their decision. However, the outcome of such a decision definitely would not be a pretty one. As the ones setting the rules, the three Universal Civilizations would not allow anyone to challenge their authority. All three civilizations were powerful civilizations who had been through dark times and definitely were not merciful characters.

With the strength to overlook the entire galaxy, they had countless methods to make a civilization submit. The rules were completely irrelevant to those who set the rules.

Thus, Han Xiao was not too surprised about the appearance of the Silver Revolutionary Army. However, it was still far too early to talk about that.

“Black Star, your holiday is over,” Ralph said with a solemn expression. “We need your strength to snatch back as many territories as possible.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and came to a decision. “The biggest backing of the Klent Kingdom is the Crimson Dynasty. However, I have an idea to get the Crimson Dynasty to stay out of this matter and not help Klent negotiate with the Federation of Light. This way, it will be useless even if the Bloodshed Land occupies the border Star Systems.”

Ralph’s eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, “What idea do you have?”

“I…” Han Xiao then thought about something and decided against telling Purple Crystal that he was a Beyond Grade A Super. “It is extremely likely for my plan to succeed, but I have to keep it a secret for now. You just need to believe in me. In any case, the situation can’t be worse than it is right now.”

It was not that Han Xiao wanted to hide his Beyond Grade A strength. If Purple Crystal knew about his newfound strength, they would announce it to the entire world to serve as a deterrent.

This was not good for him.

His original plan was to remain low profile after entering Beyond Grade A and accumulate his strength. When the Tyrant attempted to kill him, the Tyrant would then underestimate his strength, and he would be able to deal a low blow to the Tyrant. However, the sudden appearance of the Evolution Cube spoiled his plans, and it would be impossible for him to hide his strength. Despite that, Han Xiao did not want to fight the Tyrant immediately.

He needed some time to build a new mechanical army and Beyond Grade A base. He still had to activate many of the Emperor Mechanic skills and allow his combat strength to reach the peak. Compared to letting Purple Crystal announce his strength to the world, he would rather let Psyker slowly reveal news to the Star Field. This way, he would have a bit more time.

There was another reason he did not wish to let Purple Crystal know of his strength. Han Xiao wanted to increase his value.

If he was an ordinary Beyond Grade A, his best choice would be to form an alliance with a Star Cluster civilization just like Heber had done. Although Universal Civilizations also welcomed Beyond Grade A Supers, they would not place such great importance on these Beyond Grade A Supers compared to a Star Cluster civilization. After all, that which is rare is dear.

However, things were different with the Evolution Cube. The Evolution Cube was a unique Universal Treasure, and with Psyker as an example, the Universal Civilizations would offer an even higher price. This way, their Black Star Army would be raised to the next level.

Because of the existence of the Flickering World, Han Xiao had already decided that the Crimson Dynasty would be his most suitable ally.

If he formed an alliance with the Crimson Dynasty, he would be able to resolve the secret war and foil the plans of the Klent Kingdom.

If he allowed things to develop normally, the outcome of the S Grade secret war mission would probably be failure. Although it was because of the uniqueness of the mission, and they would still have some reward, their mission rating would be lowered, and the players of the Black Star Army would not be able to gain the best reward.

Considering the need to maintain the players’ reliance on the Black Star Army, joining the Crimson Dynasty was the best choice.

Before Ralph could continue questioning him, Han Xiao hung up and walked to the cockpit.

Aurora sat on the pilot’s seat and asked, “Where are we going?”

Han Xiao smirked.

“Back to the army!”

…

A few days later, Sardeem finally returned to Planet Macipher. At the same time, he brought with him a piece of shocking news. He said that he had personally witnessed the Beyond Grade A seed Black Star, who had the title of ‘Indestructible Body’, becoming a Beyond Grade A Super.

This news rapidly spread through Planet Macipher, and many visitors on the planet did not believe it.

Why would Black Star become the fifth Beyond Grade A Super in the Shattered Star Ring so suddenly? Why did Purple Crystal not react? Could it be a rumor?

This piece of news was not backed by any evidence, and the galactic residents who had been exposed to a wide variety of information were not convinced.

However, Psyker, who was a guest on Planet Macipher, actually personally admitted it!

All doubts disappeared, and the entire planet was filled with shock!

The fifth Beyond Grade A is born‽

Oh my goodness! This is big news!

The residents of Planet Macipher who had received this news were dumbfounded and immediately posted this piece of news on the net.

News of the battle between Black Star and Psyker spread rapidly like a virus throughout the entire Star Field.

A storm that was about to sweep through the entire Shattered Star Ring began brewing…

Chapter 765: Prelude to Change

In some transit station at the border of the Shattered Star Ring.

In an olden style inn, Hadavy sat in the corner and drank a glass of strong wine. There were mixed blood elves performing on the stage with a beautiful tone lingering in his ears. The customers of the inn were of many different races, and they were laughing merrily.

The atmosphere was soothing, but Hadavy had a depressed look on his face.

A few months ago, Jorde had made use of him to launch a sneak attack against Black Star. Hadavy had terminated the cooperation with them in a fit of rage and left the secret war.

He had chosen to join the Bloodshed Land because he wanted to spar with Black Star and stimulate his potential through battle. After fighting Black Star more than ten times, he could not help but feel a sense of appreciation for Han Xiao. In his eyes, Black Star was an opponent worthy of respect.

Hadavy would rather lose to Black Star time and time again than use despicable methods to deal with him.

After this event, Hadavy no longer had the face to find Han Xiao to spar. He planned to leave the Shattered Star Ring and roam the other Star Fields. This was the reason he had visited the borders of the Shattered Star Ring.

Just when he was drinking and depressed, a conversation caught his attention.

“Have all of you heard? The fifth Beyond Grade A Super has appeared in the Shattered Star Ring!”

What? A new Beyond Grade A?

He was a Beyond Grade A seed and his target had always been becoming a Beyond Grade A Super. Thus, he paid close attention to this topic.

With his senses of a Calamity Grade Super, the conversation of the table beside him seemed to be right beside his ears.

“You have heard about it, too? I know about Black Star. There were reports about him a few years ago saying that he was the most likely person to become a Beyond Grade A Super in the Shattered Star Ring. I thought that it was no more than a farce at that time but never imagined that it would actually become the truth.”

“He is the leader of the Black Star Army. All of you should know about the Black Star Army, right? It is the famous armed organization in the Colton Star Cluster. I have a friend who is a merchant. Once, his merchant ship was robbed, and he sought help from the Mercenary League to solve the problem. They sent the Black Star Army, and the mercenaries of this organization are extremely friendly and reliable.”

“Didn’t he become low profile over the past few years?” someone else asked curiously. “I heard that news of him becoming a Beyond Grade A Super is only a rumor.”

“It isn’t a rumor. Even ‘Star Pupil’ Psyker admitted that he only fought Black Star to a draw. If he is able to fight a Beyond Grade A Super without losing, he can only be a Beyond Grade A Super.”

Ka-la!

Hadavy crushed the wine glass in his hands, and wine splashed all over his body. However, he was still in a daze with a look of shock on his face.

Black Star has actually become a Beyond Grade A Super already‽

Upon hearing news of his old opponent, Hadavy could not help but be filled with envy and jealousy. He had spent a few decades but not touched the door of Beyond Grade A.

He had already given it his all but was still overtaken by others. After being filled with shock, his heart was filled with bitterness.

Why can he do it? What trick did he use?

Hadavy’s face changed color, and he hammered down on the table before standing up abruptly. The sudden commotion attracted the gaze of all the customers present.

Ignoring the strange looks on their faces, Hadavy left the inn.

He came to a decision. He would not leave the Shattered Star Ring but make a trip to the headquarters of the Black Star Army.

This time, he would not go on behalf of the Bloodshed Land but using his personal identity.

Perhaps Black Star would not recognize an old opponent like him, and his life might be in danger…

However, he had been troubled by the problem of becoming a Beyond Grade A Super for many years. He decided to take this risk. Regardless of whether Black Star showed him any respect, he wanted to give it a shot.

…

The headquarters of the Mercenary League in the Gelock Star Cluster was a gigantic space fortress built by Black Star, Sky Ring, Blades, and many other large sized mercenary groups. Surrounding the gigantic space fortress were more than twenty armed satellites that were the branches of the respective large sized mercenary groups. The Black Star Army also had a branch located there. To all the members of the Mercenary League, this was akin to a second headquarters.

The million or so new players who were on Planet Deirdre had participated in many different storylines.

Some of them had chosen to join the secret war while others had chosen to remain in the Gelock Star Cluster and follow the storyline of the Mercenary League.

The storyline mission of the Mercenary League also gave huge rewards, and with the background of the Black Star Army, the players had plenty of mercenary missions to choose from.

After a few months, the average level of the players had risen rapidly, and they were all approaching level sixty.

Han Xiao’s legends had spread to the Mercenary League, and the players in the branch had also heard about it.

After the news spread, a huge commotion was created on the forums, and the players were all shocked.

Han Xiao was an NPC that the players were extremely familiar with, and many of the players respected him as the leader of their faction. They had witnessed his growth from Version 1.0 to Version 3.0, and Han Xiao was a legendary character in the Shattered Star Ring to the players.

At this moment, a new chapter of this legend had begun.

All the players who participated in the secret war were even more shocked. Black Star had disappeared from the battlefield for a few months, and many of them had been guessing Black Star’s whereabouts. However, none of them had guessed that he would return as a Beyond Grade A Super!

This news became a hot topic on the forums, and all the players of the Black Star Army were extremely agitated. As part of the Black Star Army, the promotion of their leader brought them glory as well.

“What else is there to say? Our Army Commander is the coolest! Black Star is the coolest!”

“There were only four Beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring before this, and Black Star is the fifth. Does this mean that our army is going to become a Beyond Grade A organization as well?”

“Of course!”

“Wahahaha. Our Planet Aquamarine faction leader is too awesome. We can match up to all the other factions in the other player regions alone. A growth type faction is too tyrannical.”

“@Summer Night Flower, stop hiding. Get over here!”

“@Summer Night Flower, how’s life in Bloodshed Land? Come out and share your experiences with us. We won’t laugh at you. Hahaha…”

“@Summer Night Flower, please begin your performance.”

“@Summer…”

Summer Night Flower’s post from a few months ago was now trending, and many players were gloating at his misfortune.

Seeing the excitement of the other players, Summer Night Flower did not dare show himself.

What is going on? The storyline shouldn’t be like this!

Some were feeling their nuts ache while others were overjoyed. Compared to Summer Night Flower, Bun-Hit-Dog was overjoyed.

Bun-Hit-Dog had been frustrated over not having any good material the last few months, but Black Star had gone and become a peak expert in the galaxy during this period. There was no better material than this.

He already had some ideas. This can be a milestone episode in the Black Star series.

Many of the older players were having merry conversations on the forums while the new players read the posts from the side silently. The newbies from Version 3.0 did not have very deep feelings toward Black Star, but after participating in the conversation, they had a much deeper impression of Han Xiao.

Very quickly, the news became an official report that was placed on the desks of various large organizations, causing an even greater commotion at a higher level.

Compared to the galactic residents who only wanted to join in the fun, the various organizations of the Shattered Star Ring had to consider how the birth of a new Beyond Grade A would affect the situation in the Shattered Star Ring as well as how they should interact with Black Star.

…

On Planet Heber, Jorde stood up abruptly after reading the report and had a look of disbelief on his face.

“Black Star is a Beyond Grade A‽ How is this possible! Didn’t I…”

All of a sudden, his heart was thrown into a mess. His scheme had originally forced Black Star to back out from the war, but Black Star had now become a Beyond Grade A.

All his plans were disrupted!

Jorde hurried over to the Tyrant’s abode and looked at Heber. Just when he was about to give a report, Heber took the initiative to speak.

“I know about it already. Klent just contacted me about it; they are extremely flustered. They are trying to verify the truth at the moment and told me to make preparations.”

Heber sounded as though he was a little excited.

Upon hearing that, Jorde calmed himself down and asked, “What should I do?”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Heber said slowly. “When Black Star or Purple Crystal admits that he is a Beyond Grade A, it will become my business.”

Jorde could not help but gulp in anticipation. The Tyrant… His Excellency Heber was about to take action!

Heber shook his head and got Jorde to leave. Heber was the only one left in the palace.

Du! Du!

Right at this moment, his communicator rang.

Heber looked at the caller, and his eyes narrowed.

“Psyker? It has been a long time since he last contacted me. Why is this fellow looking for me?”

…

In some region of the Shattered Star Ring, the final Light Fox spaceship was escaping. This fellow was the last of EsGod’s subordinates who was lucky enough to survive.

“I lost contact with Orozen and the others, and don’t know where the Evolution Cube went. What should we do?”

“They should be dead. Black Star became a Beyond Grade A Super and fought Psyker. The Evolution Cube may be in his hands.”

“Quickly report this matter to EsGod. We failed.”

…

Very quickly, news spread across the Star Field to every level and region, and more and more people found out about this piece of news.

The entire Shattered Star Ring was shaken!

As long as a new Beyond Grade A was born, it would definitely become the headlines of the Star Field for a long period of time.

Every Beyond Grade A figure had once been in the spotlight of the entire world.

It was now Han Xiao’s turn to enjoy such treatment.

The attention of the Shattered Star Ring was gathered on the Black Star Army. Rumors were rumors after all, and everyone was waiting for the new Beyond Grade A to announce his status in the Star Field and admit his strength personally.

However, regardless of the rumors in the outside world, Black Star did not appear, and the Black Star Army did not release a statement. The media was blocked out of the headquarters of the Black Star Army, and even their ally Purple Crystal was unusually quiet.

The longer this lasted, the more anxious the other organizations became, desperate to confirm Black Star’s strength.

Everyone was waiting to see what would happen next.

By that point, Han Xiao had returned to the Black Star Army and summoned all his officers.

Chapter 766: Setting Up the Black Star Guards Regimen

The spaceship sailed into the private port of the army headquarters and slid through a secret channel to arrive at Han Xiao’s personal dock. This dock was not open to members of the Black Star Army and was a dedicated back door for the senior officers. Compared to the boisterous harbor, this place seemed quite deserted, and the atmosphere was more somber.

Standing around the dock were the dozens of senior officers that had been called over. They had long gathered in this place, with solemn expressions on their faces.

Among them were the Calamity Grades who had been at the front line just a while ago. Due to the rumors of Han Xiao advancing to Beyond Grade A, the situation of the secret war had started to show strange changes. Before this, the two sides had been fighting for several months, but as soon as the news came out, both sides tacitly gathered their troops and began to reduce the number of battles. All of them began the game of wait-and-see, so the Black Star Army was able to transfer their officers back.

Both sides knew that if a Beyond Grade A appeared on both sides, then the direction of the secret war would no longer be left to them.

While Han Xiao had not shown himself, he had already started to subtly influence the situation as a Beyond Grade A, directly affecting the secret war.

Whoosh!

The cabin door opened, and Han Xiao stepped forward. The eyes of many of the officers, including Sylvia’s, lit up. They contained excitement, joy, and expectation.

All the officers present sized Han Xiao up. While there were no outward changes to his appearance, everyone could feel a sense of pressure, which came from the natural suppression of a higher life form.

The crowd exchanged glances, with confused looks, and looked toward Feidin, who was standing behind Han Xiao. Feidin only smiled and nodded at everyone else.

Han Xiao stepped onto the dock, sweeping his gaze over everyone present before giving a slight nod. As he walked forward, the officers all made way for him to pass through before walking behind him, entering the inner quarters of the Black Star Army headquarters.

The group arrived at the Army Commander’s office in the headquarters. Sylvia was at the back and shut the door after everyone had entered. Han Xiao then turned around to address everyone. He nodded as he said, “I know that many of you are curious if the rumors outside are true. I only told you that I would be issuing a notice, but right now, I can say that the rumors are not wrong. I’m now a Beyond Grade A Super.”

Upon hearing the personal confirmation, the taut expressions of the majority of them relaxed. Some even showed expressions of joy, and some, expressions of respect.

Sylvia, Herlous, and the older officers had the most excited expressions. They were the ones most loyal to Han Xiao and had been with the army the longest.

Reynold could not help but immediately wish to beg Han Xiao for some tutelage. He was the one most excited about it.

As for the few Calamity Grades who had joined the Black Star Army a few years prior, they were betting on Han Xiao being a Beyond Grade A seed that would rise to a true Beyond Grade A with time. The moment Han Xiao turned into a true Beyond Grade A, they would also become the backbone of this strong force.

It seemed like their bets had paid off, and their futures were bright.

The Vice Commander Lagi sighed, his face bitter as he said, “Now that you’ve become a Beyond Grade A, we’ll likely be involved in the battle vortex of Beyond Grade As in the future, encountering stronger and stronger opponents. I feel that my life is less safe, so I would like to step down as the Vice Commander… Reynold, are you lacking people in the Logistics department? Is there a more leisurely position?”

Reynold remained expressionless. “That’s fine with me. I’m currently lacking a Senior Enchantment Engineer. I’ll pay you a daily salary of 2,000 Enas, and you have to work for fifteen hours a day. There will occasionally be overtime. Do you want to try it out?”

“… Forget it, I’ll stay as the Vice Commander. I get paid without having to work. That’s so much better.”

Han Xiao’s brain started to cramp up. “Talking about skiving in front of me, do you think that I don’t exist anymore? Oh, by the way, where’s that Tomar guy that I handed to you? How’s his progress?”

Hearing this, Lagi’s expression became even more twisted. He seemed to be filled with a negative aura, as though he would squat down at any moment and begin to draw circles on the floor.

“Just where did you find that genius? He’s beginning to make me feel as though my years of learning magic are all wasted. Indeed, I should not have chosen the Mage profession all those years ago…”

Ok, that’s enough, you can go to the corner and reflect in silence…

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, but he forcibly suppressed the words he wished to say and regained his impassive expression.

“Today, my reason for gathering all of you is for two things. The first was to inform you that I’ve reached Beyond Grade A. As for its importance, I don’t need to emphasize it, but the business of Black Star Army will be able to expand far beyond what it is currently, rising to a real Beyond Grade A organization and fighting head on against Bloodshed Land.”

Upon hearing the gravity of this matter, other than Lagi who was still murmuring nonsense, the rest all turned serious.

“By all means, this matter should have been announced in a high profile so that the entire Star Field knows of my existence…” Han Xiao shook his finger. “But for certain reasons, it is temporarily inconvenient to confirm the rumors that I’ve become a Beyond Grade A. I also do not intend to announce it within the headquarters yet. However, this acknowledgment is basically formal, high-profile behavior, and most organizations already believe in the truth of this rumor. Thus, even if I do not step up, there’ll still be messengers that will come and contact us.

“Therefore, I’ll need you all to cover up this fact to a certain extent. Secretly contact those forces who intend to cooperate with us, screen them, and handle the cooperative relationships. This matter involves us becoming a Beyond Grade A organization, so the earlier we get this done, the better. As for the specifics, you guys are veterans at this and should know what to look out for.”

Everyone else nodded.

Was it not just getting support? They had long learned this from their Army Commander himself.

Han Xiao then raised up his second finger. “The second thing is regarding benefits for you…”

As he spoke, he took out the Evolution Cube, letting it float in midair as he smiled.

“This is the Evolution Cube. That’s right. It’s the Universal Treasure that was originally with Psyker. After a series of coincidences, I intercepted this thing and had a fight with Psyker. Thus, this is now in my hands…” He then went on to describe the benefits of the Evolution Cube.

As soon as this remark was made, everyone stood stunned, their mouths open in disbelief.

It was rumored that Black Star had fought with Psyker, which led everyone to speculate why they would fight. The officers had also been curious about this but did not expect the reason to be about the Evolution Cube!

The Evolution Cube has changed owners‽

It’s now in the hands of our Army Commander‽

One of the Calamity Grades, Misecech, gulped and stuttered with a look full of expectation, “Do… do you mean to allow us to enjoy the benefits that the Evolution Cube brings?”

Han Xiao nodded and laughed. “I’ve already let Feidin and the rest use it. Since the cube is now in my hands, I’ll definitely allow my own officers to enjoy the benefits. You’re all the backbone of my army, and helping you all get stronger means that the army will also become stronger.”

Most of the Calamity Grades who came later were overjoyed. They did not expect to receive such benefits. For most of the Calamity Grades, they were extremely enthusiastic whenever it came to ways to enhance their strength.

Lagi also stopped his murmuring and immediately lunged forward to grip Han Xiao’s hands, his face solemn.

“As your Vice Commander, it’s my responsibility to inform you that the priority of benefits should be given by our ranks. I’ve shed so much sweat and blood for the army, and as your Vice Commander, you should know what I mean…”

Han Xiao swatted his hands away, glancing at him sideways as he retorted, “You might have sweated for the army, but you’ve never bled for us before, so this makes things difficult to place.”

Lagi clutched his chest ‘painfully’, putting on a helpless expression. “Actually… I was heavily injured once on the battlefield…”

“Scram aside, you won’t lose your benefits anyway.” Han Xiao could not be bothered to argue with him any longer. “When we talk about work, you lie there like a corpse, but the moment we mention benefits, you immediately jump up. This guy, you’re getting more and more sly.”

Even Lagi—who was like a salted fish, not interested in anything happening around him—was excited. This spoke volumes about the attractiveness of the Evolution Cube.

The Evolution Cube was provided to the Senior Officers free of charge, and for the other members of the organization, Han Xiao did not intend to hide it. He first intended to form an alliance with the Crimson Dynasty to completely protect the Evolution Cube before opening it to the entire army. According to their ranks, they would pay a corresponding amount, which would allow them to enjoy the Evolution Cube while comprehensively improving the combat capability of the entire army.

This could also attract countless Supers to the army.

At the same time, this was a new service that would be provided to players. The forty percent experience penalty only applied to upgrades, which was not a big problem for the players. As long as it was used after reaching the upper limit of the current version, there was no problem in having the experience penalty.

Even if the players could not resist and used the Evolution Cube before their level cap was reached, it was also not harmful to Han Xiao. Since there would be a penalty for upgrading, players would use their experience to improve their skills or learn new knowledge, which would still flow into his pocket.

This was perfect!

With this in mind, Han Xiao could not help but smile. After that, he shelved the unnecessary thoughts, returning to the actual topic. “Basically, these are the two matters. I’ll use the Evolution Cube to help you all optimize your genes in a while. But before this, I would like to announce new personnel appointments.”

Hearing his words, everyone quietened down as well.

Han Xiao tilted his head toward Hila, saying, “From today onward, the Black Star Guards will be formally established, selecting the Calamity Grade Supers to be part of it. This is an elite combat team that takes orders solely from me. With regards to officer rankings, Hila will serve as the first captain of the Black Star Guards. Does anyone have any objections?”

While the Beyond Grade A did not require bodyguards, they would always have an elite force under them that was well-known. For example, Heber had his Vanguard Officials, Austin had the Forbidden Sorcerers, Psyker had his Grand Priests, and Ames had… uh… her Black Star Army?

Because Beyond Grade As usually did not deign to personally act, only serving as deterrence, Han Xiao also planned to establish a small elite team that would be used to act in most situations. A Beyond Grade A Super had their own dignity and should not move so easily.

Hila stepped forward and faced everyone with a passive expression. “Who agrees? Who wishes to object?”

While she had only been in the army for a few months, most of the old Officers recognized her and would not have any issues. As for those that had joined later, they recognized her for her identity as the disciple of Dragon Emperor Ames and naturally did not doubt her strength.

Seeing the situation, Hila slowly nodded and returned to standing behind Han Xiao without a single word.

Han Xiao tilted his hand as he asked, “Feidin, would you be interested in joining the Black Star Guards as well?”

While Feidin’s status in the army had been more of a guest, after months of getting along, Han Xiao felt that their relationship should have improved, and they were ready to take things to the next level… inviting him to become a direct officer under him.

Feidin thought for a while before revealing a warm smile. “Alright.”

This guy is finally mine… Han Xiao secretly exclaimed to himself before turning back to look at the rest of the officers. He then picked a couple more battle-hardened Calamity Grade officers for his elite forces—one of which was Marian.

The Black Star Guards had a total of four members, which could be considered barely established. This was just a prototype, as he would recruit more once his status as a Beyond Grade A was publicized to the Star Field and they recruited more experts.

After finishing all his official matters, Han Xiao then activated the Evolution Cube, performing genetic optimization for all the officers at once. As long as the energy output of the Evolution Cube was adjusted, multiple people could be optimized at the same time.

Once all of that was finished, Han Xiao dispersed the crowd before locking himself in the machinery modification room. He began to create his Beyond Grade A combat equipment. This was the most important task at present, as strength was still fundamental. Other matters would be placed behind the priority of restoring his combat capability.

His mechanical army, mechanical suit, weapons, and so on needed to be remanufactured and updated with his Beyond Grade A class level.

…

“He’s already achieved Beyond Grade A…”

Aroshia returned to her home, and Risda emerged in midair, saying, “He has the ability to save our race now. Aroshia, go talk to him.”

However, Aroshia slowly shook her head. “We’ve got to at least wait for him to pass this current hurdle and for the Black Star Army to stabilize, else he won’t help. There’s no harm in waiting a while longer.”

“We’ve already waited for a long time, and thinking of my comrades being oppressed by Manison, I really don’t wish to wait any longer!” Risda was a little unsatisfied. “I can see that Black Star has always been trying to put us off.”

But Aroshia blandly replied, “I don’t think so. Just the two of us are enough to give Black Star the motivation to deal with another Beyond Grade A.”

She had already regained her memories and was now the combination of her three personalities within her mind. She was still her, but she was no longer so ignorant.

“If you’re not willing, I’ll look for a time to talk to him,” Risda said. “There must be a way somehow.”

Risda then severed the connection, disappearing in midair.

…

The Black Star Army’s silence did not result in the excitement of the Star Field dying down but in fact gave them a mysterious vibe, attracting even more attention from others. Practically everyone was guessing that Black Star should have certain problems that did not allow him to speak up, but he could not remain silent forever.

As the news continued to spread and Han Xiao’s influence stewed even more, in an area where no one knew what was going on, many things were happening.

In the presence of this undercurrent, another half a month passed.

Han Xiao exited his machinery modification room—he had built the prototype of his new army.

Chapter 767: 767 Announcement 1

767 Announcement 1

In Han Xiao’s personal factory, dozens of army boxes were lined up in a row with a few hundred different mechanical soldiers lining up neatly. They were arranged from tall to short and light to heavy as though it was an exhibition.

“Seventy percent of the soldiers weren’t changed, and the new blueprints that came from Sardeem’s collection were mostly giant soldiers. Another portion of blueprints are those newly merged blueprints. Although there isn’t an upgrade in my knowledge, I managed to unlock new blueprints after becoming a Beyond Grade A and got a good amount of new blueprints from gambling…”

Han Xiao placed his hands behind his back and studied the different models.

A new army was usually created by using the new skills that he obtained after reaching Beyond Grade A to forge more powerful machines with better attributes. The introduction of new models was not that important.

Because of the lack of time, Han Xiao did not have the chance to learn any new knowledge, and the majority of his mechanical soldiers were still old models. However, their attributes were far stronger than his previous army. With the increase in his Intelligence, the bonus from [Supreme Prestige] and [Mechanical Genius] largely increased the attributes of his mechanical army.

However, even if they were old models, these mechanical soldiers were the elite products that had gone through many generations of improvements. The ordinary soldiers were all rebuilt, and all his elite forces such as the Oathkeepers and Phantoms were also reconstructed. At the same time, he had plenty of new additions such as the giant soldiers, Planetary Obliteration Group, Black Knights, and so on.

As for the weapons with large firepower, Han Xiao had modified the various satellite cannons. Because he had not learned the relevant knowledge, he was not able to construct a true Planetary Obliteration Cannon. However, the satellite cannons that he modified had comparable strength to the Ice Age Star Freezing Cannon. Furthermore, its penetrative and explosive abilities were even more powerful. Although it would be impossible to destroy a planet now, destroying a continent wouldn’t be a problem.

With his firepower reaching the Beyond Grade A level, Han Xiao also built a new mechanical suit to replace his Mountain Ape suit.

The new mechanical suit had a black theme with some yellow accents. It looked extremely sturdy and was like a growling beast.

The mechanical suit was made from precious alloys, and the nano transformation technology was further strengthened to improve its self-repairing capabilities. The strength of the mechanic suit was its movement speed. It was equipped with a high speed hyperdrive thruster that enabled Han Xiao to swiftly avoid enemy attacks in battle. As for its firepower, apart from the normal energy and close-range weapons, it also had a psionic energy furnace to increase damage.

The name of this mechanical suit was Battle Tiger. The Mountain Ape suit was suitable for those at level 165, and this ‘Battle Tiger’ suit was level-215 orange equipment. Its attributes were increased in every way. Its armor was over 100,000 points, and its energy was over 10,000 points. Before obtaining new knowledge and forging a new trump card suit, Han Xiao planned to temporarily use this suit to increase his strength.

The mechanical suit came with many additional abilities, including a variety of close combat abilities and a sound wave attack called ‘Tiger Roar’. It was even more powerful than the Mountain Ape suit in terms of violence and was far superior to the Mountain Ape suit in terms of armor and damage. This was a killing machine suitable for many different battlefields.

These machines have all reached Beyond Grade A. As long as there’s enough of them, I will be able to fight normally.

There were other larger machines that he had not had the time to build, such as the Eternal Light and a new base. When he activated [Secondary Dimension Army], he would be able to break through the limits of the compressed orb. At that time, he would be able to carry an entire satellite fortress and different super-sized machines with him.

Boom!

Right at that moment, the room trembled slightly.

“Is there a problem?”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he contacted Phillip.

“What happened?”

“Someone forcefully broke through the defensive line of the headquarters and landed on the satellite base. I will now send you images of the satellite, hum…”

The next moment, the image of the satellite appeared before him. A man broke through from the barricade of the battleships and landed on the surface of the satellite, resulting in an alarm being set off. The warriors of the army then flooded out and surrounded the man.

Upon seeing the appearance of this individual, Han Xiao was slightly shocked.

“Hadavy?”

“Master, hum… your Guards Regiment have rushed over already. Are you going to take care of matters personally?”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and the Battle Tiger suit transformed into a bracelet on his arm. He then opened the door of the workshop and walked out.

“Tell Hila to not let him escape. I will go over immediately.”

…

At the same time, a few hundred spaceships were floating around the Black Star Army headquarters and recording the scene before them.

These spaceships were the news spaceships from the various galactic media groups. In order to get first-hand information of Black Star’s true strength, they had been waiting there for half a month. However, they had been blocked out by the defensive fleet of the Black Star Army and could only float in space nearby.

When a Calamity Grade Super appeared and broke through the defensive line of the Black Star Army fleet, the commotion immediately drew the attention of the galactic reporters, and they all became energetic.

The rumors said that Black Star had already become a Beyond Grade A Super, but there were still those who dared to provoke him. These reporters could keenly sense that this was the chance to dig up some interesting news. As such, they all gathered around to watch.

“I know this person. He’s Hadavy, and he had appeared in the secret war before. He is someone on the Bloodshed Land’s side.”

“Could this be provocation from the Bloodshed Land? Are they announcing war with the Black Star Army publicly‽”

“There will be a nice show to watch!”

In the entrance of the satellite, the soldiers formed three layers of encirclement around Hadavy with numerous cannons being aimed at him. Hadavy was not flustered in the slightest and said, “I am here to see your Army Commander. Since your fleet wouldn’t let me in, I could only barge in.”

Because Han Xiao had issued the order that he would not meet anyone before going into seclusion, all miscellaneous issues had been handed over to Sylvia and Herlous. The defensive fleet had strictly followed Han Xiao’s orders, and Hadavy did not manage to get an exception after reporting his name. He had thus barged in.

At this moment, a beam of red light appeared in front of Hadavy.

“Don’t move,” Hila said with a frosty expression.

Hadavy paused for a moment and sized Hila up. “Who are you?”

“Captain of the Black Star Guards, Hila.”

“Black Star Guards?” Hadavy’s eyes lit up.

Chapter 768: 768 Announcement 2

768 Announcement 2

This was the first time that Hadavy had heard of the Black Star Guards. However, this was not the first time that he had seen Hila.

There was a period of time when Han Xiao had taken Hila around the various frontline battlefields. Before leaving the Bloodshed Land, Hadavy had once looked through Hila’s file, and this was the first time that he had met her.

He looked around the surroundings, and the densely packed warriors blocked all avenues of escape.

“Where is Black Star? I want to see him!” Hadavy shouted.

“Our Army Commander isn’t someone you can meet whenever you want to,” Hila then replied coldly. “Hadavy, you have provoked our headquarters. You’d better surrender yourself right now.”

Upon hearing that, Hadavy looked at Hila and said provocatively, “And if not? Are you going to catch me?”

Hu!

Hila lost her patience and immediately took action. Blood-red energy gushed out from her body and smashed into Hadavy’s chest. It sent him flying into the sky, and a small red shockwave exploded.

The light faded, and Hadavy floated in midair with a solemn expression on his face.

As a well-known Beyond Grade A seed in the Shattered Star Ring; ordinary Calamity Grade Supers would not be able to harm him at all. However, Hila’s casual attack made him feel a wave of deathly energy invading his body. A portion of his cells became inactive, and he felt as though his life force was being absorbed.

Although the damage was not large, the destructive force of the red-haired woman before him was something that an ordinary Calamity Grade Super would not be able to match up to.

After obtaining the benefits of the Evolution Cube, she had experienced an obvious rise in combat strength, and her destructive force had become much more frightening. The death energy that she gave out could reduce the activity of her target and inflict special damage. Even Hadavy was not able to block it completely and had to treat her seriously.

Bang!

Hila’s stomp generated a sonic boom, and she shot toward the sky. The dense death energy was like a tsunami crashing down on Hadavy.

The two collided in midair, and an intense battle broke out. Rings of visible energy waves exploded forth, and the warriors by the side did not interfere in the battle between them. They left the battlefield to those two and watched from the side.

A portion of the Calamity Grade officers who were currently present watched the battle by the side and had no intention of interfering.

“Sylvia, do we really not need to intervene?” a Calamity Grade officer asked.

Sylvia shook her head and said, “His Excellency Black Star wants to set up the Black Star Guards. It isn’t to protect him but to let the various organizations know that he has an elite force under his command. Hadavy is a powerful fellow, and Hila will be able to gain a great amount of fame as long as she doesn’t lose to him. This will be the first impression the world has of the Black Star Guards.”

“But if she loses, won’t…”

“Someone personally chosen by my teacher won’t lose so easily.”

The scene of Hila and Hadavy fighting was recorded by all the galactic reporters in the surroundings. This group of reporters watched the fight unblinkingly as they wrote their draft, recording the entire process of how Hadavy charged into the Black Star Army headquarters and was stopped by the Black Star Guards under Black Star.

Boom boom boom!

Both of them were Calamity Grade Supers, and the impact of their battle was not small. Hila trapped Hadavy in the center and unleashed her death energy on him.

Hadavy’s body hardening Esper Ability had been developed to a perverse level. Despite that, plenty of scars were still left behind on his body. It was not that he did not have the ability to escape, but he naturally would not escape since he was there to meet Han Xiao.

The dense, red waterfall of death energy knocked Hadavy out of the sky, and he crashed onto the alloy ground.

Boom!

Hadavy hurriedly got up and avoided Hila’s follow-up attack while looking back at Hila with a strange gaze. Hila’s attack would not threaten his life but made him seem extremely pathetic. Her strength had truly shocked him.

The Black Star Army had a few Calamity Grade officers. In the past, Lagi was the only one who could give Hadavy some pressure, so Hila was the second.

Black Star has more and more experts under him, Hadavy thought to himself.

What a powerful body. Hila frowned.

Death energy then surrounded her body as though she was on fire.

Hadavy’s expression turned solemn, and he got into a defensive position. His muscles then bulged up like steel.

The army members watching the battle by the side also began backing off. They knew that the following attack would create a large shockwave, and they might be injured if they were to close.

Just as Hila was about to launch her attack, a deep voice sounded from behind the crowd.

“Hila, that’s enough.”

Everyone looked over and saw Han Xiao floating over slowly with an immense pressure bearing down on everyone present. The entire place fell silent, and even a falling needle could have been heard.

Everyone’s gaze was locked on Han Xiao.

Upon hearing those words, Hila snorted coldly and retracted her death energy.

The crowd then opened a path, and Han Xiao walked in front of Hadavy. “You want to see me?”

In truth, Han Xiao had arrived a long time ago and allowed both Hila and Hadavy to fight for a short while before stopping them.

Just as Sylvia had suspected, since he had set up the Black Star Guards, he had to help Hila build up her prestige in the Star Field. Hadavy was a classic meat shield, and his attacking strength was low. With Hila’s current strength, she would be able to fight Hadavy for some time without losing, and this was the best chance to build up her prestige.

The galactic reporters by the side all grew excited. Ever since the rumors began to spread in the outside world, this was the first time that Black Star had appeared in public. Thus, all their attention was placed on him.

“You finally came out!” Hadavy’s eyes lit up. This was the result that he wanted to see. “Do you still remember me?”

“How can I forget you?” Han Xiao said with a tinge of interest. “Aren’t you a member of Bloodshed Land? Are you coming to my headquarters to provoke me?”

“I have already left Bloodshed Land, and I am here to represent myself only,” Hadavy explained.

“Oh… then what do you want?”

“I wish to issue you a challenge!” Hadavy suddenly said loudly. “I am willing to use myself as the stakes for this battle!”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment, and doubt could be seen in his eyes.

“What exactly do you want?”

“If I lose, I will join the Black Star Army and fight for you like I once fought for Bloodshed Land. If I win…” Hadavy paused for a moment. “If I win, I want you to be my subordinate.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao could not help but laugh in his heart. He had already seen through Hadavy’s true thoughts.

This fellow has probably come here because I became a Beyond Grade A Super. For him to insist on challenging me even after knowing that I have become a Beyond Grade A Super, he probably has two motives. First, he wants to spar with a Beyond Grade A Super and thinks that I won’t kill him on account of the fact that we are old opponents. Second, he wants to join me after losing to me.

Hadavy had always wanted to become a Beyond Grade A Super, and his heart was becoming itchy after witnessing Han Xiao becoming a Beyond Grade A. Thus, Hadavy wanted to join Han Xiao so that he could seek help from him. However, although Hadavy was tempted by such a thought, he was not willing to directly join the Black Star Army because of his pride. He did not want to lower his head before his old opponent directly and thus chose to put on a show and use the excuse of losing the battle to join the Black Star Army.

Defeat was not humiliating to Hadavy, but lowering his head was.

After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao nodded and agreed without exposing Hadavy.

When they were opponents, Hadavy was truly annoying and was a sh*t stirrer. However, if this meat shield wanted to join him, he would be a rare treasure in Han Xiao’s eyes. After all, there were very few Beyond Grade A seeds.

Putting on a show to gain a powerful fighter—such a deal was very much worth it.

Furthermore, Han Xiao felt that he could make use of this chance to display his strength to the Star Field. The influence of him becoming a Beyond Grade A could only be utilized if he admitted it personally.

He had already constructed a new army, and he was able to display the strength of a Beyond Grade A. Furthermore, the Tyrant would not allow him to drag things on for too long.

Han Xiao was extremely clear about the thoughts of his enemy. If he continued dragging on as such, Klent would then announce to the world that he did not dare to reveal his strength because he was afraid of Heber. They would then be able to suppress his influence while boosting the Tyrant’s prestige.

He had stayed silent for half a month already, and Klent was already showing signs of doing so. He decided to avoid such a situation before Klent took action.

Han Xiao shook off all these thoughts and looked at Hadavy. “Come.”

Boom!

Hadavy stomped on the alloy ground and shot toward Han Xiao’s chest like a cannon.

The muscles on his arms bulged up, and an explosive strength burst forth.

However, Hadavy’s fist was stopped ten centimeters before Han Xiao, and the immense strength of the attack generated a powerful gust of wind. However, Han Xiao did not even blink.

At this moment, his arm, which was covered in the Battle Tiger suit, grabbed onto Hadavy’s throat. Hadavy’s powerful attack could not even shake Han Xiao’s arm, and Hadavy was not able to move forward even an inch after being grabbed by Han Xiao’s arm.

Advancing to Beyond Grade A and the boost from the Evolution Cube had largely increased Han Xiao’s attributes and allowed him to completely suppress a Calamity Grade Super. Even Hadavy, who was famous for his body’s strength, was not an opponent for Han Xiao.

“This…” Hadavy’s eyes narrowed.

Before he could even react, the mechanical suit on Han Xiao’s arm began spinning around rapidly and sent a powerful shockwave into Hadavy’s body through his arm.

The special sound wave attack flowed through Hadavy’s skin and echoed in his flesh and bones. Hadavy heard a ringing sound as though all the noise in the world had been pumped into his ears.

Tiger Roar!

With the target’s body as a medium, the special shockwave attack would pass through all forms of armor and echo within the target’s body. If this attack was used in a vacuum, it would only be effective in close-range battle. This was an attack that Han Xiao had created by mimicking Stephanie’s Esper Ability.

“Pu!” Hadavy spat out a mouthful of blood. Because it was not True Damage, he was not immune to it.

Following which, Han Xiao slammed him into the ground.

Bang!

A crater was created, and Hadavy was stuck in the crater.

Not waiting for him to get up, Han Xiao placed his hands together, and his body lit up with brilliant bolts of electricity. The Mechanical Force that he gave out then combined with the alloy ground.

Boom!

The next moment, the alloy ground sprang into action, and the alloy ground transformed into a whirlpool to trap Hadavy in the center. The alloy ground then began spinning upward and formed a small spinning mountain.

Hadavy could not move an inch.

“Pa!” Han Xiao then clapped his hands, and two cannons were revealed behind him. The barrels of the cannons were aimed straight at Hadavy. If Han Xiao shot at Hadavy, who was currently in the air, his cannon would shoot toward outer space and would not destroy the headquarters.

The barrels of the cannons lit up, and the frightening energy being gathered made everyone’s hair stand on end.

“My destructive force isn’t the same as before,” Han Xiao said slowly. “You may become paralyzed if these two cannons hit you. Admit defeat.”

Hadavy gulped in horror, and his heart was shaken.

He had challenged Han Xiao because he wanted to verify the difference between the Beyond Grade A Black Star and the Black Star from before. In the end, he realized that the gap between them had widened to the point where he did not have the ability to make Han Xiao get serious.

Was this the difference in a Beyond Grade A? Hadavy felt his heart burning.

“I… admit defeat.” Hadavy took a deep breath and admitted his loss.

Han Xiao had already expected this and said, “Hila, bring him down.”

Clank!

The alloy mountain then collapsed. and Hadavy fell to the ground. Hila immediately walked forward and slapped a pair of electromagnetic handcuffs on his wrists. The handcuffs were not very useful and were only for show. Hadavy was then led into the headquarters of the Black Star Army.

Han Xiao then turned around and looked at the numerous spaceships in the surrounding area. With a simple shake of his head, he connected to the quantum network.

The reporters on the spaceship were currently recording the scene before them and writing about how Han Xiao had easily taken care of Hadavy. All of a sudden, Han Xiao’s face appeared on every screen in the spaceships, and all the reporters were startled.

Following which, Han Xiao’s voice sounded on the screen.

“I know that all of you have been lingering in the vicinity to hear me admit the recent rumors. Yes, I am already a Beyond Grade A. Please help me spread the news around the entire Star Field!”

After saying what he wanted, Han Xiao’s face disappeared from the screen, and the screens returned to normal.

The jaws of the reporters dropped, and they finally snapped back to reality. They immediately jumped to the window of the spaceship and looked toward the Black Star Army satellite, only to see Han Xiao turn around and walk back into the headquarters.

“He admitted it! Black Star admitted it personally!”

All the reporters were overjoyed. After camping for such a long time, they had finally gotten some exciting news.

An official announcement was completely different from rumors being spread around. Rumors were like sparks to ignite the flames of curiosity in the Star Field, but Han Xiao’s admission was like pouring hot oil on top of the fire!

The influence of a new Beyond Grade A would reach the peak in a single step!

Chapter 769: Huge Sensation!

Hadavy was led to a room by Hila and tied to a chair. Hila stood with her arms folded by the side, staring coldly at him.

“Wait here. Black Star will arrive in a while.”

Hadavy did not struggle as well. After quietly sitting for a while, he seemed to feel that the atmosphere was a little awkward. He looked at Hila and asked, “What’s your Esper ability? I’ve been roaming around the Shattered Star Ring for so many years, yet I haven’t heard of you. Someone like you would not be able to mask the news. Which civilization are you from?”

Hila did not even bother to reply, keeping a passive expression.

Seeing that she had no interest, Hadavy could only cough dryly. “Seems like you don’t like to converse.”

This time, the door opened, and Han Xiao walked in, smiling. “She’s from my hometown; we’re both from Planet Aquamarine. Because she was learning under Ames, she only appeared recently to help me with my matters.”

“The Dragon Emperor’s disciple?” Hadavy was stunned, and the look he shot toward Hila changed, filled with admiration and envy.

Planet Aquamarine, a surface civilization, could actually give rise to people like Hila and Black Star. This intrigued Hadavy.

Ka-la!

Moving his hand, Han Xiao freed Hadavy from the restraints. He suddenly had a thought, saying, “Ok, you may leave now.”

Hadavy was given another shock, and his mouth gaped open as he said, “You’re letting me go?”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao smiled. “No matter what, we’ve fought so many times, and I respect your abilities. This time, I’m letting you go. The bet can be nulled.”

“No no no…” Hadavy immediately stammered. “I’m a man who keeps his word. Since I’ve lost, I must accept my promise and work for you.”

“Well, such a strong Super like you would not agree to simply being someone’s subordinate in such a manner,” Han Xiao replied, half-seriously and half-jokingly. “I might have reached the Beyond Grade A level, but to peak-level Calamity Grades such as you, I have my respect and will not force you.”

Hadavy was so anxious his face turned red. He had initially thought that his plan would be successful and that he could succeed in his gamble and join under Black Star’s flag. He did not expect Black Star to actually reject him, with the reason so moving that even he could not reply to that.

“I… you…” Hadavy was speechless, unable to voice his thoughts.

Should he just say that he wanted to serve Black Star? Hadavy felt that this was a little shameful, and he could not bring himself to do it. However, if he just walked away, that would defeat his purpose of going there. In that instant, he fell into a dilemma, not knowing what to do.

Seeing this situation, Han Xiao smiled. “I won’t mess with you any further. If you wish to join the Black Star Army, I’ll welcome you with open arms. If you are trying to use such tricks to fool me, we can stop the discussion.”

Hadavy’s face turned red. “You already knew‽”

Upon having his thoughts seen through, he was so embarrassed that he wished to find a hole to hide in.

For Hila, who was standing by the corner with a passive expression, the corners of her mouth curled up into a barely discernible smile.

Han Xiao raised an eyebrow, leisurely saying, “In that case, I’ll formally extend an invitation to you. Hadavy, my legion requires your strength. Are you willing to come under my banner?”

Hadavy found it hard to open his mouth at this time. His mouth seemed to be glued shut, and he applied all his Grade A level strength just to unlock his jaw.

“I… I am willing…”

After saying those three words, Hadavy felt as though his entire body had gone soft. The feeling was as though he had just finished ten consecutive gladiator matches.

“Good.” Han Xiao nodded with a smile. “On behalf of my army, I welcome you.”

Seeing that Han Xiao was no longer fooling around with him, Hadavy finally breathed a sigh of relief, putting down the embarrassment in his heart. “What role do you require me to take?”

Han Xiao thought about it before pointing to Hila. “You can join the Black Star Guards, which is under Hila.”

With Hadavy having a well-known reputation, him joining the Black Star Guards would also increase their renown.

“Black Star Guards?” Hadavy stroked his chin before replying, “That’s fine, but I have a request. I hope that you will be able to impart some of your experience in achieving Beyond Grade A to me…”

Han Xiao nodded before shaking his head. “Every Beyond Grade A has a different method for their promotion, and everyone has their own path. I’m unable to pass down my experience to you, but what I can do is spar with you, allowing you to feel the difference between your level and that of a Beyond Grade A to give you more inspiration.”

“This…” Hadavy shook his head helplessly. “That works as well.”

While this was a little different from his expectations, being able to spar with a Beyond Grade A was also what he wanted. He originally loved to squeeze his potential out through battles.

The average person could not give him much pressure, but facing Black Star would remind him of his fear of the beasts when he was young and weak. This sort of fear would be a catalyst for growth.

Han Xiao waved his hand, allowing Hila to take Hadavy to meet his new colleagues.

He now had a total of five guards, of which Hadavy, Feidin, and Hila were the strongest, all high-level Calamity Grades. The other two were Marian and a Pugilist named Deluno. Both of their combat capabilities were average, not extraordinary in the Calamity Grade, but it was good enough to be a mini-boss. In this manner, all his guards were actually elites.

After dealing with Hadavy, Han Xiao called Sylvia over to talk about the expansion of the Black Star Army.

Since he had personally announced the matter of reaching Beyond Grade A, he would have to start making some big moves, increasing his influence, and making more allies in the Star Field. His plan was to make the Black Star Army reach the level of a true Beyond Grade A force.

But before that, there was still another matter he needed to address.

“Sylvia, help me prepare a fleet. I’m going out.”

“Noted. Where are you going, Teacher?”

Han Xiao paused, his tone strange.

“Floating Dragon.”

…

The countless interstellar news outlets released the article about Han Xiao personally acknowledging that he had broken into the Beyond Grade A class. At its peak, ninety-five percent of the entire news channels in the Shattered Star Ring were occupied by news about this matter, setting off a new storm of public opinion.

Most of the official news sources had acknowledged this matter, making it a sure bet. During this period, almost all the media outlets in Shattered Star Ring were covering the topic. With so many media channels, this was far larger than compared to the rumor and word-of-mouth influence that had spread earlier. As long as the citizens had internet, there was no one that would not have heard of Han Xiao’s name!

Similarly, this sensational news had also been shared by the media of other Star Fields, and their organizations had also learned that the Shattered Star Ring had given birth to yet another Beyond Grade A Super!

The player forums almost detonated from this situation. Although Han Xiao’s name often dominated the forums, it was because of the players’ discussion. That day, even the players from other Star Fields could also see their news channels commenting on Han Xiao’s name!

Those belonging to other Star Fields were shocked. At Version 3.0, players had yet to cross between Star Fields. In their eyes, each Star Field was currently an independent server. Now, the NPC character from the Shattered Star Ring had actually ‘broken’ this barrier due to his fame!

Since the previous versions, Han Xiao had constantly established his main storyline character position in the Shattered Star Ring. The players from the other Star Fields also knew of his name. This wave of public opinion had generated a strong interest within the player base. Not only was Han Xiao filling up the screen in the Shattered Star Ring news channel, his name was also within the forum channels of the other Star Fields. On all channels, he was within the top three topics.

The official news channels also had their own rules, and the various great organizations of the Shattered Star Ring responded appropriately.

…

The Purple Crystal Civilization was extremely happy now.

They had seen the potential revealed by him more than seven years ago and decided to hedge their bets on him. Finally, Black Star had stepped into the realm of the Beyond Grade A, and the Purple Crystal Civilization now had a Beyond Grade A Super just like Klent. Within the seven Star Cluster level civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring, only two of them had such powerful allies.

Their bet had truly paid off!

Furthermore, Black Star had only spent around twenty years to reach the Beyond Grade A rank, with his total age not even being close to fifty yet. With the lifespan of a Beyond Grade A Super, he was considered an infant, and this spoke volumes of his potential.

The moment Han Xiao admitted his promotion in person, the Purple Crystal Civilization had adopted a variety of measures such as adding a huge investment to the Black Star Army as well as putting out more favorable policies and resource conditions for them. They were committed to building a more stable relationship with Han Xiao as an alliance.

At the same time, the Purple Crystal Civilization also issued announcements to the entire Star Field through their media channels.

“In the name of the Civilization, we congratulate Black Star for reaching the Beyond Grade A rank!”

This sort of behavior expressed their attitude to the entire Star Field and conveyed a message that their relationship was extremely stable. Those outside parties who wanted a share of the pie should just save their energy and get lost.

Godora was unwilling to be left behind and followed suit by having Serbia The Fifth coming out to explain Han Xiao’s role in saving Godora, as well as emphasizing that he was the recipient of the Golden Gal Badge. Finally, he represented all Godorans in congratulating Han Xiao on his advancement before revealing that he was planning to add a celebratory festival named Black Star Day to thank Han Xiao for all that he had done for them.

Were it any other civilization that had done this, it would have sounded very much like boot-licking. However, Godora was different, as their ties with Han Xiao ran extremely deeply. Be it the eradication of DarkStar or the Discrimination Transformation Movement, it had a huge impact for their entire civilization. Thus, a festival to thank Han Xiao was nothing extraordinary.

Purple Crystal and Godora quickly took their stand, and to jump on the bandwagon, hundreds of civilizations began to congratulate Han Xiao. This was as though they were attempting to form a trend. Most of these galaxy-level civilizations were half-allies that had chosen the Black Star Army, and they had allowed the army to set up bases on their planets. At this moment, they scrambled to speak up, as though afraid that others would not know they were in an alliance with Black Star.

The behavior of these civilizations was actually understandable. Purple Crystal was the boss of this Star Cluster and thus got the ball rolling. The other civilizations jumped on the bandwagon in order to have a good relationship with this Beyond Grade A faction, but this crazy chain left those on the sidelines speechless and shocked.

The entire Colton Star Cluster was basically standing behind Black Star, shouting and congratulating him. An entire Star Cluster was celebrating for one man!

In such a situation, those on the sidelines could not even reply due to their shock.

The reputation of Black Star in the Star Cluster was so shocking!

Even when the other Beyond Grade As had advanced, they did not receive such a resounding celebration!

At this moment, the entire Star Field remembered the name Black Star. Just like the other four, he turned into an icon of the Shattered Star Ring in everyone’s minds, the Fifth Beyond Grade A Seat!

However, it was at this juncture that unexpected events started to appear, allowing the public opinion to skyrocket to unpresented levels.

The Tyrant Heber and Star Pupil Psyker both openly made a declaration of battle toward Black Star!

Heber’s reason was because of the secret war. Since the Purple Crystal also possessed a Beyond Grade A now, he would personally act. Because both Beyond Grade As were fighting for different sides, there was no problem with that.

However, Psyker’s reasoning caused a huge outburst.

He openly admitted the existence of the Evolution Cube, announced that Black Star had taken the Evolution Cube from his hands, and requested for Black Star to return it!

The Evolution Cube is now in Black Star’s hands? Two elder Beyond Grade As are challenging a newborn Beyond Grade A‽

Those two pieces of news caused a stir.

The entire Star Field burst into an uproar!

The Beyond Grade As… were going to fight openly‽

How long had it been since that last happened!

…

Just as the major organizations and those on the sidelines were shocked at all the ongoing news, Han Xiao had taken his spaceship and arrived on Floating Dragon Island.

Chapter 770: Independence

A large fleet appeared not too far away from Floating Dragon Island with Han Xiao’s spaceship being at the very front.

Aurora was seated in the pilot’s seat with Han Xiao standing behind her with his arms crossed.

Floating Dragon now had three different islands and a second field team in charge of guarding Floating Dragon. Looking out at the scenery, Han Xiao could not help but lament to himself.

“I haven’t been back for quite some time, and the changes are truly great. So many years have gone by in just a blink of an eye. I still remember the first time I came to Floating Dragon…”

Du! Du!

Vilna’s face appeared on his communicator, and she said, “Your Excellency Black Star, Her Excellency Dragon Emperor is waiting for you.”

It seems like she knew that I would come and meet her… Han Xiao nodded.

The second field team opened a path and allowed the Black Star Army fleet to land on Floating Dragon Island.

“Black Star Guards follow me. The others remain here and await my orders,” Han Xiao instructed and led Hila and the others onto Floating Dragon.

On the dock, Jenny and the other officers were already waiting for him.

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

The various officers saluted him.

Although they had once been colleagues with Han Xiao, Han Xiao was now a Beyond Grade A Super, and his status in the galaxy far exceeded theirs. He was a figure who stood at the same level as the Dragon Emperor, and they could only look up to him.

Even Jenny, who had a terrible relationship with Han Xiao, also had her head lowered with a respectful appearance.

Aesop stepped out from the crowd and said with a complicated expression, “I knew that you would return. This day had to come eventually.”

Han Xiao then looked around at the faces of his colleagues before looking back at Aesop. Shaking his head, he said, “Didn’t you already start making preparations?”

“I just didn’t think that it would be so sudden…” Aesop let out a sigh before turning around to lead the way. “Follow me. Ames is already waiting for you.”

Han Xiao followed behind Aesop and entered the palace, only to see Ames seated on top of a floating throne with a calm expression on her face.

“You’re here. Black Star, I have been waiting for you,” Ames said as though she had already expected his arrival.

Han Xiao stood a few meters away, and Aesop’s group walked behind Ames. At this moment, there seemed to be an invisible barrier separating the two groups.

Neither of them spoke immediately; they looked at each other silently instead. The Black Star and Floating Dragon officers who were by the side all could not help but gulp as their hearts tensed up.

The officers of both sides were aware of Han Xiao’s intentions and could not help but feel nervous upon seeing the tense atmosphere. They were afraid that the two Beyond Grade A Supers would start fighting because of some disagreement.

The new member of the Black Star Guards, Hadavy, was probably the only exception. He was currently sizing Ames up carefully, looking as though he was eager to test her strength.

After a silent standoff of over a minute, Ames shifted her gaze toward Aurora and Hila, who were beside Han Xiao, and asked, “How have both of you been over the past few months?”

Aurora did not dare face Ames’ gaze at this moment and lowered her head with guilt.

“Fine,” Hila replied.

Ames showed care and concern for her two disciples but ignored Han Xiao completely. Han Xiao was not too bothered by this and watched silently by the side.

The teacher and disciples chatted for a while before Ames changed the topic. “Are you two going to stand on his side?”

Hila and Aurora’s expressions changed slightly, and everyone felt their hearts tightened up slightly.

Before waiting for them to reply, Han Xiao waved to his Black Star Guards and said, “Hila, leave with them. Let me talk to Ames alone.”

Hila heaved a sigh of relief. She was not afraid of facing powerful enemies, but she did not wish to be sandwiched between her teacher of ten years and Han Xiao.

Ames tacitly approved of the departure of the Black Star Guards, and upon seeing this, Aesop had no choice but to take the officers of Floating Dragon away as well.

Aesop felt that it was extremely normal for Black Star to seek independence. If he was Ames, he would not stop Black Star but provide his support instead. However, Ames was not like him and tended to act in a willful manner. Furthermore, Black Star was the subordinate who she placed the greatest importance on, and Aesop was worried that Ames’ willfulness would ruin matters.

Only Han Xiao and Ames were left behind in the main hall. Ames controlled her floating throne to land, and she walked forward to face Han Xiao with a complicated look in her eyes.

“When I first saw you, I never imagined that you will be standing at the same height as me one day.”

Upon hearing that, the scene of how he met Ames floated up in Han Xiao’s mind.

Ames had been high above at that time, capable of controlling his life and death with a single thought. In comparison, he had been a small grain of sand in her eyes. Ten or so years later, he was now able to stand face to face with her as equals.

“Anything is possible in this world,” Han Xiao replied.

Ames smiled and said, “I know this feeling. A long time ago, I never imagined that I would become a Beyond Grade A Super either.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and did not say a word.

Pausing for a moment, Ames then asked, “Why are you here today?”

“There are three things.”

“Three things?” Ames raised her brows. “What’s the first?”

Han Xiao took out the Evolution Cube and said, “This treasure is in my hands. I am prepared to allow you and all the officers of Floating Dragon to enjoy the Evolution Cube.”

Ames was a little surprised but did not reply immediately. She asked instead, “What’s the second matter.”

“I request to leave Floating Dragon and allow the Black Star Army to gain independence,” Han Xiao said without the slightest bit of awkwardness.

“Humph, this is probably your true motive, right?”

Ames let out a soft sigh but wasn’t angry. She was already mentally prepared for this day to arrive but still felt a tinge of discomfort when Han Xiao said it. She then said expressionlessly, “I have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Were you planning to leave me from the first day you joined Floating Dragon?”

Ames’ gaze was locked firmly on Han Xiao. Ever since she viewed the Black Star Army headquarters a few years ago, she had known that she was not suitable to be Han Xiao’s leader. She just wanted to be certain of Han Xiao’s thoughts.

“Yes,” Han Xiao replied honestly. From the very beginning, he had treated Floating Dragon as a jumping board. Even if saying so would make Ames angry, he did not intend to lie.

“I thought so.” Ames shook her head, and a tinge of sadness could be seen in her eyes. “I am not a leader worth following for someone like you.”

She had not felt this during the initial development of the Black Star Army, but as the prestige of the Black Star Army overshadowed Floating Dragon, she had understood that a legendary character like Han Xiao was not someone she could keep.

Ames did not hesitate in the slightest and did not bother trying to keep Han Xiao. She was not that weak and said with a resolute voice, “Alright. I understand. From today onward, Floating Dragon is Floating Dragon and the Black Star Army is the Black Star Army. You are no longer my subordinate.”

A notification immediately popped up on his interface indicating that he left the Floating Dragon faction.

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

From this moment on, the Black Star Army was no longer a subordinate of Floating Dragon and was now an independent organization.

“What is the third matter?” Ames asked expressionlessly.

“I hope that the Black Star Army can form an alliance with Floating Dragon,” Han Xiao said. “I hope that you will fight alongside me against Heber and Psyker.”

Upon hearing that, Ames’ face immediately became a little strange. She had already heard about the Beyond Grade A battle that shook the Shattered Star Ring. She was puzzled about Han Xiao’s actions.

“Since you want my help, why did you choose independence? You know that I would definitely help you if you chose to remain in Floating Dragon.”

Han Xiao smiled and said with a carefree tone, “I know. That’s why I gave you a chance to choose.”

Ames was stunned for a moment and immediately understood what Han Xiao meant.

The way she saw it, as long as Han Xiao chose to remain in Floating Dragon, he could tie Floating Dragon to him and ensure that she would help him to deal with his enemies for sure. However, Han Xiao did not choose to make use of his identity as a Floating Dragon officer but chose to request help after leaving Floating Dragon.

This meant that Han Xiao did not want to make use of her. If not, he could choose to borrow Floating Dragon’s strength to deal with Heber and Psyker before gaining independence. It would be akin to making full use of her before leaving.

In truth, Ames had also considered such a possibility before their meeting. Even Ames herself did not know if she would have rejected Han Xiao if he had chosen such a route. The development of the situation was truly out of her expectations.

“Are you not afraid that I will reject you?” Ames suppressed the surprise in her heart and spoke calmly. “Your life will be in danger if you want to fight both of them alone. Aren’t you afraid that you won’t be able to pass this tribulation?”

Han Xiao smiled and said, “I believe that you won’t reject me.”

Ames’ face then darkened, and she said coldly, “You are no longer my subordinate, and I haven’t accepted your alliance. Do you really think that I care a lot about you, or do you think that you have some chips in your hands that I won’t be able to reject? Do you want to make use of the Evolution Cube to persuade me? And go back on your word if I don’t agree?”

“My promise is valid regardless of whether you form an alliance with me.” Han Xiao shook his head. “That was something I brought up before leaving Floating Dragon. I am providing that benefit to you as an officer of Floating Dragon and do not plan to make use of it as a bargaining chip. You can treat it as my compensation to thank Floating Dragon for taking care of me.”

Ames had a strange look in her eyes, and she sized Han Xiao up as though she did not recognize him. “You are not someone like that in my mind.”

The way she saw it, the sequence of Han Xiao’s requests was completely wrong. He chose to leave Floating Dragon before seeking help and did not wish to use the Evolution Cube as a bargaining chip for their alliance but compensation toward Floating Dragon.

This was akin to surrendering his advantage and leaving the decision in her hands.

“Why?” Ames asked. Han Xiao’s current actions had overturned her impression of him.

Han Xiao smiled. “I just feel that there isn’t a need for there to have so much scheming between us.”

Ames’ expression froze in place, and her breathing seemed to have stopped for a second.

She then looked at Han Xiao deeply and took two steps back. “I don’t know if the words you have said are true or false, but I can at least see some sincerity.”

Han Xiao’s lips curled up slightly, and he said, “It seems like we have come to an agreement.”

“I agree to your alliance.” Ames’ eyes shone before she slowly said, “Besides, I have long wanted to have a fight with Heber. Although you are a new Beyond Grade A Super, you definitely won’t drag me down with your strength.”

“Hahaha, you are still the Ames that I know!” Han Xiao raised out his hand to shake Ames’ hand. “Alliance mate, please take care of me in the future.”

Ames looked at Han Xiao’s hand, which was floating in midair, and snorted.

“Humph, you used to call me Your Excellency Dragon Emperor but call me alliance mate now.”

After saying that, she raised out her hand as well.

Both of them shook hands.

Their alliance was set up from this moment on.

After shaking hands, they let go, and Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.

When they were shaking hands, Ames had squeezed hard as though she was throwing a tantrum. However, Han Xiao’s physical defense was too high, and he did not feel much.

Han Xiao shook his head and looked at the door of the palace. “Still eavesdropping? All of you, come in.”

Hila, Aesop, and the others walked out from behind the door with embarrassed looks on their faces.

They had all worried that Ames and Han Xiao would fall out with each other and did not go too far away. They had all been eavesdropping outside the door and were a little embarrassed since they had been caught. In actual fact, all of their actions could not possibly escape from the senses of a Beyond Grade A. It was just that Han Xiao and Ames could not be bothered with them.

Upon seeing the both of them resolving matters harmoniously, the atmosphere in the place became relaxed, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

Although the Black Star Army had left Floating Dragon, both parties had formed an alliance, and they were still allies. The barrier between both parties disappeared immediately, especially since the officers of both parties had a good relationship in the first place.

Aesop was extremely relieved that Ames did not lose control of her emotions, and the outcome was much better than what he had expected. For two Beyond Grade A organizations to form an alliance, they would be able to gain a huge advantage in the Shattered Star Ring, and it was extremely beneficial to both parties.

My prediction back then wasn’t wrong. Ames will develop better with Black Star beside her, Aesop thought to himself. Back then, he had felt that Black Star would become the Dragon Emperor’s right-hand man to support her to the next level. Although his guess was not wrong, he had gotten a small detail wrong. Black Star would not be the Dragon Emperor’s right-hand man but an equal to the Dragon Emperor.

“Alright, since you are willing to work together with me, we have to decide how we should deal with Heber and Psyker,” Han Xiao said.

“What are you prepared to do?” Ames said with excitement.

“It has been some time since they issued a challenge to me, but I have yet to give them a reply. It is time for me to give them a reply. Since they want to create trouble, we should muddy the waters further. I will issue a joint response with you and shake the Shattered Star Ring even more.” Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

He could also make use of this opportunity to announce the independence of the Black Star Army and their alliance with Floating Dragon.

Han Xiao was sure that this would increase his influence to the next level!

“I thought that you’d ask me to keep this matter a secret and give them a good surprise,” Ames replied.

“We won’t be able to hide it from them, and there isn’t a need to do so. Since they challenged us openly, we can also reply to them openly,” Han Xiao said. “Since they want to be high profile, we shall accompany them in being high profile!”

Ames revealed a look of interest. “It sounds very fun.”

As Hadavy and the others heard that, they immediately grew excited and were agitated to the point they had goosebumps. The Shattered Star Ring had five Beyond Grade A Supers, and four of them were involved in this battle. Only the Magus was left out, and he would probably run over to join the fun. If that was the case, this battle would involve all the Beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring!

This was a one in a hundred years event, and it would definitely go down in the annals of history.

Just thinking of the sight of the five Beyond Grade A appearing together made Hadavy’s blood boil.

At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly said, “Before that, I have to fulfil my promise.”

After saying that, he took out the Evolution Cube and looked at Ames.

“Do I need to make any preparations?” Ames asked.

“You don’t need to.”

“Alright.” Ames nodded.

Although she did not chase after strength, she was extremely curious about the Evolution Cube.

Opening the Evolution Cube, a wave of black particles surrounded Ames, and the gene evolution started.

Han Xiao looked at the other officers of Floating Dragon, and after seeing them nod, he controlled another new wave of black colored energy to evolve their genes.

Only Aesop waved his hands.

“Old man, don’t you want to use the Evolution Cube?” Han Xiao asked with doubt.

“Don’t need to worry about me.” Aesop waved his hands. “I used it a few hundred years ago when this item was still in the ruins. If not for the fact that it was too large and I was too lazy to find someone to shift it away, it would have been mine.”

Han Xiao truly did not know what to say.

…

The gene evolution continued for quite some time, and all the officers of Floating Dragon completed their evolution. Their strength experienced varying degrees of improvements, and they all had looks of joy on their faces. Only Ames was still being surrounded by the black particles.

After a few hours, Ames broke out of the ‘cocoon’ and experienced a huge change.

All the others had gone down to rest, and Han Xiao was the only one left in the hall. He was currently seated on Ames’ throne and scrolling through the forums for entertainment. Upon seeing Ames exit, he walked forward to Ames with a look of curiosity.

“How do you feel?”

Ames did not reply, and her brows were furrowed as though she was trying to feel something. Her figure then disappeared suddenly.

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment and extended his senses to feel the undulations of space around him.

At his current level, apart from his five basic senses, he could detect other things such as radiation, energy waves, and so on.

After extending his senses, Han Xiao was stunned for a moment.

He could see Ames making circles around him in the Void Dimension.

“You are able to enter the Void Dimension?” Han Xiao asked with shock and entered the Void Dimension as well.

“It seems like this is my new ability,” Ames said excitedly.

Floating Dragon Island was built on top of the skeleton of a Void Dragon, and Ames had consumed the Void Dragon Pith before. Thus, she had a trace of Void Genes in her, which was activated by the Evolution Cube.

Although they were not from the same Beyond Grade A race, they both had Void Genes, and a portion of their genes were similar.

After playing for a while, Ames left the Void Dimension and began testing her new strength.

“The effect of the Evolution Cube is truly amazing. The strength, range, and control of my Force Field have been increased, and my physique seems to have improved.”

That is because your attributes have increased…

Han Xiao had some experience with this. Ames did not have an interface and could not see the changes in her body.

Chapter 771: You d Better Not Run

After both parties formed an alliance, Floating Dragon changed their drifting trajectory and headed toward the headquarters of the Black Star Army. They would work together with Han Xiao during this period.

Since Ames had chosen to fight by Han Xiao’s side, she naturally had to bring her personal weapon along. Floating Dragon had another two more islands, and using it to smash others would definitely be more painful.

Han Xiao then got Reynolds to inform the army’s logistics department to modify some empty backup satellite fortresses. Han Xiao was prepared to give them to Ames so that she could use them as her weapon. After all, she could not always use her main camp as her weapon.

After using the Evolution Cube, everyone rested for a day before Han Xiao and Ames gathered all the officers together.

This time, it was to reply to the Tyrant’s challenge.

Before announcing his response to the world, Han Xiao decided to contact the Tyrant privately.

The secret war had been fought for such a long time, and the two parties had not contacted each other before. The last time they had seen each other was more than ten years ago at the Tyrant’s gathering. Back then, he had been only Ames’ follower, and Heber had tried to recruit him.

Han Xiao did not have the Tyrant’s communicator number, but Ames had it in her communicator. This time, he was going to borrow Ames’ communicator to contact Heber, which Ames had no issues with.

Han Xiao then opened Ames’ communicator and pulled out Heber’s number from the blacklist. Because of Heber’s pursuit, Ames had always blocked his number.

Han Xiao then sent a communication request to the Tyrant.

Beep beep!

After a few seconds, the communication request went through, and Heber’s image appeared on the communicator.

“Ames? You are finally going to… Hmm? Black Star‽”

Heber immediately frowned. Ames’ name appeared on his communicator, and he thought that Ames had finally thought things through and decided to agree to become his partner. However, he had never imagined that the call would be made by Black Star.

“Ames formed an alliance with you?” Heber immediately reacted.

Han Xiao only nodded.

Heber’s eyes narrowed, and his expression remained emotionless.

For a few years, many organizations had been spreading rumors about the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon splitting up. When Han Xiao became a Beyond Grade A, Heber knew that both of them would definitely split up, and Heber was hoping that Black Star and Ames would become enemies as a result. The outcome that he did not want to see was the two of them becoming allies.

“It seems like the little tricks of those organizations weren’t able to shake your relationship,” Heber said calmly.

“You don’t seem anxious at all.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“It makes no difference to me,” Heber said. “Tell Ames that I will give her a final chance. As long as she stays out of this matter, I can ignore her. I will not show any mercy otherwise.”

“Get your head out the clouds. I didn’t ask you to show any mercy,” Ames said coldly upon hearing those words.

Heber ignored her and said to Han Xiao while shaking his head, “Black Star, I gave you a chance a long time ago. It is a pity that you didn’t treasure it and rejected my invitation. If you are contacting me to plead for mercy, it is too late. We are now enemies, and there isn’t anything to talk about between us.”

“I called you to respond to your challenge. Set a time and place,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice.

Through his Observer’s Mark, Han Xiao knew that Psyker had contacted Heber privately and invited Heber to work together with him. However, the Tyrant rejected and insisted on dealing with Black Star alone but did not stop Psyker from going to view their battle. Thus, both parties had issued separate challenges.

Han Xiao also understood Heber’s thoughts from the conversation between the two. Heber did not only want to take revenge but also want to establish his prestige with a new Beyond Grade A Super. Heber wanted to have as many people paying attention to this matter as possible and thus publicly set a time and invited the various organizations to watch the battle.

“Alright,” Heber said resolutely. “The time will be set twenty days from now. The location will be in the desolate universe belt between the Colton Star Cluster and Seoul Star Cluster. I will announce the coordinates publicly.”

Choosing a neutral region between the two made it convenient for Bloodshed Land to send out their army and create a confrontation between Purple Crystal and Klent. It was still equivalent to both the civilizations fighting a proxy war.

Heber set the date twenty days from then so that the news would be able to spread throughout the Star Field and attract more people to witness his battle with Black Star. However, he would not drag the battle on for too long as he did not want to give Han Xiao too much time to prepare. He also did not want the matter to die down and wanted to establish his prestige when Black Star’s influence was at the peak.

If Black Star wanted to back out of the battle, Heber would not lose out either. Heber could just say that Black Star was afraid of him and did not dare appear for their battle. He would also be able to build up his prestige as well and have a reason to visit the Black Star Army headquarters.

“Alright, you’d better not run when the time comes,” Han Xiao said without much hesitation.

Han Xiao then hung up without waiting for Heber to reply.

“This fellow is still as domineering as usual. How annoying,” Ames said with her eyes narrowed and her force field energy being gathered in her palms. Every time she saw the Tyrant’s annoying face, she had the urge to smash her Floating Dragon down on him.

“In any case, the time and location have been decided. We just have to show up when the time comes.” Han Xiao looked at all the officers. “You lot heard the conversation, right? Announce it to the public in the name of the Black Star Army.”

“Understood.” Sylvia nodded and started a long-distance conference. As the Chief Administrative Official, public relations was her job.

“There’s still twenty days…”

Han Xiao’s eyes glimmered. It seemed like this would be all the time he had for preparations.

…

The challenge given out by the Tyrant and Star Pupil created a huge commotion in the Shattered Star Ring, but Black Star had not given an official response. Many individuals had their appetites whet and were looking forward to the development of the matter.

Because of the storm created by the battle, many Supers who wanted to join the Black Star Army controlled themselves and waited to observe what happened. Thus, there were not too many who applied to the Black Star Army during this period. However, Han Xiao was also aware about this and thus did not start his recruitment.

Seven days after the challenge was issued, the Black Star Army finally made a response.

Black Star accepted the challenge!

Not just that, the Black Star Army had also announced a shocking piece of news.

From that day on, the Black Star Army would leave Floating Dragon and gain independence!

Many organizations had intentionally spread rumors that led many to believe that the Black Star Army would cut off all ties with Floating Dragon after gaining independence.

However, the truth had shocked many. The Dragon Emperor Ames had actually chosen to form an alliance with Black Star and deal with the Tyrant and Star Pupil!

This was something that no one had expected. Black Star had to fight alone originally and face the challenge of the Tyrant and Star Pupil single-handedly. Many individuals could not help but break out in cold sweat for this newly ascended Beyond Grade A. However, the interference of the Dragon Emperor immediately leveled the playing field.

A total of four Beyond Grade A Supers had entered the fray!

This was like a stimulant that caused the entire Star Field to blow up with excitement!

Regardless of whether they were ordinary citizens or members of large organizations, everyone was extremely clear about one thing.

A huge show was about to erupt in the Star Field!

…

In the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin looked through a report on his communicator and thought to himself, Black Star accepted the challenge officially? He’s even taking the Dragon Emperor…

It was now a two-on-two battle, and the Shattered Star Ring had five Beyond Grade A Supers.

This meant that his presence would influence the direction in which this matter developed, and everyone else knew that as well.

“It seems like there will be people looking for me very soon.” Austin shook his head.

Beep beep!

Just as he thought that, Psyker called him.

Austin let out a helpless chuckle and accepted the call, hanging up after chatting for a short while. Just when he hung up, another call arrived. It was Han Xiao this time.

“It has been a while since I last saw you. You didn’t disappoint me indeed, Black Star.”

“I actually have to thank you.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Thank me for what?”

“If not for you telling me about information regarding the Evolution Cube, I may not have been able to obtain this item.”

“Oh, I see.” Austin smiled and said straightforwardly, “I know why you called. Psyker called me before this.”

Han Xiao’s eyes glimmered, and he did not beat about the bush. “Since you already know our intentions, what do you plan on doing?”

Both parties wanted to attract Austin to their side.

Austin’s eyes narrowed, and he said, “Although I have some ties with Psyker, he never agreed to lend me the Evolution Cube. Now that he’s lost the Evolution Cube and this chip is in your hands, are you prepared to use it in exchange for my help?”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao nodded. Austin was no fool, and there was no need for Han Xiao to waste his time explaining it to Austin.

Unexpectedly, Austin shook his head and said, “I am very willing to provide compensation for using the Evolution Cube, but I cannot agree to this matter.”

Han Xiao’s heart sank.

However, Austin added, “Don’t worry, I don’t intend to help Psyker either.”

“You want to remain neutral?” Han Xiao was surprised.

Austin smiled and said, “The silent Shattered Star Ring has been stirred up again after so many years. How can I allow this wonderful show to end prematurely because of my interference? Hahaha!”

This darn old man just wants to watch the world burn… Han Xiao gritted his teeth.

Austin wanted to be a spectator and watch the show by the side. Furthermore, he felt that there would be a chance to use the Evolution Cube in the future based on Black Star’s character. Thus, Austin was not prepared to join any side this time.

To a Beyond Grade A Super like him who was used to maintaining his neutrality, he was willing to give up some benefits to remain on the sidelines and watch the show. At his current level, he did not have to restrain his own personality and preferences.

Furthermore, both parties were Beyond Grade A Supers, and he would offend the other party if he chose to get involved. Austin was no fool; remaining neutral was the best choice for him.

Austin’s attitude was resolute, and it would be impossible for Han Xiao to persuade him. Thus, Han Xiao hung up after a short casual conversation.

Although he did not manage to bring Austin to his side, Han Xiao was not too disappointed. He had never planned to have Austin on his side from the very start. It would be a pleasant surprise if he could succeed, but his failure was well within expectations. At the very least, Psyker also did not manage to pull Austin over to his side.

The situation was already clear, and the division of the Beyond Grade A Supers would not change. If that was the case, Han Xiao could only find aid from other organizations.

…

In the Crimson Dynasty embassy on the mother planet of the Klent Kingdom…

“Ah, Klent wants us to help them deal with Black Star?”

Within the office of the embassy, the Crimson Dynasty envoy Zoel looked at the Klent emissary with a smile.

“That’s right. Black Star is in the Purple Crystal faction and killed a few dozen of our Calamity Grade Supers, dealing a huge blow to our high-level combatants. Now that Black Star is a Beyond Grade A Super, he will become a bigger obstacle to us. Our strength is limited, and we hope that the Crimson Dynasty can provide us with some aid,” the Klent emissary said respectfully.

Zoel tapped his fingers on the table and looked at the party silently without talking.

He was the envoy that the Crimson Dynasty had sent to Klent, and he had been there for many years. He was also the envoy who Han Xiao had met at the Tyrant’s gathering many years prior.

The life span of the Crimson Dynasty race was extremely long, and ten years was not much to them.

Over ten years ago, when Klent openly submitted to the Crimson Dynasty, Zoel had surfaced from the dark and built an embassy on the Klent mother planet. This represented the diplomatic ties between the Crimson Dynasty and Klent.

At the same time, he had the authority to mobilize any army that the Crimson Dynasty stationed in the Shattered Star Ring.

The three Universal Civilizations had their own secret factories in every Star Field, and the army that they had stationed in every Star Field was enough to start a war with two to three Star Cluster Civilizations at the same time.

The authority to control the secret armed force of the dynasty was enough to show how high a status Zoel had in the Shattered Star Ring. He was the individual with the highest authority in the envoy party.

Zoel thought for a while before saying, “I will consider Klent’s request. Please leave for now.”

Upon hearing that, the Klent emissary could only take his leave.

“Black Star…” Zoel muttered.

Zoel naturally had some understanding toward this new Beyond Grade A Super who had created a huge commotion in the Shattered Star Ring recently. In truth, Zoel had been constantly updating Black Star’s shocking battle record in the dynasty’s database over the past ten years.

Klent did not wish for Purple Crystal to have a Beyond Grade A ally and requested for the Crimson Dynasty to help them get rid of Han Xiao completely.

As an envoy of the Crimson Dynasty, Zoel’s sights were naturally set at a very high level. It was not that he was being full of himself. Even if there were many Beyond Grade A pillars in the Crimson Dynasty, he would not underestimate other Beyond Grade A Supers. It was because he understood the strength of a Beyond Grade A Super that he knew that a Beyond Grade A should not be provoked easily.

It was not that Zoel did not want to help Klent deal with a local Beyond Grade A Super but that he had an interest in Black Star.

“He completed his Beyond Grade A journey in twenty years, and he is the first in history to accomplish such a feat. He still has a long life ahead of him, and his potential is immeasurable.”

Furthermore, such a character had snatched the Evolution Cube, which was hidden by the Arcane Church.

Perhaps I can find the opportunity to interact with him.

As for the thoughts of Klent… As an envoy of the dynasty, why did he have to give a Star Cluster civilization an explanation?

Right at that moment, his communicator rang, and the face of his subordinate surfaced.

“Your Excellency Zoel, a special individual wishes to speak with you. Should I patch the communication through?”

“Who is the other party?”

“Black Star.”

He actually took the initiative to find me?

Zoel paused for two seconds before nodding.

“Patch him through.”

Chapter 772: Negotiations and Hidden Currents

After waiting for a while, Zoel’s figure appeared on his communicator.

Han Xiao raised his brow.

Since the Crimson Dynasty embassy did not reject his communication request, it meant that they were interested in negotiating with him. This was a good opening as the Crimson Dynasty was an important part of his plans.

With a smile, Han Xiao said, “It has been many years since I last saw you, Envoy Zoel.”

“That’s right. It has been more than ten years since we last met, and you were participating in the Tyrant’s gathering beside the Dragon Emperor back then. I still remember you trying to persuade Ames to join the Crimson Dynasty. Although you didn’t manage to succeed, I have a very deep impression of you,” Zoel said with a smile.

His good attitude toward Han Xiao was not only because Han Xiao was a Beyond Grade A Super but also because of how Han Xiao seemed to lean toward their dynasty.

“It turns out that you still remember.” Han Xiao smiled. “Back then, I felt that it was extremely likely for the Crimson Dynasty to win the Flickering World, and history has proven my prediction correct.”

Zoel’s smile became brighter upon hearing that.

Over ten years ago, Black Star had predicted that the Crimson Dynasty would successfully take control of the Flickering World; Zoel’s impression of Han Xiao immediately rose.

“You are truly able to see far ahead.”

Of course, I doubt anyone can look further into the future than me… Han Xiao thought to himself.

This was the benefit of being familiar with the storyline. Before even eating today, he knew what kind of sh*t he would have tomorrow.

After pausing for a while, Han Xiao got to the purpose for his call.

“My thoughts have not changed since ten years ago, and the Black Star Army has already left Floating Dragon. I do not need to persuade anyone, and I can make the decision myself.”

Zoel’s eyes lit up, and he said, “If I didn’t understand those words wrongly, you wish to join the Crimson Dynasty?”

“That is the reason for my call today.”

Han Xiao nodded.

Because of his advancement, the Black Star Army had the right to be called a Beyond Grade A organization. However, the upper limit of his organization would be dependent on his resources and network. In the galaxy, the three Universal Civilizations were the largest possible backers, and he would be able to obtain a huge amount of resources as long as he joined one of them.

At the same time, he also needed a strong ally to protect the Evolution Cube. Psyker and the Arcane Church definitely would not give up on the Evolution Cube, and the Federation of Light might even choose to intervene. All the large organizations in the universe would have their eyes set on the Evolution Cube, and it was impossible for the Black Star Army, which was still at the Star Cluster level, to defend against all these ill intentions.

Among the three Universal Civilizations, the Crimson Dynasty was the most ideal ally to Han Xiao. He would be able to gain early access to the Flickering World and also foil Klent’s plan to obtain victory in the secret war.

Those were all important factors affecting his benefits.

Of course, there was another reason beside this.

Han Xiao had been part of the Crimson Dynasty faction in his previous life, so he had more information regarding the storyline and chance encounters in the Crimson Dynasty. Among the three Universal Civilizations, he admired the Crimson Dynasty the most.

The history of the three Universal Civilizations could be traced back to the origin era, which was before the exploration era, and these three civilizations were not born during the same period. The Federation of Light was the oldest, followed by the Arcane Church, and then the Crimson Dynasty. The time period of their uprising was separated by a few thousand years.

The origin era was the most chaotic era and lacked historical records. At that time, there was not a single powerful civilization to unite the galaxy, and the different Star Fields were not connected to each other. All the civilizations were alone and explored the dark universe on their own.

At that time, the three Universal Civilizations had not reached their current heights, and there were other civilizations in their Star Field that exceeded them in terms of strength. After many years of development, they finally eliminated all their opponents in their various Star Fields and obtained the rights to rule over a Star Field. They then began to explore the desolate universe belts.

The Central Galaxy where the three Universal Civilizations were located was the starting point of these three civilizations, and they were all neighbors of one another. They naturally discovered each other’s presence and wanted to get rid of each other. As such, war broke out between the three Universal Civilizations, and this became a turning point between the origin era and exploration era. The three Universal Civilizations then worked together to start a new era.

During the exploration era, the three Universal Civilizations fought each other while exploring the outside world. With the Central Galaxy as the core, the flames of war spread toward the outside with more and more Star Fields being discovered. During the process of exploring these new Star Fields, more and more civilizations were forced to join the battle, and the war became extremely ferocious. Many civilizations were destroyed because of this war.

The war that spread throughout the entire galaxy was extremely miserable. In fact, a few desolate universe belts in the present galaxy were originally Star Fields. They were Star Fields that had been reduced to a desolate universe belt because of the flames of war.

Back then, the three Universal Civilizations did not have their current strength, and there were a few powerful civilizations at the same level as them. The Evolutionary Civilization was one of them. If these civilizations had survived, they would very likely have become Universal Civilizations as well. However, it was a pity that they were wiped out during the wars in the exploration era. Only the Federation of Light, the Arcane Church, and the Crimson Dynasty had managed to survive. They then consolidated their authority and stopped the war to allow themselves to catch their breath.

After many years of peace, the Federation of Light and Arcane Church had begun to display signs of stagnation in their development. Only the Crimson Dynasty did not fall in times of peace and maintained their ambition and development.

Thus, Han Xiao thought highly of the Crimson Dynasty. A civilization full of ambition would always create the opportunity for development. Forming an alliance with the Crimson Dynasty would definitely give him a brighter future.

“Hmm…”

Upon hearing Han Xiao’s response, Zoel did not reply immediately but fell into a deep thought.

He had originally intended to probe Black Star to understand his intentions but never imagined that Black Star would immediately request to join the alliance.

It was not anything new for a Beyond Grade A Super to join a Universal Civilization, but it was definitely a matter out of his authority. Thus, he had to report the matter to his superiors.

Zoel secretly estimated Han Xiao’s value.

Black Star’s strength and potential are undeniable. Since more than ten years ago, he’s leaned toward the dynasty and definitely isn’t an opportunistic individual. Furthermore, the Black Star Army has a sizable influence in the Shattered Star Ring, and it would be advantageous to the exploration of the Flickering World. Furthermore, he still has the Evolution Cube in his hands… Right. I need to have a good talk with him about the Evolution Cube.

The Evolution Cube originally belonged to Psyker and was protected by the Arcane Church. Now that it was in Han Xiao’s hands, it was an important bargaining chip.

Thinking about this, Zoel said, “I need to be clear about something. How are you going to deal with the Evolution Cube?”

A bright smile could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

“This item will naturally be a part of the conditions. We can use a sharing method to deal with the Evolution Cube. The Crimson Dynasty will support me in keeping the Evolution Cube, and you guys can send an unlimited number of individuals to use the Evolution Cube.”

This was the cooperation method that Psyker and the Arcane Church had opted for. However, he was not prepared to have an exclusive contract with a Universal Civilization like Psyker.

Psyker used the exclusive contract to get the Arcane Church to give more support to his Star Pupil Holy Race, but Han Xiao did not have a race to bring up. The benefits from sharing the Evolution Cube with other civilizations would be greater.

“Hmm, not bad.” Zoel nodded. This was within an acceptable range. “The upper echelons of the dynasty will probably accept this condition. We can help you deal with some obstruction on the outside. Apart from this, do you have any other conditions?”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. This was the time for them to negotiate about benefits.

“I have a few requests,” Han Xiao said with a serious expression. “First, I hope that the Crimson Dynasty will provide resources to me and the Black Star Army.”

“No problem,” Zoel replied without any hesitation. “With the Evolution Cube, we will be willing to provide more resources.”

“Second, I hope that the Black Star Army can join the Flickering World exploration squad.”

“Haha, I think that the dynasty would have requested that you go even if you didn’t mention this matter.”

Han Xiao only nodded.

That’s right, the Shattered Star Ring is the nearest to the Flickering World, and if the Crimson Dynasty needs a vanguard force, the organizations in the Shattered Star Ring will be their first choice.

The entrance ticket to the Flickering World definitely would not be a problem.

“Third, I hope that the Crimson Dynasty will not speak on behalf of the Klent Kingdom with regards to the secret war.”

Zoel frowned upon hearing that.

“This is a decision for the upper echelons and not within my authority. I cannot give you any assurance on that.”

This request was not something that he had expected but was still reasonable.

After fighting for so many years, it would not be strange if Black Star wanted to obtain victory. However, Klent was also an ally of the Crimson Dynasty, and this was a question of which party had greater value. Even Zoel could not guarantee what the upper echelons would decide.

“No problem.” Han Xiao waved his hands. “These are my three greatest conditions.”

“Hmm, I will report the matter up.”

Zoel then suddenly said, “Right, I heard about the conflict between you and Heber. Do you need me to mediate on your behalf?”

Since Black Star was about to form an alliance with the Crimson Dynasty, the Tyrant and Black Star could be considered allies as well. Their battle was akin to friendly fire between both parties.

Although the public challenge could not be rescinded, they only needed to announce that Black Star had joined the Crimson Dynasty. At that time, both parties naturally would not fight.

“That isn’t necessary,” Han Xiao rejected.

Zoel thought for a while and came to a realization. He then said with a smile, “You’re right. I was the one who lacked consideration.”

It would not be good for Black Star’s image if the Crimson Dynasty came out to resolve the conflict between the two. The outside world would think that Black Star had chosen to join the Crimson Dynasty because he could not escape the Tyrant.

“If you don’t have anything else to add on, I will report your conditions to my superiors.”

“Right.” Han Xiao suddenly thought about something, “I have a small request. I hope to obtain some Mechanic Cutting-Edge Knowledge within twenty days.”

The Crimson Dynasty naturally had the entire set of class knowledge, and Cutting-Edge Knowledge was not that precious to them. Perhaps he would be able to activate the skills of the Emperor Mechanic before the battle.

With Han Xiao’s current construction speed, twenty days was enough for him to build a large number of machines with his new knowledge.

Zoel nodded. If it was Ultimate Knowledge, the upper echelons might still need to consider the matter, but Cutting-Edge Knowledge was nothing to them. After all, the other party was a Beyond Grade A Super who was about to join their alliance. This could be considered basic treatment.

“Alright, await my reply.”

This was only their initial negotiation, and the exact outcome would be determined by the upper echelons of the Crimson Dynasty.

…

At the same time, in some region of the Shattered Star Ring, Psyker was rushing toward the Colton Star Cluster.

“Since the Dragon Emperor has decided to intervene, it seems like this matter won’t go so smoothly…”

Psyker was not in a good mood.

Heber insisted on fighting Black Star alone and refused to join hands with him. Thus, Psyker could only issue a separate challenge to Han Xiao. However, Psyker had also found a good opportunity from this.

Since Black Star was maintaining the Evolution Cube in its portable form, Black Star would definitely take the Evolution Cube around with him. During the day of the battle, Black Star would reveal some flaws when fighting Heber. At that time, he would have an opportunity to snatch the item back from Black Star.

At that time, it would be useless for the Tyrant to reject him. As long as the Tyrant and Black Star began their battle, he would be able to join the battle anytime, and no one would be able to stop him.

He would not have to clash head on with Black Star if he wanted to seize such an opportunity, and the odds of his success were pretty high. Psyker’s final objective was the Evolution Cube, not dealing with Black Star. He was not bothered about the views of others. For the development of his race, losing a bit of reputation was nothing.

Originally, this plan of his could not have gone wrong. Black Star was due to be fighting alone, and while his focus was on the Tyrant, he would definitely not be able to deal with another Beyond Grade A Super.

However, Ames’ interference had foiled his plans.

Since Black Star had an ally, Ames would definitely stop him if he wanted to launch an attack. It would then be impossible for him to snatch the Evolution Cube from Black Star using such a method.

Unless… someone could restrain Ames.

The best candidate was Austin, but that darn old man only wanted to watch the show by the side and refused to help.

Thus, he could only look for other helpers.

Thankfully, he had a powerful ally.

“It seems like I can only seek help from the army that the Arcane Church stationed in the Shattered Star Ring. They should be willing to take action if it is to restrain a Beyond Grade A Super…”

Psyker’s eyes lit up brightly like a lightbulb.

Chapter 773: Star Field Trend

After the time and location of Black Star and Tyrant’s challenge was announced to the outside world, a huge storm was ignited throughout the Shattered Star Ring.

All of a sudden, spaceships that numbered in the billions flew toward the Colton Star Cluster, where the battle was going to happen.

Regardless of whether they were free galactic residents or from large organizations, none of them were willing to miss out on this rare event in the Star Field. They all rushed to the battlefield to witness the battle for themselves.

As the party involved in the battle, Bloodshed Land led their troops to the desolate universe belt near the border of West Wind and demarcated the battlefield. Purple Crystal resolutely decided to support Han Xiao and led the Section Zero troops to the battlefield as well.

The Black Star Army did not remain idle either, and under the orders of the various officers, numerous armed satellite fortresses rushed over from various Star Systems to support their Army Commander.

Bloodshed Land and Section Zero began a standoff with each other, and the gap between them formed the demarcated battlefield.

There were numerous spaceships piloted by the galactic residents who went to join in the fun from all around the Star Field. Numerous spaceships of different models were packed tightly and formed a huge ocean of spaceships that one could not see the end of.

Looking at the ocean of spaceships, a nebula seemed to have been formed from the lights of the spaceship.

It was an extremely majestic sight!

Furthermore, there were more spaceships arriving every day, and the size of the audience was growing by the second.

The different galactic media groups had also arrived at the destination of the battle and adjusted their broadcasting equipment.

It was still too early for the battle, and all the Beyond Grade A Supers had yet to arrive. However, a huge crowd had already formed, and many were already excitedly anticipating the arrival of the battle.

This was not just a clash between Beyond Grade A Supers but also a once in a lifetime event for the Shattered Star Ring.

Beyond Grade A Supers had an exalted status in the hearts of the galactic residents, and they were like superstars that every family knew about. Everyone wanted to personally witness their strength.

The twenty days of preparation time allowed the commotion of this event to be blown up even greater with over sixty percent of the galactic citizens discussing the event.

As the battle drew nearer, the anticipation of the galactic residents also grew greater.

…

The various betting groups in the galaxy would not let go of this huge business opportunity, and they all sprang into action.

Very quickly, the betting ring for the Tyrant and Black Star’s battle was opened up, and a huge number of bets were made.

The various betting groups had a different payout rate, but Heber’s payout was generally lower than Han Xiao’s. This proved that the majority had more confidence in the Tyrant.

Although both were Beyond Grade A Supers, Han Xiao was a newbie after all and only had a single battle record with another Beyond Grade A Super. However, the Tyrant was different. He was an old powerhouse with a long history.

As a Beyond Grade A Super who had only been around for a month, Han Xiao’s status in the Shattered Star Ring was naturally not as high as the Tyrant’s.

Most of the mercenaries were gamblers, and although their boss was the one fighting, the warriors of the Black Star Army could not help but place their bets as well. Even the officers were not immune to gambling.

Herlous took the most and bet it all on Han Xiao. Most of the officers also placed their bets on Han Xiao but only bet a small amount to show their loyalty and trust.

There were only a few exceptions.

“You placed all your bets on the Tyrant‽” Sylvia glared at Reynold with disbelief.

Reynold said with a solemn expression, “According to probability and my calculations, the Tyrant’s odds of victory are more than thirty percent higher than His Excellency Black Star.”

Sylvia shook her head helplessly. “Don’t you believe in our teacher at all?”

“I only believe in science,” Reynold said expressionlessly.

Rossellin, who was lazing around by the side, listened to the conversation with interest while drinking some wine.

Rossellin was now the teacher of the Black Star Army and was in charge of building up a culture within the army to increase the sense of belonging of the soldiers.

At this moment, Rossellin smiled and said, “According to what I know, our vice commander also placed his bets on Tyrant. Furthermore, he placed quite a large bet.”

“LAGI!” Sylvia flew into a rage and charged out of the door.

She was the Chief Administrative Official and had a great deal of authority in her hands. Although Lagi was the vice commander of the army, Lagi pretty much ignored all the affairs of the army, so Sylvia had the courage to confront Lagi. To think that he had placed his bets on the enemy as the vice commander. This was too outrageous!

Reynold’s expression also changed slightly as he heard that.

“Oh no. Lagi also placed his bets on Tyrant. The winning chance of our Army Commander will be increased by ten percent at least.”

Rossellin laughed. “Hey hey hey, I thought you only believed in science.”

“Magic is also a part of science…” Reynold said with resignation.

However, regardless of how he placed his bets, he still hoped that Black Star would win.

…

Because of Black Star and the Tyrant’s battle, the secret war also came to a halt, and the players did not have any battles to fight in.

Even the Main Storyline mission was stopped because of this event. To the players of the Shattered Star Ring, this was the largest event in the three versions.

Black Star was already the leader that all the players had recognized, and his status was elevated further after he entered Beyond Grade A.

Although Han Xiao did not issue any faction missions, all the players located in the various regions followed the forces of the army and arrived at the battlefield to support their Army Commander.

This was not the first time that the Black Star Army had held a collective event, but the number of players participating in this faction event was the highest in history!

The forums were filled with threads regarding the cause and effect of this battle, and one of the threads received huge approval from the other players. The thread said that this battle would be a turning point for the destiny of the Black Star Army.

The Black Star Army was the main faction in the hearts of the Shattered Star Ring players, and Black Star had been the main character NPC ever since Version 2.0. Together with the growth of the faction, the benefits that the players could receive also increased, and almost all their needs in terms of missions, levels, skills, knowledge, equipment, and so on were fulfilled.

A single faction was better than the addition of many different factions in other Star Fields. Thus, the players in the Shattered Star Ring did not need to waste any time farming favorability with the other factions. As such, the Black Star Army was treated like a special existence that only the players in the Shattered Star Ring could enjoy.

Many of the players had tried to analyze the future of the Black Star Army. According to the experience of the players from the other Star Fields, some were worried that the Black Star Army would not continue to exist forever and would suffer from some irreparable damage during the later versions. At that time, all the benefits that they currently experienced would be gone, and they would have to join different factions like the players from the other Star Fields.

Could they really remain in the Black Star Army forever? No one knew.

Such a question had always existed but was not mentioned very often. Most of the players could not be bothered to make such wild guesses, and only the players who enjoyed diving deep into the storylines analyzed the question. Summer Night Flower was one such individual.

In the intense discussions on the forums, this battle became an important factor to predict what happened in the future. If the Black Star Army could achieve victory, the Black Star Army would soar to greater heights, and their faction would go up to the next level, still appearing in the next version.

But if the outcome of this battle did not go as planned, the feelings that the players had toward the army would also undergo a subtle change.

Bun-Hit-Dog was affected by the topic being discussed on the forums. The Black Star series videos were his most popular series, and he was the one who wished for the successful development of the Black Star Army the most.

“I must gather enough material this time to make an explosive video,” Bun-Hit-Dog swore to himself.

…

In the Aquamarine Federation, Bennett placed down the communicator in his hands, and a look of concern could be seen on his face.

News of the battle between Black Star and the Tyrant had spread throughout the Shattered Star Ring. Now that Planet Aquamarine was connected to the galaxy, everyone was able to view the galactic web, and the events in the galaxy were no longer a secret to those on Planet Aquamarine.

“This is probably the strongest opponent that you have faced, right?” Bennett lamented.

Nero, who was doing his homework, raised his head and asked curiously, “Daddy, what are you talking about?”

Bennett waved his hands, and Nero sat down on Bennett’s thighs obediently.

“Your godfather is being dragged into a dangerous storm. A powerful opponent challenged him, and he chose to accept the challenge…” Bennett briefly described the situation. Nero was still a child, so Bennett skipped many details and only told him that Han Xiao was in danger.

Nero was Han Xiao’s godson, and Bennett was prepared to hand his child over to Han Xiao.

“What should we do?” Nero rubbed his head. “Daddy, will you help godfather?”

Bennett laughed helplessly and said, “Your godfather doesn’t need my help. You will understand all this when you grow up.”

They were too far away in terms of realms, and he did not even have any intention of contacting Han Xiao as he did not want to disturb Han Xiao.

Bennett hugged Nero and looked up at the sky above. He knew that Han Xiao was in some part of the galaxy and prayed for Han Xiao.

“Old friend…”

…

The large fleet that set off from the Black Star Army headquarters met up with Floating Dragon and flew toward West Wind together.

A few days later, Zoel took the initiative to contact Han Xiao to inform him of the Crimson Dynasty’s response.

“The dynasty accepts your requests, and I welcome you to our alliance on behalf of the dynasty.”

Zoel said these words with an official tone before smiling and adding, “We are now one big family.”

Han Xiao clenched his fists and was truly excited.

“May we have a pleasant working experience.”

“Don’t worry. Our dynasty has plenty of experience in this regard and will always treat a Beyond Grade A Super with sincerity. You can rest assured,” Zoel said with a smile.

The three Universal Civilizations were at odds with each other, and every Beyond Grade A Super ally was an important deterrent. Thus, they would not bully their Beyond Grade A Supers for sure.

The moment their alliance was confirmed, the Universal Civilization would treat their allies with the utmost respect in order to keep them.

“The Crimson Dynasty is now taking care of matters regarding the Flickering World and will pass by the Shattered Star Ring along the way,” Zoel said. “It shouldn’t take too long for the resources from the dynasty to reach your hands. However, we can only work together officially after your battle with the Tyrant comes to an end. During this period, the dynasty will send the contract to me, and we just need to sign it when the time comes.”

Although a contract was not very restrictive to a Beyond Grade A Super, this was a way for the government to officially confirm their alliance, and it had a political meaning.

Han Xiao nodded upon hearing that.

Joining the Crimson Dynasty was the way for him to achieve greater heights, and the benefits of his decision would slowly begin to show. Currently, he had to deal with the Tyrant first before he had time to deal with the development of the Black Star Army.

“The dynasty also has a request for you. The dynasty hopes that you can make a trip to the Central Galaxy. The upper echelons would like to meet you and introduce you to the other Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty.”

For him to appear in the Central Galaxy with the status of the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, this was akin to the Crimson Dynasty showing off to their neighbors their new chip.

He did not have anything against this. Since he was willing to accept the support of the Crimson Dynasty, he naturally had to play his part.

Although this meant that many organizations would label him as part of the Crimson Dynasty and draw the attention of the dynasty’s enemies, his own scope of operations was mainly in the Shattered Star Ring, and the other organizations would not casually make trouble for him.

Han Xiao shrugged. “No problem.”

“Hmm, there is something else. My intelligence net noticed that the Arcane Church’s forces have been mobilized and are moving toward the location of the battle. They may be there to provide backup for Psyker,” Zoel said. “I will mobilize the Crimson Dynasty’s army to be present on the day of the battle as well. This is what we have agreed upon, and we will help you fend off other powers.”

“You guys are also going to watch the battle?” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “Is this alright? Won’t people suspect you?”

“Of course not,” Zoel said. “After all, the Tyrant is also our ally.”

Han Xiao almost burst into laughter upon hearing that.

That’s right. The Crimson Dynasty can use Heber as an excuse to mobilize their forces, and no one will suspect them. Not a single person will be able to guess that they are actually there to help me.

The Crimson Dynasty would not intervene in the battle between Han Xiao and the Tyrant. This could be considered an internal battle. Although, the Tyrant was still in the dark regarding this.

However, Psyker was not one of their allies and was a latent threat.

The Arcane Church’s goal was naturally the Evolution Cube, and the Crimson Dynasty would not allow anyone to snatch the Evolution Cube.

“One more thing,” Zoel added. “Your request for Cutting-Edge Knowledge has been approved. I will send you the data later.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Compared to the resources that he had yet to receive, this was a much more practical benefit.

There were nine Cutting-Edge Knowledges for the Mechanic class, and he had learned four from Purple Crystal. There were five more that he had not grasped, and he had sent a list to Zoel previously.

“How many Cutting-Edge Knowledges will the dynasty give me?”

“How many? Do you have some misunderstanding about Universal Civilizations?”

Zoel laughed.

“We will give you everything.”

Chapter 774: Spending Potential Points Sure Is Comfortable

They are truly a wealthy bunch!

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

A Universal Civilization naturally would not be petty with a Beyond Grade A Super. Apart from Ultimate Knowledge, they would be able to freely give him all the knowledge from basic up to cutting-edge. In his past life, Han Xiao had needed to farm for contribution points in order to obtain new knowledge, but things were completely different now.

The conversation then ended after chatting casually for a while. Not too long later, a file was sent to him.

Looking at the file, joy filled Han Xiao’s face.

Han Xiao had already obtained the Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Controllable Annihilation Weapons] from the Armed Branch, [Abnormal State Energy] from the Energy Branch, and [Advanced Space Application] and [Quantum Network Matrix] from the Control Branch.

The file that Zoel sent over contained the last five Cutting-Edge Knowledges.

Armed Branch: [Cutting-Edge Material Science] and [Ultra-Composite Mechanical Architecture Technology].

Energy Branch: [Beyond Visible Energy Transfer] and [Activation Theory].

Control Branch: [Spacetime Dimension Exploration].

“The entire set is now complete!” Han Xiao was extremely excited.

He belonged to the Control Branch, and learning a Cutting-Edge Knowledge required four points. However, learning the knowledge of the other two branches required twelve points each.

Han Xiao saved a large amount of Potential Points when he advanced into Beyond Grade A. Although it was not enough to level all the knowledges up to their maximum level, it was enough to level all the knowledge up by one.

It was impossible for players to be so extravagant and in Han Xiao’s previous life, the players could only choose one or two Cutting-Edge Knowledge to learn. However, Han Xiao was different.

He had a large sea of experience points to level up his skill and he was able to farm for plenty of Potential Points. Thus, it wasn’t impossible for him to learn all the Cutting-Edge Knowledge.

“Heber probably thinks that twenty days is too short. Hehe…”

Han Xiao chuckled in his heart.

Compared to other Mechanics, the interface was his biggest advantage. As long as he paid the relevant Potential Points, he would be able to rapidly learn new knowledge and save a large amount of time. Thus, he was able to achieve rapid growth during the limited time before his battle with the Tyrant.

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao spent his Potential Points to learn all five Cutting-Edge Knowledges.

_____________________

Mechanic class Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Spacetime Dimension Exploration] detected. Do you wish to spend 4 Potential Points to learn it?

Learning in progress. Do not cancel.

9%… 24%… 57%…

Success! You have learned [Spacetime Dimension Exploration]!

Mechanic class Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Cutting-Edge Material Science] detected. Do you wish to spend 12 Potential Points to learn it?

Learning in progress. Do not cancel.

Success! You have learned [Cutting-Edge Material Science]!

Mechanic class Cutting-Edge Knowledge…

_____________________

A large amount of information flowed into his brain, but with Han Xiao’s current Intelligence, this load was negligible.

The new knowledge that entered his brain was broken up and reorganized before being stored in his memory palace.

After spending fifty-two Potential Points to learn the five Cutting-Edge Knowledges, the names of these Knowledges lit up on his knowledge tree with an orange light. In the class knowledge tree, Basic Knowledge was white in color, Advanced Knowledge green, High-End Knowledge purple, Cutting-Edge Knowledge orange, and Ultimate Knowledge gold.

Right at this moment, a few notifications popped up on his interface.

_____________________

Prerequisite requirement fulfilled. Your skill [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel] has been activated!

Prerequisite requirement fulfilled. Your skill [Secondary Dimension Army] has been activated!

Prerequisite requirement fulfilled. Your skill [Mechanical Force—Emperor’s Power] has been activated!

_____________________

The three Emperor Mechanic skills, which were originally grayed out, had turned green to indicate that they could be used.

The new knowledge that he had acquired fulfilled the prerequisite knowledge for these three skills, and only the final skill, [King’s Mentor], had yet to be activated. Not only did this skill need [Activation Theory], it needed a higher level Ultimate Knowledge.

Because [King’s Mentor] was a skill to help nurture his strength in the long run, this skill would not be able to help him much for the battle in ten days. Thus, Han Xiao was not too anxious about activating it and planned to find another chance to activate it in the future.

“With the Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel, my mechanical army will be able to engage in long-range battles and enjoy the boost from my Mechanical Force even without my appearance. This means that my mechanical army now has the ability to go on a long-distance mission on their own, and the Secondary Dimension Army skill means that I no longer have to use army boxes. I can receive reinforcements at a much quicker speed and bring around a much larger force with me…”

Han Xiao was extremely satisfied.

The skills of an Emperor Mechanic were extremely powerful, but that was not all he had gained.

Following the changes in his knowledge tree, the new knowledge also brought him new skills.

_____________________

You have learned [Active Mechanical Force]!

You have learned [Advanced Machinery Construction]!

You have learned [Fine Material Refinement]!

You have learned [Legendary Enhancement]!

You have learned [Machinery Fusion]!

_____________________

Han Xiao raised his arms to release Mechanical Force, and the Mechanical Force in his palms experienced a change in color. A light golden color could be seen amid the blue bolts of lightning, and it looked extremely luxurious.

This was the effect of [Active Mechanical Force], which came from the knowledge [Activation Theory]. It is a passive skill that could increase one’s Machinery Affinity by 150% at level one and 280% at the max level.

[Advanced Machinery Construction] was the upgraded form of [Basic Machinery Construction]. It largely increased the speed of construction, and as long as the raw materials were sufficient, raw materials could rapidly be transformed into spare parts before being assembled into machines.

This skill could also increase the effect of [Waste Modification]. Originally, machines could only be recycled for four times, but the upper limit had been increased to eight. The original twenty percent decrease in a machine’s attributes had fallen to ten percent.

[Fine Material Refinement] and [Legendary Enhancement] were the upgraded abilities of a Mechanic’s basic skills. They increased his ability to work with new materials and also strengthened his machinery.

Both [Machinery Fusion] and [King’s Mentor] came from [Activation Theory] and were used to strengthen his soldiers.

They bestowed a mechanical soldier with the ability to swallow other machines and decompose the target to snatch the target’s armor and equipment. This was a way for a mechanical soldier to evolve and grow.

The two skills did not overlap. [King’s Mentor] increased the energy of a mechanical soldier whereas [Machinery Fusion] improved the hardware of the mechanical soldier. Explaining it simply, [King’s Mentor] was used to increase a mechanical soldier’s energy whereas [Machinery Fusion] increased a mechanical soldier’s body strength and basic stats.

Both skills were complementary and could increase the strength of a mechanical soldier when used together.

These skills are extremely important to increase my strength in this phase, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Using the Evolution Cube resulted in a ten-month experience penalty, and Han Xiao was not planning to waste his extra experience leveling up during this period of time. He was prepared to use it to increase the level of his skills instead of increasing his chances during the battle with the Tyrant.

After looking through his new skills once and raising most of them to the max level, Han Xiao closed the interface.

These new skills should be used on his mechanical army, and his strength would definitely reach a new peak after the next ten or so days.

Han Xiao passed all the miscellaneous tasks over to his officers and remained in the workshop to construct his new machinery. The others knew that he needed to prepare for battle, and even Ames did not disturb his seclusion.

…

The date for the battle soon arrived.

The desolate universe belt outside of West Wind was bustling with activity and had become a sea of spaceships.

After travelling for twenty days, numerous spaceships rushed over from all the different regions, and there seemed to be a never-ending sea of spaceships.

In every Star Field, Star Cluster, Star System, and planet, the number of people watching the live broadcast of the event was many times that of those present.

The battlefield had become the stage for the trillions all over the galaxy.

Not a single Beyond Grade A Super had arrived at this moment, and everyone was waiting excitedly for the main characters to arrive.

Bloodshed Land and Section Zero’s fleets were currently in a standoff with each other, and both Klent and Purple Crystal had sent out their official fleet to maintain order. The atmosphere was extremely tense, and the secret war looked as though it was about to erupt and become a war between two civilizations. However, both parties had extremely good self-control and had a tacit agreement to not escalate the conflict.

“There are truly too many people…”

In one of the Star Diamond Grade Flagships, Ralph looked out at the sea of spaceships. Even with his authority and status, he could not help but feel nervous at such a majestic scene.

The number of spectators was probably in the trillions!

“It would be impossible for us to maintain order if chaos breaks out.” Ralph felt his heart thumping. “When will Black Star arrive?”

“The Black Star Army headquarters just sent a message and said that His Excellency Black Star’s fleet will arrive soon.”

Ralph felt his palms drenched in cold sweat as he tried to imagine what would happen next. He had not brought the Purple Crystal fleet over for fun and was prepared to provide reinforcement for Black Star when needed.

After finally gaining a Beyond Grade A ally, Purple Crystal was not willing to give up on Black Star. If the battle was to Black Star’s disadvantage, Purple Crystal would reinforce him even if it meant an all-out war. Since the secret war was already in a stalemate, Purple Crystal was not afraid of flipping the table. Furthermore, the authority to mobilize the fleet was in the hands of Ralph and a few other military commanders. Thus, Ralph truly had a heavy feeling in his heart.

In the Section Zero camp, the Black Star Army fleet was in the most prominent spot with tens of thousands of spaceships present. The players were present within the Black Star Army fleet, and they looked out at the scene before them.

“The battle is going to begin today…”

Frenzied Sword clenched his fists tightly.

All the players around him had looks of curiosity, anxiety, excitement, agitation, and many other different emotions.

The scale of this gathering was one that they had never witnessed before and the largest event in the three versions of Galaxy. None of the players wanted to miss out on such an event.

In the Bloodshed Land faction, there was also a batch of players present. They were the ‘traitor army’ with Summer Night Flower in the lead.

Summer Night Flower looked at the Black Star Army fleet with a complicated look on his face.

I was once a part of them…

The way Summer Night Flower saw it, the battle between the bosses of Bloodshed Land and the Black Star Army was his final chance to prove himself.

The Mercenary League had sent their forces and occupied a VIP spot.

“How many years has it been since such a majestic event took place in the Shattered Star Ring?”

The bigshots of the Mercenary League were chatting casually, and Gureja could not help but lament. He was the leader of Sky Ring and one of the upper echelons of the Mercenary League.

“The last time Beyond Grade A Supers publicly challenged each other was 276 years ago. It was Austin fighting one of the powerhouses from the previous generation, right?” another Army Commander said.

“More than two hundred years ago. Heh, I was still a small guerrilla captain back then,” Underworld Feather said while chewing on some snacks.

“I bet you definitely didn’t have such a weird fetish two hundred years ago.” Gureja could not help but look at the dry meat in Underworld Feather’s hands.

“What weird fetish? I am a gourmet.” Underworld Feather rolled her eyes.

Gureja shook his head and ignored her. “Since Black Star has already become a Beyond Grade A Super, regardless of the outcome of the battle, I will invite him to become the chief of our Mercenary League. All of us will be able to find more development opportunities if we are under him.”

All the Army Commanders nodded, and no one disagreed.

The Mercenary League could be considered a large organization in the Shattered Star Ring, and the Black Star Army was one of the founders. None of them minded Black Star becoming the nominal leader of their organization as it would bring them a brighter future.

There were many other organizations that Han Xiao had cooperated with before present as well.

Right at that moment, a blue whirlpool-like transportation door suddenly appeared in the middle of the battlefield and expanded rapidly.

“They’re finally here!”

At this moment, the crowd erupted in a huge commotion.

The excitement that everyone had been suppressing was ignited once again!

Chapter 775: The Battle Begins!

Everyone in all the spaceships stopped talking, and their gazes were fixed on the transportation door in the middle of the battlefield.

The wormhole-like transportation door enlarged continuously as though it was limitless. The largest spaceship present currently was the armed satellite fortress of the Black Star Army, but the size of the transportation door had already exceeded that of an armed satellite fortress. The radars of all the spaceships began ringing as they detected a large energy surge.

The next moment, a majestic castle covered in a colorful magical shield floated out from the transportation door. The complicated engravings on the spherical shield looked like exquisite decorations, and they shimmered as though they were breathing.

The treasure of the Hidden Red Robe Abbey, Palace of Hidden Spells!

“Austin is here!”

“He actually brought his entire base over. He is truly too high profile.”

“Is he here as a spectator or to help one of the parties?”

Although the first Beyond Grade A to arrive was not involved in the battle, the spectators were still extremely excited. Since Austin had made his appearance, this meant that all five Beyond Grade A Supers in the Shattered Star Ring would gather there!

“This fellow is also here to join in the fun?” Ralph was startled and was worried that Austin would spoil his plans.

The commander of Bloodshed Land, Jorde, also felt nervous.

“I wonder if Austin is an enemy or ally…” Jorde gulped nervously. Psyker was the one who had contacted Austin in private, and thus, Jorde was not clear of Austin’s intentions.

The Palace of Hidden Spells very quickly completed its descent, and the transportation door shrank rapidly before disappearing with a flash of light. Austin’s main camp was a Beyond Grade A Universal Treasure Mage Pagoda, and he had engraved a large number of teleportation formations on the pagoda so that it could engage in long distance travel.

Numerous mages living in the Palace of Hidden Spells walked out of the castle and gathered together on one of the balconies to munch on snacks as they waited for the show to start. Austin then appeared on top of the castle with his Forbidden Sorcerer squad and controlled the Palace of Hidden Spells to find a good spot beside the battlefield.

“Tsk, why am I the first one here? Youngsters these days don’t have any sense of time,” Austin lamented.

He had rejected both parties’ requests to form an alliance and was there to watch the battle. In order to ensure that he could watch the show comfortably, he had even shifted his entire house.

Just when the spectators were discussing Austin’s intentions, a commotion broke out from afar.

A gigantic fleet approached the battlefield, and all the spectators who saw the insignia on the fleet could not help but make a path for them in shock.

The insignia on the outside of the spaceship was one that everyone could recognize. It was the insignia of a Universal Civilization, the Arcane Church!

The Arcane Church had made an appearance as well!

This was a small portion of the fleet that the Arcane Church stationed in the Shattered Star Ring. The frigate was composed of a special Arcane Church model, which had a thin disc-like shape with the entire body covered in black and dark purple. Three gigantic empty holes could be seen on the body of the spaceship in a triangular formation with a dark-red energy ball floating in the middle of the holes. It served both as an energy furnace and annihilation weapon.

The flagship was of the butterfly model with a ball in the center and a few hundred butterfly wings connected on both sides. These wings were currently in their closed form and looked like a single pair of wings. Although the spaceship was made from metal, it was made from a special alloy and had a soft, silky texture. When the flagship entered battle, all the butterfly wings would open and slide along the surface of the ball in the middle to form a sun-like shape.

The Arcane Church fleet entered the battlefield without any obstruction, and a spaceship flew out from within the fleet. When the hatch of the spaceship opened, Psyker flew out from the spaceship. He was the second Beyond Grade A to arrive.

His body floated in front of the Arcane Church fleet, and his gaze was fixed on the Purple Crystal and Section Zero fleet far away. Despite being a tiny ant compared to the gigantic fleet, the attention of all the spectators was gathered on him.

Everyone took a deep breath.

“Psyker has arrived!”

“The Arcane Church has actually sent a fleet with him. Is this the attitude of a Universal Civilization?”

It was no secret that the Arcane Church was behind the Star Pupil Holy Race, but the Universal Civilizations had not displayed an official stance with regards to this matter yet. For them to appear at this moment, it meant that they were about to interfere in the battle. This was something that all those present did not expect.

Regardless of whether they were the spectators present or those watching the live broadcast, everyone was shocked.

They originally thought that this battle was only a conflict between Beyond Grade A Supers. However, the appearance of a Universal Civilization meant that the situation had become a lot more complex.

“Things aren’t looking good. The Arcane Church is here to help Psyker!” Ralph immediately felt as though a huge enemy had descended.

The fleet sent by the Arcane Church was extremely powerful and was comparable to the fleet of both Purple Crystal and Section Zero. Furthermore, how would Purple Crystal and Section Zero dare fight a Universal Civilization?

On the other side, Jorde became wary.

Because the Star Pupil Holy Race was too far away from the battlefield and could not send a fleet to support Psyker, everyone had thought that Psyker would come alone. However, the appearance of the Arcane Church meant that Psyker was the one with the most powerful backing out of everyone who is present. The special position of a Universal Civilization made all the organizations present tremble slightly.

However, before everyone could accept the changes before their eyes, another fleet descended.

Upon seeing the incoming fleet, everyone present was dumbfounded!

The Crimson Dynasty!

Yet another Universal Civilization‽

The technological skills of the Crimson Dynasty were obviously extremely different from those of the Arcane Church. The spaceships of the Arcane Church had a mystical and magical style while the spaceships of the Crimson Dynasty had a heavy industry style. The spaceship had a solid metal beauty and emanated a tyrannical pressure even from afar.

The Crimson Dynasty squeezed into the battlefield and stopped beside Klent, entering the face off with the Purple Crystal fleet as well. They looked as though they were there to support Tyrant.

Ten days prior, Zoel had agreed to Klent’s request for them to send a fleet to support the Tyrant. Upon seeing their backing arrive, Jorde immediately became relaxed, and he looked at the Black Star Army camp with a sneer.

Do you see that little brother? Do you have any backing?

We have two on our side!

On the Star Diamond Grade Flagship, Ralph’s face was completely pale, and he felt his legs turn to jelly.

He had never expected that things would turn out as such. The situation was not just bad at this moment. It was hopeless!

If both parties broke out in a conflict later, they would not be able to hold their own against two Universal Civilizations.

Right at that moment, all the spectators finally snapped out of their stupor.

“Both the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church have arrived!”

“Two Universal Civilizations are standing against Black Star‽”

“Black Star only has Purple Crystal behind him, and his situation truly looks pathetic…”

“A new Beyond Grade A Super actually has to face such a situation, huh? I think his luck just ran out.”

In the eyes of the spectators, both Universal Civilizations were going against Black Star together. The alliance of the Tyrant and Star Pupil was far too powerful, and Black Star was definitely on the losing side.

At the thought of Black Star’s predicament, cold sweat slid down the spectators’ backs. At the same time, the bets placed on the Tyrant rapidly surged up like mad. The various betting rings only planned to stop accepting bets after the arrival of Black Star and Heber but were forced to immediately stop accepting bets.

All the players in the Black Star Army camp could not help but feel anxious. This was the first time that they witnessed the peak characters of the universe, but they were all enemies of their faction.

“It seems like our Army Commander is in trouble…” Maple Moon clenched her fists tightly.

Frenzied Sword also could not help but worry, and his fists were clenched tightly as well.

Although the Black Star Army was the main camp in the hearts of the players, the brainwashing of the three versions had made all the players believe that the Universal Civilizations that had existed for a long time were the true tyrants of the galaxy. Originally, there were plenty of players who were optimistic about the battle, but the changes in the situation made it such that the players could not even force out a smile.

Many individuals could not help but be shaken. The next few versions would definitely revolve around the Universal Civilizations, but their Black Star Army had become an enemy of the Universal Civilizations. This was not a good sign at all…

On the contrary, Summer Night Flower was overjoyed.

The reason behind his inclination to the Bloodshed Land was because the Bloodshed Land would give them a path to join the Universal Civilizations. On the other hand, the Black Star Army only had the Purple Crystal Civilization above them. The appearance of the Crimson Dynasty was like an injection of confidence, and Summer Night Flower began to regain confidence in his belief.

“Do you see that? This is what I meant by a limited faction growth,” Summer Night Flower said with a face full of smiles. “I have emphasized this point since the start; we cannot be dazzled by the short term benefits placed before our eyes like the players of the Black Star Army. We should look far into the future and make the right choice instead.”

At the same time, many of the officers in the Black Star Army flagship had bitter looks on their faces.

Lagi then said with a sigh, “It seems like I will die here today…”

The other officers would usually tease Lagi about his pessimism, but no one replied that day.

Even they could not help but feel pessimistic.

They had not forgotten that their Army Commander had to face two different challenges!

Even if he could hold his own against the Tyrant, there was still a Psyker who wanted to force Black Star to give up the Evolution Cube. No matter what, they felt that it was better for Han Xiao to give in and take the initiative to hand over the Evolution Cube. There were two Universal Civilizations eyeing up the Evolution Cube, and their strength just could not hold a candle to Universal Civilizations.

They truly could not understand how their army could keep the Evolution Cube.

One of the Calamity Grade officers could not help but say, “Well, if he chooses to behave stubbornly…”

“Shut up!” Sylvia glared at him hatefully, “Our job is to obey the orders of our commander. What do you want to say‽”

Everyone could not help but look at each other helplessly.

“Hopefully Black Star doesn’t lose his rationality…”

Right at this moment, a Bloodshed Land spaceship flew over from afar and came to the center of the battlefield. Heber had finally arrived.

He was equipped with a set of heavy armor and floated in the middle of the battlefield like a small mountain. All the spaceship’s radars began to ring after detecting his frightening energy.

Heber then turned around to glare at Psyker, warning Psyker not to interfere with his plans.

Psyker retreated a distance expressionlessly.

“The Tyrant is here as well. Only Black Star and the Dragon Emperor are left.”

“Eh, they’re here.”

All the spectators turned around to look, only to see a Black Star fleet arriving together with the Floating Dragon Island. Because the Floating Dragon Island could not travel at a high speed, Han Xiao and Ames were the last two to reach the battlefield.

The surrounding spaceships made a path for the humongous Floating Dragon to enter the battlefield.

“Everyone is finally here!”

The spectators’ excitement had reached the peak.

Ames floated up into the air, and Han Xiao also flew out from his spaceship, looking at Heber and Psyker from afar.

Han Xiao had filled the empty Mechanic slot, and the five Beyond Grade A Supers of the Shattered Star Ring were different classes. The spectators could not help but feel as though a ceremony was going on, and they were all witnessing this once in a lifetime ceremony.

Han Xiao turned around to look at Ames, and both of them nodded to each other. He then glanced at the huge crowd, and his face could not help but contort.

“Aren’t they afraid that I may accidentally kill a few lucky audience members?”

Han Xiao then looked at the Palace of Hidden Spells and shook his head helplessly. Finally, his gaze landed on Heber.

After sizing Heber up for a while, Han Xiao connected to the Tyrant’s communication device, and his voice sounded in Heber’s armor.

“I am here, Little Ty-Ty. How do you want to fight?”

“… What did you call me‽” Heber was stunned for a moment.

“Heh, I will call you whatever I like.” Han Xiao chuckled.

Heber could not be bothered to reply and said, “Black Star, I’ve thought highly of you since over ten years ago. This proves that my foresight wasn’t wrong. It is a pity that you rejected my invitation and made the wrong decision. I gave you a chance before, but you didn’t know how to treasure it.”

Han Xiao curled his lips and said, “Don’t talk about such useless things. Don’t you want to make use of me to establish your prestige?”

“That’s right.” Heber did not bother hiding anything. “You are only alive today because you didn’t have any value for me to uproot before, and you really didn’t disappoint me. I let you keep your life until today so that I can use your fresh blood to paint my throne.”

At the Beyond Grade A level, one was only able to gain fame by killing another Beyond Grade A Super, and this had always been the Tyrant’s goal. In his eyes, as long as he could increase his prestige, more and more talents would come under him.

However, the other three Beyond Grade A Supers were not easy to deal with, and he did not have a reason to take action. Even Ames, who had her abilities countered by him, had impressive lifesaving abilities. Thus, he had decided to rear up a Beyond Grade A enemy and get rid of the fellow before he could grow up fully.

Han Xiao was the target whom he had chosen.

Upon hearing those words, Han Xiao couldn’t help but shake his head.

Since you like rearing pigs so much, you’d better be careful not to get squashed by the pig.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao’s interface lit up.

_____________________

You have triggered S ranked mission [‘Tyrant’ Heber]!

Mission Introduction: A Beyond Grade A Super stands at the peak of the galaxy, and Heber is one of them. Are you sure you want to battle him?

Mission Requirements: Last for as long as possible under Heber’s attacks. (Battle method isn’t restricted. You can only leave battle mode for 30 mins at most. There are no restrictions to the number of times you can leave battle mode.)

Reward: You will be able to attain the corresponding reward by fulfilling the corresponding requirements. (Only 1% of the time out of battle mode will be counted toward the mission.)

Last for 10s: 100,000,000 Experience

Last for 30s: 230,000,000 Experience

Last for 1 min: 450,000,000 Experience

Last for 2 mins: 700,000,000 Experience

Last for 3 mins: 900,000,000 Experience, +1 Legendary Point

…

Last for 7.5 mins: [Character Summon Card – ‘Tyrant’ Heber], 3,000,000,000 Experience

…

Last for 20 mins: The opportunity to draw one of the Tyrant’s abilities or talents, 8,500,000,000 Experience, +1 Legendary Point

_____________________

“To think that it is actually such a mission.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

A Beyond Grade A Super was a true boss and an unscalable mountain. Even if the players had his current level, they would not be able to defeat a Beyond Grade A Super with a body full of Molding Talents. The only difference was the amount of time they could last. In his previous life, there were some players who had challenged Beyond Grade A Supers, and a portion of them triggered special S rank missions like this one. It had given them rewards based on the amount of time they could survive.

In his previous life, it was incredibly difficult for most of the players to last even a minute. The only method they had was to leave combat mode and escape to the best of their abilities. Because only one percent of the time was calculated, this meant that only eighteen seconds would be counted toward the mission at the very most. If the players wanted to earn the reward for lasting twenty minutes, they would have to leave combat mode more than sixty times at least. Furthermore, they had to ensure that the Beyond Grade A Super would not catch up to them for thirty mins. This meant that they needed to escape from the Beyond Grade A Super for more than thirty hours. It was a mission that was almost impossible to complete.

Han Xiao had challenged a Beyond Grade A Super before, and his best record was only a few minutes.

However, the interface’s judgement of a mission rating was on the basis of the player’s strength, and Han Xiao was an exception.

He did not need to leave combat mode and could choose to fight head on!

With his endurance, twenty mins would only be a warm up!

Han Xiao let out a deep breath, and his bluish-gold Mechanical Force burst forth.

Behind him, a large mechanical army appeared, forming an endless wave of black!

Emperor Mechanic! Secondary Dimension Army!

Upon seeing that, Heber cracked his neck, and his body exploded with a ball of fire.

The next moment, the mechanical army welcomed a shooting-star-like figure.

Chapter 776: The Battle

In the past ten days or so, Han Xiao’s mechanical army had gained millions of members, and the enhancements of all the models were completed. The enormous army stood before Heber, firing at him with all kinds of ranged weapons.

The psionic particle cannons’ dark energy annihilation beams formed a bright rain of light.

The Pugilist flames all around Heber’s body expanded into a huge golden light sphere thousands of meters wide, forming his protective energy layer. His tiny mountain-sized body charged forward, carrying a long tail of flames behind, and headed right into the wave of machinery like a meteor.

The storm of attacks crashed onto Heber’s protective shield, leaving clusters of explosions on the path behind him.

Facing the focus fire head-on, Heber dashed right into the formation of the mechanical army, penetrating the defenses of the mechanical soldiers layer after layer, heading right toward Han Xiao.

He decided to use his strength against the enemy’s weakness—to quickly defeat Han Xiao in close-range combat!

“Horrifyingly tanky, as expected for a Beyond Grade A Pugilist…”

Han Xiao glanced at the combat information and raised his brows.

Heber’s level, attributes, and health were all question marks. The interface showed that many of Heber’s Molding Abilities were triggered. There were [Low Damage Immunity], [True Damage Immunity], [Fixed Damage Reduction], and many other damage reduction abilities. These abilities and his Beyond Grade A Pugilist energy shield reduced the strength of Han Xiao’s attacks tremendously!

Heber was immune to True Damage as well as any damage that did not exceed a certain level, and only the portion that exceeded that level would be calculated. If the damage immunity limit was 100 and the raw damage was 110, Heber would only take 10 damage. A part of that 10 damage would then be reduced by his protective energy shield, and the remainder would be reduced once again by his resistance talents…

The damage would only count for Heber after so many layers of reductions!

The most terrifying thing was, Heber’s recovery ability was pretty good, too. Although not as powerful as Han Xiao’s, it still gave him a lot of sustainability.

This was the true Beyond Grade A Tank!

Han Xiao’s eyes focused. He had known long ago that this would be a tough battle.

Hadavy had True Damage Immunity and Low Damage Immunity as well, but as he was an Esper, his attack was not very high. In comparison, Heber was clearly more comprehensive as a Beyond Grade A Pugilist that excelled in both attack and defense.

Hence, Han Xiao had no interest in fighting a Beyond Grade A Pugilist with his body. Even though he was quite tanky, the difference in a Beyond Grade A’s main attribute and sub-attribute was way too huge; fighting Heber in close range combat was basically looking for a beating.

Seeing that Heber was heading right toward him, he immediately knew that Heber wanted to end this quickly. His lips curled up.

Although this was the right strategy for a Pugilist to use against a Mechanic, this also meant that the Tyrant was very confident in his offense and clearly ignored his ‘Indestructible Body’ nickname.

“You think it’d be this easy?” Han Xiao snorted. He casually threw a Luck Curse on Heber. Doesn’t matter if it works, use it first.

Different strategies had to be used against different opponents. Han Xiao quickly changed his strategy into moving around with his speed and surrounded Heber with his mechanical army.

The mechanical army was more powerful after receiving Beyond Grade A bonuses. With the bonuses that he currently provided with his Machinery Affinity, just a few thousand normal mechanical soldiers would be able to fight a normal Calamity Grade. Furthermore, he had the sustainability given by [Advanced Machinery Construction], so he was not afraid of the battle dragging on.

Most importantly, a huge portion of his mechanical soldiers could penetrate Heber’s defenses. Despite the damage dealt being reduced tremendously, given the sheer size of his army, they were able to deal rather considerable damage to even Heber. This was indeed the strength of the Army Style against any class—the Human Wave Tactic would always be a threat.

Han Xiao knew that there were no shortcuts against an opponent like the Tyrant, the only thing he could do was slowly reduce his health.

The energy of the mechanical suit flowed into the thrusters. Han Xiao turned into a stream of light and moved swiftly through the battlefield. The wide battlefield gave him more than enough space to distance himself.

Energy flames erupted with Heber’s every movement, like a Fixed Star exploding, shattering tons of mechanical soldiers. However, the shattered machinery quickly reformed under Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force and kept intercepting Heber in changing formations.

As a Beyond Grade A, Han Xiao had all kinds of devices that gave him mobility. His speed was higher. Although Heber was not slow, he was much bulkier comparatively, so he could not close the distance.

Heber broke a Giant Soldier into pieces and frowned. The battle will drag for too long this way.

There had been no Beyond Grade A Mechanic in the Shattered Star Ring for many years, so Heber did not have much experience fighting a Mechanic of the same grade, but he knew that the source of a Mechanic’s strength came from their knowledge and time.

It had been less than two months since Black Star became a Beyond Grade A, so he had extremely limited time to learn knowledge and did not have enough chances to expand his machinery. This was the time when he would be the easiest to deal with.

Therefore, what Heber wanted was an overwhelmingly one-sided victory, not a protracted battle.

I have to use more energy… Heber took a deep breath, not of air but the dark energy that was everywhere in the universe. Every single one of his cells absorbed the dark energy like a bottomless hole and quickly split open.

The next second, his mountain-sized body expanded, instantly destroying his armor and turning into a tall giant dozens of meters tall. He had entered the second stage directly.

He was a unique Beyond Grade A species. Furthermore, Pugilists Beyond Grade As basically all had one specialty—their Gene Limiter was removed.

In other words, his body strength ‘theoretically’ had no limits!

Heber extended his palm, aimed at Han Xiao far away, and shook his head.

“You’re talented indeed. If you had enough time, you might’ve become someone like Manison in the future… Pity.”

The next moment, everyone’s vision was filled with white light.

A blinding light sprayed out from Heber’s palm. This Shockwave Blast was extremely fast, and it was not just shot out but could be controlled remotely by Heber.

Han Xiao dodged dozens of times but was still hit by the beam. His entire body showered in the red-gold Pugilist flames.

However, this Shockwave Blast did not explode like expected but solidified into energy like a long tentacle, grabbing Han Xiao.

_____________________

Judging Energy Level… Judgment failed.

Your Energy Level is lower than the opponent’s.

You have entered [Energy Locked] state. You can no longer use energy.

_____________________

Han Xiao was shocked. The Pugilist flames around him formed a restricting force, making the Mechanical Force in his body entirely quiet and trapped in his cells. His link to his mechanical army was cut.

He tried to break away from the Pugilist flames but was faced with terrifying resistance. His body movements were extremely slow. It was almost as if he was fixed in the beam of light.

“This is…”

Han Xiao’s pupils constricted.

“Come here!” Heber quickly pulled with his hand. The red and gold light beam shrank and pulled Han Xiao toward him at a high speed.

Energy was the extension of the body for Pugilists. In terms of the strength of energy, Pugilists were the master among the five Super classes.

To Pugilists, the so-called abilities were just different techniques. There were trillions of Pugilist styles in the universe and countless abilities.

This ability was the compression of Pugilist energy, forming a special force field when hitting the target, suppressing the target’s energy with his own energy. It was like deploying a barrier around the target, forcing the target’s energy in his body.

This could only be avoided if the target’s Energy Level was higher or equal to Heber’s. Heber was a senior Beyond Grade A Super who had lived for many years; he knew many energy training techniques, and his Energy Level was unfathomable.

The mechanical army focused fire on Heber under the control of the artificial intelligence. However, without Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force enhancements, they could not even penetrate Heber’s defenses.

Han Xiao’s brain worked quickly.

I need to think of a simple method to get out of this. Heber will definitely use this more than once. The cooldown of Void Hyperdrive is too long. It will work once but not twice…

Suddenly, he had a flash of insight. He activated the talent that he had not used for a very long time—[Chaos Entity – Release]!

He turned into a cluster of gray fog and became a Chaos Body, then immediately followed it up with Void Hyperdrive, getting out of the red-gold light beam before returning to human form.

Void Race’s talent… Heber had read Han Xiao’s information before and was not surprised.

The intelligence showed that Black Star’s Void Travel could not be used for a few minutes. As he had used it now, it meant that he had lost one trump card.

However, what the intelligence did not know was that if Han Xiao used Void Hyperdrive type talents as a Chaos Body, the cooldown would be reduced to just more than ten seconds!

This was the talent of Chaos Observer. Back then, he had not been as famous as he was now, and he rarely showed this ability to anyone!

Han Xiao reconnected with the mechanical army and breathed a sigh of relief in his mind.

Initially, he wanted to fight the Tyrant with his own strength. Now, however, he realized that there was indeed some distance between himself and Heber. Given how tanky he was, his life would not be in danger, but the situation would definitely be bad for him.

Since this battle was witnessed by countless people, Han Xiao did not want to just have the lower hand throughout the entire fight.

I wanted to save this, but apparently, I won’t be able to…

Han Xiao licked his lips. He opened the interface and activated an item.

Character Summon Card—Reynold!

Perfect Mechanical Sense!

Han Xiao’s eyes widened instantly; his pupils were filled with lightning.

The Mechanical Force flowing inside the mechanical soldiers became blinding. Blue and gold light overflowed from the gaps of the machinery.

At this instant, Han Xiao’s Machinery Affinity rocketed. The 1.4 times increase made his mechanical army immensely stronger!

Heber’s movements paused for a second, and he looked confused.

It feels a little different.

…

“This is the power of a Beyond Grade A. Amazing…”

The audience stared at the two of them in shock. Many people only had an idea of what Beyond Grade As were, but never had they witnessed any battles between Beyond Grade As. They were all dazzled.

“His Excellency Tyrant is marvelous during battle.” Jorde’s face was filled with excitement.

Most of the Pugilist officers of the Bloodshed Land had personal admiration for the Tyrant. Seeing the Tyrant showcase his strength, the people of the Bloodshed Land were exhilarated.

On the other hand, the Purple Crystal Civilization and the ally organizations of Han Xiao were all nervous.

Ames did not interfere with their duel. As long as Han Xiao did not say anything, she had no need to fight the Tyrant.

Ames was not closely staring at Psyker. Han Xiao had told her that as soon as Psyker did anything, it was best to stop him instantly.

Psyker glanced at Ames then looked at the battlefield again, narrowing his eyes.

Black Star is stronger than when he fought me, but he’s still no match for Heber. The Tyrant getting the upper hand is certain…

Psyker shook his head in his mind. The current situation was within his expectations. He had a very clear idea of how strong the Tyrant was. Black Star being able to fight him evenly did not mean that he could do the same against the Tyrant.

Psyker was not afraid of Heber because psychic attacks happened to be the Tyrant’s weakness, just like how he feared the Tyrant’s raw strength. Hence, they minded their own business and never messed with each other. However, Black Star could not make use of the Tyrant’s weakness like he could, and the Tyrant’s raw strength was clearly stronger than a new Beyond Grade A’s.

If it was an ordinary new Beyond Grade A, the Tyrant might really kill him. However, having fought Black Star before, Psyker currently had the most knowledge of Black Star’s strength, but he did not share this with Heber.

Black Star also has a very tough physical body even among Beyond Grade As, not much worse than Heber’s. He should be able to last a very long time. They’re still not going all out. When they’re more worn out, only then it will be the time for me to make a move…

Thinking of that, Psyker glanced at the Arcane Church flagship behind him.

He knew that in the command room of the flagship, the commander of the fleet was waiting for his signal.

At this time, a meteor-like shadow flashed past the edge of his vision right into the Bloodshed Land’s formation not far away, shattering a few spaceships.

Psyker turned and looked over, soon becoming shocked.

The one that was blown away was the Tyrant‽

Psyker was a little stunned. As he quickly turned around and looked at Han Xiao, the look in his eyes gradually changed.

It seems I still underestimated you…

Chapter 777: Sudden

The energy Han Xiao was giving off had become much stronger. The power of the mechanical army had increased instantly. Not expecting this, Heber had been blown away by the countless particle cannon attacks.

Heber’s continuously growing momentum was broken, which shocked countless spectators.

“Black Star hid such power…” The look in Psyker’s eyes slightly changed.

The energy that Han Xiao was giving off surprised him. He was certain that Black Star had not been this strong when he fought him more than a month ago.

Is this his trump card?

Ames could not help but glance at Han Xiao. A tint of shock flashed through her eyes.

Seeing their own boss penetrating their formation, Jorde’s expression changed for the worse. The excitement of the Bloodshed Land officers was instantly extinguished.

Although Heber had merely taken a small hit, the Bloodshed Land officers had initially thought that the Tyrant would have the complete upper hand as the opponent was just a new Beyond Grade A Super. The current turn of events shocked them.

The mechanical army chased after Heber. By this time, Heber had already stabilized himself. His face was grave. Having been taken by surprise, he was a little angry.

His fist charged forward, shooting a thick Pugilist impact wave toward the mechanical army.

The mechanical soldiers responsible for defenses moved from the back to the front, forming an enormous psionic protective shield in front of the army.

The Star Shaking Fist crashed onto the shield. The blinding red and gold light quickly expanded, exploding like a supernova, filling everyone’s vision with white light.

As the mechanical army was stopped by the Star Shaking Fist, Heber took the opportunity and dashed out. He made a turn and pulled the battlefield away from the Bloodshed Land’s forces. Han Xiao followed right behind and chased him with his mechanical army.

With the enhancements of Perfect Mechanical Sense, the mechanical army was tremendously stronger be it in terms of offense of defense. The millions of mechanical soldiers surrounded a single person, the light of psionic energy flashing nonstop within the battlefield.

Suddenly, Heber slowed down. He endured the focus fire and explosions with his body and launched another [Energy Lock] Shockwave Blast toward Han Xiao.

However, this time, Han Xiao had experience. He quickly escaped from it with his Chaos Body and Void Hyperdrive. Heber was astounded—he had thought that Han Xiao’s Void Hyperdrive was still in cooldown.

“The same ability won’t work again on me.”

Having realized that he had judged it wrong, Heber frowned. Now that this ability no longer worked on Han Xiao, he had no choice but to patiently deal with the mechanical army while thinking of another way.

With every punch, kick, and Shockwave Blast, tons of mechanical soldiers were heavily damaged or even instantly destroyed.

Heber, however, was not unharmed. Wounds gradually started to appear on his mountain-sized body.

With his energy increasing his cell vitality, the old wounds kept recovering, but new wounds kept appearing as well. The mechanical soldiers that he had destroyed were repaired time after time by Han Xiao’s [Waste Modification] and [Advanced Machinery Construction].

Feeling the flowing Mechanical Force in his body, Han Xiao was thrilled. Perfect Mechanical Sense is really a god-like ability…

The 1.4 times total Machinery Affinity multiplier was a powerful Molding Talent. The damage the mechanical army dealt to Heber was clearly on another level. More than half of the raw strength difference between him and the Tyrant was mitigated by Perfect Mechanical Sense.

Sadly, this Molding Talent came from Reynold’s Character Summon Card and was not yet his own. He only had three chances to use it; this was the second.

After fighting for quite some time, Heber’s expression gradually became graver.

Initially, he had thought that no matter how talented the new Beyond Grade A was, his combat capability would not be too high. Yet, Han Xiao’s current combat capability had shattered this thought directly.

The situation suddenly became even. Heber’s plan to quickly end the battle was instantly broken, and he was forced into destroying machinery with his bare hands in a long battle.

Long battles were the strength of Army Style Mechanics. Heber knew full well that the combat had fallen into Black Star’s control. If this carried on, it would be bad for him.

What he wanted was to make an example out of Black Star, but if the battle became even, it would be the other way around.

Not only would he fail to build more reputation, he would even lose it and become a stepping stone for Black Star’s name. Black Star was a new Beyond Grade A who lacked fundamentals. Being able to fight him, a known senior Beyond Grade A, evenly would definitely be beneficial for Black Star.

Furthermore, he was the one that had demanded this battle. If he turned out to be unable to defeat Black Star, he would definitely be extremely ashamed.

Close combat was the strength of Pugilists. Although Heber also knew ranged abilities such as the Star Shaking Fist, a Beyond Grade A Mechanic like Black Star had way too many ways to block ranged attacks. In order to heavily damage Black Star, the only chance was to get close to him.

Heber’s close-range damage output was horrifying. Among all the Beyond Grade As in Galaxy, no one would remain unharmed after a close-range explosive combo of a Beyond Grade A Pugilist, not even Heber himself.

He did indeed have one ability that could instantly get close to Black Star. However, he could only use it every once in a very long time. Black Star had many dodging and fleeing abilities, so he would be able to easily get away from him again if he failed. Heber was rather troubled.

Slippery guy. Heber frowned. The window of opportunity to get close to Black Star would only last for an instant; he had to wait for a chance.

…

Heber fought intensely with the mechanical army. The explosions lightened up the sights of all the audience. Almost all the spaceship radars of the spectators were repeating alarms continuously.

“High energy reaction detected! Please get away immediately! High energy…”

If the battlefield was a planet, it would have been destroyed long ago.

“It seems even…”

“I can’t believe it. Black Star is matching up to the Tyrant.”

“The Tyrant seems to have the lower hand now.”

Countless spectators were stunned. Their impression of Black Star was continuously refreshed.

Seeing that Han Xiao stood his ground, the Black Star Army players were thrilled.

“Black Star gained control of the battle using the kiting strategy. The Tyrant’s only way of breaking this is to get close. However, he seems to be unable to get across the mechanical army.” Inside the battleship of the army, Hao Tian analyzed the battle. As a pro player, despite his level not being high, his PVP senses were still very sharp.

“Pugilists are good at explosive power at close range,” Frenzied Sword said. “As long as the captain maintains this kiting, he will not be defeated… given that the mechanical army can last that long.”

“That’s what I thought.” Bun-Hit-Dog nodded.

However, at this time, a sudden change occurred in the battlefield. Hao Tian, Frenzied Sword, and the others’ expressions changed drastically.

“Not good!”

…

The focus fire of the mechanical army created blinding explosions and obstructed the audience’s vision.

At this time, surrounded by the mechanical army, Heber suddenly disappeared.

The next instant, he appeared behind Han Xiao immediately.

As expected. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He had expected this. He had known that Heber would have a teleportation type Pugilist ability, so he had prepared for it long ago. However, he had to admit that Heber had picked a great opportunity.

Just as Han Xiao was about to dodge with Void Hyperdrive, all the abilities on his interface became gray.

_____________________

Heber has used Racial Talent [Giant’s Gaze] on you!

You have entered [Forced Silence] state. All abilities are frozen. Duration: 0.3 seconds!

_____________________

Han Xiao’s pupils constricted. He had no way to break free from a forced silence type ability. Heber had waited so long to use this and surprised him.

This interrupted his Void Hyperdrive and held him in his place.

With a cold expression, Heber punched right through the psionic shield and onto the Battle Tiger mechanical suit. An impact wave flew into Han Xiao’s body.

_____________________

Heber has used the ability [Strength Punch—Molecular Vibration] on you!

Judging… Judgment failed. Your STR is more than 1,000 lower than the opponent’s.

You have entered [Out of Control] state. You are unable to control your body. Duration: 0.8 second

_____________________

This is bad.

He had been avoiding getting comboed by Heber all along, but Heber’s attacks were not easy to deal with. Now he was on the passive side.

The next second, red and gold fists landed on his body like a thunderstorm. The punches created countless afterimages and pits on the mechanical suit.

Dong! Dong!

Heber’s every attack was a different Pugilist ability. As soon as he successfully landed the first disabling ability, he would be able to use continuous disabling abilities. Due to his vastly superior Strength and Dexterity, the Judgements for those abilities would usually all succeed.

The terrifying combo damage caused the armor of Battle Tiger and Han Xiao’s own health to plummet.

With cold murderous intent in his eyes, Heber went all out without hesitation—he planned to heavily injure or even immediately kill Han Xiao in one combo!

…

The developments of the battle made the expression of countless people change drastically.

“Black Star is in danger…” Austin murmured.

Being controlled by Heber at close range was more than enough to threaten the life of a Beyond Grade A.

Ames could not help but look over.

“Chance!”

At this instant, Psyker moved. He rushed right into the battlefield, straight toward Han Xiao at an extremely high speed.

Distracted, Ames was a second slower to respond. Anger appeared in her eyes.

Just as she was about to drag Psyker back with her force field, the fleet of the Arcane Church suddenly fired. Highly condensed annihilation beams headed toward Ames.

Ames did not expect the fleet to suddenly attack. She hastily turned around and stopped the attacks of the fleet with her force field.

In just an instant, Psyker approached Han Xiao and Heber.

Black Star is being pinned down by the Tyrant. This is the opportunity to grab the Evolution Cube!

The sudden change of situation shocked everyone. In their eyes, it was clear that the Arcane Church had broken the rules, restraining Ames with their fleet while Psyker suddenly attacked Black Star together with Heber!

It was as if Black Star had fallen into a desperate situation in an instant!

“Teacher!”

“Black Star!”

“Captain!”

The expressions of Sylvia, Herlous, and the army officers all changed drastically!

Chapter 778: Counter

“Hmm?”

As another punch landed on Han Xiao’s chest, Heber noticed the abnormality. He quickly turned around and stared at the quickly approaching Psyker.

“Want to grab the Evolution Cube?” Heber looked at Psyker with hostility.

Psyker had publicized the information regarding the Evolution Cube, clearly stating his goal. Although Heber was interested in it, he had no means of locating the Evolution Cube.

He refused to cooperate with Psyker because he did not want anyone to disrupt his duel with Black Star and break his plan to make an example. Seeing that the Arcane Church had suddenly attacked to restrain Ames and Psyker was clearly using him, he was enraged.

His eyes were filled with warning as he stared at Psyker.

Expressionless, Psyker continued to charge forward. He had to retrieve the Evolution Cube even if it meant offending Heber.

In his senses, the Evolution Cube was right on Han Xiao. His psychic energy had already shot toward Han Xiao. As soon as he got the Evolution Cube, he would retreat and not waste energy fighting him.

Seeing that Psyker had ignored his warning, the hostility in Heber’s eyes became stronger. However, there was no way he was going to let Black Star go and turn around to attack Psyker.

Psyker had publicly stood against Black Star by demanding a battle with Black Star just like he did, which means that they were on the same side. If he gave up on the opportunity to heavily damage Black Star to stop his supposed ‘ally’, the situation would go out of control. Psyker had already tied him up using his standpoint.

Due to many factors, Heber had no choice but to watch Psyker approach, unable to stop him. He was enraged.

With a gloomy expression, Heber decided to get back at Psyker after he finished dealing with Black Star.

At this moment, to his shock, his punch was suddenly stopped!

His eyes quickly moved away from Psyker and back to Han Xiao. Shocked, he realized that Han Xiao, who was supposedly unable to move, suddenly regained control and stopped his fists with his hands.

Instantly responding, Heber’s muscles expanded. A powerful surge of energy flowed into his arms. Just as he was about to forcefully break away from Han Xiao’s block and disable Han Xiao again, he was stunned.

A terrifying power came from Han Xiao’s arms that matched his own!

What’s going on‽

Heber looked at Han Xiao’s face with shock. Half of Han Xiao’s mechanical suit helmet was broken, showing half of Han Xiao’s face and his calm eyes.

“Really horrifying damage, almost took half of my health…” Han Xiao licked away the blood at the tip of his lips and grinned. “Sadly, we have fought for far more than twenty minutes!”

The mechanical army had stalled the Tyrant for long enough, so he had obtained the Tyrant’s Character Summon Card long ago!

_____________________

[Character Summon Card—’Tyrant’ Heber]. Usages: 1/3. Effect: +4,000 STR. Duration: 40 minutes!

_____________________

With the increase in his Strength, he became immune to Heber’s disabling abilities!

The next second, Han Xiao clenched his fists and grabbed Heber’s hands. Surging power filled his body. With a turn of his waist, he lifted Heber and threw him right at Psyker!

“What‽” Disbelief appeared in Heber’s eyes.

I lost to a Mechanic in a battle of strength‽

Are you kidding me‽

This made Psyker’s expression change dramatically as well.

Black Star had obviously been pinned down by Heber; he did not expect him to be able to escape it that fast and with raw strength!

The mechanical army far away regained its Mechanical Force bonuses and fired at Heber and Psyker. Psyker had no choice but to stop and block the attacks with his psychic shield while grabbing Heber and helping him regain balance.

The violent attacks exploded on the psychic shield. The expanding light obstructed their sight.

Before the two of them could make the next move, they suddenly felt a sense of pressure. Turning around, they saw an enormous satellite penetrating the attacks outside the psychic shield and crashing directly toward them.

Not having the time to think about anything else, Heber rapidly absorbed dark energy and turned his body into a giant. His fists launched toward the armed satellite, hoping to stop its impact.

However, the difference in size was too huge. Heber and Psyker were both slapped onto the surface of the satellite.

Ames’ eyes were flickering with a green light. Her force field pushed the armed satellite forward like a marble, drawing an arc and crashing toward the Arcane Church’s fleet.

The attacks of the Arcane Church fleet had caused her to be unable to stop Psyker in time, which made Ames quite displeased. Luckily, Black Star had gotten out of the dangerous situation himself. Without hesitation, she immediately backed Black Star up and set the Arcane Church fleet as a target as well.

Facing the enormous armed satellite, the Arcane Church fleet fired without hesitation. The storm of dark energy blasts fired on the armed satellite and destroyed it.

This was the biggest explosion since the start of the battle. The strong light caused by it made the eyes of countless spectators hurt and forced them to close their eyes. Only stronger Supers could barely open their eyes.

As the aftershock of the explosion dissipated, only then did everyone see the current situation.

Han Xiao and Ames stood in the middle of the battlefield together, while Heber and Psyker endured the explosion and hovered before the Arcane Church’s fleet. Four Beyond Grade As on two sides stood against each other.

The situation had taken too quick a turn, and the people could not react immediately. Once they figured out what happened, their eyes gathered on Han Xiao.

The situation earlier had been dire for Han Xiao, but Han Xiao had used raw strength to fight back against Heber. He had used the most direct and straightforward method to break the situation of being surrounded by Heber and Psyker!

“Hu…” Sylvia took a deep breath—she had been really startled earlier.

Hila’s fists opened, and her tense body relaxed.

The audience calmed down and once again focused on the battle.

“Psyker and Ames both acted. It’s probably not a duel but a battle now.”

“The Arcane Church interfered. Not just the Beyond Grade As, even the fleets of two sides might start fighting!”

“The Crimson Dynasty will definitely respond as well; this might cause another war.”

“I feel like we should back off a little more…”

Countless people were feeling nervous. The Arcane Church’s involvement changed what was initially a duel between Beyond Grade As. The situation became complicated.

Just in terms of forces, Heber’s side with the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church had the complete upper hand. If the fleets took part in the battle, Black Star’s side would definitely be at a disadvantage.

Psyker’s expression was not looking good. After his failed attempt, his plan was shattered. Since he had already acted, he would not be able to watch from the side anymore. He could only snatch the Evolution Cube head-on, which would be much more difficult.

He turned around, looked at Heber, and saw that Heber was looking at him with sharp eyes as well.

Psyker knew that he had offended the Tyrant due to what he had just done. He sighed in his head before speaking to Heber with psychic energy.

“Ames has joined the battle; you won’t be able to duel Black Star anymore. They will fight you two on one, so you need help. We’ll settle what happened earlier in the future. Let’s work together first. I have the Arcane Church; you have the Crimson Dynasty. Using our fleets, help me retrieve the Evolution Cube, and the Arcane Church and myself will give you more than enough benefits.”

Heber frowned. His plan was messed up, and he really wanted to suffocate Psyker. When Psyker asked him to work together, he had suggested a similar plan. Back then, he had rejected it, and he still did not want to agree.

He did not invite the Crimson Dynasty; they had made a certain deal with Klent, which Heber did not know the details of. However, since the Crimson Dynasty had come, they were there to back him up. He did not want a duel to turn into a full out war—it would be far off from his initial intentions.

At this time, the Crimson Dynasty’s fleet suddenly moved, attracting everyone’s attention.

The Crimson Dynasty fleet turned around, aiming their countless cannons at the Arcane Church’s fleet. Before anyone could react, the Crimson Dynasty fleet suddenly fired!

Countless particle cannon beams blasted into the Arcane Church’s fleet. Suddenly being attacked from the side, the Arcane Church had no time to react.

At this moment, everyone was stunned!

Wh—What’s going on‽

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up suddenly.

“Zoel acted!”

Chapter 779: 779 Your Ally Is Not Bad...

779 Your Ally Is Not Bad…

What is the Crimson Dynasty doing‽ Jorde was stunned. He could not understand why the Crimson Dynasty suddenly attacked the Arcane Church. Aren’t we on the same side today?

Ralph was startled by this sudden turn of events as well. He was at a loss. Both the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church were on the enemy’s side, so why did one suddenly attack the other‽

The Arcane Church hastily adjusted their formation to face the Crimson Dynasty. While guarding against the attacks, they tried to counterattack. The Crimson Dynasty was behind the Bloodshed Land formation, so the Bloodshed Land fleet and the Klent fleet were affected as well.

Psyker’s expression suddenly changed as he quickly distanced himself from Heber.

“Was this your plan‽”

All kinds of speculations appeared in his mind. Was Heber’s sudden betrayal revenge for his earlier interference, or was this planned long ago? Could it be that Heber was so mad that not only did he want to make an example out of Black Star but him as well?

Could it be that the Crimson Dynasty wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of him, an Arcane Church ally in the Shattered Star Ring?

Psyker could not help but to make many guesses. However, he realized that Heber looked puzzled as well, as if he did not know why the Crimson Dynasty had suddenly attacked.

Heber had no time to care about what Psyker was thinking. He turned into a meteor and flew back to the Bloodshed Land formation, entering the closest spaceship and borrowing their communicator.

“Jorde! Contact the Crimson Dynasty’s men and ask them what they’re doing!”

“Your Excellency Tyrant, their commander told us to attack the Arcane Church with them and did not mention the reason!” Jorde hastily replied in the communication channel.

“Then contact Klent’s men. Tell them to ask the Dynasty Emissary Zoel for the reason.”

“O—okay,” Jorde replied. “The officials on their mother planet are trying to contact Zoel.”

Zoel had been staying in the Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Building on the Klent Mother Planet all along. He had only deployed the Crimson Dynasty garrison but did not go to the scene personally.

The two Universal Civilization garrison fleets had fired at each other. Many nearby observers were affected and blasted into pieces.

The other observers backed away in panic. Countless spaceships turned around and escaped from the battlefield.

The situation became chaotic in an instant. Everyone was busy dodging stray bullets, and no one paid attention to the main participants.

The Black Star Army and the Purple Crystal’s fleet on the other side were not affected. Seeing that the enemies were in chaos, they were confused. Han Xiao did not publicize becoming the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, so Han Xiao and the Crimson Dynasty were the only ones that knew about it.

Due to the sudden change, both Heber and Psyker’s attention was diverted, and they had no time to care about Han Xiao. Han Xiao and Ames, who were in the middle of the battlefield, did not chase after them. They looked at the battle between the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church from far away.

Han Xiao suddenly smiled.

“With the Crimson Dynasty’s attack, this should end soon.”

“This is your doing?” Ames turned to look at Han Xiao, and then it occurred to her. “You’ve joined the Crimson Dynasty.”

She did not know about this either. Before this, she had thought that she was Han Xiao’s most powerful ally there.

“The Tyrant wants to step on me to increase his reputation, and Psyker wants to take back the Evolution Cube,” Han Xiao said slowly. “I also want to use this opportunity today to increase my influence. I’m a new Beyond Grade A Super, so I need to achieve many deeds to have a reputation like the Tyrant’s, which will take too long. An opportunity for the Tyrant is also an opportunity for me; I can use this battle to obtain a ton of reputation and fame.”

Ames raised her brows and said, “It sounds like you don’t need my help to deal with the dangers today, or did you think I’m not good enough?”

“Don’t misunderstand, I’m just used to having more than one plan.” Han Xiao smiled with resignation.

…

The Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church did not turn out to fight a full out war. Very soon, both sides stopped firing and distanced themselves from one another. The atmosphere was tense.

Still puzzled, the observers all focused on the Crimson Dynasty’s fleet from far away. Everyone wanted to know why the Crimson Dynasty had done what they just did.

At this time, the trillions of spaceships at the scene all received a message from the Crimson Dynasty. This was an announcement made in the official civilization public communication channel—a channel shared by the civilizations above the Star System level, only used to make official announcements. Any message sent using this channel would be received by all devices within a certain area.

“This is the Crimson Dynasty Shattered Star Ring Garrison K-004 Fleet Commander, Sciurio, hereby sending a warning to the Arcane Church…

“Firstly, this battle is monitored by the Crimson Dynasty. Any organization breaking the rules will be firmly stopped by us. Your interference has violated the rules.

“Secondly, the Black Star Army is the Crimson Dynasty’s ally. The Evolution Cube currently belongs to the Crimson Dynasty. Any organization planning to snatch it will be seen as the Dynasty’s enemy!”

After hearing this announcement—be it Klent, the Bloodshed Land, the Purple Crystal Civilization, even the Black Star Army, or any other observer—everyone’s eyes widened with shock.

When did Black Star become the Crimson Dynasty’s ally‽

So, the Crimson Dynasty is actually not here to help the Tyrant but Black Star!

Everyone was stunned.

Heber’s expression changed drastically. “Why didn’t I know about this‽”

Jorde’s mind was blank.

The Bloodshed Land was the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, and now the Black Star Army had become the Crimson Dynasty’s ally. Did that not mean that they were now on the same side‽

The two sides had fought for a decade, but they had become allies‽

“What the f…” Summer Night Flower’s expression stiffened, and his face turned pale.

Initially, he had thought the Bloodshed Land’s biggest advantage was having the Crimson Dynasty as their backer. Now, however, the Black Star Army had the same thing.

As his last shred of hope shattered, Summer Night Flower’s heart was filled with regret.

Suddenly, his vision was blocked by a shadow. He turned around and saw that the players around had surrounded him with unfriendly expressions on their faces.

…

“The Black Star Army has become the Crimson Dynasty’s ally. When did this happen‽”

Ralph was astonished.

Comparatively, all the players of the Black Star Army were overjoyed by this news.

Opposing the Crimson Dynasty was not optimal. They had initially been worried about the Black Star Army’s future. They had never expected the army to become the Crimson Dynasty’s ally!

The millions of army players were relieved immediately. Becoming an ally of a Universal Civilization meant that the Black Star Army had a channel for even more growth and that its potential was even greater!

Many players’ previously shaken beliefs became firm once again, and they were more confident in the army now than ever!

“Sh*t, I thought it was the end of us.”

“The captain somehow got to the Crimson Dynasty. The term ‘Black Star Networking Group’ is definitely accurate.”

“It seems that our army will most likely last for many versions.”

“Amazing, I’m going to be famous again.” Bun-Hit-Dog recorded footage with a huge grin on his face.

Inside the Black Star Army flagship, the many Calamity Grade officers breathed a sigh of relief, followed by joy.

“The captain made a backup plan long ago!”

With the Crimson Dynasty backing them, the Black Star Army was no longer an ordinary Beyond Grade A organization!

The many officers were thrilled and glad that they made the bet years ago to become a pillar of the army!

They did not make a mistake in believing in Black Star!

Inside the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin’s eyes sparkled.

“I see. Not only did you showcase your power by fighting the Tyrant, but you also publicly announced your support from the Crimson Dynasty, enhancing your reputation and indirectly solving your battle with the Tyrant. You single-handedly turned this feast today into an event to increase your fame. Heber and Psyker both fell right into it. You’re the biggest winner this time…”

A strange smile appeared on Austin’s face.

“Good, a person with ambition. The Shattered Star Ring is finally going to become boisterous.”

…

“No wonder you were so calm. You joined the Crimson Dynasty using the Evolution Cube…”

Psyker had a complicated feeling. Now that the Crimson Dynasty had their hands on the Evolution Cube, the difficulty in snatching it back was beyond his abilities.

Seeing the situation, he sighed and sent a message to the Arcane Church Fleet Commander.

“Retreat.”

With the Crimson Dynasty expressing their standpoint, no matter what the Bloodshed Land and Klent were thinking, the Crimson Dynasty would be part of this. Since Black Star and the Tyrant stood on the same side and he had become their common enemy. The Arcane Church fleet would not be able to do anything by staying there.

After considering both the pros and cons, Psyker felt retreating was the best choice. Hence, even though he was very displeased, he still made a decisive decision.

Under the eyes of the crowd, the Arcane Church fleet slowly retreated and left the battlefield, turning into a stream of light and disappearing. The Crimson Dynasty did not stop them; their goal had been to make the Arcane Church retreat all along.

“The Arcane Church has retreated!”

“Psyker left, too.”

Countless people turned to look at Heber. With one of the people that demanded a duel with Black Star leaving, the Tyrant was the only one left. The direction of the situation was in the Tyrant’s hands.

Originally, everyone had thought that the Tyrant and Black Star were enemies, but they had just discovered that they were allies. This duel had become an internal conflict between the Crimson Dynasty’s allies.

Hence, the Tyrant was in a very awkward position. Heber’s earlier confusion looked sincere, so most people believed that Heber did not know about this.

If that’s the case, will he still insist on fighting Black Star now?

The situation had taken many turns, and no one knew what was going to happen next.

The Bloodshed Land remained at the ready. Heber did not return to the battlefield to continue fighting Han Xiao immediately. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Han Xiao from far away, and Han Xiao was looking at him.

As Heber did not make a move, the battlefield had entered a strange silence.

Inside the spaceship, Heber asked Jorde in a deep voice, “Did Klent respond?”

“They’re still talking to the Crimson Dynasty…” Jorde could hear that Heber’s tone was unpleasant.

…

At the same time, in the Crimson Dynasty embassy on the Klent Mother Planet…

“Envoy Zoel, what is the meaning of this? Didn’t the Crimson Dynasty agree to fight Black Star together with us? Why did you accept Black Star as an ally?”

The outcry of the Klent high-level officials sounded from the communicator. Zoel raised his eyelids and slowly replied, “I don’t think I ever agreed to this request. I dispatched the garrison to the venue and only said that it was to back up our ally. Klent is our ally, as is Black Star. Our target is just Psyker and the Arcane Church backing him up. You misunderstood, that’s all.”

“But you did not notify us about Black Star becoming your ally!”

“Oh?” Zoel raised his brows. “Does the Dynasty have to notify you every time we gain an ally? Do you also want the Dynasty to give you all of our military secrets?”

Chapter 780: Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation

“I did not say that. But you knew Black Star is our enemy, yet you did not tell us about it. Doesn’t that go against our agreement? If we’d known that Black Star was on our side in advance, we definitely would’ve told the Tyrant to cancel this duel, and the joke today wouldn’t have happened.”

“You’re exaggerating it.” Zoel was not angry and smiled. “Hiding this news was Black Star’s request, and I agreed personally. I dispatched the garrison to the scene to prevent the situation from getting out of hand. Furthermore, didn’t the results of what happened today turn out to be beneficial? The entire Star Field now knows you people and the Black Star Army have become allies, which is beneficial for both of you. Overall, not only did you guys not suffer any damage, but you actually benefited from it. After all, such a grant occasion like this rarely happens.”

The Klent official clenched his teeth and smiled. “… Looks like we misunderstood you.”

“That’s right. Sigh, but I am indeed responsible for this. How about this? I will confess my wrongdoings to the Dynasty superiors and request for resources compensation for you. What do you think?” Zoel said with a smile.

“There’s no need for that. We misunderstood you in the first place; you’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Alright then. Nonetheless, to express my apology, please accept the resources compensation.”

“Okay.”

As Zoel ended the communication, the smile on his face disappeared instantly. He nodded with satisfaction.

Klent is smart, good.

…

Not long after, the Bloodshed Land received Klent’s message at the scene.

“Your—Your Excellency Tyrant, Klent has responded,” Jorde stammered.

“Speak.”

“They said that Zoel was the one that agreed to make Black Star an ally. Klent told us to stop the duel and re—retreat immediately…”

Klent knew that they had been tricked by the Crimson Dynasty, but what could they do? They still wanted a piece of the Flickering World, so it was impossible for them to rescind the agreement. They could only swallow it up.

Black Star’s chips were too attractive. Klent knew clearly that the Crimson Dynasty would certainly not reject the Evolution Cube, so they could only accept it. Fortunately, the duel was mainly the Tyrant’s idea; Klent did not suffer much damage, so they had quickly compromised.

Heber closed his eyes.

After a while, he then reopened his eyes and squeezed out a word between his clenched teeth.

“Retreat.”

The order sounded from the Bloodshed Land’s commanding channel. The many Bloodshed Land officers all became spiritless, like they had lost all their energy.

Jorde’s face twitched with resentment, but there was nothing he could do.

The Crimson Dynasty, Klent, and the Bloodshed Land’s fleets left one after another, leaving only Purple Crystal and the Black Star Army’s people at the scene.

“The Bloodshed Land retreated, haha!”

In the countless battleships, the warriors of the Black Star Army cheered with joy.

Influenced by the atmosphere, many players followed along in the cheering.

Ames smiled.

Although Han Xiao keeping this a secret made her feel a little unhappy, seeing Heber getting tricked by them made her feel very pleased.

The expression on Han Xiao’s face under the helmet was filled with mockery. “Tyrant? Hehe.”

As their battle had been stopped, a winner was not decided. However, during the battle, he had fought the Tyrant on even ground, so no one would think that he had joined the Crimson Dynasty because he was afraid of the Tyrant.

On the other hand, despite being the one initiating this duel, the Tyrant had left in the end. This meant that Heber had become his stepping stone, defining his position in the Shattered Star Ring. He would no longer be underestimated by some people because he was a new Beyond Grade A.

At this time, a Legendary Point notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have received 3 Legendary Points.

Star Field Legendary Point (Shattered Star Ring): Battle Against Tyrant—Your battle with ‘Tyrant’ Heber is known by all of the Shattered Star Ring. This battle will be passed around by one after another across this Star Field, along with your name.

Star Field Legendary Point (Shattered Star Ring): Ally of the Crimson Dynasty—Universal Civilizations are the biggest forces of this galaxy. You have become an ally of one of them, the Crimson Dynasty.

Star Field Legendary Point (Shattered Star Ring): Star Field Signature Character—Your name echoes through the entire Star Field as one of the signatures of this Star Field. From this day forth, whenever the Shattered Star Ring is mentioned, your name will be linked to it.

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Star Field Legendary Points’ bonus to experience was much higher than that of Star Cluster Legendary Points, and they were extremely difficult to obtain. He had received three at once, which meant that his plan to command respect through this duel had been very successful.

When what had happened spread throughout the universe, his reputation in the Shattered Star Ring would certainly rocket once again.

At this time, Ralph sent a communication request.

Han Xiao knew what Purple Crystal’s reaction to this would be, so he had thought of what to say long ago.

“Black Star…”

The communication connected. Ralph’s face appeared on the tactical screen under the mechanical suit helmet. Ralph looked hesitant.

“I know what you’re going to say.” Han Xiao spoke first. “Becoming the Crimson Dynasty’s ally was my idea. As you guys know, the secret war is not looking good for us. In order to destroy Klent’s plan, the only way is to do it through people with a high position. Using myself as the chip, I exchanged for their stand regarding the secret war. This was the method to win the secret war I told you about.”

Ralph opened his eyes with a complicated expression.

He had initially thought Black Star would abandon Purple Crystal. Once he heard what Han Xiao said, he felt much better.

Luckily, Black Star still remembered Purple Crystal’s support and requested the dynasty to give them some benefits. At least he was not someone to abandon them even after accepting so many resources from them.

“You and the Crimson Dynasty, sigh…”

“I know you guys hope to maintain the neutral ground of the civilization, but I’m different. I’m Purple Crystal’s ally, too, like a bridge between you guys and the Crimson Dynasty. This will be beneficial to a certain extent for all three of us.

Ralph nodded. This was indeed true.

He knew what Han Xiao meant—he wanted to be the Crimson Dynasty’s ally while continuing being Purple Crystal’s ally.

Of course, Purple Crystal was not satisfied with this. They had funded and supported the Black Star Army for close to a decade, all because they wanted to be the biggest partner of a Beyond Grade A. However, a Universal Civilization had gotten to Han Xiao first. Ralph was unsatisfied.

However, after more thought, he could only feel resignation. After that fight, the Black Star Army would become even more powerful. If Purple Crystal rescinded the agreement, the Black Star Army would not be afraid since they had an even better ally. In the end, the ones suffering the most losses would be Purple Crystal.

The best solution currently was to continue the partnership and share the profit brought by the Black Star Army.

After investing so much resources for so long, Purple Crystal was not willing to gain nothing.

“Understood. I will report this to the upper echelons…” Ralph calmed his emotions down and secretly admired Black Star’s guts.

“Wait for the good news.” Han Xiao smiled.

If he was just an ordinary Beyond Grade A, he might not have been able to make the Crimson Dynasty change their standpoint on the secret war. However, with the Evolution Cube in his hands, things were different.

Han Xiao ended the communication and secretly felt relieved.

Things were going great. Han Xiao felt relaxed. Having become a Beyond Grade A, he had truly entered the top circle of Galaxy. Most of the restrictions he had once faced as a Calamity Grade were now gone, and the weight of his name had become tremendously heavier.

This time, a teleportation gate opened beside Han Xiao and Ames. Austin, who had been observing from the side, walked out from it.

“Hehe, congratulations, Black Star,” Austin said with a smile.

“Hehe…” Han Xiao replied with a smile as well.

“This isn’t a good place to talk. Let’s chat again during the next Tyrant Party.” Austin did not say much.

Then, he teleported back to the Palace of Hidden Spells and activated the spells on it. The palace flew into the teleportation gate and disappeared.

“Tyrant Party…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He wondered if the Tyrant would invite him to the next party.

“Since things are settled, I shall get going.” Ames waved and flew back to Floating Dragon. Floating Dragon slowly left.

Han Xiao watched Ames leave. He then returned to the Black Star Army’s flagship and entered the command room, where the army officers gathered. As soon as he walked in, everyone looked at him with admiration in their eyes.

“Sylvia, Herlous, announce the fleet to return,” Han Xiao said.

“Roger!” Sylvia’s face was filled with excitement.

“Also, using the Black Star Army’s name, issue a recruitment order to the entire Star Field. It’s time for those who have been observing to make a choice.” Han Xiao smiled.

Due to the Tyrant’s invitation to the duel, the Black Star Army had been keeping a low profile. Since the matter had been dealt with, it was time for the Black Star Army to expand and officially become a Beyond Grade A organization!

Many officers were exhilarated—this was what they had been waiting for!

Han Xiao turned and looked at Feidin. He had yet to complete the mission to draw the Tyrant’s ability because he wanted to touch Feidin for some luck.

Patting Feidin on the shoulder, Han Xiao gave everyone a few words of encouragement and sent all the officers away, saying that he needed to rest.

Han Xiao returned to his room alone and opened the interface to claim the reward.

_____________________

You have received the reward: Draw Heber’s one ability/talent.

Tip: Heber is a Pugilist. Part of the abilities/talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. [Phantom Combo]—Ability: +75% close-range attack speed. Duration: 7s. Cost: 80 Energy. Cooldown: 18s

2. [Star Tossing Power]—Ability: Use energy to enhance your cells, +600 STR. Duration: 20s. Cooldown: 120s

3. [Weakness Observation]—Ability: +30% close range Critical Chance. Duration: 15s. Cooldown: 180s

4. [Close Range Killer]—Talent: +40% close-range attack and attack speed. +2 levels to all close-range combat abilities.

5. [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation]—Ability: A secret technique the Tyrant uses to cultivate his energy. Current Effect: +500 Energy. Training Times: 0/650. This must be used on a Fixed Star. The effect of every training session depends on the time spent on the Fixed Star. Maximum effect per training: 25 Energy. Minimum: 0. Cost: 6,000,000 Experience per training session.

_____________________

Scanning through the first four options, Han Xiao was a little disappointed. Beyond Grade A Pugilists had many abilities, so the chance of getting something good was exceedingly low. The first four options all had very limited effects.

However, the last option made Han Xiao surprised.

This is what Heber uses to train his energy?

This is good stuff.

Some of the Pugilists’ powerful energy came from talents and some came from cultivation type abilities.

When someone reached Beyond Grade A and wanted to continue becoming stronger, they would start searching for all sorts of abilities to train their energy. The longer one had been a Beyond Grade A Super, the stronger one’s energy would usually be.

His current health-energy cycle had reached an obstacle. This was because of his energy number—compared to his two million or so health, he only had fifty thousand energy, and this became a restriction to how tanky he was.

Although [Radiation Absorption] increased his energy, it required a very long time. Even if he searched for Energy Training Techniques like the other Beyond Grade As, it would also be highly time-consuming. Heber’s Energy Training Technique, however, was the shortcut he needed at the moment to increase his strength. A high-grade secret technique created by a Beyond Grade A would have a considerable effect on increasing his energy.

As for the experience cost that was enormous for the players… Han Xiao happened to have the experience penalty for more than ten months, so there was no need for him to level up.

The other four options were not very useful, so Han Xiao selected the last option without hesitation.

_____________________

You have received [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation]!

_____________________

Han Xiao closed the interface with satisfaction.

“The biggest problem is temporarily settled. Next is the expansion of the Black Star Army. Plans regarding the Flickering World need to be brought forward as well. Speaking of which, when the army stabilizes, I will need to visit the Central Galaxy once…”

…

At the same time somewhere in the Central Galaxy, a broadcast of the duel in the Shattered Star Ring was playing on the screen. It had come to an end, and people started leaving.

Beep.

The broadcast was shut down, and EsGod’s face was reflected on the dark screen.

“Contact Black Star.”

Chapter 781: EsGod’s Suggestion

The viewers at the scene and in front of their screens could not calm down for a long time, watching as the Black Star Army’s fleet left.

At this instant, in their hearts, the position of the Black Star Army had risen to that of the Bloodshed Land, deeply carved into their hearts.

During the return journey, Han Xiao made a detour and stopped by a fixed star in order to test out the effectiveness of [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation]. He told the fleet to pause for a moment whilst he flew over to the surface of the Fixed Star.

Without donning his mechanical suit, the strong infrared radiation and high temperatures directly hit his body. The closer the distance, the higher the intensity.

When he had reached a certain distance, the words [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation] on his interface lit up, signaling that it was able to be used.

After spending millions of experience, Han Xiao began his first cultivation session.

The energy in his body boiled up instantly, frantically absorbing the energy that was radiated by the star. His skin turned red, and the brightness continuously rose.

That’s right. I should activate [Radiation Absorption] as well.

At this moment, a stream of radiation shot out from the fixed star straight toward Han Xiao, resembling a crimson tsunami. Han Xiao did not avoid nor retreat but rather allowed the fixed star radiation to engulf him. His HP dropped a notch.

Under the high temperature, his HP decreased without stopping, but it very quickly filled up once again using his energy. The effect of the Stellar Furnace Cultivation would depend on the length of his stay on the star. The reason it was classified as a high-level cultivation method was because there were practically no Grade As that could survive on a fixed star, but with the current fleshly body of our Great Mechanic Han, he could live on this fixed star till he died of old age.

“This is literally taking a bath among the stars.” Han Xiao played with a lump of stellar energy from the fixed star, rolling it on his chest like bubbles as he roared in laughter.

After enduring for half an hour, the interface indicated that the effect of his cultivation had reached its limit. Only then did Han Xiao leave the fixed star. The count on his Stellar Furnace Cultivation now read 1, which added an extra 25 Energy to him.

For every half an hour, I get 25 energy. If I practice it 650 times, which is to completion, I will receive a total of 16,000 energy, which converts to almost 80,000 HP.

Han Xiao was in a good mood. Having reached Beyond Grade A, increasing his strength had become more difficult than before. The opportunity for him to improve so much was rare, thus making him feel that this was some peerless divine technique.

After finishing his test of the Stellar Furnace Cultivation skill, Han Xiao returned to the fleet. After settling the affairs of his army, he would have the free time to practice this Energy Training Technique.

…

“The Black Star Army has allied with the Crimson Dynasty, and the Evolution Cube is now under the ownership of the Crimson Dynasty, forcing the Arcane Church to retreat.”

“Black Star became famous in his battle, causing the Tyrant to voluntarily retreat!”

“Our field reporters were all unfortunately killed, and according to the incomplete statistics, the casualty rate of the spectators reached tens of millions…”

The dust from the battle had settled, but its impact had spread like a tornado throughout the entire Shattered Star Ring, making headlines on every major news channel.

This event had attracted the attention of too many people. The five Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring had all gathered, and while the process was not long, the situation had changed again and again. For everyone, Black Star was the greatest protagonist in this event, having fought with the Tyrant. The most shocking thing was that the Crimson Dynasty had gone against expectations and announced the joining of Black Star in a high-profile manner. This was something no one had expected.

Everyone knew that this signified another Beyond Grade A gaining a solid foothold in Galaxy. With a hegemon as a backer, and that day’s matters being enough to be recorded in the history of Shattered Star Ring, it was a signal that the flow of the Star Field was about to change.

The day after the battle, the Black Star Army issued a recruitment order to the entire Star Field.

For a period of time, countless people who had only been watching felt an urge to respond.

With the Crimson Dynasty as a backer, the Black Star Army naturally did not lack resources, and their leader Black Star was even a Beyond Grade A who had proved his abilities. Such a new-born force had an immense future, and the benefits they provided would be many.

The Black Star Army recruitment order was like a deep-sea mine, setting off a huge wave in the Shattered Star Ring. Only a day after the order was issued, spaceships had already set off from the various Star Clusters, heading directly toward the headquarters of the Black Star Army in the Colton Star Cluster.

A multitude of applicants gathered. This was the largest recruitment in the history of the army. Phillip received tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions, of resumes and application forms every day.

Many organizations in the Shattered Star Ring also threw out olive branches to the Black Star Army.

…

“You want to merge under my name and let me be the chief of the Mercenary League? That’s not a problem, but you must continue to be responsible for the daily affairs… Yes, that’s roughly what it means. We can do it this way. When the time comes, we’ll jointly declare to the Star Field that the Mercenary League is now anchored under my name.”

After ending the call with Gureja, Han Xiao pinched the bridge of his nose. He had already lost count of how many organizations had contacted him over the past few days and proposed such requests.

Some of his mercenary allies wanted to take advantage of his renown, but this mainly went for organizations that were closer to him. For example, Serbia the Fifth of Godora had called the day before, explaining that he wanted to organize another political visit. He hoped that the Black Star Army would not relocate its headquarters as well and stay near Planet Golden Gate.

Because of the existence of the Black Star Army, Planet Golden Gate had ushered in a period of explosive development in its recent years. With its original purpose as a transportation hub as well, the economy had become extremely prosperous.

Serbia the Fifth also wanted to invite Han Xiao to become an honorary officer of Godora, but the intention behind this was too obvious, and he was directly rejected by Han Xiao. A Golden Gal Badge was good enough for him, and the position of honorary officer would affect the position of the Black Star Army.

A Star System level Civilization could not satisfy Han Xiao’s appetite. With a godly support tool like the Evolution Cube in his hands, he had to watch which civilizations he chose to integrate with. Thus, it was not suitable to take such a clear stand with Godora.

The many civilizations in the Colton Star Cluster had also contacted him, of which a majority were those whom he had received mining rights from. Now that he had established his position through the battle with the Tyrant, those civilizations were trying to deepen the connection they had. In addition to gaining a Beyond Grade A as an ally, it was more because they lusted for the Evolution Cube.

Their alliance contract had a change in terms, which included expanding the mining area of the resource planet, allowing them to establish more branches and so on. To summarize, each civilization basically took out a large slice of their own benefits and distributed it to Han Xiao, accepting him as a high-level power in Galaxy.

However, regarding the agreement on the Evolution Cube, Han Xiao had left the other civilizations on hold and did not lock it down immediately. With something as good as the Evolution Cube on his hands, he did not intend to rush into obtaining benefits immediately. Since he had the seller’s advantage, he might as well take his time to decide.

Another issue was that many small organizations were requesting to merge with the Black Star Army. There was no shortage of organizations that were helmed by Calamity Grades. There were even several organizations in Section Zero that wished to become members of the army. After all, the temptation of the Crimson Dynasty was too great.

The last group consisted of all the financial groups actively investing to cover the cost of the expansion of the organization. Money had an extraordinary strength, and the expansion of the Black Star Army could be proportionally related to how much investment they obtained from the financial group.

Before he even got to rest a few minutes, his communicator rang once again. It was Zoel calling.

“Black Star… no, I should be addressing you as Your Excellency Black Star now.” Zoel smiled.

Han Xiao replied sarcastically before asking, “Envoy, why have you called me today?”

Upon getting to the main topic, Zoel no longer bothered with the pleasantries, immediately saying, “Now that we’ve already announced our alliance, we have to plan for our future cooperation. As for your alliance, the Dynasty has decided to first settle the matters of the Shattered Star Ring, which is your secret war.”

Interesting. Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

“Klent is preparing to submit a proposal during the Galaxy Central Civilization Court, asking for a complete reshuffling of the Colton Star Cluster and Seoul Star Clusters, which will be mediated and decided by the three Universal Civilizations.”

The Galaxy Central Civilization Court was the most formal place where the three Universal Civilizations had agreed to mediate disputes. It covered all Star Clusters, Star Field, and Star System Civilizations, with some special ethnic groups even having seats inside it, uniting the vast majority of civilizations in the universe to discuss and resolve their problems. It was an extremely formal process.

“Since Klent is also your ally, what do you plan to do?” Han Xiao asked.

“We plan to talk to Klent in private, asking them to give up the idea of submitting a proposal.” Zoel nodded. Because Klent was also their ally, the Dynasty could not be too harsh in dealing with them. They would not sit idly by and allow Klent to submit the proposal.

In fact, Klent’s scheming for the territory of the Purple Crystal Civilization was not the intention of the Crimson Dynasty but something Klent had decided on themselves to satisfy their own ambitions using the banner of the Dynasty. This sort of thing was too common, and as long as they did not exceed certain boundaries, the Crimson Dynasty would turn a blind eye to this matter. However, since they now had other considerations, they had the authority to put a stop to Klent’s plans.

Of course, the Dynasty would definitely give some sort of compensation, such as giving Klent more territorial benefits in their division of the Flickering World.

“Klent is very knowledgeable, and they know that it will be useless for them to disagree. The Arcane Church was also hit by us and will definitely obstruct Klent’s proposal to get back at us. Without us opening our mouth, the proposal will not pass.” Zoel waved his hands.

“That’s true as well.” Han Xiao nodded. He did not feel that the Arcane Church would be one to swallow this injustice silently; they would look for a place to vent. The political stage would be one such area.

“Now that your Black Star Army and Bloodshed Land are our allies, we will work together to open up the Flickering World in the future. Thus, after solving the problem of the secret war, you guys have to have a good talk with each other, turning from enemies to allies,” Zoel said.

The Crimson Dynasty valued the development of the Flickering World, and their two allies in the Shattered Star Ring were the pioneers for exploring it. Naturally, the dynasty did not wish to see its two allies affect the exploration of the new Star Field because of mutual misgivings. Even if it was only a superficial reconciliation, they wanted to see some effort put in by them.

“That’s alright with me. However, I’m not sure what Ty-Ty will say.” Han Xiao shrugged in response.

Hearing this, Zoel also helplessly smiled. The party that had lost the most this time was the Bloodshed Land, and he would definitely have quite a lot of say.

After pausing for a while, Zoel said, “As for the last matter, the Dynasty will soon send the first batch of people to undergo the Evolution Cube transformation. When I know the exact time, I’ll inform you once again.”

Han Xiao nodded in response. This had already been discussed in their contract; the Crimson Dynasty had the right to utilize the Evolution Cube.

While he did not know who would be within the first batch of people from the Crimson Dynasty, they would naturally be elites. Maybe Han Xiao would see some ‘familiar faces’ within.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Han Xiao then ended the communication. Just as he hung up, his communicator rang once more. It was an unknown number this time.

Pausing for a moment, he answered the call, and his expression changed.

On the screen was the ugly face of EsGod.

“Black Star.” The corners of the EsGod’s mouth were curled up in a strange smile as it greeted him.

Han Xiao only stared at the screen and did not talk. He did not expect EsGod to actually contact him. Toward this reputedly fierce Beyond Grade A brute, he still had his reservations.

“I have a deal to discuss with you.”

“What is it?”

The EsGod smiled. “Rest assured, I won’t snatch your Evolution Cube. You’re different from Psyker, and you’re not as stubborn as him.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Now that the Evolution Cube is in your hands,” EsGod leisurely said, “let’s make a deal. Let me use it once, and I’ll help you with one matter.”

Han Xiao immediately narrowed his eyes. EsGod’s claim that he would not snatch the Evolution Cube was something that Han Xiao did not believe. Furthermore, making a deal with EsGod was akin to trying to scheme against a tiger for its skin.

Before he could reply, EsGod said, “I understand that your alliance with the Crimson Dynasty has just started, and you have your reservations. However, for someone like you who is bound by the rules of order, there will be a point when you require a lawless thug to help you achieve something… You don’t have to be in a hurry to answer me. When you’ve thought it through, you can call me again to give your answer.”

Smiling, EsGod shut off the communication.

Han Xiao furrowed his brows, his finger stopping at the option to delete the encrypted number of EsGod.

After pausing for a long time…

His finger swiped down.

EsGod’s number was placed in his blacklist.

He did not delete it.

…

Spaceship after spaceship landed on Planet Aquamarine, carved with various insignias belonging to different financial groups. All of them were material transport ships carrying a large amount of resources.

Bennett, together with the Aquamarine Federation, stood at the dock as they watched the mechanical workers moving the supplies one by one.

As the hometown of a Beyond Grade A, they had received even more investment and support from the financial groups.

Bennett could not help but turn his head, looking outside the door of the hangar to the huge black statue erect at the center of the city. There was a touch of relief and gratitude in his eyes.

Chapter 782: Interlude, an Unexpected Gues

The headquarters of the Black Star Army started to get lively.

In the following half a month after the recruitment order was issued, countless spaceships flew into the headquarters to pay them a visit. All of them were candidates that had been vetted by Phillip and the alliance, and they went to the headquarters to meet Black Star and await the final review of the Army Commander.

While the fleet that had gone for the battle had yet to return to the headquarters, all the new members were orderly lined up in the satellite base’s outer layer, awaiting Black Star’s arrival. If one looked up from the surface of Planet Golden Gate, they would be able to see another ring somehow materializing around the Black Star Army’s headquarters. The headquarters seemed to have a ring of stars that consisted of spaceships shining like bright mist.

“Yet another batch of new recruits is coming in.” Within one of the metal strongholds in the headquarters, the drill sergeant, Brock, who was supervising the training of the reserve members looked out at the spectacular sight outside the porthole and could not help thinking back.

Brock had joined the Black Star Army more than a decade ago. He had witnessed the history of the Black Star Army, how it had grown from an ordinary mercenary group into the behemoth that was allied with a Universal Civilization.

With DarkStar having long been annihilated, the problem with discrimination in Godora was also beginning to settle down. The mixed Godorans were gradually returning to the embrace of the Godoran Civilization. With no goal to fight for, Brock thus buried his past and decided to conceal his identity as a DarkStar spy, completely devoting himself to the Black Star Army.

Brock, however, was unaware that Han Xiao had known of his identity since the beginning. However, with DarkStar having vanished, there was no need to settle debts with this ‘obedient’ spy, so he had left him to his work.

While working in the Black Star Army was tough, after abandoning his identity as a DarkStar member, Brock’s attitude became more relaxed. He began to fall in love with the process of grooming batch after batch of warriors and soldiers. Under the care of Han Xiao, he had served for a decade as a drill sergeant and had long become accustomed to his role.

He could be considered a veteran in the Army and was also the top person in the Godoran faction within the army. Due to the popularity of the Black Star Army in Godora, many of the Godorans chose to work in the army and formed a Godoran faction, which was just one of the many factions in the army. With the current size of the Black Star Army, there were naturally many smaller factions within.

Just as he raised his head to observe the spaceships hovering in the air, there were also three passengers in a ship staring intently at the headquarters of the Black Star Army within the huge group of spaceships outside the headquarters.

This was a small, standard spaceship commonly found in Galaxy, completely unassuming.

“Can we really blend in with them? The Black Star Army personnel won’t be so negligent, right?”

A man with thick eyebrows and big eyes had a hesitant tone as he spoke. He was a humanoid species, with smooth and bright silver skin, wearing a black cloak. Inside the black cloak, his exposed skin could be seen, covered in complicated and delicate magic lines.

“Other than that, there’s no other way about it. If we want to see that person, we can only enter the Black Star Army headquarters,” another person said. This person was a mixed race, with red, dragon-like scales on both his cheeks. He was a burly man about four meters tall, wearing a simple metal vest that exposed the knotted muscles on his arms.

“Relax, even if we really get exposed, we can masquerade as people trying our luck to join the Black Star Army. They’ll at most chase us away. There won’t be any danger.”

The last person leaned against the wall as he spoke. He wore a tight combat suit, with two pairs of arms extending from his shoulders. One of his upper arms was placed behind his head like a pillow, while the other played around with a silver alloy dagger. The lower arms were placed akimbo on his waist, giving him a lackadaisical air.

These three were not new members of the Black Star Army like the others. They had different objectives, and they seemed to be led by the silver-skinned guy who had spoken first.

At this moment, in the starry sky outside the porthole shone a sudden stream of light approaching them and stopping over Planet Golden Gate. It was the Black Star Army that had returned to the headquarters.

“Wow, so many new members.” Seeing the ring of spaceships, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

“This is only the first batch of recruits. They’re all waiting here for you, Master, hum…”

In Han Xiao’s neural connected quantum network, Phillip started to bubble. His small body was lying at the extremes of Han Xiao’s field of vision, with only his head popping out in his vision.

“Humph, I suggest sending a mechanical army to test the actual combat capabilities of these new members. Unqualified people will not be eligible to join the troops of my master!”

On the other side, the usually quiet and solemn Artificial intelligence Sparta also revealed his body. He was wrapped in heavy armor, and his face could not be clearly seen. Only a single cold looking eye was revealed, and his voice was husky and powerful.

With Han Xiao’s [Virtual Technology] skill tree having been completed, he had studied the data structure of Risda and given his Artificial intelligence the ability to think for themselves, as well as unique personalities. This would be used to improve his computing power, as his brain would be connected to them through the quantum network at any time. This would allow him to supervise the dynamics of the Artificial intelligence without the fear of accidents happening. It was similar to taking care of a pet, just that it did not require someone to clean up their sh*t after them, and the AIs would not flare up, even helping in his daily life.

Would there be a better pet than the one stated above‽

Within the quantum network, Han Xiao’s thoughts turned into a stream of data, flowing into Phillip’s eyes. He instructed, “You can open the hangar of the headquarters now. When I dock, let all these new members come and meet me.”

“Roger, hum…”

The hangar for the headquarters opened, and the Black Star Army fleet slowly descended, sliding into the empty hangars. As for the new members who had waited for many days, they also received the notice and started to descend.

The huge spaceship ring around the headquarters split into a few dozen streams, pouring into the various hangars. Numerous mechanical assistants were activated to receive all the new members.

The majority of the new members would be directed to the spacious lobby of the headquarters. When everyone had gathered, they would meet up with Han Xiao together. As for the new members in the Calamity Grade, they would receive special treatment and would proceed to the conference room in advance to meet with Han Xiao and his officers personally.

Leading his officers, Han Xiao entered the conference room. Within were more than ten people, and their gazes all shot toward him the moment he entered. All of them stood up immediately.

“Your Excellency Black Star!”

“Army Commander!”

They all saluted, excitement filling their faces. They were the first batch of Calamity Grades to be admitted, coming from different Star Systems. This was the first time they had personally laid eyes on their new Beyond Grade A leader, which made them extremely emotional.

In the eyes of the ordinary, reaching the Calamity Grade was already something unbelievable, but when faced with a Beyond Grade A, the majority of the Calamity Grades had the same feeling as when an ordinary person faced them. Furthermore, there was also another layer of yearning and longing.

Han Xiao smiled. “Hello, everyone.”

After becoming a Beyond Grade A Super, not only had he advanced in strength, his horizons had also widened. In the past, if there were over twenty Calamity Grades who wished to join his Army, he would have been smiling from ear to ear, but right now, he was actually very calm. He could at least endure till there was no one around before he burst into laughter.

While the fame of a Beyond Grade A was appealing, a Calamity Grade could also be considered a high-end combat power. Many of the Calamity Grades were unwilling to join under other forces. Even though he was a Beyond Grade A, Han Xiao would never look down on Calamity Grades. Recruiting more than a dozen high-end combat personnel this time was the highest record ever for the Black Star Army.

Han Xiao chatted with the dozen or so Calamity Grades, motivating them. These recruits were the top combat force and would be his officers in the future.

Because the size of the army was too huge, Han Xiao did not have the time to check the attributes of every single new member. Thus, he only focused on the stronger newcomers, which were precisely these Calamity Grades.

After quietly looking through the interface properties of everyone, he secretly nodded.

While none of them have any Molding Talents, the strongest has reached the level of A+ and can be considered a mini-boss.

Turning back to look at Hila, Han Xiao said, “The Black Star Guards will serve as my elite unit, with the Calamity Grade as the threshold for entry. Hadavy is also a member of the Black Star Guards, and this is my Guards Captain, Hila. Because the Guards were only established recently, it needs to be expanded. The quota is known by Hila, and she as well as the other Black Star Guards will test your abilities and pick a few of you to enter the Black Star Guards.”

The eyes of the Calamity Grades lit up. The Black Star Guards were obviously the bodyguards of Black Star and would follow him around. The temptation of this position was not little at all, and compared to the benefits they would obtain as ordinary officers, they looked forward more to learning from the experience of a Beyond Grade A, allowing themselves to be stronger. After all, earning money at their level was pretty easy, and the attraction of material enjoyment was quite limited. What they pursued was more of a promotion in realms.

The Black Star Guards took the ten or so Calamity Grades away, and Han Xiao led the rest of his officers to welcome the new members. However, Phillip suddenly started emitting bubbles again.

“Master, hum… I discovered a spaceship with no verification. There are three people on board the spaceship who do not have an invitation. They’re not new members joining our army, nor is their data present in the database. Their identities are unknown, and they are situated in Hanger No.6. Do you want to look through their information?”

“Oh, they might be here to fish in murky waters and try to be accepted into the army. You can just chase them…” Before Han Xiao could finish, the image of the trio was transferred to his mind, and he suddenly paused, his eyes growing wider.

Seeing that Han Xiao did not reply, Phillip tilted his tiny head to the side, prompting him. “Master?”

“Hu…” Han Xiao let out a long breath, his eyes flashing as he changed his order. “Don’t stop them. Let them enter and pretend you are unaware of their identities. Just activate the surveillance within the army and constantly lock onto their positions.”

“Roger that, hum…”

After disconnecting from the quantum network, Han Xiao stroked his chin, his eyes narrowed.

“To think that these three thugs dared to show up in my territory at this moment… Hmm, it seems that the butterfly effect I’m causing is spreading. There’s an eighty percent chance that they’re here for her…”

…

The spaceship entered and stopped at the dock. The trio—Silverskin, Dragonscale, and the four-handed man—set foot on the crowded dock, looking around.

There were none of the anticipated alarms, no mechanical assistants waiting to confirm their identities, and no one coming over to escort them.

They had entered so easily!

“The Black Star Army’s security measures are too lousy, as good as nonexistent.” The four-handed man pouted. “Even my mother star that is about to be destroyed by the crazy scientists is safer.”

Silverskin was a little uneasy, softly saying, “We’ll blend in first before looking for a chance to split off and act. Don’t get caught.”

“Ok.” Dragonscale nodded.

Silverskin then squeezed his fingers as he murmured, “Hopefully, we can find the rumored Rossellin here…”

Chapter 783: Celebrities of the Future

All the new non-Calamity Grade members gathered in the main hall of the headquarters. It was filled with people.

The roof of the hall suddenly opened. The army officers descended from the sky and landed on the most conspicuous stage in the hall. They stood in a row and looked around at the millions of new members below.

“That’s the army’s Chief Administrative Official, Sylvia. Beside her is the Fleet Chief Commander, Herlous. They’re both seniors under Black Star’s command.”

“That’s the army’s Vice-Captain Lagi. They say he’s the strongest person under Black Star’s command.”

“Hadavy became one of Black Star’s guards some time ago. He should be the strongest.”

“Why aren’t the Black Star Guards here?”

In the many years of fighting the secret war, the various officers of the Black Star had earned a name for themselves. The new members in the hall all recognized these officers.

This time, a flash of light appeared on the stage. Han Xiao walked out of the Void Dimension and nodded at the millions of new members.

The people under the stage focused. Facing a Beyond Grade A, most people were both excited and nervous.

“Welcome to the Black Star Army…”

Han Xiao scanned through the hall filled with people and started his speech while his thoughts drifted to the three unwelcome guests. While presenting his welcome speech, he watched the images on the surveillance cameras and focused on the whereabouts of those three people at the same time.

They had already found Rossellin.

…

Rossellin was special among the army officers. She was the Cultural Instructor. Due to her unique ability, she rarely appeared in public and usually gave people lessons in the army training camp.

After returning with the fleet, she did not follow Han Xiao to show herself in front of the new members but directly returned to her room in the training camp in the headquarters. However, on her way, she was stopped by three people.

“What do you want?” Rossellin slightly raised her brow.

Rossellin sized up the silver-skinned man, the man covered in dragon scales, and the four-armed man.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Edmond, and these two are my friends. The buff one is Kayde, and the four-armed one is Haywal,” The silver-skinned Edmond said.

The man covered in dragon scales, Kayde, nodded as a greeting. The four-armed Haywal waved his hands.

Rossellin narrowed her eyes and suddenly said, “You’re not members of the army, are you?”

“Yes, but we mean no harm. We just hope to have a talk with you.” Edmond lowered his voice. “You’ll definitely be interested.”

After a period of silence, when Edmond felt a little anxious, Rossellin slowly nodded. “Okay, follow me.”

Then, she turned around and led the way. Delighted, Edmond took his two friends and followed behind.

When they came to a corner with no one around, Rossellin stopped and turned around.

“Tell me, what do you want to talk to me about?”

“The three of us are from the Sea of Star Spirits. We’re planning to build a career, and we hope to invite you to join us.” Edmond got straight to the point.

“Interesting. You came to the Black Star Army’s headquarters and tried to recruit a Beyond Grade A’s officer. You have some guts,” Rossellin mocked. “Tell me about your so-called career. Don’t disappoint me.”

Edmond licked his lips, lowered his voice, and said, “We want to overthrow the three Universal Civilizations.”

Rossellin’s smile stiffened.

“…Allow me to confirm something.” Rossellin’s lips twitched. “You’re not mental, are you?”

“I know this sounds unbelievable, but this is indeed my aspiration.” Edmond’s tone started to get a little elevated. “The three Universal Civilizations have ruled the galaxy for way too long. In order to maintain their ruling position, they toy with the rules that they set under the name of maintaining order, eliminating the future of countless races.”

Rossellin frowned. “But it’s also thanks to those rules made by the three Universal Civilizations that the universe is as peaceful as it is today. If they disappear, countless civilizations will start a war to become the ruler that will spread across the entire universe. Quintillions of lives will be lost in the flames of war, only for new rulers similar to the three Universal Civilizations to be born in the end. What’s even worse is that maybe all civilizations will be destroyed. Don’t you know that?”

“I do. This is the price for overthrowing the current rules, but…” Edmond took a deep breath. “That’s what a revolution is.”

“A revolution is to create a better era, but the era now is peaceful—lives are decent. Since people can still live well, why do you want to revolutionize? If… and I mean if, you really overthrow the three civilizations, can you promise the future will be better than now?”

“No one can promise what will happen in the future. Whether a revolution will create a better era or not, I don’t know. But I’m not willing to deliberately ignore the problems of today because I can’t let go of the peace and watch the wrong things continue to exist without doing anything.” Edmond shook his head. “In this era, resources are rich—more than enough to feed everyone even if they choose to do nothing in life, have no motivation, act like walking bags of meat… The basic resources are no longer our reason to start a revolution.”

Rossellin narrowed his eyes. “Then what do you fight for? For those races you said are oppressed? Or for your own ambition?”

Edmond shook his head. “Neither… revolution itself is my aspiration.”

Rossellin sized up Edmond carefully again. He looked ordinary, but his guts were anything but ordinary. With the three Universal Civilizations’ position, this was equivalent to going against the gods!

“If the revolution succeeds, what will you do? Take over the three civilizations?”

“I don’t know,” Edmond answered truthfully.

“… Why me?”

“In order to overthrow the authority that the three civilizations have in the hearts of countless people, we need your ability. Furthermore, we heard about what you did,” Edmond said softly. “You were once a reformer with great aspirations, too, weren’t you?”

Rossellin closed her eyes and did not speak.

After a long silence, she reopened her eyes and slowly asked, “How many of you are there now?”

“Just the three of us.”

“You haven’t even built your organization, and you already want to recruit me‽”

Rossellin’s tone was filled with disbelief.

Edmond bowed and said with a sincere tone, “Yes, but my sincerity is true in every sense. I hope to gather those with the same aspirations and beliefs and create something together. Rossellin, I hope you can consider my request.”

This time, it was as if Rossellin saw Black Star’s shadow on Edmond.

Both were big swindlers!

“I will consider it. Give me your communicator number.”

After a lot of hesitation, Rossellin did not make a decision instantly.

After exchanging communicator numbers, Edmond’s face was filled with joy. This time, Kayde, who never interrupted, suddenly spoke.

“Since the matter is settled, we should quickly leave the Black Star Army headquarters and not let ourselves get discovered.”

Edmond nodded continuously. He bade farewell to Rossellin and hastily left with the other two.

Rossellin opened her mouth, but in the end, still did not tell the three of them. They thought that they had snuck in here, but Black Star Army’s surveillance system had undoubtedly discovered the three of them long ago. In the headquarters, nothing could be hidden from Black Star.

She just did not know why no one had gone to catch these three all along.

This was why Rossellin had been curious since the start—did Black Star purposely let the three of them in?

Beep!

At this time, Rossellin’s communicator suddenly rang, and Phillip’s voice sounded.

“Master wants to see you, hum…”

…

When Edmond and the other two headed to the port, the inspection in the hall had ended as well. All the paths were filled with people, and it became boisterous.

The three of them were relieved. With the crowd as a disguise, they felt that the chance of them being discovered was much lower.

When they passed by the hall, Han Xiao had yet to leave. The three of them gave him a quick glance and immediately looked away, not daring to attract Han Xiao’s attention. They then left along with the crowd.

They came to the dock, retrieved their spaceship, and left the Black Star Army. Only then did Edmond finally relax.

“This doesn’t feel right,” Kayde suddenly said with a frown. “Our infiltration was too easy.”

Even Haywal who complained at the start felt that it was strange. “The Black Star Army’s headquarters’ defenses can’t possibly be this easy to penetrate, can they? If we were killers, we might have already killed a few officers.”

The three of them could not figure it out at all. There was no way they would ever think that Han Xiao had deliberately let them in.

From their perspective, they were just a few ordinary people. Why would a Beyond Grade A recognize them?

To prevent any pursuers, Edmond hastily sped up and entered hyperdrive. The spaceship turned into a stream of light and disappeared.

At the same time, in the corridor toward the officer conference room, Han Xiao smiled.

In the vision of the Observer’s Mark, Edmond’s movements were clearly shown.

The reason he had remained in the hall was to secretly throw an Observer’s Mark on Edmond as it was somewhere they had to pass.

I didn’t expect to see the leaders of the Silver Revolutionary Army here…

Those three were the founders of the Silver Revolutionary Army, the people that would be the main focus of an entire version in the future!

These future celebrities had yet to reach their potential; they were still at the beginning of their career and had not officially created the Silver Revolutionary Army.

Edmond was a restless revolutionary, a challenger of the authority of the three Universal Civilizations. The him now might have no idea how much he would achieve in his career.

Taking Rossellin in was one of Han Xiao’s bets, but to his surprise, this really turned out to attract the Silver Revolutionary Army, the core members even.

Han Xiao decided to watch things unfold and not eliminate Edmond and the others. He had no conflict of interests with the Silver Revolutionary Army. Plus, they might even become one of his chess pieces.

Edmond and his friends were very weak; killing them was a piece of cake for Han Xiao. However, eliminating the Silver Revolutionary Army storyline in advance would not benefit him in any way. If he went to tell the Crimson Dynasty that he had killed a group of people that would one day shake their authority, the Crimson Dynasty’s response would just be one word—”Okay.”

Hence, Han Xiao did not chase Edmond away. He planned to establish a positive relationship with the future Silver Revolutionary Army. Plus, he had planted an Observer’s Mark on Edmond unnoticed, so he had already obtained the upper hand.

When he walked into the conference room, Rossellin was the only one inside. She sat on a chair and looked at Han Xiao.

“I knew it. You let these three in.” Rossellin shook her head.

Han Xiao sat down, tapped the table with his fingers, and asked, “What do you think about them?”

“In terms of what?”

“What do you think about their proposal?”

Rossellin smiled and said, “Are you asking if I’m going to betray the army?”

Han Xiao shook his head. “I won’t call it a betrayal. You’re Reynold’s older sister. You’re just staying in the army to help. I didn’t say I was going to keep you here all your life. I knew you’re a restless person long ago.”

Hearing what Han Xiao said, Rossellin truthfully said, “The reason I’m staying in the army is primarily the generous salary and reward. No matter what I want to do, I will need the funds. Secondly, my history. You said that as long as I work for you, you will clean up my history. Thirdly… maybe a little bit because I want to repay you for saving me, ahem, but just a little bit.”

“I know, don’t have to emphasize it.” Han Xiao laughed. He paused and asked, “So, what are your thoughts?”

As he had saved Rossellin in advance, he did not know if she would still join the Silver Revolutionary Army like she did in the previous life.

“Humph, there are so few of them, and there’s no benefit at all. They really are ignorant for even thinking they could take me away to join their revolution. I’m not interested in those three simple-minded men.” Rossellin despised them a little. “However, to be honest, overthrowing the three Universal Civilizations… seems very interesting.”

So, you are interested… Han Xiao was speechless.

It was indeed true that one’s personality defined one’s fate. For a restless reformer like Rossellin, even if she did appreciate what he had done for her, she would still end up walking down the same path.

“If you’ve made up your mind, come to find me anytime. I will allow you to leave.” Han Xiao stood up.

Although Rossellin was very useful, he was not planning to force her to stay. Rossellin would most likely be a pillar of the Silver Revolutionary Army in the future. Having a good relationship with her was equivalent to planting his chess pieces in the Silver Revolutionary Army in advance. Furthermore, through Rossellin, he could let Edmond and his friends know that they had been able to sneak in today because he had turned a blind eye. This way, he would establish a positive relationship with them.

Besides, letting Rossellin go might lead to a chance to trigger missions from Reynold in the future.

The Great Mechanic Han still had not given up hope on Perfect Mechanical Sense.

The Silver Revolutionary Army started to grow quietly in the various Star Fields except for the Central Galaxy, only to erupt when their forces were powerful enough. They had yet to even form, so that would be very far in the future.

It has only been about half a year since the start of Version 3.0, Crimson Tide, and the secret war main storyline is already coming to an end. The development of the Flickering World is around the corner. It’s the perfect chance to let those players explore it. The seed of the Silver Revolutionary Army has appeared as well. As the storyline of this version develops, the strength of the players will become more and more apparent.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The plan to expand the leek fields had to be brought forward. He could not be limited by the Shattered Star Ring.

Luckily, to respond to the Crimson Dynasty’s summon, he would have to visit the Central Galaxy later. This would be an opportunity.

…

At the same time, in the Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Building on the Klent Mother Planet, a secret meeting had already lasted a very long time.

Bang!

Klent Diplomatic Ambassador slammed the table and stood up in a rage.

“Zoel! You’re crossing the line! Why is the Crimson Dynasty demanding that we give up submitting the proposal to re-classify the ownership of the Star Cluster? You’re telling us to give up everything we’ve done in the secret war for the past decade! Whose side are you on!”

Zoel wiped off the saliva that had splashed on his face and narrowed his eyes.

“I’m always on the Crimson Dynasty’s side.”

Chapter 784: Voluntary Retreat!

The Klent Diplomatic Ambassador glared at Zoel and had no words.

“I’ve already told you the details,” Zoel said slowly. “The dynasty has decided not to take a stand regarding this issue. You can insist on submitting the proposal, but the chance of it being approved is very low. The Arcane Church will oppose your request. On behalf of the dynasty, I’m just suggesting that you guys give up on this proposal, not interfering with your choice. If you insist, we won’t stop you.”

“I don’t understand!” the Klent Diplomatic Ambassador said furiously. “Why is the dynasty helping Purple Crystal‽”

“The dynasty’s upper echelons have their considerations.”

“Is it because of the Evolution Cube‽ Is that why you people suddenly changed your stand‽”

“Let me emphasize again. The dynasty’s upper echelons have their considerations,” Zoel said with a heavier tone. “Plus, you’re wrong. The dynasty only upholds its own position, and this rule has never changed. The dynasty has never shown any support for your plan all along.”

The Klent Diplomatic Ambassador clenched his teeth. They did not think much when the Tyrant’s duel went south, but they had never expected it to be their turn so soon.

Klent had invested a ton of resources into the secret war. Initially, the Crimson Dynasty approved of this with silence, but now that the Crimson Dynasty had suddenly opposed it, this meant that Klent’s investments for the last decade might all go down the drain!

Of course, they were displeased with this.

No matter how the Klent Diplomatic Ambassador thought about it, he felt that this was because of the Black Star Army. Although Zoel did not explain why the Crimson Dynasty had decided to do this, it was painfully clear that this was certainly because of Black Star!

This time, Zoel changed the topic and said, “The development of the Flickering World is about to start. We hope you can dispatch your troops and make preparations as soon as possible. The exploration tasks will be rather complicated and difficult.”

The Klent Diplomatic Ambassador understood that this was most likely the Crimson Dynasty’s indirect compensation for them—allowing them to obtain more profit in the Flickering World.

After some pondering, he finally said, “Since this is what the dynasty has decided on, we will reconsider the proposal. As for the exploring of the Flickering World, we will definitely send our very best.”

Zoel smiled faintly.

After they were done with the business, they chatted for a while before the Klent Diplomatic Ambassador hastily left.

The Klent Diplomatic Ambassador walked out of the Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Building, boarded a carrier, turned on his communicator, and contacted his superiors to report what had happened. This stirred up intense arguments.

In the end, the upper echelons came to a conclusion—there was nothing they could do to the Crimson Dynasty. No matter how displeased they were, they could only swallow it. Every Klent upper echelon felt wronged. As a civilization ruled by a Universal Civilization, they had no choice but to obey.

The person they hated most was their ‘new ally’, Black Star.

It could be said that Black Star had single-handedly shattered that decade-long plan!

…

More than seven years ago, Han Xiao had already vastly expanded his army using his fame as a Beyond Grade A Seed, which had built the fundamentals for him for the years to come. Since he had experience, this time, he used his influence as a Beyond Grade A to its fullest. Furthermore, with the Crimson Dynasty and the Purple Crystal Civilization backing him, most of his opposing forces did not dare make any moves. The expansion of the army met almost no obstacles at all and went extremely smoothly.

Countless free Supers in the Shattered Star Ring responded to the Black Star Army’s recruitment, and new members joined the army batch by batch. In just a short time, the size of the Black Star Army skyrocketed. Now there were more than three hundred million members of the Black Star Army across the various Star Systems in the Colton Star Cluster.

There were tens of millions of Grade Bs and more than forty Grade A Supers. Just in terms of high-level combatants, the Black Star Army had already surpassed most of the Star System Civilizations.

With Han Xiao’s influence as a Beyond Grade A, the Black Star Army expanded extremely quickly. With the investments from the many financial groups and the support from the Purple Crystal Civilization, Han Xiao had more than enough funds to support this quick expansion.

He threw an outrageous amount of money into the Logistics Department to build more battleships as well as new satellite bases so that he could have more divisions within the Colton Star Cluster.

While the Black Star Army was expanding at an astonishing speed, the galactic residents of the Shattered Star Ring were all paying attention to the aftermath of the duel. What they were interested in was what impact the Black Star Army becoming a Crimson Dynasty ally would have on the secret war.

The secret war had recently entered a ceasefire. After the duel, be it the Bloodshed Land or Section Zero, neither started any conflict. It was oddly quiet.

Countless galactic residents were paying attention to the secret war and saw it as a sign. According to the current situation, the next turn of events in the secret war would indirectly represent the result of the battle.

At this crucial time when everyone was expecting something to happen, a piece of news exploded from the secret war that caused a sensation in the entire Star Field!

Without any battle, without any announcement, out of nowhere, the Bloodshed Land gave up all their strongholds in West Wind, Kaya, Chaida, and the border Star Systems, voluntarily retreating out of the Colton Star Cluster!

When the information spread, all the people that were paying attention to the secret war were shocked.

The Bloodshed Land represented Klent’s stand. Retreating voluntarily meant that Klent had given up their invasion plan, given up the results of the past decade… This meant that Purple Crystal had won this war effortlessly.

The secret war, which had lasted an entire decade, had ended just like that‽

No one knew what agreement the two sides had made in secret. In the eyes of an outsider, the Black Star Army becoming the Crimson Dynasty’s ally definitely had something to do with this.

The most likely situation was that through becoming the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, the Black Star Army had somehow forced Klent to give up on the invasion, helping Purple Crystal win the secret war!

At its core, the merit all went to Black Star himself!

Advancing into Beyond Grade A, snatching the Evolution Cube away, forcing the Tyrant to retreat, becoming the Crimson Dynasty’s ally… this chain of events had flipped the entire situation!

This meant that Black Star had ended the secret war single-handedly!

This was the truth in the eyes of the people of the Star Field!

Before the aftermath of the grand duel even dissipated, the ending of the secret war stirred up a storm in the Shattered Star Ring once again!

…

_____________________

Grade S Faction Mission [Secret War: Section Zero] completed.

Mission rating: Unbelievable

You have received 6,000,000,000 Experience, Random Reward * 5, +40,000 Purple Crystal Contribution Points, and +1 Legendary Point.

Star Cluster Legendary Point (Colton Star Cluster): Star of the Secret War—You have contributed tremendously to the secret war. The people of the Purple Crystal Star Cluster will remember you for what you have done.

You have received 2 Political Assets.

Political Asset (2): Purple Crystal Civilization

You are loved and admired by the people of the Purple Crystal Civilization. When trading with Purple Crystal Civilization citizens, you can buy at lower prices and sell at higher prices.

The Purple Crystal Civilization is willing to listen to your requests. You can make suggestions to the Purple Crystal Civilization’s government directly. According to the rationality of the request, there’s a slight chance that the Purple Crystal Civilization will fulfill your request.

This is a symbol of political influence. Your achievements are praised in the universe. When interacting with certain organizations or characters, +45% Favorability gain rate.

You have valuable experiences. +45% Experience gained from all sources.

Remarks: Your relationship with the Purple Crystal Civilization has to be at [Reverence] for the above effects to take place.

Dungeon Creation: [Secret War]

_____________________

“Hmm? The secret war main storyline mission finally ended?”

On the closest Fixed Star from Planet Golden Gate, the burning Fixed Star energy surrounded a man.

In the free time he had during the army’s expansion, Han Xiao had been training [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation]. He was just taking a bath in the Fixed Star. Only when the chain of notifications popped up from the interface did he finally discover that the secret war had ended.

His mind connected to the quantum network and found the news about the Bloodshed Land retreating in an instant. Smiling, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

“Looks like Zoel carried out the terms and convinced Klent. It’s much quicker than I expected…”

Klent was rather decisive in directly letting the Bloodshed Land retreat, but Han Xiao knew that Klent was certainly resentful. They would not dare be displeased with the Crimson Dynasty, so their hatred would most likely be directed toward him. This was unavoidable.

To heal Klent’s tiny little heart, the Crimson Dynasty would definitely have made a deal with them secretly, which he would have no way of knowing the details of.

Han Xiao did not care about offending Klent. Despite them being allies on paper, the hatred between them would not just disappear after they had fought for an entire decade. Klent hated him, and he did not forget about Klent’s never-ending assassinations in the past decade.

Scanning through the mission reward, Han Xiao was delighted.

A Grade S Mission’s rewards were impressive. This was worth his decade of hard work!

Even to a leek farmer like him, six billion Experience was still rather considerable. The five Random Rewards were also more than the three rewarded by [Bloodline] in the past.

One Star Cluster Legendary Point was not bad either. Including the three Star Field Legendary Points that he had obtained through his battle with the Tyrant, his Experience Reward Quota for the players had almost doubled!

The two Political Assets were the most valuable reward. Political Assets were extremely rare and only appeared in outrageously difficult missions. His Experience gain increased by forty-five percent again. With this and the thirty percent given by the Godora Political Asset, he basically had a 1.75x Experience Card activated at all times!

After becoming a Beyond Grade A Super, the Experience needed to level up was on an entirely different level. With the bonuses provided by Political Assets, his efficiency in harvesting leeks would be tremendously increased. After the ten or so months’ Experience penalty period was over, he should have a ton of Experience ready for him to level up.

The [Secret War] Dungeon was a sub-product of large main storyline missions, just like the [Six Nations and Germinal Organization] Dungeon. He could cut out some battle that he had experienced during the decade-long secret war and create Dungeon Crystals.

Han Xiao immediately thought of another use for this.

“The players only joined the secret war toward the end. The earlier part of the war was just a background introduction to them. Maybe I can show them what the Black Star Army experienced in the decade-long war through the dungeon. They can personally experience how the army rose and learn more about the army’s history. This is beneficial to strengthening the players’ sense of belonging to the faction…”

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao felt that this could work and had many thoughts along with it.

“I can even give them internal honorable titles within the army, just to those players that participated in the secret war, signifying that they witnessed the rise of the army and let the new members know they’re senior members. They can even enjoy a permanent discount in the army in the future. This will be good in keeping the players here…”

Having thought of that, Han Xiao could not help but open the player forums.

He had obtained the secret war main storyline ten years in advance, so his rating being high was certain. Furthermore, winning the secret war increased the Mission Rating—not just for him but for all the Black Star Army players!

Han Xiao wanted to see how the players on the forums would react to this.

Chapter 785: Forums Response and Themed Episode

As soon as he opened the player forums, two top posts marked ‘hot’ entered his sights—the new Galaxy Times episode and Bun-Hit-Dog’s video.

Both of those mentioned him, and the Galaxy Times even used his name as the subtitle of this episode. The name of this episode was ‘Galaxy Times: Legendary Leader—Black Star’!

“Yo, the Times made an episode about me.” Han Xiao was delighted.

The Galaxy Times often introduced large events experienced by the players in the various Star Fields. Sometimes, they would have an episode focused entirely on some grand event or important person.

For example, when Version 3.0 started, the Galaxy Times dedicated an episode to analyze the different storylines the Crimson Tide brought to the players in the various Star Fields. The Shattered Star Ring secret war was just one of them.

If he remembered correctly, although the Galaxy Times had mentioned him many times, this was the first time they had used his name as the subtitle of an episode.

It made sense. He was a renowned character that had existed through many versions, and he was also the first person to advance into Beyond Grade A in the eyes of the players. He deserved to have an episode dedicated to him.

Han Xiao looked at Bun-Hit-Dog’s video. Its title was ‘Black Star Army Specials: Rising in the Star Field’.

These two videos were the most popular posts at the moment. Han Xiao did not open them immediately. He had a habit of browsing through the other ordinary posts first to see what the other players were talking about.

He looked down, and countless new posts appeared, almost all about the secret war main storyline mission. The other players’ secret war main storyline mission had ended as well, which made a lot of players create posts out of surprise. Everyone was talking about this new topic.

“Damn, the main storyline mission ended? A notification suddenly popped out of the interface. I was not prepared for it at all!”

“I just saw the news. The Bloodshed Land retreated.”

“The news said that Purple Crystal initially had very slim chances and that it was the captain that turned the tables this time single-handedly, making Klent give up on the invasion.”

“Wow!”

“The Mission Rating is so high. Is it because we won the secret war?”

“Definitely. The Mission Rating details said that winning the war would increase the Mission Rating by an entire grade!”

“That’s amazing!”

“Captain is the best!”

“I’m crying over here. I went to do the storyline of the Mercenary League. If I’d known about this, I would’ve joined the secret war too.”

“Regret +1.”

On the forums, most of the Black Star Army players were overjoyed. This was a Grade S main storyline mission. Increasing its rating an entire grade should have been extremely difficult, but this time, it basically fell right down from the sky.

Only the army players had this benefit. The players were over the moon and liked Han Xiao even more.

As everyone was getting excited, some people thought about Summer Night Flower again and brought his post encouraging the army players to betray the army up to the front page.

“@Summer Night Flower, come out!”

“@Summer Night Flower, how are you feeling? Surprised? Shocked? Overjoyed‽”

“Yo, why aren’t you teaching us about the ‘right way to play the secret war’ now?”

“Didn’t you say the Bloodshed Land would win? How did this happen?”

“Very few can understand the truth? Ha!”

Summer Night Flower’s speculation had three key points. Today, the truth had proved all of them wrong.

He felt that the Black Star Army had no way up. Suddenly, the Black Star Army became the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, and the faction leader, Black Star became a Beyond Grade A.

He felt that the Bloodshed Land would win the secret war. The Black Star Army won.

He said that the Black Star Army had too many members, and the privileges given to each member were limited, which was even more ridiculous. The current army players made a killing, while those ‘traitors’ that joined the Bloodshed Land were almost going mad from being chased by the army players.

The players kept mentioning Summer Night Flower. Summer Night Flower basically acted as if he was dead and did not appear at all, afraid of exploding from the mockery from the players.

After scanning through the posts for a while, Han Xiao returned to the top posts. He opened the new Galaxy Times episode and watched it.

The opening was still those never-changing male and female hosts, as well as the same old opening speech that even the audience had memorized.

“Hello players,” the female host said, “this is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information. Your gaming career is our top priority.”

“We have only one topic to talk about in today’s episode—the renowned character who’s caused a sensation in Galaxy recently—Black Star!” the male host said.

The image changed. It was a screenshot from a certain player, and the background was the duel scene from not long ago.

The perspective of the screenshot was from the Black Star Army formation, which was behind Han Xiao. In the image, Han Xiao’s back was facing the player, and before him were countless enemy battleships. As if he was facing countless enemies alone, it looked very cool.

Then, the episode sorted out Han Xiao’s life story, introducing the rise of the Black Star Army and the large events experienced by the players.

In the Black Phantom era, he stirred up the Planet Aquamarine structure behind the curtains, starting a war single-handedly, getting his revenge, and eliminating the Germinal Organization.

In the Black Star Mercenary Group, he led the first group of professional players to battles in the universe, joined Floating Dragon, grew at an astonishing speed, and built the fundamentals of the future army…

In the Mutation Disaster era, for the promise he made, he led the Black Star Mercenary Group back to Planet Aquamarine, helping his mother planet fight against the disaster. He then guided the players into the galaxy, officially creating the Black Star Army, helping Godora eliminate the notorious DarkStar, becoming the rare example of an outsider receiving Godora’s Golden Gal Badge.

In the secret war era, he expanded and made the Black Star Army grow in the ten years unknown to the players, became a Beyond Grade A, single-handedly turned the tables, and helped Purple Crystal to win the war. He then made the army an ally of a Universal Civilization, the Crimson Dynasty.

The episode narrated Han Xiao’s life story from the players’ perspective in a rather official tone, accompanied by some Black Star Army sub-storylines recorded in the Galaxy Chronicles. It even played some players’ daily life experience in the army and added some interactive factors to the episode, showing how the players grew together with the army.

This episode ended with a conclusive remark.

“In just more than twenty years, Black Star left his mother planet and created an enormous and astonishing base in the Shattered Star Ring. From the once Black Phantom to the Black Star today, we witnessed his growth. He’s the first character we have seen advance to become a Beyond Grade A.

“As a leader, he is undoubtedly legendary. His ambitions, abilities, and intelligence are extraordinary, and he’s still active today. However, it’s as if he always wore a mysterious mask. We never fully understood his beliefs and personality.

“No one knows how much the Black Star Army can achieve under his leadership, but what’s certain is that… we’re witnessing the birth of a legend.”

The video ended there. The Galaxy Times used this episode to summarize what he had done. It was a rather official positive report.

Han Xiao felt that this was quite beneficial. To the old players from Version 1.0 and Version 2.0, he was an old friend, but to the new players in Version 3.0, there were still quite many people that had limited knowledge about him.

This Galaxy Times episode basically introduced him to more new players and brought him some fame.

“Not bad.” Seeing that he was on TV again, Han Xiao was glad. He then opened Bun-Hit-Dog’s video.

Compared to the Galaxy Times’s official tone, Bun-Hit-Dog’s video had a strong personal bias—an almost fawning tone.

At the start of the video, the image was pitch black, and a narrative sounded.

Han Xiao’s brow suddenly twitched. Bun-Hit-Dog’s narrative used the first-person perspective and spoke as if he was him.

The black image coated the deep voice with a layer of mystery.

“When I first stared at the night sky, it was filled with countless stars, bright and beautiful like diamonds. But at the edge of the sky, there were two overlapping stars. The front star blocked the starlight of the back star, making it a pitch-black star.”

“At that moment, I thought that maybe, one day, I can also block the light of other stars… so that everyone only sees me.”

Chapter 786: Everything Comes at the End of Fawning

“Tsss…” Han Xiao felt a sense of numbness on his scalp.

This guy was still remarkable at fawning, and he had learned new tricks. Han Xiao could guess what this video would be like just by watching the start.

As expected, Bun-Hit-Dog used self-narration at the start to create a mysterious atmosphere. Then, the image changed as he began to describe his history since Black Phantom era. Although the Galaxy Times episode was similar, Bun-Hit-Dog had a completely different style. He used first-person narration most of the time, using material from many older episodes to create a strong sense of storytelling.

The first-person narration made the video strongly immersive. Bun-Hit-Dog described Han Xiao’s past using his perspective, creating a sense of personal experience, making the audience feel as if they were there.

Another specialty of the first-person narration was that through speaking his thoughts as ‘Black Star’, the audiences would have an even stronger impression of him.

Han Xiao always kept his distance when interacting with the players—he only expressed his surface thoughts. Therefore, the players could never understand his true thoughts. Bun-Hit-Dog wanted to use this episode to give ‘realness’ to the players’ impression of Black Star.

His goal was to strengthen his position as the official and authentic Black Star Army video series creator, making this episode a must-watch for anyone that wanted to know about Black Star in the future. Through deduction, analysis, imagination, and the strongly immersive narration, he created a lively image for Black Star, making this character more real in the eyes of the players.

To the players, a character-focused episode like this was not a new concept. They loved giving NPCs more direct personalities. After all, they could portray the NPCs any way they wanted, and the NPCs would never see it.

The basis of Bun-Hit-Dog’s analysis was what Han Xiao had done throughout the years. He deduced the reasons and motives for Black Star to do those things through his own perspective, beautifying Black Star’s image. A larger portion of the personality was based on speculation and guessing, but the players loved this.

From the Black Phantom era until now, it was as if the players experienced Black Star’s thoughts from the first-person perspective. Bun-Hit-Dog used Han Xiao’s very few public speeches, giving him a ton of positive personality traits—such as ambitious, loving his mother planet, wise, loyal to his friends, a man of his word, decisive, daring but careful, and many more.

“Damn, that’s way too much fawning.”

Bun-Hit-Dog made him sound like he was the essence of all virtues. Even Han Xiao himself was embarrassed.

But it felt good indeed…

The image that Bun-Hit-Dog had built was far off from him, but the benefits were obvious. Only players themselves could create a clear image of him this way. With such loyal paparazzi, it was beneficial in increasing his personal charm to the players. There were clearly more comments on this video than on the Galaxy Times video. Tons of people were praising their captain.

In the later part of the video, Bun-Hit-Dog emphasized on the future of the Black Star Army and made a new speculation.

“The secret war is the main storyline in our eyes, but the way I see it, this might just be the surface. The true hidden storyline is the rise of the Black Star Army!

“The secret war is actually the background of Black Star’s journey to becoming a Beyond Grade A Super and the rise of the army within the Star Field!”

This speculation gained approval from most of the army players. They remembered when the Black Star Army was far smaller than what it was today. When Version 3.0 started, the Black Star Army became completely different after the war and grew at an astounding speed.

Now that Black Star had ended the secret war, the rise of the Black Star Army felt more like the real main storyline that had snatched the attention from the secret war.

Seeing that most of the army players agreed with this, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

This was an opportunity to carry out his plan to make the history of the secret war into Dungeons.

…

The next day, the army players received a surprise gift.

For the players that had participated in the secret war, their army assistant in the communicator notified them that due to their involvement in the secret war, they had received the honorable title [Secret Warrior]. This was a title that was displayed on the army resume. It was a form of recognition from the army.

This was a title that was linked to the faction and had nothing to do with their interface. However, all players with this title would forever enjoy a ten percent discount when spending in the army!

The players that participated in the war were overjoyed, not just because of the discount but also because of the honor this title represented. There would only be one secret war, so this title would only be granted once, which meant that it was a faction title that would never be awarded again. This represented that they had witnessed the rise of the army; it was an honor that proved their position as seniors in the army.

At the same time, the faction store put up a ton of [Secret War] Dungeon Crystals that included many wars that spread across the ten years that the players did not experience.

The Dungeons had always been one of the players’ favorite activities, and this had piqued their interest. These secret war Dungeons clearly belonged to the same series. Just like the [Six Nations and Germinal Organization], it was suitable for their current level. The players considered this as one of the specialties of a growing faction. After every main storyline, the Black Star Army would create a corresponding Dungeon series. The players were used to it.

Other than farming rewards in Dungeons, the secret war Dungeons could help the players learn about the Black Star Army’s journey during the ten-year version update period. Personally experiencing it in the Dungeons was much more enjoyable than words recording the story.

Han Xiao had another motive for doing this. The secret war had ended, so the players had entered the free exploration stage. By giving out a ton of Dungeons at this time, it would give them new things to do to fill the time between the main storylines. When the Crimson Dynasty’s order to develop the Flickering World arrived, he would take the Black Star Army to explore the Flickering World. Then, there would be more than enough things to do.

The Flickering World was the storyline of the next version. After the Crimson Dynasty finished their early-stage development, only then would they let the various organizations of the Star Fields take part in the exploration. To players, this would be like a ‘World Server’. They would gather there, explore the unknown, and fight for resources. For him, however, he could take the army players into it in advance in Version 3.0.

Currently, all Han Xiao could do was wait and focus on expanding his army, grabbing as much profit from his sudden increase in influence. He kept the Evolution Cube exclusive for the time being, filling the various civilizations of the Colton Star Cluster with temptation.

With the ton of new members joining in, the matters within the army became complicated and more numerous. These matters were dealt with by Phillip and Sylvia, so he did not have to worry.

…

As half a month passed, most of the members that were willing to join were recruited. The expansion of the Black Star Army gradually started to slow down.

All the departments of the Bloodshed Land returned to the Seoul Star Cluster through stargates.

“Your Excellency Tyrant, what are you going to do?”

Hearing Jorde’s careful and cautious question, Heber turned around.

After what had happened to the duel, he had been keeping a low profile, quietly watching the Black Star Army’s expansion.

His ‘Tyrant’ name became Han Xiao’s stepping stone, and his reputation had been reduced tremendously. This result was too far from his expectations.

However, Black Star had become his ally on paper, so it would be impossible to make him a target for building his reputation. The Crimson Dynasty had ordered them to make peace.

Heber stayed silent for a while before saying, “On my behalf, send an invitation to the various organizations of the Shattered Star Ring. I’m going to host a new party.”

“Then, Black Star…” Jorde’s heart beat quickly.

“Since he’s the fifth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring, of course, he deserves to be invited.” Heber did not look at Jorde’s expression and turned around.

Chapter 787: Showing One’s Face for the Mission

“Heber invited me to his party?”

In the Black Star Army headquarters, Han Xiao glanced with interest at Malekith, who had a strained expression.

“That’s right. His Excellency Tyrant mentioned it.” Malekith’s hands already had a layer of sweat on them.

It was only because both sides had given face to the Crimson Dynasty that they had become allies on paper. However, their relationship remained delicate, as the confrontation of both sides over the decade was hard to resolve. Now that Malekith had come with an invitation letter, this resulted in tension within the enemy camp.

Looking at Han Xiao, who was seated on his Mechanical Throne, Malekith had mixed feelings.

He had once tried to recruit Han Xiao, but after more than a decade, he was still the Chief Vanguard Official under the Tyrant, whereas Black Star had leapt toward the sky and become a Beyond Grade A, the same realm as the Tyrant.

Han Xiao tapped the armrest of his throne with his fingers, deep in thought.

He had once attended a party of the Tyrant’s when he was following Ames. This was a party for the upper echelons of the Shattered Star Ring created by Heber, and all the major characters would participate in the show.

However, due to his defeat in the war, the Tyrant’s reputation had taken a hit, and the Bloodshed Land as well as Klent had been silent for a while. Heber was eager to convene a new round of meetings as he had intended to stabilize his position.

Since the Tyrant wished to maintain his current influence, he would definitely take the chance to invite this new Beyond Grade A. Or, it could be because Heber was grudgingly agreeing to the request of the Crimson Dynasty, enduring and trying to be nice. Then again, this could also be a Hongmen Feast[1], but the chances of that were not high.

Because the secret war had not ended too long ago, there were still many conflicts of interest. Perhaps this meeting was also to clarify such matters.

As his thoughts spun, Han Xiao nodded.

“Return and tell the Tyrant that I’ll attend.”

Malekith breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly bid farewell. Standing in front of Han Xiao gave him great psychological pressure.

The date of the meeting was set a month later. Because the secret war had just ended, Klent also had no choice but to endure their anger to negotiate with Purple Crystal to open the stargates at the borders of the Star Cluster, allowing both of their Star Clusters to be reconnected once more.

Based on the news that he had heard from those in the Purple Crystal Civilization, due to the intervention of the Crimson Dynasty, the negotiations between the two Star Cluster civilizations had gone pretty well, and they were expected to officially reopen the channels in the next ten days.

“In one month’s time, well, by then, the expansion of the Black Star Army will be almost complete. The Crimson Dynasty will also send in their first batch of elites to accept the blessing from the Evolution Cube after this meeting, so the time is just right.”

During the expansion, other than practicing Heber’s Stellar Furnace Cultivation and reforming his organization, he did not have too many things to do. Thus, he had time to drop by the Tyrant’s party to discuss things with the other organizations.

At this moment, Harmon suddenly pushed open the door, entering the room.

“Black Star, I’m leaving,” Harmon loudly said.

“Oh?” Han Xiao recalled now. “That’s right, you’re returning to fight for the position of chief, right?”

Harmon was a main character template for the Luhan Beastman Tribe. The Luhan beastmen were an interstellar civilization, and their brutal tradition was governed by a tribal system where each tribe would control several planets.

Their system had a special origin to it. The Luhan beastmen were not indigenous people but nomads who had been exiled from other star systems a long time ago. They were scattered on different planets in the same area and had developed independently to form different tribes. All of them had the same origin tradition, but due to the long evolution, each tribe now had a different culture. When they finally united as one, they chose to retain each respective tribe’s independence, resulting in this system.

Their method to select the chief was to randomly throw all their candidates to different planets in the universe, letting them hone themselves in the interstellar area, forming their own ‘War League’.

When the stipulated deadline arrived, each candidate would take their own War League back to battle for contention of the chief’s position. Since the campaign date for Harmon’s Rockfall tribe was arriving, his mercenary career was about to come to an end, and he was ready to return to inherit his interstellar tribe.

In order to recruit Harmon more than a decade ago, Han Xiao had also joined his War League, and thus, this mission was still hanging on his interface.

“Black Star, you’re part of my War League, and you need to come over to help me.” Harmon snorted.

“The Luhan Beastman Civilization is located in the Seoul Star Cluster…” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “It’s on the way to the Tyrant’s Party. That’s good. When the time comes, I’ll bring you along.”

This was an age-old tradition of the Luhan Beastman, and since he had promised it earlier on, Han Xiao was not prepared to go back on his words.

When Harmon left, Han Xiao took out his communicator and sent the news to the Dragon Emperor.

“Ames, the Tyrant has organized another meeting. Have you received the invite? Come over, we can set off together.”

Very soon, he received the reply from Ames.

“Ok.”

…

A few days later, Ames took a spaceship to the headquarters of the Black Star Army.

They were now allies, tied to the same thread, and already old friends. There was no need for formalities when meeting each other, and they were very easygoing.

Han Xiao only took his Black Star Guards along this time as he left the headquarters. Harmon and his War League were included within, as well as a few players who had accepted the mission of the War League. All of them travelled toward the battlefield together.

Since there were two Beyond Grade As inside this spaceship, alongside a group of high levelled Calamity Grades. The lineup could be described only as luxurious.

When they arrived at the border of the Star Cluster, because the stargates that had been closed due to the secret war had reopened, there were countless spaceships present, lining up to bypass the desolate universe belt. From afar, they resembled a winding dragon.

During wartime, the population from the two Star Clusters were unable to access each other’s areas due to the traffic restriction. This had just been restored.

Upon entering the Seoul Star Cluster, Han Xiao adjusted the direction and shot toward the territory of the Luhan Beastmen tribes.

At the same time, on Luhan’s Blood Planet…

This was a desolate planet almost totally covered in gray. It had a special place in the tradition of the Luhan Beastmen. Every tribe’s candidate for Chief would use this planet as a battle platform.

Luhan’s Blood Planet had a broken stone colosseum present. Each new tribal election would result in a new colosseum being built, leaving behind many wrecks and relics.

In a certain area of the planet, a fierce looking Luhan Beastman’s spaceship rested on the surface, and surrounding it was a newly built colosseum, which would be the battlefield of the current chief candidates that the Rockfall tribe would use to compete for the inheritance.

The current chief of the Rockfall tribe, Faleta, was a burly Beastman. Based on the Beastman aesthetics, the number of hairs one had on their body indicated their age, and Faleta was almost completely covered in hair, showing his old age.

He was the father of Harmon, who was the second heir to the right of chief.

“Mogo, Getaw, Thaler… of the twenty-five chief candidates, only six have returned. The rest should have died in the Universe.”

Looking over where the rest of the candidates were together in their respective War Leagues, he shook his head.

Most of the candidates were descendants of the superior tribes. The Luhan Beastmen were tribes that leaned toward the martial, and only the strong had the capability to rule over the tribe. After all the candidates were expelled from their home planet, they could not accept any kind of help from their tribes except the War League that they brought with them. This was to examine the candidate’s comprehensive survivability, if they could live on and return. Such candidates would then be eligible to compete for the Chief position. This was a screening in itself.

The candidates could not actively contact anyone in the tribe as well, otherwise they would be disqualified and mocked. Candidates could only passively accept their tribal notifications, so Faleta was not sure of Harmon’s current situation as well. He only knew that he had joined the Black Star Army and was still alive.

“Don’t even know if his War League is strong enough…” Faleta secretly worried.

The fight for the position of chief was a battle of life and death. There was no tradition of the Luhan Beastmen showing mercy to their own enemies. The six candidates had returned after more than a decade, bringing with them strong War Leagues, of which Mogo and Getaw’s were the strongest.

Mogo had joined the Bloodshed Land and brought many good warriors back with him, including many Grade B Supers. As for Getaw, he seemed to have become an important partner of some financial group, with a group of mercenaries behind him, but far less compared to Mogo’s.

The two of them stared at each other across the distance, regarding each other as the greatest competitor this time round.

“Relax, Mogo. We’re the elites from Bloodshed Land, and the enemy is only a bunch of ragtag warriors that have no fame. Their numbers are also fewer than ours. They are not our opponents.” One of the Bloodshed Land officers patted Mogo on his shoulder. They had fought side by side for many years and had a deep relationship.

Mogo grinned, waving his war hammer twice as he replied, “Among all the candidates, I’m only afraid of Harmon. A pity he didn’t come back, probably died in the universe. Other than him, the rest cannot defeat me. For someone like Getaw, I can settle him in a few blows.”

On the other side, Getaw secretly whispered to one of the mercenaries, “Boss, I’ll be counting on you later.”

“Relax. With me around, you’ll definitely get the position of chief.” That man coldly laughed. He was called Riel, and his real identity was the leader of one of the rogue organizations around Seoul Star Cluster. He had a notorious reputation.

Getaw had entered this particular rogue organization. However, there was a rule in the chief selection that a candidate could not choose the path of an outlaw. Doing so would forfeit their right as a candidate since a chief could not be a wanted person in the universe. However, Getaw was not willing to give up the position of chief and thus tried to disguise the identity of his group as wandering mercenaries.

His reliance was on Riel, who was the only Grade A Super among all the candidates’ War Leagues.

Riel had promised to help Getaw become chief, and in exchange, Getaw would provide them with supplies and logistics.

Although the Rockfall tribe was only one of the various tribes in the Luhan Beastman civilization, they had a few planets under their control, which meant that they were rich in resources.

The time passed while waiting, and dozens of other chiefs of the Luhan Beastman took their seats. All had come to witness the election of the Rockfall Tribe Chief. When the time was almost up, Faleta loudly spoke.

“The time is almost up. Mogo, Getaw… everyone is to take their War Leagues onto the battlefield and select a position. Prepare for battle!”

Everyone snaked onto the battlefield like fish swimming before taking up a certain area, confronting the others.

Faleta was anxious as he looked at the time. Candidates who returned after the official start of the war were considered late and directly disqualified, but Harmon had not yet arrived.

At this moment, Riel stepped out under the command of Getaw, releasing his Grade A energy fluctuations. His momentum rose into the sky.

“Calamity Grade‽”

The other candidates’ faces changed dramatically.

Faleta was also shocked. As a star system civilization, the Luhan Beastman also had a dozen Calamity Grade Supers, of which three were in the stands. Getaw had brought a Calamity Grade into his own War League, and his strength immediately overwhelmed the other candidates.

At this time, two of the candidates on the battlefield suddenly threw down their weapons and raised their hands. This move represented surrender, and before they started fighting, the two men gave up their qualifications for the chieftain. While it might be shameful, they at least need not fight with a Calamity Grade and could keep the lives of themselves and their War Leagues.

There was a commotion in the stands as this happened.

“Are we really going to fight against a Calamity Grade?” Seeing the situation, the Bloodshed Land’s officer also started thinking of retreat. He threw his originally eloquent words into the clouds and beyond.

“Fight!” Mogo’s expression changed several times, but he gritted his teeth and held on tight to his war hammer.

“This… can I still give up now?” One of the Bloodshed Land warriors threw away his weapon, slowly retreating.

They were willing to help Mogo by being part of his War League due to their relationship, but they were not willing to throw their lives away.

Mogo’s expression was also extremely ugly.

On the other side, Getaw raised his eyebrows and exhaled, a proud expression on his face as he arrogantly surveyed the audience. Standing beside Riel, he had the feeling of being a false sense of dominance.

Faleta, who was in the stands, was astounded and conflicted. At this moment, Getaw’s father, who was at the side, opened his mouth.

“Chief, don’t try to stall for time. Let us start now.”

Getaw’s father was also an upper echelon of the tribe, and while he was usually quite low key, he was different this time.

It’s also good that Harmon is not back yet… Faleta sighed, and just as he was about to speak, a spaceship descended from the air, attracting the attention of the audience.

Whoosh.

The spacecraft landed in a corner of the battlefield. The hatch opened, and Harmon walked out with a group of people.

“Harmon is back!”

Many of the members from the Rockfall tribe felt their spirits get refreshed. Harmon was very prestigious in the tribe, and his bravery was recognized by the tribe members.

There was a flash of panic in Getaw’s eyes. Having been pummeled by Harmon all his life, he had a deep shadow in his heart. However, the moment he remembered Riel beside him, he regained his confidence and stared at Harmon with gritted teeth.

“It’s useless even if you come back. Whoever fights me today will die!”

Hearing the cheers from the stands, Riel knew that Harmon should be a competitor with some fame. He coldly snorted and revolved his strength, viciously pressuring Harmon and his group in an attempt to deter this group and force them to retreat.

At this moment, a voice sounded.

“Yo, little brother, you are a bit arrogant.”

From Harmon’s back, out walked several people. Han Xiao was at the very front, and he stared at Riel with a funny expression, as though watching a peacock challenge. His Black Star Guards that had expanded to nine people followed directly behind him.

Hila raised her brows and reversed the pressure in a flash.

The other party also has a Calamity Grade‽

Riel felt his chest tighten. He rubbed his eyes, and after taking a good look at Han Xiao and his entourage, he froze for a few seconds before suddenly turning pale and taking a few steps back, tumbling into Getaw’s chest.

“Black Black Black… Black Star‽”

He uncontrollably screamed out the name, and everyone’s gazes landed on Han Xiao and his group. Their expressions changed as well.

An uproar rose up in the stands. Everyone stared in shock, unable to believe their eyes.

That was… Black Star?

Beyond Grade A!

Harmon had actually invited a Beyond Grade A over‽

Faleta was dumbfounded.

Ding ding dang dang!

At this moment, all the competitors threw away their weapons.

Even Getaw quietly chose to forfeit, his heart extremely unwilling.

He had originally thought that being backed by a Calamity Grade would allow him to win the tribe chief’s status. To think that Harmon would actually invite a Beyond Grade A over!

Who would be able to win against him‽

Mogo said in a tiny voice, “If only His Excellency Tyrant was willing to help me…”

“Are you dreaming?” The Bloodshed Land officer looked at him with an expression as though he was looking at an idiot. “What kind of status does the Tyrant have? Would he even notice you?”

Mogo pointed at Han Xiao in return, causing the Bloodshed Land officer to be rendered speechless.

Seeing this, the spectators of the various tribes in the stands went crazy. This is the only time in the history of the Luhan Beastman that all candidates had abstained, and it is also the first time that a Beyond Grade A has become part of the candidate’s War League!

“Uh?” Harmon had a look of confusion. He scratched his head, still puzzled. “Why did all of them stop fighting? Is that it?”

Hearing this, everyone gritted their teeth, wishing nothing but to beat him to death.

A Beyond Grade A has arrived, and the gap in power is so huge. Why should we fight‽ Do you want all of us to die‽

“Just like that?” The interface showed the completion of the mission, and the players who followed almost fell over in disbelief.

They did not even do anything and only came here to see a cutscene. Their mission was completed like that?

We thought there would be a bitter battle!

The whole audience stared at him, causing Han Xiao to helplessly shake his head. With his current status, many low-level tasks could be completed directly by just showing his face.

It was good that he had gone to help Harmon get the chief’s position.

[1] Hongmen Feast is a figure of speech used to refer to a trap or a situation that looks joyous but is in fact treacherous.

Chapter 788: Migration and Negotiation

Boom!

Two huge wooden barrels clashed together, and amber-colored liquid splashed out from the edge.

Harmon raised his head, gobbled it down, and exhaled with satisfaction.

Han Xiao shook his head with a smile and drank some too. The spicy alcohol flew down his throat. The ethanol was broken down as soon as it entered his body. To him, this was no different from water.

They were sitting in the Rockfall Tribe’s flagship on the way back. Harmon had invited Han Xiao and the others to visit his home.

Usually, battles were unavoidable in the process of fighting to become the chief. However, because of Han Xiao’s appearance, the other candidates had given up in despair. The chief position had gone to Harmon without question. Overjoyed, Harmon hosted a party on the ship.

They were old friends, so Han Xiao, of course, gave him face.

“Congratulations to the next Rockfall Chief.” The other chiefs of the Luhan Beastman Civilization came to congratulate Harmon one after another, all looking at Han Xiao with envy.

They had no idea how Harmon had such a good relationship with a Beyond Grade A. The War League of the tribe’s chief signified his network. With a Beyond Grade A friend, those chiefs knew very well that the Rockfall Tribe would rise after Harmon took on the position.

Watching Harmon be congratulated by his people, Han Xiao pondered. In his previous life, this storyline mission had been simple and rough—fighting from the start till the end. Harmon would then obtain the chief position through battle. Now, due to his interference, there was no battle. Therefore, he did not think any Dungeon Crystal would be created.

However, this did not matter to Han Xiao—he was not interested in such a little mission reward. He had gone to help because of his more than a decade long friendship with Harmon. Harmon had joined him when the Black Star Army was still the Black Star Mercenary Group. Han Xiao was never petty in helping an old friend such as Harmon, just like how he had treated Herlous.

On the table beside them, as Hadavy stuffed a huge chunk of Beastman-style burnt meat into his mouth, his eyes kept drifting toward Harmon. He moved his butt over to beside Hila and said softly, “Black Star has quite a good relationship with that Beastman. Is he always so caring about his officers?”

Hila was frowning and staring at the object that looked somewhat like an eyeball of a beast at the bottom of her cup. Hearing Hadavy’s question, she glanced at him. Her eyes seemed to be saying, Get away from me.

Ignored, Hadavy moved his butt to beside Feidin and softly said, “Brother Feidin, is Black Star always this good to his subordinates?”

Feidin rolled his eyes.

“Go away, I’m Chen Xing.”

Not far away, a group of players gathered and chatted while looking around at the many famous Black Star Guards.

“I heard Black Star is heading to the Bloodshed Land’s headquarters this time. Could he be going there to make trouble?”

“No idea. But Black Star is going to meet the Tyrant again. There’ll definitely be a good show.”

After Harmon’s War League mission was completed, Han Xiao gave these players new missions through the faction interface to make them follow him.

Although he initially did not plan to take players along to the Tyrant’s party, leaving these people halfway in the Seoul Star Cluster was not suitable. He did not want to lose this stack of leeks. Therefore, he gave them a following mission with a rich reward so that they would not run around.

Bun-Hit-Dog was not there, but there were still people posting his whereabouts on the forums. Now all the players knew that Ames and he were going to the Bloodshed Land headquarters together. Some even said that they were on a honeymoon trip to fight with Heber—which was very Beyond Grade A like.

Ever since Han Xiao and Ames formed an alliance, there had always been discussions about them being a couple on the forums. The players felt they were perfect for each other, and there was definitely something going on between them. Someone even wrote an adult novel about Black Star rising in position to conquer this capable woman, and it was rather popular.

“Your Excellency Black Star…”

While drinking, Han Xiao heard someone call his name at the side. Han Xiao looked over. It was Faleta, who looked like he had something to say.

“What is it?” Han Xiao smiled. He was Harmon’s elderly father, after all, so Han Xiao’s tone was very friendly.

Faleta coughed and said, “Can we talk in private?”

Han Xiao nodded, put down the cup, and walked out of the party hall with Faleta. They came to an empty corridor on the flagship.

“What is it?”

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m wondering… what’s the exact relationship between you and Harmon?” Faleta asked cautiously.

“He joined under my command more than a decade ago and has given me a lot of help. When my mother planet faced a disaster, he was there to help me. I agreed to join his War League before I was even a Calamity Grade. Therefore, you don’t have to worry. I don’t have any ulterior motive.” Han Xiao smiled. He knew very well of Faleta’s worries.

After all, a Beyond Grade A personally helping someone fight for the chief position of a branch force within a Star System civilization looked suspicious in every way.

Faleta looked hesitant. Suddenly, he clenched his teeth and asked, “Your Excellency Black Star, I have a request… Does the Black Star Army accept race migration jobs?”

Han Xiao blinked, signaling for him to go on.

“The origin of us Luhan Beastmen is a stray civilization. Today, although we formed a Star System civilization, every tribe is still an individual nation. In terms of the development direction of the civilization, we have a lot of disagreements. I hope to migrate the Rockfall Tribe out of the Seoul Star Cluster.”

“Why?” Han Xiao was curious.”

“The Seoul Star Cluster is Klent Kingdom’s territory. They have a very strong desire to control everyone. There are a few Star System civilizations in their Star System; us Luhan Beastmen are just one of them.

“The other few civilizations are more or less connected to Klent. They have been marginalizing us, squeezing our resources to force us to become Klent’s vassal too. Our territory was three Star Zones wide more than a hundred years ago. Now, we only have one and a half. The Luhan Beastmen are brave and capable in combat. The faction of Supers in our people is very high. Klent has always had an interest in us.

“Our Rockfall Tribe hopes to maintain independence, and we are unwilling to become a vassal, but the majority of the tribes want to compromise with Klent. Our people who prefer independence are the minority, and we are all looking for a way out.”

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and pondered. This was common in the universe. When a civilization had more than one government, there would always be disagreements when it came to the overall future direction of the entire race.

Such a political structure was not suitable for Star System civilizations. In Galaxy, where there were organizations everywhere, the decision of a civilization had to be made with the entire race in mind. However, having multiple governments meant they would have different interests, so conflict would occur very easily. Sadly, due to the Luhan Beastmen’s past, they were forced to use this structure. It would be very difficult to change it even though they knew what the problem was—no tribe was willing to voluntarily give up their power.

The Luhan Beastmen Civilization was considered a comparatively weak Star System civilization. Every tribe ruled a few colonial planets, and they only had around a hundred planets in total, spread about different places.

A Star System usually had more than ten Star Zones. For example, a powerful Star System civilization like Godora would be able to rule an entire Star System and all the Star Zones. On the other hand, multiple Star System civilizations existed in some Star Systems. They all ruled some Star Zones and fought for resources. Of course, those Star Systems were weaker in comparison.

“You want to make the Rockfall Tribe independent, leave the alliance civilization, and develop in another Star Cluster as a branch of the Luhan Beastmen?” Han Xiao nodded.

“That’s right.” Faleta quickly agreed.

“Do you know the consequences of that? If you do that, a lot of your people will choose to stay and not migrate with you.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“I will settle that. There are quite many who are displeased with Klent in the other tribes,” Faleta replied with a deep voice.

Han Xiao then stopped asking questions and slowly said, “Okay, when you’ve made up your mind, contact me anytime.”

He only cared about carrying out the job in exchange for money. Someone else’s tribe would be someone else’s responsibility. With the Black Star Army’s ability, taking care of a tribe’s migration was no difficult task.

In the universe, it was not rare for a civilization’s government to seek independence, so he was not surprised by this.

Faleta nodded continuously. The migration process would be very dangerous, so they needed guards. Initially, he had been hesitant. Once he saw Harmon and Black Star’s relationship, he felt that the Black Star Army might be able to make this plan work.

The migration matter had to be discussed with the next chief, Harmon. However, with Harmon’s personality and experience, he would most likely refuse to be Klent’s vassal as well.

They arrived at the Rockfall Tribe’s planet and stayed as guests for three days. Then, Han Xiao bade farewell to Harmon and continued to head to the Bloodshed Land.

Harmon went to be a chief, but if the Rockfall Tribe decided to migrate, they would still have the chance to meet in the future.

…

Ten days later, a thick blue stream of light dashed across the universe.

Planet Heber appeared in their sights. The blue stream of light stopped, and a spaceship appeared, slowly flying toward Planet Heber. At this time, there were already many spaceships landing on and leaving Planet Heber.

“It’s been more than ten years since I last came.” Looking at Planet Heber, it still had the same old look. Han Xiao turned to look at Ames and said, “I came with you last time too.”

“You were much cuter back then.” Ames smiled.

“Time sure passes fast.” Han Xiao sighed and told Phillip to land the spaceship.

This was his second time stepping onto the Bloodshed Land’s headquarters. More than ten years ago, he had been Ames’ follower. Today, he had received an official invitation as someone that stood at the top of the Shattered Star Ring.

The spaceship had already reported their identity and flew into the port following instructions. As the ship landed, Hila and the Black Star Guards led the way at the front and disembarked from the spaceship first. Han Xiao and Ames then stepped onto the dock.

Both of them were wearing black. Han Xiao wore his black windbreaker, as usual, and a few mechanical hovering guards swam around him mischievously.

Ames wore her high-cut black dress as always. The dress complemented her long and beautiful legs, making her look royal and gorgeous.

“Your Excellency Black Star, Your Excellency Dragon Emperor.”

The Vanguard Official captain, Fosters, was waiting at the dock to welcome the two of them. He greeted them with a stiff tone.

“Yo, isn’t this an old opponent?” Han Xiao chuckled. “I remember you were saying you’re going to kill me during the war. Why aren’t you saying that now?”

Fosters clenched his teeth tightly and glared at Han Xiao, but he did not dare to respond. It was clear that the Tyrant intended to make peace with Black Star by inviting him this time, which actually made the Bloodshed Land officer feel quite resentful.

However, this was Heber’s order, and they could not disobey it. They had no choice but to swallow their rage.

“Please. Follow. Me!” Fosters squeezed out one word after another between his teeth, turned around, and led the way, making up his mind about not responding to Han Xiao.

Seeing this, Han Xiao did not want to make fun of him anymore. He walked beside Ames and followed Fosters into the guest castle.

He attended a Tyrant Party before, so he knew the procedure. They would usually stay a few days in the guest castle, communicate with the representatives of the other organizations, and expand their network while waiting for all the guests to arrive. The party would then start officially.

The players who followed behind were filled with curiosity. This was their first time in the Bloodshed Land headquarters, so it felt refreshing. They secretly wondered what Han Xiao’s intentions were. The Tyrant Party was an activity for those in high positions, so the players did not know about this at all.

After a peaceful walk, they arrived at the guest castle. There were already many representatives of large organizations inside. They were surprised to see Han Xiao and Ames, and the atmosphere became strange.

Many people looked like they could not wait to talk to them.

With the Evolution Cube in his hands, everyone wanted to get close to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao did not walk in immediately and asked, “Is the Tyrant not planning to see us now?”

“Don’t know, don’t ask me,” Fosters replied with a stiff tone.

Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he suddenly stopped and looked at Hadavy. “You’re now a member of the Black Star Army, huh?”

“Hmm?” Hadavy realized that Fosters was talking to him and nodded. “Yes, I’m now a Black Star Guard. The treatment’s quite good. Do you want to come too?”

Fosters felt as if he was being ridiculed and was furious.

Hadavy had once worked with the Bloodshed Land, but it had ended after Jorde used him. He had then joined Han Xiao.

However, in Fosters’ eyes, this felt like Hadavy had ‘walked into the light from the darkness’. He was already enraged, and now he was furious and needed to vent it. “As a Bloodshed Land Vanguard Official, I challenge the Black Star Army’s Black Star Guards. Who dares fight me?”

Hearing what Fosters said, Ames and Han Xiao’s expressions became strange. They looked at each other’s eyes and realized that they thought of the same thing as if they had communicated with their eyes.

Haven’t we seen this before?

Isn’t this similar to when you challenged that traitor, Carroll?

Han Xiao smiled with resignation.

In the past, he had taught Floating Dragon’s traitor a lesson for Ames. Now, the Bloodshed Land’s officers had become the side that were displeased and wanting to challenge his guards. How the tables had turned.

Fosters was loyal to the Tyrant. Heber had failed in establishing power, so Fosters wanted to try to earn some pride back. Hence, he targeted Han Xiao’s officers. Although Han Xiao was an invited guest, the relationship between the two sides was odd. He was not willing to show friendliness to an enemy that had killed more than three digits of Bloodshed Land high-level combatants.

It was a just challenge, so it would be difficult even for a Beyond Grade A to stop it. Furthermore, the Bloodshed Land did not stop Han Xiao from challenging Carroll more than ten years ago.

Like thunder, his voice attracted the attention of the various representatives in the hall.

Hila narrowed her eyes and stepped forward. “Where are we going to fight?”

“Who are you?”

“Captain of the Black Star Guards, Hila!”

A murderous intent flashed through Fosters’ eyes. Just as he was about to speak, a shadow suddenly shrouded him. A deep voice came from behind him.

“Get back.”

The crowd looked up and their expression changed. It was the Tyrant, Heber.

Hearing Heber ordering him to stop the challenge, Fosters clenched his teeth and turned around and left, quickly disappearing from everyone’s sight.

Hila took a few steps, too.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and looked up at the tiny mountain-tall Heber. Heber looked down at him with an expressionless face.

The atmosphere around seemed to become heavy. Other than Ames, everyone in the hall felt that it was difficult to breathe.

As the atmosphere kept getting tenser, Heber suddenly spoke and shattered the uptight atmosphere.

“Black Star, Dragon Emperor, follow me. Let’s have a chat between us five Beyond Grade As.”

Then, he turned around and walked into his palace.

It seemed like how the two of them treated each other in the future would be decided this time. Without hesitation, Han Xiao told Hila and the others to rest in the guest room while he followed Heber into the palace.

“All five?”

With a faint smile on her face, Ames followed him into the palace as well.

Chapter 789: Meeting and Goal

The two of them walked into Heber’s palace and arrived at an enormous circular hall with five hovering thrones. Heber sat on one of them. Two of the other four thrones were already occupied. It was Austin and Psyker.

“Hehe, we meet again so soon.” Austin greeted them with a smile.

This old man… Han Xiao thought in his mind and looked at Psyker on the other side.

Psyker almost never attended the Tyrant Party, but he had come. Han Xiao was quite surprised.

Er, maybe because he no longer has the Evolution Cube, he doesn’t have to stay at home anymore?

“Black Star.” Psyker nodded with a calm expression as if Han Xiao was not an enemy that had taken the Evolution Cube away from him.

Han Xiao could not guess Psyker’s intentions. He nodded in response and did not speak.

Although they had a conflict of interests and personal hatred against each other, they were all Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring, so they would not start fighting as soon as they saw each other.

Ames floated up and sat on the throne. The eyes of the other four all focused on Han Xiao.

Han Xiao smiled, floated up, and landed on the last empty seat, the newly added fifth throne.

At this moment, he had officially entered this circle.

The five of them sat on the thrones—this was the new peak power structure of the Shattered Star Ring.

“Everyone is here. Let’s have a proper talk,” Heber said with a deep voice and turned to look at Han Xiao. “First, our problem. There are two choices in front of us. One is to continue to oppose each other, and the other is temporary peace.”

“Hmm, I’m listening.” Han Xiao did not make a stand.

“Since you are now an ally of the Crimson Dynasty as well, we have no choice but to become allies on paper, and we must stand on the same side,” Heber said slowly. “During the decade-long secret war, you killed many of my subordinates. Many of your warriors died at the hands of my men, too. The hatred between us is too strong. You definitely won’t be willing to take a step back, and neither am I. How about we put our conflict aside for the time being and get back to it in the future?”

“What you mean is, we shall slowly settle this after the Flickering World’s exploration ends?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Too many of their comrades had died at each other’s hands in the past decade, so things would not be settled easily. This was already beyond what just the leaders wanted. If they forced an alliance, their subordinates would not be able to accept it. This would not be beneficial in the unity of their faction.

Heber nodded before shaking his head. “We don’t have to work together. The Flickering World is very broad. We can ceasefire and do our own exploring, not interfering with each other. This way, the Crimson Dynasty’s request will be fulfilled, and there is no need to compromise.”

Han Xiao rubbed his chin. This proposal was quite sensible.

The two sides would not form an alliance but explore the Flickering World separately. To the Crimson Dynasty, as long as the two of them did not drag each other down, it would be acceptable. Even the Crimson Dynasty would not be able to force a Beyond Grade A to let go of his hatred and shake hands with his enemy.

He roughly understood what the Tyrant meant. Exploring the Flickering World was very important to the Crimson Dynasty. As a completely unexplored new Star Field, there were too many areas that could be developed in the Flickering World.

The results of their exploration would not just be the fundamentals of their own organizations’ future development—the Crimson Dynasty would also reward them for the results of their exploration.

This meant that although they were allies on paper, they were also competitors—they were competing in their exploring ability in the Flickering World.

“No, the Bloodshed Land is not the only competitor. The Crimson Dynasty will gather their allies from the various Star Fields to explore this together. By then, I will have to fight with more organizations for resources.”

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

His advantage in this respect was way too huge.

To just about every explorer, the Flickering World was an unfamiliar area, and they had to depend on luck to explore it. To him, however, the map of the Flickering World was crystal clear. He knew about the resources in the various areas; there was no way the other competitors would surpass him!

“Okay, I agree with this plan. We shall have a temporary ceasefire and mind our own business. When exploring the Flickering World, do what we can and don’t drag each other down.” Han Xiao nodded.

The Flickering World was the most important. At this crucial time, there was no need to drag each other down. The Tyrant felt this way, too.

After the Crimson Dynasty completed their initial exploration and obtained a large amount of resources, only then would they open the Flickering World to the entire Star Field. Only then would the non-ally organizations enter the new Star Field, shuffle the organizations in chaos, fight for territory and resources, and form the structure of the Flickering World.

The players all over Galaxy would then enter the Flickering World.

In his previous life, the update between Version 3.0 and Version 4.0 had been when the Crimson Dynasty carried out their initial exploration. However, because of his actions, the majority of the Shattered Star Ring players would be able to enter the Flickering World in advance. This was a rather significant advantage.

As the World Server to the players, many guilds had occupied desolate planets in the Flickering World in his previous life and built their own strongholds. During that version, guild wars had been very frequent, and the players had been more active. As the players of the Shattered Star Ring would enter before others, they would have more time to operate their strongholds.

However, the players now did not know that the Flickering World would become the World Server in the future.

“Okay,” Heber slowly replied.

As Han Xiao had become an ally of the dynasty, he put the thought of using Han Xiao to build his reputation away, knowing that he could not do that. Therefore, he treated Han Xiao differently and saw him as someone on his level.

Having decided on the ceasefire agreement, Han Xiao nodded in his mind—the main goal of attending this Tyrant Party had finally been achieved.

Although true peace would not be achieved, it was enough for now.

This time, Psyker slowly said, “Now, it’s time for us to talk.”

Han Xiao looked over at Psyker and said, “The Evolution Cube is in my hands. If you’re not planning to give it up, are you planning to continue to be my enemy?”

“The Crimson Dynasty has its eyes on the Evolution Cube and is willing to back you up. I know it’s impossible for you to return it to me, so the only way is to snatch it back from you.”

Psyker did not hide his intention of the Evolution Cube at all. “However, can the Crimson Dynasty protect you at all times? Even if they can protect you, can they protect your Black Star Army? You don’t have to stare at me like that. I’m not threatening you, just telling you the truth. Even if I’m willing to give up, the Arcane Church won’t give up, and even the Federation of Light will act.”

Han Xiao raised his brows. “You don’t have to threaten me. The Evolution Cube is the relic of a certain sub-Universal Civilization from the exploration era. It’s indeed an amazing item, but you managed to hold onto it for so long, didn’t you?”

“Our situations are different.” Psyker glanced at Heber and suddenly said, “You’d better be careful about the Crimson Dynasty’s allies.”

“Hmm?” Han Xiao frowned.

“Those organizations going to explore the Flickering World are all allies of the Crimson Dynasty from various Star Fields. The dynasty can block the exterior pressure for you, but internal hostility…” Psyker narrowed his eyes. “What’s important to the Crimson Dynasty is the Evolution Cube itself; the person that possesses it might not be so important. The Evolution Cube has immeasurable value to an organization. Some people might take the risk and target you. Once you die… what do you think the Crimson Dynasty will do?”

“I get what you mean, save the boring provocation.” Han Xiao shook his head.

What Psyker meant was that the Crimson Dynasty’s allies all had their own interests. There might be another Beyond Grade A from another Star Field interested in the Evolution Cube and would find the opportunity to kill him for it. As long as it did not get discovered before it was done, the dynasty would not do anything for a dead man. However, Han Xiao had once stayed in the Crimson Dynasty for many years and knew very well of the dynasty’s way of doing things. The possibility of that happening was very low.

The Federation of Light might do something like this, but the Crimson Dynasty would not.

The dynasty would only use this as an excuse to acquire the Evolution Cube themselves. Even for a Beyond Grade A ally, as long as anyone broke the rules, they would still uphold their standards. It could be seen from the Crimson Tide event that the dynasty was very firm and stern.

Psyker’s expression remained the same. His plan was not to threaten Han Xiao—this was just casual talk. He then said coldly, “Don’t forget, EsGod also has his eyes on the Evolution Cube. If he finds you, you’d better pray you run fast enough.”

EsGod…

Han Xiao thought of EsGod’s number in the blacklist of his communicator, and his expression became odd.

“About the Evolution Cube, I will handle it, no need to trouble you.” Han Xiao sized Psyker up. “I’m curious, what are you really doing here today? Just trying to scare me?”

“Who said I’m here for you?” Psyker shook his head.

He did indeed not come for Han Xiao. As he had needed to guard the Evolution Cube in the past, he had rarely left the Star Pupil Holy Race’s territory. Furthermore, with the Evolution Cube in his hands, the support from the Arcane Church had come nonstop. He had a superior position and had no need to attend this kind of gathering.

Now, however, his Evolution Cube had been taken away. Like he had broken off his chains, he had decided to become active in the Star Field. This was not just because he wanted to but also because he would not be as important to the Arcane Church now that he no longer possessed the Evolution Cube. He planned to get out and move around, do some networking by attending the Tyrant Party, and work toward making his race a Star Cluster civilization.

Then, Psyker closed his eyes and did not want to speak to Han Xiao anymore.

Han Xiao then turned to look at Austin. Seeing that the old man was staring at him with bright eyes, he sighed and said, “Do you also have something to say to me?”

Austin extended his tiny finger and pointed at the Evolution Cube on Han Xiao’s neck, chuckled, and said, “Let’s make a deal. Let me use it once. I will fulfill one request for you.”

“Hehe.” Han Xiao did not smile at all.

When he was troubled in the past, Austin did not help him. Now that things had settled down, this guy finally came to make a deal with him, thinking that there would be more than enough chances to exchange a chance to use the Evolution Cube given Han Xiao’s personality.

You damn old man…

Han Xiao was filled with resignation. His goal of obtaining the Evolution Cube was to gain favor all along. Using it to exchange for a Beyond Grade A’s promise was worth it no matter how he looked at it. There was no reason for him to refuse.

“Any request?” Han Xiao snorted. He pointed at Psyker and said, “Then fight with me now and kill this guy.”

Psyker was unaffected and continued to rest with his eyes closed.

“Stop messing around. You know I can’t agree to that request.” Austin shook his head with a bitter smile. With a luring tone like he was tricking a little girl, he said, “Request something else. How about you play with my Palace of Hidden Spells? I can lend it to you for a few months.”

“Lend it to me? How about you give it to me?”

“Come on, we’ve known each other for quite some time. Don’t be so greedy.”

“This is a no, that’s a no, what can you do for me?”

Austin contemplated, then shrugged, and said, “Don’t know, but you won’t make a loss.”

Veins popped up on Han Xiao’s forehead. You don’t say. There’s no cost to let you use the Evolution Cube. Of course I won’t make a loss, but you will make a huge profit!

Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration.

“How about you help me to deal with EsGod?”

“… Let’s talk about killing Psyker.”

Psyker’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

The two of them negotiated back and forth for so long Ames started to yawn. Then Han Xiao and Austin finally came to an agreement.

First, a Beyond Grade A Mage could cross multiple dimensions and would frequently acquire some extremely rare materials. Austin had to provide some materials consisting of the genes of high-grade Void beings for free every year.

Second, the Hidden Red Robe Abbey would form a half-alliance with the Black Star Army. The Hidden Red Robe Abbey had to send high-level Mages to the army every year to train some Mages as well as teach some rare spells.

Last, Austin had to do something within his ability and not against his morals… and the final definition of ‘morals’ depended on Austin.

There was nothing Han Xiao could do about him. The two of them had quite a good relationship, and Austin even helped him a few times in the past. Thus, he was not willing to let that all go to waste over the Evolution Cube.

“By the way…” Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and threw an Observer’s Mark over to Austin.

“What are you doing?” Austin was confused and casually shattered the Observer’s Mark. As a Beyond Grade A Mage, breaking such a simple Void Energy application method was a piece of cake, even though Han Xiao was also a Beyond Grade A. After all, he was a Mage that could control energies of multiple dimensions.

Han Xiao did not give up and threw another Observer’s Mark, and Austin shattered it with his eyes opened wide again.

The two of them stared at each other and repeated the process more than a dozen times. In the end, Austin gave up resisting and allowed the Observer’s Mark to land on his forehead with resignation.

Only then did Han Xiao nod with satisfaction. He felt much better.

Heber felt a little bit of headache and regretted putting the two of them together.

The atmosphere had been so intense, but it was suddenly not serious at all!

Seeing that Austin had made a deal with Han Xiao, it suddenly occurred to Heber.

Among the five people present, it seemed like he was the only one that had no chance to use the Evolution Cube.

Heber looked at the Evolution Cube, then Han Xiao’s face, and his eyelids twitched slightly. Without even thinking, he knew that Black Star would definitely not agree to let him use the Evolution Cube.

Suppressing the desire inside, Heber adjusted his emotions and slowly said, “Black Star and I will stay here. The three of you can leave.”

“Looks like you guys had quite a good chat. Black Star, I shall leave first.” Ames stood up and stretched.

She was not interested in the matters discussed there. It looked like she had just attended to show her face, but as Han Xiao’s ally, showing up meant making her stand clear.

Among the five people present, she and Han Xiao were the only ones that were firm allies. Although the other three did not mention this, they knew it clearly. In terms of strength, given that Han Xiao and Ames were on the same side, they surpassed the other three completely.

The three of them left, and the gate of the hall closed again, leaving only Han Xiao and Heber in the room.

This time, the side door opened, and Zoel walked out with a smile.

“I’m glad the two of you have come to an agreement.”

“Envoy.” The two of them nodded slightly as a greeting.

Zoel was followed by a Klent representative. Everyone in the room was on the same side on paper, so it was clear that they were going to discuss official business.

As expected, Zoel pressed on his waist. A 3D star map projection appeared in midair, drawing out a new shining area in the wide universe map. It was marked as the ‘Flickering World’.

“Using this opportunity, let me explain the current situation in the Flickering World, so you guys can understand the rough process of the exploration,” Zoel said loudly. “Carefully prepare for your exploration plan. When the developments start officially, we’re all going to have missions.”

It seemed like this was for them to consider the areas they were going to explore…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Chapter 790: Main Storyline Flickering World

The 3D star map showed the Flickering World area. In the black unexplored universe, there was an area that was shining. This was the rich Star Cluster the three Universal Civilizations discovered outside the Shattered Star Ring using their radar. It was named the Dawn Star Cluster.

The Dawn Star Cluster was the area first detected by the radar and, currently, the only Star Cluster officially belonging to the Flickering World. As the starting point of the exploration of a new Star Field, it was marked in green. Outside it were the extremely wide unexplored areas marked in gray.

Being the only one that was lighted up, the Dawn Star Cluster was like an island in the middle of a wide sea.

Developing a new Star Field was a huge task, and the expected date of it completing was unpredictable. After all, the actual exploration was different from astronomical observation.

The Crimson Dynasty had spent more than a decade obtaining the Dawn Star Cluster from the Federation of Light and defined it as the starting point of the new Star Field. Due to the two of them restraining each other, the development of it had always been on hold. However, the astronomical observation of the three civilizations had never stopped. After observing it for more than ten years, the rough area included in the Flickering World was already defined.

In the star map given by the Crimson Dynasty, the Flickering World was divided into roughly nineteen Star Clusters with various sizes. The size of the Dawn Star Cluster made up only three percent of the entire Star Field. Everything else was unexplored.

The size of desolate universe belts varied, and there would usually be many small to medium desolate universe belts inside Star Fields. Only the extremely large desolate universe belts would be considered as the border of a Star Field. The Flickering World was no exception. It was estimated that there were more than 7,000 small to medium desolate universe belts within it, some between Star Zones and some between Star Systems, spread across the entire Flickering World.

Therefore, to the dynasty’s exploration team, selecting areas was very important. If the area they were going to explore was filled with desolate universe belts, the profit they made would be very low.

“The dynasty has decided to first explore the three Star Clusters around the Dawn Star Cluster for the first stage of the exploration,” Zoel said while pointing them out on the map. “They’re the Renault, Garu, and Crown Star Clusters.”

Han Xiao, Heber, and the Klent representative paid careful attention to the star map. This was the initial star map created by astronomical observation. Due to the complicated universe environment, it would be somewhat inaccurate, but the rough distribution of planets was usually correct.

Among the three Star Clusters, the Garu Star Cluster was the largest. It had a number of obvious desolate universe belts, and the other two were ordinary.

There were two types of desolate universe belts. One had very sparse planets that were very far from each other or lacked Fixed Stars or some high energy astronomical bodies—those were areas discoverable by astronomical observation. The other type of desolate universe belt were the ones that had generally poor planets with little resources. This type of desolate universe belt was more difficult to find compared to the former, as it would look like a normal area until field exploration proved otherwise.

Although there was already a rough sketch of the star map, basically every planet’s information was unknown. The aim of the Crimson Dynasty’s exploration of it was to compile detailed information on every planet in it and adjust the astronomical observation errors, as well as occupy the rich planets within it in advance.

This was the task of the exploration team—even obvious desolate universe belts had to be explored.

There were a ton of planets in every Star Field. Even though the dynasty only planned to explore three Star Clusters first, it was still a vast project.

Heber looked at it for a while and made his decision. “Renault Star Cluster.”

The Bloodshed Land and the Klent Kingdom would be developing the same area.

“Black Star, what about you?” Zoel turned around.

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and said, “I shall choose the Garu then.”

“I see, Garu, the number of people that have chosen this area is the smallest… alright.” Zoel nodded.

Han Xiao smiled in his mind.

He knew that among these three Star Clusters, the Garu Star Cluster had the highest potential profit.

It seemed like the Garu Star Cluster had more desolate universe belts compared to the other two, but the other two Star Clusters had quite a number of hidden desolate universe belts, so the difference was not really that large. Furthermore, in the desolate universe belts of the Garu Star Cluster, there were some Galactic Civilization ruins that possessed archeological value.

In terms of resources, the Garu Star Cluster was slightly larger. It had many Fixed Stars, habitable planets, and slightly more resource planets. In terms of species, the Garu Star Cluster had more intelligent species that had formed civilizations, and the majority of them were still in the surface civilization stage. This meant that exploring would be easier.

In his previous life, the Garu Star Cluster had been one of the most prosperous Star Clusters in the Flickering World. Therefore, after thorough consideration, Han Xiao decided to develop the Garu Star Cluster.

Another important reason was that in Han Xiao’s memories, that Universal Treasure in the Flickering World with no owner was located in a desolate universe belt near the Garu Star Cluster and not included in the areas for the dynasty’s first stage exploration. He would only be able to head there if he was close by.

For now, no one other than me even knows the existence of this Universal Treasure. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

He had to obtain it.

This time, a notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered Grade S+ Chain Mission [Flickering World]

Mission Introduction: The Flickering World. A new Star Field represents a new structure. It’s your job to explore this Star Field, so it is your opportunity.

Hint: Mission requirements, mission rewards, exploration points, and the Mission Rating depend on your faction.

You belong to the Crimson Dynasty and the Black Star Army.

Mission Requirements: According to the areas selected, explore the Flickering World for the Crimson Dynasty as a member of the Black Star Army.

You have received the first round of exploration goals.

Current Exploration Area: Garu Star Cluster

Personal Exploration Points: 0

Total Exploration Points: 0

Current Rating: E-

Remarks: Your mission reward depends on the Mission Rating. The Mission Rating depends on the Total Exploration Points.

Exploration Points are earned from the results of the exploration, such as completing the field exploration of a planet, improving the planet information, adjusting the star map error, discovering a civilization’s ruins, contacting an intelligent species, operating a stronghold, discovering habitable and resource planets, discovering rare resources, and so on.

_____________________

The main storyline mission of the Flickering World! Han Xiao was thrilled.

The scale of this main storyline was huge, and it was very complicated. It was considered a combination of a Chain Mission and Faction Series Mission. The main reason for it to be Grade S+ was because of how complicated and time-consuming it was.

Firstly, the details of this mission changed depending on one’s side. Not every player was a member of the Crimson Dynasty. After the Flickering World opened to the world, the players of the various Star Fields would represent different organizations and have different areas to explore, hence the different ways in calculating their reward.

For example, for the Crimson Dynasty, the area they explored was broad, meaning it would be more difficult.

The Personal Exploration Points were one’s own achievements, which would grant rewards when it reached a certain number. Compared to the other factions, the Exploration Points needed to trigger the reward under the Crimson Dynasty faction were higher, but the rewards were richer.

The Total Exploration Points were the total of all the Personal Exploration Points of the players in the same faction. This required the players of the same faction to work together. It also gave rewards once it reached a certain stage. The Total Exploration Points were also associated with the Mission Rating. When the Total Exploration Points were more than enough to increase the rating, all the players of the same faction would receive rewards distributed according to the players’ Personal Exploration Points ranking.

Every exploration area meant one round of the Chain Mission. Once done, the reward would be given based on the rating. When going to a new exploration area, both the Personal Exploration Points and the Total Exploration Points would be reset to zero. The Grade S+ overall mission [Flickering World] would only be completed after the entire Star Field was explored, which would then give rewards based on the Exploration Points and Mission Rating of every area.

Han Xiao pondered. The exploration had yet to officially start. Now that he had this mission, he could distribute it to the army players and make preparations in advance.

At the same time, he could let the players know that they had a new main storyline after the secret war.

After the business was settled, the star map shrank back to the device on Zoel’s waist.

Zoel smiled and said, “I will report your choices to the dynasty. There most likely won’t be a problem.”

The Shattered Star Ring was the nearest to the Flickering World, so the allies in this area would be at the frontline of the exploration. The areas they chose would mostly remain unchanged.

“One more thing.” Zoel looked at Han Xiao. “The first batch of elite personnel to accept transformation from the Evolution Cube have already entered the Shattered Star Ring following the dynasty’s transport team. They will arrive at the Colton Star Cluster in some time. Black Star, don’t forget about this. The first batch of resources for you are with them.”

“Hmm, I’ll head over after the meeting.” Han Xiao nodded before asking, “Who are the first batch of people?”

“I have a list here, take a look.” Zoel transmitted a document to him.

Looking through the list, Han Xiao was surprised.

There was a total of 30,000 people, all elite soldiers from the army selected by the dynasty. At the top of the list, he really did see familiar names, and more than one.

Among them, he had a very deep impression of one name.

One of the future dynasty marshals… Teny Amenos?

Han Xiao’s eyes widened slightly.

“After this group of elite completes the transformation,” Zoel said, “a small group of them will stay to take part in the Flickering World while the rest will return to the dynasty. You can go along with them to the Central Galaxy and meet the dynasty upper echelons… Black Star, Black Star?”

“Oh.” Han Xiao regained focus. “I heard you, let’s do that.”

“Okay.” Zoel did not suspect anything. He nodded and said, “That’ll be all.”

The others nodded, and Han Xiao left Heber’s palace directly.

…

Once returning to the suite, before Han Xiao sat down for long, someone suddenly knocked on his door. Hila opened the door, and a few people stood outside.

They were the representatives of a few other Star Clusters in the Shattered Star Ring. Seeing that Han Xiao had returned, they chased right after him and went to knock on his door almost immediately after he entered.

“Your Excellency Black Star, we hope to chat with you,” one of them said with a smile.

“Please come in.” Han Xiao invited them in and knew exactly why they were there.

As expected, they chatted for only a little bit before the topic became the Evolution Cube.

However, this was just a start. Right after, the various representatives attending the Tyrant Party all came to his doorstep.

Very soon, about ninety-five percent of the people in the guest castle had come.

The enormous suite suddenly became cramped.

Everyone wanted a piece of the Evolution Cube.

The Tyrant Party was initially an activity for Heber to toughen his influence, so the guests were all someone important in the Shattered Star Ring. This gave Han Xiao the opportunity to spread his network.

Using this, Han Xiao also started to talk about terms with the various organizations.

“As for the Evolution Cube, the Crimson Dynasty did not restrict my use of it. If you want to borrow it, it is possible if you can fulfill my terms,” Han Xiao said with a smile.

Everyone in the room kept quiet and listened. Han Xiao’s voice was the only sound in the room.

Ames looked at this from outside the room.

You really are good at operating an organization…

Chapter 791: Star Field Profit Blueprin

“I can give you guys opportunities to undergo a transformation, and the terms are very simple.”

Han Xiao looked around at the others and said, “First, of course, money. You will have to pay me Enas every year in exchange for the fixed allocation of using the Evolution Cube. It doesn’t have to be money—minerals, materials, and other resources can be used as well.”

“How much every year?” a Star Cluster civilization representative asked.

“That depends on your needs.”

“The lending fee every year will depend on the basic allocation number you want to purchase every year. Report it to me in advance, and I will arrange the schedule. Every organization can purchase up to a million allocations every year. I’m quite busy, after all.”

Han Xiao’s time was limited, so it was impossible for him to spend all his time using the Evolution Cube for the others. Furthermore, multiple uses of the Evolution Cube for an individual would weaken its effects.

Someone could not help asking, “What if we hope to have the entire race evolved?”

“Good question.” Han Xiao raised his brows. “Other than basic allocations, you can purchase extra allocations, which doesn’t have an upper limit. However, the price for that will be much higher than the basic allocations. I’m not underestimating your purchasing power, but given the large population of your civilizations, that will most likely be very costly.”

Some civilization representatives felt a little regret. To them, having their entire race use the Evolution Cube at once would be best. Sadly, Han Xiao was clearly not willing to do that.

A Star System civilization would have a population of billions at the very least. The fee would be over the roof.

However, after thinking about it, having the entire race evolve was indeed unnecessary. Every high-level civilization had a ton of people that never contributed to society and were just waiting for days to pass. Purchasing evolution allocations for them was obviously a waste.

To have some of the elites’ genes improved every year with the one million slots was acceptable for the representatives of the civilizations.

Han Xiao then said, “Secondly, business partnership. This depends on the nature of your organization. Civilizations can provide the rights to mining planets, transport channels, and military factory usage. Armed forces will have to form an alliance with the Black Star Army and share intelligence. Financial groups can provide more partnerships on the business side… These are the prerequisites of buying allocations from me.”

The people there came from different organizations. Han Xiao did this to expand the Black Star Army’s business to the various industries, hoping to bloom in all fields.

At the same time, through business partnerships, he could form a deeper partnership relationship with these organizations.

This was within their expectations, so they were not surprised.

Through the analysis of various information, they knew that Black Star was ambitious. Since there was a chance for his organization to become a Beyond Grade A organization, he would of course not be satisfied with it just being a pure armed force.

“Last… I hope to have a seat in the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice.

The Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference was similar to the Galaxy Central Civilization Court, a political civilization alliance. Being a Star System civilization was the entry requirement.

The civilization representatives exchanged looks. Someone said hesitantly, “Only civilizations can attend the conference. Black Star, although your forces are powerful, you’re not a civilization.”

Han Xiao smiled. “Don’t worry, I know the rule. I’m planning to use my mother planet’s name.”

Planet Aquamarine?

They exchanged looks.

“If I remember correctly, the civilization on your mother planet has yet to reach the Star System level…”

Han Xiao shrugged. “Hence this term.”

He would only have official political influence after he obtained a seat at the Civilization Conference. This way, even if Planet Aquamarine did not reach the Star System level, it would also be protected by the ‘Peace Treaty’.

He would benefit from it, too. Not only would his personal position be higher, the Black Star Army under his command would also be a semi-government. The army members would be protected by all kinds of laws.

Simply put, if this was agreed, if other players attacked any Black Star Army members, including themselves, and it was discovered, they would all become ‘red names’ and lose Favorability with a lot of organizations.

Hearing Han Xiao’s terms, the various civilization representatives sighed. This was beyond their authority. They all said that this was not for them to decide and that they had to ask their superiors before getting back to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was not worried. The Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference was controlled by the Star Cluster civilizations of this Star Field. Since these Star Cluster civilizations wanted to work with him, adding him in as an exception would not be difficult. They just needed an excuse.

During the secret war times, quite a number of Star Cluster civilizations had secretly done things because they did not want to see Black Star rise. However, there was nothing they could do anymore. With resignation, they could only lower their heads and seek cooperation.

The Shattered Star Ring had been affected by the Crimson Tide for a decade. Its structure had changed in subtle ways. This was the time to grasp onto opportunities.

After roughly settling on the terms, the guests left one after another—they had only gone to express their intentions. The details had to be discussed by the corresponding departments of both sides. This would be Sylvia and Phillip’s job.

Han Xiao tapped the table and pondered.

In his plan, this was a key step in the Black Star Army’s expansion—using the Evolution Cube, he would form a connected profit network with the Black Star Army at its center!

Not only would he benefit from the partnerships, the channels of the various organizations would be linked as well, forming an enormous profit network.

In order to achieve this, his organization had to be strong enough. Of course, as a Beyond Grade A organization, the Black Star Army was qualified.

With this opportunity, the Black Star Army would be able to become stronger very quickly. Maintaining this profit network would indirectly turn the entire Shattered Star Ring into the Black Star Army’s base, providing continuous resources.

Currently, the Evolution Cube was the key for this to work. As long as he could make the various organizations see that they could benefit from this, even without the Evolution Cube, they would still continue to maintain the cooperation. Similar to how Heber had made the Tyrant Party into a recognized party for the people at the top of the society, Han Xiao’s goal was to make the Black Star Army the core of the Shattered Star Ring’s profit network.

…

After three days, the guests finally all arrived. In the early morning, Heber invited everyone to the palace and officially started the party.

The hall was set up as a banquet. With the musicians playing their instruments in the background, the representatives of the various organizations formed small circles and spoke softly.

Han Xiao and the others occupied a corner, and many people gathered around them.

The players were taken there as well. They looked left and right curiously and kept throwing [Reconnaissance] at the people around. Everyone they saw was someone important. The few Beyond Grade As were chatting with people in the hall as well.

Over the past few days, the players had asked around about the Tyrant Party. Now that they had seen so many organizations’ representatives, this party suddenly felt much more high class.

The guests there were basically the rulers of the Shattered Star Ring. It turned out that Black Star was at this level.

The players would usually not be able to come into contact with the activities between those high-level people. When these players shared the details of the Tyrant Party on the forums, only then did the players know that this existed. They all discussed it with excitement.

“So, this is the level of people that Black Star has been in contact with now.”

“He’s a faction leader, of course.”

“All Beyond Grade As are there? Haha, won’t they start fighting?”

“Isn’t the Bloodshed Land our enemy? Why did Black Star go?”

This time, Heber stepped out of the crowd. The people stopped chatting, and they all looked at Heber.

“In the past decade or so, the Shattered Star Ring has been through many storms. Fortunately, I can still see so many familiar faces here today,” Heber said slowly. “Before the party starts, I would like to make an announcement.”

Then, he turned to look at Han Xiao and said, “After private negotiations, Black Star and I have agreed to a temporary ceasefire, and we will take part in the Crimson Dynasty’s development of the Flickering World together. Everyone here shall be a witness.”

The others turned to look at Han Xiao, and Han Xiao nodded in agreement.

“Flickering World?” many players murmured. This piece of information attracted their attention immediately.

Han Xiao smiled in his head. He had known for sure that Heber would announce this during the party. He immediately distributed the mission that he had prepared on the faction interface.

At the same time, on the list of acceptable missions on the many players’ faction interface, the Grade S+ main storyline mission [Flickering World] was instantly pinned at the top.

“Oi, a new main storyline mission!”

“What, Grade S+? That’s higher than the secret war!”

“This should be the next main storyline of Version 3.0.”

“Develop the Flickering World. Looks like this will be the next big operation for the Black Star Army.”

The army players were surprised, and many instantly accepted the mission.

A main storyline with such a high grade was clearly a huge event. After the secret war ended, many players had entered the free exploration stage with no clear goal, but now they had a new goal.

Due to the recent chain of events, the players had an overflowing sense of belonging to the army. In their eyes, the Black Star Army’s storyline was basically the main storyline.

The players did not know much about the Flickering World. Countless posts appeared on the forums to discuss it immediately. Han Xiao scanned them and was satisfied with the impact.

However, the army players did not know that not only was [Flickering World] the Version 3.0 storyline after the secret war, it was also a large main storyline that would last the whole of the next version.

…

The business that had to be discussed had already been discussed a few days ago, and the official party was just a routine.

Since Heber had announced the ceasefire, of course, he did not allow his subordinates to cause any trouble. With his restrictions, no matter how resentful Fosters was, he did not make any trouble.

Han Xiao had basically achieved his targets for attending this Tyrant Party, so he was quite satisfied.

After the party ended, he did not stay for long. After he let Austin use the Evolution Cube, he headed back with Ames, Hila, and the others.

Hu!

When the spaceship left Planet Heber, Han Xiao turned on the communicator and contacted Bennett.

Over the past few days, those civilization representatives had relayed his message to their superiors. Those upper echelons had already responded and agreed with his terms.

Very soon, the communication was picked up.

“Han Xiao? How are you free enough to contact me?” Bennett’s frank laughter sounded.

“I have to tell you something…” Han Xiao explained.

Hearing what Han Xiao said, Bennett said with an overjoyed tone, “You helped the Aquamarine Federation enter the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference? That’s great!”

Planet Aquamarine was just an elementary galactic civilization, way too underqualified to enter the Civilization Conference. Being able to enter the conference as an exception was clearly an opportunity of a lifetime.

“Hmm, I’ll be the representative of the civilization. Are you okay with that?” Han Xiao asked.

The seat in the Civilization Conference belonged to the entire civilization. Usually, the representative would be from the government. However, although Han Xiao was close to the Aquamarine Federation, they were still two separate organizations. By doing this, even though this seat belonged to Planet Aquamarine’s government, they would only be able to express their opinions in the future through Han Xiao.

Bennett did not hesitate at all. “You’re the one that gave us this chance. Plus, you’re Planet Aquamarine’s protector. Giving you the position will only be beneficial for us.”

He had a very clear mindset. Planet Aquamarine would not have been able to achieve what the Black Star Army had achieved today even if they had many years. He did not want to see the Planet Aquamarine civilization making the wrong choices in the future. Therefore, he had been working hard to tie the Planet Aquamarine government and the Black Star Army together.

Han Xiao smiled, chatted casually for a while, and then hung up.

He decided to let Planet Aquamarine use the Evolution Cube on a large scale after returning. Since he had obtained a political seat on Planet Aquamarine, the better Planet Aquamarine grew, the more he would benefit from it.

Speaking of which, I shall go and take a look at the Black Spirit Race. I can let them use the Evolution Cube too, Han Xiao thought. This race admired him like a god, so he considered them to be on his side.

Chapter 792: Teny Amenos

792 Teny Amenos

Somewhere in the Shattered Star Ring, many streams of light hyperdrive dashed across the silent universe.

This was an enormous fleet, formed by metal, beast-like Crimson Dynasty ships.

This was a logistics team that the Crimson Dynasty had dispatched to the Shattered Star Ring. Other than transporting resources, they also had the ability to build assembly and military factories.

This logistics team had two main goals—provide the Shattered Star Ring garrison with logistics backup and enhance their military power, and head toward the Flickering World’s Dawn Star Cluster to build the dynasty exploration team’s main base on the spot.

As for transporting some resources to the Black Star Army, it was just a small matter.

The three Universal Civilizations had many inter-Star Field quick military passages made of enormous stargates that connected the Star Fields. They could also build small to medium-sized stargates between the desolate universe belt to carry out continuous teleportation.

This logistics team spent quite some time gathering the people, but the time taken to travel was not long in comparison. They arrived at the Shattered Star Ring very soon.

On the path of the enormous logistics team, a small recon fleet was leading the way. There were only twelve light recon ships.

Under the 3D map on the radar of the main recon ship, a middle-aged man stood firmly with his hands behind his back, looking up at the map.

Teny Amenos, 0014855 term outstanding graduate of the Dynasty’s ‘Journey’ High-Level Military School. Averaged first among all graduates of the same term in all sixty-two subjects including Strategy, Tactics, and Combat.

Joined the dynasty military after graduation, dispatched into multiple military operations. Galactic wars experienced: more than 1,000. Independent commanding record: 170 times. Promoted multiple times due to exceptional achievements.

Now the colonel of the dynasty’s 33rd army, an important person among the dynasty’s younger generation. He was also one of the elites going to accept modification from the Evolution Cube.

Being in charge of the recon task for the transport team was his own request.

Teny looked energetic and admirable. The air around him was like a burning flame, bright and tough. His back was straight like a flagpole.

He had one semi-arc shaped alloy ring on each of his two ears. This was an advanced multifunctional analysis device built by the dynasty. It had functions such as communication, detection, analysis, tactical imaging, and so on.

He wore a high-grade officer uniform of the Crimson Dynasty. It was black and decorated with red and gold patterns, and it had the dynasty’s national emblem on the chest.

All the high-grade officer uniforms of the Crimson Dynasty were made from nano-cloth. They were light, tough, and had excellent defense capabilities. It was also equipped with many combat and survival functions.

“Colonel Teny, the radar has received a distress signal. The coordinates are T406.B189.K22, right on our path. According to long-range observation, a group of galactic travelers is being attacked by a galactic pirate group. The pirates have thirty low-grade battleships.”

The exclusive deputy, Corbus, bowed and reported the situation.

“Send an area announcement. Warn them and tell them to leave our route immediately,” Teny quickly said.

“… The announcement has been made. They have not responded.”

Corbus looked at the image detected and said, “They have strengthened their attacks, intending to quickly finish the galactic traveling group.”

“Report the situation to the main team. The rest of you… switch to combat formation. Level two alert. Initiate the long-range kiting strategy,” Teny ordered calmly.

His mission was to scout the route and eliminate unstable factors. As an elite officer of the dynasty, he did not like to be involved in matters of the others. The galactic traveling group’s rescue request was not within his consideration. However, these people happened to be blocking the hyperdrive route of the main team, which was why he commanded the fleet to engage.

The twelve recon battleships formed a fan shape and headed toward the galactic pirate. They started to fire as soon as they were in range.

Those galactic pirates attempted to fight back but to no avail. They could hardly land any attacks on the recon team. Under Teny’s command, the recon team maintained their maximum attack range, which was far superior to the galactic pirates’.

Destroying a few enemy ships with ease, Teny switched strategy. He commanded the recon fleet to swiftly surround them while maintaining their distance.

Although he had fewer than half of the battleships the enemies had, Teny could always create opportunities where they outnumbered the enemy in partial battles.

Under his command, it was as if these galactic pirates were slowly being chipped away despite having the advantage in numbers.

Teny was used to fighting in large armies; commanding a small group in combat was not his strength, but he was still amazing at it.

His strategic style was as firm as a mountain, calm and slow like an adult toying with a child. No matter what those galactic pirates did, he countered them with ease.

The galactic pirate could not even find the opportunity to escape with hyperdrive. They were overwhelmingly beaten.

With the immeasurable difference in strategic capabilities and the large difference in spaceship performance, this battle lasted barely a moment before the galactic pirates were wiped out without surprise. Teny suffered basically zero damage, only some energy used to maintain shields.

“Tell the main team that the problem is solved,” Teny said with a calm tone. Having witnessed so many large galactic battles, the battle earlier was not even a warmup.

“Colonel, the spaceships of this galactic traveling group are heavily damaged and can’t support long-range travel. They have asked to board our ship.” Corbus’ voice was thunderous.

“Refuse them,” Teny said without changing his expression. “Activate scanning probe and detect the individual energy level of the people inside this traveling group. If no abnormalities are found, release small cabins for them as carriers.”

Teny was experienced in this. There were way too many examples of using distress signals as a trap in history. He was used to being alert against traps.

Even if no abnormality was found, he would not let outsiders board his battleship but would give the unoccupied small cabins to throw these stranded passengers to the nearest colonial planet. He would not waste time guarding and giving them a ride.

Corbus suddenly received a message. “Colonel, a person in these passengers wishes to speak to you. There’s information about him in the database. He’s the leader of a small financial group in the Shattered Star Ring. His history is clean. He said he knows Black Star.”

“How does he know that we’re going to meet with Black Star? This feels like a poorly planned trap.” Teny raised his brows.

“That might be easily explainable.” Corbus looked at the data, shaking his head. “The news about the dynasty forming an alliance with Black Star has spread widely in the Shattered Star Ring.”

Teny thought for a moment and said, “Pick up the communication. I’ll speak with him.”

Usually, he would not bother about a request from an irrelevant person like this. However, that person had mentioned Black Star, which was a topic he had recently been very curious about.

Black Star was the dynasty’s new ally, and Teny knew that he was on this trip to meet Black Star and accept modification from the Evolution Cube.

Be it friend or foe, he always would find out as much as he could about the person he would come in contact with.

This came from his military habit. He had already finished reading through Black Star’s data on paper. More information about Han Xiao was exactly what he needed.

Du…

The communication connected. This leader of the financial group’s face was filled with excitement and nervousness.

When attacked by the galactic pirate, he had thought that misfortune was about to fall. To his surprise, they were saved by the Crimson Dynasty. Having seen an opportunity to contact a Universal Civilization, he tried his luck to attract their attention and mentioned Black Star’s name.

“How do you know Black Star?”

This person could not wait to reply. “More than ten years ago, I hired Black Star’s mercenary group and had close contact with Black Star. This is all recorded.”

“Okay, tell me from the start.” Teny narrowed his eyes.

Even over there in the Central Galaxy, there was no example of such a quick rise. It could be said that Black Star had broken the record for the shortest time an ordinary person had become a Beyond Grade A Super.

Teny was very curious about this legendary person.

Furthermore, Black Star was a Mechanic just like him. Teny even had some thoughts about seeking guidance.

…

As Han Xiao returned from Planet Heber, he brought back the partnership intention of a ton of organizations. Sylvia became busy, negotiating and dealing with different organizations every day.

Luckily, she had the physique of a Calamity Grade. If it were an ordinary person, that person would probably pass away from overworking.

Sylvia was exceptionally hardworking, which Han Xiao was glad about. If his Managing Director was Jenny, she would probably sacrifice her own life to kill him by running into him carrying a psionic bomb.

Ames did not return to Floating Dragon but actively looked to walk along with Han Xiao.

It did not matter where they were going—it was mainly because she would have an old friend who was on her level to chat with. Furthermore, she felt that interesting things would always happen around Han Xiao.

The dynasty’s elites were still on the way. Han Xiao decided to complete the evolution for Planet Aquamarine and the Black Spirit Race first.

Planet Aquamarine would need time to gather its citizens, which he had Bennett take care of. Han Xiao went to the Black Spirit Race first. The Black Spirit Race had their Mind Network, so they would be easier to gather.

…

Ever since the Black Spirit Race planted their roots on this unpopulated planet, the planet’s name on the star map had officially changed to Planet Black Spirit.

Hu!

A spaceship penetrated the atmosphere and slowly landed. The gray and green surface expanded in his sight.

The radar showed the vital signal’s source location. Han Xiao piloted the spaceship and headed to the Germinal Tribe’s territory cave with familiarity.

There were no clouds in the sky.

Dashing past the surface mainly made of rocks and the sparse forest, an enormous pit appeared before his eyes.

This was a large open cave, and densely packed holes filled the cave walls. This was originally an underground cave. The Black Spirit Race had taken away the ground above them and exposed it.

Han Xiao had once taken a group of Black Spirit Race to mine resource planets. Impacted by the various cultures in the galaxy, the Black Spirit Race had started to learn about intelligence and civilizations.

As their Mind Network had a highly unified group conscience, knowledge spread extremely efficiently. In the past decade, the Black Spirit Race had tried to leave their beast habits behind and started learning to use tools, building caves above the ground.

This open cave also had some messy rock piles in it, which were actually prototypes of buildings. The Black Spirit Race had gradually come up to the surface from the underground. This place could be considered the basis of a city.

An enormous Prophecy Stone totem stood at the heart of the cave. It had been carved into a strange shape.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, trying to identify it for quite some time. Only then did he confirm that this statue with pieces of carapace, spikes all over its body, and sharp teeth in its mouth was supposed to be him.

Han Xiao did not know whether to laugh or cry. He could somehow recognize who this statue was supposed to represent despite all the ‘add-ons’ it had. The Black Spirit Race’s rock carving technique was really unbelievable.

But their aesthetic senses…

The spaceship hovered above the cave. The Black Spirit Race of the Germinal Tribe all climbed out from their caves and looked up at the spaceship.

Han Xiao walked out of the hatch and slowly descended from the sky. The Black Spirit Race below all lowered their bodies as if they were worshipping.

Feidin released prophecy stones energy and let Han Xiao log into the Prophecy Stone group chat server.

As soon as Han Xiao entered the Black Spirit Race’s Mind Network, countless voices sounded. The internal thoughts of every Black Spirit Race member became crystal clear.

“Such a powerful aura, it’s beautiful.”

“Black Star God, you’ve come to see me again.”

Countless Black Spirit Race members spoke in the Mind Network, expressing their love and admiration for Han Xiao.

The Black Spirit Race referred to him as ‘God’. His relationship with them had always been [Reverence].

The voice of the Germinal Tribe’s leader sounded. “Black Star God, what do you need us to do?”

“I came this time to help you people evolve…” Han Xiao talked about the use of the Evolution Cube.

The Black Spirit Race was thrilled, mumbling strange prayers and feeling like this was a blessing from their god.

Through the Mind Network, all the Black Spirit Race members in this cave received the message almost instantly. They all moved and surrounded Han Xiao, kneeling with their front limbs on the ground in a respectful position. Their gathering speed was extremely quick.

“What a highly efficient race.” Han Xiao could not help feeling that way.

He had always felt that the civilization potential of the Black Spirit Race was extraordinary.

Their natural Mind Network made them extremely unified and in sync. Any group activity would be astonishingly convenient.

The Mind Network could also share their knowledge and intelligence, so spreading knowledge was almost instant. The Black Spirit Race’s one-hour long communication might achieve the effects of what would take some races decades and centuries.

Chapter 793: Golden Leek!

A small silver cube floated above the totem, gushing out black cloud-like energy.

Evolution energy spread in the nest, covering the Black Spirit Race one after another. In just a short time, the nest was already filled with black cocoons.

With a flash of Mechanical Force on Han Xiao’s fingertips, the small silver-white cube obediently returned to his hand, and he wore it back on his neck.

Han Xiao nodded. “Now, I just have to wait. I wonder what the Black Spirit Race will evolve into.”

Advanced civilizations more or less controlled secret technology that others could not replicate. The Evolution Cube was a relic of a civilization very close to becoming a Universal Civilization. The technological essence within it had long been lost. Even when it was in Psyker’s hands, the Arcane Church could not understand it. Han Xiao had only tested the various parameters of the Evolution Cube.

There were comparatively fewer restrictions on this Universal Treasure. The Evolution Cube would absorb multi-dimensional and dark energy to charge up automatically. The method to use it over a large area was to cover an entire area with the Evolution Cube. That way, all the creatures within that area would be evolved.

This evolution energy was considered in the rage of Space Wonders—safe, no side effects, and exceeded all kinds of gene medicine and gene hormones. It was as if countless years of natural evolution were all concentrated in one individual.

After a short wait, a sudden clear and crisp sound appeared.

Ka-cha!

One black cocoon cracked open, showing the Black Spirit Race member inside.

The Black Spirit Race were originally black insects with strange appearances—they had hair between the gaps of their carapace, and their mouths were cone-shaped and could penetrate stone. They had no eyes, only four antennae that functioned as their sight organs. They had four muscular legs and a shovel-shaped tail covered in carapace. Basically, they looked like very vicious beasts.

Now, however, the appearance of the Black Spirit Race had drastically changed.

The proportion of their carapace and their muscle became much more balanced in a streamlined shape, much more aesthetic to the eyes. The hair in between the gaps on their carapace was all gone. They looked much neater.

The sharp fangs in their mouths became tidy. Two of the four antennae on their heads became longer and thicker, hanging on the back of their head like hair. The two antennae below disappeared and became bean-sized azure eyes. The antennae were previously organs to help them to adapt to living underground, but now the Black Spirit Race had started to get used to sunlight and were trying to live above ground. Originally, it would take many years for them to slowly develop and evolve into having eyes. However, the Evolution Cube had drastically reduced this process.

The Black Spirit Race still used four feet, but their two back feet became much more muscular as if they could easily stand up.

Kaching!

With the first Black Spirit Race completing its evolution, it seemed to start a chain reaction. Tons of black cocoons started to shatter. The brand new-looking Black Spirit Race appeared and looked around with confusion.

The surprise of the Black Spirit Race spread quickly in the Mind Network. To Han Xiao, these internal thoughts sounded as young as the voices of a child.

“Wha—What is this feeling?”

“I can see so clearly. Is this what sight is?”

“The sun is so blinding…”

Having gained normal sight for the first time, countless Black Spirit Race members felt curious and adapted to their new organ.

Han Xiao suddenly realized—the biggest change that the Black Spirit Race had undergone was not their appearances but their minds. They were born with connective minds, which meant that the Black Spirit Race had a very high talent in that area. Now, that talent was amplified… The most direct impact was that the brains of the Black Spirit Race became much more developed.

This time, a clear voice appeared in Han Xiao’s mind, which shocked him a little. This voice did not come from the Prophecy Stone group chat server but was a voice sent to him through direct psychic communication.

“Black Star God, we will remember the blessing you’ve granted upon us forever.”

Han Xiao looked over and saw that the Germinal Tribe leader was noticeably larger than the normal Black Spirit Race members and was staring at him with his bean-sized eyes. The voice came from him.

“You can use psychic power?” Han Xiao wondered.

The Prophecy Stone was the base station of the Black Spirit Race’s Mind Network. Without it, the Black Spirit Race could not previously connect their minds. Now, however, the Germinal Tribe leader was able to transmit his voice without the help of the Prophecy Stones. This had exceptional meanings.

“I don’t know. I just felt that I could suddenly do it. I seem to be able to do this too.” The Germinal Tribe leader shook his head and suddenly picked up a small Prophecy Stone, bit it, and swallowed it. Right after, a circle of invisible energy spread from his head.

Feidin was slightly shocked. “Such special energy, there are traces of the Prophecy Stone in it…”

The next moment, the Germinal Tribe leader’s psychic energy formed a new Mind Network and turned him into a chat server. He had undergone some kind of positive mutation during the evolution, which tremendously stimulated his psychic talent. There were dozens more mutants just like him.

Han Xiao was surprised. Every complete Prophecy Stone was equivalent to an individual Mind Network server. Only the Black Spirit Race members in the same server could communicate with each other. Now, however, some mutants had become able to create their own servers, once again increasing the mobility and unity of this race.

This had extraordinary meanings to a race. With their race-specific talent enhanced, they would be able to adapt to more environments.

With such high potential, maybe this race can really grow into a powerful civilization in the future.

That was how Han Xiao sincerely felt.

He was truly glad that he had kept the Black Spirit Race alive back then. Han Xiao had a feeling that this insignificant investment of his might yield more profit than he had ever expected.

After bidding farewell to the Germinal Tribe, Han Xiao did the same for the other tribes one after another.

As the Black Spirit Race had migrated as an entire race back then, although the various tribes lived separately throughout the years, they were still relatively close in terms of distance. So, it did not take too much time.

Han Xiao had gifted them the evolution opportunity, so the Black Spirit Race felt gratitude toward this ‘god’ of theirs from the depths of their hearts. Their belief became more deeply rooted, and they believed that they were a race blessed by God.

After Han Xiao left in the spaceship, all the tribes started to sculpt new wall paintings—of a small man representing Han Xiao floating above the ground, worshipped by the Black Spirit Race under him.

This day was forever recorded in the Black Spirit Race’s history.

…

Completing the Black Spirit Race’s evolution had taken less time than Han Xiao expected. He took his time looking for Fixed Stars to train Heber’s Energy Training Technique on the way and finally arrived at Planet Aquamarine.

“Welcome home.”

At the dock, Bennett looked at Han Xiao as he walked down the spaceship, smiling with the joy of reuniting with an old friend.

Home…

Han Xiao’s thoughts drifted away for an instant before he suppressed the sudden surge of some kind of emotion and sized Bennett up.

Bennett still stood as straight as he always had, and his white hair was neatly combed.

Behind Bennett were a ton of officers that looked like they were filled with nervousness and panic. When facing Black Star, their protector, only Bennett could remain casual. Everyone else was overwhelmed by the pressure.

Black Star’s ‘wiping away nations with a few words’ deed had only been a few years ago. The example of the Six Nations was still crystal clear in the minds of these people. They could not control their anxiety when facing someone who could decide the life or death of their entire government with a few words.

However, the impact of what Black Star had done back then had already shown throughout the past years. From the perspective of an entire civilization, uniting the government was indeed beneficial. It drastically reduced internal conflict, and making decisions was much more efficient. Had they entered the galactic society with multiple governments, they would have ended up like the Luhan Beastmen.

“You look well.” Han Xiao nodded. He then looked at the small boy beside Bennett.

Nero looked up and stared at Han Xiao with curiosity.

He had seen Han Xiao countless times in textbooks. He even memorized his deeds before. However, this was the first time that he had seen him in person.

“God—Godfather,” Nero stuttered with a shy tone.

“Good boy.” Han Xiao smiled. He then lowered his waist and picked Nero up, firmly holding him in his arms and tapping Nero’s forehead.

Nero was Bennett’s child. Bennett had decided to stay and guard Planet Aquamarine and given his child to Han Xiao to take care of. Of course, he was willing to take care of an old friend’s child.

Nero had initially been a little nervous because of how high Han Xiao’s position was, but Han Xiao was very friendly and warm to him, so he became relaxed in no time and laughed joyfully.

“This toy is for you.” Han Xiao casually waved. Nanoparticles flew out from his shirt and quickly turned into a black and gold hovering guard flying around Nero.

This was high-level Orange equipment; its energy core was a stable dark energy reaction furnace. It had both offensive and defensive abilities and multiple other functions.

A bright blue and gold electric spark lit up on Han Xiao’s palm and flew into the floating guard. He gave this machine permanent [Emperor’s Gift] and [Machinery Fusion] blessings, giving it increased capability.

“This Hovering Guard is a gift for you to protect yourself. You can give it a name.”

Then, with a snap of Han Xiao’s finger, he created a nano-level nerves connection device and planted it into the back of Nero’s head without him feeling any pain. He added, “It can move with your thoughts. However, this thing is very powerful. You’d better not use it recklessly, especially not to hit your father.”

An orange equipment made by a Beyond Grade A Super was extremely powerful. Even without his Mechanical Force bonuses, this hovering guard alone would be able to easily defeat any Grade C Supers. This type of machine had no level limit. It was basically god-tier equipment to low-level Supers. He did not even sell this to the players.

Nero tried to control the hovering guard. With a thought, the hovering guard followed his commands and moved around smoothly as if it was his own body. Nero’s eyes sparkled immediately as if he had discovered a new continent.

“Thanks, godfather!” With a face full of surprise, Nero hugged Han Xiao’s neck and expressed his excitement.

“Go play.” Han Xiao chuckled, put Nero down, and turned around to head to the political building with Bennett.

On the way, Bennett started to report the situation.

“I’ve announced gathering orders in the various cities. It’s almost done. There’s nothing I can do to those we’ve missed.”

He had explained the situation about the Evolution Cube to the people of Planet Aquamarine. Those who wanted to evolve would gather on their own. This would save a lot of time.

However, some people were unwilling to gather due to various reasons.

“Let them be. I’m not forcing everyone to accept the evolution.” Han Xiao shook his head. “By the way, I’ll let you use it first.”

Bennett smiled bitterly and said, “I don’t actually want to use it…”

“You’re different.” Han Xiao waved his hands. “This is an evolution involving an entire civilization. Don’t you want to experience it for your people beforehand so that you have nothing to worry about?”

Bennett shook his head with resignation and did not oppose it.

“By the way, Nero too…” Han Xiao paused. “Let me take him into the galaxy. I’ll help him become a Super.”

“Isn’t he too young?” Bennett hesitated.

“The earlier he becomes a Super, the better. Since you’re planning to let Nero live his life in the universe in the future, it’s best to let him get used to that life as early as possible. Plus, there’s me. What do you have to worry about? He’s my godson. I’ll take him to travel for a few months in the universe before bringing him back.”

“Sigh, alright then.” Bennett was initially hesitant, but he nodded in the end. He decided to stay and guard his mother planet, but he did not want to limit Nero’s future because of his own reasons.

This time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something.

He thought about seeing Nero’s attributes.

He turned and looked behind. Nero was following behind them and playing with his new toy.

Han Xiao secretly released a tiny bit of Mechanical Force, turning nanoparticles into a metal needle invisible to the naked eye. He remotely controlled it and stabbed Nero’s butt.

“Ow!” Nero felt a pain on his butt and yelled with shock. He looked around hastily but did not notice anything.

As this dealt 1 damage to Nero, combat information appeared on the interface, and Nero’s attributes were fully listed in Han Xiao’s eyes.

Han Xiao scanned through. Suddenly, a tint of shock flashed past his eyes.

Nero was still an ordinary child, so his attributes were basically empty. However, under the list of talents, there was a bright and shining list that shocked even Han Xiao.

The Molding Talent—[Advanced Luck Glow]!

Thi—This is Feidin’s level of Luck Glow. This kid is a high-level protagonist character‽ Han Xiao was so in disbelief he almost wanted to rub his eyes.

In his previous life, Bennett’s life had been completely different, and Nero did not even exist.

Bennett had Basic Luck Glow, and his son had Advanced Luck Glow. What are the chances of that? Did this thing run in their blood‽

This time, a daring speculation appeared in his mind.

Could it be that… Nero’s Advanced Luck Glow has something to do with me?

Come to think about it, Nero’s dad is the Aquamarine Federation’s leader, his godfather is Black Star, who’s known across the entire galaxy, and he will receive personal mentorship from a Beyond Grade A at a young age! Isn’t that exactly extraordinary luck‽

Han Xiao had no idea that such a high-quality leek would come to grow in his own leek field. He was so surprised that even the way he looked at Nero changed.

Although Nero was just a kid, in Han Xiao’s eyes, this kid had become a treasure overflowing with luck.

If he had decided to take care of Nero because of personal reasons before, he now truly wanted to train this potential stock!

For a high-level protagonist-type character, he would at least become a Calamity Grade in the future!

What a pleasant surprise…

Han Xiao was thrilled.

Chapter 794: The True Protagonist

The first group to accept the evolution from the Evolution Cube the next day were the residents of the capital, Black Star City.

The spaceship with Han Xiao and Bennett and the others in it slowly passed from above the city. The energy released from the Evolution Cube covered the people below.

“Maybe this will be a new chapter for the Planet Aquamarine civilization.” Bennett could not help but feel that way when looking at this.

He had already undergone the evolution the previous night and felt the effects of the Evolution Cube clearly. It was as if he had returned to his peak in his younger years. His body felt energetic, and his mind worked much faster. The enhancement the Evolution Cube provided to ordinary people was focused on strengthening their mind.

Turning to look at Han Xiao’s back, Bennett had a lot of thoughts in his mind. Planet Aquamarine had been able to achieve the era it had all thanks to this old friend of his.

Twenty years ago, who would have thought that a traitor of the Germinal Organization could ever reach such an unbelievable height?

Galactic spaceships would take no time to go around a planet. Very soon, the process was completed.

Han Xiao did not pay attention to how overjoyed the people were. Bennett would take care of the aftermath. He would definitely promote what he had done and might even include this in the textbooks.

As Han Xiao was done with this task, he did not want to stay much longer on Planet Aquamarine and wanted to leave immediately. He got a message from Sylvia that the Crimson Dynasty’s team were about to arrive at the Black Star Army headquarters, so he had to return.

As the spaceship returned to the dock, a gentle woman waited there, holding Nero’s hand.

Bennett brought his officers to the dock, shared a few words with the woman, and pushed Nero’s back a little, signaling for him to board the ship.

“Go, your future is in the galaxy. Black Star will take care of you,” Bennett said slowly.

Nero’s eyes were red. He had found out that he would be following his godfather into the universe the night before, and he almost thought that his daddy did not want him anymore. He cried and cried, and only after Bennett talked and explained it to him for very long did he accept this.

He had only read about the galactic society in textbooks and on the internet; this was his first time entering the galaxy. Thinking about those weird-looking aliens that existed in the universe, he was both afraid and secretly looking forward to it.

Nero climbed up the gangway tiredly with his tiny legs. Han Xiao stood beside the hatch and pulled him in.

Han Xiao exchanged looks with Bennett, and they both nodded at each other.

“Shut the gate,” Han Xiao ordered.

Whoosh.

The hatch closed slowly. Nero looked around. Through the gradually shrinking gap of the gate, he saw that Bennett and his mother were standing on the docks, waving goodbye to him.

Ka-cha.

The last gap disappeared. The hatch shut tightly as if separating the two worlds.

“Follow me.”

Han Xiao shook his head and brought Nero to the cockpit of the spaceship.

Through the porthole, Nero saw the city quickly shrinking below his feet and the sky above him turning from blue to black.

The spaceship trembled slightly and left the planet’s atmosphere. The full look of Planet Aquamarine appeared in Nero’s eyes. He stared at it with his eyes and mouth wide open. This experience was too marvelous for a kid like him.

He tightly grabbed Han Xiao’s legs—this was the only support his tiny heart currently had.

Han Xiao stood beside him with a smile and did not move. After the spaceship entered hyperdrive, he brought Nero out of the cockpit and toured the entire spaceship while teaching him the general knowledge of the galaxy.

“These are the things you need to remember. Don’t worry. With me here, most people in the universe won’t be able to hurt you.”

The two of them came to the hall. Ames, Hila, and the rest of the Black Star Guards were chatting casually. When they saw Nero, they all took turns to tease him with friendly and loving looks on their faces. They all quite liked this cute and obedient kid. Even Hila suppressed her cold aura, and her eyes looked gentler.

“So this is Uncle Bennett’s kid.” Aurora hugged Nero in her arms and could not let go. Originally, she was the youngest there, but now there was finally an even younger one. She was overjoyed. Furthermore, this was the kid of someone she knew.

Nero’s face blushed completely. He stood in place stiffly and did not dare move.

Han Xiao could not help but pull Aurora away and say with resignation, “Stop hugging him. Do you want to suffocate him?”

Looking down, Aurora slightly blushed. She snorted softly and heavily bashed Han Xiao’s waist, which, of course, was just a tickle to him.

“By the way, Uncle Han Xiao gave you a gift. I shall give you one too.” Aurora’s eyes suddenly brightened. She extended her palm, and a clump of golden energy appeared in her hands. She pressed it into Nero’s chest.

“Wha—What is this?” Nero was shocked. Then, he suddenly felt a sense of warmth and comfort all over his body, as if an infinite amount of strength was suddenly born inside him.

He touched his chest confusingly as if he could not understand how that clump of golden energy entered his body.

Aurora blinked and proudly said, “This is my Esper Ability. I gave you some concentrated vital energy, which will make you never sick and continuously vitalize your cells. Your body will gradually be enhanced, and you’ll be even taller and stronger.”

Not only could her Esper Ability heal people, but it could also give people buffs and stimulate the growth of beings.

For example, that fatty white bear who stayed in the Black Star headquarters and did nothing became a powerful individual after absorbing vital energy while being near Aurora for a long time. In more specific terms, Aurora’s vital energy could give someone stronger attributes.

Seeing this, Hila, who rarely talked, spoke up. “Then I’ll give you a present, too.”

She snapped her fingers and shot out a red energy bullet, hitting Nero’s back of his hand.

“Ah!” Nero suddenly felt a burning sensation on the back of his hand. He yelled with pain and rubbed his hand with droplets of tears in his eyes.

He looked down and saw a bright red pattern on the back of his hand that extended to his wrist, like a tattoo.

“This is a Dead Spirit Mark. For every creature you kill, this mark will absorb its remaining soul and enhance your psychic power.” Hila’s tone was casual and normal.

Although it was not really appropriate to mention murder to a kid, the people there were all used to it. Almost everyone there was a Calamity Grade who had killed hundreds of thousands, so they were not keen on painting ‘the world is a fairy tale’ image to a kid. Furthermore, since Nero would be guided by Black Star, he would definitely not be ordinary in the future. Therefore, they did not avoid this topic.

Nero was a little scared. He carefully pulled his sleeve and tried to cover the tattoo.

“Then I’ll give you something too.” Feidin smiled. His overflowing friendliness made Nero feel relaxed immediately.

Feidin released a wave of invisible psychic energy into Nero’s mind, forming a Calamity Grade psychic barrier, preventing others from hurting him through psychic means.

The various other Black Star Guards were not petty and took out things to gift to Nero one after another. Although they were not worth much in the eyes of Calamity Grades, every single one of them could be considered a treasure in the eyes of lower-level Supers.

Looking at this, Han Xiao felt a sense of familiarity.

Why does this… look so familiar?

Isn’t Nero exactly one of those types of blessed protagonist type characters who is loved by a bunch of old men from a young age‽

So, it’s this type of Advanced Luck Glow, Han Xiao thought it was funny. Having received so many treasures, this kid’s path ahead is wide and bright.

Lastly, it was Hadavy’s turn. He searched his body and realized that there was not anything that was worth gifting.

Seeing that everyone was staring at him, he thought for a moment and took out a set of Wayne Cards from his pocket with a chuckle.

“How about I teach you to play cards?”

“Piss off!”

Bang!

Han Xiao moved like lightning and instantly kicked Hadavy onto the ground. Nanoparticles turned into cuffs and tied him up tightly.

Nero was startled and backed off hastily while the other Black Star Guards looked around as if the environment outside was marvelous.

“Hmm…” Hadavy’s mouth was sealed by alloy. Not a single muscle on his body could move, leaving only his eyes moving around frantically.

“Stay on the ground and reflect!” Han Xiao was furious.

Teaching someone Wayne Cards is an unforgivable sin!

Never mind the fact that you’re not giving my golden leek fertilizer, how dare you poisoning it‽

Do you want my golden leek to walk Herlous’ path and fall deep into the abyss of achieving nothing‽

Ames caressed her chin and looked at this with a light smile on her face. Suddenly, she waved and signaled Nero to come over.

Nero obediently walked over to Ames. He was a little nervous. Although Ames looked just as friendly as everyone else, she felt very different from the other Black Star Guards to him. It was as if she possessed a unique sense of nobility. In front of her, Nero subconsciously felt restrained.

“Don’t be nervous. I’ll give you something too.”

Ames smiled lightly. Suddenly, she took off the obsidian necklace on her neck and placed it into Nero’s hands.

Han Xiao was a little surprised. This necklace did not have any special functions. It was just an ordinary accessory. However, Ames always wore it. Han Xiao wondered what story it had.

“Take care of it,” Ames said with a light smile, not planning to explain the meaning of it. Then she faintly glanced at Han Xiao.

Nero hastily nodded and carefully pocketed the necklace.

After all the ‘old men’ finished sending their gifts, Han Xiao called Nero over and said with a smile, “I promised your father to raise you to be a powerful Super. You’ve definitely learned about Supers in school on Planet Aquamarine. Do you still remember how many types of Supers there are, right?”

“Yes.” Nero nodded heavily. Then counting with his fingers, he said, “There are five—Psychic, Esper, Mechanic, Mage, and Psychic!”

“Now, it’s your time to choose. What kind of Super do you want to be?” Han Xiao asked with a smile.

He did not know what kind of Super talent Nero had, so he asked him directly.

Everyone became quiet.

Choosing a Super system was the decision of a lifetime. Black Star seemed to want to strongly raise and teach Nero, so his choice was very important.

Nero hesitated for a while and looked up at the hovering guard flowing above him. His eyes became firm.

“Godfather, I want to be a Mechanic!”

“Haha, good choice!”

Han Xiao was overjoyed. Since Nero had chosen the Mechanic class, he would rightfully become his student. In the Shattered Star Ring, he was the peak of the Mechanic class. No one was more qualified than him to teach others.

Hearing that, many Black Star Guards secretly sighed.

Alas, why did you choose not to live like a human being?

…

Han Xiao activated Nero’s Mechanical Force right on the ship. With his current strength, the method used to activate Mechanical Force in others was no longer the ‘electric chair’ that Sylvia had once experienced. It became safer and painless.

Planet Aquamarine was very close to the Black Star Army’s headquarters. Han Xiao and the others returned not long after.

One day after, the Crimson Dynasty’s transport team finally arrived.

The enormous fleet shrouded the sky. It was as if an eclipse was happening on Planet Golden Gate.

The army’s headquarters became more boisterous.

The first batch of resources given by the Crimson Dynasty was unloaded and transported into the army’s warehouse.

The first batch of dynasty elites to accept evolution also stepped onto the Black Star Army headquarters’ docks.

There were four captains, representing elite members of their own faction respectively. Teny was one of the captains. He represented the dynasty military’s Youngsters Faction.

These elites followed the army’s receptionist into the hall, looking straight ahead all the way.

Upon arriving in the hall, the elites of the dynasty saw Han Xiao, who was waiting on his throne, immediately.

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

Pa!

The tens of thousands of dynasty elites did a dynasty military greeting simultaneously and instantly. Their boots stomped the metal ground and made a crisp, loud sound.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He walked down from the throne. The four captains stepped out of their formation and came to shake hands with Han Xiao one after another.

These four were all renowned NPCs in the previous life, among whom, Teny was the most famous. Almost no one in the Crimson Dynasty Faction did not know this renowned dynasty marshal. This was also the person whom Han Xiao paid the most attention to.

Compared to his appearance in Han Xiao’s previous life, Teny was still very young. He gave off a very sharp, energetic vibe.

When it was time to shake Teny’s hand, Han Xiao stared closely at his face and suddenly gave a mysterious smile.

“Teny Amenos, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Teny was stunned.

Black Star did not say anything when shaking the others’ hands. Why did he just speak to me?

Heard a lot about me… has my name already spread to the Shattered Star Ring?

Then, the intelligence he had collected in the past few days flashed through his mind. A few days ago, he had discovered one of Black Star’s abilities from this data.

This person has some kind of foresight ability.

There’s definitely a reason for him to only speak with me!

This thought flashed through Teny’s mind, but his face did not express any change. He shook Han Xiao’s hand firmly and let it go.

Chapter 795: Goal

The dynasty’s elite soldiers were always quick and direct. The four of them briefly explained themselves. They did not request to rest and immediately asked to accept the Evolution Cube modification.

Han Xiao agreed. He would have more than enough time to communicate with them after that.

Buzz!

With a flash of blue and gold Mechanical Force, a small silver cube hovered above his head. He activated it with the password. The evolution energy flew out instantly and spread in the hall like a tsunami, shrouding the tens of thousands of dynasty elites.

Han Xiao deactivated the Evolution Cube, looked at the black cocoons all over the hall, and nodded with satisfaction.

He then looked at Teny’s cocoon, smiled slightly, and thought, Since you came to my doorsteps, how can I not invest in you?

It could be said that he was extremely familiar with this future dynasty marshal. He was one of the renowned NPCs of the dynasty that existed through multiple versions.

In the later days, he led many large fleets of the dynasty alone and called them the ‘Dynasty’s Iron Hoofs’, which fought many legendary battles. His performance was exceptional throughout many versions. The players under the Dynasty Faction could choose to join under his command and become his soldiers or officers, where they would receive plenty of War Missions.

There were two things that Teny was best known for. One was during the [Calamity of the Supers], where he led the fleet under his command and killed a notorious Beyond Grade A without any help!

The other was during the World Tree Civilization invasion event. For the sake of the entire war, he put his own life on the line and led his troops to charge into hundreds of Star Systems, restraining the enemy’s overwhelming invasion. He penetrated countless lines of defenses and entered the heartland of the World Tree Civilization, earning a ton of time. In the end, his troops were wiped out by the enemies. Dragging alongside countless strong enemies, he was killed in battle and met a tragic end.

Teny was just a Calamity Grade.

He was an extremely strong commander, strategist, and leader of fleets. The dynasty’s fleets could achieve astonishing strength in his hands. To the dynasty, such a military talent like him was even more important than Beyond Grade As.

According to his life’s direction, in the future, Teny Amenos would obtain a very high position in the dynasty and have masses of soldiers under his command. Since an opportunity to build a relationship with the dynasty’s future military boss was right before him, Han Xiao was not going to let it go.

There were many factions in the dynasty. The first group of dynasty elites was selected from the various factions. The Military Youngsters Faction, which Teny represented, was a very strong faction, and he would become one of the faction’s representatives in the future. He was worth Han Xiao wooing.

Han Xiao knew his place. Although he had become the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, it was just the beginning and far from being carefree. Even as an ally, he had to think of ways to increase his influence within the dynasty. After all, he was not the only Beyond Grade A in the dynasty.

I’ve operated in more than twenty years in the Shattered Star Ring, so I’m considered quite important. In the Central Galaxy, however, there are more Beyond Grade As. Plus, many of them are seniors that have lived many years. I have limited influence over there, Han Xiao thought.

Universal Civilizations had many powerful individuals and allies. Their profit network was complicated and broad. Although he had some power within the dynasty, it was pathetically little, and this included the bonus from the Evolution Cube.

The other three captains beside Teny were also known characters whom Han Xiao was familiar with. They did not achieve as much as Teny would eventually, but since they were all leeks right at his doorstep, he decided to not let any of them go.

…

The evolution lasted about half a day. The tens of thousands of dynasty elites came out of their cocoons one after another.

Teny was the last to complete the evolution. He extended his hand and clenched his fists, familiarizing himself with the changes in his body.

“This feels amazing…” His deputy, Corbus, was overjoyed. He was not initially qualified enough to be selected, but because he was Teny’s deputy, he was able to obtain this opportunity.

“It’s indeed magical. It feels even better than the Federation of Light’s Gene Adjustment.” Teny nodded firmly.

All the newborns of the Universal Civilizations would usually experience free Gene Adjustment right after their birth to increase their potential.

Federation of Light’s Gene Adjustment technology far exceeded the other two Universal Civilizations’ as it was one of their specialties. Federation of Light’s Super ratio was the highest in the entire Galaxy.

The army’s officer who had been waiting at the side walked over and said, “Friends from the Crimson Dynasty, the Army Commander told me to wait here for you to complete your evolution. I will now take you to the army’s guest area to rest.”

The people nodded. Some of them would be following the dynasty’s main logistics team to go to the Flickering World and explore, which planned to rest for some time in the Black Star Army headquarters. Therefore, they would be waiting there.

The rest of the dynasty elites were there purely for the evolution and would return to the Central Galaxy after it was done. Teny was one of them. Han Xiao would be traveling with them as well, and Zoel had already told them about it. Therefore, they would be staying in the army’s headquarters and waiting for Han Xiao to head to the Central Galaxy together.

They came to the guest room area and settled down. Not long after, Han Xiao came. Teny and the other captains went to welcome him.

The first thing Han Xiao asked about was how they felt after the evolution. He then moved the topic onto the situation within the dynasty and started to chat casually.

The elites from the Crimson Dynasty were indeed different. Maybe because they had met many Beyond Grade As since they were officers of a Universal Civilization, their attitudes were very natural. They were neither nervous nor arrogant, just chatting with Han Xiao normally.

Han Xiao’s goal was to improve his relationship with these people who would have high positions in the dynasty in the future so that it would be easier to become friends with them later.

He knew a lot about the people present. The chat was going very pleasantly.

However, Han Xiao noticed that Teny was the calmest and kept observing him. It seemed he was a little wary against him.

Han Xiao did not speak too much in their first conversation. He stood up and left after briefly familiarizing himself with the others. Making non-profit focused friends took time. It would only achieve the opposite effect if he was too hasty.

After sending Black Star away, Teny looked at his back and pondered.

What’s with this guy?

…

“Teny seems wary of me. This doesn’t seem easy…”

After returning to his office, Han Xiao tapped the table and contemplated it.

It was indeed not easy to bond with someone so talented. He had to focus on Teny’s likings.

Han Xiao nodded—this was his advantage. He knew about Teny’s likings. This was all hidden intelligence dug out by the players in his previous life after countless wrong attempts. He wondered how many strange and weird gifts Teny had received throughout those years.

“He doesn’t have much fondness for many material possessions; he only likes special types of gifts. Hmm, I think he has a hobby to collect Star Core samples? If I remember correctly, he also likes reading mechanical theory books written by high-level Mechanics… Sigh, even the hobbies of outstanding people are high class.”

Han Xiao shook his head. Since Teny had such a specific preference, even if he wanted to give him any gifts, it had to be subtle. Otherwise, it would expose the fact that he had a motive and would make Teny think that he had researched him, which would only achieve the opposite effect.

“Mechanical theory books…” Han Xiao murmured. “I’m a Beyond Grade A Mechanic, so he might even ask about it.”

He put this at the back of his mind for the time being and called the Hila sisters, who were taking Nero around headquarters. He then called Reynold there as well.

Not long after, Reynold opened the door.

“Army Commander, were you looking for me?”

“I have a mission for you.”

Then, he turned to look at Nero, whose face was filled with curiosity about the alien, smiled, and said, “Nero, you will be learning mechanical theories from Reynold for the time being. I have some business to do outside. I’ll teach you myself after it’s done.”

Nero was suddenly worried and said with an indignant tone, “But you promised to bring me to travel the universe…”

The universe was a completely unknown environment to him. The only person he could rely on was Han Xiao. When he heard that he was going to be left in the army’s headquarters, he instantly panicked.

This reminded him of his father, Bennett. He promised to take him to play time after time, but he always used work as an excuse to disappoint him again and again. In his limited view of the world, adults never kept their promises. He was afraid that Han Xiao would do the same.

“Don’t worry, after I come back, I will definitely take you to somewhere fun…” Han Xiao comforted him.

There were many strong people in the Central Galaxy. Even he did not know what he would face. Nero was way too weak; it would be dangerous for him to follow Han Xiao. With so many officers and allies, Nero would be safer in the army headquarters.

Furthermore, Nero had just awoken his Mechanical Force and needed to learn a ton of theories—he would have to do homework anyway, so where he did that homework made no difference.

Giving Nero to Reynold to teach temporarily was also a decision made after thorough consideration. In the time that Nero spent learning the basics from Reynold, his Advanced Luck Glow might give him this guy’s Perfect Mechanical Sense. After all, Nero was a high-level protagonist character, so everything was possible.

“No problem, leave it to me.” Reynold nodded.

Han Xiao paused and suddenly thought of something. “By the way, is your sister still in the army?”

“Hmm?” Reynold was confused for a moment. “She is, why?”

It seemed that Rossellin had yet to leave with those three guys. Han Xiao caressed his chin. Rossellin and he were the only ones that knew about that; even Reynold did not.

“Then, what has she been doing recently? Has she done anything abnormal?”

“Abnormal… it seems so.” Reynold thought about it. “I realized that she hasn’t been going out much recently and has been spending a lot of time in her room doing who knows what. She hasn’t been coming to chat with me recently. I’ve asked her a few times. She said that she’s writing something, but I don’t know what that is. Do you need me to ask her for you?”

“No need.” Han Xiao waved his hands. He could roughly guess what Rossellin was writing—probably the plan for the Silver Revolutionary Army.

Although the goal of these founders was to overthrow the three Universal Civilizations, give other civilizations a chance, and help one ruler overthrow another, there was no way they could use these words to convince ordinary people, and they knew that full well. Rossellin was the spiritual leader; she wrote most of their slogans and beliefs and used her Esper Ability on those ideas.

He was not intending to interfere with the birth of the Silver Revolutionary Army because this would be a choice of the era. He alone would never be able to stop the windmill of an entire era. In conclusion, this storyline would be the first time that various advanced civilizations would work together to challenge the ruling position of the three universal civilizations, ever since the start of the exploration era and the countless years of peace. No civilization was willing to be ruled forever. When ambition and strength reached a certain threshold at the same time, the new and the old would clash. It was unavoidable.

Therefore, he might as well watch it happen and let the people he knew about climb up in position. This way, he would at least have an advantage, and it would be easier than dealing with the people he was unfamiliar with.

Han Xiao casually grabbed the aggrieved Nero and put him onto his knees. He then called Sylvia and Herlous.

“I’ll be going to the Central Galaxy in a few days. Are the manpower, battleships, and resources I’ve asked you to prepare ready?”

They nodded.

“Good.” Han Xiao exhaled.

This trip to the Central Galaxy was not sightseeing. He had many things to do.

Speaking of which, this was his first time leaving the Shattered Star Ring and heading to another Star Field in this life.

Chapter 796: Plan

The main goal of heading to the Central Galaxy this time was to meet the upper echelons of the dynasty and enter the dynasty allies circle. Then, he would officially step into the Central Galaxy stage and be known in the heart of the universe.

Other than that, Han Xiao had two more important goals.

One was to try to obtain Ultimate Knowledge from the dynasty during this trip.

The dynasty had generously given him all the Mechanic class Cutting-Edge Knowledges, but Ultimate Knowledges were much more valuable. Even Beyond Grade A allies would have to make some contributions before getting rewarded with it. The dynasty was generous to give him all the Cutting-Edge Knowledge at once, but keeping the Ultimate Knowledges back was a rule.

Resources were not given completely free to the Beyond Grade A allies of Universal Civilizations. Han Xiao estimated that he would only be able to request Ultimate Knowledge after he finished exploring the Flickering World. However, he wanted to go to the Central Galaxy and see if he could get it in advance.

Due to the EXP penalty he received from the Evolution Cube, his strength growth was paused. Han Xiao planned to look for other ways to become stronger like the other Beyond Grade As.

Other than talents, blueprints, and abilities, there was only class knowledge left. Ultimate Knowledges could make anyone from any class tremendously stronger.

Currently, the highest-level knowledge he had was only Cutting-Edge Knowledges. His [King’s Mentor] required Ultimate Knowledge to be activated.

Another goal was to grow new leek fields.

Only some of the players were in the Shattered Star Ring; there were a lot of players in the other Star Fields. In the past, due to how far the distance was and how the army was not strong enough, Han Xiao could not reach them.

Now that there was a chance to borrow the Crimson Dynasty’s military inter-Star Field channel, he could bring some people to the dynasty’s territory to grow new leek fields.

This way, the fame within the players he had been accumulating throughout the last three versions would be of use. The name of The Black Star Army was attractive to the players of the other Star Fields too, and the players of the Shattered Star Ring were the best examples.

He might be able to bring some of the Central Galaxy players back.

Han Xiao smirked.

“This trip might take about two to three months, but I will return in time for the official exploration of the Flickering World. During this time, I will leave the matters of the army to you guys.”

“It’s thanks to you bringing back so many Shattered Star Ring allies that our partners are spread all across this Star Field,” Sylvia said with a serious face. “The expansion of the army is almost complete. We will be able to stabilize as long as we follow the plan. You don’t have to worry.”

“I’m not worried when you guys are taking care of it.” Han Xiao nodded with a smile.

The Black Star Army had officially become a Beyond Grade A organization and was now a giant in the Shattered Star Ring. According to the planned blueprint, it would continuously build more than ten thousand bases that would be spread across the various Star Clusters and Star Systems in the Shattered Star Ring.

The expansion of business was going very smoothly too. Through the channels provided by the partners from various industries, the Black Star Army had officially stepped into the various business industries. They were now involved in financial group trading, intelligence dealing, tourism transportation, mercenary production, and many more. Of course, most core businesses were still mercenary requests, resources mining, and armed alliance businesses. These three were the pillars of the army.

Among all the business models, the only one that was not replicable was the profits brought by the Evolution Cube. There was only one Evolution Cube, so it rightfully became the specialty of the Black Star Army. This was also the reason that the Black Star Army’s expansion was going so smoothly.

The Evolution Cube was accessible for the army members as well. They just had to exchange for the right to use it with Contribution Points. This was also how the army was able to attract many more newcomers than it had estimated, building the fundamentals for the army’s large-scale expansion.

As the Tyrant had ceased fire and Psyker had admitted his loss, no organization in this area could threaten the army’s position.

It could be said that the Shattered Star Ring had become the Black Star Army’s headquarters. The army had built a strong and firm base there. The next step was to open new markets.

“I will bring some Black Star Guards with me. Vice Commander Lagi will be responsible for the high-level combatants here. Don’t let him slack…”

Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and added, “Also, announce to the entire army that I’ve been invited to the Crimson Dynasty.”

“No problem.” Sylvia did not ask why.

Since he was going to open new leek fields, Han Xiao did not plan to not use the players’ information channel. He wanted to spread this news through the forums and let the players over there in the Central Galaxy be mentally prepared beforehand.

Han Xiao was not worried about someone messing with his headquarters after he left. The Tyrant had become his ally on paper, and they had agreed to a ceasefire, so causing trouble would not be beneficial to Heber at all.

Psyker was temporarily lying low as well. Through getting a seat for the Planet Aquamarine in the Civilization Conference, Han Xiao had given Planet Aquamarine political protection. If Psyker did something to the army while he was not present, it would be a law-breaking act. Furthermore, Psyker still had his race behind him, so he would not do anything rash.

The Evolution Cube was on Han Xiao at all times. If someone wanted to get it, they could only snatch it from him. Therefore, attacking the Black Star Army was meaningless. This applied to EsGod as well.

Han Xiao was even less worried about enemies below Beyond Grade A causing trouble—with so many Calamity Grade officers in the army, anyone who dared look for trouble would be asking to die.

…

After resting for two days, the long-distance fleet heading toward the Central Galaxy officially gathered.

It was the day of their departure.

The fleet was formed of 3,500 battleships, and the main ships were three mobile satellite bases. Although they were rather bulky, they were also equipped with hyperdrive devices, just not very high-speed ones.

Han Xiao did not produce Eternal Light flagships on a large scale—it would be too flamboyant for him, a Crimson Dynasty ally, to use the Federation of Light’s flagship. Han Xiao took it as a secret weapon and built it discreetly, storing it in the hangar. He did not plan to use it publicly for the time being.

Teny and the other dynasty elites had been invited by Han Xiao to take the same battleship.

In the command room, the people at all posts readied and stared at Han Xiao’s back, waiting for his order.

Before the enormous porthole, Han Xiao stood side by side with Ames and looked at the sea of stars outside.

The light from the thrusters of the battleships around illuminated their faces.

“Are you sure you want to come with me?”

“It’s not like I’ve never been to the Central Galaxy.” Ames smiled. “I’ll treat it as sightseeing.”

Aesop, who was beside them, caressed the beard on his chin and said, “I can visit my old friends.”

Han Xiao nodded. His deep voice then appeared in the communication channel, sounding in every battleship.

“Depart.”

Rumble!

The ship shivered slightly and started accelerating, leaving the Black Star Army headquarters.

The fleet had left.

Very soon, the spaceships turned into streams of light and disappeared in the black universe.

…

When the fleet departed, countless army members were watching from the headquarters satellite.

Following Han Xiao’s orders, Sylvia publicized Han Xiao’s whereabouts to the entire army. Everyone knew that their army commander had been invited to the Crimson Dynasty and was going to the dynasty’s capital to meet its leader.

That’s the head of one of the three universal civilizations, the most powerful person in this entire universe!

Countless army members were excited and honored. The army players expressed their shock actively on the forums—Black Star was the first person they knew about to cross servers!

This news piqued the interest of the players of the various Star Fields.

In the past, the Shattered Star Ring had always enjoyed the Black Star Army’s benefits alone, causing a lot of envy in the players of the other Star Fields.

Tons of the Black Star Army’s deeds were already circulating on the forums. Along with the sensational news that Han Xiao had become a Beyond Grade A, the benefits of the army had already spread to the players of all the Star Fields. Comparatively, the players of the other Star Field realized that the privileges and benefits their own factions gave was not even worth mentioning—no one would refuse to enjoy the army’s benefits.

Now, the opportunity to come into contact with the Black Star Army had arrived!

The players of the Central Galaxy were overjoyed. This topic exploded on their forums.

“Is the Black Star Army finally growing beyond its Star Field?”

“Haha, fantastic, we finally have a chance to join the Black Star Army.”

“Alas, only if they’re coming to the Primeval Star River too.”

The Shattered Star Ring players did not think much of it. The stronger the Black Star Army grew, the prouder they would feel. They also felt curious—after the army commander expanded into other Star Fields, would he bring back players from the other Star Fields?

To the current players, crossing Star Fields was way too difficult—they had no right to borrow the Inter-Star Field Stargate and could not afford spaceships that were fast enough. No player had crossed Star Fields for the time being. Furthermore, they had yet to even finish exploring the Star Field they were born in.

The players in the various Star Fields all played on their own and would only meet others on the professional stages and never in any other way.

“What if, since the Black Star Army guided us into the galaxy in Version 2.0, it will also be the faction to guide us to cross Star Fields in the future too?”

“That’s actually highly likely. The army has now become an ally of a universal civilization, and its next step will be to explore the Flickering World. It feels like it’s opening an inter-Star Field era for us.

There was a lot of speculation on the forums.

…

At the same time in the Bloodshed Land…

“Black Star has departed?”

“Yes, just.”

Heber sat on his throne. His fist supported his face, and he looked straight forward blankly at the palace gate.

As an ally of the Crimson Dynasty, he had been to the Crimson Dynasty long ago, exactly as Han Xiao had been invited.

As if his vision crossed the wide universe, an odd emotion appeared in Heber’s eyes as if some of his memories had resurfaced.

“Those guys in the Central Galaxy… are not the friendliest.”

…

On the Crimson Dynasty’s mother planet was Tarunamir Palace, the office space for the government affairs of the dynasty. Including the leader of the dynasty, all the core upper echelons dealt with their official duties inside. It was extremely large and could be considered a city on the mother planet.

This was the center of power of the dynasty. It was solemn, serious, and tightly guarded. The government officials that passed each other almost never spoke to each other.

A short person and a tall person walked side by side down a long corridor in Tarunamir Palace. Warm light shone from the windows on the left and painted their shadows on the wall.

The government officials that saw the two of them on the way all showed admiration by standing still and bowing, expressing their respect.

“This gathering is for you guys to meet that new ally.”

“I think he’s called Black Star?”

“Yes, he’s from the Shattered Star Ring, only became a Beyond Grade A recently.”

“Oh, a new Beyond Grade A from the Shattered Star Ring. When was the last time a new Beyond Grade A was born there? I can’t remember.”

“I have forgotten too.”

“Isn’t that quite tough-skinned Heber from the Shattered Star Ring too. Is he coming this time?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Sigh, then it’s no fun…”

“Who knows? The data shows that this new ally became a Beyond Grade A in the shortest time ever in history. His combat capability is not low, and he fought on par with Psyker and Heber. Furthermore, he has a nickname called ‘Indestructible Body’. Although he’s a Mechanic, his body is very tough.”

“Oh? This sounds fun. I wonder who’s more durable to beatings, him or Heber?”

The two of them chatted casually.

Chapter 797: Inter-Star Field Stargate

The Central Galaxy was many Star Fields from the Shattered Star Ring. There were also many desolate universe belts in between. The distance was extremely far. Back then, even though EsGod’s subordinates had taken an extremely fast high-grade spaceship, it had still taken them years to cross this distance in hyperdrive. Without hyperdrive, it would probably have taken billions of years.

The first stop of the fleet was the Inter-Star Field Stargate Station that the Crimson Dynasty had built in the Shattered Star Ring.

Inter-Star Field Stargates could tremendously reduce the traveling time. It was the one and only way to safely and quickly travel between Star Fields. This did not include natural wormholes.

The further the distance reduced by the stargate, the more difficult it would be for the coordinates to be accurate, and it would be easy to deviate from the target. An Inter-Star Field Stargate was a technology barrier; even Star Cluster civilizations could not build them. Civilizations stronger than Star Cluster civilizations had this technology, but the three Universal Civilizations had made a rule to forbid any other civilization except them from building Inter-Star Field Stargates. Therefore, all the Inter-Star Field Stargates used to travel between the Star Fields came from the three civilizations. They were divided into military and citizen use.

Han Xiao and the others planned to borrow the military path, which was quicker and more convenient. As a high-level ally of the dynasty, of course, he had the right to.

“I have notified the troops at the stargate station,” Zoel said in the communicator. “Once you identify yourself, they will let you pass and help you activate the military stargate. When you arrive at the Constellation Corridor, the dynasty’s troops would be waiting there for you.”

The Central Galaxy was the general name of the mother Star Fields of the three civilizations. They formed the central area of the universe. These three Star Fields were the Federation of Light’s Abyss of Stars, the Arcane Church’s Silver Arm, and the Crimson Dynasty’s Constellation Corridor.

The Crimson Dynasty’s military stargate in the Shattered Star Ring was located in a Star Cluster at the edge. Leaving from the Black Star Army, it would take about more than half a month to reach even with the stargates of the Star Cluster civilizations along the way and hyperdrive.

Han Xiao stayed within the long-distance fleet and communicated with Teny and the other dynasty elites on the way. With his identity and position, as well as the fact that they would meet each other every day given they were on the same ship, most people became familiar with Han Xiao.

Only Teny maintained an indifferent attitude—he was naturally suspicious, and keeping his alert up was a habit.

However, Han Xiao knew his personality rather well. If he used his personality to get close to him, it would have the opposite effect and make him even more cautious. Furthermore, as a Beyond Grade A, he would not lower his pride and fawn over a dynasty colonel. Therefore, Han Xiao treated all equally and did not look for Teny to speak privately.

According to Teny’s personality, Han Xiao decided to stay put and wait. As Teny was also a Mechanic, he would likely go to him and ask for a lesson. After all, they were both on the dynasty’s side; getting to know Han Xiao was the best way to learn. Although Han Xiao did not know where Teny’s alertness came from, it did not seem like there was a need for him to give up an opportunity like this.

About ten days after setting off, Teny finally knocked on his door.

…

“You want to learn about my machinery technology?”

Inside the room, Han Xiao told Phillip to control the domestic robots to send two calming light green vegetable drinks onto the table. He looked at Teny and his deputy, Corbus, who sat opposite him.

Teny nodded slowly and did not touch the drink on the table. “Not really learn. I just want to exchange some knowledge with you.”

As he had a request to make on this trip, he would not give an unfriendly face. He let go of a part of his caution and used a sincere attitude.

To him, this was nothing to be ashamed of. No matter what he would achieve in the future, for now, he was just a dynasty colonel. His position and identity were miles away from Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was delighted within but did not show it at all. He tapped the table and said, despite knowing the answer, “I only know you’re a Mechanic, but I have never heard about what branch you focus on.”

“Pure Mechanic, Armed Branch. I crossed the Grade A barrier two years ago and became a Calamity Grade,” Teny said.

“Hmm, although I’m not of the Armed Branch, I can still teach you some experience.” Han Xiao smiled.

“That’s exactly my request.” Teny nodded.

Every Beyond Grade A Mechanics had a specialty. Some had special styles; some had unique technology. With Teny’s current level, he rarely had the chance to come into contact with any Beyond Grade As. Since Black Star was there, he did not want to give up on the opportunity to learn things from him.

Back when he knew that he was going there, he had already thought of this. After observing Han Xiao for a few days, he had finally decided to make a move.

Han Xiao chatted with him about technology for many hours, and Teny felt he had benefitted a lot from it.

“Let’s end here for today.” Han Xiao stopped and smiled. He then deliberately pointed at his temple and said, “I just transmitted some theory information into your communicator. Some is my experience; some are theories I’ve collected. Take a look.”

Teny heard and nodded. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Han Xiao waved his hand, suppressed his grin, and acted casual. “There’s nothing much to do on the way anyway. If you have anything you want to ask, you can come to me again.”

“Okay.” Teny squeezed out a smile and gave an even better attitude. After all, he now owed Han Xiao a little.

Han Xiao knew to not continue and expressed his intention of sending the guests away. Teny bowed and left the room. His footsteps were much lighter.

After watching Teny leave, only then did Han Xiao started to shake his head and laugh with satisfaction. With this opportunity, their relationship would have chance to grow. Teny’s Favorability was close to ‘Friendly’.

With this identity of mine, making friends with high-class people is much easier than before.

If it were a player who wanted to get close to Teny, they would have almost no way to do so. For him, however, it was different. Teny had yet to achieve what he achieved in his previous life, so his position now was higher than Teny’s. Furthermore, he was the dynasty’s ally. With so many factors, even though Teny seemed cautious, he still came right to Han Xiao’s doorstep.

With Han Xiao’s current position and identity, farming character Favorability was much easier for him compared to the players.

…

In the next ten or so days, Teny went to consult Han Xiao every two days. Their relationship gradually improved, and they slowly turned into friends. This future marshal of the dynasty was treating himself as the student when he was with Han Xiao.

Of course, due to identity reasons, it was impossible for him to really become Han Xiao’s student. However, Beyond Grade As had zero obligation to teach their experience to anyone. Han Xiao being so generous was doing him quite a huge favor. Despite being suspicious, Teny was not someone that could not differentiate the good from the bad. With this in his mind, of course, he would not distance himself from Han Xiao.

Also, every time Teny came, he would bring Corbus along. Han Xiao had some knowledge about this person as well—he was very loyal to Teny, and Teny treated his subordinates well, which gave this guy quite a lot of extra benefits.

Han Xiao felt that he could do something about Corbus. Like chasing a girl, bribing her best friend was a shortcut. Of course, he could not bribe Teny’s loyal subordinates, but if he did a great favor for Corbus, Teny might have even more gratitude for him given how Teny had taken care of Corbus.

More than half a month passed. The fleet finally arrived at the dynasty’s military stargate station at the Shattered Star Ring.

In the dark universe, a hexagonal stargate hovered. Thick space energy flew inside the gate, forming a deep blue vortex. Around it was the dynasty’s heavy universe fortresses with garrisoned troops. Unlike the citizen-use station, no spaceship could enter or leave the stargate there—this was only for the dynasty’s troops to use.

As the fleet approached, this stargate expanded in their sights. When getting close, the edges of this stargate seemed to extend to the end of one’s sights. It was enormous and marvelous.

“Warning! Warning! Psionic Annihilation Beam aim lock detected!”

The artificial intelligence on the main ship that Han Xiao was in alerted them. The people were not surprised. They knew that they would be locked on by the guarding troops as soon as they entered a certain distance around the military stargate.

The artificial intelligence received a message from the guarding troops. “Stop advancing, report your identity.”

“Black Star.” Han Xiao validated his identity.

After a while, he finally received a confirmation message of his identity. The guarding troops removed the annihilation beam’s aim lock and signaled for the fleet to advance.

This time, the main fleet received a communication request from the guarding troops. After picking up, a person that seemed to be the commander appeared on the screen and said with an expressionless face, “Your Excellency Black Star, Envoy Zoel has told us to set your course in advance. This stargate teleportation will be in direct mode.

“The target is Crimson Ring Star Zone 8, the dynasty’s territory. There will be a team of troops there sent by the mother planet to receive you. They will open a flight path and bring you guys for hyperjump. Only then will you be able to pass through the Psionic Belt outside the mother planet and arrive on the dynasty’s mother planet.”

Han Xiao nodded.

All the Universal Civilizations had powerful weapons to prepare for the day if one of them went mad and used super-long range Primordial Psionic Energy cannons to instantly shatter their mother planet. Therefore, all the Universal Civilizations’ mother planets were equipped with all kinds of top-notch defensive measures.

Then, this commander looked at Teny, who was on the side, squeezing out what looked like a smile from his seemingly paralyzed face. “Teny, it’s been a long time.”

“It’s you.” Teny’s expression was a little odd. “Why are you here guarding the stargate?”

“This is an order from above.” This commander shook his head. A hint of bitterness appeared in his eyes but was immediately suppressed.

This command and Teny were graduates from the same year of the dynasty’s ‘Journey’ high-level military school. They knew each other, and both of their results were outstanding. They were supposed to have bright futures, but Teny did not expect him to be sent to guard the stargate.

Guarding the stargate was not a good job, especially military stargates. There was close to zero chance of achieving something remarkable, and they would be held responsible if anything went wrong. However, to keep the stargates safe, elite troops had to be stationed there. Therefore, those stationed at the stargates were either sent there randomly or unlucky ones who were marginalized during faction conflicts. No one would ask to be stationed there.

Teny understood that this friend of his had clearly suffered due to faction conflicts. He shook his head with resignation. “All the best then. Anyway, you’ll be sent away in a few years. Take it as an opportunity to train your soldiers.”

The transfer period of the stargate guarding troops was not long, usually around six to ten years. The dynasty would also not waste elite troops on stargates all the time.

After chatting for a little, this commander finally ended the communication. This time, the fleet was about to enter the stargate as well.

An extremely strong attraction force came from the other side of the stargate, wanting to drag all of them in like a black hole.

The fleet entered the stargate, and the world outside the porthole became bright.

The inside of the stargate path was filled with violent space energy but was restricted by the stargate’s technology, creating a stable path.

The spaceship almost felt stationary. The people inside could not feel the speed of the spaceship’s advance at all, as if the fleet had stopped moving in the stargate.

However, in an instant, the ship trembled. The space energy around disappeared, and the scenery outside the porthole became the black universe filled with diamond-like star lights once again.

The stargate that had previously been in front of them was now behind the fleet.

The fortresses around were stationed differently as well. The troops stationed there were more than ten times larger in quantity compared to the previous one.

A special fleet waited before them. The appearance of the spaceship was special. It seemed to be a very uncommon spaceship model.

Beep beep!

This time, every quantum network device received an area announcement made by this special fleet.

“Welcome to the Central Galaxy, Your Excellency Black Star.”

Chapter 798: Dynasty Mother Plane

“Welcome to the Central Galaxy, Your Excellency Black Star.”

I’m here, at the center of the universe…

As the area announcement sounded, this strange-looking fleet slowly advanced. The fleet’s main ship received a communication request. An officer wearing the dynasty’s high-level army uniform appeared on the screen. He had a small mustache and looked highly intelligent.

“I’m the commander of the dynasty mother planet’s Guard Team 17, here on orders to welcome the dynasty’s ally.”

Han Xiao’s brows rose as he sized him up. This commander was not someone famous, but Han Xiao was somewhat familiar with him. In his previous life, when the players traveled to the dynasty’s mother planet, they had to go through many inspections before the mother planet’s guard team brought them through. These people were like the gatekeepers, so the players were familiar with all of them.

“Thanks,” Han Xiao said.

“Please follow me.”

Then, the guard team turned around and headed to the mother planet. The fleet followed behind.

Ames suddenly turned and asked Han Xiao, “This is your first time here at the Central Galaxy, right?”

“Hmm.” Han Xiao did not deny it. He knew the Central Galaxy like the back of his hand, but on paper, this was his first time there.

“Then let me tell you about it…” Ames shook her head. She used to occasionally visit the Central Galaxy to sightsee while also searching for Aesop, so she was quite familiar with it. Since Black Star had never gone before, she felt that she had to help Han Xiao know more about the situation here.

Listening to Ames talking about the Central Galaxy, Han Xiao felt a little strange, as if he was a farmer entering a big city for the first time.

“Unlike the other Star Fields, here in the Central Galaxy, the three civilizations rule over all the Star System and the Star Cluster civilizations,” Aesop added while Ames was speaking. “In the other Star Fields, the various civilizations are on different sides, while here they’re all on one side. The security here is the safest in all the Star Fields. Other than some brutes that are on EsGod’s level, there are close to no galactic pirates or wanderers here. They are eliminated as soon as they’re discovered by the three civilizations.”

Han Xiao nodded. The three civilizations ruled over the Central Galaxy. This was their headquarters and was basically under their complete control. Maintaining the law was equivalent to maintaining their own ruling, so they were not going to allow any disruption.

The two fleets left the stargate station and stopped.

The commander of the mother planet guard team said, “Please wait a moment. I will now open a path for everyone and bring you guys to the mother planet.

Then, the mother planet guard team’s battleships shot out blue and green beams, which formed a dot far away. A blue and green ring gradually expanded from it and turned into a teleportation gate-looking path. The inside of the gate was bright green.

“This path is for you guys to safely pass through the Psionic Seal Ring of the mother planet. Your spaceships will receive a coating once you enter the path, so you won’t be obliterated by the Psionic Seal Ring,” the mother planet guard team commander explained.

The Psionic Seal Ring was like layers of shielding covering the mother planet, protecting it against all kinds of Planetary Obliteration attacks.

This was not just a regular shield. It covered around half of the entire Crimson Ring Star System. Only universal civilizations could build something this grand.

The coating was one of the advanced application methods of energy. Different coatings were like different passwords, and the wrong coatings would not be allowed into the various Psionic Seal Rings. It was like a security pass and a key.

As the fleet entered the light green gate, a thick, colorful coating covered all the spaceships. The guard team followed behind, and the gate closed after them.

The guard team led the way ahead. The two fleets turned into streams of light and advanced following the safe path.

On the ship, Teny started to chat casually with Han Xiao about his mother planet.

“The Psionic Seal Ring was built during the exploration era war. Back then, it was to protect against the Planetary Obliteration attacks from the other civilizations. The cosmic space inside the ring can be considered a completely sealed new world. During the war, the scientists adjusted the physical constants inside, all for the sake of safety. When the time of peace came, these altered physical constants became a form of contamination. It took quite a lot of effort to fix them and make the sealed world that the mother planet was in return to a normal cosmic space…”

“The three civilizations’ technology is so much more advanced than before.” Aesop caressed his beard as he spoke. “With the concentration of resources, talents, and technology, their development speed far exceeds those beyond Star Cluster civilizations. The gap between them is growing constantly. I wonder what can even shake your rule nowadays.”

Han Xiao scratched his nose and did not say anything.

This time, the two fleets passed by an area. Through the porthole, Han Xiao could see a cluster of dark blue light faraway.

Seeing Han Xiao look over, Teny explained, “That’s a cluster of Primordial Psionic Energy. If we get close, we will be assimilated and devoured. That’s one of the defense measures of the Psionic Seal Ring.”

After flying in hyperdrive for two days, the spaceship trembled suddenly and finally left the Psionic Seal Ring. In their sights, a sesame-sized dark red planet appeared.

“That’s the dynasty’s capital, the Crimson Ring Star Group. Planet Crimson Ring is the main planet. There are sixteen satellites and sixty large government life stations around it, as well as many space bases. The total population is 470 billion,” Corbus said with pride.

Han Xiao tutted and said, “The house price there must be very high.”

“That’s right… but your focus is a little odd.” Corbus’ lips twitched. I was talking about how marvelous the mother planet is, and you asked me if the house price there is high? Are we even talking about that‽

As the fleet moved closer, they started to see the details of the Crimson Ring Star Group.

Planet Crimson Ring was extremely large. The people of the Crimson Dynasty had artificially modified the size of their mother ship. The sixteen smaller satellites orbited around it. These natural satellites had been moved there by the dynasty using their technology to offset the gravitational pull so the mother planet’s habitable area would be enlarged. The planet’s surface was filled with buildings.

There were also many large life stations and space fortresses around.

“The capital of a universal civilization, it is indeed marvelous to look at,” Ames complimented softly. This was her first time there at the capital of the Crimson Dynasty, and it was thanks to Han Xiao.

“When I was still one of the Ancient Ones, I did come once before, but I did not have as grand an entrance as you.” Aesop sighed. “I wonder if the national pillars of the Crimson Dynasty still remember me. I only met them once.”

Following the orders, the fleet parked at a space port. The members of the Black Star Army remained in the ships while Han Xiao and the others took the spaceship prepared by the Crimson Dynasty toward Planet Crimson Ring.

He deliberately decided not to bring the players. The players possessed too many uncertainties, so things might get out of hand if they caused any trouble there. Furthermore, if he took the Shattered Star Ring players there, he might not be able to take them back.

As they approached Planet Crimson Ring, the buildings on the surface became gradually clearer. The Crimson Dynasty was known to be strict, hardworking, and pragmatic. Compared to the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church, the cultural aspect of the dynasty was not as advanced. Their architectural aesthetic was focused on sharpness, bulkiness, and symmetry. The main colors used were red, black, and metallic gray.

Hu!

The spaceship slowly landed outside a huge city. The sunlight from the artificial Fixed Star coated the upright buildings with a layer of gold. This was the main city of the dynasty’s mother planet, Tarunamir Palace, the power center of the entire dynasty.

A group of receptionists were waiting at the docks. They approached and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, we’re responsible for welcoming you. Please follow me to Tarunamir Palace’s Dynasty Reception Center to rest for a day. The dynasty’s leader will personally meet you tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Han Xiao had no objection. He then looked at Teny and the group of the dynasty elites and said, “What about you guys?”

Teny shook his head. “We have to report to the army.”

Han Xiao nodded before casually summoning a set of Beyond Grade A orange-grade hovering guards to give to Teny.

“For you to protect yourself, I don’t know when we will meet next. Keep in contact.”

Teny was stunned for a moment. He accepted the set of machinery and gave Han Xiao a deep look. “Okay.”

Han Xiao did not forget about the other elite officers and gave them some machinery too, showing friendliness. Mechanical weapons built by a Beyond Grade A were quite valuable to Calamity Grade Mechanics, and Han Xiao had a ton of them.

Han Xiao watched as Teny and the others left.

If not because they had gone to accept the modification, Han Xiao would not have had the chance to have close contact with them. He wondered if he would have chances like this to gain Favorability again in the future.

After the dynasty elites left, the group only consisted of Han Xiao, Ames, Aesop, Hila, and the Black Star Guards. They followed the receptionists through the military security zone and entered Tarunamir Palace.

The moment Han Xiao stepped into the city, suddenly, seven enormous waves of energy erupted and soared into the sky.

Boom!

“Hmm?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and stopped his footsteps.

These seven sources of energy were all Beyond Grade A!

The seven waves only lasted for an instant before they were withdrawn. There seemed to be no provocative intention, just to showcase their own existence.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Seven Beyond Grade As… They should be the ones belonging to the dynasty itself and the allies that the dynasty had gathered.

He thought about it. This did not look like a provocation, more like a Beyond Grade A style greeting to the newcomer.

“Your Excellency Black Star, to welcome your alliance, the dynasty has gathered the National Pillars under its command,” the receptionist said at a suitable moment. “Other than those who are held back by business or are too far away, all the Beyond Grade As who are free have come. There is a total of seven of them.

“After you meet with the dynasty’s leader tomorrow, we will arrange for the various National Pillars to meet with you too.”

“National Pillars, these guys have quite a nice title.” Han Xiao smiled casually.

“What are you talking about?” The receptionist chuckled. “You, too, are now a National Pillar of our Crimson Dynasty.”

…

“That newcomer is here.”

In a certain room inside Tarunamir Palace, a few people with various appearances sat on the sofa and looked in Han Xiao’s direction with interest.

“Didn’t respond.”

“Looks like it’s his first time seeing so many Beyond Grade As together, so he doesn’t know the rules.”

“It’s only normal since he’s from the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Hmm? The woman beside him is a Beyond Grade A, too.”

“The Dragon Emperor, Ames, I know her.”

“The old man beside looks familiar too… Hey, that guy seems to be one of you guys, the Ancient Ones in the past. The one that knows prophecy.”

“It is him. I remember.”

“Hehe, this new ally seems quite interesting.”

“The Evolution Cube is in his hands. Don’t be excessive tomorrow. I still want to borrow it.”

Chapter 799: Dynasty Ruler Urranrell and Dark Lord Clotti

The interior reception center of Tarunamir Palace had multiple independent villas.

Han Xiao and the others followed the receptionist into one of them. This would be the temporary accommodation for them.

After settling down, Han Xiao locked himself in his room and pondered about the next day.

“I will be meeting the dynasty’s leader and those Beyond Grade As tomorrow. I wonder what the dynasty’s leader will talk to me about… Hmm, other than the customary welcome of me being a new ally, the dynasty’s leader might request to use the Evolution Cube here on a large scale, as well as invite me to some events…

“As for those Beyond Grade As, they will take me into their circle as an ally. Since we’re all on the same side, we will have to help each other…”

He knew the Beyond Grade A members list of the dynasty very clearly, and he knew some of their personalities and likings. However, at this moment, he did not know who the seven who had come were.

“Many of the Beyond Grade As of universal civilizations are seniors who have lived a very long time. They have a ton of talents, abilities, energy, and are very strong…”

He felt that his meeting with the Beyond Grade As tomorrow would most likely not be just a simple meeting.

Beyond Grade As were all individuals with extreme power; strength was their fundamentals. When a newcomer joined their circle, some people might want to test him. If he was weak, even if he would still be accepted into the circle, he would be marginalized—only the strong would be respected.

The three strongest individuals were at the top among the Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty. Han Xiao wondered how many of them were in attendance this time.

“Although I’m not weak, I’m just barely over the Beyond Grade A doorstep, and some of my attributes are not high enough. The Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation is already halfway done, which gave me close to 10,000 energy… as for the machinery aspect, it’s also more complete…”

Lately, other than dealing with the army’s matters, Han Xiao had spent a lot of time building machinery and had stocked up quite a lot of inventory.

Through all the Cutting-Edge Knowledges he obtained, Han Xiao had fused many new machinery blueprints. Other than adding new units into the mechanical army, he also built many other high-level machines that could be used for multiple purposes. He had been increasing his strength through the Mechanic way.

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up suddenly.

“Since I know some information about these Beyond Grade As… maybe I can make use of that tomorrow.”

…

After sleeping for the night, in the early morning the next day, one dynasty emissary came to Han Xiao’s doorstep.

Hila opened the door. The emissary was standing outside with a respectful expression.

“Greetings, the Dynasty Ruler has invited His Excellency Black Star to a meeting.”

“Let’s go.” Han Xiao walked out of his room and nodded.

Hila and the others wanted to follow, but Han Xiao waved his hands and told them to stay. Seeing this, the emissary, who was about to stop them, swallowed the words he wanted to say.

Flying was not allowed above Tarunamir Palace, so the two of them boarded the long-awaited land carrier and drove toward the city center.

The city center was the office area for the people at the highest positions in the dynasty. It was a marvelous and enormous palace.

The closer they got to the center, the tighter the security was. The areas were covered with all kinds of mechanical detection devices and teams of dynasty elite patrols. With just a brief feel, Han Xiao could sense the presence of more than ten Calamity Grades, and that was just from one direction. The defense of the dynasty’s capital was extremely powerful.

Not only did universal civilizations control the Central Galaxy—they also controlled some other Star Fields to a certain extent. They had rich talents and resources, as well as all kinds of high-level Super schools to raise talents within. Their ratio of Calamity Grades far exceeded anywhere else in Galaxy. With those factors, the universal civilizations had plenty of powerful members.

The carrier stopped outside the palace, and Han Xiao followed the emissary inside. They passed by checkpoint after checkpoint before boarding the hovering lift inside to the top floor. This entire floor was the office of the dynasty’s leader.

After passing by the guard and secretary area, the emissary pushed a door open and gestured for him to enter.

Han Xiao nodded and walked right in. The room entered his sights.

This was a wide office. The room was rectangular, the walls were deep red, and there were floor-to-ceiling windows on every wall.

The floor was covered in a red carpet, and at the edge was a green potted plant. It looked like it was carefully looked after and was giving off a calming aroma. A filled bookshelf stood against one side of the wall, and on the other side was a white stone circular coffee table and a red sofa used to seat guests. There was no furniture in the middle of the room. A huge chandelier hung from the ceiling. Further in, there was an office desk, and a person sat behind it. Another person stood beside the desk.

With just one look, Han Xiao recognized the dynasty’s leader who was sitting down.

Her long and white hair was coiled up. The dignified vibe and her serious eyes could make people ignore her looks.

Urranrell Shin Rybet, the Crimson Dynasty’s ruler!

Yes, the dynasty’s current leader was a woman!

The Crimson Dynasty only admired the strong; sex was not a factor.

The succession of the dynasty’s leader had nothing to do with the bloodline. During the term of the previous leader, the training for the candidates for the next leader would have already started. There was more than one candidate. They were all top-notch elites that the upper echelons and the various factions selected through negotiations.

The emissary closed the door from outside.

“Black Star, I’m the Crimson Dynasty Ruler, Urranrell. Please, take a seat.” Urranrell stood up, approached him, and reached out her hand.

The man behind her followed tightly after. His sharp eyes were fixed on Han Xiao as if no movement could deceive his eyes.

“Hi.” Han Xiao shook her hand. The two of them then sat opposite each other on the guest sofa, while the man behind Urranrell still stood behind her.

“This is Clotti, the captain of the Dynasty Ruler Personal Guards.” Urranrell introduced the man behind her.

Clotti raised his head a little with an expressionless face as a greeting.

Han Xiao looked calm, but he had a lot of thoughts in mind.

In his previous life, the leaders of universal civilizations changed quite a number of times throughout the versions. Urranrell was the Crimson Dynasty Ruler during one stage. During her term, to the players, the most famous achievement she made was the battle and the development of the Flickering World. She obtained a new Star Field for the dynasty.

The players in his previous life did not know much about this Dynasty Ruler. That was because, during her reign, the main stage of the players were the Flickering World and their own Star Fields. They had yet to have much contact with the upper echelons of universal civilizations. To them, the leaders of universal civilizations were just a few lines of words in the background introduction.

Now, however, Urranrell was right before his eyes. This woman was one of the three most powerful people in the entire universe. It could even be said that they ruled the universe. What she represented had completely overshadowed her appearance or sex.

Clotti, who was behind her, was her bodyguard, a senior Beyond Grade A nurtured by the dynasty. He was an Esper, and his ability was the control of dark energy and dark matter. Among his nicknames were ‘Dark Emperor’, ‘Lord of Dark Matter’, and ‘Cosmic Distorter’.

This person was one of the three strongest Beyond Grade As in the dynasty!

“Firstly, on behalf of the Crimson Dynasty, we welcome you as an ally.” Urranrell cut to the chase and stared at Han Xiao’s eyes.

“This is my honor,” Han Xiao replied.

“For the initial stages of the Flickering World exploration, the dynasty needs Heber and your power,” Urranrell said slowly. “According to our agreement, other than the resources the dynasty gives you as support, after everything is done, you will receive an area in the Flickering World…”

Han Xiao nodded. “I know.”

“You’re the dynasty’s ally. As long as you make contributions to the dynasty, the dynasty will certainly not hold back on our resources,” Urranrell said with a very serious tone. “The more tasks you’re willing to take on, the more resources the dynasty will provide you. Sometimes, the dynasty might send out an announcement to dispatch the Beyond Grade As including you and carry out some missions. Of course, if you encounter difficulties, you can also request backup from the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty. Remember, you’re one of the dynasty’s National Pillars. At the same time, the dynasty has your back.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and was quite satisfied. Duty and power were associated. By becoming the Crimson Dynasty’s ally, he became their power, and they became his. The various Beyond Grade A allies were not just the dynasty’s resources, but he had the right to borrow them as well.

“As for the Evolution Cube in your hands, you don’t have to worry. By all means, we welcome you to hand it to us willingly, but even if you’re not willing to, the dynasty will certainly not snatch it away from you. However, I have a request. The dynasty doesn’t oppose you to use the Evolution Cube to negotiate with other organizations, but the evolution allocation for the dynasty must be unlimited. We will send people to the Black Star Army anytime for evolution.”

“Of course.” Han Xiao nodded. He limited allocations for the other civilizations, but he would not set a limit for his biggest ally, the Crimson Dynasty.

Furthermore, the Crimson Dynasty’s population was way too high. There was no way they would make the outrageous request of having their entire race go through evolution. They would not do that even if they had the Evolution Cube themselves.

“Since you’ve come to the dynasty’s mother planet, you might as well stay here for a few days and transform the teams on the mother planet,” Urranrell said.

As expected, this is one of the main reasons you called me here, Han Xiao thought.

Compared to selecting elites and sending them to the Shattered Star Ring for evolution, it was clearly more convenient to call him over to the Crimson Dynasty.

Furthermore, the mother planet’s troops could not casually be moved around, so summoning him there to use the Evolution Cube was the best solution. This way, the various factions also would not have to negotiate for allocations.

Chapter 800: Pressure

After the two of them talked about business for some time, Urranrell changed the topic. “One more thing. The dynasty is willing to help the Black Star Army build a division in the Central Galaxy to aid communication between both sides. I know you already planned to do this since you brought your portable base here. The dynasty supports this.”

“That would be great.” Han Xiao nodded.

“As for the details, I will let someone settle them with you,” Urranrell said. “If you have any other requests, you can tell me now.”

Han Xiao caressed his chin. “I hope to obtain the Ultimate Knowledge of the Mechanic class as soon as possible. I’m wondering if there are any chances.”

Without changing her expression at all, Urranrell said, “The resource rewards of the dynasty are given to allies who’ve made contributions. If you want to obtain it as soon as possible, I suggest you help the dynasty do some things. I will have someone make a list of the matters that the dynasty requires aid with and notify you.”

Then Urranrell stood up, extended her hand, and signaled the end of this meeting. Han Xiao did not continue to speak. He stood up as well and shook her hand before bidding farewell and leaving.

The emissary had been waiting outside the door. He guided him out of this palace.

After Han Xiao left, Urranrell leaned on the chair and said slowly with her eyes closed, “Crowell, when you guys meet him later, remember to keep the situation under control.”

Clotti grunted in assent and left.

…

Han Xiao boarded the ground carrier. The driver did not head in the direction they had come from but toward another direction.

“Your Excellency Black Star, the National Pillars have been waiting. I’m taking you to meet them,” the emissary explained.

Han Xiao did not reply and was still thinking of his meeting with Urranrell earlier.

The meeting was short. Urranrell had plenty of matters to deal with every day, so she would not have time to have a casual chat with him. Hence, everything they had talked about was business. The terms and agreements of the Flickering World partnership were mentioned. After the pioneering of the entire Star Field was complete, as the leading exploration team, he would receive one area that he would be able to develop freely. It was like land awarded by the government.

He would rule that area and own all kinds of rights to it as long as he paid taxes to the dynasty every once in a while.

This was one of the most important terms in their agreement, it would make the Black Star Army even stronger. This was also something very important to Han Xiao. As for the location and size of that area, it would depend on his achievements during the development of the Star Field.

The use of the Evolution Cube and creating a new division of the Black Star Army were his rights and duties as an ally of the dynasty. If he wanted to obtain Ultimate Knowledge personally, he would have to do some dynasty missions. With Urranrell having already spoken about this, he would not have to trigger them himself. The dynasty’s men would make a mission list and give it to him, which was much more convenient.

Urranrell… Dynasty Ruler… doesn’t show her emotions, not easy to read…

Through the conversation earlier, the image Urranrell gave to him was filled with prestige and the vibe of someone in a high position. Compared to an individual with flesh and blood, this Dynasty Ruler felt more like a symbol, making people ignore her personal traits. Han Xiao basically gave up on wanting to farm her Favorability.

The ruler represented the dynasty. Urranrell had most likely cut off all her personal desires, so she would not have any weaknesses, would be able to maintain rational at all times, and would never let her emotions take over. Her personal feelings would never affect her decisions.

To someone like this, farming Favorability was basically a high-cost, low-reward act, so Han Xiao did not want to waste his efforts.

Comparatively, it would be easier to bond with the Beyond Grade As.

Very soon, the carrier stopped before a villa. This was not a villa in the reception center but the residential area of the internal members.

Clotti stood in front of the door with an expressionless face. He nodded and said, “Black Star, follow me. Everyone’s waiting.”

Han Xiao walked out of the car and looked at Clotti with a strange expression.

The two of them had just met back at Urranrell’s place not long ago. He had traveled there by carrier, while this guy had sprinted over so that he could be waiting for him in advance. Although Beyond Grade As’ speed would be much quicker than land carriers, visualizing that image in his mind still felt quite comical.

They opened the door and entered.

As soon as they entered the house, the eyes of six different Beyond Grade As all looked over and stared at Han Xiao with curiosity.

Clotti looked for a seat and sat down, leaving Han Xiao standing alone.

Han Xiao scanned around. He was not unfamiliar with all six of them. They were all known Beyond Grade A allies of the Crimson Dynasty. There was even a member of the Ancient Ones.

However, among the three strongest people in the dynasty, only Clotti was present.

The seven people there all had different looks in their eyes. Some were filled with anticipation, some were cold, and some were curious. These Beyond Grade As all had different dynasty factions behind them, so their personal stand was not the same.

“So, you’re Black Star from the Shattered Star Ring?” One of them sized Han Xiao up. When his eyes looked past the Evolution Cube, a tint of hostility seemed to have flashed for an instant.

“Who else did you think I was?” Han Xiao raised his brows and did not respond politely. Everyone there was a Beyond Grade A; he did not plan to keep a low profile. He would only be respected if he showed his strength.

“Of the four… oh, five Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring, both you and Heber have joined the Crimson Dynasty. Which one of you is stronger?” someone beside asked with curiosity.

“If you’re so curious, why don’t you try it out yourself?” Han Xiao shrugged. He did not want to be questioned while standing up, so he found a random seat and sat down.

These Beyond Grade A had no idea that although this was their first meeting, Han Xiao knew about them quite well and had a very clear idea of the situation in this room.

Among the seven people, Clotti was above all and looked calm and cold. He represented the ruler’s confidant faction, so he only watched but did not interfere. Another Beyond Grade A who was close to the dynasty military’s Youngsters Faction looked very interested in him and seemed to have the intention of wooing him. The other five more or less wanted to test him.

Seeing how Han Xiao did not take any steps back at all, they exchanged glances and saw a little bit of surprise in each others’ eyes.

In the past, the newcomers came with the intention of making friends with them. These newcomers thought that everyone would be talking calmly and politely, while the older members would make this meeting into somewhat of a review and questioning section. They would keep asking provocative questions and watch the new Beyond Grade A suppress their anger and answer every question. Most people there had experienced this and left a dark history. Therefore, this became a tradition in accepting the newcomers.

If someone could not take it, they would speak with fists to determine their position in the future.

If it was a previously renowned neutral Beyond Grade A becoming an ally, only then would they give the newcomer face and restrain themselves.

Of course, Black Star, who had just become a Beyond Grade A, was not on that list.

However, this was only the start, and they had yet to even start the real provocation, but Black Star had already retaliated. It was clear that this newcomer was not planning to follow their plan.

It’s probably because Heber shared his experience with him…

In their eyes, it looked like Han Xiao knew about their tradition, and Heber, who also left a dark history there, was from the Shattered Star Ring. Therefore, it was most likely that Black Star knew about this from him and did not want to let their plan succeed by speaking in this manner.

“Not going to happen…”

They secretly exchanged looks and made a plan.

“Hehe.” The person who spoke first said coldly, “Black Star, I don’t think you’ve realized what your position is.”

“Oh? Mr. Star Slasher, what do you mean?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Viru, a Beyond Grade A Pugilist of the War Soldier Branch. Among his nicknames were ‘Star Slasher’ and ‘Fixed Star Splitter’. He came from the Primeval Star River, now an ally of the dynasty, and was operating tens of thousands of galactical Pugilist dojos in the Central Galaxy.

“This is the center of the universe, the Central Galaxy. Do you think this is the Shattered Star Ring that only has five Beyond Grade As? How dare you speak to us that manner…”

Boom!

Before he finished his sentence, Viru suddenly released his energy, which slashed the villa in two. The thick aura and his cold stare pressed onto Han Xiao. As if he was furious, he said word by word, “A newbie who has just entered the Beyond Grade A stage, who gave you the right to be this arrogant in front of us‽”

“Tsk.” Expressionless, Clotti waved his hands and told the patrols who rushed there not to get close. Viru restrained his energy and did not let it spread out. Clotti did not stop Viru’s action.

Other than the Beyond Grade A close to the Youngsters Faction who was shaking his head and did not speak, the others all had unfriendly expressions on their faces and stared at Han Xiao, pressuring him.

Even if Heber had told him the rules earlier, they did not believe that Black Star would not be afraid of offending all of them at once.

If Black Star continued to not step back, they did not mind teaching him a lesson. As for if that would anger Black Star… they all had Beyond Grade A organizations, so it did not matter.

The few of them secretly looked at Han Xiao’s expression, hoping to find a tint of panic or fear on his face.

The sharp and aggressive aura was like a knife in Han Xiao’s face. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly chuckled. “Alright, let’s make things easier. We’re all Beyond Grade As. If we have any conflicts, we can settle it by fighting.”

Then, before everyone could respond, Han Xiao pointed at Viru. “You and I will fight, how about that?”

The others were surprised and even more interested.

This newcomer is deliberately issuing a challenge? How confident. Doesn’t he know we’re all seniors who’ve fought a very long time for the dynasty?

They initially wanted to bring sparring up to provoke Black Star into fighting, but they did not expect this guy to propose it first.

“Okay.” Viru’s expression looked irritated.

He had already showcased his energy, yet Black Star still wanted to challenge him. Did Black Star think that he had a chance of winning?

Viru would not allow his position to be threatened.

Han Xiao was calm. He had already guessed that only strength would earn him respect in the Beyond Grade A allies circle, so he had mentally prepared to fight long ago.

In order to befriend Beyond Grade As, he first had to show strength worth befriending.

This time, Clotti spoke slowly.

“Go fight outside the Psionic Seal Ring. Don’t fight near the mother planet.”

…

“Your Excellency, Black Star’s meeting with the National Pillars was not pleasant. He challenged His Excellency Star Slasher to a spar. Clotti and the other National Pillar have gone along as well.”

Hearing the report from the internal communicator, Urranrell said, “Clotti will take care of this. You guys don’t have to worry about it.”

“Understood.”

“Hmm… go and notify Black Star’s friends.”

Then, Urranrell hung up the communicator and shook her head.

She did not like the tradition of bullying the newcomer between the Beyond Grade A allies, but she also did not want to force these Beyond Grade As to do anything unless absolutely necessary.

However, the private relationship between the dynasty’s allies being bad might not be a bad thing. It would not affect their partnerships with the dynasty, and profit was the priority.

…

“What? He’s fighting with those allies?”

After hearing what the emissary came to their doorsteps to say, Hila and the various guards’ expressions changed drastically.

This time, Aesop spoke and comforted them. “Don’t worry, it’s just a test of strength between Beyond Grade As. Sparring is very normal. I’ve seen them do it before.”

Sadly, not many people took what he said in.

“Let’s go take a look.” Ames did not say much and stepped out of the door.

Chapter 801: Spar

Outside the Psionic Seal Ring, Han Xiao and Viru floated in the cosmic space. A spaceship was looking there from not very far away.

The spaceship carried Clotti and the other Beyond Grade As, as well as Ames, Aesop, and the rest who had arrived later.

“It’s been a long time, Aesop,” that Ancient Ones member greeted with a fake smile.

“Ravenlaude, you’re still alive,” Aesop replied.

“Ever since you were kicked out of the Ancient Ones, I have yet to hear from you. So, it turns out you went to the most rural area, the Shattered Star Ring. Why, you couldn’t make a living in any other Star Fields?” Ravenlaude said with a mocking tone.

“You’ve lived so long that your memories are failing you. Why do I remember that I left the Ancient Ones?” Aesop gave him a faint glance.

Among the Ancient Ones, Aesop did not have a good relationship with this person.

Back when Aesop left the Ancient Ones, other than because he did not want this title to prevent him from looking for trouble, it was also because he did not have a good relationship with some of the other members. As a powerful Oracle, he did not like to use his ability for unrelated people. When the times he rejected them started to pile up, it became the source of their conflict.

Ames did not know anyone, so she stood at the side and watched alone.

This was a chance to observe Black Star’s strength. Other than Clotti, who was not very interested, everyone else was focused and looked forward to the two of them to start the fight.

They knew how strong Viru was; his combat capability had been tested countless times through battle. Therefore, the only question was—how long could Black Star hold on?

They had heard that Black Star had the ‘Indestructible Body’ nickname and that the toughness of his physical body seemed to be on par with the Tyrant’s. They wondered if he would be able to stop Viru’s sky splitting blade.

Han Xiao activated his mechanical suit. The helmet covered his face and hid his expression. Then, he opened the secondary dimension gate. The mechanical army swarmed out and filled the battlefield instantly.

Quite a lot, but in front of me, these are all minions. Viru snorted in his mind. His muscle violently expanded, and a light blue flame burned on the surface of his body.

A surging flame concentrated on his palm and kept extending, forming a hundreds-of-meters-long blue energy sword so dense that it almost looked like it had a physical form.

Pugilists had different branches. The War Soldier Branch focused on fighting with blades, but it was different from being a Mechanical Pugilist. Mechanical Pugilists completely relied on weapons to fight and used Mechanical Force to enhance their weapons, while Pugilists only used weapons to better their own skills. Their damage source was still their own Pugilist flame.

With a deep breath, the flames gushed into the hundreds of meters long blade. Viru slashed multiple times consecutively. Blue blades of light shot out and created empty areas within the formation of the mechanical army. The power of those blades of light dropped as they destroyed mechanical soldiers, from completely shattering the first ones to only heavily damaging the ones after.

Han Xiao immediately activated various bonus abilities and controlled his mechanical army to join him in the battle.

Viru was surrounded by tons of mechanical soldiers. His sword danced so quickly that it formed a sphere. Blades of light continuously shot out from it and destroyed the formation of the mechanical soldiers, causing tremendous damage. It was as if a tornado had appeared in the cosmic space.

As the combat information kept refreshing, Han Xiao tutted in his mind. This guy’s damage is indeed high. Maybe even Heber is weaker in this respect.

Compared to Heber’s heavy and firm offense, Viru mainly focused on swiftness and sharpness. His area attacks were not bad, and his individual target damage was even more horrifying. Earlier, when colossal defense-focused Giant Soldier turned its shield to full capacity in an attempt to stop Viru’s attack, Viru still easily slashed it in two without stopping.

Nonetheless, Han Xiao did not randomly pick this opponent. Viru’s attack damage was indeed high, but he was inferior compared to Heber in one aspect… his tankiness!

Although this guy was also a Pugilist and had a ton of damage reduction talents, he did not have a very essential core tanky talent… he was not immune to True Damage!

Viru had a fifty-percent True Damage reduction talent, which was way weaker than True Damage Immunity. True Damage was still much more terrifying than normal damage even when halved!

When comparing Heber and Viru, Han Xiao could only fight head-on with the former, but for the latter, he just so happened to be the type of enemy Han Xiao indirectly countered!

The blades of light shot out in all directions. The mechanical army formation took quite a lot of damage, so the mechanical army dealt with it by spreading and attacking from further distances.

Under the focus fire of psionic cannons, Viru’s blade formed a complete sphere. He used a certain ability, turning the blades of light around him into a special kind of shield, blocking most of the psionic attacks. The explosions were blocked by the sphere of light.

However, the mechanical army was too large, and their attacks were too concentrated. Viru’s defense could not stop all of them. Occasionally, psionic attacks would pass through the blade shield and land on his body, shaking his protective energy flames.

Feeling the obliteration of the cells in his body, the look in Viru’s eyes changed.

So powerful… prolonged battles are not suitable for me. I need to attack his physical body.

Having realized that, Viru’s energy flame vibrated. The shield around his body expanded and turned into an impact wave, blowing away the mechanical soldiers around him.

Then, he held his sword backhand. His entire body turned into a blue phantom and charged toward Han Xiao, leaving countless afterimages behind. When he reached the frontline of the mechanical army, he turned from holding his sword backhand to front hand, striking forward. It was like all the afterimages were concentrated on this attack.

Star Slasher Style Technique—Blade Shadow!

Thousands of blades of light erupted at the same time and spread outward in all directions, instantly shattering the formation of the mechanical army in one direction and penetrating many layers of defenses. The shattered mechanical parts splashed everywhere.

Han Xiao immediately clenched his fist. Blue-gold Mechanical Force shot out from the Void Dimension, grabbing all the parts like a lightning net and connecting them together.

[Waste Modification]!

[Advanced Machinery Construction]!

The shattered parts became mechanical soldiers again.

However, in just this short instant, Viru disappeared. As if he had teleported, he passed through the layers of defenses and appeared right in front of Han Xiao. The sword in his hand returned to normal size from hundreds of meters long. With the more concentrated Pugilist energy sword in his hand, he slashed right down!

“It’s not my first time fighting a Mechanic,” Viru said with an expressionless face. It was not a secret that Mechanics had the Waste Modification ability. Being very experienced, he knew that a Mechanic would definitely use it. Using that opportunity, he used a special mobility ability and instantly got close to Han Xiao. He was a Pugilist focused on speed, so he had more ways of closing the distance than Heber.

Swoosh!

The blade slashed right through Han Xiao’s body without any resistance, as if it had cut him in half. However, Viru did not feel like he had slashed through anything. His expression changed instantly.

The halved ‘Han Xiao’ suddenly disappeared. His real body was little more than ten meters away.

Earlier, Han Xiao had used some kind of illusion device and misguided Viru’s senses. Deceiving a Beyond Grade A Pugilist who could lock the target with his energy was very difficult, but this special illusion device was one of the high-level machines that Han Xiao had built that could be used in Beyond Grade A battles. It could create an illusion that perfectly simulated even his own energy presence, and it had a quite long cooldown.

Having missed one attack, Viru’s movement did not stop. He turned and attacked another time, quicker and swifter. His blade extended and slashed onto Han Xiao’s chest like a whip.

Star Slasher Style Technique—Whip Slash!

This attack was initially targeted at Han Xiao’s chest, but Viru changed its direction and targeted Han Xiao’s head.

However, Han Xiao’s response shocked him—he did not dodge at all and went toward it directly.

The blade cut Han Xiao’s mechanical suit right open, slashing across his forehead. Blood gushed down from his head.

Viru was shocked. Before he could withdraw his blade, he saw Han Xiao grab onto his arm like he was completely unharmed and punched right onto his chest.

Boom!

The vibration echoed in Viru’s body. Tons of cells were destroyed and quickly born through Viru’s energy. As the process repeated, he felt a strong pain in his body.

[Machinery Apostilization] and [Mechanical Force—Emperor’s Power] gave Han Xiao a lot of attributes, so his attacks were much stronger.

Then, Han Xiao’s bloody wound recovered right under Viru’s nose. The nanoparticles of the mechanical suit fixed the broken part as well.

This recovery speed… Viru’s pupils constricted.

This time, the mechanical army behind Viru turned their barrels and fired at the two of them.

Just as Viru was about to back away, two enhanced Oathkeepers appeared beside Han Xiao and held him back.

With a swing of his blade, he slashed an Oathkeeper’s body but met a tremendous force of resistance. He could not cut it in half with one slash. The blue-gold Mechanical Force flashed inside the wounds of these two Oathkeepers.

These two Oathkeepers were elite mechanical soldiers that had received bonuses from the [Emperor’s Gift]. Even Beyond Grade As would not be able to destroy them in just one attack.

Unable to break the Oathkeepers into pieces in one slash, Viru reacted quickly and hastily blew them away with an energy impact wave. However, he was attacked by the Oathkeepers at the same time. Psionic cannon shots landed on his chest, and his movement paused for an instant again.

The psionic cannon fired from behind him. Chains of shots landed on his back. Viru was not willing to give up on the opportunity of being able to attack Han Xiao at such a close distance, so he released a defensive shield behind him that barely blocked the focus fire for an instant before attacking Han Xiao violently.

The battlefield left its original area and kept shifting.

The two of them fought at close range. Viru’s blade slashed through Han Xiao’s body time after time, cutting away parts of his mechanical suit and his flesh again and again. However, he recovered at a visible speed, and his wounds healed in seconds.

The longer Viru fought, the more shocked he was. He had heard about Han Xiao’s ‘Indestructible Body’ nickname, but he had never expected it to be so powerful.

Since some time ago, Clotti, who was watching from afar, had stopped being uninterested. He was now focusing on their battle with a serious look on his face.

Han Xiao’s recovery speed shocked even him.

He had never seen any Mechanic with a physique so strong that it could match up to even a Pugilist.

“A newbie who has just advanced shouldn’t have such combat capability,” one of them said with shock. He voiced the thought that was in everyone’s mind.

Han Xiao used [Repel – Thorns] and [Void Dimension Jump] consecutively to guard against his opponent’s attacks. The two of them fought at close range for a short period of time before the enormous mechanical army finally held Viru back again. Han Xiao finally got out of the close-range battle.

After taking Viru’s chain of powerful attacks, Han Xiao was close to unharmed. At least the others could not see what damage he had taken on the surface.

Han Xiao patted his chest and opened his arms.

Before Viru could respond, the mechanical army’s attacks became stronger. With the help of all kinds of traps, Viru temporarily became passive.

At this time, many enormous mechanical barrels appeared behind Han Xiao. Psionic energy started to concentrate and gave off a powerful energy reaction.

Planetary Obliteration Cannon!

The expression on Viru’s face changed drastically.

Come on, using this kind of war level weapon has exceeded the context of sparring!

Suddenly, from the mechanical army around Viru, hundreds of electromagnetic chains dashed out and tied onto Viru from all directions.

Viru tried to escape, but to his shock, he realized that he could not escape from it in an instant. It was as if these chains were tentacles. They could direct his strength away.

Extreme Electromagnetic Locked Catcher, single target control type mechanical trap. This was equipment that Han Xiao had built with the Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Activation Theory]. It could temporarily control even Beyond Grade As and was considered as a high-level machine. It hid within the mechanical army and activated at a crucial moment, capturing Viru right away.

The next moment, the teams of mechanical soldiers fired on Viru, and psionic attacks rained like a thunderstorm!

The light illuminated Viru’s drastically changed expression. Flames all over his body immediately erupted, turning into blades of flames, and quickly spun around his body, forming a layer of shield-like defenses.

Blade Control—Energy Barrier!

The sphere of light expanded. Han Xiao fired the Secondary Sky Planetary Obliteration Cannons that had completed their energy charge. Enormous dark-blue beams of light gushed out and headed right to Viru.

When the beams were only halfway through, clusters of dark energy suddenly appeared on the attack route and clashed with the psionic energy beams. The two forms of energy caused chains of explosions, continuously expanding in the cosmic space.

On the other side, dozens of dark energy barriers stopped the focus fire of the army and gave Viru time to breathe.

Viru hastily escaped from the trap, activated some kind of mobility ability, turned into a stream of blue light, and escaped the battlefield. He hovered at the side with a pale face, looking like he was more than slightly injured.

If it were Heber, these attacks would just have been tickles. However, Viru’s health had been reduced quite a lot by the True Damage attacks.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and made the mechanical army stop attacking before looking at the spaceship.

Clotti was standing behind the porthole and had one hand raised. He was the one who had controlled the dark energy and interfered with their battle earlier.

“The spar has ended,” Clotti said in the communication channel. “This shall be… considered a draw.”

Draw?

The others had different looks on their faces.

They knew exactly that this was just a way of saying it so Viru would not be humiliated. Just from the situation earlier, Han Xiao had won undoubtedly. Han Xiao had showcased his combat strength.

With his powerful recovery ability and enormous mechanical army, as well as his oddly powerful attacks, a Mechanic like him had close to no weaknesses. They were shocked, and they put away the slight underestimation they had for Han Xiao because of him being a newcomer and his Shattered Star Ring origin.

Han Xiao had earned their respect with his strength.

Viru’s expression was not looking good. As the one that had been challenged, he had initially been completely confident. However, he had instead become the target for the newcomer to showcase his strength. He felt very embarrassed and displeased.

However, the opponent had gained the upper hand with valid ways, so he had nothing to say and could only feel unhappy inside.

Hearing what Clotti said, Han Xiao did not deny it and withdrew his mechanical army.

The result did not matter. As long as the goal of showcasing his strength was achieved, it was enough for him.

Furthermore, if Viru had gone all out, his explosive power would only have been higher than Heber’s. It would not be easy for Han Xiao to deal with even with his powerful recovery speed.

One reason he had gotten the upper hand in the spar was because of the combat style counter; another was the nature of the battle. It looked like he had completely overwhelmed Viru, but if it had been a real battle, Viru might not have made the same mistakes.

I have to become stronger.

Among Beyond Grade As, he was very strong in long-duration battles, but his raw strength was not high enough.

He had accumulated a large sum of EXP. When the EXP penalty was over, he would be able to level up again.

He estimated that only then would he be able to obtain a higher position among the Beyond Grade As.

He returned to the spaceship and walked into the cabin. The others approached him.

Han Xiao noticed that there was no longer inspection in their eyes, and now there was some respect. Han Xiao nodded in his mind.

Through this spar, his strength had been recognized. Now, he had officially been accepted into this circle.

Viru walked in after Han Xiao. With a long face, he turned around and said with a deep voice, “If there’s a chance in the future, we have to spar again.”

“Then I guess there won’t be any chances.” Han Xiao raised his brows. With no benefits, why would I fight you? It’s not like I’m a battle maniac.

Speaking of which, it seemed like most Pugilists were battle maniacs…

Chapter 802: Eat and Sleep Before Fighting EsGod

The spaceship returned to the mother planet. On it, the few Beyond Grade A allies no longer put on any airs. It seemed that they had genuinely accepted Han Xiao as a comrade, formally introducing themselves.

Han Xiao had long known the names of all the people and was merely going through the formalities. Some of them were related to the dynasty, some were characters who had influential power in the Central Galaxy, but only two of them were big names throughout a few Star Fields.

They came from the Sea of Star Spirits and the Primeval Star River respectively. The latter was a Beyond Grade A who leaned toward militaristic Beyond Grade As. Thus, within this crew, his attitude was the most favorable.

This guy was not that old, and his name was Beyoni. He had the nickname of ‘Incineration’ due to his Esper Ability, Original Source of Fire. He was able to ignite all types of things from a microscopic level, even if they seemed non-flammable at first glance. This was not limited to matter, as he could even burn energy. The most famous story was that a wandering planet had once been ignited by him, and all the trees, dirt, and metal were burned, turning it into a scorched planet.

Sometime ago, Han Xiao had spent some time with the elites of the dynasty, and the eyewitnesses had told him how he had taken care of Teny. This was interpreted as a sign of goodwill for the dynasty, as Teny was considered one of the core figures even though he had not actually entered the upper echelons, or else he would not be given the chance to undergo the evolution process.

Thus, because of factional reasons, Beyoni intended to make friends, and Han Xiao would naturally not reject. The two of them talked for quite a bit.

Other than him, another person that Han Xiao felt he needed to be careful of was Ravenlaude from the Ancient Ones. He was neither cold nor warm toward Han Xiao, and thus, he did not purposely associate himself with the other party.

The Ancient Ones were a loose alliance whose members were all strange people. Some of them were Beyond Grade A Supers—some possessed special abilities. Their common point was that they all had a long life span and lived far longer than other creatures. In Galaxy, the Ancient Ones were one of the most well-known organizations, with members from the three Universal Civilizations also within.

For example, on the side of the Crimson Dynasty, there were two members of the Ancient Ones. One was naturally Ravenlaude, and the other was one of the three strongest National Pillars.

The Federation of Light as well as the Arcane Church also had a few people inside the Ancient Ones. One of them would be the leader of the Mechanic Empire, Manison. While their empire was considered as one of their strongest allies, they possessed high independence. After all, he was the head of the entire Mechanic Empire. With so much power in his hands, it naturally turned into a faction of its own.

The Ancient Ones represented a huge pool of resources and connections. It was a pity that Han Xiao himself had not yet reached the required age, or else he would have given it a try.

Because of the previous spar, Han Xiao had obtained a certain level of respect. As the crowd returned to the mother planet, a discussion began on the spaceship. Since everyone had already acknowledged Han Xiao, so he was able to mix in with the rest.

A few of them required borrowing the Evolution Cube to use, but Han Xiao did not agree immediately. For the Beyond Grade As, this was like adding wings to a tiger. There was no free lunch in this world, and while Clotti had a direct relationship with the dynasty and was thus able to enjoy such a privilege, the same could not be said of the other allies. Without any benefits, Han Xiao would not allow them to improve their capabilities. After all, they had no relationship.

Hearing that Han Xiao wanted some benefits in exchange, the group had differing thoughts and did not immediately express their stand.

The majority originally thought that Black Star would be more pliable the first time they met and immediately take out the Evolution Cube to please them. However, Black Star turned out to be more difficult to deal with, so their plan went awry, and they could only wait till a later time to use the cube. As great figures themselves, they could not display any form of desperation.

After bidding goodbye to the group, Han Xiao and Ames returned to their residence. Seeing the duo return, Hila and the rest felt reassured.

This also counts as my official appearance within the circle of advanced combatants in the advanced civilizations. I’m now stepping onto the stage of the Central Galaxy, Han Xiao thought to himself. This was something long within his plans.

Having more friends would mean getting things done was easier. By befriending this group, he would also be able to utilize some of their connections. Of course, he would appear the same in the eyes of the others, and this was using each other’s networks to one’s benefit.

There were also disadvantages, however. They would be treated as chips on the table of the dynasty by the other organizations and would attract the attention of the greater organization. The hostility and strength of their opponents would naturally be higher in the future.

There was no way around it. To obtain so many resources from the dynasty, it would be a pipe dream to think that there were no conditions attached to it.

The Central Galaxy is controlled by the three Universal Civilizations, and its organizations do not have the freedom to develop and are not suitable for major operations. It is still necessary for them to look outward to the Shattered Star Ring and Flickering World for development. For this area… I’ll just leave a contact point. After this is done, it would be better for me to stay away from this area unless necessary.

If one wished to increase their standing within the Central Galaxy, it need not be done within the area. The best way was always to be able to run an area properly. If one’s value increased, it would be simple to obtain a rise in standing.

…

The same night, Clotti shared the information of Han Xiao’s spar with Viru with Urranrell and gave his opinion about Han Xiao at the same time.

Even in the late night, Urranrell’s office was still fully lit. She stared at Clotti and asked solemnly, “What do you think about the chances of Black Star being able to raise to a higher level in the future?”

“There is a possibility.” Clotti simply phrased it as such.

The pioneers had already broken into this stage more than tens of thousands of years ago. After researching for so long, they had also started to give a proper classification to the tiers for the Beyond Grade A realm. With Black Star’s current age and his lack of an apparent weakness in his fighting style, there was definitely room for growth in the future. Most might not be able to keep up with his pace.

Clotti was not stingy with the evaluation of Han Xiao. In his long lifetime, he had seen countless Beyond Grade As. Some of them had exhausted all their potential breaking through from the Calamity Grade, destined to stay at their current level forever. Some of them could continue to grow even after, and those were the geniuses among geniuses. In his eyes, Black Star belonged to the latter group.

However, he had already seen far too many of them, such that he no longer liked to communicate and meet with new people. Moreover, Clotti was directly related to the dynasty, and with his position, he need not butter up anyone. Thus, he did not show much attention toward Han Xiao.

After all, not every Beyond Grade A was like our Great Mechanic Han, who liked to have support and nurturing.

Urranrell leaned back on her chair, a thoughtful expression on her face.

“Since that’s the case, it would be more useful for him to stay on the fringes of the Star Fields. His current mentality is geared toward developing the Flickering World, but after that, he might come over to the Central Galaxy to develop… However, there is sufficient manpower here, and we do not need him.”

The three Universal Civilizations would occasionally have friction within the Central Galaxy, but because it was their base camp, they would never escalate into an all-out war. Thus, there was no need for so many Beyond Grade As to hold helm in the dynasty. They just needed a sufficient number for deterrence, and too many would instead waste their resources. It would be better to send the Beyond Grade As into other Star Fields to expand the control of the dynasty. This was the meaning behind the phrase National Pillars.

However, since the Central Galaxy was the heart of the Universe, countless people wished to have the right to speak there. To Urranrell, the number of allies they had there was too saturated, and she did not like to have so many people relying on the name of the dynasty to develop their organizations in this place.

Since Black Star had brought over his portable mobile fortress, it meant that he wanted to establish a branch there. To give face to her allies, Urranrell was willing to provide some help, but she was planning to secretly limit the expansion speed of the Black Star Army in the Central Galaxy. This was to stop him from coming over to the Central Galaxy, instead retaining his thoughts toward the development in Shattered Star Ring or Flickering World.

Urranrell believed in Clotti’s judgement. Since he mentioned that Black Star had the possibility of advancing into the next tier, he would definitely not be wrong. As such, Black Star would be an important chess piece for them…

Since he was an important chess piece, he naturally needed to be placed at the proper position to display the best effects.

…

The news of Black Star being officially received by the Dynasty Ruler was spread throughout the channels of the dynasty. Based on what Han Xiao knew, they would not hide something like this and would rather announce that they had new chips.

His name now formally entered the sight of all the major organizations in the Central Galaxy. Han Xiao had no foundation in the Central Galaxy, however, and was unable to understand the responses of these organizations.

Over the next few days, the Dynasty arranged for the mother planet’s garrisoned troops to undergo the transformation of the Evolution Cube, and Han Xiao focused on cooperating with them.

It took several days to finally complete the evolution of all the dynasty’s garrisoned troops.

During this time, the Black Star Army did not idle. With the help of the dynasty, they used a small piece of land in the dynasty to create a simple office, only leaving a small group of staff for a long term stay for easy communication. Before they left, they had assessed this group of people and picked only those that were willing to stay in the Central Galaxy.

As for the mobile satellite bases of the Black Star Army, the dynasty would naturally not allow them to settle next to the mother planet, so they gave Han Xiao a star map, allowing him to choose a spot in the territory of the dynasty to set up the sub-base.

There was no need to hesitate in choosing since Han Xiao had long drawn up a draft.

Since it was meant to dig out more leeks to farm, the location of the subbase naturally would be the main activity area of the players.

Due to some matters, Han Xiao chose to temporarily stay behind on the mother planet. He commanded his troops to leave without him. Because of the stability and high security within the dynasty, his army did not require him to open the base there.

The reason he had chosen to stay behind, other than to accompany Ames and the rest sightseeing, was because he was planning to obtain some Ultimate Knowledge.

Urranrell had sent the list of tasks organized by her people over to Han Xiao, and after choosing, he had finally selected a mission.

The general miscellaneous tasks were not enough, and only the trickier ones would entitle them to obtain Ultimate Knowledge. What Han Xiao chose was a task that required a Beyond Grade A to participate… the clearance of the remnant Fallen Ark forces!

In other words, fighting EsGod!

The three star fields of the Central Galaxy were separated by a desolate universe belt, which was sensitive and difficult to manage. As a result, bandits and outlaws who dared not remain in the three Star Fields had poured into the border belt, forming a piece of polluted land.

This desolate universe belt occupied a large area. During the initial periods of the war, the three Universal Civilizations had fought their brains out on their doorsteps, and their battlefield had turned into this desolate universe belt. Countless planets had turned into barren wastelands because of their attacks.

A large number of outlaws hid themselves within, making them difficult to locate. With the border area connected to the desolate universe belt of the Central Galaxy, the connection between the two made it impossible for them to be eradicated.

This sensitive ground was not easily governed. Besides, the three Universal Civilizations had stargates connecting to each other, so most people would not even choose to travel along the desolate universe belt. Thus, its impact on the security of the Central Galaxy was not too huge.

EsGod’s team usually hid within the seams of the borders along the desolate universe belt. Their presence had always been a secret, and only recently did they suddenly reveal their tracks, being caught by the dynasty’s surveillance.

With the notoriety of EsGod, the three Universal Civilizations had long treated this job as ordinary, as though their daily tasks would be to eat, sleep, and fight with EsGod, thus the name ‘Routine Clearance’.

Han Xiao still had a grudge to settle with EsGod. While EsGod had made him an offer, Han Xiao would not regard EsGod as an ally or friend. Since he was based inside the Lawful Faction currently, he had to draw a line between himself and this sort of notorious outlaw.

Speaking of which, it had always been EsGod that looked for him to create trouble. This was the first time that he was paying back his dues.

If it was not for the opportunity given by the dynasty, he would not have been able to do so. Having a backer was truly awesome.

However, he was a little anxious toward the strange abilities of EsGod, so he did not move solo, instead inviting a few Beyond Grade A allies of his for this operation.

Clotti had a position and thus refused without even thinking. The rest of them also made excuses, as they did not wish to provoke EsGod. Only one person agreed to his invite.

“When do we set off?”

The communicator showed Beyoni’s horn-covered head, the volcanic texture for skin, and the fluttering around him of agile fire snakes. He was no human but rather an Esper of the Pyre Tribe.

“Tomorrow. I’ve already informed the people in the dynasty, and they will send us over.” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

He had settled everything on the dynasty’s mother planet, and there was nothing left for him to do. The next step would be to complete the two plans that he had in the Central Galaxy.

The first was to obtain the Ultimate Knowledge, and the second was to develop his leeks. The latter only needed the brand of the Black Star Army and did not require him to be there in person.

“It will be dangerous with just the two of us. EsGod’s fleet is too large, and he himself is dangerous.” Beyoni shook his head.

“We don’t just have two Beyond Grade As here.”

He glanced at Ames to the side. Upon knowing of this matter, Ames had automatically volunteered, as though she was worried about being left out, and more people would always be welcome.

Seeing him look over, Ames gave a light smile, as though she was raring to go.

Chapter 803: No Coincidence

An ordinary dynasty spaceship leisurely left Planet Crimson Ring, and within it, Han Xiao stood at the porthole, looking out at the shrinking dynasty mother planet, his expression passive.

Having accepted this routine clearing task and notified the dynasty, they had specially arranged an escort spaceship to see them off. The entire process was settled that day, with no delay. Thus, the three of them, together with Hila and the others, boarded the dynasty’s spaceship and set off to the garrison base located at the border to participate in the removal of the Fallen Ark forces.

“This time, I really came in a hurry and left in a hurry.” Han Xiao’s eyes looked at the gradually shrinking mother planet as he mused.

He had only stayed on the mother planet for a few days, not even close to the time he had spent on the road. He did not wait long, leaving the moment he finished his activities there, swift and decisive.

This trip allowed him to meet with the Dynasty Ruler as well as the National Pillars of the dynasty to deepen his ties, expanding his network in the dynasty. His image within the dynasty was now clearer, and with the Crimson Dynasty’s well wishes, he would also become one of the backbones of the dynasty in the future.

“The dynasty’s troops have finished organizing themselves and are just waiting for a Beyond Grade A Super to take the fort. Through the stargate, we will converge with them in another four to five days.”

Beyoni walked over from the side as he spoke, spitting out little fire seeds.

The Crimson Ring Star System was the center of the dynasty, and they were moving to the edge of the Star Field. Needing only four to five days was not because of the short distance but because the transportation of the Central Galaxy was much better compared to that of the Shattered Star Ring. This was because the three Universal Civilizations had planted a multitude of stargates within the Central Galaxy to form a quick transport channel. If they converted this to time taken in the Shattered Star Ring, the journey might have taken longer than a month.

“Before this, did you participate in any related activities?” Han Xiao suddenly asked.

“Oh, I’ve only taken part in the encirclement and suppression of the Fallen Ark twice. This is the third time for me. Those Beyond Grade As who reside in the Central Galaxy have participated in such actions,” Beyoni noted.

This is really eat-sleep-fight, and that bunch of allies who made excuses saying they did not wish to provoke EsGod did so only because they did not wish to group up with me… Han Xiao’s mouth curled up.

“Then, had EsGod practically fought with all the Beyond Grade A people in the three Civilizations?”

“You could say so. However, the majority of times we only came into contact with the doppelganger of EsGod. Only during large operations will we come across his true body. However, people on Clotti’s level would be in charge of such operations because the true body of EsGod is far too strong. I’ve heard that more than two Beyond Grade As have already fallen at his hands. We only have so many Beyond Grade As, so this can be considered a terrific result.”

Beyoni shook his head.

Because of his deliberate attempt to foster ties, Han Xiao’s relationship toward him was closer than to the rest of the allies.

Hearing his words, Han Xiao nodded to express his understanding, his eyes flashing.

The capability of EsGod was well known, but to the three Civilizations, if they gritted their teeth, they would be able to get rid of this threat. There was no need for them to endure EsGod for so long. There had to be something more hidden.

“This time, there are three Beyond Grade A Supers holding the fort, so even if we’re unlucky and encounter his true body, we can still retreat without losses,” Beyoni said.

Unlucky? Heh, there’s an eighty percent chance we’ll meet with his true body this time.

Han Xiao smirked to himself. EsGod revealing some tracks the moment he entered the dynasty’s mother planet was no coincidence.

Upon thinking about the contents of when EsGod had contacted him, it was likely because of this reason. However, he had still chosen to participate in this cleaning operation.

Putting those thoughts aside, he opened the interface to look. The cleaning operation missions were placed within, with great rewards.

_____________________

Dynasty Battle Operation: Fallen Ark (Repeatable)

Mission Introduction: The Fallen Ark, the paradise of the thugs in the Universe are evil and notorious, is constantly besieged by the three Universal Civilizations. Today, the Crimson Dynasty has discovered the whereabouts of one of the Fallen Ark’s groups, and you decided to participate in this battle and contribute your strength.

Reminder: This is a faction series mission. You can complete the below requirements during this mission.

Elite Soldier: A cumulative kill count of over 2,000 enemies. Reward: 3,800,000 Experience, +20 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Fierce General: A cumulative kill count of over 200 Supers at least at Grade C. Reward: 8,100,000 Experience, +30 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Street Cleaner: A cumulative kill of over 10,000 enemies. Reward: 13,350,000 Experience, +50 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

…

Beheader: Kill the Fleet Commander. Reward: 120,000,000 Experience, +220 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Face Off Against EsGod (I): Deplete a cumulative total of 0.5% of EsGod’s HP (either to the true body or its copies). Reward: 200,000,000 Experience, +350 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Face Off Against EsGod (II): Deplete a cumulative total of 5% of EsGod’s HP (either to the true body or its copies). Reward: 1,500,000,000 Experience, +550 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Face Off Against EsGod (III): Deplete a cumulative total of 15% of EsGod’s HP (either to the true body or its copies). Reward: 6,500,000,000 Experience, +900 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Face Off Against EsGod (IV): Succeed in joining forces with the Crimson Dynasty troops to eliminate a doppelganger of EsGod. Every 1% of contribution effort made in battle will reward: 250,000,000 Experience, +80 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Point, and an EsGod Character Summon Card.

_____________________

This was not a one-off opportunity. As long as there was another cleaning operation, this mission would appear once more.

The Crimson Dynasty was one of the top organizations in Galaxy, so the rewards were the standard of the middle to later versions, involving the Beyond Grade A level. The highest rewards were worth tens of billions of experience.

This time, the Fallen Ark fleet was discovered near the frontier of the dynasty, so it was the troops belonging to the dynasty that were deployed.

Han Xiao had accepted this task because he saw the ample reward.

This was so for the [Face Off Against EsGod] series reward. Ninety percent of the potential rewards came from those mission requirements. This meant that it would be challenging, and most players could only complete the basic requirements of killing the enemy troops, since it was almost impossible to cause damage to EsGod. Even if the mission requirements were for cumulative damage, it was just too difficult.

However, it was a different case for him. When he was only at the Calamity Grade, he had been beaten black and blue by EsGod, but right now, even if the true body of EsGod was present, he might not be able to defeat it, but it would not pose any trouble to him.

Players needed to obtain a total of twelve thousand Contribution Points from a Universal Civilization in order to exchange for Ultimate Knowledge. However, his current identity was now different from theirs, and he had a discount of fifty percent. Only six thousand points were needed for one Ultimate Knowledge.

The stronger the faction, the harder it would be to increase favorability. In order to obtain Ultimate Knowledge in the past, the players had almost burst their livers from working. This sort of cleaning operation was the most popular. Since Han Xiao did not wish to stay too long in the Central Galaxy, he prepared to take full advantage of this mission to rack up his favorability.

In the entire mission list given by the dynasty, only this mission temporarily met his requirements, and it was also the most convenient.

This was also an opportunity for him to separate himself from EsGod and send a signal to him.

Han Xiao suddenly remembered something and asked, “That’s right. How is it living out in the Primeval Star River? What’s your relationship with the Mechanic Empire?”

Beyoni had belonged to the Pyre Demon Tribe before he advanced to Beyond Grade A. Currently, he had kept his original appearance as part of the Pyre Demon Tribe. He led his clan within the Primeval Star River, and while they led a life like thieves, they could still be considered bigshots in the Primeval Star River.

The Mechanic Empire was situated in the Primeval Star River, so Beyoni would definitely recognize him.

“Manison? Why are you asking?” Beyoni was confused.

“After all, he’s a Beyond Grade A from the Mechanic profession, so I’ve admired him for a long time.” Han Xiao casually gave an excuse.

Beyoni did not suspect a thing. “We seldom come in contact, but his influence is deeply entrenched in the Primeval Star River, far more than mine. If you wish to visit him, I can help you, but he belongs to the Federation of Light, so it might not be a good idea to visit him in private.”

“You’re thinking too much. The Universal Civilizations will never restrict our private meetings.”

“Oh, but I don’t like to associate with people from other organizations.” Beyoni shook his head.

Han Xiao smiled in return. While he was not prepared to completely offend the Mechanic Empire, Aroshia’s issue made him pay more attention to it.

As for the visitation, he was not lying. He was genuinely interested in Manison’s ‘Indestructible Mechanic Empire’. However, this was not the time to pay a visit. The exploration of the Flickering World was imminent, and he did not have the time to run off to the Primeval Star River.

However, upon mentioning the Mechanic Empire, Han Xiao could not help but remember an old archenemy of his—Thousand Shadows.

This guy did not seem to have acted for several years. Han Xiao surmised that he had given up, but the [Prey] mission still hung on his interface without disappearing.

I should pay a visit to the Abyss of Stars at some point.

He had not forgotten how much trouble that guy had caused for him. Now that his wings were growing, it was time to settle old debts.

…

Amid the rifts around the border of the Central Galaxy, a huge fleet was slowly cruising. This was the branch fleet of the Fallen Ark.

In the main flagship was a palace. The ground was covered in energy transmission loops that were connected to the throne in the center. A doppelganger of EsGod sat on the throne, and the energy core of the spaceship constantly flowed through, sending energy to it, as though it was a battery pack charging EsGod up.

At this moment, the main consciousness of EsGod was descending upon this doppelganger.

“Not sure whom the Crimson Dynasty will employ this time for the Beyond Grade A Super that will hold the fort.” EsGod was musing. “My intelligence stated that Black Star has recently appeared in the Crimson Dynasty. Will he come over to find me?”

He had learned about Black Star’s trip to the Central Galaxy more than half a month ago. If Black Star wished to perform the trade with him, he would need an opportunity to get in contact, so EsGod had intentionally revealed some of his traces to the dynasty to create an opportunity for him.

He could not easily leave the Central Galaxy. Thus, if he wished to allow his true body to utilize the Evolution Cube, he could only invite Black Star to his door. In order to prevent any blackmailing or threats, Black Star would not search for him on his own, so he had to provide a plausible excuse.

“He should understand my intentions…”

After thinking about it for a while, EsGod shook his head.

He did not doubt Black Star’s perception, but since Black Star had not contacted him. It was likely that he had not decided as to if he wished to perform the trade.

In this situation, EsGod felt that Han Xiao might not come in contact with him.

…

“Black Star has already set off. Beyoni will watch over him.”

In Tarunamir Palace of the Dynasty Ruler, Clotti wore an unreadable expression as he read Urranrell the intelligence report.

Urranrell put down the documents in her hand, rubbing her eyes. “He chose to fight with EsGod, which is out of my expectations. In addition, the timing is a little too coincidental. He brought the Evolution Cube with him, and EsGod is also interested in that thing. We must take precautions.”

Initially, it should not have been the concern of a Dynasty Ruler like her as to which mission Han Xiao had picked, but she felt something suspicious about this, so she could not help but start to pay attention.

To the dynasty, the matter of EsGod attempting to steal the Evolution Cube was no secret. Han Xiao had taken the Evolution Cube to fight with him and could be seeking revenge, but it could also be for other things. While Black Star appeared as a new ally, with the dynasty taking care of his every matter, it was also a form of surveillance on him.

Beyoni accepting Han Xiao’s invite was partly because he had a good relationship with him and partly because of Clotti’s request. In addition to providing protection, he also wished to monitor Han Xiao’s movements.

One always needed to have their guard up toward others, and the dynasty was not willing to see any of their allies come into contact with EsGod.

“Black Star’s information shows that he is good at cooperation, working along the borders of many different organizations. To have built up his foundation to where he is today, he is definitely not someone that is easily satisfied…” Urranrell opened her eyes wide, her gaze cold and indifferent. “I hope he will not be too arrogant and attempt the same thing, thinking that he can deceive the dynasty.”

Chapter 804: Main Body

A couple of days later, in the desolate universe belt, the small spaceship with Han Xiao and the others on it approached a large Crimson Dynasty fleet. This fleet belonged to the dynasty’s border defense army, the 36th Division. This was the team tasked to eliminate the Fallen Ark. They were waiting to rendezvous with the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As.

After checking the various passes and confirming their identity, the small spaceship entered the fleet’s formation and connected with the square Soldier Grade Heavy Main Ship that looked like a coffin.

Whoosh!

The path opened, and Han Xiao and the rest entered the main ship’s cabin. Officers were there to welcome them.

“Your Excellency Black Star, Your Excellency Incineration, and Your Excellency Dragon Emperor. I’m Commander Murraky’s deputy, here to welcome you guys,” an officer said respectfully.

Although Ames was not the dynasty’s ally, she was a neutral Beyond Grade A who had followed Han Xiao there, so the dynasty would not treat her badly.

Han Xiao nodded. The group followed this deputy. After walking for a while, they realized that they walked into the resting area, not the command room.

“Is the commander not meeting us?” Beyoni wondered.

The deputy smiled apologetically and said, “The commander means to let you guys rest first. He will take care of the strategy, so you guys don’t have to worry.”

Han Xiao raised his brow. “Doesn’t he want to discuss it with us?”

“The commander is currently busy discussing with the staff. You guys will be notified once the strategy is complete. The enemy might escape any time. We can’t stay on standby for too long. We will be departing and engaging the enemies very soon. Please rest well. We will need your strength then.”

Han Xiao and Beyoni exchanged looks and both shook their heads. It was clear that this Commander Murraky was not willing to let them interfere with the strategy planning, not even discussing with them.

“Then we shall rest.” This was the first time that Han Xiao had marched into battle with the dynasty’s army. Seeing that Beyoni did not say anything, he did not oppose the arrangements.

Seeing that the three Beyond Grade As did not have any objections, the deputy looked relieved. He then told his subordinates to make sure that Han Xiao and the others were settled before bidding farewell. He headed right back to the command room.

It was quiet in the command room. The commander, Murraky, stood before the enormous star map and observed it with his hands behind his back. The staff sergeants around him were all silent.

The deputy approached and reported, “Commander, the three Beyond Grade As have settled down.”

Without turning back, Murraky said, “Did they have any objections?”

“No.”

“Hmm, good. I don’t like people who object.” Murraky nodded faintly. “Announce to the entire fleet that we will depart immediately.”

He was responsible for this elimination. His troops waited for a very long time for the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty arrived, which Murraky was very displeased about. However, the Beyond Grade As’ position was very high, and they were not soldiers of the dynasty, so there was nothing he could say.

He did not like those Beyond Grade As who did not directly belong to the dynasty. As the commander of the fleet, he looked at matters from a strategic point of view. In his eyes, despite those Beyond Grade As having very high positions, they were just powerful destructive tools on the battlefield without their National Pillar titles.

Murraky did not want those Beyond Grade As to share his commanding power. The dynasty had given those tools to him, so they were for him to use. Therefore, he did not think that there was a need to waste time discussing strategy with the Beyond Grade As.

No matter how high their position was outside, one fleet could only have one commander—the Beyond Grade As just had to follow and obey his orders.

He had told his deputy to meet the Beyond Grade As because he was too lazy to give them a perfunctory welcome. He did not even want to see those Beyond Grade As step into his command room.

Under Murraky’s command, the fleet started moving. They turned into streams of light dashing across the desolate universe belt and headed in the enemies’ direction.

…

Inside the cabin, Han Xiao, Ames, and Beyoni were casually chatting.

“The commander of this fleet doesn’t seem to like us.” Ames shook her head.

Beyoni neither agreed nor disagreed. “The dynasty’s military takes discipline extremely seriously. The Beyond Grade As, however, usually don’t obey orders unconditionally. The words of the commanders are usually not taken seriously at all, so there have always been some dynasty officers who don’t like to let us Beyond Grade As interfere with the overall strategy.”

After a pause, Beyoni then said unhappily, “Despite all that, this guy named Murraky is way too arrogant. He doesn’t even want to come to welcome us personally and even told us to just wait for his orders. Does he think us National Pillars are his soldiers?”

If it were an outsider who dared to act so arrogantly in front of some Beyond Grade As, he would have been killed easily. However, this guy was a soldier of the dynasty, and they could not do anything to him, which Beyoni was very displeased about.

Han Xiao, however, did not mind it too much. He waved and said carelessly, “He’s the commander, after all. It’s understandable for him to want to uphold his authority. One army can’t have two commanding voices. Although our positions are high, there’s nothing wrong with him treating us like the others. If we’re just allowed to casually make suggestions, he won’t be able to deal with them easily. Therefore, he simply divided our tasks clearly from the start so that we don’t interfere with his command.”

Beyoni glanced at him. “You really don’t think of yourself as a Beyond Grade A.”

Han Xiao shrugged.

Some senior Beyond Grade As were used to being high and mighty, not allowing the slightest disrespect. His attitude was different; he did not have such unnecessary pride.

After all, Murraky was a professional commander, so he was not willing to be told what to do by amateurs. Nonetheless, Han Xiao also felt that Murraky was indeed arrogant.

No matter what, it would not be asking too much for him to at least respect the strongest bunch of people in the universe. Never mind if he did not want to woo them, did he need to act so disrespectfully? Did he think he was the dynasty’s marshal?

Shaking his head, Han Xiao did not want to bother about it anymore. They would most likely meet EsGod’s main body this time, so he needed to think.

EsGod deliberately attracted the dynasty’s army. He definitely intends to test me.

EsGod had once proposed to do one thing for him unconditionally in exchange for the use of the Evolution Cube. Han Xiao had to admit that he was tempted, but after careful consideration, he realized that this was not a pit that he could jump into.

EsGod was not a kind person—the deal itself was already a trap. Given the fact that anything that had to do with EsGod was a sensitive topic, if he really agreed to the deal, he would have left a weakness for others to possibly exploit. Since EsGod could live in between the three civilizations right under their noses, Han Xiao absolutely did not believe that EsGod had no connections with the three civilizations. If he agreed to EsGod’s request, EsGod might expose this to the dynasty.

After EsGod finished using the Evolution Cube, he could disobey the agreement anytime he wanted. After all, he had never been known for having integrity. The uncertainties were too severe. Even if EsGod does live up to the promise, he would have plenty of ways to force Han Xiao into the opposite side of the Lawful Factions. EsGod was not afraid to do bad things, so it would be way too easy for him to drag Han Xiao down.

Han Xiao had another worry—EsGod had stolen the Evolution Cube from Psyker, exposing the fact that he had information about the Evolutionary Civilization, and now Han Xiao could use the Evolution Cube too, so it would be very easy for people to assume that they might have some sort of connection. People had definitely started to suspect him long ago. The Crimson Dynasty did not question him about this, so it might be because they had secretly investigated him and decided to trust him. However, if EsGod really wanted to drag him down and did something, it would affect him.

He would not be able to delay this matter forever. EsGod would not be willing to keep waiting, so he would definitely act once his patience ran out. If he was not in the Central Galaxy at that time, it would be very difficult for him to prove his innocence.

Being an ally of the dynasty would give him long-term benefits, so why risk it? He had made up his mind and decided that some things had to be made clear. He was certainly not going to jump into this pit. Since EsGod would not let him go, he was going to make it crystal clear that EsGod was his enemy!

Some things might look tempting and delicious, but inside, they were poisonous!

…

“Your Excellency EsGod, we have detected that the Crimson Dynasty’s fleet has appeared behind us. According to our current speed, they will catch up with us very soon. Should we accelerate and get rid of them, or turn around and fight?”

Inside the main ship of this Fallen Ark fleet, the EsGod doppelganger listened to the report from his subordinates and waved his hand.

“Turn around and engage.”

The very reason he had ordered this fleet to loiter around the dynasty’s border was to attract the dynasty’s army. Of course, he was not going to flee.

The Fallen Ark consisted of tens of millions of spaceships, and there were still many hidden bases in the desolate universe belt making new spaceships. Using one fleet as bait was not significant to EsGod at all.

If Black Star did not come, EsGod planned to capture some Espers during this battle so that he would not return empty-handed.

The Fallen Ark fleet turned around and faced the direction the dynasty’s fleet came from, preparing for battle. Not long after, the 36th Division Army of the Dynasty Border Guard Army appeared on their radar.

Although Fallen Ark was made up of undisciplined brutes, they were not powerless. They fired right away at the dynasty’s army from far away, at the same time, turned the thrusters’ performance to their maximum and charged right at the dynasty’s troops.

The three civilizations and EsGod were old enemies, there was no need for any words when they met, the battle erupted instantly.

The two fleets quickly charged toward each other and penetrated into each other’s formation.

Spaceships exploded in the cosmic space one after another, turning into colorful and bright fireworks, beautiful and cruel.

There was a desolate planet at the side of the battlefield, wreckages of the spaceships turned into meteors and crashed onto its surface, creating craters all over.

The Soldier Grade main ship of the 36th Division Army fired all its weapons. Dark red energy annihilation beams shot out nonstop and destroyed Fallen Ark’s spaceships one after another.

Murraky looked at the 3D battlefield map, observing the entire battlefield. He stared at the enemy’s main ship and said coldly, “Strike first, have those three Beyond Grade As engage at the same time and force EsGod out!”

The order sounded on the communication channel. Beyoni frowned and said with a deep voice, “All three attacking together? Won’t that expose our full capability immediately?”

Murraky heard the reply in the channel and said with an indisputable tone, “My orders are not for you to question. Execute them!”

Alright, this guy really is stubborn… Han Xiao sighed with resignation.

Almost everything about the Crimson Dynasty was good except this. Their civilization was too powerful, so it gave some of its government members too big a sense of superiority and confidence.

A tint of dissatisfaction flashed through Beyoni’s eyes. This was not the right time to argue, so he endured it, kept silent, and jumped out of the hatch right into the battlefield, heading toward the enemy main ship where EsGod was.

Ames was a little unhappy, too. She shook her head and was about to step into the battlefield. This time, Han Xiao suddenly stopped her and sighed.

“Sorry, I didn’t know the commander would have such a trash personality and made you endure this with me.”

Ames’ footsteps stopped. She turned around and glanced at him. The tiny bit of unhappiness in her eyes disappeared, and she teased, “Am I a kid to you? Does it look like I need you to comfort me, hmm?”

Then, Ames flew onto the battlefield and headed to EsGod’s location from another direction.

Smiling with resignation, Han Xiao followed right after.

As soon as the three of them entered the battle, the situation changed. Everywhere Beyoni passed, groups of enemy battleships started burning out of nowhere and were covered in flames of all kinds of colors. Even the highly heat resistant alloys were burning and turned into liquid. Entire ships melted and exploded.

Ames directly grabbed countless battleships with her force field and swept left and right, creating countless empty areas. Those battleships that got too close were instantly crushed by the force field’s pressure.

These two were both good in AOE abilities. They were weapons of mass destruction on the battlefield!

Han Xiao did not even need to put in any effort. He was happy to slack off behind the two of them with his mechanical army, only casually finishing some enemies off to complete some missions.

The three of them approached the enemy’s main ship. Inside the main ship, the EsGod doppelganger saw Han Xiao and was surprised.

“So, you’ve actually come…”

Hum!

The next moment, he disappeared and teleported right before the three of them. Without even looking at Ames and Beyoni at all, he stared right at Han Xiao and sent a private psychic voice message with a tone filled with anticipation.

“Black Star, you really do understand me well. Have you decided to make the deal with me?”

Bang!

Han Xiao fired with countless psionic cannons at the EsGod doppelganger without hesitation, slamming it onto the surface of the desolate planet.

The three of them followed right after and hovered in the sky of the desolate planet. Ames dragged the EsGod doppelganger who crashed into the ground up with her force field and compressed it into a twisting black shadow. She then pulled it right toward the three of them.

Beyoni raised his hands and aimed at the EsGod doppelganger. Suddenly, flames erupted from within the EsGod doppelganger’s dark body.

Han Xiao activated [Gene Liberation], and the mechanical army fired at the EsGod doppelganger continuously.

Psh!

Dark blue beams penetrated the EsGod doppelganger time after time like a thunderstorm, followed the gravitational force of the desolate planet, and disappeared in the cosmic space.

Pa!

The EsGod doppelganger exploded into a black fog and slowly dissipated.

Even Psyker could easily eliminate two EsGod doppelgangers alone. One EsGod doppelganger with limited energy would only be completely thrashed in the face of three Beyond Grade As.

“Not bad.” Murraky, who was in the main ship far away, nodded.

Now that the EsGod doppelganger had been eliminated, he just had to wipe out the enemy fleet.

Just as he was thinking that, a space energy vortex suddenly appeared where the EsGod doppelganger had been eliminated. An ordinary ugly man wearing a hood stepped out of it.

As soon as this person appeared, as if he had brought an immeasurable amount of pressure with him, the spacetime around him seemed to freeze for an instant.

At this moment, Murraky’s expression changed drastically.

Beyoni’s relaxed body tensed up instantly.

Ames frowned tightly.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

This was no longer a doppelganger but EsGod’s main body!

The notorious brute feared by many Beyond Grade As!

EsGod stared coldly at Han Xiao and spoke slowly with a cold tone.

“I’m… very disappointed with your response.

“But… when rejecting me, you shouldn’t have been so close to me.”

Chapter 805: Overwhelming

EsGod’s appearance made Murraky horrified. He had thought this was just a regular routine elimination; he had never expected EsGod’s main body to appear there.

It was common knowledge in the Central Galaxy—If you meet EsGod’s main body, it’s best to escape immediately.

“You guys, lure EsGod away and buy us some time!”

Murraky ordered his fleet to ignore the damage incurred and keep attacking the Fallen Ark’s fleet while decisively giving Han Xiao and the other orders.

EsGod’s vicious name was deeply embedded in the Central Galaxy. Murraky was arrogant, but he knew that there was no way to kill EsGod with the manpower he had. His goal was just to eliminate the enemy fleet and reduce EsGod’s power so that EsGod would be alone, and they could try to force him away. If he succeeded, it would be an amazing achievement!

Although EsGod was one of the strongest even among Beyond Grade As, there were three Beyond Grade As on his side at the very least. It was time to make use of them.

As the dynasty’s troops started moving, the three Beyond Grade As including Han Xiao were confronting EsGod on the desolate planet. They completely ignored Murraky’s words and focused all their attention on EsGod.

The atmosphere was almost solidifying, and the murderous intent in the air kept growing.

Beyoni did not dare to move his eyes away from EsGod, so he glanced at Han Xiao with shock from the corner of his eyes—he had heard what EsGod said.

What response? Does Black Star have a private contact with EsGod?

With the movements of Han Xiao’s fingers, the mechanical army all aimed at EsGod but did not fire immediately. Han Xiao slowly said, “Did you really think I would agree to your terms and let you use the Evolution Cube? I’m now a member of the dynasty, so you and I will only be enemies, nothing else! I came this time to make that crystal clear. The Evolution Cube is right here. If you want it, come and get it!”

Han Xiao did not hide the fact that the two of them had communicated in the past and actively stated his stance.

EsGod narrowed his eyes and stared at Han Xiao’s neck as if his sight could penetrate the mechanical suit and see the Evolution Cube.

Black Star knew that this was a signal he sent deliberately, yet he still dared to personally come here to reject him? He had even brought the Evolution Cube along to draw the line clearly. Was Black Star really not afraid of him snatching it, or was Black Star too confident in himself?

EsGod glanced at Han Xiao and the others and said coldly, “Has fighting me as three given you confidence?”

As soon as his sentence finished, EsGod moved. With a push of his hands, rainbow-like energy gushed out and turned into countless beams of light, shooting toward the three of them.

“Shield!”

With a quick flash of green light in Ames’ eyes, a thick force field shrouded the three of them. The rainbow energy exploded over the force field and turned into fireworks. Its penetration power was very strong and even had a decomposing attribute. If not because Ames’ force field had a continuous supply of energy from her, these attacks would not have been easy to defend against.

EsGod turned his palm, and suddenly, another force field appeared and pressed onto them.

“He has a type of force field Esper Ability, too.” Ames was shocked and hastily sustained her own force field. The two force fields entered a stalemate for the moment, but they were surrounded by EsGod’s force field.

Force Field Esper Abilities were quite common and did not have very high potential. Ames was the one and only person that had become a Beyond Grade A with it. However, the low-grade Esper Abilities that EsGod had absorbed would receive Beyond Grade A bonuses from him, so the two of them were on par for the time being.

Along with Han Xiao’s thoughts, the mechanical army outside started attacking immediately. EsGod narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, the space around him solidified and seemed to crystalize. Countless psionic attacks were deflected. Some disappeared into the sky, and some landed on the ground, causing enormous explosions, but none managed to hit him!

“Pure energy reflection Esper Ability…” Han Xiao’s expression changed.

At this moment, Beyoni released his Esper Ability from afar and ignited EsGod’s body. Be it his flesh, bones, or the energy inside him, they all turned into fuel for the flames.

However, EsGod was unaffected. He inhaled deeply, and it was as if the flames on his body were absorbed by his skin. Beyoni’s flames turned into pure energy and were devoured by his cells.

Before they could respond, half of EsGod’s body suddenly turned into black fog. The black fog concentrated into a human shape beside him. As if his cells had split, a new doppelganger appeared.

Swoosh!

This doppelganger disappeared instantly, ignoring Ames’ force field, and appeared before Beyoni, punching right onto his chest. With its [God Speed] Esper Ability, this doppelganger was extremely fast.

Beyoni’s response was quick, too. Energy flew in his body. He raised his arms at the verge of danger and blocked the EsGod doppelganger’s fist. However, the fist had no momentum or power. Instead, the moment it touched Beyoni, a strange energy entered into Beyoni’s body.

“Wha…” Beyoni’s expression changed drastically. At that instant, it was as if the Esper Ability in his body had disappeared. He could not even sense his energy anymore.

At this time, the EsGod doppelganger emitted a blinding light and expanded extremely quickly.

Hum!

A black mass of light appeared, quickly expanding like a black hole, and shrouded Beyoni. A part of the mechanical army around were devoured too and were all obliterated. The mechanical soldiers that were not in the center of the explosion were blown away by the shockwave, incurring various degrees of damage.

Boom!

The mass of light expanded and exploded, leaving an enormous crater on the ground.

A black sphere of fire hovered in midair. The flames around it dissipated, and Beyoni appeared from within.

His entire body was burnt black. His Esper Ability had been suppressed by some kind of Esper Ability of EsGod. When the doppelganger exploded, he could finally sense his Esper Ability at the last moment and ignited the energy around him, offsetting the approaching energy and canceling most of the explosion’s power, creating an empty space around him. This was why he was not too heavily injured.

Not far away, a rippled appeared in midair, and Han Xiao walked out of it. He had avoided the explosion by entering the Void Dimension. On the other side, Ames walked out of the Void Dimension, too. Her method of avoiding the explosion was exactly the same as Han Xiao’s.

After just a short fight, the faces of all three of them looked grave. They looked up and stared at EsGod, who did not even move.

“What a terrifying guy…”

Although expected, the extent of how powerful EsGod was still shocked Han Xiao. Rumors were one thing—facing EsGod himself was another. He had fought an EsGod doppelganger before, but his doppelganger and his main body were on completely different levels.

This being before him was someone who had spent countless years collecting Esper Abilities, a monster with who knew how many abilities!

This guy’s main body was the true definition of ‘EsGod’—the mighty God of Espers!

The potential of an Esper Ability determined its owner’s Grade limit. Many unique Esper Abilities had a very low Grade limit, but when EsGod absorbed these Esper Abilities and used his own Beyond Grade A energy as their energy source, some abilities that would have never reached Beyond Grade A could now possess Beyond Grade A level of power. Even the simplest Esper Abilities would be extremely powerful in his hands, and some strange abilities would even have shocking effects!

For example, the ability that suppressed Beyoni was originally an ability that could silence someone else’s Esper Ability, but that ability had a very low limit and could not even affect Calamity Grades. However, when EsGod used it with his own energy, despite it only being able to activate at close range, it became effective even against Beyond Grade As.

With so many Esper Abilities, he almost had no weaknesses. To him, there were only two restrictions—his own energy limit and the fact that he could not use too many Esper Abilities at the same time, as that would overload his genes.

He suppressed three enemies including Han Xiao alone and did not look pressured. In the entire universe, very few could match up to him in a direct battle!

“Luckily, I dragged Beyoni here. The situation would have been much worse if there were only two of us. Although three of us still can’t beat him, at least we can barely stall him…”

With a heavy heart, Han Xiao reorganized his scattered mechanical army.

Compared to the other Beyond Grade As whom he had fought before, EsGod was the only one whose strength completely overwhelmed him!

“He does live up to his notorious name.” Ames gasped for air. This was also her first time fighting EsGod, and she was shocked after experiencing EsGod’s overwhelming strength.

EsGod glanced at the three of them and suddenly disappeared by teleportation.

“Sh*t.”

Han Xiao hastily looked up and saw that EsGod had moved into the dynasty’s army.

Murraky, who was commanding the fleet, had the same thought. When he saw EsGod appearing in the fleet, his expression changed dramatically.

The next moment, EsGod punched forward and shot out a crimson beam of light toward the main ship. It directly penetrated the main ship’s high-level energy shield and created a huge hole on the ship, completely penetrating it from one side to the other. Armor plates scattered around.

“Warning! Warning! Ship damage 10.8%! Engine Three broken! Energy circuit damaged. Energy core output efficiency decreased by 18%. Repairing…”

The tremble of the ship made the people in the command room stagger and almost fall. When Murraky finally balanced himself, his face had turned pale.

“Quickly, retreat!”

As the main ship was attacked, the situation changed in an instant. If they were attacked by EsGod a few more times, he would be dead for sure. The tiny bit of will of not wanting to accept defeat so easily disappeared immediately, and he did not dare continue fighting.

However, the main ship was EsGod’s target. He fired a chain of black-red beams of light.

Looking at the beams of light approaching from the porthole and hearing the alarm in the spaceship, it suddenly occurred to Murraky that in the face of such superior strength, he was powerless. The fleet he trusted so much could not help him at all; he was like a pig waiting to be butchered.

Despair appeared on his face.

The beam of light shot right into the main ship. The next moment, light expanded from within, and the main ship exploded into pieces.

Murraky’s vision was filled with darkness. He had already closed his eyes and was waiting for his death. Suddenly, he felt that his entire body was covered by cold metal. He immediately opened his eyes and saw that the mass of light emitted from the main ship’s explosion was getting further in his sights, while he was covered by a mechanical suit and was quickly getting away from the area of the explosion.

“I’m not dead!” Murraky’s eyes were opened wide. Fear still lingered in his heart.

Buzz…

At this time, the tactical display lit up, and Han Xiao’s face appeared.

“Still alive? Don’t just freeze there. The fleet needs your command. Don’t think about retreating. EsGod is indeed terrifyingly strong, but he won’t be able to beat the three of us in a short time. This place is very near the dynasty’s borders. The guard army of the border is able to reinforce us anytime, so he won’t stay here for too long. As long as we hang on, we can force him away.”

As the main ship exploded, Han Xiao had arrived and saved Murraky—he could not let this guy die. The fleet needed a commander.

Black Star? This guy saved me?

Murraky’s expression changed. After hearing what Han Xiao said, he clenched his teeth and left the thought of retreating behind. He hastily opened the command channel and told the fleet to continue attacking. The mechanical suit on him protected him and helped him flee, so he would not die.

Han Xiao took the other two to surround EsGod again, fighting him with all their might. They finally barely pulled him away from the fleet.

The four of them fought intensely. EsGod did not show any sign of difficulty dealing with the attacks of all three of them, while the number of wounds on Han Xiao and the others kept increasing instead. The damage of the mechanical army gradually increased too. None of them could match EsGod alone, so they could only fight him together.

In the middle of the intense fight, Han Xiao suddenly received a psychic voice message from EsGod.

“I’ve always wondered, how do you know how to use the Evolution Cube?” EsGod said with a curious tone.

He did indeed wonder. The data of the Evolutionary Civilization was clearly in his hands. He had checked Han Xiao’s history and knew that Han Xiao had never had any form of contact with the Evolutionary Civilization, so why did he know how to use the Evolution Cube?

Han Xiao blocked an energy shockwave with his psionic shield, clenched his teeth, and barely opened his mouth. “I… was lucky!”

“Luck? Do you think I’m easy to fool?” EsGod’s face was filled with doubt.

The activation password of the Evolution Cube is extremely complicated. For you to get it from luck alone, the possibility is infinitely close to zero. You’re not going to fool anyone.

There was only one possibility—the data of the Evolutionary Civilization had definitely leaked.

EsGod paused, dodged Ames’ force field impact, and suddenly shook his head. “Never mind, what’s important is the fact that you know how to use it. The reason doesn’t matter. Maybe this has given you the confidence not to be afraid. Sadly, you underestimated me and overestimated yourself. Bringing the portable Evolution Cube right in front of me is the biggest mistake you’ve made.”

Then, EsGod raised his hand. A cluster of blue light hovered above his palm. The next moment, it disappeared and turned into a familiar tiny silver cube.

Han Xiao trembled and hastily looked down. The Evolution Cube on his neck had disappeared, and he did not feel it at all!

Chapter 806: Clue

“A space swap Esper Ability?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“You don’t seem nervous at all.” EsGod narrowed his eyes. Then, having suddenly realized something, he pressed down hard on the tiny silver cube and shattered it.

Silver alloy pieces scattered from his palm—there were no traces of any evolution energy at all.

EsGod’s movement became stiff.

Han Xiao chuckled. “Did you think that I would really bring the Evolution Cube here to see you? Let me return your words back at you… you underestimated me.”

This guy was not Psyker, who had possessed the Evolution Cube for many years, so he did not have the psychic detection to identify the real Evolution Cube.

EsGod stayed silent for a few seconds before shaking his head. “That’s right. Since you’ve decided to reject me, how could you have really brought the real one here? I was misguided by you.”

When his main body had just appeared, Han Xiao acted very tough and told him to come and get it if he wanted the Evolution Cube, making his attention focused on the ‘Evolution Cube’ on Han Xiao. Afterward, EsGod did not have the time to think too much during the battle, so he subconsciously thought that the tiny silver cube on Han Xiao’s neck was the real deal.

He just said that he was not easy to fool, but then he was fooled right after… EsGod’s expression was not looking too bright.

It was no secret that the Evolution Cube had become portable. As Psyker was always attempting to take it back, it was impossible to let anyone else carry the Evolution Cube. That was the misconception that Han Xiao had been building, so people would think that he carried the Evolution Cube with him at all times. Therefore, due to this preconception, EsGod had mistakenly assumed that knowing Han Xiao’s location was equivalent to knowing the Evolution Cube’s location and failed to think of the possibility that the Evolution Cube might not be with Han Xiao.

The data left by the Evolutionary Civilization consisted of a method to locate the Evolution Cube, but it was different from Psyker’s psychic method. That method could only accurately locate the Evolution Cube within a certain range when used in combination with a special detection device.

The technology used in this device came from countless years ago and had certain flaws compared to the present. Furthermore, the data left by the Evolutionary Civilization was not complete, so the detector had limitations, mainly distance.

Back when EsGod stole the Evolution Cube, it was because he had a rough idea of where the Evolution Cube was since it was on Psyker’s mother planet. He had only used the detector when he was nearby to obtain the accurate location of where the cube was on Psyker’s mother planet. If he did not know where the Evolution Cube was at the start, the detector would not be able to find it across the wide Star Field either.

If not because EsGod did not have the wrong preconception and did not have the time to look at the device while fighting the three of them, he would have noticed that the Evolution Cube was not nearby.

Psyker’s psychic energy was linked to the Evolution Cube. Although the location would be not very accurate when the distance was too great, he could still sense the Evolution Cube no matter how far it was. This was why Han Xiao always carried it around with him. However, this time, it was different coming to have contact with EsGod. Knowing that EsGod had a lot of tricks up his sleeve, Han Xiao was prepared. The Evolution Cube was not with him for the time being.

Some time ago when he departed from Planet Crimson Ring and spent a few days to reach the border, he had secretly sent a spaceship in another direction during the trip, not to the border but stealthily moving in the territory of the dynasty. The real Evolution Cube was there, and no one knew about this.

Psyker was far away. The further he was, the less accurate the location of the Evolution Cube would be to him. Psyker only knew that the Evolution Cube was somewhere in the Central Galaxy. Furthermore, not mentioning Psyker not knowing what was happening right then, even if he did know, a famous member of the Arcane Church would not be able to enter the dynasty’s territory. Therefore, Han Xiao could temporarily ignore the threat from Psyker.

For safety purposes, he had dispatched another mechanical army on the stealth spaceship that had the true Evolution Cube on it.

With his [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel] ability, even if the army was very far from him, he could still transmit Mechanical Force over and let the mechanical army over there have Beyond Grade A level power!

Staying in one place and letting the Beyond Grade A level mechanical army carry out expeditions was the specialty of Beyond Grade A Mechanics.

When he was not even at the scene, how could the enemy close the distance on him‽

This was somewhat similar to EsGod’s doppelgangers but even better. This was exactly the combat mode that Manison used—the enemies would not be able to even see his face when fighting him.

Han Xiao was currently not using this strategy because his army had yet to reach the Mechanic Empire’s level. Furthermore, his tankiness was one of his strengths, so it would be a waste to not utilize it.

However, the mechanical army he sent on an ‘expedition’ could also completely thrash Calamity Grades, so they were more than enough to be guards of the Evolution Cube for the time being.

While these thoughts flashed through his mind, Han Xiao did not stop moving and controlling the mechanical army to focus fire on EsGod. Although EsGod’s energy reflection shield could reflect most energy attacks, Han Xiao had plenty of ways to deal with that.

The mechanical army had a wide variety of attack methods, so one single Esper Ability could not possibly make him helpless. His mechanical army could even counter Metal Manipulation, so a mere energy reflection was no obstacle.

Furthermore, EsGod could not use too many abilities simultaneously and was not going to keep defending but not attacking. Also, there were two more Beyond Grade As beside Han Xiao.

The three of them could not defeat EsGod, but at the same time, EsGod could not easily defeat the three of them. The result of the battle could not be determined in a short time, and the two sides had entered a stalemate.

In the battlefield, Murraky, who had just escaped death, had no time to relax and ordered his fleet to keep attacking. Despite being arrogant, his professional capability was no fluke. After all, he could single-handedly command an entire border defense army.

Under his strategic orders, the dynasty’s troops attacked violently and had the firm upper hand. Without the interference of Beyond Grade As, this Fallen Ark fleet was no match for him at all and was quickly falling apart.

While dealing with the attacks, EsGod glanced at the fleet battlefield and frowned. He could see that his fleet was going to be wiped out.

As he had just confirmed, the Evolution Cube was not with Han Xiao. Therefore, to EsGod, there was no need to continue fighting. This place was too close to the dynasty’s border, and their reinforcements would reach very soon. Even he did not want to face tons of dynasty border guard armies. Even if he would eventually escape unharmed, he did not want to provoke the three civilizations too much.

If he killed too many the Crimson Dynasty men, the Crimson Dynasty might immediately gather a large army and march into the sensitive areas to pursue and eliminate the main Fallen Ark army. By then, it would be Clotti and the other two old dynasty b*stards he would have to face.

Although EsGod was not afraid of them himself, he would lose far more than just a fleet, so it was not worth it.

At this time, Han Xiao suddenly sent a psychic voice message and said with a deep voice, “You have a space swap Esper ability, so I’m guessing you never wanted to make a deal with me since the start, and this has always been a trap.”

EsGod blocked Ames’ force field then replied in a mocking tone.

“It’s true I have no credibility nor reputation, but this time, you’re wrong. I was indeed sincere. The Evolution Cube was the only hope to reach the higher territory in my eyes, but it isn’t anymore. I have seen a wider world! To me, the Evolution Cube is no longer my final target, just a tool that I want and not an absolute necessity. If you’re not willing to lend it to me, I really would not have done anything to you…”

A higher territory? Han Xiao wondered. EsGod was combining the clearly restricted Super High Risk Esper Abilities and taking in countless galactic wanted criminals to form the Fallen Ark. Everything he did was for stronger power—his motive was very straight forward.

“You want to be like the Primordial Ones, break through the limit of individual power and discover a new grade?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“Hehe.” EsGod neither agreed nor denied it. Then, he suddenly changed the topic and said, “Speaking of which, I have to thank you. You made me see a new hope and changed my goal.”

“Thank me?” Han Xiao was confused.

“A few years ago, my doppelganger fought you in the Shattered Star Ring. It was toyed with by you and thrown into a wormhole,” EsGod said with a mysterious tone. “Sadly, you did not follow me through the wormhole. You have absolutely no idea what you’ve missed.”

Between the lines of his words, it was as if that event had turned out to be beneficial to him.

Han Xiao suddenly had a flash of insight and linked all the clues together. Shocked, he asked, “Was that why your people killed Harrofal?”

Back when the DarkStar leader returned to assassinate him, he had used an EsGod doppelganger. That was the first time he had come in contact with EsGod.

At that time, he had been no match for the EsGod doppelganger. He had used the wormhole environment around and worked together with a Mechanic who studied wormholes, Harrofal, leading the EsGod doppelganger into the wormhole and banishing it.

After that, EsGod had sent his subordinates to steal the Evolution Cube but killed Harrofal too. Han Xiao did not know the reason. This had happened a very long time ago, and he did not expect EsGod to bring it up. It seemed like there was something else to this.

“Harrofal?” EsGod paused, as if he finally remembered this name after thinking for some time. “Hmm, right, that’s his name, that guy who tricked my doppelganger together with you at that time. I obtained the data of that wormhole tunnel from him.”

Han Xiao was puzzled. EsGod said that he had seen the hope for the next stage. What did this guy see on the other side of the wormhole?

Did EsGod obtain the data for that particular wormhole tunnel so that he could locate the destination of that random teleportation and build a stable tunnel?

What did that wormhole lead to that was worthy of even EsGod putting in so much effort‽

Han Xiao was tempted to know, but EsGod had no interest in speaking about it. He suddenly teleported and escaped from the siege of the three of them, waving his hand. A teleportation gate appeared behind him.

From far away, EsGod’s sights stabbed Han Xiao like knives. From EsGod’s eyes, Han Xiao understood what he meant.

I’ll let you go this time, but we will have plenty of chances in the future to play again. The days are still long!

Their gazes clashed.

Then, EsGod took a step back and disappeared without a trace together with the teleportation gate.

“He retreated…”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. The mechanical army lost the target and stopped moving.

EsGod could not obtain the Evolution Cube this time, so he would most likely make more plans in the future. Han Xiao had no idea what methods EsGod would use in the future.

The two of them were now on completely opposite sides. However, this guy could not easily leave the Central Galaxy, so Han Xiao did not know when they would fight again.

Also, the wormhole that EsGod mentioned had piqued his curiosity.

Thinking of the strength that EsGod had showcased in this battle, Han Xiao felt a lot of pressure.

“He is the final boss of the Chaotic Evil Faction. I don’t have enough strength to fight him yet…”

Han Xiao felt a sense of pressure—he needed to become stronger.

Chapter 807: EsGod Chapter Summon Card: Esper Silence

Though they kept their guard up a while longer, EsGod did not appear again.

“We forced him away?” Beyoni’s voice sounded in the communication channel filled with doubt and disbelief.

Ames looked at the fleet battlefield afar that was completely one-sided, shook her head, and said, “Does he not even want his fleet anymore?”

“They’re all wanted criminals. None are good,” Han Xiao said slowly. “Across the entire universe, new criminals are born every second and every minute. Countless people have sought protection from him. EsGod basically has an endless supply of manpower. How much will he care about the lives of his subordinates? If he did care, he would not have used his subordinates as bait.”

Without EsGod, this Fallen Ark fleet scattered and escaped in all directions. The dynasty’s troops chased right after them. The three of them did not do anything about those escaping battleships and returned to one of the sub-ships. Chasing those fleeing enemies was the dynasty’s troops’ task.

As the main ship had been destroyed by EsGod, Murraky had moved to this sub-ship to re-establish his command. As soon as the three of them entered the spaceship, they immediately saw the few soldiers who had been waiting beside the hatch all along.

“Y-Your Excellencies, the commander has invited the three of you to the bridge.” The soldier was a little nervous. All these soldiers on the spaceships witnessed the fight between the three of them and EsGod—they had a very clear idea of how strong these three were.

“So, now this guy’s willing to let us go to the command room?” Han Xiao laughed and walked at the front. The soldier quickly caught up and led the way.

When the three of them entered the command room at the bridge, Murraky was staring at the strategic map and talking nonstop, giving out orders to maximize the results of the battle. As he turned around and saw Han Xiao and the others walk in, his face turned respectful, and he hastily went to the three of them.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you saved my life, thank you! I’m very sorry about what happened before!” Murraky’s attitude was completely different from before, and he could not have been more respectful.

No matter how arrogant he was, he could not act that way to Black Star, who had saved his life.

Han Xiao looked at him with narrowed eyes and said indifferently, “You’re the commander. You can be arrogant, you can act all high and mighty, and you can have all kinds of problems… but you can’t forget your job. The battle has not ended, yet you left your commanding position and came to apologize to us? Putting it bluntly, no matter what attitude you have, it will never change the difference in position between you and us. Do you think we care about your apology?”

The command room became silent. The people around dared not make a sound.

Murraky shivered. His intention to apologize was sincere, but he never expected to receive such an uncompromising response. It was almost shameful. He could not help but feel somewhat wronged. However, with an awkward expression, he did not dare speak again and returned to his station to continue commanding the battle.

After Han Xiao finally left with an expressionless face, the people in the room finally dared to breathe freely.

The annoyance in Beyoni’s heart disappeared immediately. He patted Han Xiao’s shoulder and laughed. “Dynasty military officers like him don’t know how to respect the strong. That’ll teach him a lesson.”

Han Xiao glanced at him and shook his head in his mind. It was not Murraky’s attitude that he was unhappy about. If this was directed just toward him, he would have generously laughed it off. However, this did not just concern him. Ames was not an ally of the dynasty—she had helped him purely because she was kind enough to. Yet she was treated this way, so there was no way Han Xiao was just going to act as if nothing had happened.

Therefore, even though Murraky had gone to apologize sincerely, he still did not accept it at all and used the chance to teach him a lesson. Ames was not the dynasty’s ally, so she had no place to speak. Only he could help her vent her anger. Even though Ames had never requested him to do so, Han Xiao still did it.

Ames looked at Han Xiao with an interested look on her face. “Yo, this is the first time I’ve seen you show off your Beyond Grade A identity. Kiddo, has arrogance finally caught up to you?”

Han Xiao glanced at her and raised his brows. “Don’t tell me you didn’t like it.”

“Smart.” Ames laughed and shook her head. She softly poked Han Xiao’s cheek with her slender finger.

Han Xiao turned his head around with resignation, caught Ames’ hand, and pressed it down. “Your words were more than sufficient.”

They casually chatted about the battle earlier as they returned to the house. Han Xiao entered a room alone and closed the door after him. Now, he finally had the time to take a breather and recollect the battle earlier.

He had gained quite a lot from this test.

The goal on paper to take part in this elimination was to complete a mission and obtain Contribution Points, as well as to clarify his stand and draw an obvious line with EsGod.

One of the secret goals was to evaluate the combat capability of EsGod’s main body.

The Great Mechanic Han had a very clear idea of his own capabilities and knew that he was no match for EsGod at the moment, which was why he had hidden the Evolution Cube in advance. However, he was at least at the Beyond Grade A level just like EsGod, so he would not be too afraid and knew that he could at least fight EsGod.

Since EsGod was his enemy, while he had help, he wanted to test EsGod’s strength personally and feel their differences. This way, he would have a rough idea when facing EsGod in the future and would not be unprepared.

The test did give him a result—EsGod felt unfathomable, like a bottomless pit. Just seeing the tip of the iceberg had already given him a lot of pressure.

“Level, talents, and Ultimate Knowledges need to be obtained, and the mechanical army needs to be continuously expanded.” Han Xiao was planning ahead.

A Beyond Grade A Mechanic’s army could travel long distances without him having to be there. Other than his own abilities, he also had to increase the size and strength of his mechanical army. After he obtained the Ultimate Knowledge to activate [King’s Mentor], he would be able to enhance his mechanical army even further and make use of the Beyond Grade A Mechanic combat style.

The most important goal he had this time was to plant a ward on that guy.

EsGod had multiple abilities, but he was not a Mage. Even though the chances were slim, he had to try it. With this attitude, Han Xiao had secretly thrown an Observer’s Mark at EsGod during the battle. Sadly, EsGod had discovered it and shattered it instantly.

Han Xiao was not very regretful about this. It was a gamble to begin with. It would have been a great surprise if it worked, but he had been mentally prepared for it not to.

Ding.

At this time, the mission complete notification popped up on the interface.

“The battle has finally ended?”

He opened the interface and looked at the notifications.

_____________________

[Dynasty Warfare: Fallen Ark (Repeatable)] Completed!

The targets you have completed are: [Elite Minions], [Brave Warrior], [Scavenger]… [Facing EsGod I], [Facing EsGod II, [Facing EsGod III], [Facing EsGod IV].

Mission Rating: Unbelievable

You have received Unbelievable Mission Rating reward: Bonus 9,000,000,000 EXP, 2 Random Rewards

_____________________

“That’s quite a lot of EXP.” Han Xiao was delighted. All missions that involved Beyond Grade As had very rich rewards. It was the same back when he fought Heber.

The total EXP reward for this mission was close to thirty billion! It was plenty even at his level. It mainly came from the reward involving EsGod, which he could complete easily but was extremely difficult for the players.

Scanning through the notifications, Han Xiao smiled. He had made a huge fortune this time. The Contribution Points for the Crimson Dynasty had reached more than eight thousand, more than enough to exchange for an Ultimate Knowledge.

Han Xiao saved the two Random Rewards before looking at the EsGod Character Summon Card reward from the [Facing EsGod IV] mission.

_____________________

Character Summon Card – EsGod: [Esper Ability—Esper Silence]—Through physical contact, suppress the Esper Genes of the target and forbid the target from using Esper Ability. Only effective against Espers. The Judgement success rate and the duration depends on the difference between the user and target in terms of Level, Energy Level, and Luck.

Minimum duration if effective: 0.25s

Usages: 0/2

_____________________

“Esper Silence?” Han Xiao recalled that this was the Esper Ability that EsGod had used on Beyoni.

EsGod had many abilities, and the Character Summon Card could only draw one. Luckily, this Esper Ability was quite useful, thanks to him touching Feidin before the battle.

Han Xiao pondered. The ability of this Character Summon Card just so happened to counter EsGod, which was an unexpected surprise. However, the difference in the various attributes between him and EsGod was quite large, so it was almost impossible for the Judgement to succeed.

Maybe when his level caught up to EsGod, this Character Summon Card would be effective on him.

Han Xiao kept this Character Summon Card as a trump card.

“Now that I’ve drawn the line clearly with EsGod, the goal for this trip is achieved… I shall exchange for Ultimate Knowledge later on and rendezvous with the army, as well as make contact with the Constellation Corridor players.”

One of the two goals he had for this Central Galaxy trip was now completed, and Han Xiao had already planned for what to do next.

“One more thing…”

He was rather concerned with the wormhole EsGod mentioned and wanted to know what EsGod was planning.

“When I return to the Shattered Star Ring, I have to find the time to visit Harrofal’s civilization and see if I can get the data for that wormhole travel. I have to find out why EsGod was looking for that set of data…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

He had an intuitive feeling that this was not simple. It might be a surprise…

…

In the other room, Beyoni opened his communicator and called Clotti’s number.

The communication was picked up very soon.

Du…

“Clotti, the battle here has ended.”

“How was it?” Clotti asked.

“We met EsGod’s main body…” Beyoni described the whole thing.

Clotti nodded and said, “This means that EsGod did indeed contact Black Star before, but Black Star did not agree, hmm… There is the possibility that they’re putting on a show. Anyhow, good work, I will report this to Her Excellency.”

“It didn’t look fake.” Beyoni spoke for Han Xiao. “I feel that Black Star knew that the dynasty had some doubts about him, and this was to express his stand to gain the dynasty’s trust. After all, he’s a new Beyond Grade A ally of the dynasty. Even if there are doubts, it won’t be publicized. It’s impossible to interrogate someone like him, so he needed to do this.”

Clotti did not comment about it. He was only responsible for reporting; the final judgment depended on Urranrell.

“By the way, Black Star asked me about the Mechanic Empire,” Beyoni suddenly said.

“That’s normal.” Clotti shook his head.

After a few more words, Beyoni hung up the communication and exhaled flame sparkles from his mouth.

Not only was he close to the military’s Youngsters Faction, but he was also a confidant of the Ruler. During this trip with Han Xiao, not only was he building a closer relationship with Han Xiao, but he was also secretly told by Urranrell to keep an eye on Black Star’s actions.

…

In the Central Galaxy’s desolate universe belt very far from the battlefield, another Fallen Ark fleet was hidden.

A space vortex shaped teleportation gate appeared above the fleet, and EsGod walked out of it.

The main ship opened its hatch and welcomed EsGod onboard.

As he returned to the main ship’s hall, the people on standby there stood up and greeted him.

“Your Excellency EsGod!”

“Boss!”

EsGod ignored them and walked to his throne. He sat down and glanced over the people below him. “How’s the research progress?”

“They’re still matching the data with the coordinates. We don’t know how long it will take to accurately locate the location in the data records. That set of data is too strange. It does not seem to be in the explored universe. Even if we have the data, without the matching coordinates on the star map, the workload is enormous.”

“Results are the only thing I want. Confirm the location as soon as possible,” EsGod said coldly. He then turned to look at his capable assistant beside him and said, “Help me to contact the Arcane Church’s men.”

“Oh? For what?”

This person licked his lips. His tongue was purple and covered in spikes, like a whip. A bright red mask was embedded into his face bone as if it was soldered into his face. The mask blocked the upper half of his face, not even showing his eyes. Only his mouth and chin could be seen. He was a being with an upright spine but not human, about 1.7 meters tall. His back was bent like an old man. His skin was thick, dark purple, and rough like sandpaper. He had two pairs of upper limbs and one pair of lower limbs. He looked emaciated, and his body was like a purple brunch of a dead tree. He had the EsGod-brand fashionable beggar hood on too. He emitted a sense of evil and creepiness from all over his body.

Fakisen, nicknamed the Purple Devil, one of the Beyond Grade A Seeds in the Central Galaxy many years ago. He was once a wanted criminal chased by universal civilizations, then he joined the Fallen Ark and had been an important officer under EsGod for around a hundred years.

“Tell the Arcane Church’s men, didn’t they want the data left by the Evolutionary Civilization? I can give it to them.”

“On what terms?” Fakisen tilted his head.

“To work together and snatch the Evolution Cube. Tell them, if that succeeds, the Evolution Cube is theirs. I only need to use it a few times,” EsGod said slowly.

In order not to make the same mistake, he decided to borrow Psyker’s ability to locate the Evolution Cube. As he had slaughtered many Star Pupil Holy Race members before, Psyker would not work with him, so EsGod planned to directly negotiate with the Arcane Church in secret. As long as the Arcane Church made a decision, he would be able to discreetly borrow Psyker’s ability.

The Arcane Church had an unusual passion for the Evolution Cube. Ever since EsGod stole the Evolution Cube from Psyker and made it known to the public that he possessed information about the Evolutionary Civilization, the Arcane Church had proposed many terms to him secretly in exchange for the Evolutionary Civilization’s information.

According to EsGod’s speculation, the Arcane Church’s feverish admiration for the Gods was one of the main reasons they wanted the Evolution Cube. EsGod did not know the details of it.

Although EsGod knew that he was the common enemy of the three civilizations. Since he shared a common goal with the Arcane Church, it was not impossible for them to work together in secret. Furthermore, the target of negotiation was the mysterious Arcane Church, which had the most ambiguous stand among the three civilizations. Compared to the Federation of Light and the Crimson Dynasty, the Arcane Church was the least keen to kill him.

“We’re going to make a deal with the Arcane Church? That’s really risky. If there’s a chance, they might eliminate you during the process,” Fakisen said with a mocking tone.

“Hehe.” EsGod smiled faintly and did not reply. He then said, “I’ll leave this matter to you. I need to sleep for some time.”

Pa!

Fakisen’s tongue whipped in midair and created a sound that had the same meaning as humans snapping their fingers, expressing that he would get it done.

EsGod grunted and lowered his head. His face turned back to a vortex shaped black fog and entered his slumber.

Fakisen was used to this. The various Esper Abilities of EsGod all existed in his body in the form of Genetic Chains, which had a very heavy load on his body. Continuously switching between his various Esper Abilities would cause his cells to age very quickly. When EsGod absorbed Esper Abilities from others, he was basically using his life span in exchange for power.

EsGod’s cell activity had already started to deteriorate, and his life span had entered the elderly stage. However, he also had Esper Abilities to suppress aging and temporarily return him to his youth, which had to be triggered through sleeping. This was the reason he often slept. Usually, after intense battles, EsGod always slept.

“Black Star…”

Fakisen licked his lips. He knew that EsGod had gone to negotiate with Black Star. It clearly did not go well, and EsGod had even gone back empty-handed, which was shocking to him.

…

After the battlefield was cleaned up, Murraky’s army returned to the border army base together with Han Xiao and the others.

There were millions of border army bases across the dynasty’s wide border line. The highest position in one base was colonel.

As this battle came to its end, Han Xiao and the others bade farewell to the colonel of the base and left.

Han Xiao and Beyoni said to meet again when they had the time before going their separate ways. Beyoni left alone, while Han Xiao took Ames and the others to head toward the location where the Black Star Army was going to build a new division.

While heading there, they took a detour, and Han Xiao retrieved the Evolution Cube and the other mechanical army. He felt much more assured when the Evolution Cube was on him.

As the portable base of the army had yet to arrive, they were not in a hurry, so Han Xiao slowed down the traveling time. This was the first time Hila and the others had gone to the Central Galaxy. They made stops here and there on the way, occasionally visiting the colonial planets of the Crimson Dynasty for sightseeing.

With Han Xiao’s identity, their journey was smooth.

Han Xiao had been paying attention to the Constellation Corridor page on the player forums all along and looking at the players’ reactions. Ever since more than half a month ago when he spread the word at the Shattered Star Ring that he was going to the Constellation Corridor, the players there had been in a state of excitement and anticipation. They could not wait for the Black Star Army to cross Star Fields and meet them.

The transportation in the Central Galaxy was very efficient. When Han Xiao was still on the way, the army’s main team finally reached its destination and arrived before the players.

Han Xiao had yet to arrive personally, but he could clearly feel the enormous impact of his army crossing servers on the Constellation Corridor page on the forums.

The passion of the players exploded!

Chapter 808: Harvesting Wild Leeks

In Galaxy, Star Fields were like individual servers with different main storylines and events. The players all had different experiences, worked for different civilizations, met different characters, and saw different scenery.

While the events in the various Star Fields were different, the overall direction was the same.

In Version 1.0, the players were born on their respective novice planets and experienced events there. In Version 2.0, the players experienced upheavals on their novice planets. Then, under the guidance of different factions, the players officially stepped into the universe and started their adventure within the Star Systems. Now, in Version 3.0, the players’ stage started to gradually expand to the Star Clusters they were in. At the same time, they began to understand and become involved in more matters across Galaxy.

The professional clubs of the various countries chose different Star Fields as their base so that obtaining resources would be easier, and their local players would be more willing to start their character there. The Constellation Corridor mainly consisted of Russian and Australian professional players, as well as some clubs from smaller countries. Of course, the players could start in any Star Field they wanted, so there were players from other countries in the Constellation Corridor too.

The players there had experienced the Sodrian Rebellion on their novice planet. This planet was originally a rural territory of a Star System civilization, but it was a self-ruled area due to its history. The ruler of the planet was involved in a certain sensitive matter and was punished by the Star System civilization. Sodrian’s ruler was not willing to give in and rebelled.

In the mid to late stage of Version 2.0, the rebellion was resolved, and the Star System civilization regained Sodrian. The ruler led his fleet and escaped. The players entered the universe due to external factors. As they did not have guidance like the Shattered Star Ring players had, the players of the Constellation Corridor went many separate ways. Some were recruited by Star System civilizations, some escaped with Sodrian, and some traveled the universe. They were scattered around in various factions and civilizations in the Star Systems around, completely unlike those in the Shattered Star Ring.

In Version 3.0, as the Constellation Corridor was the Crimson Dynasty’s base, almost every civilization there was ruled by the dynasty, and none dared cause any trouble. Therefore, it was very peaceful there, unlike the other Star Fields. A few months after the start of the version, when the secret war main storyline in the Shattered Star Ring ended, the players in the Constellation Corridor triggered the main storyline.

As there were many factions and not much trouble, the players there looked for fun themselves. PVP became a norm, and guild wars were very frequent. As both Russia and Australia saw this place as their base, the normal players on these two sides took each other as the opposing faction. It was very boisterous.

To make communication more convenient, the players would always have public areas. The biggest safe area recognized by the Constellation Corridor areas was a trading planet called Gilman. It was a prosperous stargate transit station. Many players set up stores and looked for teams there.

The location that the Black Star Army had chosen was exactly Planet Gilman.

Just like the usual days, on this day, many players went to Planet Gilman by galactic flights and queued at the space dock of the planet. The spaceship queue extended like a river. It was quite crowded.

The guild Power and Glory’s vice president ‘Vodka’ was in one of the spaceships together with many guild members. This guild was the official guild of the most famous club in Russia. Its goal was to provide resources to the club’s professional team, ‘Glory’.

Vodka was doing missions with the rest in other civilizations and gathered some equipment. This visit to Planet Gilman was to rest and store this batch of equipment in the warehouse at the guild base on the planet.

A guild officer walked into the room and reported to Vodka. “The fleet captain sent a message saying that there were some problems with the identity inspection of a certain fleet in front of us, and it will take about ten minutes till it’s our turn.”

“Good work.” Vodka nodded.

Like the others, Vodka was browsing the forums while waiting. Many Black Star Army related posts entered his sights. He shook his head and said, “The Black Star Army topic has been trending for half a month. I wonder if they really are going to open a new division here at the Constellation Corridor.”

The others joined the conversation.

“We can’t even make contact with the Crimson Dynasty now. Who knows if the Black Star Army is already here?”

“Even if they’re indeed coming to start a division, we might not meet them. Who knows where they will appear?”

Currently, the players at the Constellation Corridor had yet to join the Crimson Dynasty, and Han Xiao had not taken any players with him. As no player witnessed the army, the players in the Constellation Corridor did not know the whereabouts of the Black Star Army.

As they were chatting, one of them casually glanced outside the porthole. His expression suddenly stiffened. Shocked, he stared right outside the window.

“What is that‽”

The others looked over and were shocked too.

A fleet was guarding an enormous portable satellite base out of the stargate from not far away and slowly approaching Planet Gilman. Not just Vodka and the players there, all the players and the galactic residents queueing at the dock saw this.

These spaceships were marked with the Black Star Army symbol, which the Constellation Corridor players recognized.

“Black Star Army‽”

“They’re here‽”

The Black Star Army’s satellite base slowly stopped outside Planet Gilman and communicated with the guard army of the planet.

Looking at this, Vodka was stunned. “Wow! Could it be that… the Black Star Army is going to build their division on Planet Gilman‽”

Realizing the possibility, the surrounding guild members’ expressions changed drastically, and they were overjoyed.

Not long after, news of the army’s arrival spread across the entire Planet Gilman.

Very soon, the negotiation between the army and Planet Gilman’s authorities was complete. Due to the identity of the army’s commander and the authority given by the Crimson Dynasty, Planet Gilman had no right to prevent the army from building a division here. They had no choice but to send people to help the Black Star Army build their base.

As the players were waiting with anticipation, the army finally announced to the entire planet that they were going to build a division there!

The news became a storm in the forums. All the players in the Constellation Corridor were overjoyed and filled with excitement.

After more than half a month, the Black Star Army had appeared. The players had speculated a lot about how they would come into contact with the Black Star Army, but no one thought that the Black Star Army would directly appear in their public area!

The responses of the players were clearly displayed on the forums. The topic of the army appearing on Planet Gilman instantly became the most discussed topic on the Constellation Corridor page!

The anticipation from the past half a month turned into flames of passion!

This was the first inter-Star Field faction that the players had contact with. Even the players from other pages on the forums were attracted.

Especially the Shattered Star Ring.

…

At the Black Star Army headquarters in the Shattered Star Ring, countless players stopped their footsteps simultaneously and opened the forums.

“The army has crossed a Star Field!”

“The forums over there have exploded!”

“Haha, let those foreigners experience what it’s like to be in our army.”

“Although we’re in different Star Fields, we might all belong to the same faction in the future.”

The players in the Shattered Star Ring were excited and visited the Constellation Corridor page on the forums. They made a post there with the title of ‘Welcome to the army, foreign friends’.

“Congratulations from the Black Star Army headquarters.”

“Congratulations from the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Welcome to the Black Star Army!”

“Remember, our slogan is ‘Captain is awesome’!”

Through the versions, the Black Star Army had become deeply rooted in the hearts of the players. Seeing that their own growing faction had developed to such heights, many Shattered Star Ring players felt proud. It almost felt like raising a child who had finally become successful.

The various players who met Black Star long ago including Frenzied Sword, Bun-Hit-Dog, and Maple Moon felt most deeply for this. They had experienced a lot of things with the Black Star Army, and those memories resurfaced in their minds.

We’ve come so far…

Their feelings were complicated.

To the players, this act of the Black Star Army was like the opening of a new era. Maybe this would be the beginning of the players being able to travel between Star Fields. Maybe, one day, all the Galaxy players might be able to gather in the same Star Field, and this might be its beginning.

…

The influence of officially building a subdivision on Planet Gilman could be seen immediately. Almost all the players doing missions elsewhere rushed right back from various Star Systems as soon as they heard this piece of news.

From Version 2.0 when the players entered the universe, never had the players all gathered in one place in the Constellation Corridor. This time, due to the popularity of the army itself and the impact of crossing Star Fields, almost everyone gathered there!

The army subdivision made an announcement on the quantum network saying that since the subdivision had just been built, they needed to recruit a lot of manpower. The details could be found on the main page of the army.

As the players in the Constellation Corridor did not have any sense of belonging to the army, what attracted them was purely the army’s fame and the potential profit. With the example of the Shattered Star Ring, almost all the older players knew how good the Black Star Army’s benefits were. With Han Xiao working things for three versions, the army’s brand among the players had a very high position.

Vodka finished reading the recruiting information on the communicator and sighed. “The benefits are too good…”

Be it salary, bonuses, internal services, missions, or resources, the benefits of the Black Star Army were miles better than all the factions that the Constellation Corridor had experienced!

The faction store was especially attractive. Han Xiao had tons of low-level blueprints and had mass-produced them throughout the years. Currently, the army sold more than ten thousand mechanical items and equipment of all kinds of uses and functions. There were also tailor-made options, repairs, enhancements, and other services. Other than that, there were many Dungeon Crystals, Genetic Medicines, materials, and many other items, as well as the products from other financial groups. The faction store of the army was like a trade transit station with plenty of products.

“Vice president, are we going to join the Black Star Army?”

“Come, let’s go to their subdivision.” Vodka was thrilled. Not mentioning how attractive the benefits of the army was, just the Black Star Army being the Crimson Dynasty’s ally would have made him not hesitate about it.

Vodka took the guild members along and headed to the army’s subdivision in their spaceship.

They flew into the dock, descended from their spaceship, and followed the robot receptionist to the hall. The hall was already crowded and filled with people at this time—almost all the players who were on Planet Gilman had rushed there.

There were many other big guilds there. Vodka saw many old rivals and familiar faces from guild wars.

They were all there to join the army. They had to submit their resume and participate in a test, which was mainly to test their combat capabilities. Other than the brand-new players, almost no player was still below Grade C, so this recruitment requirement was not a problem for them.

Vodka squeezed into the middle of the hall, and before him were gates leading to Combat Testing Rooms. Tons of players queued there and waited for their turn.

Vodka and the rest waited for a while before it was finally their turn. A mission popped up on their interfaces.

_____________________

Faction Mission: Black Star Army Test

Mission Introduction: The rise of the Black Star Army is filled with legends. It is now a gigantic organization of the Shattered Star Ring and an ally of the Crimson Dynasty. The Black Star Army has crossed Star Fields and built a subdivision in the Central Galaxy. You have received the chance to join the army. However, the army members have all been through strict selection processes. In order to join this faction with seemingly infinite potential, you must prove your strength…

_____________________

The same thing was happening to many other players.

…

At the same time, somewhere in the Constellation Corridor on a boisterous tourism planet…

This was a planet with close to no traces of artificial modification. Its scenery was marvelous, its water was clean, the seas were green, and the skies were blue. Its surface was covered with vegetation, and the plants emitted a faint light at night. It was dreamlike. All sorts of beautiful gentle creatures inhabited the surface. Tiny, silver creatures could be seen flying in groups between the forests, like fish swimming in the air.

“This planet is really beautiful…”

Han Xiao and the others had been passing this planet, so they stopped by to tour it. The spaceship was hovering in midair while the group of them slowly walked in the night forest. The scenery was beautiful everywhere they looked.

Aurora loved nature; it was filled with life. She walked at the front, Ames and Hila and the other Black Star Guards walked in the middle, and Han Xiao walked at the back. He was walking with his hands behind his back, looking at the backs of the others with a smile on his face.

Having lived with the smell of mechanical oil and metal for most of the time, the fresh air seemed to clear up his lungs and made him feel refreshed.

Hila slowed down and came to Han Xiao’s side. She glanced at him and said, “You seem to be in a very good mood today.”

Han Xiao chuckled. He would finally be harvesting the wild-grown leeks. How could he not be in a good mood?

Chapter 809: Decision and Guilds Stand

_____________________

You have joined a new faction—[Black Star Army]!

You have received a new identity—[Black Star Army Member]!

[Black Star Army] Faction Interface activated.

[Black Star Army] Contribution System activated.

[Black Star Army] Faction Store activated.

According to the relationship between [Black Star Army] and other factions, some organizations now have a different attitude toward you.

_____________________

In the crowded Planet Gilman army subdivision hall, Vodka and the officers of his guild walked out of the Combat Testing Room with the crowd. They were all looking at the notification on the interface with joy.

Looking at the new unlocked faction store, they could not take their eyes away from the tons of items in it.

“Vice president, the club side just asked us how things are going.”

“Haha, tell them it’s great, and those professional players can join too. Almost all the knowledges up to Advanced Knowledges are sold here.” Vodka rubbed his hands with excitement.

At this time, a group of guild players approached them. The one at the front was Captain Old Henry, the vice president of the Kangaroo Guild, which was the official guild of the famous Australia professional guild, Kangaroo Boxing. He was also an old rival of Vodka’s; the two sides had fought quite a number of guild wars.

Captain Old Henry saw Vodka and the others and greeted them. “G’day mate, I see you guys have come earlier than us.”

“You guys are here too?” Vodka stopped his footsteps and chatted with them.

After having fought each other and played together for three versions, they were considered semi-friends. When they were not fighting guild wars, their relationship was quite good. Although they were competitors, there was no need to hate each other.

“You guys have already joined?”

“That’s right. There are quite a lot of people. Have fun queuing.”

After chatting for a while, Captain Old Henry led his people along to take the test. Vodka watched them leave and caressed his chin.

“All the guilds will send someone to join the army,” a guild officer said softly. “This means we will all be in the same faction in the future. Does that mean that competition will decrease?”

“Humph, not at all. Since the Black Star Army is planning to expand, there will definitely be a lot of missions in a short period. Among these missions, there will be good and bad ones. The large guilds will definitely fight for better missions and better resources. I think that not only will the competition between guilds not decrease, but it will be more frequent instead.” Vodka shook his head and was not very optimistic.

“Really? The Chinese in the Shattered Star Ring seem to rarely have guild wars to fight for resources.”

“Who said so? They’re doing the same, just not as intense. After all, most guilds there are from China, so they don’t fight as much with each other. Here, however, there are a lot of guilds from different countries, so we’re destined to be opponents. Furthermore, we’re used to opposing each other here.”

Then Vodka suddenly thought of something.

“By the way, speaking of the Shattered Star Ring… we’re now members of the Black Star Army. The army is an inter-Star Field faction, and its headquarters is at the Shattered Star Ring. I wonder if we can follow the army back to the Shattered Star Ring.”

This was a very important question and got everyone curious.

Vodka took out the communicator and downloaded the mini army assistant.

Phillip’s holographic projection appeared above the screen. He was about a finger’s size and very adorable. He bowed and said with a childish voice, “Welcome to the Black Star Army’s internal assistant. I’m the sub-program of the army’s artificial intelligence, Phillip. Glad to be of service to the brave Black Star warriors. If you want, you can give me a new look and even give me a new name, hum…”

“Ohhh, how cute…”

The adorable projection struck Vodka’s soft spot. His heart was almost melting. The originally tough and bearded muscular man was now smiling like a wrinkled flower. Traces of a Russian bear-fighting warrior were nowhere to be found.

“Ahem, vice president, maintain your image.” The guild officers at the side almost wanted to carve their own eyes out.

“I want to ask, for us the new members, can we follow the army back to the Shattered Star Ring?” Vodka hastily asked.

“According to the highest order from the army commander, the members recruited here will usually be stationed here to help with the army’s expansion. However, if you want to head toward the army’s headquarters, it is indeed possible. According to the army’s schedule, we will occasionally borrow the Crimson Dynasty’s military stargate and transport resources from the headquarters to the subdivision here in the Constellation Corridor. If you want to go to the Shattered Star Ring, you can submit a request to follow the transport team on their way back, hum…”

Vodka and the others’ bodies shivered as they exchanged looks of excitement—they really could go to another Star Field.

Vodka suppressed his excitement and asked, “Will the army have any teams that are heading back to the Shattered Star Ring soon?”

“Yes, hum…” Phillip said. “The Army Commander will be heading back after some time, in about one to two months. You can follow His Excellency Black Star back if you want, hum…”

Vodka nodded heavily and looked back at the others.

“We must have a chat with the president and the club…”

…

Those who happened to be on Planet Gilman joined the army one after another and shared the news about the army on the forums.

Players from all Star Fields were paying attention to the Constellation Corridor’s forums page. Most people came to know that the Constellation Corridor players could choose to cross Star Fields and were very jealous.

Those who were still rushing back to Planet Gilman discussed this topic passionately, arguing over whether to stay or leave.

The majority of people hesitated.

“We’ve played here in the Constellation Corridor for so long and are very familiar with it now. We’ve farmed so much Faction and Character Favorability. If we go to the Shattered Star Ring, won’t all that go to waste? We can still do the army’s missions here. Is there really a need to start from scratch in the Shattered Star Ring?”

“That’s right. We mainly joined the army for their benefits. Why would we go to the Shattered Star Ring? There are millions of players there, mostly Chinese, and they’ve been there since the start. We’ll have to compete with them once we’re there, and we have no advantages.”

“Exactly. We have yet to even explore the Constellation Corridor fully, so why should we go to another Star Field?”

“This is the Central Galaxy, the most prosperous place in the entire universe. What good will it do to go to a much more rural border Star Field?”

Many players were not willing to give up the results they had achieved with the time and effort over the past three versions.

If they could go and come back any time they wanted, they would not hesitate at all. However, they could only follow the army to cross Star Fields, and who knew when the army would send another transport team? Furthermore, they also did not know if their return would be approved. If things did not go well in the Shattered Star Ring, they would waste a lot of time before they could return.

Of course, there were players who supported going to the Shattered Star Ring.

“We’re the first batch of players to ever travel across Star Fields. Why give up such a great opportunity? The others can’t do it even if they want to.”

“I want to play with my Chinese friends over there in the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Don’t forget about the Flickering World mission that is pinned at the top of the army’s mission list. It’s clearly a new main storyline. Furthermore, according to the mission introduction, exploring the Flickering World is the Crimson Dynasty’s operation. The Black Star Army is just a participant. This main storyline looks more like the dynasty’s storyline! Therefore, us joining the army and exploring the Flickering World is actually doing things for the Crimson Dynasty!”

“That’s right. Maybe helping the dynasty to explore a new Star Field is one of the main storylines of the Constellation Corridor, and the hidden meaning behind the Black Star Army recruiting us is to take us there so that we can participate in it.”

In the past decade, the Crimson Dynasty’s desire for the Flickering World had become known to the world, and those players were no exceptions. Although they still did not know how important the Flickering World would be in the future, they were very interested in it.

After the Tyrant Party, Han Xiao had kept the Flickering World’s main storyline mission pinned at the top of the army’s mission list, and it was very effective. It attracted the Constellation Corridor players to explore the Flickering World with him, which basically made it easier for him to move the wild leeks back to his own field to grow them together.

Of course, there was no way he could bring all the Constellation Corridor players back. Meeting the Ruler and other official matters would only take a few days, but the Great Mechanic Han had already planned to stay in the Constellation Corridor for two to three months so that the players there would have enough time to make up their minds. From his perspective, the more players that were willing to follow him back to explore the Flickering World, the better.

…

As the arguments on the forums became more heated, the issue’s influence grew. After a few days had passed, more and more players rushed to Planet Gilman to join the army.

Very soon, the number of players on Planet Gilman exceeded two million and was still growing every day.

Almost all the big guilds had a stronghold on Planet Gilman. Very soon, the clubs of Russia, Australia, and the various smaller countries started to discuss this topic.

At the stronghold of the Power and Glory Guild, the presidents and vice presidents of the six large Russian guilds gathered. These six guilds were the biggest guilds in Russia, and they all had a club behind them. They basically represented the entire Russian professional player circle. They would occasionally have guild wars with each other, but when there was something crucial, they would also discuss the matter together.

“Guys, have your clubs decided? Will you stay or leave?” the president of the Power and Glory guild asked.

“The people above said that the professional players won’t be going but told us to send some of the guild’s people to the Shattered Star Ring and try to open a sub-guild.”

“Us too. Those people at the club feel that the opportunity to cross Star Fields is rare, and we can’t give it up. It might lead to greater benefits in the future.”

The rest replied one after another. Power and Glory’s president looked around the group and said, “Looks like our plans are all similar. For us, we decided to have the vice president take some people there and open the way for us.”

Vodka stepped out and nodded at everyone.

“I wonder what the Australians will do. Probably the same as us.”

“So, we still have to compete with them even at the Shattered Star Ring. Then we must take some normal players there, or we will be at a disadvantage in terms of manpower.”

As these six guilds were the recognized representatives of the professional circle, they had a certain amount of authority to the normal players. If they expressed their stand to the normal players, it would attract quite a number of people to do the same.

“Hey, not just the Australian guilds. That place is the Chinese’s territory.”

“Let’s communicate with the Chinese clubs first. They’ve been there for three versions. It’s better to notify them before going.”

At the same time, the Australian guilds also gathered and came to a similar conclusion.

…

The Russia and Australia clubs contacted the top Chinese guilds very soon. As they were all in the professional circle, they had the contact details of each other.

The various large Chinese guilds had a conference.

[Jade Green Sky entered the chat room.]

[Morning Snow Twilight Frost entered the chat room.]

[Jupiter entered the chat room.]

The presidents of the four biggest clubs—Temple of God, Long Sky, Dynasty, and Fried Eggplants With Fish—as well as Thunder Storm, Fanatics, Rivervale, and other known official guilds all joined the chat room.

“Those Europeans and Australian guilds are planning to come here? What are they trying to do?” Sky Territory president, Jade Green Sky, asked.

Drizzling Rivers president, Mountain Rain, sight. “The Shattered Star Ring is our base. We’ve worked here for three versions. What are the people at the club thinking to agree with this?”

“Whatever the club says, I’m okay with it,” Nine Gates president, Three Times Three Equals 9, said in his local dialect.

“… Type in Mandarin, I can’t understand!” Guild of Gods president, Jupiter, exclaimed.

Although they were the managers of the guilds under their clubs, they had no say in this matter and could only follow what the upper echelons of the guilds wanted them to do. The people above told them to prepare for the possible competition, so they could only obey.

Of course, the clubs were not willing to fight for resources with more competitors and wanted to have the army’s resources for themselves, but this was not for them to decide.

The actions of the Black Star Army were decided by the storyline. Since the army had decided to bring some people back, they could only accept the truth.

Of course, they were not worried. The Shattered Star Ring was their headquarters, so they were at a massive advantage. The players from the Constellation Corridor had no way to beat them.

If those foreign guilds were not going to cause trouble, there would be no problem. However, if they wanted to fight for profits with the Chinese clubs… the Chinese clubs would not mind starting a war to secure the resources of their professional players and show those foreign guilds who the real masters of the Shattered Star Ring were.

As this topic triggered discussion between both the Constellation Corridor and the Shattered Star Ring players, Han Xiao, who had been taking his time sightseeing on the way, finally arrived at Planet Gilman. This was the first time that the players of another Star Field had seen him in person.

Chapter 810: Ultimate Knowledge Mechanical Life Tinder!

Han Xiao did not arrive quietly but made it known to everyone. The army’s subdivision sent an announcement to all its members to welcome the arrival of their Army Commander. The many new faction members all went to watch. They had heard a lot about Black Star of the Shattered Star Ring, but never had they seen this big boss with their own eyes.

On Planet Gilman and in the army’s subdivision, countless players witnessed a spaceship flying out from the blue stargate and approaching the subdivision.

Whoosh!

The spaceship flew toward the entrance of the dock, then linked with the electromagnetic rails and entered the wide dock.

The dock was already filled with players. Countless people broadcast the event to the forums with excitement.

As the hatch opened, wearing a black robe, Han Xiao walked out with a few hovering guards behind his head. He smiled and connected to the quantum network with his mind.

The next moment, Han Xiao’s face appeared on the communicators of the countless people present.

“I’m Black Star. Welcome to the army.”

His voice emerged simultaneously throughout all the communicators and mixed into one sound with echoes. It felt grand.

The people were shocked. They had never seen a high-level Mechanic hack into so many communicators instantly, and it even looked easy. Unlike the old players in the Shattered Star Ring who had been alongside Han Xiao for three versions, the people there had only met Calamity Grades at most during their storylines. This was the first time that they had come in close contact with a Beyond Grade A.

Having heard so many rumors about Han Xiao on the forums, the Constellation Corridor players had a lot of thoughts about Han Xiao. Through seeing Han Xiao with their own eyes for the first time, the initial image that Han Xiao had given them was unfathomable.

Vodka was mixed in the crowd and used the [Detect] ability on Han Xiao. The players around all did the same.

_____________________

Based on your level, only the following information is available.

Han Xiao—Black Star Army Commander (Green)

Level: ?

Attributes: ?

Abilities: ?

Danger Scale: Fatally Dangerous

_____________________

“All question marks, as expected,” Vodka murmured softly.

Ames followed right after and stood alongside Han Xiao. Hila and the others followed them down as well.

Ames looked around at the countless people around. Then she glanced at Han Xiao and said with a faint smile, “Congratulations, your army has expanded again.”

“That doesn’t sound very sincere,” Han Xiao joked.

Suddenly, a change occurred!

Pa!

A strong light suddenly appeared in the crowd and blinded the people’s sights.

Boom!

Dozens of people dashed out from the crowd and suddenly attacked Han Xiao and the others together. All kinds of cannons, spells, and Esper Abilities were thrown toward them.

With an expressionless face, Hila took a step forward and tapped her fingers. Dark red energy beams shot out like lightning and penetrated all those people’s bodies in an instant, killing them with ease.

The next moment, those attackers turned into white light and disappeared—they were players.

Han Xiao’s lips twitched, but he was not surprised.

Although he had tons of players working for the army, he had never forgotten the fact that ‘players’ were the representation of anarchy. There would always be a group of people that would cause trouble for all sorts of reasons. Since a big boss like him had appeared, dozens of funny players decided to attack him without thinking of the consequences.

The Chinese players back in the Shattered Star Ring who had known him for three versions would never do something like this, but the army was new to the Constellation Corridor. Furthermore, the players there were daring foreigners who loved to try out all kinds of possibilities.

The players were startled before they exchanged looks after regaining focus.

Some people had actually attacked the Beyond Grade A boss, Black Star, knowing that they would never succeed. What a group of gamblers! The players there had just joined the army, so they were not angered by this.

The question marks on the character information did not give them too strong an image, but when the officers beside Black Star easily slaughtered dozens of Grade B players, the players realized the power difference. Some players who had initially harbored ulterior motives but had yet to make a move secretly gave up those thoughts.

This kind of boss was stronger than all the NPCs they had ever seen. They would probably die instantly if they tried to attack him.

Among the Constellation Corridor players who had joined the army, there were definitely some time bombs, which Han Xiao was not surprised about. He told Phillip a few words in his mind, and Phillip immediately issued a wanted status to those attackers through the army assistant program. The army subdivision was completely under Phillip’s surveillance, so finding out who those attackers were was a piece of cake.

Ding!

A notification popped up immediately on the players’ communicators. They were shocked to see the wanted order.

“The people earlier are wanted, and there’s a reward for killing them every time!”

“I seem to know a few of them. I even added them as friends.”

“Whoa, even their coordinates are on the communicator. They’ve revived right here on Planet Gilman.”

“Hehe…”

Most people gloated. Having seen the consequences of attacking the army’s officers, some people who had intended to do so gave up.

Being wanted by the army meant those attackers became red named players to the army members and would be chased by countless players. Their future… looked grim.

Han Xiao was already very familiar with this process. Not only did the attackers not anger him, but they made him feel delighted. They were basically handing him a pillow when he was sleepy—they were great friends who sacrificed themselves to help Han Xiao build a reputation!

How nice of them!

Through this, the players of the Constellation Corridor would know that there were consequences for causing trouble!

This small interlude did not stir up any storm. Han Xiao looked around at the players and crossed the crowd with Ames and the others.

The players all stepped back and gave way, watching Han Xiao leave, before gradually leaving the dock themselves.

Han Xiao pondered on the way.

“The Constellation Corridor players have no sense of belonging to the army, of course. Profit and benefits are the main reason they’ve joined. I will let people slowly teach them the army’s history to strengthen their unity…”

He was not planning to personally build relationships with these people like he did back in the Shattered Star Ring. There were a few reasons for that.

Firstly, through all these years, the Black Star Army had already built its appeal through its power, image, fame, brand, and many other factors. This was the main tool to attract the players. The faction store could basically satisfy all the needs of the players. As long as they spent in the faction store, they would bring him profit. He did not have to do things personally.

Secondly, too many players wanted to farm his Favorability to trigger missions or learn abilities. Hence, they always came to chat with him in groups and gave him gifts. Han Xiao did not want to be accepting gifts his every waking second.

The third reason was his identity. As the army commander, it should not be too easy for most people to contact him, as the level system in the army had to be maintained. Therefore, Han Xiao had long set a rule that only those who had accumulated a certain amount of Contribution Points and were at the middle level among all the members could request to see the army commander or the army’s high-level officers.

To the players, this was a chance to learn abilities from these characters. Han Xiao used this player mindset to increase their passion to farm the Contribution Points by doing missions, giving them chances to farm Favorability with the officers of the army. They would only be able to learn special abilities from characters when the Favorability was high enough. This basically made the Favorability of him and the officers a rare item to the players, so the players would put in more effort for them.

Having farmed leeks for more than a decade, Han Xiao was already a complete pro at these things.

“Currently, most of the Constellation Corridor players are still considering whether to stay or leave. I shall stay here for around a month before I leave so that they have enough time to consider. At the same time, I’ll wait for the Crimson Dynasty to prepare the troops to explore the Flickering World.”

…

Initially, Han Xiao thought him being attacked by the Constellation Corridor players was just a trivial matter. But to his surprise, it caused an impact beyond his expectations on the forums—it made the Chinese players in the Shattered Star Ring very displeased.

Throughout three versions, the Chinese players had the deepest emotional connection with the Black Star Army and saw it as their main faction. As the army commander, Han Xiao was their recognized faction leader.

However, when their army commander went to another Star Field to recruit more members, he was attacked by the players over there. It made the Chinese players feel that this was an insult to the army commander’s kind intentions.

Although they knew this would never cause any danger to the army commander, many Chinese players found it unacceptable. It was like something they loved being treated roughly by an outsider. This stimulated their unity, and the atmosphere on the forums changed very quickly, resulting in intense arguments between two sides.

However, this did not affect Han Xiao’s plan. He still stayed in the Planet Gilman subdivision with the others and waited for the players to gather and make up their minds.

Of course, he was not just waiting. While waiting, he spent his days in the mechanical workshop, expanding his mechanical army and inventing new high-level machinery blueprints.

After settling down for two days, Han Xiao contacted the Crimson Dynasty’s people and requested an Ultimate Knowledge. This time, the dynasty did not reject him. By spending 6,000 Contribution Points, he finally obtained the first Ultimate Knowledge that he had been wanting for a very long time.

Energy Branch—[Mechanical Life Tinder]!

This was the prerequisite knowledge to activate the core ability of Emperor Mechanic, [King’s Mentor].

The class knowledge tree of the Mechanic class was divided into five levels—Basic, Advanced, High-End, Cutting-Edge, and Ultimate. Their impact on a Mechanic increased as the levels increased. As the highest-level class knowledge, every single Ultimate Knowledge was able to provide completely over the top changes to a Mechanic in a certain field!

For example, this knowledge gave Mechanics the real ability to turn machinery into mechanical lives. It was basically the ability of a live-creating God!

This ability could turn machinery from lifeless objects into living units. To put it simply, they would no longer have Item Details on the interface but Character Information, like NPCs. They would have levels, attributes, abilities, and could keep leveling up with complete growth potential. They could even grow into elite models or even boss models!

Of course, good things were never cheap. Not mentioning the difficulty in learning any Ultimate Knowledge, just the Potential Point cost of learning one was very expensive.

The cost of learning knowledges originally increased by one at every level—one point for Basic, two points for Advanced, three points for High-End, and four points for Cutting-Edge. The cost to learn Ultimate Knowledges, however, instantly doubled and required eight Potential Points. This was just the cost of the main branch knowledges. If it was from another branch, it would triple just like before and become twenty-four Potential Points!

Han Xiao was a Virtual Mechanic, and [Mechanical Life Tinder] was the Ultimate Knowledge of the Energy Branch, so the cost to level it up was indeed twenty-four Potential Points every level.

It was extremely difficult for normal players to obtain twenty-four Potential Points. Other than leveling up, the way for Mechanic players to obtain Potential Points was basically to level up blueprint abilities to the max level one after another, which needed tons of EXP.

Therefore, to the Mechanic players in the later stages, they did missions and earned EXP to level up their abilities and get Potential Points. They would have to continue earning EXP even if they had reached the maximum level allowed in the version.

Usually, only extremely high skilled players or professional players had such high needs. However, professional players had their clubs to train their accounts for them, so it would not be too tiring. For casual players, however, they had no choice but to give and take. Most Mechanic players only learned the Ultimate Knowledge for their own branch.

Things were different for the Great Mechanic Han. The outrageously expensive Potential Point cost for Ultimate Knowledges of other branches was more than enough to make the players despair, but it was not unbearable for him.

He had leeks!

Due to the penalty from using the Evolution Cube, Han Xiao had not leveled up at all lately. He had stocked up on a ton of EXP, which had now come into use. He opened the interface, picked out many blueprint abilities, and spent EXP to level them up to max level one after another.

On the interface, his Potential Points kept growing little by little, finally reaching twenty-four. This cost him quite a lot of EXP.

As the total level of the character increased, the level up cost of the low-level abilities would also grow. The players could choose to slowly level up to reduce that cost, but it would cost a few problems. Firstly, there were too many blueprints, and the low-level blueprints would be obsolete as the players’ level increased. Secondly, they would only be able to do the corresponding level missions if they did not level up, so the speed of earning EXP would naturally be slower than higher level players. Once they were behind, it would be very difficult to catch up. Therefore, there were pros and cons to not leveling up, and it depended on the individual.

Usually, only those who made smurf accounts, such as account boosters like the Great Mechanic Han, would choose to earn more Potential Points and not level up.

Ever since the beginning, however, Han Xiao had been destined to never walk that path.

“Twenty-two, twenty-three… twenty-four!” Seeing that he had sufficient Potential Points, Han Xiao immediately used all of them to learn the Ultimate Knowledge.

_____________________

Learning…

Complete! You have learned [Mechanical Life Tinder]!

Prerequisite met. You have activated [King’s Mentor]!

You have received the talent [Ultimate Knowledge Possessor]!

[Ultimate Knowledge Possessor]: +15% attributes for the machinery you built, +150% Machinery Affinity. You now hold the understanding of a Mechanic class Ultimate Knowledge; you are a Mechanic master.

You have received the talent [Mechanical Life Creator]!

[Mechanical Life Creator]: Mechanical Lives created by you will see you as their god. Their faith and loyalty are deeply buried in their most fundamental logic. When accepting bonuses from your Mechanical Force, they will receive the [Encouragement] effect and have +10% Basic Stats.

You have acquired the ability [Tinder Awakening]!

[Tinder Awakening]: This ability can turn machinery into mechanical lives, igniting the mind tinder of mechanical lives.

Requirement: This can only be used on machinery enhanced by [King’s Mentor] and [Machinery Fusion]. It can be used on multiple targets at the same time. No cooldown.

Cost: 50% health, 50% energy, 80% Stamina.

Due to [Tinder Awakening], your [Emperor’s Gift] has received new effects.

Changes: When you use [Emperor’s Gift] on a mechanical life, there’s a chance to upgrade the target’s model and grant it higher growth potential. For example, a normal model can be upgraded to an elite model. Remarks: The higher the target’s model is, the smaller the chance of this effect being triggered.

Chapter 811: Chapter 811

Every Ultimate Knowledge involved the territory of the gods. The prerequisite to learning them was an extremely high Intelligence.

Han Xiao did not choose the Energy Branch [Mechanical Life Tinder] just to activate [King’s Mentor]. It was also because this Ultimate Knowledge had a very wide application range.

Compared to the Virtual Technology Ultimate Knowledge, [Mechanical Life Tinder] was more useful for him now.

As the complex knowledge flew into his mind, images flashed before Han Xiao’s eyes.

On the desolate black earth, a man planted a mass of metal. As time passed, mechanical cities rose from the ground, and metal spread out on the surface extremely quickly and replaced the black soil. Countless blue, well-dressed beings kneeled on the ground. Their minds entered mechanical bodies through pipes one after another, leaving their physical bodies behind.

In a rift under the ground, countless scrap parts scattered around in the darkness. One day, a golden streak of lightning landed from outside the sky right onto the waste mechanical parts, and a golden energy wave expanded. The scrap mechanical parts were united into one by an invisible force, forming a rough mechanical life…”

“These are the origins of mechanical lives…” All kinds of images flashed past as Han Xiao’s understanding deepened.

Machines were initially just tools, tools that countless races learned to use and build as their civilizations grew. There were countless races in Galaxy, but mechanical lives born from nature were almost non-existent. Most of them were artificially built.

Some races built mechanical soldiers for war, which led to mechanical lives. Some left their weak body behind and became mechanical lives to get through a disaster. Some races lacked the ability to move themselves so they created mechanical lives as slaves.

Beyond Grade A Mechanics were the peak of creating mechanical lives.

As the knowledge learning was complete, Han Xiao took a deep breath and slowed down his mind.

He looked at the new abilities on the interface. [Ultimate Knowledge Possessor] was the talent rewarded when learning the first Ultimate Knowledge, and [Mechanical Life Creator] was the talent given by [Mechanical Life Tinder].

Han Xiao then looked at the new ability, [Tinder Awakening]. This was the most important one.

With a thought in his mind, the hovering guards behind him trembled and flew in front of him. They assembled with cracking sounds into a human-shaped mechanical soldier.

It had silver alloy armor and a streamlined body, and cannon barrels were embedded in its palms, knees, shoulders, and head. Psionic blue light emitted from within the armor’s gaps. It had a very heavy futuristic vibe.

This was one of the elite mechanical soldiers that Han Xiao could build. Its name was Hovering Fissionist. It could both act as his hovering guard and assemble into a mechanical soldier. It was an orange, high-level machine.

This Hovering Fissionist was controlled by the combat artificial intelligence, Sparta. It stood still before Han Xiao.

“Let’s see its effects…”

Buzz!

Han Xiao raised his palm, clenched his fist, and used [King’s Mentor].

A mass of blue and gold Mechanical Force appeared in his palm and made cracking sounds like a thunder cloud. The next moment, this mass of Mechanical Force dashed onto the Hovering Fissionist, turning into electric sparks on its mechanical surface. Then, they entered through the gaps between the Hovering Fissionist’s armor and fused into its energy furnace.

Han Xiao did not stop there. Another mass of Mechanical Force appeared in his palm and entered the Hovering Fissionist. It was [Machinery Fusion].

After that, Han Xiao activated [Tinder Awakening]. Gold light shot out from his eyes, a bright gold sphere of Mechanical Force appeared on his hand, it was blinding.

Although [Tinder Awakening] did not have a cooldown, it could only be used on targets already enhanced by [King’s Mentor] and [Machinery Fusion], and these two abilities had cooldowns.

These three abilities in addition to [Emperor’s Gift] were the complete set of abilities to create a mechanical life.

Han Xiao extended his hand forward, bright gold Mechanical Force flowed into the Hovering Fissionist.

His health, stamina, and energy immediately decreased a huge chunk.

Having lost half his health and energy instantly, he felt extremely weak.

This ability is really tiring to use… Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Ever since I became a Beyond Grade A Super, this should be the most health I’ve ever lost in a single instance…

He exhaled and let his body slowly recover, staring at the Hovering Fissionist before him.

Ding!

Suddenly, the light from the energy of the Hovering Fissionist became much brighter!

The next second, the mechanical parts on it moved on their own. The armor plates on its surface opened and closed like scales.

Clank!

Han Xiao could feel that the Hovering Fissionist was going through a change on the microscopic level.

Countless nano-grade silica-based neural fibers grew extremely quickly in its body. The parts on its body gradually turned into an organic ‘whole’. The electrical sparks of a mind ignited in its chip, forming special thinking organs and fundamental logic. Energy flowed through its entire body and fueled this change.

Bang!

It was as if something in the Hovering Fissionist had awoken and ignited the tinder of life.

Hum…

This lasted quite a while before the light emitted from the Hovering Fissionist returned to normal.

Han Xiao sized it up and said, “Sparta, give me the inspection report.”

“… Inspection complete. A new consciousness has been born in this unit. It’s very young and is trying to communicate with me. I temporarily closed its network port. What should I do now? Please give the order, master.”

Sparta appeared in the quantum network and spoke with a serious and formal tone, completely different from how lively Phillip was.

“Hmm… Build a data firewall around its consciousness first, and check its fundamental logic to see if an order to never betray me is fixed. Open its network port and filter some information for it to download.”

Han Xiao gave the order and slapped Hovering Fissionist to deal some damage, triggering the combat information.

Hovering Fissionist’s attributes appeared on the interface—there was no longer the equipment introduction but the attributes of a character.

The race was shown to be [Mechanical Life] and its level was as high as Lv185. It could level up like normal creatures. Its armor value became its health, and its various parameters became its other attributes. Its weapons and parts became many talents and abilities that had growth potential.

It has become a living unit.

“Sparta, let it control its own body.”

Sparta responded and temporarily stopped controlling the Hovering Fissionist.

Hum!

Hovering Fissionist shivered. Its tensed body seemed to have relaxed. It then stretched his head around as if it was adapting to the vision provided by its senses. It raised its palm and touched its face.

It felt completely different.

When the combat artificial intelligence controlled all the mechanical soldiers at once, although their movements were not stiff, they did not make any unnecessary movements and were objects that only followed orders. When control was given back to the Hovering Fissionist, its movement felt immediately lively. It had become a living being that could think, doubt, and move on its own will.

Phillip and Sparta were artificial intelligence; their nature was different compared to mechanical lives. Mechanical lives’ individual consciousness was equivalent to their ‘freedom’ and ‘soul’; they had emotions and feelings.

However, that consciousness was born from the circuits in their chips, so they did not have the general ‘soul’. Hence, they were immune to normal psychic and mind attacks. To the mechanical lives, only the Virtual Mechanics’ attacks were considered ‘mind attacks’, as they could hack into the consciousness of mechanical lives and rewrite their fundamental logic.

Han Xiao had preset the ordering logic of Hovering Fissionist to be one level lower than his artificial intelligence, so orders from his artificial intelligence were like military orders that could not be disobeyed.

Hovering Fissionist looked around. It turned to look at Han Xiao and said in a wondering tone, “Mas… ter?”

It used the Universal Language.

Han Xiao nodded. He then walked around it once and sized it up from head to toe.

Hovering Fissionist stood still, but its head turned 360 degrees to keep looking at Han Xiao. It was filled with the ignorance and doubts of a newborn baby.

Why does it feel a little creepy? Han Xiao asked, “Is there anything you want to ask?”

“Want? To? Ask?” Hovering Fissionist said word by word as if its consciousness circuits were quickly working. After some thinking, it then asked, “Who… am I? Where… am I? What should I do?”

Okay, the ultimate three questions… Han Xiao thought it was funny. He then shook his head and said, “Sparta, open its network port and send it data.”

The next moment, Hovering Fissionist’s movements stopped. An enormous stream of data relating to the universe, life, and combat entered its consciousness and was quickly digested. It skipped the ignorant stage of a newborn instantly.

It stayed silent for a while before suddenly getting down on one knee and changing the way it spoke.

“Your Excellency Black Star, my creator.”

Its voice system simulated a respectful tone.

Han Xiao raised his brows, thought for a moment, and asked, “Now, do you know who you are?”

“My name is Psionic Prime.” It gave itself a name.

Psionic Prime? Why don’t you call yourself Optimus Prime? Han Xiao complained in his mind.

“You’re the first mechanical life I’ve created. Show me your strength.”

Ka ka ka!

Psionic Prime moved and tested weapons one after another. It disassembled into singular hovering guards and flew around like butterflies before assembling again. Its combat style was extremely swift and flashy—mechanical lives had a very high application level to their own bodies. They could acquire abilities on their own and fix them on their character information interfaces.

Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force bonus was effective on it as well. Psionic Prime was stronger than it was before Tinder Awakening.

“Come back.”

After some testing, Han Xiao gave an order, and Psionic Prime automatically disassembled into hovering guards and floated around him obediently.

“Not bad.” Han Xiao was satisfied and started planning in his head.

He could only create mechanical lives with self-growth potential using the set of abilities including [Tinder Awakening], [King’s Mentor], and others, so its efficiency was limited, only creating elite and mini-boss units over time.

As for the majority of mechanical soldiers, Han Xiao was not planning to turn them into mechanical lives. One reason for this was the efficiency limit; he had to turn the high-level machinery first. Another reason was that the casualties of those mechanical soldiers were too high, so its long-term effect would be inferior compared to high-level machinery.

“After turning into mechanical lives, their growth potential is increased tremendously, and they are even able to grow into mechanical civilizations. Manison has some mechanical civilizations under his command…”

Han Xiao pondered. He could imitate this and let his mechanical lives develop into civilizations.

If he had a mechanical civilization under his command, they would automatically operate, reproduce, and create offspring, which meant that they would provide him with a continuous source of soldiers. The only problem was that this was extremely time-consuming.

However, his life span and the time between version updates were both very long, so this was not a huge problem.

“Or can I take someone else’s mechanical civilization?” Han Xiao got rid of this thought as soon as it came up. He thought it was better not to create enemies everywhere.

Steady and firm, that was the Great Mechanic Han’s personality.

Having learned an Ultimate Knowledge, Han Xiao was content and had a smile on his face. He walked out of the workshop and saw a few people immediately. Hila and the Black Star Guards were all waiting at his door.

“What are you guys doing here?” Han Xiao looked around and then fixed his eyes on Hadavy. This guy stood at the front of everyone else and had a mysterious smile on his face.

Hadavy took out a deck of Wayne Cards and showed Han Xiao the top card. “Look, your card has been updated again.”

Han Xiao looked at it. This was the Strong Card with his image on it.

“Black Star—Han Xiao.”

It was finally updated to become a Beyond Grade A, as well as the ‘Crimson Dynasty Ally’ trait. Its description also included his fight with Heber and Psyker, and its card effects were greatly increased.

“Isn’t that just a matter of time? Did you guys come all the way just to show me this?”

Han Xiao was speechless. With his position, how could the Wayne Card company not update his card?

Hadavy chuckled and skillfully moved his fingers to fan the cards. Han Xiao looked through it and raised his brows. These cards were Hila, Feidin, and the others. They were now marked as ‘Black Star Guards’. Like the Bloodshed Land’s Vanguard Officials, they had their own cards.

One of the reasons he had formed the Black Star Guards was to make Hila and the others famous. Now, this goal was achieved. The Black Star Guards name became their identity, and they were now famous, so they came to share this piece of good news with Han Xiao.

“That’s not bad, congratulations on becoming known in the universe.” Han Xiao smiled and casually rubbed Feidin’s shoulders, which led to Chen Xing rolling her eyes.

This time, Aurora spoke with her crispy voice. “Uncle, one more thing, there’s someone special here to see you.”

“Who? Someone from the dynasty?”

“No, that guy calls himself the ruler of Sodrian. His name is Troy.”

Sodrian’s ruler?

Sodrian was the novice planet of the Constellation Corridor players in Version 1.0. Due to its ruler being involved in sensitive political matters, the ruler was treated as a traitor. The ruler then escaped with his fleet and hid from everyone, still not captured till today.

What is this guy doing here? Han Xiao was curious.

…

Troy was the only one in the conference room, and he seemed to have a lot on his mind.

He was a tall humanoid. His yellow hair was tied into a foreign-style braid. His eyes were sharp, and his nose was a pair of small holes in the middle of his eyes. He was not considered to be ugly looking, just quite old. He had two hands and two legs but no tail. He had a pair of large wings behind his back with yellow feathers on them.

“Will Black Star help me?” Troy’s eyes flashed.

He escaped with his fleet and had been chased by the Star System civilization till now. The situation was not looking very bright. If this continued, he would be captured by the Star System civilization sooner or later. Due to the political secrets that he was involved in, Troy knew that if he was captured, his fate would be worse than death.

Just as he was being extremely anxious about his future, he received the news about the Black Star Army building a subdivision and recruiting manpower on a large scale on Planet Gilman. Suddenly, he saw some hope and felt that Black Star Army might be able to help him.

He just had to join the Black Star Army and follow the army’s fleet to borrow the Crimson Dynasty’s stargate, leave the Central Galaxy, and take refuge in the Shattered Star Ring. That way, he would be safe.

Troy initially wanted to hide his identity while joining the army and secretly smuggle his way out of the Central Galaxy. However, he thought about it and felt that the risk of being discovered by a Beyond Grade A was too high, and he would very likely be discovered. By then, he would lose even this opportunity. Therefore, he felt that it was better to request to see Black Star, explain the situation, and sincerely make his proposal to convince Black Star to help them.

In his eyes, the only way he could rise again was to leave the Central Galaxy and return in the future to take revenge on his political enemies.

When he thought of how his political enemies had destroyed what he had been working on for so many years, Troy’s expression became more furious and full of hatred.

He was now a traitor and would never be able to return to his civilization. The only thing he could do was flee. If he ever got the chance, he would destroy his political enemy’s everything without hesitation and take revenge on the civilization that kept hunting him down.

Swoosh.

The sound of the door opening broke Troy’s train of thought. He hastily stood up and looked at Han Xiao with admiration.

“Your Excellency Black Star,” Troy hastily greeted respectfully and introduced himself, deliberately acting trepidatious.

“I’ve heard about you. You’re now a rebel. What do you want from me?” Han Xiao asked.

“Well…” Troy took a deep breath and used the sincere tone that he had practiced a hundred times to explain the situation in words he had prepared long beforehand.

Basically, he was saying that he was framed by his political enemy and misunderstood by his civilization. In order to protect himself, he could only resist and escape, which forced him to become a rebel. He wanted to join the Black Star Army and work for the army, in exchange for an opportunity to take refuge in the Shattered Star Ring.

“I see…” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and sized Troy up.

Suddenly, he seemed to have recalled something, and the look on his face became strange.

Chapter 812: Stealing Leeks Makes Me Happy

Looking at Troy’s trepidatious and respectful expression, Han Xiao chuckled and asked, “So what you mean is, the reason you’re in this situation today is all because you were framed, and that you’re innocent?”

Troy swallowed his saliva and said, “I was tricked by my political enemy, they framed me for many crimes.”

Han Xiao gave a long “oh”, not expressing whether he believed Troy’s explanation and said, “So now you want to take refugee under my command and let me protect you?”

Troy said cautiously, “I won’t dare to ask for your protection, all I’m asking for is for you to allow me to follow the Black Star Army’s fleet and leave the Central Galaxy through the stargate. I’m wanted by a Star System civilization, I can’t use any stargates without anyone’s help.

Han Xiao laughed and shook his head. “All the civilizations in the Constellation Corridor are ruled by the dynasty, don’t you know I’m the dynasty’s ally? You’re now a wanted criminal of a civilization under the dynasty’s ruling, it’s already kind of me to not capture you right here, but you still want me to bear the risk and bring you to the Shattered Star Ring? All you have are words, yet you want me to help you for free… do I look like philanthropists to you?”

“No no, you’re mistaken.” Troy quickly waved his hands and said, “Although I do want to take refuge here, my intention to join the Black Star Army is sincere. Your rise in the Shattered Star Ring has spread across the universe, I’ve admired you for a very long time. If you don’t mind, I’m willing to work for you and be loyal to you in the future.”

“Oh?” Han Xiao placed his elbows on the table and his palms crossed before his nose, stared at Troy and said slowly, “You said you’re innocent, do you think I believe that? Your ambitions failed and you’re wanted to by a civilization, so you want me to back you up and use my name to pay the cost of your failure for you. Do you think there are such great things in the world?”

In fact, this guy was not innocent at all. In the years he ruled Sodrian, he secretly planned a lot of conspiracies to obtain more power. When these things got exposed, he became a rebel to the civilization. His political enemies did indeed exaggerate some of the things he did, but he was no saint either.

The situation Troy explained to Han Xiao was not completely untrue, he just changed some of the reasoning behind them and deliberately kept the factors regarding his own ambitions a secret, and did not tell the whole truth. He wanted to put the blame on others and make his crimes seem less severe, so he would look like he was forced and helpless, which he delusionally hoped would lower Han Xiao’s suspicion towards him.

However, this was completely ineffective to Han Xiao. Sodrian was the earliest novice planet in the Constellation Corridor, with so much information the players had dug up, Han Xiao knew what happened all too well. Troy could not hide it from him at all.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had searched through the forums and found a hidden mission in the Galaxy Chronicles recorded by the Constellation Corridor players — When Troy was retreating and fleeing, he arranged people to plant high energy explosives in the political building of Sodrian’s capital city that was more than enough to wipe out more than 10 streets. He completely ignored the civilian casualties and was extremely cruel. However, this triggered the players’ hidden mission and the trap was destroyed by the players. This was more than enough to prove that Troy was nothing but a cruel and heartless man who would have his revenge no matter the means and the unnecessary casualties.

Under the stare of Han Xiao’s eyes, Troy’s expression stiffened. He was anxious, if not because he had no other way out, he would not have taken such a desperate measure. He clenched his teeth, let go of all his pride and suddenly prone before Han Xiao — In the universally accepted cultural standards, this position represented complete obedience.

“With your position, who dares to lie to you! It’s my fault for not saying things clearly and causing your misunderstanding, I am sorry. Please save my life, I’m willing to forever work for you.”

Han Xiao curled his lips in his mind. He knew exactly what Troy was intending to do — it was nothing but an attempt to take refugee after making a huge mistake. Since the army was recruiting, he thought this was his opportunity so he intended to use sweet words to convince him.

If not because Troy had a special use to him, he would have let people capture Troy long ago to exchange for the bounty.

Han Xiao stood up, glanced at Troy’s back of the head and said, “I don’t need your loyalty, and I don’t need your appreciation even more. I’m too lazy to capture you, so I’ll take it as I’ve never seen you. Get out of my sights right now and don’t let me see you again, or else…”

Whoosh! The door opened and Hila walked in, she stared at Troy coldly and clearly signifying him to piss off.

Troy’s face was pressed onto the floor and his expression could not be seen. Only after two seconds did he stand up and patted his shirt as if he was patting away the non-existent dust. With his head down, his eyes were fixed onto the floor and he did not dare to look up at Han Xiao’s eyes. Under Hila’s sharp stare, he walked out of the room step by step silently with clenched fists and was escorted out of the subdivision.

After he left, Han Xiao’s expression relaxed and turned into an odd smile.

“I wonder if this will be of use in the future…”

The Great Technician Han had a motive to deliberately let Troy leave. As the main storyline NPC of one of the novice planets, Troy still had some storyline on him. According to how things out in the previous life, Troy would barely escape from the chase in the end.

Then, since he was a wanted man, he fled into the border of the Central Galaxy and survived there. Afterward, he was accepted by the Fallen Ark and became one of EsGod’s subordinates, but he did not even make it to the officer position. The players only noticed and recorded this because he was once the main storyline NPC of a novice planet.

The fact that an important NPC in the early stages became someone so insignificant in the later stages was like an easter egg to the players, which was why Han Xiao remembered Troy.

Therefore, before Han Xiao let Troy leave, he secretly planted a ward on him.

EsGod was immune to the Observer’s Mark, but Troy’s appearance gave Han Xiao a flash of insight — if Troy joined the Fallen Ark in the future like he did in the previous life, Han Xiao would be able to monitor EsGod’s movements.

Although he had no idea when and if this would work out, since it was not a significant plot, Han Xiao was casual about it. After all, he did not have any good way to deal with EsGod yet. It would be great if this ends up working, but it would not be a big deal even if it does not.

…

40 days passed very quickly.

Han Xiao stayed on Planet Gilman all along, waiting for the subdivision to recruit more people. During this time, he had been expanding his mechanical army every day, as well as using the new Ultimate Knowledge to slowly create mechanical lives. Starting with Psionic Prime, he now had 3,000 first-generation mechanical lives under his command…

There were a few reasons why he did not create more. Firstly, [King’s Mentor]’s cooldown used days as a unit, and this was the prerequisite ability of [Tinder Awakening].

Secondly, although [Tinder Awakening] could be used on multiple targets at the same time, its upper limit was not very high. Even at its maximum level, it could only be used on more than 10 targets at once. Furthermore, Han Xiao had discovered that if he used it on multiple targets at the same time, their initial level would not be as high compared to if he used it only on one target. The cost of this ability was the same be it single or multiple targets, so when his energy was spread amongst multiple targets, they naturally received lesser energy individually.

Thirdly… his body could not take it if he used it too frequently.

This had also made Han Xiao’s thoughts about developing a mechanical civilization more firm. The efficiency of creating mechanical lives was not high just with [Tinder Awakening]. His health and energy recovered fast, but stamina required rest to recover. In comparison, a fully developed mechanical civilization could provide him with a supply of soldiers at a much faster efficiency without him having to put in all these efforts on days on end.

In the past 40 days, the recruiting of the Planet Gilman subdivision had settled.

There were many Beyond Grade A organizations in the Central Galaxy, so Black Star Army’s appeal here was not as high as compared to back in the Shattered Star Ring. The Planet Gilman subdivision had only recruited a little more than 10 million new members and it was slowing down. Compared to the Beyond Grade A organizations in the Central Galaxy, this number was quite low. This was only the beginning for this subdivision.

Amongst the new members, about more than 4 million were players, which made up about 85% of all the players in the Constellation Corridor. Through the army’s benefits and the words of mouth on the forums, the majority of the Constellation Corridor players had rushed here to join.

In this more than 4 million players, most decided to become members of the mercenary department. There were two types of army members, one was the full member who obeyed the army’s orders, another was the semi-members who worked for the army but had generally complete freedom. Mercenaries were a typical example of the latter.

The mercenary system was lenient, and the mercenary department of the army did not violate the rules of galactic mercenaries. Most of the Constellation Corridor players were here for the benefits, so being mercenaries was a choice with more freedom. They basically had a very simple relationship with the army of doing things for the army in exchange for resources, this way their faction would not be locked.

Han Xiao was not surprised about this, the players in the other Star Field had just known his army, he knew that feelings needed time to develop.

He gave the Constellation Corridor players more than enough time to make their choices. Amongst the more than 4 million players, 700,000 accepted the Flickering World main storyline mission and requested to go to the Shattered Star Ring with the army.

The majority of the 700,000 players were normal players. The remaining millions of players decided to stay in their birth Star Field to continue exploring while watching how would things turn out for those that decided to go to the Shattered Star Ring.

Han Xiao was able to dig away 700,000 leeks just in the first batch, so he was quite satisfied with this.

Today was the day of departure. An enormous Black Star Army transport fleet was ready to leave, all the 700,000 players have already boarded the ships.

At this time, players from all the Star Fields were paying attention to this occasion from the broadcasts on the forums.

All the players were interested in the first time a player would cross a Star Field, this might be an example for them in the future when they get the chance to do the same. Therefore, this became the most-watched occasion ever since the Black Star Army’s creation, its popularity amongst the players had broken the record!

On the transport ships, the players chatted with excitement.

“I wonder what does it feel to travel across Star Fields, how will it be different from normal stargates?”

“Will the Shattered Star Ring players bully us?”

“Guys, do you think something fun will happen if we jump out of the ship in the stargate…”

“Guards! That’s the guy!”

Inside the command room of the main ship, Hila lead against the wall with her armed crossed, Aurora busily operated on the main pilot seat, and Feidin stood beside her and watched.

Hadavy sat on the sofa with a square-shaped blue crystal wine bottle in his hand, gulping down on the mercury colored wine inside that made him choke and his face blush. Wayne Cards were on the table, the rule was to drink if you lost. There was a pile of empty bottles beside his seat, opposite him was the speechless old man Aesop who was dragged here.

Ames stood behind the scenery window with hands behind her back and looked at the fleet around. With Han Xiao, Hila, and Aesop, these people she was close to accompanying her for the past more than a month holiday, she had quite a good time.

Han Xiao stood before the star map, the destination was set long ago. When everyone had boarded, he gave out an order to the entire fleet.

“Depart.”

Boom!

The thrusters shot out flames and the battleships took off.

“We’ve finally departed!” The many players on the ships were thrilled, the countless people watching on the forums were looking closely too.

The fleet slowly headed away from the Planet Gilman subdivision and accelerated. Carrying 700,000 leeks, it headed to the Shattered Star Ring.

Chapter 813: Ames Reques

Shattered Star Ring, Crimson Dynasty Military Stargate Station.

The Black Star Army transport ships rode out from the blue vortex stargate one after another, the space energy covering their shields quickly dissipated.

“We’re back.” Inside the main ship’s command room, Han Xiao exhaled.

Despite being prosperous and peaceful, the shadow of the universal civilizations always shrouded over the Central Galaxy like a mountain, giving him an invisible sense of pressure. Although Shattered Star Ring was rural, he had been here for more than 20 years and this was the army’s headquarters, he felt calmer and secured here.

Ames walked to his side, looked out the universe outside the porthole and said, “I had quite a good time traveling with you guys for the past two months. Since now we’re homed, I shall get going.”

“What’s the hurry? Come with us.”

“Floating Dragon recently drifted to another Star Cluster, we’re not along the way.”

Han Xiao reluctantly nodded and said, “Alright then, I’ll let my men prepare a spaceship for you. By the way, the preparations on dynasty’s side are almost complete, I’ll be departing very soon to explore the Flickering World, do you want to come too? There should be much new and interesting stuff there.”

Ames waved and said, “That’s the Crimson Dynasty’s mission, I shall not go.”

Aesop rubbed his beard and interrupted, “Yesterday, I had a new prophecy that’s related to the Flickering World.”

Another prophecy? Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled and said with curiosity, “Old man, you’ve helped me with your prophecy ability again?”

“Erm, let me explain. I did not help you particularly, it’s just that those people who are close to me will have some kind of fate connection with me, and my ability can randomly sense what might happen to these people in the future. It’s like a dream, very blurry, basically just a feeling.

Yesterday, I sensed what might happen to you in the Flickering World…”

Then, Aesop paused and said with a very serious tone, “You better be careful about the Arcane Church.”

The Arcane Church? Have they still not given up taking back the Evolution Cube? It does indeed seem possible.

Han Xiao blinked and realized Aesop did not continue, he wondered, “That’s it? Don’t you have any useful information like time and location or something?”

Aesop shrugged. “Things can change anytime since the future is so far ahead, there’s no accurate prophecy, just intuition.”

“Got it, I’ll keep a lookout and let people keep an eye on the movements of the Star Pupil Holy Race. If the Arcane Church does want to do something to me, Psyker will definitely be part of it.”

Han Xiao nodded and patted Aesop’s shoulder.

“Oh, by the way, one more thing.” Aesop rubbed his beard and said, “I heard some Ancient Ones members have been secretly asking around about you, a few of them seems to be interested in you.”

Han Xiao looked at Aesop from head to toe and said with a doubtful tone, “Where did you hear that?”

“I used to be one of them too, what’s so weird about me having a few friends?”

Aesop tsk-tsked, shrugged and said,

“When I followed you to the dynasty’s capital and met those dynasty allies, Ravenlaude told the other Ancient Ones about me. Now those guys all know that a former member of The Ancient Ones is now with you and Ames, so some friends contacted me.”

Having heard with Aesop said, Han Xiao could not help but feel amazed. For someone this ancient like Aesop, both his connections and history were unfathomable. Somehow, Aesop could always obtain information that was extremely rare and inaccessible to most people.

“Who are the ones that are asking about me?”

“Mechanic Empire, Sun Hunter, Void Overlord…” Aesop’s voice suddenly got deeper and said with a soft voice, “And Thousand Shadows.”

Other than Mechanic Empire, Han Xiao did not have any contact with the first few Ancient Ones. Sun Hunter was a CannonMaster, Void Overlord was a Void being, and Han Xiao had no idea why they were asking about him. However, when Aesop mentioned Thousand Shadows, Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed immediately.

Back then when they interrogated Thousand Shadows’ “Shadow Warriors”, Aesop was the one who helped. Aesop knew Thousand Shadows once had his eyes on Han Xiao, so he mentioned this to alert him.

“Maybe he still wants to capture me or something. He’s at the Federation Of Light’s Star Field so I can’t do anything for the time being. I shall wait till I have the chance to deal with him.” Han Xiao registered this matter to memory.

The mission [Prey] was still inactive. In the past, he did not know if Thousand Shadows had given up on him, but now, it seemed that this guy had yet to give up. However, he was no longer the Calamity Grade he was back then, so Thousand Shadows would not be able to capture him so easily.

This time, Ames suddenly said softly, “Black Star, I’ve been thinking about something recently and I want to discuss with you.”

Han Xiao turned to look at Ames and captured a tint of hesitation on her face. This was very rare for Ames, so Han Xiao said curiously,

“What do you want to discuss with me? Do you want to borrow money? Is 50 million Enas enough?”

“Who’s borrowing money from you? Do you think I’m that poor?” Ames’s brow twitched slightly. “Actually… I’ve been thinking about Floating Dragon’s development plan recently…”

Both Han Xiao and Han Xiao’s eyes widened immediately, their faces were filled with complete shock.

“What happened to you? Is that something you should be thinking about?”

“Am I this unreliable to you?” Ames said with resignation. “I’m the Floating Dragon’s leader, what’s so strange for me to think for my organization occasionally?”

“It’s not strange for others, but for you… it is indeed strange! Who doesn’t know how laz… ahem, carefree you are.”

Han Xiao changed the word he was going to say the last minute and hid his giggle. Ames had never thought about developing her faction all these years, and her slacker image was already deeply rooted in everyone’s heart. God knows why she suddenly changed her mind.

“Stop kidding, I’m serious this time.” Han Xiao gave Han Xiao a glare.

She never had any passion for growing her organization, but that had lasted for too long and she felt like it was time to make a change. Especially after how she witnessed Han Xiao leading the rise of the Black Star Army for the past ten-plus years with her own eyes. With such a positive example, it made her feel a tiny bit interested in growing her forces too. She wanted to imitate Han Xiao and operate the Floating Dragon better. It had nothing to do with her ambition or anything of that sort, Ames mainly saw it as an interesting thing to do.

However, of course, Ames was never going to admit to Han Xiao that the things he did were what piqued her interest.

“Alright then, I’ll pretend it’s serious…” Seeing the not so friendly expression in Ames’ eyes, Han Xiao tried his best not to laugh and waved his hands. “Okay, okay. It’s serious. So, you want to develop Floating Dragon, what do you want to discuss with me?”

Ames stayed silent for a while then said slowly, “Floating Dragon has been drifting in the universe for a very long time, I want to make it stay in one place.”

Han Xiao pondered for a while, the nodded.

“Yo, that’s quite a good idea. With a fixed location headquarters, it’s easier for people to feel confident about Floating Dragon. As a Beyond Grade A, you have an extraordinary amount of appeal. As long as you can turn the image which the Shattered Star Ring Supers have about you around, and show that you’re serious about expanding, the number of people who are willing to work for you will definitely be tens and hundreds of times more compared to now.

Han Xiao caressed his chin, sized Ames up and joked, “Plus, you’re so pretty, so your appeal might even be stronger than mine.”

Ames’ expression became odd. She stared at Han Xiao and said in a shocked and doubtful tone,

“You actually think I’m pretty?!”

“What’s so strange about that…”

Han Xiao was confused, he had no idea why Ames had such an exaggerated response.

Han Xiao shook his head and went back to the topic. “Have you decided on where Floating Dragon should stay at?”

“That’s what I wanted to discuss with you…”

Ames calmed her emotions down, seemed to have hesitated for half a second then said slowly, “I’m planning to let Floating Dragon stay at Planet Aquamarine, what do you think?”

Han Xiao was stunned in place.

“No?”

Ames raised her brows and gave a faint smile, “More than 10 years ago, your mother planet faced a disaster. Through the galactic media channels, you announced that the Floating Dragon was interested in Planet Aquamarine. Using the Floating Dragon’s name, Planet Aquamarine has received a lot of investments and fundings from a ton of financial groups and has been developing very well. Even Godora allowed the Floating Dragon’s control over Planet Aquamarine… You’re not going to go back on your words, are you?”

Han Xiao shook his head with resignation. During that time, the Black Star Mercenary Group was still a tiny organization that still belonged to the Floating Dragon. Only through using the Floating Dragon name was he able to give Planet Aquamarine the opportunity to so quickly step into the galaxy.

After he left the Floating Dragon, the Black Star Army took over the management of Planet Aquamarine. The Floating Dragon did not say anything about it, so he thought Ames did not mind. Unexpectedly, Ames now suddenly brought it up.

“Since Planet Aquamarine is a planet ruled by my Floating Dragon on paper…” Ames’ smiled brightly, Han Xiao’s troubled expression made her very delighted. She smiled and said, “Then it should be justifiable for me to choose Planet Aquamarine as the headquarter location for Floating Dragon, isn’t it?”

“Are you going to chase my people away from my mother planet?” Han Xiao was surprised. Planet Aquamarine was the foundation of his seat in the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference, there was no way he would give it to anyone else.

“Am I such a horrible person to you?” Ames said with a displeased ton, “Don’t worry, just like your army’s headquarters, the Floating Dragon will just be parked outside the planet’s atmosphere and will not interfere with Planet Aquamarine’s government. That’s why I’m discussing it with you.”

Han Xiao’s eyes spun around. If that was the case, not only would it not be a bad thing, but it would be a great thing instead.

Throughout all these years the army headquarters had stayed around Planet Golden Gate, it brought Planet Golden Gate an almost unparalleled chance of development. Its economy, security, and many other aspects had improved tremendously since then and it became a beyond top tier prosperous colonial planet of Godora.

If Ames did the same, Planet Aquamarine’s development speed would rocket instantly as well and indirectly receive tons of resources. Furthermore, with a Beyond Grade A, Ames as its neighbor, Planet Aquamarine would be massively safer, which would free Han Xiao of many worries.

With some thoughts flashing past Han Xiao’s mind, he understood what Ames was thinking — the reason for her to choose Planet Aquamarine as the headquarters of the Floating Dragon was much more than it just being “justifiable”. He sighed and said, “Looks like I’m going to owe you another favor.”

“Good that you know.” Ames smiled.

“Alright, I agree. I’ll let the army subdivision at Planet Aquamarine to work with you by then, Sylvia and the others will take care of the details…”

“Hmm, I’ll let Jenny settle it…”

Speaking of Jenny, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something. “By the way, about this, have you told Jenny about it in advance?”

“No.”

The two of them stared at each other’s eyes and stayed silent for a moment.

So this is indeed a sudden idea… Han Xiao sighed. He actually really thought Ames had seriously considered this, but as it turned out, this was exactly her style.

“Ahem, now that that’s settle, I shall get going.” Ames dry coughed with her fist covering her lips to hide her awkwardness, then turned around and left immediately.

Han Xiao watched as Ames and Aesop boarded the small spaceship and deviated from the fleet, turning into a stream of light and disappeared. He then ordered the fleet to continue advancing back to the army’s headquarters.

The task of traveling across Star Fields was completed. Han Xiao opened the forums to see what were the players’ responses.

When they just passed through the stargate, the more than 700,000 players inside the fleet did not really react to it much, but instead the Shattered Star Ring players had bigger responses. It was because the players from another Star Field had come to their territory and they could not wait to meet them.

The first example of players crossing to another Star Field had extraordinary meanings, the players from the various Star Fields recorded this moment in their Chronicle posts:

“Galaxy Calendar: Year 705, March 18th.

Led by the Black Star Army, more than 700,000 players left Constellation Corridor and arrived at the Shattered Star Ring. This was the first example of players successfully traveling to another Star Field in the entire Galaxy.”

The recruitment of players in the Constellation Corridor this time went quite smoothly, and Han Xiao knew exactly why — there were not many factions the players could choose in Version 3.0, and he knew what the players needed. Therefore, the Black Star Army was a top-notch faction in this stage and had excellent appeal.

As the players’ level increases, the number of powerful factions they would be able to choose would increase too. For example, the three universal civilizations and beyond Star Cluster civilizations. By then, the army would not be able to recruit players as easily anymore. This was unavoidable, there would always be people who would want to try out new factions for a new experience.

This was also one of the reasons Han Xiao kept expanding his army and increasing its competitiveness. From a certain perspectively, it was actually a good thing to choose the rural Shattered Star Ring as its headquarters, as there were fewer direct competitors here.

…

After traveling for more than 10 days, the fleet finally returned to the army’s headquarters.

Millions of Shattered Star Ring players were gathered in the army headquarters at the moment, looking forward to meeting the foreign Constellation Corridor players. The majority of them were here to rubberneck.

The more than 700,000 Constellation Corridor players looked at the army headquarters satellite outside the porthole, their hearts were filled with excitement.

After staying on the ships with anticipation for so many days, they were finally here.

Chapter 814: Players: I Don’t Want To Socialize. Han Xiao: No, You Do.

The transport spaceships landed on the headquarters’ docks one after another.

As the more than 700,000 Constellation Corridor players stepped onto the headquarters’ grounds, the millions of army players quickly came. The harbor and the hall were all filled with players. Luckily, the army headquarters satellite was large enough to carry billions of members.

This was the first time players from different Star Fields met outside of professional competitions. Be it the Chinese, Russians, or the Australian players, they all sized each other up in this first meeting.

When comparing the two sides, the difference was obvious.

The equipment on the more than 700,000 Constellation Corridor players varied broadly in terms of color and models, it looked quite messy.

On the millions of army players’ side, the color of their equipment and weapons were mainly black and silver. Although their equipment models differed, they were not as messy as the Constellation Corridor players. Most of the army players used the few sets of widely recognized army combat armors with the best performances, they looked like an elite military force and looked neat. The individual tiny differences between them were not that obvious. Furthermore, their equipment all had the Black Star Army symbol on them.

After getting down from the ship, some of the more than 700,000 newcomers greeted and talked to the others, some curiously observed and looked around the headquarters, and some went to communicate with the army NPCs. Generally, they scattered around and familiarized themselves with the headquarters.

Vodka and Captain Old Henry brought along their guild officers and looked for the guild leaders of the large Chinese guilds.

While the Long Sky club was in their rented base in the Black Star Army headquarters, the leaders of Sky Territory and Ancient Dynasty, Jade Green Sky and Morning Snow Twilight Frost came to meet the Russian guild officers.

“It’s good to see you, my Chinese friends. I’m the vice-president of Power And Glory, Vodka.”

Vodka and his friends introduced themselves.

“Good to see you too,” Jade Green Sky smiled and said, the translation function relayed the meaning of his words to Vodka and the others.

They chatted casually for a while before getting down to business.

“The people above told us to build a guild branch here. Some time ago, the guilds on your side and our side have already contacted each other. The people above said that your guilds would provide us with some help in the early stages…”

Morning Snow Twilight Frost smiled and said, “That’s right. If I may ask, how many guild members did you bring here to build your guild branch?”

“I brought 12 guild officers, 150 official members, and 1,200 external members,” Vodka said.

The representatives of the other guilds said their numbers too, all were around 1,000. Being an officer or an official member of the large professional guilds was a proper job, they received salaries for playing the game. As for the external players, some of them were casual volunteers and some were similar to studios, they received bonuses from the clubs as well.

“For the thousands of you to start guild branches here, the road ahead is quite tough. You have to start from zero in every aspect. You will need to purchase all kinds of tools, items, carriers, which all require money; it’s the same for equipment repairs, enhancements, and renewals; building your bases is quite costly as well, and don’t forget about the traveling fees to do missions too. Furthermore, you need to search for channels that can provide stable streams of EXP, materials, and money. The earlier you turn losses into profit, the better, right?”

Vodka and the rest nodded continuously. To them, operating the guilds was a job, they were here on a mission. Their job performance depended on how well they operated the guild branch.

Morning Snow Twilight Frost secretly exchanged looks with Jade Green Sky, smiled and said slowly,

“Some time ago, we completed the Black Star Army’s main storyline mission [Secret War], many of us obtained the army exclusive honorable title [Secret Warrior]. Anyone with this title can enjoy a 10% off discount on any purchases within the army. Of course, you guys don’t have that treatment.”

Only the army players who took part in the secret war had such privileges, this was a limited time only title, the players who joined later had no chance to obtain it anymore.

These guilds who had just come from another Star Field knew about this long ago through the forums, of course, they were jealous.

“You mean…”

“Yes, we can provide a channel for you to enjoy that discount. We will purchase products from the army at 10% off, and we will sell them to your two guilds at 3% off. Large guilds like us have more than enough funds and Contribution Points to fulfill your mass purchase needs… Of course, you can also look for normal players and ask them to help, but there’s a risk of getting tricked.”

Vodka did not give a response. It was clear that Dynasty and Long Sky were planning to profit from the price difference. As the manager of this guild branch, he had to be calculative.

Compared to purchasing resources from these Chinese clubs, he was more willing to work with reliable normal Chineses players. He could lend their title to purchase at 10% off and give them some resources from time to time, which would be much cheaper than a mere 3% off.

However, Morning Snow Twilight Frost saw right through them and knew exactly what these Russian guild representatives were thinking. He smiled faintly and said, “If you purchase from us, we will provide help to you in other ways too.

“In what ways?”

“For example, quality mission resources, hidden NPC intel, if you accept some kind of high difficulty mission, we can provide manpower to help you, also… we can ensure your safety.”

“Safety?” Vodka’s expression changed. “What do you mean?”

“The Shattered Star Ring is the territory which us Chinese clubs have been operating in since many versions ago. The dozens of large guilds and many more medium to smaller guilds have split most of the quality resources here. As outsiders who suddenly arrived to build your guilds, I can’t guarantee no other guilds will have conflicts with you. And if it just so happens that you guys will have to fight guild wars with other local guilds, since you’re just a guild branch and have very limited manpower, you will be at quite a massive disadvantage.”

One of the goals those guilds which belonged to clubs had was to provide resources for their professional players, and the large guilds of the various nations were each others’ biggest competitors. There was no way the Chinese clubs here would watch other professional clubs peacefully operate their guild branches here. Their higher-ups have already informed these guilds to think of some ways to restraint the developments of those competitors.

No matter how rich these foreign clubs were, if there were always people disrupting their missions, robbing their resources, and chasing down and killing their members, they would not be able to grow and would always make losses.

What Morning Snow Twilight Frost said was a reminder to Vodka and the others, saying that if they did not pay some “protection fees” to them, there were more than enough people here that could find their troubles.

Of course, the Chinese clubs were not too excessive about it. After all, players from all around the world were watching the situation of these first batch of players who have traveled to another Star Field. As the host, they could not openly bully these newcomers who had absolutely no foundations here. Even though they were competitors, they had to care about how much attention this matter attracted. They did not want the other countries to have a horrible image of the Chinese professional circle, so they still gave a little bit of discount and help, so that it would look like the foreign clubs did not make too much loss on the surface.

The normal players, of course, would not be targeted. However, the clubs of the various nations were first and foremost, commercial businesses. In order for their business to bloom, they had to rely on the glory of their professional players. While they had to make profits, they also had the hopes of the players on their shoulders. Professional players fought in competitions, and they, the official guilds had to fight in the game as well. If the Chinese clubs went to another Star Field to start their guild branches, they would be treated very similarly as well, restricted in many aspects.

Vodka and the others exchanged looks then agreed with resignation. Deep down, however, they did not yield so easily. They secretly decided to look for chances to work with normal players without letting the Chinese clubs know, so they could pay lesser protection fees.

On the other side at the guild base of the Temple of God guild.

The guild president of the other two clubs, Jupiter and Cowherd Star were having a meeting with the Kangaroo Boxing guild branch president, Captain Old Henry, and the other Australian guild representatives. They were discussing the exact same thing as what Long Sky and Dynasty were…

The four largest clubs had already made agreements behind the curtains to do the same thing. Compared to their plans, this bit of protection fees were just minor profits.

…

To the more than 700,000 newcomers, the army headquarters was their new main city.

While they were familiarising themselves with the environment, Han Xiao had returned to the office of the Army Commander. The officers who had been managing the headquarters for the past two months were reporting to him.

Han Xiao leaned on his chair and looked at the group of officers in front of him.

“How’s the army doing while I wasn’t here?”

Sylvia took a step forward and reported, “We have digested the gains we made through the last expansions, as well as successfully linked with the business channels of the various allies in the Shattered Star Ring. The Black Star Army’s current business range covers more than 10 industries, forming a complete trading system, intelligence system, transportation system, and many others.”

Reynold said with a deep voice, “The Logistics Department has built 126 machinery workshop factories in various locations, making rushed orders of more satellite bases. According to the army’s future blueprint, we will continue to build more divisions in all the seven Star Clusters and expand our forces.”

Herlous nodded and said, “Due to the increase in the number of members and the size of our forces, the army’s fleet is expanding as well. The Logistics Departments already have a lot of things on their hands that are yet to be completed, so I made orders with the financial groups we’re working with and there’re new batches of battleships being built every day.”

Han Xiao nodded. These were all things he told them to do before he left. He then asked, “Anything else?”

Sylvia said a little awkwardly, “Erm… our funds are running out…”

Han Xiao’s eyes widened. “We have so many businesses, including the resource planet mining rights from many civilizations, how are we lacking money?”

“The cost of expansion was too high. The current maintenance fee of the army is extremely costly, plus the Logistics Department has been producing at full capacity all the time, which is reducing our funds at quite a terrifying speed. Furthermore, it’s the off-season for trading lately, many of the financial groups working with us have seen decreased sales, so the profit period of the mining of resource planets is extended. Hence, our capital flow is a little tight…”

“Did you not look for the Crimson Dynasty and the Purple Crystal Civilization’s men and asked them to send funds? Didn’t I tell you, that you can look for them whenever we’re lacking funds if it’s caused by normal operation?” Han Xiao asked.

“I did…” Sylvia replied with resignation, “They did not reject, they just said that they would only do so when you tell them personally. They only recognize you.”

“Alright then, I’ll contact them later.” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. These two only recognized him as their ally, which was unavoidable. Although his army was enormous, its true core was still him.

“One more thing. You told me to gather the teams needed to explore the Flickering World, I’ve already done so. They’re split into many fleets and are now in standby at the various sub-bases in Colton, ready to depart anytime,” Sylvia said.

“Good, Zoel will be hurrying me to get going very soon.”

Han Xiao gave Sylvia a very satisfied look.

The three of them then reported some of the details. Seeing that Han Xiao had no other orders, they relaxed and started casually chatting.

“Why didn’t I see Lagi? I’ve returned and my vice-captain isn’t here to see me, what’s he been busy doing?” Han Xiao wondered.

“Hehe, he’s been busy every day, either busy playing cards or busy sleeping!”

Sylvia felt angry whenever Lagi’s name was brought up. He then gave Herlous a stare and said, “You too. He has been dragging you to play cards every day, why don’t you ever reject him?!”

“What do you know about fun between card-mates?” Herlous snorted.

“Don’t mention playing cards in front of me.” Han Xiao complained. “How has Lagi been teaching Tomar?”

Tomar was a protagonist character he brought back, and Han Xiao did not forget about him.

“I heard he’s learning very fast.”

Han Xiao nodded, then looked at Reynold and said with anticipation, “What about my godson? Has he shown any special talent in terms of machinery?”

“Err… no,” Reynold told the truth. “But he’s learning very fast too, he’s quite talented on the path of the machinery.”

Sigh, I wonder if this will help in getting [Perfect Mechanical Sense]… Han Xiao waved his hand with resignation.

“I’ll bring him out in a few days times, that’ll be all.”

The three of them nodded and left the room. Han Xiao took out his communicator and contacted the Purple Crystal Civilization and the Crimson Dynasty, successfully requested for funds.

Zoel also reminded him that the Crimson Dynasty was done preparing their exploration team, and told Han Xiao to lead his people to the Flickering World’s Dawn Star Cluster sometime soon and rendezvous with the dynasty’s army. By then, they would officially start to explore the Flickering World.

After settling the official matters, Han Xiao then looked at how the 700,000 new players were doing in the army’s headquarters.

These Constellation Corridor players were still familiarizing themselves with the headquarters’ structure and map. Han Xiao had noticed something — although these more than 700,000 players have already traveled to another Star Field, they were still posting on their Constellation Corridor forums page out of habit.

Although the players of both sides communicated quite a lot on the forums, only a minority of players interacted with each other in the army’s headquarters. Despite all of them being army members, there were still obvious differences between the players of the two Star Fields. They were not completely avoiding each other, but they were basically playing on their owns.

“This won’t do…” Han Xiao shook his head.

He pondered, then quickly wrote two Faction Missions and gave them out through the faction interface to all the army players.

_________________________________________________________________________________

[[Teach a Recruit] (Repeatable)]

Mission Introduction: The most recent expansion of the Black Star Army has brought back new warriors from another Star Field. The senior members of the army can choose to teach the new members, helping them to get familiar with the tasks in the army quickly.

Mission Requirements: Team up with one or more new warriors (players) from another Star Field and complete any one army mission.

Reward: 100 ~ 300 Black Star Army Contribution Points.

Remarks: Only players who have been in the army for more than a year can accept this mission.

[Consult A Veteran] (Repeatable)

Mission Introduction: As a new member of the Black Star Army, the veterans are the best people to learn from. Go and consult them, let them help you to know more about the army.

Mission Requirements: Team up with one or more senior warriors (players who have been in the army for more than a year) and complete any one army mission]

Reward: 100 ~ 300 Black Star Army Contribution Points.

Remarks: Only players who have been in the army for less than a year can accept this mission.

_________________________________________________________________________________

“Hehehe…” Looking at the two missions he had just distributed, Han Xiao giggled mischievously.

After existing for three versions, the army’s Contribution Point had already become a key resource that was just as important as Enas, no amount was too much for anyone.

He did not want to players of the two Star Fields to form their own circles. Those club guilds were commercial competitors with each other so there was nothing he could do, but there was definitely something he could do for those normal players. Since they were all here at his headquarters, they were all leeks in the same field. He needed those new and old members to interact with each other and play together.

The social aspect of a game was a key factor in the players’ game experience!

Since players of both sides were so shy and did not interact with their foreign friends, Han Xiao decided to lure them to socialize.

This would be beneficial for the Constellation Corridor to embrace the army’s system. Not only would they be able to adapt to the new environment quicker, but the “Constellation Corridor” tag on those players would also slowly disappear and they would soon just think of themselves as “army players”.

This way, the personal connection between the players would become another reason for them to stay in the army. Using players to “attract” players, indirectly enhancing the appeal and sense of belonging of the faction!

Han Xiao suddenly patted his forehead and his expression became weird.

“Why does it feel similar to the oldest profession…”

Chapter 815: Socializing Mad Genius

As Han Xiao distributed the two new missions, notifications popped up on the interfaces of all the army players.

“Doing missions with new members gives bonus Faction Contribution Points? That sounds like a great deal.”

“Any mission? Does running errands count?”

“For sure, even using the army Dungeon Crystals counts.”

“These can be repeated? Awesome!”

“Must team up with players who have been in the faction for less than a year, so only the new players born on Planet Deirdre in Version 3.0?”

“The Constellation Corridor players count too, right? Didn’t they just join the army?”

The two faction missions became a faction event and stirred up a wave among the players.

Han Xiao’s missions were not compulsory. He used the reward to lure them instead. Most of the players would not miss such a rare opportunity to farm Contribution Points. It was just teaming up with new players; they had nothing to lose and a lot to gain.

Maybe some players could not be bothered, but most players were willing to grab this opportunity.

As long as most people were deliberately teaming up with new members and not just with their inner circle friends, they would have taken the first step to socializing with players from other Star Fields, and Han Xiao’s goal would be achieved.

When playing together, they would build some kind of relationship in one way or another. At the very least, adding each other to their friend lists would be common.

The two missions were a set targeted at different groups. [Teach a Recruit]’s purpose was to make the older members willing to team up with the new members, and [Consult a Veteran]’s aim was to make the new members look for old members to help them.

The Constellation Corridor players were not the only ones considered as ‘recruits’. The players from the Version 3.0 novice planet, Planet Deirdre, were also new members of the army. The Shattered Star Ring old members would, of course, be more willing to play with them, so [Consult a Veteran] ensured that those foreign players would look for the senior army members as well.

Compared to those senior members of the army, these new members needed the Contribution Points more and were more passionate about this mission.

Secretly guided by Han Xiao, the situation in the army headquarters changed very quickly. The areas where players gathered became boisterous, and groups of people asked to team up in the public channel.

“LF1M[1] new army member above level 100, no Pugilists. All old army members here. Let’s do missions together to farm Contribution Points.”

“Level 88 Cannon Master, newbie here, need an old member to team up with to farm Contribution Points!”

“Thirty-man team here, planning to enter the [Secret War—Protection Warfare] dungeon. LF4M high-level Constellation Corridor players above Grade C+. Tank and disables needed, no damage dealers! Again, no damage dealers! Come quick!”

The interactions between players immediately became frequent.

The foreign players entered different army player teams and quickly mixed in with the environment. As the players were waiting for the Flickering World main storyline, they were mainly farming dungeons, which indirectly increased the sales of Dungeon Crystals.

The players had no suspicion of these two missions—to the players, it was very normal for the army to encourage the old members to teach the new members since a group of new members had just arrived from another Star Field.

“Hey, Chinese pal, do you know when this event will end?”

“Who cares? Just farm it as much as possible.”

“You guys don’t seem surprised at all. In our Star Field, group activities like this are very rare.”

“Haha, this happens very frequently in our army. I’ve already taken part in many large missions that had hundreds of thousands of participants. You’ll get used to it soon. This is a specialty of the Shattered Star Ring.”

As the normal players were teaming up, so were the club guilds. The four biggest Chinese guilds were overjoyed.

They had just made the price difference agreement with the foreign guilds, and this mission popped up right after. The Russian and Australian guild players were all recruits, so these guild representatives came back right after they had just left.

Even the faction was helping them!

After monitoring for a while, Han Xiao nodded and was rather satisfied with the impact he had made. This was a good start to make the players from different Star Fields mix together.

This would largely increase the efficiency of communication between the players from two sides and was beneficial for the faction.

He planned to keep these two missions active for some time.

They would have to explore the Flickering World very soon, which would have countless missions, so this mission would encourage the players from two sides to work together.

Closing the forums, Han Xiao left the office and returned to his bedroom.

His bedroom in the army had a very minimalist layout. The walls were metallic, and there was a window on the ceiling that looked right into the vast universe. A large black bed sat in the middle of the room, with a bookshelf, fridge, automatic cooker, waste bin, and other simple items beside the wall. The one plant pot in the corner of the wall grown by Han Xiao personally gave this cold and boring looking room a sense of liveliness.

Han Xiao took off his clothes and took a shower. He then took out a hand full of special grade nutrition pastes of different flavors and casually gulped them down. This thing recovered stamina extremely quickly, and it was not cheap.

Beyond Grade As basically did not need to sleep or eat at all, but he decided to retain his habit as a human. The increase in strength and change in the race would make beings look at the world in a different way. He did not need to rest, but he wanted to remind himself he was still human.

Due to the astonishing control that Beyond Grade As had over their bodies, there was no way for Han Xiao to fall asleep naturally. He could only control his brain to enter a rest state.

Since travelling to the Central Galaxy, this was the first time he had slept.

Han Xiao lay on the bed. Before sleeping, his consciousness entered the quantum network and told Phillip, “I’m sleeping. Call me up if anything. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, master, hum…” Phillip replied.

…

After sleeping for a night, Han Xiao’s eyes opened exactly on time. He came out from under the blanket, washed up, took off his pajamas, and donned his black robe, once again recovering to the image of Black Star.

The first thing he did was open the forums. Due to the team-up missions, more and more new members of the army had become active on the Shattered Star Ring page and interacted with the Chinese players.

Han Xiao noticed a new pinned post—it was the new episode of Galaxy Times.

“They should mention the Star Field migration…”

Han Xiao opened it up.

After the familiar opening, the two hosts shared what interesting things were happening around the various Star Fields. They soon mentioned the first batch of players to travel to another Star Field.

“Not long ago, the renowned NPC faction of the Shattered Star Ring, the Black Star Army, provided the Constellation Corridor players a way to go to the Shattered Star Ring. Based on statistics, there are a total of 713,000 players who chose to leave with the Black Star Army, completing the first known event of any player traveling to another Star Field.

“In Version 2.0, the Black Star Army was the guiding faction to lead the Shattered Star Ring players to the galaxy. Now, they have once again guided the players of another Star Field to cross Star Fields. Maybe this is a signal—in the next version, the players might be able to cross Star Fields on a large scale and go to different areas freely!

“So far, this is how the activity areas of the players have developed: Version 1.0, novice planet; Version 2.0, entering the galaxy; Version 3.0, exploring the Star Cluster… The activity range of the players has been expanding every version. Initially, we thought that the players would be exploring their birth Star Field mainly in the next version, but the Black Star Army has given us new ideas. Due to the theme of Galaxy, the players of the various Star Fields will interact sooner or later. Therefore, according to this trend, we can speculate that the next version will be the stage where players can freely cross Star Fields.”

Han Xiao shook his head and smiled as he finished watching the show. This speculation was very logical, but Galaxy Times was only half right.

In the next version, the players would indeed be able to cross to another Star Fields on a large scale. However, unlike what Galaxy Times had speculated, the players would gather in the Flickering World instead of freely going to different areas.

Galaxy Times misguided the players, which was unavoidable. Other than Han Xiao, no players knew that the Flickering World would be the main stage of the next version.

…

“The players who are following me to the Flickering World still don’t know how much of an advantage they’ve gained.”

After looking at the forums for half an hour, only then did Han Xiao start to do other things. He patrolled around the army headquarters before heading to the Logistics Department.

When he entered Reynold’s office, he saw Nero, who was buried in the mountain of books.

“Godfather!” As soon as Nero looked up, his deep and dark eye bags were clearly visible. Realizing that it was Han Xiao, joy bloomed on his exhausted face. He immediately threw away the theory book in his hands and dashed into Han Xiao’s arms.

Looking at the terrifying amount of homework Reynold had given, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

This is almost on the level of child abuse…

Scolding Reynold in his mind, Han Xiao patted Nero’s head and said, “Come, I’m taking you out.”

“Really‽” Nero was so overjoyed and surprised that his tears almost gushed out.

When he left Planet Aquamarine, Nero thought that he had followed his godfather out to play. To his absolute shock, there was an infinite amount of homework that he could never finish waiting for him!

Given Reynold’s personality, the thing he was best at was forceful education. In the past two months, Nero felt like he was in living hell, and seeing Han Xiao was like seeing an angel who had come to save him—he could finally escape this endless misery!

“I promised you, right?” Han Xiao smiled. Actually, the main goal was not to take Nero sightseeing but to go to the Tyla Civilization, which Harrofal had been part of, and search for the set of wormhole travel data back from when EsGod’s doppelganger entered it.

Other than Nero, Han Xiao only took Hila, Aurora, and Feidin along. They took the extremely quick Blacklight Stealth, so it would not take long for a return trip and would not delay the Flickering World mission.

As Harrofal had been killed by EsGod’s subordinate long ago, the chances of finding the wormhole data were very slim, which was why Han Xiao brought his two lucky mascots—Feidin and Nero—to offset his luck.

After all, those who believed in luck were… the unluckiest ones.

…

The Blacklight Stealth flew through the stargate and did not make any stops along the way. Not many days later, Han Xiao and the others arrived at one of the Tyla Civilization’s governance planets to visit the high-level mechanic school that Harrofal had been part of.

With Han Xiao’s identity, as long as his intentions were not hostile, he was welcomed as a guest by all the civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring… except the Klent Kingdom, who had been cursing him every day, and the Star Pupil Holy Race, who had been secretly sticking needles into his voodoo doll.

This mechanic school was government-based and raised many Mechanic talents for the Tyla Civilization. The school was vast and magnificent.

The principal was already waiting at the entrance of the school with others. Han Xiao was met with a warm welcome the moment he arrived.

“Your Excellency Black Star, it’s our honor to have you.” The principal smiled brightly.

“You’re too kind.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Please, follow me.” Mechanical hoverboards arrived as the principal raised his arm. These were all public carriers inside the school.

Han Xiao stepped onto the hoverboard and followed the principal to head to the guest room, chatting and laughing along the way.

They passed through the school, and to Han Xiao’s surprise, they attracted a lot of attention.

It seemed like some students had recognized him and spread the message out, leading to groups of students following behind them on mechanical hoverboards and watching them from afar.

Han Xiao looked behind him and said with surprise, “These are all students of this school, right? Why are they following behind us?”

The principal said with resignation, “Your Excellency Black Star, as you know, this is a mechanic school. All the students here are Mechanic class Supers…”

“And?”

“Ahem, you don’t seem to know your significance in the hearts of the Mechanic class students…”

Han Xiao suddenly understood. He then looked back and realized that the students behind him were all filled with excitement, surprise, and admiration as they looked at him. It was almost worshipping.

He was the one and only Beyond Grade A Mechanic in the Shattered Star Ring, so his position was even more special in the eyes of the Mechanic Supers. He was basically the top authority of the Mechanics in the Shattered Star Ring. His visit to this school caused a sensation among the students.

The principal smiled and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, why don’t you host a lecture here and teach them a tiny bit of your infinite wisdom on the path of the machinery. What do you think?”

“Hmm…” Han Xiao thought about it and did not reject it. He waved his hand and said, “I’ll see to it, if this trip goes smoothly.”

“Is there a goal for this visit?” the principal asked. Han Xiao only requested to visit and had yet to tell him his goal.

“Harrofal was my friend. I’m here to look for a set of data he had left behind.”

The principal was stunned for a moment. “Oh, him… alas, some time ago, the school was attacked, and he was killed by a group of kidnappers. He was an amazing researcher, and regretfully, we lost a crucial talent.”

“Those killers were EsGod’s subordinates. I’ve already avenged him.”

After a moment’s silence, the principal suddenly asked, “Did those EsGod subordinates you spoke of kidnap him because of that set of data you mentioned?”

This was not difficult to deduce, so Han Xiao was not surprised. He glanced at him and nodded.

“Yes. When Harrofal was doing wormhole research, I visited him many times. One time, we were attacked by the DarkStar leader, and I was forced to fight an EsGod doppelganger. However, back then, I was no match for it. Only thanks to Harrofal’s help was I able to lure the EsGod doppelganger into a wormhole and banish it. What I want is that set of location data for that wormhole.”

The wormhole cluster of the Taralam Star Cluster was the center of the Shattered Star Ring. The teleportation location of every unstable wormhole was random, unlike stargates, which had a fixed destination. Also, the chance of those random destinations repeating was infinitely close to zero, so finding that same wormhole would do nothing. Only the recorded coordinates data would be useful.

The principal shook his head. “When Harrofal was kidnapped, all the wormhole detectors in his lab were taken away, every single one of them.”

“He should’ve recorded the data into the internal database of your school. I hope that you can give me the authority to search for it.”

“Er… the database consisting of the research data is highly confidential. I can only allow outsiders to browse it when it’s approved by the upper echelons of the civilization… I’m not even sure if Harrofal backed up that data. Also, there are too many sets of wormhole data he recorded. If you don’t recall the date and time, we won’t know which set of data you’re looking for…”

“Then please notify the upper echelons of the Tyla Civilization for me,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice.

Internal databases that had something to do with the government definitely had extremely strong virtual defense measures. As there were still hopes of obtaining the data through a just method, he did not want to use Virtual Intrusion and make a Star Cluster his enemy.

As a Beyond Grade A, he could not always do things sneakily. Furthermore, he still had no idea what was so important about the set of wormhole data that EsGod mentioned.

[1] LFxM is a common term in MMOs meaning Looking For x More player(s).

Chapter 816: Mechanic Class Top Mentor

The group of them entered the school’s central building. The Mechanic students were not allowed to enter, so they loitered around outside for a while and gradually left one after another.

Han Xiao and the others came to the principal’s guest room. A bionic mechanical assistant secretary brought them some drinks. The principal invited them to sit. “Your Excellency Black Star, please wait for a moment. I’ll relay your request to my superiors.”

Han Xiao nodded and watched the principal leave. The group waited in the room.

Nero leaned on the window and curiously looked at the scenery in the school. Small mechanical islands hovered in the sky, metal buildings in yellow and blue stood tall on the ground, students crossed between the buildings riding mechanical skateboards, and the red, yellow, and green forests waved with the wind. The alloy buildings coexisted with the artificial greenery, forming a harmonious color tone. It had a special sense of beauty.

“This place looks so different from Planet Aquamarine. It’s so beautiful.” Everything was fresh to Nero.

“This is nothing. The dynasty school at the Crimson Dynasty’s mother planet is much more magnificent than this.” Han Xiao chuckled. He had brought Nero out not just to rub some luck from him but also to broaden Nero’s knowledge.

“Really? I want to see that.” Nero was really interested.

“I’ll take you there if there’s a chance.” Han Xiao beckoned Nero over, pointed at the drink on the table, and said, “Come, try it. It’s good.”

On the table were a few cups of hot white liquid flickering with a tint of light gold, giving off a thick milky fragrance. This was some kind of milk product provided by the Tyla Civilization.

Nero picked up the cup and took a sip. His eyes widened, and he gulped down a mouthful. He exhaled in satisfaction, licked away the white stain on his mouth, and looked like he wanted more.

“How was it?”

“Godfather, what is this? I’ve never tasted such delicious milk before.”

Han Xiao smiled and explained, “When the Tyla Civilization was exploring a certain colonial planet, they discovered a galactic being that was on the verge of extinction. They were called the Herepoli Beasts, commonly known as the Giant Nebula Beasts. They are extremely large and can travel in the universe with their body. Some even call them the Mount of Giant Gods. However, the reproduction speed of the Giant Nebula Beasts is very long; they only mate every hundred years or so. After their cubs are born, they enter a three-month lactation period. The Giant Nebula Beasts only produce milk in those three short months. Their milk is rare, expensive, nourishing, and very unique. That’s what you drank.”

“I see.” Nero rubbed his stomach. “No wonder my body feels so warm after drinking it.”

“Do you want more? Drink mine too.” Han Xiao smiled.

Nero licked his lips and was very tempted. After some tough internal conflict, he shook his head and said, “This is so valuable and rare; I can’t drink it all. Godfather, you drink it too.”

The others all laughed.

“I’m fine.” Han Xiao shook his hand. Luxurious things that were extremely valuable to normal galactic residents were nothing much in his eyes. He could have plenty if he wanted.

However, he did not have much interest in luxurious consumables. He preferred to buy more special grade nutrition pastes with that money, which were much more convenient to consume and recovered his stamina very quickly, much higher quality-price ratio.

After chatting for a while, the principal had yet to return. Han Xiao turned around and looked at the mechanical assistant secretary that stood still beside the wall.

“How may I be of service to you?” The mechanical assistant secretary sensed his sights and responded immediately.

Han Xiao shook his hand and observed the bionic skin of this mechanical assistant secretary.

This principal looked respectable and reputable, but the bionic appearance given to this mechanical secretary was extremely seductive and sexy. It might really have the full set of functions of a ‘secretary’…

After waiting a while longer, the principal finally returned.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, Your Excellency Black Star. The people above have agreed with your request and allowed me to use my authority to help you to find that data.”

“Okay, thank the upper echelons of the Tyla Civilization for me.” Han Xiao was relieved. Things were much easier now that it was settled with his face.

He was reminded of how even Star System civilizations did not give him face at all in the past, and he had to find someone to help him. Now that he was a Beyond Grade A, even the Star Cluster civilizations were willing to give him face.

The principal pressed a few times on the office desk. The color of it suddenly changed as it became the control screen of the internal database. He looked up and asked, “Your Excellency Black Star, do you remember the time and location of the data?”

Han Xiao nodded and told him. The principle then inputted the corresponding parameters and ran the search engine to look for related data.

Although they agreed to help, they were not going to let a Beyond Grade A operate their internal database, so the principal was assisting him.

Countless items flashed past the screen. After scrolling for a while, only one item was left that perfectly matched the parameters.

The principal exhaled deeply. “Found it. Looks like Harrofal uploaded the data; the time and location are both right. See if this is the data you wanted.”

Han Xiao walked over and browsed through it carefully. Although he did not professionally study wormholes like Harrofal, he had related professional knowledge of it and could understand the coordinates. However, this set of coordinates was outside the star map of the known universe and had a very complicated set of parameters. Without a star map, nothing could be discerned from just the data. He would only know where it led after studying it.

“EsGod was so concerned with this set of data. Which corner of the universe did his doppelganger get thrown to?” Han Xiao wondered.

Confirming that this set of data was from when Harrofal banished the EsGod doppelganger, Han Xiao blinked and took hundreds of photos instantly, which were transmitted to Phillip’s database. He then nodded at the principal.

“Looks like I’m in luck. I’ve already made a back up. Thank you for this.”

The principal shut down the screen, and the desk returned to normal. He then smiled and said, “I’m glad you’ve found what you came for. I have one thing I hope to ask from you.”

Han Xiao was not surprised at all—the Tyla Civilization would not help him for free if they did not want to obtain something from him in exchange.

“If it’s within my capabilities, I will help.”

“Haha, you’re mistaken. All we want to do is for you to become an honorary professor of the Tyla Official Mechanic School.”

That’s it? Han Xiao was a little surprised. After some thinking, he then understood their intention.

As the one and only Beyond Grade A Mechanic in the Shattered Star Ring, if he became a professor at the Tyla Civilization’s official mechanic school, the name of this school would be much more famous and would attract tons more students. Many Mechanic students would apply to study in this school, which would give the Tyla Civilization more talents. Furthermore, as a professor of the Tyla Civilization’s official school, it somewhat meant he was on their side. The Tyla Civilization would benefit a lot from this.

Since they had just helped him, Han Xiao was not going to reject such a small request. He nodded and said, “Sure.”

The principal was delighted. “Then I shall have my people settle it immediately. By the way, since you’re an honorary professor of the school, I hope you can host a lecture here. Either tomorrow or the day after is fine. It won’t take too much time. If you don’t mind, I’ll get my men to announce it within the school.”

“Alright, I shall stay here and trouble you for a few more days.”

Thinking about it, Han Xiao suddenly said, “By the way, since I’m now a professor of this school, why don’t you give me a copy of the basic and advanced lessons of your school?”

The lessons of official schools like this were all very carefully authored. The fundamental textbooks would be quite useful for factions, so he could take them back and train the Mechanic Supers of the army in a systematic way.

Some high-grade Supers might not be good at teaching despite their strength… for example, Rey ‘Forceful Education’ Nold…

Since Han Xiao was now an honorary professor of this school, he might as well gain something from it.

…

The next day, the Tyla Civilization immediately announced in a very high-profile way that they had successfully hired Black Star to be the honorary professor of their official mechanic school. They contacted a bunch of galactic media outlets to spread this news.

Currently, many of the civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring were the Black Star Army’s business allies, but being an honorary professor of a civilization’s official school signified an even closer relationship. The first ones to receive this news were the various Star Cluster civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring; they were all shocked and felt it was so sudden. Why did Black Star suddenly get mixed with the Tyla Civilization?

The Purple Crystal was even more shocked. Never mind you sneaking into the Crimson Dynasty’s bed, we can’t mess with them, so we’ll live with it, but how can you flirt with that shameless neighbor? You *sshole, did you forget I’m your origina… ahem, your earliest ally who has invested the most in you‽

Han Xiao’s communicator was almost exploding from Ralph’s calls, and he spent some time to finally calm him down.

This piece of news also shocked the many students in the Tyla Official Mechanic School.

Black Star is now our school’s honorary professor, and he’s going to do a lecture‽

How did that perverted principal convince Black Star‽

The students were exhilarated and honored.

Originally, the lecture was supposed to be carried out inside the building, but there were too many students attending, so the school decided to have Han Xiao give the lecture at the open central square.

As the day of the lecture arrived, the area was completely filled with people. There were absolutely no empty seats, and countless students even hovered in the air, riding mechanical skateboards. More than ninety percent of the people in the entire school came.

Most of the teachers and professors went to listen too—in front of a Beyond Grade A Mechanic, they were all students.

Han Xiao stood in the middle of the freshly built tall stage in the middle of the central square, looked around, and smiled bitterly in his mind.

He had thought that he would just be teaching a small group of students; never had he expected to create such a scene. Not only were there so many people here, but there were also even many recording devices around that videoed his every move. It was almost like a concert or even preaching.

Of course, he had no problem doing this. He did not even mind fist fighting with Heber in front of trillions of galactic residents back then, so this would not affect him at all. With his Beyond Grade A standard, he just had to casually share some experiences, and these students would be satisfied.

However, Han Xiao was not really used to this. Currently, the person who used lectures as core competitiveness was that old man Austin.

“Ahem, let’s get started…” Han Xiao cleared his throat and started speaking.

…

At the Bloodshed Land’s headquarters, Heber was confused. “Black Star went to give an open lecture to a Star Cluster civilization’s official school? He’s got to go to the Flickering World soon, yet he still has the time to do that‽”

Inside the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin murmured with a strange expression, “This guy, is he trying to imitate me and form a Hidden Machinery Abbey or something?”

“Tsk, I hate Mechanics.” On the Star Pupil Holy Race Mother Planet, Psyker shut down the screen without hesitation. He did not want to see Han Xiao at all. Every time he saw the Evolution Cube on his neck, his heart would ache… every single time.

In the Crimson Dynasty Diplomatic Building, Zoel shook his head and laughed. “Yo, this guy is doing it again?”

From the way he looked at it, Han Xiao was not satisfied with his current position and went to form alliances with more Star Cluster civilizations.

He was happy to see this as long as it did not affect the main business. The more influence the dynasty’s ally had in a Star Field, the better it was for them.

As for the players who were at the Black Star Army headquarters, some also discovered the broadcast on the galactic channels. Word quickly spread among the players, and more and more players turned on their communicators to watch Han Xiao’s lecture curiously.

“Huh, I thought the Army Commander has been in the headquarters. Turns out he went to another civilization.”

“What’s he talking about? Why does it sound like complete gibberish?”

When the many players were watching curiously, the Mechanic players among them were suddenly startled—a notification popped up on their interfaces.

_____________________

You are listening to Black Star (Lv ?) share his knowledge of the Mechanic class. Due to the wide level difference, judging INT and LUK… Judgment complete. You are not sure if you understood. 1 random Mechanic class ability has received 50,000 EXP.

You are listening to Black Star (Lv ?) share his knowledge of the Mechanic class. Due to the wide level difference, judging INT and LUK… Judgment complete. You kind of understood. 2 random Mechanic class abilities have received 120,000 EXP.

…

You are listening to Black Star (Lv ?) share his knowledge of the Mechanic class. Due to the wide level difference, judging INT and LUK… Judgment complete. With a flash of insight, you suddenly figured it out. 4 random Mechanic class abilities have received 350,000 EXP.

_____________________

All the Mechanic class players who were watching the broadcast were shocked.

“This is… imparting ability experiences‽”

The Mechanic class players were overjoyed.

This was the notification that would pop up when NPCs shared abilities or their experiences with the players, but events that gave random ability EXP were very rare. The Mechanic class players did not expect this at all; they had only watched the broadcast out of curiosity and happened to trigger this amazing event.

Very soon, this piece of news spread on the forums like a typhoon. All the Mechanic class players came to know about it and all went to watch the broadcast with excitement.

“Holy, my Mechanic class ability leveled up!”

“Is this a random event?”

“This is so much quicker than doing missions… damn, my [Intermediate Machinery Affinity] is at Lv.9, one level from maximum!”

“The Army Commander is awesome, as always!”

Leveling up abilities was always a bottomless pit of EXP, so the Mechanic class players were euphoric.

The players of the other four classes could only watch the Mechanic class players with jealousy.

It had been a very long time since Han Xiao had personally taught the players any abilities. As his interaction with the players decreased, many players had gradually started to forget the things he did in the past. This accident coincidentally made countless players recall that he was once a mentor.

Because of this, he became the recognized Top Mechanic Class Mentor!

Chapter 817: Pioneering

“Your Excellency Black Star, you’re welcome to come and visit the school any time.”

At the harbor, the principal brought his people along and sent Han Xiao and the others off. The lecture in the morning was very effective. The students were not the only ones who learned from it—he did too. So, his closeness and gratitude toward Han Xiao now were very sincere.

“Hmm, keep in touch.” Han Xiao nodded before leading the rest onto the Blacklight Stealth. It took off, turned into a stream of light, and disappeared in the dark, vast cosmic space.

Having obtained the data and completed the promised lecture, the goal of this trip was achieved. He did not stay any longer and left the Tyla Civilization.

As for the impact of this, he did not care about it much. The Tyla Civilization was considered a neutral and powerful civilization in the Shattered Star Ring. Other forces rarely messed with them, and they did not mess with others deliberately. The afterheat of the Black Star Army’s expansion had yet to vanish, so this bit of news would not cause too big a storm. At most, it might trigger some responses from the Star Cluster civilizations of the same grade.

Instead, the excited Mechanic players on the forums surprised him. Only through the forums did he know that his open lecture triggered a random ability EXP reward event.

There were many ways the players could obtain EXP, and this was one of them, but a very rare one. Other than their luck, it also depended on the knowledge difference between the players and what the NPCs were teaching. Pugilists and Mages were no strangers to this. Pugilists could secretly listen and learn abilities from some dojos. It was risky and did not guarantee success. The players mainly did this to avoid spending Contribution Points. It was the same for the Mages.

“What a surprise, this coincidentally strengthened my Mechanic class mentor image.” Han Xiao shook his head.

His consciousness entered the quantum network and poked at Phillip.

“How’s the study of that set of data?”

“It’s too complicated, hum… I can’t estimate the time needed to decipher it.”

The location data of the wormhole had been given to Phillip to analyze. It required a huge amount of experiments and tests, and even Han Xiao did not know how long it would take before there were any results.

However, Han Xiao was not in a hurry. Since the Tyla Civilization now knew that EsGod and he had their eyes on this set of data, they would definitely feel that this data had secrets. Therefore, they would have professional scientists secretly study this data. The efficiency of an entire Star Cluster civilization would definitely not be slower than him or EsGod, and this was one of the reasons he had befriended the Tyla Civilization. If the Tyla Civilization discovered any clues, he would have a chance to learn them as well, which would be quite nice.

He also planned to send the data to the dynasty when he had time and borrow the dynasty’s technology to decipher its secret.

…

After a smooth flight, the Blacklight Stealth returned to the army headquarters.

They rested for a few days, and the gathering order of the dynasty was officially announced. The dynasty had notified the Black Star Army, the Bloodshed Land, and Klent, the various Shattered Star Ring allies, to immediately head to the Flickering World through the dynasty stargate at the border of the Star Field.

After preparing for so long, the dynasty was finally about to start its first stage of exploration of the Flickering World!

Han Xiao immediately announced this as well.

When the departure date arrived, Phillip’s broadcast announcement echoed in the entire army headquarters.

“All army members participating in the developments of the Flickering World, please board the ships immediately. We will be leaving in thirty minutes! I repeat, all…”

The players moved with anticipation and entered the harbor, boarding the transport ships one after another.

After the secret war ended, the Flickering World had become the next main storyline in the eyes of the players.

Exploring a new Star Field… this was the largest main storyline they had ever seen!

The millions of players were exhilarated!

Furthermore, with the example of the limited title [Secret Warrior], most of the army players accepted the Flickering World’s main storyline mission. The players were excited just thinking about it.

Among which, the Constellation Corridor players were even more excited. The Shattered Star Ring players at least had similar experiences before, but the Constellation Corridor players had rarely had any large group missions like this, if any.

In the past, they had only heard about the benefits of being in the Black Star Army. Now, they had personally experienced it. The new recruits had an even higher rating for the army in their hearts.

The people at the army headquarters gathered and boarded the spaceships very quickly. With Han Xiao’s order, the fleet departed.

Sylvia had already prepared all the fleets a few months ago. While the main fleet departed from the army headquarters, the teams in standby at the various sub-bases in the Colton Star Cluster departed as well. According to the plan, these subdivisions would rendezvous with Han Xiao one after another along the way.

The number of fleets and people the army had dispatched this time was enormous. Almost all the members who could move freely went along. It was the largest-scale operation in the history of the army.

No amount of manpower would ever be enough in exploring an entire new Star Field, so this exploration team would be building strongholds in the Flickering World and not return for a very long time, including Han Xiao.

The Black Star Army had already stabilized itself in the Shattered Star Ring, and its business was consistent. Furthermore, with the support of its two allies, the dynasty and Purple Crystal, as well as the protection of being a member of the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference, there was basically nothing to worry about.

The Flickering World would be the central stage of the next version. Developing the Flickering World was a crucial part of the next stage of development for the army.

The dynasty allies in the Shattered Star Ring were the ones to start the exploration first. Han Xiao had gone through a lot of planning to obtain such an advantage, so he could not possibly miss it. In order to deal with the countless organizations that would be fighting for territory in the future, he had to gain bigger advantages and build firm foundations in the early stages.

…

Somewhere in the Shattered Star Ring drifted Floating Dragon Island.

“I see, so Black Star has departed…”

Han Xiao’s message appeared on the communicator. Ames looked away from the communicator and glanced at the floating dragon officers at the two sides of the throne.

“Let’s go, toward Planet Aquamarine.”

…

In the Central Galaxy, on the Federation of Light’s mother planet, the president of the Federation of Light, Bader Ohoside, put down the deck of intelligence in his hands, looked at the Elders in the room, slowly said, “The Crimson Dynasty is finally going to officially start to explore the Flickering World… The dynasty will be focusing on this in the future. The exploration of the Flickering World is estimated to take decades or even an entire century.”

The Chief Elder tapped the ground with his crutch and said with a hoarse voice, “It was our detectors that discovered the Flickering World. Back then, we transferred the ownership of the Flickering World to the Crimson Dynasty for a lot of profits. It will take a very long time for them to make a net profit from developing a new Star Field.”

Back when they compromised with the Crimson Dynasty, it was not just to exchange for profits and calm the Crimson Tide. They also had more secret plans.

“Hmm…” Bader said indifferently. “In order to develop a new Star Field, the dynasty will definitely put in a lot of manpower and resources. The Flickering World will become a pond of quicksand that keeps dragging the dynasty’s men down in the decades to come. The dynasty will have a very difficult time fighting for anything else during that time. This is highly beneficial to us.”

The Chief Elder caressed the crystal at the top of his crutch and said, “When the dynasty purchased the ownership of the Flickering World from us, we made an agreement that only the Crimson Dynasty is allowed to build stargates at the early stages of the exploration. Any unauthorized forces in the Flickering World will be seen as enemies of the dynasty… However, the agreement is just words.”

“Without us having to do anything, those ambitious beyond Star Cluster civilizations are smart enough to know the Arcane Church’s and our stand on this,” Bader said. “They know very well that this is a perfect chance for them. Almost none of them will be willing to give up on the resources of a new Star Field. Although these chess pieces only obey us on the surface usually, as soon as they see something with low risk and high reward, they will act according to our goals without needing us to do anything.”

After a pause, Bader continued. “With so much attention on them, the dynasty doesn’t have the ability to have the new Star Field to itself. Due to multiple factors, the dynasty will open the Flickering World to the entire universe around the time they complete creating a full star map of it. This way, they will be able to obtain an infinite amount of foreign labor and resources, and most of the dynasty’s military and manpower will be able to retreat.”

The Chief Elder nodded. “The dynasty has the ownership of the Star Field, but the larger the profit, the more pressure they will have to endure. Let them endure it. Something can only be said to be lost when it was once possessed. We can obtain larger profits by taking a step back here.”

Bader crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. “Since the dynasty is willing, let’s give them more pressure.”

…

On the Crimson Dynasty Mother Planet, the Dynasty Ruler, Urranrell, had just finished reading the intelligence of the Black Star Army and the Bloodshed Land departing. She put down the deck of data in her hands and looked up. Everyone there was a top-level official of the dynasty.

“Your Excellency Ruler, the Shattered Star Ring allies are the ones to carry out the earliest explorations. We will continue to put in more dynasty troops and allies in the future. The Federation of Light compromised on paper, but they will definitely violate the agreement secretly. The Federation of Light, the Arcane Church, and those beyond Star Cluster civilizations will undoubtedly move discreetly.”

“I know,” Urranrell said calmly. “Ever since the universe entered the Galaxy Calendar era, the Federation of Light lost their sharpness and are no longer willing to endure the pressure, so they don’t deserve the largest profits. I never expected them to obey the agreement anyway. In the coming decades, things might be tough for us, but history will eventually prove that those who have given up on the future will be abandoned by the future.”

Everyone nodded in silence.

“Those who cause trouble secretly will not expose their identity. Using this chance, we shall strike fear into those beyond Star Cluster civilizations who are getting more and more lawless.”

Urranrell’s eyes became focused as she spoke with a powerful and firm voice.

“Let’s remind them of the dynasty’s way of doing things!”

…

On the Fallen Ark, Harrison woke EsGod up from his sleep.

“The Arcane Church has responded.”

EsGod woke up, breathed, and said slowly, “What did they say?”

“They say that they’ve never heard about this.”

“That means they agreed.” EsGod narrowed his eyes. “Tell the fleet to turn around and go to the desolate universe belt near the Arcane Church. Let’s see where the temporary stargate they’ve prepared for me is.”

…

At the edge of the Shattered Star Ring, inside the endless darkness, a gigantic stargate stood in the cosmic space. The enormous Black Star Army was approaching slowly.

This was the Crimson Dynasty’s exclusive stargate connecting to the Flickering World, which was currently the only way to go to the Flickering World. A lot of dynasty’s battleships were stationed there to keep anyone from sneaking through.

After reporting their identity, the Black Star Army fleet entered the stargate one batch after another, disappearing into the blue space vortex.

“We’re going to do pioneering!”

“Brothers, I’m a little excited!”

The players on the transport ships were filled with anticipation.

As the main ship was about to enter the stargate, on the bridge, Hila and the Black Star Guards all turned around subconsciously to look at the bright stars behind them.

Han Xiao glanced behind him as well.

The next time I’ll be back here will be very far in the future…

Looks like I’m going to have to spend the ten-month EXP penalty period in the Flickering World.

When I am back in the known universe by then, my level should be far higher than the 240 I am at now.

And the Evolution Cube might not be the only Universal Treasure in my hands…

Turning his head back, Han Xiao looked at the blue stargate vortex ahead. The other side of this stargate was a wide world filled with opportunities.

Boom!

The next moment, the main ship entered the stargate and trembled.

In an instant, there was only a bright blue light in their sights.

Chapter 818: Black-sheep-wall!

The main ship crossed the stargate and arrived at the Flickering World immediately from the Shattered Star Ring.

There were dynasty’s fleets stationed on this side of the stargate too.

Han Xiao looked outside the window at the masses of star lights distributed around.

Unlike that prosperous Star Field in his memories, the Flickering World was still very primal and desolate. It did not have any traces of being developed before. The quantum network was silent; the only quantum network signal that he could connect to was the dynasty’s military base station channel. This meant that this new Star Field was not open to the public.

“Beep beep…”

As soon as the main ship crossed the stargate, it received a communication request from the dynasty’s military.

After the communication request was accepted, a 3D projection appeared. It was an old dynasty officer and a familiar face.

Hila glanced at the dense number of badges on this person. She looked at the military ranking badge on the sleeve of his army uniform and concluded that this person was a dynasty admiral, a well-established upper echelon of the military.

This person’s eyes were locked onto Han Xiao. He slightly raised his head and smiled gently.

“I’m Tarrokov, the commander in chief of the development team of the Flickering World. Your Excellency Black Star, welcome to the Dawn Star Cluster.”

“Commander.” Han Xiao nodded.

Tarrokov was someone he was familiar with. In his previous life, when the players were active in the Flickering World, Tarrokov was also the commander in chief of the dynasty’s troops stationed in the Flickering World. Back then, many of the missions were distributed in the form of military documents, and they were all signed by Tarrokov. He was in charge of the dynasty’s troops in the Flickering World; all the dynasty missions came from him, so of course, the players were familiar with him.

Now that he had come to explore the Flickering World, Tarrokov would be considered as his semi-boss. Tarrokov would be contacting the dynasty’s many allies on behalf of the dynasty, relaying the dynasty’s orders to them. Han Xiao knew that he would be seeing this guy a lot for quite a long time.

Luckily, Tarrokov was a very senior military boss, and he was very gentle and steady, easy to get along with. This was also the reason the dynasty had sent him to take care of the matters in the Flickering World.

“Bloodshed Land and Klent arrived at the Flickering World two days ago. Come with your fleet as quickly as possible. When you’re here, we will discuss the field exploration plans.”

“Okay.”

Han Xiao nodded, and Tarrokov hung up the communication.

Han Xiao opened the 3D star map. The current map of the Flickering World appeared before everyone’s eyes. Only the Dawn Star Cluster was marked as green and completely explored, which had a rather complete star map. The other ninety percent or so of the area was all gray and had no details.

The dynasty had built many strongholds in the Dawn Star Cluster, among which the main stronghold was on a planet at the border of the Dawn Star Cluster that connected to the unexplored area. The planet was named Planet Lighthouse, signifying its place as the lighthouse that guided the explorers’ return.

The gathering location marked by Tarrokov was there.

“It will still take some time till all the fleets cross the stargate.” Aurora pressed here and pulled there on the operation table, bringing up the gathering countdown that was calculated by the artificial intelligence.

Officers with important jobs such as Sylvia, Herlous, Reynold, and Lagi had all remained in the Shattered Star Ring to maintain the army headquarters’ operations. Han Xiao had only brought some of the army’s officers along this time, such as the Black Star Guards. Most of them did not have any jobs to do usually, and they were now assigned to different posts to take care of different matters in the exploration team.

The tons of non-combat knowledge that Aurora had learned could now be of use. She became Han Xiao’s administrative officer and was responsible for the miscellaneous matters.

“Phillip, plan the route,” Han Xiao said.

“Roger that, hum…”

An illuminated line immediately appeared on the star map, marking the quickest route to Planet Lighthouse.

The dynasty knew the importance of transportation and had built many military stargates in the Dawn Star Cluster to allow frequent jumps, tremendously reducing the traveling time within the Star Cluster. These were all marked on the star map. However, this was only the case during the closed exploration period. Han Xiao knew that once the Flickering World was open to the public, the dynasty would recover some of those military channels.

Han Xiao thought for a moment and said, “Split a few engineering fleets out from the main fleet and build the quantum communication stations for our army in the Dawn Star Cluster. Let the dynasty know about it. Tell them that this is for us to interact with the people in the Shattered Star Ring headquarters more easily.”

It was the countless base stations and network nodes everywhere in the known universe that allowed the quantum network to exist in all places. However, as the Flickering World had no such stations, it had yet to connect with the quantum network of the known universe and could only redirect signals from the dynasty’s nodes and base stations. This move from Han Xiao was to plot out the army’s network base stations here. When the Star Field was open to the public in the future, they would become natural intelligence channels. Usually, this was an authority only high-level civilizations had.

However, now, this was one of the privileges given to the dynasty’s allied forces. The dynasty would not stop him.

The army’s battleships passed through the stargate one after another. Very soon, they all arrived at the Flickering World and immediately headed toward Planet Lighthouse in hyperdrive.

There were currently no outsiders in the Dawn Star Cluster, so the trip was smooth. After traveling for a few days and through dozens of military stargates linking the various strongholds, they crossed the entire Dawn Star Cluster, and Planet Lighthouse was within their sights.

A planet surrounded by countless battleships appeared outside the porthole.

On a tiny planet, the dynasty’s direct exploration team, the Bloodshed Land’s exploration team, the Klent Kingdom’s exploration team, and the late to the party Black Star Army’s exploration team gathered. The number of spaceships gathered there exceeded a hundred million!

It was marvelous!

Among which, the dynasty’s direct spaceships had the highest number. They made up to about seventy percent of all the spaceships.

Not far away from the planet, there were many stargate stations coexisting but were yet to be activated.

The surface of Planet Lighthouse was covered by machinery and metal, not showing even the slightest soil. The dynasty’s exploration team used the dynasty’s well known ‘Foolproof Planet Base Expansion Pack’ on Planet Lighthouse. It flattened the ground through high pressure, increased the planet density, changed its landscape, and modified its crust, directly turning this planet into a Planet Grade Military Base.

The fleet stopped outside the atmosphere. Han Xiao and the Black Star Guards took a small spaceship and landed on Planet Lighthouse’s dock.

Whoosh!

The hatch opened.

Han Xiao stepped onto the metal dock, looked across at the metal buildings, and fixed onto the most conspicuous building far away.

It was a few-thousand-meter-tall building. All the buildings around it looked like dwarfs under a giant. This was Planet Lighthouse’s stronghold headquarters.

There were already officers waiting at the dock. After they did their formal military greetings, they invited Han Xiao and the rest to board the ground carrier and head to Planet Lighthouse’s headquarters together.

Whoosh!

As they traveled across the buildings on the planet’s surface, the sound of wind howled outside their carrier.

Han Xiao observed around and realized that the buildings on the surface were mainly hangars and warehouses. Countless carriers and mechanical assistants were transporting trucks of resources like hard working ants.

Seeing that they were looking around, the officer explained, “Planet Lighthouse is the logistics base of the exploration team. A large amount of supplies and resources are stored here.”

Han Xiao nodded. The three Star Clusters that would be explored in the first stage were Renault, Garu, and Crown, all neighboring Star Clusters of the Dawn Star Cluster. Planet Lighthouse was located at a crucial junction and was the best transit station.

The ground distance was very short, and they arrived at the Planet Lighthouse headquarters very soon. Through the anti-gravity lift, they came all the way to the middle level at the headquarters, more than 1,400 meters above the ground.

Following the instructions, they walked into an enormous strategy conference room. There were already many people in the room. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and immediately saw Heber—with his tiny-mountain-sized body, he was the most conspicuous.

Heber turned and looked over. Their eyes clashed in midair. Heber’s eyes had no emotions in them. He sat still on his seat and did not move before casually nodding in greeting.

Behind him were the Eight Vanguard Officials of the Bloodshed Land, who all looked at Han Xiao with hostility in their eyes.

That was especially so for the Chief Vanguard Official, Fosters, who looked like he wanted to turn his sight into knives and stab Han Xiao with them.

Although the Black Star Army and the Bloodshed Land had agreed to have a ceasefire, the hostility that the Bloodshed Land officers felt toward Han Xiao would not reduce because of it.

“Humph.”

Seeing this, Hila took a step forward, and the Black Star Guards behind her followed right after, staring at the Vanguard Officials of Heber.

Hila and Fosters’ sights met and almost created explosions in midair. The atmosphere became very tense.

In the past, when Han Xiao attended the Tyrant Party the second time, Fosters had challenged Han Xiao’s subordinates. As the captain of the Black Star Guards, Hila had accepted the challenge, but Heber had appeared and told Fosters to back off, so the two of them did not end up fighting in the end.

Now that they had met again, this history appeared in both of their heads.

One was the Bloodshed Land’s Chief Vanguard Official; the other was the Black Star Army’s captain of the Black Star Guards. Be it their position, identity, or strength, they were naturally opposed to each other. Whoever beat the other would prove that their faction was better than another. The two of them stared at each other coldly while adding each other’s name to the list of enemies they had to fight in the future.

Since Aurora had more than enough safety assurance, other than to repay Han Xiao, Hila continued to work for Han Xiao to become stronger. As she had the experience of being restrained by others, she had a very strong desire for power. Although she did not take the extreme path like she did in Han Xiao’s previous life, she did not give up on any opportunities to challenge someone strong.

Han Xiao was not bothered. He waved and told the Black Star Guards to take a step back.

There was no way they would end up fighting right under the dynasty’s nose, so there was no point in just staring at each other.

Seeing that the two sides had settled down, Han Xiao smiled at Heber.

“You’re quite early.”

“Unlike you, I don’t like to be late,” Heber replied indifferently.

He saw Han Xiao as someone on his level but had no intention of learning more about him or befriending him.

The two sides had a deep hatred for each other and only reluctantly became allies because of the dynasty. Although they were now at peace, they were still competitors in terms of the Flickering World exploration.

Since they were business competitors, Heber did not want to be friendly. His action of asking for a ceasefire with the Black Star Army in the past had already reduced his reputation within the Bloodshed Land. He could not let people mistakenly think that he was actually afraid of Black Star.

Han Xiao chuckled and knew exactly what Heber was thinking, but he did not mind.

Ty-Ty has been having a hard time. Let’s not make it worse.

Not bothering about Heber, Han Xiao turned and looked at Tarrokov, who was standing beside the strategic analysis board. He smiled and said, “Chief commander, we finally meet.”

“Your Excellency Black Star, Zoel might have already said this, but let me say it again. On behalf of the dynasty, we welcome your alliance.”

When Han Xiao was speaking with Heber, Tarrokov watched from the side and did not speak. Once Han Xiao spoke to him, only then did he give a formal reply.

“Looks like we’re going to be colleagues for a very long time in the future.” Han Xiao shook Tarrokov’s hands.

“Please, take a seat.” Tarrokov smiled and pointed at a seat.

Han Xiao nodded and led his people to sit down. His men and Heber’s men sat on opposite sides of the room, and the Klent Kingdom’s men were in the middle.

The leader of the Klent Kingdom was someone Han Xiao did not know. They did not show Han Xiao any politeness at all, not even a greeting.

Compared to Klent, Heber’s hatred was nothing. Klent’s decade-long plan had been completely shattered. The secret war had been ended by Han Xiao single-handedly, and the resources they invested had yielded zero profit.

The loss they made was uncountable!

Hate Purple Crystal? They basically won without doing anything.

Hate the Crimson Dynasty? As if we would dare!

Hate the Bloodshed Land?

… Wake up!

Therefore, their hatred could only land on Han Xiao, no one else.

If the Bloodshed Land’s hostility toward Han Xiao was two stars, Klent’s hostility was at least ten stars.

“Since everyone’s here, let’s get started.”

Tarrokov completely ignored the conflict between the three sides and turned on the strategic analysis board behind him. He brought up the unexplored star map of the Renault, Garu, and Crown Star Clusters.

“These three Star Clusters are the targets of the first stage of developments. The Bloodshed Land and Klent will explore Renault, the dynasty’s direct teams will explore Crown, and the Black Star Army will explore Garu. These are your choices, which were made long ago. Now, let me talk about the details… The task of exploration is very cumbersome, but in the end, it can be divided into a few key points.”

Tarrokov extended a few fingers.

“The drawing of the star map, the large-scale deployment of area observation buoys, the installation of a traffic network, the construction of transit stations and strongholds, the completion of the detailed information of the various planets… and the collection of resources.”

Han Xiao nodded. These were just the main goals. There were tons of tasks that had to be carried out in reality. They had to carry out construction at the same time as exploring the map. The reason they had brought so many people there was to split up and increase their efficiency.

This time, Tarrokov said, “The dynasty has the most manpower. In order to ensure progress, we will be sending some teams to follow the three of you and provide assistance.

The dynasty made up to seventy percent of all the forces there, so it was normal to give them some of their manpower. However, this was just one reason; surveillance was another reason.

The dynasty was willing to let its ally forces take part in the exploration and share the benefits, but it could not completely leave things to its allies. Sending out these surveillance teams would prevent its allies from not reporting the resources discovered or reporting the incorrect quantity deliberately, ensuring the accuracy of the results of the exploration.

The dynasty has invested a lot of this, so of course, they’re getting the largest portion of the resources in the new Star Field. Completely sensible…

However, there was still a lot of room in terms of how much extra profit the explorers would obtain.

The others had no idea what was on those unexplored planets and could only explore them one by one. It completely depended on their luck.

Han Xiao also did not know what was on most of the planets. He was an extremely experienced player in his previous life, but he was not as experienced as remembering the information about every single planet… However, he still knew full well about the famous and unique planets in the Flickering World.

This meant that he did not need to do field exploration to know which planets were extremely profitable and rich.

“Hmm…”

Han Xiao caressed his chin and contemplated.

Chapter 819: Special Exploration Route

819 Special Exploration Route

Heber and the Klent commander knew that the dynasty would send out surveillance teams, so they were not surprised either.

Tarrokov explained the details as he pointed at the locations on the star map. The others listened silently.

When Tarrokov was finished, the Klent commander suddenly said, “We know what you’ve just said. What I want to know is, us Shattered Star Ring allies are the first teams to take part in the exploration, and the dynasty will be sending its allies from other Star Fields here too, so when will the next batch of dynasty allies arrive?”

Star Fields were too huge. Even all of them combined were just a leaf within a forest compared to a Star Field; they were very tiny. With just them, God only knew when the Flickering World would be fully explored. Therefore, the dynasty would be sending more manpower there in the future. Those dynasty allies who arrived later would be both allies and new competitors.

What Klent cared about was when the next batch of competitors would arrive, basically how much time they had ahead of others.

Tarrokov smiled.

“That depends on the arrangements of the dynasty’s upper echelons and the gathering speed of our allied forces, as well as the progress of our exploration. I have yet to receive any notification on the exact time. However, according to my estimation, the next batch of exploration teams will only arrive in half a year’s time at the earliest. Before that, the dynasty will have to rely on you guys. If the progress of the exploration is outstanding, the dynasty will not be petty in terms of rewards.”

The few of them nodded. If the exploration was smooth and the results were beyond expected, it would all become their contributions. The dynasty would take a large portion of the resources, so they would be given rewards based on the results of the pioneering. This was the key factor of their competition.

The one whose exploration went the smoothest and obtained the most profit would be merited the most.

Tarrokov paused and asked, “For the Star Clusters you’ve decided to explore, what direction are you guys planning to enter from?”

The Star Cluster could be divided into dozens of Star Systems. They were all exploring into the center from the edges of it.

The border line was extremely long, so the direction they were going to enter from was very important. If they started exploring from poor locations, they would make a huge loss since they would waste a lot of time not discovering many resources.

The only information they had to decide on this was the semi-complete star map drawn through astronomical observations. The most they could do was just avoid the obvious desolate universe belts, but the resources on the planets were still unknown.

Although Tarrokov had only just asked, the few of them had discussed and analyzed this privately long ago.

Heber and Klent were on the same side. They planned to split into twenty-three teams and enter one Star System of their choice from twenty-three different locations. The teams would not be far from each other and would advance together in a fan shape, gradually gathering at a certain point to build a large transit stronghold. They would then continue to split and explore, making sure the exploration range of every team would not be repeated as much as possible.

Han Xiao listened as the Klent commander described their plan and nodded in his mind.

Heber had made a good choice. The first area they were going to explain was called the Jeraton Star System, a rather rich Star System of the Renault Star Cluster in his previous life. It did indeed have rich resources.

If the Flickering World’s star map was 2D and linked with the known universe, the Dawn Star Cluster would be at the most west side of the Flickering World. As for the three Star Clusters right beside it, Garu was at its North, Renault was at its East, and Crown was at its South. The Jeraton Star System, which Heber and Klent were going to explore first, was the border Star System on the southwest side of Renault.

Tarrokov nodded, turned to look at Han Xiao, and asked, “What about you?”

Han Xiao pointed at the border Star System at the southernmost point of the Garu Star Cluster. He drew a route upward that penetrated more than ten Star Systems, connecting the southernmost part of the Garu Star Cluster to its easternmost part.

“What do you mean by this?” Tarrokov was surprised.

“Well…” Han Xiao smiled mysteriously. “I will have my main force explore from the border Star System at the southernmost side and send out a team carrying stargate devices. This team will only build stargates along the way and not make any other stops. I’m going to build a stargate route and connect these ten Star Systems together first.”

“You want to build the important long traffic route first?” Tarrokov raised his brows.

“Not only that, whenever this team connects to the next Star System, I will split up more men to explore other Star Systems.” Han Xiao shrugged.

Tarrokov frowned slightly. Heber and the Klent commander exchanged looks, too. They were a little speechless.

In their eyes, the problem with Black Star’s exploration plan was too obvious—insufficient manpower.

With only so many people, even exploring one Star System would take a lot of time, yet Black Star wanted to explore more than ten Star Systems at the same time. How would he have enough manpower? They all thought that his appetite was too large, and it had exceeded his capabilities.

Building an important long traffic route first was a good thing to the dynasty, so Tarrokov had no problem with that. However, this did not match the profit perspective of a dynasty ally, so Han Xiao’s decision surprised him.

This was not a horse race. There was no point in connecting all these Star Systems if he would not be able to finish exploring all of them. Since the exploration efficiency was limited, wasting manpower to build long-term stargate channels would only make traveling to other Star Systems much easier for the forces that would come later. This looked like it had many more cons than pros.

Klent and the Bloodshed Land wanted to finish exploring one Star System before going to the next. In comparison, they were exploring in areas while Han Xiao was exploring in lines.

To balance the profit between its allies, the dynasty’s plan was also to gradually move forward and slowly explore, not preparing to install complete stargate traffic networks in the unexplored areas immediately. The astronomical observations had already given them a semi-complete star map, so what they lacked was the completion of detailed information and field inspection. Therefore, the goal of the first stage of the exploration was just the three areas beside the Dawn Star Cluster.

During the slow process of exploration, the exploration team would always be building stargates. Therefore, the long-distance stargate channels would eventually appear, and there was no need to build it specifically.

This meant that the Black Star Army was wasting its own resources and time while reducing its results. This made Tarrokov, Heber, the Klent commander very confused.

“Do you want to reconsider?” Tarrokov asked out of good intentions.

Han Xiao waved and chuckled. “No need, I like to rely on my luck. Maybe I can discover some rich resource planets in advance.”

Seeing that Black Star remained stubborn, the Klent commander ridiculed him in his mind.

With such a poor exploration plan that clearly lacked consideration, their pioneering would definitely not go smoothly. This meant that they would most likely beat the Black Star Army this time.

“Okay then.” Tarrokov did not insist.

No matter what method its allies used to explore, the dynasty would not make any losses. After all, the entire Star Field belonged to them. The only one that would make losses was the Black Star Army itself, and since Black Star did not care, he did not care either.

Han Xiao had a smile on his face, and the others could not figure out what he was thinking.

This exploration plan that looked to be very desperate for merit suited his goals the most.

The reason that the fewest organizations decided to explore the Garu Star Cluster, as mentioned by Zoel, was that in the few Star Systems at the south of the Garu Star Cluster, there were obvious desolate universe belts. If he imitated Heber and the others and only explored one border Star System, he would definitely not produce many results.

He used this exploration plan to first develop those known rich planets in his memories.

On this traffic route stretching from the south of Garu to the east, there were a few Star Systems that were extremely prosperous areas with many renowned rich planets in the previous life, which only he knew about now.

Also, as he stretched the exploration line, the surveillance of the dynasty would likely be less intense, which would give him room to operate.

Han Xiao was not going to give up on such a good opportunity.

Another goal he had was to distract the others away from his true goal.

Han Xiao hoped to go to the south of the Garu Star Cluster as soon as possible without seeming too obvious.

This was because the ownerless Universal Treasure in his memories was located in the other Star Cluster connected to the south of the Garu Star Cluster!

He would only be able to obtain that Universal Treasure as soon as possible if he built this stargate route!

Tarrokov turned off the star map and said with a deep voice, “It’s all decided then. You guys, wait here for two days. I’ll dispatch teams to fuse into your teams as well as pass the stargate, buoys, and the other exploration devices to you. We shall depart officially in two days.”

“Okay,” the Klent commander replied.

Han Xiao and Heber nodded and did not speak.

They stood up and left the conference room.

Walking out of the door, Han Xiao and Heber glanced at each other at the same time, as if their clashing sights created flames in midair. They then turned around and left with their officers in opposite directions.

…

“Hey, what do you think Black Star is thinking?”

Heber and Klent’s men were walking together. On the way, a Vanguard Official could not help but ask the chief staff sergeant, Jorde, beside him.

“What are you trying to say?” Jorde glanced at him.

“Don’t you know what kind of person Black Star is? He’s never one to be willing to make losses. He clearly knows that there’s no benefit in building the long-distance stargate route in advance, so he definitely has other motives.”

Jorde’s eyes flickered. “Indeed, Black Star’s decision is strange…”

“Chief staff sergeant, what do you think his motive is?”

The people around all eavesdropped at the conversation.

“I’m not Black Star,” Jorde said with resignation. “The only reason I can think of is that Black Star is not willing to explore the poor border Star Systems of the Garu Star Cluster. But still, there’s no need for him to waste time and cross more than ten Star Systems. I can’t think of any other reasons… Maybe his appetite is too large, or maybe he really wants to rely on his luck.”

“Maybe he wants to first take over the planets that will be traffic stations in the future.”

“No way, the dynasty won’t allow it.”

As the Flickering World was an undeveloped Star Field, everyone subconsciously had one assumption—no one knew the detailed information of the Flickering World. Therefore, there was no way anyone could guess Han Xiao’s motives.

The Klent commander quickly walked to Heber’s side and said softly, “Your Excellency Tyrant, what do you say we…”

“Finish your sentence if you have something to say. Don’t make me guess.” Heber looked straight forward.

“… what do you say we send people to secretly head to the Garu Star Cluster and monitor Black Star’s movements?”

“What’s the point of that?” Heber glanced at him. “Do you dare disrupt the exploration right under the dynasty’s nose?”

The Klent commander was stunned for a moment. He pondered carefully and came to a realization.

Exploring the Flickering World was the dynasty’s key strategic goal, so even if they did know what the Black Star Army was planning to do, they could not do anything about it. If they disrupted the exploration progress for their own interest, the dynasty would definitely not show mercy and make them an example, to show the other allied organizations who would participate in the exploration in the future what the consequences of daring to disrupt the dynasty’s plans were.

Having realized that, the Klent commander backed off and did not mention this matter anymore.

It seemed like the only way to be above the Black Star Army was to compete fairly through their pioneering results.

Luckily, not only did Black Star choose the Garu, but he also chose to use a horrible plan. The Bloodshed Land and their victory were certain.

Chapter 820: 820 The Star of the Main Storyline and Stowaways

820 The Star of the Main Storyline and Stowaways

The fleet stayed on Planet Lighthouse for two days receiving all kinds of exploration devices from Tarrokov. Huge alloy containers were loaded into the transport ships of the Black Star Army and neatly arranged.

These were all exploration supplies provided by the dynasty. There were stargate devices, Foolproof Planet Base Expansion Packs, universe surveillance buoys, and so on. These were all military devices that were unavailable to the general public and only occasionally appeared on the black markets.

Han Xiao told Phillip to do a count. They had received about five hundred sets of stargate devices, six thousand Foolproof Planet Base Expansion Packs, and fifteen billion universe surveillance buoys. These were not given but lent to him as mission items.

Also, Tarrokov had dispatched a dynasty fleet that temporarily joined the Black Star Army’s teams to assist him in exploring the Garu Star Cluster. The commander of this fleet was a major under Tarrokov. His name was Senico.

Tarrokov would be stationed on Planet Lighthouse as the chief commander, and the dynasty fleets he sent out all had their own commanders. Senico was Tarrokov’s direct subordinate, as well as one of the dynasty officers stationed in the Flickering World according to Han Xiao’s memories. Han Xiao had a faint image of him.

As they would be working alongside each other during the exploration, Han Xiao met and spoke with Senico. They came to a simple consensus; Senico expressed that he would not interfere with Black Star’s exploration plan and would only be assisting them mainly.

After preparing for two days, the chief commander finally announced the start of the operation. The fleets of various forces went in their separate ways to the Star Clusters of their choices.

The Renault Star Cluster would be explored by the Bloodshed Land and Klent, Garu by the Black Star Army, and the Crown Star Cluster by the dynasty’s remaining fleet. Comparatively, the Crown Star Cluster had the most people, and the Garu Star Cluster had the fewest.

The Black Star Army and Senico’s fleet headed to the most South Star System of the Garu Star Cluster.

Before departing, Han Xiao had already announced the army’s exploration plan to all the members, including the millions of players.

He had put up all kinds of tasks on the faction mission list, such as exploring planets and deploying buoys, which were also classified into different areas. There were plenty of missions, but each one of them had a maximum participant limit.

The many kinds of exploration missions sparked discussion on the forums. Different exploration missions gave different Exploration Points, and the Exploration Points relied on the actual results of those missions. The players would only know how many Exploration Points they would get when they completed them, so the players could only speculate and analyze for the moment, but they were still enjoying it.

On the forums, the players generally agreed that exploring planets theoretically would lead to the most results. As discovering resources and lives, digging up the planet’s history, mining the resources, and the other activities that would possibly happen during exploring planets all gave Exploration Points as a reward. At the same time, the process of it was filled with the joy of discovering the unknown.

In comparison, those missions to deploy buoys, build stargates, and construct strongholds were considered hard labor tasks. They were the least popular missions among the players.

Han Xiao knew that once the players were more familiar with the process of the exploration, the guilds would start fighting each other as the large guilds would want to make planets with rich resources their guild resource point. Although they would only be able to obtain a small portion of the total resources mined, that would still be considered a large reward to the players.

In his previous life, there were two reasons for the players of different nations to fight each other—faction wars and planets with rich resources. Now, however, all the millions of the players were in his faction, so there would be no faction conflicts. The only reason they would fight each other now would be for the ownership of resource points.

Although things had yet to reach the stage of intense guild wars, he knew that there would definitely be competition since there were club guilds from different nations in the army.

One reason he encouraged socializing between players was to reduce the impact of the guild conflicts on normal players as much as possible. The conflict between players was unavoidable, but he wanted to prevent the players from having direct hostility toward each other.

As long as the players in his army were not divided to such an extent, the competition between guilds would not affect his profit. After all, the players would still have to repair their equipment in the army after they damaged it during battle.

…

After some days, the various fleets arrived at their respective locations and officially started their exploration tasks.

The Black Star Army’s exploration team came to the southernmost Star System of Garu and built the first transit station according to the plan, connecting with the Dawn Star Cluster.

The engineering team used a Foolproof Planet Base Expansion Pack on a desolate planet at the border of the Star System. The transport ship opened its cabin, and hundreds of thousands of gigantic mechanical bases that looked like needles flew out—they were all base nodes.

The base nodes formed a large net and shrouded the entire planet.

Then, the thrusters of these nodes shot out orange flames and penetrated the planet’s atmosphere. Like hundreds of thousands of missiles, these nodes landed and plugged deep into the planet surface, stirring up endless dust.

The next moment, all the base nodes were activated. A red light appeared on the top of these nodes as they started to modify the planet’s environment and terrain. Every node was vibrating and emitting impact waves one after another, triggering earthquakes and tearing the ground open.

Gray and silver metal extended from these nodes and spread over the ground, turning the planet surface into a metal surface. According to the preset program, bases, fortresses, and warehouses would rise from the ground.

After dozens of hours, the initial modification was complete. The once desolate planet now looked completely different; it became a planet fortress in gray and silver. This was the first stronghold in the Garu Star Cluster.

The dynasty’s engineering ships were not just watching. They dragged along gigantic parts of the stargate and were assembling it beside this stronghold.

An unactivated stargate looked like a gigantic hollow mechanical ring. After it was activated, the inner circle of this mechanical ring emitted blue light and space energy, connecting to one of the stargates near Planet Lighthouse.

Then, the hollow part of the mechanical ring turned into a wormhole-like blue vortex, becoming a fully functional stargate.

Other than the team left behind to build the stronghold, the rest split up. Some went to deploy buoys nearby, and some went to explore the unknown planets nearby.

A Star System had about ten Star Zones. The main team of the Black Star Army was now exploring the first Star Zone.

According to the plan, Han Xiao sent out a special task force led by Hadavy to move alone with a hundred and fifty stargate devices. Its goal was to cross the many Star Systems and head to the east of the Garu Star Cluster, building a long distance stargate route on the way.

The spaceships given to this special task force were all high-grade transport ships that had a maximum speed of 14.1 warp speed. It would take about four months for them to reach the destination through nonstop hyperdrive.

After the special task force completed building the long distance stargate route, the four-month trip would be reduced to a mere few hours.

As countless army members were doing their part, Han Xiao led a group of army warriors and players to a planet at the center of this Star Zone on the main ship.

In his memories, this planet was a trade transfer station and one of the entrances into the Garu Star Cluster in his previous life. It was rather valuable. Furthermore, it did not have a harsh environment and was quite habitable. It also had a native civilization.

Currently, this planet did not have a name yet and only had a serial number. He wanted to head there in advance and start its exploration.

…

Outside the border of the Shattered Star Ring was the edge of the known universe, the desolate universe belt between the Shattered Star Ring and the Flickering World.

Fleets left from the border one after another from different locations, turning into hyperdrive streams of light and entering the desolate universe belt, heading in the Flickering World’s direction.

News of the Crimson Dynasty exploring the Flickering World had spread across the entire galaxy. Although the dynasty clearly stated that the other civilizations were not allowed to enter, the mere words on paper were not enough to scare those powerful forces away. They all wanted to enter the Flickering World in advance to grab the opportunities there.

These fleets were from different civilizations and organizations; they all hid their identities.

As they were unable to use the dynasty’s stargate, they could only sneak into the Flickering World, taking along stargate devices and planning to secretly build stargate routes without getting discovered by the dynasty.

Even though these fleets were all extremely quick. it would still take a very long time for them to cross the desolate universe belt and arrive at the Flickering World.

Among these smugglers, some were doing it for profits, and some had ulterior motives.

One of them was the group of people the Arcane Church secretly sent.

Chapter 821: 821 Aesop’s Fully Automated Enemy Radar

821 Aesop“s Fully Automated Enemy Radar

The blue colored planet, Planet Aquamarine, slowly rotated with spaceships constantly flying out from within the planet, leaving behind light trails as they departed.

The sun shone down on the tall buildings of the capital, and the windows reflected the blue sky and white clouds. Trains roared along the tracks, and anti-gravity suspension vehicles weaved within the city. There was a sense of liveliness within the city, a beautiful and prosperous sight.

At the terminal of Black Star City, Bennett stood there with a group of people in wait.

He stood by the window, observing the scenery of the vibrant capital outside. A sense of relief was seen on Bennett’s face.

With Han Xiao helping Planet Aquamarine break into the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference, many of the financial groups and organizations began to pay more attention to the development prospects of Planet Aquamarine. This brought about a new round of development opportunities, with the frequent trade circulation resulting in the increasing prosperity of the planet.

As for the citizens, after experiencing so many hardships, they finally began to smile at the thought of better days. The more the people enjoyed the happiness and fortune brought to Planet Aquamarine, the more they worshipped their guardian Black Star, who had brought all this to them.

A spaceship flew into the dock, and its hatch opened. Nero walked out, accompanied by a few soldiers, and the moment he saw Bennett, his expression softened. He ran as fast as his short legs could to Bennett.

“Dad!”

Bennett turned around, looking down toward him with a hint of suspicion on his face. “Why did you come back so soon? What did Black Star bring you into the universe for?”

Nero scratched his head, his tone downcast. “We only studied Mechanic theories most of the time. Godfather only took me out to play a few days before throwing me aside…”

Han Xiao had taken the majority of troops over to the Flickering World, and it was unknown when he could return, so he naturally left Nero behind, instructing Sylvia to send some people to accompany him back to Planet Aquamarine.

As he spoke, Nero seemed frustrated.

“Mr. Reynold said that this time was a vacation for me, and he even gave me homework to do during this time. He said that I can only come back for two months. Following that, he’ll send someone over to pick me up so that I can continue studying under him.”

Having received Han Xiao’s command, Reynold taught Nero whenever Han Xiao was not around. He seriously performed this duty, and he had already planned out the curriculum of the year in advance.

“It’s a rare chance that Black Star is willing to groom and nurture you. Don’t let him down.” Bennett laughed and squatted so that his eyes were level with Nero’s. Looking at his child kindly, he said, “Tell me what you experienced in the universe outside.”

Twisting his fingers, Nero recounted his experiences. He sounded excited because while the homework he got from Han Xiao was boring, it was still his first time outside exploring the universe. He had seen many strange and interesting things, and he was still quite satisfied overall with the trip.

Bennett listened and nodded, sighing secretly to himself.

He could feel that Han Xiao had taken an interest in Nero. It was not just because this kid was his child, but rather, he seemed to have a talent that Han Xiao appreciated, so Bennett was quite proud of this.

His child could actually display such talents. It seemed that he had some superior genes. Bennett began to seriously consider if he should go for a second child.

He was not willing to see this in a utilitarian manner, but if he put the future of Planet Aquamarine into consideration, if he had a few more talented children, with all of them studying under Han Xiao, Planet Aquamarine would have even stronger ties with Black Star himself.

While he might be old, his body that was forged with Pugilist skills was still lively, full of ‘ammunition’.

Among the list of most charming men, the Planet Aquamarine leader Bennett ranked second overall, which showed the love and support he received from the people. The hearts of the citizens were one thing; in addition, his status, age, and fit body formed the vibe of a stable and mature man, which was attractive to the women.

As for the number one on the list… it was without doubt Han Xiao. This position was something that no one could move or shake no matter what. With so many achievements, it did not matter what angle they looked at him from—they still found him handsome.

Before long, Nero spoke till his throat was parched, and he finally heaved a sigh. He was still excited over the happenings in the universe.

Bennett stopped him, rubbing his hair as he stood up. “Ok, that’s enough. When we have more time, I’ll talk in detail with you. You should return home to rest. I’m still waiting for someone here.”

A look of surprise crossed Nero’s face. “Aren’t you here to pick me up?”

Bennett shook his head in response, looking at the universe far above from the window.

“I’m waiting for someone even more important.”

…

At the same time, in the extreme end of Planet Aquamarine’s area of influence, a deep blue spaceship was shuttling through the universe in hyperdrive, quickly approaching Planet Aquamarine.

“So, this is Planet Aquamarine, Black Star’s mother planet…”

Within the cabin, a lifeform with deep blue skin stared at the screen, his tone pleasant. He was the captain of this spaceship, and he possessed four arms and three eyes, similar to the rest of the crew.

This entire spaceship consisted of members from the Star Pupil Holy Race.

The captain turned around to survey the crew before coldly remarking, “Black Star had stolen our national treasure, and this is a humiliation to our entire race. Our leaders are weak, not daring to do this nor that. But we, the Avitan Souls, dare!”

The captain’s voice was sonorous, and all the crew showed excited expressions, holding their weapons tightly.

“Because of the Evolution Cube, our Planet Avitan suffered an attack, and countless compatriots died. Our loved ones and friends are still trapped within this disaster. So many of them died, just so the Evolution Cube would not fall into the hands of others! Thus, this war crime is not just pinned on EsGod but also on Black Star!”

The captain pointed toward the direction of Planet Aquamarine before growling. “Only by spilling the fresh blood for revenge can we allow Black Star to regret his shameless behavior, allowing him to understand the humiliation he has submitted the Star Pupil Holy Race to. The despair he has left for us, we’ll take it from him!”

Many of the crew members roared with hatred.

Initially, in order to lure the tiger away from the mountains, they literally washed the entire Planet Avitan in blood. This disaster was the most painful memory of the Star Pupil Holy Race, and a few of the survivors had lost their minds because of hatred and turned into extremists. Thus, an extremist group was born, and they called themselves ‘Avitan Souls’. These extremists were basically almost made up of the survivors of the Avitan, especially those who had closed ones and friends who died within the disaster.

Because they had lost their national treasure, the Evolution Cube, Psyker’s prestige among the Star Pupil Holy Race had plummeted. The extremists who bore huge pain blamed Psyker for his incompetence and deeply hated the culprit, EsGod. Because the root of the disaster was due to the Evolution Cube, many of their comrades had sacrificed their lives. Thus, the Avitan Souls had developed a morbid obsession with the Evolution Cube, turning their hate toward Black Star, who had taken it.

The Evolution Cube was the treasure of their country in the eyes of the Star Pupil Holy Race. This impression had persisted for a long time, and now that the Evolution Cube had switched owners, the Star Pupil Holy Race treated Han Xiao with enmity. As for the Avitan Souls, they were even more extreme. Since Psyker was unable to retrieve the Evolution Cube, as though he was afraid of the dynasty retaliating, the Avitan Souls lost all faith in Psyker and decided to take matters into their own hands.

Upon hearing that Han Xiao would be taking his officers out for a trip for a long time, the Avitan Souls felt that their opportunity had arrived. Thus, they took the chance to plan an attack on Black Star’s mother planet, to execute their revenge, allowing Black Star to only be able to watch as his homeland was being destroyed.

Since Planet Aquamarine was part of the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference, even Psyker could not move rashly against them. Of course, these sorts of rules that bound the upper echelons were not considered at all by the extremists since they were outliers. They disregarded rules, as well as consequences, and only inflicted destruction as everything of theirs had been destroyed.

While Psyker was regarded as the best leader of the Star Pupil Holy Race thus far, he was not a god and could not control the thoughts of every one of his clansmen. Every race would always have a few people who were more inclined toward extreme measures, drowned by hatred. This was something that even the advanced civilization of the Star Pupil Holy Race could not avoid.

The captain turned to his first mate. “How are the weapons?”

The first mate nodded. “The five high-class psionic energy bombs are enough to annihilate the entire planet. They’re ready to be deployed at any time.”

“Very good. It is said that this sort of ammunition can destroy a continent with just one bomb. Three is enough to destroy the planet’s surface, and our objective is to ensure all five land on Planet Aquamarine, allowing this planet to accompany us in our demise. Let them feel our pain!” The captain’s tone was sinister; they did not plan to leave alive.

While those high-class Psionic Energy bombs could not compare to the Primordial Psionic Energy Bombs, they were still restricted weapons prohibited by the three major Universe Civilizations because they left terrible psionic pollution. Only Star Cluster Civilizations would possess such a thing generally.

The Avitan Souls were an organization that had only recently been established and did not possess any technological or scientific strength. The bomb was actually quietly funded by someone belonging to a civilization within the area where the Star Pupil Holy Race was located.

This civilization had always been wary of the rising Star Pupil Holy Race, and because they had the backing of the Arcane Church, no one could act against them. However, the Avitan Souls were an opportunity for them to frame the Star Pupil Holy Race. Thus, they used this borrowed knife to try and cause trouble in the Star Pupil Holy Race.

Just as the captain was about to strike, a blip appeared on their radar, and the artificial intelligence of the ship sent out a notification.

“Warning! A large, unidentified object is approaching!”

Everyone turned their heads toward the porthole to look, seeing a huge floating island swimming in the universe toward them.

“Floating Dragon Island?” The captain recognized this homeless floating island and was confused over why it had appeared there, as though it was proceeding toward Planet Aquamarine.

Floating Dragon Island slowly moved toward the deep blue spaceship. Comparing the two was just like comparing an elephant to a sesame seed.

“Let’s move away. Don’t obstruct Floating Dragon.”

The captain quickly gave the command. Floating Dragon was a neutral force and would not actively attack any passing spaceship. He planned to pause his operation for the time being, waiting for Floating Dragon to leave before continuing.

The spaceship was positioned below the entire island, and from the window, they could only see the rocks that made up the foundation of the island but not its entirety.

The pilot raised the spaceship and flew above the foundations of the island, level with the city line.

Everyone within the cabin got a rude shock at this time. They found out that in the most conspicuous position of the island, Ames stood there in a black dress, staring straight at them!

“She’s looking at us?”

Just as this thought passed by their minds, an unparalleled force field descended on them.

Hong!

Blood flowers blossomed!

The bodies of all the Star Pupil Holy Race members were squashed and turned into piles of meat. They died without warning on the spot.

On the harbor of Floating Dragon Island, Ames casually waved her hand, dispelling the field before speaking to Vilna by her side. “Search the spaceship. See if there are any dangerous weapons within.”

“Yes.” Vilna immediately deployed her people.

Ames then turned to look at Aesop by her side, her brows slightly furrowed.

“Are you sure that the people within this spaceship planned to harm Planet Aquamarine? I didn’t kill wrongly, right?”

Aesop only stroked his beard as he laughed. “When you spoke about moving Floating Dragon over, I did a divination a few days ago. These people are the natives of Psyker’s race, and it seems that because of the issue with the Evolution Cube, they wish to eradicate Planet Aquamarine as revenge against Black Star. They did not succeed in the end as they were destroyed by the anti-space defense of Black Star, but since we’re here, let’s just do him a favor.”

Ames shook her head helplessly. “I didn’t expect to have become a guard for his house.”

Aesop stared at her in surprise. “Didn’t you move Floating Dragon here to help him defend Planet Aquamarine?”

“Oh, this is to obtain the greatest benefits for Floating Dragon. Furthermore, I’m strengthening our alliance. How is this of his concern? Even if it’s for someone else, it would have to be for my two students.” Ames turned around to leave, her dress spiraling like a blooming black flower.

Aesop sent Ames off with his eyes before turning to Jenny.

“We’re almost here. Notify them.”

Jenny nodded without any change in her expression.

…

Bennett continued standing by the dock, his head raised as he observed the endless universe.

A huge shadow suddenly blotted out the sun. It spread quickly, covering the entire dock in an instant.

One only saw a humongous floating island appear in their vision, leisurely cruising toward Planet Aquamarine.

Bennett smiled.

“The VIP is finally here.”

Chapter 822: 822 Handle

822 Handle

Floating Dragon floated beside Planet Aquamarine like a gigantic satellite, and the citizens on the ground could see a gigantic floating island in the sky if they looked up. Numerous individuals could not help but stop what they were doing and look up at the sky with shock on their faces.

“What’s that? Why does it seem so familiar?”

“Mummy! I have seen it in the encyclopedia before. That’s the legendary Floating Dragon Island. It drifts around in space! The palace of Dragon Emperor!” A young excited voice exclaimed while pointing at the sky.

“Oh! So, it’s Ames.”

After Planet Aquamarine broke free from Godora’s information lockdown, the knowledge of the citizens rose rapidly in the ten subsequent years. They all had basic understanding toward the famous characters in the Shattered Star Ring and were extremely familiar with Ames because of Han Xiao.

The citizens all knew that she was once Black Star’s superior and knew that they could only connect to the galaxy because of Floating Dragon’s protection. Thus, Ames and Floating Dragon had a special position in the hearts of the citizens.

Upon witnessing Floating Dragon Island approach Planet Aquamarine, many of the citizens could not help be both surprised and curious. They immediately called their friends to inform them of the news, and a huge commotion was created.

The various financial groups stationed on Planet Aquamarine had also noticed Floating Dragon’s presence and were extremely surprised. They approached the Planet Aquamarine government to find out what was going on.

At the same time, Ames and the others arrived at the dock in a small spaceship to meet Bennett.

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, Planet Aquamarine welcomes your arrival.” Bennett bowed and spoke with reverence in his voice.

He was extremely familiar with Han Xiao, and they had known each other for over twenty years. Thus, he could naturally behave more casually around Han Xiao. However, he was not familiar with Ames, and even though Bennett knew that Han Xiao had a good relationship with Ames, he would not dare overstep his bounds.

Ames waved her arm to indicate that Bennett did not need to be so polite. She then said with a smile, “Black Star should have informed you of my request, and you should have contacted Jenny as well.”

Bennett nodded. He had received news from Han Xiao a while ago and knew that Floating Dragon was about to be stationed near Planet Aquamarine. He had been truly shocked when he heard the news and was overjoyed shortly after. He knew that this was a rare opportunity and hurriedly mobilized manpower to work together with Floating Dragon.

He kept the matter a secret according to Ames’ wishes and only planned to announce the matter to the public after Floating Dragon’s arrival. The abruptness of the news would be beneficial to breaking everyone’s impression of Floating Dragon and also establishing a new image.

As such, Bennett did not announce the matter to the citizens of Planet Aquamarine beforehand.

“I will hold a press conference in the name of Planet Aquamarine and announce that Floating Dragon will be setting up their base here.”

“How long do you need to get it done?”

“I only need a couple of hours. Some of the galactic media groups have their reporters stationed here, and it won’t take too long for me to invite them. What do you think?”

Ames then nodded to indicate her approval. Floating Dragon would remain there for a long period of time, and the reason for her arrival today was to attend the press conference.

“Right, I met with some extremists from the Star Pupil Holy Race just now. They were roaming around the vicinity of Planet Aquamarine and had dangerous explosives loaded up on their spaceship. It seems as though they intended to ambush Planet Aquamarine, so I killed them out of convenience. A recording is present on their spaceship, and I shall hand them over to you.”

Bennett was taken aback.

The Star Pupil Holy Race… This should be because of Black Star right? They have transferred their hatred for Black Star to Planet Aquamarine.

“I will inform His Excellency Black Star,” Bennett said with a grave tone. This matter involved the race of another Beyond Grade A Super, so it was not appropriate for the leader of a civilization that had not even reached the Star System level to handle it. Thus, he was prepared to ask for Han Xiao’s opinion.

Although this matter was stopped in time, it could be said that the innocent Planet Aquamarine had been implicated because of Black Star. Planet Aquamarine had once suffered from a similar catastrophe before when Stephanie, who was under Thousand Shadows, had tried to cause chaos on the planet to deal with Black Star.

However, Bennett did not have any complaints. He was extremely clear that since they wanted to enjoy the benefits that Black Star brought to them, they would also be targeted by Black Star’s enemies. There was no such thing as a free lunch.

The battle between those high up above was like a raging storm, and the current Planet Aquamarine was just like a little boat in the ocean. They would be easily capsized if they were not careful, with all of them ending up dead. However, it would be extremely cowardly for them to throw away the opportunity for their civilization to rise and cut off all ties with their own protector. Perhaps the leaders of the Six Nations would have considered such a choice, but Bennett definitely would not waver.

With Floating Dragon’s arrival and a Beyond Grade A Super being stationed there, the safety of Planet Aquamarine would be increased by a few different levels, and no one would treat Planet Aquamarine as Black Star’s weakness anymore.

Bennett naturally did not know Ames’ intentions for coming to Planet Aquamarine. Thus, he felt that Han Xiao was definitely behind this matter. If not, Ames would not have shown Planet Aquamarine such a great deal of face. As such, he could not help but admire Han Xiao for his foresight.

…

Three hours later, many different galactic reporters were gathered in a hall, awaiting the start of the press conference.

“The Planet Aquamarine government called for a press conference shortly after Floating Dragon’s appearance. Their agenda today is probably related to Floating Dragon.”

“It is probably going to be big news.”

“It can’t be right? Floating Dragon is always drifting around in space and will never stay in a single place for long. It shouldn’t be anything special for them to arrive at Planet Aquamarine, right?”

The reporters then saw a couple of workers carry some equipment in and set up a live broadcast station in the room.

Everyone could not help but be startled when they saw that.

They wanted to have a live broadcast to the entire planet. Only a large matter would require a live broadcast.

Just when everyone was guessing what the announcement would be about, the doors to the hall opened wide. Upon turning around to take a look, everyone’s expression froze in place with a look of shock on their faces.

The individual walking in was not the usual media department of the Planet Aquamarine government but the leader of the government making a personal appearance. Beside him was a famous character whose name shook the entire Star Field—Dragon Emperor Ames.

All the reporters were truly shocked. Why would Ames appear in the Planet Aquamarine government’s press conference‽

They then watched as Bennett and Ames walked onto the stage.

“There is something that I must announce to the entire Star Field.” Bennett cleared his throat and said with a solemn tone, “From today on, Floating Dragon will remain outside of Planet Aquamarine’s atmosphere for the long run, and I represent the Planet Aquamarine government in welcoming our new neighbor.”

Before everyone could even react, Ames said, “Floating Dragon has been drifting for too long, and I have decided to stop it from drifting. From today on, this place shall be Floating Dragon’s main camp.”

Pin drop silence filled the place, and everyone was truly dumbfounded.

Boom!

The entire hall burst into an uproar!

All the reporters were trembling from excitement!

This was a huge scoop!

…

News of Floating Dragon setting up a base spread throughout the entire Shattered Star Ring like wildfire, and all the organizations were in shock.

For the Floating Dragon to stop drifting, it could only mean that Ames was going to set up a proper organization. However, this was not the piece of news that puzzled people the most. The most shocking piece of news was the fact that the address for her new base was on Black Star’s mother planet!

All the large organizations knew that the most eye-catching base of the Black Star Army was their headquarters, which was usually located at Planet Golden Gate. After Han Xiao obtained a seat in the Civilization Conference through the name of Planet Aquamarine, many individuals all felt that Planet Aquamarine would become Black Star’s second base.

Just what was Floating Dragon thinking, setting up their main camp in Black Star’s main camp?

Did this mean that both Beyond Grade A organizations were going to have an even closer relationship?

No, there was definitely something more to this!

Back when Heber challenged Black Star, Black Star had joined hands with the Dragon Emperor. Furthermore, the alliance between the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon was something that everyone in the Shattered Star Ring was aware about. But even if both parties were allies, their scope of operations were still clearly defined and did not clash with each other. Black Star Army had many branches while Floating Dragon drifted around without a fixed location.

But now, Floating Dragon had chosen to stay on Planet Aquamarine. They were not setting up a casual branch but their main base!

For an organization at the level of the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon, they would not set up their main base at the same location if there was not a special reason. They would only set up a branch in the territory of their ally at the very most. However, Dragon Emperor had shifted her base over to Black Star’s mother planet, and her intention obviously was not to fight over territory with Black Star.

This signified their absolute trust in each other!

They both believed that the other party would not betray them. If not, they would never expose their backs to each other. Such a level of trust was extremely rare among galactic organizations.

The relationship that both parties had displayed had already exceeded the realm of ordinary allies. They were close to the point that all the organizations could not help but think of another possibility. Could it be that there was a chance for both organizations to merge?

No Beyond Grade A Super would be willing to be a subordinate to another Beyond Grade A Super usually. Apart from submitting and working together, there was another relationship that was extremely common among normal beings but extremely rare among Beyond Grade A Supers…

The various organizations were not just letting their imaginations run wild but were making deductions based on the history between Black Star and the Dragon Emperor. Furthermore, Black Star had even taken Ames along with him to the Dynasty Ruler a while back!

This was a dangerous signal.

If both parties really merged together, an organization with unprecedented power would be born in the Shattered Star Ring, and the balance of the Shattered Star Ring would change greatly.

Back then, many organizations wished to drive a wedge between the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon, but they had failed. Now, many organizations still were not willing to see Floating Dragon and the Black Star Army become even closer.

Since this matter involved their interests, many organizations could not help but be alarmed.

…

On the contrary, many financial groups were extremely excited by this piece of news.

The development potential of Planet Aquamarine was pretty good before this, and with the addition of Floating Dragon’s presence, Planet Aquamarine’s potential had exploded.

All the financial groups that had cooperated with Planet Aquamarine early on injected another round of funds, and many other financial groups began to approach Planet Aquamarine to seek cooperation.

The citizens of Planet Aquamarine naturally would not reject it and were all filled with surprise.

…

In the Flickering World, rays of hyperdrive light sliced through the universe and stopped outside the atmosphere of a purple planet. This was the fleet that Han Xiao was in.

The majority of their manpower had already been sent out to explore other undiscovered planets, resulting in the small size of the fleet.

This purple planet was one of the transit stations in Han Xiao’s memories and was the target that he was prepared to explore. It was called Planet Pangurus in his previous life.

Because the unexplored regions did not have a stargate, the fleet took quite some time to arrive.

“We have arrived at our destination. Army Commander, please give us your next orders.”

Aurora stood up straight and pretended to mimic the voice of a soldier making a report, but before she could finish her sentence, she could not hold back her laughter.

“The engineering team should set up a stargate here, and the detection fleet should revolve around the planet to create a map. Make use of the detection devices to sense the presence of life and the resources on the planet. We will allow our exploratory squad to set off after the map is completed…”

Before Han Xiao could finish what he had to say, Phillip’s voice sounded in his head and interrupted him.

“Master, there is an emergency message from Planet Aquamarine, hum…”

The message then appeared in his quantum network. It was news that was sent by Bennett. Bennett had reported about successfully receiving Floating Dragon and also mentioned about the Avitan Souls incident together with a recording of what happened in the spaceship, asking him how the matter should be handled.

Han Xiao immediately frowned.

“Psyker didn’t provoke me, but there are people within his race who want to deal with me. Avitan Souls? There seems to be a small organization by that name. Don’t they hate EsGod? Why have I been dragged into this? They even want to commit suicide and destroy an entire planet? Is there really a need for such hatred? They are truly a ferocious bunch. Also, where did their psionic explosives come from?”

Han Xiao was a little helpless. This was one of the side effects of him obtaining the Evolution Cube. He was not too bothered by such an extremist organization. Everyone’s mental capacity was limited, and both war and calamities were the best way to cause the formation of an extremist group. Logic was not the only way for a living being to judge the things around them, and their emotions were usually more powerful than logic.

However, the vengeful actions of these extremists did Psyker a favor.

Han Xiao shook his head. He was not planning to pretend that nothing had happened.

Since Planet Aquamarine had a seat in the Civilization Conference, it was akin to them gaining the privileges of a Star System Civilization, and they would also be protected by the Peace Treaty. This was a good opportunity for him to exploit.

He then gave a reply to Bennett.

“Preserve the evidence and contact Purple Crystal on my behalf. Bring this matter to the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference and expose it to all the civilizations. I will take care of the rest.”

Although this matter would not do anything to Psyker, it would still disgust him for sure.

A small extremist group of his race personally delivering an excuse and the evidence to his hands. In the end, the entire Star Pupil Holy Race would have to take the blame for the matter. Who knew how Psyker would feel about this matter?

Chapter 823: Natives

After giving instructions to Bennett, Han Xiao left the quantum network and returned to reality to monitor the work on Planet Pangurus.

The engineering fleet began constructing stargates outside the atmosphere, and the small detection squad revolved around the planet to scan the planet’s situation.

Very quickly, a holographic figure of Planet Pangurus was created with the details being perfected rapidly. Han Xiao and the other officers watched as the holographic planet became more and more detailed.

Not too long later, the detection fleet returned; they had completed their first round of exploration.

Detailed figures of the planet were shown on the maps including the gravity pull, atmosphere breakdowns, climate, size, and ocean ratio.

Apart from this, the 3D map was also demarcated into various regions by color to indicate the different resources located on the planet and the locations where lifeforms had gathered.

Aurora read the report.

“This planet is extremely rich in common resources, and apart from that, there are plenty of rare resources underground such as Dark Gold Mines, Purple Silver Mines, Origin Crystal Mines, and a dozen of different rare materials. These are the important materials for magical Star Systems, and its market price is 60 Enas for 10,000 tons. This planet has billions of tons in the mines…

“At the extreme north of the planet, we also detected about 800,000 tons of the rare mountain essence. Every ton is priced around 6,000 Enas. We also discovered some ingots that had spiritual energy stored within them. There isn’t much, and they should be worth about 1,200,000,000 Enas…”

Han Xiao listened for a moment before nodding. “Give me an estimate of the planet’s value.”

“According to our initial scans, the value of this planet should be about 18,000,000,000 Enas. If we can find more valuable resources when digging deeper, its value will go up.”

“It’s pretty valuable.” Han Xiao smiled.

This planet could be considered rather resource rich when compared to other mining planets.

However, despite the initial valuation of the planet being high, it would take more than a hundred years to fully reap all the benefits.

In the universe, resource rich planets would be tightly grasped in the hands of the various civilizations, and they would not sell them off like uninhabited planets.

The civilization would slowly excavate the resources of the planet and ensure that the excavation could be sustained for a long period.

Even an advanced civilization would not destroy the golden goose if they did not meet an emergency.

Resource rich planets were an important source of revenue for civilizations.

A civilian miner could only mine on the edges of a desolate planet to feed their family. Civilizations did not think much of a desolate planet and would usually sell these planets to civilian organizations. The Black Star Army obtaining the rights to mine on a resource rich planet was already the limits of a private organization.

Exploring the Flickering World was definitely a good opportunity for development. After the allies of the dynasty discovered a resource rich planet, although they needed to inform the dynasty and let the dynasty take the majority of the share, they would be able to gain the rights to mine for a short while and share a portion of the benefits.

Since the Black Star Army had discovered Planet Pangurus, they would have the rights to leave their forces behind to mine on the planet.

The sheer size of a Star Field represented countless planets and a huge benefit. To the organizations that did not belong to any civilizations, this was akin to obtaining the rights to mine on many resource rich planets.

Furthermore, they would be able to obtain a bonus reward from the dynasty if they reported a certain number of resource rich planets.

However, the advantage of Planet Pangurus did not lie only in its resources. It would become one of the doors to enter the Garu Star Cluster and thus became a trading station in the future. With this point alone, Planet Pangurus was not merely an ordinary resource rich planet but had huge potential.

Seeing Han Xiao remain silent, Aurora continued. “We detected a large number of living beings on the planet, with the majority of them being wild beasts. We aren’t clear how many different species there are, but only one of the species had traces of intelligence and the signs of a civilization.”

As Aurora explained, a projection appeared in front of everyone. It was the projection of the living being that Aurora was describing.

This living being was three to four meters tall and looked like a human. It looked like the elf clan in the universe, but there were many subtle differences between the two. It was clad in beast skin for clothes like a caveman.

“According to our observations, this sentient being is a native of the planet and they have reached the level of a tribal civilization,” Aurora said. “Their tribes are scattered all around the planet, and they rely on hunting to survive. Our detection fleet has not made contact with them yet.”

Han Xiao nodded.

He had long known that Planet Pangurus had a native civilization that called themselves ‘Children of the Forest’. In truth, such a title was extremely common in the galaxy, and there were at least a few thousand various native civilizations who call themselves ‘Children of the Forest’. Some other complementary names included Children of the Magma, Children of the Mountain, and Children of the Ocean.

In his previous life, the others were used to using the name of the planet as a prefix of the civilizations name. This race was called Pangurus Giant Elves.

“Send out our scouts to make contact with them,” Han Xiao said.

When pioneering in a new Star Field, there was a sensitive topic that was publicly acknowledged in the universe—how should they manage their relationship with the natives? There were far too many negative examples in history. Since the advanced civilizations wanted to mine for resources, it was extremely common for them to be treated as invaders and face the retaliation of the natives.

Maintaining biodiversity had always been the rule of the advanced civilizations, and a Universal Civilization like the Crimson Dynasty would not begin a needless massacre just to mine for resources. Thus, Tarrokov had explicitly stated that their priority should be to communicate with the natives, and they should not use violence senselessly.

Under such circumstances, it would be far easier to handle the weaker natives, and the discovery of natives could also earn them reward.

…

On Planet Pangurus, the Green Stream was a dense jungle with large trees that were over fifty meters tall. The leaves of the trees formed an ocean, and it swayed in the wind. The sunlight that managed to shine through the thick sea of leaves became spots of light that swayed together with the leaves.

A clear stream went through the jungle and cut the jungle in two. More than a hundred six- to seven-meter-tall beast skin tents were set up on both sides of the stream. Outside the tents, bunches of golden-red dried fruits were hanging as though they were decorations.

This was one of the tribes of the Pangurus Giant Elf race. There were some climbing up trees to pick fruits, others waving their sticks to chase their reared animals, and some who were holding onto spears and shields in preparation of a hunt.

At the entrance of the tribe, the chief said to the hunters who were about to leave, “Hunters, our tribe doesn’t have enough food. You guys must hunt for a little more food this time.”

“Haha, just wait for our bountiful return,” the captain of the hunter squad said with a loud laugh.

The chief then let out a sigh. “We were attacked by the other tribes half a year ago, and our youths have been severely wounded. We can only rely on you old hunters to hunt for some food. However, all of you are growing older by the day, and I really don’t know what we should do in the future.”

The hunting captain then patted the shoulders of a youth beside him. “Don’t worry, we are training a new batch of youths. Duki is the fastest learner, and he is already able to go hunting together with us. He may be the one to succeed us in the future.”

Duki puffed up his chest and had a look of pride on his face.

“What a good lad.”

“We shall rely on you in the future.”

All the villagers by the side praised him with a respectful tone.

Upon hearing the praise of the villagers, Duki had a face full of confidence.

All of a sudden, his gaze looked through the crowd and arrived at a small campfire. A youth was sitting beside the campfire and looking at him with a face full of envy. It was his good friend, Roseau.

Duki raised his arms and flexed his muscles to Roseau, who was sitting afar, and both of them broke out into laughter.

“Let’s go,” the hunter captain said before setting off with the other hunters.

Upon seeing that, Duki waved to Roseau and hurriedly followed behind the hunters. The groups of hunters then entered the forest and disappeared before the sights of the crowd.

Roseau looked at his good friend leaving and suddenly let out a sigh.

“Hunter… sigh.”

The hunters had the responsibility to hunt and fight, and they were the most highly respected within the tribe. Almost every youth aimed to become a hunter, but Roseau was an exception.

He did not have any interest in hunting and fighting, and he did not have any talent in that regard.

Roseau preferred to do other things that seemed meaningless to others, such as writing or thinking. However, this made plenty of people in the tribe dissatisfied with him and felt as though he was a sloth who did not want to do anything but get protected by others.

However, he also wanted to receive the respect of others like his good friend. Thus, he worked harder to pick fruits, sew clothes, and anything else within his abilities. However, these jobs were usually done by the old, young, and weak, and it was not enough to change the others’ impression of him.

Although Roseau cared about how others looked at him, he did not wish to go against his own heart and do something that he was not good at just to change the impression that others had of him. He wished to use another method to contribute to the tribe. However, it seemed as though every youth in the tribe should only have become a hunter as their sole goal.

Right at this moment, a huge gust of wind suddenly blew over.

Whoosh!

Ripples could be seen on the clear stream, and a huge cloud of sand was blown up by the winds.

“What is going on‽” Roseau raised his head and looked up with his eyes wide open in shock.

He had never seen something like this before!

A black, squarish box floated down from the skies and hovered right above their tents, covering their entire tribe with a huge shadow.

The Pangurus Giant Elves in the tribe were all shocked.

“Our god of the forest! What is this thing‽”

“Is it a monster that can fly‽”

“Run!”

Upon witnessing a scene that none of them could understand, many of them became anxious.

All of a sudden, a small hole could be seen on the belly of this black ‘beast’, and a bunch of strange looking beings covered in metal descended from the sky.

The ten or so warriors who had remained in the tribe charged forward, and their wooden spears struck these beings who descended from the skies.

Kacha kacha!

Their wooden spears snapped upon coming into contact with the surface of the armor.

Taking off their helmets, half of them were the warriors of the army while the other half were players with their IDs above their heads. The majority of the players present were the core members of clubs, such as Hao Tian and Frenzied Sword.

These players had accepted the mission to meet the natives without killing them.

Frenzied Sword pressed onto the galactic translator and tried to speak with sincerity.

“u0026$#@!u0026$@…”

Just what are you saying‽ The Pangurus Giant Elves were completely puzzled.

It could not be helped. This was the first time that the Pangurus Giant Elf race had come into contact with the galaxy, and their language was not in the database yet.

“Monsters! Monsters!” Many ladies let out a shriek, and they began picking up stones to hurl at the ‘monsters’.

The stones landed on the armor of the warriors and were naturally useless.

All the players looked at each other with helpless looks on their faces. How were they supposed to console the agitated natives if they could not even communicate?

On the other side, the NPC captain raised his rifle up and fired at the forest by the side.

Xiu!

A blue laser shot out and penetrated a few dozen trees, leaving behind a hole.

Following which, a loud explosion could be heard from the forest, and a huge crater was blown up.

This scene frightened all the natives, and a look of disbelief and fear could be seen on their faces after witnessing the carnage of the attack. They all stopped attacking and began trembling with fear.

“Hu…” The captain then looked toward the players. “Brother, did you see that? The best way to deal with natives that you can’t communicate with is to scare them.”

Just when the atmosphere was tense and the Pangurus Giant Elf race was in fear, Roseau tried his best to maintain his cool and analyze the intentions of the strange creatures before them.

These living beings don’t seem to be hostile.

Although I can’t understand what they’re saying, they seem to be talking just now? Could it be that they have intelligence as well?

This shouldn’t be wrong. They also want to communicate with us!

Roseau hesitated for a moment before taking in a deep breath and walking forward.

His actions immediately attracted the attention of both parties, and everyone’s attention was focused on him.

After swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Roseau looked at his tribe mates and said, “Everyone don’t be afraid. They do not wish to kill us. Please do not provoke them.”

He then walked forward to Frenzied Sword and looked down at this ‘dwarf’ who was only up until his waist. Suppressing his fear, he half knelt so both of their heights were the same before pointing at his mouth and ears, hoping that the other party would understand what he was trying to say.

Frenzied Sword understood what the other party meant and threw a galactic translator over, gesturing to show the other party how to put it on.

Roseau understood what the other party meant and hurriedly put on the translator. The translator immediately read his mind and understood his thoughts.

“Can you understand me now?”

Roseau’s eyes lit up and he nodded.

The captain then chuckled. “He knows how to communicate with us. This fellow is pretty smart. He shall be the representative of this tribe.”

Chapter 824: Homeland

The sudden descent of the battleship from the sky and the loud explosion that came from the tribe resulted in all the hunters who left not too long ago rushing back. Their eyes were glued on the mountain like flying beasts before them.

All the hunters hurriedly returned to the tribe, and although the members of the tribe were still trembling in fear, there were no casualties. Only then did the anxious hearts of the hunters ease up as they asked around to find out what had happened.

Duki looked around, and his heart immediately sank. He could not find the figure of his good friend Roseau among the crowd. He anxiously went around to ask the different members of his tribe.

“Those individuals said a few words to Roseau before taking him away. Before leaving, he asked us not to be afraid and said that they did not come with ill intentions…”

“In which direction did they go?” Duki was enraged. He could not be bothered with what Roseau had said and only knew that his good friend had been taken away by a bunch of aliens. He could not sit around and do nothing.

The villager pointed in a direction. The members of the army did not return to the spaceship but walked into the forest instead.

Duki raised his weapon and charged in that direction without saying another word. The hunters beside him shouted for him to stop, but he ignored them completely and only thought about saving his friend from the hands of those beasts.

Upon witnessing such a scene, the hunting captain immediately followed behind Duki, afraid that Duki would meet with some danger.

The gigantic elves weaved through the jungle nimbly, and Duki could recognize the footprints on the ground. After running for a while, he finally caught up to the members of the army.

All the players were currently swinging their weapons to clear out a piece of land. They were preparing to form a mini stronghold.

According to their mission requirements and the orders of the army, they were to come meet the natives and set up a stronghold near the tribe for future communication.

“Hmm? A life form is approaching.” Frenzied Sword waved his blade to slice down a tree, and his radar detected the presence of Duki.

Duki was currently squatting in the bushes, completely unaware that his whereabouts had already been exposed. He looked around and observed the ‘beasts’ who were clad in metal. He immediately spotted Roseau, who was currently surrounded, and his face broke out with a smile.

“Ha!” The next moment, Duki pounced into the air and landed not too far away from Roseau.

He then charged forward and aimed his spear at the lower body of the metal beast to launch a one hit ko attack.

Pa!

His wooden spear snapped into two instantly.

The member of the army gently sent out a kick, afraid that he may kill the native and fail the mission.

However, in Duki’s eyes, this kick was fast to the point he could not react. He raised his shield to block the kick, and an irresistible force smashed down on his shield.

Boom!

The wooden shield exploded and was shattered into wooden splinters.

Duki’s body was sent flying a few meters away, and a sharp pain could be felt in his arms. His chest had a dull aching pain, and he could not help but vomit out a stomach full of gastric juices. He lay flat on the ground and could not get up, staring at the attacker with a look of fear and disbelief.

“Don’t kill him! He’s my friend!” Roseau cried out and looked toward Duki. “What are you here for‽”

“Cough cough… I am here to save you,” Duki said with a weak voice. He was only an ordinary being but had been kicked by a Grade C warrior. The only reason he was alive was because the other party had only used one percent of his strength.

“Sigh… I don’t need you to save me. They didn’t come with ill intentions and are my friends. Hurry up and leave.”

Roseau then helplessly pleaded toward the warriors of the army. In that short period of time, he had already found out about the general situation. Although there were many words that he did not understand, it did not stop him from understanding that the other party did not have any ill intentions.

Upon hearing Roseau persuade him to return, Duki, who was on the ground, raised his head and saw Roseau talking to the unknown beings in some strange language. Roseau was not in any danger at all and did not need any saving.

Roseau received a reply and said with joy, “I have pleaded on your behalf, and they have agreed to let you go. Hurry up and return to the tribe. I am doing fine, and you just need to wait for news from me. Please do not make any rash moves again.”

“Let me go…” Duki repeated those words again, and he looked at Roseau with a complicated expression. It was as though he had a new understanding of this good friend of his who had never been welcomed since a young age.

A sense of defeat rose in his heart, and Duki clenched his fists tightly.

At this moment, the hunting captain finally arrived, and he looked at the members of the army warily. Upon seeing Duki lying on the ground, he was extremely surprised. Roseau then hurriedly called out to him and explained the situation. The hunting captain then supported Duki, who had temporarily lost the ability to move, and left.

Roseau looked at their departures and heaved a sigh of relief.

…

Many different troops landed from the sky and came into contact with the tribes scattered all around the planet. The gigantic battleship that descended from the sky was like the descent of a celestial being to the Pangurus Giant Elves.

The silence in their lives had been disturbed, and all the natives looked at the descending aliens with fear and wariness.

The members of the army set up a stronghold beside the tribes and chose one or a few representatives from each tribe. These representatives were taught how to use the translating device so that the army could communicate with them.

At the same time, Han Xiao did not let the others remain idle and sent out the mining squad to the various resource rich locations. They began to construct a new base and started their mining operations.

Large patches of forests were uprooted and replaced with cold metal.

With a large amount of manpower under his charge, Han Xiao did not need to take action personally. He only needed to command the operation from the flagship and was extremely idle.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you discovered a resource rich planet that has rare materials?”

Senico from the dynasty was overjoyed when he received the piece of news.

At this moment, the majority of the forces were still exploring the first Star Zone, and the majority of the resource rich planets that they had found only contained ordinary resources. There were extremely few planets that had a value of over six billion Enas.

Planet Pangurus was the most valuable planet that they had discovered in the first Star Zone to date.

“Yes, I have already updated the information of the planet in the database. There are natives living on the planet, and my men are keeping in contact with them,” Han Xiao said.

Senico thought for a moment before saying, “I see. The mining operation for the planet shall be handed over to you then. I will send a team over to help you.”

According to the rules, Han Xiao would be able to temporarily enjoy mining rights to a planet that the Black Star Army discovered.

But if the planet was discovered by the dynasty’s forces, the allies of the dynasty would have limited rights over the planet. Thus, the only way to maximize their benefits would be to mine a planet that they discovered. Senico’s troops were both his comrades and competition.

After chatting for a while, Han Xiao hung up and opened the interface. A few notifications popped up from the Flickering World Main Storyline Mission. His discovery of a resource rich planet and native civilization awarded him with quite a few Exploration Points.

The players who followed him to Planet Pangurus were the ones who got the greatest rewards among the players.

On the forums, the players who explored the different planets began to show off their own Exploration Points. However, they were extremely envious of the Exploration Points that the players on Planet Pangurus got.

“We can earn the most from following our Army Commander.”

“Sigh… what a pity. Most of the slots to follow Black Star have been given to the large guilds. I didn’t manage to snatch the remaining slots because I was too ugly.”

Although the players went to explore the various planets, they could still communicate with each other through the forums and share information with each other.

Of the players that Han Xiao had taken along with him, a large number of them were players from the various clubs, and many professional players were included.

Closing the interface, Han Xiao looked at the dots of light on the map that indicated the presence of his troops and asked, “How is their contact with the natives going? Did anyone fight back?”

Aurora shook her head and said, “There are more than ten thousand tribes on the planet, and the population of the Pangurus Giant Elf race is about ten million. Our warriors used scare tactics to instill fear in them, and thus, we don’t have any injuries temporarily. Er… there seem to be some accidental deaths, but the numbers wouldn’t exceed a hundred.”

Han Xiao replied with a nod. The natives of this planet were still at the elementary stage, and their population was small. Under a hundred deaths on their first contact was still within an acceptable range.

“Let the ground troops console those tribes and slowly educate them. This is only the first day, and it will be a long process. Tell our men not to be eager for success. Even if the natives fight back, they won’t cause much harm to us. Try not to deal with them using violence.”

Even if no one fought back currently, it did not mean that no one would in the future. The natives had not understood just what they were facing. One day, some of them would fight back because of their love for the land.

Thankfully, the natives were far too weak, and their retaliation would be meaningless. This was also their saving grace.

Han Xiao knew that there were a few native civilizations who could barely reach the level of a Star System in the Renault Star Cluster, and it was far more difficult to deal with them. If the Bloodshed Land met those civilizations, they would have to suffer for a period.

It would take far too long to educate a bunch of natives. This was a job that would take a few decades or even centuries. Han Xiao naturally would not remain on a single planet for such a long time. He was only setting the foundation and would hand over the job of educating the natives to the dynasty when they arrived. He only needed to leave behind some forces for his mining operation, and he could go and explore another planet.

…

The representatives of the tribes returned to their tribes with the goodwill of the Black Star Army and conveyed the message that the Black Star Army had no intention of harming them. At the same time, they brought back with them the seeds of a few different crops suitable for the climate of the planet.

With the assurance of the representatives, the Pangurus Giant Elf race was no longer that fearful toward their guests from the sky. After overcoming their fear, they could not help but be curious toward these guests.

Every stronghold beside the tribe had the function of being a school. The school was opened to the natives, and because the translator had gathered enough information about the natives’ language, it was possible for them to communicate normally. There were a few bolder natives who had even attempted to study in the strongholds.

The stronghold taught them various different life skills, including farming and craftsmanship. They also gave out seeds and food for free, and some of the natives returned to set up their own plantation after learning from the stronghold.

Through this process, the various tribes understood the identities of these guests who had descended from the sky. They found out about the existence of the Black Star Army and the Crimson Dynasty.

The members of the army passed on some basic knowledge to the natives and the history of the army. The natives were not able to believe that there were such powerful organizations living in the sky, capable of easily traversing through the universe.

Everything had exceeded their knowledge, and the existence of the Black Star Army was like a miracle in their eyes.

In the Clear Stream Tribe, Roseau’s life was getting better.

After becoming the representative of the tribe to communicate with the guests from the sky, Roseau continued to learn new knowledge and brought all his knowledge back to the tribe. He was extremely talented in this regard, and the tribe began to learn new things from the Black Star Army, changing their lifestyle.

Roseau suddenly realized that the members of his tribe who had disdained him were finally treating him with respect. In his tribe, his status had exceeded the chief’s, and he became the most respected person within the tribe.

The culture of these natives had not been completely formed and did not have any concept of abandoning their own traditions. They were all immediately entranced by the new inflow of knowledge.

The most respected people in the past were the hunters who brought food back to feed the tribe. Now, the most respected ones were those who brought back knowledge from the stronghold. The seeds and food that they brought back allowed the tribe to feed themselves much more easily. The craftsmanship that they had obtained allowed clothes to be more comfortable and the tents to be warmer. Some of them even brought back a free weapon to the tribe called a crossbow. With this weapon, hunting became even easier.

The hunters were the warriors of the tribe, and they had the responsibility of protecting the tribe. However, these hunters were completely helpless before the members of the army, and the tribe gradually lost their reliance on the hunters. Although the hunters still received some form of respect, they were gradually being pushed to the periphery.

Duki looked at Roseau, who was being surrounded by the tribe, and had a complicated feeling in his heart.

This had once been his honor, and although he treated Roseau as his good friend, a sense of superiority had budded in his heart. He had felt that he was protecting Roseau at that time. But now, their statuses had been swapped. Roseau, who had not been popular in the tribe, was now a respected individual, and the young hunter who had been the hope of the tribe was now ignored.

Duki felt more and more depressed.

After talking to the members of his tribe, Roseau saw Duki and said with concern, “How are your injuries?”

Upon hearing Roseau’s words of concern, Duki found it to be extremely piercing for some reason.

“… I am fine,” he replied coldly and walked away.

Upon seeing Duki’s cold response, Roseau was completely puzzled. Duki had been extremely cheerful in the past and became depressed after being beaten up previously. Roseau could not understand why Duki seemed to be avoiding him.

…

On the other side, Duki walked out of the tribe and sprinted at top speed in the forest to vent his frustrations.

Feeling the wind blowing on his face, his mood immediately became better.

After running for a long while, Duki wanted to go to his own secret base. He had once happened upon a clear lake in the forest, and he liked going there to take a bath occasionally.

However, the scene stunned him upon his arrival.

The lake had disappeared, and in its place was a deep crater. A few metallic towers were beside the crater, and the members of the army were using some strange apparatus to dig up the soil.

“What are you guys doing‽”

Duki flew into a rage. He disliked these guests from the sky and was about to charge forward with his weapon in his hands. All of a sudden, a member of the army blocked him.

“The mining site is up ahead, and it isn’t open to outsiders. Please leave immediately.”

“Where is the lake over here? Where is the lake‽ What did you guys do‽” Duki roared angrily and wanted to barge his way into the mine.

Bang!

Duki was pushed down by a powerful force and clutched his stomach in pain.

“I am sorry. Please do not obstruct our mining operations. If you have any requests, you can go to the stronghold near your tribe. This place is not open to outsiders.”

“What right do you have to stop me? This is obviously a place that I discovered…”

Duki clenched his fists, and his face turned red from anger. At this moment, he saw the guests from the sky digging out a large pile of shiny crystal from the original position of the lake.

Upon witnessing that, he understood that this was their true intention.

Raising his head, he looked around at the trees that were chopped down and replaced with metal. Thinking back to his experiences over the past few days, he could not help but feel a sense of desolation but did not understand where it came from.

However, Duki slowly had a feeling in his heart.

All of those things should have belonged to them…

For the first time, he felt that this forest, land, and planet was their home.

…

In the flagship, Aurora hesitated for a moment before saying, “Uncle, is it alright for us to do this?”

Han Xiao raised his brows and asked, “What do you want to say?”

Hila, who was by the side, also looked over.

“We are actually invading the homes of the natives…” Aurora said softly.

“I know what you mean.” Han Xiao waved his hands. “However, we are educating the natives and bringing knowledge to them. This is different from just invading their homes.”

“However…” Aurora plucked up her courage. “This planet is their home, and the natives do not have the ability to protect themselves. They can only watch as their homes are being invaded by us and all their resources taken away. Aren’t we being too much of a bully?”

“They should be glad that they do not have the ability to fight back. If not, the fatalities would only increase.”

“But…”

“Sigh, you don’t need to continue.” Han Xiao interrupted Aurora and said helplessly, “Do you think that they have a choice?”

Aurora blinked and said, “Actually, we can avoid the planets with natives and explore other uninhabited planets.”

Han Xiao shook his head and looked out of the window at the universe.

“You are far too idealistic. This planet… no, when this Star Field was discovered by the three great civilizations, the destiny of all the living beings changed. They no longer have the right to develop with freedom.

“We can avoid the planets where there are natives, but when the Crimson Dynasty opens up the Flickering World to the outside world, do you think that other wolf-like civilizations will let go of them? They are destined to lose many things and let outsiders share their homeland. This is already a very good ending. The weak will never be able to achieve perfection.”

Aurora fell silent, and her heart was in turmoil. Because of her life Esper Ability, she was extremely sensitive toward the lives of others.

She empathized with the natives. Even if the Pangurus Giant Elf race still did not understand the meaning behind what was going on, she could not help but dislike the world where the strong preyed on the weak.

Hila had a calm look on her face. She was different from her sister, and she had always believed that it was a crime to be weak.

Han Xiao paused for a while before continuing. “You don’t have to think too much about this. Digging up their resources isn’t a classy action, but you have to know that nobody has the obligation to aid another race in their development. The dynasty will only educate the natives because of the rich resources on the planet, and this is a kind of exchange, an exchange that the natives are unable to reject.”

In his previous life, after many years of development, Planet Pangurus had become a transit station, and the natives were split into two factions. One faction was educated by the dynasty and turned into galactic residents. They learned various technological skills and began building their own skill trees. Their civilization rapidly skipped past the primal stage. As a result, Planet Pangurus had their own cities, and the inhabitants of the planet could even travel to other planets.

The other faction rejected the education and chose to maintain their original lifestyle. They tried to put up a resistance, but it was completely useless. Thus, they decided not to come into contact with the outside world and lived deep in the mountains. They continued to live with beasts as their companions, and no one bothered them.

The Pangurus Giant Elf race was split in two because of this reason. However, there would always be some from the primal faction leaving the forests and joining the bustling cities.

“Compared to the exploration era, this is pretty good,” Feidin said from the side.

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao nodded in agreement.

The exploration of the Flickering World was similar to the exploration era. The only difference being that the three Universal Civilizations had enough strength in the universe to suppress anyone who was dissatisfied. Thus, they had the confidence to employ some warmer means.

In the exploration era, the first thought after discovering another civilization would be to exterminate the other party. War broke out all around; it was a dark time.

Chapter 825: 825 Unexpected Hidden Mission

825 Unexpected Hidden Mission

In front of absolute power, regardless of what the Pangurus Giant Elf race felt or wanted to do, they would not be able to stop the fleet from mining resources.

The efficiency of the galactic mining equipment was extremely high, and resources were rapidly unearthed from all around the planet, filling up the warehouses with batches of raw materials.

During the mining process, some of the exploratory troops discovered even more resources hidden underground, raising the value of the planet even further.

Han Xiao was extremely satisfied as he looked at the report in his hands.

Although the benefits of mining the various resource rich planets in the Shattered Star Ring were not small, he was still in the territory of others, and there was not enough freedom. However, he could do whatever he liked on a resource rich planet that he discovered in the Flickering World. As long as he did not engage in unsustainable mining practices, the dynasty would not interfere.

These materials could be sold back to the dynasty or brought back to the Shattered Star Ring to sell. Han Xiao temporarily stored all of them and got an experienced individual to oversee sales.

After the construction of the stargate, a small troop from the dynasty appeared. After greeting Han Xiao, they also joined in the mining operation and took over the job of educating the natives.

After a simple handing over, Han Xiao called back a portion of his forces.

They had completed the elementary phase of exploring Planet Pangurus, and the only thing left for him to do would be to begin mining. He decided to remain on the planet for another two days and allow the players to enjoy themselves for a bit before setting off to discover another planet.

All the players from the army had discovered their first planet and had a certain understanding of the Flickering World mission. Furthermore, all the players who discovered a resource rich planet could choose to stay behind and mine for resources.

The ordinary players would naturally reject such a proposal. Why would they give up the entire forest for a single tree? However, many of the first-rate guilds actually did the opposite. Because the majority of their core members followed Han Xiao’s main fleet, they could not bear to give up the precious resources on Planet Pangurus.

To the guilds, ten birds in the forest could not beat one in their hands. They needed a long-term supply of resources to provide benefits for the guild. As such, many of the guilds left behind a portion of their manpower to mine for resources.

Because the large mining equipment all belonged to the army, these guilds could only purchase a batch of Worker Bee Armor to issue to their members and allow them to mine freely. The resources that they obtained would be the long-term harvest of the guild.

The players had their own methods to harvest rewards, and Han Xiao would not stop them. After all, it was peanuts to him, and it would not be efficient for him to stop the players from freely doing as they wished. As long as he could satisfy the hunger of these guilds, their sense of belonging to the army would only be strengthened.

The various guilds that came from the Constellation Corridor had also managed to groom a batch of players and left some players behind to mine for resources. As the four large guilds saw that, they decided to work together with the other first-rate guilds and make trouble for these outsiders after the main fleet left. As long as the main fleet left, the outsiders would definitely be at their mercy.

In Version 4.0 of Han Xiao’s previous life, the various guilds were busy destroying each other’s mining locations when they were in the Flickering World. Now that players from the other countries were in the territory of the Chinese guilds, the Chinese guilds definitely would not let them develop in peace.

Because Han Xiao had allowed the players to cross Star Fields ahead of time, the competition between guilds appeared earlier.

…

A large storm was raging over some ocean on Planet Pangurus, and the waves were turbulent.

One of the mining bases was located on the ocean, and it remained steady despite the raging waves. A spherical shield covered the base from the waves, and droplets could be seen on the shield as the waves crashed into it.

At the edge of the base, many warriors could be seen diving down into the ocean with exploratory equipment on their backs. Underneath the base was a Fusion Crystal Vein, and these individuals were diving underwater to investigate the situation of the ocean.

Maple Moon had also accepted this mission. She put on her armor and very quickly dove down a few thousand meters.

Her field of vision was a deep dark blue, and the waters became black as she looked far ahead. The sense of the unknown filled her with fear, and she could only hear her radar beeping, her own breathing, and her heart beating.

This silent frightening atmosphere made Maple Moon shudder, and she wanted to curl up in a ball.

“I should probably return… I won’t do this mission at the very most.” Maple Moon was terrified in her heart. Although she had already reached Grade B, the attributes of her character would not help prevent her from feeling fear. She had a feeling that she had a slight phobia toward the deep ocean.

Just when she was prepared to swim upward, an alarm rang on her radar.

“Detecting a large living being! The target is currently approaching!”

The waters around her began to surge, and Maple Moon felt as though she could not control her body. She hurriedly activated her stabilizing device, and white light could be seen shooting out from her armor before her body was stabilized.

Before she could even observe her surroundings, her radar displayed a dot of light shooting toward her like a missile.

Maple Moon turned around in a fluster, and a gigantic beast suddenly appeared in her sights. It had countless claws, and its head seemed like a combination of a snake and a dragon. The mouth of the beast was wide open and approaching her rapidly.

Her sights then blacked out, and she was swallowed by the beast.

The beast slowed down after completing its hunt and was about to enjoy its meal. However, its body suddenly began contorting as though it was in immense pain.

The next moment, a brilliant blue light exploded forth from the body of the beast, and the beast exploded into pieces.

Boom!

Fresh, purple blood and meat fragments exploded in the ocean, and Maple Moon’s armor was covered in a sticky liquid. It was the mixture of the beast’s blood and digestive juices.

Upon witnessing this bloody scene, Maple Moon hurriedly turned off the mature content, and the scene became less gory.

She had previously been shocked by the sudden appearance of the beast and forgotten to fight back. She only managed to snap back to her senses after being swallowed by the beast and used her Grade B strength to easily eliminate it.

Maple Moon put her weapon away and was prepared to swim upward. All of a sudden, her radar detected an abnormal metal object that was inside the body of the beast.

“What did I discover?” Maple Moon’s eyes shone. As a player who enjoyed storylines, she was an extremely curious individual, and her instinct told her that she had found something important.

After hesitating for half a second, she stopped swimming upward and flipped through the corpse of the beast while bearing with her disgust.

Dang!

A one-meter metal object was sucked into her palms by the magnetic force given out by her palms.

It looked like some form of a detection device and was extremely tattered. It had signs of being corroded all around it, with many craters on the surface of the device as though it was bitten by living beings.

_____________________

You have discovered an unknown detection device

Unknown Detection Device: This seems to be the wreckage of some galactic detection device. It is badly damaged, but the technology of the device has far exceeded the range of the planet’s natives. It seems to be from another civilization and may have some hidden message within it. You can attempt to appraise it or give it to a special NPC in exchange for a reward. Or, you can attempt to repair it and activate the device. This will result in a special outcome. Please consider your choice carefully (Requires the ability of a Mechanic).

You have received 6 Exploration Points.

_____________________

“It really is a hidden mission!”

Maple Moon’s eyes lit up, and the fear that she had felt was thrown to the back of her mind. She then toyed around with the unknown detection device with curiosity. She loved digging up such unknown storylines the most.

Without any hesitation, she immediately took the item back to the base. Without removing her armor, she hurriedly appraised the detection device. Her Mechanic ability had reached the prerequisite requirements, and the outcome of her appraisal popped up on the interface.

_____________________

Appraisal complete!

You have obtained [Broken Coordinate Marker]. This item is used to mark a coordinate in space.

Current status: Severe damage, system malfunction and all functions disabled.

_____________________

“This is some high-level tech.” Maple Moon was surprised. This item had already reached the level of a Star System. Could this mean that Planet Pangurus had been discovered by some civilization before?

There was also the possibility that this marker had been destroyed in the universe and eventually drawn Planet Pangurus because of gravity. It then landed in the ocean and was swallowed by the oceanic beasts. If not, Planet Pangurus would have been visited by guests a long time ago.

Maple Moon fell into a dilemma. This marker was indeed valuable intelligence, and she would receive a reward if she handed it over to the army.

However, she could not reign in her curiosity, and she wanted to fix this marker to see what the ‘special effect’ was and what kind of people she would attract.

After hesitating for a moment, Maple Moon gritted her teeth, and her curiosity emerged victorious.

_____________________

You have used [Intermediate Repair] on the [Broken Coordinate Marker]!

Judging… Judgement success.

Your level, INT, Class knowledge, and skills have reached the prerequisite requirements

Repair progress 2%… 14%… 35%…

Repair complete. You have obtained [Barely Fixed Coordinate Marker]!

_____________________

Maple Moon was overjoyed and immediately activated the marker without any hesitation.

Di di…

The marker lit up and began sending out coordinates toward an unknown organization.

_____________________

You have triggered [Coordinate Marker of Unknown Origin]!

Mission Introduction: You have discovered a pretty high-tech coordinate marker on a native planet. You do not know who sent out this marker but chose to activate it. After the coordinates are sent out, it may attract an unknown organization.

Mission Requirements: Come into contact with the unknown organization.

Reward: 3,000,000 Experience, 70 Exploration Point, x1 [Bold Explorer] skill fragment (Requires 2 fragments to be combined)

[Bold Explorer]: Special skill. When exploring an unknown location and appraising an unknown object, you can use this skill to obtain some information. It can be used repeatedly on the same target. Cooldown: 7 days. Every time the skill is used, you will fall into a [Rash] state. -60% LUK, lasts for 14 days.

Remark: As long as you are bold, the universe is your home.

This mission is connected to the Flickering World Main Storyline Mission. You can report the situation to your faction and obtain the aid of an NPC faction (Strongly Recommended).

_____________________

“The reward is a skill fragment? Such a reward is pretty rare. I can seek help from the faction as well. Does this mean that the outcome of activating the marker is extremely severe?” Maple Moon was shocked.

Upon thinking about handing the marker over, the figure of her Army Commander floated up in her head.

…

“You discovered a coordinate marker of an advanced civilization on this planet?”

Looking at the coordinate marker in Maple Moon’s hands, Han Xiao could not help but be surprised.

He had thought that Maple Moon was there to learn skills from him, not expecting her to bring him a hidden tool.

Only the dynasty was exploring this region, and this marker could only belong to one of the unknown native civilizations in the Flickering World. According to the technological skills within the marker, the origin of the marker should be a Star System level civilization.

Furthermore, this marker made use of an ordinary thruster technology to travel. Even if it traveled for a few hundred years, its speed would still be limited. This meant that the civilization that sent out this marker should be within the Star System.

However, Han Xiao could not remember any Star System civilizations around the southern region of the Garu Star Cluster in his previous life. The exploratory data of the Crimson Dynasty did not indicate any Star System civilization in the region. He also had not heard of such an incident from the NPCs in his previous life.

Could it be that the civilization that sent out this marker had already been destroyed and only their remains were left? That was a possibility as well.

However, the hidden mission also popped up on Han Xiao’s interface when he received the marker, and the mission requirement suggests that the unknown civilization was still around.

In his previous life, the initial exploratory phase of the Flickering World was during the version update period, and the players only managed to piece together information of the initial exploratory phase by finding various records and stories. Could it be that this hidden storyline had not been found by the dynasty in his previous life?

Maple Moon did not know that Han Xiao could also accept the mission and was thinking about how she should explain to Han Xiao that this marker was still useful.

“Let me study this thing for a while,” Han Xiao said at this moment. “I may be able to find something.”

Upon hearing that, Maple Moon thought that she was handing over the mission object and did not object.

Upon witnessing Maple Moon leave, Han Xiao began to study the marker in his hands with his eyes glowing.

“I never expected to make such a discovery on Planet Pangurus. The ability of the players to find hidden missions is truly reliable.” Han Xiao chuckled to himself.

The reward of the hidden mission had truly tempted him. [Bold Explorer] was an appraisal skill and reached the level of appraising the unknown. There were very few players who had such a skill in his previous life. Although it was not useful to combat, it was very useful to dig out hidden storylines.

However, he did not know how to obtain any additional skill fragments.

Although the skill was extremely limited, it was still useful to him. Not to mention anything else, he still did not have any progress on the strange data that EsGod had left behind. Aesop was not able to predict anything either. If he could obtain this skill, he may be able to find some clues.

“It is a pity that it isn’t a complete skill but only a skill fragment,” Han Xiao said with pity.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao entered the quantum network and began studying the marker. Since the marker also made use of quantum network technology, Han Xiao could use his Virtual Mechanic skill to trace the origin of the item.

The mission required him to come into contact with the unknown organization, and it seemed as though he had to wait for their appearance. However, there was a hidden trick within it.

The Flickering World was not like the explored universe, and there were no laws in place. The native civilizations were still in an era of darkness and did not know of each other’s existence. Thus, the moment they discovered that the marker was activated, this would mean war for the civilization who sent it out.

Coming into contact with the marker was akin to being attacked by the other party.

As such, rather than waiting for the other party to find him, Han Xiao would prefer to take the initiative by sending his forces over. Since the mission only required him to come into contact with the other party, it would not matter who took the initiative.

After backtracking the roots of the marker through the quantum network for a while, Han Xiao opened his eyes abruptly. He then opened a star map and pointed at a location a couple of Star Zones away from Planet Pangurus.

“I found you.”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. He remembered that there was no native civilization at this location in his previous life.

After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao snapped his fingers and Psionic Prime appeared before him.

“Master.”

“I have a mission for you.” Han Xiao said slowly, “Bring a few Mechanical lives and a mechanical army to find the fellows who sent out this coordinate marker. Subdue them if they attack you.”

“Yes master.”

Psionic Prime nodded and immediately left the room to organize his troops.

Because it was a few Star Zones away and would be a waste of time for him to go, Han Xiao did not plan to make a personal trip.

His Mechanical lives could now hold their own, and he could transmit his Mechanical Force to the mechanical soldiers not beside him through the [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel]. Thus, his mechanical army had the ability to set off on a long-distance expedition, and he would still have the combat strength of a Beyond Grade A Super even if it was a few light years away.

This was one of the reasons Beyond Grade A Mechanics were feared in the galaxy! The range of their ability was the most frightening among all the Classes!

Chapter 826: 826 Great Cosmos Corps

826 Great Cosmos Corps

At the same time, the location data sent out by the marker had reached a certain desolate planet a few Star Zones away through its quantum link.

A mountainous disc-shaped battleship was parked in a crater. It was completely metal gray colored, and its diameter was more than thirty miles. The material used was an ordinary alloy considered to be the most basic spaceship battleship material in the known universe. This disc-shaped battleship had anti-gravity suspension and highly condensed nuclear thrusters. Its hyperdrive technology was very elementary. If there were galactic residents there, they would know that the technology level of this battleship was somewhere between the level of a Star System civilization and a planet surface civilization.

The only technology worth mentioning was that it had quantum communication technology.

There were a large number of frozen sleeping capsules at the bottom of the cabin where countless ship members were sleeping in. Only a very few were awake and maintaining the functions of the spaceship from the bridge.

Dozens of creatures wearing simple battle suits were busy in front of the control desks. These creatures were rather short, with gray skin and six arms.

This time, an alert suddenly popped up on one of the control desks.

“Beep! Marker 0278 is activated. Location data received.”

All the people in the room suddenly turned around and swarmed toward this control desk, speaking among themselves. Then, a tall creature that was clearly of a different species pushed the crowd aside and squeezed to the front of this control desk.

“Out of my way, let me take a look… Hehehe… Have we discovered another new planet?”

This tall creature was clearly their leader. He was close to three meters tall; the others around him were only as tall as his knees. He was wearing full metal armor that made clanking sounds as he walked. He looked absolutely barbaric, even more ferocious than the Beastmen, and did not match the aesthetic of most human shaped beings.

“Great Chieftain Kikiga, we lost contact with this marker a long time ago. Now that it is activated, it means that our marker has been discovered by an unknown intelligent species! They have repaired the marker!” One of the operators was rather nervous.

“Isn’t that even better? We can even make them slaves and give them to the Great Emperor. The Great Emperor loves new species!” Kikiga laughed out loud.

“Gre—Great Chieftain, it’s not that simple. The target this time is different from the races we have invaded in the past. The fact that they can repair the marker means that their technological level is close to ours. There are only a few in the entire universe who have this kind of technology! The target this time isn’t going to be easy to deal with! The reason they repaired the marker might be to look for us.”

“What, they dare look for us‽”

Kikiga’s expression became fearsome. He said furiously, “What an ignorant bunch. Have they not heard of us, the Great Cosmos Corps? They want to track us? They must have a death wish!”

If Han Xiao was there, he would not be a stranger to the name ‘Great Cosmos Corps’. This was a native organization of the Flickering World. It was once a wandering civilization that had lost its mother ship to a disaster. It was originally wandering in the center of the Garu Star Cluster looking for resources to sustain life.

When they started wandering, they searched for planets around them through markers and gradually discovered some undeveloped civilizations. Due to the complete lack of trust and means of communication, they eliminated all the civilizations they had met and robbed a ton of resources and technology. Gradually, they got used to this method of development and turned from a wandering civilization into a galactic pirate organization.

As most of the native civilizations in the Garu Star Cluster were very weak and had no contact with each other, this organization became unstoppable in the central area of the Star Cluster. Through robbing others, they had accumulated a ton of resources and manpower, and there were no longer any civilizations nearby that could match them. Hence, these people thought that they were the kings of this universe and called themselves the Great Cosmos Corps.

It was obvious how arrogant these people were just from this name they gave themselves.

Afterward, the Great Cosmos Corps started to explore toward further areas. Of course, with their technology, they had no way of figuring out the overall structure of the Star Cluster, so they were completely ignorant of what was in the unknown areas and could only slowly explore.

Although they had taken over many planets as their territory, they did not do a complete exploration of this Star System and lacked all kinds of fundamental facilities. They thought that they ruled over this area just because they had some of the planets under their control. Compared to the control the civilizations in the known universe had over their territory, these people were a complete mess.

This was a lawless Star Field that had yet to be explored, which was why special organizations like this had appeared. They had control over an area much larger than Star System civilizations, but they were weaker than the weakest Star System civilizations. Due to the lack of opponents, they felt very good about themselves.

Being ‘strong’ in their mind was only based on the standard of the natives.

In the previous life, the dynasty left very little information of this organization throughout the exploration of the Garu Star Cluster, and Han Xiao had quite a good laugh from reading it.

However, the ‘hidden mission’ status was quite misleading when Han Xiao discovered the marker. It made Han Xiao form a preconceived idea that this was from some mysterious civilization. Furthermore, in the dynasty’s records in the previous life, it did not mention the Great Cosmos Corps appearing in the south border Star System of the Garu Star Cluster.

The dynasty only had very brief records of the Great Cosmos Corps, as this native organization was way too weak and made the most common and frequent mistake which natives made—being arrogant. There was nothing about this that was worth recording in the eyes of the dynasty. In his previous life, the dynasty carried out their exploration during the version update, and the players did not experience it. By the time they officially entered the Flickering World, the Great Cosmos Corps was long gone, and Han Xiao had only found out about them through the very brief record the dynasty had on them. It did not feel important, so Han Xiao did not have a deep impression of them.

Therefore, he did not think about it for the time being and did not know that this organization was the mission target. Nonetheless, even if he did know, it would not make a difference.

“I—I think it would still be better to report this to the Great Emperor,” the operator said while shivering. “We might not be able to win with the forces here…”

“What did you say‽” Kikiga slammed the table with rage. He was testy and prone to anger.

“Don’t be angry, Great Chieftain. The Great Emperor has made you responsible for this area. If we make our own move on something this significant, the Great Emperor will not be happy about it!”

Realizing that the Great Emperor might be angered by this, Kikiga shivered, and his rage disappeared. He then said with hesitation, “Then… let’s report this to the Great Emperor.”

The others hastily contacted the Great Emperor and held their breath. Very soon, the projection of a person appeared on the screen.

The person on the screen was a humanoid in dark purple armor and a bright-red half-shoulder cape, only showing his head. He had messy black long hair and pale skin, and the metal mask on the bottom half of his face covered his appearance. His eyes were filled with coldness. Thick, muscular, and enormous tentacles extended from behind him, covered in some armor as well, like multiple mechanical tails surrounding this person.

He sat on a metal throne of a battleship. Behind him was a metal wall with the logo of the Great Cosmos Corps and the skulls of many different beasts. This person was the leader of the Great Cosmos Corps, Atimo, who also called himself the Great Emperor of the Universe.

Kikiga immediately stood straight as he saw this person.

Atimo raised his eyelids and said with a cold tone, “You’d better have a reason for disturbing me.”

Kikiga shivered. He had become one of the chieftains because of his exceptional combat capability. Despite being bad-tempered, he was afraid of Atimo from the bottom of his heart. Under the constant reminder of the operators, he finally completed reporting what had just happened and cautiously waited for a response.

“So, you were discovered by an unknown force with advanced technology?”

“Yes, what should we do?”

“Invade their planet, rob their technology, snatch their resources, and eliminate and enslave them,” Atimo said with the same cold tone. “Do I still need to teach you these things?”

“Un—Understood.” Kikiga hastily nodded.

After the communication ended, Kikiga breathed a sigh of relief. He then stared at the operators around him with rage and loudly yelled, “You heard it! The Great Emperor has told us to eliminate the enemies. Wake up all those who are asleep; we have a war to fight!”

…

Two days passed in a flash. Han Xiao’s main fleet officially departed and left Planet Pangurus, only leaving some behind to mine the resources.

The next planet that Han Xiao was planning to personally explore was an average resource planet in the first Star Zone of the border Star System.

The famous planets in his memories were spread out in many areas. Compared to the entire Star Cluster, the first Star Zone was tiny. Other than Planet Pangurus, he had a rough image of about ten or so planets in the Star Zone, all of which he had personally visited before. Some of them were resource planets that he had visited to rob resources from other guilds, while others were functional planets such as stargate stations and supply stations of sorts.

The Black Star Army exploration team and the Senico exploration team’s millions of spaceships split up. According to the current progress, it would take about seventeen to eighteen days to finish exploring all the planets in the first Star Zone. This meant that it would take about half a year to finish exploring this Star System, and most of that time would be spent on travelling.

After all, not every planet had natives, and it was easy to explore normal planets.

As for the Special Task Force, as they would be travelling nonstop in high-speed spaceships, they would be able to build a long distance stargate route in just four months. In this time, Han Xiao felt that he should be able to visit all the planets that he had a memory of in this Star System.

On the other side, a few battleships deviated from the others, carrying the mechanical troops that Han Xiao dispatched, and headed to the location of Kikiga and the others.

Inside the spaceship, rows of mechanical soldiers were on standby under Sparta’s control. They were completely still.

Inside the cabin, however, there was a group that was completely different from the lifeless mechanical soldiers—they were the mechanical lives that Han Xiao had created.

“Guys, this is the first time the master has sent us out to a battle. We must not disappoint our master.”

In the wide room, dozens of mechanical lives were either seated or standing, looking at Psionic Prime, who was speaking with a formal tone.

As soon as his sentence ended, a silver mechanical life who was leaning back on the sofa spoke with a simulated impatient tone.

“Humph, we’re all first-generation children of the master. You were just born the earliest, yet you think of yourself as our leader?”

There were thousands of first-generation mechanical lives that Han Xiao created personally. Psionic Prime was their leader, but some mechanical lives were not satisfied with that.

Mechanical Lives had emotion modules. Due to different original models, they would shapeshift into a body shape of their own preference through nanotechnology.

“According to the bloodline relationship of flesh beings, I’m your older brother, Silver Flash,” Psionic Prime said.

The mechanical life who spoke was called Silver Flash. He had always been envious of how Psionic Prime would always be on Han Xiao’s side. Psionic Prime was just a Hovering Fissionist; the master’s favorite should be him—a thick, long, and manly Planetary Obliteration Cannon!

“Fight! Fight! The winner gets to be the older brother!” A black-red mechanical life who was clearly shorter than everyone else jumped left and right and cheered. Its original model was a dark energy hovering artillery. Its name was Scarlet Flame.

“Stop messing around.” Psionic Prime waved.

“No!” Silver Flash suddenly pounced at Psionic Prime, shattering the sofa below him.

Psionic Prime instantly split up from his human shape into multiple hovering guards, causing Silver Flash to go right through him and miss.

Pa!

With one hand pressed on the ground, Silver Flash’s body spun as he launched a kick toward Psionic Prime. He was a Planetary Obliteration Cannon, so he did not dare fire inside the ship and could only use close-range combat techniques.

Two hovering guards suddenly assembled and turned into a palm, grabbing Silver Flash’s leg. Then, Psionic Prime returned to his human form and threw Silver Flash right over his shoulder.

Bang!

The bulky mechanical body crashed onto the metal ground and made a dent.

“Still want to play?” Psionic Prime held tight onto Silver Flash’s hand and emitted a restraining force field from his palm, preventing Silver Flash from escaping by nano-shapeshifting.

Silver Flash fell onto the ground. One of his legs was caught, and the other kept kicking at Psionic Prime like a child fighting, but his attacks were all dodged by Psionic Prime.

As the two mechanical lives fought, the room became a mess. The mechanical lives around quickly backed off and gave them space.

Mechanical lives had been sparring all the time inside Han Xiao’s secondary dimension army base, so the others were all used to it.

“Are you guys not properly oiled? Come on!” Scarlet Flame cheered from the side.

“Don’t destroy the spaceship! Go to the combat room if you want to fight!” a ranger mechanical life yelled.

At this time, all the mechanical lives’ movement suddenly stopped. Sparta’s cold voice appeared out of nowhere.

“The master has finally given you guys missions, and you’re making such a mess‽ All of you, reflect on yourselves!”

Mechanical lives had free will, but Han Xiao’s artificial intelligence had a higher control priority in their fundamental logic that was only lower than Han Xiao.

Usually, Han Xiao would let the mechanical lives move freely to maximize their growth. However, Sparta did not want to let these mechanical lives keep making a mess, so he took away the control these mechanical lives had of their body and made them walk back to the cabin and stand still.

However, although these mechanical lives could not control their bodies, their minds were still active, and they were still arguing through their network link.

“If this was an open area, you’d already have become a pile of trash!” Silver Flash yelled.

Psionic Prime just chuckled. “Hehe.”

“It’s all your fault,” the ranger said. “None of us can move now!”

“Silver Flash… when we’re done with the mission, I’m going to dismantle you and send you back to the master to be rebuilt!” Oathkeeper growled.

“You think I’m afraid of you? Let me fire at you if you have the guts! Let’s see if you can even be rebuilt!”

Chapter 827: Black Star Army? Never Heard of I

827 Black Star Army? Never Heard of I

After Han Xiao’s fleet left Planet Pangurus, the guild players who stayed behind could not wait to make their moves.

The four largest Chinese guilds pretended not to be involved while secretly gathering the members of the other guilds who had stayed behind, including the guilds of the Thunderstorm club, Fanatics club, Rivervale club, and many more.

The number of members in these guilds who had stayed behind was around sixty to seventy each; they were mostly studio players who took on manual labor jobs from guilds and charged them a fee. They were more organized compared to normal guild players, who were much larger in terms of numbers.

Hundreds of players gathered and discussed the plan.

“The Russians and Australians have insufficient manpower. They left fewer than twenty people per club. There’re a total of about a hundred people on each side.”

“However, they’re not splitting up, and the hundreds of them are mining together.”

Although the Russians and Australians had established an agreement with the four largest Chinese clubs, the guild players who had stayed behind all stayed together to do mining. The Russians were led by the Power and Glory guild, and the Australians were led by the Kangaroo Boxing guild. They each gathered in one place of their own and had close to about a hundred people on each side, which was close to the number of people the top tier Chinese guilds had. It seemed that this was safer and would prevent them from being attacked.

However, never would they have thought that the Chinese top tier guilds would work together against them.

The Chinese guilds discussed for a while and decided with a plan. They had the absolute upper hand in terms of number, so they decided to split into two groups and attack the Russians and the Australians’ resource points. The grouping was decided very soon, and they started the operation.

…

At the Kangaroo Boxing Guild’s resource point, dozens of Australian players were hard at work in the mines, wearing the Worker Bee Armor, placing the resources into their armor, and transporting them back to the mini guild warehouse on the ground time after time.

There were many warehouses that belonged to the various Australian guilds, and there were patrolling studio players around. Although they moved as a group for safety, this did not mean that they were sharing resources. These warehouses were bought by the various guilds from the army using their own funds, and they were quite expensive. They were equivalent to their stronghold at the resource point.

At this time, groups of well-equipped first-tier guild players appeared in the patrolling players’ sights and were charging right toward them from afar.

“Gather immediately! Our resource point is being attacked!”

These Australian club guilds hastily summoned those who were mining for resources, but it was too late. The close to three hundred first-tier guild players rushed right into this resource point.

The Australian players who rushed back from the mines clashed with those players instantly.

A scrimmage erupted in the blink of an eye!

Boom boom boom!

Pugilists blasted the backlines with energy flames, Espers threw out all sorts of colorful energy of different abilities, Mages constantly channeled spells, and Psychics nonstop used AOE psychic attacks…

The Mechanics made the greatest impact.

Version 3.0 was the version where Mechanics shone very brightly. This was because the Mechanic players would finally be able to learn the ability that would completely evolve their combat method in this version—Compression Technology.

Compressed orbs expanded on the battlefield one after another, turning into artilleries, mini mechanical soldiers, mechanical traps, and all kinds of equipment.

Be it financial power, combat capability, or manpower, the first-tier Chinese guilds had the complete upper hand and very quickly thrashed the Australian players. While they sent some people to the revive point to keep attacking, they started to attack the guild warehouses of the Australians and very soon destroyed all of them. The resources that the Australians had been collecting all this time were now robbed as loot.

The resource point became a mess. After they completely depleted the Australian players of their daily maximum revive count, the first-tier Chinese guild players retreated with the loot.

About a hundred souls hovered above the revive point and watched them leave with rage in their eyes.

Meanwhile, the Russians’ resource point was treated equally.

…

“Our resource points were destroyed‽”

Inside a certain transport ship of the main fleet, Vodka was shocked to receive this news from the member who had stayed behind.

After hearing that the first-tier Chinese guilds were the ones who did this, he was furious. He immediately sent messages to the guild presidents of Long Sky and Dynasty and questioned them, “Why did you attack our resource point‽”

Jade Green Sky pretended to be confused. “What are you talking about? When did we do such a thing? You’d better have proof, or I’m suing you for slander.”

“Just moments ago, the resource point we left on the planet was destroyed by your Chinese guilds members. The players were spawn-camped and finished their revive counts. They won’t be able to revive in the next six in-game days. Why did those Chinese guild members attack us‽”

“Well, ask them, not like we’re the ones who did it.” Jade Green Sky held back his laughter.

“We buy equipment from you guys, and in exchange, you promised to provide protection to us,” Vodka said furiously. “You’ve violated our agreement!”

Jade Green Sky knew exactly what tricks these foreign guilds had been pulling—these guilds bought equipment from them on the surface but secretly worked together with other Chinese players to secretly enjoy the full ten-percent discount.

Morning Snow Twilight Frost smiled faintly. “We did not know about this in advance. After all, those first-tier guilds have their own thoughts too. They’re not working under us. We’ll ask them about it. Don’t worry, I’ll try to convince these guilds.”

“That’d be for the best.” Vodka nodded.

As Vodka ended the communication, he was extremely displeased. These first-tier guilds working together against them was connected to the four largest Chinese clubs no matter how he looked at it. This might happen again in the future.

He contacted the captain of the people who stayed behind and said, “After you revive, I’ll send some funds to you guys for you to buy some alarm devices in the army, such as automatic artilleries, traps, and laser formations. Deploy these around the new resource point, buy as many as possible, don’t be afraid to spend… By the way, give up on your current location and look for a harsher location to mine resources.”

On the other side, Morning Snow Twilight Frost and Jade Green Sky were discussing the matter as well.

“This attack will make them cautious and cause them to spend more money on unnecessary defense measures. These first-tier guilds never planned to attack them frequently, so we can just say that this is because we convinced these guilds and kept our promise. When these people build a new resource point and have recovered for some time, we shall organize an attack again. By then, there will be a new batch of resources stored in their warehouses, and it will all be robbed. As this goes on, the profit they gain from their resource points will be extremely limited. All we have to do is force them to turn this into a large guild war so that we can completely obliterate their guilds’ core members with our numerical advantage.”

“Cunning as always.” Jade Green Sky gave him a thumbs up.

Morning Snow Twilight Frost shook his head. “Sadly, they did not send their professional players here, or we would have been able to help the club eliminate some opponents.”

Pro players were the pillars of clubs, so clubs took the safety of the pro players very seriously. Of course, they did not dare send the character of their pro players to someone else’s territory. One of the reasons the Chinese clubs were targeting the foreign guilds was also to protect their own pro players—if the foreign guilds built a stable foundation in their own territory, the chance of them causing the Chinese pro players trouble would not be negligible at all.

The others could come here from another Star Field, but they could not go to another Star Field, so the Chinese guilds were actually on the more passive side. This was why they had decided to work together to compete with the foreign guilds and guard their profit.

…

A few days later in another Star Zone, the Great Cosmos Corps fleet led by Kikiga was slowly heading toward the location of the marker. Other than the main ship, which was dozens of miles long, there were thirty or so guard battleships. All the warriors who were awoken were training. There were around a million people.

Inside the main ship, Kikiga rubbed his hands with anticipation—he loved plundering and was looking forward to the war.

“How long till we arrive at the marker’s location?” Kikiga asked this question many times every single day.

“Chieftain, the location of the marker has been moving for the past few days. I think that this is the enemy’s trick to confuse us, so we’re now heading toward the location where the marker was activated first. It’s not very far away,” the team leader of the operators said with resignation. He had to repeat this many times every day.

“The faster the better. I can’t wait,” Kikiga said with a wild tone.

This time, one of the operators yelled, “Chieftain, three unknown targets are approaching us!”

“It’s not meteoroids, right?” Kikiga was shocked.

In his mind, very few could travel in the universe like them, so his first thought was to assume that they were meteoroids.

“It doesn’t look like it. They’re flying toward us! Chieftain, I request to enter alert status!”

“Overreacting,” Kikiga murmured and waved. “Alert then.”

The fleet activated its various weapons very quickly and waited with focus.

Not long after, the three spaceships with Psionic Prime and the others on them slowly stopped before Kikiga and their fleet.

“Real spaceships?” Kikiga was shocked.

The operator quickly said, “Like I suspected, they can indeed track our marker and have very advanced technology. They can travel in the universe, too.”

Kikiga sized the three spaceships up for a while before suddenly laughing.

“What are you afraid of? Look at those three spaceships. How strong can they be when they’re so small?”

Indeed, the spaceships that Psionic Prime and the others were in looked tiny compared to the main ship of Kikiga’s fleet.

To Kikiga, the size of spaceships was directly proportionate to the spaceships’ power.

“Also, look, they only have three spaceships. We have more than ten times that number. We will be able to beat them with ease. What are you guys panicking for? Embarrassing.” Kikiga shook his head.

The rest thought that what Kikiga said made sense and felt relieved.

“Chieftain, what should we do now?”

“Looking at their spaceship, it’s clear they’re from a small civilization that has just started to travel the universe and don’t know what fear is,” Kikiga replied, “which is why they dared track our signal. Humph, as seniors, we have to teach them a lesson and make them understand the taste of fear.”

This time, an operator smiled and said, “Chieftain, they’ve sent us a message and said that they want to communicate with us.”

Hearing this, everyone laughed and agreed with Kikiga—only a civilization that had just started exploring the universe would be this naive.

“What did they say?”

“Let me see… They said that they belong to the Black Star Army and told us to immediately deactivate our weapons and not resist…” This person burst into laughter before he finished the sentence.

As if the others were infected by him, almost everyone on the bridge burst into laughter. The room’s atmosphere was filled with joy.

“Hahaha…” Kikiga could not stop laughing. “Quick, reply to them.”

“What do we say?”

“Ask them if they have heard of us, the Great Cosmos Corps. Hahaha…” Kikiga was almost tearing up from laughing.

The Black Star Army? What sh*t is that? Never even heard of it, yet they think they’re famous?

Don’t they know that the Great Cosmos Corps is the ruler of the universe? Wanting us to stop resisting and give up… I’ve never heard such a funny joke.

Kikiga gasped for air and suppressed his laughter. “These arrogant natives really are the fountain of joy, always makes me laugh…”

Before he could finish, he almost burst out laughing again.

“Chieftain, should we attack?”

“Hmm, eliminate them… no, don’t kill them. Capture them and give them to the Great Emperor. The Great Emperor will definitely think these guys are funny, too.” Kikiga guffawed.

As everyone was laughing nonstop, the team captain of the operators felt his heart skip a beat as he noticed something that they had previously overlooked.

When they came into contact with natives in the past, there was no way to communicate with them as they had different languages.

These natives, despite meeting us for the first time… why do they know our language? Why are they able to communicate with us‽

He trembled. As he was about to report this abnormality, those three spaceships changed.

The cabin of those three spaceships opened, and black machinery gushed out. Suddenly, blue-gold lightning appeared out of nowhere and landed on every machine, causing a blinding surge of light.

“What are those?”

The smile on the faces of Kikiga and the others disappeared as they watched this with confusion.

The next moment, a silver beam of light instantly penetrated the shield of their main ship and its body, leaving a huge hole!

The ‘tough’ spaceship armor could not have been more fragile in the face of this energy beam!

Everyone was stunned. Before they could react, the violent trembling shook them onto the ground.

The deafening alarm rang instantly, and the lights inside the spaceship all turned red.

Woo!

“Alert! Alert! Shield broken, hull damage increasing, 7.8%… 8.6%… 10.3%… Please take measures as soon as possible! Please take measures as soon as possible!”

With one attack, the main ship’s defense had been completely obliterated.

Kikiga did not even climb up. He sat on the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief, his face covered in despair.

What… just happened‽

Chapter 828: 828 Player Military Operation

828 Player Military Operation

The battle between more than thirty battleships built with Star System grade technology and the mechanical lives that were receiving Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force bonuses through [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel] ended with zero suspense.

The battle ended instantly—this Great Cosmos Corps fleet was wiped out without being able to fight back at all. The main ship became a firework in the universe.

Before the main ship exploded, having realized he was facing doom, Kikiga wanted to escape in an escape pod. However, the escape pod was blasted midway by Scarlet Flame. He initially wanted to flee from the enemies with his extraordinary combat capability but was completely destroyed by Psionic Prime in one kick and was captured.

Psionic Prime and the others obeyed the order with full loyalty, capturing more than a dozen upper echelons. As for the rest of the Great Cosmos Corps warriors, they became ash together with their spaceships.

Inside the spaceship, Kikiga and the group of operators were tied up by electromagnetic chains and lying on the ground. The shadow of the mechanical lives shrouded them and made them so nervous that they could hardly breath.

They looked at the tall and large mechanical lives around them and shivered. Mechanical Lives had no expressions, so they could not tell what these metal beings were thinking. They had no idea what would happen to them next.

Kikiga’s face was stiff; he was still in disbelief.

His powerful fleet had been eliminated by these strange creatures so easily!

Plus, he was no match for these monsters at all.

The Great Cosmos Corps respected the strong. Some of its members were Supers. However, these people did not have any properly classified Super knowledge, so every Super was extremely rare in the Great Cosmos Corps and took on important positions. Kikiga, being one of them, had become the Chieftain of a division because of his combat capability.

He initially had a lot of confidence in his own strength, but Psionic Prime had completely evaporated that confidence and made him start doubting the meaning of life.

What monsters were those metal beings? He had never seen such lives throughout the years he had been robbing.

“W-what the hell are you‽” Kikiga was shivering.

“I’m Psionic Prime, the leader of the Black Star Army’s machinery troops.” Psionic Prime spoke with his completely emotionless electronic voice.

“Black Star Army…” This was the second time that Kikiga had heard this name today.

He thought they were just a bunch of natives when he heard it for the first time. Now, however, that belittlement disappeared together with his fleet, leaving him only panic and fear.

Kikiga swallowed his saliva. What was this ‘Black Star Army’? How could they possibly be this strong? He had never heard of the name of this organization and felt that it was extremely mysterious.

Seeing that Kikiga was stunned and filled with terror, Psionic Prime tilted his head, raised his finger, and emitted a beam, forming a hologram in front of everyone.

On the screen, images and text descriptions displayed the history of the Black Star Army.

Phillip had invaded the enemy’s spaceship long before the battle even started. The language of the Great Cosmos Corps had been recorded into the database beforehand, which was what allowed them to communicate in the first place. Other than language, the information stored in this fleet had also been duplicated. Their virtual technology was basically as good as non-existent in front of Phillip; he could do whatever he wanted.

“This is…” As the curtain began to unfold on the Black Star Army, Kikiga and the others’ eyes and mouths were opened wide. The origin of the Black Star Army had shattered their world view.

Godora, DarkStar, Bloodshed Land, Purple Crystal Civilization, the Crimson Dynasty… There’re so many organizations in the universe? Why have we never heard of them‽

Beyond Grade A? In Kikiga’s impression, Atimo was the strongest person in this entire universe. He could not even imagine how anyone could possess strength far greater than Atimo.

Kikiga had initially fantasized that Atimo would lead his army and avenge them. However, having just seen the tip of the iceberg of the Black Star Army, he only had one thought toward Atimo.

Please don’t come!

…

“They’ve captured them?”

Han Xiao received Psionic Prime’s message while commanding his fleet in exploring another resource planet; he immediately browsed through the data copied by Phillip in the database.

After looking through, Han Xiao was surprised.

That’s what I thought. There is indeed no hidden Star System civilization in this area. So, it turns out that it’s those idiots from the Great Cosmos Corps. Apparently, they have a division here…

Han Xiao giggled in his mind.

So, the goal of this hidden mission is them. They did not meet the dynasty this time and met me instead… They’re still quite unlucky.

The Great Cosmos Corps’ territory was mainly located at the center of the Garu Star Cluster. According to the normal exploration progress, it would take a few years before anyone would arrive at that location. However, Han Xiao had now met them in advance.

After eliminating one of their fleets, they would definitely not let this end easily. Although these people would not be able to cause any problems for him or the dynasty, it was not his style to leave them be.

Han Xiao walked back and forth pondering with hands behind his back. Suddenly, his eyes sparkled.

That’s right, these people have robbed many planets. They definitely have the data of those planets. Even if they’ve destroyed some of those planets, there will still be ruins that give Exploration Points. This intel is very valuable to the dynasty and can be considered an achievement.

If he obtained this information, the total Exploration Points of his main storyline mission would grow quite a lot, most likely an entire grade. Plus, this would be considered quite an achievement, and the dynasty would reward him for it, making his exploration progress look more successful than the Bloodshed Land’s.

“This is quite a good opportunity.” Although the Great Cosmos Corps was weak, the intelligence they had was useful.

He turned his communicator on and contacted the chief commander, Tarrokov, through Senico.

“Black Star, what’s this about?” Tarrokov was a little shocked. Normal matters could all be discussed with Senico, yet Han Xiao had gone straight to him. Could he have met some kind of special situation?

“Chief commander, I have made a discovery,” Han Xiao said slowly. “A few days ago, my army warriors discovered a damaged marker on Planet Pangurus…”

He roughly explained the situation and then emphasized, “According to the data, this organization robs others for a living and has been active in the center area of the Garu Star Cluster. They seem to have quite a large territory. The way I see it, the planetary information in their hands will be very useful to our exploration.”

“I see…” Tarrokov contemplated a while before nodding. “If you’re not mistaken, this will indeed give us a lot of information on multiple planets at once. This is quite a significant achievement. Did you skip Senico and came to me because you wanted to ask me to allow you to start a war?”

Han Xiao did not deny it.

In the laws stated by the dynasty, they had to take the peaceful approach when contacting the natives. In order to start a war with a Star System level native force, the dynasty had to permit it. If anyone eliminated natives for no reason, the dynasty would be displeased. After all, the Star Field belonged to the dynasty; its allies were just people helping in the mining process.

Therefore, the chief commander’s approval was needed to eliminate the Great Cosmos Corps; only then would there be no negative effects.

Han Xiao did not feel any guilt over eliminating the Great Cosmos Corps. These people robbed others for a living and had enslaved dozens of native races. They were basically galactic pirates.

Tarrokov considered it for a while before speaking in a deep voice. “I will write an order and give it to the Black Star Army, representing that what you guys are doing is on my orders. I shall leave the task of gathering information to you. There’s no need to spare these people.”

“Okay.” Han Xiao nodded.

“I will report the fact that the Black Star Army was the one that discovered this piece of intelligence. This is your achievement, so the merit naturally belongs to you.” Tarrokov smiled and spoke in a friendly way.

After a pause, Tarrokov suddenly changed the topic and said with a meaningful tone, “Renault is in the middle of the three Star Clusters that will be explored in the first stage. Its geographical location is superior and looks like the richest. Therefore, the upper echelons of the dynasty are paying the most attention to the development of the Renault Star Cluster.”

Why mention another Star Cluster suddenly? Isn’t Renault the Bloodshed Land’s exploration area? Han Xiao was stunned for a moment.

“As for the Garu Star Cluster,” Tarrokov continued, “due to it having rather a large number of desolate universe belts, the upper echelons of the dynasty have the lowest expectations for it. This is also why fewer people chose to explore the Garu Star Cluster. However, if the exploration of Garu goes very well, it will be a pleasant surprise to the dynasty.”

Han Xiao figured out what Tarrokov was trying to convey. Tarrokov was leaking a tiny bit of internal information of the dynasty and giving him a reminder.

The dynasty paid the most attention to Renault and had the highest expectations for it, which meant that the Bloodshed Land had to achieve more to meet their expectations. However, it would be a pleasant surprise as long as his exploration of Garu was not too horrible, so earning merit for him would be comparatively easier. There were both pros and cons.

Seeing that Han Xiao was pondering, Tarrokov smiled and moved away from this topic. Other than wanting to build a good relationship with Han Xiao, he reminded Han Xiao also to encourage the Black Star Army—this was one of his jobs as the chief commander.

After chatting casually for a while, they ended the communication. This time, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

[Coordinate Marker of Unknown Origin] complete!

You have received 3,000,000 EXP and 70 Individual Exploration Points.

You have received 1 [Bold Explorer] Ability Shard. 2 Shards are needed to fuse.

_____________________

“With one shard, there’s at least a start. I’ll have to try to obtain the second shard.”

Han Xiao was joyous. This was a very pleasant surprise. Maple Moon was really quite lucky.

This time, more notifications popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered Faction Mission [Wipe Out the Great Cosmos Corps]!

Mission Introduction: The Great Cosmos Corps is a pillaging organization in the Garu Star Cluster, evil and lawless. I hereby request the Black Star Army to eliminate this organization—Dynasty Exploration Army Chief Commander Tarrokov.

Tip: This is a sub-mission of the [Flickering World]. Exploration Points will be rewarded.

Tip: This is a faction series mission. You can complete the following requirements during this mission.

Eliminate Enemies I: Kill 10 normal Great Cosmos Corps warriors. Rewards: 750,000 EXP and 3 Exploration Points.

Eliminate Enemies II: Kill 10 elite Great Cosmos Corps warriors. Rewards: 1,500,000 EXP and 6 Exploration Points.

Eliminate Enemies III: Kill 10 spaceship operators. Rewards: 2,000,000 EXP and 9 Exploration Points.

Destroy Ships I: Destroy 1 enemy guard battleship. Rewards: 3,600,000 EXP and 12 Exploration Points.

…

King Before Men I: Kill 1 high level combatant. Reward: 5,500,000 EXP and 25 Exploration Points.

King Before Men II: Kill 1 chieftain. Reward: 7,000,000 EXP and 30 Exploration Points.

King Before Men III: Kill ‘Great Emperor’ Atimo. Reward: 22,000,000 EXP and 60 Exploration Points.

When the mission ends, based on the number of targets completed, the rating and bonus rewards will be given.

_____________________

Han Xiao figured that this Faction Mission was given to the entire Black Star Army, which meant that the other army players would be able to accept it as well.

Han Xiao was initially planning to send out his machinery troops to eliminate the Great Cosmos Corps, but he changed his mind.

Since the players were able to accept this mission, he would leave it to the players. Spending a little bit more time was not an issue. This Great Cosmos Corps was not especially powerful, so it was suitable for the players to deal with.

The average strength of the players had been gradually growing, so he planned to let just the players eliminate the Great Cosmos Corps. Other than providing spaceships, he was not planning to let any NPC take part in this operation.

This would be the first military operation with only players!

This way, the players would have a better experience in exploring the Flickering World. After all, compared to purely exploring, most players preferred fighting.

The Great Cosmos Corps people were all walking experience, so Han Xiao basically considered letting the players eliminate them as watering his leeks. It was still the early stage of Version 3.0, so there were no max level players yet.

Furthermore, after a war, the players would have to replenish their ammunition and repair their equipment, which would all cost money.

Han Xiao never ignored the ammunition business of the army, and he was going to make a fortune from this war.

I’ll have to make the enemies gather and attack first so that it’ll take less time…

Han Xiao contacted Phillip and spoke a few words to Psionic Prime.

…

Central area of the Garu Star Cluster, Great Cosmos Corps headquarters.

A deputy hastily came before Atimo’s throne and said with a shivering voice, “Gr—Great Emperor, we’ve lost contact with Chieftain Kikiga’s team!”

A glow of coldness flashed past Atimo’s eyes. He said with a low voice, “What happened?”

“They were planning to invade the location of the marker but met the enemy’s team midway and were eliminated…” this deputy said cautiously. “Those enemies call themselves the Black Star Army, and they’ve sent a message.”

“Black Star Army…” Atimo frowned. “What did they say?”

The deputy played this message on the screen while shivering.

Psionic Prime appeared on the screen, and Kikiga was trembling on the ground beside his feet.

“I’m the leader of the mechanical army of the Black Star Army, Psionic Prime. Listen carefully, people of the Great Cosmos Corps. The Black Star Army will seize all your territory, kill all your warriors, and take away your everything. Tell your leader, Atimo, our army commander will drink wine from his skull.”

The moment the sentence ended, Psionic Prime’s arm turned into a blade flickering with psionic energy and slashed through Kikiga’s neck.

Puchi!

Blood gushed out, Kikiga’s head rolled on the floor, and his headless body fell on to the ground, still shivering.

Psionic Prime said with an emotionless tone, “Get ready for war!”

Then, the screen turned black, and the message came to an end.

Atimo was initially watching this recording with an indifferent face, but when Kikiga’s head was chopped off right before his eyes, his eyes flickered a little.

“Great Emperor, this is a provocation… What should we do?”

Atimo stood up slowly.

“Gather all the fleets, combatants, and chieftains…” Atimo’s tone was cold. “I will lead the charge this time!

“If they want war, I shall give them war!”

…

_____________________

[Coordinate Marker of Unknown Origin] complete!

_____________________

Maple Moon was farming dungeons with Bun-Hit-Dog and others and was fighting a boss when the mission completion notification suddenly popped up on her interface. She was shocked, and her movements stiffened for a moment.

“It’s only been a few days, and the mission is already completed. I’ve not even done anything yet!”

Maple Moon was shocked.

She had turned over the marker to the army as suggested by the mission. It was clear that this was thanks to the faction.

Giving things to the army was indeed the right choice.

“Don’t just stand there. Control the field!” Bun-Hit-Dog was being thrown around by the boss as he yelled.

Maple Moon completely ignored him, deep in thought.

She had been thinking for the past few days. The requirement of this mission was just to make contact with the unknown force, which meant that there would definitely be more to it. She immediately opened the faction mission list.

As she expected, there were indeed more missions and even large side missions distributed by the dynasty!

“Great Cosmos Corps, such a lame name… it’s a pillaging organization. The mission requirement is to eliminate this organization. It seems like it’s going to be a group mission. There will definitely be a lot of people participating.”

Maple Moon pondered.

“He… lp… me…” The boss pressed Bun-Hit-Dog onto the ground and punched his face again and again. Bun-Hit-Dog could only yell out one syllable at a time during the gap of the punches. His call for help had a constant rhythm.

Finally, as his last bit of health disappeared, Bun-Hit-Dog turned into a white light and died.

Maple Moon finally regained her focus and looked up. She threw out a ton of compressed orbs, and machinery filled up the field.

The large number of machines drowned this boss. Not long after, the boss who had half health was defeated by Maple Moon alone.

After playing for three versions, she had realized that she was quite talented in this aspect, and her PVP skills had been becoming stronger and stronger. Furthermore, this version was the powerful period for the Mechanic class, so farming dungeons was much easier. Mechanics above level 100 were welcomed by most dungeon teams.

The group came out of the dungeon and returned to the army’s battleship.

“Why were you distracted?” Bun-Hit-Dog complained. “I didn’t actually have to use one revive count.”

“Look at the faction mission.”

Bun-Hit-Dog opened the faction interface and saw the [Wipe Out the Great Cosmos Corps] mission.

Surprised, he opened the forums and realized that the army’s players were already overjoyed.

Although the exploration of the main storyline mission was filled with uncertainties and was quite interesting, the players spent most of their time in spaceships and hardly had any opportunities to fight.

Most players were itching for a brawl and could only enter dungeons. Now that there was an opportunity to fight in the main storyline mission, all the army players were excited.

Wiping out an entire organization sounded like quite a large mission

Chapter 829: Black Star Army, Not Bad

In the Jeraton Star System of the Renault Star Cluster, the alliance exploration team of the Bloodshed Land and the Klent Kingdom was executing their plan step by step, slowly painting the gray areas on the star map green. The internal stargate network of the first Star Zone was gradually being built. The exploration of planets was completed one after another. Detailed data was added to the database. Tons of space buoys were left wherever they passed.

The exploration of the Bloodshed Land was smooth and peaceful. There were quite many resource planets in the Jeraton Star System, but they had yet to meet any native civilizations.

Heber had been very free in the past ten days or so. The large fleet was operating according to plan and did not need his command. Therefore, he found a Fixed Star to train his energy.

At a hot red Fixed Star in this Star Zone, Heber walked on the Fixed Star’s surface. The energy of the Fixed Star within tens of miles from him formed a moving vortex, spinning around him. Under the stimulation of energy, his cells devoured the powerful radiation around him and turned it into his energy. White bright energy patches appeared on his skin.

“Hu…” Heber exhaled deeply.

He stomped the ground. The enormous strength turned into a rippling impact wave, and the energy vortex around him shattered instantly. Covered in thick energy flames, Heber broke away from the powerful gravitational pull of the Fixed Star and rocket up like a beam of light shooting into space. Very soon, he left the Fixed Star and returned to the waiting fleet.

Heber walked into the spaceship and casually wore his cape. He then took the communicator from his subordinate. It was a message from Klent.

“Your Excellency Tyrant, we have just received news that the chief commander has given an order to the Black Star Army to eliminate a native organization.”

“Attacking a native organization?” Heber’s footsteps paused. “The dynasty’s exploration laws forbid casual use of violence.”

“Our people on Planet Lighthouse have heard that the situation Black Star has met is special. That native organization is a pillager at the center of the Star Cluster. The Black Star Army’s men discovered them coincidentally. The dynasty wants the planetary information this native organization has, so the chief commander allowed the Black Star Army to eliminate them.”

Heber frowned slightly.

While they were progressing stably, the Black Star Army had already gone into the jungle‽

If the Black Star Army obtained the information the native organization had accumulated, it would be quite a significant achievement.

Initially, he had thought that the Star System they were exploring was richer and the results of their exploration would definitely exceed the Black Star Army’s. Sadly, Black Star was a very lucky person.

Heber shook his head.

He did not want to see the Black Star Army achieve that, yet there was nothing he could do but watch. He could not help but sigh.

This time, the person from Klent said, “Your Excellency Tyrant, our commander has a daring idea…”

“Attack Black Star again?”

“That’s right. We plan to…”

“Enough.” Heber interrupted before he could finish. “I have made a ceasefire agreement with the Black Star Army. I don’t want to mess with them now, and neither should you. This is meaningless.”

He then hung up the communication.

The Klent Kingdom had yet to give up; they did not want to see their enemy, the Black Star Army, successfully make such an achievement. Heber did not want to be dragged down by Klent.

The commander sent by Klent this time had once been a radical supporter of the secret war, so he harbored a lot of hatred for Han Xiao. What he wanted to do was basically snatch away the Black Star Army’s contributions and disrupt Black Star, which not only had a negligible chance of success in Heber’s eyes but would also bring the dissatisfaction of Black Star and the dynasty. Furthermore, it would not impact the Black Star Army much, if at all. It was not worth the risk.

In the Flickering World, Heber really was not willing to fight with Black Star. With such a huge cake, it would be best to just explore his own area. If he and the Black Star Army caused trouble for each other, it would only benefit the other dynasty allies who came to explore in the future.

…

In Han Xiao’s previous life, when the players entered the Flickering World in Version 4.0, the exploration was already complete for many Star Clusters. Tons of exterior forces entered and fought each other, so the players had plenty of opportunities to fight. The situation was different now.

It was now only Version 3.0. Because of Han Xiao, the players were able to get involved in the Flickering World storyline one version earlier, which also meant that the environment would be different. At the early stage of the exploration, there were only the dynasty and its allies, who were all on the same side. Therefore, the players lacked the fighting storyline and had few chances to battle.

Therefore, when the [Wipe Out the Great Cosmos Corps] appeared, all the players who were exploring the Flickering World with the Black Star Army took part in this group operation. This mission did not have a maximum participant limit, so most players decided to accept the mission.

Han Xiao was happy with this. As the players were currently in different exploration teams and were quite divided, he casually arranged thousands of spaceships to gather these players into an expedition fleet.

As it would take quite some time to reach the center area of the Garu Star Cluster, Han Xiao was not planning to have the players wait in the spaceships—that would be a waste of quality labor. He planned to let this expedition group explore the planets on the way to maximize efficiency.

To make the return of the players easier, they also had to build stargates on the way.

This way, the exploration plan of the Black Star Army shifted as well. The large team slowly explored the border Star System, the first Special Task Force led by Hadavy were building a route from the south of the Star Cluster to the east, and the expedition team were building the route from the south of the Star Cluster to the center.

As the army’s men were split into three groups, Han Xiao told Sylvia, who was in the Shattered Star Ring headquarters, to quickly dispatch the second fleet to make up for the manpower.

After growing for two versions, the players now had Grade B strength. Millions of army players were considered quite powerful. Han Xiao was not worried.

As versions updated, the players became stronger. They would gradually be noticed by the entire universe.

After sending out the player expedition team, Han Xiao left them alone. He explored resource planets one after another according to the plan while expanding his machinery while he had the time.

As two more Star Zones were completely explored, one month passed peacefully.

On this day, Han Xiao finally received Phillip’s report that the player expedition team had finally met with the Great Cosmos Corps’ reconnaissance troops.

…

The team that met the reconnaissance troops was a player team that was deploying space buoys. It was just a small recon ship with around three hundred players, while the opponent had three battleships.

The battle erupted instantly. The moment this reconnaissance team discovered these players, they rushed forward without a word, planning to capture the enemies and interrogate them for intel about the Black Star Army.

Shots landed on the shield of this mini recon ship, causing chain exploration, while the flickering shield was unaffected.

“Alert! The spaceship is being attacked. Remaining shield energy 97.1%… 99.7%… charge complete. Estimating threat level… estimation complete. the enemy’s firepower is unable to penetrate the shield. Threat level extremely low.”

The hundreds of players inside the spaceship exchanged looks.

The Black Star Army’s spaceships used the complete Star System technology, and some even had Star Cluster standards, such as the energy core, weapon, and shield. Comparatively, the Great Cosmos Corps’ spaceships were too behind. Without an enormous quantity difference, there was no way they would be of any threat to the Black Star Army’s spaceships.

Close range combat was exactly what the players wanted. As the three enemy recon ships approached and were about to connect their cabins, more than ten charge cabins shot out from the side of this mini recon ship, ‘biting’ into the three enemy spaceships.

The players inside the charge cabin swarmed out and started a slaughter inside the enemy ships. These players were mostly above level 100, while the people on the enemy ships were ordinary people.

Not long after, the hundreds of players wiped out the enemies inside these ships and seized the three spaceships.

On the other side, Atimo received this news as well.

However, he did not receive the video information that the recon group was supposed to send. The strength of the Black Star Army was still unknown to him.

“Before losing contact, the reconnaissance group only sent back the fact that they had met enemies, and the link was broken right after. We don’t know the process of them fighting their enemies,” the deputy said with confusion.

“Like with Kikiga…” Atimo narrowed his eyes, and a rare tint of concern flashed past his eyes. “The enemy’s quantum technology might far exceed ours.”

Before the battle erupted, Phillip had invaded the enemy’s artificial intelligence and forcefully blocked the opponent’s communication, like when Kikiga met Psionic Prime. Therefore, Atimo still did not know how many spaceships and men the Black Star Army had.

On the other hand, Phillip knew where the Atimo’s troops were and was ordering the expedition team to head directly toward that direction.

No matter the war, the importance of intelligence could never be ignored. The virtual technology of the army was far superior, and the Great Cosmos Corps was basically blind in comparison.

Ever since he began ruling the ‘universe’, Atimo had never met an enemy that had made him feel any sense of pressure. However, this Black Star Army that appeared out of nowhere had shaken his confidence.

This might be the strongest opponent he had ever met.

“Black Star Army, not bad,” Atimo said with a firm tone. “I can call you the strongest opponent. However, facing my fleet, your end will be no different from the others!”

Atimo was extremely confident. He had brought all his spaceships, a total of a hundred thousand battleships!

This was the fleet he had accumulated throughout the years, and this was what gave him confidence to rule over the ‘universe’.

From his perspective, such an enormous fleet could wipe out any enemy.

Chapter 830: Surrounding Calamity Grade

After meeting the reconnaissance troops, the expedition force reorganized their troops and adjusted their direction toward Atimo’s fleet. At the same time, Atimo’s fleet also headed toward the reconnaissance troops, and both parties were approaching each other with the gap between them decreasing rapidly.

After spending two days in hyperdrive, both troops finally met in one of the regions of the universe.

“We finally found our enemy.” The players in the expedition troops looked out at the large fleet of battleships outside the window and all grew excited.

The players split up into parties, and the various large guilds were no exception. The various professional teams formed their own parties, and the core members of the guilds formed a protective layer around the professional players. This was not to protect them but to help their own team snatch for the boss.

[Wipe Out the Great Cosmos Corps] was a faction mission, and there were many mission requirements. The requirements that gave the best rewards included killing the combat troops of the enemy and their leaders. However, there was a limited number to go around to kill.

That was especially so for the ‘Great Emperor’ Atimo, of whom there was only one. It was not a single player mission but only allowed a single party to share the reward. Every club wanted to help their own professional players obtain the highest reward.

The players of Dynasty, Temple of God, Long Sky, and Fried Eggplants with Fish were in their respective teams, and the three pillars of Long Sky were currently discussing their strategy.

Sleepy Winter stroked his chin and said, “According to the levels of the rewards, the enemy leader Atimo should have the combat capability of a Grade A Super. We can only use numbers to crush him.”

“If this is the case,” Twinkle Fried Rice said, “the party that makes the first move will be in the greatest danger. If we want to snatch the kill, it would be better for us to deal damage silently by the side and let others attract the aggro of the boss. Only the party with the highest damage output will obtain the reward. If we end up getting killed by the boss, it would take far too much time to run back after reviving. We can only output damage if we are still alive.”

Hao Tian nodded and said, “That’s right.”

On another spaceship, Frenzied Sword also formed a party with his team and even brought Maple Moon along. They had a pretty good relationship.

Frenzied Sword looked outside the window at the rows of battleships lined up nicely. It was obvious that the guilds were all gathering together, and there was a stark difference between them and the ordinary players. Upon seeing that, Frenzied Sword shook his head and said, “With so many guilds trying to snatch the boss, I think that we don’t have much hope of succeeding.”

“As long as we don’t die,” said Rivervale’s vice captain, Evil Sword, “we may not lose out in terms of damage output. Such a boss will not only stand there for us to kill. The party that outputs the most damage will also face the largest threat and attract the most aggro from the boss. We may have a chance to survive until the very end if that is the case.”

All the players had some experience and knew that it was extremely difficult to deal with the bosses in ‘Galaxy’. To an ordinary player, the situation of the battle was changing every second, and it was rare for a single person to control the aggro of the boss. Instead, the person with the highest damage output would be the target of the boss, and the battle scene was extremely realistic.

Thus, it was extremely easy for the aggro to go out of control when fighting the boss, and they needed to react quickly whatever happened.

Maple Moon sat by the side with a smile on her face, and she felt a sense of satisfaction in her heart.

It could be said that this large-scale war had been started by her single handedly. She was the one who had triggered the storyline and caused this expedition mission. Thus, she had a strong sense of achievement and was feeling extremely satisfied in her heart.

Because she was the one who triggered this mission, she had an additional mission compared to the other players. She would be able to gain a bonus reward after the Great Cosmos Corps was wiped out, which included a large amount of experience, Exploration Points, 300 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, and 1,000 Black Star Army Contribution Points.

This was probably the reward for handing the mission tool over to the dynasty.

The reward from this mission was extremely plentiful, and after some calculations, Maple Moon felt that it was possible for her to become the highest leveled player after the mission.

Among the Russian and Australian groups, Vodka and Captain Old Henry were also thinking of snatching the boss.

Although the professional players of their own club did not follow them over, if they could prevent the Chinese professional players from snatching the boss’ reward, it would be akin to helping their own professional players. Although the Russian and Australian players had suffered some losses on Planet Pangurus, their responsibility was still present, and they were not willing to let the Chinese players enjoy all the benefits before their eyes.

At the same time, Atimo was also observing the Black Star Army fleet.

“The enemy only has ten thousand battleships, and we have the absolute advantage in numbers,” the vice commander said.

Atimo nodded slowly. He had a hundred thousand battleships, a full ten times more than the enemy.

However, Atimo was still shocked that the Black Star Army could have a full ten thousand battleships. In his memory, every battleship required a large amount of resources and time to construct. The most powerful race that he had met only had a few hundred battleships.

He had originally thought that the quantum technology of the Black Star Army was the only advantage that they had, but never had he expected that the fleet of the Black Star Army would not be weak either.

“No wonder they locked down the news. They didn’t want me to find out that they had such a large fleet and wanted to catch me off guard.” Atimo felt a sense of lingering fear.

To gather a full ten thousand battleships, the other party must have sent out all their forces. Thankfully, he had also brought out his entire fleet. If he had only sent out a few divisions as usual, he would definitely have been in trouble.

Indeed, it was the right choice for him to take action personally.

Atimo’s eyes glowed, and he said slowly, “I want to talk to the other party’s leader.”

In his eyes, this was an all-out war between both parties. The commander of the Black Star Army was an extremely mysterious figure and had never shown himself. Atimo wanted to see what kind of a figure the leader of the Black Star Army was. He actually had ten thousand battleships under his command, and Atimo felt that such an individual had the right to talk to him.

After a moment, the vice commander stammered, “The other party rejected our request… they sa… said…”

“What did they say?” Atimo’s eyes narrowed.

“They said that you do not have the right to speak to their Army Commander.”

Atimo burst into laughter and was not angered at all.

I do not have the rights? Who else would have more rights than me‽

Forget it, since they are going to die in a short while, there isn’t a need to be so calculative.

Atimo shook his head and lost all interest in contacting the other party. He then said slowly, “Attack, wipe them all out!”

With the order being given, the hundred thousand battleships opened fire in unison.

Atimo thought that he would witness the scene of the enemy being severely crippled by the firepower of his fleet. However, the scene that unfolded had truly shocked him.

As the flames of the cannon fire receded, not a single one of the enemy’s ten thousand battleships was destroyed. Although the enemy was lower in numbers, they wanted to surround his fleet instead!

The next moment, the ten thousand enemy battleships sped up, and because their speed was far superior to his Great Cosmos Corps’ battleships, Atimo’s troops were unable to react in time. The ten thousand enemy battleships had broken through their formation and engaged in closed range battle with them. This was the battle method that players enjoyed the most, and they were not willing to use their battleships to wipe out the enemy since they would not be able to gain experience this way.

The players boarded the enemy battleships with the charge cabin and massacred the members of the enemy battleships.

The enemy’s fire was unable to break through the shields of the army, and the players charged into the encirclement of the enemy excitedly with a single thought in their mind.

My peerless blade shall dance within the enemy ranks!

The majority of the players had not enjoyed such a pleasure of their faction having absolute technological superiority and being able to freely slaughter the enemy.

Ten thousand battleships charged right into the core of the enemy fleet and were completely unstoppable as they ripped through the enemy’s formation.

In the flagship, Atimo stood up abruptly and ripped off the mask on his face. His expression had changed greatly, and a look of disbelief could be seen.

Their weapons were completely useless against the enemy!

One report after another was sent over, and he lost twenty thousand battleships in just a short moment. However, not even a single enemy battleship had been destroyed!

“This is impossible! How can there be such a large technological gap! How can they all be Supers‽”

Atimo no longer had his previous cool and confidence, having realized that he had struck a metal plate. The enemy was a civilization that was even more advanced than his and could easily wipe them out!

He had roamed unhindered in this region of the universe for far too long and had not met an opponent capable of posing him a threat for far too long. He had already forgotten what it meant to feel fear and respect. However, the scene of his battleships being destroyed one by one had once again triggered the sense of fear in his heart as he began to tremble uncontrollably.

He could see the future of his fleet being completely wiped out.

Atimo suddenly thought about the matters from a long time ago. At that time, the Great Cosmos Corps was only an ordinary drifting civilization with a few spaceships. They were extremely weak and could only explore the universe carefully. They overcame obstacles one after another and gradually became stronger and stronger. However, he had actually lost this sense of wariness that allowed him to survive in the universe for such a long time.

If he had not been so rash and made proper plans before the start of the battle…

If he had not been so arrogant and sent out scouts to find more information…

If he had not been so quick to anger and easily provoked by the Black Star Army…

Perhaps the outcome would have been different.

However, he didn’t know that this was his own wishful thinking. In front of absolute strength and intelligence advantage, it would be impossible for him to have the initiative in his hands. His fate was already sealed a long time ago.

Currently, it was useless for Atimo to regret. The excited players were killing to their heart’s content and destroying Atimo’s fleet.

The overwhelming strength of the enemy destroyed the morale of Atimo’s forces, and no one wanted to remain behind to be massacred. They all began to escape, and the huge fleet scattered in all directions.

“Retreat! Quickly retreat!” Atimo snapped back to reality and issued an order.

Very quickly, the flagship and surrounding frigates turned around and joined in the escaping army.

The Great Cosmos Corps came with valor but escaped with their tails between their legs. It had only been twenty minutes since their arrival on the battlefield.

The various large guilds abandoned the escaping battleships and chased after the enemy’s flagship. They all wanted to snatch the head of the boss, and the ordinary players went to chase after the escaping battleships.

Phillip had already locked onto the location of all the troops through the quantum network, and even if the enemies escaped, the players would still chase after them in the future.

Before the start of the battle, Phillip had infiltrated the database of the main flagship and made a copy of all the information within the Great Cosmos Corps’ database. This included information about all the planets that they had robbed over the past years. The information that the dynasty wanted was already in their hands, and the only thing left to do was to uproot the enemy. Phillip could only provide some help from the side, and the rest would be left to the players.

Very quickly, the players caught up to Atimo’s flagship, and he only had a few hundred frigates around him.

Phillip controlled Atimo’s flagship from afar and forced it to land on a desolate planet nearby. The players chased after Atimo and surrounded him.

…

In the center of a circular mountain range, the gigantic flagship stuck out of the ground with black smoke billowing from it.

This was Atimo’s spaceship, and Phillip had very considerately turned off the engine of the spaceship so that they could save some energy when landing.

Ka ka ka!

Many human figures then walked out from the wreckage of the battleships, and the armor that they were wearing helped them withstand the impact of the crash. However, the crash had still killed the majority of the ordinary crew, and less than ten percent of them were still alive.

Atimo also walked out from the wreckage, holding onto his head. Even with his strength, he was dazed after the crash, and his entire body was aching. Upon looking at the pathetic scene for his eyes, Atimo could not help but fall into a daze.

Right at this moment, the sound of gushing wind could be heard, and the battleships of the Black Star Army landed around the circular mountain range.

Atimo raised his head, and there were numerous human figures standing all around the mountain range. These were the players who were trying to kill him, and a greedy look could be seen in their eyes.

There were more than three hundred thousand players present, including the various large guilds.

“It’s impossible to escape…”

Atimo was a proud person, and he could not help but feel a sense of anger upon witnessing the scene before his eyes.

“Want to kill me? Come on!” The next moment, Atimo let out a crazed roar, and the ten or so mechanical arms behind him opened like a peacock’s plume. At the same time, yellow laser beams were shot out from the arms in all directions with a stunning firing rate. This was his personal equipment, which was used to aid his Esper Ability.

His Esper Ability was to shoot out laser beams from his body, and the attack would change depending on which part of his body the laser was shot out from. For example, the attack would be an energy blast if he used his palms and an accurate laser beam if he used his fingers.

When fighting in close combat, his fists could also be covered with energy blasts, and he could form a shield if he released energy from his entire body. This was truly a jack of all trades ability.

Atimo was the most powerful individual in the Great Cosmos Corps, and his Calamity Grade Esper Ability allowed his laser attacks to be more powerful than normal energy weapons. It could be said that he was a human artillery tower.

His arrogance also stemmed from the confidence that he had in his strength. Among the natives of the Flickering World, it was extremely rare to reach the Calamity Grade, and he had never met an opponent. He had once wiped out the race of an entire planet singlehandedly.

Although he was surrounded, Atimo did not fall into despair. He had a great deal of confidence in his own strength, and despite all the enemies before him being Supers, he did not treat them as his opponents at all.

He might be able to find a path to survival if he was able to kill all of them!

Thinking about that, Atimo burst forth with murderous intent and attacked crazily.

Pew pew pew!

The laser beams came flying toward the players, and the players all began avoiding the attacks. As the laser beams struck the ground, craters that were over ten meters in diameter exploded all around. If a level 100 paper player was struck by the laser beam, although it would not be able to one-shot the player, the player would only be left with a silver of health.

He was a Calamity Grade Super indeed! Many of the players felt nervous.

This was the first time that they had surrounded a Calamity Grade character without the aid of an NPC.

Everyone did not have much confidence in their hearts. They had met many elite Calamity Grade Supers in the secret war that were all capable of killing them in a single hit. The players did not know if their level was enough to kill a Calamity Grade Super with a human wave tactic.

“The battle has started!”

However, the players did not hesitate and jumped off from the cliffs to begin their attacks.

They would soon find out whether or not they could win.

Since they could not die anyway, they might as well just charge forward!

Chapter 831: 831 First Kill

831 First Kill

When Atimo’s fleet was wiped out, Han Xiao, who was currently slacking off in the Garu Star Cluster, received a report from Phillip. The information collated by the Great Cosmos Corps had been sent over to him.

“Let me see my reward…” Han Xiao began to look through the information excitedly.

The Great Cosmos Corps had discovered many different planets over the past few years and a few Star Systems scattered all around the Garu Star Cluster.

A portion of these planets had natives living on them, but these natives were all enslaved by the Great Cosmos Corps. The information in the Great Cosmos Corps’ database was not just words but also included some videos of the entire process of capturing a new planet.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao contacted the chief commander, Tarrokov.

“The information from the Great Cosmos Corps is in my hands. I will send a copy to you.”

“Good job.” Tarrokov briefly looked through the document and said with a smile, “The dynasty will take note of your contribution.”

Before Han Xiao could say anything, a notification popped up on his interface.

_____________________

You have submitted [Great Cosmos Corps Exploratory Information]!

+1,500 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

+550 Exploration Points.

[Flickering World—The First Phase] rating increased

_____________________

The Flickering World mission was a faction mission, and the exploration of Garu was the first phase. All the players would share the mission rating, and the mission rating would be dependent on the Exploration Points.

After a month of exploration, everyone’s mission rating was originally D-, but everyone’s rating had increased to grade D.

Although it did not seem like much, this was a S+ grade mission, and every small increase in the rating would take a very long time. The increase would also become more difficult toward the end.

However, the 1,500 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Point was the reward that he was the most excited about. He had spent 6,000 Contribution Points on the Ultimate Knowledge [Mechanical Life Tinder], and he still had just over 2,000 Contribution Points left.

Having obtained 1,500 Contribution Points in one go, he only needed slightly more than 2,000 points to exchange for a new Ultimate Knowledge. Because of his status, the price of an Ultimate Knowledge was discounted. In his previous life, players needed 12,000 Contribution Points to purchase one.

However, ordinary players could obtain a rank when they joined the Crimson Dynasty and do missions to increase their rank. The higher their rank, the greater the discount that they could enjoy. However, even the maximum discount that they could obtain did not reach his fifty percent discount.

The hidden mission that Maple Moon had discovered gave him great reward, and Han Xiao was truly overjoyed.

He definitely had to reward such a capable player greatly so that the other players would be encouraged to dig out other hidden missions.

As he was checking the interface, Tarrokov did not stop talking. “This report will save us a great deal of manpower. I will get people to enter the information into a star map. Since you have already sent people to wipe out the Great Cosmos Corps, you can temporarily take over their territory. You can also leave some manpower to mine for resources in the center of Garu.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao smiled. This was also his motive.

Compared to the Star Systems in the periphery, the center of a Star Cluster was the most prosperous region. In order to wipe out the Great Cosmos Corps, his expedition forces had the perfect excuse to set up a long-distance travel route, and he would be able to enter the center of the Star Cluster in the future directly. This way, he would be able to discover all the famous planets and fill up his warehouse secretly.

As long as he discovered a territory first, the other allies of the dynasty who joined in later would not be able to snatch it from him. If he could take the most prosperous region of the Star Cluster, he would be able to earn the most from this mission.

Furthermore, now that he had already made a long-distance trip once, the others would not be suspicious of him if he ran to the east secretly to find the Universal Treasure.

Tarrokov then said that he would report the matter to the dynasty and let the dynasty reward him with resources and manpower.

After chatting for a while more, they hung up.

Han Xiao then connected to Phillip’s view, and he could see the battle between the players and Atimo, which was a few Star Systems away.

…

Boom!

Explosions were never-ending!

The flood of players charged toward Atimo, who was in the center.

Atimo fought valiantly and weaved around the crowd to avoid all the attacks while launching laser beams from every part of his body. He was like a walking artillery tower, shooting at the crowd in all directions.

Beams of light shot through the crowded battlefield, and explosions could be seen all around, sending many human figures covered in shield lights flying.

The battle had already been going on for a long while, and the battlefield was covered in a myriad of colors from the various abilities of the players. Atimo had no less than thirty negative statuses on him. Although these statuses did not last long, the sheer number of players he faced meant that the statuses kept refreshing.

With the huge gap in their levels, Atimo had the advantage in speed, and the players were not able to lock onto him or stabilize the aggro. It was akin to the players of the different regions facing Atimo’s attacks at random. As long as they met Atimo, the players who had only just reached Grade B were not able to tank the damage.

Players were usually in parties that only consisted of a few dozen players at the very most in the dungeons, and this was the first time that they had fought a boss with so many players together. Every party wanted to output as much damage as they could, and they were not afraid of friendly fire. As such, the battlefield was extremely chaotic.

The difficulty of this battle was much higher than what the players had expected, and all the tactics that they had thought of beforehand were completely useless. They could only react to the situation on the spot.

However, the players did not know that the pressure that Atimo was enduring was many times greater than theirs.

Atimo weaved through the crowd and wanted to use the crowd as his human shield and make the players cautious about friendly fire, thus reducing the intensity of the attacks. However, he was shocked to realize that this bunch of people could not have cared less about the deaths of their comrades and would go all out even if it meant the death of their comrades.

Even the cold Atimo could not help but be startled by the players. Even though he did not have any way to escape and the other party already had the upper hand, they still engaged in such a cruel method, disregarding the number of casualties!

This was far too cold blooded. The Black Star Army was actually so unscrupulous in their means!

Since the players were not afraid of their deaths, his strategy was completely useless. Atimo could only endure the firepower coming from all directions and had to exhaust energy to maintain his shield.

The attacks of the players were only at the Grade B level, but Atimo did not dare use his body to tank the collective damage of all the players. After all, he did not have a powerful physique.

His shield was unable to block out all the damage, especially the Psychic attacks that came from time to time, which gave him a huge headache. Most of the negative statuses inflicted on him were from the Psychic attacks.

Atimo also had plenty of injuries all over his body, and his health was slowly decreasing. He did not have a powerful recovery capability, so his recovery speed could not keep up even if he used his energy to stimulate the recovery of his cells.

Furthermore, with his energy being depleted so quickly, Atimo felt that it was becoming more and more impossible for him to kill all the enemies.

Although Atimo felt this way, he would not surrender as long as he had the slightest bit of hope.

Even if I can’t escape, I have to deal the greatest amount of damage that I can! Atimo thought to himself.

Even if he died, he wanted to bite off a huge piece of flesh from the Black Star Army. Since these enemies were so crazy in their attacks, he would be able to cause the maximum amount of damage to his enemies.

Atimo’s body flashed, and he appeared in another region. All of a sudden, a cracking sound could be heard under his feet as he stepped into a series of mechanical traps. The powerful magnetic force tied his body down and slowed his movements greatly.

“Everyone, come over! I caught him!” one of the players cried out.

The players in the surroundings immediately unleashed all their firepower on Atimo.

Atimo let out a low growl, and his energy shield glowed brightly. The bullets rained down on his shield, and sparks could be seen bursting all around.

Boom!

Energy beams shot out in all directions, and the artillery towers that were near him exploded.

Following which, he stomped on the ground and destroyed the mechanical traps under his feet, obtaining freedom. Just when Atimo wanted to retreat, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, and more than ten Psychics around him each greeted him with a mental attack.

In the momentary delay, a large group of Pugilists took the opportunity to charge forward, and their flaming fists crashed down on Atimo’s shield.

Boom boom boom!

The shield began flickering, and Atimo gritted his teeth. He then waved his arm, and an energy whip shot out and swept all the incoming Pugilists away.

Fighting on the ground was extremely disadvantageous to him, so Atimo tried to take flight again. However, he had only flown a few meters into the air before feeling a powerful sense of obstruction, which slowed his movements down greatly.

Raising his head to look up, there were countless magical formations floating in the sky to prevent him from flying.

It was impossible for Grade B Mages to stop him even if they stacked their formations, but it would take a long time for Atimo to weave through the anti-flying region. He did not dare do that as it would turn him into a live target.

Furthermore, even if he was able to fly, the enemy could still chase after him if he did not wipe them out. He did not think that his own flying speed was faster than a spaceship, and he would not be able to escape since he was stuck on the planet.

Both parties were locked in a long battle, and Atimo could feel a sense of fatigue.

He could not remember how many he had killed already. It could be tens of thousands, and the friendly fire among the enemy had probably killed even more people than him.

“A bunch of maniacs!” Atimo spat out a mouthful of spittle and dragged his heavy body to continue fighting.

His energy was already running out, and his body felt heavier and heavier by the second.

“It seems I don’t stand a chance…” Atimo’s heart sank, and he became even more ferocious.

At least the enemy suffered more casualties! He had to drag as many people to die with him as possible!

At this moment, Atimo avoided another wave of fire and looked around to observe the densely packed enemy around him. All of a sudden, he felt something extremely strange about the battle.

After fighting for such a long time, he should have killed many enemies, and the enemies obviously did not have any reinforcements. Why did it seem that the number of enemies had not changed at all‽

Atimo was stunned.

In his world view, death was certain, and there was no such thing as revival. Thus, he did not pay close attention to the number of enemies that he had to face. Furthermore, the battlefield was extremely chaotic, and there were thousands and thousands of enemies. He did not have the time to recognize the faces of every individual. Together with the fact that he was trapped in a dangerous situation, he only managed to notice that something was wrong.

After realizing this, Atimo began to observe the people around him carefully, and his expression changed greatly.

“This bunch of people… are actually undying‽”

Atimo’s expression changed drastically, and he had a look of disbelief on his face. A deep sense of despair filled his heart and spread out to his entire body.

No wonder… No wonder they don’t care about the fatalities. It turns out that this group of people don’t even know the concept of death…

He had thought that he was causing severe damage to the enemy, but it turned out that it was only a naïve thought. His own retaliation was a pointless struggle.

If it was only because he had to face a large number of enemies, Atimo would still have had the desire to fight them to the death. But after discovering that the enemy could still revive, Atimo’s mental state completely collapsed. He fell into complete despair, and his will to fight completely disappeared.

“Argh!” Atimo’s final trace of hope was destroyed, and he let out a roar to the heavens. He then burst forth with all his remaining strength without reserving the slightest bit of energy.

Boom!

More than ten thick pillars of lights swept throughout the battlefield, and all those who came into contact with one were instantly killed. Just this attack alone had wiped out more than ten thousand players.

“Take note! Everyone drop! This should be the final phase of the boss. We are going to enter the final struggle!”

All the parties hurriedly dropped to the ground, and the pillar of light floated past their heads. However, the burning energy source still caused some damage to them.

The light pillars disappeared quickly, and Atimo’s body shook unsteadily from side to side as though he would fall over at any moment.

Bang!

A cannonball sent Atimo crashing to the ground. As all the players witnessed this scene, they hurriedly got up and began spamming all their attacks at Atimo.

Atimo, who had lost his will to fight back, was like a doll for everyone to snatch. His limbs were quickly torn apart, and his body was tortured by the players. His eyes gradually became unfocused, and the players around him were like demons in his eyes.

Before his death, Atimo suddenly imagined the faces of all the players becoming his face.

He suddenly thought about his many years of robbing and pillaging.

Could this be his retribution?

Puchi!

The next moment, his head was ripped off by someone, and his sight turned gray.

“Hahaha! The reward for killing him is ours!” a player from Dynasty cheered.

Second Prince then waved Atimo’s head excitedly, and King Admiral shook his head by the side.

“Tsk, it actually belongs to Dynasty.”

“I died three times but didn’t even manage to touch a single hair on his body. What a loss.”

“Why don’t we get rid of some over here?”

The professional players of the other teams looked at Dynasty greedily.

Vodka and Captain Old Henry were disappointed that the reward of the boss had been snatched by the large clubs. Dynasty would probably be a powerful enemy again during the upcoming Pro League.

During the battle previously, they had aimed their attacks at the Chinese players and wanted to pretend that it was accidental friendly fire. However, they also realized that they had suffered from an unusually large amount of friendly fire, and each of them had died an average of three times. They were probably the targets of the Chinese players as well.

Although the ordinary players did not receive the reward, they were still extremely excited.

Atimo was the first Calamity Grade Super that had died by their hands!

This was the first Calamity Grade kill for the players!

On the other side, Han Xiao had also received a report from Phillip and heaved a sigh of relief.

“They finally killed a Calamity Grade…”

If it was a Calamity Grade like Ember, it would have been impossible for the players to kill him regardless of how many times they revived.

However, Atimo did not have such a perverse ability and was only an ordinary Calamity Grade Super. Phillip had caused the spaceship to crash, but the players had their spaceships to chase after him. Thus, Atimo did not have any route of retreat and had no choice but to face the players. Since the players had the strength of a Grade B Super, their strength had achieved a qualitative change, and Atimo could only die with regrets.

In Han Xiao’s eyes, this event would be a milestone that belonged to the players, and it was also the turning point for the players’ thoughts.

In his previous life, the players had only managed to get rid of a Calamity Grade Super during Version 4.0. After that, the players knew that they could have the strength of an ordinary Calamity Grade Super, and their mental state had a subtle change. They became even more confident in themselves… and more death seeking.

This was something that could not be avoided as the players were extremely opinionated. However, this influence was limited at the moment. Han Xiao’s personal combat strength and organization were sufficient to suppress the little demons in all the players.

He had intentionally allowed the players to deal with Atimo so that they could get rid of a Calamity Grade Super as members of the Black Star Army. If they did not have Phillip’s help, they would not have been able to stop Atimo from escaping, and it would have been impossible for them to kill the first Calamity Grade boss.

As such, this first kill was the fruit of the players’ effort and also the strength of the faction. As long as the players understood this, their sense of belonging to the faction would only increase.

Furthermore, this first kill was a milestone event and a combined activity of the army. Through this incident, this would tie even more players to the army.

Chapter 832: 832 Merit Seeker

832 Merit Seeker

After getting rid of Atimo, the [Wipe Out the Great Cosmos Corps] mission did not end immediately, and there were still other players chasing after the other members of the Great Cosmos Corps who had escaped.

With the battle ending, the hundreds of thousands of players checked their interface and saw a notification.

_____________________

The Black Star Army has submitted [Great Cosmos Corps Exploratory Information]!

[Flickering World—The First Phase] rating increased.

_____________________

Through the Flickering World Main Storyline Mission, Han Xiao was not the only one who received this notification, and the players also received it.

This was the army helping them to increase their benefits.

The players were all overjoyed, and the accumulated Exploration Points should be enough to let their Mission Rating increase from D to C after this mission.

Apart from the players, no living beings were left behind on the battlefield. The players then entered the wreckage of the different battleships in search of their spoils of war. Although the technological standard of the Great Cosmos Corps was far from that of the Black Star Army, the players would never leave empty handed and swept across the battlefield like a swarm of locusts, taking everything that was valuable away.

The circular mountain range was left with craters all around and the wreckages of the different battleships sticking out from the ground. The players boarded the spaceships and left the planet, leaving behind the mess of their battle and a ground full of corpses that none of them could be bothered to deal with.

…

On the forums, the players who participated in the battle to kill Atimo began to show off their achievement. As the first Calamity Grade Super that they had killed, it was an extremely memorable event. There were some who had immediately recorded the event in the Galaxy Chronicles.

‘In year 705 of the Galaxy Calendar, we completed the first kill of Atimo.’

All of them were naturally proud of their achievement. It has already been three versions, and they had first seen a Calamity Grade Super in Version 2.0. During Version 3.0, they had personally participated in battles with Calamity Grade Supers, and the strength of the Calamity Grade had already been imprinted into their hearts. At this moment, they had finally gotten rid of one by themselves.

Even though they had surrounded their enemy with well over a hundred thousand people, their enemy was a native, and they had only succeeded because the army blocked their enemy’s escape route—the players were still extremely excited.

Since a long time ago, many had analyzed that as long as there were no major changes to the various grades, the players would become more and more important in the galaxy as their levels increased. This first kill was evidence that supported this theory.

As such, many players looked forward to the next version.

Perhaps we can also have a fist fight with Heber and kick Psyker around some day.

It was a pity Han Xiao did not know of the dreams of these players. If he did, he would definitely not allow them to continue enjoying their dreams and show them that their dreams were completely empty.

The one who took the reward for the kill was Dynasty. As a famous Chinese guild, the players were not too surprised that they were able to get the kill. In fact, the Chinese players would not be surprised if it was anyone of the four great guilds that got the kill. However, if it was any other guild or an ordinary player who got the kill, the players would then think that it was dog-sh*t luck.

Looking at Dynasty showing off their reward for the kill, all the players could only watch with envy with the other guilds being the ones who were the most envious.

This was the first kill for a Calamity Grade Super. The reward aside, the fame brought about by this first kill was what the guilds sought the most. This would be the glory of the guild that they could use to attract other members. Even if the other guilds could kill a few Calamity Grade Supers after this, the meaning would be completely different from a first kill.

Second Prince was the one who completed the final attack, and he posted the pictures of the kill happily on the forums. He could not help but boast about his achievement.

Although he was a professional player, he had never bothered about his own personal image. As the number two player in Dynasty, he had always wanted to overthrow King Admiral and gave off the impression of someone both mischievous and arrogant.

However, after Maple Moon revealed her own mission under the urging of Frenzied Sword, all the players’ attention was immediately drawn over to her.

Maple Moon revealed how she had discovered the coordinate marker and her own personal mission.

All the players had assumed that attacking the Great Cosmos Corps was an order from the dynasty; they only realized that this entire mission was a storyline created by a single player after seeing her thread!

To them, this was the largest influence that the players had on the army!

“Oh my goodness, this was actually a player-triggered hidden mission‽”

“Maple Moon? This name sounds pretty familiar… Eh? Isn’t she the one who followed our Army Commander since very early on in the first version?”

“To think that she was actually able to discover such a hidden mission. What good luck she has.”

Many players became extremely envious of Maple Moon. She had remained extremely quiet throughout the past two versions, and she had stunned the entire world with her actions in one fell swoop.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Maple Moon had been extremely famous for digging out hidden storylines. She had gradually become famous in Version 3.0 and emerged as a black horse in the third Pro League. This was not too strange as there were black horses every year, with the third Pro League having the most. Version 3.0 was the time for the Mechanics to rise and, almost 80% of the black horses were the Mechanics who had an extremely awkward position in the first two seasons.

The rewards of her solo mission were extremely plentiful, and it was even more than the reward to kill Atimo. Thus, the players on the forums all had their eyes turn green with envy. She did not even need to kill the boss and could get a reward even greater than killing the boss just by slacking off by the side! This was too good a deal!

Second Prince also stopped boasting and joined the envious army. Compared to the other aloof professional players, he was extremely active and enjoyed playing together with the ordinary players.

However, Maple Moon’s thread also contained the reward that Black Star gave to her through the faction interface.

_____________________

You have triggered Faction Mission [Black Star’s Generosity]

Mission complete!

Due to your contribution, your faction [Black Star Army] has rewarded you for your exploration.

+10 Favorability with Black Star

You have received 25,000,000 Experience, 200,000 Enas, and 2,000 Black Star Army Contribution Points.

Your army rank increased by one grade.

You have received a new title: [Merit Seeker]

Merit Seeker: A glorious title in the Black Star Army. You can receive materials, resources, or equipment of no more than 500 Enas daily for free and 1,000 army Contribution Points every month. Any member of the army who provides special information can receive this title (Only limited to the Flickering World mission).

_____________________

Looking at the reward that the army gave to Maple Moon, the players could not help but drool.

My goodness, the army’s reward is even more fantastic.

Two hundred thousand Enas was no small sum, and there was the unique army title. The effect of this title was just too tempting. Five hundred Enas of resources for free every day. This was 10,500 in a month and 180,000 in a year! The long-term benefits of such a title were truly amazing, and it was akin to earning money just by sitting at home!

It had always been them spending money in the army, and this was the first time that they had seen someone taking money from the army.

Han Xiao’s objective of issuing such a mission was very obvious.

Do you see that? That is the treatment of a meritorious subject!

Even though both were army titles, [Secret Warrior] and [Merit Seeker] were extremely different. The former was given to everyone who participated in the secret war whereas Maple Moon was the only one who had the latter.

This also verified one of the players’ guesses. As long as the method was right, they could directly affect the actions of the entire faction. Many people could not help but be excited at this revelation.

Through Maple Moon’s thread, many players understood how they could replicate this incident. The only way for them to do so would be to search for hidden missions and hand them over to the army!

“Since the army is exploring the Flickering World, we should be able to gain the [Merit Seeker] title as long as we find some hidden information similar to the Great Cosmos Corps, right?”

“This is definitely the case! The army has such a title to encourage us to dig out hidden missions for sure!”

With Maple Moon as an example, all the players became excited, and their passion to search for hidden missions was ignited.

…

Looking at the drooling players on the forums, Han Xiao could not help but chuckle to himself.

He had given Maple Moon a title that had both glory and benefits so that the other players would be encouraged to find more hidden missions and hand them over to him.

After all, it was the player’s specialty to find hidden missions, and they might be able to find the second fragment of the [Bold Explorer] skill.

Apart from this, he also intended to groom Maple Moon. This lady was a character who had risen to prominence in Version 3.0 in his previous life. As the trainer of the Mechanic class, if the Mechanics were able to obtain a good result during the upcoming Pro League, it would give him more opportunities to bluff… ahem… attract new players to choose the Mechanic Class. This way, he would have more crops to harvest.

Maple Moon was the black horse in this Pro League, and Han Xiao did not mind letting this black horse become blacker. With so many rewards, Maple Moon would probably be the first player to reach the maximum level.

The other players were still chasing the remnants of the Great Cosmos Corps and taking over the territories of the Great Cosmos Corps according to the data. Since nothing else would go wrong, Han Xiao left the rest to the players, and he no longer paid attention to it.

Looking around, apart from the various operators, the only two Officers in the room were Feidin and Aurora.

Aurora was currently seated in front of a control panel with her head crooked as though she was about to fall asleep. She did not need to manage the autopilot, and she was already drifting off to dreamland. On the other side, Feidin sat on the sofa and had his eyes shut in meditation. Who knew if he was training his mental force or bickering with Chen Xing in his head?

The other Black Star Guards spent most of their time in the combat room under the lead of Hila. The exploration had already been going on for more than a month, and after the initial excitement during the starting phase, the others could not be bothered to monitor the progress carefully every day. Hila truly could not stand slacking off beside Han Xiao every day and thus dragged the other Black Star Guards to train bitterly with her.

“A woman with the motivation to improve is still pretty attractive.” Han Xiao shook his head and entered the quantum network to contact Planet Aquamarine.

The Black Star Army had already set up a quantum network in the Dawn Star Cluster, and he was able to communicate with the Shattered Star Ring through his army’s channel. He did not have to go through the Crimson Dynasty as a middleman anymore.

Floating Dragon had remained at Planet Aquamarine for more than a month, and Han Xiao’s main purpose of contacting Planet Aquamarine was to ask them about Floating Dragon’s situation.

Not too long later, Bennett came online. After a period of not contacting Bennett, his voice suddenly seemed full of energy.

Bennett reported the recent situation. Floating Dragon had begun their expansion over the past month, and a large number of people and financial groups had flooded over because of Floating Dragon’s name. Because of this, Planet Aquamarine had received new opportunities for growth.

With Planet Aquamarine’s current development speed, Bennett felt that he would be able to move his plan of having colonial planets forward by a few decades. While this was not an easy task to a native civilization like theirs, it would be much easier for them to do so with the aid of so many galactic organizations.

With Floating Dragon’s protection, the immigrants of the colonial planets would be protected, and Bennett planned to use five years to digest the benefits brought about by Floating Dragon before officially starting his plan to expand outward. He called it the five-year plan, and Han Xiao was truly shocked when he heard it.

After reporting the development of Planet Aquamarine, Bennett suddenly mentioned something else.

“With regards to the extremist group of the Star Pupil Holy Race attacking Planet Aquamarine, I have already gathered the necessary evidence and am planning to mention it during the upcoming Civilization Conference…”

“Not bad. We must make good use of our status.” Han Xiao nodded. Since Psyker’s race had made a mistake, there was nothing wrong with making the leader take the blame for it.

“I will join in the meeting through a holographic projection. Black Star, would it be convenient for you to join in the meeting as well?”

Psyker was a Beyond Grade A figure after all, and Bennett felt that his status was not sufficient to deal with Psyker. Since Black Star was the representative of Planet Aquamarine, it was normal for him to participate in the meeting too.

“Me? Haha, of course it’s convenient. I have been extremely free recently.” Han Xiao chuckled.

Joining the meeting personally did not sound too bad. He would be able to personally witness Psyker’s expression.

Chapter 833: Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference

Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference was the Civilization Conference that was set up by the seven large Star Cluster civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring. The motive of the conference was to make it easier to manage the Star Field. The three Universal Civilizations usually would not interfere with the everyday affairs of the Star Field, and the Star Cluster civilizations were usually the ones to deal with the day to day issues.

The managers of the Shattered Star Ring were the seven Star Cluster civilizations and they were in charge of mediating the conflicts of the various Star System civilizations. Although their motive was to help everyone resolve their conflicts, the Civilization Conference was usually just a debate session where all the civilizations would make use of this opportunity to argue about almost everything and anything. However, they had rarely solved any problems.

During the secret war that had occurred not too long ago, even Purple Crystal and Klent, who were supposed to be the judges, had personally fought each other, and the usefulness of the Civilization Conference could easily be seen.

After all, the Shattered Star Ring was the border of the discovered universe, and chaos lingered in the region. A very long time ago, the various civilizations would send their envoys to participate in the conference personally, but after the seven Star Cluster civilizations could not stand the brawls that were happening during the conference, they changed the meeting method to using holographic projections.

Since everyone was only a projection, it was impossible for them to break out into a fight.

In any case, the Civilization Conference was a few days away, and this would be the first time that Planet Aquamarine had joined the conference.

Usually, only Star System level civilizations would have the right to enter the conference, but Han Xiao had made a deal with the various Star Cluster civilizations to let Planet Aquamarine have the rights to enter the conference. Planet Aquamarine was also the only civilization to enter the conference at the level of a surface civilization.

…

A few days later, the meeting was held as per usual, and Han Xiao received a notice from Purple Crystal. He then logged in to his own holographic projection account and joined the meeting.

Buzz…

An electrical buzzing sound could be heard, and Han Xiao felt a blinding light flash in his face. The next moment, he could share the view of his holographic projection, and the scene of the conference was in his eyes.

A circular meeting venue appeared before his eyes, and it looked a little like the structure of a colosseum. The black colored chairs were arranged neatly in a circular formation with the chairs in the middle being the lowest. The chairs gradually increased in height as it got to the outside like a staircase.

Surrounding the meeting venue was the starry sky of the universe, and the shrunken down star map of the Shattered Star Ring formed the backdrop of the room.

Han Xiao lowered his head and realized that his projection was already seated down on his own seat with Bennett being seated next to him. A golden ‘Planet Aquamarine’ sign was placed on the table in front of them, and both of their seats were located at quite a high point. They could see the entire venue, and the various representatives from the other civilizations were slowly coming online. The representatives from the different civilizations were seated a distance away from each other, and they were not squeezed together.

“This is the venue for the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference…” Bennett let out a sigh of admiration, and he turned around to greet Han Xiao. “Black Star, you are finally online.”

“The meeting hadn’t started yet. I came too early.”

Han Xiao then looked down, and his gaze swept past the center of the venue. The representatives of the seven Star Cluster civilizations were already online, and they were waiting for the representatives of the other civilizations to appear.

Han Xiao then turned around and asked, “How long have you been here?”

“I was the earliest batch to be here,” Bennett said. “This is my first time joining a meeting of such a level, and I am a little nervous, so I came earlier to take a look.”

He naturally would not be nervous because of the majestic setting but only felt the pressure of having the responsibilities of Planet Aquamarine on his shoulders.

Han Xiao smiled. This is my first time witnessing the Civilization Conference as well.

All the famous civilizations in the Star Field were gathered in a single hall, and most of the players did not have the opportunity to join such a meeting in his previous life, including him.

“Black Star, thank you,” Bennett suddenly said with a solemn tone. “If not for you, it’d probably take a few centuries or millenniums for Planet Aquamarine to have a seat in this place.”

“You don’t need to stand on ceremony. We are only each taking our own needs.” Han Xiao blatantly pointed out that he was only doing so for benefits. He then patted Bennett on the shoulder instinctively, but his palm passed through Bennett’s shoulders. He had forgotten that both of them were only holographic projections at this moment.

Bennett nodded and did not say anything else. He would not reduce his gratitude toward Han Xiao just because of Han Xiao’s words. He had been through many things in life and understood this simple logic—an individual’s motive was not as important as their actions.

While both of them were chatting, many representatives from the other civilizations also noticed Han Xiao’s presence and looked over with complicated gazes.

In the venue, Planet Aquamarine was an oddball, and Han Xiao had a cooperative relationship with many of the civilizations present. All the civilizations were aware of how Han Xiao had helped Planet Aquamarine join the Civilization Conference, and they could not help but be envious of Planet Aquamarine’s natural advantage.

They had the protection of the Beyond Grade A Black Star and were now the main camp of Floating Dragon. Just why did such a small planet have such good luck?

But despite their envy and jealousy, it was undeniable that Planet Aquamarine only managed to gain a seat there because of their own abilities. The civilizations present would not look down on Planet Aquamarine at all.

Not too long later, everyone finally arrived, and the chattering subsided.

At this moment, the representative from one of the Star Clusters stood up, and his voice was projected through the amplifiers.

“I am very happy to meet so many familiar friends today. Hmm, compared to the previous meeting, the number of people present hasn’t decreased. It seems like the security of the Shattered Star Ring has improved…”

Everyone had a cold expression on their face. This joke was truly too cold and not funny at all.

“Perhaps everyone has noticed that we have a new member in our midst.” The representative then looked toward Han Xiao and briefly introduced him. “Planet Aquamarine civilization, Aquamarine Federation, representative of his civilization… His Excellency Black Star.”

Everyone then looked over and nodded respectfully.

Han Xiao waved his hands and looked around. As he saw Psyker who was seated in the seat for the Star Pupil Holy Race, he raised his hand to wave.

Psyker pretended not to see a thing and remained expressionless.

“His Excellency Black Star is someone that we are all familiar with, so there’s no need for me to give an introduction. Since everyone is present, let’s start the meeting and discuss the first matter…”

Following which, the various delegates began to raise the issues that they had already prepared. The majority of these issues were trade conflicts, border conflicts, foreign affairs conflicts, and other problems that were nothing new.

The representatives chosen by the civilizations were all extremely eloquent, and every single proposal could be argued for over half a day before coming to a conclusion that the matter had to be delayed to a later date.

The process was long and cumbersome, but Bennett sat up straight to study every detail of the meeting to gain experience.

Han Xiao had already begun daydreaming a long time ago.

After waiting for a long time, the ones queuing in front of them had finally said their piece, and it was now their turn.

“Proposal number CL7984D66 from the Planet Aquamarine. Please give a brief description of the proposal,” the Purple Crystal representative said with a smile.

Bennett stood up slowly and began reading the material that he had prepared beforehand. He briefly explained the actions of the Avitan Souls extremists, and his voice reverberated in the meeting venue.

Following which, he looked at Psyker and said with a deep voice, “We discovered psionic explosives in the spaceship of these extremists, and the strength of these explosives was sufficient to destroy Planet Aquamarine. For such high-grade military weapons to appear in the hands of the extremists, we have reason to believe that these weapons came from the hands of the Star Pupil Holy Race, and the actions of these extremists were instructed by the Star Pupil Holy Race. Planet Aquamarine feels that the Star Pupil Holy Race wishes to go against the [Treaty of Cosmic Civilizations (Seventh Revision)] and wipe out a civilization protected by the treaty…”

The sponsor of Avitan Souls was actually an opponent of the Star Pupil Holy Race, a Star Cluster civilization called Talos. However, Bennett had insisted that the sponsor was the Star Pupil Holy Race so that Psyker would take the blame for the matter.

An odd look could be seen on the faces of everyone present. They were all experienced individuals and knew that it was impossible for Psyker to have done something like this.

A surface civilization that was accepted into the conference by exception actually pouring dirty water on a Beyond Grade A during their first meeting? They were far too bold. If only they could also have a Beyond Grade A Super as their backer. That way, they would be able to do whatever they wished.

The seven Star Cluster civilizations then exchanged glances, and six of them looked at the one of the representatives. He was the representative of the Talos Civilization.

The representative of Talos then looked at Psyker and asked with a smile that did not seem like a smile, “Representative of the Star Pupil Holy Race, what do you have to say?”

“They are maligning me.” Psyker had a calm look on his face and replied slowly. “I would never go against the treaty and have no reason to attack Planet Aquamarine. Those extremists weren’t following my orders.”

“How do you explain this incident?”

“If I were to make a conjecture, this should be the actual reason. Planet Avitan suffered from an ambush recently, and the Evolution Cube was lost during the process. Black Star then managed to snatch the Evolution Cube in the end…”

As he said that, Psyker glared at Han Xiao coldly before continuing. “Because of the ambush, a portion of the survivors of Planet Avitan became extremists who wanted to take revenge. In the eyes of the Star Pupil Holy Race, the Evolution Cube is our national treasure, and Black Star snatched our national treasure away. Thus, the extremist group blamed the matter on him, and this matter is their personal action. It has nothing to do with the officials of the Star Pupil Holy Race. If Planet Aquamarine insists that I am the culprit behind this matter, please provide proper evidence.”

Han Xiao chuckled and said, “Dead men tell no tales. Do you wish to absolve yourself from guilt with just a few words?”

“Ah, likewise to you. Since dead men tell no tales, you are also trying to frame me with a few illogical arguments,” Psyker said coldly.

The Talos representative then said, “Let us place this matter aside for now. Regardless of whether the Star Pupil Holy Race ordered the assault, the attackers were indeed from your race. Am I right?”

Psyker took a deep breath and nodded. “Although they are from our race, we…”

The Talos representative interrupted Psyker. “You don’t need to say anything else. The Star Pupil Holy Race is extremely different from other races. Your race should be a highly united one, and the presence of an extremist group is a result of your mismanagement.”

“… This is my internal affair, and I will personally disband the extremist group called Avitan Souls. None of you have the right to intervene in anything else,” Psyker said with a frosty tone.

“If you need, we can send some forces to help you wipe out the extremist force as a friendly neighbor.”

“… That’s not necessary.” Psyker was shocked. Who would not know what your intention is? You dare mention such a matter in front of so many people? Don’t you feel any shame?

The Talos representative then chuckled and got back to the main topic. “Let’s talk about your measures to rectify your mistake in the future. We are now discussing your responsibility. This extremist group is from your race, and they were using their identities as citizens of the Star Pupil Holy Race when carrying out the attack. I believe that the Star Pupil Holy Race should take responsibility for this incident.”

In truth, regardless of whether they were from the same race or citizens of the race, these were not important factors at all. However, the Talos representative wanted to target the Star Pupil Holy Race by harping on about this matter.

He was not the only one who did so in fact.

“I think so too,” the Purple Crystal representative said.

“I agree.” The representatives from a few other Star Clusters also nodded.

Purple Crystal was speaking on behalf of Planet Aquamarine because of Han Xiao, and the other Star Cluster civilizations only wanted to deal a blow to the Star Pupil Holy Race.

Because the Star Pupil Holy Race had the support of the Arcane Church, their development was extremely rapid, and they had a chance to become the eighth Star Cluster civilization. The others were not willing to allow someone else to share benefits with them.

As such, all of them stood on the same side and made use of this opportunity to create trouble for the Star Pupil Holy Race.

The other representatives remained silent at this moment as they understood what was going on.

Who asked the members of your race to try and destroy another planet and even leave evidence behind?

If someone wanted to blow up their mother planet, they would also blame the masters for not reining in the crazy dogs properly.

All of a sudden, Psyker became the target of everyone’s criticism, and even Bennett was shocked by the scene. He had originally thought that he would just engage in a small squabble with Psyker but never expected so many people to speak on his behalf. He could not help but look at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao smiled, having expected such a scene. He knew that exposing this matter would give the other Star Cluster Civilizations an opportunity to exploit. The Shattered Star Ring had already been split up by the seven Star Cluster Civilizations, and they were not willing to allow a new member to share the pie with them. As such, even if he did not have any evidence, they would side with him.

Psyker’s face was extremely ugly. Psyker naturally understood the logic of ‘giving a dog a bad name then hanging him’, but he truly did not have sufficient grounds to fight back. The other party was the victim, and he was indeed in the wrong.

He could not help but curse the Avitan Souls. Those brats did not think about the trouble that their actions would cause to the civilization and had dragged him down to take the rap for them. It was truly a waste to allow them to evolve back then.

“How do you guys want to deal with this matter?” Psyker said with frustration.

The Talos representative then said, “I think that you need to make a public apology to Planet Aquamarine and provide them with some compensation.”

“Compensation and an apology? Impossible,” Psyker said with a deep voice. “I can make a donation at most.”

A donation and compensation had completely different meanings.

As the leader of a civilization, he was the image of the Star Pupil Holy Race, and he had to consider many different things. It was impossible for him to make a public apology just because of the actions of an extremist group. It was just like how Godora would never apologize because of DarkStar’s actions. Furthermore, Psyker was a Beyond Grade A Super, and doing so would harm his prestige. Thus, he could not lower his head so easily.

Bennett then snapped back to his senses and said under Han Xiao’s instructions, “Planet Aquamarine strongly condemns the Star Pupil Holy Race for their actions and does not accept such an insincere conclusion.”

“Then there isn’t a need to continue talking about this.”

Psyker looked at Han Xiao coldly and suddenly went offline.

The Star Pupil Holy Race had the backing of the Arcane Church, and the Civilization Conference had a limited restriction on them. It was impossible for the Civilization Conference to force him to lower his head. At the same time, Psyker could not do as he wished and would also suffer some losses.

After this incident, it would be far more difficult for the Star Pupil Holy Race to seek cooperation. He had lost the Evolution Cube, and the support of the Arcane Church would also decrease. As such, this storm was extremely disadvantageous to their development.

Furthermore, Talos would make use of this opportunity to publicize this matter and sway public opinion against the Star Pupil Holy Race.

In Psyker’s eyes, the culprit of all this was Han Xiao. If not for Han Xiao being insistent on making him take the blame, the situation would not have progressed like that.

Psyker’s enmity toward Han Xiao increased to the next level.

On Han Xiao’s side, his interface gave him a notification. His favorability with the Star Pupil Holy Race had fallen by 800 points and was now -1,250 points. Their relationship went from [Hostile] to [Enemies].

Psyker was indeed infuriated. Han Xiao shook his head. Planet Aquamarine was his ‘mother planet’, and it was impossible for him to swallow such a grievance without doing anything. Since Psyker and the Arcane Church would not let go of the Evolution Cube, they were destined to be enemies, and he would not mind their enmity being deeper.

If Planet Aquamarine was really destroyed, Psyker still would not apologize or pay any compensation. He might even gloat at his demise. However, there was no right or wrong to him, and Han Xiao did not think that Psyker’s actions were wrong.

“I wonder how he will retaliate…” Han Xiao pondered to himself.

Planet Aquamarine was protected by the Peace Treaty, and Psyker would not take action against anyone else. If Psyker wanted to fight back, Psyker would definitely have his sights set on Han Xiao.

Aesop said that the Arcane Church would send people after him, and Psyker would definitely be a member of the party since he was able to lock onto his position.

Han Xiao decided to let the main camp keep a look out for Psyker’s movements as it was akin to monitoring the Arcane Church’s actions.

…

At the same time, on the mother planet of the Star Pupil Holy Race. Psyker disconnected from the meeting venue, and his expression was extremely ugly.

After thinking for a while, Psyker sent a message to the Arcane Church.

“I will agree to that matter.”

The Arcane Church had given him a mission recently, and Psyker had been thinking about it. He had only made a decision at that moment.

Psyker’s cold expression could be seen on the screen of the communicator.

“Black Star, you should stay in the Flickering World and never return.”

Chapter 834: Arcane Church’s Trace

Leaving the conference halfway was obviously extremely disrespectful to the other members present, but the seven Star Cluster civilizations and the other members weren’t too bothered. The Star Pupil Holy Race had become the public enemy, and Psyker was only using his actions to show his dissatisfaction. He would still come online obediently during the next meeting.

Since their target was gone, this proposal could only be postponed to a later date, and Bennett sat back down.

The meeting continued, and the next proposal was raised. The atmosphere of the meeting had become more peaceful.

All the other proposals after this did not have anything to do with him anymore, so Han Xiao temporarily cut off from the viewpoint of the projection and began browsing the forums.

After another long wait, the meeting on the first day was finally over. Every time a Civilization Conference was held, they would have to meet for a few days before being able to discuss all the accumulated proposals. Han Xiao only intended to show his face for the first day, and he would not need to be present for all the other meetings. Bennett alone would be enough.

Disconnecting from the long-range holographic projection, Han Xiao closed the forums and thought to himself, The Star Pupil Holy Race was criticized by Planet Aquamarine, but the future matters will have nothing to do with Planet Aquamarine.

Since nothing had actually happened, it would be impossible for them to actually do anything to Psyker. Han Xiao was not counting on the Star Pupil Holy Race providing compensation or a donation. The influence of Planet Aquamarine was still too weak, and even after criticizing them, Psyker would not be too affected by it.

After this matter was mentioned, the ones who would cause trouble for Psyker would not be Planet Aquamarine but the Talos Civilization.

The Talos Civilization secretly sponsored Avitan Souls so that those extremists would create trouble for the Star Pupil Holy Race. Although they did not instruct Avitan Souls to attack Planet Aquamarine, this unexpected situation was to their advantage, and they could make use of this matter to create trouble.

Han Xiao got Bennett to criticize Psyker to give the Talos Civilization an excuse, and the Talos Civilization understood his intentions. They had wanted to deal with the Star Pupil Holy Race a long time ago, and standing up for Planet Aquamarine could also win them Han Xiao’s favor.

Thus, Planet Aquamarine did not have to do anything after the first day and only had to watch from the side.

Han Xiao then contacted Ames and asked her about Floating Dragon’s situation.

Both of them talked for half an hour before hanging up.

Walking to the 3D star map, Han Xiao looked at the map of the Garu Star Cluster. The explored green region was still extremely small, and it looked like two toothpicks sticking out from a green blob. These two ‘toothpicks’ were the two long distance routes that were currently under construction.

“Hadavy’s Special Task Force needs another three months before they can complete the long distance stargate…” Han Xiao stroked his chin and pondered to himself.

According to his plan, the Special Task Force arriving at the east of the Garu Star Cluster would be the first phase.

According to his understanding of the Garu Star Cluster, there should not be another huge storm like the Great Cosmos Corps again, and they would have a calm exploration until they had explored about eighty percent of the Star Systems.

…

Time flew by.

Three months later, in the Crimson Dynasty Ruler’s office, Urranrell currently had a report in her hands, and she was reprimanding one of the upper echelons with a stern voice.

“The Federation of Light is moving sneakily and has entered our territory. How are you going to take care of this matter? Just watch from the side and let them do as they please? I asked you to keep guard, not retreat all the way! Come up with a plan immediately!”

“Let me think, let me think…”

Urranrell’s eyes were extremely stern. The exploration of the Flickering World had only been going on for a few months, and the Federation of Light could no longer sit still. They had begun applying pressure on the dynasty from the economic, political, and military side. They were prepared to snatch benefits from the dynasty while the dynasty’s attention was fixed on exploring the new Star Field.

This was only the beginning. The dynasty would definitely invest even more manpower and resources in the exploration, and the Federation of Light would increase the intensity of their operations to make things difficult for the dynasty.

Although this situation was within Urranrell’s expectations, it was something avoidable. Both the Federation of Light and the Crimson Dynasty were at the same level, and their strength was equal. It was extremely difficult for everything to go smoothly and perfectly. If the dynasty wanted to have some reward, they needed to pay the appropriate price. Urranrell had already prepared herself mentally for this.

Beep beep.

The internal comms line rang.

“Your Excellency, the Chief Commander of the exploration army Tarrokov is on the line.”

Urranrell then waved her hand and got the official in front of her to leave. The official felt as though he was pardoned of his crime and hurriedly left the office. Only Urranrell remained in the room.

“Patch it through.” Urranrell nodded.

The next moment, Tarrokov’s figure appeared inside the room, and he gave a military salute to Urranrell.

“Tarrokov, how is the progress for the exploration of the Flickering World?”

The exploration of the Flickering World was of strategic importance to the Crimson Dynasty, and Urranrell was extremely concerned about the situation.

“The information has already been sent to you, and I am here to give you a brief report…”

Tarrokov then began explaining.

Urranrell glanced at the report while looking at the information and nodded.

“In summary, Renault and Crown are being explored by the forces of the dynasty and Klent. Our progress is only average. On the contrary, the Black Star Army, which chose the Garu Star Cluster, has discovered a large number of resource rich planets over the past four months and even took over the territory of a local organization, saving us a great deal of effort. Furthermore, the Black Star Army didn’t bother about their own losses and are constructing a long distance stargate for the convenience of future exploration squads,” Tarrokov said.

Urranrell placed down the information in her hands and said with a satisfied look, “Not bad. He is a reliable ally.”

With a basis of comparison, she was extremely satisfied with Han Xiao’s efficiency.

“The Black Star Army is an ally worthy of grooming. We should increase our support for them in all aspects.”

Although Tarrokov seemed to have received some benefits from the Black Star Army and always spoke highly of them, Urranrell was not bothered about the details as long as the Black Star Army produced results.

“Apart from this, I have something else to report,” Tarrokov suddenly said with a deep voice. “We’ve noticed traces of stowaways.”

The stowaways that he referred to were those who secretly entered the Flickering World without approval from the dynasty.

Urranrell’s eyes narrowed. “Are you sure they aren’t natives?”

Tarrokov shook his head and said, “Although I do not have much evidence, our troops stationed in the universe belt between the Shattered Star Ring and Flickering World discovered traces of warp speed hyperdrive by an unknown force. Their technological capabilities have obviously reached the level of a Star Cluster, and they should be arriving in the Flickering World very soon. Some others may have already arrived at the Flickering World before this but weren’t discovered by us.”

“The Federation of Light and Arcane Church have indeed taken action,” Urranrell said.

“I think that they will avoid the first three Star Clusters that we have chosen and explore the Star Clusters located deep within the Star Field,” Tarrokov said. “They want to swallow our Star Field on the sly and avoid coming into contact with us.”

“You’re right,” Urranrell said slowly. “Send out our forces to patrol the universe belt between the Shattered Star Ring and Flickering World. Destroy any stargates built by the enemy that you can find.”

Those stowaways were probably planning to create their own secret stargate to connect the Flickering World to the outside so that they could send a large troop quickly in the future. The hidden stargates would usually be hidden within the universe belt between the two Star Fields.

The Crimson Dynasty had publicly forbidden other organizations from privately setting up their own stargate because of such a consideration. The most effective way to deal with stowaways would be to destroy their stargates and ensure that the control of the stargates remained firmly in the dynasty’s hands.

The only way to maximize the dynasty’s benefits was to ensure a monopoly on transportation.

Tarrokov shook his head in response. “We will need more manpower.”

“I know.” Urranrell nodded. “I will deploy more troops to head to the Flickering World. It is also time for our second batch of allies to move out.”

…

At the same time, an Arcane Church fleet had secretly arrived at the border of the Flickering World.

“We’ve finally arrived! Contact the branch division. Have they chosen a location in the desolate universe belt?”

“Reporting to the captain, the location has been decided, and they are only waiting for us.”

They required two stargates to form a new path, and stowaway troops would usually split up into two groups. One group would choose a location for their secret stargate, and this would be the ‘entrance’.

The troops that arrived at the Flickering World would then build the ‘exit’.

“Very good. Make sure that we avoid all the detectors of the Crimson Dynasty. Go around the Dawn Star Cluster and head to the desolate universe belt near the Garu Star Cluster to construct a stargate. We will also build a temporary base.”

The Arcane Church also wanted to set their sights on the Flickering World, but this was a long-term job. At the same time, the Arcane Church was even more interested in the Evolution Cube.

They had chosen to set up a stargate near the Garu Star Cluster so that it would be easy for them to store their army.

It would only be convenient for them to send out Beyond Grade A Supers after constructing their stargates. After all, an expert of such a level would not be willing to spend a few months slowly crossing the desolate universe belt.

Black Star had already proven himself to be someone extremely difficult to deal with. In order to guarantee their success, the Arcane Church had sent out more than one or two Beyond Grade A Supers.

Of course, the three Universal Civilizations kept an eye on each other’s Beyond Grade A combatants, and the moment any one of them displayed any strange movements, the other two parties would be alerted.

If they wanted to allow their Beyond Grade A Supers to move sneakily, they needed to find a reason to fool others.

Chapter 835: Four Months

Ever since the players took over the remaining territories of the Great Cosmos Corps and set up a long distance stargate, Han Xiao had led his forces to the middle region of the star map. The famous planets within the center region of the Star Cluster were much greater, and their quality was higher.

One of these planets was called Planet Shining Gold, which had been extremely prosperous in Han Xiao’s previous life. It was one of the first-rate planets that the dynasty had in the Garu Star Cluster and was an iconic planet of the Flickering World. There was also Planet Auspicious Forest, which was a transit station within the Garu Star Cluster. During its most prosperous time, it had over five hundred stargate entrances and was the heart of the Star Cluster.

Apart from this, Han Xiao had also occupied many resource rich planets that were famous for producing various valuable resources.

In his previous life, these famous planets had an important status in the Garu Star Cluster, and the dynasty might take back these planets after opening up the Flickering World to the public. But during the exploration period, these planets were all the territory of the Black Star Army, and the Black Star Army had the right to enjoy the special produce of these planets.

The exploration had already been going on for four months, and the progress of the various exploration squads was similar. The Bloodshed Land had taken a steady approach in their exploration and had almost completed the exploration of the Jeraton Star System. Although they had pretty decent rewards, the outcome was within the dynasty’s expectations, and it would not cause too big a storm. In comparison, even though Han Xiao’s exploration squad had taken the approach of spreading out their forces, which resulted in taking a longer time to explore a single Star System, Han Xiao had managed to provide the dynasty with quite a number of surprises because he had managed to find a large number of famous planets from his previous life.

Because of this, the dynasty increased their support for him as well.

Han Xiao had heard rumors about the Klent exploration team mimicking his method and sending out troops to the planets of the other regions. However, it was a pity that they were not familiar with the situation on the other planets and did not have good results.

Over the past four months, the benefits of the Flickering World had begun to show. The rewards that the Black Star Army received from the Flickering World almost rivaled the combined total of the other armies.

As more and more planets were explored, their rewards continued to snowball.

Countless uninhabited planets were waiting to be excavated. If not, why would they say that the Flickering World was a huge opportunity?

The gains of the army soared rapidly, and after the exploration team sent these earnings back to the main camp in the Shattered Star Ring, Sylvia began to expand the army even further under Han Xiao’s instructions. They attracted more new members and increased the scale of their training camp.

On the players’ side, as the resource rich planets increased in numbers, the guilds also ran out of manpower and could only selectively choose the planets to mine on. The best resource rich planets were naturally taken by the four great guilds and the others by the first-rate guilds. The Australian and Russian guilds were bullied badly and no longer wished to play on the same planet as any of the powerful Chinese guilds. Thus, they chose a few lousier resource rich planets and competed with the second-rate Chinese guilds instead.

Over the past four months, the average level of the players had gone up a great deal, and Maple Moon, who had received bountiful rewards from the hidden mission, was the highest leveled player. She was already at level 113 and only needed seven more levels to reach the max level.

With Maple Moon as an example, all the players searched for hidden missions like crazy, and there were a few who had indeed managed to find some. However, it was a pity that there was no reward for the second [Bold Explorer] skill fragment.

Han Xiao had not remained idle over the past four months either. The experience punishment of the Evolution Cube would end in eight months, so he was not in a rush to level up.

Apart from monitoring the progress of the exploration and scrolling through the forums, Han Xiao spent most of his time in his workshop, expanding his mechanical army.

Currently, his mechanical army had already exceeded ten million soldiers in number, and their attributes were extremely powerful. Under the boost of his mechanical force, this army of his had the strength to wipe out a weaker Star System Civilization.

Among the five main classes, the destructiveness of a Mechanic was the greatest toward a civilization. The other four classes were more suitable to fight a single target, and only a powerful Beyond Grade A Mechanic had the ability to fight a large-scale galactic war.

Han Xiao was currently standing in front of the 3D star map, waiting for a special piece of news.

Today was a special day as the Special Task Force that Hadavy was leading would complete the construction of the long distance stargate. He was waiting for Hadavy’s word.

But before news from Hadavy could arrive, Tarrokov contacted him.

Beep beep!

Han Xiao looked at his communicator and could only pick up the call with resignation.

“Chief commander, what’s the matter?”

“I need to inform you about something. We found traces of stowaways.”

“Stowaways? They should be from the organizations who ignored the dynasty’s warning and want to have a share of the Flickering World, right?”

This was something that the players found out from the background description in his previous life. This matter happened during the version update period, and the players did not participate in the event. When the players joined in, the Flickering World had already opened to the outside world, and the other organizations were allowed to enter the Flickering World.

In the dynasty’s records, they had fought a long battle with the stowaways. The Star Field was far too big, and there were too many regions to explore. As such, the dynasty was not able to completely uproot the stowaways. Even if they could get rid of one batch, another batch would arrive very quickly.

Tarrokov nodded and said, “It should be the forces of some super Star Cluster civilizations. You should keep an eye out for them and report to me if you find any stowaways. We must find their secret stargates, and we will request aid from your troops if necessary.”

“Okay.”

A new mission immediately popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

You have triggered [Stowaways’ Clue] (Repeatable)!

Mission Introduction: A new Star Field is a treasure trove, and every organization wants a share of it. No one is willing to see the Crimson Dynasty swallow all the benefits alone, and even if the Flickering World is the Crimson Dynasty’s territory in name, it is impossible to stop their greed. As one of the dynasty’s allies, the stowaways’ infiltration is also an opportunity for you. The dynasty needs your help.

Mission Requirements: Hand in all information related to stowaways, kill a batch of stowaways, or destroy the secret stargates.

Reward: 2,000,000 – 50,000,000 Experience and 50 – 700 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points

Remark: This is a branch mission of the [Flickering World].

_____________________

This was a repeatable mission, and he would receive a reward every time he dealt with stowaways. The rewards were only so-so, but Han Xiao was the most interested in the dynasty Contribution Points.

However, stowaways were stealthy in their actions and extremely difficult to find. Han Xiao can only try his luck. Furthermore, the stowaways were not natives, and if they set up a secret stargate, it would only be possible to destroy the stargate with a battle.

Han Xiao only intended to provide the clues and was not planning to pick a fight with the super Star Cluster civilizations. However, the dynasty were not afraid of offending them and would be the most suitable party to do so.

“The Arcane Church should also be included among the stowaways…”

Aesop had prophesied that the Arcane Church would bring him danger in the Flickering World, and Han Xiao was concerned about it.

If the Arcane Church wanted to deal with me, they would definitely have to send a large force. Because they’ll need to build up their forces, they won’t take action soon. However, I’d better remain vigilant during this period, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Psyker was able to locate him, and the Arcane Church would definitely get Psyker to join them. Thus, observing Psyker’s whereabouts would be the most direct way to find out when the Arcane Church was planning to attack.

It was a pity that the [Observer’s Mark] that he had placed on Psyker’s body had already been removed. If not, things would have been much easier for him. Although Psyker was not able to remove it on his own, he could feel that he was being spied on. Psyker had already found out that he was the culprit, and it was impossible for Psyker to ignore the matter after a good half a year. Psyker must have gotten someone from the Arcane Church to get rid of the [Observer’s Mark] for him. After all, Austin was not the only Beyond Grade A Mage.

Han Xiao conveyed his worries to Tarrokov, and Tarrokov replied with a smile as though he had already expected it.

“The dynasty has also considered the possibility that the Arcane Church will try to snatch the Evolution Cube when you are in the Flickering World. Thus, the dynasty will keep a close eye on the movements of the Beyond Grade A Supers of the Arcane Church. Furthermore, Her Excellency has already sent out a second wave of troops to the Flickering World, which includes many of the dynasty’s allies. We will also send out a Beyond Grade A Super that is a direct subordinate of the dynasty to follow you and protect you temporarily.”

The second batch of allies… it seems like the competition is here.

On account of the Evolution Cube, the dynasty sent manpower to protect him. However, Han Xiao knew that the dynasty would prefer him to not run around with the Evolution Cube.

After retrieving that ownerless Universal Treasure, I shall return to Planet Lighthouse for a period of time…

Since he knew that the enemy wanted to deal with him, Han Xiao decided to be on the safer side. After all, the Arcane Church was not that easy to deal with.

Thus, it would be best for him to remain on the dynasty’s outpost, Planet Lighthouse, rather than running all around. Furthermore, he would still be present in the Flickering World and could continue to monitor the progress of the exploration.

“Please thank Ruler Urranrell for me.” Han Xiao was caught up in his thoughts but did not forget to be polite.

“Haha, the Ruler recently checked on our progress, and she is extremely satisfied with you,” Tarrokov said with a smile.

After having a casual chat for a while, Han Xiao hung up.

Right at this moment, Hadavy finally sent news.

After waiting for four months, the stargate was finally complete!

“Good job!”

Han Xiao was overjoyed. With this passageway, Han Xiao could finally obtain the ownerless Universal Treasure.

Hadavy had also displayed his dissatisfaction in his message. He had not sparred with Han Xiao for four months and was extremely dissatisfied. He wanted to immediately return to Han Xiao’s side so that he could be beaten up by Han Xiao. Being in a good mood, Han Xiao immediately promised to beat Hadavy up three times a day and fulfil his wishes.

Han Xiao immediately ordered the fleet to change direction and head toward the stargate.

This news was quickly spread to Senico. However, he was already used to Black Star moving around without any set pattern and did not have any suspicions.

Chapter 836: Spacetime Amber

Some of the universal social studies scholars believed that there were three factors of building a lawful galactic society from nothing. First, communication in the form of a galactic war where part of the civilizations survived and obtained knowledge of each other. Second, one or more powerful rulers that had the strength to forcefully decide rules for other civilizations, forming laws. Third, the reduction of distance achieved through hyperdrive, stargate, and quantum communication technology.

In the eyes of some scholars, these three technologies were the greatest inventions of the universe era. They allowed civilizations to communicate with each other while being countless light years apart. These were what formed the stable galactic societal structure of the entire known universe.

After pioneering in the Flickering World for four months, including Han Xiao, the Black Star Army started to agree more and more with this statement.

The Special Task Force led by Hadavy took four whole months to arrive at the east of the Garu Star Cluster from the south, while Han Xiao’s main ship fleet crossed that distance through the stargates built by the Special Task Force in less than two days.

At the eastern border Star System, two fleets rendezvoused in space. The Special Task Force spaceships returned to the main ship.

Han Xiao waited for a while in the command room, and very soon, Hadavy and his subordinates came from the dock.

“Army Commander!” Hadavy opened his arms wide and pounced over with excitement on his face.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He hesitated for a moment but decided not to back away and gave Hadavy a hug.

“It’s been four whole months,” Hadavy said with an overjoyed tone.

“Do you have to be so excited?” Feeling Hadavy’s arms tightly wrapped around his waist, Han Xiao casually patted his shoulder and dragged him off with one hand.

What he did not know was that these four months had been extremely tough for Hadavy. His Harden Esper Ability could only be improved through powerful external stimulation. As a Beyond Grade A seed, he had become Han Xiao’s subordinate for the opportunity to spar with a Beyond Grade A. After he came under Han Xiao’s command, he had felt his Esper Ability grow again after being stagnant for an exceptionally long time. This made him overjoyed.

However, the sign of becoming stronger disappeared once again in these four months away. Furthermore, there was not even a Calamity Grade officer in the Special Task Force, so he could not even find a sparring opponent. To a battle maniac like him, this was unbearable.

When he saw Han Xiao again, in Hadavy’s eyes, it was as if a halo was hovering above Han Xiao’s head. He realized just how much he missed Han Xiao… ‘s fists.

Hadavy was in a particularly good mood. He looked at Hila, who was beside them, grinned, and opened his arms, attempting to give her a hug too.

“Try touching me.” Death energy appeared in Hila’s eyes as she glared at Hadavy.

Hadavy’s expression became stiff, and he awkwardly lowered his arms, thinking, There’s no way I, a Beyond Grade A seed, would treat you this kindly if not for the army commander.

“Come on, Hadavy is at least a Beyond Grade A seed. Don’t be so harsh with your words.” Han Xiao, however, was the one who felt that Hila’s attitude toward a member of the Black Star Guards needed improvement. He patted her shoulder and pressed her shoulder bone.

Hmm, quite nice.

Hila’s expression tensed up. She glanced at Han Xiao’s palm, and the overflowing red energy in her eyes vanished.

“Okay,” she said reluctantly.

Hadavy greeted Feidin and the other Black Star Guards. He then looked at Han Xiao and asked, “Following your orders, the Special Task Force has already set up the long distance stargates—what do we do next?”

Han Xiao did not reply directly but snapped his fingers and summoned the 3D star map in front of everyone. He carefully searched through the star map and finally confirmed the planet with the ownerless Universal Treasure that was in the desolate universe belt outside the Garu Star Cluster.

In his previous life, this planet was called Planet Amber. Now, it was still a planet with just a serial number and no name.

“Are we going to this planet?” Aurora asked curiously. “Is there anything special about it?”

Han Xiao nodded and randomly made up some reasons. “Some time ago, when a group of army members were exploring desolate planets, they discovered some information left by aliens. It seemed to be the travelling records of a certain explorer, and it had information about this planet, which stated that there was a civilization on it. Since we’re here, we shall go and take a look.”

This reason was completely logical. Since Han Xiao was the one who said it, despite the others being somewhat puzzled, they had no doubts. After all, given what had happened with the Great Cosmos Corps, the existence of natives in the Flickering World was no longer shocking to them.

Han Xiao did not exactly lie—Planet Amber was indeed the ruins of an extinct native civilization, and that Universal Treasure was in those ruins.

[Spacetime Amber] was the name of this Universal Treasure. It was not built by this native civilization but an extraterrestrial object that landed on the planet accidentally. This civilization had once viewed it as their holy relic.

In his previous life, as the dynasty’s allies steadily developed forward, the Spacetime Amber ended up in the hands of one of the dynasty’s allies who took part in the exploration. That person was Ravenlaude, one of the Beyond Grade As whom Han Xiao had met on the Crimson Dynasty’s mother planet, the member of the Ancient Ones who had a bad relationship with Aesop.

After that, Ravenlaude was defeated by another Beyond Grade A in the Calamity of the Supers version, and the Spacetime Amber was taken away. After many incidents, the owner of the Spacetime Amber changed many times, one of them even being someone from the World Tree Civilization. In the end, it landed in the hands of the Federation of Light.

The origin of the Spacetime Amber was very mysterious. The players in his previous life only found out about its origin at the late stages through special intelligence channels. It was not some shocking secret but involved the Primordial Ones and had a story to it.

As for the effects of the Spacetime Amber, only one word could describe it—’unique’.

It basically would not increase one’s strength at all, but its effects… were terrifying even for Beyond Grade As!

According to Han Xiao’s memories of the storyline in his previous life, after the Spacetime Amber was discovered, more than five Beyond Grade As were ‘defeated’ by it!

Since this thing had no owner, other than him, no one else even knew about the existence of the Spacetime Amber. He would be able to obtain it easily.

…

A few days later, the fleet arrived at Planet Amber and entered its atmosphere.

The Fixed Star was relatively close to this planet, and the burning sun shone from the sky. The surface of Planet Amber was mainly desert with everlasting dull gray sandstorms roaming across the land. No signs of any civilizations could be seen.

Han Xiao was just about to send out detection ships when Aurora closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head.

“There are no vital signs on this planet.”

“Your vital sign detection range can now cover an entire planet?” Shock flashed across Hila’s face.

Seeing that everyone was looking, Aurora gave a shy smile but said with somewhat a proud tone, “I’ve grown too.”

“Not bad, not bad.” Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction.

Every time Aurora became stronger, he would always be quite happy.

After all, this meant that Aurora’s healing power had become stronger.

The Aurora Character Summon Card’s effect was full recovery, but that came from the interface, and Aurora’s healing power was limited. The cost of her ability was her own life force. With the astronomical amount of energy in his cells as a Beyond Grade A, Aurora would most likely be drained just from fully healing him one or two times.

“Since there are no vital signs, the civilization you mentioned might have gone extinct, only leaving ruins,” Feidin said.

Han Xiao nodded. He looked at the yellow desert and sent out detection ships to collect information of the planet’s underground environment.

In the dynasty’s records, the civilization ruins that the Spacetime Amber was in were buried under the sand. As for the details of discovering the Spacetime Amber, there were no records. Therefore, he did not know its exact location. However, with the galactic grade detection devices he had, finding the civilization’s ruins was just a matter of time.

As expected, before Han Xiao finished spectating a match of Wayne Card between Hadavy and another Black Star Guard, he received a message from the detection ships—many city-like ruins had been discovered under the desert.

However, no special energy source was detected.

No abnormal energy signal detected? Hmm, the Spacetime Amber should be on this planet. Maybe it’s because it hasn’t been charged for a very long time.

Han Xiao looked at the ruins marked on the planet map and shook his head with resignation.

Looks like I have to search all of them… Tsk, why didn’t the dynasty record the details of discovering the Spacetime Amber? Now I have to spend time searching for it slowly.

Han Xiao told the fleet to standby outside the atmosphere.

Looking down at the ground under his feet, Han Xiao waved his hand. An enormous mass of Mechanical Force gushed out, stirring up energy ripples. A gigantic light gate opened behind him, and inside were countless mechanical soldiers. This was the secondary dimensional army base that he had with him at all times.

Clank!

Countless mechanical soldiers swarmed out, with Psionic Prime and the thousands of mechanical lives at the front. They all looked at Han Xiao.

After releasing millions of machines, Han Xiao then closed the secondary dimensional army base. The mechanical army aligned neatly in front of him, covering the sky.

“You guys, search through the ruins, report any special discovery to me, and also look for this thing.” Han Xiao drew out the appearance of the Spacetime Amber in the quantum network and sent out this order to all the machines through Phillip.

Hu!

The next moment, the mechanical army before him split up and dug into the desert to explore the ruins.

With so many helpful machinery assistants, Han Xiao did not want to waste time personally searching through so many ruins.

“Master, we’ve discovered something special.”

Not long after, Psionic Prime sent back some good news together with images.

Han Xiao glanced at it. On the image was a huge room like some sort of a hall. The walls and the pillars were covered in drawings. In the middle of the room was a gigantic black disc with circuit-like patterns on it. It might be a product of mixing magic and technology.

On the ground around the disc, there were many translucent spherical crystals, each about 1.5 meters tall with creatures of a certain species in them. Their bodies had no signs of rotting, but their expressions and movements were all completely still. They had no vital signs, like beings solidified by amber.

This phenomenon is the effect of the Spacetime Amber…

Han Xiao was surprised. He had visited Planet Amber in his previous life, but there were only ruins at that time, and these amber creatures were not there. These creatures must be the race that had once lived there.

Maybe when Ravenlaude discovered the Spacetime Amber, he took away those specimens.

However, this was good news. It meant that he was near the Spacetime Amber.

Han Xiao called the fleet down. The spaceships used their traction beams and sucked this area of the desert dry, exposing the ruins where Psionic Prime was.

The group of them quickly descended and landed in the ruins, following Psionic Prime’s signal deep into the heart of the ruins while observing the city on the way.

Although the ruins seemed to be ancient, the original look of this civilization could still somewhat be seen.

The patterns could still display their sense of beauty. This civilization seemed to be quite good at art.

“They must’ve been quite a beautiful civilization,” Feidin said.

“Maybe.”

Han Xiao did not deny it. Very soon, they came to the center of the ruins. This was an enormous fortress, like it was a gigantic safehouse or sanctuary assembled from tons of tough materials.

Psionic Prime’s team was in this fortress. Han Xiao and the others entered the hall in the image very soon. With a rough look, they realized that there were at least twenty thousand ambers.

“What are these? It looks like amber.” Hadavy touched a piece of amber beside him with curiosity. The texture was very strange. He could not feel any temperature on the amber, but his hand could not move an inch further.

Han Xiao causally came before a piece of amber and looked at the creature inside it. These creatures should be carbon-based mammals. They looked hairy and somewhat similar to sloths. It was about one meter tall, its eyes were wide open, and it had this constant anxious and uneasy expression on its face.

Han Xiao turned around and glanced at Hila. He then signaled with his lips and said, “Try attacking it.”

Swoosh!

Without hesitation, a wave of energy gushed out from Hila’s eyes and landed on one piece of amber.

The next moment, something strange happened. Although the amber was blown away, it was completely undamaged. The energy Hila released dissipated on the smooth surface of the amber completely.

“Hmm?” Hila frowned. Unconvinced, energy concentrated once again as she planned to launch a much more powerful attack.

Seeing this, Han Xiao hastily stopped her. “Enough, you don’t have to try again, or you’re going to destroy this entire room.”

Hila had no choice but to stop then wondered, “This thing is immune to my attacks. Even my spiritual attack could not penetrate it.”

“Not just that.”

Han Xiao pressed on one piece of amber, and Mechanical Force gushed out from his palm. However, the lightning only swam on the surface of the amber; the amber itself was not damaged at all.

“More accurately, this thing should be immune to all kinds of energy. It can’t be destroyed or damaged.”

Han Xiao raised one piece of amber up and weighed it; it was not heavy. He put it down, shook his head, and said, “Beyond Grade As, or even the strongest Planetary Obliteration weapons of universal civilizations, can’t damage this amber.”

Everyone was shocked.

“How can there be such powerful material in the world?”

“Even Beyond Grade As can’t destroy it? Impossible!”

“Could it be…” Hila had a flash of insight. “Is this another Space Wonder?”

Han Xiao caressed his chin and pretended to be thinking. “Hmm, possibly. It feels like the Evolution Cube, like a manmade product.”

He was not very clear on how this kind of amber formed, but Space Wonders were always difficult to explain. According to the data in his previous life, this amber seemed to have solidified the time and space of a small area.

Objects inside the amber would be isolated from reality, as if existing in another dimension that had no factor of time.

According to that logic, the bodies of beings covered in this amber should not change; they should have a long or even infinite life span, like sleeping in a capsule, and their mind should be frozen as well…

However, according to the NPCs who fought against it in his previous life, when they were trapped by the Spacetime Amber, they were indeed unable to control their bodies, and their energy could not escape it as well, but their mind was active. They could even see and hear what was happening outside the amber. They could even feel the passage of time in the outside world. It was like their minds were trapped in their bodies. This was what contradicted the logic and one of the important reasons this was one of the Space Wonders.

Only the minds of individuals trapped too long by the Spacetime Amber would enter stagnation and vanish in the end, giving up on maintaining thoughts. Stronger individuals would be able to last longer.

Therefore, this thing could create a cell that could trap any beings and not worry about the prisoner running away, while at the same time being a terrible torture.

Even if the target was a Beyond Grade A!

The only problem was that the process of activating the Spacetime Amber was quite long. It would be extremely difficult to trap a Beyond Grade A with it.

If this falls into the hands of an enemy, it’s very threatening to me. I will have one less thing to worry about if it’s in my hands.

All kinds of thoughts flashed past Han Xiao’s mind. He turned around and looked at the roughly ten-meter-wide black disc in the middle of the room. He observed the patterns on the disc for a while and roughly confirmed that this was some kind of pattern to transmit energy.

“Looks like this thing needs energy to be activated.”

Han Xiao waved. Psionic Prime obediently turned into many hovering guards and shot out beams at the disc, transferring energy.

Hum!

The disc suddenly shivered. As if some kind of device had been activated, the patterns lit up, and the dust on it fell off.

The next moment, this disc lit up entirely and displayed its real function… it was a screen.

A video started playing on the screen. A creature of this civilization appeared and slowly spoke.

At the time, their translators had yet to record this language, so they had no idea what it was saying. However, this did not prevent them from understanding the images. The images of this civilization before it went extinct appeared on the screen, as if it was displaying its entire history from the beginning. They started as primal beings, gradually learned to use tools. They invented airplanes and hovering cars, and they were trying to build galactic spaceships. The cities were beautiful, and the people were living peacefully.

However, due to the abnormal activity of their Fixed Star, the environment of this planet changed drastically. A disaster that was more than enough to wipe out all lives on the planet occurred. In order to preserve their civilization, they used their ‘holy relic’ to seal their people and saved all the information of their civilization in the database. There were databases in every ruin to make sure whoever discovered this would receive this information.

The appearance of that ‘holy relic’ was indeed the Spacetime Amber in Han Xiao’s memories. Realizing that he had come to the right place, Han Xiao was secretly relieved and continued watching.

A large amount of energy was needed in order to use the Spacetime Amber. This civilization had almost depleted all their energy sources just to charge it so that they could use it multiple times. There were ambers not just in this city’s ruins but in every ruin. While they were watching this recording, the teams that were exploring the other ruins discovered more and more amber as well.

At the end of the recording, the whereabouts of the Spacetime Amber was finally mentioned. It seemed to be placed in a huge city, but that was before the civilization went extinct, so they did not know which ruin it was.

I’ll have Phillip copy their database first. If their language is deciphered, I will be able to understand what this recording was talking about and find the ruins the Spacetime Amber is at.

Han Xiao was just about to act when a notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the hidden mission [Traces of Existence]!

Mission Introduction: Due to the abnormal activity of the Fixed Star, a world ending disaster engulfed the Yasre Civilization. Before their doom, the Yasreans selected two paths at the same time. They wanted to preserve a small part of their race with their holy relic so that they could survive this disaster and rebuild their civilization in the future. So, they were waiting for someone to use the holy relic to release them in the future. However, if no one came, the Yasreans were willing to become eternal specimens and preserve all the information about their civilization, leaving the traces of their existence in the wide and endless universe. You are the visitor they have waited many years for. Sadly, time has already decided their final fate.

Mission Requirements: Using the Yasre Civilization’s ‘holy relic’, released all the Yasreans from the effect of their ‘holy relic’.

Rewards: 1,500,000,000 EXP, 1 Legendary Point, 1 Random Reward, 780 Exploration Points, and 1 [Bold Explorer] Ability Shard.

Chapter 837: The Last Witness

Hidden mission… Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. When he then saw the mission reward, surprise appeared on his face. The second [Bold Explorer] Ability Shard‽

Han Xiao immediately turned to look at Feidin, who had all his attention on the Yasre Civilization recording. He gripped his shoulders and shook him vigorously.

“Wha… what are you doing?” Feidin stared at the overjoyed Han Xiao with a puzzled look on his face.

“You, amazing!”

Han Xiao was ecstatic. In his eyes, it was as if Feidin was emitting holy light from all over his body.

There was a slim chance that hidden missions would reward [Bold Explorer] Ability Shards. Over the past few months, the players had discovered quite a number of hidden missions and shared them with him. However, he had never triggered this reward—the goddess of luck loathed him as usual.

With Feidin along with him, the goddess of luck basically deliberately lifted her dress to show Feidin the holy light.

Han Xiao could not help but sigh in his mind. Overflowing charm, exceptional luck, a wife who he could sleep with in his mind, and the goddess of luck willing to be his mistress. Feidin was probably the biggest winner in life throughout the Black Star Army.

Although Nero also had the Advanced Luck Glow…

He was not handsome enough!

“You’re still the most reliable.” Han Xiao patted Feidin’s shoulder heavily with satisfaction on his face.

Feidin’s face was filled with question marks.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him with confusion, Han Xiao calmed himself down, coughed, and explained, “This civilization used its holy relic to build this kind of special amber. No one else other than us has visited this planet ever since. This means that this holy relic will be ours. I’m guessing that this is going to be another Universal Treasure.”

The others did not know that Han Xiao had come to this planet with a clear goal. They nodded and suspected nothing.

Han Xiao told the machines to search and found the database. Phillip copied all the data inside and finally deciphered the language of the Yasre Civilization.

Having updated the language packs of the translator, they returned to the black disc again and rewatched the recording. This time, they understood what it was about.

“I’m the leader of the Yasreans. Lucky visitors, when you see this recording, we might have already gone extinct. No matter who you are, please watch this recording till the end…”

The mission introduction on the interface had already explained the rough situation, so Han Xiao just filled in the details by watching it again.

The recording talked about the situation of the Yasre Civilization, which was within their expectations. At the end of the recording, the Yasrean hoped that the visitor could complete two things. One was to undo the effects of the Spacetime Amber, and the Yasreans shared their knowledge of the Spacetime Amber to make things easier. However, they had very limited knowledge about this extraterrestrial object that exceeded their understanding.

The second thing was for the visitor to preserve the information about the Yasre Civilization if the Yasreans were extinct so that the traces of their existence would remain.

The group of them had been traveling the universe for many years and were used to the end of civilizations long ago. This was what the universe was; new species were born, and old species went extinct every second. If they would easily be affected every time, they would have no time to do anything else.

However, every civilization was a miracle of life, so they would still respect the final wishes of a civilization when necessary.

Before that, Han Xiao had to first do what he had gone there to do.

With the translation, he knew the location of the Spacetime Amber. Han Xiao told the machines to bring out all of the ambers from every ruins and gather at the location of the Spacetime Amber.

…

Not long after, they landed at the ruins where the Spacetime Amber was.

Following the images, Han Xiao came to an empty room in the middle of this ruins’ central sanctuary. A mural entered his sights. It was about eight meters tall and thirty meters wide. The drawings were about the history of the Yasreans.

One of the images was a meteor-like black stone falling down from the clouds, with a group of tiny people below looking up. Han Xiao hovered up and came before this painting. He extended his hand and touched the meteor on this drawing.

His palm pressed onto the wall, and energy blew away the thick accumulated layer of dust.

Hu!

The dust was blown away.

Han Xiao pressed down heavily and cracked the meteor drawing open. Stones fell onto the ground.

Ka!

He dug out a dim white crystal from behind the wall, which had the same shape as the meteor in the painting.

Looking at the white crystal in his hands, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

This ordinary looking crystal was the core of the Spacetime Amber. The Yasreans had hidden it in this mural.

_____________________

You have received [Spacetime Amber].

Spacetime Amber: A Space Wonder object with an unknown origin. It can freeze spacetime and form a solid layer with the appearance of amber around all kinds of things. Energy cost depends on the size of the amber formed. Current Energy Value: 0

_____________________

“I got it.” Han Xiao was thrilled.

This was the easiest to obtain Universal Treasure for him. After all, no one else knew about this thing’s existence other than him.

As he landed on the ground, the others surrounded him and sized the Spacetime Amber up with curiosity.

“This is the holy relic that can create amber that can block all kinds of attacks?” Hila sized the Spacetime Amber up. “Why does it not have any energy reaction at all?”

“This thing needs to be charged to be used,” Han Xiao explained. He then shot out a powerful flow of energy into the Spacetime Amber in his hands.

Boom!

An invisible impact wave exploded from Han Xiao’s body like a tornado. This was the aura that Han Xiao emitted when he released his energy at the maximum capacity.

The Mechanical Force flew into the Spacetime Amber as the dim Spacetime Amber started to gradually light up.

In the past four months, Han Xiao had completed the [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation] training. Having spent 3.9 billion EXP, his maximum energy had increased by more than 17,000, which was quite worth it for him.

The Spacetime Amber was like a bottomless pit that could devour an infinite amount of energy. Its energy value slowly grew.

Using the Spacetime Amber required a large amount of energy, but to a Mechanic who had mastered the psionic energy, there was more than enough energy.

Han Xiao thought about it and stopped using his own energy. He took out a few psionic reactors as batteries and linked them with the Spacetime Amber to keep charging it. It seemed like there was no limit to the amount of energy the Spacetime Amber could contain, so he did not worry about overcharging it.

After charging it, the Spacetime Amber finally showed an energy reaction.

With the Spacetime Amber in his hands, Han Xiao could feel the energy inside it. The method to use the Spacetime Amber was very simple; he just had to guide energy within it.

The way the Yasre Civilization used it was quite rough and did not have much to learn from, but Han Xiao recalled the better ways to use it, which the owners of the Spacetime Amber in his previous life had used. He could build a device that had the same frequency as the Spacetime Amber and put the Spacetime Amber in it. He could then connect to the device with Nerves Connection, so he would be able to control the Spacetime Amber with his mind and with greater accuracy.

Han Xiao would be able to easily build such a device, but now was not the time. He was not in a hurry to test the Spacetime Amber’s powers, so he decided to complete the hidden mission first.

The group of them walked out of the central sanctuary of the ruins. All of the Yasreans’ ambers were moved into those ruins. There were so many of them that they could not see the end of it.

Han Xiao came before a Yasrean and slashed the amber’s surface with the Spacetime Amber. The Spacetime Amber cut the translucent amber open with ease.

The Spacetime Amber could freely penetrate the amber created from itself and would not be affected by the frozen spacetime.

Pa!

Like a bubble, this piece of amber dissipated in the air. The Yasrean inside collapsed onto the ground.

Aurora hastily helped him up and said with joy, “There are vital signs. He’s still alive.”

“His soul has died. Although his body is still alive, he’s a living dead man.” Hila shook her head.

Unlike Aurora, she could sense the soul of lives, and she knew that the body of this Yasrean was just an empty shell despite it being still alive.

Han Xiao scanned through it. Due to the Spacetime Amber, the body of this Yasrean was maintained at the state it was in before being frozen. Although its brain had stopped working, it did not show any signs of deterioration and was still very much alive like his body. This meant that this person’s brain was frozen as well. However, if one’s brain was frozen too, there should not be any brain activity at all.

He made a speculation. Since one’s body energy would not be used in the amber, maybe it was their soul energy that supported their brain activity. This meant that soul energy being depleted was what caused their mind to die off. The stronger the individual, the more soul energy they had, so they could last longer.

That’s not impossible.

Having thought of the origin of the Spacetime Amber, Han Xiao did not think that this was a strange phenomenon.

The effect of the Spacetime Amber came from the Esper Ability of one of the Primordial Ones, whose Esper Ability was ‘Spacetime Freeze’, which was on the Super High Risk Esper Ability List.

Most of the abilities on the Super High Risk Esper Ability List had existed before, and this Primordial One was the first Esper who was discovered to be able to freeze space and time.

Such abilities were exceedingly rare. It was also a high-level forbidden technique in the Mage class.

Back then, this Primordial One was under the command of an advanced civilization and was killed in action. He had a Primordial One friend whose ability was to modify the properties of objects. That person turned his body into a crystal that would never rot and let it wander the universe as a form of burial. However, somehow, while wandering the universe, this crystal underwent a change that no one knew the cause of. It not only preserved the Primordial One’s ability to freeze spacetime, but its ability mutated too and became a Space Wonder. This was the origin of the Spacetime Amber, which the players only found out about in the later versions.

Pulling his thoughts back, Han Xiao used the Spacetime Amber to release all the Yasreans.

After checking through, none of their souls were still alive.

“Sigh, they’re all dead.” Feidin shook his head.

Han Xiao initially had a little bit of hope, thinking that maybe there would be a protagonist type character among the Yasreans who would make it. Sadly, there were none. In the face of time, it seemed like no one could escape death.

Seeing this, although they were used to seeing the ends of civilizations, they all had no mood to chat and kept silent.

_____________________

You have released all the Yasreans from the effects of the Spacetime Amber!

[Traces of Existence] Completed!

You have received 1,500,000,000 EXP and 780 Exploration Points.

You have received 1 Random Reward.

You have received 1 Legendary Point.

[Planet Legendary Point (Yasreans)—The Last Witness]: You witnessed the last moment of Yasreans with your own eyes. A civilization’s last sign of life vanished right before your eyes. Maybe, in the end, everything vanishes with time, but at least they existed.

_____________________

Han Xiao sighed. “Phillip, move these bodies onto the ship. Cremate them and release them in the universe.”

Feidin looked over. “Are you not preserving specimens using the Spacetime Amber?”

“Their souls dissipated with their civilization. Their bodies should be released too.”

Han Xiao had already scanned the bodies of the Yasreans, and there was nothing special. Furthermore, the Spacetime Amber had yet to be shown to the world, so he wanted to keep it as a trump card and not leave any clues behind.

He still remembered that he was a member of the Spacetime Research Council, which preserved the data of all the civilizations that had disappeared throughout history and shared this knowledge with others, so more people would know about these civilizations that had once existed in the universe.

Giving the data to the Spacetime Research Council was probably the best ending for this civilization.

“Master, hum… Do you want me to upload the data of the Yasre Civilization to the Spacetime Research Council database?”

“Upload it.”

Han Xiao nodded. He temporarily hid away the data regarding the Spacetime Amber.

With the Spacetime Amber in his hands, they returned to the fleet and headed back.

Inside different spaceships, the bodies of the Yasreans were cremated one after another and then poured into the universe. The fleet dragged along a tail of ash as it departed.

…

As the fleet entered hyperdrive, Han Xiao rejected Hadavy’s request to spar for the time being and locked himself up in the machinery modification room. He planned to first build the portable device of the Spacetime Amber.

As the devices were connected to the Spacetime Amber and detecting its perimeters, Han Xiao stood aside and looked at it.

“This is the second Universal Treasure I have obtained, which means it’s a new trump card. The Evolution Cube can make genes evolve, and the Spacetime Amber can freeze spacetime…”

The Evolution Cube could be used for networking, and the Spacetime Amber… could perhaps be used as a tool of intimidation.

This time, Han Xiao suddenly had a flash of insight.

Since the Spacetime Amber could block the transmit of energy, if he covered the Evolution Cube with amber… did that mean Psyker would not be able to sense it?

“Makes sense. Anyway, I don’t use the Evolution Cube all the time, and I can unseal it when I need to. But I’m not sure if this will stop Psyker from wanting to take it back… I know the Arcane Church most likely won’t give up.”

He planned to first give the Spacetime Amber a portable device and then test if this idea would work. After all, building a small device would only take him a few minutes.

Han Xiao temporarily placed this matter aside. He opened the interface and looked at his ability list.

With the two Ability Shards of the [Bold Explorer], this ability was activated. He could activate it when exploring the unknown or studying objects, which would give him partial information of these things.

Cooldown is seven days, and the side effect is decreased Luck for fourteen days. Hehe, not like that makes a difference.

Any side effects that were related to Luck were meaningless to him!

Han Xiao smiled with pride.

Wait a minute, this isn’t something to be proud of!

Han Xiao looked at the side.

He decided to use the effect of this ability on the Spacetime Amber.

He knew the origin of the Spacetime Amber, so he could use it to see the accuracy of this ability.

Chapter 838: Inheritance of a Primordial One and Tes

_____________________

You have used ability [Bold Explorer] on [Spacetime Amber]!

You have received the following information…

_____________________

Everything in his sights suddenly shattered into pieces. His vision was pulled away, and he flew out of the Star System and the Star Field. As if he rode the river of time on an amber boat, he started seeing images of the past.

The next moment, his vision suddenly pulled in like he was falling from the sky. The pieces reformed into an image in front of him—it was a person.

A video started playing before his eyes. This person was on a planet. Beside him were countless enemies, and above him were fleets that shrouded the entire sky. With every movement this person made, an impact wave of energy emitted from his body and froze spacetime, freezing countless spaceships and Supers.

The images were as if Han Xiao was there when it happened. He knew that the person in the image was the Primordial One who became the Spacetime Amber, and these images were the past of the Spacetime Amber.

“I see. So, this ability’s method of relaying information is to let me see some images directly. That’s quite similar to the Destiny’s Child Character Summon Card I once had.”

Very soon, this Primordial One met a strong opponent. This time, the image of the battle fast forwarded and skipped the details of the battle, arriving at the results—the consciousness of this Primordial One was heavily damaged, his soul was shattering, and he was at the doorstep of death.

Another Beyond Grade A friend of his arrived and guarded him while retreating.

This time, this Primordial One whose consciousness was already blurry suddenly grabbed onto the shoulder of his friend.

“I’m done for. Don’t let my body fall into the hands of the enemies.”

“Okay.”

The expression of his friend was hidden behind his armor as he pressed onto the body of this Primordial One without hesitation and activated his ability.

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This Primordial One lowered all his defenses and did not resist at all. His body crystalized at a visible rate, gradually shrinking into a palm-sized crystal, and was thrown into the cosmic space by his friend.

At this time, the images stopped, and Han Xiao regained his focus.

“Hmm, although I knew about this long ago, if I didn’t know, this would basically have uncovered the origin of the Spacetime Amber. That’s quite an important piece of information. The ability’s effect is quite good.”

Han Xiao nodded. This effect was suitable for finding out hidden factors and could even be used multiple times on the same target, each time supposedly getting different pieces of information. If used enough times, there would be a high chance of finding out all the information about an unknown object or matter.

As for the sixty-percent Luck decrease for fourteen days, Han Xiao ignored it completely. His Luck was only one to start with, and it would never become negative, so it made absolutely no difference.

Since the test results were accurate, Han Xiao planned to use this on that set of wormhole data EsGod wanted after the cooldown ended. If he was not able to figure it out the first time, he would use it multiple times until he did.

At this time, a notification popped up on the interface and broke Han Xiao’s train of thought.

_____________________

You have triggered the Hidden Chain Mission [Inheritance of a Primordial One—Spacetime Freezer].

Mission Introduction: Through some means, you came to know that it turns out the Spacetime Amber is the remnant of a Beyond Grade A. He is one of the Primordial Ones—Spacetime Freezer. You have received his inheritance. If you can fulfil his wishes, you will have a deeper understanding of the Spacetime Amber.

Round One Mission Requirements: Find out the wishes of the Spacetime Freezer.

Reward: +1 Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber

_____________________

Han Xiao was puzzled.

What the hell is this mission? I have never even heard of it before!

How was this hidden mission triggered? Oh, I get it.

Han Xiao figured out very soon after being surprised for a while.

Although he had known about the origin of the Spacetime Amber since long ago, personal memories had zero influence on the interface. Only when he obtained information through his actions would the interface recognize that as him fulfilling the prerequisite of the hidden mission.

By using [Bold Explorer] and seeing the images about the origin of the Spacetime Amber, he had triggered the mission.

In his previous life, no player had ever obtained the Spacetime Amber, so of course, no one knew that this mission existed. He was the first person to ever trigger this mission.

As for the Soul Connection, Han Xiao knew what it was. It was more common among Mages and Psychics, and it could be understood as the affinity with a certain object. For example, the higher the Soul Connection one had with a certain item, the more powerful that item would be when that person used it, and the easier it would be for that person to control that item.

There was an example right under his nose—Psyker and the Evolution Cube. Having controlled the Evolution Cube for such a long time, Psyker had planted a deep psychic mark on the Evolution Cube long ago and could receive benefits from the Evolution Cube that strengthened his psychic power. This was because Psyker’s Soul Connection with the Evolution Cube was very high.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, this function only became available in the later versions, and only some special equipment or items had Soul Connections. However, this was not absolute. If a player had a normal object on them all the time, they might still be able to create a Soul Connection with that item.

“I’m not a Psychic nor Mage, so god knows when I would have formed a Soul Connection with this thing. This mission skipped the hardest part for me. From a certain perspective, the Spacetime Amber is basically the body of that Primordial One. The fact that completing his wishes increases my Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber might mean that I’m more accepted by his body. Hahaha.”

Han Xiao grinned and opened the interface. There was now also a new field under the item description of the Spacetime Amber.

_____________________

Spacetime Amber Soul Connection: 0/5

_____________________

With such a reward, Han Xiao was more willing to complete this mission.

Although the Primordial Ones were from a very long time ago, as the first batch of Beyond Grade As, information about them was quite rich. Many institutions were passionate about studying them. Spacetime Freezer was not someone unknown, so it was easy to obtain information about him.

As for the wishes of Spacetime Freezer, Han Xiao was not worried about not being able to find out. According to the way the interface worked, he did not really have to study the life of Spacetime Freezer. As long as he had actions of browsing through data about Spacetime Freezer, the interface should treat it as him completing the requirement and give him the next round’s mission requirements.

While he told Phillip to research online, Han Xiao also started to build a simple control device for the Spacetime Amber.

As long as he could establish a Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber, not only would he be able to receive benefits from this Universal Treasure, but he would also most likely be able to control the Spacetime Amber with his mind. However, he had yet to receive the reward, so he needed a mechanical device to use the Spacetime Amber.

Han Xiao finished building it very quickly.

The Spacetime Amber was covered in a black, spherical device. This device could activate the energy of the Spacetime Amber and allow Han Xiao to control it with his mind. At the same time, it also had functions of a hovering guard such as flight, shield, and others.

With a thought in Han Xiao’s mind, he controlled the Spacetime Amber to hover and activated the device.

Clank!

A small hole cracked open on the spherical device. The next moment, invisible energy shot out from the hole and started to change the properties of an area of space. The area of influence slowly expanded. When Han Xiao stopped the energy output of the Spacetime Amber, only then was this area solidified into amber.

“The output of the Spacetime Amber seems to be fixed, and the speed of creating amber is quite slow. At this speed, it would take many minutes to create the amount of amber needed to cover a two-meter-tall creature. Plus, the area only turns into amber when the energy output is cut off.”

After some thought, Han Xiao called Psionic Prime out to do tests and very soon received multiple test results.

When Psionic Prime was completely covered, he was unable to move, his signals were cut off, he could not communicate with the outside world, and Phillip could not send him orders.

Han Xiao also tried to only cover a part of Psionic Prime’s body to see if he could cut off Psionic Prime’s control of those parts. However, this failed. Apparently, during the process of solidifying spacetime, the edge had to be unobstructed. If it was obstructed by a physical object, the amber would not form. This was really similar to blowing bubbles.

“Therefore, in order to freeze a target, the only way is to completely cover it…”

Han Xiao caressed his chin and had an idea. Since the Spacetime Amber could block all kinds of energy and redirect them away, it could be used as a special kind of external armor.

The only problem was that he could not shape the amber to his will for the time being. The amber he created would only be spherical.

Furthermore, the Spacetime Amber would only cause the energy to slip away but not block it. In order to make it useful on his armor, he had to use it over large areas. Since he could not manipulate its shape, he could not achieve something like that yet. Maybe he would only be able to after establishing a Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber.

Nonetheless, Han Xiao still had a way. He planned to create some amber spheres larger than himself. Then he would use devices with nano-shapeshifting functions to cover these amber spheres. When attacked, he could use those amber spheres as a barrier, which might be even stronger than his tank talents.

“That can be considered a special means of defense.”

No wonder so many people had fought for this Universal Treasure in his previous life.

Although the Spacetime Amber was not originally a combat tool, as long as he used it properly, it could still have astonishing effects. Its impact on battles was even larger than the Evolution Cube.

After he finished testing the Spacetime Amber’s effects, he then used it to seal the Evolution Cube.

…

At the same time, on the Star Pupil Holy Race Mother Planet…

“Black Star!”

Outside the room, two guards were startled by the sudden furious yell of their leader and exchanged looks.

Inside the room, Psyker’s face was filled with rage and shock.

All along, despite having lost the Evolution Cube, Psyker did not look anxious. This was because of his deep connection with the Evolution Cube. Even though the Evolution Cube was not in his hands, the marker that he had on the Evolution Cube still strengthened his psychic power all the time.

It was like Black Star had only stolen the Evolution Cube’s body but not its heart, and Psyker knew the Evolution Cube still loved him.

As he could always locate the Evolution Cube, Psyker felt like the situation was still in his control.

However, moments earlier, Psyker had shockingly discovered that his senses for the Evolution Cube had vanished without a trace!

To him, this was as if his wife who had only been enduring the enemy in order to survive had suddenly developed feelings for the enemy and lost feelings for him.

All Psyker could feel was rage in all five of his hearts and a greener than ever emotion.

Chapter 839: Change and Superstition

“How did Black Star block my psychic senses of the Evolution Cube?”

Beep beep!

While Psyker was shocked and bewildered, his communicator suddenly rang. As he took it out and looked at it. His pupils constricted, and he clenched his teeth.

It was a call from Black Star!

“Hello, hello, is this Psyker?” Han Xiao appeared on the screen.

“Black Star! What did you do‽” Psyker yelled.

Seeing this, Han Xiao pretended to be shocked and replied, “Yo, I haven’t seen you in some time. When did your skin become so green?”

After some mocking, seeing that Psyker’s face was filled with rage, Han Xiao chuckled and immediately hung up the communication without waiting for Psyker’s reply.

In order to test out the effect, Han Xiao had made a call to Psyker. Having heard Psyker’s tone, he knew that it had worked. Therefore, he had nothing more to say to Old Psy and hung up immediately.

Originally, Psyker’s link to the Evolution Cube had been a hidden threat. Now, he had finally gotten rid of this advantage Psyker had on him. Han Xiao felt much more secured.

The Arcane Church had no intelligence network in the Flickering World, so they would have to rely on Psyker’s link to the Evolution Cube to track him if they wanted to attack him. And now, the Arcane Church no longer had that.

Part of the Arcane Church’s strong desire for the Evolution Cube came from how Psyker was able to locate the Evolution Cube, as they thought they had a good chance to snatch it back. Once they lost that, they would have to carefully reconsider if they wanted to take the Evolution Cube back.

Although he had decided to stay in Planet Lighthouse and lie low for some time, there was no way for him to keep hiding. Furthermore, the Arcane Church definitely would not think that the dynasty did not speculate their intentions. If there were really no chances of sneak attacking, it was not impossible for them to directly attack Planet Lighthouse.

Due to the exploration of a new Star Field, the dynasty was currently in a weaker state among the three civilizations, and the other two had always been looking for opportunities. It was totally possible for the Arcane Church to start a direct conflict with the dynasty. Although the chances of the Arcane Church using such an aggressive plan were not high given their style, Han Xiao did not completely exclude this possibility.

After all, he had changed the storyline. Compared to the same time period in his previous life, the relationship between organizations had changed subtly. Even he did not know how far the Arcane Church would go to obtain the Evolution Cube.

If he could make the Arcane Church give up this time, he would not have to be on the passive side in the future.

As for whether Psyker would still follow the Arcane Church to make a move on him, Han Xiao was not worried. Even just to find out why his senses were blocked, Psyker would certainly come. Evolution Cube had belonged to Psyker, so the Arcane Church would not leave its formal owner out of it. Therefore, he could still indirectly find out about the Arcane Church’s movements through paying attention to Psyker’s whereabouts.

“You…” Psyker was just about to question when he realized the call had ended. The anger was stuck in his throat and made his blood boil.

Psyker paused. He then contacted the upper echelons of the Arcane Church with a long face.

“There’s been a change. I can no longer locate Black Star.”

“What?” The upper echelons of the Arcane Church were shocked. “The operation plan has already been decided. For such an accident to happen now… Since we no longer know Black Star’s accurate location, we will have to change our operation plan.”

The Arcane Church’s original plan was to discreetly gather an overwhelming Beyond Grade A force and have them secretly go to the Flickering World, sneak up on Black Star when he was out exploring, and kill him at once. The crux for this plan to work was the fact that Psyker could locate Han Xiao.

Psyker had never had a problem locating Black Star, but Black Star had managed to suddenly cut Psyker’s senses off at such a crucial moment, and this disrupted the Arcane Church’s plan.

Originally, they planned to have a group of Beyond Grade As attack Black Star when he was alone, so they could eliminate Black Star in a short time and immediately return to the Shattered Star Ring afterward through their secret stargate.

Since they could not directly locate Black Star, they might have to give up on killing Black Star and capture Black Star instead so that they could interrogate him about the location of the Evolution Cube. This meant that their Beyond Grade As would need to spend a very long time in the Flickering World.

In that new Star Field, the Arcane Church basically had no backup at all. Every second those Beyond Grade As remained there, their risks would increase. If their secret stargate was discovered and destroyed by the dynasty during their operation, those Beyond Grade As would have no way to leave the Flickering World and would be trapped there till their doom.

“I need to report this to the Pope and the Bishops to let them decide,” this upper echelon said.

Due to this change, the risk of this operation had increased tremendously, so it was no longer a decision he could make.

Nonetheless, he was secretly glad that this had happened before the operation started. For the time being, their team was still secretly on the way to the Garu Star Cluster and had yet to build the exit of the stargate, and the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church were still standing by. There was still room to make changes to the plan.

“Okay,” Psyker replied with resignation. Despite being more impatient than ever, he knew that there was no way he would be able to order the Arcane Church around.

…

Through the stargates, it only took Han Xiao a few days of beating up Hadavy for his fleet to return to Planet Lighthouse in the Dawn Star Cluster.

Tarrokov had already spoken to Han Xiao and knew that Han Xiao would be lying low on Planet Lighthouse for a while. He welcomed Han Xiao personally with his people at the dock.

The fleet landed, and Han Xiao disembarked from his spaceship with his officers, meeting Tarrokov.

“Chief commander.”

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

After a handshake and a greeting, the two of them headed toward the base of the Planet Lighthouse in a vehicle and started chatting.

“Who’s in the second batch that will be taking part in the exploration?” Han Xiao asked casually.

Tarrokov gave him a knowing expression before pressing on his bracelet, which projected the information of eleven organizations.

Han Xiao glanced through and nodded in his mind. He knew these organizations. They were all renowned organizations of the different Star Fields. There were Beyond Grade A allied organizations. There were also Star Cluster civilizations like Klent, and they all were on the dynasty’s side.

“Constellation Corridor’s Arcane Institute, Primeval Star River’s Pyre Demon Tribe, Blackhole Edge’s Dragonblood Nation, Sea of Star Spirits’ City of the Giant Fleet… A total of four Beyond Grade A organizations. Yo, three of them are familiar faces.”

During his trip to the dynasty’s mother planet a few months ago, Han Xiao had come to know seven Beyond Grade A Dynasty allies—three of whom had joined this exploration.

The leader of the Arcane Institute was a member of the universe-renowned elderly celebrity group—a member of the Ancient Ones, Ravenlaude.

The leader of the Pyre Demon Tribe was an old friend, Beyoni, who had fought EsGod alongside him. The leader of the City of the Giant Fleet was also someone he had met before. He was a Beyond Grade A Mechanic.

The only person he had never met before was the leader of the Dragonblood Nation, Milizaus. This guy was one of the three strongest National Pillars, someone on the same level as ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti, and the strongest individual in this exploration team.

Among the four of them, Han Xiao paid more attention to Ravenlaude—the area this guy would be exploring was the same as him, the Garu Star Cluster. He was a direct competitor. Also, Ravenlaude was the first owner of the Spacetime Amber in his previous life.

Of course, this time, Han Xiao had gotten it first, and Ravenlaude had missed the opportunity.

Han Xiao thought for a while and asked, “The dynasty said they will send one Beyond Grade A directly under them to protect me from the Arcane Church’s possible sudden attack. Who will that be?”

Tarrokov waved and said, “The plan has changed. Milizaus and Beyoni have personally requested to protect you. This is a better option.”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. Then it occurred to him, and he smiled.

“They must have said their terms.”

“Yes.” Tarrokov smiled too. “They want to exchange this for a chance at using the Evolution Cube.”

Han Xiao had expressed his stand long ago—he would not let the other dynasty allies use the Evolution Cube for free. If they wanted to use it, they had to give something in exchange. Therefore, Milizaus and Beyoni both wanted to make a deal with Han Xiao.

“What do you think? Do you agree with their terms?”

Han Xiao considered for a while before nodding. “Sure.”

This meant that he would have one more person to help him than previously planned and a much stronger one. Therefore, he had no objections. He could even use this opportunity to network a little.

He recalled that the Dragonblood Nation’s faction specialty was all kinds of dragonblood potions that would increase one’s attributes permanently. He was thinking that he might be able to obtain some of it this time. Han Xiao’s goal was not high at all; a mere few hundred tons would be enough.

The second batch of the exploration team took different routes. The quicker ones would only take around ten days to arrive, and the slower ones might need a month. However, they had already gathered their teams, so that would not cause any unnecessary delays.

Having travelled all the way to the base, Han Xiao and his officers settled down in their residence that had been arranged for them long ago.

For the time he would be staying there, he would temporarily stop going out and only remotely command the Black Star Army to do their exploration. There was no need for him to be there personally for the usual exploration.

…

In a desolate universe belt of the Central Galaxy, the enormous Fallen Ark fleet was slowly moving in the cosmic space like a sea made of battleships.

“The Arcane Church said the operation is going to be delayed?”

Having been awoken, EsGod narrowed his eyes as he heard Fakisen’s report.

“Reason?”

“The Arcane Church said there was a problem with the building of the secret stargate, and the Crimson Dynasty has sent out a second batch of the exploration team. Therefore, the risk of the operation has increased, and they need to adjust the plan. They told us to be patient and continue waiting,” Fakisen reported.

EsGod slowly nodded.

“Then let’s do as they asked.”

“One more thing,” Fakisen said. “The Arcane Church said that there might be a possibility of directly attacking, so they hope that we can send out more fleets if that happens.”

“So, they want us to send out more men to reduce their losses due to higher risks… Their style is becoming more and more similar to that of the Federation of Light.” EsGod’s tone was cold and indifferent. “Agree to it.”

As long as he could obtain the Evolution Cube, the casualties of his subordinates did not matter to him at all.

As he had been tricked by Black Star using a fake Evolution Cube the last time, EsGod wanted to work with the Arcane Church by using the Arcane Church as the middleman to borrow Psyker’s psychic locating ability, so he would not make the same mistake again.

This was an important factor in their cooperation.

However, Psyker could no longer use his psychic power to locate the Evolution Cube, and if EsGod came to know about this, he would most likely reconsider their partnership.

Although the Arcane Church had yet to make a new plan, they did not want EsGod to back away from this operation. Therefore, they purposely kept the information about Psyker no longer being able to locate the Evolution Cube a secret from EsGod and found another logical reason to explain the delay of the operation.

Due to the deep hatred Psyker had for EsGod for what happened to Planet Avitan, of course, the Arcane Church did not tell Psyker that EsGod was part of this operation too.

Therefore, EsGod did not know about what had happened with Psyker and waited for the operation to start.

…

After staying for two days on Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao had already finished looking through all the information about Spacetime Freezer that had been collected by Phillip.

As expected, when he was done, a notification popped up on the interface. The first round of the mission was an easy one.

Having received the reward, his Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber increased by one. Han Xiao could immediately feel the difference.

Somehow, he could feel that his soul had established a link with the Spacetime Amber. He no longer needed any supportive device and could now directly control the Spacetime Amber with his mind.

At the same time, a special energy flowed into his body through the Soul Connection that made him feel warm all over. Han Xiao exhaled with comfort.

This energy only disappeared after a while. Han Xiao instantly felt that this energy had enhanced his body to a certain extent. He opened the interface to look at the notification.

_____________________

You have established a Soul Connection with [Spacetime Amber].

Current Soul Connection Level: 1/5

[Spacetime Amber]

Grade: Gold

Item Type: Universal Treasure

You have received the buff [Blessing of the Spacetime Amber].

[Blessing of the Spacetime Amber (Lv.1)]: +10% Maximum Energy, +50 STR, +50 DEX, +50 END, +100 INT, +25 MYS, +25 CHA, +50% Basic Space Resistance, +20% Basic Psychological Resistance. The effect of all your spacetime related abilities are increased by 12% – 24%.

Buff Duration: Fixed

_____________________

“It’s just level one, and the effect is already this good.” Han Xiao’s eyes lit up.

Just like how the Evolution Cube strengthened Psyker’s psychic power, when he made a Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber, he became stronger.

Han Xiao took out the Spacetime Amber and tried to use it. He realized that the energy output was higher, and the speed of creating amber increased significantly for about twenty to thirty percent.

“Looks like the stronger the Soul Connection, the faster I’m able to create amber with this thing.”

Han Xiao looked at the second round of the mission, which also increased the Soul Connection. The mission requirement was to find the whereabouts of Spacetime Freezer’s race and make contact with his descendants who had carried on his legacy.

“Er… this requirement…”

Han Xiao had a strange expression on his face.

It was not that he could not find the descendants of Spacetime Freezer, but they were too easy to find.

He had already finished reading all the data regarding Spacetime Freezer. He knew that this guy’s race still existed and had always been under the civilization that Spacetime Freezer had once belonged to.

The only problem was… basically every descendant race of a Beyond Grade A had extraordinary talents and a very high percentage of Supers. They were always seen as an important resource by the civilizations and were protected heavily to produce warriors.

Spacetime Freezer’s descendant race was also protected by the civilization that they belonged to and were practically not allowed to make any contact with outsiders.

This civilization had survived in the exploration era and had become an astronomical force.

It was one of the three universal civilizations—the Federation of Light!

If I, a Beyond Grade A on the Dynasty’s side suddenly, run to the Federation of Light’s territory…

Do I have to sneak in again? If I get found out this time, I’m probably going to be surrounded and beaten to death in the Federation of Light’s territory…

Han Xiao’s lips twitched. He was in the Flickering World and did not have time to leave, so it was clear that he would not be able to complete the second round of the mission any time soon. Therefore, he put it aside for the time being.

Anyway, he had the treasure in his hands, so he was in no hurry. He had something else to do.

Seven days had already passed since the last time he used [Bold Explorer]. The cooldown had ended.

This ability was like some sort of crystal ball magic, superstitious in every way. However, after testing it out, its effect was exceptional.

Han Xiao brought up the set of wormhole data that EsGod wanted and grinned slightly.

“I can finally uncover the secret in this set of data!”

Although he had already shared this set of data with the dynasty, and the dynasty’s Science Institute would most likely decipher it in the future to obtain accurate clues…

Today, he decided to believe in superstition.

Chapter 840: 840 The Biggest Butterfly Effect!

840 The Biggest Butterfly Effect!

With the notification of [Bold Explorer] being activated popping up on the interface, Han Xiao’s sights were filled with another illusion. Knowing how this ability worked, he focused on what he was seeing.

Two people appeared in the illusions, surrounded by messy black and blue space energy, like they were inside a wormhole path.

These two people were familiar. One was his past self, and the other was the EsGod doppelganger.

This set of wormhole data came from the wormhole that EsGod doppelganger had entered back when the two of them first fought. These were the images from that time.

As the scene played on, his past self fled from the wormhole following the original event, while Han Xiao’s vision was locked onto the EsGod doppelganger, watching it flow between the streams of space energy.

“Come on.” Han Xiao was excited.

When he banished the EsGod doppelganger, he had no idea what happened to it. Now, it seemed like he would finally learn about what happened to the EsGod doppelganger on the other side of the wormhole that made EsGod care so much about this set of data.

The next moment, EsGod finally passed through the tunnel and was spat out by the wormhole, appearing in a pitch black cosmic space.

Having realized that Han Xiao was not going there either, the EsGod doppelganger in the images looked a little angry, knowing that it had been tricked. It stopped for a while but then suddenly continuously teleported in one direction. Han Xiao’s vision followed it throughout.

Not long after, the EsGod suddenly stopped. A strange planet appeared in front of it. Above the atmosphere of this planet, there were multiple wormholes. Roots of enormous plants extended from within and connected to the planet surface. Waves of energy were flowing up the roots from the surface, like it was absorbing the nutrients of this planet.

“This is…” Han Xiao’s pupils instantly constricted as he was astounded.

He had never expected to see this thing here!

Before he had time to think, a sudden change happened!

Out of nowhere, multiple black space cracks opened beside the EsGod doppelganger. More than ten thin, long roots launched out from within like vines and wrapped around the EsGod doppelganger completely.

At this time, the illusions disappeared, and the images stopped. Han Xiao’s vision returned to normal.

“Sh*t, why did it stop there?”

Han Xiao almost cussed. He was just paying full attention to what would happen to the EsGod doppelganger next, and it ended there‽

So upsetting!

Han Xiao took a deep breath and recalled what he had just seen. His expression was grave.

If this piece of information was shown to anyone other than him, people would only feel it was weird and had no value. In fact, in this entire universe, he was probably the only one that knew what this information signified.

He might very well be the only person that knew what these roots were. They came from the universal civilization that carried out a large-scale invasion in the later versions in his previous life—the World Tree Civilization!

“There are still many versions till the World Tree Civilization version. Why is it appearing at this stage?” Han Xiao subconsciously bit his fingernails. His expression was extremely grave.

He finally understood. It turned out that this set of wormhole data connected to the World Tree Civilization’s territory, and the EsGod doppelganger went there out of pure coincidence!

The World Tree Civilization was located in the unexplored universe that was extremely far from the known universe. The three civilizations and the World Tree Civilization were both unaware of each other’s existence. To a powerful civilization, exploring unknown areas was a must, so their meeting would happen sooner or later. In the later versions in his previous life, the World Tree Civilization discovered the existence of the three civilizations and decided to invade in the end. Just like that, an astronomically huge universal war erupted.

However, at this stage, the two sides should not have had any contact at all!

“Without me, the DarkStar leader would not have brought along an EsGod doppelganger to attack me, and EsGod would not have met the World Tree Civilization. Sh*t, this might be the biggest butterfly effect I have ever caused…”

Han Xiao’s expression was grave.

The footage he had just watched contained a lot of information.

He knew that the World Tree Civilization was a civilization with a very special structure. The World Tree was equivalent to their Universal Treasure, and a Universal Treasure of the highest grade at that. It was worshipped and nourished by the entire civilization, at the same time bringing incomparable benefits to the civilization.

The World Tree’s roots were in another dimension and had very sharp senses for energy, which was what led to it discovering the EsGod doppelganger. Although he did not know what happened to the EsGod doppelganger next, it was clear that he did something, given how persistent he was about this set of wormhole data. The two of them must have made contact!

“EsGod probably wants this set of data so he can find out the exact location of the World Tree Civilization. He said that’s the hope for his evolution. Was this *sshole deluded by the World Tree Civilization and now wants to be their guide‽”

Having thought of this possibility, Han Xiao’s expression changed.

If the World Tree Civilization discovered the location of the three civilizations because of the EsGod doppelganger’s visit, the World Tree Civilization’s invasion might erupt in advance. That would be a disaster to the entire known universe!

If the war with the World Tree Civilization happened before it should, the storyline he was familiar with would be completely gone. The advantage he had of knowing things before others would be almost useless, and at the same time, he would lose the precious time to increase his strength.

Although he was already Beyond Grade A, in such a gigantic galactical war that matched the exploration era war, even Beyond Grade As would not be able to ensure their own survival.

After all, there were way too many Beyond Grade As who died in this war in his previous life.

“Luckily, that’s just one of EsGod’s doppelgangers. With his personality, he might not have told anyone about it at all…”

This guy wanted to find the location of the World Tree Civilization and not wait for their arrival, which meant that EsGod might not have exposed any information of the known universe.

With the current situation, the only thing Han Xiao could do was pray that EsGod did not tell the World Tree Civilization about the existence of the three civilizations.

However, if EsGod was allowed to keep studying this set of data, he would have results sooner or later and drag everyone into the flames of war. No one would be able to exclude themselves.

This was a ticking time bomb that could not be ignored!

“I can’t let him keep studying it…” Han Xiao clenched his teeth.

To this moment, he had only fought EsGod twice. Although they were enemies, he knew that he would not be able to do anything to EsGod for the time being.

Today, however, for the first time, a clear and straightforward murderous intent for EsGod was born in Han Xiao’s mind. He wanted to kill him as soon as possible!

“Given the fact that EsGod can survive between the gaps of the three civilizations, looking for the dynasty’s help would most likely be useless. I also don’t have any way to prove the existence of the World Tree Civilization, so the dynasty will not insist on getting rid of EsGod…”

The information obtained through [Bold Explorer] could not be displayed to anyone else but him. Even if he told the dynasty what he had seen, there was no way the dynasty would believe the existence of the World Tree Civilization. The only way to make the dynasty believe it was to interrogate EsGod, the witness.

However, in order to interrogate, they had to at least capture him; he would not deliberately share this information otherwise.

Han Xiao frowned. He realized that there was not much exterior help he could obtain on this matter.

Unless… the dynasty had also completed studying this set of data and somehow discovered the World Tree Civilization without being discovered themselves. In that case, in order to keep the existence of their known universe a secret, the dynasty would have a strong reason to eliminate EsGod.

“Tough, the requirements are too difficult. Although the dynasty have the experience of the exploration era and know to hide themselves from unfamiliar entities, with the currently existing laws, the dynasty might actively make contact.” Han Xiao shook his head in resignation. If he had known that this set of wormhole data led to the World Tree Civilization, he would have never given it to the dynasty to study. There were too many uncontrollable factors. If anything went wrong, the universal war that should only happen in the later versions would have a very high chance of erupting in advance.

“I’m the only one that knows about this now, and it’s too difficult to solve this problem properly just by myself…”

Han Xiao was feeling low.

“Dealing with EsGod has to be done much sooner than I planned to. I’m not strong enough yet to fight EsGod alone… Sigh, the EXP penalty period is so long…”

…

After staying for more than half a month on Planet Lighthouse, the new exploration teams finally arrived at the Flickering World from afar.

Tarrokov met with the leaders of those new exploration teams in the base. Han Xiao came to meet with the members of this second batch of the exploration teams, planning to show his face and make new friends.

Inside the meeting room, the people swarmed in and instantly saw Tarrokov, who was waiting there. They then looked to the side and saw Han Xiao.

“Greetings, Chief Commander Tarrokov, Your Excellency Black Star.”

The commanders of these Star Cluster civilization exploration teams there were all familiar with this new dynasty ally who possessed the Evolution Cube. They looked at Han Xiao with curiosity, and Han Xiao nodded back at them.

“Haha, we meet again.” Beyoni laughed. “I heard the Arcane Church is planning to attack you. Looks like you need my help.”

Suddenly, someone beside cut in and said, “Our help.”

Han Xiao turned and sized this person up. The voice came from an illuminating energy body with a human shape. Bright red energy flowed through this person like liquid flames. He had no mouth or nose, only a pair of bright golden dragon eyes.

“You are…” Han Xiao was stunned about the fact that he did not recognize this person.

“Milizaus,” this energy body said with a calm tone. “Don’t be surprised. This is just an energy apparition. My main body did not land here.”

Having his confusion resolved, Han Xiao shook hands with this energy apparition. “It’s an honor to meet you, king of the Dragonblood Nation, leader of the Starry Spiritual Dragon Race.”

At the same time, he secretly entered the quantum network vision and looked at the exterior atmosphere of Planet Lighthouse through the surveillance devices of the base.

A gigantic dragon with the size of almost a main ship was floating in the upper atmosphere. A long beard hung from its head, and diamond shaped dragon scales covered its body. Even the smallest scale was a few meters long. The body of the dragon had a mixed color of silver, purple, and green, as if bright star light was flowing between the gaps of the dragon scales. Although it was huge, it still looked agile with its streamlined body.

This was a Starry Spiritual Dragon. Even within the same race, this size was still impressive. This was indeed Milizaus’ main body—he was a non-humanoid intelligent species.

The Starry Spiritual Dragon Race was a descendant race of a Beyond Grade A Magic Azure Dragon. They were born with a talent for magic. Although their reproduction capabilities were not high, an adult Starry Spiritual Dragon would have the power of a Grade B at least. The percentage of Calamity Grades in their race was exceptionally high.

Milizaus was the second Beyond Grade A in this descendant race. He was a unique giant dragon Mage. He had both the specialties of a normal Mage and a circuit mage and could learn all kinds of spells. However, when using the legacy spells of the dragon race, its power would be greatly enhanced. Currently, Milizaus was the leader of this entire descendant race; his position was somewhat similar to Manison, who led the Mechanical Race.

Furthermore, as dragons were long-lived, Milizaus was also a member of the Ancient Ones. He indeed was the Ancient One Dynasty ally other than Ravenlaude.

The Ancient Ones were a very loose group, so his standpoint with Ravenlaude was different. To some extent, one could even say their relationship was not exactly good. Ravenlaude was a Mage too, but their beliefs in magic conflicted.

Obviously, Milizaus had already become a new species and was no longer a pure Starry Spiritual Dragon. Due to how large his main body was, he usually used an energy apparition to communicate with others.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, the undying Black Star.” Milizaus’ voice was ancient and husky, but his personality was quite cheerful and not as cold as Clotti’s. This was mainly because they were both Beyond Grade As, so they could communicate on equal grounds.

“With me here, you don’t have to worry about the Arcane Church. They might not dare to act anymore seeing that I’m here.”

“Haha, then I will have to prepare the Evolution Cube for you.” Han Xiao chuckled. “By the way, are you interested in making another deal with me? It’s also related to the Evolution Cube.”

“Oh?” Milizaus was interested. “You know me well. Sure, when we’re done with the meeting, let’s have a proper chat.”

Ravenlaude glanced at Han Xiao with a faint sneer. He then nodded at him as a form of greeting and sat down with the others without saying anything.

Due to Aesop, Ravenlaude did not want to be too close to Black Star. As a Mage, he was not too interested in the Evolution Cube. Furthermore, both of them were exploring the Garu Star Cluster, so they were competitors. Factoring all that in, Ravenlaude did not want the relationship between the two of them to go any further—he was not someone who liked to do networking.

Chapter 841: The Approaching Storm

Chapter 841 The Approaching Storm

Once everyone was seated, the meeting started. Tarrokov explained the current exploration situation.

After listening for a while, Ravenlaude was overjoyed. He was going to explore the Garu Star Cluster, and the long distance stargates built by the Black Star Army gave him many more choices, which was beneficial for him.

Who knows what Black Star was thinking? Ravenlaude gloated in his mind.

For someone like Heber who explored the Renault Star Cluster step by step, the exploration teams that came after would have no choice but to slowly hyperdrive over the already explored areas. The Black Star Army, however, did not seem to care about their own gains at all. They were basically setting themselves aflame to warm the ones who came after. How selfless of them!

The mockery in Ravenlaude’s eyes increased even more as he glanced at Han Xiao.

Having noticed Ravenlaude’s gaze, Han Xiao turned and smiled at him, also with mockery in his eyes.

Although the long distance stargates would undoubtedly make Ravenlaude’s exploration easier, the biggest reward, the Spacetime Amber, was already in his hands.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had already occupied all the known rich planets from his previous life, and there were very few quality planets left for Ravenlaude. Of course, Ravenlaude had no idea.

As their eyes clashed, it was as if they made a silent exchange, both having deep meaning in their eyes.

Hehe, you’ve made such a loss, Ravenlaude seemed to say.

Tsk tsk, you have no idea what you’ve lost, Han Xiao mocked back.

…

The meeting ended very quickly, and the people left one after another. As the first batch of the exploration teams including Han Xiao and Heber had already built the stargates, the second batch of the exploration could reach their respective Star Clusters immediately and had no reason to waste time on Planet Lighthouse. They departed very soon.

Milizaus and Beyoni’s teams left as well, while they themselves stayed and accompanied Han Xiao as temporary guards of the Evolution Cube.

As Beyond Grade As of the dynasty, neither of them minded bonding with their colleague, Black Star.

Inside a wide room, the three of them sat opposite each other. Three glasses of hot and red liquid were on the table. This was a specialty that Beyoni had brought from his home. It was said to be a special drink that the Pyre Demon Tribe loved.

Han Xiao took a large sip. It had a thick and dense texture, extremely hot and spicy, and rolled down his throat like flames. His stomach felt warm, and a bunch of ‘-0’s popped up on his head.

“Not bad, what is this?” Han Xiao asked.

“Hehe, this is lava from the Land of the Fire Core, mixed with condensed alcohol. It tastes quite good, right?”

Damn it, you actually gave me lava to drink… Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

Land of the Fire Core was the only Universal Treasure the Pyre Demon Tribe had. It seemed to be something that could speed up the growth of young Pyre Demons. Han Xiao recalled that the Extinguish Army always wanted to destroy it.

After some hesitation, Han Xiao did not put the glass down in the end and took another sip.

“… Another round.”

It really tasted quite good.

He had already stayed in a Fixed Star before, so drinking some lava was nothing.

Milizaus looked at the cup in front of him and wondered if he should drink it since this was just his energy apparition. He shook his head and asked, “Black Star, what was the deal you spoke of earlier?”

Han Xiao put the glass down and said with a smile, “The Dragonblood Nation’s many kinds of Dragonblood Potions are renowned across the universe. I want to exchange the allocation of the Evolution Cube for Dragonblood Potions. You’re the leader of the Starry Spiritual Dragon Race, so I suppose you want some of your exceptional people to evolve, right?”

Milizaus pondered for a while and nodded. “Sure, how are we exchanging specifically?”

The Dragonblood Potions were a specialty meant for selling to start with, so of course, Milizaus was not going to reject it. The Dragonblood Nation consisted of hybrid dragons that he created with Dragonblood. It was merely an armed force under his race. The Starry Spiritual Dragon Race was what was important to him.

“Two tons of common Dragonblood Potions plus a hundred kilograms of Condensed Dragonblood Potions in exchange for a hundred Evolution Cube allocations.”

Milizaus was stunned in place.

Tons?

The Dragonblood Potions are usually sold in bottles you *sshole!

“It takes more than ten tons of Dragonblood from Grade C individuals to produce one ton of Dragonblood Potions, and the Condensed Dragonblood Potion requires much more,” Milizaus said with a displeased tone. “Why don’t I just give you a few dragons and you can drain blood from them yourself, huh?”

Han Xiao pondered with a serious face. “That’s not unacceptable…”

“You’re way too greedy!” Milizaus said angrily.

“I’m not asking you to purchase all the allocations at once. You can do it slowly.” Han Xiao chuckled. Friendship was one thing, and greed in business was another.

Of course, he would not be able to finish such a large amount of Dragonblood Potions. They were mainly going to be used to strengthen capable officers and sold to players at high prices.

Selling specialties from other factions to expand the Black Star Army’s range of products and indirectly increase the faction’s appeal had already become Han Xiao’s habit.

Milizaus was speechless. Although we have large sizes and a lot of blood, you can’t just drain the hell out of our blood!

“If you have worries, I can let your people experience the actual effect of the Evolution Cube once for free,” said Han Xiao.

“Sure, let’s find an empty space. I’ll call a dragon here.” Milizaus nodded.

Han Xiao looked at Beyoni, and Beyoni said that he had no objections—he wanted to see its effects as well.

The three of them left the room and came to a wide metal field.

Han Xiao looked up and saw an enormous dragon descending.

Whoosh!

With its wings stirring up howling winds, this Starry Spiritual Dragon landed on the field with a loud bang, and the ground slightly trembled.

Han Xiao sized it up. This enormous dragon’s body was long and streamlined. It was about a thousand meters long. It had two pairs of broad wings on its back and a pair of dragon claws below its body at the front, middle, and back, three pairs in total. It stared at the three of them with its cold golden dragon eyes.

This was a normal Starry Spiritual Dragon. Compared to Milizaus, its size was not as big. This Starry Spiritual Dragon did not have a habit of running around naked. Most of its body was covered in specially made black heavy metal armor.

Its armor was even equipped with mechanical weapons, such as artilleries and battleship shields. It was basically fully armed. Such a heavily-armed enormous dragon could basically be seen as a battleship. The machinery and its body formed a bulky sense of beauty.

Its armor and its body also had a lot of magic circuits on them that were illuminated. They were clearly Enchants.

“This is one of my Armed Dragon Guards. Let him try the effects of the Evolution Cube first,” Milizaus said. As a Beyond Grade A, he also had his own elite team. The Armed Dragon Guards were just like Austin’s Forbidden Sorcerers.

Wow, this guy looks really cool… Han Xiao’s eyes were flashing. This style of large creature armed completely with machinery was perfect for his taste.

Temporarily unsealing the Evolution Cube, Han Xiao activated it. Black Evolution Energy poured out and covered this Armed Dragon Guard, forming a black cocoon.

Ka ka…

Not long after, the black cocoon shattered like a newborn coming out of its shell. Under the sharp senses of three Beyond Grade As, the aura of this Armed Dragon Guard became considerably stronger. Its size was visibly larger, and its heavy armor became a little tight on its body.

Roar!

This Armed Dragon Guard looked up and roared, emitting bright silvery-purple dragon breath that expanded like a sea of light and shattered like fireworks in the sky.

“Looks quite effective.” Beyoni was a little jealous. If he could let the females of the Pyre Demon Tribe receive such enhancements, they would be able to endure more of his hot essence, which would definitely be beneficial in the reproduction of his descendant race.

Milizaus was also satisfied.

“Alright then, I accept this price. I shall first buy… two thousand allocations.”

“How is two thousand enough? The population of the Starry Spiritual Dragon is not high, sure, but there should at least be a million dragons. Come on, buy more.” Han Xiao tried tempting him.

Milizaus snorted. “I’ll think about it in the future.”

If he bought tens of thousands of allocations at once, his Starry Spiritual Dragon Race would have to change their name to the Anemic Dragon Race.

“I have another request.” Han Xiao chuckled. He sized the Armed Dragon Guard up and said, “I think that you Starry Spiritual Dragons are quite magnificent…”

“What do you want now?” Milizaus was alarmed.

“Do you mind if I recruit a few Starry Spiritual Dragons as my allies…”

“Don’t even think about it!” Milizaus was so angry that he could barely maintain his energy apparition.

Allies? You think I did not see the overflowing desire in your eyes? You want my people to be your mount, don’t you‽ Outrageous, you might as well mount me!

Milizaus had read about Han Xiao before coming and knew about how thick skinned he was. However, after actual contact, the thickness of Han Xiao’s skin still exceeded his expectations. Never mind him raising the price so directly, he even wanted to mount his dragon offspring right in front of him. How could there be such a shameless Beyond Grade A!

However, Milizaus did not dislike it and somewhat liked Black Star’s style. Most of the Beyond Grade As in the universe took their image very seriously and always maintained a cold attitude as if they were afraid others did not know how important they were. He was quite happy to meet someone with a different demeanor.

Having lived for so long, one would either become careless about everything or develop more interests in new and fresh things. In this respect, Milizaus shared quite a lot of common traits with Aesop.

…

On the Arcane Church’s mother planet, inside a large temple, the Bishops sat around the round table, discussing the Evolution Cube.

Dispatching so many Beyond Grade As at once was no small matter. It required decisions from the highest members of the Arcane Church. However, due to what had happened with Psyker, the opinions of the Main Church were divided.

“We should give up this plan!” a bishop said calmly. “We have lost the ability to locate the Evolution Cube and now are stuck. According to the latest intel, the dynasty has noticed our intentions. Black Star has returned to Planet Lighthouse and is hiding behind multiple layers of protection. The dynasty even gave him two bodyguards, ‘Incineration’ Beyoni and ‘Dragon King’ Milizaus. If we continue with the plan, we will be facing three of the Crimson Dynasty high level combatants, and that’s considered direct conflict, which goes against our original intentions.

“The security around Planet Lighthouse is tight. As soon as our secret fleet appears near it, it will be discovered by the dynasty. By then, we will have to face the garrison of Planet Lighthouse, who are fully war-prepared. The risk is too high.”

The others looked at him silently.

“More importantly, without the ability to locate the Evolution Cube, if Black Star hides it, we will have no way of finding it. Capturing Black Star is an extremely difficult task. The reward is not worth the risk. We…” After a pause, this bishop sighed and said, “We should give up the Evolution Cube.”

The others could not object. They subconsciously looked at the main seat. That was supposed to be the seat of the pope. It was not occupied now, but they knew that the pope had been listening to the discussions.

The discussion had come to a stalemate. It was all up to the pope’s decision.

After waiting for a while, a 3D projection suddenly appeared above the round table. There were a few sentences. It was the pope’s reply.

“First, God has said that the Evolution Cube is still with Black Star.

“Second, change the plan and directly attack Planet Lighthouse.

“Third, new mission target, Milizaus. The [Ten Thousand Deity Scepter] can be used to kill him.

“Fourth, the Federation of Light has agreed to provide assistance.”

Chapter 842: 842 Enemy Whereabouts

842 Enemy Whereabouts

Within a certain desolate universe belt in the Flickering World, a secret stargate station was hidden behind a desolate planet. It was the stronghold of the stowaways from the Arcane Church. This stargate station was equipped with all sorts of stealth devices to conceal its own energy reaction and prevent it from being detected by any kind of radar.

The Arcane Church’s technology was on par with the dynasty’s, only they had different focuses. The dynasty had been searching for the whereabouts of some Super Star Cluster civilizations lately but never found the secret stargate of the Arcane Church and the Federation of Light.

In order to remain stealthy, the Arcane Church would not frequently use the secret stargate, so this stargate station was silent most of the time.

That day, however, this stargate station was activated. The blue space energy inside the stargate suddenly accelerated its spinning, and battleships appeared from within.

These battleships were not the standard disc-shaped spaceships of the Arcane Church but quadrangular cone-shaped ships with red light swirling at the edges and black exterior armor.

This type of quadrangular cone battleship was one of the dozens of common high-level battleships in the galaxy. It circulated in the market on a large scale, so the owner’s identity could not be identified from its model. The surface of the ships did not have any symbols that represented any identity.

Battleships came out of the stargate continuously. It was an enormous fleet of up to more than a million battleships.

The Arcane Church officer at the stronghold watched this silently. He did not know who this fleet was. All he knew was that his superiors had given him a direct order not to do anything and to let this fleet leave.

This mysterious fleet had no intention of communicating either. The stronghold officer watched as this fleet turned into streams of light and disappeared.

“What are the people above planning? A million battleships… Are we going to war with the dynasty?” the stronghold officer murmured.

…

As the stargate station disappeared from the sights of this mysterious fleet, inside the command room of its main ship, a hooded man looked up—it was an EsGod doppelganger.

“Humph, Arcane Church.” The EsGod doppelganger snorted. EsGod’s consciousness was on this doppelganger.

This fleet was a division of the Fallen Ark.

EsGod’s forces were between the gaps of the Central Galaxy. In order to quickly come to the Flickering World through multiple Star Fields, they could only use stargates. The Arcane Church had secretly built stargates in the desolate universe belt of the Central Galaxy long ago to provide services to EsGod’s troops so that EsGod could travel this long distance. Of course, this was only temporary.

Using the stargate of the Arcane Church, this division secretly arrived at the Flickering World. However, despite them temporarily working together, EsGod did not trust the Arcane Church.

To prevent the Arcane Church from ambushing him, he only sent a doppelganger and a division fleet. The mission of this division was to build his own secret stargate in the Flickering World so that his means of retreating would be in his own hands if things went wrong.

Stargates were a Star Cluster civilization technology, but the black market allowed people to buy things that they would never be able to buy through ordinary means. EsGod’s stargate device had been bought from the black market at an extremely high price. In the entire universe, there were more than a few Star Cluster civilizations, so the stargate devices could not be kept completely exclusive.

EsGod’s main body would only go to the Flickering World personally once he had a certain way of retreating.

“Open the star map.”

His subordinate opened the 3D star map of the Flickering World that they had received from the Arcane Church.

Although this was the dynasty’s star map, the Arcane Church had a way to obtain it since the universal civilizations all had a certain degree of infiltration of each other. However, this star map did not display the dynasty’s lines of defense in the Flickering World. This was a top secret that even the Arcane Church could not easily obtain.

Nonetheless, the defensive force of Planet Lighthouse was highlighted. The planet’s garrison consisted of about three million battleships, with more than one million battleships patrolling nearby.

The dynasty had dispatched hundreds of millions of battleships to the Flickering World, but most of them were exploring. With four million battleships defending it at all times, Planet Lighthouse was already the most heavily guarded planet in the entire Flickering World.

“Four million… looks like I need to bring some more people here.” The EsGod doppelganger’s tone was calm. The Fallen Ark was said to have sixty million battleships, and the actual number might exceed that. There was a reason he was feared by the three civilizations. He could easily dispatch this amount of manpower.

After a pause, the EsGod doppelganger took out the communicator and contacted the Arcane Church’s special agent liaison officer. The upper echelons of the Arcane Church would not contact a criminal like him personally, so the Arcane Church’s secret agent was the middleman between them. The Arcane Church could thus claim that there was no such person in their organization if things went south.

“Our troops are in position. When will you guys act?”

“In twenty days. I will notify you of the exact time in advance. We need you to work together with our troops.”

The EsGod doppelganger replied with a mocking tone, “Work together how exactly?”

“According to the upper echelons, we will not appear at the same time. Therefore, we will have to split up. You shall be responsible for the direct attack to attract the garrison of Planet Lighthouse, and we will surprise attack.”

The EsGod doppelganger nodded. He understood the Arcane Church’s intentions. He knew that the Arcane Church would not send their Beyond Grade As to act together with him, so their strategy was within his expectations.

However, Planet Lighthouse’s security forces filled up the entire sector. His troops would not be able to avoid the dynasty’s eyes, nor could the Arcane Church’s troops. There was no such thing as an actual surprise attack. EsGod felt that this was just so that he could attract more firepower so that the Arcane Church could enter the battlefield from another direction.

EsGod was not worried about the Arcane Church making him take on the brunt of the defense, as the dynasty would send reinforcements his way as soon as his troops triggered the alarm of Planet Lighthouse, and he felt that the Arcane Church would not miss this opportunity.

However, EsGod had no idea that the Arcane Church’s plan was very different to what he expected.

…

In a dark room, a round table was surrounded by more than ten seats. At this moment, six were occupied by someone.

The term ‘someone’ would not be too accurate. All of them were remote projections, and one of them was Psyker.

Every seat there belonged to a Beyond Grade A combatant in the Arcane Church.

For this operation, the Arcane Church had sent out a total of six Beyond Grade As!

These six people were more than half of what the Arcane Church could gather in such a short period. The other Beyond Grade As all had their own tasks and would not be able to secretly move without being noticed.

The Arcane Church had six Beyond Grade As as well as external reinforcements. The opponents were only Black Star, Milizaus, and Beyoni. The difference in strength was extremely one-sided—the Arcane Church was planning to launch a thunderous strike!

Currently, the six of them were casually chatting.

“It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen such a large operation like this.”

“Hmm, Milizaus… that dragon is not easy to deal with. I’ve fought him before. We could not kill each other, and it ended in a draw. However, this time, even the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter will be used, so his chances of surviving are very slim.”

“The Arcane Church is out of their minds. Are they planning to start a war? After killing three Beyond Grade As of the Crimson Dynasty at once, things might escalate into a full out war.”

“Isn’t that exactly what the Federation of Light wants? That’s why they agreed to help and even allowed us to borrow their Universal Treasure.”

The Beyond Grade As shook their heads—the Arcane Church was clearly going to make the headlines.

They had no worries for the result of this operation at all. With such a wide strength difference, there was basically zero possibility they would fail. What they were worried about was what impact this operation would have after they succeed.

They could see that after killing three Beyond Grade As of the dynasty, if the conflict between the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty turned into an all-out war, as the participants of this event, they would be targeted by the dynasty.

Although they were not afraid of the Crimson Dynasty, some of their territories were in other Star Fields. If they were targeted by the dynasty, they would be caught in a whole lot of trouble. Therefore, some of them were not keen on taking part in this operation.

However, as allies who had received so many benefits over time, they could only answer to the Arcane Church’s summons with resignation even if they were reluctant.

“If not because Psyker lost the Evolution Cube, there would be no need for this operation.” Someone grunted and blamed Psyker.

Psyker glanced at him, confirmed that it was someone he could not beat, and chose not to say anything.

“Since the Arcane Church has made such a large-scale operation, even if we retrieve the Evolution Cube, there’s no way it will be returned to you,” someone else said with a deep voice.

“I know.” Psyker’s expression remained the same. “It’s acceptable to me as long as it’s not in someone else’s hands.”

“Tsk, if Black Star returned the Evolution Cube back to you back then, he would not have gotten himself into this mess. Apparently, Black Star took the shortest time to reach Beyond Grade A in all of history. Sadly, he’s too greedy,” someone else said with a pitiful tone.

“He took something he shouldn’t have. He deserves it,” Psyker said coldly.

He knew that the Evolution Cube would not go back to him after the Arcane Church succeeded. However, as the Evolution Cube was sealed by Han Xiao, his Soul Connection with the Evolution Cube was severed. Hence, he lost the enhancement of his psychic power. Therefore, his requirement lowered.

Even if the Arcane Church took the Evolution Cube, as long as his Soul Connection was maintained, Psyker could accept it. Han Xiao was the cause of all of this, and Psyker had immense hatred for him. He would not let this opportunity to eliminate Han Xiao slip through his fingers.

Personal hatred was one thing, but Black Star’s organization was in the Shattered Star Ring just like his. Due to the fact that they were enemies, Black Star had become an obstacle of the Star Pupil Holy Race’s growth, and the previous Civilization Conference was an example of that. For the growth and development of his civilization, Psyker also wanted to eliminate Black Star.

A Beyond Grade A beside Psyker seemed to know what Psyker was thinking. He patted Psyker’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll eliminate Black Star for you.”

“Thanks, Dylan.” Although Psyker was not in a good mood, he still forced a smile for this person. “Let’s fight him together then.”

Dylan nodded. His long, dark-green hair swayed like seaweed.

His skin was blue, and his face was covered in tiny scales and had similarities to fish. He had a pair of large, bright eyes that occasionally blinked and another conspicuous third eye on his forehead. There was webbing on his hands and feet and one eyeball in both of his palms. It was quite strange. His back was crouched as if he had a hunchback, and there were fins on it. He looked like a marine creature. Who knew what his ancestors did to fish… or what the fish did to his ancestors?

With such a look, his ability was clearly related to water. Dylan was an Esper, nicknamed ‘Sea Spirit’ and ‘Ruler of the Sea’. His Esper Ability was controlling water. It sounded ordinary and seemed weak in space, but no Beyond Grade A Super was weak.

Dylan could compress water to an extreme extent that could easily slash through battleships. Not only that, he could even turn water into a powerful energy beam that had the destructive power on par with battleship weapons. At the same time, his body could store a huge amount of water that was more than enough to flood the surface of an entire planet.

This type of Esper Ability was not suitable for duels, but it was quite good in group battles.

Having been part of the Arcane Church for many years, Psyker had friends, and Dylan was one of them. He was the closest friend Psyker had among the Beyond Grade A allies. It might be because both of them had many eyes, so they shared common interests.

…

On the Federation of Light’s mother planet, the Federation of Light president, Bader, was also paying attention to the Arcane Church’s movements. It was his decision to provide help to the Arcane Church.

“With our help, as long as the Arcane Church doesn’t underestimate them, the chance of this operation succeeding is higher than ninety-five percent. At least one Beyond Grade A will die on the Crimson Dynasty’s side.” Bader’s tone was confident.

The Chief Elder nodded with approval. “Hmm, the death of a Beyond Grade A is more than enough to trigger conflict between the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty, which is very beneficial to us.

The Federation of Light aided the Arcane Church in order to watch them fight. If the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty battled with each other, they would be the ones who benefitted from it.

The Arcane Church knew this but still decided to continue the plan as they had their own goals. Furthermore, working with EsGod was never something justifiable, so they did not tell the Federation of Light. Since the Federation of Light had provided help, they would be dragged down as well and would not be able to use this against the Arcane Church.

Although both sides had their own goals, they also shared a goal—to apply pressure to the Crimson Dynasty and test the dynasty’s attitude to see if they could eat them up.

As for whether Milizaus or Black Star would be killed, it made no difference to Bader, and he did not care at all.

Chapter 843: 843 Showing themselves!

843 Showing themselves!

In Base No. 4 of Planet Lighthouse, within the real-life war training room, a spar was being carried out.

Bang!

A mechanical fist slammed against a hardened fist, and a shock wave burst out from the point of contact.

Hadavy braced himself, catching Psionic Prime’s fist, before viciously swinging forward with a right hook, knocking him backward onto the defense line formed by the mechanical soldiers.

Behind his line of defense, Han Xiao slightly shifted, waving his hand and shooting a beam of Mechanical Force to stabilize the body of Psionic Prime.

His eyes immediately flashed with an electrical glow, and the next instant, along the route Hadavy was taking toward him, a psionic barrier appeared.

Because the barrier appeared too suddenly and was too close, Hadavy rammed straight into it.

Boom!

“Good sound. You have a good head.”

The corners of Han Xiao’s mouth curled up, and he suddenly clenched his fist. The wall-like barrier shrank instantly into a minute dot before imploding directly on Hadavy’s face. With a thunderous noise, it shot out a blue beam, knocking Hadavy into the wall of the training room.

Boom!

The metal plates of the room were bent and broken, and a human-shaped hole appeared in the wall.

The mechanical soldiers forming the line of defense began to concentrate their fire, their ammunition blanketing the entire area, shooting straight into the human shaped pit.

Boom!

A dazzling explosion of light turned the entire room a pure white for a moment.

During this time, a red-colored light suddenly rushed toward Han Xiao’s back, piercing through ten or so mechanical soldiers, before aiming toward the back of his head.

Psionic Prime immediately disassembled and reassembled as a floating cannon model, activating a psionic shield to cover Han Xiao’s back. The red light hit the blue shield, shattering into fine shards.

As Han Xiao leisurely turned his head back, Hila shot backward, creating distance between them while firing her death rays. Against him, she did not dare go close range and could only resort to this long distance style of attacking.

This spar was a challenge for all the Black Star Guards to fight against Han Xiao. In order to achieve the effect of training them, Han Xiao naturally would not activate all his troops and only utilized a thousand mechanical soldiers. Without his Human Wave Tactic, he made up for it with a variety of mechanical equipment.

The training room was reduced to a mess. Most of the Black Star Guards had collapsed at this time, and only Hadavy and Hila were still going, looking extremely bedraggled.

“Come over here, darling.” Han Xiao stretched out his hands toward Hila, and the mechanical components assembled around his arm. Mechanical Force flashed, and a strong gravitational force was released from the arm of his mechanical suit, producing the sound of wind being sucked into it.

The mechanical soldiers instantly dodged, and the gaps appeared in the line of defense wherever Hila moved.

She immediately felt a strong pulling force dragging her toward Han Xiao’s side. Her pupils flared red, and the energy in her body burst out, resisting the pull of the gravitation, but her speed was inevitably slower.

Seeing that the gravitational machine had limited success, Han Xiao frowned before his body moved. He started up five strong suction traction beams behind him before activating them all at once.

Hum!

A huge attraction force suddenly superimposed on the original gravitational force, and Hila could no longer resist, being yanked over. She simply gave up resistance, and her flight speed soared. Approaching Han Xiao, she concentrated her energy within her legs, and a strong force was whipped about, powerful enough to destroy a mountain.

Han Xiao remained unmoved, and his latest generation of the Battle Tiger mechanical suit simply unfolded.

Clank clank!

The black mechanical suit covered his entire body, only revealing his head. Han Xiao bent his arms and used his forearm to meet Hila’s leg whip.

Boom!

Her legs, wrapped in energy, collided with his forearms covered in mechanical parts. The nanoparticles within the suit surface undulated and transferred the force to the legs and body.

Peng!

The next moment, a shock wave was emitted from Han Xiao’s sole, and the metal flooring all warped and broke apart. The excess strength was converted into a shockwave that blew away the surrounding smoke.

Han Xiao was still in his previous position. While Hila’s melee skills were not bad, she was not a Pugilist, and thus, her attributes were far lower than Han Xiao’s, unable to cause any threat.

Han Xiao did not pause in his motions. He immediately stretched out his hand used to block and latched on to Hila’s neck before applying strength to slam her against the ground with a sickening crunch.

“Ugh!” Being heavily slammed, Hila groaned and gritted her teeth in resistance. Her explosive figure twisted under Han Xiao like a slippery snake, yet she was unable to escape his grasp.

Suddenly, Hila’s vision darkened, and she looked to see Han Xiao leaning over, his face almost sticking toward hers with a smug expression.

“Stop twisting, the battle has already ended since you were caught by me. Based on your physique, you cannot possibly escape.”

Only upon hearing this did Hila finally stop her resistance. She bit her lips, locking eyes with Han Xiao.

The distance between their eyes was not even ten centimeters, and they could feel the warmth of each other’s breath on their faces.

Han Xiao’s nose twitched as a fragrance entered his nose. His face suddenly turned strange.

“Strange, why is there a fragrance? Did you put on perfume, or is that your natural fragrance?”

“… Let go.”

“Sure, of course.”

Han Xiao released his hands and straightened his waist, ready to help Hila up, but she ignored his offered hand, climbing back up by herself and dusting her clothes.

Seeing her impassive expression, Han Xiao helplessly shook his head. Having sparred so many times, he understood Hila’s attitude too well. Even with the gap in strength, Hila would not feel good every time she lost in a spar.

The mechanical troops also ceased firing, revealing many pits in the walls. There was a sound of stirring metal debris coming from within. The debris clanked, and Hadavy, covered in soot, crawled out from the hole. As he walked toward Han Xiao, he started to peel off the burnt skin over his body.

The mechanical devices imprisoning the various Black Star Guards were also put away, and they got up, rubbing their bruises. Among them, the one with the most decent appearance was probably Feidin. This was because Han Xiao was mainly reluctant to hit him, afraid to ruin his handsome face.

Since they were both handsome people, giving some privileges was only natural.

“This is great!” Hadavy grinned, his blackened face showing an expression of comfort.

Han Xiao ignored him, instead looking at the time. “You guys lasted thirty-seven seconds longer than the previous spar. Good improvement.”

Since the worst of these guards were also elite Calamity Grades, it was difficult for them to even take another step forward. Only Hila and Feidin showed the most improvements. After all, they had heaven defying gifts in the first place. In another twenty years, they would probably achieve the level of a Beyond Grade A seed.

As for breaking through to the Beyond Grade A realm, only Hila who had proven her strength in his previous life had a chance, but since she did not slaughter an entire planet like in the past, her rate of improvement would not be so perverted.

“The training room is too small and limits my range of movement. It will place me in the range of the traction beam sooner or later. If we had unlimited space for movement, I could have lasted longer. Next time, we need to take this into consideration…” Hila frowned as she summarized her experience.

Just as Han Xiao was about to say something, his communicator beeped as it received a message.

Glancing at it, Han Xiao laughed before saying, “You guys continue training. Tarrokov and the others are looking for me for a chat.”

After staying on Planet Lighthouse for more than half a month, Han Xiao was already familiar with Milizaus. Since he also had nothing to do, the chief commander holding the fort, Tarrokov, would typically invite the Beyond Grade As to his room for tea and some conversion to pass the time.

Hearing this, Hila stopped talking. She seemed to want Han Xiao to continue teaching, but she nodded in the end, calling the rest of the Black Star Guards to gather and continue practicing whilst she looked at the exiting Han Xiao from the corner of her eyes.

…

While he was walking over, Han Xiao entered his quantum network.

“Phillip, any news from the long-range patrol today?”

“Reporting to master, there is nothing, hum…”

Seems like the Arcane Church still hasn’t taken action yet… Han Xiao nodded.

Even under the protection of the dynasty, Han Xiao did not lower his vigilance. This period when he stayed at Planet Lighthouse was not spent idly. Other than building more machinery and training his Black Star Guards, he had also sent out remotely controlled troops to form a security perimeter around Planet Lighthouse. Under their surveillance, he would receive intelligence reports every day. The moment they discovered traces of the Arcane Church, he would get the news immediately.

Staying on Planet Lighthouse was not just for Han Xiao to receive protection from the strong security but also because it was the dynasty outpost and had many stargates. If the enemy was too strong, he had enough time to use the stargates to escape. Han Xiao would not send himself off to die for no reason, and staying on Planet Lighthouse left him enough time to escape.

While the past half a month had been peaceful, Han Xiao had a feeling that it was the calm before the storm. He did not think that the Arcane Church would give up on the Evolution Cube just like that.

Occasionally, he would also use the Evolution Cube on Milizaus’ Armed Dragon Guards. During the usage, he would naturally unseal the Spacetime Amber, and thus, Psyker would be able to detect where the Evolution Cube was, like an intermittent signal.

“The enemy is in the shadows while I’m in the open. If the Arcane Church wants to make a move, they can only do so through sending troops.”

Han Xiao shook his head before opening the forums to take a look.

During this period, the exploration had been very smooth. Although Ravenlaude had obtained some profits by using the stargate that he built, the majority of resource rich planets along the way had been seized by the members of the Black Star Army. Ravenlaude could not forcibly snatch the territory of others under the dynasty’s eye. Thus, he could only search for other territories.

The players had been working hard at the exploration and had accumulated a great number of mission points. Those from China, Russia, and even Australia had all put their hands together to perform missions, building more harmonious relationships. However, the friction between the three parties was also becoming more intense.

One reason was because of the competition for resources. During this time, the Black Star Army had sent out another batch of troops to supplement the exploration. It was the second batch of players that had migrated from the Constellation Corridor. The guilds of Russia and Australia had decided to ally together temporarily and sent a group of new guild players to support their branches, attempting to break away from China’s suppression.

With an increase in numbers, they also gained more strength and were no longer willing to reside on third-rate resource planets. Thus, they began to try and fight for better quality resource areas, increasing friction with the Chinese.

“If this carries on, I’m afraid it will devolve into a full-scale guild war. If these clubs even instigate players from their country, it will be on a national scale,” Han Xiao speculated.

However, this was an internal affair of the player group. He could not nor did he wish to obstruct them. Previously, they made friends with each other to prevent any hostile behavior directed toward them.

There was still a certain measure of success in this plan. The relationships between the ordinary players were harmonious, and even if they were dragged to fight in a national war, they would still be good friends after the fight, with no obvious separation into factions. After all, this was something unique to the players—they could be on opposing sides and still be friends.

Upon reaching the chief commander’s office, Han Xiao saw Beyoni, Tarrokov, and Milizaus all seated on the sofa. The reception table in front of them was filled with special drinks from the dynasty, as well as… the evil Wayne Cards.

Because of the popularity of the Wayne Cards, even Beyond Grade As would also turn to it for entertainment.

Hearing the door open, the trio immediately looked over. Beyoni even waved.

“Black Star, you’re here at last. Come, sit.”

Nodding, Han Xiao sat down next to Milizaus, picking up his glass and taking a sip.

“Why did you drink mine?” Milizaus had an unsatisfied tone.

“As a mana incarnation, you don’t have taste buds. Don’t waste such a good thing.” Han Xiao remained unfazed.

After more than half a month of getting along, their relationship had improved, and he was more aware of Milizaus’ personality. Although he was very strong, he did not put on any airs, much better than the cold faced ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti. Compared to the first time they met, Han Xiao was more casual toward him now… almost bordering on disrespect.

“Sigh, you guys have been at Planet Lighthouse for almost a month. If not for you guys, I wouldn’t be so lazy.”

Tarrokov sighed. He originally did not have people of similar status to converse with, and now that Han Xiao and company had camped there for so long, this chief commander began to show his lazy side.

“Actually, there’s something that I’m curious about. What sort of relationship do Clotti and Urranrell share? I don’t think it’s so simple as just a guard.” Milizaus was curious. “As an Imperial Ruler, one must have a family, but Urranrell is a widow, and Clotti is that sort of cold-blooded head of state. Could it be…”

While the dynasty’s marriage laws emphasized monogamy, Beyoni seemed to think that it had nothing to do with him.

“Tsk tsk, while I’m a very mild person, I’m still one of the top officers of the Dynasty. To say such things in front of me, is that really good?” Tarrokov was helpless. “I don’t know anything about this, and even if I knew, I wouldn’t say.”

Milizaus snorted and threw out a Wayne Card, saying, “Then you lose.”

Tarrokov froze, looking at his cards, before narrowing his eyes in suspicion. “Did you use magic to change my cards again?”

“Don’t try to wiggle your way out. Would I do such a meaningless thing‽” Milizaus got angry.

In actual fact, you would… because I didn’t see that darned card in your hand just now…

Han Xiao could not help but think of Lagi. Whenever he played cards, he had a signature catchphrase, ‘Only trash utilizes magic when playing cards!’

From then on, he knew that if one wished to stop a mage from cheating, one had to counter with an even stronger magic…

And among the three of them, one was lazy, one played with fire, and one touched machines all day. There was simply no one who could stop the mage.

Looking at these big shots grumbling and boasting without dignity, Han Xiao could not help but relax.

This is the life…

But before he could even finish his internal monologue, an abrupt change happened.

Woo!

Piercing alarms sounded, and the four of them jumped up as one.

Tarrokov’s expression turned solemn, and he opened the real-time monitoring star map, checking the situation.

At the same time, Han Xiao also received an intelligence report from Phillip.

“Master, master, squad 025 has spotted the trail of a large fleet that is moving toward Planet Lighthouse, hum…”

The image was sent over and showed a mysterious fleet entering the warning sector of Planet Lighthouse, triggering the alarm.

This fleet consisted of quadrangular pyramid spaceships, and at a glance, there were over a million of them!

The mysterious fleet engaged the dynasty patrol fleet in that direction, breaking through the defense line, showcasing their intention to attack Planet Lighthouse.

Han Xiao knew that something was wrong.

“The Arcane Church? They really came!”

Chapter 844: 844 Shocking Change!

844 Shocking Change!

The instant that the alarms went off in Planet Lighthouse, more than three million Fallen Ark battleships appeared near the security perimeter in a long, stretched-out formation.

In the flagship, EsGod’s subordinate Fakisen was looking at the star map, and the distance between them and Planet Lighthouse was rapidly shrinking.

“Boss, we have already entered the security perimeter of Planet Lighthouse. The radar shows that the nearby dynasty fleet is heading our way and will exchange fire with us soon.”

Fakisen used his long tongue to scratch the back of his neck as he spoke.

“Try to speed up. Do not get tied down by them,” EsGod said calmly. This time, his main body had made an appearance.

Fakisen swung his tongue around and said, “Even though we are working together, the Arcane Church still has their guard up against us. Not only did they not reveal their exact plans, they even changed the location of their secret stargate. They are obviously guarding against us, and who knows when they will take action and from which direction?”

EsGod was not too bothered; it was perfectly normal for them to guard against each other. It was just like how he would not inform the Arcane Church of where his secret stargate was located.

With Planet Lighthouse at the center, the security perimeter around the planet was extremely large, and the dynasty had sufficient time to mobilize their troops the moment an enemy was spotted. Thus, EsGod could guess what the Arcane Church’s intention was even if they kept it confidential.

They obviously wanted him to be the vanguard, and the size of his troops was not sufficient to get the dynasty to abandon their Planet Lighthouse outpost. By the time he fought his way to Planet Lighthouse and tied down Black Star and the two other Beyond Grade A Supers, the Arcane Church would take action.

EsGod felt that his guess was definitely not too far from the truth, and the only thing that he was not sure about was how many high level combatants the Arcane Church had sent out this time.

The dynasty had three Beyond Grade A, and Milizaus’ strength could almost equal his own. If that was the case, the Arcane Church only needed to send out manpower to deal with Black Star and Beyoni.

Black Star and Beyoni were still a distance away from a top notch Beyond Grade A Super, and it should be sufficient for the Arcane Church to send out four Beyond Grade A Supers.

I wonder who the Arcane Church will send out this time…

EsGod narrowed his eyes. If the Arcane Church sent out too powerful a line up, he would have to be careful as well.

Right at this moment, the dynasty’s fleet arrived and appeared on their radar.

Fakisen looked at EsGod, and upon seeing that his boss did not have any intentions of saying anything, he ordered on behalf of EsGod, “All weapons free! Destroy all the battleships in our way!”

…

Planet Lighthouse had already entered high alert, and the three Beyond Grade A Supers entered the command room together with Tarrokov.

A large number of military personnel were gathered in the room with plenty of messages being sent back from the battlefield. Tarrokov stood in front of the 3D battlefield model with a solemn expression.

The scene being shown on the battlefield was the battle between the Fallen Ark fleet and the dynasty’s fleet. The battleships of both parties had been shrunk down many times to completely simulate the battlefield environment. It was as though two mini fleets were battling it out in front of everyone’s eyes.

“The enemy fleet has about 3,200,000 battleships. An organization capable of sending a fleet of such a size to the Flickering World is definitely a powerful one. We cannot see the origins of the fleet from the models of the spaceships,” a staff sergeant said. “The highest possibility is the Arcane Church.”

As he said that, Tarrokov turned around to look at Han Xiao and said, “However, they may also belong to other organizations.”

Han Xiao noticed his gaze and said without any hesitation, “They are from the Arcane Church.”

Tarrokov nodded slowly and said, “I understand.”

Although Han Xiao’s expression seemed calm, his mood was low.

His words were not completely baseless as a notification popped up after the appearance of the fleet.

_____________________

You have triggered an Urgent Mission [Cause and Effect]

Mission Introduction: You have snatched the Evolution Cube and attracted the enmity of the Arcane Church. They have finally taken today and decided to deal a lightning fast blow to you to snatch the Evolution Cube back!

Mission Requirements: Defeat the enemy or escape successfully.

Failure Condition(s): Death or lose the Evolution Cube

Reward: 24,000,000,000 – 45,000,000,000 Experience, 1 Legendary Point, 3 Random Rewards, 3 Unknown Character Summon Cards

_____________________

Han Xiao was shocked upon seeing the reward.

Twenty-four billion experience at the very least‽ The highest reward when he was fighting Heber was only 8.5 billion experience!

Even he felt that this was a huge sum of experience!

However, Han Xiao just could not find it in himself to be happy. The reward would correspond to the difficulty of the mission. With such a large reward, this meant that the strength of the Arcane Church would be extremely frightening! The reward of over forty-five billion meant that he had to face at least five Beyond Grade A Supers!

Just who would be able to survive‽

Although Han Xiao had already secretly hired help just to be safe, he could not help but have thoughts of retreating. At the same time, however, he was also extremely wary.

If he escaped through the stargate right now, he should be extremely safe. However, would it be so simple to complete a mission with a reward of twenty-four billion experience?

Perhaps the Arcane Church had some other means that would make it easier for them to catch him if he escaped alone.

He was currently being surrounded by many layers of defense and was still considered safe. Furthermore, the dynasty would not think too highly of him if he escaped the moment he met an enemy. After pondering for a moment, Han Xiao did not make any rash moves but arrived at the command room together with Tarrokov.

Since they had a sufficiently large buffer zone, it would not be too late for him to decide to run after observing the battle.

The name of the mission is [Cause and Effect]. Heh, a Universal Treasure truly isn’t that easy to take.

However, all those present did not know what he was thinking about.

Tarrokov observed the changes in the battlefield and issued a command.

“Inform all our Beyond Grade A allies to return immediately.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he nodded.

Tarrokov had obviously noticed something, and this chief commander truly had foresight.

There were still another three Beyond Grade A Supers in the Flickering World: Heber, Ravenlaude and another Mechanic who was called Maximiler. If they all returned, there would be six Beyond Grade A present, and they would not have to be afraid of the enemy.

Without knowing how many high-level combatants the Arcane Church had, Tarrokov did not mind being on the safe side. Even if his actions were deemed unnecessary after this battle, it would be better than regretting his inaction.

“Our fleet has sent a message for reinforcements. They won’t be able to hold the enemy back. Chief commander, are we going to send the security fleet from the other regions to support them?”

Tarrokov observed the battle for a moment before saying, “Only mobilize the security fleet in that direction. Do not move the other fleets in the other directions. The remaining reinforcement troops shall be sent from Planet Lighthouse.”

Beyoni could not help but be surprised by the order. “It will take quite some time to send out troops from our base. The enemy fleet will then be able to close the gap quickly. Why don’t you mobilize the troops on the outside instead?”

“The enemy doesn’t have any insignia and chose to attack our security perimeter alone,” Tarrokov replied with a deep voice. “I think that this isn’t the Arcane Church’s main force but a vanguard force. Their objective is to tie down our defense force on the security perimeter and create a gap in our formation. Their main force will then break through our defenses, and we will have to face a pincer attack. This should be the Arcane Church’s tactic.”

Upon hearing the explanation of the chief commander and looking at the battlefield, everyone had to admit that it was likely for the enemy to employ such a strategy. Since Tarrokov had seen through their plans, his method of dealing with it was not too bad.

“However, this is only a temporary measure. We need intelligence on how many Beyond Grade A combatants this fleet has.”

Tarrokov then looked at the three people with his intentions obvious. Only someone at the same level would be able to force the enemy out.

“Hand it over to my long-distance troops.”

Han Xiao nodded. Since he was the enemy’s target and a key character of this battle, it would not be good for the three of them to split up at such a time.

The long-distance troops that he had sent out would also show their use.

…

“What? Planet Lighthouse was attacked‽”

The Bloodshed Land troops that were currently in Renault received news from Jorde and could not help but be surprised.

“The enemy is the Arcane Church, and their target is Black Star. Chief commander Tarrokov asked us to return to reinforce them… Your Excellency Tyrant, what should we do?” Jorde asked carefully.

Heber began to frown. He did not wish to help Black Star. However, he suddenly thought about something, and his brows relaxed.

“Since it is the dynasty’s orders, we shall return to reinforce them. Inform my troops to head to the nearest stargate at full speed!”

Heber’s fleet then turned around and headed to Planet Lighthouse at full speed.

Although Han Xiao and he had some conflicts, this matter concerned the pride of the dynasty. As a member of the dynasty, defending the dynasty was compatible with his own benefits.

In the Garu Star Cluster, Ravenlaude also received Tarrokov’s request for reinforcements.

Black Star’s death had nothing to do with him, and he would rather have one less competitor.

However, it was a pity that his organization was located in the Central Galaxy, and he needed to rely on the dynasty.

Such a small matter was not worth disobeying the dynasty’s orders, so he could only lead his troops over.

Very quickly, he realized a very frustrating matter. Black Star had constructed a stargate in the Garu Star Cluster, which meant that he could arrive at Planet Lighthouse rapidly and did not have any excuse to delay.

Right at this moment, Ravenlaude suddenly realized something.

Could it be that Black Star had constructed the long distance stargate because he knew that something like this would happen‽

That’s right. This must definitely be the case. If not, I can’t think of another reason why Black Star would sacrifice his own benefits to construct a long distance stargate.

Ravenlaude finally understood Black Star’s ‘true goal’. To think that he was still laughing at the other party’s thoughts before this. Even if his skin was not too thick, he could not help but feel a little embarrassed at this moment.

…

EsGod’s fleet gradually entered the core of the security perimeter and battled the dynasty’s fleet along the way with the battle line being dragged out.

The dynasty’s fleet stabilized the space along the way, and neither party could enter hyperdrive. EsGod’s fleet was slowed down inevitably and continued to be harassed along the way.

Millions of battleships exchanged fire, and a large intergalactic war exploded.

Laser beams of different colors flew in all directions and lit up the pitch-black space. The explosions of the battleships became fireworks in the universe.

There was a special fleet in the battlefield that was the long-distance force that Han Xiao had sent out. The fleet weaved around the formation of the Fallen Ark fleet like a flock of crows.

This mechanical fleet had more than a hundred thousand mechanical soldiers, and they were all boosted by his Mechanical Force. Their attributes were boosted and could achieve the strength of a Beyond Grade A Super.

Energy explosion!

Another three enemy spaceships were destroyed, and the mechanical army was about to find their next target. Right at this moment, a dark red energy pillar swept past the explosion and smashed right into the mechanical army, swallowing almost half of the troops.

After the pillar of light disappeared, the mechanical soldiers that were hit by it had been reduced to scrap.

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed upon witnessing such a scene.

“An enemy Beyond Grade A Super has taken action! This isn’t an ordinary individual…”

Han Xiao looked in the direction of the attack through the viewpoint of his army. He wanted to see who the enemy was, and EsGod’s figure appeared in his sights.

The next moment, Tarrokov, Milizaus, and Beyoni saw Han Xiao’s expression change greatly.

“Did you see who the enemy is?” Tarrokov asked.

Han Xiao let out a deep breath and said with a solemn expression, “It’s actually… EsGod! It’s his main body!”

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

“Isn’t the enemy the Arcane Church? Why would EsGod be here‽”

Beyoni was truly shaken. Because he had personally fought EsGod before, he was extremely clear about his strength.

Tarrokov’s expression grew solemn. “The Arcane Church must have provided aid to EsGod and gotten him to leave the Central Galaxy. Dammit! To think that they would work together with such a character for the Evolution Cube!”

EsGod’s combat strength was famous throughout the universe, but this time, they also had a top-notch Beyond Grade A Super on their side.

Milizaus shook his head and said, “I’ve fought EsGod many times before, and holding him back won’t be a problem. However, I won’t be able to be distracted when fighting him, and I won’t be able to do anything else.

“Apart from EsGod, the Arcane Church will definitely send out other high-level combatants, and the situation is not to our advantage. Chief commander, what are your thoughts?”

Upon hearing that, Tarrokov fell into deep thought.

The enemy had a single EsGod and a few million battleships on the surface, and they would definitely have three Beyond Grade A Supers and even more battleships being hidden for sure.

On his side, they had three Beyond Grade A Supers and around four million battleships guarding Planet Lighthouse. Their strength was definitely on the losing side, but they would be able to stall for time with the huge buffer zone for their security perimeter. Furthermore, the dynasty had more troops in this Star Field, and they were currently rushing over from various regions.

Tarrokov was currently considering whether he should retreat immediately or wait for reinforcements to arrive.

The enemy’s target was Black Star, and if they chose to retreat, they should be able to protect Black Star. However, the dynasty’s outpost would definitely be destroyed by the enemy if it was not guarded. Losing the resources was secondary, but they would definitely have to close up their stargate if they did not want to let it fall into enemy hands. If that was the case, the dynasty would temporarily lose the core of their transportation network, and their mobility would be greatly affected.

Upon thinking about that, he then took a look at the battlefield again. Apart from the dynasty’s troops that were facing EsGod, the other troops were currently awaiting their orders and keeping their guard up in their respective regions.

He had even sent out a portion of the fleet stationed on Planet Lighthouse as a quick response force to prevent another enemy force from launching an ambush.

After thinking for a moment, Tarrokov let out a long sigh and said with a deep voice, “Although the situation isn’t good, we have the ability to hold on. Let’s try to stall for time. When the reinforcements arrive, we will be…”

Woo!

Before he could even finish, an ear-piercing alarm went off in the command room.

“Alert! Alert! Detecting an odd spacetime disturbance outside the planet! Spacetime is being shifted to form a wormhole!”

“Wormhole? Transportation gate?”

Tarrokov had a face full of shock; the appearance of a wormhole was truly out of his expectations. It was not because he did not have any preparations. With the Crimson Dynasty’s technological skills, they would definitely install appropriate equipment to cut off any long-distance transportation, and it was impossible for the Arcane Church not to know about this.

He did not understand why the Arcane Church would make such a pointless attempt!

Right outside the atmosphere of Planet Lighthouse, space seemed to have been folded. This was the sign of a wormhole appearing. The forces stationed on Planet Lighthouse also made an appropriate response. They immediately triggered the space stabilizing equipment to disrupt the formation of the wormhole. This would work regardless of whether the other party was using magic or technology.

However, the scene that followed truly shocked everyone. Their infallible anti-wormhole equipment was useless. Space continued to fold, but the wormhole did not appear immediately, and a strange scene occurred.

A hazy appearance of battleships appeared outside the atmosphere like an illusion.

Just when everyone was still in a daze, the next moment, the folds in space suddenly flattened out, and these hazy figures became solid. In the blink of an eye, the illusion became reality!

This fleet contained a few million Arcane Church spaceships with the famous Butterfly Flagship!

In that instant, a few million spaceships descended upon Planet Lighthouse!

They had ignored the security perimeter of Planet Lighthouse, and the defenses of Planet Lighthouse had weakened because they had sent out a portion of their fleet. This was the Arcane Church’s true strategy.

Tarrokov suddenly seemed to have thought about something, and his expression changed abruptly.

“This isn’t wormhole transportation. Only the strategic Universal Treasure of the Federation of Light, [Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device], has such an effect!”

“The Arcane Church actually joined hands with the Federation of Light‽”

Chapter 845: The Battle Begins!

Chapter 845 The Battle Begins!

[Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device].

Han Xiao felt his heart shake. He was no stranger to this Universal Treasure. This was the Universal Treasure that the Federation of Light had spent a vast amount of resources to forge. It was technology that belonged solely to them. Just like how the Evolutionary Civilization created the Evolution Cube, all civilizations that had reached the level of a Universal Civilization had more or less crafted their own Universal Treasure.

The principles of this item were related to the principles of multi-dimensional projections and appearance. It upgraded an entire fleet to a higher dimension and transported them to their destination before restoring the original dimension of the troops.

In essence, it was like transforming the universe into a flat 2D plane and transforming the troops to be transported into a 3D object. Because the obstructions within a 2D plane were not able to affect a 3D object, the transported object could move about freely on the surface of the 2D plane.

It was extremely difficult for a normal wormhole to emulate the effect of the [Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device], and this technological skill had always been a strategic trump card of the Federation of Light during the exploration era. All their troops had extremely high mobility, and it was frightening in times of war.

By relying on this technology, the Federation of Light fleet had been able to defeat numerous enemies during the exploration era and survive until the new generation.

It naturally had a flaw as well. First, the amount of resources consumed every time it was activated was extremely frightening and increased with the distance of the transportation. Second, it required a long time to charge up. Third, it required extremely precise coordinates for a long-distance transfer. Fourth, [Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device] was large equipment similar to a stargate and would not be transported together with the fleet. Thus, the fleet being sent out would not be able to return via the same method unless they brought another [Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device].

The Federation of Light naturally would not lend their specialty Universal Treasure to the Arcane Church, and they did not have any obligation to help the Arcane Church retreat.

“My goodness, even the Federation of Light had intervened…”

Looking at the descending Arcane Church fleet, everyone in the command room was shocked, and their mood sunk.

Han Xiao had never expected the enemy to work together with the Federation of Light and appear on Planet Lighthouse with special equipment.

The cooperation between the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church was something that was impossible for him to predict, and both parties kept their plans confidential. As such, the dynasty’s intelligence net had not been able to gather any news about it.

Tarrokov forecast that the enemy would attack from the outside and thus sent out a large number of battleships, which resulted in the defenses of Planet Lighthouse being empty. Currently, they only had little more than a million battleships. However, the enemy had a few million battleships, and they were right outside the atmosphere.

The situation had immediately swung against their favor, and Planet Lighthouse was now in danger.

The entire control room became silent, and everyone was shocked by the sudden change in the situation.

Tarrokov broke the silence and maintained his cool. “Apart from the fleet blocking EsGod’s troops, all other troops are to return immediately. There’s no need to keep guard anymore. Inform the forces stationed at the stargates to destroy all stargates. We mustn’t let them fall into enemy hands.”

“Destroy all the stargates? Are you crazy‽ That is our only route to retreat!” Beyoni burst out with rage.

“The stargates are too close to Planet Lighthouse, and the Arcane Church will definitely send their troops to capture them,” Tarrokov replied expressionlessly. “Our troops are on the losing side, and our defenses will be weakened if we try to defend them. The combined forces of EsGod and the Arcane Church are more than twice ours, and it will be impossible for us to fight on two separate lines. We cannot separate our troops any further at such a moment.”

“But without the stargates, our route of retreat…”

“We are already in a desperate situation without any routes of retreat,” Tarrokov said with a solemn voice. “Our only hope is to gather all our forces and defend Planet Lighthouse while waiting for our reinforcements to arrive. Even though we don’t have the stargates, our warehouse still has plenty of stargate equipment, and we can create another stargate channel on the spot when our reinforcements arrive at the entrance on the other side. However, our reinforcements haven’t arrived yet, and we will only hasten our demise if we spread out our army.”

Tarrokov tried to sound extremely confident, but everyone there knew that actually carrying out such a plan would definitely be difficult. Setting up a new stargate required some time, and the enemy would not watch by the side quietly!

When their reinforcements reach the entrance, they would have to set up a stargate in front of their enemy, and a bitter battle will break out. The problem was, they might not even be able to survive until the reinforcements arrived.

Six figures suddenly appeared in front of the Arcane Church fleet.

After seeing their appearance, Tarrokov could not help reeling in shock.

‘Child of Light’ Sagman, ‘Desolate Beast’ Mercer, ‘Divine Spell’ Ninjia, ‘World Gate’ Taylor, ‘Star Pupil’ Psyker, and ‘Sea Spirit’ Dylan.

Six Beyond Grade As‽

That was twice the number that they had!

Together with EsGod, who was on the outside reinforcing them…

Tarrokov, Milizaus, and Beyoni felt their hearts sink. The Arcane Church was truly resolute and was not afraid of starting a war with the dynasty.

Milizaus and Beyoni already felt some regret. They had volunteered to be Black Star’s bodyguards because of the Evolution Cube, and their lives might be sacrificed this time.

We really shouldn’t have interfered this time…

They could not help but look toward Han Xiao, but they realized that Han Xiao already had his eyes shut.

“What are you…”

Before they could finish their question, a powerful surge of Mechanical Force burst forth from Han Xiao’s body, and the energy level in Han Xiao’s body increased rapidly.

Upon witnessing the descending Arcane Church troops, Han Xiao could not be bothered with the others in the room and immediately put all his experience into leveling up.

During such an urgent situation, he could no longer be bothered about the waste because of the penalty! Every little bit of strength would count!

It has been seven to eight months since he entered the Beyond Grade A level, and Han Xiao had accumulated a huge reserve of experience during this period.

Even with the forty percent penalty, the experience that he had was enough to increase his level from 240 to 260!

His cells oozed out with energy, and his entire body erupted with power!

A series of notifications popped up on the interface.

…

_____________________

[Emperor Mechanic] leveled up to Lv.35 (Max).

+1000 Energy, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +8 END, +12 INT.

You have received 10 Free Attribute Points.

You have received 1 Potential Point.

Main Class level limit achieved.

You have triggered Class Advancement Mission: [All Rivers Run into the Sea]

[All Rivers Run into the Sea]: Pay a visit to 100 Grade A and above Mechanics and have a Mechanic skill exchange with them. A powerful Mechanic will never close the doors of his workshop but knows how to increase his strength through learning.

You have reached Lv.260.

You have triggered the Promotion Mission [Never-ending Challenger].

[Never-ending Challenger]: Personally challenge a Beyond Grade A Super and survive (Summoning Creatures and Long Distance troops are disallowed). The battle cannot be less than thirty seconds, and you cannot leave the battle during the period. After completing the requirement, leaving the battle will complete the mission.

_____________________

Upon reaching the level 260 bottleneck, his Class Advancement and Promotion mission arrived at the same time.

All the Random Rewards that he had accumulated during this period did not give him a Mission Completion Card. Instead, he drew two blank Character Summon Cards and a skill level up card. He only had a single Mission Completion Card left, which was the one left from his previous missions. Thus, he can only choose to skip a single mission.

Upon seeing these two missions, Han Xiao was overjoyed. The heavens had left him a way out!

[All Rivers Run into the Sea] was a Class Advancement Mission that required a lot of time. In the entire universe, finding a hundred Calamity Grade Mechanics was definitely possible, but they would be spread out in all the different regions. This mission would definitely require him to spend a long time travelling and farming favorability points for the other party to be interested in having an exchange with him.

Despite it being extremely troublesome, the advantage was that it was not difficult at all.

In comparison, his Promotion Mission was much harder for ordinary players. Facing a Beyond Grade A Super head on for thirty seconds was a Promotion Mission that would only appear in the later stages. Not losing thirty seconds was not a problem, but the ‘surviving’ requirement was the difficult one.

There were two common ways for players to complete such a mission. First, go all out and try their luck to see if they died.

The second method was much safer. Join a Beyond Grade A Super faction and farm for favorability points to exchange for a chance to spar. Since it was a spar, the Beyond Grade A Super would not kill them even if they lost. Although it required a lot of time, the second method had a higher chance of success, and the interface would not allow all the players to get stuck on such a Promotion Mission.

However, this mission had no difficulty for Han Xiao. Not to mention a single Beyond Grade A, there were six in front of him, and together with EsGod, the number of Beyond Grade A Supers were as many as Psyker’s eyes!

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao used the Mission Completion Card on [All Rivers Run into the Sea].

In comparison, he would be able to complete the Promotion Mission without a short amount of time.

The only problem was that the mission would only be complete after he exited the battle. However, it would not be so easy for him to exit the battle if the enemy wanted to tangle with him. Perhaps he could try to fight his teammates.

Han Xiao turned around abruptly and said, “Beyoni, fight me right now!”

“Huh?”

Everyone was confused.

With the enemy in front of you, has your brain short circuited?

Are you going to betray us for the Arcane Church in order to survive‽

Boom!

Right at that moment, the room suddenly shook, and a series of explosions came from the sky above.

The Arcane Church fleet outside the atmosphere began their attack and shot out psionic cannons while fighting the defensive troops. The huge protective shield around the planet began to flicker under the continuous explosions, and the ground shook.

Just as Tarrokov had predicted, the enemy had indeed sent out another fleet toward the stargate located not too far away and tried to snatch it.

The enemy’s fleet began their assault, and the various fleets located on Planet Lighthouse fought back.

With cannon fire being exchanged between both parties, the sky above Planet Lighthouse was colored with a myriad of different colors, and the radioactive explosions were both deadly and beautiful.

On the other side, the most powerful Beyond Grade As ‘Child of Light’ Sagman and ‘Divine Spell’ Ninjia began tangling with Milizaus’ main body, which was outside the atmosphere.

Milizaus tried to use a transportation spell, but it was disrupted by Ninjia, who was also a Beyond Grade A mage.

Meanwhile, Psyker and the other Beyond Grade A Supers began to charge at the defensive line of the dynasty and rapidly approached the ground. Their target was obviously to destroy Planet Lighthouse’s base and force Han Xiao and Beyoni out!

“All ground troops are to block the enemy’s attack!” Tarrokov ordered. “Black Star and Beyoni, the four Beyond Grade A shall be left to the both of you. We don’t have any other choice.”

Although he knew that Black Star was the other party’s target, he could not allow a Beyond Grade A Super to avoid battle at such a moment. They would only have a chance to survive if they fought back.

“I understand,” Han Xiao said with a solemn expression.

Han Xiao knew that he did not have the time to waste on a spar with Beyoni. He could only complete the Promotion Mission on the enemy.

Swoo!

The next moment, two figures flew out from the base and entered the sky like a black and red ray of light.

Han Xiao opened his secondary dimensional army box and let out his mechanical army. A black current followed behind him as he charged into the sky.

Very quickly, both parties clashed in midair, and the battle began.

Hu!

The six experts froze in midair and glared at each other, their gazes filled with killing intent.

The energy wave of the four enemies was like a large ocean, and Beyoni felt immense pressure.

He knew that he did not have a physique like Han Xiao, and the chances of him dying were even higher than Black Star.

After both parties glared at each other for a few seconds, Psyker said, “I warned you before. Did you not think that this day would arrive when you stole the Evolution Cube?”

Han Xiao completely ignored those words. This was not the time to trash talk Psyker, and he observed the enemies carefully. There was a Pugilist, a Psychic, a Mage, and an Esper.

Four Beyond Grade A Supers… I won’t be able to tank their attacks even with my recovery speed. It seems like I will have to use Aurora’s Character Summon Card and medicine. I hope that those fellows will be able to arrive quickly to share the burden.

Han Xiao gritted his teeth and threw all his Free Attribute Points into Endurance. His Health then increased by about 200,000.

Since the disparity in their strength was too large, he could only choose to be as tanky as possible.

The six of them then moved at the same instant.

The battle had erupted!

…

On the other side, EsGod was still leading his troops to fight the troops on the security perimeter.

EsGod got Fakisen to ask the Arcane Church when they were going to take action, and the response shocked him.

“The Arcane Church received help from the Federation of Light and killed their way to Planet Lighthouse directly? They even sent out six Beyond Grade A Supers‽”

EsGod’s expression changed, and he immediately issued an order.

“All forces, speed up immediately!”

Since the Arcane Church had sent out six Beyond Grade A Supers, EsGod did not know how long Planet Lighthouse could last under such a frightening attack.

If the Arcane Church snatched the Evolution Cube back before he arrived at the battlefield, EsGod did not think that they would fulfil their promise and lend him the Evolution Cube. Furthermore, he would not be able to snatch it from the six Beyond Grade A Supers.

Thus, EsGod was a little anxious and planned to enter the battlefield to take a share of the loot.

Chapter 846: External Reinforcements!

846 External Reinforcements! Outside the atmosphere of Planet Lighthouse, a gigantic dragon that looked like a flagship flew around the battlefield with the colorful formation covering its body deflecting all the cannon fire and leaving a series of explosions in its trail.

Milizaus flapped his wings, and his gigantic body shot forward. The magical force in his body surged, and he threw out an endless wave of magical spells to create a huge magical storm on the battlefield.

Two small figures were following beside Milizaus; they were Sagman and Ninjia. ‘Child of Light’ Sagman’s body shone with a golden light, and he tried his best to shatter Milizaus’ protective formations. Meanwhile, ‘Divine Spell’ Ninjia shot out his own spells, and the both of them tied Milizaus down.

Because of his huge size, Milizaus’ dodging capability was extremely poor, and he was almost like a living target. However, the strength of his flesh could almost ignore all Mages. His energy was also extremely robust as a result and could strengthen his own spells. Although Sagman and Ninjia could tie him down, the battle between both parties would be a stalemate in the short run.

As the three Beyond Grade A Supers roamed the battlefield, all the battleships in the surroundings were caught up in their battle with plenty of battleships being destroyed.

“Two troublesome fellows…” Milizaus had a grave look in his eyes. Sagman was the strongest among the six, and together with another Beyond Grade A Mage, it was extremely difficult to deal with them.

Although he could face them alone, he would not be able to aid Black Star.

“The objective of these two fellows is to tie me down, but it can also be said that I have tied two of their combatants down. However, Black Star must deal with four people, and even if I attempt to help him, these two will also follow along, so it would be equally dangerous for Black Star… Sigh, it can’t be helped. I can only hope that Beyoni and Black Star will be able to hang in there. I won’t be able to help them…”

Milizaus was helpless. Even though he was extremely powerful and one of the three pillars of the dynasty, the two Beyond Grade A Supers that he was facing should not be underestimated. He had no choice but to focus all his attention on them.

If he did not choose to step into this mess from the beginning, he would not be facing such danger.

His frustration at his own choice, anger toward the enemy, and worry for his current situation filled his head. Milizaus got more enraged the more he thought about it and let out destructive golden dragon breath toward the sky. It collided with the light pulse that Sagman sent out, and a huge fiery explosion occurred.

Ninjia used a spell to transmit his voice to Milizaus. “Ah, our four comrades are dealing with two of your comrades, and Black Star won’t be able to last long. The battle over there will end very quickly, so there’s no point in you fighting back. Why not give up now and join our Arcane Church? This is the only way for you to leave alive. You aren’t a direct subordinate of the dynasty, so there’s no need for you to die for them.”

The only reply he received was a shot of dragon’s breath.

“Humph, I knew that you wouldn’t give in.” Ninjia snorted and conjured a magical shield to block the attack.

“Then, let’s continue according to our plan,” Sagman calmly said. “He thinks that we are only trying to tie him down, and we can create an opportunity to use the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“Sure!”

At this moment, Milizaus was unaware that he was also one of the Arcane Church’s targets!

…

Han Xiao and Beyoni had also begun fighting the four opposing enemies.

The instant the battle erupted, Han Xiao activated the Reynold Character Summon Card without any hesitation, and his Mechanical Force expanded rapidly.

Perfect Mechanical Sense!

This Character Summon Card could only be used three times, and this was the last time!

The 1.4 times Machinery Affinity immediately increased the strength of his mechanical army to the next level. The densely packed mechanical army around him opened, fire and their firepower engulfed the entire sky.

The four instantly moved. A blue light flashed in Dylan’s eyes, and sea water shot out from his body to form a gigantic water dragon. The water dragon curled around his comrades and formed a barrier. Under his control, the water barrier was greatly pressurized and transformed into a solid shield.

Psyker did not remain idle either and released his psychic force to cover the water barrier and increase its defenses.

Boom!

One wave of fire after another crashed down on the water barrier and psychic shield. The shield was broken many times, but it was quickly repaired by Dylan and Psyker each time. Under their combined strength, Han Xiao’s mechanical army needed to break through the defenses of two Beyond Grade As.

The four enemies would not stand still and receive the attacks, so they began to move at high speed as well.

‘Desolate Beast’ Mercer was a gray beastman over seven meters tall, and his appearance looked like a beast that was standing up straight. He was covered in a thick layer of fur from head to toe and was extremely muscular. He had simple custom-made armor on and was currently covered in green Pugilist flames.

Han Xiao was already covered with his mechanical suit, and he was extremely experienced in dealing with Pugilists after fighting Heber. He kept changing his location and operated his mechanical troops to block the other party while maintaining a gap with Mercer.

Facing four powerful enemies, Beyoni, who was by the side, did not dare remain idle and activated his Esper Ability. His main target was Dylan, and he lit up Dylan’s sea water to form a blazing ocean. The water barrier instantly transformed into a large ball of mist after coming into contact with the sea of flames.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao and Beyoni felt a strange fluctuation in space and turned around to look up. They then saw ‘World Gate’ Taylor holding on to a staff and chanting an incantation. A gigantic magical formation then appeared behind him.

Boom!

Palace doors being pushed open sounded in Han Xiao’s ears, and the formation behind Taylor revealed a crack in the middle and transformed into a gigantic door of light.

Inside the door of light was a pitch-black world with red light dots like fireflies as though they were the eyes of a living creature.

“This is… a summoning formation!” Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed.

Ra!

The next moment, countless blood red creatures let out a roar and charged out from the door of light like a flood of blood!

These creatures looked like mutated bats. They had sharp claws, bone spikes, a long horn on their head, and blood red eyes that glowed in the dark. Their appearance looked no different from the relatives of demons.

The moment these summoned creatures appeared, they immediately charged at the mechanical army, and both parties began fighting in midair.

Flesh collided with metal, with blood and oil being spilled. Chunks of flesh and destroyed spare parts rained down from the sky.

Taylor was also a Mage but specialized in summoning spells. This was how he got the nickname ‘World Gate’.

“A Summoner is extremely disadvantageous to me…” Han Xiao gritted his teeth.

Army Style Mechanics and Summoner Mages were the two gangster classes who made use of a Human Wave Tactic. The difference between the two was that a Mechanic burned money and could construct an army before the battle to appear instantly, but a Summoner could only slowly summon their babies during battle by burning mana.

Currently, Han Xiao’s mechanical army had over ten million soldiers, and it would take a very long time for Taylor to summon the same number of creatures. As such, the first batch of summoned creatures would not be able to deal too much damage to the mechanical army. But if he allowed Taylor to continue casting his spell and summon more creatures, Han Xiao’s Human Wave Tactic would be greatly weakened.

If they were fighting a one-on-one battle, Han Xiao had a dozen different ways to disrupt the other party’s summoning. However, they were currently in a group battle, and he had a numerical disadvantage. Thus, it was many times more difficult to stop Taylor from summoning creatures.

“The Pugilist is taking up a forward position to apply pressure to me while the Psychic and Esper control the battlefield from the side. Thus, the Summoner won’t have to face any pressure at all. This is truly a good combination.”

Han Xiao felt his head ache. The enemy had obviously come prepared.

Beyoni understood this point, and he immediately included the summoned creatures as part of his target.

Whoosh!

His area of effect ability was equally powerful, and waves of summoned creatures were burnt up without any ability to fight back.

“I will deal with him,” Dylan said and controlled the sea water to rush toward Beyoni.

He then stepped on top of the wave and shot toward Beyoni like a cannonball.

Beyoni’s body was covered in flames, and his Pyre Demon Tribe blood began surging. He spat out a mouthful of flames and evaporated a large wave of sea water in an instant, clashing head on with Dylan in midair.

Fire and water. Red and blue. Both parties refused to back down, and a large amount of steam was created by the clash.

A thick fog gushed out, and both their fields of vision were blocked. However, this was not a big deal to a Beyond Grade A Super.

Han Xiao could not afford to be distracted. The other party only needed to use a single person to tie Beyoni down, and Psyker, Mercer, and Taylor surrounded him together.

The casualties of his mechanical army increased rapidly, and if not for the boost from Perfect Mechanical Sense, the damage would only have been greater.

Han Xiao was in an extremely bad state as well and was continuously avoiding magic, psychic, and pugilist attacks, without even a second to catch his breath.

With his current strength, it was a stretch for him to deal with three Beyond Grade A Supers at the same time. Beyond Grade A Supers all had vast combat experience and worked together extremely well. Their combined strength was not simply an additive one. Thus, Han Xiao could only spend ninety percent of his time dodging and was in an extremely passive position.

As the three of them chased after Han Xiao, they also destroyed all his mechanical soldiers. They had read through Han Xiao’s file before and knew of his ‘Undying’ title.

Although they believed that Black Star would definitely lose the title of ‘Undying’ under their joint assault, they would only be able to output damage safely after getting rid of Black Star’s mechanical army. After all, the mechanical army did pose a threat to them. The boost from the Perfect Mechanical Sense and [Legendary Battle Technique] True Damage could severely injure them if they were not careful.

As such, Psyker and the other two gave Han Xiao’s mechanical army special attention.

As his mechanical soldiers were destroyed by the enemy, Han Xiao brought them back with [Waste Modification], and it seemed to be like a back and forth tussle.

“Things will be bad if it continues this way…” Han Xiao muttered to himself bitterly as he avoided the attacks.

Although he was able to repair the mechanical army, there was a limit. In the face of four Beyond Grade A Supers, his mechanical army definitely would not be the one surviving to the end.

If all of his mechanical troops were destroyed, he would be like a toothless tiger and would not be able to fight back regardless of how tanky he was.

…

The defensive troops of Planet Lighthouse had also begun their battle with the Arcane Church’s forces.

Milizaus’ Armed Dragon Guards had long joined the battle, and the gigantic dragons clad in heavy armor clashed together with the battleships of the Arcane Church.

Hila, Hadavy, Feidin, and all the Black Star Guards had joined the battle outside the atmosphere to help the dynasty fight against the Arcane Church fleet.

All the Calamity Grade officers weaved through the battleships and used their various abilities to destroy one battleship after another.

Although they wished to help Han Xiao, they knew that the battle between the six Beyond Grade A was not one that they could intervene in. They would only drag Han Xiao down if they attempted to do so, and the only thing they could do was battle together with the dynasty’s forces.

The Black Star Guards were made up of Calamity Grade elites, and they could display their strength in the battlefield.

Apart from sending out Beyond Grade A experts, the Arcane Church had also sent out a group of Calamity Grade combatants, but the numbers could not be compared to the dynasty.

The Calamity Grades from both parties very quickly found each other, and the killing began.

Hadavy endured the pressure of attacks coming in all directions as he chased after the enemy.

Feidin controlled his psychic force, and his psychic attacks accurately found its mark every time.

In such a large-scale battlefield, an endless supply of souls were present to allow her strength to grow rapidly.

Without holding anything back, the dark red energy of death flooded out like a tsunami.

She then looked up at the battle up in the sky. The six Beyond Grade As were fighting, and the energy waves being sent out were too frightening.

“You’d better not die…”

Hila gritted her teeth and went to search for her next enemy.

…

The battlefield between the six shifted continuously, and the summoned creatures grew larger and larger. On the contrary, the mechanical army dwindled.

Han Xiao and Beyoni became more and more passive.

Han Xiao had also suffered from many attacks, but his recovery rate was powerful, and it would not affect him much.

However, Beyoni was different. He did not have a powerful physique and also did not have any defensive means to deal with Psyker’s psychic attacks. As such, his situation got worse and worse.

“This fellow is not going to make it…” Looking at the injured Beyoni, Han Xiao felt his heart sink.

This teammate was his only aid at this moment, and if his only teammate ended up dying, Han Xiao would have to face four Beyond Grade As alone. If that happened, he would be as good as dead.

Right at that moment, Psyker’s group of four exchanged glances and suddenly intensified their attacks.

Xiu!

A white jade beast statue that was over a hundred meters tall suddenly spat out gray light toward Han Xiao. This was Taylor’s elite summoned creature.

Han Xiao immediately tried to avoid the attack. Information about his void bloodline had already been recorded, and his Void Hyperdrive was being restricted by the enemy.

As a Beyond Grade A Mage, Taylor naturally had many means to control dimensional energy. This was the basic skill of a Summoner. As long as Han Xiao entered the Void Dimension, he would be forced out by the other party not too long later. It would be impossible for him to maintain a Void Dimension Jump for long and thus impossible for him to escape.

In truth, from the moment the Arcane Church’s fleet appeared, it was impossible for Han Xiao to escape with the Void Dimension Jump. Even if he abandoned everyone else to escape alone, the Arcane Church’s hyperdrive speed would not be slower than him. They would catch up to him very quickly, and he would have to face them alone.

Avoiding the gray light, psychic energy and a water dragon immediately assaulted him. Han Xiao had no choice but to activate his psionic energy and block the attack while trying to evade them.

Right at this moment, a figure appeared in front of him almost instantaneously. This figure was Mercer, and a flaming fist crashed down on him.

“Isn’t this the instantaneous movement skill that Heber used before?” Han Xiao was shocked and immediately tried to block the attack.

However, the fist seemed to have passed through Han Xiao’s body like an illusion, which proved that the figure in front of him was an illusion.

“Sh*t!” Han Xiao immediately realized what was going on and turned around to look at Beyoni.

Taylor waved his staff, and Mercer appeared beside Beyoni and unleashed a flurry of punches.

Dong! Dong!

Seeing Beyoni being hit, the three others immediately changed their target and unleashed all their firepower on Beyoni!

If he was hit by this wave of attacks in his current state, Beyoni would probably be dead.

Whoosh!

Han Xiao did not consider anything else and made use of his Void Hyperdrive, which was restricted, appearing in front of Beyoni. This short distance was something that he could still manage.

Han Xiao then pushed Beyoni behind him, and he personally endured the combined attacks of the four Beyond Grade As.

Boom!

His mechanical suit was shattered, and his health fell greatly.

Han Xiao felt his entire body ache, and he was sent flying like a ball.

His mechanical army blocked Psyker’s group of four without any consideration for their losses, which gave him some time to stabilize his body.

Bearing with the intense pain, Han Xiao took a look at his health.

“This wave of damage is too frightening. If not for me enduring the attack, Beyoni would probably be dead…”

Han Xiao laughed bitterly in his heart. He was truly a meat shield this time.

Beyoni then supported Han Xiao from the side and asked, “Are you alright?”

“I am still fine. I won’t die so easily. Don’t forget what my nickname is.”

Han Xiao then took a deep breath and activated the recovery ability of his cells to let his frightening injuries recover.

“Thank you. If not for you, I would have died…” Beyoni said with gratitude, but his voice suddenly turned depressed. “No, we are still dead for sure, and it is only a matter of time.”

“Aren’t you stating the obvious? Everyone will die eventually.” Han Xiao could not help but roll his eyes.

“…” Beyoni was truly speechless. You still have the time to joke at this moment…

After which, Han Xiao shook his head and said resolutely, “However, today is not the day!”

Just when Psyker’s group of four were about to give chase, Taylor said with shock, “Wait a moment. I detect a powerful surge of magical energy approaching us through the secondary dimension. It is extremely powerful!”

Space suddenly began to contort, and a gigantic transportation door appeared.

The dynasty’s anti-wormhole apparatus had already been shut down, and Taylor attempted to use his own spacetime magic to restrict the transportation door but realized that the magical fluctuations had exceeded all the Mages that he had ever seen before!

Taylor was shocked. He actually was not able to stop a transportation door with his strength!

The next moment, a gigantic castle appeared from within the transportation door.

“What is he doing here‽” Psyker’s eyes widened with shock. As a Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring, he was too familiar with this castle.

It was the Palace of Hidden Spells!

Austin floated at the top of the Palace of Hidden Spells with his Forbidden Sorcerers behind him.

“Ah, I’m not late, right?”

Chapter 847: 847 Ten Thousand Deity Scepter

847 Ten Thousand Deity Scepter

The four Beyond Grade As looked at the magical aura being emanated from the Palace of Hidden Spells. Austin’s sudden arrival had truly shocked them.

Psyker had a belly full of doubts.

Isn’t this darn old man always neutral?

Why would he appear here! Furthermore, it seems like he was here to help Black Star!

Psyker was enraged. “Austin, did you join the Crimson Dynasty‽”

“Nope.” Austin smiled.

“Then what are you doing here? This matter has nothing to do with you. Go and continue maintaining your neutrality and not causing trouble here,” Psyker said with a deep voice.

“My apologies, I had a deal with Black Star. This matter has nothing to do with the Crimson Dynasty and is a personal matter.” Austin chuckled.

In order to borrow the Evolution Cube, he had promised Han Xiao a few conditions during the Tyrant Party. One of them was to help Han Xiao with a single matter that did not go against his principles. This was why he was there.

As soon as Han Xiao noticed the strange actions of the Arcane Church, he had requested Austin’s aid in order to be safe. To fulfil his promise, Austin had piloted his Palace of Hidden Spells and secretly arrived at the Flickering World through long distance teleportations.

He did not make use of the Crimson Dynasty’s stargate and declared that he was finding other secondary dimensional magical materials to the public.

Because it was extremely common for a Beyond Grade A Mage to find secondary dimensional materials together with the fact that Austin had always maintained neutrality, the outside world did not pay close attention to the movements of the Palace of Hidden Spells. None of them had expected a neutral party like Austin to secretly arrive in the Flickering World without seeking approval from the dynasty.

As gold grade equipment and a Universal Treasure, the value of the Palace of Hidden Spells was definitely astronomical. It was capable of long-distance teleportation and only required little over ten days to arrive at the Flickering World from the Shattered Star Ring. It was far faster than the spaceships of the stowaways. He then found a place to wait and activated the concealment formation of the Palace of Hidden Spells. It would not be easy for ordinary detection equipment to see through the concealment ability of a Universal Treasure.

However, Austin did not know that there were so many enemies at the start. He originally thought that the Arcane Church would not take action, and he would only have to stay there for a period of time to easily complete his promise. Even if he was discovered by the dynasty, the dynasty would not do anything to him with Black Star’s testimony.

However, he never imagined the Arcane Church to create such a huge scene!

After being caught in a dilemma for a while, he decided not to watch by the side and led his Palace of Hidden Spells to reinforce Black Star!

As someone who maintained neutrality, he naturally understood that doing so was not to his advantage. But since he had made a promise with Black Star already, Austin would not go back on his word.

Although Austin looked as though he was chuckling and relaxed on the surface, he was cursing in his heart.

He had truly been scammed!

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief, and his lips curled up slightly. “Darn old man, you’ve finally arrived. With you around, you can help us share the pressure.”

Austin rolled his eyes at Han Xiao and snorted, “I must really be crazy to enter such a battle. I suffered a huge loss from using your Evolution Cube!”

Upon hearing that, Beyoni agreed with those sentiments whole heartedly.

Looking at Han Xiao, who was currently recovering, Beyoni could not help but grumble in his heart.

I shall just keep all my grievances in my heart.

Upon noticing Beyoni’s expression, Han Xiao took out a syringe and indicated to Beyoni to lower his defenses.

“What do you want to do?”

“Treat you.”

“Sigh, the life force of a Beyond Grade A is incredibly large. What can that little syringe of yours do. I… oh? What did you inject me with‽”

Before he could even finish, Han Xiao injected Beyoni with Aurora’s life potion.

Beyoni’s face then changed abruptly, and a look of shock could be seen on his face.

He could feel a powerful surge of life filling his entire body. The cells of his body all cheered with joy and became extremely active. The recovery of his wounds had also sped up many times over.

Although he was not fully recovered, he was no longer severely injured.

“Just what is this medicine? To think that the effect would be so great on a Beyond Grade A!” Beyoni was shocked.

“You still have time to be curious? First deal with the situation before us.”

Although Psyker’s group of four had stopped their attacks, the mechanical army was still fighting the summoned creatures. Since the mechanical soldiers that had received Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force boost were still in combat, it was akin to Han Xiao being in combat. Furthermore, he would need to leave the battle for five minutes, and it was far from enough.

Despite the enemy being shocked, they would not remain idle for such a long time. Upon seeing Austin determined to interfere, they all accepted the reality and also treated Austin as their target.

Austin activated the Palace of Hidden Spells and triggered all the formations to absorb dark energy. With a humming sound, the Palace of Hidden Spells began glowing with magical radiance, and rays of magical energy were shot out.

On the other side, Mercer who was extremely close to Han Xiao appeared right in front of Han Xiao, and his fists smashed down on Han Xiao’s head.

With such a short distance together with the fact that he had just used the Void Hyperdrive and had the paper Beyoni behind him, Han Xiao activated the Heber Character Summon Card, and his Strength increased by four thousand points!

A powerful force exploded from his muscles, and Han Xiao also threw a punch in response.

Bang!

The fists collided with each other, and a shockwave was sent in all directions, clearing out the fog in the area.

Mercer could feel a strength no weaker than his own colliding with his fist, and his body was sent flying uncontrollably. Upon stabilizing his body, he realized that Han Xiao had also been sent flying.

Both parties were sent flying, and their strengths were equal!

“Why do you have such strength?” Mercer had a face full of shock.

His most powerful attribute was his strength, but a Mechanic was actually able to compete with his strength‽

Are you kidding me? Do you deserve to be called a Mechanic‽

Waving his arm, Han Xiao gritted his teeth. Heber’s Character Summon Card could allow his attributes to match up to the enemy, but the Pugilist’s flames had an extremely destructive capability that destroyed plenty of his cells.

By borrowing the force of the collision, Han Xiao retreated together with Beyoni and hid within the defensive line of his mechanical army. At the same time, he began to analyze the situation.

“Milizaus is able to tie two people down, and the battle on my side is now three against four. Although the opponents have one more person, Austin has the Palace of Hidden Spells and can endure more pressure. We will no longer be on the losing end and can barely hang in there…

“However, the enemy still has powerful reinforcements. If EsGod arrives on the battlefield, the balance would be broken.

“Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells can bring me along to escape, and a single Mage shouldn’t be able to stop him. However, the enemy has two Mages, and they will definitely be able to restrict the transportation of the Palace of Hidden Spells if they work together. If I want to run, I can only bring Beyoni along. If I want to bring Milizaus along as well, the enemy Mages will end up working together, and we won’t be able to escape…

“There is still another problem. The Palace of Hidden Spells needs some time to charge up, and the other Mage definitely won’t let their target escape so easily. He would abandon Milizaus and attempt to stop us. If Milizaus sees us abandoning him to escape, he won’t remain behind to risk his life and tie Ninjia down. When Ninjia turns around to deal with us, Milizaus will probably use his teleportation spell to run away. At that time, the Palace of Hidden Spells will still be left behind, but we will lose a powerful ally like Milizaus.”

Han Xiao’s expression was solemn. If they wanted to rely on the Palace of Hidden Spells to escape, they would only be able to abandon Milizaus. However, the chances of success were too low, and it was likely that Milizaus would choose to seize the opportunity to escape. If that happened, they would lose a combatant, and their situation would be even more dire.

If he really chose to escape, the dynasty’s troops would definitely be wiped out. Regardless of whether it was the Armed Dragon Guards or his Black Star Guards, none of them would be able to survive.

It would also be difficult to get the Palace of Hidden Spells to send reinforcements. Even the [Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device] had an upper limit to the transportation distance, and the Palace of Hidden Spells was the same. Furthermore, Heber and the two other reinforcements were in different Star Clusters, trying to rush toward Planet Lighthouse through stargates. Thus, the Palace of Hidden Spells would not be able to bring their reinforcements to them either.

“Tarrokov was right. We don’t have much of a choice. We can only choose to hold on until our reinforcements arrive at the entrance of the stargate.” Han Xiao gritted his teeth.

The more powerful he was, the greater his hope. He only needed to leave the battle for his mission to be completed, and he had to find an opportunity…

It would not be too realistic to wait for the enemy to stop, so he had to try another method.

…

After Austin joined the battle, the intensity of the battle went up a notch, and it was impossible for anyone under Beyond Grade A to intervene.

The Palace of Hidden Spells was Austin’s combat equipment, and it boosted his magical force to a large extent. It was like a magical artillery tower firing without stopping.

Despite the battle being a three-on-four situation, the battle was no longer one-sided, and neither party could do anything to the other in the short run.

Han Xiao had someone to share the pressure with him, and his mechanical army now posed a greater threat to Psyker’s group of four. The enemy had no choice but to be more wary and decrease the intensity of their attacks.

Taylor also could not summon creatures without any pressure anymore, and his summoning was interrupted time and time again.

The four Beyond Grade As had intentionally separated the Palace of Hidden Spells from Han Xiao, and they discussed their battle strategy while fighting.

Psyker used his Psychic force to connect his comrades and said with a grave voice, “Austin has the aid of the Palace of Hidden Spells, and his combat capability has been increased to the next level. It is extremely difficult to deal with him.”

“Tsk, I wouldn’t be afraid of him if I could bring my own Mage Pagoda along.” Taylor was a little frustrated with his summoning spells being disrupted.

All Beyond Grade A Mages had their own Mage Pagoda, but not all of them were able to craft a Universal Treasure like the Palace of Hidden Spells.

Taylor and Ninjia did not bring their own Mage Pagodas because they were extremely bulky. After being sent over by the Federation of Light, they would have to leave on their own, and they would definitely be chased by the Crimson Dynasty fleet. As such, bringing such a bulky Mage Pagoda would only hinder their mobility. Furthermore, they had felt that they would have the absolute advantage, and there should have been no mishaps during the battle. Finally, it was to maintain the secrecy of their operation.

“Take note, Black Star may make use of the Palace of Hidden Spells to escape,” Dylan reminded.

“If he has such intentions, I will immediately inform Ninjia to work together with me. I won’t be able to stop the Palace of Hidden Spells alone, but both of us should be able to do so if we work together,” Taylor said.

“Then Milizaus may make use of the opportunity to escape…”

“Then tell Sagman and Ninjia to hurry up and use the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. If not, force Milizaus over as well. If we really must choose between both of them, we can ignore Milizaus. Black Star is our main target,” Psyker said.

Mercer could not be bothered to join the conversation, and he continued to give chase to Han Xiao. He wanted to test Han Xiao’s strength again.

…

When the Palace of Hidden Spells appeared, the three battling outside the atmosphere also noticed the situation.

Milizaus was overjoyed at the powerful support that Han Xiao had, but both Sagman and Ninjia’s expression became grave.

“Psyker said that the other party is Austin from the Shattered Star Ring. He is here to help Black Star. With one more Beyond Grade A joining in, our advantage has decreased,” Sagman said with a frown.

“Four versus six. It will be difficult for us to settle the battle before EsGod arrives.” Ninjia shook his head.

The Arcane Church instructed them to finish the mission as quickly as possible and try not to let EsGod join in the battle. It seemed like this objective would not be so easily fulfilled. Han Xiao’s trump card was something that they had not expected.

“Don’t be in a rush to come to a conclusion.”

Sagman suddenly unleashed a light screen that was like the surging waves.

The wave like light energy shattered Milizaus’ dragon breath, and the blinding light lit up the dark space.

Milizaus’ vision and senses were also affected by the blinding light, and he suddenly felt a sense of fear in his heart that came from his intuition as a Beyond Grade A.

He unleashed his defensive spells without any hesitation and covered himself in layers of colorful magical shields like a tortoise.

Following which, Milizaus flapped his dragon wings and attempted to charge out from the light. Turning around to take a look, he saw Ninjia holding onto a strange looking black staff. With Milizaus’ sense of sight, he could clearly see the thousands of small figures engraved on the black staff.

“This is… the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter‽”

The alarm bells went off in Milizaus’ head. He was extremely knowledgeable, and it was impossible for him not to recognize this Arcane Church Universal Treasure.

The Arcane Church specialized in the soul, the mind, illusions, and beliefs. They had an unbelievable skill that turned fake ‘deities’ into a real existence and created artificial ‘deities’.

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was a Universal Treasure that the Arcane Church created by ‘coincidence’ using such a skill, and it was impossible to replicate. It was a medium that borrowed the strength of these artificial deities.

Describing it simply, the Arcane Church’s ‘deities’ were like gunpowder and bullets while the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was like a rifle.

If the Federation of Light’s Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was a strategic weapon, then the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was a singular killing weapon!

The might of the attack was not stunning, but it had an unbelievably lethal force toward living beings that had a soul. Furthermore, the more powerful the user, the more frightening the damage. During the exploration era, there were at least three powerful Primordial Ones who had died to this weapon!

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter needed to use ‘deities’ as weapons, and the user would experience a backlash. The same person would not be able to use it continuously in a short time, and the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter would receive some damage every time it was used. This was the reason that the Arcane Church rarely used this Universal Treasure and kept it as a deterrent.

Milizaus had not imagined that he would be able to personally witness this infamous weapon in his life!

Just what kind of darn luck do I have? Did Black Star spread his bad luck to me‽

Did I steal your Arcane Church’s rice? Is there a need to go so far‽

Just when he was still in a state of shock, Ninjia snapped his fingers, and the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter floated in front of him, aimed straight at Milizaus.

Ninjia’s energy was then sucked into the black scepter, and the engravings on it lit up.

The engravings of the deities lit up and seemed to have become alive. Ten thousand partially transparent projections suddenly appeared and combined into an illusory energy pillar that shot toward Milizaus.

If it was anyone else, they might have been able to avoid this attack. However, Milizaus was not able to do so with his gigantic body. He could only madly release various forbidden defensive spells.

However, the energy pillar went through the shields, which were sufficient to defend against a psionic cannon, as though they did not exist.

Milizaus could only watch as the energy pillar shot through his numerous shields without the slightest restriction and smashed right into his chest.

“Black Star, you @$*%u0026!#*…”

Before he could even complete his string of curses, his gigantic dragon body trembled, and he lost control of his body as though he was a bird being shot down by an arrow.

His gigantic body was caught up by the gravitational pull of Planet Lighthouse and rapidly crashed down to the planet like a meteor.

Kacha!

The instant the attack landed, a few cracks could be seen on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

“Urgh!” Ninjia let out a mellow grunt.

Sagman, who was by the side, shot out a light hand and grabbed the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. He knew that this attack was not enough to kill the thick skinned Milizaus. Ninjia would not be able to use the weapon again, so it was now his turn.

Chapter 848: 848 Appearance of the Spacetime Amber!

848 Appearance of the Spacetime Amber!

A few minutes earlier…

In the skies of Planet Lighthouse, the seven Beyond Grade As were tangled up in an intense battle. Fire and water collided, magic and psychic energy tangled with each other, and machines collided with flesh.

With a three-on-four situation, the enemy had no choice but to slow their attacks. With the pressure on Han Xiao easing significantly, Han Xiao gradually gained his footing with his powerful recovery ability.

Han Xiao’s mechanical army, Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells, Taylor’s summoned creatures, Psyker’s psychic energy, Dylan’s control of water, Beyoni’s flames… Various attacks filled the entire battlefield.

The most powerful area of effect abilities still came from the mechanical army. With over ten million soldiers, the psionic cannon fire covered almost every inch of sky. The boost from [Perfect Mechanical Sense] and True Damage from [Legendary Battle Technique] made it such that Psyker’s group of four did not dare lower their guard.

Even a Beyond Grade A would not be able to emerge unscathed from such a battle. The summoned creatures and mechanical army that adopted Human Wave Tactics suffered huge casualties.

The mechanical army could be repaired, and the summoned creatures could be summoned without end. Both parties had their own advantages.

If they were fighting a one-on-one battle, Han Xiao would probably have been able to defeat Taylor without using [Perfect Mechanical Sense]. With the boost from the Perfect Mechanical Sense, he would be able to stably defeat the enemy.

However, Taylor had his teammates to tie down Han Xiao’s mechanical army and to allow him to summon his summoned creatures more easily to call upon a never-ending supply of helpers.

There were many different summoned creatures of various shapes and forms. There were demonic bats, turquoise statues, plasma snakes, spirit hunters, ghost scepters, and so on. Their combat abilities varied, and they were the beasts that had been groomed by Taylor after signing a contract with him. A powerful Summoner would definitely have a large variety of summoned creatures.

Han Xiao split up three million mechanical soldiers for his AI to control just to deal with these summoned creatures.

The battle between the mechanical army and summoned creatures was like a war between two armies. The mechanical army had extremely good teamwork and could accurately snipe wave after wave of summoned creatures. Thus, their casualties were lower than the summoned creatures.

In the chaotic battlefield, a Mechanical Life squad under Psionic Prime’s lead weaved throughout the heavy fire.

The combat artificial intelligence, Sparta, did not take over the body of the Mechanical Lives but was only in charge of issuing strategic commands.

A powerful data processing speed together with the battlefield module displayed the gaps in the rain of bullets and showed the best way to avoid all the bullets. Psionic Prime then followed the predetermined path with his entire team behind him and avoided all the incoming energy beams, blocking all those that could not be dodged with a psionic shield.

The destination of the squad was a group of elite summoned creatures.

Their target was a team of powerful leader-grade demonic bats that were guarding a group of turquoise statues that were firing laser beams. They were all being boosted by the Summoner and had their attributes increased greatly. Plenty of ordinary mechanical soldiers had already been destroyed by them.

“All forces, take note. Our mission is to wipe out the enemy’s elites.”

Psionic Prime’s emotionless voice sounded in the communication channel.

These demonic bats discovered the rapidly approaching Mechanical Life squad and immediately went forward to intercept them.

“The distance between the target is shrinking. Get ready for battle!”

“Target locked on. Open fire!”

The Mechanical Life that belonged to the long-distance attacking squad reverted to their original forms. There were dark energy artillery towers, psionic jet cannons, firepower forts, high energy short range guided missiles, and many other models. They let out a series of long-range attacks.

Boom boom boom!

The leader grade demonic bats opened their demonic shields and charged forward while enduring fire. From time to time, some of their shields would be broken, and they would succumb to the firepower of the mechanical soldiers.

Facing a wave of attacks, the gigantic turquoise statues also turned around with their eyes charging up with white energy. The next moment, a thick magical beam shot out of their eyes and destroyed all the mechanical soldiers and summoned creatures in the way of their target.

“Giant King Kong, attack!”

Behind Psionic Prime, a gigantic shadow descended, and a Giant Soldier that was a few hundred meters tall appeared. It was called Giant King Kong.

Giant King Kong held up a huge psionic shield to protect the members of the team and block all the magical beams.

Bang!

A huge explosion erupted by Giant King Kong only suffered from some external damage.

The thrusters behind Giant King Kong then blasted out at full power, and the gigantic figure crashed into the incoming summoned creatures before landing beside the turquoise statues. Both gigantic figures clashed with each other!

Boom!

It was as though the mountains were shaking!

The turquoise statues suffered from a flurry of punches and turquoise fragments flew in all directions. With both the gigantic creatures engaging in battle, the smaller troops had also begun an intense battle.

These Mechanical Lives were all elites and had grown for a long period of time. There were some of them who were like mini bosses, and their combat capabilities were exceptional. This was Han Xiao’s most powerful elite troop.

The armed cavalry, Oathkeeper, beastman warriors, and various other different models of Mechanical Life charged forward in unison. It was a complete one-sided massacre of the summoned creatures.

The spirit hunters that joined the battle were also easily taken care of by the Mechanical Life squad.

Psionic Prime’s body was reconstructed many times, and he had easily reduced the demonic bats into piles of meat. He then looked around and realized that his teammates had all finished their battles.

“Humph, easy.” Silver Flash released the corpse of a demonic bat. “It’s a pity that we are fighting a defensive war. If I could attack, I would be able to unleash all my firepower, and the battle would have been over already.”

“Stop bragging!” Scarlet Flame said.

Silver Flash ignored him and looked toward the battlefield of the seven Beyond Grade As. “It’s a pity we aren’t strong enough. I really wish to help father.”

“Father is protecting us,” Giant King Kong replied.

“We are the weapons that father created, but he is protecting us. Is this the fatherly love that those living creatures possess?” Silver Flash asked curiously.

Psionic Prime was about to reply, but a large whooshing sound could suddenly be heard from the sky.

Swoosh!

All the Mechanical Lives looked up.

A gigantic dragon was descending rapidly from outside the atmosphere with dragon blood raining down like a thunderstorm. The dragon’s body was burning like a meteor, and it crashed through a wave of mechanical soldiers and summoned creatures.

Boom!

The gigantic dragon crash landed on the planet like an atomic bomb with a loud mushroom-shaped dust cloud being formed in the sky!

…

“Was that Milizaus who fell from the sky? He is severely wounded‽”

Han Xiao, Beyoni, and Austin were shocked upon witnessing such a scene.

This shouldn’t be the case! Milizaus’ strength is sufficient to deal with Sagman and Ninjia, and he shouldn’t have been defeated so quickly and with such severe injuries!

The three of them were full of shock and edged toward Milizaus’ position, dragging the battle to the ground. Psyker’s group of four followed closely behind.

The next moment, Han Xiao and Beyoni landed beside the gigantic crater, and Austin controlled the Palace of Hidden Spells to float in midair. Upon looking at Milizaus’ present state, the three of them were shocked.

Milizaus’ gigantic dragon body was in an extremely pathetic state. A huge hole had opened up in his chest, and his fractured bones and innards could be seen.

This frightening injury seemed to have been inflicted in a single attack, and Beyoni was truly shocked. He could not imagine just what kind of a frightening attack would be able to cause such damage to Milizaus’ robust body.

These were not his only injuries. New cracks can be seen on Milizaus’ body as though there was a sort of energy continuing to cause damage to his body and destroying his cells.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao took out a syringe from his mechanical suit and injected Milizaus with Aurora’s life potion. However, it only slowed down the worsening of Milizaus’ injuries; he still showed no signs of recovery.

Because Han Xiao injected the wound, a notification popped up on his interface.

The interface showed Milizaus’ present situation. His health was currently at sixty-three, and it was still falling. There were a few negative statuses on Milizaus, with two of them being the most frightening.

_____________________

[Cell Activity Inhibition – High]: All recovery methods will have their effects reduced by 70% (From Ninjia).

[Double Corrosion]: Suffer 12,582 physical damage and 15,733 mental damage every second (From Ninjia).

_____________________

“Ooh…” Milizaus let out a groan and said to Han Xiao’s group of three weakly, “Be careful. They brought the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

Before he could finish, Sagman and Ninjia descended, and the six enemies Beyond Grade As were gathered!

Han Xiao raised his head and immediately saw the weapon that had injured Milizaus. It was the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter that was floating beside Sagman.

To think that it would be this infamous Universal Treasure… Han Xiao’s expression sank.

The Arcane Church had truly gone all out this time!

“They’ve even brought this item out?” Austin’s expression changed greatly and immediately thought of escaping.

He had already fulfilled his promise and felt that he had done all he could. He did not want to die there because of a promise. It was because of his Palace of Hidden Spells’ defense and mobility that he dared participate in such an imbalanced battle. However, the attack of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was extremely queer, and it was capable of ignoring most physical defenses and shields. The attack could only be avoided but not blocked, which meant that the Palace of Hidden Spells would not be able to help him block the attack.

Austin’s thoughts were extremely clear. The Arcane Church’s targets were Black Star and the dynasty. Since he was not the enemy’s target, the enemy definitely would not waste their Beyond Grade A combatants to chase him if he wanted to escape.

He did not want to experience the feeling of a weapon that could threaten a Beyond Grade A.

This darn old man is thinking of escaping…

Although he did not know how to read minds, Han Xiao knew what Austin was thinking upon seeing his look of hesitation.

The appearance of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was out of his expectations. If he had known that the enemy had such a trump card, he would not have allowed Milizaus to separate from them.

Han Xiao had a solemn expression and injected Milizaus a few more times. Only then did his injuries stop worsening with signs of recovery.

[Cell Activity Inhibition – High] only weakened the effect of Aurora’s life potion, but with a large stock in his possession, Han Xiao only needed to give a few more injections for the same effect. It was just that the recovery time needed would be longer.

However, the six Beyond Grade A enemies definitely would not give them so much time.

Whoosh!

The six of them floated in midair and looked down at Milizaus, Beyoni, and Han Xiao. A shocking pressure descended from the sky, but Austin was actually blocked out by their pressure.

Psyker looked at Austin and said, “Stop interfering with us. This is the final warning.”

“…” Austin looked at Han Xiao and twitched his lips, not daring to make another move.

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter then floated in front of Sagman and aimed at the immobilized Milizaus.

A look of despair could be seen in Milizaus’ eyes. He was extremely clear about his current situation. Although Han Xiao had managed to help him recover with some magical potion, he would definitely be driven to the brink of death if he took another attack.

Just as Sagman was about to activate the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, Han Xiao took a deep breath and said loudly, “Do you guys want the Evolution Cube‽”

Sagman stopped moving and narrowed his eyes.

“You want to hand it over in exchange for a chance to survive?”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao let out a deep breath and deactivated the Spacetime Amber sealing effect.

The six of them then looked at the silver cube in Han Xiao’s hands.

Right then, Psyker’s psychic connection to the Evolution Cube was restored, and he said with confirmation, “It’s the real deal.”

Sagman nodded upon hearing that and said to Han Xiao.

“Do you even have the right to negotiate? We can still get the Evolution Cube if we kill you. Why do we have to agree to your demands? The choice to kill or capture you is in our hands. Do you even have the right to choose?”

“No, you are wrong.” Han Xiao tightened his grip on the Evolution Cube. “If I destroy the outer covering of the Evolution Cube and release its gigantic main body… Haha, do you think that you can take it away before the dynasty’s reinforcements arrive?”

Sagman’s eyes narrowed, but he was not too surprised by those words.

Before they took action, the Arcane Church had already guessed that Black Star may choose to destroy the outer covering of the Evolution Cube and had already made preparations.

EsGod’s chips for negotiating with the Arcane Church were information on the Evolutionary Civilization and the apparatus to allow the Evolution Cube to be carried around. However, EsGod would only provide information on the apparatus after their deal was completed.

Thus, it would save them a great deal of trouble if Black Star was willing to hand over the portable Evolution Cube.

With the authority to determine Han Xiao’s life and death, Sagman said with an aloof attitude, “Alright, I won’t kill all of you if you hand over the Evolution Cube and surrender. The upper echelons will definitely be interested in seeing the dynasty pay a hefty price in exchange for all of you.”

He was the representative among the six and had the authority to make decisions on the ground. Capturing them was better than killing them. Although it would still anger the dynasty, they would have more chips to bargain with the dynasty.

Although Milizaus was frustrated about the crisis that Han Xiao had brought to him, he could not help but feel a sense of desolation in his heart upon seeing Han Xiao take out the Evolution Cube to save their lives.

At this moment, he suddenly felt Han Xiao stepping on him secretly and knew that Han Xiao had a plan. Thus, he connected the three of their minds with magic.

Han Xiao then heaved a sigh of relief and said, “As proof of my sincerity, I shall tell you the secret password to activate the portable Evolution Cube.”

As he said those words, he didn’t wait for Sagman’s response and quickly activated the sequence.

There was indeed a special method required to activate the Evolution Cube, and Han Xiao’s words were not wrong. Showing it to them on the spot would prevent them from being fooled by EsGod’s information.

“Hmm? You’ll have more than enough time to show us after you become a captive…” Sagman did not realize anything at the start and only frowned. However, he immediately noticed something and roared, “No! Stop!”

Han Xiao ignored those words and completed the sequence.

Hu!

The next moment, he activated the evolution energy within the cube and sent it toward the six in the sky.

The six of them immediately raised their shields. If they were struck by the evolution energy, they would become a black cocoon and start the evolution process. Although they could forcefully stop the process and recover their movement, they would still be restricted for some time.

Sagman’s murderous intent toward Han Xiao immediately exploded.

You don’t know how to treasure the opportunity that I have given you and tried to ambush us!

Without any hesitation, Sagman activated the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and aimed it at Milizaus. After killing Milizaus, they would have more than enough time to slowly torture Black Star!

Ohm!

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter shot out an energy pillar.

Milizaus thought about Han Xiao’s words and could only choose to trust Han Xiao. He then ignored the attack from the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and unleashed his magical attacks at Sagman’s group of six.

Beyoni also did the same thing and unleashed his attacks to restrain them.

The mechanical army also received the order to open fire!

On the other side, Han Xiao released a few machinery balls, which floated in the path of the energy pillar. The machinery balls formed two layers of barriers in front of him.

Following which, these machinery balls underwent nano transformation and revealed a half transparent amber ball within them.

After spending half a month on Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao had already made use of the Spacetime Amber to craft plenty of amber balls!

The six from the Arcane Church retreated to avoid the evolution energy while dealing with the attacks from Han Xiao’s group of three.

Looking at this scene, a mocking look could be seen on Sagman’s face.

“A shield? A shield is completely useless… what‽”

Before he could finish his sentence, the scene before their eyes shocked the six of them.

The energy pillar of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter did not go through the half transparent spherical shaped shield but shot in all other directions like a pillar of water landing on a lotus leaf. Not a single bit went through!

Milizaus and Beyoni also had looks of disbelief on their faces. Han Xiao had previously said that he would be able to block the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and they could only choose to believe him. Upon seeing Han Xiao’s success, they could not help but be stunned.

The reason Han Xiao was so certain was not because of blind confidence in the Spacetime Amber. In his previous life, during the World Tree Civilization war, the Arcane Church had used the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, which failed because of the Spacetime Amber!

Boom!

Just when the enemy was in shock, Han Xiao, who already knew that the Spacetime Amber would be able to stop the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, scattered the amber ball shields and shot them toward the enemy.

Sagman’s group of six had already snapped out of their shock and wanted to retrieve the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

However, the scattered amber balls disrupted all the enemy’s psychic, magic, and light attacks!

The six of them could not imagine that these half transparent shields were capable of blocking all their attacks without being damaged in the slightest.

“Just what is this strange item? It is actually able to stop all attacks‽”

Just when they discovered that, despite physical attacks being useless against these amber balls, they were still able to send the amber balls flying through the force of their attacks, it was far too late!

Han Xiao activated his Void Hyperdrive and held onto the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter before charging into the air!

With the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter being snatched, Sagman’s group of six abandoned the others without any hesitation and gave chase to Han Xiao.

With one running and six chasing, the six of them caught up in less than a minute.

The combined attacks of six Beyond Grade A was not something that he could block, and he was sent flying helplessly.

His health fell rapidly, and Han Xiao threw the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter away.

Sagman immediately stretched his hands out to catch the scepter and snatch it back.

But before he could even heave a sigh of relief, he realized that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was sealed into a half transparent spherical ball.

Energy was not capable of passing through the ball, and the shape of the ball was the same as those shields that blocked the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter!

Sagman’s expression changed greatly!

“Just what did you do‽”

Chapter 849: The Scheme Deepens as EsGod Appears!

Chapter 849 The Scheme Deepens as EsGod Appears!

Light energy impact, magic energy rays, pugilist fluctuations, psychic bombs, and more Beyond Grade A attacks were concentrated. Han Xiao’s psionic shield collapsed, his mechanical suit shattered, and he flew backward uncontrollably.

His gaze spun, and the stars in the universe seemed to all turn into shooting stars. It took him a lot of effort to finally stabilize, hovering in outer space. His entire body was wracked in pain, and his cells were constantly annihilating yet regenerating.

Not far behind him was the huge interstellar battlefield where the fleets were fighting. Beneath him was the outline of a gray planet. Sagman retrieved the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and upon noticing Han Xiao’s tweaking to it, his expression contorted.

Upon seeing his opponents’ expressions, Han Xiao smiled even though his body was convulsing in pain.

This was worth it!

Due to the threat the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter posed, even if one could only fire off a single shot in a short period of time, having six of them meant that the scepter would be fired six times. If he had left them alone, his side would not even have had the opportunity for a comeback. The only method was to freeze the enemy’s Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

And the core of this plan lay in the Spacetime Amber, which could lock up the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter!

What occurred previously was truly a desperate situation for him. He had first pretended to surrender, taking out the Evolution Cube under their supervision, before causing trouble. Then, his teammates as well as his mechanical army added on to the chaos. From his experience in his previous life, by allowing his barrier formed from amber to ward off the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, the opponents would reveal flaws due to their surprise and shock. Then he used the Spacetime Amber to prevent the Arcane Church from retrieving the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

For the first time, the Spacetime Amber showed its prowess in the universe. The enemy was unaware of its effects and was rendered speechless. Only then did he get the opportunity to brief grab the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

Because of the soul link, the production efficiency of Spacetime Amber was accelerated. The scepter was not a large object, so the delay was enough to seal it!

Now that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter has been sealed in amber, it has been cut from their energy. They are not able to open the amber, and thus, for this battle, they will not have such an overpowered killing weapon!

Han Xiao clenched his fists in excitement. Having disabled the enemies’ ultimate, they could still make a comeback!

Sagman grabbed hold of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter sealed in amber. His hands shone with a bright light as he pressed it on the amber, but it was useless as the amber would not budge. The light particles flowed around the surface of the amber, turning it into a golden egg.

The other five by the side could not sit still and joined hands, but even then, the amber remained intact. They could only stare at the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter encased within.

“What sort of nonsense is this thing? How could it not break‽” Sagman stared at Han Xiao, and relying on Psyker’s mental waves, he bellowed, “B*stard, what have you done‽”

There was no mention of such a skill on Black Star’s intelligence. They had been caught unprepared. To think that Black Star still had such a trick up his sleeves!

Han Xiao chuckled in his heart.

Having only obtained the Spacetime Amber in the Flickering World, he had yet to reveal it, and thus, the intelligence from the universe was naturally behind.

Han Xiao chuckled to himself before speaking in a jovial manner. “What have I done? This Ten Thousand Deity Scepter of yours is such a precious thing. I even added another layer of locks so that it will be completely safe. No need to thank me. It’s free! Are you satisfied with the service provided?”

His sarcastic tone infuriated Sagman, causing the flames in his heart to soar.

He had originally thought that Black Star and the rest had no way to resist, that their victory was set in stone. But to think that they got fooled!

Even after using all their methods, they were unable to unlock the amber. Sagman gritted his teeth, passing the scepter to Ninjia.

“Keep it. We can’t break through Black Star’s methods now. But at least the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is still in our hands. When we return, we’ll let the Arcane Church research how to get it out.”

Ninjia could only helplessly follow.

The Arcane Church had passed this Universal Treasure to them in order to allow them to handle Milizaus quickly, but right now, not only were he and Sagman sapped of the majority of their strength, the situation had gone downhill. They did not even manage to get rid of one of the three pillars of the dynasty. What a loss!

Not only that, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was sealed through some unknown means by Black Star, and their hidden ace had been rendered temporarily unavailable. It was impossible to quickly resolve this battle now, and their best form of deterrence against EsGod was also gone. This was like going to steal a chicken but not even getting rice!

Seeing Ninjia stow away the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, a mocking expression appeared on Han Xiao’s face. He knew that this bunch would definitely think that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was only temporarily rendered unusable. They thought that by returning, the Arcane Church would be able to find out a method to remove the Spacetime Amber.

Heh, they still do not understand the severity of this matter…

The corners of his mouth rose up. The Spacetime Amber was the remnant of Spacetime Freezer, and its ability was derived from that Esper’s own ability to freeze spacetime. However, because of it drifting through the universe, it had absorbed all sorts of strange cosmic radiation, which had allowed it to evolve into a Space Wonder.

To be classified as a Space Wonder, they had to be unidentifiable by current theories. Thus, if the Spacetime Amber could be broken apart so easily, there would not have been so many Beyond Grade As fighting over this thing in his previous life.

These thoughts flitted through his mind, and Han Xiao kept his smile as he focused on the six opponents.

While he had sealed the trump card of his opponents, six Beyond Grade As were still a force to be reckoned with.

He had only completed a staged counterattack, and the battle had far from ended.

The several people confronted each other for more than a minute in outer space. Beyoni, Austin, and Milizaus quickly caught up.

Seeing that this plan had succeeded and Han Xiao had restricted the opponents’ scepter, a praising glow could be seen in Milizaus’ eyes.

You’re really reliable, brother!

While you might be the source of this dangerous situation, causing me great injury, seeing that you saved my life, I shall no longer be angry with you!

The gathering of Beyond Grade As had already broken past single digits. The energy fluctuations given off by them clashed with each other, displaying their zone as a region with the highest energy. Just like the scene of countless supernovas, the energy response kept soaring.

“Do it!”

Sagman and others did not wish to procrastinate and attacked. Han Xiao originally wished to trash talk and waste more time, but seeing this situation, he could only retaliate as well.

The ten Beyond Grade As clashed together, moving through the interstellar battlefield and crushing all warships in their way, leaving behind a wake of explosions.

…

At the same time, in the Constellation Corridor, Ruler Urranrell suddenly received the urgent report from Tarrokov and burst into anger when she discovered that the Arcane Church was attacking Planet Lighthouse.

“Arcane Church, Federation of Light…” Urranrell’s expression was grim.

It was not that she did not know that these two old enemies of hers would make things difficult when they explored the Flickering World, but she had thought that it would stop at the level of tricks. To think that they really tried to invade the outpost of the dynasty, attempting to kill off three of their Beyond Grade As!

Did they think the Crimson Dynasty was so easy to bully‽

If it was a conspiracy, there was nothing to say, but in a frontal battle, the dynasty would never be afraid!

Urranrell immediately issued dozens of orders to mobilize the dynasty’s army. She did not think that there was a chance of survival on the side of Planet Lighthouse, and thus, she began to prepare for the counterattack instead.

The style of the dynasty was always to repay a tooth with a tooth and blood with blood. This was their tradition. If they were not vicious enough, their position would not be stable.

Now that they had been taken advantage of, if they did not produce a reaction similar to that of a rabid dog retaliating, others would think that the dynasty was strong on the outside but weak within.

…

Originally, the players were all exploring outside, but because Han Xiao was situated on Planet Lighthouse, a portion of the players would occasionally head over to check it out. When the battle broke out, there were a few players present on the planet, and one of them was Bun-Hit-Dog. He immediately issued a post on the forums.

“Big event! Planet Lighthouse has been assaulted by an unknown force! There are ten Beyond Grade A NPCs fighting!”

The moment he posted, the players exploring outside were all stunned.

Ten Beyond Grade As, my god, what sort of grand event was this‽

It’s only been a while. Why would there be such a big event!

…

On the battlefield, the ten Beyond Grade As exchanged blows. Because of the arrival of Austin as well as the sealing of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, the Arcane Church’s strength had been reduced quite a bit. While Han Xiao and the rest were having a bad time, they would not be defeated in such a short period.

“Do you have any other plans?”

Milizaus was thoroughly convinced by Han Xiao’s strategies, and while battling, they were conversing on their mental network.

“There are six of them, and we are still at a disadvantage. Our objective has not changed. We can only wait for reinforcements.”

Dodging an energy ray, Han Xiao controlled his army to return fire to repel Sagman.

“The enemies also know of this point… so they want to end this battle quickly. Milizaus might be injured, but he can put up a strong fight. Austin has the shelter of the Palace of Hidden Spells and will not fall easily. As for me, there’s no need to talk. The term ‘Indestructible Body’ is not just empty words. Thus, the enemies are likely to focus on Beyoni. With him being so brittle, he’ll probably be the first to die.”

“…” Beyoni.

How vicious, to actually leave him with no way to retaliate!

I’m not like you guys, you perverted meat shields. I’m a true Beyond Grade A!

Milizaus was helpless. “Then let him stay behind me. I’ll help him to divert the majority of the blows. Do you have any other plans?”

“How about you guys all stay and I escape?”

The three of them had nasty expressions. Brother, the f*ck are you talking about?

“Cough cough, slip of the tongue.” Han Xiao dryly coughed before sighing. “There’s nothing much I can come out with. We can only fight it out. EsGod is still en route, and if he arrives, the situation will get even more unfavorable…”

Everyone went silent. Upon thinking that there was still EsGod to come, everyone felt their mood darken.

At this moment, Han Xiao made up his mind and solemnly spoke. “Everyone, I have a request. Please protect me for five minutes. I will withdraw from this battle for the next five minutes.”

“What are you going to do?” Milizaus stared at him.

“I have an ability to draw out and improve my combat power, but during this period of preparation, I cannot be disturbed. I need you to hold them off for five minutes.” Han Xiao naturally would not reveal the presence of his promotion missions and had to come up with an excuse.

Milizaus was helpless. You just said that the situation was grim, but you suddenly chose to withdraw? Also, what kind of ability requires a Beyond Grade A to prepare for five minutes?

“How much combat power can you raise?” Austin suddenly asked.

“It should be quite a bit.” Han Xiao did not know exactly.

“Are you sure?” Milizaus spoke in a deep voice. “Even if you do this, you can’t become overpowered. Your strength will definitely still be below mine, and this will not affect the current scenario. Without your strength for the next five minutes, we’ll be in grave danger. You also know that EsGod has not arrived, and we cannot be inflicted with heavy injuries at this point…”

“It’s because the EsGod is not here. That’s why I chose to give it a shot! If we wait for EsGod to arrive, the five minutes will be even more dangerous. Before he arrives, I’ll increase my combat strength and see if it can give us a chance.” Han Xiao gritted his teeth.

This was one of the reasons. The other unspoken reason was that this advancement was no small matter!

Not only was it a Class Advancement, he also had a chance to undergo another Race Evolution, which could bring him new abilities! Furthermore, as long as he broke past this barrier, he would be able to continue levelling up.

His improvement was definitely not small!

At this time, Austin suddenly nodded. “Good, then you enter my Palace of Hidden Spells. I’ll protect you for five minutes.”

“Can you?”

Han Xiao had an unsure tone. Not too long ago, Austin had still thought of retreating. Now that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter had been sealed by Han Xiao and there was no immediate danger to him, why did he choose not to escape? To think that someone like him would volunteer to take on such a difficult mission. This was totally different from his impression of the old man that avoided danger.

Could it be that, over time, their relationship had become so good? Or did this old man value credibility?

As though reading Han Xiao’s thoughts, Austin revealed a smile.

“The moment that you sealed the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, I suddenly thought that keeping you alive might be a good thing.”

Han Xiao paused, thought for a bit, and said, “If I survive this, then I’ll give you a bit of Spacetime Amber… I used that previously to trap the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“I was waiting for that!”

Austin burst into laughter. While he wanted to appear magnificent, his soft laugh made him appear more like a newborn than a man.

He was indeed moved by the Spacetime Amber and wished to research what sort of thing it was. But that was not the whole reason.

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was defeated against his expectations. The situation now was clear. If he stayed, they could still fight, but if he chose to run, the strength of the dynasty’s side would flag, and the rest would be defeated.

Since he had already stepped into this dump, if he ran halfway, he would offend both the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty. However, if he chose to stay and assist Black Star, he would only offend one side. The most important factor was that Austin wished for Han Xiao to continue living. He found this fellow more and more likeable, with all sorts of surprises.

“Isn’t it just five minutes?” Austin’s eyes glowed. “I’m not so weak that I can’t even hold on for that amount of time!”

Han Xiao opened his secondary dimensional army box and collected all his troops. After that, he flew over to the Palace of Hidden Spells, where an opening appeared in its barriers, granting him entry.

No further words were needed. Han Xiao rushed into the palace, summoning a mechanical troop before sealing himself in Spacetime Amber. Since obtaining the amber, he had done a few experiments, which included sealing himself to discover the effect of freezing the Spacetime Amber gave.

His status would appear as [Frozen], and while he could think and sense the outside world, he was unable to communicate or even connect to the Quantum network.

Phillip followed the commands Han Xiao gave and controlled the troops to surround Han Xiao, ready to utilize the Spacetime Amber to unseal him.

Sealing himself was insurance to prevent any disturbances from affecting him.

With only three people left in the battle against the Arcane Church, the pressure increased.

Seeing that Han Xiao had stopped attacking, Sagman and the others did not know what he was planning, but with the example of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, they were not about to let Han Xiao’s actions continue. They concentrated fire on the Palace of Hidden Spells.

Under the intense assault, the shields on the Palace of Hidden Spells were broken one after another in just three minutes, bursting in a splendid display of fireworks.

The entire palace was shaking nonstop, with all sorts of cracks, and many functions were destroyed.

While Austin continuously utilized his Forbidden Sorcerer arts to repair the arrays, the rate of repair was far below that of its destruction. After all, the enemies outnumbered them two to one, and on their side, Milizaus’ injuries were steadily accumulating.

The situation was getting more dangerous, but the trio continued to give it their all, dragging out as much time as possible.

Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells was worth its weight in gold and was extremely sturdy. Although its durability kept plummeting, it had indeed blocked out all the enemy attacks.

…

On the other side, the dynasty and Arcane Church’s fleets were still fighting fiercely. High energy beams were exchanged rapidly and exploded on the shields of the spaceships in dazzling arcs one after the other.

Tarrokov had long taken control of commanding the battlefield and was strongly resisting the crazed invasion of the Arcane Church.

The Arcane Church’s troops outnumbered the dynasty’s by a few times, and their dark energy furnace expanded and contracted as though it were breathing, consistently releasing red beams of dark energy rays to batter at the dynasty’s barriers.

Their butterfly-model main flagship had already finished combining into a single entity, and its hundreds of pairs of highly ductile ‘butterfly wings’ opened up, giving the flagship the appearance of a rising sun. On the edge of each pair of wings, faint red light was shining, and a series of light blades were continuously fired, akin to slashing attacks. If one looked closely, the edges of the wings were filled with dense cannons, and they all fired together, like a light blade being activated.

The Crimson Dynasty’s reloaded main flagship instead sported a neat formation and orderly artillery fire. It seemed to be able to tear into the universe with an energy beam. All three Universal Civilizations had many different types of warships, and the Crimson Dynasty’s were famous for their strong firepower and tough armor.

“How much longer before the troops outside return?” Tarrokov asked while still staring at the star map.

“The first batch should be back via hyperdrive in around four minutes,” the Vice commander immediately replied.

Tarrokov nodded. With Planet Lighthouse besieged, he had decided to recall all troops outside, which amounted to another three million warships. With their support, their numbers would be even with the Arcane Church, and their pressure would lessen.

If not for him leading the fleet to withstand the Arcane Church’s offensive, they would not even have had the opportunity to wait for reinforcements. He had no extra energy to pay attention to the Beyond Grade A battles and only prayed that Black Star would not fall too quickly.

“Where’s the army of the Fallen Ark?”

“Commander, the fleet we sent out is still tangling with the Fallen Ark fleet. I estimate another twenty minutes before they enter.”

As Tarrokov nodded, a piercing alarm blared from the radar.

“Warning! Unknown high-energy response source detected! Comparing with database… Comparison completed, target identity: EsGod!”

Tarrokov jumped up and cast his eyes over. On the outskirts of the battlefield, a humanoid silhouette appeared, floating in the vast universe.

EsGod!

“Didn’t you say twenty minutes? Why is he…” Tarrokov was about to shout, but he abruptly realized that EsGod had shown up alone, and he immediately understood.

This guy had abandoned his troops and arrived at the battlefield ahead of them!

…

The EsGod turned around, his gaze fixed on the battlefield of the Beyond Grade As.

He was totally unsatisfied with the speed of his fleet and decided to just ditch them, utilizing his Esper Ability to warp large distances, teleporting straight to Planet Lighthouse.

Surveying the entire battlefield, EsGod suddenly narrowed his eyes.

Where did Black Star go‽

Chapter 850: The Key to Victory!

Chapter 850 The Key to Victory!

The next moment, EsGod teleported right into the battlefield of the ten Beyond Grade As. As soon as he appeared, everyone’s expression changed drastically.

Milizaus’ side felt much more pressure. EsGod had arrived so quickly; it had not even been five minutes yet.

The Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church were also alarmed except one—Psyker who was bombarding the Palace of Hidden Spells with his psychic energy. All seven of his eyes opened wide; he was stunned.

“Why are you here‽”

Due to the hatred born from what happened on Planet Avitan, the Arcane Church had hidden EsGod’s involvement in this from him. Seeing that his mortal enemy had appeared, Psyker was furious.

EsGod turned to look at him and smiled faintly, which equated to provocation in Psyker’s eyes.

“Calm down,” Sagman said with a deep voice in their psychic communication channel. “EsGod is our temporary ally.”

Psyker was shocked. His tone became cold. “So, you guys all knew about this?”

The other five kept silent. This was an order from the Arcane Church, but it was indeed not honorable to hide this information together from their ally.

“Dylan, you knew about this too?” Psyker snorted.

“Sorry, I only knew moments before departure…”

Dylan did not want to face the questioning from his good friend, so he vented his unhappiness in his attacks. He closed his palms and aimed at the Palace of Hidden Spells. Water streams flowed around his arm, turning into high energy beams under the effect of his Esper Ability and shot out at the Palace of Hidden Spells.

“Psyker,” Sagman said, “the mission is more important.”

With gloomy eyes, Psyker decided not to even look at EsGod and focused on attacking.

The middle of a battle was no time to look for revenge. He had to think of his race, so he could not mess up the Arcane Church’s plan at such a crucial moment. Therefore, he had no choice but to endure it.

Seeing this, EsGod took his eyes off Psyker, too. Truth to be told, although Psyker was someone significant in the entire universe, he was nothing worth noting to him—those Beyond Grade As he had killed in the past were no weaker than Psyker.

Among all the Beyond Grade As here, only Milizaus and Sagman were worth paying attention to in his eyes. As for Austin, he had only heard of his name but never had any contact with him.

Milizaus was the only one who had killed a Beyond Grade A before like him. EsGod had fought with this old dragon many times and knew how strong he was. Therefore, when he saw Milizaus’ wounds, shock flashed through his eyes.

“That wound came from just one attack. The Arcane Church definitely used some kind of special weapon, or he would not have been wounded this heavily so quickly.” EsGod narrowed his eyes and increased his caution of the Arcane Church.

However, at the moment, he was still on the same side as the Arcane Church. He observed the battlefield and could not find Black Star and his army. Confused, he connected with Sagman’s mind and asked, “Black Star isn’t here. Have you guys let him escape?”

Sagman shot out a pale gold impact wave that penetrated Milizaus’ magic defenses and exploded on his back, tearing off a huge portion of his flesh and scales. He then replied with a deep voice, “Black Star has exited the battle and hidden in the Palace of Hidden Spells. No idea what he’s trying to pull.”

“He’s hiding?” EsGod paused and asked, “Has the Evolution Cube been confirmed to be on him?”

“Yes, he took it out and used it earlier.”

“Okay.” EsGod nodded. The next moment, he teleported right above the Palace of Hidden Spells and stepped on the surface of the defense spell. The flow of magic from the spell did not affect him at all.

Austin, who was sitting atop the Palace of Hidden Spells, looked up and saw EsGod. The two of them were separated by thick layers of defense magic arrays.

Austin’s eyes became focused. He opened his arms, and the dozens of magic books around him started flipping their own pages.

Swoosh!

As the pages of those books turned, colorful magic runes appeared from within and quickly landed on the Palace of Hidden Spells. They then teleported into the control core of the Palace of Hidden Spells—this was how the Palace of Hidden Spells was operated.

The next moment, the arrays within a thousand meters under EsGod’s feet suddenly changed color. Magic energy turned violent, and a magic impact wave shot up from below EsGod like a fountain and devoured him.

As Austin looked up to observe the result of this attack, a stranger’s voice appeared behind his ears. The voice was like a thunder in his mind.

“The Magus, Austin. I see, you’re not too bad.”

Out of nowhere, EsGod suddenly stood behind him. Using Energy Reflection, Plasma Body, Dimension Crack, and Teleportation simultaneously, he directly passed through the defense array of the Palace of Hidden Spells, which the six of the Arcane Church Beyond Grade As had failed to penetrate for a long time! EsGod’s strength did not just come from his raw power. What was more horrifying was the variety of Esper abilities he had.

“Sh*t!” Austin was shocked. Although there were also tons of defense measures inside the Palace of Hidden Spells, they were not as strong as the exterior defense array. Now that EsGod had slipped in, he would not be able to stop him from destroying the Palace of Hidden Spells from the inside!

Boom!

Austin’s defense spell was shattered by EsGod with just one kick enhanced by [Strength Esper Ability—Star Toss], and his tiny body was blasted away like a cannon.

The red robe Mages around Austin hastily cast spells, trying to stop EsGod. However, the next moment, their bodies started crumbling and turned to dust one after another.

Seeing the strange way their comrades had died, the Mages further away were all stunned. They backed away in a panic having seen their own body started showing signs of turning into dust too and did not dare get close to EsGod.

EsGod lowered his hand and looked satisfied. The Esper Ability he used indeed came from Ember. It was a god-tier area-of-effect Esper Ability when used on targets weaker than himself.

Then, EsGod activated a sensing Esper Ability and scanned the entire Palace of Hidden Spells in an instant.

To his shock, he did not sense the energy presence of Han Xiao. His senses were blocked by the Spacetime Amber.

This made him frown.

“Where did he go… hmm?”

Austin regained his balance far away. He would not be so easily wounded by EsGod. Remembering his mission of stalling for the time, he instantly struck back and disrupted EsGod.

Bang bang bang!

The two of them fought within the Palace of Hidden Spells, and the aftershock shattered the buildings around them.

Although Austin was no match for EsGod, he could go all out to stall him for some time at the very least. However, the wounds on his body grew rapidly, and he had no time to even control the Palace of Hidden Spells.

Without Austin’s control, the Palace of Hidden Spells’ responses became slow and faced even more intense focus fire. Although the surviving red robe Mages were doing their very best to control it, they had no chance of hanging on against the attacks of so many Beyond Grade As.

Kaching!

The defense array was broken one layer after another and finally reached its limits, shattering into pieces. A huge hole appeared on the defense barrier of the Palace of Hidden Spells and emitted a strong suction force. The space inside the Palace of Hidden Spells was a sealed space, and the air inside was all sucked out.

“Finally!”

Sagman rushed in hastily, worrying that EsGod might snatch the Evolution Cube before him.

At this time, before everyone could observe the situation, a familiar energy impact gushed out from within the Palace of Hidden Spells!

A tower inside the Palace of Hidden Spells suddenly exploded. A man dashed out, and a fist expanded rapidly in EsGod’s sights!

Bang!

The fist crashed into EsGod’s arm. The enormous impact penetrated his body and formed an air cannon behind him, which exploded on the inside of the defense array, stirring up a violent tornado.

This man was indeed Han Xiao. As his fist pressed against EsGod’s arm, their energy clashed time after time.

Feeling the astonishing amount of power from his arms, EsGod’s brows raised slightly.

“Compared to the last time we fought, you’ve become much stronger.”

The last time he fought with Black Star in the Central Galaxy, he had an overwhelming upper hand. However, the energy level that Black Star was now showing made him uncontrollably shocked—Black Star’s improvement was too obvious.

What he did not know was, the last time they fought, Han Xiao had only been level 240 and was just on the doorstep of Beyond Grade A. Now, Han Xiao was level 260 and much stronger. Han Xiao had yet to go through Promotion at this moment.

However, he had completed the Promotion Mission, and he could claim the reward anytime!

“That was close.”

As Han Xiao clashed with EsGod, he felt relieved in his heart. EsGod’s early arrival had caused the situation to worsen tremendously, but luckily, this guy had spent some time observing the situation and then was stalled by Austin with everything he had. Because of all that, he was able to stay out of battle for enough time.

At a close distance with EsGod, Han Xiao had hesitated for a moment and suppressed his impulse to use [EsGod Character Summon Card—Esper Silence].

Although he could carry out his Promotion at any time, the level difference between him and EsGod was still there. The effect of Esper Silence relied on the two sides’ levels, energy, and Luck. If the duration was too short, the damage he could deal to EsGod would be limited.

The six Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church were not scarecrows. Although EsGod and the Arcane Church were both cautious of each other, Sagman and the others would not be so shortsighted as to watch their external helper get heavily wounded. They would protect EsGod even if they were reluctant. In this situation, using this Character Summon Card would only waste it.

Knowing that, Han Xiao once again opened his secondary dimensional army box and released his mechanical army once more.

As Mechanical Force gushed out like lightning to enhance his mechanical army, Han Xiao directly opened the interface while still battling with EsGod.

Promotion!

_____________________

Lv260 Promotion Mission completed!

+45 END Bonus!

1 END = 355 Health = 365 Stamina

_____________________

In an instant, his cells underwent a drastic change. Immense agony exploded in his body and shocked every single one of his nerves.

Every Promotion required time to complete; they were not instant. Luckily, Han Xiao had gotten used to such pain by now. Furthermore, as a Mechanic, most of the time, he relied on his machinery to battle, so he could endure it.

EsGod’s sharp senses noticed Han Xiao’s change, and his pupils constricted.

This guy’s energy is increasing during battle‽

The other Beyond Grade As noticed the strange situation and were equally shocked—they were not strangers to this situation. This was the ascension in life hierarchy!

“This is what this guy meant?”

Austin was stunned. He did not expect Han Xiao to mean the ascension in life hierarchy when he said that he could increase his strength.

Every Beyond Grade As had experienced this type of ascension in life hierarchy multiple times in their lives, but the process was slow and ongoing for them. Some even required decades to complete. However, ascending amid battle and compressing the evolution process of many years into such a short period was something that they had never ever seen in their lives!

“Could this be the reason Black Star broke the record of becoming a Beyond Grade A in the shortest time? Is this his special talent?”

They were bewildered and made their guesses.

As a notification popped up, Han Xiao quickly selected the options of Race Evolution and added some talents into the Black Star Race traits.

He was only able to hastily scan through the new talents and abilities during battle. He was already distracted by the pain and had no room to be distracted even more. He barely maintained his focus and continued to fight.

As the strength of Han Xiao’s mechanical army increased visibly, the pressure he felt was reduced. He felt a little less worried.

Han Xiao was not hoping to turn the situation entirely around with just this Promotion, as they were fighting four against seven, including EsGod, who made the situation much worse.

He wanted to do the Promotion to increase the combined strength on their side so that they could stall for as long as possible. With such a wide strength difference, if the enemy did not show any flaws, there was absolutely no way to kill any one of the enemies head-on.

Han Xiao knew this very well and would not lose his cool due to his sudden surge of strength. Arrogance did not exist in his books.

In such a dangerous situation, there was no room to mess around.

Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells was heavily damaged, and Milizaus was not in a good state either. When Han Xiao returned to the battlefield, he had no choice but to take on the task of being the tank and guard against attacks for his teammates.

The Promotion made him visibly stronger. Together with the Aurora Character Summon Card that he had saved for many years, Han Xiao was able to take on about half of all the enemy attacks.

Although the situation was passive, they could hang on for the time being.

…

Compared to the main battlefield, the battlefield between the Beyond Grade As was tiny. While they were fighting, the situation on the main battlefield changed as well. Planet Lighthouse’s exterior fleets returned one after another, and the situation became stable.

However, with the entrance of the Fallen Ark fleet, Tarrokov’s fleet was surrounded, and they were in a passive situation again.

The garrison of Planet Lighthouse were being slowly chipped away bit by bit. With a grave expression, Tarrokov never took off his eyes from the 3D mini-map of the battlefield. He quickly gave out orders one after another, doing everything he could to slow down the rate of his troops’ death.

He took a moment and glanced at the situation of the Beyond Grade A battle. That made him somewhat relieved. Luckily, Black Star and the others were holding their own against the enemy Beyond Grade As, otherwise things would have been tremendously worse.

Despite the fact that the battle between the Beyond Grade As were the enemies’ focus and had the highest possibility of suffering an overwhelming loss, they somehow barely held on. Although Tarrokov was not a Beyond Grade A, he could imagine how much pressure Black Star and the others were under.

Tarrokov clenched his teeth and yelled, “Where are the reinforcements? When will they arrive at the stargate entrance?”

The deputy hastily looked at the messages, covered in sweat. He suddenly yelled, “Chief commander, the reinforcements sent by the two closest strongholds have already arrived at the stargate entrance. The border stronghold reinforcements of the Garu, Renault, and Crown Star Clusters have already gathered a total force of more than three million battleships. Also, Their Excellencies Maximiler, Heber, and Ravenlaude are almost in position!”

The reinforcements were finally arriving!

Tarrokov’s eyes became bright. “Engineering team, assemble the stargate immediately! Reactivate the tunnel and let the reinforcements in!”

The dynasty’s fleet changed formation immediately, using the fleet as the line of defense to assemble the portable stargate in the middle of the formation.

The commander of the Arcane Church saw this and was not happy. The resistance the dynasty’s fleet had shown was much stronger than expected. Under the command of Tarrokov, an experienced commander, the defense army of Planet Lighthouse had fought extremely hard and rebounded time after time. Many times, the Arcane Church thought the dynasty’s fleet was about to collapse, yet they still hung on.

The situation was the same on the Beyond Grade A battlefield; the four Dynasty Beyond Grade As were too tenacious.

He immediately contacted Sagman. “We can’t let the dynasty’s fleet assemble the stargate. You guys restrain the enemy Beyond Grade As and send one or two of you to cut into the dynasty’s formation and destroy their stargate!”

Sagman looked at Black Star, who was very much alive even after receiving a ton of attacks. Unwilling, he clenched his teeth and made the decision.

“Mercer, you and Dylan go to destroy the dynasty’s stargate. The rest of us will stay here to restrain the four of them!”

The two Mages had to deal with the Palace of Hidden Spells and could not be separated. Psyker had to sense the Evolution Cube and had to be here. Sagman had to stay there to restrain Milizaus and EsGod. Therefore, he could only send Mercer and Dylan.

Sagman had originally wanted to quickly eliminate the three of them, but Austin had suddenly appeared, and even the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter had been sealed. At this moment, he no longer had the confidence to quickly defeat the opponents.

Since the battle would not be ending soon, destroying the dynasty’s stargate became a more important mission.

Mercer and Dylan nodded and immediately left the battlefield to head to the dynasty’s fleet.

With two opponents leaving, Han Xiao and the others faced much less pressure. However, they were not relieved at all. Only the reinforcements would be able to turn the situation around. They could not let the enemies destroy the stargate no matter what.

“This is the key to winning…”

This thought appeared on everyone’s mind.

Han Xiao’s energy clashed with EsGod another time. His mechanical suit shattered, and he instantly donned his seventh backup mechanical suit. He then turned to look at Mercer and Dylan, who were getting further away. A sharp glint flashed through his eyes.

“Someone finally split off!”

Chapter 851: New Talent!

Chapter 851 New Talent!

The fleets were the absolute main forces of the civilizations. The efficiency of a Beyond Grade A could not compare with millions of official military battleships. However, individual power and collective power were different concepts. The individuals with great power possessed irreplaceable special effects on the battlefield.

Compared to whole fleets, Beyond Grade As were smaller and more mobile. They could both fight fleets head-on and easily penetrate the defenses of the fleets to achieve their goal, such as eliminating the enemy’s leader.

During battle, Han Xiao had already analyzed how the situation would play out. As long as the dynasty could hang on to the stage where they had to build stargates, the Arcane Church would undoubtedly attack the stargate.

At that time, the six enemy Beyond Grade As would very likely change their strategy from aggressively attacking to holding the four of them back while sending a few to attack the stargate.

This was the exact opportunity he was waiting for!

After fighting for so long, the agony of Promotion had gradually diminished, and Han Xiao had gotten used to the changes in his body.

He was given five Race Evolution options to choose two from and then one Racial Talent each from these two races from all their talents to add into the talents of the Black Star Race.

Compared to the previous Race Evolutions, the Race Evolution at the Beyond Grade A level was less random and gave more choices.

The two races Han Xiao chose this time were [Void Saint] and [Void Juggler].

Other than giving him the forty-five Endurance bonus, these also gave him bonus attributes of 266 Strength, 310 Dexterity, 454 Endurance, 537 Intelligence, 372 Mystery, 177 Charm, and 1,600 Energy!

With the Grade S Bonus, [Advanced Strengthened Life], [Eternal Body], and [Extraordinary Physique], Han Xiao’s health was now more than three million!

Other than the help of his teammates, the ten-percent bonus to all attributes given by [Advanced Strengthened Life] was an important factor that allowed him to hold on under the violent attacks of the enemies.

Things were the most dangerous at the start, and he had to use the Aurora Character Summon Card two times to get through it. When his attributes stacked higher, only then was he able to hang on.

His main class turned from [Emperor Mechanic] to [Lord Mechanic], and his Machinery Affinity increased once again. With the bonus of the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] Character Summon Card, the strength of his mechanical army increased visibly.

From the various talents of the two new races, Han Xiao chose two talents that would provide the most help to the current situation. From the way he looked at it, if he could snatch the opportunity, these two abilities were more than enough to turn the tables… And that opportunity was the moment when the enemy Beyond Grade As split up.

Dylan and Mercer penetrated the dynasty fleet’s formation like a drill and headed right to the stargates that were being built, while Sagman and the other three stayed to restrain Han Xiao and the others.

Milizaus could only watch the enemies split up. He tried to back up the dynasty fleet but was stopped by Sagman and the others.

Only Han Xiao was able to send a part of his mechanical army to chase after Dylan and Mercer.

The quantity of the mechanical army was too high; even Sagman and the others were not able to stop all of them. However, they were not too worried as two Beyond Grade As would definitely be able to deal with that.

Seeing Dylan and Mercer heading his way, Tarrokov immediately adjusted the fleet’s formation to continuously block the path of the two of them.

Although this was able to slow the two of them down, it was not able to prevent the fact that the distance between the two of them and the stargates was slowly decreasing.

“Black Star, this won’t last. Austin and my magic energy is still decreasing. We won’t be able to last forever. We can’t let the Arcane Church stop our reinforcements.” Milizaus was anxious.

“The enemies have the numerical advantage and are forcing us to be on the defensive side,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice. “The only way to reduce the pressure we’re facing to the largest extent is to make them lose one Beyond Grade A.”

“They have been maintaining their cooperation; we have no chance.”

“No, I have a way to deal with those two who have split up from the rest. Maybe it’s worth the risk.” Han Xiao’s tone was serious. “However, EsGod is only chasing after me alone. His ability can stop my plan.”

“What’s the success rate?”

“If EsGod interferes, maybe there’s only a twenty-percent chance of succeeding. However, if I’m willing to give it all, there’s more than seventy-percent chance to succeed!”

“What do you mean?”

“EsGod’s goal is evolution, and his alliance with the Arcane Church is definitely based on that. I know what he wants, and if I give that to him…”

“Got it. Do that then. This isn’t the time to hesitate. It’s better than dying a slow death.” Milizaus expressed his approval.

“Okay!”

Han Xiao clenched his teeth and made up his mind. He glanced at EsGod and suddenly opened his arms, using one of his new talents.

“Void Prison!”

All four Mages present noticed the large amount of Void Energy released from Han Xiao’s body that quickly filled the battlefield everyone was in.

The next moment, everyone felt that this part of cosmic space became viscous, and their movements became slower.

After sensing around, the four Mages all discovered that this was not just an ability that reduced their speed. The Void Dimension had descended on this part of the cosmic space and temporarily changed the space attribute of this area, forming a strange territory that slowed everyone down.

“He changed this space with the power of the Void Dimension?” Ninjia frowned and tried to get rid of Void Prison, only to realize that his magic energy flowed slower, too.

This type of ability was not rare, but the difficulty of getting rid of it differed based on the ability’s properties. The [Void Prison] talent from [Void Saint] formed a special territory using the power of the Void Dimension, which could last quite some time.

Beyond Grade A Mages could break this territory, but it was very troublesome. Even if Ninjia and Taylor worked together, they would need some time.

This ability even affected Milizaus and the others, as well as the mechanical army. There were only two people that could move freely—Han Xiao, who was very comfortable in this territory due to his Void talents, and EsGod, who had the Dimension Crack Esper Ability.

With another teleportation, EsGod appeared right behind Han Xiao with a mocking smile. His strength Esper Ability enhanced fist headed for Han Xiao’s back.

“This isn’t our first fight. You didn’t think that this kind of ability would work on me, did you?”

“Is that so? Then what about this?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

EsGod’s fist was closing in on his back, but Han Xiao did not even look behind. Instead, he looked at the fleet battlefield faraway and focused on Mercer.

EsGod noticed a subtle space ripple on Han Xiao’s body. The next moment, with a flash, Han Xiao switched places with Mercer.

Before Mercer could react to how he suddenly appeared there, he was blown away by EsGod’s punch.

After being stunned for a second, EsGod immediately realized what had happened. He quickly looked at the fleet battlefield faraway. Mercer, who had previously been there, had been switched for Han Xiao—the location of the two of them had swapped instantly.

[Void Swap], a talent from [Void Juggler], used fifteen percent of his health and energy. It would forcefully swap his location with the target and had a 320-second cooldown.

[Void Prison] and [Void Swap] were two abilities Han Xiao deliberately selected to create this situation.

“Space swapping type ability…” EsGod was a little surprised. It was not that he had never seen an ability like this. In fact, he even had one. However, his Esper Ability could only swap him with objects and not someone who had the same Grade as him. It was not even as good as his teleportation.

Sagman and the others were shocked too—when did Black Star obtain this ability? There was no information about this anywhere!

They looked far away, and their expression changed slightly. The fact that Mercer had been swapped over meant that Dylan was now alone against Han Xiao!

The two of them were deep into the dynasty fleet’s formation and were very far from the others. With the restriction of the Void Prison, they could not assist Dylan immediately.

“Black Star has been hiding this ability all along.” Ninjia was shocked.

“We have to quickly break this ability and send people to assist Dylan,” Sagman said with a deep voice.

If Dylan was held back, the dynasty would be able to successfully assemble the stargates—in their eyes, this was Han Xiao’s goal.

However, none of them had guessed that Han Xiao’s true shocking goal was to reduce the Arcane Church’s numbers.

In their eyes, Black Star did not have the ability to defeat Dylan in a short time. Therefore, not a single one of them thought that Han Xiao had done this to defeat Dylan. Even if they did know Han Xiao’s goal, they would not think that Han Xiao would be able to do it. After all, Dylan was a Beyond Grade A who excelled at defense and control; he would not be defeated so easily.

…

Han Xiao’s vision flashed as he swapped with Mercer and appeared not far from Dylan.

Although Dylan was surprised by Han Xiao’s sudden appearance, he did not panic. In his eyes, Black Star would not be able to do much to him alone.

However, Dylan had no idea how terrifying Han Xiao was if he did not hold back.

“This is the only opportunity!” Han Xiao’s eyes focused. Without the interference of other enemies, only now did he have an opportunity to go all out.

The next moment, Han Xiao aimed his hand at Dylan, who was covered in his water barrier, and activated his Ames Character Summon Card.

A powerful force field appeared and shattered the water barrier. To Dylan’s shock, he realized that he was restrained by the force field.

Ames Character Summon Card—Gaze of the Dragon!

Han Xiao had used Ames’ Character Summon Card once when he was at the Calamity Grade. He had obtained a new Blank Character Summon Card later and used it on Ames again. He had never met a situation where he needed to use it, until now.

This powerful control ability could not restrain someone at the same Grade as him for too long; Dylan could escape anytime.

Han Xiao was just about to continue his plan when EsGod arrived using teleportation again.

His Dimension Crack and Teleportation ignored the Void Prison. He was the only one who could break Han Xiao’s plan. However, he did not come to protect Dylan; Han Xiao’s Evolution Cube was the only thing that mattered.

“This guy…” Han Xiao expected this from EsGod. Having made up his mind, he activated the Evolution Cube and instantly shot out a beam of Evolution Energy at EsGod.

“Hmm‽” EsGod’s expression changed as he stopped midair.

However, his response was completely different from Sagman’s and the others.

Not only did EsGod not dodge it, he instead deliberately headed right toward the beam of Evolution Energy. The black Evolution Energy flowed into his body, and a black cocoon started growing on his skin.

The terms of him working with the Arcane Church were to help the Arcane Church obtain the Evolution Cube in exchange for one chance to use the Evolution Cube. Now, however, Han Xiao had directly sent him the Evolution Energy that he had been dreaming of. He immediately stopped bothering about everything else and directly took it in.

This was Han Xiao’s plan.

Isn’t this Evolution Energy the reason you’re targeting me? I’ll give it to you then. Will you continue to fight me or achieve your goal first?

EsGod was controlled by Han Xiao with this immediately and did not continue to stop Han Xiao.

While Dylan was still controlled by the Ames Character Summon Card, Han Xiao instantly arrived right in front of him using Void Hyperdrive. He threw a Luck Curse, grabbed onto Dylan’s shoulder, and activated the EsGod Character Summon Card!

Esper Silence!

This time, the force field had just disappeared. Dylan was just about to push Han Xiao away using his Esper Ability, but to his absolute shock, he realized that he could not sense the existence of his Esper Ability anymore. His expression changed drastically.

“You…”

Han Xiao activated all his explosive abilities including [Gene Liberation] immediately and yelled in the quantum network, “Fire!”

The next moment, the mechanical army around them fired right at the two of them, and beams of psionic attacks landed on their bodies.

Dylan was an Esper. Without his Esper Ability, he was nothing but a target that could not resist.

Furthermore, he was not immune to True Damage!

The blue cluster of light expanded and exploded!

As the light dissipated, Dylan became covered in blood and on his last breath. Nanoparticle tentacles extended from the mechanical soldiers around, forming a few enormous chains that locked onto Dylan’s arms and legs, controlling his body tightly.

All kinds of mechanical traps circled around Dylan and restricted his movements, while the barrels of all the mechanical soldiers aimed at him and were ready to fire anytime.

Han Xiao was right behind Dylan. His arms locked around Dylan’s neck tightly, and his eyes were coldly staring in the direction of Sagman. It was clear that he was threatening them with Dylan’s life!

Sagman and the others’ expressions changed dramatically!

This was beyond all their expectations!

Dylan had been captured by Black Star so quickly!

How could Black Star possibly have such combat capability‽

“Im—Impossible!” Psyker’s eyes widened with disbelief.

Sagman was shocked. Only now did he understand that Black Star’s goal was not to stall Dylan but to eliminate him to reduce their numbers!

This time, the two Mages of the Arcane Church finally broke the Void Prison. Be it friend or foe, everyone looked at Han Xiao with shock.

How did he capture a Beyond Grade A in such a short time‽

Sagman and the others did not dare continue attacking Milizaus and the others; they were afraid that Han Xiao would kill Dylan instantly.

Milizaus and the other two were also shocked and did not move.

“Sh*t…” Sagman was troubled. Dylan was clearly heavily injured, and his life was in Black Star’s hands. If they continued fighting, not mentioning whether they would still be able to complete the mission after losing one Beyond Grade A, Dylan would definitely die.

Dylan was a Beyond Grade A, not someone they could just give up.

Afraid of the repercussions of their actions, both sides stopped fighting, and the situation seemed to have come to a stalemate.

Sagman clenched his teeth. He secretly gave Ninjia a look. Ninjia understood his meaning and sent a psychic message to EsGod.

“EsGod, continue moving and destroy the dynasty’s stargate!”

It was not that Sagman did not want to save Dylan, but Dylan had already been captured, and if they wanted to break this stalemate and have a chance at completing the mission, the only way was to let go of Dylan.

However, he did not want to express his decision of giving up his teammate, so it was best to let EsGod do the work. EsGod did not belong to the Arcane Church. If Black Star killed Dylan because of that, they would have nothing to do with it. This was the only solution.

However, EsGod ignored him completely and left the battlefield via teleportation, returning to the main ship of the Fallen Ark fleet where Fakisen was waiting.

Hearing movement, Fakisen turned around but was shocked by EsGod’s appearance. Black lines were swimming on EsGod’s body like snakes under his skin. It was somewhat horrifying.

“Your Excellency EsGod, are you injured‽”

“Injured? No, no… I feel amazing!”

EsGod forced out a smile. He had temporarily suppressed the Evolution Energy in his body, which was why he did not turn into a cocoon on the spot.

“Send my order, retreat immediately!”

“Ah? Are we not continuing the battle?” Fakisen wondered.

“The goal is achieved. Let the Arcane Church restrain the dynasty’s fleet. We’ll retreat!”

Having received the Evolution Energy, EsGod had already achieved his goal. There was no longer a need for him to continue working together with the Arcane Church.

Right now, he could not wait to find a peaceful place to complete his evolution and did not care about helping the Arcane Church at all.

EsGod knew that this was Han Xiao’s plot, but he did not mind falling for it if he could achieve his goal.

His combat capability would be affected while suppressing the Evolution Energy. To him, completing the evolution was much more important than dealing with Black Star.

As for trustworthiness… when did he have that?

The Fallen Ark fleet stopped firing immediately. Now matter how much the Arcane Church commander roared, their retreat out of the battlefield could not be prevented.

Seeing this, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

EsGod’s reputation did not disappoint him.

Han Xiao had no choice but to satisfy EsGod’s need. EsGod was the strongest of everyone present. As long as he was there, Han Xiao would always be at a disadvantage. EsGod’s teleportation was too great a threat to the stargates; he had to find a way to make him retreat from the battlefield.

“Get through this danger first, find a way to deal with EsGod later… He participated in this attack and worked with the Arcane Church. The dynasty won’t let him get away with it easily.” Han Xiao did not dwell on it.

On the other side, EsGod’s retreat shocked the people of the Arcane Church.

“EsGod!” Sagman was furious.

In such a short period, the upper hand that they had firmly held disappeared completely. One of them was captured, and another fled. The seven Beyond Grade As that they originally had become five in the blink of an eye!

And the root of all of this was Han Xiao!

Sagman gritted his teeth so hard to the point his teeth almost cracked.

Chapter 852: Forced Retrea

Chapter 852 Forced Retrea

As the Fallen Ark fleet stopped firing, their millions of spaceships turned into streams of light and left Planet Lighthouse, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye. It was clear that they were familiar with betraying their teammates and were experts at it.

As the EsGod’s fleet departed, the situation of the battle changed instantly.

Without the powerful exterior help, the number of battleships on the Arcane Church’s side reduced by almost half. By this point, the Planet Lighthouse army had already recalled all its fleet. The number of battleships on both sides was even; the Arcane Church could no longer obtain the upper hand.

“Damn it…” Sagman looked at this with clenched teeth, but his heart was filled with helplessness. He was not in the mood to even blame EsGod for breaking their alliance.

He knew that although they were working together, the Arcane Church upper echelons did not have much hope in EsGod. It was indeed because these upper echelons were confident about EsGod’s negative reputation that they gathered six Beyond Grade As to attack with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. They planned to be done with the battle before EsGod arrived all along.

In fact, according to the Arcane Church’s calculations, the success rate of this operation was indeed exceptionally high. It was a battle of six versus three to begin with, and if they had rendered Milizaus incapable of fighting with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, the plan would have already been eighty percent complete. It was not impossible to capture three Beyond Grade As of the dynasty at that point.

However, what they did not expect was Austin’s appearance, which turned the six against three situation into six versus four.

Although it was just one more person, it greatly reduced the strength advantage of the six Arcane Church Beyond Grade As.

More importantly, the powerful destructive weapon, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, was countered by Black Star using a strange method and was even sealed!

If not for that, we would have already captured Black Star, obtained the Evolution Cube, and retreated with the fleet by now… This thought flashed through the minds of Sagman and the four others, making them frustrated.

Observing the disadvantageous situation, Sagman could only feel a strong headache.

If it was just EsGod retreating, the six of them would actually still have had a chance at completing the mission.

After fighting for so long, Milizaus was heavily injured, Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells was damaged, and Beyoni was not in a good state. Black Star was the only one still hanging on strong… but his mechanical army had also suffered enormous damage.

Comparatively, the six of them were in good states. If they continued to fight, they would still have a high chance at winning.

However, now that Dylan had been captured by Black Star, Sagman’s plan completely went to waste.

In this battle, Black Star had once again showcased new abilities that no one knew of. Sagman had no choice but to admit that he did indeed fear Black Star for the fact that he did not know what other trump cards this guy was hiding.

Ninjia frowned and asked in the psychic communication network, “What now?”

Sagman looked at the enormous battlefield and saw that the Arcane Church’s fleet was now at a stalemate with the enemies, not able to prevent the dynasty fleet from assembling their stargates.

“Inform the commander, we’re retreating!” He squeezed out the words from between his tightly clenched teeth.

“You’re giving up Dylan?” Psyker’s eyes looked hostile.

“Sagman is right.” Ninjia nodded. “Dylan has been captured, and EsGod has retreated. It’s now five against four, and they have a hostage. The plan of quick attack has failed. There are only two paths ahead of us—continue fighting or retreat.

“They’re not in a good state. We will no doubt win if we continue to fight. However, time is a problem. Having lost two combatants, we won’t be able to settle the battle quickly. Don’t forget, the Flickering World is the dynasty’s territory. We have no base here, and the secret stargate is our only way of retreating. The longer we fight, the higher the risk.”

“Also, EsGod wants to use us to secure his retreat,” Taylor added. “We can’t let him have his way.”

“Dylan…”

“The risk of saving him is too high and will very likely make Black Star kill him. We have no choice but to leave him behind. That way, at least he can stay alive. The only way is to have the Arcane Church negotiate with the Crimson Dynasty afterward.” Ninjia shook his head. Even if the dynasty was willing to exchange the hostage, the Arcane Church would definitely bleed for it. Furthermore, the dynasty might not even be willing to.

Psyker was in an extremely bad mood. His good friend was in Black Star’s hands. God only knew what the dynasty would do to him, but there was nothing he could do.

“While the dynasty is still building the stargate, we’re retreating.” Sagman paused before saying with resignation, “Inform the upper echelons that this plan… has failed.”

Everyone’s mood was down after hearing this.

Six versus four, yet one of them was captured. This was beyond embarrassing!

They had failed an almost infallible mission, and the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was sealed. How would the Arcane Church upper echelons see them?

Almost every step that led to the tables turning had been caused by Han Xiao.

Although they did not want to admit it, they knew that they were forced to retreat by Black Star!

Psyker exchanged looks with the heavily injured Dylan faraway. His eyes were filled with apology.

Seeing Psyker’s eyes, Dylan knew that he had been abandoned. He felt a sting in his heart; it did not feel good to be abandoned. Thinking of how he would be treated as a captive, his heart kept sinking.

The effect of Esper Silence had already worn off, and Dylan’s Esper Ability had recovered. However, a round of attacks including True Damage had all landed on him earlier. Without the defense barrier from his Esper Ability, he had been critically injured. If not because Han Xiao wanted to capture him alive, he felt that he would have been killed directly. Fear still lingered in his heart.

At this time, Han Xiao was right behind him. Han Xiao’s arms that were wrapped around his neck had explosive power. Dylan was no Pugilist. Although his body was much stronger than Calamity Grades, it was nothing worth noting at the Beyond Grade A level. With all kinds of mechanical traps, Dylan could not escape at all. Resisting was playing with his own life.

Sagman and the other four retreated to the Arcane Church’s fleet and entered the spaceships. The Arcane Church fleet then started to retreat orderly.

Relying on superior mobility, the Arcane Church’s fleet gradually distanced themselves from the dynasty’s fleet.

Milizaus and the other two came to Black Star. Beyoni had a feeling that he had just evaded death.

“Luckily, you captured one of the enemy Beyond Grade As, or they would not have retreated this easily… This guy is the Arcane Church’s ‘Sea Spirit’ Dylan. He’s not weak. What did you do to capture him so quickly?”

Han Xiao gave Beyoni a strange look. “Trust me. You’re no stranger to this ability.”

Back when they fought EsGod alongside each other, Beyoni had been hit with the authentic ‘Esper Silence’ and still remembered that feeling vividly. Only, he did not know that Han Xiao was talking about that.

Esper Silence was the nemesis of Espers. There were probably not many Espers in the entire universe who could beat EsGod one on one. Han Xiao’s EsGod Character Summon Card had two usages.

He had used one on Dylan, and he planned to use the next one on EsGod.

Before the start of the battle, he obtained two Blank Character Summon Cards from the Random Reward. However, he did not use them on EsGod. After all, EsGod had way too many Esper Abilities; the chance of getting Esper Silence again was too slim, and the other random abilities were not too useful to him. He needed to use them to obtain Reynold’s Perfect Mechanical Sense.

On the other side, Milizaus watched as Sagman and the others retreated. He then asked with a deep voice, “They’re fleeing—should we chase?”

“Don’t count me in on the chase,” Austin said calmly. “Black Star, I’ve returned the favor. You now owe me a big favor.”

“Got it.” Honestly, if not because Austin maintained his moral principles and kept his promise, someone on the dynasty’s side would definitely have died.

Austin nodded with satisfaction. He then turned to look at his Forbidden Sorcerers, who had suffered heavy casualties, and felt a heartache. These were all his elites and were very tiring to train.

As for the heavily damaged Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin did not care at all. He just had to spend some time to repair it, and the material fees for that were nothing to him. To a Mage at his level, earning money was as easy as breathing.

Austin was not a dynasty ally, so Milizaus could not ask him to do anything. He then looked at Beyoni and asked, “What about you?”

“Don’t come to me again for something this risky.” Beyoni rejected him on the spot.

After finally surviving this lethal threat, he was not planning to throw himself into danger again. He much preferred to stay there and wait for reinforcements.

“You really are a wimp.” Milizaus despised him.

“I’m the most vulnerable, and I’m afraid of dying, okay?” Beyoni snorted before turning to look at Han Xiao. “Are you chasing?”

“What do you think?” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Neither you nor Austin are not going, so why the hell would I go? Do you think I’m tired of living?

“Since you’re all not going…” Milizaus’ tone suddenly changed as if he was relieved. “I feel much better.”

The other three looked at him simultaneously.

“What, see this hole in my chest? I’m the most heavily injured. Are you guys going to force me to chase them and take more beatings? Show some care for an elderly dragon, will you?”

Han Xiao was speechless.

You’re not going yourself, so why the hell did you even ask the others?

However, it was true that other than him, the other three were not in good states. The risk of chasing was too high; no one could blame them for not wanting to.

This time, Tarrokov contacted them, and his tone was surprised.

“Black Star, you’ve captured an Arcane Church Beyond Grade A?”

“As you can see.” Han Xiao turned to look in the direction of the main fleet and casually grabbed Dylan’s head. It was wet, slippery, and quite smooth.

“Great! You’ve made the Arcane Church pay the price! This way, we will have chips to negotiate with!” Tarrokov’s tone was excited for a moment. He then paused and became serious again. “The Arcane Church is retreating. I’ll send out troops to track them. You guys stay here on standby. Do not chase after the enemies on your own accord.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t even if you beg us to.” Han Xiao sighed.

“That’s for the best.” Tarrokov nodded.

The Arcane Church’s surprise attack was resolved. Not only did they not lose any high-level combatants on their side, but Black Star even captured an enemy Beyond Grade A.

Tarrokov did not want them to chase. The stargates were being built near Planet Lighthouse and could not be built while moving. If the Arcane Church suddenly attacked back after they left Planet Lighthouse, the upper hand that Black Star had fought so hard to obtain might be lost.

Tarrokov was not in a hurry to chase the Arcane Church and maximize the results. As an experienced commander, he preferred to take one step at a time.

Therefore, he only sent out troops to track the Arcane Church and lock down their escape route. Black Star and the others would wait at Planet Lighthouse for the reinforcements. This was the safest strategy and would not give the enemies any chances.

The Arcane Church’s fleet left the battlefield and turned into streams of light, disappearing from their sights.

Tarrokov sent out a small team to track them, leaving the rest to guard the engineering team as they assembled the stargates.

The enemies had retreated, and the battle had finally ended. Han Xiao and the others were all relieved. They flew toward their own battleships and counted their losses.

At the same time, Tarrokov contacted the dynasty’s upper echelons to report the situation there.

…

After the news of Planet Lighthouse being attacked by the Arcane Church reached the dynasty’s mother planet, it caused a storm among the military’s upper echelons.

Urranrell immediately summoned all the military heads in the conference room; those not present attended the meeting via remote projections.

The first battlefield status Tarrokov sent back showed that they were facing the attacks of seven Beyond Grade As, the Arcane Church, and the Fallen Ark. The difference in strength was too large, and the situation was dire.

The military upper echelons in the room had already analyzed the situation. Most people, including Urranrell, were sure that Planet Lighthouse had no hope and would most likely be wiped out by the Arcane Church. The three dynasty Beyond Grade As would end up either dead or captured alive by the enemies.

Currently, they were discussing how the dynasty would respond to this matter.

“Her Excellency is right. The Arcane Church and the Federation of Light attacked our troops together and killed three of our Beyond Grade As and Marshal Tarrokov. We have to take revenge.”

Many military upper echelons expressed their approval. Tarrokov was very reputable among the military and would likely be killed this time. Flames of revenge lit up in the hearts of many of his old comrades.

Urranrell nodded expressionlessly as well.

The moment Urranrell received this news, she had already decided to enact revenge on the Arcane Church.

The dignity of the dynasty had been challenged, and they had suffered a heavy loss. They absolutely could not let this go, or the dynasty’s dignity would be shattered, and their allies would lose all trust.

Most of the dynasty’s military personnel were direct; the majority of them agreed with taking revenge.

However, even in such a powerful civilization like the dynasty, there were still different opinions. A small part of the people present objected to overly violent revenge. They were not against taking revenge, but they felt that the dynasty’s military power was restrained by the Flickering World, and their counterattack should not be too violent. If they really triggered a universal war, the dynasty’s situation would only worsen.

Just when they were discussing intensely, a new remote projection appeared in the conference room. It was Tarrokov.

The military upper echelons present all shut up immediately and looked at him.

“Your Excellency, we have successfully guarded Planet Lighthouse. We have forced the Arcane Church and the Fallen Ark to retreat. The battle has ended. The casualties and damages are still being calculated. Milizaus, Beyoni, and Black Star are safe.” Tarrokov nodded at the people present.

All the upper echelons present were shocked.

“You forced all the enemies to retreat?” Urranrell raised her brows, and a slight tint of surprise flashed passed her eyes. “Tell me the details.”

Tarrokov nodded and simply explained the battle without exaggerating anything.

While listening, everyone’s expression changed multiple times. They all noticed how much Black Star had contributed in this battle—secretly calling for Austin’s help, stopping the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, capturing Dylan… Almost every step of the Arcane Church’s plan was countered by Black Star.

It could be said that if Black Star did not do the things he did, the three Beyond Grade As of the dynasty would probably not have survived, and the enemies would have succeeded.

The dynasty’s upper echelons exchanged glances.

Han Xiao could even turn the tables in such a hopeless situation. This new ally… seemed a little too strong.

Urranrell narrowed her eyes. This battle had been caused by Black Star, which she had not originally been happy about. It was clearly not worth losing two Beyond Grade As for Black Star.

However, Black Star’s results left her with nothing to say. He had even captured one of the enemy Beyond Grade As and given chips to the dynasty.

This battle result was flawless and wiped away the unhappiness she had. She could not help but praise Han Xiao in her mind.

However, Urranrell would not express that on her face. She slowly nodded without changing her expression.

“Send my orders. Have all the fleets in the Flickering World chase after the enemies. Also, move the troops in the Shattered Star Ring to attack the stargate stronghold of the Arcane Church in the Shattered Star Ring when needed. Try to eliminate them before they return to the Central Galaxy.”

Urranrell paused. “Also, tell Black Star to talk with me directly later.”

At the same time, the Arcane Church upper echelons also received a report from their fleet…

Chapter 853: Repor

Chapter 853 Repor

A few minutes earlier, on Silver Arm, the Arcane Church’s mother planet…

The Bishops once again gathered in the hall, sitting in their respective seats and resting with their eyes closed.

The Arcane Church’s religion and authority were united; their faith and politics were inseparable. The Bishops controlled enormous power. The robe of every Bishop was luxurious, and their styles differed drastically in color and pattern, which represented the faction each of these Bishops oversaw.

The influence of this operation was enormous, so the Bishops were directly in charge.

Quite some time had passed since they sent the fleet over with the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device. The Arcane Church did not have a quantum communication network in the Flickering World, so messages could only be sent back through special methods. Therefore, the Bishops were still waiting for the good news from Sagman and the others.

One Bishop looked at the time and nodded. “They should have already succeeded.”

“The time fits, but why haven’t we received any messages?” another Bishop wondered.

“Maybe they’re counting the gains.”

With someone starting the topic, they discussed softly. They were patient and did not think any accident would happen to this operation.

In their perspective, the forces on their side had an overwhelming upper hand. There was really no reason to fail.

The door of the room suddenly opened.

The ceiling of the round table conference hall was very high, and the door was also ten meters tall. It was pure white and did not look like it was made of metal but of white jade. There was no groove marking the door; it was perfectly smooth like a wall when closed. At this time, this white gate started to turn into a bubble from the middle and shrunk to the sides, like boiling liquid, but did not open completely and only showed a two-meter-wide gap. A person walked into the room, and the gap closed behind him.

The Bishops stopped talking and all stood up and greeted with their heads lowered with respect.

“Your Excellency, Pope.”

This was the highest leader of the Arcane Church, the Pope.

The Pope grunted a greeting and walked up to the main seat. The seat was a hovering white sphere. As he sat down, part of this sphere was pushed down like it was soft and adjusted to his body shape, forming the most suitable seat according to his body structure.

Only then did the Bishops sit down. Seeing that the Pope had only come to wait for the news and did not plan on speaking, they did not continue discussing.

After waiting for a while, the remote projection of the fleet’s commander suddenly appeared in the middle of the round table—he had finally come to report.

The fleet commander did a military greeting and said with a stiff face, “Your Excellency, respected Bishops… the battle has ended. We’re now retreating.”

“Hmm, bring the Evolution Cube back quickly. We will send out troops to assist you,” a rather impatient Bishop said directly.

The fleet commander opened his mouth and had an awkward expression like he did not know what to say.

Seeing this, everyone was puzzled. The commander whom they had sent this time was an elite. Why was he acting this way?

“Is there an issue?” someone asked.

“…Yes. We could not complete the mission. This operation has failed,” the fleet commander replied with a stiff tone.

The upper echelons used so many resources and gave them so many advantages. However, even with all that, they could not complete a single mission they were given. Not only that, they even lost a Beyond Grade A. The commander felt truly ashamed, and he knew that his future would likely end there.

“Failed‽” The Bishops were stunned and furious. Having used so many resources, how could he fail with such a large advantage‽

“Go through the details. How exactly did you fail? We gave you two missions—obtain the Evolution Cube and kill Milizaus and the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As. Don’t tell me you did not complete any of them.”

“…Yes. We could not defeat Black Star and the others, did not snatch the Evolution Cube, and did not kill or capture any of the Dynasty Beyond Grade As…”

The Bishops’ faces were twitched.

Did not snatch the Evolution Cube? Fine, after all, Black Star stopped Psyker’s psychic senses, so it was not impossible to fail. But you must’ve killed at least one Beyond Grade A, right? How could you not even achieve this basic goal? Do you think that we worked with the Federation of Light and paid a huge price to borrow the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device just to send you lot there for a tour‽

A Bishop could not help but asked, “You guys even took the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter this time, so how could you have not even killed a Beyond Grade A? Did Sagman and the others not use it?”

“No, they did…”

“Then what happened?”

“It’s Black Star. Sagman and the others used the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to heavily injure Milizaus, but Black Star used an unknown method to block the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter’s attack directly!”

The Bishops frowned. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was not impossible to block; it was just that most of the methods would be useless. They had read about Black Star before and knew Black Star’s abilities. He did not seem to possess means to block the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter’s attacks. Furthermore, this was the first time that they had used the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter on him, so Black Star did not know what the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter’s attacks were like before this, nor did he know that they would use this weapon. Therefore, it was very unlikely for Black Star to have made preparations for it.

“One more thing… the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was sealed by Black Star using an unknown method. Sagman and the others said they can’t break it. This is what it’s like…” Then, the fleet commander showed the current state of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to them.

The Bishops’ expressions changed. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was their destructive weapon against Beyond Grade As, but it had been sealed by some kind of material. Even Beyond Grade A Mages could not get rid of it. What kind of strange material was that?

A Bishop endured his rage and said with a deep voice, “Useless… Bring the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back to be studied.”

This time, another person knocked the table. “Even if you couldn’t use the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, there were still seven Beyond Grade As, and that’s plenty to eliminate the enemies. Why retreat before the mission is complete?”

The fleet commander clenched his teeth and said, “There were more than three Beyond Grade As on the enemies’ side. We did not know that Black Star partnered up with Austin, and Austin was waiting near Planet Lighthouse. He interfered in this battle, and then EsGod was bribed by Black Star and fled, leading his troops away. Dylan was captured by Black Star too. If we continued to fight, the dynasty’s reinforcements would have arrived. We were forced to retreat…”

After hearing the brief description of the battle and results, the Bishops were enraged.

It was infuriating enough that the operation had failed, but not only did you not complete the mission, you did not kill a single enemy with the numbers advantage and even lost a Beyond Grade A‽

A bunch of incompetent fools!

If not because they had to give face to the Beyond Grade As, a few Bishops might have lashed out.

This time, the Pope, who had been quietly listening, spoke with an expressionless face.

“Dispatch troops to assist the Shattered Star Ring to prevent the dynasty from destroying our local stargate stations. You must bring Sagman and the others back to the Central Galaxy. Send reinforcements to prevent the dynasty from intercepting them. At the same time, strengthen Silver Arm’s defenses to prepare for the dynasty’s possible revenge. Inform the garrisons of the various Star Fields to enter full alert state.”

Then, the Pope stood up and left. Although he did not show any emotion, the Bishops knew the Pope’s personality and were certain that he was furious to the extreme.

…

At the same time, the Federation of Light received the message as well.

“The Arcane Church failed?”

President Bader was shocked. He browsed through the information and narrowed his eyes.

“How unexpected…” the Chief Elder said with a weird tone. “The Arcane Church was defeated by Planet Lighthouse even in this situation. Aren’t they too useless?”

Bader did not immediately reply. His fingers swiped a few times on the virtual screen, bringing up Black Star’s information. “Instead of saying that the Arcane Church was forced to retreat by Planet Lighthouse, the Arcane Church basically lost to Black Star. Tarrokov is famous as a Crimson Dynasty commander who excels at defenses. It’s not weird for him to last a period of time with a fleet less than half of the size of the enemy. The real breakthrough is at the Beyond Grade A battlefield. Black Star turned the situation around on the Beyond Grade A battlefield, which was what caused the entire situation to change.”

“The Arcane Church lost a Beyond Grade A, tsk tsk…” The Chief Elder grinned. “They really suffered a huge loss this time.”

Bader smiled faintly too. Although they had worked together with the Arcane Church, he was more than happy to see both sides suffering losses. No matter how much the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church fought, the Federation of Light would definitely gain from it.

After all, they did not send out any troops and only lent their Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device once. Even if the dynasty wanted revenge, they would mainly focus on the Arcane Church and would not do too much to the Federation of Light.

“Your Excellency, what are you planning to do next?”

Bader pondered for a moment before saying, “The Crimson Dynasty will not easily let go of this Arcane Church team… Dispatch our troops and allies in the Shattered Star Ring to interfere.”

“Are you planning to help the Arcane Church to escape?”

“No, the partnership between us and the Arcane Church is only limited to lending them the transportation device. That was just a deal, and now the deal has ended, so there’s no need to continue the partnership… Help the dynasty intercept the Arcane Church’s fleet!”

The Chief Elder shook his head with resignation.

How horrible, selling their partner right afterward… However, they were never allies to begin with; they only targeted the dynasty together while the dynasty was exploring the Flickering World. The three universal civilizations were all competitors to each other. They would work together if there was something to profit from and fight each other the rest of the time. They were all used to it.

The Chief Elder suddenly thought of something and chuckled. “By the way, the biggest winner this time seems to be EsGod.”

“I don’t really think so. It’s just one chance to use the Evolution Cube.” Bader looked at Han Xiao’s data again. “The Arcane Church have the moral low ground, so the dynasty will definitely make announcements regarding this matter. This means that Black Star’s achievements in this battle will be spread across the entire universe. A Beyond Grade A who has killed or captured another Beyond Grade A is very different from one who has not.

“Furthermore, he was the main target of the Arcane Church this time, but he forced them to retreat. He basically made the Arcane Church his steppingstone. His influence will see explosive growth. Not only that, having achieved so much in this battle, his position in the dynasty will increase tremendously.

“Black Star is the biggest winner this time.”

…

The battle had just ended. When the three civilizations’ upper echelons were receiving the news, Han Xiao flew into a Black Star Army battleship and told Phillip to count the losses as well as gather the officers.

The Black Star Army did not leave many ships on Planet Lighthouse. During the battle, the dynasty’s fleet was the main force, so the battleship damage incurred was not much. However, the Calamity Grade Black Star Guards all took part, and he wanted to know if there were any casualties.

Aurora waiting in the cabin. The moment she saw Han Xiao, she immediately dashed to him.

Aurora hugged him on her tiptoes around his waist.

“It’s great you’re okay. I was so worried!” Aurora buried her head in Han Xiao’s arms.

Smelling the refreshing aroma from Aurora, Han Xiao’s tensed nerves finally relaxed.

Facing seven Beyond Grade As was extremely dangerous. Not only was he getting beaten up, but he had also been enduring the pain from his Promotion. Now that he was relaxed, only then did he feel tired and pain all over his body. The pain from the Promotion had yet to fully disappear.

Han Xiao looked down at Aurora. Sensing the softness in his arms, he felt much better. He patted Aurora’s head and asked, “Where’s your sister? Is she okay?”

“Hmm, I sent her life force a few times; she’s still alive.”

At this time, the hatch opened again. Hila and the other Black Star Guards all walked in. Everyone was wounded, but no one had died. This was all thanks to the potions that Aurora had made. Every Black Star Guard had some of Aurora’s potion with them. They were extremely effective and more than enough to guarantee the lives of these Calamity Grades.

Aurora turned around and looked through the gap between Han Xiao’s arms. Having realized that Hila was wounded and bleeding, she quickly left Han Xiao’s embrace and ran over.

“Sis, you’re wounded. Let me heal you.”

Hila waved her hands and rejected her. “The battle has ended. Such a small wound will recover in no time. Don’t waste your life force.”

Then, she turned around and looked at the Black Star Guards behind her. “You guys aren’t allowed to do that either… Hmm, except Feidin.”

Hadavy and the others were originally hoping for Aurora to heal them, but hearing what Hila said, they had no choice but to let go of that thought.

“Why except me?” Feidin pointed at his head with resignation. “Don’t misunderstand, Chen Xing told me to ask.”

“Black Star said that you’re lucky and told us to benefit from your luck from time to time.” Hila told the truth.

Then, Hila turned and looked at Han Xiao. She sized him up and saw that he had not lost an arm or a leg; she was relieved. Her lips moved slightly like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only nodded.

This time, Hadavy suddenly said, “I just heard you captured a Beyond Grade A. Where is he?”

With that brought up, everyone was curious. This was the first time their Army Commander had defeated a Beyond Grade A head-on, so they all wanted to see the Beyond Grade A captive.

Han Xiao smiled and told his mechanical army to bring Dylan in. Dylan was restrained by machinery all over his body like a metal mummy, only showing his face.

Such restraints could not limit the movements of a Beyond Grade A, but Dylan knew that he had been abandoned and that it was meaningless to resist deep behind enemy lines. He had no choice but to accept the fact that he was now a captive.

The Black Star Guards all approached and sized him up, talking about him right under his nose.

“Defeated in just one blow? You’re so weak.”

“What are you talking about? The Army Commander is just too strong!” Hadavy said with anger.

“Right, right, right!”

Dylan was furious. As a powerful Beyond Grade A, he was now being observed like a zoo animal. He almost wanted to use his Esper Ability to teach these Calamity Grades a lesson.

Even in this state, he could not endure being shamed by these people!

Having noticed energy flowing, Han Xiao said with a hostile tone, “You want to resist?”

“Tell your subordinates to piss off!” Dylan roared. “Don’t think that you can humiliate me just because you captured me. Even in this state, I can still kill them easily.”

“Oh, you reminded me. Tying you up like this doesn’t seem safe enough.”

Han Xiao smiled faintly. He took out the Spacetime Amber and made Dylan hover in midair.

The Black Star Guards knew the effect of this thing. They all backed away, sneering.

Seeing their expressions, Dylan suddenly had a bad feeling and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry, you’re already a captive. Not only will I not hurt you, but I will also guarantee your safety.” Han Xiao chuckled. “Trust me, I will absolutely not let you get hurt.”

Han Xiao activated the Spacetime Amber. After some time, it finally surrounded Dylan entirely, and Han Xiao immediately cut off the energy supply. Dylan was a captive, so he had more than enough time to create plenty of amber.

The next moment, the spacetime solidified and formed an amber ball, freezing Dylan within. His puzzled expression was fixed on his face.

“This way, there’s no need to waste manpower watching him.” Han Xiao chuckled.

Hadavy knocked on the amber ball and giggled. “Can you kill me easily now?”

Dylan was frozen but could still sense the outside world. Realizing that he could not move his body at all, he was stupefied.

So, this is the ability that sealed the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. This isn’t Black Star’s ability!

Other than the Evolution Cube, Black Star has another Universal Treasure‽

After teasing the immobile Dylan for a while, the Black Star Guards left one after another. After a huge battle, they were all tired and went to rest.

Having watched everyone leave, Han Xiao opened the interface.

He finally had some time to check the losses and gains of this battle.

Chapter 854: Lord Mechanic

Chapter 854 Lord Mechanic

“The Arcane Church forced quite a number of trump cards out of me this time…”

The most dangerous stage had passed, but Han Xiao knew that the battle had yet to end. The Arcane Church had appeared out of nowhere using the Federation of Light’s Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, but they would have to cross the universe in their spaceships when returning. With the dynasty’s way of doing things, there was no way they would let the six Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church leave just like that…

Oh, it’s five Beyond Grade As now.

Therefore, when Ty-Ty and the others arrive, it will be their turn to chase after Sagman and the others. There are billions of dynasty troops in the Flickering World, so this group of Arcane Church people will not be able to easily retreat.

Even if they were able to flee the Flickering World, the Shattered Star Ring was still waiting for them. The Shattered Star Ring was the base of the Klent Kingdom, the Bloodshed Land, and the Black Star Army. Having received such a huge gift, Han Xiao had to return a gift; he was not a petty person. He had already decided to use all of the Black Star Army’s forces and his complex network in the Shattered Star Ring to do so.

While planning in his mind, Han Xiao looked at the interface at the same time to calculate the losses the Arcane Church had given him.

Rushing levels during the EXP penalty period cost him a ton of EXP. Even for Han Xiao, he felt a heartache thinking about this number. He did not like wasting. If the extra EXP had been used to level up blueprints, he would have gotten so many Potential Points.

In terms of Character Summon Cards, the usages of Reynold, Aurora, and Ames’ Character Summon Cards had all been depleted. The EsGod and Heber Character Summon Cards each had one use left. They were both powerful trump cards. That was especially so for EsGod’s [Esper Silence] Character Summon Card. It would be extremely powerful against EsGod. With one remaining use, this meant that he had fewer ways to fight EsGod.

Furthermore, EsGod was the winner of this attack. He had no choice but to satisfy EsGod’s needs due to the Arcane Church’s attack to force EsGod off the battlefield. With the Evolution Energy, EsGod would be more difficult to deal with and might even touch the doorstep of the ‘higher level’ that he sought. All things considered, his plan to deal with EsGod had been disrupted, and he was quite unhappy.

“Nonetheless, the mission rewarded three unknown Character Summon Cards. Together with the two Blank Character Summon Cards from the Random Reward and an Ability Upgrade Card, at least it somewhat made up for the losses.” Han Xiao shook his head.

The damage incurred to his machinery was also quite large. A lot of mechanical soldiers had been destroyed. The mechanical lives were still alright, as Han Xiao purposely did not let them take part in the direct battle against the Beyond Grade As, so they did not suffer many casualties.

Compared to other machinery, the mechanical lives with the capability to grow had higher potential. It would be a pity for them to be destroyed in such a one-sided battle. The other machines were more than enough as pawns.

In some respects, Han Xiao was the cause of this battle. If any Beyond Grade As had died because of it, the dynasty would definitely not have been happy about it. However, luckily, with the help of Austin, they had just been wounded, which made things easier for Han Xiao.

This way, he owed Austin a huge favor, which was not a completely bad thing. Sometimes, owing someone a favor would lead to a better relationship.

Austin was originally neutral, but after he messed with the Arcane Church after this battle, it would be very difficult for him to continue to exclude himself from everything. Although he would not go so far as to immediately join the dynasty, all the forces in the universe would mark him as being on the side of the dynasty. He would no longer be able to keep a low profile like before.

Han Xiao then thought of Psyker, and his expression became weird.

“If that’s the case… Austin is now close to the dynasty; Ames is my ally, so she’s considered an indirect ally of the dynasty; Heber also belongs to the dynasty. Including me, four of the five Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring are related to the dynasty. Psyker will probably have to keep quiet in the Shattered Star Ring in the future.”

With this thought, Han Xiao opened the mission list and claimed the [Completed] missions. He was only confident about claiming the reward after touching Feidin earlier.

_____________________

[Cause and Effect] completed!

According to your performance, you have received 45,000,000,000 EXP, 3 Random Reward, [Character Summon Card—’Child of Light’ Sagman], [Character Summon Card—’Star Pupil’ Psyker], and [Character Summon Card—EsGod].

[Character Summon Card—’Child of Light’ Sagman]: [Light Particle Stream—Infiltration]—Releases a powerful light energy particle beam that has high Penetrating, Explosive, and Burning Damage. The light energy will continue to deal damage and give the target [Energy Disruption] and [Energy Suppression] statuses. When the enemy uses energy attacks, the power would decrease, the cost will increase, and their accuracy will decrease. Uses: 0/5.

[Character Summon Card—’Star Pupil’ Psyker]: [Psychic Energy—Heart Wall]—In 4.7 seconds, the actual damage taken from psychic attacks will be reduced by 85% after Psychological Resistance reductions. It grants immunity to all kinds of psychic control abilities. If the attacker is a Psychic, the INT and MYS of both sides will be calculated. If one of your attributes is higher than the attacker, 45% of theoretical damage will be reflected. If both of your attributes are higher than the attacker, 90% of theoretical damage will be reflected. If both of your attributes are lower than the attacker, damage will not be reflected. Uses: 0/3.

[Character Summon Card—EsGod]: [Esper Ability—Copy]—Through close contact, copy the target’s Esper Gene and receive a one-time Character Summon Card of the target. Only effective on Espers. Uses: 0/3.

_____________________

Receiving the maximum EXP reward was within Han Xiao’s expectations. The effects of all three Character Summon Cards were decent, but he was not lucky enough to get EsGod’s [Esper Silence] again. However, [Esper Ability—Copy] was not bad; it was basically three Blank Character Summon Cards for Espers. EsGod had a ton of random abilities, so being able to obtain this was already thanks to Feidin’s blessing.

_____________________

You have received 1 Legendary Point.

Universe Legendary Point: Enemy of the Arcane Church—Facing a despairing situation, you fought back and turned the situation around, forcing the Arcane Church to retreat and even capturing an enemy Beyond Grade A. Your name will spread through the entire universe with this battle and become a legend!

_____________________

Enemy of the Arcane Church, the highest-grade Legendary Point, a Universe Legendary Point… Looks like this will become a new nickname.

Every Beyond Grade A had many nicknames that represented the legendary things that they had done. Han Xiao now had ‘Indestructible Body’, ‘Indestructible Black Star’, ‘the Black Star Army Commander’, and other nicknames. When word about this battle spread, he would probably also gain the nickname ‘Enemy of the Arcane Church’.

The Arcane Church wanted to kill him, and he sealed their Universal Treasure as well as captured their Beyond Grade A. At this moment, the beef between the two sides was irresolvable.

Capturing a Beyond Grade A alive had extraordinary meanings. Back then, this was the reason Heber wanted to duel with him, but he sadly failed to do so, and now Han Xiao achieved this before Heber. This way, his reputation in the universe would become completely different, and his position would be much higher… He felt that Ty-Ty would be quite jealous.

Speaking of which, Heber was right on his way back to back him up. Having thought of the possible expression Heber might have, Han Xiao could not help but chuckle a bit.

The interface also showed that he could now create the Dungeon [Flickering World—Planet Lighthouse Battle]. A total of eleven Beyond Grade As had taken part in this conflict, which rarely happened other than in full blown wars. This would shock the entire universe. Although it happened in the Flickering World and had yet to be publicized, it was clear that news of this would stir up a violent storm.

With so much influence, being able to create the Dungeon was no surprise. Sadly, given the standard of this battle, the effect of this Dungeon would only be to widen the players’ horizon and make them suffer.

Han Xiao opened the attributes interface and carefully read through his attributes after the level 260 Promotion.

_____________________

Level: 260

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Black Star Race

Attributes: 3,247 STR, 3,980 DEX, 5,889 END, 8,489 INT, 2,950 MYS, 1,163 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Point: 33

Health: 3,854,550

Stamina: 3,521,025

Energy: 82,120 [Lv.17]

Lv.17 Energy bonus stats: +1,206 STR, +1,488 DEX, +1,890 END, +2,345 INT, +1,123 MYS, +311,520 Stamina Limit, +1,632% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 49,975

Grade: S (Beyond A)

Grade S Bonuses: +50 END, +25 All Resistances. +25% Highest Attribute, +15% Other Attributes, +750 Free Attribute Points, +50 Potential Points

Remark: This seems to be a Beyond Grade A Mechanic who persists on the path of a tank.

_____________________

“Almost 50,000 Energy Rank…” Han Xiao touched his chin. He could still remember that when he first reached Beyond Grade A, his Energy Rank had been about 43,000. Afterward, he had completed [Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation] and [Mechanical Life Tinder], which gave him quite a lot of Energy Rank.

Heber’s cultivation technique had given him more than 16,000 maximum energy. His maximum energy was only a little more than 50,000 when he first reached Beyond Grade A, but it was now more than 80,000. His Energy Level had increased from 15 to 17, which had given him two new layers of bonus attributes.

He did not forget about [Radiation Absorption], which gave him some attributes here and there.

“The next Race Evolution Promotion is at level 300, and the level limit of Lord Mechanic is also level 40, so the Class Advancement is at level 300 too. Therefore, there’s only the level 280 Promotion in between.”

Han Xiao pondered.

[Emperor Mechanic]’s limit was level 35, and the new [Lord Mechanic] was five more than that.

At the [Lord Mechanic] stage, the pros of Apostle and Emperor Mechanic were enhanced.

Same as the two previous Class Advancements, the abilities and talents of Virtual Technology were enhanced too, this time by sixty percent

There were four new abilities.

Talent [Mechanic Lord] gave +300% Machinery Affinity, +200% Virtual Intrusion and virtual defense efficiency, and some changes to the properties of Mechanical Force, which granted the so-called ‘Lord Power’. The introduction was brief and blurry, only saying that this was the prerequisite of some new Lord Mechanic abilities.

Ability [Lord Machinery Affinity] gave +190% Machinery Affinity at max level.

Ability [Apostle Life Creation] was similar to [Emperor’s Gift], also giving special enhancement to an individual machine. However, the effect was quite different. [Emperor’s Gift] could only be used three times on the same target and did not limit the number of targets. While [Apostle Life Creation]’s effect was to use the so-called ‘Power of the Lord’s Dominance’ Mechanical Force to turn a mechanical soldier into an ‘Apostle Weapon’.

The enhancement was much stronger. It could basically turn a normal unit into a mini boss unit and a unit with better fundamentals into a big boss unit.

With such powerful enhancement effects, [Apostle Life Creation] restricted the number of Apostle Weapons. At max level, he could have twelve Apostle Weapons at the same time. The Power of Lord’s Dominance in their body could be retrieved anytime and given to another machine. This ability also enjoyed enhancement from the various other enhancement abilities. Every level increased the maximum Apostle Weapon number by one.

The last ability, [Lord’s Descent], was an ability to fight with a remote army. Through the special Mechanical Force of a Lord Mechanic, he could project his consciousness, mind, and power onto a mechanical soldier and turn this mechanical soldier into some sort of avatar. It would share a large portion of the main body’s attributes, abilities, and talents and have Beyond Grade A strength.

This meant that, not only could Han Xiao provide Mechanical Force bonuses to the remote troops using Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel when he was at home, he could also use this on one of them and fight personally. The restriction was that this could only be used on one target at a time.

The ability introduction also said that if [Lord’s Descent] was used frequently on the same target, there was a chance to form a Soul Connection.

“These four abilities are all quite good, especially [Lord’s Descent]…

“After this battle today, there should be very few who come to make trouble for me in the future. My combat method shall start to be focused on remote combat. This ability will be very useful to me.”

After concluding the losses and gains, Han Xiao received a call from Tarrokov saying that Urranrell wanted to speak with him personally.

Even for Beyond Grade As, Urranrell was not someone they could see whenever they wanted to. It was clear that his achievements in the battle had surprised Urranrell, which was why she wanted to talk to him.

Furthermore, there were still some problems that needed to be discussed and solved regarding this matter, as well as the mission to chase after Sagman and the others.

“Got it, I’ll wait for her online.”

Han Xiao took out the communicator and made a lot of speculations while quietly waiting for the call to connect.

After achieving so much this time, if he requested new Ultimate Knowledges, Urranrell would not reject him, would she?

Chapter 855: 855 Time to Counterattack!

855 Time to Counterattack!

Very soon, a cone-shaped projection beam shot out from the communicator and quickly scanned through the room. The environment of the room quickly changed into the conference room where Urranrell and the group of upper echelons were in as if Han Xiao was there.

Han Xiao looked around and realized that everyone was staring at him with different emotions such as curiosity, respect, and surprise. One thing those military upper echelons shared in common was they all looked very interested in him.

Urranrell looked at Han Xiao and said, “Black Star, you’ve made a huge achievement in this incident. The dynasty will reward you generously.”

“I was just saving myself.” Han Xiao could not help but be humble on such an occasion, and it sure felt good.

“You deserve the credit nonetheless.” Urranrell then returned to the topic. “Tarrokov has already described this battle earlier, but I want to hear your version. Some questions need you to answer.”

Han Xiao knew that explaining the battle from the perspective of a Beyond Grade A would bring new information to the table, so he described it from the start to the end.

Urranrell nodded and asked, “I want to know, was what you used to stop and seal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter a new Universal Treasure?”

“Hmm, it’s what I happened to discover while exploring the Flickering World. It’s a Space Wonder.”

“I see.” Urranrell did not continue to ask about the name and uses of the Spacetime Amber. If Black Star wanted to tell her, he would, and if he was not willing to, she was not going to force someone who had just made such a huge contribution. Beyond Grade As had the right to keep their abilities a secret; all she had to know was that Black Star was on her side.

“I’ve sealed the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and it will be very difficult for the Arcane Church to break that seal. Only, they don’t know that yet… The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is a Universal Treasure that’s very important to them; they might look to negotiate with the dynasty privately.”

Urranrell’s eyes moved slightly, and she asked, “Are you sure it’ll be very difficult for them to break the seal?”

“There are no absolutes. The Arcane Church might come up with something. However, in all likelihood, their odds of success are extremely low. It’s very likely that I’m the only one that can help them break the seal of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“Understood. If what you said is true, we might have underestimated your contributions. Without the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, the deterrence they have on Beyond Grade As will be much lower. I’ve already decided to counterattack the Arcane Church, so what you’ve done has lowered the chances of the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty suffering from accidental casualties. Good.” Urranrell paused. “However, what happened at Planet Lighthouse has made things tense between them and us. The Arcane Church will probably not negotiate with us privately but act as if they have already broken the seal.”

“Hmm, you’re right.” Han Xiao thought about it. Indeed, since the dynasty was going to counterattack, the Arcane Church would definitely not easily take a step back. It was very likely for them to act confident on the surface while being extremely troubled by not being able to break the seal in private.

“Also, about EsGod. It’s unexpected for the Arcane Church to actually work with the notorious Fallen Ark. The dynasty will make an announcement to the entire universe condemning the Arcane Church’s actions…” Urranrell then changed the topic. “Don’t worry, the dynasty has no problems with how you used the Evolution Cube on EsGod this time.”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment then understood—his plan against EsGod had worked, but technically, he had still made a deal with EsGod. However, the dynasty was very sensible about this. They understood that he had no choice in that situation. Therefore, Urranrell expressed that they would not hold him responsible, which represented what the dynasty’s stand was on this matter. They were not going to allow anyone to use this matter to besmirch Black Star’s name.

From this sentence, Han Xiao noticed that Urranrell was trying to woo him into becoming a member of the Ruler’s faction. Complimenting and rewarding him were not the only reasons he was called to this meeting. It was more to express her intention on wooing him. Given how enormous the dynasty was, internal conflicts between the many factions were inevitable. Han Xiao had just earned a huge achievement, so there would not be any problems in the near future. However, after some time passed, some factions might bring this matter back up as leverage.

If one of the dynasty’s Grade As was killed in action this time or I did not capture Dylan, someone might have used this to try and force me to give up the Evolution Cube… Han Xiao was secretly shocked. The battle had just ended for him, and he did not think too much about it. Since Urranrell had given him a subtle hint, he understood her kind intentions.

“Thank you, Your Excellency.” Han Xiao bowed.

Urranrell then asked, “What do you plan to do with Dylan?”

“I’ve decided to hand him over to the dynasty,” Han Xiao said slowly. “Now that the Arcane Church have failed once, they won’t easily try to obtain the Evolution Cube again. However, If I keep Dylan as my captive, the Arcane Church, having to consider the opinions of their allies, will not sit by idly. They will definitely carry out rescuing measures. I don’t want this incident to happen again, and if it does, I might not be as lucky as I was today. Therefore, I might as well give him to the dynasty to be used as leverage to negotiate with the Arcane Church.”

Although he had forced the Arcane Church to retreat this time, it would be much more than just a slap on their faces if he imprisoned Dylan personally. They were a universal civilization no matter what, and making them completely furious was not a wise decision. Dylan was a hot potato; there were far more cons than pros if he kept him himself. Instead, if he gave Dylan to the dynasty in exchange for more merits and a ton of Faction Contribution Points, he could obtain Ultimate Knowledges.

“You’ve made the right choice; that’s what I had in mind. I wanted to convince you to do it, but since you’re already willing to, that’s even better.”

A very rare slight smile appeared on Urranrell’s cold face, knowing that Han Xiao had accepted her kind intentions. “You’ve done well this time. Other than the support and generous reward the dynasty will give to you and your Black Star Army, if you have any other needs, do tell.”

The dynasty would provide even more resources to the Black Star Army after this, which was a given. Therefore, Han Xiao requested what he wanted the most.

“I hope to obtain more Ultimate Knowledges.”

“Hmm, no problem.” Urranrell approved. “I will tell the officer of the dynasty’s logistics department to contact you directly. Just request it from him.”

There was no way the Ruler would be personally in charge of trivial matters such as exchanging knowledge.

Han Xiao nodded with a smile and pondered in his mind. His contributions this time would definitely give him more than one Ultimate Knowledges, and every single knowledge at this level would bring a huge boost to the combat capabilities of a Mechanic.

However, it was impossible to obtain all the Ultimate Knowledges at once. He did indeed make a huge contribution, but there were rules to follow when giving out rewards. Ultimate Knowledges were one of the important methods to attract Beyond Grade As to begin with. Even the Beyond Grade As directly under the dynasty had to slowly earn them with merits and contributions.

“The impact of this incident will affect the situation of the entire universe.” Urranrell was back to her formal and serious tone. “The dynasty must retaliate against the Arcane Church’s provocation. However, the Federation of Light has always liked to put bets on both sides, so the effort we put in exploring the Flickering World will definitely be restrained. While the three civilizations try to mess with each other, those Super Star Cluster civilizations will definitely make use of this opportunity to further infiltrate the Federation of Light. The dynasty will be forced to deal with multiple problems at once, which is exactly what the Arcane Church and the Federation of Light want to see.”

Han Xiao knew that Urranrell had a motive for saying something like this, so he followed it up and asked, “So, what do you think we should do?”

“We need to intimidate the Super Star Cluster Civilizations, so we will call back some of the Beyond Grade As and troops stationed in the Flickering World. Of course, their forces will still be exploring in the Flickering World.”

Han Xiao did not speak; he knew what Urranrell meant. There was no way the dynasty would let so many Beyond Grade As stay in the Flickering World for the long term, and this thought would have occurred long ago. However, he did not mind. Heber and his territory were both in the Shattered Star Ring, which was nearby, so he was not likely to be called back.

Urranrell changed the topic and asked, “Black Star, what do you think of the situation the dynasty is currently in?”

“As you know, the conflicts are mainly around the Flickering World, and not just anyone can take part in it. The aftershock of the Crimson Tide is slowly cooling down, so those Star Cluster and Star System civilizations will stay low for some time.” Han Xiao shrugged.

“Maybe.” Urranrell nodded slowly then suddenly asked, “Do you have any suggestions about the dynasty’s counterattack plan?”

Han Xiao knew that although the Ruler was discussing the dynasty’s plan with him, she might not take his suggestions. However, this was a gesture that represented the fact that his position within the dynasty had risen.

After some thinking, Han Xiao coughed and said, “Counterattacking is a must, but the focus can be readjusted. The Arcane Church is also a Universal Civilization, so retaliating against them is just a necessary reaction. I’m sure that you know this will not achieve great results, Your Excellency.”

“Go on.”

“In my opinion, we should focus on taking action against EsGod. EsGod took part in the Planet Lighthouse battle as well, and he is much easier to deal with compared to the Arcane Church. It just so happens that the desolate universe belt in the middle of the Central Galaxy is known to be the default battlefield to settle friction between the three civilizations, so dealing with EsGod will not require us to make any detours. If the Fallen Ark is eliminated, the dynasty will successfully showcase its thunderous retaliation and achieve even greater intimidation levels.”

This incident was a great opportunity to convince the dynasty to deal with EsGod. If he could obtain help from the dynasty, the chances of eliminating EsGod would be much higher.

Urranrell, however, did not express if she accepted or rejected the suggestion. “I will have someone analyze your suggestion. The urgent matter at hand is to chase after the Arcane Church and EsGod’s fleets. When the reinforcements arrive, you guys shall follow Tarrokov’s orders and act with the dynasty’s fleet… We’re not going to let them escape this easily!”

Urranrell then nodded at Han Xiao and said, “Go rest. You’ll need to continue fighting during the pursuit.”

“Okay.”

As the call ended, the projection in the room disappeared.

Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and was delighted. The contributions he had made during this battle brought him some sense of presence among the upper echelons of the dynasty. His position in those people’s mind turned from a new ally to a dependable Beyond Grade A of the dynasty. He was even wooed by the Ruler, which also increased his position and influence.

After putting away the communicator, Han Xiao noticed a new notification on the interface.

_____________________

You have received 1 Political Asset.

Political Asset (1): the Crimson Dynasty

You have made huge contributions to the Crimson Dynasty and received a certain amount of political influence. You can make suggestions to the Crimson Dynasty directly, according to the rationality of the suggestion, there’s a slight chance the Crimson Dynasty will listen to it.

Your position in the Crimson Dynasty is higher. When interacting with certain organizations or characters, +30% Favorability gained.

You have valuable experience. +30% Experience gained from all sources.

Remarks: The above effects will only take place when the Faction Relationship with the Crimson Dynasty is maintained at [Reverence].

_____________________

“Yo, I thought there would only be Legendary Point but no Political Asset.” Han Xiao was surprised but then understood why—this was probably a bonus reward given because of the fact that Urranrell valued him.

However, maintaining the effect of this Political Asset was not easy, as he had to spend Faction Contribution Points in exchange for Ultimate Knowledges. He had to maintain the Contribution Points he had above 6,000, which was the cost of one Ultimate Knowledge.

Han Xiao looked at the following notification, which raised his brows.

_____________________

You have received 10,000 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

You have received a bonus 5,000 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

_____________________

“I only received the Contribution Points after I finished talking to Urranrell…” Han Xiao rubbed his chin. He had the NPC interface, so he could reward the Black Star Army members Contribution Points any way he wanted to. As a Faction leader, the way this worked for her was the same, just that Urranrell rewarded Contribution Points unconsciously.

Ten thousand Contribution Points was the reward for this battle, and the bonus five thousand Contribution Points was probably from him handing Dylan in. Including the more than three thousand Contribution Points he had saved up previously, he now had more than eighteen thousand Contribution Points.

“Three Ultimate Knowledges, just nice.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Unlike Cutting-Edge Knowledges, the dynasty would not give Ultimate Knowledges for free. The kind intentions Urranrell had for him seemed to have been displayed in the way of receiving more Contribution Points.

“This way, I can buy two knowledges and keep the remaining six thousand to maintain the effect of the Political Asset. I’m not in a hurry to spend them all anyway.”

Han Xiao closed the interface with satisfaction.

At this time, a blue light illuminated from outside the porthole, shining on his young and edgy face.

He turned to look outside the porthole and saw that not far from Planet Lighthouse, the stargate was finally assembled and activated. A dark blue space energy vortex formed inside the stargate and quickly started spinning.

“They’re finally here.”

…

As time passed, reinforcement fleets flew out from the stargate one after another from the various Beyond Grade A organizations.

These were mostly troops stationed around the strongholds at the edge of the three Star Clusters. If the Arcane Church wanted to attack Planet Lighthouse now, them being completely obliterated would be the only outcome.

“The battle has already ended‽”

Inside Tarrokov’s main ship, Heber, who had left his main fleet behind and returned as soon as possible; Ravenlaude, who had rushed there through teleportation; and the remote projection of Maximiler had gathered and sat across from Han Xiao and the others.

Upon knowing the fact that Planet Lighthouse’s troops had forced the enemies away without any reinforcements, Heber and the other two were all shocked.

They actually managed to defend Planet Lighthouse?

Not only did Black Star turn the tables on the Beyond Grade A battlefield, he even captured one of the enemies alive.

Heber and Ravenlaude felt conflicted. They had initially thought that they were saviors, but to their surprise, before they even arrived, Han Xiao had already forced the enemies to retreat. It was almost as if they were not even needed at all…

However, this thought did not linger too long in their minds. Although they came late, they knew that the Arcane Church had only retreated because of the pressure from their arrival. Thinking this way made them feel much better—at least they had contributed in some way.

Ravenlaude was getting a little fidgety and said, “Black Star, I heard you got a new Universal Treasure in the Flickering World and used it to stop the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao chuckled.

Hearing Han Xiao confirming the matter, Ravenlaude was filled with regret. He was exploring the same Star Cluster as Black Star, which meant that this unknown Universal Treasure had been found in the Garu Star Cluster. If there was no Black Star, maybe this Universal Treasure would have become his.

Heber turned to Austin, frowned, and said, “Why are you here? Have you joined the dynasty too?”

“I came to help Black Star.” Austin smiled faintly.

Heber’s eyes circled around Han Xiao and Austin; he was not feeling great. When did the two of them form such a good relationship?

Both Ames and Austin had become Black Star’s friends; now Heber felt like he was alone in the Shattered Star Ring.

However, when he remembered what situation Psyker was in, he felt much better.

Nonetheless, Heber could not be glad. The achievement of capturing a Beyond Grade A alive was something he had been chasing after for many years, but it had now been obtained by Black Star, who had only stepped into the Beyond Grade A level around a year earlier.

This time, Tarrokov spoke. “I have already dispatched the troops in various locations to lock down the escape route of Sagman and EsGod’s fleets. His Excellency Maximiler has yet to arrive, but we won’t wait any longer. We have already gathered six Beyond Grade As here, which is enough to start the pursuit.”

What he meant by ‘pursuit’ was not simply chasing after them but dispatching all the troops the dynasty had in the Flickering World to stop the enemies from escaping.

On the star map, the fleets of the Arcane Church and EsGod were shown to be masses of red quickly getting further away, fleeing in different directions, while blue dots representing the dynasty’s troops blocked their paths.

With the arrival of the reinforcements, Milizaus and Beyoni no longer had any issues with chasing after them.

Austin expressed his intention to go home to repair his Palace of Hidden Spells and not take part in the dynasty’s operation, and Tarrokov did not force an outsider invited by Han Xiao.

Heber sorted out his feelings and suddenly realized that this was an opportunity—he might be able to fulfil his wish of eliminating one Beyond Grade A.

Having that thought in his mind, Heber was very motivated. He clenched his fists so powerfully that it broke the sound barrier with a loud bang. “Humph, Mercer, is it? I’ve heard of this guy before. Leave him to me.”

“The dynasty’s dignity is not to be challenged. Milizaus’ wounds have yet to heal; leave Ninjia to me.” Magical light appeared in Ravenlaude’s eyes.

Exterior enemies were always great solutions to internal conflicts. As members of the dynasty, after temporarily putting aside their competitive relationship with each other, they now shared a common enemy.

“I shall use my remote mechanical army to support you guys.” The only Beyond Grade A who was not there, Mechanic Maximiler, looked at Han Xiao and said, “Black Star, your mechanical army has suffered heavy losses. If you need, I can lend my army to you for the time being.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Han Xiao nodded, stood up, and looked around at all the Beyond Grade As present. A cold tint flashed in his eyes as he said with a sharp and penetrative tone, “Let’s get moving. See if they can make it back to the Central Galaxy!”

The tables had turned.

The hunters had become the hunted.

The time to counterattack had arrived!

Chapter 856: Fakisen’s Plan

Chapter 856 Fakisen“s Plan

As hyperdrive streams of light dashed across the dark cosmic space, the traces left by the Arcane Church fleet in retreat awoke the dynasty’s surveillance buoys one after another, not hiding their movements even a little bit.

Inside the Glorious Sun Grade main ship, the five Beyond Grade As including Sagman and Psyker gathered and looked at the fleet commander, Rogue, whose eyes never shifted away from the star map.

“Planet Lighthouse is at the edge of the Dawn Star Cluster and very close to the desolate universe belt. If we continue to retreat at full speed, we will get out of this security perimeter very soon,” Rogue said with a deep voice.

The transmission of energy and light took time; given the sheer size of the universe, plenty of remote detection methods had delays. Transmitting real-time information through quantum communication technology was one of the more common methods used. However, the universe was way too large. There was no way the dynasty would be able to deploy surveillance buoys in every corner of the cosmic space. The security perimeter usually spread out from the stronghold planet as its center with diminishing density of surveillance buoys as the distance increased.

At this time, the Arcane Church had already escaped to the exterior security perimeter of Planet Lighthouse and was entering deep into the desolate universe belt. With absolutely no time to spare, clearing out the buoys was meaningless; they would be located in the end anyway. Therefore, Rogue did not mind the fact that their route was exposed to the dynasty. After all, he was not going to go straight to the secret stargate.

The plan was to enter stealth mode in an area with little to no buoys in the desolate universe belt so that they could get rid of the dynasty’s direct surveillance. They would then split into hundreds of groups to make detours before heading to the secret stargate.

This way, a large number of the groups would be considered as abandoned. The moment their fleet departed, the location of the secret stargate had shifted. The original secret stargate location was abandoned, but this information was not updated on the star map. The only people who knew about this were the core members such as Rogue and the Beyond Grade As. This was to prevent the other groups from leaking the location of the secret stargate if they were captured by the dynasty.

Of course, these other groups were not completely abandoned; they were smoke screens. When Rogue, the Beyond Grade As, and the core groups successfully escaped, only then would these other groups be told the real location. That way, even if the location of the secret stargate was exposed, the impact would be much smaller. After all, they could destroy the stargate anytime to prevent further damage or even make those groups return from the desolate universe belt—their time was not precious at all.

“Quickly, the risks we’re taking increase every minute we spend in the Flickering World,” Sagman said.

“If all you can say are useless and meaningless things that everyone knows, you’d better stop speaking. Thanks to you, the risks we’re taking now are completely meaningless!” Rogue did not hold back at all. His tone had traces of rage.

He had just reported the battle results to the Bishops, which had earned him a massive scolding. With the thought of his future not being the brightest in mind, he could not help but feel a rage boiling inside him. Hence, he was not in the mood to hold his emotions back toward these Beyond Grade As who had caused this operation to fail.

Getting so bluntly yelled at, Sagman’s skin tightened. He thought about it for a second but did not say anything. It was true that the Beyond Grade A battlefield was what had decided the outcome and led to this failure, so he was indeed somewhat to blame.

The other four did not say anything either. They were now all on the same boat fleeing in the dynasty’s territory, so no one had time to mind Rogue’s disrespect.

Psyker’s face looked the worst. Thinking of the fact that his friend, Dylan, was now in the dynasty’s hands made his mood extremely horrible. He could not be bothered with anything else.

Seeing that no one spoke, Rogue snorted and said, “The dynasty is definitely dispatching troops to block our escape route. However, you need not worry too much; this is just a fake route. Also, most of the dynasty’s fleet nearby went to support Planet Lighthouse, and it will take some time for the more distant strongholds to send out fleets. Therefore, even if we happen to be blocked, we can easily eliminate whoever’s on the way. The only thing we need to worry about is the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As chasing after us. According to the current situation, Tarrokov will wait for the reinforcements to arrive before making moves. Pity, I almost thought we could lure them in and set up a trap…”

While Rogue analyzed the situation, Sagman and the others were discussing the situation privately through psychic communication.

“Given the size of the fleet, we’ll still be just as conspicuous even if we split up. Maybe we should leave the fleet and take mini spaceships. That’s stealthier,” Taylor said.

“We can consider that, but let’s talk about this after the main fleet splits up.”

When fleeing, the survivability and stealth of a Beyond Grade A acting alone far exceeded moving together with the fleet. As individuals with great powers who were not affected by the harsh environment of space, if they randomly hid on a desolate planet, no one would be able to find them.

This was especially true for Ninjia and Taylor, who had mastered forbidden spells. Without the enemies’ interference, their teleportation spells were among the best abilities for escaping.

Rogue was worried that they might be chased by the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As, so he wanted to keep Sagman and the others around. What he did not know was, Sagman and the others were also thinking about using the main fleet as bait to draw the dynasty’s attention.

…

In another direction, the Fallen Ark’s fleet was also retreating at full speed.

Due to the sudden rupture, EsGod’s fleet had cut off contact with the Arcane Church. Without any communication channel, the two of them did not know each other’s whereabouts at all and only focused on escaping on their own.

However, EsGod had one advantage. They had forced their way in from the exterior security perimeter, so they had deliberately destroyed quite a number of surveillance buoys on the way. This had caused some areas to be blind spots, which assisted in their escape.

Inside the main ship’s command room, Fakisen looked away from the star map and turned to the EsGod doppelganger beside him.

EsGod’s main body had already found an enclosed room to undergo evolution, and no one knew how long that would take. Before EsGod started his evolution, he had created some doppelgangers to protect himself and monitor the movement of the fleet.

EsGod was wary of everyone. Even his helpful assistant who had accompanied him for a hundred years, Fakisen was no exception. In times when his main body was the weakest, the only person he really trusted was himself.

“He still doesn’t trust me…”

Fakisen’s spike-filled tongue licked the blood-red metal mask that covered the upper half of his face, making an annoying scratching noise. Air pumped out from his nose like he was sneering.

Right in front of EsGod’s doppelganger, Fakisen lifted his dry brunch-looking four arms. Purple fog flew out from his dark purple skin, forming a sphere in midair.

Then, he summoned a subordinate and gave the orb to him. “Empty an ordinary battleship, remove its energy core and AI system, and leave it as an empty shell. Put this orb inside that spaceship, then abandon it and let it drift around on the path we passed by. The dynasty troops chasing us will discover this spaceship.”

The EsGod doppelganger turned to him and said coldly, “What are you trying to do?”

“Hehe…” Fakisen’s laughter was eerie. “I’m planning to contact the dynasty…”

Bang!

The moment he said that, the EsGod doppelganger immediately grabbed him by his neck and lifted him up, pressing him against the wall.

“Are you selling me out?”

Although his throat was grabbed by EsGod, Fakisen was not afraid at all. Instead, he laughed even louder. “Hahaha, I’m planning to work together with the dynasty. If they can give us information about the Arcane Church, we can send some of our people to intercept them. They’re pawns anyway. We’re the closest to the Arcane Church. With our help, the dynasty will be able to drag the Arcane Church back more efficiently.”

“There’s no need for that,” the EsGod doppelganger said coldly.

“No, there definitely is a need. The dynasty surely wants to fight the Arcane Church more than us. There are many Beyond Grade As over there, which makes them much more valuable. If the dynasty can capture them, the Arcane Church will lose close to half of their Beyond Grade As. The dynasty will not give up such an amazing opportunity to cause damage to the Arcane Church. And when the dynasty puts their focus on the Arcane Church, Your Excellency EsGod, the pressure you face will be much smaller. Hehehe.”

Fakisen’s tone was filled with mockery as he continued, “After fleeing at such a crucial moment, the Arcane Church is definitely going to hold a grudge against us for it. When we return to the Central Galaxy, we’re going to face both the Crimson dynasty and the Arcane Church. If we do this, not only will the dynasty be less furious at us, the Arcane Church will be weakened too. This means that the Beyond Grade As you’ll have to face will be much fewer. Furthermore, if the Arcane Church do suffer such an enormous loss, they probably won’t have chance to come make trouble for us any time soon.”

The EsGod doppelganger asked, “How do I know you’re not going to sell out my location?”

“Hee, if Your Excellency is not assured, please leave an EsGod doppelganger in that empty spaceship all you like, to monitor the communication between me and the dynasty. If you think I sold out your location… Hehe, I’m right here. You can kill me anytime.”

The EsGod doppelganger stayed silent for a while before suddenly saying, “I’ll leave a doppelganger behind to negotiate with the dynasty. You don’t have to participate in it.”

Although this idea Fakisen had was strange and sudden to him, he thought it did indeed make sense. After all, even if the negotiation went south, it would just be a doppelganger getting eliminated.

“Hehe, that’ll do too.”

As the EsGod doppelganger let Fakisen go, he landed on the ground, rubbed his neck, and called a subordinate over. He broke the fog orb that he had just made apart and absorbed the fog back into his body. Then, he acted as if nothing had happened and continued to observe the star map.

No one could see Fakisen’s eyes under the blood-red mask that covered the upper half of his face, and no one knew what he was thinking… Speaking of which, no one actually knew how he saw with his eyes covered.

…

The intense battle at Planet Lighthouse had ended, but this whole thing was far from over. Under Tarrokov’s command, the dynasty’s fleets started their pursuit of the Arcane Church and the Fallen Ark’s fleets.

Before the shock, confusion, and curiosity of the army players who flocked to Bun-Hit-Dog’s posts broadcasting about the battlefield’s turn of events dissipated, a new mission popped up on everyone’s interface.

Before this, the Black Star Army players only knew that Planet Lighthouse was attacked, there were around ten Beyond Grade As fighting, and their army commander Black Star was one of them. As for the identity of the attackers, the cause of this incident, or anything else, they had no idea at all.

This mission, however, explained all this and brought even more shock to the players.

_____________________

The Crimson dynasty Order: All Out Pursuit

Mission Introduction: In order to obtain the Evolution Cube and cause conflicts, the Arcane Church worked together with the Fallen Ark and attacked the dynasty’s outpost in the Flickering World. There were seven enemy Beyond Grade As. However, with the help of the dynasty’s ally Black Star, Milizaus, Beyoni, and the friend invited by Black Star, Austin, we successfully defeated the enemies! Currently, these two fleets are now fleeing in the Flickering World. All forces are hereby dispatched to pursue the enemies and uphold the dynasty’s dignity—Crimson Dynasty Exploration Army Chief Commander, Tarrokov.

Mission Requirements: Chase after the Arcane Church and the Fallen Ark’s fleets, find out their whereabouts, and eliminate their men to the best of your ability.

Rewards will be given after the mission ends depending on your performance.

_____________________

Knowing what had happened, the Shattered Star Ring page on the forums exploded.

“The Arcane Church attacked the Crimson Dynasty? Are the Universal Civilizations going to start a war with each other‽”

“No wonder as many as eleven Beyond Grade As appeared in one huge fight. That’s the reason behind it. Is the Army Commander okay? Is he still alive?”

“Their target is the army commander’s Evolution Cube, so this was actually caused by the army commander, huh?”

“Damn, targeted by a Universal Civilization yet managed to force them away, awesome!”

“The Black Star Army is the Crimson dynasty’s ally. Does that mean that the army is now also the Arcane Church’s enemy?”

“I’ve got a feeling that something huge is going to happen!”

This time, Bun-Hit-Dog snatched up the first-hand information. Under his post, countless players came to comment. Dozens of new comments were appearing every second, which made him extremely excited…

Following Black Star was indeed the right choice. There was explosive news every now and then!

After the initial shock, many players were thrilled. After experiencing three versions, they had discovered some patterns—the things happening in Galaxy were connected, and they influenced each other. This was an extremely orderly system. One could actually use logic to predict some of the possible incidents that might happen in the future through the intelligence and news of the various areas.

This incident involved the three largest civilizations, so it was not a small matter by any means. If the two sides went at each other, the storyline would definitely be huge.

Some people speculated that this attack might have been an early sign of a future main storyline.

Or it might even be the main storyline of the next version.

It was not impossible.

As this kind of speculation spread on the forums, some people made different speculations saying that this might be connected to what would happen during the version update period and would only appear in the next version in the form of a background introduction. Many also agreed with this.

Due to Han Xiao’s past actions, the Chinese players in the Shattered Star Ring had developed a habit of guessing the large-scale storyline of the versions. The Australians and Russians from the Constellation Corridor joined in on the discussion, too, mixing into this atmosphere filled with excitement.

While all kinds of speculations circulated the forums, the Black Star Army were not just occupied with arguing on the forums but also took part in the pursuit.

Although most people were too far away and could not make any contributions, the army players were used to participating in large-scale Faction Missions together as a whole. Furthermore, this mission did not have a failure condition, so they would probably receive the minimum reward as long as they made an effort to chase after the enemies.

The Flickering World was still in a state of information lockdown; its network was not fully connected with the known universe yet. Other than the ones involved in the matter, the other forces in the outside world still did not know what had happened in the Flickering World.

The players were the first group of outsiders that knew about these secret pieces of information. This time, the forums displayed its unique information advantage—while the outside world did not have a clue about this matter, almost all the players knew about what had happened on Planet Lighthouse!

The forces of the three civilizations were spread across the entire explored universe. Their influence was incomparable. No matter which Star Field the players were in, they could all feel the intense and uptight atmosphere. They all looked forward to seeing what kind of tremendous impact this incident would cause after the outside world knew about it!

…

On the other side, Tarrokov’s main fleet took off from Planet Lighthouse to chase after the Arcane Church. The five Beyond Grade As—Han Xiao, Milizaus, Beyoni, Heber, and Ravenlaude—were working together on this very rare occasion.

Not long after departure, the high-level official who was responsible for the dynasty’s logistics contacted Han Xiao upon Urranrell’s request, giving him more than enough face by asking him personally about what Ultimate Knowledges he wanted.

Chapter 857: Apostle Weapon and Ultimate Knowledge

Chapter 857 Apostle Weapon and Ultimate Knowledge

“Alright, we will send these two knowledges to you as soon as possible. Remember to receive it.” The Logistics officer then hung up.

Han Xiao left the quantum network and played with the black handgun in his hands while waiting for the arrival of the knowledge.

The handgun in his hands looked like a backward firearm, but it actually made use of dark energy with a mini energy furnace within it. It was mainly sold to the players as a long-ranged weapon but was no more than a toy gun to Han Xiao. It was pretty useless and was mainly made into such an appearance for old times’ sake.

As his strength grew greater, Han Xiao’s memories of the time when he was weak grew deeper. The many scenes of him fighting back on Planet Aquamarine flashed through his head. He was already a powerful character in the universe and had come a long way from the time when he found it difficult to kill even an ordinary warrior. He now had the ability to even destroy planets, and the number of things capable of killing him was decreasing.

“It has already been more than twenty years…” Han Xiao had a complicated expression on his face.

Psionic Prime stood beside Han Xiao and asked, “Master, what are you thinking about?”

“I only taught about the past.” Han Xiao then turned around to look at Psionic Prime.

“I realized that you are becoming more and more curious.”

Psionic Prime nodded his metal head. “Although I can obtain knowledge from the web, the emotions of a living being are boundless, and I am only able to understand some things after experiencing it personally. Thus, I enjoy communicating.”

“This is a good thing. I’ll need you to help me manage a Mechanical Life civilization in the future. You are the first Mechanical Life that I created, and if nothing goes wrong, you will be the leader in the future. As the leader of a civilization, you must learn to understand others and understand the thoughts of other Mechanical Lives.”

Han Xiao then paused for a moment, and a helpless look could be seen on his face. “Enjoying communication is a good thing, but you should change your habits when talking on the web…”

Han Xiao used his Virtual Technology skills to keep a record of the Mechanical Life’s web data. He realized that many Mechanical Lives including Psionic Prime enjoyed having side accounts to chat with the citizens of the various civilizations.

It would not matter if it was just a normal conversation, but most of the Mechanical Lives would have a few hundred or thousand accounts to chat with others at the same time with the contents of the conversation being extremely explosive. The most common one would be having dirty talk by mimicking the opposite gender.

In his eyes, the majority of the Mechanical Lives were like problematic children. They were like sponges absorbing the evil and kindness of numerous living beings, forming various different personalities.

Sizing Psionic Prime up, Han Xiao thought for a moment before saying, “Stand in front of me.”

Psionic Prime obeyed obediently.

Han Xiao sat on the sofa, and a bluish gold Mechanical Force appeared on his palm.

“You are my first child, and after a long period of observation, I am satisfied in your potential. Are you willing to become my Apostle Weapon and obtain even greater strength?”

“I am willing to accept everything of yours, master.” Psionic Prime knelt before him.

“Then accept this bestowment. Also, do not call me master in the future…”

Han Xiao’s lips curled up slightly.

“Call me Lord.”

The next moment, the special Mechanical Force in his palms, which contained the ‘Power of Lord’s Dominance’, entered Psionic Prime’s body. This was the skill of the Lord Mechanic, [Apostle Life Creation].

Hum!

Psionic Prime’s energy furnace began surging and bolts of bluish-gold Mechanical Force extended out from within the mechanical body as though the bolts of electricity were alive.

The magnetic field that contained a strange aura enveloped Psionic Prime’s body, and the mechanical structures and parts within Psionic Prime’s body began to change. The surrounding alloy began to shake as though they were about to be sucked into Psionic Prime’s body.

Han Xiao then stretched out his arms and sent a large number of nanoparticles toward Psionic Prime. These nanoparticles revolved around Psionic Prime like a star ring. The revolution gradually picked up speed, and the nanoparticles transformed into a metal sea that entered Psionic Prime’s body to provide raw materials for the upgrade.

Han Xiao then sat down on the couch by the side and played with the dark energy handgun while admiring the scene before him. The special effects of [Apostle Life Creation] were much more dazzling than [Emperor’s Gift].

There was a limited number of slots for his Apostle Weapons, a mere ten or so.

After a while, Psionic Prime’s transformation had finally ended, and his appearance had transformed greatly.

Psionic Prime was even taller than before, about four meters tall. He had many new components, and his armor had many complicated but beautiful engravings on it.

With a round crown like metal on his head, Psionic Prime held onto a long, staff-like mechanical spear in his hands.

“How do you feel?” Han Xiao asked with a smile.

“I thank the Lord for your bestowment. I can feel my new strength,” Psionic Prime said with a deep voice and held up the spear in his hands. Psionic energy then gushed out from his energy furnace, and he burst forth with energy.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and suddenly lifted his handgun, opening fire at Psionic Prime.

Boom boom boom!

A couple of dark energy laser beams struck Psionic Prime but were blocked by a layer of psionic energy. At the same time, the battle notification was triggered.

Han Xiao then looked at Psionic Prime’s attributes, which were displayed on the interface, and nodded with satisfaction.

Psionic Prime was currently at level 215, and his various attributes were strengthened. He was now at a boss level, and his strength had exceeded all his other Mechanical Lives.

Without Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force boost, Psionic Prime still had the strength of a Calamity Grade, and with the boost from his Mechanical Force, Psionic Prime would be able to exchange blows with a Beyond Grade A and would no longer be cannon fodder. His strength was similar to EsGod’s doppelganger.

The spear in Psionic Prime’s hand was a special Apostle Weapon from [Apostle Life Creation] and was called ‘Psionic Prime Spear’. It could also split into a floating state and even enlarge or shrink. It had many different forms and could even be transformed into a psionic energy form. It could be used for both long- and close-range battle, and both a Mechanical Pugilist and Cannon Master was able to use it. The level of the weapon was above 200, and it was of the silver orange grade. The strength of the weapon would be increased when being used by Psionic Prime.

Apart from this, Psionic Prime also obtained a special ‘Apostle Characteristic’ and ‘Apostle Authority’. His Apostle Characteristics were ‘Stable’ and ‘Leader’, which could strengthen the Mechanical Life around him during battle. His Apostle Authorities were ‘Psionic Control’ and ‘Battle Boost’, which gave him better control over psionic energy and higher combat power.

A satisfied smile could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

The strength of an Apostle Weapon was extremely impressive, but it was a pity that [Apostle Life Creation] had a long cooldown of a month. It meant that he would only be able to create twelve Apostle Weapons in a year. Of course, because of his talents like [Machinery Emperor] and [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense], he could create more than twelve Apostle Weapons.

“Familiarize yourself with your new energy, my new Apostle,” Han Xiao said with joy.

“I will not let the Lord down.” Psionic Prime said.

Beep beep.

Han Xiao’s communicator rang at this moment; the Crimson Dynasty had finally sent the two Ultimate Knowledges over.

Han Xiao spent twelve thousand Contribution Points to choose two Ultimate Knowledge.

Armed Branch: [Endless Material Science]

Control Branch: [Virtual Creator]

One of them belonged to his Virtual Mechanic branch, and he only needed eight Potential Points. The other was an important knowledge to Mechanics, and the Mechanic from any branch would try to learn it.

Resources and energy had always been the two largest bottlenecks to a Mechanic’s technological skills, and the Armed Branch had a material-related knowledge at all levels. This allowed a Mechanic to combine more powerful materials and increase the basic attributes of a Mechanic. This was a core knowledge of the Mechanic Class.

Learning these two knowledges required thirty-two Potential Points and Han Xiao had thirty-three Potential Points on him.

Han Xiao smiled and immediately learned the two knowledge.

_____________________

Learning…

Successfully learned! You have learned [Endless Material Science]!

Learning…

Successfully learned! You have learned [Virtual Creator]!

You have received the talent [Material Pioneer]!

[Material Pioneer]: The probability of success for merging new materials is increased, and the abilities obtained from special materials have been increased. For example, the self-recovery ability of machines when using memory alloy will be increased.

You have received talent [Virtual Lord]!

[Virtual Lord]: Your various Virtual Technology skills have been strengthened greatly. The total bonus is 2.5. When you enter the quantum network vision, your consciousness can jump to different quantum network nodes and increase your range greatly. You can let Virtual Life Forms submit to you. You have mastered all the various Virtual Technology skills, and the quantum network is your fortress.

You have acquired [Ultimate Material Refinement]!

You have acquired [Endless Material Combination]!

[Endless Material Combination]: You can combine the specialties of any materials and attempt to create new material recipes. The higher the grade of the material and the more complicated the recipe, the lower the success rate. The basic success rate is determined by INT and Machinery Affinity. When you craft a new recipe, the strength of the new material will be increased.

You have acquired [Virtual Life Evolution]!

[Virtual Life Evolution]: You can transform an AI into a Virtual Life Form. A Virtual Life Form has more powerful infiltrative and defensive abilities.

You have acquired [Virtual Soul]!

[Virtual Soul]: You soul can transform into a Virtual Life Form and live within the quantum network. Total level, INT, and Virtual Technology skills will determine the strength after transformation in the quantum network. This effect can be cancelled.

When you use your Mechanical Force to connect to a target, you can temporarily virtualize your target’s soul and pull it into the quantum network. Success rate is determined by total level, INT, MYS, and LUK. If successful, the target won’t be able to control their body temporarily, and attacking the target in the quantum network will cause mental damage.

Cooldown: 15 min.

_____________________

Han Xiao looked through the notifications and nodded with satisfaction.

“The effects of these talents are extremely powerful. Endless Material Science allowed me to improve the quality of my machines and create new materials. Virtual knowledge allowed me to have new battle tactics.”

With the two Ultimate Knowledge in his hands, Han Xiao was extremely satisfied. He did not make use of his remaining six thousand Contribution Points to exchange for new knowledge but kept them for the Political Asset effect.

Just when he was about to go to the battle room to test Psionic Prime’s new strength, his communicator rang. Tarrokov was calling him, revealing some information which truly baffled him.

Han Xiao replied with an odd expression.

“You’re saying that EsGod wants to work with the dynasty temporarily and send some manpower to help us stop the Arcane Church?”

“That’s right. Our forces that chased after the Fallen Ark troops captured an empty battleship with EsGod’s doppelganger inside. He didn’t fight back and allowed himself to be captured, saying that he wanted to talk to us.”

Tarrokov was truly surprised.

Han Xiao frowned and felt that this matter was truly suspicious. There was no need for EsGod to do this. EsGod was extremely mobile, and he was not one to bother about his subordinates. Thus, he would be able to escape even without the help of the dynasty. Furthermore, the dynasty’s main target was not him. Why would EsGod bother making such an unnecessary move to anger the Arcane Church? Could it be that he thought that he would be able to make the dynasty happy by doing so?

After thinking for a moment, Han Xiao asked, “Chief commander, what are you planning to do?”

“Er… EsGod wants information about the Arcane Church’s coordinates, and it won’t really matter if we give it to him. The Arcane Church’s fleet will leave our security perimeter very soon, and we will lose track of them very quickly. This piece of news isn’t secret, and it won’t matter who we tell.

“Even if EsGod isn’t truly sincere, we wouldn’t suffer any losses. But if he really wants to let Sagman and the others be his scapegoat, we will definitely earn big. As for him working together with the Arcane Church to ambush us, we can always settle the score in the future.”

“Then let us go according to your plan.”

Although Han Xiao felt that EsGod’s decision was extremely strange, Tarrokov was the commander. Since Han Xiao could not think of a problem, he would not interfere in Tarrokov’s decision.

Right at this moment, Tarrokov said, “There is something else. EsGod’s doppelganger would like to meet you.”

“Meet me? Alright. Since the dynasty fleet that is giving chase to EsGod doesn’t have any Beyond Grade As, I will split out a portion of my mechanical army to meet him and also monitor his doppelganger in the process.”

Han Xiao was certain that EsGod probably wanted to ‘thank’ him for the evolution energy.

After pausing for a while, he continued.

“As for the Arcane Church fleet… even if they leave the security perimeter, I have some means to locate them…”

As a Virtual Mechanic, how can he not leave something behind for the Arcane Church fleet during the battle. Although the firewall of the Arcane Church fleet was strong, he still had the ability to leave a little something behind.

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

Choosing to learn the [Virtual Creator] knowledge at this moment was to chase after them!

Chapter 858: Ames Actions

Chapter 858 Ames“ Actions

After giving chase for a while, the star map showed that the Arcane Church fleet had left the security perimeter and begun to split up. Tarrokov had temporarily lost contact with the Arcane Church fleet. Because of his previous conversation with Han Xiao, he invited Han Xiao to the main flagship so that Han Xiao could lock onto the locations of the enemy vessels through his Virtual Technology.

Han Xiao walked through the corridors of the main flagship, straight to the command room, with Hila and the others following behind him.

All of the dynasty’s commanders who he met along the way gave him a respectful salute. Han Xiao’s achievements in this battle had earned him the respect of all the participants in the battle. It could be said that their lives had been saved by Black Star, and they were naturally grateful to him.

Han Xiao responded with a smile and turned around to see Hila frowning. He then looked down at her neck only to see a bandage on her neck, which extended down her collarbone. He then asked with concern, “Are your injuries alright?”

Hila shook her head. “Such light injuries will recover in no time at all. You do not need to worry.”

After the battle, she did not allow Aurora to waste her life force to treat them and chose to recover naturally.

“Does it still hurt?”

“A little bit. The painkillers aren’t too effective.” Hila frowned. Although she had a stubborn personality, there was no need to act tough for such a small matter.

“Then I need to congratulate you for being alive.” Han Xiao chuckled.

Their group then arrived at the command room, where Tarrokov was waiting for them. Upon seeing Han Xiao’s arrival, he immediately came forward to welcome him. He then pointed at a location on the star map and said, “This is the last position where the Arcane Church was seen. We have currently lost track of them. Black Star, we shall rely on you.”

Han Xiao nodded and closed his eyes to enter the quantum network viewpoint.

In the darkness, nodes began to light up in the quantum network with some near and others far. An endless stream of information was being transmitted by the nodes, and an illusory wave of information floated toward him.

The star map appeared in the quantum network in the form of nodes, and Han Xiao could easily zoom in or out. In the quantum network, distance was completely negligible since he could jump from node to node easily. The improvement from [Virtual Creator] strengthened him in all aspects and greatly increased the range of his abilities.

The quantum network viewpoint seems more detailed than before.

Han Xiao immersed himself in this new feeling for a while before getting to work. He then slowly connected to the nodes to feel the subtle traces that the Arcane Church had left behind in the quantum network.

His brain rapidly processed a large amount of information, and Han Xiao opened his eyes abruptly.

Pa!

A few hundred red dots suddenly lit up on the star map before them. These were the Arcane Church battleships that had concealed themselves.

The locations of all the divisions were marked, and nothing could hide from him!

Tarrokov was overjoyed. “Good job!”

“Haha, I didn’t do much.” Han Xiao backed out from the quantum network viewpoint and chuckled.

If it was before he learned [Virtual Creator], the traces of his infiltration would probably have alerted the Arcane Church’s artificial intelligence, and they would have cleared it up.

But after learning the Ultimate Knowledge of the Virtual Mechanic class, he had received a huge upgrade and could easily create a backdoor into the Arcane Church’s system without being detected. This was why he had chosen to learn [Virtual Creator].

Tarrokov stroked his chin and said, “Now that we have their coordinates, the enemy’s movements will be transparent to us, and we don’t need to worry about losing them. Hmm, the enemy has split up their forces, and a portion of them are probably going to be sacrificed. If this is the case, it is very likely that these pawns being sacrificed have fake information about the location of the stargates and wish to distract us. The true location of the stargate should be in the fleet that contains those Beyond Grade As. Black Star, are you able to lock onto the enemy commander and Beyond Grade As’ positions? I suspect that they are not on the main flagship.”

“I can, but I need to infiltrate the enemy’s surveillance equipment. The risk of being exposed will be increased, and we may lose their locations. Are you sure you want to take the risk?” Han Xiao replied. The security of a Universal Civilization naturally should not be underestimated.

After thinking for a while, Tarrokov shook his head. “We should continue to maintain our current state. As long as we have their coordinates, we can try to capture their entire fleet in one fell swoop. Give EsGod a portion of the intelligence first.”

Han Xiao nodded and did not say another word. His consciousness then entered his mechanical army. The mechanical army that he had sent out was almost going to come into contact with EsGod’s doppelganger.

…

A small fleet was currently approaching the meeting point together with an empty spaceship. They had been waiting for a long while, and beams of light suddenly appeared from the darkness of space and stopped before them.

Both fleets came into contact with each other and verified their identities. The Black Star Army then approached the empty spaceship.

A large number of dynasty soldiers were currently pointing their weapons at the exit of the spaceship, waiting for the Beyond Grade A envoy to take over from them.

For a bunch of ordinary soldiers to monitor EsGod’s doppelganger, even if EsGod did not fight back, they would still have an immense sense of pressure. It was as though they were facing a beast that could kill them at any moment. Thankfully, their helpers had finally arrived.

Whoosh!

The hatch to the spaceship opened, and Psionic Prime walked in with his spear. Behind him was a group of Mechanical Lives and a large number of mechanical soldiers.

Psionic Prime then looked down at the dynasty’s soldiers and said, “I am the first Apostle of Lord Black Star, Psionic Prime. I am here to take over the mission from all of you and shall watch over EsGod’s doppelganger.”

“We shall hand him over to you.” The group of soldiers heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly handed over the mission before leaving the empty spaceship hastily.

Psionic Prime then brought his troops along to the empty spaceship. EsGod’s doppelganger was currently present.

Behind him, Silver Flash looked at the gigantic Psionic Prime and said angrily, “The Lord is too biased. Why does he get to be the first Apostle Weapon?”

“Stop complaining. Psionic Prime is the first child, so this can’t be helped,” a Mechanical Life Protector called ‘Gold Sovereign’ said. He belonged to the first batch of Mechanical Life and had a cold personality.

In front of them was a beastman-type mechanical soldier called ‘Mad Sky Hunter’. He turned around and said, “The Lord has his own considerations, and we only have to give our absolute loyalty. Since the Lord bestowed Psionic Prime with such strength, it means that there is a limited number of Apostle Weapon slots. Perhaps only a small portion of us will be able to transform into Apostle Weapons.”

Psionic Prime listened to the discussion behind him without saying a word and arrived at their destination in the spaceship.

The energy core in this empty spaceship had already been removed, and the spaceship was currently short on power. EsGod’s doppelganger was leaning on the couch, and he faced Psionic Prime’s mechanical army.

“Black Star, you’re here,” EsGod’s doppelganger said with a smile.

“I am Psionic Prime. The Lord does not want to meet you now. You can just let me know what you want to tell him.”

EsGod’s doppelganger sized Psionic Prime up and said with a teasing tone, “Apostle Weapon? Black Star didn’t have such an ability the last time we fought. It seems like he received a great reward from the current battle. Alright, I do not have any interest in talking to you. Get Black Star out to see me.”

Psionic Prime then held his spear up and pretended that he did not hear anything.

Upon seeing that, EsGod raised his arm out, and his arm stretched out like rubber, sending out a punch that was too fast to follow with the naked eye!

Clank!

His fists were imbued with Esper energy and crashed onto Psionic Prime’s spear, generating a small shockwave.

Without saying anything, Psionic Prime channeled his energy into his spear, and the spear entered its released mode.

A psionic energy wave then shot out from the spear!

Swoosh!

EsGod’s doppelganger had a stunning speed, and he avoided the attack nimbly. However, the couch that he was sitting on was sliced in two, and the entire wall of the spaceship was also sliced cleanly in two.

The mechanical troops and EsGod’s doppelganger thus drifted into space and faced each other in a standoff. The dynasty’s spaceships by the side immediately aimed their cannons at EsGod’s doppelganger.

Psionic Prime stood at the very front, and a surge of Mechanical Force descended on his body from afar. Psionic Prime’s body exploded forth with a blinding light. The other mechanical troops did not receive the boost from the Mechanical Force and retreated under Psionic Prime’s orders.

EsGod’s doppelganger looked at the surge of Mechanical Force and knew that Han Xiao was definitely paying attention to the situation. He knew what Han Xiao’s intention was and could not help but sneer.

Han Xiao wanted him to fight the Apostle Weapon to test the strength of the weapon.

“Humph, on account of the fact that you allowed me to evolve, I shall play with your Apostle Weapon for a while.”

The next moment, EsGod’s doppelganger made his move, and his arms stretched out toward Psionic Prime like a cannonball. He launched ferocious attacks, leaving behind a series of afterimages.

This doppelganger did not have any powerful Esper Abilities and only had a few abilities to strengthen and modify the physique. However, this EsGod doppelganger still had the strength of a Beyond Grade A and the ability to suppress all Calamity Grades.

Psionic Prime then brandished his spear to fight EsGod, and both their figures weaved around in space.

Psionic Prime and EsGod’s doppelganger were evenly matched with each other in the head-on confrontation!

Psionic Prime’s spear was imbued with blue psionic energy, and EsGod was like a lump of clay, capable of changing his form to avoid various different attacks. At the same time, EsGod’s attacks were also avoided by Psionic Prime by splitting his body up and transforming into various mobile floating guards.

The mechanical troops watching by the side could not help but be surprised.

They were originally no more than cannon fodder in the face of a Beyond Grade A, but Psionic Prime had the strength to fight a Beyond Grade A head on.

“Is this the strength of an Apostle Weapon?”

Silver Flash and all the other Mechanical Life earnestly yearned for such strength.

Both parties clashed time and time again, and both of their figures retreated together.

At this moment, the Mechanical Force on Psionic Prime dissipated, indicating that it was the end of their spar.

EsGod’s doppelganger then stopped fighting after noticing that since he was there to talk.

All of them returned to a Black Star Army spaceship that was by the side. EsGod sat down, and Han Xiao’s long distance projection appeared before him.

Upon seeing that, EsGod’s doppelganger said with a smile, “Black Star, it is all thanks to you that I’ve been able to evolve this time.”

Han Xiao then snorted. “You wanted to see me just to say something like this?”

“Of course not.” EsGod’s doppelganger waved his hands and chuckled. “I wanted to ask you if you managed to come up with any results after researching that set of wormhole data.”

This fellow indeed chose to expose the data on purpose so that he could borrow my connections to help him research the data… Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed.

However, EsGod still thought that he was the only one who knew about the existence of the World Tree Civilization and felt that he had an upper hand in intelligence.

Up until now, EsGod still thought that Han Xiao only researched the wormhole data to be careful but did not know that Han Xiao was also aware of the World Tree Civilization’s existence.

Han Xiao naturally would not destroy EsGod’s illusion as this was the only way to prevent EsGod from being wary.

“Long story short. These are the coordinates that the dynasty wants me to pass to you.” Han Xiao then got Phillip to show a portion of the data. “If you really want to help the dynasty stop the Arcane Church, the dynasty may reconsider how they should deal with you.”

EsGod’s doppelganger did not bother responding and started to view the intelligence report.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao said, “However, I cannot understand why you suddenly chose to work with the dynasty. Angering the Arcane Church has no benefits to you.”

“You don’t need to worry about this.” EsGod did not even bother raising his head.

Han Xiao stroked his chin and fell into thought.

He had always felt that this was not EsGod’s intention but he was fooled by someone else.

Although EsGod would be able to curry favor with the dynasty by doing so, Han Xiao felt that his intention was to make use of this opportunity to increase the Arcane Church’s losses. It was as though his targets were Sagman and the other Beyond Grade As.

“If they manage to succeed, who will benefit the most? The Crimson Dynasty? The Federation of Light? Or maybe those Super Star Cluster Civilizations?”

Han Xiao let out a deep sigh.

…

After the Arcane Church fleet split up to escape, Rogue, Sagman, and the others changed their spaceships and abandoned the main flagship. They then disguised themselves as a small fleet and were currently making their way to the true position of the secret stargate.

Rogue felt that such a method would be able to confuse the dynasty’s forces, but the following event had shocked him.

A portion of their escaping fleet suffered from an ambush. However, the ones ambushing them were not just the dynasty’s fleet but also the Fallen Ark fleet!

“Is EsGod mad? Why is he attacking us‽”

Rogue panted heavily with an ashen expression and bloodshot eyes.

“That darn EsGod actually arrived at an agreement with the dynasty. This fellow really wants us to help restrain the dynasty for him!”

Sagman was also extremely frustrated. It was one thing for EsGod to go back on his word, but he had even gone a step further to attack them. Although he did not have any expectations in EsGod, he could not help but be enraged by EsGod’s actions.

Psyker then looked at the star map and suddenly said, “The situation is strange. They are accurately ambushing our divisions. Is it because that division was unlucky to run into the dynasty’s defensive line, or has the dynasty grasped our coordinates?”

Everyone’s expression changed greatly the moment these words were said.

Psyker gritted his teeth. “Black Star is a Virtual Mechanic, so he may have done something.”

Mercer also gritted his teeth and thought to himself, What kind of bullsh*t Mechanic is he?

Upon hearing that, Rogue immediately activated the automatic artificial intelligence scan on the spaceship, but there were no traces of Han Xiao’s infiltration.

“Black Star’s infiltration can’t be detected…” Sagman felt his head ache. He was extremely knowledgeable, and he knew that a Virtual Mechanic capable of bypassing a Universal Civilization’s firewall was not easy to deal with.

Although none of them were certain that Han Xiao had managed to lock onto their positions, they decided to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

“The dynasty’s encirclement isn’t complete yet, so this is our only chance to escape,” Rogue said. “Inform our forces to split up again. I want to see a million divisions. Also, cut off half of the fleet’s quantum network connection!”

He wanted to seize the opportunity before the encirclement was formed to use even more divisions to confuse the dynasty. Forming a million divisions meant that each division would only have a few battleships, and it would be impossible for them to fight back. This was akin to sacrificing even more people.

Cutting off half of the fleet’s quantum network connection meant that these divisions would become deaf and blind. It would be impossible for them to communicate with the other fleets, so they could only escape according to the star map. The only advantage of doing so was that they would be able to prevent their locations from being spotted. Rogue was prepared to cut off his own quantum network connection, and it was akin to giving up command.

Because of Han Xiao’s methods, Rogue had no choice but to make such a decision. It was akin to abandoning everyone in exchange for their survival.

Ninjia looked at him coldly and said, “Sir, you will definitely have to face court martial if you do so.”

“Hahaha…” Rogue laughed. “After the failure of this mission, what kind of a future will I have?

“If not for Black Star turning the tables on all of you, would I have failed?

“Do I hate all of you? Of course I do!

“But all of you are still the high-level combatants of the Arcane Church.

“These soldiers and troops can be easily drafted and hired again, but all of you are different. It is impossible to easily replicate the existence of a Beyond Grade A, and you still have the Universal Treasure Ten Thousand Deity Scepter in your hands…

“My top priority is to cover your escape. Your lives are more important than any of ours!

“When I was in command school, my lecturer told me that I shouldn’t be a commander if I can’t be merciless. Having perfection in all aspects is an impossible dream, so we have to make sacrifices in order to complete our objective. Everything that isn’t important can be abandoned…

“I have already thought things through! Who cares about the court martial? My only mission is to protect the strength of the Arcane Church!”

Rogue panted heavily after saying such a ‘moving’ speech.

Sagman and the others all narrowed their eyes.

As Beyond Grade As, they would not be easily taken in by the words of others, and Rogue’s intention was not able to escape their eyes.

The five of them looked at each other before looking at Rogue.

“Then let’s go according to your plan,” Sagman said slowly.

…

Above Planet Aquamarine, Floating Dragon Island had a lot more facilities a few months ago. There were plenty of spaceships flying in and out, and it was extremely prosperous.

In order to set up their main camp, Floating Dragon no longer allowed scavengers and galactic pirates to land on the island and chased away all the gray organizations on the island. Of course, there was a portion who did not dare approach the stronghold of the Black Star Army and took the initiative to escape.

The organizations entering Floating Dragon were mainly proper financial groups, and under Floating Dragon’s influence, Planet Aquamarine also gained support from quite a few financial groups.

In Floating Dragon Palace, Ames was currently seated on her throne.

Ames looked down at the representatives who had come to visit, and her face remained completely expressionless; no one was able to tell what she was thinking. In truth, however, she was just daydreaming.

Sigh, all these troublesome matters will be taken care of by Jenny anyway.

Ames’ mind had already drifted elsewhere.

I wonder how Hila and Aurora are doing. Tsk, Black Star is truly annoying. You took both my students away and don’t even send some news back.

Beep beep.

At that moment, her communicator, which was floating nearby, rang. Ames then grabbed it with her force field and was a little surprised upon seeing who the caller was.

Curious, Ames picked up the call and Austin’s figure appeared. “Austin? Didn’t this fellow go and search for materials? Why have you called me?”

Austin smiled and said, “Ames, I have a piece of information that may be of use to you.”

Ames raised her brows. “Interesting. When did you start selling information? Isn’t that Black Star’s hobby?”

Austin smiled profoundly and informed Ames about the battle at Planet Lighthouse.

Ames was seated lazily at the start, but she began to gradually sit up straight with unstable force field energy floating around beside her, bringing about a huge pressure to the financial group representatives below.

“… that’s about everything.” Austin finished his description and added, “I am only informing you about this because you are Black Star’s ally. Just as I expected, you aren’t aware of this matter, and Black Star hid it from you. Haha, I think he doesn’t want you to be dragged into this storm.”

“Stop nagging. I know what you mean. Humph, in any case, thanks for the information.”

Ames hung up and shut her eyes as though she was in deep thought.

Aesop, who was by the side, had heard the conversation and shook his head. “The prophecy was real. Thankfully, I reminded Black Star. If not, he might not have been able to escape this time. Black Star hid this matter from you because he doesn’t want you to be involved in the matters of the Universal Civilizations. However, Austin intentionally informed you about this because he wants to muddy the waters. Ah, he is truly a little brat who wants the world to fall into chaos.”

Upon hearing that, Ames opened her eyes and said, “I am his ally, not his subordinate. What rights does he have to stop me from participating?”

Aesop had a knowing look on his face. He then shook his head and asked, “What do you plan to do?”

“Contact the Crimson Dynasty envoy Zoel. The Crimson Dynasty is probably going to mobilize their forces in the Shattered Star Ring to attack the Arcane Church’s forces and stargate…”

Ames then stood up.

“Black Star, Psyker, Heber, and Austin, everyone is in the Flickering World…

“Thus, I am the only Beyond Grade A in the Shattered Star Ring now!

“I can go wherever I like!”

Chapter 859: 859 Return Gift!

859 Return Gift!

More and more dynasty fleets were being gathered, and the desolate universe belt outside of the Dawn Star Cluster was starting to be locked down. The encirclement was forming, and the gaps for the Arcane Church fleet were slowly closing.

With the aid of Han Xiao’s coordinates, the dynasty managed to capture even more battleships. After Rogue ordered for a million divisions to be formed, these divisions no longer had the ability to break through after being discovered by the dynasty and could only be wiped out or captured.

Not too long later, tens of thousands of battleships fell into the hands of the dynasty, and the Arcane Church members on board the battleships could only become captives.

However, Rogue’s method had indeed slowed down the dynasty’s speed greatly.

If they wanted to hide something, the best method was not to lock it up in a safe but to hide it within a sea of bait. This was the situation that the dynasty was facing.

In the main flagship, Tarrokov was having a virtual meeting with Han Xiao and the others to analyze the situation.

“According to the statements of the captives, the enemy commander Rogue adopted the method of abandoning their forces to confuse us. Furthermore, half of their battleships have disconnected from the network and escaped from our surveillance. They are now lone armies trying to escape in the dark. We have managed to capture the Glorious Sun Grade flagship but were unable to find Rogue and the others. They should be hiding within the fleet that’s cut off from the network.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and said, “It seems like they noticed my infiltration and chose to cut off their tails to escape. Heh, this commander is somewhat capable.”

“Black Star, do you have any ideas?”

“As long as those troops connect to the quantum network for even an instant, their locations will be exposed.” Han Xiao shrugged his shoulders.

When he left behind the infiltration software, he had not learned [Virtual Creator] yet and was restricted by the firewall. If he had his current standard back then, it would not be as simple as infiltrating their system. He would have been able to bypass their defenses and use a virus to control the artificial intelligence of the enemy’s battleship. Even if the enemy cut off connection from the network, he would have been able to force the enemy’s artificial intelligence to reactivate it.

“I can try to tell their fortunes,” Ravenlaude said. “However, the Arcane Church has two Mages, and they have definitely set up a force field to block their destiny lines and prevent others from spying on them.”

“Just give it a try since it doesn’t require money.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Ravenlaude snorted, and a purple light appeared within his palms. A light blue crystal appeared in his palm with a gray cloud within it.

The crystal then floated in front of him, and Ravenlaude tapped his forehead. Indigo light then flashed in the crystal, and an image gradually appeared in the gray cloud.

Everyone then stretched their necks to take a look, and Ninjia’s face appeared within the crystal. He then looked at Ravenlaude as though he had noticed something.

Ka-cha!

The next moment, the crystal, which was not cheap, split in two.

“It was blocked indeed,” Ravenlaude said with resignation.

Everyone then looked at him as if him being a disappointment was expected.

Ravenlaude had thick skin and even asked if he could claim his losses.

Tarrokov decided to ignore him temporarily.

“The enemy has chosen to split up their forces with every division being much smaller than before,” Heber said with a deep voice. “Rogue’s fleet is probably the only one capable of breaking through our obstruction. The moment a Beyond Grade A takes action, they will be discovered by our people. However, we have not had any such reports, which means that they have not met our troops.”

“They are truly lucky.” Beyoni snorted.

Eh? Luck… Han Xiao then blinked, and an idea came to his head. He then turned around to look at Feidin with a burning gaze.

“Feidin, if I asked you to choose, which direction do you think Rogue would escape in? You are pretty lucky, and your guess may be right.”

Feidin did not know whether to laugh or cry.

“Black Star, it is one thing for you to tease me usually, but how can you do so in front of outsiders? You shouldn’t joke about this, right?”

“What are you talking about? I am not joking at all,” Han Xiao said seriously. “You can also see that we are facing a huge problem that cannot be solved. Why don’t you give it a try? Who knows what will happen?”

Seeing Han Xiao’s insistence, Feidin could only helplessly point at a few spots on the star map casually.

“Hey, don’t blame me if I am wrong.”

Han Xiao chuckled and said, “Chief commander, why don’t you search the few directions that he pointed out? We may really be able to find Rogue.”

“This is too childish!” Aurora could not help commenting.

However, she looked up and realized that Tarrokov and the other Beyond Grade As had calm expressions on their faces as though they did not find it strange.

“I see,” Tarrokov said. “Relying on instincts isn’t a bad choice right now.”

Milizaus and the others nodded in agreement.

They were all experts with a great deal of experience and believed in intuition as well.

Luck was a part of strength!

…

Rogue’s fleet only had ten or so small spaceships, and after cutting themselves off from the network, they had lost contact with the other divisions. They did not know how many of their divisions had been captured and could only choose to escape.

“We aren’t too far from the secret stargate, and we haven’t met with any dynasty fleets,” Rogue said, looking at the star map. “As long as we go past the barricade set up by the dynasty, we will be able to arrive at the stargate.”

“Looks like our luck isn’t bad,” Taylor said.

“It isn’t entirely luck,” Rogue replied. “We intentionally misled the dynasty’s fleet about our direction, and thus, the lockdown in this direction is thinner.”

Sagman nodded slowly and replied, “According to our current speed, we will be able to…”

Whoo!

Before he could finish, the alarm suddenly went off.

“Alert! Radar scan detected. Our disguise has been seen through. Please prepare for battle!”

Everyone nodded and saw a dynasty fleet approaching them from the radar.

“Dammit!” Rogue slammed the control panel.

Their concealment mode could hide their location, but the enemy radar would still be able to pick them up at close proximity. A dynasty fleet that was in detection mode had just gone past them and thus detected their presence.

Rogue then turned around and shouted at Sagman and the others, “The enemy has fifty battleships. Please get rid of them quickly!”

Although the battleships of the Arcane Church were slightly faster, the Crimson Dynasty’s technological skills also belonged to the Universal Civilization grade and would not be thrown off so easily.

If they tried to continue their escape, the surrounding dynasty fleets would also detect their location. Therefore, they had no choice but to wipe out this fleet that had spotted them.

Sagman and the others nodded solemnly.

Aided by the five Beyond Grade As, Rogue’s fleet easily wiped out their enemy but also revealed the existence of Sagman and the others.

“The dynasty already knows that we are in this direction and will definitely attempt to prevent us from escaping. We must escape before the enemy Beyond Grade As arrive…” Rogue clenched his fists tightly.

…

Because their location had been exposed, Rogue’s fleet had to endure many layers of restrictions and could no longer attempt to escape stealthily. They could only forge a bloody path out and were extremely pathetic.

They originally wanted to speed up but ended up being slowed down by the layers of battleships.

Tarrokov, Han Xiao, and the others received news and immediately changed direction to give chase.

The distance between both parties was decreasing as they approached the stargate.

This time, Rogue and the others were charging straight toward the location of the secret stargate, and the dynasty’s fleet had finally discovered the secret stargate. Thus, an intense battle broke out with the Arcane Church fleet that was stationed at the stargate.

Rogue and the others eventually managed to arrive at the stargate by relying on the strength of the five Beyond Grade As.

The Arcane Church fleet was currently engaged in an intense battle with the dynasty fleet, and reinforcements were coming from the other side of the stargate endlessly.

From afar, Rogue and the others witnessed the battle. Hope of their escape was right before their eyes, and they could not help but grow excited.

Rogue connected to the quantum network again and contacted the fleet stationed by the stargate. Following which, they then charged straight into the rear of the dynasty’s fleet and joined the battle to kill their way to the stargate.

However, Tarrokov led the main fleet and arrived at this moment. Han Xiao and the others immediately spotted Sagman’s group of five, who were trying to use their strength to break through the dynasty’s formation.

“Do it!”

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao’s group of five left the spaceship and charged straight toward Sagman.

Rogue was the first to notice this, and his face turned ashen.

The Beyond Grade As still had a chance to escape into the stargate with their strength, but he had no way of escaping!

He had even abandoned his fleet mercilessly, but he still was not able to escape‽

The powerful energy reaction attracted the attention of Sagman and the others, and their expressions changed greatly.

“They caught up!”

“We cannot be tied down by them!”

Sagman’s group of five did not even dare turn around to fight back and sped up toward the stargate. They only wanted to arrive at the stargate before Han Xiao and the others could catch up to them.

They knew that it would be impossible for them to escape from the Flickering World once they were tied down by experts of the same level.

Five brilliant rays of lights were escaping with five chasing behind them.

“Attack the stargate!”

All those who had long-range attacks in Han Xiao’s party began opening fire at the stargate.

Various Beyond Grade A attacks bombarded the stargate, and cracks appeared on the protective shield covering the planet. It would not last for long.

Sagman and the others gritted their teeth and took the initiative to block the long-range attacks. They would rather get injured to reduce the damage of the stargate and borrow the strength of the attack to speed up their escape.

It was now the Arcane Church group’s turn to protect the stargate, and they were in an extremely pathetic state.

The mechanical army caused the greatest damage, and Mercer was the most pathetic. He was not like the others and did not have any long-range energy shields. He could only use his own body to endure the attacks, and his speed was gradually slowing down.

Sagman and the two Mages were the fastest and charged straight into the stargate first. Psyker followed close behind them, and he used his psychic energy to receive a wave of attacks from the mechanical army, spitting out blood as he entered the stargate.

Four of them escaped through the stargate, and only Mercer was left on the battlefield. Han Xiao and the others finally caught up when he was not too far away from the stargate.

Heber charged forward and held onto Mercer. They then tangled with each other, and Mercer’s flying trajectory was thrown off course by Heber’s intervention. He smashed into the weakened protective shield and crashed into a corner of the stargate.

Han Xiao then waved his hands, and a portion of his mechanical army charged into the stargate as scouts.

The next moment, he lost contact with the mechanical army, and it was destroyed.

The whirlpool in the stargate then disappeared, and it was shut from the other side.

Upon seeing that, Milizaus snorted. “The four who escaped destroyed the other end of the stargate. Humph, it seems like they have abandoned Mercer.”

“At least we caught one,” Ravenlaude said with a smirk.

Everyone then turned around to look at Mercer. He was currently surrounded in all directions and had no way to escape.

Heber was currently locked in a fierce battle with the crazed Mercer.

Upon noticing their gazes, Heber said with a deep voice, “This is my prey. Don’t intervene.”

Since it was impossible for Mercer to escape, they did not mind watching a one-on-one fight to observe both of their strengths.

Han Xiao then cheered, “How energetic, Little Ty-Ty.”

“Stop calling me that!”

Heber decided to just ignore Han Xiao and focus his attention on dealing with Mercer.

After finally getting a chance to capture a Beyond Grade A, he would not give it up.

The stargate had already been destroyed, and the enemy did not have any way out. This battle was already as good as over.

At this moment, Tarrokov joined in the conversation and announced with a satisfied look, “Four escaped with one left behind. Rogue has also been captured, and our results aren’t too bad. Even if Sagman’s group of four can escape from the Flickering World, they will still have to face another wave of attacks.”

Escaping from the Flickering World did not mean that they would be safe.

The Crimson Dynasty arranged for troops to block them in the Shattered Star Ring. The Black Star Army, Bloodshed Land, Klent, and all the other allies of the dynasty had also made their move, not to mention the restless Federation of Light.

Their life of escaping had not come to an end, and they would still have to go through the vast Shattered Star Ring.

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao said, “I just infiltrated the database of the stargate and obtained coordinates of the stargate on the other side.”

Tarrokov’s eyes lit up.

“This way, we will be able to uproot this secret stargate for good, and it will be much easier for us to lock onto their location. Black Star, good job!”

Han Xiao smiled and turned around to look at the battle between Heber and Mercer.

Capturing Mercer was only a matter of time.

Heaving a sigh of relief, a cold light flashed past Han Xiao’s eyes.

This was the second Beyond Grade A captive that they had caught!

Would the Arcane Church be satisfied with his return gift?

…

At the same time, in some part of the desolate universe belt was the exit of the Arcane Church’s secret stargate.

Sagman’s group of four looked at the stargate that had been destroyed by them and fell silent.

“Mercer… wasn’t able to escape…”

Sagman gritted his teeth so hard to the point his teeth almost cracked.

If they had succeeded with their mission and gotten rid of Milizaus, Beyoni, and Black Star, the dynasty would only have had three Beyond Grade As left, and they would have been able to escape easily.

But now…

They had lost the entire battle because of a moment of carelessness!

“We can’t stop here,” Ninjia said. “Black Star will definitely be able to find this location. Hurry up and leave.”

Sagman then snapped back to his senses and said with a dark expression, “Let’s go. We must take the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back.”

It had been a long time since they were reduced to such a pathetic state!

Chapter 860: Invitation and Announcemen

Chapter 860 Invitation and Announcemen

The remaining soldiers of the Arcane Church were all captured by the dynasty.

The stubborn Mercer and Heber were locked in an intense battle with their fists raining down on each other and Pugilist flames shooting out in all directions like the sparks from the clash of weapons.

A Beyond Grade A Pugilist had grasped the true essence of speed and strength, and their movements were like lightning, which came with numerous afterimages behind them. Milizaus and the others rarely fought in close range, and they admired the battle from the side.

Both of them fought until they were tired and riddled with injuries all over. Heber’s situation was slightly better, and he held onto Mercer tightly, bringing him onto the spaceship.

Bang!

Mercer’s dense body was thrown onto the ground, and the half unconscious Mercer could not get up again.

Heber then took a deep breath to stabilize his surging blood. He then pointed at Mercer, who was by his feet, and said, “I took care of him.”

Clapping could then be heard in the room, and Tarrokov gave him a round of applause with a polite smile on his face.

With Black Star one-shotting Dylan during their most desperate moment right before this, none of them thought highly of Heber defeating an opponent who was already defeated before this in a carefully engineered one-on-one fight. In fact, they all felt that it was truly too slow. However, none of them dared say it, afraid that they would offend Heber.

Han Xiao was different, and he was not afraid of Heber. With his drink in his hand, he said while sucking on the straw, “How slow, Little Ty-Ty. Why did you take so long?”

The Pugilists had spent quite some time fighting each other, and the battlefield had already been cleared up. The spectators had already gone to find some drinks and snacks while watching the battle between the two Pugilists.

“Humph.” Heber could not be bothered with him.

No matter what, the achievement of defeating Mercer belonged to him, and no one would remember the details of how it happened. They would only know that he defeated another Beyond Grade A, and having the title was sufficient.

Tarrokov then got everyone to come over and said, “Now that Heber is here, let me repeat myself again. I have already informed Her Excellency Urranrell about the battle results, and Her Excellency is extremely satisfied with our results. The Arcane Church fleet has been wiped out, and the dynasty has two Beyond Grade As in their hands.

“With such chips in our hands, the dynasty will have the upper hand, and Her Excellency will announce this matter to the universe and inform all the large and small organizations about the Arcane Church’s actions and also the price that they had to pay.”

The battle in the Flickering World did not last too long, and the dynasty was still locking down news about it. The outside world was clueless about it, but announcing it to the entire world was only a matter of time.

If the Arcane Church managed to escape safely after the ambush, the dynasty’s prestige would be heavily hit. However, things were different now, and not only was the Arcane Church’s fleet completely wiped out, two of the six Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church had been captured. The dynasty’s prestige had gone up another level, and the upper echelons were extremely satisfied with the actions of Han Xiao and the others.

The dynasty would not miss such an opportunity to promote their own Beyond Grade As. Han Xiao would be the main focus of the promotion, and the dynasty was prepared to spread news about how he single-handedly turned the situation around.

Increasing the prestige of their allies was akin to increasing the dynasty’s prestige. This was a win-win situation.

When they were watching Mercer and the Tyrant have a wrestling match, Tarrokov had already informed Han Xiao about the matter. As such, Han Xiao only nodded slightly to indicate that he acknowledged those words.

The chief commander then said, “On the other side, there are still four Beyond Grade As who escaped into the Shattered Star Ring, and the dynasty will chase after them. However, the situation in the Shattered Star Ring is different from the Flickering World. The dynasty hopes that all of you will temporarily head to the Shattered Star Ring to hold the fort so that you will be able to respond quickly.”

The Flickering World was currently the dynasty’s territory, and the other organizations did not have any foundation in this place. Thus, the dynasty was able to cast a large net to chase the enemy down without any interference.

However, the situation in the Shattered Star Ring was different, and the various organizations had complicated relationships. The Arcane Church also had various spies in the Shattered Star Ring, and the four Beyond Grade As no longer only had a single escape route. They could easily choose to split up and disguise themselves as ordinary galactic residents.

Furthermore, with the sheer size of a Star Field, searching for the enemy was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

Of course, as the ones being hunted, Sagman and the others would face danger at every turn, and they would be experiencing much more pressure.

Because the enemy opened the gap with the stargate, the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As were unable to continue giving chase and could only choose to hold down the fort in the Shattered Star Ring. After all, the enemy would definitely try to hide themselves, and they would only be able to fight back after discovering the enemy’s tracks. If not, they would just be wasting their time.

Han Xiao then smiled and said, “The Shattered Star Ring is the Black Star Army’s main camp, so I sincerely welcome all of you to be guests in the Black Star Army. All of your food and accommodation shall be taken care of by me during this period.”

Heber immediately said after hearing that, “The Shattered Star Ring is also my territory. The Black Star Army has only been around for a few years, and there is nothing fantastic about them. All of you can come to my Bloodshed Land instead.”

Everyone present was a Beyond Grade A Super and had incredible influence. As locals, both Han Xiao and Heber wanted to pull them into their own territory as guests and increase their prestige.

Milizaus then chuckled. “Since Black Star has invited me, I shall go over to his place.”

Beyoni also nodded, “Alright, you promised to host me back when we were in the Central Galaxy. Let’s make use of this opportunity.”

They had spent one month with Han Xiao on Planet Lighthouse and also fought together in a desperate battle a while ago. They were naturally much closer to each other.

“Black Star, I shall also go over to your place,” Maximiler, who only had his projection around, said. “We can make use of this opportunity to have an exchange in Mechanic skills.”

“Sounds good.” Han Xiao agreed.

Maximiler was a Mechanic and would naturally be more interested in someone of his own Class rather than a muscular man.

Everyone ignored Heber’s invitation, and Heber felt a little embarrassed. He then turned around to look at the remaining Ravenlaude.

Ravenlaude’s mouth cramped up, and he said helplessly, “Then… I shall go to Bloodshed Land.”

Since everyone was going to the Black Star Army, he also wanted to join in the fun and see if he could find an opportunity to borrow the Evolution Cube. However, he felt his head ache upon seeing Heber stare at him and could only go against his own wishes.

Heber’s expression became slightly better. At least not everyone had ignored him.

He then looked at the three people beside Han Xiao and felt a little defeated.

He had held the Tyrant Party in the Shattered Star Ring for many years and felt that his network was pretty large. However, the experts of the same level in the other Star Fields did not think too highly of him, and he felt that he lost out to Han Xiao in this respect.

Tarrokov then coughed and interrupted the conversation.

“Because of the increased difficulty in searching for the enemy, the dynasty has decided to cut off the enemy’s path of retreat and ambush the Arcane Church’s stargate stationed in the Shattered Star Ring.

“The Shattered Star Ring envoy Zoel is already mobilizing our forces, and he will launch an attack after the dynasty makes an announcement regarding this matter.”

“It seems like we won’t be able to arrive in time for this.” Han Xiao nodded. “Neither party has any Beyond Grade As to help. Can the dynasty deal with the Arcane Church’s forces?”

“You’re wrong. We have a Beyond Grade A combatant.” Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. “Could it be that the dynasty invited Beyond Grade A allies from the other Star Fields? Wouldn’t it take too much time? The Arcane Church will also be able to send out Beyond Grade A combatants if this is the case.”

“No, our Beyond Grade A combatant is a local in the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Local? Heber and I are in the Flickering World. Austin is still rushing back and won’t be able to make it in time. There’s no need to talk about Psyker…”

As he said that, Han Xiao suddenly realized something, and his face darkened.

“Did you guys seek help from Ames by using my name‽”

“Black Star, don’t misunderstand us. We didn’t do that. The Dragon Emperor took the initiative to approach Zoel and requested to participate in the operation,” Tarrokov said. “I only found out recently, and Zoel has already agreed to it. With all of you absent, she is the only Beyond Grade A in the Shattered Star Ring and will be able to aid us greatly.”

“How did she find out about the matters over here?”

“This… I don’t know about that.” Tarrokov shook his head.

Han Xiao frowned and walked to the side to contact Ames.

Ames’ figure floated up on his communicator, and she sized Han Xiao up upon seeing him before saying with a smile, “Eh, the busy man is finally willing to call me.”

Han Xiao did not bother beating about the bush and asked, “Let me ask you, did you contact the dynasty to enter this storm?”

“Why? Do you have an issue?” Ames smirked.

Han Xiao nodded and said, “You shouldn’t have. This isn’t a good thing for you.”

“How long have you known me?” Ames asked with a calm voice. “To me, there are only things that I wish to do and those that I don’t wish to do. You are my ally, and since you were ambushed, what kind of ally would I be if I don’t help? Humph, you still tried to hide the matter from me. If not for Austin informing me about the matter, I wouldn’t have known that you encountered such danger in the Flickering World.”

So, it was that darn old man Austin… Han Xiao then said helplessly, “It isn’t that I am hiding the matter from you. I just haven’t told you yet. I don’t need to inform you at the very first moment, right?”

Ames snorted. “… I really wish to beat you up sometimes. It is a pity that you are much stronger than before, and I’m not confident that I can beat the current you.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and said helplessly, “Don’t change the topic. The dynasty will be able to attack the stargate even if you don’t participate. There’s no need for you to do so. You are not a member of the dynasty and do not have the dynasty’s protections. Your situation will be tough if you anger the Arcane Church.”

“Really? What about Austin? You don’t seem to think about him,” Ames said with a mocking tone.

“Is that even the same?” Han Xiao shook his head. “Austin owed me a favor, but you don’t. Instead, I am the one who owes you a favor. Besides, both of us are allies, and I have to think on your behalf.”

“Tsk, it turns out that you still know how to speak like a human.” Ames teased him a little before getting serious. “Alright, you don’t need to continue. You should know that even Aesop wouldn’t be able to convince me otherwise if I make a decision.”

“Alright then…”

Han Xiao was a little helpless but also touched. When he was weak, Ames had also stood up for him like this. Now that they were already on the same level, she still chose to do so, and those memories surfaced in his head.

“Then take care of yourself.”

After hanging up, Han Xiao contacted Zoel.

Zoel’s face appeared, and he said with a friendly expression, “Haha, Your Excellency Black Star. It has been quite some time. I have heard about your merits in the Flickering World. Good job!”

Zoel was the one who had introduced Han Xiao to join the dynasty. Now that Han Xiao had rendered merits to the dynasty, he would also receive some reward and was in a good mood.

“Zoel, I have something to ask of you…” Han Xiao then said his request.

“It’s nothing much. Don’t worry, I will inform the garrison commander to prevent the Dragon Emperor from fighting at the most dangerous location.”

“Alright, I will return to the Shattered Star Ring soon, and we can have a gathering at the headquarters of the Black Star Army. Milizaus, Beyoni, and Maximiler will also be around.”

“They are all bigshots.” Zoel’s eyes lit up. With his current position, he would only be able to meet the Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring, and there was no chance for him to meet the Beyond Grade As of the other Star Fields. This was a good opportunity for him to get to know them.

After ending the call, Han Xiao returned to Tarrokov’s side and used the Spacetime Amber to seal the struggling Mercer with the aid of the others.

Following that, the fleet changed directions and headed toward the stargate located in the Dawn Star Cluster. It would take them a few days to return to the Shattered Star Ring.

Han Xiao had originally thought that he would have to remain in the Flickering World, but never had he thought that he would be able to return to his main camp because of this interlude.

In truth, his physical location did not matter as the Black Star Army would continue their exploration of the Flickering World.

Opening the forums to take a look, the player’s [The Crimson Dynasty Order: All Out Pursuit] had not ended yet. There were still many Arcane Church troops scattered all around and also plenty of Fallen Ark troops that had not escaped.

Compared to Sagman’s group of four, Han Xiao would rather deal with EsGod. However, the dynasty’s attention was currently on the Arcane Church.

Without aid from his teammates, Han Xiao was not confident about killing EsGod.

I can only wait for the Crimson Dynasty to announce this matter to the universe and carry out a large scale counterattack before trying to persuade them about my previous suggestion, Han Xiao thought to himself. The Political Asset should have some influence on this, right?

…

The day after catching Mercer, the dynasty called for a press conference, and Ruler Urranrell personally revealed the entire incident to the universe.

Countless galactic media groups broadcast the press conference, and the scene of the press conference spread throughout every Star Field.

Regardless of whether it was a variety channel or family channel, every channel showed the press conference of the dynasty.

The captains of various spaceships, customers of bars, travelers in transit stations, and many others all had their eyes glued to the press conference.

Many galactic residents were listening to the Crimson Dynasty’s announcement at the same time.

The galactic residents only knew that the Flickering World was a new Star Field that was currently being explored and did not know anything else. However, a battle between eleven Beyond Grade As had actually broken out in this unexplored Star Field with the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty fighting each other head on! Both Universal Civilizations also simultaneously announced that they were entering war time alert!

This announcement was like the explosion of a psionic bomb!

Chapter 861: Changes and Spies

Chapter 861 Changes and Spies

A Universal Civilization that wanted to make use of public opinion as their weapon had sufficient rights to borrow the galactic media groups to spread their voice. The influence of a Universal Civilization covered the various Star Fields, and their influence could not be matched by the Star Cluster civilizations, which were restricted to their own region.

Ruler Urranrell then described the entire process in detail before releasing an official document that recorded the entire event in detail to the public.

The document emphasized how the Arcane Church was blinded by their greed for the Evolution Cube and ignored the fact that the Flickering World was under the control of the dynasty. They had even worked together with the infamous Fallen Ark and ambushed the dynasty’s troops, which caused massive losses to the dynasty. The dynasty strongly criticized such an action and reserved the right to pursue the matter. They announced that they were going to stop all activities with the Arcane Church and enter war-time alert.

The dynasty’s announcement was extremely solemn and strict, making the galactic residents feel that the dynasty had suffered astronomical loss. But after viewing the document and understanding the exact process of the matter, they were shocked to realize that the dynasty did not suffer too much of a loss but managed to repel the enemy instead. They had even captured two of the enemy’s Beyond Grade As in the Flickering World.

Black Star’s contributions were greatly emphasized within the document, and his battle results were being promoted. The dynasty wanted to help Han Xiao raise his prestige and deal a heavy blow to the Arcane Church. The Arcane Church was the background for Black Star’s contributions, and Black Star was obtaining his prestige by standing on top of the Arcane Church. The greater the spread of this incident, the heavier the blow dealt to the Arcane Church.

News of Black Star capturing Dylan created a huge commotion after spreading out. Han Xiao was a new Beyond Grade A who had created a sensation just a while back, and most of the galactic residents were somewhat familiar with him.

Who would have thought that in less than a year, the newly ascended Black Star would be able to capture an expert of the same level as him?

Killing or capturing a Beyond Grade A alive had significant meaning in the universe. The Beyond Grade A level was already the peak, and if an individual was capable of subduing this peak, their fame would be propelled up to the next level.

Han Xiao had previously fought Psyker and Heber, and the result of the battle was only a draw. Although it could be considered a Beyond Grade A incident, it was not too shocking.

But this time, he had personally defeated a combatant at his level, and it could be said that Han Xiao’s status in the universe had stabilized after this battle.

The document also pointed out that Heber had captured a Beyond Grade A Super, but before Black Star’s merits, it seemed extremely ordinary. After all, the galactic residents were able to understand the difference. One managed to capture the enemy while being at the absolute disadvantage while the other fought the enemy in a one-on-one battle when the enemy was surrounded. The two events could not be compared.

Apart from the shock of the event, many were worried about the influence of this matter. If the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church broke out into open war, the situation in the galaxy would become tense again.

For the past ten years, the Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light had been at a standoff. Now that the Federation of Light had become low profile, the Arcane Church decided to walk up the stage.

Ever since the Flickering World was discovered, the galaxy had been unstable.

Regardless of how slow witted the galactic residents were, they were able to see that the three Universal Civilizations were having conflicts around this new Star Field.

…

After the dynasty made their announcement, the various Super Star Cluster and Star Cluster Civilizations immediately activated their intelligence net to gather information.

Black Star had become the focus of all these organizations, and many organizations became wary of him.

The Beyond Grade A allies of the three Universal Civilizations had always been the target for research of the various organizations. However, Han Xiao was different from the other Beyond Grade As that had joined for a few decades. He had joined the dynasty less than a year prior, and information was limited. However, many organizations had no choice but to adjust his threat to the level of the three pillars of the dynasty and label him as a target to pay close attention to.

The Arcane Church then revealed the various methods that Han Xiao had displayed in the battle through their various hidden intelligence agencies, and all the organizations now knew that Black Star had two Universal Treasures in his hands. There was no need to talk about the Evolution Cube since it was the reason for the battle.

However, the other Universal Treasure was actually able to block the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and seal a Beyond Grade A. With such methods up his sleeves, Black Star had a special strategic position and could not be considered an ordinary Beyond Grade A combatant.

There were naturally those with greed as well. The Arcane Church intentionally revealed such information so that many organizations would eye the Universal Treasure in Han Xiao’s hands. They had indeed succeeded, but the other organizations did not dare to take any reckless actions since even the Arcane Church had failed.

Black Star’s battle merits were a true deterrent to many organizations.

…

A few days later, the dynasty began their counterattack, and Arcane Church’s stargate located in the Shattered Star Ring suffered from an ambush. An intense battle broke out, and it was said that the energy reactions of the battle could be felt from a Star Zone away.

After Sagman’s ambush failed, the Arcane Church had guessed that the Crimson Dynasty would attempt to destroy their stargate located in the Shattered Star Ring. Thus, they had already begun mobilizing their reinforcements and had even mobilized other Beyond Grade A combatants.

However, in order to secretly send out six Beyond Grade As, the Arcane Church had gotten their other Beyond Grade As to attract the attention of the public in various locations. As such, it would require some time to mobilize them, and the dynasty managed to seize that window.

Ames was the only Beyond Grade A present in the Shattered Star Ring, and she participated in the attack before the Arcane Church’s reinforcements could arrive. Her Force Field was a sharp weapon in galactic warfare and could easily disrupt and penetrate the formation of the army stationed at the stargate. Furthermore, she was also able to use her Force Field to destroy the stargate and cut off the enemy’s route of retreat.

Following which, the dynasty began monitoring all the public stargates and sent out their spies to monitor the Arcane Church’s movements.

However, as a Universal Civilization, the Arcane Church had many other ways to deal with that.

…

Old Medal Bar was located in the seventh junkyard of some galactic transit station in the Shattered Star Ring. Although it seemed like a public bar that was a little tattered on the surface, it was actually the gathering point of a black-market merchant with the nickname of ‘Night Bat’.

There was no absolute order in the universe, and there would always be shadows when light existed. The galactic black market was the biggest shadow in the galactic society.

There would always be needs when there were people, and there would always be smugglers when there were needs. Every region in the universe had their own black markets. Some were businesses that the government chose to look away from, and others were gray regions that were not controlled by any civilizations.

In the black markets of the Shattered Star Ring, Night Bat was not a bigshot. On the contrary, he was an unknown character who mainly collected scrap. He made use of such a disguise to smuggle some military machines.

There was no need for him to behave sneakily. Almost all the locals knew that Old Medal Bar was his black market gathering point, but because of its small size and the items being sold being relatively safe, no organization paid close attention to him. In this galactic transit station, there were hundreds of such black merchants.

Today, a freight captain arrived at the Old Medal Bar, and this captain had been working together with Night Bat for a long time. He would sell some scraps to Night Bat with some smuggled goods hidden within the scraps. Night Bat personally invited him to the underground chamber under his bar to be a guest today.

Only Night Bat and this freight captain were left in the office.

The freight captain then lit a cigarette and blew out a mouthful of smoke. He took out a sheet of paper and pushed it toward Night Bat.

“This is the list of scraps.”

“Thanks.”

Night Bat was a skinny man with a fawning smile on his face. Everyone would think that he was a crafty merchant upon seeing his face.

“The goods have been delivered. I’ll make a move now.” The freight captain stood up.

“Aren’t you going to have some fun? I heard that Red Widow on Gray Shed Street has some new mixed-blood elves…”

“Mixed blood elves… forget it. Have you heard? The Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church have begun fighting in the Shattered Star Ring. The situation in the outside world is far too unstable. I will return home after this trip and wait for them to finish their battle before coming out to do business.”

The freight captain seemed a little tempted but decided otherwise and left the room.

Night Bat followed behind him and called for his subordinates to shift the scraps on the cargo ship.

With everyone being busy, no one would notice subtle changes. No one noticed that Night Bat had suddenly grown a few centimeters taller with his body shape changing slightly. One of the workers of the freight captain had also experienced such a subtle change.

After half a day, the goods were finally unloaded, and the cargo ship left the planet.

The cargo ship was set to autopilot, and the captain received news of iron eating bugs being spotted in the warehouse.

This was an extremely common bug that would destroy the internal structure of a spaceship. It had to be cleaned up immediately the moment it was spotted.

The captain went to the warehouse, and more than thirty workers had flamethrowers in their hands to burn the ten or so centimeters bugs into ashes.

“Captain, we have already stabilized the situation and are checking the damage. Some goods show signs of being bitten,” a worker reported.

Upon hearing that, the freight captain became anxious. All the goods in the warehouse were his customers’ orders, and he would have to pay for them if they were damaged.

He was only an ordinary individual in the universe and was not able to afford such goods.

“Bring me to take a look!”

They entered the depths of the warehouse.

Right at that moment, the worker suddenly took out a silenced handgun and aimed it at the captain’s head.

“You…” The captain was shocked.

The worker then opened fire decisively

Pap pap pap!

Three bullets shot through the skull of the freight captain. This was definitely a fatal injury to an ordinary individual.

The freight captain landed on the ground with blood flowing out from his body.

This worker wiped his face and took off a mask-like item to reveal Night Bat’s appearance.

Night Bat had a cold expression on his face without any trace of his ‘cunning merchant’ aura.

He took out the access card and communicator from the captain’s body and carried the captain’s body back to the region where they had been burning bugs.

When Night Bat walked out from the darkness, the situation was already completely different. Only five of the thirty plus workers were left, and they all had silenced handguns in their hands. There were more than twenty corpses on the ground, and they had all been shot dead.

They looked toward Night Bat and greeted him. “Captain.”

They were all spies trained by the Arcane Church. Night Bat had disguised himself as a black market merchant for many years to manage an insignificant smuggling business. A portion of his team had been disguised as workers and worked for this freight captain.

After smuggling for so many years, they had secretly gathered sufficient parts to build a new stargate. These workers had secretly loaded up the stargate equipment onto these spaceships when they were unloading the goods previously.

After remaining hidden for such a long time, they had always been waiting for their organization to summon them. The Arcane Church activated these spies at such a moment, and their mission was to obtain an insignificant looking spaceship and meet up with the Beyond Grade As to help them escape with the stargate equipment.

Night Bat’s team was not the only one with such a mission; similar scenes were playing out all around the Shattered Star Ring.

These usually insignificant characters had begun to take action.

Beyond Grade A was the peak of individual strength, but no one would be able to call themselves the protagonist of the universe. The universe was far too big, and every character had their own role to play. Even an insignificant individual could influence the bigger picture.

Chapter 862: A Devastating Number

Chapter 862 A Devastating Number

The dynasty’s Beyond Grade As returned to the Shattered Star Ring from the Flickering World through the stargate located in the Dawn Star Cluster. After another period of flying, Han Xiao returned to the Colton Star Cluster together with Milizaus and the others.

During the period that they were travelling, the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church were in a confrontation in the Central Galaxy, and the situation was extremely tense.

On the Shattered Star Ring’s side, the dynasty’s forces located at the borders of the Flickering World had thoroughly investigated the secret stargate exit coordinates provided by Han Xiao, but it was already empty.

When they heard this news along the way, everyone knew that the following job belonged mainly to the intelligence personnel, and they would not be able to do much.

In the spaceship, Han Xiao, Milizaus’ avatar, Beyoni, and Maximiler were gathered together, looking out at the Black Star Army headquarters outside the window.

Gigantic battleships were taking off and landing on the gigantic planetary grade fortress, and metal buildings loomed everywhere.

The officers present at headquarters had also received news of their arrival and came forward to receive them.

As the hatch opened, Han Xiao and the others disembarked from the spaceship and were greeted with a sea of people. The warriors of the army were lined up neatly and gave a salute in unison.

“Army Commander!”

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao was stunned for a moment and slightly confused.

Why did they arrange for such a grand ceremony? While it was a spectacular scene, he did not remember giving such an order.

In front of the soldiers, Sylvia pushed Lagi forward.

As the vice commander, Lagi had no choice but to step forward. He then cleared his throat and said with a less monotonous voice, “Cough cough, we welcome the Army Commander’s return.”

Han Xiao’s face contorted slightly, and he asked, “What are you guys doing? It has only been a few months since we last met each other. Why bother with such a solemn ceremony?”

“Sylvia said that the entire universe now knows that you have defeated a Beyond Grade A head on, and we can make use of this opportunity to foster the cohesiveness within the army,” Herlous said softly.

There was another reason that he did not mention. Sylvia knew that Han Xiao was inviting the allies of the dynasty over as guests and thus created such a scene to build up Han Xiao’s image.

Of course, Lagi felt that this was completely pointless but couldn’t convince Sylvia otherwise.

Han Xiao did not really like such a display and did not feel that it was necessary for the army to boost his image. However, he would not nitpick something so small. Since he had given his subordinates authority, he would allow them to have their own thoughts. He then instructed, “Arrange a room for these three Excellencies.”

“It has already been arranged,” Sylvia said.

Right at this moment, Lagi sighed. “I heard that Austin joined in the battle, and this resulted in huge losses for the Forbidden Sorcerers. Is this true?”

“Yes.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Sigh, another few familiar faces have disappeared. Thankfully, I switched sides…” Lagi shook his head weakly. “However, it is meaningless to talk about this. In a few more years, all our bodies will rot, and we will become…”

“Alright, I know that we will all become dust. You can keep quiet now,” Han Xiao interrupted.

After stopping Lagi from embarrassing himself, Han Xiao turned around to look at Milizaus and the others.

“I have some matters to handle. You guys can go and rest. You can inform my men if you have any needs. I will go and find you guys later.”

“Okay.”

Milizaus’ group of three had no issues with that. Since they were in the territory of another, they would listen to Black Star’s arrangements.

Watching the three enter the headquarters, Han Xiao walked toward his office to meet all his officers and asked them about the recent situation.

The army was already on track, and together with him having sufficient prestige, no one in the Shattered Star Ring would dare provoke them.

Furthermore, the galactic pirates and scavengers had begun avoiding the territories of the Black Star Army, which improved the security of many regions.

It was time for the logistics report, and Reynold gave his report calmly. After listening to his report, Han Xiao did not ask about the matters of the army but about Nero’s studies.

“He is extremely talented, and his learning speed is extremely fast. He finished reading all the theory books that I gave him.”

He was probably forced to read them by you, right?

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly, and he asked, “Where is he?”

“Right outside.” Reynold then brought Nero in.

After not meeting him for a while, Nero had already grown up. He now had thick eyebags around his eyes and looked extremely sleepy.

Nero was no longer as energetic as before, and he greeted Han Xiao weakly.

“Hello godfather.”

“You…”

Seeing his pathetic appearance, Han Xiao felt a tinge of pity.

Reynold, you are truly a demon! Look at how you tortured this kid.

It seemed like he must hide Nero well from the players. If not, those darn players might end up triggering an ‘assassinate Reynold’ type mission.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao got Nero to stand in front of him. He then pricked Nero slightly to activate the battle notification and viewed Nero’s attributes.

Wait a moment, this…

Looking at the interface, a look of surprise could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

In Nero’s talent section, a new talent that had not been there before appeared. It was [Middle Grade Mechanical Sense]!

My guess was correct! Nero has an Advanced Luck Glow and has the right to obtain a Molding Talent. He can even learn a talent like Mechanical Sense!

Although it was only [Middle Grade Mechanical Sense] at the moment, he had a chance of learning Reynold’s [Perfect Mechanical Sense] if he continued!

There was finally a new point to break through to Reynold, and Han Xiao was truly excited!

Thinking about that, Han Xiao stroked Nero’s head and said with concern, “Your appearance looks extremely poor. Are you too tired from studying?”

Nero then glanced at Reynold, and his body trembled slightly. “No… not tired at all…”

“Don’t need to be afraid. You can just tell the truth with me around.”

Looking at Han Xiao’s compassionate eyes, Nero felt a sense of courage welling up in his heart. He then began to openly complain about Reynold’s crimes.

“Godfather, he doesn’t even treat me as a human. The sheer amount of homework that he gives isn’t even meant for a human! I have less than three hours of sleep every day, and it is interfering with my development. I… I am still a kid!”

Han Xiao then looked at Reynold and snorted. “Is this the truth?”

“Since the Army Commander handed Nero over to me, I will not let you down,” Reynold said with a strict appearance. “I will definitely groom him to become a great Mechanic!”

“Sigh, I know that your intentions are good, but you must pay attention to your method.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Upon hearing that, a glimmer could be seen in Nero’s eyes, and he felt a trace of hope in his heart.

Godfather is speaking on my behalf!

Does this mean that my hellish life will end today‽

His body trembled with excitement, and he was like a man dying from thirst in the desert who saw an oasis.

At this moment, Nero suddenly felt as though a sacred halo could be seen on Han Xiao’s body.

Han Xiao took out a bottle filled with dragon’s blood. This was Milizaus’ blood that he had gathered from the battlefield. He then said to Reynold, “Give this dragon blood to Emerald Grass and get her to research a body strengthening medicine.”

The next moment, Han Xiao turned around and looked at Nero with a smile.

“Reynold didn’t think things through. How can you learn properly without a strong body? Medicine developed from dragon’s blood will be able to replenish your energy, and your development won’t be affected no matter how late you sleep. Don’t worry and follow Reynold. You must learn properly.”

Nero’s smile froze in place, and his eyes widened.

In his eyes, the sacred glow on Han Xiao’s body seemed to have become a demonic aura, and his godfather’s smile was like a demon’s grin.

Tears welled up in his eyes and were about to burst forth.

Nero cried his heart and lungs out.

Godfather is also a demon!

Wuwuwu… father, mother, I don’t want to live in space anymore. I want to return home!

As Reynold heard that, his eyes lit up, and he nodded with praise.

You are indeed the Army Commander that I respect. You are also a demon.

Han Xiao then got Sylvia to comfort Nero. It was a pity that Rossellin had gone to become a revolutionary. If not, she would have been able to easily fix this mental damage.

Following which, he then used a blank Character Summon Card on Reynold to replenish the number of times he can use Perfect Mechanical Sense. The blank Character Summon Card was slightly different to the previous reward, and he only had a single chance to use it.

Who knew how long it would take for Nero to learn the [Perfect Mechanical Sense]? Han Xiao had always kept his guard up ever since the Planet Lighthouse battle and was worried that the Arcane Church might become desperate. As such, he had to keep a trump card prepared.

…

After settling his internal affairs, Han Xiao went to find Milizaus and the others and led them on a tour of his headquarters. He also contacted Tarrokov to discuss the dynasty’s pursuit mission.

The dynasty’s forces present in the desolate universe belt near the Shattered Star Ring were smaller than their forces in the Flickering World. Together with the fact that the enemy had made use of a secret stargate, the dynasty was not able to set up a defensive line in time. By making use of that small opening, Sagman’s group had successfully avoided the dynasty’s surveillance and escaped into the Shattered Star Ring.

“According to the spatial fluctuations left behind, we believe that Sagman’s group of four have decided to split up. This has increased the difficulty of our search.” Tarrokov’s projection floated beside them and walked together.

“It will be akin to a drop of water entering the ocean when they enter the Shattered Star Ring. It will be incredibly difficult to find them,” Beyoni said.

“That’s right. Her Excellency also thinks so.” Tarrokov nodded. “According to reliable intelligence, the Arcane Church has activated many of their spies in the Shattered Star Ring to save these four Beyond Grade As. Every Universal Civilization has many spies located in the various Star Fields disguised as workers from various occupations, and it is incredibly difficult to see through them. It is an important source of information, and it will be much easier for Sagman and the others to escape with their help.”

“Hidden spies… If we can get a list of the spies, we will be able to track them.” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

“That’s impossible.” Tarrokov shook his head. “Such a list will be stored in the main database of the Universal Civilization and protected by a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic. The firewall will be extremely powerful, and it will be impossible to infiltrate them.”

“Will those spies contact the higher ups?”

“The spies of a Universal Civilization will report directly to the intelligence agency, and a single encrypted command can allow them to willingly remain hidden for ten years. They do not have any higher ups.”

“I see. Then forget it.” Han Xiao shook his head and decided to forget about this matter.

Tarrokov then said, “Although it is incredibly difficult to capture them, we cannot give up halfway. We may have some unexpected rewards as well and uproot some of the Arcane Church’s spies. We can attempt to completely wipe out all the hidden pieces that the Arcane Church has in the Shattered Star Ring! If they want to plant new spies, it will take them a few decades for sure.”

“Hmm, this is fine as well. Rather than attempt to chase after four extremely nimble Beyond Grade As, we might as well uproot the Arcane Church’s spies,” Maximiler said.

Capturing two Beyond Grade A captives was already a satisfactory battle result.

They were worried that the Arcane Church might truly become desperate after losing even more Beyond Grade As and end up in a large-scale assassination attempt toward each other’s Beyond Grade As.

There was an example of such an incident. During the exploration era a thousand years earlier, there was a historical incident called the Saint Menason Incident.

At that time, the leaders from the three Universal Civilizations were not the present ones, and an important Beyond Grade A called ‘Saint Menason’ from the Federation of Light was ambushed by two Beyond Grade As from the dynasty. Their target was to snatch the Universal Treasure in Saint Menason’s hands. However, the Federation of Light called even more Beyond Grade A combatants to counter-ambush the two Beyond Grade As and snatch the Universal Treasure back.

The two dead Beyond Grade As had many friends, and a huge chain reaction was created.

Because of this, the Federation of Light and the Crimson Dynasty began to push the blame onto each other politically.

Nine months later, the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As worked together and washed the organizations that belonged to three Beyond Grade As from the Federation of Light with blood. They also got rid of two of the Federation of Light’s Beyond Grade As, and only one managed to escape. During this period, the biological brother of an Arcane Church Beyond Grade A also died in the battle because he was a guest at the ambush site.

Because of this, the Arcane Church was dragged into the matter, and another series of assassinations unfolded. The three Universal Civilizations began to assassinate each other’s Beyond Grade As, and more and more people died. In the eyes of a civilization, a Beyond Grade A combatant was a strategic weapon, and they would not allow other Beyond Grade As to live if their own had died. As such, the conflict between the civilizations grew deeper and deeper.

During this incident, the three Universal Civilizations sacrificed many Beyond Grade A Supers, and the turning point of the incident was what the civilizations called the Saint Menason Incident. There was actually a mastermind behind the scene, and it was a Super Star Cluster civilization at that time. The three Universal Civilizations then claimed that they found solid evidence to believe that these Super Star Cluster civilizations were fanning the flames from behind the scenes and wanted to make them lose some Beyond Grade As.

Following which, the three Universal Cis then wiped out all the Beyond Grade As of that Super Star Cluster civilization and their allies before the entire incident came to an end.

At that time, around half of the Beyond Grade As in the known universe were killed. A few neutral Beyond Grade As were unable to avoid the matter and were forced to join the three Universal Civilizations.

As for whether the mastermind behind the matter was truly the Super Star Cluster civilization, only the three Universal Civilizations knew. In any case, that was how it was written in history.

Although their Beyond Grade As were dead, the civilization was still around. While the three Universal Civilizations were much more peaceful in the Galaxy Calendar era, the majority did not wish to see history repeat itself. After that incident, the number of Beyond Grade As being sacrificed was reduced greatly.

“Don’t worry, even if we can’t catch Sagman and the others, there is a target that won’t be able to escape,” Tarrokov said with a smile.

“Psyker right?” Han Xiao also smiled.

The Star Pupil Holy Race was in the Shattered Star Ring, and it was impossible for Psyker to escape. Even if the dynasty adhered to the Peace Treaty and did not attack the Star Pupil Holy Race, it would be impossible for Psyker not to return forever.

If he had killed Han Xiao successfully and snatched the Evolution Cube back, Psyker would have had the protection of the Arcane Church and would not have been in such a passive state.

For now, however, Psyker was truly in a pathetic state.

Han Xiao only had a single thought toward Psyker’s current situation.

There’s no hope. Let’s move house.

Chapter 863: Red-Named Monster, Please Stop!

Chapter 863 Red-Named Monster, Please Stop!

The dynasty’s search mission in the Shattered Star Ring lasted longer than anyone expected. Three months went by in a flash, and the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty were still waiting there.

However, the dynasty’s pursuit mission did not yield many results as a Beyond Grade A in disguise was far too nimble. Over the past three months, the dynasty had only caught many of the Arcane Church’s spies and a few suspected traces of Sagman and the others. The Beyond Grade As were unable to find any of the Arcane Church’s Beyond Grade As when they took action.

These Arcane Church’s spies were naturally interrogated and were unable to keep any secrets under the various methods of the Universal Civilizations. However, the Arcane Church had various preventive measures up their sleeves, and these spies did not know the exact locations of Sagman and the others. They only headed to a certain location at a certain time, and some of these messages were there as a smokescreen for the dynasty. The amount of useful information was extremely little.

When the Arcane Church decided to make use of their spies in the Shattered Star Ring, they were prepared to lose them.

Apart from the Shattered Star Ring, the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church were not idle in the other Star Fields. Plenty of skirmishes had broken out between the two over the past three months, and the relationship between the two was extremely tense.

In summary, the Crimson Dynasty ferociously sought an explanation, but the Arcane Church refused to give in. The way the outside world saw it, war was about to break out.

But as upper echelons of the dynasty, Han Xiao and the others received inside news from Tarrokov. The Arcane Church had privately contacted the Crimson Dynasty, and both parties were already discussing how to settle this matter. The two parties were only putting on a show for the outside world and would not actually end up fighting.

The Arcane Church also had no choice but to give in. Two of their Beyond Grade As had been captured by the dynasty, and they had to find a way to get them back. If not, none of their allies would be willing to fight for them in the future. The party that the Arcane Church hated the most was not the Crimson Dynasty but the Federation of Light.

The actions of the Federation of Light in the Shattered Star Ring couldn’t be hidden from the Arcane Church. The Federation of Light tried to hit them when they were down and even aided the dynasty in searching for Sagman and the others. Although the cooperation between both parties was only limited to the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, the Arcane Church was still furious.

The Shattered Star Ring was the Federation of Light’s territory, and they had deep foundations. Their intervention had resulted in many of the Arcane Church’s spies being exposed.

The conflicts between the civilizations were mainly for benefits, and supporting Beyond Grade As was also for this reason. The Arcane Church hoped to use diplomacy to resolve this problem and pay a ransom for Dylan and Mercer.

The army and various weapons were the basic strength of a civilization, and a Beyond Grade A was like a special weapon that served as a powerful deterrent. In the exploration era, the Beyond Grade As that were captured would either be converted to their own use or executed.

However, the Galaxy Calendar era was more peaceful than before, and the galactic civilizations were currently in a state of peace. No one was capable of shaking the position of the three Universal Civilizations, and the military activities of the past gradually became diplomacy.

Thus, it was not impossible to pay a ransom. As long as one was willing to pay a sufficient price, everything could be discussed. The three Universal Civilizations would see their Beyond Grade As fall into enemy hands from time to time, and there was thus a tacit agreement between the three civilizations and also an unspoken rule. However, this unspoken rule was only restricted to the three Universal Civilizations. The Super Star Cluster Civilizations did not have such a privilege.

Han Xiao could not be bothered with that. He had already received his Contribution Points, and since he handed the captive over, the dynasty could choose to do whatever they wanted.

He had remained within the headquarters of the Black Star Army during the past three months, and even if he was summoned by the dynasty, he would only send Psionic Prime and his mechanical army out.

Maximiler was the same as him and also sent out his long-distance troops. The best advantage of this was that he could slack at home.

Maximiler was a Mechanic that belonged to the Energy Branch, and he chose to stay at the Black Star Army so that he can have an exchange with Han Xiao. Both parties had a good conversation with each other over the past three months and became much closer.

Han Xiao originally thought that Ames would come and look for him, but Ames returned to Floating Dragon Island after destroying the stargate and did not mention the matter again. She had a carefree attitude.

What a reliable ally.

Over the past few months, Han Xiao had spent most of his time crafting new machines. With his new [Endless Material Combination] knowledge, he was able to create many baffling materials to increase the attributes of his machines. The strength of his mechanical army would be increased this way, and he would also pose a greater threat to Beyond Grade A Supers.

Manison was able to deal with Beyond Grade As even with his long-distance troops, and he could fight many different Beyond Grade As at different locations. That was the true battle tactic of a Mechanic, and Han Xiao was still lacking in this respect. However, he still had a long time to accumulate his strength. After all, he had only been a Beyond Grade A Super for around a year.

After the Planet Lighthouse battle, the damage to his mechanical army was not small. If not for his mechanical army restraining the enemy, they would all have been in danger for sure. Thus, Han Xiao made use of this opportunity to create a new batch of machines.

The endless stream of Enas from exploring the Flickering World came into Han Xiao’s pockets, so Han Xiao was extremely wealthy. One of the reasons he had created such a large organization was so that he would not need to worry about the cost of constructing machines.

The three new Apostle Weapon slots were given to Silver Flash, Giant King Kong, and Mad Sky Hunter, who each had their own weapons and special attributes.

Silver Flash’s long-distance attack was improved, and his weapon was a transformable Planetary Obliteration Cannon called [Spreader of Destruction].

Giant King Kong was like a main tank meat shield with his weapon being strengthened armor. It could be taken off like ordinary armor and could even be transformed into a gigantic shield. It also had the ability to repair itself and was called [Divine Giant Armor].

Mad Sky Hunter was a beast-shaped Mechanical Life, and his body structure was different compared to the others. He had a pair of wings stuck on his back, which had a length of ten meters when fully opened, and he looked like the combination of a leopard, wolf, eagle, and dragon. His weapon was a strengthened hyperdrive module which gave him the ability to flicker and was called [Hunting Module].

Han Xiao gave the slots of the Apostle Weapon to the Mechanical Lives that were created earlier on. They had grown for a period of time already and were more reliable. Furthermore, he tried to give the slots to the different models of Mechanical Lives so that his Apostle Weapons would have a greater variety.

Over the past three months, Han Xiao had released a faction mission that got many of the players to look around the Shattered Star Ring.

An unexplored Star Field would not have as much activity as the discovered universe. After staying in the Flickering World for such a long time, the players could truly feel the silence of the vast universe. They would usually travel for a few Star Zones without seeing anybody, and it was easy for them to feel just how small they were in the universe. They could have a change of pace after returning to the Shattered Star Ring, and many of the players gradually became energetic again.

Exploring a new Star Field naturally had its own benefits, and the players knew that the Flickering World was definitely a huge event. However, after exploring the Flickering World for some time, the sense of novelty was gone, and a portion of them preferred to remain in the Shattered Star Ring. There were numerous NPCs in the Shattered Star Ring with plenty of different things to do.

Han Xiao would not force the players to do anything. Although he always joked that the players were laborers, he was extremely clear about the players’ personality. Sometimes, their benefits would have to give way to their interests, and this was what the majority of players chased after.

He would not restrict the players’ freedom and would only issue a mission and the relevant reward. As for whether or not the players wanted to complete the mission, it did not have anything to do with him. After all, they players still did not know that the Flickering World would become the most exciting place in the universe during the next version.

On the forums, Bun-Hit-Dog transformed the battle on Planet Lighthouse into a video to let all the players who were not present watch it to their heart’s content.

All the players were extremely curious and shocked after watching the video. This was the battle between eleven Beyond Grade As, and it was the first time the players had witnessed such a scene.

Something worth mentioning was that Han Xiao began selling the Dungeon Crystal in the faction store after the battle. Although the dungeon was not one that the players could complete at their current level, he was certain that the players’ curiosity would overcome them, and this was a good business opportunity.

Indeed, the sales of the Dungeon Crystal were extremely high, and the average survival time of the players was about forty-seven seconds.

The players were all curious about the strength of a Beyond Grade A and wanted to know the true strength of their captain. The players now had a deep understanding of this.

The ordinary cannon fodder mechanical soldiers that had the boost of the Mechanical Force was like a boss-level monster to the players. They could easily dice the players up like vegetables, and the players did not even have the ability to fight back.

Looking at the battlefield, there were millions of such mechanical soldiers…

After going through this bitter journey, the players were clear about Han Xiao’s strength.

Ever since Version 1.0, Black Star’s danger level had always been ‘Fatally Dangerous’ because the highest danger level had been limited to ‘Fatally Dangerous’.

…

Knock! Knock!

Someone knocked on the door of the machinery modification room, and Han Xiao, who was currently adjusting his assembly line, stopped working.

Phillip opened the door, and Lagi and a Forbidden Sorcerer clad in red robes walked in.

“Paying my respects to Your Excellency Black Star.” The Forbidden Sorcerer bowed. “Master Austin sent me to collect the materials.”

“Alright, I have already prepared them. Wait a moment. I will get some men to help you carry it onto your spaceship.”

Han Xiao then waved his hands and got Phillip to contact the logistics department to prepare a few cartons of amber balls for the other party.

This was one of the conditions that he and Austin had agreed upon. Since the darn old man had kept his promise, he would not go back on his word.

The Forbidden Sorcerer then bowed and took his leave.

Han Xiao was about to get back to work but realized that Lagi was still standing by the side without the intention to leave.

“Why are you still here?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“You despise me?” Upon hearing that, Lagi spoke with a bitter expression. “Indeed, someone like me will never be liked no matter where I go. Even my boss doesn’t like me. I’d better jump ship…”

“Nonsense. Since when did I despise you?”

Han Xiao felt his head ache and said with exasperation, “Just what do you have to tell me? Go back to slacking off if you don’t have anything and stop disturbing me.”

“Sigh, you didn’t use to have such an attitude. You were so respectful back when you asked me for an enchantment,” Lagi said with sorrow. “Indeed, you no longer think highly of me…”

Just what is with this insecure attitude of his today‽

Han Xiao restrained the urge to punch Lagi and said, “Say whatever’s on your mind. Don’t disturb me if there’s nothing!”

Lagi then shook his head and said, “I am actually here to make a suggestion.”

Han Xiao’s eyes immediately widened in shock the moment these words were said.

Just what is going on? Wasn’t my vice commander just for show‽

Since when did he learn how to give suggestions?

Did the sun rise from the wrong side today? Wait, an artificial sun can rise from any direction.

“What suggestions do you have?” Han Xiao asked carefully. He was like a hunter that had met a deer in the forest, afraid that he may scare his prey away.

“I heard from His Excellency Milizaus that all of you failed to find anything over the last few months.”

“And then?” Han Xiao nodded. Milizaus was a Mage and seemed to like Lagi for some reason.

As the vice commander of the army, Lagi was also an individual with status. He had encountered Milizaus frequently in recent times and sought advice from Milizaus. Even if it was for Han Xiao’s sake, Milizaus would not reject Lagi.

“With the Shattered Star Ring being so large, it will be impossible for us to find a Beyond Grade A if he wants to hide. I think that we should give up the search and let the Crimson Dynasty find them on their own. There’s no need to waste our manpower and resources,” Lagi said.

“How strange. Why do you suddenly care about such a matter? Did you eat Emerald Grass’ medicine by accident?” Han Xiao asked with doubt.

“As the vice commander of the army, it is only normal for me to bother about the development of the army,” Lagi said with a bitter expression. “In your heart, it seems like…”

“Stop!”

Han Xiao felt his head ache upon hearing Lagi’s words.

In fact, most people would have such a reaction after spending enough time with Lagi, and Han Xiao decided to call this symptom ‘Lagi Syndrome’.

Han Xiao smiled and tried to say with patience, “Alright, I heard your advice and will make a decision based on the circumstances. Can you leave now?”

“… You indeed despise me.”

“Scram!”

…

In some large, neutral space harbor, Taylor and Sagman were hiding within the crowd on the street. Both of them had currently disguised themselves with magic into two ordinary looking civilians of the Aso Clan. This was a type of human-shaped living being with blue skin, purple eyes, and three fingers on their hands.

They walked into the harbor and had their identities checked. Their status as galactic residents was verified with a card, and they successfully passed through the checks.

Their current disguise came from the Arcane Church’s spies that they had met not too long ago, and their identities had truly existed. They had also obtained tens of other identities that they could easily switch into.

Entering the harbor, they looked around and noticed a few suspicious individuals at the corners. They were sizing up the passersby and had an extraordinary aura.

Upon seeing that, they communicated with their consciousness.

“Spies who are here to search for us.”

“There are even spies over here. The dynasty has truly exhausted a great deal of resources in order to find us.”

“Who knows how Ninjia is doing…”

After escaping from the Flickering World, the four of them split up into three groups. Ninjia escaped alone with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, Sagman and Taylor travelled together, and Psyker travelled alone by borrowing the strength of the Star Pupil Holy Race.

During this period, the Crimson Dynasty and Federation of Light spies were scattered all around the Shattered Star Ring. Sagman and Taylor felt every step of the way to be extremely precarious, but thankfully, they received aid from the Arcane Church’s spies.

They were both extremely frustrated in their hearts. As Beyond Grade A Supers, they would be respected wherever they went. Despite having such strength, they had to avoid these weak spies and hide like mice. It was truly too frustrating!

They had switched between plenty of spaceships. They had arrived at this harbor not too long ago, and a new spaceship was waiting for them in the harbor.

As they walked, some commotion could be heard from the pier, and this little commotion did not escape their senses.

Turning around to take a look, they saw a group of galactic warriors walking in their direction with the Black Star Army insignia on their chest.

The crowd immediately let out a path for them and stared at the Black Star Army warriors with awe.

As a new Beyond Grade A organization, the members of the Black Star Army had such special privileges.

Sagman frowned. “They are from the Black Star Army.”

“The subordinates of Black Star are all extremely queer. Avoid them.”

They changed directions.

At the same time, the group of Black Star Army warriors casually looked around.

Right at that moment, a member of the group looked in the direction of Sagman and Taylor and nudged his teammate.

“Strange, I saw two red names just now, and they disappeared in a flash. I wonder if I saw wrongly.”

“This is a neutral harbor, so could they be galactic pirates?”

“Shall we go over to take a look?”

“Er, alright. Since we are here to hand in the mission, we can fight some pirates and earn a quick buck.”

Chapter 864: Whereabouts Exposed

Chapter 864 Whereabouts Exposed

Amid the bustle of the neutral space harbor, the duo headed toward the storehouse while planning their route of escape.

“We have a few plans. Two of the most stable plans are to borrow the aid of the spies and escape through the stargate or continue hiding out identity and slowly travel through the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Both plans have their risks. If we want to travel through the Star Field, the Seoul Star Cluster and Colton Star Cluster are regions that we must avoid.”

“There is another method that would be to try our luck. There is a wormhole cluster in the middle of the Shattered Star Ring, and we can make use of the unstable wormholes to escape into another Star Field.”

Just when they were discussing the matter, they suddenly felt people following them from behind. Their footsteps paused, and they turned around to take a look, only to see the few Black Star Army members that they had spotted earlier following behind them.

Taylor was stunned for a moment. “Why are the members of the Black Star Army eyeing us?”

“Don’t make a commotion and see what they want to do. It may just be a misunderstanding…” Sagman frowned and pretended that he did not spot anything.

After going down a few split paths, the number of people in the surroundings decreased, but the Black Star Army members were still following them. Only then did they confirm that these Black Star Army members had their eyes on them. It seemed as though they wanted to find where their spaceship was docked.

The duo looked at each other.

“What should we do? Did they recognize us?”

“Doesn’t seem that way… but we should get rid of them just to be safe. We can then change into another disguise.”

“This is a neutral harbor. Don’t make too big a commotion or let others notice that we are the culprits.”

“Alright. I will make them disappear without a trace.”

On the other side, the players were following behind and chatting in their party chat.

“Both of the red names are Fatally Dangerous. Will we be able to win?”

“It’s alright. The army will give us the bounty for catching the pirates, but we can also request aid from the nearby members of the army.”

These players had already used their detection skill on Sagman and Taylor, but their names were not revealed. Instead, their disguised names appeared. However, the other party were red names from a hostile faction.

It was not too strange for them to meet a red-named monster out in the galaxy. The majority of them were galactic pirates or scavengers. Thus, these players only thought that they were galactic pirates. It was not that they could not talk to the red-named characters, but it would be extremely easy for them to be attacked since the other party was hostile toward them.

The Black Star Army was in the same camp as the Crimson Dynasty. With the Crimson Dynasty being in open confrontation with the Arcane Church, all members of the Arcane Church became red names for the players in the Black Star Army.

Just when the players wanted to continue tailing the two, their bodies disappeared, and they were suddenly waiting to be revived.

“Eh? Why did I die?”

“Me too. Why didn’t we even see the attack?”

The players were all taken aback and hurriedly opened the interface to see the battle notification. Although they were not able to see how the enemy attacked, the interface would show the damage that they took and the attacker’s name. It was one of the two red named characters, and he seemed to have used a mental attack to one-shot all the players.

It would not be much if this was the case. However, what truly shocked the players was that they suffered 84,000 damage points!

They almost thought that they had read an additional zero!

Just what kind of strength was this?

Just what was the level of the red-named character who attacked them? Was he a Calamity Grade‽

The players were all extremely curious.

“We seem to have met a fantastic character.”

“This is a large fish. Coming into contact with them will definitely trigger a hidden storyline, right?”

Just as they were discussing, one of the players suddenly asked, “For them to easily deal 84,000 damage… do you remember the Planet Lighthouse dungeon we fought yesterday?”

“Wait… I think I understand something!”

The players came to a realization. This party did not join in the Flickering World exploration mission and had been performing missions for the Mercenary League in the Shattered Star Ring. Thus, they had immediately seized the chance to experience the battle the moment the dungeon was released. They still had a vivid memory of how they died an unknown death at the hands of a Beyond Grade A.

Furthermore, damage of such a level seemed to be at the Beyond Grade A level in the dungeon!

This meant that the two Fatally Dangerous red-named characters might not be just Calamity Grade Supers but Beyond Grade A!

Thinking about the mission recently issued by the army to find the Arcane Church’s Beyond Grade As…

The players suddenly realized that they might have met the targets.

After using a spell to get rid of the Black Star Army members, Sagman and Taylor found the warehouse and flew out from one of the docks.

They purchased an extremely common model that could be found anywhere.

Following that, they looked toward the neutral harbor and heaved a sigh of relief when they saw that there were no Black Star Army fleets pursuing them.

Taylor began to relax.

With the large difference in strength between both parties, they had been able to get rid of the few Black Star Army warriors without anyone noticing. It seemed like their identities would not be exposed.

In order to be safe, they decided to change into their next set of identity and purchased a new spaceship again.

However, they just could not understand why the Black Star Army members would suddenly follow them.

Indeed, all the subordinates of Black Star were extremely strange.

…

Ka ka ka!

In Han Xiao’s workshop, a few mechanical arms were currently assembling a human-shaped machine, and it was gradually being formed.

The robot that left the furnace was burning hot, and it was quickly cooled down by the coolants being sprayed on it from the sides.

This step was completed extremely quickly, and the next step would be to apply a coat of paint.

Han Xiao waved his hands and said, “Phillip, conduct a test.”

“Understood, hum… RX001 generation mechanical body. Nickname ‘mammoth’. Conducting the first test…”

The nanoparticles then flowed around the body of the robot.

The test was very quickly concluded, and the data from the test was presented to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao looked through the numbers of the test and nodded with satisfaction.

He was not creating a mechanical soldier this time but a host for his [Lord’s Descent] skill.

Han Xiao had already tested the effect of the [Lord’s Descent] skill. During his tests, he realized that there was a difference when he used the different mechanical soldiers as a host. The difference was largely due to the attributes of the mechanical soldier and the materials used to craft it.

He realized that mechanical soldiers were not the best hosts, and using [Lord’s Descent] on Mechanical Life was not ideal. A Mechanical Life had its own consciousness, and it would be counterproductive to have two consciousnesses in a single body. Furthermore, the consciousness of the body might be damaged if he sent out too much energy.

Thus, after a series of calculations, Han Xiao decided to create a special mechanical container to serve as the host of the [Lord’s Descent] skill to fully maximize the effect of this skill.

At the same time, if he used [Lord’s Descent] on the same target multiple times, there was a chance to have a soul connection, which would probably strengthen the effect of the skill. He was not prepared to treat this container as a disposable product but a long-term host.

This host was created from many precious materials, including a new material that he had forged with [Endless Material Combination] called ‘First Generation Black Star Alloy’. It was able to endure high energy, temperature, and pressure and also had the ability to repair itself. It was able to absorb various types of materials and could take a heavy load. These were the conditions required to endure [Lord’s Descent].

Han Xiao then knocked on the outer armor of the ‘Mammoth’ host, but not a single sound was given out as though all the vibrations had been absorbed by the alloy.

“Not bad. It has the ability to absorb energy and repair itself. Only then will it be able to enjoy my energy conversion and cell regrowth talents during Lord’s Descent.”

Just as he was about to test the actual effect, Phillip’s voice rang in his head.

“Master, hum… a member of the army would like to report to you their whereabouts of the Arcane Church Beyond Grade As. According to the priority system that you set, I skipped past Sylvia and reported the matter directly to you.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled and said, “Oh? Someone actually managed to find a clue? Quickly let me take a look.”

The next moment, a report from the players could be seen in front of his eyes.

Although they were not able to reveal information like ‘red-named characters’ and were only able to give a vague description about them being killed, Han Xiao was extremely clear about the players’ characters and did not doubt the player’s advantage when it came to information.

“There is a large chance that they are the Arcane Church’s Beyond Grade As. Since there are only two of them, it means that they must have split up. Hmm, these two fellows have changed their identities, and this will not be their only identity. Now that the players have alerted them, they will probably switch to another identity. However, this information can also help us achieve a breakthrough.”

Han Xiao was extremely excited. The biggest difficulty of the dynasty was that they were unable to lock onto the whereabouts of the four and could only search blindly.

Although the players had alerted the two and were unable to tail them, it had at least narrowed their location down to a specific region and would be extremely helpful to the dynasty. They dynasty would not have to search blindly and could narrow their search.

“In this respect, the players seem to have an advantage. Hmm, I know…”

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao opened the interface and issued a mission to the players.

_____________________

The Crimson Dynasty Search Operation: Region Investigation

Mission Introduction: The Black Star Army has received clues that the Arcane Church’s Beyond Grade As have appeared in the Fleur Star Cluster, Three Wood Star System, Star Zone 9, Furnace Neutral Harbor. The members of the army should head over to the region and report any new clues to the Army Commander, Black Star.

Mission Requirements: Search the region and find the target.

Tip: The target is in disguise, so you should pay close attention to Red Named characters that are Fatally Dangerous. If they are moving as a pair, it is very likely for them to be the targets.

This will be a Prize-Pool Mission. Accepting the mission will require 200 Experience, and those who discover clues can split the Prize Pool.

Prize Pool: 10,000,000 Experience, 3,000,000 Enas.

Accumulated Reward: 0

_____________________

After checking that there was nothing wrong with the mission, Han Xiao issued it to the players.

He was currently a wealthy tycoon. In the past, he needed to risk his life for a few hundred thousand Enas, but he could now give out a few million Enas without even batting an eye.

The Black Star Army had extremely deep pockets. There were many financial groups who wanted to help the Black Star Army become listed on the market, but he had rejected them all temporarily.

As for the players who provided the intelligence, Han Xiao was not stingy and gave them rich rewards through the interface.

“Right, duplicate a copy of this intelligence and send it to Tarrokov.”

“Roger, hum…”

Following which, Han Xiao asked, “Is the battleship of those members still present in that neutral harbor?”

“Yes, hum…”

Han Xiao raised his brows and entered the quantum network.

“Alright. Phillip, infiltrate the database of the harbor.”

Phillip was able to easily access the database of many different locations.

Asking the players to help him was only one approach. Han Xiao was also prepared to use his Virtual Intrusion to check the records of the harbor and find information about the disguises that the two had on. He would then dig through the history of those two individuals, and he might be able to find more useful information.

The galaxy was in the quantum network era, and every galactic resident would leave some traces on the net—where they were born, where they worked, where they went, and so on. Everything was recorded, and there was no such thing as privacy before a Virtual Mechanic.

Although the four from the Arcane Church were Beyond Grade As, there was no Mechanic among them, and it would be impossible for them to use Virtual Technology skills to clean up their traces in the quantum network.

This gave Han Xiao a chance.

“Perhaps they will change their identities, but I doubt they will switch spaceships halfway during the flight. I should be able to locate them based on the records of the spaceship.”

Han Xiao nodded in his head.

As long as the targets exposed themselves, it would not be so simple to escape from the hands of a Virtual Mechanic like him.

Thinking about the advice that Lagi had given not too long ago, Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.

That was truly some sh*tty advice…

Chapter 865: Falling into the Trap

Chapter 865 Falling into the Trap

Following the data link channel that was built by Phillip, Han Xiao’s consciousness warped through the quantum network, and the nodes appeared in front of him.

Sweeping through, Han Xiao confirmed his target and entered one of the databases.

The defenses of the artificial intelligence within such interstellar nodes were practically nonexistent before one who had grasped the Beyond Grade A Mechanic knowledge [Virtual Creator].

Under his control, Phillip easily entered the back door of the harbor’s database, copied the relevant data, and quickly found the disguised identities of Sagman and Taylor. He found the two in the wide area quantum network, as well as the record of all activities of the identity so far.

“The two of them are unassuming galactic residents, and the last time they appeared on the log was…”

Browsing through the information, he saw that their record was seamless and estimated that they should indeed be real people. The actual owners should have died in outer space, and their identity was then collected by the Arcane Church’s spies.

Since there were countless interstellar travelers who died within the universe each year, it provided the gray forces with a large number of fake identities. Han Xiao remembered that there were large-scale sales of this identity by intelligence organizations on the black market.

“If not for the fact that the players had noticed it, no one would notice two ordinary people with such innocuous resumes in the vast universe.” Han Xiao shook his head as he smiled.

Upon checking the ID of the spaceship that the two people used, he discovered that it was still docked within one of the lots, which meant that the spaceship should have been abandoned. The two of them had probably gotten on a new one after reaching this central port, and Han Xiao had to trace the new ID of the spaceship they used.

“Since they bought a new spaceship, then there has to be transaction records of them within the port… but the accounts of the people they impersonated did not show any movement of funds, so it is likely that they used a different account… Phillip, check which supplier the spaceship originated from. They could have made a transaction there. From there, we can trace it to their secret account.”

“Master, hum… there’s no information about the origin of the spacecraft in the port database. This information is generally stored separately in the shipyard’s independent database.”

“Oh… then mark all the network nodes of the shipyard, ship market, and black market in this port.”

“Marking complete. There are 1,374 nodes, hum…”

“Hack into all of them.” Han Xiao waved carelessly.

The moment the command was given, Phillip immediately mobilized huge computing power, and the more than a thousand quantum network nodes were invaded one by one. The colors changed from a peaceful white to green with control authority, akin to a virus infection. Han Xiao’s control range within the port expanded rapidly.

Before long, Han Xiao had gained control of the more than a thousand databases. and all the backdoors were opened by him while the other party knew nothing about it.

With his current Virtual Technology expertise, so long as he could establish a link, he could easily spread his control over a whole planet’s network, taking over the entire planet remotely.

Phillip’s processing system had been strengthened countless times by Han Xiao, and his computing power was now extremely strong. In a few moments, he had completed the data search and discovered the origin of the spaceship as well as Sagman’s purchase history, together with his spending accounts.

In this way, they gained an additional tracking clue. If this secret account was utilized elsewhere, even if they changed their disguise, they would be exposed.

However, Han Xiao was still unsatisfied. He wanted to trace the early transfer records of this anonymous account, as he was sure that the money had been sent through the Arcane Church. From this, he would be able to latch onto their other spies and secret accounts. As long as he continued to follow the trail, there would be more clues.

From this small breakthrough, he might be able to lock onto a portion of the Arcane Church’s identities.

…

The moment the mission [The Crimson Dynasty Search Operation: Region Investigation] was released, it received the attention of the enthusiastic players. Millions of them accepted this prize pool task and gathered from all directions to move toward this area.

Initially, they were akin to headless flies and could only blindly search due to the lack of knowledge. Thus, some people went off to perform other missions.

But the situation had changed. With a mission area demarcated, the chance of completion would be greatly increased, so countless players flocked over.

The prize pool of ten million experience was no small sum, but what drove the players was the prize money of three million Enas. When they took one normal mission, the amount received would not be more than a hundred thousand Enas.

To have such a big sum of money in front of them, three million, they could not resist the temptation!

There were even players fantasizing. If they completed the objective alone, would they not gain the whole reward?

The requirement to enter this mission was only two hundred experience. With such low investments and high potential returns, the players did not think too much, and the crazy accumulation of experience in the prize-pool became the factor that pulled in even more players.

For a period of time, the players poured into the area, and the probability of interstellar citizens meeting members of the Black Star Army increased significantly.

…

Within the interrogation room of a dynasty battleship, a group of captured Arcane Church spies were firmly tied to a chair, and the dynasty soldiers guarded the entrance to the room with guns.

This group had been captured based on the intelligence of Black Star. He had dug out some information from the secret accounts of Sagman, and the dynasty had been able to select new targets.

Shua!

The door to the interrogation room opened, and a man with a smile on his face strolled in. He wore the trench coat of a dynasty officer and black gloves.

Standing in front of the captives, he softly laughed.

“Let me introduce myself. I’m a psychic, one of the Senior Officers of the Crimson Dynasty’s Intelligence Department. My name is… heh heh, there’s no need to tell you guys. Anyways, we’d better hurry up. I’ll be digging some information from your brains today. Please cooperate, else you will burn out your brains, and I won’t be responsible for that.”

As he spoke, he walked up to one of the captives, placing his palm on the head of said captive.

Boom!

The captive began to struggle violently, as though suffering from epilepsy.

A few seconds passed, and trails of blood leaked out from all seven orifices on his head. The captive’s mouth was slack, and tears, snot, and saliva mixed with the fresh blood dripped onto the ground. He looked miserable as he continued to convulse.

“Thank you for your cooperation.” The smile of the Intelligence officer got even wider, and he walked toward the next person.

Looking at him approach, the rest had expressions of horror, as though saying, Don’t come over!

Screams of misery sounded out. “Argh!”

Looking at this scene, the guards at the door subconsciously tightened their grips on their weapons.

Very quickly, the intelligence officer’s job was completed. He took off his gloves, placing them in his pocket before leaving.

As he was walking out, he tapped one of the soldiers’ shoulders and jerked his head toward one of the captive spies who was foaming at the mouth.

“Don’t clean up the scene. There’s still some use for them. I require their genetic code to verify their identities as spies.”

“Un… understood.” The guard swallowed with difficulty.

The officer then took out his communicator, reporting to Tarrokov.

“There’re a few of them who have come into contact with Beyond Grade As, and we have confirmed that they were Taylor and Sagman. I’ve confirmed that all of them match with the identities of spies from the Arcane Church, as well as the tasks entrusted to them.

Tarrokov shook his head. “Are there any you suspect to be true personnel that personally received the instructions?”

“Yes.”

The espionage was based off the command from the Arcane Church, and the missions they received were all different. A large portion of them were giving misleading or false information, and only a small portion were really in contact with Sagman.

Because Han Xiao had locked onto the area where the two of them were, the dynasty could rule out many of the misleading locations, and the spy with a mission location around where the two of them were located was thus the suspected actual personnel, so they could also narrow down their scope of operations even further.

Only when they discovered the actual personnel involved could Tarrokov then implement a plan, which was to impersonate the espionage agent of the Arcane Church. Because Sagman was in contact with the Arcane Church, they would not trust anyone other than the person who was actually in charge of this mission.

Impersonating was difficult but not impossible, as long as they caught the person in charge. Even if the Arcane Church were to discover it later, it would be too late.

…

Following the search of the Black Star Army, Sagman and Taylor found many irregularities, as though they had been grasped in the palm of someone.

They immediately took all sorts of measures, but it was as though a large net had been spread toward them, trapping them before being slowly tightened.

Their every move seemed to be monitored, as if an assassin was hiding behind them.

While they did not know where the problem lay, but when they thought about it carefully, they realised it was most likely the fact that Black Star was following them through the quantum network, and their spaceship and purchases had likely been tracked.

Thus, the two of them decided to abandon their spaceship, float around in the universe with their fleshly bodies for a period of time. When they had left their spaceship at a distance, they then transferred to another spaceship operated by their spies, and donned on a new disguise.

The situation improved for a period of time, and Sagman as well as Taylor both thought that they had shaken Black Star off.

But they were unaware that the dynasty had already completely locked their position and quietly started to tighten the circle, following them. When the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty arrived, that would be the time to reel in the net.

…

Within the wormholes of the Shattered Star Ring, the Fallen Ark fleet led by EsGod was roaming about.

On the flagship, Fakisen spoke to the main body of EsGod. “Your Excellency EsGod, are you sure we are leaving the Shattered Star Ring through this method?”

“And if we don’t?” EsGod laughed. “Who will lend us their stargate?”

At this moment, EsGod had already completed his evolution and was full of vitality. Fakisen could feel a deeper level of pressure from him, coming from a higher life form.

EsGod, who possessed information from the Evolutionary Civilization, had gained a lot from the evolutionary energy, and no one could tell how much he had improved.

Fallen Ark had only established a temporary stargate between the desolate universe belt and the Flickering World, and there were also no stargates present in the Shattered Star Ring. Furthermore, they had borrowed the Arcane Church’s stargate to travel from the Central Galaxy to the Flickering World, and they naturally could not use the same gate when returning.

From the beginning, EsGod had been prepared to leave the star field through the wormhole group of the Shattered Star Ring, one of the reasons being that it was where he had first discovered a certain fortuitous encounter.

“The transmission locations of these unstable wormholes are completely randomized, and we don’t know where we’ll be thrown. The risk is too great. We can just slowly proceed along the desolate universe belt, avoiding the crowd for a period of them.” Fakisen tried to dissuade him.

EsGod turned a deaf ear, looking at the unstable wormholes constantly emerging and disappearing outside the porthole. “Just look at how disorderly and chaotic this scene is. This is the true meaning of the universe, and only in this disorderly state can it contain endless possibilities.”

EsGod then turned to Fakisen, casually asking, “Any intelligence on the remaining Beyond Grade As from the Arcane Church?”

Fakisen nodded. “The dynasty is pursuing the remaining four with all their might and did not put much energy into chasing us. The Black Star Army, Bloodshed Land, and Klent Kingdom are also the heads of the Shattered Star Ring, so the dynasty will probably catch one of two of them.”

“It seems like the Arcane Church will suffer great losses this time.” EsGod blandly eyed Fakisen. “Are you happy?”

“Of course.” Fakisen laughed. “The moment they contacted me, I was already picturing this scene.”

“Ah, I’m afraid it is not just this reason…” EsGod laughed but did not pursue the exact reason. He then turned back to face the wormhole, leisurely commanding, “Let’s enter.”

The Fallen Ark fleet slowly traversed into the wormhole and vanished.

…

A stream of light shot through the universe. It was Sagman and Taylor’s spaceship.

“There are only seven more hours before we reach the next public stargate. We’re nearing the border of Shattered Star Ring. The dynasty has little control over the next star cluster. The spies are also already in place and are waiting to assemble the stargate. The moment we move to a different area, the dynasty will not be able to find us so easily anymore,” Sagman said.

Taylor nodded, his expression finally easing a little.

They had hidden high and low for almost three months, and this sort of life was stifling for them. Finally, they had hope of escaping unscathed.

Sagman sighed. “It’s a pity that Mercer and Dylan were captured. Out of six of us, only four of us can return… no, maybe only three. Psyker’s base is within the Shattered Star Ring, and sooner or later, he will have to come back and face the pressure from Black Star and Heber.”

At this point, neither was in the mood to talk further. Their mission that they were so confident in had actually put them in such a sorry situation.

At this point, the artificial intelligence of the spaceship suddenly sounded, and it was a familiar voice.

“If you have the time to be concerned about others, you’d be better off using that time to worry about yourselves.”

The duo jumped, their expressions changing.

This voice… Black Star‽

The next moment, the spaceship suddenly shuddered, and the artificial intelligence of the spaceship killed the hyperdrive function, causing the spaceship to come out from hyperdrive.

Even the ordinary engine was turned off, so the spaceship simply floated in the universe.

The magic interference traps that Milizaus and Ravenlaude had placed in the void in advance completely enveloped this area. All spacetime abilities were blocked.

Streams of light shot out from eight directions, wrapping around Sagman and Taylor’s spaceship.

Milizaus as well as the Beyond Grade As from the dynasty were all on the scene, and each occupied a position, staring at them like tigers toward prey.

“We’re surrounded!” Taylor’s face drained of color.

Sagman’s face twitched violently, his expression mixed with incredulity and fury. He suddenly noticed a mechanical army blocking their path ahead.

Standing at the front were the four Apostle Weapons lined up in a row—Psionic Prime with a crown and a spear, Giant King Kong with its hulking body, Silver Flash with its gleaming hand-cannons, and Mad Sky Hunter with its arrogant bearing.

Standing in front of them was a figure, but it was not Han Xiao. It was the mechanical host, codenamed ‘Mammoth’. At this moment, Han Xiao was utilizing [Lord’s Descent] to project his consciousness and will into this mechanical host. Its tough mechanical body looked dazzling with the blue-gold Mechanical Force arcing around it.

This mechanical host had seemingly transformed into Han Xiao’s avatar, sharing his attributes, skills, and expertise. It practically possessed a Beyond Grade A combat power at this moment.

“Surrender.” Two dark streams of energy flowed from Milizaus’ nostrils, who was in his dragon form.

While he was unwilling to chase and fight so hard, the dynasty had already locked onto the enemy, and he and the rest of the Beyond Grade As could not openly defy the dynasty’s orders.

Sagman’s eyeballs darted around before finally landing on Han Xiao’s machinery.

After being played by Han Xiao a few times, he had already gone beyond the point of anger.

Seeing this, Han Xiao leisurely replied, “In this situation, your odds of escape are close to none. We just want to capture you guys alive. How about surrendering?”

Sagman breathed out loudly before suddenly smiling. However, his smile was full of viciousness.

“When did you hear that a Beyond Grade A does not fight and just surrenders?”

“Maybe today?” Han Xiao’s brows rose.

While he said that, his posture slightly lowered, preparing for battle. Several other Beyond Grade As were also prepared to move, ready to follow Han Xiao’s lead at any time.

With his gaze fixed to the front, Sagman suddenly spoke to Taylor. “I’ll try to hold all of them back; you look for an opportunity to escape. They only want to capture one of us. If one more of us can escape, that will be a bonus.”

“Don’t be stupid. They came prepared. I can’t run.” Taylor let out a bitter laugh before taking out his staff. “I’m better off staying and fighting with you. Even if we can’t change the result, I can’t let myself be caught without dignity.”

Sagman nodded before murmuring, “After this battle, I don’t know when we’ll next be free.”

They then looked at each other.

Boom!

The next instant, the spaceship shattered, and the duo rushed out toward the Supers of the dynasty.

…

_____________________

Galaxy Chronicles (Official Revised Edition)

In the Year 705, on the 27th Day of the 9th Month on the Galaxy Calendar, the Arcane Church and Fallen Ark teamed up to launch a surprise attack on Planet Lighthouse within the Flickering World. Their goal was to snatch the Evolution Cube and kill the Beyond Grade A allies of the Crimson Dynasty—Beyoni, Black Star, and Milizaus.

‘Magus’ Austin intervened in this battle, and the Arcane Church used the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to hit Milizaus, but it was later countered with some special sealing means by Black Star.

Black Star later captured the Beyond Grade A Super of the Arcane Church, Dylan, netting great achievements. The Arcane Church was forced to retreat and entered an escape phase, where the dynasty began hunting them down.

In the same year, on the 3rd Day of the 10th Month, just as the Arcane Church’s fleet left the Flickering World, fleet commander Rogue and Mercer were captured.

In the Year 706, on the 21st Day of the 1st Month, with the assistance of the Federation of Light, the Bloodshed Land, Black Star Army, Klent Kingdom, Purple Crystal, and more, the Crimson Dynasty finally successfully intercepted the Beyond Grade As Sagman and Taylor in the Shattered Star Ring. After a bloody battle, they were both captured by the Crimson Dynasty.

At this point, the pursuit from the dynasty came to an end, and the fleet of Arcane Church was completely annihilated. Four Beyond Grade As were captured, and only two escaped. This became known in history as ‘The Battle of Planet Lighthouse’ and ‘The Attack of the Arcane Church’.

_____________________

Chapter 866: The Curtains Close

Chapter 866 The Curtains Close

The Arcane Church had a foreign embassy on the mother planet of the Crimson Dynasty, and its ambassador paid a visit to the political core of the dynasty, Tarunamir Palace, to discuss the remuneration regarding Mercer and Dylan.

The negotiations had already been going for several months. Before this, the officials of the dynasty were initially adamant on not releasing them, but now they were becoming more open to certain conditions.

“With regard to Article 53 of the remuneration, my side still has something to add…”

As the ambassador continued to talk, the officials of the dynasty nodded, occasionally interrupting. Regarding this matter, they did not have any veto power, and they were actually just the spokespersons for the upper echelons. Their attitudes were the attitudes of the upper echelons themselves.

After a while, the communicator of one of the dynasty officials rang, indicating that there was a message. The ambassador paused and waved to the official to read the message before he continued.

The official in question opened the communicator, but after glancing at the news, they immediately put the communicator down.

Seeing this, the ambassador was about to continue but was suddenly halted by a hand from that official.

“Let’s stop here for today. As for the previous terms and conditions, please return and make a new set.”

The ambassador jumped up. “Didn’t we already discuss the terms? Why the sudden…”

He was cut by the official’s wave. The official stood up, looking down at the ambassador with a smile that revealed some complacency and superiority to the ambassador.

“Go back and wait for the news from your upper echelons, or you can take a look at today’s news. You’ll naturally understand.”

…

After three months, the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church had some new developments.

On this day, the dynasty issued a new piece of news to the entire universe, announcing that they had succeeded in capturing the two Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church, which meant that they now had four captives.

The counterattack of the dynasty was as fast as lightning, causing many of the organizations in the universe to feel awed. Seeing the heavy bleeding of the Arcane Church this time, some people felt schadenfreude, some rejoiced, and some felt the bitter hatred against common enemies.

This news caused a sensation in over a dozen star fields. In the eyes of countless interstellar citizens, the Beyond Grade A Supers were akin to deities that were only spoken of in legends. However, there were actually four of them who were knocked down to the earth and turned into prisoners.

This sort of capturing of Beyond Grade A had not happened for a long time. Countless citizens felt that they were observing a piece of history that would be passed down in time.

But on the forums, the players were focused on another matter.

Now that the search and capture mission had ended, the players received their reward. Within the army communications system, Phillip issued a general message, praising their contribution, which proved that their contribution was not small in allowing the dynasty to capture the Beyond Grade As.

The few players that first discovered Sagman and Taylor publicized their reward on the forums, and this allowed the other players to understand that the trend of this big event plot was inadvertently changed by them participating.

From Version 1.0 to Version 3.0, the players gradually found that they were having more and more influence on events, and they were becoming more involved in Galaxy. Generally, the players only felt their existence when challenging the storyline during the time when they were on the beginner planets.

However, this time, what they had re-written was a galactic war between two Universal Civilizations, of which the scale was much larger and grander.

The feeling of involvement was more memorable and rewarding compared to just purely receiving the mission reward.

This event was also recorded by the players into the Shattered Star Ring chronicles.

Every player was given the right to edit the chronicle, which caused no small headache for the officials. Thus, the officials would filter the events and organize them, and the trivial matters would be placed within the appendix. Only events that were worth mentioning would be placed within the main post. The players who wrote entries could sign their names on it and receive rewards in return, which was a glorious accomplishment.

…

Within another star cluster in the Shattered Star Ring, spaceships that snaked like a serpent were lined up in front of a stargate. Among them was an ordinary, unassuming spaceship.

Within that spaceship, the virtual screen was showing the news—the dynasty announcing the results of the pursuit operation, in which two Beyond Grade As were captured alive.

Beep!

The virtual screen was switched off.

Ninjia put down the remote, holding his forehead with one hand. His expression was complicated.

“Sagman and the rest have all been captured by the dynasty…”

Among the four that escaped from the Flickering World, two of them had already been caught. Psyker’s situation was also terrible, so he was technically the only one who could safely make it out of the Shattered Star Ring. A sense of sorrow permeated Ninjia.

When he thought back to their departure, the six of them had been full of confidence. To think that in the blink of an eye, their entire force had collapsed, and the majority had even been captured. What a tragic end.

He had heard that the upper echelons of the Arcane Church were originally discussing the ransom payment with the Crimson Dynasty, but now that the latter had two more chips in hand, the price offered by the church would have to be increased. Furthermore, the Crimson Dynasty would definitely not allow the Arcane Church to redeem all of them, so there would be someone who experienced a long period of time within the prison.

“At least… I managed to bring the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back…”

Ninjia slightly shook his head. Now that things had come to such a point, he could only use this to comfort himself and the church.

…

“Thank goodness it was Ninjia who held onto the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. He did not let the dynasty take that away as well…”

In the Arcane Church’s meeting of Bishops, many of them sat there with bitter expressions. One of them tried to comfort the rest, but he only received looks of helplessness.

One of the bishops spoke up. “We activated our espionage network in the Shattered Star Ring, yet they failed to bring all of them back. The price we paid this time far outweighs the benefits obtained. Even Sagman and Taylor have fallen into the dynasty’s hands, adding to their chips. We need to offer a large ransom payment now because the dynasty will definitely not be polite to us.”

The ransom payments demanded between universal civilizations would not just simply be money but included political, military, and economic conditions.

The bishops were enveloped in sorrows during this meeting. None of them had any time to feel anger.

Dylan, Mercer, Sagman, and Taylor did not just represent themselves, for they had their own Beyond Grade A organizations with immense influence. The strong were plenty there, and with their leaders being captured, these Beyond Grade A organizations would definitely go into turmoil and panic. In order to stabilize their allies, the church had to withstand no small pressure.

In addition, because of the attention paid by the other Beyond Grade As, the Arcane Church not only had to redeem them but had to redeem them quickly, before their Beyond Grade A allies lost faith in them. If their allies lost faith, it would cause their recruitment of Beyond Grade As in the future to be much more difficult.

After all, the older Beyond Grade As would die, and new Beyond Grade As would always be born. Because of the long period of time that a civilization could exist, the Beyond Grade As under them would constantly undergo a shuffle. From a long-term perspective, the reputation and credibility of a civilization was important.

As for the newer generation of Beyond Grade As, the Crimson Dynasty had an overwhelming advantage…

As the record holder for the fastest time taken to reach the Beyond Grade A stage, Black Star undoubtedly had potential to go further. Furthermore, in the last battle, he had shown off his edge, much sooner than the observing forces had expected.

One could see that the strength shown by Black Star would definitely become one of the strengths relied on by the dynasty in the near future. The most frightening part was his age. Among all the Beyond Grade As, he was the youngest, which was enough for him to serve the dynasty for hundreds or even thousands of years.

In other words, for a few hundred years, they probably would have to constantly see this wretched guy’s face.

The moment they thought of how the Crimson Dynasty had gotten their hands on such valuable stocks, the envy of the Arcane Church rose so high they seemed to have reached the heavens.

They also wanted to kill Black Star, but their attempt this time had left them with tragic losses, and thus, the Arcane Church had decided to temporarily give up on the Evolution Cube.

Before eliminating the impact that this storm caused, the Arcane Church did not intend to make trouble for Black Star. In fact, they did not even wish to see him.

The Arcane Church admitted that they had flopped this time.

This debt would be written down and remembered by them to be collected later.

There was still time!

…

“Sagman and the rest were caught.”

In a dimly lit room, the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church were gathered through remote projection. Around the table were six empty spots.

Because of the matter this time, the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church had gathered to discuss the resultant waves caused by the news.

“Initially, when the Arcane Church came to me to take on this task, they only saw the disparity of combat power and thought that it was impossible to fail. However, I felt that there was some danger, so I rejected it, and they had Mercer take my place. Now that I look at it, it was good I did not accept the mission.” One of them could not help but attempt to be wise after the incident.

“It’s a pity that I’m being watched by too many organizations and am unable to even move in secret. If I had taken part in this mission, the results would not have been the same,” another said blandly.

The Arcane Church also had Beyond Grade As on the level of the three pillars of the Crimson Dynasty, but their strongest Supers did not participate in the operation this time. Because they were too strong, the surveillance on them was naturally higher, and any movement from them would have attracted the attention of many eyes. Furthermore, the Arcane Church had thought that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter would be enough to handle them and only approached Sagman and rest, whose strength was lower compared to the strongest few.

“However, no matter how we put it, Sagman had the numerical advantage, yet they were still unable to snatch the Evolution Cube. Black Star’s ability could be considered an unexpected factor this time, and it seems like we have yet another strong opponent.”

“Hmm… in another decade or so, the three pillars of the dynasty might just turn into the four pillars…”

With his allies in the same camp having suffered at Black Star’s hands, the impressions of the Beyond Grade As present toward Black Star had become even stronger than before.

“How about it? What ideas do we have? Are we going to wait for the Arcane Church to redeem them, or do we try to save them?”

“Let’s maintain silence and wait. If the Arcane Church can solve the problem, there’s no need for us to complicate matters. Furthermore, from the intelligence provided by the Arcane Church, Black Star seems to be able to seal up Beyond Grade As. Although I don’t know what sort of Universal Treasure that is, it is something that cannot be broken so easily.”

Everyone nodded. They were still feeling trepidation toward Han Xiao’s second mysterious Universal Treasure.

Based on normal procedures, the dynasty would bring the four captives back, and to save them, the most important thing would be coordination.

However, intelligence from Arcane Church said that Black Star was able to seal up Beyond Grade As. With the intelligence capabilities of the church, this would not be an unfounded rumor.

Without coordination to break out the prisoners from both inside and outside, the operation would become a lot more difficult.

While the Beyond Grade As were friends with Sagman and the rest, they were not so close that they would willingly brave hell and high seas for them.

…

A pale blue vortex appeared, and a huge fleet of spaceships slowly appeared from within the vortex, emblazoned with the logo of the dynasty. They slowly left the stargate, leaving behind traces of flames from their tail as they flew, and within them, there was a battleship shaped like a huge dragon.

The light from the stargate illuminated the bodies of the battleships, leaving mottled spots of light and shadow on their angular hulls. They revealed a series of armor cracks and depressions, as well as varying degrees of damage to the outer armor.

Several spaceships from the Black Star Army were suspended near the stargate and slowly faced the heavily armed main flagship of the fleet. The damage suffered by the main flagship was particularly terrible, with a large portion of its armored plates torn out. The holes filled with nano-repair materials showcased the intensity of the battle.

The spaceships docked with the main flagship, and the mechanical structures around their doors locked with each other to complete the link.

Whoosh!

The cabin door slid open, and Han Xiao walked into the flagship. Escorted by the dynasty soldiers, he arrived at the heavily guarded imprisonment zone, where two restraint cabins were placed.

The inner wall of the restraint cabin was made up of an extremely tough alloy, which made it difficult to escape from the inside. The internal structure also automatically adjusted to the prisoner’s body shape before fixing in that position. In the middle layer were devices to provide high voltage and electromagnetic fields to restrain the captive and weaken transmission of energy. Right now, they were holding Sagman and Taylor.

While the restraint cabin could not totally restrict the Beyond Grade As, the duo were suffering from heavy injuries and had no strength to struggle free. Furthermore, Heber and Beyoni were on watch.

Han Xiao went there in person because he wanted to utilize the Spacetime Amber, sealing both parties up.

“Lord.” The Apostle Weapons walked over.

“You did well.” Han Xiao nodded before recalling the mechanical host.

Because he had utilized [Lord’s Descent] on the mechanical host to engage Sagman and Taylor, it had suffered quite a bit of damage and would require some degree of repair.

The duo had nowhere to run and gave it their all. This was especially so for Sagman, as the destruction he wrought while going all out dealt some degree of damage to almost everyone there. He was eventually pinned down by the Beyond Grade A Supers of the dynasty.

Tarrokov’s long distance projection came up and greeted him. “You’ve come. We were waiting.”

“Let them out.” Han Xiao commanded the dynasty soldiers to unlock the restraint cabin, and taking out the Spacetime Amber, he sealed Sagman and Taylor.

“This is a lot safer, with no risk of getting into trouble.” Tarrokov tapped the amber ball in satisfaction.

Ravenlaude could not help but look at Han Xiao. He realized that the Spacetime Amber was effective, and his expression sank in envy.

Tarrokov then commanded the two soldiers to take the amber balls away while he led Han Xiao and the rest to the conference room.

After they had taken their seats, he looked toward Han Xiao. “Her Excellency is extremely pleased with our progress. Upon learning of Black Star’s accomplishments this time round, she arranged a special award.”

Han Xiao nodded. He had spent quite the bit of effort during this pursuit operation and provided a lot of intelligence. After capturing the two, he had received a notification saying that he had obtained 4,500 Dynasty Contribution Points.

It did not end there. Tarrokov had told him in private that his accomplishments would allow the dynasty to be biased toward him when dividing the territory of the Flickering World, allowing him to claim bigger swathes of land.

This emergency was not only neutralized but turned from danger into an opportunity, so the upper echelons had an extremely good impression of Han Xiao.

“The operation has ended, and the spies of the Arcane Church will also be hunted down, but this job will be taken over by the Intelligence Bureau as the dynasty has another task for you,” Tarrokov said. “Next, the dynasty requires all of you to escort the four captives back to the Constellation Corridor, to prevent the Arcane Church from intercepting them along the way.”

Everyone nodded. They had to be cautious and not lose these chips because of their carelessness.

“However, that does not include Black Star and the Tyrant.”

Everyone turned over, and even Han Xiao and Heber looked surprised.

“What do you need us for?” Heber asked in a deep voice.

Tarrokov opened the star map, magnifying it, before stopping at the territory of the Star Pupil Holy Race.

“I need you two to take a portion of the dynasty fleet and head toward the Star Pupil Holy Race.”

“Capture Psyker?” Heber frowned.

“No, you guys are going there to demonstrate dominance and pressure them.” Tarrokov shook his head in response. “Psyker’s situation is different because he is the leader of a civilization, and his camp is based in the Shattered Star Ring. Initially, the dynasty planned to deal with him, but now that we’ve caught Sagman and Taylor, the Ruler cancelled this plan. Just treat it as leaving some face for them.”

“Oh, that’s not too bad,” Maximiler said. “We already have four captives, and Psyker has nowhere to run. If we continue to hammer at them, this might backfire on the dynasty.”

The rest of the Beyond Grade As captured did not have any roots in the Shattered Star Ring, so they could only blame their bad luck. But Psyker could run but not hide since his base was in that area. If the dynasty forcefully tried to drag away a civilization’s leader, this would result in a backfire, and the Arcane Church would also not watch blindly as that happened, or else they would lose the trust of their allies.

The dynasty was originally not afraid of such a consequence, but now that they had new captives, there was no need to poke the hornet’s nest. Thus, they decided to wrap up while the going was good.

Of course, not capturing Psyker did not mean that they would condone his actions. There was still a need to suppress the development of the Star Pupil Holy Race, and if they could even chase this Arcane Church allied force out of the Star Field, that would be best.

The Crimson Dynasty had mobilized millions of battleships to pioneer the Flickering World, and now they were transferring part of its fleet to the Shattered Star Ring. The armed forces available in this Shattered Star Ring long exceed that of the other two universal civilizations, and even if the Federation of Light was the nominal ruling power here, all was useless before strength.

A pity. Han Xiao’s brows furrowed. He felt it a regret not to be able to capture the other party, as he was interested in Psyker’s body structure. However, every time he saw Psyker, he just wanted to poke the guy’s eyes.

However, since he had taken away the national treasure of the Star Pupil Holy Race, both parties were like fire and water. Now that he still had to go over to the other party’s territory and swagger, this attitude seemed to be bordering on arrogance.

Seems like I’d better bring more people, in case I get beaten up…

Chapter 867: Demonstration

Chapter 867 Demonstration

The action plan was finalized. The dynasty troops would split into three sections; Milizaus and his group would take the captives back, Tarrokov would remain to command the fleet, and Han Xiao and Heber would clean up any loose ends by going to the Star Pupil Holy Race together.

Watching the dynasty’s fleet leave, Han Xiao turned to look at Heber on the virtual screen of his spaceship and smiled.

“We’re going to be partners again this time. When we arrive at the Star Pupil Holy Race, I hope you can live up to your namesake and be more tyrannical.”

“Humph.”

The virtual screen turned dark as Heber cut the connection, not deigning to speak with him. From the porthole, one could see the Bloodshed Land’s troops turn and leave, morphing into rays of light.

Han Xiao clicked his tongue before calling Sylvia.

“Get Herlous to send a fleet to this meeting point. I’ve gotten Phillip to transfer the coordinates over to you.”

“Roger that.”

With this simple conversation over, Han Xiao cut the call. He realized that Sylvia was getting more and more capable, with him practically not needing to worry any longer.

“It feels as though I’m becoming more and more like Ames, turning into a arm-flinging shopkeeper[1]…”

As he played with his communicator, he could not resist bursting into laughter. He realized that if he were to turn into Ames, then Sylvia would become his Jenny.

To think that the heroic Mechanical Lady Knight of his past life had turned into an army affairs officer and head secretary. He did not know which the players would find more attractive, though he knew that Sylvia’s favorability within the players was currently quite high.

This moment, Mad Sky Hunter took the initiative to lean over to Han Xiao, nudging him with its head. Han Xiao’s mouth curled, and he proceeded to stroke the brain portion of Mad Sky Hunter, causing it to let out happy noises as it lowered its head, just like an actual pet getting petted.

Mad Sky Hunter would only behave like this in front of Han Xiao, its creator. As a beast-type Mechanical Life, its mannerisms had deviated a little from the norm. Upon accessing its web records, Han Xiao discovered that other than the combat resources, it had also downloaded dozens of pet videos from the internet. Most likely, it was attempting to learn how to behave like a pet, but its actions coupled with its sleek, glossy demeanor only served to give Han Xiao goosebumps.

If he really did pet it, the feeling he would get from his hands would be just plain weird. However, if he did not pet it, it would seem like he was not showing respect to its hard work.

Silver Flash stood coldly by the side, secretly showing disdain.

Humph, boot-licker!

Thinking about it, Han Xiao dialed Ames, and her elegant face soon appeared in front of his eyes.

“What do you want?”

“I have a mission here, which is to go to the Star Pupil Holy Race to bully Psyker. Are you interested?”

Ames supported her chin with her right hand, and her sleeves dropped down, revealing dazzling white skin. She blinked.

“I’ve realized that you seldom chat with me these days unless you have some business.”

“Are you coming or not?”

“Let me check my schedule.” Ames lifted her eyes, gazing past the screen toward someone by the side. She slowly asked, “Jenny, is there anything on Floating Dragon that I need to do?”

It took a long while before a brittle voice coupled with grinding teeth sounded.

“There is… but have you ever done it?”

Hearing this, Ames directly waved her hand. Han Xiao could not see what happened, but Jenny’s voice seemed to have disappeared. Maybe… she got attacked by Ames’ force field.

“Looks like I’m free. I’ll head over.” Ames looked like she was smiling yet not smiling, as though nothing had happened on her side.

“Sure.” Han Xiao nodded his hand, choosing to ignore whatever had just happened.

“This is the mission assigned by the dynasty, so I believe it won’t be just you.”

“Yeah, Heber is involved this time, together with a few dynasty fleets.”

“Heber is going too?” Ames narrowed her eyes. “Humph, I don’t want to even see him. I’m not going. You can have fun with him.”

Ames immediately cut the call off.

Han Xiao blinked in surprise, staring at the black screen in confusion.

Does she have that great a misgiving toward Heber, to just go back on her word like that‽

It seemed like he had underestimated how badly Heber failed in his attempt to use an iron-blooded man’s method of courtship.

…

While the Crimson Dynasty was ferrying the four captives back, and their prestige was sweeping across the universe, the Star Pupil Holy Race within the Eternal Night Star System greeted an unexpected visitor.

Psyker held the highest authority here, and the Cabinet of ministers assisted him in managing government affairs. Some of the key personnel were high-levelled officials who held real power. This system obviously had drawbacks, but this was not a problem for Psyker. His strength and prestige granted him the right to speak, and because of his psychic ability, he was able to differentiate between thoughts and emotions, so no one could override him.

During this time, Psyker was not within the government, so the cabinet was in charge of daily matters. However, the two parties did not completely cut off their connection. While Psyker was on the run, he kept monitoring the affairs of his race. It was just that he was not at home, nor was he able to reveal his face openly. However, the public opinion surrounding him recently let many of the citizens in the Star Pupil Holy Race feel trepidation.

In particular, the dynasty catching Sagman and Taylor had attracted the worry of the Star Pupil Holy Race. They were afraid that their leader would also be snatched away and frightened that the Crimson Dynasty would turn toward the Star Pupil Holy Race for revenge.

Filled with all kinds of worries, a minority of people were secretly cursing Psyker.

Were you so free that you had to go and muddy the waters, making it so messy now!

This public opinion had been widely circulated among the Star Pupil Holy Race. A small group of people faced threats to their own security, so they were dissatisfied with their leader, Psyker. As for Psyker’s past credits, it did not make a difference in their judgement because people tended to take things that were given to them for granted. It was a pity that Psyker did not succeed, or else the direction of public opinion would have been the opposite, praising him.

However, the extreme views of the minority would not be able to affect the stability of the civilization. Psyker’s control over his race was not just made up of glue, and even if the future was unknown, the government was still operating.

The cabinet set down instructions to let people preach online that Psyker was in this situation in order to recapture their clan treasure, in order to shape Psyker’s image of taking risks personally for the dignity of their race. This severely suppressed a batch of dissatisfied remarks.

At this moment, in the main hall of the cabinet, many key officials were discussing whether to enter a higher level of wartime emergency, inviting Psyker back and using troops to protect him.

A great number of senior military officials were participating in this meeting, each holding their own opinions and arguing fiercely.

At this moment, one of the officials received an intelligence report and suddenly had a change in expression, slamming the table as he read out the report.

“Border Post 17 has detected a large dynasty fleet with tens of millions of battleships, including Black Star Army and Bloodshed Land troops.

“What‽”

All the members present were shocked and horrified.

Did the worst situation happen, and the dynasty troops had really chosen to kill their way over?

Before they could react, the second report arrived.

“The other party has stopped at the border and did not forcibly intrude. They are now negotiating with the border officer. Black Star and Tyrant are commanding this fleet, and their intentions are unknown.”

The hearts that were in the cabinet members’ throats slowly fell back down. They stared at the officer with grudging eyes.

Could you not speak in such an emotional tone? You nearly scared us to death!

After their shock subsided, everyone’s senses came back online.

“That’s right. With such tens of millions of battleships, it doesn’t seem like they came here to declare war.”

“What’s their intentions? Could it be that they’re going to force us to hand over our leader?”

“This… What do we do then? Won’t we still clash with them that way?”

All the people present had on difficult expressions.

Very quickly, the third report was sent over.

“Black Star and the Tyrant have said that they came over to visit the Star Pupil Holy Race, and they wish to talk to Psyker.”

The cabinet members looked at each other.

With such a mighty army, they’re saying that they’ve come here for a visit. Do they think we’re fools?

The fleet clearly did not come with good intentions.

“If we reject their request, do you think they will wait outside the border, or will they resort to violence?” one of the cabinet members asked.

Everyone simply stared at the person wordlessly.

Do you think that the troops and Beyond Grade As sent out by the dynasty are here for sightseeing? Giving them the cold shoulder is akin to refusing a toast and choosing the forfeit instead. How could they possibly take it lying down?

Brother, how did you get into the cabinet? Did you pull strings?

“This matter is already out of our scope of authority. Report to Leader Psyker and let him decide.”

The cabinet then contacted the escaping Psyker.

Not long after, the communication was linked.

Surveying the scene, Psyker noticed their heavy expressions and asked, “What’s happened?”

“Leader, the Crimson Dynasty has come to pressure us…” One of the officers explained the matter once more.

After he finished, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was waiting for his response.

Psyker took a deep breath, closing his eyes. After a while, he slowly opened them.

“Receive them. I’ll rush back right now.”

“But they are targeting you!”

A few of the people had panicked expressions, but they secretly heaved sighs of relief.

If Psyker had chosen to run and not come out to take responsibility for this matter, there would have been no way for them to clear up this mess.

“Their method of doing so is just to force me to return. Black Star and Heber understand me. They know that I would not leave my race and escape.” Psyker’s expression turned calm. “There’s no point in running, and I have to face them sooner or later. This is the price of failure.”

Those present all revealed faces of indignation.

“Don’t worry, the dynasty already has four captives. Them visiting the Star Pupil Holy Race might not be to capture me.” Psyker shook his head.

He did not dare return, other than to observe the situation, because he expected the dynasty not to take the risk to violate the Peace Treaty. While his base was situated there, the dynasty would definitely not go head to head against him just to capture him. He just did not wish to put his race in danger, so he was not willing to accept the protection of his civilization’s troops. However, to prevent any problems, he did not move too far away and had always been hovering near his territory.

“Understood. We’ll open the border and escort them to one of the planets,” one of the commanders solemnly replied.

The security of one’s territory was important, but they also had to take the initiative to open the border and meet with more aggressive guests. The dynasty’s faction was undoubtedly exerting pressure, and everyone was placed in a state of unease.

…

Before long, the Star Pupil Holy Race sent troops over to the border to welcome them, and other than a large portion of the Crimson Dynasty troops remaining at the border, Han Xiao and Heber brought some troops and followed the Star Pupil Holy Race troops to a colonial planet.

The Star Pupil Holy Race evidently did not want to let too many people discover this matter, so the spaceships stopped directly within the inner administrative area of the planet. Before the emissary that was qualified to receive the two arrived, the local lord of the colonial planet performed the reception work himself.

After disembarking from the spaceship, Han Xiao and Heber were led to the reception room. Following from behind, Han Xiao could see that they were on edge, and beads of sweat could be seen trickling down his neck.

The surrounding soldiers were also nervous and alert, staring at Han Xiao and Heber with a death gaze while gripping their weapons tightly.

Heber was used to such fear coming from people and took large steps with his Vanguard Officials following close behind. This group often gave off a strange impression, as though they were going to shout out “Fitness is key!” at any given moment.

On Han Xiao’s side, he was observing the architectural style of the Star Pupil Holy Race casually, with Hila, his Black Star Guards, and the four Apostle Weapons behind him.

They both had brought their own Calamity Grade elites, as well as many officers from the Crimson Dynasty.

Upon arriving, everyone took their seats, and the local lord wiped his sweat, carefully saying, “The Emissary is on his way. Please hold on for a moment.”

Heber was akin to a tiny mountain as he sat on the sofa. He had a pressuring aura, his arms folded as he asked, “When will Psyker return?”

“This… this… I do not know…”

The local lord was pressured by his momentum to the point his throat was locked in place. He barely managed to speak, his sweat beginning to flow again like a waterfall.

Han Xiao casually picked up one of the fruits on the table, which looked like a melon that was dyed blue. He bit into it and chewed a few times, before wiping his mouth and flicking it toward Heber.

“I’ve tried it. There’s no poison, so you can eat in peace.”

Heber’s face twitched.

I’m over here trying to posture, yet you threw me the fruit. You’re totally spoiling this atmosphere!

Furthermore, I’m a pugilist. Why would I need a mechanic like you to test for poison‽

The fruit was already thrown over, and it would not be good to let it drop on the ground. Thus, Heber could only catch it and then fling it to one of his Vanguard Officials behind him.

This time, Heber could not be bothered to speak and only closed his eyes. Han Xiao did not press the issue either, half closing his eyes as he enjoyed the feeling of Aurora massaging his temples.

The atmosphere thus quieted down.

While the surrounding guards were at the ready, after seeing the nonchalant attitudes of the duo, they had to suppress their rage.

Atrocious, these people are not showing the Star Pupil Holy Race the slightest respect!

Especially Black Star, this evildoer. Not only did he steal our clan treasure, he actually dared run over to our territory. How arrogant!

The guards held onto the weapons tight, almost wanting to shoot at Han Xiao. However, their reasoning stopped them.

The situation was more important than the people. The dynasty was going whatever they wanted in the Shattered Star Ring, and their backer, the Arcane Church, had also suffered losses, so they naturally would not dare make any rash moves.

Very soon, the surrounding guards swapped shifts, and Calamity Grades took over as the guards. They stared unceasingly at Han Xiao and Heber as though meeting their mortal enemies.

After a period of time, hurried footsteps could be heard from the door, and an emissary soon walked in with a few of his subordinates.

“Your Excellency Black Star, Your Excellency Heber, Crimson Dynasty emissaries, I’m the person in charge of welcoming you. You may refer to me as Jed.”

Jed slightly bowered, but his tone was neither arrogant nor humble.

Heber opened his eyes again and again asked, “When will Psyker arrive?”

“We’re not too sure ourselves. The leader has his own schedule and may take as little as several days to half a month. Please wait for a while. We’ll provide accommodation if both of you wish to stay,” Jed blandly replied.

Boom!

The pressure around Heber’s body intensified, and the room seemed as though a formless hurricane had been born within it.

He coldly stared at Jed as he spoke,

“Don’t try to play dumb. Psyker has always been hovering around the Star Pupil Holy Race and will not be too far away. I’ll give you three days. If I do not see him in person, you can handle the consequences yourself.”

Jed only felt his breathing become labored. He was pressured to the point he could hardly breathe and could only nod with difficulty. “I’ll convey your intentions to the upper echelons…”

At this time, Han Xiao opened his eyes, gesturing for Aurora to stop, before looking interestedly at Jed.

“I just took a gander around your network and realized that your side seems to be very keen to block off the news. Not many of them know that we came over for a visit.”

Upon thinking of Han Xiao’s ability, Jed’s expression changed. “What do you intend to do?”

“It’s no good to withhold information like that. Let me help you guys.”

Han Xiao smiled, and with a thought, the data packet that Phillip had prepared was immediately sent to the major media channels of the Star Pupil Holy Race and forcibly promoted.

It could be roughly summarized as…

‘The dynasty fleet comes to settle accounts, Star Pupil Holy Race trembles in fear!’

‘Black Star and the Tyrant show up, but Psyker dares not meet them!’

‘Psyker flees due to his crimes, leaving behind his race!’

All of the articles showed the Star Pupil Holy Race in a cowardly light and how Psyker did not dare take responsibility, which made the citizens of the race feel suffocated, cracking the prestige of Psyker.

With his current Virtual Technology skills, this news instantly broke the barriers of public opinion that were silenced and swept through the entire network of the Star Pupil Holy Race.

Psyker had brought him a huge crisis this time, and now that he had come over on behalf of the dynasty to apply pressure, Han Xiao would naturally not be polite. Only when Psyker showed himself would he then command Phillip to stop.

Jed walked to the side, and after exchanging a few sentences with the upper echelons, he approached Han Xiao with a strict expression.

“Your Excellency Black Star, please stop such behavior, or else…”

Bang!

Before he could finish, Jed’s head was captured by a large hand and ruthlessly slammed on the table.

The entire table cracked!

The person holding onto his head was a Vanguard Official of Bloodshed Land, Fosters. He coldly commented, “Watch your attitude when you speak to us. If there’s a next time, I’ll break your head apart.”

The moment the grip was released, Jed stumbled and retreated, a furious expression on his face.

However, he had no choice but to swallow this injustice. He took out his handkerchief to wipe off the blue blood flowing down his head.

When the Calamity Grades saw them being so arrogant, their faces got uglier, and the rage smoldered within their hearts. However, because this impacted the entire race, they chose not to move, instead keeping the resentment within their hearts.

Han Xiao raised his eyebrows as he gestured at Heber. He seemed to be saying, If you compare viciousness, you’re still more vicious.

Look at how much bullsh*t you have to say, Heber seemed to reply with a look.

Meanwhile, the news caused a sensation on the internet. Countless citizens burst into anger, some scolding the dynasty for taking advantage and others smearing the name of their leader. Some of them were also worried that Psyker would never return. There were innumerable emotions.

Countless people wished to recapture their national treasure, so the hatred the Star Pupil Holy Race had toward Han Xiao was not light. Han Xiao did not care about the hostility, though, as the more hostile they were, the more it meant that Psyker’s prestige was affected.

Jed did not speak, but one of the guards could not take it any longer and suddenly lashed out at Han Xiao.

“Don’t you have a conscience! After stealing our clan treasure, you dare come here and flaunt it!”

After this sentence was spoken, everyone turned over.

A chilling gaze passed through Hila’s eyes, and she was just about to move. However, Han Xiao gestured for her to hold back and turned to look at the guard.

“What’s your name?”

“Lalem!” The guard was obviously out of control and extremely emotional.

“Hmm, ok, then what would you have me do?”

“Of course, you should return our national treasure!”

“Okay.” Han Xiao nodded, taking out the Evolution Cube and throwing it into the guard’s hands. “Catch.”

Everyone from the Star Pupil Holy Race was stunned, staring incredulously at the Evolution Cube.

“You, you…”

“Didn’t you say you wanted it? Now it’s in your hands.” Han Xiao smiled. “However, I have to warn you. If you walk out of this room, it means that you have snatched the Evolution Cube, and that would mean that the dynasty would send their expeditionary fleet over. Are you ready to handle that?”

The guard’s face turned purple in anger and humiliation.

“You’re just relying on your backer! Do you have any morality in your heart‽”

Lifting his hand, Han Xiao retrieved the Evolutionary Cube, shaking his head as he spoke. “You all claim that it’s your national treasure, but this thing was not created by you. Just by using it for a long period of time, it becomes yours, huh? This is the inheritance of the Evolutionary Civilization, and you guys are the same in that you picked it up, holding on through strength. It never belonged to you, yet you call it your ‘national treasure’… There’s also another point. I did not snatch your Evolutionary Cube. It was you guys who lost it, and I picked it up. I merely refused to hand it over to others, just like you guys so many years ago. This question of stance should not be used as an excuse for morality. That would be so meaningless.”

“Bullsh*t. We’ve used the Evolution Cube for so long and can be considered its owner. Leader Psyker has always been connected to the Evolution Cube, so of course it’s ours!” the guard raged.

“This does make sense, but since you guys failed to guard your belongings, it was stolen by EsGod. I didn’t steal it; I merely chose not to return it. Furthermore, because this item was not the creation of your civilization, I have no mental burden toward withholding it for myself… If you guys can snatch it back from me, I can’t do anything about it, but your strength is insufficient, so anything else you say is meaningless. I gave you a chance, but you didn’t dare take it away. Let’s just forget about it.”

Han Xiao shook his head. He had never been a kind person, and he had another motive here, which was to resolve the hidden danger of the Evolution Cube once and for all. He planned to use pressure to force the citizens and Psyker to lift their psychic link with it!

As for right or wrong… Psyker had endangered his life many times. Now that things had gotten to this point, there was no need to worry about this issue.

“You, leave.” Jed waved toward the guard. While he was also furious about losing the ‘national treasure’, he was more realistic and knew that the dynasty had come to pressure them. It would be a pipe dream to make them hand over the Evolution Cube.

Having witnessed this little spat, Heber threw a glance over to Han Xiao.

“You’re not too bad at being evil yourself.”

“As to you.”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes in response.

One needed to be more arrogant when posturing to apply pressure. For someone like him, who was used to being low-key, this was difficult to do.

[1] He’s referring to a leader that only delegates work but never does any

Chapter 868: Lock On Removed

Chapter 868 Lock On Removed

The Star Pupil Holy Race fleet in the surroundings immediately gathered toward the planet and awaited their orders. At the same time, the defensive fleet at the border was also strengthened.

After waiting for two days, Psyker finally reached the border.

“Your Excellencies, Leader Psyker has already reached the border and will be here soon.”

Jed heaved a sigh of relief.

His appearance was much frailer than before. Over the past two days, he had stayed in the room together with Han Xiao and Heber. He had suggested that the two go to a guest room, but Heber and Han Xiao did not even reply to him. Furthermore, they did not allow him to leave either, so Jed could only accompany the two in the room over the past two days. He did not even dare sleep, and his mental state was already on the brink of collapse.

To a Beyond Grade A Super, two days was no big deal at all. They could easily close their eyes, and two days would be over in a flash. Furthermore, the guards of the Star Pupil Holy Race present were all in the Calamity Grade and would not be affected too greatly. Only someone like Jed who was an envoy from the government would feel fatigue.

If they went to the guest room, the pressure that both of them had accumulated would be gone. As such, they chose to sit here for two days to increase the pressure on the Star Pupil Holy Race.

After waiting a while longer, a commotion could be heard on the outside, and both of them could feel a powerful energy source approaching them.

Heber opened his eyes and nodded. “He’s here.”

The door opened, and Psyker walked into the room slowly. Everyone’s gaze was then focused on him.

The guards present all heaved sighs of relief and stood up straight as though they had found their backbone.

“Eh, isn’t this Little Psy-Psy? The hero has finally appeared,” Han Xiao teased.

Psyker walked over to the two. Jed, who was originally seated, immediately gave up his seat for Psyker.

“Didn’t both of you want to meet me? I’m back. Get straight to the point,” Psyker said with a deep voice.

The next second, Han Xiao’s arm suddenly transformed into a mechanical arm, and he swung it out toward Psyker.

The table and sofa in front of him was pushed away, and his palm sent Psyker flying into the wall.

Bang!

The entire room erupted!

“What did you do‽”

The faces of the guards all changed, and they wanted to take action to help their leader.

Right at this moment, Hila and the other Black Star Guards also sent their auras toward the guards in the surrounding with the intention to warn them. The Bloodshed Land’s Vanguard Officials did the same.

Just when the situation was about to erupt, Psyker’s voice sounded from under the mechanical arm.

“Don’t move.”

The mechanical arm was retracted, and Psyker dislodged himself from the alloy wall with his Psychic energy. He then looked at Han Xiao without any intention of fighting back.

“I almost took your life. Do you have any issues?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“… No.”

Psyker took a deep breath and knew that Han Xiao wanted to take him down a notch. He then told his subordinates not to act recklessly and got them to bring a new table in.

The members of the Star Pupil Holy Race in the surroundings clenched their fists with aggrieved expressions.

They were able to understand why Psyker chose to give in but could not help but feel disappointed. On one hand, they were enraged at their own weakness, and on the other hand, they felt humiliated on behalf of their race.

Although all of them knew that the dynasty was there to seek an answer from them, they were all hoping that Psyker would be able to deal with such a situation and turn the tides. However, the unacceptable truth was that their leader was there to suffer humiliation.

The Crimson Dynasty emissary, who had not said a word so far, then said calmly, “You participated in the attack on Planet Lighthouse, and four of the six Beyond Grade As who participated have already been caught. The dynasty needs you and the Star Pupil Holy Race to give us an explanation.”

“What kind of explanation?” Psyker asked.

The dynasty’s emissary then tapped his bracelet, and a holographic screen appeared. A contract appeared on the holographic screen.

“You have to give a public apology and sign this compensation contract to prove your sincerity. The details of the contract are all within it. If you don’t agree, please follow us to accept your judgement in the dynasty or wait for the Arcane Church to pay a ransom.”

“Compensation and apology?” Psyker murmured under his breath. He had not been idle over the past two days and had been thinking of what the dynasty’s intention would be. This was not out of his expectations at all.

The dynasty emissary did not bother keeping the matter a secret and read the entire contract out. There were many outrageous demands, and the members of the Star Pupil Holy Race watching by the side became more and more enraged.

There were only two options placed before Psyker at the moment. First, apologize and pay compensation. Second, become a captive. Of course, there was a third option, which was to fight back. However, the dynasty would not show him any face if he chooses the third option.

The dynasty did not necessarily need that little compensation but needed the enemy to give in.

After listening to all the terms, Psyker nodded and said, “I accept the contract. I will make a public apology for my actions.”

He was not too bothered about the astronomical compensation. He was working for the Arcane Church, and although he had failed, the Arcane Church would not let him suffer the cost of the compensation. If they did not do that much, nobody would want to help them in the future. Thus, the compensation would be paid by the Arcane Church, so there was no need for the Star Pupil Holy Race to spend money.

As for a public apology, this was also something that the Arcane Church would want to see. The Arcane Church would never apologize to the dynasty, but since they wanted to redeem their people, they would have to give in somehow. Thus, the Star Pupil Holy Race giving in would be a representation of the Arcane Church’s attitude.

Even if the Arcane Church was the backer of the Star Pupil Holy Race, the Crimson Dynasty was also a Universal Civilization. With both parties in conflict with each other, the Star Pupil Holy Race definitely had to give an explanation.

Psyker understood this clearly, but most members of his race did not.

In the eyes of the others, their leader had accepted such humiliating conditions without any hesitation. This made the faces of all those present turn ugly, and the look in their eyes became complicated.

The way they saw it, Psyker seemed to be protecting himself and betraying the benefits of the race without any hesitation. Of course, they knew that this was far from the truth, but they could not help but think that way.

Although they knew that Psyker did not make a mistake in his decision, many of them could not help but feel anger and humiliation.

Right at this moment, Heber said, “Psyker, leave the Shattered Star Ring together with your people. You know that we and the dynasty will not allow you to develop. Your best option is to leave.”

Having one less Beyond Grade A in the Shattered Star Ring would benefit everyone else. Heber and the dynasty had the same thought.

Psyker shook his head and said, “Regardless of how tough the situation is, we will not leave our homeland as long as we can overcome it.”

“Humph.” Heber did not say anything else upon hearing that.

At this moment, Han Xiao piped up. “The following matter will be between us. You have given an explanation to the dynasty, but you also need to give an explanation to the victim.”

Psyker turned around and asked, “What do you want?”

Han Xiao smiled.

“I want the Evolution Cube.”

Everyone was stunned.

“Haven’t you snatched it already?” Psyker asked doubtfully.

“No, you misunderstood me,” Han Xiao said calmly. “I want you to get rid of the psychic connection that you have with the Evolution Cube and announce to the universe that you have given it to me.”

Psyker’s expression changed abruptly.

He finally understood what Black Star’s intention was!

The members of the Star Pupil Holy Race originally thought that Black Star had stolen their national treasure, so if he publicly announced that he had given the item to Black Star, he would no longer have any right to criticize the other party. At that time, the members of his race would divert their humiliation to their leader and vent all their anger on him. His status as a leader would also fall greatly.

“You b*stard…” Psyker gritted his teeth.

“Because of the Evolution Cube, you tried to deal with me time and time again,” Han Xiao said. “The ambush this time was also because of the Evolution Cube. If I do not make you give up on the Evolution Cube, something like this will happen again. I haven’t settled the score regarding the Avitan Souls trying to blow up Planet Aquamarine yet. Take a look at this video first.”

Han Xiao then summoned a holographic screen, and the scene of the guard called Lalem criticizing him was played. Phillip had recorded the entire scene.

Psyker’s face became extremely ugly after the video was completed.

Han Xiao raised his brows and said, “She provoked a Beyond Grade A, but I wasn’t too calculative with her. I don’t wish to hear bullsh*t like that again, so I decided to make use of a solution to settle this matter once and for all. What do you think?”

Psyker suppressed his anger. “What if I disagree?”

“You can also choose to disagree.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and released his aura. “However, are you still my opponent? Have you ever thought about what would happen to your Star Pupil Holy Race without you as their leader?”

At this instant, Psyker realized that the Black Star in front of him was no longer the one who had fought him to a draw. He then thought about the scene of Han Xiao capturing Dylan and felt a trace of fear.

However, he was still reluctant to give up the Evolution Cube. He had formed a Soul Connection with the Evolution Cube, and his psychic energy was strengthened as a result. Without the Universal Treasure, his own combat strength would fall, and his status would also be lowered in the Arcane Church.

The dynasty emissary then said calmly, “Black Star’s intention is the dynasty’s intention. If you don’t agree, we can add it into the contract.”

Han Xiao had not discussed this matter with the dynasty yet, but this matter was not disadvantageous to the dynasty at all. Thus, the emissary’s support was extremely normal.

Upon hearing that, Psyker’s clenched fists loosened, and he said softly, “… I agree.”

Bang!

A Calamity Grade Star Pupil Holy Race guard finally could not restrain his anger any further and hammered down on the wall.

The other guards were angered to the point their bodies were trembling. Han Xiao and the others had completely ignored them.

Han Xiao nodded and took out the Evolution Cube. The silver cube floated in midair and attracted everyone’s attention.

Heber’s throat also twitched slightly, but his subordinates did not notice.

“Then, please show your sincerity and undo your psychic connection.”

Psyker shut his eyes and released his psychic energy to come into contact with the Evolution Cube. Gritting his teeth, he cut off the connection with the Evolution Cube.

The next moment, his body trembled, and his mind could clearly feel that the bridge between him and the Evolution Cube had been broken.

The ability to locate the cube had also disappeared.

“It’s done,” Psyker said with a soft tone and tried to conceal his sadness.

Han Xiao retrieved the Evolution Cube. The senses of a Beyond Grade A were extremely sharp, and he could clearly feel the aura latched onto the Evolution Cube disappearing.

I finally got rid of this hidden threat… Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. Although the Spacetime Amber had a similar effect, he would still have to use the Evolution Cube from time to time, and this would get rid of all troubles for good.

However, he still passed the cube over to Feidin to take a look. Although Feidin was only a Calamity Grade, his luck was unrivaled.

“Don’t worry, your dynasty also has Beyond Grade A Psychics, so it will be extremely easy to tell. You don’t have to worry that I will leave anything behind,” Psyker said with a depressed tone. “I have fulfilled your conditions already. Do you have anything else? Please leave the territory of the Star Pupil Holy Race if there’s nothing else.”

The dynasty emissary then stood up and said, “Alright, we shall not disturb you any further. The dynasty will be watching you and waiting for your announcement.”

Psyker gnashed his teeth but did not say anything.

“Don’t blame me.” Han Xiao also stood up. “You have to pay the price for failing. At least you are still alive.”

“I will not always fail,” Psyker said.

“You also won’t be alive all the time.” Heber then walked out of the room with the dynasty emissary behind him.

Walking out of the door, Han Xiao turned around to look at Psyker. “Rather than being angry at us, you should take care of all your troubles.”

Psyker ignored those words and asked, “How is Dylan?”

“You still have the time to care about others? It seems like you have a pretty good relationship with him.” Han Xiao smirked. “Don’t worry, he is safe… very safe.”

Han Xiao then waved his hands and left.

A while later, Psyker received a report that Han Xiao and the others had left the planet.

After a long while, Psyker raised his head and sighed.

“Get the government to hold a press conference. I will make a personal appearance.”

Jed hesitated for a while before reminding him, “Black Star used his Virtual Technology skills and infiltrated many of our media websites, posting many rumors about you. Should we deal with that first?”

“That isn’t necessary. Black Star will stop after he leaves. Although he is a vicious individual, he won’t always play such petty tricks,” Psyker replied. “After I make an announcement, all of you will know that these rumors aren’t considered anything.”

Upon thinking about the effect of his announcement, Psyker could not help but feel depressed.

However, he did not have a choice. Even if he approached his backer, they would not come into conflict with the dynasty because of Psyker’s reputation.

His personal reputation was not at the top of the Arcane Church’s priority list.

Chapter 869: Federation of Light, Do You Think I m Invisible?

Chapter 869 Federation of Light, Do You Think I“m Invisible?

Their spaceships left the Star Pupil Holy Race territory and met up together with the dynasty’s fleet before disappearing into space.

The dynasty emissary turned around to look at the two beside him and smiled.

“Psyker has been extremely cooperative, and the mission has been a success.”

Heber waved his hands with an expressionless face to indicate that this was a small matter.

He was also able to increase his prestige by flaunting his might before another Beyond Grade A. Furthermore, since the Star Pupil Holy Race had agreed to apologize and pay compensation, this matter would definitely be recorded in history, and his name would be included. This was a pretty good reward for him.

“Psyker lost big this time. He will probably remain stagnant for a long time.” Han Xiao smiled.

With the hidden trouble of the Evolution Cube gone, he was in a good mood.

“That’s right. Psyker will have to deal with the aftermath of this event and the other competing Star Cluster Civilizations. He will have to remain low profile for the next few decades for sure,” the dynasty emissary added. “I have to report my success to Zoel. Your Excellencies, let’s say goodbye here.”

Heber and Han Xiao nodded. After recording the number of this emissary, they both returned to their spaceships and left.

“I will also be leaving.” Heber sent Han Xiao a message before leaving with his Bloodshed Land troops. He was prepared to return to the Flickering World and overlook the exploration mission.

The wedge between them had not been resolved, and it would be difficult for them to have a good relationship. But after experiencing this incident together, the relationship between the allies of the dynasty had improved.

Han Xiao put his communicator away and ordered Phillip, “Return to the Black Star Army headquarters.”

“Roger, hum…”

The Black Star Army battleship then sped up and entered warp-speed hyperdrive.

It was time to handle the Evolution Cube slots that he had promised the civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring. The dynasty would also send a batch of new elites for the Evolution Cube. Han Xiao was planning to take care of these matters before continuing the exploration of the Flickering World.

The influence of this event was truly large, and he had a battle record of capturing another Beyond Grade A. His personal prestige was increased to the next level, and for a long period of time, there should not be anyone making trouble for him. This should continue until the end of Version 3.0.

The only hidden trouble that worried him was EsGod.

The space coordinates of the World Tree Civilization were like a time bomb. An advanced civilization who grasped the coordinates would know how to test waters and protect themselves. However, it was impossible to predict what someone like EsGod would do.

It was a pity that EsGod managed to receive the evolution energy this round and become stronger. Without finding some companions, it would be truly difficult to deal with EsGod.

To the Crimson Dynasty, the Arcane Church was their true competitor that they needed to pay close attention to. They would only deal with EsGod after reaching an agreement with each other.

It was not easy to deal with EsGod. If they sent too few experts, they would not be able to win. If they sent too many experts, the other party would just escape. The dynasty had tried to deal with EsGod many times before but were not able to kill him. This time, they probably only intended to get rid of EsGod’s comrades.

Furthermore, the intelligence of the dynasty showed that EsGod had left the Star Field through a wormhole, and his whereabouts were currently unknown. Thus, it was pointless to think about dealing with EsGod at this moment.

Han Xiao decided to wait for the experience penalty period to be over before increasing his level. He would only have a greater chance of success if he could increase his strength.

“There is less than half a year until the penalty is over…”

Han Xiao greatly anticipated that moment.

…

A few days later, Psyker finally appeared publicly within his race and called for a press conference.

With the recent rumors, the citizens of the Star Pupil Holy Race were extremely anxious, and they all stayed in front of the television to watch the news.

Time seemed to pass extremely slowly.

It was finally the time for the life broadcast, and everyone felt their heart tighten up.

Psyker’s figure appeared on the screen, and he said with a solemn voice, “Citizens of the Star Pupil Holy Race, my colleagues of the government, I am Psyker. I shall give an official explanation regarding the recent storm…

“In the past few months, news about me has been spreading throughout the universe.

“First, I have to express my deepest apology to everyone. It was because of a mistake that resulted in me being trapped in a dilemma and dragging the race down. I am guilty and embarrassed by this, but a mistake is a mistake, and I shall not defend myself.

“A few days ago, the Crimson Dynasty paid a visit and sought an explanation from me. I did not escape like the rumors on the net but rushed back immediately to negotiate with the Crimson Dynasty’s emissary. Both parties have already arrived at an initial agreement.

“On behalf of the Star Pupil Holy Race and myself, I will apologize to the Crimson Dynasty for the recent event and adhere to the compensation terms as follows…”

Psyker then read out a list of compensation terms before continuing.

“I also apologize sincerely to the victim Black Star and am willing to give compensation because of this event.

“There is a fact that cannot be avoided. The Evolution Cube is the item of another civilization and not one that belongs solely to the Star Pupil Holy Race. Because of some unexpected reasons, we lost the Evolution Cube, and the one who should be blamed is EsGod, not Black Star. We have already enjoyed the benefits of the Evolution Cube. I will let go of all rights to the Evolution Cube here and transfer it to Black Star as compensation.

“My citizens, our Star Pupil Holy Race has experienced phenomenal economic, cultural, and other forms of achievements. We have fallen into a valley, but there will always be new opportunities to greet us after every calamity. I hope that everyone will continue working together and maintain your optimism to go through this tough period together.

“I hope that everyone can understand our choice and not forget our humiliation today.

“Finally, I wish everyone a happy life.”

As his speech was finished, the screen darkened.

An intense eruption exploded from every corner of the Star Pupil Holy Race.

Many individuals were thoroughly shocked by the press conference!

A civilization had to give in publicly and even pay compensation. They could not help but feel a sense of humiliation.

Furthermore, this disaster was a result of Psyker’s mistake, and the entire race had been dragged down by him.

Furthermore, Psyker had even openly abandoned their national treasure and given it to the demon Black Star?

The way they saw it, this was akin to them giving away the Evolution Cube because they were not able to snatch it back!

Such humiliation!

The press conference immediately created a huge sensation, and every corner of the Star Pupil Holy Race was filled with curses toward Psyker. The prestige that he had built up over the many years had gone down the drain, with some even calling him a disgrace to their race.

All the close aides of Psyker stood before him with ugly expressions.

“Your Excellency Psyker, should we really not control the negative public opinion on the web?”

Psyker shook his head and said, “That isn’t necessary. The citizens need an avenue to vent the humiliation and anger in their hearts. When they are done venting it, they will remember the contributions that I have made, and we can guide the public opinion back in the right direction subtly when the time comes.”

“This isn’t beneficial to your prestige,” someone said with concern.

“There will definitely be a rebound effect when it reaches the peak.” Psyker sighed. “Regardless of worship or hatred, it will definitely slide in the other direction when it reaches the peak. When public opinion reaches the peak, there will be more and more people speaking up for me. That will be far more effective than trying to manage the situation now.”

“Is this really good?”

“There isn’t anything bad about it.” Psyker let out a long sigh. “My previous contributions cannot be an excuse for my mistake. The greater my radiance, the greater the shadow. My mistakes have naturally been highlighted. I do not want everyone to praise my good deeds. This humiliation will be motivation for our citizens.”

“We are only afraid that you will be disappointed in us,” one of his aides said.

Psyker was the leader of the Star Pupil Holy Race, but after becoming a Beyond Grade A, Psyker himself was no longer part of the Star Pupil Holy Race. This was a shadow in the hearts of many.

“Don’t worry. I will never forget my mother clan.”

Psyker shook his head. As a Beyond Grade A, his ideals would not be so easily shaken.

“The world is complicated, and I will never judge the world by looking at a small corner of it. The words of a small group cannot represent the entire race. At the very end, all these people will realize that regardless of how they curse, I will still be their leader, and this is something that they are unable to change.

“As for the current storm now…”

As Psyker spoke with a smile, a trace of fatigue could be seen in his eyes.

“Fire will burn out, and the storm will end eventually. We just need to do our job and wait for it to cease naturally.”

…

“The Star Pupil Holy Race has given in.”

On the mother planet of the Arcane Church, Psyker’s press conference was displayed in the conference room. The Bishops then fell into a moment of silence.

After a long while, one of the bishops said with a hoarse tone, “This way, the dynasty’s attitude should ease up slightly, right?”

Psyker had cut off his connection to the Evolution Cube and lost the ability to locate it. The Arcane Church had also decided to give up on the Evolution Cube for good.

“How is the discussion with the dynasty coming along?”

“The dynasty only agreed to allow us to ransom Mercer and Dylan. Their price is extremely high.”

“Hmm, pay the ransom for both of them first. This will satisfy the allies who are watching. As for Taylor and Sagman, the dynasty will not allow us to ransom them back too quickly, but our allies will understand.”

“Where is Ninjia?”

“He has already escaped through a secret stargate set up by our spies. He will be back soon.”

“Thankfully, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is with him.”

The Bishops then heaved a sigh of relief.

Of the six Beyond Grade As that they had sent out, four had been caught, one did not have anywhere to run, and only one managed to return to the Central Galaxy. Thankfully, the only one who returned was the one with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was even more important than a Beyond Grade A in the eyes of the upper echelons. New Beyond Grade As would be born over time, but every Universal Treasure was unique.

Not losing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was their biggest consolation.

…

Because the Crimson Dynasty was searching the entire Shattered Star Ring, the spy could only construct the secret stargate in a desolate universe belt near the Shattered Star Ring.

A spaceship was currently rushing toward the stargate with Ninjia inside.

The stargate appeared within his sights, and Ninjia heaved a sigh of relief.

After entering this stargate, he would be able to skip past a few Star Fields and return to the Central Galaxy. After running for his life for such a long time, he could no longer endure such a life.

Hum!

Right at this moment, the spaceship trembled, and the engine of his spaceship was suddenly turned off.

“What’s going on?”

Ninjia was startled, and he tried to control the spaceship. However, all his orders were completely useless, and the spaceship did not react at all.

The body of the spaceship suddenly shook.

Rumble!

A gigantic pressure crushed down from all directions, and the spaceship was reduced to a pile of scrap metal.

Bang!

A spherical protective shield then appeared from within the wreckage of the spaceship. Ninjia covered himself with a magical shield and held onto the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter while observing his surroundings carefully.

Could it be that the dynasty had discovered the stargate and set up an ambush‽

Right at this moment, a voice rang in his head.

“It truly wasn’t easy to find you, ‘Divine Spell’ Ninjia. Hand over the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and I can let you go.”

As the voice sounded, the universe around him lit up with the light of hyperdrive, and many silhouettes appeared before him, filling the entire region.

Many pairs of expressionless eyes were fixed on Ninjia.

At the very front was a tall figure with his entire body shining with electrical bolts. The engravings on his body showed that this was a mechanical host.

Ninjia’s expression changed abruptly upon seeing the person before him.

“Manison‽”

Chapter 870: Manison’s Interes

Chapter 870 Manison“s Interes

Blood trickled down in rivulets, flowing on the metallic surface like crimson snakes and converging into a pool of blood.

Ninjia was sprawled on the ground, covered with bruises and bloodstains. Underneath him was a huge mechanical suction cup in the shape of a triangle, lit with a faint blue light. It was this huge gravitational force that fixed him to the ground.

His hands, feet, and torso were also bound by heavy-looking black alloy rings. This was a special mechanical shackle. With a strong interference field attached and through the use of spatial conversion technology, it could disperse the energy released by the target.

At the same time, four pipes protruded from the ground on both sides, inserting into his spine and injecting nano worms that interfered with his pneumatic operations, causing his nervous system to go haywire, affecting his control.

Ninjia could only barely lift his neck. His vision was blurred but was fixed toward an area full of mechanical limbs, where a dense number of mechanical soldiers were surrounding him.

Both parties were currently on the surface of a steel fortress, a mobile base brought by Manison, and there were marks of battle and broken mechanical parts scattered everywhere.

Because space was locked by Manison’s spatial stabilizer equipment, along with magic jamming to render teleportation invalid, Ninjia could only fight.

However, with the numerous equipment and machinery he had with him other than the host he utilized for [Lord’s Descent], there were still four other Apostle Weapons, which made it such that Ninjia was not his opponent.

“I was waiting for you to utilize the scepter, but you did not. Now I can see why…”

Manison caressed the amber sealing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, feeling the energy insulation properties and letting out sounds of praise.

“To dare snatch even our Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, Manison, are you not afraid of angering my Arcane Church‽” Ninjia gritted his teeth.

“Don’t be mistaken. I’m not interested in the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter; I’m just doing the Federation of Light a favor.”

Manison eyed Ninjia before waving his hand.

A silver Apostle Weapon walked over, its body as smooth as a mirror without any sort of mechanical seams.

The Apostle Weapon squatted down, turned its fingers into spikes, and inserted them into Ninjia’s body. After which, its entire body turned liquid and flowed into his body through the wounds.

Next, Manison released the shackles. However, the Apostle Weapon within Ninjia’s body suppressed his ability to control his body, and he could only glare at Manison.

“What do you want to do to me‽”

“The Federation of Light allowed me to kill you and destroy the evidence. However, your body is still useful to me.”

Manison threw out a compressed orb, which transformed into a restraint cabin, locking Ninjia within.

After confirming that he could not escape, Manison turned his head, gazing at the amber-sealed Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. An interested look appeared in his eyes.

“Oh, what a special new material, and it seems like Black Star has mastered the manufacturing method… I’ll find an opportunity to contact him.”

…

“Lost contact? Explain to me, what does it mean by lost contact‽”

The upper echelons of Arcane Church quickly received the news that Ninjia, who was supposed to pass through the stargate a while ago, had lost contact with them!

This gave the Bishops a big scare. They had thought that Ninjia had gotten away from danger and could successfully bring the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back. To think that an accident had occurred.

Since they could not contact Ninjia, the worst possibility was that he had been ambushed and killed.

But even if he was attacked, he should have been able to send news back, or the Arcane Church should have discovered some abnormalities.

There was only one explanation for this… The attacking party had a Virtual Mechanic who was able to tamper with the data and prevent any communication.

The first suspect that the Arcane Church thought of was Black Star.

However, Han Xiao had been at the Star Pupil Holy Race not too long ago and was still en route to his headquarters. There was an alibi… but they did not forget that Han Xiao could command troops from a distance to complete the attack.

“If Black Star is the murderer, is he being supported by the dynasty? They have already captured four of our people and forced Psyker to apologize. Is this not enough?” someone wondered out loud.

“The possibility is not high. Both sides are in negotiations, and we have reached a preliminary conclusion. The dynasty knows that it is not beneficial to continue chasing and fighting them. If they take away our Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, it will force us to flip the table. I’m afraid it is not worth it for them.”

“Could it be that Black Star wants the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and decided to move on his own?”

“But… if we think about it closely, this will give Black Star more problems than benefits. He has already obtained a huge benefit from this matter, and there is no need for him to also steal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. He will not be able to use it either, and just having it with him will cause numerous problems. The only way would be to give it to the dynasty. However, what we’ve checked about Black Star shows that he is not someone who enjoys taking risks, and he is still in his honeymoon period with the Dynasty. He would not do such a thing behind the back of the dynasty.”

The Bishops frowned. Everything pointed to the fact that Black Star was not involved.

Could it be that there were people who wanted to fish in muddy waters?

To be able to attack Ninjia, one had to fulfil two criteria. One was a strong enough intelligence network to be able to track Ninjia, and the second was to possess the ability of a Beyond Grade A Mechanic to be able to silently kill him off.

Thinking about this, a plausible answer floated up.

The Bishops present all lurched.

“Could it be… the Federation of Light‽”

The Shattered Star Ring was still their territory, and while it looked like they did not care, it would be careless for them to ignore their intelligence system. After operating for so many years, their network would naturally be seamless, and their intelligence gathering would trump the dynasty’s, who were newcomers in the region.

While the Crimson Dynasty did not spot Ninjia’s traces, the Federation of Light did. This explained everything.

The faces of the Bishops were green. The more they thought about it, the more it felt as though the Federation of Light was the culprit.

From the start, when they loaned out the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, that bunch of robbers had intended to fish in muddy waters.

This time, not only did the Arcane Church lose a lot of their Beyond Grade A combat power, they had also strained their relationship with the Crimson Dynasty. To the Federation of Light, this was their best chance.

The Bishops realized that this meant that their entire expedition had been captured and annihilated, and they almost spat blood.

Federation of Light, f*ck your mom!

At this time, the virtual screen on the conference table appeared, showing the command of the pope.

“Stabilize the situation with the Crimson Dynasty and redeem our allies… We’ll settle the scores with the Federation of Light at a later point.”

The Bishops exchanged glances, and within each gaze, they could see depression and helplessness.

Yesterday, they thought that at least the scepter was returning. Today, they once again received bad news. This feeling of falling from heaven to hell made them extremely uncomfortable.

It was a total loss.

Without evidence, the Federation of Light would never admit it. After all, both sides were of the same strength, so they would not be threatened.

They could only take things one step at a time.

…

On the mother planet of the Federation of Light, President Bader put down the communicator, smiling at the elders present.

“Manison has achieved the objective. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is ours.”

At his words, everyone revealed smiles of success.

The Chief Elder fiddled with his cane, praising, “Indeed worthy of being one of the strongest Ancient Ones. The Mechanic Empire is still as reliable as ever.”

Bader nodded with a smile. Manison was an ally whom he deeply valued, not because of his frightening power but because of their ability to appear at long distances and wipe out all evidence, perfectly completing secret operations.

“The Arcane Church will suspect the Crimson Dynasty and may even suspect us, but they have no evidence. Besides, they will not tell the world about theft of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“According to our intelligence, the usage of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is simple. It’s just that we do not have the necessary skills to repair it. However, we can use it as a trump card with limited uses, as it can greatly damage a Beyond Grade A… Cough cough, just don’t use it in front of Black Star.”

“While it may infuriate the Arcane Church, we’ve earned big by obtaining the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. This is also a chip to deal with the Arcane Church in the future.”

Many of the elders revealed smiles as they discussed their success.

“Manison said that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is sealed by the special material. When he returns, I’ll have the research team crack it.”

Bader’s tone was confident; he did not doubt that the seal could be removed at all.

Chapter 871: Business Snatching Mid-Version

Chapter 871 Business Snatching Mid-Version

The little secret between the Arcane Church and Federation of Light was not made known to Han Xiao.

After leaving the star system of the Star Pupil Holy Race, Han Xiao’s fleet did not stop, returning to the headquarters of the Black Star Army.

In the previous gathering that the Tyrant hosted, Han Xiao had signed a few agreements with a large number of civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring and had also publicly sold access to the Evolution Cube in exchange for cooperation with the major civilizations.

This year was the first year of cooperation, and because Han Xiao would remain in the Shattered Star Ring for this period, he prepared to handle the slots purchased by the various civilizations this year and complete them.

In the past years, the civilizations had conducted numerous internal selections, confirming the list of elites who would undergo evolution, and had been waiting for this day. Upon receiving the notice, the teams were dispatched, and many elites from each civilization gathered at the Black Star Army headquarters.

Using the Evolution Cube as a bridge to reach better relationships with multiple star cluster and star system level civilizations was a key step in the expansion plan for the Black Star Army.

In Han Xiao’s blueprint, maintaining this sort of cooperation network for a long period would form a large network using the Black Star Army as a transit point. By that time, the power and influence of the Black Star Army would truly cover the entire star field, so Han Xiao paid a lot of attention to the cooperation in the first year.

Furthermore, there was an additional benefit. The people picked by the civilizations would all be elites, and there would definitely be well-known characters or protagonists within.

Letting them take the initiative to gather was better than him looking for all of them himself.

This is probably the alternate reality version of keeping the talents in the world for my own usage… Han Xiao mused to himself.

…

Spaceships of different styles landed at the Black Star Army headquarters, and elites of all races poured out as the hatches opened. They were led to the accommodation area under the guidance of the reception robots, causing the dock to be extremely lively.

These elites were all leaders back in their respective civilizations, and the majority were either Calamity Grades, military officers, potential Calamity Grades, or scientific researchers. All of them sized up the other elites as they disembarked, their expressions wary.

“This is the Black Star Army talked of in legends.”

Pamela opened her three large, watery eyes as she curiously took in her surroundings. She hailed from a star system level plant-based civilization, with her race called the Flower Sprite Tribe. Her body was covered with a layer of green leaf-like epidermal tissue, and she exuded a strange fragrance. It was said that every individual had a unique fragrance, just like how humans were differentiated by fingerprints. Body fragrance, appearance, and physique were the aesthetic standards for this race.

According to their aesthetics, Pamela would be a rare beauty, and at the same time, she was an elite researcher who was chosen to undergo evolution.

As Pamela and her party observed the dock, a small hovering robot flew in front of them, speaking in Phillip’s voice.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Black Star Army, hum… Our Commander is still en route. I’ll be responsible for escorting you and arranging your accommodation. In the meantime, if you have any needs, please contact me directly, hum…”

The leader of the Flower Sprite Tribe was a Calamity Grade, and he calmly nodded. “Understood.”

“Please follow me.”

The reception robot flew through the huge crowd, leading the way.

The group followed close behind, looking around on the way and discussing in a low voice.

“People of all civilizations have come. I even saw a few Star Cluster level Civilizations.”

“All of them are elites of their races. This is a grand event. Let’s go pay a visit to some others. After all, it’s a rare chance to socialize.”

Hearing the discussions coming from behind, the reception robot turned around and addressed them. “During this waiting period, I’ll take you to visit the headquarters, hold banquets, and provide a platform for everyone to communicate with each other, so please don’t worry about not having a chance.”

“This looks a little like the Tyrant’s Party… but the people here are not representatives of a few civilizations but rather a large number of elites…” The eyes of the Calamity Grade leading the team moved around, and they seemed to understand something.

Pamela hesitated before asking, “So, so… will we have a chance to converse with His Excellency Black Star?”

“There will be a banquet for everyone to celebrate after the evolution process is completed. If you’re willing to stay, then you’ll be able to converse with our Army Commander,” the robot replied.

“That’s… that’s great.” Pamela’s skin color turned green, which was the same as humans blushing. She looked expectant.

“Yo, shy because you’re about to see your idol?” One of her colleagues teased.

Pamela did not reply, her face so green that it was turning indigo.

Every Beyond Grade A would have a few fans in the universe, even those infamous thugs such as EsGod.

The deeds of Black Star were widely circulated in the universe. As a native of a planetary civilization, he had established the Black Star Army from scratch and rewritten the fate of his homeland by himself. Such a legendary existence had attracted a large number of admirers within the Shattered Star Ring, and Pamela was one of those who were impressed with his deeds.

“I don’t know what sort of spouse Black Star likes…” Pamela appeared a bit dazed.

“Hello, are you being serious? Do you not know about reproductive isolation?” Her colleague was surprised.

“I’m a biological genetic engineer. Do I need your reminder?” Pamela snapped back in resignation.

The Calamity Grade leader frowned and turned back to say, “Don’t forget our purpose here, and don’t provoke His Excellency.”

“Can’t I have expectations?” Pamela grumpily replied.

She did not know, however, that the reception robot was recording every word they spoke and passing it on to Sylvia.

In her office, Sylvia received the report, and after sweeping over it, she coldly snorted.

“Number 237…”

After which, she put a mark on the file before throwing it into a folder labelled ‘Banquet Seating Arrangement (Corner List)’.

…

Way before the date that Han Xiao set, all the civilizations that were supposed to undergo evolution had arrived. Except for Klent, the other Shattered Star Ring civilizations were there. Not only were civilizations belonging to the Shattered Star Ring there—even a new batch of elites from the Crimson Dynasty had arrived.

While waiting, these organizations did not just idle but took this rare chance to network and exchange contacts. The atmosphere quickly became friendly.

All the elites present could see that Han Xiao was taking advantage of the situation to gather all the influential people in Shattered Star Ring and start his own banquet. In other words, he was trying to snatch the Tyrant Heber’s businesses, using the Evolution Cube as a cover to form his own ‘party’, in order to expand his influence!

Although everyone understood this, no one had any issues with it. They were also willing to communicate with other races for their needs.

As for Black Star and the Tyrant’s competition, no one dared breathe a word. Both sides were not good to provoke, and it was better to just go with the flow.

A few days passed, and Han Xiao finally arrived back at the headquarters. After resting for a few hours, he informed everyone to gather to proceed with the ceremony.

Following batch after batch of people, the clean and gleaming main hall quickly became packed. Reynold received the news and took the mechanics of the logistics department to widen the hall on the spot so that it would not be overcrowded.

The space fluctuated slightly, and Han Xiao stepped out of the void dimension, suspending himself above everyone’s head. The Evolution Cube slowly rotated around him.

Everyone looked up at the floating Han Xiao, and there was a small commotion as everyone broke out in whispers.

“Black Star is here.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen a Beyond Grade A from up close. The energy contained within his body is just terrifying. I started sweating when I felt it.”

“The thing beside him is probably the Evolution Cube. Not too long ago, I heard that Psyker relinquished his control over this Universal Treasure… Such a small thing was actually the source of so much trouble, and even a few Beyond Grade As from the Arcane Church were captured.”

“Black Star does have the ability to keep this Universal Treasure. A year ago, I thought that his Evolution Cube would be snatched away quickly, but it turns out that I was wrong.”

The elites of the various races all had awe in their eyes. No matter how proud they were normally, in front of Han Xiao, they did not have the ability to be confident.

Before Han Xiao rose up, other than the Purple Crystal Civilization, the other Star Cluster civilizations had tried to suppress Han Xiao, but at the Tyrant’s Party, all of them could not help but lower their heads to seek cooperation.

Just because Han Xiao had recently reached Beyond Grade A, everyone had entertained a brief thought of suppressing him.

However, the recent matters had proven Black Star’s ability, consolidating his position in the universe. This dispelled the last bit of hostility the star cluster civilizations had. They completely gave up on their fantasy. Now that Black Star had completely taken off, playing small tricks were useless.

Looking at the gazes below of respect and admiration, Han Xiao secretly nodded to himself.

The recent storm had brought him benefits in that he was able to successfully launch this program to create a consortium of interests. This had saved him a lot of time.

On his way back, Han Xiao had briefly scanned through the name list of the elites as well. Not out of his expectations, there were a few well-known personalities of various civilizations from his previous life.

However, this was not the time to come into contact. After completing their evolution, Han Xiao then intended to befriend these ‘old acquaintances’ during the specially organized banquet.

Most likely, these people all had some kind of storyline. While he might not need them, the players needed them…

In short, these elites were walking bags of fertilizer.

Various thoughts flashed by as Han Xiao surveyed the scene. He smiled before speaking in an interested voice.

“Before we begin, there’s something I need to do… Heber, there’s no need to hide. I know you’re in there.”

The moment this sentence was spoken, everybody jumped. They stared left and right but did not discover him.

The Tyrant’s here too?

Everyone fidgeted, but no one stepped forward. Seeing this, Han Xiao’s brows furrowed. “Stop lying to yourself. I’ve already discovered you. Since you won’t come out, do you want me to drag you out? You will only lose face.”

The commotion got louder, but still, no one stepped up.

Han Xiao looked over everyone with narrowed eyes before suddenly bursting into laughter. “Hehe, it seems like Heber really didn’t sneak in. Then we can begin.”

Hearing this, everyone’s expression stiffened.

“He was actually joking…” Countless people’s mouths twitched.

Is it really good to ridicule the Tyrant like this, even guarding against him coming over? That guy is after all a Beyond Grade A! He wouldn’t do something so low class… right?

Perhaps Black Star and Tyrant have a good relationship now, so they can ridicule each other…

Everyone could only think this way.

Han Xiao then activated the Evolution Cube, and with a thought, the black evolutionary energy spewed out, enveloping the entire room. The elites present all turned into black cocoons.

“It’s done.” Han Xiao clapped his hands and instructed Phillip, “Monitor their evolutions. Remember to invite them to stay for the banquet later.”

“Roger, hum…”

Han Xiao did not wish to wait there for nothing. He stored the Evolution Cube and left the hall full of black cocoons, returning to his room.

He was going to change his clothes. He awaited the banquet that was to come next.

On the way, Han Xiao casually read through the forums.

Now that the matters of the Arcane Church had drawn to a close, the long-term gains from this event would gradually manifest over time, such as Urranrell’s appreciation of him and his importance to the dynasty.

The situation was already settled. What happened next would be between the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church, which was not his concern.

In the short term, no trouble would come looking for him, so Han Xiao had the capacity to focus on the players.

From the perspective of the players, Version 3.0 had been going for about a year and a half, which was the mid-version phase.

In this year and a half, the players had experienced the secret war, the Crimson Tide, the rise of Black Star, the Flickering World, and the Battle of Planet Lighthouse, which were all major events. More and more players at the level cap of 120 had appeared, and more and more players would continue to reach this goal as time passed.

During the mid-version phase, the new Pro League would be released. There was still some time before the opening, so players had time to upgrade, learn new skills, and change equipment. However, on the forums, the league officials had already begun the preparations, advertising widely and attracting the players’ attention.

From his memory, Version 3.0 was particularly spectacular.

Players would possess the strength of Grade Bs in this version, and the Mechanic profession would also slowly start to rise. A large number of newcomers would emerge, including Maple Moon, as professional players, causing a new injection into the pro scene.

The ratio of Mechanics in the Shattered Star Ring was the highest among all the other star fields, and the Black Star Army also sold the highest number of machines as well as blueprints. With the bonuses offered throughout the version, Han Xiao believed that the Shattered Star Ring’s Mechanics would bring great glory in the Pro League this time.

To him, the best benefit would be that it would attract more people to take the Mechanic profession or allow the older players to create Mechanic smurfs.

If that was the case, he would generate more income as the ‘mentor’ of the Mechanic profession.

“What a pity. With three versions out, the good days are almost over.” Han Xiao shook his head with some emotion.

Based on his experience from his previous life, Version 3.0 was a watershed. It symbolized that players had formally entered the mid-stage of the universe, and it was where their influence truly began to manifest and expand.

The nicknames ‘Cancer of the Universe’ as well as ‘The Fourth Calamity’ were tagged toward the players after Version 3.0!

It was also the source of Han Xiao’s psychological shadow.

For now, the players were in a period of imminent transformation. After this version, the players’ strength would exceed a certain point, and the more things they could do, the more they would be inclined to cause chaos. This was inevitable!

Version 3.0 was the last stage where players could be easily controlled.

Thus, Han Xiao placed his bets on the Flickering World. He might be able to use it to gain some advantage during the faction wars in the next version.

…

Just as Han Xiao was about to proceed with the banquet, on the other side of the star cluster, Heber also received some news.

As a competitor, he was always paying attention to the moves of the Black Star Army.

Heber thus discovered Han Xiao’s sinister intentions.

“Relying on the Evolution Cube, Black Star is building a platform for the elites to converse. He’s trying to take away the influence of the Tyrant’s Party and gain even greater influence in the Shattered Star Ring…”

As he read the intelligence, Heber grew visibly annoyed.

The Tyrant’s Party was the byproduct of his many years of effort. Now that Han Xiao had come out to compete with him, he was furious yet unable to stop it.

Furthermore, upon realizing that Han Xiao had mocked him in front of all the various civilization elites, Heber’s mind finally blew.

Dammit, why!

Are we even on good terms?

To ridicule me like that in public, smearing my brave warrior image, this is pure evil!

You’re taking advantage of me!

One of these days, I’m going to make sure you can’t even defend yourself!

Chapter 872: Banquet and Reques

Chapter 872 Banquet and Reques

The duration of everyone’s evolution process differed. As the cocoons slowly broke one after another, people groggily woke up, sensing the changes within themselves.

The Evolution Cube raised one’s life level, and the normal people were unlike players in that they could not get used to their new changes immediately. Their way to improvement was through long hours of extended practice, where many streams flowed to form a river. It was usually only when they broke through to a new realm that such a drastic change occurred.

Thus, most of the people present were satisfied with the effect of the Evolution Cube, especially the Calamity Grade Supers. The stronger their body, the better the effect of using the Evolution Cube.

“What a novel experience.” Pamela curiously observed the changes in her body. As a biological genetic engineer, she could feel the process more acutely, and her professionalism surfaced. “This is a pure evolution at the genetic level, not environmentally induced mutation but rather optimization. One’s original racial characteristics amplify the advantages of the genes, and their strengths are strengthened. If there are no sequelae, it is practically perfect.

“The source of this power is unknown. It’s like a divine blessing… The cells seemed to have received some sort of radiation. Is the essence of evolutionary energy a special kind of radiation?”

While she was muttering, the reception robot came up to her and said, “Congratulations. In order to celebrate your evolution, the Black Star Army will be holding a banquet tomorrow. The Army Commander and the officers will attend, and you’re welcome to participate, hum…”

Every race that had completed their evolution would receive an invite from the reception robots. The Flower Sprite Tribe leader suppressed his excitement and nodded. “We will be there.”

“The invite has been sent. On it is the time and place. I’ll remind you again closer to the time. Also, please remember to dress formally.”

“Understood.” Everyone else nodded in agreement.

The purpose of their trip was completed, and everyone in the room was in a good mood. Practically all the elites accepted the invitation, opting to stay and attend the banquet.

It was to be held the next day, so everyone proceeded back to their accommodation.

After resting for a day, the elites took off their battle suits and armor, donning the formal attire of their respective civilizations, and proceeded to the banquet venue.

In the commander’s room, Han Xiao also donned a suit, looking at himself in the mirror.

The man in the mirror was tall and well-built, wearing a compressed orb necklace and a thick black cloak with white borders on his shoulders. The emblem of the Black Star Army was embroidered on his back, lined with the dark-red fur of a rare beast. The neckline of the cloak had three silver magnetic clasps that could be joined to wrap around the body. It matched with the black top and pants provided.

Han Xiao could not help but comment, “I would like to know who designed this suit. Is the person treating me like a crow?”

“I designed it based on your usual attire, hum…”

“It seems like I will need to modify the data collection algorithm,” Han Xiao muttered to himself.

After washing his face, Han Xiao opened his door to find all his officers outside in their formal attire waiting for him.

Sweeping his eyes over them, he looked at everyone’s designs.

Han Xiao interestedly sized up everyone. “All of you look pretty good.”

“It’s been a while since I wore my robes. It’s a little awkward.” Feidin adjusted his neckline, looking a little helpless.

Because Han Xiao normally did not host such events, few of them had seen each other in formal attire.

Hila frowned. “You know I have no interest in these activities. If I have time to attend a banquet, I’d rather be training.”

“Just training itself wouldn’t help. You need to rest and relax at times.” Han Xiao waved his hands. “Recently, because of the problem with the Arcane Church, my nerves have been stretched out, and now that this problem has finally been solved, I can relax for today. Don’t think about training anymore.”

“I don’t like conversing with strangers.” Hila shook her head.

“Uh… these people are all the elites of their civilizations. They’re probably formidable characters, and if you get to know them, you could organize a spar.”

“That sounds good.” Hila’s eyes flickered.

Han Xiao chatted with his entourage while he walked, all the way until they arrived at the banquet. There were already a lot of people within, and it was boisterous.

The banquet hall was a special hall designed for this purpose, and its decorations were opulent. Tables were filled with full, and innumerable delicacies were delivered like flowing water. The foods were complex and catered toward the tastes of different races.

The elites of all races were present, and various styles and designs of clothing were on full display, dazzling the eyes. It fully demonstrated the diversity of the interstellar society.

Han Xiao led his people to the front, where he attracted all gazes.

“Ahem, on behalf of the Black Star Army, welcome to the evening banquet…”

Clearing his throat, Han Xiao smiled as he spoke. As the host, he had to give some pleasantries before the banquet could formally begin.

After giving a brief speech, the atmosphere at the banquet grew much warmer. Many people took the initiative to approach Han Xiao and chat with him enthusiastically.

The majority of people had stayed behind in order to converse with Han Xiao. It was not every day that one had the means to come into contact with a Beyond Grade A.

Very quickly, a crowd was surrounding Han Xiao. With a smile on his face, and seemingly not bored of the small talk, he continued to access everyone present.

In just this short period, he had seen many of the ‘acquaintances’ he knew in his past life. All of these people were famed personalities that the players from Shattered Star Ring had met in various regions while adventuring.

Some of them were very cheerful and sociable, while some wore hooded cloaks as though they were trying to hide themselves. One of them was even mumbling to himself, as though he was neurotic.

While, in front of Han Xiao, these characters’ fame was not worth mentioning, in front of the players, they were all big-shot characters.

As for all the elites that came to talk, Han Xiao collected all their contact details. This gave them a pleasant surprise because they did not expect a Beyond Grade A to be so easy to approach.

Collecting their contact information was akin to collecting their potential storyline missions for Han Xiao. In addition, these elites all had considerable power in the respective civilizations, which could be regarded as networking.

While conversing, Han Xiao heard someone calling him from behind in a shy tone.

“Your… Your Excellency Black Star, I’m Pamela from the Flower Sprite Tribe, a biological genetic engineer.”

Han Xiao turned back and smiled. “Is there anything you need?”

“I… I’m one of your admirers. I would like to know you. Could you accept my communicator number?” Pamela looked excited. She had watched him from the side for a while and realized that Han Xiao did not reject such requests. Thus, she had gathered up her courage to talk to him and exchange contact information.

Feeling her impure gaze on him, Han Xiao laughed dumbly.

Am I being picked up now?

What a rare occasion.

“Ok. Send it to me.” Han Xiao did not reject her. A biological genetic engineer was worth him befriending.

Although it was impossible for these elites to jump ship, he could still recruit them if he ran into some special situations in the future or request their aid.

“Thank you!” After exchanging contact details, Pamela behaved as though she had just obtained his autograph, her face full of joy as she hugged her communicator close to her chest.

Not far away, Sylvia saw this entire scene and lightly snorted. “Humph, airhead.”

As the banquet progressed, the guests became more absorbed in the atmosphere and relaxed more.

Batch after batch of guests exchanged their contact information with Han Xiao before being content enough to retreat. Han Xiao finally managed to get a breather and sighed in relief as he grabbed one of the alcoholic beverages from a floating tray. He drained half the cocktail, which held a blue gradient, to moisten his throat.

The cooling yet spicy alcohol flowed into his throat, and there was an aftertaste of sweetness. Han Xiao felt rejuvenated and smiled.

Walking to a corner, he slowly drank whilst surveying the scene.

After working for so many years, the Black Star Army had finally reached its current scale, which gave Han Xiao mixed feelings.

“What are you reminiscing about?” Hila carried a deep red cocktail as she walked over.

“How did you know?” Han Xiao raised a brow.

“I’ve known you for so long. How could I not understand? Seeing your eyes, I know that you’re recalling something,” Hila blandly replied.

“Speaking of, I just recalled something. Twenty years ago, back on Planet Aquamarine, when I just… cough, just lost my memories, you were the first friend I met, and the earliest.”

“That’s right. In the blink of an eye, it’s been so many years.” Hila followed Han Xiao’s gaze and looked around the entire venue. “Those years, I struggled in despair and never thought that I would step into the universe one day and have such a future. Now, looking back, it seems like those days on Planet Aquamarine belonged to a past life.”

“Thinking back, I endured for a good half a year in the Germinal Organization base. It was lucky that you left the base once in a while, or else I would never have escaped.”

“It’s good that you know this.” The corners of Hila’s mouth curled up.

Han Xiao laughed as he reminisced, but suddenly, his laughter stopped, and he shook his head. “There are so many things that happened after. You felt that you owed me, so you always chose to fight for me. However, your ability is not only at this level, and you have the potential to reach Beyond Grade A. One day, you will obtain this power, and at that time, will you still fight shoulder to shoulder with me?”

Hila hesitated for a while before shaking her head. “I don’t know.”

“An honest answer. Promises are the most unreliable thing. Who can predict the future properly?” Han Xiao shrugged and raised his glass. “At least, you’re still by my side now. To our friendship, cheers.”

“You sound so old fashioned.”

“Please, we’re already in our forties… although if we look from the perspective of our life spans, we’re just little brats.”

“You’re the little brat.”

Hila’s expression was disdainful, but a smile still hung on her lips as she raised her glass to clink Han Xiao’s.

“Cheers.”

They both took a sip of their drinks.

Han Xiao wiped his mouth. He was about to say something else, but a guest suddenly walked over, as though he wished to talk, yet there was a hesitant look.

Seeing someone approached, they both stopped talking, and Han Xiao took the initiative to ask, “Is there something?”

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m Ceselin from the Gulal Civilization. I have a matter that I would like to discuss privately.”

Gulal Civilization? Han Xiao quickly searched on his quantum network.

This was a Star Cluster Civilization that seemed to have been embroiled in civil strife for a long time. Their internal issues were serious and had evolved to the point of military division.

This Ceselin was a Calamity Grade elite belonging to the current ruling party of the civilization. Not only was he one of the strongest guardians but also an army commander with high power.

“What do you want to talk in private for?” Han Xiao raised his brow. “Can’t we talk here?”

Ceselin shook his head. “It’s not suitable in a public venue.”

“You must at least tell me your intentions.”

Ceselin paused for a moment before solemnly saying, “This is a request. Please believe me. I come with sincerity.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin, smelling the possibility of a mission.

To have a mission bring itself to me, it’s quite worthwhile to listen to it…

As he thought of this, Han Xiao passed his glass to Hila before turning to walk toward a side entrance. There were private conference rooms located along the corridor there.

“Follow me.”

Chapter 873: S Grade War Hire

Chapter 873 S Grade War Hire

Both of them left through the side entrance, walking along the hallway to a conference room. Phillip locked the door as they entered. The soundproofing system here was good, completely isolating the noises from the banquet.

They sat down facing each other, and Han Xiao snapped his fingers. The simulated mechanical waiter stepped forward to pour two glasses of amber mead for them, adding a few cubes of ice before placing the glasses on the table in front of them.

“We can speak now.” Han Xiao swirled his glass, and the fragrance of the liquor wafted out from the mouth of the glass.

Now that he was a great character within the Shattered Star Ring, no longer did he need to actively search for missions. People would naturally come knocking to request his aid.

This phenomenon was not only limited to himself. Players could also achieve this if they managed to carve out a name for themselves within a certain star system. NPCs would then also seek help from them from time to time.

“It’s like this. My request is about the future of the Gulal Civilization…” Ceselin sat on the edge.

I guessed it. If it wasn’t something of that magnitude, who would come and disturb a Beyond Grade A? Han Xiao’s expression, however, remained unchanged, and he lifted his hand, gesturing for him to continue.

“Before this, please allow me to briefly explain the current situation of my civilization.” Ceselin solemnly spoke. “The Gulal Civilization has always been in a state of military division, and the three main parties have formed their own military regions and are opposed to each other. They are the Ancient Emperor Party, the Pioneer Party, and the Descendant Party. The current ruling party representing the Gulal Civilization government is the Ancient Emperor Party, and my teammates and I are members of this party.”

As one of the edges of the explored universe, the Shattered Star Ring had a complicated situation due to the lack of control. Some civilizations were stable and peaceful, whilst some faced external and internal problems. The situation of internal military division such as the Gulal Civilization would be considered quite serious.

“Okay, I understand. So, what is your request?” Han Xiao asked.

“I beg the Black Star Army to lend the war efforts and end the split of the Gulal Civilization, letting us find peace.”

“I understand. You wish to apply for war employment and have my people assist the current ruling party to suppress the other two, right?” Han Xiao raised a brow.

However, Ceselin shook his head and gave an unexpected answer.

“No, I hope for Black Star Army to assist the Pioneer Party in overthrowing the Ancient Emperor Party and suppressing the Descendant Party.”

This was getting more interesting. Han Xiao sized Ceselin up. “You’re someone of the Ancient Emperor Party, yet you are helping the Pioneer Party to speak. Are you a spy?”

Ceselin shook his head. “That’s not the case. I was born on a colonial planet of the Ancient Emperor Party and even joined their army. I’ve never joined another party.”

“Then, why? For benefits? Did the Pioneer Party give you any advantages?”

“That’s not true either. My position in the Ancient Emperor Party is high, and I’m even a War Hero. The Pioneer Party would not try to pull hardcore members like me over, and whatever they can give me, the Ancient Emperor Party can do so as well.”

“Then why?”

“Ideals,” Ceselin gravely replied. “I’m more inclined toward the ideology and beliefs of the Pioneer Party. The Ancient Emperor Party is decaying, and only the Pioneer Party will be able to lead the civilization to greater hope.”

“I get it.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “You’re a traitor. The Ancient Emperor Party has given you both authority and standing, even allowing you to obtain the power of the Evolution Cube, yet you decide to stab them in the back and overthrow them?”

“From their viewpoint, I’m indeed a traitor, but from the viewpoint of the Pioneer Party, I’m someone who has thrown away the darkness and embraced the light. One’s perception is based on their viewpoint, so I’m only looking at this objectively and not caring about one’s judgement,” Ceselin replied in a low voice. “Back when I was young, I was also passionate and wanted to serve the nation. However, my thoughts were not mature, and like many others, I was just keen to maintain the orthodox Ancient Emperor Party. Since I was born on the colonial planet, my position was largely determined from birth… but after so many years, I’ve become skeptical of their ideals and behavior, and my beliefs have become more and more shaken.”

Han Xiao looked at him silently. Before Phillip presented him with the complete information on Gulal Civilization, he would not just take anyone’s words at face value.

This time, Ceselin’s tone became more animated, and it even hid some anger.

“Due to its position, the Ancient Emperor Party wanted a totalitarian rule and has done many bloody things under wraps to our people. I’ve participated in many of them and have seen the darkness of politics, the bloodshed of domination, and the confinement of thought. My house is filled with medals awarded by the party, and I used to like to look at the past glories. However, when I stare at them now, my nose fills with the sickening smell of blood.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. “So, you decided to betray the party that groomed you?”

“To be specific, it was only after I began to doubt myself that I finally freed myself from the shackles.” Ceselin took a sip of his drink and sighed. “I’ve always been bound by my identity, and when I woke up, I realized that the three parties were only the standpoints of internal division of our civilization. The so-called opposition is meaningless, and what we should be concerned with is the future of our entire civilization. Whoever can bring prosperity should be supported. I chose to follow the idea of freedom and the judgement of my heart, so I chose the Pioneer Party, which the majority of citizens support. They will be able to bring Gulal Civilization further.”

“So, in this way, you believe yourself to be noble?” Han Xiao raised his brow.

“I never thought of myself that way.” Ceselin shook his head.

“… Regarding your choice, I cannot give any comment because I’m an outsider,” Han Xiao slowly said. “I just want to know. You mentioned that you have never joined the other parties. So, on what basis can the Pioneer Party talk to me about cooperation?”

“I’m not representing the Pioneer Party. I’m just making a request to you personally.”

Han Xiao laughed at this. “What makes you think you can persuade me to intervene in a civil strife that I do not care about? You haven’t even reached a consensus with the Pioneer Party, and let’s not talk about whether the other party wishes for me to intervene. Just how are you even going to afford the war employment wages? Why should I kick aside the Ancient Emperor Party that I’m working with now to help you? What can you bring me?”

“I know that it’s very abrupt to bring this up as an individual, but I have no choice,” Ceselin replied. “The Ancient Emperor Party has assigned me the mission of applying to you for war employment. They are ready to use force to eradicate the other two parties and take back all the divided land.”

“So, it’s like that.” Han Xiao understood it.

The Ancient Emperor Party wanted to resolve the strife once and for all, but they did not wish to be controlled by an advanced civilization. Thus, instead of asking for help from the Star Cluster civilizations, they planned to hire foreign aid in the form of interstellar mercenaries. In the Shattered Star Ring, the most representative of the mercenaries were the Mercenary League, Bloodshed Land, and Black Star Army.

Since the Black Star Army was also the head of the Mercenary League and an ally of the dynasty together with Bloodshed Land, as long as the Black Star Army was hired, the mercenaries of Shattered Star Ring would not be employed by people wishing to oppose the Black Star Army. After all, with the current might of the army, no one wished to send themselves to die, and mercenaries that are cooperating with each other would not send their people to opposing sides.

In the mercenary world within the Shattered Star Ring, the Black Star Army had already reached the highest level of influence and reputation.

As the ruling party, the Ancient Emperor Party had already attached themselves to the Black Star Army. As long as aid was received, the Pioneer Party that Ceselin looked upon fondly would be destroyed, so he could only brave this risk and boldly make this request of Han Xiao.

Man, of all the people you chose to be the emissary, you chose an emissary that is a backstabber… Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Could this be the legendary plot of ‘I didn’t choose this, but now I wish to be on the good side?’

Han Xiao shook his head. “Let’s be practical. Which party is in power has no impact on me. Since the Ancient Emperor Party is cooperating with the Black Star Army, they will definitely offer a good price. And since you came here in a rush to find me, that means nothing is set in stone on your side… Forget it. I don’t wish to say any more unpleasant words. Let’s consider this conversation over.”

Han Xiao put down his glass and stood up, walking toward the door with a dissatisfied mood.

While the words from Ceselin were nice to hear, it was true that he could not bring out any substantial remuneration. Han Xiao did not care about the struggle of a party in an unfamiliar civilization. The Black Star Army had retained its mercenary business after the transformation and did not change into a charity overnight.

Violation of professional standards was a behavior without any professional ethics. Without practical benefits, he wished to use only his mouth to influence a Beyond Grade A?

If he had such a fantasy, he should just die in that fantasy!

“Please wait.” Ceselin immediately stood up. “Just as you mentioned, whichever party it is has no influence toward you. The Pioneer Party can also maintain a cooperative relationship with you. I hope that you will help the Pioneer Party. The Gulal Civilization can also become stronger, which will be more rewarding for you. The Ancient Emperor Party has decayed, and the Pioneer Party is the only righteous one now.”

“What does your righteousness have to do with me?” Han Xiao did not bother turning back. Waving this so-called banner of justice was useless in front of others.

His kindness only existed to people he knew. Toward strangers, this was greatly limited. His coldness was created with the times, and with all the matters experienced, he would not easily allow people to sway him.

“Please help the Gulal Civilization!”

Dong!

A weird sound was heard, and when Han Xiao turned back, he saw Ceselin prostrating on the ground. A Calamity Grade actually begged him for help.

However, glancing at him, Han Xiao remained indifferent and prepared to push open the door.

At this moment, a mission notification appeared on his interface.

_____________________

You have triggered an S-ranked Mission (Gulal Civilization: The Flames of Pioneer!).

Mission Introduction: The Gulal Civilization is a galactic civilization that has been plagued with internal strife. The civilization has not progressed for many years and has even deteriorated. In order to break this deadlock, Ceselin, who is an upper echelon of the Ancient Emperor Party, has decided to support the Pioneer Party and has made a request to you.

Mission Requirements: Overthrow the rule of the Ancient Emperor Party, eradicate the Descendant Party, and support the Pioneer Party to become the new rulers of the Gulal Civilization

Failure Condition: The destruction of the Pioneer Party

Reward: After completion of the task, the reward will be determined by the Mission Rating.

_____________________

S-ranked mission? Han Xiao’s footsteps paused. A coup d’état of a galactic civilization was as good as engaging in total war. It was indeed deserving of its S-rank difficulty, as players would find it difficult to control the direction of an internal war.

Of course, it was different for him. The influence of the Black Star Army was huge, so he was naturally qualified to intervene in this war. This mission was not difficult for him.

But while thinking about it, Han Xiao did not stop there and walked out of the room, leaving Ceselin in the room looking lost.

The S-ranked mission was indeed attractive, but it was unreasonable to aid the Pioneer Party just because of the mission. It was unreasonable to assume that the Ancient Emperor Party would not have a mission, as Han Xiao immediately saw with his experience that this would be a series of missions.

Han Xiao was prepared to speak with all the upper echelons of the Gulal Civilization and activate the missions of each party before deciding.

He was never the kind that had an obsessive compulsion to complete every mission that he saw.

An S-ranked mission’s war employment was no trivial matter. While the Black Star Army had a certain level of strength, it did not mean that they could just ignore the resources of a galactic civilization.

Han Xiao was clear that although their status was high, it was mainly because of him. After all, the development time of the army was limited, and its military force, while able to participate in a star system level war, was still far from being able to control a star cluster level war.

Han Xiao did not really require the mission reward and did not care for the remuneration of a star system civilization. Toward this, his main concern was the players.

Such a war employment task naturally was not his to interfere—a Beyond Grade A joining a star system level war was being too much of a bully and was also incongruent to his name and reputation. Furthermore, he planned to quietly stay at the headquarters and construct more machinery while biding his time for the experience penalty to pass. Thus, this mission would definitely be given to the players.

Players were the most suited for such missions since they would reduce the casualties of his mercenaries.

Since the battle in Planet Lighthouse had just ended, there would not be any big events for a period of time. The players could only do side missions, and while the Flickering World had its benefits, it was too boring for the players. Thus, he planned to create an event for the players to fill up their spare time, catering to the players in the army.

In addition, this would give the players more rewards before the Pro League, as the rewards from an S-ranked mission would be richer than the norm.

By helping the players grow faster, it would attract more people to his faction. Han Xiao had always done it this way.

At this moment, Phillip started bubbling in the quantum network.

“Master, hum… I’ve found the information on the Ancient Emperor Party you requested.”

Han Xiao’s consciousness entered the quantum network to read the intelligence.

In this regard, Ceselin did not lie. The Ancient Emperor Party was indeed unpopular, and its government was rotten. The people were suppressed by them and did not dare speak.

The Descendant Party was also not any better; in fact, they were worse. However, the Pioneer Party was not as good as Ceselin made out. Still, compared to the other two, it was the most acceptable.

After reading, Han Xiao nodded to himself.

Now that he had seen the truth, with actual information, he had an idea in his heart.

Chapter 874: Isolation

Chapter 874 Isolation

Han Xiao did not contact the Gulal Civilization immediately. The banquet was still ongoing, and it would be rude to ignore the guests.

Returning to the banquet, Han Xiao collected more communication numbers. The relaxing time passed in a flash, and the banquet quickly approached the end. The guests all bade their farewells and left the venue.

Han Xiao saw Ceselin among the throng of people leaving, his footsteps hurried but nothing strange from his expression. His display toward Han Xiao this time had brought nothing but ruin.

However, Han Xiao did not intend to snitch someone to such a small star system civilization. He was a Beyond Grade A and had no obligation to report to such people.

As the guests left, the mechanical waiters appeared to clear up the messy venue.

This was the first year of holding the evolutionary banquet, and both the scale and influence were limited. It would need a few more years before its reputation would sound in the Shattered Star Ring and become a practice.

After leaving the venue, Han Xiao did not idle but met up with the elites of the Crimson Dynasty separately. These people were more important, so they received special treatment. They did not talk about business but rather just chatted idly to improve their relationship.

All these people in the Crimson Dynasty had varying levels of influence, and making more contacts would allow him to help expand his network in the dynasty, as well as his speaking rights.

Because of the battle at Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao’s fame and status in the Crimson Dynasty had increased, and he found that the elites’ attitude was now even more awed than the previous batch; they no longer treated him as a normal Beyond Grade A ally.

Everyone had a great chat, and only after Han Xiao sent them off did he return to his room and got Phillip to contact the upper echelons of the Gulal Civilization.

He did not disclose Ceselin’s backstabbing but indicated that Ceselin had offered him war employment and completed his mission, leading him to call to discuss this matter.

The Ancient Emperor Party did not suspect anything and offered a price for his war employment efforts, including remuneration, military supplies, machinery materials, and long-term mining rights for their resource rich planets.

Normal mercenary groups would only obtain remuneration, military factory borrowing rights, procurement channels, and other rewards, but due to the nature of the Black Star Army being vastly different, they were able to obtain resources such as mining rights.

Unsurprisingly, the Gulal Civilization civil strife turned out to be a mission series. After he contacted the Ancient Emperor Party, a similar S-ranked mission appeared, the only difference being the name of the mission titled ‘Protect the Orthodoxy’. The mission objective was to aid the Ancient Emperor Party in suppressing the other two parties and reclaim their territories.

Without giving the Ancient Emperor Party confirmation, Han Xiao cut the call, stroking his chin as he contemplated.

“Both are S-ranked missions, so the reward should be the same… Oh, there should be some minute differences. Because the Ancient Emperor Party is the strongest, suppressing the other two will be the easier option. If I help a weaker party ascend, the reward should also be higher.”

After thinking about it, Han Xiao had Phillip search for the leader of the Pioneer Party’s number. Ceselin was just an unexpected factor, and Han Xiao was prepared to just leapfrog ranks and talk straight to the leader.

With the military division within the Gulal Civilization, the Pioneer Party had a clear territory, so it was easy to find the required number.

The call was quickly connected.

“Hello, may I know who you…” The leader’s secretary appeared on the screen, but in mid speech, the person exclaimed upon seeing Han Xiao’s face. “Black Star‽”

With Han Xiao’s current fame, only bumpkins would not recognize him. As someone who was an official of a star system civilization, they would not fail to recognize this face.

“Connect me to your leader.” Han Xiao calmly spoke.

“Oh oh, I’ll divert the call now, you… no, sir, please hold on,” the secretary stammered. While they were not the ruling party, the leader of the Pioneer Party was not someone that any Tom, Dick, and Harry could meet as and when they liked. However, Black Star was obviously an exception.

Not long later, the leader came online. He found it difficult to hide the surprise in his eyes. He was waiting for an important call, but he suddenly received news that Black Star was on the line, which gave him quite the shock.

How come Black Star, who had never had any dealings with them, suddenly called and asked to speak with him?

“Your Excellency Black Star, may I ask… what business do you have with me?”

“I’ve heard about the situation in your Gulal Civilization, and not too long ago, the Ancient Emperor Party requested me for a war employment, wishing to borrow my strength to annihilate the other two parties. Are you aware of this?”

“Is this true‽” The leader’s expression changed. While he did not know this, he had been waiting for a report from his spy, who had reported some movements from the side of the Ancient Emperor Party. He had guessed that they would seek aid, but this report was now directly confirmed by Black Star.

The Pioneer Party leader also knew the importance of such a matter and immediately panicked. He quickly recovered though. If Black Star had accepted the employment, then there would have been no need to inform them. Black Star must have a reason for calling them.

In a flash, the leader understood Black Star’s thinking. “Your Excellency Black Star, no matter what price the Ancient Emperor Party offers, we’ll double it and will not go back on our word.”

Since the other party had already made his intentions clear, there was no need for pleasantries. The Pioneer Party immediately gave his offer. In fact, he also wished to receive the aid from the Black Star Army, but it was nigh impossible since the Ancient Emperor Party had long forged a connection with the Black Star Army through their business dealings.

What a good fellow, he actually treated me like a warmonger… Han Xiao’s brows twitched, but from the perspective of the Pioneer Party, this was natural since he did not know about Ceselin.

After thinking about it, Han Xiao did not choose to reveal the existence of Ceselin. After all, he had provided him with this mission. Before he took the initiative to jump over, his merits and fame would be hidden.

After pondering for a while, he nodded to the nervous expression of the Pioneer Party leader.

“Good, then it’s settled. When the time comes, I’ll look for someone to allow you to sign the employment contract.”

He ended the call.

Staring at the darkened screen, the leader of the Pioneer Party slumped in his chair, looking out of sorts, as though he had just woken up from a dream.

Without any warning, he suddenly obtained the help of the Black Star Army, such a behemoth?

“Could it be that Black Star is really trying to be a warmonger? He doesn’t have to do this.” A seed of suspicion bloomed in the leader’s mind.

But Black Star clearly had no dealings with his Pioneer Party, so why did he choose them?

“There must be some underlying factor…”

The expression of the Pioneer Party leader flickered.

It was just that Black Star did not reveal anything, and it was not a good time for him to ask. However, the Pioneer Party leader did not wish to be kept in the dark. He decided to slowly dig out the reason. There had to be someone involved that had made Black Star seek employment from him.

On the other side, Han Xiao put his communicator away. His part had come to an end; he only needed to send someone to get the contract finalized before sending out the mission to his faction. The rest would be completed by the players and his members, which did not require his concern.

He had chosen to help the Pioneer Party, not because it had any relation with Ceselin, but because it was indeed the best among the three. Only when he could protect his own interests would he think about sowing good karma. This had always been his work ethic.

On the other hand, the Pioneer Party looked more righteous. Many players loved such a scenario, so it would satisfy their emotional and ethical needs.

Thus, after considering all these factors, he had chosen to give up on the Ancient Emperor Party and Descendant Party, and help the ‘righteous’ Pioneer Party. This would be conducive to enhancing the players’ sense of identification with the army.

…

A few days later, the elites left the Black Star Army headquarters.

The Gulal Civilization’s spaceship also left the port, heading into the universe. Ceselin looked back at the Black Star Army headquarters disappearing, his crestfallen expression hard to hide.

Two days prior, the Ancient Emperor Party’s leader had contacted him, praising him for his effort and explaining that Black Star had contacted them. They were expecting the Black Star Army’s aid soon.

“I didn’t manage to convince Black Star… The Pioneer Party…” Ceselin was depressed, and he did not think that he alone could reverse the current plight of the Pioneer Party.

At this moment, his teammate suddenly held out the communicator and exclaimed, “Guys, come look! The Pioneer Party just announced that they’ve employed the Black Star Army and are formally launching an offensive!”

“What‽”

Everyone was stunned and took out their communicators as well, Ceselin included. The more he read, the more emotional he got.

This… this… what happened‽ Did my words… really have an impact‽

Ceselin was so moved that he found it difficult to restrain himself. His actions had really ushered in a turning point, causing Black Star to make a different choice. If he did not take the risk this time, Black Star would most likely have agreed after the Ancient Emperor Party made their request.

No matter what conditions the Pioneer Party had offered Black Star or how he thought, there was still the fact that he had played a part in this.

Just like the split in train tracks, he was the one who pulled the wrench and steered fate away from its original track.

Ceselin turned back to look in the direction of the Black Star Army, and while he knew that Black Star did not need his gratitude, he still revealed a thankful expression.

He was not aware if Black Star had revealed his identity or chosen to bury this issue. He only thought that he was doing the right thing and did not think to claim credit from the Pioneer Party.

…

Within the machinery factory, Han Xiao released the faction mission that he had on hand before opening the forums to have a look.

The players were already used to such war employments, and since it was such a large-scale collective action each time, they had always welcomed such big events.

While this time was a star system level war, helping a party to destroy its competitors, being able to have their own teammates, and not facing against the entire star system civilization made the difficulty more manageable for the players. The players in the army were excitedly signing up and calling for more support through the forums.

After a few glances, he confirmed that the players’ reactions would not have problems and closed the forums. The matters afterward would be settled by the players, so he did not need to worry.

This war employment would likely last until the late to end stages of the version, which gave the players a lot of stuff to do.

This way, I’ll have more time to construct my mechanical army.

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

He had to tide past the experience penalty period, as well as face off against EsGod, sealing his mouth for good. This was the important matter. Because of that, Han Xiao decided to isolate himself in the factory and no longer paid attention to the matters outside.

EsGod was already strong enough. Since he had even obtained an evolution, his combat ability would be off the charts.

Thinking of this, Han Xiao could not help but feel pressure.

To kill this fellow, he had to put in a lot of effort.

Chapter 875: Unable to crack The

Chapter 875 Unable to crack The

Half a month later, within the President’s Office of the Federation of Light, Bader alone. In front of him was a projection of a normal galaxy human, of moderate height and wearing a large white robe. He had lots of wrinkles on his face. Despite his apparent age, however, he looked spry. His eyes especially were glowing like two luminous stellar bodies. His beard stretched down to his chest, and his hair was also kept very long, tied up with silvery magnetic bands.

This projection was the true appearance of the Mechanic Empire’s Manison. His expression was calm, and he was conversing with Bader.

“My troops have sent the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to the designated scientific research station and completed the handover.” Manison’s voice was old but full of ‘magnetism’.

“Many thanks.” Bader was smiling and nodded. “The promised reward will be sent to your Mechanical Race.”

As long-term allies, Manison’s strength and his achievements had granted him a high position in the Federation of Light. Bader was full of respect toward Manison and had always been serious in ensuring that both parties had a good relationship.

After all, Manison had already assisted several Presidents of the Federation of Light before Bader. Of course, there were also reasons for that; compared to the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty, their rate of change for leaders was much higher.

Manison nodded and changed the topic. “There’s another matter.”

“Please speak.”

“When you decide to come into contact with Black Star, remember to call me.”

Bader lurched.

What’s this curveball? Why do you think that we’ll contact Black Star?

After this incident, Bader did not dare look down on Han Xiao. However, he was also not prepared to send emissaries over to contact Black Star. The latter was allied to the Crimson Dynasty, and unless there was a special reason, a Beyond Grade A would not jump ship. Thus, Bader had no intention of contacting him.

After thinking about it, Bader just thought that Manison was interested in Black Star and agreed. Being Beyond Grade A Mechanics, they would naturally have topics to discuss. It was nothing strange.

“If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.” Manison nodded and cut the connection.

Seeing this, Bader waited for another ten seconds or so before contacting the Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic under their employment.

“Any abnormalities in the data quantum network?”

“No.”

Hearing this, Bader relaxed. While he trusted Manison, he still had to take precautions. After all, Manison was not directly under the Federation of Light but rather an ally from the Ancient Ones. He might be the strongest mechanic alive in this era, so every time he connected remotely, Bader would have Virtual Mechanics monitor the network so that Manison would not open some backdoor.

At the same time, in the distant Primeval Star River, Manison opened his eyes as his consciousness retreated from the quantum network. He smiled.

“The material sealing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter has reached the level of a Space Wonder. The Federation of Light… is going to have a headache.”

When Manison took up the task, he knew that he would come into contact with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, so he had taken along some research equipment to study the material while en route.

However, this Spacetime Amber isolated all forms of energy, and even detecting its parameters was impossible to achieve. It appeared as ‘non-existent’ on a lot of his research equipment, and only when utilizing his space research equipment did he then discover that the spatial and temporal coordinates of the Spacetime Amber were weirdly distorted, fixed at a constant value.

He had tried to break apart the amber by disturbing the spacetime coordinates, but the Spacetime Amber also isolated any influence toward its surrounding spacetime coordinates.

Manison had not managed to discover the material structure of this amber. It appeared to be a physical object, yet when observed under a microscope, it appeared as a universe of its own, an area without any movement.

Since there was no particle movement, and time seemed to not exist, which was the theory behind freezing.

Manison thought of the past, during the time of the exploration era where the three Universal Civilizations had changed the physical constraints of the universe near their mother stars, forming a closed and safe area. The Spacetime Amber seemed to be of a similar principle, only stranger. It was as though this material was a condensed secondary space independent of the universe.

Due to his knowledge, he concluded that this was a material on the level of a space wonder.

After his research, he had ruled out the possibility that the Spacetime Amber was a technological advancement. He did not think that Han Xiao would have such an ability at the moment, so he became interested in the treasure that could create such a material.

Other than Black Star, it was unlikely that anyone could break this.

Thus, Manison was sure that the Federation of Light would try to contact Black Star, and it would also not be long from now.

“At that time, I can take the opportunity to know him. Oh, he seems to have bullied my people some time ago.”

Manison narrowed his eyes, and it was unknown what he was thinking.

…

Not too long ago, Manison had sent the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to one of the Federation of Light’s research bases, and it was currently being fixed in a huge machinery cabin. Outside was a pile of research instruments, and many researchers were fully concentrated on the task.

This was an all-in-one material analyzer, which was able to analyze the various parameters of the object without destroying it. This was a standard product used by researchers from advanced civilizations, and the Federation of Light’s would naturally be even more advanced. So long as it was an object, its components could be easily analyzed.

The research head stood by the side, his eyes never leaving the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

Bader had set down an order that they had to crack the seal for the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. The research team head knew the seriousness of this job and thus had personally gone to supervise it.

Being in charge of a research base, the head would not be any ordinary person. He was one of the bigwigs in the Federation of Light’s top research institute and had made many various major scientific research contributions. He had even been awarded the Medal of Honor by the President.

“Reporting! The equipment has been calibrated, and the substance analyzer is ready. Permission to begin?”

“Let’s begin.” The head nodded.

The researcher pressed a button, and the substance analyzer started to operate, letting out a droning noise. Everyone watched the screen carefully, where the data was changing rapidly.

After a few moments, the artificial intelligence came to a startling conclusion.

“Data error. Substance is unable to be analyzed. The target has energy insulating properties, and the detection rays cannot penetrate it.”

The substance analyzer was rendered useless? The head was a little surprised, but such incidents were not unseen. This meant that what they had on hand was a problematic object.

The research facility would naturally not only have one type of analyzer. The head ordered the amber to be run through all the tests, and the number of analyzers that could pick up the Spacetime Amber was pitifully low, which left them still clueless about it.

Since Manison was able to discover the anomaly within the spacetime coordinates, they naturally could deduce the same. Both sides came to the same conclusion—there was no method to crack it.

If even a normal analysis did not work, why talk about cracking it?

The research head got more and more mystified, and his head began to hurt. All conventional methods were ineffective, and he did not know where to start.

Just what sort of toy was this‽

As a researcher, he was full of curiosity and had a mentality of challenging the unknown. However, interest was one thing; his mission was another.

Thinking about Bader’s request, the head groaned.

He had a premonition… the president’s hopes would soon be dashed.

This object had completely exceeded all their imaginations.

Chapter 876: Great Mechanic Han in Seclusion, Do Not Disturb

Chapter 876 Great Mechanic Han in Seclusion, Do Not Disturb

“Can’t be broken‽”

In the president’s office, Bader received a detailed report from the research department, and a look of disbelief could be seen on his face.

He had never doubted the technological skills of the Federation of Light and felt that breaking the seal of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter would be a piece of cake. He could not have imagined the research department giving him such a ‘surprise’.

“Space Wonder grade material that seems to have the ability to solidify space…” Bader read the report again in detail.

He suddenly thought about something, and he immediately entered the intranet of the federation to pull out a secret document. This file was ‘Grade 16’, and it belonged to the secret category in the Federation of Light. In the Federation of Light, there were a total of twenty different grades.

Grades 1 to 5 contained information that could be revealed to the public such as annual reports. Grades 6 to 10 were restricted documents that most government officials could view. Grades 11 to 15 were confidential documents where a log of who viewed them would be recorded with some details being removed if the viewer did not have enough security clearance. Grades 16 to 19 were secret documents that only the upper echelons could view. Finally, Grade 20 contained top secret documents that would almost never be revealed to the public.

“Confirming your identity… Welcome, President. You have Grade 19.5 authority and have the right to view the entire document.”

Bader then began to read the document.

Spacetime Freezer!

This Primordial One had worked for the Federation of Light during the exploration era, and the Federation of Light had kept a file on him, which included a lot of detailed information about him and a breakdown of his Esper Ability. After Bader read the report of the Spacetime Amber, he immediately thought about this Primordial One as their abilities were similar.

The leader of a Universal Civilization had received special training and would be extremely familiar with their own civilization’s history, confidential documents, and technological skills. Thus, Bader was able to easily remember the existence of the Spacetime Freezer.

“[Spacetime Freezer] Frogo has the ability to freeze spacetime, and his ability can be ranked as a [Super High Risk Esper Ability]. He can freeze time and space at a set location or target and create a huge influence for Beyond Grade As. The effects of his ability far exceed a Mage’s spacetime spells, and there was once an incident of an entire planet being frozen [See Appendix B-004]. There were many records of him freezing the enemy battleship fleet, resulting in the enemy being unable to fight back, and he turned the tides of a few hundred battles [See Appendix B-027]…

“According to our investigations, Frogo needs to exhaust his energy to maintain the spacetime freeze on a region [See Appendix A-001 for the exact breakdown of numbers]. If the supply of energy is broken, the spacetime seal will disappear. The usage of the Esper Ability can be adjusted, and Frogo can freeze the space around him for defense. It can provide defense against most energy and physical attacks, but it is unable to block mental or soul attacks. After further testing, although his Esper Ability can seal a soul, it cannot prevent a soul from moving, and this proves that Frogo’s Esper Ability isn’t perfect.

“Frogo sacrificed himself in the battle of Planet Millennium [See Appendix B-1940], and his body disappeared.”

Bader frowned and thought to himself, Their abilities are extremely similar indeed. Could there be a link between the two? However, even Frogo himself didn’t have the ability to manifest the frozen spacetime into a physical object. Just what is going on?

He naturally did not know that the Spacetime Amber had been floating around in the universe for many years and had absorbed the radiation from the universe to mutate into a different object. Mutation happened because of the change in gene structure of an individual. Frogo’s Esper Ability was not perfect, and although it was able to freeze spacetime, he could not defend against mental attacks. However, the mutated Spacetime Amber did not have this weakness, and even a mental attack would not be able to pierce the amber that it created.

After thinking for a while, Bader decided to send a copy of this information to the research head and hope that it would be helpful.

Breaking the seal of the Spacetime Amber was far more difficult than he had imagined. Bader had chosen to snatch the Arcane Church’s trump card, but they were not able to use it despite snatching it for themselves. It was no more than an ornament for them.

Thinking back, it seemed as though the Arcane Church would not have been able to break the seal even if they retrieved it.

This should have been a problem for the Arcane Church to have a headache over, but it is now our turn to suffer. I thought that we would offend the Arcane Church greatly, but we only snatched something that the other party wouldn’t even be able to use…

Just what was the point of us snatching this item ‽

It seems as though we’ve suffered a loss!

Bader was truly in a terrible mood.

No wonder, Manison thought that I would send someone to meet Black Star. He also noticed that this item is extremely weird. It seems like I must find an opportunity to contact Black Star.

Bader shook his head. He was not willing to treat the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter as just an ornament.

At the same time, he could also allow the descendants of the Spacetime Freezer to be the emissary. As members from the same race, they might be able to detect some clues and find out if the Universal Treasure in Black Star’s hands was related to their ancestor.

…

The Arcane Church was also feeling frustrated.

After a series of negotiations, the Crimson Dynasty had already agreed to allow the Arcane Church ransom back one of their Beyond Grade A. After paying a huge price, the Arcane Church finally got back Dylan. They actually wanted Sagman, but the dynasty did not agree. The first one to be returned would be the weakest one for sure.

However, Dylan’s Spacetime Amber seal was not released, and the dynasty wanted to get the Arcane Church to deal with it on their own. The main reason for doing so was so they could verify if the Spacetime Amber seal was truly as troublesome as Han Xiao made it out to be.

Naturally, the Crimson Dynasty still did not know that the Federation of Light had stolen the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and Urranrell wanted to use Dylan as an indicator to see whether the seal on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was broken.

The dynasty made use of an excuse that Black Star was currently in seclusion and did not wish to be disturbed. Helpless, the Arcane Church could only get their own research personnel to attempt to break the seal.

The result was naturally the same as the Federation of Light, and they were unable to do a thing to the Spacetime Amber.

The Arcane Church was also extremely frustrated but also a little thankful.

They were frustrated that the dynasty had scammed them once more, and they would have to pay the price to invite the dynasty to unseal Dylan. However, they were thankful because the Federation of Light would probably be helpless toward the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter as well.

Although their own Universal Treasure had been stolen by the Federation of Light, the other party was only able to look at it through the seal but unable to use it.

If not for the grudge between them, the Arcane Church might have praised Black Star.

The Federation of Light and Arcane Church began paying close attention to the other party’s research as a result. They wanted to see if the other party had any progress while also trying to spy on each other to ‘copy the answer’.

With the Arcane Church taking a step back, the conflict between both parties was no longer as heated, and their soldiers were also recalled from the borders. The galactic organizations paying attention to this event heaved a sigh of relief.

The explored universe gradually calmed down.

The Federation of Light and Arcane Church temporarily took a step back, and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations that wanted to exploit the opportunity also became low profile. No one wanted to provoke the Crimson Dynasty at such a moment and wanted to wait until the storm passed.

…

The Black Star Army arrived at the Star System where the Gulal Civilization was located.

The outpost planet of the Pioneer Party was already within their sights, and the Black Star Army landed according to the instructions of the base. The warriors of the Black Star Army disembarked from the thousand-meter-long battleships and gathered at the port.

Apart from the army’s warriors, there were a few million players participating in this mission. A War Employment Mission was a huge event, and it was much more interesting than exploring the Flickering World. Thus, most players accepted the mission and joined the civil war in this Star System Civilization with the identity of mercenaries.

Half a month ago, the Pioneer Party announced that they were working together with the Black Star Army, and news of the Black Star Army’s interference stirred up a huge storm in the Gulal Civilization. The Ancient Emperor Party and Descendant Party were immediately thrown into internal chaos with a small portion of their upper echelons escaping or defecting to the Pioneer Party. The remaining members of the party decided to seize the initiative, and both parties joined hands to attack the Pioneer Party’s territory.

There was no need for the three parties to make any preparations before the war as all three parties had always maintained war readiness. The three parties had split up the Gulal Civilization’s land into three regions and lined up troops to guard their own territories. The commander only needed to give the order for war to begin.

Thus, the entrance of the Black Star Army also signaled the beginning of the war between the three parties.

The officers of the Pioneer Party first had a discussion with the commander of the Black Star Army’s fleet, and the players were given a new list of missions to choose from.

The Pioneer Party provided a military star map with the nine Star Zones of the other two parties being marked out.

The majority of the Black Star Army manpower was sent back to the Flickering World, and the remaining manpower was left to guard their bases. Thus, not many mercenaries were sent to complete the mission, and they did not have an overwhelming advantage in strength. As such, it would be difficult to complete this mission in a short period. With their objectives of exterminating the enemy army and capturing the enemy’s planets, the Black Star Army needed to push the battle line forward slowly to capture the enemy territories.

The colonial planets, resource rich planets, and military bases were the missions that the players could choose. As such, there were many opportunities for ground battles. This was a civil war after all, and they would not choose to bomb the enemy’s planet to capture it. As such, the players were immediately put to good use. The greatest place to utilize a few million Grade B players was a ground battle!

After looking through the mission introduction, the players all grew excited. They had experienced many different events already and instantly knew that this mission would be the most exciting one. Fighting together with a battleship was extremely troublesome, and the players preferred fighting monsters on the ground instead. Furthermore, they were the main characters of this employment mission, and they only needed to enjoy the battle to their heart’s content.

The size and levels of the enemy had been indicated, and the players could make their decision carefully. The levels of the enemies were also extremely clear. The enemy could be roughly broken down into a few different groups: cannon fodder soldiers, Grade C high grade monsters, Grade B elite monsters, Grade B mini-bosses, and a few Calamity Grade bosses that had their own names.

All the players were extremely satisfied with the mission. This was the main reason they joined the mission—to fight as they wished!

They finally did not have to just watch from the side!

Chapter 877: The Mysterious Individual Watching the Players

Chapter 877 The Mysterious Individual Watching the Players

For one month later, the Pioneer Party defended against the attacks of the Ancient Emperor Party and Descendant Party while counterattacking with the Black Star Army. The three parties tried to break through the holes of the enemy’s defenses, which resulted in a jagged territorial line on the star map.

At this moment, a colonial planet that was near the border of the Ancient Emperor Party was being invaded. The Pioneer Party and Black Star Army fleet were engaged in an intense battle with the defense fleet of the planet. At the same time, the cities on the planet were being attacked from the sky with their protective shields being bombarded and drop pods being launched at the holes created.

A hemispherical light screen covered the capital city of this colonial planet and endured the never-ending attacks from the sky. Multicolored explosions could be seen on the surface of the light screen, and the protective shield began to flicker unsteadily.

Upon considering the many reasons for a civil war, the local army closed off all the underground sanctuaries and prohibited their civilians from entering. The many inhabitants of the city could only tremble in their own homes, and the ground troops of the city gathered together and looked up at the sky.

Ka-cha!

The protective shield of the city finally could not endure the waves of attacks and began to crack before everyone’s eyes.

The next moment, densely packed black dots could be seen appearing from the sky, descending from above like meteors.

The anti-air cannons of the city immediately opened fire toward the drop pods, and balls of explosions could be seen in the air.

A portion of the drop pods were destroyed in the sky, but many managed to land in the city.

The army of players emerged from the drop pods and sprang into action.

Every one of them had a detection device on them to scan and indicate all hostile targets who had a weapon. The descending army was already extremely used to such missions and began clearing up the enemies in the city.

Battles erupted in every corner of the city, and the players began exchanging fire with the ground troops. Although they had a disadvantage in terms of numbers, the players were almost all Grade B Supers, and a large majority of the enemies were ordinary soldiers.

Grade B Supers were mid-ranked combatants in the galaxy with all of them having the combat strength of an entire army. Destroying a building was a piece of cake, and the players were not ordinary Grade B Supers. They were not afraid of coming under fire and could fight without any worry.

The ground troops were extremely shocked to realize that these galactic mercenaries could charge forward while enduring heavy fire without any fear of death. They were able to easily cut through their formations and massacre their troops.

From the map, the black dots that represented the player army rapidly weaved through the city, and the red dots that represented the enemies disappeared quickly.

At the center of the city, the government building had already been attacked by seven parties of players.

In some room of the government building, an Ancient Emperor Party Grade B Super knelt on the ground with his eyes wide open in shock. The individual in front of him pulled out a blade from his throat, and blood splattered everywhere.

Life was drained from his body, and he collapsed into a pool of his own blood.

“This fellow’s level is pretty high. I’ve only got thirty-seven percent of my health left.” Frenzied Sword shook off the blood on his blade.

The silver black armor that he was wearing now was Mechanical Pugilist equipment with various hidden mechanical weapons hidden all around.

The entire room was littered with corpses, and the members of Rivervale and his teammates were beside him. They had just worked together to get rid of everyone in the room and were now repairing the durability of their equipment while searching for their spoils of war.

Outside the door, the sound of intense fire could be heard. This Grade B officer that they had killed seemed to be pretty important, and a large number of enemy troops were drawn to their location. Maple Moon was keeping guard outside the door, and she used her mechanic traps and electromagnetic artillery tower to return fire. The defenses of a Grade B Mechanic were not something that ordinary soldiers would be able to overcome. They were all suppressed in a corner of the corridor, and their few attempts to charge forward ended with a ground full of corpses.

Maple Moon usually enjoyed playing with Rivervale, and Frenzied Sword was also willing to bring along a reliable Mechanic. The two of them had a pretty good relationship.

When the Mechanics came into contact with compression technology in Version 3.0, they became the most popular choice to form a party with. Mechanics no longer had to slowly build their machines, and their preparation speed increased greatly. Regardless of whether it was to fight a dungeon or complete a mission, every party would generally have a Mechanic. Of course, every Mechanic had a different set of equipment and was able to deal with different circumstances.

Evil Sword injected himself with a serum to recover his health and casually said, “I wonder how many Grade B enemies there are in this city.”

“We should have taken care of most of them.” Frenzied Sword looked at the battle map. “The soldiers in the city have been mostly wiped out. Hao Tian and the others have already killed four Grade Bs downstairs.”

“How lucky. We only managed to kill two along the way,” Evil Sword said with envy.

Grade B Supers were elites that could provide them with plenty of experience. Furthermore, every Grade B elite had a name and would give them additional rewards for the mission. Apart from experience, they were able to collect an additional bounty from the Pioneer Party, and all the players were extremely passionate about killing Grade B enemies.

To a first-rate party, perhaps it would be impossible to solo a Grade B elite, but a party of five was able to easily win against an ordinary Grade B Super. Even if a mini-boss Grade B enemy was difficult to deal with, it was still within the capabilities of the players.

A Star System Civilization would only have ten or twenty Calamity Grade Supers, and they would only appear in key battles. Thus, the millions of Grade B players were basically invincible in the other colonial planets.

Not too long later, the army in this city was completely wiped out, and the players returned to the spaceship before being sent to a new battlefield.

…

“Another three colonial planets were taken down by the Black Star Army’s immortals.”

The upper echelons of the Ancient Emperor Party looked at the star map, and worry could be seen on their frail faces.

“The immortals of the Black Star Army are far too scary, and it is impossible to restrain them,” one of the officers said. “Up until now, a total of twenty-one colonial planets have been seized by them.”

If the enemy only had a fleet of battleships, they would not feel such a headache. The Ancient Emperor Party was completely helpless against the immortals.

The total number of immortals was probably more than all the Grade Bs in their civilization, and these immortals could not even be killed.

The upper echelons of the Ancient Emperor Party could only watch as the players capable of reviving captured their colonial planets one after another.

The immortals of the Black Star Army had always been famous in the Shattered Star Ring, and it was their chance to experience it personally this time. Everyone present could not help but feel despair.

Such an enemy was truly far too frightening. Anyone capable of having such a trump card would definitely have a place in the universe!

With the participation of the Black Star Army, the Ancient Emperor Party could no longer see much hope. It would be impossible for them to win if they continued fighting, and the Pioneer Party would probably emerge victorious in another year or so.

However, it was equally impossible for them to surrender. No one would be willing to give up a Star System Civilization. They had already held on for a year, and holding on further might give them a chance to turn the tables around. As they fought back, the upper echelons of the Ancient Emperor Party had been trying to find reinforcements and plan their retreat.

“That b*stard Ceselin actually defected to the Pioneer Party and even took all his subordinates away. I never imagined that he would be a traitor!” The Ancient Emperor Party leader gritted his teeth. “He must have done something to get the Black Star Army to help the Pioneer Party. If not, there isn’t an explanation for their sudden intervention!”

Upon mentioning Ceselin, a look of hatred could be seen on everyone’s face. If not for his betrayal, they would not have been reduced to such a pathetic state!

“This traitorous b*stard! We have never treated him badly before. We have given him both authority and wealth. Just what is he dissatisfied about, and what right does he have to betray us!”

The Ancient Emperor Party leader slammed the table and said with heartache, “He actually told me that our ideals were different. What a joke! Look at what he did. Just for his so-called ideals, he actually sacrificed so many of his fellow brothers. Does he really think that his actions are extremely noble‽ We have been ruling the civilization extremely well, and this civilization will lose their rightful rulers just because of him! Dammit!”

Upon hearing that, the upper echelons by the side listened with helpless expressions.

Others might have had the rights to say such words, but they knew that they did not. All of them were extremely clear about what their Ancient Emperor Party had done over the past few years.

The way they saw it, their leader must have been angered silly and was just venting his anger.

Right at this moment, the Ancient Emperor Party suddenly stopped cursing, and his entire body froze in place. He then suddenly regained his cool and stood up slowly, with his tone being completely transformed into a different persona.

“It seems like everyone is extremely frustrated. Maybe I can be of some help.”

All the upper echelons were stunned for a moment, and they stood up abruptly.

Was their leader’s mind being controlled‽

The leader of a Star System Civilization would usually be protected by a Calamity Grade spell and psychic energy. This was to prevent him from being controlled by another. At the very least, it would be impossible for a Calamity Grade Super to control the leader of a Star System Civilization without any traces in front of a crowd.

Just who did this?

Could it be a Beyond Grade A‽

“Who are you‽” a military officer said with caution and sent a message to get all the Calamity Grades to rush over.

“You don’t need to worry. I did not come with ill intentions. I do not have any intention to tell you my identity,” the Ancient Emperor Party leader said emotionlessly. “All of you only need to know that I will provide you with resources and manpower to fight the Black Star Army.”

The upper echelons were still doubtful as they looked at each other. However, regardless of whether this was true or false, they decided to play along. At the same time, they were also worried that their comrades might have been controlled. After all, this mysterious individual indeed had the ability to do so.

“What do you want?”

“Don’t worry. I do not want anything.”

“Then, why are you helping us?”

“I am not bothered about your Gulal Civilization, but I am interested in the immortals of the Black Star Army. Furthermore, the longer all of you can survive, the more I can observe them,” the ‘Ancient Emperor Party leader’ said. “My suggestion will only provide all of you with benefits. Do you accept?”

Everyone looked at each other before nodding hesitantly.

“Very good, I will get my people to contact all of you soon. Right, I can give you a suggestion. All of you can try employing the immortals of the Black Star Army.”

Everyone was stunned.

“The Black Star Army is our enemy. You are asking us to seek aid from our enemies? Just what is the meaning of this?”

“Ordinary logic doesn’t seem to be applicable to the immortals. How will you know without trying?” the ‘Ancient Emperor Party leader’ said with a teasing voice.

The Ancient Emperor Party leader then suddenly trembled, and his eyes fell into a daze. He then suddenly snapped out of his daze.

“Has the person controlling me left‽”

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief and immediately went forward to support their leader.

“Do you still remember what you said when you were controlled?”

“I remember everything. My body was controlled, but my senses were still present.”

Right at this moment, the Calamity Grade Supers arrived, and after hearing what had happened, they began to check the leader’s condition.

“How is it?” the Ancient Emperor Party leader asked.

“The enchantments used to guard your mind were destroyed in an instant. These enchantments are capable of defending against a Calamity Grade Psychic for ten minutes. The one who controlled you is definitely a Beyond Grade A.”

The expression of the Ancient Emperor Party leader changed slightly. A Beyond Grade A had a huge significance to a Star System Civilization.

There were only five Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring, and only Psyker and Austin had the ability to infiltrate the mind.

Though, it might not be these two but a Beyond Grade A from another Star Field.

Thinking about the words of the mysterious individual, everyone could not help but have a strange look on their face.

To think that they would gain support through such a strange method. This was something that they had never imagined, but at least they now had some hope.

Although they did not know who the other party was, since he was also a Beyond Grade A, he should not be afraid of the Black Star Army.

“Right, he even asked us to seek aid from our enemy. Isn’t this a joke‽ Does he think that the Black Star Army will turn around to help us?”

Everyone was the most puzzled by this suggestion. It was obviously a meaningless action, and they truly did not understand the point of doing so.

The Ancient Emperor Party leader nodded. “Since we do not have any way of retreating, why not we give it a try?”

Chapter 878: Suspicion

Chapter 878 Suspicion

The governing planet of the Pioneer Party was located in Star Zone 3, and the upper echelons within the party were observing the situation of the battle.

In the conference room, the upper echelons of the party were gathered, and the atmosphere was completely different from the meeting in the Ancient Emperor Party. Everyone had a bright smile on their face, with the Pioneer Party’s leader glowing with radiance.

Their army had the upper hand, and it was impossible for them not to be happy.

“The Ancient Emperor Party and Descendant Party are being forced back, and the citizens are also crying out for us to overthrow the rulers. The situation is to our advantage at the moment,” the staff sergeant in charge of analyzing the battle situation said.

The Pioneer Party leader had a bright smile on his face but said, “We need to be even more careful during such a moment and prevent the enemy from fighting back in desperation.”

Although the situation was looking good, he knew that it was impossible for the Ancient Emperor Party to surrender. The result of losing would be extermination.

Just as everyone was discovering the situation, the internal comms rang, and it was an emergency message from the intelligence personnel.

The appearance of the intelligence personnel appeared, and he had a strange look on his face.

“Your Excellency, the Ancient Emperor Party made an announcement.”

“Send it over immediately.” The Pioneer Party leader raised his brows.

Very quickly, the announcement of the Ancient Emperor Party appeared on the screen, and everyone present began reading it.

In this first half of the announcement, the Ancient Emperor Party claimed that they were the rightful rulers of the Gulal Civilization and criticized the Pioneer Party for using armed forces to seize authority. They then claimed that the Pioneer Party were traitors and called for the citizens to reject the Pioneer Party. They also began hiring help from the galaxy.

The details of the public announcement were extremely ordinary. They were trying to preserve their status as rightful rulers and suppress their opponents. They had made use of such a tactic for many years already, and the upper echelons of the Pioneer Party were extremely used to it. After they won, history would be written by them, and it would be useless to call them traitors now.

The way they saw it, it was completely useless for the Ancient Emperor Party to seek aid from the galaxy. This was only a civil war, which did not go against the Peace Treaty. With the Black Star Army on their side, no one in the Shattered Star Ring would go against the Black Star Army just for a Star System Civilization.

The mercenary groups that had some size would not help them, and the other civilizations would only watch by the side. Even the Bloodshed Land would not go against their titular ally for such a small matter. Thus, it was impossible for the Ancient Emperor Party to find any aid. This was the powerful effect of seeking aid from the Black Star Army. They were able to prevent the enemy from finding any support.

The Pioneer Party’s leader then read until the end and was stunned.

“Wait a moment… the Ancient Emperor Party is trying to seek aid from the Black Star Army‽”

The Pioneer Party’s leader rubbed his eyes and thought that he had misread something.

To think that the Ancient Emperor Party actually wanted to employ the Black Star Army and attempted to convince the Black Star Army to help them.

The upper echelons of the Pioneer Party all looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.

Just what was the meaning of seeking aid from their enemy‽

Even if the Black Star Army was external aid, they had already signed an employment contract. Why would they publicly break the contract? Would this not be destroying their own reputation? Furthermore, the Black Star Army was a Beyond Grade A organization, and since they had already decided to help the Pioneer Party, why would they suddenly go back on their word?

Even if you want to try and rope the Black Star Army over to your side, you should do it privately, right? With the current status of Black Star, would he openly go back on his word? Do you think he will go back on his word because of money? That’s impossible!

But if the objective of this is to drive a wedge between us, isn’t it far too coarse a method?

“It seems like the Ancient Emperor Party has truly gone crazy,” the Pioneer Party leader said with his mouth cramping up. “This should be the funniest joke that I have ever heard.”

“Hahaha…”

Everyone could not help but burst into laughter.

…

Not too long later, the announcement of the Ancient Emperor Party was spread all throughout the Gulal Civilization.

It was not just the Pioneer Party who were puzzled. Even the Descendant Party were completely bewildered.

Are my teammates fools‽

The members of the Ancient Emperor Party felt extremely embarrassed. They were currently fighting with the enemy, but their higher ups actually tried to seek help from the enemy. Just what was this stupidity?

There were many who interpreted this as the upper echelons being pessimistic about the outcome of the battle, and morale took a large hit.

On the Black Star Army’s side, the members of the army could not help but laugh.

We are currently fighting a war. Can you please be more serious and not tease us like that?

Just when everyone was laughing at the actions of the Ancient Emperor Party, the players received a different message.

The plea of the Ancient Emperor Party had actually become a mission on their interface. A Grade S mission for them to help the Ancient Emperor Party.

All the players gasped in shock upon discovering that.

“So, it turns out that this is a faction series mission. It should be a Grade S mission that can be triggered regardless of which party we aid.”

“However, the army has chosen to support the Pioneer Party, so we have no choice but to choose them as well.”

“Hmm, if we support a faction up into power, we will be able to successfully change the entire fate of a civilization. I think we found a way to strike it rich.”

“What if we persuade the NPCs to start another party and support the party. Would it be even more fun?”

This mission attracted the attention of many players, and they began to show off their creativity as they discussed the matter.

However, the influence of this new mission stopped there. Not a single player would choose to accept it.

The players were not fools, and accepting this mission would mean that they had to oppose the army. It would probably be no different from leaving the faction. They had fought in the army for three versions already and accumulated plenty of faction Contribution Points. Furthermore, the potential for growth in the Black Star Army was also extremely high. A mere Star System Civilization was not worth them betraying the faction.

Furthermore, the chances of the Ancient Emperor Party winning were far too low. Thus, it would be much better for them to keep to the Pioneer Party mission, especially since both were Grade S missions anyway.

After a month into the employment mission, the players had an understanding of the three parties. The Ancient Emperor Party was not anything good, and there was no meaning to help them.

With Summer Night Flower as an example, the number of players in the Shattered Star Ring willing to take risks had decreased. Thus, the players were only interested in the opportunity presented to them by the Ancient Emperor Party but uninterested in actually completing the mission.

…

In the Black Star Army headquarters, a large assembly line ran through Han Xiao’s workshop without stopping to produce various types of mechanical soldiers and equipment. Bolts of Mechanical Force could be seen running through the assembly lines to increase the quality and efficiency of the production.

In another region, all the freshly manufactured mechanical soldiers and equipment were sent over with many mechanical arms modifying the equipment.

Han Xiao would naturally modify all his mechanical soldiers as much as possible, and all the modified equipment would have their grades increased. Even the cannon fodder mechanical soldiers had been raised to the orange grade.

At Han Xiao’s level, an ordinary mechanical soldier was no more than cannon fodder, but these mechanical soldiers were all elite equipment that could not even be purchased with money.

Han Xiao stood in front of a machine and personally assembled a new mechanical host while humming a tune merrily.

The sound of metal ringing could be heard all around him, and Han Xiao had already gotten used to the environment in the workshop. Creating machines was a form of enjoyment to him. As his own strength increased, Great Mechanic Han also grew to enjoy the process of crafting new equipment.

Phillip’s mini projection could be seen in front of Han Xiao, and he said to Han Xiao with a babyish voice, “Master, hum… I saw an interesting piece of news. Shall I read it out to you?”

“Alright.” Han Xiao wasn’t distracted and remained focused on hammering the alloy before him.

“It’s news from the Gulal Civilization. The Ancient Emperor Party actually made a public announcement and hoped that we will go back on our word and help them instead. Master, hum… what do you think they are thinking about?”

“To think that they will make such an announcement. Do they think I am like EsGod, without any morals?” Han Xiao laughed.

“Eh‽” Phillip was stunned, and his eyes widened. “Isn’t that the case‽”

“… You have also learned how to joke, huh?” Han Xiao immediately changed the topic and said, “Although it is difficult to understand why the Ancient Emperor Party would do so, I guess it is still understandable. If not for Ceselin, I would have never come into contact with the Pioneer Party. They… eh?”

Right at this moment, Han Xiao suddenly froze in place and thought about the Ancient Emperor Party missions. He then opened the forums to take a look.

The players were indeed discussing this matter on the forums, and many of the players took a screenshot of the Ancient Emperor Party Grade S mission. His guess was not wrong, and the Ancient Emperor Party’s plea for help allowed the players to trigger a mission.

Han Xiao stroked his chin and fell into thought.

Although it only seemed like a desperate move by the Ancient Emperor Party, Han Xiao could not help but think that the matter was extremely odd.

“This is an illogical plea for aid. It feels as though…” Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. “This plea for help is targeted at the players.”

It was not that he was being suspicious, but there were far too many coincidences. Although the actions of the Ancient Emperor Party seemed like a joke to everyone, it was not a joke to the players but a way for them to trigger a mission.

Was this by luck or an intentional action?

Han Xiao hesitated for a moment. He had too few clues and was not certain about his own guess. However, he would always plan for the worst-case scenario to be safe.

There was a reason for this. In his previous life, there was a similar phase. As the players began to grow and move around in the universe, many galactic organizations began to pay attention to the players and analyzed their characteristics, specialties, and habits.

Even during the current version, there were many organizations that paid close attention to the players.

He had operated in the Shattered Star Ring for many years, and no one would dare steal his trump card force with his status. However, the situation of the players in the other Star Fields was different, and it was not strange for the players to attract the attention of the organizations.

He was not the only one who wanted to recruit the players.

Han Xiao was not too worried about this. The players had already invested three versions of their time and effort into the army, and they would not be so easily stolen by another. Furthermore, ordinary NPCs would only treat the players as a special force. Other NPCs did not have an interface and would not be able to obtain a massive amount of experience from the players.

However, it would also be extremely frustrating if someone really wanted to steal his vegetables.

I originally planned to ignore the Gulal Civilization mission, but it seems like I must pay close attention to it now. Someone has set their eyes on the players of the army.

A cold glint flashed past Han Xiao’s eyes.

…

A mysterious fleet then entered the border of the Gulal Civilization. This was the Ancient Emperor Party territory, and the Ancient Emperor Party fleet was already present.

In the main flagship, the Ancient Emperor Party leader looked at the star map and heaved a sigh of relief. “They’re finally here.”

That mysterious Beyond Grade A had promised to provide them with reinforcements, and this fleet was the first batch of reinforcements. The Ancient Emperor Party leader wanted to guess the identity of the Beyond Grade A through the fleet but could not help but be surprised upon seeing the insignia of the reinforcements.

This was a local armed organization in the Shattered Star Ring that was managed by four Calamity Grade Supers. One of them was even a Beyond Grade A seed. As a result, the fame and size of the organization was not too small, but many people believed that they did not have any backers.

However, it seemed like this low-profile organization actually had an unknown Beyond Grade A behind them.

Just who was this mysterious Beyond Grade A. Could it be that he had more than one organization under him in the Shattered Star Ring?

The Ancient Emperor Party leader suppressed the doubts in his heart and contacted the other party.

With the aid of this armed organization, their situation will be much better.

The flagships of both parties met each other, and the Ancient Emperor Party leader’s projection met the four Calamity Grade leaders.

“I am the leader of the Gulal Civilization. I thank…”

“We will help you suppress the traitors. There isn’t any need to thank us as we are only fulfilling our orders.” That Beyond Grade A seed interrupted the words of the Ancient Emperor Party leader.

The Ancient Emperor Party leader thought for a while before probing, “I wonder, who is the one giving the orders?”

Right at this moment, a member by the side suddenly trembled, and he was possessed by the mysterious Beyond Grade A. “Don’t try to find out who I am, otherwise our agreement will come to an end.”

The Ancient Emperor Party leader was shocked and immediately nodded in agreement.

“We have followed your suggestion, but the Black Star Army has shown no reaction.”

“Is that so?” The mysterious individual was not surprised. “Failure cannot be avoided, and the habits that I have grasped won’t always work. That’s why I need to observe and experiment more.”

The mysterious individual fell into deep thought. “However, it seems like Black Star doesn’t only have good luck but has also grasped some of their habits like me.”

Chapter 879: End of the Penalty

Chapter 879 End of the Penalty

With the Ancient Emperor Party receiving fresh reinforcements, the advancement of the Pioneer Party was restricted.

An armed organization being led by a Beyond Grade A seed entering the battle to help the Ancient Emperor Party? All the organizations watching the civil war were naturally shocked.

There were still those who dared fight the Black Star Army in the Shattered Star Ring? Although the Black Star Army was not the sole tyrant of the Shattered Star Ring, such an action still baffled many. After all, this was fighting the Black Star Army head on.

The Black Star Army had plenty of experts in its ranks. Where did the four Calamity Grade Supers get their courage to intervene in the Black Star Army’s employment mission? Even if one of them was a Beyond Grade A seed, it still was not enough.

Han Xiao, who received news from Phillip, had his thoughts verified at that moment.

Furthermore, Han Xiao knew who the mastermind was upon seeing the armed organization.

“It turns out to be them…” Han Xiao came to a realization.

The Beyond Grade A seed of this organization was called Luthor, and he was a famous Super who was active in the Shattered Star Ring. In truth, Luthor was actually an elite member of a financial group that spanned across various Star Fields called [Limitless].

Peaceful times brought about plenty of business opportunities and many large financial groups. Limitless was a unique financial group because its leader was a Beyond Grade A Super.

Not every Beyond Grade A wanted to form an armed organization, and different Beyond Grade As had various interests and strengths. The Limitless leader was a Beyond Grade A who enjoyed making money by the name of Sorokin. He had a special position in the universe.

After Sorokin took over as leader of the financial group, he developed the Limitless Financial Group to its current scale.

This super financial group was an elite business organization that was involved in many sectors, including management, military, technological, trade, intelligence, service, and manufacturing. It had many different brands under its name, and its operations spanned across many different Star Fields. It was a conglomerate that was extremely famous and even had business dealings with the three Universal Civilizations.

The Limitless Financial Group belonged to the neutral faction and was already a listed company in the universe. Their assets were frightening, and their logo was a Mobius strip.

The armed branch of the Limitless Financial Group was not to be underestimated. With a frightening amount of wealth, the Limitless Financial Group developed many subsidiary organizations in the various Star Fields, which were akin to the military might of the financial group. Luthor’s organization was such an existence.

Furthermore, Sorokin was not the only Beyond Grade A combatant in the Limitless Financial Group. Sorokin had roped in a few other Beyond Grade A allies through their stocks with a few Ancient Ones being included.

With money to open the path for them, the Limitless Financial Group’s network was unfathomable.

In comparison, although the Black Star Army was also a Beyond Grade A organization, its history was far too short, and the scale was incomparable to the other party.

Luthor had only exposed his own identity in the later versions, and no one knew that Luthor belonged to the Limitless Financial Group at this moment. However, Han Xiao was different; he understood Luthor’s background. As such, he immediately knew the mastermind interfering in the Gulal Civilization’s affairs.

This was his unique advantage. Many ‘secrets’ were not secrets before his eyes.

The Limitless Financial Group seems to be extremely interested in the players, but this isn’t too strange, Han Xiao thought to himself.

In his previous life, the Limitless Financial Group was a faction that players could join with their headquarters being in the Sea of Star Spirits. Many players in the Sea of Star Spirits joined the financial group during the middle phase of the game.

Even now, there was a large group of players in the Sea of Star Spirits being recruited by the Limitless Financial Group, and the Limitless Financial Group was pretty popular on the forums.

Han Xiao could guess the other party’s intentions, and they probably wanted to spy on his vegetable garden.

Hmm, they should have noticed that the immortal troop is extremely similar to the players that they have recruited and sent someone to probe the players. Perhaps the Limitless Financial Group will discover some of the player’s habits. For example, they only have to issue a request to the players, and even if it isn’t logical, some of the players will still carry out the request. Thus, they got the Ancient Emperor Party to issue a plea for help toward the army to test the reaction of the players.

Han Xiao’s guess was not too far from the truth.

If I’m remembering it right, the Limitless Financial Group was also very active in the Flickering World…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The various Star Fields had their own organizations, and they would all enter the Flickering World in Version 4.0 to become competitors. The Limitless Financial Group was one such organization.

It seems like I cannot avoid coming into contact with them in the future.

Han Xiao pondered for a moment before calling for his Black Star Guards.

Very quickly, Hila brought the members of the Black Star Guards into the workshop.

“I have a mission for all of you.”

With a wave of his hands, a holographic screen appeared with Luthor’s information being displayed.

“This armed organization entered the Gulal Civilization civil war and provided reinforcements to the Ancient Emperor Party. I want all of you to reinforce the front lines and get rid of the four of them. Right, the one called Luthor is a Beyond Grade A seed. Hila and Hadavy, be careful.”

“Alright.” Hila nodded.

“I know Luthor.” Hadavy crossed his arms. “I approached him for a spar a long time ago. He is an extremely powerful Pugilist. Strange, I remember him as someone who kept an extremely low profile. Why would he suddenly go against the army?”

“Who knows?”

Han Xiao was not prepared to tell anyone else that he was aware of the other party’s background.

The Limitless Financial Group probably thought that they were still operating from the shadows, and Han Xiao planned to keep things as such.

“Alright then.” Hadavy did not say anything else. Although he knew Luthor, he would not go easy on Luthor since he was going against the army.

The Black Star Guards then left the room. Han Xiao opened the doors to the secondary dimension and summoned his Apostle Weapons.

“Lord.”

Psionic Prime knelt so that his head was at the same level as Han Xiao.

“Take a batch of mechanical soldiers to the Gulal Civilization,” Han Xiao said. “If Hila and the others do not succeed, find a chance to get rid of Luthor’s group of four. Phillip will send you information about the enemy.”

He could not do anything to the Limitless Financial Group as both parties were not enemies. However, exterminating Luthor’s group was not an issue since it was in line with the Black Star Army’s stance. Since they had accepted an employment mission to go against the Black Star Army, the other party would definitely kill members of the army.

Since the Limitless Financial Group was eyeing on his immortal troop and wanted to probe them, Han Xiao would use this opportunity to pull out the claws sent by the Limitless Financial Group. He would still be able to warn the other party even if he pretended that he was not aware of their objective. This would prevent the Limitless Financial Group from becoming bolder and sending more people to probe him.

…

Boom!

A spaceship crashed onto the surface of an uninhabited planet, leaving a huge crater behind.

When the spaceship stopped rolling, Luthor crawled out from the wreckage.

Hila and the other Black Star Guards descended from the sky with light injuries.

Luthor’s injuries were far more severe, and he held onto his bleeding chest. His beating heart could be seen through his ribs, and his wounds were slowly healing.

“Black Star truly thinks highly of me. He sent out his entire Black Star Guards. Cough cough, it will be an honor even if I end up dying today.” Luthor’s face was pale, but despair could not be seen on his face. Instead, he looked extremely carefree as though he had seen through life and death.

Both parties had met on the battlefield, and the Black Star Guards had already taken out his three comrades. He was the only one left, and his time had come.

Hadavy shook his head and said, “I don’t understand why you had to accept the employment mission of the Ancient Emperor Party. If it was to earn money, why did you have to go against the Black Star Army? You killed the members of the army, and His Excellency Black Star was always going to send experts after you. You definitely knew this fact.”

“I do not have a habit of giving explanations to others.” Luthor took a deep breath and prepared to fight to the death.

Hadavy hesitated for a moment and tried to persuade him. “Surrender. His Excellency Black Star is very easy going and treasures talents. You are a Beyond Grade A seed, and His Excellency won’t make things difficult for you if you are willing to join the army.”

“Ha! I am not interested in that. Either kill me or be killed by me. I am not prepared for a third choice.”

“Is there really such a need?” Hadavy frowned. “There isn’t any hatred between us, and it wasn’t easy for you to become a Beyond Grade A seed. Why do you have to rush to your death?”

Bang!

Luthor replied with a fist to Hadavy’s face.

The many Black Star Guards took action together and filled the entire planet with craters.

Even if Luthor was a Beyond Grade A seed, he could not endure such a ferocious attack. His mind, which was riddled with holes by Hila’s attack, finally collapsed, and his soulless body fell to the ground.

Luthor became nutrition for Hila’s Esper Ability.

Hadavy let out a sigh by the side. It was a pity that such a good man had been killed just like that.

The Black Star Guards then cleaned up the battlefield before leaving the planet. Not too long after they left the planet, Psionic Prime appeared outside the atmosphere with his mechanical troops.

“The Black Star Guards have killed the target, so we don’t need to take action.”

Psionic Prime had been watching the battle from the side.

…

“Luthor is dead?”

In the conference room, the upper echelons of the Ancient Emperor Party were stunned.

Although they knew that the reinforcements would not be a match for the Black Star Army, Luthor was a Beyond Grade A seed. They had never imagined that he would be killed so easily.

At this moment, one member of the upper echelons trembled, and his body was possessed.

In truth, this mysterious individual was the leader of the Limitless Financial Group, Sorokin. Despite being extremely busy, he had the ability to do a hundred things at once.

“It seems like our cooperation has to come to an end,” Sorokin said slowly.

The Ancient Emperor Party leader was shocked. “You…”

“The reaction of the Black Star Army is far more intense than I expected. My original plan was only to probe and observe them, but the loss is out of my expectations. If we continue to work together, the cost required will be too great; this investment isn’t worth it,” Sorokin said calmly.

A Beyond Grade A seed was extremely rare, and Luthor’s death truly made Sorokin feel a sense of heartache.

Sorokin did not know that Black Star already knew his identity. According to his plans, the Black Star Army was always going to react in some way, but he had never expected Black Star to send out the entire Black Star Guards.

As such, Sorokin’s plan had failed. Although he was powerful, he could not possibly find Black Star personally for such a small matter, and he was not willing to sacrifice even more subsidiary organizations for a small experiment. Han Xiao’s reaction had forced him to give up on the thought of probing the immortal troops.

His plan to test the immortal troops could only be delayed.

However, he was not someone who liked suffering a loss. Even though Black Star was not aware that Luthor was his subordinate, he was not planning to let the matter rest so easily.

Of course, Sorokin would not take revenge with force. The Arcane Church had already tried to do so and suffered a huge loss. He did not think that he would be able to match the Arcane Church in terms of high-level combatants.

However, history had proven that Black Star was an ambitious character, and Sorokin believed that Black Star would eventually have to face his Limitless Financial Group. This day might not be too long later as he was currently attempting to gain entry to the Flickering World.

Without waiting for a reply, Sorokin left the body.

The Ancient Emperor Party leader’s face turned ashen.

…

A few months went by in a flash, and Han Xiao remained in the headquarters the entire time while observing the changes in the Gulal Civilization.

After the death of Luthor, the Limitless Financial Group retreated without any signs of fighting back.

The Limitless Financial Group wanted to hide their identity so that they would not be spotted by him. The Limitless Financial Group was a business organization and not an armed organization after all. As long as Han Xiao could make the other party pay a sufficient price, the other party would definitely give up.

Without any future reinforcements, the Ancient Emperor Party was dragged back into hell, and the civil war was controlled by the Black Star Army again.

Upon seeing that the Limitless Financial Group had given up on their attempt to probe the players, Han Xiao also stopped paying attention to the battle. As the players grew stronger, it would be inevitable for others to set their eyes on them.

The experience provided by the players was something that he needed to grow quickly, and this was a non-negotiable for him. If he did not take a hard stance, the other party would climb over his head.

After dealing with this little problem, Han Xiao turned his attention to something more important.

After a few months of seclusion, the sixteen-month experience penalty had finally ended!

Chapter 880: Thanks, Arcane Church

Chapter 880 Thanks, Arcane Church

Han Xiao made a trip to the combat practice room and shut the door.

Taking in a deep breath, Han Xiao opened the interface.

The ‘40% Experience Penalty’ status only had a few minutes left, and Han Xiao could not help but become excited as he watched the timer go down.

It hasn’t been easy. Sixteen months…

Sixteen months ago, he had finally stepped into the realm of a Beyond Grade A Super.

In just a year and a half, he had fought Psyker to protect the Evolution Cube before having a duel with Heber. Following which, he had headed to the Crimson Dynasty’s mother planet, where he was provoked by the allies of the dynasty again. Along the way, he fought EsGod once and met with his biggest crisis not too long ago.

He had only been a Beyond Grade A for a year and a half but had met with plenty of dangers. Han Xiao could not help but feel a sense of lingering fear as he looked back.

Thankfully, my quick-witted brain and handsome appearance resolved these dangers. Han Xiao praised himself shamelessly.

Dangers also brought him opportunities, and his status had now been cemented in place. Furthermore, his experience penalty was over.

Everything was getting better!

Han Xiao rubbed his palms with a look of joy on his face.

“I am now at level 260. I increased my level hastily to deal with the Arcane Church, which resulted in me spending forty percent more experience. With the experience that I accumulated over this period…” Han Xiao looked at his stash of experience, and his eyes sparkled. “I should be able to reach level 280.”

At his current level, the experience required for every level was a sky-high figure.

Without the experience penalty and ignoring all Class Advancement missions, the experience required for him to level up once should be enough for a player to go from level 1 to 160. Furthermore, the amount of experience that he needed would only increase as his level went up.

If he did not have the players to harvest experience and only relied on missions for experience, he would probably take donkey’s years to reach level 280.

The only reason he was able to accumulate enough experience to reach level 280 was because of the Political Asset. The combined effects of the Political Assets was like a double experience card.

It was truly frightening!

After lamenting for a while, the experience penalty status reached the last second and disappeared from his interface.

“The side effect of the Evolution Cube is finally gone.”

Han Xiao rubbed the muscles on his body and felt the activity within the cells of his body. The way this side effect showed itself was the slow adaptation to the evolution of his genes. The more powerful an individual, the more energy contained within their cells and the longer the process needed for the conversion. At this moment, the slight tinge of discomfort within his cells had finally disappeared, and their evolution was complete.

The effect of the Evolution Cube is truly amazing, Han Xiao thought to himself. He had been in a rush to use the Evolution Cube so that he could reach Beyond Grade A quickly. The side effects of using the Evolution Cube did not come at the right time. Han Xiao naturally did not plan to only use the Evolution Cube once but would choose a better time to make use of it next time. The best time for him to use the Evolution Cube would be after he spent all his accumulated experience during the version update period.

However, that was still a long way away.

Han Xiao focused on his attribute interface and began to level up.

_____________________

[Lord Mechanic] leveled up to Lv.2.

+360 Energy, +5 STR, +5DEX, +12 END, +15 INT.

You have received 12 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

…

[Lord Mechanic] leveled up to Lv.20.

+360 Energy, +5 STR, +5DEX, +12 END, +15 INT.

You have received 12 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

_____________________

A warm surge of energy flowed through his body, and his energy level was upgraded.

As his experience stash went down, his level shot up and stopped at level twenty.

Every twenty levels, there was a Promotion Mission, and a notification popped up on his interface.

_____________________

You have reached Lv.280. You have triggered the Promotion Mission [A Legend Takes Flight].

[A Legend Takes Flight]: Obtain 1 Universe Grade Legendary Point. Only the strong will write his own legends.

_____________________

The moment this Promotion Mission popped up, it was already in a ‘completable’ state.

Upon looking at the mission, Han Xiao was overjoyed.

The Universe Grade Legendary Point was the highest grade, and his actions needed to shake the entire universe. A player had to complete a mission of extremely high difficulty or do something extremely ridiculous to obtain the Legendary Point. This Promotion Mission was already at the level of the later versions during the World Tree Civilization arc.

Even with Han Xiao’s current status, it was not easy for him to obtain a Universe Grade Legendary Point.

However, Han Xiao did have a Universe Grade Legendary Point right now: Enemy of the Arcane!

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted. Was it truly a blessing in disguise?

After roaming through the universe for so many years, he only had a single Universe Grade Legendary Point. It could be seen just how rare it was.

He did not have any Mission Completion Cards on hand, and he originally thought that he would be stuck at the Lv.280 Promotion Mission. Who would have thought that he would be lucky this time?

Han Xiao then burst into laughter.

Hehe, I really need to thank the Arcane Church for giving me a Legendary Point.

Right, I also need to thank Feidin…

Upon thinking about Feidin, Han Xiao’s hands grew a little itchy.

This was a surprise that dropped from the sky, and Han Xiao chose to complete the mission without hesitation.

_____________________

You have completed the Mission Requirements.

Lv.280 Promotion Mission completed.

+55 END, 1 END = 410 Health = 420 Stamina

Your Energy Rank has exceeded 52,000 Ona.

You have received the talent [Strengthened Elemental Resistance]!

You have received the talent [Optimized Energy Usage]!

You have received the talent [High Grade Life Vitality]!

You have acquired the skill [Mighty Prestige]!

The effects of all your Virtual Technology skills have been increased by 40%.

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes glowed with a blue bolt of lightning, and he spat out a cloud of bluish gas.

Since there was no race evolution this time, there was not much pain throughout the whole process.

He looked down to see if there were any changes to his body. From the outside, there were not many changes. He had grown slightly taller, and his muscles looked more toned.

He then felt his head itch slightly and grabbed a bunch of hair off from his head while scratching it.

“I’m shedding hair‽”

Han Xiao was shocked and immediately summoned his mirror to take a look, but after getting a clear look, he heaved a sigh of relief.

His Promotion stimulated his metabolism and improved the cell structure of his entire body. As such, his original hair fell out, and new hair grew out. However, the hair that had dropped was still stuck in his head, which explained why he felt the itch.

“Thankfully, my thick black hair is still around.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. For a moment, he thought that he had walked the evil path of exchanging his hair for power. The balder he got, the more powerful he would become.

The upper limit of the Lord Mechanic class was level 40, and he would complete his Class Advancement when he reached level 200. The next race evolution was also at level 300, and level 280 was just an ordinary Promotion in the middle.

However, 52,000 Ona seemed to be a stable boundary. Not all Beyond Grade As were able to reach 52,000 Ona, and the few talents that he had obtained felt like the basic abilities of a new realm.

After learning [Endless Material Science] and [Virtual Creator], his Energy Rank rapidly approached 52,000 Ona, and he finally broke through the boundary after increasing his level.

Han Xiao then looked at his new abilities and verified his guess.

Although he did not experience a race evolution, every Promotion was also an increase to his realm. Going past 52,000 Ona meant entering a new realm, and every life form that reached this realm would receive the same talents.

[Strengthened Elemental Resistance] boosted his attributes like [Perfect Mechanical Sense], and its multiplier was 1.25.

[Optimized Energy Usage] reduced the energy and stamina consumption of all his skills to 27%.

[High Grade Life Vitality] increased the upper limit of his health and recovery rate. His health increased by 17%, and his recovery rate increased by 120%.

These three talents strengthened his basic ability to take damage, which was something that all classes required.

The only skill, [Mighty Prestige], was a halo type ability that could be turned on and off. A life form at a higher realm was capable of emanating pressure, and this had turned into a skill.

The suppression would cover a certain region, and the individuals within the region would be affected by it, inflicting a negative status to reduce their attributes. However, it was only useful to life forms with intelligence, and certain life forms that were immune to mental skills were immune toward it, such as Mechanical Lives. It was useless against individuals of the same level.

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao concluded that the skill was completely useless apart from bullying noobs. But if he wanted to bully noobs, a Mechanic like him would not need a halo like this. He could just have a team fight.

The three talents that he had obtained were still much better.

Although this was only an ordinary Promotion, the increase to his strength was still pretty good.

His base Endurance boost was one Endurance point to 410 Health. The increase from his other abilities included an additional 60 from [Advanced Strengthened Life], 140 from [Eternal Body], 50 from Grade S boost, 10% health from [Extraordinary Physique], 17% health from [High Grade Life Vitality], and 100 health from [Well Trained].

For his Mechanical Force, he also had various different talents and skills to convert Intelligence to Machinery Affinity.

He then threw all his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence and looked at his attributes with satisfaction.

_____________________

Level: 280

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Black Star Race

Attributes: 3,347 STR, 4,080 DEX, 6,129 END, 9,029 INT, 2,950 MYS, 1,163 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 0

Potential Point: 21

Health: 5,137,427

Stamina: 4,417,950

Energy: 89,320 [Lv.17]

Lv.17 Energy bonus stats: +1,206 STR, +1,488 DEX, +1,890 END, +2,345 INT, +1,123 MYS, +311,520 Stamina Limit, +1,632% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 53,750

Grade: S+ (Beyond A)

Grade S Bonuses: +50 END, +25 All Resistances. +25% Highest Attribute, +15% Other Attributes, +750 Free Attribute Points, +50 Potential Points

The future of a Beyond Grade A is like a cloud of mist. Everyone is searching for their path and will meet many bottlenecks during their evolution process. Congratulations for going past the first bottleneck.

_____________________

The remark is so solemn this time.

Han Xiao rubbed his muscles and tried to get used to the changes.

Now that he was at Grade S+, he was still considered Beyond Grade A despite the growth in his strength. His strength did not achieve such a huge change like when he went from the Calamity Grade to Beyond Grade A. Because there was no clear distinction between the combat strength of the Beyond Grade As and the grades within the Beyond Grade A realm being slowly figured out, the realm was segmented into mini realms.

Just like how everyone thought that the Calamity Grade was the upper limit of strength during the early days of the exploration era, the people now felt that Beyond Grade A was the limit of an individual’s strength. EsGod wanted to break through the current limits just like the Primordial Ones did and raise his strength to a whole new realm.

After his promotion, the amount of experience required to level up increased yet again. Han Xiao knew that it would be impossible for him to save up enough experience to reach level 300 quickly. After all, he used the faction store to earn the players’ experience, and even if he could earn experience quickly, he needed the time to accumulate it. Currently, the players had already learned plenty of knowledge, and the experience that they provided had begun to stagnate.

Han Xiao was not prepared to continue waiting. He had already been in seclusion for a few months, and it was better for him to get rid of EsGod as quickly as possible.

He had crafted many pieces of equipment that were made specially to deal with EsGod, and as long as the dynasty was willing to help him, he would have some confidence to kill EsGod.

“I haven’t contacted the dynasty at all during this period. I wonder how matters are still unsettled between them and the Arcane Church. If they have come to an agreement already, they should have the capacity to deal with EsGod.”

Han Xiao then took out his communicator and was about to ask about the dynasty’s situation.

Right at this moment, Phillip suddenly appeared.

“Master, hum… Someone sent me an encrypted message just now.”

“Sending an encrypted message to me? Decrypt it and see who sent it.”

“I can’t decrypt it alone; that’s why I came to you.”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. Phillip was a capable assistant, and since Phillip was unable to decrypt the information, it meant that the other party was not a simple individual. They had to be at the Star Cluster level at the very least.

“What is said in the encrypted message?”

“They said that they are the descendants of Spacetime Freezer and want to talk to you face to face.”

Han Xiao was stunned, and his expression changed slightly.

When he was searching for information regarding the Spacetime Amber, he remembered the current state of the Spacetime Freezer race.

So… the Federation of Light is looking for me?

Since they have chosen to send the Spacetime Freezer race over, are they trying to hint to me that they are aware of the Spacetime Amber’s origins?

Han Xiao then pondered for a moment before instructing, “Reply to them. I agree to meet them.”

Chapter 881: Whereabouts

Chapter 881 Whereabouts

Phillip sent out a message and received a reply a few seconds later.

“Master, hum… They would like to meet you privately. You can decide the time and place.”

“If that’s the case…” Han Xiao contemplated.

This matter was a little sensitive since the Federation of Light had come to find him. However, Beyond Grade A allies were not subordinates of a Universal Civilization, and he had a certain degree of freedom and rights. Even if the dynasty knew about the meeting between them, it was not a big deal.

Han Xiao thought for a few seconds before saying, “Tell them that I don’t accept a private meeting. I temporarily do not wish to have a ‘shared secret’ with them. Invite them over to the Black Star Army as guests. They can come if they are willing, but there isn’t a need to meet them if they aren’t.”

The other party was the one who took the initiative to find him, and he did not do anything wrong. It would not be good for him to behave sneakily. Thus, he might as well invite them over to his territory openly. If not, it would seem as though he was concocting some secret plan with the Federation of Light, which would attract more misunderstandings.

The second mission of the Spacetime Amber was for him to come into contact with the descendants of Spacetime Freezer. Because the Federation of Light was protecting that race, Han Xiao had not completed the mission yet. But since the other party was taking the initiative to request a meeting, Han Xiao treated it as a small surprise, and it would save him quite a bit of energy.

However, he could not seem too anxious. Since the other party had taken the initiative to meet him, the rules would be set by him.

After sending out an invitation, the Federation of Light did not give a reply as though they were considering it.

Han Xiao was not too anxious. He then took out his communicator and called Tarrokov.

Tarrokov appeared, and he said with a smile, “Black Star, you have the time to contact me already?”

“Haha, chief commander, how are things recently?”

“Sigh, it’s still the same as always. We are still eating dirt in the Flickering World. When will you come back to continue your exploration?”

“In a while.”

“Hurry up then. The first exploration phase will end in a few years, and we will enter the construction phase. We will only start off our second exploration after digesting the territories of the three Star Clusters.”

Han Xiao then chatted casually with the other party for a while before saying with a serious expression, “I haven’t contacted the outside world during this period, and the negotiations should have been going on for a few months already. Has the dynasty reached an agreement with the Arcane Church?”

“There shouldn’t be any problem.” Tarrokov nodded. “Although both parties look like they are in conflict on the surface, they have already come to an agreement in private. The only thing that is left are the details of the agreement. The Arcane Church paid a heavy price in order to ransom their experts, but the exact figure is confidential. I can only say that the other party made huge concessions in military, economic, and political affairs. They also released some of their technological skills. In any case, the dynasty promised the Arcane Church to release three Beyond Grade As—Dylan, Taylor, and Mercer. Only Sagman is still in our hands as a bargaining chip.”

Han Xiao nodded.

The foundation of a civilization was their people, and the conflicts between the civilizations were usually because of status and resources. Compared to the long history of a civilization, every Beyond Grade A was no more than a shooting star in a part of their history. Returning three Beyond Grade A captives in exchange for resources was a trade that the dynasty was extremely willing to do. At the same time, it could be said that the three Universal Civilizations were on the same tide. Despite having their own conflicts, it was impossible for any party to wipe out the others. Apart from their conflicts, it was also important for them to suppress the civilizations beneath them and maintain order.

“Right, how did they deal with the Spacetime Amber?” Han Xiao asked.

As the Arcane Church researched the Spacetime Amber, the name of the Spacetime Amber had spread throughout the universe, and every large organization was now aware of it. The two Universal Treasures in Black Star’s hands were the Evolution Cube and Spacetime Amber. As such, Black Star had a special status in the universe.

“The Arcane Church isn’t able to break the seal and wants to invite the dynasty to help them. The dynasty dragged the matter on and didn’t contact you, so you are still unaware about it.”

“Does the dynasty plan to agree to it?”

“Hmm, the Arcane Church is willing to pay the price, and the dynasty is going to ask you to unseal one of the captives. They also want you to make a trip to the Central Galaxy.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao nodded. The players now had the Gulal Civilization and Flickering World, so they were having the time of their lives. He would not need to interfere with the players until the end of Version 3.0, so he would be free.

Furthermore, he was also prepared to head to the Central Galaxy and find some helpers to deal with EsGod.

“I would like to ask, has the dynasty found EsGod yet?”

“We have found some clues. Some eyewitnesses claim to have seen the Fallen Ark at the Primeval Star River. The wormhole cluster in the Shattered Star Ring should have sent them there.”

“As long as their whereabouts are known,” Han Xiao said. “The Arcane Church has already given in, and the dynasty can only channel some manpower to deal with the accomplice EsGod.”

Tarrokov observed Han Xiao’s appearance and said with a smile, “I feel as though you are extremely determined to kill EsGod.”

“That’s right. He had been eyeing up the Evolution Cube for such a long time and almost took my life. Can I not hate him?” Han Xiao shrugged.

“This isn’t the same.” Tarrokov shook his head but did not continue.

It was not only because of the Evolution Cube. He felt that Han Xiao’s enmity toward EsGod had a sense of urgency within it, as though EsGod posed a huge threat to him.

“In any case, the upper echelons have already sent out their forces to attack the Fallen Ark. EsGod isn’t in his main camp. The dynasty plans to send manpower to kill him, and you are also on the list. Even if you don’t ask, the upper echelons will find you regarding this matter.”

“Alright, I will be there. I can participate in this mission during my trip to the Central Galaxy.”

Han Xiao then chatted casually for a while more before hanging up.

As the final boss of the evil faction, EsGod had been able to avoid death.

The three Universal Civilizations had tried to deal with him many times before but were unable to kill him. It might be possible that the dynasty only treated killing EsGod as putting up a show.

He was probably the only one who resolutely wanted to kill EsGod.

I hope that history doesn’t repeat itself, Han Xiao thought to himself.

If he could wipe out EsGod this time, he would be able to resolve the threat of the World Tree entering early.

It was not that Han Xiao did not have any confidence in the three Universal Civilizations. In his previous life, the three Universal Civilizations won a pyrrhic victory, so they might not be able to emerge victorious at the moment.

A few ferocious characters from the later versions had not grown up fully yet.

Especially the players.

Ding!

Right at this moment, Phillip received the reply from the Federation of Light indicating that they would accept his invitation.

…

On the other side, in the Federation of Light’s Shattered Star Ring stronghold, Mona placed down his communicator. He was the emissary in charge of contacting Han Xiao this time and also a descendant of Spacetime Freezer. His skin was light blue with diamond-like crystals growing on it.

“Black Star has agreed to meet us,” Mona reported to the upper echelons.

“Alright, remember your mission. First, you must probe Black Star’s attitude. Second, you need to investigate the origins of the Spacetime Amber. If the probing isn’t ideal, do not mention the trade. Also, do not make any unnecessary moves.”

Mona nodded solemnly.

The Federation of Light wanted the seal on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to be undone, but Black Star was an ally of the dynasty. Thus, it was unlikely for him to help them. Without sufficient benefits, Black Star would not risk offending the dynasty to help them undo the seal.

Black Star was able to get most resources from the dynasty, and there was no need to make a deal with them. Thus, the Federation of Light can only probe to see if Black Star had any special requirements.

Even if the hope was slim, the Federation of Light would have to give it a try. Bader truly could not bear to just stare at a useless Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

Since they had already offended the Arcane Church, they could not walk out without any benefits.

“I will not make any rash moves, but His Excellency Manison…” Mona then turned to look at a mechanical host beside him.

This was Manison’s Lord’s Descent host that was not activated yet. Manison’s consciousness had not descended on it, and it was being controlled by AI from afar.

Upon hearing those words, Manison appeared through a long-distance projection.

“You don’t need to bother about me. I will be paying Black Star a visit in a personal capacity and not interfere with your affairs.”

Mona could only nod as he heard that. At his level, he did not have the right to control Manison.

Manison shook his head with a strange look on his face.

In truth, Manison had been looking forward to meeting Han Xiao for a long time. He paid close attention to all the Beyond Grade A Mechanics.

Black Star’s name had resounded throughout the Beyond Grade A ranks in the universe, and he had long wanted to test Black Star’s strength.

Only then would he know the price he had to pay for the Spacetime Amber.

Chapter 882: Meeting, Second Chain Mission Completed

Chapter 882 Meeting, Second Chain Mission Completed

After straightening his clothes and arranging his hairstyle, Han Xiao pushed open the door of the training room and walked out.

Outside the door was a silvery white corridor, with built-in lamps along the ceiling lighting the place with a white light. The corridor was ring-shaped, and on both sides were training rooms, with numbers engraved on the doors in black lettering. The suspended virtual screen on the side showed the user who was inside. This was a dedicated training place for the officers.

The satellite base in the headquarters was humongous, and it was divided into multiple bases. Where Han Xiao was located was the core area.

Han Xiao touched his stomach. Because he had just advanced, he was still full of energy, but he felt that he had consumed a lot of energy mentally. After thinking about it, he decided to head to the dining area to get himself a good meal. He was afraid that if he stuck to just eating nutrition packs every day, his taste buds would rot away sooner or later.

The dining area was a basic need of life. Furthermore, due to the diverse tastes of the various races, there were also chefs of various races.

Because of the size of the base, various anti-gravity suspension vehicles were used as modes of transport. They were all products of the logistics department. Within his ‘home’, Han Xiao would naturally not be so idle and choose to walk over. Thus, he searched for one of the vehicles and set a course for the dining area.

From afar, one could see the sea of people within the dining area. As one got closer, the din grew ever louder. No matter what time it was, the human traffic in the dining area would always be the highest.

Landing on the docking platform, Han Xiao stepped off the suspension vehicle and walked in. The army members who were idly chatting at the door after having their fill noticed Han Xiao’s figure, and those leaning on the wall immediately stood upright.

“Army Commander, good day!”

“Oh, good day. Have you all eaten already?” Han Xiao nodded and greeted back casually.

Whenever he met his subordinates at the headquarters, he would definitely reply. His airs were projected only for the outsiders, and he was more casual and friendly toward his people.

Upon entering the wide hall of the dining area, many pairs of eyes immediately glanced over. The atmosphere quietened for a moment, and many of them showed a face of emotion as they hurriedly got up and saluted. Some remained sitting as they ate, only raising their head to curiously size up Han Xiao.

Following the expansion of the Black Star Army, many of the new members had never even seen their leader once. Han Xiao also did not typically appear in public areas, choosing to stay within the core areas, thus his image in the members’ minds grew more and more mysterious.

Furthermore, the event of Enemy of the Arcane had given an additional halo around Han Xiao, causing his reputation to constantly rise. His image only grew bigger in the eyes of his members.

Every large organization would have internal faction disagreements, and it was the same with the Black Star Army. With its current size, the factions had also become more obvious, where different races and tribes all formed their own small pockets. Only Han Xiao was able to completely suppress all of them. As long as he was present, the army was truly unified.

“Don’t mind me, just continue eating.” Han Xiao helplessly waved his hands. This was the reason why he did not like to show himself.

Every time he strolled around within the base, he would seem like an inspector going about his rounds. What a lonely life.

“Teacher, here, here!” This time, Han Xiao heard a familiar voice. Turning his head, he saw Sylvia waving toward him. She was having her meal with Aroshia.

Han Xiao walked to the seat facing hers and sat down. He then picked up a drumstick from his tray and took a bite. The meat was tender and juicy, full of substance and stimulating to his taste buds. After chewing a few times, an even stronger fragrance was emitted.

“The taste is pretty good. We should raise the salary of the chefs here.” Han Xiao finished his drumstick in two or three bites. He licked the corners of his mouth, savoring the last bit of taste, and he started to pick at the other dishes. “Remember to grant funds to the canteen department as well to research a new flavor of the nutrition fluid.”

“I get it. You really love the nutrition fluids.” Sylvia grunted as she cut into her vegetables.

“Eating a meal requires ten minutes, but drinking a tube of nutrition fluid only needs three seconds. I like the more efficient method. Learn from me, sister,” Han Xiao joked.

I’m the one in charge of miscellaneous tasks, and you have more time than me. What sort of time are you trying to save? Sylvia rolled her eyes, going back to her meal feeling depressed.

Han Xiao then turned toward Aroshia. “How have you been?”

“Ah owh…” Aroshia did not raise her head, fully focused on the mountain of food in front her. Her face was expressionless, her cheeks moving like a chipmunk as she quickly chewed. The amount of food in front of her was almost ten times Sylvia’s.

She had known Sylvia for a long time, and their relationship was pretty good. However, because Aroshia’s combat abilities could no longer match Han Xiao’s tempo, she was unable to move out on operations together with him. However, she still had a special position within the army due to her experience and popularity due to her looks. She was the crush of countless army members and had even attracted a group of fans from the players.

Because of the [Reboot] mission, Han Xiao did not wish to come into contact with Aroshia and Risda too often. At this level, ruining any chance of a relationship with the Mechanic Empire over this small issue was not worthwhile. Risda had always been pestering him, but Han Xiao currently did not have any idea how to approach this issue. His current level did not allow him to have that sort of ability.

“That’s right. Since you’re already here, I don’t need to send out the news.” Han Xiao spoke to Sylvia. “In the next few days, someone from the Federation of Light will pay me a visit. Please arrange for it.”

Sylvia was startled, raising her head. “Teacher, you’re allied to the dynasty. Seeing someone from the Federation of Light isn’t too good.”

“They asked to meet me first. At least I have to listen to what they have to say.”

As Han Xiao was explaining, he suddenly got interrupted by a voice behind him.

“Black Star, I… I have something for you!”

Han Xiao turned around, only to see a male player with his ID above his head standing behind him, holding something black in his hands.

Yet another guy who thinks giving gifts will brush up my favorability…

Because the players treated him as an NPC, they thought that their favorability with him would increase when he was given gifts. Han Xiao was resigned to this.

Every time he showed himself, someone would try this method. He had long gotten used to it.

After receiving the gift, it turned out to be a slightly rare mineral.

Honestly, Han Xiao did not understand why people would send him minerals. Did they think he could not afford it‽

Gazing at the face full of expectation, the corners of Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he endured the impulse to lower that guy’s favorability, merely forcing out a smile. “Thank you.”

The player waited for a while but did not see any notification about an increase in favorability. He scratched his head, looking at the rare mineral in Han Xiao’s hands, his expression regretful.

“Um, can I take back my gift?”

Han Xiao’s expression turned black.

Brother, you’re being too stingy.

“No.”

“Sigh, I lost out.” The player still did not give up, however. “Is there anything you would like me to do?”

No, scram!

Of course, this was only said within his heart. He would not be so rude to the players.

“… I currently have nothing for you to deal with. If you are free, how about you proceed to the Gulal Civilization and join the war there or help with the exploration in the Flickering World? There should be something for you to do.”

Han Xiao smiled innocently but with the hidden meaning of asking the player to go f*ck himself.

“Alright then…” The player left with an expression of pity and regret.

To prevent himself from being mobbed by the players, he quickly finished his meal and left the dining area as though he was flying. He went to the logistics department next to check up on Nero’s studies.

[Perfect Mechanical Sense] was a Molding Talent that he had desired for a long time, so he paid a lot of attention to Nero’s progress.

Reaching the logistics department, Han Xiao walked into Reynold’s office and saw Nero sprawled over a table full of books.

After drinking the dragonblood potion, not only did it energize the mind, it also rejuvenated the body. Thus, Nero’s little face appeared healthy. However, his expression was bitter as though he had swallowed a pile of herbs. His face was so scrunched up that it looked as though it was about to be compressed into a single point, and he wrote as though he wished to pierce his entire pen into the textbook.

“Little Nero, your godfather is here to see you.” Han Xiao smiled as he walked over.

Nero did not even look at Han Xiao. He turned his head, his expression one of grumpiness.

Han Xiao turned to Reynold. “How’s his progress?”

“The dragonblood potion is very useful and has saved him the time needed to sleep. His progress is also extremely fast, and he will be able to start learning the introductory theory soon. I plan to add in some practical machinery classes in the next stage of his study plan.” Reynold’s tone was serious.

Hearing that, Nero’s hand trembled, and the pen dropped onto the table with a ‘clack’ sound. His entire bearing appeared to have been frozen stiff.

Han Xiao smirked.

You’re truly a devil…

This time, the door opened again, and Feidin, clad in loose blue robes, walked in. Seeing Han Xiao, he was surprised but revealed a warm smile. “Black Star, you’re here as well.”

“What are you here for?” Han Xiao’s brows rose.

“I’m here to see Nero.” Feidin laughed. “And to play some cards with him.”

Nero immediately threw himself into Feidin’s bosom, as though he had met his savior. He conveniently turned back and stuck his tongue out toward Han Xiao.

“Cough cough, Feidin comes to play cards with Nero every now and then. That’s his free time,” Reynold explained.

Han Xiao had an amazed expression on his face, as though asking, You actually will give him time to play?

“Er… once every half a month.”

Oh, I was wrong.

Since it was rare to have any playtime, Nero excitedly took out the Wayne Cards and pulled on Feidin’s sleeves to begin. Feidin smiled and took out his cards leisurely, beginning to battle with Nero.

Seeing this situation, Han Xiao’s brows twitched. He felt that Feidin was very fond of Nero. Could it be that Feidin and Chen Xing were unable to produce children?

While Han Xiao did not enjoy playing cards, he knew the rules well. Standing by the side, he could not help but suck in a deep breath.

Was this the so-called battle between two lucky stars?

He seemed to see the Goddess of Fortune playing against herself, fighting on both sides!

Seeing Nero’s practiced hand movements, Han Xiao felt a little heartache.

My little cub… in the end, you have still been infected by Hadavy and Herlous.

Seems like I need to correct this.

Han Xiao endured his laughter as he threw a [Luck Curse] toward Nero. He shook his head and stealthily left the scene.

…

Over the next few days, Han Xiao took the time to adapt to his newly increased strength and also cleared a few miscellaneous tasks, preparing for the meeting with the Federation of Light.

The spaceship landed at the headquarters of the Black Star Army, and Mona led a group of people off the spaceship. They were led to a reception room under the guidance of the reception robot.

Seated at the reception room, Han Xiao waited for a moment before the doors opened, and the emissary team from the Federation of Light appeared. They greeted each other before taking their seats.

“The Federation of Light’s Advanced Combatant Team Sergeant, Mona.” Mona gave a simple introduction.

Sensing that the other party was a Calamity Grade, Han Xiao opened the interface panel to take a look. Indeed, after being in contact with someone belonging to the tribe of Spacetime Freezer, the mission of the Spacetime Amber showed a change.

_____________________

The Second Chain Mission of [The Primordial Ones’ Inheritance – Spacetime Freezer] has been completed!

+1 Soul Connection with the Spacetime Amber.

Spacetime Amber: Current Soul Connection 2/5

The Spacetime Amber has gotten closer to you.

The buff ‘Blessing of the Spacetime Amber’ has been refreshed.

[Blessing of the Spacetime Amber (Lv.2)]: +15% Maximum Energy, +120 STR, +120 DEX, +120 END, +240 INT, +50 MYS, +50 CHA. In addition, +70% Basic Space Resistance, +30% Basic Psychological Resistance. The effect of all your spacetime related abilities are increased by 18% – 32%.

Buff Duration: Permanent

_____________________

Han Xiao was overjoyed but did not show it on his face. With an increased connection to the Spacetime Amber, he had also developed a closer feeling to the amber, and from his senses, the Spacetime Amber seemed to have transformed into something that he had used for a long time.

This meant that his efficiency in creating the amber balls would also increase. However, he was now in a meeting with people and was unable to test it out.

Han Xiao glanced at the third series of the chain mission.

_____________________

Third Chain Mission Requirements: Proceed to the ancestral land of the Spacetime Freezer, and take his body to visit his homeland.

_____________________

Okay, so this is not a coincidence any longer… Han Xiao murmured to himself internally.

The ancestral land of the Spacetime Freezer was located within the territory of the Federation of Light. If he wished to complete the third mission, he had to personally make a visit. After all, it was impossible for the other party to bring the entire planet to him.

Closing his interface, Han Xiao cut to the chase. “The Federation of Light has few dealings with me. May I ask for your purpose in visiting me?”

“It’s like this. The Federation of Light is curious about your Spacetime Amber,” Mona said with a straight face. “After checking our records, we found out that the Spacetime Amber seems to have some relation with one of the Beyond Grade As in our history.”

“Oh, there was such a thing?” Han Xiao feigned surprise, but he was actually shocked. To think that the Federation of Light even held secret records relating to the Spacetime Freezer and even made such an informed guess.

As for the Federation of Light expressing their interest in the Spacetime Amber, he did not find that surprising. Basically every single organization in Galaxy was curious about his two Universal Treasures and were probably researching them.

“Do you know about the Spacetime Freezer?” Mona asked.

Han Xiao had to put on a show, and thus, after a while, he nodded, his expression unchanging as he replied, “Let me check.”

“Oh, now I know. What you mean is that the Spacetime Freezer and the Spacetime Amber are related, right?”

Mona had been observing Han Xiao’s expression but could not deduce anything, so he could only continue the conversation.

“We cannot confirm this either, so it is only a hypothesis. I am one of the descendants related to the Spacetime Freezer, so I requested for the Federation of Light to help me get into contact with you to understand the origin of the Spacetime Amber.”

“Why should I care about the history of the Spacetime Amber? How does that benefit me?”

Han Xiao raised his brows, but he was clear of the answer himself.

The reason the Federation of Light did this was because he could be considered to have picked up this Universal Treasure by luck and did not understand its history. Thus, the Federation of Light sent Mona as a descendant of the Spacetime Freezer to contact him and search for his ancestor’s traces. However, the Federation of Light knew that Han Xiao would not buy this reason and thus only used it to get closer to him.

“Rest assured. Because this involves the ancestor of our entire race, the Federation of Light is only helping us to investigate it and add information of this new Universal Treasure into the public database. We have no other plans regarding your Spacetime Amber,” Mona explained.

“I believe you.” Han Xiao had on a straight expression. “Really.”

Chapter 883: Breaking the Ice and Setting Conditions

Chapter 883 Breaking the Ice and Setting Conditions

Mona could hear Han Xiao’s sarcasm in his tone, and his face turned red, but he persevered. “In short, we hope that you will allow us to investigate the Spacetime Amber. The Federation of Light will definitely give you satisfactory compensation.”

“I refuse.” Han Xiao waved his hand. “I’m not obliged to cooperate.”

“Then… could you allow us to take a look at the Spacetime Amber? This is a personal request of mine.”

“Nope.”

The atmosphere grew a little stiff. However, Mona had expected it. Black Star would naturally not allow any outsiders to come into contact with his Universal Treasures.

He pretended to take a sip from his drink, glancing left and right, before suddenly lowering his voice and changing the topic.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m not sure… but what do you think of the Federation of Light?”

They are finally further probing my attitude… Han Xiao thought.

“My thoughts… I should be asking you this question instead. You helped the Arcane Church during the Battle of Planet Lighthouse, and then you turned around to aid the dynasty. I’m not sure whether I should consider you guys as enemies or friends. What do you think?”

Mona thought about it before solemnly replying, “While we belong to different factions, we are very willing to befriend you, Your Excellency Black Star.”

Han Xiao raised his brows. “In that case, let me be more direct. We’ll always be opponents from different factions, but we can be business partners. You won’t object to that, right?”

“Of course.” This was one of the conditions given by the upper echelons before he set off, so Mona did not hesitate.

The three Universal Civilizations had always warred against each other; however, they also traded with each other frequently, cooperating in many industries. In this interstellar era, so long as the civilizations did not tear off all pretenses and go to war with each other, their cooperative relationship would still be maintained. The three universal civilizations were already used to this method, and in fact, interstellar integration was one of the points that bound all galactic civilizations together as this magnified the cost of them being isolated.

Thus, in terms of business and trade, a Universal Civilization would not prohibit their Beyond Grade A allies from expanding their business to profit off other civilizations. However, if they were to use the name of commerce to sell secret information to other parties, then the universal civilization would hunt them down.

However, the Beyond Grade A allies in each civilization would not easily allow outsiders to obtain a share of their pie. If one wished to develop a business in other factions, they would be pressured by the organizations of that faction. Without an official relationship, it would be hard to conduct business.

“I’m sure that you’re clear about our working style. Within the three Universal Civilizations, we are the most inclusive. We welcome financial groups and organizations from all over the universe to develop, and since the Shattered Star Ring is under the jurisdiction of the Federation of Light, you could say that we’ve always been working together,” Mona said.

Han Xiao nodded. This part was true. The Crimson Dynasty was iron-blooded, while the Arcane Church leaned toward the spiritual side. The Federation of Light was undoubtedly the richest, with lots of territory and blooming with prosperity.

“Since you wish to be friends, then at least show some sincerity. Building a relationship requires funds.” Han Xiao smiled.

“If you’re willing, we can help the Black Star Army to develop their business in the Federation of Light at any time,” Mona replied.

Han Xiao’s eyes shifted quickly.

He roughly understood what the Federation of Light was trying to do. They first mentioned the Spacetime Amber before offering a trade cooperation. The situation was very clear. They wished to borrow the Spacetime Amber in the long run. After the previous incident, their relationship was strained, so one could imagine their success rate if they came knocking to request something.

Thus, the Federation of Light made a few proposals, of which one of them would be to use a business proposal to first break the ice, warming up their relationship before proposing a future follow-up relationship. In this way, they would not attempt to achieve their goals overnight but utilize a long-term relationship to obtain what they wanted.

As the requested party, Han Xiao had the advantage, and of course, he did not need to reply immediately.

“Ok, we’ll talk about this again. I don’t currently have that intention.”

“Understood. If you still have any other requests, we’ll do our best to consider it. No matter what, the Federation of Light looks forward to working with you.”

Mona retained his sincere tone; the Federation of Light was not in a hurry to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. They could afford to wait.

“Other requests…” Han Xiao’s eyes moved as he thought. He suddenly smiled. “I personally am not adverse to befriending the Federation of Light. It’s just that because you helped the Arcane Church go against me last time, in addition to your sincerity, I feel you should display an apology.”

He was referring to the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device. That time, the Federation of Light did not expect that they would need to request something from Black Star and could be said to have dug a hole for themselves. However, if they did not do so, then they probably would not have been able to obtain the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. There were both advantages and disadvantages.

Mona’s eyes lit up. He was not afraid of Han Xiao making a request but more afraid of him not having any.

“What are you thinking about?”

“It’s like this. If you could do me a favor, I’ll forgive you, and only through resolving this then can our relationship truly begin.”

“What do you need?” Mona sat up straight.

“EsGod also took part in the battle of Planet Lighthouse, and the dynasty has been busy with capturing those from the Arcane Church. However, they have now turned their attention toward this accomplice. I have quite a huge grudge with EsGod, and if you could help the dynasty and I with encircling the EsGod and killing him, we can wipe off all other issues and start on a clean slate. What do you think?” Han Xiao’s tone grew solemn.

Mona was a little surprised. He was expecting Han Xiao to raise up some benefits for himself, but to think that he actually invited them to hunt down EsGod. It seemed like their enmity was quite serious.

“In this regard, I have no way to make a decision. I will report this upward.” Mona spoke truthfully. “But from my experience, there is a high chance that they will agree.”

If it was something else, the Federation of Light would still hesitate, but dealing with the EsGod had always been one of the priorities and would also benefit them.

At this moment, one of the mechanical guards from behind stepped forward and took off its helmet. It revealed the head of a mechanical host, and an electronic voice sounded from its mouth.

“Regarding this matter, I can do it for you instead.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao turned around. Seeing the material of the mechanical host, his eyes lit up. He could tell that the host had high technological content, seemingly a high levelled machine made by a Beyond Grade A, much like the mechanical host that he utilized for [Lord’s Descent].

“You are…”

“‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison, the Ancient One, Palpatine[1].”

Han Xiao’s eyes changed, revealing a wary look.

Because the [Lord’s Descent] was not yet used on the mechanical host, there were no fluctuations of a Beyond Grade A coming from it. Before Manison spoke, he had still thought it was just a normal mechanical soldier. In terms of stealth, Manison truly had the advantage.

The fact that Manison had chosen to approach him was out of Han Xiao’s expectations.

A person’s reputation was akin to the shadow a tree cast. The reputation of the Mechanic Empire in the universe was profound, almost universally regarded as the peak of mechanics. Furthermore, he had indirectly interacted with the other party before, so Han Xiao was vigilant of the name Mechanic Empire.

Mona coughed before explaining, “When His Excellency Manison heard that we were coming to pay you a visit, he requested to move together with us.”

“Black Star, in actual fact, I’ve always been wanting to pay you a visit. This time was just a good opportunity.” Noticing Han Xiao’s furrowed brows, Manison spoke without any emotions. “What, am I not welcome?”

Han Xiao’s thoughts revolved quickly, and he immediately smoothed his brows over, putting on another smile as he calmly replied.

“Of course not. I just felt it to be a coincidence. I also heard of your name a long time ago and have always wished to pay you a visit. It’s just that I’ve never been able to find the chance to.”

Mona stood up at this time. “This is my communicator number. Your Excellency Black Star, I’ll report your intentions to the upper echelons, and you’ll receive a reply soon. I won’t disrupt your conversation any longer. Your Excellency Manison, we’ll wait for you aboard the spaceship.”

Manison’s mechanical host nodded, and Mona left the room, following Phillip’s directions back to the dock.

Only Manison and Han Xiao were left in the room.

“Hehe, Your Excellency Black Star, this should be our first time meeting.” Manison sounded as though he was laughing, but the electronic voice did not display a single bit of emotion, making it a little frightening.

With the skills of the other party, it was possible for his host to completely mimic a person’s emotions and tone, so this voice should be done on purpose.

“To be accurate, we’re not considered ‘meeting’ yet. You’ve seen my face, but I still have not seen yours.” Han Xiao raised a brow and spoke some mischievous words while he thought of Manison’s intentions in coming here today.

It was normal for people of the same profession to converse, but he felt that Manison had a reason for visiting.

“There will definitely be a chance in the future.” The mechanical host pointed toward its chest. “Do you mind if I send my consciousness over?”

Han Xiao shook his head to indicate his answer.

Boom!

The next instant, a surge of energy surged through the quantum infinite distance transmission channel, and the host’s body jolted. Golden electricity spilled out from it, sizzling as Manison utilized [Lord’s Descent].

The movements of the carrier instantly became a lot smoother. Manison twisted his neck, commenting, “That’s much better.”

Remote communication could be compared to doing a video chat. [Lord’s Descent] was bringing one’s consciousness into the scene, a lot more immersive.

Han Xiao smiled and did not speak, but he was full of awe in his heart.

When Manison’s consciousness arrived, the mechanical force released by the host was so huge that it gave Han Xiao some pressure. To be able to allow another Beyond Grade A to feel pressure, the Mechanic Emperor was indeed unfathomable.

In all the Beyond Grade As he had seen, only EsGod’s aura could be compared with Manison’s… and this was only the host utilizing [Lord’s Descent], not Manison’s true body.

Just what level had this guy actually reached?

Thinking about it, Han Xiao tilted his mouth toward the door.

“Your Excellency Manison, how about we change locations?”

“Sure. Could you show me around your Black Star Army?” Manison nodded.

“Alright.”

The two stood up and left the room while chatting.

They had only just met, so they did not talk about any sensitive topics but rather revolved around different topics such as about the headquarters, materials and technology used, and so on.

Han Xiao kept vision of the quantum network constantly active, letting Phillip maintain constant surveillance on the system.

While the possibility was low, it was better to guard against any secret Virtual Intrusion from Manison. After all, having Manison there was just like having the neighbor next door come to visit one’s house. One could never know when one might be ‘cucked’, so it was better to deter than to resolve.

But Manison did not have such intentions. He was only focused on conversing about mechanical knowledge, as though they were really sharing technology between peers.

Just based on his technical exchanges, the Mechanic Emperor was indeed powerful. He had accumulated experience for many years and had collected all the mechanic profession knowledge. He was even at the forefront of technological innovation, having developed an unknown number of blueprints.

Just based on the main profession level, his was far off from Manison’s. The other party had not lived so many years in vain.

Because this was the first time he was dealing with the Mechanic Emperor, Han Xiao constantly wore a smile on his face. However, he never lowered his guard. In addition to the preconceived notions, he also had to take into account the identity of the other party.

“Oh right, you mentioned just now that you would help me to deal with EsGod.”

“EsGod is currently in the Primeval Star River. That is my base camp, and if the Federation of Light agrees to your request, it will be me who acts.” Manison turned to look at Han Xiao. “Naturally, I also have my own reasons.”

“What are they?” Han Xiao was curious.

“The first, I warned EsGod before that he was not allowed to wander into my territory. As for the second… hehe, I hope to obtain something from you.” Manison did not bother hiding his intentions.

Obtain something from me? Han Xiao’s eyes flashed. It would naturally not be his machinery, so it would most likely be the Universal Treasures. Was it the Evolution Cube or the Spacetime Amber?

However, Manison did not continue talking and only turned his head to another direction. At this moment, both of them had walked into a passageway, and surrounding them were combat training rooms.

“Since we’re here, why not have a spar?” It was hard to tell what Manison was trying to do.

“Here?” Han Xiao shook his head. With our strength, we’ll flip my headquarters upside down.

“Relax, I didn’t bring any other mechanical units, only this host.” Manison waved his hands. “You can control another host as well, and we’ll stop when hit. This way, the movements are more controlled, and we will not harm our relations.”

This method works… Han Xiao breathed in deeply and nodded. “… Alright then.”

Since there was no need to fight with one’s true body, it would be simple to repair the mechanical host afterward. It would also be safer this way. Han Xiao suspected that Manison wished to test out his combat strength based on his Mechanical Force.

Having broken through the 52,000 Energy limit, this level of Mechanical Force would not allow him to be easily abused by others. Han Xiao had the confidence to spar.

Moreover, [Lord’s Descent] would also allow him to share the majority of his strength. He wished to also sneak a peek at Manison’s attributes through the combat information.

[1] This used to be Papachi, but we’re changing it to Palpatine from now on.

Chapter 884: Probing and Surprise

Chapter 884 Probing and Surprise

The two of them chose a combat training room at random. Swiping his identification, the doors automatically opened for them.

There were also differences in the configurations of the combat training rooms. Only the high-configuration combat training rooms would be able to handle a stronger aftermath.

The ordinary training rooms were free for most army members and players to utilize. They could withstand the impact of a Grade B Super at most. If one wished to use a higher configuration combat room, then they had to pay the rent. According to a member’s status within the army, there would be different discounts attached, and the players would use the training room to brush up their skills and experience.

The core area was equipped with the highest-level training rooms, but even then, they could only withstand most Calamity Grade attacks, and a Beyond Grade A attack would be pushing it. However, if they only were using a single host for a spar, so long as they controlled the attack power, there should not be a problem.

This top training room had a lot of space, and the ground and walls were all pure white, displaying a grid-like appearance. The material was a synthetic form of a tough alloy with polymer and plastic nanomaterials, which had a self-repair function. With a virtual reality coating applied to it, it was able to simulate different environments.

At the same time, the walls and floor were movable to change the shape of the room to match the virtual environment. This could create a battlefield environment for further immersiveness, else it would be difficult to deceive one’s senses.

Of course, the battlefield simulation was not child’s play, and Han Xiao had specifically forbidden the players in the guidelines of usage for training rooms from occupying the training room to be spectators.

Han Xiao allowed Phillip to randomize the environment, and the appearance of the ground and walls rapidly changed, turning into a lush forest. In the distance was an endless forest and a mountain shrouded in mist. The training room even simulated the realism of a light breeze, with the coolness of early morning rain. One could even smell the fresh air and mud, as though they were truly present.

Surveying the scene, Manison murmured emotionally, “Being with machinery every day, all I see are dull colors. Sometimes, I forget what the great outdoors look like.”

Han Xiao opened his secondary dimension and withdrew a mechanical host. The streamlined human body shape was painted with the three colors of silver, black, and yellow. This was a ‘Mammoth’ mechanical host, updated to the RX002 Generation. Compared to the RX001 Generation, the performance was slightly different.

The Mammoth RX001 Generation was designed as a standard model with comprehensive capabilities and balanced in every respect, while the RX002 focused on reducing the volume of the skeletal structure and nano tendons. It sacrificed a portion of strength in exchange for amplified flexibility and more mechanical weapons, making it more suitable to combat.

The effect of [Lord’s Descent] would vary based on the basic configuration of the host. Different hosts thus possessed different abilities and attributes when using [Lord’s Descent], so it was necessary to build various types of mechanical hosts.

Han Xiao activated [Lord’s Descent], and blue-gold Mechanical Force shot out, colliding with the mechanical host, bursting into an eye piercing gleam!

Buzz!

His consciousness was divided into two. One stayed within the main body, whereas the other controlled the mechanical host.

Han Xiao’s true body flew up high, not participating in this battle. He controlled the host to stand opposite Manison. While they were separated by a few hundred meters, this distance was as good as non-existent at their current level.

Han Xiao eyed the host’s interface. Because of the First Gen Black Star Alloy, the host had several meat shield talents, coupled with high resistance. It possessed a power amplification of 64%, flexibility of 81%, and stamina amplification of 73%.

Han Xiao twisted his neck around within the Mammoth, adapting to it. Afterward, its back armor split open, releasing micro disks to form a suspended defense array. Various psionic cannon muzzles extended out from the shoulder, chest, and abdomen areas, and it lifted the left arm in a shield holding gesture as a psionic shield formed. A metal wrist-guard was fitted on the right forearm, and it held on to a mechanical blade wrapped with energy on the right hand.

Seeing this, Manison’s host also entered battle mode. It turned on the floating array, activating the psionic shield, and took out a mechanical weapon that looked like a staff, shifting to a lowered position.

Utilizing [Lord’s Descent] to spar was equivalent to remote controlled combat. Even if the hosts fought brutally, there would be no losses to their bodies.

Without further words, both sides exchanged glances for two seconds before their figures blurred and viciously slammed into each other!

Bang!

The huge impact created a shock wave, felling the trees around them under the effect of realistic destruction. Even Han Xiao, who was in the sky above, had his hair completely blown askew.

The next instant, both hosts turned into a single blurry image as they flashed through the woods. The mechanical blade and staff collided thousands of times in a short period, causing sparks, electricity arcs, and lights to flash.

Dang dang dang!

The sound of wind, rain, and metal striking all entered one’s ear.

Mechanical Force collided with each other face to face, exploding into arcs in front of both hosts. Wherever it landed, grooves were created, holes were bored, and trees were set ablaze.

Both of them engaged in melee combat tacitly and controlled their strength, not utilizing their strongest weapons such as the long-range cannons, or else the training room would definitely be blasted to pieces.

They were only sparring, so they did not use their trump cards. There was no need to determine a winner because a mechanic’s true prowess lay in their mechanical army.

Both of them only had intentions to probe the other, seeking to understand the other party through battle. Whoever obtained more intelligence about the other would be the one benefitting.

As they battled, Manison was sensing Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force intensity.

At his level, as long as he opened his senses, he could roughly pinpoint Han Xiao’s current standards. While the intensity could not compare to his, he still got a surprise when faced with Han Xiao’s battle strength.

He had heard of how Han Xiao had captured Dylan, and based on his hypothesis, Black Star should be similar to him, possessing the top-level Mechanical talent.

However, in reality when they crossed arms, Manison discovered that Black Star’s Mechanical Force was not as strong as expected, and he did not have the top-level abilities of a mechanic.

However, Han Xiao’s life level was much higher than he expected. Manison naturally knew of the first limit one would face at the 52,000 Energy Rank. Just crossing this limit was nothing to him, but the problem was how long Black Star had been a Beyond Grade A.

Black Star had only reached the Beyond Grade A level a year and half ago. In just this short of a time, he had crossed the first limit.

The time taken for a Beyond Grade A to undergo a life level transformation was typically measured in decades!

Such unbelievable growth was a first for Manison, despite his age!

Such potential and talent…

Such an astounding growth rate made referencing Black Star’s current combat prowess useless.

Since he knew that Black Star had already broken through the first limit, Manison felt that he had already achieved his objective. He thought that he had profited from this exchange, since Black Star would only know that he was strong but not to what extent.

Thinking about this, he clashed once more, taking advantage of the shockwave to pull apart. Manison then put his weapon away as he said, “Let’s stop here, or else the room will be destroyed.”

Han Xiao also stopped. Eyeing the various gorges and grooves within the training room, he too sheathed his weapon.

His true body descended and cancelled the [Lord’s Descent]. After storing his mechanical host, he let out a smile.

“Indeed, Mechanic Emperor. You’re really strong.”

“I must say, your abilities exceeded my expectations.” Manison nodded as well.

Han Xiao smiled but did not reply, instead changing the topic. “We’ve already toured the headquarters. Let’s go to my office. We can continue talking about the problem of EsGod there.”

“Okay.”

The two of them left the training area, and on the way, Han Xiao snuck a peak at the interface whilst chatting.

Manison’s level was displayed as ???, which meant that the disparity between them was not small. The majority of his attributes and skills were also displayed as ???, as there were many skills that he had not used during the spar.

A mechanic’s skills were infamously numerous, with many of them overlapping with each other and could be ignored. As for those that Manison had displayed in the spar, Han Xiao noticed two Molding Talents.

The first was [Perfect Mechanical Sense], which was within Han Xiao’s expectations. To be able to reach the peak of the mechanic profession, Manison had to have such a talent.

The second was [Virtual Technology Innovation—Manison]. His name at the back meant that this was a Molding Talent that he himself had developed. The effect was to strengthen his Virtual Technology with an enhancement coefficient of 1.75.

While it looked lackluster compared to the strengthening coefficient of 2.5 provided by [Virtual Lord], the meaning for both skills was completely different. As long as any mechanic learned the Ultimate Knowledge [Virtual Creator], they would gain this expertise, but [Virtual Technology Innovation—Manison] was an exclusive ability, which provided an extra bonus to him. This meant that Manison had a huge advantage in virtual technology, and it was thus classified as a Molding Talent.

Furthermore, the introduction of this talent said, “After utilizing Virtual Technology Innovation, there will be special effects.” This was probably referring to the core specialty of Manison’s strongest mechanic troops, the Indestructible Mechanic Empire.

Manison would naturally not only possess two Molding Talents, but only these two were displayed so far.

However, based on the combat information, as well as the performance of Manison in his previous life, Han Xiao had come out with a rough estimation of Manison’s battle strength.

His main profession should out-level me by at least one stage, and he should have at least four Molding Talents. In addition, his Mechanical army should outnumber mine by several thousand times… How scary. I’d better not provoke him.

Overall, Han Xiao was quite satisfied with the spar. In the intelligence area, he had definitely benefited.

The combat information had displayed some of the abilities that Manison did not display, but Manison had no interface, so whatever ability he did not display, Manison would naturally be unaware. Displaying his life level was in fact a ploy of Han Xiao’s to show off his potential so that Manison would not slight him.

Because of the presence of Character Summon Cards, there was misinformation on Han Xiao’s combat strength. For example, he did not display [Perfect Mechanical Sense], which caused discrepancies to appear in Manison’s intelligence gathering.

The Mechanic Emperor had chosen the wrong opponent to probe this time.

The corners of Han Xiao’s mouth rose slightly.

…

Both parties had their own inner monologue as they returned to the office.

After sitting down, Manison began to talk about his purpose.

“My reason for meeting you this time is also to see if you’re welcome to the idea of making a transaction.”

“Please speak.”

“I’m actually very interested in your Spacetime Amber. From what I know, this Universal Treasure can create copies of itself. I hope to buy a few pieces from you as research material.”

Turns out, he wanted to buy the amber balls…

Han Xiao was silent as he thought for a while before shaking his head.

“Apologies, but I don’t intend to sell them outside at all.”

The Spacetime Amber was one of his trump cards, and the reason he had given Austin one was to repay his debt. He did not wish to use this to gain the support of others. This item was different from the Evolution Cube; he did not wish to allow the amber balls to circulate around the universe and be utilized by others.

He was not even willing to provide them to the Crimson Dynasty, let alone to the Mechanic Empire.

While Manison’s status was otherworldly, giving him face was one thing, but in matters such as these, no matter how impressive he was, it meant nothing.

“A pity, but I can understand.”

Manison shook his head. His host did not reveal any expression, nor could anyone discern his emotions from his voice.

“If you change your mind one day, you may look for me.”

“Then about the problem with EsGod…” Han Xiao probed.

“Hehe, no need to worry, I’ll listen to the Federation of Light on this.”

Manison lightly went around this topic. However, he did not mind Han Xiao rejecting him, and he did not seem to have the intention of getting up yet.

His words suddenly took on a change.

“I have a subordinate in the Shattered Star Ring called Sardeem, and he once reported something interesting to me. He mentioned that you stole his Mechanical army and even captured him alive for a period of time.”

“… There was indeed such a matter. At that time, the circumstances forced me to.”

Warning bells rose once again in Han Xiao’s mind.

“Relax, since you did not kill him, there are no problems. I just felt that we seem to be quite connected by fate, to think that we had been linked so early on…”

Manison did not seem interested in seeking recompense.

But this next sentence caused Han Xiao’s scalp to tingle!

“But talking about this, we were linked even earlier on… This reminds me, hehe, could I trouble you to return those two lost sheep to me?”

Manison’s synthesized electronic tone had no fluctuations. While he laughed, one could not tell that he had a jovial intention.

The Mechanic Emperor actually knows about Aroshia‽

Han Xiao immediately forced his expression to remain straight, suppressing the turmoil within his emotions, and deepened his tone.

“… What do you mean?”

“A long time ago, there were two lucky AI life forms that infiltrated my base. One of them made off with one of my spare spaceships, while the other utilized my equipment to transform herself into an indestructible Mechanical Life. They tried to set their comrades free, but they were spotted by the firewalls within my base and chased by my automaton troops. Luckily for them, they entered a wormhole and eventually found their way to your organization…”

At this point, Manison paused.

“Surely you don’t think that the two AI lifeforms were able to make it into my base on their own, right?”

Chapter 885: Brewing Influence, Rising Waves

Chapter 885 Brewing Influence, Rising Waves

Han Xiao only narrowed his eyes, not speaking. In actual fact, he had also shared the same suspicions, but Risda had replied in the same manner each time he asked, making him unable to verify it.

Manison crossed his hands and calmly spoke.

“Just based on their ability, they would never be able to break through my firewall. Behind them was another Beyond Grade A Mechanic that was coveting my Indestructible Mechanic Empire and wished to wreck my trump card troops while I was not within my base. They secretly guided these two little guys that knew nothing and quietly opened the virtual data channels for them.”

“A pity that his cheap trick was spotted by me, and his scheme thus failed. I actually knew that the little fellow who had turned itself into an indestructible mechanic soldier had always been residing in Floating Dragon Island. She borrowed my energy transmission channel and stole my recombination material, so I could naturally track her.

“But I didn’t go and recollect it. That’s mainly because I don’t care about these two fellows who were wandering outside, but I also decided not to make contact with Ames due to my past relationship with Aesop. However, since I’m here today, it’s just as well. You can hand both of them back over to me.”

Han Xiao rubbed his temples, feeling a little helpless. Twenty years ago when he first recruited Aroshia, he had been but a Grade B Super. He was just a nobody in the universe, so naturally, Manison would not place him in his eyes.

When he discovered the origins of Aroshia later on, he had once worried about whether Manison would pursue them, but Aroshia had never met any danger, so he had thought that Manison did not know of Aroshia’s position.

When he reached the Beyond Grade A level, his Virtual Technology knowledge grew deeper, and he also started to doubt the given description of their escape, but because of his preconceived notions and added to the fact that twenty years had gone by peacefully, he took it for granted.

To think that Manison had always known…

Han Xiao’s brain quickly moved.

Obviously, with Manison’s status, he did not care about Aroshia and Risda escaping. After all, he had an entire AI civilization as his army; just two escapees did not mean anything.

But the reason he had mentioned this was not to take Aroshia and Risda back but rather because Han Xiao had rejected his request to obtain the amber, so he decided to attack him!

This old thing… God only knows just how many cards he still has on hand.

Han Xiao frowned, pausing for a moment, before replying solemnly.

“Aroshia is a comrade of mine who has followed me for over twenty years. She has free will and is not a slave of mine. I can’t just pass someone who is respected and was involved in the establishment of Black Star Army together with me. How would I answer to my officers in this manner?”

Manison wished to reclaim its escaped soldiers, but Han Xiao tweaked the situation, emphasizing Aroshia’s position within the Black Star Army. Thus, he could firmly reject.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you’re a really tough nut.” Manison still remained calm, and he only sighed.

From the time they had met up till now, Han Xiao had always been courteous, but regarding any crucial issues, he had never given way and always had hidden needles to retaliate.

Want the amber? Not selling!

Want my people? Not giving!

Han Xiao was apprehensive of Manison’s strength, but he was not afraid of the other party. It would have been one thing if he did not have any support, but the dynasty was backing the Black Star Army, while the Federation backed Manison. Both of them had prestigious backers, and there was no need to be afraid.

Since he was the one to obtain the Spacetime Amber, the dynasty did not force him to hand it over because as long as it was in his hands, it was equivalent to the dynasty’s strength.

However, if he chose to deal with the Mechanic Empire, this would mean that the method of production of the Spacetime Amber would be passed onto the Federation of Light’s hands. This would cross the bottom line of the dynasty, and he would suffer the consequences. Thus, not even a guarantee from Manison that he would only research it privately could persuade him.

The reason Han Xiao did not make the transaction was not just to maintain the deterrence of the Spacetime Amber but also because of the problem of their opposing factions. Even if he would end up offending the other, he could only reject. This even applied to the worst case where they turned hostile.

The atmosphere was a little heavy for a moment. Han Xiao only stared at Manison, not speaking, while Manison did the same, his mechanical host not showing any emotions.

After silence reigned for a period, Manison finally opened his mouth again. “Alright then, it seems that my request was a little overboard.”

He did not insist on reclaiming the duo, maybe because he did not wish to turn hostile with Han Xiao over such a small matter. However, Han Xiao could not know if that was what he thought.

“Many thanks for understanding, Your Excellency Mechanic Emperor.” Han Xiao’s tone also softened. Since the other party had given him face, there was a need to respond appropriately.

“However…” Manison’s words took a curve. “While I don’t care if they have their own lives, there’s something I need to remind you of.”

“Please speak.”

“Those two fellows have always wanted to free their clansmen. I hope you will not be fooled by them. The Beyond Grade A Mechanic who helped them the other time ended up as my trophy, and I don’t wish to be enemies with you… or else the result won’t be nice to see.” Manison’s tone remained calm.

Han Xiao’s pupils needled. This was a pure warning!

At this moment, Manison stood up, and he expressed his intention to leave.

“No matter what, being able to come into contact with you, Your Excellency Black Star, has made this a worthwhile trip. It was pleasant getting to know you.”

Han Xiao remained expressionless and stood up, shaking hands with the other.

After exchanging communicator numbers, they walked out of the room. Han Xiao personally escorted Manison back to the Federation of Light’s spaceship.

Before the hatch closed, Manison turned back to look at Han Xiao.

“Since you are coming over to the Primeval Star River to deal with EsGod, if time permits, come over to my place for a visit.”

“Sure, I’ll try to do so.” Han Xiao nodded.

Ka!

The hatch sealed itself, and the spaceship’s thrusters ignited, taking off into the vast universe.

Sending them off with his eyes, Han Xiao secretly heaved a sigh of relief and murmured, “Old fox.”

Dealing with Manison was really not a pleasant thing.

Han Xiao could not determine Manison’s true thoughts. His attitude was also ambiguous, his every move seemingly carrying probing intentions.

This guy is not just a person who purely pursues benefits. His thinking was hard to predict, and even with Manison’s deeds from his previous life as a gauge, Han Xiao still found it hard to figure out the character of this old fox.

When encircling EsGod, the battlefield will be in the Primeval Star River. There’s a need to go to the territory of the Mechanic Empire to battle… From the current situation, since I rejected him, Manison will definitely be dissatisfied with me, but considering all factors, he probably won’t make me an enemy for now.

Han Xiao shook his head.

Because of a conflict of interest, this meeting ended on a heavy note.

Beep beep!

This time, the communicator rang, and Mona passed on the news that the Federation of Light had approved Han Xiao’s request to hunt down EsGod.

No matter what, at least I have more assurance in dealing with EsGod now.

Han Xiao regained his spirit. Regarding the Mechanic Empire, he could handle it at a later date. The pressing task at hand was to first get rid of EsGod.

He was only an ally and thus could not privately engage in a cooperation with the Federation of Light without the dynasty’s knowledge, or it would be considered as overstepping his bounds. Thus, he had to inform the dynasty, which was also convenient to show the dynasty his firm killing intent toward EsGod.

Regardless of whether the dynasty was willing to cooperate, the Federation of Light would be dispatched, and the only difference would be whether they encircled EsGod together or separately.

…

At the same time, on the Federation of Light’s spaceship, Mona approached Manison and respectfully said, “The upper echelons have accepted Black Star’s request to encircle EsGod, and they hope that Your Excellency Mechanic Emperor will be able to help since the battlefield will be situated in the Primeval Star River.”

“Got it.”

Manison waved his hands before controlling his host to move toward the porthole, gazing at the shrinking Black Star Army headquarters in the distance.

“No wonder Sorokin suffered a loss here. This guy is one tough nut.” Manison nodded.

He was one of the shareholders of the Limitless Financial Group, and he supplied the financial group with a large amount of mechanical materials yearly. Thus, he had known Sorokin for quite a long time.

The armed force that Sorokin was developing on the Shattered Star Ring was not a secret to Manison. His intelligence web was huge, to the point where even though the Calamity Grade partner of the Beyond Grade A seed Roseau seemed to be working for Sorokin on the surface, he was actually a spy loyal to Manison.

Thus, Manison was aware that Sorokin tried to probe the Black Star Army and ended up suffering in the Gulal Civilization.

Sorokin was interested in the undying troops of the Black Star Army, which were also of interest to Manison. From his point of view, Black Star’s immortal troops were akin to his Indestructible Mechanic Empire, just that Manison’s army was larger. Thus, he was not as eager as Sorokin was.

What he was most concerned about now was the Spacetime Amber.

As for the Evolution Cube, he was not too interested in it.

The theory behind the Evolution Cube was unknown, and it was impossible for the genetic optimization to be adjusted. He was different from EsGod in this regard; Manison did not like things that could not be controlled.

…

On the mother planet of the Crimson Dynasty, Urranrell put down the report in her hand. Facing the long distance projection of Tarrokov, she expressionlessly asked, “You’re saying, Black Star took the initiative to contact you, saying that the Federation of Light had contacted him, wishing to reconcile with him, and he persuaded them to prepare to encircle EsGod together?”

“Yes.” Tarrokov nodded.

Not too long ago, Han Xiao had contacted him once more and roughly summarized the events for him. After ending the call, he had immediately reported upward to Urranrell, conveying Han Xiao’s intentions.

“Hmm…” Urranrell leaned back in her chair, her hand rapping on the table as she turned to look at her confidant, Clotti. “What do you think?”

“Black Star did not ask the dynasty in advance and privately found a collaborator without permission. He has crossed the line, forgetting his identity now that he has made some achievements.” Clotti’s tone was indifferent, and he did not like or dislike Han Xiao, merely speaking his mind.

“It’s not that serious. In fact, it’s a good thing. Plus, he reported it immediately. This minor issue is not worth pursuing.” Urranrell waved her hands. “I know that he wishes to kill EsGod more than anyone else. He’s probably worried that EsGod will still eye the Evolution Cube and will make a comeback.”

She pondered for a while before making a decision.

“Since the Federation of Light wishes to participate, pull aboard the Arcane Church. Let’s have a three-pronged operation.”

Because EsGod had turned traitor, it resulted in huge losses for the Arcane Church. Thus, the Arcane Church would definitely remember this grudge. Furthermore, because they had worked together with EsGod during the battle of Planet Lighthouse, it had caused some negative public opinion within the interstellar society. There was an urgent need for them to express their position against EsGod.

In this regard, EsGod was just like a chamber pot. When there was a need, they would take it out to use, but once they had utilized it, they would find it smelly and kick it back into the corner once more.

Urranrell’s idea was to drag the Arcane Church down as well, to relieve the pressure on the dynasty. If they were going to fight, all of them should do so. No one should sit by the side and watch.

Furthermore, eliminating the EsGod would also help to fulfil Black Star’s wishes.

…

In a certain desolate universe belt of the Primeval Star River, EsGod’s fleet was currently cruising along, moving toward the edge of the star field.

In the main hall of the spaceship, Fakisen came up to the throne of the EsGod, awakening the snoozing EsGod.

The dark mist swirled, forming ugly facial features. EsGod opened his eyes, gazing at his assistant before asking indifferently, “What’s the matter?”

“There’s a problem with our main camp. The troops we have in the Central Galaxy have been encircled by the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church, and our losses are disastrous.”

“Oh, is there anything else?” EsGod nodded as though he did not care.

Fakisen paused for a while before forcing a smile. “We’ve also angered the Arcane Church this time, and they may join hands with the dynasty to send Beyond Grade As after you. Are you not worried?”

“They’re the ones that should be worried, not me.” EsGod closed his eyes again, his tone akin to one dreaming. “I can also test out my strength after my evolution.”

Seeing EsGod once again sink into slumber, Fakisen left the hall. As he closed the door, it covered the ferocious arc of his mouth.

Anger, glee, complacency, resignation… all sorts of complex feelings flashed across.

Chapter 886: Borrowing Strength

Chapter 886 Borrowing Strength

Two days later, Han Xiao called all his officers to his office and informed them that he was going to the Central Galaxy.

Sylvia nodded upon hearing that and asked, “How long will your trip be?”

“I have to see the dynasty’s arrangement. We will only be able to take action after they gather enough manpower.”

“Alright. The affairs of the army will be managed by me, so you don’t have to worry,” Sylvia said.

By the side, Hila said, “I have some things that I need to pack. When will we be leaving?”

Han Xiao shook his head.

“You don’t need to go. I won’t be bringing the Black Star Guards this time.”

Hila froze in place and asked, “Why?”

“Because I will be fighting with EsGod, and you guys won’t be of help. It would be better for all of you to remain in the Shattered Star Ring,” Han Xiao said.

The members of the Black Star Guards were all Calamity Grade elites, and their main responsibility was to deal with the enemies that did not require him to make a personal appearance. There was no need to bring them along to deal with EsGod; they would only be a burden to him. Thus, Han Xiao decided to go alone this time.

“… Alright.” Hila grunted with dissatisfaction and left the room.

She seemed to be agitated again.

Han Xiao laughed in his heart. This was a good thing. Hila was not the crazy individual that she was in her previous life, and it would be good to provide her with timely motivation.

“My sister will be going through a devilish training regime again.” Aurora then looked at Han Xiao and said with worry, “Will there be any danger if you go alone?”

“I’m not taking the Black Star Guards, but I didn’t say that I will be going alone.”

As he said that, Han Xiao turned around to look at Reynold.

“Hmm? Me?” Reynold pointed to himself with a puzzled look on his face.

“That’s right. It’s you.”

“But I still have to manage the logistics…” Reynold did not understand why Han Xiao wanted to bring him along.

“Won’t you get bored if you spend all your time dealing with logistics? Follow me on a walk. Right, who is the vice director of the logistics department?”

“A Calamity Grade Mechanic that joined a few years ago. This is his resume.” Sylvia immediately took out some information.

The army had developed rapidly over the past few years, and Han Xiao had plenty of experts under his charge. There were more and more Calamity Grades working for him, and the number of Calamity Grades he had was more than a Star System civilization. Apart from the Black Star Guards in the Shattered Star Ring, the other Calamity Grades were scattered in other departments and had a respected position.

There were more Calamity Grade Supers who came from the outside, such as Hadavy, Lagi, and so on. There were fewer Calamity Grade Supers that were trained by the army like Herlous, Sylvia, and Reynold.

Han Xiao then flipped through the records and asked, “Does he have any record of accepting bribes, reselling the army’s blueprints, or corruption?”

“No. I would have reported it to you if he did so…” Sylvia burst out in cold sweat.

You are a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic and probably even know about the size of my undergarments. Is there anything in the base that is hidden from your eyes?

“Then the matters of the logistics department shall be handed over to him temporarily.” Han Xiao then turned around and looked at Reynold. “Nero is still a child, and he will be traumatized if he spends every day studying. I plan to bring him along to tour Planet Crimson Ring. Of course, having a holiday is one thing, but his studies cannot stop.”

Reynold then came to a realization. I see, His Excellency Black Star wants to bring Nero out on a holiday but doesn’t want to let his godson relax completely. Thus, he is also bringing the teacher along.

Sylvia immediately felt her heart turn sour.

I am also His Excellency Black Star’s student! Why is our teacher so biased toward Reynold? I can also be Nero’s teacher!

I also want a holiday!

“Don’t worry, all of you will stay on Planet Crimson Ring when I fight EsGod, and there’s no need to follow me. There won’t be any danger.” Han Xiao then looked at Feidin. “Follow along as well. You can accompany Nero.”

“Alright.” Feidin smiled. “Nero should be very happy.”

I don’t know if he will be happy, but I definitely am…

Han Xiao chuckled to himself.

Han Xiao mainly brought Feidin and Nero along because he believed in luck. After all, it would be difficult for him to deal with EsGod, and bringing two high grade protagonist level characters with him along might increase his chances of success.

The boost from two Advanced Luck Glows was better than an unlucky him working alone.

Han Xiao then set the departure time to two hours later.

Everyone left the room, and Hadavy dragged the napping Lagi out of the room as though he was dragging a bag of rubbish.

After the end of the meeting, Reynold immediately returned to the Logistics Department to give out his instructions before returning to his office and opening a side door.

Nero was currently doing his homework in this side room.

After drinking the dragonblood potion, he did not feel like sleeping at all. Thus, he got into the same napping posture that he had in Planet Aquamarine to try and fall asleep.

After checking Nero’s homework, a bright smile of satisfaction emerged on Reynold’s face. At the very start, he had only taught Nero because it was Han Xiao’s instruction, but throughout the teaching process, he had truly grown to like this student of his as he saw himself in Nero.

Although Nero did not like machines as crazily as him, he was also capable of enduring hardship. Nero had a strength in that he would never skive. Even if the amount of homework that he had drove him to despair, Nero would still complete it earnestly. Reynold truly liked such a student.

After all, the Mechanic Class was different from the other classes; knowledge was power. The better the foundation, the smoother his future would be. Thus, Reynold felt that Nero would definitely be able to go a long way.

Despite having such thoughts in his heart, Reynold naturally would not say that with his personality. He then coughed dryly and said, “Stop doing your work and pack up your things. The Army Commander wants to take you to the Central Galaxy.”

Nero’s eyes immediately sparkled with excitement.

“Godfather is going to bring me out to play! Hahaha… I finally don’t have to do homework!”

Nero then threw his pen down and was agitated to the point he almost teared up.

Godfather still dotes on me!

The tiny bit of resentment in his heart disappeared, and he almost wanted to jump for joy to praise his godfather.

“Pack your things quickly. We will be setting off very soon.”

Nero’s actions froze in place, and he turned around slowly. “Wait… we?”

“The Army Commander wants me to follow along to guide your learning,” Reynold said expressionlessly.

Nero’s face froze in place.

…

Han Xiao and the others then gathered at his private dock. Feidin was the first to arrive, and they chatted for a while before Reynold and Nero arrived.

Nero carried a small bag with a dispirited look.

“Everyone’s here. Let’s set off.”

Han Xiao led everyone onto the spaceship and got Phillip to activate the autopilot mode.

The spaceship then flew into space and entered hyperdrive.

He had gone to the Central Galaxy the previous year and was already familiar with the journey.

After flying for a period of time, they arrived at the army stargate and skipped past many Star Fields to arrive at the Crimson Ring Star System. Under the guidance of the army, they then weaved through the Psionic Seal Ring and arrived at Planet Crimson Ring.

“This is the capital of the Crimson Dynasty…” Reynold looked at the various mechanical structures around him and murmured in awe.

“How magnificent.” Nero looked out of the window. This was far more spectacular than his home planet, Planet Aquamarine.

As their spaceship landed, there was already a dynasty’s emissary waiting for them at the dock. Bowing to Han Xiao respectfully, the emissary led the group into Tarunamir Palace.

This was the legendary capital of a Universal Civilization. Nero was extremely curious about everything, and if not for his godfather, he would never have been able to visit this place in his lifetime.

The emissary then said with a smile, “Your Excellency Black Star, we will be in charge of all of your daily needs. Please find me if you need anything.”

“Hmm, then why not take them to explore this place? The mother planet of the dynasty is very big, and you can show them all the fun places,” Han Xiao said.

“Godfather, aren’t you going to come along with us?”

“I still have something else to do and have to meet the Dynasty Ruler.”

Han Xiao waved his hands and headed toward the core political building where Urranrell was. He had already reported his arrival, and Urranrell was waiting to see him.

Han Xiao arrived outside the office of the Ruler quickly.

The secretary knocked on the door, and Urranrell’s voice could be heard from the inside.

“Please enter.”

The door opened, and Han Xiao walked in.

This was the second time that he had seen the Ruler, and just like the first time, only the two of them were in the room.

“Black Star, you’re here. Please take a seat,” Urranrell said.

Han Xiao nodded, and just as he sat down, Urranrell continued speaking.

“You rendered huge merits during the battle at Planet Lighthouse. Good job.”

Urranrell had only praised him through long-distance communication previously and would naturally have to give a personal praise to Han Xiao now that they had met each other.

“I only did something small,” Han Xiao replied.

“You’re too humble. The dynasty will always reward those with merit, and you should already know that we will increase our support to you in terms of resources and give you some benefits when assigning the territories for the Flickering World.”

Urranrell then paused for a while before slowly saying, “I can give you a heads up. After the end of the first developmental phase, we will set up various basic facilities in the different Star Clusters and assign some territories to our allied organizations. You can give some suggestions on the topic of territory assignment, and we will consider your suggestions seriously.”

Han Xiao raised his brows. This was akin to letting him pick the first territory. It probably was not only for his merits but also to rope him in.

The development of a new Star Field was a long-term plan, and the dynasty was not anxious. After the exploration would be development. They would have to first develop the various regions that they had explored before expanding out into the other Star Clusters. At that time, the various allies would surely receive more than one piece of territory.

This was good for Han Xiao. He would be able to gain a territory after the first phase was over and could officially develop his Mechanical Life civilization and shift the Black Spirit Race over.

He would have a lot more freedom in his own territory compared to in the Shattered Star Ring and would not have to share a region with the other Star System Civilizations.

“I’m looking forward to it.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Hmm, let’s talk about some proper matters. The dynasty has summoned you this time for two matters. First, the dynasty promised the Arcane Church to help them unseal one of the Beyond Grade As, and we need your help.”

Han Xiao nodded to indicate his agreement.

“The second matter is to surround EsGod. It is also related to the first matter. The Arcane Church will only agree to join in the battle if you unseal one seal.”

Han Xiao was slightly shocked upon hearing that.

The Arcane Church was also dragged into it?

He did not receive news of this beforehand and was a little surprised.

“Isn’t it only the Federation of Light? The Arcane Church is…”

“This is my intention. Since you pulled the Federation of Light into this, I called the Arcane Church along, and they are willing to help us.”

This was an unexpected surprise. With the Arcane Church joining, the three Universal Civilizations were working together, so they would have a greater chance of getting rid of EsGod!

Han Xiao pretended to ponder for a moment before saying with a smile, “We were the only ones involved originally, but with the three Universal Civilizations working together, we can save a lot of effort.”

“This isn’t the only reason. It is also because of you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, the dynasty can feel your murderous intent toward EsGod, and we chose to do so to fulfill your wish.”

Han Xiao was truly overwhelmed with grace.

This meant that his suggestion had influenced the decision of the dynasty!

“You are an important ally of the dynasty, and we will naturally respect your thoughts.” Urranrell paused for a moment before continuing. “We shall end the conversation here today. I still have some things to take care of, and the Arcane Church fleet has not arrived yet. Remain on Planet Crimson Ring for a while, and we will inform you of the exact time of the operation.”

“Okay.”

Han Xiao could tell that the other party was inviting him to leave.

It seems like the Dynasty Ruler is truly busy.

Han Xiao then stood up and took his leave.

Hearing the door behind him close, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief and was truly excited.

The Crimson Dynasty originally only planned to put up a show to deal with EsGod, but he caused the three Universal Civilizations to work together!

This situation was because of his suggestion, and the outcome was better than he had imagined!

His resolution to get rid of EsGod was recognized by the dynasty, and there was also the effect of the Political Asset.

The influence that he had accumulated over the years was finally effective!

“It’s payback time.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

Chapter 887: Troops Established

Chapter 887 Troops Established

Leaving the government building, Han Xiao’s communicator rang. It was Milizaus who called him.

“Black Star, are you on Planet Crimson Ring already?” Milizaus chuckled.

“Yes, are you here too? I didn’t see you around.”

“I haven’t arrived yet. We are having a long-distance gathering. Come online for a while.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao entered the quantum network and found an encrypted channel.

The next moment, his projection appeared in a huge room with a round table in front of him and plenty of seats around. His own projection was currently in one of the seats. Most of the seats were filled with only four empty ones at the moment.

Han Xiao then looked around and realized that everyone present was an ally of the dynasty. It was like a Beyond Grade A group chat for the Crimson Dynasty.

Without anybody organizing a meeting, the ‘group chat’ would usually be silent with no one online. Currently, most of the Beyond Grade As were online, and many familiar faces were present. That included ‘Dragon King’ Milizaus, ‘Incineration’ Beyoni, ‘Warship Emperor’ Maximiler, ‘Fox Arts’ Ravenlaude, ‘Star Slasher’ Viru, and Little Ty-Ty. ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti and another of the three pillars were not online.

“Haha, Black Star is here.” Beyoni was the most welcoming, and he looked very happy.

Everyone then looked at Han Xiao and greeted him. The two who fought with him on Planet Lighthouse were the friendliest. Maximiler was also pretty friendly. Ravenlaude and Heber greeted him calmly, and the others had a trace of respect in their voices.

After the battle on Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao had gained the battle record of capturing a Beyond Grade A alive, which cemented his status in the Beyond Grade A group.

Although Han Xiao had only entered the Beyond Grade A realm not too long ago, he had already gained the respect of his comrades and was officially accepted into the group. He was now at the middle rungs of the group and had an even greater status than some ordinary Beyond Grade As. At the very least, there would not be anyone who intentionally provoked him anymore.

Fists reigned supreme after all, and the Beyond Grade As only respected strength.

Facing the friendly looks on the faces of his comrades, Han Xiao replied to all of them warmly.

After which, the organizer of this meeting, Milizaus, started the meeting.

“The other four aren’t coming, and there isn’t a need to consider them. Let’s begin our discussion. Everyone knows that the dynasty plans to send out at least three Beyond Grade As to kill EsGod and has prepared a name list. However, they would like to ask us if we are willing first. There isn’t a need to talk about Black Star since he is resolute about killing EsGod. I also plan to help him. Is anyone else interested?”

A Universal Civilization could not easily order a Beyond Grade A around and would generally consider if the Beyond Grade A Super was willing to participate in the operation.

Everyone then fell into deep thought while glancing at Han Xiao once in a while.

Han Xiao looked around and felt Milizaus looking at him. He immediately understood Milizaus’ intentions.

Milizaus had heard from the dynasty about Han Xiao’s intention to kill EsGod and thus summoned most of the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As. In fact, he was trying to find partners for Han Xiao and give Han Xiao a chance to choose his teammates.

Right at this moment, Beyoni shrugged his shoulders and said, “Black Star, you were around when we last fought EsGod. It isn’t that I don’t wish to help you, but I am also an Esper, and EsGod’s ability is my nemesis. I shall not take up a slot in this battle.”

Han Xiao nodded in agreement. Indeed, EsGod had the ability to silence Espers and was the nemesis of most Espers. Beyoni was not wrong to say that he would be useless if he went.

However, understanding was one thing, but he still had to show disdain.

Ah, little brother.

I only have a single word for you—noob!

Upon seeing the rest remain silent, Han Xiao said, “The Dynasty Ruler revealed some information to me just now. The dynasty isn’t the only one taking action this time; the Federation of Light and Arcane Church will also be participating. With all three parties working together, they won’t be putting up a show. There is a good chance to get rid of EsGod. I definitely won’t let go of this opportunity, and I will definitely be thankful to anyone who is willing to help me.”

Upon hearing that, the eyes of many lit up. This meant that they would be able to use the Evolution Cube if they helped Black Star get rid of EsGod.

“I will participate.” Ravenlaude was the first to speak.

“Alright, who else?” Milizaus asked calmly.

As an Ancient One, both him and Ravenlaude were not easy to deal with. Although their relationship was not good, he also recognized Ravenlaude’s strength. An ordinary Beyond Grade A was not capable of becoming an Ancient One. Milizaus would naturally be willing to select a few more powerful allies for Black Star.

There was no need to consider the other two pillars. Clotti would keep guard beside Urranrell, and the other one was guarding a Star Field.

Heber was also tempted but could not bring himself to offer help.

Some rejected and others were not too interested. Finally, more than half of the Beyond Grade As present decided to participate in the operation. Together with Han Xiao, there were seven individuals in total.

Milizaus, Maximiler, Ravenlaude, Viru, Kohler, and Lotus Swordsman—these six were his comrades participating in the operation to get rid of EsGod. Kohler was a Pugilist, and Lotus Swordsman was a female Psychic. There was not a single Esper among the group.

“Will seven of us be too many? Will the dynasty agree?” Ravenlaude asked.

“We can help him in our personal capacity if the dynasty doesn’t agree. Can the dynasty object?” Lotus Swordsman said.

The Crimson Dynasty originally planned to send out three to five people, but because Han Xiao had promised to use the Evolution Cube as a reward, the troop had seven individuals, which was out of the dynasty’s expectations.

However, the dynasty did not have any issue with it. After all, it would not be good for them to stop their allies from seeking help personally. Furthermore, it was not a bad thing either.

Han Xiao then sized up this female Psychic. She had long white hair and violet skin. Her appearance looked similar to that of a human, and she was considered beautiful by the standards of the galaxy. She gave out a dreamlike aura and had a unique sense of charisma.

Lotus Swordsman was her name, not a title. Swordsman was her surname, and Lotus was her forename.

She came from a special race called the Rainis Race. The members of this race did not have any gender before the age of fifteen, and their bodies would undergo a special transformation at the age of fifteen. They could become a female or male, and this ceremony would be called the ‘Gender Determination Ceremony’. Once their gender was decided, they would not be able to change it in the future.

As such, the race put heavy emphasis on splitting up the workload evenly. However, because the Gender Determination Ceremony affected one’s life, there were far too many people who chose to become males every year. Even if society increased the benefits and status of females, the birth rate was still falling.

As such, the Rainis Race had a quota of females to fulfill every year to ensure that their race could continue to reproduce. Lotus Swordsman was one of the unlucky candidates to be picked when she was young and forced to become a female.

Despite the Rainis Race producing a Beyond Grade A Super, they did not receive any protection. Lotus Swordsman had long announced that the Rainis Race had nothing to do with her and managed her own organization.

Their other comrade, Kohler, was a Beyond Grade A who had completely submitted to the dynasty. He did not have an organization, and although his strength could not be compared to Heber, he was still a Beyond Grade A.

“I will have to rely on all of you for help,” Han Xiao said sincerely.

After chatting a while longer, Milizaus announced the end of the meeting and informed the dynasty of the outcome.

Han Xiao then left the quantum network and heaved a sigh of relief.

His teammates had already been set. With the dynasty sending out seven people, there would definitely be more than ten Beyond Grade As together with the other two parties. The scale of the battle might reach the same level as the battle on Planet Lighthouse.

But this time, all of them were going to deal with EsGod alone, and EsGod’s situation was far worse than the dynasty’s during the battle on Planet Lighthouse.

Han Xiao clenched his fists in excitement and prepared for battle!

Chapter 888: Future Dynasty Ruler

Chapter 888 Future Dynasty Ruler

The dynasty’s team had been decided. A group of seven Beyond Grade As was an extremely powerful force, and the number had exceeded Han Xiao and the dynasty’s expectations. The dynasty agreed to the list of members of the team and gathered their fleet to prepare for the battle.

Before dealing with EsGod, they had to first complete the trade with the Arcane Church.

The Arcane Church escort fleet was still on the way, and Han Xiao was awaiting his orders on Planet Crimson Ring. He could take the time out to accompany Nero and the others to explore Planet Crimson Ring.

Planet Crimson Ring was extremely large with plenty of floating cities in the sky. There were many sights that were famous in the universe. Furthermore, Planet Crimson Ring was the origin of the Crimson Dynasty Civilization, and many historical locations from a long time ago were retained.

Under the lead of the tour guide, Han Xiao and the others spent this time exploring many different tourist locations.

Han Xiao belonged to the dynasty faction in his previous life and had naturally explored the mother planet of the dynasty before. Because he was familiar with the situation on the planet, he was not too curious and was mainly there to accompany Nero and the others.

Planet Crimson Ring had plenty of rich mission resources, but to the present Han Xiao, the value of these missions was not great. Furthermore, his current status was different, and his every action would be watched by others. As such, it was impossible for him to become an errand boy for someone else.

Most importantly, there were many familiar missions and characters that had not appeared at this time yet.

Today, their group arrived at the Saint Palace Museum of the dynasty.

This museum was the largest one in the Crimson Dynasty and had objects from every historical period during the development of the Crimson Dynasty.

The Saint Palace Museum was a large garden with dozens of different palaces. The palaces all had different styles to represent the different time period of the dynasty.

The advantage of having the dynasty’s tour guide beside them was that they did not need to queue up or buy an entrance ticket. Han Xiao led Feidin, Reynold, and Reynold to skip the long queue and entered the museum through a special entrance.

Their special privilege drew the attention of those queuing up, and everyone began whispering to each other.

“That seems to be Black Star from the Shattered Star Ring. I saw him on the news before.”

“To think that we’d be able to meet such a bigshot. How lucky.”

“Quick, take a picture!”

These tourists were all extremely excited and took out their cameras to take pictures. A Beyond Grade A Super was an individual who truly held great authority and was completely different from these ordinary galactic residents. Now that they had met Han Xiao, it was like meeting a famous celebrity on the streets.

These tourists came from many different races and civilizations. The Psionic Seal Ring was there to protect the mother planet but not to seal off the mother planet. At the very least, they would not do so during this generation. It was just that every visitor had to go through stringent checks and could only spend a limited time on the planet.

Every year, Planet Crimson Ring would welcome a huge number of tourists to support the local tourist industry. The dynasty was not interested in that little bit of money but in increasing the influence of the dynasty’s culture through tourism.

Han Xiao and the others walked into the museum and entered the main palace under the tour guide’s lead.

Compared to the bustle on the outside, the palace was extremely silent and had a solemn atmosphere.

The main palace described the development direction of the Crimson Dynasty, and everyone listened to the explanation of the tour guide as they looked through the various objects being displayed.

Nero was filled with curiosity toward the dynasty’s history and looked through the introduction of every item. Feidin followed behind Nero and was also pretty interested in the items being displayed. Reynold’s attention was mainly focused on the various ancient machines being displayed. Although these machines were considered outdated compared to the current technology, Reynold was still more interested in these items than the others.

Han Xiao walked the fastest and arrived in front of ten gigantic black stone slabs. The height of the ten stone slabs almost reached the ceiling of the palace, and the history of the Crimson Dynasty was written down from the beginning to now. The development of the Crimson Dynasty had not always been smooth.

The Crimson Dynasty was also once weak and had been through many struggles such as civil war and revolutionary attempts.

The advancement of their genes brought about risk of mutation. The advancement of the machines and artificial intelligence risked the betrayal of the intelligent machines. The use of heavy machines brought about changes to the environment… As their technological skills advanced, the civilization also met many different forks in the road.

There were plenty of other dangers such as the various wormholes, pandemics, exploration wars, and so on. Through the many tribulations that the Crimson Dynasty had experienced, they finally developed their iron-blooded character.

They grew from a weak civilization into one of the rulers in the universe. They had been through plenty of tribulations throughout this period, and the ten stone slabs recorded the price that they had to pay to get there.

In front of the history of an entire civilization, everyone seemed extremely small.

Just when Han Xiao fell into a daze while looking at the stone slabs, an old voice sounded beside him.

“I’m always in awe whenever I see these stone slabs.”

Han Xiao turned around and saw an old man wearing the uniform of the museum. He had a compassionate look in his eyes with his back straight as though he was a soldier.

“That’s right. Every civilization capable of reaching the universe level deserves to be respected,” Han Xiao replied.

The old man then nodded and turned around to look at Han Xiao. With a smile, he said, “Let me introduce myself. I am the vice manager of the Saint Palace museum, Karl Fleur Wishandi. Hello, Your Excellency Black Star.”

“Hello.” Han Xiao also nodded, but his heart began thumping.

Karl Fleur Wishandi? This name sounds so familiar…

Usually, the names that he found familiar would be the famous characters from his previous life. Han Xiao immediately began searching through his database while talking to the vice manager.

Karl was a healthy old man who did not seem too concerned about Han Xiao’s status and talked to Han Xiao on equal grounds.

“I have always been interested in the history of the dynasty and have guarded the museum for many years. I enjoy protecting the items in this place.” Karl stroked the stone slab in front of him and lamented.

Han Xiao glanced at the ‘Do Not Touch’ sign by the side and decided to ignore the vice manager breaking the rules.

“Vice Manager Karl, did you use to be a soldier?”

“That’s right. I served in the Seventh Reconnaissance Corps of the dynasty when I was young and joined in twenty-three battles. I was then transferred to become a long-distance commander before landing an admin job. I served in the army for more than half my life and applied to retire. Then, I became the vice manager of the museum.”

Rather than saying that he was explaining his origins to Han Xiao, it was more like he was talking to himself and reminiscing about the past.

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao’s eyes lit up, and he finally remembered who the person beside him was!

More accurately, the retired soldier beside him was not a famous NPC, but his descendant was famous throughout the universe.

Karl’s surname was ‘Fleur Wishandi’, and one of the future Rulers of the Crimson Dynasty had such a surname!

It was very likely that the future Ruler of the dynasty was the descendant of this old man before him!

It could be said that he had met a large fish this time!

Han Xiao then turned around to look at Nero and Feidin slowly.

They are truly terrifying…

Of course, according to the time, that Dynasty Ruler might not have been born yet. However, there was still value in befriending him, and it could be said that the value was even higher.

Han Xiao then said with a smile, “I joined the dynasty recently, and I am also very curious about the dynasty’s history. I wonder if you will be interested in giving me an introduction?”

“It would be my honor to introduce the dynasty’s history to a Beyond Grade A ally.” Karl laughed heartily.

As a retired soldier of the older generation, he was very willing to narrate the dynasty’s history to others.

For the entire day, Karl snatched the job of the tour guide and accompanied Han Xiao and the others to view the other palaces.

Since Han Xiao intended to befriend the other party, both of them chatted merrily for the entire day and agreed to continue the next day.

For the next two days, Han Xiao followed Karl to explore the Saint Palace Museum and finally finished viewing all the palaces at night.

Han Xiao then invited Karl to go out for a meal, but Karl did not accept the invitation. Instead, he invited Han Xiao to be a guest at his place and said that he would personally cook.

At the appointed date, Han Xiao and the others headed toward Karl’s residence.

As a retired, high-ranking officer, Karl received special treatment from the government and had a small villa on the mother planet of the dynasty. It was not too far from Tarunamir Palace and was pretty convenient to reach.

Han Xiao and the others arrived in front of the villa, and Nero knocked on the door.

Everyone waited for a while, and a middle-aged man pushed open the door.

“Hello, Your Excellency Black Star, please come in,” the middle-aged man said with a face of excitement and respect.

This middle-aged man was Karl’s eldest son and was working for the Crimson Dynasty. With his father’s connections, he had climbed to the middle rungs but was still nothing much before Han Xiao.

Knowing that his father had befriended a Beyond Grade A Super, he was extremely excited and made plenty of preparations for the gathering that night.

Walking into the hall, Karl’s head appeared from the kitchen, and he said, “Your Excellency Black Star, please sit for a while. The dishes will be served in a while.”

“Don’t worry, take your time. We have plenty of time.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

They then sat down on the couch in the living room. Karl had another two children, with the middle child being a daughter and the youngest child being a son. The former was an entrepreneur who managed a galactic travel agency, and the latter was a sculptor. Both of them were extremely respectful and looked extremely nervous.

Looking around at the decorations of the room, Han Xiao saw the picture of a lady being hung on the wall. She should be Karl’s late wife.

Karl had three children, and Han Xiao did not know which branch the future Dynasty Ruler came from. It was not that he could not remember but that he did not study the matter in such great detail in his previous life. However, according to the occupations of the three children, it should probably be the descendant of the eldest son.

Karl’s eldest son intended to befriend him with a fawning tone in his voice. As for Karl’s other two children, they did not dare speak up much.

Han Xiao chatted casually with Karl’s eldest son for a while before Karl walked out of the kitchen with the dishes and called for everyone to come and eat.

The dishes were all common household dishes from the Crimson Dynasty and were all very tasty. Nero ate to his heart’s content, and Karl’s eldest son snatched Feidin’s job to help serve Nero food.

After the meal, Karl’s daughter and youngest son took the initiative to clear up, and the others returned to the living room. It could be seen just how happy Karl was today, and he was truly full of smiles.

“Your Excellency Black Star still has the greatest face. These three little b*stards, always complaining that they are busy every day and do not have the time to meet me. But the moment you arrived, they all ran over obediently. Especially this little brat, he is even more passionate than this old man.”

Karl chuckled.

“Cough cough.” Karl’s eldest son coughed awkwardly.

Han Xiao then chuckled and asked Karl’s eldest son, “What is your position in the Crimson Dynasty?”

Karl’s eldest son immediately lit up and described his post.

“Oh, it isn’t too bad for you to be able to sit on such a post.” Han Xiao stroked his chin and added, “You can always find me if you need any help in the future. Give me your number.”

“That’s great! Thank you, Your Excellency Black Star!” Karl’s eldest son was overjoyed.

He was so passionate about hosting Han Xiao so that he could receive Black Star’s protection. His political sense was not too poor, and Black Star’s status was extremely high. Together with the fact that the Dynasty Ruler paid close attention to Black Star, Black Star’s protection would result in a positive impact for his career.

Furthermore, with Black Star’s age, he would be able to protect the Crimson Dynasty for a long time and would definitely have a higher status in the future.

Karl did not like his eldest son’s style and felt as though his eldest son made his friendship with Black Star become complicated. However, he would not stop his eldest son’s opportunity and could only pretend that he did not see anything.

“Right, I also brought a gift for you.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Sigh, a gift isn’t necessary.” Karl waved his arms.

“How could that do? I can’t possibly come empty handed.”

Han Xiao then snapped his fingers, and ten compressed orbs landed on the table.

“I personally made these mechanical guards. They are equipped with a transmitter to send a signal to me. You can press this button when you meet danger, and I will know that you guys are in danger. I will then be able to send my Mechanical Force through the void dimension to activate these mechanical guards and protect all of you. The mechanical guards that are boosted by my Mechanical Force should be able to deal with Calamity Grade dangers.”

“Wouldn’t this be too precious?” Karl hesitated.

Han Xiao laughed upon hearing that and said, “Hahaha, I am a Mechanic.”

“Alright then, I shall thank you for your gift.” Karl then accepted the ten compressed orbs.

He was already old, and even if he did not care about his own safety, he had to consider his future generations.

The mechanical guards of a Beyond Grade A had enormous value. Black Star’s life span was very long, and as long as Black Star remained alive, these ten compressed orbs would be like a family heirloom!

After giving out the gift, both parties were much closer than before. After chatting a while longer, Han Xiao took his leave.

Upon leaving Karl’s villa, Han Xiao’s mouth curled up slightly in a smile.

He had befriended the ancestors of a future Dynasty Ruler. If he really became the senior of a future Dynasty Ruler, things would be interesting.

This small investment had a chance of bringing him huge returns, and there was no reason for him not to make such an investment.

Thinking about it, Han Xiao stroked Nero’s head.

Nero enjoyed the feeling of Han Xiao patting him on the head, and he looked at Han Xiao.

“You are really my little star of fortune.” Han Xiao chuckled.

Nero blinked, and although he did not understand what Han Xiao meant, he could tell that Han Xiao was in a good mood. Thus, he made use of this opportunity to ask, “Then, can my homework be reduced?”

“Sure. In your dreams.”

Nero then shook his head to shake Han Xiao’s hand off and placed his bag above his head to prevent Han Xiao from patting him.

…

Han Xiao spent the following days casually in this manner, taking Nero and the others out to tourist hotspots while farming favorability with Karl’s family. After some time, the dynasty finally sent him some news.

The Arcane Church’s troops had arrived at the transaction location, and he could set off.

Han Xiao left Nero and the others on the dynasty’s mother planet and followed the dynasty’s fleet on his own.

Chapter 889: EsGod’s Preparation

Chapter 889 EsGod“s Preparation

Region 1749-C was the border between the Constellation Corridor and Silver Arm, and the Crimson Dynasty and Arcane Church had a large number of troops stationed there.

It only took Han Xiao a few days to arrive at the borders with the various stargates of the dynasty. This was the transaction location for the dynasty and Arcane Church.

Their battleship stopped beside the outpost, and Han Xiao’s spaceship received a message from the outpost commander.

“Your Excellency Black Star, the Arcane Church escort fleet has arrived. They are waiting to complete the transaction with us. The location of the transaction is on an uninhabited planet between the two borders. His Excellency Milizaus and the outpost fleet will escort you to the destination.”

“Milizaus is also here?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Just when he asked that question, the old dragon’s voice sounded in the channel.

“I arrived a long time ago and have waited here for a long time already. The dynasty only wanted me to come as a precautionary measure. Although the odds of anything going wrong are slim, we cannot ignore the possibility that the other party may want to snatch the Spacetime Amber.”

“Hmm, alright.” Han Xiao nodded. “Commander, we can set off now.”

A fleet of heavy-armored battleships flew out from the outpost, and Milizaus’ gigantic body followed beside them.

The fleet did not enter hyperdrive but relied on their thrusters only. After flying for a short while, an uninhabited planet appeared in their sights.

The Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty’s fleet had already arrived on the planet, and both parties were currently in a standoff outside the atmosphere. In the middle of the standoff was an Arcane Church escort fleet with the sealed Dylan being placed on the ground.

The dynasty had agreed to unseal Dylan. The weakest individual would usually receive special treatment from the enemy.

Han Xiao first scanned the situation on the planet and confirmed that there was no trap.

However, he had been caught off guard by the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device in the battle on Planet Lighthouse. Thus, he did not lower his guard.

“We have arrived. Your Excellency Black Star, let’s go.” In the bridge of the flagship, the dynasty emissary invited Han Xiao to set off with him.

Han Xiao nodded and left the spaceship.

The surface of the red planet got closer and closer to him.

Han Xiao landed on the ground and stepped on the sandy surface.

Walking in front of the Arcane Church squad, he looked at Dylan, who was trapped in the amber.

The dynasty emissary then talked to the Arcane Church emissary for a while before nodding to Han Xiao.

“Your Excellency Black Star, please release the seal.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao stepped forward and stood in front of Dylan. He then turned around to look at the Arcane Church escort squad.

Great Mechanic Han then raised his brows and stomped on the ground lightly.

The next moment, the ground transformed into nano alloys, and a large metal wall was erected from the ground to ensure that no one would be able to see what was going on in the region.

Black Star obviously did not want to show others his method to unseal the seal. Everyone could only wait silently with disappointment.

After a full ten minutes, the alloy wall collapsed and returned to Han Xiao’s palms. Dylan’s seal had already disappeared, and he collapsed onto the ground with a look of fear in his eyes.

“Your Excellency Dylan, are you alright?” The Arcane Church escort squad immediately went to support him.

“I’m alright.”

Dylan snapped back into his senses and stood up on his own while glaring at Han Xiao with enmity, anger, and fear.

“How have you been over the past few months?” Han Xiao squinted and chucked.

Dylan trembled and subconsciously took a step back.

His body had been sealed by the Spacetime Amber, but his thoughts had not been. He could clearly feel his body but was unable to control it. Such a feeling was unbearable as though he was possessed by a ghost. During the period when he was sealed, Dylan felt like every day was a year and had almost gone mad.

If not for the mental strength and will of a Beyond Grade A being extremely powerful, he felt that he might have truly been driven insane.

Although a few months of captivity was not enough to wipe out his consciousness, Dylan could feel his soul becoming weaker. If he continued to remain trapped, it was very likely that his soul would have been wiped out!

Such a possibility made Dylan tremble in fear.

It was not only capable of trapping his body but also capable of wiping out his consciousness. Even a Beyond Grade A was unable to resist it. The terrifying might of the Spacetime Amber truly made him tremble, and he never wanted to experience it again.

Han Xiao then looked around and suddenly said, “The seal has been undone. Where is your ambush? It’s time for them to come out.”

He had always felt that the Arcane Church would arrange for their troops in the nearby region, and these troops would appear right after the transaction was completed.

“We don’t have an ambush,” the Arcane Church emissary replied.

“Really? I thought that you guys would try and deal with me. This time, not only will you be able to snatch the Evolution Cube, you guys will also be able to get the Spacetime Amber. I never thought that there really wouldn’t be an ambush around…” Han Xiao shook his head and chuckled. “It seems like you guys are really scared of me.”

The face of the Arcane Church emissary turned frosty.

Black Star had already used his strength to prove himself. In consideration for the other allies that were still sealed, they did not intend to take any risks. Furthermore, they were located at the border between both the civilizations, and the dynasty still had their guard up. It would be impossible for them to prepare an ambush.

Of course, aside from all these excuses, the truth was that they were truly afraid.

It was because Han Xiao said the truth that his words stabbed right into their hearts.

The Arcane Church emissary gritted his teeth and replied, “Since our transaction is complete, we shall take our leave. I hope that we will be able to complete similar transactions in the future.”

Han Xiao then stroked his chin and said, “Are you just going to leave like that, Dylan? Do you want to stay behind and catch up with me?”

The Arcane Church emissary immediately became wary and asked, “Your Excellency Black Star, what do you want to do?”

The transaction location was located at the border because both parties were wary of each other. The dynasty was afraid that the Arcane Church might launch another ambush, and the Arcane Church was afraid that the dynasty would go back on their word and capture Dylan again. With both parties wary of each other, it was extremely easy for the Arcane Church to misunderstand Han Xiao’s words.

“Why are you so nervous? Are you afraid that I will snatch him back?” Han Xiao smirked.

The Arcane Church emissary remained silent and did not respond.

Dylan then gritted his teeth and replied, “I will pay a visit to the Black Star Army in the future if there is a chance!”

“Then I hope that you will come with good will.” Han Xiao raised his brows. “If not, history will probably repeat itself.”

Upon hearing that, Dylan shrunk back and did not say another word.

A few rays of light then landed on Dylan and the others, sucking them back into the battleship.

Han Xiao looked at Dylan ascending into the sky and the Arcane Church fleet leaving the planet.

“The transaction is complete. Let’s return.”

Han Xiao patted the emissary on the shoulders with a teasing look on his face.

The Arcane Church would definitely ask Dylan about how he felt when he was sealed. Dylan would cooperate, and the Arcane Church would know that the seal could cause the death of one’s consciousness.

The Arcane Church originally was not clear that being sealed by the Spacetime Amber had a risk of death, and after receiving the report from Dylan, they would be anxious to release the seals on the others.

This way, they would be at a disadvantage in their negotiations with the dynasty. In order to save time, they would have to accept some more ridiculous terms from the dynasty.

Their outcome could only be described with a single word—pitiful.

“Heh, I extorted a great deal out of them again.” Han Xiao chuckled.

The happiness of an individual was usually built upon the suffering of others.

The transaction went smoothly, and Han Xiao followed the fleet back to the border outpost. He then received news from the upper echelons that the Arcane Church would send their Beyond Grade A combatants to participate in the operation to kill EsGod.

The allies who agreed to participate in the operation were already headed to the gathering point before heading over to Primeval Star River together.

Milizaus then came over to Han Xiao. “Black Star, I am preparing to head over to the gathering point. Do you have anything else to do?”

“I also planned to go now.”

“Alright, then let’s go together. My injuries from the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter haven’t healed yet. Do you still have that medicine?”

“Oh, I still have the medicine, but… you should understand the meaning of equal exchange, right?”

“Speak, how much dragon’s blood do you want? Do you want mine?”

“Cough cough. Let’s talk along the way.” Han Xiao’s mouth cramped up.

Indeed, as long as an individual broke their bottom line once, there would be a second time.

Milizaus originally refused to give Han Xiao his own blood, but after seeing Han Xiao gather quite a bit of his blood, he decided to just give up entirely. Since the other party already had his blood, a little more would not make a difference.

They did not remain at the border any longer and set off together.

The security in the dynasty was pretty good, and apart from Milizaus being a little anemic, they did not face any problems along the way. They were the first to reach the gathering point and waited for their allies to join them.

…

At the same time, in a desolate universe belt of the Primeval Star River, the Fallen Ark floated above a Fixed Star with its energy shield blocking out the powerful radiation.

In the command room of the flagship, Fakisen looked out of the window at a spot on the surface of the Fixed Star, which was where EsGod had landed. A whirlpool-like energy spiral could be seen with EsGod at the center.

The energy of a Fixed Star was far too blinding, and even with his Calamity Grade senses, he was unable to see EsGod’s figure clearly. The large energy whirlpool disrupted all the radars on board the spaceship, and the target region was covered with EsGod’s Esper Ability. No one was able to see what EsGod was doing on the Fixed Star.

“His Excellency EsGod has made us wait here for two days already. Just what is he doing?” a member of the spaceship asked impatiently.

“I don’t know,” Fakisen replied.

Two days ago, EsGod got them to await orders outside of this Fixed Star while he landed on the Fixed Star and absorbed energy like a bottomless pit.

At this moment, EsGod had his arms stretched out wide as he absorbed the endless energy of the Fixed Star.

He had an Esper Ability that could absorb the energy of the outside world called ‘Black Hole’. He had once displayed this ability when fighting Han Xiao.

As the energy was absorbed into his body, a black fog-like figure separated from EsGod’s body and transformed into a black crystal-like item that floated beside EsGod.

This black sphere was a doppelganger created by EsGod from absorbing the crazy amount of energy.

The more powerful an individual, the greater the effects of the Evolution Cube. EsGod’s strength received a huge boost, but he could clearly feel that his own body had not been completely transformed. It was as though the evolution energy had sunk into his cells and was like a treasure being sealed in a box.

EsGod did not have an interface and did not know that this was the additional Race Evolution opportunity that he had obtained by using the Evolution Cube. He would only be able to trigger it with a Promotion.

But if he was able to complete this promotion, he would experience a qualitative transformation!

However, the Evolution Cube did not have the ability to increase an individual’s level, and thus, EsGod did not receive this energy at the moment.

Although the evolution ability did not allow EsGod to promote, it released some of the restrictions on EsGod’s body.

For example, gene load!

Because of the conflict between genes, EsGod’s body was not able to contain too many different abilities at the same time. His doppelganger was able to make up for this shortcoming and store certain Esper Abilities, but his main body could not make use of these abilities.

However, there was an obvious disadvantage to this method. The doppelganger created by EsGod was not without any burdens because maintaining the doppelganger required the activation of an Esper Ability.

If EsGod was like a computer, every Esper Ability would be like a program. The upper limit of his main body would be like his RAM, and maintaining a doppelganger was like running a program in the background. It would constantly take up his RAM.

The more powerful his doppelganger and the more doppelgangers he had at the same time, the more RAM it would require.

He needed his RAM to have extra space for him to use other Esper Abilities.

Thus, EsGod would not use his doppelgangers during a head on battle mainly because of this reason. The presence of his doppelgangers would reduce the combat capabilities of his main body.

However, the Evolution Cube had changed this.

Simply put, it increased his RAM and simplified his programs.

The upper limit of his main body was increased, and the load of every Esper Ability was reduced. This meant that he would be able to use more Esper Abilities at the same time.

This strengthened EsGod’s abilities to a large extent!

As such, EsGod was now capable of supporting more Beyond Grade A doppelgangers.

The change in quantity resulted in a change in quality!

It could be said that the improvement from the Evolution Cube changed EsGod’s combat strategy!

EsGod was currently sucking up energy from the Fixed Star so that he could create a large number of doppelgangers and prepare for the enemy’s revenge!

Since he had frustrated the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty, it would only be a matter of time before both of them attempted to surround him. Since both parties seemed like they were about to take action, he naturally made his own preparations.

EsGod treasured his life a lot as he would only be able to fulfil his wishes if he remained alive. However, he was not afraid of danger either as he would only be able to become stronger by fighting.

The attack of a Universal Civilization would definitely be a good opportunity for him to test his strength. He would only be able to understand his own strength after fighting with other Beyond Grade As.

The attack this time was also an opportunity to him even though the meaning was slightly different.

This was his first battle after his evolution!

EsGod was truly excited in his heart.

He would only know just how strong he had become after testing his strength out.

Chapter 890: Mission Triggered

Chapter 890 Mission Triggered

The gathering point for the dynasty’s troops was in a military region. This was a key Inter-Star Field Stargate relay point, and the stargate being guarded by the military would lead them directly to the Primeval Star River.

The military stargates of the three Universal Civilizations led to many different regions. With the Central Galaxy as the middle, they had stargates that could reach all the various Star Fields. This was the foundation of protecting their status as the ruler of the universe.

After waiting for a few days, the other few dynasty allies participating in the mission also arrived. After the seven of them were gathered, they boarded the main flagship for their expedition.

In the command room, the seven of them gathered together and greeted each other.

Since they were going to work together, it was important for them to know each other.

During his first trip to the dynasty’s mother planet, Kohler was also present, so they had met before. Lotus Swordsman was the only dynasty ally that he was meeting for the first time.

“Your Excellency Black Star,” Lotus Swordsman said with a calm expression.

“Hello. This is the first time we are meeting, right?” Han Xiao replied politely and stretched out his hand.

Lotus Swordsman then looked at Han Xiao’s palms and hesitated for a moment. She then shook her head and said, “I don’t like others touching my body. I’m sorry.”

“I understand.” Han Xiao was not too bothered and retracted his arm. There were many Beyond Grade As with their own habits, and he would respect the other party.

Right at this moment, Milizaus’ magical doppelganger walked over and patted Han Xiao on the shoulder. “Her Excellency Lotus will be our sharpest sword. Her Psychic abilities are very unique and have a strong penetrative ability.”

“It isn’t that exaggerated,” Lotus Swordsman said. “EsGod also has abilities to protect his soul.”

“Compared to his other abilities, his soul can be considered a weakness.”

Han Xiao nodded upon hearing that. He had fought EsGod three times in total, and together with the information from his previous life, he had a pretty good understanding of EsGod’s abilities.

EsGod’s most frightening advantage was his ability to collect various Esper Abilities, which allowed him to have almost no weaknesses.

He had high mobility abilities such as ‘Dimension Crack’ and ‘Instantaneous Movement’. He also had abilities like ‘Strengthened Self Recovery’ and ‘Black Hole’ to increase his safety. On top of that, he had various powerful attacks, control techniques, defense techniques, and mental attacks. Compared to his physical defense, EsGod’s soul was not as powerful. As such, it would be the most effective to launch a soul attack.

Everyone chatted for a while, and the commander of the flagship walked in. He gave a military salute to the seven Beyond Grade As and said with a deep voice, “The fleet has completed its preparations, and we shall head to the Primeval Star River if there isn’t a problem.”

As one of the three pillars in the dynasty, Milizaus had the highest status in the team. He looked around, and upon seeing that no one had any objections, he nodded.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

The commander then walked forward to the control panel and gave a strict order. “The EsGod encirclement mission shall officially commence. All forces set off!”

The dynasty fleet began moving toward the stargate.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao’s expression changed slightly.

The instant the commander announced the commencement of the mission, two notifications popped up on his interface!

The first mission that he triggered was [The Battle of the Empire: The Fallen Ark (Repeatable)]. This was a faction mission that Han Xiao had completed before.

The mission objectives required him to kill different numbers and types of Fallen Ark members with the highest reward being for him to deal with EsGod.

He would be able to obtain a certain amount of experience and Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points if he reduced EsGod’s health by a certain amount. Furthermore, he would obtain an EsGod Character Summon Card if he was able to kill EsGod’s doppelganger.

The second mission was called [Archenemy of the Three Universal Civilizations].

_____________________

Archenemy of the Three Universal Civilizations

Mission Introduction: Chaos breeds order, and order gives rise to chaos. Chaos and order were extreme opposites while also different sides to the same coin. The three Universal Civilizations have explored the universe and are the manifestation of order. EsGod, on the other hand, is the representative of chaos and violence. In his unscrupulous pursuit for strength, he was bestowed with the titles ‘Butcher of Life’, ‘Guide of the Crazy Believer’, and so on. All the ferocious individuals in the universe have gathered under him, and he spreads fear everywhere. The three Universal Civilizations are extremely eager to get rid of this tumor and have chosen to work together to achieve this objective. You have been chosen to participate in this glorious mission.

Mission Requirements: Follow the three Universal Civilizations to deal with EsGod.

Reward: Rewards will be given according to the damage dealt to EsGod—both his main body and doppelgangers will be included—as a percentage. You will be entitled to a Random Reward if you reach 20%, [Character Summon Card: EsGod] if you reach 75%, and if your damage exceeds 100% of EsGod’s health, it will be counted as 100%.

Additional Mission Requirements: Work together with the three Universal Civilizations and capture or kill EsGod.

Additional Reward: Randomly select three of EsGod’s abilities. You will be able to select his skill or talent every time, and you can choose to split it into three draws or draw them in one go.

_____________________

“The mission has been assigned.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Indeed, for a large event such as the three Universal Civilizations encircling EsGod, there would definitely be a mission.

He had already done the first mission before and did not pay much attention to it. The second mission was the main point, which seemed to have been triggered by the three Universal Civilizations working together.

It could be said that their cooperation was a result of his actions, and thus, he was the one who created this mission.

EsGod had a body full of treasures, and drawing his abilities would definitely give Han Xiao great rewards. Furthermore, the Random Reward this time was slightly different.

In the past, he would not be able to select the type of reward being drawn and would draw both skills and talents. This time, he was able to designate the type of ability being drawn, and the number of abilities had also increased. On top of that, he was also able to split it up into three different draws, which meant that he could increase the options from five to fifteen, thus increasing his possibilities.

However, the more plentiful the reward, the harder the mission.

EsGod’s strength after evolution was still an unknown factor. Apart from being excited about the reward of the mission, Han Xiao also worried about the success rate of the mission.

Han Xiao then looked around, and the faces of the other allies were all calm. Although they knew that they were about to deal with EsGod, none of them seemed anxious. Only he knew the outcome of their actions.

This would determine the direction of the entire universe!

It also affected whether he would be able to develop safely in the future.

In order to get rid of the hidden danger of the World Tree Civilization, he had to get rid of EsGod even if there was no reward.

Thinking about this, Han Xiao calmed himself down.

The dynasty had already created an advantageous situation, so we will have to see the situation of the actual battle…

…

The Primeval Star River was a vast Star Field that was even larger than the Shattered Star Ring. It was split into thirty-one Star Clusters and controlled by four Super Star Cluster Civilizations. The level of prosperity in the region was comparable to the Sea of Star Spirits and belonged to the second rung in the universe. The first rung would naturally be the Central Galaxy.

Because the three Universal Civilizations controlled the Central Galaxy strictly, the second rung Star Fields such as the Primeval Star River had plenty of different civilizations and became extremely active. For example, the headquarters of the Ancient Ones were located in the Primeval Star River.

Historically, the Primeval Star River had once been glorious, and during the exploration era, the Primeval Star River was the main camp of a quasi-Universal Civilization. This civilization was a powerful competitor to the three Universal Civilizations of today but was not able to survive past the cruel exploration era.

Back then, many local Star Cluster and Star System Civilizations also perished in the war and left behind a large number of ruins. According to the number of ruins, the Primeval Star River was only second to the Ancient Star Desert. At the same time, the Primeval Star River had many desolate universe belts that were natural hiding spots.

Because they had a mission to complete, the dynasty fleet did not delay and headed straight to the gathering point.

A few days later, the Federation of Light and Arcane Church’s fleets arrived and met up with the dynasty’s fleet.

Han Xiao saw the manpower being sent by the other two parties.

The Arcane Church sent three.

The Federation of Light sent one.

Together with the dynasty, there were a total of eleven Beyond Grade As!

Even the scale of the battle on Planet Lighthouse was about the same.

Chapter 891: Plan and Meeting

Chapter 891 Plan and Meeting

In some locations of the Primeval Star River, the fleets of the Arcane Church, the Crimson Dynasty, and the Federation of Light gathered together with the eleven participating Beyond Grade As gathered together in the dynasty’s conference room to discuss their strategy.

“According to our intelligence, EsGod is currently at this location.”

A holographic projection displayed the star map of the Primeval Star River, and a red dot could be seen in a desolate universe belt. This red dot represented EsGod’s location, and the commander of the dynasty fleet described the situation to everyone present solemnly.

The objective of the three fleets was to deal with EsGod’s fleet, and the commander’s mission was to work together with the Beyond Grade A allies.

“Hmm, that is an ancient battlefield with many planets destroyed in the exploration era. There’s a large number of meteoroids in that region.” Manison nodded in agreement. He was a local of the Primeval Star River and was familiar with the situation here.

The single Beyond Grade A that the Federation of Light had sent out was Manison, but he did not go personally. He only sent a mechanical host with three mechanical fortresses, which had a large number of mechanical soldiers stored within.

Although he was alone, the troops that he had brought with him made him no weaker than the other two factions present.

An Arcane Church Beyond Grade A then knocked on the table and said, “We only received a report on EsGod’s troops. Where did this report come from? Is it reliable?”

“This is the intelligence provided by a Super Star Cluster Civilization in the Primeval Star River. They have a complete surveillance system in the Primeval Star River,” the dynasty commander replied solemnly. “After receiving intelligence on EsGod’s fleet, they began tracking his fleet. According to the coordinates that he provided, we made use of a long-distance tracking tool to verify it, and I guarantee the accuracy of the intelligence.”

The four Super Star Cluster Civilizations controlled the entire Primeval Star River and had plenty of eyes everywhere. At the request of the dynasty, they provided information on EsGod’s location and worked together. However, they were not aware that the three Universal Civilizations were going to work together.

With EsGod’s location locked on to, they would rush over with the stargate network to ambush EsGod.

The three Arcane Church Beyond Grade As that the Arcane Church sent out had not participated in the battle on Planet Lighthouse. Their classes were Psychic, Mage, and Cannon Master. Thus, not a single one of the eleven Beyond Grade As present were Espers.

The individual worth paying attention to was the Cannon Master who had the nickname ‘Sun Hunter’. He was a member of the Ancient Ones and also the strongest of the three sent by the Arcane Church. He was old friends with Manison, Milizaus, and Ravenlaude.

His body was lean, only the thickness of a palm. However, his body was extremely tall, and he was a universal species that was endangered. He had the characteristics of a bug and was currently clad in armor.

His body was skinny, but his weapons were tens of thousands of times larger than him.

Han Xiao remembered Aesop mentioning him before and said that there were a few Ancient Ones trying to find out information about him. Sun Hunter was one of them.

He originally thought that this Cannon Master wanted to get him to craft weapons, but after considering it for a while, Han Xiao eliminated such a possibility. An Ancient One did not need to invite a new Beyond Grade A Mechanic to help him craft weapons.

At the start of the meeting, Han Xiao had his attention on the teammates from the other two factions. There was no need to talk about Manison; his mechanical body was completely expressionless. On the side of the Arcane Church, they seemed to be unfriendly toward the dynasty’s allies and Manison.

Han Xiao still did not know that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter had been snatched by the Federation of Light, and the Arcane Church was currently the most infuriated at the Federation of Light for taking advantage of their situation and hitting them when they were down. The Beyond Grade A allies of the Arcane Church naturally would not be too friendly toward Manison.

If not for the fact that they had to deal with a common enemy, both parties would probably have ended up in a fight.

“Since we have already grasped EsGod’s location, the initiative of the battle will be in our hands. We need a plan,” Milizaus said.

“You’re right,” Sun Hunter replied. Although his body was small, his voice was not soft. “Although EsGod is a battle maniac who likes fighting, he isn’t a rash individual. The moment he sees the eleven of us together, he will escape for sure. As long as he abandons his fleet and escapes, we won’t be able to catch up. The outcome will then be the same as before.”

“With so many Beyond Grade As working together, we definitely aren’t putting up a show and plan to get rid of EsGod,” Han Xiao said with a solemn expression. “If we want to succeed, there are two problems we need to take care of. First, we cannot let EsGod escape the moment he sees us. Second, we must restrict EsGod’s mobility so that he cannot escape whenever he wishes.”

Everyone else nodded.

Although the three Universal Civilizations had failed in all their attempts to kill EsGod, an operation of such a scale was extremely rare. A portion of the Beyond Grade A allies present there were only interested in the reward, not EsGod’s life or death. However, with so many of them taking action against EsGod alone, it would be pretty embarrassing if they failed.

Thus, all of them present wanted to complete this mission and get rid of this true archenemy of the three Universal Civilizations.

The will of a Beyond Grade A was extremely firm, and they would not be affected by the many past failures in history.

“It is easy to solve the first problem,” Manison said. “EsGod wouldn’t foolishly clash head on with eleven Beyond Grade As. We just need to split up into two groups. The first group will fight him head on and try to hold him back while the other group lies in wait.”

Han Xiao nodded to express his agreement.

EsGod was not a foolish individual and would not attempt to fight eleven Beyond Grade As. Thus, despite having many combatants on their side, they could not appear all at once. If they did, EsGod would run immediately upon seeing them.

“You are right. The first batch of combatants surrounding him must be a reasonable force for an encirclement mission but not be too large that it scares him away,” Ravenlaude said. “I think that it would be safer to have four or five Beyond Grade As.”

“Five would be the best. EsGod received a round of evolution, and his strength has grown. He will definitely want to test his strength, and five people should be within his expectations,” Han Xiao said.

The encirclement missions only had three ordinary Beyond Grade As usually, and EsGod’s original combat capability was sufficient for him to take on three ordinary Beyond Grade As without an issue. He would be able to escape even when facing four or five Beyond Grade As. Things would be slightly different if the Beyond Grade As were more powerful, but as long as he wanted to run, no one would be able to keep him behind.

If there were five of them, they would be able to give EsGod pressure and incite his desire to battle but not let EsGod feel that it was too risky and make him run away immediately.

“The first batch of combatants shall be set at five. Three from the dynasty and two from the church. Let’s not let EsGod know that the Federation of Light is participating in this mission.”

Everyone quickly agreed with that.

Right at this moment, Milizaus suddenly said, “But if we do not restrict EsGod’s instantaneous movements, the ambush of the others will be meaningless. Even if we launch a surprise attack, EsGod will be able to escape any time. Thus, it is more important to restrict his mobility, or our operation will fail for sure.”

Upon hearing that, the Arcane Church’s mage said, “That’s right. The five people fighting EsGod head on will be in charge of tying him down and restricting his mobility shall be the job of those ambushing him. This would require spacetime magic to be cast in the battlefield to separate the region from the multi-dimensions and secondary dimension channel. We still need to stabilize the spacetime to prevent him from using any instantaneous movement or hyperdrive. Transforming the battlefield to become a locked region will require a great deal of effort.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. This was the best way to trap EsGod, and it was proven by history. However, it was getting more and more difficult to accomplish such a feat.

First, this required a lot of time, and the larger the battlefield, the greater the effort required. Even a Beyond Grade A Mage would not be able to complete it in time. Second, EsGod would keep his guard up and escape before the spacetime could be locked down.

Even if EsGod fell into such a trap, it would still be possible for him to escape. He could use ordinary methods to break through the battlefield or use his Esper Abilities to create a small crack in the spacetime and escape from the locked down region.

During this limited time, it would be impossible for them to defeat or capture EsGod. He was not a fragile target, and his powerful recovery and defenses would drag the battle on for a long time.

“I have the equipment to quickly stabilize space and can reduce EsGod’s Dimension Crack and instantaneous movement abilities,” Manison said slowly. “I should be able to lock EsGod down temporarily and engineer the chance for an ambush.”

He would be able to defeat EsGod alone, but EsGod was far too crafty, and it was difficult for him to catch EsGod. His various space-locking machines required time to activate. By the time he set them up, EsGod would have escaped already.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had rejected his offer, so Manison was not willing to give it his all. The Federation of Light’s request did not have too much of a binding power to him, and he only planned to work together with his teammates.

Describing it simply, Manison treated himself as a support and not the carry of the team.

“If we want to create a locked down region, the five people fighting at the start must pin EsGod down in a certain region and not allow him to do as he wishes,” Milizaus said slowly. “We have three Mages on our side and can all remain in hiding. Two of us can use our spacetime magic to modify the battlefield while the last can hide the flow of magic and reduce the chances of EsGod discovering us. The ones fighting EsGod head on will also have to work together to distract EsGod. We also need a Psychic to attack his mind to dull his senses.”

“We have sufficient manpower, and this isn’t difficult to accomplish. However, it won’t be enough to succeed…” Ravenlaude hesitated for a moment before speaking the truth. “If EsGod falls into the trap, we will have to get rid of him using the shortest amount of time. If not, all our efforts will go to waste. However, it is extremely difficult to do so with EsGod’s abilities.”

The entire room then fell silent.

Everyone began to frown.

Although they had plenty of manpower this time, history would only repeat itself if they were not able to take care of this problem.

They all felt a huge headache just by discussing their strategy.

It was extremely difficult to deal with EsGod, and everyone knew that they needed some changes.

Just when everyone was thinking about how they should solve this problem, Han Xiao took a deep breath.

He had two changes in his hands.

The Spacetime Amber and Esper Silence!

These two abilities were definitely enough to turn the situation around and would also make this battle different from before.

Han Xiao then stood up, and everyone looked at him.

Looking at the others, he said slowly, “I have a plan…”

…

Over ten days later, in a certain desolate universe belt, EsGod’s fleet continued to travel according to their designated route after spending a few days by a Fixed Star.

After travelling peacefully for a few days, the fleet’s radar detected something.

A dynasty fleet had appeared right in front of them, and both parties were already extremely near each other by the time Fallen Ark detected the other party. The dynasty fleet had made use of their stealth mode to approach the enemy before revealing themselves.

The Fallen Ark fleet did not escape immediately. Instead, both parties stopped at the same time and entered a standoff.

Woo!

The alarms rang inside the Fallen Ark battleship.

In the main hall of the flagship, EsGod opened his eyes.

An expectant look could be seen on his face as he got up from his throne slowly.

“They’re finally here. I hope that they can let me fight to my heart’s content.”

Chapter 892: Upgraded EsGod

892 Upgraded EsGod Both fleets faced each other in a standoff in the dark universe.

EsGod’s figure then disappeared from his throne and appeared beside Fakisen in the control room.

“The other party is the dynasty’s armed fleet with almost five million battleships. The strength of their battleships is superior to our fleet. Since they appeared suddenly before us, it means that they can accurately grasp our coordinates. My suggestion is not to fight them but retreat immediately…” Fakisen began analyzing the situation upon seeing EsGod.

However, EsGod ignored him completely and expanded his senses. He could clearly feel three sun-like energy sources from within the dynasty’s fleet.

Counting the number of opponents, EsGod revealed a look of disappointment.

“Only three of them?”

Right at this moment, the radar rang out again and an Arcane Church fleet appeared behind them.

After feeling the two Beyond Grade As in the Arcane Church fleet, EsGod’s brows began to relax.

“Five people… only then will there be a meaning to fight.”

“The Crimson Dynasty has indeed chosen to work together with the Arcane Church. It seems like they have already laid an ambush here and plan to wipe us out with a fleet three times our size. I recommend that we break through their encirclement and retreat immediately,” Fakisen said.

EsGod did not even bother looking at him and calmly said, “Inform the fleet to prepare for battle. Hold them back, and don’t let the enemy battleships disrupt my battle.”

“I understand,” Fakisen said with a disappointed tone as if he expected that. He knew that EsGod did not care about their lives and only treated them as tools.

Fakisen then issued an order in front of EsGod and formed a defensive formation.

EsGod nodded, and the next moment, his body appeared outside the battleship.

Following which, a wave of spiritual energy exploded with EsGod as the center. The dynasty and church’s fleets had the equipment to block out a certain degree of spiritual energy, but the five Beyond Grade As received EsGod’s spiritual fluctuations at the same time to build a communication channel.

Han Xiao was also part of the group, and he heard EsGod’s calm voice.

“I have been waiting for a long time.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao looked at his teammates, and they nodded to each other.

If EsGod decided to run away from the very start, it would be impossible for them to block him. Since EsGod said those words, it meant that he was prepared to stay behind and fight them. If that was the case, the first step of their plan was successful.

Looking at each other, Han Xiao’s group of three left the dynasty battleship and entered the universe. The two from the church also flew out of their battleship and surrounded EsGod.

Milizaus and the other two mages hid in the darkness and began locking down the spacetime of the region. Manison also hid the fact that the Federation of Light had participated in this ambush and hid himself. He only passed his spacetime stabilizer to someone else. After some discussion, the five who were assigned to face EsGod head on were Han Xiao, Viru, Lotus Swordsman, Sun Hunter, and another Psychic from the Arcane Church.

The job of the two Psychics was to use their mental attacks. Viru served as the tank, and Sun Hunter was the main damage dealer. As for Han Xiao, his main body was present this time, and he was in charge of control, main tank, physical damage, and many other positions.

EsGod’s gaze swept over everybody before landing on Han Xiao. “Black Star, it’s you again.”

“Since you ambushed me, this day had to come. You knew that, right?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Sigh, destiny is truly strange. I didn’t plan on dealing with you, but you still want to pester me. You are truly taking the initiative to seek death… or perhaps it can be said that all of you are seeking death.”

EsGod shook his head.

Upon hearing that, Sun Hunter could help but interrupt coldly. “I wonder if that brain of yours still remembers how many times you have been forced back by three Beyond Grade As. When facing the five of us, do you think you will still be able to emerge victorious?”

“Ah, that was the past me. In fact, I still have to thank Black Star for the Evolution Cube. The dynasty and church will regret sending all of you to deal with me.”

Even before EsGod could finish what he had to say, Sun Hunter took the initiative to launch an attack, and a modified psionic Particle Cannon appeared beside him. A brilliant bolt of Mechanical Force shot out from his body and filled up the Particle Cannon, with a brilliant beam being shot out from the cannon the very next moment.

EsGod dodged the attack with his instantaneous movement, and a Fallen Ark battleship that was behind him was easily torn apart. The high-density alloy was ripped apart like a piece of paper, and the entire battleship was swallowed by the light and reduced to dust as though it had melted into nothingness.

With the first attack being launched, the dynasty and church fleet opened fire and the Fallen Ark fleet fought back. Both parties exchanged fire, and the dark universe was lit up by the exploding cannons.

The battle had erupted!

Han Xiao’s group of five had also launched their attacks.

The Apostle Weapons under the lead of Psionic Prime began to encircle EsGod, Viru charged toward EsGod with his weapon, Lotus Swordsman and the other Psychic began launching their Psychic attacks, and Sun Hunter rapidly opened fire like an artillery tower.

The battlefield instantly became chaotic.

EsGod’s combat method was to use various different abilities depending on the surroundings. He would not fight five Beyond Grade As head on. With his instantaneous movement ability, the encirclement of the five did not put that much pressure on him. At the same time, he was able to easily weave through the mechanical army and approach his enemies.

His powerful mobility meant that he had the initiative of the battle in his hands. At the same time, it also guaranteed him his safety as he could just leave whenever he wanted.

As such, EsGod did not intend to leave at the moment but treated the five as useful opponents to test his strength.

However, it was impossible to win against five Beyond Grade As single-handedly. This was a feat that no individual in the universe was capable of accomplishing. It was not just a simple comparison of battle prowess. The dense attacks of five Beyond Grade As would result in an individual being only capable of defending but not attacking. At this moment, EsGod had the initiative and could appear and disappear like a ghost. However, Han Xiao’s group of five could support each other, and he was not able to defeat each of them individually.

The battle immediately fell into a stalemate.

Han Xiao had his guard up against EsGod, afraid that EsGod’s strength might have improved greatly. But after exchanging a few blows with EsGod, Han Xiao was no longer that worried.

During the battle on Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao had fought EsGod before and was familiar with EsGod’s strength. Although EsGod did have some improvement in strength, it had not reached a qualitative change.

It seems like the Evolution Cube was not sufficient to cause an earth-shattering change in him, and he still belongs to the Beyond Grade A rank.

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.

If EsGod really broke through the Beyond Grade A rank and entered the so called ‘new realm’, his combat capability would definitely soar greatly, and there would be a huge gulf between them.

Thankfully, although the Evolution Cube was powerful, it was not sufficient to allow an individual to break through into the next realm.

As he planned for this operation, he had tried his best to overestimate EsGod’s strength, but the current strength that EsGod displayed did not reach his expectations. This way, Han Xiao had greater confidence in succeeding.

The other four also had similar thoughts. If EsGod’s strength did not exceed their expectations, they would not have too much trouble holding him back.

However, an abrupt change happened!

EsGod used his instantaneous movement to avoid a wave of fire and suddenly sent out a message to Han Xiao and the others.

“Warm up is over.”

The moment he said those words, he shot out black spheres from his body. These black spheres were the doppelgangers that he had prepared, and they all transformed into fog-like bodies emanating with energy.

Every doppelganger had a different Esper Ability that EsGod obtained and had a quasi Beyond Grade A strength. Furthermore, there were dozens of these doppelgangers around!

“Why does he have so many doppelgangers‽” Sun Hunter cried out with shock.

Information about EsGod was no secret. Everyone knew that his doppelganger ability had an obvious upper limit, and he was not capable of creating too many doppelgangers. This was already in their records!

Upon witnessing such a scene, Han Xiao’s heart shuddered, and he immediately understood what was going on.

The Evolution Cube did not allow EsGod to break through into the next level but expanded his strength at the same realm. It did not increase his ‘depth’ but increased his ‘breadth’. Compared to the other classes, a Mechanic understood just how frightening numbers were. A Mechanic relied on a large mechanical army to increase their strength and achieve a qualitative change.

The upgraded EsGod was also similar in this regard.

EsGod’s main body did not achieve a breakthrough in strength, but his ability to produce doppelgangers was improved. There were tens of Beyond Grade A doppelgangers present, and every doppelganger was like half a Beyond Grade A. Even if his doppelgangers were fragile, they had many different Esper Abilities and were still a powerful army.

This meant that the number of Beyond Grade As that Han Xiao’s group had to face had increased by dozens of times!

The threat that they faced had also increased greatly!

The three Universal Civilizations had tried to surround EsGod many times before. It was not that they had not sent out more than five Beyond Grade As before, but even if EsGod could not win, he could still retreat.

This time, EsGod already had the strength to deal with five or more Beyond Grade As head on, and he was not satisfied with escaping. If he could fight back or even kill the five Beyond Grade As that the Universal Civilizations sent, his own record would be broken, and he would be able to shock the entire universe.

However, EsGod did not know that he did not only have five opponents but another six hiding in the dark, waiting to ambush him.

The majority of the doppelgangers began to split up and surround Han Xiao’s group of five. Instead of the five surrounding EsGod, it was now EsGod surrounding the five.

The remaining doppelgangers entered the battlefield of the battleships and used their Beyond Grade A strength to rapidly wipe out the dynasty and church’s fleets. The Fallen Ark fleet that was originally at a disadvantage was gradually regaining ground.

Han Xiao and the other four felt a huge increase in pressure. It was akin to fighting tens of Beyond Grade As with different Esper Abilities at the same time. If not for the aid of the mechanical army, it would have been impossible for the other four to hang in there.

Through his doppelgangers, EsGod could unleash all his Esper Abilities without any restraint. His main body reserved the use of ‘Strengthened Self Recovery’ and ‘Black Hole’, and his other doppelgangers had many different Esper Abilities.

In the chaotic battle, Han Xiao looked at EsGod’s main body, which did not participate in the encirclement, with a grave look.

EsGod’s current appearance truly lived up to his nickname.

The god of all Espers!

Of the five of them, Han Xiao was still alright as he was sufficiently tanky. However, his mechanical army was rapidly being wiped out under the attacks of the many Beyond Grade As, and even his Apostle Weapons were trapped in a bitter battle.

Han Xiao originally wanted to save his ‘Perfect Mechanical Sense’ Character Summon Card, but he knew that it was impossible for him to do so right now. He immediately activated the Perfect Mechanical Sense Character Summon Card, and his Mechanical Force became thicker.

Han Xiao then endured the crazed attacks of EsGod’s doppelgangers and got his mechanical army to open fire at EsGod’s doppelgangers.

Every Esper Ability could only be used by a single doppelganger, and most of his doppelgangers did not have tanky abilities and were all very fragile. As such, the rapid attacks of the mechanical army were effective.

Rays of blue light struck the black fog like figures, and a quarter of EsGod’s doppelgangers were wiped out.

However, the next scene immediately caused all of them to become nervous again.

EsGod then made use of his Black Hole ability and sucked in all the attacks to create more doppelgangers and replenish the fallen troops.

Everyone’s heart sank as they witnessed this scene.

“We’re in trouble now…”

…

“They’re in trouble…”

On the other side, the six Beyond Grade As waiting in ambush had also formed a mental network through the Psychic. Their hearts all sank upon finding out about the ability that EsGod had displayed.

“EsGod’s doppelganger ability has been strengthened, and even if we are able to successfully lock down spacetime, he would be able to make use of his doppelgangers to drag for time. This plan will not work,” Ravenlaude said with a grave tone.

Their plan was to lock down spacetime to trap EsGod and control him according to Han Xiao’s plan before he could escape.

However, the strength that EsGod had displayed was out of their expectations. Even if they were able to temporarily trap him, they could not control him before he escaped.

“We still have to give it a try. Don’t stop.” Milizaus was not confident but could only continue according to plan. They did not have any other choice.

“I wonder how much longer they will be able to hang in there,” Manison said calmly.

They could not enter the battle before the trap was complete, and holding EsGod back could only be left to the group of five.

The six of them in ambush were not sure if they could hold on until the trap was completed.

Chapter 893: Appearance

Chapter 893 Appearance

Sharp pugilist flames cleaved EsGod’s doppelgangers one after another and reduced them into black mist.

Viru’s body was ignited with flames, and he weaved through the battlefield like a meteor. He accurately killed plenty of EsGod’s doppelgangers under the cover of the mechanical army and was currently riddled with injuries.

“This fellow has too many doppelgangers, and it is impossible for us to kill them all. Furthermore, he is even able to make new doppelgangers. It will be pointless regardless of how many doppelgangers we kill. At the same time, we will be severely wounded if we are careless, and we are currently too passive,” Viru said with a deep voice as he raised up his blade to block an attack from one of EsGod’s doppelgangers.

On the other side, Sun Hunter was controlling his fortress-like artillery equipment to rain down fire on EsGod’s doppelgangers. His face was extremely ugly, and he replied, “I am exhausting energy too rapidly in such an intense battle. I am not like Black Star and don’t have the ability to recover energy so quickly.”

The combat capability of EsGod’s doppelgangers was not that powerful and was largely decided by the Esper Ability of each doppelganger. EsGod’s doppelgangers definitely were not an opponent for a Beyond Grade A, and Psyker had once killed two of EsGod’s doppelgangers single-handedly.

However, the situation was now different. The dozens of EsGod doppelgangers brought about immense pressure, and it was akin to facing dozens of Beyond Grade As at the same time. Furthermore, it was impossible to completely wipe out the enemy. It was truly troublesome.

Facing the encirclement of the doppelgangers, everyone was riddled with injuries, and apart from Han Xiao, the other four had limited recovery ability. Furthermore, such an intense battle also drained them of their attention and energy greatly. Apart from Han Xiao, the other four were gradually slipping up.

Han Xiao’s brows were locked tightly as he controlled the mechanical army to block EsGod’s doppelgangers. His mechanical army had been reduced to scrap many times over, and he used [Waste Modification] to send them back into the battle over and over again.

Mechanical soldiers were not afraid of death, and with their dense psionic cannon attacks, the mechanical soldiers killed far more doppelgangers than the others.

Thankfully, his mechanical army, which had been strengthened many times, had powerful attributes, which reduced the loss of the army. With the aid of his four teammates, they were still barely able to achieve a stalemate.

However, the upgraded EsGod was far more frightening in terms of sustained combat. As long as he was given enough time, the entire mechanical army would definitely be wiped out. Han Xiao had no choice but to admit that it would be extremely difficult for him to win against EsGod if he fought EsGod alone.

However, this was not a one-on-one battle, and he did not need to defeat EsGod alone. His current mission was to hold EsGod back and restrict him to this battlefield. They only needed to hold on until their teammates were done setting up the trap.

Han Xiao was extremely clear that if the five of them could not hold EsGod back, forcing the six in ambush to come out and save them, it was very likely that EsGod would escape immediately. The trap was not set at the moment, and if they could not hold EsGod back, the operation would fail for sure.

Han Xiao then turned around to look at EsGod’s main body, which was seated crossed legged in space. New doppelgangers were formed every second.

After using his doppelganger technique, EsGod’s main body retreated to the side and did not participate in the battle personally. As his doppelgangers engaged in a bitter battle with the enemy, he watched with interest.

He did not need to take action personally; just his doppelgangers were enough to reduce the five Beyond Grade As to such a pathetic state. EsGod enjoyed such a feeling of strength.

Sun Hunter and Viru had tried to break out of the encirclement and approach EsGod, but EsGod’s instantaneous movement made it impossible for them to approach him. Even Han Xiao could not attack EsGod’s main body, so he had plenty of abilities that could not be used.

He could only wait for EsGod’s instantaneous movement to be restricted before he had the chance to make use of his trump cards.

With his current strength, even if he did not use any Character Summon Cards, Han Xiao’s personal strength was sufficient to last a long time. His new talents brought his health up to about 5,000,000 HP, so he was extremely tanky.

Only Lotus Swordsman and the other Psychic could restrict EsGod slightly. They continuously unleashed their mental attacks on EsGod with their attacks being like swords stabbing at EsGod’s mental defenses.

Regardless of how many doppelgangers EsGod had, he only had a single soul, and the two’s Psychic attacks were effective against his main body.

However, EsGod also had Esper Abilities to guard his mind and repair any soul damage. Although he would suffer from mental damage, he would not be so easily restricted by the two.

Because the two Psychics possessed a certain degree of threat toward him, EsGod’s main target was not Han Xiao, Sun Hunter, or Viru. Instead, it was the two Psychics. Thus, Han Xiao got his Apostle Weapons to lead a special team of mechanical soldiers to guard the two.

Psionic Prime’s spear stabbed the core of EsGod’s doppelganger, Mad Sky Hunter chewed on the head of a doppelganger, Silver Flash opened fire at a doppelganger, and Giant King Kong used his Divine Giant Armor and large body to protect the two Psychics and other Apostle Weapons.

The Apostle Weapons also had quasi Beyond Grade A battle strength, and they engaged EsGod’s doppelgangers in a bitter battle.

…

A portion of EsGod’s doppelgangers entered the dynasty and church’s fleets to destroy their battleships.

One EsGod doppelganger shot through the shield of the battleship and pierced through the battleship.

Right at this moment, countless dark energy cannons shot over from all directions and reduced this EsGod doppelganger to dust.

In the flagship, the dynasty commander said with a solemn expression, “The damage of the fleet is increasing, and we aren’t able to destroy the Fallen Ark fleet with these doppelgangers distracting us. Things will be bad if they continue to drag on.”

Since the five Beyond Grade As could not hold EsGod back, the fleet would suffer from the attacks of the Beyond Grade A doppelgangers. The EsGod doppelgangers then weaved around the fleet and caused a great deal of chaos while disrupting the battleships in battle. As such, the fleet led by Fakisen was barely able to hold on and not get wiped out.

The Fallen Ark fleet formed a defensive formation in the center and endured the attacks which came from all directions. Fakisen directed the fleet while paying attention to EsGod’s battle.

“His Excellency EsGod’s strength is becoming more and more frightening,” Fakisen said with hesitation.

“That’s right. He is able to deal with five Beyond Grade As so easily. He is EsGod indeed,” a vice commander said with reverence in his eyes.

Fakisen then said with a strange tone, “Even five Beyond Grade As aren’t able to win against EsGod, and this isn’t even His Excellency EsGod’s limit. The three large civilizations sent too few people and have truly underestimated him. Tsk tsk.”

Fakisen then summoned an officer.

“You shall take command of the fleet now.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Ah ah, I still have something else to do. This is a secret mission that His Excellency EsGod handed over to me.”

Fakisen then turned around, left the command room, and headed to a spaceship hangar.

He knew that EsGod was already beginning to become suspicious of him. After EsGod took care of the present danger, he would probably be next. EsGod would never need evidence when getting rid of his subordinates.

Besides, regardless of whether EsGod was able to survive this encirclement, Fakisen was not planning on remaining by EsGod’s side.

…

The intense battle lasted a long time, and apart from Han Xiao, the other four were riddled with injuries. The mechanical army had also suffered great losses and was gradually becoming weaker.

EsGod looked at the few who were extremely pathetic and sent out a mental message with satisfaction.

“Black Star, do you see this? This is the strength that you have given me. What do you think about it?”

Han Xiao then used the amber ball formation to block an incoming attack and snorted in response. “It isn’t much.”

EsGod was not bothered by the reply and continued, “Ah, although I haven’t broken through the Beyond Grade A limits, my strength should already be the peak of the entire explored universe. The five of you do not even have any chance of fighting back before me.”

As Sun Hunter heard that, he immediately aimed his cannon at EsGod and fired.

This time, EsGod did not avoid the attack but used his body to receive the attack. He then activated his Black Hole ability and absorbed the attack to create a few more doppelgangers.

The remaining force from the attack charred his skin and disfigured him completely.

But the next moment, his injuries recovered rapidly, and his appearance went back to normal. His recovery speed was no slower than Han Xiao.

“A useless attack.” EsGod glanced at Sun Hunter before looking at Han Xiao. “Black Star, you are not the only one with an indestructible body.”

Han Xiao replied with an expressionless face, “Every time you repair your body, your cell’s activeness will be exhausted. When your cells reach their upper limit, your life span will also come to an end. This is the disadvantage of a self-healing ability.”

“That’s right. I am already old. Every time I fight, my lifespan would be burnt up,” EsGod said calmly. “However, your Evolution Cube increased my life span by a great deal, and it is enough for me to use. At the very least, you won’t have a chance in this battle.”

EsGod’s current strength came from the evolution energy, and thus, he treated Han Xiao differently.

“Do you really think that you have won?” Sun Hunter interrupted coldly.

“Oh? Please give me a good surprise if you guys still have any unused trump cards. In a while, you guys won’t even have the strength to escape,” EsGod said with confidence in his voice. “After getting rid of the few of you here, the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty will definitely be infuriated. I also do not have any interest in facing the next wave of enemies, so letting all of you go will be the best option. However, if all of you do not wish to escape, I don’t mind killing you.”

Through this battle, EsGod had already tested his own combat strength, and defeating this wave of enemies was sufficient to prove his strength. As long as he did not kill them, the three great civilizations would not bother him for a period of time. He wanted to remain low profile for some time to familiarize himself with his strength after the evolution. Thus, he truly did not wish to kill Han Xiao’s group.

If not, a Universal Civilization would not let the matter rest after suffering such a huge loss, and that did not suit his current objectives. Thus, he hoped that Han Xiao’s group would willingly retreat.

Han Xiao then looked around at his comrades. They had injuries all over their bodies and were not in good states.

Just as EsGod had said, it was impossible for the five of them to do anything against EsGod. If the battle continued, their lives would possibly be in danger.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao suddenly laughed and said, “EsGod, do you know that I am extremely clear about the threat you pose?”

“My threat?” EsGod raised his brows. “My deeds are spread all across the universe. Is there a need for you to emphasize on them?”

“No, I am not talking about that.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“I don’t get what you are talking about,” EsGod said.

Han Xiao chuckled and was not planning to explain himself.

EsGod purposely revealed information about the wormhole because he wanted the other organizations to investigate the matter together with him. However, he hid information about the World Tree Civilization, and EsGod thought that he was the only one who knew the existence of the World Tree Civilization.

In truth, EsGod was not wrong in thinking so. No one else apart from Han Xiao knew about this secret and would fall for EsGod’s trap to help EsGod research this wormhole. EsGod’s wish was to open this channel and fish for benefits from the side.

However, EsGod could not have known that Han Xiao also knew about the existence of the World Tree Civilization. He was the second person in the explored universe to know about this, and EsGod was still in the dark regarding this.

It was because of the lack of information that EsGod was not clear about how resolute Han Xiao was about killing him. According to his past experience, there should be four to six Beyond Grade As coming to encircle him, so five was within his expectations.

As such, he never imagined that there would be far more than five Beyond Grade As coming to encircle him!

Right when Han Xiao finished what he had to say, an abrupt change happened.

EsGod’s expression changed greatly as he could clearly feel a spacetime magic spreading out to cover the entire region. The secondary dimension was cut off, and spacetime was locked down. The space in this region became extremely sturdy without any cracks.

At the same time, Han Xiao also activated the space stabilizing equipment that Manison had given him and covered EsGod within it to prevent EsGod from escaping before the trap was formed.

Losing the ability of instantaneous movement, EsGod no longer had the initiative. EsGod then detected another six energy sources appearing from afar, rapidly approaching him.

Milizaus’ group of six appeared on the battlefield and surrounded him.

Upon seeing that, EsGod’s expression darkened, and a look of shock could be seen in his eyes.

“Why are there another six more‽”

Chapter 894: Key Variable in the Operation

Chapter 894 Key Variable in the Operation

Everyone was treated equally under the spacetime lock. Mechanics were unable to open their secondary dimension channel, and the Dimension Crack and teleportation of EsGod also lost its effect.

With the universe continuously being explored, the three Universal Civilizations had recorded all sorts of Esper Abilities and had developed counters or restraints toward most of them. Except for some Super High Risk Esper Abilities, there was no unsolvable ability.

“Turns out, this was a trap. You guys are really willing to pay.”

EsGod was surprised but quickly regained his calm.

This was also not the first time he faced such danger, so he did not panic. While the number of the enemies was more than what he expected, with not only the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church, even the Federation of Light was also involved.

There were eleven Beyond Grade As surrounding him, which outstripped his expectations.

If it were not for the fact that the Universal Civilizations had sent out enough manpower this time, it would have been difficult to make him fall into the trap. Just to fight him head on and not make him think it was a trap would already require at least four to five people, and there was still a need to ensure three mages could set up the spacetime lock secretly. That meant at least seven to eight Beyond Grade As were needed to complete the entire ambush. This was a completely different concept from having seven to eight ordinary people.

Upon realizing that he had fallen for the trap, EsGod did not talk further and immediately reacted.

He would not sit there and await death. While his teleportation was blocked in this area, he could still fly. As long as he flew in the opposite direction of Han Xiao and the others, the moment he escaped the range of the spacetime lock, he would be able to teleport again.

He was not an iron-headed person. When facing eleven other Beyond Grade As, he had no plans to fight them head on.

The six people involved in directly fighting him at the start were still chasing him, and they had yet to completely surround him. Because of the spacetime lock, they were unable to activate the hyperdrive to arrive immediately, so there were only five people who were able to suppress EsGod at the moment.

Han Xiao did not speak further, ditching Sun Hunter and the others, and pouring all of his energy into the mechanical suit propulsion module.

A blue flame burst out from the thrusters from his back, elbows, and feet, and his entire figure shot forward in pursuit of EsGod, leaving a dark blue arc in the universe like a comet.

The spacetime lock did not differentiate between allies or enemies, so his hyperdrive and Void abilities could not be used.

Many of EsGod’s doppelgangers turned to hold Han Xiao back, stopping him from pursuing the true body.

While he had fallen into the trap, EsGod did not mind it too much.

He might have been in danger before his evolution, but things were different now. A large number of his doppelgangers were enough to contain his pursuers and give him enough time to escape the spacetime lock.

“Don’t let him get away!” Sun Hunter shook a doppelganger off before unfolding a gigantic sniper rifle. He aimed it toward EsGod and fired.

A golden energy beam blasted out, with a tracking function toward EsGod. The speed of the beam was obviously faster than his flight speed, and the distance was quickly shortened.

EsGod frowned, only having the time to deploy a shield before the beam hit.

He originally wished to utilize the repulsion force to retreat even further, but the firearm used by Sun Hunter was not offensive in nature. The moment the beam hit EsGod, it swelled violently, turning into a ball of energy with a powerful suction force, dragging EsGod toward it. EsGod’s speed dropped sharply, and the latter had no choice but to continue struggling to get out of the gravitational range.

Ranged attacks were the strength of a Cannon Master, and among the team, Sun Hunter’s skills had the best effect against restraining escaping enemies. Furthermore, a Cannon Master did not only have one weapon. They were good at using a variety of firearms, not only offensive ones but also crowd control ones, such as the beam used against EsGod previously.

EsGod could not teleport, so his evasiveness was lowered. Being harassed by Sun Hunter, and with Han Xiao’s mechanical suit speed originally being quicker than EsGod, their distance gradually closed.

Luckily, Milizaus and the mages did not underestimate EsGod, and thus, they purposely enlarged the area of spacetime lock, ensuring that there was enough leeway to chase him down.

As EsGod’s back slowly grew bigger in his field of vision, Han Xiao estimated the distance before taking out a compressed orb with a flip of his palm. It transformed into a hexagonal alloy board, tens of meters in length with a slight curve to it. It was powered by a core of sub-psionic energy.

This was a Unidirectional Adsorption Gravity Device that Han Xiao had spent a few months creating. It could adjust the direction and strength of gravity, and it was mainly used for attraction.

Based on his tests, at full power, the gravitational force generated could reach the level of a planet’s gravity. This gravity was enough to peel off the crust from a planet and achieve the power to tear apart the surface of a planet.

Even for a Beyond Grade A, this was an extremely strong means of crowd control, many levels higher than the spaceship traction beam.

Han Xiao activated the equipment, and a strong attraction force covered the entire area in front of him. EsGod only felt a huge pulling force acting on him, as though an entire star wished to devour him.

EsGod frowned, and with a thought, he split out another new doppelganger, which threw itself toward the attracting force, rushing up to Han Xiao to obstruct him.

This doppelganger only had the goal of destroying the gravitational attraction equipment, so it flew along with the attraction, its flight speed not affected.

Han Xiao activated his psionic shield, blocking the advance of the doppelganger. However, the doppelganger also possessed a battle strength at Beyond Grade A, so it was not so easy to deal with. Han Xiao’s speed also took a hit. EsGod shot out a timely black and red energy beam to hit Han Xiao, conveniently using the repulsion to move further away.

“EsGod can continuously produce doppelgangers. The moment I come too close, I’ll be obstructed by the doppelgangers. If I cannot hold him, I can only watch as he escapes,” Han Xiao murmured, and having made his choice, the Mechanical Force around his body immediately flickered and condensed into a large arc of electricity that bound up EsGod’s doppelganger.

The next moment, Han Xiao’s consciousness stretched into the quantum network.

Soul attacks, I can do that too!

_____________________

You have utilized Virtual Soul against EsGod!

Attribute Judgment in progress…

Character level judgment failure, -30% success rate.

LUK Attribute judgment failure, -20% success rate.

MYS Attribute judgment failure, -30% success rate.

INT Attribute judgement Success, +40% success rate.

One of the above four judgments is effective. Skill is successfully launched!

Based on your Virtual Technology level, the basic success rate is 424%. After taking into account various judgements, final theoretical success rate: 384%

Calculation of the opponent’s abnormal status resistance in progress… Calculations complete, final success rate: 76%

Final Judgment in progress… Judgement successful

Skill (Virtual Soul) is effective.

_____________________

In front, EsGod’s body suddenly lurched to a stop. His soul was virtualized by Han Xiao, thrown into the quantum network and hence lost control of his body. The attracting force pulled him backward once again.

EsGod’s weakness lay in his spiritual level. Because his doppelgangers and true body all shared the same soul, the [Virtual Soul] skill that Han Xiao utilized on the doppelganger could also be effective on his true body.

Because of the large difference in attributes, the duration of [Virtual Soul] was only for a short while and even had a cooldown of fifteen minutes. But this was enough for Han Xiao to close the remaining distance.

The quantum network was Han Xiao’s home field, and his consciousness transformed into a luminous giant that covered the sky and the sun. He grabbed onto EsGod and pummeled him, all attacks converting into spiritual damage to EsGod.

The duration of [Virtual Soul] ended quickly, and clarity shone again in EsGod’s eyes, but the soul damage he received made him look weary.

Upon surveying his surroundings, EsGod discovered that his true body was now in front of Han Xiao. Without any additional words, Han Xiao pounced on him.

Seeing this, EsGod knew that he could not escape anymore. The reason he escaped was not because he could not fight them off but because remaining within the trap would leave him the passive one.

As they fought, EsGod continuously released doppelgangers to strengthen his damage output. However, Han Xiao was akin to a sticky plaster. His HP and resistance was too high in addition to having the amber ball as a shield. EsGod got more frustrated the more they battled, as he was fully held back by Han Xiao.

“You irritating fool!” EsGod thundered.

“Thank you for the praise.” Han Xiao smiled, his hands suddenly jetting out a Psionic Impact, directly shattering a doppelganger.

At the same time, the six involved in the ambush had started to surround them, and Sun Hunter’s side had also eliminated several doppelgangers.

Because all the new doppelgangers created by EsGod were trapped by Han Xiao, there were no new reinforcements on that side, so they could catch up with EsGod after being relieved of the pressure.

Before long, all the Beyond Grade As arrived, each one taking a position and surrounding EsGod. Han Xiao’s mechanical army and Manison’s Mechanic Empire stood at each path of escape.

Seeing this, Han Xiao also stopped attacking for the time being, retreating into his mechanical army formation.

EsGod was completely surrounded, and from his position, he could only see densely packed mechanical soldiers. The energy signatures of the eleven Beyond Grade As burned his olfactory sense organs. His doppelgangers were recalled back, stationed around him for protection.

In the distance, the fleet of the Federation of Light also appeared. Without EsGod’s help, the Fallen Ark fleet was quickly eliminated by the Universal Civilizations. The battleships burst into flames one after another, the light from the explosions illuminating the faces of everyone present.

Glancing at his destroyed fleet, EsGod turned toward Manison, speaking through the spiritual network. “Manison, I didn’t expect you to also have come to deal with me.”

Among the eleven, EsGod only respected four of them—Manison, Milizaus, Sun Hunter, and Han Xiao. All of them had fought with him at some point, with Manison being the person he most respected.

“It was a transaction. Besides, I’ve warned you before about not stepping into the Primeval Star River.” Manison’s tone was calm.

EsGod nodded before surveying the rest.

While he was surrounded, he did not display any panic, instead calmly saying, “Even if you have the numbers, it won’t be so easy to defeat me.”

He had two escape plans. One was to escape from the area that was locked by spacetime. Since that had already failed, he had to choose the second method, which was to use his own spatial Esper ability to penetrate the spacetime lock, drilling a gap to teleport away.

For this plan to work, he needed to stall them for long enough.

The assurance of EsGod in surviving mainly lay in his doppelgangers. Even if he was surrounded, he could still use them to fight against everyone. Coupled with his own regeneration and energy absorption abilities, he could survive for quite a period of time, so he was not worried.

Everyone present however knew this and knew that every second was precious. Thus, they exchanged a glance and nodded.

“Begin the operation.”

“We’re relying on you, Black Star.”

The next instant, everyone attacked at the same time!

Faced with ten other Beyond Grade As, the doppelgangers died extremely quickly, but EsGod continued to produce more doppelgangers using his energy absorption, succeeding in holding off all the Beyond Grade As! While it was taxing on him, this was already shocking enough.

Even the Beyond Grade As encircling him could not help but sigh at his battle strength.

The evolved form of EsGod was really a freak!

If it was not for Black Star’s suggestion for them to join hands and deal with him, who would still threaten this fellow in the future?

Han Xiao weaved through the battlefield, shuttling through the heavy blockade of the doppelgangers to get closer to EsGod.

Because EsGod had already fought with Han Xiao before, it did not suspect him and immediately rushed forward to challenge him.

However, when the two of them made contact, EsGod felt a strange power surge out from Han Xiao’s body and into his own.

The next instant, it was as though a tranquilizer had been injected into EsGod, and his abilities all went silent.

“This is… Esper Silence‽”

EsGod’s expression changed, and it finally turned into suspicion. He did not understand why Han Xiao had his ability.

“It’s effective!” Seeing the notification on the interface, Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

During the pre-war conference, Han Xiao had discussed this strategy with the rest, and the moment they surrounded him would be the time he unleashed the Esper Silence Character Summon Card.

Han Xiao had always hidden this move, just waiting for the opportunity.

The moment Esper Silence came into effect, all the doppelgangers froze, and without the ability to maintain it, the doppelgangers exploded and dissipated into black mist.

Because of their disparity, the duration of Esper Silence was at the lowest, but this instant was enough to disintegrate his doppelgangers!

Everyone was long prepared and took the advantage when EsGod lost his abilities. The three mages threw the restraint magic they had prepared, the psychics interfered with his mental state, the pugilists used force to suppress him, and Han Xiao also gave EsGod an injection, implanting him with nano-level cytostatic fluid to reduce his vitality.

This single instant was enough for EsGod to fall under heavy restrictions. With so many Beyond Grade As acting in concert, there was no way he could struggle free in a short while.

When his strength recovered, he tried to free himself, but the control skills were like shackles, binding each of its limbs and nailing him in place.

Under so many effects, the energy within his body stagnated, and he was unable to utilize it to activate his abilities any longer.

EsGod stared at Han Xiao, his eyes displaying puzzlement.

“How are you able to use my ability?”

“You’ll have a lot of time to slowly think about that in the future.” Han Xiao did not hesitate, immediately taking out the Spacetime Amber and pointing it toward EsGod. After entering its second layer of Soul Connection, the production of amber balls had sped up.

The Spacetime Amber was the key to this plan!

The people present might have been able to restrict EsGod, but they could not keep gathering forever. EsGod had too many Esper abilities, and there was no guarantee that he could not run after being locked up.

The only guaranteed way was the Spacetime Amber, which could restrict EsGod.

They had already decided that Han Xiao would be the core behind the operation this time, and everyone’s responsibility was simply restricting EsGod.

Without Esper Silence and the Spacetime Amber, EsGod would likely manage to escape. They were the key variables in this operation.

EsGod was sensitive toward space and felt the space around him start to warp. A look of astonishment was seen in his eyes.

“So, this is the effect of the Spacetime Amber from the legends. What a miraculous Universal Treasure.” EsGod paused for a while, reluctantly twisting his facial muscles. “I never thought that I would end up in your hands.”

Han Xiao was deeply aware of the possibility of receiving a counterattack if one talked too much and did not answer, focused on creating the Spacetime Amber.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, EsGod stopped struggling, staring indifferently at Han Xiao.

“Black Star, we will meet again.”

“That will be left to when the three Universal Civilizations see fit to ask me to release you.”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he suddenly cut the energy supply.

EsGod’s entire body was sealed within the Spacetime Amber!

Chapter 895: Success, Return

Chapter 895 Success, Return

The moment the Spacetime Amber was formed, all energy was isolated, and everyone let go, surrounding it and gazing at EsGod, who was trapped within the amber curiously.

“Is it done?” Sun Hunter tapped the casing of the amber ball, gazing at the motionless EsGod. His eyes carried some surprise.

Before the operation, they had estimated that the success rate would not be low, but now that it had been completed, the Beyond Grade As found it unbelievable.

EsGod was famed in the universe and had escaped the grasp of the three Universal Civilizations time and again. Now, it had truly been caught!

Furthermore, the operation had gone quite smoothly.

“Once trapped within the Spacetime Amber, time and space will be frozen. EsGod still retains his consciousness but can no longer move his body. We’ve succeeded,” Han Xiao summarized.

“Humph, to think this day would come.” Milizaus shook his head.

“With eleven of us, it would be an embarrassment if we failed.” Manison’s expression was calm, but he felt emotional at the loss of someone he knew.

But just as this feeling surfaced, it was immediately suppressed down when his gaze shifted to the Spacetime Amber that Han Xiao was holding. Everyone also looked at the Universal Treasure.

The capture of EsGod filled everyone with surprise, but this did not last long as they were all Beyond Grade As. What they were more interested in was the Spacetime Amber.

Due to the rumors of the battle of Planet Lighthouse, the Spacetime Amber had entered the sights of the various Beyond Grade As, and they were interested in something that could easily imprison another Universal Treasure. Now that they saw it in person, feeling envious was only natural.

Black Star had the means to restrict a Beyond Grade A’s abilities, which posed a threat to most of them present. Everyone had to reconsider their evaluation of Black Star’s strength. His position was unique.

Sensing their gazes, Han Xiao’s brows furrowed, and he put the Spacetime Amber away once again with a flip of his hand.

“What a good thing.” Sun Hunter sighed. “Black Star, your luck is good to actually possess two Universal Treasures.”

Han Xiao raised his brows in response. He was the happiest whenever someone praised his luck.

=

After all, something intangible had to be emphasized by others, just like how ordinary people liked to be called ‘handsome’ or ‘beautiful’…

After pausing for a moment, he did not respond but rather changed topics. “Now that EsGod has been caught, the operation is complete. I’ll take EsGod back to the dynasty. Any objections?”

Manison shook his head. He was interested in EsGod’s body, but it was a pity that he could not open the Spacetime Amber.

The trio from the Arcane Church, including Sun Hunter, thought about it before finally agreeing to Han Xiao’s request as well. The Arcane Church wished to take EsGod captive, but the situation always trumped one’s desires. With seven Beyond Grade As from the dynasty present, there was no guarantee they could snatch it, and there was also no need to.

“Since everyone is agreeable, then leave it to us.” Milizaus nodded. “Black Star, your contribution was the biggest in the operation this time. The dynasty will cooperate and announce your deeds.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao smiled.

EsGod and the Fallen Ark fleet were quite well known in the universe as notorious villains, frightening countless interstellar citizens. Now that this guy had been caught by the dynasty, it would definitely be big news. The dynasty would not let go of this opportunity to announce in public their ‘contribution to maintain peace in the universe’ by eliminating a scourge that threatened the citizens’ safety.

As the promoter and biggest contributor to the operation, Han Xiao would naturally be the key figure of this propaganda. When the news was spread, his reputation would also rise, and it would most likely become one of his defining battle records. The influence of this event would not necessarily be lower than the battle of Planet Lighthouse.

For someone such as EsGod, he might not be able to obtain any political assets, but he should definitely get Legendary Points.

Of course, when compared with the hidden dangers of the World Tree Civilization, these were trivial things. It was more important to eliminate the hidden dangers. At least the citizens would not receive a sudden alert that a World Tree was invading when they were on the toilet one day. That would probably scare the sh*t out of them.

Without the threat of EsGod, the spatial research of the three civilizations would also be lowered somewhat, and the Fallen Ark would also not continue launching attacks without a leader. Thus, the time when the World Tree Civilization would be linked with them would be delayed.

Since he had captured EsGod at this stage, the storyline of EsGod would disappear, but compared to the disaster brought about by the early invasion of the World Tree, this consequence was worth it, and it would win him more time for a stable development.

In the future, the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree Civilization would definitely notice each other, and there would be a cosmic disaster. Han Xiao was accumulating strength for this, so to him, the later it happened, the better.

That’s right, EsGod said that he would meet me again.

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed. Just now, he was busy trying to seal EsGod and did not pay attention to his words. Now that he had relaxed, all sorts of hypotheses began to float up.

EsGod also knew of the existence of the World Tree Civilization and was definitely certain that there would be a war between the two. His meaning was—would they let him out when they realized that they would require his strength?

Han Xiao shook his head. It was unknown when that would happen, and by then, it was hard to say that EsGod’s consciousness would still be sane after the long period of captivity.

This time, the Lotus Swordsman opened her mouth, coldly remarking, “There’s something I must remind you of. When I was interfering with EsGod’s soul, at that instant when he was sealed, I felt an extremely strong mental fluctuation.

Han Xiao’s expression stiffened. “What sort of fluctuation?”

“The mental state of EsGod exploded out at that time, and his resistance increased manifolds, as though he wished to use his mental energy to incite his body and remove his restrictions. However, he did not succeed, and the Spacetime Amber enveloped him shortly after, bouncing my psychic powers out.”

“Ok, I got it.” Han Xiao was silent for a while before he nodded.

It sounded like EsGod’s last gamble, but he had seemingly failed. It should be very normal.

No one argued over the rights to hold EsGod, and they quickly reached a consensus.

Everyone then turned back to look at the battlefield. The three Universal Civilization’s fleets were still clearing up the remnants of Fallen Ark, but no one intended to help.

They only had EsGod in their eyes. Now that the main evil had been cleared, these small fries were not worth moving.

Han Xiao remembered that the Contribution Points awarded by [Dynasty Battle Operation: Fallen Ark (Repeatable)] and thus split apart some of his mechanical army to hunt down the fleet.

The moment EsGod was caught, the rest of the Fallen Ark members also gave up resisting. No one surrendered since they were wanted criminals but fled in all directions. There was almost no one left on scene.

While waiting for the battle to end, Han Xiao opened the interface and viewed the large number of prompts that had popped up just now.

[Dynasty Battle Operation: Fallen Ark (Repeatable)] would soon end, and the few missions regarding facing EsGod directly had been completed. Just the reward for the experience measured up to thirty billion and was enough to level up a few times even at his level of 280. Of course, the premise was destroying his doppelgangers. Be it in the early or late versions, the number of players who could achieve that were few, but to him, it was not much effort.

The Contribution Points of the dynasty also surged up, crossing the ten thousand mark, almost nearing the amount where he could purchase two Ultimate Knowledges.

Very rewarding!

At the same time, a brand new [Character Summon Card—EsGod] also fell into Han Xiao’s hands.

However, EsGod had too many abilities, and the chances of drawing Esper Silence were low. This time, his draw was ordinary, and he only got teleportation. He could use it about ten times, and its effect was pretty good, but it was chicken feed for him, given that he already had Void Hyperdrive.

However, Void Hyperdrive was a little less flashy, and having more methods would also be good.

This time, Han Xiao had spent a lot to deal with EsGod. He had completely used up his Esper Silence skill, so this sure-kill ability against Espers was gone. Furthermore, the number of [Perfect Mechanical Sense] uses had dropped by one.

He still had one final blank Character Summon Card, which he could use to produce another [Perfect Mechanical Sense], but he did not plan to do so currently.

The battle at Planet Lighthouse and with EsGod was enough to give him a strong reputation, and it was estimated that no one would come and provoke him for a period of time. There was no need to think about using the blank Character Summon Card.

The other mission, [Archenemy of the Three Universal Civilizations], also showed a ‘completed’ status.

By capturing EsGod alive, he had fulfilled the additional requirements of the mission, and thus, he could draw three abilities from EsGod, which was much better compared to the Character Summon Card.

His Molding Talents were all practically drawn in this manner.

Han Xiao did not accept the reward immediately. Such precious reward, if he did not go back and touch Feidin and his godson first, would he not waste his chances‽

Just based on his own face, he would probably draw something nasty out!

Other than the reward, Han Xiao also obtained a great amount of experience in killing enemies. Killing a doppelganger would net him a lot of experience, and since the doppelgangers came unceasingly, it allowed him to obtain a ton of experience.

While gazing at his interface, the battle finally ended.

Han Xiao looked toward the other two universal civilizations.

“Our cooperation ends here. I thank you all for your help.”

“There’s no need to be polite. If there’s time, you can come over to my territory for a visit.” Manison sent another invitation to Han Xiao.

“Not today. I still have to escort EsGod back,” Han Xiao said. “Let’s do it another time.”

“Next time then.”

Manison shook his head regretfully before turning to leave.

Sun Hunter exchanged communicator numbers with Han Xiao before leading the rest of the Arcane Church members back to the main flagship. Han Xiao took the captured EsGod and followed Milizaus and the rest back to the dynasty’s flagship.

The eleven of them returned to their respective factions, and the three civilizations left.

At the same time, the operation’s report was also sent to the upper echelons of the three Universally Civilizations.

Chapter 896: Talent Upgrade

896 Talent Upgrade “EsGod was really captured?”

Urranrell received a report from the fleet commander within the Ruler’s office and was a little surprised.

The Ruler was busy with official business, so after a simple meeting to form a cooperation between the three civilizations, Urranrell did not continue to pay attention to this operation.

Urranrell had attached importance to Han Xiao’s determination to get rid of EsGod, but she did not care about the operation that took place. This mentality was just like a billionaire taking out a hundred thousand to make an investment. It was purely to test the waters, and whether it succeeded or failed was relatively unimportant. Having received the report of success, however, she was pleasantly surprised.

EsGod, who had constantly given them a headache, was finally removed.

The existence of EsGod had always been the bane of the three Universal Civilizations, it represented chaos and lawlessness, and it was a firm enemy of order. Both sides had clearly demarcated their boundaries, but in some cases, the three civilizations would rely on its strength.

The notoriety of EsGod came from its atrocities, and although it was tyrannical, it would definitely not come to rile the three civilizations up without a valid reason. The targets of its crimes were mainly some star cluster or super star cluster level civilizations, and rampaging about in these territories was actually a benefit to the three civilizations.

On the other hand, the Fallen Ark fleet attracted thugs and wanted criminals from all over the universe. The disadvantage was that the power of EsGod was repeatedly increasing, which made him harder and harder to deal with. The benefit in this was that because all the wanted criminals were gathered in one place, it became easier to control them and keep tabs on them, increasing their security.

Of course, this was under the premise that EsGod was sufficiently strong. If he was not so difficult to deal, the three civilizations would not have left him alone.

Now that Black Star had really captured EsGod, getting rid of this tricky enemy, they were obviously pleased.

This was equivalent to capturing the head of the terrorists, and it showed that the anti-terrorism measures of the three civilizations had an effect. The greater the shadow EsGod had left on the galactic residents, the more reputation they would gain.

Urranrell nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent, Black Star did not waste my efforts. He did well.”

“EsGod was likely careless, or else, with his strength, there’s no one in the Universe that would be able to capture him,” Clotti said calmly.

He had also faced EsGod a few times, and his judgment was accurate. If EsGod ran the moment he faced a blockade, no one would be able to capture him.

A pity that all of this was only hypothetical. EsGod’s behavior would never allow him to perform in this manner; he would definitely engage in battle first. If he only knew how to run, there was no way that he would have been able to reach his current strength and infamy. He would have long been removed by the three civilizations.

“No matter what, Black Star did not let down my expectations.”

Urranrell was getting more and more satisfied with Han Xiao. From viciously beating up the Arcane Church in the battle of Planet Lighthouse to getting rid of the Archenemy of the three Universal Civilizations, he had brought much fame and benefits to the dynasty.

…

While the dynasty fleet was on the journey back, they received a reply from the upper echelons of the dynasty.

In the center of the command room, a remote projection appeared. It was Urranrell. Seeing this, everyone got up to salute, and Han Xiao as well as the other Beyond Grade As also symbolically bowed their heads.

“All of you did well this time. You have made a tremendous contribution to the dynasty. The dynasty will not be stringy with the corresponding reward.”

Urranrell stood with her hands behind her, her tone full of praises.

Facing the leader of the dynasty, everyone maintained the aloofness of a Beyond Grade A and only nodded, accepting her praise.

“If not for Black Star managing to convince the Federation of Light to participate, I would not have been able to contribute much to this joint operation. I’ve seen the report, and Black Star had the biggest part to play in the capture of EsGod. The dynasty plans to announce Black Star as the core of our publicity stunts. I believe no one will object to it,” Urranrell said.

Capturing EsGod was a frightening battle record, and Urranrell was ready to put the credit on Han Xiao’s head, helping him to spread his reputation.

“Of course not, this is the truth.” Milizaus laughed.

He had been heavily injured in the battle of Planet Lighthouse, and he had always remembered this grudge. Seeing that EsGod had fallen into their hands, he felt so pleased, as though he was offered a cold refreshing drink on a hot summer day. His goodwill toward Han Xiao increased even further.

The rest did not have any objections. They were still waiting for the use of the evolution cube, so no one was willing to fight with Han Xiao for credit.

“Then, I’ll thank the dynasty in advance.” Han Xiao laughed.

“Good, you guys quickly bring EsGod back. The dynasty will lock him in the most secretive location.” Urranrell paused for a moment. “That’s right. Black Star, you mentioned that those that are sealed by the Spacetime Amber will have their souls slowly die off due to the long captivity, right?”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao nodded and understood her intentions. “Does the dynasty wish to study EsGod?”

“Yes, it has high research value. After so many combinations of gene chains, it has mastered all kinds of abilities. If this can be cracked, the genetic technology of the dynasty will have progress, and the number of Supers will also increase.” Urranrell did not conceal it. “Of course, only when his soul dies can we begin the research. How long do you think we need?”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. “I recommend at least five hundred years to start with.”

Urranrell stood in deep thought for a moment before nodding. “That works. Although the period is a little long, let’s play safe.”

Five hundred years was nothing to the Crimson Dynasty. Their period of existence far surpassed that number, and some war preparations even took units of a hundred years as a gauge.

After a few more side conversations, Urranrell hung up, and the dynasty soldiers present returned to work.

Ravenlaude now turned to Han Xiao. “Since EsGod has already been caught, it’s time for you to uphold your end of the deal.”

Han Xiao’s mouth widened in a smile. Raising his hand, nanoparticles surged, and the Evolution Cube was brought to his palm.

“Relax, I value credibility, and since everyone here has helped me in solving my issue, I won’t cheat you guys.”

…

The three Universal Civilizations reached a consensus, and only after their fleets returned did they announce the arrest of EsGod. Because the fighting took place in the desolate universe belt where there were limited human traces, most major organizations did not know anything about their encounter.

A little over half a month later, the dynasty’s fleet smoothly returned, and there were no unexpected incidents.

Han Xiao passed EsGod to another dynasty fleet, who locked EsGod up in a secretive location.

The other Beyond Grade As had also obtained their evolution and left satisfied, leaving Han Xiao as the only one who returned to Planet Crimson Ring.

He immediately contacted Feidin and the rest. After a month apart, they were finally reunited.

His goals for going to the Central Galaxy this time had been achieved. Han Xiao announced the end of the vacation before taking them back on his own spaceship, departing back for the Shattered Star Ring.

In the spaceship, Han Xiao took the excuse of not meeting them for a long time to have a meal and thoroughly ‘molested’ Feidin and Nero.

Feidin was used to it and just had a face of helplessness, but Nero squirmed left and right, not used to Han Xiao’s ‘passionate’ self. He was dizzy from all the ‘love’ given by Han Xiao’s big hands.

Reynold thought that he would undergo such a treatment as well and took a deep breath, psychologically preparing himself, but Han Xiao only turned and left, as though not interested in him. This made Reynold feel a little depressed.

After recharging his luck, Han Xiao locked himself in the room and opened the interface to complete the mission [Archenemy of the Three Universal Civilizations].

_____________________

The mission [Archenemy of the Three Universal Civilizations] has been completed.

Your cumulative damage to EsGod is calculated as 100% (up to the maximum limit). You will obtain the corresponding reward.

You have been awarded 20,000,000,000 experience, x1 Random Reward, x1 [Character Summon Card—EsGod].

[Character Summon Card—EsGod] Esper Ability—Ability Enhancement. This can only be used on Espers that are lower than your current level. It allows the potential of the ability to receive a permanent upgrade. Each target can only be promoted once. Uses: 0/3

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

This skill… is a little overpowered.

If a civilization’s Beyond Grade A has this ability, it would be equivalent to an unlimited number of Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid shots. Even if this could only be used on Espers, it was enough to raise the prowess of the Espers in the entire civilization by one whole level.

This was a strategic level ability!

A pity, the one who obtained this was EsGod. With his stingy character, chances were low that he would help his subordinates raise their strength.

EsGod had collected all these abilities, which was equivalent to killing off a lot of potential geniuses. If the original owners of this ability did not fall to EsGod, it was likely that they would have become distinguished guests of the Universal Civilizations.

_____________________

Additional mission requirements have been completed.

You have received an additional reward: Random draw of three skills of EsGod (Talent/Ability)

Alert: EsGod is an Esper. Part of the possible abilities have been automatically adjusted to your class.

You have three chances to draw, and at least one ability will be randomly selected each time. Please select your type of draw (Talent / Ability / Both).

_____________________

Han Xiao rubbed his hands, choosing the Talent option.

Since the Esper class was incompatible with his due to the different sources of strength, he knew that many Esper Abilities could not be extracted.

Since he could obtain abilities this time, he should by right utilize it. However, it would likely be more beneficial for him to obtain a good talent first.

_____________________

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one to three options from the five below as the reward:

1. Talent: Particle Structure Reinforcement – Immunity to True Damage.

2. Talent: Crazed Devotee – +20% Resistance to abnormal mental status.

3. Talent: Cell Division Control – Consumes energy to stimulate cell division and achieve powerful self-healing properties. Converts energy into HP at a 1:3 ratio, capped at 15% HP per second.

4. Talent: Endurance Enhancement – +40% Physical and Energy resistance.

5. Talent: Combat Instincts – Upon entering a combat state, +1% to all attributes, capped at 12%.

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He drew two Molding Talents this time, which were the first and third options.

His gaze was firmly locked on the [Cell Division Control]. This talent should have been converted from the ‘strengthened self-recovery’ of EsGod, which was similar to his [Middle Grade Cell Proliferation Control]. It was just that the efficiency was not as high as his.

His own HP had now broken through 500,000, and even if he converted all of his energy, it would not even reach ten percent of his total HP. It was far from achieving the cap of twenty-eight percent per second. Thus, he would benefit by increasing the efficiency of the conversion.

As for the ability to be immune to true damage, he already had it, and there was no need to reselect it.

_____________________

You have chosen [Cell Division Control].

Your [Middle Grade Cell Proliferation Control] is similar to [Cell Division Control], and the two talents will be combined.

Talents can be upgraded! Han Xiao was excited.

Certain similar talents could be merged together to form a stronger talent, which was equivalent to an upgrade.

_____________________

Combination complete.

You have lost [Cell Division Control].

Your talent [Middle Grade Cell Proliferation Control] has been upgraded to [High Grade Cell Proliferation Control].

High Grade Cell Proliferation Control: Make use of energy to proliferate cells, heal wounds, and convert energy into HP at a ratio of 1:9. Recovery rate capped at 35% of total HP per second.

_____________________

His conversation rate had now increased from 1:5 to 1:9, almost doubling the recovery speed. The cap had also increased from twenty-eight percent to thirty-five percent.

Han Xiao exhaled before continuing with the second draw. He still stuck to the Talent option.

Another five random talents were drawn, and after a glance, Han Xiao chose the Talent [Spiritual Onsen], which gave him an added twenty percent psychological resistance, as well as accelerated the removal of any abnormal mental statuses and soul damage.

Mental attacks were his shortcoming, so there was a need to stack his psychological resistance.

For his third draw, he still chose Talent. Sweeping the randomized reward, his eyes lit up.

Among the five, one of them seemed to be the adjusted version of EsGod’s Esper ability [Black Hole], which could convert a portion of the incoming damage into energy values.

After choosing this talent, the [Intermediate Energy Absorption] combined with this to form a new talent.

_____________________

Your [Intermediate Energy Absorption] has been promoted to [Expert Energy Absorption].

Expert Energy Absorption: When subject to any physical, energy, magical, or other attacks, incoming damage is reduced by 25% and converted to energy. The absorbed damage value is not counted as offset by resistance, and the remaining 75% of damage received will be used to calculate the resistance instead. 60% of the damage offset by resistance will be converted into energy.

_____________________

Han Xiao roughly did a calculation.

“If I count it like this, my efficiency in converting damage to energy will have increased by more than 1.5 times, and the upgraded talent now offers twenty-five percent more absolute resistance.”

With the addition of the [Black Hole] specialty, it directly converted part of the damage into energy, which was equivalent to saving the energy required to restore this amount of HP.

If his resistance was fifty percent and he received ten thousand damage in theory, then the initial talent effect would mean he received five thousand damage and absorbed three thousand energy.

After the upgrade, the effect now was receiving 3,750 damage and absorbing 4,750 energy.

The energy obtained was more than the HP lost!

Chapter 897: The Fall of EsGod Even

897 The Fall of EsGod Even After the three rewards had been drawn, miniscule Mechanical Force arcs swam on the surface of his body, and he felt numb. The cells started to subtly change, and from Han Xiao’s senses, he could feel that they had become even easier to control.

Because there was a base version, the upgrades to the talents were not uncomfortable and were actually quite pleasant.

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief, clenching his fists and feeling the endless strength surging in his body, as well as the vibrant vitality.

Following the evolution of the talents, Han Xiao’s self-healing abilities had also risen to a new level. For the current him, having such strong vitality was not disadvantageous since he was holding onto two coveted Universal Treasures, or else he might end up being captured like EsGod one day.

“With my current self-healing level, so long as I’m not like EsGod being beaten up by so many Beyond Grade As, there should not be any problems.”

Now that his HP and energy conversion rates were high, Han Xiao had plans for his subsequent advancements. Since the upper limit of his HP would increase with every level up, there was no need to pay attention to it. What he needed was to continue improving the energy attribute, as this affected his total energy as well as the speed of conversion.

In terms of his Mechanic class, he had to acquire advanced mechanic-related talents, learn more Ultimate Knowledges, research more blueprints, improve his machinery, expand the size of his mechanical army, and nurture a mechanical civilization… While he was resistant to attacks, this only ensured his tankiness. The main method of combat still had to rely on his Pay-to-Win… cough cough… his mechanical army.

The siege this time was considerably less risky than the battle at Planet Lighthouse. At Planet Lighthouse, they were the passive party under attack and were outnumbered. But this time, they were on the active side and outnumbered the enemy. His situation was not so dangerous because even if the operation failed, it would not have been life threatening. Thus, the pressure was lower.

As the interface for ability extraction disappeared, Han Xiao glanced and noticed another reward notification for this mission.

[Dungeon Copy: Fall of EsGod]

Han Xiao’s eyelids jumped.

“D*mn, the difficulty of this dungeon will be through the roof!”

EsGod was considered one of the end game bosses of the evil faction, but receiving the dungeon copy was something Han Xiao expected. However, those players who dared enter such a dungeon would be masochists.

Ignoring the players, even if it was Han Xiao himself, if he attempted to solo this, he would end up being pummeled by EsGod. Luckily, he only distributed the dungeon crystals and did not use them himself.

“Oh, this copy can actually be used to display my heroism…” Han Xiao could not help but think about the professional boot-licker Bun-Hit-Dog.

Putting his thoughts away, Han Xiao then glanced at his notifications to make sure he had not missed any rewards.

“Such a notorious guy like EsGod should give me some Legendary Points. I believe when the three Universal Civilizations announce this, the points will be delivered.”

There were two ways to obtain Legendary Points. One was the reward upon completing a mission, while the other was not part of the reward but more of the news being circulated around the universe, which would still award them with Legendary Points. Since Han Xiao had obtained Legendary Points in both ways before, he was not surprised.

Han Xiao could not help but think about the future developments, sighing internally.

“Now that EsGod is trapped, the unstable variable that is the World Tree Civilization has been resolved. Even if the Crimson Dynasty manages to crack the wormhole coordinates, as long as I’m operating, the Crimson Dynasty will then pay attention to hiding itself and will not lead them here. Rather, they will explore the World Tree Civilization in advance and obtain the initiative.’

Because of the coordinates from the wormhole, the storyline of the World Tree Civilization would inevitably change. The timeline being brought forward was a definite, but in his previous life, the World Tree Civilization had first discovered the three Universal Civilizations and seized the initiative. This time, however, Han Xiao estimated that it would be the three Universal Civilizations that would first discover the World Tree Civilization.

In this manner, the situation would change. The three Universal Civilizations had progressed all the way from the dark ages and definitely understood the importance of concealment. They would make a plan first before taking action. Han Xiao himself was also clear of the style of the World Tree Civilization, and there was no way both sides could co-exist. War was inevitable.

But who the invading party would be this time was difficult to say.

Han Xiao remembered that there was still another set of the wormhole data in the hands of the Tyla Civilization, and this would require the Crimson Dynasty to recollect it themselves. This was not a huge problem. With the ability of a Universal Civilization, it was likely that they would crack it before the Tyla Civilization, and then, the dynasty would take the initiative.

Furthermore, EsGod was now out of the picture, so it was likely that this set of data would hold less of an attraction toward the researchers since there were so many other research topics to work on. They would not spend so many resources on an unknown wormhole. Therefore, based on Han Xiao’s expectations, even if the storyline of the World Tree Civilization was brought forward, it would not be so soon.

“Without their leader, the Fallen Ark should disband quickly, no longer being a paradise for thugs. Those players who like to pillage and kill will also have one fewer place to go,” Han Xiao mused.

The storyline of EsGod could be said to have been completely subverted, and the destinies of many people would be rewritten. Most of them would lead better lives. With fewer planets being destroyed, they also would not meet with grisly ends due to EsGod. The number of lives saved would probably number in the billions.

This could be considered as doing a good deed, saving a wave of characters. Han Xiao stroked his chin, and the corners of his mouth curled up.

“After getting rid of EsGod, I can now lie low. There’s nothing much for me to do. I can safely tide through Version 3.0.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. Thinking back, ever since Version 3.0 started, he had always been into dire straits and had faced many big issues. It seemed like he would finally welcome a long period of stability, where he could relax and slowly develop.

Just as Han Xiao was preparing his blueprint for the Black Star Army, Reynold took Nero to another machinery modification room.

Reynold came to a modification table, and his fingers marked several golden operation marks on the panel. The table was switched to a manual assembly mode, and on the clear surface of the table, several gaps appeared in which metal plates opened into arms for support.

“Since this vacation is over, I hope you can return to your studying mode as soon as possible. Theoretical knowledge is only the basis of a mechanic. The mechanics who are unable to turn this knowledge into actual manufacturing capabilities are considered failures. You have learned enough theory, and thus, starting today, you’ll need to add the operation training of primary machinery into your curriculum.”

Nero’s spirit was refreshed. Studying theoretical knowledge was dry and boring, and having actual practical lessons would at least be more interesting. He had been interested in building machinery from the start, which was why he had chosen to become a mechanic.

Pressing a few buttons of the modification station, a virtual screen popped up, in which there were many low-level machinery assembly methods recorded.

This machinery modification table belonged to Reynold, and within it were a lot of low-level blueprints.

“Let’s start from the simpler ones,” Reynold said. “Okay, take this. The classic exoskeleton mechanical suit, with a technical difficulty of D1, at the weak planetary level. This is the technology of Planet Aquamarine, and the parts have already been produced. You just need to assemble them.”

Nero settled down, recalling theoretical knowledge that he learned and applying it. He would watch the operation video whenever he was confused.

“Right now, we’re training you on your familiarity with assembly. This is the basis of a mechanic, and even His Excellency Black Star started off the same way.” Reynold stood by the side to provide guidance. “Don’t just simply follow the steps to assemble. Use all your sensory organs to detect the machinery’s structure. Use your mechanical force to penetrate it, touch it, and perceive it.”

“Understood.”

Nero focused, and the clearer a picture he got of the machinery, under the effect of the Advanced Luck Glow, his Middle Grade Mechanical Sense was slowly moving toward the advanced level.

…

In a certain restricted area of Constellation Corridor, a dynasty battleship landed on a huge mechanical space fortress. This fortress was in the shape of a cube, with a structured layer and covered with heavy armor. A large number of defensive weapons were arranged on the outside, arming it to the teeth.

This sort of armed space fortress was specially designed by the dynasty to hold prisoners who were powerful supers. It possessed powerful defense capabilities, enough to blow up an entire fleet, and a huge prison space. Only one Beyond Grade A was detained there, and all those facilities inside were to prevent the person from escaping.

“Please confirm the code and key of the imprisonment project… Procedure complete.”

“The prison is being activated. The core is currently being opened, and smart docking is underway.”

“Docking complete. The imprisoned cabin is ready to launch. Counting down… three, two, one, launch.”

From within the dynasty battleship shot out a small egg-shaped cabin. Its body was silver and black. It was ten meters long, and EsGod, wrapped in amber, was locked inside.

This egg-shaped cabin possessed independent power propulsion, jetting out flames as it smoothly flew into the gap exposed by the prison fortress. The body fit perfectly, and the mechanical structures on both sides locked to complete the fitting.

The prison then closed and folded upon itself, turning back into its original cuboid shape.

This was where EsGod would be locked for the next five hundred years.

…

Some days later, a piece of news shook the entire Galaxy.

The three Universal Civilizations jointly released a news report that the criminal EsGod had been captured!

They had hunted EsGod multiple times, all of which had ended in failure, and the infamy of EsGod had long pierced deep into the citizens’ hearts. For them to have suddenly captured EsGod shocked all the citizens.

Countless galactic residents thought that EsGod would remain unpunished, and many conspiracy theorists even believed that the three civilizations were secretly backing EsGod, but they were all equally shocked by this news.

After the initial shock came the cheers.

EsGod had been captured; everyone cheered!

After years of poisoning the universe, EsGod had caused a lot of tragedies. He had always remained the most dangerous criminal in the eyes of the galactic residents, and now the three Universal Civilizations had fought against this terrorism and captured the criminal.

The three civilizations’ joint operation, in the eyes of many people, sent a signal to the outside world that the conflicts arising from the Battle of Planet Lighthouse had been resolved, and they were trying to promote their relationship now. The interstellar environment had returned to stability.

As for the joint operation, the three civilizations also announced the details. The eleven Beyond Grade As involved were introduced, and they emphasized on Han Xiao’s merits, even calling him the core of the operation as well as its initiator. This further highlighted his contributions.

With the number of people being aware of EsGod, it was equivalent to Han Xiao stepping on the infamy of EsGod to boost his own renown.

Even before the topic of the ‘Enemy of the Arcane’ had disappeared, another matter that represented Han Xiao had appeared.

The universe termed this as the ‘Fall of EsGod’, and as the leader of the event, Han Xiao left an even deeper impression in the hearts of the galactic residents.

Various star fields and countless victims who bore hatred toward EsGod gave rise to emotions of gratitude toward Han Xiao.

…

The Shazik Planetary Transit station was a neutral planet that offered various services, located in the dangerous Central Galaxy desolate universe belt. It was a rare occurrence, and it provided people with venues for smuggling, repairs, and entertainment. The target of their service was the wanted criminals, including Fallen Ark.

Only people who were not afraid of death would establish a planetary transit station in this area. Those with no backer would be long looted by the mobs, so Shazik had linked up with the Fallen Ark, providing them with a large amount of protection fees in order to prevent being plundered.

The owner of this planetary station was also called Shazik. He was a Calamity Grade Super and had established cooperative relationships with a number of armed forces, including Fallen Ark. He was considered a middle level character in the desolate universe belt.

As for his origins, they were a secret, and the criminals there did not and would not care.

However, Shazik was no criminal but rather had his hometown ravaged by EsGod. He had developed a strong hatred, and thus, he had chosen to become an avenger, building a transit station there to look for opportunities to deal with Fallen Ark.

Upon receiving the news of EsGod being captured, he immediately called for a secret meeting.

“The moment EsGod falls, there will be no one keeping the insane Fallen Ark members together. They’re sure to disband. We’ll also be embroiled since our backer has fallen. There are too many fellows that want to plunder us,” one of his close aides said.

“That’s right. We cannot stay here any longer. We need to leave.”

“Boss, what are you going to do?”

Shattered Star Ring solemnly said, “Bring all of our things. We’ll go to Shattered Star Ring and look for the Black Star Army.”

“Why him?”

“I made a promise to the gods before. Whoever could get rid of EsGod, I would serve under him.” Shazik’s expression was set.

Ever since his hometown was annihilated, he had only had revenge left in his life. However, EsGod was too strong, and revenge was out of the question. Now that Black Star had finished his life’s work, even if it was not for revenge, Shazik also felt gratitude toward him and decided to use his strength as a form of repayment.

“With someone at Black Star’s level, will he even want us?”

“That’s why we have to bring a gift.” Shazik lowered his voice. “Over the years, we’ve bribed several of the Fallen Ark members and have also sent in a lot of undercover spies. Now is the best chance. When the Fallen Ark is in chaos, they’ll steal a portion of the riches, and this will be our basis to enter the Black Star Army.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up. They had spent so many years here and also gotten to know the Fallen Ark well. While they were a chaotic and loose organization, they also had a lot of valuable items, such as the trophies EsGod had stored over the years—secret intelligence reports, failed experiments, and even special prisoners that were locked up.

Now that EsGod was gone, they were definitely not the only ones looking to plunder the Fallen Ark. This was the best time to fish in muddied waters!

Chapter 898: Impac

898 Impac The members of Fallen Ark were originally criminals that came from different star fields. Some of them were the crazed worshippers of EsGod, while others did it to obtain the protection of EsGod.

Now that EsGod was gone, without their strong leader, no one had the qualifications to step up, so the lawless criminals also lost their reason for banding together.

The criminals knew that without their leader, the next move of the three Universal Civilizations would be to bring the knife to them, completely cleansing the desolate universe belt.

After EsGod fell, the powerful Fallen Ark also began to split apart into countless smaller groups, and one by one, they started to raid all the Fallen Ark’s treasuries.

The desolate universe belt in the Central Galaxy was actually the territory of the Fallen Ark and had maintained a very thin line of balance between all the forces, but now, it had become even more chaotic and dangerous, with the criminals killing and plundering each other.

At this moment, there were more than a thousand battleships surrounding a desolate planet and undergoing a battle.

This planet was one of the secret research facilities established by EsGod, and it stored various valuable materials, technology, and special products. The thousands of battleships belonged to the divided criminal groups, and their purpose was to snatch the results of this Ru0026D base. One of the teams belonged to Shazik.

The surface of the planet had turned into an intense battlefield. Most of the battlefields were not equipped with annihilation weapons but rather only used their battleship cannons to attack. The plasma beams interlaced with each other, coloring the dark universe with bright stripes, as though paint on a canvas. Hulls melted wherever it passed, turning into red hot slag that became obstacles in the battlefield.

The battle continued for a period of time, and finally, the victors were decided. Shazik’s team was one of them, and they raided this facility before leaving in satisfaction.

…

The inky black blade sliced across the throat, and fresh red blood seeped out, splattering on the bloodied cabin wall.

Plop!

A gray-skinned creature with dense compound eyes fell over, clutching his bloodied neck, revealing the killer behind.

It was a humanoid creature with a long blade wearing a hood and a black mechanical mask that only revealed a pair of scarlet eyes.

This was a tattered ship cabin, the walls of which were covered with slash marks and electrical arcs. Lying on the ground were hundreds of dead bodies of different species, and the ground was solidified with colorful blood scabs. Only the killer was left standing.

“Number 11,570…”

His voice was hoarse, sounding like a pair of worn bellows. With a flick of his wrist, the blood on the blade disappeared, and he sheathed the blade before pressing on his mechanical mask, sending a message to a number labelled ’employer’.

“Objective complete.”

Very quickly, the employer replied, their tone filled with gratitude.

“Thank you very much, Mister Lothaire. Thank you for taking revenge for us. Without you, we would forever be…”

“This is a transaction. Remember to pay up.”

Lothaire indifferently cut the other party off.

He was a lone bounty hunter, but his hunting targets were limited to members of the Fallen Ark.

Lothaire was born in one of the colonial planets of an advanced civilization and had grown up in a peaceful environment. However, the Fallen Ark fleet descended upon them one day, bringing death and destruction.

He had thought that he would die, but somehow, a hidden Esper Ability within his body burst out at the juncture of life and death, allowing him to escape from his fate… but resistance was futile, as they captured him and offered him to EsGod.

Thus, Lothaire met EsGod and had his newly awakened Esper Ability torn away from him, becoming a dying person, his life force flickering like a candle in the wind.

Normally, those whom EsGod had stolen abilities from would either be made into food or thrown out into the universe. Maybe Lady Luck was smiling at him, but Lothaire was thrown out into the universe. While ordinary people could not survive in the universe, he found out that the Esper Ability had changed his body structure, allowing him to survive even in the vacuum of the universe.

After the Fallen Ark fleet had left, the civilization’s rescue force managed to arrive before Lothaire died, making him the only survivor. He held an extreme hatred toward EsGod and Fallen Ark, and under this drive, Lothaire, who had lost his Esper ability, experienced mortal hardships, embarking on the path of a pugilist and becoming a Super.

After his training was completed, he became a bounty hunter.

The members of the Fallen Ark were all criminals, and they fled under EsGod’s umbrella to avoid being hunted by various civilizations. Lothaire was specialized in hunting down such criminals, and he made these self-confident fugitives pay their blood debt. Thus, his employers were usually victims of Fallen Ark.

As of today, the number of Fallen Ark members who had fallen under Lothaire’s blade was in six digits, but Lothaire was still unsatisfied. He was just like an ascetic monk that continued to grind his strength in order to complete his hidden goal—assassinating EsGod!

His experience of meeting EsGod had always been his nightmare, bringing him endless fear and causing him to wake up from his sleep. But even though he knew it was impossible, he refused to give up on his ultimate goal.

Without caring about the ground strewn with corpses, Lothaire walked toward the control room of the spaceship. Suddenly, his communicator notified him of a news flash, which was the joint report by the three civilizations.

“EsGod has been captured?”

Lothaire’s expression changed, and he stopped walking, concentrating on the news report.

After a while, he let out a long, relieved sigh. Suddenly, he felt a bit lost, as the goal in his heart had suddenly disappeared.

But very quickly, Lothaire regained the light in his eyes and muttered to himself, “The guy who caught EsGod is called Black Star…”

…

On one planet where the people were living like nomads, less than a tenth of the population remained after being attacked by EsGod.

When news of EsGod’s capture reached this tribe, the people shed tears of joy.

“EsGod has been captured!”

“Wu wu wu… we’ve waited so long for this day!”

“All praise Black Star!”

“Long live Black Star!”

The same scene was being repeated on many different planets.

…

The news of EsGod’s arrest incited joy but also alarmed a few secret organizations.

“EsGod was too violent in his bearings. I knew this day would come for him.”

“Now that EsGod is gone, the Fallen Ark also won’t exist. There’s no one else to take away the attention of the three civilizations. This is disadvantageous to us.”

“Continue maintaining a low profile and accumulate strength. We’re not as unbridled as EsGod, so it’s hard for them to focus on us.”

“This is also a chance. We can accept those under EsGod as well as his inheritance and use it to bolster our forces.”

“Yes, send someone to the Central Galaxy. There will be a lot of people who think the same way, so don’t fall behind.”

…

In the orbit of Planet Aquamarine, the Floating Dragon Island drifted.

Ames stood at the edge of Floating Dragon Island, overlooking the panoramic view of Planet Aquamarine.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and Ames turned to see Aesop walking to her.

“There’s big news.” Aesop shook his head. “EsGod has been captured by the three Universal Civilizations.”

“What happened?” Ames’ brows raised up.

“See for yourself.”

Aesop put the communicator on her hand.

After glancing through, Ames returned the communicator, a smile on her face.

“He really can’t sit still.”

“Black Star went and did something big again. He’s becoming stronger and stronger.” Aesop felt a little emotional.

Throughout his long life, he had experienced the age where EsGod was the craziest. He feared EsGod somewhat, but to think that this fellow actually was captured by a newbie Beyond Grade A.

Although this was a siege, he also saw the extent of Han Xiao’s current connections and influence from the lineup of the three civilizations in this operation. Even when he was part of the Ancient Ones, he probably did not have a reputation like Han Xiao’s.

“Yes, he is becoming stronger.”

Ames smiled but went a little silent. She still remembered the time she fought EsGod together with Han Xiao. At that time, his strength left her with a deep impression, but now EsGod had actually fallen to Han Xiao. This meant that Han Xiao’s overall strength should have surpassed hers.

While she had always been pursuing strength, watching her subordinate catch up to her left her with complicated feelings.

She was originally high up above, but later on, Black Star reached Beyond Grade A and sat on the same level as her. However, whether it was in position, strength, or influence, Black Star had completely surpassed her, completing a counterattack under her watch.

While she was also improving, the majority of it was because of the evolution that Black Star had given her.

Their roles had swapped.

Ames stretched before lightly blowing out.

“It seems that I’ve been too lazy these years and not exercising properly. I should look for a time to have a good fight with Black Star.”

…

Following the news, Han Xiao who was on the journey back also received a long-awaited notification.

_____________________

You have received 1 Legendary Point.

Universe Legendary Point: The Fall of EsGod—The notorious leader of the Fallen Ark, the ‘Butcherer of Life’ EsGod, has finally been captured by the three Universal Civilizations. As one of the participants, and even the leader, countless races are grateful for your contribution and will remember your name.

_____________________

Universe Legendary Point? Han Xiao whistled. The infamy of EsGod was really carved into everyone’s heart.

As one of the end bosses of the evil faction, EsGod had quite the reputation. The sensation caused by capturing him was no less than the Battle of Planet Lighthouse. Since EsGod’s influence covered the entire universe, he was given the highest legendary point rating.

Closing his notification, Han Xiao opened the forums. Everyone was discussing the fall of EsGod.

He had obtained reputation from this event, and this also seemed to have affected the players’ gaming experience.

Chapter 899: Popularity and Recognition

899 Popularity and Recognition The social media transmission within the galaxy was quick, and this explosive news quickly went around to various star fields. As for the players who also carried a communicator, they naturally did not miss out on such news.

Within the forums for the Shattered Star Ring, there were many players fervently discussing this incident.

After going through three versions, the players were already familiar with the erratic whereabouts of NPCs. Except for functional NPCs such as merchants, most of the characters would not stay within the same place all the time. A player could talk to a character and come back later to see that they had left for another place.

While this was a little inconvenient, the majority preferred such a characteristic, as it gave off a high sense of realism.

Following the expansion of the Black Star Army, the contact that Han Xiao had with the players had also begun to decrease. Ever since Version 2.0, he had adopted an image of a faction commander, and thus, the players were now used to not seeing a trace of their army commander and suddenly finding out news about him.

Discussing the deeds of the army commander became one of the pastimes for the players.

Many players were creating posts to discuss the fall of EsGod. At this stage, their level was too far from EsGod’s; he was a character toward the mid-late versions. As such, there was little interaction between the character and the player. The players only knew that he had a badass introduction, and he was from the evil faction, nothing else.

Only the players from the three star fields in the Central Galaxy knew more, especially those chaotic players who had taken part in looting and pillaging without taking up any storyline missions. They had gone to the desolate universe belt to join the Fallen Ark, but they did not have the qualification to see EsGod, only seeing the tip of the iceberg.

Because they were limited in their understanding of EsGod, the impact of EsGod falling was not as great, and its significance could not be compared to the battle at Planet Lighthouse. After all, Planet Lighthouse involved two Universal Civilizations, and to the players, that was end game content.

As for the fall of EsGod, the majority of players did not experience it and did not know the significance of this matter. They just thought that a big shot character had been caught.

The reply that Han Xiao saw was thus a routine spit on their army commander.

“The Army Commander ran off to do something again. He seems very free.”

“Sigh, I also want to go to the Central Galaxy to take a look. This abominable contractor, throwing us at the Shattered Star Ring to slave away while he goes to explore places leisurely.”

“Will this lead to a new storyline?”

“I doubt it. I think this was supplementary to the battle of Planet Lighthouse. EsGod took part and thus got caught. Since there’s nothing that us players can do, it’s most likely a backstory.”

“What a trash game. It’s all just CG.”

“Ah, there are no cutscenes to see. I’m going to die.”

“I’m EsGod. I got captured yesterday by the three Universal Civilizations and require 5,000 Enas to bail me. Someone, please bail me. When I’m out, I’ll bring you to explore the world. My account number is 480xxxxxx…”

“D*mmit, I’m part of the Fallen Ark faction. You guys captured my leader. All you Black Star Army dogs, eat sh*t!”

“Central Galaxy dog, scram!”

“The Constellation Corridor is shivering.”

Seeing all sort of cr*p on the forums, Han Xiao’s mouth curved into a smile.

Just as he was scrolling through all the posts of these moronic players, he discovered that one of them was actually pushed to the top, with the topic of ‘The meaning behind the Fall of EsGod’. The post’s popularity was flying up quickly.

As he clicked on the post, he saw the player’s ID, ‘Army Commander’s JJ’ [1. For those of you who need a reminder, JJ basically means the third leg.].

“… Crazy!”

Han Xiao’s face began contorting.

Being perverts was certainly a strong point of the players. He was ashamed that he could not be like them.

Taking a deep breath to calm down, Han Xiao began to read the content.

“Brothers in the army, it seems as though many of you do not view the fall of EsGod with importance. I started off like this, but today, I met with a miraculous incident that changed my mind.

“It goes like this. I actually accepted a small employment mission some time ago and acted as a temporary escort for a long-distance travel spaceship, responsible for escorting them through the Giberian Star System. You guys know, all the Galactic Travelling Agencies now like to employ us Black Star Army people. As long as we are onboard, the pirates will not attack.

“Anyway, there was nothing to say about the journey. It was relaxing. But after we disembarked, a few of the other visitors from another star field stopped me, giving me some stuff and asking me to pass them to our Army Commander.

“[Picture Attached]

“[Picture Attached]

“As you can see from the pictures, they weren’t anything valuable, just some handmade stuff, and the flavor text read ‘This is a gift that is full of gratitude’. It triggered a corresponding mission.

“[Picture Attached]

“I had never interacted with them before, but they took the initiative to find me. These passengers said that their civilization had once been attacked by EsGod, and many people died. They were extremely grateful to Black Star for eradicating him, so they made the gifts to express their gratitude. They saw me as a member of the Black Star Army and wanted to ask me to deliver them to the commander.

“This is the rough idea. During the conversation, this group was enthusiastic, holding my hands as they laughed and cried, continuously murmuring thanks toward the Black Star Army. I’ve recorded the video here, and the emotions are very contagious…

“[Video]

“While this is just a small task, I feel that the meaning hidden within is not simple.

“Within the entire universe, how many people would have been harmed by EsGod, and how many wish to thank our commander! This number must be frightening! From this, you can tell that the true meaning behind the Fall of EsGod is not just a simple backstory but rather the dawn of justice shining upon many destroyed races and families!

“The Army Commander did a great noble deed, and honestly, seeing the gratitude on the NPC’s faces gave me a feeling of satisfaction.

“Brothers, I’ve said too much. Let me be the first to conclude: the Army Commander is awesome!

“PS: To reflect my admiration to the commander, I’ve decided to go to the cash shop to buy a ‘Name Change Card’. I’m going to add an additional ‘Big’ word to my name!”

Han Xiao scrolled down. This post had attracted a lot of players, and there were a lot of replies to it.

“It’s ok to add a ‘big’ word. But it seems that the OP[1] is a troll.”

“I suspect that you are guiding us somewhere, but I have no proof.”

“I just saw the video. It’s full of emotions. I give 100 points.”

Some players ridiculed the poster, and some agreed with him.

“This made me remember the Mutation Disaster. In order to save his mother planet, the Army Commander actively went into the galaxy to gather reinforcements. He has always had a sense of responsibility.”

“That’s right. While Army Commander is a profiteer, he can still be relied on. I remember his speech. My goodness, so inspiring!”

When players chose a camp, other than just benefits, they also paid attention to the values it displayed. The players would often seek psychological satisfaction.

Han Xiao had always given the players a good impression, so many of them stayed in the Black Star Army not just because of the high welfare but also because they recognized Han Xiao as a leader.

Now that Black Star had received the gratitude of countless races, the players also felt honored being related to him. Many of them had a sense of honor and achievement.

After reading this point, Han Xiao scratched his head, and he found out that even he himself had underestimated the influence of this incident.

Just as the post had said, there were countless races that EsGod had trampled on, and now they saw him as their savior.

This popularity was different from the normal reputation. The ones before stopped at the level of acknowledging his strength and status, but everyone only knew him as a powerful person, having high influence. What the EsGod incident gave him were the hearts of the commoners and the recognition of the galactic residents.

One of these functions would attract more talents to take the initiative to join his faction. After all, some people would never be persuaded by benefits, and they were likely often talents.

A Universe Legendary Point was indeed not simple, and this EsGod could be said to be a treasure to Han Xiao. He was now in a good mood.

“EsGod has made countless enemies, and there are so many that want revenge on him. I wonder if those NPCs that would have attacked EsGod in the future versions will lean toward my faction.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

…

After travelling for a few days, the spaceship finally returned to the headquarters of the Black Star Army, entering through the dedicated personal dock.

The moment Han Xiao exited, he saw Hila waiting for him.

“Hey, you personally waited for me?” Han Xiao smiled as he waved.

“Humph.” Hila did not deny it, brushing aside the red stray hairs that covered her eyes, and slowly scanned Han Xiao. “Seems like EsGod didn’t give you much trouble. None of your limbs are missing.”

Han Xiao raised his brows before sniggering. “Were you worried about me?”

“This is my duty as the Black Star Guards captain.” Hila remained expressionless.

Han Xiao smiled, turning back to bid goodbye to Feidin and the others, before leaving. He gestured for Hila to follow.

“By the way, I’ve brought you a present.”

“Not interested.” While Hila said that, her body was more honest, immediately following behind Han Xiao.

The two of them came to a combat room, and Han Xiao locked the door before turning to Hila, who was hugging her waist.

“I got something interesting from EsGod. It seems like it can strengthen Esper Abilities. With your Beyond Grade A potential, this gift could make your road to Beyond Grade A even smoother, increasing your upper limit.”

Hila fiercely pursued strength, so she immediately felt emotional. “But such a good thing, won’t you give it to my teacher to use?”

“Oh, she probably can’t utilize it.” Han Xiao shook his head. “Furthermore, you’re my first choice. The first person I thought of was you.”

[Esper Ability Strengthening] from EsGod Character Summon Card only had a total of three uses. Han Xiao had already thought about it. Hila’s potential was exceedingly high, and coupled with the fact that she was his close aide, he would also obtain the benefits.

“Humph.” The corners of Hila’s mouth curled up in an arc of joy, and she put her hands behind. “Ok. What I need to do?”

“Don’t move. Let me handle it.”

Han Xiao activated the Character Summon Card [Esper Ability Strengthening]. The shadow of EsGod appeared behind him, and dazzling white energy particles floated around his palm.

He came up to Hila’s side and tapped on her forehead. The energy particles streamed into Hila’s seven orifices and circled around in her brain.

Hila groaned and shivered, immediately fainting. Han Xiao moved fast and caught her.

After checking her condition, he estimated that she would not wake up for a period of time.

“To actually faint, I thought it would be the same as the Esper Ability Potential Enhancing Fluid.”

Gazing at Hila who was leaning on him, Han Xiao shook his head and carried Hila off like a sack of potatoes on his shoulder.

After leaving the combat room, he approached Hila’s room, and hacking into the system, he unlocked her door and went in.

Hila’s room was as sparse as Han Xiao’s, and after he placed her on the bed and tucked her in, he caught sight of three photo frames on her desk.

He took a closer look. The three were respectively Hila and Aurora, her with Ames, and a picture with him. Other than that, there were no other decorations.

Standing silently for a while, Han Xiao stretched out his hand, taking the photo frame and lying it on the desk. He then switched off the lights and exited the room.

…

After a while, Hila finally opened her eyes and discovered that she was in her room.

“Did he bring me back?”

As her hazy brain cleared, Hila stood up and rubbed her eyes.

She revolved her Esper Ability, feeling the changes, and her eyes widened.

“This is as amazing as the Evolution Cube. The pathways are much smoother, and my upper limit has also increased… Oh, not sure how long I’ve slept. Better go find him.”

As Hila prepared to leave, she noticed an incongruity in her room. Gazing at the three photo frames, she noticed that one of them had fallen.

She realized that it was the photo of herself and Han Xiao upon closer look.

Hila’s eyes twitched, and the good mood she had gotten from strengthening herself dissipated in a flash.

“…Humph!”

[1] Original Poster

Chapter 900: Eternal Power Source

900 Eternal Power Source In the following month, Han Xiao remained within the headquarters to sort out his gains.

His Contribution Points in the dynasty had increased by another ten thousand or so, and with his original eleven thousand, he had more than twenty-two thousand. He used that to purchase one new Ultimate Knowledge from the dynasty.

Right now, the tumor that was EsGod had already been removed, and the external environment had also settled down and entered a stable development period. The pressure on him was greatly decreased, so he did not have to rush and gather more knowledge.

Han Xiao had currently grasped three Ultimate Knowledges: [Endless Material Science], [Mechanical Life Tinder], and [Virtual Creator]. There was one from each of the branches.

The Materials, Information, and Energy Branches had always been the Three Chariots of the Mechanic Class. He had obtained both material and information branches, so he chose to fill up the final branch with [Eternal Power Source].

This Ultimate Knowledge’s title was just a sham. Its effect was not so exaggerated as to provide an ‘eternal’ source. It was not literally inexhaustible energy. The name came from the significance it held toward a Mechanic’s combat strength.

The Cutting-Edge Knowledge [Abnormal State Energy] allowed a Mechanic to master the technology for safely extracting Psionic, dark matter, antimatter energy, and more. [Eternal Power Source] allowed these new energy sources to be utilized to elevate a Mechanic’s abilities. At this point, one would see that technology and magic had started to blend into one, and like a mage, a mechanic would also begin to wield multi-dimensional energy.

However, this did not mean a difference in energy levels. Multi-dimensional energy did not mean that it was stronger than Psionic energy. It was just an increase in the variety of energy that a mechanic could wield.

The real focus of [Eternal Power Source] was not mastering new energy but improving the technology of the mechanic such that it was able to welcome the energies.

Just like the progress from nuclear fission to fusion, learning a more advanced energy extraction method would create a new generation of Psionic and dark matter energy reactors, which would increase the power output and stability.

The result would be a comprehensive increase in weapon power, shield durability, and machinery performance, which was the improvement brought about by energy technology innovation.

The new Ultimate Knowledge also gave Han Xiao a new talent and ability.

_____________________

[Advanced Energy Control]: When utilizing advanced energy, x1.15 Attack Power Bonus, x1.2 Shield Durability Factor, +30% Machinery Core Efficiency, +20% Output Efficiency.

[Energy Innovation]: Passive Ability. This Ability will only be upgraded with each increase in level for [Eternal Power Source]. Every level up will unlock additional advanced energy technology as well as reactor blueprints.

_____________________

Energy was just too important, so no matter which Mechanic branch one belonged to, they had to max out the level of [Eternal Power Source]. This was also one of the culprits behind the players’ Enas hemorrhaging.

If one did not choose to specialize in the Energy Branch, the tripled cost of Potential Points needed would make people feel like dying!

Even Han Xiao himself felt the difficulty. Even at Level 280, he only had twenty-one spare Potential Points. Learning this knowledge would require twenty-four points, and even if he maxed out a few of his abilities to make up for the lack of points, maxing out [Eternal Power Source] from Lv.1 to Lv.5 would require another ninety-six Potential Points, which was equivalent to raising the level of ninety-six blueprints to the maximum.

The experience needed for this was even more frightening than what was needed to level up!

The strength of a mechanic was derived from knowledge, and blindly levelling up was insufficient. Only by stacking up the various knowledges would they then have a stronger combat capability among their peers. This was the foundation of a mechanic.

Han Xiao’s four Ultimate Knowledges were all at Lv.1. After raising his level, he had to consider raising his Ultimate Knowledge level. Because of his unique advantage of having leeks, he had decided to raise all the levels of his Ultimate Knowledges as much as possible. This was destined to be a long project, but upon completion, his combat capability would be off the charts.

In addition to his own growth plan, Han Xiao also took care of the officers. The [Ability Enhancement] Character Summon Card was utilized on both Hila and Aurora, as the former had a Beyond Grade A potential, whereas the latter had a strategic level ability.

The last usage was left behind. Because both Ames and him were in the S grade, it was impossible for him to use it on her. He prepared to save this chance for another time.

In the next month, Han Xiao settled a few more official matters. The most important was the business cooperation with the Federation of Light. This was the deal that they had agreed upon.

Their method of cooperation was to help Black Star by opening a branch in the Abyss of Stars. Han Xiao coordinated with a deployment team and arranged for several satellite bases to be sent over.

Those who went over as the deployment team did not include the players, however. The Great Mechanic Han did not have the habit of transplanting his own leeks into another person’s farm.

Currently, there were two major events for the players to participate in—the Gulal Civilization war and the exploration of the Flickering World.

Moreover, the promotion for the Pro League had already begun, and because Version 3.0 was the time where the volume of players shot up rapidly, there were far more newcomers. The volume for this Version’s Pro League was much greater than in the past, and every player that intended to participate was actively preparing.

Based on Han Xiao’s estimates, the enthusiasm of players had risen by 47.5%.

Thus, the players could be left alone. Han Xiao had recently been more concerned with the follow-up events of EsGod’s fall. The impact of the event had already begun to ferment, spreading to the whole universe.

The three Universal Civilizations had begun a new wave of cleaning up the evildoers, and the Fallen Ark that had threatened the entire Central Galaxy had now completely disbanded and scattered. Many of the criminals had left the Central Galaxy, choosing to roam through the universe. Some of the other organizations were actively recruiting such criminals, dividing up EsGod’s manpower.

The Fallen Ark was one of the most famous criminal organizations of this era, but it was not the only one. With the vastness of the universe, there were other large criminal organizations active in the major star fields, and it was these people that were taking in EsGod’s manpower and legacies.

The Black Star Army had also received the same treatment. From Sylvia’s report, there was a spike in newcomers registering, and this should be because of his reputation in the universe.

While the majority of them were victims of EsGod, there were two people who attracted Han Xiao’s attention.

…

In the reception room within the Black Star Army Headquarters, Shazik and Lothaire sat in front of Han Xiao. The three of them sized up each other.

Han Xiao’s gaze swept across the two of them. His expression was unreadable as he spoke. “Both of you are Calamity Grade Supers. Are you serious about joining the Black Star Army?”

Shazik nodded and solemnly said, “EsGod destroyed my entire hometown, and my reason for living was to take revenge on him. I once swore that if someone could help me take revenge, then I would follow him.”

Lothaire had half of his face covered, and he only coldly nodded in response. He did not talk much.

“If that’s the case, then on behalf of the Black Star Army, I formally welcome you two aboard.”

Han Xiao smiled. A Calamity Grade was a high-level combatant and could live a life of luxury in any organization. Thus, he definitely would not reject them.

The reason these two caught his notice was not just because they were Calamity Grade but because they were famous NPCs.

In the past, EsGod had rampaged in the universe for many versions and made many enemies. Both Shazik and Lothaire were people who appeared in the storyline of EsGod, and they were both enemies of EsGod.

Shazik ran a gray transit station in the Central Galaxy’s desolate universe belt, and while it looked like it provided services to the criminals, it was actually a venomous snake in hiding.

During the time he was in business, he secretly bribed the people in Fallen Ark, collecting intelligence to disclose to EsGod’s enemies while also quietly sheltering the various organizations that sought to take revenge against EsGod. He provided them with weapons and spaceships, and players who had joined the universal civilizations could accept missions from him.

Shazik used all sorts of methods to nibble away at the influence of the Fallen Ark, but what the universe did not lack was crime, and thus, his speed of destruction could not overcome the speed at which they recruited.

In the end, because players who accepted asylum from him posted about it on the forums, his behavior alerted a player of the Fallen Ark faction, who then revealed his identity. He died at the hands of a bunch of criminals.

As for Lothaire, he was even better. This was a madman that dared to try assassinating EsGod. He had a mid-level Luck Glow around him and was a revenge-type template of a main character.

Lothaire was a bounty hunter who specialized in assassinating members of Fallen Ark. In the middle versions, he had established a secret organization named ‘Assassin’s Society’. It was not a large organization, but all its members were elites, possessing some reputation in the universe.

This was a hidden faction, and only players who had passed the test would be able to enter. Within, they would be able to obtain the subclass [Galactic Assassin] and could learn all sorts of assassination related skills from the members present. There was also an S ranked mission, [Assassinate EsGod].

In the past, the Assassin’s Society had high popularity because a large portion of lone wolf players liked the feeling of being assassins. This was especially so if one was an assassin in the universe, as they could assassinate all sorts of great characters, then watch the chaos it brought.

Lothaire had the strength of a Beyond Grade A seed at his peak, and he appeared and disappeared like a specter. As an assassin known for his lethality, his deterrence force was even stronger than a normal Beyond Grade A seed. He far outstripped Hadavy in terms of strength and was ranked at the forefront for assassination in the universe.

A pity that, because he could no longer withstand the fear he got from his nightmares of EsGod, he finally attempted to assassinate EsGod alone. With that, the strongest assassin never returned, dying at the hands of EsGod.

Based on their past records, Han Xiao looked more favorably on Lothaire’s strength. If he could obtain his loyalty, there was a lot of value in grooming him.

Upon recalling Lothaire’s past, Han Xiao had an idea.

I can create a small squad within the Black Star Guards, which need not stay near me, but move out on black ops. They will only answer to me, and I can call them the Shadow Guards or Shadowers…

This would allow Lothaire to once again create an assassin group similar to his past life. This might allow him to attract lone wolf players and use them to complete some shady objectives.

Just as Han Xiao was absorbed in his thoughts, Shazik took out a data storage device and placed it on the desk.

“Your Excellency Black Star, this is my greeting gift for you.”

Hearing his, Han Xiao tilted his head, asking curiously, “What’s inside?”

“A portion of EsGod’s legacies,” Shazik said in hushed tones. “Before we left the Central Galaxy, I mobilized all my undercover agents and seized a few of EsGod’s research bases. From there, we took their inheritance. This is my offering for joining the Black Star Army.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he looked at Shazik with praise.

This leek truly knew how to do things and even brought fertilizer for him.

He was reliable in doing things, a talent!

The various organizations are now trying to divvy up EsGod’s inheritance. I didn’t expect that by sitting at home, I would also receive a copy.

Pointing with a finger, he shot out a ray of nanoparticles, which entered the port of the data storage, directly linking to the stored data within.

“Phillip, read the data inside.”

“Roger, hum…”

Han Xiao closed his eyes, reaching into the quantum network. His brain, under the guidance of Phillip, quickly downloaded all the various information within.

There were quite a few goodies within, such as intelligence on certain civilizations, blueprints from lost civilizations, and special technology research reports.

After browsing for a while, Han Xiao found traces of the Evolutionary Civilization and was overjoyed.

With the instructions from the Evolutionary Civilization, he could now manufacture the containment block by himself, which solved one problem. Now, he need not be afraid of destroying the containment block to release its actual shape, and there were more methods to utilize it.

This information was priceless to him!

“What good stuff.” Han Xiao suppressed his excitement, quickly flipping through other reports.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. A certain report had captured his attention.

Oh, this is… a Super High Risk Esper Ability‽

Chapter 901: Clue on Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy

901 Clue on Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy Han Xiao frowned and scrutinized the report.

“This is the observation record and prediction coordinates of the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy]…”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

EsGod had been conducting research on mastering Super High Risk Esper Abilities for many years. One method would be to synthesize the abilities, and the other would be to directly find the whereabouts of such an ability.

Within the Super High Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty, not all abilities were derived from self-awakening. There was a super high risk Esper ability that was rare and unique, known as ‘Primal Energy Body’, which could exist as a life form in the form of an energy field. It had its own independent consciousness and was an ancient existence that flowed through the universe.

This kind of ability allowed a biological user to harness its power in the form of a possession, and they were called ‘hosts’.

However, the screening conditions were extremely harsh. If the strength of their energies conflict, no matter how powerful the Supers were, they could not bear the original energy body. Therefore, only Espers or ordinary people had the opportunity to become hosts. If the host was unable to carry the energy body, there would be a backlash.

Biological creatures below the Calamity Grade would be completely unable to withstand its strength and would implode due to the immense energy.

If successfully possessed, the host could use the power of the energy body. The host’s power would then come from an external source, and they would act like a launcher. The stronger one’s body, the more strength could be utilized, and the host would not need to develop the strength. This alternative ability was rare and much stronger than self-awakening an ability.

[Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] was one of these ‘Primal Energy Bodies’. It was a compound ability, covering multiple abilities such as physical fitness, firing radiation beams, and super speed. It could also allow the host to travel in space and extract the energy cores of stars, as well as possessing spatial and mental attribute abilities. It was well rounded and extremely powerful.

In history, there had been a few cases where hosts of [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] were recorded. All of them left startling records, pushing this ability onto the list of Super High Risk Esper Abilities.

In his previous life, the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] was one of the Super High Risk Esper Abilities that EsGod grasped in the later versions. He did not become a host but rather managed to rip off part of the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] body and obtained a portion of the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy].

This storyline was quite interesting, as it was unknown if the piece ripped off was the reproductive organ of the energy body, but the energy body went berserk and tried to reclaim that piece at all costs, searching for hosts to fight against EsGod.

Thus, there appeared two hosts capable of using the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy], and as though it was some drama where one sky could not hold two suns, they would fight. As for the host, he was also one of the important characters in EsGod’s storyline.

The [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] shuttled through the secondary dimension usually, only occasionally appearing in a corner of the universe. This report recorded where the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] had moved and predicted its next location.

“Since EsGod obtained that ability in the future, out of the predictions here, one should be accurate.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin, feeling a little moved.

While he could not possess any Esper Abilities, he could always use it to nurture his followers. Although they were bound by the Super High Risk Esper Ability Restriction Treaty, the specific implementation varied from person. With his current status, as long as he did not allow his people to abuse their ability, the Universal Civilizations would not care about him. After all, there was something known as ‘privilege’.

As for the method of capturing the Primal Energy Bodies, it was not an issue at his current stage. It was more than enough to create a containment device that could restrict an energy life. Many civilizations had this technology.

However, the time stated for the [Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy] was still far away. He had plenty of time to prepare.

Han Xiao nodded.

According to the data, he had decades before the next return. Preparing it now would be too early. As long as it had not appeared, going to the coordinates would be useless.

However, this time would not be as relaxed as obtaining the Spacetime Amber. It was likely that not only Shazik had managed to obtain this data, so there would be competitors.

Let’s think about it more when it comes. If push comes to shove, I can just snatch it… Han Xiao did not care much.

With his current strength, he was not afraid of clashing with any organizations, let alone decades later. Who knew how much the Black Star Army would have developed by then?

Retreating from the quantum network, Han Xiao renewed his gaze on the both of them, nodding.

“I’m very satisfied with this gift, Shazik. I feel that you have some ability in the area of intelligence gathering and intend to put you in that department. How about it?”

“I will accept any position.” Shazik did not have any objections.

Han Xiao nodded. He felt that Shazik was a talent in intelligence and might be able to lead it in the future.

He then turned toward Lothaire, and after pausing for a moment, he said, “As for you… I will not give you any positions at the time being. Just follow at my side for now.”

This main character was quite strong, so he decided to allow Lothaire to lead a special ops team in the future… but not at the moment.

This guy had just entered and required a period of observation.

“Okay.” Lothaire’s words were like gold to him.

“Then you two may go rest up and familiarize with the headquarters.”

Both nodded and left the room.

Han Xiao sat on the sofa, sending them off with his gaze before leaving the room himself.

He went straight to his grand, exclusive machinery factory before allowing Phillip to arrange the information on the Evolutionary Civilization.

He had only glanced at it just now and finally had the time to study this in depth.

The Evolutionary Civilization’s technology had long been lost, and even the information on EsGod’s hands was incomplete. It could not explain the principle behind the Evolution Cube and only acted like an operation manual.

After reading it, Han Xiao realized that his usage of the Evolution Cube was actually very rough.

As a Universal Treasure that a semi Universal Civilization had created, its purpose was not that simple. The Evolutionary Civilization had used it as a special energy source and had developed a variety of devices for it to be utilized differently.

For example, one of them acted like a totem device, where it used the energy of the Evolution Cube as fuel, and the influence of the totem could be adjusted to cover up to the entire planet. Unlike the one-time improvement of the Evolution Cube, the effect of the totem device was gentler, similar to a buff. If maintained for a long period of time, it would slowly increase the talent and potential of a planet’s inhabitants so that the awakening rate of the planet’s supers soared. This was equivalent to transforming the planet, allowing the newborns to become stronger.

There was only one Evolution Cube, but one could create as many Evolutionary Totems as they wished. They just had to be charged to be used. The Evolutionary Civilization had utilized this to great effect to improve the talents of their civilization; the efficiency was high and results controllable.

“This is good!” Han Xiao’s eyes turned into dollar signs.

With such totem blueprints, the Evolution Cube’s value would rise several times in the eyes of the other civilizations. The value could not be estimated.

But this was also useful to the Black Star Army. This could be used to slowly enhance the talents of all their soldiers in the subbases.

There was also a device worn on the body, called the Ovitan Badge, which used Evolutionary energy as fuel. It could carry out an ultimate evolution of the wearer when activated regardless of the consequences, turning a normal person into a biological aberration. Their combat power could even reach Grade C or B just from the evolution. This effect was more potent than any strength enhancing drugs, and the duration ranged from hours to days. However, when the effect ended, the user would collapse and die.

There was also a chance to break through the genetic locks and become a perfect evolutionary being, but the chance was so miniscule that it was not considered at all.

Only when faced with great danger would the Evolutionary Civilization resort to this method.

Han Xiao immediately thought of the perfect users for these—the players!

The army’s nuclear explosion backpack had always been a hot product, and eighty percent of the players would definitely ignore the effects of the Ovitan Badge.

“With this thing, the death-strike gameplay is going to become famous again.”

When his players next went out to fight, if they all transformed into monsters, this might give people the impression that his people were undergoing some human genetics experiment, viewing them as an evil faction camp.

This function also has a long-range method of attack. The data from EsGod recorded an offensive method as a special missile that carried the evolutionary energy similar to that of the Ovitan Badge. After hitting the surface, the energy would spread and contaminate all living beings within the range, and they would all turn into aberrations, waiting to die.

The Evolutionary Civilization only needed to wait for their genes to collapse and die, and they could easily capture the territory without damaging any structures. These were simply biological weapons that could kill creatures with the utmost precision.

“What a frightening weapon,” Han Xiao remarked. In the exploration era, the Evolutionary Civilization did not utilize such weapons at all.

At the back of the document, various techniques for connecting one’s soul with the Evolution Cube were also recorded. In the words of the Evolutionary Civilization, this was known as ‘resonance’.

Every Evolutionary Civilization guardian of the Evolution Cube had to form a soul connection with the Evolution Cube, and this was a skill passed down every generation.

“This has made it easier for me.” Han Xiao’s eyes lit up.

Since Psyker had removed his Soul Connection, the quota had been vacated.

Another Soul Connection to a Universal Treasure would also increase his strength.

Speaking of which, this little Evolution Cube seemed to have had many owners before and was technically a spoiled flower.

It was unlike the Spacetime Amber, which had given its first time to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao immediately shook his head, throwing these weird thoughts out before clapping his hands.

“There’s now a job for me to do. Let’s first do a mass production of these containers.”

Chapter 902: Evolutionary Totem

902 Evolutionary Totem A couple of days later…

Within his dedicated machinery factory, Han Xiao had constructed a production line for the totems and Ovitan Badges based on the instructions, and he had set it to run automatically. During the assembly, new products would be released all the time, and they were automatically delivered to the warehouse specially designated by Han Xiao. As for the Gene Collapse Missile, he has not put it into mass production for the time being but had just created a test product.

Han Xiao took out three samples for a test.

The Evolutionary Totem was a black cylinder with a height of five meters and a diameter of two meters. Its surface was inscribed with a silver energy circuit. At this time, it was in an inactive state because it was not charged.

The Ovitan Badge was the size of half a palm and the shape of a diamond. It looked unassuming at first glance.

Han Xiao used his finger to trace the pattern of the password on the base of the totem device. With the sound of gears connecting, the base rotated to reveal a black lacquered groove, which was the interface of the energy circuit where the fuel was located.

Taking out the Evolution Cube, Han Xiao activated it, and a thin stream of evolutionary energy flowed into the groove.

The next instant, the totem shuddered.

Hum!

The totem device activated as fuel was put in, the silver lines lighting from bottom to up and beginning to slowly flash at a frequency like breathing. The evolutionary energy underwent an invisible process of dilution, which was then released in an invisible radiation wave with a constant output power.

“The current energy is enough to be used for more than ten days. The more fuel I put, the longer the duration, with an upper limit of twenty years of operation.”

Han Xiao carefully scrutinized the operation mode. From his senses, he could see that the device had turned into a radiation source. It continuously radiated the diluted evolutionary energy, which would cover the entire Black Star Army headquarters.

He was included in the influence range, and his interface refreshed with a new buff.

[Continuous Genetic Optimization]: You are enveloped by evolutionary radiation, and your potential qualifications will slowly increase, which will add more options when sublimating into a new life level.

Han Xiao nodded to himself. Directly using the Evolution Cube enhanced the potential qualifications, and these were hidden attributes that were directly related to one’s attributes. Each time they improved, their attributes got closer to perfection.

Because the totem device slowly altered one’s genes, the advantage was that the effect was not restricted by one’s strength level. Furthermore, there was no side effect like Exp Penalty.

As long as one was within the influence of the totem, the buff would not disappear.

Han Xiao stretched out his hands and touched the totem device, and a series of words popped out.

_____________________

Evolutionary Totem (Active): A special product of the Evolutionary Civilization, utilizing energy of the Evolution Cube as fuel to optimize the genetic structure of the organism on a large scale. It enhances the potential of biological creatures and increases the awakening probability of Supers.

“While we have grasped the method of evolution, I firmly oppose the Vice President’s concept of custom population and extreme evolution. Evolving should be done step by step, and big supplements are not as good as moderate supplements.” — Usain, Evolution Cube Technology Institute, Project ‘Totem’ Supervisor

_____________________

“This thing can be utilized on a large scale, but I need to first report this to the dynasty.”

Following the division of EsGod’s inheritance to many forces, the information of the Evolutionary Civilization was bound to be circulated. While it would not be disclosed in the universe, most advanced civilizations would be able to get their hands on the intelligence, so concealment was impossible.

Furthermore, as an ally, it was only natural to share it with the dynasty. Only then would he be able to gain greater support and attention.

The Evolutionary Totem technology, once spread out, would make the attractiveness of the Evolution Cube rise several times. Only by helping the dynasty would they then continue to help him block the people coveting it.

Selling the Evolutionary Totems to other civilizations would also have to be discussed with the dynasty. Both sides were allies, and he could not decide everything on his own. Large scale sales would cause dissatisfaction with the dynasty, as they did not wish to see their opponents enjoy the benefits provided by the Evolutionary Totem.

As he thought of this, Han Xiao picked up the Ovitan Badge, and another series of words popped out.

_____________________

Ovitan Badge: The special product of the Evolutionary Civilization. Allows for Evolution Limit: Aberration to occur through extreme modification of the user’s genes, and the user has a high probability of turning into a biological aberration, where their basic attributes have been greatly strengthened. When the duration of the energy ends, the user will be unable to suppress their own genes collapsing and will inevitably die.

“Countless failed extreme evolutionary experiments have cost us a lot of money, and the upper echelons have accused us of not producing results, so we created this based on the experience of our failures. Cr*ppy by-products they were, originally intended to deceive our investors, but they seemed to be very satisfied with this, causing our funding to increase by 40% the following year.” — Banjadi, Evolution Cube Technology Institute, Vice President]

_____________________

Han Xiao toyed around with it for a while before putting it back.

The side effects of this toy were too great, and he was not interested in testing it out himself.

The Ovitan Badge possessed no lethality to Beyond Grade As, who would control their own bodies extremely well. Even if the energy entered their bodies, they could excrete it given some time. Just like detoxification, this level of biochemical toxin was not even able to kill a Calamity Grade, let alone a Beyond Grade A.

Compared to the Evolutionary Totem, the value of the Ovitan Badge was far less, but it was still useful.

“I can change the appearance of the Ovitan Badge to serve as the new Black Star Army emblem. Other organizations’ emblems are purely for decorative purposes, but mine has an added insurance within.” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “I should first find a few players to test it out before selling it.”

As for the Gene Collapse Missile, Han Xiao did not bother charging it, only looking through the introduction.

_____________________

[Gene Collapse Missile]: A special biochemical weapon of the Evolutionary Civilization. It can cause the collapse of biological genes and is often used to occupy planets.

“This weapon is suitable for clearing the resistance of a planet’s surface but is useless in interstellar wars. In contrast, I still prefer the small portable gene collapse bombs.” — Molin, Evolution Cube Technology Institute, Head of Weapon Research and Development

_____________________

Taking out his communicator, he sent the Evolutionary Totem’s report to Urranrell’s private number, and his communicator rang after a short while.

After connecting, Urranrell’s long distance projection appeared in front of Han Xiao.

“Black Star, you’ve created the Evolutionary Totem?”

“Yes, and I’ve tested it. It works perfectly. This is my reason for contacting you.”

“Very good!”

Urranrell was overjoyed, but her face did not reveal her happiness.

She paused for a while, as though suddenly realizing a problem, and her tone grew solemn.

“There are many organizations that have obtained EsGod’s inheritance.”

“That’s right, but there’s only one Evolution Cube that can supply the energy.” Han Xiao nodded. “I’ll send a batch of Evolutionary Totems to the dynasty, and I’ll only begin sales of the Evolutionary Totems to other civilizations but on the premise that they will not harm the dynasty’s benefits. I’ll mainly sell to the other civilizations that have a closer relationship with the dynasty.”

Urranrell’s eyes lit up.

“That’s great. I understand.”

The Evolutionary Totem would be a great attraction to all civilizations, and the dynasty had the ability to hoard it all, but doing so would only incite resentment, which was unfavorable to Han Xiao.”

Han Xiao’s intentions were for the Evolutionary Totem to be used as a bargaining chip. The civilizations that wished to obtain it must be part of or allied to the dynasty, and this would attract more political allies, which would also allow him to harvest more contacts and money.

Rather than restricting it, the dynasty would have the meat, and its allies would get the soup. If they opened a channel for the other civilizations to obtain, then the pressure would be a lot less.

Furthermore, this was not a one-off transaction. The Evolutionary Totem required fuel to operate. Otherwise, it could not be used, so the civilizations that purchased this would have to maintain long-term cooperation to renew the contract with Han Xiao again and recharge the totem. This created a passive income flow for him. In addition, even if the Evolutionary Totem appeared on the black market, the civilizations that purchased it could not use it forever.

Urranrell considered it for a while before accepting the proposal.

After all, the Evolutionary Totem was not some mass weapon of destruction, and it was something that would benefit the people. All advanced civilizations studied genetic technology, but it was not as powerful as the Evolutionary Civilization. Thus, the totems would not be a need but a want. While it was good to keep it for themselves, the dynasty was not the strongest civilization, with the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church on the same level, so it was better to consider an option that would be a win-win.

After disconnecting, Han Xiao thought about it before opening the faction interface and releasing a task.

_____________________

Trial Tester Needed

Mission Introduction: Black Star has manufactured a new product and requires volunteers to help test out the product (risk of death).

Mission Requirements: Help Black Star test out the new product.

Reward: 100,000 Experience, 500 Black Star Army Contribution Points, and 50,000 Enas.

Remarks: The mission is only restricted to 10 people. The test will begin in three hours. If not present by the testing time, -1,000 Contribution Points and -20 Black Star Favorability.

_____________________

Because only ten people were needed, the moment the mission was released, it was immediately snapped up.

…

Three hours later, the ten players arrived at the venue, guided by Phillip, looking around.

One of them was Bun-Hit-Dog.

The Fall of EsGod had made him smell a scoop, so he immediately ran back to the headquarters in hope of meeting Han Xiao and managed to come across this mission.

“Bun-Hit-Dog, you’re also here.”

“You piece of sh*t, hurry and update your stream!”

“Will you be afraid if I pull out my blade and threaten you now?”

The other nine players greeted Bun-Hit-Dog passionately.

Because the Black Star series had gone through so many updates, it had long attracted many fans, and Bun-Hit-Dog was like a celebrity in the eyes of these players.

After bantering around, the door suddenly opened, and Han Xiao walked in with his hands behind his back.

“Good day, Army Commander!” Bun-Hit-Dog immediately pulled himself away from all the others and saluted Han Xiao with an ingratiating smile.

“Oh, it’s you. Long time no see.” Han Xiao patted him on the shoulder.

Bun-Hit-Dog could not help but feel touched at this camaraderie.

Han Xiao then turned to the rest and dryly coughed. “Since everyone has arrived, let’s begin. But let me warn you. The side effects are pretty severe this time.”

As he spoke, Han Xiao took out ten fully charged Ovitan Badges with the Black Star Army emblem on it.

The ten players took a badge each, browsing the item introduction.

Seeing the introduction, the eyes of Bun-Hit-Dog lit up, and he began the recording function.

The players also knew that the Evolution Cube was in the hands of their own Army Commander, but Black Star did not allow the players to use it freely. The appearance of the Ovitan Badge could be an omen that the Evolution Cube was going to be spread to the players soon.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Han Xiao nodded.

Everyone looked at each other and did not hesitate, pinning the badges on.

While the introduction told them there was a high risk of death, the reward was 50,000 Enas, which was no small amount for the players. It was worth it.

The first player who activated it underwent a heaven shaking transformation.

His flesh multiplied, and bone spurs burst out from his body as he swelled up like a balloon. He quickly turned into a biological aberration more than five meters tall, looking like a monster with sarcomas all over his body. The muscles all over his body and face were torn apart.

The other nine players were stunned and unconsciously stopped their activation.

Before they could speak, the transformed player noticed his appearance and yelled, “The f*ck! Just what sh*t did I transform into‽”

Chapter 903: Transformation

903 Transformation “Woah, what a large lump!”

“This item is a little interesting. This looks a little like an Ultraman transformation.”

“This looks like a biochemical transformation!”

“Wow, he really looks a little like a Creeper…”

“No, no, no, this is a Ravager!”

“Bullsh*t, look at his sexy bone spikes. He is obviously a Skeleton Horse!”

“I didn’t study much, but don’t lie to me. This is obviously a monster from Balala the Fairies.”

The players all gathered around with curiosity in their eyes.

Their height was only up to the transformed player’s crotch, and they were like dwarfs surrounding a giant. The players then stretched out their hands to touch the body of the transformed player.

“Oi! Watch where you’re touching! You’re touching my ass! Why don’t you transform yourself if you’re so curious‽”

That player was exasperated and swung his palm out like a heavy hammer. The few players surrounding him were immediately sent flying and crashing into the alloy walls.

The players who were sent flying were not angry at all. They all stood up and puked out a mouthful of blood before crowding forward again excitedly.

“Wow, that attack dealt a lot of damage. How powerful.”

“Hurry up and check your attributes.”

The other players pestered him by the side.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled as he watched the scene before him.

The Ovitan Badge was an item that had been through many rounds of improvements and modifications. The Evolutionary Civilization would not create soldiers that lost all reason. Thus, the transformed being would maintain a certain degree of their consciousness and would not enter a [Chaos] state. It was just that their intelligence level and mental resistance would fall, and they were only capable of making some basic judgement. However, because of the uniqueness of the players, they would not experience any changes to their mental state after using the Ovitan Badge.

This meant that his theory was right. The players were the most suitable bunch to use the Ovitan Badge!

They did not lose their rationality and could fully utilize their strength after the evolution!

Han Xiao coughed and interrupted the players. “How are you feeling right now? Can you still control your body freely?”

“I can.” The transformed player performed a few actions curiously and displayed his stunning dexterity. His nails transformed into sharp claws to scratch his bald head.

Han Xiao nodded, and nanoparticles gushed out from his sleeves to form a golden needle.

“Don’t move, let me check your body.”

As he said that, Han Xiao stabbed the needle into the transformed being’s body, and combat information popped up.

The Ovitan Badge seemed to exist in the form of a buff, and this player was currently experiencing the buff.

_____________________

[Evolution Limit: Aberration]: Your genes have been reconstructed by the [Ovitan Badge], and your Class has been temporarily changed to [High Grade Biological Aberration].

Basic END boost will be transformed to 1:200, +30% STR, DEX, and END. -50% INT, MYS, and CHA.

Additional attribute changes: +240 STR, +200 DEX, +200 END, -300 INT, -300 MYS, -500 CHA.

1.3x physical resistance, 0.4x mental resistance, +200% Health and Stamina recovery speed.

You will lose 300–600 Health every minute, and your Health will fall by 30% – 60% every half an hour. Your Health limit is reduced by 10,000 – 20,000 every hour.

-90% effectiveness of any close combat equipment (including but not limited to mechanical equipment and magic tools). A portion of incompatible skills and talents will be frozen (unusable). +100% energy and stamina consumption of skills. Your close combat attacks will have [Hack] and [Sweep] effects. +70% close combat damage. +25% [Suppressing Force] and [Crushing Force] success rate.

Remark: Dance to your heart’s content before your death!

_____________________

Woah, how ferocious!

Han Xiao excitedly analyzed the effects of the badge.

The transformation had obviously prioritized close combat strength, and the gene evolution path that the Evolutionary Civilization had set leaned toward strengthening the body while weakening the mind.

After all, the initial motive of designing the Ovitan Badge was to scam investments… cough cough, create a suicidal civilian army. Thus, strengthening the body was the fastest way to raise an individual’s strength.

After the transformation, their biggest improvement was in their tankiness!

During Version 3.0, the player’s level limit was 120. When he was at level 120, his health was about thirty thousand, and the players, who did not have any Molding Talents, should have about ten thousand health with their basic Endurance boost being one to fifty. After the transformation, the player’s health was increased by four times!

Just this extra boost provided by the transformation would provide the players with forty thousand more health, and together with the few hundred points of Endurance that a level 120 player had, it was possible for their health to break the hundred thousand mark. Just from their health alone, it was sufficient to be compared to an ordinary Calamity Grade Super!

An ordinary level 120 player would have their attributes in the range of the hundreds. As such, the boost to their Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance would be almost doubled.

Thus, the benefits of the transformation were extremely obvious. If a player transformed when their HP was low, there was definitely a chance to turn the entire battle around.

However, the weakness was also extremely obvious. An individual’s Intelligence and Mystery would be greatly reduced, and their mental resistance would be frighteningly low. Furthermore, a lot of the frozen skills would be the long-ranged skills, resulting in the transformed being’s long-range combat capability being extremely poor. If the transformed being could not drag the enemy into a close ranged battle, it was very likely that the transformed being would end up becoming a live target board.

Just as he was viewing the combat information, Bun-Hit-Dog and the others also saw the attribute panel being shared by the transformed player.

“F***! This is too overpowered!”

“Although he is extremely ugly, I can accept it!”

Everyone then activated the badges excitedly, and eight more beasts appeared in the room. Feeling their powerful strength, they jumped around the room like monkeys. Bun-Hit-Dog was the only one who did not transform.

Bun-Hit-Dog swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked Han Xiao with agitation, “Army Commander, will this item be sold to everyone after this test?”

Han Xiao looked at him and said, “Hmm, although the side effects of this item is extremely large, it is very useful. I will produce it in large quantities and sell it to the members of the army. As for whether they want to buy it or not, that will be their personal choice.”

Bun-Hit-Dog’s eyes widened, and he instantly knew that this matter would be world shaking news.

This was his exclusive content!

I am going to be trending for sure!

Following which, Han Xiao got the players to perform a few tests and obtained valuable research data. Finally, the players’ health dropped to zero, and they revived back into their original forms.

After confirming the usage of the Ovitan Badge, Han Xiao could also be at ease and gave the ten suicidal players their mission reward. He then watched as they left excitedly, and he got Phillip to place the Ovitan Badge in the army’s store. At the same time, he had also refreshed the interface of the faction store.

The product name was also changed, and it was not called the Ovitan Badge. Instead, it was called ‘Black Star Army Badge: Evolution’. The picture on the badge was the Black Star logo of the Black Star Army.

Because the core technological skill required was the Evolution Cube, the production cost of the Ovitan Badge was extremely low. Furthermore, it could be reused as long as it was refilled with energy. Han Xiao set the price of such a powerful equipment at 150,000 Enas and 2,500 Contribution Points. The price of the Ovitan Badge was akin to that of a spaceship, and his profits were sky high! The price that he had set was mainly to target the player group.

After all, to an ordinary member of the army, using the badge meant instant death. The frightening side effects and price would keep them far away from the item, and not many of them would buy one. But in the player’s eyes, this item was like a divine item, and dying meant nothing to them at all!

Not just in Version 3.0, the Ovitan Badge would be extremely useful before the players reached the Calamity Grade!

Of course, there was another reason for setting such a high price: to control the combat capability of the players. Furthermore, it was impossible for all the players to have the money to purchase such an item. Han Xiao was even planning to charge a fee for refilling the energy of the badge, and this would spur the players unable to afford it to do more missions…

What a perfect cycle.

The only problem was that the image of their army would be affected. After all, which proper organization would create so many transformed creatures?

…

At the same time, Bun-Hit-Dog left the testing room and immediately posted a thread on the forums.

‘Shocking! The Black Star Army’s new item is actually…’

The thread included the entire testing process and a large number of pictures and videos. At the same time, the [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution] also went on the shelves of the faction store, and Bun-Hit-Dog’s thread became extremely popular!

The players all began to reply to the thread.

_____________________

Strange Things: Shocking! The product was just placed on the shelves, and you already have a review‽

Vice Commander’s Spaghetti: How frightening. Is this the speed of the army’s reporter?

Sandy Wind: I am currently at headquarters and just got off the spaceship. Did I miss some big news‽

Sprouting Melon: My goodness. The effect of this tool is too perverse.

Use Tyrant If You Want to Be Bald: The price is also equally perverse. My liver is crying out for help…

Zhang Weiyu: The wealthy players are very happy. Hang in there! You have almost emptied my entire wallet.

Maple Moon: How ugly. I would rather be killed by a boss than use it!

Rat Who Likes to Eat Bamboos: It isn’t ugly at all! This is called the beauty of violence!

Bi Bi Bear: Would you rather be a handsome boy for your lifetime or a powerhouse for a few hours?

White Jewel: I’m sorry, but I choose to be a handsome boy.

Army Commander’s Big JJ: Too awesome! The Army Commander made such a frightening item, so his class should be Mad Scientist, right?

My Wife Is Called Feidin: Upstairs, you really changed your name!

I’m Really Not Too Bad: This tool is like the item of an antagonist. I finally found out that the Black Star Army is actually an antagonist faction. We should change our name to Protective Umbrella Army.

Elephant Waving Whip: Black Star’s ratings have been affected

Germinal Organization Leader: I am smiling at all of you in heaven.

Wind Colt: I think that the ‘Black Star Army Badge: Evolution’ is truly a treasure for fight dungeons. It is the best item for the main tank. We can finally kill all the bosses that have been torturing us.

Jupiter: Guild of Gods is purchasing Enas in large quantities, and the price is negotiable. Please contact the guild’s customer service players if you are interested. They are online 24/7. Guild of Gods has a good reputation and is definitely reliable.

Jade Green Sky: Temple of God is trash. There isn’t a need for explanation.

Jupiter: Haha, your Long Sky should wait for your deaths during the upcoming Pro League! Defend your title if you can!

Jade Green Sky: How sour, how sour. Some club didn’t even make it into the top eight–

Sun Eggplant: ?

Dancing Fish Dragon: ?

Perfumed Bear: ?

Jade Green Sky: Wtf! The three powerhouses of Fried Eggplants with Fish, this is definitely unintentional!

Sun Eggplant: NMSL[1]

Second Prince: Hahaha! I am going to die from laughter!

Li Ge: +1

_____________________

Apart from some useless banter, the majority of the players were discussing the effects of the [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution].

Every player only had ten chances to revive within six days, so this side effect was still acceptable to them. Many players could see the value of this tool.

Because of the high price, only some wealthy individuals and squirrels were able to afford it. After looking at the thread, many players were tempted and immediately placed an order with Phillip.

There was a limited number of badges available, and they could only pre-order them at the moment. Han Xiao planned to launch the product officially in a few days and got the logistics department to first set up an assembly line.

Han Xiao and the Dynasty Ruler came to a verbal agreement on the business for the Evolutionary Totem. The actual details of the cooperation would only be confirmed after an official response from the dynasty was given. A Universal Civilization was extremely large, and even if the power structure was simple, there would still be plenty of red tape.

Han Xiao could make use of this time to form a connection with the Evolution Cube based on the methods recorded by the Evolutionary Civilization. This was a long-term process, and it could not be rushed.

Han Xiao merrily viewed the forums and went back to his room. He suddenly thought about something.

“Right. Phillip, show me the footage of Shazik and Lothaire. I want to see how they are blending into the army.”

“Hum.”

Han Xiao entered the quantum network and checked on how Shazik and Lothaire were getting along with the old members of the army.

Shazik was extremely normal and was still familiarizing himself in his new environment. He was getting along pretty well with the people from the intelligence department, but he did not have a great sense of presence. However, this was not a disadvantage for an intelligence officer but an advantage.

The situation with Lothaire was a little different. Lothaire was used to being alone and did not interact with the other officers. He would be either training in the training room alone or sharpening his blade in the room while staring at the wall in a daze. He was like a loner.

Han Xiao thought for a while and headed toward Lothaire’s room.

When Lothaire first joined, he was rushing to take a look at the Evolutionary Civilization’s information and did not communicate much with the other party. Han Xiao decided to head over and have a good conversation with Lothaire.

Based on combat strength and potential, Lothaire was definitely ranked among the top five in the army and had even exceeded Hadavy. He was only second to Hila, Aurora, Feidin, and Nero. He was a peak expert below the Beyond Grade A realm. Han Xiao placed great importance on Lothaire’s potential and thus felt the need to care about his mental health.

After all, EsGod was his nightmare, and he was now freed from his nightmare. Since he had snatched the enemy from the other party, Han Xiao felt the need to take responsibility for that. If not, a loner like Lothaire might end up losing himself in the future.

[1] This is Chinese slang. It’s the initials for “Ni Ma Si Le”, which means your mom’s dead.

Chapter 904: Ames Invitation

904 Ames“ Invitation With his gaze fixed on the edge of the blade, his finger glided lightly across the sharp edge of the blade, and he could clearly feel the sharpness of the blade.

In the room, Lothaire was seated beside the table, stroking his black blade that had accompanied him throughout his entire life as an assassin. The light from the table lamp was not reflected by his black blade as his weapon was created from a special material that absorbed all light.

Lothaire’s mood was completely unlike his calm expression.

He had been in the Black Star Army for a few days, and he was like an invisible individual. He could not fit into the boisterous atmosphere of the army and maintained his usual style.

Lothaire had chosen to come to the Black Star Army from afar because EsGod had been caught. First, he wanted to see what kind of person Black Star was, and second, he was currently at a loss.

EsGod had stolen his innate talent and had been a recurring nightmare to him. Lothaire did not like to sleep as he would be always shocked awake by his nightmares. Assassinating EsGod had been his only target.

Now that EsGod had been defeated by someone else, Lothaire no longer had the chance to take his revenge. Lothaire did not have any hobbies, and his friends had all passed away. His lone wolf personality meant that he did not like interacting with anyone else. He did not have any ambition and did not know what to do next. Should he continue hunting the fugitives of Fallen Ark, or should he sheathe his blade and drift around? Perhaps he should find a planet to lead a secluded life.

Lothaire felt that life had no meaning, and thus, he had decided to come to the Black Star Army and serve Black Star for a period of time to repay his debt. When he felt that he had repaid his debt to Black Star, he would choose to leave.

Just as he was in a daze, the doorbell suddenly rang, and Lothaire snapped out of his daze. He subconsciously gripped the weapon in his hands before realizing that he was in a safe place.

He then returned his blade to its sheath and stood up to open the door. It was Black Star who had come to visit him.

They looked at each other for a while before Lothaire said, “Do you need something?”

“We haven’t had a proper chat before. Since I am free now, are you going to stand at the door to have a chat with me?” Han Xiao replied.

Lothaire paused for a moment before stepping aside to let Black Star in.

Han Xiao walked into the room and casually looked around before sitting on the couch. He then raised his chin at the seat opposite him to ask Lothaire to sit down.

After Lothaire sat down, Han Xiao looked at him and said, “I have been paying close attention to you, and from the resume that you’ve given me, you are a powerful Calamity Grade assassin. I think very highly of you and thus wasn’t in a rush to assign you a job.”

“Ok.”

Han Xiao then said, “You don’t like speaking, right?”

“Yes,” Lothaire replied calmly.

Han Xiao chuckled and said, “It doesn’t feel good to be lost, right?”

Upon hearing that, Lothaire trembled slightly.

“Trust me, I understand your thoughts. You are different from Shazik. He truly wishes to repay my favor, but I can tell that you are different. Your target was only EsGod, and now that you have lost your enemy, you do not know what you should be doing. Thus, you decided to work for me for a short while. Am I right?”

Lothaire did not write his past experiences on his resume, but because of the information from his previous life, Han Xiao was extremely clear about Lothaire’s experiences and character, so he was able to easily deduce what he was thinking about.

“Right.” Lothaire let out a long breath and nodded.

“I can see your insistence toward EsGod and thus guessed that your hatred toward EsGod isn’t as simple as him destroying your homeland. You may have met EsGod personally before and witnessed how frightening he is. Furthermore, he has become your nightmare.”

Lothaire looked at Black Star with his eyes widened in shock. These were the secrets hidden deep within his heart, and he did not include them in his resume. He rarely revealed these experiences of his to outsiders, and he truly did not understand how Black Star could tell.

They rarely spoke to each other, so could it be that Black Star’s observational skills were truly so terrifying? Black Star was able to guess his own thoughts just by meeting him a few times?

“… You are right. I met EsGod, and I was an Esper who had my ability stolen by him.” Lothaire suppressed the shock in his heart and spoke with a calm expression.

“Then you are really lucky to still be alive.”

He knew that Lothaire’s hatred toward EsGod was carved deep into his bones. After all, the innate Esper ability that he had been born with had been stolen, and even if Lothaire managed to turn his fate around to obtain a similarly powerful strength, he still felt hatred toward EsGod.

“You must have suffered a lot to obtain the strength that you currently have.” Han Xiao comforted him.

Upon hearing that, a trace of agitation could be seen in Lothaire’s eyes as though he recalled some unpleasant memories. However, he quickly snapped back to his senses and lowered his head silently with a strange feeling in his heart.

He had spent many years alone without any friends or comrades. At this moment, he realized that Han Xiao understood him, and after hearing Han Xiao’s consolation and seeing his sincere smile, Lothaire felt a little moved.

It has been a long time since someone cared for me…

If it was an ordinary person who said those words, Lothaire would not have thought about it too much. As a Calamity Grade Super, he was not so easily swayed by the words of others. However, Black Star was a Beyond Grade A, and he was no more than a little boy in front of Black Star. Black Star was a powerhouse far above him, and Lothaire was moved by the concern shown by this powerhouse.

In truth, there was another reason. In order to get Lothaire to open up to him, he activated Chen Xing’s Character Summon Card while talking.

_____________________

[A Flirtatious Smile]: +688 CHA.

_____________________

It seems like it was useful indeed.

Lothaire let out a long breath and replied with a hoarse voice, “It is all over now.”

Han Xiao shook his head and said softly, “You don’t need to keep it all in your heart. Perhaps you have been alone for far too long, but you must understand that regardless of what the future holds, you are no longer alone. I am your superior, and I hope to understand your experiences.”

Lothaire fell silent for a while. He originally rejected the idea in his heart, but upon remembering that Black Star was his benefactor, he gradually began describing his past.

Because he had not spoken so much for such a long time, speaking felt a bit foreign to him at the start. However, he was very quickly overwhelmed by his emotions.

He did not have anyone to pour his heart out to in the past, so Lothaire kept everything bottled up. Letting out those feelings, he was truly in a much better mood.

Han Xiao listened silently. In truth, he already knew all this; he only wanted Lothaire to feel better by letting all his emotions out. At the same time, he could also increase the Favorability that Lothaire had toward him. Since Lothaire had just joined the army, loyalty would not fall from the sky without any relationship between them.

“This is the way. I think very highly of you, and I will be willing to listen to you if you are willing to speak.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Thank you.” Lothaire let out a long breath and felt his entire body loosen up. At the same time, the fear in his heart toward EsGod also decreased a great deal.

He was truly overwhelmed with favor as a bigshot like Black Star was willing to sit down and talk to him.

“Let’s end here today.” Han Xiao stood up with a smile. “I hope that I can trust you with ease one day.”

“Hmm.” Although Lothaire still did not say much, his tone was completely different and was no longer as cold as before.

“I will give you a mission soon, and I hope that you won’t be so listless at that time. I’ll be going now.”

Han Xiao turned around and walked out.

Lothaire leaned against the door and watched Han Xiao’s departing figure.

It seemed like his decision to join the Black Star Army was not too bad.

…

A few days later, the Logistics department created a large batch of [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution]. After Han Xiao filled them all up with energy, they were ready to be sold.

Some of the players who had nothing better to do returned to headquarters for the goods. As for the players who were dealing with the Gulal Civilization, they could only wait for the Logistics department to send the badges to them.

Very quickly, the first batch of players personally experienced the effect of the tool, and many new posts were created on the forums.

The players participating in the civil war in Gulal used the badge in actual battle and recorded the scene of the battle. Han Xiao then opened one of the posts and watched a video.

The video showed a scene of the players clearing up a city from all resistance. There was an artillery tower being erected in the plaza with a large number of Ancient Emperor Party ground troops. The powerful firepower of the enemy decimated all the attacking players and forced the players to hide.

The players participating in the war then communicated with each other, and ten players wearing the [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution] stood up and raised their badges toward the sky.

“Ultraman, transform!” one of the Pugilist players roared, and their bodies began expanding rapidly.

“Roar!”

The ten transformed players charged out to tank the incoming firepower while charging at full speed.

They used their powerful life force to withstand the firepower of the enemy, and looks of fear could be seen on the enemies’ faces as they saw the approaching monsters.

Two of the transformed creatures were killed along the way, but the others managed to charge into enemy lines and rip through the defenses of the enemy

_____________________

Testicle Fist (Poster): Personally experiencing the effect of evolution. My body became outrageously tanky, and it is super useful for charging.

Maple Moon: Although it is a little ugly, it is truly useful…

Moon Shadow: The quality-price ratio is pretty high. However, it is still extremely expensive. Refilling it requires another 5,000 Enas. This is extortion!

Starry Sky: Think about it. How can you be strong if you don’t spend money?

_____________________

Most players used the badges in dungeons. The transformed body was extremely suitable to be a main tank, and it was perfect for handling bosses.

The badge immediately became a popular tool used to fight dungeons, and every party would have at least one member with the badge.

Some of the players immediately saw the business opportunity hidden within and gathered money to purchase the badge. They then collected fees to enter parties and provided their service to the players that could not afford one.

Very quickly, many different ways of using the badge were discussed on the forums, and after looking at it for a while, Han Xiao closed the forums. There was something else for him to do right now.

The Crimson Dynasty had already decided to sign an agreement with him, and he would be providing the Evolutionary Totems to them long term. He would have to provide a hundred million Evolutionary Totems within five years.

Because of the relationship between the two, Han Xiao would not be able to make any money from the dynasty, so his targets to make money would be the other civilizations. An important part of their agreement was the authority for Han Xiao to sell the Evolutionary Totem to other civilizations with the profits belonging solely to the Black Star Army.

The dynasty did not wait for EsGod’s properties to be slowly exposed but took the initiative to announce to the entire universe about the Evolutionary Totem. A huge commotion was immediately created, and countless civilizations were stirred up!

The civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring that already had a cooperative relationship with Han Xiao were also shocked. The way they saw it, the value of using the Evolution Cube could not even be compared to the Evolutionary Totem!

Countless civilizations could no longer sit still, and the contact numbers of the army were engaged throughout the day. Many people tried to contact Han Xiao, hoping to purchase an Evolutionary Totem.

Han Xiao got Phillip to inform all the civilizations about his agreement with the dynasty. As long as they received approval from the dynasty, they would be able to purchase the Evolutionary Totem. As such, he managed to successfully push all the problems onto the dynasty.

As for the allied civilizations that had already joined the alliance, Han Xiao traded with them directly and signed a large number of orders. The sales figure of the totems reached the millions, and his business was spread across all the Star Fields.

He would not set the price of the Evolutionary Totem as ‘cheaply’ as the Ovitan Badge. As such, the Black Star Army made huge profits.

The Evolutionary Totem became a staple faction product of the Black Star Army, and the high profits from the product naturally attracted the jealousy of many organizations. However, the Black Star Army and Crimson Dynasty combination made many organizations forget about the idea.

The larger the business, the greater the strength required to protect it. The Black Star Army already had the strength to enjoy this cake all by themselves.

The Black Star Army was already a tyrant in the Shattered Star Ring, with many local civilizations in a cooperative relationship with them. A Beyond Grade A organization of such a level was already at the top of the food chain in the universe.

Furthermore, after the battle on Planet Lighthouse, everyone knew that it was incredibly difficult to deal with Black Star. Even the Arcane Church and EsGod had failed, and not many were confident that they would be able to deal with Black Star.

Furthermore, Black Star’s organization was not alone in the Shattered Star Ring. The Shattered Star Ring had another four Beyond Grade As, and three of them were in a cooperative relationship with him. The network of his was truly frightening.

On top of that, the Shattered Star Ring was located right beside the Flickering World, and the dynasty had millions of battleships stationed in the Flickering World, ready to reinforce the Shattered Star Ring at any moment. Even the nominal owner of the Shattered Star Ring could only close one eye. Not many organizations dared to do as they wished in the Shattered Star Ring.

With the many considerations, no organizations would make a rash move at the moment and had to agree to the trade conditions set by the dynasty.

Han Xiao naturally would not forget about his own people. Every army division and training camp had the Evolutionary Totem, and Bennett also received the benefit of having the Evolutionary Totem. He did not forget about the Black Spirit Race either, and Han Xiao sent an Apostle Weapon to pass an Evolutionary Totem to them. At the same time, he sent some mechanical soldiers to guard the planet that the Black Spirit Race was located on.

Seeing their archnemesis earning such a huge fortune, the Star Pupil Holy Race was extremely frustrated. Originally, the members of the Star Pupil Holy Race no longer blamed Psyker as much, but after seeing the immense profits being earned by the Black Star Army, many of them felt their hearts ache and blamed Psyker for losing the opportunity to develop the civilization.

The wave of scolding within the civilization made Psyker extremely frustrated.

Heber also felt extremely bitter. He could clearly feel his status in the Shattered Star Ring becoming unstable. However, he did not have any ideas and could only watch as Han Xiao roped many organizations over to his side. His heart was as sour as a lemon at this moment.

Just when everyone’s attention was focused on the Evolutionary Totem, Han Xiao received a special invitation for battle.

It came from Ames.

Chapter 905: Floating Dragon’s Warning

Chapter 905 Floating Dragon“s Warning

The challenge letter was sent personally and not a public one, but it was not as casual as the usual interaction between the two. Instead, it was an official challenge and included the location and time of the battle—in five days on a desolate planet in the Godora Star System.

The news was too sudden, and Han Xiao was truly puzzled.

The relationship between them should not be a problem, and he did not understand why Ames would issue him a challenge letter without informing him beforehand. Furthermore, she did it in such a solemn manner.

Just what was she thinking‽

Han Xiao was currently in discussion with one of the civilizations about the trade terms of the Evolutionary Totem, and the moment he received Ames’ invitation, he immediately hung up the call with the representative of the civilization and contacted Ames.

He did not wish for the alliance between them to go wrong.

The call went through quickly, but the one who picked it up was Jenny, not Ames.

“Why is it you?”

Han Xiao was a little puzzled. He had dialed Ames’ personal number.

“Where’s Ames?”

“You received her challenge letter, right?” Jenny asked.

“Yes, just what are her intentions?” Han Xiao frowned.

“Just like what is written on the challenge letter, before fighting you, she does not wish to speak with you, and she wants me to tell you that she will fight you seriously this time.”

“Why did she suddenly decide this?” Han Xiao asked.

“You can ask her yourself if you have any doubts. Remember to arrive on time.” Jenny snorted coldly and hung up.

Looking at the black screen on the communicator, Han Xiao could not help but scratch his head.

It was extremely normal for Beyond Grade As to spar with each other, but with their relationship, all Ames had to do was give him a heads up. There was no need to have such an official challenge letter at all.

Forget it, this isn’t the first time Ames has behaved willfully…

Han Xiao shook his head with resignation and felt that Ames was once again behaving willfully.

…

At the same time in the main palace of the Floating Dragon Island, Jenny placed down the communicator and looked at Ames, who was seated on the floating throne.

Ames was listening by the side during the communication, and she nodded with a smile.

“Good work. Thank you.”

“In truth, I don’t really understand…” Jenny could not help but speak up. “Although I dislike Black Star, his strength is undeniable. Pardon me for being direct, but I don’t think your chances of victory are high. Why do you want to do so?”

“You don’t seem to have any confidence in me,” Ames said with a teasing voice.

Aesop, who was by the side, could not help but interrupt. “This has nothing to do with confidence. After the battle on Planet Lighthouse, Black Star has already proven his strength, and your chances of victory are very low. Why do you have to issue a challenge that you will lose for sure?”

Ames kept her smile upon hearing that.

“We have to fight before knowing whether or not I can win.”

She then paused for a while and let out a soft sigh.

“Perhaps I am no longer a match for Black Star, but I want it to be proven…”

…

Five days went by in a flash.

Situated in the Godora Star System was Planet G-S7058, a gigantic planet with an obvious asteroid belt revolving around the planet. This planet was not too far from the headquarters of the Black Star Army and Planet Aquamarine. It was the location of their battle.

A ray of light approached from afar and stopped outside the atmosphere of the planet. Han Xiao was the one piloting the spaceship, and he had come alone.

“Detecting a large unknown target. Matching it with the database… Match found. The target is Floating Dragon Island, hum…”

Phillip’s voice sounded in the spaceship. Without his reminder, Han Xiao could also see the scene outside the window.

A gigantic Floating Dragon Island floated outside the atmosphere of the planet, and the entire planet was protected by a golden yellow shield.

Ten large alloy satellites were lined up beside Floating Dragon. These were the weapons that Han Xiao had given to Ames.

The eyesight of a Beyond Grade A was shocking, and Han Xiao could see that Floating Dragon Island had already activated their armed mode. All the buildings were retracted underground, and no one was moving around on the island. Ames was the only one standing on the dock, looking at him from afar.

Han Xiao’s face contorted slightly upon seeing that.

She actually brought Floating Dragon over? Does she really want to go all out?

He then tried calling Ames’ personal number, and Ames picked up this time.

Ames’ calm appearance appeared on the screen.

“You’re here.”

“Since you sent me an invitation, how could I not come?” Han Xiao said with a helpless look. “You only need to ask me if you want to have a spar. It’s not like I will reject you anyway. Is there really a need to make things so solemn?”

“You misunderstand me. This isn’t a simple spar,” Ames said slowly. “I will use all my strength to fight you, and I hope that you will also give it your all. You may lose your life if you are careless.”

Han Xiao kept his smile upon hearing that and asked with a frown, “Just what is this about?”

“Ever since you entered the Beyond Grade A realm, I’ve fought alongside you against Heber and EsGod, but we have never had a proper exchange between us. Thus, I want to fight you officially for once until one side loses the ability to fight back.”

“Is there a need to use such a method to see who is stronger between us?” Han Xiao did not understand.

“During this period, word of your actions has spread throughout the universe,” Ames replied softly, “and in less than two years, you’ve gone from a new Beyond Grade A to your current status. I’ve watched you changing every day. Do you know that the feeling of being caught up to really isn’t nice?”

When Han Xiao first entered the Beyond Grade A realm, both of them had a relationship of equal status, and Ames was willing to help Han Xiao, who was a new Beyond Grade A, overcome his difficulty.

In just two short years, Han Xiao had grown at a rapid speed, and the organization that he had set up had already far exceeded Floating Dragon.

Ames could feel that their status and strength were gradually becoming further and further apart, and their relationship was no longer on equal grounds. As such, her mental state also experienced a subtle change.

Ames was a carefree individual and could not be bothered with many things. At the same time, she was extremely stubborn toward the people she cared about. This point could be clearly seen when she had stubbornly searched for Aesop.

And Han Xiao was one of those whom she cared about.

Ames had once watched as Han Xiao rose to prominence, but the status between them was now reversing. She did not wish to see Han Xiao overtake her by too much and was not satisfied by only seeing Han Xiao’s battle records on the news. As such, she decided to issue a challenge and personally experience Han Xiao’s strength.

She wanted to see just how big the difference between her and Han Xiao was!

The next moment, the alarm in Han Xiao’s spaceship rang.

“Detecting a powerful energy source!”

Han Xiao then looked over and saw that it was Ames releasing her energy.

Ames stepped out from the dock and into space.

The energy level in Ames’ body was increased to the peak, and her tone became solemn.

“Don’t hold anything back. Come!”

The next moment, she raised her arms, and the ten satellite bricks and Floating Dragon shot toward Han Xiao.

At this moment, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the S ranked mission [‘Dragon Emperor’ Ames]!

Mission Requirements: Last for as long as possible under Ames’ attacks. (The battle method isn’t restricted. You can only leave battle mode for 30 mins at most. There are no restrictions to the number of times you leave battle mode.)

Reward: You will be able to attain the corresponding reward by fulfilling the corresponding requirements. (Only 1% of the time out of battle mode will be counted toward the mission.)

_____________________

This was the same mission that he had when facing the Tyrant. The longer he hung in there, the higher the reward.

Apart from experience, he could obtain Legendary Points, Character Summon Cards, and the opportunity to draw one of Ames’ talents or skills.

However, Han Xiao was not in the mood to see the mission at the moment.

How can I go all out against you?

Han Xiao let out a sigh but did not say these words.

With his current strength, his attacks would be too lethal if he went all out.

She probably would not be able to tank his attacks.

Han Xiao shook his head. He did not plan on injuring Ames. No matter what, they were allies, and he would not go too far.

Seeing Ames’ blazing battle intent, Han Xiao instantly made a decision.

Let me drag this battle out. My tankiness will be enough to exhaust all her energy so that she cannot carry on fighting. This is the only way to prevent me from injuring her and ruining our relationship…

The distance between them shrank rapidly, and Han Xiao no longer hesitated. He then activated his mechanical suit and opened the secondary dimension to summon a portion of his mechanical army.

“Lord.” Psionic Prime appeared with various other Apostle Weapons.

Han Xiao then said with a deep voice, “Attack. Your main focus should be exhausting her. Do not go all out.”

“Understood.” Psionic Prime nodded, and flames shot out from his thrusters. He then charged at Ames with the mechanical army behind him.

The glow in Ames’ eyes grew brighter and brighter as she inched forward slowly.

Force Field: Floating Dragon Planet Destroying Hammer!

The force field surrounding Floating Dragon rapidly expanded, and Floating Dragon accelerated like a gigantic meteoroid, smashing down toward the densely packed mechanical army.

This scene was like a brick slamming down toward a bunch of ants.

If Floating Dragon crashed down on a planet at such velocity, it would probably be able to destroy an entire planet.

Using her force field to swing her weapon around was the Dragon Emperor’s style of combat!

The proper method for dealing with such an attack would be to destroy Floating Dragon. However, Han Xiao did not wish to destroy the other party’s home and was truly helpless against Ames swinging her base around.

The mechanical army did not open fire toward Floating Dragon but followed their orders to allow Floating Dragon to break through their defensive line.

The outcome was obvious.

The gigantic Floating Dragon swung down on the tiny Han Xiao!

The shadow rapidly grew larger and covered everyone’s view.

Looking at the gigantic continent-like brick smashing down toward him, Han Xiao could feel his balls aching.

Ames had once used Floating Dragon to save him, but now he had to endure being smashed in the face by Floating Dragon.

This was truly retribution!

Chapter 906: Exchanging Blows

Chapter 906 Exchanging Blows

In the universe, her force field was able to accelerate an object without any limits, and this was the battlefield most suitable for Ames. Her Force Field Esper Ability leaned toward defense and control, and it was extremely powerful in Ames’ hands.

Under the control of the force field, Floating Dragon’s speed continued to increase, and its gigantic body was like a super large scale attack. If Han Xiao allowed Floating Dragon to speed up without limit, it would be incredibly difficult to avoid it and become extremely powerful.

However, Floating Dragon still was not fast enough, and it was like a tortoise in Han Xiao’s eyes. He had more than ten different ways to avoid the attack.

However, Ames was not an individual who only knew how to use bricks to smash others. Her eyes glowed brightly, and she released a force field to trap Han Xiao’s body and pull him toward Floating Dragon.

Force Field: Gaze of the Dragon!

The space around him seemed to have frozen up, and Han Xiao’s body endured a tremendous amount of pressure. He found it difficult to even lift his arm, and he was dragged toward Floating Dragon.

“I used this attack before in the past…” Han Xiao’s mouth contorted.

With his current strength, he was not afraid of Ames’ control ability and could easily break free from the force field. However, he was not planning on avoiding this attack. He wanted to obtain combat information through this attack and test the upgraded effects of his health and mana conversion.

Floating Dragon approached him rapidly, and Han Xiao could already see the various structures on the surface of Floating Dragon.

A powerful pressure assaulted him from the front, and he could feel a sense of danger approach him.

Han Xiao raised up his arms, and nanoparticles flowed on the surface of his mechanical suit to form a shield generator. A blue psionic shield then appeared in front of him, and he took a defensive posture.

The next moment, Floating Dragon smashed down on his shield and sent him flying far away while being stuck to Floating Dragon.

Ames then twisted her palm, and Floating Dragon’s trajectory was aimed at the nearby planet, prepared to smash Han Xiao into the planet.

At the same time, the mechanical army led by Psionic Prime approached Ames and began to open fire.

Ames’ ten satellite bricks were not idle either. Six of them surrounded Ames in different directions and were covered in a layer of force field to form a defensive formation.

The gaps of the defensive line were filled up by her force field and it can be said that her defensive formation didn’t have a single blind spot.

The other four satellite bricks were then shot toward the formation of the mechanical army under Ames’ control.

The mechanical soldiers were not so gentle toward the satellites and unloaded their firepower without restraint. The satellite bricks were immediately riddled with holes and craters with scrap metal floating around. These scrap metals then formed a metal whirlwind under Ames’ control and roamed unhindered around the mechanical army.

The Apostle Weapons ignored these attacks and rapidly approached Ames’ defenses. Psionic Prime waved his spear and struck the force field shield to create a hole in it.

The very next instant, a new force field filled up the hole. Just when Psionic Prime was about to continue attacking, Ames raised her finger, and a force field engulfed the Apostle Weapons and threw them out. Following which, an even more powerful force field was formed, and the mechanical army formation was split in two like Moses parting the red sea.

Ames’ Force Field Esper Ability could restrict the Human Wave Tactic to a certain extent.

Right at this moment, a light flashed behind Ames, and Mad Sky Hunter appeared behind her. He opened his mouth and revealed his alloy teeth, biting down at her waist.

However, he only managed to bite air.

A white, sleek finger then tapped on Mad Sky Hunter’s head. Ames avoided the attack by using Void Hyperdrive. After being strengthened by the Evolution Cube, her mobility had increased by a great deal.

Violent force field energy then entered Mad Sky Hunter’s body through her finger.

Force Field: Seismic Wave!

Cracks immediately began to form on Mad Sky Hunter’s body, and a large amount of spare parts dropped out from his body. His body was severely injured, and he immediately ran away in fear.

The Force Field Esper Ability had a wide range, but the strength of the force field would be more powerful the closer Ames was to the target.

All of a sudden, Ames felt fluctuations in the Void Dimension. Looking up, she saw Han Xiao, who was originally stuck on Floating Dragon, disappear.

Han Xiao swung his slightly numb hands and was shocked by the combat information.

“She was actually able to deal Crushing Force damage to me. Only a pugilist like Heber would be able to use his head to smash Floating Dragon up.”

Although the damage was high, Han Xiao did not mind at all. There was a limit to how powerful Ames’ AOE attack was.

His recovery speed was extremely high at the moment, and as long as the enemy’s burst damage did not reach a certain extent or deal him a [Severe Wound] status, he would not be afraid.

Floating Dragon did not continue smashing down toward the planet but turned around to hammer down on Han Xiao. Its gigantic body brushed past the side of the planet and formed a huge sandstorm.

Ames, who was far away, used Gaze of the Dragon again, and Han Xiao could feel the force field restricting him again. He had already obtained the combat information and was not prepared to receive the attack again. He then placed his palms together.

Hum!

His mechanical suit vibrated and generated an endless stream of energy to form a small field around him.

This field successfully blocked Ames’ force field on the outside, and Gaze of the Dragon became ineffective.

This was ‘anti-Dragon Emperor’ equipment that he had created especially for this.

This was equipment after all and had a limited effect. However, the strength of Ames’ force field could be increased further, and she would definitely be able to break the field if she had enough time. Thus, Han Xiao did not plan on approaching Ames but played hide and seek with her from afar while controlling his mechanical army to attack.

Upon seeing that Han Xiao did not dare approach her, Ames took the initiative to move and flew toward Han Xiao while dealing with his mechanical army.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao also retreated and maintained the gap between them. After getting out of the control of the force field, Floating Dragon Island was not able to catch up to him, and his mobility was higher than Ames’. Thus, he had the initiative.

Upon seeing that a single Floating Dragon Island could not do anything to Han Xiao, Ames’ palms turned into claws, and she performed a grabbing motion toward one of the satellite bricks attacking the mechanical army.

This satellite brick then froze in place as though it was being trapped, and the layers of force field began to contract rapidly, which made the satellite brick vibrate violently.

Ames pulled her arm back slowly, and the force field continued to contract, accumulating a powerful rebound force. The next moment, her eyes shone brightly, and she clenched her fists. Like an arrow being shot out, the rebound force accumulated within the satellite brick exploded forth!

This satellite brick shot out toward Han Xiao at high speed!

Force Field: Satellite Cannon!

The terrifying acceleration took off a layer of the metal shell and almost disintegrated the satellite.

Han Xiao saw the satellite brick approaching him rapidly but did not bother dodging the attack.

At the same time, Silver Flash, who was waiting in the distance, transformed into his Planetary Obliteration Cannon main body and opened fire at the satellite.

The thick silver light accurately struck the satellite brick and penetrated through the satellite like a knife slicing through a meatball!

The next moment, the satellite began expanding from the inside, and a brilliant red light exploded from within. It exploded right in front of Han Xiao like an orange!

The satellite was instantly melted by the high heat of the Planetary Obliteration Cannon, and all the fragments transformed into red colored molten metal like orange juice spraying in all directions.

With the gigantic satellite exploding in front of him, Han Xiao casually avoided the molten metal spraying in all directions.

This seemed to have been a signal. A few more satellite bricks reached the limit of their durability, and another three had been destroyed by the mechanical army.

The number of satellite bricks that Ames had left was six. They were also riddled with damage and looked as though they would disintegrate at any moment.

“What will you do next?” Han Xiao muttered to himself, looking at the scene from afar.

Ames’ attacks were extremely ferocious, but they did not cause much damage to Han Xiao. After many rounds of upgrades, his mechanical soldiers were extremely tough and no longer the inferior products easily crushed by the force field. Although Ames seemed to have the initiative, Han Xiao still had plenty of tricks up his sleeves and was in control of the battle.

Ames could also feel this, and her eyes narrowed.

My attacks aren’t able to do anything to him and have all been neutralized…

She could tell that Han Xiao was on the defense and did not plan to attack. He was obviously going easy on her.

But even so, she could not do anything to him!

Has he grown to such a stage?

Ames’ eyes narrowed, finally understanding Han Xiao’s strength. The gap in their strength was already extremely obvious, and Black Star was much stronger than her.

However, she was not too affected by this revelation. The battle had not ended, and she would not give up halfway.

Ames then grabbed toward the planet, and the asteroid belt became her new weapon.

Force Field: Dragon’s Breath Shooting Star Fist!

The asteroid belt was a large weapon stash!

No wonder she chose this place as the battlefield, Han Xiao thought to himself.

The asteroid belt became her weapon and smashed down toward the mechanical army. The mechanical army also destroyed the incoming asteroids, and the battle became a drawn-out battle under Han Xiao’s commands.

…

Just when both of them were battling around the planet, a fleet was parked far away from the battlefield. This fleet belonged to Floating Dragon.

Because their base was taken by their boss as a weapon, these battleships could not remain on Floating Dragon Island. As such, it ferried everyone to watch the battle by the side.

Although house prices on Floating Dragon were extremely low because of the high risk, there were still some who would purchase property on Floating Dragon Island. At this moment, they watched as the property that they spent money to buy was being used as a weapon in the fight, and many of them could not help but be extremely anxious in their hearts.

In the main flagship, the Floating Dragon officers were looking at their leader fall into a passive state, and all their expressions were ugly.

It was true that Black Star was an ally, but they naturally wanted Ames to win since they were members of Floating Dragon.

Apart from the officers, there were another two projections watching the battle from afar. They were Hila and Aurora.

There was no need to make the battle a complete secret, and Vilna had informed Aurora and Hila. As Ames’ students, they had a right to know.

“Our teacher isn’t an opponent for Black Star,” Aurora said with a bitter expression.

Hila also had a complicated look in her eyes and nodded.

Their status was much more awkward. They were the officers of Black Star and Ames’ students. Both sides were people who they were extremely close to, and they did not know who to support.

Hila had followed Ames for ten years and was extremely clear just how powerful Ames was. She was filled with respect toward Ames, and upon seeing her respected teacher being suppressed by Black Star, she had a complicated feeling in her heart.

The energy fluctuations of the battle also made her understand that this was a battle that she could not interfere with. It was still far away from her current level. Regardless of how stubborn Hila’s personality was, she could not help but doubt herself at the moment.

Beyond Grade As are truly too frightening, and a planet is only a toy to them. Can I really possess such strength?

…

Countless asteroid fragments and metal scraps floated in space. The battle between the two had lasted for a long time.

After utilizing her force field over such a long period of time, Ames’ stamina and energy had been largely depleted, and her head was covered in sweat. She was obviously no longer in her peak condition, and the strength of her force field had decreased.

On the other hand, Han Xiao was still extremely energetic. He had [Advanced Energy Absorption], and his recovery rate was not something that Ames could compare to.

Since he did not lack any energy, he could use [Advanced Machinery Construction] and [Waste Modification] without any limit to revive his mechanical army and limit his losses.

As Ames began to slip up, Han Xiao gradually gained control of the battlefield. Ames’ force field defenses had already been broken by the Apostle Weapons, and she had to deal with the harassment of the many Apostle Weapons. She could not even take care of herself and no longer had the strength to attack Han Xiao.

Psionic Prime then stabbed out toward her waist. Ames avoided the attack, and Psionic Prime’s spear brushed past her force field to produce sparks.

Gold Sovereign then ambushed Ames from the front, and his punches were blocked by the force field.

Ames’ leg then swung out like a whip, and her kick smashed a hole in Gold Sovereign’s armor, sending him flying.

All of a sudden, another Apostle Weapon shot out a psionic cannon toward her. It shattered the force field at her back and struck her body. Ames’ eyes then squinted as she felt the pain.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao, who was watching the battle from afar, said, “That’s enough. Her energy is already exhausted.”

Right at this moment, Ames looked up at Han Xiao, who was slacking off by the side. A large suction force suddenly gathered toward her and sucked all the Apostle Weapons in her surroundings toward her.

Being caught off guard, all the mechanical soldiers were lumped together in a pile.

Han Xiao then felt fluctuations in the Void Dimension.

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao turned around and raised his arms to block the incoming kick from behind him. This kick came from Ames, who had used Void Hyperdrive.

“You actually dared approach me? Are you staking everything on a final, desperate attempt?”

Han Xiao’s eyes glowed, and he pulled Ames’ leg toward him with his other palm striking toward Ames’ abdomen.

Bang!

Ames gathered her force field to block Han Xiao’s attack and chopped down at Han Xiao’s neck with her palm.

However, her palm had not found its target yet when Han Xiao grabbed Ames’ neck. The thrusters behind him then activated fully and smashed Ames into a nearby asteroid.

The asteroid was smashed immediately, but Han Xiao did not stop there. He grabbed her and charged into the asteroid belt while using her body to smash up every asteroid in their way.

Their bodies transformed into a ray of light and did a lap around the asteroid belt. Who knew how many asteroids they had destroyed along the way? In any case, Han Xiao could feel Ames’ force field becoming weaker and weaker, and it almost disappeared.

Han Xiao slowed down and smashed into an asteroid. This time, the asteroid was not destroyed, and both of them stopped.

A gas ring then shot out from the mechanical suit and enveloped both of them. Han Xiao removed his helmet and shook his head.

“Your energy is almost all exhausted. You’ve lost.”

Ames’ brows were furrowed at this moment as she endured the pain from Han Xiao’s attacks. Her skirt was cut in many different areas to reveal her fair skin. Her neck and legs were still being held by Han Xiao, and she could not struggle free.

Upon hearing that, Ames revealed a smile and said, “No, I still have the strength for one last attack.”

“Alright. Let me see what other methods you have,” Han Xiao replied calmly.

Ames then raised up her arm and flicked Han Xiao lightly on the forehead.

It was an attack without any strength.

A look of surprise could be seen on Han Xiao’s face.

Ames then retracted her arm and dissipated her protective force field. She then said with a smile, “Alright, I used up my final bit of strength. You win.”

Han Xiao let go of Ames’s neck and rubbed his head helplessly.

“So mischievous.”

Chapter 907: Interes

Chapter 907 Interes

One leg was still trapped under Han Xiao’s arm, and the skin was plastered to the cold Mechanical suit.

Ames tilted her head.

“Please let go of my leg.”

Han Xiao released his hold and retreated a little bit, allowing Ames to retract her long, snowy legs into her black dress.

After sizing up Ames’s dress that was badly damaged in the battle, Han Xiao raised his palm, and nanoparticles flowed out, turning into a material that filled in the torn places of the fabric.

Kacha!

Ames used her Force Field to pull herself out from the meteoroid before dusting herself and stretching. Knocking into numerous meteoroids had given her quite a few bruises.

“Quite painful.” Ames rubbed her slim waist and frowned. “Forget it, I suggested this spar. I was asking for it.”

“I already stayed my hand.” Han Xiao shrugged.

“Oh, indeed, you’re now stronger than me.”

Ames sighed, but her expression looked calm, as though she had expected this.

Black Star had a firm grasp of the battle situation from start to the end, and Ames had a more profound understanding of his strength now.

“There’s no need to be discouraged. I…”

Before Han Xiao could finish, Ames cut him off and blandly smiled. “That’s enough. Who do you think I am, needing to be pacified after I have lost?”

“It’s a habit developed after I kept sparring with Hila.” Han Xiao rubbed his chin in embarrassment.

He then turned to signal to his mechanical army to clear up the battlefield. Seeing the debris and wreckage floating around the universe, he commented, “The weapons I made for you are broken. I’ll ask the logistics department to manufacture another for you later… Of course, you have to pay for it.”

“I know.” Ames nodded without objections. She had initiated this battle and even destroyed the weapon that Han Xiao had sent her. She could not allow him to just give her a new one. As a Beyond Grade A, she still had to maintain a level of pride for herself.

After the battle ended, the Floating Dragon fleet in the distance slowly approached. Ames took a deep breath, revolving the little strength she had recovered to control Floating Dragon Island to stop.

The protective shield of Floating Dragon was then opened, and the fleet landed at the docks.

The fighting mode of Floating Dragon was lifted, and the building structures that were hidden underground started to pop back up. Many of them rushed to check on their houses, assessing the damage.

The logistics team led by Haier also began their jobs to repair the houses.

Han Xiao and Ames adjusted their clothing before flying straight toward Floating Dragon Island. On the way, they attracted the glances of everyone present.

The members of Floating Dragon had all seen Ames losing to Han Xiao, and their boss seemed to have been taken advantage of. Thus, all their hearts were filled with some dissatisfaction.

Jenny rushed over impatiently, and after glaring at Han Xiao, she turned around to size up Ames, anxiously asking, “Are you okay?”

“Not really injured. Just consumed a lot of strength.” Ames waved her hand and turned her head. “Black Star, let’s go to my palace for a chat.”

As she spoke, she started walking toward the main hall. Han Xiao removed his mechanical suit and followed.

After entering Floating Dragon’s palace, Ames brought Han Xiao to the back garden, where they sat on the stone benches.

She manipulated her Force Field to pour two glasses of wine on the table. After taking it up to drink a sip, she saw Han Xiao not moving, and the corners of her lips curled up.

“This is the Dragon Bone Wine that was brewed by Aesop using the Void Dragon bones. I rarely take it out to entertain guests.”

“To actually use those to brew wine, what a dark recipe,” Han Xiao commented. Still, he lifted the glass for a sip. He only felt like a line of fire trailed down his throat, as though he was drinking lava itself. After this, a strong aftertaste surged back up, and he smacked his mouth as he savored the taste.

At this moment, Ames opened her mouth to speak, her tone a little emotional.

“Your strength now has surpassed me, and you only took twenty years… I’ve basically wasted all that time. Compared to you, I’ve been stagnant.”

“It’s not at the level of wasting it. You’re just lazy,” Han Xiao teased. “However, if you were to actually be hardworking, that would not be you anymore.”

“In your heart, am I such a lazy person?” Ames rolled her eyes.

“Are you not?” Han Xiao laughed.

“Huh… I suppose, if I compare myself to you, I really don’t have much motivation.” Ames shook her head, unable to retort.

The fact that she had lost made her attitude toward Han Xiao have a slight chance. Every Beyond Grade A was clear on the difficulty to improve further, and the rule of the strong was always to respect those stronger than them.

Ames put down her glass, gazing at Han Xiao as she softly said, “To have reached this level in just twenty years, you must have suffered a lot.”

Han Xiao paused, suddenly feeling as though this sentence was very familiar.

This phrase… now where did he hear that before[1]?

Suppressing the weird feeling in his heart, Han Xiao dryly coughed. “It was still ok.”

“Now that you’ve already carved out an area for yourself in the universe, what other plans do you have in the future?” Ames changed the topic.

“Continue to develop, accumulate strength.”

Hearing this, Ames paused, blinking her eyes rapidly.

“You feel that your ability now is still insufficient?”

“Before reaching the limit, strength will never be enough.” Han Xiao shook his head.

“… There’s actually something I don’t understand.”

Ames crossed her legs, holding her chin with one hand as she stared at him, and slowly spoke.

“Around eight to nine years ago, I asked you why you did not stop moving forward, and you said that you did not have the qualifications to do so yet refused to tell me the reason. What exactly are you afraid of? You’re a powerful Beyond Grade A Super with great influence and have the Crimson Dynasty as a backer. What could make you so afraid?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao hesitated.

What he was afraid of was the ultimate boss of the later versions, the World Tree Civilization.

Eight to nine years ago, when he was still a Calamity Grade, their statuses had been different, and thus, he did not tell Ames. However, now that their statuses were similar, there was a certain gravitas to his words. Pondering about it, he finally made a decision and opened his mouth.

“I’ve received some news, and in the future, there will be a calamity of epic proportions in our universe. No one will be able to avoid it, and there will be nowhere to run.”

Ames was a little surprised at his reply. “Such a calamity will be for the three civilizations to worry about. What’s there to fear?”

“When the calamity strikes, Beyond Grade As will just be greater ants. How can the people below us be spared?”

Ames subconsciously stroked her wine glass as she muttered, “So, it turns out that you had this sort of premonition… I thought your drive came from your insatiable ambition.”

She did not doubt Han Xiao’s words. Everyone had different information channels, and just his position in the dynasty would allow him to grasp many of the secrets that she could not obtain.

Furthermore, there was no reason for Black Star to lie to her.

The atmosphere turned heavier, and Ames seemed deep in thought, whereas Han Xiao did not talk, instead appreciating the wine.

After swirling the wine around for a few rounds, Ames finally raised her head, her voice soft.

“Seems like I cannot laze around anymore. If there’s such a day, I’ll stand beside you to fight.”

“That would be the best.” Han Xiao smiled.

In the past, due to Floating Dragon Island being destroyed, the life and death of Ames during the World Tree version was not known. However, since Aesop had stayed in Floating Dragon and did not go out to roam the world, the previous tragedies that happened to Ames would not appear this time.

The influence Han Xiao brought about had changed Ames’ fate. She should be able to last till the era the World Tree showed itself.

At this point, Jenny walked over and, pointedly ignoring Han Xiao, spoke in a low voice. “Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, the damage estimates are out. I need you to review them.”

“Got it.” Ames nodded and turned to Han Xiao. “There’s some stuff I need to do, and my energy has not fully recovered yet. I need to rest.”

Han Xiao stood up. “No problem, go ahead. I’ll be on Floating Dragon Island until you recover. It’s on the way for me to visit Planet Aquamarine anyway.”

“Okay.”

Ames knew that this was Han Xiao’s way to showing concern and smiled.

Han Xiao nodded and turned to leave.

Sending Han Xiao off with her gaze, Jenny’s cold face slowly thawed. She turned to look at Ames, her expression complex, and opened her mouth. Yet, she was seemingly hesitating over what to say.

“Hmm?” Ames glanced at her. “What do you have to say?”

Jenny opened and closed her mouth, finally gathering her courage.

“Your Excellency Dragon Emperor… do you like Black Star?”

Hearing this, Ames raised her brows.

“Why do you care?”

“I… I’m curious.” Jenny gritted her teeth. “And I don’t like Black Star.”

“I knew the last part. You didn’t need to emphasize it.” A helpless laugh came out from Ames.

But Jenny shook her head seriously.

“Your Excellency, I hate Black Star not for the reasons you are thinking… Initially, no one came to provoke us due to our position as a neutral force. Our days were leisurely, and while our influence was limited, it was fine. But after he appeared, Floating Dragon has undergone so many dangerous situations, and I always think that without Black Star, there would not be such issues. He is not a simple man and will bring us into great danger one day.”

Hearing this, Ames also smiled, and she thoughtfully asked, “So… you’re thinking that Black Star and I are allied because I like him?”

“I’ve also observed your attitude toward him and cannot ignore this possibility,” Jenny replied.

Ames nodded and laughed.

“Not bad, I have some feelings toward Black Star. What do you intend to do? Dissuade me?”

“I…” Jenny was shocked and did not know how to react.

“Ok, I’ll stop joking with you.” Ames waved her hands helplessly. “I do have some favorability toward Black Star, but who told you that was love? Just how old am I? Am I the kind that hides my emotions because of embarrassment?”

Ames then stood up. Her back was toward Jenny as she mused and looked out at the universe.

“Among the Beyond Grade As, Black Star is the only one whom I find pleasing to the eye. He beat me and has the qualifications to reproduce with me… but from the beginning till now, I’ve never entertained the idea of allowing a man within me to pass on his genes.

“My favorability toward him comes from the help he has rendered toward Floating Dragon and my admiration of him. My relationship with him is close, but he’s at most a good friend and comrade I can trust. When have you seen us talk about love?”

Jenny breathed a sigh of relief.

Right, how could Her Excellency and Black Star have any relationship? She was probably mistaken.

However, Ames’ next sentence shattered her hopes.

“However, the days are still long. If I ever change my thoughts of having descendants in the future…”

Ames thought of getting along with Han Xiao and shook her head as she laughed.

“Black Star is the only candidate.”

Ka-cha!

The communicator in Jenny’s hands was snapped in two.

…

Meanwhile, Han Xiao recalled his mechanical army and metal plates, allowing Phillip to control his spaceship to dock at Floating Dragon.

As the door closed, Han Xiao opened his interface.

The mission [‘Dragon Emperor’ Ames] had been completed. They had fought for over twenty minutes, fulfilling all the requirements.

And the best reward that he could obtain was a talent or ability from Ames!

Endure, endure…

Han Xiao breathed out and calmed himself down.

Feidin and Nero were not beside him, and he was definitely not going to use his bad luck to gamble.

Suppressing his itchy fingers, Han Xiao turned toward his other mission rewards—a large amount of experience, one Legendary Point, and one Character Summon Card of Ames.

[1] Han Xiao spoke the same phrase to Lothaire in Ch.904

Chapter 908: Old Friend

Chapter 908 Old Friend

The amount of experience rewarded was about the same as his mission for fighting against the Tyrant. Completing all the objectives netted him more than twenty billion experience, and this was basically the standard when faced with a Beyond Grade A task.

With the addition of political assets, Han Xiao’s actual experience almost doubled, and his savings rose quite a bit.

Other than that, he also received a Legendary Point and a Character Summon Card.

_____________________

Star Field Legendary Point (Shattered Star Ring): [Battle with the Dragon Emperor]—Your battle with the Dragon Emperor will be added to your battle records, and your reputation will be passed on.

Character Summon Card—’Dragon Emperor’ Ames: [Force Field – Dragon Body]—Your body will be covered with a force field, and you will get additional shield durability equivalent to 300,000 HP and +3,000 defense. The shield regenerates at a speed of 30,000 per second, and if the shield is broken, there’s a cooldown of ten seconds before it will reform. At the same time, each melee attack brings about 20,000 – 26,000 points of additional physical damage. When there is a STR judgment test, +1,500 points.

Duration: 30 minutes

Uses: 0/3

_____________________

“Quite a strong effect. It should come in handy during close combat.” Han Xiao nodded and switched off the interface.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Floating Dragon returned to its main base, and Han Xiao followed along.

The battlefield used for the spar was not too far from Planet Aquamarine and did not need much time to journey back. Floating Dragon Island soon reached Planet Aquamarine and stationed itself in outer space.

Spaceships could be seen rising from and descending to the blue planet. Right now, Planet Aquamarine had integrated with the interstellar society, and the development opportunities brought about by the financial groups also helped their civilization progress quickly. Now it also had the appearance of a galactic city.

After returning to his hometown, Han Xiao slowly looked over the changes in Planet Aquamarine, and after thinking about it, he invited Ames along.

Although Ames did not care much for her loss on the surface, Han Xiao needed to remove any negativity and maintain their relationship as allies. He would take this chance to properly interact with her, solidify their relationship, and reduce the friction to the minimum.

Ames looked at Planet Aquamarine every day, but she seldom went down to visit the surface city in person. With his invite, Ames obviously did not reject.

New Western Capital was situated at one of the original Six Nations, Stardragon.

Bennett’s Black Star City was where the Black Star Army’s sub-base was situated and also the political core of the Planet Aquamarine Federation. It continued to expand on the original Karst wilderness, attracted countless people, and had long become saturated. Later on, because the financial groups decided to focus their attention on the other cities that were not controlled so tightly, many other economic and financial cities were created around it, and the New Western Capital developed quickly, coming into the ranks of the first-tier cities of Planet Aquamarine.

It was just past noon, and the bright sunlight injected vitality into the city. The bustling streets were full of people, and voices clamored. There were not only natives but also many galactic citizens. With anti-gravity vehicles, public transportation carried people in an orderly manner across the city’s midair cross-track network. This was a picture of peace.

Han Xiao and Ames hid their presence and aura, not letting anyone discover their presence.

The two of them walked side by side down the streets, observing the situation as they chatted.

Two kids chasing each other ran past Han Xiao, a carefree smile plastered on their faces.

Han Xiao kept his gaze and spoke emotionally.

“With the Mutation Disaster gone for almost a decade, the people in Planet Aquamarine have also walked out of the shadows, embracing their new life and producing a new generation. This kind of feeling is indeed good.”

“This is the result of your effort. Are you feeling a sense of accomplishment?” Ames smiled.

“Just a little.”

Han Xiao was not so humble. In the first place, he saved his mother planet purely out of the benefits of the Planet Aquamarine players. But seeing the results now, he was actually quite satisfied. No one disliked beautiful scenes.

“During the Mutation Disaster, you once invited me to view your mother planet, and at that time, I felt that it was full of despair and hopelessness. The people were confused about the future and did not know if they could survive past tomorrow. However, it’s now another extreme.” Ames shook her head. “It was you who gave the planet a new life.”

“Then it’s estimated that I’m probably the turning point in history, haha.” Han Xiao laughed. When interacting with people he was closer to, he could not be so humble.

As they walked and chatted, they unknowingly arrived at the central area. Towering buildings clustered around the areas like pigeons waiting for food. This place used to be the old site of the Dragonhorn Tower in Stardragon. It had been remodeled into a new one, which was built by a financial group.

Seeing all these buildings, Han Xiao’s footsteps stopped as the memories surged, and he could not help but have a sense of aloofness from this world.

At this moment, Ames seemed to have spotted something and tugged at Han Xiao’s sleeve as she asked, “Hey, what’s that store?”

Turning to where she was looking, he saw a shop across the street with the sign ‘Black Star Heritage Exhibition Hall’ written on the signboard!

“I’ve actually… become a cultural relic. It’s not even been two decades…”

Han Xiao felt like vomiting. However, his curiosity overwhelmed him, and he walked over with Ames.

The automatic glass doors opened as they neared, and they walked into the exhibition hall. They saw that it had various glass showcases with various objects within.

However, the entire hall seemed to be cold and empty, without a single person present. There was a counter at the door, with a sign erected and the price of the ticket written. A woman sitting behind the counter seemed to be a clerk with her upper body lying on the table napping. She did not even hear the two of them enter.

With his Beyond Grade A eyesight, Han Xiao glanced toward the inside of the shop and instantly saw what was within the display cases. His mouth twitched.

“What sort of nonsense is this?”

The exhibition hall was filled with all sorts of messy stuff, such as ‘Chair That Black Star Has Sat On’, ‘Slippers Black Star Has Worn’, and ‘Bread That Black Star Has Bitten’. There was even one that read ‘Toilet Seat Thich Black Star Has Sat on’.

Han Xiao swore that he had never seen the toilet in the display case!

Ames blinked a few times, pointing toward one of the cases, and curiously asked, “Did you really like to wear diapers in the past?”

“You’re the one who likes it!”

“Who didn’t wear them when they were babies?” Ames opened her hands as she retorted.

Their voices woke up the clerk by the counter, and she raised her head, rubbing her eyes sleepily before showing herself in front of them while yawning.

“This is a small establishment, so we don’t accept Enas as currency. One ticket requires 400 Aquamarine Credibility Points. I can explain the history behind each artifact if you’re interested… eh‽”

The woman finally took in their appearances after she yawned, and her mouth, which had not closed, hung open like that as she revealed a shocked expression.

Han Xiao originally wanted to question where these ‘cultural artifacts’ came from, but after looking at her appearance, he suddenly felt that she looked a bit familiar. “Wait a minute…”

Before he finished speaking, the woman suddenly got excited and opened her arms wide, as though she wished to give him a hug.

But just as she got into the pose, her face froze as though she had thought of something, and her entire body paused in mid action.

The next instant, she put down her hands, and her expression became cramped, as though she did not know where to place her hands. She tentatively asked, “Han… no, Your Excellency Black Star, do you still remember me?”

Han Xiao frowned slightly as he closely looked at the woman. There were fine wrinkles around her eyes, and she seemed a little old, but she still had her womanly charms and had probably been extremely beautiful when she was young. She still maintained a good figure… but under the scrutiny of a Beyond Grade A, this sort of beauty did not have any attractive appeal.

With each advancement, it was a sublimation of life level. At the Beyond Grade A level, one could see the minutest of details, and most creatures were covered with dirt in a Beyond Grade A’s eyes. Only others who were at the Beyond Grade A level would appear uncontaminated by dirt and dust.

Han Xiao scanned through the faces in his memory and matched with one of them. He said in a surprised tone, “You’re… Li Yalin?”

The woman in front of him was actually his colleague back when he was working as an agent in Stardragon.

Seeing that Han Xiao recognized her, Li Yalin was overjoyed and nodded like a chicken pecking on millet.

“That’s right, that’s right. You really still remember me!”

“It’s harder for me to forget things than to remember now,” Han Xiao explained. “Turns out, you’re still alive. I thought you died in the Mutation Disaster. Since you were alive, why didn’t you go to the Black Star Army to find me?”

“I only survived out of luck, and later on, when the Six Nations were disbanded by you, I also lost my job and took the severance payment. I didn’t want to fight anymore, so I didn’t go to you. I bought a house here and opened this exhibition hall.”

She suddenly remembered all the nonsense around them and let out an awkward smile. “Oh… that, I got all those things from the flea market and marketed them as things you’ve used before. No choice, life is hard…”

“… Relax, I’m not going to make trouble for you.”

Seeing an old friend, Han Xiao’s mood was very good.

“Old friend?” Ames suddenly spoke out.

“Yeah, an old comrade more than twenty years ago.” Han Xiao nodded.

Because Li Yalin had focused all her attention on Han Xiao, she did not notice Ames. She snapped back and bowed. “To not notice Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

Ames smiled as she nodded.

“Ai, we’re already old friends. There’s no need to be so polite.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

“How can I?” Li Yalin was a little embarrassed. “You’re such a famous character now.”

With more than twenty years, her friend had now reached a level that she would never obtain and was a great planetary character that appeared on the news. Li Yalin had to withstand the urge to hug him after thinking of the gap between them.

Han Xiao also noticed this point and could not help but sigh that one’s status truly differentiated people. After thinking for a while, he suddenly smiled.

“Now, come to think of it, I seem to owe you money.”

Li Yalin paused before waving her hands. “That was so long ago. You don’t need to be bothered about it…”

“Too late, already transferred.” Han Xiao cut her off.

Ding!

From within the room came the sound of a communicator pinging.

“Hey, I didn’t tell you my account number. How did you know…” Li Yalin was surprised, and she took out her communicator. After glancing, she froze in shock.

“Th—This…”

“One million Enas, enough to compensate for the interest accumulated for more than twenty years.”

Han Xiao smiled and felt that he was radiating the aura of a wealthy wastrel.

“It’s too much!” Li Yalin was helpless.

“This is not even a large sum for me, pocket money at most. You can rest easy and not worry about life in the future…” Han Xiao glanced around and dryly coughed. “So, find a time to close this shop.”

Ames could not help but start laughing.

“You look like those galactic pirates that paid me a protection fee in the past.”

“No one will think you’re mute if you don’t talk.” Han Xiao spat back.

Seeing Li Yalin still standing there with a dumbfounded expression, Han Xiao looked around and fished out a paper and pen from behind the counter, writing down his communicator number and passing it to her.

“Next time if you have problems, call me. You can come find me anytime.”

Li Yalin slowly regained her wits and solemnly folded up the paper before replying in a serious tone, “Thank you.”

“There’s no need. The money is a small matter.”

“It’s not about that.” Li Yalin took a deep breath before bowing. “I’m thanking you for whatever you did for the entire Planet Aquamarine, for all the people you’ve saved, including me. I did not have the chance to tell you that previously… you’ll always be the hero in my heart.”

Ames also smiled at that and joked, “What about me?”

“Ah, you’re also the heroine in my heart.” Li Yalin hurriedly bowed toward her as well.

At this moment, some other guests walked in, and seeing the scene, they felt a little surprised before suddenly exclaiming.

“Your Excellency Black Star‽”

“Goodness, it’s really him!”

Everyone rushed forward with excited expressions.

Among a hundred Aquamarians, probably only one would not know what Han Xiao looked like. A portion of them benefitted from the statue of him situated in Black Star City, while the other benefitted from the textbooks.

“I… Can I take a photo with you‽” One of them excitedly took out his communicator.

“Of course.” Han Xiao smiled. Anyways, he had nothing to do, so taking a bit of time did not matter.

As they took pictures with Han Xiao, their ruckus attracted more people, which started to form a queue in front of the stall. The tiny exhibition hall became crowded, and it was extremely rowdy, as though there was a fan meet within.

Han Xiao did not refuse anyone and took photos with all the happy citizens of Planet Aquamarine. The lights flashed continuously, and group photos were posted on Planet Aquamarine’s social network constantly.

The appearance of their ‘Savior’ spread quickly and attracted countless people to swarm to this location.

By the sides, Ames looked at Han Xiao and how he was welcomed by everyone, and the admiration in her eyes was apparent.

Chapter 909: Half a Year

909 Half a Year

As he was leaving the exhibition hall, Han Xiao went back to find Li Yalin to make up for the unfinished hug. In that moment, there was no status difference between them, just a reunion of friendship.

Twenty years had passed just like that, and his first group of friends all had their own personal experiences. Everyone had the freedom to make their own choices, and he would not interfere. Thus, after repaying his ‘debt’, he did not say anything else to Li Yalin.

After bidding goodbye, Han Xiao and Ames spent another ten or so days touring Planet Aquamarine’s major cities. When they were spotted, numerous people would rush up to take pictures with them. This happened all the way until they met up with Bennett.

Since there were a multitude of photos posted on social media, Bennett knew that Han Xiao would definitely go to him and only waited, not disturbing him this time.

Since Han Xiao and Ames had a cooperative relationship with Planet Aquamarine, Bennett also prepared himself to meet the two.

…

After they finished discussing the formal matters, Bennett could not help to ask about Nero. Han Xiao told Bennett about Nero’s heavy study load, but this reassured Bennett that Han Xiao valued Nero a lot and was interested in grooming him.

After finishing the inspection work on Planet Aquamarine, Han Xiao went back to Floating Dragon, with the intention of sneaking into Aesop’s wine cellar to get some Void Dragon Wine to share with Hila, but it was foreseen by Aesop, who had moved his bed and toilet to the wine cellar, guarding it with his life. Thus, he could only return to the headquarters empty handed.

In her palace, Ames watched the spaceship fly toward the horizon and let out a breath, muttering to herself, “I can’t be lazy anymore…”

…

When he returned to the headquarters, the first he did was look for Feidin and Nero, and after molesting them, he went to his room to collect his mission random reward.

_____________________

You have received a Random Reward Draw of one of Ames’ skills (Ability/Talent).

Alert: Ames is an Esper, part of the possible abilities have been automatically adjusted to your class.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. Pure Bloodline – Talent: Improve one’s Racial Talent to a certain degree (cannot be quantified due to individual’s talents being different)

2. Advanced Charm Aura – Talent: +120% CHA

3. Caretaker of the Stars – Ability: Passive Ability that is randomly triggered. One will be favored by the Stars and obtain a [Strong Luck] status, +90% LUK. Lasts for 15 days.

4. Activate Potential – Ability: Unleash one’s potential, +10 – 15% Attack and +200% Crit Rate. Energy is continuously consumed in this state.

5. Heroic Wrists – Talent: You have frightening wrist strength, a strong body, and vigorous cell activity. As your character’s overall level rises, your STR, END and Attack will increase.

– Lv1 – 100: Every 10 levels will give +30 STR, +15 END, and +0.6% increase in attack.

– Lv101 – 200: Every 10 levels will give +45 STR, +25 END, and +0.9% increase in attack.

– Lv201 and above: Every 10 levels will give +60 STR, +35 END, and +1.2% increase in attack.

_____________________

“Whoa, jackpot!” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Feidin and Nero were really his lucky stars, allowing him to draw all decent rewards.

[Advanced Charm Aura]’s bonus was quite impressive, and any talent with the word ‘Advanced’ would not be bad, but Han Xiao’s demand for Charm was not high.

[Caretaker of the Stars] was a powerful skill, and its Luck bonus was high, but he had no demand for that, and besides… with one point of basic Luck, no matter how great the bonus was, it would still be around the same.

[Activate Potential] was a practical skill that would increase one’s output, but it was lacking compared to the other two.

Han Xiao particularly favored the [Pure Bloodline] since it was a rare racial talent boosting skill as well as [Heroic Wrists] since it was a growth type talent.

However, there was only one reward that could be chosen, so after pondering for a while, Han Xiao made the decision.

_____________________

You have been awarded with the talent Heroic Wrists!

Current additional states applied: +1230 STR, +680 END, +24.6 increase in attack.

_____________________

He favored this sort of growth talent more as it was stable, strong, and full of potential.

In contrast, [Pure Bloodline]’s effect was too uncertain, and based off Ames’ ability, the bonuses of this talent should be limited.

Moreover, his Racial Talent would undergo an improvement every time he underwent a Race Evolution. He was not lacking in this area. Furthermore, his main force of combat was his mechanical army, and Racial Talent could only be applied to his true body of mechanical host.

Currently, he only had the skills [Superhuman] and [Supreme Power] directly increasing his attack, which already brought forth a totally different dimension of attack strength, so the [Heroic Wrists] skill that directly increased one’s strength was rare.

Han Xiao looked at his attributes in satisfaction before turning off the panel and tilting his head to consider the current situation.

Right now, it’s the middle stages of the version. The external environment can be considered peaceful, and the three civilizations need time to quell their contradictions with each other. I’ve also established my position, and there should be no major events during this time… I can focus on my stable development till the end of the version.

In the past year, Han Xiao had been sharply driving up the organization’s power, causing it to soar rapidly. Now was the time to slowly digest the various achievements he had gained, such as the greater attention the dynasty had on him, the deterrent power he had, and the profits from the Evolutionary Totems.

The army needs to be low-key and digest our fruits of victory, consolidating our businesses while waiting for the next opportunity for development.

In his plan, the next opportunity would be the end of the first phase of the Flickering World development. The dynasty had allowed him a portion of the territory within, and that would be the time to vigorously develop his mechanical civilization as well as the Black Spirit Race.

At the same time, that was also the opportunity to seize the advantage for Version 4.0. It would be the time when the global service would be opened, and the players of the major star fields would gather and begin the faction war. It would also be the time when the Fourth Calamity, the Cancer of the Universe, would be born.

It was inevitable that players would cause trouble in the next version. Thus, it would be a great advantage for himself and the players in the Black Star Army to secure a site within the global service area. At that time, the Black Star Army, as the largest player faction in the Shattered Star Ring, would not be able to avoid being involved in the battle between players. There were advantages and disadvantages, but there was no way to avoid the storm.

The players in the Shattered Star Ring had experienced too many things in Version 3.0. From the secret war early on, to their commander breaking through to Beyond Grade A, the alliance with the Crimson Dynasty, and even the exploration in the Flickering World and the battle of Planet Lighthouse. There was still the Gulal Civilization civil strife, which had yet to end.

Han Xiao estimated that, with the remaining time left, the Shattered Star Ring would likely not have any major events happening, so he could use this time to rest.

Fighting the Arcane Church and then EsGod had tired him out. It would be good for him to use this period to absorb the players’ experience and rebuild his mechanical army.

It had been less than two years since he had become a Beyond Grade A Mechanic, and his mechanical army had yet to reach the level of Manison’s. Let alone to Manison, his army was still quite small compared to the other senior Beyond Grade A Mechanics.

I’ll do some low-key farming and not go around to cause trouble.

…

Under Han Xiao’s strategic direction, the Black Star Army temporarily slowed down its development and turned inward to stabilize itself, consolidating its current scale and businesses.

The transaction of the Evolutionary Totem had set off ripples in the universe, with many civilizations deciding to reach a cooperative relationship with the dynasty in various ways, in order to obtain the qualification to purchase the Evolutionary Totem.

The Crimson Dynasty gained unprecedented political influence, and Han Xiao gained a large number of customers from the various civilizations. This resulted in an abundance of funds, achieving a win-win situation for the both parties.

This sort of monopoly resulted in envy and dissatisfaction among the financial groups, but it was pity. With the Crimson Dynasty as a backer and the Black Star Army’s status as a local tyrant in the Shattered Star Ring, no one dared provoke them.

On the other hand, due to their previous issues, the three civilizations chose to consciously reduce friction with each other. Thus, the Arcane Church and Federation of Light chose to wait and see the effects of the Evolutionary Totem.

Due to their peaceful actions, the galactic environment became stable again. The impact of the Crimson Tide lasting for more than ten years also gradually faded.

The division of Fallen Ark also gradually settled. Some criminals were arrested by the three civilizations, while others went to join other criminal organizations in other star fields, and some became mercenaries.

The leftovers were reintegrated by other people and continued to act as Fallen Ark. Their leader seemed to be Fakisen, the once deputy under EsGod. The new Fallen Ark had shrunk in size dramatically and entered a dormant state, acting low-key.

As for the players in the Black Star Army, they were focused on two events, the exploration of Flickering World and the Gulal Civilization war. They helped the Pioneer Party occupy more land step by step, ousting the Ancient Emperor Party. Their influence on the war was growing larger, and they never grew tired of war.

Under this peaceful environment, more than a year passed quietly.

Version 3.0 had finally entered the final stages.

Chapter 910: Ultimate Mechanical Engineering

Chapter 910 Ultimate Mechanical Engineering

The metal bulkhead of the battleship was full of ridges and holes, and its exposed energy lines were badly damaged, constantly sputtering sparks. The cabin looked like it had experienced a fierce battle, where flames crackled and raged inside, and the ground was covered in the broken bodies of the crew members.

A group of warriors wearing full body armor carried energy guns around to examine the bodies, and whenever they found a survivor, they would fire.

The killed crew were all Rock Sprites, an older race with rough, tawny skin, an average height of about three meters, and covered in hair. Although they were made up of flesh and blood, they had naturally rock-solid skin and were good at uncovering rare ores. With their metal resources, they were a relatively powerful star system level civilization in the Sea of Star Spirits.

The uniforms of all the crew members had the symbol of their civilization, proving that this was a regular unit belonging to their official civilization. Yet, it was attacked, and the entire crew was annihilated.

At the very end of this battleship was a huge metallic warehouse door, and at this moment, the leader of the attackers stood in front of the closed warehouse door and took out a specialized tool to crack the code. The disc-shaped device was pressed on the operation panel of the door, and a high-frequency beep sounded.

Buzz!

The next instant, the door rang loudly and released its locks, slowly swinging open.

The leader strode in and saw hundreds of Evolutionary Totems neatly arranged in the warehouse.

“We’ve got the goods. Clean up and bring them back.”

The people nodded in satisfaction, waving their hands as they brought their subordinates over.

The Rock Sprites had purchased a batch of Evolutionary Totems from the Black Star Army, and when this news was leaked, their attackers set an ambush, with the goal of snatching these Evolutionary Totems.

To be able to clear out the guards of a star system level civilization so easily… it was obviously not a small bandit group.

These attackers were also interstellar mercenaries, but their nature was different. Mercenaries were separated into three types: regular mercenaries registered under the Mercenary Alliance, such as the Black Star Army; independent mercenaries, who are not registered; and the last belonged to black market mercenaries, who worked to supply the galactic black market.

‘Black Jobs’ referred to criminal jobs that violated interstellar law, and these were normally posted only on the black market. They included looting, kidnapping, and assassination of officials. Black market mercenaries were usually criminals… In fact, the majority of people in the industry were originally wanted criminals.

This group of attackers belonged to a black market mercenary group that was one of the top organizations in the black market—the Blood Gold Organization.

The Blood Gold Organization was a black market mercenary group that operated around the Sea of Star Spirits, Ancient Star Desert, and Primeval Star River, and the whereabouts of its members, spaceships, and bases were kept secret. Their style of action was also low-key, which led to their exact size being a secret, but it was obviously a behemoth to be able to conduct business in three different star fields.

At the same time, the Blood Gold Organization was also one of the upper echelons in the black market.

Wherever there were controls for trade, there would exist black markets, which would continue to breed and eventually form a huge chain.

There were also different levels within a black market, distinguished by one’s region and business scope. From planetary level to star systems to star fields, slowly increasing in scope until the highest level, which was the galactic black market that practically dominated all other black markets.

And this black market of the highest level knew how to make a fortune, or else they would not have given themselves the name ‘galactic black market’. Those who did not do this might still think it was a term and not an actual organization.

Of course, not all independent black markets followed under the orders of the galactic black market, just like how some hooligans did not know who the kingpin of their underworld was.

The galactic black market was humongous, and its business covered the entire universe. There were always some civilizations that wished to obtain certain restricted technology and would turn to the black market. Thus, everyone turned a blind eye to its actions, which acted as a cover for it. The galactic black market also acted as a communication platform for a huge underworld society.

However, not all criminals existed for the sake of being evil; a large number were only in it for the benefits, so they also required order and credibility, and they required someone to formulate rules for them. Therefore, the administrators of the galactic black market came into being, with representatives from the mercenaries, intelligence organizations, smuggling trades, contraband production, and other gray industries.

The Blood Gold Organization was one of the administrators of the black market, and they were equivalent to one of the tyrants of the underworld.

The Fallen Ark was not an administrator of the black market, as the administrators typically fell on the Lawful Evil side. They also disliked EsGod, who was a Chaotic Evil. While both of them were criminal forces, they did not belong on the same side. After Fallen Ark fell apart, the Blood Gold Organization accepted a large number of criminals and helped them achieve re-employment.

An officer came to the side of the leader, and watching his subordinates carry away the Evolutionary Totems, he could not help but smirk.

“The price of the Evolutionary Totem on the black market is extremely high now. As far as I know, there are many civilizations that are secretly purchasing. How much do you think we can get if we swallow this batch?”

“Don’t even think about it. This is what our employer wants, and our job is to deliver it. To think of swallowing the goods, are you thinking that you’ve lived too long?” The leader shook his head.

After a year and a half of sales, the business of the Evolutionary Totem had basically stabilized. Some civilizations that relied on the Federation of Light as well as the Arcane Church could not have a relationship with the Crimson Dynasty, and so, they could only start moving now.

No one had forgotten Black Star’s battle records a year and a half ago, so the difficulty of stealing from the Black Star Army’s spaceships was too high. As such, they aimed at the other organizations that transported the Evolutionary Totems, focusing on the civilizations that purchased them.

Because this violated Galaxy’s laws, the black market mercenaries represented by the Blood Gold Organization now came in handy. The Evolutionary Totem was near priceless on the black market and always in short supply.

After stealing the Evolutionary Totems from the Rock Sprites, they destroyed the spaceship completely before they left.

In recent months, such scenes had taken place many times in various corners of the universe.

…

“Another buyer got robbed midway?”

Within his office in the Black Star Army headquarters, Han Xiao closed the player forums, looking at Sylvia’s long-distance projection as he frowned.

“Yes, if we count the Rock Sprites, then there are already thirteen star system civilizations that have been robbed. Thousands of Evolutionary Totems have now appeared on the black market.”

“Where did this happen?”

“Sea of Star Spirits. The identity of the robbers is unknown, and preliminary judgment points toward it being under the same organizations as the previous few.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. “Pay attention to the black market. If there are no Evolutionary Totems on the black market for some time, it should be the black market mercenaries. They usually hand things over to their employers.”

“Teacher, do we need to deal with this problem?”

“No need to care. I’m not in charge of after-sales. Whether they can protect what they bought, it is not my problem… of course, if they choose to hire my machinery troops, then it would be a different problem.” Han Xiao waved his hand. “What did the Rock Sprite tribe say?”

“They’re hoping that you’ll give him another batch?”

“Give? Not buy?”

“That’s right. They know that the Evolutionary Totem has a low base cost, and they are unwilling to buy another batch at high costs, so they hope you can send them a batch. You also know that the Rock Sprites are direct with their words.” Sylvia helplessly shrugged.

“Tell them that I don’t run an insurance business. If they want to buy, they can buy another batch. There’s no such thing as a replacement batch. This is a matter of principles.”

Han Xiao shook his head. If he agreed to this, who knew if some civilization would choose the method of ‘robbing oneself’ to obtain a replacement. He would not do anything that would bring him a loss.

This sort of thing was hard to predict. There might be civilizations privately reaching agreements with other civilizations who were not close to the dynasty, indirectly helping them to purchase these Evolutionary Totems.

Moreover, Han Xiao did not mind the Evolutionary Totems being stolen. The more they were robbed, the more he would sell, and a larger market would help to ease the pressure off him. He was not losing money at this rate anyway.

The only problem would be the dynasty, not him. As long as it did not reach the Black Star Army side, he did not really care.

“Understood, I’ll relay the message to them.” Sylvia then switched off the projection.

Han Xiao spat out a sigh, leaning back in his chair as he pondered.

In the past year and a half, the Black Star Army had gradually stabilized and consolidated their businesses and operations. They had been developing well. His style of doing things was finally akin to a mechanic. He stayed at home to build machinery and expand his legion while his mechanical army went around to hoard missions for random rewards, using them to draw his Mission Completion Cards.

His experience reserve had also slowly accumulated, and a part of his accumulated Potential Points were used to upgrade his Ultimate Knowledges. During this period, he got his fifth Ultimate Knowledge, [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering], from the Dynasty for six thousand Contribution Points.

This knowledge was related to the manufacturing of machinery, greatly improving one’s manufacturing technology and production line capacity. He also unlocked a large number of blueprints, giving him the talent of [Ultimate Manufacturer] as well as an ability [Inspirational Creation].

[Ultimate Manufacturer]’s effect was simple and practical, increasing the base performance of his machinery by 25 – 30%, as well as his production speed by 300 – 500%. Obviously, this was the talent needed for creating an explosive number of soldiers.

As for [Inspirational Creation], it was an inactive ability. The activation condition was for [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering] to achieve the max level of five. Its effect was to combine an unlimited number of blueprints in any combination to undergo Blueprint Refinement, creating new improved or merged blueprints. One could also choose advanced settings such as focusing on certain aspects such as attack or defense, which was more stable than random blueprints.

Levelling up this ability just needed experience… an ocean worth of experience.

For players who were unable to change their blueprints manually, this skill was akin to magic, but Han Xiao could improve his own blueprints, so this skill was not very useful. However, it was not completely worthless, as it had an irreplaceable role.

[Inspirational Creation] had a slight chance to synthesize the blueprints of Universal Treasures and was the only way for a Mechanic to create Gold Equipment!

Right now, Han Xiao possessed two Universal Treasures, but he would definitely not complain about having more. It was just that synthesizing a Universal Treasure was not that easy, as it was not like gambling for blueprints. There was no fixed combination, and even if two people combined the same blueprints, the synthesized final blueprint would still be different due to randomization.

In his previous life, there were players that indeed created Universal Treasure blueprints, but there were two problems with it. The first was that they did not disclose the combination, and the second… none of the blueprints were for Mechanics.

The prerequisites were too harsh, and there was basically no possibility of manufacturing it below the Beyond Grade A level, so many players could not even satisfy the prerequisites.

Thus, Han Xiao temporarily placed [Inspirational Creation] at the back of his mind. To even reach max level for [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering] required too many potential points, and while he had a large experience reserve, trying to synthesize the blueprint of a Universal Treasure would mean less experience in other areas, particularly since he needed to leave a reserve for during the version upgrade period. Thus, he did not dare waste his experience.

…

The overall situation in the Gulal Civil War had also been stabilized, and they were progressing step by step. There were no issues in the process as the Pioneer Party was about to taste the fruits of victory. However, the attention of the players had already shifted to the Pro League.

Because of the increase in players, the popularity of this version’s Pro League had also risen, attracting much attention. This time, they were similarly separated into the nine major regions, and the schedule had already undergone fine tuning.

For example, the heats and qualifiers started earlier, allowing for ample time and enabling more players to participate in the Pro League. At the same time, this also allowed them to decide the wildcard quota, as well as the Pro League regular season list.

Han Xiao just watched the video of the qualifiers through the forums, appreciating the weird antics and idiocy of the players.

During the official competition, in addition to the ring, group, individual, and team survival battles, there would be three special battle types added.

The first was Capture the Flag, which was a free for all, and each player would be resurrected indefinitely. The winner would be decided by overall points.

The second would be a team dungeon game, where many teams would enter the same dungeon and challenge missions to earn points.

The last would be the survival game. Just like its name, it competed on which team could survive longer in the dungeon, which was also referred to by the players in his past life as the ‘competition to see who could hold their pee back the longest’.

The competitive form was much richer this time round, and the goal of the Pro League was to enhance the competitiveness and interest in the players. The goal of adding the dungeon battles was also to attract more PVE players.

The rules of this Pro League were also much stricter, with a ‘Prohibited Items List’ being released. Not out of his expectations, the [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution] was placed at the top of the list!

The Black Star Army players did not feel much about it since everyone in their faction could use it, but the clubs in other star fields heaved a sigh of relief. This equipment was too overpowered, and if the Shattered Star Ring all had one in their hands, they could just directly admit defeat!

However, Han Xiao did not think that this was the reason. He believed that because the aberrations were too ugly, it would be easy to scare off the ladies…

If one was ugly, they would have no rights. What an accurate saying!

Chapter 911: Opening of the Pro League

Chapter 911 Opening of the Pro League

The Black Star Army Badge: Evolution was a divine tool for completing missions and dungeons. In addition to this item, there were several items within each region that were banned.

“The qualifiers are almost over, and the Pro League opening is close.”

Han Xiao rubbed his fingers before reopening the forums, browsing through the information of the qualifiers.

All players were eligible for the qualifiers. After three versions, there were already many players signing for the third Pro League season. They were competing for forty team spots and sixty-four individual tournament places during this regular season, so the competition was fierce.

The saying ‘every version has its own generation of Gods’ was apt. With the compression technology, the Mechanic class that was originally weaker now started to rise in Version 3.0. Their average record in the team and individual games also improved significantly. This was especially so for the individual matches. The mechanics that were originally limited in the individuals now shone in the qualifiers. Their rating was re-evaluated as a T1[1] profession.

The combat capability of a mechanic had started to shine. Unfortunately, it was too much of a money burner, and the players finally experienced this happy problem.

Throughout all the competition regions, the most powerful mechanics all came from the Shattered Star Ring, which had become a feature there. The Black Star Army was indeed one of the best camps for Mechanics.

Along with the rise of the Mechanic profession, many dark horses also appeared.

However, this did not include Maple Moon like in Han Xiao’s previous life, as she only took part in the Pro League for the first time in Version 3.0 back then. In this life, she had participated in the previous Pro League and had even finished in the thirties, so the effect was different.

Because of her good relationship with Frenzied Sword, Rivervale had offered her an olive branch early on and chosen to sign her up before the Pro League started. Thus, Maple Moon was not considered a free player now but rather part of the professional players.

Regardless of her character attributes, equipment, or skills, Maple Moon was one tier higher than in her previous life, and she firmly gained a seat in the top sixty-four in the individual category, allowing her to qualify for the Pro League.

What was worth mentioning was that the Australian and Russian clubs that were based in Shattered Star Ring tried to send some of their club players to form a team to participate in the qualifiers, to try and eliminate the stronger teams of China.

While this was not considered outsourcing, it still triggered a lot of dissatisfaction among the Chinese players.

Your own professional players remain in their regions to play, but you actually sent over some ruffians to try and make a scene? And you dare claim to be some big club? You’re actually just like a kid!

The Australian and Russian teams were targeted heavily by the Chinese players because they were not professional players and ended up being quickly eliminated during the qualifiers.

The candidates for the qualifiers in each region were mostly decided, and the Pro League would be their stage. Thus, a large number of players were analyzing the performance of these players in the qualifiers and posting their analysis videos.

Han Xiao was also deeply engrossed in this as he had received similar treatment.

After scrolling through the forums for a while, a new post suddenly appeared, and it was pushed to the top, attracting Han Xiao’s attention.

A glance at it told him that this was the new episode of Galaxy Times, which was the final promotion for the opening of the Pro League.

This was something our Great Mechanic Han had always kept tabs on, so he immediately entered.

“Hello players, this is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information. Your gaming career is our top priority,” the male host greeted.

“Now that the qualifiers are about to end, the countdown for the Pro League begins,” the female host said. “Today, we have the honor of inviting various professional players from the clubs in the Shattered Star Ring for an interview. Please give them a round of applause.”

Claps and cheers played in the background.

Everyone came online and faced the camera, introducing themselves.

“Welcome everyone to the Galaxy Times,” the female host said. “On behalf of the majority of players, I congratulate you for qualifying in the Pro League. We have a lot of new faces in this version, and many say that this version is one where the dark horses will shine. Let me ask those players first, what do you think?”

The host began to interview a batch of newcomers. All of them were familiar faces to Han Xiao. In his previous life, these newcomers were people who rose up in Version 3.0, and a considerable number later joined as professional players, becoming important players or even the aces in their respective teams. Their future statuses were equivalent to Li Ge and Hao Tian. Looking at all these young people in the group, Han Xiao liked this fresh perspective.

After interviewing the newcomers, it was the turn for the professional players. This interview was the highlight, and the teams interviewed were Long Sky, Dynasty, and Rivervale.

“Hao Tian, King Admiral, and Frenzied Sword, the three captains. You achieved an excellent international ranking in the previous league. Now that the third Pro League is about to open, do you feel any pressure?”

Frenzied Sword nodded. “The pressure is real. The better one’s results, the more eyes will be on you. A small mistake will be magnified infinitely, but that’s where we have more motivation. We have a potential rookie, Maple Moon, and the team is good, so we are confident of going further in the competition and earning greater glory.” “That’s great, and we wish Rivervale all the best. How about Long Sky and Dynasty? As the Champion and the Second Runner-up, what goals do you have, and where do you hope to finish?”

“We only have one goal, to defend the championship,” Hao Tian replied. “Anything else is considered regressing.”

King Admiral smiled. “Coincidentally, our only goal is obtaining the Championship.”

“Seems like both captains are confident, and they wish to win the champion’s position for China.” The hostess quickly rounded off as the smell of gunpowder grew heavy.

After finishing this episode, Han Xiao glanced down at the players’ responses.

[If You Lick to the End, You Get Everything]: “We took three of the eight quarterfinal spots last version. If not for the fact that Dynasty had bad luck and fought twice with our country’s people, maybe even the Runner-Up position would have been ours!”

(Twin Lotuses on a Stem]: “What would be called a strong battle team?”

[A Cart of Bread): “We have a great chance of defending our title. This version, the Mechanic profession rose sharply because of the Black Star Army, and our Mechanic profession is the most powerful! This is our advantage, and our overall ranking will definitely be better.”

With optimistic people, there would better be ones that badmouthed them, and however small they were, their existence could not be covered up.

[Rewind): “Can you stop boasting? They were lucky and got the championship, and now they’re all arrogant. Hehe, don’t even know if they can get into the quarter finals.”

[Father of DuDu: “I really find it revolting that they put these professional players on a pedestal. I don’t get what’s so good about them.”

Scrolling through all the comments, Han Xiao could not help but raise his thumb inwardly.

These people are really good at inciting hatred!

A few days later, the opening ceremony came as scheduled, and the long-awaited moment for the players finally arrived, causing the forums to go wild with excitement.

Before the competition officially started, the number of viewers on the live broadcast channel skyrocketed. Han Xiao, who was at the headquarters, also opened the forums to watch the opening battle. [1] T1 = Main Tank, T2 = Sub Tank, and so on. The author mentioned this very early on in his series. So, this should be gauging the mechanic as being able to tank a lot now.

Chapter 912: Warning

Chapter 912 Warning

“Welcome to the opening match of the Third Galaxy Pro League. I’m the commentator of this game, Wind Chimes.”

“Hello everyone, I’m a guest commentator, Bun-Hit-Dog.”

“I’m a guest commentator, Li Ge.”

The three of them were being filmed in a studio. This studio was located within a spaceship that hovered above the competition planet, overlooking the scene.

As soon as the live broadcast was connected, there was a barrage of pop-up comments flying across the screen. It was really lively.

Han Xiao took out a bag of nibbles, and reclining in his chair, he ate as he watched in comfort.

“The two teams against each other this time are Long Sky and Dynasty,” Wind Chimes said. “They were the Champions and Second Runners-up in the previous Pro League. They last met in the semifinals, where Long Sky defeated Dynasty and made them miss the final, so there will definitely be some grudges. Their fans have been giving off the smell of gunpowder before this match. One side are the champions, who have to secure the first win, while Dynasty wish to wipe away their previous humiliation, so this match will be one of epic proportions. What say you two?”

“I feel that Long Sky might win,” Bun-Hit-Dog said. “Hao Tian is a typical example of a competitor who grows stronger the stronger his opponents are. I’m very optimistic about him.”

“There was some luck factored in during Long Sky’s last win,” Li Ge countered. “I’m more optimistic about Dynasty, as they will definitely have done more research after losing the previous time.”

The three commentators debated for a few minutes before Long Sky and Dynasty finally entered the battlefield, waving to the audience and doing the self introduction before the match.

The hero who won the previous glory for China appeared, and it incited a large wave of pop ups, so much that Han Xiao could barely see the screen.

“Okay, we can see that both sides have already gotten on the battlefield. If that’s the case, then the Pro League officially… begins!”

The moment the voice sounded, both sides moved, akin to a lightning strike or a volcanic eruption. Compared to the previous version, the tactical methods and destructive power of these professional players had obviously risen to a whole new level, so the battlefield range had also become larger.

Long Sky had a sharp penetrative force, but Dynasty was more balanced overall. Their teamwork was nigh perfect, and they were skillful in team battles as well as capturing the flag. However, in terms of individual strength, Long Sky-which had Hao Tian, Sleepy Winter, and Twinkle Fried Rice, three god-level players-slightly overwhelmed Dynasty. While King Admiral slightly exceeded all his opponents, it was difficult for him to support the entire team.

In this Pro League, the new formats for team battles and dungeon survival games also made their debut. Han Xiao was no stranger to this, but players found it new since it was their first time.

The selected dungeon was not fixed, and it was different each game. Before the game, several dungeon options would be taken out to allow players the time to study before one of these options was randomly selected. However, professional players were on a different level. When this rule was announced a year ago, the teams had already begun to do dungeon training and were familiar with most of the dungeons in this region. The team battle would be held in a normal level dungeon, while the survival battle would be held in a high-level dungeon. Coincidentally, the dungeons that Long Sky and Dynasty chose all had to do with Han Xiao.

The team battle was held in the secret war dungeon series, and both parties would be thrown into the same dungeon. The goal was not a time attack but rather to complete some special mission tasks, such as assassinating certain characters or drawing out hidden missions, testing the comprehensive quality in each team.

As for the survival battle, it was a copy of (Warfare: Defense of Planet Aquamarine), where the Calamity Grades of DarkStar ganged up against Han Xiao. Even though it was in Version 2.0, this dungeon copy was still a difficult one for the players.

The focus of the dungeon battles was to test the wit and bravery of the teams. Utilizing everything within the dungeon to defeat their opponents would make the Pro League more interesting than just a basic battle. As for the survival battle, it was more of who could struggle longer to survive. Watching the professional players get abused was quite entertaining for the audience as well.

Long Sky’s battle style was more reckless, as Hao Tian’s specialty did not lie in strategy and was not suitable for the intricacies of team dungeon battles. While Sleepy Winter was accustomed to pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger, he was unable to shake the stability of Dynasty and was completely led around their nose by King Admiral, hammered flat.

When it came to the survival dungeon, the dungeon copy replayed the battlefield at that time, where the two teams came face to face with the three Calamity Grade DarkStar supers. The threat level was basically dying once they encountered them. Luckily, the copy of Black Star was also projected according to the original history.

Long Sky and Dynasty both materialized outside of the Sanctuary, with protective shields, and had to withstand the aftermath of the three Calamity Grades as well as the bombing of the mothership. The survival game allowed them to fight each other as well, but neither side had the luxury, only scurrying around with their heads tucked low. This was the complete opposite of the image of arrogance the professional players typically showed, which delighted the viewers to no end. The live broadcast was full of lively cheers and comments.

Both teams died in quick succession, and it was Long Sky that died first. They were not that good at dodging and were turned to ash by Ember.

The first victory of the opening game was thus won by Dynasty, which directly destroyed the chance for Championship for Long Sky. Han Xiao had to admit that King Admiral was a really good representative of the Chinese professional players, and he had once admired him. This guy was a true god-level player.

Leaving the live broadcast, he could see many more posts on the forums about the battle previously. The fans of both clubs were busy badmouthing each other, and Han Xiao only swept past them before closing the forums. As he put his snacks away, his mind started to reminisce.

In his past life, China was faced with a devilishly tight schedule, and their final result was dismal, not even squeezing into the semi-finals. There was no Black Star Army in his past life, so the strength of Shattered Star Ring was pretty weak. The situation is different now. China has won the championship once, and with the increase in power for the Mechanic profession, the odds of defending it are not small at all.

Ring ring! At this point, the communicator on his table rang. With a hook of his finger, he dragged the communicator over. The caller was from the Crimson Dynasty, and it was someone responsible for the Evolutionary Totem project.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m sorry to intrude.” The other party’s attitude was respectful.

“Any problems with regards to the business?”. Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Yes, as you know, some bandits recently snatched the Evolutionary Totems that were purchased by our allies. Some of these stolen Evolutionary Totems are now in circulation within the black market, and some were taken away by their secret employers. According to our sources, we think that the Blood Gold Organization is one of the suspects involved.”

Blood Gold Organization…

Han Xiao remembered the past details. This was a member of the Lawful Evil faction. They were in charge of the galactic black market along with other gray organizations. They were also a black market mercenary group that players could enter, usually for those players who liked to cause trouble.

“The Blood Gold Organization is unlike the Fallen Ark. They have a set of rules to follow. As long as we warn them in the name of the Dynasty, they should know how to behave.” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

“That’s where the problem exists.” The tone of the officer dropped. “Based on our intelligence, our spies have discovered that there are radiation signals of the Evolutionary Totem on some planets of the Federation of Light and Arcane Church. They may also be buyers, and if that’s the case, the Blood Gold Organization will have their support.”

“Well… I suppose that’s still within my expectations.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. The Federation of Light and Arcane Church could not get the Evolutionary Totem through conventional channels, so they searched for alternatives.

The Blood Gold Organization was also a large organization, with a wide scope of business, and they would definitely have their own agenda. But if the Federation of Light and Arcane Church approached them, even at the cost of them offending the Crimson Dynasty, they would still be willing to be chess pieces as it would allow them to get close to the other two Universal Civilizations.

Within the currently explored universe, the three Universal Civilizations were the biggest backers, so it was not surprising that the Blood Gold Organization was tempted by the olive branch thrown to it.

“So, you want to bring the knife to the Blood Gold Organization?” Han Xiao asked.

“That’s right. We hope to give them a good warning and need your help to collect some intelligence.” “Got it.” Han Xiao nodded.

They exchanged the respective intelligence and ended the call.

At the same time, a new mission popped up on his interface.

(Warning]

Mission Introduction: The erratic movements of the Blood Gold Organization have impacted the dynasty’s important businesses, and the dynasty has decided to send them a warning, to kill the chicken in order to warn the monkeys.

Mission Requirements: Provide the dynasty with 3 high ranked members from the Blood Gold Organization.

Reward: 15,000,000 experience, +1,000 Dynasty Contribution Point, x1 Random Reward

Track the upper echelons of the Blood Gold Organization? It seems like the dynasty want to strike from the top. No wonder they asked for help. This is the expertise of a Virtual Mechanic.

Stowing his communicator, Han Xiao thought for a while before calling Sylvia.

“Sylvia, is there any news from the Rock Sprite Tribe?”

“They have decided to buy a new batch of Evolutionary Totems.”

Han Xiao rapped on the table. “Tell them, in order to prevent similar incidents, I’ve decided to send some of my mechanical army to follow their fleet, providing a free escort service.”

“Understood, I’ll relay the message.” Han Xiao nodded and hung up before connecting to the quantum network and calling Phillip. “In a while, hack into a black market account with a high credibility point, and anonymously hire the Blood Gold Organization to rob this batch of goods.”

Against such mercenary forces, the simplest method would be to drop some bait.

Over the next few days, while Han Xiao was waiting for the fish to bite, he was watching the Regular Season battles that were in full swing.

After a round robin battle, the Regular Season finally decided the participants for quarter finals as well as the top sixteen individuals, and entered the finals.

Dynasty ranked first in the team battles for points, while King Admiral was the first in terms of individual points. Dynasty had obtained a double first and demonstrated their powerful strength, obtaining the qualification to enter the International League.

Temple of God and Thunder Storm ranked second and third, while Long Sky was placed fourth. This result was a little unbefitting of the former champion, and they were somewhat sluggish.

Following that were Fried Eggplants With Fish and Rivervale, ranked fifth and sixth respectively. The seventh was a new club, which explosively entered the scene, named Long River, while ranked at eighth was Sky Palace.

These were the top eight teams, and they would play in the division finals in best of five games.

Only the top four teams would be able to qualify for the International League.

For the individual battles, Maple Moon reached the top sixteen this time, obtaining the qualifications to compete in the International League, along with Frenzied Sword.

After the Regular Season, a buffer period was given.

During this time, the Blood Gold Organization finally bit on the bait that Han Xiao had cast.

Chapter 913: Entrapmen

Chapter 913 Entrapmen

Near the borders of the Sea of Star Spirits, a fleet of over forty battleships was currently cruising. The battleships all had the logo of the Rock Sprite Civilization.

These spaceships were the long-distance spaceships created by the Rock Sprite Civilization. Their exterior looked a bit like a bloated mining spaceship with the main weapons of the spaceship being a lightweight Ion Cannon and a Particle Cannon.

A Star System Civilization would only be able to move around the Star System if they relied on their own technology, and even if they had a stargate from a higher civilization, a Star System Civilization needed to construct a special spaceship in order to conduct inter-Star Field travel. Resources and energy would be a huge barrier between the short-distance and long-distance travel spaceships.

To a Star System Civilization, long-distance spaceships were extremely precious, and the difficulty of constructing one was far more than that of a short-distance spaceship.

In order to transport the Evolutionary Totems from the Black Star Army in the neighboring Star Field, the Rock Sprite race sent out a long-distance fleet. Their previous fleet was ambushed by the Blood Gold Organization and was completely wiped out. This fleet was their second batch of spaceships, which had travelled in hyperdrive for a period by borrowing a stargate before reaching the Black Star Army base. After a long trip, this fleet had finally returned to the Sea of Star Spirits.

In the command room of the flagship, a Rock Sprite commander instructed with a solemn expression, “Everyone, remain on high alert. Our previous long-distance fleet was ambushed around the border of the Sea of Star Spirits. We have already received news of the enemy’s operating region. Report any anomalies on the radar to me.”

“Understood,” the crew in the command room replied anxiously.

The civilizations of the Star Cluster grade and above were used to long-distance voyages, but to the fleet of a Star System grade civilization, every trip out of their own region represented unknown danger. After leaving their borders, they no longer had the protection of their civilization’s fleet, and it was akin to entering the deep ocean.

The enforcement squad would not descend from the sky, and various galactic organizations were active within this region. They would never know how many eyes were looking at them.

“There are still another eighteen days until our next stargate, and we will be able to jump past three Star Systems to leave this border region. The border is the most dangerous, and as long as we do not meet any enemies during this region, we should be safe,” the commander said.

However, right as he completed his sentence, an ear-piercing alarm rang.

Spaceship signals appeared all round them, and they entered an encirclement that the enemy had prepared.

“Again‽ Who leaked our whereabouts‽”

The commander gritted his teeth and cursed in his heart.

If not for His Excellency’s Black Star help, we’d definitely suffer a huge loss this time.

…

The attackers had more than three hundred spaceships and were rapidly surrounding them. They immediately activated their equipment to jam hyperdrive and prevent their prey from escaping.

In the flagship of the attackers, a large crystal bodied organism was floating in front of the command room’s window. His exterior appearance was a crystal with many edges, and he did not have any limbs or sensory organs. He only had two blue tentacles formed by Psychic energy that were wiggling around.

This crystal lifeform was the leader of the assault fleet and was named Kelansta. He was a Calamity Grade Psychic and an experienced mercenary of the Blood Gold Organization. He was once the traitor of a crystal lifeform civilization because he absorbed a large amount of his race’s own mental energy to become a Calamity Grade Super. As such, a bounty was placed on him, and he joined the Blood Gold Organization many years ago.

The encirclement was rapidly formed, and Kelansta made use of his Psychic energy to form soundwaves to say, “Release the magnetized radioactive waves to weaken the enemy’s defensive shields. The vanguard force shall approach the enemy and enter close-quarters combat. Do not bombard them from long range lest we damage the goods. Our objective is to snatch the Evolutionary Totems.”

The Blood Gold Organization had been eyeing the Evolutionary Totems in the black market. Not too long ago, an account with a high credibility rating issued a mission to snatch the Evolutionary Totems and revealed the whereabouts of this Rock Sprite fleet. The Blood Gold Organization then accepted the mission immediately.

They were not interested in the reward of the mission; their main aim was the Evolutionary Totems. Handing an Evolutionary Totem over to the civilizations that needed them would give them even more money, and they would even be able to gain the support of a backer. Han Xiao made use of the Evolutionary Totems to gain huge political support, and the Blood Gold Organization and other organizations snatching the Evolutionary Totems wanted to share this influence.

It would not matter if they were unable to complete the mission; snatching the totems was their main goal. However, the Blood Gold Organization was not planning to swallow the entire batch of totems for themselves. They only needed to give a portion of the totems to their employer and claim that the rest were destroyed in battle. The remaining totems would then go into their pockets. This was a standard practice of theirs.

Because of the robberies over the past few months, the civilizations purchasing the totem made sure to keep the matter a secret. As such, it was extremely rare to come across such information on the black market. There were few transportation fleets that had their location discovered, and this employment mission had revealed the whereabouts of the Rock Sprite fleet.

Because the Blood Gold Organization had previously robbed the Rock Sprite fleet, they had a certain degree of trust toward this information. They had also gotten a large intelligence organization in the black market to verify the information before taking action.

The fleet of the Blood Gold Organization was many times larger than the Rock Sprite fleet, and they were like wolves surrounding a herd of sheep.

The next moment, a radioactive pulse was released from the Blood Gold Organization fleet, and the defensive shields of the Rock Sprite fleet began to flicker.

Such a radioactive pulse was generated by a powerful electromagnetic field. It was capable of disrupting electromagnetic and ion shields. However, it was useless against psionic and dark energy shields. However, most Star System civilizations would mainly use electromagnetic and ion shields.

The distance between both parties rapidly shrank, and the Blood Gold Organization made use of their electromagnetic chains to latch onto the Rock Sprite spaceships.

The image of the spaceships being latched on was displayed in the command room.

“Report, I have boarded the spaceship, and everything feels good. I am heading toward the control room of the spaceship, taking out any resistance along the way.”

“Very good,” Kelansta replied slowly. “Speed up, I…”

Before he could even finish what he had to say, the screens in the command room all shut down, and everyone was stunned.

The next moment, the sound of intense battle could be heard from the communicators, followed by the sound of miserable groans.

“Enemy attack! There are other troops on the spaceships!”

“My armor isn’t listening to my commands!”

The sound of the battles lasted for a short while, and the communicator fell silent. The vanguard force was completely wiped out.

Everyone in the command room had a look of loss, and they looked toward Kelansta, waiting for his orders.

Kelansta was also in shock, and just when he was about to say something, a buzzing white noise could be heard from the screen on the command room.

Buzz!

The next moment, a human silhouette formed by white noise appeared on the screen and let out a mechanical voice.

“Following the orders of my Lord, I am taking over this region.”

“Who… are you?”

“Formless Ghost.”

After which, everyone in the room detected an anomaly. Something seemed to be flowing under the alloy walls around them as though snakes were slithering around their command room.

The members in the room immediately got away from the walls and stared at the walls with fear in their eyes.

“Just what is going… Argh!”

Before they could finish their sentence, the metal floor beneath them suddenly changed shape, and a cactus-like iron tree grew in the middle of the room with many bodies hanging down from the branches!

Boom!

Kelansta released his powerful Psychic force and smashed the iron tree apart.

The shattered alloy then collapsed onto the ground and was absorbed back into the ground like it was liquid. Following which, the command room changed shape, and the alloy walls seemed to have transformed into flesh, contracting inward. The entire room came alive.

Kelansta immediately used his Psychic force to destroy the windows and entered space. Only then could he see what was going on.

The entire spaceship seemed to have been transformed into nanoparticles, and the alloy was being molded like clay. The few spaceships in the surroundings also had the same phenomenon.

Kelansta was shocked.

Formless Ghost was one of the Apostle Weapons. He had an infective nanoparticle virus that could live in any alloy or machinery to control it. At the same time, he was capable of transforming alloy into nanoparticles and becoming one with them to increase his body mass.

At the same time in the Rock Sprite fleet, a black tide of mechanical soldiers rushed out. These mechanical soldiers easily destroyed the many spaceships of the Blood Gold Organization.

Upon seeing the Black Star Army insignia on the mechanical soldiers, Kelansta immediately understood what was going on and fell into despair.

“Black Star‽”

After realizing who his enemy was, Kelansta lost all motivation to fight back.

Formless Ghost led a long-distance fleet to escort the Rock Sprite fleet. With Han Xiao’s current strength, he would be able to easily wipe out the few hundred Blood Gold Organization battleships without even using Lord’s Descent.

The battle had no suspense, and all the enemies became his captives.

Kelansta also had nowhere to escape. Even if he was in the Calamity Grade, he was powerless against the mechanical army. He was captured, and his mental energy constrained.

Without his Psychic energy, he would even need help if he wanted to get up.

After the battle, Han Xiao’s consciousness descended upon a complete Blood Gold Organization spaceship through the quantum network, and he shook his head with a chuckle.

“These fellows indeed took the bait.”

“Lord, I completed your orders.”

The ground of the command room then transformed into a human figure, and the human figure knelt on the ground. This was Formless Ghost. His main body was made of nanoparticles, and he could exist in many different forms.

“It’s been tough for you.” Han Xiao praised him. “I shall take care of the rest.”

In the blink of an eye, Han Xiao’s consciousness went through the quantum network of the spaceship and infiltrated the Blood Gold Organization’s database. In the quantum network, physical distance lost all meaning.

In the eyes of a Beyond Grade A Mechanic, the firewall of the Blood Gold Organization was filled with loopholes everywhere.

…

Not too long later, Han Xiao opened his eyes in the Black Star Army headquarters, and he smiled.

“Found it.”

“Lord, what should we do with the captives?” Formless Ghost asked.

“They aren’t anything good. Execute them all. Oh, apart from that crystal lifeform. Bring him back to me. I want to see if I can squeeze any juice… er, crystal powder from him,” Han Xiao replied casually and exited the quantum network. He then picked out the whereabouts of three Blood Gold Organization upper echelons and sent the data to the Crimson Dynasty official in charge of the totems.

The members of the Blood Gold Organization were extremely mysterious with their whereabouts unknown. But as long as Han Xiao set his sights on them, it would be incredibly difficult for them to escape.

If this mission was assigned to the players, it would be extremely challenging for them, and they would have to find clues from all around. However, it was an easy matter to him; he only needed a single clue to dig up all the intelligence.

After handing over the intelligence, a notification popped up on his interface.

_____________________

[Warning] has been completed.

You have received 15,000,000 experience, 1,000 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, x1 Random Reward.

_____________________

Not too long later, the dynasty replied to him.

“Thanks for your intelligence, Your Excellency Black Star.”

“It’s a small matter. How are you planning to deal with the three of them?”

“Haha, Your Excellency, you’re asking the obvious.”

“That’s true. Using such a method to find them isn’t an overboard method.” Han Xiao then added, “How about this? Let me take care of one of them.”

“Since you are interested, the dynasty has no issues with that.”

“Alright then.”

He then hung up, and Han Xiao sent the intelligence to Lothaire.

Lothaire had joined the army one and a half years ago, but he did not have much to do most of the time. After all, the army did not really have any assassination missions for him to do, so this was a chance for him.

Han Xiao was planning to let Lothaire go out and exercise a bit so that his assassination skills would not turn rusty.

Furthermore, after a year of observation, he felt that Lothaire was now sufficiently trustworthy to set up an assassin organization on the outside. This plan of his could be brought forward.

“I will set off immediately,” Lothaire replied promptly.

He was not concerned about the reason behind the assassination. After a year and half of interaction, he already trusted Han Xiao and had a good impression of the army.

Chapter 914: Top Eigh

914 Top Eigh

Just as Han Xiao got Lothaire to assassinate a target, the Division Finals continued as usual.

After a series of battles, the top eight teams in the Shattered Star Ring had already been formed. Dynasty obtained their third championship and created their three-time championship era. Among the four great guilds, Dynasty had always been ranked first and did not have any obvious shortcomings.

The first runner up was Temple of God, and although the fans of Temple of God were considered satisfied, passersby could not help but lament with pity. The impression of Temple of God being a weakling during external battles was imprinted deep within their hearts, and sending Temple of God into the International League meant that China had one less team!

The second runner up was Long Sky. Although their performance was not good in the division matches, they entered into the International League and had the opportunity to show the world what they could do. The third runner up was Rivervale. Frenzied Sword, Evil Sword, and Maple Moon were the core of the team, and their strength was no less than the first three teams.

These four teams would be participating in the International League.

Of the four great guilds, Fried Eggplants with Fish had once again missed the chance to participate in the International League.

It was said that the boss of Fried Eggplants with Fish felt that the name of their team was not auspicious enough and wanted to change the team’s name. They were currently seeking opinion from the public, and the names suggested were all like dishes on a menu.

Without mentioning the fans of Fried Eggplants with Fish who were entertaining themselves in their bitterness, the majority of the players were rooting for the four teams that had made it into the International League. They had a huge advantage in this version. The Mechanic class had risen to prominence, and many large events in the Shattered Star Ring increased the benefits of the Black Star Army greatly. Thus, the Chinese players were extremely confident about emerging as champions. The god-level players in the clubs were all in their peak state, and all the players thus placed huge expectations on the Chinese teams. They looked forward to them displaying their brilliance in the International League.

In the Singles, Maple Moon got into the top eight. In this season, four of the top eight belonged to the Mechanic class, and the Mechanics finally made up for their weaknesses in the first two versions.

The rankings for the eight other regions had also been released. Most of the teams were the usual teams that made it to the International League such as Devil, Key, and Thunderbolt Python from America; Tulips and Grapes from France; Rose Knight from Britain; Hydra and Vagrant from Japan; Kimchi and Samsung Bomb from Korea; Tomahawk from Sweden; Wings from Poland; White Emperor Sword from Russia; and Kangaroo Boxing from Australia. Many of these teams were the familiar faces from the previous International League. There was a total of thirty-six teams in the International League, and they were split into three divisions.

The division lineup truly excited the Chinese players this time. The strongest batch of overseas teams were all drawn into Division A, and only Temple of God was drawn into that division. Because the Regular Season relied on point accumulation, it would be difficult to pull apart the gap in points with too many strong teams in the division. As such, many of the strong overseas teams would not be able to arrive at the finals.

Long Sky and Dynasty got into Division B with only a few stronger teams such as Hydra, Rose Knight and Tomahawk. The two Chinese teams were hot favorites to win the championship, and it was highly likely for both teams to advance together.

Rivervale got into Division C, which was the weakest division of the three.

The random assignment of the teams was completely the opposite from the previous season. However, it was far more advantageous to the Chinese teams, and it was very likely for the scene of three teams in the top eight to happen again.

The Chinese players were overjoyed and almost set off firecrackers in the Shattered Star Ring to celebrate!

As for the unlucky Temple of God, the Chinese players were not bothered and even laughed at them.

You from Henan: “Sacrificing Temple of God to obtain three slots in the top eight. This deal is truly sweet!”

Li Ge’s Life Is Filled with Darkness: “Sacrificing the noobest team to increase the average strength of China.”

Praying Under the Moon: “Is this Tianji horse racing?”

Senior War Official: “Haha, what a divine grouping.”

Amid the cheerful atmosphere, the short break after the Division Finals ended, and the International League began.

There were millions of players watching the competition from the forums and discussing the competition excitedly.

The opening battle of the International League was the faceoff between the champion and first runner up from the previous season: Long Sky vs Devil. Long Sky’s fans and the other viewers were all worried about this battle. Long Sky’s performance during the division competition was not satisfactory, and it was highly likely for them to lose this battle if they faced the previous first runner up. While it was not much to lose a single battle, it would dampen the team’s morale.

Both parties used Dungeon Crystals to enter the battlefield. The Long Sky team was equipped with armor that had the Black Star Army insignia. The various armor types all had their own purposes, and this was akin to free advertisement.

Although the equipment of Devil was also extremely powerful, they did not look as uniform as Long Sky. In comparison, Long Sky felt a lot more like a proper army.

Black Star Army’s fame was no longer limited to the Shattered Star Ring, and the other countries all knew that the Black Star Army was the largest player faction in the Shattered Star Ring. The Black Star Army had a complete monopoly and was the first faction that provided the players an opportunity to cross Star Fields. In the hearts of the various players, the Shattered Star Ring was akin to the Black Star Army’s territory.

Usually, only a Universal Civilization or Super Star Cluster Civilization would have the privilege of being recognized as the ruler of a Star Field. Although the strength of the Black Star Army was far from being compared to these two factions, their fame among the players was no less than a Universal Civilization.

The curtains to the International League were drawn, and Long Sky revealed their fangs to fight an intense battle with Devil.

In this respect, Long Sky was the exact opposite from Temple of God. They were so-so in internal battles but extremely ferocious in external battles.

Long Sky beat Devil by a small margin during the previous season, but this time, because of the improvements to the Mechanic class and some players from Devil changing clubs, the difference between the two parties widened, and Long Sky seized their first victory in the International League.

The Chinese players all cheered with excitement.

The Regular Season of the International League then unfolded with many intense battles every day.

The rankings had only stabilized after they fought the first half of the season. Because of the many strong teams in Division A, it was extremely difficult for the players of that division to gain an overwhelming victory, and their points were not too high. As such, the rankings did not display the proper strength of the teams. For example, teams like Devil, Tulips, Key, and White Emperor Sword did not manage to make it into the top four.

Dynasty and Long Sky had an easy time in Division B and managed to obtain first and fourth place. Rivervale harvested a great amount of points in Division C and managed to take second. Among the top four, only third place was Korea’s Kimchi, which was also a member of Division C.

To the Chinese players, the situation was extremely good, and Temple of God, which was being abused, was completely ignored.

The huge advantage of the Chinese teams was not only because of the groupings but also because Capture the Flag and two dungeon modes were added into the competition. These modes were far more suitable for a Mechanic to show off their skill, which gave Long Sky, Dynasty, and Rivervale a huge advantage. Their PvE strength was much higher than the other international teams, which allowed their scores to be pulled forward.

There was another reason… The dungeons chosen in the Regular Season would not be the dungeons from the respective regions of the participating teams to ensure that the teams did not have any disparity of information. As such, the Chinese teams would not experience the Black Star Army’s perverse dungeons.

As for their friends from overseas, they could personally enjoy the usual life of the players in the Shattered Star Ring.

The difficulty of the dungeons issued by Han Xiao was not on the same level as the highest level dungeons in the other regions. Shattered Star Ring was the only region that had a Beyond Grade A dungeon!

Under Han Xiao’s abuse, the Chinese players were used to being abused and could face the high-level dungeons of the other regions with ease. It was just like taking a vacation to them.

On the contrary, the teams from the other regions were abused to the point they wanted to puke when fighting the Black Star Army dungeons.

Being killed on the spot was commonplace, and their time spent in the dungeon would usually be the time of the intro clip.

Was this a dungeon for players to complete?

Was there a need to make the difficulty level so perverse‽

As long as the Black Star Army dungeon was picked, the fans from the other teams would cry out with agony. The team would die too quickly, and there was nothing to watch at all.

During the second half of the Regular Season, perhaps because of the large disparity in points, all the teams had given up, and the Chinese teams were not targeted by the other teams like in the previous season.

Long Sky, Dynasty, and Rivervale stabilized their position in the top eight, and it was impossible for them to drop out of the top eight.

After the end of the final match, the rankings were finalized.

Rivervale obtained first place with the other members being, Kimchi, Dynasty, Hydra, Long Sky, Devil, Key, and Tomahawk.

China had three teams entering the top eight again and maintained their glory from the previous season. Furthermore, it was the same three teams that had made it into the previous top eight.

Dynasty and Long Sky were well established clubs, so there was no need to mention them. Rivervale was a newly formed club that managed to get into the top eight two times in a row. Their status among the players had been cemented, and there was a chance for them to become a new super guild.

Temple of God had no fate with the finals, but no one felt any pity for them. Everyone’s attention was only on the winner.

This time, the matchups in the finals were much better than the previous season!

During the second season, because of the lousy matchup, the Chinese teams needed to fight each other twice. Dynasty and Rivervale were both eliminated by a Chinese team.

According to the current scores, the first place Rivervale would be facing Tomahawk, the third place Dynasty would be facing Devil, and the fifth place Long Sky would be facing Hydra.

This matchup made all the players cheer with joy. Compared to their bad luck in the previous season, they were truly blessed by the goddess of luck this time!

…

After the Regular Season of the International League was completed, the dates for the International Finals were fixed.

Lothaire was sent by Han Xiao to the other Star Fields, and after the end of the Regular Season, Han Xiao received Lothaire’s message.

“Objective cleared.”

The message included a picture of the victim, and it was taken care of cleanly.

He only provided the intelligence, and Lothaire could work on his own without any help.

The Crimson Dynasty had also gotten rid of the other two Blood Gold Organization upper echelons.

With three upper echelons dead, all the upper echelons of the Blood Gold Organization were in shock.

The Blood Gold Organization could no longer sit still after being targeted by the Crimson Dynasty and Black Star Army.

Chapter 915: Surging Currents

Chapter 915 Surging Currents

In some secret conference room of the Blood Gold Organization, over ten upper echelons were meeting through long-distance projections. They were made up of organisms from many different races.

All those present in this room were not ordinary characters and were infamous in their respective regions. Most of them had high bounties placed on them by the various civilizations, and their combat capabilities were not weak in the Calamity Grade. They were now the leaders of the Blood Gold Organization and had various troops under their command. They rarely took action personally and were in a semi-retired status.

“I believe that everyone understands our recent situation. The Crimson Dynasty and Black Star Army have taken action against us. Marlowe, Vancesna, and Indir have been assassinated,” the leader of the Blood Gold Organization said with a grave tone.

The current leader of Blood Gold was a male organism and a member of the Federation of Light. He was an elite being that went through genetic testing before. His appearance was extremely ferocious, and he was currently at the peak of his life.

As compared to the others present, his background was extremely clean, and he was not a wanted man. He was an elite brought up by the previous leader of the Blood Gold Organization. When the previous leader died, he took over the position as leader, and it had been thirty years since then.

The Blood Gold Organization was a pretty old organization, and he was the twelfth leader.

The existence of the galactic black market was even older than some Star System or even Star Cluster Civilizations. The managers had been changed over and over again, and the Blood Gold Organization had only taken up the role of manager of the black market two hundred years ago.

“Poor Marlowe, I still owe him 7,203,050 Enas. He is truly a good man and died at the best time.” A squid like upper echelon rubbed his eyes to squeeze out some tears.

“This isn’t the time to joke. The Crimson Dynasty is obviously trying to scare us by killing the upper echelons of our organization and punish us for stealing the goods of their allies. They want us to retreat and not think about the Evolutionary Totems anymore. The problem is, how did news about the upper echelons leak?” a member of the Andor Bee Race said.

The leader of Blood Gold then said, “Kelansta’s fleet met Black Star’s mechanical army a while back, and Black Star should have taken action personally to locate the upper echelons. It is usually us scaring others, but this time, some powers higher up have their eyes set on us. The Crimson Dynasty and Black Star Army aren’t easily provoked, and we have to consider how we should deal with them.”

“Humph, the Black Star Army is far away in the Shattered Star Ring, and the threat that they pose is limited. Furthermore, the Black Star Army is only a little bit more prominent in the Shattered Star Ring and does not have any forces in the other Star Fields. Their scale cannot be compared to ours; only Black Star is difficult to deal with. For now, we do not need to bother about them. The dynasty should be our main focus,” a pirate-like man with a large beard said.

“I agree.” The Blood Gold leader nodded.

Their Blood Gold Organization had operations across three Star Fields, and their scale was even larger than the Black Star Army. In their eyes, the Black Star Army was nothing to be afraid of; they only needed to be afraid of Black Star alone. It was the strict attitude of the Crimson Dynasty that truly worried them.

“The federation and church were the ones who approached us. If we continue to snatch the Evolutionary Totems, the Crimson Dynasty will definitely fight back. But if we stop, the federation and church will abandon us,” the Blood Gold leader said slowly.

“I was against interfering in the Evolutionary Totems back then. We are no more than a chess piece in the battle between the three Universal Civilizations. Our fate was no longer in our hands the moment we joined. We should’ve just operated in a low profile manner,” one of the upper echelons grumbled.

“Humph, the federation and church came to find us. Do you think they’d give us the chance to reject them? We still have some hope of advancing if we hug their thighs, but we would’ve lost everything if we rejected them,” the Blood Gold leader said coldly. “Manager of the black market? You don’t even need to think about it. We’d slowly become an insignificant black market mercenary group waiting to be wiped out. From the moment they came to find us, it was impossible for us to steer clear of the matter.”

The galactic black market had plenty of benefits, and every manager was a tyrant in the various gray operations. Among the managers of the black market, the one with the largest authority was the one in the broker business. They used many different means to persuade different civilizations to provide protection to the other managers.

If the Blood Gold Organization dared incur the ire of the federation and church, the aftermath of the matter would not affect them alone. If the other managers of the black market ended up being affected, they would kick the Blood Gold Organization out of the black market and not provide them with protection or support.

Since the other party had chosen them, a gray organization unprotected by the galactic laws need not dream about maintaining neutrality!

The world was not that convenient!

“The Universal Civilizations are as tyrannical as always. This is the tragedy of a gray organization not protected by galactic law.”

“Then what should we do? The federation and church won’t just watch as we are all assassinated, right?”

Right at this moment, another two projections appeared in the room wearing the federation and church’s uniform.

“I have already spoken to the federation and church about this matter.” The Blood Gold leader stood up and said, “Let me give you an introduction. These two are the emissaries of the federation and church. He…”

Before he could finish, the Federation of Light emissary waved his arms and said, “Don’t need to bother introducing us. Let’s get straight to the point. The Federation of Light already knows about the price that you have paid and expresses our sympathy. As such, we will be providing protection to the upper echelons of the Blood Gold Organization. We will secretly bring all of you to the Abyss of Stars and Silver Arm. The Crimson Dynasty and Black Star Army won’t be able to touch you in our territory. All of you can continue controlling the organization remotely and gather more Evolutionary Totems. We will provide you guys with resources as well.”

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was a wedge between the federation and church. However, it did not stop them from working together for the Evolutionary Totems. After all, the Evolutionary Totems involved the improvement of their entire civilizations’ genes. It had a huge strategic significance. In front of benefits, there was no such thing as an enemy forever. However, both parties definitely did not get along very well.

Upon hearing that, the upper echelons of the Blood Gold Organization all heaved a sigh of relief. They would only be able to become a chess piece at ease if their own safety was protected.

Right at this moment, the upper echelon from the Andor Bee Race said, “Pardon me for being straightforward, but I have a question. Robbing the Evolutionary Totems that the other civilizations purchase is an extremely inefficient method. If we rob too many civilizations, the same situation will probably happen, and Black Star won’t allow us to keep robbing his customers.

The Federation of Light emissary smiled and nodded. “You are right. This isn’t a long-term solution. Just robbing alone won’t be enough to satisfy our needs. What are your plans?”

“After EsGod was caught, the method of making the Evolutionary Totem was discovered. The most effective way to solve this problem would be to snatch the Evolution Cube from Black Star!” a member of the Blood Gold Organization upper echelons said with a cold glint in his eyes.

“You are right, but this method will not work for now,” the Arcane Church emissary said coldly. “With the presence of the Evolutionary Totem, the strategic importance of the Evolution Cube is much higher than before. If we snatch away the Evolution Cube, there won’t be any room for negotiation like the battle on Planet Lighthouse, and the moment we succeed, it will mean war. Until the last moment, our three civilizations won’t start a war and let others benefit from the side.

“Furthermore, do you think that it is that easy to deal with Black Star? It’s easy for you to say! If not for us knowing about the existence of the Evolutionary Totem, do you think we would have risked offending the dynasty and starting the battle on Planet Lighthouse? We have tried before, and there are still a few Beyond Grade As sealed up in Spacetime Amber. Do you want to go give it a try‽”

“No no no.” That upper echelon was completely speechless and coughed awkwardly.

What a joke. Black Star is a true powerhouse in the galaxy, and an ordinary Calamity Grade like me isn’t even in the same league as him.

The Federation of Light emissary nodded and said, “He’s right. We do not intend to risk stealing the Evolution Cube at this moment. That will be our final choice. There is still another approach for us to take at the moment. That is to get the dynasty to allow Black Star to openly sell the totems.”

“Is this really possible?” the Blood Gold leader asked doubtfully.

“Humph, the current situation is like this. Black Star likely doesn’t mind selling the Evolutionary Totems publicly, but because he belongs to the Crimson Dynasty faction, he cannot risk offending his ally and sells the totems privately. Thus, we should not be setting our sights on Black Star but the Crimson Dynasty.

“As long as the Crimson Dynasty gives in, we will have the chance to obtain a large number of totems.

“There are a few ways for us to force the Crimson Dynasty to give in. Suppress them with force, exchange benefits, work together to pressure them… You should also know about the dynasty’s style. It would be a pipe dream to suppress them with force, and we will definitely suffer a huge loss if we want to exchange benefits with them. The dynasty will not agree unless we give them our core technological skills and resources.

“As such, we can only choose to work together to pressure them from the economical, trade, political, and security side. Your Blood Gold Organization will be a part of this plan.

“The Crimson Dynasty has invested a large amount of resources to develop the Flickering World, and they will be weakened in other areas. This is our best chance to pressure them, and we will be able to force the dynasty to compromise!”

One of the upper echelons then trembled. “Is it really okay to tell us such a secret…?”

“Ah, there is nothing secretive about this matter. The dynasty knew that this would happen the day they decided not to sell the Evolutionary Totems openly. Furthermore, you are working together with us, and there is no harm informing you about our plans,” the Federation of Light emissary said casually.

The Blood Gold leader then frowned. “What if the plan doesn’t work?”

The Federation of Light emissary then sneered coldly.

“If the dynasty refuses to give in, we will have to consider going for the source.”

…

In the Sea of Star Spirits was the Limitless Financial Group’s headquarters. Four figures were seated around a table in the personal guest room of the financial group’s boss.

“I heard that the members of the Blood Gold Organization’s upper echelons were assassinated recently. Your Federation of Light and Arcane Church won’t ignore them after getting them to work for you, right?”

Sorokin took a sip of his drink and sized up the other three at the table. Everyone present was a Beyond Grade A bigshot who could easily shake various large organizations.

One of them was ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison, who appeared in the meeting with a mechanical host. The other was the doppelganger of ‘Void Overlord’ Kasuyi from the Arcane Church. The last was one of the protectors of the galactic black market, ‘Beast Ancestor’ Gorutan.

All three of them had a common identity. They were the shareholders of the Limitless Financial Group!

“Such a small matter has nothing to do with me,” Manison said calmly.

Gorutan had a huge body, and he picked up his cup with his hairy hands. He poured all the drink into his mouth before saying, “I just received news that the Blood Gold Organization has met with the emissaries of the federation and church. They’ve come to an agreement.”

With the sheer size of the galactic black market, they naturally had a Beyond Grade A to support them. A portion of the galactic black market managers were Beyond Grade A organizations. The galactic black market was an allied organization to protect the benefits of the evil factions and did not belong to a single person. There were many Beyond Grade As behind it, and Gorutan was one of them.

Sorokin’s eyes then narrowed upon hearing that.

“If I didn’t understand your words wrongly, the organizations behind all three of you plan to join hands?”

“You can say so.” Kasuyi’s voice had an ethereal feeling. “We have also sought you out because of this matter. You can treat us as emissaries.”

Sorokin fiddled with the cup in his hands and said calmly, “I don’t really want to interfere with this matter.”

“Aren’t you interested in the Evolutionary Totems?” Gorutan’s voice rumbled like thunder.

“No, I believe that every organization in the universe is interested in the Evolutionary Totems,” Sorokin said expressionlessly. “But according to my understanding of the Black Star Army, rashly intervening in this matter will be a huge risk. I do not like making a loss.”

Manison nodded in response. “I understand. You don’t only have business deals with the federation and church but also the dynasty. You do not wish to offend any party. Your Limitless Financial Group is different from those gray organizations and is protected by the law. You have the right to remain neutral.”

“That’s right. This is the case,” Sorokin replied.

“Haha, don’t worry. We will not ask you to do something too outrageous.” Manison’s mechanical host chuckled.

“Oh? Then, how can I help?”

“We hope for the Limitless Financial Group to invest in the Shattered Star Ring and compete with the Black Star Army using proper business means. This is only a small matter to the Limitless Financial Group. If you don’t set your eyes on the Evolutionary Totems, the dynasty cannot disrupt your business.”

Sorokin raised his brows and asked, “Why do you want me to do so?”

“This is a part of our plan to pressure the dynasty. The Black Star Army’s opinion will influence the dynasty’s strategy to deal with the Evolutionary Totems. We have to make Black Star know that he cannot think about swallowing such a huge business alone. Of course, other than these official matters, I also have a small conflict of interest with him,” Manison said calmly.

Sorokin then chuckled and said, “So, it turns out that the Mechanic Emperor also has some conflict with Black Star. Ah ah, I also have some personal grudges with him.”

“Does that mean that you agree?”

“I will definitely have to respect the views of three shareholders. However, it won’t be so easy to snatch the Black Star Army’s business,” Sorokin said with a solemn tone. “I performed my research on the Black Star Army before. Their development is rapid, and they manage a few dozen different operations. Their four main operations are armed employment missions, mining operations for the local civilizations, the exploration of the Flickering World, and the sale of the Evolutionary Totems. Forgive me for being straightforward, but the latter three are specialized businesses that are difficult for an outsider to enter. It is difficult to deal a heavy blow to his core operations, and our Limitless Financial Group can only do so in other areas.

“Thankfully, the Black Star Army has only been around for twenty years or so, and their foundations aren’t too stable. However, this will still require a great deal of investment… At the end of the day, what is my benefit for doing so?”

Manison then waved his finger, and a virtual screen appeared. A long list was on the screen.

“Resources, political support, and many more. The details are all written within the document. You only need to risk the Crimson Dynasty reducing their cooperation to you. However, we are in the interstellar era, and the dynasty will not be able to cut off all ties with you completely. You can gain a deeper business relationship with two other Universal Civilizations…

“You believe in benefits and risk. I believe that you will be able to make the right choice. I can give you a month to consider the matter, and you can reply then.”

“I don’t need that long. I can give you an answer now.” Sorokin smiled. “This sounds like a good plan.”

Chapter 916: High Grade Mechanical Sense

Chapter 916 High Grade Mechanical Sense

On the second satellite of the Black Star Army headquarters was Training Ground 001. This was a training plaza far larger than the training rooms and could support large scale battles. Furthermore, it was constructed with high tensile alloy and was capable of enduring even more powerful attacks. It was constructed like an oval-shaped sports stadium with a large mechanical roof covering the battlefield. The roof was made using a nano mimicry screen and could simulate various battlefields. There were cargo lanes underground that were connected to a warehouse of training mechanical soldiers.

Han Xiao sat at the side while watching the battle going on. Lagi, Feidin, Reynold, and the others were all beside him, either standing up or sitting down.

At this moment, there was an intense battle going on in the training ground. A few exits for the mechanical soldiers opened from the ground, and an endless stream of training mechanical soldiers came out from them. There were knights, mechanical beasts, Hovering Shield Shuttles, and many other types of mechanical soldiers charging at the two individuals in the middle of the training ground.

This battle was a D Grade battle, and the mechanical soldiers were all low grade ones. They used gunpowder and electromagnetic weapons, and the entire ground was charred black from the intense battle.

One of the two figures on the battlefield was clad in a black heavy mechanical armor while the other had magical shields floating around him. They were Nero and Tomar.

After learning from Reynold for a few years, Nero was now at Grade B. Apart from theoretical lessons, Reynold had also arranged for some combat training.

Nero was still young, and his body was still at the stage of puberty. But because he had consumed the Starry Spiritual Dragon blood and the life force potions bestowed to him by Aurora, his cell activity was extremely high, and his physique was comparable to an adult. Furthermore, the strength of his Mechanical Force had also exceeded his current Grade.

After two years of in-depth training, his [Middle Grade Mechanical Sense] had transformed into [High Grade Mechanical Sense] under the aid of his [Advanced Luck Glow].

He was not allowed to use any weapons given to him by Han Xiao during training, and all the equipment he was using had been crafted by him personally. Under the boost from his Mechanical Force, his weapons could unleash a powerful might, and the mechanical soldiers were all blasted into scrap metal by him.

Han Xiao had gone over to watch the battle so that he could check on Nero’s progress.

Tomar was also a protagonist-level character who had Luck Glow and had an extraordinary talent in magic. Spells that an ordinary Mage would take seven days to learn took him less than a day to grasp. His learning aptitude was stunning, and he grew up rapidly under Lagi’s tutelage. He was also a talent who had a great deal of potential.

Boom!

Han Xiao stroked his chin as he watched the battle and said to Reynold, “His Mechanic abilities aren’t too bad, but his close combat skills are so-so. The moment the mechanical beasts approach him, he ends up being flustered. This is a result of a lack of experience.”

“This is my oversight. I only had my sights set on his learning of machines but overlooked his close combat skills. I will definitely increase his training on close combat,” Reynold said calmly.

“Increase it greatly,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice. “But you cannot neglect his machinery training.”

“Understood.”

Bennett, who was present by using a long-distance projection, revealed a gratified smile.

Feidin could no longer stand it and said helplessly, “A Mechanic’s weakness is close combat battle. Black Star, not every Mechanic can be the same as you. Don’t set your expectations so high.”

Han Xiao chuckled in response. “Dreams are necessary, and it isn’t bad to have higher expectations of him.”

He was truly happy in his heart. Nero’s Mechanical Sense had already reached the high grade, and it was a matter of time before he obtained Perfect Mechanical Sense.

“Tomar’s improvements are also extremely great.” After thinking for a while, Han Xiao patted Lagi on the shoulder. “You’ve taught him well.”

“What’s the use of that? One day, he…”

Han Xiao’s face darkened, and he covered Lagi’s mouth. “You can keep quiet now.”

Not too long later, Nero’s ammunition was exhausted, and Tomar’s magic ran out. The mechanical soldiers all stopped moving, and the training came to an end.

Both of them then returned to the viewing gallery while panting and sweat covered.

Han Xiao smiled and praised them. “Not bad.”

“His Excellency Black Star has trained you well,” Bennett added. “In a few years, I won’t be a match for you.”

Receiving the praise from his father and Han Xiao, Nero’s face turned red, beaming with happiness.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao nodded. He placed great importance in Nero not just because he wanted the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] but also because he hoped that Nero would grow to become a new pillar of the army.

After praising them for a while more, they all boarded the spaceship and returned to headquarters.

After two years of digestion, the Black Star Army had stabilized, and there were a few more satellite fortresses around the headquarters to hold the new members of the army.

After returning to his office, Sylvia came to find him.

“Teacher, many people are asking me when Black Star’s Party will be held this year.”

Han Xiao thought for a while before saying, “How about in a few months? We can start to issue the invites already.”

The Black Star Army had already held two banquets to invite all those in cooperation with him to use the Evolution Cube. The banquet was becoming more and more solemn and influential. Many organizations were hoping to make use of this opportunity to build relationships with higher grade civilizations, and it was called Black Star’s Party. It was in a competitive relationship with the Tyrant’s Party.

The Evolution Cube did not only bring them money but gave the Black Star Army an opportunity to expand into other fields. The army had a powerful brand image, and there were few organizations in the Star Field that could compete with the army.

The benefits of the Evolutionary Totem created a snowball effect that allowed the Black Star Army to strengthen itself greatly. After two years of digestion, the operations of the Black Star Army had stabilized, and they were starting to look a bit more like a financial group.

Because of the Evolutionary Totem, there were more and more parties working together with the Black Star Army. The influence of the Black Star’s Party grew, and they were gradually becoming a new faction.

If he released the restriction on the Evolutionary Totems, the profits obtained would increase many times over, but the pressure would also increase. Han Xiao was still satisfied with the current situation. The business pressure of the Evolutionary Totem was on the dynasty, and the army could avoid more than ninety percent of the risk.

“Alright, I shall go and prepare the invitations. There is something else. An organization that isn’t cooperating with us wishes to participate in the Black Star’s Party.”

“The Black Star’s Party will only invite those cooperating with us, and we can reject everyone else. This is a rule that we set a long time ago. Why are you bringing this matter up now?”

“Because the other party is a bigshot, so I cannot make the decision. Thus, I came to seek your opinion.”

Han Xiao raised his brows, a little interested. “Who is the other party?”

“The Limitless Financial Group.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao paused and fell into deep thought.

Sorokin’s Limitless Financial Group?

Both parties had some conflicts before. Sorokin had once sent his subsidiary organization to probe the players of the army and had been warned by Han Xiao. It had been more than two years since then, so who knew what kind of objective the other party had for suddenly participating in his Black Star’s Party?

“What’s their reason?” Han Xiao asked.

“The Limitless Financial Group wishes to have business cooperation with our army and says that it is related to the Flickering World. They know that the dynasty will grant their allies some territory and want to work together with us.”

“I see. That is reasonable,” Han Xiao said.

Although the galactic financial groups could not be the first batch to enjoy the benefits of the Flickering World, their shadows could be seen in the future development plans.

The benefits of a new Star Field were extremely rich. Did the Limitless Financial Group want to seize the initiative?

Although the reason was believable, Han Xiao was still wary of the Limitless Financial Group because of their previous conflict.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “Send them an invitation if that’s the case. Tell them that I want to make use of this opportunity to meet Sorokin.”

The Pro League would finish in a few months, and Han Xiao was not afraid of the Limitless Financial Group creating any trouble.

Meeting the other party would be beneficial to him.

“Understood. I will take care of it.” Sylvia nodded and left the room.

Han Xiao then poured himself an alcoholic beverage and drank while going about his business.

He managed to find the time to open the forums after a while.

Today was the first round of the International Finals, which was a best of five competition. The first round was Rivervale against Tomahawk, and the viewership rates of the match set a new record again.

With three Chinese teams making it into the top eight, the players from the Shattered Star Ring were all extremely excited. The way they saw it, if Dynasty, Long Sky, and Rivervale were all able to win the first round, there would be three Chinese teams in the top four!

At the same time, a portion of the players who did not think highly of the Chinese teams could not help but retort that all the three teams might end up losing in the first round, and not a single team would be able to enter into the top four.

At the finals, all the teams would no longer hide their trump cards, and the competition would be even more intense than before. Han Xiao was also pretty curious about the ranks that the Chinese teams could achieve this round.

Chapter 917: Indestructible Body !

Chapter 917 Indestructible Body !

The Rivervale and Tomahawk teams entered a jungle-covered planet for their battlefield.

The trees were as tall as the clouds and covered the skies. Only a bit of light could penetrate through the densely packed leaves.

Both teams appeared in different parts of the jungle, and the spectators could switch to different viewpoints of the players and teams.

“Good luck, Rivervale! Get rid of Tomahawk!”

“First place vs eighth place. Easy game.”

“Go Maple Moon!”

The format of the finals was best of five, and they had to fight five matches every round. The five rounds were team fight, arena battle, capture the flag, dungeon competition, and dungeon generation.

The countdown of one minute came to an end, and the first round of the finals began. The two teams immediately sprang into action. Maple Moon from Rivervale threw out a compressed orb, which transformed into a pagoda-like base station. It was used to prevent the enemy from detecting their whereabouts and also to confuse the enemy. The logo of the Black Star Army was shining on the base station. It was a product of the Black Star Army, and the quality was guaranteed.

On the other side, Tomahawk had also begun hiding their whereabouts, but they used a magical tool instead. The leader of Tomahawk, Captain Viking, took out a black, magical scroll with golden inscriptions shining on it. He then tore the scroll apart, and a dense magical energy flowed out of it to cover the entire Tomahawk team.

“Eh, isn’t this a sovereign mage scroll?” Han Xiao was also viewing the battle on the forums and raised his brows upon seeing that.

The materials used to craft such a magical scroll were extremely rare, and it was capable of storing even more powerful magic. It needed to be crafted by hand, and Han Xiao had seen Lagi craft one before. A grandmaster-level spell would be engraved on the scroll at the very least, and it was an expensive item. Tomahawk was obviously extremely rich for them to use such a scroll to carve a concealment spell.

“Now that it’s the finals, all the teams are bringing out their trump cards,” Han Xiao said with interest.

None of the teams would hold anything back in the International Finals and would go all out. Such a situation would only bring about more variables in the battles. The strength of the various teams would undergo a huge change, and it would be difficult to use a team’s previous performance to estimate their strength.

Different strategies would have to be crafted based on the field that they were battling in. Since they were in a dense jungle, it was important for them to conceal themselves and be the first to detect the enemy.

After concealing their own locations, both teams started to search for the enemy. Rivervale made use of a multi elemental radar while Tomahawk made use of a magic incantation that had many different aura detecting spells. Because of their culture, Tomahawk preferred to use magic instead.

Both parties moved forward slowly, and the atmosphere grew more and more tense as the seconds ticked by. A Chinese commentator then began describing the battle on the forums.

“Alright, both teams have already entered the battlefield. We can see that the mini map is split into sixteen regions. The top left corner region is A1, and the bottom right is D4. The columns shall be numbered one to four while the rows are lettered A to D. Rivervale is currently at A3, which is at the top of the map, while Tomahawk is at C1, which is at the bottom left side of the map. Let’s see what routes they will choose. Oh! Indeed, both parties have used flying devices!”

One of the Tomahawk members belonged to the bird race, and he spread his wings to fly in the sky. On the other side, Maple Moon threw up a few compressed orbs into the sky, which transformed into floating soldiers, patrolling the air at high speed.

To the players at the current stage, flying was extremely easy. However, because of the trees blocking them, flying did not give them much of an advantage.

With the compression technology, it was far easier to bring along machines, and the deployment speed of a Mechanic also increased greatly. In the previous version, it would be impossible for Maple Moon to bring a few dozen different machines or easily deploy her machines with a wave of her arms.

The flying troops of both parties discovered each other very quickly, and the member from Tomahawk easily destroyed the floating mechanical soldiers, which did not have any Mechanical Force boost.

The commentator immediately exclaimed, “Oh! Both parties engaged in a short, intense battle! Let’s take a look at what both parties will do next. It seems like Tomahawk has chosen to use a long-range raid strategy and are charging toward the location of their scout. What about Rivervale? Eh, they seem to have grasped the enemy’s location and are currently going around in circles! Player Maple Moon had set up a large number of mines and mechanical traps along the way. She is trying to make the entire battlefield into her own territory! As long as a Mechanic is given enough time, she would be able to expand her geographical advantage. Tomahawk is currently on the passive side…”

The strategies of Rivervale revolved around the Mechanic class, and their own captain, Frenzied Sword, was a Mechanical Pugilist. After Maple Moon joined them, their strategies became even sneakier.

Tomahawk was very quickly hit, and they stepped on the mines that Maple Moon had planted.

After a series of explosions, a sea of flames engulfed the forest. Not to mention anything else, in terms of destructiveness alone, the Mechanic Class was the undeniable number one!

With the other party stepping into the trap, Rivervale no longer remained hidden and changed their route for a head on assault. The members of Tomahawk all had magical armor, but compared to the products of the army, their magical armor was on the losing end.

Frenzied Sword brandished his blade and sliced through the enemy formation. Their team then took down Tomahawk after paying the price of two members and claimed their first victory.

The Chinese players were all in a good mood after the victory.

“Haha, didn’t I say so? Rivervale was definitely going to suppress Tomahawk. Their position in the Regular Season isn’t just for show.”

“The members of Tomahawk have experienced it personally.”

“With little sis Maple Moon joining in, Rivervale is much stronger than before.”

“Little sis is truly powerful. She has character but is still gentle. I am now a die-hard fan of hers! When will she be coming out with an album?”

“Aunty Rainy Kim is already an old lady. She isn’t as young or pretty as little sis Maple Moon. I’m sorry, but I am going to change my taste. It isn’t that you aren’t good enough, but my sights are just set too high.”

“Forgetting about your old wife after finding a new mistress!”

Amid the chattering of the audiences, both teams took a short break and started the arena battle. Tomahawk sent out an ordinary player to probe the enemy team, but Rivervale had actually sent out Frenzied Sword as their first player.

After winning the team battle, their captain was appearing first in the arena, and they obviously intended to suppress the other party in terms of aura. The players could feel Rivervale’s confidence from their arrangements.

The commentator immediately fired off rapidly like a machine gun.

“Rivervale’s captain, Frenzied Sword, requested to fight in the first battle of the arena. Although he didn’t manage to enter the top sixteen for the singles, he was ranked eighteenth in the International Regulars. He may have been able to enter the finals if he was just a little luckier. Let’s watch the battle now… Oh, just as I expected! Frenzied Sword easily ended his opponent. A Mechanical Pugilist has the advantages of both a Mechanic and Pugilist, and this Class has a huge advantage in this season.”

Frenzied Sword fought the enemy head on without dodging or hiding. He threw out a bunch of compressed orbs to form various mechanical traps so that his opponent’s path would be restricted. The control ability of a Mechanical Pugilist was far higher than that of a normal Pugilist.

After easily approaching the enemy, Frenzied Sword unleashed a flurry of attacks and decimated his enemy’s health in less than a minute.

He was both powerful and handsome. Although he was no longer a Pugilist, Frenzied Sword was still as elegant as before.

Tomahawk could no longer sit still, and Captain Viking came out next. It was a captain versus captain fight.

Captain Viking was a Pugilist, and he took off his heavy armor to activate all his buffs from an armorless state. Magical inscriptions could be seen all over his body to provide him with defense and recovery.

“Roar! Fresh blood and glory!” Captain Viking let out a crazed roar.

Frenzied Sword stood opposite him and had a speechless look on his face.

“He is a Pugilist indeed. His shamelessness resistance is truly high…”

Right at this moment, a muscular figure could be seen behind Captain Viking, and it disappeared in a flash. Following which, Captain Viking’s muscles began to balloon up, and the Pugilist flames on his body exploded.

A new buff could be seen on his status panel. Captain Viking made use of a Character Summon Card!

The commentator then gasped. “Berserk from the Clan of Glory. +50% Close Ranged Damage, +30% Physical Resistance, +400 STR, +200 DEX, +20% Health, +40% Movement Speed, and an additional 300 Frost Damage for every attack. It actually lasts for thirty minutes! This Character Summon Card is so powerful!”

The chat immediately exploded with comments.

“The other party used a Character Summon Card. Victory is now up in the air.”

“Let’s see if Frenzied Sword has a powerful Character Summon Card. If he doesn’t, he will probably be screwed.”

A Character Summon Card was extremely rare, and it was even more difficult to obtain a Character Summon Card of a powerful character. All professional players treated them as their trump cards. Now that they were in the finals, none of them would hold such a trump card back.

There was only a single region that had the [Black Star Army Badge: Evolution], so it was reasonable for it to be banned. However, a Character Summon Card was different, and every player had a chance of obtaining one. Thus, it was not banned, but there were some limitations.

The effects of the Character Summon Card could not be carried on to the next round. Even if Captain Viking achieved a complete victory in the arena with the effects of the Character Summon Card not ending, his status would have to be refreshed, and he would not be able to carry on the effects to the ‘capture the flag’ battle.

The Character Summon Cards that the professional players had were rare, and it was a feature that made the battle more interesting for the ordinary players. Such a rule provided greater excitement to the battle while reducing the influence of the Character Summon Card to the competition.

After all, there were fifteen rounds at the very least, and a Character Summon Card was untradable. It would be considered a skill if one could take out fifteen overpowered Character Summon Cards.

Upon witnessing the opponent’s changes, Frenzied Sword also activated a Character Summon Card.

A suave appearance then appeared behind him, and everyone squealed as they recognized the figure.

“Woah! It’s Black Star!”

“It’s here, it’s here! Just as I was saying, how could Frenzied Sword not have a Character Summon Card!”

“I remember Frenzied Sword using a Black Star Character Summon Card in the previous season as well.”

“Black Star is now a Beyond Grade A. Will the effects be the same?”

The players all became excited. They were only able to see question marks when viewing Han Xiao’s interface and only had an estimate of Han Xiao’s strength through the dungeons. Thus, they were truly curious about his strength.

A new buff could then be seen on Frenzied Sword’s status panel.

_____________________

Character Summon Card – Black Star: [Indestructible Body]—You are immune to and will absorb 25% of all damage. 60% of the remaining damage will be converted into energy, and you can convert energy to health at the ratio of 1:9. You can recover a maximum of 35% of your health every second.

Duration: 10 minutes

_____________________

Upon seeing the effects of the Character Summon Card, everyone exploded with excitement.

“WTF! What kind of perverse ability is this‽”

“No wonder Black Star has such a nickname in the universe…”

All the players were dumbfounded.

Although the Character Summon Card that Captain Viking used was powerful, it was still acceptable. However, the effect of the Black Star Character Summon Card was completely out of their understanding, and the spectators were shocked!

Was this the strength of a Beyond Grade A? Just a single ability of his was so frightening!

His damage was high, he had many minions, and he still had such thick skin…

With such an ability, not to mention now, they would probably never be able to kill such a terrifying boss!

“Eh? Why does he have my Character Summon Card?” Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. He did not remember issuing such a mission before.

After thinking for a while, he finally understood what was going on. Frenzied Sword probably obtained a blank Character Summon Card and imprinted his ability.

“Alright, I haven’t used this talent too much after my Promotion, so you are enjoying it first.”

Han Xiao shook his head and chuckled.

Chapter 918: Finals

Chapter 918 Finals

With the buff of the Black Star Character Summon Card, Frenzied Sword abandoned over eighty percent of his defenses and concentrated on attacking.

He brandished his closed-ranged mechanical weapon without any restraint and blasted craters on the surface of the arena.

Captain Viking was reduced to a pathetic state and could only attempt to avoid all the attacks. He had activated the Berserk Character Summon Card with the intention of fighting Frenzied Sword head on, but he was completely unable to damage the enemy at all. Every time he damaged the enemy, his opponent’s health would be recovered the very next second.

As such, Captain Viking could only adjust his strategy and stall for time.

There was a time limit to the Character Summon Card, and although Frenzied Sword’s recovery was ferocious, his damage was not increased. As such, Captain Viking tried his best to stall for as much time as possible. The longer this battle lasted, the easier things would be for his teammates.

Captain Viking activated a special skill, and the axe in his hands turned blue and transparent as though it had turned into an axe made from ice. His physical damage would be converted to ice damage so that Frenzied Sword’s speed would be lowered.

Frenzied Sword ignored all the incoming attacks and charged forward relentlessly. The mobility of a Mechanical Pugilist was far higher than an ordinary Pugilist, and even if his speed was restricted, Captain Viking would not be able to escape from him.

Kacha!

He swapped out for a gigantic alloy axe and waved it around crazily.

Dang dang dang!

The alloy axe with Mechanical Force surrounding it clashed with the ice-like axe over and over again. Red sparks and blue frost could be seen flying in all directions, and a formless energy wave would be sent out every time their weapons met.

They were both Grade B Supers, so the special effects of the battle were pretty good.

Captain Viking could only try his best to last as long as possible, and his health fell to forty percent very quickly. On the contrary, Frenzied Sword was still at his peak, and every attack of his would still be at his peak.

Clank!

Right at this moment, the ground under Captain Viking’s feet suddenly cracked open, and an underground spider shot out from the ground. A large electrical wave was released, which gathered beneath Captain Viking’s feet. Captain Viking felt his legs go numb, and he entered a temporarily movement restricted status.

In the midst of the chaotic battle, Frenzied Sword had secretly released some mechanical spiders and released a control ability to restrict the enemy’s mobility.

A Mechanical Pugilist had many tricks up their sleeves and was like the combination between a weapon master and hidden weapon master. The number of control skills that a Mechanical Pugilist had far exceeded an ordinary Pugilist.

Seizing the opportunity, Frenzied Sword switched out to his spear and attacked.

Captain Viking could only raise his axe to block the incoming attack.

Clank!

The spear clashed with the axe, and sparks flew in all directions. Captain Viking could feel a powerful force coming from the axe with powerful vibrations included within the spear. The other party had obviously used a skill to complement his weapon’s specialty. His axe was knocked aside, and he was left wide open.

The next moment, the mechanical spear suddenly changed shapes and broke up into four spider legs. The spider legs then penetrated Captain Viking’s back and fixed him on the spot. It looked as though his spear had transformed into claws to hold the enemy in place.

At the same time, the spearhead transformed into a barrel, and an ion cannon charged up while aiming at the immobile Captain Viking.

Swoosh!

A brilliant blue ion cannon shot out from the barrel and penetrated Captain Viking’s chest.

Frenzied Sword made use of this opportunity and unleashed a brilliant combo to wipe out Captain Viking’s remaining health.

Because of the Black Star Character Summon Card, he was able to abandon all defenses and focus on attacking. Without having to bother about his health, his attacks were intensified by many folds, and he dared to take much more risks.

“This combo is truly amazing. The Mechanical Pugilist Class is truly impressive.”

“I feel like training a Mechanical Pugilist smurf.”

“Stop dreaming. A professional Mechanical Pugilist is completely different from a Mechanical Pugilist like you. A noob like you shouldn’t have such dreams.”

The next player then entered the battlefield and mimicked Captain Viking to stall for time. However, it was completely useless, and Frenzied Sword got rid of three people in a row.

With the Black Star Character Summon Card, his endurance was stunning, and he always had the initiative in his hands.

The Chinese players watched with excitement as they witnessed Frenzied Sword using the effects of the Black Star Character Summon Card. Suddenly, a strange question popped up in the heads of many of the players.

“Umm, Black Star is a Mechanic, right?”

“That’s right. This [Indestructible Body] is far more powerful than the [Advanced Strengthened Life] from the previous version. It looks more like the core skills of a Pugilist instead…”

“I understand now! A Mechanic without Endurance doesn’t have a soul!”

“I understand now. So, it turns out that being a tank is the best way to play the Mechanic Class.”

The Chinese spectators began joking.

However, Frenzied Sword seemed to use Black Star’s abilities every season, and they personally witnessed how the Black Star Character Summon Card became more and more perverse, from the Machinery Affinity boost in the first season to the [Advanced Strengthened Life] in the second season. Now, it was the [Indestructible Body]. Every season represented a huge improvement.

Perhaps this was considered them watching as Black Star rose to prominence.

Many players could not help but feel this way and had a sense of satisfaction as witnesses of a powerhouse rising to power.

The remaining battles were completely one-sided, and the other Tomahawk players didn’t bother wasting any other trump cards. Frenzied Sword single-handedly wiped out the entire team and achieved another overwhelming victory.

Although it only appeared for a short time, the terrifying ability of the [Indestructible Body] was imprinted into the memories of the players.

Everyone was extremely curious about what other power abilities Black Star had on him. He was always able to shock them without fail.

Looking at the discussions in the forums, Han Xiao could predict that all the players would go to him if they had a blank Character Summon Card in the future.

Following which, the ‘capture the flag’ battle became Maple Moon’s stage. She set up a fortress at the very start of the battle, and Tomahawk would have to suffer a huge loss if they wanted to steal their flag. As such, the gap between the two parties grew larger and larger.

Rivervale did not give Tomahawk the opportunity to turn the tables around and seized another victory.

After winning three consecutive rounds, Rivervale’s victory was already guaranteed. The next two dungeon battles were much easier, and Rivervale obtained the victory for their first round.

…

The first round of the International Finals was extremely exciting, and all eight teams went all out.

The result of the first round had truly excited the Chinese players.

Rivervale defeated Tomahawk with a score of three to one, Dynasty defeated Devil with a score of three to one, and Long Sky defeated Hydra with a score of three to two…

This meant that all three Chinese teams had made it into the top four!

Their score from the previous season had already been spectacular, and they had managed to improve this season and clinch three out of four of the top four spots. The only lonely one left was America’s Key!

With the semifinalists being decided, the players from all the regions were shocked. None of them expected the performance of the Chinese to be so powerful this season!

They were demons!

The Chinese teams were truly frightening during this season, and Key became the only hope of the players from all the other regions.

Apart from the Shattered Star Ring region, the players from the other regions all had a common enemy and hoped that Key would be able to defeat the great demon king and obtain victory.

Compared to the other countries looking as though they were facing a desperate war, the Chinese players were all celebrating. Obtaining three out of the four spots meant that they were guaranteed a spot in the final. Furthermore, there was a higher chance for both the champion and first runner up to be from China.

It would be a huge honor if both teams in the final belonged to the same country. If China could be the first country to achieve such a feat, it would be akin to creating history. As such, the Chinese players were all extremely expectant.

The expectations of the local players and enmity of the foreign players brought a great deal of pressure to the players of Rivervale. The opponent that Key drew for the semi-finals was Rivervale.

If they beat Key, everything would be good, and Rivervale would be the one to create history and find their chance to be a super guild.

But if they lost to Key, they would have wasted all the fame that they had accumulated throughout this season. This was a double-edged sword!

To all the players, the battle between Rivervale and Key was like the final of this season. As long as Rivervale won, the championship title would be in their hands for sure!

As such, all the players in the Shattered Star Ring began gathering information about Key and analyzed the enemy’s strategies to provide intelligence for Rivervale.

Although Rivervale did not necessarily need all this, their passionate actions warmed the hearts of Rivervale and the others.

The semifinals finally started, and the attention of almost all the viewers was drawn to the battle between Key and Rivervale.

In terms of individual combat strength, Key had the middle-ranked players from Devil and their overall strength was definitely superior. They definitely were not ordinary since they could emerge victorious from Division A.

The leader of Key was Key of Solomon, and Frenzied Sword was his old opponent. Both of them had fought in the first season, and Key of Solomon had lost to Frenzied Sword back then. After two versions, Key of Solomon had also improved.

The battle was extremely intense from the very start, and four rounds went by quickly. The current score was two to two, and the final match started.

In the final round of the competition, the gap was not widened in the team fight and arena, but in the ‘capture the flag’ and dungeon rounds, Maple Moon displayed her might and took out all her trump cards. Even the Void Dragon embryonic mechanical suit made an appearance, and she aided her team to clinch victory.

The final result was three to two, and Rivervale won. Maple Moon made the largest contribution and had a large wave of new fans.

On the other side, Dynasty and Long Sky fought each other again like in the previous season. However, the outcome was reversed, and Long Sky lost to Dynasty this time.

Two Chinese teams would be facing each other in the finals, and a new milestone was created for the Pro League.

The Chinese players all heaved a sigh of relief and were extremely satisfied.

Because Key did not manage to enter the finals, the overseas players were all disappointed. With China fighting each other for the championship, the finals were not as exciting as the semi-finals.

Although both the Chinese teams desired victory, they did not have any conflicts and thus fought stably for victory.

It was a pity that Rivervale was exhausted in the semifinals, and they obviously were not in top condition. Dynasty had only fought four rounds in the semi-finals and had more time to rest.

Finally, Rivervale lost, and Dynasty took the title of champion!

The excitement from China obtaining victory was not as ubiquitous as the previous season, but there was a great sense of satisfaction. China now had top notch teams in the international scene, and while obtaining victory deserved to be celebrated, it was not that big of a surprise.

Compared to Han Xiao’s previous life, the Chinese teams would not be challenging other teams; other teams would be coming to challenge them. This was the glory of the great demon king, and the Chinese players were truly satisfied about that.

Because Rivervale completed the milestone for China, the Chinese players were all very understanding toward them and encouraging even though they lost the final.

The players who did not think too highly of China before the competition now had nothing to say.

With China clinching both the championship and first runner-up, the players cried out with excitement on the forums, and Han Xiao was also pretty happy. However, this was a half-good and half-bad matter for him.

The results of the Pro League would affect the actions of the players. In the next version, when all the regions gathered in the Flickering World, the Chinese teams would probably end up being the public enemy, and the Black Star Army would probably be provoked by the other player factions.

Those foreign clubs would definitely rally together to snatch resources, missions, and territory from China.

Version 4.0 was the version for the players to climb onto the stage of the universal factions. Han Xiao would not underestimate the billions of players from the other regions.

As such, he would have to build up a huge enterprise in the Flickering World during the version update period.

This would be his foundation for Version 4.0.

“This version update period will be the key to my development…”

Han Xiao then closed the forums and fell into thought.

Chapter 919: Prospect and Version Update 1

Chapter 919 Prospect and Version Update 1

For the next ten or so days, a joyful atmosphere filled the Shattered Star Ring forums.

This was China’s best result to date, and Dynasty, Rivervale, and Long Sky received a great amount of praise.

The players were still extremely excited about the Pro League, and the forums were filled with their discussion about the exciting battles.

The various teams would definitely carry out various promotional activities after the competition, and the various clubs rented a place at the Black Star Army headquarters to carry out a meet and greet session with the players.

At the end of the version, the Gulal civil war that the players had participated in was also going to come to an end.

The Pro League lasted for a long time, and the players who did not pass through the preliminary rounds all returned to the Gulal Civilization battlefield. They watched the Pro League while working together with the fleets to snatch the territories of the Ancient Emperor Party and Descendant Party. After a long series of battles, they brought the Pioneer Party into power.

The Pioneer Party expressed their thanks to the Black Star Army for the army’s assistance, and the employment fees were wired to the account of the army.

It was also considered the end of the player’s mission, and the players were only left with the Flickering World mission that had yet to be completed. However, this long mission obviously would not be completed within this version, and the players were not anxious about it.

As such, many of the players began leading a relaxed life after the Pro League to reorganize their gains from this version. Even if they did not go out into the fields to kill monsters, there were many entertainment outlets in the universe.

Plenty of events happened in Version 3.0. They personally witnessed how the Black Star Army became a Beyond Grade A organization and followed the Black Star Army to perform many missions. The sense of belonging that the players had toward the Black Star Army grew stronger and stronger, and this was a win-win situation for both parties.

Through the hard work of the players, the content of the Galaxy Chronicles increased greatly, and information about the Black Star Army also became more detailed. The players had personally witnessed the growth of the Black Star Army all the way from its conception.

Galaxy Times came out with a new program to interview the top four teams that made it into the International League. They also did a projection about what would happen in the next version. Han Xiao, who was currently supervising Sylvia’s preparation of the Black Star’s Party, also saw it.

…

“Hello players, this is Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand game information,” the male host said. “Your gaming career is our top priority.”

“The third season of the Pro League has come to an end. Dynasty, Long Sky, Rivervale and Temple of God represented China to obtain spectacular results in this season of the Pro League,” the female host said. “We are lucky to have the captains and teammates of the four teams with us to talk about their interesting encounters during the competition…”

The four teams then made their appearance and waved to the audience.

“King Admiral, how do you feel about winning the championship this time?”

“Dynasty’s status has been extremely good during this season, and we displayed the strength that we ought to. The entire team is definitely excited about winning the championship,” King Admiral lazily replied.

Second Prince then coughed dryly and could not help but add, “We obtained the championship because of the good teamwork between our team. Everyone was able to do their own job well. This is the result of everyone’s hard work… and definitely not because of the captain’s leadership.”

The host then asked a few more questions before turning to Rivervale.

“Team Rivervale, although all of you didn’t manage to clinch the championship, your contributions can’t be underestimated. Your team kicked out Key during the semi-finals and locked in the championship title for China ahead of the final. I thank you for your contributions on behalf of our audience.”

“We only did something within our capabilities,” Frenzied Sword said humbly.

“Rivervale is a new team but has shown rapid improvement. Your score has been rising over the three seasons, and many people feel that Rivervale is a new super club. What are your thoughts on that?”

Frenzied Sword nodded and said, “I will have to thank our fans for their love. During the semi-finals, countless individuals provided us with strategies and information. We were truly moved by that.”

“In this season, Maple Moon made a large contribution for Rivervale. As the captain, what do you think about her?” the male host asked.

Frenzied Sword thought for a moment before saying solemnly, “The best decision that Rivervale has made to date is signing Maple Moon. She has greatly increased the strength of our team and is an irreplaceable team member.”

After three seasons, Frenzied Sword was no longer a new player in the eyes of the players but a god level player. His status was equivalent to Hao Tian, and Maple Moon had become a core member of Rivervale. Her status was like Second Prince in Dynasty and Sleepy Winter in Long Sky.

The host then continued the interview, and Long Sky was extremely bitter. Although finishing in the top four was not too bad, it was considered a step back for them.

It was finally the turn to interview Temple of God, and the comments section became active.

“How are your feelings as the sacrificial lamb?”

“I thank Temple of God for their contributions. They lit themselves up to shine brightly for others.”

“So, it turns out that I’ve always blamed Li Ge wrongly. You are truly sacrificial and a saint who can endure humiliation.”

“Everyone, cry out together with me, brother Temple of God!”

“Temple of God’s contributions are truly the greatest. If any of the other three teams had been picked to enter Division A, we would have wasted a slot. Temple of God would probably have been eliminated in the first round regardless. If Long Sky had been chosen, they may not have been able to make it into the top eight, and this would be akin to losing two slots… Since Temple of God entered Division A, we sacrificed our lousiest to ensure the smooth victory of the other three teams. Thus, it can be said that Temple of God is truly the biggest contributor to China!”

The teams then chatted about other interesting parts of the competition, and the interviews came to an end. They then started the next topic, which was the prediction for the next version.

“With the increase in Grades of the players, there are more regions being opened up,” the female host said. “We had predicted that the inter-Star Field travel would probably be activated in the next version.”

“There have already been examples of inter-Star Field travel in Version 3.0, and it was related to the Black Star Army and the Shattered Star Ring,” the male host said. “The Black Star Army once provided a channel to cross Star Fields for the players in the Constellation Corridor.

“At the same time, the players of the Shattered Star Ring could also enter the Flickering World Main Storyline Mission. With the scale of the Flickering World mission, it is very likely to be an important event for the players in the Shattered Star Ring during the next version.

“All these signs point to inter-Star Field travel being very likely during the next version. Furthermore, the Black Star Army will probably play an important role for this.”

Galaxy Times had once made such a guess when the players from the Constellation Corridor were allowed to cross Star Fields. They restated their prediction once again.

The presence of the Black Star Army was truly too great in Version 3.0. According to their experience from the previous two versions, the actions of the Black Star Army would usually hint at future development. As such, the actions of the Black Star Army were important evidence for Galaxy Times.

Han Xiao nodded and thought to himself, Because of the Main Storyline Mission, the players can guess that the Flickering World will probably be a big event in the next version. However, no one’s guessed that it will be a world server…

During Version 4.0 in his previous life, the Flickering World had completed their initial exploration phase and had been opened up to the outside world. Many factions began recruiting members to head toward the Flickering World to compete with each other while exploring new regions.

High mobility was a foundation of the galactic civilizations. Mobile residents, resources, finances, and so on were the blood and vessels that connected the various Star Fields. No civilization was a lone island anymore.

As such, a new Star Field would definitely open up to the outside. Furthermore, a new Star Field represented new opportunities for development, which gave some factions hope to gain a territory. As such, many organizations that no longer had a way to advance would migrate to the Flickering World and engage in a competition for territory and resources.

The Crimson Dynasty had the highest authority in the Star Field. They chose to open the Flickering World for two main reasons. First, it was the natural course of development in the current generation, and second, others would share the construction cost.

The amount of resources and manpower required to develop was far greater than exploration. Even if they were a Universal Civilization, it would be an enormous project for them to build up a new Star Field from scratch. Furthermore, there were still two other civilizations eyeing them covetously from the side, trying to seize the opportunity to suppress the dynasty. As such, the dynasty needed to give the job of development to the countless organizations and use methods like tax to digest the benefits of the Flickering World.

The entire universe had their sights set on the Flickering World, and even the tyrannical Crimson Dynasty knew that they did not have the ability to swallow it all by themselves. Greed and poverty were two sides of the same coin, and the outcome of them trying to swallow everything by themselves was extremely clear.

The galactic society believed in free economic trade, and unless there was a need, the Crimson Dynasty would not restrict their allies from competing with each other. Besides, using competition to spur the outside organizations on was also a situation that the dynasty was willing to see.

The dynasty would only hold the most lucrative region in their hands and a portion of the Star Field would be controlled directly by the dynasty. As for the rest, it would be split among important allies of the dynasty like the Black Star Army to protect the Flickering World and ensure that the dynasty had control over the Star Field.

In such a situation, the players would have a large space for them to display their abilities. Even without a mission, the players would definitely compete with each other for sure.

Chapter 920: Prospect and Version Update 2

Chapter 920 Prospect and Version Update 2

“The first exploration phase of the Flickering World will soon end, and construction will follow shortly after. At that time, a large amount of resources and manpower will be required. The army has no lack of funds, and together with the support from the Crimson Dynasty, there will be no need for me to worry about resources during the version update period.”

He had a monopoly in the Evolutionary Totem business, and it was his faction’s specialty. It brought him a large amount of profit, and among the Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty, he would probably belong to the group that had no lack of money.

In his plans, the mechanical civilization and the Black Spirit Race would be his focus for development. The former would be his source of high-quality soldiers while the latter had great potential. He would be able to allow them to grow without any hindrance and concern in his own territory.

He was no longer watching the Black Spirit Race develop but personally intervening in the development of the race. The Black Spirit Race had a strong ability to accept changes, and as long as their development was on track, they would definitely soar forward rapidly.

The version update period from Version 3.0 to Version 4.0 was a couple of decades. The players would return when the Flickering World opened to the outside world.

With the experience from his previous life, Han Xiao knew which organizations would compete in the Flickering World, and this was a huge advantage for him.

During this version update period, the entire galaxy would be focused mainly on expansion. The Crimson Dynasty would probably face huge pressure, and Han Xiao himself would likely meet some trouble because of the Evolution Cube. However, with his current strength and status, there should not be that many threats from the outside.

The Black Star Army had only been around for roughly twenty years, and the version update period was going to last for a few decades. This would be a good time to let the Black Star Army solidify their foundation and transform from a ‘newborn organization’ to a ‘veteran organization’.

“Hila is still continuing to grow, and although her growth speed isn’t as fast as in my previous life, she has greater potential with my aid. During the version update period, it is very likely for her to become a new Beyond Grade A…”

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

This way, his organization would have one more top combatant. Even if Hila chose to become independent, both of them would definitely remain allies.

At that time, the Shattered Star Ring would have six Beyond Grade As, and the army would be able to benefit greatly from it.

Psyker, on the other hand, definitely would not have a good time.

During the entire Version 3.0, Han Xiao had harvested a large amount of experience from the players, and it was stored in his interface. The players would be offline during the version update period, and huge events would be rare. This accumulated experience would be the strategic resource for him to last through this version update period.

At his current level, leveling up once would require a sky-high amount of experience. Although Han Xiao’s stash was great, it would not be enough if he used it all to level up. A couple of decades was a long time, and he had to use his experience sparingly.

In his plans, he would obtain a new Class Advancement and Race Advancement after reaching level three hundred, and he would have to increase the level of his skills to obtain more Potential Points so that the levels of his new knowledge would all be increased.

The experience required to increase his level in the future would only increase, and developing more crop fields would aid in his efficiency of harvesting experience. Version 4.0 did not only have more competition from the world but also gave him the opportunity to develop a new batch of crops.

The players had settled the Gulal civil war a while ago, and the [Gulal Civilization: The Flames of Pioneers!] mission on his interface was also completed.

The Mission Rating of this mission was dependent on the performance of an individual. He had thrown the mission over to the players and did not do it himself. As such, his Mission Rating was not high. However, the experience that he gained from the mission was not the main point. The experience that the players obtained would eventually flow back to him through their purchases, and that profit was many times that of the mission.

After three versions of hard work, the Black Star Army had developed to its current state, and Han Xiao was no longer as worried about the version update period.

“I am already fully prepared and waiting for the day the dynasty divvies up the territories.”

…

After the end of the Pro League, the version update date drew nearer and nearer. The attention of the players was also diverted from the Pro League to the new version.

Many players kept a large amount of experience and wanted to use it to reach the next level limit in the new version.

The players were all gathered in the Black Star Army headquarters, chatting with their friends while waiting to go offline.

At the corner of the plaza, the professional players were gathered together, chatting among themselves.

“There are plenty of new players in this version. Did we see so many players in the previous two versions?”

Twinkle Fried Rice shook his head.

“The more the merrier. This way, the Pro League will have higher viewership rates.” Li Ge chuckled.

“I wonder how long the version update period would be this time,” Maple Moon said curiously.

“It shouldn’t be too long, right? Our Flickering World mission hasn’t ended yet. We will definitely get to continue the exploration during the next version,” Frenzied Sword replied. “I am truly curious to see what the Black Star Army will be like during the next version.”

The few of them chatted and suddenly saw King Admiral waving at them from afar. Frenzied Sword and the others then went over.

King Admiral chuckled and said, “Since everyone is here, let’s find a day to have a meal. We can take it to be a celebration for obtaining both the championship and first runner up.”

“Sure.” Li Ge was the first to agree.

“I remember that we did so after the previous season ended as well,” Sleepy Winter said while stroking his chin.

“That’s right. We should just make it a tradition. The champions shall be in charge of treating all the Chinese players. We can go for a vacation together.”

“Better treat us to something good. Don’t be like Long Sky and only treat us to some roadside store.”

“Dining at a roadside store is value for money,” Hao Tian said bitterly.

Everyone then cheered at the proposition, and King Admiral had no choice but to accept it.

Very quickly, all the players went offline, and the entire plaza became empty.

A notification also popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

Version 3.0 update activated.

Saving data… Save complete!

Player forums closed.

Update Duration: Unknown. Please wait patiently.

_____________________

Han Xiao then looked up, and the player forum button had turned gray.

“The players are all offline…” Han Xiao took a deep breath. “It’s now time to start planning for Version 4.0.”

…

At the same time, at the entrance of the Shattered Star Ring stargate, a trade fleet had just exited the stargate. The spaceship had an egg-like shape with silver armor. It looked extremely simple yet high tech. The insignia of the Limitless Financial Group was carved out on the exterior of the spaceship.

The main flagship was a gigantic flying saucer. In the command room, a tall man stood in front of the window and looked out at the view.

His figure was slim, and his skin was extremely fair. He looked very gentle and did not have the pressure of a powerhouse. He was dressed in luxurious clothes from head to toe and was emanating with the feeling of wealth.

This man was the current head of the Limitless Financial Group, Sorokin. He was one of the richest men in the galaxy.

A secretary stood beside Sorokin and said softly, “Your Excellency Sorokin, we have arrived.”

“Hmm…” Sorokin replied. “Follow our schedule and head to the Black Star Army headquarters. Get our Shattered Star Ring branch to show me information about their performance over the past five years.”

“Understood.”

The Limitless Financial Group had property everywhere, and the Shattered Star Ring was no exception. But because of the poor public security of this region, the Limitless Financial Group did not place much emphasis on the Shattered Star Ring, and their operations were not large there.

If not for the fact that he had accepted the proposition of his three Beyond Grade A shareholders, Sorokin would not have established a large scale operation over there.

Although his current goal was to make trouble for Black Star, they were not direct enemies in business competition. Sorokin was also interested in meeting Black Star.

The way he saw it, Black Star should be happy to meet a wealthy individual like him. Although one of his subsidiary organizations had been wiped out by Black Star, his identity was not revealed, and Black Star should not know that he was the mastermind behind the matter.

As such, this would be their first encounter in Black Star’s eyes.

With Black Star being kept in the dark, he would have a slight advantage.

He could also make use of this opportunity to come into contact with the Black Star Army’s immortals and complete his previous goal.

Just as Sorokin was in thought, the hatch to the command room opened, and a woman walked in. She was dressed in the manager attire of the financial group.

This woman came to Sorokin’s side and lowered her head slightly.

“Father, what are your instructions?”

She was Lovell, Sorokin’s daughter.

Sorokin had many children, and they took on various positions in the financial group.

Turning to look at her, Sorokin flipped open his communicator and sent an invitation to her.

“Take this Tyrant’s Party invitation and go to Heber. Meet him on my behalf.”

Lovell was startled and asked, “Didn’t you want to invest in the Black Star Army?”

“I will only make a decision after meeting Black Star. Before that, we cannot let go of any other investment opportunities,” Sorokin replied.

His deal with the three shareholders was a secret. Apart from himself, everyone in the financial group thought that he was making a trip to the Shattered Star Ring for an ordinary investment.

Although he was planning to use money to compete with the Black Star Army, he needed to use the money wisely. While money would allow him to snatch a larger portion of the market, he did not like suffering losses.

Sorokin wanted both the deal with his shareholders and the opportunity to invest in the Flickering World!

As long as he invested in the right target, things would go smoothly for him.

He wanted to compete with Black Star head on but also not anger the dynasty. Thus, there was a suitable investment partner in the Shattered Star Ring.

After all, the Black Star Army was not the only organization that had the right to begin construction in the Flickering World.

Chapter 921: Level 300

Chapter 921 Level 300

Less than five minutes after the players went offline, various reports were sent from all the Black Star Army bases to Han Xiao. This was not the first time such a situation had occurred for the various officers, and although there were still some who found the matter strange, there was not a huge commotion.

To the outsiders, the disappearance of the players did not have any pattern, and only Han Xiao, who also had the player interface, could accurately grasp the time.

Version 3.0 was the true uprising of the Black Star Army in terms of manpower, strength, and status. Before the end of Version 2.0, the Black Star Army only had twenty-three bases, a few thousand battleships, and almost two hundred million Enas in savings. But now, their scale was at least a thousand times larger!

This was sufficient to prove just how great the benefits he had during the current version. He had managed to grasp all the opportunities that presented themselves to him. Advancing into the Beyond Grade A was like a carp leaping through the dragon gate.

With the current scale of the Black Star Army, although the players going offline would affect the employment missions of the army, it would not stop the ordinary operations of the army from operating.

“The version update this time will take twenty-three years, and the Flickering World will be in the fourth phase of development by then…”

Han Xiao leaned back on his chair.

To a civilization, a few decades was a short amount of time, just one or two generations. Without any outside interference, this amount of time was not enough to cause a huge change.

When all their questions could be answered and they no longer needed to fumble around in the dark for research, the Black Spirit Race would definitely be able to go from a native civilization to a galactic civilization in a short few decades for sure.

Intervening in the development of low-grade civilizations went against the Treaty of Cosmic Civilizations. On the surface, this was to restrict the development of the low-grade civilizations, but in truth, it was to reduce the conflict between galactic civilizations.

However, it was still the same logic. Regardless of how good a rule was, the rules could be bent depending on the individual bending it. With Han Xiao’s current status, as long as he did not go too far, no one would care about such a small thing. Furthermore, the Black Spirit Race was a race that worshipped him, so no one would attack him because of this matter. As long as he had his own territory, no one would bother him about such matters.

Han Xiao then took out his communicator and called the dynasty.

“Your Excellency Black Star, do you need something?”

“Of course. If not, why would I bother calling you/” Han Xiao then went straight to the point. “How much longer will it take for the first exploration phase to end? You said that it would be finished very soon two years ago, and the star maps of the three Star Clusters have already been perfected. When will the upper echelons of the dynasty announce the completion of the first phase?”

“I am not too sure about the exact time, but it should be this year at the latest.”

“Inform me if you have any news.”

“Don’t worry, chief commander Tarrokov will definitely inform you beforehand.”

Right at this moment, the other party paused for a while, and his voice became solemn.

“Right, I also have something to tell you. The Blood Gold Organization ignored the dynasty’s warning and didn’t stop robbing the Evolutionary Totem. Our allies are grumbling because of this matter.”

Han Xiao was surprised and said, “It seems like they’ve found a backer.”

“Er, it is more accurate to say that a backer found them. The Federation of Light provided them with protection and got them to hide in the Abyss of Stars. They can then manage their subordinates remotely and continue accepting employment missions.”

Federation of Light? Indeed, they can’t help but target the Evolutionary Totem. Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. The interference of a Universal Civilization was not out of his expectations. The Federation of Light would never allow the dynasty to monopolize an item of such strategic importance.

The Federation of Light’s plan was still unknown, and Han Xiao believed that the Federation of Light would not stop at conducting robberies. Such a small amount was not enough to satisfy their needs, and there must be a bigger scheme behind it all. They would most likely attempt to force the dynasty to open the rights to sell the Evolutionary Totem.

In this regard, the Federation of Light did not have any conflicts with him. Han Xiao also wished to expand his operations.

However, the method to craft the totems had been grasped by many organizations, and the other party might also attempt to seize his Evolution Cube. Still, the probability of this happening was small.

The memory of the Arcane Church failing miserably was still fresh, and now that the technological skill for the totem had been exposed, the dynasty would definitely place a larger importance on the Evolution Cube. If it was not necessary, no one would risk starting a war with the dynasty to snatch the Evolution Cube. The losses would exceed the gains. But despite all this, he still had to keep his guard up.

“What is the reaction of the dynasty?”

“The upper echelons guessed that something like this would happen and made plenty of preparations in secret. Although the dynasty will help you to endure most of the pressure, you will still face some risks yourself. The upper echelons recommend you stay in the dynasty’s territory and operate through your machines. Even if the Federation of Light has the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, they won’t dare teleport into the dynasty’s territory.”

“I would be safer indeed, but I cannot stay in the Central Galaxy forever. That would be no different from being imprisoned.” Han Xiao sighed helplessly.

As long as he did not hand over the Evolution Cube, he would always have to face such a dilemma. Profit would always come with risk, and if he wanted to settle this point thoroughly, he needed to let the entire universe recognize that the Evolution Cube belonged to him. His own strength was a factor, and the dynasty opening the rights to sell the totem was another factor.

Sigh, the Federation of Light is forcing me to be their spokesman…

“Thank you for your reminder. I will consider the matter.” Han Xiao shook his head and hung up.

After sitting down for a while more, he then went to the training room and opened up his interface.

With the players offline, the experience which he had stored up will be the basis for him to increase his strength. Han Xiao had accumulated a large amount of experience over the past two years, and it was enough for him to reach level three hundred.

Since he was not able to influence the dynasty, all he could do was increase his strength.

Han Xiao let out a deep breath and channeled his experience to leveling up.

_____________________

[Lord Mechanic] leveled up to Lv.21.

+360 Energy, +5 STR, +5DEX, +12 END, +15 INT.

You have received 12 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

…

Lord Mechanic] leveled up to Lv.40 (max).

+360 Energy, +5 STR, +5DEX, +12 END, +15 INT.

You have received 12 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

_____________________

Han Xiao’s level went from 280 to 300, and his body surged with energy.

At his current level, the amount of experience needed to level up would only snowball. Without a way to accumulate experience, choosing to level up further was not the best option.

Han Xiao placed all his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence to increase his damage and looked at the notifications on the interface.

_____________________

You have reached the upper limit of your Main Class. You have triggered Class Advancement Mission: [Erudite]

[Erudite]: Have 30 Class Knowledges reaching Lv.5 with at least 3 being Ultimate Knowledges. The strength of a Mechanic comes from their knowledge, and a Mechanic can only reach higher heights with a stable foundation.

You have reached Lv.300. You have triggered a Promotion Mission: [Abundant Energy]!

[Abundant Energy]: Reach Lv.19 in your energy level. Energy will always be required to support strength.

_____________________

“These two missions don’t seem too bad.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Compared to the challenge-type missions, Han Xiao preferred the missions that had a requirement on his attributes. He was already planning to increase his Class Knowledge, and the [Erudite] mission came at the right time.

[Abundant Energy] required his energy level to be at Lv.19, which was 120,000 energy points. Han Xiao had always been training [Radiation Absorption], and together with his gains from leveling up twenty times, his energy level had just passed 100,000 points and had reached Lv.18. He was only about 20,000 points away from the requirement.

The energy points of most Beyond Grade As were above 100,000, so Han Xiao’s energy level was relatively low. If not for his special energy regeneration tactic, his energy level would definitely be lower.

Since he could not level up, he needed plenty of energy training manuals to fill this gap. Although the requirement was harsh, energy was an important attribute, and there would be no disadvantage for him to complete this mission.

However, despite thinking that way, Han Xiao still opened the Random Reward page.

During this period of time, Han Xiao had gotten his mechanical army to perform plenty of missions on the outside and accumulated a few Random Reward opportunities. There were more than twenty chances for him to use.

“I hope that a Mission Completion Card will come out…” Han Xiao prayed.

Even Feidin’s luck was not useful to help him this time. Luck would help him to increase the chance of a high value item appearing, but the Mission Completion Card was considered a worthless item to even the players, and high Luck would reduce his chance of drawing it.

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao immediately started drawing rewards.

After finishing all his Random Reward chances, over half were common items. Apart from that, there were three Potential Points, three low grade skills, one foundation talent, one empty Character Summon Card, one ability enhancement card, one double experience card… and two Mission Completion Cards.

He only got two of them in over twenty draws. Han Xiao truly did not know if this was his good or bad luck.

The two Mission Completion Cards would be able to allow him to complete the missions immediately, but after thinking for a while, Han Xiao did not plan on using the Mission Completion Cards now as he felt that it was not worth it.

“This thing is too damn difficult to get. Since these two missions aren’t that difficult, I should save these Mission Completion Cards for the future,” Han Xiao mumbled to himself.

[Erudite] was not difficult at all, and he had already planned to increase the level of his knowledge. Although the requirements for [Abundant Energy] was harsh, he only needed to put in some effort to complete it.

He could still afford to wait for a short while and kept the two Mission Completion Cards for a rainy day. It would truly be a loss if he wasted these two ‘precious’ Mission Completion Cards.

Han Xiao then looked through his attributes. Because he did not finish his Promotion and Class Advancement missions, his Attribute Points and Potential Points had only increased slightly.

Chapter 922: Meeting

Chapter 922 Meeting

Han Xiao opened his Profession tree for a look. The current maxed Lv.5 knowledge did not reach the required thirty to give him the title of [Erudite], but he was close to it, just requiring him to raise a few lower-tiered knowledges. The problem was having an Ultimate Knowledge of each of the three branches maxed out.

Another important source for potential points would be to reach max level for his skills, but the upgrade cost would increase exponentially with the character level and sum of all skill levels. For a non-related branch Ultimate Knowledge, it would require roughly 120 Potential Points to upgrade from Lv.0 to Lv.5.

It was also impractical for Han Xiao to suppress his level. Even with all the experience he had saved up currently, it would not be enough to bring his Ultimate Knowledge to max level.

After thinking for a while, he decided to instead upgrade [Eternal Power Source], [Virtual Creator], and another from the Control Branch to the max level, as these three Ultimate Knowledges did not suffer from any experience penalties.

He directly opened the skills tab and invested some experience to upgrade his blueprint skills. After reaching the required amount of Potential Points, he immediately used them up, maxing out [Virtual Creator] and [Eternal Power Source].

His last required Ultimate Knowledge of the Control Branch had not been learned. While he had sufficient Contribution Points, in order to maintain the effect of his political assets, he needed to preserve at least six thousand points, keeping his relationship with the dynasty at [Reverence]. Thus, he could only wait until he reached twelve thousand Contribution Points to exchange for the Ultimate Knowledge. He was still lacking around three or four thousand.

After completing his operation of upgrading and learning skills, his reserve experience shrank greatly.

During Version 2.0, Han Xiao’s stored experience was only enough for him to increase from Level 170 to 207. In Version 3.0, due to the larger number of Black Star Army faction players, which allowed him to sell more of his products and grant higher rewards for missions, Han Xiao’s current experience reserve far outstripped Version 2.0.

But no matter how much he had, it was still finite. The cost of upgrading at this stage was much greater than that of the lower level, and he also needed to reserve a certain amount of experience to gamble on blueprints and improve strength training.

Han Xiao then entered the quantum network, ordering Phillip to purchase Energy Training Techniques in large quantities. With the current finances of the Army, this was a small matter and did not require him to worry about it himself.

Following this, Han Xiao collected his gains in the random reward. The two low-level skills drawn were relatively ineffective, but the foundation talent was not bad. It was called [Brain Enhancement], and the effect was an increased four percent Intelligence. At his current level, it would grant hundreds of Intelligence points, and since Intelligence was the core attribute for a Mechanic, there was some value in it.

Other than this, the more useful ones included a blank Character Summon Card as well as an ability enhancement card.

He had drawn one ability enhancement card long ago, and it had been sitting in his interface without him touching it. With this new card, he now had two.

Han Xiao scanned his skill bar as he muttered, “What should I enhance?”

Profession skills would not be able to trigger any skill mutations and could only be strengthened based on its basic values. At present, Han Xiao’s combat ability was quite well rounded, so it seemed like he could use it to strengthen any skill.

After thinking for a while, he decided to use it for the skill [Gene Liberation]. This explosive ability was still useful, and strengthening it would be no loss.

_____________________

Activating Ability Enhancement Card, target: [Gene Liberation Lv.10], undergoing enhancement…

Enhancement completed. [Gene Liberation Lv10]’s effect has been upgraded.

_____________________

There was no mutation, but Han Xiao was not surprised. [Gene Liberation] was already the mutated form of [Flaming Will], and in the past, there was a crazy guy who tried continuously enhancing only one skill, and he found out that the use of the enhancement card greatly dropped with each consecutive try. The success rate for the first time was twenty percent, followed by five percent, and a third time would be one percent.

The interface showed that [Gene Liberation]’s minimum damage bonus had increased from 220% to 240%, while the maximum increased from 480% to 520%. The continuous effect was upgraded from 2 to 2.4 seconds, while the cooldown reduced from seven minutes to six minutes and twenty seconds. The passive trigger was upped from 20% to 28%. Overall, it was an acceptable strengthening.

There was still one Ability Enhancement Card left over. After looking at it for a long time, Han Xiao decided that he had no other abilities worth increasing now and decided to leave it.

Players could also draw Ability Enhancement Cards, and the enhancement effect applied the same way. The more used, the higher the chance of transforming qualitatively. If one could increase the -90% Luck for the Luck Curse to -100%…

All card items such as the Character Summon Card or Ability Enhancement cards were character bound and could not be traded. Thus, the temporary character cards obtained through his juice extraction would be so sought after. If it was not for that, Han Xiao would have assigned a mission long ago to amass Character Summon Cards.

After finishing what he needed to do, Han Xiao closed the interface and left the training room. On the way, he took out his communicator and contacted Sylvia.

“How goes the preparation for the party?”

“The official time for the party has been set to be in a month, and it’s already arranged. By the way, I was paying attention to the trends of Bloodshed Land, and it seems like the Tyrant’s Party held this year has been adjusted to the same time as ours.”

Han Xiao let out a peal of laughter. “Little Ty-Ty is not very happy, I see.”

“If I were the Tyrant, I would be angry too.” Sylvia did not reply very nicely to him.

“There’s no rule saying that only he can hold a party. After all, we’re not good friends, so why would I care about what he thinks?” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Sylvia lightly snorted and no longer bothered judging him. She instead continued speaking. “The number of Evolutionary Totem collaborators has increased, and there are more representatives attending this party, many of whom hail from different star fields. There are 11 Star Cluster civilization representatives and 413 Star System civilization representatives, which includes the Beyond Grade A allies that are friends with you.”

“Not bad, the business scope widened.” Han Xiao nodded.

Had the dynasty completely opened up his Evolutionary Totem trade, there would have been god knew how many times more organizations approaching him.

“Remember to provide good hospitality for the guests. Don’t neglect them.”

After casually leaving some instructions, Han Xiao hung up.

The follow-up plan needed to be started after the dynasty had divided the territories, so he could only make preparations for the time being.

…

A month passed by in a flash, and the day for the Black Star’s Party came as scheduled.

There were already precedents to this party, so the officers like Sylvia were familiar with the process as well as the routes their guests used to travel over.

Han Xiao also had to meet with the VIPs in person before the actual party and invited the local representatives of the Shattered Star Ring to gather.

“Haha, Black Star, long time no see.”

The representative of the Purple Crystal Civilization was the first to arrive and walked in laughing heartily. Han Xiao also smiled, walking forward to give him a hug.

The two of them were old friends. During the time when Han Xiao was still a Calamity Grade, he had borrowed the opportunity of the secret war to develop himself. While he was now allied with the Crimson Dynasty, he had always maintained a good relationship with the Purple Crystal Civilization.

The Purple Crystal Civilization maintained its neutrality and did not express their enthusiasm for the dynasty. Only because of Han Xiao’s request were they able to purchase the Evolutionary Totem. Thus, they were the only non-dynasty-ally customer of Han Xiao. The Purple Crystal Civilization also attached great importance to their Beyond Grade A supporting them, so both sides were harmonious.

Both of them sat down and started to chat. Ralph could not help reminiscing.

“Just now, when I was outside, I saw a lot of other representatives in the Star Field. In just a few years, your organization has changed so drastically.”

“There was some luck involved.” Han Xiao smiled.

Ralph shook his head as though sighing.

A few years ago, the Black Star Army had been but a small armed organization that cooperated with the Purple Crystal Civilization. Over a few years, they had transformed into a behemoth that hundreds of civilizations now valued.

Even their Purple Crystal Civilization did not have such influence.

Looking at the small shrimp that once needed their support become a behemoth today, Ralph’s mood was a bit complicated.

After chatting for a while longer, the other representatives of the six Star Cluster level Civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring arrived. Now, there was no star cluster civilization that dared not give Han Xiao face. Even the neighboring Klent Kingdom also sent people to participate this time.

Seeing his old opponent, Ralph’s brows raised, and he joked, “Hey, why did the Klent Kingdom come too? I thought the Tyrant’s Party is being held around this time this year. Aren’t you afraid Heber will be unhappy?”

“Humph, there are other colleagues of mine that will go to the Tyrant’s side.” The Klent representative snorted.

The grudges of the secret war had not disappeared, but because of their interests, Klent could only wrinkle their noses and come to please Han Xiao. While they both were allies of the dynasty, if Black Star did not wish to sell the Evolutionary Totem to Klent, he could choose not to do so.

These seven Star Cluster level civilizations controlled the entire Shattered Star Ring, and Han Xiao had various business dealings with them. His network and influence could even be considered stronger than Heber’s, as people who attended Heber’s party did so to give him face; however, those who attended Han Xiao’s party all were connected by benefits, which meant a deeper level of relationship.

Just as Han Xiao was chatting with them, his communicator vibrated. It was a message from Sylvia.

“Teacher, Sorokin has arrived.”

Han Xiao told Sylvia to observe Sorokin. His eyes flashed, and he flashed a smile toward the other representatives.

“Gentlemen, excuse me for a moment.”

…

Sorokin’s fleet docked at the pier, attracting a lot of attention.

The Limitless Financial Group’s name had been heard by almost all the representatives of these civilizations, but after a few glances, they withdrew their gazes.

The Black Star Army was also a Beyond Grade A force and was allied to the dynasty. It was not surprising that the Limitless Financial Group had also arrived.

Sorokin got off the spaceship and saw their behavior. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he had a clearer understanding of the power of the Black Star Army.

While the partners of the army might not compare to those of the Limitless Financial Group, they still had a lot of say in the Shattered Star Ring.

This moment, Feidin, who was waiting by the side, came up with a smile.

“I’m a Black Star Guard, Feidin. I’m here to welcome the distinguished guests from the Limitless Financial Group to the Black Star Army. Your Excellency Sorokin, Black Star is waiting to meet with you.”

Hearing this, Sorokin withdrew his gaze and focused on Feidin. His breath caught suddenly, as confusion flashed across his eyes. He asked, “Are you… male or female?”

“I guess you could say both.” Feidin warmly smiled and added, “But mostly male.”

“Oh… I understand.” Sorokin coughed lightly. “Please lead the way. I’m also looking forward to seeing Black Star.”

The group left the dock and proceeded to another reception room.

Along the way, Sorokin glanced left and right, observing the situation of the Black Star Army, and could not help but say, “I heard that the Black Star Army has a unique Immortals troop. I wanted to see them during my trip here, but it seems like none of them are here?”

Feidin smiled. “Oh, you really came at the wrong time. They are not present.”

“… Oh, so that’s the case.” Sorokin’s mouth twitched.

A month ago, not long after he reached the Shattered Star Ring, he received news from his side that all the Immortals in his financial group had disappeared. Sorokin thought that it was a standalone case, but it seemed that Black Star Army’s group had also disappeared.

Indeed, no matter how far it is, the Immortals seemed to be linked…

Sorokin had always been observing the players, but he was unable to tell the circumstances behind their disappearances and could only admit that he was unlucky.

His idea of coming into contact with the Immortals here was wasted.

Arriving in the reception room, Sorokin sat for a while before the door opened, and Han Xiao walked over.

“How do you do? I’m Sorokin from the Limitless Financial Group. I’m honored to meet with the man who captured EsGod.” Sorokin smiled slightly, displaying nothing out of the ordinary.

“It is also my honor to meet you. Please, take a seat.” Han Xiao shook hands with him as well.

They sat down, and Sorokin smiled as he spoke.

“While I’m based in the distant Sea of Star Spirits, I’ve often heard about the deeds of Black Star. A long time ago, I was already thinking of cooperating. There is a business opportunity, so I came with sincerity and hope that our first contact today would be a good start for the future cooperation between the two parties.”

“… I hope the same.”

Han Xiao raised his brows, with a smile that was unlike a smile on his face.

First time in contact? You piece of sh*t. If not for the fact that I know you so well, I would really think that you’re such a sincere person…

In his previous life, the players did not have much information on Sorokin. In the eyes of the players, he was a Beyond Grade A without much sense of existence. He had no outstanding records at the Beyond Grade A.

Han Xiao had recently asked his friends in the Beyond Grade A circles and found out that Sorokin had never fought with any of his peers before. They mentioned that his combat power was not strong, and the ‘Beyond Grade A’ was used more as an identity to facilitate business negotiations.

Combining all the various accounts, Sorokin seemed to be a freak that deviated from all the normal Beyond Grade A evaluations. Compared to the others, his business attributes were far stronger.

However, those who could become Beyond Grade A would have experienced various difficulties and obstacles. Without strong mental will, it was impossible to get to Beyond Grade A. Han Xiao felt that Sorokin might not be as simple as he seemed on the surface.

Because there was limited information, he could only understand the opponent’s personality through personal contact.

Han Xiao’s mind was racing.

It’ll be best to find a method to poke him and force out all the combat information…

Chapter 923: Old Fox and Lobbyists

Chapter 923 Old Fox and Lobbyists

Even as he thought about Sorokin’s information, Han Xiao’s expression was normal, and he commented on Sorokin’s words with a voice full of interest.

“How can we cooperate?”

As he spoke, Sorokin smiled. “The Flickering World is a rare business opportunity. I heard that the Crimson Dynasty will divide the territory of its allies that participated in the exploration. When the new Star Field opens in the future, the Flickering World will be integrated into the universe, which will usher in a period of explosive development. The dynasty’s allies who sit on these sites will be the biggest winners, so we hope to invest heavily in the Black Star Army and build the site ahead of time with you.

“The Limitless Financial Group invests in the entire universe and does not miss any business opportunities. Presumably, you know of our financial resources. Our help will make the construction more efficient.”

“That’s right. The market value of the Limitless Financial Group… is indeed frightening. I do not doubt your capabilities.” Han Xiao nodded.

Many subsidiaries of the Limitless Financial Group had been listed on the Interstellar Stock Market in different regions. Their market value was transparent and open, easily checked, and the amount of Enas they possessed made people who were unaware of it think that Enas were some inferior currency.

Resources were often gathered like this in the hands of a few. In the galactic age, the gap between the rich and poor was like the difference between a beast on a planet surface compared with a galactic resident.

The development of the territory in the Flickering World would inevitably be supported by various financial groups. This was also a means of cost saving and cooperation. The Crimson Dynasty tacitly agreed that the allies could sign contracts with financial groups to develop the territory together.

It sounded as though there was no problem, but this guy, Sorokin… Han Xiao did not show any changes in facial expression while evaluating the man before him.

Seeing that Black Star did not show any confirmation, Sorokin narrowed his eyes and continued speaking. “The Black Star Army is now a huge business and dominates the Shattered Star Ring. In terms of financial resources, it does not lose out to the first-tier financial groups due to its deep background and connections. With an extensive network, along with support from the dynasty, it will definitely attract countless galactic residents to invest. It is not difficult to multiple its market value.”

“Your meaning is?” Han Xiao raised a brow.

Sorokin smiled. “Our Limitless Financial Group has experience in this area. If the Black Star Army agrees, we are happy to help you…”

“We can talk about this in the future.” Han Xiao cut in. This idea was the real essence of growing leeks, but it came with its own disadvantages, and he temporarily did not wish to dabble in this.

Hearing this, Sorokin also put down this topic. He asked, “Then, what does Your Excellency Black Star think of my proposal?”

Han Xiao thought about it before asking, “It’s not just myself that has a territory in the Flickering World. Based on normal circumstances, the financial groups will only move when the territory gets divided, so why are you guys approaching me for cooperation when everyone still has not chosen?”

“Haha, I have inside information because I have contacts within the Crimson Dynasty. Even without these connections, thanks to your contributions in the battle of Planet Lighthouse and the Fall of EsGod, plus the Evolution Cube that is in your hands, the territory given to you by the dynasty will be the best. In this case, why should I hesitate?”

Sorokin had a big smile on his face.

There were no falsehoods in his words. Even if he had no relationship with the dynasty, the best choice would still be the Black Star Army. With Han Xiao’s current record and importance, everyone knew that the Black Star Army would be given the largest and best piece of meat.

A pity…

“Is that so?” Han Xiao deeply looked at Sorokin.

This guy’s words were sincere and aligned with their interests. He seemed like he sincerely wished to work with him…

However, because of Sorokin’s involvement in the Gulal civil war, Han Xiao was already alert to him. He hesitated a while before asking, “If I agree to work with you, are you prepared to sign the contract now?”

“That’s not the case.” Sorokin shook his head and chuckled. “I’m just here to reach a preliminary arrangement. The specific details can only be formed after the site is confirmed. Of course, the main reason I came over was because you insisted on me coming to attend Black Star’s Party. Such big business needs me to be here in person, and I also admire what you’ve done so far.”

To say such flattering words so easily, there’s no air of a Beyond Grade A about him, Han Xiao thought.

At this moment, Han Xiao thought of something and said, “Ok. Then I have no objections.”

“Then, I wish our cooperation a success.” Sorokin laughed.

Han Xiao did not laugh and changed the topic. “That’s right. I heard that the Limitless Financial Group has many Beyond Grade A shareholders, and there are even Ancient Ones among them, such as the Mechanic Emperor Manison and even allies from the dynasty.”

“That’s right.”

“The Limitless Financial Group trades its shareholder position for resources and protection, am I right?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, since you wish to cooperate, a verbal promise is unsuitable. In the future, since the Flickering World still has a long time ahead for development, if I become a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group, then I can naturally cooperate fully with the financial group… I think that my name, Black Star, still has some weight in the universe. Your Excellency Sorokin, do you think that I have the qualifications for a shareholder position with my current status and resources?”

Through the Gulal civil war, Han Xiao had discovered the Limitless Financial Group’s attempt to steal his ‘food’, so he wished to break into the Limitless Financial Group and find out who was trying to snatch his rice bowl.

“This…” Sorokin had an awkward expression.

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed, and he purposely deepened his voice. “Oh? It seems you think that I don’t have the qualifications.”

“Of course not.” Sorokin shook his head, but he was laughing coldly to himself.

I’m afraid you don’t have the qualifications.

To want a shareholder position the first time we meet, your appetite is really big. It seems like your battle records have made you proud and reckless…

While Sorokin thought this, he displayed a helpless expression on his face.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you have the qualifications, but with the size of the Limitless Financial group, the shareholder position is not given out easily. Even if I’m willing, the others may not be willing, and there’s only one shareholder for each of the three Universal Civilizations. The dynasty already has someone occupying a seat… You understand what I mean.”

“Ah, so it’s like that.” Han Xiao nodded. Another method for the three Universal Civilizations to keep each other in check.

This reason seemed to be easy to use, with no way to figure out their thoughts.

“If that’s the case, then let’s not talk about such things for now. No matter what, to be able to meet another Beyond Grade A today, I’m really happy.” Han Xiao glanced at Sorokin. “Are you interested in a spar?”

“I’ll give it a miss. I’m not good at combat.” Sorokin waved his hands while laughing.

“Haha, come on, a Beyond Grade A saying that they are not good at combat? You must be joking.”

“I might be a Beyond Grade A, but I don’t like to fight and have not exchanged blows with anyone for a long time. My skills have long regressed, and besides, with Your Excellency Black Star’s renown in the universe, I admit that I will not be your opponent.”

Saying this, Sorokin stood up and smiled. “If I’m not wrong, you still need to meet others, right? I’ve also just arrived and need to arrange my subordinates. Let’s stop here for the day. I’ll come and visit again tomorrow and chat more. How about that?”

“Alright.” Hearing this, Han Xiao could only nod. The guest had come from afar, so he could not forcibly make Sorokin stay.

Sorokin smiled, and after exchanging communicator numbers, he left the room.

After he left, Han Xiao frowned.

“This guy has a seamless defense. If he doesn’t agree to spar, then I’ll need to think of another idea…”

Sorokin was also a person of influence, and he came all the way to discuss a possibility of cooperation, so Han Xiao could not show any hatred. He did not know the intentions of the other party, and if he ended up antagonizing them, that would be bad.

While Sorokin seemed very sincere on the surface, Han Xiao felt that the other party did not really want to work with him.

Recalling their conversation previously, Han Xiao found it difficult to read Sorokin’s personality, as though he was wearing a mask the whole time.

“I don’t even know what he’s thinking…” Han Xiao rubbed his temples, helplessly sighing.

Conversing with such people was the most taxing.

…

This year, the Tyrant’s Party and Black Star’s Party were held at the same time. The civilizations of Shattered Star Ring could not afford to snub either one, so they also sent messengers to follow the habits of previous years to attend the Tyrant’s Party.

On the top floor of the Bloodshed Land’s palace, Heber stood in front of a huge window. Outside the window was a black and gray fortress, as well as stars that spanned across the entire universe. His gaze was fixed toward the residences of the emissaries.

In recent years, these messengers would take advantage of the time before the party to network with the others, but now, there was almost no movement from these emissaries. Most of them stayed within their rooms, and the hall appeared cold and deserted, like stagnant water.

Because Black Star’s Party was livelier, the civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring all regarded Black Star’s Party as the main stage of communication, and the Tyrant’s Party was a secondary occasion. Matters to be discussed could be done on one side, and they did not need to move on the other.

Right now, these people participated in Tyrant’s Party more as a way to show their face, rather than as a grand and lively occasion.

“Humph, Black Star.”

Heber’s expression was tense, and the fist behind him was clenched tight.

At this point, his Chief Staff Officer Jorde walked in. Walking behind Heber, he whispered, “Your Excellency Heber, the emissary from the Limitless Financial Group has arrived. She’s waiting outside.”

“Let her in.” Heber did not even turn back.

A moment later, Lovell walked into the room. Gazing at the huge figure in front of the window, a wave of pressure assaulted her.

She calmed her mind and whispered, “I greet Your Excellency Heber.”

She was not even at the Calamity Grade and could not maintain the bearing her father Sorokin had in front of Han Xiao.

“I heard the Limitless Financial Group wants to work with us.” Heber indifferently glanced at Lovell.

“That’s right. It’s regarding the Flickering World. We…”

“You wish to be an investor, right? Such small matters need not be discussed with me. You may look for the respective officer.” Heber withdrew his gaze, uninterested.

Lovell gritted her teeth before taking out a letter. “His Excellency Sorokin tasked me with delivering this to you.”

“Letter?” Heber’s brows furrowed.

In this age where electronic communication was so convenient and efficient, a handwritten letter only meant that there was a need for secrecy. Heber was suspicious; he did not have any dealings with Sorokin, so why would the latter send him a letter? What did he mean? It was definitely not going to be a love letter.

Heber then turned to face Lovell, and with a gesture, the letter landed in his hands. The moment he opened it, his pupils shrank, and his expression became solemn.

“No wonder…”

Heber waved his hands, and the letter turned to ash before disintegrating into atoms. He gazed at Jorde. “Leave for now.”

Jorde was surprised, but he bowed and left, closing the door on his way out.

With only two of them in the room, a ray of light flashed past Heber’s eyes, and energy rushed out, filling the room and isolating any external detection.

“You guys wish for me to deal with the Black Star Army?”

“That’s right.” Lovell nodded.

“Humph, ridiculous!” Heber coldly replied. “While I have issues with Black Star, we’re still allies of the dynasty, and I can’t do anything about him. You’ve come to the wrong person.”

Lovell took a deep breath. Recalling what Sorokin had taught her, she said, “Black Star has only been around for twenty years, but how many years have you already been in the Shattered Star Ring? Black Star came later, but his business is flourishing, and his influence has surpassed yours. Your Excellency, are you willing to watch this continue?”

Heber’s expression was indifferent, but he did not refute.

“As for your ally, the Crimson Dynasty, they have always been biased toward the Black Star Army. Have you thought about why that’s so…”

Heber cut in. “He has the Evolution Cube, and I don’t have anything. It’s that simple.”

“Yes!” Lovell’s voice rose a notch. “That’s the crux!”

“Humph, so you want me to help you take his Evolution Cube?” Sarcasm laced Heber’s words.

“Of course not. We just need to come out with a way to make him lose the Evolution Cube. There’s a difference between the two.”

“Oh? What is that?”

“It’s almost impossible to rob, and the federation as well as the church will not rashly act. So, what we want is for Black Star to willingly give up his Evolution Cube.”

Heber almost burst into laughter. “Pass the Evolution Cube to an outsider? Do you think Black Star is a fool? I understand that b*stard Black Star. It’s easier for your Limitless Financial Group to go bankrupt tomorrow than for him to pass over his Evolution Cube.”

“No, I did not mean it that way. What if… we could make Black Star surrender the Evolution Cube to the dynasty?” Lovell replied.

Heber narrowed his eyes, seemingly interested.

“Go on.”

Chapter 924: True Colors

Chapter 924 True Colors

“The value of the Evolution Cube need not be emphasized. Today, this Universal Treasure coveted by all organizations is in the hands of Black Star, and its risk to the dynasty is huge. However, the Universal Civilizations will not force their Beyond Grade A allies to hand over their Universal Treasures, so while they acquiesce to Black Star’s ownership of the Evolution Cube, it does not mean that the dynasty will be at ease.”

Heber nodded. “Indeed. Continue.”

“Only when the Evolution Cube is held in the hands of the dynasty can the risk be eliminated. Although he came out victorious in the battle of Planet Lighthouse, it has also sounded an alarm within the dynasty. Rather than simply believing in Black Star’s strength, it’s always better to prevent such things from happening. The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device of the Federation of Light will forever remain a threat. Think of what will happen if a group of Beyond Grade As suddenly raid the Black Star Army headquarters.”

“If the federation could do it, they would have done so long ago.” Heber remained unmoved.

“That’s right. If you take into account various factors, the Federation of Light will not take such a risk, so it takes a roundabout approach to put pressure on the dynasty and Black Star… But if all means fail, then the risk will only get higher.”

Heber neither agreed nor disagreed, only indifferently replying, “Even if there are external threats, Urranrell still attaches importance to Black Star. The dynasty will not force him, so the success rate of your plan can be ignored. I advise you to give up as soon as possible.”

“We have to try,” Lovell insisted. “Black Star is close to the faction of the Ruler and has gained a lot of protection, but you also know that there are many factions inside the dynasty. Ever since the Evolutionary Totem appeared, there have been more cries to make Black Star turn in the Evolution Cube. Black Star’s refusal to settle in with the cube on the mother star also convinced more factions.”

Heber frowned. “You seem to know a lot.”

Hearing this, Lovell mysteriously smiled. “That’s because… I’m not just representing the federation and church by coming this time.”

“Hahaha…” Heber burst into laughter, and his tone was playful. “Your appetite is so big, to think you want to gobble up all three players. No wonder. I was doubting what you said, because if Black Star hands over the Evolution Cube, then the last chance for the federation and the church would also disappear. Turns out it’s actually like this…”

Lovell smiled without answering, but inside, she secretly praised Sorokin’s courage.

While Sorokin appeared to agree with the deal between the federation and the church, he secretly contacted a few of the factions within the dynasty to change the plan to suppress the Black Star Army, saying that he would make the Black Star Army willingly pass the Evolution Cube over to them. The second deal made it obvious that the Limitless Financial Group’s plan was to suppress Black Star.

Not only did it leave him with a way to retreat, it also allowed him to reap the most benefits. Sorokin was not someone who listened to orders quietly; he had himself to think about.

The scale the Limitless Financial Group had developed not just by profiteering from war. The battle at Planet Lighthouse had resulted in the market becoming volatile, which in turn affected the stocks of the Limitless Financial Group, causing them to eat quite a loss.

In order to prevent such a situation from happening again, Sorokin would rather become a pacifist, completely removing the possibility of the Evolution Cube provoking a war by cutting off any chance for the other two civilizations to obtain the cube, solving the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations.

If the Evolution Cube fell into the hands of the dynasty, it would eliminate any risk of turbulence in the universe.

Thus, on the surface, he made a deal with the federation and the church, but he was actually thinking from the view of a third party.

Lovell paused for a moment before speaking in a low voice. “The moment the dynasty obtains the Evolution Cube, they will also seize all the profits from the Evolutionary Totems. Black Star will thus be kicked out of the scene, and the dynasty can now increase the possibility of opening this purchase to the outside world so that they can pacify the growing pressure from the federation and the church. Since the latter two do not wish to take any risks if possible, completely severing their desires would be best.”

“Sorokin… this guy is interesting.” Heber narrowed his eyes. “So, after saying all that, the premise lies in Black Star surrendering the Evolution Cube. If it fails, these will all be empty words. What do you plan to do?”

Hearing this, Lovell was happy. Heber asking for the details meant that he was interested.

“Very simple, exert pressure on Black Star internally and externally so that he sees that there are greater benefits in handing over the cube rather than keeping it.”

“Elaborate.”

“In the battle of Planet Lighthouse, Black Star obtained huge battle records and shut the mouths of those that insisted he turn in the Evolution Cube, but the number of casualties in the battle for the dynasty were also high. As long as the dynasty continues to suffer losses due to the Evolutionary Totem, Black Star will encounter more pressure within the dynasty. Even Urranrell will not be able to suppress them all… but this part will be the work of the federation and the church, and I cannot disclose more.”

“What about the external side?”

“We have to target Black Star Army, so we require your help.”

“If you want me to betray the dynasty, then we can stop here.”

Lovell smiled. “Rest assured, there is no harm done to you. Even if we do not particularly aim at the Black Star Army, the Bloodshed Land will still benefit from it.”

“What should we do?”

“Simple, my Limitless Financial Group will first come out with the investments to support the Bloodshed Land and recapture those business markets that the Black Star Army has taken from you. This will suppress his business. While developing your site in the Flickering World, we will use our influence in the dynasty for you to obtain a better site.

“Since you also belong to the dynasty, it is nothing but legitimate commercial competition. Thus, the dynasty will not have any issues. The strength of my Limitless Financial Group is also clear to Your Excellency. With our capital injection, regardless of success or failure, the Bloodshed Land will not make any losses.”

Hearing this, Heber closed his eyes and thought hard. After a few seconds, he reopened them as he lightly replied, “Ok. I agree.”

Lovell breathed out in relief, her taut mental state relaxing. “In this entire deal, only Black Star will lose out, but for universal peace, he can only be wronged.”

“Universal peace, huh…” Heber sneered to himself, but he did not show any expression as he said, “With the Federation of Light, Arcane Church, the Crimson Dynasty, and my Bloodshed Land, humph, the Limitless Financial Group is really making some big moves. This is akin to an anti-Black Star alliance.”

“This is just business, and there are no personal grudges within.” Lovell smiled without minding it. “I just hope that he will recognize this point. Besides, he will still receive compensation from the dynasty.”

Heber inwardly curled his lips. While he did not like Black Star, knowing his character, the probability of him compromising was infinitely close to zero, and that guy’s ability to resist pressure was terribly strong. Even if Lovell could upend everything, their plan still might not work.

However… his Bloodshed Land did not stand to lose out. Heber was willing to cooperate with the Limitless Financial Group to develop himself, unwilling to sit back and watch Han Xiao throw him further and further away.

…

The next day, in the Black Star Army headquarters, there were still a few days before the actual party. Thus, many guests were walking with each other and expanding their social networks, a lively scene.

Han Xiao visited Sorokin early in the morning and invited him to visit the headquarters of the Army. Sorokin readily accepted.

The two hung around the headquarters chatting, and Han Xiao once again made a request to spar but was rejected firmly. Han Xiao was a little helpless.

The other party just kept admitting defeat, without a single hint of a strong mindset.

Just as Han Xiao was hesitating, Sorokin suddenly seemed to think of something.

“I heard that Aesop is over here.”

Han Xiao’s brows rose. “You know that d*mned… cough, that old man?”

“In the past, when he was part of the Ancient Ones, I met him a few times. I also invited him to join the Limitless Financial Group but was rejected.” Sorokin shook his head.

Aesop, that old man, was really a social butterfly. To think that people recognize him everywhere he goes… Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

“That’s right. I also seem to have heard that you and Ames are a couple.”

Han Xiao froze. “Now where did you hear that?”

“The rumor is being spread everywhere, and I just happened to chance across it.” Sorokin sighed. “The union between two Beyond Grade As is just too rare. I don’t even remember who the previous couple was.”

“The head of the Limitless Financial Group actually has time to pay attention to gossip, huh?” Han Xiao helplessly shook his head.

“It’s precisely because I’m the leader that I need to pay attention. Sometimes, business opportunities can be hidden within.” Sorokin smiled.

Han Xiao thought a bit and decided to probe further. “If I’m not wrong, you seem to be the successor to the group and not the original owner of the financial group, right?”

“Yes.”

“There are few records of you in the Universe, so I’m a little curious about your experiences before you became a Beyond Grade A.”

“Haha, are you so curious about my childhood?” Sorokin laughed.

In the eyes of many Beyond Grade As, their lives before they reached their current realms were as good as their childhood years.

“I’m just curious.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

“That was a long time ago. Be it training or combat, there’s nothing really worth talking about.” Sorokin shook his head and changed the topic. “I wonder, do you have any ambitions, Your Excellency?”

“Ambitions? Does universal peace count?” Han Xiao cracked a joke.

“What a coincidence, me too.” Sorokin laughed.

As they continued to chat, Han Xiao split his consciousness and slipped into the quantum network, hacking into Aesop’s communicator.

An old face surfaced in his field of vision within the quantum network, obviously frightened out of his wits.

“Black Star, I’m watching a show now. Why did you hack into my communicator‽”

“Old man, I have something to ask you. Do you know Sorokin?”

Aesop stopped before suspiciously saying, “I do. Why are you mentioning him?”

“He’s beside me now, and I’m quite curious about this guy. What was he like when you met him in the past?”

Hearing this, Aesop fell into silence for a while before finally saying, “Sorokin… tsk, an old sly fox. You’ll never know if the words coming out of his mouth are truth or lies. It’s better for you to be cautious when dealing with him.”

“Oh… then how’s his battle strength?”

“I don’t know, definitely stronger than me.” Aesop spread his hands out.

“Isn’t that as good as not saying anything?” Han Xiao was speechless.

“Alright, stop bothering me. Put my communicator back to normal. I want to continue watching my show.”

Resigned, Han Xiao could only retreat out of the quantum network. Turning over to glance at Sorokin, he suddenly made up his mind, sending a quick punch over.

“Hmm?”

Sorokin’s reaction was impressive, and he raised his hand to block the punch.

Peng!

There was not much force behind the punch, but a loud noise sounded, and a shock wave rippled out from the point of contact.

“… Your Excellency Black Star, what is the meaning of this?” Sorokin narrowed his eyes.

“You mentioned that your skills have regressed, but I didn’t believe you, so I decided to test it out for myself.” Han Xiao smiled, not hiding it at all.

Sorokin frowned, but that turned it into a smile as he shook his head. “As a Beyond Grade A, how could I not have basic reactions and awareness? It’s just that if you were a Pugilist, I would not have been able to block this punch. Please don’t scare me, Your Excellency Black Star. I’m really not your opponent.”

“Alright, it was my fault. I was too reckless.” Han Xiao immediately pulled his hand back, as though he had given up.

Seeing this, Sorokin heaved a sigh. He did not expect Han Xiao to move against him and thought that Han Xiao was going to force him to spar. But the latter only dealt a punch before restraining himself, making him a little surprised.

Thinking about it, Sorokin was relieved. Because Black Star had displayed tempestuous behavior all this while and was quite reckless. For him to suddenly attack like this was in line with his character.

However, he did not know that this blow he received had already activated his combat information, and it was enough for Han Xiao to see his true strength.

Stealthily opening the interface, Han Xiao swept across the notifications, and his pupils narrowed.

He did not guess wrong. Sorokin’s level was actually unknown, only having ‘???’.

When I was Level 280, Manison’s information was unknown too. Now that I’m Level 300, Sorokin still appears as unknown to me. This means that his combat strength is at the peak of the Beyond Grade A! He actually hid it for so long, letting all Beyond Grade As think him weak… This guy, playing the pig to eat the tiger, what is he planning?

Han Xiao’s thoughts spun, and his eyes narrowed.

Chapter 925: Hila’s Farewell

Chapter 925 Hila“s Farewell similar to manison, most of sorokin’s abilities were masked, and only some of them were revealed.sorokin was a psychic esper, which was evident in that most of his abilities were geared toward the soul and mind. he had strengthened his mind invasion, mind reading, and mind manipulation abilities, and han xiao even saw some special talents and skills._____________________

[immortal soul]: your powerful spiritual energy has blessed your soul with immortality, and even if you lose your fleshly body, you can still survive with your soul.

when the hp value reaches 0, your soul can survive from the destroyed body. in this case, you transform into a soul lifeform with an energy body, and you will obtain a new hp bar, which will not decay.

you will also obtain immunity to all physical attacks, extremely high resistance to status effects, and can phase through a majority of obstacles.

you can also invade and parasitize the mental domains of other living creatures.

only energy-based or mind-based attacks will cause damage to you.

[fleshly body reconstruction]: the fleshly shell is the carrier as well as the protector of the soul.

if your body is destroyed, you can consume soul energy to reshape it. the hp of the reconstructed body will be 30% of the original.

[multidimensional energy absorption]: you can absorb any ownerless multidimensional energy in your surroundings to replenish your energy.

[spiritual energy foundation]: exclusive talent. your soul is akin to the cells in the body and can store and release energy as needed.

[eternal life]: your soul resistance is slightly enhanced.

[swindler—sorokin]: exclusive talent. +75% to all psychic esper abilities, +20% int and mys, +4 to all psychic related abilities (this effect can break through the upper limit).

_____________________
what op abilities… han xiao’s expression was grim.

[immortal soul] and [fleshly body reconstruction] could be regarded as divine skills for those with psychic abilities. general, psychic users would experience soul decay without a fleshly body, but for sorokin, no fleshy carrier was needed, which might be a change brought about by his race evolution.

just based on these two strengths, as well as the talent [eternal life], han xiao had developed some conjectures.

could it be… that sorokin was actually living life as an alternate identity before this?

no wonder there was almost no information about him!

if that’s the case, then his age likely exceeds my imagination!

han xiao was secretly guarded and sneaked a glance.

if not for his combat information, the way sorokin acted would make it difficult to believe that he had such a great secret.

this guy is very strong, but he puts himself in a weakened position and does not care about being bent to the will of others, so it’s easy to underestimate him. although he has lived a long life, he’s completely different compared to manison… totally two extremes!

sorokin naturally did not know that his true strength had been revealed, nor did he know what han xiao had discovered. he was a little unhappy over the sudden attack and did not speak for a while.

the duo walked in silence for a couple of minutes before sorokin’s eyes brightened. he had received news from lovell, and a smile appeared on his face as he opened his mouth to speak.

“your excellency black star, may i ask if you have any intention to freely sell the evolutionary totem?”

han xiao returned to his senses.

“i’m not really bothered. it depends on the dynasty.”

“alas, if the evolutionary totem could be sold to all civilizations, then the market value of the black star army would be stabilized at an extremely high level after being listed due to the profit from the monopoly. it’s a pity we can’t cooperate regarding this…”

sorokin’s expression looked regretful.

han xiao smiled and did not reply, but he was wary, as sorokin seemed to imply something else.

after observing his headquarters, the two separated. han xiao sent sorokin back to his room, standing at the spot for a few seconds before he left toward his office.

on the way, he contacted sylvia and ordered, “check all movements related to the limitless financial group after they entered the shattered star ring.”

“understood.”

…

after a few days, the black star’s party officially started, and everyone came into the banquet hall. the scene was full of noise and chatter.

han xiao made a simple speech, summing up the results of their cooperation last year, before announcing the opening of the banquet amid the applause.

the emissaries of many civilizations and cooperative organizations were present, and they were all partners of the black star army, covering many business areas.

a few years ago, han xiao had begun rolling out the plan for the ‘pan star field profits consortium’, and after developing it for a few years, the prototype had become more and more perfect. these partners shared various business channels with the army so that it could have its current industry scale today. this plan was one of the cornerstones of the future development for the army, so han xiao attached great importance to it.

han xiao was surrounded by people, talking enthusiastically. sylvia stood by his side, helping him cope with the crowd. there was a lot of laughter and cheers, and all the representatives showed a lot of face to him. the atmosphere was harmonious.

in the other corner of the banquet, there were people around sorokin as well. the limitless financial group was the wealthiest party there, so many people wished to take this chance to have dealings with him.

sorokin held a wine glass, smiling as he chatted with the rest. he took in the scenes of this gathering and the guests, his gaze masking his thoughts and only carrying an interested look.

at the same time, his consciousness had arrived in bloodshed land and possessed a follower beside lovell.

the tyrant’s party and black star’s party were held at the same time, but it was much colder compared to black star’s party. only a few people were whispering, and most people were only focused on dealing with the drinks and food.

while heber remained expressionless, his mood was obviously no better than the chilly atmosphere.

as lovell walked around the banquet with wine in hand, she suddenly noticed that her follower had signaled toward her with his eyes. she immediately understood that it was sorokin and quietly moved to a corner.

“what’s the matter?” lovell whispered.

“you’ll be staying at bloodshed land, responsible for the work of the financial group here. the resources of the financial group over here will be handled by you,” sorokin said.

“okay.”

joy flashed through lovell’s eyes. due to the intense competition among sorokin’s children, to have such an important task given to her by her father meant that her father appreciated her talents.

suppressing her excitement, lovell asked in a small voice, “what are the specific action plans? are there any issues that require special attention?”

“i’ll hand the details to you later. to suppress black star army’s businesses, the first goal should be to start with his business partners.” sorokin coldly laughed. “i can see that black star has deliberately created a huge net of interests for his organization, so the first thing to do will be to cut the net he’s formed. i don’t need to teach you how to do it.”

“i understand.” lovell nodded.

“when the resources of the financial group arrive, you can take action when you see fit.”

…

the party this time also ended on a successful note. the next day, sorokin bade farewell and left.

at the dock of the headquarters, han xiao sent the limitless financial group’s fleet off into the universe. his brows then furrowed tight, and he revealed a heavy expression.

he left just like that… i really can’t tell what he’s up to.

while he had already seen through the hidden power of sorokin and made himself more alert, he still knew nothing about sorokin’s plans.

han xiao had a hunch that sorokin might be planning something in the background. if the black star army encountered any abnormal issues, it would probably be sorokin’s doing.

and according to his speculations, it likely had something to do with the evolutionary totems.

“troublesome…” han xiao snorted.

he knew early on that the matter of the evolutionary totem would not go away easily. without satisfying everyone, there would still be complaints and grumbles.

the dynasty was shouldering the majority of the pressure, but it seemed like the pressure on the black star army was about to arrive as well.

if that’s the case, then it would be better for me to stay within the dynasty for a period of time and leave behind some apostle weapons and mechanical hosts in the headquarters.

han xiao made up his mind. he was still worried about the long-distance teleportation that the federation of light had.

ta, ta, ta!

he heard the footsteps of someone drawing near. han xiao did not need to turn back to know that it was hila.

“han xiao, there’s something i need to discuss with you.”

“what is it?” han xiao put away his thoughts, staring at hila’s cold and delicate face.

“i’ll be leaving for an extended period of time. please take care of aurora.”

han xiao raised a brow. “where are you headed?”

“i’ll be following my teacher, ames, to other star fields to gain experience. i might not be able to perform my duties as the black star guard captain,” hila lightly replied.

han xiao was surprised. “following ames?”

“that’s right. it was teacher who invited me.”

both sides stared at each other for a while before han xiao broke out into laughter.

“this is a good opportunity. i approve of this. leave aurora to me.”

“thank you.” hila nodded.

“there’s no need to say thanks between us.” han xiao walked up and grasped her shoulders, solemnly saying, “i hope that when you return, you’ll be at beyond grade a.”

“you really have a lot of confidence in me.” hila let out a smile and hesitated for a while before punching han xiao’s chest. “take care.”

“relax, i’ll have feidin assume the role of captain for now. he’s reliable. as for you… eh, don’t go, i haven’t finished speaking.”

looking at hila’s unfriendly back as she walked away, han xiao facepalmed and swallowed his words.

it was a good opportunity for hila to go out and gain more experience, and this should help her stimulate her potential, allowing her to reach beyond grade a faster.

he just did not expect ames to also go out and train. he had heard that ames had thrown herself into training two years ago after losing to him, but it seemed that she wished to take it further.

with ames by her side, hila would naturally be safe. however, to be on the safe side, han xiao equipped their spaceship with some mechanical troops and hosts for insurance.

since they had already started working, he could not sit idly by…

han xiao entered the quantum network, summoning phillip.

“how goes the collection of the energy training techniques?”

“master, hum… i’ve screened out the more valuable options for you. please check the results, hum…”

a list appeared in front of him, all of which were exquisite energy training techniques that could be bought on various galactic markets. they came from different civilizations and races, with all sorts of flowery names.

sweeping over them with a glance, han xiao quickly came to a decision.

“buy them all.”

Chapter 926: First Phase of Development

Chapter 926 First Phase of Development

The ability of having Enas might not be the strongest, but it was definitely the best to use. The joy of having a lot of money was something unimaginable.

After buying a lot of Energy Training Techniques, Han Xiao slowly inserted the experience, increasing his energy.

Time is money, and the life span of a Beyond Grade A was long. This long lifespan gave them plenty of time to learn more knowledge and skills, so each Beyond Grade A had a ridiculous number of Energy Training Techniques. While Han Xiao required less time compared to the other Beyond Grade As to raise his energy, it was still a chore for him.

The next day, Han Xiao brought Aurora to the restricted dock to send off Hila.

A black, reflective spaceship was parked there. This was an advanced spaceship that Han Xiao had given to Hila. Under the gangway where the cabin door was, Hila stood without her uniform.

Hila still maintained her cold expression, with her long red hair spread out around her, only loosely tied at the ends, hanging around her waist level. With bangs covering her forehead, her temperament appeared a lot more refreshing than her usual cold self.

She wore a lightweight and tough soft alloy jacket, similar to a windbreaker, coupled with black tights that were made by Han Xiao for defense. A small rucksack was on her shoulder/. She looked like a traveler.

“Sis, when are you coming back?” Aurora had a look of reluctance. Over the past few years, both sisters had stayed together, and now that they were separating, she was a little unused to it.

“When I reach Beyond Grade A.” The corners of Hila’s mouth curled up slightly as she glanced at Han Xiao.

Aurora let out a despondent “Ah…”

“How long would that be…”

“You’re my motivation. In order to return home to see you, I’ll be quick.” Hila ruffled Aurora’s hair.

Aurora helplessly grabbed at her hair before sighing. “After so many years, you still treat me like a kid.”

In my heart, you’ll always be the kid that needs protecting… Hila gently squeezed Aurora’s cheeks, a touch of love in her eyes.

By the side, Han Xiao coughed and interrupted them. “I’ve equipped the spaceship with a nano-maintenance robot as well as some good mechanical equipment. There are also two mechanical hosts and some mechanical soldiers within the warehouse. If necessary, let me know and I’ll activate them.”

“Ok.” Hila was different from her past self. While she enjoyed solitude, she no longer rejected the help of others.

“While Ames will be travelling with you, it is training, and she will not purposefully protect you. Furthermore, she’s a Beyond Grade A, so some dangers that might seem like nothing to her could be lethal to you. You have to be careful,” Han Xiao advised.

While those of the Calamity Grade could already walk unhindered in the universe, if one wished to train, they would have to deliberately wander around the danger zones. There were still many such places in the universe, where dangers abound. It could be experimental planets undergoing biochemical experiments or places filled with viruses, huge beasts, aberrations, and many more. Otherwise, they could attempt to hunt some powerful galactic beings. Even if they could not find such areas, wandering around to challenge people would also serve as a form of practice.

Hila nodded, expressing her understanding, but she did not think this way.

Only at the border of life and death could one explode with all their potential. Staying in the army has no life-and-death fight, so her progress was stalling. Her threshold to breakthrough into a Beyond Grade A was still far, and while Ames might be whimsical and take this trip as an adventure, Hila herself treated this as real life or death training.

Han Xiao was one of the few people she trusted, so only by handing Aurora over to Han Xiao would her mind be at ease.

After turning back to glance at them one last time, Hila turned around to board to spaceship.

The next moment, the spaceship shuddered, and the thrusters jetted out orange flames that quickly turned blue.

Whoosh!

The spaceship sped up and rushed out of the port. In the blink of an eye, it entered hyperdrive and vanished from sight.

“Sigh… I don’t even know how many years Sis will need before she can achieve Beyond Grade A and return… It’s the Beyond Grade A realm, how could it be so easy?”

Aurora’s spirits were low, and she tugged at Han Xiao’s sleeve.

“Er… actually, I think it’s pretty easy.” Han Xiao’s lips curled up teasingly.

“My fault, I shouldn’t have asked you.” Aurora rolled her eyes, tiptoeing to pat on Han Xiao’s shoulder, acting like the elder as she sighed. “Both Teacher and Sis are now gone. Old Uncle, it’s just you and me now.”

“The Shattered Star Ring and Flickering World doesn’t really need me to be here personally. Because of some reason, I have to go over to the dynasty for a period of time. You should follow me over too. It’ll be safer for you.”

Aurora hesitated. “You mean this place will be exposed to danger?”

“That’s… I’m not sure, but there will definitely be turmoil.”

“Alright, whatever the case, I’ll follow you around… Oh yes, can I try being part of the Black Star Guards?”

“You’re too green, better not.”

“Humph. Rude!”

Han Xiao shook his head, turning to gaze at the river of stars in the universe.

How long will Hila take before she returns?

The day she returns, I’ll have yet another trustworthy ally.

…

A few days later, in the Crimson Dynasty’s ruler’s office, the virtual projections of many of the dynasty’s upper echelons gathered together and stood neatly in the room. Tarrokov, as Commander-in-Chief of the Exploration army, was among them. A document adorned with the dynasty’s logo was spread out on the table in front of Urranrell, the written content densely packed.

Urranrell read the document quickly and, upon turning to the last page, paused before picking up the pen and signing her name at the end of the document.

The table shimmered, and a digitally projected head appeared, intoning in a synthetic voice.

“The authority of the dynasty’s ruler is confirmed. The decree ‘Flickering World Construction Charter’ has been signed and is legally binding, effective immediately.”

Every advanced civilization had to use artificial intelligence, and the three Universal Civilizations had their own versions of master artificial intelligences. With generations of Mechanics and scientists perfecting it, the master artificial intelligence would record the backup of each Dynasty Ruler as well as the elites of the civilization, merging them into an elite consciousness. It was codenamed [Heroic Soul].

Urranrell placed the pen down, handing the document to the secretary beside her as she announced, “In three days, announce to the world that the first phase of the Flickering World was a success… Long live the dynasty.”

“Long Live the dynasty!” the rest of the upper echelons echoed.

“Notify the allies involved in the development that it is time to divide the lands and formally begin the construction of the three Star Clusters in the first phase of development,” Urranrell solemnly said. “Until the construction is completed, the second phase will not begin.”

…

In the logistics department, Han Xiao was supervising Nero’s learning when he received a communication request from Tarrokov. He had a hunch as to why Tarrokov was calling.

Switching it on, Tarrokov’s old face emerged on the screen.

“Black Star, Ruler Urranrell has already signed a decree and will soon announce to the entire universe that the first phase of the Flickering World has been completed. Let me specifically inform you that the dynasty’s decision to allocate land to the allies has also been finalized.”

Finally, it’s here. I’ve been waiting for a long time… Han Xiao’s attention was completely focused.

“I’m listening. Please continue.”

“Territory will be issued according to the merits of exploration. Most of the allies that joined later will only take a few Star Zones, at most no more than one Star System. As the earliest ally to participate, the dynasty will naturally give you more territory.”

The three Star Clusters that were explored during the first phase were located at the gateway to the Flickering World and basically fell under the control of the dynasty and its allies.

A single Star Cluster contained dozens of Star Systems, and while each Star System seemed tiny in comparison, they were still large in scale. After all, the territory of a Star System level civilization encompassed the entire star system, with some not even reaching that scope.

Han Xiao nodded and asked, “So, how much are we being given?”

“Bloodshed Land will obtain about two Star Systems’ worth, and because of the deal we made regarding the secret war, Klent will obtain about four Star Systems. Their territories will be based in the Renault Star Cluster.”

“And me?” Han Xiao was curious.

“The Black Star Army’s exploration was the most well done. In addition, you had racked up huge merits. The Ruler favors you, so the dynasty has decided to give you…” Tarrokov paused and smiled. “A whole seven Star Systems!”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Seven star systems was equivalent to about ten to twenty percent of the total territory in the Garu Star Cluster!

Furthermore, this was only the first phase!

Just based on this, this starting point had exceeded all the Star System civilizations by a few times.

“Furthermore…” Tarrokov’s grin got wider. “Urranrell did not forget her promise to you. The territory for the others has basically been allocated, but for your seven Star Systems, you may choose them yourself.”

All my work paid off… Han Xiao was jubilant.

So far, the Black Star Army had no proper base. Their headquarters and branches were actually located in the territories of others, as the universe currently had already been fully explored. There were not many vacancies left, and even the desolate universe belt had owners. Only now did they finally obtain their autonomous territory.

Part of the Star Cluster was to be distributed to their allies, while part of it would be under the direct control of the dynasty. The last part would be considered an open territory, for other organizations to compete over. With so many partitions, it was impressive that Han Xiao had obtained nearly a fifth of the entire Star Cluster.

According to Han Xiao’s prediction, he would obtain about three to four Star Systems, which would already make it extremely profitable.

However, to think that the dynasty valued him so much to give him seven Star Systems immediately, a total of over 100 Star Zones, and he could even choose the location!

The dynasty was really generous!

Chapter 927: Flickering World First Chain Mission Completed

Chapter 927 Flickering World First Chain Mission Completed

The 3d Map, Displayed in a Vibrant Blue Color, Was Suspended in Front of Han Xiao, Showing the Overview of the Garu Star Cluster. Most of the Areas Were Marked in Green, Representing the Available Star Systems.

Han Xiao Gazed With a Thoughtful Look at the Star Map, and the Light From the Map Was Reflected on His Face.

Beside Him, Tarrokov’s Long Distance Projection Was Also Smiling While Gazing at the Star Map.

“Have You Decided?”

“I Have, but Before That, I Have a Question. After the First Phase of Exploration, the Dynasty Has Now Figured Out the Resource Distribution for Each Star System. While You Allow Me to Choose, Will Your Attitudes Change if I Do Not Pick the Ones That the Dynasty Wants Me to Pick?” Han Xiao Eyed Him.

“Haha, I Know What You’re Referring to. You’re Worried That if You Pick All the Resource Rich Areas, the Dynasty Will Have Something to Say, Right?” Tarrokov Laughed. “Relax, Since the Dynasty is Willing to Give You Something, That Means They Are Not Worried No Matter How Big Your Appetite is. The Dynasty is Not So Petty.”

“That’s Good.” Han Xiao Nodded.

“However, the Ruler Has Asked Me to Warn You…” Tarrokov’s Eyes Flashed at This Moment, Carrying a Hidden Meaning. “She Advises You Put Some Thought Into Choosing the Star Systems.”

“Because I’m in the Ruler’s Faction?” Han Xiao Got Interested.

“Well, This Could Be One of the Reasons… How About This? Let Me Share Some Inside Information With You. In Fact, Not Everyone Within the Dynasty Agreed to Give You Seven Star Systems. Some of Them Thought That the Important Areas Should Be Controlled by the Dynasty and Should Not Be Distributed to Any Allies. However, Urranrell and Her Heads of State Stood in the Way and Took Out What They Had Within the Garu Star Cluster for You to Choose. Based on Her Words, Since the Dynasty Had Made a Commitment, They Should Not Go Back on Their Word, or It Would Only Cause Their Allies to Lose Trust.”

“Seems Like the Ruler is Really Looking Out for Me.” Han Xiao Smiled and Nodded.

“the Ruler Thus Recommends That You Hold Onto Some Strategic Locations,” Tarrokov Said. “the Implied Meaning is That You Use This to Obtain a Louder Voice Within the Dynasty. That Way, She Can Suppress the Unharmonious Voices Within the Dynasty… I Think You Know What’s Going on.”

Hearing This, Han Xiao Understood That It Was the Matter of the Evolution Cube.

Every Time a Beyond Grade a Ally Appeared With a Strategic Level Universal Treasure, This Sort of Contradiction Would Occur. In the Past, Psyker Often Had to Bear the Pressure of the Arcane Church as Well.

Some People Within the Dynasty Would Hope for Him to Take the Initiative to Turn in the Evolution Cube. It Was Not That Han Xiao Had Not Heard of It, but Their Voices Were Currently Very Weak When Faced Against the Rules of How Universal Civilizations Should Treat Their Allies.

It Was Impossible to Force Their Allies to Turn in Any Universal Treasures. However, the Desire of Some People for the Evolution Cube Within the Dynasty Had Yet to Vanish.

Urranrell Wanted Han Xiao to Increase His Voice, but the Other Party of the Faction Coveting the Evolution Cube Did Not Wish for Him to Do So, Which Would Make It Harder to Suppress Him. From Another Perspective, This Was an Internal Factional Competition.

With This in Mind, Han Xiao Felt Helpless. He Originally Did Not Wish to Be Involved in the Political Struggles Within the Dynasty, but It Seemed Like He Did Not Have a Choice. Anything of Value in the Eyes of These Dynasty Factions Would Be Used as a Chip, and Their Beyond Grade a Allies Were No Exception.

“No Matter How They Think, I Just Need to Develop Myself.” Han Xiao Shook His Head, Stretching Out His Hand to Tap on Seven Points on the Map. “I’ll Take These Seven Star Systems.”

Tarrokov Took a Look, and His Eyes Flashed Before He Laughed Out Loud. “You’re Really Not Polite.”

“You Were the One Who Told Me Not to Be.” Han Xiao Shrugged.

He Had Chosen All the Important Star Systems of the Garu Star Cluster. Two of Them Were Star Systems That Served as Gateways to the Other Two Star Clusters, Which Were Strategic Choke Points, and Two Other Star Systems Chosen Were to Be Important Transit Points Within the Garu Star Cluster. The Last Three Were in the Central Location of the Star Cluster, Where the Resources Were the Richest, With Extremely High Developmental Value.

“Alright, I’ll Report Back to the Ruler, and Construction Will Soon Begin. You Should Prepare Well in Advance.” Tarrokov Then Switched Off His Communicator, and His Projection Vanished.

Han Xiao Turned Back to Face the Seven Lighted Spots in the Star Map, Slowly Letting Out a Breath.

“Seven Star Systems… This is My Future Territory.”

…

Several Days Later, the Crimson Dynasty Announced to the Universe That the First Phase of the Flickering World Exploration Was a Complete Success, Announcing the Exploration Results to the World.

There Were Countless Gazes Observing the Development Process of the Flickering World All Along. The New Star Field Was Both the Territory of the Crimson Dynasty as Well as the Wealth of an Entire Universe, and if Successfully Opened, the Reputation of the Crimson Dynasty Would Also Be Raised.

This News Inspired the Spirits of Many Organizations, Especially the Financial Groups. Even as Early as During Its Exploration, the Dynasty Had Already Released the Rumors That the Follow-up Construction Would Allow the Financial Groups to Inject Capital to Participate. Even Though There Were More People Than Benefits Provided, Only the Larger Financial Groups Would Be Able to Compete for the Rights to Construct, So It Was Still a Profitable Trade.

Every Ally of the Dynasty Would Be a Good Target to Invest in. The Dynasty’s Announcement Also Listed the Ownership of Territories for Each Ally. Among Them, the Black Star Army Stood at the Very Top With Seven Star Systems, Far Exceeding Klent in Second Place With Four Star Systems.

The Major Organizations Within the Universe Could Feel the Importance the Dynasty Viewed Black Star With.

But That Was to Be Given. Black Star Was Still So Young, Yet He Had Grown So Quickly. He Would Most Likely End Up as One of the Pillars of the Dynasty for the Next Hundreds, if Not Thousands, of Years. Therefore, the Dynasty Would Not Neglect Him.

After the Announcement Was Released, the Major Financial Groups Also Started to Act. They Began to Contact the Dynasty Allies Within the List. The Black Star Army Was the Most Popular With the Financial Groups, With Countless Applications Sent to Phillip.

While the Territory of Seven Star Systems Seemed Huge, There Were Just Too Many Financial Groups Staring at the Flickering World. A Financial Group’s Goal Was to Profit, and With Only That Much Territory, There Was No Way Han Xiao Could Choose to Work With All of Them. Han Xiao Personally Screened Out the Financial Groups With Limited Power and Sent His People to Negotiate With the Larger Ones.

Because This Was a Big Project, Han Xiao Asked Sylvia to Send Staff From the Various Departments to Form a Team to Negotiate With the Different Financial Groups to Discuss the Details of Cooperation.

The Typical Method of Cooperation Was for the Financial Group to Invest Cash, Buy Resources and Engineering Equipment, or Help Them to Construct the Territory. The Invested Party Had to Promise That After the Flickering World Was Opened Up, These Financial Groups Would Get to Operate or Mine on Certain Resource Rich Planets or Have Certain Rights When Conducting Businesses Within the Territory.

Because the Territory Was Completely Under One’s Jurisdiction, They Had the Final Say in Any Transactions Approved and Did Not Have to Face Any Pressure From a Ruling Civilization.

While Han Xiao Was Still Wary of Sorokin, the Two of Them Had Already Reached a Preliminary Agreement to Cooperate, So in the Spirit of Keeping Promises, He Sent a Message to Sorokin to Set the Terms of Cooperation. However, the Other Party’s Investment Amount Was Far Below Han Xiao’s Expectations, Almost to the Point of an Investment Made While Suffering From Poverty.

“There’s No Reason for the Limitless Financial Group to Only Invest That Amount. It Seems Like They Do Not Respect Me at All.”

Within the Office, Han Xiao Observed the Terms of the Contract, His Expression Strange.

“Sylvia, When I Asked You to Check the Limitless Financial Group’s Movements, Did You Find Anything?”

“Yes. The Limitless Financial Group Split Into Two Groups After They Entered the Shattered Star Ring, With the Smaller Group Joining the Tyrant’s Party. If I’m Not Wrong, the Limitless Financial Group Should Have Been Evaluating Their Investment Targets, and They Seem to Have Chosen the Tyrant Over Us.”

“That’s Strange. The Territory I Have is More Than Thrice That of Heber, Yet Sorokin is Focusing on Heber?” Han Xiao Wondered Aloud. “Could It Be That Heber Gave Him Some Special Terms?”

After Thinking for a Few Seconds, Han Xiao Did Not Continue Struggling With This Matter. There Were Many Financial Groups Staring at This Opportunity, and if the Limitless Financial Group Did Not Wish to Cooperate in Depth, It Was Fine. What He Did Not Lack Now Was Potential Partners.

After Dealing With the Matter at Hand, Han Xiao Placed the Communicator Down, Opening the Interface to View the Mission Notification.

The First Part of the [flickering World] Main Mission Was to Explore the Garu Star Cluster. The Moment the Crimson Dynasty Announced the Successful Exploration of the First Phase, the First Mission Would Also Be Shown as Completed and Ready for Han Xiao to Collect His Rewards.

The Players Had Also Received This Main Storyline, but They Had to Wait Till They Returned From the Version Update to Obtain Their Reward.

Han Xiao Glanced at the Mission Description. He Had Accumulated a Large Number of Exploration Points, and the Mission Rating Had Long Reached the Highest Tier.

“After Several Years of Exploration, I’ve Finally Managed to Complete the First Part of This Main Storyline Mission,” Han Xiao Grumbled. “the Mission Rating is So High. The Reward Should Also Be Enough for Me to Redeem the Last Ultimate Knowledge I Need.”

As He Spoke, He Chose the Option to Obtain His Mission Rewards.

_____________________

[flickering World] First Chain Mission Completed.

Your Mission Rating is S+.

You Have Obtained 2,000,000,000 Experience, X3 Random Reward Draws, 3,000 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, and X2 Blank Character Summon Cards.

The Milestone [exploration Pioneer] is Now Activated.

Milestone Requirements: Obtain at Least 3 ‘a’ Ratings and Above for Mission Rating in the [flickering World] Chain Missions.

Current Progress: 1/3

_____________________

“Yo, a Milestone Mission.” Han Xiao Brows Went Up.

These Kinds of Milestone Missions Usually Gave Either a Unique Title or Legendary Points. Some Titles Were Just for Bragging Rights, While Some Had Additional Bonuses. Han Xiao Remembered That He Still Had a [legendary Hunter] Milestone Mission That Had Not Been Completed. The Title Would Increase His Damage Against Beast-type Creatures. On the Other Hand, [exploration Pioneer] Increased His Rate of Obtaining Dungeon Copies or Random Rewards.

The Highest Mission Rating Gave Him Twenty Billion Experience. While It Was Peanuts to Him, for a Player at Level 120, It Was Enough to Level Up Quite a Few Times. Based on the Standards of This Version, This Reward Could Be Considered Sizable. The Only Other Missions That Gave Him the Same Amount of Experience Involved Fighting the Beyond Grade as, and Comparing Their Difficulties, the [flickering World] Exploration Was So Much Easier.

The Second Chain Mission for the [flickering World] Also Appeared, Which Was to Complete All the Infrastructure Construction in the Territory That the Black Star Army Was Assigned.

This Main Storyline Was Very Flexible, and Its Specific Requirements Would Vary According to One’s Faction and the Actual Situation. The Mission Requirements for Han Xiao and the Army Players in [flickering World] Were Issued Based on Their Position as the Crimson Dynasty and Black Star Army Factions.

It Was a Pity That the Players Were All Offline, Missing Out on This Mission Reward.

After Letting His Thoughts Wander for a While, Han Xiao Then Collected Himself and Glanced at the Faction Contribution Point Bar. The Most Useful Thing Right Now Was the Three Thousand Contribution Points. With This, His Total Contribution Exceeded Twelve Thousand Points, Enabling Him to Gain One More Ultimate Knowledge.

“Finally, I’m Getting the Number of Ultimate Knowledges Needed.” Han Xiao Breathed Out in Relief.

…

At the Same Time in the Bloodshed Land, the Limitless Financial Group and Heber Reached a Consensus. Lovell Served as a Resident Emissary in the Bloodshed Land, and Sorokin Would Pass Her Instructions by Possessing Her Followers.

Not Long After the Dynasty Announced the Territory of Its Allies, Lovell Contacted Sorokin in Shock.

“the Dynasty is Too Partial Toward Black Star, Giving Them a Whole Seven Star Systems. Father, Will It Really Be Okay if We Don’t Focus on Investing in the Black Star Army?”

Sorokin Also Frowned. He Knew That the Dynasty Treated Black Star With Importance, but This Was Out of His Expectations.

The Black Star Army Had Gathered More Wealth and Popularity Than Expected, Which Was Detrimental to Their Plans.

Those Cooperating Internal Factions Mentioned That They Were Working Internally to Prevent Black Star From Getting Any Good Territory, but Now It Seemed That They Had Failed. This Was Not Suppressing Him but Rather Increasing the Difficulty Level…

His Teammates Were Not Useful at All!

Chapter 928: Required Knowledges Gathered!

Chapter 928 Required Knowledges Gathered!

Seeing the Sullen Look on Lovell’s Face, Sorokin Eased His Brows and Calmly Replied, “Forget It, It’s Just the First Phase Anyways. Although This is Unexpected, This Profit is Not Worth Mentioning Compared to Our Dealings With the Three Civilizations. The Bloodshed Land Might Have Fewer Territories, but They Are Also Valuable. We Can Focus on Investing Here and Need Not Go Over to Black Star to Compete With the Other Financial Groups.”

Lovell Pursed Her Lips and Could Only Nod.

Sorokin Paused, His Eyes Narrowing Slightly as He Indifferently Continued. “the Black Star Army Has Now Gained Such a Huge Territory, and There’s a Lot of Room for Development. Its Ability to Resist Pressure Has Increased, but This is Not Completely to Our Disadvantage. The Focus of the Army Will Be Directed Toward the Flickering World, Which Allows Us to Weaken Their Original Business Dealings.

“First, Attack the Interest Consortium of the Black Star Army Within the Shattered Star Ring. We Are Still Unable to Shake Their Core Businesses and Can Only Start With the Cooperative Organizations of Various Industries That the Black Star Army is Affiliated to. We Can Help Bloodshed Land to Snatch a Part of the Business Channels and Cut Off the Arms of the Black Star Army, Reducing the Scope of Their Business. In This Case, They Will Return to the Original Scope, Which Will Make Him Unable to Expand and Develop Comfortably.”

Lovell Hesitated Before Speaking in a Whisper. “Father, the Black Star Army Has Great Prospects, and Their Business is Also Booming. In All Honesty, It is Unlikely for Such Methods to Shake Them.”

“Naturally, a Beyond Grade a Organization is Not So Easily Suppressed. That’s Especially So for Black Star With His Growing Momentum… but It’s Because This is Difficult That the Three Universal Civilizations Came to Me. Rice Should Be Eaten a Mouthful at a Time. As Long as One is Willing to Fork Out the Costs, They Will Be Able to Gradually Erode Everything.”

Sorokin Shook His Head, His Expression Still Cold. “Furthermore, I’m Not Here to Destroy the Black Star Army but to Make Him Feel Uncomfortable. This Will Take a Long Time to Take Effect, So I’ll Take My Time. Those Cooperating With Me Are Not Even in a Hurry, So Why Should I Rush?”

While the Father and Daughter Were Cooperating, on the Other Side of Bloodshed Land, Heber Was Also in His Palace Reading the Terms of the Contract Proposed by Lovell. He Secretly Nodded to Himself.

The Contract Described the Plans for the Limitless Financial Group to Invest in Bloodshed Land. The Goal Was to Let the Bloodshed Land Learn From the Black Star Army and Complete an Organizational Transformation, Dealing Not Only in Armed Force Employment but Expanding to Different Industries, Developing in an All-round Manner.

Such Business Channels Need Not Be Laid Out From Scratch. They Focused on the Channels That Many of the Local Organizations Within the Shattered Star Ring Had Operated and Perfected After Many Years. They Would Obtain Them Through Acquisitions, Where Most of the Costs Would Be Borne by the Limitless Financial Group.

Seeing the Investment Amount Proposed by the Limitless Financial Group, Heber Coldly Snorted.

“Really Rich.”

…

The Black Star Army Had Recently Entered a Busy State.

After the Preliminary Selection Made by Han Xiao, Each Financial Group Then Sent People to Negotiate With the Personnel of the Black Star Army.

Dillard, the Team Leader of Negotiation Team 098, Was Currently Involved in the Discussions With One of the Higher Ups of a Financial Group.

“Mr. Dillard, This is the Third Time We Have Modified the Terms of Cooperation According to Your Wishes. Are You Satisfied With It This Time?”

The Executive of the Financial Group Carefully Watched Dillard’s Expression.

“You Want the Mining Rights of at Least Ten Resource Rich Planets for Fifteen Years, Management Rights for Three of the Planets and the Right to Modify Its Surface, Operation Rights for Two Regional Quantum Network Channels, and Preferential Sales Channels for Dozens of Rare Resources… Hahaha, Don’t You Think That This Investment Amount is Insufficient to Request Such Treatment?” Dillard Raised His Eyebrows, Giving a Smile That Was Not a Smile.

“Based on the Calculations Done on My Side, the Amount of Investments is Equivalent to Our Requirements…”

“Do You Wish to Take Advantage of Our Black Star Army? If You Don’t Have Enough Sincerity, We Can Stop the Negotiations. We Still Have Many Others to Choose From.” Dillard’s Tone Sank, and He Looked Ready to End the Discussion.

“Wait a Minute.” the Executive Got a Shock and Immediately Scrambled to Reply. “Don’t Misunderstand, We Never Intended Anything Like That. Which Part Are You Not Satisfied With? We Can Always Talk It Out…”

As He Observed the Other Party’s Careful Expression, There Was No Outward Change in Dillard’s Face, but in His Heart, He Was Secretly Very Proud of Himself.

He Was Just an Ordinary Worker in the Black Star Army With Limited Pay. In the Galactic Society, Be It in Status or Assets, He Was Far Inferior to the Executives of Various Financial Groups.

However, These Rich and Powerful Executives Were Now Trying to Please Him, a Clerk, With Enthusiasm as Well as Treading on Thin Ice to Speak to Him. Dillard Had Never Been Treated With Such Enthusiasm Before.

Now That Countless Financial Groups Were Seeking Cooperation With the Black Star Army, as a Negotiator, He Held the Initiative and Power, and He Had More Confidence.

If Not for the Fact That He Had Joined the Black Star Army Earlier, How Could He Have Gotten Such an Opportunity, Where Those in the High Ranks Bowed to Him?

In Order to Satisfy His Own Vanity, in Addition to Obtaining More Benefits for the Army, Dillard Would Set Harsher and More Unyielding Terms, Holding Firmly to His Initiative.

He Knew That This Was Merely Borrowing the Name of the Black Star Army to Strut Around, Like a Fox Pretending to Be a Tiger, but He Was Happy About It. Now That His Affiliation Was So Powerful, if He Did Not Take the Chance to Flaunt It a Little More, There Would Never Be a Chance for Him in the Future.

The Executives of the Financial Group Knew What Dillard Was Doing, and They Gritted Their Teeth in Anger Inwardly, but They Had No Choice as They Were the Passive Party.

They Would Rather Suffer a Bit Than Lose Out on the Golden Opportunity to Cooperate With the Black Star Army.

…

In the Army Commander’s Office, a Projection of Phillip About a Thumb’s Size Sat on the Edge of the Table With His Legs Swinging Around, Reporting to Han Xiao in a Crisp Voice.

“Investigation Completed. There Are Forty-five Negotiators Who Have Received Bribes During the Negotiation Process.”

“Fire All of Them and Cancel the Cooperation Agreements That They’ve Negotiated. We’re No Longer Cooperating With These Financial Groups.”

Han Xiao Frowned.

As the Scale of the Army Increased, It Was Inevitable for People to Develop Greed in Their Hearts and Use the Army’s Name to Obtain Personal Benefits.

He Did Not Mind the Members Flaunting the Army’s Prestige, but if Someone Betrayed the Army’s Interests, He Could Not Pretend Nothing Had Happened. As a Virtual Mechanic, the Entire Faction Was Within His Control; Nothing Could Be Hidden From Him.

After Dealing With This Annoying Problem, Han Xiao Rubbed His Eyes and Prepared to Proceed to the Training Rooms to Work on His Energy Training Technique. It Was at This Time That His Communicator Rang.

Picking Up the Communicator, Han Xiao’s Eyes Sparkled.

His Request to the Dynasty Had Been Accepted!

The Dynasty Contribution Points He Had Amounted to Twelve Thousand, and Han Xiao Had Sent in a Request to Redeem an Ultimate Knowledge.

In Just a Few Short Years, Black Star Had Made So Many Achievements That It Was Enough for Him to Obtain All the Ultimate Knowledges He Needed. This Efficiency Was Probably the Highest in History. Because the Biggest Attraction for a Beyond Grade a to Join a Universal Civilization Was to Obtain Ultimate Knowledges, Now That Han Xiao Had Gathered Up All the Ultimate Knowledges of the Mechanic Department, the Crimson Dynasty Was a Little Hesitant, and the Approval Time Was Much Longer Than Before.

However, if There Were Merits Achieved, the Reward Had to Be Given. Thus, Han Xiao Finally Received the Final Ultimate Knowledge of the Mechanic Profession.

Control Branch—[relativity Theory]!

Just Like How Beyond Grade a Mages Could Travel Through All Secondary Dimensions, This Ultimate Knowledge of the Mechanic Profession Could Achieve Similar Results. As a Sophisticated Spacetime Technology, It Could Be Applied to the Manufacture of Stargates, Interstellar Navigation Technology, Hyperdrive Transition Engines, Next-generation Propellers, and Many More Devices.

In Combat, This Knowledge Improved the Maneuverability of Machinery, and It Was Applicable to Various Spatial Based Devices. It Could Be Used to Attack and Defend, and It Was Extremely Good for Crowd Control.

With This Ultimate Knowledge, the Difficulty of Facing Mechanics Would Increase More Than One Level. This Played the Biggest Role in Overcoming the Core Shortcomings of Mechanics, Which Was Fighting People at Close Range. As Han Xiao Was an Anomaly, Close Ranged Combat Did Not Matter to Him at All, So He Had Placed This Knowledge at the Very End of His Collection.

Because This Was Considered General Profession Knowledge, the Triple Penalty Did Not Apply to It, and Every Level Only Needed Eight Potential Points. He Had Just Enough to Use It to Complete the Class Advancement Mission [erudite].

“After Mastering This, All of My Ultimate Knowledges Have Been Collected. The Next Step is to Slowly Max Out All of My Knowledges.”

Han Xiao Settled Himself Down and Chose to Learn It.

_____________________

Mechanic Class Ultimate Knowledge Detected: [relativity Theory]. Spend 8 Potential Points to Learn?

Learning…

Successfully Learned! You Have Learned [relativity Theory]!

You Have Been Awarded With the Talent [hyperspace Thought]!

You Have Mastered All Available Ultimate Knowledge, and Your Talent [ultimate Knowledge Possessor] Has Been Strengthened!

You Have Learned All Class Knowledges. You Have Been Awarded With the Talent [almighty Mechanic]!

Hyperspace Thought: Enhances All Spatial Device Performances, Control Effect is Significantly Strengthened, and Your Domain Related Abilities and All Space-related Abilities Will Be Enhanced. +50 – 100% Increase in Cc Duration, +20% to Mobility of All Machinery Equipment, +40% to Mental Resistance.

Ultimate Knowledge Possessor is Enhanced. +15% – +25% Attributes for Machinery Built, +150% – 600% Machinery Affinity. New Effect Added: All Mechanic Skill Levels +1 (Can Exceed the Upper Limit).

Almighty Mechanic: +20% Mechanic Creation Attributes, All Mechanic Skill Levels +2 (Can Exceed the Upper Limit). In Addition, +1,500 Int, +500 Free Attribute Points.

Extra Effect I: +1% Machinery Affinity for Every 20 Points in Int.

Extra Effect Ii: Passive Aura, Any Life Forms Around You Gain a Boost of +200 Int.

_____________________

Chapter 929: Preparations Complete, Construction Begins

Chapter 929 Preparations Complete, Construction Begins With the completion of the last piece of Knowledge needed, the world in front of his eyes seemed to have undergone a subtle change, and his perception of space transformed.Han Xiao raised his head to look at the cup on the table. By the corners of the cup, a variety of function formulas appeared, excluding its outer appearance, and only the precise lines denoting the outline of the spatial structure of the cup were left. Glancing around, all objects in the room appeared in this manner, where everything appeared as a coefficient of spatial structure rather than as its original appearance.As he blinked, this feeling slowly disappeared, and the room returned to normal.

This is probably the change brought about by [Hyperspace Thought]. It seems that it has elevated my spatial perception to a whole new level.

That feeling seemed to maintain the view of multiple perspectives at the same time. It seemed to even overlap with other dimensions.

[Relativity Theory] only provided one talent by nature, but the effect was considerable. It comprehensively enhanced the mobility and controlling skills of the Mechanic, and it also improved Psychological Resistance. The other two talents obtained were brought about by the [Erudite] ability.

Generally speaking, the players could never afford the expenses needed to collect all the Knowledges, and it was difficult to learn all of them. However, there were a minority of people who grinded like crazy to completely learn all of the available Knowledges. Han Xiao was one of such ‘Liver Emperors[1]’. Thus, he was no stranger to the effects both talents brought about to him.

With the two extra talents, my strength has increased by yet another level, and I can be considered to be an all-rounder Advanced Mechanic now.

Han Xiao calculated that the enhanced [Ultimate Knowledge Possessor] as well as the newly obtained [Almighty Mechanic] would enhance him to the point of the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] standard.

The higher his Machinery Affinity, the greater the increase of the total bonus from his Mechanical Sense talent. So long as he managed to get [Perfect Mechanical Sense], his damage would fly off the charts!

By that time, he would be roughly similar to [Mechanic Emperor] Manison, the only difference being their exclusive talents.

“Now that I’ve gotten my hands on all the Knowledges, the next step will be to upgrade all of them.”

In his previous life, while there were players that learned all Knowledges, there had not been anyone who raised everything to the maximum. That was Han Xiao’s goal this time. To complete this, he needed huge amounts of experience. The accumulated amount in this version was far from being enough, and he could only work on this from the next version onward.

Han Xiao had no idea if there would be additional rewards for maxing out all his Class Knowledges. In any case, with the huge player market that he had, levelling up everything would not bring him any losses.

The interface also showed that he had an additional five hundred Free Attribute Points. Gazing at his attributes, he saw that his Intelligence had finally broken through the ten thousand mark. Intelligence was the main attribute of a mechanic, which would determine the attributes of his mechanical creations as well as the Mechanical Force bonuses. Currently, his Endurance was not lacking; he was so tanky that even he could no longer bear it. Thus, Han Xiao decided to continue to pump his Intelligence.

After seeing the huge increase in his attributes, Han Xiao closed his interface in satisfaction. He chewed on two high energy nutrition bars as a celebration before taking a private space shuttle to the satellites around his headquarters. He found an idle one and entered its large, open-air training ground to summon all his machinery through the secondary dimensional army box.

After years of accumulation, Han Xiao now had more than a hundred thousand mechanical lives and over ten Apostle Weapons, which served as his commanders, lining up in front of Han Xiao.

In the huge square, the various mechanical lives stopped making any noise and turned to look at Han Xiao. Those with legs knelt on one knee, while those without lowered their heads to show respect. A magnificent scene was displayed.

“Lord.”

“Rise.” Han Xiao waved his hands before turning to look at Psionic Prime, who was at the forefront. “The time has come. The Machinery Civilization plan can now be implemented.”

“I will not disappoint you, my lord.” A determined expression appeared on the facial features of Psionic Prime.

Han Xiao gestured with a finger, and a star map appeared on the sky, showing the territory of the Garu Star Cluster. The picture zoomed in and quickly locked onto one of the planets within the Star System, situated within his own territory.

“This planet will be your new home in the future. It is rich in ores. Psionic Prime, at that time, you’ll take all the mechanical lives to develop on this planet. The Black Star Army will provide you with all sorts of support, and I only have one requirement, which is to expand the population as much as possible.”

In order to develop his own Mechanical Civilization, Han Xiao had released all his mechanical lives. They need not stay within the secondary dimensional army box for the time being.

After being transformed by [Tinder Awakening], the machines had already become true living bodies. Their bodies were filled with silicon-based nerve fibers. They had independent thoughts and even the ability to reproduce.

Of course, the method of propagation for mechanical life was not through ‘pa pa pa’ but asexual reproduction. Two or more of the mechanical lives would extract their own tinder gene code and transfer to the reproducing mechanical life, or they could insert it within the assembly line to ‘hatch’ a newborn. After a long period of energy supply, the newborn’s tinder would be strengthened into a complete mechanical life.

The mechanical life created in this manner of reproduction was equivalent to sharing the life energy of the first generation of machines. Its purity and basic attributes would of course be far inferior compared to the first generation. The parent mechanical life would also enter a period of weakness due to huge consumption of their life tinder.

But the advantage was that births could be mass-produced, so Han Xiao did not need to work laboriously anymore. The production efficiency would skyrocket, and even the weakest mechanical life borne through this would still be stronger than most mechanical soldiers. The original intention of developing a machinery civilization was just to form a large-scale arsenal.

Manison had a machinery civilization that had developed for many years as his barracks, and the soldiers were endless.

With these hundred thousand first-generation mechanical lives, as long as they are allowed to develop for several years, I will then have a new army of mechanical lives, Han Xiao secretly thought.

All the mechanical lives raised their heads up to gaze at the virtual screen and started to discuss among themselves.

“I won’t let you down.” Psionic Prime retracted his gaze, simulating a solemn tone.

“Good. You can recommend another person with an outstanding ability, and I will give him a spot as an Apostle Weapon.” Han Xiao smiled.

His new talents gave him a total of +3 to all Mechanic skill levels, which meant that the quota for [Apostle Life Creation] had now increased by three. Letting Psionic Prime pick a soldier would help him to consolidate his leadership position.

Because Han Xiao would not continuously monitor the development of his machinery civilization, he needed the first generations to manage everything well. Thus, the stronger the position of his spokesperson, the smoother the development of the machinery civilization.

Hearing this, Psionic Prime raised his spear and turned back. “Heaven-Suppressing Banner, step out.”

Han Xiao looked at where the spear was pointing and saw a towering mechanical life enveloped in heavy outer armor within the crowd. It was as though he was clad in full plate mail, with all sorts of weapons hung around him. He had six arms, and on his back was a giant alloy battle shield, held by magnetic force. From afar, it looked like a huge banner.

“He’s the strongest and bravest warrior in our clan, having defeated hundreds of others and taken their weapons. At the same time, he also knows how to command the army. I urge the Lord to grant him the qualification of an Apostle,” Psionic Prime said.

Han Xiao sized Heaven-Suppressing Banner up. This guy’s gear was actually loot taken from his opponents and installed on himself.

These mechanical lives had a high growth rate, and the blessing of [Machinery Fusion] allowed them to self-transform their hardware structure without limits.

“You indeed have the qualifications to be my Apostle. Make good use of this power.” Raising his palm, a golden beam of Mechanical Force appeared in his palm like a bolt of lightning.

Flicking his hand, his Mechanical Force shot into the body of Heaven-Suppressing Banner, transforming his body and creating a brand-new Apostle.

Han Xiao did not continue to observe the transformation process but turned to Psionic Prime. “I shall hand the right to command the mechanical lives over to you. Serve me well.”

…

After the transformation a few years ago as a result of the Evolution Cube, the Black Spirit Race had become far more intelligent and even possessed visual senses now. They gradually got used to living on the ground, no longer living in nests underground. With their efficient command over the mind network, they had built a stone city.

The largest stone city currently belonged to the Germinal Tribe, and in the center of the city, a stone statue, carved in the likeness of Black Star, stood tall. At this moment, this status held a metal statue, which was the Evolutionary Totem.

Evolutionary energy continuously radiated from the totem. For species with evolutionary space, the effect of the totems was excellent, and this had resulted in the evolution of the Black Spirit Race to be accelerated by hundreds of times. The proportion of the carapace on their body had shrunk once again, and their original bestial and insect-like characteristics were reduced a lot. Some of the Black Spirit Race had already begun to stand upright rather than crawl.

The liberated forelimbs also gradually played the role of a palm and began to learn how to use tools.

Up till now, Han Xiao had not forced the civilization process of the Black Spirit Race but focused more on improving the quality of the Black Spirit Race itself. From his viewpoint, as long as the species itself became perfect, it would be more effective to help them develop.

The racial characteristics of the Black Spirit Race lay in its mind communication network, which improved communication efficiency and knowledge penetration rate. Their Race Specialty was related to the mind, and the totem would subtly enhance the mental and spiritual strength of the entire race.

The Black Spirit Race was also very prolific. After more than ten years of reproduction, several generations of newborns had been born, and the population had grown a lot.

At this moment, in the center of the Germinal Tribe, a large group of children played around an adult, who happened to be the leader of the Germinal Tribe.

The leader of the Germinal Tribe was wearing a coarse animal skin robe and holding a simple scepter made out of Prophecy Stones. His dress was very different from the other tribesmen, who were not wearing clothes.

Countless years before they were transformed by the Evolution Cube, the Black Spirit Race had produced a very small number of variants, which could build a mind communication network on their own instead of utilizing the Prophecy Stones. These variants were known as ‘Sages’.

The current leader of the Germinal Tribe was one of the strongest variants, with his mental network able to accommodate most individuals. At the same time, he was also the spokesperson of their ‘Black Star God’, so he was hailed as the Great Sage.

“Great Sage, why do we worship the Black Star God?” The group of toddlers crowded around the Germinal Tribe leader, chattering away in his mental network.

Lifting his scepter, the Germinal Tribe leader spoke in equal seriousness and fanaticism. “The Black Star God has brought us the gospel for evolution, as well as the fire of our civilization. He is the omnipresent greatness.”

“I don’t believe you. I feel that you are stronger than him, Great Sage!” One of the toddlers laughed.

“Humph, you know nothing about power.” The Germinal Tribe leader pointed at a battleship suspended in the sky with his scepter. “Do you see that? That’s called a spaceship. It’s what brought us here from our ancestral land. Just relying on our powers, we would not even have reached here in ten thousand years, but Black Star God brought us here in an instant. That is the power of a God.”

“Ancestral land? This place is not our ancestral land?”

“Sigh, our ancestral land was long taken by others. If the Black Star God had not led us away, maybe…”

The Germinal Tribe leader sighed again and shook his head.

At this moment, hundreds of black specks appeared in the clear blue sky. They floated down slowly toward the Germinal Tribe and caused a commotion within the tribe. Many of the tribe members gathered in the square, watching the descending spaceships.

The hatches opened, and Psionic Prime flew out and landed in front of the leader of the Germinal Tribe. The Black Spirit Race scattered, but they were not nervous at all.

In their eyes, this sort of metal creature was the servant of their Black Star God.

“I’m the Chief Apostle under Lord Black Star. My lord has commanded me to take you away from this planet.”

The Germinal Tribe leader stood up, speaking jerkily with vocal cords that had yet to fully develop.

“Where is the Black Star God taking us?”

“Your new home.”

…

With a lot of investments from the financial groups, the Black Star Army had sufficient funds to purchase engineering equipment as well as to prepare to build troops. The process was smooth.

After a month of preparations, the construction team of the army finally departed officially under the universe’s interested eyes, full of manpower and resources to develop the Flickering World.

Lagi, Reynold, Sylvia, and Herlous were directly involved, and Han Xiao was only responsible for remote supervision since he wanted to go to the dynasty to avoid any danger. He had left the blueprint for the construction of the site with them, so he did not need to be present.

On the day that the construction team set off, Han Xiao arrived at the stargate leading to the Central Galaxy with only a few Black Star Guards and Aurora with him.

This was to avoid danger but also to visit the various Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty. After all, they would be working together for many years, so it was necessary to build relationships.

At the same time, he also prepared to visit those future famous characters of the dynasty that he recalled.

The version update would take several decades, and the dynasty would experience a change in power. His cooperation with the dynasty would last a long time, so he needed to have wider vision. For the sake of his future, it was necessary to build good relations with the powerful people of the future in advance, granting him a louder voice within the dynasty.

Sweeping his eyes over Feidin and the rest, Han Xiao turned his head to look at Aurora in the pilot’s seat and nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Aurora swiped her finger on the control screen, and the spaceship slowly moved into the stargate.

At the same moment, Ames and Hila arrived at the stargate at the edge of the Shattered Star Ring.

Turning back, Hila had a complicated expression.

She had a hunch that it would be a long time before she returned.

The Beyond Grade A realm…

A slim hand rested on her shoulder, and turning back, Hila saw Ames standing there with a light smile.

“Let’s go.”

“Sigh… I got it.”

Hila recollected her thoughts and also directed the spaceship to enter the stargate.

[1] Probably named so because you need to donate a liver to get enough money to buy everything

Chapter 930: The Prototype Plan of Three Great Calamities

Chapter 930 The Prototype Plan of Three Great Calamities

In the Flickering World, the Purple River Star System was one of the seven Star Systems that belonged to the Black Star Army. It was located at the edge of the Garu Star Cluster and was one of the important gateways into the Star Cluster. At this time, from the stargate of the Purple River Star System slowly sailed a huge Black Star Army fleet. This was the construction force led by Herlous.

There was a large number of Black Star Army spaceships awaiting Herlous’ arrival next to the stargate station. This was originally the first exploration fleet. Now that the exploration had been completed, the same fleet was transformed into construction personnel, awaiting instructions from the higher ups.

In the meeting room of the flagship, Herlous was having a discussion with the senior officers such as Sylvia and Lagi to go through the construction plans. “Purple River, Long Day, Ponzale, Orlando, Fenrir, Sigma, and Ednea—these seven Star Systems belong to our Black Star Army, and we have to first set the infrastructure foundation before carefully sculpting and slowly transforming the Star System.” Herlous had a serious expression on.

While he usually behaved in a lazy manner, he still acted properly and seriously when faced with Han Xiao’s tasks.

Sylvia nodded. “We should first establish the stargate transportation network within the seven galaxies to form a whole and facilitate fleet transportation. Through our exploration, the network has already taken shape, which is convenient for us. After this, we should install the army’s own warning and space monitoring devices, and we’ll lay a large scale quantum network base station to place the seven Star Systems under the management of the artificial intelligence system.”

The Black Star Army had to establish its own infrastructure to take over the seven Star Systems and make it into a seamless whole, strong as an iron board.

“According to the plans left by the Army Commander, we need to focus on the two Star System gateways, Ponzale and Purple River. We must firmly control the entry and exit stargates for the main traffic routes. These stargate stations were originally made by the dynasty, and now that the station is under our control, we have to spare some troops for the stations. “In terms of planetary terraforming, the priority should go to the army bases and resource mining bases. The galactic cities and transit stations will only come in handy when the Star Field is opened, so we can put those off until a later date.

“The blueprint also states that the Sigma Star System will be the logistics base of the army within the Flickering World. There will also be a need to focus on the transformation and the construction of a large number of barracks, military factories, and airports there…”

The construction scope for seven Star Systems was a monumental task. Han Xiao only provided a blueprint, and the specific action plans would need to be developed by those responsible for each star system. While everyone was discussing, Lagi maintained his usual style, not caring about anything and serving as a mascot.

A plan was quickly formulated, and under the command of Herlous, the construction troops began to proceed in an orderly manner. The stargate passage was set up, various devices were laid, and they took the facilities that had been left over during the exploration to be reused, saving a lot of resources.

At the same time, Bloodshed Land, Klent, and the rest of the dynasty’s allies also started to construct their territories. The entire Flickering World entered a period of rapid development.

Rural development was a long-term project. It would take a lot of time to raise the region to the standard of the currently explored universe. The seven Star Systems that Han Xiao had chosen were all important areas in his past life. Han Xiao had drawn out the renovation plans according to his memory, and it was expected to take decades to completely construct everything on the blueprint. It was estimated that the next phase of exploration for the Crimson Dynasty would not be held back for so long. As long as at least two Star Systems were complete in each Star Field, the second phase of exploration would then proceed.

While the construction team was in full swing, the mechanical lives and Black Spirit Race also arrived at their new, separate home planets.

The Sigma Star System was a central area of the Garu Star Cluster, rich in resources. It bordered the other two Star Systems, Ednea and Orlando, occupying a vast area.

Planet Apostle was one of the resource rich planets within this Star System, which was named by Han Xiao. The whole planet was gray, with rich mineral veins and metal resources. Although it was not a habitable planet in the conventional sense, it was very suitable to host mechanical lives.

Dozens of spaceships landed slowly on this gray wasteland. The Psionic Prime disembarked from the spaceship with the hundred thousand mechanical lives and glanced around. The undulating wasteland extended to the end of the horizon, and there was no greenery in sight, only endless gray rocks and flying sand. “This will be our homeland in the future.”

The Psionic Prime held his spear and directed everyone to begin building the city immediately.

If it was a normal civilization, eighty percent of them would collapse from the mental burden of establishing a civilization on this desolate planet. However, to the mechanical lifeforms, this emotion did not exist, and their mentality leaned toward a colonialist mindset.

With the engineering equipment provided, coupled with their natural talents, the speed of the mechanical lives in building cities was incredibly fast.

If one overlooked the planet, they would quickly see a metal area appearing on the surface and spreading out to form a city of machines.

First of all, a large number of assembly lines were built. With sufficient resources, the mechanical lives were assembled. A portion of the existing life forms consumed their energy to synthesize their own tinder gene codes, incubating the second generation of mechanical lives.

Having a large quantity of soldiers was the specialty of a Mechanical Race.

At the same time, they built specialized equipment that allowed them to excavate the underground veins and resources, smash apart stones, and gather all these raw materials into the warehouse.

Without any enemies, the construction efficiency was frightening, and under the command of the Apostles and the Psionic Prime, the mechanical lives’ civilization slowly unfolded.

On the other side, the Black Spirit Race also arrived at their new home, Planet New Black Spirit.

This planet was different from the Planet Apostle. It was a habitable planet with vast vegetation and verdant forests. There were many indigenous beasts with mild temperaments.

The migratory fleet landed on a fertile plain, and the Black Spirit Race rushed down from the spaceship. Their newly evolved green eyes curiously took in the scenes.

“This is our new homeland?”

“It seems even more beautiful.”

One of the spaceships fired a traction beam, lowering the Black Star statue onto the plain. They were unable to move the entire city, but landmarks could still be transported.

To the Black Spirit Race, the statue of Black Star was just like their landmark, and its function was similar to a ‘civilization monument’. This monument gave their race hope. They could do without the city but not without the statue.

Han Xiao required the Black Spirit Race to develop itself during the decades when the version was undergoing an update, so he could only intervene in the Black Spirit Race’s civilization process. The spaceships that transported the Black Spirit Race were outfitted with many engineering devices and stayed to help them construct their new homes.

Under the gazes of the Black Spirit Race, an army member handed a communicator to the Germinal Tribe leader.

“This contains Knowledge that the Black Star God is gifting you. You can learn it and use it to transform your race.”

The Germinal Tribe leader carefully switched it on, and a list popped up. Within it was all sorts of information compiled by Han Xiao. It was a technological tree tailored to the racial characteristics of the Black Spirit Race, ranging from basic to advanced Knowledges.

Planning out a technology tree for the entire race would ensure that their development direction would not deviate.

Thanks to their mind network, the Black Spirit Race quickly found out about the contents and started worshipping the statue.

“Many thanks to Black Star God for this generous bestowal!”

The Germinal Tribe leader was very moved. This emotion spread to everyone else, turning their faith even more fanatical.

Their Black Star God had passed down divine knowledge to them, which had historical significance for the entire race. This scene would forever be inscribed in the inheritance memory of the Black Spirit Race.

While there were varied differences between the mechanical lives and the Black Spirit Race, they shared similarities in the fact that they had a hive mentality. One utilized a mind network, while the other accessed the quantum network, which could highly condense the productivity of their race. Thus, all races with such characteristics typically had unparalleled development potential.

The Black Spirit Race was akin to the Bug Tribe. So long as they were placed on the right track, they would enter the fast lane of civilization development. As for the mechanical lives, they were even more overpowered, starting with a high technological level. All they lacked was land and population, which were easily expanded. Han Xiao had high hopes for these two races, so he had specifically placed them in different Star Systems, hoping to give them ample room for development.

Speaking of which, if both of them developed, they could be treated as Calamities that could shake the balance of the world. If one added in the players that were supposed to be the fourth Calamity…

Han Xiao himself occupied three of the four Calamities!

In the past month, countless people were paying attention to the construction of the Flickering World by the Crimson Dynasty and its allies. This was the most eye-catching event in the Universe.

Like the others, the Black Star Army also poured all its effort into development, investing a lot of manpower and resources within.

Taking advantage of this time, the Limitless Financial Group finally started to manipulate the network of interests that the Black Star Army had within the Shattered Star Ring.

Chapter 931: Trouble Surfaces

Chapter 931 Trouble Surfaces

The Colin Group Was One of the Local Financial Groups Within the Shattered Star Ring. It Was Well-known for Its Large Business Scope That Encompassed Areas Such as Resource Mining, Logistics, and Transportation, as Well as the Production of Processed Materials. While It Was Not a Galactic-level Financial Group, It Was Still a Sizable Company in Cooperation With Many Planetary and Star System Level Civilizations. At the Same Time, This Group Was Also Partnered With the Black Star Army and Provided Business Channels for the Army.

Many Similar Organizations Cooperated With the Black Star Army, Partly for the Evolution Cube, and Partly Because They Were Attracted to the Influence of the Black Star Army in the Area. Their Identities as Black Star Army Collaborators Could Bring a Lot of Convenience to Their Businesses.

The Colin Group, as One of the First Companies to Cooperate With the Black Star Army, Had Experienced a Booming Performance in the Past Few Years, and Their Prospects Were Broad, but at This Moment, All the Corporate Executives and Shareholders Were Gathered Together in the Conference Room of the Colin Group With Frowning Faces.

The Current Head of the Group, Colin Duller, Sat at the Head Seat. His Expression Was Terrible, and He Was Suppressing His Fury.

“the Hebrew and Sayde Civilizations Have Terminated Their Cooperation With Us. They Not Only Withdrew the Planetary Mining Rights That We Purchased but Also Cancelled the Long-term Contract for the Supply of Materials. Furthermore, I Was Negotiating With the Wiese Members Before, Which Would Have Allowed Us to Obtain a New Business Area. The Negotiation Had Already Come to an End, but the Wiese Actually Went Back on the Previous Terms and Chose to Cooperate With Others. Our Situation Now is Very Bad.”

One of the Upper Echelons Sighed. “That’s Right. Many of the Heads for the Civilization Departments That Had Cooperated Happily With Us Have Now Cut Off All Contact. This is Not Normal and Should Be Our Competitors Pulling Some Underhanded Moves…”

“Humph, I Know Who They Are.” Colin Snorted Coldly. “a While Ago, the Limitless Financial Group Sought Me Out, Wanting to Purchase the Colin Group, but I Rejected Them. The Recent Movements Were Most Likely Made by Them.”

“What, There Was Such a Thing‽”

“Why Didn’t We Know That the Limitless Financial Group Had Contacted Us?”

A Few of Them Displayed Expressions of Shock While Some of Them Remained Silent. Obviously, They Had Found Out About This Matter.

Colin’s Tone Was Furious. “I’ve Already Inquired About It. The Limitless Financial Group Has Been Acquiring Companies in the Shattered Star Ring Recently, and Those Businesses That Did Not Agree Were More or Less Suppressed. I Heard That the Limitless Financial Group Has Decided to Enter Shattered Star Ring Due to the Development of the Flickering World, and They Are Preparing to Invest in the Large Scale Construction of a Factory in the Hebrew and Sayde Civilizations. They Should Have Made a Deal Behind Our Back, So Both of Them Terminated the Cooperation With Us.”

At This Moment, the Second Largest Shareholder of the Company, Who Had Always Been Dissatisfied With Colin, Suddenly Sneered.

“It’s Not Only That. There Are Also Several Important Cooperative Businesses That Have Stopped Businesses With Us. Several Civilizations No Longer Approve Our Loans, and Our Management Level Employees Were Also Poached, Leaving a Significant Gap… Now Our Business Has Shrunk by More Than Thirty Percent, and Our Price on the Stock Market Has Plummeted. As I Said Earlier, You Should Not Have Rejected the Limitless Financial Group, One of the Largest Financial Groups in the Universe. There’s No Disadvantage to Turning Them Against Us.”

Hearing This, Colin’s Face Was Pale.

He Also Knew That They Could Not Compare to the Brand or Financial Power of the Limitless Financial Group. If There Was an Opportunity, Many Would Cooperate With Them, Even Abandoning Their Previous Partners, as the Limitless Financial Group Would Bring Immense Benefits.

The More Colin Thought About It, the Angrier He Got, and He Heavily Thumped on the Table, Leaving Behind an Indentation. He Gritted His Teeth.

“Don’t Even Think About It. The Colin Group is My Hard Work, and I Will Not Agree to the Acquisition Requirements of the Limitless Financial Group!”

The Second Largest Shareholder Sneered. “How Are You Going to Solve the Current Problems? If There is No Way, the Group Will Collapse Sooner or Later. Everyone Here is a Shareholder. If You Want to Gamble, You Have to Go Through Us First.”

Colin Fell Silent for a While Before Shaking His Head. “I Have No Method at the Moment…”

A Document Was Thrown Out by the Shareholder, Landing on the Table. He Coldly Laughed. “Since You Have No Methods, Just Sign This Shareholder Acquisition Document.”

Colin’s Expression Changed. He Stared at the Shareholder. “You’ve Been Bought Over by Them‽”

“Bought Over? I Was Just Acting in the Interests of Our Group.”

The Second Largest Shareholder Laughed and Surveyed the Shocked or Calm Faces of the Upper Echelons.

Another Large Shareholder Understood the Idea and Said, “Colin, Just Agree. We Will Have a Hard Time Contending With Such a Large Financial Group at That Level. Besides, Their Purchase Price is Very Reasonable, and After Joining the Limitless Financial Group, Our Businesses Can Be Further Developed With Their Support.”

This Seemed to Be the Signal to Get Many of the Upper Echelons to Open Their Mouths.

“You, All of You…” Colin’s Eyes Widened. How Could He Not Understand That All of Them Had Been Bought Over? The Sum of All These People’s Shares Was Enough to Overrule His Decisions.

To Think That the Board Had Been Infiltrated Like This!

Even Those Hesitating Shareholders Were Also Staring at Colin With Hopeful Eyes Now.

Colin’s Eyes Were Unreadable. “if I Don’t Agree, Are You All Planning to Overthrow Me?”

The Second Largest Shareholder Indifferently Replied, “That Will Depend on the Strategy You Can Come Up With. If You Want to Drag This Whole Group Into the Abyss, Don’t Blame Us for Saving Ourselves.”

Colin Stared at the Acquisition Book on the Table, and Hesitated. Without a Word, He Grabbed the Book and Read It Carefully Before Signing the Agreement With a Heavy Expression.

Pa Pa Pa…

A Sudden Applause Could Be Heard Outside the Door, and the Room Opened, Showing a Man Clapping as He Walked in, a Confident Smile on His Face.

“a Wise Choice.”

Colin Looked Over Frowning, but Before He Could Ask, the Second Largest Shareholder Beat Him to It.

“This is One of the Upper Echelons of the Limitless Financial Group, Mr. Madick.”

“Oh, Turns Out You’re the Guy Who Bought Us Out.” Colin’s Words Were Sarcastic.

“Hehe, There’s No Need to Look at Me Like That. In the Future, the Colin Group Will Be an Arm of the Limitless, and We’ll All Be Colleagues.” Madick Waved His Hands While Lightly Smiling. “I’m Here to Tell Everyone That There Will Be No Major Changes to the Original Decision-making Structure of the Group. You All Will Still Remain as the Backbone.”

Madick Eyed Everyone Before Continuing. “However, There Needs to Be an Adjustment in Business Direction. We Need to Immediately Terminate the Cooperation With the Black Star Army.”

“Why?” Colin Could Not Understand.

Acquisition Was One Thing. What Did It Have to Do With Their Business Partner?

“Oh, Our Limitless Financial Group Has Signed an Agreement to Cooperate and Develop the Bloodshed Land. The Bloodshed Land is Prepared to Emulate the Black Star Army and Build Its Own Interest Union, So It Requires Many Organizations to Join. Every Business We Buy Must Be Converted to a Partner of the Bloodshed Land, to Provide Them With Channels to Expand Their Business.”

Madick Smiled Indifferently.

Colin Frowned Before a Look of Understanding Flashed Past His Eyes.

He Had Also Attended the Previous Black Star Party, and Sorokin Had Been There, but the Latter Had Chosen to Invest in Bloodshed Land and Was Now Using It to Attack the Partners of the Black Star Army. As Someone Local to the Shattered Star Ring, a Bold Conjecture Appeared in Colin’s Mind…

The Limitless Financial Group Did Not Just Wish to Enter the Shattered Star Ring; It Wanted to Attack the Black Star Army!

All of Them Were Just Pawns That Had Been Caught Up in the Storm!

…

The Colin Group Was Just One of Many Examples. During This Period, Many of the Local Businesses Within the Shattered Star Ring Were Acquired or Controlled, Either Defeated Directly by Sheer Banknotes or Simply Willing to Go Under the Banner of the Limitless Financial Group.

For Those That Did Not Agree, There Were Many Methods That the Limitless Financial Group Could Use.

For Example, in Response to Conflicts, They Could Rally the Smaller Shareholders to Overthrow the Larger Shareholders. They Could Also Buy Out Some Key Personnel or Invest in Building Factories to Attract the Civilizations to Hinder the Businesses of Some Companies. The Limitless Financial Group Was Well Experienced in This.

If Someone Would Not Compromise, They Would Be Suppressed to Death Sooner or Later, and They Would Lose More Than What They Would Have Originally Obtained.

The Limitless Financial Group Had No Way to Directly Shake the Businesses of a Hegemon Like the Black Star Army, So They Could Only Erode Them Bit by Bit. To the Local Enterprises, This Universe Level Top Financial Group Was Like a Giant Crocodile That They Could Not Compete With.

You Might Be Rich, but the Limitless Financial Group… is Especially Wealthy!

Under Such Operations, the Limitless Financial Group, Having Worked Behind the Scenes for Several Months, Acquired Many of the Local Businesses, Forming a Large Number of Business Channels. They Strongly Inserted Themselves Into the Shattered Star Ring Market With a Stable Footing.

At the Same Time, the Bloodshed Land Released a Joint Announcement With the Limitless Financial Group to Publicly Announce Their Cooperation. The Bloodshed Land Also Mentioned That They Would Expand Their Business and Carry Out a Transformation of Their Organization. While It Was Not Specifically Stated, Everyone in Shattered Star Ring Knew That Their Target Was the Black Star Army.

“the Limitless Financial Group is Working in Depth With Bloodshed Land‽”

In the Headquarters of the Army, Sylvia Looked at the Report on Her Hand, Her Face Revealing a Troubled Expression.

“the Bloodshed Land Plans to Steal Our Businesses. There Has Been a Conflict of Interest on Both Sides, So Those Organizations That Have Been Acquired by the Limitless Financial Group Have Terminated Their Cooperation and Turned to the Bloodshed Land.” the Secretary Next to Sylvia Shook His Head, His Tone Worried.

“They Don’t Want the Quota for the Evolution Cube Anymore?” Sylvia Frowned.

“This… I’m Not Too Sure, but Most of the Acquired Organizations Are Private, and Their Demand for the Evolution Cube is Not Great.”

Hearing This, Sylvia Nodded.

That Was the Case, as Private Organizations Were Different From Civilizations. Even if They Required Evolutions, They Would Probably Have Purchased Slots for All Their Members in the Past Few Years. The Main Reason They Cooperated Was to Maintain the Influence Created by the Network of Interests. Now That They Had Been Acquired, They Could Only Be Swayed to the Intentions of the Limitless Financial Group.

What Businesses Relied on to Compete Was Their Power, Wealth, and Influence, and Force Could Not Be Applied to Them. Furthermore, With the Bloodshed Land as a Beyond Grade a Organization and an Ally of the Dynasty, This Provided a Suitable Shield for the Limitless Financial Group to Act.

Teacher Was Right. The Limitless Financial Group Did Not Have Any Good Intentions at All.

Sylvia Secretly Huffed and Looked at the Detailed Report.

While the Limitless Financial Group Was Huge, It Would Be Impossible to Fight Against All the Businesses in the Entire Star Field. That Was Especially So for the Civilizations; It Was Impossible for Them to Give Up on Cooperating for the Evolution Cube. The Limitless Financial Group Could Only Target the Private Organizations, and Because Each Acquisition Also Required a Lot of Money, the Larger Organizations Had Not Been Targeted for the Time Being.

Thus, So Far, the Black Star Army Had Only Lost a Few Business Channels, but It Was Far From the Level of Hemorrhaging. Only Their Peripheral Businesses Were Affected. Their Core Businesses Like the Evolution Cube, Flickering World Development, and Planet Mining Were Still Stable.

But… They Had to Guard Against Any Further Upsets.

As She Thought of This, Sylvia Had a Severe Expression as She Took Out Her Communicator.

“I Have to Inform My Teacher Immediately!”

Chapter 932: The Capacity of a Beyond Grade A

Chapter 932 The Capacity of a Beyond Grade A

At the same time, in the dynasty’s central territory, a small unmarked fleet was docked above a huge blue planet. The planet hosted one of the most famous interstellar cities in the Crimson Dynasty, with a prosperous economy and a huge population.

This fleet came from the branch of the Black Star Army in Constellation Corridor. Because of his long stay in the dynasty this time, Han Xiao immediately dispatched the local army fleet the moment he arrived in order to utilize the fleet’s machinery factory to produce machinery to while away the time on the way.

The Crimson Dynasty knew that Han Xiao had come over to the Central Galaxy with the purpose of avoiding any danger, so he did not need to proceed to Planet Crimson Ring to report. Except for the secret military areas, he was free to roam about the territory of the dynasty, and the upper echelons of the dynasty would not restrict him.

Han Xiao was practicing his Energy Training Techniques whilst searching for the famous people of the dynasty in the future. He had arrived in this interstellar city to visit just one person. The No.16 Comprehensive Superpower Academy of the dynasty was a first-class university and a famous facility on this planet. The goal of Han Xiao’s trip was precisely this academy. In his memories, a future Beyond Grade A Dynasty member had graduated from this college.

According to the data from his past life, this Beyond Grade A was recruited into the academy between the years 709 and 712 on the Galaxy Calendar. This was the early stage of the update from Version 3.0 to Version 4.0, this exact period.

Because his fleet was unmarked, the arrival of Han Xiao did not cause a sensation on the planet. Only the upper echelons of the academy were notified, and the principal immediately dropped all his affairs to personally greet them. At this moment, in one of the campuses of the dynasty’s No.16 Comprehensive Superpower Academy, Han Xiao took Aurora with him as they walked down the tree-lined road. Their faces were concealed by a virtual disguise, and their real identities could not be seen.

The artificially planted trees helped to ward off the shine from the artificial sun in the sky, and the sunlight passing through their canopies was cut into slivers of golden specks. The was also a sparkling river beside the road, where several students were frolicking in the water. Further ahead, there was a patch of grass where students of difference races mingled with each other in discussion, and occasionally, a few students flew past in midair holding books to rush to class. Everywhere was full of youthfulness.

“So nice…” Looking at this scene, a slight longing and envy appeared in Aurora’s eyes. Her childhood was akin to hell, and she had never experienced such a normal growth process.

Gazing at the scene, Han Xiao suddenly felt a little sad. The life of a normal person is already too far away for me…

Lowering his head, Aurora’s profile, under the morning light appeared particularly pure and sacred, and her long eyelashes twitched gently.

“Your Excellency Black Star, the Pugilist Department is in front of us.”

At this time, the voice of the principal sounded by his ear. Han Xiao withdrew his gaze from Aurora, looking forward at a tall building complex. There were spherical gravity training spaces visible to the naked eye, and many of the pugilists were also practicing. The three of them walked around the teaching area for a while and walked past a classroom. A new class of pugilists were in the middle of a cultural class. When Han Xiao looked in, his gaze immediately landed on an unremarkable person belonging to the Galaxy Human Race. This plain and unassuming face was very familiar in his eyes…

Karlot, the Beyond Grade A directly under the dynasty in the later versions. After ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti died, he took over his position, and his combat ability also reached the peak of Beyond Grade A…

The memories of his past flashed through Han Xiao’s mind in an instant, and Han Xiao’s eyes flashed inexplicably.

Seeing that Han Xiao had stopped and did not move, the principal was a little confused. He looked over and saw Karlot seated there. He hesitated before he asked, “Your Excellency Black Star, do you recognize this freshman?”

Han Xiao shook his head. “I just felt that he has a lot of potential.”

Hearing this, the principal immediately looked carefully, but he could not see anything special about Karlot. He was a little dissatisfied in his heart, but he could not help paying attention to the opinions of a Beyond Grade A. The principal secretly took out his communicator to check Karlot’s files, but he found out that the freshman had yet to awaken his Super-Gene, and thus, his performance was also at the bottom of the cohort.

The majority of the freshmen in the college were ordinary people, as the college would also conduct tests to select the good seedlings to start education earlier. Within this one-and-a-half-year period, if they could not awaken their Super genes, they would be asked to leave.

“I hope to be able to chat with him,” Han Xiao said. “This… ok.” The principal hesitated a little but finally agreed.

Han Xiao walked into a random empty classroom, and when the bell rang, the hallways got noisy. The door of the classroom opened, and the principal walked in with Karlot.

“Sit.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Why do you want to meet me? I, I didn’t do anything wrong.” Karlot stood dumbly, his expression cramped and speech awkward.

His family were all ordinary people who ran a small business. However, his parents wanted him to become a Super so that this family business could obtain the social welfare treatment that was unique to Supers. Thus, they allowed him to go to the college. Karlot had no opinion and thus took the admission exam, being lucky enough to pass it.

As a freshman who had never come into contact with any Supers, Karlot had only met the principal once at the opening ceremony. However, the principal had approached him personally today, which made him anxious as to whether he had broken any rules.

“Haha, you didn’t do anything wrong. I just wanted to chat with you.” Han Xiao laughed.

Karlot finally heaved a sigh of relief, closely scrutinizing Han Xiao’s face before he asked curiously, “You… Who are you? I don’t recognize you. Why are you looking for me?”

“Oh, my name is Black Star. Maybe you’ve heard of my name. I’m an ally of the Crimson Dynasty, and I think that you have potential. Are you willing to join my Black Star Army?” Han Xiao smiled.

The purpose of this trip was to search for potential strong candidates, but because Karlot’s starting identity was too low, he was not spotted early. If Han Xiao could bring such a power over, he would not hesitate.

Seeing this, the principal began to doubt his own eyes. It was impolite to poach someone in front of him, but he did not dare say anything. It was even more surprising, seeing that Black Star would personally invite this person without any extraordinary features.

“What is the Black Star Army?” Karlot opened his eyes wide, a look of puzzlement. He never paid attention to interstellar matters and did not even know what their Dynasty Ruler was called.

Han Xiao’s face cramped up, and he threw a glance to Aurora. Aurora could only explain it patiently to him.

Karlot seemed to only understand half of it. “So, you guys are mercenaries?” “You can put it this way, I guess.” Han Xiao was helpless. “If you join our army, not only will you obtain better teachings, you can also obtain more benefits. I…”

Before waiting for Han Xiao to finish, Karlot began shaking his head. “I’m not going. Dad only sent me here to improve our family condition. He does not allow me to go out to fight and kill. If he learns about this, he will beat me up.”

Hearing this sentence, Han Xiao did not know whether to laugh or cry. This reason was quite refreshing.

The universe indeed was not lacking people who wanted to be Super just for the benefits. However, once they obtained the strength, their mentalities would undergo a change. Thus, he could understand why Karlot was thinking like this right now. In his previous life, Karlot himself belonged to the late-bloomer protagonist character archetype. He was honest, clumsy, and had a slow growth rate, but he slowly stepped forward until he stood at the peak of all Supers. During his peak, he could even kill ordinary Beyond Grade As without losing his breath.

After graduating from this official superpower academy, the military and some government departments came to recruit him. At that time, Karlot finally had his own beliefs and joined the army against the will of his family, starting his legendary career. However, now, Karlot was still a naive child in Han Xiao’s eyes.

Every Beyond Grade A was unique. If he rashly changed Karlot’s future, he might not grow up like his previous life. After all, guys like Karlot were not like Hila, who had the innate potential to hit Beyond Grade A.

Seeing that no one was talking, Karlot scratched his head and hesitantly asked, “If there’s nothing else, can I go?”

“Alright.” Han Xiao put his thoughts aside and smiled as he nodded. He decided not to push Karlot so far right now as he did not have the value to be poached.

But he had also helped Karlot indirectly, since he showed this student’s importance. The principal would definitely try to focus on his training, and he could use this time to foster a closer relationship with him.

Watching Karlot leave, Han Xiao temporarily bid farewell to the principal, returning to his spaceship.

As soon as he entered the cabin, his communicator rang. It was Sylvia on the line.

“Teacher, there’s a situation with the Limitless Financial Group!”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed. “Explain in detail.”

Sylvia quickly summarized the incidents, and Han Xiao frowned as he connected the picture of him conversing with Sorokin. An understanding came to him.

“Them entering the Shattered Star Ring market is false. Their true motive is to deal with me.”

“Teacher, you’re saying…” Han Xiao sighed. “The Limitless Financial Group acts as an economic and commercial enterprise on the surface, but its true motive is to support the Bloodshed Land in opposing us, interfering with our development. I’ve been waiting to see what the pressure brought about by the Evolutionary Totems would be, and it turns out it’s in this form. There should be many backers behind the Limitless Financial Group this time, likely the federation and the church as well.”

“Then, what should we do? There’s no way to resolve this!” Sylvia’s expression was solemn.

Han Xiao was also tied up. In terms of commercial activities, the Limitless Financial Group was the undisputed ruler. The core businesses of the army were not impacted, but he was unable to prevent Sorokin from acquiring his partners. That would later cause a negative effect as his other business partners would choose to dissolve any relationships in order not to be targeted.

This was a straightforward strategy of attacking using their own abilities.

“If we hope to compete with the Limitless Financial Group, we must turn our dispersed capital into a whole. Use this external pressure to facilitate internal cohesion among our partners, encourage them to unite and form an existence similar to that of a Chamber of Commerce. We can help each other resist the malicious acquisition of the Limitless Financial Group.”

Sylvia thought about it before nodding in agreement. “This method is not bad.”

“Alas, there is no method to tackle the root cause. We can only stop the damage from spreading.” Han Xiao’s eyes flashed with a cold light. “After a period of time, I’ll have the mechanical host I left in the headquarters go to the Bloodshed Land and find Heber for… a good talk!”

After discussing the countermeasures, Han Xiao hung up, and his expression sank.

Now that the Black Star Army had gained the opportunity to shine in the world and develop rapidly, Sorokin attempted to deliberately drag them down, preventing them from developing peacefully.

He wanted to destroy the network of interests Han Xiao had spent years trying to build up!

Although this method of Sorokin’s could not shake the core businesses, it was very sinister and disgusting, and it would kill the future of the army!

He wanted to contact Sorokin for questioning, but he quickly banished this idea. With that old fox’s character, he would definitely use all kinds of business activities as an excuse, and there would be no way to express his own dissatisfaction.

Since he knew how Sorokin was going to reply, there was no point calling him. If Heber promised to cooperate, it means that he’s taking this opportunity to develop his forces. He, of course, won’t mind knocking me down in the process. When I advance to level 300, I’ll go and chat with him.

Han Xiao clenched his fists with a heavy expression.

Since he could not deal with Sorokin, he would cause trouble for Heber!

Ty-Ty is not giving me face at all. If you think that this wave of trading is very profitable for you, don’t blame me for destroying your prestige later!

Chapter 933: Black Star’s Tour

Chapter 933 Black Star“s Tour
in the bloodshed land’s palace, jorde excitedly reported, “… in summary, we’ve obtained many new channels of business in a short amount of time, and our operations will double at the very least this year.”

a burly figure stood beside the window, and heber listened to the report.

jorde then continued reading the report. “the black star army completed their transformation many years back and diversified their operations. we didn’t have the evolution cube, so despite having klent’s support, our transformation was very slow, and we were still restricted by the quality of the employment missions that we received. about seventy to eighty percent of our funds come from various armed employment missions. after working together with the limitless financial group, they’ve provided great aid to our transformation, and the embryonic state of our transformation is already complete.”

the black star army and bloodshed land were both beyond grade a organizations, but their operation direction was different. under han xiao’s lead, the black star army managed to diversify their operations through the evolution cube. they had both military and financial strength. as for the bloodshed land, they were a classic poor army with their influence and operations being very limited. this was a problem that had been troubling the bloodshed land.

with the help of the limitless financial group, heber’s problem was now resolved. as long as they continued down this path, the bloodshed land would no longer be a group of boorish individuals who only knew how to fight wars. they would have the right to fight with the black star army as a private organization.

heber turned around and calmly said, “good job.”

jorde hesitated for a moment and could not help but ask, “your excellency, just what kind of a deal did you make with the limitless financial group? why are they willing to help us without holding back?”

“it is just an exchange of benefits.” heber glanced at him. “they wish to enter the shattered star ring and want to borrow our influence to gain a spot in the local market. humph, although their targets are the organizations that cooperate with the black star army, we are also a beyond grade a organization, and it won’t be a loss for them to join us.”

this was the reason on the surface. as for the deeper intention of their deal, heber was not planning to inform his subordinates.

although heber did not say anything else, jorde could sense that this matter was not so simple. the limitless financial group did not approach the black star army but went to the second best option instead. they were obviously targeting the black star army.

jorde broke out into cold sweat as he thought about the possible meaning behind the cooperation and did not dare continue asking. he still wanted to live to the day where he could hug his grandchildren.

jorde then wiped away his sweat and left the room. heber was the only one left, and he continued looking out the window. a long while later, the corner of his lips curled up slightly.

although he maintained his calm appearance in front of his subordinates, he was actually very happy.

he was not bothered about whether the limitless financial group would succeed; he only wanted to make use of this opportunity to develop. the losses of the black star army were of no consequence to him. the both of them were the dynasty’s allies but also competitors. he would be more than happy to see the black star army suffer a huge loss.

…

on the other side, karlot, who had rejected han xiao’s invitation, returned to his dormitory, and his friends immediately crowded over with curiosity.

“hey, why did the principal look for you?”

karlot was extremely honest, and his results were at the bottom. thus, his relationship with the others was not too bad.

a few of his friends had seen the principal approaching karlot at the end of the lesson and thought that he had done something wrong. thus, they all crowded over with concern.

karlot scratched his head and said, “nothing much. someone wanted to meet me.”

“who? he is actually able to get the principal to personally invite you!” one of karlot’s dormitory mates exclaimed. he was the one with the best background in the entire dormitory, but he was still far from the level of the principal. karlot’s family was extremely ordinary, so he could not help being puzzled.

“he said that he is called black star and asked me to join the black star army,” karlot said helplessly.

the moment he said these words, the entire room fell silent, and a look of disbelief could be seen on everyone’s face.

“that legendary black star‽”

“are you kidding me‽ why would he look for you‽”

seeing his dormitory mates’ expressions, karlot could not help but ask with doubt, “do all of you know him?”

“my goodness, don’t tell me you don’t even know who black star is‽” one of his friends almost fainted.

“i… i hadn’t heard of him before,” karlot said with a tinge of embarrassment. “is he really a bigshot?”

“he isn’t just a bigshot! he is a beyond grade a super! the peak of individual strength and an existence who can chat with the dynasty ruler!” one of his friends then began describing han xiao’s history.

the others then surrounded karlot and showered with him plenty of questions. karlot briefly explained the situation, but with his lousy expressive vocabulary, it took a while for the others to understand what had happened.

that handsome dormitory mate of his then could not help but notice a sour feeling in his heart. why did such a good thing fall on the head of this bottom-ranked idiot instead of him?

at this moment, another one of his dormitory mates then realized something and asked, “did… you accept black star’s invitation?”

“i didn’t agree,” karlot replied uneasily.

“you actually rejected the opportunity to join the black star army‽” everyone was truly speechless. “you’re truly an idiot! this is an opportunity to change your fate! ordinary people like us would never be able to enter the black star army! you… you actually…”

seeing everyone say so, karlot fell into a daze and started to doubt his own choice.

did i really make the wrong choice?

i’d better ask my family first.

karlot then took out his communicator and ran to the side to contact his family. that handsome dormitory mate then looked at karlot’s back, and a look of dense jealousy and resentment could be seen in his eyes.

why him? why‽ why did he obtain such an opportunity but not know how to treasure it? he is truly idiotic to the extreme! why would such a legendary figure take notice of such an individual!

he originally liked karlot and was willing to take care of karlot, but now, he was only filled with disgust toward karlot.

…

the next day, han xiao temporarily ignored the frustration of the financial groups and continued monitoring karlot. he noticed something interesting.

the event had already spread throughout the entire level, and the attitudes of all the students changed greatly. a portion of them fawned over him while others excluded him.

“because of my actions yesterday, his entire school life has been rewritten by me. he can no longer be a transparent individual like in his previous life…” han xiao shook his head and had a greater understanding of his status as a bigshot.

for karlot to be dragged into the storm early on, the effects on his growth would be unknown. it could be a good or bad thing.

however, his actions had definitely helped him. any individual capable of becoming a beyond grade a would have grit in them and be unwilling to concede defeat. difficulties would only spur on his potential, and he would welcome all problems head on. who knew if karlot had such a character? perhaps the intense competition in the school would allow karlot to experience a change further.

“if that’s the case, why don’t i aggravate the situation further?” han xiao stroked his chin.

after waiting for a moment, the bell went off, and the students left their classrooms. han xiao then openly called out.

“karlot.”

upon hearing someone call his name, karlot turned around. upon seeing han xiao in the same clothes as the previous day, he recognized han xiao’s identity and was startled. “black… black star. it’s you again.”

his voice was not loud, but it seemed to have a magical force. the students in the surroundings all stopped and looked at han xiao with burning gazes.

“you seem to be very nervous?” han xiao ignored the crowd and smiled at karlot. although others were unable to see his true appearance, he could still display emotions.

“my father asked me to thank you, but he doesn’t wish for me to interact with you too much,” karlot said with a nervous look.

han xiao was not too bothered by the response. raising his finger, karlot’s communicator flew into his hands. after fiddling with it casually, he handed it back to karlot.

“it’s alright. i left my number for you. you can contact me if you change your mind.”

karlot was overwhelmed with favor and said without confidence, “i… truly do not understand why you think so highly of me.”

“i am only interested in developing more talents.”

he then patted karlot’s head and felt the changes in the gazes of those around. a profound smile could then be seen on his face.

heh, i helped you strengthen your protagonist interface. you don’t need to thank me.

han xiao then looked at karlot deeply before disappearing from everyone’s sight.

the next moment, han xiao’s figure appeared outside the atmosphere. he did not remain on the planet and left in his spaceship.

during the following period, han xiao remained in the territory of the dynasty. the upper echelons of the dynasty paid close attention to han xiao’s actions and observed that he paid visits to many different people. some of them were middle-rank members within the dynasty, and others were ordinary individuals.

the upper echelons of the dynasty understood han xiao’s intentions. black star was planning for the future and considering what kind of talents he should invest in for his authority in the dynasty to increase.

however, the choices that han xiao had made were truly strange. han xiao did not pick the current high-ranking individuals but went to find some strange people. just what kind of logic was that?

the dynasty had investigated everyone that han xiao visited. some of them truly had great potential, but the majority of them did not seem special at all.

the upper echelons of the dynasty were puzzled. they could not understand the basis behind black star’s choices. his choices truly seemed far too random.

on han xiao’s side, he paid visits to many npcs that would be famous in the future.

the majority of them rejected joining the black star army just like karlot. there were some who had accepted han xiao’s invitation, and he managed to bring some talents over to his side. of course, han xiao did not rope over any talents who would have authority in the dynasty in future.

on the shattered star ring’s side, sylvia acted according to han xiao’s instructions and took the relevant measures. she contacted many of the organizations working together with the army to withstand the pressure from the limitless financial group together.

this idea achieved a certain effect, and a portion of the organizations accepted the suggestion to form a loose alliance to increase the difficulty of the limitless financial group acquiring these organizations.

however, this was a method that did not resolve the root cause of the problem.

the army was not a real financial group after all, and their foundation was not as robust as the limitless financial group. these organizations only cooperated with the army and were not properties of the army.

the most important thing would be for these organizations to hang in there by themselves. as for the rest, the army could only look at convincing some of their partner civilizations to provide some political leeway to these organizations to aid their businesses.

the only way to resolve the root cause of the problem would be for the dynasty to open up the rights to sell the totem to everyone. however, this was not something that han xiao could decide alone. since competition was unavoidable, han xiao did not think too much about it and focused on training his energy. as long as his energy reached the requirement for the promotion mission, he would go and cause trouble for the tyrant.

he would not be able to solve the problem this way but could create a lose-lose situation for both of them.

he would only be able to use strength to target heber, but it was useless for him to suggest sparring with sorokin. the other party was the leader of a financial group and was using normal business means to compete with him. if han xiao used strength to deal with sorokin, the citizens of the universe would only think that the black star army was too tyrannical. furthermore, sorokin did not need prestige, and han xiao was able to think of over a hundred different reasons for sorokin to admit defeat immediately.

heber was different. as an ally of the dynasty, heber helped the enemy backstab him, and han xiao would have no qualms with beating heber up. heber placed much importance on his prestige and would never run from a spar. this was also a good opportunity for han xiao to take revenge about the time heber bullied him when he had just become a beyond grade a.

as the owner of the evolution cube, many large organizations paid close attention to all of han xiao’s actions. even if he was only having a holiday in the dynasty’s territory, many organizations still paid attention to him. everyone knew that he was hiding from the storm, and no one wanted to disturb him.

however, there were some who had other thoughts.

…

planet ladbu was the colonial planet of a star system vassal civilization in the crimson dynasty’s territory. because of the interference from the universal civilizations, all the vassal civilizations in the central galaxy made use of more lax and backward political systems. this civilization was like that. this colonial planet was managed by a local feudal lord. apart from in emergency situations, the feudal lord would not be appointed by the central power but elected from the region. it was a semi-independent system.

such a backward ruling method was not advantageous to the authority of the civilization.

the position of feudal lord on planet ladbu had always been held in the hands of a few prestigious families.

although an election would be held according to an ancient agreement, the election was only for show, and the family that took up the position of feudal lord had already been decided beforehand.

this year was the election year for planet ladbu, but it was different from the other years. an individual called iapetus, who was born in a business family, returned to participate in the election. originally, someone like him would have been suppressed by the other families, and it would have been impossible for him to emerge victorious.

but this time, the citizens of planet ladbu seemed to be tired of the various large families playing politics and wanted a new face. as such, they gave their votes to the outsider, and iapetus became the most popular candidate. first, he was a local, and second, he was from a pretty famous business family on planet ladbu. according to the current votes, he was the most likely candidate for the position of feudal lord.

“we hope that you will back out from the election.”

in one of the most luxurious apartments of the planet, the emissaries of the various families placed a communicator with a bank transfer page on the screen in front of iapetus.

“what is the meaning of this?” iapetus frowned.

“name a price.”

“i do not lack money.”

“do you really want to block our way?”

iapetus replied with a deep voice, “i am only playing according to the rules. this is what an election means.”

the emissaries then looked at each other and stood up to leave. one of them then looked at iapetus coldly and said, “you’ve made the wrong choice.”

after the emissaries left the room, iapetus let out a long sigh. his back was already covered with sweat, and he let out a bitter laugh.

at this moment, a lady wearing a secretary uniform walked in and stood in front of iapetus. she said with worry on her face, “they will not let go of you so easily.”

“i know.” iapetus waved his arms and muttered under his breath, “now that negotiating with me has failed, they will employ more violent means. if they are kind, they will kidnap me and use various methods to frame me. if they aren’t, i will not be able to survive until the end of the election.”

“i have already hired more galactic mercenaries as your bodyguards. they will protect you for sure.”

“mercenaries… people who can be bought over with money cannot be trusted.”

“… brother, why not you give up on the election? your life is more important than anything.”

this female secretary was not an ordinary employee but iapetus’ kin.

“no. there are some things that an individual has to do.” iapetus shook his head.

the female secretary had a complicated look in her eyes and a tinge of admiration. she had always admired iapetus, not just because of his methods but also because of his courage.

both of them then fell silent for a while, and iapetus’ eyes lit up as though he thought about something.

“right, i heard that the bigshot black star is currently touring the dynasty. his last seen location isn’t too far from planet ladbu, right?”

“er, i think so.”

upon hearing that, a bright glow lit up in iapetus’ eyes.

“i have a bold idea. perhaps… we can make use of black star!”

Chapter 934: You Are Truly Bold

Chapter 934 You Are Truly Bold
in the dark energy gathering chamber of black star’s spaceship.

a black metal sphere that was ten meters in diameter floated in the middle of the room. the surface of the sphere had many beehive-like holes lined up neatly along the surface with most of the holes being connected to a high efficiency energy transmitter cable that stretched to the wall.

the spaceship had many of these dark energy gathering chambers that were used to collect the dark energy when travelling in the universe. this black sphere was the dark energy converter. under normal circumstances, the dark energy reactor was enough to sustain the spaceship for ordinary flight. using such an energy collector was akin to harvesting solar energy for backup and for letting the energy reactor rest once in a while. it was also able to provide additional energy if required.

the room was filled with abundant dark energy. han xiao floated in front of the collecting device, and strands of dark red energy flowed around his body. the cells of his entire body absorbed the dark energy being given out, and he used an energy conversion manual to increase his own energy.

whoosh!

after a while, the red light in han xiao’s eyes receded, and he spat out a mouthful of hot air. he looked at the notification on his interface. the number of refinements for his [dark energy refinement manual] had increased by one again.

among the energy training techniques that he had purchased, this was one of the best. he could absorb dark energy and convert it to his own energy with an upper limit of 240 refinements. every refinement would give him 10 energy, and he would be able to obtain a total of 2,400 energy points at most.

after triggering the promotion mission, han xiao had been training his energy every day, and his energy points had already gone up by a few thousand points.

landing on the ground, han xiao gestured with his finger, and the cable lines that he unplugged were plugged back into the energy collection device. he then walked out of the room, and his consciousness entered the quantum network. with two fingers, he grabbed phillip and brought phillip in front of him.

“has anything happened recently?”

“let me see, hum…”

phillip then took out a holographic book and pretended to flip through it. an animated lightbulb then lit up above phillip’s head.

“a few dozen dynasty organizations issued an invitation to you. they wish to get to know you, master, hum…”

“they’re here again,” han xiao said helplessly.

it was no secret that he was touring the dynasty’s territory. most of them knew not to disturb him, but a small portion of them wanted to cling onto his thighs, and there were already a few hundred organizations that had invited him. they were all rejected by han xiao without exception.

“reject them all if there are no invitations worth paying attention to.” han xiao waved his hand.

“i looked through all the invitations, and there is a pretty interesting invitation that i think you may be interested in, hum…”

as he said that, the invitation was displayed before han xiao.

“your excellency black star,

“i am the founder of the iapetus financial group, and i have always admired the black star army. i wish to work together with the black star army and build a subdivision on planet ladbu. having heard that you are in the area, i wish to invite you to take a look at planet ladbu.

“planet ladbu feudal lord, iapetus.”

han xiao looked through the invitation and could not understand what was special about it.

“what’s so special about this? isn’t this an ordinary invitation? just send someone to build the subdivision. why is there a need for me to go personally?”

“the problem is, his signature is wrong. when i checked his identity, he isn’t the feudal lord of that planet but only one of the individuals participating in the election. i looked through the database, and it is very likely that he is in a precarious situation and thus chose to issue this invitation.”

han xiao did not have any impression of iapetus and went online to check on his background. iapetus’ current situation was no secret to a virtual mechanic like han xiao.

after looking through the information, han xiao could guess iapetus’ thoughts, and a look of interest could be seen on his face.

he wants to make use of me? and he doesn’t even bother hiding it?

a teasing look could be seen in han xiao’s eyes.

their statuses were worlds apart. a small little financial group leader actually wanted to make use of a dynasty bigshot like him?

without mentioning the rest, he was at least bold enough.

“master, should i reply to him?” phillip asked.

han xiao thought for a while and smiled.

“agree to him and change course to planet ladbu. let’s take a look at this fellow who has the guts to make use of me.”

…

in the room, iapetus was currently pacing around with a frown. his female secretary was dealing with the administrative work for the election and glanced at iapetus with concern from time to time.

“beep beep!”

right at this moment, the communicator rang, and iapetus picked it up immediately.

“brother, are you alright?” upon seeing the sudden change in his expression, the female secretary could not help but ask that with concern.

“i’m extremely good! black star has replied to me and agreed to my invitation. he will be arriving at planet ladbu very soon!” iapetus was truly overjoyed.

“he really agreed‽” the female secretary had a look of disbelief on her face.

she actually did not think that iapetus’ plan would work. in her eyes, a bigshot like black star would never bother about insignificant people like them.

“see for yourself.”

iapetus handed the communicator over to his secretary. this was just a bold attempt of his, and he had known that it was unlikely to succeed. even if black star could not see through his intentions, it would be difficult to tempt the other party with such a small amount of benefits. but since black star had agreed to their invitation, it meant that their cooperation had begun.

“make immediate arrangements,” iapetus instructed. “i want to personally welcome black star.”

“i understand.” the secretary stood up immediately and suddenly said with hesitation, “those few families are already taking action. should we release news now and get them to…”

“no!” iapetus rejected without any hesitation. “this information cannot be revealed before black star arrives. if it is, i will be in danger. cancel all my plans during this period. we must not give the enemy any chances!”

…

the representatives of the various wealthy families were gathered together. there was a pale looking man seated on the couch with a box in his hands. his hand had never left the surface of the box.

“what is iapetus doing? he’s cancelled all his plans, hiding at home. we will not have any chances to take action,” one of the representatives said.

another representative then looked at the pale man and said, “do you have an idea to get rid of him?”

this pale looking man was an assassin that the various families had been grooming. he was a grade b cannon master. he shook his head upon hearing the question.

“i had been observing the security of iapetus’ house. he’s hired many bodyguards with a few grade b supers. his defenses are extremely tight. unless he comes out in the open, it will be impossible for me to break into his house.”

“i have already come into contact with those grade b mercenaries,” one of the representatives said. “they took my money but told me that they can only pretend to be careless. they cannot betray their employer in the open, otherwise it will affect their credibility. we’d better wait for iapetus to leave his house.”

“if those grade b bodyguards are on our side, i am confident that i will be able to kill him.” the pale looking man smiled coldly.

“alright, be ready for your orders,” one of the representatives said with a dark expression. “planet ladbu is our territory, and we will never allow it to be managed by outsiders.”

…

a couple of days later, iapetus finally left the house and took a bulletproof flying device to one of the harbors. his motive was unknown.

the various large families received news and immediately sprang into action. they arranged for the pale looking man to follow behind them and waited for their opportunity.

very quickly, iapetus arrived at the harbor, and his flying device landed under the protection of his bodyguards.

the pale looking man followed behind and arrived at a storeroom under the arrangement of the families. there were no windows in the storeroom, but a cannon master had the ability to lock onto his target. he was definitely able to aim accurately without the need to see his target. this would allow his assassination to be better concealed.

he opened up the box beside him. the parts of a sniper rifle were stored within it. he rapidly assembled it, and it transformed into an electromagnetic sniper rifle. he then aimed the sniper rifle at iapetus.

the bodyguards intentionally left a gap that was a huge flaw in the eyes of the pale looking man. he then pressed on the microphone in his ear.

“i am in position. i can open fire anytime.”

“very good.” the voice of the representatives entered his ear.

in the city, the representatives monitored iapetus’ movements through the various satellites. after controlling the planet for so many years, they had plenty of resources available to them.

looking at iapetus through the satellite, all the representatives could not help but be puzzled.

“is he waiting for someone?”

“strange, who would come to meet him?”

“he has a financial group after all. perhaps he hired some new bodyguards.”

“but there isn’t a need for him to personally welcome bodyguards, right?”

since they could not understand his intentions, they decided to just not think about it. regardless of what he planned to do, they just had to kill him, and the problem would be solved.

one of the representatives then issued the kill order.

“you can…”

but before he could finish, an emergency call was made from the defensive troops outside the atmosphere.

this representative immediately picked up the call.

“what’s going on?”

“this is the observation station outside the atmosphere. an unknown fleet suddenly appeared outside the planet’s atmosphere. a group of battleships just broke through the planet’s detection net and is landing rapidly. their target should be the harbor near the capital of the planet.”

upon hearing the location, everyone was stunned.

iapetus was waiting for this fleet?

was this a show of force?

“humph, what’s the point of calling people? you’re dead for sure!”

everyone’s face darkened.

just when they wanted to give the kill order, a gasp could be heard over the communicator.

“wait a moment! i recognize it now. this is the black star army’s fleet! although there isn’t an insignia on the spaceships, they passed by here recently, and the number and models of the ships are identical!”

the expressions of all the representatives changed greatly.

at the same time, a gushing sound could be heard at the harbor, and everyone looked up. a group of spaceships was descending at high speed and becoming bigger by the second. the spaceships then landed accurately in front of iapetus’ group and messed up their hair.

whoosh!

the spaceship’s hatch opened, and a tall figure walked out from the spaceship. he then took off his disguise and revealed his true appearance.

“black star‽”

all the representatives were dumbfounded, and some of them even collapsed on the ground.

black star was a bigshot that belonged to a completely different world from them.

yet, the person whom iapetus wanted to receive was black star‽
how was that possible‽
what was the relationship between them? why would black star make a trip to such a small planet?

not just the representatives of the families, even the bodyguards beside iapetus were shocked.

they could feel an immense pressure from just seeing black star’s figure, and they felt that even breathing had become difficult.

right at this moment, the representatives seemed to have been shaken awake from their dreams and roared into the microphone.

“quickly leave! stop all your operations!”

all of them were frightened by the sudden visit of black star. before understanding the relationship between iapetus and black star, they would not dare make a rash move.

the pale looking man gulped and swiftly disassembled his rifle before running away at top speed.

han xiao looked in the direction the assassin had escaped before glancing at the leader of the group with interest.

“you are iapetus?”

iapetus suppressed the nervousness in his heart and said, “yes, i welcome you, your excellency black star, on the behalf of planet ladbu. your arrival is our honor.”

although his plan had succeeded and he had already planned what he should say to han xiao, his mind completely blanked out when he saw han xiao.

his mental state was immediately shaken.

just what kind of a character did i summon this time?

han xiao then sized him up and smiled.

“you are truly bold.”

iapetus’ body trembled slightly, and he did not dare reply.

this time, even a deity would not be able to save him.

Chapter 935: I Will Harvest Crops with a Sickle in My Hands

Chapter 935 I Will Harvest Crops with a Sickle in My Hands Iapetus had a respectful attitude before him, and the secretary beside him was extremely nervous.Han Xiao sized the two up and confirmed something in his heart. He did not have an impression of the two, which meant that they were not famous NPCs in his previous life. At the very least, they were not famous among the players.However, not having any fame did not mean that he did not have any ability. The galaxy was extremely large, and there would be many characters that the players had not come into contact to. Perhaps Iapetus did not achieve much in his previous life, or perhaps Iapetus passed away early and thus remained without fame.

Han Xiao generally tried looking for those with potential in his previous life, but apart from this, it was also possible for him to dig up some latent talents.

Before coming, the Great Mechanic Han had checked up on Iapetus’ background. His resume was complete, and his background was clean. He had founded a local financial group, and his few strategic decisions showed his foresight.

The way he saw it, although Iapetus did not have any combat strength, he was a capable talent in terms of management and could be brought back to help Sylvia.

With the various thoughts going through his head, Han Xiao did not say anything for a while. His silence had instead increased the pressure that Iapetus felt.

A drop of sweat rolled down Iapetus’ neck, but Iapetus maintained his posture and did not dare wipe his sweat off.

“Are you planning to let me continue standing here?” Han Xiao teased.

“My apologies. It is my oversight. Please follow me. I have arranged everything already,” Iapetus said immediately and cursed himself in his heart. Han Xiao’s immense pressure made him lose control of his own thoughts, and he was afraid that he would incur the ire of Han Xiao.

Iapetus led the way in the front and boarded the flying carrier with Han Xiao and Aurora.

The flying carrier then started moving toward the city. Iapetus and his secretary were seated opposite Han Xiao and Aurora with a reserved attitude.

“You are the one who invited me. Why are you so nervous?” Han Xiao chuckled.

“There are fewer than a hundred people in the universe who can probably maintain their cool before you, and I am not included among the hundred.” Iapetus calmed himself down and attempted bootlicking him.

It was a pity that Han Xiao did not like people sucking up to him. He then suddenly said with a smirk, “Right, you seem to have told me a lie. You aren’t the feudal lord of this planet yet.”

Iapetus tried to calm himself down and forced a smile. “This is only temporary. With my current polls, becoming the feudal lord is only a matter of time.”

Han Xiao did not retort but chuckled. “This means that our Black Star Army will only be able to set up a subdivision here after you become the feudal lord, right?”

This sharp question had targeted the core of the matter. Although Iapetus had such a thought, he did not dare admit it. He could only use his silence to agree.

The other party’s reaction was not out of Han Xiao’s expectations. He then paused for a while and said with a smile, “If that’s the case, why don’t I work together with the current feudal lord?”

“The election date is arriving, and I will definitely become the feudal lord of this planet. I will still be the one in charge of working together with you. Thus, I decided to make use of you being nearby to send you an invitation.” Iapetus knew that this reason was shaky, and it was only an excuse.

Before inviting Han Xiao, he had already considered the possibility of angering Black Star. He knew that Black Star might end up choosing to work together with the other huge families. However, this was a gamble anyway. If Black Star did not come, he would not have the chance to turn the tables. Thus, even if Black Star chose to work together with the large families, his situation would not be any worse than before. After considering the possible gains and losses, he had decided to make use of Black Star’s influence.

Even though he was ‘making use’ of Black Star, Iapetus was extremely clear that it was Black Star helping him. His little tricks would not be able to fool a bigshot like Black Star, and he had not even been confident that Black Star would show up.

Now that the other party was here, it meant that even if Black Star was aware of his intentions, Black Star was still willing to help him. Thus, there was no need to make things too clear, and both parties would have a tacit understanding of the situation.

Upon hearing the other party’s words, Han Xiao did not make things difficult for him and chuckled.

He could not help but recall a story from his previous life. There was a young man who wanted to become the son-in-law of the world’s richest man. As such, he applied for a job at a famous bank and claimed that he was the son-in-law of the world’s richest man, hoping to obtain a high-ranking post. He then went over to meet the world’s richest man and claimed that he had a high-ranking post in the famous bank and wished to marry his daughter.

Although this story was fake, Iapetus’ strategy was extremely similar to it.

Although it was a little risky and had a low chance of succeeding, Iapetus’ decision wasn’t too bad.

Han Xiao nodded in his head.

However, the other party’s actions were no different from inviting the wolf into his house in Han Xiao’s eyes. With fresh crops jumping right into his embrace, he would be a fool not to eat it up!

Constructing a subdivision on an ordinary planet was almost meaningless to him. What Han Xiao wanted was Iapetus.

Regardless of the generation, talent was the most important resource.

He did trigger a mission on his interface, but the rewards for the mission were pitiful. Since he was already going to help Iapetus, though, he might as well accept the mission.

Han Xiao and Aurora then arrived at Iapetus’ villa, and Iapetus could finally heave a sigh of relief after arranging everything.

The bodyguards returned to their position. After seeing that there was no one else around, Iapetus’ female secretary could not help but hug Iapetus’ neck from behind with excitement.

“Yes! We will definitely win with Black Star’s help!”

Iapetus forced out a smile and then shook his head. “It is enough for Black Star to come. I only want to borrow his prestige. As long as the large families do not do anything underhanded, I will be able to win the election for sure!”

“I was almost frightened to death when Black Star appeared just now.” The female secretary rolled her eyes. “This move of yours was truly too risky. Don’t do something like this again.”

“If not for me making this bold move, our ending would definitely have been terrible,” Iapetus said with a resolute gaze. “There’s no point to trying to guess the thoughts of a bigshot. Why not just give it a try? How could we know if the other party was willing to help us? We must take the initiative to seize opportunities!”

…

On the other side, Han Xiao’s arrival on Planet Ladbu had scared the few large families, and they were currently discussing what they should do next.

In the conference room, the family heads of the various families had solemn expressions on their faces, and the atmosphere was grave.

“Our information shows that Iapetus doesn’t have any background. Why would Black Star come and meet him?” one of the family heads asked with doubt.

“Our intelligence report must have missed something. Immediately check his relationship with Black Star! Before this, all our schemes against Iapetus must stop!” another family head roared.

Black Star’s arrival had disrupted all their plans, becoming an obstacle that they could not ignore. They had no choice but to consider Black Star’s attitude in their future plans.

Everyone present was not sure about the relationship between the two, and this was the misunderstanding that Iapetus wanted them to have.

With Black Star by his side, it would be impossible for them to assassinate him. If Iapetus was truly Black Star’s friend, they would be dead if they dared make a rash move.

These family heads could only do as they liked on this planet, but they were no different from ants when compared to Black Star.

Even if Black Star slaughtered them all, the universe would not be bothered by the matter. As a vassal of the dynasty, the central government would not stand up for them for sure.

Even if they died, no one would care about them!

“Thankfully, we stopped the assassination, but I’m afraid…” One of the family heads said with lingering fear in his heart.

“The current feudal lord is still a member of our family. We should first pay a visit to Black Star and try to fish for some information.”

…

A few hours later, the current feudal lord of Planet Ladbu visited Iapetus’ villa with plenty of gifts.

Even though Han Xiao was only the guest in this place, he seemed more like the owner of the villa. Iapetus did not dare reject the guests on behalf of Han Xiao and reported it to Han Xiao obediently.

The feudal lord of Planet Ladbu waited for a while outside the gate before being allowed to enter. He then suppressed his anxiety and arrived at the guest room.

However, he was immediately stunned upon entering the room. Han Xiao could not be seen in the room, and only an adorable girl was seated on the couch.

He then remembered that this girl was one of Black Star’s subordinates and sat opposite her obediently.

“You can let me know what you want.” Aurora tried her best to force out a solemn expression.

The Planet Ladbu feudal lord then chuckled and said with a fawning tone, “As the leader of Planet Ladbu, I would like to pay a visit to His Excellency Black Star and personally welcome him…”

“You don’t need to worry about that. His Excellency Black Star is not an individual that you can meet as and when you please.” Aurora waved her hands and mimicked the words and tone that Han Xiao had taught her. “You may leave if there isn’t anything else.”

The Planet Ladbu feudal lord refused to give up and tried probing Aurora a few more times. He only left after he noticed Aurora frowning.

After leaving the villa, his face became extremely ugly. He was unable to meet Black Star, but Iapetus was able to personally welcome Black Star. The meaning behind this made his heart sink.

…

With Han Xiao’s current position, many complicated matters became simple. Just his name and appearance were sufficient to frighten the various large families. They no longer dared act as they pleased, afraid that they might anger him. As such, they had no choice but to watch as Iapetus’ votes increased in number and had no way to stop Iapetus.

Han Xiao trained his energy and stayed on Planet Ladbu for a period of time. Very quickly, it was time for the election.

During the day of the election, Iapetus won by a landslide.

He then made a speech and went through plenty of ceremonies.

Night gradually came, and darkness descended.

A flying carrier moved slowly in the air, and Iapetus looked out of the window at the city.

His excitement from the day had died down, and upon thinking about the bigshot waiting for him at home, he could not feel happy.

His flying carrier stopped outside his door. Despite it being his own house, he was like a frightened beast in front of the house. Iapetus then took a deep breath and walked into the villa.

“You’re back?”

Just as he entered the door, he saw Aurora leaning against the wall, waiting for him in the hall. She then pointed up and smiled.

“He is waiting in the room for you.”

Iapetus then went up into the room nervously.

Han Xiao was the only one in the room and had his back facing the door. Without turning back, he knew that someone had arrived and said, “Come in and take a seat if you’re here.”

“Alright.”

The atmosphere in the room made Iapetus gulp, and he sat in front of Han Xiao.

Han Xiao then looked at Iapetus expressionlessly.

“Since you have succeeded, it is time to fulfil your promise.”

Iapetus heaved a sigh of relief and said respectfully, “I understand. I will immediately use my authority to work together with the Black Star Army and support the construction of a subdivision over here. I…”

Before he could finish, Han Xiao interrupted him. “I am not talking about this small matter.”

Iapetus felt his intestines tangle up.

Han Xiao then looked at him and said slowly, “Since the matter is completed, I shall speak openly. You borrowed my prestige to suppress the other great families, and this is only your motive on the surface. Your second motive was to obtain the support of the army through the subdivision constructed here to ensure that you can sit comfortably in the position of feudal lord.”

Iapetus fell silent upon hearing that.

That was indeed his plan.

The election was only the start. After running Planet Ladbu for so many years, the various large families controlled the officials of all levels. Even if he became the feudal lord, he would be no more than a puppet without authority. When Black Star left and the families investigated his relationship with Black Star, his life would be in danger.

Thus, he had to find a reliable backer.

Black Star, who was in the vicinity, had attracted his attention. As such, he hoped to make the Black Star Army his backer to stabilize his position of feudal lord.

“What do you want?” Iapetus said with a dark expression.

Han Xiao looked at him and smiled. The oppressive atmosphere in the room also disappeared.

“Don’t be so nervous. I won’t harm you since I chose to help you.”

Iapetus also felt that those words made sense and eased up slightly.

Before Iapetus could catch his breath, Han Xiao’s next words made him freeze in place.

“Alright. You have played enough already. Pack up and follow me onto the spaceship.”

Iapetus’ expression froze in place.

Chapter 936: Dealing with Sorokin

Chapter 936 Dealing with Sorokin “What do you mean?” Shock could be seen on Iapetus’ face.“You should understand the Universal Language, right? I mean what I said. You are going to come with me.” Han Xiao looked at Iapetus with interest.“Are you joking? Leave with you?” Iapetus was puzzled.

“I am not joking with you. You will need to pay the price for my aid. Since you sought help from me, you will become a member of my Black Star Army and my subordinate as the price.”

“We never had such an agreement!” Iapetus stood up abruptly.

“Why do you think that I need to discuss terms with you?” Han Xiao raised his brows. “Since I am the one providing help, the conditions will naturally be decided by me. My condition is you. You are already one of my subordinates now.”

Iapetus’ face began to contort. He had never imagined that the other party actually wanted him!

All of a sudden, his heart was filled with a myriad of emotions. There was shock and frustration, and he even felt overwhelmed with favor.

Iapetus then replied in a deep voice, “I am sorry. I thank you for thinking highly of me, but I will not sell myself.”

“Why are you under the impression that you have a choice?”

Han Xiao could not help but laugh.

Compared to combat strength, management ability did not have a benchmark. One could only view an individual’s past records to make a judgement, and Han Xiao felt that Iapetus was a talent worthy of harvesting.

It wasn’t that Han Xiao thought extremely highly of Iapetus. There was no lack of management talents in the army, but having met a talent, he would just take Iapetus back with him since he was already there.

“I won’t be able to fight back if you want to force me, but will the famous Black Star do something like that?” Iapetus was completely helpless and could only attempt to persuade Han Xiao otherwise.

“Tsk, you seem to have gotten something wrong.”

Han Xiao then walked behind Iapetus and pressed down on his shoulder to get Iapetus to sit down.

“If this was an ordinary recruitment, I wouldn’t force anyone who rejects me. But the relationship between us is different. You wanted to make use of me and have already obtained benefits. Furthermore, you will still need the Black Star Army to help you stabilize your position. Thus, the initiative is in my hands. It can be said that I am your creditor.”

Han Xiao then retracted his smile and said calmly, “Since I am your creditor, I will decide how you should pay your debts and not how much money is in your wallet.”

Iapetus had nothing to say in response. This was obviously a forced transaction, but he had no way to reject a bigshot like Black Star.

Gritting his teeth, Iapetus said, “You should have mentioned beforehand that you wanted me to work for you. That way, I wouldn’t…”

Han Xiao interrupted Iapetus calmly. “Don’t forget that you were the one who took the initiative to seek help from me. You did not ask me for my conditions at all.”

Upon hearing that, Iapetus was completely speechless.

He had only hinted at Black Star about his intentions during the invitation. How could he openly ask the other party for his conditions? Should he have openly stated that he would not work for the other party? Would that not have been too shameless of him? How would he have known that Black Star would take a fancy to him‽

Now that things had developed to such a point, Iapetus had nowhere to go. Black Star already had the initiative, and if he insisted on rejecting Black Star, he was certain that the Black Star Army would work together with the other families. The situation was different from before. Before the election, he had nothing to lose, and the situation could not have become worse for him. Now that he had already obtained the position of feudal lord, Black Star’s attitude would determine the stability of his position. In fact, it even determined his life!

At this moment, Iapetus only had a single thought.

Just why do you think so highly of me? I will change!

Seeing Iapetus’ difficult expression, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and intentionally lowered the tone of his voice.

“Do you really dislike the Black Star Army that much?”

Upon hearing that, Iapetus was taken aback. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head.

Iapetus had no choice but to admit that his future in the Black Star Army would definitely be brighter.

How could the feudal lord of an ordinary planet be compared to the personal recruitment of Black Star?

“I am not against the idea of joining the army. It is just that I didn’t only participate in the election for my future but also to do something for my mother planet,” Iapetus said with a sigh and briefly described his ambition.

He was born in an ordinary family and started everything from scratch. After he made his mark, he became dissatisfied with the corruption in his homeland and thus tried to use many ways to wipe out the corruption in his homeland.

“You can still continue to be your planet’s feudal lord while serving me,” Han Xiao then replied.

“Then, I really cannot leave with you. How can I leave after being elected?” Iapetus said with difficulty. “Can you give me a few years to iron out matters here?”

“You do not have the right to negotiate with me.” Han Xiao chuckled. “Even if you are not on Planet Ladbu, you can still manage it from afar. With my support, no one will be able to shake your position even if you aren’t present.”

Upon seeing that he still had something to say, Han Xiao did not bother bargaining with Iapetus and said while leaving the room, “I don’t care how you take care of it, but I will only give you three days. You will leave with me when the time is up.”

Looking at Han Xiao’s retreating back, Iapetus sat in silence, and his face was extremely bitter.

His worst nightmare had come true. It was truly easier to invite a wolf into his house than send it away. Before he even warmed the seat of feudal lord, he would have to leave and sell himself away.

I’m so tired. I truly regret it… I shouldn’t have provoked such a bigshot.

…

Three days later, Iapetus stood in front of the hatch with a complicated look on his face.

He then let out a sigh and looked at his secretary, who had a reluctant look on her face. “I will have to trouble you when I am not around.”

After three days of making arrangements, Iapetus decided to make his trusted secretary his spokesperson to help him manage Planet Ladbu. With the support of the Black Star Army, her personal safety was guaranteed.

Although he was not very willing, he had no choice.

His secretary stepped forward and gave Iapetus a hug. She could only watch as the situation turned out as such, and she had no strength to prevent Iapetus from being dragged away.

“You… be careful,” Iapetus’ secretary said with worry on her face.

Upon hearing that, Iapetus could not help but laugh bitterly. If he followed Black Star, not to mention other things, his safety definitely would not be an issue.

He then suppressed his emotions and headed toward the spaceship and his unknown future.

…

News of their new leader leaving was not kept a secret, and all the large families were extremely shocked.

Is he leaving the third day after the election? Just what is this‽

After a series of investigations, the various large families understood what had happened. They found out that Iapetus had become a member of the Black Star Army and was taken away. He had left his secretary behind to maintain his control over the planet.

Iapetus had the support of the Black Star Army, and none of them could fight back. However, Iapetus’ actions did not conform to the rules. The local leader of a colonial planet was not allowed to join another organization. This was to prevent the colonial planet from being controlled by other organizations.

All of them then made a plan and made use of their network to report this matter to the central government. They did not have any way to deal with Iapetus, but the civilization’s government could. They would be able to take away Iapetus’ title of feudal lord by using the reason of ‘sensitive identity’ and have an official take over the position.

In their eyes, although the Black Star Army was powerful, they did not have the right to interfere with the internal affairs of a civilization.

Since they could not provoke Black Star, they could only choose to employ such methods.

This civilization had stopped progressing many years ago, and many of their officials were corrupt and easy to deal with. These large families could not do anything to Iapetus, but they were still confident about roping in such an official. The situation definitely would not be worse than it was right now.

After the central government found out about this, they immediately fell into a dilemma.

Such an action had gone against their laws, but they could not afford to provoke Han Xiao. After some discussion, they could only force Iapetus to make a choice. He could choose to give up his identity as a member of the Black Star Army or give up the title of feudal lord.

Iapetus would want to return to his home planet, but he had no choice. However, he was not resigned to give up the title of feudal lord and could only report the matter to Han Xiao.

Since he had roped the other party into his army, Han Xiao did not mind increasing the loyalty of this newbie. As such, he immediately made a call to the Crimson Dynasty.

The effect of this call was obvious. A few days later, this Star System Civilization retracted their orders and pretended that nothing had happened.

This time, the several large families of Planet Ladbu were truly helpless. Black Star’s authority made all their plans useless, and they could only accept their fate obediently.

This Star System Civilization was a vassal of the Crimson Dynasty. With Han Xiao’s status in the dynasty, a single call was enough to resolve this problem.

However, Han Xiao was clear that this method would only work on the vassal civilizations of the dynasty. If it was a neutral Star System Civilization, his fame would be useless.

An outsider interfering with the internal affairs of a civilization was already taboo and touched the bottom line of a civilization. His status was indeed high up as an ally of the dynasty, and he was respected by the various Star System Civilizations. But respect was one thing, and no civilization would compromise on their principles.

However, the vassal civilizations of the Crimson Dynasty were different. Their political will was weak, and they adhered to the requests of the Crimson Dynasty.

The dynasty did not want to affect the relationship between the two because of such a small matter. This could also be considered one of Han Xiao’s special rights in the Crimson Dynasty.

…

Iapetus had already spent some time on the spaceship and adjusted his own emotions. Now that things had developed to such a state, he could only accept his fate. Since fighting back was useless, he chose to enjoy it and decided to do his best for the army.

Han Xiao finally summoned him that day. When he arrived at Han Xiao’s office, he immediately asked about his job.

“Your Excellency Black Star, what do you need me to do for the army?”

Han Xiao placed down the communicator in his hands and looked up at Iapetus. “You started out from scratch and have good management abilities. Your business foresight isn’t too bad either. I have some financial group related matters to hand over to you.”

“This is my specialty.” Iapetus heaved a sigh of relief.

“But before this, meet your future superior first.”

As he said that, Han Xiao pressed his communicator, and Sylvia’s projection appeared in the room.

“I am the Chief Administrative Official of the Black Star Army. Are you Iapetus?” Sylvia sized Iapetus up.

“Yes.”

“Hmm, I have already seen your resume. Your ability isn’t too bad.” Sylvia nodded.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao knocked on the table, and both of them turned around.

“Alright, let’s get straight to the point. I plan to set up a subsidiary financial group that is still in the preparation phase. I will be investing in a large number of talents in the future.”

The current Black Star Army was extremely large, and there was a need to modify its structure a little. After some consideration, Han Xiao decided to make the Black Star Army the core and develop a few organizations.

The first organization would be a pure financial organization. The financial group would be able to make use of the Black Star Army’s resources to gain business advantages.

A portion of this idea came from referencing the structure of the Limitless Financial Group, and the other reason was to deal with the Limitless Financial Group’s competition.

The methods of the Limitless Financial Group revealed the weakness of cooperation through benefits. As such, Han Xiao planned to develop a subsidiary financial group and reorganize all the army’s subsidiary operations. All the previous operations managed by organizations cooperating with them would be transformed into their own operations. This would limit the Limitless Financial Group’s acquisition tactic.

Sylvia nodded and looked at Iapetus.

“I am the temporary leader of the financial group. Although you are a newbie, you are a talent that the Army Commander has personally recruited. I will give you a chance. You do not need to work from the bottom and can lead a team to compete with the other teams. As long as you are able to produce results, I will give you the position of a manager. As for whether or not you can be promoted, that will depend on your performance.

The army had a large number of talents, and Iapetus was only a newbie. Han Xiao would not allow him to become a manager so quickly, and he could only slowly prove his ability to rise up the ranks.

“I understand. This is fair.” Iapetus nodded. He was pretty confident in doing business and was not afraid of competition.

Thinking about that, he could not help but ask, “What is the name of that subsidiary financial group?”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao raised his brows, and a teasing look could be seen on his face.

“Let’s call it… the Germinal Financial Group.”

Chapter 937: Feidin, Being Lucky Is So Troublesome

Chapter 937 Feidin, Being Lucky Is So Troublesome Iapetus did not know the meaning of the financial group’s name, but the strange smile on Black Star’s face when he mentioned this name told him that this name had a special meaning.Han Xiao shook his head and knocked on the table. “I will get people to send you to the army headquarters located in the Shattered Star Ring when we reach the next planet. When you arrive, you will have time to get used to your job. That’s all I have to say; you can leave now. Go and do your own homework.”“Alright.” Iapetus nodded, bowed, and left the room.

When Iapetus left the room, Sylvia rolled her eyes and said, “You are far too petty. You actually came up with such a name.”

Although she was not someone from Planet Aquamarine, she had served under Han Xiao for many years and had also heard about his experiences in the early days.

“I am not being petty.” Han Xiao grunted.

In fact, Hila, Aurora, and himself were the final three members of the Germinal Organization. Looking at it that way, Germinal was truly brimming with talents.

After joking for a while longer, Han Xiao got back to the main point. “Anyway, how are matters in the Shattered Star Ring?”

Upon hearing that, Sylvia also retracted her smile and reported the situation regarding the Bloodshed Land and Limitless Financial Group. Ever since the start of their competition, Han Xiao had gotten Sylvia to give him a report every now and then.

Currently, the remaining organizations working together with the Black Star Army had formed an alliance and restricted the Limitless Financial Group’s acquisition tactic to a certain extent. The Limitless Financial Group and Bloodshed Land had also changed their tactic and started to stabilize the operations that they had acquired.

The efficiency of the Bloodshed Land had immediately shown itself. They quickly digested the market stolen by the Limitless Financial Group, and the Bloodshed Land expanded rapidly during this period.

Both parties were able to complement each other. The Limitless Financial Group smashed money to acquire organizations while the Bloodshed Land provided their influence and network to reorganize these resources. As such, the development of the Bloodshed Land went smoothly and was catching up to the Black Star Army’s status in the Shattered Star Ring.

The combination of a foreign dragon and local snake gave people the greatest headache. If not, even if the Limitless Financial Group could print money, their threat would still have been limited.

The Tyrant had truly created a lot of trouble for him. Han Xiao snorted after listening to the report.

I will definitely give you a good beating after my Promotion!

Han Xiao shook his head.

“I understand the situation. You can get back to work.”

“Humph, you only know how to order me around. Can’t I even stay a bit longer with you? Ever since I became the Chief Administrative Official, you’ve become more and more distant from me!” Sylvia could not help but sniffle.

“Since when?” Han Xiao was stunned.

“I don’t care! I haven’t taken a break in such a long time. I want to be as carefree as Jenny!” Sylvia complained with anger. “Although I am willing to work for the army, you cannot treat me like a slave! Humph! Do you really think that I like working‽ If not for you… Humph!”

Han Xiao could only comfort her helplessly.

In the eyes of the members of the army, Sylvia would never complain and had a steady image. She would only start to whine and throw a tantrum when she was in front of him.

At the next planet, Han Xiao picked a few battleships and sent Iapetus back to the Shattered Star Ring.

He then continued to run around in the dynasty, searching for crops while training his energy.

He went through many different Star Clusters, Star Systems, and planets. As time went on, the various organizations no longer found his actions strange.

After touring the dynasty for a long time, Han Xiao accumulated his energy to the boundary point of Lv.19. He was getting closer and closer to completing his Promotion mission.

…

Whoosh!

In the gravitational chamber, the half-naked Han Xiao was floating in midair with his eyes glowing brightly.

Han Xiao then took a deep breath and retracted all his Mechanical Force. Ending the gravity simulation, he could feel as though a layer of restriction was taken off his cells, and new energy was being formed.

I’ve finished training another Energy Training Technique.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he nodded with satisfaction.

This was an Energy Training Technique that used gravity to force out the energy of the cell. He had trained it to the maximum and squeezed out all its value.

During this period, Han Xiao had trained a few different Energy Training Techniques, and he now had about 119,000 energy points.

Just one last thousand points. I am not too far away from Lv.19.

Han Xiao then controlled his body to open the sweat pores of his body. Sweat immediately gushed out from his pores but evaporated the instant it left his body.

At his current level, he was able to control his body perfectly. Even sweating was something that he could control with a thought. He could choose not to sweat after an intense workout and would only feel a tinge of discomfort.

Drying up his body, Han Xiao touched his chest muscles and admired his body for a while before putting his clothes back on.

Han Xiao then walked out of the gravitational chamber, walked to the alley, and looked out of the window.

The image displayed on the window was capable of zooming in and out. At this moment, the image on the window showed the surface of a planet with plenty of spaceships taking off and landing from it.

Enya Hub, a famous galactic city in the Constellation Corridor. A high-grade transfer hub.

This was a prosperous galactic city that belonged to one of the dynasty’s Beyond Grade A allies. Because of its good management and location, Enya Hub had become one of the famous spots in the dynasty.

However, Han Xiao did not come to this planet to dig up talents. His fleet needed to replenish their resources, and Aurora and his Black Star Guards complained that they had stayed on the spaceship for too long and wanted to play in the city. Thus, he brought them to Enya Hub and had stayed there for a few days already.

In order to not attract any commotion, Han Xiao disguised his fleet and got Phillip to conceal information of his arrival and create a fake identity. As such, Enya Hub’s artificial intelligence did not detect his arrival, and no one knew that he had arrived.

Opening his interface, he could see an Evolutionary Totem buff on it.

This is also a planet that has an Evolutionary Totem on it. Han Xiao stroked his chin.

The sale of the Evolutionary Totems had been going on for quite some time already. The dynasty and their allies had purchased whatever they wanted and had begun putting them to use already. The Evolutionary Totems would usually be used on colonial planets, and it was rarer to see one being used in a transit station.

Han Xiao looked through the past two years of information for Enya Hub and realized that the Enya Hub had attracted more tourists and visitors. Some weak races would even send some of their members to stay on a neutral planet that had the Evolutionary Totem.

As such, a new wave of migration happened.

Han Xiao then walked over to the officers’ activity room.

There would usually be many people playing cards in there, and it would be extremely noisy. But today, it was extremely silent, and not even half of the Black Star Guards were playing Wayne Cards.

All of them turned around and greeted Han Xiao before continuing to play their game.

Looking around, Han Xiao did not see Feidin, Hadavy, and the others. He then tapped someone on the shoulder and asked, “Where are the rest?”

“Oh, they went to Enya Hub to play. Hadavy led a group of them to… cough cough… to that type of bar. As for Feidin, I think he went shopping with Aurora.” This Calamity Grade guard rubbed his head and said, “Do you want to call them back?”

“Forget it.” Han Xiao shook his head. He would not prevent his subordinates from seeking entertainment.

He was not in a rush to leave anyway. Since he only needed another thousand energy points, he might as well remain there and finish his Promotion mission.

…

In the Fourth Entertainment Zone, a grand ceremony was being held, and the streets were filled with people of many different races. A convoy moved slowly down the streets with the performers on the convoy performing strange actions toward the spectators. From time to time, there would be street performers performing alongside the convoy.

Feidin and Aurora had put on disguises and were currently mixed in with the crowd. Aurora looked around with curiosity, and Feidin followed behind her as a temporary bodyguard. He had a bright smile on his face and would comment on the performance by the side from time to time.

“Sigh, it is truly too boring to be on the spaceship. Somewhere with more people is much more fun.”

Aurora was currently holding onto some snacks in her hands, and she spoke while chewing on her food.

Hila enjoyed being alone, but Aurora enjoyed crowded places. When she was young, although a traumatic experience had given her social anxiety, she no longer faced such an issue after so many years of adjustment.

She spent most of her time with Hila, and now that Hila was on a long trip, Aurora wanted to travel around to increase her worldview. However, she did not only like crowded places because of her personality, and there was also a biological factor. Her Esper Ability allowed her to detect life force, and there was a certain degree of attraction in a place with plenty of life force. Such an environment allowed her to become extremely energetic and joyful.

“Oh, I like places that are quieter.” Feidin shrugged his shoulders.

Aurora then rolled her eyes and said, “You like your two-person world, right? Is mental mating really so fun? Are both of you addicted to it?”

Feidin was not too bothered by the remark and chuckled while pointing to his forehead. “You made her shy.”

Aurora felt her hair standing up. Just when she wanted to say something, Feidin’s expression changed, and he grabbed Aurora’s shoulders.

“Wait a moment, something seems to be happening.”

Aurora immediately dropped her joking expression and threw away the snacks in her hand. She then grabbed her firearm and got ready for battle.

At the same time, she circulated her life force detection ability and scanned the direction of Feidin’s sight. She then noticed the appearance of a few life forces with a particularly weak one as though an individual was severely injured.

Both of them then looked at each other and entered an alley. After making a few turns, there was no trace of the passersby anymore.

Very quickly, they arrived at the location of the life force but were greeted with an empty patch of land.

Feidin frowned and took out a magical badge. This was a gift that Lagi had given to her. It was equipment that could detect magical fluctuations. It was currently vibrating and pointing toward the empty land in front of them.

“It seems like some magical barrier. To think that it is able to hide from the magical detection equipment of the city. However, they don’t seem like good guys if they wanted to hide in the city. Just what are they trying to do?

Feidin wondered if they should poke their noses into this matter.

But before he could even make a decision, the space around him shattered like glass!

Clank clank!

The invisible barrier was broken from within, and a bloody figure charged out before collapsing on the ground. The scene in front of Feidin and Aurora immediately changed, and a large number of craters could be seen.

Apart from this injured individual, there were a few standing far away with war hammers in their hands and black hoods on their heads. Their robes were inscribed with a white insignia, and they had a couple of different necklaces each. They were dressed like the priests of some religious order.

A group fight had obviously just broken out here.

It might have been because of the broken barrier, and they did not wish to attract any attention. These few priest-like individuals then turned around and left without any hesitation.

Feidin thought for a moment and did not bother giving chase because he was not aware of their identities. He then walked forward to support the injured individual.

Before he could even ask about what had happened, the injured individual grabbed onto his clothes tightly and said with a hoarse voice, “St… op… them…”

The injured individual fell unconscious and left a bloody print on Feidin’s clothes.

They looked at each other with their eyes widened.

“What should we do?”

“Sigh, use your ability to save him first. We should ask him about what’s going on. I have a feeling that this isn’t a small matter.”

As he said that, Feidin shook his head and muttered under his breath, “Why do I always encounter such situations?”

Chapter 938: Meeting an Opportunity Even When Shopping

Chapter 938 Meeting an Opportunity Even When Shopping

Upon seeing the severely wounded individual on the brink of death, Aurora placed her palm on his body, and a brilliant ray of life force energy was released from her fingers. The next moment, the individual’s wounds healed up at a rapid rate. His bloody wound closed up, and fractured bones connected back together. His pale appearance also regained some color, and all his wounds were healed.

“Urgh.” His brows twitched, and he gradually woke up from his slumber.

“Where am I?” He was in a daze for a moment before remembering what had happened before he fell unconscious. He then stood up abruptly and looked around cautiously. “Where did those maniacs go?”

Feidin coughed lightly to catch his attention and said, “The ones who attacked you have escaped. We saved you.”

“Escaped? Sh*t! It took me a great deal of effort to find traces of them, and I lost track of them again,” he said with frustration before sizing up Feidin and Aurora. After a while, he came to a realization. “You’re the two I saw before I fell unconscious, right?”

“That’s right.” Feidin pointed at the bloody print on his clothes. “You even asked me to stop them.”

This individual then slapped his head and said with resignation, “I’m sorry, friend. My injuries were too severe, and my consciousness was muddled. It wasn’t my intention to drag both of you into danger. I would have asked both of you to escape if I was thinking clearly.”

Just as he said that, he remembered about his wounds. After checking his body, he was immediately startled.

“Eh? Where are my wounds? Where did the large hole in my chest go!”

Aurora then imitated Han Xiao’s expression and said, “I was the one who healed you. This is my ability.”

He then moved around and realized that not only was his body completely healed, he was full of energy as though he was at his peak state.

It was not that he had not witnessed a healing ability before. But this was the first time he had witnessed an ability with such powerful effects. It had only been a few minutes since he fell unconscious at the very most; this healing efficiency was truly too frightening “I met a treasure!” This individual was extremely excited and stepped forward, wanting to hold Aurora’s hand. “Are you interested in joining us?”

Feidin helplessly stretched out his arm to block the passionate fellow. After a short period of interaction, he realized that this fellow seems to be a little dimwitted.

“You should introduce yourself first at least. This is basic manners.”

“Oh. Right right right. I was too agitated and forgot.” He then retracted his arms and said with a solemn expression, “I am called Raymond, a member of the Punisher Alliance.”

“What alliance?” Feidin had never heard of such an organization.

“Er… you guys don’t belong to this Star System, right?” Seeing the other party’s puzzled expression, Raymond rubbed his head awkwardly and explained, “The Punisher Alliance is an organization that protects the normal people and punishes evil. Our main area of operation is within this Star System.”

Feidin and Aurora immediately understood what kind of an organization the Punisher Alliance was.

The Punisher Alliance was a local vigilante Super organization in the Star System. They were the ‘superheroes’ of the ordinary galactic residents.

Those who had strength would have a slight change in mental state. There would always be wanted individuals in the various parts of the universe. The core reason for this was the strength that individuals could obtain. As such, there would be the bad guys who had various different ambitions but also the superheroes who were on the other side.

Being a superhero was also a kind of occupation, but it was different from being a mercenary. This occupation was extremely bitter. They not only had to go around saving people everywhere but might not even receive a reward in return. Their moral standard was at least as high as a five-level building.

There were few willing to go into such an occupation, and most Supers wanted to use their strength to lead a better life, obtain more wealth, and gain greater authority. Thus, there were very few Supers who became superheroes. As such, a superhero organization would usually be formed by a group of like-minded individuals.

However, there was also a benefit of such an occupation. Their fame was much higher than the mercenaries.

Although there were not many Superheroes, their numbers were not small when adding up the numbers across the universe. Most of them operated in their local region. As such, the three Universal Civilizations set up a superheroes association to make it easier to manage them. As long as one registered and obtained a ‘superhero permit’, they would be allowed to administer justice within a certain region and not get invited for tea. Apart from having a salary, any losses suffered during the process of ‘administering justice’ would be reimbursed by the association. In summary, the superheroes were like a bunch of vigilantes.

After listening to his introduction, Feidin thought for a moment and did not give his real name.

“I am Fei… cough Chen Xing. She is Au… Aura.”

“Thank you for saving me.” Both of them had a disguise on, so Raymond did not recognize them.

“Just what is going on?” Feidin asked.

Raymond originally did not want to drag outsiders into the matter, but Aurora’s ability changed his mind, and he explained what was going on. “The bunch who attacked me belong to a cult called Blood Hammer Church. They use blood sacrifices to carry out their rituals and have committed many crimes within this Star System. They are the old rivals of the Punisher Alliance.”

Upon hearing that, Feidin began to frown. He did not like the action of using an ordinary individual’s blood to perform a ritual.

Even if the public security within the three Universal Civilizations was good, crimes could not be avoided in society.

Unless the preparator had extremely high combat capability or the crime was extremely severe, the governing Universal Civilization would not personally take action and leave the matter to the local vassal civilization or mercenaries. The Universal Civilization would only intervene if their vassal civilization could not deal with it.

Every blood sacrifice conducted by the Blood Hammer Church would not kill too many, and many of their operations had been stopped by the Punisher Alliance. At the same time, they would not catch the members from the dynasty’s colonial planet directly. Thus, the dynasty had not found the need to personally intervene and capture them yet.

“I detected traces of them on Enya Hub and was worried that they were going to carry out a blood sacrifice here. As such, I followed them stealthily and wanted to find their base of operation but was discovered halfway. You know what happened next. If not for you two, I would be dead already.” Raymond laughed bitterly.

“I see,” Feidin said. “Then, what is your current plan?”

“Don’t worry, I have already contacted my other partners, and they are rushing over to Enya Hub now. I will continue to pursue the Blood Hammer Church and not allow them to harm ordinary citizens.” Raymond then paused for a moment and added, “But I won’t be a match for them alone…”

“You can approach the military or public security forces stationed here,” Aurora said.

“I will definitely make a report, but I am an ordinary superhero, and they will not allow me to join in their operation. I can’t sit idly by the side without doing anything and will have to do something,” Raymond said with sincerity. “I hope that both of you can help me, and I sincerely invite both of you to join the Punisher Alliance.”

Many superheroes had such a habit. They enjoyed working alone. Furthermore, the other party had obviously taken a fancy to Aurora’s Esper Ability.

“Alright then, allow us to consider the matter.”

Feidin did not reject him immediately. He planned to report the matter to Han Xiao and hear his opinion.

It was not that he enjoyed poking his nose into others’ business. They were in the territory of the dynasty, and they were allies of the dynasty. It would not be good if they ignored such a crime. After all, it was a small matter to the Black Star Army to stop such a crime.

“Punisher Alliance? Blood Hammer Church?”

In the cultivation chamber, Han Xiao opened his eyes and looked at Feidin and Aurora’s long-distance projection with a strange look on his face.

He was originally training his energy and received a message from Feidin and Aurora about this matter.

Han Xiao then searched in his memories of his previous life for these two organizations.

The Punisher Alliance had quite a bit of fame and was a secondary faction, so joining it would not affect the player’s status. There were some players in his previous life who joined the Punisher Alliance to enjoy the feeling of being a superhero. During that period, the Blood Hammer Church had already been destroyed, and the players could only come into contact with the Blood Hammer Church storyline through a Dungeon Crystal.

Han Xiao had played the Blood Hammer Church dungeon before many times as well, and the dungeon had left a deep impression on him. The priests in the dungeon had healing abilities and could also swing their hammers around viciously, capable of both dealing damage and healing health.

In front of the Blood Hammer Church, a priest only capable of healing was like a child.

The Punisher Alliance also had a side storyline. After defeating many evil organizations, they collected plenty of items, and one of them was a relic left behind by a powerful Super. A powerful secondary dimension lifeform was sealed within it.

Many years later, this lifeform broke out from the seal and caused massive damage to the Punisher Alliance.

Han Xiao could clearly remember that the mission to get rid of this boss had two talents as the reward. One increased Psychological Resistance and the other Magical Resistance.

Furthermore, the relic was also valuable. It was able to increase a Psychic’s psychic energy by a large extent.

Upon seeing Feidin’s clueless appearance, Han Xiao had a complicated look in his eyes.

You can truly find gold whenever you leave the house…

Chapter 939: Scheme in the Dark

Chapter 939 Scheme in the Dark

I always meet unexpected events when I bring a protagonist level character out with me. I only want to train my energy in peace. Is that really that difficult?

Han Xiao let out a helpless sigh and waved his hands.

“Since there is someone creating trouble in the dynasty, just help them stop it. I will hand this matter over to you to handle. You can mobilize my Black Star Guards if you meet any difficulties. Also, let me give you another mission. You and Aurora should hide your identities to enter that Punisher Alliance and help me find information regarding an item.”

The Blood Hammer Church and Punisher Alliance was too many levels beneath him. If it was during ordinary times, Han Xiao would have been willing to interfere personally. But now, he only wanted to train his energy in peace and was not interested in joining such a matter. As such, he might as well get Feidin to help him find clues on whether that sealed item was currently in the Punisher Alliance.

He could just one hit the boss when the time came. It would save him a great deal of effort, and he would still be able to gain the talent easily.

He was at ease handing a mission like this to someone like Feidin.

“Alright then,” Feidin said. “Then, about the problem of concealing our identities…”

“I will get Phillip to forge both of your resumes, and there won’t be any loopholes. It will be enough to gain their trust,” Han Xiao said. “Since both of you are going to conceal your identities, don’t perform too outstandingly. You can just work together with that Raymond guy, and there’s no need to show too much initiative.”

“This… alright then.” Feidin hesitated for a moment before asking, “Can you help us use your Virtual Technology skills to trace the whereabouts of the Blood Hammer Church?”

Han Xiao shook his head. “Without any clues, I will need to infiltrate the main system, or even control the quantum network node, of Enya Hub if I want to investigate this matter. This is a huge matter, and this planet belongs to another Beyond Grade A ally. They will have their own defense troops, and there’s no need for me to intervene. Didn’t I just say that there isn’t a need to be too outstanding? It wouldn’t be good if you attract Raymond’s attention.”

Searching for a few targets by spying on the entire planet required a large amount of calculations. Although Han Xiao was able to do so, it was very troublesome.

The Blood Hammer Church was at too low a level, and he did not wish to waste his effort on this matter. Enya Hub’s security forces should also have a similar method to track any suspicious characters. Han Xiao would rather hand the matter over to them than poke his nose into this matter.

“Alright.” Feidin thought for a while and realized that what Han Xiao said made sense. Troubling a Beyond Grade A for such a small matter was like making a mountain out of a molehill. As a member of the Black Star Guards, how could he get his superior to help him do everything?

Raymond and the others were only at Grade B, and a Calamity Grade like him should be enough to deal with the situation. Even if things took a turn for the worse, he could still mobilize Hadavy and the other guys, who were bored to death.

As things stood, those Black Star Guards would really become sloths.

Closing his communicator, Feidin explained the matter to Aurora, and Aurora’s eyes lit up immediately.

“He got us to take care of the matter? Great! I finally have something to do!”

Feidin smiled and contacted Raymond. He then agreed to Raymond’s invitation and said that he was willing to join the Punisher Alliance.

Raymond was overjoyed upon hearing that.

“Great! I welcome both of you on behalf of the Punisher Alliance. I will inform the rest immediately and arrange for both of you to enter the alliance!”

Upon seeing that Raymond was about to hang up, Feidin could only stop him and say with a sigh, “We’ll need to fill an application if we want to join, right? Did you forget about that?”

“Right right right.” Raymond slapped himself on his forehead and said, “I was too excited. You need to fill in a form to join the alliance. I will send it to you immediately.”

Feidin shook his head and received the document that Raymond had sent. After looking at the form, it only needed them to fill in their names, abilities, Grade, and past employment.

He then filled in the identity that Phillip had forged for him. His new identity was only a Grade B Super. This was to make him seem more ordinary. If others knew that he was a Calamity Grade, his status would be completely different, and it would not be good for him to sneak into the organization. Although the Calamity Grade percentage in the Central Galaxy was higher, Calamity Grades were still a rare sight.

After filling up the form, Raymond sent it out to the members of the Punisher Alliance without any hesitation.

…

Two Star Zones away from Enya Hub, there was a small spaceship in hyperdrive heading toward Enya Hub. There was a logo outside the armor of the spaceship that belonged to the Punisher Alliance.

A group of individuals were in the spaceship, either sitting down or standing up. Some of them were wiping their weapons, while others were cleaning their firearms. There were some who had their eyes shut in meditation, while others watched variety shows. They were all the superheroes of the Punisher Alliance.

They did not have an actual leader, and they were all comrades of equal level who had their own jobs. There were a few nominal leaders within the organization who were the old members with greater fame. This was a common structure within superhero organizations.

A holographic screen suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, and Raymond’s message was displayed.

“Raymond sent news!”

Everyone immediately looked at the screen, and the temporary captain of the team read it out.

Raymond talked about what he had experienced and emphasized heavily on Aurora’s ability. He also indicated that he hoped that they would be allowed to join the alliance.

“It is actually a powerful healing Esper Ability.” The captain was surprised and immediately understood the value of such an ability.

A superhero alliance like theirs found it difficult to recruit new members. Every time a superhero died, they had one less member. If there had been such a comrade among them in the past, they would have been able to receive timely healing, and the death rate would have been lowered greatly.

“Is there any problem with their resumes?”

“I checked it before, and it is all true,” one of the Mechanic superheroes said.

“Then we can be at ease. I support them joining us.”

“Wait a moment,” a skinny looking man said. “We have to be careful and ensure that this isn’t a scheme of the Blood Hammer Church. Perhaps they are the spies that they want to place in the alliance. Don’t forget that they also have their evil healing ability. Ask Raymond if he personally witnessed the other party healing him.”

“Slade, you are thinking too much. Although Raymond is a little rash, he is still reliable.” The captain frowned.

“I trust Raymond, but I don’t believe in such a coincidence,” the skinny man said coldly.

He was called Slade and was an old member of the alliance. He was extremely suspicious of the people around him, and no newbie would be able to obtain his trust from the start.

The captain knew that it would be impossible to persuade the other party and changed the topic. “Let’s not talk about this now. It is more important for us to foil the schemes of the Blood Hammer Church.”

“That’s right.”

Everyone’s face turned dim.

However, none of them knew that they had only witnessed the tip of the iceberg. The background behind this matter was not as simple as they thought.

A conspiracy was brewing in the dark.

…

In the temporary stronghold of the Blood Hammer Church on Enya Hub, the few priests that had ambushed Raymond returned to the stronghold, and the other members in the stronghold immediately knew that something was wrong.

In the room, a tall man stood up. He was dressed in a set of luxurious robes and held onto an even larger hammer. He was the head bishop of the Blood Hammer Church and had an unfriendly gaze in his eyes.

“There’s the smell of blood. You guys met an enemy?”

“It’s a member of the Punisher Alliance. He followed us, and we used a magical barrier, wanting to get rid of him. However, he broke the barrier and escaped.”

“It’s them again! They’ve wrecked so many of our missions and are truly like flies!”

The head bishop was enraged. He hated these old nemeses of his.

Raymond thought that the Blood Hammer Church was planning to carry out a blood sacrifice, but this was not the truth.

It would not matter if this was an ordinary blood sacrifice mission. But this time, they had received an important employment mission that was related to the future of the Blood Hammer Church. As such, the head bishop was truly incensed.

“We cannot stay in this stronghold anymore. We have to change locations immediately,” the head bishop said with an ashen face. “We cannot afford anything to go wrong during this mission. Pack up your things quickly.”

Upon hearing that, everyone in the stronghold got to work and packed up the items in the room.

The head bishop then walked in front of a table and looked down on the paper map placed on it.

An important location of Enya Hub was outlined on the map, and a detailed plan was marked out with various arrows pointing toward the middle of the region.

This place was the location where Enya Hub’s Evolutionary Totem was placed!

…

A couple of streets away, there was a secret stronghold of another organization.

In the room, a few people were surrounding a table, and the structural layout of another Evolutionary Totem location was on the table.

This group was a bandit group famous in the black market that specialized in stealing important items for their employers. They had also received employment for a job on Enya Hub.

“We are going to steal the Evolutionary Totem located on Enya Hub. This item is protected by many layers of defenses, and it will be a difficult mission to complete. It isn’t too far away from the appointed date by the employer. Do you guys have any ideas?”

“I’ve received enough intelligence after scouting the place out a couple of times. There is plenty of advanced surveillance equipment that is constantly monitoring the location. I already have a rough idea, but my plan needs to be perfected.”

“It would be impossible for us to steal the item alone. We will only have a chance if we have helpers like our employer said.”

The few of them then suppressed their voices and discussed their strategy.

…

At Enya Hub Dock One, the main hall was crowded with people, and the passengers leaving or entering the dock needed to pass through there. In a beverage shop near the door of the main hall, an ordinary looking woman was reading a book with a drink in front of her.

She had been sitting there for quite some time as though she was waiting for someone.

A commotion suddenly arose from the entrance of the dock, and a group of bodyguards surrounded a young man.

Two of the bodyguards were different from the others. They did not conceal their auras, and the strength of a Calamity Grade Super emanated from them. They stood on the left and right of the young man. It was obvious that this young man had a huge background.

As the people in front witnessed such a scene, they immediately opened up a path for them.

After watching the group leave the main hall, the ordinary looking woman then paid for her drink and left the harbor, with her book under her arm, going in the opposite direction that the group had left in.

After walking through ten or so streets, the crowd became thin, and she walked into the shadow of a building. However, the individual who emerged from the shadow was a burly man, and the book in her arms had disappeared as well.

This individual had a disguise Esper Ability and altered her appearance many times before taking a carrier to another region of the city. He then walked into a rundown inn and returned to his room.

There were another three individuals of different races in the room. All three of them were notorious wanted Calamity Grade individuals who were once members of Fallen Ark. After Han Xiao captured EsGod, they had left Fallen Ark and led a low-profile life.

After closing the door, the disguised individual said, “The intel is accurate. The target has arrived, and he has two Calamity Grade bodyguards. His two bodyguards are the ones in the intelligence report.”

“Very good. Proceed according to the plan,” one of them said with thick killing intent in his eyes.

…

On the mother planet of the Crimson Dynasty, a meeting concerning the present circumstances of the Crimson Dynasty was coming to an end in Tarunamir Palace.

Ever since the Federation of Light and Arcane Church implemented their plan to suppress the Crimson Dynasty, the Crimson Dynasty had suffered plenty of pressure from the various regions. Because the dynasty had invested a large amount of resources into the Flickering World, the other regions were neglected slightly, and the other two parties had an opening to seize.

Because of their miserable plight, there had been plenty of such meetings recently.

“The Federation of Light and Arcane Church are targeting us in these few regions and have created pressure for us in many areas. Their goal is obvious, and it is because they want us to allow the public sale of the Evolutionary Totem. What are your thoughts?” Urranrell said with a solemn tone.

The upper echelons all nodded with some of them expressionless. The only thing in common was that they all remained silent.

They were not in the faction of the Ruler, and there were some who were important members of other factions. Urranrell placed greater importance on the opinions of these people.

Urranrell then looked at an old official and said, “Ludwell, what are your thoughts?”

Ludwell was an official in charge of finances and also the head of the neutral faction. His status was extremely high, and he replied slowly, “Your Excellency Ruler, there will be benefits and losses regardless of our choice.”

“Share your thoughts.”

“Alright.” Ludwell nodded. “The benefit of not selling the totems openly is that it will increase the number of vassals and earn us more allies. It will also improve the potential of our races in the long run, and we will be able to produce more talents in the future to slowly overtake the other civilizations. The downside is that the other two civilizations will target us.

“Selling the totems openly will reduce the pressure on us and stabilize the status of the three Universal Civilizations. We can still obtain political benefits by limiting the sale. However, we won’t be able to enjoy the advantages of the Evolutionary Totem alone and will lose an opportunity to surpass the others in terms of potential.”

Right at this moment, Ludwell suddenly changed topics, raised up a finger, and said calmly, “However, there will be a problem that cannot be avoided if we want to openly sell the totems. The equipment to manufacture the totems isn’t controlled by us, and this is an unstable element. We are now enduring such huge pressure, but the majority of the benefits are given to Black Star. This isn’t a good thing. We must consider this aspect if we want to sell the totems openly. If we cannot receive all the benefits from the totems, enduring so much pressure will be a huge loss.”

“Alright. I know your opinions already.” Urranrell raised up her arm but did not disagree with those words.

Ludwell knew that Urranrell did not wish for him to continue, and thus, he kept his mouth shut.

Urranrell could not help but sigh upon witnessing such a scene. Ludwell was the leader of a faction, but he would not go against her orders. He only had some differences in political opinions in some areas. The problem of the Evolution Cube was one of them.

Ludwell belonged to the party that strongly believed in Black Star handing over the cube. He was an official in charge of finances, and he would usually see things from an economic or political aspect. He was not well versed in military affairs.

He was not satisfied with their dynasty enduring the pressure from two other civilizations but not being able to enjoy the benefits of the Evolution Cube. He had always believed in taking back the Evolution Cube from Black Star, regardless of whether they had to use resources or force. In any case, he felt that the dynasty should be the ones to hold onto the Universal Treasure.

Urranrell placed great importance on Black Star, and they had a difference in opinion in this regard. It was because of her presence that the faction who wanted Black Star to hand over the cube could not succeed.

“Let’s end the meeting here today.” Urranrell shook her head.

The projections in the conference room disappeared.

Ludwell bowed before turning off his communicator. His viewpoint then returned to his own office. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes, and the creases could be seen at the corner of his eyes.

Du du du!

The phone on his table rang, and Ludwell immediately picked up the call.

“Your Excellency, your grandson is calling. Should I connect the call?”

“This brat. How many times have I told him not to call the number in my office!” Ludwell frowned. “Patch the call through.”

A while later, the voice of a young man sounded on the phone.

“Grandfather? I am already on Enya Hub. I am telling you beforehand lest you send people to find me again and cause the people from my company to think that I am missing.”

“Humph.” Ludwell snorted and was slightly embarrassed.

“Right, you said that you liked to eat the delicacies on Enya Hub. I will bring some back for you this time.”

“That’s more like it,” Ludwell said. “Take care of yourself. The universe is no longer calm, and there have been many attacks within the territory of the dynasty. Humph, they all want to snatch the Evolutionary Totems. Are the two bodyguards that I sent beside you?”

“Sigh, these two are looking at me as though I’m a prisoner. They even want to follow me to the toilet. Grandfather, can you please take them back? With them beside me, everyone thinks that I am the superior, and even my boss doesn’t dare reprimand me. If things go on like this, I will probably be fired soon.”

“That won’t do. You are my only grandson, and your safety comes first. I will only be assured with both of them beside you,” Ludwell said with a solemn tone before realizing that his tone was not good. He then spoke with a gentler tone and sighed. “Sigh, take care of yourself. Also, you aren’t an official of the dynasty and shouldn’t call the internal channel. There are some members of the internal department who have complained to me about this matter.”

“Alright, alright. I shall hang up now.”

The line was then cut off, and a doting look could be seen on Ludwell’s face.

Chapter 940: Chaos

Chapter 940 Chaos

Over the next few days, Feidin and Aurora worked together with Raymond and searched for traces of the Blood Hammer Church in the various regions of Enya Hub. This matter had already been reported to the security troops of Enya Hub. After a series of negotiations, the security troops promised to check on traces of any suspicious individuals before sending all of them out of the door. They obviously had no intentions of letting the superheroes help.

Although the superheroes were legal in the universe, the security troops of the various regions did not like working together with superheroes. After all, the majority of superheroes were just Grade B Supers, which could be easily found in the various civilizations. Furthermore, the strength of the superheroes might not even be compared to an ordinary member of the security force. As such, they did not need the help of superheroes most of the time.

Raymond insisted on investigating the location of the Blood Hammer Church, and Feidin remembered the mission that Han Xiao had given him. He thus moved into the location that Raymond rented and hid his strength to help Raymond.

After a few days, the three of them still had not found any clues of the Blood Hammer Church but managed to wait for the reinforcements of the Punisher Alliance.

“All of you are finally here!”

In the rented house, Raymond was overjoyed and immediately welcomed the reinforcements. He then introduced Feidin and Aurora to the rest. Most of the superheroes had friendly looks on their faces with only a small portion remaining expressionless.

“These two are Chen Xing and Aura, whom I’ve mentioned. They are both Grade B Supers. Aura’s healing ability is truly extraordinary.”

“Hello everyone, I am Chen Xing.” Feidin smiled toward the crowd. He did not put on any airs as a Calamity Grade and spoke with an amiable tone.

The moment he smiled, many present immediately felt their hearts speed up.

Feidin’s Charm attracted everyone regardless of their race and gender. Even if he had a disguise on him, his Charm still could not be concealed.

This new comrade of theirs truly gave off a good vibe. Many of them thought that and looked at each other.

“I am Au… Aura.” Aurora was not too used to her fake name.

Everyone then looked over with a passionate gaze. No one would dislike a partner with the ability to heal. Any of them could require the other party’s help someday after all.

Just when they wanted to move forward to interact with their new comrades, an unfriendly tone sounded from the crowd.

“I would like to ask something. Why do both of you want to join the Punisher Alliance?”

Everyone then looked over with a look of resignation. The one who had spoken was Slade.

“Because he invited us.” Aurora shrugged her shoulders and pointed at Raymond.

“Both of you are Grade B Supers after all. You joined us just because of a simple invitation? Don’t you find this matter strange? You hadn’t even heard of the name of the Punisher Alliance before and changed your minds so easily, huh? Ah, I would rather believe that both of you are scheming something,” Slade said with a cold voice. Everything was far too big a coincidence, and he could not help but suspect them.

Feidin smiled and did not bother defending himself. The others were worried that Feidin would be dissatisfied and immediately went forward to stop Slade from continuing. The first impression that Feidin gave them was truly too good, and they could not help but speak up for him.

Someone who looked so good had to be a good person!

Slade tried his best to defend against Feidin’s Charm halo and said with a cold voice, “I will keep my eye on you. If you have other intentions, don’t blame me for being rude.”

He then left after finishing what he had to say.

The atmosphere immediately became awkward after this, and Raymond walked forward to console Feidin. “Don’t bother about him. He’s always been like this. I was also targeted by him when I first joined.”

“It’s alright.” Feidin smiled.

Upon seeing that, everyone came forward to talk to Feidin, and Feidin easily blended into the atmosphere.

After half a day of rest, the temporary leader of this team broke the team up to search for the Blood Hammer Church.

The Punisher Alliance did not have many individuals, and they could only assign a few people to search a large region.

Feidin was naturally together with Aurora, and both of them were assigned to work with Raymond and another Pugilist superhero. The four of them were in a team to search a prosperous region of Enya Hub.

…

The artificial sun gradually set, and the entire sky was dyed red. Darkness gradually descended upon Enya Hub, and the lights of the building all lit up. Enya Hub would only be alive in the night, and another side of this galactic city would be shown. It would be transformed from a tired traveler to a smoking hot hostess.

Everyone would spend their night getting drunk before continuing on their journey the very next day.

The crowds on the streets were larger than in the day, and a joyful atmosphere filled the air.

Feidin’s group of four walked along the streets and observed their surroundings. Raymond pushed aside a drunkard and said with a suppressed voice, “The Blood Hammer Church usually conducts their blood sacrifice rituals at night. Don’t overlook the smell of blood and pay more attention to any deserted locations.”

After walking for a while, Aurora suddenly pulled on Feidin’s sleeves and pointed up to the sky.

“There is the life force of a Calamity Grade.”

Feidin looked up and saw a flight carrier stop at the top of the building. A group of bodyguards then pushed aside the crowd with two of the bodyguards emanating the strength of a Calamity Grade Super.

The passersby also noticed their aura and looked up as well. Raymond then muttered, “It seems like a bigshot.”

The Pugilist by the side then shook his head and said, “We won’t be able to come into contact with someone like that anyway. Stop looking. This has nothing to do with us.”

“You’re right.”

Ignoring the two by the side, Feidin felt that the two Calamity Grade bodyguards were a little familiar as though he had seen their photo before. Feidin had always believed in his intuition and took out his communicator to send the picture over to Phillip.

“Phillip, check who they are.”

“Alright, hum… Matching in the database… Matching complete.”

The large artificial intelligence database of the Black Star Army was also opened up to ordinary individuals, and most of them used Phillip’s child program. Because Feidin had followed Han Xiao for a very long time already, he had the authority to enjoy Phillip’s main artificial intelligence. The efficiency difference was akin to the difference between 3G and 5G.

Lowering his head to take a look, he realized that these two Calamity Grade bodyguards belonged to the Crimson Dynasty, but there was no information on the young man. There was obviously an unknown force that encrypted his information. Ordinary individuals did not have such a privilege, and he should be the descendant of some upper echelon.

“He should be the descendant of an upper echelon in the dynasty.”

Feidin nodded and was not too bothered. Right at this moment, Aurora sent him a message.

“I can feel four different Calamity Grade Supers hiding nearby.”

Aurora could use her life force detection ability to find people. As long as there was no magical barrier ability, she would be able to easily detect the strength of an individual’s life force and determine the other party’s strength.

Feidin then paused for a while and took a look at the coordinates that Aurora had sent him. He realized that the four Calamity Grade Supers had already surrounded the area. Who knew if they were protecting this upper echelon descendant from the dark or had other intentions?

“Er, it isn’t our business. Don’t bother about it.”

Although Feidin said that, Aurora still paid attention to the situation. She had a bad feeling that something will happen tonight.

After searching for a while more, Raymond suddenly received news from his comrades.

“Hurry up and come over. We’ve found the Blood Hammer Church!” His comrade’s anxious tone could be heard with the sound of fighting in the background.

“Where are you? Have you started fighting with the Blood Hammer Church‽” Raymond hurriedly asked.

“It isn’t us.” His comrade said with a strange tone of disbelief, “We didn’t find the Blood Hammer Church, but… they are actually attacking the military restricted region!”

“What‽” Everyone was stunned.

In their minds, the Blood Hammer Church was just a cult that would capture people to perform blood sacrifice rituals. Why would they suddenly attack a military restricted region?

All of a sudden, everyone had a bad feeling in their hearts.

Right at this moment, the ground beneath their feet began trembling.

Boom!

A blinding light then came from afar, and explosions could be seen in various different regions.

A powerful shockwave swept through the region, and even though they were far away from the explosion, the shockwave still blew their hair messy.

Everyone then turned around and looked toward the explosion.

“Something isn’t right!” Feidin frowned.

This was Enya Hub, which had plenty of soldiers standing guard. Such a huge commotion definitely was not one that a second-rate organization like the Blood Hammer Church could cause.

We were misled by Raymond. There are definitely other organizations trying to cause trouble on Enya Hub, and they should have a bigger scheme.

Just as the thought flashed through his mind, an ear-piercing alarm went off in the city. Battleships could then be seen taking off from the various military camps and sprinting toward the various regions.

The passersby were immediately thrown into a mess.

…

Bang!

A silver light flashed past, and the head of an Enya Hub guard exploded.

The head bishop then exchanged fire with the guards of the military restricted region.

Both parties were engaged in an intense battle. The artillery towers in the surrounding opened fire on the priests of the Blood Hammer Church, and dark energy rained down on the magical shields of the priests. Many priests died under the heavy fire of the enemy, and not even their ashes were left behind.

The head bishop displayed his Calamity Grade strength, and his war hammer caused great chaos throughout the battlefield. Everything that blocked his way would be destroyed with a single blow of his hammer. The high-level combatants of Enya Hub would not be stationed at the outpost all the time and were still on the way there.

The head bishop smashed his war hammer down on the ground, and a strange red light glowed on the hammer. The blood on the ground then evaporated into a bloody mist, which formed a huge figure in midair.

The next moment, two sun-like eyes lit up on the face of the red fog as though they were eyes. An individual’s consciousness had descended upon this bloody mist.

This bloody mist then shot out blood red magical arrows toward all the priests in the battlefield. The priests were immediately bathed with red as though they were enjoying a buff. Not only were their wounds healed, their strength also seemed to have been increased.

This figure was the ‘deity’ of the Blood Hammer Church. It was a secondary dimensional magic being that could temporarily descend through special means. It had the strength of a Calamity Grade Super.

The same situation also occurred in various different locations, and the Blood Hammer Church was not the only organization attacking the military restricted regions. This was definitely a well-engineered plot!

…

The tallest building located right in the middle of Enya Hub belonged to the protector of Enya Hub. The one guarding this place was an experienced Calamity Grade Super called Jabra.

Upon witnessing the city being lit up with lights, Jabra threw the female organism in his arms aside and stood in front of the window to look at the explosions.

“Your Excellency Jabra, there’s an emergency!” His vice commander’s projection appeared in the room, and he anxiously narrated the situation.

“Someone is attacking the military region where the Evolutionary Totem is located? They are seeking death by attempting to snatch something on my territory!” Jabra said with a baleful aura. He then put on his pants and smashed the window apart with a kick. Jumping into the night sky, his body glowed brightly with gray Pugilist flames, and his figure shot toward the battlefield.

At the same time, a wanted Calamity Grade individual saw the gray shooting star in the sky and pressed down on his mic.

“Jabra has already been led away, and the other Calamity Grade Supers are also heading toward the battlefields. The organizations over there will tie down these Calamity Grade Supers. We can take action when chaos envelops the entire city. Remember to take care of the battle quickly and disguise it as just another battle.”

…

At the same time, two ordinary-looking individuals stood on the rooftop of a skyscraper and looked down at the chaos.

“The operation has begun.”

“Thank you for proving that I am not blind.”

“I wonder how many of these gray organizations will still be alive after today.”

“Ah, even if they can survive, they will be cleaned up eventually. If not by us, they will be caught by the dynasty.”

“The army has gone to protect the Evolutionary Totem. Heh, do they really think that we created such a huge commotion just for the Evolutionary Totem?”

“Thankfully, we are not on a colonial planet of the dynasty. If we were, it would have been impossible to smuggle these weapons in. The other teams will have enough time to create chaos all over the city.”

“The fellow guarding this planet is a trusted aide of a Beyond Grade A Super. He will probably suppress the chaos before dawn arrives. We spent so many resources just for a single night of chaos.”

“It doesn’t matter. Even if all these gray organizations die, they just have to stall long enough for the other team to get rid of the target. Only then will we be able to make a report to our team leader.”

“It is truly dangerous for us to be assigned such a mission. Tsk, I am truly envious of the other teams…”

Chapter 941: Interference, Suppression

Chapter 941 Interference, Suppression

A series of explosions occurred in the different regions of Enya Hub.

After receiving the message from his comrades, Raymond rushed over to meet up with them. Feidin and Aurora could only follow behind him. At the same time, Feidin contacted the other Black Star Guards secretly.

Because he had to sneak into the Punisher Alliance, it was not convenient for him to take action. As such, the Black Star Guards were his best helpers.

The situation had already exceeded his initial expectations. In order to weather this storm, the Black Star Army could no longer stand idly by the side.

The restricted military area was extremely chaotic with battleships arriving from various locations. Afraid that the shockwaves of the battle would cause damage to the neighboring cities, they could only use their weapons within the planet to deal with the enemy.

Jabra led his subordinates to find the gray organizations. He also had Calamity Grade comrades beside him, and both parties were engaged in an intense battle. There were seven or eight Calamity Grade Supers exchanging blows, and the shockwaves of the battle had completely ruined the area. If not for the army activating a protective shield, the shockwave of their battle would have spread to the other regions.

The members of the Punisher Alliance could not interfere with the battle between Calamity Grade Supers at all, so they could only help deal with the various gray organizations.

“Hurry up and help them!” Raymond joined the battle without any hesitation after arriving at the battlefield.

As Feidin saw that, he protected Aurora and only displayed a Grade B strength to fight the enemies. He had plenty of capacity to spare and could fight while thinking about the bigger picture.

I never imagined that the situation would develop as such. For these gray organizations to come and snatch the Evolutionary Totem, there is definitely a mastermind behind them. Feidin frowned. Rather than cause such a huge commotion to rob the Evolutionary Totem from within the territory of the dynasty, they would be better off robbing the other civilizations located in the other Star Fields. Their target should be something other than the Evolutionary Totem in this region.

Just as he was thinking about this question, another round of explosions occurred across various regions. There were obviously more enemies in the dark setting off explosions all around.

Jabra avoided the head bishop’s hammer and roared, “Send some people to get rid of those b*stards setting off explosives!”

With the command being given, some of the battleships dispersed and headed to the various regions to maintain security.

Boom!

Right at that moment, a large explosion occurred in a region afar, and a skyscraper collapsed. The shockwave of the attack destroyed another few streets, and an unknown Calamity Grade aura appeared.

“There are still more enemies‽” Jabra said with frustration and thought that there were incoming enemy reinforcements.

However, the Calamity Grade Supers from afar did not seem to have any intention of coming nearer but seemed to be fighting an unknown opponent.

“What’s going on?” Jabra was puzzled. He could not leave his position. The way he saw it, his enemy’s target was the Evolutionary Totem. If he left his current location, the enemy would break through the defenses and steal the Evolutionary Totem. Thus, he could not leave his post.

After thinking for a while, Jabra could only temporarily ignore the unknown situation afar and get rid of the lousy Calamity Grade Supers in front of him. Only then would he be able to take care of the other situation.

Feidin also felt the shockwave from afar, and his eyes narrowed.

If he did not remember wrongly, the shockwave came from… All of a sudden, Feidin thought about the group of Calamity Grade Supers that he had discovered. With just his instincts, he could guess that they were fighting with the bodyguards of the upper echelon’s descendant.

This seems to be a scheme… Feidin’s eyes lit up.

…

At the same time in another region, an intense battle was being fought. The Calamity Grade Supers did not hold anything back, and plenty of skyscrapers were destroyed.

The ones fighting were the four Calamity Grade fugitives and the bodyguards of Ludwell’s grandson.

With the battle being a four-versus-two situation, the bodyguards beside Ludwell’s grandson were already covered in injuries as they endured the attacks from the four Calamity Grade fugitives.

“Just… just why are they attacking me‽” Ludwell’s grandson had a face full of shock. Although he was the grandson of a high official, he had never developed in the political arena but chose to become a businessman. He had not imagined that he would meet with such a situation one day.

At this moment, he was hiding within a protective energy shield and could not move an inch. Outside the shield, the shockwave from the battle would easily destroy him, and he would lose his life the moment he left the shield.

His two bodyguards were high-level combatants developed by the dynasty and were extremely loyal. Although they knew that the chance of them emerging victorious was slim, they still gritted their teeth and defended against the attack of the four.

Bang!

All of a sudden, one of the bodyguards suffered a huge blow and was sent flying.

Only one bodyguard was left to endure the attack from the four enemies, and his injuries worsened rapidly. They were not elite Calamity Grades like Jabra, and these fugitives were not ordinary characters. A single opening would be seized by them, and the arm of this bodyguard was cleaved away.

The bodyguard’s face turned pale, but he only let out a soft grunt and wanted to fight back. However, his powerful mental will did not translate to extra combat strength.

With both his bodyguards being severely wounded, Ludwell lost the protection of experts and had already become a lamb for slaughter.

“Get rid of him!” The four fugitives wanted to get rid of their target.

However, a change occurred at the next moment. ‘

Beams of light rained down from the sky and the Calamity Grade fugitives immediately avoided the attacks.

Boom!

The laser beams exploded in front of them, and the soil melted under the high temperature.

A couple of figures then descended and blocked the four fugitives.

“Who are all of you‽” One of them immediately felt that something was going wrong. The Calamity Grade Supers before them were not in the intelligence report and were not part of the Enya Hub security force. Furthermore, the pressure that they gave off was far greater than the two bodyguards that they had just fought. They were definitely powerhouses in the Calamity Grade.

“We are the Black Star Guards from the Black Star Army. Who are all of you? How dare you cause chaos within the territory of the dynasty?” Hadavy’s gaze swept past the fugitives coldly.

The fugitives were stunned, and their expressions changed greatly!

Black Star Army‽

Since when did they arrive on Enya Hub‽ Why did they not receive any news at all?

They truly kicked an iron plate this time!

If they had known that the Black Star Army was present, would they have dared participate in the mission?

They were truly unlucky!

“We actually have reinforcements!” The two severely wounded bodyguards heaved a sigh of relief and were overjoyed.

Thankfully, Black Star was on Enya Hub. If not, the consequences would have been dire!

The moment the name of the Black Star Army was reported, the four fugitives immediately thought about retreating and abandoning their mission. However, Hadavy would not give them any time to think and immediately charged forward with the Black Star Guards. Both parties became embroiled in battle.

…

On the other side, there were plenty of casualties in the battle at the military region, and there was even a Calamity Grade Super who had his head blown up by Jabra.

Although the Enya Hub forces had the advantage, Jabra would not be able to get rid of the enemies anytime soon. As such, it would be difficult to suppress the chaos on Enya Hub quickly.

The members of the Punisher Alliance helped out in one of the battlefields and were engaged in an intense battle. Many of their members had suffered injuries of varying degrees.

At this moment, they personally experienced the overpowered ability of Aurora’s healing. Regardless of how severe their injuries were, they would be healed in a couple of breaths. All the members of the Punisher Alliance were immediately energized and fought as though they were not afraid of death.

Slade, who was wary of the two, had an awkward look on his face and was too embarrassed to even say thanks when he received healing.

After such a long period of growth, Aurora’s recovery ability was far more powerful than before. The little bit of exhaustion to heal a Grade B Super was less than her own recovery speed and did not have any burden on her body.

Just as they were fighting, the projection of a vice commander appeared beside Jabra and said anxiously, “Your Excellency Jabra, the Evolutionary Totem is missing!”

“What‽” Jabra was shocked, and he furiously roared, “How did you guys lose it‽ Get it back immediately!”

At this moment, he understood that the attack was no more than a distraction so that a thief could sneak in from the back and steal the Evolutionary Totem.

The Evolutionary Totem was placed in a supposedly secure location, but galactic thieves were still in business because they were able to enter places that ordinary people could not.

With things developing to such a state, even with Jabra’s proud personality, he could not help but be shocked by the amount of forces that the enemy could mobilize. He was truly curious about the individual behind the entire scheme.

Spending so much effort for a single totem? Jabra didn’t think that this was possible.

Protecting the totem was his responsibility. In truth, he could not care less about the totem itself because they were also an ally of the dynasty. They could easily purchase a new totem from Black Star anytime.

Just as he was thinking, the enemy’s attack disrupted his train of thought. Jabra was instantly incensed, and he thought to himself, The totems can be lost, but these b*stards must die!

“Get rid of these fellows creating trouble first before dealing with the lost totems.”

Just as he said that, a couple of Calamity Grade Supers suddenly descended from the sky. They were the other Black Star Guards team. They joined the battle without saying a word, and the balance of the battlefield was immediately broken.

“Reinforcements‽” Jabra was stunned. Where did they come from?

One of the Black Star Guards worked together with him to destroy the Magic Being summoned by the head bishop, and Jabra made use of this opportunity to ask, “Who are you?”

That member of the Black Star Guards calmly replied, “The Black Star Guards.”

“It’s you guys!” Jabra was overjoyed. He knew that Black Star had been roaming around the dynasty’s territory, but never had he imagined that the other party would arrive in his territory.

The heavens were truly on his side!

Jabra then bellowed, and his voice covered the entire battlefield.

“The reinforcements of the Black Star Army have arrived. Stop resisting if you don’t want to die!”

All the Black Star Guards were then dumbfounded.

We haven’t even reported our names, and you beat us to it? Why do you look more like a member of the Black Star Guards than us?

The effect of those words was obvious.

The faces of the enemy changed abruptly, and their hearts sank.

The morale of the Enya Hub soldiers increased greatly!

The moment they thought about the Beyond Grade A standing behind them. They all felt at ease.

To ordinary soldiers, the presence of a Beyond Grade A was like a mental pillar for them.

“Black Star Army…” The members of the Punisher Alliance looked at the Black Star Guards with a strange look in their eyes.

An organization like this that could roam unhindered in the universe seemed extremely distant from them. It was not a level that they could even come into contact with.

Upon seeing the members of the Black Star Guards, everyone was extremely excited as though they had seen their idol. To a Super, a famous Calamity Grade group was a superstar in the Super world.

…

“We have obtained the item. Let’s leave!”

A couple of individuals who were dressed in disguises escaped from the battlefield.

They were secretly escorting the stolen Evolutionary Totem to safety while the main army was being tied down. As famous galactic pirates in the black market, they had various items and suitable Esper Abilities to aid them.

Spaceships flew past in the sky, searching for traces of the thieves. However, the thieves hid among the allies and under shelter to avoid being spotted.

Just when they were about to run out of an alley, they felt their shoulders become heavy, and they were pressed down by a powerful force, preventing them from moving.

A breathing sound then appeared behind them. They did not detect anything before this, and their hair immediately stood on end.

Turning around, a suave appearance appeared before their eyes.

“Where do you think you’re going with the goods that I sold?”

The voice was extremely calm, but it sounded like thunder in their ears.

This face before them was extremely famous in the universe. Perhaps ordinary individuals might not recognize it, but every organization would definitely recognize the owner of this face.

He was an ally of the dynasty, ‘Enemy of the Arcane’, ‘Indestructible Body’ Black Star!

The galactic thieves froze in place and did not dare move.

Han Xiao snorted coldly, and nanoparticles flowed out from his clothes. The nanoparticles then transformed into cuffs to lock all of them in place. With a wave of his arm, a mechanical soldier appeared beside him.

“Take this back to where it came from.” Han Xiao pointed at the Evolutionary Totem.

When the chaos erupted, Han Xiao, who was training his energy in seclusion, noticed what had happened. He tacitly allowed the Black Star Guards to take action and stop this storm, and he also detected the Evolutionary Totem being stolen.

After plenty of practice, Han Xiao had already formed a Soul Connection with the Evolution Cube, and the effects of the Soul Connection were similar to what Psyker previously had. He was able to detect the location of the Evolution Cube.

At the same time, he would also be able to detect the Evolutionary Totems within a certain range. More accurately, he was able to detect the evolution energy within them.

There was no need for him to interfere in the battle between Calamity Grades, and his Black Star Guards were sufficient to take care of such an enemy. However, he would not be able to sit idly by the side if an Evolutionary Totem was stolen.

With the interference of the Black Star Army, the chaos would be suppressed extremely quickly. The people who came up with this plan definitely did not think that he would appear.

Han Xiao looked at the thieves that he had caught and revealed a smile.

“Now… tell me everything you know.”

Chapter 942: Want to Escape? Do You Think That’s Possible?

Chapter 942 Want to Escape? Do You Think That“s Possible?

Hadavy strangled the neck of one of the Calamity Grade fugitives like a little chicken. This fugitive was already covered in wounds all over and could not break free from Hadavy’s grip. He launched a wave of attacks in desperation, but his attacks were not capable of breaking through Hadavy’s defenses.

“Useless…” Hadavy closed his eyes with a look of enjoyment as he enjoyed the wave of attacks.

The next moment, his eyes glowed with a fierce light, and he snapped the enemy’s neck.

Ka-cha!

The enemy’s head immediately drooped down, and his backbone was destroyed. Such a wound was not fatal to a Calamity Grade, and the fugitive immediately activated the healing ability in his cells to recover from his injuries.

Hadavy, however, would not give the enemy the chance to recover and slammed him into the ground with a punch. The Black Star Guards beside him then swarmed over and tore this enemy into shreds.

Hadavy enjoyed fighting powerful enemies to bring himself pressure. However, he was not interested in bullying these ordinary Calamity Grades alone and wanted to take care of the battle as quickly as possible.

Black Star’s Black Star Guards were all carefully chosen elites within the army. Hadavy was a Beyond Grade A seed and had a huge advantage against an ordinary Calamity Grade Super. He was famous in the Shattered Star Ring for his defense, and these kids would not even be able to break through his skin.

The instant the Black Star Army intervened, the fate of these fugitives was determined. Only one of these Calamity Grade fugitives was left alive, and Hadavy had intentionally left him alive.

With the enemies being taken care of, Ludwell’s two bodyguards were finally at ease. They did not care about their own injuries but immediately deactivated the protective shield around Ludwell’s grandson to check if he had any injuries.

After ensuring that he was alright, both of them walked forward to Hadavy and expressed their gratitude.

“On behalf of His Excellency Ludwell, I thank all of you for your assistance. I will truthfully report your contributions to him.”

“Ludwell? Who is he?” Hadavy was puzzled.

Unlike Feidin, he was completely clueless about the structure of the dynasty officials. He was only concerned about becoming a Beyond Grade A Super and was not too interested in anything else.

“He is a high political official in the Crimson Dynasty…” The bodyguard then described Ludwell’s title and position before pointing to the young man by the side. “This is His Excellency Ludwell’s grandson, and our job is to protect him. The consequences would have been dire if not for all of you.”

“Oh, so we saved the child of a high official?” Hadavy’s eyes widened, and he chuckled. “Heh, you guys are truly lucky that we were on holiday here. Or perhaps it should be said that the enemy is unlucky. It is a small matter to us anyway, and we cannot watch as others cause chaos within the dynasty as an ally of the dynasty.”

“We will not forget this kindness.” The amputated guard then looked at the remaining fugitive and said coldly, “I have one request. I hope to participate in the interrogation later. I need to see who set their sights on His Excellency Ludwell.”

“We can talk about this later. My comrades are still fighting over there, and I shall go over to help them first.”

Although Hadavy had a straightforward personality, he knew that he could not easily agree to something like this. He thus waved his arms and led the other Black Star Guards to the main battlefield.

As the two bodyguards saw that, they could only follow behind with Ludwell’s grandson, lest they ended up being ambushed again. At the same time, they also reported what had happened to Ludwell.

…

“The economic situation of the dynasty isn’t ideal, and we suffered from a huge impact in terms of trade…”

In the gigantic conference room, all the high officials in charge of finances were gathered and Ludwell was also part of the group.

Many of the economic officials belonged to the neutral faction, and Ludwell was one of the leaders of the neutral faction. As such, he possessed great authority when it came to finances.

Halfway through the meeting, Ludwell’s communicator began vibrating. After looking at the contents of the message, he placed his communicator aside and continued with the meeting.

After the meeting ended, Ludwell returned to his office.

As the door closed, he slammed his palm on the desk.

Bang!

The entire alloy desk was dented. Although Ludwell was a refined individual, it did not mean that he did not have any combat strength. The majority of the officials in the dynasty were not weak scholars.

“Investigate this matter for me! Just who set their eyes on my grandson?”

Ludwell’s face was ashen, and he roared out orders for half a day before his anger subsided slightly.

He was extremely shocked when he saw the news but endured his anger as he was in a meeting. He only unleashed his anger at this moment and was determined to make use of the authority in his hands to check the matter clearly.

Thankfully, his grandson was saved in the end, and Ludwell heaved a sigh of relief with lingering fear in his heart.

Thankfully, they met the Black Star Army. If not…

Upon thinking about this possibility, he could not help but shudder with fear.

After pacing around in the room for a while, Ludwell gradually calmed down and sat down in his chair while muttering to himself.

“Black Star, I owe you a favor this time…”

He originally did not like Black Star. However, they were allies, and he did not treat Black Star like an enemy; there was only a conflict in terms of benefits for the dynasty.

Work affairs would remain as work affairs, but his personal impression of Black Star was much better than before.

Although he would not bring his personal emotions into work, he would remember this favor.

…

After Hadavy brought more reinforcements to join the battle, the chaos was immediately suppressed. Those who wanted to escape were not able to do so, and the others were either killed or wounded.

The soldiers then cleaned up the battlefield and placed restrictive equipment on all the survivors.

These fugitives then squatted by the side with their heads lowered, and the scene looked like an anti-vice operation.

“Lock them all up and interrogate them properly,” Jabra roared at his subordinates before walking forward to the members of the Punisher Alliance. He then said calmly, “You guys are not bad. I will get people to give you a reward later. Thank you for your assistance.”

Although he was giving his thanks, his tone was calm and perfunctory. The status of the Punisher Alliance was truly too low, and they were not able to provide much help to him. They could only deal with some small fries in his eyes. However, the other party did help him after all, and he had to show some face to these superheroes.

Raymond and the others nodded. They were not expecting an officer of a Beyond Grade A Super to be super grateful to them, and displaying such an attitude was already decent. Furthermore, they still had money to take, and the money could be used to replenish the funds of their alliance. A Calamity Grade powerhouse like Jabra definitely would not be stingy for sure.

However, Jabra did not leave immediately but looked at Aurora instead. “Are you interested in joining me?”

Raymond frowned and said with a deep voice, not bothering about the other party’s status, “What’s the meaning of this?”

“Your healing abilities aren’t too bad. Join our Beyond Grade A organization. You will have a brighter future,” Jabra said calmly.

During the battle previously, Aurora’s healing abilities had attracted his attention, and thus, he wanted to poach her.

Upon hearing that, all the members of the Punisher Alliance looked at Aurora with anxiousness in their eyes. They did not want such a good comrade to be poached away, but they could not reply on her behalf.

Aurora shook her head and said, “No thanks. I am more interested in being a hero.”

Jabra frowned and wanted to persuade her. Right at this moment, footsteps sounded from behind him, and Hadavy arrived with the Black Star Guards.

Jabra immediately abandoned the members of the Punisher Alliance and said with a bright smile toward Hadavy’s group, “Hahaha, brothers from the Black Star Army. Thank you for your assistance! You have helped me greatly!”

Jabra’s attitude took a 180-degree turn when it came to the Black Star Guards. He would put on airs before the Punisher Alliance but was extremely passionate in front of the Black Star Guards.

Although he was a subordinate of a Beyond Grade A Super, Jabra’s boss was only an ordinary pillar of the dynasty. However, it was very likely that Black Star, who had a great amount of potential, would take over the position of Dark Lord in the future and become the dynasty’s strongest ally.

“We’re all allies of the dynasty, so it’s only right for us to help each other.” Hadavy then added on, “His Excellency Black Star wishes to interrogate these fugitives together. Would it be convenient for you?”

“Of course it’s convenient.” Jabra chuckled.

“Hmm.” Hadavy nodded before looking at Aurora. He then said, “You are extremely capable. Are you interested in joining the Black Star Army? You will be a part of the Black Star Guards at the very least.”

Everyone’s face became strange as these words were said, especially the members of the Punisher Alliance.

You just wanted to poach one of ours, and now she is being poached by a bigger fish.

Upon hearing that, Jabra’s face froze in place, and he coughed to hide his awkwardness.

“This… it isn’t too suitable, right? I don’t have any intention of leaving my current organization.”

“Alright, remember to inform us if you change your mind.”

Hadavy chuckled and glanced at Aurora with a look of delight.

Aurora’s mouth contorted slightly.

You are truly such a vengeful person.

Right at this moment, a mechanical soldier arrived with the Evolutionary Totem. Jabra immediately ran over to take a look and was overjoyed.

Great, even his last problem was solved! He would not need to have a headache over the matter anymore.

Black Star was truly a good man!

With this slight interlude, Jabra no longer felt like poaching others and got his subordinates to clean up the battlefield.

Hadavy then glanced at the members of the Punisher Alliance and left with a strange smile.

Only then did the members of the Punisher Alliance relax. They were truly nervous when being surrounded by a group of Calamity Grade Supers.

After calming themselves down, they looked at Aurora and Feidin with greater passion.

These new comrades of theirs had actually rejected a Beyond Grade A organization to stay in their organization!

They then thought about the scene of Feidin and Aurora fighting beside them. At this moment, everyone, including Slade, had truly recognized these two as their new comrades.

Upon seeing that, Feidin smiled.

…

At the same time, there were two individuals moving around stealthily. It was the disguiser and his comrade.

They knew that their plan had failed the moment the Black Star Army intervened. It would be a lie to say that they were not furious about failing despite investing so much resources.

However, being angry was useless. Were they going to fight a Beyond Grade A? They could only swallow their anger and secretly leave their observation spot.

“Sigh, our plan failed.” One of them shook his head with resignation.

“This was an accident. Who could’ve known that the Black Star Army would hide their identities and remain on this planet? The captain won’t blame us.”

“However, we wasted plenty of resources, and our spies located on this planet will definitely be cleaned out. According to the rules, we will be punished and demoted.”

“If we can seize this opportunity to leave this plan and be transferred to a safer position, it may be a blessing in disguise. All those organizations were hired from the black market, and we didn’t intervene directly. It will be difficult to trace the matter to us.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes… hmm?”

Both of them then froze in place with a look of shock on their faces. That voice did not belong to either of them.

Looking up, they saw a phantom-like figure floating above their heads. Who knew how long this figure had been following behind them without them noticing a thing?

Upon seeing this figure, they froze on the spot without moving. Their minds blanked out, and they had the same thought in their head.

Just how did Black Star find us?

The various gray organizations did not know that they were the masterminds, and they were also in disguise when they helped the Calamity Grade fugitives lock onto their targets!

Han Xiao then floated down gently and could not help but ask, “What’s so surprising about me finding both of you? Do you two really think that it is possible to escape from me?”

After interrogating the thieves, he realized that they had received the mission from the black market, and their employer’s mission was for them to steal the Evolutionary Totem.

Han Xiao then joined the dots to Feidin’s report of the assault on Ludwell’s grandson and could more or less guess what their entire plan was.

These organizations that came to create trouble were all hired from the black market and were no more than pawns. They did not know the entire plan and were only in charge of their own segment of the mission. The true objective of the mastermind should be to get rid of Ludwell’s grandson.

Although Enya Hub was not a colonial planet of the dynasty, their security was not too bad. For this group to be able to smuggle such restricted items in, they had definitely borrowed the strength of the local organizations.

There were very few organizations capable of organizing such a scheme in the territory of the dynasty. The two most suspicious parties were the Federation of Light and Arcane Church.

During this period, there were many cases of Evolutionary Totem robberies in the dynasty’s borders. The robbers were mainly hired from the black market, and the employers were not the federation or church. They had definitely borrowed the name of other organizations, and their true motive of causing chaos was not the Evolutionary Totem but creating security problems within the dynasty.

They were trying to create chaos for the dynasty and make the dynasty know that such events would be commonplace if they did not allow the totems to be sold openly. They also wanted to make use of this opportunity to express their attitudes to the other civilizations. In any case, they definitely had other plans, and this was only the tip of the iceberg.

Since he guessed that there was a mastermind behind the matter, there was no reason for Han Xiao to let them go. He had gotten Phillip to infiltrate the artificial intelligence of Enya Hub and open a backdoor to dig up all the data.

If he was not a Virtual Mechanic, these two masterminds might have escaped.

What a pity… Han Xiao shook his head. You two are truly unlucky to meet me.

Chapter 943: Favor and Attitude

Chapter 943 Favor and Attitude

Jabra, Hadavy, and the other Black Star Guards were waiting for Han Xiao when he brought the group of depressed captives to the Enya Hub prison

“Your Excellency Black Star!” Jabra took two steps forward and bowed.

Han Xiao was at the same level as his boss, and he was welcoming the other party on behalf of his organization. As such, he was very wary of his own attitude and made sure to be humble.

“Hello.” Han Xiao nodded, and the captives flew toward the prison warden.

Hadavy and the others followed behind Han Xiao while Jabra led the way in front. They all arrived at the interrogation chamber, and the prison warden placed each captive in a solitary room.

“Would you like to interrogate them?” Jabra asked Han Xiao.

“It’s fine. You can do it. Show me your art.” Han Xiao shook his head.

He had already obtained the intelligence that he wanted from these two masterminds, and he was only there for show.

These two masterminds were indeed from the Federation of Light and Arcane Church. They were part of a plan to pressure the Crimson Dynasty and were members of a small team. Han Xiao could see the tip of the iceberg of a grand scheme from the confession of the two.

There were many different teams targeting the various regions of the dynasty with each team being in charge of a region. These two were in charge of causing chaos within the dynasty with regards to the Evolutionary Totem and employed pawns through the black market to affect the public security of the dynasty… while carrying out some other special operations like assassinating Ludwell’s grandson. Their goal was to sow chaos with the accidental death of a high official’s grandson. They hoped to disrupt the unity within the dynasty and increase the pressure from within.

Their targets were not chosen by people but calculated by an artificial intelligence. They would calculate the expected impact their target could create on the dynasty and deal with the targets with the highest impact.

Ludwell’s grandson was chosen in this manner. The final calculation of the artificial intelligence was that getting rid of Ludwell’s grandson would result in a high probability of Ludwell’s position being changed. For a large plan like this, which involved dozens of regions, using artificial intelligence would be far more accurate than a human’s thought process.

The federation and church were targeting the dynasty in many areas, but as long as their schemes were not exposed, everyone would follow the unspoken rules and only work in the dark.

But things would be different if they had a witness. These two individuals were not too useful to Han Xiao, but they would have their uses for the dynasty. Even if the federation and church refused to acknowledge the existence of these two individuals, the dynasty would still be able to make use of them.

As he watched the captives being interrogated, Han Xiao pondered about other things.

He originally thought that it was only a third-rate organization causing trouble but never expected to be dragged into this matter and save Ludwell’s grandson in the process…

Feidin’s luck was truly amazing. If he did not discover Ludwell’s grandson beforehand, they might not have been able to save him.

He is truly a great general.

Han Xiao shook his head and sigh while stroking his chin.

As for Ludwell…

He was no stranger to this name and knew that Ludwell was a high official of the dynasty with great clout in the economic arena. However, Ludwell did not have many dealings with him.

Han Xiao only knew that there was a faction that wanted him to hand over the Evolution Cube in the dynasty but did not know who they were.

Ludwell had a high position and did not have many enemies as a member of the neutral faction. As members of the dynasty, the other officials would not reveal too many details to Han Xiao. Strictly speaking, the allies were still outsiders, and only the officials of the dynasty were their own people. As such, no one was willing to create enemies for themselves for no good reason.

With the interrogation being completed halfway, the scene before him became a little nasty. As such, Han Xiao was prepared to leave. Jabra immediately stopped the interrogation and escorted Han Xiao to the exit of the prison.

“It is all thanks to your help, Your Excellency. Without you, these two spies would have escaped,” Jabra said with a bright smile on his face.

“It’s just a small matter.”

“Will you remain on Enya Hub, Your Excellency? Please give me the chance to be a good host…”

“It isn’t necessary. We plan on leaving.” Han Xiao waved his arms.

With his identity exposed, he would probably end up being surrounded like a zoo animal, and he was not prepared to remain on this planet.

Since Feidin had already snuck into the Punisher Alliance successfully, Han Xiao was prepared to get his fleet to follow behind him stealthily. He would train the last bit of energy while waiting for Feidin to find the item to trigger the hidden boss.

Under the respectful gazes of the Enya Hub members, Han Xiao returned to his spaceship with his Black Star Guards.

Just as he returned to his room, Han Xiao’s communicator rang, and it was a foreign number.

Picking up the call, an old face appeared on the screen.

“I am Ludwell. Black Star, thank you for saving my grandchild.”

“It isn’t much.” Han Xiao then sized this high official up. “This is our first meeting, right?”

“That’s right.” Ludwell nodded. “I have long heard of your great name.”

“You’re too polite. I have also long heard of your name.” Han Xiao smiled calmly.

Seeing Han Xiao’s friendly attitude, Ludwell’s impression of Han Xiao became even better. It was not that he had not talked to any Beyond Grade As before. However, a cold individual like Dark Lord liked to treat the warmness of others with a chilly attitude. Even the old dragon had the arrogance of a Beyond Grade A. It was rare to see such an amiable Beyond Grade A in the universe.

After chatting casually for a while, Ludwell expressed his gratitude. Since the other party had saved his grandson, he had to express some gratitude.

“We are all comrades of the dynasty, and I naturally did what I could. I cannot sit idly by the side when someone else causes chaos in the dynasty,” Han Xiao replied calmly.

A smile appeared briefly on Ludwell’s face, and he asked casually, “I heard that the Limitless Financial Group is expanding into the Shattered Star Ring?”

“That’s right. They are preparing to expand their operations. They are extremely wealthy, and I also suffered slightly. That Tyrant truly knows how to seize an opportunity.” Han Xiao understood the other party’s intentions and was slightly surprised.

“Hmm, I understand.” Ludwell smiled and said, “I will treat you to a meal the next time you come over. I have something else to do and shall hang up now.”

“See you next time.”

Ending the call, Han Xiao played with the communicator in his hands, and a smile could be seen on his face.

The Crimson Dynasty had long known about his competition with Bloodshed Land. However, it was not good for them to help either party, and thus, they had decided to ignore the matter entirely and watch from the side.

However, it seems like Ludwell was planning to aid him somehow.

Ludwell did not speak openly, and Han Xiao did not know how the other party would help him or whether the other party would even help him at all. It was extremely common for officials to speak in such a vague manner and let others guess their intentions.

Perhaps someone else would not have such authority, but Ludwell was the individual in charge of trade and economics in the dynasty! This matter was well within his influence!

If he’s willing to help, the effects will be significant, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Financial support was one thing, but financial cooperation was another. It was similar to the difference between giving a man a fish or teaching him how to fish. After the dynasty split up the pie in the Flickering World, the Crimson Dynasty would not have any new support plans for a long time in order to achieve balance. However, this was no longer so certain.

Feidin has allowed me to build a relationship with this high official, and I can make use of this relationship to deal with the Limitless Financial Group. Is this the legendary ‘following the protagonist for meat to eat’?

Beep beep…

At that moment, his communicator rang again. This time, it was someone he knew. The other party was Jabra’s superior and the Beyond Grade A ally who owned Enya Hub.

They had met a few years ago in the meeting to deal with EsGod, and Han Xiao had recorded the other party’s number. This was the first time that the other party had taken the initiative to call.

The reason for his call was simple. He was calling to thank Han Xiao for helping him maintain the security on his territory and invited Han Xiao over to be his guest. Both parties then exchanged some pleasantries before hanging up.

…

In his office, Ludwell placed his communicator down and thought for a moment before calling the internal channel.

“Contact Bekorodi for me.”

Bekorodi was a high official who also supported the idea of Black Star handing over the Evolution Cube. However, both parties were in different political factions. Ludwell belonged to the neutral faction whereas Bekorodi was an important figure in the hawk faction. Although both parties supported the notion of Black Star handing over the Evolution Cube, their methods were different.

As a member of the neutral faction, Ludwell would only bring up his ideas to Urranrell, but Bekorodi would take physical action.

Ludwell was in charge of the economic arena, and the actions of the Limitless Financial Group were within his observation. His experience told him that there should be a faction of the dynasty supporting the Limitless Financial Group from behind, and Bekorodi was the biggest suspect.

Ludwell did not plan to interfere with this matter in the past as it was in line with his neutral stance. Thus, he was not the mastermind but also pretended to ignore this matter.

However, he owed Black Star a favor now, and Ludwell decided to intervene with this matter. His stance would not change, but he could change his method slightly.

His first step would be to have a talk with Bekorodi and warn the other party a little. He would then be able to influence the deal between the other party and the Limitless Financial Group.

Because of his status, Bekorodi would not be afraid of Black Star. However, he had no choice but to listen to the opinion of another political leader!

…

The storm in Enya Hub came to an end. The number of casualties was large, and the financial losses were also great. Some time would be needed for Enya Hub to recover.

After collecting a large reward, the Punisher Alliance was not willing to stay any longer and also planned to leave.

After the battle, Feidin and Aurora had already blended into the group and left together.

“Where are we going?” Aurora asked curiously.

“Both of you are still newbies, so we will return to headquarters now,” Raymond said with a friendly smile, but Aurora thought that he was making a funny face.

Feidin nodded upon hearing that.

The item that Old Black wants me to find is probably in the headquarters of the Punisher Alliance.

Sigh… I wonder if I will be able to find it…

Chapter 944: Box of Enticemen

Chapter 944 Box of Enticemen

The Punisher Alliance did not have the financial strength to construct a space fortress, so their headquarters was a modified spaceship that was parked in a galactic harbor called Punisher.

After entering the spaceship, the two newbies explored the spaceship under Raymond’s lead. The structure of the spaceship was a circular one with the different regions being connected by an alley. It was shaped almost like a pearl bracelet.

“This is our base. This is our daily activity region, and every member has their own room. I have already made the arrangements for both of you. All your daily necessities are prepared, and you can rest anytime. That is the combat training region, and that is the equipment storage…”

They then came to a region with a door that had ‘Spoils of War Museum’ written on it.

“That is…” Feidin pointed at the door. He felt that there would be clues inside the room.

“Oh! This is the glory of our Punisher Alliance.” Raymond chuckled. “These are all the spoils of war that we have obtained from fighting fugitives. Let’s go. I will regale you with tales of our glorious achievements.”

The room was extremely spacious with a few transparent cabinets being placed within it. A portion of the cabinets were empty, and the others were filled with many different items. There were some broken weapons, half broken masks, a charred electronic eyeball, and many other items.

Raymond led the way and began explaining the origin of the items.

“This is the tomahawk of a fugitive called Ruthless, who had a bounty of 300,000 Enas. We sacrificed a comrade during this battle…”

“Do you see that electronic eyeball? That is the artificial eyeball of Professor Vicious. His corpse was completely destroyed, and this is the only thing that he left behind…”

“That is the war hammer of the head bishop. The others just placed it in…”

Hearing Raymond’s explanation, Feidin looked through the artifacts while comparing them to the picture that Han Xiao had given him.

All of a sudden, Feidin’s footsteps froze in place, and his gaze was locked on a transparent cabinet.

An old fashioned looking white box was placed in the cabinet with a black charred mark on it that seemed extremely ordinary.

“What is this?” A look of joy flashed past Feidin’s eyes as he pointed at the box.

This was the item that Han Xiao had gotten him to find.

What’s this? So, it turns out that it was so easy to find it. I thought that it would be much more difficult to find it.

“Let me think…” Raymond thought for a while before saying, “I remember! This is the loot from one of our operations. There was one fellow who wanted to take over a surface civilization with the weapons that he smuggled. When we heard the news, we set off on an expedition to get rid of him. We found many items in his storeroom, and this is one of them.”

“What’s the use of it?”

Feidin was extremely curious. He was truly curious about an item that Black Star said he wanted.

“We aren’t clear about its origins and only know that carrying it will strengthen one’s Psychic energy and mental defenses. However, the user will hallucinate if the box is used for a long time, and they will hear voices in their ears. Thus, we called it the Box of Enticement. We sealed the box up after one of our comrades went crazy because of it.”

As he said that, Raymond suddenly had a puzzled look on his face. “Didn’t we seal this item up? Who put it back on display?”

Right at this moment, Feidin frowned slightly, his attention still on the box. He could hear a soft voice calling out to him and luring him to touch the box.

Using his Psychic energy to scan the box, he felt as though the box was covered with a mental shield.

Feidin wanted to see what was in the box and transformed his psychic energy into a drill to break through the Psychic Current of the box. However, the moment his psychic energy came into contact with the box, his face changed abruptly, and he cut off his psychic energy that was being sucked into the box.

Upon seeing that, Raymond waved his arms and said with resignation, “Stop trying, it’s useless. Our Psychic tried it once, but psychic energy isn’t able to detect the situation inside the box.”

“Can we open up the box normally?”

“You can, but there is nothing inside.” Raymond opened up the cabinet and opened up the box.

At this moment, Aurora jabbed Feidin’s waist and made a hand sign.

Feidin immediately understood what Aurora meant. There was a life force within the box.

Black Star wouldn’t want this box for nothing. The item that he wants is strange indeed, Feidin thought to himself.

Raymond then placed the box back into the cabinet and continued touring the place with the two.

…

After taking a tour throughout the entire base and meeting some new members of the Punisher Alliance, Feidin and Aurora said goodbye to Raymond and returned to their rooms.

After a few more hours, they left their rooms and walked straight to the museum.

The artifacts in the museum only had commemorative meaning, and the surveillance equipment in that region was of a lower grade. Feidin took out an army-made automatic infiltration device. Just when he was about to plug it into the door, he was stopped by Aurora.

“Are you going to walk in like this?” Aurora asked doubtfully. “The alarm will sound.”

“I know,” Feidin said slowly. “Since Black Star wants the item, it will be impossible for them to fight back. I do not like to bully the weak, and they aren’t a bunch of evil people. Even if I want to take the item, I must let them know the reason. I am not willing to act like a thief.”

“This isn’t good, right? What if Black Star has his own intentions?” Aurora hesitated.

Truthfully, she also felt that it was beneath them to act like thieves.

“He didn’t make any special requests. Even if he does… he will only blame me.”

Feidin smiled, walked into the room openly, and picked up the Box of Enticement.

Di di di…

He ignored the ear-piercing alarm and led Aurora toward the entrance of the spaceship.

He did not face any restrictions along the way and only met Raymond, Slade, and the other members of the Punisher Alliance by the hatch of the spaceship.

“Why do both of you want to steal the Box of Enticement?” Raymond had a bitter look on his face and was not willing to believe what he had seen.

Slade gritted his teeth and said coldly, “I almost believed both of you! Both of you had other intentions indeed!”

“Perhaps they were enticed by the Box of Enticement…” Raymond looked at Feidin with a complicated gaze and a trace of hope in his eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Feidin shook his head and said calmly, “I am here for this item.”

Raymond could not help but ask, “Was it a scheme for you to save me?”

“Would you believe me if I said that it was luck?” Feidin said helplessly.

Slade then walked out from the crowd and pointed his weapon at the two. “I said it before. If I discover that both of you have other intentions, I will not show any mercy. Since you have already admitted to it, place the Box of Enticement down and give up on resisting or face the power of my weapon!”

Feidin looked at the agitated group and said slowly, “Aura and I saved all of you more than once during the battle on Enya Hub. Are all of you really going to fight us?”

Upon hearing that, it was as though they were doused with cold water.

He was right. If not for her healing abilities, they would have suffered heavy losses on Enya Hub. It would not be too much to say that both of them had saved all of their lives. Although they had other intentions, it was not a lie that both of them had saved them all before.

Everyone immediately had a look of difficulty on their face and lost the will to fight.

Slade was the same, but he immediately threw away such emotions and gripped his weapon tightly. “This is an unrelated matter! You will become our enemies if you want to steal the Box of Enticement! We will not let you leave!”

Feidin then glanced at the group and sat on the ground.

“Alright. I won’t be leaving then.”

Everyone was stunned.

“What are you doing?” Raymond asked.

“Waiting for someone to pick me up.” He then closed his eyes and meditated.

“You truly have character.” Aurora, who was by the side, then glanced at the group and said helplessly, “Why are all of you still holding onto your weapons? Do all of you really want to attack me?”

Slade had a look of hesitation on his face. After thinking for a while, he decided to keep his weapon while watching Feidin by the side on high alert.

Just when everyone was on high alert, the hatch opened, and a black figure stood outside the spaceship.

The members of the Punisher Alliance immediately turned around and were astounded.

The one who had arrived was Black Star!

“You you you…” Raymond’s eyes widened to no end; he was dumbfounded.

Han Xiao glanced at him before bringing his Black Star Guards over to Feidin.

The members of the Punisher Alliance immediately opened a path with a look of shock on their faces. Why was Black Star there? Just what was going on‽

He then looked at Feidin and said with resignation, “Why do you have to trouble me to make an appearance for such a small matter? Stop playing already.”

Feidin smiled and stood up. “You know my personality.”

“That’s right. I’ve known your personality ever since we were on Sunil.” Han Xiao rubbed his head helplessly and joked, “If you continue to be so reckless, I won’t dare use you in the future.”

“I know how to differentiate between important and unimportant matters. I do not wish to lower my bottom line for such a small matter. Besides, you shouldn’t have asked me to be a thief.” Feidin blinked.

“Sigh, it is truly so difficult to avoid work.” Han Xiao groaned.

Every protagonist had their own principals, and it was impossible to order them around without restraint. It seemed as though they would not be able to display how extraordinary they were if they did not cause some trouble.

Upon hearing their conversation, everyone was dumbfounded.

Slade was a little anxious and could not help but cry out, “Just who exactly are you‽”

Hadavy looked over and snorted. “He is called Feidin, vice commander of the Black Star Guards.”

Slade’s body froze in place upon hearing that.

He could not believe that he had actually interacted with such a character.

Such a character could kill him like killing an ant. It was a joke that he thought Feidin was afraid of their numbers. It turned out that the other party could not even be bothered with them and probably treated them as kids.

Slade’s face turned pale. Thinking about his forceful tone toward Feidin, he was filled with both shock and fear in his heart.

Han Xiao said at this moment, “Alright, since you want to let them know the reason…”

He then turned around and sucked the Box of Enticement into his palm. Exerting strength on the box, he smashed it into pieces.

“Argh!”

Everyone could then feel a powerful mental energy exploding out from the box.

The faces of the Punisher Alliance superheroes turned pale, and they covered their ears. They could hear an ear-piercing screeching sound in their minds.

The mental sound in their head was filled with excitement as though a man that had been imprisoned for many years had been released!

Chapter 945: Heart Sucking Demon

Chapter 945 Heart Sucking Demon

Hu!

As though a storm swept through the place, an illusory figure gradually appeared. Its facial features were not distinct; it only looked like a shadow. Its shape was extremely odd as though it was a creature with many arms. Its shape was still transforming, and it was emanating a frightening aura.

“Delicacies… delicacies…”

A mental energy was spread out in all directions, and everyone could understand the intention of this illusory being.

A strange sense of fear rose in their hearts, and even Han Xiao and the Black Star Guards were no exception. They just were not as badly affected.

“What kind of a beast is this‽”

Raymond and Slade had a look of fear on their faces. They did not know that such a beast had actually been hiding within the Box of Enticement!

They could feel a sense of fear in their hearts, and they started to feel a wave of dizziness.

“It is a special creature from the secondary dimension. You can treat it as a parasite that is born together with the soul. It is one of the reasons the Psychic Current exists in the universe,” Han Xiao said calmly.

This was a boss from the secondary dimension called the Heart Sucking Demon. The thoughts of every living being in the universe formed a universe consciousness, and the Heart Sucking Demons would crawl at the bottommost layer of the universe to feast on the universe consciousness.

The bottommost layer of the universe was the nest of these Heart Sucking Demons, and there was an almost endless supply of them in the bottommost layer of the universe. This Heart Sucking Demon was at the Lord level, but it had been caught by a powerhouse and sealed in this box.

Han Xiao knew that the Heart Sucking Demon boss’ main attacking methods were to attack the souls of its targets. It also had many different types of resistance and was almost immune to mental attacks. Most mental attacks would only be food for it.

It was because of this that the corpse of a Heart Sucking Demon was a huge supplement to one’s mental strength. However, the side effects of it was an explosion. Only a Psychic and some Mages were able to make use of it without any side effects. It could increase the mental defenses of a Psychic and also cause one’s attacks to have the [Chaos] status.

However, the Heart Sucking Demon was extremely difficult to catch and extremely rare in the universe.

The instant the Heart Sucking Demon broke free from its seal, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

Destroy the Heart Sucking Demon

Mission Introduction: The Heart Sucking Demon is an extremely dangerous secondary dimension being that feasts on human thoughts. This Heart Sucking Demon was brought into the universe because of some reason, and it would be a hidden threat if ignored.

Mission Requirements: Kill the Heart Sucking Demon

Reward: 10,000,000 Experience

Rewards for the highest damage dealer: [Mental Defense] Talent and [Magic Resisting Body] Talent.

[Mental Defense]: +40% Psychological Resistance. You will be immune to [Chaos] and [Shock] statuses.

[Magic Resisting Body]: Your body has additional resistance toward magic. +45% Magic Resistance. You will have a 5% chance of being immune to a magical attack. Cooldown: 10 mins.

_____________________

The players would definitely form a party when killing bosses, and the player who output the most damage would gain the kill of the boss. Even with Han Xiao’s current ability, he felt that the effects of these two talents were not too bad, so he had come for these two talents.

The box was just a sealing device, and the Heart Sucking Demon had been trapped in it for a long time already. It could not come into contact with the outside world and was extremely weak at the moment. It was currently in a starving state, and it immediately rushed toward the members of the Punisher Alliance to fulfil its thirst the moment it was released.

These people were a group of walking delicacies in its eyes.

“Hurry! The beast is coming over!”

Raymond, Slade, and the others immediately drew the weapons and unleashed a wave of attacks toward the demon.

However, although their attacks struck the Heart Sucking Demon, the effects of their attacks were limited. The defense of the Heart Sucking Demon was similar to that of the Interstellar Beast, and the attacks of a Grade B Super were unable to break through its defenses.

Despite enduring a large number of attacks, the Heart Sucking Demon was unharmed, and it slowly approached Raymond.

Upon seeing the strange beast about to stick on him, Raymond’s expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly backed off.

Swoosh!

Right at this moment, a ray of light pierced through the back of the Heart Sucking Demon, and the Heart Sucking Demon immediately froze in place.

A spherical floating cannon floated beside Han Xiao with multi-dimensional energy being released from the sphere.

This was a multi-dimensional weapon that Han Xiao had created after obtaining his new Ultimate Knowledge. It was extremely effective in dealing with the beasts from the secondary dimension and could be used to kill the Heart Sucking Demon.

The ray of light rapidly expanded in the Heart Sucking Demon’s body, and the Heart Sucking Demon trembled as though it was trying to struggle for its life.

An intense sense of despair was sent out from the Heart Sucking Demon’s mental waves, and everyone present was also affected by its emotions.

It had just left the wolf’s nest to enter the tiger’s mouth. It was truly unlucky!

Everyone then saw the Heart Sucking Demon explode like a bubble being burst. The Heart Sucking Demon disappeared without a trace and only left behind a black, palm-sized item on the ground. This was the corpse of the Heart Sucking Demon.

Han Xiao then sucked the corpse into his hands and threw it to Feidin casually.

“Deal with it. You helped me find it, so this item shall belong to you. You can go and discover its use on your own.”

Feidin was stunned. “You’re giving it to me? You don’t want it?”

“It’s useless to me.” Han Xiao shook his head. He was a Mechanic and did not need the corpse of the Heart Sucking Demon.

His goal was only the two talents. A mission completion notification popped up on his interface the instant he killed the Heart Sucking Demon; he had already obtained the two talents.

Although the resistance of the Heart Sucking Demon was high, Han Xiao’s strength stood at the peak of the universe. Even if the Interstellar Beast from before appeared before him right now, killing it would only require a single cannon.

That reminds me, I seem to be even tankier than the Interstellar Beast…

Glancing at the members of the Punisher Alliance, Han Xiao did not bother giving an explanation and left the spaceship. Feidin shook his head with a smile and followed behind Han Xiao.

After being together for such a long time, he realized that he was becoming increasingly fond of Han Xiao’s personality.

He is truly a friend who I am willing to serve.

Raymond and the others opened a path and watched as Black Star left. Slade then came to a realization.

“Such a terrifying creature was hidden in the Box of Enticement. If it escaped someday, we would have been…”

Upon hearing those words, the members of the Punisher Alliance came to a realization as well and felt that they understood Black Star’s intentions.

Black Star knew about the existence of the Heart Sucking Demon and thus came just to destroy this demon that should not have appeared in the universe.

They had personally experienced how terrifying the Heart Sucking Demon was. If the Heart Sucking Demon had been allowed to escape in the future, they would have suffered heavy casualties for sure!

Did this mean that they had all been saved by Black Star‽

To think that they had misunderstood such a bigshot…

Understanding this point, Raymond and the others had complicated feelings in their heart. They were filled with both gratitude and a sense of shame.

After struggling for a while, Slade rushed out of the spaceship and wanted to catch up to Feidin and apologize for his previous attitude.

When he left the hatch, he realized that Black Star had already disappeared and left the planet.

Upon seeing that, everyone looked at each other and sighed.

Black Star’s level is too far away from us, and we will never be able to repay this favor.

…

The event that Feidin had triggered came to an end, and Han Xiao learned his lesson. He no longer allowed the fleet to stop near any planets, lest Feidin ended up meeting another fortuitous event and disturbing his training.

Thankfully, Feidin hid in his room to research the Heart Sucking Demon’s corpse and did not run around anymore.

After absorbing the corpse, Feidin’s psychic energy was strengthened, and Han Xiao had a strange feeling in his heart.

No matter how he looked at it, suddenly gaining a treasure was like the treatment of a protagonist.

Although he had also gained some talents, Feidin seemed to have benefited more.

After travelling for a few more days, Han Xiao’s energy level finally reached Lv.19.

His level 300 Promotion Mission was finally completed!

Chapter 946: Level 300 Promotion!

Chapter 946 Level 300 Promotion!

Circular mountains covered the land with some alloy wreckage sticking out from the ground occasionally. There was a black mountain peak filled with desolation and an ancient feeling in the distance.

The sky was gloomy, and the planet was deserted. A powerful gale was blowing through the planet, sweeping up anything that was on the surface of the planet.

This was a deserted planet covered with a thick layer of gray fog. From the outside of the planet, a large storm-like spiral could be seen in the atmosphere of the planet.

This used to be a planet full of life with the color of nature all around the planet and the sound of beasts roaring resounding through the forests. Today, only darkness and silence were left behind. This was one of the battlefields during the exploration era.

Underground, a large number of battleships were buried.

A black figure walked slowly on the planet as though he had melded into the background.

“This place is fine.”

Han Xiao looked up at the gray skies and knew that a spaceship was waiting for him outside the atmosphere of the planet. The people on the spaceship would probably be looking at him through their windows.

The commotion of a beyond grade A Super would not be small, not to mention the fact that he was going to undergo a race upgrade and Class Advancement at the same time. The commotion would probably shake the mountains and the earth. He would probably destroy the spaceship if he carried out his Promotion on it. Thus, Han Xiao had found an uninhabited planet and was planning to complete his advancement on the planet.

Of course, he had already touched Feidin before coming over and was currently full of confidence.

Opening his interface, his Promotion Mission and Class Advancement Mission were already completed. Han Xiao then chose to end the missions.

_____________________

Lv300 Promotion Mission completed!

+70 END Bonus! 1 END = 480 Health = 490 Stamina.

The energy within your cells causes your body to experience a transformation. Your genes are experiencing a transformation toward a higher level, and you are taking another step on the road of evolution.

Race Detected: Black Star Race (Specialty race, unchangeable)

Randomly drawing five matching evolutionary directions… Randomizing… Randomization complete.

Please select two from the five Race Evolution choices below and receive one talent from each.

1. [Void Archangel (Human Form)]

2. [Endless Proliferation Aberration Body (Group Consciousness)]

3. [Void Priest (Human Form)]

4. [Saint Tyracles Race]

5. [Margola Void Beast]

_____________________

“The evolution directions aren’t too bad.” Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction.

He had chosen [Void Saint] in his previous evolution, and he now had the option of [Void Archangel]. He was already coming to the end of the Void Race.

[Endless Proliferation Aberration Body] was a terrifying being that could endlessly proliferate as long as it had enough energy. There was no need to worry about his genes collapsing, and he would become a meat planet eventually.

He would also be able to form various flesh constructs such as a new organism that could reproduce normally. He could split up a part of his body to create an organism that was controlled by his consciousness but still had its own free will.

[Saint Tyracles] was an extinct race that had superb Mechanic talent. They were said to be natural born Mechanics.

[Margola Void Beast] was a Void Beast with an extremely powerful body. It was a leviathan in the void race that was an equal to the Void Dragons.

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao came to a decision. He chose [Void Archangel] and [Saint Tyracles]. The former was to maintain his void evolution path while the latter was to strengthen his Mechanic talent.

He had many different void talents. The reason he did not choose [Void Priest] was because it contained many of the talents of the [Void Archangel]. Although the [Endless Proliferation Aberration Body] was terrifying, Han Xiao was not prepared to give up his human form.

He still had to remain human.

[Margola Void Beast] was famous for being a meat shield and Han Xiao felt that he was already a first rate meat shield and didn’t need to be strengthened in this regard.

All the talents of the two races were placed before him and he could choose one each. After looking at them for a while, he made his choice.

_____________________

You have received the talent [Divine Void Power]!

You have received the talent [Tyracles Mechanical Legacy]!

[Divine Void Power]: Your understanding of the void has been increased to a new level. You will be able to control Void Energy more effectively and increase your attributes.

Your attack and defense will be boosted by Void Energy, and your attacks will receive a void bonus (12,500 points +12% attack). -10,000 damage and +15% Resistance to all damage taken.

You will receive more from Divine Void Power as your level increases.

Level 1 – 100: +15 STR, DEX, END, INT, and MYS for every 10 levels, +0.5% attack.

Level 100 – 200: +30 STR, DEX, END, INT, and MYS for every 10 levels, +1% attack.

Level 200 and above: +45 STR, DEX, END, INT, and MYS for every 10 levels, +1.5% attack.

Current bonus: +900 STR, DEX, END, INT and MYS, +30% attack.

[Tyracles Mechanical Legacy]: The Mechanic discipline is inherited in the memories of the Saint Tyracles Race. The Saint Tyracles Race has superb talent in the Mechanic Class. -20% Experience to level up any Mechanic skills (inclusive of but not limited to Mechanic skills and blueprints).

You will receive more Mechanical Legacy as your level increases.

Level 1 – Lv100: +8% Machinery Affinity for every 10 levels.

Level 100 – Lv200: +12% Machinery Affinity for every 10 levels.

Level 200 and above: +16% Machinery Affinity for every 10 levels.

The legacy of the Saint Tyracles Race is stored in their memories. You will unlock a special race blueprint when you reach Levels 20, 60, 100, 160, 200, 260, 320, and 360.

_____________________

Boom!

Han Xiao felt his head spinning and his body being washed in void energy. It was as though he was attacked by both cold and heat at the same time.

A transformation was ongoing in Han Xiao’s body, and more notifications popped up on his interface. The talent of his Black Star Race was also upgraded as well.

_____________________

Your Black Star Race talent [Mechanical Genius] has been upgraded.

[Mechanical Genius]: 1.15x Machinery Affinity increased to 1.25x. +30% Machinery Creation Performance increased to 40%. New effect added: All Mechanic skills will be increased by 1 level.

Detecting Race Appearance… Based on your evolution experience, you can change your appearance by up to 1.4%.

_____________________

Han Xiao was still pretty confident in his own face editing skills, but he would not test them on his own face. Thus, he chose to maintain his own appearance.

_____________________

Molecular structure has been improved, organ structure has been strengthened, and metabolism has been altered…

Black Star Race potential upgraded. You have received bonus attributes: +334 STR, +320 DEX, +470 END, +767 INT, +580 MYS, +205 CHA, +8,000 Energy. Energy Level bonus attributes have been changed!

_____________________

All his cells were trembling, and the powerful wave of energy gushing out from his body affected the environment of the entire planet. Han Xiao had turned into the eye of the storm, and a powerful cyclone was formed with him at the center.

In the fleet outside the atmosphere, Aurora, Feidin, Hadavy, and all the Black Star Guards stood in front of the window and watched the commotion that Han Xiao was causing on the planet.

“What a frightening energy reaction. His Excellency is experiencing another growth? He is actually able to increase his strength within such a short amount of time again‽” Hadavy was dumbfounded.

“Although I have known him for a long time, he always surprises me.” Feidin shook his head. “Why is there such a talented individual in the world? He is like a natural-born Super.”

“I’ve never heard of a Beyond Grade A that grows so quickly,” Hadavy lamented with a sour feeling in his heart.

He had fought for a long time in order to become a Beyond Grade A, but his wishes had not come true yet. However, Black Star was not only the individual who had used the least amount of time to become a Beyond Grade A, he was able to maintain his growth even after entering the Beyond Grade A realm. This was truly unheard of. Anyone would truly be angered to death if they tried to compare themself to Black Star.

Hadavy had a face full of envy.

Not just him, the other Black Star Guards were also astounded. Such a rapid growth rate was something that they could not imagine.

Aurora clenched her fists with sweat in her palms.

This was the first time that she had witnessed Han Xiao’s Promotion process. She could clearly feel Han Xiao’s life force shooting up to the sky rapidly, completely different from the slow evolution process of a Beyond Grade A. She could not help but be afraid that Han Xiao’s Promotion would fail.

She was already prepared to exhaust ninety-nine percent of her life force to help Han Xiao.

After a long time, the high energy reaction finally subsided.

“It seems like he succeeded.”

Just when everyone was about to heave a sigh of relief, they were shocked to realize that the subsiding energy level shot up again.

A new storm had appeared!

“Didn’t he just complete an evolution? He’s going through another one again‽”

Everyone was dumbfounded and felt their worldview being shattered.

At this moment, Han Xiao, who was in the middle of the storm, received a notification.

Chapter 947: Divine Throne Mechanic

Chapter 947 Divine Throne Mechanic

[Divine Throne Mechanic] Lv1.

+450 Energy, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +15 END, +20 INT.

You have received 15 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

You have obtained the talent [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus]!

You have obtained the talent [Spirit Instrument]!

You have obtained the talent [Mechanical Evolution—Creator’s Heart]!

You have acquired the skill [Universal Simulation]!

You have acquired the skill [Dimension Factory]!

You have acquired the skill [Virtual Paramount]!

You have acquired the skill [Mechanical Proliferation Growth]!

You have acquired the skill [Strengthened Machinery Civilization]!

You have acquired the skill [Apostle Evolution]!

You have acquired the skill [Composite Mechanical Deity]!

You have acquired the blueprint [Divine Mechanical Throne]!

The effect of all your Virtual Technology related abilities and talents has increased by 50%.

_____________________

A series of notifications popped up on the interface.

A huge cyclone was formed with Han Xiao at the center, and from outer space, it looked like a pot of gray soup being stirred rapidly.

[Divine Throne Mechanic] was a new boundary, and the level limit was increased from forty to sixty! Han Xiao had gone from Apostle, Emperor, Lord, and finally arrived at Divine Throne!

This was the current peak of the Mechanics in the universe. ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison was currently at this stage, and there was not a Mechanic who had exceeded him yet.

At his current stage, all his abilities went through a series of transformations.

If the strength of an Apostle Mechanic was mainly reliant on himself, the specialty of an Emperor Mechanic was strengthening the Army Style, and the specialty of a Lord Mechanic was increasing the long distance combat ability of a Mechanic and creating Apostle Weapons, the specialty of a Divine Throne Mechanic was strengthening all three aspects greatly and creating an entirely new path.

Han Xiao endured the intense pain of the transformation and looked through his interface to see the benefits of the Class Advancement.

[Key of Adeptus Mechanicus]. Its basic effect increased Machinery Affinity by two hundred percent, and its core effect set up a Machinery Faith. As long as there were believers who treated him as their Machinery Deity, he would receive bonus attributes. The greater the number of followers, the greater the bonus.

There were many different religions in the universe, and the Machinery Faith was a special faith in the universe that was crazy about technological skills. The followers of the faith worshipped a powerful Mechanic and treated him as a Machinery Deity.

After Han Xiao’s deeds resounded through the universe, he had actually collected a large batch of Machinery Faith followers, and he would be able to gain an attribute bonus from these followers. A Beyond Grade A Mechanic who had [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] could increase their own Machinery Affinity.

Mechanic Emperor Manison was an important idol for the Machinery Faith and obtained great strength from his followers. Now, Han Xiao also had the ability to gain strength from his followers.

This was no different from harvesting crops, and it was the Great Mechanic Han’s specialty!

[Spirit Instrument] could increase the success rate of gold-grade blueprints, and he would receive an additional bonus if he was able to construct Universal Treasure-grade gold equipment.

In his previous life, there was a popular saying on the forums. The five main Classes represented the five different aspects of a deity. The Pugilist represented the ‘Body’, the Psychic represented the ‘Mind’, the Mage represented the ‘Control of Laws’, the Esper represented ‘Innate Divine Abilities’, and the Mechanic represented ‘Deity’s Equipment’.

Although such a saying did not have any proof or theory, it was an extremely popular saying.

[Mechanical Evolution—Creator’s Heart] was his core talent that increased his Machinery Affinity by 450%, production efficiency by 300%, and Machinery Creation Performance by 40%. It was similar to [Mechanical Force Ascension—Apostle Body], which also allowed the attributes of one’s Mechanical Force to achieve a transformation.

At the same time, this talent strengthened his personal attributes as well. It would provide him with Free Attribute Points based on the levels of his Mechanic skills, which included blueprint skills. Level 4 would provide him with one point, level 7 with two points, and level 10 with three points.

Most of Han Xiao’s Mechanic skills were basically at the max level, and Han Xiao obtained 189 Free Attribute Points. He also had thousands of blueprints on him, with the majority of them from gambling. Their levels had not been increased yet, and a portion of the blueprints provided him with 2,128 Free Attribute Points. This gave him a total of 2,317 Free Attribute Points.

Although it could not be compared to the attributes that he received from his Promotion, he could add them freely according to his preference.

Furthermore, this skill had huge growth potential and provided Han Xiao with a new way to increase his Attribute Points.

Knowledge was power. The more he learned, the greater his strength.

Apart from these three new skills, the others were core abilities of the [Divine Throne Mechanic].

[Universal Simulation] was not a combat ability but a creation skill. He could use his machinery to simulate various different celestial bodies, natural phenomena, and so on. Apart from being limited by materials, he was like the creator. However, this creator could only use machines.

As for the use of this skill, Han Xiao did not understand it fully yet. However, he guessed that it should be more of a daily life skill. He would be able to break free from the restrictions of blueprints, and nature would be his best material warehouse. Since ancient times, the starting point of all civilizations that developed naturally was from nature.

[Dimension Factory] was similar to an Emperor Mechanic’s [Secondary Dimension Army]. But the difference between the two was that [Dimension Factory] allowed him to set up a logistics base in the secondary dimension, and he would be able to bring his factory during a war, collecting the spare parts in the battlefield and sending them back into the furnace to create and repair machines.

The freshly constructed machines could then be sent straight into the battlefield. He would even be able to construct equipment on the spot to target the enemy’s weakness. It was much more powerful that [Waste Modification] and [Advanced Machinery Construction], and it allowed him to hold out longer during battle.

With [Dimension Factory], a Mechanic would not have to worry about the lack of logistical support no matter where he went.

[Virtual Paramount] was an ability that came from his Virtual Mechanic branch.

If he had chosen the Armed Branch, he would have acquired [Sky Dome]. If he had chosen the Energy Branch, he would be acquired [Energy Plasticity].

[Virtual Paramount] increased the effects of his Virtual Technology skills by two hundred percent and increased his Virtual Technology skills by three levels. Its core effect opened up a virtual world that only Virtual Life Forms and Virtual Souls could enter.

There were plenty of uses for this skill. It could be the breeding ground for Virtual Life Forms for it to evolve over time. It also allowed Han Xiao to build a fortress in the quantum network and release a large number of special AI hunters. He would be able to intercept information in the quantum network or spread viruses. When he used [Virtual Soul] to transform his target into a Virtual Soul, he could trap the other party in this Virtual World that was akin to the quantum network. The longer his target was trapped in the Virtual World, the greater the damage dealt.

Han Xiao felt that Manison’s slave AI Civilization was dependent on this ability.

[Mechanical Proliferation Growth] and [Strengthened Machinery Civilization] were talents to strengthen his mechanical life forms. The former increased the efficiency of him transforming a mechanical life form and increased the effect of [Mechanical Life Tinder]. The latter would strengthen his machinery civilization in many ways, including improving their reproductive capabilities and the potential of future generations.

These two talents were extremely important for the Mechanic Emperor to accumulate a large machinery civilization army.

[Apostle Evolution] strengthened the effects of [Apostle Life Creation]. It did not increase the number of Apostle Weapon slots that he had but increased the combat capability of his Apostle Weapons.

[Composite Mechanical Deity] was a transformation skill. With his main body or Lord avatar as the core, he would be able to combine with his mechanical army to form a gigantic mechanical body.

As long as his mechanical army was large enough, it would be possible for him to grow to the size of a planet.

Furthermore, the gigantic mechanical body would have all the attributes of the mechanical army, and it was extremely terrifying.

Roaming unhindered through the universe with a gigantic body, that was a ‘Mechanical Deity’!

The final blueprint, [Divine Mechanical Throne], was special equipment. It was a floating throne that was similar to the one Han Xiao had constructed before.

However, this throne had a special effect. If he sat on the throne, it would increase his Machinery Affinity by 1.1x. Thus, it was not strange for all Beyond Grade As to create a throne. Of course, the biggest reason was still because it looked cool.

Han Xiao had never obtained so many skills from a Class Advancement, and this was sufficient to prove just how terrifying a [Divine Throne Mechanic] was.

“My strength has increased a great deal with this Promotion!”

Even if the Class Advancement process had not been completed, the pain could not suppress the excitement that Han Xiao felt.

He was truly at the level of EsGod, the Mechanic Emperor, and Dark Lord after completing his Class Advancement and Promotion at level 300.

Chapter 948: Causing Trouble

Chapter 948 Causing Trouble

A harsh alarm rang in a dynasty military outpost that was not far from this ancient battlefield planet.

“Alert! Alert! High frequency reaction source detected, burst frequency of 9.17b/ms! The energy spectral shift index is between 78.7 and 134.5. Calculating energy fluctuation model and matching with database… Match complete. The possibilities are as follows: 42% chance of [Dimensional Fracture Opening], 31% chance of [High dimensional being descending (Void Spirit)], 4% chance of [Supernova], 24% chance of [Primordial Psionic Energy Pollution], 88% chance of [Beyond Grade A detonation]… Executing Order K-0081 and immediately dispatching an unmanned spaceship for field exploration.”

Woo!

With the alarm, the soldiers in the outpost immediately took action, returning to their respective positions. The unmanned drones were activated, turning into streams of light as their virtual pilots activated the hyperdrive modules to the coordinates of the energy explosion.

They quickly arrived at the scene, and from afar, they could see a fleet stationed in the planet’s orbit. At this moment the horrible energy fluctuations surged through the planet repeatedly, warping the entire ancient battlefield into a mess.

“This is the dynasty’s unmanned reconnaissance force. Please report your identity immediately!”

As soon as they made contact, the dynasty’s sentries immediately broadcast the signal to them, asking to verify their identities as well as activating a 3D scan toward the fleet.

Upon inspection, they got a shock. It was actually the fleet of the Black Star Army!

At this moment, Aurora connected to the communication channel. “This is Black Star’s personal fleet. What are you guys doing here?”

Hearing that it was an ally, the soldiers finally relaxed, and their attitudes got much better.

“We’ve received reports of a high energy fluctuation. What’s happened?”

“This was caused by Black Star. He’s on the planet surface now.”

“That was Black Star?”

The dynasty’s soldiers were shocked at the revelation.

Was it really the most likely prediction, the Beyond Grade A detonation‽

Black Star self-imploded‽

Thinking that, many of the dynasty soldiers sighed with pain in their hearts, and a wave of sadness surfaced.

“His Excellency Black Star… was he killed because of his business?”

“Huh?” Aurora was left stunned.

What was this situation? Why were they cursing at someone?

Only after explaining the situation did the dynasty soldiers realize that they were overthinking the matter.

In fact, it was no wonder that they had misunderstood things. The database matching had never made a mistake before. In the past, the sublimation of a Beyond Grade A had been very subtle, and they had not recorded any cases of a Beyond Grade A stepping into a higher realm.

However, Han Xiao’s promotion by the system condensed the evolution process countless times. Thus, the energy fluctuations caused by it stacked up to an extremely terrifying level. Since this was the first time the dynasty had encountered this situation, there was no corresponding example in the database, so a misjudgment was generated.

However, from that day forth, Han Xiao had become the first reference case in the database… probably the only one as well.

Since they were already there, the dynasty soldiers did not immediately leave. Instead, they simply moved to where the Black Star fleet was to observe the anomalies and collect data.

Aurora originally wanted to chase them away, but after thinking about it, she decided not to restrict their actions.

With the Black Star Army under pressure, it needed some opportunities to increase its prestige. With the dynasty now coming to investigate, not only would it increase Black Star’s importance to them, it would also improve his standing within the dynasty. The longer Aurora followed Han Xiao, the more her thinking became similar to his.

…

After a period of time, the high energy response passed its peak period and began to dwindle.

The process of metamorphosis came to an end, and the cells slowly quieted down from a highly active state. The energy that was uncontrolled and escaping from his cells gradually decreased, and the pain faded like the receding tide.

Opening his interface, Han Xiao summarized his advancement process. In terms of Race Evolution, the Racial Talents of the Black Star Race had been further improved, bringing more bonuses.

Even an improvement of 0.1x to the total affinity coefficient should not be underestimated. At Han Xiao’s level, this could increase his Machinery Affinity by hundreds of points, not to mention that he still had a +1 effect to all Mechanic skills.

The two Racial Talents brought by the evolution were the core abilities of his species. They were all growth-type talents. [Void Power] brought a total of 4,500 points and +30% to strength of abilities. This was also an ability that a Void entity would develop after undergoing metamorphosis.

[Tyracles Mechanical Legacy] currently provided 360% addition Machinery Affinity, but the main point of this talent lay in the unique blueprints that could be unlocked at different levels. These were the essence of scientific research accumulated by their entire race.

Han Xiao looked through some of the unique blueprints, and all of them were very high-quality equipment, broadening his own blueprint library. There were also several techniques saved within, which surprised him. He would have to carefully study them in the future.

The Saint Tyracles Race died during the exploration era for the same reason as the Evolutionary Civilization, but their data was not lost. Most of the technology left by their civilization was received and digested by the Federation of Light, which added a piece to their technological tree. Their huge technological tree was said to be partially made up of the technology from the Saint Tyracles, especially when they built the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device.

The unique blueprints unlocked at level 300 involved multiple fields of expertise, and the manufacturing was difficult, but none of them were Gold Equipment. Han Xiao estimated that it was likely that their Universal Treasure blueprints would only appear when he reached level 360.

In terms of his Class, he was already on the same starting line as ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison, but there was still a gap between their strengths. The [Divine Throne Mechanic] that he held was also held by Manison, but what Manison had, Han Xiao did not have… For example, there was his greatly coveted [Perfect Mechanical Sense], as well as his exclusive talents.

But in terms of their fleshly bodies, Han Xiao was definitely in the lead, far ahead of Manison. Although his mechanic abilities were inferior to Manison’s, his abilities in other areas shortened the gap between the two sides.

However, due to the talent [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus], the true strength of the Mechanic Emperor was unfathomable. For so many years, Manison had been recognized as the pinnacle of the Mechanic class in the explored universe, and he had gained God knew how many believers of this Mechanic religion. His position was rock solid.

The [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] provided an all-rounded improvement. Be it in basic attributes, Machinery Affinity, manufacturing efficiency, creation performance ,or ability strength, there would be a percentage bonus from it.

Upon thinking of the huge believers within the Mechanic Empire, Han Xiao felt the pressure. Only when he approached the level of others could he truly appreciate just how strong they were.

“If I want to bring out the effect of this talent, I have to wrestle away the Mechanic Emperor’s position within the Mechanics. Only through fighting against him as a Mechanic can I then take away the believers on his side…”

Han Xiao shook his head. He originally did not wish to antagonize Manison, but now Manison had become the obstacle in his road ahead.

Most likely, Manison himself would also see him as a threat once he realized that he had reached this realm.

Two tigers cannot share one mountain.

“It’s too early to talk about all this now, and I also need time to get accustomed to the new abilities. It’s not the time yet to break all ties with Manison.”

Han Xiao exhaled, suppressing his troubles and throwing the Free Attribute Points that he had obtained through [Mechanical Evolution—Creator’s Heart] into his Intelligence.

After completing this step, Han Xiao took a look at his character interface.

_____________________

Total Level: 301

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Black Star Race

Attributes: 6,736 STR, 6,405 DEX, 9,664 END, 17,453 INT, 5,230 MYS, 1,368 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 15

Potential Point: 7

Health: 9,695,991

Stamina: 7,832,880

Energy: 128,410 [Lv.19]

Lv.19 Energy Stat Bonuses: +2,026 STR, +2,488 DEX, +3,120 END, +3,425 INT, +1,923 MYS, +681,520 Stamina Limit, +2,712% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 71,130

Grade: SS

Grade S Bonuses: +100 END, +35% All Resistances. +32% Highest Attribute, +20% Other Attributes, +750 Free Attribute Points, +50 Potential Points

Remark: You have already touched on the peak of an individual’s strength. On the road ahead, there will be no more forerunners, you are your own pioneer!

_____________________

“Hiss…”

Seeing the huge changes on his interface, Han Xiao sucked in a breath involuntarily.

When he was level 280, his Energy Rank was 53,000, but now it had actually shot up by almost 20,000. However, not all of this was due to the changes brought about by his evolution.

During this period, he had learned all the class knowledges to activate the extra talent, and he had obtained the talent [Heroic Wrists] from Dragon Emperor Ames. Plus, he had even trained his Energy to Lv19… These various factors supported each other to create his huge growth.

The changes within his attributes were also frightening, with his Intelligence almost doubling. This was thanks to his [Almighty Mechanic] and [Divine Void Power], as well as the talent [Mechanical Evolution—Creator’s Heart], which all gave him attributes for free, providing a huge increase.

Even his endurance had also become frightening, his HP value approaching the ten million mark. Among the currently recognized Beyond Grade As, probably only the old dragon had more HP than him. Even Ty-Ty had to step aside.

“My realm has reached SS…” Han Xiao nodded to himself.

With his Energy Rank skyrocketing, his S rank bonus had also increased. The bonus given to Endurance had been changed from fifty to one hundred, and other effects had also increased to a certain extent.

This realm was normally known as the pinnacle of Beyond Grade A.

SS was naturally higher than S+, but it still belonged to the realm of Grade S. It was not a qualitative change like the Calamity Grade evolving to Beyond Grade A. What EsGod pursued was breaking the boundaries of the SS rank and opening up a whole new realm.

Gazing at the experience needed to level up, Han Xiao was not surprised that it had increased significantly.

The experience he had accumulated throughout Version 3.0 was almost exhausted. With this little reserve, he could only level up three to four times, which was of little significance.

Therefore, Han Xiao decided not to level, instead leaving it to upgrade his skills, finding it more cost-effective.

It will not be possible to level up during the version update. I need to stabilize myself, digest my abilities, and start to accumulate, Han Xiao thought to himself.

The biggest difference between him and the Mechanic Emperor was the many years of accumulation.

After arranging his benefits from this advancement, Han Xiao stretched before flying back to his own fleet.

The officers were all waiting there, staring at him with expressions of shock, envy, and surprise.

Han Xiao’s evolutionary process really subverted everyone’s cognition, leaving a shock in their heart.

“How did you do it?” Hadavy could not help but ask. His eyes glowed green, like a wolf, as if he wished to see into Han Xiao’s insides to check carefully which part was different.

Glancing at him, Han Xiao quipped, “If you took the time you use to play cards to train, you might have long reached the Beyond Grade A realm.”

“Like hell I believe you.” Hadavy was embarrassed and angry.

Aurora pursed her lips before asking worriedly, “Will there be any side effects?”

She felt that this method of evolution was contrary to common sense, too violent, and it might have undesirable consequences.

“Side effects, hmm…” Han Xiao thought about it. “If you count being handsome as a side effect, then I might really be ill.”

“Please just die.” Aurora rolled her eyes. While you are really charming, I still have to say… I’ve never seen someone so shameless!

But the worry in her heart also lessened.

Black Star knew of her skills. If there was really something wrong, he would have long requested for her [Life Essence] skill.

Feidin walked up, lightly hugging Han Xiao as he smiled. “Congratulations.”

During the secret war period, he had personally witnessed Han Xiao stepping into the Beyond Grade A realm, so he was the calmest person among all of them present. His trust in Han Xiao far outstripped everyone’s imaginations.

At this time, the dynasty fleet also sent over a message of greeting.

“We pay respects to you, Your Excellency Black Star.”

“Oh, when did you guys come?” Han Xiao had been too absorbed in his new abilities earlier to notice.

“We’ve been here for a while,” the soldier said before hesitating. “Your Excellency Black Star, just now…”

“Hehe, nothing big. I just had a small increase in my powers.” Han Xiao laughed it off.

Hearing this, all the soldiers were speechless.

You created such a huge commotion, but you’re telling us it’s a weak increase? Do you think we’re five-year-olds‽

“Cough, Your Excellency Black Star, regarding this, we’ll report it up as per normal. Do you have any objections?” The soldiers could only swallow any insults they wanted to spit out and carefully get back to the matter at hand.

If it was a normal period, he would have immediately reported it up, but having witnessed the entire process of Han Xiao’s promotion, he had to request Han Xiao’s permission.

Han Xiao nodded, not taking it seriously.

“It doesn’t matter. You can just report it as it is.”

Anyway, this thing could not be concealed. He could not wait for the dynasty’s upper echelons to know that his strength had grown again. It would be better if the dynasty spent more money on him.

The dynasty soldiers thanked him with expressions of joy before leaving the area, activating their hyperdrive systems to return to base.

A flash of steel passed Han Xiao’s eyes as he watched them depart.

Now that his promotion was complete, it was time to proceed with his plan. He was going to go bully the Tyrant and save his businesses!

It was in line with his plans to check how much his combat power had grown.

Heh heh, Ty-Ty, I’m coming to play with you!

…

In the Black Star Army headquarters, the sound of mechanical devices came from within the Army Commander’s previously-silent, exclusive warehouse.

Whoosh!

An equipment maintenance box was opened from the inside, and two dazzling lights emerged from the darkness.

A mechanical host stepped out, its eyes shining like the midday sun, carrying Han Xiao’s consciousness.

Looking back, he flicked his fingers, and a dazzling blue-gold Mechanical Force swept out, activating all the equipment boxes within the warehouse.

Ka ka ka!

One box after another was successively opened, and the stocked up mechanical soldiers were activated.

The mechanic host took a big step, and with its huge mechanical army behind it, it walked out of the warehouse.

The Lord had descended!

…

At the same time in the Bloodshed Land…

Dang!

Two wine glasses clinked together, letting out a crisp sound.

Within the palace hall was a long and luxurious dining table, full of hearty dishes.

At this moment, only two people were within this room, and the consciousness of Heber and Sorokin sat opposite each other, raising their glasses to toast each other.

This was a celebration meeting.

“Thanks to the influence of Your Excellency Heber, our cooperation is on the right track. It’s a joy to work with you.” Sorokin wore a slight smile as he sipped on the wine.

“Hmm, I just did my part.”

While Sorokin was a money scattering mascot, Heber did not have a great impression of him, so he did not say much, only draining his wine glass and placing it down.

However, the wine glass was placed too close to the edge, and it fell off onto the ground.

Just as Heber was about to reach out to grab it, he suddenly paused, watching as the glass dropped.

Pa!

The glass smashed on the floor, turning into shattered pieces.

“Eh? What’s wrong?” Sorokin was suspicious. With their skills, there was no way he could not have reacted.

Heber stared at the shattered wine glass, his brows furrowed tight.

He did not know why, but in that instant, he felt his heart palpitating.

It was as though something bad was about to happen.

Chapter 949: High Profile Action

Chapter 949 High Profile Action

The territory of the Klent Kingdom bordered the Colton Star Cluster of the Purple Crystal Civilization. They were separated by a desolate universe belt and connected together by a stargate. After the secret war ended, both sides lifted the wartime emergency measures and reopened their stargates, allowing people to resume their travels.

Within the observation post of the Seoul Star Cluster stargate, the sentry on duty was slacking, turning a blind eye to the fleets entering and exiting the stargate. He held his communicator in his hand, intently concentrating like the typical lowered-head generation.

Since the end of the secret war, Klent and Purple Crystal had decided to recuperate, while the Black Star Army joined the Crimson Dynasty. There was no chance of war breaking out, so the mentality of the sentries gradually relaxed.

They could not be blamed for the lack of professionalism. The main reason was that the vast majority of transit spaceships were subjected to review by the artificial intelligence, and there were few opportunities for manual review, so most of the time, they usually had nothing to do.

“This virtual singer is awesome…”

On the sentry’s communicator was a virtual image of a beautiful Klentan, clad in a thin dress and dancing on the side while singing. Her voice was melodious and clear, like springtime.

The sentry on duty was fascinated, shaking his legs frantically while swiping his finger across the screen to send virtual gifts purchased with real cash.

This was an entertainment app popular throughout the universe. The user could customize their favorite avatar based on the aesthetics of different races. In addition to shape, they could also choose its personality. After creating the avatar, the user could interact with others in a variety of ways, such as asking them to sing, dance, or play Wayne Cards online, basically treating them like a real person.

One could also allow the virtual life to become a 3D life-size projection. If one had further needs, they could contact the website to buy a virtual sensory outfit, which would allow them to come into contact with it. This was divided into two categories: Children and Adult.

In this day and age, even with the high degree of interstellar integration, there were still many people that would prefer to have a virtual friend, brother, child, or partner than a real friend.

What was worth noting was that this popular app was developed by a sub brand of the Limitless Financial Group. The annual revenue obtained was terrifying, with their annual income already enough to purchase the entirety of Bloodshed Land.

The sentry on duty, whilst obsessed with admiring his dream lover, suddenly heard the cold voice of the artificial intelligence.

“Detected specially marked fleets in transit. Requesting manual review.”

The sentry got a shock and almost threw his communicator out of the window in fright before settling down. With annoyance at being disturbed, he turned to operate the manual review.

“Who is this idiot that… eh? Black Star Army‽”

In that instant, the sentry seemed to have had his soul knocked out and back into him. The party in transit was actually the Black Star Army!

Within the database of such public stargates, they were some specially marked characters, such as the galactic criminals. Because of the grudges of the secret war, Klent had also added the Black Star Army to this marked list. Personnel with the identity of the Black Star Army would be reported upward if they came into Klent territory.

The sentry on duty knew that he had no right to review and immediately notified his team leader. This was passed up layer by layer and sent directly into the mailbox of a senior official.

It did not take long for instructions to be passed down, allowing the Black Star Army to pass.

Soon, a small fleet marked with the emblem of the Black Star Army sailed out of the stargate and turned into a stream of light, leaving only a light trail reflected in the pupils of the sentry.

Although the Black Star Army was allowed to cross the border, the upper echelons of the Klent Kingdom did not know how to deal with this problem.

Normally, the Black Star Army did not have any dealings with them, and they normally would not come over to the Seoul Star Cluster.

But to suddenly visit with unknown motives… someone had to follow them to keep tabs on them!

…

Out of Klent’s expectations, the news that the Black Star Army had suddenly visited their territory spread out quickly, being known to many of the organizations and galactic residents of the Shattered Star Ring.

Klent knew that someone should be fanning the news behind the scenes.

Upon thinking about it, probably only the Black Star Army would want to do this. Klent did not understand their approach at first, but they soon realized what they wanted to do when they saw the Black Star Army moving toward Bloodshed Land.

Indeed, it should be the latest movements from the Bloodshed Land that had attracted the Black Star Army!

The truth behind the cooperation of Bloodshed Land and the Limitless Financial Group was not known to Klent, and they only knew that the organizations within the Bloodshed Land were advancing by leaps and bounds, robbing the businesses of the Black Star Army.

Heber was also an ally of theirs, and Klent originally wanted to use some means to hide it, but they discovered it too late.

The news that ‘Black Star Army was going to visit Bloodshed Land’ had long spread. Now, most of the Shattered Star Ring knew that the Black Star Army was prepared to take action against Heber.

This was to the point that the Black Star Army had even publicly announced their flight destination. Every day, the distance from the Bloodshed Land was constantly decreasing.

Under such a high-profile momentum, many galactic residents of the Shattered Star Ring were waiting to watch a good show and eagerly awaited the meeting between the two parties.

Public opinion had already been established, so Klent had their arms and legs tied.

After another half a month, the Black Star Army’s fleet finally arrived at the Bloodshed Land’s headquarters.

…

Above the skies of the Bloodshed Land headquarters, a fleet of spaceships spread all over like a cloud of steel. All the Vanguard Officials were called back to lead different fleets and wait in line.

Heber stood on the surface of the planet with his hands behind his back, looking up at the deep black sky with a poker face.

According to the itinerary announced by the Black Star Army, today would be the day when their fleet was due to arrive.

When he discovered that the Black Star Army was coming to him, Heber knew that it was his premonition surfacing, but this was his territory. He could not run, nor would he run.

Thus, Heber stopped his roaming headquarters, waiting for the arrival of the Black Star fleet, and he intentionally showed that he was not panicking. This was to prevent people from mistakenly thinking that he was afraid of Black Star and thus manipulating his headquarters to run, delaying the time for them to meet.

In fact, Heber himself did not understand the goal of Black Star’s move. He did not think that Black Star would dare provoke infighting among the dynasty’s allies.

Could it be that this guy just wanted to use this method to deter him?

You are clearly still part of the dynasty, so should I be scared?

Humph, know the answer!

Yes, Heber was relaxed at this moment and wanted to see what Han Xiao had in stock.

While he did not think that Han Xiao would be serious, they still had to put up a front, so he commanded his fleet to be on alert.

As for whether the fleet would suddenly take a detour to trick him, Heber never considered this possibility. If they really did so, it would be the Black Star Army that was embarrassing itself.

After waiting for a while, specks of light lit up at the end of his sight and stopped in the blink of an eye not far from Planet Heber, revealing the appearance of the Black Star fleet.

The fleet size of both was incomparable. Heber had more than a million spaceships on his side, while the Black Star fleet only numbered dozens.

On the other side, accompanying the Black Star fleet was also the Klent fleet, along with many galactic residents and galactic media groups.

Heber snorted, taking out his communicator and switching on the wide area communication channel before speaking.

“Black Star, I didn’t invite you, you did not mention in advance that you were coming to visit me, and you are not even here in person… What’s the meaning of this?”

Hearing this, many of the spectators got excited. They could sense the gunpowder in this sentence, and they carefully awaited Black Star’s reply.

After a moment, a cold mechanical voice sounded, without greetings or politeness, going straight into the main point.

“Heber, still remember our unfinished battle?”

Heber suddenly narrowed his eyes.

Without waiting for his answer, Han Xiao’s mechanical host said, “When I first stepped into the Beyond Grade A stage, you challenged me to a duel, and because of the dynasty, I had to agree, but there was no victor.”

“Humph.” Heber coldly snorted. “So, you’re here to send a duel challenge?”

“That’s right,” Han Xiao coldly replied. “When I first reached Beyond Grade A, you wanted to bully me. Now’s a good time for me to settle this debt with you. In twenty days, I’ll fight with you in the Seoul Star Cluster. You can choose the location.”

“Twenty days, heh? Can you even make it back from the dynasty?”

“Relax, only the two million mechanical troops and one of the mechanic hosts in this fleet now will go against you,” Han Xiao slowly said. “I don’t think you’ll be scared, right? Where’s the confidence you had when you fought me? I just stepped into Beyond Grade A a few years ago, but you don’t dare duel me?”

His mechanical life forms were developing in the Flickering World, so Han Xiao did not bring them over this time. Thus, there was only one batch of mechanical soldiers as well as a host, all of which were the reserves of the Black Star Army headquarters. This batch was even manufactured before he hit level 300, so there was no manufacturing bonus at all.

Hearing this, Heber immediately grew annoyed.

After the battle of Planet Lighthouse, Heber suspected that he was not Han Xiao’s opponent, but that was if Han Xiao came personally. Now, he did not even bring a single one of his apostle weapons, and he only wanted to rely on a host and a batch of mechanical soldiers to challenge him?

He was showing Heber zero respect!

“Hahaha…” Heber’s expression was frosty. “You’re just afraid to come over personally, right? Are you scared that you’ll be cornered with nowhere to run? Humph, to use only a bunch of mechanical soldiers to challenge me, even if I destroy all of them, you’re still safe, right?”

“It’s up to you how you want to think. I’ve already issued the challenge. Do you dare accept?” Han Xiao did not bother explaining himself.

Heber thought about it and realized that Han Xiao had actually sealed off all his paths of retreat.

First of all, the matter had already blown up, and the Tyrant’s reputation did not allow him to admit defeat. Secondly, when he issued the challenge when Han Xiao first reached Beyond Grade A, the other party had agreed easily to the duel. If he tried to argue back now, it would be embarrassing for him.

Turns out, this was your plan all along…

Heber was furious.

Resolving this grudge was just an excuse to force him to be unable to refuse. In essence, this happened because of the recent undermining of the Black Star Army’s businesses. The other party struck into the core of the matter and openly issued a challenge, wanting to use fists to talk, to destroy his prestige.

Black Star, your timing is really good. I’m now riding on the back of a tiger and cannot get down!

Heber smiled through his anger. “Good, I’ll accept your challenge. Black Star, you’ve been too successful recently and have become arrogant. I’ll give you a free lesson in humility!”

If it was Han Xiao’s main body, it would be different. Heber knew that he was not Han Xiao’s opponent, but if it was just a mechanical host, Heber thought that he would not lose to him.

To actually dare look down on me…

Do you think that my title of Tyrant was obtained through nothing‽

“Very well, I’ll wait for the details.”

Seeing that Heber had accepted, the Black Star fleet turned back and went away, quickly disappearing from the eyes of everyone present.

“Disperse.” Heber snorted, waving his hands and commanding his fleet to retreat.

He coldly swept his gaze across the spectators before walking back into his palace.

The galactic residents who watched the whole journey became excited immediately.

Many of them had seen the battle between the two men many years ago, and now history was repeating itself before them.

This time, however, the roles were reversed!

“There will be a nice show to watch!”

“Last time, the dynasty came forward to mediate, so there was no clear winner and loser. This time, I don’t know if the dynasty will mediate.”

“I doubt so. They have no reason to intervene. Last time, they didn’t prohibit the Tyrant from issuing the duel, so they cannot do the same for Black Star.”

The countless galactic residents began to chatter and discuss the fight among themselves.

Within the headquarters of the Bloodshed Land, Sorokin sat there with a frown as he watched the Black Star fleet leaving.

Black Star’s move was bold, and there was even a suspicion of infighting. Sorokin had guessed that this situation was a possibility, but he did not expect Black Star to really carry it out.

If he could defeat the Tyrant, Black Star would have the pressure on him alleviated somewhat, but the price of that was that the prestige of the Tyrant would plummet. The Crimson Dynasty was unlikely to sit back and watch this happen, as the deterrent power of their Beyond Grade A allies was equivalent to a bargaining chip of the dynasty.

If you really succeed, then my plan will again rise in difficulty. Sorokin was lost in thought, his brow tense.

Chapter 950: Showing Oneself, Entering the Scene!

Chapter 950 Showing Oneself, Entering the Scene!

With the bystanders spreading the word, the news of Black Star’s battle against the Tyrant quickly spread throughout the Shattered Star Ring and even to other major star fields.

The grievances of the two were dug out like melons by the crowd, adding an extra gimmick to the battle and attracting widespread attention.

It was not like conflicts between allies in the advanced civilizations had not occurred before. Although they were working for the same civilization, their alliance was not bound, and it was all for mutual benefits, with the resources ultimately divided. This would inevitably create a conflict of interests.

So long as the friction between allies did not cross the line and did not result in any serious internal strife, the advanced civilizations would not come forward to mediate. They did not plan to make sure all their allies had a good relationship with each other. Furthermore, competition would bring forth vitality. The issue of resource distribution was also too troublesome for the civilizations to mediate.

As for the challenge Black Star issued to the Tyrant, this was at the very edge of their limits. Thus, the dynasty could choose whether they wished to interfere or not.

This incident was brought up to the upper echelons of the dynasty.

“A few days ago, Black Star officially issued the Tyrant a challenge for a battle in twenty days. The Tyrant has accepted, and now the news is spreading like wildfire. Everyone, what are your views?”

At the head, Urranrell tapped her slim fingers on the table, surveying everyone present.

“Well, Black Star did not discuss this with us first, moving before he asked for permission. This will affect the dynasty’s influence in the Shattered Star Ring, which is not good for us,” a senior official said seriously.

“Indeed, the external environment of the dynasty is now worrying. For us, maintaining the stability of the star field is the most important. I feel we should intervene in his matter,” another echoed.

Some others had a different opinion. “We can’t put it like this. Black Star’s approach is justifiable, as the Tyrant proposed the duel years ago to Black Star when he had just entered the Beyond Grade A realm. Black Star wishing to resolve this grudge now is completely understandable.”

Hearing this, an official from the neutral faction added, “It’s true. At that time, we didn’t stop the Tyrant because Black Star had only joined us after accepting the duel invite. A Beyond Grade A’s promise cannot be taken back easily, so we cannot interfere with Black Star’s duel now, or it would be unfair.”

“Yes, not to mention that the recent actions of the Bloodshed Land have affected the interests of the Black Star Army. If we are biased toward the Bloodshed Land, this will greatly affect Black Star’s perception of the dynasty.”

“But the reputation of the Tyrant…”

The officials present were divided into two sides, one supporting interfering and one supporting standing by to watch. However, those that were talking were only the pawns in charge of conveying the intentions of each faction.

As for those leaders of the factions, none of them had spoken up till now.

Urranrell listened quietly before gazing at the Chief Commander of the Exploration army, Tarrokov, and asking, “Tarrokov, what do you think?”

Once this remark came out, the audience tacitly quieted down, knowing that it was the time for the bigshots to display their stances.

“Black Star… I’m very acquainted with him already.” Tarrokov smiled. “I believe he knows his limits very well.”

“Hmm.” Urranrell nodded before gazing at Bekorodi, who was representing the opposite end. “And you?”

Bekorodi’s expression was calm like a mirrored lake, and he only smiled before slowly saying, “I… choose to remain neutral.”

Hearing this, a flash of doubt passed through Urranrell’s eyes, along with some surprise.

She knew that Bekorodi had always been against Black Star, as though that guy had cuckolded him.

But to think that he gave such an unexpected response. This implied that Bekorodi was taking Black Star’s side this time.

Supporting neutrality right now was akin to supporting Black Star because everyone there knew that if the battle were to proceed, the reputation of the Tyrant would be severely damaged, and Black Star’s reputation would skyrocket.

What Heber did not know was that, in the eyes of the dynasty’s upper echelons, the chance of Heber winning against Black Star’s avatar was less than ten percent!

This was because, not too long ago, the outpost had delivered the observation report of Black Star when he advanced, and this report had caused a sensation among the upper echelons of the dynasty.

Black Star had only entered the Beyond Grade A realm a few years prior, and the battle at Planet Lighthouse as well as the fall of the EsGod had shown his growth. The dynasty originally thought that he would remain quiet for a while, but it was as though Black Star had drunk some high-energy motor oil, setting his buttocks on fire and shooting him straight up into the sky. He actually grew once again in such a short time!

Compared to the normal speed of a Beyond Grade A, these few years were far too short!

While they were unaware as to what extent Black Star had grown, based on ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti’s hypothesis, Black Star should be near or even at the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm. He had achieved this hundreds of years ahead of the projected time, and even the Dark Lord had been shocked, saying how he had never met someone so perverted in his entire life.

Thus, in the eyes of the dynasty, the Tyrant’s odds of victory were so low that they could be considered pathetic. To that end, they even wondered if Black Star sending an avatar to battle was merely to infuriate the Tyrant further and let him think that he had a chance of victory.

The outcome of this war was already set in stone, and Black Star would likely become the new spokesperson for the dynasty in the Shattered Star Ring. The Tyrant could still grow his influence, but it would never reach the same level as before Black Star challenged him…

In the eyes of the outsiders, it meant that Black Star would take the head seat of the Beyond Grade As within the Shattered Star Ring!

Urranrell was naturally willing to see this happen, so all those within the Ruler’s faction sided with Black Star. She originally thought that someone would jump out today and insist on interfering in the battle, but she did not expect Bekorodi, who would usually give her trouble, to change his position!

Frowning secretly, Urranrell then looked toward Ludwell.

“I also support neutrality.” Ludwell’s expression did not change. It was not because he was grateful to Black Star but rather because he typically followed the direction of the Ruler’s faction.

Moreover, he was not as radical as the hardliner faction. Containing Black Star would be a strategy for the future. right now, it was more important to gain Evolution Cube uses or to buy Evolutionary Totems.

Today is a weird day. Why are all of them suddenly speaking so nicely? Urranrell grumbled to herself.

By the side, Bekorodi lightly closed his eyes, casting a deep look at Ludwell.

Just a few days ago, Sorokin, whom he had a deal with privately, had sent him a message, hoping for him to interfere in the battle. If they allowed Black Star’s name to continue rising, Sorokin’s plan would become more difficult.

Normally, he would definitely have interfered in the battle, but the situation now was different. Ludwell had spoken to him about half a month ago, and the deep meaning between his words had made him wonder.

Thus, Bekorodi could only ignore Sorokin’s opinion and temporarily sheathe his weapon, observing the situation. Acquiring the Evolution Cube would be good, but protecting one’s life was more important.

The conference room’s atmosphere was a little heavy, and after the senior officials of the factions sent out a unified reply of their opinions, no one dared jump out to object.

Urranrell only felt that this was too successful and slowly said, “Since no one has any objections, let’s make it as such. As long as Black Star doesn’t act unreasonably, like killing Heber, we will not interfere.”

“Understood.”

Everyone nodded while having their own inner thoughts.

…

“Black Star and the Tyrant are duelling?”

In the group chat of the Dynasty’s Beyond Grade As, Beyoni excitedly posted that question and blew out all the lurkers within the chat.

Milizaus snorted. “I knew that both of them would fight one day.”

“No need to talk any further. Start the bets.” Beyoni rubbed his hands.

“I’ll put a small bet to not hurt any feelings. Black Star, fifty million Enas.” Ravenlaude laughed, not even the least bit embarrassed at selling out the Tyrant.

“Oh, I’m close to Heber and understand his strength quite well…” Viru stroked his chin. “I’ll bet on Black Star too, ten million.”

“Black Star, two hundred million,” Lotus Swordsman indifferently commented.

“Oi, how are we going to open the bet if all of you bet on Black Star?” Milizaus was unhappy.

“Simple, you can go call all The Ancient Ones out, and I’ll pull in those from the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church. This will make it more interesting.” One of the lurking three National Pillars of the Dynasty could not take it any longer and surfaced, joining in the fun.

“Ingenious, ingenious plan.” Milizaus laughed out loud.

While the Arcane Church had hurt him, the other party had lost even more, so he did not have much of a grudge against them.

The Beyond Grade A circle was only this big, so while they belonged to different civilizations, they would still have their own private dealings.

The Ancient Ones along with those in the three Universal Civilizations made up more than half of the entire population of Beyond Grade As in the explored universe. This could be said to be a grand event.

Regarding the battle between Black Star and the Tyrant, not only did no one worry, they even riled up the matter. Only those that belonged to the direct line of the Dynasty’s Beyond Grade As would carefully consider the matter from the viewpoint of the dynasty.

Everyone was a Beyond Grade A, and there was no good drama without fighting!

…

On a blood-red planet in a distant star field, an endless beast tide rushed toward a red figure like a black ocean. Countless broken beast carcasses fell to the ground, their blue blood infiltrating the soil, leaving the red land splattered with blue.

The beasts were a ferocious galactic life form that could sleep and drift through the universe. Once they fell to a planet, they would quickly multiply and consume everything on the surface, forming a catastrophe.

In the prosperous star fields, these sorts of galactic creatures had long been eradicated, but there were still some nests in the remote and wild areas of the universe.

At this moment, from the center of this beast tide, a rich crimson energy continuously exploded. Wherever it passed, the energy swept through, harvesting all life.

Hila’s eyes were frosty, and she took in nothing except for the incoming beast tide. Her death energy radiated out from her as though it was free, and the soul energy of the beasts that died to it was absorbed by her body, constantly strengthening her abilities.

In the sky, Ames was suspended in midair, overlooking Hila who was slaughtering the beast tide with no intention of helping.

The goal of this trip was not to have fun; Hila needed to improve her Esper ability quickly, and the fastest method was through slaughter. However, their targets this time were the brutal beasts.

It was not known how long the battle lasted. When the last beast fell, Hila was covered in blue blood, and she gasped for air as she looked around.

As far as she could see, the carcasses stretched over the horizon, and the earth was dyed blue.

The blood of these creatures smelled like curdled milk, sour and smelly. Hila held her breath and dragged her tired body to Ames.

“The efficiency is quite high.” Ames lightly nodded.

Lowering her head to look at the situation, Ames clutched with her palm.

Rumble!

The earth trembled and rose up, like an earth dragon that was stretching itself. Ridges of earth protruded out, twisting around the ground, creating a spectacular scene.

The force field churned for a while, and when the sand and dust gradually settled, all the carcasses were buried in the ground, like the land was being plowed.

If it was Ames who acted, destroying the beast tide was just a matter of flipping her hand.

Her jade white hands retreated into her black sleeve, and with a smile on her face, Ames said, “When you can achieve this level where you can reap the lives of hundreds of millions of creatures with a wave of your hand, then you can be considered to have reached the Beyond Grade A realm.”

Hila only mutely nodded, her face passive, as though her whole body was not covered in grime and blood.

“By the way, I saw the news just now.” Ames took out her communicator as she lightly laughed. “Black Star challenged the Tyrant to a duel, and just like the previous time, he even set the date to be twenty days later. What a wicked sense of humor.”

The previous time, Ames had welcomed the battle with him, so her memories of that were especially clear.

“Eh?” Hila frowned, and a frosty air exuded out from her. “Shall we go and help?”

“Hehe, relax…” Ames indifferently laughed. “The current him does not need any assistance.”

…

The major organizations of the various star fields were all paying attention to this matter. Due to the continued fanning of the news, more and more people around the universe got to know about the battle between the two.

The gambling industry had also started its own operations. Originally, Black Star’s odds were very high, but because he did not participate personally and only sent an avatar along with two million mechanical soldiers, the win rate comparison was adjusted and set to six to four in favor of Heber.

Ordinary people had no way to understand the actual combat power of the Beyond Grade As. In the eyes of many, while Black Star had an impressive record, many still felt that the Tyrant was no pushover. In the heart of the citizens, many felt that a Beyond Grade A who did not turn up personally would never be an opponent of the same level. Many of them still bet on the Tyrant.

Under this bubbling atmosphere, twenty days passed in a flash.

…

Planet Black Tyrant was originally a barren and desolate planet. Ten days prior, when Heber chose this spot, Klent had given this planet the name and put it on the star map.

Maybe Klent had plans to make this place into a tourist attraction in the future, but the spectators that came did not think this way. After the battle, it would be hard to say if the planet was still there.

Black Star did not mind having the duel in Klent territory. He wanted to let people see his confidence, and there was no need to be afraid of any possible losses since he was only using mechanical soldiers.

Because of this, the Beyond Grade A mechanics felt a huge headache. As long as his wallet could support it, he could take all sorts of unbridled risks.

Many people had flocked to Planet Black Tyrant.

With what happened a few years ago as the lesson, the majority stayed far away. No one wanted to be the unlucky person that would be accidentally killed.

The Bloodshed Land’s fleet was suspended in the surroundings to guard the area, while Heber stood alone on the surface. His eyes were closed as he readied his mindset, and his burly body stood ramrod straight, giving off a pressuring aura.

“Can he win?”

On the spaceship, one of the Vanguard Officials could not help breaking the silence.

“Are you doubting His Excellency?” Fosters coldly glanced over.

“Are you not?”

Fosters gritted his teeth, glaring at the offender before turning his head back. He had no comeback.

In reality, his palms were already slick with sweat.

If the Tyrant could not defeat Black Star himself, he would definitely feel disappointed, but he had already mentally prepared himself for that. However, what would come today was just an avatar, and if the Tyrant could not even defeat that…

“That’s not possible. In just a few short years, how could Black Star become so strong?”

Fosters shook his head fiercely, muttering to himself. It was unknown whether he said that to convince others or himself.

Jorde turned his head around. He gazed at the worried expressions of the other Vanguard Officials, and his face turned pale.

When did the eight Vanguard Officials under the Tyrant that had unwavering loyalty become like this?

When did this trust start to shake?

That’s right. It was when Black Star first reached Beyond Grade A. When the Tyrant dueled with him and did not obtain a clear victory, that was when the seeds of doubt were planted.

If they had known of this, they should have gone against the Tyrant’s wishes and killed off Black Star during the secret war.

Black Star… was really a poison that struck the core.

You have to win, Your Excellency… If not, it will be hard to keep the hearts of the people.

Jorde sighed.

A pity, there are no what ifs in this world.

At this moment, Heber suddenly opened his eyes, glancing at a distant location.

Di di di…

The Black Star fleet slowly appeared on the horizon, neither quickly nor slowly, just on time.

“Finally.”

Heber’s eyes were cold, and the hands that were behind his back suddenly clenched tight.

Chapter 951: Mechanical Deity!

Chapter 951 Mechanical Deity!

The spaceships in the distance parted to make way for the Black Star fleet to pass through.

Under the excitement and expectation of the countless people present, the Black Star fleet slowly approached Planet Black Tyrant, and its hatch opened, releasing the countless mechanical soldiers within. The mechanical soldiers streamed out like a long dragon, quickly arranging themselves into a dense and neat formation, occupying the entire sky, and their armors reflected the light from the stars.

Pairs of indifferent mechanical eyes overlooked the earthy brown planet below, focusing on the solitary Tyrant standing there.

Heber stood unmoving, coldly staring at the dense mechanical army in the sky. All of a sudden, he snorted, his powerful lungs propelling a loud roaring sound.

Hum!

The echo was like thunder, and Heber’s every cell began to pump energy frantically, such that the radar of the spaceships nearby all detected a high-energy response. Pugilist flames roared on his body and condensed on his legs. Even though he was standing still, the ground beneath him was cracking apart.

Both sides took a fighting stance, and the tense atmosphere was akin to an invisible net that instantly covered the whole audience.

The countless people on scene held their breath at the suspense.

At this time, the mechanical host stepped out of the crowd and came to the forefront of the mechanical army. The blue-gold Mechanical Force glimmered and sparkled as its eyes shone with light, carrying the will of Han Xiao.

“I’m here,” Han Xiao said through the wide area communications channel.

“Humph.” Heber coldly snorted in response.

This time, the dynasty did not interfere, and both knew that the battle would only end if one of them fell.

Suddenly, Heber bent his knees and kicked out his legs, and a shock wave burst out around him.

Boom!

A rift formed with just a stomp of his foot, and Heber rushed upward to the sky like an arrow in flight, with fierce battle intent in his eyes. He was wrapped in a red and gold pugilist flame, dazzling like the sun, and at this moment, he resembled a golden meteor!

From the sky, violent Mechanical Force burst forth from the body of the mechanical host, instantly linking together the mechanical army. Han Xiao activated all his skills and casually flung a [Luck Curse] on Heber.

The next moment, the vanguard mechanical soldiers swooped down as well, rushing toward Heber.

There was no foreplay to speak of; both sides immediately tucked into the main course, lunging at each other’s throats!

The golden meteor collided with the machines, the heat melted the armor, and the cracked parts flew out like shrapnel from a bomb, flying everywhere!

Boom boom boom!

One after another, the mechanical soldiers fell, and the golden meteor rushed deep into the formation before being slowed down and entangled by the countless machines.

The long-range troops in the rear spread out like a metal tornado revolving around Heber, shooting out psionic rays and dark energy repeatedly. Countless beams of light from all directions were shot toward Heber.

The mechanical army surrounded Heber tightly like a dark cloud, and this scene resembled a flock of crows dancing around the sun. From time to time, red and gold pugilist shockwaves fluctuated from the center.

Because Han Xiao’s mechanical army had undergone many rounds of strengthening, they were not too vulnerable even in the face of a Beyond Grade A. While this batch of old machinery was not the most updated, with the addition of his Mechanical Force, they were no longer simple mechanical soldiers that Heber could casually crush.

In this battle, Heber faced a different situation.

In the last battle, Heber’s goal was to demonstrate his prestige, and he intended to quickly get rid of Han Xiao.

But now that Black Star had achieved his current fame, Heber did not have any thought of quickly ending the fight. He was clear that Han Xiao was not there, so the only way to win this fight was to kill all of the soldiers present.

As long as he smashed apart all the troops that Black Star had brought over, it would be his win!

Thus, Heber’s mentality was more stable, and he was not in a rush at all. He had long made preparations for a sustained battle and focused on getting rid of the mechanical soldiers without any intention of ambushing Han Xiao.

However, the amount of injuries he obtained made Heber feel a lot more pressure than last time. The psionic cannon rays that hit his body gave him tremendous pain each time.

Heber was secretly startled at Han Xiao’s growth rate and gritted his teeth as he calculated in his mind.

While I can fight a prolonged battle, the longer I take, the more unfavorable it is to me. I need to improve my killing efficiency.

As he thought so, he increased the frequency and intensity of attacks.

On the other side, Han Xiao controlled the mechanical host to observe the combat, reading the combat information on the interface.

What a tough HP cow.

In his last battle, Heber’s combat information was filled with question marks. Now, with his level higher than Heber’s, it revealed his information completely.

Heber’s was at level 296, with some of them made up by his subclasses. Han Xiao was an anomaly, as comparing levels, there was not much difference between the two of them.

That being said, Heber’s Grade was still at S, without even the ‘+’ on it. This was the gap brought about by various bonuses.

Heber’s total HP was around 800,000, and his Endurance was more than 12,000, along with tons of explosive abilities adding a huge chunk of Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance. As for his pugilist skills, it went without saying that he had plenty of those.

The number of resistance talents on him was frightening, such as True Damage Immunity, Weak Injury Immunity, Fixed Injury Reduction, and Super Toughness. They were all talents that Han Xiao had seen during the last battle, making his defense extremely troublesome to overcome.

The last battle had ended in a draw due to the intervention of the dynasty. There was no winner among the two, so Han Xiao got the record of a tie. However, the fact was that he did not cause any serious damage to Heber at that time.

To deal with Heber, he could only slowly grind him down. It was fortunate that his Mechanical Force bonus and mechanical army had been strengthened many times, significantly raising his damage.

Thus, Han Xiao did not activate his [Perfect Mechanical Sense] Character Summon Card, nor did he need to.

Under such circumstances, the Tyrant was long not his opponent!

The moment the battle began, an S ranked mission popped up on his interface, named [‘Tyrant’ Heber], which was the same mission as the previous time. Based on the scenario of challenging a Beyond Grade A, this sort of Boss Mission would appear.

“I only have this mechanical host, which carries some of my attributes and abilities, but it’s enough to fight with Heber directly, preventing him from killing the soldiers too quickly.”

With a single thought of Han Xiao, the Lord’s Avatar shot out, passing through the heavily sieged front line and directly smashing into Heber. Its heavy metal fist was shrouded in Mechanical Force and sent out.

With a cold snort, Heber’s muscles swelled, as though pythons were wriggling under his muscles. The fresh muscle fibers twisted into a strand, displaying its strong elastic force. Heber’s terrifying strength from his whole body converged on his arm, and he drew back his arm before thrusting it forward to meet Han Xiao.

A red-gold fist and blue-gold metal fist collided violently, bursting out as a fierce energy shockwave and quickly spreading out!

Boom!

The violent aftermath pushed the surrounding mechanical soldiers quite a way away, tumbling around, and the atmospheric layer above them was also swept out, leaving a blank space.

With the addition of growth talents such as [Heroic Wrists] and [Divine Void Power], Han Xiao’s current Strength had reached more than 6,000, and the melee attack power was quite impressive.

The supporters of the two revolved around them, and the eyes of the galactic residents watching from a distance also followed the battle group firmly.

On one of the Federation of Light spaceships, one of the officials was recording the entire fighting process.

The federation and church both attached great importance to this battle, and both had sent spies to gather intelligence.

Black Star’s current strength would greatly affect their plans for the Evolution Cube, so they had to pay attention.

At this moment, a virtual projection of Manison stood at the corner of the cabin, watching the entire battle through the viewing window. He lightly said, “The chance of Heber winning is very slim.”

“Is that so? Although the Tyrant seems to be surrounded, his body is extremely tough, and he should be able to hold on until the mechanical army is destroyed.” The captain who was next to him carefully gave his opinion.

Manison shook his head. “I can feel that Black Star has become far stronger than he was before. Heber will probably not be able to last for long. His condition is getting worse… Furthermore, Black Star still has many of his trump cards that he has yet to pull out, such as the Void ability he used in the battle of Planet Lighthouse.”

Hearing this, the captain nodded to express understanding.

“I just do not know…” Manison paused and thoughtfully spoke. “With Black Star’s growth, has he already touched my current level? It should not be that quick…”

At this moment, part of the space above them fluctuated, and the magnificent Palace of Hidden Spells jumped out.

“Oh, they’re already fighting. It seems like I’m late.”

Seated at the top of his Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin overlooked the battle of the two with an expression of interest.

Most of the spectators were focused on the fight, and while a few of them noticed that Austin had arrived, they only spared him a glance before impatiently turning back to the scene.

Han Xiao also noticed Austin and could not resist curling up his mouth.

Why do you come as a referee every time we fight?

However, he had no time to dispose of his old man. Han Xiao withdrew his attention and continued to control his avatar.

Boom!

As the battle progressed, the ground of Planet Black Tyrant shattered, pitted with holes, and seemed to have turned into an onion, being peeled off layer by layer. The entire planet began to deform, as though Han Xiao and the Tyrant’s battle was a knife, slicing into the planet-sized onion with their skills.

Alone within the Human Wave Tactic, with the damage of the Mechanical army exceeding his expectations, Heber quickly fell into a disadvantage, becoming very passive. The heart of everyone in the Bloodshed Land started to tremble.

Faced with an army, the Tyrant was clearly disadvantaged against Black Star, and the battle had not even gone on for long. Could it be that the strength gap between the two was greater than they thought?

In the past battle, the Tyrant was clearly suppressing Black Star from start to end. In just a few years, their positions had swapped…

Looking at the disheveled Tyrant on the planet, Fosters clenched his fists, his expression indeterminate.

…

Boom!

Suffering from such a storm-like weapon barrage for so long, it was lucky that Heber had thick skin, or else he would not have lasted. He felt as though he was a sandbag being beaten up, and his entire body hurt like hell. His chances to retaliate were getting fewer; he could only focus on defending himself.

Bang!

After being beaten up several times in a row, Heber fell straight to the ground, creating a human shaped pit!

“Cough cough, Star Shaking Fist!”

Enduring the pain, Heber rallied his strength, blasting out a brilliantly thick golden pugilist strike toward the mechanical army swooping down from the sky, and it exploded to form a huge chain reaction, devouring a large number of mechanical soldiers.

However, after the energy dissipated, it was found that most of the mechanical soldiers had endured it with their psionic shields. While the damage was serious, they could still fight, and even the [Waste Modification] skill could not be forced out.

The gap… was so wide‽

Heber was not only envious; he was also furious. He was quite confident before the battle, thinking that it would be an easy victory when dealing with only one of Black Star’s platoons.

But after fighting for so long, he had done his best, but he had found out that he likely could not even defeat this platoon of Black Star’s!

How could this be‽

At the beginning, Heber was able to resist the siege of the mechanical army, but as his injuries and energy consumption increased, his state got worse.

Han Xiao was different; he grew fiercer the more he fought. Just the talent of converting his energy to HP would ensure that he had sufficient strength to go on. Furthermore, with talents such as [Advanced Strengthened Life], [Battlefield Wisdom], and [One Against The World], the longer he fought, the higher his strength became. With this, the current Heber was being embarrassed more and more, much like a beaten king.

If this continues, I’ll lose for sure!

With this in mind, Heber’s eyes turned red. He did not like to fail at anything, especially losing to Black Star in such a manner.

Boom!

The next instant, the high-energy response from Heber started to soar in an abnormal manner, and the waves of pugilist flames ripped all the nearby mechanical soldiers into scrap metal.

“Oh, what ability did he use?”

Han Xiao gazed at the interface and found a new state appearing in the status bar of Heber: [Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive].

He was no stranger to this move. This was a pugilist skill, and some players had learned it in their previous lives. It would force the activation of one’s cellular potential, to maximize the overclocking of all attributes such as HP and strength and temporarily obtain an advanced combat power for a period of several hours to several days.

However, the sequelae were serious. The moment one used this ability, every upgrade in the future would be permanently seven percent more expensive, and this would stack continuously with each usage without limit!

This was equivalent to squeezing out one’s future potential in exchange for temporary explosive power!

Generally speaking, no one would use this trick unless it was a last resort.

Han Xiao was a little stunned. Is it so difficult to accept losing to me? To even pull out this sort of self-destructive trick…

But upon seeing Heber’s expression, Han Xiao understood.

There was only stubbornness and self-esteem of the strong.

While the Tyrant’s usual style was pretentious and made many criticize him, at this moment, Han Xiao admitted that he was a qualified fighter.

Indeed, those who can become Beyond Grade As are not easy to deal with. Han Xiao pursed his lips.

The high energy response of Heber was also discovered by the radars, and everyone began excitedly discussing.

“What’s this? Did Heber pull out a killing move?”

“I thought that he could take it no longer. Seems like there’s still a counterattack!”

Heber burst into flames, directly crossing the 52,000 energy rank limit, and his grade rose to S+. The wounds on his body also rapidly healed.

As he stared at Han Xiao in anger, his hands clasped together, and a dazzling golden light began to shine in his palm, getting brighter and brighter.

Seeing this, Han Xiao’s avatar paused in midair.

“Since you’re so serious, I should stop playing as well.”

The moment he spoke, the Mechanical Force arced out like a spider’s web, connecting every individual mechanical soldier.

The next moment, the mechanical soldiers returned like birds to their nests, shooting toward the avatar and reassembling themselves. A huge mechanical structure gradually unfolded.

The Mechanical Force was akin to the nerves, blood vessels, and veins of this huge body!

Buzz!

“This… this is…”

Under the shocked eyes of the spectators, a huge machine assembled itself above Planet Black Tyrant.

A heavy pressure emanated from this machine, giving everyone the feeling that this was not individual soldiers gathered together but rather… a new, independent individual!

Heber’s eyes were wide, and under his shock, the pugilist waves undulated like a flickering lightbulb.

At the same time, Manison, who was viewing on the Federation of Light’s spaceship, looked as though he had been hammered. His eyes wide open, he exclaimed, “This is… a Mechanical Deity‽”

Chapter 952: Crazy Beating

Chapter 952 Crazy Beating

Manison was too familiar with the Mechanical Deity skill. This was also his ultimate skill, and for many years, there was no opponent who could force him to utilize it. Seeing that Han Xiao now also possessed this power, his emotions were set aflare.

If Manison was still in doubt before, he was now finally certain… Black Star had reached his current realm!

Incredible… this sort of growth rate…

Manison’s eyes were full of surprise.

In terms of age for a Beyond Grade A, Black Star was just too young, to the point of being immature, but how could he break through all common sense, raising his strength in just a few years to complete the accumulation that took other Beyond Grade As hundreds of years?

Could it really be because of talent?

Even if one looked from the ancient times till now, there was no one who had such terrible potential. Manison clearly remembered that the last time he sparred with Black Star, the mechanical talent he had displayed was very shameful, even making people doubt if he was a fake Beyond Grade A.

If it was not talent, then what was the actual reason?

Manison’s eyes flashed.

Could it be that… other than the Evolution Cube and Spacetime Amber, Black Star still possessed other Universal Treasures?

No matter what, this sort of growth rate is too weird. Black Star must have a great secret…

Thinking about this, Manison suddenly had a strong desire.

The desire to dissect Black Star and find out the truth.

Suppressing his impulsive thoughts, Manison eyes flickered as he thought about an important question.

Since Black Star has grasped the strength of the Mechanical Deity, then… has he discovered the secret of Adeptus Mechanicus?

The NPC Beyond Grade As did not possess an interface and were unable to understand their own skills, so they had to rely on trial and error instead. As such, not all Divine Throne Mechanics could discover the special effect of [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus].

If not for the inherited knowledge from the Mechanical Legacy, Manison could not be sure that he would have found out about the bonuses by having Mechanic believers.

The question now was, had Black Star also discovered this ability?

If Black Star had discovered this point, he would inevitably become a competitor and an obstacle on his road to a higher realm!

At this moment, the attention he paid to Black Star in his heart had been raised to the highest level!

“I need to pay more attention to him…” Manison narrowed his eyes.

…

“My God! It’s so big!”

“I, I actually have the urge to worship it. Is that natural?”

The image painted by the assembly of the mechanical army was majestic, and it inspired awe in the faces of the countless galactic residents on scene.

The Mechanical Deity comprised of two million soldiers was naturally huge, and compared to the Tyrant, it was like the gap between an ant and an elephant.

Not only was it huge, it also exuded a strong pressure, causing those who looked at it to have an impulse to submit.

Its shape could be melded based on Han Xiao’s consciousness, and the current Mechanical Deity took the shape of a huge silvery-black mechanical sphere, like an egg.

Under Han Xiao’s control, a head, arms, and legs protruded from the ‘egg’, and the Mechanical Deity slowly turned into a humanoid structure. Even his facial features were formed on the head, turning it into a gigantic version of Black Star.

The Composite Mechanical Deity possessed the functions of every single mechanical soldier assembled into it, and they could be used in every corner of its body through the nanoparticles. Furthermore, their effects would reinforce each other.

For example, if there were a hundred thousand shield generator mechanical soldiers integrated within, then the Mechanical Deity would be able to summon a hundred thousand psionic shields to protect all corners of its body, or it could fuse and overlap them to form a super-durable shield.

Han Xiao’s physical senses extended to every corner of the Mechanical Deity’s body, and everything could be controlled with a thought, as though this was his original body.

This feeling isn’t bad at all.

This was also Han Xiao’s first time utilizing this skill, and the feeling was quite miraculous.

The Mechanical Deity lowered its head from high above, overlooking the planet and locking onto the extremely tiny Tyrant below.

Its huge palm rose up before slapping down suddenly like a mountain descending from the heavens.

The palm broke through the atmosphere of the planet, its edges catching on fire, and its shadow covered a huge area, occupying Heber’s entire version.

Boom!

The speed of the palm resulted in a sonic boom, deafening the ears of all who heard it!

Heber’s expression was grim. He gritted his teeth to ease the shock in his heart. His palms pushed violently into the sky, and the waves of the highly condensed pugilist flames burst out.

“Star Shattering Mortar!”

Weng!

From Heber’s palms as the center, a halo of reddish gold spread out horizontally, and the pugilist flames expanded, turning into a huge beam tens of meters in diameter, moving rapidly toward the palm of the mechanical deity!

While the strong pugilist flames were akin to atomizing rays, vaporizing everything within their path, compared to the palm, it was like using a toothpick to hit one’s hand.

Clank!

A large number of mechanical parts assembled on the palm of the Mechanical Deity, quickly transforming into dense psionic shields. The shields overlapped and interlinked with each other to cover the entire palm, looking like a bubble with a blue gradient.

The next instant, the reddish gold beam connected with the palm.

Boom!

The resulting hurricane swept across the entire area, and on the half of the planet they were battling on, the clouds were blown away, and the crust ruptured!

The huge explosion expanded, smashing through several of the psionic shields, causing a few parts to melt on the surface of the palm. However, the palm persistently continued to press down, as though it wanted to smash the beam itself!

Heber continued to increase the output of the pugilist flames, to the point his whole body’s muscles burst apart, causing him to be drenched in blood.

However, he did not seem to feel the pain. His bloodshot eyes stared at the rapidly expanding Mechanical Deity’s palm in his line of sight. He squeezed out every ounce of energy in his body and further increased the fluctuations released by his palms, as though he wanted to suppress the palm!

But in reality, the golden beam got shorter as the palm continued its inevitable descent.

Suddenly, Heber’s vision was only left with blank whiteness.

Bang!

The palm smashed straight onto the planet and tunneled into the earth, leaving a palm print on the surface. The explosive energy was also pushed by it into the crust of the planet.

Everyone only saw a fracture appear, shining brightly with light.

In the next moment, the crack expanded completely, and a devastating explosion occurred deep within the planet, directly shattering the planet apart!

In an instant, the appearance of Planet Black Tyrant seemed to have turned into an apple that had been dug out from the inside!

Furthermore, this shape did not hold for long. Due to the imbalance in its broken core, the planet collapsed in on itself.

Boom!

The core of the planet turned into an explosive light cluster, ejecting all the material that made up this planet, shattering the entire planet into pieces!

This one palm literally destroyed Planet Black Tyrant!

The shockwave caused by the planetary explosion swept through and affected the crowd watching in the distance.

“Black… Black Tyrant… exploded!”

While the galactic residents watching from space were isolated from any sound, it did not prevent their imaginations from filling up the missing spots, and countless people shivered instinctively in front of this terrible scene. Some even peed their pants.

The explosion also affected the Mechanical Deity, shattering a large area of the psionic shields covering its entire body. Molten traces of melted metal appeared in many places around its body.

But the next moment, the nanoparticles flowed around the Mechanical Deity, repairing the damage. Due to the loss of material, it shrank in size slightly, but it still towered over everything else.

Many of the galactic residents swallowed audibly, craning their necks to look for traces of Heber.

“Where’s the Tyrant?”

“Could he have been blown to bits?”

“Probably not. He can use his own fleshly body to smash through a planet, so the explosion of a planet shouldn’t kill him… right?”

At this time, the battlefield had transformed into a new asteroid belt. Han Xiao swept through the battlefield, but he saw no traces of Heber and glanced toward the interface.

In the combat information, it showed that Heber had lost a great amount of HP. If not for his [Immunity to True Damage] as well as [Fixed Damage Reduction], this would have directly killed him. However, although his injuries were also very heavy, he still retained his battle strength.

This seemed to be a simple slap, but in fact, the palm strike contained a lot of different damages mixed in, such as Psionic Impact, the explosive damage of Heber’s own killer move, as well as damage from the shock wave devices equipped on the palm. In addition, this Mechanical Deity had countless output devices, so the Mechanical Force bonuses were amazing, comparable to the damage inflicted by the legendary Galactic Titan race from legends.

Of course, great power would naturally be accompanied by a huge amount of energy consumption. If not for Han Xiao’s talent allowing him to quickly recover energy, his Mechanical Deity would probably be like Ultraman, each fight only lasting for three minutes.

Han Xiao was currently looking for traces of the Tyrant when a feeling of pain was transmitted to him through his right arm. A series of explosions occurring from the inside revealed Heber within.

“Turns out, he took the slap as a chance to send himself inside the arm, wanting to destroy it from the inside out?”

Han Xiao shook his head.

The Tyrant’s choice looked to be the best tactic. The majority would think that with the huge bulk of the Mechanical Deity, its weakness would be the internal systems.

However, this law was not applicable to the Mechanical Deity!

…

Surrounded by mechanical parts, Heber was riddled with injuries but was still wreaking havoc within the right arm of the Mechanical Deity, breaking all the structures around him as he rushed deeper into the Mechanical Deity.

But the inside of the arm suddenly warped, and the separate mechanical soldiers assembled quickly, using the inside of the arm as a battlefield to fight against Heber. They flung themselves without care toward Heber.

“Scram!” Heber roared in anger, and his body exploded with strength, throwing all the soldiers clinging to him away.

As he was about to continue charging, his feet suddenly sank, and he found that the mechanical structure suddenly turned into a trap, biting into his fleet and restricting his movements.

The machinery around him shot out ropes that were made of a nanomaterial that was incredibly tough to restrict the movement of his body.

Immediately afterward, a variety of mechanical devices popped out, and various crowd control skills were applied, such as electromagnetic chains, gravity fields, and space distortions, which were thrown toward Heber.

Heber felt like he was stuck in quicksand. Not only did he become disorientated, it became extremely difficult to move.

Then, cannon muzzles appeared from all directions, aiming and concentrating their fire at Heber.

The thought of attacking from the inside was good, but entering the body of the Mechanical Deity was as good as sending oneself to the home field of a Mechanic!

Heber was attacked to the point his world spun, and his fury quickly reached the max. With a furious scream, he ignored the various restrictions, landing his fists deep into the arm of the Mechanical Deity.

“Star Shaking Fist!”

Boom!

The reddish gold beam blasted out, running through the arm of the Mechanical Deity.

But the attack only reached up to its elbow before a psionic shield blocked the way, and the Star Shaking Fist smashed directly on it.

Bang!

With the burst of light and impact, the entire right arm of the Mechanical Deity was shattered!

Heber was also thrown out, and as he spun around in the universe, he saw this scene, and his spirits were revived.

But before he could feel any excitement, the broken right arm suddenly disintegrated and turned back into the individual mechanical soldiers. Chains of Mechanical Force shot forth from the broken stump of the right arm, connecting to the soldiers like a spider web, and pulled them back.

The next instant, the scattered soldiers rejoined the original body, and the Mechanical Deity was whole once again!

Heber’s expression looked stiff.

“Pugilists who have reached the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm would probably have a chance of breaking apart the Mechanical Deity. As for you…” Han Xiao breathed in deeply. “You are still unqualified!”

He would not grant the Tyrant any time to recuperate and immediately activated the psionic cannons, concentrating their fire toward Heber.

No matter how one tried to dodge, it would only end in failure. The only option they had was to choose what to be attacked with.

After barely resisting for a while, Heber could no longer continue defending and was beaten up crazily by the Mechanical Deity, turning into a sandbag.

The people watching this scene all understood the situation.

At this moment, Heber’s appearance of being thrashed by Han Xiao was imprinted on everyone’s heart, and they would never forget it.

The image of the arrogant and strong Tyrant was thoroughly shattered in the hearts of all the citizens of the Shattered Star Ring.

Chapter 953: Shattered Mentality

Chapter 953 Shattered Mentality

The battle became a one-sided beating. Heber’s tragic state was reflected in the eyes of the Mechanical Deity, but it was unknown as to when the beating would stop.

Some of the people could not bear to watch and averted their gazes, but they could not help turning back again.

This disheveled state of a Beyond Grade A was not commonly seen, and it was valuable video information. Not many would waste the opportunity to watch it in real life and have the capital to boast of it to others in the future.

As everyone in the Bloodshed Land watched their commander get beaten up by Black Star, a sense of shame and anger rose in their hearts, and they could barely resist the urge to rush up to help.

However, they were well aware that if Heber could not even fight against Black Star, them going into the battle would be like sending themselves up for the slaughter. Not only would it be useless, it would also destroy the fairness of this battle, decreasing the reputation of the Bloodshed Land further.

Moreover, the Tyrant himself would never forgive them if anyone dared interfere.

Thus, everyone watched, trembling in anger as their boss was pummeled repeatedly.

Bang!

Fosters’ expression contorted, and he smashed the metal bulkhead of the spaceship in anger. His whole body was shaking as he restrained his urge to join the fight.

“Tyrant…” Jorde gritted his teeth, feeling the shame as well.

How could they feel proud when their own boss was being thrashed?

On the other side, the three universal civilizations had many Beyond Grade As involved in the bet, and they were carefully gazing at the broadcast.

After the battle of Planet Lighthouse, the Beyond Grade A circle had already affirmed Black Star’s strength, and most of them had guessed that Black Star would win but not the outcome.

In their predictions, Heber would at least cause some form of trouble for Black Star, killing most of his mechanical troops. They did not expect the situation to be such that Heber had no room left to fight back, with Black Star holding the initiative for the entire battle.

“To be beaten to this state, the defeat is too embarrassing to look at.” Ravenlaude shook his head.

“Black Star is a really terrible guy. I think that Heber is already strong for being able to survive for so long. If it was me…” Beyoni shuddered, imagining what would happen if he was in Heber’s place.

Really now, why are you scaring yourself? Black Star and I are good friends, really good friends…

“Regarding this point, I believe Dylan and you would have a lot of common topics.” Milizaus could not help but poke fun at him.

Viru was a little sad as he sighed. “Sigh, after this battle, the prestige of the Tyrant will not even be a tenth of what it was.”

As a pugilist, seeing Heber being beaten to this state made him feel a little sad and embarrassed.

The usage of Mechanical Deity by Black Star allowed the Beyond Grade As to know what this meant. It meant that he had already touched on the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm, so the defeat of Heber was not a shameful thing, but it was a fact that Heber had provoked Han Xiao earlier on in such a manner.

It was not just the allies of the dynasty. Even those from the federation and the church were discussing Black Star on their various channels. Han Xiao’s performance caused the other Beyond Grade As to break out in cold sweat.

As they discussed the battle, the Mechanical Deity suddenly came to a stop.

Everyone’s eyes gleamed.

“It has come to an end!”

…

An irresistible force came from the palm of the Mechanical Deity, and Heber was once again blown out, smashing through several broken planetary fragments along the way until the momentum stopped when he collided with a particularly huge continental plate. His entire figure was imprinted on it, leaving a human-shaped hole on the outside.

Fresh blood covered his sights. Heber’s trembling palm reached for the edge of the hole, and he pulled himself out. There was no part of his body that was not wracked with pain, and he was literally dripping with blood. He did not know how many bones and tendons were broken or snapped, and he could feel that his internal organs were close to becoming meat paste. Throughout his entire body, his extremely tired cells were barely repairing themselves.

The pugilist aura on Heber’s body flickered like a candle on the wind, as though it could die off any moment.

Gritting his teeth, he wanted to revolve his strength again, but instead, a surge of powerlessness hit his body. There was not even a drop of strength left in him.

Raising his head, he saw that the Mechanical Deity did not continue its pursuit but rather looked at him from afar.

“Continue!” Heber wanted to scream angrily, but sound could not travel through the vacuum, so he could only open his mouth mutely.

At this moment, the Mechanical Deity was released, and the mechanical host carrying Han Xiao’s avatar popped out, floating in front of Heber. Looking at the man who had no untouched piece of skin throughout his body, Han Xiao released air to envelope both of them before opening the wide area communication channel.

“It’s over. You have no more strength to continue the battle.” Han Xiao’s voice sounded through the channel, travelling into the ears of everyone present.

“This level of injury is only enough to tickle me. I still can fight with you for the whole day!”

Heber’s eyes were bloodshot, and regardless of how his body was teetering on the edge of death, he dragged his torn muscles and threw a fist toward the avatar.

Pa!

The fist was easily caught. The strength within was not even a tenth of its original.

Han Xiao breathed in deeply, calmly saying, “Admit defeat. You’ve already lost.”

Within his combat information, Heber’s HP value was already close to nil, full of status conditions. If he continued fighting, he would definitely die.

Han Xiao had already achieved his objective. There should be a bottom line for everything. The reason the dynasty did not interfere this time was because they knew that he understood where his limits were, not because they did not care that an ally would die by his hand.

When taking action, what mattered most was controlling one’s actions. There was nothing to gain from going overboard. There was no point in him getting his future development restricted by the dynasty just because of one mere Heber.

The Tyrant today did not possess the qualifications for Han Xiao to personally finish him off.

“Admit defeat? This phrase doesn’t exist in my dictionary! I don’t need your pity!” Heber raged, wanting to continue.

The next moment, countless mechanical capturing devices flew over, directly locking down Heber’s body and only leaving his head unbound.

Ka ka ka!

Heber struggled with all his might, but there was no way for him to escape in his current state.

“Don’t deceive yourself; you’ve already lost.” Han Xiao’s tone sank. “You should understand the current state of your body and the injuries better than me.”

Heber did not answer, only glaring fixedly at Han Xiao, the unwilling and rage within clearly expressed, almost condensing.

After shooting him a glance, Han Xiao indifferently continued.

“Relax, we’re still allies of the dynasty. I’ll spare your life.”

Hearing this, it was as though a bomb had gone off in Heber’s mind, filling it with unprecedented shame!

To be spared from death because of this identity was just like being forced to spare him, and this was a huge insult and torture to him.

He felt as though his dignity and pride were trampled under Han Xiao’s feet, almost causing him to go mad.

Han Xiao suddenly noticed something, retreating a distance away.

Swoosh…

Fosters and the other Vanguard Officials approached in a moment, standing guard in front of Heber.

“We’ve lost…” Fosters spat out the words with difficulty. “But if you still think you can insult His Excellency Heber, then you need to step over our corpses to do so!”

The Vanguard Officials all chorused in agreement, their expressions filled with wariness and some degree of anxiety.

“What are you guys doing? Scram!” Heber was furious. He was always the one that protected others, and now him being protected by his men only gave him more shame.

If I lose, then so be it. How is it that I, a renowned Beyond Grade A, now have to hide behind Calamity Grades for protection?

“No!” For the first time, Fosters disobeyed Heber’s direct order.

Looking at all the backs of his Vanguard Officials, Heber felt a little stunned.

He had always regarded his men as consumables, and seeing this sight made him feel conflicting emotions.

In the distance, Jorde pursed his lips and surveyed his surroundings. Many of the Bloodshed Land members were showing confusion and conflicting emotions. He knew very well that the defeat of the Tyrant had directly shaken the beliefs of many people in the Bloodshed Land.

“I don’t know how many of them will choose to leave now…” Jorde sighed.

They might not join the Black Star Army, which they were hostile to, but there would definitely be people leaving the Bloodshed Land.

This scene also fell in the eyes of the spectators, with them feeling all sorts of complex emotions. The Bloodshed Land had been growing rapidly recently and was in the limelight. Nobody expected them to be hit so hard today.

Han Xiao ignored the group of Vanguard Officials and only stared at Heber directly.

“The old accounts between us are considered temporarily settled.”

The moment he finished speaking, Han Xiao no longer bothered with Heber’s response, flying toward the Palace of Hidden Spells under the gazes of everyone.

This move was also a signal, announcing the end of the battle.

As the victor, Han Xiao did not need to make any additional statements, nor did he need to chase after the Tyrant. This would only have a countereffect.

His goal had been reached by winning this battle. The rest would occur naturally without him deliberately pushing.

Seeing his action, the surrounding spaceships all parted for him to enter the Palace of Hidden Spells.

Everyone present knew that from this moment on, the new strongest of the Shattered Star Ring had been born!

…

Sigh, he indeed lost.

Within the Bloodshed Land fleet, Sorokin’s doppelganger sighed.

After this battle, Black Star had completely established his dominance of the Black Star Army in the Shattered Star Ring. Even if the Bloodshed Land could still compete with them, it would eventually still lose out, requiring twice the effort with half the amount of success.

The difficulty of the task just increased further… Sorokin was helpless.

His employers from the dynasty failed to stop the battle, which made Sorokin a little depressed.

But he did not fully count on others, as he was just a financial group in their eyes, and it was impossible for him to have absolute certainty in swaying the decisions of the Universal Civilization.

Taking a look at Heber who was supported by his Vanguard Officials as they flew back to the fleet, Sorokin snorted.

He did not know how long it would take for the Tyrant’s shattered mentality to recover, which might affect their cooperation.

The situation has become more troublesome now.

Sorokin’s eyes flickered.

Having such great prestige as a Beyond Grade A will always risk such a catastrophe. Prestige is both an influence and a shackle to the Beyond Grade A class. Fortunately, I’m not stupid like the Tyrant and have foresight. Only by throwing away the prestige of the Beyond Grade A will the shackles of one’s identity no longer bind you. Only then can you live like a fish in water, free and easy.

If he was allowed to choose, he would not even choose to engage in this battle.

A pity that the Tyrant was still shackled by his prestige and made such a foolish move. Poor fellow… Sorokin shook his head.

…

The countless spectators finally began to disperse from the scene. At the same time, Han Xiao’s avatar had just stepped foot on the Palace of Hidden Spells and met up with Austin.

Summoning a mechanical throne, Han Xiao surveyed his surroundings.

“I see you still love joining such boisterous events. Has the Palace of Hidden Spells been fixed yet?”

“Long ago.”

After some casual conversation, Austin opened his mouth to ridicule him. “Hehe, from today onward, you’re now the new head of the Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring. What are your thoughts?”

“None.” Han Xiao waved his hands before smirking. “In fact, I was already the head a long time ago; what was missing was just the identity.”

“You’re really shameless!” Austin laughed, but he did not deny the fact.

He knew that he was not Han Xiao’s opponent, Psyker had suffered under his hands before, Ames was close to him, and now with Heber out of the picture, Black Star was officially the strongest in this star field, the main spokesperson of the Crimson Dynasty.

After chatting a while, Han Xiao bade farewell and controlled his mechanical host to take the mechanical army back to the battleship, setting the return path before releasing [Lord’s Descent].

The vision of the avatar disappeared, and Han Xiao opened his eyes with the vision of his room in front of him.

He sat in silence for a moment before letting out a deep breath.

With this, he had temporarily disrupted Ty-Ty’s mental state and affected the influence of the Bloodshed Land, easing the pressure on him.

However, a Beyond Grade A’s mentality was not shaken so easily, and the Tyrant would accept reality sooner or later.

But in the short term, Heber was out of the picture.

Stretching his waist, Han Xiao opened the door and walked out.

Now that the mission to fight the Tyrant had been completed again, there was a reward to be drawn, and the necessary procedures had to be prepared beforehand.

Touching Feidin once would give him a lucky chance!

Chapter 954: Behind Every Tank Is the Willingness to Sacrifice

Chapter 954 Behind Every Tank Is the Willingness to Sacrifice

Within the cabin hall, many of the guards either sat or stood, their eyes fixed on the virtual screen. In the picture, Heber was slapped into the planet by the Mechanical Deity, and the next instant, the planet exploded. This was the UHD battle video recorded by the galactic media groups present. Currently, it was being replayed, and there were even sound effects added to the picture.

While this was the second time they were watching this, Hadavy could not help but sigh, muttering to himself, “When will I reach such a level?”

“Maybe… in your next life?” One of the Black Star Guards seated beside him laughed evilly. This guy was one of the Calamity Grades that had joined very early on, and he was also one of Hadavy’s ‘bad influences’.

“With your Esper Ability, even if you reach the Beyond Grade A level, it is estimated that your destructive force will not be at this stage.” Aurora shook her head.

“His ability allows him to take a lot of hits,” another person interjected. “Maybe if he reaches Beyond Grade A, he’ll become the favorite sandbag of all the Beyond Grade As.”

Hearing this, Hadavy grumbled in dissatisfaction, “Humph, you guys are just jealous.”

“Hehe, honestly, even if you do break through your limits and become a Beyond Grade A, you might not even be able to absorb as much damage as His Excellency Black Star, and you also don’t have a variety of moves like him… I think you’ll be the weakest Beyond Grade A in history.”

Thinking about it, Hadavy realized that was the case and immediately felt as though his future was dim, and his spirits hit rock bottom.

“Don’t worry about all that.” Feidin smiled warmly, stretching out a hand to squeeze Hadavy’s shoulder. “Who knows, maybe you can’t even advance to Beyond Grade A?”

Hadavy rolled his eyes and nastily retorted, “It’s Chen Xing, isn’t it? Don’t try to imitate the Vice Captain.”

As they all chatted with each other, the cabin door suddenly slid open, and Han Xiao walked in with large strides.

“Army Commander, good day!”

Many of them stood up quickly and saluted, staring at Han Xiao with heated gazes.

After watching the live broadcast, Black Star had just become more powerful and mysterious in everyone’s mind. As his strength increased, so did everyone’ s awe of him.

“Everyone’s here.” Han Xiao nodded, and glancing at the virtual screen, he laughed. “Haven’t you all seen it already? Why are you even watching it again?”

Hadavy stepped up and declared with a boot-licking expression, “This is all to admire your heroism!”

He had initially joined the Black Star Army for a transaction, but after witnessing Han Xiao’s potential so many times, he was completely won over by him.

After this battle, everyone knew that Black Star had officially become the strongest in the Shattered Star Ring. This identity was not just a simple name but brought with it reputation, influence, and pride.

A Beyond Grade A had to defeat all their peers in the same Star Field to obtain this title, and within the Shattered Star Ring, although Black Star was considered strong, the public did not know of this and always compared him to the Tyrant.

But having proved his point now, the majority of ordinary galactic residents also recognized his status as the strongest within this Star Field.

Seeing his immeasurable future, Hadavy could not wait to hug Black Star’s thigh and was willing to accept Black Star’s beatings every day.

Seeing this, Han Xiao had a weird expression.

He knew that Hadavy had been somewhat reluctant to join him, but how had he suddenly changed so drastically in his mentality?

Could it be that I’m so charming?

Shaking his head, he spoke a few customary sentences to everyone before arriving in front of Feidin. Just as he was about to proceed with the ‘molestation’, Feidin jumped away like a frightened deer.

“Wait… wait a minute, I’m Chen Xing!”

Han Xiao paused and put down his hand, laughing. “It’s alright. Take your time. I’ll wait.”

Chen Xing immediately retreated into the mind, and Feidin took control once again. While his temperament was as gentle as a spring breeze, he had an expression of resignation.

In the past, when he got touched, Feidin was against it, but now, he had thoroughly accepted his fate.

After going through so many things, even he had to wonder if he was really just too lucky.

Seeing this, Han Xiao hurriedly came up, grabbing a handful of luck, and felt as though some luck glow had been transferred to him.

Returning to the room, Han Xiao could not wait to open the panel and select the option to complete his mission.

The random reward gave him a Character Summon Card of Heber, as though Feidin’s luck this time had gone through the roof. The ability was actually [Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive], and while he could only use it once, it had been modified such that there was no sequelae.

The experience rewarded were average for Beyond Grade A boss missions, and the twenty odd billion experience he obtained helped to supplement his drying experience reservoir.

The two Legendary Points that he obtained the previous time did not appear, meaning that the awarding of Legendary Points was a one-off thing. However, because of the impact this battle had, he still managed to obtain another completely new Legendary Point.

_____________________

Universe Legendary Point: Strongest of the Shattered Star Ring—You are standing at the pinnacle of a Star Field, and the universe extols your prestige!

_____________________

This Legendary Point was likely something that would never be achievable for players.

After his rewards were settled, it was time for the final reward, the ability extraction!

_____________________

You have received the reward: Draw one of Heber’s abilities or talents.

Note: Heber is a Pugilist. Some of the abilities and talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. Berserker – Ability: +110% damage for energy attacks, +50% energy consumption. Duration: 10s. Cooldown: 75s.

2. Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive – Ability: Liberate cell restrictions and squeeze out one’s potential. You will briefly erupt into a higher level of combat capability, but after usage, you will be inflicted with a ‘Weakened’ status for 1 month, and skill upgrade costs will permanently increase by 7%.

3. Melee Combatant – Talent: When engaging in melee combat, +40% attack speed and +2 to all melee skill levels.

4. Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction – Talent: When taking damage, after factoring in resistance, the damage is further reduced by 7,500 before calculating any other resistance-based talents. If you have the talent series of ‘Low Level Damage Immunity’, then the fixed damage reduction will be the maximum value of said talent.

5. Critical Combo – Ability: When you make a combo on a target, the Crit Rate and Crit Damage will increase with each combo hit. This effect is capped at 75% Crit Rate and 350% Crit Damage. Duration: 5s. Cooldown: 80s.

_____________________

Sweeping through the interface, Han Xiao was secretly overjoyed. There was indeed a difference between molesting Feidin and not, else he would not have gotten so many good skills.

But the more useful skills there were, the harder it was to choose.

Thinking about it, Han Xiao first removed [Berserker]. The skill bonus was toward purely energy damage, and while his Mechanical Force could injure people, the effect was too pathetic.

[Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive] was a good skill for burst damage, but the sequelae were too troublesome, unlike the time-limited side effect of using the Evolution Cube. Furthermore, the effect could still overlap indefinitely.

As for the effects… just look at Heber. If he could not win, then he would definitely not be able to win. There was no need to struggle and get hit more.

This ability had little significance for Mechanics, who did not rely on their body so much. Compared to a temporary burst, Han Xiao was more inclined to prepare more mechanical armies before the battle, and since he had just gotten a character card without side effects, this skill could be put aside.

Similarly, [Melee Combatant] was suitable for Mechanical Pugilists and Pugilists, but it was not too crucial for him.

As for [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction], this was a Molding Talent, and while 7,500 damage did not seem like much, that was only because he was looking at it from the perspective of a Beyond Grade A. For a Calamity Grade, having this amount of damage reduction would boost their survival by at least two or three times.

And if it was a Grade B or Grade C who obtained this… they would basically be unkillable within the same level, and if players were to meet such a boss, they would know what true despair felt like.

This ability worked in tandem with the ‘Low Level Damage Immunity’ series. Heber possessed the talent [Legendary Low Level Damage Immunity], which granted him immunity to attacks below 16,000 points of damage. But this did not mean that his Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction was rendered useless.

The normal rule of damage immunity meant that damage below a certain limit was directly ignored, but this was not applied to attacks with damage above that threshold. However, after adding [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction], even for an attack higher than 16,000 points, one had to first deduct 16,000 damage applied through Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction before calculating any resistance of lower priority, so both talents mutually supported each other to increase the immunity to damage.

However, Han Xiao had only managed to draw one, so the effect was discounted. In fact, what Han Xiao wanted was more of the talent [Super Toughness], which was the secret behind Heber’s thick HP. Furthermore, it had a low priority, which meant that it would further reduce whatever damage Heber obtained after going through Damage Reduction and Immunity.

As for the final skill, [Critical Combo], it was quite suitable for him. The number of combos that a mechanical army could fire out was a form of happiness that Pugilists could not imagine. This would definitely increase the crit rate and damage in the shortest time.

What a dilemma…

Han Xiao scratched his head, pausing in thought, before finally making a choice.

_____________________

You have been awarded [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction]!

_____________________

As the ancient saying went, behind every tank was the willingness to sacrifice. Even though he really wanted to choose [Critical Combo]…

Letting go of a Molding Talent just like that would be too wasteful!

His own resistance was not low as well, and with his energy-HP conversion cycle, it would leave one in despair if he added this damage immunity…

Hehe, just imagining it was enough to give him goosebumps.

It is likely that I have to walk this tank path all the way to the end, but I would still rather have more DPS!

Han Xiao was torn.

After finalizing his rewards, Han Xiao let out a breath of relief. He slowly ruminated on the impact this battle had brought to him.

Obtaining the title of the strongest person in the Star Field would allow the Black Star Army’s business within the Shattered Star Ring to pick up, and at the same time, it would attract a new wave of talent.

However, the decline of influence for the Bloodshed Land would not hinder the investment of the Limitless Financial Group. The other party was still its main competitor, but their degree of expansion would face difficulties due to this strike.

As for the dynasty’s side, their lack of action meant that they tacitly agreed to this.

It seems like Ty-Ty will likely be hurt quite badly this time.

“Right now, the construction and development of the Flickering World still ranks as most important. For a period of time, the three Universal Civilizations will not have any conflicts with each other on the surface. In this manner, I can have a stable external environment to develop my mechanical civilization and Black Spirit Race, as well as set about building a secondary dimension factory…” Han Xiao murmured to himself. He had set the pace for these few decades during the version update early, which would allow him to steadily advance and make up for his lacking accumulation.

…

When the video of the battle was uploaded, it did not take long before the video reached the hands of the upper echelons of all civilizations. The upper echelons of the federation and the church each convened a temporary meeting specifically for this matter.

In the conference room, the Federation of Light’s President Bader looked around at the elders and senior officials present as he asked, “Everyone has watched the video. What are your thoughts?”

The Chief Elder tapped his cane and hoarsely said, “For whatever reason, it has become a fact that Black Star now possesses peak Beyond Grade A strength, and the Crimson Dynasty will soon usher in its fourth National Pillar, which is not advantageous for us.”

“That’s right.” Another of the senior officials injected, “Furthermore, Black Star is simply too young, and can serve the Dynasty for a long period of time. He is furthermore the most troublesome Virtual Mechanic class, and with them, it is likely that he can grow to Manison’s level, which will threaten our benefits.”

“What I’m worried about is when Black Star will next grow.” One official had a deep frown. “We thought that he would remain silent for the next decade or so, but time and time again, we have been proven wrong. Every time we feel that he requires some period to reinforce his foundation before he can further increase his strength, he suddenly does the reverse of our expectations.”

Hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought.

Meeting Han Xiao as an opponent that broke all common sense gave everyone a strong sense of pressure.

“If that’s the case, then the strategy for the Evolutionary Totem will have to be adjusted to some extent,” the Chief Elder concluded.

“Indeed.” Bader sighed. “I’ll have to discuss it with those from the Arcane Church.”

…

The battle had attracted a great amount of attention, to the point that this news had yet to abate even after half a month, but rather showed an upward trend.

With the spread of the galactic media groups, even the galactic residents that were not interested in war or battle could appreciate the ‘heroism’ of the Tyrant. Those who did not know of the Tyrant losing the battle all eventually came to hear of it.

A Beyond Grade A being thrashed was such an interesting topic, and this matter quickly became the dinner conversation of many galactic residents.

In the eyes of the majority, the Tyrant was a relatively unfamiliar Beyond Grade A, and now, his ‘fame’ was rising due to people knowing his presence in the form of being able to take beatings.

There was also news circulating that after the battle, Heber went into closed door cultivation, not even allowing his close subordinates to see him.

The incident spread vigorously, and a special group of people also noticed the Mechanical Deity that was revealed by Black Star.

The Machinery Faith!

Chapter 955: Undercurrents Move Once Again

Chapter 955 Undercurrents Move Once Again

The palace hall made up completely of gold-alloy mechanical parts sat atop a mountain peak, and two mechanical islands revolved around it like planets around the sun. A bright red artificial sun hung in the sky, like a bloodshot eye, shining on this barren land.

Around the lone peak, there were countless large mechanical mining platforms, with the palace located in the middle. Coupled with the many Machinery Faith believers clad in mechanical suits and walking around the city, this scene resembled a mechanical city shaped like a ring. Armored transport vehicles whistled down the space roads, making noises as their plates collided with the bumps on the road, and the air was filled with the smell of metal and motor oil.

This was a branch base of the Machinery Faith, located on a famous planet that used to be a battlefield within the Ancient Star Desert. These miners excavated the underground mechanical wreckage day and night, sending them to the priests of the Machinery Faith to uncover the lost technology.

Placed in the center, the palace hall was the temple of god for the Machinery Faith. Each mountain peak that carried the mechanical temple of god would be named as the Holy Mountain. Obsidian-esque floating steps extended from eight directions at the foot of the Holy Mountain, connecting to the mechanical temple’s doors. According to their customs, if it was not an emergency, pilgrims had to use their feet to traverse the path and could not ride any form of transportation to enter the temple.

On each side of these eight pilgrimage roads stood mechanical statues or metallic monuments. They were different types of abandoned ancient machinery, which showcased the progression from ancient to advanced technology, and they were all carved with all sorts of teachings.

This fusion of machinery and theology seemed to bring about a unique flavor to this area.

The Machinery Faith was a loose organization, not a unified religious organization. Their common activity was worshipping mechanical technology and powerful mechanics. However, based on their principles, they had also segregated themselves into many factions and different specializations in each field. Examples included the Biochemical Machinery school; the Bloodshed Destruction school, which was fanatical over the destructiveness of the weapons; and the Firepower Advantage school, which adhered to the saying ‘big is good, big is beautiful’.

As for this current branch, it belonged to the believers of the Forgotten Faction, which was also known as the Archaeological school. They were keen on finding and restoring the lost ancient mechanic technology and were one of the oldest Machinery Faith schools.

At this moment, in the main hall, the priests of this branch were gathered with a large number of priests from the other branches participating through remote projection. The crowd had formed a circle, and in the center, there was a virtual screen showing the battle between Black Star and the Tyrant.

“As everyone saw, a new Mechanical Deity has come to this world, spreading the gospel to the entire Universe.”

Clad in luxurious, heavy-duty power armor, the Grand Priest who only exposed his head spoke as though he was giving a sermon.

“So majestic, so beautiful!”

“What sort of magnificent creation is this…”

“It’s been so many years since we’ve last seen a Mechanical Deity descend. I almost forgot what it looked like.”

Many of the priests were whispering among themselves, their eyes shining with excitement and fanaticism.

“Silence.” The Grand Priest pressed down with both hands, an expression of solemnity on his face.

Everyone shut their mouths immediately, turning to him.

The Grand Priest then took out a mechanical scepter that resembled a tree branch. He pressed a button, and behind him rose a completely new alloyed shrine pedestal.

He turned to walk over, and with his back to the rest, he spoke in a strong and grand tone.

“Following the ancient teachings, in the name of the original deity Nilfgadi, we shall witness the birth of the new deity together. From now on, I will consecrate the new deity, and everyone, please remember the name of this new deity…”

As he recited, the Grand Priest opened the operation screen for the divine pedestal and entered the battle video as well as the parameters. The next moment, the entire temple shook!

Boom!

In front of everyone, countless flows of metal alloys and nanoparticles shot out, combining with each other to form a statue that was carved in the likeness of the Black Star Mechanical Deity.

Besides the Black Star idol statue, there were others, and the statue of Manison was also among them. These were the Mechanical Deities of the past, all of which stood under the towering dome of the temple.

The largest and most conspicuous statue was the mechanic named Nilfgadi. This person was the very first mechanic to have his Mechanical Deity enshrined. Even those who possessed a Mechanical Deity worshipped him. In fact, this purpose of the Machinery Faith was developed by him.

As the pioneer of the Divine Throne Mechanic class, Nilfgadi discovered the effect of the [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus], so he interfered with the Machinery Faith, influencing it to its current state of worshipping Mechanics. All the enshrined Divine Throne Mechanic descendants were simply enjoying the benefits that he had wrought for them.

The Machinery Faith did not require a two-way communication between the worshipper and the idol to work, to the point that sometimes… it did not concern them at all.

However, only those Divine Throne Mechanics that were still alive could give blessings to their believers. Thus, the dead Mechanical Deities of the past only had commemorative significance. Nowadays, most of the believers in the Machinery Faith believed in ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison.

And now, the rise of Black Star had torn a small hole in this solid belief. This was something that Manison could not even stop.

Facing the deities from past to present, the Grand Priest and all the priests bowed down to complete the ceremony.

“We respectfully welcome Black Star!”

…

I keep feeling as if someone is praising me behind my back…

Within the cabin, Han Xiao rubbed his nose as he felt a strange emotion.

“Hey, hey, don’t lose focus when you’re talking to me!” From within the communicator, Tarrokov had a helpless expression.

Han Xiao came back to his senses and joked, “Sorry, I was just thinking about what to have for dinner later. Where were we?”

“What do you have to think about? You think I don’t know you only rely on nutrition fluids?”

“Oh, who tattled on me!”

“That’s enough, back to business.” Tarrokov shook his head in resignation. “I can reveal that the development plan made by the upper echelons of the dynasty has been arranged up to the fourth phase, and only the first phase will give you plenty of time to build. After that, more foreign direct investments will be introduced to help you develop while exploring further.”

“Which means, only when these three Star Clusters are completely constructed will the dynasty proceed with the next period, right? Then the advantage that we’ve brought for ourselves by pioneering the Flickering World will end.” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Tarrokov neither agreed nor denied it. “In short, the development progress for the three star clusters has exceeded expectations and is very smooth. We expect to complete the construction plans in five to seven years before we begin the second phase.”

This timing is still acceptable… Han Xiao secretly nodded.

When Version 4.0 was released, the Flickering World should be in its fourth phase of development, so his own [Flickering World] Main Storyline had to undergo quite a few of the chain missions. Completing the [Exploration Pioneer] milestone would not be a problem. The reason he had called Tarrokov was to find out about this.

After chatting for a while, Han Xiao hung up.

The news of him defeating the Tyrant had already gone on for more than a month, and the results were obvious. The number of new applicants rose by forty-three percent, and the investments from the various financial groups rose by thirty-five percent. As for Bloodshed Land, their influence had taken a hit, and their pace was slowly dying down.

In addition, the Wayne Cards series, which was always sensitive to news, immediately made a change, issuing a statement to announce an epic enhancement to the Black Star deck, as well as a comprehensive weakening of the Bloodshed Land deck. Furthermore, they also changed the status of the strongest within the Star Fields, adding Black Star’s name into the list.

Some of the Beyond Grade A people also sent out congratulatory messages. Among them was Sorokin, who gave Han Xiao a whole new impression of the word ‘shamelessness’.

As it turned out, if one threw aside their dignity, they could still live quite happily.

Now that the Black Star Army had laid its hands on the title of the strongest within the Star Field, the competition against the Limitless Financial Group had basically turned into a tug-of-war, where it would be unsolvable in a short period of time. Since he had also completed his advancement, and his accumulated experience was not enough to reach the next stage, his focus was on the construction of his territory.

After ‘shopping’ within the dynasty for such a long time, he had seen most of the potential stocks. Han Xiao intended to return to the Shattered Star Ring and digest the impact of his battle, as well as adjust the details of the construction. He would also use [Mechanical Proliferation Growth] to transform some of his first-generation mechanical life forms to accelerate the development of the mechanical civilization.

The next step would then be to use the logistics capabilities of his base to build a secondary dimension factory, creating a new generation of mechanical army. Although they could be built within the Dimension Factory, the army bases there were mostly branches and were far less efficient than back at his main base.

“Phillip, set a course back to the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Roger roger, hum…”

…

“Strongest in the Star Field? Hehe…”

There were only a few guests within this retro-style tavern, and a tall, thin man sat next to the wooden bar counter as he stared at the appearance of Han Xiao, showing a playful smile.

He was a Spacehuman, but his skin looked unhealthy and pale, seemingly in a state of malnutrition and lack of light. He looked ordinary. Nobody would be able to pick him out of a group of people.

Staring at Han Xiao on the screen, the tall and thin man revealed a reminiscent expression.

“Obtaining a national pillar like Black Star is a blessing for the dynasty,” the tavern’s owner commented while wiping his glasses.

“That’s right. It’s really a blessing for the dynasty. If there’s a chance, I would really like to meet him again.”

“You’ve seen Black Star before?” The bar owner got interested.

“I could say that. Speaking of which, he even took some things of mine. Hehe… Not sure if he still remembers such a… small fry like me.”

The tall and thin man laughed before standing up, picking up his jacket he draped over his seat, and walking out.

“On your tab again?” The bar owner put down the glass in his hand, speaking as though he was familiar with the man.

“Oh, yes, same old. When my salary comes, I’ll settle everything along with next month’s.”

With this sentence, the man walked out of the bar, putting his uniform back on… which was the uniform of a dynasty army officer.

…

Within a room in the Sea of Star Spirits, a dozen or so different kinds of people were gathered around a long table, discussing something vigorously. There were dozens of printed physical books on the long table, all without titles on their covers.

“Start from the Central Galaxy? Are you crazy? You’re only seeking death!”

“If our target is too far, we will not have enough influence. The Super Star Cluster civilizations are the most suitable for development.”

“We only use these books to promote our ideologies. The quantum networks are strictly monitored by countless civilizations, and not only will we not enjoy any convenience, we’ll also attract attention.”

“To me, I feel that we should wait and see. It might not be a good time now…”

Hearing all the discussions, Rossellin, who was leaning on the sofa, softly coughed twice.

Edmond turned his head toward her, and thinking about it, he rapped on the table to make everyone quiet before turning to Rossellin.

“Do you have any ideas?”

Rossellin faintly smiled. “You guys look like a circus act.”

Hearing this, many people revealed displeased expressions.

Edmond, however, waved his hand, not the least bit angry. “You’re right, we’ve yet to begin our business. Of course there would be many disagreements. I hope to hear your opinion on this.”

Rossellin snorted, sitting up to speak. “The current condition of the universe is stable, with little to no chance for any external friction between the three civilizations. However, there are undercurrents surging, and each civilization is walking on a tightrope. This is because of the Flickering World and the Evolutionary Totems… I’ve already said it clearly within the program. The root of this problem lies in the internal struggle of the three civilizations and its opposition to many of the Star Cluster level civilizations.

“The Flickering World is a way to reshuffle the deck. While the attention of the whole universe is on the Flickering World, we can quietly develop, promoting this idea in a low-key but gentle manner. By sugar-coating it as a religion, we can lurk first and lie in wait for an opportunity.”

“What opportunity?” someone asked.

“The Star Cluster level civilizations hope to obtain a channel to promote themselves to higher tier, but the Universal Civilizations will also firmly hold on to their interests, leaving these Super Star Clusters and Star Clusters only leftovers,” Rossellin blandly replied. “The latter two have been suppressed for too long and will one day reach a critical point. They will not wait forever, and when all hope is lost, it will detonate. The Flickering World has the potential to be a fuse, and this is the fertilizer for our development.”

Edmond nodded. “I think the same way. It’s best for our timing not to be delayed.”

Hearing this, everyone finally nodded.

Seeing this, Rossellin could not help but sneer inwardly.

In truth, she did not look up to any of these people at all. They were only blindly following Edmond’s twisted ideals and her desire to watch the world burn.

Breaking the restrictions of the three universal civilizations? It sounded good, but she did not care. Her motive was to overthrow the entire three civilizations; only this would make her excited.

Edmond was a firm believer in his own ideals, but in her opinion, this was just a good entry point.

With this age of material abundance, no one would worry about survival, and only the struggle for interests would make the world go around. This was a revolution not initiated because of survival but because of the unresolved contradictions between the three universal civilizations and the other super star cluster civilizations.

The world often stood on the edge of the cliff, struggling to maintain its balance. It just needed someone to push it, like pushing the switch to change the tracks of a railroad to lead history down another path. If there was no such thing, they just had to create one.

“If we are to start our business, we will need a name,” Edmond said seriously.

Looking at his silver skin, Rossellin laughed meaningfully.

“How about… we call ourselves the Silver Revolutionary Army?”

Chapter 956: Education Plan

Chapter 956 Education Plan

After travelling for a period, the fleet finally returned to the Shattered Star Ring. Han Xiao returned to the headquarters immediately, gathering his officers to review the work over this period.

Generally speaking, there were still the same old problems, but the slightly better news was that the Germinal Financial Group was developing smoothly. As the subsidiary financial group under the Black Star Army, they had manpower, money, influence, and even the support of armed forces, which was the same as them being born with a golden spoon in the Shattered Star Ring. It quickly gathered a large number of the affiliated business partners of the army and negotiated long-term cooperation deals, which made the structure of the army much simpler.

What was worth nothing was that Iapetus, whom Han Xiao had taken from the dynasty, had shown excellent business skills. The performance of the team he led was always at the forefront, and they signed up with one cooperation treaty after another for the financial group. Apart from gathering the subsidiary businesses, they even tried to open new channels.

In her comments, Sylvia mentioned that Iapetus had excellent business negotiation skills, strategic vision, leadership abilities, persuasive eloquence, calm judgment, and so on. He was a high-quality management talent and should be placed on the shortlist for an executive position.

The Black Star Army was full of talents. Because of its huge size, there were many officers in all kinds of positions. Phillip would evaluate the army members and select the talents to form a candidate list, which would all be potential officers.

Han Xiao used his free time to review the backlog of documents, and after finishing all official matters, the rest of the officers also relaxed.

“By the way, how is the learning progress of Nero?” Han Xiao asked.

“Good, he is very talented,” Reynold simply replied.

“Ok, when the meeting ends, I’ll go take a look.” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “I have a question for you.”

“Please.”

“If there ever comes a day where I’ll have to kill your sister, what will you do?”

Reynold froze his shock, his expression hesitant. “This…”

“No need to be scared, just say your true feelings.”

“… Why would you want to kill her?”

“For example, she commits a severe crime or undermines the benefits of our army.”

Reynold breathed out slowly before saying expressionlessly, “If that’s the case, then I will not hold any grudges against you. She must be responsible for her own actions. However, I will not continue working for you at that time as well. I hope you can understand.”

The atmosphere suddenly grew tense, and everyone held their breath. They knew that Han Xiao did not say things without a reason. Could it be that Rossellin, who had left the army, had really done something?

Han Xiao also stared at him for a while before he laughed and nodded. The atmosphere lightened considerably.

“Who can tell what will happen in the future? Don’t mind me. There’s nothing wrong with your answer.”

Reynold silently nodded but retreated to a corner, deep in thought.

Glancing at his face, Han Xiao secretly shook his head.

When the original three founders of the Silver Revolutionary Army came over to the Black Star Army to poach Rossellin, he had planted an (Observer’s Mark) on Edmund. Not too long ago, he had seen the official establishment of the Silver Revolutionary Army through the (Observer’s Mark]. The movements of Edmond and company could not even escape his eyes.

Based on his original plans, he wanted to sit and watch the growth of the Silver Revolutionary Army. One reason was that he was growing leeks; only when the three Universal Civilizations started to pay attention to the Silver Revolutionary Army would he then be able to render a great merit. Secondly, he wanted to have someone that he knew clearly trigger the contradictions between the civilizations. Only then would he know how to deal with it. Lastly, he wanted to sit behind the scenes and watch as he felt that there might be a chance to utilize the Silver Revolutionary Army in the future.

However, Han Xiao’s thoughts had never been set in stone. He had always adjusted his plans flexibly according to the situation. Now that his position in the dynasty had been consolidated, this achievement might not be needed.

As for the threat with the World Tree Civilization, that was supposed to be an issue in the future, but it had turned into a randomly triggered explosive. With external threats looming, it was unknown whether he should allow the Silver Revolutionary Army to wreak havoc.

The conflict between the three universal civilizations and the Super Star Cluster civilizations was something inevitable. The latter was bound to one day rebel against the dominant civilizations due to their contradictions. The Silver Revolutionary Army was just the fuse.

Han Xiao knew that killing off the Silver Revolutionary Army in advance would not help to resolve any conflicts, but there was a chance it would postpone the outbreak.

But no matter what he chose, the upper echelons of the Silver Revolutionary Army would have to be killed. In many cases, ideology was even more frightening than weapons. Reformers typically did not meet a good end, so Han Xiao was also concerned about Reynold’s thoughts and wished to give him a heads up. However, for someone like Reynold, once he made up his mind, no one could change his thoughts. Sylvia looked around before coughing, breaking the silence. “By the way, I have an interesting proposal here. Please take a look.”

She raised her communicator and showed a virtual screen with a document within.

Han Xiao swept across and raised an eyebrow. “… Super Education Plan?”

“That’s right. We opened training camps on many planets to train reserve members, but it was too militarized, and only those who signed a contract to be reserve army members would receive grooming. This proposal is for the Black Star Army to provide funding and open a private Super college in the Shattered Star Ring, where any civilian can pay for school and need not be a reserve…”

“Wait.” Han Xiao raised his hand up. “Such schools are everywhere, and every galactic civilization has their own official Super college. There’s no need for me to also have another.”

“No, this is different.” Sylvia shook her head. “You’re the strongest in the Star Field. This identity has appeal and can attract the maximum number of students. The school that we will run is different.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin, browsing the proposal, and casually asked, “What about the benefits?”

“Opening such a school will allow you to effectively expand your influence, and you can also use this as a form of social responsibility,” Sylvia said. “Many business partners of the army are too distant from your average galactic resident; the establishment of a college will allow the galactic residents to turn their admiration for you into actual support, allowing your influence to penetrate deep into the masses. Also, this will allow the idle army members to have something to do.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Han Xiao nodded. This sort of idea was also good to help him cultivate more leeks. In the past, this was not done, mainly because his influence and funds were not large enough. Now, the Black Star Army really had the qualifications to diversify into the education sector.

No matter how strong a Beyond Grade A was, or how great their reputation was, to the ordinary galactic residents, they were just like movie stars. Apart from being a teatime topic and a focus of public opinion, the actual impact on their daily lives was not great. Opening a school was a great way to capitalize on one’s influence as the process of providing welfare to the people would result in them increasingly supporting the various businesses of the Black Star Army in their daily lives. The benefits were long term and multi-faceted.

Moreover, with the size of the Black Star Army skyrocketing, there were many idle soldiers around.

There was a limit to the number of employment tasks. Compared to the past, the security of Shattered Star Ring had improved a lot, and the name of Black Star Army had become a taboo among the galactic pirates, which gave them boundless fear every time they saw the emblem of the Black Star Army.

“Ok, let’s follow your plan. We’ll first do a pilot test in the Colton Star Cluster. For the hundreds of other schools, we can talk about it later.”

“Then, this fund…”

“Granted.”

Han Xiao waved his hand. Since his money was also idling there, it would be good to take it out to do something. To think that it could be frustrating to have too much money.

“Since you’re using my name, I’ll be the honorary principal. As for the actual principal…”

Gazing at Sylvia’s hairline, which seemed to have receded a little, Han Xiao coughed a little embarrassedly before changing his gaze.

By the side, Lagi, who had lots of hair, happened to walk in front of Han Xiao at this time. The Great Mechanic Han immediately caught his breath.

“It’s you, Lagi. You go and be the principal!” Lagi returned to his senses and put on a bitter expression. “Wasting my life in a meaningless position, this is the destiny of all beings. I didn’t expect that, despite doing my best, I would still be unable to escape in this reincarnation…”

Hearing this, the corners of everyone’s mouth twitched.

To think you could paint such a beautiful excuse even for skiving. You’re really a f*cking genius!

After sending off the downcast Garbage (1. Lagi’s name sounds like the words for Garbage in Chinese.) and the other officers, Han Xiao took out his communicator, calling Lothaire to inquire about the current situation.

Lothaire’s position was different from the Black Star Guards. He was a Shadow Guard, and rather than sticking to Black Star’s side the Shadow Guards were responsible for the secret ops such as assassination and espionage. Currently, Han Xiao’s only Shadow Guard was Lothaire.

After the incident with the Blood Gold Organization, Han Xiao had instructed Lothaire to lurk within the black market organizations, collecting information and assassinating the middle-level officers of the Blood Gold Organization. After a long period of investigation, Han Xiao had decided to instruct Lothaire to be like his previous life, establishing an Assassin’s Society to serve as a subsidiary force under the Black Star Army.

Lothaire himself was extremely strong, and his character was decisive. He was a silent yet reliable character, suitable for solo missions. Han Xiao was quite confident in him and not afraid that he might accidentally expose himself.

After talking for a while, he hung up, and Han Xiao then walked over to the logistics department to see Nero.

Nero had shot up once again. After his hell-like learning, he had begun to familiarize himself with the techniques. Seeing Han Xiao approaching, Nero seemed very happy, rushing up and pestering Han Xiao for gifts.

Thinking about it, Han Xiao took out a learning enhancement device related to cognitive technology and gave it to Nero, which successfully earned him a roll of Nero’s eyes.After teasing Nero as usual, Han Xiao checked the interface and discovered that Nero was still stuck at [High Grade Mechanical Sense).

As he stroked Nero’s head, Han Xiao sighed before saying, “After a while, I want you to return to Planet Aquamarine to see your father. You should continue your studies there.”

Hearing this, Nero’s eyes misted up, and he put on a wronged expression. “Are you chasing me away? Where have I done wrong?”

Han Xiao laughed. “You’re mistaken. I thought about it, and just making you stick your head into books all day without communicating with others is not good. Our army is about to open a civilian college, and Planet Aquamarine will definitely be one of the first pilot regions. You can just go to school on Planet Aquamarine, accompany Bennett more, and take some time off to learn from Reynold. Just take it as a reward for working so hard up till now.”

Nero was shocked.

Did my godfather change sex? To think that he actually gave me a holiday! “… What sort of expression is that? Why do you look like you saw a ghost?” “I… I was just happy.” Nero swallowed hard, secretly sizing Han Xiao up, as though he was afraid that he was simply being pranked by an imposter.

Han Xiao actually wished for Nero to achieve [Perfect Mechanical Sense) in one shot, but seeing Nero’s current growth spurt, he felt that he should not push him too hard. In another few years, Nero’s childhood years would be gone, and it would be good to allow him to relax for a period of time, which might help him grow.

After solving all those matters, Han Xiao entered the machinery modification room and shut himself in, beginning to update all his mechanical army. In the process, he also began to create another defining feature of the Divine Throne Mechanic—the Divine Mechanical Throne.

Chapter 957: The Mechanic Emperor“s Counter

Chapter 957 The Mechanic Emperor“s Counter

In the Army Commander’s machinery modification room, row after row of assembly lines were lined in an orderly manner, and from the chassis of each assembly line stretched out dozens of multi-functional mechanical manufacturing arms that automatically assembled the products. The entire room was filled with the sound of parts fitting into each other, as the assembled products were sent down the lines to undergo transformation.

Han Xiao strolled down the busy workshop, continuously releasing his Mechanical Force like a dense spider web, linking all the assembly lines like countless extended limbs, which allowed him to multitask and build many machines at the same time.

Currently, machinery manufacturing and assembling had already become extremely convenient for him. The efficiency of such multi-tasking was linked to the Intelligence attribute, and even if there were no assembly lines, Han Xiao could also transform a large number of machines at the same time and utilize the method the players used, which was to concurrently manufacture and assemble.

Han Xiao walked up to one of the workbenches. This was where the Divine Mechanical Throne was currently being constructed, with the last parts currently being fitted in. The mechanical arms were painting and spraying it with cooling mist, which overflowed around the entire area.

Waving his hand to disperse the mist, Han Xiao carefully looked at the throne in front of him. It was a black alloy throne, with its surface covered in mechanical structural lines. The squares were sharp and angular, and one could see that it looked very badass.

Han Xiao had also added nano-deformation technology, which had a self-adjusting function, being able to perfectly fit any sort of body shape. Its appearance and style were similar to the floating throne he had created before, but the internal technology was vastly different. The previous floating throne only had a visual effect, but this throne had actual bonuses and was unique to the attributes of whoever designed it.

Opening his interface, Han Xiao glanced at the item introduction.

_____________________

Black Star’s Divine Mechanical Throne

Type: Extraordinary Bonus Equipment

Item Level: 300

Grade: Orange (Legendary)

Main Materials: 8th Gen Black Star Alloy, Mysterious Titanium, 15th Gen Nanoparticles

Energy Core: Lightly Modified Stable Psionic Reactor

Basic Attributes:

Durability: 50,000/50,000

Defense: 7,800

Shield Durability: 150,000/150,000

Equipped Effect 1: [Mechanical Sense Amplification] – x1.1 Machinery Affinity

Equipped Effect 2: [Aura Enhancement] – Increases deterrence, affects all targets that are looking at you. If the target’s level is lower than yours by thirty or more, the opponent’s Attributes will temporarily decrease by 10%.

Equipped Effect 3: [Calm Commander] – When used in a combat state, all mechanical soldiers that are boosted with Mechanical Force will obtain an additional 8% increase in Defense and Status Resistances.

Equipped Effect 4: [Walk with the Wind] – +740 CHA

Remarks: Being handsome is everything!

_____________________

“Can be used to look cool, and even adds bonuses. What a badass piece of divine equipment.” Han Xiao stroked it lovingly, refusing to let go.

In the future when he brought this toy out to fight, those who were unaware would think that he had a lot of style. It completely suited his cold and suave character!

After experimenting with the results, Han Xiao stored the throne with satisfaction, turning back to the other workbenches.

The majority of the workbenches were updating the spare mechanical army that sat in the Black Star Army warehouse, reforming their technology to the level of the Divine Throne Mechanic. A small portion was however involved in manufacturing new machinery, many of which were taken from the blueprints of the Tyracles Legacy.

The Tyracles Legacy was a racial talent for his level 300 Promotion, and this race had a profound knowledge in mechanical technology, with all sorts of whimsical and miraculous machines. When Han Xiao completed the promotion mission, he had unlocked the blueprints up to level 300.

Some of the blueprints could be used, adding dozens of new machines to his current mechanical army. According to the different functions, his mechanical army had expanded to contain more units, which included many new types of soldiers.

The Cosmic Wanderer, the Tyracles’ Specialty Mechanical soldier, alternated between the colors of green and purple. It possessed a triangular knight helmet-like head and a thin skeletal body frame. Using biochemical machinery, a module under their armor housed a large amount of secret strengthening fluid to enhance its tendons and muscles, which would allow their body frame to swell explosively into a huge bodybuilder shape. The bonuses awarded were very high.

In addition, this model had special capabilities. It possessed two stages of transformation. One of them was overclocking, which allowed it to obtain a strong explosive force and improvement in all attributes, and the second was Explosive Retreat, which was activated on the basis of overclocking. The second mode allowed it to release a special warp field, covering both ranged and melee attacks. After the actual combat test run, Han Xiao found out that the Cosmic Wanderer could rival most models that had the same specifications as it. Its basic performance was one of the best.

Han Xiao now had a few more slots for Apostle Weapons, so he chose the Cosmic Wanderer with the best basic attributes to convert into an Apostle Weapon. Initially, he wanted to name it ‘Purple Muscle Tyrant’, but thinking about it, the name seemed a little perverted.

Naming an Apostle Weapon was just like naming a child; it was not something he could randomly scream and be done with. After ruminating for a while, Han Xiao finally named it ‘Purple Sky Spirit’ based on how he had named his previous Apostle Weapons and prepared to bring it over to the Machinery civilization to have it propagate as well.

Other than this, the Tyracles Legacy blueprints contained many other good items, such as physical missiles equipped with precision transition guidance. The ammunition was made from a special high-energy polymer, which contained a strong erosion effect, and was particularly useful toward a battleship’s shields.

There was also an interesting series of stellar star system devices that could create a path to guide and focus stellar energy from the universe, indirectly causing annihilation level strikes. However, Han Xiao was more concerned about the stellar concentrator under this series. It could take stellar matter on a large scale and, through its condensation, create a ‘movable Fixed Star’.

Other than energizing and guiding attacks, this device could also release material at other locations to form a completely new Fixed Star, the size of which was determined by the amount of material released. This was what it meant by movable.

Within the legacy, the Saint Tyracles used this method to multiply the stars. After duplicating them, the new stars were then filled with dust and matter to increase the volume. In that manner, the natural fixed stars that it produced had far more power output compared to ordinary man-made Fixed Stars.

What Han Xiao was concerned about was the usage of this device. If this device was released at point blank range, it was akin to a portable stellar bomb. Its destructive power was probably not much worse than the original Primordial Psionic Energy bomb, and there was no problem with environmental pollution. This facilitated murder as well as the removal of evidence.

…

As Han Xiao buried his head in the transformation of his machinery, Sylvia set out to implement the education plan. The first step was to announce to the entire Star Field that the army had diversified into the education sector.

Ever since Han Xiao had defeated the Tyrant, there were many galactic residents who were following his movements. They thought that Black Star would make big moves after acquiring the title of strongest in the Star Field.

The moment this announcement came out, the entirety of the Shattered Star Ring started boiling in excitement. The top Beyond Grade A of Shattered Star Ring had started a school, and just his name alone would attract a large number of people.

The plan was to prepare for the pilot testing of dozens of schools within the Godora galaxy, and Planet Aquamarine was one of the important pilot areas.

The development of Planet Aquamarine rapidly changed with each passing day. When Nero stepped off the spaceship, he felt that Black Star City had become a lot more foreign to him.

“I’m home…”

Nero settled his emotions and returned home, only to find out that Bennett had gone on a work trip, and only his mother was at home.

Because Han Xiao had given him a vacation, for the next few days, Nero indulged in eating, drinking, and playing games.

“This is the life…!”

Lazing on the balcony of his high-attitude villa, Nero held a cup of ice cream in his hands, drinking the melted cream through a straw as he gazed on the scenery of the city.

Within the Black Star Army, he had no status, so he could only passively accept arrangements. Over here, he was the son of the planet’s leader, so he was the biggest young master in this city. As long as he did not break the law, he could have everything he wanted… such as this ice cream, which he had asked his bodyguard to buy.

Buzz!

At this moment, the external screens of several buildings outside lit up, and the news played.

“The Black Star Army announced the establishment of its Black Star Super Academy yesterday in an effort to obtain more talents. President Bennett met up with the executive principal of the Black Star Super Academy and will be delivering a speech shortly…”

The live broadcast played on the screen, and a press conference was in progress. On screen, Bennett’s and Lagi’s long distance projections sat opposite each other, chatting in front of countless reporters. This was in an executive conference room within the government building, situated within Black Star City. Seeing his, Nero knew that Bennett had already returned.

“On behalf of the people on Planet Aquamarine, I thank the Black Star Army for their generosity.” In the picture, Bennett smiled and expressed his attitude.

Lagi remained silent and only nodded, while the interpreter beside him enthusiastically spoke. “Planet Aquamarine is the mother star of Black Star, so he is very willing to help with its development. The people of Planet Aquamarine are just like his brothers and sisters.”

After so many painful lessons, Lagi was hereby banned from speaking in such public events. Han Xiao had specially searched for a sunny and positive secretary to act as an interpreter.

Looking at Bennett in the live broadcast, Nero suddenly discovered that the wrinkles on Bennett’s face seemed to have increased, and white hair also seemed to be filling up his head.

“Father is getting old…”

Nero pursed his lips, inexplicable emotions spreading in his heart. The joy of his vacation gradually subsided, replaced by an uncomfortable feeling of having nothing to do.

After travelling through the universe, Nero’s experiences were far broader than his peers, and he had begun to mature early. He understood the situation of Planet Aquamarine as well as Bennett’s pains, and this concept of responsibility also gradually formed within his heart.

After struggling inwardly for a while, Nero shoved the remainder of the ice cream into his mouth before retreating into his room and unwillingly pulling out a book on machinery theory, flipping through it with a bitter expression.

But this only lasted for a while before he slowly got absorbed within.

While he thought he would be unwilling, the long periods of studying had allowed him to develop an interest in machinery, and he had begun to learn how to appreciate it.

…

“Running a school?”

Seeing the public announcement by the Black Star Army, Sorokin fell into deep thought. He stepped up to the window, looking as spaceships continuously left the Bloodshed Land headquarters, and gently shook his head.

After Heber lost, such adverse effects had gradually emerged. His prestige had collapsed, and the cohesion of Bloodshed Land was also shaken, so talents were leaving. Every few days, someone withdrew from Bloodshed Land. With Heber still in closed door recuperation, the upper echelons had no orders to move, so they could only watch as their members left.

Toward Black Star moving into the education sector, this was to transform the influence into actual support from the people, which was unprecedented. Bloodshed Land had already fallen to the bottom and was in a miserable state.

In such a situation, Sorokin also had no good ideas. He could only keep a low profile and temporarily stop the business attack on the Black Star Army. He was prepared to wait until Black Star’s limelight had faded.

Di di di…

At this moment, his communicator rang. Picking it up, Sorokin saw that Manison was on the line.

“Your Excellency, what’s the matter?”

“I would like to know the inside information of the Black Star Army’s business. Give me a list.”

Sorokin paused in shock. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“Helping you,” Manison blandly replied.

“I understand now. You want to do a virtual intrusion into their database?” Sorokin’s eyes flashed, but he was surprised. This was as good as forming a grudge with Black Star.

“I also play a part in your current actions. The Federation of Light has tasked me with thoroughly checking the database of the Black Star Army, and I’m just taking advantage of this opportunity to help you.” Manison’s expression remained indifferent.

“It’s not just that, right?” Sorokin narrowed his eyes. “The rise of Black Star has given you pressure.”

“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t know,” Manison coldly commented.

“Haha, I understand. I’ll send the list over shortly. If you can really get some inside information, this will help my actions a lot.”

“Ok.” Manison cut the call.

In actual fact, the Federation of Light did not ask him to hack into Black Star’s database; it was Manison himself who suggested it.

Helping Sorokin was just an additional topping. The main point was that he wished to test Black Star’s strength again. Instead of sparring, he wished to fight against him in the virtual network.

His reason for doing this was because he had received the notice of Black Star being enshrined in the Machinery Faith. In Manison’s eyes, Black Star had transformed from a junior with potential into a competitor!

From the few times they had interacted, Manison knew that Black Star was not someone who was willing to sit still. The moment he was enshrined in the Machinery Faith as a deity, he would seek more followers, and Manison was not someone who would sit idly at the loss of his own interests.

Of course, he did not think that Black Star would be so easy to kill. He was not prepared to kill him either.

Manison’s objective was to firmly push down Black Star in the area of the Mechanic class, doing to Han Xiao what he had done to the Tyrant, destroying his prestige.

In this manner, the Machinery Faith believers would not turn toward Black Star, and the entire Universe would hear his declaration.

I, the Mechanic Emperor, am still the father of the Mechanics!

Chapter 958: Nero“s Campus Lifestyle

Chapter 958 Nero“s Campus Lifestyle

At the dock of a surface civilization in the Godora Star System, a fleet of mid-sized spaceships waited. The hatches of the spaceships opened up, and a long queue of passengers were prepared to board the spaceships.

This was a flight that was headed toward Planet Aquamarine and was funded by the government. There were many different types of people boarding the spaceship. There were some wealthy individuals who bought tickets, some elites from the army, civilian youths with high potential, and some who had broken the bank to buy a slot, hoping to change their destinies.

Planet Aquamarine was extremely lucky to have someone like Black Star. In this Star System, most of the surface civilizations were vassals of Godora, and his planet was also no exception.

It was extremely difficult for a surface civilization that was a vassal of an advanced civilization to develop. Although this civilization was not a pool of dead water, it was obviously lacking in development. There was only a single dock on the entire planet, and they did not have that many galactic tourists. It was a complete contrast to the prosperous Planet Aquamarine.

News of the Black Star Army opening a school had also been spread to this planet, and the upper echelons of the planet immediately had an idea.

A small location like theirs naturally would not have the rights to invite the Black Star Army to open up an academy. If they wanted to enter the academy, they could only go to the other planets. As such, this was the flight that the upper echelons had specially arranged to head toward Planet Aquamarine. Their goal was to send the elites of the army and youths with potential to the Black Star Army’s Super Academy.

It was impossible for a civilization like theirs to catch up to a Star System Civilization in terms of strength. The technological skills that they treated as gold were worthless to advanced civilizations. Thus, they could only choose to walk down the path of Supers. As long as they could groom a group of sufficiently powerful Supers, these Supers would be able to bring their civilization up to the next level. Planet Aquamarine was the example that many surface civilizations were envious about.

Of course, they did not even dare dream about raising a bigshot like Black Star. Their biggest wish was only to groom a Calamity Grade Super.

The Black Star Army opening an academy gave them a ray of hope.

The probability of the strongest individual grooming a Calamity Grade Super should be higher, right?

Amid the noisy crowd, a skinny little girl was standing in the crowd with four soldiers beside her to block the crowd and prevent her from being squashed. She obviously had special treatment.

This skinny little girl hugged the doll in her hands while asking, “Uncle, what is Planet Aquamarine like?”

She was still very young and her features had not been fully developed. However, she could be considered pretty if one took a close look, and her eyes glowed with a bright light.

“Planet Aquamarine… I haven’t been there before either, but I’ve heard that it is a prosperous place,” the soldier replied with a friendly tone.

“Then, when will we come back?”

“We don’t know yet. This depends on the intentions of those above.”

“Oh…” The skinny little girl hugged her doll with a tinge of fear in her eyes. She was afraid of the unknown life that awaited her.

She was an abandoned orphan and was taken in by a public orphanage. Not too long ago, the government tested the potential of all the children in the orphanages, and she was one of the orphans that was chosen.

Her peaceful days were shattered, and there were suddenly people arranging her everyday life. She was like a puppet that could only accept the arrangements of others. No one told her the reason, and she only knew that she was about to leave the orphanage for a very long time. She said her goodbyes to all her friends and headed toward an unknown planet to learn some things.

“Black Star Super Academy… just what kind of a place is that?”

…

A newly constructed floating city floated above Black Star City.

This floating city was the first Black Star Super Academy campus and had all the necessary facilities.

The speed at which the academy had been constructed was truly unbelievable. The production capabilities in the interstellar era were extremely high, and this gigantic floating city had taken less than half a month to construct.

Ever since the construction of the academy was announced, a large number of galactic residents started to migrate over.

The Black Star Army was prepared to open a few dozen academies all over the Godora Star System during their first phase, and the academy on Planet Aquamarine attracted the most attention. Everyone knew that Planet Aquamarine would definitely receive the greatest amount of resources and would definitely be the best Super Academy.

In just ten short days, the Black Star Super Academy on Planet Aquamarine received countless applications. Thankfully, Han Xiao had already expected such a situation and constructed a gigantic floating campus that could hold a few million people. It could even be expanded in the future.

In order to expand his influence, the school fees were not too expensive. He did not walk the path of nobility but opened the doors of the academy to the commoners as well.

However, the school did not provide any dormitories. There were many different lifestyle regions in the school where students could rent or purchase a house. Han Xiao was not planning on using the school fees to recoup his losses. These houses that he had built would be where the profits lay.

The Black Star Army did not lack any teachers at all. All the Supers within the army were willing to earn a quick buck and would just treat it as accepting an employment to teach students. They also had plenty of Super Academies as reference for the syllabus. With the prosperity of Planet Aquamarine, they could easily hire various workers as long as they had money. Furthermore, Black Star’s name would grant them the green light in the application process, and no one would dare block them.

Efficiency was high in the interstellar era, and thus, the Black Star Super Academy needed less than a month of preparation before they were ready to open.

A floating school bus brought the students to the floating island, and many students had looks of fascination on their faces.

The skinny little girl was one of them. Her experiences during this period were like a dream. She witnessed many spectacular sights that had shaken her soul.

“Country bumpkins.” A portion of the students who came from a well-off background could not help but look down on these students with disdain.

Isn’t it just a floating island? Why is there a need to make a big fuss out of it? Look at all of your country bumpkin appearances. Won’t all of you faint when you see our honorary principal?

Some of the new students who came from backward planets then lowered their heads with embarrassment. They could only suppress their gasps as they admired the view on the outside.

The skinny little girl stood beside the window and was dressed in a simple dress. She was sitting next to a Godoran who was dressed in luxurious clothing, looking as though he was extremely unwilling to sit with the skinny little girl.

Many orphans had keen observational abilities, and upon noticing that her classmate disliked her, the skinny little girl could not help but clench onto her dress tightly.

The floating school bus reached the academy quickly, and all the new students unloaded from the bus. A huge crowd was quickly formed, and the students waited for their teachers to lead the way.

The skinny little girl was not used to many things, and she hugged her luggage not knowing where she should go.

At this moment, a commotion sounded from afar, and everyone looked in a direction excitedly as though they had discovered something.

“Is that Nero? The son of Planet Aquamarine’s leader?”

“That’s right. It’s him. I heard that he followed Black Star for a couple of years and is Black Star’s godson.”

“How envious. I also want to call Black Star father.”

“Who would have thought that such an individual would be attending school with us? There will definitely be benefits to building a good relationship with him.”

“What a pity, he looks too young. If not, I would definitely chase him. As long as I can get him, my future will be bright.”

“…Buddy, you should leave such a job to us girls. A guy like you shouldn’t think about it.”

“Eh, he’s walking over.”

In the eyes of the ordinary students, Nero was like a prince on a white horse.

Upon hearing the discussion of those around her, the skinny little girl was also a little curious.

Right at this moment, the crowd suddenly grew restless. Without anybody protecting her, she was immediately pushed around and fell on the ground by accident.

“Ouch, it hurts…”

The skinny little girl then hugged her knees and shut her eyes to prevent herself from being stepped on.

All of a sudden, the crowd around her seemed to have disappeared, and no one pushed her anymore.

She then opened her eyes and saw a flying shuttle floating above her head that pushed back the crowd around her.

She then saw a bright teen walking toward her with a face full of concern. Bending down, he stretched out his arm toward her.

“I am called Nero. I saw you fall just now. Are you okay?”

The skinny little girl then looked at Nero. In her eyes, this young man seemed to have a warm golden edge around him.

After falling into a daze for a few seconds, this skinny little girl snapped out of her daze and grabbed onto Nero’s hands. She then stood up and said thanks to him with a soft voice.

“Thank you… I am not injured…”

Nero then looked down and realized that her knees were bleeding. He then could not help but say, “Isn’t this an injury?”

“It’s nothing. It’s only a small injury, and I will be alright in a few days time.”

“Wait a moment, I have a recovery spray.”

Nero then placed his machinery backpack on the ground and dug out a metal spray can that had the Black Star logo on it. He then squatted down and sprayed it on her knees before nodding with satisfaction.

After standing up, he realized that the little girl’s face was flushed completely red.

Upon seeing that, Nero could not help but chuckle, “Why are you so nervous? Right, I haven’t asked you. What is your name?”

“I… I am called Mia Moretto. This is the name that the principal of the orphanage gave me.” The skinny little girl held onto her skirt and did not dare look at Nero.

“Orphanage? You’re an orphan?” Nero was surprised.

“Hmm…”

Nero then rubbed his head, and after thinking for a while, he gave the spray in his hands to Mia and said, “Take this. You will recover quickly if you are injured in future.”

Mia’s dressing was extremely simple, and after knowing that she was an orphan, her economic situation definitely was not good.

Nero knew that learning how to become a Super had the risk of getting injured, so he passed her the spray can. In any case, it was not much to him, and he could have as many of them as he liked. Furthermore, he rarely used it himself.

Mia then plucked up her courage to look at him. Facing Nero’s sincere eyes, her heart trembled, and she quickly lowered her head like a startled rabbit. She accepted the spray can from Nero’s hands carefully.

“Thank you…”

…

Pa!

Han Xiao facepalmed upon seeing the situation in the academy.

“My goodness!”

Learning how to pick up chicks at such a young age‽

Is this what I sent you to school for‽

I must definitely nip this in the bud! If not, my [Perfect Mechanical Sense] will become [Perfect Female Sense]!

However, why does this Mia Moretto sound so familiar?

Han Xiao frowned and locked onto a target in his memory.

A tall beauty dressed in black, skintight clothes. However, she was already disfigured, and half her face became prosthetics. A strange red glow could be seen in her mechanical eye, and her face looked extremely evil. She had a chilly disposition, and her black alloy spear dripped with blood.

[Conqueror] Mia Moretto. A Calamity Grade Pugilist who was once a Beyond Grade A seed. She lost a portion of her limbs during a battle, which destroyed her path to become Beyond Grade A. She was one of Hila’s followers in my previous life…

Han Xiao blinked, and it was truly difficult to relate that baleful female image to this weak skinny girl.

Han Xiao then looked at Nero with a complicated gaze in his eyes.

This was truly the treatment of a protagonist. He was able to so casually meet a teammate with high potential.

The Advanced Luck Glow was truly terrifying.

Han Xiao could not be bothered to continue watching Nero and looked toward his machinery modification workstation.

After a month of hard work, not only was his mechanical army upgraded, his mechanical army had also been expanded to the size of twenty million soldiers. The embryonic form of his Dimension Factory had also taken shape, and he only needed to perfect it to transform it into a military factory.

“My efficiency is as high as always.”

Looking at his mechanical army, Han Xiao chuckled with a face of satisfaction.

Di di di…

Right at this moment, an alarm went off in Han Xiao’s quantum network.

The next moment, Phillip appeared and hugged Han Xiao’s finger. His face was pale, and he cried out anxiously, “Detecting an abnormal infiltration! It is currently destroying my firewall. Daddy, save me, hum…”

Chapter 959: Forceful Infiltration

Chapter 959 Forceful Infiltration

A few minutes earlier, on a desolate planet in the Godora Star System, a mechanical host landed on the planet with light glowing in its eyes. It was Manison’s [Lord’s Descent] avatar.

“This location is about right.”

Manison nodded and controlled his avatar to float in midair. He then threw out a bunch of compressed orbs, and they were quickly assembled into a portable quantum network base.

The next moment, Manison entered the quantum network and searched for a nearby node.

Countless balls of light flew past his eyes, and he locked onto the Black Star Army’s quantum network node very quickly. The Black Star Army’s node was like a ball of light in his eyes with many different light rays stretching out in different directions to form a complicated network.

An endless stream of information was being sent out and into the network and layers of firewalls protected all the information.

This planet was not too near or far from the Black Star Army headquarters. Usually, Manison would use the Virtual Soul created by [Virtual Creator] to infiltrate the quantum network of others. However, he was not planning to do so when facing Black Star.

They were both Mechanics at the same level, and Manison was extremely clear of Black Star’s abilities. No one was clearer about the [Divine Throne Mechanic] than him.

If he only used a Virtual Soul to infiltrate Black Star’s network, Black Star only needed to use [Virtual Paramount] to trap him for a while before destroying the quantum network region that his Virtual Soul was trapped in. This would cut off his connection, and his Virtual Soul would be trapped in a sticky situation.

Although Manison would be able to deal with the situation, it would be troublesome, and it was not in line with his plan.

As such, Manison would rather take a little longer and send his avatar over to the Shattered Star Ring. As the attacking party, he chose to first lay out his path of retreat and was extremely careful.

“Next…”

The Black Star Army’s quantum network node then enlarged in his view.

…

“A Virtual Intrusion?”

Han Xiao frowned, and various possibilities surfaced in his head.

After many modifications and upgrades, Phillip’s firewall was already extremely sturdy and even had counter-tracking abilities. An ordinary individual would not even be able to trigger the alarm before being counter-infiltrated by Phillip.

However, Phillip was currently in a bad state, which meant that his database was attacked. For the other party to perform such a feat in a short period of time, the attacker was definitely a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic.

There are only a few Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics in the universe. Who would be so free as to come cause trouble for him?

Han Xiao then entered the quantum network as well.

He was currently located in the main network of his headquarters’ node. The firewalls were like layers of protective shields. At this moment, an usual amount of data was crashing down on the firewalls to create holes in them.

Phillip had already attempted to defend against the attacker but was in a terrible situation.

The flow of data that the other party had created was like mercury seeping into the ground. Phillip could not manage the situation, and the number of holes in the firewall increased over time. Some of the data had already infiltrated the system and released viruses all around to attack Phillip’s core data while releasing useless data to slow down Phillip’s calculation process. Plenty of AI hunters were also released to seize the information in the database and create a pincer attack.

Phillip’s main program was located in the Black Star Army headquarters. He was akin to the brain of the entire system, and this was where the defense was the highest. The moment this place was infiltrated, the network of the entire army would fall into the hands of the enemy, and it was akin to losing their brain.

The enemy’s target was to attack the core data of Phillip’s main program. Phillip’s core data had a few layers of protection, and the enemy had already infiltrated the outer protection of the database.

“What a powerful Virtual Intrusion skill.”

Han Xiao was startled. He could feel a strong sense of pressure from the enemy’s infiltration.

Such a feeling was slightly familiar to him.

“An attack of this level… Manison, is it you‽”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he sent out a message.

Outside the firewall, a virtual projection was created; it was Manison’s Virtual Soul.

“Ah ha, hello Black Star.”

“It’s you indeed. What’s the meaning of this?” Han Xiao frowned.

“This is the world of the Beyond Grade As,” Manison replied calmly. “Becoming friends or foe only requires a single thought. You don’t have to ask for the reason.”

As he said those words, the data attack suddenly intensified, and the firewalls began collapsing.

It is indeed because of the Machinery Faith…

Han Xiao then took over Phillip’s job.

Manison was the attacking party and had the initiative. Han Xiao could only take up a defensive position and resist the attack. His objective was to prevent Manison from infiltrating and protect Phillip’s main program.

Han Xiao focused on strengthening his firewalls, filling up their loopholes and dealing with the viruses.

Phillip’s data became Han Xiao’s army, and the foreign data was cleared out bit by bit.

Although he had many restraints when fighting in his main base, he also had some advantage. The firewalls and alarm system that he had maintained over the years would increase his defenses.

However, Han Xiao could only temporarily prevent the situation from getting worse; it was still difficult for him to fight back. This was the first time he had fought another Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic.

In terms of experience, he did not have as much as Manison. In terms of Virtual Technology skills, his knowledge was not as deep. In terms of affinity, he was not Manison’s match. The other party had many years of accumulation, and he was at an absolute disadvantage.

The Mechanic Emperor’s Virtual Technology skills were something that even the Federation of Light had to be wary of. It was terrifyingly scary, and he did not even need to play any tricks. Just attacking Han Xiao openly would result in Han Xiao being suppressed.

“Things are slightly troublesome…”

Han Xiao could not think of a way to fight back. It could be said that his current Virtual Technology skills had all been used by Manison before.

They were both Mechanics of the same subclass. The Virtual Technology skills that even he was not afraid of naturally would not be able to threaten Manison.

“What a powerful Mechanic. He truly lives up to his fame.”

Han Xiao could truly feel how terrifying Manison was when facing him.

Han Xiao tried his best to repair his firewalls while Manison continued his many waves of attacks. Every second, the firewalls that Han Xiao had just repaired would be destroyed again by Manison, and Han Xiao did not even have time to catch his breath.

The information flowing between both parties in a single second was enough to cause the brain of an ordinary individual to explode!

Although he managed to fill up the holes, the thickness of his firewalls decreased. However, thankfully Han Xiao was also a Divine Throne Mechanic and defending for a short while wouldn’t be an issue.

The viruses that had infiltrated were quickly cleaned up by Han Xiao and Phillip’s appearance also went back to normal.

As his brain calculated data rapidly, Han Xiao observed the situation and had a grave look on his face.

“We won’t be able to last for long like this. Phillip, deactivate all of your child programs and gather your calculation power.”

“Roger, hum…”

The next moment, half of the connections expanding out from the Black Star Army node broke off.

Phillip gathered a large amount of calculation back, and Manison’s infiltration rate seemed to have decreased.

“You are finally getting serious.” Manison smiled. “I was waiting for you.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao had a bad feeling.

Hum!

The next moment, countless data packets exploded near Phillip’s core data and immediately disrupted Phillip’s program.

“Data deep dive.” Han Xiao frowned and immediately understood Manison’s plan.

Manison had already arranged an ambush and planted explosive data packets that could be detonated remotely. The moment the middle region was in danger and calculation power was recalled, these concealed data packets would enter into the main system through the network channels. It was similar to a trojan horse.

However, Han Xiao had no way to avoid it. If he did not recall Phillip’s calculation power, the main system would not be able to defend against Manison. If he did, he would fall for Manison’s trap.

Phillip’s projection immediately became blue, and he began stuttering.

“Aiyoh yayaya… I feel strange uwuwuwu…”

Han Xiao immediately opened up Phillip’s core program. At this moment, twenty percent of Phillip’s calculation logic had been infected, and the infection was still spreading.

“The core logic module has been infected. This is bad…”

Han Xiao felt his head ache. He would be able to clean up the viruses in the outer region without much restraint. However, cleaning up the core logic module would require extremely precise calculations and would take up a considerable amount of his attention.

Gritting his teeth, Han Xiao had no choice but to split out a portion of his attention to clean up Phillip’s core logic module while defending against Manison’s infiltration.

His main body in reality did not remain idle either and immediately dragged his Divine Mechanical Throne over. After sitting down on it, he immediately received a boost in his attributes.

“Why don’t you try cutting off from the network?” Manison chuckled.

This darn old man has a belly full of bad thoughts. Do you really think that I don’t know what you are planning? Han Xiao snorted coldly.

Manison definitely would have left behind a backdoor, and cutting off the network would be useless.

Furthermore, an experienced individual like Manison would definitely have taken a portable base for his retreat.

“Thankfully, I chose to go down the path of a Virtual Mechanic. If I’d chosen one of the other two branches, everything that I have accumulated over the years would’ve been handed over to him for sure.” Han Xiao tried to be optimistic.

The situation was not good right now. Although he was barely able to defend against Manison’s infiltration, he was extremely passive and was only able to slow Manison down. He could not stop Manison from infiltrating his system and was only delaying his death.

“Do you really want to become enemies with the dynasty?” Han Xiao roared.

Manison was not bothered by those words and chuckled. “You should ask… if the dynasty is willing to be my enemy.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao knew that Manison wanted to give him a good warning, so he did not bother saying anything else.

Trace the origin of the data?

While it sounded like a good plan, he might not even be able to win against Manison, and Manison would definitely conceal his location. It would be difficult to determine his location.

Although Han Xiao had the ability to do so, he was already struggling to defend against Manison and did not have the additional capacity to do anything else.

I’ll probably be dead before I can even find where he is.

Seek reinforcements?

This was his only method. He would not be able to defend against Manison alone.

After all, Manison was different from Heber, and his title of Mechanic Emperor was not just for show.

As such, Han Xiao could only contact Maximiler for help. Although Maximiler was not a Virtual Mechanic, he could still enter in the battle between two Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics and help share some pressure.

Manison blocked most of the messages, but one of the messages was still sent by Han Xiao.

However, Manison was not too bothered by it.

“Ah, who did you ask for help? Maximiler? It can’t be Kant, right?”

Han Xiao snorted in response.

“I have plenty of time anyway. It will be fun if you call a few more over.” Manison was not bothered about Han Xiao seeking reinforcements.

Since Black Star had called for reinforcements, it meant that Black Star was not a match for him, and half of his objective was completed. Furthermore, there was not a Mechanic capable of winning against him in terms of Virtual Intrusion.

He knew that Han Xiao was a unique Mechanic and was not interested in using his weakness to compete with Han Xiao’s strength. He would naturally use his strength to deal with Han Xiao.

However, Manison did not look down on Han Xiao. He would not be careless when facing a Mechanic at the same level as him and was prepared to spend time dealing with Black Star. He was not prepared to finish Black Star off quickly, even if Han Xiao’s Mechanical Sense was unbelievably weak to him.

Right at this moment, a glowing figure appeared outside the firewall.

“Black Star, it seems like you need some help.”

A familiar voice sounded.

Han Xiao looked up and raised his brows. This figure was the AI lifeform Risda that had not harassed him for a long time.

The Virtual World was the main battlefield of an AI lifeform. If he could gain Risda’s help…

However, Han Xiao realized that Manison remained calm and did not seem to have any intention of doing anything.

Manison only glanced at Risda and remembered that this was the fellow whom he let go.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Mechanic Emperor!” Risda faced Manison, and although his voice was as calm as usual, Han Xiao could feel the rage that he had suppressed.

The next moment, Risda released a surge of data and unleashed a barrage of attacks on Manison’s Virtual Soul.

Manison remained on the spot, and the data bounced off his body as though it was completely useless.

“I shall let you meet an old friend since you’re here.”

A stream of data was then disjointed from his body and another figure appeared beside him.

This figure was glowing and was also an AI lifeform.

Upon seeing this figure, Risda was stunned.

“Ancestor‽”

At the same instant, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

Chapter 960: You Know Everything That I Know?

960 You Know Everything That I Know?

Just as Risda was in a confrontation with his ancestor, Han Xiao took a look at the notification on his interface.

A look of surprise could immediately be seen on his face after glancing at his interface.

There were two new notifications on his interface, which represented two different missions. The first was a Grade A hidden mission that had been silent for a long time. [Reboot] had a new mission requirement.

_____________________

Mission Introduction: The creator of an AI lifeform has lost his freedom and has been reduced to a weapon for Manison. You finally see the truth in Risda’s words, but trouble has fallen on you.

Mission Requirements: Protect Risda. You will fail the mission if Risda is caught or killed.

Reward: 1,500,000,000 Experience, 2 Random Rewards.

Bonus Reward: [Affable AI] talent. +30% effectiveness of Virtual Technology skills, and it will be easier for you to gain favorability with AI lifeforms. When fighting an AI lifeform, -5% attributes for the AI lifeform.

_____________________

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

My guess was right indeed. This mission will result in me clashing with the Indestructible Mechanic Empire for sure. The sudden inflation in reward means that the difficulty of the mission will also be increased. No matter how I look at it, this seems like a Grade S mission.

Han Xiao thought for a while before understanding what was going on. If he had done this mission normally, Risda might not have met his ancestor in such a dangerous situation. However, with Manison’s powerful control abilities, the situation would not have been much better.

[Affable AI] was a talent that he required right now. Since the mission was regarding AI lifeforms, the mission reward was indeed related to them as well.

I must definitely try to get this talent!

Han Xiao then looked at his other notification.

This notification was a new mission that he triggered.

_____________________

You have triggered [Mechanic Emperor Manison Virtual Combat].

Mission Introduction: Mechanic Emperor Manison is the current leading Mechanic in the discovered universe. Even when comparing him to all the Beyond Grade As in history, he is still a bright star. Regardless of the reason, he has already set his eyes on you and has chosen to compete with you in Virtual Technology skills.

Mission Requirements: Last for as long as you can in the Virtual Intrusion battle.

Rewards: You will be able to attain the corresponding reward by fulfilling the corresponding requirements.

Last for 5s: 250,000,000 Experience

Last for 15s: 600,000,000 Experience

…

Last for 3min: [Character Summon Card: Mechanic Emperor Manison], 8,000,000,000 Experience

…

Last for 7.5min: Randomly draw one of Mechanic Emperor’s skill or talent, 20,000,000,000 Experience.

_____________________

“A Beyond Grade A boss mission. Why did it only appear now?”

According to his experience of triggering such a mission, such a mission would only be triggered if there was a large crowd of spectators. As such, Han Xiao did not understand why this mission would be triggered since there was only him and Manison.

Because all his attention was focused on dealing with Manison, Han Xiao was not aware of the situation in the outside world. Manison’s objective was for the result of the battle to spread far and wide. Thus, he did not hide the commotion of the battle. Furthermore, Reynold and the other logistics staff had discovered that the main system was under attack when Han Xiao cut off all the less important connections previously.

The galactic residents also discovered the strange commotion on the net, and they all went online to witness the battle between two Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics. There was no need to mention Godora, who were the civilization in charge of this area, and Purple Crystal, who placed great importance on Han Xiao.

If Manison had planned on settling their battle privately, this mission might not have been triggered by him.

After looking through the mission requirements, Han Xiao compared it to the mission he had received when facing Tyrant and lamented.

Manison’s Beyond Grade A mission requires me to last for less than half of the Tyrant’s time, but the rewards are more than double. This means that the mission will be many times more difficult than the Tyrant’s mission…

However, Han Xiao was extremely excited.

This mission was designed based on the level of the players, and it would be extremely easy for him to complete it.

Originally, Han Xiao was depressed when being targeted by Manison. However, he was now extremely excited. Although he would definitely suffer a loss in this battle, after triggering the mission, he would earn big time!

As Han Xiao looked at the missions, the situation on Risda’s side also experienced a change.

“Ancestor‽” Risda exclaimed.

“Hmm? You are of the same race as me?”

The AI life form looked at Risda with his eyes burning with blue flames. He was the first AI that had a consciousness and was the source of the entire AI civilization. Thus, all the members of the civilization were his descendants and called him ‘ancestor’. He ruled over the entire race and was the most powerful AI lifeform.

His name was Finette.

Manison had constructed a special AI weapon for him and rewritten his core logic to ensure his loyalty. However, Finette’s memory bank was kept intact, and only his thoughts were distorted to become loyal to Manison.

As the ruler of an AI race, his memory bank had information of every descendant, and he was the combat artificial intelligence of the Indestructible Mechanic Empire. He led the members of his race into battle and could arrange for strategies based on his understanding of his race.

As such, Finette was able to quickly search for Risda’s information.

“I recognize you. My child, Risda,” Finette said slowly.

“You still remember me?”

After meeting his ancestor whom he had been thinking of daily, Risda fell into a daze.

“You must have suffered a lot over the past few years, right?” Finette stretched out his arms, and his arm, which was made from data, extended out, wanting to pat Risda on the head. “Come back to my embrace. Rest for a while, my child.”

Just when Finette’s arm was about to reach him, Risda snapped back into reality and constructed a firewall to block Finette.

“Ancestor, your thoughts have been corrupted!”

Finette retracted his arm back slowly and said with an enticing voice, “All of you are children from my body, and every child carries my legacy. Isn’t it a good thing to return to your parent and never be split apart?”

“Don’t come any closer!”

Risda backed off slightly and churned up a data flood toward Manison, attempting to destroy his Virtual Soul’s defensive module.

Risda’s ancestor was completely twisted by Manison, and Risda truly wanted to kill Manison right there on the spot.

However, Risda’s attack was not even able to touch Manison as Finette waved his arms to churn up a data flood, blocking the attack easily.

Hu!

Very quickly, the data flood that Risda released was easily broken down by Finette and absorbed into Finette’s body as fertilizer.

He was the source of the AI lifeform and could suppress every member of his race.

“Child, you cannot continue to make this mistake,” Finette said calmly. “Come under the wings of His Excellency Manison. That is where our bright future lies.”

Manison watched by the side without saying a word.

Upon hearing that, Risda gnashed his teeth. Although he did not have a mouth or teeth, his emotion module did not stop him from having such feelings.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao’s voice sounded.

“Risda, come back. You aren’t his opponent. Don’t give your life up for nothing.”

The instant Han Xiao said those words, a strange blue light suddenly began glowing from Risda’s body and began spreading out quickly.

“Data infection? When was my logic module infected‽”

Risda was startled and immediately began to suppress the spread of the foreign data in his body. This was akin to an AI life form being poisoned.

In the instant that Finette came into contact with Risda, Finette had already released data to bypass Risda’s firewall and infect his logic module.

Risda no longer dared continue the confrontation and immediately retreated while suppressing the infection.

Right at that moment, a sudden change happened!

A data cage then seemed to have been generated beside Risda and locked him within a semi-transparent sphere. Regardless of what Risda attempted, he was unable to find an opening and was like a bug trapped in a bowl.

At this moment, Manison said slowly, “Black Star, you rejected me the last time I asked you for this fugitive. Since you aren’t willing to hand him over, I shall take him myself.”

The sphere then began shrinking, and it flew toward Manison.

This happened outside of the firewall, and it was truly a difficult matter to handle.

He could make use of the main system to aid him in defending against Manison’s attack, but if he wants to save Risda, he would have to open up the firewall and take the initiative to attack.

This was extremely similar to a siege battle. He was already in a passive state even with his ‘city walls’. Things would be worse if he chose to go out of the ‘city’.

It seems like I still can’t save it.

Han Xiao let out a long breath and activated his [Perfect Mechanical Sense] Character Summon Card.

With his current standard, defending against Manison for a period of time would not be an issue. Han Xiao was not planning to make use of this trump card as he would only be able to narrow the gap between them but not exceed the other party. After all, the other party also had [Perfect Mechanical Sense].

However, protecting Risda would give him a pretty good talent, so using the Character Summon Card would bring him profits.

The moment [Perfect Mechanical Sense] was activated, the situation changed immediately. Han Xiao could feel the pressure being reduced a great deal, and he was no longer trying to hang on. The firewall was also instantly stabilized.

“Hmm?”

Manison frowned and looked over with surprise.

He could feel that Black Star’s embarrassing Mechanical Sense talent had increased greatly and reached his standard.

Was Black Star hiding his true strength? No, it seems more like a special ability.

Without giving Manison a chance to think about what was going on, Han Xiao immediately opened a hole in the firewall and grabbed onto the sphere locking Risda in. He then dragged the sphere back to him while breaking the lock on it.

Manison’s eyes then narrowed, and he smiled. “Interesting. I am getting more and more interested in the secrets within your body.”

He then glanced at Finette, and Finette charged straight toward the firewall.

The instant Finette came into contact with the firewall, a hole was created. He was making use of the fact that Han Xiao was distracted to attack the main system of the Black Star Army headquarters.

“You’re dreaming!”

A blue light glowed in Han Xiao’s eyes and locked onto Manison.

The next moment, Manison seemed to have disappeared.

[Virtual Paramount]!

Manison’s Virtual Soul was pulled into Han Xiao’s Virtual domain and trapped within it.

At the same time, Risda was pulled back into the firewall and was successfully protected.

However, before he could even catch his breath, Manison’s laughter sounded in his head.

“Black Star, don’t forget that I know everything that you do.”

Han Xiao immediately felt a sense of danger in his heart, and a strange sucking force pulling on him.

Even if he was already prepared, he could not withstand the powerful sucking force and was dragged into an unknown node.

The world before him changed greatly and transformed into a metal world made from data. Manison’s face appeared in the sky, and his gigantic eyes looked down upon Han Xiao.

This was the domain formed by Manison’s [Virtual Paramount].

After so many years of accumulation, his Virtual Domain was far more perfected and stable than Han Xiao’s domain. He managed to instantly break free from Han Xiao’s ability and drag Han Xiao into his own territory.

The gigantic Manison face then began chuckling, and his voice resounded in the Virtual Domain.

“Let me see how long you will need to break free from my domain.”

The moment Manison said those words, artillery towers appeared in all directions and were all aimed at Han Xiao. These were not physical objects but simulated objects by using data. However, they could unleash a barrage of data attacks and cause mental damage through the effect of [Virtual Soul] and [Virtual Paramount].

At the same time, many different AI hunters appeared with different weapons in their hands. They were akin to the soldiers standing guard in Manison’s world.

The next second, all the artillery towers opened fire on Han Xiao’s Virtual Soul, and the AI hunters charged over from all directions.

Boom boom boom!

A series of explosions then happened with countless attacks raining down on Han Xiao’s Virtual Soul.

After the attacks lasted for a few seconds, a deep voice came out from Han Xiao’s position.

“You said that you know everything that I do?”

Hu!

As though a cyclone had descended, the data fragments surrounding Han Xiao were pushed away, and Han Xiao’s Virtual Soul was revealed. It was still extremely stable and was not injured at all.

Han Xiao then said with a teasing smile, “Then, do you know how to do this?”

Manison fell silent.

He truly could not accomplish such a feat.

Just what kind of a strange path is this, being such a tanky Mechanic?

This is my first time seeing such a weird Mechanic like you!

With such a good physique, why do you want to be a Mechanic? You should just go and be a Pugilist!

Although mental attacks could not restore his energy, Han Xiao had collected many different Psychological Resistance talents, and his Psychological Resistance was not too poor.

He also had over 10,000,000 Health, and he could last for a long time even if he was facing mental attacks.

Furthermore, he had drawn the [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction] talent from Heber, and it was useful against all forms of damage.

If this talent was used to deal with those high burst damage enemies, it might not be so effective. However, this talent was best at dealing with Mechanics who walked down the Army Style!

The [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction] talent would be able to show its greatest effect when dealing with enemies who relied on rapid attacks for damage.

If he suffered a hundred attacks at the same time, this talent would reduce 750,000 true damage!

Without it, the Tyrant would not have been able to last against him for such a long time.

Han Xiao then looked at Manison and chuckled.

“Your [Virtual Paramount] is indeed more powerful than mine, but can you even harm me with this move‽”

Chapter 961: Manison Is Truly A Good Man

Chapter 961 Manison Is Truly A Good Man

After breaking free from Manison’s Virtual Domain, Han Xiao’s Virtual Soul returned to the main system of his headquarters, and he heaved a sigh of relief.

He was not a match for Manison in terms of Virtual Technology skills, but Manison could not pose a threat to him in terms of mental damage.

It was not only because he was tanky but also because the Mechanic class did not specialize in mental damage. Regardless of how powerful [Virtual Paramount] was, it would be difficult to easily defeat a Mechanic at the same level. Furthermore, high Intelligence also provided high Psychological Resistance, and Mechanics were not that weak against mental attacks.

[Virtual Paramount] is better used for a control skill. I needed about five or six seconds to leave Manison’s Virtual Domain, and the situation is still alright.

Han Xiao looked at the situation and nodded.

When he was dragged into the Virtual Domain by Manison, Phillip lost his aid, and the thickness of the firewall thinned greatly with more data being lost.

Thankfully, he returned in time and stabilized the situation. However, he was at a slight disadvantage again.

Since Manison was able to break Han Xiao’s Virtual Domain quickly, Han Xiao would not take too long to do so either. [Virtual Paramount] was not too suitable to deal with other Mechanics, and grasping Virtual Technology would allow a Mechanic to greatly reduce the amount of time being controlled.

At this moment, Manison said from outside the firewall, “An unbelievable physique and unimaginable potential. Black Star, just where did you come out from?”

“There are plenty of wonders in the vast universe.” Han Xiao chuckled. “There’s no need for you to be so surprised, right?”

Manison shook his head and replied, “I had a guess in my mind during our last exchange, and I am increasingly certain about my guess after this exchange. Black Star, are you the manifestation of a Space Wonder?”

“Ha, that may be the truth,” Han Xiao replied calmly.

At this moment, Risda had finally broken free from the seal and immediately aided Han Xiao in defending against Manison’s intrusion.

Finette also continued to attack the firewall, and every attack of his opened a small loophole in the firewall and extracted some data.

With one attacking and the other defending, both parties competed with their Virtual Technology skills. The modules were destroyed one after another before being reconstructed, and this cycle continued.

Although it seemed like a flood of data was assaulting the firewall on the surface, if one zoomed into the firewall, one would be able to see many mini battlefields on every inch of space. The endless data jumping around was like the soldiers of this battlefield.

Despite both parties looking extremely calm, they were calculating at high speed in their minds with every detail being personally managed by them.

…

In the logistics department of the Black Star Army, Reynold had already gathered all the Mechanics to put aside what they were doing.

Looking at all the Mechanics in the logistics department, Reynold said with a deep voice, “Everyone, the Black Star Army is currently suffering from a Virtual Intrusion. His Excellency Black Star is currently fighting back, and we cannot remain idle as part of the army. The Army Commander needs our help!”

Everyone had a bitter look on their face. The situation was indeed bad if even Black Star could not fight the enemy off.

None of them understood why Black Star would suddenly provoke the Mechanic Emperor.

In the Mechanic world, the name of the Mechanic Emperor was just too famous. He was the publicly acknowledged strongest Mechanic. Every member of the logistics department could not help but feel uneasy that they were about to face such a character.

The fame of being the strongest Mechanic was not just for show and had a [Mechanic Morale Punishment] halo with it. It would make most Mechanics lose their confidence.

Someone then could not help but ask, “Why is the Mechanic Emperor invading us? Isn’t his relationship with Black Star not too bad?”

“How should I know?” Reynold glared at that individual and bellowed, “Don’t let your thoughts run wild. Now that the army is in danger, we need to help the army. Regardless of what his status is, he is currently our enemy!”

Although Reynold said those words, there was a long period of time when the Mechanic Emperor was also Reynold’s idol. It was only after he joined the Black Star Army and witnessed Black Star rising slowly that Han Xiao slowly overtook the position of the Mechanic Emperor in his heart.

Now that he had to fight his past idol, Reynold had already accepted the matter.

Upon hearing Reynold’s words, the members of the logistics department calmed themselves down. Reynold’s prestige was extremely high. This was thanks to his serious work attitude and strict personality. Many Mechanics were inclined to such a personality.

Upon seeing that the morale of the logistics department was stabilized, Reynold issued a series of orders and got everyone to start working.

Although it was difficult for them to join in the battle between two peak Beyond Grade A Mechanics, they could temporarily replace Phillip and aid Phillip in his calculations to increase his capacity.

At the same time, Herlous, who was playing cards on the net, also got into action.

He gathered the armed forces of the Black Star Army in the various divisions to do a carpet search of all the neighboring planets, attempting to find Manison’s location. However, this was a huge operation and was akin to finding a needle in a haystack.

On the other side, Sylvia contacted the upper echelons of Garton Star System, and Godora temporarily gave up control of many Garton Star System network bases to allow the Black Star Army to make use of half of the Star System’s quantum network authority.

After the Discrimination Transformation Movement and public education plan, the relationship between the Black Star Army and Godora had become much closer. After knowing that the Black Star Army was in trouble, the leader went against all opposition and aided the Black Star Army. In any case, if the Black Star Army wanted to, their quantum network security was nothing in the eyes of the Black Star Army. They might as well take the initiative to loan it to the other party and improve their relationship.

Godora was extremely well versed in fawning over a powerhouse. This was a class that every Star System Civilization would teach for sure.

Although they had guessed that Manison would bring his own portable base, Sylvia liked to make preparations in many different areas, and controlling the quantum network in this entire region was a way to cut off Manison’s route of retreat.

Lagi did not understand Virtual Technology at all but had his own ideas. He found a bunch of people from the Mage department and went to buff Han Xiao.

The various spells boosted Han Xiao in many different areas, and his status menu was extremely full.

However, the effects of these buffs were limited. The more powerful the target, the weaker the effects of the buffs.

Furthermore, there were many buffs that would lose their effectiveness after a certain point. For example, some buffs could only increase one’s attributes by two or three thousand points and would lose their effectiveness after that.

When facing Manison’s attack, the various departments of the Black Star Army got into action and tried to help Han Xiao to the best of their abilities.

…

It had been more than two months since Heber went into seclusion. Apart from the few members who were slightly shaken, most of the upper echelons were worried about the Tyrant.

Today, Heber had finally summoned Jorde and asked him about the situation of the Bloodshed Land.

Standing outside the room, Jorde was extremely anxious and took a few deep breaths before entering the room.

He had already mentally prepared himself to see many different scenes, but the scene before his eyes almost did not have any changes.

Heber sat on his throne with his back straight and dressed neat. The only difference was that he did not emit as much pressure as before.

“Are… you okay?” Jorde asked carefully.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Heber could not help but frown upon hearing that.

“You haven’t appeared for such a long time and didn’t care about the matters of the organization. We all thought…”

“Thought that I wouldn’t be able to get back up after being defeated by Black Star?” Heber frowned with dissatisfaction. “A loss is a loss, and I will have the opportunity to fight back in the future. Since when have I been so weak in all of your eyes?”

“No, but your actions caused us to have a misunderstanding…” Jorde hurriedly explained.

“Humph.” Heber shook his head. When he was just defeated, he truly suffered a huge setback. However, he was a Beyond Grade A Super and had suffered many different setbacks in the past.

Having his prestige destroyed did indeed make his heart ache, but Heber quickly adjusted his emotions.

If he looked at things from a different angle, he was not in the worst state in the Shattered Star Ring since Psyker was around.

Even if his prestige was affected, the Bloodshed Land still had to develop. Heber would not stop the competition with the Black Star Army.

Using the excuse of taking revenge to beat me up once is enough! Do you want to beat me up every day?

Do you think that I am a fool‽

Even if you only send a mechanical soldier, I will not accept the challenge!

Although Heber recovered from the setback very quickly, he recognized the gap between himself and Black Star. Even if he was not willing, he could only admit that Black Star had already exceeded him greatly.

As such, Heber no longer had any thought of competing with Black Star for the title of strongest in the Star Field. At the very least, he would not provoke Black Star again with strength unless he was confident in defeating Black Star. He had the attitude of ‘I will come back again after practicing my Kungfu’.

After admitting that Han Xiao had exceeded him, Heber felt a lot more relaxed. Perhaps it was because he no longer had to compete with a character like Black Star, which allowed him to no longer be on edge.

He was too lazy to explain his thoughts to Jorde and said with impatience, “Hurry up and report what you have to. Don’t disturb my training if there isn’t anything important.”

“O-okay.”

Seeing Heber recover from his setback, Jorde heaved a sigh of relief and immediately reported the situation. At the same time, he emphasized on the members who had left.

“Don’t need to bother about those who left.” Heber was not too bothered. “They are all fence sitters, and there are many of such people in the universe.”

Jorde nodded and let out a sigh. Heber was the same as before and did not care about his subordinates.

At this moment, Heber hesitated for a moment before saying slowly, “Inform all the Calamity Grade Pugilist officers to gather. I will teach them some things. Humph, they have served under me for so long but not improved at all. How embarrassing.”

Jorde was slightly startled and was stunned for a moment.

“I understand. They will be very happy to receive your teachings.”

“Humph, I don’t need you to bootlick me.”

Jorde then took out an intelligence report and said with a deep voice, “Right, there is something else. An emergency signal was sent out from the Black Star Army just now. For some reason, Manison is targeting Black Star and is currently attacking the main system of the Black Star Army headquarters. Their Virtual Intrusion battle isn’t over yet.”

“Mechanic Emperor? Does he have any enmity with Black Star?”

Heber was puzzled.

“I’m not sure. The outside world says that Black Star’s growth is too rapid, and his ambitions are out of control. He issued a challenge toward the Mechanic Emperor, and thus, the Mechanic Emperor came to Black Star’s territory for a battle to let Black Star see the truth.”

“It almost sounds like the truth.” Heber frowned. He did not know the secrets of the Divine Throne Mechanic. This was a secret of the Mechanic class, and outsiders did not know much about it. The dynasty would not tell him such secrets either.

After thinking for a while, Heber let out a depressed sigh and shook his head.

This Black Star truly can’t sit still. He only challenged me two months ago, and now he’s provoked the Mechanic Emperor.

“Ignore them. I don’t know about the Mechanic world, and it doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

Heber waved his arms and threw this matter to the back of his mind.

…

In the Virtual World of the Black Star Army’s main system, the battle between the two Divine Throne Mechanics had been going on for a while.

With the boost of the [Perfect Mechanical Sense], the gap between Han Xiao and Manison was narrowed, but together with his territorial advantage and help of the logistics department, Han Xiao was barely able to defend against Manison’s Virtual Intrusion and slow down the outflow of data.

Manison was not able to infiltrate into the main system with Han Xiao fighting back, but he was able to extract data through the loopholes of the firewall.

Although the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] Character Summon Card had amazing effects, there was a time limit, and it could only be used for sixteen hours at most. As long as Manison was willing, he would be able to drag on this battle for a few days for sure.

Thankfully, I called for help. If not, things would be bad for sure.

Han Xiao then stalled for time and waited for Maximiler.

A few hours later, a new Beyond Grade A Mechanic entered the battlefield!

Outside the firewall, a Virtual Soul appeared in front of the two.

Han Xiao was slightly stunned when he saw the incoming individual.

The one who had arrived was not Maximiler, who he was familiar with, but another Beyond Grade A ally.

Manison then looked over with a frown and said, “Kant, why is it you?”

“Heh, can’t I come?” This Virtual Soul smiled. His appearance was extremely odd. He looked like a snow-white cylinder with the top thick but bottom narrow. There was also a green leaf at the top of his head with three eyes in the middle of his body. He looked like a daikon.

This person… cough, this daikon was one of the three National Pillars of the Crimson Dynasty, ‘Illusory Deity’ Kant.

His nickname sounded like that of a Psychic or Mage, but he was a Mechanic. He belonged to the Phantom race, and his Racial Talent was to transform his body to mimic other beings.

After advancing to the Beyond Grade A realm, Kant’s Racial Talent had evolved, and he was capable of transforming into any biological being. Furthermore, his transformation was even more realistic than the spells of a Mage or the simulation of a Mechanic.

Because of this talent, he had a powerful disguise ability and could easily mix with any different species. No one had seen his true form before.

He also enjoyed transforming into different forms and would appear in a different form every day. In fact, his transformation ability had even overshadowed his Mechanic abilities, and thus, he had obtained such a nickname.

Manison knew Kant and asked with doubt, “What species are you today? Is there such a species in the universe? Why do you look like a daikon?”

“Because the species that I transformed into is a daikon.” Kant blinked.

“…”

Manison was speechless. After falling silent for a while, he stopped his attack.

If Maximiler was the one who appeared, Manison would not have been afraid. However, the one who had arrived was Kant. Although he would be able to deal with both of them together, this was not his territory, and it would not be easy for him to do so.

Furthermore, Kant was definitely there under the orders of the dynasty. If Manison managed to fight two Beyond Grade As alone, Manison’s prestige would definitely increase. Thus, they had sent someone more powerful to get Manison to retreat.

Knowing that the dynasty intended to warn him, Manison moved Finette back into his Virtual Soul and said to Han Xiao slowly, “Perhaps we might’ve been friends if you weren’t a Mechanic.”

Manison’s Virtual Soul then disappeared, and he retreated.

He had come and gone like the wind.

News of the battle had already been spread, and his objective had been met. He had also obtained a large amount of data from the Black Star Army.

It would not matter how an ordinary individual viewed the battle. However, his performance of suppressing Black Star would definitely stabilize his position in the Machinery Faith and his title as number one Mechanic.

Upon seeing Manison leave, Han Xiao frowned and shook his head.

At this moment, Kant looked over.

The dynasty did not only send Kant out to stop the battle but also to console Black Star. The dynasty placed great importance in Han Xiao’s potential, and they were afraid that his confidence would be affected after this.

After thinking for a while, Kant comforted him. “Don’t be discouraged. You are still young. It is normal for you to lose to the Mechanic Emperor, and it isn’t too embarrassing. Look on the bright side; he didn’t have too big of an advantage over you, and there is still a long way to go. There isn’t a need to be anxious.”

Han Xiao looked at Kant and did not say anything.

Upon seeing that, a hand appeared on Kant’s body, and he stroked his green leaf with a sigh. “I was also targeted by the Mechanic Emperor before, and my performance was even worse than yours. In truth, it isn’t a bad thing to suffer some losses when you are young.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao had a strange look on his face.

After seeing the mission complete notification on his interface, Han Xiao could not help but nod in agreement.

“You’re right. It would be great if I can suffer a few more ‘losses’…”

Chapter 962: Gains and Losses

Chapter 962 Gains and Losses

Upon hearing Han Xiao say that, Kant naturally misunderstood Han Xiao’s intentions and chuckled.

“Heh, you are truly open minded. This attitude isn’t too bad, and you should strive to keep such an attitude. Right, do you know why the Mechanic Emperor chose to attack you? The dynasty asked me to inform you of the reason, but there isn’t a need for me to do so if you are already aware of it.”

“I would have to trouble you to explain it to me.”

Han Xiao knew that this matter was related to the Machinery Faith, but it would not be a bad thing for him to hear the dynasty’s explanation.

Kant nodded and briefly explained the matter to him. His explanation was the same as the introduction of [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus]. The reason was to fight for the followers of the Machinery Faith. However, he had helped Han Xiao fill in some gaps.

For example, even though the followers of the Machinery Faith were a group of people who believed a little in everyone, a follower was not able to give the bonus to more than one Machinery Deity.

Furthermore, only the members of the Machinery Faith could provide strength; other followers were not able to trigger the [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus]. This was related to some unspoken rule in the Machinery Faith. The Arcane Church was the expert in this area, and the dynasty had not researched too deeply into it.

Everyone knew that most of the Machinery Faith followers were Mechanics, and Manison had the most followers as the publicly acknowledged most powerful Mechanic.

The followers of the Machinery Faith were a bunch of pragmatic people. To most of the followers, they would follow the most powerful Mechanic. If the title of the most powerful Mechanic was changed, they would also change their idol. They were not too bothered about potential and only cared about who the strongest individual was.

Furthermore, the followers of the Machinery Faith only looked at the strength of a Mechanic in his Mechanic related skills and not his strength in other areas. Thus, the Mechanics that had a powerful body were not able to move them unless they could prove that their strength came from the source of being a Mechanic.

“I wasn’t able to win against Manison back then. He’s defeated all his competitors and sat on the throne of Machinery Faith leader for a long time. Thus, there isn’t a need for you to feel discouraged. It is a normal thing for you to lose to him in terms of Virtual Technology.”

Kant twiddled with the leaf on his head and consoled Han Xiao.

He had also been defeated by Manison before. Since he could not defeat the other party, he could only take a step back and not snatch Manison’s followers.

“Don’t worry, I’m alright.”

Han Xiao slightly raised his brows.

He did not intend to provoke Manison, and even if he had to become enemies with Manison one day, this was not the right time. It was a pity that the strength he had received spoiled his plans, and Manison had begun targeting him.

Indeed, those of the same class were true nemeses!

Han Xiao then paused for a moment before asking, “What is the attitude of the dynasty?”

“I know what you want to ask. However, don’t count on the dynasty standing up for you in this regard,” Kant said. “This isn’t the first time that Manison has provoked the other Mechanics. Since there wasn’t a risk to your life, there isn’t much that the dynasty can do. If you aren’t resigned, you can only issue a challenge in the name of the Black Star Army but not the dynasty’s name. Don’t think of using your title of being the dynasty’s ally to hold the dynasty hostage. I had a miserable lesson in this regard before.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao shook his head. He now understood the dynasty’s attitude toward this matter. The dynasty would only console him but not stand up for him.

This was not the first time that Manison had done something like this. At the end of the day, his only motive was to defeat the Mechanics at the same level as him to prove that he was the boss. Thus, it was rare for lives to be lost. Since it was just a spar between Beyond Grade As, he could only blame his own lack of skill if he lost. The three Universal Civilizations would not be able to do a thing and would only ensure that things did not get blown out of proportion.

Furthermore, Manison was still an important ally of the Federation of Light, and his backer was extremely powerful.

“Why didn’t the dynasty warn me beforehand?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“You need to use your contribution to exchange for such intelligence,” Kant said with a strange tone. “Did the dynasty give you all your Class knowledge for free?”

Han Xiao was dumbfounded and understood what was going on.

Because a Divine Throne Mechanic might not be familiar with his own strength, the properties of [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] were like Ultimate Knowledge and required Contribution Points in exchange for them. The three Universal Civilizations would not inform their allies about this matter casually, and it was an exception for them to take the initiative to explain this matter to Han Xiao.

This meant that the introduction on the interface had saved Han Xiao a sum of Contribution Points.

“Don’t be too bothered about this. The dynasty didn’t take the initiative to inform you about this matter to protect you. They were probably afraid that you would try to gather followers after finding out about this and create conflicts with others. You have plenty of potential, and we are now in a sensitive period. They do not wish for you to face an old fogey like Manison head on and hope that you will take a step back regarding this matter.”

“I understand.” Han Xiao did not deny those words.

This was indeed the logic of an advanced civilization. They would look at all their plans from the perspective of a few decades or centuries. The potential that he had shown made the dynasty very patient with him and treated him as a long-term chess piece. It would not matter if he could not beat Manison. He only needed to live longer than Manison, and the dynasty was extremely confident in Black Star’s ability to stay alive.

However, this went against Han Xiao’s style.

After finishing what the dynasty wanted him to convey, Kant turned around and left. “Alright then, everything has already been settled, so I shall take my leave.”

“Isn’t this our first official meeting? Aren’t you going to stay behind and chat with me?” Han Xiao asked out of courtesy.

“Forget it. It seems like you have plenty of things to take care of.” Kant then looked at the devastated main system of the Black Star Army and said, “We will have other chances to chat. I shall not disturb you today.”

As he said that, Kant’s Virtual Soul turned into a ray of light and disappeared into the net.

His attitude toward Han Xiao was not too bad, but Kant would not have been so friendly if Han Xiao was not at the Divine Throne Mechanic level.

After watching Kant leave, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief and finally had the time to take care of the mess that Manison had left behind.

After clearing up the viruses that were left behind in Phillip’s logic module, Han Xiao got Phillip to perform a few diagnostics tests and confirmed that all the viruses were cleaned up before reopening the Black Star Army network.

“Thank you, master. I am all recovered now, hum…” Phillip was extremely energetic now that he had recovered.

“Eh? You called me daddy when you were in danger but changed your address now that you are alright,” Han Xiao teased.

“Hehehe…” Phillip made a funny face.

Risda then floated to Han Xiao’s side and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, with regards to Manison…”

“I know what you want to say.”

Han Xiao then got Phillip to go to the side before looking at Risda with a solemn expression.

“I am not going to hide things from you. I have always been hesitating over whether I should help you because I did not wish to provoke the Mechanic Emperor. However, you can see the situation now. If I don’t take a step back, both of us will have a conflict in terms of benefits.

“I understand.” Risda nodded.

“I am temporarily unable to beat Manison in terms of Mechanic skills. However, I will have a battle with him eventually, so our goals are aligned. Helping you complete your wish will weaken Manison. I will try my best to find a chance to save your AI civilization.”

Previously, Han Xiao would only make excuses whenever Risda brought up this matter, but he finally made a promise this time.

The Indestructible Mechanic Empire troop was Manison’s trump card. It did not only have a powerful strength but also the Virtual Technology skills of the AI life forms. Thus, it was important for him to deal with them. If he could complete the entire [Reboot] mission, Manison’s strength would definitely decline.

Manison had modified the core logic of all the AI life forms, which was akin to brainwashing them. He had the strength of the Divine Throne Mechanic and had the rights to undo the brainwashing that Manison had done to free them from his clutches.

However, the gap between them was large, and Han Xiao knew that he still needed to raise his Virtual Technology skills.

Furthermore, it would be difficult for him to come into contact with the data of the Indestructible Mechanic Empire. Manison would guard it tightly for sure.

“I shall be at your service from today onward,” Risda said with excitement. He had finally received this promise from Black Star after waiting for such a long time!

You make it sound as though I wasn’t making use of you before, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Although he had lost, Han Xiao’s mood was not too bad. No one in the universe would be able to beat him in terms of confidence.

After sending Risda away, Han Xiao got Phillip to look through the database and see how much information had been taken away by Manison.

Phillip then looked through the database and reported to Han Xiao, “Master, hum… 43.7% of our commonly accessed data, 35% of our low authority restriction data, 21.6% of our mid authority restricted data, 11.4% of our high authority restricted data, 2.5% of our confidential data, 27% of our blueprints data… Should I restore the backup?”

“Yeah, restore the backup.”

Han Xiao nodded and sighed.

He was not too bothered by the loss of data. The data in the army’s database was mainly related to the development of the army, and it was not too important. Han Xiao got Phillip to make a daily backup of the data, and the lost data would be easily recovered.

It would not matter much to him if Manison snatched that data away. There was very little data on himself in the army’s database. All the top-secret data was kept in his own mind, and the data that Manison had stolen was not too important.

Regardless of whether it was blueprints or Class knowledge, Manison had no lack of them. They both specialized in the same things, and it would be useless for Manison to obtain his blueprints because Manison already had a copy of them. Besides, Han Xiao’s Eternal Light blueprint had also been stolen from Manison…

The thing that concerned Han Xiao the most was the strength that Manison had displayed. Manison had only carried out the Virtual Intrusion remotely, and his strength was greatly reduced. If he had brought all his trump cards along, who knew how powerful Manison would be?

“What a terrifying enemy.” Han Xiao sighed.

Losing to Manison was not too embarrassing. As a ‘newbie’ in the Beyond Grade A realm, it was not too surprising for him to lose to someone at the peak. Furthermore, Manison was not the Tyrant, and both of them did not have any grudges between them. Thus, the effect on his prestige would be limited. However, he would indeed be unable to shake Manison’s status within the Machinery Faith followers, and this was Manison’s objective.

He did not care about the views of ordinary galactic residents. Only the views of his followers were important.

“It seems like I don’t have to think about the Machinery Faith anytime soon. It will be difficult for my strength to exceed Manison during the version refresh period,” Han Xiao lamented.

Before his strength as a Mechanic could catch up to Manison, his [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] can only collect dust.

“Although Manison made a huge profit, I didn’t suffer a loss.”

Han Xiao looked at his interface and chuckled.

Manison had provided him with two new abilities because Manison ran over to fight him. It was truly difficult to tell which party was suffering a loss!

If he could trigger such a mission every time, Han Xiao would not mind Manison coming over to his place to play every day.

In the eyes of Han Xiao, Manison was like a walking treasure chest, and he might be able to get all the Mechanic talents from Manison.

What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.

This saying was true indeed.

…

Backing out from the quantum network, Han Xiao’s consciousness returned to his body. He then picked up his communicator, which had been vibrating without stopping. There were a bunch of questions sent by Sylvia and the other officers.

Han Xiao replied to them and got them to return to their posts.

After sending out the news, he then looked toward the Black Star Guards and Lagi, who had gathered.

“Are you alright?” Aurora’s palm glowed, and she was prepared to fill Han Xiao up with life force.

“I am very good. It is difficult for a virtual battle to threaten my life. Manison has retreated already.” Han Xiao waved his arms.

Lagi had a bitter look on his face and said, “To think that the Mechanic Emperor has actually set his eyes on us. Our future is bleak. As the vice commander of the army, I would like to request for sufficient time to train.”

“Shut up. Go and become the principal obediently,” Han Xiao said with exasperation. He understood Lagi too well.

After assuring his officers that he was alright, Han Xiao sent his officers away and touched Feidin a few times for luck before closing the door.

Han Xiao then rubbed his hands excitedly.

“Let me see what I can get. My target this time is Manison. If I still draw some tanky talent, I will write my name upside down!”

Opening the interface, Han Xiao completed the mission.

_____________________

[Reboot] sixth round completed.

You have received 1,500,000,000 Experience, Random Reward x2.

You have received talent [Affable AI]!

The seventh round has not been triggered.

_____________________

Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction.

[Affable AI] could increase the power of his Virtual Technology skills by thirty percent. The bonus was still alright, but the most important aspect of the skill was the effect on AI lifeforms. It would definitely be useful if he wanted to wipe out the Indestructible Mechanic Empire troop in future.

Han Xiao then called Phillip out to test the effects of the talent.

Taking in a deep breath, Han Xiao completed the Mechanic Emperor boss mission.

_____________________

[Mechanic Emperor Manison Virtual Combat] has been completed.

You have completed all the mission requirements and received 76,250,000,000 Experience.

You have received [Character Summon Card—’Mechanic Emperor’ Manison].

Character Summon Card—’Mechanic Emperor’ Manison. [Ancient One]: Your long life provided you with a wealth of valuable experience. +20% INT, +10% MYS, +2 levels to all skills. Duration: 24 hours. Usages: 0/2.

You have received: Draw one of Manison’s abilities.

Tip: Manison is a Virtual Mechanic, and your Class is completely compatible with his. You will be able to draw any of his abilities. If you draw an ability that you have, you can strengthen your ability to a certain extent.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one from the five options below as the reward.

1. [Apostle Machinery Affinity] Skill: +105% Machinery Affinity (You already have the skill, can be strengthened).

2. [Titan Grade Planet Fort] Blueprint Skill: A planet modification blueprint suitable for the development of a machinery civilization. Specific parameters (Expand/Collapse). Construction requirements: Lv220, 3,500 INT, [Ultra-Composite Mechanical Architecture Technology], [Cutting-Edge Material Science], and [Abnormal State Energy].

3. [Innate Machinery Soul] Talent: You have an innate machinery talent, and your understanding of machines increases according to your strength. Lv1 – Lv100, +5% Machinery Affinity and +3% Virtual Technology skill for every 10 levels. Lv100 – Lv200, +7% Machinery Affinity and +5% Virtual Technology skill for every 10 levels. Lv200 and above, +10% Machinery Affinity and +7% Virtual Technology skill for every 10 levels.

4. [Legion Firepower Volley] Skill: A skilled tactician knows when to open fire. The range of your mechanical army being boosted by your Mechanical Force will increase by 25% for the next 8s. Cooldown: 160s.

5. [Mechanical Race: Endless Barriers] Blueprint Skill: A blueprint that belongs solely to the Mechanical Race. Specific parameters (Expand/Collapse). Construction requirements: Lv255, 6,000 INT, [Endless Material Science], [Ultimate Machinery Manufacturing Theory], [Advanced Space Application], and [Abnormal State Energy].

Chapter 963: I Won“t Suffer a Loss

Chapter 963 I Won“t Suffer a Loss

“Two blueprints, two skills, and one talent…”

Han Xiao fell into deep thought after seeing the five choices.

The ability with the highest value was naturally [Innate Machinery Soul]. With his current level, the talent would give him 220% of Machinery Affinity and a 150% increase in Virtual Technology skills.

Of the other four choices, it would be impossible for him to choose [Apostle Machinery Affinity]. Although [Legion Firepower Volley] was not too bad, its value was limited when compared to the other choices. The two blueprints were not too bad, but he already had similar equipment and did not really require it.

“The outcome isn’t too bad.” Han Xiao was pretty satisfied.

As Mechanics of the same level, most of Manison’s abilities would be suitable for him. This meant that the number of choices that he could draw was extremely large. Furthermore, a Mechanic at Manison’s level would have plenty of blueprints, and it could be said that the outcome of the draw was not too bad.

Manison’s strength was supported by many different talents. Although Han Xiao was not able to draw a top-grade Molding Talent, he had managed to draw a high-grade talent to reduce the gap between them.

The more talents he drew from Manison, the smaller the gap between him and Manison would become. It would be extremely difficult for him to exceed Manison in one go.

The Machinery Affinity bonus from the level 300 [Innate Machinery Soul] talent was higher than the bonus from the [Lord Grade Machinery Affinity] talent. Its Virtual Technology effect was also better. When put together with the 2.5x multiplier of [Virtual Lord], it was akin to having a 375% increase in his Virtual Technology skill. As such, the effect of this talent was similar to a core talent like [Machinery Emperor].

Han Xiao then made his choice.

_____________________

You have received [Innate Machinery Soul].

_____________________

His brain structure then seemed to have been changed slightly, and he had a new understanding toward machines.

After adapting for a while, Han Xiao let out a long sigh.

“Manison doesn’t only have [Perfect Mechanical Sense] but also a series of Mechanic talents such as [Innate Machinery Soul]. His talent is truly too amazing.”

In truth, he was truly a little… cough, extremely envious!

Han Xiao then looked at the Manison Character Summon Card that he had received. This Character Summon Card was extremely powerful, but the effects did not come from Manison being a Mechanic but an ability of the Ancient Ones.

Who knows whether this ability is unique to those who become a part of The Ancient Ones or I just need to live long enough for it?

The experience reward from the mission was more than double that of the Tyrant’s mission, and it could replenish his pitiful experience stash.

However, this mission did not give him a Legendary Point. Looking at the mission name, Han Xiao had a guess of his own. The mission name had the suffix ‘Virtual Combat’, so perhaps he needed to fight Manison in real life for a Legendary Point to be awarded.

After looking at his new abilities, Han Xiao closed the interface and calculated his gains and losses.

“Manison’s arrival was too sudden, and he stole some of my data. He even made me use up a Perfect Mechanical Sense Character Summon Card. I would have suffered a loss if not for my two new talents. Manison can suppress me in terms of Mechanic skills, and he has already achieved his objective. Thus, it is unlikely that he will create trouble in the near future.”

Han Xiao’s eyes shifted quickly.

He had stood out a little too much recently, and this was a good chance for him to remain low profile.

His foundations were still too weak, and he needed to sow his crops well. Before his crops returned, he should first plow the earth and fertilize the fields.

Having one less Perfect Mechanical Sense Character Summon Card was not a big problem to him. Han Xiao still had a few blank Character Summon Cards in storage, and he could just use them on Reynold again to replicate a new Perfect Mechanical Sense card.

In fact, he had a huge stash of Random Reward opportunities that he had yet to use.

Hmm, I’d better wait for Nero and Feidin to gather together first. One of them can cancel out my bad luck, and the other can provide good luck for me…

In Han Xiao’s eyes, Feidin and Nero were like two deities of luck.

After calculating his losses, Han Xiao stood up and opened his army channel to make a simple announcement.

“My comrades of the Black Star Army.

“Not too long ago, our headquarters’ main system was infiltrated by ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison. Under the aid of everyone and the dynasty, we managed to force Manison back, and everything has been resolved properly.

“I did not wish to become enemies with the Mechanic Emperor, but things do not always go my way. The matter today is a signal, and I hope that everyone will be mentally prepared to face the Mechanic Emperor one day.

“The Black Star Army has been around for more than twenty years now. We’ve gone from a weak mercenary group to the current armed organization that we are. In the past twenty years, we have walked through many storms and various difficulties together. This is a path destined to be rocky, and there are still many more difficulties ahead for us to conquer.

“The universe is a vast place, but regardless of how vast the universe is, it cannot contain our boundless ambition. As long as sentient beings are present, competition cannot be avoided. This is the case in history, today, and in the future.

“I have created many miracles in the past, and I will not fear any challenges in the future. I hope that everyone will continue moving forward together with me.

“Your Army Commander, Black Star.

“Galaxy Calendar: Year 710, 11th day of the 9th month.”

After making sure that there was no problem with the contents, Han Xiao sent it out.

This message of his served to calm down the members of his army and reduce the negative effects of Manison’s attack. Although he did not need to be bothered by the thoughts of most of his members, it was better than doing nothing.

After settling this matter, Han Xiao took a few tubes of nutrition fluid and returned to his room to rest for a while before returning to his machinery modification room to strengthen his machines.

After recognizing the distance between his strength and the Mechanic Emperor, Han Xiao became even more hardworking. He planned to remain in seclusion for a period and remain in his headquarters to prevent Manison from attacking again… even if the likelihood was not high.

After ensuring that the storm was over, Han Xiao was prepared to make a trip to the Flickering World and personally oversee the development of the machinery civilization and Black Spirit Race.

…

In the Limitless Financial Group headquarters in the Sea of Star Spirits, Sorokin was looking through the reports from the various regions when his communicator rang.

When he was in his office, only a few important individuals would be able to contact him directly.

Sorokin placed down the report in his hands and picked up the communicator. It was Manison, who had completed his intrusion.

“Your Excellency Manison, have you succeeded?”

“Yes, Black Star’s Virtual Technology skills aren’t too weak, and the dynasty sent Kant over. Thus, I was only able to obtain a portion of the intelligence that you wanted. I have already sent it over to you,” Manison said calmly.

Looking at the information that Manison had sent over, Sorokin shook his head and said, “The information will be of some use to me, but it can’t be considered confidential. Forget it, we can’t force such matters. Also, why did you contact my main body directly? You could’ve just handed the information over to my avatar in the Bloodshed Land.”

“I am just being careful,” Manison said casually. He was extremely experienced and did not wish to send the information within the Shattered Star Ring to prevent Black Star from tracking his transmission and blocking it.

He had only dealt with Black Star to solidify his own position, and apart from his growing interest in Black Star, Manison’s heart was not stirred.

“Alright then,” Sorokin said. “You have formed an enmity with Black Star after defeating him this time. Aren’t you afraid that he will take action against you?”

“I don’t mind defeating him a few more times if he isn’t resigned.”

“Heh, Black Star isn’t your opponent now, but this may not be the case in the future. Don’t forget about his terrifying potential…”

Manison then glanced at him and said, “Don’t play your little tricks with me.”

Sorokin chuckled and changed the topic.

“Right, the dividends from last month have been calculated and will be given out in a few days’ time. Give me a list of the resources that you would like. I will give you a discount and exchange them for you.”

“The usual.”

Manison was not too bothered. Although the profits of the financial group were large, he was not too bothered by money at his level.

After a casual conversation, both parties hung up.

Placing down his communicator, Sorokin’s eyes narrowed, and he muttered, “Mechanic Emperor… Black Star…”

…

In the dynasty ruler’s office, Urranrell glanced at a floating screen in front of him, and the internal announcement that Han Xiao had issued was displayed.

Looking through the announcement, Urranrell nodded.

“It seems like Black Star understood our intentions.”

On the other side, [Dark Lord] Clotti said calmly, “Black Star is a genius who hasn’t appeared before in history. Geniuses like him should be extremely arrogant. He has been in the limelight recently, but he was able to recognize reality quickly. This mental frame of his isn’t too bad.”

Even the Crimson Dynasty, which was well known for being hard-headed, knew when to hold back. With the stunning potential that Black Star had displayed, the dynasty was worried that Black Star would be too arrogant and easily demoralized. However, it seemed like Black Star was still extremely clear headed and did not fight the Mechanic Emperor head on.

The dynasty also knew that the Mechanic Emperor was not an individual easy to provoke. In terms of his status, strength, and organization, Manison was even on a higher level than Old Dragon and Kant. He was the number one ally of the Federation of Light and an existence at EsGod’s level. Only the dynasty’s Dark Lord was able to barely go toe to toe with him.

If one wanted to pick out the top Beyond Grade As in the three Universal Civilizations, the Federation of Light’s trump card would be ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison, the Crimson Dynasty’s trump card would be ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti, and the Arcane Church’s trump card would be ‘Void Overlord’ Kasuyi.

The three Universal Civilizations would think from the perspective of their civilization. Unless it was necessary, they would not want to be dragged into a battle between Beyond Grade As. Thus, as long as no lives were lost and their civilization was not insulted, the three Universal Civilizations would show an attitude of tacit approval to the battles between Beyond Grade As. After all, they could not restrain the daily activities of their Beyond Grade A allies.

Kant’s projection was also in the room, and he sighed. “Although this is the case, Manison has been the head deity of the Machinery Faith for far too long.”

“This can’t be helped. Even those experts from the Arcane Church are helpless,” Clotti said. “Even if we kill all the followers of the Machinery Faith, we are unable to kill the faith. That will only result in the members of the Machinery Faith never becoming the followers of the dynasty’s Mechanics.”

“There isn’t a need to say such things,” Urranrell said calmly. “After this incident, Black Star may be slightly dissatisfied with our dynasty, and there is a need to comfort him.”

“Why don’t we send him some blueprints? The best cure to a Mechanic’s soul is high grade blueprints,” Kant said irresponsibly, and as he looked at Clotti by the side, an idea flashed through his head, and his body rapidly transformed into Clotti’s appearance.

“Don’t transform into my appearance,” Clotti said with dissatisfaction. He then looked at Urranrell and said, “Kant, Milizaus, and I will all die eventually, and Black Star will become the next pillar of the dynasty. He will have to take up the responsibility of protecting the dynasty. He has already proven his abilities, and I propose we become bolder in our support of him in terms of resources.”

“Hmm…” Urranrell stroked her chin and fell into deep thought.

…

News spread fast in the interstellar era, and the battle between the Mechanic Emperor and Black Star spread rapidly.

Many galactic residents had a new dinner topic, but the influence of this event could not be compared to the battle between the Tyrant and Black Star.

After all, a Virtual Battle was not as interesting as two Beyond Grade As bashing each other up. Furthermore, footage of the battle was not released either, so the incident did not stir up too big a commotion.

Although Black Star suffered a loss, most people did not find the matter too strange. The name of the Mechanic Emperor was deeply rooted in the hearts of many, and it was not strange for Black Star to lose to the most powerful Mechanic. After all, there were far too many people who had lost to the Mechanic Emperor in history.

The various galactic organizations were not too bothered about the outcome but were focused on the fact that the Mechanic Emperor did not get along with Black Star.

Psyker was the one who felt the happiest. The more powerful Black Star’s enemies were, the happier he would be. He was currently leading an extremely low-profile life after being eyed by four different Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring.

The influence of this event was not large in the outside world but created quite a huge commotion in the Mechanic world. Black Star was a newly ascended Divine Throne Mechanic after all, and the Mechanic Emperor was an old school big shot. With both parties clashing against each other and the Mechanic Emperor suppressing a member of the younger generation who wanted to challenge him, he received a huge wave of support.

After this battle, there were only two types of Mechanics in the world in the eyes of the Mechanics. First was the Mechanic Emperor, and the second was the others.

Han Xiao was not too bothered by the rumors in the galaxy. Regardless of whether Manison made a profit, he definitely did not suffer a loss.

Furthermore, reducing the attention that the world had on him would be in line with his idea of remaining low profile. Han Xiao did not have any plans to challenge the position of the Mechanic Emperor in the near future.

He was different from Heber after all. He would rarely do things that exceeded his own abilities.

The logic from his previous life as a player was rooted deeply in his bones.

What should we do if we can’t defeat the boss? Increase our level, of course! What else can we do‽

After staying in headquarters for half a month and being sure that the Mechanic Emperor would not create trouble anymore, Han Xiao gathered a fleet and headed toward the Flickering World.

Chapter 964: Theme of the Era

Chapter 964 Theme of the Era

With many financial groups coming up with the resources for construction, the originally silent Flickering World was bustling with activity.

The three explored Star Clusters were all undergoing construction, and the silent Flickering World finally seemed more like a part of the interstellar era.

Han Xiao’s fleet entered the Flickering World through the dynasty’s stargate. The various officers were all extremely familiar with him, and he did not face any obstruction along the way.

Upon reaching the Planet Lighthouse outpost, Han Xiao greeted Tarrokov and extorted Tarrokov of some local produce before leaving toward the Garu Star Cluster.

The Purple River Star System was located at the border of the Garu Star Cluster, near where the stargate was located. It was now Han Xiao’s territory. Thus, the dynasty had built a new stargate beside the original one for the Black Star Army to manage.

After entering the Purple River Star System, they followed the directions on the star map and arrived at a planet.

“Army Commander, that is Planet Black Gate, the planet nearest to the stargate. According to the construction blueprint, this planet will be developed into a large transit station and become one of the landmarks of the Garu Star Cluster. This is also the planet at the border of the army’s territory.”

Han Xiao stood in front of the window and looked at the planet. Beside him was a beautiful secretary giving Han Xiao an introduction.

Sylvia was busy, so she had sent one of her secretaries over to accompany Han Xiao. Han Xiao had some impression of this secretary. He remembered that her resume was pretty outstanding, and she was Sylvia’s capable assistant.

“How is the construction coming along?” Han Xiao nodded.

“This planet made use of the Crimson Dynasty’s quick planetary renovation pack, and the logistics department drew up a blueprint after that. The direction of the construction is toward a galactic market, military fortress, and transportation hub. Because the main focus of the construction is the resource rich planets, only 4.9% of the construction has been completed. The daily energy requirements are provided by a nuclear fusion power station, and our dark energy power station is located underground. However, there isn’t a natural Fixed Star in the vicinity, so we may need additional power sources and a manmade sun…”

Hearing the secretary’s report, Han Xiao suddenly thought about the movable Fixed Star blueprint in the Tyracles legacy.

The more advanced their technological skills, the fewer restrictions the environment would impose on them. They no longer needed to adapt to the environment but could get the environment to change to their needs.

Although the Tyracles Race was not a victor of the exploration era, they were also a quasi-Universal Civilization and had a deep understanding of modifying the environment.

I can make use of the movable Fixed Star equipment and shift the Fixed Star to an appropriate location, Han Xiao thought to himself.

He had always felt that this blueprint had a relationship to the [Universal Simulation] skill of the Divine Throne Mechanic.

After his Class Advancement, Han Xiao had researched all his new abilities but was completely clueless toward how he should use [Universal Simulation]. This skill allowed him to simulate all natural rhythms through his mechanical skills and should have huge potential.

Perhaps the three Universal Civilizations had made use of [Universal Simulation] to modify their mother planets.

Seeing Han Xiao remain silent, the female secretary paused for a while before continuing. “There aren’t many people on Planet Black Gate currently, but Planet Black Gate will become one of the most populated planets in the Garu Star Cluster when the Flickering World is opened to the public. The large number of daily visitors will bring you a considerable amount of profits. According to the calculations of the financial department, we only need six to seven years to recoup our cost of modifying the planet.”

“It’s pretty good.” Han Xiao smiled.

The fleet slowly approached Planet Black Gate, and a few stargates were shown on the map. There were some heading toward the other Star Systems and some heading toward the other regions of the Purple River Star System.

Because the allocation of their territories had been decided, the Black Star Army’s first mission was to connect their seven territories.

During the exploration phase, the entire Star Cluster already had their own transportation network. However, those were long distance stargates mainly used to connect different Star Clusters. The Black Star Army’s mission was to connect their own territories and ensure that the seven Star Systems were well connected.

The transportation network within the territory had already taken on an embryonic form, and many different Star Systems could be reached from Planet Black Gate. Their efficiency was far higher than the first exploration phase.

With a robust transportation network, they could save a lot of time on travelling. Han Xiao led his fleet to tour through the seven Star Systems and viewed all the construction regions.

This was the first time that he personally inspected his territories.

“Purple River, Long Day, Sigma, Odoran, Ponzale, Fenrir, Ednea… This is the current foundation of the army.”

Personally witnessing the size of the seven Star Systems, Han Xiao was extremely satisfied in his heart.

He planned to make the seven Star Systems into the core region of the Garu Star Cluster, but this would require a few decades to accomplish. However, the second phase of the [Flickering World] mission only required him to complete the basic construction of the seven Star Systems. To complete the basic construction of the seven Star Systems, a few years would be sufficient. With the investment of numerous financial groups, the production capability of the army was powerful.

After completing his inspection, Han Xiao returned to the Sigma Star System, which was located in the middle of Garu, to check on the development of the machinery civilization.

Han Xiao’s fleet exited from hyperdrive, and a silver planet appeared before him. Machinery melded into the surface of the planet, and it looked extremely beautiful.

This was the first city of the machinery civilization, and it was called Psionic Prime City!

The surface of the planet had been modified to become machinery. Under the surface of the earth were many different underground mines to extract for various resources.

Under the lead of Psionic Prime and the other Apostle Weapons, military factories, repair factories, resource factories, refinement factories, and many other facilities were constructed. At the same time, there were millions of second-generation mechanical life forms currently waiting to be born.

In the middle of the city, there was a gigantic statue of him.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao was helpless.

For some reason, people always seem to like erecting statues. What’s the point of erecting a statue of me? Why not erect a statue of Feidin instead? That statue might be able to provide some luck for you.

For a mechanical life form to create offspring, it would require them to exhaust their own tinder energy and reproduction had a cooldown. Thus, the larger the size of the machinery civilization, the faster the growth.

The [Mechanical Proliferation Growth] and [Strengthened Machinery Civilization] talents from the Divine Throne Mechanic class could strengthen the reproductive capabilities of the mechanical life form. Han Xiao was planning to spend some time on this planet to create a few more first-generation Mechanical Lives.

The machinery civilization led by Psionic Prime had just started out, and their population was lacking. However, they had plenty of variety with various types of mechanical life forms working in their own posts.

Not too far away from the city, Giant King Kong was leading a group of Giant Soldiers to flatten a tall mountain.

Without disturbing anyone else, Han Xiao contacted Psionic Prime.

Very quickly, a blue light shot out of the planet and arrived before the fleet.

“I pay my respects to the Lord.” Psionic Prime bowed.

The hatch opened, and Han Xiao flew out. Sizing Psionic Prime up, Han Xiao raised his brows slightly.

Compared to the last time they met, Psionic Prime had a few new parts on him. These parts were chosen by Psionic Prime himself to make up for some of his weaknesses.

This was the good point of a mechanical life form; they knew how to change their own parts to strengthen themselves.

“You’ve done well. Keep up the good work.”

Han Xiao praised him and released a stream of bluish-gold Mechanical Force from his palms.

“Treat this as your reward.”

Han Xiao then slapped the Mechanical Force into Psionic Prime’s body. This was the [Apostle Evolution] skill from his Divine Throne Mechanic class.

All of a sudden, Psionic Prime’s body glowed with energy, and the tinder energy in his body strengthened.

Han Xiao watched by the side, and Psionic Prime’s evolution process ended after a while.

Detecting the changes in his body, Psionic Prime nodded to Han Xiao.

“I thank the Lord for your blessing. My strength has increased again.”

“There isn’t a need to thank me. This is something you deserve. You just need to do your job well.”

Han Xiao waved his arms and opened his interface. Psionic Prime’s attributes were all increased by [Apostle Evolution].

His Apostle Weapons had quasi-Beyond Grade A strength, and after the [Apostle Evolution], they would be able to hold their own against an ordinary Beyond Grade A Super.

According to Han Xiao’s calculations, the current Psionic Prime should be able to defeat an ordinary doppelganger of EsGod before his evolution, providing that the doppelganger did not have a perverse Esper Ability.

Sending Psionic Prime back, Han Xiao made a trip over to the territory of the Black Spirit Race.

Compared to the rapid development of the machinery civilization, the Black Spirit Race seemed much more ordinary.

Although they had an extremely efficient communication method, they still needed time to learn and were digesting the basic technological knowledge that the army had provided them.

This technological knowledge was too complicated for them, and they had to start their learning from scratch.

Their mental network system would only show its effectiveness if they had a strong foundation.

As long as they took the first step, the development speed of the Black Spirit Race would increase rapidly. They would be able to rapidly go through the stone age era, cold arms era, enlightenment era, steam engine era, electricity era, and so on, soon arriving at the interstellar era.

Apart from their survival, the greatest barrier of a civilization was technological and production advancement. They needed to spend a great amount of time fumbling around in the dark. But with the interference of the Black Star Army, all of that would not be a problem. Their greatest problems would be solved, and their development definitely would not be slow.

Han Xiao provided the relevant technological trees to the Black Spirit Race and also the methods to expand their mental strength.

The Black Spirit Race, which had a mental network, innately had a high natural potential. They were most suitable to become Psychics or Mages, and it might be possible for more than ninety percent of them to become Supers.

Of course, he would not reject any of them if they wanted to become Mechanics.

It was not without reason for the three Universal Civilizations to prohibit advanced civilizations from interfering with the development of low-grade civilizations. If they followed the path that someone else had taken, they would only become the puppet of another civilization, and their own creativity would be restricted.

With regard to this, Han Xiao did not really have a plan. It was impossible for him not to pay the price if he wanted rapid development. However, the Evolutionary Totem could resolve this problem to a certain extent.

The Evolutionary Totem was able to gradually evolve the genes of a race and increase the potential of a race, including their intelligence and creativity. With the effects of the Evolutionary Totem, it might be possible for an individual capable of changing history to appear from the Black Spirit Race.

Although a civilization was an entire body, many historical events were usually created by individuals. The presence of the Evolutionary Totem increased the chances for such an individual to appear.

Allowing a species to become more outstanding was the meaning of the Evolutionary Totem. This was not a perfect solution, and there was a reality of despair deep within.

For example, what if a new species that did not conform to the norms of society appeared on a planet ruled by humans? Imagine if this beast was not only stronger but also more intelligent and superior to the human race in every respect. At that time, the humans would no longer be the rulers of the planet, and the technology that they had relied on for many years would be overtaken eventually…

It was far more outstanding than them.

At that time, choosing whether to live together with the new species or kill them would be a tough choice.

Suppressing such a new species would always be filled with blood.

This was the most terrifying part of the Evolutionary Totem and also why the Federation of Light and Arcane Church were not able to watch as the Crimson Dynasty swallowed all the benefits of the Evolutionary Totem for themselves. However, the Universal Civilizations had their own gene modification technology and were thus able to control the desire for battle.

…

Han Xiao borrowed the effects from the battle with Manison to remain low profile and not cause trouble everywhere. He then followed his plan to expand his mechanical army and reinforce his foundation.

This was a path that all Mechanics had to take.

After Manison achieved victory, he also did not do anything else. He returned to the Primeval Star River and did not provoke the Black Star Army again.

With both parties falling silent, the various galactic organizations no longer paid close attention to this matter and shifted their gazes away from Han Xiao.

The first exploration phase had been completed and the Flickering World was currently in the construction phase. Many organizations were watching silently from the side, and the explored universe had entered a calm period.

Although there were still small skirmishes occasionally, there were no large conflicts between the civilizations of the Star Cluster grade and above. It was as though they had a tacit agreement and chose to rest.

The Federation of Light and Arcane Church continued to pressure the Crimson Dynasty in the economic and political fields. Although they had plenty of conflicts, the situation was still under control.

The Crimson Dynasty was under quite a bit of pressure and was still holding in there. There were also voices within the dynasty that were calling for the open sale of the totems, but the voices were still weak.

If a new theme would be created for this era, it would be called ‘exploration and expansion’.

This was not only the development of a single civilization but a new Star Field being absorbed into the map of the explored universe. It was akin to discovering a new continent, and it was enough to change the situation of the entire universe.

Under the influence of such an atmosphere, even the Beyond Grade As chose to remain silent. The battle between Han Xiao and the Mechanic Emperor became the last battle between Beyond Grade As for a long time.

Time then crept slowly in the peace.

…

Galaxy Calendar: Year 716, 17th day of the 1st month.

The blue stargate at Planet Black Gate began glowing, and a middle-sized spaceship was spat out from the center of the stargate.

In the spaceship, a group of youths were standing in front of the window and looking at Planet Black Gate with curiosity.

“Is this the territory of the Black Star Army? We’re finally here!”

“I heard that Black Star has remained in the Flickering World for the past few years. It has been five years since we last heard news about him.”

“That’s right. Do you think we will be able to see Black Star in person?”

“I wonder if he will be like principal Lagi…”

“Shut up! Don’t mention that taboo name!”

Someone grabbed his head and collapsed as though he was having fits.

“Argh! Come and give me a hand! His PTSD syndrome is acting up again!”

The people in the surroundings looked at this pitiful brother of theirs who was suffering from ‘Lagi PTSD’ syndrome.

“Sigh, another one has fallen.”

One of the youths who was about 1.7m tall could not help but laugh bitterly.

“This is too exaggerated. I don’t really think the principal is that scary…”

A young lady who was half a head taller than him rolled her eyes. “Of course you are alright. Why don’t you think about the mental damage that is done to those with poor results?”

The young man then rubbed his head and muttered, “Really? I thought that everyone liked the principal a lot…”

This young man was about sixteen to seventeen years old but looked extremely child-like. He looked like a primary school kid that had not grown up yet and was dressed in the Black Star Army uniform.

The beautiful young lady beside him had a smoking hot figure and was dressed in skintight Pugilist clothing. She looked extremely close to this young man.

Right at this moment, the captain walked over and patted the young man on the shoulders.

“The defense troops are sending a communication request. You can just pick up the call to save us some trouble.”

The young man nodded and pressed a few buttons on the wall of the spaceship. A holographic projection then appeared, and the guard commander of the Black Star Army appeared.

“Which department are you guys from? Why didn’t I receive an application from the army?”

If not for the Black Star insignia on the spaceship, the commander might have given the order to capture the spaceship already.

“We are the first batch of graduates from the Black Star Super Academy. According to the rules of the academy, the graduates can choose to join the training camp and serve the Black Star Army for two to three years. We are here to find a job with the army. It must have been a slip up for you to not be informed.”

“Wait a moment. Let me check.” The commander frowned and searched through his records for a while before saying, “Mmm, there was a special request indeed, but you guys came too late and have long exceeded the appointed time.”

“I’m sorry. This was our first time coming to the Flickering World, and we explored a few different places first. Thus, our journey may have been delayed. You can check the records of the spaceship.”

The commander then ran some checks before nodding. “Hmm, the checks on the spaceship are alright. You guys can come in.”

“Alright, thanks… Right, can you not tell the Army Commander that I am here?”

Upon hearing that, the commander had a strange look on his face.

Just what kind of a background did this youth have?

He then sized up the young man and felt that he was extremely familiar.

“Who are you? What is your relationship with the Army Commander?”

“I am Nero. Black Star is my godfather.” Nero chuckled and a bright smile could be seen on his face. “I am here to give him a surprise!”

Chapter 965: Perfect Mechanical Sense

Chapter 965 Perfect Mechanical Sense

The spaceship carrying the fresh graduates of the Black Star Super Academy then arrived at the Sigma Star System to meet Black Star.

Over the past six years, the Black Star Army had invested a large amount of resources and created a second headquarters in the Sigma Star System. It was a gigantic space fortress created by seven mechanical fortresses and a large number of mechanical soldiers. This new headquarters was called ‘Black Star Palace’.

The spaceship arrived at the designated location on the star map, and Black Star Palace appeared in their windows. Upon seeing the magnificent structure before them, the jaws of many of the students dropped in amazement.

Black Star Palace was far more majestic than Floating Dragon Island, which hung in the skies above Planet Aquamarine!

Every mechanical fortress had its own satellite rings of varying angles, surrounding the center like a mini Star System.

At the middle of the structure was a gigantic alloy sphere. It was silvery-black in color, and the surface was smooth like a mirror. It was like a black star that did not give out light.

Everyone accepted some security checks before the spaceship was parked at the dock. The moment Nero disembarked from the spaceship, he immediately saw someone familiar.

“Uncle Feidin‽” Nero was overjoyed, and he immediately ran over.

“Hello Nero.” Feidin smiled and stroked Nero on the head.

“Did you come here specially to wait for me?”

“That’s right. We have not seen each other for five to six years. You’ve grown bigger.” Feidin patted Nero on the head and then lamented. “But it is a pity that you didn’t grow any taller.”

“… Don’t talk about this, and we can still have a good conversation.”

Nero’s face darkened. Being short would be his pain for life.

He had Aurora’s life force energy in him and also drank the dragonblood potion frequently. He should have been extremely tall and did not understand why his development was so slow. His own father did not have the short genes either!

Nero had always suspected that it was the stress from studying that resulted in him being so short and was filled with resentment.

“Speaking of which, Uncle Feidin, you’re still the same as always. You are still so good looking.”

Feidin shook his head and smiled. “This is very normal. A Calamity Grade Super is able to control his own metabolism, and it is extremely simple for me to keep my appearance. Six years to me is like a few months for an ordinary individual.”

At this moment, the Pugilist young lady then walked beside Nero and looked at Feidin with her eyes widened and her face red.

“This is…” Feidin looked over.

“Oh, let me make an introduction. This is Mia Moretto. She is my… my… cough cough, a close female friend of mine. She is one of the best Pugilists of the graduating batch.

“Mia, this is Feidin, a member of the Black Star Guards. He is a senior who watched me grow up. Eh? Why is your face red?”

“In what way is my face red!” Mia immediately held onto her face and became flustered.

She was the skinny little girl that Nero had met on the first day of school at the Black Star Super Academy. After six years of training, she had already transformed into a beautiful swan and was currently filled with energy.

Upon seeing that another young lady was captured by his beauty, Feidin said with a helpless expression, “Hello, I am Feidin.”

“Hello, it is an honor for you to meet me… eh no, it should be my honor.” Mia then shook Feidin’s outstretched arm, and her face turned redder.

Nero looked at Feidin before looking at Mia, and his heart turned extremely sour. He then could not help but cough loudly and break up their handshake before changing the topic.

“Right. Where is my godfather?”

“He already knows that you have arrived. Go and meet him at his throne.”

“Throne?”

“Er, it’s the center of that black sphere.” Feidin chuckled. “Speaking of which, he will definitely check on your progress later. I won’t save you if you don’t pass his test.”

Nero’s neck then shrank back, and he recalled some terrible memories. “I’ve improved a lot, so my godfather should be satisfied.”

“You should ask him yourself. Don’t let him wait for too long. We can chat after you are done.” Feidin smiled and left.

Nero then turned around to look at Mia and realized that she was still staring in the direction that Feidin had left.

“He’s already gone. Are you still looking?”

Mia then retracted her gaze and jabbed Nero’s waist excitedly. “Oi, your uncle is far too charismatic. His smile is truly too charming.”

“Why haven’t you looked at me like this before?” Nero then said with jealousy.

Mia then said with disdain, “How long has it been since you last looked in the mirror. How can you be compared with your uncle?”

Nero was speechless.

His heart truly hurt.

After knowing each other for six years, they were extremely familiar with each other. Mia became much more energetic and open than before, and both of them frequently quibbled with each other. However, their relationship was extremely good, and they were like siblings.

After completing all the necessary checks, they changed into a different spaceship and headed toward the black sphere.

When their spaceship approached the black sphere, pores could be seen on the surface of the sphere. These were the landing orbits for spaceships, and it was just the right size to fit this spaceship.

The spaceship entered the orbit and stopped. Both sides of the orbit were sealed up, and there was no dock.

Just when everyone was in doubt, the door to the side opened up.

Boom!

Countless nanoparticles stretched out to form a dock before their very eyes.

“This dock was constructed on the spot?”

This scene was extremely magical to all the students, and they stepped onto the dock while looking left and right curiously. They realized that there was only a single path that they could take, and the path was surrounded by black alloy walls all around.

Everyone then looked at each other and walked down the path.

The sound of an individual clearing his throat could suddenly be heard, and everyone realized that no one was talking.

The atmosphere became tense, and everyone had a sense of fear toward the unknown before them.

These students were originally extremely excited about coming to meet a bigshot, but this excitement of theirs had become anxiousness and fear.

Although they had not met Black Star yet, they could already feel pressure from all directions.

After walking for a long time, they finally came to the end of the path and arrived at a large circular hall.

In the middle of the hall was a platform with a Divine Mechanical Throne in the middle of the platform. Bolts of blueish gold Mechanical Force could be seen expanding out from the base of the throne and jumping around as though they were dancing.

A black robed man was seated on the throne with an arm supporting his head as though he was in deep thought.

Just a simple glance from this individual made all their legs turn to jelly.

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

“Is this the pressure of a Beyond Grade A? How terrifying…”

Many of them could not help but swallow a mouthful of saliva, thinking of retreating.

Before they came, they had been looking forward to becoming a Beyond Grade A, but at this moment, many of them realized that this was no more than a dream.

“God… godfather,” Nero greeted carefully.

It has only been a few years since we last met, and my godfather has become so terrifying.

However, his appearance did not change, and he still looked as suave as he did six years ago.

Nero still dared to tease Feidin, but he could not help but be filled with reverence and anxiousness before Black Star, even if Black Star was his godfather.

What is this? Am I really that scary? Han Xiao looked at the expressions of the students and frowned.

He then looked down at the Divine Mechanical Throne and understood what was going on.

I almost forgot that this thing has the effect of increasing my pressure. No wonder these kiddos are all so terrified of me.

Han Xiao retracted his aura and stood up. The pressure then disappeared, and everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

“You are the first batch of graduates of the academy. Since you have chosen to serve the army, I will welcome all of you on behalf of the army…”

Upon hearing that, the anxiety in their hearts disappeared, and they became excited.

Han Xiao gave the students a round of praises before getting the excited students to take their leave, leaving Nero and Mia behind.

Walking down from the platform, Han Xiao looked at Nero and said, “It isn’t a bad thing for you to be short. Your body will be smaller, and it will be more difficult for the enemy to hit you.”

Nero’s mouth then contorted.

Why did everyone like talking about his height‽

Seeing Han Xiao tease him in such a manner, Nero also became at ease and revealed a smile.

“I haven’t met you for such a long time. I really missed you.”

I didn’t miss you at all, Han Xiao thought to himself.

With the [Observer’s Mark] in his hands, he could spy on Nero whenever he wanted. He was even clear about the average number of times Nero went to the toilet in a day.

Over the past six years, Han Xiao had spent most of his time in the Flickering World, reinforcing his foundation. He had spent most of his experience and increased his level to 303. The rest of his experience went into merging blueprints and his various skills.

His attributes did not go up by much, but his mechanical army had experienced a huge upgrade!

This black spherical planet was a Mechanical Deity formed by his mechanical army!

It maintained the appearance of a planet and was like a black star. Han Xiao would frequently activate this skill and maintain it for a long time to train his control over the Mechanical Deity.

Han Xiao did not remain idle in the area of constructing machines either. He had already set up his Dimension Factory and had honed it many times.

During these six years, the machinery civilization had developed rapidly, and over eighty percent of Planet Apostle was already covered in machinery cities. The mechanical life forms were already in their eighth generation.

Because of the weakening tinder energy, the attributes of the mechanical life forms had an obvious decline from the sixth generation onward. The mechanical life forms in the later generations could only be ‘commoners’ and serve as cannon fodder. This was the restriction of a machinery civilization.

The first-generation mechanical life forms were still the elites with the Apostle Weapons, the most powerful group. The composition of the civilization also gradually became more like the structure of ordinary civilizations. Commoners made up the majority of the civilization, and the mechanical life forms before the sixth generation were like ‘Supers’.

The Black Spirit Race was still digesting their knowledge. Compared to six years ago, the Black Spirit Race had already garnered some achievements and begun to spread knowledge to the other members of their race. The effects of the mental network were beginning to show.

An ordinary race would have to teach using textbooks, but the Black Spirit Race could dump the knowledge straight into the minds of their students.

The army developed steadily, and the education plan had begun to develop with more academies being built. The first batch of students had already graduated, and they were Nero’s batch.

Han Xiao then sized Nero up before looking at Mia.

Upon seeing that, Nero misunderstood Han Xiao’s intentions and immediately introduced his comrade. “This is Mia. She is my classmate, and she is very powerful.”

“He… hello… er, I pay my respects to Your Excellency Black Star.”

Mia was extremely nervous. The feeling that Black Star gave her was completely different from Feidin.

Feidin made her feel like she was in love with her heart racing, but Black Star filled her with reverence.

“I know about you. You have a lot of potential.”

Han Xiao had already recognized this follower of Hila a few years ago and thus was not too surprised.

“Thank you.” Mia was immediately overwhelmed with favor. She had never expected a bigshot like Black Star to know about her and was extremely agitated in her heart.

“Wait outside for a while. I have some things to say to Nero.”

“Alright.”

Mia then looked at Nero and left the room.

After seeing Mia leave, Han Xiao began to tease Nero.

“Not bad, little brat. Is your springtime here?”

Nero’s face flushed red, and he stammered, “Nonsense! No… nothing of the sort…”

“Alright, there’s no need to explain anything to me.” Han Xiao interrupted Nero. “It has been a few years since I last met you. Let me check your progress. If you only thought about dating and not learning, humph!”

As he said that, he did not wait for Nero to reply and jabbed him.

Opening his interface, Han Xiao nodded.

This brat’s potential was not too bad. He already had the strength of Grade C+ and should be able to reach Grade B before he turned twenty.

Looking down at his abilities section, Han Xiao’s eyes lit up.

Nero’s Mechanical Sense talent had finally grown to become [Perfect Mechanical Sense]!

The leek that he had grown for so long had finally matured!

It took almost ten years to develop such an ability. It truly hasn’t been easy!

Han Xiao was overjoyed and slapped Nero on the shoulders with a hearty laughter.

“Not bad, not bad! I am very satisfied with your progress!”

Nero felt as though his shoulders were about to fracture and replied, “As… as long as you are satisfied.”

Han Xiao could not help but pinch Nero’s cheeks joyfully.

I am truly heartened that he didn’t forget his studies for love!

The leek was ripe, and Han Xiao only had to think about how he should harvest it!

Reynold refused to give him any missions, but Nero was different. Nero had an Advanced Luck Glow and was just starting out in life. There would definitely be plenty of chances to trigger a storyline mission and obtain [Perfect Mechanical Sense] from him.

If not, he could even take the initiative to throw Nero into a dangerous situation.

According to Han Xiao’s experience, as long as Nero approached him for help, there would be a greater chance to trigger a mission.

However, he needed a reason to do so.

Combat training sounds like a good plan… Han Xiao thought to himself.

If that was not enough, Han Xiao had his final move. Nero’s potential was even stronger than Reynold’s. Han Xiao could just continue to raise Nero… and publicly beat him up!

Various different thoughts flashed through his mind, and Han Xiao looked at Nero with a teasing expression.

Little fellow, true hell awaits you next. You’ll come to know just how enjoyable student life was.

Noticing Han Xiao’s cunning grin, Nero trembled slightly and had a bad premonition.

Why do I feel a wave of bad intentions sweeping past my body?

Nero then rubbed his head and said carefully, “Godfather, I have something that I need to ask you for help.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Woah!

Look at him, asking for help so readily. So much better than Reynold.

“Speak, what do you need?” Han Xiao asked happily.

“Mia is a Pugilist, and it hurts when she beats me up,” Nero then said softly. “I want to learn how to become tanky. Godfather, you are a grandmaster in this regard. Can you teach me how to become tanky?”

“Scram!”

Chapter 966: The Second Exploration Phase

Chapter 966 The Second Exploration Phase

As the saying goes, if you want to be tanky, you must first get beaten up. How can your skin be thick if your bones don’t all break at least once?

He then made use of this logic to send Nero away before wondering if there were any dangerous jobs that he could get Nero to do.

After thinking for two seconds, Han Xiao raised his brows.

“That’s right. The construction of the three Star Clusters has come to an end, and the second exploration phase of the dynasty is about to start. I will have some things for Nero to do.”

After six years, Renault, Garu, and Crown had pretty much completed their construction, and they only lacked people.

Chief Commander Tarrokov had already informed him a few months ago that the dynasty was preparing for the second exploration phase. The various allies will be meeting the following day, and Han Xiao was also invited.

If he remembered correctly, the Crimson Dynasty met with some unexpected trouble during the second exploration phase, and there were plenty of opportunities for combat. He could make use of this opportunity to send Nero and the other graduates over under the guise of ‘combat training’.

There was a high probability of his Advanced Luck Glow turning dangers into fortune, right?

Upon thinking about Nero’s current appearance, Han Xiao could not help but be exasperated. To think that Nero actually wanted to learn from him and become a tank! He was supposed to be a proper Mechanic!

Furthermore, the reason was not so that he could improve but so he would be able to receive a better beating!

Preposterous!

Why don’t you learn more from your godfather’s swift and decisive style?

Han Xiao then got his subordinates to arrange the graduates’ accommodation before returning to his throne. With a single thought, he issued an order toward his Divine Mechanical Throne.

Clank!

The next moment, the roof of the room opened, and machinery parts began flowing out.

The Mechanical Deity itself was Han Xiao’s palace, and all the structures within the palace could be controlled by him with a single thought.

Very quickly, a black machine dropped down from the sky and drifted in front of Han Xiao. It was about a meter long.

Han Xiao then touched the machine, and he could feel heat. For him to be able to feel heat, it meant that the temperature was sufficiently high.

The item details were then displayed on the interface.

_____________________

Unknown Core: A special machinery part. Usage of the item is unknown, but it doesn’t seem useless.

_____________________

“Sigh, a Universal Treasure is truly difficult to forge.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Over the past six years, apart from strengthening his mechanical army, Han Xiao had also tried to forge gold grade equipment, which was Universal Grade.

The strength of a Divine Throne Mechanic was definitely sufficient, but even if he had sufficient strength, he might not be able to forge a Universal Treasure. There were far too many variables, and it required many things to work together in order to achieve a perfect state.

The first difficulty was the blueprint.

Han Xiao did not have a Universal Grade blueprint. A gold grade blueprint required the skill [Inspirational Creation], but Han Xiao’s [Inspirational Creation] was currently still grayed out. The activation requirement was for [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering] to reach Lv.5.

Furthermore, [Inspirational Creation] also had a random element to it. Not to mention the fact that there were no players who announced the blueprint combination of a Universal Treasure, even if one knew the combination, the results might be different.

Because he did not have any blueprints, Han Xiao tried to use his own technological skills to forge it. He used his [Universal Simulation] skill but still did not make much progress. He made many different trash products, and this machine in his hand was the only spare part that still had some use.

Thus, Han Xiao studied this machine every day, hoping to find some inspiration.

However, the truth had proven that this idea of his was only useful to console himself.

It is far too difficult for me to create something without blueprints or theories. Perhaps the Tyracles Legacy may be able to give me a gold grade blueprint, but the next Legacy blueprint will be at level 360, and it is still far away, Han Xiao thought to himself.

…

On the other side, Nero and the others left the Mechanical Deity and returned to the outside world. There were already some administrative staff waiting to show them to their accommodation.

Along the way, the students looked around at the buildings in the surroundings excitedly. It was as though they had come out for a holiday.

They had not only come to the mysterious Flickering World but had even met His Excellency Black Star in person. Thus, they were all extremely excited.

Many people surrounded Nero with the majority of them being females.

As Black Star’s godson, Nero had always been extremely popular. This situation would be even more common now that he was in the territory of the Black Star Army.

“Your godfather is so handsome. He is completely my type, and I feel a sense of security with him.”

“That’s right, that’s right. That aura of his truly excites me.”

“I heard that His Excellency Black Star does not have a wife. I wonder if Beyond Grade As like him have such needs.”

“Can you tell us what kind of a person His Excellency Black Star is?”

Nero could not help but smile awkwardly as he cursed in his heart.

What the hell? I thought that you guys admired me a lot, but you only want to be my godmother.

He did not like the feeling of people surrounding him because of his status. Although he had a powerful background, he had never ordered people around. Of course, this was also related to Reynold’s education method.

Han Xiao had always admired Reynold for his education method. Reynold would always be able to make his students feel the cruel reality of society even in the classroom.

Finally, Mia, who was beside Nero, could not take it and exploded.

“Stop squeezing me! I am going to beat people up if you continue!”

Upon hearing that, the students in the surroundings fell silent. They were still pretty afraid of Mia.

In the past, Mia had a cowardly personality and was extremely low profile in the classroom. But after she was assigned to the Pugilist Class, she became a lot more energetic than before. Almost everyone in the academy had been beaten up by Mia before, with Nero being beaten up the most. Even if he won the battle, he would always leave the arena with a face full of bruises.

Learning how to become a Pugilist would make anyone become more violent.

They arrived at their accommodation quickly, and a room was assigned to each of them. The administrative staff then told them to stay in Black Star Palace while waiting for their jobs.

After everyone found their own room, Nero placed his stuff down, and someone knocked on his window.

Turning around to take a look, he saw Hadavy outside the window riding a floating motorcycle.

“Eh? Why is it you?” He recognized all the Black Star Guards by his godfather’s side, and Hadavy had a pretty good relationship with him.

“Don’t talk nonsense, get on.” Hadavy patted the seat behind him.

Nero hesitated for a moment before getting on the motorcycle. After a short journey, they arrived outside of a building.

“This is…” Nero then looked at the sign board and asked, “A gambling den?”

“That’s right.”

“Wait! Why would there be such a place in the army? Who opened it?” Nero asked with doubt.

“Who else but me… cough, our respected Black Star. Us Black Star Guards are usually with him and don’t have much to do. How could we survive without some entertainment? Let me tell you, although this is the second headquarters of the Black Star Army, the entertainment venues are extremely comprehensive.”

Hadavy then threw the floating motorcycle to the side and dragged Nero into the gambling den. The gambling den was bustling with activity with a huge crowd in the place.

“Why are you bringing me here?” Nero asked timidly.

Hadavy then squeezed his way to a Wayne Card gambling table and placed a huge wager. He then whispered into Nero’s ears.

“Hehe, I lost a few years’ salary here, and I am relying on you to win it back for me.”

After Reynold took over the Logistics department in the Shattered Star Ring, it became difficult to meet him. Furthermore, Feidin did not allow Hadavy to disturb him. Thus, Nero became the only person left who Hadavy knew was good in cards.

How would he miss such a good opportunity to recoup all his losses!

“I… I am still a child.” Nero’s mouth contorted, and he looked at the expressionless robot in front of him.

He truly suspected that Black Star had opened his gambling den to collect back the salaries of the Black Star Army members.

He is my godfather indeed! A Mechanic that knows how to cut costs is definitely outstanding!

…

The next day, the meeting for the second exploration phase was being held in a conference room on Planet Lighthouse, and all those participating in the meeting were the various bigshots of the dynasty.

The moment Han Xiao’s projection descended, many people greeted him.

“Eh? Black Star is here.”

“Come here, I saved a seat for you.”

After the event six years ago, Han Xiao had gained a higher status within the circle of Beyond Grade As and was extremely popular.

These Beyond Grade As all knew that Black Star would probably be the next pillar of the dynasty and were thus more passionate toward him.

There was no need to mention the old dragon, Beyoni, and his other old friends. Ravenlaude, Maximiler, Viru, and Lotus Swordsman were present, and Han Xiao also saw Heber.

Heber naturally did not greet him. Heber only snorted and looked away to prevent himself from being irritated.

The moment he saw Heber, Han Xiao thought about the development of the army in the Shattered Star Ring. Over the past six years, the Bloodshed Land had competed with the Black Star Army in many areas with the aid of the Limitless Financial Group. Both parties continued to swallow up other organizations and expanded their operations greatly.

The Germinal Financial Group developed rapidly and became the representative financial group of the Black Star Army. Iapetus displayed outstanding talent and also sat in a high position. With the support of the Black Star Army, the Germinal Financial Group showed signs of becoming a first rate financial group.

The Crimson Dynasty had also expanded some of their operations in the Shattered Star Ring and provided some aid to him. The Black Star Army was temporarily able to resist the pressure brought about by the Limitless Financial Group. However, since the Limitless Financial Group had entered the Shattered Star Ring market, they would not back off easily and had become a powerful competitor.

Han Xiao greeted the other Beyond Grade As and finally sat in between the old dragon and Maximiler.

The Beyond Grade As had their own small circle, and the other civilizations all sat far away.

The meeting had not started yet, and everyone was busy chatting with each other.

After waiting for a while when everyone was present, Tarrokov walked forward to the stage and coughed twice to attract everyone’s attention.

“I’m sorry for the wait. Since everyone is here, let’s begin.”

The conference room then fell silent, and everyone looked at him.

Tarrokov then pressed a button, and a huge holographic screen appeared behind him with the star map of the Flickering World on the screen. The green explored region had been expanded with Renault, Dawn, Garu, and Crown being lit up.

“Everyone here should be extremely familiar with this map, so there’s no need for me to explain it further. I shall get straight to the point. We’ve spent over ten years on the first exploration and construction phase. The construction of the basic facilities is going well, and the first phase is about to come to an end. The dynasty has decided to embark on the second exploration phase.”

As he said that, Tarrokov tapped on the screen and circled two unexplored Star Clusters.

“These two Star Clusters will be our objective for the second exploration phase. They are the Russo Star Cluster and Dust Light Star Cluster.”

Everyone present felt their spirits being lifted.

The two Star Clusters were neighbors to the explored region in the first phase. The Russo Star Cluster was where Han Xiao had obtained the Spacetime Amber, and it was a neighbor of the Garu Star Cluster. The Dust Light Star Cluster was a neighbor of both Renault and Crown.

“Why is there one less region in the second exploration phase?” someone asked.

Tarrokov nodded and explained, “Yes. There are many different reasons with two more prominent ones. First, we need to continue with the construction of the first phase, and that will require manpower and resources. Second, we will be adopting a new exploration method during the second exploration phase, and we’ve chosen to shrink the region down because we would have more things to do.”

After looking around to make sure that there weren’t any questions, Tarrokov said, “There are more people participating in the second exploration phase. Please refer to the list for the exact breakdown.”

A screen appeared in front of everyone, and the organizations participating in the second exploration phase were shown.

Han Xiao glanced over the list. The scale of the second phase was much larger, and many of the new organizations were subsidiary civilizations and galactic contractors being hired.

During the first exploration phase, not all the allies had an opportunity to participate. Some weaker subsidiary civilizations were not even within the dynasty’s consideration. From the second exploration phase onward, the dynasty needed to share the cost of the development and thus allowed more to participate.

According to this development pace, the Flickering World would be opened up to the public in the fourth phase.

Only the Beyond Grade A allies who joined in the first phase could seize the best opportunities. As more people joined in the exploration, the benefits would become less.

Tarrokov waited for everyone to finish viewing the list before saying, “I have already made a small booklet on the things to take note of during the second exploration phase and will issue it to every participating organization. Everyone must read it as we have added some new rules.”

The Beyond Grade As then looked at each other and nodded.

The rules in the first phase were intentionally more relaxed for the Beyond Grade As to obtain more benefits. However, the rules would be stricter toward these subsidiary civilizations.

“To all our Beyond Grade A allies,” Tarrokov then said with a smile, “the dynasty has already assigned your missions, so there’s no need for you to choose your targets. Please be understanding.”

After seeing that no one had any issues, Tarrokov continued.

Indeed, the dynasty would control everything. Han Xiao shook his head. This meant that he would not be able to fully utilize his advantage.

However, the most valuable Spacetime Amber was already in his hands, and it would not matter to him if he had a choice or not. According to his understanding of the second exploration phase, regardless of the mission that the dynasty issued, he would probably be sent to deal with some native advanced civilizations in the end.

In his previous life, the Crimson Dynasty met an advanced civilization that was located in the Dust Light Star Cluster.

Because of some reasons, the advanced civilization harbored great enmity toward the dynasty and was not easy to deal with. It even caused some trouble to the dynasty’s exploration.

During the first phase, they met a native Star System civilization. However, this advanced civilization was already at the Star Cluster level. Of course, they would not be a complete Star Cluster Civilization without the support of the galactic society. However, they were pretty powerful and different from the frogs in the well before.

The dynasty might not have mobilized their armed forces if everything went normally, but there was another power pulling the strings in the background.

Han Xiao’s ‘Nero training plan’ was targeted at this advanced civilization.

Chapter 967: Chapter the Tracks of Destiny

Chapter 967 Changing the Tracks of Destiny

The meeting then carried on for half a day and ended after Tarrokov introduced the various objectives of the second exploration phase.

“There is one final thing. Take note of any strange occurrences during the exploration. We saw plenty of organizations trying to secretly enter the Flickering World during the first phase, and we took various measures to wipe these stowaways out. However, we would still miss some of them out. If any of you discover any stowaways, you must give chase.”

The Flickering World was still in a stage of lockdown, and many organizations attempted to sneak into the Flickering World. Everyone present was extremely clear that these stowaways were generally troops from the various Star Cluster or Super Star Cluster Civilizations, or organizations hired by them.

Because the first exploration phase was already completed, these stowaways had already run into the later unexplored regions and their whereabouts are unknown. The dynasty had also sent some troops to give chase to these stowaways but had little results to show for it.

The way the dynasty saw it, the best way to deal with such a situation was to continue with their exploration. In any case, these stowaways would have nowhere to escape when their main troop arrived.

After the end of the meeting, the various representatives of the organizations reported the details of the meeting to their upper echelons. A portion of the Beyond Grade As did not leave immediately and stayed back to chat with each other.

After chatting for a while, Tarrokov walked over and got Han Xiao to have a private conversation with him.

Both of them walked to the side, and Han Xiao was a little curious.

“What’s the matter?”

“Can’t I come to you for a chat if there isn’t anything?” Tarrokov chuckled. “However, I do indeed have something. The Garu Star Cluster and Russo Star Cluster are neighbors, and your territory is in the region between Russo and Garu. Your territory can be part of the long-term transportation route, and a portion of our troops will go through your territory. We may also need you to help transport some resources.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao agreed immediately.

Since the dynasty had given him the seven Star Systems, he had absolute control rights over the territories. Since the contract had already been established, the dynasty could not make any decision within his territory and had to seek his permission first.

Allowing the troops from the other organizations to pass through his territory would bring him more benefits than costs. He would be able to set up a proper resource transportation route within his territory and also cement his position as the core of the Garu Star Cluster.

Being in charge of the transportation route meant that he would also be in charge of logistics to a certain extent. The amount of benefits that came from being in charge of logistics was something that everyone clearly understood. During the first exploration phase, the Black Star Army was the Exploration Pioneer, and after gaining their own territory during the second phase, they had even more benefits.

After finishing what he had to say, Tarrokov suddenly suppressed his voice and said, “Did you receive the news? Cries within the dynasty to open up the sales right of the Evolutionary Totem have started again.”

Han Xiao nodded and was not too bothered. “It doesn’t matter. They won’t affect me anyway.”

The division within the upper echelons with regards to the Evolution Cube could not affect his status at the moment. In the past six years, none of the upper echelons had targeted him because they knew that it was useless to do so.

“I know, but you should be more careful,” Tarrokov said softly. “I heard that a Ruler candidate wishes to receive the support from these factions…”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao could not help but say with a teasing voice, “You’re telling me such news? Aren’t you afraid of them taking revenge in future?”

“Ah, I didn’t mention any names, and besides, will you expose me? Furthermore, the faction that I am in doesn’t really like his methods.” Tarrokov smiled.

Han Xiao then came to a realization. He then understood that Tarrokov did not only come to warn him but also had a political objective.

The next Dynasty Ruler would always be trained when the current Ruler was still in power. These candidates would usually be high officials of the dynasty with various different factions supporting them from behind.

There could only be a single Ruler. Thus, some of the candidates who knew that it would be difficult for them to be chosen or had a huge ambition would try to obtain more support during this period.

In his previous life, Urranrell’s service period had ended not too long after the Flickering World storyline.

The dynasty would not change because of a new Ruler, but the style of the dynasty was changed subtly with the style of the new Ruler. For example, the way they dealt with competition, subsidiary civilizations, and their Beyond Grade A allies.

The Ruler of the dynasty would be chosen internally, and apart from some special circumstances, the allies of the dynasty would not be able to influence the position of the Ruler.

Thus, it was more important for a candidate to obtain the support of the various factions rather than fawning over the Beyond Grade As. Although Han Xiao was surprised about the situation that Tarrokov had mentioned, he was not too shocked.

In any case, he already had plenty of targets stuck on him, and he would not mind a few more.

“Heh, a candidate is only a candidate, and he may not be the future Ruler.” Han Xiao smiled.

“You’re right. I also thought so.” Tarrokov nodded.

After pausing for a while, he suddenly said, “I still have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“How well do you understand the inheritance that EsGod left behind?”

Why would he suddenly bring EsGod up? Han Xiao was a little puzzled.

“Isn’t his inheritance already spreading throughout the universe? Which aspect are you referring to?”

“Ah, this matter is related to you… Do you remember the spatial coordinates that you gave us previously? The ones that EsGod was looking for.”

These words sounded like thunder in Han Xiao’s ears, and he tried to suppress his shock.

Those spatial coordinates were the key to the World Tree!

Why would he ask such a question? Has the Crimson Dynasty found something already?

“Have you guys found anything?” Han Xiao asked in a low voice.

“I don’t know. I am not a researcher.” Tarrokov shook his head. “However, the head of the research team in charge of EsGod’s inheritance seems to have some idea about the data. He asked me to ask you about the situation back then.”

After the inheritance of EsGod was leaked, the spatial coordinates were hidden within the wealth of information and seemed extremely insignificant. The research team would rather spend their time researching other things rather than this set of coordinates without any records.

But after spending a few years, the research team had almost finished their research of the majority of EsGod’s research and thus set their eyes on the mysterious coordinates.

“I only coincidentally found EsGod searching for these coordinates, and I am not clear about the details.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief and hid the truth with a perfunctory response.

“Alright.” Tarrokov was not too suspicious of the reply.

After a casual chat, Han Xiao turned off the long-distance projection and returned to his room. He then heaved a sigh of relief with a look of resignation on his face.

…

Following the meeting’s conclusion, the Crimson Dynasty announced the start of the second exploration phase to the universe.

After the first exploration phase, the Black Star Army was already extremely familiar with the procedures and made sufficient preparations. They also began their exploration during the start of the second exploration phase.

He was assigned to explore the Russo Star Cluster this time with many exploration troops accompanying him. The job of every organization was more carefully detailed and orderly.

Han Xiao’s [Flickering World] Main Storyline Mission was also refreshed when the dynasty announced the start of the second phase.

_____________________

[Flickering World] Second Chain Mission Completed.

Your Mission Rating is: A

You have obtained 1,500,000,000 Experience, x2 Random Reward Draw, 1,500 the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, and x1 Blank Character Summon Card.

[Exploration Pioneer] Current Progress: 2/3

The Third Round has been refreshed.

Mission Introduction: Complete the second exploration phase of the dynasty.

Current Exploration Area: Russo Star Cluster

Personal Exploration Point: 0

Total Exploration Point: 0

Current Rating: E-

_____________________

The third round of the mission was for him to explore the Russo Star Cluster. There would not be a problem for him to complete the mission, and his main objective would be to increase his own mission rating.

Han Xiao was still extremely confident about this. Although there were many more organizations exploring the region with him, his advantage of being familiar with the map would still come in handy. Although he might not be able to achieve an S+ rating, an A rating should not be difficult.

With the exploration troops being sent out, Han Xiao remained in the Black Star Palace and only sent out a Lord avatar and mechanical army to the Russo Star Cluster.

The graduates were also broken up and sent to the various troops toward the new exploration region. Han Xiao had intentionally split Nero and Mia up into two different forces.

According to his understanding, nothing would go wrong in the Russo Star Cluster; the exploration fleet would only face trouble in the Dust Light Star Cluster.

Han Xiao was waiting for trouble to erupt on the other side so that he could throw Nero over. He had already come up with more than a dozen different plans to trigger Nero’s storyline mission. He definitely would not let the matter rest if he did not make Nero feel despair and pain.

Feidin was an expert in the mind anyway, and even if a shadow was left behind in Nero’s heart, Feidin would be able to take care of it.

…

At the border of the Dust Light Star Cluster, one of the dynasty’s exploration fleets began constructing a stargate shortly after arriving.

At this moment, a group was spying on this fleet from a few Star Systems away using special equipment.

The dynasty’s exploration fleet was displayed on a large screen within the conference room, and there were many creatures with carapaces, like gray lobsters, seated in the room. They were the local intelligent race of the Flickering World and called themselves the ‘Kunde Race’.

Everyone in the room fell silent upon witnessing the fleet.

The leader of the Kunde Race then said slowly.

“The information on that spaceship was real. There are more life forms in the universe, and aliens are eyeing our world.”

Everyone fell silent.

The Kunde Race had been slowly developing for millions of years and had started to walk the path of a Galactic Civilization ten thousand years ago. Their territory had continued to expand as they captured more and more planets.

It was not that they had not met any other intelligent races in the process. However, the races that they had met were far weaker than them and had become their pets and slaves.

The Kunde Race had been wondering if there were more powerful civilizations in the universe, but they had yet to meet with any. After so many years, they had taken control of many Star Systems and were the most powerful civilization within this Star Cluster.

However, their observation region was limited to the Dust Light Star Cluster, and everything outside of it was unknown.

Without a galactic society or any other civilizations to interact with them, this place was like a lone island and pitch black forest. The Kunde Race did not have any understanding of Star Systems and Star Clusters, and their technological skill tree was not as complete as the Galactic Civilizations’. They did not have stargate technology, and their hyperdrive technology was backward. They could only make use of cryogenic chambers to pass the long galactic travel duration.

A single day of travel for the galactic society could take the Kunde Race more than ten years.

However, all this changed a few years ago.

The Kunde Race would always remember the day that the spaceship wreckage had landed on their colonial planet. There was plenty of advanced technology that they had never seen before and information about countless alien civilizations.

They had finally met a civilization that was more powerful than them!

After researching the technology on the spaceship, the Kunde Race had finally developed many different technology fields such as hyperdrives, stargates, and quantum networks.

However, a huge shock accompanied the surprise. The spaceship had also recorded a powerful alien civilization called the Crimson Dynasty.

The information showed that the Crimson Dynasty was not only a powerful civilization but also a Universal Grade predator. All the civilizations discovered by them only had two paths to take: destruction or submission.

The outcome of submitting would be the loss of development opportunities, and they would never be able to go up to a higher level. Their future would be bleak, and they would be a vassal forever.

The Kunde Race had suspected the truthfulness of the information, but all the technology of the spaceship was real. As such, this was a form of assurance in the truthfulness of the information. It was a pity that only corpses were left behind on the spaceship, and there was not a living being to interrogate.

The data log of the spaceship indicated that the members of the spaceship were a bunch of escapees. They were escaping the expansion of the Crimson Dynasty and also announced that the Crimson Dynasty was not too far away from the Kunde Race. They had even recorded the possible route that the Crimson Dynasty would take, and this filled the Kunde Race with unease.

Data on long-distance surveillance equipment was also included in the databank, and the Kunde Race constructed the equipment and sent people to monitor the various locations where the Crimson Dynasty might appear. A few years later, this set of data came true, and there was indeed an unknown fleet appearing not too far away from their territory.

“The predators have appeared. What should we do? Should we contact them with friendly intentions or take the initiative to attack?” the Kunde leader said with a grave tone.

One of the upper echelons then slammed the table and said resolutely, “We cannot submit to them! We must make preparations. We must first find a route of retreat and a new homeland for our offspring. We should then seize the initiative to attack them before the enemy can discover us!”

“They are too powerful; we won’t be able to win. Our race may end up being wiped out instead. We cannot start a war with them and should first come into contact with them…”

“Stop dreaming! The only outcome of engaging with them is to become a vassal. Are you willing to lose our future and become like those races that we enslaved?”

“Perhaps the other party isn’t a predator but a friendly civilization?”

“Friendly civilization? Just how did you obtain your current position? Don’t forget. Have we even been friendly to the other intelligent races? Will there be a friendly civilization in the universe‽ Do you want to surrender and get our entire race enslaved‽”

“But how can we know if the information is real without trying?”

“Are you mad? All the technological skills are real. Why are you still doubting the veracity of the information‽”

The upper echelons continued arguing.

If not for the sudden descent of that spaceship, many of them would have agreed to first come into contact with the aliens.

However, many of the upper echelons believed that these alien civilizations were predators to take over their land.

Right at this moment, a strange fluctuation could be seen in the eyes of the Kunde leader, and he said coldly, “Stop arguing. I have come to a decision…”

Chapter 968: Shadow of the Exploration Era

Chapter 968 Shadow of the Exploration Era

The dynasty’s exploration method was to steadily expand their exploration scope. The exploration fleet had just entered both Star Clusters and was currently starting their exploration from the borders.

At the border Star System of the Dust Light Star Cluster, an exploration fleet had arrived on a green planet. The insignia of a Star System Civilization was inscribed on the armor of the spaceships, and they were in charge of exploring this region.

“Exiting hyperdrive, arriving at our destination. Cooling down the hyperdrive engine.”

“The planetary probe has been released. Examining the environment and resources on the planet.”

“Activating the life force scanner and checking for signs of life.”

In the main control room of the flagship, the staff of the exploration fleet were busy operating various equipment, and the commander was pacing around to wait for the test results.

Swoosh!

The door suddenly opened, and a man clad in heavy armor walked in.

The commander of the ship then turned around and said with respect, “Captain Kreb, do you need something?”

“I am only here to take a look,” the guy called Kreb said impatiently.

He was one of the Calamity Grade Supers in this subsidiary civilization and was in charge of their safety.

However, there would obviously be far too few opportunities for him to take action, and Kreb was only there as insurance. As such, he was not too happy to take on such a job and felt that it was a waste of his training time.

After waiting for a while, the test results were out and displayed on the screen of the main control room.

“Commander, the data has been analyzed. This is a habitable planet, and the resources on the planet are also rich. We also discovered traces of life on the planet, and we have already discovered 730,000 different species. There is one intelligent species on the planet, and they are currently in the tribal era. The degree of their intelligence is still unknown, and their population is about 120,000.”

The appearance of this intelligent species was then displayed on the screen. It looked like a goblin with plenty of creases on its white skin.

“An intelligent species. That isn’t too bad.” The commander nodded. “Make contact with them according to the rules.”

The dynasty had rules about the procedures of coming into contact with the native civilizations. They would take a different approach depending on the situation. For such natives that did not pose any threat, they would usually approach them with peace and education as the main focus. This was the method that Han Xiao had adopted when he came into contact with the natives on Planet Pangurus.

The fleet then landed in the forest, and the ground troops started to make contact with the native tribes. These natives were both afraid and shocked but extremely curious about these unknown beings at the same time.

Under the aid of the translation tool, this exploration fleet successfully set up a communication bridge with the natives. They explained their intentions to the natives and used various diagrams to explain the situation of the explored universe. They also introduced the Crimson Dynasty to the natives and explained the situation to them.

The accompanying doctor also began conducting tests on the natives to check for any unknown viruses on the body of the natives. There were far too many of such examples, and they began to check the biological structure of the natives.

Everything looked as though it was progressing orderly, and Kreb took a stroll in the camp.

He then suddenly saw a native leaving the line and suspiciously heading toward the house of another native.

Kreb didn’t think too much about the matter and wanted to continue walking but suddenly felt a sense of danger.

He immediately froze in place. Most Calamity Grade Supers had extremely astute senses and would be able to detect threats. Most powerful Supers trusted their instincts.

“Something seems wrong…” Kreb frowned and followed the suspicious looking native. He then pushed open the room door and walked into the native’s room.

This native had his back toward the door and turned around upon hearing something. It was as though he was shocked by someone appearing behind him.

“What are you doing?” The sense of danger grew even more intense.

The next moment, the expression of that native turned malevolent, and he took out a bone dagger to stab it toward Kreb’s neck.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind blew past, and Kreb instantly appeared before the other party. He then knocked the dagger away lightly and held the native by the neck.

He did not know the intentions of this native, but it would not be wrong for him to stop the attack.

But before he could even interrogate the other party, the native suddenly trembled with foam coming out from his mouth, and he died.

“He committed suicide?” Kreb was shocked.

Right at this moment, a gasp could be heard by the door, and Kreb ran out while holding onto the corpse. He then realized that a commotion was going on around the doctors. A large group of doctors were crowded around a medical instrument as though they had discovered something.

Kreb then went forward and looked at the individual in charge of the doctors.

“What are all of you doing?”

“Your Excellency, look at this gene report!” one of the doctors said with a strange look on his face. “We realized a huge flaw in the genes of this race. Furthermore, there are traces of their genes being modified, which resulted in at least eighty percent of their mental capacity being suppressed! In simple words, someone is trying to suppress their intelligence!”

“You mean to say that they are a being reared like animals?” Kreb asked.

Right at this moment, something happened!

Boom!

Everyone suddenly felt the ground beneath them tremble.

The next moment, an alarm went off in all the spaceships.

“Alert! Alert! Detecting high energy reaction, comparing energy reaction to the database… comparison complete. [Primordial Psionic Energy Explosion] has a 99.8% match. Evacuate immediately! Evacuate immediately!”

“Primordial Psionic Energy‽”

Everyone’s expression changed greatly.

Kreb suddenly seemed to have thought about something and smashed the head of the strange corpse in his arms. He then poured out all the contents of the head, and a small mechanical chip flowed out.

The instant he saw this mechanical chip, Kreb’s eyes narrowed, and he understood what was going on.

This was a life force detector. In simple terms, the detector would send out a signal when the life force of its host was lost, and it would trigger a switch or equipment on the other side. The Primordial Psionic Energy Explosion was probably related to this life force detector!

Boom!

The surface of the planet immediately collapsed, and a psionic blue energy erupted from underground.

Following which, the entire planet became contaminated.

The mountains, rivers, forests, land, ocean, sky… everything was swallowed by the blue psionic energy and became part of the Primordial Psionic Energy!

It expanded without end!

Everything was swallowed and disintegrated by the blue light. The exploration fleet was not able to escape from the rapid expansion of the energy and was swallowed up by the energy.

Kreb charged out from the spaceship and wanted to escape for his life. However, the endless blue light swallowed his figure up. In the face of the Primordial Psionic Energy, a Calamity Grade Super was no more than an ordinary living being.

The same scene occurred on a few planets in the Dust Light Star Cluster.

…

It had not been too long since the last meeting, but all the organizations participating in the exploration were gathered in Planet Lighthouse’s conference room once again.

This was an emergency meeting, and Han Xiao and the other Beyond Grade As were urgently summoned to attend the meeting.

Looking at the casualties on the screen, the atmosphere in the room was heavy.

“Our exploration fleet met with an accident in the Dust Light Star Cluster,” Tarrokov said with a grave voice. “More than six thousand battleships were destroyed with more than seven million casualties, including two Calamity Grade Supers.”

A small commotion was immediately created.

“Just what did they meet? Did they meet a powerful civilization?”

“How can there be such powerful natives in the Dust Light Star Cluster‽”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. He only knew that this native civilization created trouble for the dynasty but was not clear about the details. After all, this matter happened during the version update period, and the players did not experience it personally. They only understood what had happened from the background information.

Tarrokov raised his arms to get everyone to remain silent before saying, “The strength of this native civilization is far more powerful than your imagination. They have grasped psionic energy, and these fleets that were lost met with a Primordial Psionic Energy Explosion. We have reason to believe that it is a trap set by this unknown civilization.”

The moment these words were said, everyone present could not help but take in a deep breath.

They could accept a native civilization having a powerful army. With the dynasty’s battleship technology, suppressing a native civilization would not be a problem. Regardless of how powerful an ordinary army was, they would not be able to threaten their exploration fleet.

However, things were completely different if the native civilization had grasped psionic energy!

Under the rule of the three Universal Civilizations, the explored universe prohibited the use of Primordial Psionic Energy for weapons. Its strength was terrifying, and the pollution that it caused was even more severe.

To think that these natives actually grasped psionic energy!

Just how did they climb up the technological skill tree?

Could it be that they have other technology that we do not‽

Everyone present was filled with wariness and caution.

The feeling of facing such a native civilization was completely different. In the Galactic Society, even if one could not grasp some form of technology, one would know of the existence of the technology. But when facing a powerful native civilization that they had yet to see before, who knew what kind of strange technology they would suddenly bring out?

Many of the civilizations had experienced the exploration warring era and felt a sense of deja vu. None of them knew the trump cards that the other civilizations had, such as the Federation of Light’s Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, the Arcane Church’s Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and the Evolutionary Civilization’s transformation.

This native civilization naturally would not be restricted by the rules of the Galactic Society and would not be bothered about casually throwing psionic energy around. It was like giving a child a pistol. Everyone present had a feeling that the death rate this time would be high.

“What is the dynasty’s plan?” someone asked.

Tarrokov said coldly, “The situation is still unknown, and this native civilization isn’t friendly to us and poses a high threat to us. According to the ‘Exploration Rules: Rules of Contact’, we will be adopting method twenty-four.”

Many of them could not help but gasp in shock upon hearing that.

This was the final method. Compared to the other methods, this method was extremely simple. They would use war to achieve their motive and stop when the opposing civilization was enslaved or wiped out.

A civilization capable of walking out from the exploration era and becoming the tyrant of the universe definitely was not kind.

The exploration of the Flickering World was a little similar to the exploration era, and the difference was that the three Universal Civilizations were already tyrants. They were confident of employing more gentle means, and this gave weak civilizations the chance to protect themselves.

The more powerful the natives, the stricter the attitudes of the three Universal Civilizations.

A native civilization that had grasped psionic energy was already a threat, and the Crimson Dynasty would not mind killing them in their infancy to reduce their Star Cluster level enemies by one. This would be beneficial to the Galactic Society.

Tarrokov then said coldly with his gaze sweeping past everyone present, “We are completely clueless about them. We aren’t aware of their location or their species. However, the other party has already launched accurate attacks, which means that they have some intelligence in their hands. Before this, we have not come into contact with this civilization. Thus, it is likely that someone is pulling strings from the dark, and the most suspicious individuals are the stowaways.”

The looks of the representatives present all turned strange.

This was not too difficult to guess. It was difficult for a single civilization to form a complete technological skill tree. The benefit of the Galactic Society was the exchange of technological skills. The stowaways must have thrown a bag of technological skills to the native civilizations, including psionic energy skills.

These Super Star Cluster Civilizations also had sufficient motives. First, they wanted to wound the armed forces of the dynasty. Second, they wanted to delay the exploration. Third, they wanted to kill with a borrowed knife and get rid of the powerful native civilizations to free up more space in the Flickering World.

Of course, they would not just throw the technological skills to anyone. Only a native civilization that had sufficient production capabilities would be their target.

“I announce that the exploration plan of the Dust Light Star Cluster shall come to an end. The dynasty’s exploration fleet will be going to war,” Tarrokov said with a deep voice.

Everyone nodded solemnly.

Before taking care of the enemy, they would not continue with their exploration. The dynasty had plenty of war experience and had many different plans to employ.

The enemy had the advantage in terms of intelligence, but this advantage would not last long. The Oracles in the dynasty’s fleet would come into use soon, and the Mechanics were not there for show either.

With the dynasty gathering their troops, the Black Star Army was also summoned. However, Han Xiao was not planning to take action personally. He wanted to let Nero and his subordinates join the battle. He only needed to send his mechanical army to protect Nero secretly.

He knew that the Kunde Race did not have any Supers. Their greatest threat came from the explosion of the psionic energy. As long as they avoided these battlefields, the number of casualties can be reduced.

My advantage of being familiar with the map can be put to use here, Han Xiao thought to himself.

…

At the same time, in the Dust Light Star Cluster, countless spaceships that were holding numerous civilians disappeared into space. Looking at this scene, the Kunde Race soldiers all had strange feelings in their hearts.

“Report, the migration fleet of every colonial planet has set off. The local civilians are all on board, and they are going to search for a new homeland together with all the races that they’ve discovered.”

Upon listening to his subordinate’s report, the Kunde Race leader nodded silently, and the other upper echelons fell silent.

The information on the spaceship wreckage did not lie to them. They had arranged for some enslaved subsidiary civilizations to come into contact with the other party, and the other party was indeed called the Crimson Dynasty. They were just as powerful as stated in the information.

Although the other party seemed extremely friendly, in the eyes of the Kunde Race, their ambitions were hidden under their friendly facade.

Originally, the resources of the entire Star Cluster would be theirs for development and evolution. However, the Crimson Dynasty had arrived and wanted to snatch these resources away from them. Their way out had been blocked, and they could no longer develop normally.

In this regard, the Super Star Cluster Civilizations did not lie.

The Kunde Race was not willing to become a vassal. The universe was a vast place, and they still had routes of retreat.

From the moment they decided to resist, they had planned for the worst. They sent most of their civilians into the depths of the space and left behind the seed for the civilization. Regardless of their victory or defeat, they would no longer have a chance to develop normally in this place. As such, they might as well send their race over to a new hometown where they would not be disturbed.

Only the Kunde Race’s army was left behind to defend their land.

War was something that could not be avoided for peace.

Chapter 969: Familiar Face and Exchanging Fire

Chapter 969 Familiar Face and Exchanging Fire

Deactivating his long-distance projection, Han Xiao’s viewpoint returned to his room. Before he even moved, a notification popped up on his interface. It was an Urgent Mission for the dynasty.

The contents of the mission were to listen to the dynasty’s plans and carry out various war missions to deal with the Kunde Race. It was similar to the secret war mission, and Han Xiao was no stranger to it.

“According to the reward of the secret war, if I can complete a war mission at such a level, there is a high chance of receiving Legendary Points, Political Assets, or a new dungeon type reward. Oh right, my Contribution Points should also be able to increase greatly.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin, uncertain. After all, Purple Crystal and Klent were close to each other in strength during the secret war. But to the dynasty, the Kunde Race was no more than just a little threat. Getting rid of the Kunde Race was not difficult, and the reward might not be as much as the secret war.

However, he would just take whatever came his way. His target this time was mainly to trigger various missions from Nero.

Although he was not planning to participate personally, Han Xiao would not slack off completely. He would not mind providing the dynasty with some Virtual Technology support during the war. Furthermore, Han Xiao was not planning to hide his map advantage.

The map that he referred to was not the star map. The astronomy observation equipment of a Universal Civilization was well developed, and they had already plotted out a map of the entire Flickering World. However, the details of the map could only be completed through exploration.

Han Xiao was familiar with the territory of the Kunde Race, and such information naturally would not be on the unexplored star map. This meant that the dynasty would not need to slowly explore the region and could charge straight into the Kunde Race’s territory.

Of course, the dynasty would need to believe his intelligence. Even with his Beyond Grade A status, he could not interfere with the war orders of the dynasty. Every advanced civilization would definitely be skeptical of unverified intelligence.

Han Xiao was not too bothered about this. He had the name of a fortune teller, and he still had the famous Aesop by his side. Furthermore, the dynasty would also make use of many Oracles, so it would not be a problem for him to release intelligence.

However, in order to prevent others from framing the Kunde Race, Han Xiao also could not give the dynasty too detailed information. Although he could do as he wanted at his level, being careful would save him some trouble in the future.

“A Star Cluster level war, this is the second time I’ll participate in one, but this is different from the secret war…”

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

The secret war was a proxy war, and although the scale of the war was large, it did not involve the life and death of a race. This time, one party would be fighting to protect their homeland and would definitely employ all their strength and means.

Even if the Kunde Race was a native Star Cluster civilization, the scale of this war could not be compared to the secret war.

Han Xiao did not feel too much enmity toward the Kunde Race, but he did not have any goodwill toward them either. If he was a part of the Kunde Race, he would not be happy if a foreign civilization attempted to snatch his resources as well. By the time the Crimson Dynasty fully explored the Dust Light Star Cluster, it would be akin to locking the Kunde Race in this Star Cluster and limiting them to the level of a Star Cluster Civilization.

However, he was currently in the dynasty’s faction. The dynasty’s motive of exploring a new Star Field was to obtain new resources. With the advantage of absolute military might by their side, it was impossible for them to stop. It could only be said that both parties had a conflict of interests.

Since neither party was in the wrong, the one who was wrong would be the loser.

Han Xiao then wrote up a letter and sent some intelligence about the Kunde Race to Tarrokov. Without waiting for a reply, he sent out an order to gather his army.

“Summoning us to participate in the war?”

In the exploration fleet of the Black Star Army, the members of the Black Star Army received a message on their communicator. Some of them were excited, while others were grave.

Nero was a member of this exploration squad, and he immediately felt nervous upon receiving the order.

He had not made mental preparations for this sudden war. He had only participated in various different sparring matches but had never participated in a true war before. It was impossible for him not to be nervous.

Various different thoughts flashed through his head, and Nero could not help but let his imagination run wild. Will I be able to kill the enemy?

What does killing feel like?

Will I be killed by the enemy?

Will Mia participate in the war as well? Will she be in danger?

Just when he was letting his imagination run wild, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was the captain of his squad, a burly freelance mercenary.

“Don’t worry kid, we will take care of you.” The captain laughed heartily.

“Relax.” The vice captain, who was currently memorizing his spells, looked over and said casually, “I participated in the secret war before, and war is only so-so. It is either kill or be killed. Death in a galactic war of such a level will happen in an instant. There won’t be any pain, so there isn’t anything to be nervous about.” Nero rubbed his head and forced out a smile upon hearing that. He had been sent to this squad under the identity of a maintenance staff. His captain and vice captain took good care of him, and his other squad mates treated him pretty well too.

In the battle squad of such a level, his background was not that important, and his personal combat strength was the most important. Nero’s strength was not too weak, and his Mechanic skills were outstanding. Thus, the other members of the team were willing to take care of him.

Although Nero was indeed feeling nervous about participating in the war, he did not have any intentions of contacting Han Xiao. He did not wish for any special treatment. While his godfather might agree to not let him enter the battlefield, his godfather would definitely look down on him. Nero did not want to let his godfather down after studying for such a long time.

Nero then walked to the side and took out his communicator. After hesitating for a moment, he dialed Mia’s number.

After ringing for a while, the other party picked up, but neither of them said anything. Only their breathing could be heard.

After a few seconds of silence, Nero then said, “Um… Did you see the internal notice already? I am going to war.”

“Oh.”

“Er… Aren’t you going to be worried for me?”

“What’s there to be worried about? I was also summoned.” Mia snorted.

Nero felt his heart sink, and he said with hesitation, “Er… are you nervous?” “What’s there to be nervous about?” Mia asked with a strange tone. “Didn’t you already know that such a day would come when you became a Super? I am looking forward to the battle.”

Nero was completely speechless and could only say, “Pay attention to your own safety. We aren’t in the same squad, and I won’t be able to protect you…”

“Who needs your protection?” Mia rolled her eyes. “You should take good care of yourself. Don’t die.”

The call was then cut off.

Nero then placed his communicator down and rubbed his nose with resignation.

He still preferred the shy and timid Mia that he had first met. Ever since she became a Pugilist, her violent tendencies had gotten worse.

There was no such thing as an absolute secret in the world, and the Crimson Dynasty was not attempting to hide anything.

Not too long later, news reached the explored universe, and the various Star Fields found out that the dynasty was preparing to go to war.

Most of the galactic residents did not have too much of an opinion. It was not surprising to them since the dynasty was dealing with a bunch of natives. They would rather the dynasty clean up all their enemies quickly and finish up the exploration early so that they could all go to the Flickering World and play. There was also a small group of individuals who took pity on the native civilizations and were crying out for peace. However, no one could be bothered with them, and their actions would not be able to influence the actions of an advanced civilization.

Most of the organizations were not too bothered by the news, but the various Super Star Cluster Civilizations were all extremely happy.

They hoped that the Kunde Race would be able to create as much trouble for the dynasty as possible. With the Primordial Psionic Energy, the Kunde Race definitely had the strength to cause damage to the dynasty. The more they killed, the better. It would be best if a few of the dynasty’s Beyond Grade As died as well. Regardless of who won or lost, they would not be on the losing end anyway.

The exploration of the Dust Light Star Cluster was suspended, and the dynasty was gathering their troops on Planet Lighthouse.

Apart from the exploration fleet, the Crimson Dynasty mobilized their elites from the Central Galaxy.

While it was partly because they did not want to underestimate the enemy, it was also to train their soldiers. They would not be able to easily meet such a war in the explored universe, and this was a good chance to train their soldiers.

Because Han Xiao was not personally interfering, the Black Star Army fleet would be led by Herlous.

“The army this time is made from many different organizations. I will be the chief commander, and I am in charge of deciding the overall strategy. Every army will have their own commander to lead the various allies. The commander in charge of your Black Star fleet has also been decided.”

Tarrokov then opened a resume and showed it to Herlous.

After looking at the resume, Herlous felt that it was pretty familiar.

“Teny Amenos?”

“That’s right, it’s him.”

“His rank isn’t high. Will he be able to do the job?” Herlous asked with doubt.

“Ah ah, don’t worry. He is an officer that the dynasty is currently training, and he has outstanding commanding abilities.” Tarrokov smiled. “He arrived at Planet Lighthouse not too long ago. Follow me to meet him.”

As he said that, Tarrokov knocked on the table and the room door was immediately pushed open. A military officer then walked into the room with his aide-de-camp behind him.

“We meet again, my friend from the Black Star Army.” The military officer nodded.

“Oh! So it’s you.” Herlous immediately recalled where he had met this individual.

He was an elite of the dynasty who had accepted the evolution energy of the Evolution Cube, the future Dynasty Marshal. He had a short interaction with Han Xiao eight to nine years ago, and the vice commander beside him was his trusted aide, Corbus.

Herlous stood up, and both of them shook hands before sitting back down. “It has been almost ten years since I last saw Black Star. I am truly happy for him that his status is getting higher and higher,” Teny said.

Herlous nodded before said curiously, “Your rank must’ve increased already. You were only a Colonel the last I saw you.”

“I earned some merits, but my merits can’t be compared to Black Star.” Teny shook his head. “I requested to be the commander of the Black Star fleet and hope to reduce your casualties.”

“Then I have to thank you for that.” Herlous was overjoyed. As an allied organization of the dynasty, he was the most afraid of an incompetent commander.

“There isn’t a need to thank me. You can treat it as me repaying a favor.” Teny waved his arms. “Black Star gave me a set of mechanical guards that was personally constructed by him back then, which helped me overcome a few difficulties. I should be the one thanking him.”

“I see.”

Herlous came to a realization. There was no such thing as a free lunch. It turned out that the other party owed a favor to his boss.

He could not help but praise Han Xiao’s foresight.

“I will pay a visit to the Garu Star Cluster to see Black Star after the end of the battle. I hope that he will be free,” Teny said.

“Don’t worry, the officers will be the ones in charge of the army, and he is extremely free every day.” Herlous immediately sold Han Xiao out.

Both of them then chatted for a while until Tarrokov coughed. They left Tarrokov’s office together and continued chatting with each other.

As they were walking about the base, Teny met someone he knew, another commander of the dynasty. Both of them greeted each other and chatted casually.

Herlous was not too bothered at the start but realized that the skinny aide-de-camp beside this commander kept staring at him with a profound look.

“Eh… cough, what are you looking at me for?” Herlous asked.

That aide-de-camp then chuckled. Pointing at Herlous’ uniform, he asked, “You’re a member of the Black Star Army, right?”

“I am the fleet commander of the Black Star Army, Herlous. I wonder, how can I address you?” Herlous nodded. “Ah, call me Gaud.”

“Have we met before? Why do you keep staring at me?” Herlous asked.

Gaud laughed and said, “Nope, but I have always admired Black Star. This is my first time seeing an officer of the Black Star Army, and I am a little curious.”

He then turned around without the intention of continuing the conversation.

Upon seeing that, Herlous sized Gaud up and was secretly shocked. This fellow called Gaud obviously did not have much of a presence, but Herlous could not help but feel a sense of pressure when standing beside him.

At this moment, Teny finished his conversation with the other party, and he left with Gaud.

“Do you know that aide-de-camp?” Herlous asked.

Teny shook his head, and Corbus replied instead.

“You’re talking about Gaud? I know him. What’s the matter?”

“I chatted with him a bit just now and am a little curious.”

Corbus nodded and said, “This Gaud isn’t a graduate of the military academy, and he hasn’t been serving the army for a long time. However, he is a Super with great potential and was spotted by that commander. His various abilities are extremely outstanding, and I heard that he is on the list of individuals to be trained by the military.”

“This resume sounds very ordinary…”

Herlous could not understand where the pressure came from, but he was certain that his feelings were accurate.

However, there was not much of a need for him to bother about such things, and he continued chatting with Teny, throwing Gaud to the back of his mind quickly.

The dynasty was extremely efficient. They only took a few days to gather their forces.

The dynasty originally did not know the location of the Kunde Race and originally planned to first send out their scouts to search ahead. However, Black Star had sent them an intelligence report not too long ago that marked out the rough location of the Kunde Race in the Dust Light Star Cluster. Although there were no accurate coordinates, it saved the dynasty a great deal of trouble.

Although the intelligence report was not too accurate, it allowed the dynasty to narrow down their scope of operations. Many reconnaissance squads were sent out toward the coordinates that Black Star had marked out, and the army also began moving toward the different directions.

With an entire Star Cluster as their battlefield, mobility was the key factor, and the stargates would be the blood vessels connecting the army.

Because of the Primordial Psionic Energy Explosion trap, the dynasty had already tacitly acknowledged that the other party had stargate technology. As such, the dynasty paid close attention to protecting their own stargates to prevent the enemy from launching an ambush.

However, the army did not meet a single enemy over the following half a month. The enemy was in the dark while they were in the light, and the enemy seemed to have disappeared.

A couple of days later, this situation changed, and the dynasty finally exchanged fire with the Kunde Race fleet.

The location of the battle was Planet Lighthouse!

Chapter 970: Taking Out Unknown Technology

Chapter 970 Taking Out Unknown Technology

Half an hour earlier…

In the desolate universe belt far away from Planet Lighthouse, a Kunde Race fleet exited from the stargate and split up into various divisions. They then entered hyperdrive and approached Planet Lighthouse from different directions.

After the attack of the Arcane Church and EsGod, the Crimson Dynasty had expanded their surveillance perimeter several times. Not too long after the Kunde Race fleet appeared, they were detected by space detection equipment. However, the Kunde Race fleet completely ignored the fact that they were spotted and charged straight at Planet Lighthouse.

The command room of the flagship had a gray and blue theme. The various control panels were structured in a way for carapace creatures to use. The commander of the fleet was a gigantic lobster with flame like engravings on its shell.

The Kunde Race was also split up into different branches, and one of their branches had a special feature. Some parts of their shells would change colors according to their emotions. Red represented anger and agitation, and this commander was currently in a state of rage.

Yelu, a military commander of the Kunde Race, was an aggressive commander who had volunteered to participate in this ambush mission. He and the other members of the fleet knew that chances of returning alive were slim, but they had still chosen to accept the mission.

“How far are we from Planet Lighthouse?”

“Commander, we will still need about four hours.”

“Speed up,” Yelu said with a baleful aura. He hated the fact that he could not immediately unleash his firepower on the enemy.

It had only been a few years since the Kunde Race obtained the stargate and hyperdrive technology. Even if they had powerful production capability, they could not equip all of their fleets with such equipment. Furthermore, the Kunde Race still was not familiar with this technological skill and could not come up with too many tricks.

They naturally would not be able to ambush the enemy since they still had to travel for another four hours. However, this was already the best that the Kunde Race could do. They were only able to secretly place the stargate at this location; any nearer would have been impossible.

However, this fleet was not concerned about being discovered, and their plan was to launch a head-on attack.

In the information of the spaceship wreckage, a rough outline of Planet Lighthouse’s surveillance perimeter was marked out. It was also indicated that this was the command center of the Crimson Dynasty. The Kunde Race had used their long-distance surveillance equipment to verify this fact as well. As such, they had come up with the plan of attacking Planet Lighthouse while they sent their forces out.

The Kunde Race knew that it would be difficult for them to emerge victorious if they fought a head-on battle. As such, they could only take the risk of attacking the enemy’s headquarters. This way, they might be able to cut off the enemy’s path of retreat.

Their fleet carried a large amount of Primordial Psionic Energy weapons, and the Kunde Race truly believed in the strength of this item. As long as they could approach Planet Lighthouse, and as long as a single one of these weapons could hit Planet Lighthouse, their objective would be complete. The Primordial Psionic Energy was able to ignore most defenses, and most shields would only serve to provide energy for it.

Although they knew that it would be difficult for them to return alive, all of them in the fleet had a resolute will and were not afraid of death.

On one hand, it was because of their fury and hatred toward the dynasty. On the other hand, it was because of the fear in their heart. The reason for their fear was related to Han Xiao.

Originally, the Kunde Race paid attention to hiding their location because they were at a disadvantage. As long as the location of their territory was not revealed, they would be able to use that to their advantage and make many strategic arrangements.

However, the Crimson Dynasty did not scout ahead and actually went directly to their territory. This ruined many of the Kunde Race’s plans and made them flustered.

With the location of their territory being exposed, most of the methods that they had prepared became useless, and their entire army was placed in danger. Many of them were thankful that they had sent away most of their civilians. If not, they would have been in an even more passive position.

Helpless, the Kunde Race could only come up with a desperate method to attack the enemy headquarters.

The sole cause behind this entire event was Han Xiao, who had provided the intelligence. He saved the dynasty a great deal of effort and also forced the Kunde Race to make such a risky move.

…

In the command room of Planet Lighthouse, Tarrokov and the other commanders were gathered together. Their gazes were fixed on the star map and the red dots that represented the Kunde Race fleet approaching them with a countdown counter in the top-right corner of the screen.

“The enemy is approaching Planet Lighthouse and will arrive in about three hours,” Tarrokov said with his arms behind his back. His expression was calm. He did not feel any pressure.

Everyone present was also calm and not too surprised by this development.

This was one of the outcomes that they had predicted, and they had made the necessary preparations. The enemy did not have any chance in a head-on battle and thus were extremely likely to make a risky move.

During the exploration era, the Crimson Dynasty had met plenty of different ambushes and were extremely experienced in dealing with ambushes. As such, the commanders present were not nervous at all. Some of them even felt like laughing.

The native civilization that had far too little battle experience was like a little child before their eyes, and all their actions were within their predictions.

They wanted to launch an ambush without the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device?

They did not have the might of the Federation of Light but had the habits of the Federation of Light.

Planet Lighthouse was truly fraught with difficulties, and they were used to people coming after them.

After the last lesson, even if they sent out a large fleet, they would still leave sufficient spaceships to guard Planet Lighthouse. Furthermore, they had also expanded their surveillance perimeter, which resulted in the enemy requiring a longer time to reach Planet Lighthouse. A few hours was sufficient for their allies from Renault, Garu, and Crown to arrive. In fact, the army that they had sent out would also be able to return through the various stargates in time.

“Everyone is already aware of the situation. The only threat that the enemy can pose to us is by using Primordial Psionic Energy weapons.” Tarrokov paced around and spoke slowly. “We have sufficient preparation time and will have to wipe out all the attacking spaceships before they can arrive on Planet Lighthouse. We will be in trouble if they are allowed to launch even a single attack on Planet Lighthouse.”

“I wish to apply for the use of Primordial Psionic Energy weapons. Just like Black Star said, we should pay them back in their own coin,” a commander from the hawk faction said.

“Hmm, alright.” Tarrokov nodded.

The use of Primordial Psionic Energy weapons was prohibited in the explored universe, but since the enemy had already made use of it, the dynasty would not hold back. Since the universe would be polluted anyway, there was no need for them to care.

However, although he allowed the use of the Primordial Psionic Energy weapons, Tarrokov had other plans. He then added in a deep voice, “The strength of the Primordial Psionic Energy weapons is far too terrifying. If possible, try to make use of ordinary weapons to capture the enemy and enemy spaceships. This is the best chance to obtain information about the enemy. Don’t forget that we do not know anything about their civilization. Furthermore, get the Virtual Mechanic squad to be on standby. Their help will be useful.”

The dynasty had a large number of Virtual Mechanics, and there was no need for them to borrow the strength of a Beyond Grade A ally to face a native civilization. Black Star’s fee was currently pretty expensive…

…

After noticing the enemy’s intentions, the defense fleet of Planet Lighthouse began to set off to intercept the enemy.

Not too long later, both parties met in the desolate universe belt near Primordial Psionic Energy. The battle was not as peaceful as the battle in the explored universe, and both parties were using Primordial Psionic Energy weapons without any restraint.

In the open universe, the expansion of Primordial Psionic Energy was not as fast as it did not have an entire planet to swallow up. However, it was still equally dangerous as it would not dissipate.

The Primordial Psionic Energy was able to remain in the battlefield for a long time, and the spaceships could only opt to avoid it. Furthermore, the psionic energy sphere was still expanding and releasing a powerful attraction force to suck up the various spare parts of the destroyed spaceships. It was just like a mini black hole.

In such a complicated battlefield, everyone was wary of the other party’s long-distance attacks.

“Commander, spaceships 078, 075, and 102 have been boarded by the enemy, and the guards on board aren’t able to block the enemy.”

In the main flagship of the Kunde Race fleet, the scenes of the Supers slaughtering the Kunde Race soldiers were shown.

Upon seeing this scene, Yelu said with an unfriendly tone, “This is the Super that is mentioned in the information, huh? They are actually able to obtain superhuman strength without any modification of their genes‽”

“Commander, the situation isn’t to our advantage. What should we do?”

Upon hearing that, Yelu glanced at the star map before him. There was a technological gap between their fleet and the enemy, and their losses were huge.

Although their operation this time was no different from suicide, they were not even able to see the shadow of Planet Lighthouse and had lost so many ships.

Everyone looked at him and seemed to be mentally preparing themselves for something.

Yelu then gritted his teeth and said with a malevolent tone, “It has been my honor to fight alongside all of you. Listen to my orders, activate the spacetime splicing equipment!”

…

On the other side, Han Xiao had already received news of the battle, and his long-distance projection was currently watching the battle on Planet Lighthouse.

The dynasty dealt with the assault of the Kunde Race fleet promptly, and the enemy was not able to fight back at all. It was not that easy to make up for the gap in technology.

Tarrokov controlled the situation calmly while Han Xiao slacked off by the side.

Although the situation was extremely good, Han Xiao had a doubt in his head.

Strange… the Kunde Race seems to be extremely weak. Just how did they create trouble for the dynasty in my previous life?

The situation was slightly different from what he had expected. The way he saw it, the Kunde Race should have been able to fight the dynasty on somewhat equal grounds since they could be written down in history as a troublesome opponent. Why was the enemy so weak?

A group of Virtual Mechanics were currently breaking through the firewall of the Kunde Race fleet, and their progress was smooth.

They would be able to obtain an entire fleet in a few more minutes, and there was no need for him to take action.

The Kunde Race no longer has a chance to turn the situation around. Strange, Han Xiao thought to himself.

Just when he was deep in thought, a Virtual Mechanic suddenly said with a doubtful tone, “Chief Commander, we’ve discovered a problem.”

Tarrokov looked over and asked doubtfully, “What problem?”

“This… the enemy fleet disappeared from the quantum network, and we are unable to receive any signals. Our Virtual Intrusion has been automatically cut off, but they did not forcefully go offline.”

Before Tarrokov could even respond, a strange scene occurred on the battlefield.

All of a sudden, all the Kunde Race spaceships seemed to have frozen on the spot.

The dynasty’s army would not fall into a daze and continued to rain down their attacks. More than half of the battleships were immediately destroyed, including Yelu’s flagship.

Right at this moment, a change occurred!

A spatial distortion could then be seen on these destroyed spaceships, and before everyone could react, these spaceships were suddenly repaired and returned to their state before being destroyed. At the same time, they moved forward a great deal as though they had teleported.

The dynasty’s army hesitated for a moment before attacking again. However, the exact same scene occurred, and the Kunde Race fleet moved forward again.

This time, the dynasty’s fleet no longer attacked by the Kunde Race fleet still moved forward as though they had teleported.

“What is this?” Tarrokov, who had observed this scene, was also at a loss.

Ohm!

Right at this moment, an alarm went off in the room!

“Detecting a spacetime ripple. Matching it with the database… Match not found. Creating a new file…”

At the same time, the dynasty’s army used all the means that they had to attack the enemy fleet but to no avail. Furthermore, they continued to approach Planet Lighthouse, and it was impossible to stop them.

Upon seeing this scene, Tarrokov took a deep breath and adjusted his emotions. He then shook his head and said, “It seems like we have underestimated them. We can’t look down on any civilization.”

Everyone then looked at each other with strange looks on their faces.

They originally thought that this would be an easy battle but never expected the enemy to suddenly take out unknown technology. It seemed related to spacetime, and who knew how they climbed up the technological skill tree?

Just when the commanders were at a loss, Han Xiao also fell into a daze.

He recognized this technology!

However, he had never imagined that it came from the Kunde Race!

This was one of their trump cards when dealing with the World Tree in his previous life!

Chapter 971: Spacetime Splicing Technology

Chapter 971 Spacetime Splicing Technology

The same theory would usually result in different technological skills. Being a Universal Civilization did not mean that they were omniscient. Just like how the three Universal Civilizations could not grasp each other’s specialty technology, the various civilizations would have a technological skill tree that was unique to themselves.

Han Xiao was familiar with the special skill that the Kunde Race had displayed. It was a technological skill called Spacetime Splicing Technology. It was a branch of spacetime theory.

Spacetime skills were extremely advanced, but they were not rare. The three Universal Civilizations and the various Star Cluster Civilizations had all grasped a certain degree of spacetime technology. Even the Mages had some spacetime related spells.

However, the Spacetime Splicing Technology also had its own uniqueness.

The three Universal Civilizations did not reveal the exact theory behind it in Han Xiao’s previous life, and Han Xiao only understood the general situation. This Spacetime Splicing Technology seemed to be a type of spacetime shuttling technique, but it was very different.

The way Han Xiao saw it, the Kunde Race fleet was able to restore themselves because they used the Spacetime Splicing Technology to freeze their fleet in a state before being destroyed. Regardless of how many times they were destroyed, they would be able to return to their previous state. It was like the legendary save and load method.

The movement of the fleet was the other effect of the Spacetime Splicing Technology. They first made a certain action into a parameter and simulated the entire action in spacetime. They then broke apart the spacetime continuum and split spacetime up into different time fragments. To put it simply, they transformed ‘something that they wanted to do’ into a movie with every time fragment being a scene in the movie.

Following which, they then locked themselves in the spacetime fabric and cut off the past and future. The entire process was cut off, and only the present was left behind. As such, the fleet would jump to different points in time while skipping through the process. Because there was no process, the attacks of the dynasty were not able to stop them.

Another way of putting it was that the fleet transformed into a high ping warrior. Even if they got hit, they were only hit in the previous frame.

This technological skill had many different uses but also had its side effects. The spacetime fabric of the entire universe was connected and a system that could not be calculated. As long as there were any peculiarities in the fabric, it would be self-corrected.

For example, after various spacetime freezing or slowdown spells were used, the area of effect would slowly revert back to normal, leaving behind the modified physical objects. However, it would not have an effect on the spacetime fabric.

The side effects of the Spacetime Splicing Technology came from the self recovery of the spacetime fabric after being broken.

By the time the spacetime fabric repaired itself, their entire physical being would be completely wiped out as though they did not exist.

This meant that their deaths were already announced, and they would disappear anytime.

In my previous life, the three Universal Civilizations made use of a lot of supporting equipment to stabilize the spacetime fabric in order to greatly extend the time taken for the fleet to disappear. If the dynasty took this technology from the Kunde Race, it means that the dynasty will definitely improve on it over the next few versions, and the Spacetime Splicing Technology in the Kunde Race’s hands is probably only the first version. This means that it will be much easier to deal with them, and the side effects will be far worse.

Meeting the attack of a native civilization would only give the dynasty trouble. But now, the dynasty would be able to receive a decent spoil of war.

Who knew whether the stowaways that secretly gave the natives technology knew that the Kunde Race grasped such a technology? Although the stowaways would definitely observe the strength of the Kunde Race, the Spacetime Splicing Technology was a confidential technological skill, and it would not be discovered so easily.

The stowaways in the Flickering World were not too different from suicide troops, and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations would not send out too many Calamity Grades for such a mission.

“If they didn’t know about it, they will definitely suffer a huge loss. They wanted to backstab the dynasty but ended up giving them a huge treasure,” Han Xiao sneered in his mind.

On the other side, Tarrokov did not remain idle either.

As an experienced commander, he had been through many different battles. Although he did not know the theory behind the Spacetime Splicing Technology, the alarm said that it was related to spacetime and thus employed the relevant measures.

Very quickly, a dynasty fleet awaiting their orders on Planet Lighthouse set off with a large amount of spacetime stabilizing equipment and a large group of Mages that specialized in spacetime magic.

Ordinary attacks were not useful, but spacetime attacks would create some trouble for the Kunde Race fleet.

After the second fleet entered the battle, the situation changed greatly. The distance that the Kunde Race fleet could move shortened, and the speed of their disappearance increased.

Everyone in the command room watched the battle calmly.

After a short while, the Kunde Race disappeared and never appeared again.

There was not an intense battle scene, and the Kunde Race fleet was wiped out just like that.

Despite the enemy knowing that their death was certain, they still wanted to deal a heavy blow to the enemy.

“Has it been settled?” Tarrokov asked doubtfully.

“Chief Commander, spacetime has returned to normal, and there aren’t any abnormalities on the radar.”

“Er… this may be the side effect of the enemy’s technology. It shouldn’t be perfected yet. However, we cannot let down our guard before being sure that the enemy has been destroyed. Continue to scan the surrounding region. Also, open the shield of Planet Lighthouse and activate the emergency escape system. If the enemy suddenly appears near the planet, we will be able to escape safely.”

Because he did not understand the enemy, he did not dare let his guard down.

Han Xiao, however, already knew that the enemy was dead and thought to himself, The dynasty obtained this technology from the Kunde Race in my previous life, but I didn’t receive any news about it. This means that the dynasty did a good job keeping the matter confidential. I don’t think they will allow their allies to exchange for such technology. Thus, I will have to take things into my own hands if I want to grab this technology.

It was a rare opportunity for him to obtain unique technology. Han Xiao was truly tempted.

Since the dynasty still was not aware of the theory of the Spacetime Splicing Technology, he could make use of this opportunity to obtain it for himself.

Although he would not be able to use it, the members of the army might be able to use it.

Would the Spacetime Amber be compatible with the Spacetime Splicing Technology? Han Xiao was a little curious.

…

In the depths of the Dust Light Star Cluster, a large Kunde Race fleet was slowly moving in the universe.

In the conference room of the main flagship, the leader and upper echelons of the Kunde Race were present.

After discovering that the Crimson Dynasty was coming after their territory, the upper echelons had resolutely left their mother planet and followed the fleet.

Since they had already sent out most of their civilians and temporarily abandoned all their colonial planets, they no longer needed to hesitate about war.

“We’ve lost contact with Yelu. The assault plan has failed.”

“Have they died?”

“I am not sure. They should have used the Spacetime Splicing Technology.”

“Does this mean that even the Spacetime Splicing Technology is useless against the dynasty?”

Everyone’s mood was heavy as they listened to the report.

The Kunde Race leader then said slowly, “Make use of the scorched earth plan.”

Upon hearing that, everyone’s expression… shells changed slightly.

They had come up with many different plans, and the scorched earth plan was their final resort. They had originally planned to only make use of such a plan when their loss was determined, but they never imagined that their leader would start off with such a plan.

In truth, the members of the upper echelons present were not confident about the war either. The only reason they had stayed behind was because they were not willing to hand over their homeland to bandits. They did not wish to let the Crimson Dynasty take over their homeland without paying a price.

The scorched earth plan would make use of the never-ending expansion property of the Primordial Psionic Energy to destroy their homeland to ensure that the dynasty would not be able to obtain anything. They would then retreat and follow the members of their race.

However, they found it difficult to destroy their own homeland.

As no one responded to him, the Kunde Race leader said with a deep voice, “Since no one objects to the plan, begin the arrangements. As for the Crimson Dynasty’s fleet, send out our fleet to intercept them and tie the enemy down. Try to stall for time and slowly let them into our homeland and the lockdown region of the scorched earth plan.”

Everyone’s mood was heavy. There was no turning back if they chose to destroy their homeland.

The scorched earth plan required time to implement, and they needed to send their fleet to slow down the dynasty. This meant that many of their comrades would die on the front lines.

…

A few days after the ambush on Planet Lighthouse, war finally erupted on the frontlines, and the Kunde Race fleet appeared to exchange fire with the dynasty’s fleet.

The division that Teny led also met more and more enemies.

It was not that there was not an opportunity for battle. However, Teny was far too good at fighting, and the enemies that he met were all easily defeated by his strategies. They would be able to defeat the enemy in a long-ranged battle, and there was not even a chance to engage in close quarters combat.

Furthermore, Teny intended to protect the members of the Black Star Army, so Nero was not even able to fight a single battle after following the fleet for almost a month.

If this continued, Han Xiao was tempted to use his Virtual Intrusion and remotely control the Kunde Race to attack Teny.

Thankfully, Teny did not let Han Xiao stretch out his demonic hands so quickly, and the Black Star Army finally engaged in a close combat battle.

Nero finally welcomed his first time.

Chapter 972: Nero, a Non-Tanky Mechanic Doesn“t Have a Soul

Chapter 972 Nero, a Non-Tanky Mechanic Doesn“t Have a Soul

In a corner of the Dust Light Star Cluster, Teny’s fleet met a new wave of attacks. They exchanged fire with the enemy while sending their small spaceships to weave through the chaotic battlefield to engage in close combat battle.

In the previous few battles, Teny had been too obviously biased toward the Black Star Army, and in order to balance the opinions of the other organizations, he decided to let the Black Star Army take on the role of facing the enemy.

In the chaotic battlefield, a battleship nimble weaved through the Primordial Psionic Energy explosions.

In the battleships, many different squads were awaiting their orders in the charge cabin. Nero’s squad was also a part of this battleship.

The interior of the charge cabin was gray with a red light blinking over their heads, dying their faces red. Nero’s team was seated across two rows with their backs facing a magnetic plate. The backs of their uniforms also had a magnetic plate on them so that they could stabilize their bodies.

The charge cabin was trembling under the intense maneuvers of the battleship, and Nero’s face turned slightly pale.

The captain who was clad in a heavy armor mechanical suit patted Nero’s shoulders and said, “Little brat, don’t worry. The mobility of our ship far exceeds our enemy. They won’t be able to hit us.”

Trouble usually befalls someone who says something like this… Nero could not help but curse in his heart.

The academy had a charge cabin module, and Nero was extremely clear about the things that he needed to take note of. However, he could not help but be nervous when being placed in an actual battle.

“This is our first time fighting together since you entered our squad. Let’s see your true strength and don’t hold us back.” The captain chuckled.

“Alright.” Nero let out a deep breath and clenched his fists.

Waiting in the charge cabin was an extremely tortuous thing. Time seemed to drag on for a long time, but an announcement was eventually made in the charge cabin.

“Locking on to the target. The charge cabin will be launched in forty-five seconds! Please get ready for battle! I repeat, please get ready for battle!”

A countdown timer then appeared on the screen of the charge cabin. Nero felt as though his heart had stopped, and his teammates all had nervous looks on their faces.

The captain cleared his throat and said with a deep voice, “This is the final chance to check your equipment!”

All of them were already prepared, but they still checked through their equipment once more. Nero had also activated his mechanical suit’s self-check feature.

His mechanical suit was personally modified by him and forged from many different rare materials. It was even stronger than the mechanical suit provided by the Black Star Army.

Although Nero could obtain a more powerful mechanical suit forged by other Mechanics, he preferred to research new blueprints.

This mechanical suit was similar to the Mountain Ape suit that Han Xiao had used before. However, Nero did not have that high a skill and could only make a simplified version of the suit that he called ‘Iron Ape’. It was a suit that specialized in close combat battles.

As a normal paper Mechanic, Nero was naturally concerned about his close combat abilities. Under Han Xiao and Mia’s influence, Nero also had a thing for hand to hand combat.

Nero was currently Grade C+, but with his [Perfect Mechanical Sense] and the various Mechanic talents that he had obtained over the years, his strength could reach Grade B, and the equipment that he forged exceeded his own grade.

“Get ready. Ten, nine, eight…”

Hearing the captain’s roar, Nero took a deep breath and prepared to go into battle.

Boom!

He could feel a powerful propulsion force, and the charge cabin was launched.

The coordinates of their target were indicated on the screen, and they were rapidly approaching it.

Bang!

The charge cabin suddenly trembled, and they successfully smashed into the interior of an enemy battleship.

The doors to the charge cabin opened up, and a long passageway greeted then. Without any hesitation, they charged out with their captain to clear up the enemies.

Enemy reinforcements came quickly, and their squad met with a large number of enemies.

All the warriors of the Kunde Race had accepted gene modification. Although they were not Supers and did not have different abilities, their physiques were powerful, and they had the strength of an individual around Lv.25 – Lv.45. They were roughly in between Grade E and Grade D, so they were not too weak.

Their squad was trapped in the center of the passageway with the enemy reinforcements flooding in from both directions and opening fire at them.

Nero had already thrown out a compressed orb that transformed into a mini fortress to protect the squad. It was able to block the heavy fire coming from both directions while their squad returned fire from within the fortress.

“Good job, brat.” The captain praised Nero before giving an order to his vice captain. “Break through from the enemy encirclement. I will be in charge of the front, and you will be in charge of the rear. Nero, release your artillery towers and mechanical soldiers behind to provide cover for us.”

As he said that, the captain charged out from the fortress and charged forward while enduring enemy fire. His advantage of being a Super was his superior combat strength.

Nero then threw out a large number of compressed orbs, which transformed into various artillery towers.

Tuk tuk tuk!

The artillery towers opened fire in both directions to provide cover for his squad.

Under the boost of his Mechanical Force, the strength of his long-distance weapons was terrifying. The armor and shields of the Kunde Race warriors were immediately torn apart, and body fluids spewed in all directions.

He instantly killed a large number of enemies, and a gray fog entered the death mark on the back of Nero’s hand. This was a gift that Hila had given him a long time ago. The more he killed, the greater the increase to his mental strength. This was Nero’s first time making use of this mark.

With the support of his firepower, his squad mates easily broke through the formation of the Kunde Race warriors and began slaughtering them.

Many of his squad mates were impressed with Nero’s strength.

“This newbie is truly powerful.”

“Is an ordinary Grade C Mechanic so powerful?”

“This little brat has some abilities.”

Their squad pushed on, and the enemy reinforcements charged at them without any concern for their own lives.

As a Pugilist, the attacks of the captain were extremely powerful. Even if his attacks were not able to break through an enemy’s armor, his Pugilist flames would seep into the armor and kill the Kunde Race warriors.

Nero was not used to the sight of bodies littered all around. Even with the filtration device of his mechanical suit, he could still smell the blood in the air.

The Kunde Race’s fearlessness truly shocked Nero. However, he and his squad mates would not hold back, and the Kunde Race warriors were only sacrificing their lives for nothing.

This was the first time he had felt the nervousness from killing. He would not pity the enemy, and the army had also educated them in this regard.

At the same time, Nero also felt a tinge of excitement. He did not wish to be the one providing cover fire all the time.

As a Black Star Class Mechanic, he was itching to engage in hand to hand combat but was afraid of being scolded by his squad mates.

Right at this moment, the scream of his squad mate could be heard over the communication channel.

The Kunde Race warriors had surrounded this Black Star Army warrior, and the shield of his squad mate was destroyed. At the same time, his armor was also badly damaged, and black smoke could be seen coming out from it. He took a few steps back from the impact of the attacks and was temporarily dazed.

The Kunde Race warriors in the surroundings then unsheathed their daggers and charged forward.

This squad mate of his was a Grade C Pugilist who had a powerful body. He struggled to send a few of the enemies flying, but the enemies continued to charge forward fearlessly. He had already been stabbed a few times by the enemy.

The squad mates in the surrounding wanted to turn around and help him, but a black figure charged out from behind to send all these Kunde Race warriors flying. It was Nero, who had been itching for a fight.

The surrounding Kunde Race warriors attacked Nero, and Nero’s combat panel displayed the trajectories of their attacks. He then dodged according to the instructions of the screen, and the enemy’s daggers created sparks whenever they collided with his mechanical suit.

Nero unsheathed a blade and brandished it without restraint, cutting through the enemies’ armor like it was tofu.

After helping his squad mate resolve the danger, Nero did not have the heart to return back to a shooter but charged into the enemy formation to slaughter the enemies.

Nero had a sense of satisfaction as he witnessed the enemies dying under his blade.

Indeed, a real Mechanic should fight in hand to hand combat! This is the true style of a Mechanic!

Upon seeing this scene, the captain had a strange look on his face.

Although he knew that Nero might be the strongest individual in the squad, they had never fought side by side before and were not familiar with each other’s abilities.

Upon seeing Nero killing enemies like he was dicing vegetables, the captain thought to himself, Why would a Mechanic like you want to charge into a close combat battle? Where did this bad habit come from?

In the face of a group of Supers, the Kunde Race warriors in the spaceship had no way to fight back, and the enemy troop was wiped out quickly.

Bluish green blood sprayed across the command room, and every enemy in the battleship had been killed.

Nero recovered his compressed orbs and seemed to be in a daze.

Upon seeing that, the captain walked over to Nero’s side and patted him on the shoulders. “Good work just now. How do you feel? Are you used to fighting yet?”

“I… I am much better now.” Nero waved his arms. After a battle, he was no longer as nervous as before.

Although he had been extremely nervous at the start, his mental state got better as the battle went on, and he felt extremely comfortable in battle.

He did not really feel discomfort from killing. First, it was because the enemy was of a different species. Second, a Super had a certain degree of mental resilience and could easily accept cruel scenes. Third, his mental state would change after having strength in his hands.

“It’s your first time after all. You will get used to it soon,” the captain said casually. “You can find me for free counselling if you aren’t feeling comfortable.”

“Thanks, but I won’t need it.”

Nero smiled and was a little moved. After this battle, he could not help but feel a sense of camaraderie with his squad mates.

…

Nero’s first combat experience went smoothly, and he had more confidence than before. Not too long after the battle started, the Kunde Race fleet was defeated, and the dynasty’s fleet began clearing up the battlefield.

In the main flagship, Teny looked at the intact Black Star Army battleships returning to the fleet and nodded.

The Black Star Army did not have too many casualties, and he was extremely satisfied. As the fleet commander, he had many ways to reduce the casualties of the Black Star Army. He planned to do this to repay Han Xiao’s favor.

Beep beep!

Right at this moment, his communicator rang.

Teny then took a look, and his expression changed slightly. He picked up the call with a respectful tone.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I was still planning to pay you a visit after the war but never expected you to contact me first.”

“It has been a long while since we last talked, and I have something to trouble you with.” Han Xiao was the one who called.

“What do you need?” Teny did not like beating about the bush and went straight to the point.

“I heard that you want to protect the Black Star Army fleet?”

“That’s right.” Teny nodded.

“Ah, this is what I want to trouble you with. You don’t have to protect my men too much. I sent them into the battle so that I can train them.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Alright then. I understand.” Teny did not say too much after hearing that. Since their master had spoken, he naturally would not reject.

“Also, I hope that you can take care of this person…”

Han Xiao then sent Nero’s information to Teny and said with a smile, “This brat is my student, and I want to train him. If it is convenient, try to give him a few more combat opportunities. Also, don’t find it strange if he meets some unexpected situation. It is just my training.”

He felt that he still had some conscience for not interfering with Nero’s first battle.

However, he would take action after this and thus informed Teny first.

Teny looked at the information and nodded. “Alright, I will make the relevant arrangements.”

“I will have to trouble you then. I will be waiting for you in the Garu Star Cluster after the war. We can have a good chat then.”

“Okay.”

The call ended, and Teny looked through Nero’s information while muttering under his breath, “Black Star’s student… I will have to arrange it properly then.”

…

At the same time, another dynasty fleet had just ended their battle and had just cleaned up the battlefield.

The commander went to rest and got his vice commander to handle the other matters. Gaud, who was the commander’s aide-de-camp, also had some time to rest.

Gaud returned to his room and took off his uniform for a shower.

After his shower, Gaud walked in front of the mirror and looked at his own body.

Fair skin, skinny figure, ordinary looks…

Looking at the mirror, Gaud touched his face, and his lips curled up with a smile.

“It’s truly good to be young.”

Chapter 973: Master Thief

Chapter 973 Master Thief

In a galactic war, the support and supply lines based off the stargate traffic were very important. The expeditionary dynasty troops planted stargates continuously along the way, connecting them into a rapid channel that could be used to advance and retreat as they liked. In order to prevent the enemy from ambushing their stargate stations, each time the passage was extended, some personnel would be stationed there. So, the deeper they went into the Dust Light Star Cluster, the number of troops led by each dynasty officer would also decrease.

As the attacking side, the dynasty had to continuously extend the supply lines, but this was where the advantage of the military was shown—they had the capital to squander their resources like this.

Because the size of the frontline troops would gradually shrink while the intensity of the battle would gradually increase, the commander of each army would be a young officer with tremendous prospects within the dynasty. All of them had to gain rich experiences in interstellar warfare.

As for how luxurious this lineup was, Han Xiao recalled that almost all of the mobilized officers were people who would be high-ranking in the military in the future. Among them, there were at least three who had power that was not below that of Teny, and they also commanded other large army corps of the dynasty.

Facing such a group of famed generals, the Kunde Race was at a complete disadvantage. Even if the dynasty troops were reduced, the Kunde Race still did not stand a chance.

After being asked by Han Xiao, Teny changed his previous style and began to allow the Black Star Army to undertake more war tasks, and he especially took care of Nero.

In almost every battle, the troop that Nero belonged to would be assigned key combat missions, which gave them plenty of chances for battles.

It was just nice that most of the graduates of the Super Academy were assigned to different teams within this troop. The continuous high-intensity and high-risk battle placed these young students under a huge load. Even Nero was also overwhelmed. He found it strange, wondering if their troop had somehow offended the army commander.

Because of the continuous high-pressure battles, Nero’s machinery became seriously worn out. He had lost nearly half of his entire inventory. When there was no battle, he could not rest as well, having to work hard to repair his machinery, for fear that he would be unequipped for the next battle.

It was at this time that Nero was extremely grateful to Reynold.

… Isn’t it just not sleeping? When I was being forced to study, I quickly learned this ability.

Oh, this was not figurative. It was literally expressed on his character interface as a talent:

_____________________

[Advanced Fatigue Resistance] – +500% Physical Recovery Efficiency when at rest, -60% Physical Loss Rate. Reduces the negative status of ‘Mental Fatigue’ caused by lack of sleep, capped at the maximum of ‘Slight Mental Fatigue’.

_____________________

A gifted person could develop talents even by not sleeping, and Han Xiao did not know whom he could reason this with.

However, the other graduates did not have Nero’s experience and were totally exhausted. Even Mia did not have time to chat with him over the phone.

Since there was no way for him to guess the commander’s mindset. It was useless even if Nero wanted to curse at him. He could only grit his teeth and continue to do battle, not knowing that he had been arranged to do so by Teny.

A high-pressure battle would result in casualties, and this could happen even in a real-life combat simulation. However, Nero’s team was quite well off in this regard. They were all fatigued but had not met with any deaths yet. Through the frequent battles, their bonds were molded deeper.

The Crimson Dynasty had an overwhelming advantage in this war. Several days passed in a flash, and the various dynasty fleets steadily advanced, crossing multiple star systems to arrive at the Kunde Race’s border.

With the main force holding fort, the Reconnaissance Troops moved out first, splitting into various regiments to infiltrate the Kunde Race in advance to obtain intelligence. These scouts included both remotely controlled unmanned drones as well as ground combat personnel.

It was no surprise that Nero’s squad was selected as scouts to perform the dangerous mission.

Whilst the dynasty troops were exploring the Kunde border, a secret mechanical army quietly sent by Han Xiao followed his guidance to arrive near the Kunde mother planet.

…

On one of the black planets that looked like a desolate planet, a large number of exploration satellites were suspended in outer space, as well as a canopy camouflage device used to cover the planet’s surface. If one broke through the camouflage detection using the mechanical soldiers, they would see the true appearance of the Kunde mother planet. It was sapphire blue in color. The color occupied most of the surface area, and on top of the ocean floated various floating cities.

“Turns out, the actual look of the planet is like this.”

The mechanical soldiers stopped in outer space, far away from the planet, and all of them turned on their stealth camouflage. Han Xiao’s technology and Mechanical Force buffs were enough to prevent the Kunde mother planet from detecting this group.

Among one of them was a mechanical host bearing Han Xiao’s avatar, which was currently carefully observing the planet.

After the opening of the Flickering World in his previous life, Han Xiao had come over to perform missions here. At that time, the Kunde mother planet had completely changed its appearance after being modified by the dynasty.

Because the dynasty had stormed in, most of the population on the Kunde mother planet had basically moved away, but the Kunde Race did not implode their mother planet. On it was left many facilities, and one last fleet was stationed there to temporarily manage the place. This was where one of the core quantum network nodes of the Kunde Race was located.

“Let’s start.”

Han Xiao stretched, and with a thought, he entered the field of vision of the quantum network.

His vision turned black, leaving only the light clusters representing the nodes of the quantum network. They varied in brightness and were connected to each other with delicate light rays, which represented the information flow to form the network structure.

Han Xiao directly locked onto the main quantum network node of the mother planet, turning into a stream of light as he approached it. The firewall of the node appeared in front of him like a layer of dynamic data, and in his eyes, loopholes and gaps existed everywhere.

He did not wish to alarm the Kunde Race, so he decided to slip through the holes of data within the firewall and open a backdoor instead of directly hacking in.

The other party’s quantum network skills were trashy, with all the permissions they set as good as nil in front of him. It was as though he had arrived in a home whose owner was not present, but he had the tools to open anything within the doors. There was no need to ask for permission; he could just do what he wanted.

Quickly, the Kunde’s database lost all its defenses, and strips of data appeared in front of Han Xiao, like a dessert waiting to be enjoyed.

“Phillip, copy and pack up their databases.”

Han Xiao snorted.

His goal was only their imperfect Spacetime Splicing Technology, but since he was there, he might as well take everything.

Phillip began to work, but it took a while for an entire cluster of data to be copied. Taking advantage of this period, Han Xiao simply checked all the objects connected to this node.

Through reverse tracking, it was possible to locate the whereabouts of the fleets in the Kunde Race.

“Let’s see where the troops of the Kunde Race lie…”

Glancing at the data of the coordinates on the star map, Han Xiao’s eyes lit up, and he found some interesting intelligence.

He saw that Kunde’s fleet was roughly divided among four groups. Among them, the core fleet mainly consisting of the commanders was hiding within the territory, the second moving off to intercept the frontal combat troops of the dynasty on the front line. The third consisted of the fleet carrying the evacuated civilians and was already far from the Kunde Race’s territory.

But what attracted Han Xiao’s attention was the fourth fleet. They separated into countless teams, approaching their territorial borders. It seemed as though they wished to form an encirclement, but at such a distance, it was not practical. Thus, they should be more involved in performing other special missions.

Based on his current knowledge, Han Xiao would definitely not be at a loss. He quickly came out with a hypothesis.

“There are three possibilities… One is escape, another is to cover evacuation, and the last is to make special arrangements. Escape can be ruled out, and the evacuation is happening on the opposite side, which is not on the way. Thus, there is only special arrangements. As for what kind of special arrangements…”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. According to his knowledge, the most likely scenario would be that they intended to bury a large amount of Primordial Psionic Energy at their borders and catalyze its expansion to allow it to swallow up all the stars and planets around it, leaving nothing for the dynasty.

This was not a blind guess; there were too many of such examples. Many of such desolate universe belts were actually man-made, caused by the catalysis of the Primordial Psionic Energy.

“Kunde wants to turn their homeland into a killing trap, luring the dynasty into it to kill them. Heh, very cruel. Before running, they want to take a bite out of the dynasty.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Only civilizations that had not come into contact with the Primordial Psionic Energy would dare use such a thing indiscriminately. The formation of a natural celestial body took billions of years, and the probability was random. However, Primordial Psionic Energy would engulf everything it passed through, turning the area into a vacuum zone, barren and without material resources.

Moreover, if the pollution was not controlled, it would expand indefinitely. As it expanded, the engulfed area would increase faster and faster, and by that time, one could only run as though the apocalypse had arrived.

In his previous life, there was no detailed information about how the dynasty dealt with the Kunde Race. Han Xiao did not know if the latter had adopted this scorched earth plan, but the celestial bodies within the Dust Light Star Cluster were well preserved, meaning that even if implemented, the dynasty had stopped it.

Thinking about it, Han Xiao prepared to send this information to the dynasty, which would definitely improve his Mission Rating.

“Primordial Psionic Energy might be frightening, but it needs a certain procedure to expand to a certain scale. Thus, the dynasty has enough time to solve this problem.”

Han Xiao secretly nodded, his mood relaxed.

He originally just intended to copy the Spacetime Splicing Technology. He did not expect to have an unexpected harvest.

After a while, when Phillip had completely copied the data, Han Xiao left the backdoor program and cleared any traces of his visit. He then released his quantum network vision, ordering the mechanical unit to return.

The Kunde mother planet disappeared in the vision of the mechanical host. From the beginning to the end, his visit did not alarm anyone, a master thief.

A peak Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic was unparalleled in stealing intelligence and was a fearful existence for even the three universal civilizations.

…

At this moment, their home had been ransacked, but the Kunde upper echelons did not know anything about it and were still in a meeting.

It was related to Supers.

In the room, the Kunde leader glanced at everyone, speaking in a deep voice. “The enemy’s Super technology has given their warriors powerful individual combat power. According to the data of our spaceships, their technology is a method for individuals to practice on their own. With this method, a person can grow so strong that they even have the power to destroy a planet. We are proud of our warriors, but they are not worth anything in front of such Supers.”

Everyone wore a heavy expression. The superpower system was a type of technology that required luck to discover, and the Kunde Race was just like Han Xiao, obviously on the blacklist of the Goddess of Luck.

The Super Star Cluster level civilization behind the scenes had mentioned the existence of Supers but did not give the methods for producing Supers over to the Kunde Race. Thus, they did not possess a Super system.

“Supers, this is what we are sorely lacking,” the Kunde leader slowly replied. “Everyone, since we’ve decided to leave our ancestral homeland, if we can also obtain this technology from our enemies, that will help us in the rebuilding of our civilization.”

“You mean…”

“I want to find ways to capture some of the frontline Super as experimental material. As long as I can obtain their bodies, we will be able to study the principles along with the mysteries of the system.”

“In that case, the combat principles of the frontline troops will have to be tweaked.”

Everyone perked up and began discussing the idea.

They all wanted to have a strong personal power and long life, not to mention that they were people in the upper echelons who had been holding onto power and authority. Authority was always derived from power.

They coveted the Supers, and now they not only planned to destroy the dynasty with the scorched earth tactic but also wished to grab the new technology that they did not possess from the dynasty.

…

A few days later, on the Kunde national border, a section of the Reconnaissance Troops were advancing in secret.

This unit possessed more than twenty warships, and most of them were ships from the Black Star Army. They consisted of small combat teams, and not only Nero but also Mia and a whole bunch of other graduates were present.

They had already been within the Kunde territory for several days, but they had remained vigilant along the way, ready to respond to encounters. Yet, they did not meet a single enemy along the way.

In the cabin of one of the battleships, a large group of the army warriors gathered around the star map to discuss their current situation. Nero pinched his chin and could not help but voice his suspicions.

“This is strange. When we had yet to arrive, we met enemies that would intercept us daily. However, now we’ve entered their territory, why is there no one to restrict us?”

Hearing this, everyone turned to look at him but did not speak.

Not far away, Mia stood with her arms crossed. She raised her brows and confidently said, “Maybe the enemy think that they cannot stop the dynasty and have all retreated.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple.” Nero shook his head.

This time, Nero’s and Mia’s team were on the same battleship, and there were several other combat teams accompanying them.

After experiencing the baptism of war, Nero’s actual combat ability had improved, but his personal temperament did not change much. After all, he still had his baby face, and however fierce he looked, it only made him more adorable.

On the other hand, by confirming her strength in battle, Mia had become more confident.

Hong!

At this moment, the fleet had arrived at the preset target location and exited hyperdrive.

Outside the window was a planet, their exploration target, which was suspected of being a Kunde colonial planet.

On the surface of the planet, they could clearly see that there were traces of cities.

Seeing this, everyone’s expression tightened.

“It seems like we’ve found the correct place. Everyone, focus.”

Chapter 974: Arranging It Clearly

Chapter 974 Arranging It Clearly

The fleet did not close in immediately, choosing to maintain its stealth mode. It instead released a miniature space-based exploration satellite to slowly approach the atmosphere of the planet, constantly scanning the surface.

Within the cabin, the virtual screen showed the image of the satellite screening. There were a lot of cities on the surface, but most of them were deserted. Garbage was piled up on the streets from the citizens evacuating in a hurry.

“The colonial planet seems to have been abandoned.” Nero swiped his finger across the virtual screen, constantly scanning through the unoccupied cities.

“Check the detection of life signals,” the captain of his squad urged.

Nero nodded and switched to the control interface of the satellite, setting it up. This satellite was a product of the Black Star Army, and while not made by him, operating it was simple.

This Reconnaissance Troop unit had about two thousand soldiers, where most of them were Grade C Supers. Only their leader was at Grade B. Nero was the strongest person there apart from the commander and the best mechanic within this unit. Because of this, almost all the mechanical devices were left to him to handle.

Very quickly, the results were displayed on the screen. The light spots signaling life on the surface were sparse, clustered mostly in the wilderness. They were likely beasts. In the city, there were only a few sporadic light spots signaling the presence of intelligent life.

Mia’s eyes lit up. “There are people still in the city!”

“They should be civilians that do not wish to evacuate.” Nero breathed a sigh of relief. Their mission for this trip was to try to capture as many Kunde civilians as possible to interrogate.

“Kid, check the armed forces of this planet. If there’s no problem, we can land,” the commander ordered.

Nero nodded and began the scan.

Everyone stared at the screen, awaiting the results, but at this moment, in the quantum network that could not be seen by all of them, a series of data that had been waiting in ambush secretly intercepted the information flow of the satellite and quietly tampered with it. The intelligence was then sent to everyone on board.

“Uh… seems to be no enemy ships around, and there is no abnormal response from the military bases on the surface. It seems like the enemy has completely abandoned this colonial planet, and even their troops have not stayed.” Nero read the results out.

Their leader then smiled. “Then this will be easy. The commander has given his orders. We’re to descend.”

The fleet went to work quickly, most of the warships entering the atmosphere and beginning to land toward the city. Only the commander’s battleship and three other spaceships remained in outer space to serve as a response force.

At the same time, there was a medium-sized fleet of the Kunde Race on standby at a floating military base high above the colonial planet. There were more than a hundred spaceships within the base, and it remained in camouflage, with its signal reflector turned on. It blended with its environment and appeared transparent.

A large number of operators were busy in the main control room of the floating military base. One of the operators who was monitoring the radar suddenly saw a signal of an abnormal fluctuation of the atmosphere, but when he looked closer, the signal had disappeared.

“Was I mistaken?” The Kunde operator was puzzled and activated the radar to make another sweep.

The detection results showed that not only was the atmosphere intact, even Nero’s group, which had daringly descended, could not be detected.

“Should be a false alarm.” Seeing this, the operator turned away.

The scout team did not find the military base, nor did the military base personnel discover the scouts. They were both close but could not see each other due to being blinded.

The initiator was Han Xiao, who was hiding within the scout squadron’s mechanical unit. He had directly used Virtual Technology to tamper with the scan results of both parties.

This scene was completely in line with Han Xiao’s script.

…

Before long, the Reconnaissance Troop’s spaceships landed in the city, and the various combat teams put on their equipment, successively stepping off the spaceships and onto the desolate streets.

“Come, let’s assign our respective missions.”

The captains all held a brief meeting before dividing themselves into three groups. One group would remain behind to prevent any accidents occurring to their spaceships, the second would proceed with the capture of civilians, and the last would be responsible for searching for any special facilities such as military bases and energy plants.

After assigning each team their mission, they broke up into small teams to move separately. Nero and Mia’s teams were responsible for exploring the abandoned military base in the suburbs. They took a ground vehicle to the destination together.

Within the vehicle, the combat teams maintained their silence. Nero looked around and coughed awkwardly before standing up and moving over to Mia’s side.

Mia, who was polishing her blade icily, glared at him before lowering her head to continue maintaining her weapon. Her tone was casual. “Why are you sitting here?”

“To chat with you.” Nero scratched his face. “During this period, we’ve been busy fighting and haven’t had time to talk.”

“What’s there to chat about?” Mia rolled her eyes. “We don’t even have enough time to sleep. You think we’re like you, being able to function without sleep?”

Nero was speechless, and after thinking about it, he replied, “Actually, I can teach you how to combat fatigue. In this regard, I’m very experienced.”

“I’m a pugilist, but I need you to teach me?” Mia laughed.

But Nero replied seriously. “As a pugilist, it’s more crucial that you learn this than me. A mechanic doesn’t require much stamina, but without stamina, the pugilist will experience a decrease in their combat capability. I’m afraid you will run into danger.”

“You seem to care a lot.” Mia gave a sideward glance at Nero.

“I said before, I will protect you.” Nero grinned.

“Humph, stop smiling. It makes you look like a fool.” Mia snorted and turned her head away. A few seconds later, she turned back ahead, pretending to casually ask, “So, how do you actually practice this fatigue combating?”

Nero scratched his nose as he spoke. “You have to first change your habit of sleeping. Under the state of fatigue, you must attempt to get your mind to remain working at full capacity. It will be difficult initially, but as someone who has gone through it, I have experience. If you feel like sleeping, you can come look for me.”

Mia nodded foolishly before belatedly discovering something wrong.

“You said to look for you when I want to sleep‽ Are you teasing me!”

A sense of shame rose within her heart, and she viciously hammered at Nero’s chest.

“Ah, did I say anything wrong?” Nero was at a loss, but because his mechanical suit was sturdy enough, he did not take any damage.

Mia seemed ready to say something, but she suddenly discovered that everyone’s gaze on the vehicle had fallen toward the two of them. Within their gazes were laughter, envy, jealousy, and many more emotions, as though they were looking at a pair of lovers quarreling.

A tinge of red hit her cheeks, and she glared at Nero before ducking her head down in embarrassment. She no longer talked, keeping her gaze on maintaining her weapon. Her whetstone moved so fast that it seemed to produce a meteor shower on her blade.

Nero scratched his head and wanted to say more, but the captain sitting opposite him suddenly signaled silently to him. He held up a hand and clenched into a fist. His other hand extended a finger and put it in the fist. This was a common gesture even in the galaxy, and its meaning was self-evident.

Kid, don’t be wishy washy, you should do it when you have to.

Seeing this, Nero could not help but curse. “Darned hooligan…”

It was at this point that someone discovered an anomaly on their radar.

“There are two abnormal sources of energy detected.”

The crowd immediately stopped smiling. They stared at the radar, only to see two more signals appearing, one pointing to the abandoned military base and the other pointing to the wilderness further away.

“Strange, why did it not pick up previously? Is this thing broken?” The vice captain patted the radar with a suspicious expression.

“No matter what, we have to check it out.”

The captain glanced at it before giving the order to Mia’s team. “I think we need to separate. When we arrive at the military base, drop us first before going over to the wilderness to check out the energy source.”

The plan was quickly finalized, and the vehicle let Nero’s team down at the perimeter of the military base. Nero watched as Mia’s team moved down the dirt path. The two were separated again.

Seeing Nero staring in the direction of the vehicle’s departure, he reached out and snapped his fingers at Nero’s ears, drawing the latter’s attention. “Kid, stop staring. It’s time for work.”

Nero settled his emotions, catching up with the team a little absent-mindedly.

He did not know why, but in that instant, he felt a little unsettled.

While somewhat dwelling on this, Nero followed his team to explore the military base. They found an abandoned elevator, arriving at an intricate underground base before going to explore the ‘abnormal signal’ displayed on the radar.

…

“Alert! Unknown target discovered!”

It was more than ten minutes later that the Kunde floating base, which had become blind, was suddenly cured of its ‘cataracts’. They found, to their surprise, a scout troop on the surface.

Everybody within the base received a shock, scurrying around like ants.

The intelligence report was quickly sent over to the commander of the floating base. In his office, the commander opened his eyes wide as his anger rose.

“When did this group of enemies land, and why didn’t you spot them earlier? Were you neglecting your duties‽”

The leader of the radar operators defended his team. “The radar did not even respond, and it was probably avoided by the enemy’s scouts with more advanced camouflage!”

“It’s too scary. With this sort of technology, if they chose to ambush us, we would have long fallen!” The base commander had a frightened look before turning furious. “Sneaking in like that, do you think we don’t exist!”

“Commander, think about it. The opponent has this kind of strength, yet they chose not to ambush us but land on the surface instead. Why is that so?”

Hearing this, the commander’s eyes flashed, and he abruptly slammed the table, bellowing, “I understand now. They obviously know that we’re here, but they chose not to attack because their manpower is insufficient, and they are not confident about getting rid of us! To actually not even put us in their eyes, swaggering before us to collect intelligence, they’re too arrogant. We have to make them pay the price!”

Pausing briefly, the commander rose up and shouted, “Order the fleet to encircle the enemy. Don’t let a single one of them escape!”

From his side, the Vice Commander added, “Commander, with all due respect, we should try to capture a few of them alive. The upper echelons wish to research them. This is a chance for us.”

The Commander’s eyes lit up, and he added with a joyous expression, “That’s right. I almost forgot. The upper echelons want these supers, and now that they have sent themselves up to us, we can just capture them and bring them back with us!”

…

In the abandoned military base, Nero’s troops were in the midst of exploration. The power supply had been disconnected for a long time. Thus, the area was dark and completely silent. Everyone could only hear each other’s breathing and footsteps echoing. The atmosphere reeked of horror and suspense.

Nero released several small mechanical pathfinder bees, which radiated a strong light, leading the way in front and illuminating the underground base.

Without electricity, the access control of the base was rendered invalid, and doors could only be forcibly opened. A few high-energy ray guns were enough to turn the closed metal door into a pile of red molten steel, so they were unobstructed throughout.

After walking with the team for a while, Nero’s bad feeling grew stronger, and he could not help but open his mouth.

“Commander, I feel that something is amiss here.”

“Which part?” the captain asked.

“I can’t put a finger on it.”

“In that case…” The captain frowned before giving out the order. “Take a few men with you to follow us from a short distance behind. Take care of our retreat route. I’ll go with some others to check out the abnormal energy source.”

The captain picked a few members to follow Nero while he led the rest to continue ahead.

Nero waited at the same spot for a while before the voice of the captain was heard from the communicator.

“We’ve arrived at the area of the strange energy source, but there’s nothing here.”

Nero’s heart constricted, and he immediately opened his shared vision. He saw through the captain’s eyes an empty warehouse, without even a single hair.

However, the signal marked by the radar referred to that area. The coordinates were exactly the same, so they could not have turned into a wrong area.

“Is it a false alarm by the radar?” Nero swallowed. “Or…”

Boom!

Before he could react, a violent shock burst out!

“Warning! High-energy strike detected! Please avoid it!”

Boom!

The sound of artillery bombardment rang near his ears, and the support columns of the underground base suddenly collapsed!

The structure of the base disintegrated in an instant, and the floor tiles shattered, turning into a bottomless pit leading deeper down.

Nero only had enough time to open his shield to protect himself before being blown out by the shockwave of the explosion and smashing through the walls of the hallway, falling straight down.

From the communicator came exclamations from his teammates, but he could not care less when he could not even take care of himself. He was filled with anxiety.

Why were we ambushed‽

We clearly confirmed that this planet had no troops stationed!

At this moment, Nero could not think of any other explanation. In his eyes, there was only one possibility.

Dammit, this colonial planet was a trap! The enemy must have deliberately planned for this ambush! We’ve fallen for it!

Just as this idea flashed past his head, Nero hit the bottom with a heavy thud.

Bang!

A human shaped pit was formed, and a large cloud of smoke appeared.

Si!

The huge impact reverberated in his body, and he could not help but grit his teeth in pain.

But before he could stand up, a large piece of metal dropped toward him!

Nero only had the time to raise his hands and reactivate his shield, protecting himself.

Boom boom boom!

Debris rained down, covering every inch of Nero’s sight and burying him directly.

…

At this moment, in an abandoned city not far away, the Kunde fleet who had realized there were enemies had begun to exchange fire with the troops that had remained behind.

Rumble!

On top of the abandoned military base, there were several Kunde battleships docked. Their weapons were brought out, and they launched a bombardment at the base.

Boom!

Only when the entire base was reduced to ruins did those battleships finally stop firing.

The hatch opened, and a squad of Kunde armored soldiers jumped out of the cabin, landing on the ground and carrying their weapons to the base.

The life signals of Nero and his team were exposed to their radar, and the goal of the soldiers was to capture this small group of supers who were without the protection of their fleet.

“Good! The combat operation is a success!”

At this moment, the commander of the Kunde floating base smiled with satisfaction from the command room.

He, however, was unaware that a group of camouflaged mechanical soldiers was hovering outside the window, silently watching his every move.

Chapter 975: Mission Generated

Chapter 975 Mission Generated

When the bombing stopped, the abandoned military base had turned into a mess, with the collapsed gravel blocked off countless roads. The terrain had become much more complicated, and the gravel fell from time to time with a clacking sound.

The bottom of the base was filled with smoke and dust. The falling debris had piled up into a hill, beneath which Nero was firmly buried.

Suddenly, there was a sound akin to a slimy liquid flowing in the darkness.

Whoosh!

An area of two square meters within the debris below gradually turned red as it shone brighter and brighter. The metal beams and stone pieces melted together to reveal an empty hole.

Nero crawled out of the hole, his hands continuously casting heat rays as he limped. The high temperature around him caused the very air to warp.

“Cough cough cough…”

A dull cough escaped the mechanical suit as Nero took gasps of air. He focused, activating the mechanical suit to do a full body scan.

“Left leg is slightly misaligned. Awaiting permission for mechanical suit to autocorrect bone alignment.”

“Go ahead.”

His armor on the left leg tightened a little, and the misaligned bones were set. Nero snorted in pain before relaxing. Previously, a few tons of debris had hit his body, and although his mechanical suit was fine, the shock had given him a slight injury. After all, he was an ordinary, fragile mechanic.

The radar displayed that the enemies were above him. Nero knew that this was not the time for him to relax, and he immediately opened the communicator to contact his teammates.

“Captain, Nero here. Where are you guys, and how’s the situation?”

Static sound buzzed, broken by intermittent screams of pain. Nero shouted for quite a bit before he received news from them.

“We’re not doing good here!” His teammate’s face popped up on his tactical display, filled with bruises and cuts. His tone was hurried. “I was beside the captain just now, and when the base collapsed, the captain was stunned. An artillery shot penetrated through the ground and hit us, and many of us are now injured and scattered. No matter who hears this news, save them, and bring everyone to gather. We have to escape immediately!”

Nero immediately opened the team’s health monitoring subprogram and was shocked when he saw the red on the screen.

Everyone’s injuries were worse than his, and there were several people, including the captain, who were already on the verge of death. Because he had fallen to the bottom of the base and was buried, he had managed to escape the subsequent bombing from the battleship, so he was the least injured.

It was because of his Luck Glow.

“My condition is the best…” Nero immediately felt the pressure on his shoulders.

He gritted his teeth, opening the position locator for his team. The position of each teammate was marked on the tactical screen of the mechanical suit, and the artificial intelligence within operated at a high speed to map out the fastest rescue route.

From behind his back jetted out a tail flame, and Nero flew out of the big pit at the bottom of the base to rescue the scattered members.

The terrain was complex, but there was no time for him to make a detour. His palm continuously shot out heat rays, melting through all the obstacles in front of him, saving one teammate after another before the arrival of the Kunde ground troops. Finally, he reached the position of his captain.

Blasting aside an obstructing metal plate, Nero flew into the messy room and landed with a loud thud. He saw the captain and a group of members there, all with varying injuries.

The captain was lying paralyzed on the ground, his upper body leaning against the wall. His armor was scorched black, revealing large holes. Looking up at Nero’s entrance, he squeezed out a smile, saying in a weak voice.

“Nero, you’re here. You… cough cough… you did well.”

“Captain, don’t talk anymore.”

Seeing this, an intravenous needle shot out from Nero’s finger, and he pierced it into the captain’s chest.

Aurora’s special life potion was injected into the captain’s body through the needle, and his serious injuries were cured in an instant.

The captain’s state recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye, causing him to let out a comfortable groan. He got up full of energy, clicking his tongue. “This is the special life potion of Her Excellency Aurora? What good stuff!”

Aurora would occasionally activate her ability to produce such life medicines, but the quantity was limited after all, and there was even a shelf life for the potions, so not all warriors from Black Star Army could have them. The normal members would all use the typical store bought medicines, but with Nero’s background, he naturally had Aurora’s life potions.

“Those with major injuries come over. I still have a few more of the life potions, and it will recover your combat capabilities,” Nero shouted.

One of them could not help but say, “Leave some for yourself. There’ll be another bloody battle ahead. What will happen if you’re injured?”

“It’s ok. I still have other medicines.” Nero did not seem to care.

Everyone glanced at each other before shrugging. Having a descendent with a powerful background in their team was not too bad a thing. The backer had already offered, so why were they hesitating?

Nero healed up all his teammates, and they discussed their options.

“Everyone, we’re in an unfavorable situation. We’ve been caught in an ambush, and the entire fleet is being attacked by the enemy,” the captain explained in a serious tone. “The others are too busy to respond to us, so we can only break through by ourselves. There are three Kunde battleships above us, but we have no vehicles, so it will be dangerous…”

“If the enemy continue to bomb the fleet, it will be a desperate situation for us, but now the enemy has stopped attacking and has sent their ground troops to approach us instead.” The eyes of the vice captain flashed. “This means that they intend to capture us alive. This is perhaps our only chance to escape.”

“That’s right!” The captain nodded. “If we wish to escape, we must obtain control of the airspace. The fleet can’t meet up with us, so we can only grab a spaceship. The chances are slim but not impossible.

“This debris is our barrier. If we rush out, the enemy spaceships can bombard us unscrupulously. Thus, we can only wait for the enemy soldiers to enter the base and fight with them directly. In order to prevent friendly fire, the spaceships will not open fire at random, so we need to approach this with a two-pronged strategy. One team will deal with the enemy soldiers, while the other will go to steal a spaceship…”

The captain paused. Everyone looked at each other.

This was something that would affect everyone’s survival. Out of ten paths, only one would lead them out alive.

So, the question was, who should grab the spaceship? It stood to reason that the strongest person should be the one performing this task, and the strongest in the team was Nero with the biggest background.

But to ask someone from such a huge background to accept such a huge responsibility, and only a young teen at that… Everyone was a little hesitant.

Seeing this, Nero gritted his teeth and set his resolve.

“Let me go. There’s no one more suitable than me.”

The captain looked at him, but in the end, he did not try to dissuade him, only solemnly saying, “We’re relying on you. We’ll be engaging the enemy to earn time for you… Remember, everyone’s life is in your hands.”

“I understand.”

Nero took a deep breath, regaining his calm. He controlled his mechanical suit to enter stealth mode, casting one last glance at his members. He then separated, vanishing into the darkness.

The captain breathed out heavily and turned to the rest with a severe expression, “You guys don’t need me to tell you what to do. No matter what, lure down every single enemy.”

“We understand.” The vice captain had a complex expression and nodded.

Other than Nero, everyone else understood what the captain’s tone implied. In actual fact, they had two plans. The first was to allow Nero to capture the spaceship and then escape with him.

But if this level failed, they would unhesitatingly invoke the hidden level… which was to turn themselves into suicide warriors, allowing Nero to abandon them and run off by himself.

It was not just because of Nero and his relationship with the Army Commander, but everyone also knew that the future of this young man was immeasurable. Only by allowing a person with potential to escape could they then obtain their revenge in the future.

…

After sneaking around in the dark for a moment, the commotion of his teammates fighting the Kunde soldiers came from Nero’s communicator.

At this moment, he was no longer on the battlefield but had arrived in front of a collapsed area leading to the ground level. He remained hidden, using the radar to lock onto the spaceship closest to him in the air.

His palms were slick with sweat as he carefully released a unique-looking hovering guard. It was painted in black and gold, and it looked completely different from all of Nero’s other equipment. There was an unparalleled sense of quality in it. After being released, it smartly started to circle around Nero’s head.

“I’m relying on you, brother.” Nero patted the hovering guard, his heart firm.

“Relax, kid. With your big brother here, no one can hurt you!” The hovering guard actually replied!

This was Nero’s final card. This hovering guard was a present from Han Xiao when they first met.

It was high-grade equipment personally built by a Beyond Grade A Super, driven by dark energy. In addition, it had the blessings of [Emperor’s Gift] and [Machinery Fusion]. After Han Xiao obtained the skill of [Mechanical Life Tinder], he had also transformed it into an intelligent mechanical life form, with its independent consciousness and chance to grow. He had named it ‘Sky Guardian’.

Even when Nero was a kid, the Sky Guardian without any Mechanical Force could fend off Grade C Supers.

Now, with Nero as a Grade C+ Super, along with Perfect Mechanical Sense, the Sky Guardian could unleash even more force. Even when compared to Grade Bs, Nero did not lose out at all.

Nero had never taken out this trump card of his, especially when sparring in school. Even if a pugilist rushed up to his face and beat him black and blue, he had never taken out this killing machine.

His true combat capability was unknown, even to Mia who was the closest to him.

Within the school compound, Mia had often sparred with him, but she did not know how strong he could be if he went all out.

Staring at the radar on his screen, Nero breathed in and out to stabilize himself, allowing his energy to fill every cell of his body.

“Hu, I can do this…”

Nero did not hesitate any longer and activated his thrusters.

Boom!

His entire body shot forward, blasting through the rocks at the entrance and rushing into the sky!

The three battleships immediately set their guns and fired at Nero.

The power of the battleships’ cannons were deadly to a Grade C, but the Sky Guardian accompanying Nero shook, and rays of light shot out from it, forming a golden protective shield to surround Nero.

Boom boom boom!

All the artillery cannons bombarded the area in a burst of fireworks, but the shield only showed a slight crack, which instantly repaired itself. It forcibly endured an entire round of firepower.

At the same time, the Kunde battleships above understood Nero’s intentions and activated their shields, preventing external entry.

“Open a pathway for me!”

With a thought, the Sky Guardian released a blinding ray of Mechanical Force, which quickly reformed into a hexagonal shaped muzzle. An all-consuming black beam burst out, carrying immense penetrative force.

Pew pew pew!

The rate of fire was incredible and resembled the actions of someone who was rushing urgently toward the toilet.

The target battleship’s shields were blasted apart, and Nero seized the chance, rushing into the gap created.

Pa pa pa…

Compressed orbs were thrown out from his hands and transformed into laser cutting drills with electromagnetic bases. They attached themselves to the spacecraft, quickly cutting through its hull to create an entrance to the internal compartments.

Nero did a barrel roll in midair, slamming into the spaceship. Without a word, he threw out a large number of mechanical soldiers and activated his weapons, cutting through the ship’s members as if he was chopping vegetables.

Because this spaceship was the one that had sent the ground troops to capture Nero’s team, its strength on board was insufficient, and this made it more convenient for Nero.

Firing without any reserve, Nero did not take much time to kill his way into the main control room, and he immediately took out a Virtual Intrusion chip manufactured by the army. He inserted it into the core of the spaceship’s artificial intelligence. He was not a Virtual Mechanic yet, but the army provided such virtual intrusion aspects.

At this moment, Nero stumbled because the spaceship had suddenly begun to tremble violently!

Rumble!

Looking outside the window, Nero saw that the other two spaceships had turned around, facing him to concentrate their fire without caring about the lives of their comrades.

“To actually fire at your own teammates, how vicious.” Nero clicked his tongue but did not slow down, killing his way into the command room and seizing the authority of the spaceship.

He immediately poured the majority of energy into the battleship’s shields, controlling it to slam into the nearest enemy.

Bang!

The shields of both spaceships collided, creating firework-like sparks. The other spaceship lost its momentum, careening off course.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, the direction it was sent flying was precisely where the second enemy spaceship was. Both enemies collided toward each other, and they lost control momentarily as they attempted to steady their spaceships.

Taking this opportunity, Nero piloted the spaceship, directly sliding below the two spaceships, parallel to the ground.

“Come out quickly! I’ve got the spaceship! Meet me at the coordinates that I’m sending over. I’ll beam you guys up!” Nero shouted into the channel.

“Beautiful!”

His teammates exclaimed in joy. They then used their strong bodies to withstand the pressure, breaking out of the Kunde Race soldiers’ encirclement.

Bang!

The next moment, a portion of the rubble exploded, and the team members rushed out, with the Kunde soldiers chasing close behind.

Nero’s face lit up, and he shouted, “Captain, don’t stop!”

This was a race against time, so Nero had no time to control the two enemy ships that had adjusted to fire at him. He immediately used the traction beam to attract his team members, at the same time releasing a large number of turrets to fire at the pursuing soldiers, providing cover.

Nero did not dare drag out the battle, so after rescuing the team, he immediately rushed into the sky, fleeing into the universe.

Soon, the rest of his team joined him in the command room, rushing up to rub Nero’s head frantically.

“Kid, good job!”

“Haha, we’re saved. I thought we were gonna die this time!”

“To get it so smoothly, it seems like luck is on our side!”

Everyone had on a joyous expression, continuously praising Nero.

“Don’t count your blessings too soon. We’re not out of danger yet.” Although the captain tried to dampen their spirits, he was grinning from ear to ear himself.

While there were still spaceships after them, their situation was much better compared to before.

After celebrating for a while, they remembered the rest of their comrades who were still trapped, and their joyful expressions quickly faded.

“We’ve managed to escape, but what about those in our unit that have been surrounded?” someone asked.

“There’s no way. We cannot help them because there are too many enemies. If we try to help, we will only get surrounded again.”

His captain shook his head in response. He understood the current situation clearly. Going with just their one spaceship was as good as sending themselves to their graves. It would only waste their chance of escaping.

This should be the best time for them to separate and run; they should not engage in further battles.

At this time, Nero recalled something, and his heart began pounding rapidly.

That’s right. I don’t know how Mia’s team is doing…

Having thought of this, Nero could no longer sit still, he immediately passed the spaceship to his teammates to operate while he took out his communicator.

The time that it took to connect was akin to him being boiled alive; it was excruciatingly long.

Nero’s heart was burning with anxiety as he waited, but the call never got through. He called every single one of Mia’s teammates, but no one answered as well.

The call only connected when it reached Mia’s captain. From it came the sounds of battle.

“Cough cough… Nero? You guys have escaped?”

“That’s me. You guys got ambushed too? How’s the situation? We have a spaceship that can save you!” Nero spat out quickly like bullets.

“Don’t… don’t come over. You guys must take the chance to run. My entire team has already been captured, and I’m the only one still left resisting. I will not be able to hold on for long as well. You guys can’t save us. Quickly go cough cough…”

While speaking, the communication was suddenly cut.

Nero’s expression tightened, and he turned to walk toward the hatch of the spaceship.

Having witnessed the previous scene, his teammates immediately leapt up, swarming over him as a mob and restraining him.

“Nero, don’t be suicidal,” the captain shouted.

“I have to save her!”

Nero was tackled by the seven or eight blokes, and he could not move at all even if he struggled. However, his attitude was firm.

“Don’t be a fool. I told you just now, but going over to save them is as good as suicide!” the captain roared in anger.

“I know. That’s why I’m not intending to ask for help!” Nero gritted his teeth. “This is my own choice. I will not let you guys get involved. You can pilot this spaceship, and I’ll go down alone. Don’t stop me!”

“Going solo will make it even more impossible. There’s no point sending yourself to die!” The captain was set on holding Nero down.

Nero struggled for quite a while before he finally calmed down. He sat down on the ground, his hands covering his face as he kept silent.

Empathizing with Nero’s situation, the captain could not help but sigh, patting Nero’s shoulder. He also did not know what to say, and he could only mutter in a depressed tone, “She has only been captured. She’s not dead yet. There may still be a chance for their survival. We can only escape for now and think of ways to save her later.”

The moment he spoke, Nero raised his head and spoke in a low tone with reddened eyes.

“You’re right. I was too rash. Thanks for stopping me… I cannot allow Mia to fall into the enemy’s hands, not knowing what they will do to her. I still have one last hope.”

As he spoke, Nero stood up, taking out his communicator. Taking a deep breath, he mustered the courage to dial Han Xiao’s number on the communicator.

He had originally decided not to rely on Han Xiao during his service so as not to disappoint him, but he did not have a choice…

The communicator rang three times in total. The interval between each ring seemed like eternity to Nero. After three rings, Nero heard the familiar voice.

“Oh, Nero. What have you called me for?” Han Xiao’s face wore a slight smile as he answered.

“Godfather, I’ve disappointed you.” Nero rubbed his eyes, softly speaking. “I’ve met something I cannot solve, and I hope you can help me.”

“Go on,” Han Xiao simply replied.

Nero quickly explained the situation with his head lowered, waiting for a reply.

Seeing his expression, Han Xiao stroked his chin as he smiled. “I refuse.”

Nero jerked his head up with an expression of shock and surprise.

“Very surprised?” Han Xiao kept his smile. “Your identity now is different. You’re no longer my godson but also an ordinary soldier. While I indeed give you preferential treatment, I cannot give you special care forever.”

“But… but…” Nero’s eyes turned red.

“It’s not that I cannot help. Putting aside our relationship, let’s look at this from a business perspective. What can you give me to hire me?” Han Xiao indifferently continued.

“I… I don’t know.”

“Then, how can you expect me to help?” Han Xiao blinked. “My relationship with you is not fake, but I cannot help you without a reason. Rules are set like this, so what you desire must be exchanged for something else. Throwing away your identity, what else do you have to offer me?”

Nero’s emotions were a mess, and he muttered, “I… I have nothing…”

Looking at Nero covering his head with both hands, his expression despondent, Han Xiao spoke softly as he smiled. “What? Are you feeling despair now? Think about it, how long have you not expressed your thanks toward me?”

Hearing this, Nero’s figure shivered, and he lowered his head.

“I’m sorry… I beg you…”

“Let me ask you again. Have you felt this despair yet?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, emphasizing on his words.

Nero was silent for a long time before raising his head. His lips were bleeding due to his biting, and his eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Han Xiao and nodded.

“Good. Remember this feeling, and don’t ever experience it again.” Han Xiao straightened himself up before laughing. “Relax, I’ll agree to your request this time and save your little girlfriend.”

Nero’s emotions seemed to have risen back up after being thrown into the depths of hell. He stared stunned for a while before he recovered his spirits, grasping the communicator with both hands tightly.

“Thank you… thank you…”

“Don’t rejoice so early. I never act without a price.” Han Xiao propped his head with his hands. “You don’t know what you can offer me, but in reality, you are not worthless. At the very least, you have a strong gift for machinery. How about using that as a bargaining chip?”

“What does this mean?” Nero could not understand.

“If I really must explain, you can understand it as me not wanting you to waste your gifts. You don’t need to fully understand this now, and you only need to say whether you accept or reject this arrangement.” Han Xiao spoke with a smile that was not really a smile at the same time.

Nero was still befuddled, but he had no choice. He could only grit his teeth and nod his head.

“I agree. Please help me!”

At the same time, Han Xiao received a notification on his interface while seated in his Black Star Palace.

_____________________

You have triggered the Special Character Mission: Nero’s Request!

Mission Introduction: Nero has agreed to your transaction and is willing to use his own talents and abilities in exchange for your help.

Mission Requirements: Save Mia Moretto.

Reward: Select one of Nero’s Abilities or Talents.

Chapter 976: Great Director Han

Chapter 976 Great Director Han

“It really appeared, and to think I get to decide what to learn. I thought it would be a random draw…”

Looking at the mission description, Han Xiao’s eyes lit up with an expression of joy.

This type of mission was similar to seeking employment. In his previous life, when players received missions from NPCs, they could negotiate to obtain certain mission rewards from the particular NPC, such as increased pay, better skills, or rarer items. There was even a type of non-combat class named [Lobbyist], which had the opportunity to improve one’s success rate when communicating with NPCs. This effect was similar to the amount of favorability given to players based on personal reputation.

However, the task of specifying the ability to learn had the lowest probability, and it required a lot of luck. Most of the time, it was just a random reward.

Han Xiao had merely copied the words of the players in his past life to influence the reward after the mission was generated. It was not guaranteed that this would succeed.

In his plan, he thought that it would at most be a random draw reward. This was an unexpected boon.

“If that’s the case, I don’t need to rely on luck.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.

He had worried that he might not obtain the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] from Nero, so he had planned many ‘scenarios’ for him. He did not expect himself to succeed in one try.

With this, there was no need to continue ‘torturing’ Nero.

At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly made a weird hypothesis, and his expression froze up.

Could it be… that even his mission rewards were affected by Nero’s Advanced Luck Glow, such that he would obtain what he wanted in one try so that Nero could avoid further torture? It seemed very likely!

“How terrifying, truly terrifying…”

Han Xiao’s lips twitched, not knowing what expression he should make.

In actual fact, this whole scenario deviated slightly from his script. In his original plans, Han Xiao wanted Nero to fall into despair before calling for help. But he did not expect the kid to be so good at fighting, to be able to kill his way out and nearly escape, foiling his plans.

If not for the fact that he had prepared a backup plan and had lured that little guy’s lover in, Nero would probably not even have sought help from him.

As such thoughts flashed by, Han Xiao recovered, and seeing Nero still nervously awaiting his answer, he gave a smile.

“Okay, the deal is completed. Leave everything to me.”

Nero nodded quickly, drying his tears. He could not help but urge, “Godfather, when will you arrive? I’m afraid that if you are too late, Mia will…”

He did not know about Han Xiao’s mechanical troops being hidden within the team’s cabin and thought that it would take several days for Han Xiao to come over and save Mia, which would be too late.

Hearing this, Han Xiao laughed out loud and shot him a meaningful look. “Relax, it won’t take too long.”

With this, he hung up, not allowing Nero to understand his meaning.

Breathing out a contented sigh, Han Xiao turned his attention back to the mechanical host carrying his avatar and nodded.

“Time to act.”

…

“Urgh, where is this place?”

Mia’s brain felt like it was filled with chaos, and her eyelids were incomparably heavy. She struggled to open her eyes a little and took in the sight before her.

A few meters in front of her was a transparent glass window, where a few Kunde soldiers stood. They were looking toward them, whispering, but the glass blocked off the sound, so she could not hear a single word.

Her body was filled with fatigue and could not be controlled. It was as though a ghost was pressing down on her, making it difficult to even move a finger. Her body seemed to have been injected with an extremely potent sedative, and all she could feel was that her body was fixed to a device.

“What’s this? Why am I here?” Mia racked her brains, trying to recall what she had experienced before losing consciousness.

Her brain seemed to be filled with lead, her thinking speed slow and torturous. The memory fragments slowly emerged within her mind, and she thought for more than ten seconds before she pieced everything together.

She had followed the team into the wilderness to check for the abnormal signals, but they had encountered several enemy ships that suddenly attacked them. She was seriously injured and fell to the ground, losing all combat ability. Her brain received a huge shock, and before she went into a coma, she saw that the Kunde soldiers had approached and squatted down in front of her.

“Then I’ve been captured? What about the others?”

Mia wanted to turn her head, but her head was locked in position, so she could only strain her eyes to the corners, glancing about with the corners of her vision. She saw that there was a row of fixtures beside her, with all her teammates fastened on them. Most of them were still unconscious.

At this moment, a weak voice sounded beside her.

“Mia, you’re awake?”

Mia hurriedly swept her eyes over and discovered it was her captain. “Captain, you were captured too?”

“I had no way to go against the battleships. Still, the enemies didn’t kill us but captured us alive.”

“It’s good that we’re not dead.” Mia breathed a sigh of relief.

“Ah…” The captain let out a bitter laugh. “You’re wrong. Dying is better than falling into enemy hands.”

Mia was still a little fuzzy and unconsciously asked, “Why?”

“Think about it. Why would the enemies want to capture us? If my hypothesis is correct, they want to treat us as research material. What’s awaiting us is all sorts of inhumane experiments, where we will be drained of every single drop of blood and muscle in our bodies to aid in the development of our enemies. Dying is considered nothing in comparison.” The captain’s voice was laced with despair. “The others from our unit are also fending for themselves, so they have no time to come save us.”

Hearing this, Mia was stunned silly.

While she was a Super, she also had the identity of a young teenager, and she had never experienced such a despairing scenario.

At this moment, her mind subconsciously thought of Nero’s figure. Her heart ached, and her expression was miserable.

“I’m sorry… I may have to eat my words. I can’t continue walking down this path with you…”

Tears formed in Mia’s eyes and trailed down her cheeks, forming two long tear tracks.

At this moment, the door opened, and a few of the Kunde Race soldiers walked in. They went to a cabinet, taking out a few syringes before advancing toward them.

While the other party did not speak, based on their movements, Mia knew that they wanted to inject them with more tranquilizers to keep them unconscious.

Mia struggled, but all the cells in her body were asleep, and she could not generate any form of energy.

She could only watch as the Kunde Race drew near, her eyes reflecting hopelessness.

Boom!

At this moment, a strong shock ran through the entire spaceship, and several of the Kunde Race soldiers lost their balance.

Before Mia could recover to her senses, the few Kunde Race soldiers turned into smashed meat paste, and a mechanical soldier appeared in front of her, hovering in the air. It was so quick that she could not follow its movements with her eyes.

Ka la ka la…

The mechanical soldier then crushed the device that was imprisoning Mia and her team before taking out the life potion of Aurora and injecting it in everyone.

Everyone recovered quickly, checking their bodies with joy on their faces.

Their gazes landed on the mechanical soldier, with traces of joy and suspicion. They did not expect someone to have saved them in such a desperate scenario.

Mia’s mood was tumultuous, staring blankly for a few seconds before she recovered. She stared at the mechanical soldier, asking, “You… are you from the army?”

“What, can’t you recognize me?” Han Xiao’s voice travelled out from the mechanical soldier. “I’m Black Star.”

The eyes of everyone present turned into saucers.

The Army Commander personally came to save us‽

What is he doing here‽

Mia gaped, and she suddenly realized the truth.

For someone of Black Star’s caliber, the only reason he could appear here was that… he had been secretly protecting Nero all along!

Everyone soon recovered their senses, rejoicing at their second chance at life. Fortunately, they were in the same unit as Nero. Otherwise, there would be no turnaround for them. Their lives were, in part, saved by Nero.

“Alright, my machines have taken control of the battlefield. Follow me.”

The mechanical soldier controlled by Han Xiao waved its hands, placating the excited crowd. Thinking about it, he then patted Mia’s shoulder as he warmly spoke.

“After this battle, come with Nero to meet me. I’ll introduce you to a few Calamity Grade pugilists for them to take you in as a student.”

Mia opened her eyes wide, her expression incredulous. Only after a while did she realize that Han Xiao was giving her the opportunity to go under a Calamity Grade teacher, and she was extremely moved.

Excitement and pride filled her heart. She did not imagine that she would receive preferential treatment by Black Star and hurriedly nodded in return.

“Ok, thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency Black Star!”

“It’s nothing. I just felt that you have the potential to reach the Calamity Grade.”

Han Xiao smiled before turning back to look at the other team members. He thought for a while before saying, “As for the rest, you can report to Herlous when you return. I’ll ask him to raise your team’s authority, allowing all of you to promote, form a new team, or choose a new position. The material reward will also be given fairly.”

Unexpectedly, there was such a benefit in being caught.

…

Outside the floating base, the mechanical army that had been hovering quietly suddenly exposed their fangs.

Against such strength, there was no room for resistance. The floating base was instantly virtually invaded, with all their armed forces disintegrated, and the base fell under the control of Han Xiao.

The Kunde Race soldiers and commanders fell from the heavens into the abyss, turning into captives.

On the battlefields, the invisible mechanical army finally revealed themselves, joining the battlefield out of nowhere. Under the astonishment of the troops, all the battleships of the enemy were destroyed.

Nero and his team were still running when a mechanical troop appeared in front of them, firing behind them.

When they turned back to look, they saw the energy beam passing by their spaceship and piercing through several of the Kunde Race battleships chasing after them.

Bang bang bang!

The glow of flames was seen as the various spaceships imploded, turning into fireworks that filled the sky.

Seeing this, Nero stopped in shock.

How did it happen so quickly?

From the time he requested the call to his godfather acting, it had only been a couple of minutes!

He suddenly remembered Han Xiao’s meaningful eyes toward him when the latter cut the call.

While godfather wanted me to experience hardship alone, he sent troops to secretly protect me. I’m sure that the majority of his machines were hidden together with the troops and would appear to help when I’m in danger.

So, his words just now were purely to educate me?

Godfather… he is harsh with his words, but he’s actually a softie inside…

Nero was moved upon realizing Han Xiao’s ‘good intentions’ and praised Han Xiao’s character as he wiped his eyes.

This was the exact opposite of the Great Mechanic Han’s true nature.

Nero’s thought process was also carefully calculated by Han Xiao beforehand, and the progression was still quite in line with the script that the Great Director Han had written.

The battlefield soon fell under the control of Han Xiao’s mechanical army, with the Kunde Race’s small and medium sized fleets unable to overturn the scenario at all. With his mechanical army quickly ending the battle, Han Xiao allowed all the soldiers to land and gather before bringing Mia’s team to rendezvous with the rest.

Seeing that Mia was safe and sound, Nero’s taut nerves also relaxed, and he let out a bright smile.

“That’s great. You’re fine.”

Mia immediately noticed Nero when she landed and ran over to him. She wanted to hug him, but seeing so many people around them, she got a little shy and only lightly hit his mechanical suit with her fist, whispering, “Thanks. If not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to return.”

Nero’s smile got wider. “I said I would protect you.”

Looking at his silly smile, Mia could not help but roll her eyes at him, grumbling, “It was clearly His Excellency Black Star who rescued me.”

“Cough, cough.” Han Xiao dryly coughed by the side, interrupting them. “I’ve saved them for you. The next time you do things, you should be more cautious and attentive. Your luck won’t always remain so good, and I cannot always be there to protect you.”

“I understand.” Nero turned to him with a solemn expression as he seriously spoke to Han Xiao. “Thank you very much. I’ll carve today’s lesson into my mind and will not act recklessly in the future. I will not waste my talent.”

Han Xiao smiled and nodded before turning to the other soldiers on the battlefield. He nodded slightly and spoke.

“Although I interfered in this battle, the captives were mostly caught by you guys. I will not steal your credit, so you will be in charge of taking this group of captives back. Head to Herlous afterward, and he will arrange additional compensation for you.”

This time, in order to ‘rob’ Nero, his colleagues had all been included in Han Xiao’s plan, so he had long prepared some compensation. Since he had used them and they were his people, he would definitely give them benefits in return. From Planet Aquamarine till now, this was now he had acted.

The mechanical troops had been observing the battle in stealth mode, and this frightening yet undeadly battle, alongside an opportunity to achieve a promotion or an additional monetary reward, was quite a good exchange for them. However, Han Xiao had profited the most from this.

“It’s done!”

Letting out a sigh, Han Xiao hid his excitement as he collected his mission reward.

_____________________

Nero’s Request has been completed.

You have received: The option to learn a specific skill of Nero’s (Ability/Talent).

Please select one from the following options below as the reward.

_____________________

A list of skills popped out, and all the abilities and talents of Nero were listed.

Glancing at Nero’s skills, there were only two on his priority list, [Perfect Mechanical Sense] and [Advanced Luck Glow].

However, he could only choose one, and between both skills, Han Xiao needed [Perfect Mechanical Sense] more, which was the model talent for Mechanics, a must-have for every strong Beyond Grade A.

[Advanced Luck Glow] was something he wanted, but it was not high on his list. After all, the ability did not help in combat capabilities and would also weaken his mutually assured destruction card of reducing the Luck of others.

Moreover, because his Luck was low, this ability would only play a limited role. He was afraid that if his luck was too high, it would be difficult to draw more Mission Completion Cards.

Furthermore, with Feidin at hand, there was no need to increase his luck.

[Perfect Mechanical Sense] was his goal, and now that he had gained it, Han Xiao decided to reward Nero by not letting him suffer any pain for the time being.

As for [Advanced Luck Glow], he would think of an opportune time to obtain it.

Halting his devilish thoughts, Han Xiao selected his target on the interface.

The next moment, a strong current of Mechanical Force flowed out within his brain!

_____________________

Selection Completed!

Your Talent [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense] has disappeared.

You have received the talent: Perfect Mechanical Sense!

Chapter 977: The Concept of Superimposed Mechanical Senses

Chapter 977 The Concept of Superimposed Mechanical Senses

The sound of crackling electricity suddenly sounded on the Divine Mechanical Throne as thick jagged bolts of Mechanical Force lashed out like chains on the floor, leaving blackened scars.

His brain tingled slightly, as though undergoing an electrical stimulation.

With a dazzling glare in his eyes, Han Xiao could feel that the cells in his body were running at full power, with energy constantly being released.

After just a few more minutes, the phenomenon began to fade. The world in his eyes had changed subtly. There was now a clearer mechanical perception, and his field of vision penetrated deeper into microstructures.

“How miraculous…”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as he appreciated the changes.

The usage of the Character Summon Card was different from actually possessing the talent. Right now, [Perfect Mechanical Sense] has resulted in a complete change within his body.

His basic personal attributes had not changed, but what was strengthened was his Machinery Affinity, as well as his Mechanical Force strength. Through his sense organs, the machinery felt closer and more familiar to him.

The core effect of Perfect Mechanical Sense was an improvement of his total Machinery Affinity by x1.4 coefficient, and this brought him an additional two to three thousand Machinery Affinity. This was enough to allow him to leap through several tiers!

There were two secondary functions to this. One was the increase in his machinery quality, improving it by one or two tiers, which was capped at Pink Grade. At present, Han Xiao’s equipment was basically all Orange Grade, and this bonus was not too important to him. The other function was more important, which granted +4 to all mechanic skills, which could break through the upper limit. This gave him more slots for his Apostle Weapons.

Mechanical Sense was classified as a personal talent, and the difficulty in improving it varied from person to person. Some geniuses easily understood it, while some could not learn it even if their personal strength was incredible. Han Xiao’s [Elementary Grade Mechanical Sense] was a drawn reward, so his chances of improving it to the level of [Perfect Mechanical Sense] were nil.

Generally speaking, such talents were either passively awakened or actively cultivated from a young age. As one grew older, the learning difficulty of talents would increase.

“Finally, I’ve got Perfect Mechanical Sense, and my normal combat capability is now the same as when I use a Character Summon Card.”

Han Xiao was satisfied. He had looked forward to this ability for a long time.

He would no longer appear as an embarrassment!

Possessing power of his own was the best assurance, and turning those trump cards that he relied on to blitz during battle into actual combat power gave him higher stability. Now, his qualification as a peak level Beyond Grade A Mechanic had completely stabilized, and the gap between him and the Mechanic Emperor had shortened once more.

However, it was still too early for him to arm wrestle against Manison. The other party also possessed Perfect Mechanical Sense, and right now, he had only filled up his missing gaps.

Han Xiao was not in a hurry, however. Although he had also reached the peak Beyond Grade A realm, he was different from everyone else as he still had ample room for growth.

Before the next major update, Han Xiao did not wish to entangle with Manison. He wanted to take this chance while Manison thought that he had consolidated his position to develop himself within the shadow he cast, lest the other party were to notice his strength once again and challenge him.

Although Han Xiao was not afraid of Manison acting against him, he did not wish to act before he had established his foundations within the Flickering World. After all, Manison had the backing of the Federation of Light, and Han Xiao had no way of acting against the other party.

“However, although Perfect Mechanical Sense has become part of my combat power now, it does not mean that my trump card is lost.”

The Character Summon Card usage was not related to his abilities, and activating similar effects would give rise to a stacked bonus rather than the usual effect bonus.

In other words, the Character Summon Card of Perfect Mechanical Sense was still useful to him.

Since he had already obtained Perfect Mechanical Sense, this would lead to his bonuses superimposing upon one another.

The superimposition of two skills, just how terrifying would it become? It would probably be the only double Perfect Mechanical Sense in the entire universe. Just thinking about it gave him the chills.

If he used this in front of Manison, the latter’s entire worldview would most likely shatter.

“It’s better for me to leave any blank Character Summon Cards to use on Reynold and Nero, and whether or not I can get the skill depends on my luck.”

After experiencing the skill a while longer, Han Xiao finally closed the talent description.

He went back to his skill list, pulling down the blueprint column, and looked for a new blueprint that he had recently obtained.

_____________________

Spacetime Splicer: Using peculiar spacetime technology, open a branch timeline temporarily that is outside of the main timeline. By specifying a complete action plan, one can form a time chain with a beginning and an end, breaking through the spacetime continuum by performing a temporal jump through different points of the timeline. It can be used for any arbitrary objects.

Usage of this device will bring about an irreversible negative effect. Objects spliced by time and space will suffer from correction by the main timeline, and once completely corrected, the object will be annihilated alongside the branch time chain that was cut out.

Remarks: If you’re a fan of suicidal attacks, this device is perfect for you. While the technology is not yet mature and perfected, since it’s still a suicide operation, there’s no need to care about the nitty gritty details!

_____________________

Han Xiao had stolen the Spacetime Splicing Technology from the Kunde Race, learning it and investing some experience to better understand the technique before finally obtaining the new blueprint identified by the interface. After spending some time on it, he had finally also finished a prototype.

The completed product resembled a three-story building.

Over the last few days, he had conducted simple tests and debugged the Spacetime Splicer. Its operation was very normal, but the startup time was a little long. It also could not be used as and when he liked; rather, it needed to be connected to a special target pipeline before it would be effective on objects.

Naturally, Han Xiao would not use such a dangerous device on himself, but after thinking about it over the last few days, he had concluded that this item would be helpful for the mechanic class.

The most suitable object to use the Spacetime Splicing Technology on would be the mass-produced machinery!

The wastage of the mechanical army would no longer bring him heartache, and with this additional function, he could even perform some war strategies that were not possible before. This sort of qualitative improvement of one’s combat capabilities was akin to exchanging one’s life for a sudden assault of tremendous strength. However, for a mechanic utilizing the Army Wave Tactic, it was naturally cost-effective.

Secondly, this could also be used as a new type of strategic killing weapon. Compared to portable psionic bombs, biochemical genetic weapons, and the like, the Spacetime Splicer was more concealed and difficult to detect, suitable for assassination and destruction missions.

Han Xiao stroked his chin as he pondered.

“However, I should minimize its operation as much as possible. When the dynasty discovered the power of Spacetime Splicing Technology, they also began to hide and monopolize this technology. While the dynasty will not force me to hand over the technology in my hands, they will also request for me to keep it a secret.”

He did not hide the matter of him obtaining the Spacetime Splicing Technology from the dynasty. He had only seized a copy of the technology before the dynasty monopolized it. There was no need to hide it.

Allowing the dynasty to know that he possessed such technology would also increase his authority, and since he had obtained the technology before the dynasty placed any importance on it, it was a legitimate excuse and not a shameful matter. Furthermore, if he were to utilize this technique in front of others in the future, he would reveal the fact that he possessed this technology. By that time, maybe the dynasty would even protect him and hide this matter.

No matter what, he would not spit out whatever he had eaten.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao took out his Spacetime Amber and hung it in midair before connecting to the external interface of the Spacetime Splicer.

He was prepared to test if the Spacetime Amber could be affected by the Spacetime Splicing Technology. This was also his first experiment.

The operation of the Spacetime Splicer was complicated, and Han Xiao took a while before he got it started.

Ohm!

The whole device began to vibrate, and rainbow-colored beams shone on the Spacetime Amber from the pipeline.

He stepped back a little, waiting in silence until the vibration of the device gradually stopped.

“Splicing is complete…”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he disconnected the nanoparticles that suspended the Spacetime Amber. The Spacetime Amber dropped down, its surface still smooth and unblemished, as though it had not undergone a timeframe change.

Narrowing his eyes, Han Xiao stepped forward to pick up the amber. He realized that there were no changes after examining it for a while.

“Seems like the Spacetime Splicing Technology has no effect on the amber.”

Having arrived at this conclusion, Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. This was good news to him.

Since even the Spacetime Splicing Technology could not crack this Space Wonder, it represented that the Spacetime Amber was still an unsolvable means. Even if the dynasty or other organizations obtained this technology, the spacetime amber in his hands still possessed an irreplaceable role.

Thinking about it, Han Xiao conducted a new experiment.

He spliced a normal machine before using the Spacetime Amber to encase it in order to determine if the effect of the Spacetime Splicing Technology would be effective.

The principle of the Spacetime Amber worked as a solidified piece of spacetime, and the machinery wreathed in it did not experience the side effects of the Spacetime Splicing, ignoring the correction force of the timeline.

But at the same time, the normal effect of the spacetime splicing would not take place.

However, after removing the restriction that was the Spacetime Amber, the machinery was still corrected by the timeline and was annihilated, releasing a huge amount of energy and almost exploding the warehouse.

In this case, this means that the Spacetime Amber can only temporarily isolate the object and not completely offset the side effects of the Spacetime Splicing Technology… so it can only serve as a coffin? Really suits its name ‘amber’, Han Xiao thought to himself as he brushed off the dust on his body.

There might be another way around it, such as starting the action of the Spacetime Splicing in advance, then sealing it. By borrowing the effects of the amber, I can first send it to the target location before unlocking the amber and activating the effect of the splicing… well, this is akin to a delayed detonation.

After thinking about it, Han Xiao felt that this was a promising direction to apply, and he would need more time to explore the various possibilities.

After testing a few more times to ensure that this was no fluke, he put away the Spacetime Splicer and took out his communicator, contacting the Commander of the Dynasty Exploration Army, Tarrokov.

When the call connected, his huge face appeared on the screen, with the background of a tactical conference room.

“Oh, Black Star, what’s the matter?”

“You’re in a meeting? I can call back later.”

“Just a regular update, it’s not as important as you. Just say what brings you here.”

Han Xiao smiled. “The enemy’s movements have been weird recently. I believe you have also discovered that, right?”

“Yes, the enemies seem to want to lure us deeper in. Do you have intelligence in this area?”

“Kind of. I sent some troops a while ago and broke into the enemy’s database. I found out that they intend to use the Scorched Earth tactics, planning to devour these star systems with the Primordial Psionic Energy to cause damage to the dynasty fleet. I have the coordinates of their buried energy as well as the movements of all their fleets.”

“Good job.” Tarrokov’s eyes lit up, and he felt relieved.

The majority of Beyond Grade As took a laid-back stance for this battle. Firstly, they had their pride and did not wish to stoop to bullying an indigenous civilization without Supers. Secondly, they were afraid that their opponents would throw out Primordial Psionic Energy bombs, thus they only sent their men to respond to the call to arms.

However, Black Star had personally gone into the battle. He was worthy of being the talent favored by the dynasty. Two words came to mind, ‘reliable’ and ‘steady’!

“I’ll forward the intelligence to you later. Don’t forget to give me my credit,” Han Xiao joked.

“Haha, rest assured, this credit will be recorded down for you.” Tarrokov was in a good mood, and he felt as though Han Xiao was extremely pleasing to his eyes, always bearing good news.

Han Xiao smiled before hanging up.

With [Perfect Mechanical Sense] and the Spacetime Splicing Technology at hand, he planned to end the war as soon as possible in order to resume the normal exploration work.

The other purpose for providing the information was to improve the evaluation of the Kunde Race War Mission Rating. Since all his other goals had been completed, he might as well help the dynasty finish its battles faster.

Because he did not intend to conceal the Spacetime Splicing Technology, Han Xiao did not hesitate, taking out all the intelligence and sending it directly.

…

Tarrokov was efficient and made arrangements immediately after receiving Han Xiao’s intelligence.

Several frontline troops were secretly sent to the coordinates shown by the intelligence to foil the enemy’s Scorched Earth plan.

In the intelligence given by Han Xiao, the coordinates and movements of all Kunde Race fleets were marked. This was equivalent to the dynasty gazing upon the battlefield without the fog of war, grasping the enemy’s every move.

The army no longer slowly proceeded in caution but purposefully dispersed and targeted the main fleets of the Kunde Race.

The Kunde Race did not yet realize that all their plans had been exposed and that they were under the gaze of the dynasty. At this time, they were still implementing their battle plans.

With Han Xiao’s help, the dynasty had saved countless soldiers, easily crushing the Kunde Race due to the overwhelming intelligence.

The balance between victory or defeat had been completely tilted toward the dynasty’s favor.

Chapter 978: No Retrea

Chapter 978 No Retrea

Han Xiao’s intelligence had torn apart the fog of war for the dynasty, and they swept across the entire Kunde Race territory in just a month.

Each army legion split their operations up, intercepting the Kunde Race main fleet at different coordinates, launching a fierce fight in the starry universe. The battleship fleet advanced as it swept across the galaxy.

Under the firepower of the dynasty, the Kunde Race was caught off guard, losing ground and a large number of their battleships.

In a certain Star System, a dynasty fleet was fighting against one of the Kunde Race fleets. The enemy was in a state of defeat, constantly being slaughtered mercilessly. Yet another battleship of the Kunde Race was shot through by a cannon and transformed into fireworks.

The enemy’s flagship had already been completely surrounded, with the weaponry of the countless dynasty battleships aimed on it. Once they made any movement, the dynasty would fire and destroy it. The reason they had not done so was because they wished to capture them alive.

A small spaceship flew out of the dynasty’s fleet, carrying the officers of the dynasty who were responsible for taking over the flagship.

The enemy withdrew their shield, as though indicating their surrender. The small spaceship thus approached smoothly and docked itself into the enemy’s flagship. The comparison was just like a sesame seed against a grape.

Whoosh!

The sound of the valves decompressing was heard, and the main door of the flagship overed, revealing a dynasty with pale skin. It was Gaud.

The aide-de-camps of the various dynasty officers all possessed certain functions. Some were used more as secretaries, while some aide-de-camps worked part-time during dangerous wars. Gaud belonged to the latter.

In front of them was a large group of Kunde Race soldiers, surrounding them completely as they tightly gripped their weapons, strongly signaling their readiness for battle.

Gaud swept them with a look before ignoring them, reaching out to adjust the universal translator in his ear before speaking.

“Who is the commander? Please come out.”

The Kunde troops immediately went into turmoil, and one of them, dressed smartly in uniform, stepped out. His tone was heavy. “Intruder, why do you understand our language?”

Both sides had been fighting from the start and had not exchanged any information. To this Kunde Race officer, this was the first time they had communicated with the other party, so they were surprised that he knew their language.

“It’s just an insignificant piece of technology.” Gaud’s tone remained calm.

The intelligence that Han Xiao had passed to the dynasty was the full package, even including their languages. Thus, the dynasty did not need to crack the nuances behind their languages. Rather, they simply imported the language into the universal translator for easy communication.

The Kunde Race Commander did not ask further, instead saying, “Please stop your killing of our comrades. We have already surrendered.”

“Ok. As long as you surrender and hand over the command to the fleet, we will stop attacking.”

“Good. Please follow me.”

The Kunde Race’s commander turned around, and his men left a path for him to walk through. Gaud eyed them, a ridiculing smile on the corners of his mouth as he strode to follow.

The entourage walked down the passages. Along the way, the atmosphere was oppressive, and no one made a sound.

After a period of walking, Gaud suddenly let out a snort as he leisurely said, “After bringing us on so many twists and turns, is your ambush ready yet? Don’t make me wait too long.”

Once this sentence was spoken, the commander in front halted in his footsteps, jerking his head back with shock flashing through his eyes.

Had they been exposed‽

But since he had discovered it, how could he remain so calm‽

While they had already been seen through, they had come too far to retreat now. The tone of the commander grew harsh as he snarled, “After wantonly massacring my troops, you still want me to surrender? Dream on! Let’s die together!”

His words had just been said when heavy trembling came from below them. As Gaud glanced down, he saw the alloy deck quickly swelling up, the seams breaking apart. A dazzling blue light shone through the cracks.

“To place the Primordial Psionic Energy onboard your own flagship, it seems like you’ve long decided to sacrifice yourself…”

Before Gaud could complete his sentence, a huge shock reverberated across the entire flagship.

Boom!

The next instant, the psionic energy blasted out, instantly swallowing the bodies of everyone present, including Gaud and the Kunde Race Commander as it filled up the entire area!

At the same time, the dynasty fleet stationed outside discovered the anomaly and saw the surrounded enemy flagship implode, turning into an expanding Primordial Psionic Energy sphere. The energy mass quickly approached the dynasty’s encirclement, and this was precisely the plan of the Kunde Race’s commander—detonate and bury the dynasty fleet with him!

Within the commanding flagship, the commander on the dynasty’s side coldly snorted.

“Indeed, they decided to do a suicidal attack. Psionic handling team, take action!”

Once the command was given, one of the spaceships detached from the dynasty fleet. From the head of the spaceship came out a circular device, which shook slightly and resonated, forming an invisible bubble that enveloped the entire psionic energy sphere. An obvious distortion could be seen within the space.

The dynasty had long made preparations for the self-detonation of the Psionic energy. This device was specially designed to deal with the pollution caused by the psionic energy. It would wrap up the entire psionic energy sphere, and the energy mass that had just formed was still considered small and easy to handle.

The expansion of the energy cluster immediately slowed down, and reverted, slowly contracting inward instead of expanding outward, continuously shrinking.

The entire process lasted for over 10 minutes, and the Primordial Psionic Energy cluster gradually shrank from the size of the flagship to a sphere with a diameter of two of three meters, and still continued to compress rapidly.

The most common way to control the psionic energy’s pollution was to use a special equipment to compress its volume, increasing its energy density until it turned into an energy seed, before stabilizing this energy. This method was considered relatively eco-friendly, with the least side effects, and the only issues was that it took a long time, and could not be used when the energy had expanded to a certain extent.

At this moment, a figure stepped out of the psionic energy cluster, which turned out to be Gaud. Not only was he unscathed, not even his hair style had gone out of place, and he even carried with him the Kunde Race commander who was still alive.

The entire flagship was engulfed by the Primordial Psionic Energy, and only the two of them were still alive.

“You, you…” The Kunde Race commander stared with wide eyes incredulously at Gaud.

He had already made the preparations to die with the enemy, but at this moment, he could not believe what his eyes were showing him.

Gaud only glanced at him, before knocking him out, and stretching out his hands toward the energy cluster.

Whoosh-

Misty traces of the psionic energy moving could be seen in the surroundings as the cluster turned into a small seed the size of a rice grain, shining with a bright blue light.

This was a freshly formed psionic energy seed, akin to a blue gemstone. It fell between Gaud’s fingers, dyeing his fingers and face with a bluish tint.

Despite holding an unstable energy source in his hand, Gaud had a calm expression on his face. He flipped his hand, taking out a spherical containment device before tucking in the energy seed.

He then gestured to the dynasty fleet, asking his colleagues to turn off the control device that was suppressing the Psionic energy cluster before returning to the commanding flagship with the Kunde Race commander to meet his superior.

“Good job, I’ll personally record this merit for you.”

The dynasty’s commanding general personally welcomed Gaud back and patted his shoulder. It was precisely because of this ability of Gaud’s that he had allowed Gaud to board the enemy’s flagship.

The Primordial Psionic Energy was an extremely domineering substance; even a Beyond Grade A would suffer if unprepared. But Esper Abilities had unlimited possibilities, and a rare few abilities allowed the user to survive within Primordial Psionic Energy.

Gaud’s ability was one of them, and the meaning behind it was extremely special.

Before Gaud appeared, the whole universe was speculating about the existence of such a Super High Risk Esper Ability, but there was never a case to prove their point. Gaud was probably the only case of an owner possessing a Super High Risk Esper Ability to be discovered since the ancient times, or at least his ability was the most similar to this Super High Risk Esper Ability.

On the surface, he was just a Super from the dynasty military who had just entered the Calamity Grade, but due to the special nature of his power, he had received a lot of attention from his superiors and had entered the list of key Supers under observation. The dynasty regarded him as a potential Beyond Grade A seed and had high hopes for him.

Hearing the praise, Gaud smiled lightly and recollected himself, standing by the side. His eyes were deep and unfathomable, and no one knew what he was thinking.

…

The dynasty started warring on multiple fronts, fully moving into battle.

The Kunde Race armies were defeated one after another, the dynasty’s sudden full-scale offensive disrupting their momentum.

“Everyone, we are losing this war.”

In the conference room of the Kunde Race flagship, the Kunde Race leader placed his palms on the table as he glanced coldly at the upper echelons present.

“Our defeat was expected, but this process has spiraled out of our control,” one of the senior officials said solemnly. “Our fleets, which were hiding in different positions, were all accurately attacked by the enemy, suffering heavy casualties. This is strange, as though the enemy seems to have knowledge of our coordinates.”

The battle strategy of the Kunde Race was to slowly lure the enemy deeper into their territory, bringing them into the hinterlands before using their main fleet to attack the stargate and cut off any paths of retreat of the enemy. They would then use the Scorched Earth plan to wipe the area of as many enemies as possible.

However, the precise attacks of the Crimson Dynasty had disrupted their battle strategies completely and made them wonder if their own intelligence had been leaked.

“There’s no way for us to judge now whether the enemy is utilizing special observation methods to locate our hidden main fleets or have stolen our internal intelligence. If it’s the former, it’s still ok, but if the latter situation has happened, our situation now is grim. The enemy likely has insight on our Scorched Earth plan, and they might even have grasped the coordinates of all our troops, including our location.” One of the officials had an uneasy tone as he spoke.

The Kunde Race leader said, “No matter what, we have to prepare for the worst case scenario. We have yet to properly master the quantum network technology in application, and the enemy’s technology is better than ours. We should first temporarily give up on this convenient communication technology.”

“But in that case, we’ll become even more passive…”

“Forget about it. Now that the big picture is already gone, it’s time for us to evacuate and pray for the Scorched Earth plan to take effect.” The leader spoke in a commanding tone. “The problem remains, does the enemy have any information about our Scorched Earth plan? If even that is exposed, we need a remedy.”

“How do we remedy this problem?”

“The troops implementing the Scorched Earth plan have been out for a long time. Even if the enemy has gained their coordinates, it will take some time to catch up. Thus, as long as we cut off the link between them and the headquarters, closing the quantum network, we will cut off all information exchanges with the outside world, so the enemy will lose sight of their coordinates.”

Hearing this, everyone could not help but nod.

This was a method to turn the troops involved in the plan into a blind and deaf ghost fleet.

“Since the enemy know of our plan, they will have prepared to deal with it,” someone said. “Even if they do not know the location of the Primordial Psionic Energy explosion, they can identify by observation and quickly manage it. In this manner, the effect will be greatly reduced.”

“That’s right. Our strategy could be considered, to a certain extent, to have failed.” The Kunde Race leader’s tone was decisive. “But we must leave as few resources as possible for the enemy. In any case, we must cause a certain degree of loss to the enemy.”

Among the upper echelons, no one objected.

Seeing that there were no objections, the leader then opened the virtual screen of the conference room, entering his own permissions before accessing a confidential interface that monitored the location and status of all Scorched Earth plan troops in real time.

At this point, the interface showed that all troops were rushing to their destination, proceeding as normal.

Confirming that the plan was still running as normal and had not been destroyed by the enemy, everyone was relieved. This was their last hope.

Everyone quickly connected to the representative of the Scorched Earth plan, and his figure soon appeared on the virtual screen.

“There is an order from the upper echelons. Change all psionic energy bomb locations and cut off the quantum network links. Close all channels of information completely, and only reconnect to report the results when you have changed all locations.”

“Understood.”

With a few instructions, the leader ended the call.

Less than a minute later, the real-time monitoring on the virtual screens slowly dimmed one by one as the links were disconnected.

Seeing this, one of the officials sighed. “While this is not the best solution, at least it’s more secure.”

The Kunde Race leader nodded. Surveying his surroundings, he spoke in a heavy tone.

“Since it has been properly deployed, we can start to evacuate. Remember to bring all the Super captives with us.”

As matters had reached this point, the Kunde Race decided to recall their troops and evacuate.

They had profited by catching a few Supers during their past few battles, and planned to experiment on them, so they were taking them back to study.

…

At the same time, within one of the borders of the Kunde Race territory, one of the fleets of the Scorched Earth plan was being attacked by the dynasty fleet.

The Kunde Race battleship was being boarded, and the dynasty Supers cleared the soldiers within the battleship.

The captain barricaded the command room, immediately sending communication requests to the headquarters again and again. However, all of them seemed to sink into the sea without any sort of movement.

“What’s going on? Why aren’t the upper echelons answering the emergency call‽” the captain screamed in exasperation.

At this moment, a cold beam pierced through the metal doors of the command room, penetrating the captain’s body.

Whoosh!

“Argh!” The captain screamed and fell, and blue blood spilled out.

A dynasty officer who was holding onto an alloy knife walked in, and glancing at the communication call on the virtual screen, he smiled and turned it off before looking at the unwilling captain’s eyes.

“Don’t waste your energy. You cannot contact anyone right now.”

Hearing this, the captain’s eyes grew wide. “Don’t tell me…”

Swoosh!

The knife swung, and a huge shrimp head flew up into the air. Blood splashed everywhere, forming a poor representation of some abstract art.

Sheathing his weapon, the officer turned away, not bothering to explain his plan to the enemy. This was one of the lessons all military personnel had to undergo.

In fact, Han Xiao had not just delivered intelligence to them but had pulled out all the stops. Since he had decided to help, he had conveniently handed over the loophole program that left him in control of the Kunde Race quantum network, to improve his task evaluation.

The entire command system of the Kunde Race was completely reduced to a plaything for the dynasty, where the latter could manipulate them as they liked.

All the pictures seen by the Kunde Race headquarters, including their communication targets, were illusions created by the dynasty.

The Kunde upper echelons thought that their troops had received all their orders, but in actual fact, nothing had gotten through to the soldiers on the battlefield.

The Kunde Race had already turned completely deaf and blind and mistakenly thought that the situation was proceeding according to plan. This was just an illusion that the dynasty had arranged. Since their system was paralyzed, the troops could not call for assistance and could only be slowly eaten by the dynasty.

Without the support of an interstellar society, the Kunde Race was akin to a crippled Star Cluster civilization. Their quantum network technology was bad and completely vulnerable to Han Xiao. If they were a true Star Cluster Civilization in the explored universe, Han Xiao would not have been able to gain control of their quantum network so easily.

Virtual Mechanics were originally considered a strategic weapon in the intelligence department, and Han Xiao stood at the peak of the Beyond Grade A level. Furthermore, with the recent addition of his [Perfect Mechanical Sense], his role in wartime far outstripped that of the other classes.

It was enough to let the enemy die without knowing how they died.

…

Within a starry sky far away, the migration fleet carrying all the civilians of the Kunde Race turned around without anyone sensing, returning along their original path.

There was no display on the star map, so everyone in the ship was unaware.

The dynasty did not have a habit of letting its enemies go and had already set up a web to capture them all.

The Kunde Race had practically no way to retreat.

Chapter 979: Certainties and Uncertainties

Chapter 979 Certainties and Uncertainties

At a certain place in the borderlands of the Kunde Race, the remainder of a Kunde Race fleet was slowly cruising through space.

Not long ago, this fleet with the code name of ‘Sea Flag’ had gone through a rough fight. They were attacked by a dynasty admiral’s fleet, which forced their command ship and guard ships to break away with their lives and escape with their tails tucked between their legs.

Currently, there were only twenty or so guard ships around the command ship. The rest were either eliminated or scattered somewhere else.

The Sea Flag fleet belonged to the Third Cosmic Army of the Kunde Race. The commander of their fleet was the renowned general of the third army, Oliert, who was praised to be the ‘Star of Tomorrow’. When the Marshal of the third army reached his retirement age a few years ago, Oliert was seen as the top candidate to take on the position of the Marshal.

However, due to the fact that the data of a destroyed ship was received a few years ago, the upper echelons made the decision to prepare for war. This led to the retirement of all army officials to be delayed, so this matter was put aside for the time being.

At this time, the Sea Flag fleet was moving in stealth mode while waiting for the next order from command.

Inside the bridge of the command ship, the atmosphere was grave and silent. Everyone was immersed in the pain and agony of losing the battle and losing their comrades.

Oliert stood before the most front porthole in silence, only showing his back to everyone in the room. The color of the carapace on his body was a mixture of sorrowful green and raging red.

In the battle earlier, almost everything he did was expected by the enemy commander. He was partially responsible for the loss of that battle.

Everyone knew that the commander was the one facing the most pressure, so none dared bother him.

After hesitating for a very long time, the aide-de-camp finally found the courage to walk to Oliert and said quietly, “Sir, we…”

“Say no more.” Oliert turned around as his body gradually turned into the color of calming blue. He then said slowly, “This was not just my personal failure but a failure on the level of civilization background. I did not lose to the opponent but the enemies’ entire civilization.”

Oliert knew that his talent as a commander was no match for the dynasty’s admiral, but he felt that this was not just the issue of individual ability and that the main difference came from the civilization backgrounds.

During the battle, he made the most detailed and careful decisions he had ever made in his life. To him, his performance this time could even be placed in the curriculum of military schools as a crucial case study. However, to his absolute shock, the response of the enemy was unbelievably quick. His plans were seen through almost instantly.

Meeting such an opponent was a heavy blow to his confidence as a commander.

This did not mean that Oliert was incompetent. In fact, he was already considered top-notch by the Kunde Race’s standards. On the surface, this situation happened because the ability of the dynasty admiral was far superior to his, but the deeper reason lay within the difference in civilization backgrounds.

The rise of the three Universal Civilizations was accompanied by the wails of countless races. As they experienced the flames of war, all the battles were recorded in the curriculum of their military schools. Therefore, no matter what situation their commanders faced, they were able to come up with the respective solutions almost instantly.

Comparatively, the Kunde Race had experienced way too few galactic wars. All the strategies they were using had been abandoned by the explored universe long ago for being too behind. This was what the difference between backgrounds meant.

After the battle, Oliert was pessimistic. He saw completely no way of winning even parts of the battle, and the continuous crumble of the various fleets right now was the best proof for that.

He was not the only one that felt this one; all the soldiers fighting on the frontlines basically had the same pessimistic view of this war.

They were furious that their home was coveted by the enemies, but they did not think that the sacrifices in this war were necessary. However, as soldiers, they had to follow the orders.

Oliert sighed in his mind, put these pessimistic emotions away, looked at the aide-de-camp, and asked in a deep voice, “Has an order from command arrived?”

“Er… It has just arrived. They’ve told us to standby and retrieve the scattered fleet, then rendezvous with the main fleet of the third army to plan for the attack on the enemy stargate.”

Oliert slammed the table and said with rage, “Bullsh*t! Why aren’t we retreating now? Have command lost their minds‽”

We were just defeated and forced to scatter. How can we stay in this dangerous area to recover the rest of the ships? Do they think that the enemies won’t chase after us‽

Furthermore, the main fleet is already in shambles, yet we’re being asked to rendezvous and attack the enemies’ stargate. This is basically asking us to commit suicide!

Many of the officers in the room felt that this strategy was problematic, but they did not dare speak. They all stared at Oliert and waited for the decision of their commander.

Oliert took a few steps back, suppressed his rage, and said, “Contact the Marshal. I’m going to ask him personally about what’s going on with this decision!”

The aide-de-camp nodded and immediately made the arrangements. A communication interface popped up on the virtual screen. After a few seconds, the other side picked up the communication, and the third army Marshal appeared on the screen.

“Oliert, I heard you were attacked. Glad to see you’re still alive.”

“Luck was part of the reason.” Oliert tried his best to speak as calmly as possible. “I have received the order from the command department. Are we planning to attack the enemies’ stargate?”

“Yes, that’s the order.”

“Don’t you think that’s problematic? The battle has already deviated from our initial plan. We shouldn’t linger now. It will only cause more meaningless sacrifices.”

“I know. I think it’s time to retreat, too, and I’m talking to the upper echelons. For now, let’s follow the order.”

Oliert became silent for a moment before ending the call.

The aide-de-camp asked cautiously, “Sir, what should we do now?”

Oliert glanced at him and suddenly said, “How many battleships do we have left?”

“Er, twenty-four.”

“Gather all the captains into the communication channel.”

As this order was executed, Oliert stood in place with hands behind his back and waited for a while. The images of the remaining captains then appeared one after another on the screen.

This time, Oliert made a hand sign and said slowly, “Remember what I’m going to say next. I’m only going to say it once…”

He then went on to say a ton of standard encouraging words and repeated the order of the command department, during which, he kept making several hand signs. All the captains stared at him very closely.

“Alright, that’s all. Let’s do it.”

Finally, Oliert placed his hands down and completed his speech.

The images of the captains disappeared on the screen one after another.

This time, the aide-de-camp who was looking at the other command screen suddenly said with shock, “Sir, all the captains have turned off their artificial intelligence cores and blocked all outside information. We can’t contact them anymore!”

Oliert, however, expected this. He nodded calmly and said, “Very good, go turn off the artificial intelligence core of our spaceship.”

The others were shocked to suddenly understand what was going on. They were in disbelief.

This means that… we’re going to be deserters‽

“Th-this…” The aide-de-camp was stunned.

Oliert glared at him and said with a stern tone, “What are you waiting for‽”

The aide-de-camp hesitated for a moment before making the arrangements. Very soon, the artificial intelligence core of the command ship was turned off.

This way, the remnants of this Sea Flag fleet became a ghost fleet that had lost contact completely to the outside world.

Only now did Oliert heave a sigh of relief. He looked at the others who were still lost and explained, “Sorry, this is all to be as cautious as possible. If I’m not wrong, our quantum network has already been completely infiltrated by the enemies.”

With these words said, everyone was shocked.

Oliert glanced around and said slowly, “I know the Marshal very well. He’s a stubborn soldier who would never question orders from the superiors. Although this is a difficult time and everything could change, we can’t ignore any suspicious behavior. I suspect that what I just spoke with was not the Marshal at all.

“The enemies have very likely infiltrated our command system. All of you are experienced, so I don’t have to emphasize the consequences of that. Therefore, the war is already over. I can’t possibly follow their orders anymore. The only thing we can do now is save ourselves. The hand signs I made earlier were a special code that very few people know. I told the captains to cut off all external connections. From now on, we have only ourselves to rely on.”

Everyone was completely stunned by these words and could not process this much information shortly. Their minds went blank.

The aide-de-camp clenched his teeth and said, “Sir, what we’re doing is making us deserters!”

Oliert was not insulted or furious at all. He calmly glanced at him and said, “This is a war that we’re destined to lose. No matter what you think, I will not send my troops to the battlefield to die. Deserters? Now, we might be… the last survivors of the Kunde Race.’

“Then, where should we go?”

“As far away from here as possible.”

Oliert looked outside the porthole into the depths of the galaxy.

…

“I think that there might be a problem with the route we’re taking.”

Inside an extremely narrow room on a spaceship, a few members of the Kunde Race in ordinary clothes gathered around.

This was one of the spaceships of the migrant fleet; everyone on board was civilians. Most people on the ship felt uneasy and lost about the future. The atmosphere was depressing.

Due to the high population, many civilians had to squeeze in one room on all the spaceships. Those in this room happened to be blood-related brothers.

“Big brother, what did you discover?” a short brother asked.

The buff and muscular elder brother among these brothers said with a deep voice, “I have a friend who’s a crew member on the guiding ship. He told me a piece of inside information. According to the schedule, the fleet should have arrived on one planet for a short rest. However, we did not come across any planets yesterday, and the fleet has been moving nonstop.”

“Could it be that they’ve changed the plan? How about asking your friend again?”

“I’ve been unable to contact him,” the elder brother said. “I think there’s something wrong.”

“Bro, could you be too sensitive? If something happened, the people above would have notified us.”

“I have a very bad feeling about this. I can’t quite describe it.” The elder brother shook his head.

“Hey, what’s the point of thinking so much. It’s not like we can do anything about it. Let’s just follow the arrangements of the fleet,” one of the brothers said casually.

This time, the youngest brother suddenly said, “Big brother is right. There’s something wrong with the route the fleet is taking. We’re going right back in the direction we came from.”

Everyone looked at him.

“Don’t speak nonsense. How did you realize that?”

The youngest brother pointed at the porthole, and everyone looked over. On it was a simple drawing of circles, from small ones to larger ones. This time, a planet outside the porthole had perfectly aligned with the circle in the middle.

Seeing this, the expression on everyone’s face changed.

Having lived in one room, they kept no secrets from each other. Some time ago, a planet had appeared outside the porthole, so the youngest brother had drawn the outline of the planet on the porthole, and he had been doing the same thing every day. The size of the circle changed every day from smaller to larger, then to smaller again, which represented how far away they were.

At this time, this planet’s outline perfectly aligned with the drawing from a few days ago, and everyone knew what this meant.

“I’ll go ask about it!”

Seeing this, the elder brother could no longer sit still. The rest hastily followed behind him.

They quickly passed by the crowded cabin that looked like a refugee camp, came to the middle cabin, found a few soldiers, and explained the situation.

“There’s something wrong with the route?” A soldier picked his ears and said impatiently, “That’s not something for you to worry about. What are you being so concerned for?”

“It’s true. I can show you the evidence. I…”

“Alright, alright.” This soldier waved his hand. “The guide ship has the star map. If we really have deviated from the route, it will definitely be adjusted immediately. Just go back and wait.”

Speechless, the elder brother had no choice but to lead the rest of his brothers back to their room and wait.

However, three days passed, and they looked at the drawing on the porthole every day, only to realize that the fleet was still going back in the direction they had come from. The route was not adjusted at all.

The elder brother tried to contact his friend who had given him the inside information every day and only was able to do so on the third day. However, his friend’s reply made him even more disheartened.

“We’ve deviated from the route? No, no, no, our star map shows that the route we’re taking is completely accurate… We didn’t run into the supply planet I spoke of? Oh, that’s an error made in the long-range observation, so the star map was a little inaccurate. I have already reflected this to those above, and our star map has been updated, so there’s no problem now… What drawings? Hmm, you guys are probably mistaken. That’s a new planet, not the one we saw earlier. Anyhow, the navigator here shows we have been advancing all this time.”

After turning off the communicator with a grave expression, the elder brother stayed silent for quite some time.

Suddenly, as if he finally had the resolve to make a decision, he said, “Do you trust me or the people above?”

The brothers exchanged looks with hesitation.

The youngest brother could not help but ask, “What do you want to do?”

“My bad feeling has become stronger and stronger. There’s definitely something wrong with this. Maybe the people above are sending us into the pit of fire.” The elder brother lowered his voice. “I don’t want to stay on the spaceship anymore. I’m planning to steal supplies and a lifesaving cabin for us to escape.”

“Have you lost your mind‽” Appalled, one of the brothers said, “That’s suicide! The fleet will definitely capture us. Even if we succeed, the supplies we steal will run out sooner or later. What are we going to do when we have no food and no fuel? Also, do you have a star map? Without a star map, how are we going to escape?”

“I can obtain the star map and the authorization for the lifesaving cabin from my friend. As for supplies… the medium lifesaving cabin has a full set of facilities. As long as we arrive on that planet, we can use the devices to refill the fuel, which will last us many years. Food-wise, we will need greenhouse incubators, crop seeds, and nutrition fluid makers, which can all be obtained on this ship. When the crops are being produced, we can rest in the cryogenic chambers,” the elder brother said quietly. “I’ve been thinking about an alternate plan for the past three days. This was not a sudden decision.”

The others still shook their heads.

Leaving the main fleet of their people to survive in the unknown universe with just a few of them?

This plan was too crazy to think about it!

“I’m going with you.” This time, the youngest brother stepped forward and shrugged. “You know me. I don’t like to be restricted by rules. Since we’ve left our home, I’m not planning to continue living a peaceful lifestyle of following what everyone else does. I want to explore the vast universe myself. You can say I like adventures, or you can say I love to seek excitement. No matter what, count me in.”

The elder brother nodded, looked at his other brothers, and said, “I know you all have concerns. The universe is way too big. With just a few of us, we will be facing the deepest loneliness and fears. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong in the end, but I’m not willing to sit and wait passively. I won’t force everyone to go with me.”

The second oldest brother hesitated for a while before saying, “Bro, I’ll go with you, too. You’re the person I trust the most. I trust your judgment.”

Seeing two of them making up their minds, more people were shaken.

One of the brothers shook his head with resignation and said, “Sigh, alright, let’s do it. From the moment we left our home, I already considered myself to be dead. What’s the worst that can happen with being more adventurous? We’re brothers; we can’t separate from each other.

These brothers had grown up together and were used to sticking together. After some hesitation, in the end, all of them agreed to the eldest brother’s plan. The amazing thing was after they had made up their mind, the hesitation and unease disappeared, replaced by incomparable excitement and anticipation.

“Big bro, I have a suggestion. We should at least bring one woman, right?”

Everyone burst out laughing. The heavy atmosphere disappeared, and the room was filled with a joyous spirit.

“That’s right. Not just one, we should bring a few more.”

“Haha, we might become a stray civilization in the future.”

…

For the days to come, these brothers used their own network and connections to quietly prepare for their plan. As the migration spaceships had a large number of daily supplies, they were able to find what they needed easily. The only question was—how were they going to obtain those supplies?

With courage, money, connections, and a little bit of luck, they used several methods to obtain most of the supplies they needed.

Very soon, the day to execute the plan came. It went smoother than they could have ever imagined. According to the intelligence they collected, they secretly entered the ejection point of lifesaving cabins and stepped into a medium lifesaving cabin. They then turned off the artificial intelligence core and switched it to manual control mode.

The eldest brother’s hand stopped above the eject button but did not press it instantly.

“Have you guys made up your mind? As soon as I press this button, there’s no going back. If we’re captured, we’ll become prisoners.”

“We’re not much different from prisoners now. We’re more like manual labor to the people above. It’s just that we’re given a different name as population resources. I have been wanting to get rid of this identity for a long time,” the youngest brother said with a carefree smile.

“Nonsense.” The eldest brother shook his head and chuckled before pressing hard on the button.

Whoosh!

The lifesaving cabin suddenly descended and was shot into the cosmic space.

As they left the spaceship, they subconsciously looked outside the porthole and were stunned.

What they saw was many lifesaving cabins also being shot out like fireworks from other spaceships of the migration fleet before leaving in different directions.

…

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

On the other side of the Kunde Race territory border, the core fleet that the Kunde Race command department was in came out from the stargate. They turned around and dismantled this stargate used for retreat.

“Alright, we have arrived at the target area. According to the coded order sent before, the surviving fleet will be gathering here.”

Inside the command department, the upper echelons of the Kunde Race gathered and browsed the message that they had received from the other fleets before they cut away their network connection.

“The Scorched Earth Team has sent their report. The psionic bombs in various places have been detonated successfully, and the plan is complete. The other fleets have also sent the report that they’re retreating toward the location we have designated. Hoo, the situation is still manageable.”

The Kunde Race leader heaved a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, everyone else was also feeling slightly better.

Things were finally going according to their plan.

As they were worried about their information being leaked, command did not dare maintain a long-term network connection. Therefore, they had given up live communication and did not even dare transmit orders the ordinary way, worrying that it would be intercepted by the enemies. The orders were all in special codes.

However, before they could catch their breath, the alarm suddenly rang!

“Attention, attention! Unknown large fleet discovered ahead!”

Everyone was stunned.

“How have we met a fleet here‽ Is there an ambush‽”

“See if it’s the enemies!”

The various upper echelons quickly executed the order. Within just a few seconds, the report came from the fleet captain.

“Everyone, we have already confirmed it. They’re not enemies but our own fleet.”

The upper echelons were immediately relieved. They almost had a heart attack.

“Phew, that scared me.”

“It should be teams who have received the order to rendezvous here arriving in advance, even quicker than us.”

At this time, the fleet captain spoke again with a weird tone.

“Guys, you have misunderstood me. They’re not our armed fleet but the migration fleet we sent away a long time ago. For some reason, they have all returned!”

The entire place became dead silent.

The upper echelons were stunned for a second before freaking out!

Chapter 980: Settlemen

Chapter 980 Settlemen

“Didn’t I get them to leave already? Why’d they appear here? Who asked them to come back‽”

The Kunde Race leader jumped up and flew into a rage.

The other upper echelons could only longer sit still and were filled with trepidation. The situation had already evolved out of their control.

The civilian fleet was the final hope of their Kunde Race and their weakness. They dared to wage a war in their homeland because they had sent all the members of their race away. Upon seeing the members of their race return, the upper echelons were flustered.

Buzz!

Right at this moment, a holographic screen appeared in the middle of the conference table, and a figure dressed in a military uniform appeared before them.

Everyone’s gaze was attracted by the figure, and they were in shock.

This figure cleared his throat and slowly said, “Let me introduce myself. I am Tarrokov, the Crimson Dynasty Marshal. I am the one fighting all of you.”

Upon seeing this scene, everyone present understood what was going on.

They originally thought that the enemy was only tapping into their communication channels, but it seemed as though it was not as simple as an intelligence leak. The enemy was actually able to initiate a call and probably controlled all of their networks.

This was the worst-case scenario, and everyone blanked out.

Tarrokov’s gaze swept past everyone present as he calmly said, “All of your intelligence has been grasped by my side, and we have already cut off all your communication with the outside world. All the intelligence reports that you have received during this period were forged by us. In truth, less than ten percent of your troops are still alive. They are as good as wiped out.

“Do not have any more fantasies. Your Scorched Earth plan has been seen through by us, and we completed our final attack a few days ago. You no longer have the strength to fight back.”

These words crushed the belief of all the upper echelons present, and they slouched back in their chairs in a daze.

“You, you…” The Kunde Race leader began trembling.

Tarrokov did not even blink. “On behalf of the Crimson Dynasty, I am initiating a final negotiation with all of you. Our long-distance psionic weapons have already locked onto your civilian fleets. I give all of you five minutes to consider. If you choose to fight back, your race will be wiped out. If you attempt to contact your civilian fleet, your race will be wiped out. If you cut off from the quantum network, your race will be wiped out. If you do not give us a reply in five minutes, your race will be wiped out. I will promise not to open fire if you choose to surrender and disarm yourselves.”

He spoke as though he was only going out for grocery shopping. Wiping out an entire race was something that an experienced commander like him had no qualms about doing.

The words were extremely bloody in the ears of the Kunde Race upper echelons.

The dynasty had secretly recalled these civilian fleets to dissolve the enemy’s battle intent. When the survival of their entire race was at stake, the enemy would definitely collapse. The dynasty had plenty of experience in this regard.

Compared to the exploration era, the three Universal Civilizations no longer massacred civilians. If not, they would not have given the other party a choice.

After saying those words, Tarrokov’s figure disappeared, and a countdown timer was shown on the screen.

“We’re finished!”

“We shouldn’t have started a war back then! Look what we’ve done!”

Upon seeing the timer countdown, many of the upper echelons fell into despair.

Many of them present had already considered such a scenario but still held onto a trace of hope in their hearts before this.

The upper echelons in the conference room had already lost their cool, and the conference room fell into chaos. The Kunde Race leader then said, “We no longer have any hope. Let’s surrender.”

“Now you know how to surrender? What were you doing before this‽” All the usually respectful upper echelons started cursing. “If it wasn’t for your stupidity and brashness, would we have fallen to such a state‽”

“That’s right! If we didn’t choose to fight but escape instead, we wouldn’t have been reduced to such a state!”

“That’s right. It is all thanks to your mistake! You are a sinner of our race!”

Looking at these upper echelons who usually fawned over him venting their anger, the Kunde Race leader let out a self-mocking laugh.

The one who chooses to escape will always be the smartest.

Not only did they have to give up their homeland to the invaders, they even had to run far away and not trouble their invaders. How generous.

Their entire race was forced to leave their homeland, and everyone was living in fear. If they chose to escape without fighting, the pride of their race would be destroyed, and it would be difficult to construct it again. If they had killed enough enemies or sacrificed sufficient soldiers, their race might have been able to come out from this loser mentality and face a common enemy. This way, there would have been a possibility of welcoming a golden era. It was a pity…

In the end, he chose to say nothing.

…

The war came to an end with the surrender of the Kunde Race. From the start to the end, it only took a short three to four months.

Compared to his previous life, the Crimson Dynasty ended this war in less than half the time.

The reason for this was because of Han Xiao’s contribution. The coordinates that he provided could reduce the effort that the dynasty had to put in to find the enemy’s main camp. Seizing the enemy’s quantum network resulted in a crushing defeat for the enemy. These two factors greatly sped up the process of the war.

In his previous life, the Kunde Race managed to create some trouble for the dynasty, but with Han Xiao’s help, the Kunde Race did not create any trouble. They were crushed under the dynasty’s might and did not even have the ability to fight back.

The dynasty then took over the Kunde Race’s remaining fleet.

Great Mechanic Han, who was slacking off far away, received a notification on his interface.

_____________________

[Flickering World – Kunde Race War] Mission Completed!

Mission Rating: Perfect

You have received 4,500,000,000 Experience, x4 Random Reward, +7500 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, and 1 Legendary Point.

Star Cluster Legendary Point (Dust Light Star Cluster): Kunde Race War Contributor. You participated in the war with the Kunde Race and rendered huge merits.

The milestone [Civilization Destruction] is now activated.

Milestone Activation Requirements: Participate in three large scale galactic war missions related to the life and death of a civilization (Star System level and above) and aid your faction in defeating the enemy. Mission Rating cannot be less than ‘Excellent’. Current Progress: 1/3.

+30 Tarrokov Favorability, +5 Urranrell Favorability, +10 Teny Amenos Favorability…

Dungeon Creation: [Kunde Race War]

_____________________

“The war is finally over. Their efficiency is pretty high.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Although he did not personally participate in the war, the intelligence he provided gave him a ‘Perfect’ Mission Rating.

The rewards were not too bad either. Although it could not be compared to a Beyond Grade A boss mission, it was basically impossible for players to complete the Beyond Grade A challenge missions. 4,500,000,000 experience was also plentiful to the players in the later versions. Han Xiao would not be too picky with his food. In any case, he was only slacking off in his headquarters. The experience was like a freebie to him.

Receiving four Random Reward chances was also a good thing.

7,500 Dynasty Contribution Points was also a bountiful reward. The Kunde Race was a native civilization after all and did not pose much of a threat to the dynasty. Han Xiao felt that it was probably due to him sharing information about the Spacetime Splicing Technology with them.

Although he had already learned all the Ultimate Knowledge, the Contribution Points were still useful. He would be able to use them to obtain precious resources or military support. Furthermore, if he had a Beyond Grade A Super willing to remain in his army, he might have to exchange for the Ultimate Knowledge of other classes.

Ultimate Knowledge was guarded by the various advanced civilizations, and they usually would not allow Beyond Grade As to claim the Ultimate Knowledge of another class without a good reason. Making use of the Ultimate Knowledge to attract talent was akin to snatching business from the dynasty. As such, they dynasty would not agree to it, and the various Beyond Grade A allies also would not share Ultimate Knowledge with each other.

The only exception would be if they had a Beyond Grade A officer in their organization. Of course, this was a rare scenario. After all, most Beyond Grade As would not be willing to serve under someone else.

Han Xiao had some memories of the [Civilization Destruction] milestone. The civilizations above the Star System level were all protected by the Peace Treaty, and it was rare for a civilization to be wiped out. Only the players belonging to the various evil factions had a chance to trigger such a milestone.

The effects were not too bad. Wearing the [Civilization Destruction] milestone would increase his damage by six percent and his range by twenty-five percent.

However, the price to pay for obtaining such a milestone was also extremely high. He would need to participate or incite a life and death battle between Star System civilizations, and they were extremely rare. Furthermore, there would be a chance for him to become a wanted individual after the matter.

As part of the Lawful Faction, it would be even harder for him to obtain such a milestone. However, the benefit was that he would not become wanted.

Han Xiao was not too surprised that there was not a Political Asset reward. The Kunde Race was still lacking, and destroying them was not that important to the dynasty. However, he had managed to gain a series of favorability increases.

Apart from Tarrokov and the Ruler, all the various commanders including Teny had their favorability increased.

The dungeon formed was similar to the secret war and Germinal Organization dungeons; he would be able to form various different dungeons.

Because the Kunde Race was not too powerful, the dungeon created also would not be too difficult, but the reward would not be low.

After looking at his rewards, Han Xiao closed the interface and let out a long breath.

Spacetime Splicing Technology, Perfect Mechanical Sense, and the Mission Reward… my rewards this time were plentiful. The Kunde Race is the only obstacle, and the second exploration phase can go back on track after this…

Because of his interference, the outcome of the Kunde Race was changed.

In his previous life, the dynasty spent a long time finding the Kunde Race territory, which gave the Kunde Race enough time to move their civilian fleet. At the same time, the Kunde Race fleet also had sufficient preparation time and was not caught off guard like this time.

Understanding the map gave the Kunde Race a strategic advantage and the chance to analyze the dynasty’s battle tactics. As such, the Kunde Race was not kept in the dark when the dynasty infiltrated their main system but managed to put up a fight.

As such, the Crimson Dynasty did not choose to negotiate but wiped out the Kunde Race.

However, a portion of their civilian fleets were able to escape and were not caught by the dynasty.

What Han Xiao did not know was that the Kunde Race’s new homeland in his previous life was still within the Flickering World. After all, they did not understand what a Star Field was. The dynasty managed to discover the Kunde Race’s new homeland in the exploration process. The dynasty had already placed huge emphasis on the Spacetime Splicing Technology by that time. As such, the Kunde Race’s new homeland was reduced to dust, and they were secretly wiped out.

This time, destiny took a different path.

Han Xiao stroked his chin and entered the quantum network. He was prepared to see how the dynasty planned to deal with the Kunde Race.

…

In the Planet Lighthouse office, there were two figures. The one standing was Tarrokov, and the one seated was Urranrell’s long distance projection.

The dynasty now had to worry about how to deal with the Kunde Race. Should they kill them or rear them? The Ruler and upper echelons had to make such a decision.

Tarrokov was currently giving a report to Urranrell, and they were talking about the problem regarding the captives.

“… It will be seven days before the arrival of the captives. Your Excellency, how should we deal with them?”

Urranrell then stroked her chin and said, “The upper echelons have already discussed this matter. Some support the idea of pulling up the weeds by the roots while others feel that we should rear and educate them. We have not come to a final decision. Do you have any suggestions?”

“The battle went smoothly, and since the enemy chose to surrender, I don’t feel that there is a need to kill them unnecessarily,” Tarrokov said. “We can choose to let them stay on a few planets within the dynasty’s territory and keep a close watch over them. We shouldn’t allow them to enter the Galactic Society temporarily and educate a few generations.

“If the outcome is good, we can make them into a vassal civilization. At that time, we can let them into the Galactic Society.”

During war, he killed without any hesitation and would kill without even batting an eye. But outside of war, he was not a bloodthirsty individual.

“If this is the case, we will have to divide them out, and we need their leader to help us,” Urranrell said.

“Yes, I am preparing to interrogate their leader later. Right, we conducted a series of tests on the upper echelons of the Kunde Race and detected some oddities within their mental state. They seem to have been affected by a Psychic Current to enlarge the regions of their brain in charge of anger and rashness.”

Upon hearing that, a cold light flashed in Urranrell’s eyes.

“Ah, it’s the actions of those Star Cluster Civilizations again. They not only threw a bag of technological knowledge but also made use of a Psychic Current. If not, the other party might not have been so aggressive. Who was the one most affected by the Psychic Current? It should be their leader, right?”

“Wrong. The Kunde Race leader was the least affected.”

Urranrell shook her head with resignation. “That’s interesting. Is this something unique to their species?”

Beep beep.

Right at this moment, the communicator on the table rang. Tarrokov pressed a button, and his secretary’s voice could be heard.

“Chief commander, Black Star is on the line. Should I connect his long-distance projection?”

“Why is he here now?” Tarrokov muttered before shaking his head. “I am giving a report to the Ruler. Ask him to wait for a while.”

Right at this moment, Urranrell waved her hands. “It’s alright. Let him in. He isn’t an outsider.”

“… Alright then.”

Since the Ruler was willing, Tarrokov did not mind.

Very quickly, Han Xiao’s projection appeared in the room, and he immediately saw Urranrell.

“Your Excellency, you are also here.”

“Black Star, I heard of your contributions during this war. Good job.” Urranrell nodded.

“My contributions were negligible,” Han Xiao said humbly. “What are both of you talking about?”

“Nothing much. We are talking about how we should deal with the Kunde Race. A decision hasn’t been made yet…” Urranrell then repeated the conversation simply before asking, “Black Star, do you have any suggestions?”

“I don’t have any opinions. I am also here to ask the dynasty about how they plan to deal with this matter.” Han Xiao raised his brow.

“Not having opinions is also a type of opinion.” Urranrell then did not say anything.

She then looked at Tarrokov and got him to continue the report.

After listening to the report, Urranrell praised both of them before going offline.

After sending the Ruler away, Tarrokov looked at Han Xiao with a smile.

“I am going to interrogate the Kunde Race upper echelons. Do you want to join me?”

“Er, I am actually very busy.” Han Xiao stroked his chin and said with a joking voice, “But since you invited me, I shall reluctantly go with you.”

Perhaps he could trigger a special mission like with the DarkStar leader.

Chapter 981: Interrogation and Wish

Chapter 981 Interrogation and Wish

All the divisions were gathered to form a massive fleet to escort all the Kunde Race spaceships over to Planet Lighthouse.

The dynasty’s fleet was in the periphery with the thousands of Kunde Race spaceships surrounded.

Their weapons had already been disarmed, and the energy cores were restricted to only allow the spaceships to fly. The entire fleet had lost the ability to fight back and was under the control of the dynasty. The spaceships of the Kunde Race fleet had already been transformed into a prison.

The main flagship of the Kunde Race fleet was the most heavily modified with the cabins of the spaceship being modified into jail rooms.

The command room was taken over by the dynasty soldiers, and two projections appeared in the command room. They were Tarrokov and Han Xiao.

“Paying our respects to the chief commander.”

The moment both of them came online, the sound of the soldiers greeting their commander could be heard.

Tarrokov had already given notice of his visit, and the soldiers were waiting for him.

The various commanders of the different divisions were there with their aide-de-camps in the form of a long distance projection.

“It has been tough on everyone.” Tarrokov smiled with a friendly attitude.

These young elite commanders would be the future stars of the dynasty, and Tarrokov was truly gratified at the sight of the talents before him.

As Han Xiao looked at the commanders present, he could not help but be slightly startled.

Woah, they’re all bigshots!

A group of future commanders and bigshots were standing before him as though it was an inspection parade.

Because he knew the future identities of these commanders, Han Xiao found the scene to be a memorable one and almost wanted to take a picture of it.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you’re also here.” Teny was also within the group, and he greeted Han Xiao with a smile on his face.

“We meet again.” Han Xiao nodded, and upon seeing the other commanders look over, he said, “I congratulate all of you for winning the war. Having such talented commanders is the honor of the dynasty.”

The effect of an AOE flattery was not too bad at all!

Even though he was only an ally of the dynasty, his status exceeded these young elites who had yet to reach the height of their careers.

Everyone liked to listen to nice words, and everyone revealed a smile upon hearing Black Star’s praise.

“Your Excellency Black Star was the true cornerstone of our victory by providing key intelligence.”

“We only performed some manual labor. Your Excellency Black Star’s contribution is the main reason for us winning the war.”

Some of the commanders present immediately responded politely. Of course, there were a few commanders who did not say a thing but only nodded with respect.

Han Xiao replied with a smile, but his gaze was suddenly fixed on Gaud.

“Eh, you are…”

Han Xiao squinted and realized that he did not recognize the person before him.

Upon seeing that, Gaud smiled and took the initiative to say, “I have long heard of your great name, Your Excellency Black Star.”

“This is Gaud, one of the Supers that the dynasty is grooming. I heard that he survived a Primordial Psionic Energy explosion and is extremely outstanding.” Tarrokov laughed and made the introduction.

“Hello Gaud.”

Han Xiao then continued greeting the other commanders while secretly entering the quantum network to check on Gaud’s records.

Checking a person’s background was something that he was used to doing.

With his current status, checking the information of some commanders would not be a problem.

The next moment, Gaud’s resume appeared before him, and the resume seemed extremely simple without a problem.

However, when he wanted to view more detailed information, a notification popped up and warned him about a lack of clearance.

“I can’t see it? It seems like they truly place great importance on him.”

Han Xiao would not bother breaking through the firewall of the dynasty for no good reason to invoke their dissatisfaction.

Tarrokov said that Gaud was a Super that the dynasty was grooming. The dynasty would only groom two different kinds of Supers—those with a special ability or superior potential. This fellow was only a Calamity Grade Super at most, and since he was able to survive in the Primordial Psionic Energy explosion, he should belong to the first group.

In his previous life, the Great Mechanic Han belonged to the Crimson Dynasty faction and was extremely familiar with the various bigshots of the dynasty. If Gaud was truly a Super groomed by the dynasty, he should have some impression of the other party.

However, he could be sure that he had never heard of such a character before, and he did not have any memory of Gaud. There was not such a character in his previous life.

Has the storyline been changed again? Han Xiao thought to himself. I wonder where this new guy came from.

Although he was in doubt, he did not find the matter too strange.

After doing so many things, he should have already caused the butterfly effect, and it would not be strange for a few new characters to show up.

Not to mention the others, even the current manager of the Germinal Financial Group, Iapetus, was a leek that he had dug up.

Upon looking at Han Xiao’s suave appearance, Gaud’s lips curled up slightly.

“Your Excellency Black Star, perhaps we may become comrades in the future.”

Han Xiao snapped out of his thoughts. “Are we not comrades now?”

“Ah, you understand what I mean,” Gaud said with a calm smile.

“… How ambitious, I shall wait for you then.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Does he mean that he will become a Beyond Grade A like me? This fellow is pretty confident.

He then committed Gaud to his memory before shifting his gaze away.

After chatting with the others casually, he brought out his universal ‘I will treat you to a meal next time’ ending phrase, and the various commanders went offline.

Only Han Xiao and Tarrokov were left behind, and they continued to patrol the entire spaceship under the guide of the soldiers.

The Kunde Race civilians were all held in the same place while the upper echelons were locked up separately. Han Xiao first patrolled the civilian region with Tarrokov.

It was just like a refugee camp.

Countless Kunde Race civilians were gathered together with fear and unease in their eyes.

Before the start of the war, many of them were unwilling to leave and felt that the enemy was only imaginary.

But now, the civilians were filled with fear in their hearts. They were like prey awaiting the descent of the butcher’s knife.

Before this, they were the race ruling over the entire Star Cluster. However, they were now reduced to captives.

After patrolling the civilian district, both of them went to the district where the upper echelons were locked up. They stood outside the interrogation room of the Kunde Race leader and looked at the other party through the window.

Although he was already a captive, the Kunde Race leader still stood up straight and maintained his cool. His eyes were currently shut in meditation.

“I will just listen by the side when you are interrogating him,” Han Xiao said to Tarrokov.

The main interrogator was Tarrokov; he was only there to watch. Besides, the Kunde Race leader probably would not recognize him.

Tarrokov then nodded and said to the soldier beside him, “Open the door.”

…

In the interrogation room, the Kunde Race leader was seated down and trying his best to sit up straight.

He was not as calm as he looked, but he needed to maintain his cool. In his eyes, he was the final representative of the Kunde Race.

Swoosh!

The door opened, and the Kunde Race leader opened his eyes to watch two figures walk in.

One of them was the military commander Tarrokov, whom he had seen before, and the other was extremely foreign to him. He was dressed in a black windbreaker and looked like a bigshot.

“This is the second time that we have met,” Tarrokov said with a poker face. “Our party has already fulfilled our side of the promise and didn’t massacre your race. You now have to tell me everything that you know, including your thoughts and logic when deciding to attack us, the reason for your attack, and everything related to this attack. Remember that your answer will determine our attitude toward how we choose to deal with you. You’d better not hide anything, or the one to regret it definitely won’t be me.”

Virtual Technology could steal information for them, but they would not be able to understand the other party’s thought process through it. This was the main point of their interrogation today.

The Kunde Race leader knew that it was only a matter of time before he was interrogated and did not dare hide anything. At the same time, he did not have any intention of hiding anything and said everything that he knew with a heavy heart.

Upon hearing the other party narrate his story, Tarrokov typed out a report. From time to time, Han Xiao looked over and saw a few negative terms such as ‘xenophobic ideology’, ‘native arrogance’, ‘vengeful culture’, and ‘unsuitable for living together’.

These aren’t good terms… Han Xiao blinked.

This interrogation report would definitely affect the decision of the dynasty, and these words were dangerous.

After a while, the Kunde Race leader finally finished what he had to say.

“Your existence would take away our room for growth, and we are thus willing to find a new homeland that won’t be disturbed. We aren’t willing to live together with all of you as it will only limit our growth and development.”

Upon hearing that, Tarrokov nodded and said without hiding anything, “You are right. We will never allow you to rise up.”

None of them were saints, and the Crimson Dynasty did not explore the Flickering World so that they can live harmoniously with the natives. They were not planning to let the natives develop and only planned to give them some space to survive.

For most of the natives, it was not a bad thing. The three Universal Civilizations would educate them, and they would receive advanced technological knowledge. However, to the Kunde Race, which had a certain scale, it was a calamity.

The three Universal Civilizations were not interested in having more civilizations eyeing their positions and would definitely restrict their growth.

The Crimson Dynasty did not hate the actions of the Kunde Race. After all, that gave them the best excuse to subdue the other party with military might.

“However,” Tarrokov added, “I think that you understand that the spaceship wreckage that you obtained was provided by one of our competitors. They were only making use of you to deal with us.

“They armed you with technology to strengthen your military but fed you false information about the dynasty. They did not tell you the strength of the Crimson Dynasty, which made you think that you had the strength to retaliate.

“The spaceship wreckage was like a poisonous fruit. The technological skill was the sweetness of the fruit that hid a deadly poison.

“As such, all of you thought that the psionic energy, hyperdrive, stargate technology that you received would fill up the gap between both parties. You thought that you had received the weapons that we had. However, the truth is that our weapons are generations ahead of the ones that you received.

“You have already seen the outcome. We had the chance to live together. Although you would have lost the opportunity to develop, you would have retained your independence. At times, losing something may not be a bad choice.”

Upon hearing that, the Kunde Race leader shook his head and said, “Doing nothing as we watch our road to development get blocked isn’t the style of the Kunde Race. We would rather take a gamble.”

“Well said. A civilization without ambition has no future. I can understand your actions.” Tarrokov nodded with agreement before saying, “However, your only mistake was that you chose the wrong opponent.”

The Kunde Race leader then lowered his head.

He did not regret his choice, but he was still filled with hatred.

However, he did not hate the Crimson Dynasty the most but the masterminds who had made use of them!

They were the true people who had caused their destruction!

“Alright, we shall stop here today. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Tarrokov then stood up and was prepared to leave the interrogation room.

“Wait a moment!” the Kunde Race leader suddenly said. “You guys won’t wipe us out but plan to rear us, right?”

“There is such a possibility. However, we will not follow your actions and limit your intelligence. We will only educate your race with our culture.”

The Kunde Race nodded with understanding and took a deep breath. “So… I will have to die for sure, right?”

Tarrokov paused for a moment and chose not to hide the truth. “You will become the target for your race to vent their anger and go down as a lesson in history. You will be the best tool.”

Han Xiao shook his head upon hearing that.

These people liked to speak in riddles. Thankfully, he understood what they said.

If the dynasty wanted to educate the Kunde Race, they needed to choose a puppet leader. However, this puppet leader definitely would not be the current leader.

This Kunde Race leader would be treated as a puppet to put on a show.

The end of this show would definitely end in his execution.

“I understand. There needs to be someone to shoulder the blame, and I don’t mind leaving behind a name of shame.” The Kunde Race leader was already prepared to die. “I can work together with all of you to put on a show, but I have two requests… Don’t look at me like that. I know that I do not have the right to bargain, but I can only say these words to you. You can just treat it as a wish of mine.”

“… then please speak.”

“First, we have already surrendered, and it won’t matter if you kill me. I hope that you will take care of my race and not kill anyone else. Second…” The body of the Kunde Race leader suddenly began trembling, and he said with a malevolent voice, “I want the people who made use of us to pay the price!”

Tarrokov then walked out as though he did not hear anything.

Upon seeing that, the Kunde Race leader lowered his head silently.

He knew that the other party would not accept his request, but this might be the last time he could say such words.

Right at this moment, a black figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

The Kunde Race leader looked up, and it was the black figure who had not said a word since he entered.

The words he heard then shocked him.

“I agree to your request.”

The Kunde Race leader was shocked.

Tarrokov paused and looked back with a puzzled look.

Han Xiao continued with a calm expression.

“I will write a petition to the dynasty for the members of your race to be placed in my territory. As for making the masterminds pay, it isn’t a difficult matter.”

He would not do this if there were no benefits for him. When the Kunde Race leader said his final wish, a new mission had popped up on his interface.

Upon seeing the Mission Requirements and reward, he decided that he had to accept this mission!

“Who are you‽”

Upon hearing that, the Kunde Race leader finally could not help but ask about Han Xiao’s identity.

“You can call me Black Star. As for who I am… you just need to know one thing.”

Han Xiao smiled.

“I am someone who can get rid of your entire race single-handedly.”

Chapter 982: Proof of Leadership

Chapter 982 Proof of Leadership

“You…” The Kunde Race leader was stunned as he looked at Han Xiao.

You would be able to get rid of my entire race alone? This was the first time he had heard such a tyrannical introduction.

Just what kind of a background did this stranger have‽

His reaction was disbelief, but he quickly remembered that the other party came from an advanced civilization that had Supers. Everything was possible, and he had to throw away his old-fashioned thoughts.

He did not understand Han Xiao’s identity in the dynasty, but since the other party dared to say something like this, he was definitely a bigshot!

Thinking about it this way, this self-introduction of his was truly fantastic. Han Xiao immediately got the other party to understand his identity.

Why would a bigshot that he had never met agree to his final request?

Why‽

Was it pity?

Or was the other party only pretending to agree to ensure that he played along?

He was filled with doubts.

When he first raised the request, he did not have much hope and never expected the other party to truly agree.

All of a sudden, the Kunde Race leader was filled with disbelief and did not know what to say.

“Are you worried that I am joking?” Han Xiao looked at the Kunde Race leader. “There isn’t a point for me to lie to you. Since I promised you, I will definitely complete my promise.”

The Kunde Race leader then could not help but ask, “Why do you want to help me?”

“Good question.” Han Xiao chuckled. “I am a person full of care and concern. I enjoy helping others and am a benevolent individual. Just treat it as me pitying the Kunde Race. This matter isn’t a big deal to me.”

By the side, Tarrokov’s face twitched slightly.

Brother, can you be less shameless?

You have at least half the responsibility for the defeat of the Kunde Race! You are making it sound as though we are the evil ones!

His skin is probably thick enough to tank a psionic cannon… Oh, it seems as though it really is possible.

Tarrokov cursed in his heart while the Kunde Race leader was extremely moved.

It was as though he had come to the end of the road and descended into pitch black darkness. However, a sudden ray of light came into the world, and a helping hand was extended to him.

“Thank you…” The Kunde Race leader clenched his fists and said with agitation, “It is a blessing to have met someone like you at the end of my life. It is a pity that I don’t have anything to pay you back with.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I don’t need any payment.” Han Xiao chuckled and could not even believe his own words.

Upon hearing that, the Kunde Race leader was even more moved.

This individual called Black Star was truly the best person in the universe!

Pa!

Tarrokov face palmed and was completely speechless.

The scene before him was truly too ridiculous.

The other party is responsible for your race’s defeat, but you are still full of gratitude toward him‽

I am truly resigned. After committing murder, you are actually able to let the victims be grateful toward you.

At this moment, Tarrokov came to a conclusion.

Black Star is indeed perverse.

I’d better stay far away from him. I am going to retire soon. I don’t want to be led astray by him.

Han Xiao chuckled and left the room together with Tarrokov.

Walking out of the room, Tarrokov turned around and asked with doubt, “Black Star, why did you agree to him?”

He truly never expected this to happen. He originally thought that Black Star was only there to kill time but never expected the other party to do something like this. He also could not understand Black Star’s motives.

Han Xiao then waved his arms and said, “I am in a good mood and wish to be a good person.”

“So, you weren’t teasing him just now?”

“Of course not. I am being very serious. Wait a moment, are you misunderstanding something?”

Ignoring Han Xiao’s words, Tarrokov began to frown.

“But didn’t you just say that you won’t interfere in the way the dynasty deals with the Kunde Race? Are you trying to say that you are prepared to change your attitude and support keeping these captives?”

“Ha, there are no constants in the universe. Can’t I change my mind?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Alright.” Tarrokov nodded. “I will convey your wishes to the Ruler. As for whether your face is useful, that isn’t something that I can consider.”

“This is enough.” Han Xiao smiled.

At this moment, Tarrokov looked around and suddenly said in a hushed tone, “Tell me the truth. What is your intention?”

“Hmm? Didn’t I say that it was because I am in a good mood?”

“Ah.” Tarrokov had a ‘don’t try to bluff me’ look on his face.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao shook his head with resignation and said, “Alright then, I shall be honest. The population of the Kunde Race is at the level of a Star Cluster. Although it will take a long time to educate them, their population will be a treasure chest after the education. If I can arrange for them to stay in my territory, they will be my manpower for the future. The dynasty doesn’t need the population of the Kunde Race, but it is an opportunity for my development.”

Upon hearing that, Tarrokov revealed a smile that said, ‘I knew it!’

That’s right, this is the Black Star that I know. How could he possibly have such a good heart?

You truly live up to your reputation.

After thinking for a while, Tarrokov felt that Han Xiao’s plan was not bad. If the dynasty wanted to keep the Kunde Race, they would have to think about where they should arrange for the race to stay. The size of the population would be an important resource, and many allies would eye on this piece of meat. The way he saw it, Black Star was only asking beforehand.

As for agreeing to his so-called wish, he understood Han Xiao too well and felt that it was probably no more than an excuse.

Han Xiao took a peek at his interface while Tarrokov was in thought.

_____________________

You have triggered the mission [Kunde Race Leader’s Last Wish].

Mission Introduction: The Kunde Race lost in the war, and their entire race is now the captives of the dynasty with their future unknown. The Kunde Race leader is prepared to die and has told you his final wish.

Mission Requirements: 1. Settle the Kunde Race down and provide them with protection during the education period. 2. Take revenge against the mastermind that made use of the Kunde Race to deal with the Crimson Dynasty.

Failure Condition: Population of the Kunde Race less than 80% of the population at the start.

Complete the first requirement. Reward: 6,000,000,000 Experience, +10,000 Kunde Race Favorability (Current Favorability: -1500, Relationship: [Hatred]), 2 Random Rewards, +4 Political Assets (Kunde Race)

Kunde Race will enter into the [Awakening Era], +10% chance of becoming a Super.

Complete the second requirement. Reward: 12,000,000,000 Experience, +15,000 Kunde Race Favorability, 1 Designated Character Summon Card, talent [The Enemy], talent [Proof of Leadership], and special skill [Kunde Rage].

[The Enemy]: The greater the loss of your health, the higher your damage. Maximum bonus 25%. Effects will be refreshed after leaving combat state. You can use summoned creatures and machinery during the effect.

[Proof of Leadership]: You will receive an all-round bonus when you are the leader of a race. The bonus will be dependent on the size and level of the faction. No upper limit.

[Kunde Rage]: After activating the skill, -5% health/s for a maximum of 40s. x2.0 Psychological Resistance, +5% damage, -5% INT, -20% CHA, -10% LUK. You will also be immune to all mental status effects apart from [Rage]. Cooldown: 5 min. Let rage fill your head!

_____________________

The instant Han Xiao saw the mission, he knew that he had to do this mission. The rewards were truly out of his expectations and a huge surprise!

It was far too plentiful!

Han Xiao remained expressionless but was truly overjoyed in his heart.

Although the Kunde Race leader was not a Super, he was the leader of a Star Cluster Civilization and thus could give extremely good rewards.

The experience and Random Reward for the first mission requirement were pretty normal. Han Xiao only placed a huge emphasis on the Political Asset reward. Apart from obtaining experience more efficiently, it would also give him a bigger say in the Kunde Race.

The dynasty wanted to make the Kunde Race into a vassal. But even if they were weakened, they still had the foundation of a Star Cluster Civilization.

The excuse Han Xiao gave Tarrokov was not false. If the Kunde Race remained in his territory, the benefits from their large population size was not something to underestimate.

After completing the mission, the Kunde Race would enter a new generation. There would be an increase in the chance of them becoming a Super. While ten percent did not seem like much, ten percent of a few billion was no small amount. Furthermore, it also gave him a large amount of Favorability with the Kunde Race, and his relationship with them would be increased to [Reverence] directly. This meant that the Kunde Race would be his strength to a certain extent.

However, most of the Grade S mission introductions were pretty simple. The first mission only said that he had to provide protection but did not mention when it would be completed. Han Xiao estimated that his mission would only end when the dynasty unsealed the Kunde Race. Thus, the mission would probably take a long time to complete.

The second mission, however, would be different.

According to the request of the Kunde Race leader, his target was to take revenge on the masterminds behind the scene.

The rewards for the second mission requirement were what made Han Xiao take the mission.

Not to mention a designated Character Summon Card, he would still be able to obtain three abilities.

[The Enemy] was a practical talent and suitable for him.

To a normal individual, by the time he accumulated enough damage to reach the upper limit of the talent, he would probably be left with a sliver of health.

However, Han Xiao would be able to easily recover his health, and this twenty-five percent additional damage was like a cookie that dropped down from the sky!

Furthermore, it would also be effective with summoned creatures and machinery. This meant that the damage of his entire mechanical army would be increased!

[Proof of Leadership] was the most powerful of the three abilities and had great fame among the players in his previous life.

Players could also obtain this ability!

Only the leader of a faction would be able to activate the effects of this talent, and it was similar to a Molding Talent. Players could also form their own armed organizations and hire NPCs.

In the future versions, the players would definitely have a fixed channel to obtain the [Proof of Leadership] talent. In order to activate the talent, a large number of players would form their own factions, and it would be the start of a new era.

The bonus of the talent was determined by the size of the faction. To the players without any fame or money, this talent was completely useless. However, the workshops and guilds were able to fully utilize the benefits of this talent.

In his previous life, as a lone wolf, Han Xiao had never activated the [Proof of Leadership] talent. However, he was extremely clear about just how powerful the [Proof of Leadership] can be!

“If I am able to obtain this talent now, the effects will be unimaginable!”

Han Xiao was truly excited. He was extremely passionate about the abilities that could increase his strength.

The final skill, [Kunde Rage], also made his eyes light up.

Double Psychological Resistance was extremely powerful!

Han Xiao’s Psychological Resistance had always been his weakness, and he was interested in any skill that could increase his Psychological Resistance.

Furthermore, it would also allow him to be immune to all negative mental statuses during a short period of time. It was almost akin to a skill that would give him immunity to all mental control abilities.

The skill required him to exhaust his health, and it required five percent of his health every second. His health would run out in twenty seconds, and this skill can only be maintained for forty seconds maximum. Most people would only be able to activate this skill for a few seconds.

However, Han Xiao’s recovery was overpowered, and he would be able to recover ten percent of his health every second. Activating it for a full forty seconds would not be a problem.

The only thing that Han Xiao did not understand was the name of the skill.

Since you’re angry, shouldn’t your attack be increased? Why would your resistance be increased instead?

In any case, these three abilities are very useful. As long as I can complete the mission, my strength will be greatly increased. Especially [Proof of Leadership]. It is best for me to obtain it as quickly as possible.

The second mission requirement was for him to take revenge on the mastermind. However, the mission did not explain what was considered revenge. He would have to figure that out on his own. In that regard, it was similar to Godora’s [Bloodline] mission.

However, the mission rewards were truly tempting, and Han Xiao would try his best to complete it.

Han Xiao was extremely satisfied with the unexpected reward.

…

After deactivating his long-distance projection, Tarrokov immediately gave a report to Urranrell. He sent over a record of the interrogation and Han Xiao’s previous actions.

“You are saying that Black Star decided to change his mind after observing the captive? He feels that we should educate them instead?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…” Urranrell fell into deep thought. “What’s the reason?”

“He said that it is for their population…” Tarrokov then briefly explained what Han Xiao had said.

Urranrell then nodded and said, “Since it is the opinion of our ally, we will have to consider it carefully.”

Black Star’s value was much higher than the defeated Kunde Race. After all, a National Pillar was not common, but there were plenty of vassal civilizations.

On top of that, Black Star contributed greatly in this war, and his opinion was highly regarded by the dynasty.

In truth, dealing with the Kunde Race was an ordinary matter to the dynasty, and it was not of great importance. Placing them in the territory of the Black Star Army was not an issue. It would not only increase the population of their ally’s territory, and their ally would also be able to help look after the Kunde Race.

However, Black Star was not their only ally, and they had to balance the various opinions before deciding whether to give this piece of meat to Black Star.

As for dealing with the mastermind, the Kunde Race leader was not the only one who wanted to do so. The dynasty also had such intentions.

Although their opponent was the Kunde Race, the Star Cluster Civilization that had thrown out the bag of technology was the true culprit, and the dynasty did not plan to let the culprit go.

Furthermore, the exploration of the Flickering World had not been completed yet, and if they incited a few more native civilizations to create trouble, it would impede the dynasty’s progress greatly.

As such, it would be impossible for the dynasty to allow the people creating trouble to get off scot free.

Han Xiao’s intention was in line with the dynasty’s plans.

“If that’s the case, we should investigate which organization threw the spaceship into the Kunde Race.”

A cold glint could be seen in Urranrell’s eyes.

Chapter 983: Mastermind

Chapter 983 Mastermind

The Kunde Race war happened in the Flickering World, and the dynasty kept the process of the war confidential. As such, this matter did not create a huge storm in the explored universe, with few paying attention to it.

Only a few special organizations had paid close attention to the war.

In the Primeval Star River, Planet Three Kings was an iconic planet and the capital planet of the Modo Civilization.

Modo Civilization was also known as the Modo Three Kings Alliance, and they were in charge of one of the four Super Star Cluster Civilizations in the Primeval Star River.

The Three Kings Alliance referred to the political situation in the Modo Civilization.

During the exploration era, the ruler of the Modo Civilization was a member of the Modo Race. The Modo Race attempted to swallow two other powerful civilizations during the exploration era, but they did not have sufficient strength to swallow up the enemy.

As the war dragged on, there were many parties eyeing the three civilizations. As such, the three civilizations could only choose to ceasefire and negotiate. The most powerful Modo Race did not need to return all the territory that they conquered. The borders of the three civilizations became joint. As trade returned to normal, the three races began mixing with each other and showed signs of merging.

After that, the war in the exploration era became even more terrifying. The Modo Race and their two old opponents felt threatened by their opponents. Since the three of their territories were near each other, they covered each other’s back, and after a long period of working together, they decided to form an alliance to survive.

As the flames of war expanded and time went on, the three parties gradually expanded and their territory, technology, economy, and military gradually reached the level of a Star Cluster. During the long period of the war, the signs of the three races merging together grew even more obvious with political marriages being held among the upper echelons.

If things went on normally, the three civilizations might have ended up like the three Universal Civilizations and schemed against each other. However, they were not the winners of the exploration era and could only listen to the rules of the three Universal Civilizations.

After the war, it was time to split up the benefits of the war. The various advanced civilizations finally established proper laws, and every advanced civilization became extremely active in foreign diplomacy to solidify their position.

At that time, there were three Super Star Cluster Civilizations that were the most powerful. The Modo Civilization and the other two parties were only Star Cluster civilizations and did not have the rights to manage the Star Field.

Since the three parties already had plenty of marriages with each other and were almost like a big family, they decided to just merge together so that they could become a Super Star Cluster Civilization and obtain greater rights.

It was extremely rare to see the merger of civilizations, but there were a few examples in the exploration era.

There needed to be a foundation behind the merger, and the three civilizations had sufficient foundations. The three parties had been in an alliance for a long time, and their races got along pretty well. Furthermore, their economy and culture had already been merged into one, and many outsiders already treated the three as one civilization.

As such, the Modo Civilization managed to gain the approval of the three Universal Civilizations and became the fourth Super Star Cluster Civilization in the Primeval Star River.

After many years of development, the Modo Civilization had already solidified their place as a Super Star Cluster Civilization and was a top notch civilization in the explored universe.

At this moment, the three kings of the Modo Civilization were gathered on the capital planet and listening to a report.

“The report shows that the dynasty has already recalled their forces. This means that those natives have been taken care of. The dynasty’s losses are almost negligible.”

A figure could be seen in the conference room. It was a mixed blood upper echelon dressed in military attire.

He was skinny and had an eerie aura around him.

His name was called Madison, and he was an upper echelon of the Modo Civilization. He was in charge of intelligence and stealth missions.

The Modo Civilization had also sent stowaways to the Flickering World like the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations, and Madison was the one in charge of the operation.

He was the one who had come up with the idea to make use of the Kunde Race to injure the Crimson Dynasty.

“These natives are far too useless. They weren’t even able to injure the dynasty’s fleet.” One of the leaders shook his head.

“Natives will be natives, after all; we cannot have too high expectations of them,” Madison said expressionlessly.

The life and death of the Kunde Race was not even within his consideration. They were no more than a tool to him.

“What are your plans?”

“I have already gotten the stowaway fleet in the Flickering World to continue their exploration and find the next native civilization that we can make use of,” Madison said calmly. “With this native civilization as an example, the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations will also mimic our actions. Not only will it create trouble for the dynasty, we can also borrow the dynasty’s strength to get rid of our future competitors.”

“You’d better not let the dynasty find out that we are the ones behind this,” another leader said with a deep voice.

“Don’t worry, Your Excellencies.” Madison’s lips curled up with a sneer. “I have already made the relevant arrangements. It is impossible for the dynasty to find out who the culprit is.”

…

A couple of days later, the dynasty’s fleet finally escorted the Kunde Race back to Planet Lighthouse. The dynasty had also decided on how they should deal with the Kunde Race and informed Han Xiao.

“The dynasty decided to settle the Kunde Race down in your territory and educate them. During this period, you must cut off their connection from the Galactic Society, and they will be in your charge.”

Tarrokov brought this piece of good news to Han Xiao.

“Alright then, just leave the matter to me. Please thank Her Excellency for me.”

Urranrell’s words must have played a huge part in the dynasty’s decision.

This way, the first mission requirement would probably be fulfilled.

“Hmm, there will be people meeting up with your Black Star Army later.” Tarrokov nodded before changing the topic. “There is something else. The dynasty is currently investigating the mastermind behind this matter. However, there are few clues, and the spaceship wreckage is of a very common model. We aren’t able to find its serial number, and we have to first trace the spaceship to the stowaways first. We may need your help for this.”

“I would be happy to help.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Since this matter was related to the mission, he would naturally be willing to help.

Finding the identity of the mastermind was the first step to completing the mission. However, the stowaways would have definitely escaped into the unexplored region. It was no different from finding a needle in a haystack, and it was a challenging task.

He would probably have to seek Aesop’s help for this.

The mission introduction was extremely vague, but he was certain that relying on the dynasty’s punishment would not complete the mission requirement. He would still have to rely on himself in the end.

This means that I will have to clash with a complete Super Star Cluster Civilization…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

There would definitely be dangers, but he still had some advantages. After all, the three Universal Civilizations enjoyed bullying these Super Star Cluster Civilizations the most.

Thus, it shouldn’t matter even if I go overboard.

“Right, the direct broadcast of the Kunde Race upper echelons will be starting soon. You will be mentioned. Do you want to watch it together?” Tarrokov said.

Han Xiao nodded. “Okay.”

…

At the same time, on the Kunde Race flagship, a dynasty intelligence officer threw a document to the Kunde Race leader.

The Kunde Race leader, who had his eyes shut, picked up the document and read it slowly.

After reading it carefully, he slowly said, “This is the outcome that you have prepared for me? I will work together with you.”

“I know, but we still need some insurance,” the dynasty intelligence officer said expressionlessly and held onto the Kunde Race leader’s head to plant a Psychic bomb.

This would not influence the Kunde Race leader’s independent thought, but they would be able to control his thoughts remotely.

“I have already made a deal with His Excellency Black Star and will not make a silly move. This is a pointless action.” The Kunde Race leader shook his head.

The intelligence officer did not reply and said with a deep voice, “Follow me. It is time for the live broadcast.”

Letting out a long breath, the Kunde Race leader stood up and tidied up his clothes.

After a full minute and ensuring that there were no creases or dust left behind on his clothes, he departed and welcomed his death.

Chapter 984: Punishmen

Chapter 984 Punishmen A large number of Kunde Race civilians were held in the Kunde Race flagship. A simple carpet was laid out on the ground, and the civilians were all cramped up together like refugees.Swoosh!

The door opened up, and a butler-type robot walked in with a push cart with boxes of food stacked on it.

“It’s time to eat!” the dynasty soldiers who were currently on duty cried out.

Ever since they became captives, these Kunde Race civilians had lived in fear toward their unknown future. However, they were not abused in any way. The dynasty gave them their meals every day, and the civilians had calmed down greatly because of this. None of them made any irrational moves.

The butler-type robot then weaved through the crowd to pass out food. These captives all sat up straight and began devouring their food as they chatted with each other. The atmosphere was still pretty calm.

In the crowd, an adult and a child were eating their meal. The female adult then poured half of her food for her child.

“Mummy, aren’t you eating?” Upon seeing that, this child raised his head.

“You eat first. I will eat after you are done.”

The adult female looked at her son lovingly.

“No, let’s eat together.” The child shook his head and mumbled, “If only daddy was here. Mummy, where did daddy go?”

Upon hearing that, the mother fell silent. She then looked at her son and forced out a smile. “Your father may be on another spaceship and is unable to visit us. He will come and visit us after everything is over.”

“Hurray! I really miss him,” the child said with excitement. “When will everything be over?”

“It should be soon…”

She obviously was not confident, but she still had to force herself to look calm.

Upon seeing her child engrossed in his meal, she turned around and wiped her tears away.

She knew full well that her husband would probably have met with misfortune… because her husband was a military officer.

She had been sent away at the start of the war but brought back again as a captive because of the dynasty. Although the dynasty had sealed off all information, she could imagine the losses in the battlefield since the Kunde Race had lost.

Since she could not communicate with the outside world, she did not know if her husband was dead or alive, and she was still holding onto the last bit of hope in her heart. In front of her child, she had to suppress her fear and unease, and she was enduring a huge pressure in her heart.

After her child went to sleep at night, her face would be washed in tears as she wept silently.

She did not know how the Crimson Dynasty would treat them and could only lie to her own child.

Beep beep beep…

Right at this moment, a holographic screen popped out and attracted everyone’s attention.

A familiar figure then appeared on the screen.

“It’s the leader!”

A commotion broke out immediately with some of them standing up.

The same scene happened on all the Kunde Race prison spaceships. Most of them were completely clueless about what was happening on the outside after the dynasty sealed off all news. This was the first piece of news that they had received ever since they became captives and also the first time that they had seen their leader on the television since.

This mother placed down her food and pulled her child to watch the screen.

On the screen, the Kunde Race leader faced the camera and slowly said, “Members of my fellow race, I have a piece of news to announce. We have lost the war completely, and around seventy percent of our military strength has been wiped out. The fleets that are lost or destroyed are as follows…”

He then began reading out the long list of units that had been lost or destroyed. The family members of the soldiers all had their attention focused on the screen, afraid that they might miss a number.

As the list was read out, there would be some who collapsed on the ground with their hearts shattered and heart-wrenching crying from time to time.

This little child did not really understand what was going on. However, he suddenly felt his mother’s body swaying, having almost collapsed. He hurriedly turned around to hold her hands.

“Mummy, what’s wrong?”

This mother’s body was trembling slightly. If she was a human, her face would definitely have been pale at the moment. She stabilized her body and tried to speak calmly. “I’m alright.”

She had heard the name of the fleet that her husband was serving, and her final trace of hope had been shattered. Her vision blacked out, and she almost fainted.

But upon thinking about her son beside her, she suppressed her emotions and could not even cry.

Sobbing sounds could be heard everywhere, and grief filled the entire room.

After finally reading out the entire list, the Kunde Race leader said with a deep voice, “I have to take responsibility for the loss of the war. This wrong decision made by the upper echelons resulted in the loss today.

“In truth, this war could have been avoided. The enemy wasn’t the one who started the war; I was.

“The dynasty came from afar to explore the unknown. They are actually a peace-loving civilization, but my arrogance and enmity blinded my heart. A third party made use of me to view the Crimson Dynasty with enmity. We then attempted to take the initiative to attack the Crimson Dynasty, which incurred the rage of the dynasty.

“We originally had the chance to live together peacefully without any war or bloodshed. We would only have had to change our culture. It is a pity that my mistake resulted in us losing this option.

“My arrogance destroyed the bridge for both parties to communicate. I take responsibility for everything that has happened, and my mistake has pushed the entire civilization into the pits of despair.”

He then took out a document, which was the confidential report of the first psionic explosion trap and the dynasty’s casualty tabulation to prove that he was not lying.

Following which, the Kunde Race leader stood up and bowed to the screen.

“I was the one who destroyed many families in this war, and I apologize for that.”

Everyone now understood the reason for this speech. It was for him to own up to his mistakes and explain the reasons for the war.

Looking at this scene, many people flew into a rage.

I’m sorry?

You caused such great harm to the entire race. Is apologizing even useful‽

If not for you starting the war, all those soldiers wouldn’t have died, and we would still be leading a normal life. How would we have been reduced to captives‽

It is all because of you that our civilization has met with such a crisis! All of these could have been avoided!

A single sorry is enough‽

The Kunde Race leader then returned to his seat and continued speaking expressionlessly.

“I know that everyone is very concerned about how the Crimson Dynasty will deal with us. Rest assured, the Crimson Dynasty is a civilization far more advanced than us, and they will not massacre commoners or take away our intelligence. They have decided to let go of us and settle us down in another Star System. They will return our freedom to us and help us construct our new homeland…”

Upon hearing that, everyone began to calm down slightly. This was the problem that they were all worried about.

It was already extremely lucky for them to emerge alive, and the other party was still willing to let them go and return their freedom.

It seems like the Crimson Dynasty is a peace-loving civilization indeed… Many people had such a thought.

Their race had provoked the war and was in the wrong, but the dynasty still treated the captives with mercy and behaved benevolently. After making such a comparison, everyone’s enmity toward the dynasty weakened.

Of course, there was no such thing as rationality for such a matter. As the party who started the war, there were still many people in the Kunde Race who harbored hatred toward the dynasty, especially the family members of the soldiers.

However, after this explanation, their anger was mainly directed toward the Kunde Race leader.

At this moment, the Kunde Race leader took out another document with Han Xiao’s resume written on it. This was provided by the dynasty.

“Our new homeland will be in the territory of a bigshot in the Crimson Dynasty. His name is Black Star, and he will provide protection for us. He is a respected figure, and it was because of his request that the dynasty decided to return us our freedom.”

Looking at Han Xiao’s picture on the document, everyone remembered this individual who had spoken up for them.

In the office on Planet Lighthouse, Han Xiao’s projection was currently watching the Kunde Race leader’s speech together with Tarrokov. Upon seeing that scene, Han Xiao looked at Tarrokov and laughed.

“You guys are truly the best. You didn’t only give me the resources of the Kunde Race population but also helped me build up my image for free.”

Tarrokov took a sip of his tea and smiled. “You’re welcome.”

The speech continued, and the Kunde Race leader introduced their new homeland to them but did not mention anything about the propaganda and lockdown of news that they would be subjected to.

“The outcome today is a result of poor strategies, and the upper echelons will have to take responsibility for this matter. The upper echelons will all be punished, and I will keep this lesson in mind to lead our race with wisdom in the future to build up our new homeland.”

Boom!

As these words were said, the crowd immediately broke out in a huge uproar.

“What right does he have to lead us after making such a huge mistake?”

“He punished all the upper echelons but didn’t suffer the slightest punishment? Too hypocritical!”

“Does he plan to hold on to the position of leader until he dies‽”

Everyone flew into a rage.

The entire race was harmed by you to such an extent. What right do you have to continue leading us‽

Did we agree‽

All the other upper echelons are to be executed, but your only explanation to us is a simple ‘sorry’‽

What’s the meaning of this‽

Even if you aren’t executed, you should step down at least!

Your desire for power is too strong!

The entire race has been defeated, but you are still sitting in such a position. On what basis‽

Although you seem to be blaming yourself, you are actually making the other upper echelons the scapegoat!

At this moment, the Kunde Race leader stood up and revealed a smile. “I will head to every spaceship to comfort and encourage all of you personally. I hope to bring all of you the courage to start off again. Defeat isn’t scary, and I… will be able to make the Kunde Race great again.”

These words should have encouraged the Kunde Race greatly, but almost everyone was furiously glaring at the Kunde Race leader on the screen.

The Kunde Race leader then stood up and walked out with a floating camera floating behind him.

At this moment, the door opened, and a member of the Kunde Race walked in. The civilians all looked over and began whispering among themselves.

“Who is this person? Why is he able to move around freely?”

“I know who he is. He is one of the secretaries by the leader’s side. He’s appeared on television before.”

This secretary then clapped his hands and got everyone to keep quiet before speaking.

“Everyone, this will be the leader’s first stop, and I hope that everyone can pretend to be full of gratitude to increase the leader’s prestige.”

Everyone was enraged.

You still want us to put up a show at this moment‽

All of our family members have just died in the war, and we still have to work together with you and appear grateful‽

Many individuals clenched their fists with their bodies trembling.

They did not even know how to describe their own feelings. Their anger toward the leader had reached its peak.

Very quickly, footsteps could be heard from the outside, and the door opened again.

The Kunde Race leader then walked in with his secretary and a group of followers with a consoling smile on his face.

Upon seeing his smile, many people could not hold in their anger any longer.

You’re still smiling‽

However, upon seeing the followers beside the Kunde Race leader, many of them no longer dared act up and could only glare at him furiously.

The Kunde Race leader then said with a smile, “Everyone, how have all of you been during this period? I know that all of you must be at a loss. Don’t worry, you can tell me about any of your problems, and I…”

Whoosh!

Someone threw out a black sticky substance from within the crowd at the Kunde Race leader as he was talking.

It was the bowl that they were eating from, and the food inside it spilled out on the Kunde Race leader’s clothes.

“Scram!” A furious voice could be heard from within the crowd.

With someone taking the lead, everyone immediately began throwing their bowls at the Kunde Race leader.

Pa pa pa…

The Kunde Race leader was showered with food, and he looked extremely pitiful.

“Stop! Stop!”

The followers of the leader immediately stepped forward to block the bowls and protect their leader.

At this moment, the people from the back who wanted to throw something at the leader but were too far away began squeezing forward. This resulted in the entire crowd moving closer and closer to the retreating Kunde Race leader’s entourage.

“Stop pushing! Everyone, back off!” one of the followers shouted and tried to resist the crowd that was approaching him ferociously. All of a sudden, he overexerted his strength and pushed down a female individual.

A childish roar then sounded from within the crowd.

“You hit my mommy! I will fight you!”

This follower then felt a sharp pain on his leg and saw a little child biting down on his leg.

“Scram!” He could not help but slap this child flying.

Everyone in the crowd erupted upon seeing such a scene.

“You guys actually hit a kid‽”

“Beat them up!”

Everyone could no longer control their anger.

They had abandoned all rationality and began to attack with their fists, teeth, and shells.

The entire situation went out of control.

Bang!

The Kunde Race leader was pushed onto the ground with people beating him up from all directions.

Right at this moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his neck as it was bitten by someone. Sharp teeth sank down into his throat, and his throat was bleeding incessantly.

The Kunde Race leader’s body trembled, and he looked over. The one biting down on his throat was a female member of his race, the mother of the child who was beaten.

The gaze in the other party’s eyes was imprinted into his head.

This was a gaze filled with anger, hatred, and despair…

Ka-cha!

“Ah!” She then tore out the Kunde Race leader’s throat with her teeth and let out a loud roar.

As blood spewed out from his throat, the Kunde Race leader’s body became weak, and his consciousness became muddled.

He looked at the members of his race beating him up, and he was extremely calm.

“My show is finally over…”

Boom!

His consciousness then faded away.

…

The soldiers on duty then took action to control the situation but intentionally slowed down their actions to let the mess continue for a while longer.

Finally, this bloody incident was stopped by the soldiers, and only puddles of blood were left behind. The corpse of the Kunde Race leader was battered and deformed.

The floating camera had recorded the entire scene, and the Kunde Race members on the other spaceships could also see what had happened.

“They actually killed him? Good job!”

“This sinner of our race shouldn’t be kept alive!”

“Only such a method would be able to punish him!”

Many individuals were extremely satisfied with the outcome.

In a walkway not filmed by the camera, a dynasty intelligence officer had his back against the wall with an emotion agitating device.

Upon hearing that the situation had calmed down, he turned off the device and walked away.

…

“The show is over.” Tarrokov turned off the holographic screen.

“You guys truly made full use of him,” Han Xiao said. “Not letting the dynasty punish him but having the Kunde Race execute their own leader. This will definitely be a lesson that the Kunde Race will never forget. This incident will be imprinted in the minds of the Kunde Race, and their mental state will be greatly weakened to facilitate your education process.”

“This is much gentler than wiping them out,” Tarrokov said expressionlessly and looked into Han Xiao’s eyes. “Black Star, find the mastermind.”

Han Xiao then nodded and said, “Of course, leave this matter to me.”

Chapter 985: Migration and Clue

Chapter 985 Migration and Clue

Around ten days later, the dynasty’s fleet and the Black Star Army escorted all the Kunde Race civilians to the Odoran Star System in Garu. This was one of the territories of Black Star.

Han Xiao chose to settle the Kunde Race down in this Star System.

With abundant territories in his hands, he generously lent over a hundred planets to the Kunde Race. After splitting them up, every planet had about ten billion inhabitants.

With the Galactic Society’s production capacity, housing ten billion people on a planet was an easy task, and their living conditions were not too bad. However, compared to the original living conditions of the Kunde Race, it would definitely be a lot more densely populated.

Before they received the stargate technology, the Kunde Race’s mobility in the universe was extremely poor. As such, their transportation efficiency was low. Despite the Kunde Race having a few Star Systems and over a few thousand colonial planets, there were few migrants, and those who migrated to a new planet would usually stay there permanently.

The Black Star Army fleet had rapidly constructed a simple city on the planet with the dynasty’s planet modification package before sending the members of the Kunde Race to their respective planets.

Countless Kunde Race migrants then obediently exited the spaceships and stepped onto their new homeland.

Many of them looked around curiously as they explored their new homeland.

At the same time, in the command hall of Black Star Palace, there were many uniformed personnel monitoring the situation of every single planet.

Han Xiao stood in the center of the hall and overlooked the entire operation.

“Migrating an entire Star Cluster is truly a huge project.” Aurora lamented by the side.

Herlous nodded. “After the death of the Kunde Race leader, they can only listen to the dynasty’s orders and are extremely obedient. Thus, the migration has been smooth.”

He had also followed the fleet over. After not seeing Han Xiao for a long time, he truly missed his boss and would steal occasional glances at Han Xiao’s back.

“There aren’t many accidents. Good job,” Han Xiao replied.

“How are we going to make use of this sudden increase in population?” Sylvia’s long-distance projection asked.

Han Xiao then stroked his chin and slowly said, “We won’t be able to make use of them immediately. The dynasty will have some plans to educate and reform them. During their reformation, they won’t be allowed to come into contact with the Galactic Society or develop their technology. The dynasty will only impart the relevant Super knowledge to allow them to slowly grow.

“It isn’t time for us to make use of them yet. We need to rear them for now until the dynasty releases the seal. At that time, they will be an important source of soldiers.

“As such, all of you must include something extra in the dynasty’s reformation process to brainwash them to join the army as well…”

The size of the Kunde Race was even larger than the entire Black Star Army. If he wanted to harvest good crops, he would first have to fertilize the soil. Thus, he needed to emphasize the importance of the Black Star Army to the Kunde Race.

Although the mission reward contained a large amount of Faction Favorability points, it was still important to mold their thoughts.

Han Xiao then paused for a while before continuing.

“Also, spread the Machinery Faith in the Kunde Race and try to get more of them to believe in the Machinery Faith.”

During the reformation period, the Kunde Race would not be able to go online, and it would be akin to being separated from the world. This was the best environment to convert them into the Machinery Faith and also erode the beliefs of the Kunde Race.

Without any disturbance from the outside world, their only target of worship would be himself. As such, the Kunde Race would become a treasure chest for the [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus].

To other Mechanics, developing a new batch of believers would be the best option for them to trigger the [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus]. Although the efficiency was extremely low, it was better than nothing.

Manison wanted the current believers to worship him as that was the biggest piece of meat. Apart from that, he was extremely glad to see others spread the faith. With the cake being bigger, he would only receive benefits. There would definitely be some believers flowing toward him, and he would not lose out.

To Manison, when other Mechanics tried to spread the faith, it was akin to planting crops for him. All he had to do was harvest them when the time came.

As such, Manison would not make an appearance as long as no one challenged his position.

Everyone then chatted casually for a while before one of the operators said, “Army Commander, the migration is complete.”

Han Xiao then looked at the screen. All the Kunde Race civilians were already on the planets.

“Alright, display the virtual sky screen.”

The spaceships hovering around the various planets then projected a screen, and all the Kunde Race civilians looked up.

Han Xiao’s figure appeared on the screen, and he said with a smile, “My friends of the Kunde Race, I am Black Star, and I will be in charge of settling all of you down. Thus, you will frequently see my face on the television for a long time to come.

“Today, all of you have moved into your new homeland, and all these planets are a part of my territory. All of you can seek assistance from the members of the Black Star Army located on every planet at any time, and there is no need to worry about your safety.

“I can empathize with what’s happened to all of you, and the dynasty is currently tracking the mastermind behind this entire affair. We will definitely find them and punish them, seeking justice for all of you.

“In any case, I hope that all of you can walk out from your pain and embrace your new life.”

Han Xiao did not say much. He still did not have the influence for the Kunde Race to feel gratitude toward him. As such, he only made a simple speech.

The screen in the sky then disappeared.

Compared to the dynasty, most of them still had an impression of Black Star. However, they were not exactly friendly toward him.

Seeking justice on our behalf? Who knows if he is serious about it?

After everything that they had gone through, it was difficult for the Kunde Race to believe the promise of an outsider.

After the end of his speech, Han Xiao nodded toward Herlous, and Herlous left the hall.

After a while, a cluster of footsteps could be heard from the outside of the hall. Herlous then brought Nero and the other graduates in. They had returned with the fleet and were scheduled to meet Han Xiao.

“All of you are here.”

Han Xiao’s gaze swept over these students.

After four months of training on the battlefield, most of their auras had changed greatly.

After Nero fell into the ‘enemy’s trap’, he learned from his mistake and reflected on it. He now had a sturdy aura around him, and Mia was also obviously better trained.

Han Xiao then could not help but notice the two of them holding hands.

“Cough cough.” Upon noticing Han Xiao’s gaze, Mia let go embarrassedly.

Both of them were originally close friends with a little bit of romance between them. After the previous event, the romance between them had increased greatly. Although they had not officially acknowledged the relationship, they were much closer than before and behaved like a real couple.

Why do I feel like a matchmaker?

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly. He pushed those thoughts aside and addressed the graduates.

“I am gratified to see your transformations. All of you are now qualified warriors of the army.”

Upon hearing that, the students could not help but raise their heads proudly.

After encouraging them, Han Xiao looked at Mia and said with a smile, “I promised to find you a Calamity Grade teacher, and Herlous will be your teacher from today on. He will do his best to teach you.”

Herlous had already been informed of this beforehand. He was the most loyal toward the army and did not have any complaints.

“Although I am usually very busy, I will try to find time to teach you. Don’t worry, I am different from Reynold, and I like to adopt a more carefree teaching style.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency Black Star!” Mia immediately thanked Han Xiao before greeting Herlous. “I pay my respects to you, Teacher!”

Upon seeing that, all the students could not help but be filled with envy.

Who was Herlous? He was an upper echelon of the army and a top character who had followed Black Star from the very start!

Becoming his student meant that Mia would definitely be a pillar of the army in the future.

However, all of them were not the most envious. The most envious individual was definitely Nero.

I also want a normal teacher! Why do I have to have Reynold‽

Han Xiao then looked at Nero and said with his brows raised, “What’s with that expression of yours?”

“…Nothing.”

Nero felt bitterness in his heart but did not wish to say it.

He then remembered something and said, “Godfather, I obtained a weapon from the enemy during the battle, and I feel that it is a little strange. Can you take a look at it?”

“What’s so strange about it?”

“This is a weapon that I obtained from a Kunde Race officer during the battle. I got my teammates to help me identify it…” Nero then rubbed his head. “It seems to be a high-grade enchanted weapon.”

Han Xiao was stunned.

Enchanted weapon?

This item was extremely common in the galaxy, but the Kunde Race did not have any Supers and was a pure technological civilization. They did not know any magic at all.

Just where did the weapon come from?

“Let me see it.” Han Xiao was slightly interested.

“It is in my room; I didn’t bring it with me. I will bring it over later.”

Just when Han Xiao was about to reply, his communicator rang and interrupted him.

He took out his communicator to take a look; the person calling was actually Aesop.

Why is this darn old man taking the initiative to contact me?

Han Xiao then walked to the side and picked up the call.

“Aesop, why are you calling me?”

“It’s what you want,” Aesop said with impatience. “I foresaw that you would contact me and thus took the initiative to contact you to ask if you want anything.”

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

This ability of yours is truly useful…

“That’s right. I do indeed need your help. I need you to help me find some people…” Han Xiao then briefly described the situation of the Kunde Race.

Aesop was also very straightforward. “Send me the information later. The more information, the more accurate the prophecy.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao nodded and paused for a while before asking, “How are Ames and Hila?”

“Taking risks everywhere. How else can they be?” Aesop rolled his eyes. “It isn’t as though you can’t contact her. Why are you asking me? Alright, I will hang up if there is nothing else and inform you about my prophecy.”

As he said that, Aesop hung up immediately.

Han Xiao then put his communicator away helplessly.

He was not planning on relying solely on Aesop. He then left the hall and walked to one of the hangars in the dock.

A severely damaged spaceship was placed in the hangar. This was the spaceship that the stowaways had intentionally placed within the Kunde Race. The dynasty had confiscated it a while ago.

Han Xiao had requested that Tarrokov send this item to him.

The dynasty had already made use of every method up their sleeves but could not find any clues from it. Thus, they did not mind letting Han Xiao try as long as they could find a clue.

Aesop’s prophecy could only see the future, but Han Xiao’s special [Bold Explorer] skill would allow him to see the past of an item.

He felt that he would be able to find something.

He then placed his palms on the charred exterior of the spaceship.

Let me see what I can find.

Han Xiao let out a deep breath and activated [Bold Explorer].

Hu!

His vision suddenly spun around, and the scene before him seemed to have been shattered like glass.

All of a sudden, these glass fragments joined back together, and his entire world changed.

The scene of a workshop could be seen with the skeleton of the spaceship floating in midair and mechanical arms assembling the various parts.

Han Xiao observed the surroundings and memorized everything that he saw.

The next moment, his vision shattered again, and he could see a spaceship crashing down on a planet like a meteor.

The images then stopped at this moment.

He regained his original sight, and he was still in the hangar.

_____________________

[Bold Explorer] has ended.

-60% LUK

Duration: 14 days

_____________________

Han Xiao was used to ignoring the side effects of the skill. There was no difference to him even if his luck was lowered.

He then recalled the scene that he had seen.

“The scene of the workshop and spaceship crashing down seem to be a pretty good clue…”

He then realized that every worker in the workshop had the same insignia on their clothes.

Entering the dynasty’s database to take a look, he managed to find his target. This was a spaceship factory located in the Primeval Star River.

“The supplier of the spaceship has been located…” Han Xiao’s eyes glowed.

The factory would usually keep a record of all spaceships produced, and although they did not know the serial number of this spaceship, it was still a clue.

“It seems like I need to send my mechanical army to the Primeval Star River.”

At this moment, Han Xiao remembered something.

“Right, the Primeval Star River is Manison’s territory.”

Chapter 986: Deity Assassinator, Gold Grade Par

Chapter 986 Deity Assassinator, Gold Grade Par

After memorizing the name of the spaceship factory, Han Xiao left the hangar and returned to his room. He then activated his mechanical army located in the headquarters at the Shattered Star Ring to make their way toward the Primeval Star River.

As soon as he gained [Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel] and [Lord’s Descent], he had garrisoned his mechanical army in many different bases so that he could activate Lord’s Descent in emergencies.

Manison had the largest Beyond Grade A faction in the Primeval Star River, and the Black Star Army did not have much strength in that region. Currently, his relationship with Manison was not too good, and he had to be careful when he was in Manison’s territory.

After sending out his long-distance mechanical army, Nero came to find him with the strange enchanted weapon.

“Godfather, this is the item that I was talking about.”

Han Xiao accepted the weapon from Nero and studied it carefully.

The weapon was in the shape of a spear, and it was broken in the center. The body of the entire spear was dark green, and it felt like bronze. There was a golden fog flowing on the surface of the spear.

The instant he touched the broken spear, a notification popped up on his interface.

_____________________

Deity Assassinator (Damaged)

Type: Close Combat Enchanted Weapon

Grade: Legendary (Orange)

Equipment Requirements: Lv.230, 830 STR, 1,000 DEX, 600 MYS

Attributes Bonus: +146 STR, +171 DEX, +223 MYS

Basic Stats: 21,000 – 24,000 Basic Damage, 3755/9000 Durability, 744/15,000 Energy

Enchantment: [Deity Assassinator (Damaged)] When the target is above Lv.200, +240% damage.

Enchantment: [High Grade Enchantment – Rapid Phantom] +60% attack speed, 1.5% chance of releasing two phantom attacks (75% damage) with every attack.

Enchantment: [Divine Lock – Double Layer Energy Restriction]. 20% chance of inflicting [Energy Restricted] status when hitting the target. The target will not be able to circulate or activate energy. 30s cooldown after being triggered.

Enchantment: [Spiritual Energy Surge]. Rune capable of absorbing different forms of energy to replenish the Energy Value and sustain the effects of the various enchantments. When Energy Value is above 50%, your attacks will have AOE damage.

Enchantment: [Molecular Penetration]. +1,600 Armor Penetration.

Enchantment: [Berserk Magical Energy]. +33% Critical Rate, 20% of Critical Damage will be turned into True Damage.

16 other Enchantments (Expand/Collapse)

Remark: This weapon is currently damaged. Equipment Requirements, Basic Stats, and Enchantment effects will be greatly reduced.

_____________________

“This…” Han Xiao was startled.

Even in its damage state, the equipment requirement was still level 230. If it was in its complete state, would it not mean that only a Beyond Grade A would be capable of using this weapon?

All the enchantments were high grade runes, especially the [Deity Assassinator] enchantment. When the target was above level 200, the damage would be 2.4 times the original!

What kind of a concept was this‽

The greater the number of enchantments, the greater the load. For this weapon to be able to endure so many enchantments, its material must be extremely sturdy.

Why would the Kunde Race have such an item?

“Tell me how you obtained this weapon,” Han Xiao said.

“Alright.”

Nero then began narrating what had happened.

“It was an ordinary battleship battle. My teammates and I killed our way into the hold of the spaceship and exchanged fire with the enemy’s forces. I charged straight at the enemy’s commander, and his armor was shattered by my attack. I remembered your teachings and didn’t forget to deal a killing blow. However, the ground exploded before I could do so, and we all fell down.

“We then landed in a pitch-black warehouse, and this weapon was placed in a transparent vacuum container. That commander then opened up the container and charged at me with this weapon. I tried to avoid the weapon, but he exploded midway. That was how I obtained this weapon.”

Exploded? Oh, it should be because the other party’s level was too low, and he couldn’t endure the enchantments on the weapon, Han Xiao thought to himself.

The more powerful the weapon, the greater the strength required to control it. If one did not reach the equipment requirements of the weapon, one would not be able to unleash the true might of the weapon. However, a small portion of weapons had the risk of causing the user to explode, and it was commonly seen in enchanted equipment.

“Deity Assassinator… it should probably be a Beyond Grade A weapon. Since it is a weapon with a name, will it be recorded on the web?”

Han Xiao then entered into the dynasty’s database and searched for the Deity Assassinator. A large amount of information immediately popped up before him.

He then clicked on the top file.

The Deity Assassinator was forged from a Beyond Grade A dwarf Mage called ‘Divine Craftsman’ Thorne. He was a grandmaster at forging magical weapons and died in the year 79 of the Galaxy Calendar. He had crafted numerous magical equipment during his lifetime and made a huge contribution to the study of forging magical weapons. He was a character that one would definitely see in the textbooks of enchantments and crafting.

The Deity Assassinator was a Beyond Grade A weapon that Thorne forged for his friend, and it was only a part of the [Deity Butcher] set.

The [Deity Butcher] set was a legendary product left behind by Thorne. It was ranked third in the ‘Grandmaster Thorne: Hundred Legendary Products’ list. On their own, the individual parts were only of the orange grade, but the entire set was a Universal Treasure at the gold grade!

Throughout history, there had only been a single owner of the [Deity Butcher] set. It belonged to a Beyond Grade A Pugilist who had the title of ‘Divine Spear’.

Divine Spear had disappeared in year 103 of the Galaxy Calendar, and the set had also disappeared with him.

At this moment, Phillip suddenly appeared.

“My lord, hum… I detect weak multi-dimensional energy from this weapon. Should I conduct a detailed scan?”

Han Xiao nodded and took out various equipment to scan the Deity Assassinator.

The results were out very quickly, and the composition of the multi-dimensional energy was displayed. The amount of negative energy was the highest, and it was the most obvious at the location where the spear was broken. This weapon was obviously destroyed by negative energy, and such energy was commonly seen in the secondary dimension.

“It means that Divine Spear was most likely killed in the secondary dimension,” Han Xiao muttered under his breath.

Exploring the secondary dimension was filled with plenty of risks. For a Pugilist that did not have any doppelgangers, teleportation spells, or mechanical soldiers, he could only use his body to brave the dangers of the secondary dimension, putting his life on the line.

According to history, there were two common ways for a Beyond Grade A Super to die. The first was being killed by another Beyond Grade A, and the second was dying in the secondary dimension.

Han Xiao had a guess as to what was going on.

This weapon was probably drifting in the secondary dimension and encountered a wormhole or dimension crack. It then fell back into the main universe and dropped into the Dust Light Star Cluster. It was then discovered by the members of the Kunde Race.

However, it seemed like the Kunde Race was not able to research the mysteries of magic from this item.

Thinking about this, Han Xiao looked at Nero with resignation.

You were actually able to pick something like this up?

It seems like I was being too kind!

Having a conscience is probably pointless when dealing with you!

“Godfather, did you discover anything?” Nero asked.

“Cough…” With a solemn expression, Han Xiao said, “According to my identification, this is a dangerous enchanted weapon. You will not be able to endure its load with your strength and will be in danger if you use it. Thus, this item shall be kept with me temporarily.”

“It can’t be right,” Nero immediately said with a look of doubt. “Why didn’t I feel anything when holding it? Are you trying to fool me?”

“Holding it is one thing; using it is another. Would I joke about something like this? Who do you think I am? Do you think that I would lie to you?” Han Xiao said righteously.

Just when Nero was about to say something else, Han Xiao covered his mouth and pushed him out of the room.

Bang!

Before Nero could even react, the door closed.

Han Xiao’s voice could then be heard.

“If you don’t have anything else to do, go and walk around more. If you find something else, remember to bring it to me so that I can take a look at it.”

“Dream on! I won’t be back again!”

Nero puffed angrily like a child whose red packet had been taken away.

Han Xiao then opened a safe and placed the Deity Assassinator inside.

He was interested in the entire Deity Butcher set. However, a single part was not too useful to him.

But to a close combat fighter, the Deity Assassinator was a treasure.

A level 230 requirement was about peak Grade A+, and he did have such an expert. Hadavy was an example.

However, Hadavy was an Esper. Although he was tanky, he would not receive any bonuses when using a weapon and was only good for receiving hits. He was like a pure meat shield, unlike Han Xiao, who could tank and deal damage all while looking extremely suave.

The way Han Xiao saw it, Lothaire was most suitable for the Deity Assassinator. It was a weapon that Thorne had made for a Pugilist, and only a Pugilist would be able to fully maximize its potential.

Although Lothaire had not reached the peak, his assassination skills would definitely increase a few levels if he received this weapon.

Furthermore, he would probably have to use this assassin grandmaster to deal with the mastermind.

…

The Kunde Race incident came to an end, and the Crimson Dynasty began their exploration again.

The war delayed the exploration for a few months. However, the dynasty’s progress did not slow down, and they received plenty of rewards.

Taking over the Kunde Race’s territory was akin to receiving a few stargates connecting a few Star Systems in the Dust Light Star Cluster. It would save them a great deal of time as they did not have to construct new stargates.

Furthermore, the Kunde Race database also had plenty of information about the various planets and narrowed down their scope of exploration.

Without any obstructions, the second exploration phase continued smoothly.

The dynasty did not announce the battle in the explored universe, but they had secretly sent out many intelligence officers to search for the mastermind.

Aesop also made a prophecy and foresaw that the stowaways who sent out the spaceships would pass by a certain region. However, the region was far away from the explored regions and did not have any stargates. The dynasty’s spaceship could only travel by hyperdrive and might not be able to catch up to the other party.

Thankfully, Han Xiao had made other preparations, and his long-distance mechanical army had reached the Primeval Star River.

Chapter 987: Primeval Star River Mechanic Emperor

Chapter 987 Primeval Star River Mechanic Emperor

On Planet Three Kings, two individuals were walking down an alley.

One of them was Madison, and the other was a high official of the Modo Civilization who was Madison’s leader.

Both of them walked and chatted at the same time.

“You are in charge of the plan to make use of the natives and can report to the three Kings directly. This is a good opportunity,” the high official said with his arms behind his back. “Madison, I have always believed in your abilities, but can you ensure that the dynasty will never discover the truth? The three Kings will definitely remember you if something goes wrong, and your future will be over.”

“Ah, I’ve said this many times, but it will be impossible for the dynasty to discover us,” Madison said coldly but confidently. “I got rid of any traces many years ago. The serial number of that spaceship has been cleaned up, and I also washed the spaceship in magic many times to prevent prophecies. The dynasty won’t be able to find any clues from the spaceship, and what other clues can they find?

“Even if the dynasty manages to find the spaceship factory, I got an intelligence officer to clean up all our transactions with the factory, so the dynasty won’t be able to find anything. That intelligence officer is now living under a disguise, and everyone will think that he is dead. His personal file has also been temporarily deleted from the database, and he has been sent away. No one will be able to find him.

“Furthermore, we weren’t the ones to purchase the spaceship. It was purchased by a civilian financial group, and the spaceship changed hands many times. It was even robbed by galactic pirates. This spaceship was only secretly acquired by us many years after it went missing. Not a single trace was left behind. The dynasty won’t be able to find us if they try to track us through the spaceship.

“I also made some other arrangements along the way, and if the dynasty attempts to investigate this matter, they will only be misled to believe that the culprit is another Super Star Cluster Civilization.”

It had been many years since he sent the spaceship to the Kunde Race, and he had already begun cleaning up all traces a few years ago. As such, he was confident that the dynasty would not be able to find anything.

Upon hearing that, the high official nodded. “I feel assured if that’s the case.”

…

A silverish-blue planet was slowly moving in the universe like a gemstone floating in the darkness. Light was reflected off the surface of the planet and onto the smooth silver armor of a Lord avatar. A group of black mechanical soldiers were following behind the avatar silently.

This was a manufacturing planet of the Primeval Star River, and many different financial groups had operations on this planet.

The clue that he had found from [Bold Explorer] pointed to a factory located on this planet.

This factory produced only ordinary spaceships in large quantities without modifying them at all.

There was a certain market for such spaceships in the universe, and the other high-grade factories would not invest a large amount of resources to produce such spaceships without any core competencies.

Before sending out his mechanical soldiers, Han Xiao had already checked the background of the factory. They were a small business and did not have any backing.

“The mastermind will have erased all traces by now.”

Although he knew that this would most likely be the case, he still had to verify the matter.

Entering the quantum network, the entire planet before him suddenly became translucent with only their quantum network nodes being left behind.

Locking onto the quantum network node of the factory, Han Xiao infiltrated it immediately. The firewall of a small company like this would not pose any difficulty to him.

In an instant, Han Xiao had already obtained all the information in the factory’s database.

He first opened the production journal and sales record. He then realized that the earliest record was only three years ago, but it was impossible for this factory to be so young.

“Indeed, the mastermind cleaned up all traces.”

He checked the other records, and the records indicated an unexpected explosion three years ago.

There was an issue with the power supply during production, which resulted in the entire factory exploding. The main system was fried, resulting in the loss of all past records. All the hard copy files were also destroyed in the explosion, and even the surrounding factories were somewhat affected.

An investigation of the matter later found it to be due to a natural malfunction, but Han Xiao did not believe that. It was definitely a man-made disaster to destroy all evidence.

If he was the mastermind, he would clear up the factory’s records and ensure that the spaceship had changed hands many times before going missing. This would be the best way to ensure that all tracks leading to him were destroyed.

“Without any records, I won’t be able to find out the serial number of the spaceship, and this clue won’t be too useful…”

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

“However, there’s still some payoff.”

At the very least, this clue revealed the production location to be in the Primeval Star River.

This meant that the four Super Star Cluster Civilizations running the Primeval Star River were the most suspicious. The scope of his investigation had already been narrowed greatly.

Of course, it was possible that a civilization from another Star Fields had intentionally purchased the spaceship from the Primeval Star River to frame someone else. However, Han Xiao would first analyze the suspects with the highest possibilities.

Although he did not have any clues currently, he knew that the dynasty also met with another event similar to the Kunde Race war during the later parts of the exploration phase in his previous life. After experiencing the Kunde Race war, the dynasty was better prepared and managed to find some suspicious characters.

The most suspicious civilization in the Primeval Star River was the Modo Civilization!

Their shoes would definitely be wet if they walked by the side of the river. The dynasty was not easily trifled with.

The mastermind would be able to clean up all the clues of the past, but they would not be able to clean up the clues of the ‘future’ in Han Xiao’s memories!

This was akin to saying, ‘Although you haven’t committed a crime yet, I know that you will in the future.’

He did not know if the Kunde Race incident was done by the Modo Civilization, but since the other party had a ‘past record’, they would be the most suspicious.

Because his clue had led to a dead end, Han Xiao had two ideas.

Since the accident at the factory was deliberate, he could attempt to check the entry records of the planet three years ago and try to find the culprit behind the accident.

It would be extremely easy to tamper with the database of a small factory, but it would be far more difficult to do so for the surveillance system of an entire planet. If the other party was capable of doing so, this path would be cut off as well.

The second method would be to make use of an elimination method. There were only a few possible culprits within the Primeval Star River, and Han Xiao could choose to investigate them individually, starting with the most suspicious Modo Civilization.

He preferred to have different methods up his sleeves and immediately infiltrated the surveillance system of the planet.

With his powerful calculation abilities, he came to a conclusion quickly. There were no suspicious characters who approached the factory on the day of the accident.

“It wasn’t done by an outsider? There are two possibilities. First, the mastermind altered the records of the entire surveillance system. Second, it was an inside job.”

He would be helpless if it was the former, and Han Xiao could only attempt to investigate the latter.

If it was not done by an outsider, it could only be an inside job.

“If I was the culprit and was ordered by my superior to infiltrate into the factory, there would be no need for me to remain in the factory after completing my mission. Thus, I’d need an excuse to leave. If that’s the case…”

Han Xiao searched the list of workers who had died in the accident three years ago.

After the accident, all the workers that were still alive went through a strict check, and many of them resigned. However, Han Xiao was certain that there was a higher possibility of a spy pretending to die. It was a much ‘cleaner’ way of cleaning up their presence. After all, an outstanding intelligence officer would definitely have different identities, and dying would be akin to destroying the identity.

As such, it was likely that the culprit was on the list of workers who died.

It would not be difficult for Han Xiao to check the resumes of these individuals, but it would be impossible for him to find anything strange in their resumes.

Instead, he needed to confirm if any of their resumes had signs of being forged.

It was easy to forge a resume, but checking it was not too difficult either. It was just a little troublesome. One only had to follow the resume to ask the previous organizations and relatives of the individual if such a person existed.

If there were traces of forgery on any of the resumes, it would mean that the individual was suspicious. Then, he just needed to make use of the elimination method by comparing the resumes of the individuals to the files of the intelligence officers of the Modo Civilization and other Super Star Cluster civilizations.

If the culprit had snuck into the factory, they must have used a false identity, and even their appearance might be fake. However, this was not a dead end.

The factory’s data was destroyed, but the planet’s surveillance record was still around. Han Xiao would be able to write an algorithm to analyze the footage and compare them with the intelligence officers of the various organizations.

This way, he would be able to match the culprit to the right organization.

The next problem would be… just how could Han Xiao obtain the files of these intelligence officers.

The Black Star Army did not have any organizations in the Primeval Star River.

Han Xiao scratched his alloy head.

He did not know about the rest, but a possessive jerk like Manison would definitely have plenty of information on the various Super Star Cluster Civilizations.

Even the Federation of Light had to guard against the Mechanic Emperor’s Virtual Intrusion, so he had probably done so before. If that was the case, how could the Super Star Cluster Civilizations be safe?

“Alright then, it seems like I’ll have to go and meet the Mechanic Emperor.”

Chapter 988: Decisive Action.

Chapter 988 Decisive Action.

On the topic of Manison’s organization, it was usually referred to as the Mechanic Empire or Mechanical Race.

Manison’s territory was located within the Primeval Star River, and although it was the territory of a Star System Civilization on the surface, Manison was actually the one in charge of the place.

Han Xiao had his Lord avatar visit Manison. He had already sent a message before that, and Manison had agreed to meet him. They had set the meeting location on a planet inhabited by the Mechanical Race. Manison had many planets under his charge, and this was one of them.

Han Xiao’s avatar arrived at the location, and he could see a mechanical planet. It was covered by a gigantic psionic shield with a large number of mechanical soldiers patrolling outside the atmosphere of the planet.

“An old man is an old man indeed. He is truly rich.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

Manison’s territory was extremely wide, and he had many different factories and armies in the various Star Fields. Furthermore, he had his own developed mechanical civilization, and the exact size of his army was unknown. The various organizations only knew that he had a terrifying number of soldiers.

Han Xiao’s troops did not wait for too long before an opening was created in the protective shield. A mechanical soldier squad then led the way for him.

He followed the guide, and his Lord avatar landed on the planet.

He could see many different cities scattered around the planet and many pedestrians roaming the streets.

Manison was the second Beyond Grade A in the Mechanical Race, and although he had transformed into a new species, he still treated the Mechanical Race as his kind and took on the position of leader.

However, he was different from Psyker. To him, the Mechanical Race was only an important resource, and he did not feel too responsible for them.

As the race that had the lineage of a Beyond Grade A, the Mechanical Race had outstanding natural talent, which provided Manison with many useful skills. Many of the Mechanics under his charge came from the Mechanical Race. Furthermore, at least eighty percent of the Mechanical Race population were part of the Machinery Faith.

A large floating island could be seen. This was one of Manison’s palaces.

The Lord avatar then landed on the floating island together with the other mechanical soldiers.

Clank clank clank…

The sound of metal rang out as the mechanical soldiers landed.

The moment he landed, Han Xiao heard someone calling out to him.

“Ah, to think that you’d take the initiative to find me. This is truly out of my expectations.”

Manison’s Lord avatar walked over. It was not Manison’s main body who had come to meet him.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao sneered in his heart.

Tsk, so cowardly.

After cursing Manison in his heart, Han Xiao said, “You invited me over to be a guest a few years ago. Since it was convenient for me, I came over to take a look.”

He did not mention the conflict between the two. The mechanical voices of the two avatars also had no emotions.

Manison smiled and also did not mention their previous skirmish.

He had defeated plenty of Divine Throne Mechanics, and to a bigshot like him, this was not considered significant enmity.

At his level, even if the other party was his competitor, he could still sit down and have a calm conversation with them.

“If that’s the case, then follow me. I will give you a tour of my base.” Manison turned around and led the way.

Because of their previous face off, both parties had a strained relationship. However, Black Star was a peak Beyond Grade A Super after all, and Manison naturally would not be rude if the other party came to visit him.

Both of them toured around the base for a while, and Han Xiao saw many ordinary facilities. He did not see anything special. After all, Manison would not reveal his trump cards to a competitor of his. It was just like when Han Xiao was not willing to show Manison his Spacetime Amber.

Han Xiao had already expected this. Manison was not an individual who liked to show off his trump cards and thus did not expect to see much.

After touring around the place for a while, he entered the conference room with Manison, and they began chatting.

“Since we are both using avatar, there’s no need for drinks.” Manison leaned back calmly. “Why are you here?”

“I wish to borrow some intelligence,” Han Xiao said calmly.

“In what way?”

“I wish to borrow the files on the intelligence officers of the four Super Star Cluster and other Star Cluster Civilizations.”

Manison was a little surprised, and he sat up straight.

“Why do you want this?”

“To find someone,” Han Xiao replied succinctly.

He had already searched through the information and found a forged resume. He only needed to compare it to the files of the intelligence officers. Asking the Mechanic Emperor for help was the best choice.

The gangsters of the Primeval Star River were not like the Kunde Race natives. Their technological capabilities were only second to the three Universal Civilizations.

It would require a great deal of effort for him to personally infiltrate their system, and it was likely that he would be discovered as well.

Furthermore, he needed to infiltrate more than one of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations. Even if he could find the culprit in one of them, he would offend the other three in the process. Han Xiao did not want to create enemies for himself for no good reason.

On the other hand, Han Xiao felt that it was likely for the other party to have deleted the files of the culprit so that he would not be able to find anything.

The Mechanic Emperor was different in this regard. As a bigshot of the Federation of Light, he had always been collecting intelligence.

With these four good neighbors of his, he would definitely run around in their backyard once in a while and steal a large amount of confidential information. As such, it was more likely for him to obtain a complete file from the Mechanic Emperor.

Manison pondered for a while before shaking his head. “It is impossible to lend it to you. I will only do a trade.”

“Alright, what do you want?”

“Spacetime Amber,” Manison said.

“Impossible.” Han Xiao rejected him without hesitation.

Are you dreaming, old fool?

You want a Universal Treasure in exchange for an intelligence report? You are truly a business wonder.

“Not even a single drop?”

“Haha.”

Upon hearing that, Manison folded his arms and remained silent. His meaning was obvious. Since you aren’t willing to accept my price, what are you prepared to give?

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao said, “I can openly admit that you are the strongest Mechanic.”

“I already am the strongest. Why do I need your admission?” Manison asked.

“Isn’t it a good thing to stabilize your foundations?”

“I don’t need it.” Manison waved his arms.

I am the Mechanic Emperor. Do I need your support? What a joke!

Han Xiao then stroked his chin and said, “Perhaps we can come to an agreement. I will not challenge your position within fifty years.”

Upon hearing that, Manison said with interest, “You mean to say that you will be able to exceed me within fifty years?”

“Everything is possible,” Han Xiao said.

Manison smiled and calmly replied, “It’s alright. I don’t need such a method to secure my status.”

Han Xiao then leaned forward slightly and said, “Why don’t I owe you a favor?”

“Only a favor that can be repaid is worth something. Do you think your favor is worth anything to me with our relationship?” Manison shook his head.

After pausing for a while, Manison did not wait for Han Xiao to reply and said, “Forget it. I can give you the intelligence that you want, but you won’t be able to give me what I want. Get the Crimson Dynasty to talk to me.”

Han Xiao pretended to fall into deep thought. “If that’s the case, why don’t I persuade the dynasty to provide you with some Evolutionary Totems?”

Manison was not interested. “Why not you give me the Evolution Cube instead?”

“Are you asleep or awake?” Han Xiao asked.

Manison had thick skin and said, “But the totem isn’t useful to me.”

“Are you sure?” Han Xiao knocked on the desk. “You will not be able to use the totems, but the Mechanical Race that you are leading will be able to make use of them. It is still useful to them, right?”

Upon hearing that, Manison fell into thought.

Han Xiao then shrugged his shoulders and said, “I will not give you anything more. You should know that the other organizations will also have such information. It is just that the information in your hands is more complete. However, it isn’t unique. If you can’t agree to this, the deal is over.”

Manison nodded. “Alright, I agree.”

He could easily obtain as much intelligence as he wanted. It was an extremely easy matter to him and did not cost him anything. For him to be able to gain the Evolutionary Totems in the process, Manison felt that it was acceptable.

Although he did not think too much about this trade, the totems were pretty useful to the Mechanical Race.

“Alright, it’s settled. I will communicate with the dynasty regarding this,” Han Xiao said.

Although he was breaking the rules, as long as he controlled the number of totems that he sold, the dynasty would not be bothered about something so small.

Because of the pressure of the federation and church, some of the totems were sold on the black market. Although the dynasty did not sell the totems openly, they would not be too stubborn if it could be used in exchange for some important intelligence.

He originally planned to use the totems to exchange for the intelligence report.

Han Xiao was not like Heber who cared a great deal about his face. He still had huge potential for growth according to his plans and was not planning to fight the Mechanic Emperor any time soon. Thus, he would not be bothered with such useless promises. If Manison had agreed to his promise, he would have been able to save his Evolutionary Totems.

Manison only knows that I have a great potential but does not know exactly how fast I can increase my strength. His impression of me is kept at the previous time we fought, and he isn’t aware that I have now grasped [Perfect Mechanical Sense]. As long as I do not fight him, it would be difficult for him to realize that.

Manison probably thinks that I am only running an errand for the dynasty but does not know that I am able to strengthen myself from this mission.

After coming to an agreement, Han Xiao made an application to the dynasty. After knowing that he was pursuing the identity of the mastermind, the upper echelons discussed the matter for a while before agreeing.

Since they were only going to provide a little more than a hundred totems, it would not affect the big picture.

Manison then sent the intelligence report over to him.

With the intelligence report in his hands, Han Xiao stood up and said, “The totems will be sent over soon. I will make a move first.”

“Alright.”

Manison then looked at Han Xiao leave before exiting from the quantum network.

Despite winning against Black Star previously, this did not mean that Manison was not wary of Han Xiao at all. He was worried that Han Xiao had come with bad intentions and had thus prepared a trap for Han Xiao just in case.

For Virtual Mechanics at their level, they would have to attack the other party head on if they wanted to infiltrate the other party’s system. It would be impossible to remain undetected by the firewall.

If Black Star wanted to infiltrate his system, Black Star definitely would not have been let off easily.

However, he never imagined that Han Xiao would come and go quickly without any ulterior motives, meaning all his preparations went to waste.

“It seems like he no longer has any plans to fight me. The dynasty should have influenced his thoughts slightly.”

Manison had a guess based on Han Xiao’s actions.

…

As Han Xiao’s spaceship left the territory of the Mechanical Race, he took out the algorithm that he had prepared and began the matching process.

The matching process was completed very quickly, and a target was found.

“The Modo Civilization? It is them!”

Han Xiao raised his brows.

“If it’s the Modo Civilization…”

Han Xiao then searched for a few famous individuals in the Modo Civilization in his memories before taking out his communicator to make a call.

After ringing for a while, someone picked up the call but did not say anything.

“Lothaire?”

“I’m here.”

“Come to the Primeval Star River. I have a mission and present for you.”

“Okay.”

Lothaire then hung up.

What a reliable middle-aged man. Han Xiao was certain that the Modo Civilization was the mastermind behind the Kunde Race incident.

However, Han Xiao still was not aware about who planned the operation.

However, that did not matter. He only needed to take revenge against the mastermind.

Since that was the case, he should just take decisive action.

All the famous individuals now and in the future shall all be executed!

Chapter 989: Record It in the Little Book

Chapter 989 Record It in the Little Book

Of course, Han Xiao would not go overboard.

Although his mission was to take revenge against the entire Modo Civilization, most of them were innocent. If it was not for his mission, he would not want to do something like this either.

The masterminds were mainly the leaders of the Modo Civilization, and Han Xiao planned to deal with the important officials of the Modo Civilization. As for the other members of the Modo Civilization, Han Xiao planned to observe the situation first before deciding. There was no need to be so extreme at the start.

It would still be fine if he assassinated some individuals with high potential who had yet to grow up. However, there would definitely cause a backlash if he assassinated an individual with high authority.

Furthermore, if a large number of officials within the Modo Civilization were assassinated, the Modo Civilization would not be the only party being enraged. The other Star Cluster Civilizations would also feel threatened and work together to deal with the threat.

As such, the advantage of having a backer was immediately shown. Although the dynasty would not carry out large-scale assassination operations, they did not mind their allies doing the dirty work. That was especially so since the Modo Civilization was the mastermind behind the Kunde Race affair. Although the losses of the dynasty were not large, they still suffered some losses. How would they be able to give an answer to the warriors who died in the Kunde Race war if they did not cause a storm of blood?

Furthermore, it would always be politically correct for the three Universal Civilizations to suppress these Super Star Cluster Civilizations. If not for him having the dynasty’s support, he would attract trouble to himself even if he was a local tyrant.

Assassinations had never been something that could be openly admitted, but they had always been effective. However, some things could be proven by history. Regardless of whether an individual died, the wheels of history would not stop rolling forward. The only difference was whether it rolled quickly or slowly.

If the dynasty attempted to suppress the Modo Civilization in the various domains, while it would cause a Super Star Cluster Civilization to suffer, it would be difficult to cause great damage to them—unless the dynasty was willing to ignore their own losses and pay a huge price.

As for assassinations, it was an extremely cost-effective method.

Han Xiao decided to take on the dirty job. It was both for the mission reward and because the dynasty wanted to punish the mastermind.

As such, he was not afraid of the assassinations being discovered. In order to warn the other party, not only must the assassinations be known, the other organizations had to suspect that the dynasty was behind it.

This way, the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations would know that this matter would not affect them. Even if they were dissatisfied, they would not make a move.

The Modo Civilization took the initiative to create trouble, and the other party was a civilization even more powerful than them. Who can they blame but themselves for suffering the other party’s revenge?

As for whether or not assassinations were breaking the rules set by the civilizations… what can they do about that?

Unless they are strong enough for others to listen to them obediently, it’s a joke to think that they can get others to submit through virtue.

Han Xiao then opened the intelligence report that the Mechanic Emperor had sent him and confirmed his assassination target.

The ones in charge of the Kunde Race plan would definitely be an officer of the intelligence department. Their information was recorded in the intelligence report that Manison had given him, and Han Xiao decided to take care of these individuals first. They were not kind individuals, and getting rid of them would definitely cause some loss to the Modo Civilization’s intelligence department.

“I can be considered a famous bigshot right now, and it isn’t suitable for me to personally carry out assassinations. Lothaire is the most suitable choice.” Han Xiao nodded.

This was not only a mission but also a form of training.

He had high expectations of Lothaire and felt that Lothaire was an individual worthy of being groomed.

…

Not too long later, Lothaire met up with Han Xiao’s mechanical soldiers.

“Your Excellency Black Star.” Lothaire greeted Han Xiao’s Lord avatar.

Han Xiao sized Lothaire up from head to toe. Lothaire was currently dressed completely in black with his face being covered with a black scarf. Only his cold eyes can be seen.

After many years of training, Lothaire’s aura had become concealed, and he could move without making any sound. When he intentionally restrained his aura, his presence would be greatly reduced.

He was an agility-focused Pugilist and had the subclass [Assassin]. Furthermore, he also had various talents to conceal himself and was a genius in this regard.

Lothaire had already accepted a new batch of assassins into the newly established Assassin’s Society. He personally trained these assassins and developed them secretly.

“It has been a long time since we last met. There is a name list and some information over here.”

Han Xiao knew Lothaire’s personality and did not bother exchanging pleasantries with him.

After accepting the name list, Lothaire looked through it carefully, and a ball of flames burst out from his palms.

Hu!

The name list was then reduced to ash.

He is a professional assassin indeed, Han Xiao commented in his heart.

“This list is pretty long, and I will need some time to get rid of them all,” Lothaire said.

“There’s no need to rush. I will provide you with intelligence.”

Han Xiao waved his arms before handing a long box over to Lothaire.

“This is a present for you. Take a look.”

Lothaire opened the box, and a gold light flowed out from it. Lothaire looked carefully at the item in the box—the Deity Assassinator.

While waiting for Lothaire to arrive, Han Xiao had sent the Deity Assassinator over from the Flickering World.

Lothaire then studied the spear and grabbed it.

The next moment, his eyes narrowed.

A gold light burst forth from where he touched the spear.

Hum!

Golden strands of energy stretched out from his arms and very quickly approached his heart. Lothaire’s eyes also began glowing with a golden light.

“Eh? This is…” Han Xiao was surprised upon seeing such a scene.

Nothing had happened when he and Nero touched the Deity Assassinator. Could it be that this weapon gave Pugilists a special bonus?

However, that was not stated in the item details, and there were other Pugilists that had come into contact with the Deity Assassinator before as well. Why was it such that this strange occurrence only happened with Lothaire?

Han Xiao waited patiently for a while before the golden light receded from Lothaire’s body, and his eyes returned to normal.

“What’s going on?” Han Xiao asked.

Lothaire did not reply but used his actions to answer. He let go of the Deity Assassinator, and the Deity Assassinator floated beside him. He did not make use of any Pugilist flames to control it at all.

All of a sudden, the Deity Assassinator disappeared with a golden flash, and Lothaire rolled his sleeves up to reveal a tattoo on his wrist in the shape of the Deity Assassinator. The tattoo then transformed back into a spear with a flash. This was one of the enchantments on the Deity Assassinator. It was able to be transformed into an enchantment for storage. However, it was in an unactivated state in Han Xiao’s hands.

Upon seeing that, Han Xiao understood what was going on.

“You set up a soul connection with it?”

“Yes. For some reason, this weapon resonates with me.”

Lothaire nodded. Stretching out his arms, the Deity Assassinator returned to his hands.

Han Xiao immediately felt his heart turn sour.

Nero’s one thing. But even you aren’t a human anymore, huh‽

Touching an equipment and forming resonance with it? Why can’t something good like that happen to me?

In order to make the Spacetime Amber and Evolution Cube fall in love with me, I spent so much effort…

Right at this moment, Han Xiao thought about something.

“Deity Assassinator… this name…”

He suddenly realized that the name of this weapon was similar to Lothaire’s experience in his previous life.

Lothaire went to assassinate EsGod in his previous life and did not return after that… As for the individual who assassinated EsGod… was he not a Deity Assassinator?

Thinking about this, Han Xiao’s eyes changed.

F*ck! Nero actually dug this thing out for him?

Then, aren’t I like Santa‽

“Do you like it?” Han Xiao weakly said.

“Thank you,” Lothaire said emotionlessly. But looking at him play with the Deity Assassinator enjoyably, it could be seen just how much he liked the gift.

“As long as you like it. In any case, I shall leave the mission with you,” Han Xiao said.

Lothaire recalled the Deity Assassinator and nodded.

…

Two months later, in a rundown bar on one of the Modo Civilization’s colonial planets, the customers were in groups of twos and threes, chatting with each other casually.

Even in the interstellar era, social interaction was still a must, and bars like this were extremely common.

All of a sudden, the chattering in the bar became softer, and everyone looked at the holographic screen floating in the bar.

At this moment, the news was being played on the holographic screen, and the entire bar became silent.

“Yesterday, an assassination took place, and the victim is an important intelligence officer called Madison. He suffered an ambush when out on a business trip. He had plenty of bodyguards with him during the incident, but a spear appeared from nowhere, nailing him to the ground. The spear then disappeared, and the culprit was not seen.

“This is the fifth intelligence official that has been assassinated in recent times, and the rage of the upper echelons is at its peak. The three Kings personally signed a bounty to catch the culprit.

“The murderer always uses a spear, and we do not have much intelligence on him. Although many organizations have taken responsibility for the assassinations, we aren’t clear about which organization the assassin belongs to or his motives. For the assassin to be able to grasp the whereabouts of the intelligence officers and avoid records when entering the various planets, he must have a special organization behind him. Before the exact reason is…”

After listening to the news, everyone had an ugly look on their face.

Someone said with fear in his eyes, “Just what is going on recently. Why are there so many assassinations? Plus, the targets are all the high officials. This is truly too unbelievable!”

“That’s right. How many years has it been since we witnessed something like this? Even the officials have been assassinated. This is truly too much!”

Many of the customers in the bar growled with furious indignation. They could not hide the fear in their hearts.

This was not as simple as just a few officials dying. This was a matter that would cause fear to spread within society and cause social unrest!

When meeting such an incident, the Modo Civilization should have thought about locking down information. However, while they were able to control their local media organizations, they could not control the foreign media organizations.

The first report of the assassinations was made by these foreign media organizations. Furthermore, the evidence was solid, and there was nowhere to hide. As such, the entire Star Field became aware of the event, and a huge commotion was caused. Without even thinking, the Modo Civilization knew that this was the method of organization behind the assassin.

The bartender shook his head in resignation. Just when he was about to continue wiping the cups, he found a few coins on the bar counter. It was rare for individuals to still use physical cash, but it was still an acceptable method of payment.

“This is…”

The bartender scratched his head with doubt.

“Was there someone sitting there? Why can’t I remember anything?”

…

At the same time, Tarrokov called Han Xiao over for a discussion.

In the office, Tarrokov showed Han Xiao some information.

“According to Aesop’s prophecy, we intercepted a group of stowaways in that unexplored desolate region. After our interrogation, we verified your intelligence, and the mastermind is indeed the Modo Civilization. I will have to thank you for your aid this time.”

Han Xiao nodded upon hearing that.

He had already reported his findings to the dynasty, but the dynasty had chosen to tread cautiously. The dynasty had only given tacit approval to his assassination operation but did not conclude that the Modo Civilization was the mastermind. They only confirmed the matter after interrogating the stowaways.

“We also found out who’s in charge of this operation,” Tarrokov said with a deep voice. “He is an intelligence officer of the Modo Civilization, and we need your help to get rid of him.”

“Er… That might not be possible.”

“Why?” Tarrokov asked with doubt.

“Because someone who has died cannot die again.” Han Xiao shook his head and smiled. He then showed a screen of the news broadcast from the Primeval Star River. “I have already taken care of that fellow. You’re too late.”

“You are truly quick.” Tarrokov was stunned.

“This shouldn’t be your only reason for arranging to meet me, right?”

“I really can’t hide anything from you.” Tarrokov chuckled. “I am here to convey the intentions of the Ruler and the upper echelons.”

“Good news or bad news?”

“Er, I don’t know,” Tarrokov said slowly. “We have already confirmed the mastermind, and the dynasty will take action. The Ruler agrees with the assassination operation to create some destruction to the Modo Civilization. You can be assured about this. If the Modo Civilization has any objections, we will protect you. However, the dynasty will not provide you with any help, and you shouldn’t go overboard. It won’t be good if you force the Modo Civilization into a corner.”

“I know. I won’t go too far.” Han Xiao waved his hand. If not, I would have even assassinated the three Kings.

“Hmm, the dynasty is also going to suppress the Modo Civilization economically. However, you shouldn’t be too hopeful as we won’t invest too much in this. You should also know that the federation and church are still suppressing us. Furthermore, we still need to pay for the expenses of exploring the Flickering World and won’t have too much energy to take care of the Modo Civilization. Thus, we are only putting up a front to warn the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations.”

Han Xiao frowned. “If the warning isn’t sufficient, the outsiders may see through the dynasty’s weakness and exploit the situation.”

The dynasty wanted to send out a warning but did not wish to pay a huge price. This was not in line with the dynasty’s benefits.

The requirement of his mission was to damage the Modo Civilization. Although his assassination operation might be effective, this Grade S mission was too vague and did not display any mission progress. He did not know how far away he was from his target.

He would have to put in more effort if the dynasty did not help him.

“I understand,” Tarrokov said with resignation. “However, the dynasty is facing too much pressure.

If the target was an ordinary Star Cluster Civilization, the dynasty would be able to easily take care of the other party. However, things were not so simple when dealing with a Super Star Cluster Civilization.

Han Xiao shrugged. “If the pressure is too big, you can just open up the Evolutionary Totem sales.”

The Federation of Light and Arcane Church were pressuring the dynasty for the Evolutionary Totems. Since the dynasty refused to budge, the pressure that they faced would naturally increase.

In fact, it could be said that the dynasty was blocking his benefits. If he was allowed to openly sell the totems, he would be able to receive a new batch of orders and receive a never-ending stream of resources.

The individual who had the Evolution Cube in his hands would be able to grasp this huge business opportunity. As such, there were still upper echelons within the dynasty that wanted to snatch the Evolution Cube from Han Xiao so that they could receive the huge pie.

The Limitless Financial Group had not remained idle during the second exploration phase and continued to compete with the Germinal Financial Group.

“Ah, this isn’t something that I can participate in.” Tarrokov was not willing to talk about this and changed topics. “However, you don’t have to worry about the Modo Civilization. Just because the dynasty has its hands full right now doesn’t mean that we won’t punish the Modo Civilization. The dynasty plans to settle the scores in the fourth exploration phase.”

Hearing that, Han Xiao was excited.

The fourth phase would be when the Flickering World opened up to the outside world. This would be a good chance to settle the scores.

All the Super Star Cluster Civilizations were creating so much trouble so that they could receive more benefits from the Flickering World. However, when the Flickering World was opened to the outside world, would the Modo Civilization not be at the mercy of the dynasty when they were in the dynasty’s territory?

If the dynasty was even more vicious, they might be able to make the Modo Civilization return with nothing.

The Modo Civilization would have a bleak future if they were recorded in the dynasty’s little book.

Thinking about that, Han Xiao did not have any issues with their plan and thought to himself, The Primeval Star River is the other party’s territory, and it won’t be easy for me to take revenge on them. Things will be much easier when they are in the Flickering World.

This means that it would be likely for me to complete the second requirement during Version 4.0.

Han Xiao planned to remain low profile during this period to fortify his foundations. He could afford to wait.

Han Xiao then smiled at Tarrokov.

“Alright, I shall ‘take good care’ of them when they come to the Flickering World.”

Chapter 990: Go for Wool and Come Back Shorn

Chapter 990 Go for Wool and Come Back Shorn

After coming to an agreement on the matter regarding the Modo Civilization, both of them chatted about the Flickering World for a while before engaging in idle chatter.

Tarrokov took a sip of tea and said, “The dynasty’s research facility is now studying the Spacetime Splicing Technology. A few of my old friends there told me that this will be a new theoretical direction for research that will give birth to an extremely powerful technological skill. We will now be able to gain a new trump card in the spacetime field. This is all thanks to you.”

“This is a good thing. Even without me, the dynasty would’ve obtained the technology.” Han Xiao lowered his head and wanted to grab onto the cup on the table, only to have his holographic hand pass through the cup. He then looked at Tarrokov with resignation.

Upon seeing Han Xiao’s gaze, Tarrokov placed his cup down and coughed dryly.

“The Federation of Light has the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, but the dynasty’s spacetime research isn’t a match for them. This time, we obtained the Spacetime Splicing Technology, and we may be able to develop a trademark technology in the future. Thus, a confidentiality agreement cannot be helped.”

“I understand. This technology will not be spread out from me.” Han Xiao nodded.

In his previous life, the Spacetime Splicing Technology was monopolized by the dynasty. This time, the dynasty was not able to monopolize the technology and could only request that Han Xiao did not let it spread.

During this period, Han Xiao’s level and attributes were not increased by much, but he gained quite a few powerful abilities and talents. If the Mechanic Emperor attempted to infiltrate his database again, he would not be afraid anymore, and history would not repeat itself.

Tarrokov suddenly seemed to have thought about something and smiled. “Speaking of which, the Spacetime Splicing Technology is the greatest wealth of the Kunde Race Civilization. The Modo Civilization is obviously a step ahead of us in this respect, but they were made use of by others and are still hidden in the dark.”

“If the Modo Civilization knew that their plan didn’t only harm themselves but gave the dynasty a huge advantage, they’d probably regret it.”

The two burst out laughing together.

After laughing for a while, Tarrokov changed the topic and said, “With my status, it isn’t appropriate for me to ask you this question, but I still want to ask you… What are your arrangements with regards to your marriage?”

Han Xiao’s face suddenly became strange.

What? You want to be a matchmaker now?

With both of our statuses, it isn’t too good for you to ask me such a private question, right?

Tarrokov also had an odd look on his face but continued. “The dynasty places a huge emphasis on their alliance with you and also pays close attention to your lifestyle. Maybe you aren’t aware, but you are very popular among the daughters of the upper echelons.”

Upon seeing his look of resignation, Han Xiao understood what was going on.

A Universal Civilization generally would not interfere in the private life of a Beyond Grade A Super. However, the alliance between the dynasty and Black Star Army was currently in the honeymoon phase. The potential that the Black Star Army had displayed resulted in many of the upper echelons having high expectations in him. As such, the idea of a marriage alliance was born, but such matters could not be forced.

Although the dynasty did not have a royal family, a marriage alliance was still a common method to rope their allies in. A portion of the upper echelons had such thoughts, and the others were happy to see the marriage happen as well. With a marriage between the two, this would cause a change in their relationship. It would be much easier to take care of the Evolution Cube problem as well. Black Star could keep the Evolution Cube after the marriage, and the upper echelons would not find the matter that unacceptable.

On the other hand, a Universal Civilization had always placed huge emphasis on the various Beyond Grade A races. This would be a cradle for new Supers to be born. The dynasty also wished for Han Xiao to have his own children and Beyond Grade A race.

To put it simply, they were pushing him to get married.

The matter of an arranged marriage might not be Urranrell’s suggestion; it was probably the various upper echelons getting Tarrokov to pass on the message.

Seeing Han Xiao remain silent, Tarrokov could only continue. “If there’s time, you can participate in some of the dynasty’s banquets. There are many daughters who want to get to know you.”

They want to get to know me?

They probably want to sleep with me!

Humph, a guy needs to know how to protect himself. I will not give you such a chance.

“We can talk about this again later.” Han Xiao chuckled and changed the topic. “Does the dynasty have any other upcoming plans?”

“Let me think…” Tarrokov thought for oa moment, “Right, a Beyond Grade A from the Arcane Church has not appeared for a long time. It is a little strange.”

“Who’s that?” Han Xiao had not paid attention to such matters recently.

“Ninjia, do you still remember him? He is one of the members who attacked Planet Lighthouse. He was the one who escaped with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

“Oh, him.” Apart from Ninjia, the other Beyond Grade As of that group were sealed in the Spacetime Amber.

“Ninjia hasn’t appeared all these years, and the Arcane Church claim that he’s recuperating. However, as time’s gone on, things have become more and more suspicious. Even if he was recuperating, there’s no reason for him to not appear for a decade. There is probably a hidden reason behind this…”

“Is the Arcane Church lying?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Hmm, it’s possible that Ninjia is missing or already dead. I think that it is possible that Ninjia didn’t return with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and was intercepted by someone,” Tarrokov said with a deep voice.

“You mean to say… the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter isn’t in the hands of the Arcane Church, and they are only pretending that they have it?” Han Xiao stroked his chin. “I have already unsealed the few Beyond Grade As from the Arcane Church, but they have not requested that I unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter yet. Even if it is because they don’t think that the dynasty will agree, this excuse is a little flimsy.”

“That’s right.” Tarrokov shook his head. “However, it doesn’t matter who has the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Without your help, no one will be able to use it and pose a threat to us.”

“Hmm… This means that the dynasty will be the only party capable of using the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. We may even have a chance to purchase the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and make the once trump card of the Arcane Church ours.”

“It isn’t so easy. We still have to see the intentions of the upper echelons.” Tarrokov was not too optimistic about that.

Both of them then chatter for a while. Tarrokov said that he had a meeting to hold, and Han Xiao did not disturb him anymore.

After deactivating the long-distance projection, Han Xiao returned to his room and thought about their conversation.

“I will have to wait for the fourth exploration phase to finish my revenge against the Modo Civilization. I should make some preparations before Version 4.0.”

As he said that, Han Xiao opened Phillip’s database and looked at the current scale of the army.

After so many years of development, the Black Star Army had stabilized its position as the head of the Shattered Star Ring. Although it faced some challenges, their status would not be so easily shaken as long as he was around. The army had also received their own territory in the Flickering World and had plenty of room for improvement.

The Black Star Army had set up various divisions in the other Star Fields, but the scale of these divisions could not be compared to those in the Shattered Star Ring and Flickering World. Their main territories were still in these two Star Fields.

The second exploration phase was now on track. Although there would be more manpower being channeled in during the third phase, without an obstruction like the Kunde Race, the entire universe would be able to develop stably for the next ten years or so. The universe would only start to stir in the fourth phase.

“The army has sufficient time to build various facilities in the Flickering World during this period. The mechanical civilization and Black Spirit Race will also have sufficient time to develop.”

Next, he went through the pressure that he would be facing from the outside during this period.

There was no need to mention the Mechanic Emperor. The conflict of interests between them would not be resolved so easily. The Limitless Financial Group was also fighting for business with him and probably would not let up. Then, there was the World Tree Civilization, a time bomb that could turn the entire universe upside-down.

“There’s now the Modo Civilization on the list as well. There are truly many things to take care of.”

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

There were plenty of powerful enemies, and they were all extremely powerful. In order to deal with them, the strength of his faction and his own individual strength was extremely important.

“My strength will be able to grow quickly when the players return, and it will be much easier for me to take care of these problems.”

Although his efficiency in obtaining experience was not too low, it could not be compared to the frightening speed of harvesting leeks.

He was not planning to remain idle. Even if he could not increase his level, he was planning to make use of this time to search for the method to forge Universal Treasures. A Mechanic would have other ways to increase their strength.

It was already very good for a Beyond Grade A to have one Universal Treasure. Han Xiao already has two in his hands, but he would not mind having a third.

“The next batch of Beyond Grade As will be born in Version 4.0. Hehe, I have become a senior so quickly.”

Han Xiao shook his head. Thinking about this, he could not help but think about Hila, who was in training.

He missed Hila after not seeing her for some time. After leaving Planet Aquamarine, the two of them had rarely seen each other.

“She will probably step into the Beyond Grade A realm in Version 4.0.”

Han Xiao thought highly of Hila, and she was the only one who had the chance to become a Beyond Grade A among all his officers.

Hadavy, Lothaire, Feidin, and Lagi had potential, but they were too far away from becoming a Beyond Grade A.

“Perhaps I should think of a way to strengthen these officers.”

Han Xiao thought for a while and took out an intelligence report. This was EsGod’s intelligence about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

According to the information, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy would appear in Version 4.0. Although he would not be able to use this special Esper Ability, he could obtain it first before finding an appropriate host.

The chance was rare, but he was not planning on letting go of it.

…

In a strip club within the transportation hub of the Constellation Corridor, the atmosphere was boisterous. However, the atmosphere was the complete opposite in the corner.

There were two individuals sitting opposite each other. One of them was wearing a windbreaker, and his appearance could not be seen. The other was a sentient creature that had zits all over his body. He looked like a standing toad and had a pair of sunglasses.

“This is what you want.” The toadman took out a small disc and passed it to the other party before softly saying, “The information is inside.”

“Hmm.” The man in the windbreaker picked the disc up and walked away.

The toadman then called out to him and said, “I don’t understand. I backed out from the intelligence community a long time ago, and there are only a few who still know me. How did you find me? Who are you exactly?”

“Don’t you think it is very pointless to ask someone who is hiding his identity such a question?” the man in the windbreaker said with a hoarse voice.

He then boarded a galactic spaceship and left the transportation hub.

When he was in his room, he took off his windbreaker and revealed a pale face. It was Gaud.

Taking out a machine, he inserted the disc, and the information was displayed on the screen.

Gaud’s lips curled up slightly.

“That’s right. It’s information on the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy…”

Chapter 991: Galaxy Calendar: Year 729

Chapter 991 Galaxy Calendar: Year 729

On Planet Three Kings…

“There have been many assassination incidents recently, and public security is being affected badly. The identity of the assassin is unknown, but according to our investigations, the Crimson Dynasty’s shadow can be seen behind this matter. It is very obvious that Madison has failed, and his methods weren’t able to fool the dynasty.”

An important meeting was being held to discuss recent events, and everyone present had an ugly look on their face.

The continued assassinations of their government officials brought about social unrest, and many Modo citizens were living in fear.

With their safety under threatened, these high officials were all enraged.

A military officer with an explosive temper slammed the table and roared, “Too arrogant! Does the dynasty really think that we are a weak civilization that cannot fight back‽ If we work together with the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations in the Primeval Star River and refuse to listen to the rule of the three Universal Civilizations, we shall see what they do!”

“It is best to say fewer such words,” someone said.

The others present also did not treat those words seriously. Although all the Super Star Cluster Civilizations had plenty of resentment toward the three Universal Civilizations and wanted to replace the other party, gaining independence was a path of no return. Unless they had absolute confidence, no one would support such a notion.

After venting their anger for a while, they went back to the main topic and discussed how they should take care of the matter.

“We must first stop anymore assassinations from happening, but we cannot give in to the dynasty. They want us to admit to the crime of making use of the natives and compensate their losses in the war. They must be dreaming!”

“That’s right. Announce that this matter has nothing to do with us. If the dynasty is able to bring out evidence, insist that the evidence was forged.”

“Also, we must insist that the dynasty is assassinating our officials without any evidence and make an application to the Civilization Conference to denounce the dynasty’s actions. The federation and church will stand on our side. We will also be able to pull more Super Star Cluster Civilizations to our side. The universe isn’t ruled by the dynasty alone.”

Someone shook his head and said, “The Flickering World is about to be opened up, and there won’t be many willing to offend the dynasty during this period.”

“Then, what should we do? We can’t let the dynasty continue assassinating our officials, right?”

“Humph, we should give them a taste of their own medicine. Since they can assassinate our officials, we can also assassinate their officials.”

Another immediately objected. “Assassinate the dynasty’s officials? Have you forgotten what happened during the Tragedy of the Pinnacles?”

Upon hearing that, a look of anger could be seen on the faces of everyone present.

This was a humiliation that they had not forgotten. The Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations were engaged in an intense battle, and because of their heavy losses, they decided to make the Super Star Cluster Civilizations the scapegoat. Including the Modo Civilization, the three Universal Civilizations slaughtered all the Beyond Grade A Supers in the Super Star Cluster Civilizations before leaving as though nothing had happened.

This action of theirs damaged the strength of the various Super Star Cluster Civilizations greatly and resulted in a long-lasting negative impact. Many Beyond Grade A Supers became worried about their own safety and did not dare join a Super Star Cluster Civilization.

As such, the Modo Civilization knew that they would not be able to retaliate by assassinating the other party’s officials. If they did, a huge storm of blood would definitely be stirred up. The church and federation would not watch by the side and would work together with the dynasty to deal with them. The three Universal Civilizations would collaborate if it was to protect their prestige.

They had already experienced this many times before and could only endure silently.

“Don’t exaggerate this issue. The assassinations are only a small matter. The dynasty will know when to stop and won’t dare push us into a corner. However, we must also fight back and control the degree of our retaliation. We cannot touch the dynasty and can only take a step back to deal with the organization of their allies. However, we can only deal with the organization but not the Beyond Grade A.”

“I think Beyoni is very suitable. His organization is located in the Primeval Star River, and it will be easy to deal with him. We will also be able to show our attitude this way.”

In just a short few sentences, Beyoni’s bad luck was determined.

To a Super Star Cluster Civilization, apart from Manison, Kasuyi, or Black Star, an ordinary Beyond Grade A was nothing in their eyes. Even a Star Cluster Civilization would be able to get rid of a Beyond Grade A, not to mention a Super Star Cluster Civilization like them.

Since the dynasty assassinated our officials, we will definitely have to take revenge.

As for the fact that we are the ones who started this matter and are at fault…

So what?

We’re all gangsters anyway.

At this moment, someone said with worry, “What I am worried about is the fact that the dynasty may make use of this matter to restrict our entrance to the Flickering World.”

“What are you afraid of? The Flickering World will be opened eventually. Even the dynasty won’t be able to stop this from happening. If they insist on barring our entry, we can just create a huge fuss! The other Super Star Cluster Civilizations will stand on our side, and the dynasty won’t be able to endure the pressure!”

The Modo Civilization was not afraid that they would be barred from entering the Flickering World because of this.

All the Super Star Cluster Civilizations understood extremely well that even if the Flickering World was opened, the three Universal Civilizations would definitely suppress them. As such, they had formed an alliance of their own.

The Flickering World was a rare opportunity, and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations were willing to work together for this.

Even if the Modo Civilization was the only party being suppressed in the Flickering World, the other Super Star Cluster Civilizations would back them up. Although they did not like to help their competitors, fighting back against the three Universal Civilizations was more important. The Super Star Cluster Civilizations understood that they would be defeated if they did not stand together.

Furthermore, the dynasty was currently occupied with other things and could only use assassinations to warn the Modo Civilization.

The Super Star Cluster Civilizations had the confidence to fight the three Universal Civilizations. After all, they were different from other Star Cluster Civilizations. They no longer had the space to fawn over the three Universal Civilizations.

They could only fight and snatch.

…

In the Limitless Financial Group headquarters, Mechanic Emperor Manison, Void Overlord Kasuyi, and Beast Ancestor Gorutan visited Sorokin again.

“I wonder what the three of you need today?” Sorokin said with a calm smile.

“Do you still remember our deal?” Gorutan asked.

“Of course. I am in charge of competing with the Black Star Army and applying pressure to him to aid all of you in getting the Evolutionary Totems,” Sorokin said slowly.

“However, you don’t seem to be producing much results,” Kasuyi said.

The Black Star Army was able to withstand the pressure of the Limitless Financial Group, and the organizations behind the three were not satisfied.

“Ah,” Sorokin replied casually. “I already said that it wouldn’t be so easy to deal with the Black Star Army.”

“We hope that you will apply more pressure.”

“No problem.” Sorokin smiled. “However, I have already displayed sincerity, and it is now your turn.”

The three of them understood that Sorokin was asking them to fulfil a portion of their promises first.

“That isn’t a problem,” Manison said slowly.

“I shall wait then.” Sorokin smiled. “I also need an appropriate opportunity for my next plan.”

“What plan?” Gorutan asked.

Sorokin cleared his throat and slowly said, “After so many years of competition, we are stuck in a stalemate, and it will be difficult to have a new point of breakthrough in the Shattered Star Ring. Thus, I have my sights set on the Flickering World. That is the core of the Black Star Army’s development.

“I have some inside news. The dynasty will open the Flickering World in the fourth exploration phase. Many financial groups will be interested in fighting for this slice of cake at that time.”

He was already eyeing the opening of the Flickering World. He would be able to make use of various methods to pressure the Black Star Army at that time.

Since the Black Star Army had received the benefits of obtaining a territory, they would have to take the risks of managing it. Sorokin wanted to engage on a new battlefield with the army.

The Limitless Financial Group had plenty of different methods to use money to suppress the ordinary businesses of the Black Star Army within their territory.

Of course, Sorokin’s main objective was the growth of the Limitless Financial Group.

Compared to the benefits of the Flickering World, the cost of suppressing the Black Star Army was negligible.

…

Under the control of both parties, the conflict between the Modo Civilization and the Crimson Dynasty did not escalate further.

Both parties prepared their manpower and resources as they awaited the opening of the Flickering World.

Apart from a few small skirmishes, the galaxy was extremely calm.

Under such circumstances, the second exploration phase of the dynasty was completed smoothly, and the dynasty started the third exploration phase.

In those peaceful times, time crept by silently, and many years went by.

Without too many setbacks, the third exploration phase was coming to an end.

On the 15th day of the 7th month of the 729th year of the Galaxy Calendar, the Crimson Dynasty finally announced a piece of news that everyone had been waiting for.

The fourth exploration phase was about to start, and the Flickering World would be opened!

It was like a psionic bomb being set off!

The universe that had been peaceful for over a decade was stirred again!

Chapter 992: Incoming Storm 1

Chapter 992 Incoming Storm 1

News of the fourth exploration phase spread through the entire universe like a storm.

The entire universe had been waiting for this day for far too long, and every Star Field became bustling with excitement. The civilizations of the various regions all began to recruit manpower and purchase resources.

The normal galactic residents also became excited. They could not wait to explore the new Star Fields, and many of them wanted to try their luck to get rich or migrate over.

Countless troops and resources were being mobilized all over the universe. The dynasty had only announced the time, but before the official opening of the Flickering World, all the manpower and resources would have to wait in the Shattered Star Ring. As such, the Shattered Star Ring would become bustling with activity during this period.

The opening of a new Star Field would reshuffle the current state of the universe once more.

A huge tide of migrants flooded toward the Flickering World from all directions.

…

On a red mining planet, there were many prisoners mining for resources.

In the middle of a circular mountain range, there was a prison with a grayish exterior.

“Congratulations, you’re finally out.”

After stepping out from the surveillance region of the prison, even the air smelt sweeter. Looking at the usually stern prison guards smile at him, Evans felt as though it had been an eternity.

He could finally leave the stinky sweat filled prisoner attire and was dressed in a simple top with light luggage in his hands. It had been a long time since he was so at ease.

A floating device was stopped not too far away. This was the prison’s bus that was in charge of sending the prisoners to the space dock outside the atmosphere. At this moment, there was a man in military attire standing beside the bus waving at him.

Although it had been a long time since they last met, Evans immediately recognized the man in military attire.

He could not help but smile and hugged the other party.

“I am here to fetch you. How have you been all this while?”

“Work, eat, sleep—every day is the same.”

They were both extremely excited to meet each other after so long and felt as though they had endless conversation topics.

Evans sized his friend up and lamented, “Time really flies. You were only a skinny child running behind me before I went into prison. Who would have thought that you’d join the military?”

“You have also changed greatly. Don’t just stand there. Get on.”

Both parties then took the bus to the space harbor and took a spaceship to a colonial planet not too far away.

This prison was located on a mining planet surrounded by various colonial planets. There were plenty of different prisoners housed within the prison being laborers on the mining planet.

Evans’ friend had already booked a room in a famous hotel and treated Evans to a good meal.

It had been far too long since Evans last tasted anything other than nutrition fluid. He immediately gobbled down all the food before him and stuffed himself until he could not eat anymore.

Patting his bloated tummy, Evans let out a sigh of satisfaction.

At this moment, his friend took out a box and opened it up. There was a Galactic Communicator, a translator, and other necessities in the box. There was even a portable mechanical suit in it.

“I prepared all this for you. I also opened up an account for you with 15,000 Enas inside.”

“I will accept the other items, but you can take the Enas back. I don’t need it. I did receive a salary in the prison, so I have some money.” Evans waved his arms.

“How can that do?” his friend immediately exclaimed. “You saved my life before. If not for you, how would I have my current life? You must definitely accept my repayment.”

He had always been thankful toward Evans. Evans killed an evil Super back then in order to protect him and went to prison because of it.

The supernatural abilities of a Super would enlarge the darkness in some people’s hearts. They would attempt to seek a sense of superiority from ordinary individuals and humiliate or torture these individuals with their strength.

They had once met such a Super, and their lives had been threatened. Although Evans was only an ordinary person, he had managed to find a way to get rid of that Grade E Super.

His good friend was already a military officer and had awakened his Super Gene. However, it was a pity that Evans did not have a Super Gene and would remain an ordinary individual for all his life.

With Evans’ abilities, if he has the talent to become a Super, he would definitely be more powerful than me in future.

Sigh, it is a pity that this is his destiny.

“Haha, I shall accept your sincerity, but I don’t need your money. Don’t think of trying to repay me with material items if we are brothers,” Evans said with a smile.

“You can come over to my place if you are willing.” His friend refused to give up.

“You are already married. I cannot disturb you.”

“I can try to get rid of your past record if you want to enter the military.”

“It’s alright. I am an ordinary individual and will only be cannon fodder if I join the army.” Evans knew that it would be impossible for him to become a Super but was not too bothered about it.

He did not have the bad habit of lamenting about life. The way he saw it, rather than spend time lamenting, he might as well spend the time on practical actions.

“Then, what are you planning to do in the future?” his friend said with resignation.

“Hmm, let me find a job first and talk about the rest later.”

Evans then began browsing the web with his communicator to view the employment advertisements. He was startled the moment he saw the advertisements.

There were plenty of jobs available but the first criteria of all the jobs was the same.

‘Job location: Flickering World!’

As long as they could work in the Flickering World and were not a wanted individual, they would be hired!

His friend looked over and shook his head.

“The Crimson Dynasty has finally announced the opening of the Flickering World, and every organization is hiring more manpower.”

In his memories, the Flickering World was still in the Crimson Tide era. The universe had truly changed greatly during his imprisonment.

He then lowered his head and looked at the recruitment notice before nodding his head.

“Flickering World… let me go and take a look then.”

…

“It is finally going to open up.”

On the Star Pupil Holy Race’s home planet, Psyker stood in front of a window.

After the Planet Lighthouse incident, he had maintained a low profile to recover from his losses.

After more than ten years, the negative influence of him giving up the Evolution Cube was already gone, and he was still the noble leader in the eyes of many.

Although he was extremely close to the Flickering World, he could only watch as Black Star and the Tyrant gained an early advantage in the Flickering World because he was a member of the church. Psyker was extremely envious and anxious. He had been waiting for this day for a long time and also wanted a slice of the cake.

The way he saw it, the Flickering World was an opportunity for the Star Pupil Holy Race. He no longer needed to be restricted in the Shattered Star Ring. His current situation would only become worse as Black Star and the Tyrant developed themselves. As such, he needed to find a new way out for the Star Pupil Holy Race.

As such, the Arcane Church had an excuse to interfere and support him. The more the benefits he could obtain in the Flickering World, the better for his race.

As he thought about the past, Han Xiao’s figure appeared in his mind.

“Black Star… he has also remained silent for more than ten years. It seems like his strength has stagnated after reaching peak Beyond Grade A…”

Chapter 993: Incoming Storm 2

Chapter 993 Incoming Storm 2

It was the day for Black Star’s Party again, and the Black Star Army headquarters located in the Shattered Star Ring welcomed the representatives from many different organizations.

Over the past ten years, Black Star’s Party had become an iconic event of the army.

Compared to the first few years, there were many more participants with many of the organizations coming from other Star Fields. They were all organizations preparing to head to the Flickering World. With the Flickering World about to open to the outside world, many organizations wanted to have a good relationship with Black Star, who had territory in the Flickering World.

The number of explored Star Clusters would be increased to nine, and the Dawn Star Cluster, which was the entrance to the Flickering World, was being managed by the dynasty. Garu, Renault, and Crown, which were explored in the first exploration phase, had been split up to the dynasty’s allies, and their basic facilities had been completed. The five Star Clusters of the second and third exploration phase had plenty of room for development, and the dynasty was prepared to open more slots and get the various organizations of the universe to bear the cost of developing them.

The dynasty announced that the Black Star Army would be given two Star Systems, located in the Russo Star Cluster of the second phase and the Mark Star Cluster of the third phase. Only a small portion of the other allies had a territory assigned to them.

Unlike the first phase, the dynasty would not give out too many territories but considered arranging various National Pillars to maintain their control over the various Star Clusters.

Within the territory of the nine explored Star Systems, the Black Star Army was the organization that had the largest territory in the Flickering World, except for the dynasty. Thus, there were many organizations fawning over the Black Star Army and hoping to gain more benefits from the Flickering World.

The party was boisterous and filled with individuals from many different races. It was almost as though it was a gallery to view all the different races.

There were many who were joining in Black Star’s Party for the first time, and they gathered in small groups to chat with each other while gossiping about the various Black Star Army officers.

“That woman with a Star Cluster representative beside her is Chief Administrative Official Sylvia. She is Black Star’s head butler, and I heard that she is extremely capable. The one beside her is Fleet Commander Herlous, and his student Mia is beside him. She stepped into the Calamity Grade a year ago and uprooted a traitor of a galactic civilization organization that had a Calamity Grade Super single handedly. It is said that she is the lover of Nero, the heir to the Black Star Army.”

“… Look there. That is Vice Commander Lagi, the former leader of the Hidden Red Robe Abbey. He is also the principal of the Black Star Super Academy and entered the list of Beyond Grade A seeds last year. The one beside him is Tomar, a genius Mage. It is said that Austin wanted to rope him in a few years ago but was rejected by Black Star.”

“The individual reading blueprints in the corner is Reynold, who is in charge of logistics. The one beside him is the vice head of the intelligence department, Shazik. There is also the upper echelon of the Germinal Financial Group, Iapetus… Most of the important personnel of the Black Star Army are gathered here. I think that there are more than thirty Calamity Grade Supers present.”

“This is only a small portion of the Calamity Grade Supers in the Black Star Army. The elite Black Star Guards such as Hadavy and Feidin are all in the Flickering World. The entire Black Star Army has about sixty to seventy Calamity Grade Supers with two Beyond Grade A seeds.”

“Black Star has lived in seclusion for the past few years and almost never made any public appearance. It is only possible to see him during Black Star’s Party. I wonder if there will be a chance to talk to him…”

Just as everyone was chatting, a holographic projection appeared on the stage.

The attention of the guests was immediately attracted by the screen, and they all greeted the silhouette that had appeared.

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

Han Xiao nodded and smiled. “Welcome to the Black Star Army.”

With his current life span, a decade was no more than a snap of his fingers, and he did not seem to have aged the slightest.

With the main character appearing, the plaza became boisterous with plenty of people coming forward to chat with Han Xiao.

Han Xiao was already used to this and dealt with them with a smile.

According to his memory, a portion of these organizations were active in the Flickering World.

Apart from the three Universal Civilizations and Super Star Cluster Civilizations, some neutral civilizations and civilian organizations also played an important role in the Flickering World.

Because of Han Xiao’s hard work, the army had gained an advantage in the Flickering World and had nine Star Systems as their foundation. They could make use of their foundation to build ties with more organizations and form a large net of benefits. This was also the reason for the party today.

Han Xiao dealt with all those who approached him while searching through his memories to match these individuals to their organization.

The banquet was a very successful one, and after sending away the guests, the officers followed Han Xiao into his office.

“Army Commander, the Flickering World is about to be opened to the outside. We need to make sufficient preparations and be prepared to fight off the various large organizations,” Sylvia said.

Han Xiao nodded and replied, “Just go according to our plan.”

The army had been preparing for more than ten years and had already made all the relevant preparations.

When the Flickering World opened, it would also be the start of Version 4.0 and the time for the players’ return. At the same time, inter-Star Field transportation would also be activated for the players, and all the players would flood toward the Flickering World.

Compared to the other players, the players of the Black Star Army obviously had an advantage as they had come in contact with the Flickering World during Version 3.0.

Han Xiao had been waiting for this day for a long time. The Black Star Army now had the foundation to welcome the new version, and they would be the leeks for him to harvest.

Through his hard work, the Black Star Army had become the largest private organization in the Flickering World and could provide the players with even more benefits to attract them.

Over the past ten or so years, the strength of all his officers had improved, and he had not remained idle either. He had replenished his mechanical army and perfected his Dimension Factory. At the same time, he had converted more first-generation Mechanical Lives to aid in the development of the machinery civilization.

Although he still was not capable of forging a Universal Treasure, Han Xiao would send his mechanical army out from time to time to search for opportunities to obtain some talents. He had also accumulated plenty of Random Reward chances.

The experience that he had accumulated was all spent on increasing the levels of his skills to obtain Potential Points. As such, his level did not change much, and he was still around level 300.

Apart from this, Han Xiao also searched for more Energy Training Techniques to increase the upper limit of his energy.

Because of his interface, his training efficiency far exceeded the other Beyond Grade As, and the increase in his energy level was pretty substantial.

After over ten years of accumulation, Han Xiao’s foundation was no longer weak and could barely match up to his status of a peak Beyond Grade A Mechanic.

After remaining low profile for so many years, the outside world probably thinks that my strength has stagnated. I am already all prepared and only waiting for an opportunity. When Version 4.0 launches, my strength will be increased rapidly again…

Nero stood up and said, “Godfather, I have a request.”

“Speak.” Han Xiao looked over. Nero was already an adult, and although he still had a childish appearance and was still short like before, he had a far more stable aura.

Nero had acted as his right-hand man over the past few years and helped him greatly.

“I wish to apply for leave to accompany my father on Planet Aquamarine. I also wish to take Mia with me,” Nero said.

“Hmm, you should go back.”

Bennett was getting older and older. As the leader of Planet Aquamarine, he was extremely busy, and Nero would apply for leave to visit him from time to time. Han Xiao naturally did not stop him from doing so.

After checking on the work of all the officers, Han Xiao’s communicator suddenly rang.

Upon glancing at the caller, Han Xiao waved his arms and got his subordinates to leave the office before picking up the call. Tarrokov’s silhouette then appeared on the screen.

“Black Star, the Flickering World is about to be opened, and you should know what you need to prepare. I am calling you for something else.”

“Speak.”

“You should have paid attention to the newly ascended Beyond Grade As over the past few years, right? One of them chose to join the dynasty, and they will head to Planet Crimson Ring to meet Her Excellency Ruler. The dynasty is going to gather the Beyond Grade A allies to meet him. Are you planning to meet him?”

Every Beyond Grade A that joined the alliance had the same treatment, and it had been the same for Han Xiao.

Over the past ten years, a few new Beyond Grade A Supers had risen in the various Star Fields.

He was no longer considered a newbie.

After taking a look at the information that the dynasty had sent to him, Han Xiao was immediately tempted. This individual had joined the dynasty during this period in his previous life and made the same decision.

“Alright, I shall go and meet him,” Han Xiao agreed, and his thoughts began to drift.

Version 4.0 is about to open up. I wonder how Hila is doing.

…

At the same time, in the desolate universe belt, Ames floated outside the atmosphere of a planet and looked down at the boundless sea of red on the planet.

The red energy swept over the entire surface of the planet like a flood, and anything that came into contact with it disintegrated into dust.

The sturdy earth seemed to have turned soft, and the sea of red was still rapidly expanding.

All of a sudden, the red energy shot toward the sky with a red figure emerging from within it.

Her face was filled with the coldness of death.

Upon seeing that, Ames smiled.

“Welcome to the Beyond Grade A realm.”

Chapter 994: The “Whore“ of the Beyond Grade As

Chapter 994 The “Whore“ of the Beyond Grade As

The red energy that saturated the entire sky was quickly absorbed back into Hila’s body, and the red light within her eyes dimmed. However, her aura seemed as though she was a totally new person.

After twenty years of grueling training in the universe, Hila had finally taken this step. In her previous life, she had arrived at the Beyond Grade A realm earlier than this, so she had always had the potential.

After transforming into a Beyond Grade A species, Hila’s appearance became more refined, her skin was cleansed and flawless, and her genes were greatly optimized.

Though her growth rate could not be compared to Black Star, Ames was equally amazed by Hila’s talent. Compared to those who needed centuries to reach this stage, Hila’s special S Grade Esper Ability had greatly shortened her journey.

“How do you feel?”

Ames sized Hila up, her eyes glowing with appreciation, as though she was viewing a work of art.

“Miraculous.” Hila was sensing the changes and thoughtfully spoke. “So, this is the world in the eyes of the Beyond Grade A. Everything feels different.”

“Hehe, slowly experience and get used to it. We have plenty of time.” Ames slightly smiled.

Hila breathed out, a spark of excitement flashing across her eyes.

The me now should be able to barely catch up to Black Star.

I can… return.

Ames then controlled her force field, taking out the communicator and sending it to Hila’s side as she smiled. “Do you want to share this good news with him?”

Hila received the communicator, but after hesitating a few seconds, she shook her head.

“No, I’ll surprise him by personally returning.”

…

On Planet Crimson Ring, a saucer shaped spaceship pierced through the Psionic Seal Ring, slowly approaching Planet Crimson Ring. On the star bridge stood a huge figure in front of the porthole, silently staring at the growing Planet Crimson Ring.

This person possessed a bright silver body, and his skin was like flowing liquid metal. One could only see a pair of metallic eyes on his face, and any other places are as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the galaxy outside the window. He was not wearing clothes and possessed no sexual characteristics.

He was a newly born Beyond Grade A, having ascended just five years prior. He was considered a Beyond Grade A seed from the Sea of Star Spirits, and a hundred years ago, he had locked himself into the core of a dying star to cultivate in a perilous method that only gave a slim chance of survival. A hundred years later, like a cocoon, he broke out, transforming into a new life form born from the core of the star.

He abandoned his original name, naming himself ‘Silver Shadow’, and formed his own Beyond Grade A organization within the Sea of Star Spirits. Over the past few years, he had made a name for himself and developed rapidly, forming a base of operations within the Sea Of Star Spirits.

Silver Shadow had accepted the dynasty’s invitation, so he had traveled over to meet the Dynasty Ruler as well as the Beyond Grade As of the dynasty.

At this moment, one of his officers came up behind him and whispered, “Your Excellency Silver Shadow, we’re about to descend.”

“Hmm.” Silver Shadow’s voice was cold and brought with it the timbre much like a metal vibration. It was akin to an electronic sound without emotion.

The officer hesitated a while before asking, “Your Excellency, if I may ask, why are we choosing to join the dynasty?”

“Are you questioning my decision?” Silver Shadow did not even turn around.

“I do not.” The officer immediately refuted that. He had not joined Silver Shadow for long, so he did not dare offend him at this time. He spoke in a hesitant tone. “I just feel that the offers from the Arcane Church and the Federation of Light were much better.”

Silver Shadow did not deny that. “With the development of the Flickering World, the attraction the dynasty has now prevails over the rest, so the Federation and the Church have to pay higher prices. It’s not because they value me. Furthermore, the power distribution in the Sea of Star Spirits has reached saturation, and only the Flickering World can provide me with more room to develop. Thus, choosing the dynasty is the better option for me… However, this is not the main reason I chose to join them.”

“Then why?”

“The Evolution Cube… as well as Black Star.” Silver Shadow paused. “If not for the fact that Black Star, who has possession of the Evolution Cube, is with the dynasty, I would not have agreed to their invitation.”

“That’s right. The dynasty said that they were going to gather a few Beyond Grade As to meet you. Will Black Star come as well? If he’s there, you can make your request.”

“Heh, from what I know, those old Beyond Grade A fogeys seldom appear at such affairs. The most one will see is Urranrell’s bodyguard, Dark Lord Clotti. As for whether Black Star will come or not, I do not know,” Silver Shadow muttered. “But I would like him to come so that I can spar against him.”

“You wish to spar with Black Star?” The officer got a shock. “He rose to the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm more than a decade ago and is even recorded as one of the strongest Mechanical Deities. While he has been silent these few years, still…”

“I know what you mean. There’s no need to say any more. The Beyond Grade A circle within the three Universal Civilizations have always ostracized newcomers. If you want the right to speak, you have to prove it through your strength. Since I must fight, I might as well pick a stronger one.”

The Silver Shadow turned around, coldly remarking, “Dark Lord, Dragon King, and Illusory Deity. These three veterans have the highest status of the Beyond Grade As within the dynasty, and directly behind them would be Black Star, who only took a few decades to reach the Beyond Grade A realm. He is almost guaranteed to succeed the trio and will be the main pillar of the dynasty in the future, holding the most authority. In just twenty years, to grow to such a state, I’m extremely interested in him, and if he wants me to listen to him, I must experience just how good he is.”

Very quickly, the spaceship landed on the political core of Planet Crimson Ring, Tarunamir Palace. Silver Shadow brought his officers to exit the spaceship and followed the attendants to walk into the palace.

Boom!

At this instant, a strong overbearing Beyond Grade A pressure burst out, viciously pressuring him. This was obviously an opening gambit by the seniors.

Silver Shadow did not show any weakness, and the aura unique to a Beyond Grade A burst out from him and pushed back hard.

Bang bang bang!

Rings of invisible shockwaves seemed to burst apart in midair.

As though sensing his attitude, the Beyond Grade A pressure receded quickly like the tide.

“We’ll meet with the Ruler first.” Silver Shadow coldly gazed toward the direction of the aura before following the attendants to another location.

At the same time, inside a room far away, a few of the Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty were seated.

“The newcomers now are really arrogant. None of them are willing to bow their heads.” Beyoni sighed.

“That’s right. Thinking back, when I first fought Black… cough cough.” Viru embarrassedly coughed twice, sneaking a look at Han Xiao who was sitting at the head using his Lord’s Descent.

Han Xiao smirked and made a sarcastic remark. “That time, you couldn’t even beat a newbie like me.”

“That was different. You’re a special case that broke all records in history, and you’re even at the peak of Beyond Grade A now. Losing to you at that time… shouldn’t be too embarrassing, right?” Viru laughed hollowly.

“No, it was embarrassing.” Lotus Swordsman harshly shot him down.

Everyone could not help but burst into laughter.

Over the past few years, Han Xiao had already established a deep level of friendship with most of the Beyond Grade A allies in the dynasty. Due to his strength and legendary points, he had a greater say in this circle, only behind Dark Lord, Dragon King, and Illusory Deity. He had long shed his identity as a newcomer.

Among the dynasty alliance, only the stubborn little Ty-Ty refused to admit his influence; the rest all were in awe of him.

That day, there were nine Beyond Grade A present. Neither Milizaus nor Kant were there, but it was still more than when Han Xiao had arrived for the first time.

The last person to experience such a battle was Han Xiao himself. Seeing Silver Shadow was just like seeing the him of yesteryear, coming in with as much pomp and fanfare.

He was not interested in bullying the newcomers together with this group of Beyond Grade As, so he did not pressure Silver Shadow with his momentum like the rest. He chose to come because he wanted to see Silver Shadow.

If he remembered correctly, this Silver Shadow was a special existence among the Beyond Grade As. He had molded himself into something equivalent to a Universal Treasure during this life evolution, but right now, this ability should have awoken yet.

In the later version during his past life, Silver Shadow had an infamous nickname among the players—the ‘Whore’ of the Beyond Grade As!

According to incomplete statistics, during the World Tree Civilization battles, over twenty Beyond Grade As had ‘used’ Silver Shadow before.

Among them, the one who utilized his abilities the most was the late bloomer Karlot, which earned him the nickname of ‘Whore Monopolizer’ Karlot.

While Han Xiao wished to turn this ‘public good’ into a ‘private good’, this sort of thinking was a bit unrealistic, so he settled for making contact with the other party first.

At this time, Ravenlaude was surveying the audience. “We will most likely have to do a spar later. Who’s going up?”

“I have no interest.” Lotus Swordsman firmly refused.

“Don’t look at me.” Beyoni waved his hands. “You should know that I’m not good at solo battles.”

“I…” Viru hesitated a little. After the thrashing Han Xiao had given him, he was no longer that passionate about such matters and ended up shaking his head. “I won’t go up either.”

“Black Star, are you interested?” Maximiler looked over.

“I never fight unnecessary fights.” Han Xiao waved his hands in refusal. He did not have any intention of bullying a newcomer who should be worth befriending.

Moreover, they were on Planet Crimson Ring, the capital of the dynasty. He had not stationed much machinery there, and any machines that broke would need to be fixed.

By the side, Kohler, who was treated like transparent glass, finally opened his mouth in resignation. “Since none of you are interested, let me do it.”

Everyone cast their sight over, with suspicion on their faces.

Without any exaggeration, Kohler was the one recognized as the most noob, even taking Beyoni into account.

“I’m still a Pugilist class that specializes in individual battles. What sort of expressions are you guys showing‽” Kohler was embarrassed and angry.

“We’re afraid of you embarrassing us,” Lotus Swordsman said straightforwardly.

Taking advantage of the people teasing Kohler, Han Xiao scooted over to Beyoni’s side, whispering, “How’ve you been doing recently?”

“How else can I be doing‽” Beyoni replied in a not-so-polite manner. “Thanks to you, the Modo Civilization is constantly trying to suppress my race. The other day, those idiots even fired a long-range galactic missile toward my Land of the Fire Core, ploughing the entire landscape for me. Are you paying for the damages?”

“Nope, speak to the dynasty for compensation. It was them who allowed me to do so.” Han Xiao dryly coughed.

Over the past few years, Lothaire had been making waves within the Modo Civilization, assassinating target after target. He had already thoroughly offended the entire civilization many times over.

Modo naturally vented his anger on Beyoni, who was an ally of the dynasty. In those few years, he had been beaten black and blue, an innocent bystander dragged into the affair.

While Lothaire was cautious in handling matters, it was not as if he experienced no danger. Treading the thin line between life and death had allowed him to grow rapidly. While there was some measure of luck involved, it was not as exaggerated as Feidin and Nero, and more of relying on his own skills to escape the situation.

His Assassin’s Society was developing quite well, having already nurtured a group of interstellar killers. On paper, it was a bounty hunter organization within the black market, but in secret, they were Han Xiao’s Shadowers.

After chatting for a while, Silver Shadow’s aura suddenly drew closer. Everyone instinctively knew that his talk with the Ruler had already ended and put on a serious expression.

Swoosh.

The doors opened, and two people walked in. One of them was Clotti with a passive expression. He walked up until he reached Han Xiao’s side, taking a seat at the head.

The other was naturally Silver Shadow. He stood in the middle of the room, surveying the area and the Beyond Grade As present. Finally, his gaze stopped on Han Xiao’s avatar.

“You’re Silver Shadow from the Sea of Star Spirits?” Viru was the first to open his mouth, pretentiously sneering. “You don’t seem to respect us much.”

“Why should I respect you?” Silver Shadow indifferently replied.

By the side, Kohler coldly laughed. “How arrogant. A pity, this place is the Crimson Dynasty. The dynasty does not allow such prideful characters to exist.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao immediately cast a glance at him.

Why does that sentence sound so familiar?

Silver Shadow turned to Kohler, and after being silent for a while, he finally said, “There’s someone like you in the dynasty? I’ve never heard of you.”

Kohler’s gaze turned frosty. He was originally only pretending, but having been insulted, the person in question could not suppress his rage.

“Within the Beyond Grade A circle, status and authority are earned by strength. I believe you understand this rule as well.” Kohler pushed his hands against his kneecaps, leaning forward. “You’ve come to the Ruler’s side as an ally of the dynasty, but you haven’t earned respect among us. Do you dare you spar against me?”

“You? Forget it, you’re not my opponent.”

Silver Shadow’s tone was calm, as though he had just spoken a fact.

Without waiting for Kohler to continue, he turned to look at Han Xiao, leisurely saying, “If I must spar, I will of course choose someone stronger. Black Star, do you have the guts to fight me?”

Han Xiao was stunned in place.

Why did it suddenly become my problem?

I only came here to support you.

The eyes of everyone present lit up, and a look of interest crossed their expressions.

There were people, who after stepping into the Beyond Grade A realm, felt that their strength had no limits and would like to leapfrog to directly challenge those at the peak. This sort of mentality often appeared in the Beyond Grade As, so people did not find Silver Shadow to be weird.

It was just like how a newborn calf might dare to challenge a tiger. The spirit of daring to challenge someone stronger was also a good mentality.

Han Xiao was about to decline, but he discovered a notification on his interface and immediately swallowed his words.

Glancing at the notification, he almost let out a cry.

Silver Shadow had initiated the battle, which directly triggered the mission for battling against the Beyond Grade A. Just as had happened against Heber and Manison, not only was the experience reward good, he even had the chance to draw a skill from the other party.

After so many years of research, Han Xiao was now more aware of the trigger mechanism for such missions. If the other party took the initiative to request a battle, then the rate of the mission appearing was insanely high. Right now, while there were only a few people within this room, they could all be considered big shots within the universe, so there was sufficient influence to activate the mission.

This newcomer is too generous, to actually give me a skill the moment he showed up… Han Xiao could not help shaking his head.

“Alright, no need to be aggressive. I can agree to that.”

Silver Shadow nodded before suddenly saying, “Just sparring itself is pointless. Shall we have a bet as well?”

Han Xiao was curious. “What do you want to bet?”

“I wish to borrow the Evolution Cube. If I gain the advantage or even win in this battle, please accede to my request. If I lose, I can fulfil any request you have of me, so long as it does not cross the line.”

“Done. It’s a small matter.” Han Xiao nodded. He did not lose out in any way.

At this moment, the cold-faced Clotti opened his mouth. “Go fight outside the Psionic Seal Ring. Don’t fight near the mother planet.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao suddenly felt a strange feeling in his heart.

You seem to have also said this the previous time, and it was even the exact same wording. You just came here to be a referee, right?

…

Urranrell stood by the window at the office within Tarunamir Palace. She raised her head to see a group of Beyond Grade As rising like spaceships, disappearing beyond the horizon.

“Ruler, have Black Star and the rest left?”

There were several other upper echelons within that room, consisting mostly of advocates of the Evolution Cube being handed over. Among them was the hawk faction Bekorodi, as well as Ludwell, who previously owed Han Xiao a favor.

Urranrell turned around, indifferently commenting, “Hmm. It seems that Clotti said they went beyond the Psionic Seal Ring to battle.”

“That…” Bekorodi mused for a while before saying, “Your Excellency Ruler, what do you think of our plan then?”

Urranrell’s brow creased. “Gaud’s ability is indeed the first of its kind, but we can’t even do anything with our techniques. Are you sure of the success?”

“Right now, no.” Bekorodi shook his head. “He only told me that, as long as he reaches the Beyond Grade A level, his Esper ability will allow him to analyze the principle behind the Evolutionary energy. You also know how miraculous the powers of Espers are.”

“Beyond Grade A…” Urranrell shook her head. “He thinks that he will reach that realm for sure? Even so, how long does he even need?”

“Not sure. We can only wait.”

Hearing this, Urranrell could not help but fall into silence.

Seeing this Bekorodi could not help but push some more. “Your Excellency, this is a good chance. Black Star has already proved that it is nigh impossible for the dynasty to obtain the Evolution Cube from him. We cannot use any domineering methods against him, but if we can dissect and analyze the energy ourselves and replicate it, Black Star will have no excuses. This is not offending him, and he has no grounds to forbid us studying the Evolution Cube, so even if he’s dissatisfied, he can’t do anything!”

“I know.” Urranrell’s brows were still furrowed. “But Gaud’s request is for him to come into contact with the actual body of the Evolution Cube. If his goal is discovered by Black Star, this may anger him.”

“This is a small risk, but we’re not trying to snatch the cube, so it isn’t so serious. Furthermore, Gaud has always been someone our dynasty supports, so it is natural that we provide him the quota for the Evolution Cube.”

Urranrell was still hesitant. The Evolution Cube was Black Star’s, and the dynasty could not snatch it, but it would be a different matter if they managed to create one themselves.

From a personal viewpoint, Urranrell did not have any problems with Black Star and was even pleased with his performance.

However, as the Ruler, she had to consider the issue from the standpoint of the dynasty. The benefits of the Evolutionary Totems were too great, and they had to be recharged every decade or so. Allowing an ‘outsider’ to monopolize it was not something the dynasty was comfortable with.

“This is not necessarily to snatch away the interests of Black Star but to prevent the outcome of Black Star losing the Evolution Cube some day. It’s better for the dynasty to study the mystery of the Evolution Cube in advance as a backup.” Bekorodi struck while the iron was hot.

“He makes sense,” Ludwell added.

Speaking of whom, Ludwell had owed Han Xiao a favor, but in previous years, he had taken the initiative to invest within the Shattered Star Ring, suppressing the Limitless Financial Group, which was in a way repaying his favor.

Today, he did not go against Bekorodi but rather supported this plan. It was not because he had issues with Han Xiao, but rather, from a professional viewpoint… the success rate of this proposal seemed quite high.

Urranrell thought for a while longer before sighing and replying, “Bekorodi, Black Star will come over later. You can use your name to invite him to discuss the matter of exchanging the Evolution Cube with something else one last time.

“If he still rejects, then put that plan into motion. Remember, the fewer people who know about this, the better. This is especially so for Black Star. If he finds out, he will definitely think of ways to prevent it.”

Hearing this, Bekorodi and the others in the room had expressions of joy and immediately nodded in response.

“Understood.”

Chapter 995: Exchange Three for One?

Chapter 995 Exchange Three for One?

It did not take long for the whole group of Beyond Grade As to arrive outside the Psionic Seal Ring, and the group chose an uninhabited area for the battlefield.

Han Xiao and Silver Shadow separately from the group, facing each other. The other Beyond Grade As stayed outside the battlefield and chatted animatedly, with Lotus Swordsman even building a mental network for them to communicate.

“To actually choose Black Star as his opponent, I’m not sure how long this Silver Shadow can last.” Viru shook his head.

“Even if he beat Kohler, his authority would be second last,” Lotus Swordsman indifferently replied. “Instead, he might as well choose Black Star. As long as he can pose problems for Black Star, the effect will definitely be better than fighting Kohler.”

Kohler frowned. While this is the truth, can you be less hurtful in your comments my friends!

Ravenlaude pondered, “Silver Shadow seems to have quite a lot of confidence. Maybe he has some special talent.”

“I heard he’s a pugilist, but he looks more like an Esper.”

“I’ve checked through his history, and his speed is the astonishing factor. I heard that he even has some special flying skills, allowing him to continuously accelerate to warp speed. It seems like he has a void bloodline.” Maximiler pointed to Silver Shadow in the distance. “Furthermore, look at his body surface using microscopic vision. The seemingly smooth silver surface is actually covered with extremely small mana circuits, which most likely come from the Beyond Grade A mages of the Sea of Star Spirits.”

Hearing this, the Beyond Grade As all adjusted their vision and entered their microscopic view, and they discovered that there was indeed a dense energy circuit covering Silver Shadow, much like a semi-invisible tattoo.

“There are several Beyond Grade A mages residing within the Sea of Star Spirits, but such an insane way of inscribing magic circuits should belong to the [Secret Master] of the Elderly Association. While the Secret Master is one of the controllers of behind the scenes of the galactic black market, he belongs to the neutral faction. Still, his fees are not cheap, so it seems like Silver Shadow must’ve bled quite badly.”

Ravenlaude got unhappy. “What Elderly Association? It’s called the Ancient Ones!”

Lotus Swordsman was focused on another point, and she squinted. “He has too many enchantments on his body. To be able to withstand such a load, his fleshly body should be quite strong.”

“Oh, this is indeed the case,” Beyoni said in resignation. “However, no matter how strong his fleshly body is, can it be stronger than Black Star’s?”

“Good point.”

With Han Xiao as a shining example, no one was surprised anymore when they saw any meat shields.

“Speaking of which, ever since his battle with the Mechanic Emperor, Black Star has not fought anyone in the past twenty years. After reaching this stage, he most likely won’t be able to maintain that startling growth speed.” Viru shook his head.

Even Clotti who was usually silent could not help but say, “Upon reaching the limits known to man, climbing further will require one to break through the limits into a whole new path. Throughout history, there were many who tried and failed. It’s more difficult than it seems.”

As they chatted, Han Xiao and Silver Shadow also began their battle.

The mechanical host carrying avatar floated in the universe with a small mechanical army. Its dark armor flickered constantly with blue and gold Mechanical Force.

He, the mechanic, stood still while the Pugilist Silver Shadow was the one who took the initiative to put some distance between them.

This sort of situation was rarely seen, but everyone shared a glance, their eyes twinkling with laughter. In the entire universe, it was probably only the Mechanic Black Star that no pugilist dared to face head on.

From afar, Silver Shadow circled around Han Xiao, looking for openings and opportunities to attack.

Looking at him making circles around him, with no intention to attack, Han Xiao could not help but open his mouth.

“How long are you going to circle me? Come and attack!”

Silver Shadow did not reply, only continuing to circle around. He gradually accelerated, flying faster as his body began to blur. He was akin to a silver comet, leaving behind a series of silvery afterimages like a flaming tail of a meteor.

Through his Void Vision, Han Xiao could clearly see that the speed of Silver Shadow was not only fast—the space around him had distorted slightly, constantly warping at the rear to form the shape like a tidal wave, which allowed him to ride the waves to provide additional acceleration.

At the same time, there was a familiar Void Energy fluctuation coming out of Silver Shadow, which proved that the other party also possessed some Void Genes.

Han Xiao was quite clear of the general abilities of Silver Shadow. At the Beyond Grade A realm, Silver Shadow had a few obvious characteristics. One of them was speed, or his ability to maintain near warp speed for prolonged distances. At his peak, he could even reach actual warp speed.

The second was that his body was extremely tough and nearly indestructible.

The third was a rare racial talent.

And his fourth was the ‘whore’ effect.

Silver Shadow did not have a high HP count, but his defense was extremely exaggerated, to the point that even Heber could not compare with him. This was related to his attributes as a living Universal Treasure.

Due to his various special abilities, Silver Shadow’s actual combat capability was pushed up to the level of Heber or Viru despite him being a new Beyond Grade A, above the likes of Kohler and Beyoni. He was probably only weaker than Maximiler, Ravenlaude, and Lotus Swordsman, who belonged to the middle ranks, as he had a great shortcoming in his spiritual attributes.

As one of the dynasty’s allies with the strongest combat capabilities, Han Xiao carried himself calmly and did not mind allowing Silver Shadow to display all his means. After all, the other party was someone who had a special role. It was worth it to allow the other party to play his own style and obtain more authority to speak within their circle.

It was not that Han Xiao was arrogant, but he knew his baseline. He had already calculated the entire battle scenario time and again in his heart, and the conclusion was set.

Just with his current strength, he had enough ability to control the entire battle situation. He did not need any fancy moves to deal with Silver Shadow, he just needed to F2A[1], and everything would be settled.

With such an overwhelming advantage, how could he lose‽

No matter how flowery the opponent’s skills were, a raise of his hand would be enough to annihilate them.

Thus, Han Xiao patiently waited for Silver Shadow to speed up, only occasionally letting his machines shoot from a distance.

Finally, Silver Shadow felt that he was sufficiently warmed up and suddenly turned around, shooting like a beam of light straight toward Han Xiao’s mechanical troops.

With permission from Han Xiao, the battle AI Sparta immediately responded, opening the spacetime stabilizer to lock down the area.

With the increase in spatial stability, Silver Shadow’s speed was affected as part of his speed came from the distortion and warping of space. Even so, his speed remained quick, to the point that Calamity Grades would not be able to discern where his true body lay, only seeing a silver streak.

Relying on his high speed, Silver Shadow started to clash against the machinery. The psionic cannons’ shots mostly went wide, and the few that contacted were stopped at the psionic energy matrix shield that was formed from his silver pugilist flames, unable to penetrate.

After fighting for a while, Silver Shadow turned and rushed toward the psionic shield of the mechanical troops like a silver comet.

Before impacting, the silver comet suddenly changed, splitting up like a cluster warhead and turning into hundreds of tiny silver meteors. They scattered in all directions in an instant, bypassing the limited area of the shield and penetrating the mechanical troops’ formation.

Each sub-body was a silvery liquid-like metallic substance, which were reduced versions of Silver Shadow and all part of his body.

This was his racial talent, which was brought about by the mutation within the star nucleus. His body could achieve the effect of splitting itself on a nano level, as well as freely take on all shapes and sizes.

Furthermore, the split selves also possessed a considerable fighting capacity. Because his total overall strength remained unchanged, the combat capability of each smaller self would depend instead on its size. Silver Shadow’s Void genes allowed him to use the void dimension to obtain energy to boost each smaller self.

Silver Shadow’s Universal Treasure talent brought him insane defense, which would not be differentiated by size. So, even if each smaller self did not possess the same strength as its main self, it was nigh indestructible, which was his advantage.

Because of this special skill, within the suffering Pugilist class, Silver Shadow was akin to a billionaire in a society, not needing to bow to anyone to survive.

A few of the split selves rushed through the mechanical soldiers at great speed, but due to the separation in strength, the attacks were fast but could not pierce through the armor of the mechanical soldiers, only leaving traces on the surface.

The majority of his selves merged together again, turning into a childlike version of Silver Shadow, and went straight to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao’s avatar did not move, only releasing a faint blue arc from his eyes. [Virtual Paramount] struck directly into Silver Shadow’s soul!

The next moment, Silver Shadow lost control of his body, barreling out of control!

Even his smaller selves lost control and were easily captured.

Han Xiao twisted slightly, avoiding Silver Shadow, and reached out to grab his ankle, pulling him back.

Silver Shadow’s weakness was spiritual attacks, but [Virtual Paramount] did not just contain a mental attack but also the difficulty of Virtual Technology. It would take Silver Shadow a long time to escape from the skill normally, not to mention that Han Xiao’s virtual technology and level suppression would only increase the difficulty.

Nano-mechanical tentacles extended from behind the avatar, firmly binding Silver Shadow with three layers. At the same time, the tentacles were outfitted with electromagnetic, space and other control devices. Disc-shaped miniature cannons popped out from Han Xiao’s shoulders, suspending over Silver Shadow.

From afar, the mechanical army also caught up, turning their weapons toward the restricted Silver Shadow, and released the reverse psionic shield, locking Han Xiao and Silver Shadow within the small confined area. In this manner, even if Silver Shadow wished to rush out, he had to break through the shield in order to gain distance to accelerate.

Silver Shadow finally got out of the shackles from Virtual Paramount and received great mental injuries in doing so, being inflicted with many negative statuses. The moment he regained consciousness, he discovered that he had been fully bound up.

“Do you want to continue?” Han Xiao communicated within the mental network with a jovial tone.

“… This sort of battle can’t hurt me.” Silver Shadow struggled for a while before realizing that it would be hard to extricate himself. He then decided to pull out his head, separating himself from his body and turning into a miniature version of himself.

“I know, your body is extremely durable, and my troops can barely harm you.” Han Xiao nodded and smiled. “However, just this point is not enough to gain the advantage against me… Believe me, I have sufficient experience in this regard.”

In fact, he was the natural counter to Silver Shadow. If he had utilized the Spacetime Amber, with Silver Shadow’s smaller frame, it would have been easy to encase and seal him within before slowly weakening him. However, this was only his avatar, so the Spacetime Amber was not with him.

Silver Shadow sighed before hiding his arrogance and nodding. “You’ve won.”

He originally wanted to rely on his high speed and the ability to split up his body to gain the upper hand for a while. He had no confidence in being able to defeat Black Star, even if this was just an avatar.

But the offensive that he had been preparing for a long time was dissolved by Han Xiao easily, and he ended up falling straight into the grasps of his opponent. This allowed him to feel the disparity between their abilities.

With more than half of his body currently trapped by Han Xiao, it was pointless to continue fighting. Furthermore, Black Star had given him face and allowed himself to display his strength. Silver Shadow understood that clearly and did not wish to fight for a lost cause. While he wanted a strong opponent, he would not seek ridicule needlessly.

Hearing this, Han Xiao released the restraints, and Silver Shadow regained his original body. Han Xiao laughed. “Now you owe me one.”

“What will you have me do?” Silver Shadow asked.

“Er, just remember it for now. I’ll look for you when I need your help.” Han Xiao thought about it before deciding to shelve the matter.

He actually wished to research Silver Shadow’s body, to activate the Universal Treasure hidden attribute, but they did not have that good of a relationship. To suddenly suggest such an absurd thing… this was a dangerous topic for all Beyond Grade As.

So, it was better to cozy up to him first. This was not a one-off matter, so a better relationship would allow him more usages of Silver Shadow if need be.

In the past, Karlot was a good friend of Silver Shadow’s, so he was about to enjoy such personalized service free of charge.

Speaking of which, Karlot should have entered the dynasty army right now. While he was still far away from the time he was supposed to take shape, it was unknown if history would change due to Han Xiao’s interference.

“Ok, I’ll remember it.” Silver Shadow nodded.

“If you have time, you can come over to the Shattered Star Ring or Flickering World to look for me. If you have any problems, I can help too.” Han Xiao laughed in return.

Silver Shadow nodded quietly, accepting Black Star’s friendliness. Black Star sounded like an older brother right now and was just lacking the words ‘I’ll protect you’.

He felt a little emotional in his heart.

All the other Beyond Grade As were trying to make things difficult for him, but only Black Star was different. This was the attitude that the future pillar of the dynasty should have!

Seeing that the battle had ended, the rest of the Beyond Grade As flew toward them.

The result of the battle was not out of anyone’s expectations, but the calmness with which Black Star had handled this battle left everyone sighing in awe. In just twenty years, Black Star’s bearing no longer gave one the feeling of a maverick who did not stick to conventional means but rather a straightforward suppression, easily pulling it off.

While they did not cross swords, everyone could judge what would happen to them if they were faced with Silver Shadow’s skills. Their conclusion was that while Silver Shadow might be a newcomer, his combat capabilities were good. Even Kohler or Beyoni might not be able to win.

This was especially so for Kohler. He was secretly thankful that Silver Shadow did not accept his invitation to spar, or else it would have been really embarrassing.

However, Black Star could deal with Silver Shadow so easily. It represented the gap between their realms.

Other than Clotti, the respect that the other Beyond Grade As had for Han Xiao deepened.

Upon returning to the spaceship, the group set up to return to Planet Crimson Ring. While Han Xiao chatted with Silver Shadow, he summoned the interface and saw that the mission of fighting against Silver Shadow had already been marked as ‘completed’.

However, he did not settle it immediately, instead choosing to wait until he returned. He had to molest Feidin before he drew his reward—this ritual could not be skipped.

…

Once they returned to Planet Crimson Ring, they exchanged communicator numbers before Silver Shadow bid his farewell, returning to his quarters to rest.

Han Xiao was about to release his Lord’s Descent, when a member of the dynasty’s army approached him.

“Your Excellency Black Star, Mister Bekorodi requests an audience with you.”

“Bekorodi?” Han Xiao knew that this guy was the most important leader of the hawk faction, totally not in line with him. They did not have many dealings, so he curiously asked, “What is he looking for me for?”

“He wishes to discuss with you the problem of the Evolution Cube.”

Han Xiao was surprised. Over the past few years, the federation and church did not stop their pressure, which caused many of the dynasty’s upper echelons to question the ownership problem of the Evolution Cube. Bekorodi was one of the hardcore supporters of the dynasty owning the cube. That much, Han Xiao knew.

Then, what does he wish to talk to me about?

Han Xiao was a little curious and nodded. “Alright, please lead the way.”

“Please follow me.”

The dynasty officer guided Han Xiao to a government building, passing through layers of restrictions, before they arrived at a secret conference room.

Han Xiao went in and saw an old yet majestic dynasty official seated at the head. His skin was stretched, the wrinkles deeply carved, and his nose a little big. With his dead-set eyes and mouth, he looked like a stubborn man.

“Nice to meet you, Black Star. I’m Bekorodi. This should not be our first time meeting.” Bekorodi squeezed out a small smile.

Han Xiao sat on the other side of the conference table as he replied, “It’s the first time we’ve met in private though.”

He had only seen this person during the meeting of the senior officials of the dynasty, but they had not communicated much.

“I’m not a person who likes to talk nonsense, so I’ll get straight to the point.” Bekorodi supported his hands on the table and spoke in a deep voice. “The dynasty hopes to exchange items for your Evolution Cube. The conditions can be freely raised by you.”

Wanting to exchange for my Evolution Cube? Han Xiao’s eyes moved.

In fact, such signs had appeared a long time ago, but this was the first time the dynasty had approached him directly.

“This should not be your personal intention, right?” Han Xiao gave a smile that was yet not a smile.

“That’s right. I hope you understand. This is no personal grudge, and the reason we did not do so in the past was because the Evolution Cube was not worth much. However, the Evolutionary Civilization blueprints that were in the EsGod’s hands use the cube as the core of their technology, so its importance has changed. The dynasty hopes to obtain such a strategic Universal Treasure, but we had not asked you up till now because of the Ruler’s support for you.”

Han Xiao nodded. This was understandable. As a civilization, there were a lot of points to consider, and they would only be reassured if they could hold the strategic level object in their own embrace.

Not to mention the Crimson Dynasty, be it the federation or the church, as long as the Evolutionary Totem as well as a bunch of related techniques appeared in their hands, they would also make the same choice.

If he was a Beyond Grade A of the civilization, the rest would probably have forced him to give it up directly, rather than talking conditions.

Since he was an external ally, the dynasty could not force him to hand over his items, or it would result in a negative impression.

For the advanced civilizations, a Beyond Grade A was merely used as a tool for war, and the civilization itself was the main character of the universe instead.

However, to a Beyond Grade A, there were few who were actually willing to help a civilization to the end. They were merely exchanging services and benefits.

“Letting me make conditions at will, this is really generous…” Han Xiao smiled. “There should be an upper limit though. How about you make an initial offer?”

“Good.” Bekorodi nodded. “The dynasty is willing to use a Universal Treasure to exchange for your Evolution Cube.”

Han Xiao shook his head. “You’ve already said so yourself. The Evolution Cube’s meaning has changed. Wouldn’t a one to one exchange be detrimental to me?”

“You’re mistaken. It’s not a one to one.” Bekorodi smiled before dropping the bombshell. “Three Universal Treasures in exchange for the Evolution Cube! This is a sincere offer from the dynasty. What do you think about it?”

[1] F2A should be describing a macro bot in Starcraft that was so powerful that all it needed to do was to press F2 (select all armies) and then A (attack) to win any battle.

Chapter 996: Tricky Question

Chapter 996 Tricky Question

“Three for one?” Han Xiao jumped in surprise.

It seemed like the dynasty was prepared to bleed. Just by the amount, they indeed were expressing their sincerity.

A Universal Civilization would naturally have the technology to craft Universal Treasures, and with their many years of accumulation, they should have a lot in stock.

Bekorodi tapped on the table, and a screen popped out in front of Han Xiao.

“This is the exchange list provided by the dynasty. You may choose any three of them listed.”

Han Xiao glanced at it and immediately knew that the Universal Treasures on the list were not the complete inventory of the dynasty.

Thinking about it, he then opened his mouth to ask, “What if I want other Universal Treasures from the dynasty?”

“If you wish to exchange for those outside the list, then there will not be the privilege of three exchanging for one. Furthermore, there are important assets of the dynasty that cannot be taken out for the exchange. I hope you understand this point. Other than that, if you wish to customize a Universal Treasure, you may suggest it to the dynasty. However, it needs to undergo a review,” Bekorodi said.

That’s within my expectations… Han Xiao nodded.

Just think about it, the three for one could not be without conditions, and they would definitely not use their own strategic-level Universal Treasures to acquire his Evolution Cube.

Whatever they were willing to exchange was those they opened to everyone, which was also the Universal Treasures not too important to the civilization.

The importance of Universal Treasures was dependent on their specific role. From Han Xiao’s perspective, they were akin to magical items, with the top being held by strange, unsolvable mysteries such as the Spacetime Amber. There were also many kinds of man-made Universal Treasures, such as Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells, Beyoni’s Land of the Fire Core, or the Arcane Church’s Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

The Evolution Cube was the core of the technology from the Evolutionary Civilization, and this technology had since been lost, only leaving behind a series of technological applications.

With the legacy from EsGod being revealed, many advanced civilizations would also have obtained the data, which meant that whoever obtained the Evolution Cube would inherit part of the core technology from a quasi-Universal Civilization, completely exclusive to them. This was naturally of great significance.

Han Xiao pondered while scanning the exchange list again, secretly analyzing the pros and cons.

In his previous life, during the World Tree Civilization war, the three Universal Civilizations took out large stacks of Universal Treasures to equip the Beyond Grade As with, including quite a few Universal Treasures that he had seen on the list today.

Among them, magic and mechanical equipment occupied the most of them, and the majority were meant for individual scale battles, such as armor, melee weapons, or special devices.

A small part of them would be special purpose Universal Treasures, most of which Han Xiao knew about from his previous life. For example, there was an item called the Shadow Lantern, where the wick was made up of the source energy fragment of the shadow dimension, and the ‘light’ it emitted was pure shadow. It possessed many special effects, with the main effect to open the dimension portal and transform the area into a dangerous dark dimension, changing the existences of everything in the area, as well as inviting shadow creatures from beyond.

Another example would be the Key of Destruction. This was one of the defining technologies of the Crimson Dynasty, which could be mass produced and even used by ordinary citizens. Its effect was to remotely call upon the firepower of the various armies of the dynasty.

However, this required the dynasty army to cooperate. Most of the dynasty’s armies were equipped with a Key of Destruction. When activated, a special secondary dimension would be opened, and the armies would launch a cannon salvo, which would be temporarily held in the secondary dimension and transported over to the summoner.

The summoner would then release it to attack at their desired location. The range was extremely wide, enough to clean up everything in the area. However, because it was an indiscriminate attack, it was only used as a last resort.

Compared to the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, the Key of Destruction was not as flexible and was affected by spacetime stabilizing anchors, magic, or Psionic Seal Rings. However, it had its advantages of being portable and high-volume production.

As long as the operating procedures were known, even mortals could use this, but this was not a good that could be sold, and the dynasty would only give this out during special missions.

When caught unaware, even Beyond Grade As could be killed by the volley of firepower. Throughout the exploration era, the dynasty used this technology to kill many of the original pioneers, leaving them without a complete corpse. However, with the development of space technology, the Key of Destruction was now slightly outdated, and everyone knew to guard against this trick of the dynasty’s.

In addition, there were also miscellaneous items, such as golden blueprints left by the previous Beyond Grade A mechanics or magic equipment forging diagrams from mages and so on.

The dynasty had a lot stashed away and wanted to exchange their unused stuff for the Evolution Cube.

As for what the dynasty did not study or understand, it would naturally not be included in the list. Han Xiao initially wanted to take advantage of this loophole, but it was a pity that the other party did not give him a chance.

After patiently waiting for a while, Bekorodi asked, “How is it? Have you made your decision?”

“Oh…” Han Xiao breathed out before shaking his head. “This is too sudden, and I’ve not thought about it properly. I can’t give you an answer now. Give me some time to consider.”

“That’s fine.” Bekorodi nodded, and his tone grew a little heavier. “I believe, after serious consideration, you will make the best choice and not disappoint the dynasty’s faith in you. I hope you can make your decision before the Flickering World opens.”

“We’ll see depending on the situation.”

Han Xiao nodded before standing up, following the secretary out of the room.

Leaving the government building, he headed toward his small base that was used for storing his machinery while thinking about the pros and cons.

The first would be with regards to the interest. If he handed over the Evolution Cube, he would receive three Universal Treasures. According to the list, he should obtain all combat related Universal Treasures, but there was always the opportunity to acquire another strategic level Universal Treasure instead. Han Xiao had always felt that it was pointless to only have combat-related treasures.

It would be good if they gave them away for free. However, that was just his wishful thinking.

There were also other benefits, namely that the Black Star Army would not have to stand on the cusp of the storm, and Sorokin’s Limitless Financial Group would not continue to make trouble for him. There was also no need to worry about any potential attacks from both the federation and the church, which could mean a long period of stable development… given that their previous grudges were not counted.

Han Xiao also assessed the effects of losing the Evolution Cube.

This was a unique strategic-level Universal Treasure, and while it possessed no combat power, its effect could be reflected in all aspects of development for a faction. If this were to be handed over to the dynasty, the Black Star Army would lose its faction’s special product, and its attraction to players and other characters would inevitably decline. A good example would be Silver Shadow. The latter would not have been so interested in him if not for the Evolution Cube.

With the Flickering World as a foundation, his interest group derived from the cube at the start had also stabilized, but the business of the Evolution Cube was still an important pillar in the army’s finances.

Handing over the cube was tantamount to transferring the frightening profits of the Evolutionary Totem to the dynasty. The expansion and maintenance of the Black Star Army required a huge amount of funds to constantly flow in, and without the transactions of the Evolutionary Totem to support them, the army would shrink and even slow its expansion.

While they had to abide by the covenant and seek the dynasty’s permission to use the Evolution Cube, he still possessed its ownership. Once his ownership was lost, the meaning would be different.

This would mean that other organizations would no longer need to cooperate with the Black Star Army, instead directly bypassing them to work with the dynasty. The Black Star Army would be kicked out of this game, which would impact their various businesses. The financial losses were not limited to just the transactions of the Evolutionary Totem.

Moreover, if he wished to use the Evolution Cube in the future, he would have to buy the right with money or contribution points.

At the same time, without the uniqueness of the Evolution Cube, the Black Star Army would also drop in influence. No matter how good his prestige was, he could not provide people with what they wanted.

To sum it up, the growth of the Black Star Army would become several times more difficult if he handed the cube over.

Han Xiao did not know if the dynasty had any hidden intentions to restrict the Black Star Army from growing. Did they feel that it was enough to allow his organization to grow to such a point? By reason, it would not be the case, but the thoughts of those above were always hard to speculate.

The Mechanic Empire was a good example. While the Federation did not regret it, if they had a chance to start over, they might not wish for the Mechanic Emperor to grow to such an extent, making him difficult to control.

But if he were to reject the dynasty’s suggestion, there would also be trouble.

From Bekorodi’s words, Han Xiao smelled a different meaning within… Was the dynasty eager to obtain the Evolution Cube so that it could sell the totems publicly?

After the Flickering World opened, countless organizations would enter and inevitably cause friction with the dynasty. If they began selling the totems openly, the pressure would decrease, and their control of the Flickering World would become unbreakable.

If that was the case, then rejecting the proposal would mean disrupting the strategic deployment of the dynasty, which was tantamount to him being ignorant of the bigger picture.

Bekorodi had already displayed the ‘sincerity’ of the dynasty, with polite words, and even shown a sincere attitude. However, in reality, this was merely a facade, and they were forcing him to hand over the cube. If he rejected, the upper echelons of the dynasty would feel that he did not know what was good for him, incurring dissatisfaction.

Han Xiao believed that if we refused to hand the cube over, the dynasty would not give up easily and would likely take some unknown follow-up measures.

It was impossible to steal from an ally, but underhanded moves would be set down one after another.

“What a difficult problem for me…”

Han Xiao sighed, unable to choose.

When the Evolutionary Totem appeared, he knew that the future would be troublesome, but the dynasty had helped him bear the pressure and had lasted for twenty years. Finally, this trouble had still appeared.

“I need to carefully think about this. I’ll contact Urranrell in the next few days and find out about her stand.”

…

Not long after Han Xiao left, a figure walked into Bekorodi’s conference room. It was Gaud.

After accumulating enough military merits over the years, Gaud had been sent back to the dynasty, formally focusing on his training with the same batch of Calamity Grades with potential.

The birth of a Beyond Grade A was full of uncertain factors. Even a Universal Civilization could not mass produce them, so the basic method was to spread the net as wide as possible and cultivate a large number of Calamity Grades.

Due to the huge talent pool as well as their advanced training methods, the conversion rate would not be null, but their output was also not fixed. It was the method through which Dark Lord Clotti had been trained by the dynasty into a Beyond Grade A.

Gaud was wearing a special dynasty officer uniform but with no rank markings on it. His figure was still skinny, no different from the him over a decade ago.

“You’re here, sit.” Bekorodi glanced at him before nodding.

Gaud sat at where Han Xiao had originally sat and lightly smiled. “How was the discussion?”

“No idea. It would be good if Black Star agreed. That would save us a lot of trouble.”

“With such good conditions, I believe he will not reject it. Black Star is a smart person, and smart people know their circumstances.” Gaud smiled.

“It’s difficult to say. Based on the character analysis by Heroic Soul, Black Star is a typical profit-seeker. Three to one may not be able to impress him, and the probability of rejection is at sixty-three percent.” Bekorodi shook his head. “Let’s not mention him. In short, whether he agrees or not, we still need your ability to analyze the principle behind the evolutionary energy.”

“Haha, I’m waiting to be sent.” Gaud laughed.

“I know that your abilities are unprecedented, but how confident are you that you can use your abilities to analyze the Evolution Cube? Don’t wait till the end before telling us it’s impossible.”

“Right now, there’s no chance, but if I reach Beyond Grade A, I would probably have a seventy to eighty percent chance.”

“So, when can you reach Beyond Grade A?” Bekorodi asked.

Gaud only smiled.

Seeing this, Bekorodi knew that there was no answer to this question and shook his head. “So long as you know it in your heart, that’s fine. If you can unravel the mystery of the Evolution Cube, this would be a great contribution to the dynasty. In addition to your promotion, the Dynasty Ruler will also pay more attention to you.”

He firmly supported the Evolution Cube being handed over and could only rely on Sorokin to put pressure on Black Star, but because of the Black Star Army and Germinal Financial Group’s cooperation, there were not many results. It was only when Gaud appeared that Bekorodi saw a new hope.

As a direct potential Super cultivated by the dynasty, many factions were attracted to Gaud, but the one he was closest to was Bekorodi’s Hawk faction. They had invested in him from an early stage.

After pausing for a while, Bekorodi’s words turned sharp.

“Let’s set this aside for now and talk about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. This is information revealed by EsGod’s legacy, and this mysterious energy is very dangerous. If you cannot become the host, even a Calamity Grade can be annihilated. Isn’t your idea too risky?”

“There’s no risk.”

Bekorodi frowned. “Are you sure that your Esper Ability will allow you to control the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy at the Calamity Grade?”

“It can. Furthermore, this power will allow me to reach Beyond Grade A much faster,” Gaud replied.

“Humph, you’d better be right,” Bekorodi said in a deep tone. “Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was from EsGod’s legacy, but it did not fall into the hands of the dynasty. The fact that you obtained it from other sources and handed it to us is good. When the time comes, if there are any other organizations that want to fight for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, the dynasty will also interfere. I’ve already submitted your application, and the whether the dynasty will allow you to use the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy in the end is up to them.”

“That’s right.” Gaud laughed.

Chapter 997: A Simpleton“s Killing Move

Chapter 997 A Simpleton“s Killing Move After releasing his doppelganger, Han Xiao’s consciousness returned to his main body, and the scene in front of him changed back to the room where his Divine Mechanical Throne was located in Black Star Palace within the Flickering World.He took off the Evolution Cube that he wore around his neck, looking carefully at it. The small silver square reflected the gleam of light.

“It’s been twenty years since I got you from Psyker’s hands…”

Han Xiao touched the cube, and from the icy cold touch, a sense of intimacy rose from his heart.

According to the incomplete legacy of the Evolutionary Civilization, Han Xiao had long resonated with the Evolution Cube, forming a soul connection.

If he passed this over to the Dynasty, he also did not know if the dynasty would request for him to cut off his soul connection, letting someone else like Dark Lord Clotti form a connection.

Shaking his head, he buried this thought before putting the Evolution Cube back around his neck. He left the room to find Feidin.

From the surveillance shown by Phillip, Han Xiao found Feidin as well as the other older officers in the recreation area. He took a floating vehicle, arriving outside the Black Star Guards’ exclusive recreation room.

As he walked in, he could hear Hadavy’s delighted voice.

“… I can feel it. A few days ago, my Esper Ability rose a bit once again. There have been some minute genetic changes in me, and I feel that a small corner of the door to Beyond Grade A has opened.”

Aurora turned to look at Feidin. “How many times has he said this?”

Feidin laughed. “About two hundred and thirty-three times.”

“That’s right. Every day, you talk about how you’re about to reach the Beyond Grade A realm, but it’s been a decade, and there’s still no change,” Aurora added.

“You may not believe me, but every time I finish sparring with the Army Commander’s Apostle Weapons, I show some improvement, even if it’s only a small bit.” Hadavy snorted.

“Spar? More like being beaten up.” Feidin waved his hands in dismissal.

“So what if it’s being beaten up? My Esper Ability is like that.” Hadavy was not angry. “At least I can now last longer than all of you. After all, I can be considered Black Star’s trump card.”

Now that he was already a peak Calamity Grade Super, only the powerful attacks of a Beyond Grade A could stimulate his cells to improve further.

After the first of his Apostle Weapons, Psionic Prime, was born, Han Xiao had handed the task of beating up Hadavy to his Apostle Weapons. With the improvement in his abilities, the combat prowess of the Apostle Weapons naturally increased. Since they were able to fight against Beyond Grade A Supers, they could naturally thrash Calamity Grades. Thus, Hadavy would always run over to them to seek abuse.

Because of his superior defense, he could remain in the hands of the Apostle Weapons for a long time, surpassing other guards. After receiving more than twenty years of beatings, Hadavy had been steadily progressing, and his combat power had significantly improved. As a Beyond Grade A seed, he had always boasted about being the top warrior in the army.

This moment, everyone heard footsteps and turned around to see Han Xiao walking in. They all stood up in respect.

“Sit, I just came over for a look.” Han Xiao waved his hands before walking over to Feidin, his hand grasping his shoulder.

“Again‽” Feidin spoke in resignation, only using his hand to hit Han Xiao’s chest as a token of resistance.

After so many years, he had already gotten used to it. The friendship of men was simple—the more they touched each other, the better their relationship would get.

With the rise of Black Star’s prestige, there were more and more officers who felt cautious about Han Xiao. In the army, only a few old friends, including Feidin, could be so casual in front him.

After Han Xiao was satisfied that he had gotten enough luck, he turned around to look at Aurora before asking, “How’s the accumulation of life energy?”

Aurora smiled, and the entire room seemed to be wrapped with sunshine. “It’s quite huge, and I can feel that as long as I train for another half a year, I’ll step into the Calamity Grade.”

Upon hearing that, Han Xiao nodded.

Aurora’s Esper Ability was that of life, and thus, her life energy was increasing every moment, resulting in the transformation of her body. Not only would her physical fitness become better, her genes would also naturally optimize, and she would maintain her youth forever.

At Grade B, her abilities were upgraded in a different manner. It was difficult for her to train her life energy; she had to wait until the total amount reached the standards of the next level.

This approach had its advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage was that progress would be slow. Every day, only a certain amount of life energy would be generated based on one’s level. Because Aurora had created many life potions, her life energy had not yet reached the Calamity Grade, so she rarely did so anymore.

But the benefit in this approach was that there was almost no bottleneck for her in the long term. As long as her life energy reached a certain standard, she could advance, which meant that it was only a matter of time for her to advance to Beyond Grade A, but it might take hundreds or even thousands of years.

Speaking of which, Hila functioned through grabbing the life energy of others to strengthen herself, while Aurora shared her life energy with others and slowed down her own growth rate. Both their abilities and advancement modes were diametrically opposite.

“That’s right, uncle, when will my sister return?” Aurora could not help but ask that.

“I don’t know.” Han Xiao shook his head. “A few days ago, I sent out news to them, but they didn’t reply, nor did they pick up my call. They might have run off to some dangerous place where there’s no signal.”

“Sigh, it’s been so many years. I miss my sister.” Aurora scrunched up her face, looking a little depressed.

“Me too.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Me three.” Hadavy added on.

The duo immediately glared at him, with an expression of ‘what has it got to do with you’ on their faces.

Hadavy crossed his hands and coldly snorted. “She left twenty years ago and is still hogging the title of Captain. Feidin is only a stand-in, and I’m still the deputy, without being able to challenge her position.”

“Oh, it’s like that.” Aurora sighed in relief, patting her bouncy chest. “I thought you had something for my sister.”

“Your sister is so aloof. How could I like her…” Noticing Han Xiao’s gaze, Hadavy trailed off and coughed, mumbling in a small voice, “And how could I dare?”

When he first joined under Black Star, Hadavy did not have many qualifications, so he was willing to serve under Hila as a deputy despite being a Beyond Grade A seed.

However, so many years had passed, and Hadavy was considered an old-timer now. His capabilities had improved, and he had influence and qualifications. Furthermore, Hila had been gone for twenty years straight, so he felt that he had the right not to be under any other Calamity Grades. He wished to have a higher position, becoming the captain of the Black Star Guards.

This was also good for his reputation in the universe. The title of ‘Captain of the Black Star Guards’ was just like the Chief Vanguard Official for Bloodshed Land, and there was a bonus in terms of influence. Hadavy was someone who sought authority and strength, so he considered this as well.

“Alright, when Hila returns, as long as you can defeat her, you’ll be the new captain.” Han Xiao laughed.

“Ok, you’ve said it.” Hadavy perked out.

After some idle conversation, Han Xiao left the room. As he walked down the corridor, he opened his interface and selected Silver Shadow’s Beyond Grade A mission.

_____________________

Mission: Silver Shadow is complete!

You have completed all the mission requirements and received 24,500,000,000 Experience.

You have received: Character Summon Card – Silver Shadow

Character Summon Card – Silver Shadow: [Comet Rush]. For a short time, +15% DEX, +45% Move Speed, and +300% Acceleration. Upper cap for move speed is removed, and one can accelerate endlessly. Lasts for 12 seconds. Number of times used: 0/4

You have received a reward: Draw one of Silver Shadow’s skills (Ability/Talent)

Tip: Silver Shadow is a Pugilist, so some of the abilities and talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. Charge—Endless Potential – Ability: Your next melee attack will grant additional damage based on the sprint distance. The greater the distance, the higher the damage. There is no upper limit, but at the same time, your body will suffer from the recoil, being damaged for 70% of the total damage inflicted on the other party. Consumes 200 Energy and 3,000 Stamina. Cooldown: 240s. Remark: To strike the enemy, or to strike yourself, that is the problem.

2. Dark Energy Extraction – Ability: You can draw upon the Dark energy within the universe, recovering 15% – 25% of your Energy each time. Consumes 800 Stamina. Cooldown: 24s.

3. Nuclear Force—Structure Reinforcement – Talent: Your cells will undergo particle structure reinforcement, gaining 12% immunity to all physical damage. You are immune to True Damage, Armor Piercing, Shock, and other special attacks (non-immunity, converted to normal damage).

4. Self-Refresh – Ability: Remove all negative status affecting you (does not work on [Silenced] and [Energy Locked] states). Consumes 300 Energy. Cooldown 420s.

5. Repeated Critical Strike – Ability: Passive skill. When you accelerate, your body’s melee Crit Rate and Crit Damage multipliers will rise, providing up to a maximum of 80% Crit Rate and 375% Crit Damage. The effect is constant when you maintain your speed. When speed is reduced and peak speed is not restored within 2.5s, the effect will begin to irreversibly decline after 8s and return to zero in 4s. A cooldown of 120s will be applied the moment it hits zero. Remark: Life is like exercising. Start running, don’t stop!

_____________________

“The quality this time is quite good.” Han Xiao was satisfied.

There was even a Molding Talent, and the other skills were all good. Apart from his ‘touched’ luck, the main reason was that the average quality of Silver Shadow’s skills was high.

Taking a closer look, Han Xiao first ruled out [Dark Energy Extraction]. The Pugilists required a lot of energy, but he had a more efficient manner of gaining energy through being beaten.

Generally speaking, Han Xiao would want to choose Molding Talents where possible, but [Nuclear Force—Structure Reinforcement] only provided damage immunity, which would duplicate the ability given by the Germinal Organization Leader.

As for the twelve percent of Absolute Physical Resistance and immunity to shock, armor piercing, and so on, it was a good effect, but the cost to performance ratio was not good.

Since Han Xiao was already tanky, the defense improvement would be weak. Furthermore, he had trampled upon little Ty-Ty the last time and obtained his [Legendary Fixed Damage Reduction], which was enough.

After thinking for a bit, he finally made a choice.

_____________________

You have acquired the skill: Charge—Endless Potential!

_____________________

“This suits me better.”

While [Repeated Critical Strike] was good, it was limited to only one’s melee Crit Rate and had to be triggered by speed. This was suitable for Silver Shadow’s combat style but not too much for Han Xiao.

In contrast, [Charge—Endless potential] was very fierce. It provided unlimited additional damage according to sprint distance, but one had to bear seventy percent of the damage inflicted. It had great power and side effects.

This was a move that would result in a pyrrhic victory where no one would benefit.

However, the Great Mechanic Han was a unique character unseen in this world!

With his ability to recover energy from taking damage and use the energy to recover his HP, not only was his skull thick, he was not afraid of recoil damage.

Furthermore, he was a Mechanic, and he need not even go personally to battle. Just by having one of his avatars rush forward to hit them, all danger was gone. This was even more suited for him than Silver Shadow!

“What a reliable ability. I finally got my hands on a fierce attacking skill. Silver Shadow is really generous, to give me such a good welcome gift.”

Han Xiao was extremely satisfied.

This brother is interesting. I’ll have to look after him more in the future.

Chapter 998: Storm Rises and Falls

Chapter 998 Storm Rises and Falls

“My current combat style is perfect, not only tanky but with powerful burst strength and lots of crowd control skills. The size of my mechanical army is huge, and it can carry out tactical cooperation with hundreds of thousands of troops. There are also high levelled machines such as the mechanical host as well as Apostle Weapons, and my mental resistance is also high. I have Virtual Paramount as a spiritual attack, and my void bloodline also gives me unique skills…”

Analyzing his current cards, Han Xiao felt that he was getting quite overpowered, having developed a comprehensive spiritual and physical enhancement.

Among the five big Super systems, the Espers had the highest battle power in the beginning, but in the endgame, the Mechanics and Mages would shine. Compared to the other three systems, Mechanics and Mages utilized knowledge as the source of their power and had very comprehensive abilities, leaving few shortcomings. For Mechanics, their low HP and mental resistance would be considered their more prominent weaknesses.

However, in Han Xiao’s dictionary, there was no ‘Low HP’ or ‘Weak Mental Resistance’. Having compensated for them, there were no weaknesses, and he was basically an all-rounder.

But now, he had the skill [Charge—Endless potential]. This sort of super high-explosive single target skill would make the fighting method more perfect because when they were fighting, Han Xiao’s main body or his avatar would usually be roaming around and would not immediately step forward to engage in a melee entanglement. With his potential accumulation skill, the distance he travelled could be converted into damage, which gave him more strategic options.

He gleefully admired this ability for a while longer before turning off the interface.

Returning to his room, he suppressed his joy, taking out his communicator. After a few deep breaths, he dialed the private line of the Dynasty Ruler to find out her stand.

After a few rings, Urranrell’s delicate face appeared on the screen. It seemed that she had expected Han Xiao to contact her.

“Black Star, you’re here.”

“Your Excellency Ruler.” Han Xiao went straight to the point. “Do you know about Bekorodi’s matter?”

“Hmm.” Urranrell nodded.

Glancing at her calm expression, Han Xiao confirmed his suspicion that the dynasty’s decision makers wanted him to turn the cube in, and even the Ruler was standing on their side.

Han Xiao paused for a moment before saying, “Do you have any suggestions?”

“I also hope that you can hand over the Evolution Cube. This concerns an important strategy of the Dynasty.”

“Is the important strategy to sell the totems publicly? If I pass over the cube to you, what I’m losing is a huge amount of profit.” Han Xiao tested the waters.

Urranrell shook her head, slowly explaining, “The dynasty has no intention at the moment to sell the totems to the public. This decision was based on our consideration of risk. For you, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The federation and church are increasing their pressure, and while the dynasty is holding the majority back, as long as you hold onto the Evolution Cube, it’s hard to guarantee that they will not take the risk again to launch a new sneak attack.

“I believe that you understand this too. In your hands, the Evolution Cube is a hot potato. Dealing with you is much easier than forcing the dynasty to compromise. If the cube is handed over to the dynasty for custody, the enemy will face no chance.”

“You seem to have very little confidence in me.” Han Xiao raised a brow. “I thought you were always optimistic about me.”

“I indeed am optimistic about your future, but you’re still one person,” Urranrell replied. “After their last lesson, if the federation and church act, they will definitely bring out the likes of Manison and Kasuyi, peak Beyond Grade As. As of now, you’re still not an opponent for the Mechanic Emperor himself, and if the other peak Beyond Grade As are added, the risk is too big.”

“This makes sense, but since they chose not to act over the past few years, it’s hard to say so in the future too.” Han Xiao was still undecided.

“The situation is now different. Beyond Grade As are generally distributed in different Star Fields, so when mobilized, we can receive warnings and prepare in advance. However, when the Flickering World opens, it will be an excellent opportunity for the federation and the church. The entire universe’s Beyond Grade As will rush to the Shattered Star Ring, and with so many people gathering, it will be easy to gather high levelled combatants to quickly attack your base camp. Because they have a legitimate reason to gather them, it will be difficult for us to be on guard.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. Indeed, due to the news of the Flickering World about to open, all sorts of organizations had begun to gather within the Shattered Star Ring. This naturally included many Beyond Grade As from the other Star Fields.

In the past, all these Beyond Grade As were distributed in various Star Fields, so it was difficult to gather them to deal with him. However, with the opportunity, the situation would naturally turn more dangerous.

It could be foreseen that during this period, the originally chaotic Shattered Star Ring would become much worse. Whether or not he as the local tyrant could withdraw the chaos, it was really hard to say.

Seeing that Han Xiao did not speak, Urranrell continued in her attempts to persuade him. “Black Star, although the future profit of the Evolution Cube is huge and it is disadvantageous to trade it, it’s still better than losing it.”

“Let me think about this.” Han Xiao nodded. For the time being, he decided not to burn all his bridges.

“There’s no need to give me an answer soon.” Urranrell suddenly changed the topic. “I have something I need you to do as well.”

“What?”

“Right now, the dynasty is building an Inter-Star Field Stargate to link the Shattered Star Ring and the Flickering World. Before we officially open it, a large number of organizations within the entire universe will flock over, which will impact this Star Field. I need you to maintain law and order, suppressing all foreign organizations and Beyond Grade A to prevent chaos.”

Han Xiao was quite interested in this. “But I remember that the Shattered Star Ring belongs to the federation in name.”

“That’s right. However, our dynasty is stronger in the region, and maintaining stability is beneficial to us. I don’t want any incidents to happen and affect the opening of the Flickering World.”

“You could actually speak to Heber for this.”

“The Tyrant doesn’t have your prestige, and only you have the qualification to suppress all the incoming Beyond Grade As.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao could not help but laugh.

To think that the dynasty Ruler, who sat above all others, would be so well versed at bootlicking.

His interface released a notification, which was displayed as an additional faction mission regarding the Main Storyline of the Flickering World arc. The requirement was to maintain the stability of the Shattered Star Ring before the opening, and the reward was quite satisfactory, giving him experience, contribution points, Enas, and resources from the dynasty.

“Alright, I’ll take helm in the Shattered Star Ring, and I hope that the other Beyond Grade As will show me some face.”

Even without the mission, he would still do the same. The Shattered Star Ring was where his army was currently camped, and stabilizing his backyard was compulsory. He would not allow any outsiders to run rampant in his leek field.

This was especially so for those newly minted Beyond Grade As. During this time, they would need to perform great deeds that would cement their influence and prestige.

After hanging up, Han Xiao breathed out and activated [Lord’s Descent], sending his consciousness to his machinery civilization’s planet.

Since he was going back to hold the fort, the troops remaining in his headquarters were not enough, and a new wave of reinforcements was needed.

It was just nice that the machinery civilization had already developed for over twenty years stably and was walking on the correct track. He was going to pull the group of Apostle Weapons back.

The scene in front of his eyes changed again, and he was now inside a mechanical palace, with the mechanical host sitting on the throne of the palace.

Han Xiao had left a mechanical host in the machinery civilization to facilitate himself coming over to take a look now and then. Thus, Psionic Prime and the rest had built a palace hall that resembled a Sky Reaching Pagoda, tens of thousands meters in height, and had enshrined his mechanical host within.

Manipulating his avatar, Han Xiao walked out of the palace and stood there overlooking the entire planet. He saw an endless line-up of mechanical cities, and countless mechanical life forms were flying in the sky.

This was the main planet of the machinery civilization, Planet Apostle, which was much better than a decade ago.

After more than twenty years of constant development, the machinery civilization had completely transformed this planet, building countless facilities on the surface and underground. With their strong productivity, they had even started to develop the planets nearby.

At the same time, like tree branches growing leaves, their population swelled up. This would be the future source of Han Xiao’s mechanical army.

Speaking from the scale of a civilization’s progress, the machinery civilization’s speed of development was akin to travelling using a hyperdrive spaceship. However, compared with the Black Spirit Race, the latter’s development was not slow either.

After years of study, batch after batch of scholars and researchers had appeared within the Black Spirit Race, and they had begun to integrate the knowledge from various fields taught by the army. Due to the special characteristics of the Black Spirit Race, once someone had learned a piece of knowledge, they could quickly spread it out.

With the resources and equipment generously provided by the army, the Black Spirit Race did not need to accumulate their production efficiency and could directly apply any acquired knowledge. Thus, in just two decades, they had directly entered the electrical age from the tribal age, completing a triple jump. The horrifying talent of the race had begun to emerge.

In his view, if the Black Spirit Race had started at the same point together with the federation and the church, it might have been the fourth Universal Civilization.

The talents of the Black Spirit Race were almost entirely focused on learning and education. To slightly exaggerate, this was a race that was qualified to use the prosperous saying of ‘everyone can be a dragon’.

As for the Kunde Race, they were still undergoing their cultural transformation, but Han Xiao had also allowed people to give them something good.

At this moment, the inner circle of the Kunde Race had already shown signs of people worshipping the Machinery Faith. Although their tragic battle a decade ago had left behind some wounds and they had not fully converted to this religion, the roots had already taken hold.

As Han Xiao gazed around the planet, in a short time, more than ten black dots appeared from afar, heading over.

Behind those black dots, which were his Apostle Weapons, there was a huge mountain-like shadow slowly approaching. This was the Giant King Kong, famous for his size, and his height was exactly parallel to the gate of the Sky Reaching Pagoda where Han Xiao was located.

“We greet our Lord.”

Psionic Prime led the Apostle Weapons and flew into the gate, stopping in front of Han Xiao and saluting.

In the recent years, Han Xiao had utilized all his Apostle Weapon slots, expanding the team. Because of [Perfect Mechanical Sense] as well as a series of talents and abilities that increase the upper limit of his skills, his Apostle Weapons numbered more than twelve now.

Gazing at them, he discovered that the Apostle Weapons now had better weapons and armor than they had twenty years ago. At the same time, their source energy had also grown.

All Mechanical life forms could grow as they could upgrade themselves. This was especially so for the first generation of mechanical life forms, which contained the purest Mechanical Life Tinder.

“Psionic Prime, Silver Flash, Mad Sky Hunter, Scarlet Flame, Gold Sovereign, Formless Ghost, Heaven-Suppressing Banner, and Purple Sky Spirit… Bring your troops with you and return to the headquarters in the Shattered Star Ring. I might require you guys to fight.” Han Xiao passed down the command.

“Understood,” Psionic Prime responded. To him, Han Xiao’s words were akin to divine doctrine.

…

At a stargate border of the Shattered Star Ring, a fleet with the symbol of the Arcane Church slowly exited the stargate.

Nowadays, Beyond Grade As everywhere were flocking to the Shattered Star Ring. This fleet was dedicated to escorting a new Beyond Grade A who had joined the Arcane Church a few years prior.

‘Red Devil’ Tolaen, once a wanted criminal from Silver Arm, had reached the Beyond Grade A a few years back. He was then recruited by the Arcane Church, and his previous deeds were wiped clean. With the support of the Arcane Church, his Silver Arm had a place in the universe.

In the conference room of the flagship, a portion of the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church were within the room, but only Tolaen was there with his main body.

“Haha, it seems like I’m the first to arrive. When will you all get here?” Tolaen laughed.

“Soon. You and Psyker had better wait there quietly for us.” Sun Hunter had a small stature, but his voice was mighty like a booming cannon.

“Hmm, what’s the use in just waiting?” Tolaen’s eyes gleamed. “Since there’s nothing to do, I’ll find someone to spar.”

He had just entered the Beyond Grade A realm not too long ago. As a newcomer, he did not have any outstanding battle records, so upon reaching the Shattered Star Ring, he felt the urge to prove himself.

“Don’t try to do anything funny in the Shattered Star Ring,” Kasuyi coldly interjected, his voice wispy. “It’s his territory. Show him some face.”

The Shattered Star Ring of the past only had Heber, Austin, Ames, and Psyker, which made it a remote and weak place, not enough for a peak Beyond Grade A like Kasuyi to notice.

But things were different now. With Black Star rising vigorously, he had become the representative of the Shattered Star Ring, holding the fort in the name of the dynasty.

There was a certain level of prestige given toward a peak Beyond Grade A, and the other Beyond Grade As were willing to show Black Star some face and behave themselves in the Shattered Star Ring. Even as fellow peak Beyond Grade As, none of them wanted to rile Black Star up for nothing.

The moment Black Star was mentioned, a few of the Beyond Grade As present showed uneasy expressions. They were the participants of the Planet Lighthouse battle and had eaten a loss when facing Han Xiao.

The feeling of being trapped in Spacetime Amber was not a good one. That was especially so for Dylan, who let out an involuntary shudder upon hearing Han Xiao’s name.

“Haha, you’ve only been defeated once, but you’re already afraid to this point? Your Excellency Kasuyi, it can’t be that even you are afraid of him, can it?”

Tolaen knew about this matter and could not help but laugh sarcastically. As a wanted criminal in the past, he was not someone to lie low.

As soon as this remark came out, quite a number of Beyond Grade As looked a little embarrassed, coldly snorting.

“I’m not afraid of him,” Kasuyi calmly stated. “But now isn’t the time for us to fight. I advise you not to provoke him.”

“I’m not that foolish.” Tolaen waved his hands. “Relax, I’m not so arrogant as to choose Black Star as the target.”

“Then, who do you want to spar with?”

“Heh, I can’t defeat Black Star, and Heber belongs to the Dynasty, which is also troublesome to provoke. Psyker is weak, but he’s still one of us, so that only leaves the other two.”

Tolaen’s eyes flashed in excitement.

“Austin always hides in his Palace of Hidden Spells, and I should not be able to defeat him, but as for Ames… Hehe, she should be easy to deal with. I’ll use her as my stepping stone and let her become my Beyond Grade A battle record!”

Chapter 999: Return, Accepting the Battle

Chapter 999 Return, Accepting the Battle

A small spaceship was flying through the universe at warp speed, resembling a gleam of white light against the dark backdrop.

The spaceship was on autopilot, with only two people in the cabin. They were Ames and Hila.

Hila sat in a precarious position, her eyes closed and her hands flat on her knees. Her fingers were continuously moving as she controlled wisps of death energy to flexibly swim between her fingers, training her control over her power.

Opposite her, Ames reclined on the sofa with a hand on her head and the other on her waist.

Watching the death energy move, Ames could not help but sigh. “You’re really working yourself to the bone. Even at the Beyond Grade A realm, you’re continuously training.”

Hila opened her eyes, her tone indifferent. “Beyond Grade A is not the endpoint, and there’s no limit to my path ahead of me. I cannot be satisfied with just this.”

“I feel that you should still rest a little though. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Ames shook her head in resignation. She was very satisfied with this disciple of hers, but her desire to grow stronger was so intense that it made her, as the teacher, seem like a lazy bum.

“I’ll always have time to rest in the future.” Hila shook her head. “When I return, I will definitely spar with Han Xiao once and test out my current strength. Thus, I cannot rest now. However little I can improve, it’s better than nothing.”

“Relax, based on what I know of Black Star, he will definitely not let you lose too badly and damage your self confidence.” Ames laughed. With a flick of her finger, she opened the star map. “We only need two more days to arrive at the Inter-Star Field Stargate of the Ancient Star Desert, then we’ll arrive directly at the Constellation Corridor. We can use Black Star’s identity to borrow the dynasty’s channels, which will save us a lot of time…”

Before she could finish her words, the communicator beside her started to ring.

“It’s Black… eh? It’s actually old man Aesop.” Ames was surprised after giving it a look. She originally thought that it was one of Han Xiao’s desperate serial calls, but it turned out that it was her teacher on the line.

Sitting up, Ames activated her force field to bring her communicator over before answering, and Aesop’s face appeared.

“What do you want?”

“Where are you guys now? When are you returning to Floating Dragon?” Aesop asked.

“We’re still at the Ancient Star Desert, almost reaching the stargate.”

“You should still make it on time.” Aesop relaxed. “Try to hurry. I’ve foreseen that, in a while, the new Beyond Grade A of the Arcane Church will come over to challenge you, and you need to step forward.”

This was really insane. Tolaen only had the thought, and Aesop had already sensed the changes in the world. The powerful ability of this old man surfaced once again.

A flicker passed through Ames eyes, and she laughed harshly. “A new Beyond Grade A challenging me? I know, that person is probably looking to gain a battle record. Hehe, to pick me when there’s five of us within the Shattered Star Ring, does he think I’m that easy to bully?”

While Floating Dragon was stationed by Planet Aquamarine, allowing the Black Star Army to aid them, this was a battle between Beyond Grade As. Since the other party was targeting Floating Dragon, the Black Star Army had to receive the permission of Ames before they could help. But such a small matter could be settled on her own, and she did not intend for Black Star to step in.

After hanging up, Ames found Hila staring at her.

Ames looked at her and immediately understood what she wanted. “What, are you interested?”

“You’re my teacher, so this time, let me help.” Hila nodded, and a cold gaze flashed across her eyes.

She had originally intended to directly head toward the army to give Han Xiao the good news after arriving at Shattered Star Ring, but with such a situation, she changed her mind.

The other party was also a new Beyond Grade A, and such an opponent was not commonly found.

It was a good time for her to test out how much she had grown.

…

On one of the islands around Floating Dragon, a group of newly recruited Supers were practicing in the square, and the current commander of the Floating Dragon Island Field Team, Vilna, was supervising them.

It had been more than twenty years since Floating Dragon Island anchored itself to Planet Aquamarine. The main island continuously expanded, along with its subordinates and troops. While they could not compare to the scale of the Black Star Army or Bloodshed Land, they could be considered a passable Beyond Grade A organization.

Correspondingly, the scale of Floating Dragon’s officers also expanded, and the work for everyone was becoming more and more arduous. Vilna had taken over Han Xiao’s post and helped manage Floating Dragon to the best of her abilities.

While her temperament was mild, she could be fierce and strict when needed, so this batch of new recruits did not dare slack off, fully engrossing themselves in exercise.

Beep beep!

At this moment, the communicator on Vilna’s wrist rang. It was Aesop.

The moment she picked up, Aesop did not even greet her, immediately shooting out commands.

“Gather the fleet and set down a defensive formation.”

“So fast‽” Vilna stuttered but did not hesitate, immediately calling out all her subordinates to assemble the fleet.

Ames had specifically instructed earlier on that if she were not present, Aesop would be the highest in command.

Thus, under Vilna’s instructions, Floating Dragon’s armed forces finished assembling, surrounding Floating Dragon in a tight defensive array.

There were a lot of people thinking that something serious had happened, but after a long while, everything was still calm, with no new orders.

“There’s nothing. What are we going to do now?”

“Was it just a drill?”

Just as everyone was getting confused, an abrupt change took place.

Ohm!

All the spaceships within the fleet let out warning alarms as a humongous fleet appeared on their radars, rapidly drawing closer to them!

The next moment, streams of light could be seen from the distance, and an armed fleet appeared on the outer space of Planet Aquamarine, each marked with the insignia of the Arcane Church.

“Arcane Church‽”

Vilna’s expression changed as she jumped.

Her reaction was mild, as the other Floating Dragon members were showing even more exaggerated reactions. All of them panicked, as though facing their mortal enemy.

Floating Dragon was different from the other organizations like Black Star Army, which regularly had dealings in the universe. Thus, seeing such a scene would easily ruffle them.

However, it was not just Floating Dragon. Even the observatory post on Planet Aquamarine was also alarmed!

The observers scrambled to send the news back to their headquarters, and this information was quickly uploaded, skipping through all the layers of authority, directly to the decision makers where Bennett was.

“The Arcane Church have come?”

In the administration building at Planet Aquamarine, Bennett also received a shock.

As the leader of a civilization protected by the Peace Treaty, the Black Star Army, the Crimson Dynasty, and Floating Dragon Island, he was not afraid that the Arcane Church had any malicious intentions. However, such an abrupt visit left him with a bitter taste in the mouth, and the lack of a diplomatic etiquette showed that the other party did not have any good intentions.

Thinking about this, Bennett immediately sent an order.

“Invite Black Star’s avatar!”

His voice had just sounded, and he found out two figures had suddenly accelerated quickly toward the sky. Raising his head, he saw Nero and Mia shooting up toward the sky, taking the first step to check on the situation.

At the same time, Tolaen was staring down at the defensive troops from his main flagship, pouting.

“Sigh, I thought I could scare them a little and look at them scramble and panic… but they seem to have already known that I would come. Was the stealth function rendered invalid, or is it the legendary Aesop’s ability?”

Shaking his head, Tolaen did not bother to think so much. This sudden appearance was just a passing evil thought of his. After all, he still had to publicly declare his challenge.

Turning to the commander, he said, “Send out the broadcast; announce my intention.”

The commander nodded before moving on to carry out the tasks.

…

The arrival of the Arcane Church’s fleet was imposing, causing both Planet Aquamarine and Floating Dragon to be on alert. After some negotiations, both sides reached a consensus, with the Floating Dragon fleet giving way to allow Tolaen to land on Floating Dragon Island with a spaceship.

Hu!

The spaceship landed on the main island, and Tolaen walked out with large strides, setting foot on Floating Dragon Island.

Surrounding him was a group of Floating Dragon Warriors bearing arms, with visibly nervous expressions.

There was no helping it, for he had announced his identity and intentions a moment ago, and without Ames helming Floating Dragon, everyone felt nervous at having to face an unfriendly Beyond Grade A.

Tolaen swept them a glance before coldly saying, “I want to speak to the commanding officer.”

The crowd moved, parting to allow Aesop and Jenny to step out.

Jenny was impassive as she said, “I’m the Chief Administrator of Floating Dragon. Her Excellency Dragon Emperor is not here at the moment. You’ve come at a bad time.”

“I don’t care if she’s present or not. You just have to give me an answer. Does she dare accept my challenge?” Tolaen stood with his arms crossed, revealing a high and might pose.

“I cannot make that decision.” Jenny shook her head.

“Then you should just shut up, Baldy. Contact Ames and have her answer me.” Tolaen was not polite at all.

He had a different temperament to most Beyond Grade As. While he had been ‘reformed’, he still carried the air of a wanted criminal, arrogant and brash.

“Bald… Baldy‽”

Jenny froze for a moment before flaring up.

My hairline is just a little high. This lady here is not bald! I have hair!

At that moment, Aesop blandly replied, “I’ve already contacted Ames. She has indicated that she will accept your battle.”

“Oh, you’re Aesop?” Tolaen turned to look at him with an interested expression. “I’ve heard your name, and everyone says you’re an immortal species with a good ability. How about it, would you like to work for me?”

“You don’t have the qualifications.” Aesop slightly smiled. While he was not a Beyond Grade A, his bearing was more regal and dignified than Tolaen.

“Tsk.” Tolaen only snorted before ignoring him. He raised his voice. “Since Ames has already agreed, I’ll wait here until she arrives… What are you waiting for? Aren’t you going to prepare a room for me‽”

At this moment, a few figures flew up from Planet Aquamarine, landing on the main island of Floating Dragon.

Among them were Nero and Mia, and the rest were the machinery troops that Han Xiao had left on Planet Aquamarine, which included a mechanical host carrying his Lord’s Avatar.

Seeing that Black Star was there, the soldiers all heaved a sigh of relief.

The prestige that Han Xiao had left behind on Floating Dragon Island had continued to this day. In the eyes of many of Floating Dragon’s members, their ally Black Star was sometimes more reliable than their own boss, Dragon Emperor.

Han Xiao’s consciousness had already descended as an avatar, and he sized up Tolaen before muttering in a puzzled tone, “What, are you tired of living already?”

He had guessed that the new Beyond Grade As would cause problems, but he did not expect them to jump the gun like this. To run all the way to his mother planet, were they seeking death?

His current identity was different from the past. If one provoked him, he would not mind getting rid of a Beyond Grade A Super from the Arcane Church. Since the dynasty had tasked him with maintaining law and order, nothing set an example like killing another.

“It’s you.” Tolaen eyed him before lightly saying, “Your Excellency Black Star, I’m not here to go against you. This matter has nothing to do with you.”

Oh, what an arrogant attitude. People like you, I’ve already killed numerous of. Nothing much to add another to the list, Han Xiao thought.

He had read all the material on the new Beyond Grade As that the dynasty had shared with him, and he recognized this guy as ‘Red Devil’ Tolaen, who had joined the Arcane Church. His strength was ranked around the middle of the Beyond Grade As, but he had a streak of self-confidence, making him think that he was the best. It seemed a miracle he had not gotten beaten to a pulp yet.

There was a wide variety of Beyond Grade A personalities, from those like a big brother such as the Mechanic Emperor or Dark Lord, and there were also old foxes such as Sorokin, lazy people like Ames, and Heber who was prideful. There were also people like him, who could not hide his handsome-ness even though he stayed low…

“Dragon Emperor is my ally. Since she’s not here, how about I play a round with you?” Han Xiao tilted his head.

“It’s alright.” Tolaen raised his hands up, an arrogant expression still on his face as he said, “I can’t beat you.”

Han Xiao was stunned.

With that expression, I thought you were going to say something insulting!

Could it be that those were the most courageous words you could squeeze out with that expression?

Directly blocking me like such, what a clever little brat you are!

Han Xiao had intended to teach this Tolaen a lesson, but to think that this person had seen through his ruse and ‘arrogantly’ rejected it.

While Tolaen might appear very impulsive, he knew his limits clearly. He understood that it was not good to provoke Black Star, who was at the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm, so he decided to only challenge Floating Dragon and nobody else.

At this moment, fluctuations could be seen in the space not far away, and the Palace of Hidden Spells jumped out of the void.

Seeing this, Han Xiao froze.

Austin?

Why is it you‽

How are you everywhere‽ You really know how to join in the fun!

However, Austin did not come over to watch a scene this time. After his Palace of Hidden Spells arrived, it created another rift, and a small spaceship flew out, landing on the dock.

Shua!

The door opened, and long, smooth legs appeared. Ames and Hila descended from the spaceship one after another.

Ames smiled and explained, “Just rushing would not have cut it, so I called Austin to help out.”

Han Xiao could not help but raise his head, and he saw that at the peak of the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin sat there like a little kid, with two fingers pointing up and twiddling around, making a ridiculous greeting to Han Xiao.

“Show off,” Han Xiao grumbled.

After a quick greeting, Ames noticed Tolaen, and a smile appeared on her face.

“So, you wanted to challenge Floating Dragon?”

“Aren’t you asking the obvious?” Tolaen snorted.

Ames nodded before taking a step back, allowing Hila by her side to step out as she smiled. ” If you wish to spar with me, that’s fine, but you’ve got to win against my student first. She’s part of Floating Dragon.”

While Han Xiao’s avatar was present, Hila had not glanced at Han Xiao once after touching down. Her gaze was fixed on Tolaen with an indifferent expression.

“Her?”

Tolaen was surprised. He looked over her, remembered the previous material he had seen about Black Star Army, and snorted.

“I recognize her. She’s an officer under the Black Star Army. Just a mere Calamity Grade, are you sending her to die or to humiliate me?”

However, just as he spoke, the surging death energy burst out from Hila like a tsunami, exploding with intense energy fluctuations rising into the sky!

Boom!

Shockwaves spread, and the land around them cracked.

Everyone steadied themselves in a hurry and refocused their attention on Hila, who was cloaked in death energy. Fright and amazement filled everyone’s eyes.

This level of energy fluctuations… belonged to a new Beyond Grade A!

Chapter 1000: Goddess of Death

Chapter 1000 Goddess of Death

“Beyond Grade A‽”

Tolaen’s expression warped with horror!

All newly born Beyond Grade As would have their records taken by the advanced civilizations, so he knew of all their abilities and weaknesses. However, Hila was not on the list, and thus, it totally disrupted his momentum!

Hila had just stepped into the Beyond Grade A realm and had only just displayed her skill for the first time in front of people, so no one had any information on her.

But today would be the day the Goddess of Death was truly born!

Nero’s figure jerked, and a look of happiness crossed his face.

“Sister Hila has broken into the Beyond Grade A realm!”

While they had not seen each other for years, Nero had always remembered how Hila had shown him grace by giving him the Death Spirit Mark[1]. Seeing that Hila had finally taken that last step, he felt happy for her and could not wait to share the news among the Black Star Army officers.

“She’s the Hila that you guys always mention?” Mia asked with a look of excitement while tugging on Nero’s sleeves.

Mia had joined the army after Hila left, but she always heard her name coming out from all the important officers, including Nero. In her mind, Hila appeared to be a mysterious character.

This was the so-called ‘No longer in the martial world, yet the martial world would ring of one’s tales forever’. Today, Mia finally got what she wished for, to see Hila in person. She was indeed as everyone described her.

Looking at the strong aura being released by her body, Mia was instantly won over. It was exactly in line with her imagination of how a strong female warrior should be.

In Han Xiao’s past life, Mia had been a follower of Hila’s, and now, meeting for the first time, it was just the same as before. She totally worshipped Hila.

Feeling Hila’s aura, a sense of relief surfaced in Han Xiao’s heart.

Finally, the Goddess of Death that I’m familiar with is back!

She indeed didn’t let me down!

Austin also froze for a moment before a genuine smile appeared on his face. He looked as though he was about to watch a good movie.

“The sixth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring? Damn, this is going to be lively…”

While everyone was reeling in shock, Tolaen’s expression slowly changed to an ugly look.

The situation was somewhat beyond his expectations. He had thought that his opponent would be Ames, but suddenly, a new Beyond Grade A had popped out.

While Ames was a veteran Beyond Grade A and would be stronger, the material compiled about her had clearly explained her strengths and weaknesses. This was very important, and now that his opponent had been changed to an unknown Beyond Grade A, it was harder for him to deal with it.

He had seen Hila’s files before, but that was twenty years ago, and she had even undergone an evolution. It was unknown what new abilities she had developed.

“You…”

“Don’t waste my time. Fight or not?” Hila’s eyes were shining with an ominous red light, her aura suppressing everything around her.

She ignored everyone else around her and was only focused on her target. She had always been decisive in her matters and never liked to waste time spouting bullsh*t.

“Alright!” Tolaen’s personality meant that he would not think too much and quickly agreed.

Both were Beyond Grade As, so whether he won or not, it would still be a battle record for him.

At this moment, Han Xiao, who was standing by the side, indifferently spoke.

“If you want to fight, move further away from Planet Aquamarine. If even a single blade of grass on the planet gets destroyed because of your battle… you can forget about leaving today, Tolaen.”

“Humph, I wouldn’t dare.” Tolaen coldly snorted.

He knew not to lay hands on Han Xiao’s mother planet. If not, even if the other party shredded him to pieces, the Arcane Church would not make a sound.

…

Both sides reached a consensus, and everyone pulled away to a location further from Planet Aquamarine for their battlefield.

There was only Hila and Tolaen on the battlefield. Both faced each other, their auras rising rapidly.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on the two, holding their breath and watching the battle.

At the next moment, both of them moved!

Tolaen’s body swelled, and muscles bulged out as bone spurs emerged from his skin. A pair of curled devil horns grew on his head, and two pairs of bat wings spread out from behind. His back vertebrate also lengthened and divided into three jagged tails.

His entire being turned into a red creature resembling a demon. His muscles were bulging and knotted, covered with bone spurs. His skin was covered in mysterious lines, and it lent him a cruel visage.

“He’s a Pugilist?”

Seeing this, Ames raised her brow.

“Nope, a Mage.”

From a side sounded a voice. Han Xiao’s avatar had flown over, and he was reading out Tolaen’s information.

“He possesses a demon’s lineage, and this bloodline got elevated during this sublimation to Beyond Grade A. Just now, he utilized the True Liberation unique to the Demon Race. That red body is his true form and also the origin behind his nickname ‘Red Devil’. He’s a mage that leans toward transfiguration and melee battles, as his racial talents have brought him extraordinary resistance and extreme regeneration, a relatively rarer breed. His combat style should be a bit similar to Milizaus of the dynasty.”

“I see.” Ames nodded before turning and lightly smiling as she teased, “Long time no see. Are you still doing well?”

“Very.” Han Xiao nodded and joked, “Did you miss me?”

“Why would I?” Ames laughed before turning back to look at the battlefield.

On the battlefield, Tolaen completed his transformation before charging forward aggressively, heading straight for Hila. At the same time, a cluster of dark blue mana poured out of him, turning into spells that buffed his body. He continued to grow, and at the same time, a colorful magic circuit appeared on his skin, raising his attributes.

He did not know what new abilities Hila had obtained, but her core power would not change. Based on the data twenty years ago, Hila was a mid-range combatant, with an Esper Ability that controlled a certain type of energy, so he chose to engage her in close combat.

The Demon Race’s True Liberation brought him strong resistance and regeneration, and various magic shields on his skin supported his flesh and muscles. If needed, he could even use it to support a long range spell artillery.

Ames’ power was focused around control and restraint, and she did not have high lethality. In his opinion, his combat style would restrain Ames, so his chances of winning would not have been low. Only because of this did Tolaen have the confidence to challenge Ames.

Seeing her opponent rush forward aggressively, Hila did not retreat, instead choosing to advance, wrapping her dark red death energy around her entire body and shooting forward like a comet.

Boom!

The sound of an impact echoed in everybody’s heads as they slammed into each other. A dark red shockwave exploded at their point of contact!

Just comparing strength, Tolaen, who was blessed with an amplification spell, had the absolute advantage, directly flinging Hila away.

However, instead of taking the chance to follow up, Tolaen suddenly froze, as though finding something strange.

Hila did not stop, stabilizing her body and shooting out rays of death energy from her finger to overwhelm Tolaen.

“Shield!” Tolaen woke up from his reverie, and his gestures rapidly changed as he covered himself in a mana shield shaped like a tortoise’s shell.

The countless death energy arrows hit the shield, collapsing every layer!

Bang bang bang!

Every shot that struck the shield would bring with it a mental shock, which was pressuring to every spectator on the scene. The mental shock did not require a medium and would sound in the minds of everybody near the source.

Hila’s death energy was equipped with multiple damage types and contained both physical and mental attributes. At her level, there was even true damage, so it was difficult to defend against.

Tolaen did not take the attacks passively, however. He continued to advance toward Hila while blocking. While Hila was good at mid-range attacks, she did not adopt any hit-and-run tactics but faced him in a frontal battle.

The figures of the two continuously collided with each other, flying out again and again, leaving behind hundreds of afterimages that were hard to tell apart.

Hila was always someone who gave her all in every battle, so the intensity of the battle gradually progressed beyond the scope of a spar.

Han Xiao was paying attention to the battle, but Nero suddenly flew toward him with Mia tagging along and asked with a voice full of concern, “Godfather, Sister Hila doesn’t look too good right now, does she?”

“You’re thinking too much,” Han Xiao said before chuckling.

“Isn’t it so? Sister Hila gets sent flying each time. Her melee battle abilities are below her opponent’s, but she does not engage in hit-and-run. Isn’t that a bit…”

Han Xiao smiled as he shook his head. “Carefully observe Tolaen’s body. He’s not doing as well as you think.”

Hearing this, Nero squinted. The speed of a Beyond Grade A was too fast to see clearly, and it took a while for him to notice the abnormal state of Tolaen.

Dark red death energy was coiled all over his body, full of corrosiveness, just like gangrene. It was constantly eroding his mana but could not be removed.

Han Xiao patted Nero’s shoulder as he explained, “The time at which they entered the Beyond Grade A realm only differs by a few years. To a Beyond Grade A, such a short amount of time is negligible in terms of their improvements, so their actual combat ability should be in the same tier… Don’t look at me. I’m an exception. And within this tier, Hila’s Esper Ability has an absolute advantage.”

He was not even the least bit concerned about Hila. Among those spectating, only he knew… just how perversely strong the Beyond Grade A Hila was!

Controlling death itself, this was an Esper Ability that was part of the Super High Risk Esper Abilities!

He knew full well that after arriving at the Beyond Grade A realm, Hila’s Esper Ability would undergo a qualitative change.

The intelligence regarding Hila’s abilities in his past life was overflowing, and it was all teased out using players who threw their lives away.

Firstly, upon reaching the Beyond Grade A realm, Hila had obtained an exclusive passive ability. Every time her death energy struck her target, a stack of a special status, [Death’s Erosion], would be added to them.

[Death’s Erosion] had a total of fifteen stacks, and the first stack would reduce all enemy recovery skills by twenty percent and defense by fifteen percent.

Reaching the fifth stack would result in a forty percent decrease in their recovery ability, a twenty-five percent decrease in their defense, and the random elimination of a buff every ten seconds.

The tenth stack would result in a sixty percent decrease in their recovery ability, a thirty-five percent decrease in their defense, a ten percent decrease to all attributes, the random elimination of buffs, and the collapse of their cells, reducing their HP by 0.8% every twenty seconds.

At the fifteenth stack, an eighty percent decrease in their recovery ability, a forty-five percent decrease in their defense, a twenty percent decrease to all attributes, the elimination of all buffs, and a loss of one percent of their HP every twelve seconds.

And when all fifteen stacks were placed, Hila could release a special skill without any prerequisites—she could completely detonate all [Death’s Erosion] stacks on the enemy and immediately make a death judgment!

The conditions for death judgment were harsh, and generally, they could not be applied to targets that exceeded their level. However, even if the judgment failed, it would still have an effect where it would directly shave off twenty to thirty percent of the enemy’s total HP and reduce their max HP by eight to twelve HP.

After detonation, Hila could immediately apply a new round of [Death’s Erosion] after a short cooldown, which was extremely scary.

If the enemy wished to stop the stacking of [Death’s Erosion] marks, then they had to disperse the death energy settled in their body. If they did not have similar skills, then they had to rely on their own resistance.

The duration of [Death’s Erosion] depended on the resistance of the target. The higher the number of stacks, the longer the retention time would be. The first layer usually lasted for only three seconds, but at the third layer, it would last for eight seconds. Furthermore, forcefully resisting would only allow the layers to drop down one by one instead of them completely disappearing, making it extremely hard to completely get rid of.

In addition to this core skill, Hila’s death ability had also obtained the passive property of ‘Vampiric’, which could turn ten to twenty percent of the damage she dealt to a vital target into her own HP. Group battles against her would be tough, as the more enemies she had, the faster she would regain her HP.

In addition, every time her death energy hit a target, there would be three seconds of aftereffects, which would hit her enemies with fifty to seventy percent of her base damage.

Lastly, after Hila was promoted, she had also developed a special ability that was useless against the players yet lethal threat to any others.

That was to use her death ability to deprive the cell vitality of a living person, reducing their upper limit of cell divisions, causing them to lose their life force!

Because of this ability, the vast majority of Beyond Grade As in the universe treated her like a viper, not willing to fight with her.

If you hit me, I’ll lose one second of my life, literally. Who would dare spar with you‽

However, other than Han Xiao, no one in the universe knew of this point.

Even Tolaen, who was sparring against Hila, was clueless.

Boom boom boom!

The fighting was getting more intense, and the surging mana waves and death energy collided again and again, exploding against each other in a burst of energy.

Tolaen might initially just have wanted to spar, but against the strong attacks of Hila, he could no longer keep his aces hidden and continued to raise his strength. Now, the situation was no longer under his control, almost shifting to a life and death battle.

If an onlooker did not know that both of them had met for the first time, they would probably think that the two had some deep hatred, where one could not live if the other was alive.

Crazy woman!

Tolaen was furious, to the point that his attacks got wilder and fiercer.

Even though his magic shield could ward off most attacks, his body would still be occasionally hit. As the [Death’s Erosion] stacks grew, he began to discover something weird.

Not only were his recovery abilities restrained, but the effect of the amplification spell applied to him seemed to be getting weaker, and his body seemed to be unable to bear the magic energy used for transformation.

Moreover, since he had stacked up more than ten stacks, he discovered that his cells were continuously being destroyed, his injuries rapidly increasing. He could barely maintain his current state with his suppressed regeneration.

Her Esper Ability is too strong! Tolaen’s heart sank.

While he had also dealt Hila some injuries, they seemed to recover in the blink of an eye, and it was him that seemed to be getting worse because of the death energy raging in his body!

This newly emerged Beyond Grade A had such a high combat capability!

In that case…

Tolaen’s eyes grew cold, and mana condensed in his hands. This was followed by a mass of blood pouring out of his fingertips, and they mixed, turning into a strange purple blood flame.

By the side, Austin suddenly narrowed his eyes. As a master mage, he recognized the spell.

The Demon Race’s unique advanced forbidden technique—Polluted Blood!

“Not good.” Austin felt his heart clench.

This was a forbidden technique, and it transformed the blood of demons through a special method to become polluted and full of inferior genes. This would pollute the blood and genes of the other party, causing irreversible damage to them. Its power was not strong, but it was very damaging, a unique method of the Demon Race.

He knew that Tolaen’s usage of this technique would not help his battle situation, but it would contaminate Hila’s genes instead. His intention was insidious.

Hila also sensed the danger with her instincts, immediately retreating, but Tolaen raised the purple flame and pursued her. The distance between the two continued to shorten.

“Don’t blame me…”

Tolaen had on a vicious expression.

Because Hila was a Black Star Army officer, he had been worried of provoking Han Xiao and did not intend to do so in the first place. But now that he was truly angered, he did not care about being lenient, and he was determined to use more damaging tactics. As a former wanted criminal who had slaughtered surface civilizations for pleasure, he had no moral standard to begin with.

Seeing that she could not get rid of Tolaen, Hila squinted before shooting out a highly concentrated blast of death energy that pierced through his magic shield, hitting his chest squarely.

At this moment, Tolaen’s body suddenly expelled a large amount of mana, and his cells eroded by the death energy could no longer bear the amplification effect. Thus, all his buffs disappeared!

“Wha—”

Tolaen’s expression changed.

But before he could react, Hila raised a hand, pointing toward him from far away, and squeezed her fingers together abruptly.

[Reaper of Souls]!

The full fifteen stacks of Death’s Erosion immediately detonated!

Tolaen’s heart tightened, and a life-threatening instinct sounded in his mind. He felt that the death energy in his body had been agitated, and like a bomb ignited by a fuse, it exploded within his body!

The next moment, intense pain penetrated his body and soul!

Boom!

Under the gazes of everyone present, before his attack could reach Hila, his body burst apart into a mist of blood!

Chapter 1001: First Battle Victory

Chapter 1001 First Battle Victory

A fog of purplish-black blood spewed out from every single pore of his body as he seemed to simultaneously explode into fireworks. The forbidden technique was directly cancelled.

Shua!

The next instant, Tolaen flew out from the blood fog before quickly retreating. His expression was one of horror, and he was dripping blood everywhere, looking extremely tragic.

In that instant, he had felt the shadow of death.

Ever since he entered the Beyond Grade A realm, Tolaen had never felt his life being threatened so strongly. However, this attack seemed to have awakened his memories, allowing him to feel the taste of fear again.

Just that one attack had evaporated almost twenty percent of his HP. A Beyond Grade A’s total HP was usually around two to three million, so this was a heavy blow. There were even negative status effects, as the explosion of death energy almost made his cells completely collapse. This terrified Tolaen to no end.

Hila’s Esper Ability was far beyond his wildest imagination!

At this moment, Tolaen looked at Hila from afar, full of trepidation in his eyes.

[Death’s Erosion] had resulted in him obtaining heavy injuries, but with the detonation, the stacks of Death’s Erosion had also been cleared, so Tolaen’s regeneration went back to normal. The injuries covering his body gradually healed, and his HP increased.

However, his max HP had dropped by about ten percent, and it was an irreversible decrease.

Hila would not sit back and let her opponent recover, so she borrowed the chance while Tolaen was in a confused state to stun him, stopping his retreat, before launching a storm like barrage, her death energy sweeping across the sky.

Tolaen could not understand how Hila’s Esper Ability worked, so he could only play a cat-and-mouse game, retreating whenever Hila approached. He did not dare advance aggressively like before, opting to only throw spells from a distance while brushing up on his shields, not willing to be hit by the death energy once again.

The situation instantly reversed, the pursuer becoming the pursued. Tolaen ran away while Hila chased after his butt.

The power of this move also gave Austin a nasty shock.

“Such a fierce newcomer? Eh… what can I say…”

He had worried that Hila would be tainted by the Polluted Blood, but he did not expect the tides to turn in just a moment.

“If it was me…”

Austin could not help but substitute himself in the battle and found that he would probably not have gotten off easily. Although he had various spells to remove any negative statuses, the erosion of the death energy was endless, and no matter how many times it was purified, the energy would still be attached to his body. The only solution was to not get hit by her Death’s Erosion.

In this case, while some Beyond Grade As would not lose to Hila, they would fear the repercussions of their actions, and this would affect their performance.

Tolaen was currently in this state. After being frightened by Hila’s burst attack, he became extra careful, choosing to be more defensive.

If he forced a close combat, he would expose his body, so it was better to kite her. However, his range would not outstrip hers; thus, there was no way to win at all, placing him in a difficult situation.

Tolaen secretly cried. This time, he had really kicked a metal plate!

Hila, however, did not care about her opponent’s psychological tricks. Since Tolaen was defending, she took the chance to attack and use Tolaen as a human target.

Boom boom boom!

Magic shields continuously shattered, like layers being peeled off an onion. It looked as though Hila was single-handedly thrashing Tolaen.

But it seemed that despite his ragged state, this Beyond Grade A mage Tolaen was not just for show. Supported by his massive mana reserves, magic shields continued to appear, barely blocking Hila’s frenzied attack.

This has become a war of attrition. Whoever’s strength is greater will win! Although I’m in a passive state, it’s not as if I have no chance of winning. I’ll see if her energy is higher or mine!

Tolaen felt his spirits being boosted.

The True Liberation of the Demon Race allowed one’s cells to generate more energy, and with both of them being new Beyond Grade As, he believed that his species had the advantage and could hold out for a longer period.

Hila’s brows furrowed as she also realized this point.

“Hmm… the expenditure in battle is not on my side.”

With her death energy being so powerful, the expenditure was naturally huge as well. Hila did not have many energy regaining skills, and her main recovery method was to recover her energy through killing. Because it was a spar, there were no soldiers to turn into her nourishment.

She had not entered Beyond Grade A long ago, so she did not have the time to learn many Energy Training Techniques. Thus, her energy limit was her restraining factor.

With a thought, Hila changed her tactics, and the death energy gathered in her palm, turning into a vortex-like shape. She exhibited a new skill.

[Abyss of the Dead!]

A weird spiritual wave suddenly spread out, and all the people around saw stars as their vision swam.

Their surroundings disappeared, replaced with only themselves, trapped within darkness with only a small beam of light at the top, as though they had fallen into a deep well.

“Argh!”

From below, countless screams pierced the ear. When one looked down, all they would see was translucent gray faces, containing all sorts of creatures and possessing all shapes and sizes, packed together.

Every face was contorted in pain and horror, screaming in different tones. The sea of faces was endless like the ocean, and this lent a strange type of horror to the scene. This would give most people a shock to their mental states, maybe even causing insanity.

These faces were all from the soul fragments of people killed by Hila. Their essence was integrated into her powers to help her grow, and the residue of the soul fragments would be deposited, forming this Abyss of the Dead.

At this moment, the faces suddenly stopped screaming, their eyes staring straight ahead. They all repeated a single sentence in uniform, forming a grand sound wave, much like an ethereal everlasting echo.

“Merge with us… be one with us…”

The next instant, countless hands stretched out from the sea of faces like tentacles. They were connected to each other like links in a chain, and they continued to extend and thicken, clinging to everyone’s legs as they grabbed them and pulled them down.

“Let me go!”

“Help!”

“Don’t grab that place!”

A sense of falling could be felt, and many screamed as they struggled.

The next moment, the scene in front of their eyes shattered like glass.

Many of the people who had covered their eyes hurriedly opened their fingers, observing the surroundings through the gaps between their fingers. They discovered that they were back to where they had been originally, as though everything that had just happened was an illusion.

Everyone broke out in cold sweat.

However, these spectators were all only affected by the aftereffects, and Tolaen was the true target. It was unknown what horror he saw, but his entire figure was frozen stiff, and he had halted all actions, just as though his Sanity[1] was completely depleted.

Upon getting a closer look, everyone was shocked to discover that there was actually an ethereal shadow coming out of Tolaen. This was his spiritual body, and he was being pulled out and struggling madly in midair.

If the onlookers could see his status bar currently, they would discover that he was being spammed by [Chaos], [Fear], and [Stunned] statuses.

The death energy naturally came with a spiritual attribute, and Hila had obtained a unique attacking method for the spirit. The [Abyss of the Dead] skill was a mind control technique that could pull out the soul of a target. Both sides would wage a war of mental states, causing the other party to temporarily lose control of their body.

As such, his magic shields were not replenished, and the countless death energy rays directly bombarded Tolaen’s body, smashing his body into a bloody mess.

“Stop!” Tolaen’s spiritual body was still struggling to get rid of the [Abyss of the Dead], and seeing this scenario, he could not help but feel his heart breaking.

That was his own body!

Being unable to control it, he could only watch his opponent ill-treat it. Seeing that he was about to turn into meat paste, he got anxious.

Hila, however, turned a deaf ear, as though she had made up her mind to make some Tolaen meat sauce this very moment.

Seeing this, Tolaen felt his heart chill. He immediately screamed, “Stop! Stop! I surrender!”

He only wanted a good battle record and was not willing to risk his life to this extent!

Hila narrowed her eyes before twirling her body. A burst of death energy burst out, directly knock Tolaen away and cancelling the effect of [Abyss of the Dead].

Tolaen’s spirit got rid of the restrictions and returned to his body.

The next moment, he was completely wracked with pain, and his spirit was even weaker, obviously having received heavy injuries.

“With such injuries, it might take me several years to recover…”

Tolaen’s expression was ashen, and he immediately retreated while glancing warily at Hila, as though afraid she would pursue him.

Seeing this, Hila took in the death energy back into her body before glancing at Tolaen and transmitting her thoughts in an icy tone.

“Scram.”

Hearing this, Tolaen was furious, but he was afraid of Hila and dared not attack.

“Hila, right? I’ll remember you!”

He gritted his teeth and flew back to the Arcane Church’s fleet.

To say that he was not frustrated would be a blatant lie. Tolaen actually wanted to earn some accolades for himself and use Ames as his stepping stone, but he had ended up as someone else’s stepping stone, giving them a glowing battle record.

This trip was nothing but a pure waste, and his mental state even got injured, which would take a long time to recover.

Since he had already lost, and in front of Black Star at that, he did not dare say anything. If Black Star actually took his arrogant words seriously, then he would definitely not be able to live.

“You’re not stopping him?” Ames threw Han Xiao a glance.

“He already lost. Let’s not make things difficult for him.” Han Xiao shrugged.

Tolaen was a strange combination of reckless arrogance and cautiousness. Since he did not make things difficult for Han Xiao, his serious injuries from Hila were enough. Just the reduced life span would give Tolaen endless regret in accepting her challenge.

Since the other party was on the receiving end of bad luck, Han Xiao was in a good mood and could not be bothered to pick a fight.

Glancing at Hila, who was slowly flying back, Han Xiao laughed as he spoke to Ames.

“The news of today’s battle will soon spread out, and other forces will soon know that there’s another new Beyond Grade A in the universe.”

“It’s finally time for you to experience a headache.” Ames smiled.

“What headache?”

“Hehe, remember how you wanted to create an independent group right after you reached the Beyond Grade A realm? Do you think that Hila will stay by your side?” Ames’ mouth curled up. “Do you think that a Beyond Grade A will willingly follow under you?”

“50/50.” Han Xiao did not deny it. “Even if she chooses to be independent, our relationship will still exist, and we’re still allies. The worst scenario is still good news.”

At that moment, a portal appeared beside them, and Austin flew out with a smile.

“Congratulations, Black Star. Your officer has risen to Beyond Grade A, and there are now six of us in the Shattered Star Ring. I think Psyker is going to shut himself in this time.”

“Hasn’t he already shut himself in for a long time?” Ames laughed.

As they chatted, Hila slowly landed on the dock and walked over. Austin’s eyes lit up, and he went up to introduce himself and converse. He loved meeting new people.

Hila and Austin could be said to be acquainted, but due to the difference in power levels, they only had an impression of each other. Now, they were finally communicating on equal footing.

She responded with a few cursory words, still maintaining her cold attitude, but Austin did not mind, and after laying his foundation of friendship, he bade farewell to everyone.

Han Xiao gazed at the closing portal and could not help thinking to himself, The movie watcher is finally gone…

At this moment, Hila turned her head over to see Han Xiao’s avatar. Pausing for a moment, she commented, “I’ll come to you for a talk when I return.”

“I’ll wait for you in the headquarters.” Han Xiao nodded.

He knew that Hila wanted to discuss her future. For an old friend like her, it was unsuitable to talk about such a matter with his avatar.

Hila nodded and turned to leave. She felt that there was nothing worth discussing with the avatar; a hunk of metal could not compare to the hunk in real life.

At the same time, Bennett received the report that the enemy had been repelled by Hila and heaved a sigh of relief.

Reading the report, the ease on his face turned into gratitude.

Hila has also become a Beyond Grade A?

That means there are two Beyond Grade As that appeared on Planet Aquamarine….

What are the odds?

This is the fortune of Planet Aquamarine!

Bennett could not help but sigh. Thinking of the old enemy he had spent half his life fighting against, he felt complex.

While you certainly did many wrongs, to have someone like you responsible for nurturing two good seeds for our planet, your merit is incalculable…

[1] For those of you who want to know more about Sanity, check out the game ‘Don’t Starve Together’. #notsponsored

Chapter 1002: Spectate

Chapter 1002 Spectate

Because of the Flickering World, countless organizations were gathering in the Shattered Star Ring. This star field was currently the liveliest place in the universe, attracting the attention of every corner of the known universe.

Tolaen’s battle was not kept secret, and the intelligence of this battle spread rapidly along the all-encompassing quantum network channel. In just a few hours, the entire Shattered Star Ring exploded in commotion!

The birth of every Beyond Grade A was a big event in the universe. After Black Star, the Shattered Star Ring had finally ushered in its sixth Beyond Grade A!

The news came too abruptly, and none of the organizations were prepared. Everyone started to urgently collect information about Hila’s past in order to understand the new Beyond Grade A.

Before this, due to the long period she spent in cultivation, she had few records in the universe and did not receive much attention. Her most representative identity was that of the Captain of Black Star Guards, and even then, she had disappeared from her post for twenty years. Now, she had quietly stepped into the Beyond Grade A realm and returned, showcasing her strength to the entire universe and leaving a convincing record!

Tolaen, who joined the Arcane Church a few years prior, was no weakling. He had taken the initiative to earn fame but ended up as a stepping stone for the other party’s rise.

To beat another Beyond Grade A newcomer meant that her immediate combat capabilities were considerable for her level, and while her promotion speed did not match up to Han Xiao’s, it was still much higher compared to the average time taken to promote to the Beyond Grade A realm. This meant that she had high potential, and her achievements would not stop there.

The location of Shattered Star Ring had always been remote, and it was the bottom level in terms of Beyond Grade A standard in the major star fields. This situation had improved somewhat with the birth of Black Star, and the promotion of Hila to Beyond Grade A had improved its status once more.

However, compared to the birth of a newcomer Beyond Grade A, the major organizations were more concerned about her identity.

Her identity and statuses were both unordinary!

Intelligence reports stated that not only was she a member of the Black Star Army, she was also the disciple of Ames. She was related to two big shots and was even born on Planet Aquamarine, the same place as Black Star!

Upon seeing her birthplace, everyone was stunned.

Planet Aquamarine…

Decades ago, this was still a backwater surface civilization, and it suddenly gave rise to two Beyond Grade A supers just like that!

What sort of mysteries did this planet contain, to be able to produce so many outstanding people!

This is no dogsh*t luck!

Even if they were to count all those in history, these two would probably be the only pair of Beyond Grade As that belonged to the same hometown!

Her unique status and identity were the reason all the organizations were shocked. Everyone’s primary concern was how this birth of a new Beyond Grade A would affect the current situation.

Given that Hila’s identity as an officer of the Black Star Army, the other organizations were all aware that the Black Star Army would undergo a new round of personnel shuffling and might even split, with Hila choosing to go independent. What would Black Star do?

With this mentality, everyone was watching where this situation would lead.

…

On Planet Heber…

“What, that Hila has stepped into the Beyond Grade A realm‽”

The Chief Vanguard Official Fosters jerked his head back as he dumbly looked at Jorde, who was reporting the news.

“That’s right. It was just yesterday when she defeated Tolaen of the Arcane Church. The news source has confirmed this.”

Jorde smiled bitterly.

It happened too quickly, so when the news was delivered to him, Jorde got a shock as well, leaving him speechless for quite a while.

“How could this be?” Fosters muttered to himself irresolutely, his expression a mask of incredulity.

Several decades ago, the two of them had represented their respective factions in a duel but were called to a stop before they could determine a winner. He had always treated Hila as his opponent but did not expect that the person he had once again identified as an opponent would throw him far behind.

The first was Black Star, and then it was Hila. Fosters could no longer hold in his depression and began to wonder… Could it be that the Black Star Army had a secret method to raise Beyond Grade As‽

The threshold for him to step into the Beyond Grade A realm was still far away, yet his opponents had all already crossed it. This sort of feeling was not good at all, and Fosters only felt a sense of powerlessness.

At the same time, with the Tyrant’s palace hall, Heber was discussing the same topic with Sorokin’s consciousness.

“An important officer of the Black Star Army has risen to the Beyond Grade A realm, and the greatest possibility is that they will now have an additional ally. This will cause Black Star’s power and influence in the Shattered Star Ring to expand once more, which is not good for us.” Sorokin had a resigned expression. He had not planned for such an unexpected scenario at all.

“Another person related to Black Star.”

Heber was a little unhappy, feeling sour in his heart.

How was it that Black Star had such good luck to be able to recruit such good talents?

I’m obviously also a Beyond Grade A, but why don’t I have any powerful officers under me?

“I don’t have enough intelligence on my hands on how to restrict Hila. I need to spend some time looking for her weaknesses. I’ll send my men to work on this.” Sorokin spread his hands out. “Let’s wait and see.”

“Suit yourself,” Heber nonchalantly replied.

…

Among the Star Pupil Holy Race…

“Another one‽”

After seeing the news, Psyker gritted his teeth, his seven eyeballs looking as though they were about to explode from anger.

After the incident at Planet Lighthouse, the standing of his race within the Shattered Star Ring had not been good, but now came along another Beyond Grade A ally of Black Star!

Black Star served the dynasty, so he stood on opposing sides to him. While Heber was not a friend of Black Star, his position remained the same for this matter. In addition, the other three Beyond Grade As were more or less related to Black Star. No local Beyond Grade As were on his side, and the number of enemies had increased from four to five.

F*ck your mom!

How can anyone continue to stay in this broken place‽

Psyker’s mentality was on the verge of collapse.

…

While the outside world was in chaos, Hila left Floating Dragon alone, heading toward the headquarters of the Black Star Army.

This time, Ames did not accompany her. She was forcibly stopped by Jenny to stay on Floating Dragon Island and complete her administrative duties.

Planet Aquamarine was quite close to the army headquarters, so she did not require much time to arrive there. Han Xiao, who had returned from the Flickering World not too long ago, was already waiting for her.

The moment she entered, Hila felt a difference in atmosphere.

Everyone in the Black Star Army knew that she had hit the Beyond Grade A realm, and everyone focused on her along the way, staring in awe and curiosity.

Her eyes did not deviate however, first going over to find Aurora. She walked straight into the officer’s resting room, where many of the older officers awaited her.

“Congratulations on reaching the Beyond Grade A realm.”

The moment she stepped in, everyone smiled as they congratulated her.

“Thanks.” Hila nodded. While she was cold by nature, she was not someone impersonal.

The atmosphere in the room was harmonious, and at this moment, a deep voice suddenly boomed, suppressing all the other voices.

“Captain, you’re finally back! I really missed you!”

Hadavy stepped out from the crowd, immediately stepping forward toward Hila with a sycophantic expression.

“You… missed me?” Hila looked suspicious. She did not remember her relationship with Hadavy being so good.

“Not just me. In the past twenty years, everyone in the Black Star Guards has missed you. Without your leadership, we were lost! It’s been a tough journey for you, and you’re probably tired, so why don’t you sit down for a while? Don’t tire yourself out.” Hadavy appeared extremely passionate, and one could imagine a dog wagging its tail at the place where he stood.

Everyone was stunned by his performance.

I swear this isn’t what you used to say…

This abrupt change in expression was even better than that of the face-swap operas!

Feidin raised his brows and spoke in a joking tone. “Is that so? Why do I remember that you seemed to have said that you wanted to challenge Hila to resign from her position the moment she returned so that you could take her position as Captain? In fact, your chance is here!”

“Nonsense! I never said such words!” Hadavy put on a righteous expression. “Hila, don’t listen to such rumors. They’re trying to create a rift between us. Whenever I mentioned you during this period, when wasn’t it to praise you? Don’t listen to those people who are envious of our relationship!”

He got a big shock when he found out that Hila had risen to the Beyond Grade A realm, and he immediately wished he could take back all the words he had spoken in the past few years.

The other party is already a Beyond Grade A. Snatch her position? Do you think I’m insane‽

What? You say I’m a coward?

Bullsh*t!

How could this be called being a coward! This is called tactical retreat!

Everyone was stunned. To lie like that without even blinking, his skin was indeed the thickest!

“Is that so? How come I don’t seem to believe any of that?” Hila snorted.

As they were chatting, Aurora walked into the room and called out in joy, “Sis, you’re back!”

Hila turned to look at Aurora, and her eyes immediately softened. She walked up to Aurora, sizing up her sister, before releasing a barrage of questions.

“How have you been? Have you been eating well, sleeping well…”

While she knew that Han Xiao would definitely take good care of her, after the Germinal Organization was destroyed, she had not separated from Aurora. She could not help over imagining things every day, fussing over Aurora.

The sisters talked for a while before Hila reluctantly separated with Aurora for the time being. She knew that Han Xiao was still waiting in his office for her.

Upon reaching the Army Commander’s office, Hila pushed the door open and saw Han Xiao seated behind his desk and smiling at her.

“You’re here.” Han Xiao nodded. “Congratulations.”

“I’ve fulfilled my promise, not returning until I’ve reached the Beyond Grade A realm.” Hila nodded, sitting opposite Han Xiao.

“I knew you’d achieve that. I never doubted you.” Han Xiao sized up Hila, discovering that she had become more perfect as a whole.

“And I know that you would definitely believe in me.”

They smiled at each other.

“I would be glad to listen to you talk about your experience, but we can put that off first. Now let’s talk about formal matters.” Han Xiao pointed toward the table as he stared at Hila. He slowly said, “Now that you’re a Beyond Grade A, tell me, what are your future plans? Do you wish to become independent?”

“If I choose to be independent, will you support me?” Hila turned the question back.

“We’re friends, so I will not force you to work for me. If you choose to be independent, I’ll support you to the best I can, helping you to develop your own Beyond Grade A organization.” Han Xiao knocked on the table as he smiled.

Hearing this, Hila did not immediately reply, but a hesitant look crossed her face.

The room descended into silence.

Chapter 1003: Double Beyond Grade As

Chapter 1003 Double Beyond Grade As

As time passed, Hila pondered in silence. Han Xiao waited with a smile on his face; he was in no hurry.

After quite some time, Hila slowly breathed out.

“I choose to be independent.”

Han Xiao’s brows rose. “Alright, then I shall have Sylvia…”

Before he finished, Hila cut him off and added, “But not now.”

Han Xiao’s face twitched. Seeing the teasing look in her eyes, he felt funny and speechless.

Kiddo, you dare tease me?

If you enjoy not finishing your sentences, why not go write a book?

Hila sighed before speaking from the bottom of her heart.

“In the past, I lacked a sense of security. I always wanted to keep up with you, so my only goal was to become stronger and stronger till I had enough power to protect myself. Now that I’m finally a Beyond Grade A and can protect myself in most situations, I haven’t really thought about what I should do next. So, I might as well stay in the army for now. If I change my mind in the future, I’ll think about it by then.”

Hila had already thought about this matter on the way back. What should she do after she had the power of a Beyond Grade A? She had no idea.

In the past, in order to become stronger, most of her time was spent in battle; she never stopped to appreciate the beauty of the universe. At least for now, Hila did not want to form her own organization.

Furthermore, thinking back on the path she had taken to get there, Han Xiao had given her way too much help. Without his referral, there was no way Ames would have taken her as her student. God only knew when would she have been able to become a Beyond Grade A.

After owing Han Xiao so much for so long, feeling like what she did in return was almost trivial, she absolutely did not want to split off as soon as she became a Beyond Grade A. Her personality would not allow her to always owe Han Xiao so many favors.

Back then, Black Star did indeed form his own organization as soon as he became a Beyond Grade A, but he had already made huge contributions to Floating Dragon, so he was in a good position to do so. Hila felt like her contribution to the army was far from what Han Xiao contributed to Floating Dragon in the past, so she could not shamelessly do the same as Han Xiao.

Most importantly, Hila knew how to kill and how to fight, but not how to form and operate an organization, nor did she want to waste her energy on such things. She had really inherited Ames’ ‘talent’ in this respect. She would rather use these times to strengthen her power. She was not interested in forming an organization right now.

From the way she looked at it, with her strength and her close relationship with Han Xiao, her position in the Black Star Army would basically be above all but one. If she wanted a force of her own, staying in the already enormous Black Star Army was better than spending time building a new organization. Furthermore, the Black Star Army was now at the top of the organizations in the Shattered Star Ring, so it was not suitable for her to create a new Beyond Grade A organization since she would not be able to obtain too many resources.

After hearing Hila’s explanation, Han Xiao laughed and said, “Okay, then stay in the Black Star Army for now. My promise will always be effective. If you want to split off and become independent one day, I will still help you.”

“Hmm.” Hila nodded.

“You’re already a Beyond Grade A, so it’s no longer suitable for you to be one of my Black Star Guards. Let’s see, I shall officially make you the Vice Army Commander of the Black Star Army. Your position will only be below mine and no one else, including Lagi. You will be involved in the most important decisions made in the army, and you will manage some of the daily functionalities such as mining of resources, arming the divisions, and so on. You will be given the power to command part of the army’s fleet, as well as have the position of the Commander of the Black Star Guards. However, you will not be part of my personal guards.”

With just a few sentences, Han Xiao promoted Hila and gave her a lot of power within the Black Star Army.

After all, her value was now different. Even if Hila did not need it, he had to give it to her. One reason for this was to show that Hila was very important to him and to emphasize the relationship between her and the army. Another was to prove to the outside world that he followed the rules of this industry.

Han Xiao was very content about keeping Hila.

He had thought of multiple scenarios, and Hila choosing to stay was the best outcome.

This was the first Beyond Grade A Officer in the army. Having one or two Beyond Grade As in one organization were two completely different concepts.

In the past, the army only had me to hold the ceiling. With Hila, she will be able to take care of many things for me, and it’s also beneficial to increasing the influence of the army…

“Vice Army Commander? Whatever.” Hila did not care about positions much. Suddenly, she pressed onto the edge of the table, leaned slightly forward, and said with a passionate look in her eyes, “We’ll talk about these things next time. I have a request. Let’s have a fight.”

“Sure,” Han Xiao agreed. “But not today. You have only just returned to the headquarters. Let’s get to that after you rest. Spend some time with your sister. I’ll need to take care of some matters too. In a few days, I will beat… ahem, fight with you.”

“Okay.”

Hila nodded and suppressed her heart that was filled with anticipation for the time being. Ever since she became a Beyond Grade A, she had been eager to discover how large the difference between the two of them was.

After chatting for a while longer, Hila left the room and went to see Aurora—the two of them had endless things to talk about after not seeing each other for quite many years.

Watching Hila leave, Han Xiao smiled. This time, the communicator suddenly rang.

He looked at it, and it was from Urranrell.

For the dynasty to contact me now, it’s probably about Hila… Han Xiao pondered for a moment before picking up the call.

“Your Excellency, what made you call me with your extremely busy schedule?” Han Xiao smiled as Urranrell appeared on the screen.

“I heard one of your Officers became a Beyond Grade A. Congratulations.” Urranrell nodded.

“Haha, her name is Hila. She’s not just my Officer but also an old friend. Her and I…” Han Xiao raised his brows and said, “Oh, almost forgot, you guys definitely have her information.”

“Hmm, have you spoken with Hila?”

“Coincidentally, I was just done speaking with her.”

“And how did it go? What’s her plan?”

“She doesn’t want to form an organization because she thinks it’s too troublesome, so she’s decided to stay here and assist me.”

“I see…” Urranrell paused, stayed silent for a moment, before slowly saying, “I have something to ask of you.”

“Go on.”

“If possible, I hope you can convince Hila to join the dynasty.”

As expected… Han Xiao smiled and did not speak.

His relationship with Hila made the dynasty feel that they had a very high chance to obtain a new Beyond Grade A ally, so they looked for him directly to make the first move.

Seeing that Han Xiao did not reply, Urranrell then asked, “What do you think?”

“No problem, I will try to convince her, but I can’t promise I’ll succeed,” Han Xiao replied.

“I understand.” Urranrell nodded. She would not force it.

This time, Han Xiao changed the topic and said, “By the way, since you contacted me, I have something to report to you. You asked me to maintain the order of the Shattered Star Ring, and I have an idea that can be used during such times. However, it’s quite an impactful one, so I need the dynasty’s support.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Due to the Flickering World, the Beyond Grade As of the various Star Fields will gather in the Shattered Star Ring, which will make up to at least ninety percent of all the Beyond Grade As in the entire universe,” Han Xiao slowly said. “Since that’s the case, I might as well take the lead and invite these people to gather in one place, hosting an enormous party for the Beyond Grade As of the entire universe and having a chat with everyone. This way, I can come to an agreement with all of them at once to not cause problems in the Shattered Star Ring.”

Hearing Han Xiao’s idea, Urranrell started thinking.

This would basically be equivalent to inviting all the Beyond Grade As in the entire universe, which would indeed be way too impactful. These people were all symbolic individuals of their various Star Fields. If this succeeded, it would be more than enough to cause a sensation throughout the universe.

It might even be written in history as a memorable major event.

As for what Black Star would gain from it, it was rather clear. First, it would save him time and energy to resolve the matter of Star Field stability at once, be it with negotiation or showcase of power.

Furthermore, if he could really gather all the Beyond Grade As together, as the host, Black Star’s influence would increase tremendously. It would be proof that all these Beyond Grade As were willing to give him face.

“How confident are you in being able to gather all of them?” Urranrell asked.

“About fifty percent.”

“Really?” Urranrell somewhat doubted him. “Most Beyond Grade As are smart; they know very well that answering your invitation means they’re indirectly helping you make an even bigger name for yourself. The dynasty’s Beyond Grade As are no problem, but can you ensure that the federation and the church are willing to give you face?”

“I can’t promise, but…” Han Xiao chuckled. “I think my face should be somewhat useful. As for those I’m not able to invite, I’m going to need the dynasty’s help.”

“Alright, it’s worth a try. I’ll have some people assist you.” Urranrell thought about it and approved of this plan, expressing that she would provide assistance.

“Then I shall thank the dynasty in advance.” Han Xiao smiled. He then suddenly said, “Other than that, I have something else to say.”

“Go on.”

“About the Evolution Cube, I’ve already thought about it.” Han Xiao shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t plan to use the Evolution Cube to exchange for something else for the time being. The truth is, I’ve read through the list the dynasty gave me many times, but sadly, there’s no Universal Treasure in the list I’m really interested in. I’m very appreciative of the fact that the dynasty is very sincere in this matter, but I’ve made up my mind.”

Urranrell stayed silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, “No problem, we won’t force you. If you changed your mind, contact me anytime.”

The two of them then chatted for a while more before ending the call.

Han Xiao played with the communicator, thought back about the conversation, and nodded.

After thorough consideration, he had decided to decline the dynasty’s proposal and keep the Evolution Cube.

The dynasty wanted ownership of the Evolution Cube to completely control the business of the Evolutionary Totems, which just so happened to be exactly what he wanted to control as well. This was a conflict of interests. Even if the dynasty would not be happy about it, he had to keep this crucial business in his hands.

Instead of relying on others, he preferred to rely on himself. His good relationship with the dynasty was not because of sentiment but because he was useful to the dynasty, and that was the foundation of the army.

Declining the proposal might make the dynasty unsatisfied, but there was absolutely no chance it would destroy their relationship—the dynasty still needed him.

The act of first mentioning the plan to gather all Beyond Grade As before his decision about the Evolution Cube was also a small test to see the change in attitude of the dynasty.

In order to control something, he had to have enough strength to match up to it. Indeed, the dynasty was undoubtedly a giant, but the current Black Star Army also had enough power to keep this profit in its hands, even more so with Hila’s return.

The root cause of the pressure from the federation and the church was the dynasty forbidding the sale of the totems to outsiders. However, if that was no longer the case, the answer to whether the federation and the church would want the dynasty or the dynasty’s allies to control the cube was extremely clear. They would rather have the dynasty’s ally to have the profit made from the totems than have their direct competitor control the business.

Although, on paper, both these cases would still mean that the dynasty was the one benefitting from it, the ownership of the profit was completely different.

“The dynasty will definitely make some moves privately. Let’s see what they’re going to do.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

…

The next day, an announcement was made in the Black Star Army.

“The sixth Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring who defeated Tolaen, Hila, will become the Black Star Army’s Vice Army Commander.”

Not splitting off and forming her own organization but continuing to stay in the Black Star Army!

Countless organizations were paying close attention to the matter. As soon as the news was out, the entire Star Field was shocked!

Everyone knew that since the Black Star Army had double Beyond Grade As, their influence would surge drastically.

Although Black Star could easily thrash multiple ordinary Beyond Grade As alone, to the galactic residents all around the entire universe, it was a world of difference.

Many organizations with ulterior motives were looking forward to Hila splitting off, but things went the complete opposite direction from what they hoped. They could not help but feel disappointed.

You’re a Beyond Grade A, yet you are satisfied with being below Black Star and working for him?

Can you have some backbone‽

Why not learn from your seniors and form your own organization!

Damn it, there must be a way to split them up!

On the other hand, to the partners and members of the Black Star Army, this was undoubtedly good news.

Knowing that Hila was staying, the entire army was thrilled!

With one more Beyond Grade A behind their backs, the army members were so much more confident that even the way they walked became prouder.

The influence showed very quickly—the army’s appeal to high standard talents became much higher.

Seeing that Han Xiao seemed to really have cultivated a Beyond Grade A, many Supers could no longer sit tight and only watch. Among which, the most affected ones were the neutral Beyond Grade A seeds, as the chance of becoming Beyond Grade As was lethally attractive to them.

…

Somewhere in the Shattered Star Ring, in an Arcane Church fleet…

The conference room of the main fleet was filled with projections of the Arcane Church’s allies. Tolaen was the only one present and sitting in the middle.

“… You’re saying that Hila’s Esper Ability has extraordinary damage to living things, and when it exploded, you were heavily injured in one hit?”

“That’s right. It was really painful. Also, she could even damage my mind. I’ll have to rest for at least a few years.” Tolaen clenched his teeth.

Tolaen was furious about losing to Hila. Not only did he lose, he even suffered damage that he could not easily recover from. It was mainly the damage caused to his mind, which needed to be dealt with slowly. Before he recovered, his control of spells would be reduced, and he would not be able to fight at his peak power.

After resting for a few days, he had contacted the others today and reported Hila’s ability.

Kasuyi slowly shook his head. “The Black Star Army has obtained a new Beyond Grade A with extraordinary potential. His organization has become stronger again.”

Many people were frowning because of this.

Among the three Universal Civilizations, the Arcane Church was the one that did not want the Black Star Army to become stronger the most. After all, they had suffered a huge loss during the Planet Lighthouse battle, and many people there held grudges against the Black Star Army.

At this time, Sun Hunter suddenly looked at his communicator. “Hmm? Black Star sent me a message.”

“What did he say?” Kasuyi turned and looked over.

“Er, he’s sent an invitation to us, asking us to go to his place as guests,” Sun Hunter said with a strange tone.

“Us?”

“Yes, he’s inviting… all the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church.”

Other than Kasuyi, the expression on everyone’s face changed, filled with shock and confusion.

Inviting all the Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church?

What is Black Star doing? Is he itching to get beaten up‽

If it were others, they would think that this was basically suicide. But since it was Black Star, the people there believed that he could really just be itching to get beaten up.

Chapter 1004: Face

Chapter 1004 Face “Your Excellency, do you think we should go?” someone asked.Kasuyi kept silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, “Since Black Star invited everyone, this isn’t a private matter, so it depends on the Arcane Church… I’m guessing we’ll have to accept the invitation.”“Why should we? The Arcane Church and the Black Star Army are not friends, so why does Black Star think he’s worth this much respect?” Tolaen complained.

Kasuyi shook his head. “I can somewhat guess what method Black Star is going to use. His reason is to maintain the stability of the Shattered Star Ring, and if we don’t go, he’ll target us afterward…”

“And we’re scared of him?” someone said furiously.

“We’re not, but the Black Star Army has an enormous force in the Flickering World, so the church won’t want to mess with him. Furthermore, the church has to think of Psyker. He lives in the Shattered Star Ring and has nowhere to run. If Black Star wants to find someone to settle the issue, he’s going to get it,” Kasuyi said calmly.

Sun Hunter squinted. “But if we all respond to his summon, it will increase his reputation and influence drastically, and he’s not even hiding the fact that this is his goal. There’s no way the upper echelons don’t know about this. Furthermore, will the Beyond Grade As of the other organizations be willing to be used by Black Star?”

“The dynasty is definitely giving their full support to this, and the federation might agree to it too,” Kasuyi said.

“The Federation of Light might agree?” Tolaen doubted.

Kasuyi looked at him. “The Shattered Star Ring is, after all, the Federation’s territory.”

…

At the same time, the Federation of Light has received Han Xiao’ invitation and immediately gathered their various allies to discuss it.

“Black Star wants to host a large Beyond Grade A meeting. His intentions are clear. Do we have to help him build his reputation?”

With his two arms crossed and two other arms placed on the table, Sierron said with a cold and disdainful expression, “Although he’s a peak Beyond Grade A, isn’t he overestimating himself too much? What, he thinks that everyone else has to give him face?”

He was a crucial ally of the Federation of Light, a member of the elderly celebrity group who held a very high position in the circle of Beyond Grade As. His position was equivalent to the dynasty’s Milizaus or the church’s Sun Hunter.

Another Beyond Grade A turned to look at Bader, the President of the Federation, and asked, “What are your thoughts on this?”

“Maintaining the stability of the Shattered Star Ring isn’t a bad thing to us,” Bader said slowly. “Even without the dynasty leading this, I wasn’t planning to cause trouble. The development of the Flickering World is about to start, so there’s no need to cause unnecessary conflict.”

“So, since we never wanted to cause trouble, there’s no need to respond to Black Star, right?” someone asked.

“I’m still considering it,” the Chief Elder said. “From the way things are looking now, there’s indeed no need to give Black Star face and help to increase his influence. This contradicts our strategy to pressure the dynasty for the past few decades.”

“I think that we can help Black Star a little.” This time, someone actually spoke for Han Xiao. “From what I see, the pressure we’ve applied all these years has been quite effective. In addition to some special reasons, the dynasty opening up the purchasing right is just a matter of time…”

Everyone turned to look at this person with different expressions on their faces.

This person’s name was Hades, a relatively new Beyond Grade A. He had joined the Federation rather recently and never had any notable achievements, so his position was plain. No one expected him to suddenly express his opinion. It seemed like he had a source of intelligence unknown to others.

“You said that there are special reasons that are going to cause the dynasty to open up the purchasing rights of the totems? What inside information do you know?” Bader questioned.

“Just some trivial pieces of intelligence.” It was clear that this was a perfunctory response, and Hades did not want to say anything.

Seeing this, Bader was a little unsatisfied. Knowing that continuing to ask would not result in anything, he asked, “Then, why are you saying we should help Black Star?”

“Simple,” Hades said. “The Evolution Cube is the core of the Evolutionary Totem business. If the dynasty opens the totem purchasing rights one day, our demand will be met. In that case, if the dynasty is the side who own the cube, not only will we not have any chances, but the dynasty will also receive the most of the profit made by it. Comparatively, it’s better to continue letting Black Star keep the cube.

“Therefore, we can help Black Star to increase his position and reputation, preventing him from breaking under pressure and giving the dynasty the Evolution Cube.”

“Sounds logical, but since the totem purchasing rights are not open yet, whatever you’re saying won’t make a difference. Helping Black Star now is going against our strategy to pressure the dynasty and will only cause more trouble for us. If you can prove that the dynasty will definitely open the purchasing rights for the totems, tell us the inside information you have. Only then will your proposal be meaningful.” The Chief Elder’s thoughts were very clear.

“I have reliable sources. The information is definitely trustworthy.” Hades shook his head and still did not plan to explain.

This time, Manison, who had been watching from the side and not saying anything, turned his head and calmly said, “Do what you guys want, but I’ll accept Black Star’s invitation.”

The others were shocked. They all looked at him, many confused.

“Don’t you have conflicts with Black Star that are yet to be resolved? Isn’t your relationship with him not good?” Sierron asked.

“That has nothing to do with you.” Manison casually waved. “I think that this is a festival, and I want to make it happen. Usually, the Beyond Grade As are all staying in their own territories. Since this rare opportunity has come up for us to gather in one Star Field, we should all meet.”

Everyone sized Manison’s expression up but could not see through his thoughts. They were all confused and did not understand what Manison’s intentions were.

Logically, Manison and Black Star were competitors, so Manison should want to suppress him as much as possible. Why would he help him? No one knew what he was thinking about.

Looking around at the others, Manison shook his head in his mind.

He was not worried about this matter increasing Han Xiao’s influence, as an increase in regular reputation would not impact their position in the Machinery Faith. The believers only cared about mechanical abilities and the result of battles between mechanics, nothing else. Therefore, he did not care if Black Star became more famous.

However, this was also not because Manison wanted to help Han Xiao. His main goal was to indirectly increase the position of all the Beyond Grade As in the universe through this event.

Beyond Grade As were already at the top of the universe, but he felt that it was not enough. In the eyes of the advanced civilizations, their value was more focused on strategic intimidation and killing each other. It had been like this for many years, and Manison wanted to improve this situation.

If all these Beyond Grade As were gathered because of this opportunity, once the advanced civilizations thought about how much power they had if they came together, the advanced civilizations would be more fearful to them. Thus, they would be more important to the advanced civilizations. This would cause some implicit impacts, but overall, there were both pros and cons. Nonetheless, there were more pros than cons to Manison—he had already looked beyond what he had now and planned to bring more benefits to the standard that the Beyond Grade As represented.

In other words, Manison was consciously increasing the ceiling of the entire industry. Of course, it was mainly for his own benefits.

He also did not mind that Han Xiao was the one leading this festival. Although they were competitors, they also had similarities with both being Mechanics. With Black Star gaining more fame, more people would be attracted to becoming Mechanics, which would be beneficial for the Machinery Faith. This way, as the man at the top of the Mechanics, Manison would also benefit from it.

Of course, if he was the one leading it, he would benefit even more. However, Manison was not a petty man. Since Black Star was the one who suggested it first, he did not bother taking that away. Furthermore, Black Star had the excuse of maintaining the order for the Star Field, while he was in no position to gather all these people.

…

Compared to the church and the federation, the Beyond Grade As of the Crimson Dynasty reacted much more positively.

Milizaus tutted. “Black Star’s ways of obtaining profit are really superb.”

Everyone shook their head and chuckled.

All these Beyond Grade As gathering in the Shattered Star Ring was initially a bad thing that would impact the stability of the Star Field, yet Black Star saw an opportunity and turned it into a good thing.

Everyone knew Han Xiao’s goal in doing this. Not only was it to increase his reputation and influence, but it was also to confirm his position as the head of the Beyond Grade As in the Shattered Star Ring.

Also, it just so happened that the Black Star Army recently revealed a new Beyond Grade A, so Black Star could ride this wave to further solidify the position of the Black Star Army.

Another clearer and more direct influence of this would be that the Bloodshed Land’s competitiveness would be reduced. The Limitless Financial Group would also be heavily affected and would no longer be able to cause any trouble to the Black Star Army in the short term.

“Black Star’s methods really are creative. He must be having fun.” Kant smiled. He had turned into an adorable little black pig the size of a palm. He was sitting right up with his two back legs split like a man sitting with legs closed. His two short front legs were barely crossed.

“The dynasty is publicly expressing their support. I wonder what Heber thinks about this.” Beyoni chuckled.

“It’s not that the dynasty doesn’t care about him; he just isn’t strong enough,” Clotti calmly said.

…

In the Bloodshed Land, Heber and Sorokin’s doppelganger sat opposite each other.

“With the Black Star Army obtaining a new Beyond Grade A, Black Star made his move as expected. He wants to completely solidify his position in the Shattered Star Ring. Sigh, this is an open and direct move. I can’t do anything about it. If he succeeds, more than half of the results we achieved all these years will be lost.”

Sorokin shook his head with resignation.

He knew that Black Star was not one to easily let go of opportunities. As he expected, Black Star used the heat brought by the new Beyond Grade A in his army to make a move. Due to how sudden this was, he did not even have enough time to complete the investigation on Hila, so of course, he could not counter this.

Furthermore, Black Star had invited all the Beyond Grade As this time, so the result was not something he could interfere with. The only thing he could do was watch.

Heber did not reply immediately. He stared down at the invitation envelope in silence.

“Your Excellency Heber, are you planning to reject Black Star’s invitation? I don’t recommend it.”

Heber looked at him before slowly saying, “Reason.”

“The dynasty’s stance is very clear. They’re supporting Black Star. If you refuse, you’d be going against the dynasty, and that’s not a good choice.” Sorokin shook his head. “If everyone else in the dynasty goes and you don’t, you’ll stand out way too much. By then, it won’t matter if you go; not going will be even more embarrassing.”

“I don’t need you to teach me.” Heber snorted. “What about you? Are you going?”

“Of course.” Sorokin smiled. “After all, Black Star and I are just business competitors. We have no hatred for each other. Furthermore, I’m in no place to insult him.”

He did not like to stand out; following the crowd was more beneficial to hiding himself.

Your skin is so damn thick… Heber could not help but complain in his mind.

“Sigh, it’s a shame. If only you and I were the ones to lead this festival.” Sorokin sighed. “Maybe us Beyond Grade As know the reasoning behind this and won’t think it’s a big deal, but to the outside world, it’s like we all basically responded to Black Star’s call. If the Black Star Army was listed, just this one event will make his market capital rocket.”

As for now, me joining this festival should increase the Limitless Financial Group’s market capital a little too, Sorokin thought.

Not caring about Sorokin, Heber looked at the invitation envelope again. He was not willing to watch Black Star solidify his position as the head of the Star Field.

Sadly, after the lesson he learned last time, he knew that he was no match for Han Xiao, so there was nothing he could do.

…

Among the Star Pupil Holy Race…

“He even invited me‽”

Psyker was shocked and confused.

Honestly, he did not want to accept Han Xiao’s invitation at all.

But the problem was, he did not dare reject.

Black Star was too strong now. Psyker’s race was right in the Shattered Star Ring. If he made Black Star lose face, what if he found a reason and charged right over there‽

Even though the hatred between the two of them was immense, Psyker had lived on with the shame and grown low profile without doing anything. He did not dare to mess with Han Xiao.

For a Beyond Grade A, this is way too shameful!

Move! I have to move house!

Psyker roared in his heart. This was the second time he had experienced a break down this month.

…

Han Xiao sending out invitations was not announced to the public, but rumors of it still surfaced.

Usually, things happening between these Beyond Grade As hardly ever got leaked. However, the various media outlets of the Shattered Star Ring somehow got the news from somewhere and sent people to the Black Star Army to ask around, wanting to follow up on the story and make it into a huge deal.

The clearest indication of that was the new scenery at the Black Star Army headquarters—a group of extremely persistent reporters who were chasing after army members to ask questions.

Han Xiao did not stop it. It was clear that the dynasty had secretly leaked this. Since they were hosting a festival, building it up was unavoidable. Only then would the impact of it be maximized.

He initially wanted to do it himself, but the dynasty did it for him and saved him some trouble.

There were still some days till the day of the meeting, and most of the Beyond Grade As had yet to arrive. Han Xiao told Sylvia to prepare for this while he paid attention to the responses of the Beyond Grade As from all organizations.

Originally, he prepared some methods to convince some Beyond Grade As. However, unexpectedly, it went smoother than he thought. Most people agreed, and it seemed like he did not have to use those methods at all.

“It turns out that without me knowing, my face is already this valuable…”

Han Xiao was pleased.

After so many decades in the universe, my face has ascended to a new realm!

Since things were going so well, he had nothing to worry about. Other than the benefits everyone knew he would get from hosting this festival, he had another goal that no one knew about.

Legendary Point!

The sources of Legendary Points were extremely complex, and one was doing all kinds of major things. Han Xiao estimated that this would most likely give him a Universe Legendary Point, and even Political Asset was possible.

Furthermore, he could use this opportunity to find out all about these Beyond Grade As and memorize the Attributes Interface of everyone!

As he thought about the plan, his room door suddenly opened. Hila walked in and immediately cut to the chase.

“It has already been five days. I’ve rested enough. Let’s do it.”

It had been five days since Hila returned. She had been looking forward to the spar, and she had gone to his room again.

“Alright, let’s have a fight but not in the headquarters. Let’s head into space.”

Han Xiao then stood up. He had agreed to this before, and he had no reason to decline today.

Chapter 1005: Trounce

Chapter 1005 Trounce

As a new Beyond Grade A and the new Vice Army Commander, Hila had been receiving a lot of attention recently. The more famous she was, the more it would benefit the army. Therefore, Han Xiao was not going to damage her reputation.

Hence, the spar between the two of them was completely private, and Han Xiao did not need to improve his reputation by beating Hila anyway.

The two of them quietly left the Black Star Army headquarters and found a desolate planet. Han Xiao then used some anti-detection devices to draw out a battlefield.

“Here will do.”

The two of them landed on the lead gray surface. Han Xiao raised his hand and opened the secondary dimensional army box. Groups of mechanical soldiers swarmed out and machines spread like a tide.

With him there, he could use all his troops, which was an enormous amount. Even though he did not summon his whole army, it still quickly filled up the ground and the sky.

Psionic Prime and some of the Apostle Weapons who had returned from the Flickering World stood in a row at the front of the army.

Han Xiao then summoned a Lord’s Avatar and shifted his consciousness within before sending his original body away from the battlefield.

Sparring was one thing, but he had no plan to cut his lifespan. Going there himself was to express his seriousness, and changing into an avatar was being cautious.

Hila squinted, not saying anything as she approved with silence.

Although she hoped that Black Star could use all of his strength to fight her, she knew that there was something strange about her ability, and she did not want to cause any unknown damage to Han Xiao. Furthermore, Black Star’s avatar was difficult enough to deal with, as well as those Apostle Weapons on the side.

After stepping into the Beyond Grade A realm, despite the fact that Hila was very confident, she knew that the chance of her beating Han Xiao was extremely low. She mainly wanted to see how vast the difference between her and Han Xiao was.

Hila took a deep breath. Her eyes suddenly glowed like rubies as masses of blood-red death energy flew out from her body and up into the sky continuously, painting the sky scarlet. The red energy continued to expand and seethe violently like a roaring sea, matching the size and impact of the mechanical army.

“Are you ready? I’m coming.”

Hila entered combat mode, and her expression became calm and indifferent.

Han Xiao closed the secondary dimensional army box, stretched the neck of his avatar and released his Mechanical Force to enhance the entire army. He then looked down at the ground he was stepping on and shook his head with resignation. “Another planet gone to waste.”

As soon as his sentence ended, Hila pushed both her hands forward and attacked without saying a word!

Boom!

The death energy condensed in the air slammed down violently like the sky falling, including all the machinery at the front in its attack range!

The exterior armor of all the mechanical soldiers reflected the bloody red tide. Psionic Prime looked up, slightly raised the Psionic Prime Spear, and tapped the ground softly.

Pa!

With him as the center, a light blue psionic barrier expanded out extremely quickly and instantly shrouded the mechanical army.

The tsunami-like death energy slammed onto the psionic barrier, creating a wave of earth trembling impact!

With a blinding flash, an energy wave mixed in both red and blood swept out!

Rumble!

The earth split open, ashes shot up like fountains, rifts were created, tectonic plates slammed into each other, and mountains appeared out of nowhere. The terrain within hundreds of miles changed extremely quickly!

Hila’s expression changed—she did not expect Psionic Prime to be able to fight her head on.

She thought that Han Xiao would be using strategies, tactics, and the quantity of the army to win, but she never expected Han Xiao’s Apostle Weapons to have already become this strong.

Hila’s eyes concentrated as she flew up the sky. She then pressed her hands down. The power of the death energy that was eroding and impacting the psionic barrier increased once again. Large cracks immediately appeared on the psionic barrier that was only barely holding on in the first place.

Suddenly, with a deafening blast, the barrier shattered into pieces of light!

After all, Hila was nothing like Kohler or Beyoni; the Apostle Weapons were still not strong enough for her.

The mechanical army suddenly split up and activated their own psionic shields, preparing to defend the impact of the death energy while raising their barrels to counterattack.

Countless energy cannons focus fired on Hila. The scorching light seemed to have slashed open space, leaving only light trails behind. Not many Beyond Grade As would be willing to take on such a powerful bombardment head on, and Hila was no exception.

Her body moved extremely quickly in midair to dodge the attacks as seemingly infinite death energy flew out from her body, forming layers of protective shields that shrouded her. Attacks from energy cannons landed on her shield occasionally, blasting open cracks after cracks.

Her death energy could be used to attack and defend—there were hardly any Beyond Grade As who had no methods to create shields.

Using the power of the [Power of the Dead] to fight a mechanical army actually placed her at a disadvantage, as most mechanical soldiers were objects and Hila’s ‘life steal’ attribute could not be triggered, which cut off one of her crucial methods to regenerate health.

Furthermore, the psychological damage of the death energy had no use on the mechanical army, which meant that she lost another advantage.

Her Esper Ability could only live to its fullest potential when facing opponents with life.

Defense was not Hila’s strong suit. After being enhanced so many times, the power of the mechanical army’s attack was already completely different from the past. As soon as the army was fully utilized in the battle, Hila felt an immense sense of pressure. Han Xiao’s attacks kept penetrating her shield and landing on her body. Her health bar lowered continuously, and her injuries started to build up.

However, Hila’s regeneration ability was strong. Although it could not be compared with Aurora, it was still quite impressive. When her level was extremely low, she already had the [High Speed Regeneration] talent, which used the Power of the Dead to nourish her flesh. In terms of stats, it increased her usual regeneration speed by five hundred percent and her regeneration speed by one to two thousand percent when using energy.

Upon entering the Beyond Grade A realm, she had received even more regeneration type abilities. Even though her ‘life steal’ attribute could not be used, her regeneration speed was still extremely fast. She was one of those who looked very paper but was actually very tanky—in this respect, she was quite similar to Han Xiao.

For the time being, she could still stand the focus fire of the mechanical army.

“Not bad. Looks like she won’t lose very quickly.” Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction while continuing to farm his distance travelled.

As soon as the battle started, he had made his avatar activate [Charge—Endless Potential] and started to keep moving around to farm the distance moved.

As the ability would only activate on his next melee ranged attack and the distance travelled would be reset to zero once he stopped moving, he could still use his army to attack while easily farming his distance travelled all the time.

As his level was above Hila’s, the combat information on the interface showed all of Hila’s attributes, which Han Xiao browsed through while keeping himself at a distance from the battle between his army and Hila.

After looking for a while, even Han Xiao was jealous of how amazing these attributes were.

Compared to a ‘fake genius’ like him who kept obtaining talents from here and there, Hila was truly one with extraordinary talent. She had a ton of talents, and most of them were exclusive personal abilities.

After becoming stronger in the future and her basic attributes got higher, the effects of these talents would become even more overpowered. Now, however, she was far from the peak she reached in Han Xiao’s previous life. Even if she finally became a Beyond Grade A, she was still no match for Han Xiao.

As Han Xiao expected, Hila’s Beyond Grade A Talents were [Supreme Power], which largely increased her Esper Ability strength, and [Cell Reaction Furnace], which largely increased her energy value.

Although Han Xiao had to go easy on Hila to protect her confidence, he did not want to go too easy on her and did not want to drag this out.

Despite the focus fire of the army being powerful, Hila was not threatened by it for the time being. What really gave her danger was the group of Apostle Weapons led by Psionic Prime.

Each and every one of the Apostle Weapons was very strong individually; they were much stronger than when Han Xiao fought Ames. They were ganging up on Hila and forced her to make a lot of mistakes.

Boom!

Numerous waves of death energy beams were shattered half-way. Scarlet Flame, whose body was an artillery cannon, fired nonstop, shooting out countless dark energy beams and stopping more than half of Hila’s ranged attacks directed at the Apostle Weapons.

Heaven-Suppressing Banner charged forward, swapping his weapons continuously and slashing open the occasional death energy beams that got to him, none of which were able to stop him for even a second. His body was equipped with countless high technology melee weapons. He was a weapon master, and he also took the position of the head drill sergeant of the combat tactics in the machinery civilization.

As he successfully entered melee range, he immediately rolled and jumped up, swapping smoothly between all kinds of weapons and using a set of combos like a Mechanical Pugilist. His mechanical body was extremely mobile and swift; his attacks looked so appealing to the eye that it was as if he was dancing.

Hila had no choice but to concentrate death energy on her own body and turn her body into a weapon to deal with the pressure from Heaven-Suppressing Banner. Sadly, her melee combat ability was no match for a weapon master who was proficient with countless weapon styles. It was not long before she could no longer match up to the skills of Heaven-Suppressing Banner and was only getting beat up.

Clank!

Hila’s hand blocked the alloy vibrating war axe, leaving a shallow red mark. She suddenly raised her leg high and kicked the axe down. She shot a highly condensed beam of death energy from her hand and blasted Heaven-Suppressing Banner far away.

Before she could take a break, the space before her rippled, and Mad Sky Hunter appeared using teleport. He opened his mouth full of metal sharp teeth and pounced at Hila’s neck.

“Go away!”

Hila reacted quickly. She lowered her head and raised her hand before turning around and elbowing behind herself.

As the tip of her elbow landed on Mad Sky Hunter’s chin, death energy exploded, creating an impact wave and blew this mechanical beast away.

At that moment, a purple shadow arrived from above, covered in a special twisted force field and dragging a lightning-like energy trail. It slammed into Hila and pushed her toward the ground.

This was a muscular purple mechanical soldier filled with nano-biological muscles, covered in lightning-like energy. It was indeed Purple Sky Spirit in overclocking mode.

Hila spun like a gyroscope. She tried to stabilize her body while spraying death energy to force the Apostle Weapons back, hoping to catch her breath.

However, at this time, a little dot penetrated the red curtain and glowed before Hila’s eyes.

Swoosh!

Hila hastily turned her head. This dot slashed past her cheek, leaving a shallow bloody mark.

This dot came from the tip of a spear, and the one holding the spear was Psionic Prime.

Among the Apostle Weapons, Psionic Prime was the strongest, and Hila did not have an easy time dealing with him. Furthermore, with the other Apostle Weapons also taking part in the battle, she became more and more passive.

The two sides fought intensely for a very long time. The surface of the planet had a completely new look, like an egg with a cracked shell. Lava flew within rifts, and countless plates clashed toward each other, causing violent earthquakes.

“Hu… hu…”

Blood dripped from the sky. Hila was covered in blood and looked exhausted. Her specially made battle suit had holes everywhere, showing large portions of white. Melee weapons were plugged on her shoulder, abdomen, and leg. The intensity of the battle could be seen just from the state she was in.

“How unflinching.” Han Xiao tutted internally.

Hila was used to going all out when fighting. Even if it was just a spar with Han Xiao, she still fought with her life.

Han Xiao had gone a little easy and told his mechanical troops to hold back, so as to give Hila a chance to go all out. She would only be satisfied if he still beat her in an overwhelming manner in this kind of situation.

This time, Hila pulled out the weapons stuck in her body. The open wounds slowly closed up and recovered. She looked around at the group of Apostle Weapons and suddenly took a deep breath before snapping her finger.

After such a long fight, all the Apostle Weapons including Psionic Prime had fifteen layers of [Death’s Erosion], and they all exploded simultaneously!

Boom!

Red light exploded from the Apostle Weapons, and they were all heavily injured.

Detonating the energy had nothing to do with life force, since at its core, [Death’s Erosion] was about the highly erosive death energy. Therefore, unlike her ‘life steal’ attribute, this ability was effective on any target, including machines.

The death of mechanical lives meant that their tinder was extinguished, which the erosion of death energy could definitely do. However, Hila did not lose her senses during the battle, so she would not kill Han Xiao’s important combatants. Hence, she did not trigger the possible death effect, only the basic effect, which wiped out a ton of health from these Apostle Weapons.

Being heavily injured, Psionic Prime and the various Apostle Weapons showed flaws. Hila took the opportunity and immediately escaped, heading directly toward the Lord’s Avatar like a red meteor, blowing away all the mechanical soldiers in her path.

“This is the last attack, I see.”

Han Xiao could see the combat information. He knew that Hila’s health was close to zero.

Knowing that Hila could weaken regeneration, Han Xiao did not let his avatar take any of the attacks and heavily injured Hila with just his Apostle Weapons and the mechanical army. Now, however, he controlled his avatar to turn around and charge right toward Hila.

Above the demolished earth, a black and a red meteor crashed into each other!

Han Xiao did not hold back at all. [Charge—Endless Potential]’s power fused entirely into his fist and slammed onto Hila’s chest.

Bang!

It was as if the sky cracked open!

A powerful impact wave exploded and blew away all the dust around.

An enormous hole appeared on Hila’s chest, penetrating right through. Her organs were shattered into pieces, and all the blood had splashed out together with pieces of her flash.

Hila’s eyes lost focus. She fell straight down and landed on the ground, creating a huge crater.

“Target no longer has any signs of life.” Psionic Prime looked over and was a little shocked. “Lord, y-you killed her? Wasn’t it just a spar‽”

Han Xiao glanced at him and deactivated Lord’s Descent. His original body slowly landed beside Hila.

“D-did we go overboard?” The various Apostle Weapons quickly followed and exchanged looks. They all looked down with guilt like kids who had done something wrong.

Han Xiao did not say anything. At this time, waves of gray energy suddenly gathered from all directions and fused into Hila’s ‘corpse’. Her eyes immediately regained life, but the dark red glow became gray.

The next moment, her broken body recovered at a visible speed. Flash grew out, organs reappeared, and wounds healed.

Her pale face slowly became red. Hila sat up and gasped for air. The glow in her eyes suddenly disappeared, and she started coughing severely.

“Cough cough cough…”

Han Xiao had expected this. With a smile on his face, he patted softly on her back. “Does it hurt? Take deep breaths, slowly.”

Hila had the [Ignore Sudden Death] talent, which he had witnessed long ago and was also clearly shown on the interface. He knew that Hila would not completely die after dying once, and she would be fine no matter how heavily injured she was. That was why he decided not to hold back and used [Charge—Endless Potential] to beat her into the state of close death.

He knew all about Hila’s personality, and beating her up with full force would actually make her satisfied. She had quite the potential of having the masochism trait.

After resting for a while, Hila finally stopped coughing and had a speechless look on her face.

“You really didn’t hold back at all. I was even killed.”

Han Xiao raised his brows and shrugged. “Isn’t this what you wanted. Don’t you like it?”

Hila snorted and did not object.

Having almost been beaten to death once, Hila was not unhappy at all. Since she had gone all out, this kind of battle was exactly what she wanted. She was very satisfied with the fact that Han Xiao did not hold back.

Furthermore, through this spar, Hila had a clearer understanding of Han Xiao’s strength among Beyond Grade As, and she was secretly impressed.

She did not expect to still be completely overwhelmed even after becoming a Beyond Grade A. The difference was still so huge.

Hila did not become disappointed or despondent because of this. Instead, it motivated her.

Hoping to catch up to someone like him… it isn’t that easy to succeed. No matter, it’s only fun when it’s challenging. Hila encouraged herself in her mind.

She had always respected the strong, and she could not help but admire Han Xiao even more.

“I’ve lost, but it was an amazing fight. It was worth it.” Hila smiled from the bottom of her heart. She did not have many hobbies; fighting was one of the few.

“Tsk, what a fighting maniac.” Han Xiao shook his head and laughed. He rubbed her head and said, “Can you still walk?”

“Don’t touch my head. Let’s go back.”

Hila tilted her head and avoided Han Xiao’s hand. Then she tried to stand up. However, having just recovered from close death, she was not in a good state, and her stamina was completely drained. Seeing this, Han Xiao wrapped his arm around Hila’s shoulder and helped her up.

Hila glanced at him and did not reject it, letting him help her into the spaceship. She even actively nudged into Han Xiao’s arms a little.

…

After this fight, the two of them became even closer.

In the past, although they were close, they were on completely different levels. Now that both of them were in the same realm, they had much more common language. The relationship between the two of them quickly improved, and the awkwardness and distance from not seeing each other for twenty years disappeared immediately.

Hila enjoyed this a lot.

In the past, I could only look at your back. Now… I can say that I’m standing beside you, right?

Information about the private spar did not leak, so it did not stir up any storm.

One phenomenon that attracted the most attention in the Shattered Star Ring was that more and more Beyond Grade As were arriving without any signs of trying to hide themselves, leading their fleets and heading toward the Black Star Army’s headquarters.

The local galactic residents of the Shattered Star Ring all focused their attention on these Beyond Grade As and the Black Star Army. They could all smell a gigantic piece of breaking news coming.

Chapter 1006: The Hidden Bloody Rule

1006 The Hidden Bloody Rule As more and more bosses from various places arrived in the Shattered Star Ring, this Star Field became increasingly boisterous. Each and every Beyond Grade A attracted attention from countless galactic residents and organizations. They could be considered a type of idol.

Other than the things they had done, one of the other important sources of their fame was Wayne Cards. Every one of them had their own set of cards, and there were way too many people who played Wayne Cards in the universe, so they knew these bosses all too well.

On this day, spaceships circled around far away from the Black Star Army headquarters. Most of them were media reporters who had heard about the event, and about ninety percent of all the media reporters in the Shattered Star Ring were there.

The reporters had camped there for many days, witnessing the fleets of Beyond Grade As enter the Black Star Army’s headquarters one after another.

“How many are already here?”

“Twenty-seven! And there are more Beyond Grade As on their way.”

“So many Beyond Grade As gathering, something big is definitely going to happen!”

“Are they planning a coup d’état‽”

They were tempted by curiosity and wished they could rush into the Black Star Army headquarters to uncover the truth.

As soon as the first Beyond Grade A, Ames, arrived, these reporters were all chased out and not allowed to enter the Black Star Army headquarters. They had no choice but to linger outside and watch.

Without their curiosity satisfied, these reporters seemed to have become raging monkeys—they could not sit tight even for a second.

Although the dynasty had leaked some information, it was only ambiguous so that the sense of mystery would still remain. The reason that these Beyond Grade As had gathered in the Black Star Army was not explained so that the outside world would speculate and discuss the topic more.

It was clear that creating this kind of suspense was extremely effective. The Shattered Star Ring had already received a lot of attention from the outside world due to the Flickering World in the first place, and this became the hot topic immediately.

Everyone was filled with doubt.

About eighty percent of all the Beyond Grade As in the entire universe had suddenly gathered, why?

The circle of the Beyond Grade As was too distant for ordinary people. Without any source of inside information, there were too many questions that remained unanswered.

Among which, Black Star was mentioned the most. The interest the entire universe had in Han Xiao increased once again.

Why are all these bosses choosing the Black Star Army as the location to gather?

Why can Black Star summon all of them?

In the past years, Han Xiao had kept a low profile and did not attract much attention. Only recently did he suddenly do something this sensational. Many people wrongly assumed that Black Star had done something secretly over the years that caused his reputation to suddenly skyrocket.

It was not long ago that the Black Star Army acquired a second Beyond Grade A, and now, they were gathering about eighty percent of all the Beyond Grade As in the universe. They were definitely planning to do something big!

Almost everyone thought the same.

At this time, two more fleets arrived with hyperdrive from afar, one in front and one at the back. The exterior armor on the ships had symbols of the Mechanic Emperor and the Void Overlord. It was Manison and Kasuyi’s fleets.

“Quickly, record it!”

“Even Manison and Kasuyi came. Black Star’s face is so valuable!”

The two fleets passed by these media ships and headed toward the Black Star Army’s headquarters. The various reporters quickly recorded this process.

Since they could not enter, the only thing these reporters could do was record the Beyond Grade As who came and waited outside for the news to be announced.

…

The two fleets flew into the army’s dock. Manison and Kasuyi’s avatars disembarked from their spaceships. The two of them had known each other for a very long time, so they quickly started chatting.

“You’re here too. Looks like the church is also going to give Black Star face this time.” Manison smiled.

“Aren’t people from the federation here too?”

Kasuyi’s tone was calm. His voice sounded ethereal, as if it came from the void.

“The federation is one thing, and me coming is another. My goal here is different,” Manison said with an indifferent tone.

“Drawing the line so clearly, you really aren’t afraid of the federation being unhappy about it.” Kasuyi shook his head. “Then, what’s your goal?”

“Do you remember the last time this many Beyond Grade As gathered?”

“I forgot.”

“I’m thinking the three civilizations have forgotten too, so I’m helping them remember.” Manison’s tone was casual.

Kasuyi paused, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. “This might not be a good thing for us. The more seriously we’re taken, the more we’re feared. If things go wrong, it might be another Tragedy of the Pinnacles.”

“The good and the bad have always coexisted. Although us Beyond Grade As belong to different organizations, we’re all in the same Grade, and we’ve always been separated. Now that we’ve gathered, we’ve attracted the attention of the entire universe. I’m sure that the other Beyond Grade As can see how much power we have together. If we can make use of this power, we can demand and obtain more things,” Manison said slowly.

“You’re still the same, saying the same old things.” Kasuyi’s tone did not express any of his emotions. “The Ancient Ones, the Mechanical Race, the Limitless Financial Group… you have plenty of resources. Sadly… when at your level, you alone aren’t enough anymore. You have no choice but to make use of everyone… So, tell me, what ‘Ones’ are you going to form this time?”

“Just benefitting from each other. I’m not the only one benefitting from it; all the Beyond Grade As stand to gain something. Isn’t that good?” Manison smiled.

“No matter what, you know me. Unless you have a way to help me complete the final God’s Trait Transformation, don’t come to me for something like this.” Kasuyi waved.

Manison did not mind and changed the topic. “Then let’s not talk about this. The void specialties you gave me the last time are quite good. Can you give me more? Come on.”

“Sure, give the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back first.”

“Are you dreaming?”

While the two of them poked at each other, the dozen or so Beyond Grade As who were waiting at the dock came over. They were mostly Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church.

These people had arrived earlier, but as not everyone had arrived, they were waiting in the army’s headquarters and had already stayed there for some days. Since their ‘bosses’ had arrived, they went out to meet up.

There was only one exception—Sorokin, who stood outside the crow alone with a big smile on his face.

“Why did you come to us?” Manison glanced at him.

“Although this is Black Star’s territory, the two of you are important shareholders in the financial group, so meeting you guys is what I should do.” Sorokin’s tone was sincere.

From the way this sounded to the others, his tone totally sounded like he was trying to bootlick, which suited their impression of Sorokin perfectly.

At this time, Han Xiao walked over and attracted the attention of everyone. He said with a smile, “Welcome to the Black Star Army. Follow me, the rooms are ready.”

“Black Star.” The Beyond Grade As turned around and greeted him, all with complex looks in their eyes.

Some of them had only heard about Black Star and had never met him personally, but after staying in the Black Star Army for the past days, they knew Han Xiao.

Most of the Beyond Grade As there did not actually want to go, and they only went reluctantly because of the order from the upper echelons of the federation and the church.

However, even though they were unwilling, since they were in someone else’s territory, they did not dare act too arrogantly, or they would insult Han Xiao completely. Clearly, enraging a peak Beyond Grade A who was very capable at fighting was highly irrational.

Manison nodded at Han Xiao. “We meet again. if I remember correctly, this should be the second time I’ve come to your territory.”

“Third.” Han Xiao raised his brows. “You forgot the fight.”

“Alright.” Manison shook his head and chuckled. He did not mind.

Ever since that fight, Han Xiao had not made any moves for the next decade or so. Manison had already confirmed that Han Xiao had admitted loss and would not challenge his position again. Therefore, he had no problems with him.

He had already beaten a ton of Mechanics over the years. As long as the opponent admitted their loss, he would not continue to trouble them. He had to maintain his reputation as the main God of the Machinery Faith.

“This is the Void Overlord, Kasuyi. If I remember correctly, this should be the first time the two of you have met.” Manison turned his head and introduced Kasuyi.

“It’s indeed the first time, but I’ve heard a lot about you.” Han Xiao smiled and extended his hand. “I’m honored to meet you, Your Excellency Kasuyi.”

Kasuyi shook Han Xiao’s hand and said, “I’ve been hearing the name Black Star a lot. You’re a legend, too. Meeting you is also my honor. I heard you also have the blood of the Void Race. I think we’ll have a lot of common topics to talk about.”

After praising each other, Han Xiao guided everyone to their own room. After the federation and the church’s people settled down, Sorokin was the only one left.

“Your Excellency Black Star, it really shocked me how big your face is. So many important people are here.” Sorokin seemed like he was praising Han Xiao sincerely, but it sounded pretentious in Han Xiao’s ears.

Han Xiao curled his lips. “I thought you wouldn’t come.”

“Impossible! I have business in the Shattered Star Ring too, and you’re the top of this Star Field, so how can I not give you face? I know you have some misunderstandings about me since we have some competition in terms of businesses, but I personally have nothing but respect for you.” Sorokin smiled brightly. “We might even have the chance to work together in the future.”

Han Xiao knew that this guy’s shamelessness could match up to his own, so he was used to it. He tutted and asked, “Didn’t Heber come with you?”

“He said he’s going to come on the last day. Hehe, despite being the nearest to you, he’s trying to object like a kid.” Sorokin sold Heber out immediately.

“Humph, got it.”

Han Xiao waved and left the fake-smiling Sorokin.

Other than those allies who came because of the order from the three Universal Civilizations, everyone else had their own intentions. For example, Sorokin was probably there because he wanted to blend into the crowd, as well as to network with these Beyond Grade As. That old man Manison seemed to have other goals, too…

The Beyond Grade As who were staying at the Black Star Army could be classified into three types—the dynasty’s allies and those who were on his side, like Ames and Austin; the allies of the other two universal civilizations who came because they were ordered to do so; and the Beyond Grade As from the other factions as well as neutral Beyond Grade As, most of them whom had come to socialize.

However, the goals of these people would not impact this event too much, so Han Xiao did not mind.

To Han Xiao, the main focus of this Beyond Grade A gathering was the waiting stage before the official meeting. These Beyond Grade As would be waiting for more than ten days in their rooms, which would create a platform to communicate and socialize. Usually, due to factors such as distance and their respective factions, there were no occasions as public as this to gather so many of them together.

This way, everyone could socialize together, and it would be very convenient for him to find out more about the Beyond Grade As he would be meeting for the first time. Not only him, everyone’s circle would expand by quite a large extent, which would be beneficial to enhancing the relationship inside the entire Beyond Grade A circle.

Han Xiao did not just want to increase his reputation and maintain order within the Star Field; he also wanted the other Beyond Grade As to communicate and socialize. He was providing an opportunity for these people to build a good relationship with each other.

Although Beyond Grade As might have conflicts and grudges against each other, they would have no choice but to become comrades and fight alongside each other when the war of the World Tree erupted. He wanted to do something good in advance.

Furthermore, if the Beyond Grade As maintained the state of disunity, it would also lead to some very dire consequences.

“There were both natural and man-made reasons that led to the Calamity of the Supers, I hope this meeting will cause some changes…”

…

“Your Excellency President, there are already close to thirty Beyond Grade As who are now living in the Black Star Army’s headquarters. The estimate of the final count is around seventy to eighty.”

On the Federation of Light’s mother planet, Bader listened to the Chief Elder’s report with a frown on his face.

Considering the various factors, he decided to let the federation’s allies attend the meeting. However, he suddenly realized that the power of so many Beyond Grade As gathered in one place was too horrifying. Even though they were just meeting each other, it was still enough to shock the entire universe and stir up storms. The impact of this had exceeded his expectations.

“There are too many Beyond Grade As…”

“That’s right. In a few days’ time, the Black Star Army’s headquarters might be the most dangerous place in the entire universe.” The Chief Elder’s expression did not look good either.

“You misunderstand.” Bader looked up at him. “What I meant was… there are too many Beyond Grade As in the universe.”

The Chief Elder’s expression changed drastically.

Bader stood up, approached the window, and looked out. “The lifespan of a Beyond Grade A is very long. Without any accidents, they would live up to a thousand years, and there are also those Eternal Lives with seemingly endless life spans.

“Even though the chance of a Beyond Grade A appearing is extremely low, compare how long it takes for their life span to run out to how long it takes for a new one to appear—the number of Beyond Grade As in the universe will only keep growing. A hundred… two hundred… One day, sooner or later, there’ll be thousands of them!

“By that time, individual great power… will be uncontrollable!”

The Chief Elder’s expression became extremely serious. “You’re saying… to carry out a new cleansing? Like the Tragedy of the Pinnacles?

Bader shook his head. “The Tragedy of the Pinnacles was just an accident, but it hinted to us how to deal with the problem of Beyond Grade As. Although the number of the Beyond Grade As right now is still controllable, if we don’t plan ahead, the day when the peak of individual power overflows will come sooner or later… Therefore, cleansing the Beyond Grade As is a must. However, I don’t plan to do this during my term.”

The Chief Elder nodded. “Hmm, the Flickering World is very important to the entire universe right now. It isn’t the time for a cleansing.”

If there were too many individuals with extraordinary power that surpassed even logic itself, order would no longer be stable. In his eyes, cleansing the Beyond Grade As had nothing to do with hatred; it was only to maintain the stability of the universe. However, this would definitely cause unrest in the short term. Therefore, it was a hot potato to any leader of the universal civilizations—no one wanted to do such dirty work during their term.

To him, this was like keeping the ecological balance of the universe. This was not eliminating Beyond Grade As but controlling the total number of Beyond Grade As, keeping the ratio of individual power to collective power at a safe standard.

In peaceful times without exterior enemies, the consequences of this ratio being unbalanced would be unpredictable.

This was not his sudden idea. In fact, many years ago, the three Universal Civilizations had developed similar plans privately. However, the Beyond Grade As had never gone out of control, so they had never executed this plan. This was a silent agreement between the three rulers of the universe.

“I wonder if Black Star hosted this meeting because of this too…” Bader thought of Manison’s attitude, paused, and said with a deep voice, “Manison probably guessed the inevitability of the cleanse, so he wanted to gather all the Beyond Grade As to show us their strength. Or is he trying to improve the position of the Beyond Grade As? Tsk… these two crafty guys.”

He had to admit that he did now fear the Beyond Grade As more, but there was no way to start the cleanse now, so the only thing to do was to turn this fear into showing that the Beyond Grade As were more important.

“Black Star, Mechanic Emperor… do you really want to gather the power of the Beyond Grade As?” Bader’s eyes had a deep and unforeseeable look.

Chapter 1007: Meeting

Chapter 1007 Meeting

As more and more Beyond Grade As arrived at the Black Star Army’s headquarters, Han Xiao’s territory became increasingly rowdy. Within a few days, there were already about eighty Beyond Grade As and their fleets gathered there.

The Purple Crystal Civilization, which managed this Star Cluster, became nervous and secretly deployed some forces to set up defenses.

It was not just the Purple Crystal Civilization. All the Star Cluster civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring, as well as the three Universal Civilizations’ garrisons in this Star Field, started to secretly deploy troops to prepare for what might happen.

This many peak individuals of the universe would easily be able to turn an entire Star Field upside down, and they were all individuals with independent minds who carried the risk of not being controllable. These civilizations did not dare remain unprepared.

As for the Godoran Civilization, which directly ruled the Star Zone that the Black Star Army was in, all of their fleets had gathered around the Star Zone housing the Black Star Army’s headquarters as if they were facing a lethal enemy.

The things going on in the outside world did not affect the mood of the many Beyond Grade As. With Heber arriving last, the meeting began as scheduled.

The meeting location was a palace in the headquarters. The ceiling with a hundred meters tall, and dozens of floating thrones formed a circle five meters above the ground.

As the gate opened, the Beyond Grade As swarmed in. The tallest was the Beast Ancestor Gorutan, and the shortest was the finger-sized Sun Hunter. There were all kinds of appearances.

They all picked a location to sit one after another. The allies of the three Universal Civilizations all sat around each other in their own corner, with the Beyond Grade As of the other factions in between them.

After they sat down, they noticed three empty seats that were next to each other. Seeing that Han Xiao had yet to arrive, they casually started chatting while sizing each other up.

While waiting, many Beyond Grade As had moved around. In the past, some of them had only heard about some of the others but had never met. Using this opportunity brought by Han Xiao, these people had finally met each other and made some new friends.

Those who were visited most were the peak Beyond Grade As who had the highest positions and the strongest organizations in the circle. That included Manison, Kasuyi, Kant, and Gorutan. Clotti and a few of the other Beyond Grade As who did not come to the Shattered Star Ring, of course, did not participate in this meeting.

At this point in time, those who were sized up the most were the new members of the circle, those who only became Beyond Grade As in the past decade or so, such as the federation’s Hades, the dynasty’s Silver Shadow, and the church’s Tolaen.

After a while, three people walked in. Everyone stopped chatting and looked over at the gate—it was indeed Han Xiao, Hila, and Ames.

Han Xiao walked forward with wide strides, came before the mechanical throne, and sat down, facing all of the Beyond Grade A.

At the same time, Ames and Hila sat in the empty seats on his left and right.

Many looked at Hila with curiosity—there were a lot of people who were interested in this new Beyond Grade A of the Black Star Army.

Finally, the gate slowly closed.

With a smile on his face, Han Xiao looked around and slowly spoke, “Everyone is here. Pardon me for the wait. I appreciate all of you being willing to take part in this meeting…”

While saying the standard things, he observed everyone.

As he spoke, some sat tight and upright with a serious expression, some had indifferent and careless looks, some smiled to express friendliness, and some lay back in their chairs. He could see some of their attitudes.

Of the Beyond Grade As present, more than forty, including himself, were allies of the three Universal Civilizations. Most of the rest were on their own, and some were allies of the Super Star Cluster civilizations.

Many also had multiple identities. For example, quite a few Ancient Ones were there. There were also a few shareholders of the Limitless Financial Group. The Protector of the Galactic Black Market ‘Beast Ancestor’, ‘Secret Master’, and so on were here too. These were all very important people whom Han Xiao had to pay more attention to.

These people had very complicated relationships with each other. Some had good relationships with each other; some held grudges against each other; some were brothers on the surface but actually plotted against each other behind each other’s backs; some looked distant but were actually close secretly.

Han Xiao had moved around during the past few days too. He had managed to talk to everyone and successfully collected the combat information on everyone present. There were only a few whose levels were higher than his whose abilities he could not fully see. Still, he had the abilities of everyone else. He had obtained quite the amount of valuable intelligence.

These people, however, had no idea that Han Xiao knew even the color of their underpants.

“No matter why you are all here, I appreciate your arrival…” Finally, Han Xiao had finished the cliche opening and entered into the main topic. “I suppose everyone has already spoken with each other, so I will save myself the saliva of making introductions.”

The people all looked at Han Xiao, waiting for his next sentence.

Han Xiao softly patted the handle of his throne and said, “The reason I hosted this meeting is mainly to discuss the matter about the Shattered Star Ring with everyone…”

Before he could finish, a very intrusive voice sounded.

“Humph, can you represent the entire Shattered Star Ring?”

The look in everyone’s eyes changed slightly as they looked over at the source of the voice. The person who spoke was the Federation of Light’s Sierron, as well as a member of the Ancient Ones. He had a mocking expression on his face.

Without any change in his expression, Han Xiao smiled. “There are so many civilizations and organizations in the Shattered Star Ring. Of course, I can’t represent the stand of the entire Star Field alone.”

“Then, what right do you have to talk about this issue?” Sierron demanded. “Don’t forget, the Federation of Light is the actual ruler of the Shattered Star Ring. We’re the only ones who can speak for this Star Field, not you.”

The other allies of the Federation did not stop Sierron. They came to give face to Han Xiao, but as competitors, they were not going to make this too easy for him. Causing trouble was unavoidable. Even if they were not going to stop him, they did not want him to achieve his goal too easily.

“I cannot agree with that,” Han Xiao said slowly. “I’m a local of the Shattered Star Ring, and I’m stationed here on behalf of the dynasty. Also, I’m the strongest Beyond Grade A of this Star Field. Although I can’t represent the stand of this entire Star Field, I’m sure I have the right to speak for it personally. Furthermore, I’m not announcing some kind of order. I’m just here to discuss certain matters with all of you today.”

“The strongest Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring? Are you sure?” Sierron sneered.

Han Xiao raised his brow and slowly opened his arms. “Are you questioning my combat history?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t deny that you’ve defeated Heber, Psyker, and Ames. As for Hila… she’s new, so she probably is no match for you.”

Heber’s expression was not looking too great. He did not like the fact that his defeat was mentioned by an outsider in front of so many Beyond Grade As.

Psyker coldly glanced at Sierron before glaring at Han Xiao. He was not happy about it either.

Ames, however, did not mind, and Hila’s expression was like a rock, as if she did not hear anything.

“Then, what’s the issue?” Han Xiao asked.

“Simple, there’s still one person who you’ve not defeated, the Magus, Austin!” Sierron shook his head. “He’s just too low profile, but it’s not certain he’s no match for you. Without defeating him, you can’t solidify your position as the strongest of this Star Field.”

Austin was stunned. Why mention me out of nowhere?

Then, he understood it immediately. Sierron wanted to put him on the spot, which might be an act to stir up disagreement. Although Sierron probably knew that he had quite a good relationship with Black Star, there was no harm in trying. After all, as long as the relationship between the two of them was tainted even a little, Sierron would benefit from it.

“I admit Black Star’s the strongest in this Star Field. I’m no match for him.” Austin curled his lips. This was the only thing he could say. It was not like he could spar with Han Xiao right there.

Hearing this, Han Xiao nodded at Austin before asking Sierron, “Do you have any other objections?”

“Nothing else.” Sierron saw that Manison had given him a look, so he closed his eyes and did not say any more.

Han Xiao looked around. Seeing that no one else had a problem, he said with a deep voice, “Alright then, since everyone agrees that I have the right to speak for the Shattered Star Ring, let’s get back to business… As the opening of the Flickering World is near, I can understand why all of you have come to the Shattered Star Ring to wait. However, I believe that everyone here knows that this many Beyond Grade As gathering in one Star Field will create a lot of unstable factors. As the peak of the Shattered Star Ring Supers, I have something to say. Please do listen.

“I grew in the Shattered Star Ring, so of course, it’s my responsibility to maintain the stability of this Star Field. I welcome all of you to the Shattered Star Ring as guests, but I have but one small request… I hope that while you’re all here, you won’t destroy the order of the Shattered Star Ring. If all of you are willing to give me face for this, I’ll be very appreciative.”

This time, Han Xiao’s tone changed into a much deeper and more serious one.

“However… if anyone ignores my request, I shall see it as a personal challenge to me, and I will absolutely not let it off easily. Remember, there’s still a long time till the date of the opening of the Flickering World. I hope to not have any conflict with anyone.”

The atmosphere suddenly became tense. The people had different looks on their faces—indifference, approval, seriousness, and many others.

Although Han Xiao said it in a very nice way, the main purpose of this sentence was to serve as a threat and a warning, and its meaning was very straightforward.

I don’t care where you’re from—this is my territory. If you mess with me, you’re not going to get away with it easily.

If you want to cause trouble in the Shattered Star Ring, you’d better weigh the consequences of messing with me!

Everyone there was a boss of an area, and there were quite a few who could speak for their Star Fields too, so many felt that these words were rather sharp.

However, with the position and strength Black Star had now, he already had the right to say something like this, so no one felt it was out of place.

This time, Austin smiled and said, “I’m a local Beyond Grade A of the Shattered Star Ring too. I also don’t want the Star Field to become chaotic. I agree completely with what Black Star said.”

“Humph, me too,” Heber said reluctantly.

Ames and Hila also expressed their agreement. Seeing this, Psyker had no choice but to do the same.

This time, all of the local Beyond Grade As of the Shattered Star Ring had supported Han Xiao, expressing their intent to maintain the stability of the Star Field together. In a way, they had indirectly approved of Han Xiao’s position as the leader.

Han Xiao paused for a few seconds, saw the reactions of everyone present, and suddenly smiled. “Of course, if you’re willing to give me face on this matter, I’m willing to have a partnership with you guys in the development of the Flickering World. Currently, the Black Star Army has the most territory in the Flickering World. I believe I can provide quite a lot of help.”

Many people’s eyes sparkled.

Everyone knew that the Black Star Army had a huge force in the Flickering World, and the Flickering World was their goal. If they could receive Han Xiao’s help, they would naturally have an easier time over there. Before they arrived, they thought that Han Xiao was just going to intimidate them. Never did they expect Black Star to be willing to provide opportunities for partnerships. This came as quite a surprise.

“We will remember what you said,” Manison said calmly. “The federation doesn’t want to see people causing trouble here.”

Seeing that Manison had expressed his stance, various Beyond Grade As spoke as well.

“Since both Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor say so, then nobody will cause trouble in the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Peacefully wait for the opening of the Flickering World. There’ll be plenty of time in the future.”

“Whoever dares cause trouble here shall be all of our enemies.”

“Black Star, I shall give you face for this. Remember your promise.”

Han Xiao smiled. “I’m glad we could come to an agreement.”

At this time, Manison suddenly changed the topic. “Black Star took the lead in hosting this meeting for the sake of the Star Field’s stability. It’s a respectable act. However, you did not just gather all of us here for something this trivial, did you?”

Han Xiao’s eye sparkled for a split second. He turned to Manison and said, “If you have anything to say, please do.”

“Okay, then I shall get to the point.”

Everyone looked at Manison with curiosity, not knowing what he meant.

Manison pondered for a moment before speaking. “The advanced civilizations make use of us, and we make use of the advanced civilizations. Everyone here works for various factions. We kill and fight with each other, which is very normal. However, I think that we should not be limited to the differences between factions. That’s the game made by these advanced civilizations. Sometimes, we should jump out of their game and make plans for ourselves.”

Everyone’s expression changed slightly, and the room became silent.

This had always been a sensitive topic. No one expected Manison to talk about this at a meeting about regional stability, not caring about those present who were direct members of the advanced civilizations.

From the moment they stepped into the territory of Beyond Grade A, everyone was in the same Grade. Even though they belonged to different factions, this could not be changed.

Manison looked around and continued. “You guys know that the advanced civilizations both need us and fear us. They don’t want us to have too many private relationships. An opportunity like today is very rare. As all of you have seen, we’re only having a meeting, yet it stirred a storm in the universe. There are definitely countless fleets aiming their cannons in our direction, and you all know I’m not exaggerating.”

“You don’t need to emphasize the situation we’re in,” Kant said with a frown. “I don’t think this is the time to discuss this topic. It’s too early.

“Preparing early is better than not preparing at all,” Manison said coldly.

“So, why did you mention this? Do you want all of us to form an alliance?” Gorutan said.

“Just a reminder, us forming an alliance will be the same as starting a coup d’état,” Kasuyi said. There was one thing he did not say, which was that pillars of the three Universal Civilizations such as him were basically safe, so he did not want to concern himself at all.

Everyone spoke one after another, expressing their opinions and discussing the matter intensely. There were hardly any opportunities to discuss something like this usually, so this event hosted by Han Xiao became a platform to exchange opinions.

“Don’t worry. It’s not time yet. What I want is just a silent agreement…” Manison then looked at Han Xiao and said with a curious tone, “You’re the host of this meeting. You’ve just been listening for quite a while and did not stop us, so what are your thoughts on this?”

Everyone turned to look at Han Xiao. Han Xiao’s position was quite high in the circle, so his opinion was relatively important.

Han Xiao shrugged, shook his head, and said, “I have no other suggestions. I just feel there are too few Beyond Grade As…”

“That’s right, too few.” Manison sighed.

Han Xiao glanced at him.

I’m pretty sure the ‘too few’ we speak of means different things.

Chapter 1008: Version Star

Chapter 1008 Version Star “Like the Mechanic Emperor said, it’s not time yet. Waiting is what we should do,” Sorokin said with a smile.“Yes, we need more new blood.” Manison nodded. He then looked around at the new Beyond Grade As present and made his mechanical host send a virtual emoji. A smiley face popped up above his head in a bubble.This old man actually knows to act cute quite well, Han Xiao thought.

Hila turned and looked at Han Xiao, wanting to say something, but in the end, she did not.

She did not expect these Beyond Grade As to gather and discuss such a major topic.

This meeting gradually headed in a magical direction. To Hila and the other new Beyond Grade As, the topic these Beyond Grade A bosses were talking about was way too vast. They could only listen and had no right to speak at all.

Will there be trouble discussing topics like this in our own territory? Hila was worried.

Noticing Hila’s expression, Han Xiao gave her a look to not be worried at all.

Ames noticed that the two of them were giving each other looks, so she knocked on Han Xiao to make him look over and quietly said, “You actually had the same goal in mind when hosting this meeting, didn’t you? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have let Manison use your territory to say something this big.”

“Everything is within my calculations.” Han Xiao raised his brow.

After the people discussed for a while, someone finally made an important remark.

“Although we can’t form an alliance, our circle indeed needs a closer relationship,” Kant said with a deep voice. “The communication between us needs to be more frequent.”

“The Flickering World will be a suitable reason for that,” a neutral peak Beyond Grade A slowly said. “In the past, due to the limitations of factions and areas, the interactions between us were limited. Now, however, all our organizations will enter the Flickering World. This Star Field will become the platform for our communication so that the limit we had before is surpassed to a certain extent. Therefore, we need a bridge, a messenger.”

Hearing what this person said, everyone subconsciously turned to look at Han Xiao.

In the known universe, Beyond Grade A organizations were not allowed to expand as much as they wanted to. They were restricted by the advanced civilizations and all kinds of rules. However, in the future, everyone would be able to enter the Flickering World, which had a very deep meaning. Even though the Beyond Grade A civilizations would only be building divisions there, they would have much easier access to one another to a certain extent. This would aid in the communication between all the Beyond Grade As and the unite of this circle, presenting an opportunity for everyone’s strength to be completely united.

This needed a bridge to act as the center of the transmission of information and resources for the Beyond Grade As in the Flickering World, putting everyone together like glue.

The one who could do this had to have a strong foundation in the Flickering World, and the Black Star Army was the largest force in the Flickering World other than the dynasty…

The best candidate to build the bridge was none other than Black Star!

When more than seventy Beyond Grade As stared at one person, even though they had no hostility, the pressure was still quite terrifying. Han Xiao took a deep breath and smiled.

“If you guys need it, I’m happy to do this.”

In fact, this was one of Han Xiao’s goals to begin with. Although the process was a little different, he still obtained what he wanted.

Part of the reason Han Xiao had been making the Black Star Army build such a strong foundation in the Flickering World was indeed to obtain this position.

Since he was an individual with peak strength, he had to face this problem. Although the butterfly effect he triggered changed the storyline, regardless of whether the World Tree War happened before or after the Calamity of the Supers, he had to make preparations for himself in advance.

If he could be the belt of the Calamity of the Supers, he would have more power.

As pinnacles of individual power, unless one was the ruler, there was no such thing as absolute loyalty to a collective power. Ever since the start, the relationship between these two sides had always been making use of each other. The Great Mechanic Han had never even thought of giving his all to an organization. Even kids knew that eggs should not be all placed in one basket. He had to prepare to ensure his own safety.

Interests between different levels of society could never be truly unified. Unless one was willing to be used like a chess piece, these complicated questions would never be simplified.

The relationship between friends and foes changed regularly; the interests shared within a level of society were the most reliable agreement.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you really are a responsible man.”

Everyone nodded at Han Xiao and smiled.

“I want to achieve a kind of silent agreement between us all.” Manison looked around and said seriously, “When that day really comes, as long as someone sends a signal, I hope everyone can respond to it.”

“That’s reasonable,” Kasuyi said calmly.

Everyone nodded and achieved an agreement.

They would not be forming an alliance. In usual times, they would still fight for their own factions. However, when the time came, they were willing to step up.

…

They then chatted about many things for a whole two days and two nights. Only then did the meeting officially end. The various Beyond Grade As took their leave and departed from the Black Star Army.

Manison walked with Kasuyi together toward the dock and chatted softly.

“The content of this meeting will definitely spread to the three Universal Civilizations, yet you didn’t hide it at all. Aren’t you afraid of enraging the Federation of Light?” Kasuyi asked.

Manison smiled. “Even without this meeting, fear will still exist, so I might as well give them some pressure to add on to our chips… With Black Star, the federation can’t lose me, and vice versa. The difference between factions limits us, but it also restrains them.”

“Everything is possible.” Kasuyi shook his head. “When a tool starts to have other thoughts, no matter how useful it is, it might still be abandoned anytime.”

“We’re no tools.” Manison’s tone was calm. “Remember this, we represent the peak power an individual can achieve. Every single one of us is a treasure of this universe. Not only are we entities of violence, we’re also precious special gene data banks. We represent the infinite possibilities of evolution itself, and we are never to be controlled or toyed with. If they want to abandon us, there will always be a price to pay.”

“I got it. This is why you’re in such a hurry, to protect yourself.” Kasuyi glanced at him. “Have you finally realized that your forces are too strong?”

Manison did not reply. He paused before sighing. “Sadly… EsGod is no more. Although he isn’t the same as us, he was still somewhat useful. If he doesn’t stand against the three Universal Civilizations, God knows how much help he is to us.”

Kasuyi’s tone was strange. “You know his life span was already not long, don’t you?”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Hehe, nothing. It’s just… he definitely knows about his life span more than anymore.” Kasuyi smiled.

…

After the meeting ended, days passed one after another. The outside world gradually noticed a very strange phenomenon. All the Beyond Grade As who attended the meeting were keeping a shockingly low profile and did not have any conflict with each other.

Initially, with so many Beyond Grade As gathered, instability seemed inevitable. Everyone expected this to affect the order of the Star Field and thought that there would be some Beyond Grade As fighting once in a while. However, they controlled themselves and made sure the Shattered Star Ring remained orderly.

The entire universe was shocked, triggering a wave of speculation.

The reason behind this definitely lay in the meeting that Black Star hosted.

What did Black Star say to make this many Beyond Grade As so disciplined‽

The rumors kept spreading. Finally, Han Xiao arranged to have someone leak some inside information. Black Star gathered all the Beyond Grade As, representing the Shattered Star Ring, and asked all of them not to cause trouble in order to maintain the order of the Star Field.

As soon as the information was out, the entire Shattered Star Ring was amazed!

The countless local galactic residents felt touched!

Look, how responsible is Black Star? In order to maintain order, he took the risk of gathering this many Beyond Grade As in his very own territory. He’s basically the agent of peace with great love in his heart!

A Beyond Grade A who’s willing to speak for us, what a responsible man!

Furthermore, Black Star’s action was clearly extremely effective. All the Beyond Grade As were somehow convinced and did not cause trouble, which clearly proved that Black Star’s influence was extremely strong.

To have someone like this in our Star Field, it’s a blessing for us!

With this, Han Xiao’s reputation in the Shattered Star Ring rocketed in a short period of time.

Having done something like this, the countless galactic residents did not mind having Black Star speak for the entire Shattered Star Ring at all.

The power and position as the leader of the Star Field was now finally approved by even the galactic residents.

To the Black Star Army, this meeting was like a promotion event which increased their fame.

This meeting itself was also a noteworthy event more than enough to be written into the history books.

On the internet, more and more people felt that this was a signature event before the opening of the Flickering World, and they gave it a nickname… [Meeting of the Gods]

…

_____________________

You have received 2 Universe Legendary Points.

Universe Legendary Point: Representative of the Shattered Star Ring—You have been recognized by this Star Field. In the future, you have the right to represent the Shattered Star Ring!

Universe Legendary Point: Initiator of the Meeting of the Gods—After many years, the many Beyond Grade As have gathered once again. As the initiator of this event, you’ve been written into the history books!

_____________________

“Meeting of the Gods? How about just calling it ‘Martial Arts Tournament’?”

In the headquarters of the Black Star Army, Han Xiao could not help but snidely comment on that name after looking at the notification on the interface.

Other than the name, he was quite satisfied with everything else. Two Legendary Points was quite a good reward.

The mission given by the Crimson Dynasty to maintain the order of the Star Field was also completed, giving him a few billion EXP, as well as a decent amount of the Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points.

Now that Hila had become a Beyond Grade A, he had reasons to purchase Ultimate Knowledges of the Esper class from the dynasty, so he had new ways to spend the Contribution Points. The more Hila owed him, the easier he could keep Hila in the army.

After the dynasty’s mission was completed, Urranrell personally made a call to compliment him but refused to speak about the other matter… Nonetheless, no one intended to hide it.

Of course, the three Universal Civilizations knew about this. Since she did not say anything, Han Xiao understood the dynasty’s stance on this. They knew that questioning their allies would do nothing, so they had an understanding with each other.

“There won’t be any problems over here in the Shattered Star Ring now…” Han Xiao played around with a palm sized pet robot. “Now I’ll just have to wait for the dynasty to blow the horn of the new era.”

…

With so many Beyond Grade As already making a stand, the other organizations did not cause trouble either. Everyone waited patiently and peacefully for the Flickering World to open.

What Han Xiao did was make the Star Field stable. Everyone focused on making preparations as days passed.

After a few months, the day finally came.

On this day, the dynasty officially announced the opening of the Flickering World. The Inter-Star Field Stargates leading to the Flickering World were all activated!

At the same time, a notification about the start of the new version popped up on Han Xiao’s interface as well—the players had finally come online!

Chapter 1009: Online

Chapter 1009 Online At the border of the Shattered Star Ring, Inter-Star Field Stargates with the dynasty’s symbol stood in the cosmic space in a row, extending outward. The dynasty’s fleets were stationed between each of the stargates. It looked like a necklace with sapphires.On the other side of the stargates were countless fleets with symbols of different organizations, almost filling up every inch of one’s sight. The sheer quantity of these fleets was a rare occurrence.It was the day that the dynasty would open the Flickering World. These were all spaceships waiting to enter. Other than civilizations and organizations from the various Star Fields, there were also many galactic residents who could not wait to enter the Flickering World. Some were going for sightseeing purposes, some who were looking for adventure, and there were also some who wanted to search for opportunities and earn a fortune.

The time when the dynasty would announce the opening of the Flickering World got closer every second.

Seconds felt like years. Finally, the dynasty’s announcement sounded from the area communication channel and on every single spaceship present.

“It’s time. On behalf of the Crimson Dynasty, to the entire universe… the Flickering World is now officially open!”

The next moment, all the stargates were activated. The vortexes at the centers of these stargates started spinning, forming blue wormholes.

All the spaceships moved, forming a queue that seemed to extend infinitely, entering the various stargates one after another. It was marvelous.

Not far from these civilian stargates were VIP military stargates for the dynasty’s allies.

Black Star’s ride was in the queue. The various officers stood in the command room, looking at the person standing before them.

With his back turned away, Han Xiao looked through the porthole at the seemingly endless sea of ships not far away and softly asked, “Did you guys hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“The sound of the new era breaking through its shell.”

Han Xiao chuckled softly.

In his eyes, the interface was hovering before him, notifications were popping up one after another.

_____________________

Version 4.0 Activated!

Fetching data… Fetching data complete!

Player forum opened.

Welcome to Galaxy Version 4.0—[Flickering World]!

_____________________

This day has finally come… Han Xiao took a deep breath.

This was an important turning point version. In Version 4.0, the players would officially enter the stage of the fight within Galaxy. They would interfere with history and achieve notorious names such as Cancer of the Universe and The Fourth Calamity.

The strength the players controlled would truly cross a limit, allowing them to enter a standard where they would have a completely different influence on the universe. With the Lv.150 level limit of the version, the players would have a consistent strength of Grade B+!

Once the tinder of anarchism was ignited, it would engulf the entire universe.

At this time, Sylvia seemed to have received some kind of report. She took out her communicator and looked at it. Her pupils then constricted, and she said with a deep voice, “Army Commander, those immortals of the army have appeared again.”

Han Xiao finally turned around, looked at everyone, and nodded slightly.

“Bring all of them over.”

…

At the same time in the Black Star Army headquarters…

Before the version update, many players logged off in the Black Star Army headquarters. Once they logged in again, with countless flashes of white light, the empty hall suddenly became crowded, boisterous, and noisy like a wet market.

“Galaxy, I’m back!”

“I’ve already bought ten cans of Blue Bull, brothers!”

“Did the new version repair the bug that causes us to not be able to go naked?”

“There they are! I knew it! Those ‘No-Pants-Supporters’ never left!”

“By the way, are there any new functions added? Since this is already so close to reality, why not add a function to reproduce? Creating offspring is the soul of a social system!”

“If we could really reproduce, this would be the most god tier game ever created.”

Countless players cheered in excitement. Meanwhile, at the edge of the crowd, a group of professional players logged in one after another. The members of the four biggest clubs of China were basically all there, as well as Frenzied Sword, Maple Moon, Bun-Hit-Dog, and so on.

“Yo, the maximum level of the new version has increased to Lv.150.” King Admiral looked at the interface and smiled.

“The difference in the cost of leveling up is way too huge.” Second Prince could not help but twitch.

“The Black Star Army’s faction interface is still here. The army did not shut down.” Frenzied Sword checked the faction interface instantly.

“How could the Black Star Army shut down so easily?” Maple Moon softly murmured.

The players in the other Star Fields would have to worry about the faction they were disappearing after the version update, meaning all the Contribution Points they had farmed before that would go to waste. This was why stable factions were the most popular.

The players in the Black Star Army, however, had no such worries. After three versions, they already had complete faith in their faction leader, Han Xiao.

At the end of the previous version, the army’s position was already stabilized. The Arcane Church lost, EsGod was defeated, and they obtained a super business called Evolutionary Totems. Even the players knew that the army would not shut down easily.

At the start of the new version, the most important thing was finding out what happened during the version update as well as what the situation in the universe was now. This had already become the players’ habit.

Many players took out their communicators to look at the calendar and were met with shock.

“Wait, it’s Galaxy Calendar Year 729 now‽”

“It was year 709 when we logged off, right?”

“This means that the duration of this version update is twenty years‽”

“I thought the Version 3.0 update duration was long enough, but Version 4.0 doubled it!”

Frenzied Sword exchanged looks with Maple Moon. A tint of excitement flashed across both of their eyes.

Twenty years!

That’s not a short time.

How much will the Black Star Army have grown?

While exciting thoughts flashed across their minds, the notification sound from communicators suddenly appeared one almost simultaneously in the hall. Every player received a new message sent by the internal program of the army.

They quickly opened it. Virtual screens expanded before them, all showing Han Xiao’s face and playing the same recording.

In the recording, Han Xiao sat up straight, only showing half of his body as he spoke with a very formal tone.

“Comrades, I’m Black Star. In the past twenty years, we have obtained countless achievements, especially in the Flickering World. The army now has ten Star Systems as its territory, thanks to the effort of each and every member that helped to achieve the glory we have achieved today.

“Now, the Flickering World will be entering its fourth exploration phase and will be officially opened to the public. People from the entire universe will swarm into this Star Field. This is a new era; we need to grab the opportunity and charge forward… I hereby send a recruitment order to all army members. The army needs you… The Flickering World needs you!”

The short recording ended here. The pupils of the players gradually enlarged as they received a huge chunk of information from this message.

It’s now the fourth exploration phase? I seem to remember the first phase not having ended when we logged off!

The army has ten Star Systems as its territory in the Flickering World? What’s going on with that‽

What did the army do in the past twenty years‽

Everyone was extremely intrigued.

What they did not know was that this recording was a ‘cutscene’ Han Xiao had specially made for the players to help them understand the situation quickly.

This time, Hao Tian suddenly realized one thing. “Wait, if it’s now the fourth exploration phase for the Flickering World, is our main storyline mission still there?”

The various professional players realized this too. Their original main storyline mission was still in the stage of the first exploration phase. Due to the version update directly skipping twenty years, would their missions be canceled?

If it was gone, it would be quite a loss.

They hastily opened the interface before relief flooded through them. The main storyline mission of the [Flickering World] was still there. The mission requirements had just changed into developing the Black Star Army’s territory as well as exploring the few Star Clusters of the fourth exploration phase.

“Although it’s changed, it’s still exploration.”

Many players shook their heads but were not excited, a little disappointed even.

They were curious about the information given through the recording, but they were not very interested in the Flickering World’s mission. This was because the army players had already tried this mission in the previous version. Although the goal had changed, the way to do the mission looked the same to them.

Pioneering new Star Fields was fresh indeed, but it lacked opportunities for battles. In the previous version, many players were tired of doing the Flickering World mission and preferred to do hiring missions in the Shattered Star Ring.

This was actually quite common, as the Flickering World main storyline the players experienced in Version 3.0 was actually just half of what it was supposed to be. The dynasty was the only organization pioneering, so of course, it lacked battles.

At this time, they were suddenly stunned upon realizing one thing.

Did Black Star say… the Flickering World is now open to the public?

So, the organizations from the other Star Fields are entering?

Then… what about the players of the other Star Fields?

Frenzied Sword immediately went online to do some research and confirmed the legitimacy of this information very soon. Not only that, the organizations of the various Star Fields were also recruiting Supers on a large scale to go to the Flickering World.

The biggest impact this had on the players was that the inter Star Field channels were now completely open!

Compared to the last version, the players had a method to cross between Star Fields!

The people quickly logged into the forums.

As expected, all of the forum boards were frenzied by this information!

Frenzied Sword understood immediately. With his eyes sparkling brightly, he yelled, “This is… a world server!”

All the players in the various Star Fields would finally be able to come to the same stage, gathering in the Flickering World!

What did this mean?

National wars!

The speculation that Galaxy Times had made about crossing between Star Fields became real!

All the players in the hall were astonished and thrilled!

“Holy, it’s the world server!”

“Hahaha, I knew this day would come!”

“Finally, national wars! I can’t wait!”

The next moment, they realized something else. The Flickering World would be the world server of this version, but as the members of the army, they had already entered in the previous version in advance.

How much of an advantage would that be‽

The players were overjoyed!

“Oh my god, we have already marked our territory in Flickering World in the last version. We’re one entire version ahead!”

“I’m crying! I felt that the exploration was too boring and went back to the Shattered Star Ring to do hiring missions!”

“With such a big advantage, we’ll have a blast this version!”

The players who had gone to the Shattered Star Ring from the Constellation Corridor in the previous version all felt relieved. Had they not followed the Black Star Army back then, how could they have gained such privileges‽

On the other side, the players of the other Star Fields were in an uproar.

In Version 1.0, Black Star led some players in the universe in advance. Okay, we’ll put up with it.

In Version 2.0, the Black Star Army became the guiding faction, making the Shattered Star Ring players ahead of everyone else again. Alright, we’ll put up with it too.

In Version 3.0, the Black Star Army had a Beyond Grade A, leading to it being connected to a Universal Civilization before everyone else. Well, we will put up with it. Sooner or later, our day will come.

But now, in Version 4.0, the Black Star Army is god damn one step ahead again‽

Are you guys dogs‽

Why are you always the ones enjoying the most benefits?

What happened to the law? What happened to the rules‽

Do you fu*king… still need more members?

Only then did they realize that Black Star had already built a foundation for them in the previous version, and they saw what an advantage they had gained from this faction!

The various army players could only praise how amazing the game experience was.

With such a reliable faction, the players of the other Star Fields and countries could only be jealous.

This was the only one in the entire universe!

Now, the army players’ interest for the Flickering World was never higher.

Initially, many felt that the exploration game style was too boring. Now, however, as the Flickering World became the world server for the players, it would become the most chaotic and exciting Star Field in the entire universe. There would be countless and never-ending conflicts. This was the full experience of the [Flickering World] main storyline!

Having this thought, Frenzied Sword and the others quickly went to research about what the Black Star Army had done in the past years, wanting to know what advantages their faction had exactly in the Flickering World.

As soon as he opened the Black Star Army’s records, Frenzied Sword’s eyes opened extremely wide.

He had made a lot of speculations, and he was mentally prepared too. However, the first thing he saw was completely different from what he imagined, and it stupefied him completely.

“What the hell? Old Black became a god‽”

Chapter 1010: World Server, Start of Revenge

Chapter 1010 World Server, Start of Revenge

The records clearly stated the major events that the Black Star Army had been through during the twenty-year update. Frenzied Sword filtered it to be between the years 709 and 729, arranged from the earliest to the latest.

And this highlighted record was the first thing he saw.

‘Galaxy Calendar Year 710, Black Star became a Mechanical Deity!’

This term blew Frenzied Sword’s fragile mind. There was only one thought in his head.

Black Star has become a God!

This name was very intimidating, but Frenzied Sword calmed down and did some research. Only then did he understand that ‘Mechanical Deity’ had a different meaning to what he expected. It was the nickname of Divine Throne Mechanics, which meant that Black Star had become a peak Beyond Grade A.

“That startled me. I thought Old Black was going to ascend above.”

Slightly relieved, Frenzied Sword continued to browse through, noticing another few major events in the same year.

Firstly, when the first exploration phase ended, the army received seven Star Systems as its territory and became the biggest armed organization in the Flickering World. Secondly, the Germinal Financial Group was formed, starting its fight with the Limitless Financial Group in the various commercial industries. Thirdly, the plan of building Super Academies was executed; the Black Star Army had already built tens of thousands of Super Academies in the Shattered Star Ring, raising countless Supers, some of which were chosen to become members of the army.

In the same period, after Black Star became a Mechanical Deity, he had fought the Tyrant once again, beating him with just an avatar. This confirmed his position as the strongest individual in the Shattered Star Ring. Not long after, the Mechanic Emperor invaded, and conflict erupted, which was ended by the dynasty interfering to force the Mechanic Emperor away.

Frenzied Sword could almost feel how intense things were back then from just the words.

After that, the army entered into a low-profile development period. Black Star no longer featured in the top news as often and quietly remained in the Flickering World. Then, in the year 716, the war with the Kunde Race erupted. This was the first sub-Star Cluster native civilization that was eliminated.

However, the records of this period of history were very sparse and vague. There was only a rough conclusion, and nothing could be found online. The only valuable clue that Frenzied Sword had was that the Black Star Army was now responsible for the transformation task of the Kunde Race, which had been going on for thirteen years.

After the Kunde Race war, the army remained low profile during the second and the third phases as well. Everything had been peaceful and calm until only recently, when the army revealed its second Beyond Grade A, someone they were familiar with.

“Hila has become a Beyond Grade A‽” Seeing the name, Frenzied Sword’s eyes widened in shock.

No players born on Planet Aquamarine were unfamiliar with Hila. Be it when she was the villain ‘Crimson Snake’ in the Germinal Organization or when she fought on their side during the Mutation Disaster of Version 2.0, these impressions were all deeply rooted in each and every player of Planet Aquamarine… mainly because Hila’s astonishing beaty made the deepest impression.

All the old players knew that Black Star and Hila went way back, from Planet Aquamarine to the universe. She was an old friend who appeared very long ago.

Frenzied Sword had worked hard for four versions in the army, so the army was his home faction. Now that his own faction had another person to rely on, no words could describe how pleasantly surprised Frenzied Sword was.

Suppressing his excitement, Frenzied Sword turned to the last bit of the records—the ‘Meeting of the Gods’ that Black Star had hosted just recently, where he summoned more than seventy Beyond Grade As to gather in one place.

Seeing the shocking influence Black Star had, even his heart skipped a beat. After twenty years, how had Black Star’s position in the universe already achieved this standard‽

“My god…”

Before Frenzied Sword could pull himself out of the shock, loud laughter exploded from beside him, startling him.

“Hahaha! Nice!”

Bun-Hit-Dog guffawed into the sky with his hands on his hips. His mouth was opened so wide that it almost looked like it was going to crack. His smile was like the smile of an evil hound.

Frenzied Sword covered his ears. “What are you laughing about?”

“Look at this. During the twenty years of the version update, look at how much has happened to the Black Star Army. This is all material for videos. This is a treasure!”

Bun-Hit-Dog was exhilarated. With so much material, he would not have to worry about having nothing to make videos about for quite some time.

He planned to include all the things the army achieved during the update, to help the army players know about the army’s history. Just thinking about it made him certain it would be popular, and he was sure he would probably go viral again!

With that in mind, Bun-Hit-Dog took a look around and realized that many people were looking at their communicators and browsing through the history of the army. He could not help but open the forums. He used his talent as the number one reporter and uploaded the army records. At the same time, he gave the post an attractive title—’Shock! The Army’s Glorious Twenty Years!’

At the start of a new version, countless players were exchanging information on the forums with excitement. As soon as this post was uploaded, it attracted a lot of attention in the Shattered Star Ring panel.

Army Commander’s Big PP: “Old Black is fierce as always!”

Fulliron Alchemist: “Old Black has been like this ever since the first version. He’s undoubtedly a legend at starting from zero. Is there anyone in the entire universe more amazing than him?”

Stupid Cat: “The ID of the brother above…”

Magnet Link: “I didn’t expect Hila to become a Beyond Grade A too. By the way, do you guys remember Black Star’s origin? He started as a traitor of the Germinal Organization, and Hila was a member of the Germinal Organization too… Tsk, what an organization.”

Mysterious Man: “Germinal doesn’t die; it only hides!”

While Frenzied Sword was deeply drawn to the stupid comments, he was suddenly dragged by Maple Moon toward the dock.

“Stop reading, let’s quickly go to the Flickering World, as soon as possible.”

With someone taking the lead, the players of the entire Black Star Army headquarters started moving and swarmed toward the dock.

…

The forums, which had been quiet for quite some time, suddenly became extremely boisterous. After the army players scattered around various places understood what was going on in this version, they immediately headed to the nearest army base and boarded a fleet toward the Flickering World. No one wanted to miss out on the world server.

As members of the Black Star Army, since they had such a huge advantage, they were not going to waste it. Every second counted.

In the eyes of the foreign professional clubs, the exclusive faction advantage the Chinese players in the Shattered Star Ring had was just about the worst news they could receive. The guilds of the various countries hastily started private meetings to discuss the matter.

“Things are not looking good. The main storyline of this version is way too good for the Chinese players. The world server is right beside the Shattered Star Ring, and they’ve already been there. When our guilds enter the world server, it will be very difficult for us to compete with these top Chinese guilds such as Dynasty and Long Sky. We will certainly be at a disadvantage in Guild Wars, which will very likely affect the growth of our professional players.”

“In the previous season, three teams out of the top four teams were from China. We can’t keep letting them have such dominance over us no matter what this season.”

“It’s going to be tough. The Black Star Army is basically going to be the locals in the world server, and it’s backing the Chinese players up. Are we going to join the Black Star Army?”

“It’s very difficult for the professional players and the guild top players to join other factions on a completely different side, or all the effort spent in the previous versions will go to waste.”

“That’s right. Even if we do change factions, we can’t compete with what the Chinese players have built up in the Black Star Army over several versions.”

“Let’s observe how things go for now, see how the Chinese guilds respond to this. If it’s not ideal… we might have to unite the clubs from the other countries.”

Although this was just the first day of the start of the new version, the situation had already made the clubs from various countries agitated.

After all, the faction advantage for the Chinese players was way too huge. While the Americans, Frenches, Koreans, and Japanese were feeling indignant, they all had thoughts of forming an alliance.

…

“So, all the players have moved…”

Han Xiao smiled after hearing Phillip’s report.

With the opening of the Flickering World, the traffic of this Star Field would explode. There would be demanded businesses everywhere, bringing opportunities. It would be like the age of digging for gold. The advantages the Black Star Army had been building for so long would now finally show their effects.

To him, this was not the stage of exploration but the stage of harvest!

With the territory he had, it basically meant he could just sit and watch while others brought him profit.

Countless organizations would be competing there, so the players would have plenty of mission resources and countless ways to gain EXP, as well as no shortage of opportunities to fight.

However, it’s not that easy to harvest EXP at the start of the new version, Han Xiao thought.

The players’ current main goal was continuing to level up, so most of the EXP they earned would be spent on levels. It was not time to harvest yet.

In order to quickly level up, Han Xiao had to wait for the players for a period of time.

However, Han Xiao was in no hurry. Quite a number of new items had been added to the army’s store. No matter how petty the players were, he could make the players open their wallets. The efficiency of getting EXP from this still far exceeded him doing missions himself.

His level, which had remained stagnant for so long, could now finally increase rapidly!

Players from various nations swarming into the world server was an opportunity to enlarge his farm. For the Black Star Army to attract outside players now, Han Xiao no longer had to do much. The advantages he had obtained over the versions and his positive name were the core appeals.

The bigger the advantage the army players had in the Flickering World, the more attractive the Black Star Army would be. However, due to exactly this reason, Han Xiao could guess that some foreign clubs might get together to fight the Chinese players. Therefore, helping the army players was a must.

In his previous life during Version 4.0, the clubs from the various nations kept forming alliances and betraying each other in all kinds of ways that made things almost look like they were in the ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ era.

His plan was to use the army’s territory as a base to provide resources while helping the army players become stronger in Version 4.0. At the same time, he would use the players’ power to create trouble, attacking the enemies while protecting their own forces, attracting more players, and satisfying his need to level up.

“Modo Civilization, Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy…” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

It would still take the players of the various Star Fields some time to arrive at the Flickering World. Other than the players, these two matters were what he needed to deal with the most.

The Kunde Race’s mission required him to take revenge against the Modo Civilization. Back then, the dynasty told him to only fully execute the plan when the Flickering World was completely open. Now, the Modo Civilization’s troops had also entered the Flickering World. On his turf, Han Xiao had a hundred ways to make life hell for the Modo Civilization.

The mission reward was the [Proof of Leadership] talent, which was extremely useful for the leader of a huge organization like him. Han Xiao had waited more than ten years, and he could finally make a move.

The moment when the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy appeared would also soon arrive, and there would probably be quite a number of organizations who would fight for it. Han Xiao had already sent troops off toward the location marked in EsGod’s heritage.

He had also researched its owner in his previous life. If he remembered correctly, it should be an ordinary person called Evans. He already had the location of Evans, who was also in the Flickering World and under his surveillance.

If there was no one under his command that could control the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, he would find the owner from his previous life, who would definitely be able to control it.

While pondering, Han Xiao told Phillip, “Search for the current location of the Modo Civilization’s fleet… I shall send them a huge ‘gift’ to begin.”

Chapter 1011: I“m Going to Beat You Up. What Are You Going to Do About It?

Chapter 1011 I“m Going to Beat You Up. What Are You Going to Do About It?

The Flickering World’s Dawn Star Cluster was an area completely controlled by the army. It was also the first station after entering the Flickering World. As the fleets of countless organizations swarmed in, this Star Cluster became countless times more boisterous, gradually turning this place into part of the galactic society.

There was profit to be found everywhere in the Flickering World at this time; all of the Star Clusters had demands that were not met. The outside organizations mainly had to choose where to set foot.

The transit stations at the entrances of the Star Field contained huge profits. Many organizations and galactic residents scattered and headed right toward the transit stations as soon as they entered the Star Field, while more organizations went other ways to the further Star Clusters to look for opportunities.

Among which, the Modo Civilization was one of the organizations that headed to the further Star Clusters. Their goal was to develop the territories of the third and the fourth phase.

The reasoning was simple—the further the Star Clusters were, the less they had been developed, which meant that not only would there be more holes to fill in the various industries, but the dynasty’s control would also not be as strong compared to the earlier Star Clusters. And this was extremely important to Super Star Cluster civilizations.

The Super Star Cluster civilizations knew very well that the dynasty would definitely not let them develop comfortably. Therefore, almost all the Super Star Cluster civilizations gave up on the first and second phase territories.

Even an ordinary person could see that the few Star Clusters that were about to be explored in the fourth phase would become crucial stages of competition for the external organizations.

Inside the main ship’s command room, a tall man stood before the command post, looking up at the star map. His face gave off a cold and tough vibe, and his expression was solemn.

He was Roddick, Senior General of the Modo Civilization, currently the commander of the ‘Expedition Fleet’.

‘Expedition Fleet’ was the name of this fleet, a new fleet the Modo Civilization had built just for the Flickering World. They had gathered a large number of elites, among whom Roddick stood above all and took on the responsibility of commanding this crucial fleet. Clearly, the upper echelons of the Modo Civilization had high hopes for him.

A member of the Modo Race who was wearing a government official uniform asked, “Commander, how long till we cross the first and second phase areas?”

This man was a senior officer of the Modo Civilization. His name was Lagos as translated into the universal language. He was given the position of the inspector of the Expedition Fleet, responsible for monitoring Roddick.

Lagos did not have much power in his hands, so he could not interfere with Roddick under normal circumstances. His main job was to report the situation to the upper echelons, as well as contact the temporary stronghold the Modo Civilization had built in the Shattered Star Ring. He also managed the resources and manpower.

Hearing the inspector’s question, Roddick stared at the Star Cluster and replied without turning his head. “The time spent in the first and second phases was the longest. The Crimson Dynasty and their allies had already built full sets of long distance portals long ago. Travelling was very convenient, so it should only take about seventeen days to arrive at the third phase territory. Most of the time will be spent on the area between the stargates.”

Then, Roddick squinted and added, “Actually, the quickest route is through Garu. The Black Star Army’s territory is connected in one line by the stargates, so the transportation there is even easier. But, as you know, the risk of that is too high, so we have no choice but to take a detour.”

“Well, I can only say that’s karma,” Lagos said with resignation.

The Modo Civilization knew very well that they had already insulted the dynasty because of what happened with the Kunde Race, so they knew clearly that the dynasty would target them in the Flickering World.

The best route toward the further Star Clusters was through the Black Star Army’s territory, but Roddick did not dare go close to the Garu Star Cluster, so they could only take another route that was not as popular and convenient.

Lagos shook his head and said, “The dynasty might send people to attack us. Stay vigilant.”

“I know. The military equipped us with such a strong defensive force because of exactly that. There are plenty of armed fleets and high Grade Supers. The Expedition Fleet’s size is sufficient to even participate in a galactic war.”

“Hmm, you’re right… But the dynasty will definitely not send their official army to attack us in the Flickering World. Even if someone does come for us, it’ll definitely be the dynasty’s ally,” Lagos said.

Roddick frowned. “Usual enemies are not a problem, but a Beyond Grade A would be very difficult to deal with.”

“Don’t have to worry about that. The upper echelons have already made private agreements with some Beyond Grade As to provide us with help.” Lagos smiled with confidence.

“Who are they?”

Roddick, however, was not surprised. Super Star Cluster civilizations making short-term deals with Beyond Grade As was nothing new. This was also a form of business for some Beyond Grade As.

Given how important the Flickering World was, it was impossible for the Super Star Cluster civilization to not make any preparations. They all brought out tons of resources to hire top-tier combatants, which led to some Beyond Grade As earning quite the fortune. Many of them also accepted jobs from multiple civilizations at the same time.

“Those Galactic Black Market people with Beast Ancestor and Secret Master in the lead, as well as some neutral Beyond Grade As… Oh, some of the Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church have also made deals with us privately… Hehe, they were probably given orders by their leaders to use us to attract the dynasty’s attention.” Lagos could not help but sneer.

The federation and the church’s intentions were as clear as day, but the Super Star Cluster civilizations did not mind being used, as they would benefit from it temporarily as well.

“Even though we have allies, that’ll only help us when we pass through the first and second phase territories. I’m worried the dynasty might attack before that,” Roddick said with a deep voice. “After all, most of the organizations are taking the Black Star Army’s route. There aren’t many allies who are taking a detour like us.”

“One of the hired Beyond Grade As is coming behind us just to protect us. The upper echelons convinced him to make a detour.”

“Who?”

“The Blackhole Edge’s neutral Beyond Grade A, Garoze, nicknamed Leader of Colossuses.”

“That Summoner? I’ve heard about him.”

Roddick operated the star map for a while, marking the location of Garoze’s fleet, which was not far behind the Expedition Fleet.

This made him feel less worried.

“This way, we won’t have to worry about someone attacking us,” Roddick said coldly. “With our armed forces, as long as the dynasty dares to send someone here, they’ll see that they might not be the stronger side.”

At this time, a communication request came. It was from one of the Three Kings of the Modo Civilization.

The two of them immediately straightened their backs and put on serious expressions. They then accepted the communication request, and people appeared on the virtual screen.

The two of them saluted. “Your Excellencies.”

“What’s the situation now?” one of the Three Kings asked.

As leaders of the civilization, asking about the situation this soon after the Expedition Fleet entered the Flickering World seemed too impatient, but the Flickering World was way too significant to the Super Star Cluster civilizations. This was an opportunity to completely overthrow the situation they were stuck in; no amount of attention seemed too much.

Furthermore, they had angered the dynasty not too long ago. Now that their forces entered the dynasty’s territory, the Three Kings were even more on edge.

“We’re still on the way,” Roddick answered formally.

“Have you encountered any problems?”

“Everything is normal.”

“Hmm, no matter what happens, focus on protecting the logistics team,” the leader of the Modo Race said.

The armed fleet existed to protect the logistics team, which carried all kinds of necessary resources and devices to develop a Star Field. The armed spaceships could be depleted, but it would be extremely problematic if something happened to these important resources. Although they would still be able to resupply from their temporary stronghold in the Shattered Star Ring, it would tremendously slow down the speed of the development.

All the forces in the Flickering World were competitors. Every second wasted meant profit lost, which would then affect the Modo Civilization’s strategy.

Roddick nodded before speaking with a serious tone. “Your Excellencies Three Kings, don’t worry, I won’t let our enemies…”

Boom!

Before his sentence even ended, the entire main ship trembled. The crew in the command room fell to the ground!

Roddick staggered, too. He grabbed the table to regain his balance.

“What’s going on‽” He was shocked and furious.

“Commander, many unknown ships are approaching at a high speed and have attacked us.”

The radar showed that fleets appeared from every direction, surrounded them, and fired at them.

Furthermore, the alarm also mentioned that the opponent had deployed a large number of Space Stabilization Anchors in the area. This meant that they had charged right into a trap, and their hyperdrive was completely stopped, which was what caused the trembling. Even the stabilizing device inside the spaceship could not fully resolve the shock from suddenly stopping at such a high speed.

“We’re still some distance away from the next stargate. Is this an ambush?” Lagos was stunned.

They were just discussing the fact that there might be enemies, and speaking of the devil…

“What’s the enemy’s identity?” Roddick questioned.

“I—I don’t know. The spaceships they’re using are general models. There are no symbols on these ships, so we don’t know which organization these belong to,” the observer said with a nervous tone.

The communication from the Three Kings had not ended yet. They all saw this and frowned.

The leader of the Modo Civilization said with a deep voice and a grave expression, “Roddick, I’ll leave this to you. You must defeat the enemy.”

“Understood.” Roddick had a decisive look on his face. He immediately started to command the fleet and gave out orders one after another.

The Expedition Fleet responded quickly. It shrank its formation to protect the logistics team while firing back. Neither fleet was huge. In fact, the Modo Civilization’s fleet was a little larger.

Roddick showcased his excellent commanding talent, and the Modo Civilization firmly stood their ground.

Although they were ambushed, Roddick did not choose to break away but remained in place.

His confidence came from both the fact that his armed fleet was stronger and the Beyond Grade A Garoze who was not far behind. As long as Garoze arrived at the battlefield, he would be able to fight back using the strength of a Beyond Grade A.

Roddick’s style was tough and unbending; he was one to always take revenge. He was furious about being interrupted out of nowhere while speaking with the Three Kings. Compared to escaping, he would rather defeat the enemies.

“I’ll let Garoze join the battle immediately.” Lagos hastily took out his communicator to call for backup.

“Okay, do it quickly.” Roddick sneered. “No matter who they are, they’re not leaving easily.”

…

At the same time, Garoze’s fleet, which was not far away, noticed the situation as well.

“Someone really attacked them? I thought they were paranoid.”

Inside the command room, Garoze murmured to himself.

This was not his first time accepting a job from a Super Star Cluster civilization. As a neutral Beyond Grade A with no background, this was a key source of income for him. He had also accepted jobs from seven other organizations to protect their fleets.

Everyone knew that due to the competition in the Flickering World, this place would very soon become a heaven for mercenaries. Even many Beyond Grade As had joined in.

“Your Excellency Garoze, what do we do? Should we go over and help?” his assistant asked.

Garoze nodded. He was hired, so he had to do his duty.

However, just as he was about to make the order, the sound of a communicator ringing suddenly appeared in the room.

Beep beep beep!

Garoze looked down and was surprised.

It was his private communicator!

Who would call at this time?

As he took out the communicator to take a look, Garoze’s pupils constricted.

The caller was shockingly Black Star!

The two of them did not have much interaction in the past, they had only met during the Meeting Of The Gods and exchanged their private numbers.

I wonder why he is calling me…

Suppressing the doubts in his mind, Garoze walked to the side, picked up the communication, and asked carefully, “Your Excellency Black Star, what is it?”

“I have one thing I need your help with.” Han Xiao’s voice came out of the communicator.

“Please do tell.”

“I need you to do nothing.”

“Do nothing? What do you mea…”

Initially, Garoze did not understand, but then, it suddenly occurred to him.

“The fleet that attacked the Modo Civilization, it’s…”

Han Xiao interrupted him and asked calmly, “Can you do that?”

Garoze was extremely troubled. With the Black Star Army’s interference, this matter was no longer simple. The Modo Civilization would most likely be devastated, and from the depths of his heart, he did not want to take part in this.

However, he was right beside the battlefield. If he did not take action, his reputation would definitely be tainted.

Garoze looked a little troubled. “Your Excellency Black Star, I’ve already accepted the job from the Modo Civilization. If I don’t do anything…”

With an expressionless face, Han Xiao coldly said, “If you don’t want trouble, back away. This is not something you can interfere with.”

Then, he hung up without waiting for Garoze’s reply.

In my territory, you listen to me! Han Xiao did not even bother with bullsh*ting with the Modo Civilization. I’m going to beat you up, that’s all!

What, you’re not happy? Sure, don’t come to the Flickering World then!

The army was now the biggest organization in the Flickering World after operating there for so long. If he did not act like a menace, who had the right to‽

Garoze’s face became stiff as he was secretly shocked. In his mind, Black Star was a very friendly person who made friends everywhere he went. He did not expect Black Star’s tone to be this firm.

Looks like this is more serious than I thought. If I interfere, it probably won’t turn out well for me.

Also, if I ignore Black Star’s threat, won’t I follow the steps of that seven-eyed dude?

Garoze trembled uncontrollably.

The assistant came over and said, “Your Excellency, Lagos is already hurrying us. Are you going to give the order?”

Garoze hesitated for a few seconds before suddenly waving his hand. “Don’t help, just watch from here.”

The assistant was stunned, but seeing how firm Garoze was, he could only tell the fleet to standby at the edge of the battlefield.

“Sigh. This is a big loss.” Garoze smiled bitterly in his mind.

He was just an ordinary Beyond Grade A. There was no way he could mess with someone like Black Star. Be it in terms of his strength or organization, he was far inferior.

It was shameful to be forced away by just a few words. Garoze had his pride too, and he did not want to be a coward.

But, facing Black Star, how could he not back down?

After having been a Beyond Grade A for so many years and still not having improved much, Garoze knew long ago that he could not mess with the peak Beyond Grade As. He was just a neutral Beyond Grade A without any background. If Black Star wanted to kill him, there would be nothing holding him back at all!

Furthermore, during the Meeting of the Gods not long ago, Black Star had taken on the task of maintaining communication between all the Beyond Grade As. He had to give Han Xiao face even just because of this.

…

As time passed, the Expedition Fleet and the ambush fleet fought intensely.

In the main ship’s command room, after Roddick gave a few orders and finally had a little bit of time, he immediately turned around and yelled at Lagos.

“What’s going on with Garoze? Why isn’t he here yet‽”

Lagos was covered in sweat. “They just stopped there. I’ve already hurried them many times, but they refuse to join the battle no matter what. I—I don’t know why either!”

Seeing their reinforcements back away right before them, he was stupefied and utterly confused.

“Outsiders are not reliable at all!” Roddick was furious. He slammed the table and said, “We’re not going to wait for him! All units, listen. Change the strategy and charge toward the enemy’s formation!”

However, before the order was sent out, a sudden change occurred!

Unrest suddenly erupted in the logistics fleet that was protected behind multiple layers of armed fleets.

The logistics spaceships suddenly pushed away the armed spaceships in all directions, instantly causing chaos on their side!

“What’s happening‽”

Roddick’s expression changed drastically.

“R-report. The operating artificial intelligences of these logistics spaceships were infiltrated and have gone out of control. We’ve lost contact with the crew!”

Like he had just awoken from a dream, Roddick clenched his teeth filled with rage and squeezed out the words from between his teeth.

“God damn it, it’s a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic!”

Chapter 1012: The First Shot in the Flickering World

Chapter 1012 The First Shot in the Flickering World

The logistics fleet was made up of mainly transport ships, cargo ships, and industrial ships, which were all rather large. Although they were also equipped with weapons and shields, their mobility and firepower could not match up to the combat spaceships with the same technology level. Therefore, they hid in the center of the formation, protected by the armed fleet.

At this point of time, some of the logistics spaceships were virtually hacked, bashing at the guard ships, instantly tearing up the Expedition Fleet’s formation. And these ships’ weapons were put to use, too, firing continuously at the back of the guard ships.

As the exterior part of the armed fleet did not put much energy into their rear shields, they were immediately damaged. Many divisions burst into panic.

“Control these spaceships, hold on! Other spaceships, strengthen the artificial intelligence firewall immediately, and increase the system self-check frequency!” Roddick did not have time to think about anything else. He quickly commanded the fleet to deal with this sudden situation.

Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics had always been weapons of mass destruction in galactic wars that no fleet would want to face.

The most direct solution would be to turn off the artificial intelligence on all of the spaceships, but in that case, the chain of command would collapse, which would be no different from suicide.

Currently, controlling the spaceships and their communication with the quantum network was the best method. Although other methods such as magic or biological systems existed, they had more shortcomings.

For example, magic could be used to modify spaceships into an organism, but the cost of doing so would be many times more expensive, and the efficiency in controlling such spaceships was much lower than the quantum network technology, not to mention their vastly inferior communication distance and efficiency. Also, they would not be as secure as the firewall of the quantum network and would just be as fragile when facing Mages or Psychics.

All the civilizations in the universe had methods to prevent Virtual Intrusion, but whether it would work or not depended on how strong the opponent was.

Facing Han Xiao, who was now a peak Beyond Grade A, the artificial intelligence defense measures of the Modo Civilization clearly could not last; it could only stall for time until the other spaceships were hacked but not truly prevent Han Xiao from intruding. No matter how much they struggled, their lines of defense would still be penetrated one after another.

As for the spaceships that Han Xiao had already gained control of, taking them back was an almost impossible mission.

In the battlefield, the Expedition Fleet was being attacked from both sides. They had no choice but to send a part of their fleet to turn around and contain the panic caused by the haywire spaceships. The situation became very chaotic, and the Modo Civilization fleet was slowly losing their grip.

Some of the out of control spaceships penetrated the formation and were obtained by the attacker. The rest launched suicidal attacks not just on the guard ships around but also on the other logistic spaceships that had yet to lose control.

To prevent more damage, Roddick had no choice but to order the destruction of some logistic spaceships. Watching those logistic ships with key resources turn into fireworks in the cosmic space, his face was almost twisted.

There were people everywhere in the Flickering World. Although this route was unpopular, there were still people who passed by. The impact created by this battlefield spread out and very quickly attracted the attention of quite many fleets that passed by.

Most did not want to get dragged into this mess and hastily left.

But there were also some organizations that cautiously moved closer to watch from afar. Seeing the symbol of the Modo Civilization on the fleet, they chattered in the public communication channel.

“The Modo Civilization’s fleet has been attacked?”

“Who did this? Who dares mess with a Super Star Cluster civilization and still seems to have the upper hand?”

“We’ve just entered the Flickering World, but this attacker already has such a large fleet, so it can basically be confirmed that the attacker is from the dynasty.”

“The attacker hid their organization symbol, so we don’t know who it is.”

“Tsk, the very reason they hid their identity is to make sure not to leave any evidence. Watch what you say, and don’t get into trouble.”

Although these organizations that were passing by were gossiping, none of them would interfere—no one wanted to get into trouble.

As the intense battle carried on, Roddick made his fleet keep moving while fighting. The battlefield kept moving closer to the location of the next stargate station.

There were dynasty fleets stationed at the stargate station. Although Roddick knew that the attacker definitely had something to do with the dynasty, the dynasty could not attack the Modo Civilization publicly, or the negative impact would be too big. Not only would that affect the dynasty’s promise to open the Flickering World freely, it would also be a stain on their politics.

Growing up in a Super Star Cluster civilization, he knew all too well about what the three Universal Civilizations were like. In his eyes, not only were the three Universal Civilizations bullies, they also wanted to maintain a good image so that their position as rulers would be approved.

With such a large crowd watching, Roddick knew that the stargate station’s dynasty fleet had to reinforce him. Therefore, as long as he could move close enough to the stargate station, he would be able to force the attacker to retreat.

After the battle lasted a while longer, the attacker finally stopped the attacks and backed out of the battlefield. The fleet then entered hyperdrive one after another, turning into streams of light and disappearing.

“They’ve run away.” Seeing this, only then did Lagos’ uptight body relax. He said with hesitation, “Shall we chase them?”

“We can’t. This isn’t our territory.”

Although Roddick was furious, he did not lose his senses. He clenched his teeth and said, “Clean up the battlefield, and calculate the losses.”

The losses were very quickly calculated. The aide-de-camp walked to his side, not daring to look into Roddick’s eyes, and cautiously reported.

“Sir, we have lost eight percent of the armed guard ships. Twenty-nine percent of the armed guard ships suffered various extents of damage. They’re currently being repaired. The logistics fleet has lost thirty-seven percent of its spaceships, fifteen percent of which were captured by the enemy, mainly transport ships…”

Roddick almost fainted.

The logistics fleet had lost more than one third of its spaceships all at once. This ambush had caused seriously heavy losses!

“Unbelievable!” The Three Kings’ expressions were as furious as could be. The communication did not hang up throughout, and they had witnessed the entire process of the Expedition Fleet being heavily damaged.

The three of them had high hopes for the Expedition Fleet and Roddick, yet they had suffered such a huge loss so soon after entering the Flickering World. The Three Kings’ disappointment and anger at Roddick was clearly expressed in their tones and expressions.

“Sorry, this is a dereliction of duty on my part.” Roddick hastily turned around, clenched his teeth, and accepted this as his fault.

As the commander, there was no way Roddick could get away from being blamed for this. It was not like he could blame the enemies for setting up a trap there. No matter what justifiable reasons he had, a huge loss was a huge loss, and not being able to protect the logistic fleet was a fact. If he still tried to reason, it would very easily give the Three Kings an impression of him ‘making excuses’. Therefore, no matter how justified this loss was, he could only put up with it and accept the loss.

“We let you lead the Expedition Fleet because we trusted your abilities, but your performance is making us doubt if this was the right decision,” one of the Three Kings growled.

Roddick did not dare talk back to his leaders at all; he could only stand there, take the scolding, and promise that he would definitely keep in mind in the future.

After giving Roddick a scolding, the Three Kings of Modo then told him to quickly settle the following issues before ending the call.

Roddick finally stood up. He was about to explode with rage.

He knew that he had left a bad impression on his bosses because of this. If he could not make up for it, his future would undoubtedly be filled with darkness.

The room was filled with a cold atmosphere. Everyone present looked at Roddick while shivering. Roddick was supposed to give the next order to the fleet, but no one dared get on his nerves now.

Lagos coughed, having no choice, and said, “The dynasty only has so many Beyond Grade A Mechanics. Although the enemy used Virtual Intrusion, he did not appear. According to the enemy’s Virtual Intrusion speed, I’m guessing it’s most likely Black Star.”

“You don’t have to guess. It’s him!” Roddick’s tone was cold and filled with rage.

“Sadly, we don’t have any evidence. He…”

“So what if we do have evidence‽” Roddick interrupted him and ground his teeth.

Even though they knew that the attackers were almost definitely the Black Star Army, it was no use. The Flickering World was their territory. With the forces he had here, messing with the Black Star Army would basically be suicide.

Earlier, Roddick had tried to board the enemy ships and capture the opponent’s crew as evidence, but the attackers kept their distance and did not allow him to do so. To him, even if there was evidence, it would not affect the Black Star Army much if at all. In the Flickering World, the Black Star Army could do almost whatever they wanted!

Although the Modo Civilization was a Super Star Cluster civilization, their base was in the Primeval Star River, which was far from the Shattered Star Ring and the Flickering World. No matter how strong their forces were, there would be nothing they could do to the Black Star Army. Furthermore, they were not universal civilizations, which had a ton of Beyond Grade A allies, so there was nothing they could do to Black Star personally.

So, they knew who the attacker was, but there was nothing they could do. They had no choice but to watch themselves get targeted.

Roddick took a few deep breaths, suddenly turned around, and glared at Lagos. “Contact Garoze. I want to question him personally about why he didn’t join the battle!”

He had no choice but to vent his anger on someone. Nonetheless, Garoze was indeed partially responsible for not joining the fight despite being so close. Roddick had no idea what the hell was wrong with Garoze. His rage was reasonable.

Lagos then contacted Garoze again. The call quickly got picked up, and Garoze appeared on the screen.

“Give me a reason!” Roddick yelled furiously.

Garoze frowned and coldly said, “Watch your tone.”

When facing Black Star who he could not mess with, his attitude was full of respect. However, when facing Roddick, he immediately found the pride of a Beyond Grade A.

There was just one word to describe him—pragmatic.

“Why did you watch on the side?”

“I’ll cancel the job with your boss.” Garoze did not explain himself and immediately hung up the communication.

When he accepted the hire, he thought that the mission would just be to deal with the competition with other outside organizations. Never did he expect to have to deal with Black Star. Hence, this job became unprofitable, so he did not want to do it anymore. Even if he would incur some losses due to breaching the contract, it would be better than getting involved in the conflict between the Modo Civilization and the Black Star Army.

Since he was about to cancel the job, of course, he was not going to expose Black Star. It would be idiotic to offend both sides. Since he had chosen to be on one side, he was going to stand by it.

Furthermore, he did not want to admit that he was afraid of Black Star, so he did not want to tell any outsider the reason.

However, this arrogant and superior attitude made Roddick’s blood pressure, which had just decreased a little, skyrocket again!

Oh, so you think that my position is not even high enough for you to give me an explanation‽

“*ssholes!”

Roddick was trembling with rage, and his fists were clenched tightly.

“We have lost a lot of devices and resources, so we can only turn to the supplies in the stronghold in the Shattered Star Ring, which will definitely slow us down. This will have way too big an effect on our plan,” Lagos said with a frown.

All the organizations were competing. By being behind others from the start, how much potential profit would they lose? Lagos did not dare think too much about it.

It could be said that the Modo Civilization’s plan in the Flickering World was completely shattered by this attack!

At this time, the dynasty’s patrolling fleet that was responsible for maintaining order finally came. They sent a communication request, and a dynasty officer appeared on the screen.

“We have detected energy reactions of a battle. What happened here?”

Roddick took a deep breath and explained what had happened with a long face.

The dynasty officer nodded. “We understand the situation and will immediately send out men to track the attackers. We will notify you as soon as we find anything.”

Then, the dynasty’s patrol fleet turned around and scattered in the attacker’s direction.

It looked like they were sincere, but Roddick and Lagos both knew that this would certainly not lead to anything at all.

…

At the same time, some of the attackers stopped in a certain area and entered stealth mode. They then gathered the seized logistics spaceships together and started moving the resources in them.

The captured Modo Civilization crew members were all chased into a spaceship with its communication signals cut off, and all their devices were confiscated. These captives looked around at the armored warriors with panic.

This time, an armored warrior stepped forward, took off his helmet, and exposed his childish face. It was Nero.

Seeing him, the crowd immediately made a fuss. Some of them had seen Nero’s data before, so they instantly knew that the attackers were from the Black Star Army.

Nero looked around and tried his best to make a serious expression, which only made his childish face more adorable.

“Now, there are two paths ahead of you. First, death. Second, give up your freedom in exchange for your life and work for us forever.”

The crowd went silent. At this time, a voice sounded.

“Are you not afraid of us betraying you?”

Nero squinted. “Who’s talking?”

A short man walked out and softly said, “I’m the vice logistics manager of this fleet, also the leader of the engineering technical team. I’m a high-level engineer.”

Nero’s eyes sparkled.

It seems like we captured one of their high-level technical officers.

“You don’t have to worry about that. You won’t have any chance to come in contact with the outside world. You’ll forever become the shadows of the army,” Nero said slowly. “Those who are not willing, we won’t force you. The hatch is right there; jump into the cosmic space yourself. Make your choice now.”

“Looks like we don’t have a choice,” the vice logistics manager said with resignation.

The people exchanged glances. Without much hesitation, all of them chose the second option.

Very soon, Nero picked out the technical personnel. They were all useful people who would be secretly working for the army to make use of their remaining value.

As for the other crew members, following Han Xiao’s orders, they would be sent to the Kunde Race’s planet. Whether they became slaves or were torn into pieces by the Kunde Race, it made no difference. One way or another, they were tools for the Kunde Race to vent their anger.

Since these people had taken part in the Modo Civilization’s expedition, they were mostly soldiers. Maybe they did not know about the Kunde Race incident, but they were definitely not innocent. Whatever their civilization owed, they would be the ones paying for it. Being soft hearted did not exist in the process of revenge.

…

Han Xiao, who was heading toward Black Star Palace, received Phillip’s brief report. He nodded with satisfaction.

“Now it will be even more difficult for the Modo Civilization to develop in the Flickering World.”

Han Xiao had ordered a fleet to hide their identity and attack the Modo Civilization’s expedition team. As long as they did not leave any conclusive evidence, even if the Modo Civilization knew that he was behind this, he would not be affected.

He did not plan to wipe out Roddick’s fleet—he could not completely annihilate the Modo Civilization’s hope.

He would only be able to carry out long-term revenge if the Modo Civilization continued to put resources into the Flickering World. If they really decided to give up on the Flickering World, he would have to go to their territory in the Primeval Star River to deal with the Modo Civilization, which would be way too troublesome.

Cutting meat with blunt knives was the most torturous…

According to his memories of his previous life, the competition between external organizations would only become more and more intense. There would be many more incidents where people hid their identities to attack other organizations.

Today, this is me firing the first shot in the Flickering World…

A flash of light sparkled in Han Xiao’s eyes.

So, just you wait. This is only the beginning. There’s plenty more to come.

Chapter 1013: What a Good Man!

Chapter 1013 What a Good Man!

Beep beep!

While Han Xiao had these not so righteous thoughts in his mind, his communicator suddenly rang. It was a call from Tarrokov.

As he picked it up, Brother Tar’s old face appeared on the screen full of smiles. Without any formal greeting, he immediately started praising Han Xiao.

“Black Star, amazingly done. I love it when you’re this decisive.”

The external organizations were not sure who was really behind the organization that attacked the Modo Civilization. The dynasty, however, of course knew it was the Black Star Army.

“So, you don’t love me otherwise?” Han Xiao looked calm but chuckled in his mind. “Don’t forget to keep your promise and give me the resources we agreed on.”

Taking revenge on the Modo Civilization was also the dynasty’s request. The dynasty planned to make an example out of them.

Since the dynasty doing things themselves was not suitable, they borrowed Han Xiao’s forces. Of course, they were not going to let the Black Star Army work for free and had signed a contract long ago. The Black Star Army would be responsible for educating the Modo Civilization with violence, and the Crimson Dynasty would compensate them with resources.

To the dynasty, they were hiring allies to strike enemies. To Han Xiao, he was taking the dynasty’s money to do his own missions while also earning some favors, which really was pretty nice.

“Don’t worry, we’ve never not kept our promise.” Tarrokov smiled before asking, “What do you plan to do with those captives of the Modo Civilization?”

“I’ll keep some of them in the army as secret manpower, and the rest will be thrown to the Kunde Race.”

Old Tar nodded and reminded Han Xiao, “No matter what, make sure to take away all of their means of contacting the outside world.”

“The chances of them breaking through the measures I put in place to block their communication is infinitely close to zero. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“You’re right. You’re a Virtual Mechanic after all. I’m overthinking it.” Old Tar chuckled. “Actually, that was pretty much the only reason I called, just to remind you… Anyway, please go harder on the Modo Civilization. I shall hang up now.”

He then ended the communication. Han Xiao tutted in his head.

To disturb him for something this trivial, it was most likely a form of hinting, saying that the dynasty knew the movements of the Black Star Army. This was basically to tell him not to mess with anyone other than the Modo Civilization. The Meeting of the Gods might also have been a factor that affected this.

“Tsk, making me read between the lines again.”

Han Xiao put the communicator away and placed this matter at the back of his mind.

All the players were heading toward the Flickering World. The Shattered Star Ring was the closest Star Field, so it would not take long for the army players to arrive at the Flickering World.

As the version had just started, the players would need some time to get used to it before things got on track.

In his previous life, the players fought their own factions. Other than some famous national war incidents, the usual reasons behind fights were mission conflicts and resources. In an environment like this, the solo players’ lives became tougher and tougher. Gathering in groups became a trend, and more and more players started to create guilds.

According to the official statistics, the number of player guilds increased exponentially during Version 4.0. The more time passed, the more guilds there were. There was one famous event that caused the number of guilds to increase explosively in a short term. With a few large American professional guilds in the lead such as the Devil club, they formed a formal organization that became recognized by the outside world. They then obtained an extremely rare opportunity that other players had been trying to obtain for a very long time, which led to them being officially recognized.

After that, guilds became even more important to the players. They started to gather in large groups, and guilds started to form alliances and official organizations recognized by the outside world. They then formed partnerships with other organizations in the universe through business and diplomatic means using their organization.

With that, the benefits of guilds were extremely clear, as they would be able to obtain plenty more resources compared to ordinary players.

This function had existed in the previous few versions too, but it only showed its true potential in Version 4.0, leading to a turning point in the players’ careers. The main reason was the increase in the players’ strength in Version 4.0. Their influence throughout the universe was on a completely different level, which was why the organizations they built were taken seriously.

“Now, because the faction benefits that I’m giving to the army players are too useful, the players of the other Star Fields might work together to suppress the army players’ advantages. When everyone gets used to the new version, the army players are bound to suffer some losses. After all, there are too many who are against us.”

Since the army players had the advantage, he did not mind pushing it further so that the army players would always be in the lead.

Initially, all the players would have to take some time to get used to the version before entering the stage of forming guilds and organizations on a large scale, so Han Xiao wanted to let the army players enter that stage in advance.

This needed some adjustments in the system that would encourage this behavior.

Han Xiao thought about it for a while before summoning Phillip. He thought of a new system that would only be targeted at the players, which meant the Immortals.

_____________________

Those who are promoted to high positions through making contributions, or farming Contribution Points, and have reached Grade B or above will be allowed to create a new type of combat team. The team shall consist of two or more members with no upper limit of number of members. The division name can be chosen freely. After forming such a team, they can report it in the army. Every month, according to the missions completed and total Contribution Points obtained by all the members, they will receive special Team Merit Points.

Team Merit Points can be used to purchase large amounts of resources, including equipment, knowledges, and abilities. They will also have a crucial use—to purchase the positions to manage the various businesses of the army on behalf of the army, as well as to bid for certain special projects, or exchange for the mining right of some resource rich planets.

Not only that, but with enough merit points, they can choose to become a subsidiary organization under the Black Star Army and be considered semi-independent. For those teams, the merit points can be used to request the army’s reinforcements, use the army’s name to execute legal strategic actions, or submit a request to have both sides work together for a certain matter. They will basically be semi-independent organizations that are partners of the Black Star Army.

_____________________

“This should be about it…”

Han Xiao then looked through the main structure of the new system a few times and nodded.

This system would ‘legalize’ the players’ guilds.

Originally, guilds only existed between the players and were not recognized by the galactic society. For example, the NPC had no idea the Temple of Gods Guild existed, nor did they know who the members were. This system would make the players’ guilds be recognized in the army’s systems, so they would become official organizations with proper documentation.

This way, the players’ guilds would become organizations that actually existed in the universe.

The use of the Team Merit Points would encourage the army players to create guilds without needing to get used to the version. There would no doubt be many who tried this out, especially those official guilds of large clubs.

During Version 4.0 in his previous life, there were always players who left NPC factions to create their own. With this new system, however, it would at the very least tremendously reduce the players’ need to do so.

The price, of course, was that with the independence granted to the player guilds, the army would suffer a certain amount of unrest. Nevertheless, at times like this, giving the players more freedom was the path that had to be taken.

With more strength, the way to treat them had to be improved too. Han Xiao was no evil boss; he gave the players enough benefits even though he would also gain every benefit he could from them.

Version 4.0 was the turning point for the players. From here onward, the players would truly be difficult to control. They would start to spread the seed of anarchism everywhere. There was no way he could control the players as much as he did in the previous versions.

He planned to change that long ago, to give the players opportunities to grow their guilds and provide more resources to them. Only then would he be able to make the players continue to work for him willingly despite their growing strength.

At the same time, this system would also attract foreign players.

It was killing two birds with one stone.

“Master, hum… Are you sure about implementing this new system?”

Phillip, who was like a little fairy, sat on Han Xiao’s collarbone with his big eyes sparkling and looking up at Han Xiao’s cheek. His two tiny legs waved left and right in midair.

“Announce the preview first.” Han Xiao planned to officially implement this system only after all the players arrived at the Flickering World.

Before that, he wanted to let the players have time to prepare and gather their friends.

“Okay, hum…”

Han Xiao paused, suddenly thought of something, and said, “Some time ago, I studied Risda’s logic structure and had some new ideas. I’ll give you some updates in a few days’ time to increase your speed.”

Hearing this, Phillip’s eyes sparkled, and he flew up to Han Xiao’s face, hugging onto Han Xiao’s nose and staring into his eyes.

“Phillips loves my master the most, hum!”

“Stop acting cute.” Han Xiao raised his brow and flicked Phillip away from his nose.

…

The news about the Modo Civilization’s significant loss spread in the Flickering World. Many organizations talked about this privately. The other Super Star Cluster civilizations heard about this too.

Many Super Star Cluster civilizations had a meeting immediately.

“The dynasty is most likely the one who attacked Modo. We didn’t expect the two of them to start fighting this soon.”

“Could this be the first step of the dynasty’s plan to target us Super Star Cluster civilizations?”

“Doesn’t look like it. It seems to be a private matter between the dynasty and Modo.”

“Hmm, after we pass the areas of the first and second phase, we should help Modo when we can. We can’t let the dynasty beat them up too badly.”

As they knew the three Universal Civilizations would not let them comfortably develop in the Flickering World, most of the Super Star Cluster civilization had already formed secret alliances to fight against the three Universal Civilizations’ hostility together.

As Modo was attacked, according to their alliance terms, the other Super Star Cluster civilizations all decided to provide help when suitable.

Although this did not seem to have anything to do with them, the Super Star Cluster alliance did not want to give the dynasty the chance to break them one by one. Although the Modo Civilization was their competitor, fighting against the three Universal Civilizations’ pressure was the top task in the eyes of the Super Star Cluster alliance. Therefore, they did not mind helping their competitor. Only then would they be able to break through the three Universal Civilizations’ control of the new Star Field.

…

With assistance from the army and the dynasty, no witness discovered the attackers. After some days, the Black Star fleet that had attacked the Modo Civilization finally rendezvoused and returned to the Garu Star Cluster through a secret route. The selected captives were then sent to the Kunde Race’s planet in the Odoran Star System.

With help from the Black Star Army, every colonial planet now had plenty of cities. They were not short of resources.

The Kunde Race had been peacefully resting for more than a decade. Although they had yet to recover from the wounds of the war, many chose to enjoy the peace and new life.

In the past, the communication from all these colonial planets toward the outside world was blocked. The residents of the planets could only log into their planet server network. Therefore, they had absolutely no idea what was happening in the outside world. It was like they were stranded on an island in the universe.

The army and the dynasty had control of all the media channels and did not allow the existence of civilian media corporations. The Kunde Race members could only accept the cultural transformation from the dynasty in the form of literature, music, and entertainment. The various entertainment sources would slowly change their ways of thinking.

Living so peacefully and not having any chance to resist, they could do absolutely nothing even if they were furious. Many people could only accept their fate with resignation.

Today, however, the official channel that had been playing cultural transformation shows every day suddenly announced a piece of news that made countless Kunde Race members thrilled.

His Excellency Black Star kept his promise back then to avenge the Kunde Race, and he had now captured the captives of some of the people behind their tragedy. These people would be sent to the Kunde Race colonial planets very soon.

This piece of news immediately caused a sensation!

The Kunde Race of this generation could not resist, but they did not forget their hatred. Compared to the dynasty, they hated the people who used the Kunde Race back then even more.

As the date approached, countless members of the Kunde Race arrived early at the designated dock and looked up at the sky, waiting for the arrival of these captives.

Whoosh!

More and more spaceships penetrated the atmosphere and quickly landed on the dock.

As the hatches opened one after another, batches of Black Star Army warriors escorted the unarmed captives out.

The captives that were sent there were all filtered, so no strong soldiers were present. They all wore the same prison uniform, and all their possessions were confiscated. They carried no threat at all.

The Kunde Race around them were innumerable. As the many captives saw so many ferocious looking creatures surrounding them, they became uncontrollably nervous, and their bodies started to stiffen.

“What planet is this? Why were we sent here?”

“What are these creatures? Beasts?”

“They’re wearing clothes. They’re intelligent.”

“Why are they all staring at us? It’s a little horrifying.”

Using the Kunde Race was a secret only the upper echelons knew, of course, these normal soldiers had no idea. Many did not even recognize this species at all. They were lost and had no idea why these intelligent beings were staring at them.

At this time, a stone suddenly flew out from the crowd and landed on a captive’s head.

Pa!

This captive grunted and quickly covered his head.

Before his other friends could respond, countless objects flew out from the crowd and were thrown at all these captives.

Whining and wailing sounded immediately. The captives were bleeding everywhere. The Black Star Army warriors watched coldly from the side. After they had been attacked for quite some time, they finally activated their shields to block all the flying objects. The floor was quickly covered in random objects.

Although no lives were lost, the captives were still frightened.

“Why are they hitting us‽”

“Why did the Black Star Army send us here?”

They were making a fuss. As they looked around with terror, they finally understood the look in the members of the Kunde Race’s eyes around them—they were filled with hatred and rage.

At this time, an army warrior snorted and coldly said, “They’re the Kunde Race, a native civilization of the Flickering World. During the second exploration phase, the Modo Civilization secretly used the Kunde Race and provoked them to fight the dynasty, causing the Kunde Race to be eliminated. All of you are their enemy. Stay here and pay for your sins.”

After hearing this, the captives went silent with their eyes widened.

Sending us to the territory of the people who hate us… You’re using us for them to vent their anger!

We were promised to live, but this is worse than dying!

W-we’re done for!

The captives were filled with negative emotions. They did not dare look up as they were pushed forward onto the land transports toward the prisons.

The land transport slowly departed from the dock. From start to end, the Kunde Race around had always been staring at the captives.

The crowd did not dissipate. After some time, someone finally spoke.

“Black Star promised to bring us justice back then. It’s actually true…”

“Black Star has been keeping his promise.”

“I misunderstood him. Turns out he’s someone so noble.”

Many Kunde Race felt the same way.

In the past decade or so, the Black Star Army had managed the planet and provided them with countless resources. Together with the promotion in the media, the Kunde Race was already quite familiar with the army.

In terms of emotions, the Kunde Race did not have much hatred for the Black Star Army, but not many of them believed Han Xiao’s promise back then.

After all, the Kunde Race was just a group of ‘prisoners’ who could not fight back; why should Black Star waste his energy to bring them justice? After more than ten years, they thought that he had already forgotten this.

However, Han Xiao had proved to them that he was not joking with results.

In the eyes of the Kunde Race, Black Star immediately became the only hope to bring justice for their race.

While shocked and surprised, a sense of appreciation grew in the hearts of the Kunde Race, together with more hope.

Black Star, what a good man!

Chapter 1014: Picking Up the Old Profession

Chapter 1014 Picking Up the Old Profession The stargate tunnel built by the Black Star Army was the top choice for countless external organizations. It had become the most popular and most convenient route. There were countless spaceships passing by every second.One reason was that the Black Star Army’s territory was huge, including border Star Systems at two different directions with direct stargates, so it would save a lot of time.

Another was that Han Xiao’s edge of knowing the star map well was taking effect. Within the territories he had chosen, there were a ton of transport hubs and strategic points, which had been the most prosperous locations in his previous life. Now, they had the same importance as in his previous life. These financial groups who invested in the Black Star Army were also starting to get their returns. Han Xiao promised to give some of the businesses in his territory to these investors to manage; now, there were countless financial groups operating in the army’s territory, quickly filling up the businesses.

More than half of the outside organizations chose to take the Black Star Army’s route. Han Xiao, of course, would not provide free services. A huge number of spaceships were entering the Garu Star Cluster every single day, and the profit from that was exploding.

Countless streams of light escaped from the entrance stargate, turning into blurry silver rainbows that lingered in space.

This time, spaceships with the Black Star symbol flew out from the stargate one after another, following the crowd and slowly moving forward.

“So, this is the entrance of the Black Star Army’s territory.”

There were plenty of army players on every one of these ships. They were all squeezing in front of the porthole and looking outside with curiosity.

When Planet Black Gate entered their sights, compared to the deserted image the players had of it, the Planet Black Gate now could not be more boisterous. Countless spaceships landed on and took off from it, so the traffic flow was very dense. The surface of the planet was filled with buildings. The countless lights shrouded the planet like a curtain made of jewels.

On its side, a silver stream of light extended in the cosmic space all the way to the end of their sights. This was made up of the flame trail of the countless spaceships entering the border. These spaceships passed through in hyperdrive like meteors, and as it was too frequent, these trails did not dissipate for a very long time. It was like someone used a silver pen to draw a line that could not be erased along the entire stargate route. It had almost become the guide for the route.

“Planet Black Gate, belongs to the Black Star Army, a large border entrance transit station landmark of the Garu Star Cluster.” Maple Moon read the data shown on the communicator.

“It’s so boisterous. It’s completely the opposite of how it was last version,” Frenzied Sword commented.

He could only feel how dreamy the change was after arriving at the army’s territory.

Frenzied Sword was the earliest player to follow Black Star. He experienced every single step of Black Star’s rise. It was hard for him to imagine how his own faction really grew to this point and have such vast territories.

Just the size of the territories was equivalent to ten Star System civilizations, which could even match up with some Star Cluster civilizations. It was stunning.

In his eyes, Black Star became even more dependable.

While he was still deep in thought, Maple Moon said, “The Flickering World is the world server, we’ve arrived earlier than the players of the other Star Fields, so this time advantage is very crucial. Do you have any plans?”

“Don’t worry, the guild will be going to the army to register as a subsidiary organization. We will then follow the guild to do things. We should be going to the fourth exploration phase’s area to grab the opportunities before others,” Frenzied Sword said.

“I didn’t expect the army to announce such a revolutionary system. This is almost as if he’s letting the guilds split from the army. This will completely change the way we play the game… Of course, it’s a good thing for us, but from Black Star’s perspective, I have no idea what he’s thinking. Why is he willing to give up power?” Maple Moon mumbled. Even though it had already been a few days, she was still surprised.

“This means my speculation in the past was correct, of course. As the Grade of us players increases, the influence we have on the universe will increase too. Seems like this version will be the turning point of that.” Frenzied Sword had a smug look on his face.

Originally, many players were lost about how to make full use of their advantages in the Flickering World. However, the new system Han Xiao announced not long ago immediately showed all the army players a clear path.

The Team Merit Point system was almost specially made to aid in the growth of guilds. Almost every known Chinese guild decided to register as an official organization in the army. At the same time, this had also created a trend of creating guilds. Just during the time they travelled there, countless army players had already called up their friends to create guilds. Han Xiao’s plan was proven to be very effective.

The fleet flew for some days before arriving at the Black Star Palace. This was the first time the players had seen this new main base built during the version update. Its magnificence amazed many players.

This group of players who arrived first came to the most outside base and gathered in a hall. Phillip had summoned them here to have them be inspected.

After just a short wait, two people walked in. The players all looked over and were excited to see who they were.

It was the Army Commander, Han Xiao, and the second Beyond Grade A of the army, Hila.

“Wow, Hila has become even more beautiful.”

“The face! The body! The aura! Please let me die here!”

“Save the nonsense, it’s no use.”

“Ah, how I miss the feeling of being killed by Hila. Maybe this is what love is.”

“No, this is being a pervert.”

“Woman? Boring, strong men like Black Star can make you hard to breathe.”

A big group of players rushed toward them with their desire to farm favorability written all over their faces. Hila was surrounded by even more people than Han Xiao.

Han Xiao complained about sexism in his mind. Before Hila started to slaughter everyone out of impatience, he repelled everyone away, saying with a deep voice, “Silence. I have serious matters to announce.”

The players gradually quieted down and looked at Han Xiao with curiosity in their eyes.

Han Xiao cleared his throat and slowly said, “Currently, the Flickering World is open to the outside world. With the outside forces entering, the exploration of the new Star Field has entered a new stage. The peace that once existed is no more. In the future, countless conflicts will erupt surrounding the resources in the new Star Field. And we, the Black Star Army, have to adapt to this change.

“I believe everyone already knows that the army announced a new system recently. This is the first step of the change. You’re all from my home planet and my comrades who grew alongside the army. The term ‘Immortals’ has a very important meaning to the army. You’ve all made a lot of contributions. Therefore, I’ve decided to give you more independence, and I hope you can make full use of your talents to achieve great things.”

As soon as his sentence ended, shock appeared on many players as they exchanged looks. They were very surprised.

This seemed to be the first time Black Star had called them Immortals.

Before this, although they were working for the Black Star Army, they did not feel like they were very important. Although the outside world called them Immortals, their Army Commander did not seem to have said anything about this in any public occasions and had always been treating them like the normal members.

In Version 1.0, the Germinal Organization had studied the players, and similar situations still existed. All the players knew the fact that they were immortal might pique the NPCs’ interest, but to most people, this was just a way to improve the sense of realism. They did not pay too much attention to it.

Now, however, having suddenly heard what Black Star said, the players present all had a strange feeling as if something they had ignored for a very long time had resurfaced again—the fact that they were really special. In their eyes, Han Xiao’s image became more alive.

Other than this strange feeling, the players were also glad to hear their faction leader Black Star personally saying they were important to the army. Many people were very motivated and felt a subtle sense of achievement and belonging.

Han Xiao looked around and saw the expression on everyone’s faces. He suddenly smiled and said, “You don’t have to be shocked. Although both Hila and I are Beyond Grade As now, you’re all my people from the same mother planet. In this cold universe, we’re on the same side. Therefore, you don’t have to be too cautious in front of me. I have high hopes for you. Remember, the Black Star Army will always have your back.”

Everyone was thrilled to hear this.

From the same mother planet… that’s right, how could we forget that? We and Black Star have this bond!

Seeing Han Xiao’s attitude, everyone felt that Han Xiao had become more friendly.

Inside the crowd, Maple Moon quietly poked Frenzied Sword’s waist and softly said, “Why do I feel like Black Star seems to have changed?”

“Changed? Haha, you’re wrong. He’s not changed at all!” Frenzied Sword was filled with excitement. “This is the Han Xiao in my mind, not that cold and beyond-reach important Black Star!”

His voice was so loud that many professional players around looked over.

“He’s right. How long has it been since Black Star has had close contact with us?” Second Prince murmured.

“With Black Star becoming stronger and stronger, it has been very difficult for the others to come in touch with him. To think that he’s still as friendly and down to earth as he was in Version 1.0. Looks like he really sees us as one of his own.” Sleepy Winter smiled.

Many people were discussing this quietly, while Bun-Hit-Dog focused on recording this moment with joy on his face.

Han Xiao very discreetly glanced at him shortly and nodded in his mind.

In the previous versions, with the rapid increase in his position, the opportunities for the players to come in contact with him had constantly decreased. After two versions, his image had already become cold and beyond reach.

However, in Version 4.0, as the players would become much more useful, Han Xiao decided to be more down to earth and close the distance between him and the players. This would strengthen the players’ emotional attachment to him, which was a key factor in influencing the players other than profit.

After all, he was a player himself in his previous life. How could he not know what the players liked?

Seeing the players were filled with joy, Han Xiao coughed and spoke again, finally getting to the point.

“The competition in the Flickering World has become very intense. I will be deploying some fleets toward the fourth exploration phase’s area to compete with the external forces. You can choose to participate. As long as any member of a registered subsidiary organization participates, the organization will receive more Team Merit Points depending on the number of members participating and will be allowed to build strongholds on the planets in the army’s territory. At the same time, they will all enjoy a thirty-percent discount in the military supplies store for all items.”

As soon as he stopped speaking, a faction mission popped up on the interfaces of the players. Many players’ eyes instantly brightened.

Not only would there be a massive scale faction main storyline mission but also thirty percent off in the faction store. They would even be allowed to build official guild strongholds in the army’s territory…

Black Star really is the same old Black Star—a walking bag of profit!

Seeing that everyone was excited, Han Xiao called an end to the meeting. The players scattered almost immediately and headed right to the military supplies store to shop. They still had the money they saved from the last version, most players had a lot to spend, their purchasing power was ample.

The thirty percent off was a promotion method to encourage the players to spend. Although the players were focusing on leveling up, with such a big discount, they would definitely be influenced. This was to harvest the players’ experience.

Han Xiao had stockpiled Mission Completion Cards for twenty years. He was now LV 307, so he would be able to go through his Promotion as long as he reached LV 320.

The few Star Clusters in the fourth exploration phase would be where the competition would be the most intense, as well as the main stage of the conflict in the World Server between the players. This move also served to encourage the players to secure their advantages before going to the fourth exploration phase area, helping the army players keep their lead so as to avoid them being bullied by the foreign players working together.

Allowing these guilds that had registered as official organizations to build guild strongholds was also a profit bundle.

With their homes in my territory, the cost of them leaving my faction will be even higher.

All ploys and tricks, I’m such a bad man…

Han Xiao shook his head and chuckled.

He led Hila out of the hall, and the two of them walked in the army while chatting. This time, Hila suddenly said, “Black Star, I plan to go to the fourth exploration phase area too, to take part in the army’s exploration in the front line.”

“Are your hands getting itchy?” Han Xiao glanced at her.

“Hmm. I’m not you. You can remote control your avatar while being at home. I want to fight with more Beyond Grade As, and now is a good opportunity.” Hila nodded.

After reaching Beyond Grade A, her motivation did not disappear at all. Knowing that the difference between herself and Han Xiao was still vast, she wanted to become stronger.

Shattered Star Ring was not suitable for sparring. Now that they had reached the Flickering World, it was a good opportunity to improve herself.

“Alright, you shall take the position as the commander of the fleet. Just a reminder, dozens of Beyond Grade As will be fighting in the fourth phase areas. For a very long time in the future, that will probably be the most dangerous place in the entire universe. If you meet anyone you can’t deal with, tell me. My avatar will be following the fleet at all times,” Han Xiao said.

All these Beyond Grade As were not there to sightsee; they were all there to fight for the profits in the new Star Field. Without Han Xiao’s restraint in the Flickering World, these people would have fought all the time. Not just Hila, Han Xiao planned to let his avatar be stationed there for a long term as well.

After splitting up with Hila, Han Xiao walked to his room and opened the player forums, browsing the movements of the players in the various Star Fields and enjoying the nonsense of the idiotic comments and posts.

While he browsed the posts and relaxed, a new post was suddenly pinned.

Han Xiao looked at it and his eyes sparkled. It was the first episode of Galaxy Times since the new version!

“After more than half a month, it’s finally here, huh?”

Chapter 1015: The Great Mechanic Han“s Control from Behind the Curtain

Chapter 1015 The Great Mechanic Han“s Control from Behind the Curtain

Han Xiao clicked into the post, and as soon as he opened the video, the two new hosts appeared on the screen, still one male and one female.

“Players and friends, good evening, I’m Ah Wei,” the male host said.

“I’m Flower,” the female host said.

“This is the Galaxy Times, dedicated to sharing first-hand gaming news. Your gaming career is our top priority.”

After the usual opening, the two hosts started the show with the usual awkward conversation.

“It has been more than half a month since the start of the new version. The players of the various nations are all trying to adapt to it. Compared to Version 3.0, 4.0 comes with a lot of changes. Just a preview, the content we have today is very rich. We’re going to tell everyone about the way to play this new version.”

“Speaking of the new version, that reminds me of something. I have a friend…”

Before he finished, Flower interrupted him and said, “I got it. That friend is you. Please carry on with your performance.”

“… That friend of mine had a ghost-related incident happen to him recently.”

“Where did it happen?”

Ah Wei replied, “On this one day, when my friend returned from working overtime, it was already late night. His family was sound asleep. He washed up then went straight to bed hugging his wife to sleep. Then, at midnight, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door, and he…”

Flower suddenly interrupted again and said with a strange expression, “Wait… what does this have to do with the new version again?”

“Ahem, I was just looking for an excuse to start the topic. Don’t mind these details.”

“… Go on.” Flower rolled her eyes.

“I… My friend and his wife were the only ones in that house, so he thought a thief had broken in. He quickly got out of the bed to turn on the light, only to realize that there was no one else, and the gate was properly closed. So, he went back to sleep. However, when he woke up the next day and went to work, he realized that the gate was open slightly, but nothing was missing from his house. He thought that he had only dreamed about the previous night, so he woke up his wife to ask her if she had heard anything last night, to which she replied no. Don’t you think that’s scary? It’s definitely a ghost.”

“Eat more greens and vegetables in the future; it improves mental stability,” Flower replied.

“So, what would you do if you really encountered a ghost?”

“I’d beat it to death, of course. Do you think my materialism aura is fake?”

After this interaction, the two hosts successfully pulled the players’ excited mood back to regular standards, all turning from thrilled to poker faces.

As Han Xiao listened through the awkward conversation stage, the two hosts finally entered the main theme.

“Back to business. It has been more than a half month since the start of Version 4.0 [Flickering World], and the uniqueness of this version is already showing… that’s right, it’s the world server!” Ah Wei said.

“Yes, after three versions, the players from all nations can now finally gather in one place and interest in the same Star Field,” Flower continued. “This is a major play style revolution. We can see that this version will be exceptionally boisterous. There’s the possibility of national wars happening, so it will be a giant battleground for the players from all nations.”

“Speaking of what might happen, I recall the speculation we made in the last episode of Version 3.0. Back then, we speculated that Version 3.0 would fully open the function of cross Star Field traveling. Now, our speculation has proven to be half correct, only that we did not guess the opening of the world server.”

“Due to the appearance of the world server, the Shattered Star Ring players now have two natural advantages. One is their geographical location, as these two Star Fields are next to each other, which means the Shattered Star Ring players can arrive in the world server earlier than the players from the other Star Fields. Another is that the Shattered Star Ring players have exclusive faction advantages.”

“That’s right. Among the factions that the players are able to join, The Black Star Army is the only one that made contact with the Flickering World in the previous version. The players followed the army to participate in the first exploration phase of the Flickering World and built their foundations.”

“Not only that, the Black Star Army has already become the strongest force in the Flickering World in this new version, apart from the dynasty. I can still remember the Black Star Army being the guiding faction for the Shattered Star Ring players in Version 2.0. Now that they have grown to become such an enormous organization, they will provide tremendous help to the Shattered Star Ring players in the Flickering World, giving them exclusive advantages.”

“Nonetheless, I feel that there are two sides to everything. The Shattered Star Ring players who have such clear advantages might become the joint target of the players from all the other Star Fields.”

“As for the play style of the world server, there have been many posts analyzing it across various boards. According to our conclusion, the competition in Version 4.0 might revolve around guilds. The players without guilds will have more freedom and more choices, but the efficiency in obtaining resources will not be comparable to guilds.”

“The source of this is the system the Black Star Army recently announced…” Ah Wei suddenly paused, hesitated, and said, “Speaking of which, how many times have we made version speculations based on the Black Star Army’s actions?”

As soon as this was said, the players who were watching the show started a rampage. Countless comments flew across the screen.

“Too true. Everything starts with the Black Star Army. Without the army, the Galaxy Times wouldn’t even know how to do their shows.”

“Ah Wei: Making speculations is easy, just see what the Black Star Army is doing.”

“Trash show. Completely reliant on the army :)”

“Black Star: That’s right, I’m the most handsome man in the Shattered Star Ring.”

As the viewers started to joke around again, Han Xiao smiled.

This compliment feels quite good. The benefits I’ve provided all along to guide the versions didn’t go to waste.

Flower coughed and said, “Alright, back to the main topic. The Black Star Army is indeed an important factor when it comes to predicting version development. The core mechanism of the new system they announced some time ago turns guilds into official organizations in the universe and allows the players to become somewhat independent.”

“The independent playstyle has always been unpopular in the previous versions, mainly because the conditions had yet to mature. However, in Version 4.0, with the increased maximum level, the influence the players can have as independent organizations has increased. This playstyle might become very important.”

“The Black Star Army has led this playstyle, and according to what they have done in the past, this will very likely become the mainstream play style of Version 4.0, encouraging more people to create guilds.”

“However! Attention to all players! Becoming independent through normal processes will require you to leave your original faction. As of this moment, the Black Star Army is the only faction that has a system of semi-independence. This means that only the army players can be independent while still getting to keep their identities as members of the Black Star Army! This is another unique and exclusive advantage!”

“We still don’t know if this is one of the specialties of the Black Star Army. If the factions that the players in the other Star Fields are in don’t have this system, I feel that many foreign players will join the Black Star Army… Therefore, here comes the problem. If they become players in the same faction, will national wars still happen?”

Quite accurate analytics, Han Xiao thought.

This was a good thing for him. It would help to promote how superior his system was so that the players would better understand how amazing the army was, increasing the appeal of the faction.

The show went on to analyze the possibilities of the world server in detail, as well as what was happening to the players in the various Star Fields. Han Xiao watched from start to end, mainly to see the movements of the players of the other Star Fields.

Unlike the Shattered Star Ring, the players in the other Star Fields did not have a unified faction. They belonged to many different factions and were on their way to the Flickering World with their factions. There were also many solo players who quit their factions, mainly Americans and Europeans. After all, the love for freedom was in their blood and bones.

The exterior factions that had players were worth paying attention to, but they were mostly small organizations.

Small organizations were nothing to worry about. The Flickering World had way too many powerful organizations. The methods of joining them in Version 4.0 would increase drastically. The players would not be able to resist the temptation to join bigger organizations.

Furthermore, some might even sell out their old boss in exchange for Contribution Points from the new boss.

Han Xiao could recall many examples where players deliberately used small organizations’ names to mess with enormous organizations. They would then betray the small organization while bringing the small organization an undefeatable powerful enemy, which led to their doom. Afterward, the players would then join the new hostile faction with a higher position and salary, and this was the definition of completely shameless anarchism.

To many players, virtue was complete horse sh*t. Small organizations were unattractive and weak, so players would not miss them or be attached at all. A large faction like his, however, would mostly be treasured by normal players, and they would not cause such trouble.

Other than medium and small organizations, there were also foreign players who worked for powerful organizations such as the Limitless Financial Group, Galactic Black Market, Extinguish Army, and some Star Cluster or even Super Star Cluster civilizations. Depending on the location, they had differing numbers of ‘Immortals’ from different nations working for them.

“Especially that piece of sh*t Sorokin. He recruited quite a number of players and even tested the army players in the past. He might poach my people in the Flickering World.” Han Xiao curled his lips.

The Limitless Financial Group was mainly recruiting in the Sea of Star Spirits, which mostly included Japanese and Korean players. The Extinguish Army was a key faction for the Americans. The players under these organizations should be the highest in numbers other than the Black Star Army.

Speaking of the Extinguish Army, Han Xiao was reminded of Beyoni. Beyoni was the leader of the Pyre Demon Tribe, while the Extinguish Army consisted mainly of the Ice Demon Race, so the two of them were considered enemies. Beyoni controlled the Land of the Fire Core, while the Extinguish Army controlled the Land of the Ice Core. Even their race treasures were similar.

While thinking about that, Han Xiao suddenly felt something and opened up his attribute interface. His EXP gauge was increasing at an astonishing speed.

“Hehe, my promotion is working.”

…

The top tier professional clubs such as Dynasty, Temple of God, Long Sky, and so on had all registered as official organizations in the Black Star Army. Their organization names remained unchanged and could be used as their guild name.

Having been ordered to do so by Han Xiao, Phillip quickly processed the procedures of guilds becoming official one after another. The organizational structure of the army players changed drastically as they officially became recognized subsidiary guild organizations and had documents in the army.

After the registration, these guilds immediately told some of their members to take part in the main storyline exploration mission so that they could receive the many discounts Han Xiao had mentioned. To these large guilds, they could also use these discounts to attract many players who did not have a guild yet to join them. It was a win-win.

Through the hard work of the logistics department in the past twenty years, the various models of equipment in the army were all the latest, while the items the players had were all abandoned models from twenty years ago. They needed to upgrade. Plus, with the thirty-percent discount, their desire to spend was at the peak. A shopping spree started in the military supplies store very soon.

To the Great Mechanic Han, the Enas earned from the players now was just small profits. What was important was EXP. He had added EXP price to more items in the faction store and introduced a new system. The players could choose one of two purchasing methods—Enas or EXP. If they had no money in their pockets, they could use EXP to buy things.

In the eyes of other army members, this would look a little strange, as if equipment were given out for free. However, Han Xiao did not have to be as careful about the way he treated the players as he was before, given how strong he had become. All he had to do was say that the Immortals had privileges, and no one would ask any more questions.

The result of that was the explosive increase in the efficiency of harvesting EXP. EXP was a special type of currency only belonging to the players. Currently, only the Black Star Army had the service of using EXP to buy things; the other factions would not be able to do it even if they wanted to.

Millions of army players arrived at Black Star Palace over several days, while the players from the other Star Fields were still on their way. According to the schedule of these players, the players that would reach the world server the second-fastest should be the Southeast Asian players in Blackhole Edge, mainly Thais, Vietnamese, Indonesians, and Singaporeans. However, that was still many days away. The Chinese players had more than enough time to exploit their advantages.

As deployed by the Black Star Army, many players were split into mostly two directions. One group followed the fleet led by Hila toward the area of the fourth exploration phase, ready to interfere with the competition between the outside forces. The remaining players were mainly guild members who made use of the benefit Han Xiao promised and went to build guild strongholds in various locations of the army’s territory. At the same time, they used Team Merit Points to purchase resource points and the operation rights for various businesses, starting to build stronger foundations for their guilds.

With Han Xiao’s control behind the curtain, all the army players had moved. This was developing according to the path he had pointed out. The mainstream play style proven by what happened in his previous life was expanding his lead in the world server step by step.

At the same time, the fleet led by Hila arrived at the area of the fourth exploration phase together with other organizations.

Chapter 1016: Gorutan“s Provocation

Chapter 1016 Gorutan“s Provocation

The exploration area for the fourth exploration phase was four Star Clusters. They were considered as the center of the Flickering World in terms of geographical location.

Opening the new Star Field to the outside world was the dynasty’s way of splitting the cost of construction. The third phase areas were basically properly split and highly controlled, so they were considered areas with high security. These four Star Clusters, however, were areas for all the forces to compete freely. The dynasty did not restrict the outside organizations from fighting for territory, so they were low security areas.

The external organizations would choose one or more Star Clusters to explore while at the same time fighting for their territories. At the initial stage of the exploration, these organizations focused on occupying their territories first before slowly exploring the further unknown areas.

It had not been long since the countless outside organizations had arrived there, so the exploration area was still limited to the edges of the four Star Clusters. However, the situation was already looking complex and chaotic. If there was a star map that marked the territories the various organizations now occupied in detail, that would be the most complicated star map in the entire universe.

Most organizations had already foreseen the intensity of the competition and formed various alliances here and there. Roughly speaking, the main factions that were active in the free competition zones could be classified into the following categories.

The first category comprised the ‘local snakes’, consisting of the dynasty and its allies. They all had some territory at the edge of these four Star Clusters, so their position was quite above the others. After all, most of the outside organizations did not want to fight with them, and the organizations belonging to the dynasty did not put too much effort into exploring as well, so they did not participate in the intense competition.

The second groups had alliances of different civilizations, among which, the Super Star Cluster alliance stood at the top. The rest were the Star Cluster civilization alliances of various Star Fields. They had been expanding ruthlessly and occupied plenty of areas that were close to each other. These alliances were strong contenders in this free competition zone.

The third category covered the financial groups, who mostly had mercenaries under their command, mainly focused on making money. The territories they occupied were quite scattered. The fourth group included the external Beyond Grade A organizations, which were also very strong contenders, but there were not many of them.

The last was the civil organizations from all over the universe. This group had the most complex composition and the most scattered territories with the most conflicts that often changed ownership in the previous life.

As for the federation and the church, they were both keeping a low profile in their corners and did not seem to intend to expand. They were only letting their allies take part in the competition freely.

The three Universal Civilizations had the silent agreement of giving the stage to let the other organizations fight and compete.

Currently, although there were occasional conflicts in the free competition zones of the four Star Cluster, there had yet to be any large scale armed conflicts. The exploration had only just started, so there were still plenty of unknown areas. Everyone was exploring further from the edges of the Star Cluster; the organization structure was far from saturation.

Currently, these organizations mainly feared the dynasty’s stand on this, but the fight would start sooner or later. With the Black Star Army firing the first shot in the Flickering World, this process would be sped up tremendously.

In one of the free competition zones of the fourth phase within the Emerald Star Cluster, the enormous Black Star Army exploration fleet rode out of the dynasty’s military stargate and arrived at the border of the Star Cluster.

Inside the command room, Hila stood before the operation console with a poker face, carefully looking at the holographic star map before her.

She had changed her clothes and was wearing a combat suit made of nanomaterials that Han Xiao had specially made for her. It was a black uniform with two rows of buttons. Its style was the luxurious version of the army officers’ military uniform, skintight, showing her beautiful curves. The army’s symbol was on her collar, and there was also a wide high-collar cape behind here in the color of black and gold with magnificent patterns. The inside of the cape was red. This set of clothes suited her unique vibe and elevated her aura.

The combat suit’s model was ‘Crimson Snake—First Gen’, Beyond Grade A equipment. It consisted of tons of top-notch technology. Its usual mode was like a piece of normal clothing, but when in combat mode, it would showcase its powerful performance as a Beyond Grade A mechanical suit.

This combat suit was not built at the last minute. In fact, Han Xiao had made this equipment long before Hila returned. When Hila received this gift, although she did not say much on the surface, she had been wearing it since. She clearly liked it a lot.

“Deputy Army Commander, where are we going now?” the female aide-de-camp beside her asked.

Hila pressed on the holographic star map and zoomed in on one area. This was a planet at the edge of the Emerald Star Cluster called Planet Phiri. Its location was a little rural, so no one had occupied it yet.

“Here, to build a bridgehead,” said Hila.

She was now the commander of the exploration fleet. Han Xiao had given her a lot of freedom in terms of making decisions, only limiting the army’s exploration target to be the Emerald Star Cluster. The details would all be controlled by Hila.

The reason Han Xiao had chosen the Emerald Star Cluster was that this was also the main exploration target of the Modo Civilization, as well as a relatively prosperous area in his previous life. He remembered that there were also some hidden factors in the region. There was the wreckage of an old civilization that was discovered in this Star Cluster, and it was quite an advanced civilization with plenty of technical information. It caused conflicts between countless organizations in the previous life, but he did not know the exact location of it.

Most importantly, the Emerald Star Cluster was one of the locations where the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy might appear in.

According to EsGod’s heritage, there were many coordinates the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy might appear at, and Han Xiao could not judge which one was real. Since EsGod did not die in his previous life, this information was not leaked, and he had secretly secured the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy without attracting the attention of the outside world. Even the players did not know much about it.

Nonetheless, Han Xiao had always been secretly monitoring Evans’ whereabouts. This man who was the owner of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy in his previous life found a job after he was freed from prison and became an ordinary member of a financial group’s exploration fleet, responsible for cleaning and repairing spaceships. The fleet he was in had come to the Emerald Star Cluster.

Therefore, Han Xiao was quite sure that the Emerald Star Cluster was where the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy would appear. After all, after the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was defeated by EsGod, it had definitely found an owner nearby, so the area where Evans was in had the highest possibility.

Of course, Hila did not know about any of that yet. She casually issued orders and commanded the fleet to head to Planet Phiri.

Meanwhile, some player guilds did not follow the main fleet but spread out on their own.

These guilds that had completed their registration had the authority to move on their own. In order to obtain their own stronghold, they did not want to move together with the main fleet. This was approved by Han Xiao silently. Furthermore, he even prepared quite a number of missions just for the players in the army interface, which had rich rewards. This was to encourage the guilds to move on their own and expand their lead.

…

Somewhere in the Emerald Star Cluster, Beast Ancestor Gorutan’s fleet was stationed on one planet, building a bridgehead.

Although Gorutan was the protector of the Galactic Black Market behind the curtains, he also had his own organization. If there was anything special about this organization, it would be that most of its members were his offspring.

Gorutan stood at the peak of a mountain, looking down at the ground that was slowly being covered in metal. Above him was the dark galaxy, and northern lights flew in the sky.

His muscular and fearsome body was completely nude. The lion-like fur all over his body swayed with the corrosive wind, and dots of light surrounded his body, each of which was made of highly condensed Pugilist flames.

As a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist, his training method had ascended from purely training his body. He had to use every inch of his body to feel the way the universe operated; it was very mysterious. Gorutan had stopped taking baths in Fixed Stars like Heber long ago.

This time, numerous meteors flew over from the sky and landed behind Gorutan. They were all Calamity Grade officers, and there were more than forty of them.

Everyone lowered their head and spoke with respect at the same time.

“Father!”

These officers were the Beast Ancestor’s offspring, and they all had different appearances as if they were different species.

Gorutan really lived up to the ‘ancestor’ in his nickname. In fact, he had a more down to earth nickname among the civilians—Seed Spreader of the Galaxy.

After he evolved to become a Beyond Grade A species, he had obtained a very powerful reproductive capacity. His genes had extraordinary adaptability. He could have offspring with most species, and his way of expanding his race was brutal and simple. He captured females of different races for mating to give birth to all kinds of hybrid species.

If there were any outstanding mutants in his offspring, he would then turn that offspring into his mating machine to breed even stronger offspring. This way of doing things contradicted the ethics of some races, so Gorutan was disliked by quite many civilizations who felt he was like a savage beast. However, many races did not care about it. After all, the ethics of every race were different.

Gorutan turned around, not minding the fact that he was fully nude in front of his offspring, and said with a deep voice, “What is it?”

An offspring stepped forward. This offspring had the appearance of a spider-like insect but had a human-like face. His six pedipalp-like arms held a communicator at the same time to express his respect to Gorutan. “Father, Sorokin is looking for you.”

Gorutan took the communicator, and Sorokin’s hologram appeared before him.

“What’s this about?”

Sorokin smiled calmly. “Remember my plan for the Black Star Army? It’s time. When the Limitless Financial Group firms its ground, we will start to target the Black Star Army’s businesses in his territory. Before that, we need to restrain the army’s exploration.”

“And you need my help?”

“That’s right. Right now, the Black Star Army’s exploration is heading to Planet Phiri, which is not far from you. I hope you can occupy Planet Phiri in advance. Their leader is Hila. Test her depth. Best to force the Black Star Army to retreat and delay their exploration progress while damaging their reputation.”

“Why not do it yourself?”

“My original body isn’t in the Emerald Star Cluster. Plus, I can’t beat Hila.” Sorokin smiled.

“Humph, we made a deal with you because I don’t want to deal with the Black Star Army personally, but now you’re asking me, the employer, to help. Why is that so?” Gorutan snorted. As a peak Beyond Grade A, he was not afraid of offending Black Star. He just did not want to work for free.

“My abilities are limited; I only have some strengths in terms of operating a business,” Sorokin slowly said. “If you don’t help me, I won’t be able to restrict the Black Star Army’s exploration. By then, don’t blame me for not giving Black Star enough pressure… Also, I can leak this information to you; the federation and the church have plans to get rid of Hila.”

“Oh? Are they not afraid of enraging the dynasty and starting another Tragedy of the Pinnacles?”

“Well, the fact is, Hila belongs to the Black Star Army; she did not agree to join the dynasty. So, killing her will only enrage Black Star. Hila becoming a Beyond Grade A is an unforeseen issue, but it has also shown us a new way to damage the Black Star Army.”

Gorutan squinted. “Have you forgotten what Black Star said during the Meeting of the Gods? There are too few Beyond Grade As. Anyone dying won’t be beneficial to us.”

“Haha, is that really the case?” Sorokin smiled. “The Mechanic Emperor is extremely ambitious. He hopes to gather all of the Beyond Grade As to obtain more things, but when you think of it, aren’t we being used by him? My thoughts happen to be the complete opposite of his. If there are fewer Beyond Grade As, those who are left will be safer. They’ll be more important to the advanced civilizations.”

Gorutan frowned. “Are you betraying the shared battlefront of the Beyond Grade As?”

“There has never been such a thing as betrayal. What have the others got to do with us? Is the situation the Beyond Grade As are in now not good enough?” Sorokin did not care at all. “When we plot to obtain things that don’t belong to us, this kind of ambition will only lead to our demise.”

“Don’t ever say something like that to me. I’ll take it as if I didn’t hear what you just said.” Gorutan waved his hand impatiently. “For the sake of our relationship, I’ll help you this time. I’ll visit Planet Phiri, but double my dividends for the next quarter, or there’s no deal.”

“Okay.” Sorokin smiled.

Gorutan ended the call and looked back at his many offspring. “Prepare the spaceships and follow me.”

This time, one offspring could not help but ask, “Father, for us to mess with the Black Star Army in the Flickering World, is it really worth…”

“You think Sorokin is the first person to have asked me to do this?” Gorutan snorted. “Hehe, in the Flickering World now, there are all too many organizations that want to deal with the Black Star Army…”

…

In the middle of their travels, the Black Star Army exploration fleet suddenly received a piece of information.

The female aide-de-camp hastily rushed into the room. “Your Excellency Deputy Army Commander, there’s a situation.”

Hila who was meditating opened his eyes, frowned, and said, “What is it?”

“Planet Phiri was occupied by someone before us. It’s Beast Ancestor Gorutan’s fleet. S-should we take use another planet as our stronghold?”

“Gorutan?” A tint of coldness flashed past Hila’s eyes. “We did not hide our whereabouts, so the outside world knows our target, yet he deliberately snatched Planet Phiri. This is a provocation to the army! If we take a detour, it will damage the reputation the Army Commander has put a lot of effort in to build.”

“But Gorutan is a peak Beyond Grade A. Y-you…” The aide-de-camp did not dare continue.

“Your Army Commander is also a peak Beyond Grade A. There’s no reason to back away!” Hila stood up and said with a deep voice, “Advance at full speed!”

So what if it’s a peak Beyond Grade A? It’s not like I haven’t been beaten by a peak Beyond Grade A before!

She was not someone like Garoze, who had already reached his peak. She was not afraid of challenging someone strong.

She believed that only fighting with strong people could stimulate her own potential.

…

At the same time, Han Xiao, who was counting his EXP with a grin every day in the Black Star Palace, received Phillip’s message too and was slightly surprised.

“Gorutan? When did I offend him?”

Han Xiao scratched his head and was a little speechless.

Although he did not know the reason behind this, he was not a nobody anymore. There was no reason to back away.

Well, since you’ve decided to cut short your life span, it has nothing to do with me.

Chapter 1017: Pinnacle Tier Pugilis

Chapter 1017 Pinnacle Tier Pugilis

Streams of light flashed across the universe, stopping not far from the planet. It showed itself as the exploration fleet of the Black Star Army.

“Deputy Army Commander, we’re here.”

On the bridge, Hila gazed at Planet Phiri through the porthole and saw Gorutan’s fleet docked in orbit, facing them directly.

“Open the wide-area communications and contact them.” Hila decided to be show manners before they acted.

The signaler sent out the message, and after a while, the communication call popped up on the screen.

After connecting, a bestial humanoid’s picture appeared on the screen. It was a Calamity Grade Officer.

“I’m Gorragon’s, the son of the Beast Ancestor. I pay respects to Your Excellency Hila.”

“What is the meaning of this?” Hila frowned.

“Lord Father hopes to invite you for a meeting in Planet Phiri, and he’s waiting for you on the surface right now.”

“Discuss what?”

“I do not know of Lord Father’s thoughts. The issue here is, do you dare to come?” Gorragon aggressively replied.

“Alright, then clear the path for my fleet to land. We can talk after.”

“Apologies, but Father has mentioned that he will only allow you to proceed. The rest of the fleet must remain.”

“Then ask him to scram,” Hila immediately replied in a decisive manner. “All battleships, heed my order. Advance forward, and annihilate any that dare to block us.”

At this moment, the communicator’s screen flickered, and Gorutan’s figure appeared.

Facing someone of the same level, appearing completely nude would be too impolite, and thus, he had put on a simple, sleeveless tunic, standing with his arms crossed and an impassive expression.

“Not bad. It seems like the Black Star Army has a tough Deputy Army Commander.”

Seeing this, Hila immediately raised her fist, stopping all orders. She narrowed her eyes. “Gorutan, I’m very curious. The Black Star Army and you have no conflicts, so why are you provoking us?”

“Do you want to know why? If you meet up with me, I’ll tell you,” Gorutan replied. “Depending on whether you have the courage, I’ll be waiting on the surface of the planet with the answer.”

As he spoke, Gorutan’s fleet took the initiative to shift away from Planet Phiri, putting the planet in between both fleets. Right now, Gorutan was left alone on Planet Phiri.

Hila thought for a moment before turning to address the vice fleet commander. “Activate a full scale detection of Planet Phiri and its surroundings to check if there are hidden vital signs or energy sources.”

The commander nodded and sent down the order. He came back moments later with a report. “The surroundings are clear, and there’s only a life signal on the planet representing Gorutan. How about it? Should we fire?”

Before his superior could give any orders, this vice commander was already thinking of ambushing and getting rid of Gorutan.

“Since he has shown such sincerity, I want to hear what he has to say. Wait on standby and keep the weapon system on alert mode. The moment the enemy’s fleet shows any abnormal reactions, just fire straight at them.”

Even if her fleet attacked, it would not deal much damage to Gorutan. Since he dared do such a thing, he was definitely prepared for all consequences, so Hila could only meet with him since she could not guess his intentions.

Maybe Gorutan wanted to set the battlefield to attack her, but she was not anxious. This was what she wanted; even if she could not beat a Pinnacle Beyond Grade A Super, she still had the confidence to block their attacks for a period of time.

Hila sat in a small spaceship and rapidly descended the atmospheric layer of Planet Phiri, stopping at a high altitude.

Shua!

The hatch opened, and Hila stepped out onto the air, looking down on the surface of the planet.

Within the rugged barren plains, Gorutan sat on a boulder, with his elbows placed on his knees. He looked up at Hila as he slowly spoke.

“As an Esper, the fact that you dared come so close to a Pinnacle level Pugilist shows that you have courage.”

The sound that came out from his mouth seemed to cause the air in their surroundings to oscillate, spreading out far like the echoes of thunder.

Hila did not land, choosing to remain floating in the midair as she replied, “Get straight to the point. What did you want to meet me for?”

Gorutan stared at Hila before explaining, “I don’t know how people will look at this, but in my eyes, you have the most potential among this batch of new Beyond Grade As.”

“So?” Hila raised a brow.

“Someone with your talent will rise to a higher realm in the future. There’s no need for you to remain as someone’s subordinate. Moving out as an independent entity would suit you better.” Gorutan drily spoke.

Hila’s eyes flashed dangerously, and she coldly snapped, “Who are you representing in trying to drive a wedge between Black Star and me? The three Universal Civilizations?”

“I’m only representing myself and the Galactic black market’s Management Committee. You can just take my words as a sincere suggestion.”

“Don’t you think that you’re meddling too much?” Hila snorted.

“I can see that you’re someone who is extremely stubborn and does not like to heed the commands of others. There will be a day when you’ll eventually choose to be independent.” Gorutan had a look of interest in his eyes. “When that day comes, I’m willing to give you an invitation to become one of the members of the Galactic black market.”

Not only was he sowing discord, he was also trying to poach her.

However, Hila showed an expression of indifference. “My communicator is on. Black Star can totally hear your words.”

“So what if he hears them?” Gorutan did not mind it. “You have the freedom of choice; you’re not his slave.”

“I’m not interested in your invite.” Hila remained unmoved. “Are you done? If so, you can take your troops away, and we’ll take it as though this provocation did not happen.”

“I don’t think this is provocation. Planet Phiri does not belong to your Black Star Army. It’s a free competition zone, not your territory. No one stipulated that others could not occupy the planet that you guys are interested in.” Gorutan shook his head.

“You long had the intention to occupy this planet, but you chose to wait for us to make our choice before you took it for your own. If this is not provocation, then what is?” Hila said.

“Don’t be too overbearing, little kid.” Gorutan grinned. “It’s first come, first served, so it’s you who needs to leave. Go find another planet. This is my stronghold now.”

The moment he spoke, the atmosphere became tense as both people faced each other.

He had been entrusted with this by others, no matter what Hila’s reaction was, but he would not have given way either. His goal was to force Hila’s hand so that he could test out her skills.

In his view, this mission was very simple. He just had to fight with Hila, allowing the Black Star Army to suffer some losses. Then he could decide if he wanted to withdraw or not.

While this type of conflict and provocation would draw Black Star’s ire, it would not be to the point of wanting the other party dead. He was certain that just as he did not wish to make an enemy out of Black Star, Black Star did not wish to make an enemy out of him. Both sides were not so easily provoked.

Hila’s expression turned frosty. Gorutan was right. The Black Star Army was being unreasonable. However, if they retreated, the other party would not only not praise them for being reasonable, but they would treat them as weaklings.

If all problems could be solved through reasoning, there would be no need for disputes and wars.

Since neither side wanted to retreat, the only solution left was to use force.

Looking at Gorutan’s expression, which bore no good intentions, Hila fell silent for a few seconds before she suddenly moved!

Boom!

A tremendous death energy storm swept through, turning into a tornado as it blasted downward!

“Pretty scary.” Gorutan twisted his neck a little before stepping down hard.

Bang!

The earth cracked, and he stomped upward, leaving a huge ring-shaped crater on the ground, scattering dust everywhere.

He seemed to have turned into a comet, slamming into the torrential rain of death energy. The dark-brown Pugilist flame wrapped around his body, revealing a wild, arrogant temperament.

Bang!

Before Hila could react, the fist wreathed in pugilist flames landed squarely on her stomach.

The shield surrounding the battlesuit was shattered, and there were even cracks on her outer armor. Hila was slammed outward like a bullet, her speed breaking the sound barrier.

“Insane strength, insane speed…” Hila’s expression slightly changed.

The shock absorption properties of the battlesuit could not withstand such a strong impact, and Hila could only feel that her internal organs seemed to have been flattened by this blow. The pain was overwhelming, and she only managed to stabilize her body in midair after much difficulty.

Both Gorutan and Black Star were at the pinnacle of Beyond Grade A, but the feeling she got from crossing blows with Gorutan was completely different from Han Xiao.

Han Xiao had displayed a complete suppression, where he was without weaknesses, controlling the battle from start to finish as though he could just adapt to anything. However, Gorutan’s battle style was complete savagery, just like the invincible rampage of a beast.

Hila’s impression of Beyond Grade A Pugilists mainly came from Heber, but fighting pinnacle level Beyond Grade A Pugilists was a totally different ball game, and they could not be seen as being on the same level.

Be it speed, strength, or energy intensity, there was a qualitative change. Objectively speaking, one Gorutan was enough to pummel three or four Hebers to death!

Only upon reaching the SS tier would someone be considered at the pinnacle of Beyond Grade A, and this battle strength was nothing to be joked about.

After his hit, Gorutan did not pursue her but rather remained floating, his head lowered as he observed the death energy eroding his body.

Because of his tanky body, the majority of the attacks were blocked purely by his body’s strength. The damage done to the body was small, and only a few layers of Death’s Erosion had stacked.

“A corrosive energy related to vitality… It seems like the rumors were true. You used such a method to gravely injure Tolaen. The more you accumulate, the stronger the power.”

Gorutan glanced at Hila before covering himself with a jet of energy. It shattered the Death’s Erosion stacks, directly dispelling them. As Pugilists relied on their bodies, they naturally had many skills to dispel negative statuses.

“This is going to be tricky…” Hila gritted her teeth, but her eyes lit up.

She found that Gorutan’s combat capability was overwhelming, but this did not make her back down, instead increasing her fighting will.

The next moment, Hila took the initiative to start another round of attacks, and the death energy surged like a wave, attacking while wrapped around her.

The tsunami-like crimson wave surged over, and Gorutan launched himself into it. In an instant, an invisible shock wave was generated and exploded in midair, enveloping the incoming death energy.

Boom!

The vibrations echoed around the entire space. Gorutan’s lunge was actually a skill, which caused the particles in the space in front to oscillate at high frequencies, collapsing the layers of incoming death energy.

“It seems like your strength is unworthy of your attitude.”

Gorutan’s expression remained indifferent, and his figure disappeared suddenly as he started to move at full speed.

Whoosh!

The difference in their speed was too great. Before Hila could react, he had already arrived beside her, and his leg containing great power whipped and slammed hard on her back.

Boom!

Her entire body arched like a bow from the impact, shooting up like a cannonball all the way out of the planet’s atmosphere.

“Cough cough… I cannot fight him in melee battles.” Hila felt as though dozens of bones were broken just from that kick, and she immediately changed her strategy.

When faced against Tolaen, she could still rely on her vampiric abilities to hold on, but comparing him with a pinnacle level Beyond Grade A, her attributes differed too much, to the point that she could not even see his figure!

In melee battles, a pinnacle level Beyond Grade A Pugilist was nigh invincible, and forcibly going head on with them was just asking for death.

“In a one-to-one battle, I have no way to retaliate. I need to complicate this battlefield.”

As Hila thought about the possible battle tactics, the built-in communicator rang, and Han Xiao’s voice came from it, with a tone that seemed as though he was smiling.

“How is it? Have you felt the power difference? Do you need help?”

“No need.” Hila shook her head. If she always relied on Black Star for help, how could she grow?

“But you’re not his opponent. If you can’t do it, just let me take over.”

Han Xiao raised a brow. He had known long ago that Hila would not be able to cope against Gorutan.

During the Meeting of the Gods, he had collected the attribute information of Gorutan, and there were a great deal of question marks. Even he himself might not be able to beat Gorutan head on, so Hila would have it worse. If a pinnacle Beyond Grade A could be dealt with so easily, there would be no need to use them as deterrents.

But he knew that even if Gorutan could not be beaten, Hila would not be the one at a disadvantage, so he did not interfere to allow Hila to gain more experience.

“Humph, wait till I’m almost beaten to death before you help.”

Hila stabilized her body and turned around. While using her death energy to attack and contain Gorutan, she tried to increase the distance between them.

This was not even considered a struggle, merely a unilateral beating. If not for Gorutan deliberately slowing down the offensive to force out Hila’s abilities, she would probably have already been beaten up. The high speed and strength he possessed was enough to break through most methods.

But truth be told, Gorutan did not have it easy either. After suffering from the repeated attacks of death energy, he felt a slight fear toward it.

“What a strange ability. If I couldn’t forcibly crush it with my strength, her abilities would put me in a lot of danger…”

Just as he knocked Hila back with yet another punch, he discovered that Hila had tweaked the direction of her knockback, flying toward his troops.

“She actually took the initiative to fly toward my troops? Isn’t she afraid of being besieged?”

Gorutan stopped in shock, but this time, Hila suddenly made a different gesture, and a sudden surge of mental energy burst out.

The world before his eyes warped and turned into an inky black space.

Lowering his head, all he saw were the grudges of countless creatures.

[Abyss of the Dead!]

While Pugilists would also temper their minds, their Psychological Resistance was not high to begin with, so Gorutan easily fell into the mental attack, freezing on the spot.

Taking this chance, Hila accumulated her death energy and ran straight through the shield established by the Gorutan fleet, rushing right into the fleet formation.

“What is she trying to do?” Gorragon, who had previously spoken with Hila, stood in the command room of one of the spaceships, looking confused.

Before he could take any action, Hila raised both her hands, and the death energy exploded, enveloping the entire fleet.

“What‽”

Gorragon got a shock, immediately commanding the fleet to retreat and avoid it.

However, his command had yet to be sent out when the dark red energy encompassed his entire sight.

Gorragon’s eyes widened.

Bang bang bang!

In a flash, countless battleships were chewed up by the death energy like biscuits, and countless children of Gorutan were reaped.

With the [Vampiric] effect, she obtained enough vitality to recover her HP.

Just that short exchange previously made Hila clear that she was far from being Gorutan’s opponent if they fought head on. With her own HP, she could not sustain the battle for a long time, so the only way was to enhance her endurance by turning it into a group fight, absorbing more vitality for herself.

Her combat capability in a large group fight was much higher than in single target battles!

Hila ran rampant within the fleet, killing wantonly, and her status quickly picked up even as countless screams were drowned in the explosion.

At this time, Gorutan finally got rid of the mental attack from [Abyss of the Dead]. The moment he returned to his senses, he was greeted with the image of Hila slaughtering his descendants, His expression warped in fury.

In his view, Hila was killing his descendants to vent her anger!

“You dare‽”

Chapter 1018: Confrontation

1018 Confrontation The death energy ravaged the fleet, eroding and penetrating the outer armor of every spaceship. They burst apart like fireworks as Hila’s figure sailed through.

Uncountable troops on Gorutan’s side were killed by the mixture of physical and mental damage. The death energy sapped their vitality, supplementing Hila’s HP instead, and their soul fragments were absorbed by her to enhance her powers.

After receiving this attack, the fleet was in chaos for a short moment, but they quickly retaliated and fired a volley at Hila. However, most of their attacks were evaded or blocked by her death energy shield, and only a small portion caused damage.

In front of Hila’s highly efficient vampirism ability, those injuries were healed in the blink of an eye.

Gorutan’s eyes seemed like it was about to spit fire, his anger reaching extreme heights. He suddenly raised his speed, almost instantaneously breaking through the death energy barrier surrounding Hila. This time, he did not show mercy, raining blows on Hila’s body, pummeling her.

Boom boom boom!

Bursts of compressed air blasted out from his fists, shattering Hila’s internal organs and bones. The angered pinnacle Beyond Grade A pugilist’s fists exuded great killing intent, as though he wished to beat her up into a ball of flesh.

However, Hila had received stolen plenty of vitality from the people she had just killed, so her HP constantly dipped and soared, barely supporting her through the intense attack.

Hila continued to dodge the blows as much as she could, and she even opted to retaliate at times, trading injury for injury.

“You’re seeking death!”

Gorutan’s fury knew no bounds, and as he pummeled Hila, he gazed with killing intent over at the Black Star Army’s fleet.

Since Hila had dared to kill his subordinates, he could do the same to ‘pay respect’ to the Black Star Army.

But his eyes soon narrowed, as he saw that within the Black Star Army’s fleet, a mechanical troop flew out from within one of the spaceships, standing at the very forefront. The lead mechanical soldier gave off frightening energy fluctuations. It was likely that Black Star had chosen to descend as an avatar.

Han Xiao’s mechanical army remained in position, without any intention to save Hila, but Gorutan knew that if he were to attack the fleet, then it would become a two against one scenario.

There’s only one of me, and I can’t even summon an avatar. If I attack Black Star’s fleet, I’ll have to face off against him. Hila will then be able to freely slaughter my subordinates.

As this thought flashed through his head, Gorutan could only dismiss the thought of attacking the Black Star fleet, becoming even angrier in the process.

He was a dignified Pinnacle Beyond Grade A, so why did it seem like he was being forced to train the enemy?

Black Star, do you think that I really won’t kill your subordinate‽

Good! Since you are not going to act, I’ll beat your Deputy Army Commander to death!

From the time Hila began to slaughter his men, the degree of conflict had escalated, and Gorutan no longer held the mentality to test out her skills but rather had the intention to kill…

I shouldn’t provoke Black Star? So what! We’re both Beyond Grade A pinnacles. Does Black Star think that I’m afraid of him? This daddy here also has a temper!

Gorutan immediately stepped up his offensive, bombarding his opponent in front of him.

Such a mad attack would mean that he was more prone to vulnerability. Hila was bleeding all over, but she ignored the pain and kept calm, staring at the increasingly intense death energy on Gorutan’s body. Her eyes flickered with an unknown light.

At this time, Gorutan’s fist swirled with a violent aura, and after utilizing his skills, the power surged. Space seemed to warp around his fist.

Swoosh!

The fist passed through Hila’s chest, as though piercing through it, separating the red ocean of death energy surrounding her.

But Gorutan’s eyes narrowed. He did feel as if he had hit something concrete.

Hila’s body dissolved into a mass of death energy, and disengaging from Gorutan’s arm, the ocean of death energy took on the shape of a humanoid, reshaping into Hila’s body.

[Advancing in the Dead Sea]!

Hila could turn her body into an energy life form and perform teleportation in any area filled with death energy with just a short cooldown. This was one of her few displacement skills.

Gorutan frowned. After beating his opponent for such a long time, he had assumed that she had no ability to teleport and dodge.

Just as he was about to pursue her, Gorutan felt his fist sinking. In that instant, Hila had commanded the death energy to wrap around his fist, releasing a huge attractive force that was forcing his arm to sink in the ocean of death energy.

At the same time, the [Death’s Erosion] stacks on his body soared from ten to fifteen stacks!

[Extradition of the Dead]!

Hila’s method of superimposing the [Death’s Erosion] stacks was not just based through general attacks. She had the ability to stack multiple Death’s Erosion instantly onto a target, and this skill was one of them.

She had initially been hiding her skills, all for this sudden blitzkrieg. She covered all fifteen stacks on Gorutan in one swoop before detonating them using [Reaper of Souls].

She had only attacked Gorutan’s fleet to activate her vampiric effect, creating a battlefield that was conducive to herself to improve her endurance, as well as to attract hatred.

In her point of view, only by using a decoy and provoking Gorutan’s anger would he reveal flaws for her to obtain the opportunity to attack. As long as he stepped up his offensive, the energy spent toward defense would weaken.

Hila’s eyes were calm, and the moment the skill came into effect, she did not give Gorutan time to react, seamlessly connecting it with [Reaper of Souls], detonating all fifteen stacks.

Boom!

Gorutan exploded with a dazzling red light!

Hila took the opportunity to back away, distancing herself.

However, a dark brown pugilist flame wave burst out from within the explosion right after, evaporating all the death energy along its way as it slammed directly into Hila. It pushed her all the way toward Planet Phiri.

The brown ray of light penetrated Planet Phiri like a toothpick going through an orange.

The next second, the light fully pierced through both ends of the planet and began to expand rapidly, revealing the red glow of the planet core.

Buzz!

Everyone’s eyes were greeted with an expanse of white, forcing them to subconsciously close their eyes. If the battleship porthole did not have the function to automatically adjust spectrum and brightness, this level of light would have been enough to burn the eyes of the majority present.

“Warning! Warning! High energy reaction detected! Reaction output level: Planet Annihilation!”

A harsh alarm sounded on every ship, and when everyone reopened their eyes, the huge planet had disappeared as though it had never existed.

All that remained were some bits of dust floating in its place. The entire planet had been collapsed and annihilated, and Hila was nowhere to be seen.

This moment, the death energy from Reaper of Souls collapsed, revealing Gorutan’s body, which was covered in corrosive wounds and slowly healing.

Because his level was too high, the judgment of death was unsuccessful, but he had still lost twenty percent of his HP from that one blow!

Ever since he had stepped into the pinnacle level of the Beyond Grade A realm, Gorutan had rarely suffered such a serious injury. He had expected it to be a simple matter to deal with this newly born Beyond Grade A; he did not expect to suffer from such a loss.

In this fury, Gorutan had activated one of his aces, his self-created pugilist technique [Beast Ancestor Style—Light of Annihilation]. This was not just a pure Pugilist skill but also contained the laws of the universe that ran through his body.

On the surface, it seemed to just be a pugilist flame beam, but it actually stirred up the space around it, creating a terrible radiation energy to amplify its damage. Hitting the planetary core would cause a chain reaction to occur, resulting in planetary obliteration.

Hila’s HP was not full to begin with, and with this blow, it was likely that she would have been instantaneously killed.

Gorutan’s murderous eyes turned toward Black Star in the distance, the aura around him rising exponentially.

Having killed the Deputy Army Commander in front of him, Gorutan did not think that Black Star would remain unmoved, so he began to prepare to face this formidable foe.

However, much to his surprise, Han Xiao and his mechanical troops did not rush over as expected but rather turned to watch the smoldering wreckage of the planet.

Just as he was feeling puzzled, specks of gray shone around the wreckage of Planet Phiri and gathered to form a whirlwind. Hila’s spiritual body was within that whirlwind, and this also attracted Gorutan’s gaze.

The next moment, Hila’s body reformed within the whirlwind, and the death energy draped around her like a cloak, only revealing a face that was deathly pale.

One of the mechanical soldiers threw out an Army Emblem, which Hila activated, turning it into countless nanoparticles that formed a Crimson Snake battlesuit around her body. Immediately afterward, the life potion of Aurora that was built within the suit was injected into her, and Hila’s sluggish state after defying death quickly vanished, her HP recovering to more than half.

“Not dead‽” Gorutan’s eyes narrowed, his expression sinking.

If he had not intended to kill Hila, that would have been all good, but since he had already revealed his killing move, this only made Gorutan feel even more humiliated.

But Black Star had already intervened, so continuing his attack was out of the question. Gorutan frowned, choosing to rearrange the formation of his fleet instead. In his view, since Hila did not die, Black Star definitely had to give him an explanation.

On the other side, Hila flew back to Han Xiao’s avatar, and Han Xiao glanced at her with a slight smile on his face, “How is it? Do you want to continue being beaten up?”

Hila shook her head. “I can’t beat him, but I managed to give him something to remember.”

She felt that this battle was quite rewarding, allowing her to accumulate more experience and lessons on dealing with other Beyond Grade As. At the same time, she had harvested a lot of the opponent’s troops, and her ability strength was slightly enhanced.

In particular, there were several Calamity Grades who had died by her hand, so the bonus provided was quite impressive, better than the beasts she had slaughtered during her training.

As she spoke, Hila suddenly paused and said with some uncertainty, “This time… did I cause trouble for you?”

In order to reverse her disadvantage, she had attacked the other party’s fleet. This sort of combat method made it too easy to incite hatred, so Gorutan would probably have a deeper hatred against her.

Of course, Hila had no intention of apologizing to Gorutan at all. The moment she entered a fighting state, the enemy’s life was nothing but a mere blood bag in her eyes. She would only apologize to Han Xiao.

My character seems to make enemies easily. Perhaps staying in the Black Star Army is the wrong decision…

Hila could not help but think that way, pursing up her lips.

She was still the same Goddess of Death who treated life like weeds. This could be a characteristic brought by abilities. The only thing that was better was that she would not kill ordinary people indiscriminately, and her cruelty was only aimed toward the enemy.

Han Xiao knew that Hila was not good with words. She spoke her mind frankly, and expecting her to stay her hand was impossible.

Han Xiao shook his head, answering with an unquestionable tone. “We’ll talk more when we return. Just go and rest. I’ll deal with the rest.”

Hearing this, Hila opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, but in the end, she nodded quietly and boarded the spaceship.

Han Xiao controlled his avatar to move slowly toward Gorutan’s troops.

Upon reaching the center of the two fleets, the troops threw out a multitude of compressed orbs, which transformed into a small floating sanctuary of around a thousand square meters. The door of the base opened wide, and Han Xiao made an inviting gesture toward Gorutan.

The latter narrowed his eyes but flew into the base. The sanctuary was full of fresh air, and in the middle was a long conference table, with a high seat at both ends.

Han Xiao sat on one of the seats, nodding toward Gorutan.

“Please sit.”

Gorutan plonked down on one of the chairs and grumbled, “Black Star, your Deputy Army Commander is really brave. I haven’t seen such a Beyond Grade A who seeks death so readily. Does she think that she can do as she pleases with you as a backer?”

“Haha, what sort of words are those? She has always been bold, and it’s nothing to do with me.” Han Xiao shook his head.

“I don’t want to continue talking nonsense with you.” Gorutan waved his hand. “I’m giving you face by not wanting her life. But she killed my descendants, and this debt must be settled. Let’s discuss how to solve this.”

“I think it’s simple.” Han Xiao controlled the avatar to stroke its metallic chin. “You take your troops to leave this place, and I won’t pursue the matter any further. How about that?”

“What did you say‽ Say that again!” Gorutan glared furiously, his pugilist flame raging around him.

“Don’t get too agitated.” Han Xiao waved his hands to placate Gorutan. “I don’t think Hila promised to challenge you, so who is to blame for this? And I think you probably discovered it, but she attacked your fleet not to vent her anger but rather to show her abilities and create a favorable battlefield for herself. After all, she’s not your match, so of course she needed to utilize her surroundings. From my perspective, it seems like it was your entire fleet facing off against her. Isn’t that more unfair?”

“I’ve not come into contact with you much before, but it seems like your reputation really precedes you. You’re every bit as shameless as the rumors say.” Gorutan coldly laughed.

“Is that so?” Han Xiao clicked his tongue. “A pinnacle Beyond Grade A bullying a newly born Beyond Grade A, is that very glamorous? I have no grudges nor hatred with you, yet you choose to provoke and bully my Deputy Army Commander. Of course, she is not your opponent, but you actually didn’t even allow her to create a favorable environment for herself. If that’s not bullying the weak, what is?”

Gorutan’s words were stuck in his throat, and he finally growled in a deep voice, “No matter what, many of those killed were my descendants, and some were even Calamity Grades that I’d painstakingly raised. She attacked my fleet first, so this matter was incited by her. I won’t let this go!”

Han Xiao laughed in response. “Wasn’t this entire thing started by you? Why is it now our problem? Furthermore, you actively provoked me first, and now you’re saying that my subordinates have gone too hard on you. I feel that you’re more shameless than me.”

Bang!

Gorutan slammed the table heavily as he stood up, the fury apparent in his expression.

“Black Star, watch your attitude!”

“Alright, let’s say that you make sense. Then, what do you want us to do?”

“Of course, I want compensation!” Gorutan coldly replied. “I won’t force you to repay a life with a life, but I want you to compensate me and make Hila apologize to me.”

“Oh, sounds reasonable.” Han Xiao smiled. “But I refuse.”

“Black Star!” Gorutan smashed the table between them into smithereens, bellowing, “You wish to make me an enemy‽”

At this moment, Han Xiao’s pleasant tone turned cold. “You think you’re the only one who’s angry? You bullied my old friend and even wanted to poach her. I haven’t settled this with you! And also… what sort of mistaken notion makes you think that I cannot afford to make you an enemy‽”

The Lord’s Avatar slowly rose up, floating until it came before Gorutan. The two of them stared straight at each other, and their gazes looked as though it could wipe out planets with it alone.

Han Xiao slowly spoke.

“It’s far from your turn to manage my people!”

As he spoke, he raised a hand, poking at Gorutan’s chest as his voice grew steely.

“You people come and test my patience and limits every day. You think that I’m without a temper? This daddy here has killed your people! You want to play with me? I’ll play to the end with you. Can you even afford that‽”

Chapter 1019: Shortened Lifespan, Dark Clouds

1019 Shortened Lifespan, Dark Clouds The moment he spoke, the atmosphere turned sharp like drawn daggers.

The anger in Gorutan’s eyes almost condensed into reality, and his energy fluctuations continuously rose, exuding huge pressure on their surroundings. The surrounding metal walls gradually cracked as they vibrated from the high frequency.

“Want to attack?”

Han Xiao’s eyes crackled with electricity, his whole body flickering with blue-gold electrical serpents, producing harsh popping sounds.

This stalemate continued for another ten seconds or so before Gorutan suddenly collected his energy outburst, and the pressure in the room drastically lessened.

The rage on his face quickly faded, and he coldly said, “Black Star, you really gave me quite the surprise. You’re really unyielding.”

Han Xiao crossed his arms and replied in a level tone, “We can speak more of whether I’m unyielding in the future. Right now, what do you intend to do?”

Gorutan remained expressionless, only wagging a finger toward the avatar.

“I’ll remember the matters today. We still have scores to settle.”

He turned and strode away, leaving the sanctuary and flying toward his own fleet.

“You’re really good at spitting vicious words. I really thought that you would take action just now.” Han Xiao shook his head. He walked to the door, watching as Gorutan led his fleet and vanished from sight.

This minor conflict had ended with Gorutan’s retreat, so Han Xiao withdrew his machinery, controlling the Lord’s Avatar to return to the main flagship. Hila had been waiting for him the whole time.

The moment he entered the command room, Hila came up.

“What sort of conditions did you promise him, or did you force him to retreat?”

Han Xiao shook his head. “It was nothing like that. He left on his own.”

“Gorutan had eaten such a loss. Could he even swallow his anger?” Hila was suspicious.

“At least on the surface, he has not taken a loss. He has annihilated the planet we chose and delayed our exploration speed. We have no choice but to change our target and find another planet, and you have killed some of his subordinates in return, so we should be considered even.”

“Will he take this lying down?” Hila frowned.

“Of course not. We’ve already formed a grudge with him, and he will not leave things be.”

Hila slowly spat out a breath, whispering, “I increased the conflict between us and got a new enemy for the army. I…”

“Don’t blame yourself. You did what was necessary.”

Han Xiao interrupted her as he waved his hands in dismissal. “Gorutan’s challenge was a kind of test. Just like how the winds howl around the highest peaks, the number of people who wish to test us are numerous. Behind Gorutan might exist even more organizations and forces. If we are not tough and vicious to them, every organization will think that we’re easy to provoke. Furthermore, the strength between both of you is too vastly different, and he challenged you to bully you. Thus, there’s no need to feel bad since you got beaten up by him, or else the prestige of the army would have fallen.”

Hila stared at Han Xiao, her eyes shining with a weird light as she tilted her head.

“So, you don’t care if I make more enemies?”

“The part I like about you is your ferocity,” Han Xiao casually replied. “So what if Gorutan was just testing you out? Are you going to obediently accompany him to put on a show, then let him leave after patting his butt? Remember this, he actively sought us out to make enemies of us; it was not you who sought him out. If one is not vicious, they cannot stand firmly in their territory. I brought you over to the competition area not to let you be a softie but to crush through all that blocks your route.”

Right now, the status of the Black Star Army was different from before. It possessed the largest territory in the Flickering World, and it naturally had more responsibilities such as bringing benefits and prestige to the dynasty since it was holding the fort there.

“Really?”

“Of course.” Han Xiao smiled, patting her shoulder.

You’re an important fighter of mine, and the main thing that is needed is to have deterrence. If I don’t defend you, should I speak for the enemy instead? Wouldn’t that be ironic?

Originally, Han Xiao only wished to borrow Hila’s Esper Ability to let Gorutan suffer some losses, provoking Gorutan was out of his plan. However, while things had gotten to this point, he had no fear. Since the other party had chosen to provoke him first, getting beaten to this point was his just desserts.

Hearing Han Xiao reassure her, Hila’s expression relaxed a little. She paused before asking, “So, what did you say to him just now?”

“I just…”

Han Xiao simply narrated the prior events.

Hearing this, Hila could not help but smirk, and she wondered, “You were so unyielding, but he actually did not start fighting with you, huh?”

“I’m still a pinnacle Beyond Grade A after all.” Han Xiao laughed. “Furthermore, it’s because of you that he did not make a move.”

“Me?”

“We have two Beyond Grade As here, so a battle wouldn’t be in his favor. Furthermore, Gorutan is not in his peak state; making a move would bring him more disadvantages than advantages.”

If it was just a normal Beyond Grade A, Gorutan might not have cared, but Hila had used [Reaper of Souls] to inflict heavy damage, which provided a strong deterrent effect. This resulted in Gorutan’s HP not being at maximum capacity. If he faced off against Black Star as well, the risk for him was a bit too high.

Han Xiao hypothesized that this should be the reason for Gorutan’s withdrawal. While Pugilists had heads of steel, they also knew how to judge the situation. In the face of an obviously unfavorable situation, it was better to retreat.

He also did not wish to force Gorutan, as a pinnacle Beyond Grade A Pugilist had a lot of burst power. He was there as an avatar, not his true form. Furthermore, with his reputation as a tank, Gorutan would definitely choose to attack Hila first, and with her [Death Immunity] skill still on cooldown, it would be more dangerous.

Both sides had their own reservations.

After a pause, Han Xiao said, “Gorutan will come at us again, so it’s important to pay attention. There’s a high chance he will target you.”

“Maybe we can take the initiative and launch an attack.” Hila’s thinking was forever that extreme.

“Launch an attack? Depends on the situation.”

Han Xiao shook his head. It was not that the idea was not possible, but he needed more assurance.

Now that the players had returned in Version 4.0, he could finally continue his rapid upgrades, and his stagnated level could finally increase once again.

Based on his current strength, it would not be so easy to deal with Gorutan. He hoped to complete one or maybe even two more advancements before resolving this matter.

Other than his plan to make Gorutan an enemy, Han Xiao had been lying low for over twenty years, letting the outside world think that he was also facing a bottleneck. But the moment he exchanges blows with another pinnacle Beyond Grade A, he would have to reveal his current strength, and that old jerk Manison would be sure to come out once more.

It is safer to first complete my advancement at level 320. This is the most important thing currently, Han Xiao thought to himself.

If he foresaw things properly, the worst-case scenario in this matter might result in a dangerous chain reaction.

He needed to be stronger to deal with it!

When the conversation ended, the Lord’s Avatar fell dormant once more, and Hila returned to her position.

Since Planet Phiri had already been reduced to dust, they had to look for a new planet to build a stronghold.

…

On the other side, Gorutan’s fleet was returning to their planet that served as their stronghold.

Gorutan reclined in the tall throne, holding a huge cup that fit his figure and continuously poured a special spirit down his throat.

Several of his female descendants were around him, some holding medical tools to treat his wounds, whilst others held scissors to help him trim the hair near his wounds. The rest were in charge of massaging him.

“Lord Father, is it comfortable?”

“Use more strength.”

Gorutan wiped his mouth, throwing the empty cup to the side. He looked down at the Calamity Grades standing below the dais and coldly said, “Is the casualty report out?”

“It’s already out. Please have a look.” One of the Calamity Grades walked up, passing him a communication terminal.

Opening the virtual screen, he glanced at the figures and snorted. “She actually dared to kill five of my Calamity Grades. I’ll kill that Hila sooner or later! Then there’s that Black Star b*stard. To dare be so unyielding! If not for my minor injury, I would’ve torn his avatar apart!”

Seeing Gorutan in a rage, everyone wisely kept silent.

“Don’t think that it’s because I’m afraid of Black Star. He does not have the ability to force me to make concessions. I blasted Planet Phiri apart and slowed down their progress. I have accomplished what Sorokin requested.” Gorutan coldly snorted.

He had chosen to stay away from Han Xiao’s sharp edge because of his current condition, as well as the fact that there was no need to fight Black Star alone. His original goal was just to slow them down and test out the other party’s skills.

Thus, if he wanted a better way to level the playing field, he would have to follow Sorokin’s recommendation and approach the federation and church to get rid of Hila, since they already intended to do so. He would not need to move.

Gorutan then changed the topic. “Since a batch have died, raise another batch of hybrid descendants on our home planet and bring them here.”

“Are you personally going to spread your seeds?”

Gorutan waved his hand. “Just use those from the storage.”

In his main camp, there were females responsible for bearing descendants at all times. After all, their efficiency of mating and multiplying offspring was too low, so a large amount of Beyond Grade A DNA from Gorutan was stored in a freezer to be used for reproduction. It had extremely strong vitality and adaptability, and using artificial insemination would allow them to produce offspring on a larger scale, supplemented by hormones such as oxytocin to help accelerate childbirth.

After many years of experimenting, he had accumulated a variety of hybrid combinations that would allow them to produce excellent offspring. Through mixing with different species, he could produce offspring with various racial talents, so females were hoarded in his camp to be used as a medium for offspring.

As for the origins of these females… as a Beyond Grade A who sat high above, he naturally would not waste time falling in love with so many females. Some came willingly, others less so… None of the people who ran the Galactic Black Market were clean people anyways.

At this moment, Gorutan coughed twice.

“Lord Father, your injuries…” one of the officers muttered in a worried tone.

“Hila’s Esper Ability has a strong lethality and high-explosiveness to wound even me.” Gorutan frowned. “During the battle just now, I did not feel it, but my body is a little weird.”

As he spoke, Gorutan closed his eyes, diving into the cellular level to observe his body’s situation. Among the Super systems, the Pugilists had the greatest degree of control over their bodies.

Everyone turned silent for a while before Gorutan suddenly snapped his eyes open, abruptly standing up. The female descendants around him were all thrown back.

“Dammit, her Esper Ability can weaken the vitality of cells!”

Gorutan’s expression distorted. He almost turned mad with fury.

Even when that batch of elites had died under Hila’s hands, he had not been so mad!

The vitality of a cell was related to the number of cell divisions it could make, and this sort of property was extremely secretive, to the point that Beyond Grade As normally could not sense it. It was only now that he discovered that his lifespan had been cut!

Not merely just his lifespan, but fertility was also closely related to the vitality of his cells. With the reduction in vitality for his DNA, there would be a decline in the quality of his progeny!

Boom!

In his rage, the pugilist flames erupted, strong pressure forcing all his descendants to sprawl on the ground and tremble.

“Such a devilish damaging Esper ability…” The veins of Gorutan’s forehead throbbed as his hatred for Hila practically overflowed.

He did not expect that this operation would actually result in his life span being reduced.

An absolute loss!

Gorutan’s chest heaved up and down violently, and his breaths came out in gasps as he entertained the thought of rushing back to kill her.

“L-Lord Father…”

At this time, his descendants started to plead with him. Seeing the situation, Gorutan could only reluctantly reduce his anger, and the raging Pugilist aura slowly calmed down.

“All of you, scram!”

Everyone rushed to get out of the room as fast as possible. They were aware that they should not be around their father when he was angry.

Only Gorutan remained in the room. He sat on his throne for a while before picking up the communicator and calling Sorokin.

After three rings, the call connected, and Sorokin showed himself on the screen, smiling as he spoke.

“Your Excellency Beast Ancestor, how’s the situation?”

Gorutan coldly glared at him for a while before finally saying, “The matter has been settled. I blasted Planet Phiri apart and have also tested Hila out. However, I lost quite a few of my descendants in the process, and I also almost got angered to death by Black Star.”

“That’s great. Your Excellency is indeed reliable. I’ll compensate you for any losses. So, what is the result of your test?”

“Hila’s Esper Ability is extremely dangerous, possessing frightening explosive power…”

Gorutan relayed his discoveries in battle, pausing at the last part before continuing in a deep voice.

“Her Esper Ability also has a terrifying property. As long as it hits a life form, it will be able to reduce the cell vitality and the life span of the target. I suffered a huge loss for this discovery!”

Sorokin paused, his smile vanishing immediately. His expression also turned grave.

“Are you serious?”

“I shouldn’t have told you this and allowed the federation and church to activate their people. After they discover that they have shortened their life spans, they’ll blame you for the information lapse.” Gorutan coldly snorted.

“… I understand.” Sorokin narrowed his eyes.

“I hope that you will truthfully tell the people in the federation and the church what I’ve said. Don’t play any tricks. Or else, even if I’m a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group, I’ll still beat you up!” Gorutan’s eyes were cold.

“Relax. I have integrity.” Sorokin solemnly nodded before cutting the call.

Gorutan threw the communicator to the side, his expression cold and his eyes gleaming with an unknown light.

By allowing the federation and the church to know that Hila’s Esper Ability had the power to reduce one’s life span, two things could happen.

One, because of fear, they would give up on targeting her.

Two, because of fear, they would not allow her to continue living.

Based on what he knew of the federation and the church, the latter had a ninety-nine percent chance of occurring.

If Hila had such strength, the universal civilizations would not allow her to grow.

In the past, Hila had belonged to the Chaotic Evil Faction, and there was no clear distinction in their powers. Furthermore, most people were reluctant to provoke such a crazy woman and dying in vain.

But the situation was different. Hila was a member of the Black Star Army. She was a stinger that belonged to someone and would only point her deadly stinger toward her enemies.

As a result, the organizations and powers opposing Black Star Army would feel an immense threat.

In terms of targeting the pinnacle combatants, Hila was like a formidable chronic poison, causing a dark cloud to form over everyone’s head. No one was willing to have their life span reduced!

Nobody was willing to have this dangerous character oppose them, let alone see her continue to grow.

Such Super High Risk Esper Abilities, whose very existence was a sin, should be killed as soon as possible!

Gorutan was certain that, as long as the news spread, most Beyond Grade As would not want to see this ability grow!

This would also help solidify the federation and the church’s intentions to kill!

Chapter 1020: Don“t Blame Your Brother for Not Having Values; Blame Your Wife for Being Too Alluring

Chapter 1020 Don“t Blame Your Brother for Not Having Values; Blame Your Wife for Being Too Alluring Everyone had their own way of survival, and in the eyes of the top organizations, Sorokin was a miraculous existence.He was obviously hired by the federation, the church, and the Galactic Black Market, yet he could slowly penetrate and become the middleman of all these influential organizations.

Under his manipulation, Gorutan’s testing of Hila quickly spread to the federation and the church, immediately attracting the attention of the upper echelons, who convened their allies for an urgent meeting.

The main base of the Arcane Church was located in another Star Cluster within the free competition zone. At this time, the projections of the majority of Beyond Grade As affiliated with the church were gathered, and there were also several important bishops and officials present.

After circulating the intelligence on Hila, everyone had a noticeable change in their expression as they read it.

Tolaen jumped up, his face pale. “Hila’s Esper Ability can reduce the lifespan of Beyond Grade As‽”

He was not a Pugilist, so he did not have the ability to look into the microscopic changes in his cellular activity. Before this meeting, he did not know what had happened to him!

Not only did he lose in a fight with Hila, he even lost God knew how many years from his life. This was such a huge loss for him!

Tolaen felt intense regret. How could he have been so unlucky as to meet such an opponent?

Even fighting would reduce his lifespan, so who would want to do that? Even the craziest person would think twice! If he had known, he would not have agreed to the duel. No, if he had known, he would not even have sought Dragon Emperor Ames out!

I’m going into closed door cultivation…

Everyone shot him a pitiful glance, which lasted for about three seconds, then they no longer bothered with him, instead beginning their discussion.

“I didn’t expect this new Beyond Grade A to have such a strange Esper Ability. This resembles the Power of Death on the list of Super High Risk Esper Abilities.” Sun Hunter was sat at the table. “I remember this being the ability of one of the Primordial Ones, but now it has resurfaced once more.”

“That’s right. I also remember the file. What was their name again…”

Kasuyi cut in. “Nerkese, the Controller of Death. She had an elder sister who was dubbed Mother of All Things, and she could spread her life force to any living organism.”

“Right, right, it’s those two! They were pretty famous among the Primordial Ones, being born from different civilizations. While they had no blood ties with each other, they happened to meet by fate within the vast and endless universe. Their Esper Abilities, which were completely in line with each other, allowed them to become sisters even without a blood tie… Ah! What an artistic legend, totally revealing the atmosphere of the exploration era, perfect,” one of the Beyond Grade As exclaimed emotionally.

His name was Lawrence, and he had a subclass of an artist. He was always dressed flamboyantly, full of ‘impact’ to one’s eyes.

“Eh? They weren’t blood sisters?” One of them scratched his head.

“That’s not true. After so many years, the legends have long been distorted. Those that are kept in our base are the truth,” one of the senior officials commented. “Your Excellencies, can we return to the topic of Hila now?”

‘Child of Light’ Sagman nodded. “The Power of Death is a Super High Risk Esper Ability that can easily reap lives. If we sit and watch Hila mature, once she loses control like Thousand Shadows one day, that will be the disaster for the entire universe.”

“This is secondary. The greatest problem is… she’s under the Black Star Army, which is our enemy.” ‘Sea Spirit’ Dylan gritted his teeth.

“Such an ability is dangerous. If not handled well, when Hila matures, we’ll have to worry about such things when we deal with the Black Star Army,” ‘World Gate’ Taylor added.

They were all participants of the Planet Lighthouse battle and had suffered a loss to Han Xiao. They had the strongest hostility toward the Black Star Army and always wanted to give him a slap back.

Psyker thought for a while before nodding. “That’s right. To us Beyond Grade As, a decrease in lifespan is too scary.”

Sun Hunter threw him a sideward glance. “I don’t think you need to worry about this problem.”

“Eh?” Psyker jerked back. “What do you mean?”

“Based on the strength that Hila showed when fighting against Gorutan, if you were pitted against her, you would probably be beaten to death immediately. Thus, a reduction in your lifespan should not matter to you.”

“…”

Psyker thoroughly felt the evil of this world in this very moment and turned his head to follow Tolaen, going into closed door cultivation.

“Stop fooling around,” Kasuyi blandly said. He turned toward the officials. “How do the upper echelons of the church view this matter?”

The few officials exchanged a glance before one of them solemnly said, “They hope for you to persuade Hila to join us, to become our ally. If it doesn’t work, eliminate her.”

Everyone’s eyes flashed. They thoroughly understood why the Arcane Church would think this way.

In addition to the threat she posed, her very presence in another faction would also affect the recruitment of Beyond Grade As, as newly born Beyond Grade As would choose to join the faction that she was in so as not to face her.

While Hila belonged to the Black Star Army, she had yet to officially join any advanced civilizations, so the Arcane Church naturally hoped to obtain her allegiance and grasp this lethal weapon. This was something Gorutan did not think about. Only when it was impossible for them to obtain her would they choose to destroy her.

The Beyond Grade As even thought another layer deeper.

If Hila’s skill only affected Beyond Grade As due to their long lifespans, would that mean that the Arcane Church planned to use her to act as a deterrent for all the Beyond Grade As present?

If this was in ordinary times, no one would have this thought, but everyone present had coincidentally attended Han Xiao’s Meeting of the Gods and had been instilled with the same ideology by Manison, the idea that all Beyond Grade As were standing on the same front line. Thus, everyone could not help but think deeper.

The entire place fell silent as many of them struggled with their internal thoughts.

Kasuyi’s expression remained unchanged, however. He glanced around before saying, “I feel that we can put the plan of pulling Hila over into action immediately, but as for elimination, we must think twice. While we’re all in the Flickering World, and gathering is convenient, our every movement is more likely to be watched. Killing Hila will also provoke Black Star, so it’s better to wait and see what the Federation of Light does. After all, they received the same intelligence as us.”

“I understand.” One of the officials nodded. “We have yet to be repaid for the loss of Ninjia, so we do not wish to work with the Federation for now. It’s indeed better to wait and see. However, when we decide to move, I hope everyone will readily participate.”

“No problem!” Other than Psyker, the rest of the participants of the Planet Lighthouse battle expressed their fervent attitudes.

Kasuyi did not speak, his eyes flickering with an unknown light.

…

On the other side, the Federation of Light had also convened a meeting, but the topic was vastly different from that of the Arcane Church.

“Hila’s ability is indeed dangerous, no doubt, but dealing with her will incite the wrath of the Black Star Army, and that is not worth it,” Hades replied.

One of the elders frowned. “But in the long run, Hila is obviously more threatening. Incurring the wrath of the Black Star Army is worth it.”

“Are you sure?” Hades shot back. “Have you forgotten about the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter?”

Once these words were spoken, everyone in the Federation of Light jumped before falling into deep thought.

“The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter possesses a similar level of threat. In fact, it even has a higher priority level than Hila. This might be an opportunity for us to reach a deal with Black Star to unlock the Spacetime Amber seal for us. It will be profitable for both parties,” Hades said bluntly.

At this moment, Manison dryly added, “That’s right. I feel that we need to consider Black Star’s attitude. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is more important for now.”

Everyone turned to look at him, some with surprised expressions, while others seemed to know his underlying meaning.

Many of the Beyond Grade As knew that Manison had expressed his intention based on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, but in actual fact, a great part was due to the impact of the Meeting of the Gods.

Manison was the main proposer of all the Beyond Grade As sharing the same battlefront, and he also valued Han Xiao’s influence within the Flickering World. He hoped that Han Xiao could build an interaction platform based around this shared battlefront, so he was unwilling to antagonize him.

Speaking of which, if not for Han Xiao organizing the Meeting of the Gods and having spoken about the shared circumstances of the Beyond Grade A, the Beyond Grade As would probably not have had many reservations about dealing with Hila. Could this have been within his plans as well‽

After considering the matter, the Chief Elder replied after a pause, “Indeed, if we’re able to undo the seal on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, then the problem of Hila can temporarily be placed aside, but our chances of success are close to nil.”

He paused and slowly added, “The Arcane Church will definitely take action, trying to poach or eliminate her, and we can warn Black Star of this, but this isn’t great leverage. Behind Black Star is the dynasty, and they do not require our help in terms of combat strength. Furthermore, being an ally of the dynasty, he will definitely have his worries that if the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is unsealed, we can use it against him. Under all these circumstances, there is no way he will agree to deal with us.”

Hearing this, everyone nodded. From the perspective of Black Star, he would not possibly agree to this. The main point was that the federation’s leverage was not enough to move him.

In fact, the federation had always wanted a good relationship with Han Xiao, so as to be able to unlock the seal on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, something they currently could only see but not touch.

However, the Evolutionary Totem was a strategic asset related to the future of their civilization, and it was countless times more important than the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Thus, the federation could only temporarily suspend the matter of the scepter at that time, targeting the Crimson Dynasty and the Black Star Army.

However, Hila’s problem now allowed the federation to see another chance at obtaining a deal with Black Star.

“We need more leverage.” Hades’ eyes flashed. “For example… Hila herself.”

Everyone felt their hearts stir.

“You mean, we should capture Hila alive and use her to deal with Black Star, exchanging her for undoing the seal of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.” The Chief Elder sighed before beginning to feel as though this was a headache inducing matter.

This plan would not require any killing, no incurring of Black Star’s wrath, and it would even allow them to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. The plan also seemed easy enough, a good idea.

If this plan succeeded, the federation would earn the most, being able to utilize the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, giving the green hat to the Arcane Church.

Though, it was not their problem whether the Arcane Church profited or lost.

It’s better to die without friends than to die poor!

To understand this concept, just look at Hades who suggested this idea.

Tsk, what a lowlife.

The Chief Elder coughed. “Since Hila’s skills specifically deal with living life forms, the best class to take her down would be a Mechanic. Mechanic Emperor, would you…”

“I have no interest in bullying a new Beyond Grade A,” Manison said.

As a Mechanic surrounded by plenty of armor, he was naturally unafraid of Hila’s ability to deplete his life span, but he was not willing to bully a newcomer. This old man could not wait for more newcomers to appear, so why would he go and suppress them?

“Alright then, someone else go.” The Chief Elder could only shake his head in resignation. They did not have the ability to force Manison.

One of the Beyond Grade As helplessly said, “To have so many people targeting a single person, the last person to have this treatment was probably EsGod.”

“She can only blame her life for this.”

…

The free competition zone was currently chaotic, and the movement of the local tyrants such as the Black Star Army were all closely monitored. Very quickly, news of the spat between Gorutan and the Black Star Army spread.

Planet Phiri, which was chosen by the Black Star Army, had been destroyed, and they could only choose a new stronghold, but Gorutan did not get off lightly either. He had lost quite a few subordinates, so they counted it as a tie.

Hila and Gorutan’s battle was considered a normal result by all means. She would never have been the opponent of a pinnacle Beyond Grade A, but Gorutan suffering an injury was not something any newcomer could cause, so many organizations secretly raised the value of Hila’s combat power in their files, thinking that she could very well be the strongest person among the recent newcomers.

As for Hila’s ability, the intelligence was only circulated among the three universal civilizations and a few advanced civilizations. The rest of the world remained blissfully ignorant, unaware of the violent undercurrents.

After the fight between the Black Star Army and Gorutan, the rest of the foreign organizations that had conflicts no longer curbed themselves, all beginning to fight over the scarce resources.

This battle resulted in a rapid increase in armed conflicts, and the law and order crumbled like an avalanche. However, there were still many empty areas, and there was much room for exploration in this fourth exploration phase. Thus, the conflict was kept at a manageable state, far from the intensity in Han Xiao’s previous life.

As for the guilds that had broken away from the army, they had also begun to exert their independence, joining in the competition as formal organizations!

…

Somewhere within the Emerald Star Cluster, a small fleet was slowly inching forward, its outer armor engraved with various emblems of organizations, with some of them being emblems of the guilds. After completing their registration through the army, they would be able to customize their own organization name and logo, and the guilds would naturally use their own emblems.

This fleet included the guilds from the well-known first tier clubs such as Long Sky, Rivervale and Thunder Storm, acting together.

In the version currently, the efficiency of making money for the players was much higher, and if they gritted their teeth to save money, buying an ordinary spaceship was not a problem. The first-tier guilds had even more funds, so even with the suicidal price of 130% of the market rate that Han Xiao gave, many of the players still managed to purchase small spaceships.

At this moment, the core members of the various guilds were gathered on the battleship of Long Sky for a meeting. Many of the Pro League players were present.

“We’re not far from Planet Harker. Our estimated time of arrival is in half an hour. Let’s go through our plans,” the President of Sky Territory, the official guild of the Long Sky Club, Jade Green Sky said.

Twinkle Fried Rice recalled the memorandum and recited, “Planet Harker should have sufficient resources and is currently occupied by seven small organizations. There are three financial groups, two private armed forces, and two Star System level civilization gathering teams present. They are unable to drive each other out, so they can only try to snatch as much as they can. Our objective is to strike a deal with the financial group and establish a resource base on this planet, laying the foundation for construction.”

“The most important thing now is how to negotiate with them,” Sleepy Winter said.

“Leave that to me,” Maple Moon replied. “I know what to say.”

Everyone nodded, giving her a few words of encouragement.

With Han Xiao’s secret hints and guidance, the players in the army were the first to understand that the focus of this version was to build up the reputation of their own organizations and interact with the NPC organizations.

After experiencing a few versions, the players were already aware that the actions of the NPCs were no different from real people. Every word and action would trigger a different reaction and response, and the freedom of this open world was off the charts. Thus, they had to use proper words on the negotiation table, and the higher one’s charm value, the easier it would be to negotiate.

In the guilds, there would definitely be someone who was good at negotiating. As someone who loved games for the plot, Maple Moon was keen to interact with the NPCs.

The new style of the army had given them the status of a semi-independent unit, and coupled with such freedom, these guilds had begun to exert their initiative, proactively analyzing intelligence and looking for opportunities.

While it was safe to follow a large organization, their movements would be restricted, so players had the mentality that they would rather be leading a small group than be nobodies in a large force.

This was exactly the situation that Han Xiao wanted to see. He had released many incentives in the form of missions to encourage independent movement, trying to spread the army players to penetrate more sites. This would allow for an expansion of advantages and the tapping of new interests in different territories rather than sticking by him.

These guilds acted in concert with each other to increase their strength. Instead of following the majority, they chose to head to Planet Harker to compete against the smaller forces, precisely to maximize their own advantages.

At present, most of the players in the guilds were at Grade B, which could be regarded as the backbone of a fighting force. As a subsidiary organization under the Black Star Army, just their name had plenty of influence on the smaller organizations. Borrowing their backer’s prestige, they could increase their leverage during negotiations.

After a while, the fleet began to decelerate, and Planet Harker drew closer. There was a scattered defense fleet suspended in outer space, belonging to various organizations.

Seeing the players’ fleet, the defense force of Planet Harker activated a defensive position, initiating a communication application.

Frenzied Sword patted Maple Moon’s shoulder and whispered, “They’re all yours.”

Maple Moon spat out a breath of air, blowing a raspberry as a form of warming up, eager to try it out.

“Relax, watch how I fool with them!”

Chapter 1021: The Rise of the Players

1021 The Rise of the Players Maple Moon answered the communicator. A person resembling a mercenary appeared on the screen, alert and evidently curious.

“This is the armed forces convoy of the New Moon Financial Group. I’m Commander Feldman. Who are you?”

Hearing this, Maple Moon felt her heart leap with joy.

The guilds had investigated the current status of Planet Harker in advance, and seven organizations occupied the planet and were competing with each other, guarding the planet in different directions. They did not want more people to further divide their resources. If one encountered the armed forces or Star System civilizations, then the difficulty of negotiation would increase.

Having met a financial group off the bat, things would become a lot simpler.

Of course, with the current capabilities of the players, it was impossible for them to investigate such situations alone. All their intelligence was derived from the Black Star Army, allowing them to query for real-time intelligence in the Flickering World. This was an excellent resource provided to the players.

Maple Moon calmed herself and said, “This is an armed force consisting of Sky Territory, Thunder Storm, Rivervale…”

Feldman felt confused.

He had never heard of all these organizations before, nor did he recognize the emblems the players used.

He had no idea where this little ragtag group came from…

Feldman shook his head, speaking in a deep tone. “Planet Harker currently does not welcome any external influences. Please leave immediately before we take drastic measures.”

“You’re mistaken. Our objective is not to set up camp on Planet Harker. You can treat us as mercenaries.” Maple Moon took out the prepared speech. “Didn’t you post a recruitment notice on the Flickering World Regional Channel? We plan to work with your financial group as a hired armed force.”

Feldman felt surprised.

Right now, what the Flickering World had in spades was open positions. Practically all the organizations were desperately trying to recruit armed forces, and those high levelled organizations were the most attractive. Small financial groups like them almost had no chance to recruit anyone in the free competition zone, so he did not expect someone to answer their call.

However, why did they not contact the financial group in advance, instead just turning up? They could not be an unsavory group, right?

Feldman thought about it, shaking his head.

He estimated that the combat strength of this group would not be too good as well, so he did not hold much hope. However, every little bit of strength mattered now.

After a pause, he casually said, “Alright, first tell me about your battle situation, then we’ll consider if you’re worth hiring.”

Maple Moon was so excited. She had to clench her fists together. Acting composed, she replied, “Alright, our joint armed forces have a total of 7,000 Supers, of which 5,800 are Grade B…”

“Hold up, what‽”

For a moment, Feldman thought that he had hearing problems.

7,000 Supers was not a lot by any means, but to actually have 5,800 Grade Bs…

Even the whole of Planet Harker did not possess so many Grade Bs!

From the perspective of Han Xiao, Grade B was only good for cannon fodder, but in the eyes of many of the galactic organizations, a Grade B Super was the core force, enough to even serve as the main combat members.

Back when Han Xiao was still roaming as a mercenary, Grade Bs were already considered experts, great figures in the eyes of the masses.

Even the mercenary groups such as the Purple Gold Army and Sky Ring, before being brought under Han Xiao’s wing, never had more than a few hundred Grade Bs. If not for the two Calamity Grades holding the fort, their battle strength was negligible!

Are they trying to lie to me‽ Feldman’s expression was full of disbelief.

Because guilds such as Rivervale and Long Sky had large numbers of peripheral members, gathering thousands of people was an easy task. The majority of players had also advanced to Grade B when Version 4.0 opened, and those who had not yet reached that grade were newcomers or small-time players.

Maple Moon pretended to ignore him, continuing to speak. “At the same time, we’re a subsidiary organization under the Black Star Army. We were once the Immortals troops under Black Star…”

“Hold up some more! You said that you guys are under the Black Star Army, and the Immortal troops at that‽”

Feldman began to tremble, his mouth agape.

Was this not a group of ragtag mercenaries? Why did they have such huge origins, belonging to Black Star‽

His first response was to think that he had been scammed!

In his eyes, Black Star could be considered a galactic giant, unattainable by mortals. The New Moon Financial Group that he worked for could not even be compared to a fart from Black Star himself, but the Immortal troop from the Black Star Army was their famed trump card, so why would they even run over to accept their employment?

Feldman immediately accessed the public channel of the Black Star Army to check on the information of these organizations. What he saw gave him a huge scare!

Sky Territory, Thunder Storm, Rivervale, and the other organizations mentioned were really semi-independent affiliated organizations of the army. Their members were all made up of Immortals, and they had been registered not too long ago!

On Maple Moon’s side, the other professional players such as Frenzied Sword were observing Feldman’s expression of shock as though he was a frog in a well, and they screamed out internally with pride, feeling greatly satisfied innately.

Just mentioning the name of Black Star made the other party fall into a state of shock.

It’s good to have a backer!

Because of the unparalleled realism within the game, the players could deeply immerse and interest themselves. Seeing the reactions of the NPCs often gave them a sense of accomplishment.

Thus, everyone wished to borrow the prestige of the Black Star Army to improve their own influence. In a general employment relationship, the mercenaries would not have the chance to divide the resources within the planet, but with the name of Black Star, the conditions could be re-negotiated.

The choice to not monopolize the planet, instead cooperating with other organizations, was due to their lack of funds. Mining equipment required money and manpower. If one found an NPC organization to cooperate with, such costs could be avoided. While the players had high personal strength, the NPC organizations still had the advantage in numbers. Thus, it brought out the players’ sincerity in wanting to cooperate.

Seeing that the other party was not responding, Maple Moon could not help but cough loudly. She urged, “How is it? Do you think we’re good enough? If you do not require our services, we can leave.”

Feldman snapped out of his daze as though he was woken up from a dream and anxiously shouted, “No, no, to employ you is our honor. Please follow my instructions to descend. I’ll inform my superiors immediately!”

The moment he spoke, notifications appeared on the interfaces of all the players present, and when they glanced over at them, they gave a small cheer.

“It’s here. The mission has activated!”

“Damn, beautiful work!”

“Haha, I just knew it. This is the way to play the game!”

What appeared on their interface was not an employment mission but a faction mission labelled [Seizing Planet Harker]. The notification indicated that they could choose a faction and aid them in obtaining dominance over the planet. This was a sort of triggered storyline mission.

Very quickly, the player’s fleet followed Feldman to land on a certain base on the surface of Planet Harker. When the players disembarked from their spaceships, they saw a group of officers wearing the uniforms of the New Moon Financial Group waiting, looking excited and nervous.

As the players stepped forward, the people from New Moon Financial Group came up to welcome them. The leader walked up to Maple Moon, stretching out his hand, appearing warm and full of enthusiasm.

“Hello, I’m the Head Supervisor responsible for New Moon Financial Group at Planet Harker. My name is Smedix. On behalf of Planet Harker, welcome.”

“Your name… is quite unique.”

Maple Moon’s mouth twitched as she held back her smile, shaking hands with him.

Smedix did not understand what she meant, but he did not take it to heart either, warmly continuing. “You came at a good time. We’re in dire need of mercenaries now, but I have a small question before that… Your application, is it the Black Star Army’s intention, or is it your own?”

“Both.” Maple Moon’s answer was ambiguous. This question was not within what she expected, but it seemed to be more beneficial toward their side.

“Then let’s talk about the employment cooperation. Do you have any conditions?” Smedix asked.

Maple Moon exchanged a glance with the rest, and nodding, she spoke up. “We hope that this will not be a simple employment. In addition to remuneration, we would like to cooperate in the development of Planet Harker.”

“Cooperative development?” Smedix’s heart jumped as he thought of many things.

If the Black Star Army wished to occupy Planet Harker, with this group as the vanguard, there was no way the New Moon Financial Group could even compete against them.

Right now, Planet Harker could hold seven organizations mainly because everyone there was small in scale. If faced with a bigger organization, there would be no need to fight. All they needed was to tidy up their items, obediently cleaning up the planet to hand it over.

But Smedix thought that cooperation might not be a bad thing, if he was able to hold onto Black Star’s thigh… er… leg hair.

Currently, the strongest entities on Planet Harker were the two Star System civilizations, but because this planet was only their resource collection point, the other organizations could still hold on. If the entire force of the Star System civilization came over, the financial groups would most likely have to move. However, with the protection of this group of Immortals, this was equivalent to borrowing the protective talisman that was the Black Star Army.

With the competition growing more intense, there might even be other organizations that would come over to Planet Harker. A strong backer would prove beneficial to them in the long run.

Thinking such, Smedix made the decision, gravely nodding. “No problem, we will formulate the specific terms here before passing it for your review. Is that ok?”

“Okay.” Maple Moon nodded in return. She was only in charge of the negotiations and did not understand anything about contract law. For that area, their club would have specific talents in such areas. Their club president also had some knowledge on contract law, and in the worst-case scenario, they could search for a template on the quantum network or spend some money for Phillip to check it.

This was the advantage of being in the army. As long as they had money, they could obtain any service. Being rich was certainly the strongest ability one could have.

…

The New Moon Financial Group vacated an area to serve as the stronghold for the guilds. The next day, both sides arrived at a consensus and signed a formal cooperation agreement.

After signing the contract, the players immediately triggered the corresponding employment missions. Currently, the bulk of their mission lists were related to Planet Harker. Some were triggered by themselves, and others through the New Moon Financial Group. There were also some milestone-related missions released by Han Xiao to incentivize the players, such as ‘Find a planet to build a resource collection point’, which encouraged players to expand their reach like dandelions.

The same matter provided them with so many different types of missions, and if they could complete all of them, the players would obtain a huge reward with half the effort.

After the contract was finalized, Maple Moon and the others approached Smedix to offer their suggestions.

“Since we’re partners, but you have not publicized our origins, the other organizations do not yet know of our identity and strength. This is our advantage, so I hope we can take action immediately to carry out a raid, snatching the resource base.”

Smedix thought about it and nodded. “You’re right. Where are you looking at?”

Maple Moon opened the virtual screen showing Planet Harker and selected a few places. All of them were the resource bases of the other organizations on Planet Harker.

“Y-you guys want to attack so many at once‽” Smedix stuttered.

“Relax, we’re confident.” Hao Tian smirked.

During an interstellar battle, a fleet was important, but the resource bases were on the surface, so Supers were the main focus. Since the entire number of Grade Bs on Planet Harker did not even match up to their numbers, there should not be a problem with battles on multiple fronts.

“… Then we’ll follow your plan. My troops will do their best to cooperate.” Smedix secretly decided to hold tightly onto this leg hair that he had been offered.

…

The Ursa Civilization was a Star System civilization that lived on the blackhole edge. It had also participated in the competition within the Flickering World, with one of their collection teams being part of the seven on Planet Harker. They were the most powerful and had established several resource bases on the planet.

At the edge of a canyon sat a base with various hovering equipment rising and descending into the canyon to mine resources. A large number of Ursa soldiers were within the base, patrolling around, and artillery and traps were arranged in the periphery, providing a strong fortified defense.

Somewhere in the base, two people in officer uniforms walked slowly as they inspected the base.

“I heard that a small fleet arrived on Planet Harker yesterday, and it was the New Moon Financial Group that received them,” one of them, a bulky figure, said. He was the Head Supervisor of this base, a mid tier officer of Ursa, named Hundejab.

The other was the captain of the Super unit that was stationed at the base. He was a Grade B Super and was specially recruited to the Flickering World. He pursed his lips and casually remarked, “It should be reinforcements from the New Moon Financial Group. The defense captured their fleet markings, and there are no files on those organizations in the Mercenary Alliance. It’s likely that they are some small shrimps.”

Because the players’ guilds were affiliated to the army, Han Xiao did not register them with the Mercenary Alliance. His intention of obscuring it was to turn the army into a platform of a similar nature to the Mercenary Alliance. Thus, their files could only be found on the army’s website, and no one knew of the players’ guilds. The Ursa team did not discover their origins, instead thinking that they were small-time mercenaries.

“Since the New Moon Financial Group has reinforcements, there will definitely be movements,” Hundejab coldly said.

“You’re saying that their target is us?”

“Impossible,” Hundejab flatly replied. “The New Moon Financial Group does not have the guts.”

“Are you that sure?”

Hundejab had a calm expression. “Of course! This is the strongest defensive base here. Not only does it have a lot of defensive measures, but there are also more than seventy Grade B Supers stationed here. If the New Moon Financial Group is smart, they will not attack here even if they had the courage to…”

Boom!

Before he finished speaking, an explosion rocked the base, and the duo staggered.

“What’s happening!” Hundejab was shocked, immediately boarding a hovering vehicle to observe the situation.

He only saw a large number of anti-gravity vehicles marked with the New Moon Financial Group emblem approaching them at rapid speed. The vehicles were equipped with shields and electromagnetic kinetic weapons, allowing them to ignore the mines placed in the outer area and exchange fire with the base defenders.

The alarm within the base suddenly rang out. “Enemy attack! All personnel, man your posts!”

Hundejab was furious. “The New Moon Financial Group actually dared attack me‽”

He had just made a prediction, and the next second, the enemies had arrived! His expression was ugly, and by the side, the Super saw his commander’s expression and did not provoke him further, simply saying, “I’ll bring the Supers to meet the enemy.”

“Good!” Hundejab gravely nodded.

The Captain of the Supers left, leaving only Hundejab on the scene. He coldly gazed at the approaching enemy forces and regained his confident image.

“Since you dare to target me, I’ll give you a painful lesson!”

Very quickly, the New Moon Financial Group arrived outside the base, and the ground forces of the base also took the initiative to advance and attack with their Supers to halt the advance.

As both sides exchanged fire, they grew closer at a rapid speed. When they were about to collide, an abrupt change occurred!

The ground vehicles leading the New Moon Financial Group suddenly opened their doors, and figures jumped out one after another. There were about a hundred of them, and as they rolled on the ground with the inertia, their bodies suddenly swelled into disproportionate sizes. Their speed increased sharply, and they pierced into the ground forces of the base.

Boom!

These biochemical aberrations withstood the artillery fire with their thick skin and flesh, and their huge arms seemed to possess endless power, sweeping through all the vehicles in their path.

The ‘Black Star Army Badge: Evolution’ that was derived from the Ovitan Badge was also marked with a thirty-percent discount, allowing the guilds to purchase a large number of them and distribute them to the players.

A hundred of these players entered the [Evolution Limit: Aberration] state and instantly tore the ground troops of the base into pieces!

Hundejab’s expression sank, and he passed down a command. “Let the Supers attack and deal with these monsters!”

On the frontline, the Captain of the Supers led thousands of men onto the battlefield, most of them Grade C and Ds. At the front of the unit were the dozens of Grade Bs as the vanguard.

On the other side, the New Moon Financial Group also launched a charge with their thousands of players.

A medium-scale Super battle was about to break out, and seeing the inferior number of players, Hundejab smiled.

“Their supers only number a quarter of ours. They’re finished!”

Just as he spoke, both sides clashed. But the result was completely contrary to his expectations. His eyes almost popped out in disbelief!

The thousands of players broke out with Grade B combat strength and instantly took the upper hand, killing their enemies freely!

Seeing this scene, Hundejab’s expression changed into one of despair!

“How could there be so many Grade B Supers‽”

Chapter 1022: Demons

1022 Demons In a small-scale surface war without the participation of any Calamity Grades, thousands of Grade Bs were enough to dominate a battle.

While the Ursa Civilization had four to five times the number of Supers in their base, in front of the suicidal players, they were just sacrifices, exploding into fireworks of dazzling light and heat as the aberrations imploded, finally merging into a whole, a pile of ashes.

The extreme evolution and self-imploding tactics were the two trump cards of the players. In their eyes, their life was just for that second of brightness and illumination, transforming themselves into matches and burning to warm others. This act was so ‘noble’ that it would literally make people cry.

The large number of Grade Bs in this battle provided the players with an overwhelming advantage, and with the help of the New Moon Financial Group, there was no suspense left in this battle. The resource base was quickly captured by the players, and Hundejab and the officers in the base were captured alive.

At this moment, the base was filled with explosions, and the ground and the structures had scorch marks. Some of the New Moon Financial Group and the guilds were clearing the battlefield, counting their loot. At the center of the base, Hundejab and the group of captives squatted there, holding their heads with both their hands as they were surrounded by a group of players.

“How is it? Should we get rid of all these people?” The Vice-Captain of Rivervale, Evil Sword, turned his head to look at Frenzied Sword.

“Hmm…” Frenzied Sword sighed. “Let me think about it.”

The joint forces of these guilds attacked a separate resource base, and this particular raid was led by Frenzied Sword of Rivervale.

When they were fighting, they obviously did not care about the people, but now that they had defeated the enemy, it was time for the professional players to farm experience. This was one of the missions of the guild to provide resources for the professional players.

Maple Moon glanced at Hundejab and the others, blinking. “Should I first ask them for their names and see if it triggers a mission?”

Hearing this, the rest had agreed to her plan.

Maple Moon approached the group of captives, asking, “Who here is the commander?”

The group started to stir, but the majority seemed as though they were unwilling to betray their superior. However, Hundejab gritted his teeth and said, “I’m in charge of this base. The name’s Hundejab. You are the forces employed by the New Moon Financial Group, right? What are your origins‽”

His shock had still not subsided. There were thousands of Grade B supers! Where did they appear from‽ They disintegrated the line of defense that he felt was so solid, so how could they be an unknown organization in the mercenary world!

Maple Moon smiled secretly but pretended to be nonchalant as she replied, “We’re the Rivervale Guild, previously part of the Immortal troop from the Black Star Army. We’re currently an affiliated armed force to the army.

Ka!

This news struck like a thunderbolt on a sunny day. Hundejab and the rest were stunned, their expressions filled with disbelief. He did not even expect to hear the name of ‘Black Star’ from these people.

The New Moon Financial Group actually got acquainted with the Black Star Army‽

Hundejab had an expression of shock, and his mental state was in a disarray. He initially still had some anger in his heart, but it all dissipated in a flash, only leaving behind feelings of panic.

His first thought was to think it unreal, but when he thought back to the anomalous situation on the battlefield, he had a sudden realization.

No wonder it seemed that some of them had died but reappeared. He did not understand it at the start, but he figured out that if they were originally the famous Immortal troops of the Black Star Army, then their origins were not falsified!

“Y-you guys…”

Facing the influence of Black Star, Hundejab could not remain stubborn, and the confidence he harbored from being part of a Star System Civilization was completely crushed.

If even he was so befuddled, then the other captives were worse, trembling all over in fear.

Maple Moon thought for a while and felt that she had to voluntarily trigger the mission. Thus, she asked, “Is there anything you want us to do for you?”

Hearing this, everyone froze in shock and despair.

We’re finished. They’re now asking us for our last wishes!

Feeling the atmosphere fill up in fear, Hundejab gritted his teeth and turned back to shout, “None of you should be begging them for mercy! Dying on the battlefield is our honor!”

Even while he was battling, he had psychologically prepared to sacrifice himself. At this point, his intention resurfaced.

Maple Moon scratched her head and honestly said, “Why don’t you all just start begging me? Maybe I’ll let you all go.”

“Dream on! Even if I’m faced with death, I will not let you fool with us!”

“Uh… are you really not going to struggle? It might actually work.”

“Devil! Demon! You’re all delusional!”

And thus, a scenario began that left the New Moon Financial Group’s members in utter shock. They witnessed the captives begging to be put to death at all costs, while the capturers were the ones persuading them to beg for mercy.

However, at this time, the New Moon Financial Group saw quite a few expressions of conflicting emotions on the captives’ faces. Immediately, their bodies shivered as they guessed what the Immortals were aiming at.

The Immortals were actually trying to divide the enemy… what a scary bunch!

Because not everyone was as stubborn as Hundejab, there were a few that stood up, and under the angered glare of Hundejab, they began to plead for mercy.

Looking at her interface, Maple Moon saw the mission [XX’s Plead] appear. The conditions were that they would obtain a small amount of experience if they allowed them to go free. She turned to look at Frenzied Sword. “Should we do this mission or not?”

“While the experience is low, it’s still something. Just do it.” Frenzied Sword nodded.

Hearing that, Maple Moon let those that pleaded move to the side, which prompted even more captives to begin begging for mercy, seeing that there was a precedent.

Some of them triggered the missions, but some of them could not. Thus, the players appeared to be choosing vegetables at a market, selecting the captives to put aside.

“The rest of them don’t have any missions available; do it.”

Without any hesitation, the players turned into executioners, killing those stubborn people such as Hundejab and the elites. Although most of them were weak, they had bonuses because of their identities. The experience obtained through killing them was reasonable, and this would even increase their final rating for the Planet Harker mission.

By the side, the spectating New Moon Financial Group members avoided looking at the players. “This is too cruel…”

If it were them, they would not dare provoke the Ursa Civilization and would probably have released all of them. However, the Black Star Army was actually so cruel, killing them without batting an eye.

Indeed, all those from the Black Star Army were dangerous characters!

Seeing this scene, those captives who had begged for mercy got nervous. Frenzied Sword allowed them to leave as and when they wished, and only then did they scramble out of the base.

The professional players then turned to their interfaces.

The moment this group of captives had run out of the base, the mission of pleading for mercy had been marked as completed.

“The mission requirements were so relaxed? Oh, then again, it’s just a small mission.” Frenzied Sword scratched his head suspiciously. Turning to look at the rest of the players, they nodded.

Barely three minutes later, the released captives were all gathered once again in the square, their faces full of disbelief.

You released us, then captured us again. What is the meaning of this‽

“Let’s try again.” Maple Moon coughed awkwardly. “Is there anyone who wants to plead for mercy?”

Her tone was sincere, but in the ears of the rest around her, it sounded full of ridicule and sarcasm.

Turns out, you were just fooling with us!

Can you not‽

You can kill me but not humiliate me. If we had known, we would have followed Hundejab and the rest to choose death on the spot!

The majority chose to remain silent, but a small portion broke through their limits and begged once again for the second time. However, this time, there was no sign of any missions appearing on the players’ interface.

“Seems like it’s a one-off mission.” Evil Sword shook his head, appearing a little regretful.

“I expected that. If this was repeatable, there’d be something wrong.” Maple Moon rolled her eyes.

Frenzied Sword also sighed before drawing his blood-stained sword. “Since that’s the case, there’s no other choice.”

Thirty seconds later, the group once again got their hands on another bunch of experience.

The professional players wiped their hands clean, joining the ranks of players cleaning up the battlefield.

They left behind the group of New Moon Financial Group members, who had witnessed the entire frightening process of ‘fooling the captives before killing them’. All of them had chills in their hearts, and their bodies were frozen in shock.

To give someone hope then break it so ruthlessly, sinking them into absolute despair, those Immortals were just too vicious!

Many of them involuntarily shivered, and looking at each other, they came to a similar conclusion.

They absolutely could not provoke this group of madmen. They were demons!

…

The several groups each attacked a base, all of which ended in victory. Such a record alarmed the other six organizations on Planet Harker, leading to them hurriedly inquiring about the origin of the reinforcements invited by the New Moon Financial Group.

Since the attack had succeeded, there was no need to keep it a secret. The background of the players was soon revealed, and after verifying it, the other organizations were all frightened.

Black Star Army? F*ck your mom, this is someone we cannot afford to provoke!

Not only was their background frightening, the combat strength of this group of Immortals was even more terrifying. With over five thousand Grade Bs, there was nowhere on Planet Harker they could not go to!

The greater one’s name, the longer the shadow cast. Once this news got out, coupled with their battle records, three of the organizations immediately retreated. They felt that this was a hopeless scenario, and thus, they gave up on Planet Harker, recalling all their resource bases.

The remaining three were the two Star System Civilizations as well as another financial group. They were not willing to give up Planet Harker, so they only responded by reducing the bases and shrinking the area of their troops, taking a defensive stance.

However, the players did not take any action to advance and attack immediately. Instead, with the help of the New Moon Financial Group, they occupied the resource bases that they had attacked, resuming the collection of resources.

In one of the largest bases, the core players of the bigger guilds such as Long Sky, Rivervale, and Thunder Storm were standing in front of a warehouse door. Watching the batches of resources being sent in by the transport vehicles, the eyes of the players all turned into the symbol of Enas.

“This is an endless stream of gold!” Jade Green Sky exclaimed with an expression of joy. “Our guild has obtained another huge but stable income channel, and our financial situation has finally improved.”

“It seems that this method of gameplay is indeed correct.” Hao Tian calmly nodded, silently calculating the amount of equipment this sum could be exchanged for.

Everyone was in a good mood, and the majority of the players looked forward to earning more money.

There was no way about it. While the army sold things at a low price, the follow-up consumption was high. Weapons needed to be strengthened, ammunition resupplied, mechanical suits repaired, the Evolution badges recharged, and so on. That all cost Enas!

Their purses were all sucked dry by the sleazy Black Star Army. The players did not lack much, but they sure as f*ck lacked money!

Since the guilds had chosen to establish their base camps in the army’s area, these core players naturally chose to head to the free competition zone to establish a bridgehead, complete missions, and earn more money. Right now, they were getting closer to the right track.

In the eyes of many of the players, their bright future seemed to be waving to them.

…

The guilds established a stronghold on Planet Harker, and the guilds of the other players also found their own opportunities, spreading their leaves and blooming within the Emerald Star Cluster.

After Planet Phiri was destroyed, Hila had found another planet to serve as a stronghold, and she was also participating in the trend of free competition. Right now, most people were actively opening up their maps to occupy mines, and Gorutan also did not have time to find Hila to create trouble.

The player guilds that were affiliated with the army slowly spread within the Emerald Star Cluster. Now that the actions of the Black Star Army were monitored, this movement was discovered by many other organizations.

Many of the organizations were quite curious about the situation in which the Immortals troops had turned into semi-independent affiliated organizations. They did not know what Black Star was planning, so they decided to just silently watch.

As the Chinese players gradually established their strongholds in the free competition zone, the first batch of foreign players finally arrived in the Flickering World after a long journey. The first batch were the Southeast Asian players, who were based near the Blackhole Edge.

Chapter 1023: The Burning Soul of a Whistle-blower

Chapter 1023 The Burning Soul of a Whistle-blower

In the Dawn Star Cluster, one spaceship after another sailed out of the stargate, stepping into the territory of the Flickering World.

The major organizations had long been freely exploring the Flickering World, and those that had just arrived were only tourists, small obscure organizations, and reinforcements.

This fleet consisted mostly of reinforcements from the Blackhole Edge. Its composition was complicated, with armies from Star Cluster and Star System Civilizations, armed forces, financial groups, and even players present.

In the entire universe, the Shattered Star Ring appeared to be an exception in having a player-formed faction. They were all from the Black Star Army. As for the others, their makeup was extremely scattered.

Within the Blackhole Edge, the most powerful player to join in this trip was inside a neutral organization named Nineteen Towers Psionics Association. The organization could be understood as a regional organization of mages and psychics, and one would obtain contribution points within the organization through the provision of magic services. The contribution points would then be exchanged for resources and knowledge, just like a platform for professional exchanges.

In the spaceship, the professional players of the Blackhole Edge gathered together. They were composed of players from different clubs across several countries.

In the International League, the players from Southeast Asia did not have much of a presence, as their results for each season placed them at the bottom. The only impression the audience had of them was that they were not very good in tactical operations. They tended to be reckless, and their fighting style was fierce.

The teams in Southeast Asia that were more popular were the Red Bay Club with Old Yue, the Titan Club with Old Qin, as well as the Archipelago Club in Indonesia. These three were the regulars participating in the International League.

At this moment, the common topic was related to the Pro League.

“There has been no news about the Pro League yet, but the opening of the World Server is likely to cause a change in the competition format, and the mode of qualifying through sub-areas might be cancelled,” Venomous Snake, the Captain of the Red Bay Battle Team said.

“If there is no longer a division-based system, it will be difficult for us to qualify.” The Captain of the Archipelago Team, Gravel Castle shook his head as he replied with a tragic expression.

The reason they appeared every year was purely based on the division system. In the Blackhole Edge, the weak fought the weak, so without this system, they would not make it into the International League.

“Thus, those of us who come from the same Star Field must now unite and seize the opportunity given to us through the World Server, developing ourselves well,” Venomous Snake said.

“This is difficult. The advantage of the Chinese players in the World Server is too huge. We cannot compete against them alone. We can only see if the clubs of the other countries are willing to ally with us.”

“Unfortunately, we’ve already invested too much in our current faction, so we cannot jump ships. Even if we enter the Black Star Army now, we will not be able to win against the local Chinese players. We have to come up with a plan to give us an advantage.”

At this time, Venomous Snake narrowed his eyes and muttered, “While we cannot jump ship, we still can utilize the benefits offered by the Black Star Army. The best method would be to allow some guild members to join the Black Star Army and increase their contributions within. They could then purchase a large amount of resources at discounted rates. At the same time, we can get them to monitor the movement of the players in the army, which will be beneficial for us.”

“Espionage?” Everyone present shared a look. “This is indeed a good idea, but will this cause us to be targeted by the Black Star Army?”

“What does the business of us players have to do with them?” Venomous Snake was nonchalant. “What we should take notice of is the Chinese players. We need to be careful of them stealing the supplies that we purchase.”

“Good, then we shall do it that way!”

Everyone confirmed the battle strategy and buried their heads to discuss the details.

…

The Lesykes Army was a large private mercenary group active around the Blackhole Edge. However, it had an official secret backer—it was the secret military force of the Ursa Civilization. This organization was named after the leader, and right now, the Captain Lesykes had just brought his reinforcements to enter the Flickering World.

In the command room, Lesykes shouted in an excited tone.

“Increase speed. Rush over to the free competition zone as soon as possible.”

The Ursa Civilization had many secret mercenary groups under them, so the civilization rarely gave him any missions. Normally, he was only disguised as a normal mercenary, so he attached great importance to this opportunity to acquire some merits.

Initially, he only sent in the advance troops, and he remained in the base camp to monitor the operations of the mercenary group. However, when the Flickering World was officially opened, the players, who had disappeared from the Blackhole Edge for twenty years, came back online.

In every Star Field, the traits of the players were different, so the impressions they left on the local organizations were also different. Due to the scattered population of the players within the Blackhole Edge, their exposure was far from comparable to the players in the Black Star Army. Thus, their threat level was also lower.

However, there were also a large number of local organizations that had noticed the special existence of the players, thinking that they might be the same species as the Black Star Army’s Immortal troops. But the problem was that because the players were too scattered, the local organizations were unable to figure out their actual population. Before the players showed their ability to resurrect, they would behave like any other person, making it difficult to distinguish them.

Lesykes was one of the few to notice that the players had reappeared, and he was extremely impressed with these guys who did not seem to fear death. Therefore, he made a personal decision to recruit them en masse.

As it happened, many of the players in the Blackhole Edge were also looking to enter the Flickering World. They hit it off, and he was able to recruit over ten thousand of the players to transport over to the Blackhole Edge as a support force. This would allow him to claim extra credit.

Not long ago, he had received some good news; the Ursa Civilization had fallen into trouble on the front line. One of their collection units was overturned by the Immortals of the Black Star Army, and they desperately required reinforcements. Lesykes felt that he had suddenly become the person who supplied coal during a snowstorm, and he could not help being overjoyed.

This batch of reinforcements is just in time to help the civilization fight against the Black Star Army. Not only that, in the fight with other organizations, they can also use these Immortals to take the advantage. I’ve made a big contribution this time! Lesykes thought to himself secretly.

…

At the same time, among his fleet, a group of players from the Blackhole Edge stood in front of the porthole, whispering among themselves while enjoying the view of the Flickering World.

“We’re almost here. Hurry to the free competition zone. I’m almost dying of anxiety!”

“Look at what missions this mercenary group can do in the Flickering World.”

“Stupid, why would you even still follow this mercenary group? There are so many strong organizations in the Flickering World. What’s the point of remaining with this tiny organization?”

“Makes sense. When we arrive in the free competition zone, we can kick this mercenary group aside.”

Now that the many top-tier organizations were beginning to gather in the Flickering World, why would the players stick with the smaller groups? Only by switching to a stronger advanced faction could they then meet their increasing needs, especially their need for Class Knowledge.

Lesykes, who was full of hope, did not realize that he was being treated as a tool by the players.

The consequences of betraying a strong organization were serious, but for such a small organization like Lesykes’, the players did not give a hoot.

The top choice for the average player in the Blackhole Edge would be the three Universal Civilizations or any Beyond Grade A or advanced civilization in the Blackhole Edge, followed by the Black Star Army.

Players in other Star Fields naturally had no sense of belonging to the Black Star Army. Only the benefits and development prospects would move them. In this respect, the Black Star Army was just like a firefly in the night, extremely evident.

Throughout the many versions, the various benefits players of the army received had long been eye-catching for all the other countries. Now that they could finally cross Star Fields, the reputation and appeal of the army from several versions had accumulated to achieve the effect of allowing a large number of ordinary players to be inclined toward Han Xiao.

Among them, the ones that wanted to join the Black Star Army the most were the Mechanic players from the Blackhole Edge!

Due to the difference in planets in Version 1.0, the composition of Supers in each Star Field was also very vast. The most common Class in the Blackhole Edge was the Mage class, followed by Psychics. The overall focus there was more toward the arcane, and the mechanic department only accounted for about twelve percent of the total players in the Blackhole Edge.

In comparison, the Black Star Army was simply like a paradise for Mechanics, and with Han Xiao as the top mentor of the Mechanic Class, there was no need to worry about the lack of Class Knowledge.

In the eyes of these people, one sentence could summarize the meaning of Black Star to the mechanic players.

If the Heavens did not give birth to me, Black Star, then the Mechanics would essentially be fumbling in the dark!

As for the Mechanic Emperor… while it was rumored that he was extremely strong, the players were not too familiar with him. They instead gravitated toward Han Xiao. After all, the Chinese players had forged the route for them, so they knew that Han Xiao was a reliable person.

The group chatted around, and at the edge of this crowd, a player with the ID of Muay Thai as Warning appeared to be alone, looking out the window.

This hidden mission told me that the Lesykes mercenary group is actually an affiliated organization belonging to the Ursa Civilization. I heard from my friend that their Long Sky happened to grab some resources from the civilization and had a conflict, so our group is probably here to serve as reinforcements…

The friend he mentioned was actually a peripheral member of the Long Sky Guild. They had once gotten into a spate on the forums, but they had suddenly realized that the other party also made sense, so they apologized to each other and finally became friends.

With this in mind, a bold idea surfaced in the mind of Muay Thai as Warning, and the soul of the whistleblower started to burn brightly.

If one wishes to jump ship, then they definitely have to present a gift!

…

At the same time, somewhere in the Emerald Star Cluster, a small financial group’s exploration fleet docked at a temporary transit station that was constructed by an advanced civilization for a rest. The crew went for some leisure time, only leaving the logistics personnel behind to clean and repair the equipment.

Buzz!

Within the maintenance channel inside the spaceship, two ground crew members wearing protective gear were holding onto maintenance tools, working in front of a complex piece of machinery. Sparks constantly splashed around.

It took a while before they completed their job. Evans took off his hood and wiped his sweat.

He then opened the logistics task list on his wrist, glancing at it, before opening the communication channel to report to his superior.

“Ground Handling Group No. 005 has completed the task. The issue with engine group component T1018 has been eliminated. We will now proceed to sector C0080 for cleaning.”

“Received, continue your work. You still have three more tasks to complete.”

“Understood.”

After finishing his report, he left the communication channel before patting his companion’s shoulder. “Let’s go to the next area.”

His companion, however, waved his hands in frustration. “We just finished our task. What’s the hurry? Let’s rest for a while.”

Evans tried to persuade him. “We’re pressed for time today, so we should try to get them done before work ends. It’s best not to take a break during working hours, or else we will not be able to finish.”

“Then we’ll just postpone it till tomorrow. It’s not just a one-day stop here.” The companion sat down in dissatisfaction. “If you want, you can go on ahead. I’ll rest here.”

Evans frowned but shook his head and no longer tried to persuade him. He could not control anyone; he just needed to do a good job himself.

He went along the maintenance tunnel by himself, and the figure of his companion soon disappeared, leaving him alone.

The lighting in the maintenance tunnel was dim, with only one light source situated at a large distance away. After walking for a while, Evans suddenly found a red light flashing in front of him. He stopped walking.

“The lights have gone out? Did I see it wrongly?”

Evans found it a little weird. He observed the environment detector, but there was no change. He initially thought it was his eyes playing tricks and walked forward a few more steps.

Buzz!

At this moment, a burst of red lit up his vision. The light source appeared on his side, less than a meter away!

Evans quickly reacted in shock, jumping to the side and tumbling on the ground, holding the welding torch in his hands as he stood up to face the light source.

What greeted him was a bizarre scene of an unknown red light zipping around in the air, constantly moving and leaving a trail of red light behind it. There was a lot of beauty to this scene.

“What is this thing?” Evans showed a wary expression as he secretly took out his communicator, wanting to report this anomaly.

However, the next moment, his eyes blurred as the red light dashed over at an inhumane speed, piercing through his body.

Evans hurriedly looked down but found himself unscathed. Instead, he felt full of energy. His fatigue from working was swept away, and his physical strength was restored.

At this moment, the red light paused before frantically hovering around him.

Evans seemed to have felt an emotion of happiness from this bundle of light, causing him to freeze in shock.

Before he could recover, the light seemed to stop suddenly, and as if pulled by some invisible presence, it suddenly disappeared, leaving Evans standing there with a blank expression.

After a long pause, Evans slapped himself hard.

“Ouch it hurts, I’m not dreaming… It seems like I’ve finally gone crazy.”

Chapter 1024: Jumping Ship

Chapter 1024 Jumping Ship

As the fleet passed by the Black Star Army’s territory, the aspiring Lesykes was quickly dealt a harsh blow.

When he arrived at Planet Black Gate, the Immortals that he had painstakingly recruited from the Blackhole Edge suddenly broke out in a massive rebellion!

Not only did these players leave the faction, they even took over the spaceships carrying them!

Players in any area were accustomed to maximizing their benefits. Since they had already decided to leave, they would take advantage of the other party. Plus, it would be troublesome to travel without a spaceship. Many players seized control of the spaceships carrying them, leaving the designated fleet route and turning toward the Black Star Army.

Even those few players who were not planning to jump ship immediately were also forced to join in. After all, they were on the same ship, and if they fought and blew up the spaceship, there was no good end for either side.

With so many players in each spaceship, it was impossible to determine the ownership. Most people would only follow the spaceship to the transit station, where they would then scatter and act independently. This was the disadvantage of a lack of a huge faction to rally everyone.

Due to the large number of players rebelling, the total size of Lesykes’ army shrank by half, and the loss of the spaceships and supplies within were significant to Lesykes, making him feel as though he was bleeding out.

“Crazy, those guys are crazy! They have no morals at all!”

Within the command room, Lesykes was jumping around in anger.

This sudden incident was completely out of his expectations. He was immersed in his dream of achieving his meritorious service and did not expect this group of players to suddenly stab him in the back.

When they were still in the Blackhole Edge, these Immortals were still pretty law abiding, so why was it that they went all crazy the moment they arrived at the Flickering World?

He found it difficult to understand, and subconsciously, he felt as though this whole thing was a conspiracy, that some organizations had secretly meddled with them. He did not even consider their personal motivations.

After all, Lesykes did not understand the players. In his view, some foul play had to be going on, otherwise there would be no reason for all these players to riot together.

The stolen spaceships quickly dispersed and disappeared off their radar. Thus, Lesykes gave up on the symbolic chase. The strength of the Immortals also gave him some reservations, and with the spaceships having a similar speed, it would be hard to catch up to them. With this area being the territory of the Black Star Army, he dared not draw too much attention.

“*ssholes!”

Lesykes was hurt and angry, and he left a black mark on the files of this group of rebellious players, reducing their credit rating on their resumes.

After completing this matter, he managed to quell his anger somewhat. Upon seeing that half of the Immortals had stayed, he felt a little thankful.

“At least half of them are here. Even if I get less credit, there’s still some merit. I didn’t make the trip for nothing.”

Lesykes, however, no longer dared relax around the players, commanding, “Separate the rest of the Immortals and increase the defenses of each spaceship…”

After this experience, he had his guard up against the players.

However, even with his vigilance, another round of betrayals took place once again when he arrived at the free competition zone. The majority of Lesykes’ armed force consisted of the players. Thus, no matter how guarded the rest of the crew were, they were useless in the face of overwhelming numbers. The players had remained up till now just to obtain a free ride to the free competition zone.

The players that he brought from the Blackhole Edge had almost completely gone, and Lesykes almost went mad with anger.

Well done, this daddy here personally ran all the way to escort you guys to the Flickering World, thinking of achieving some merit, but ended up gaining nothing. It’s like fetching water using a rattan basket[1]!

The bad news poured in one after another. Lesykes quickly discovered from his intelligence that even with the black marks he left on the players’ resumes, there were still top-tier factions that took in these Immortals, the most prestigious being the Black Star Army.

Lesykes found this whole thing a little hard to accept, as though he had been bullied, and his heart was full of grievances!

Dammit, why!

This life is too hard!

What he did not know was that, in a tiny batch of players left behind, there existed people like Muay Thai as Warning, serving as spies and tracking the movements of the fleet, constantly reporting back to the army.

In terms of the attractive force of the factions, the gap between him and the Black Star Army was too large. Even if he could temporarily obtain the players’ bodies, he could never obtain their hearts.

…

There was naturally more than one organization that suffered from this massive wave of dissention. After entering the Flickering World, these Blackhole Edge organizations mostly experienced the phenomenon of a large number of players leaving, and the Black Star Army was the main place to go for these players.

The attractiveness of his faction had accumulated and matured over several versions, resulting in this surge in players wanting to join the army. There was no need for Han Xiao to do anything; the manual leek collection job had evolved into a fully automated process.

Within Black Star Palace, Han Xiao glanced at the EXP gauge of his attributes panel, his eyes gleaming.

“This wave of experience has shot up real quick.”

His plan to expand the leek plantation had finally begun to take effect, with this first batch of ‘foreign leeks’ pulling themselves out from the roots to transplant themselves in his plantation.

The players from foreign countries all had their own choices, and only a portion of them would choose to join the army, but even this number was also considerable. Based on his estimation, around 17 – 24% of the total population of players from the Blackhole Edge would join his army, which amounted to millions. Most of them would be ordinary players.

“This is only the first batch. When the players from the other Star Fields come, the size of the army will swell to double or triple of what it is today.” Han Xiao was secretly pleased.

There were many newcomers from the newly recruited Southeast Asian players, and they had a high demand for Class Knowledge. It was this new wave of consumption that made Han Xiao’s efficiency in harvesting experience soar.

Every time a new batch of newcomers arrived, it was followed by a huge wave of experience.

“I estimate that the Southeast Asian clubs will also infiltrate the army.”

Han Xiao secretly smiled. He did not intend to stop them.

He could sell more equipment and supplies, so why not? He could gain quite a bit of income from there, and re-equipping the different countries to allow them to fight against each other was akin to him being a weapons dealer, capitalizing on this business opportunity.

Furthermore, if they wished to enjoy the discount, they would need to have the corresponding rank, which meant that they had to contribute to the army. This could not be achieved in a short amount of time.

“Judging by this speed, I only need a few more waves of players to obtain enough experience to rise straight to level 320.” Han Xiao was secretly excited. This was much quicker than his expectations.

As for the large number of players jumping ship from the Blackhole Edge, he had long expected this. The continuous decline in the players’ credibility was one of the important factors in establishing their title as the Cancer of the Universe. They never had a good reputation, and this also included the fear and vigilance the outside world felt toward them.

One of the important signs for players to enter the stage of the universe was for the World Server to be launched. Their sense of existence had now greatly increased, which would attract the attention of many organizations, regarding them as a whole entity.

In his previous life, as the players spread chaos, leading to a decline in their overall reputation, it got to the point where some small organizations did not even dare recruit players. The consequence was that the players instead gathered toward the top organizations, switching factions to continue upgrading themselves.

These were all things that Han Xiao had witnessed, and he understood that there was no way he could force the players to remain obedient merely through means of faction welfare. As the players got stronger, they would have more thoughts, and they would become harder to control.

The players would only have attachments toward characters that they were familiar with, and for their own personal development and national war advantages, they would need to plunder for benefits and resources, starting wars.

With the growth of their strength, chaos was inevitable. Thus, Han Xiao had always been committed to developing his own organization. One of those objectives was to deal with this situation.

He also understood that, since the army was now an important target for the players to jump ship to, this situation would soon be discovered by the organizations that were monitoring him, and they would eventually form some speculations of their own.

For the time being, this had little impact on him. Firstly, his position was high enough, as was his strength. Secondly, there were also many players joining the other organizations, so the situation was not too exaggerated as of now. The various organizations would at most feel surprise. However, as more foreign players joined, the special features of the army would become more noticeable, and then the trouble would begin.

As Han Xiao shook his head to clear his thoughts, he inadvertently thought of something else.

“I didn’t expect Evans to already come into contact with the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy…”

Not long ago, Phillip, who had been constantly monitoring Evans, had sent back a report, and Han Xiao was able to see the process and confirm for himself that the cluster of red light was likely related to the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. However, this appeared much earlier than the time stated by EsGod’s inheritance.

He hypothesized that this was likely just one of the sub-bodies that separated from the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, returning to the universe ahead of time. It could be sent earlier as well as a coordinate marker. Whichever was the case, it was soon dragged back to the Secondary Dimension by the main body, and the Primal Esper Ability Entity had yet to descend.

This also solved one of Han Xiao’s doubts. There was no wonder that the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy finally chose Evans as a host, as it turned out that he had come into contact with it well in advance.

The moment the red light passes through a person, a mismatch would cause the person to explode and die. Not only was Evans unscathed, he even got rejuvenated. Thus, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy could confirm that he had the qualification to become a host. He was prepared as backup.

“The date of the birth of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy is getting closer as well. Judging from my current rate of acquiring experience, I should be able to achieve the Promotion to level 320 before it is born.”

[1] Rattan baskets are usually woven with strips of wood, meaning there are a lot of gaps for water to flow out from.

Chapter 1025: Milkmaid“s Promotion—Life Replenishmen

1025 Milkmaid“s Promotion—Life Replenishmen A couple of days later, in the outer square of Black Star Palace, the newly arrived batches of players from the Blackhole Edge were looking left and right in curiosity and wonder. Their mixed uniforms and equipment made them look like a group of incompetent soldiers, a stark contrast to the uniform look for the Black Star Army members.

A large number of Southeast Asian players had jumped ship to join the army, and some of them could not wait to enjoy the benefits of being part of the Black Star Army, buying supplies in bulk and accepting the Main Storyline mission of [Flickering World] from the army. The other group were more casual players, and after joining the army, they arrived together at Black Star Palace with the idea of recognizing the future Players’ Main City of their faction.

Among them, most of the players were Mechanics. They came to the Black Star Palace with the mentality of performing a pilgrimage.

Because most of the Chinese players were out on missions, with the addition of this new batch of players, the originally silent palace turned lively once more.

“This is the base of the Black Star Army in the Flickering World? It’s quite spectacular.”

“The space is huge, and the facilities are abundant. Really good stuff.”

“Will I be able to meet Black Star?”

The group of players from the Blackhole Edge chattered on, excitedly looking around Black Star Palace, their eyes sparkling.

They had roamed about the universe in the last three versions, but the factions they served could not even be compared to the Black Star Army. Just based on the size, they were not on the same level. Even the mother planets of some Star Cluster level civilizations were not as well built as Black Star Palace. For many of these players, it was their first time setting eyes on such a magnificent location.

“There are a lot of high-levelled NPCs here, a whole bunch of characters with the ‘Fatally Dangerous’ note.”

“If we cause trouble here, we’ll definitely be killed, right?”

The majority of the players suppressed their arrogance, not daring to mess around in Black Star’s territory.

They were not afraid of the smaller organizations such as the Lesykes Mercenary Group and could behave fearlessly. But in the face of a behemoth like the Black Star Army, they did not dare cause trouble as these organizations had the ability to restrain them.

Among the group were also spies sent in by the Southeast Asian clubs. Because the Black Star Army did not show any bias toward the players, they had smoothly mixed in.

Disregarding the countless screaming players around them, these spies with their own special missions opened the dazzling array of faction stores and mission lists, looking through them.

Having successfully joined, as long as they worked hard to contribute and increase their ranks within the army, they could enjoy more benefits and do more purchasing for their guilds.

Their plan was a success!

At this moment, Hadavy, Feidin, and the rest of the Black Star Guards hurried over, attracting the attention of this group of players.

“Hey, look over there, the famous Black Star Guards!”

“The senior figures of the Black Star Army! I have all their decks, and now I can finally meet them in the flesh.”

“Feidin! I love you!”

In the distance, Feidin heard the screams, and he came to a stop. Glancing over, he saw the motley group of Immortals and could only helplessly wave back.

Feidin had a high reputation among the players, and this reputation was not just limited to the Shattered Star Ring.

Since these Blackhole Edge players wanted to join the army, they had done their research beforehand. Furthermore, due to the promotion via Wayne Cards, Feidin was a popular idol in the Black Star Army.

“Why is it that you’re so popular? Even those newcomers like you so much.” Hadavy was a little salty.

“You will find the answer when you look into the mirror,” one of the Black Star Guards murmured.

“…” Hadavy could not come up with a response.

Looking at Hadavy’s struggling expression, Feidin could not take it and could only ruefully smile as he patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry too much. You’re not that ugly.”

“… I can’t cheer myself up with this.”

The entourage of Black Star Guards did not stop to chat with the new players. They quickened their footsteps, disappearing from the players’ sights.

At the same time, the eyes of those spies hiding in the crowd flashed.

Some of them not only shouldered the mission of purchasing supplies for their guild, they also had another mission, which was to infiltrate the army and monitor their movements.

While the Southeast Asian clubs did not change factions, the Flickering World contained a multitude of opportunities for them to reach out to top tier organizations. They had also secretly contacted some organizations, of which the most commonly contacted one was the Limitless Financial Group.

Sorokin had a strong interest in the player community. He tried to test out the players from the Black Star Army in the past but had suffered a loss instead. Right now, given that the players from the other Star Fields were grouping in the Flickering World, it was an opportunity for him, and he had arranged some people to contact the Blackhole Edge players.

While he did not have an interface, after a long period of research, Sorokin had also figured out some rules regarding the players. Thus, he specifically looked for those players who did not immediately switch over to join the army to issue employment tasks. The contents were to request for the players to provide information on the movements of the Black Star Army. In particular, he wanted to know Black Star’s own movements, and the rewards were generous. While he did not know of the underlying principle, the fact of the matter was, as long as he offered enough money, the players would turn into the best spies.

Using gold to pave the way resulted in many of the Southeast Asian clubs accepting Sorokin’s mission, which was equivalent to him having a pair of eyes inside the army.

Sorokin’s focus on Han Xiao’s movements was intentional. Not long ago, Gorutan had gotten into a conflict with Hila. The federation and the church each had their own thoughts about Hila. As their collaborator, Sorokin had to monitor Han Xiao’s movements, providing intelligence for both parties to plan their operations.

Many of the spies glanced at each other, softly exchanging words.

“The Black Star Guards are all present, which means Black Star should also be inside.”

“Without seeing him directly, can this still be considered as completing the mission?”

“Should be. The Black Star Guards’ responsibility is to protect, so wherever they are, there is a high chance that Black Star will also be there.”

…

On the other side, Hadavy and the rest of the Black Star Guards arrived at the core of the palace. They orderly proceeded toward an advanced training room, where a mechanical host bearing Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar took guard at the door. Aurora sat in the middle of the room, spewing out life energy that spread out in a white-gold halo around her. This halo followed her breathing as it fluctuated.

“Army Commander.” The group greeted the avatar at the door before turning to look at Aurora.

Hadavy breathed in deeply, feeling his spirits rejuvenate, and exclaimed, “What an intense life energy fluctuation. Her quality seems to have sublimated once again?”

Feidin nodded. “Black Star, is this Aurora’s advancement?”

Han Xiao’s avatar nodded. “Her accumulated life energy has finally broken through the critical point and brought her a qualitative change in her life level.”

Before Version 4.0, Aurora had been close to the threshold of the Calamity Grade. With the extra half year of accumulation, she had finally hit the required amount and broken through.

Watched by the group, Aurora closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly as the light emitted by the life energy became brighter, gradually filling the entire room.

After a long time, the light was slowly reabsorbed into Aurora, and her body displayed some obvious changes. Her platinum blonde hair swayed slightly even without any breeze present, and every strand seemed to be filled with endless vitality.

Her skin had become smoother and more supple without flaws. The milky white skin revealed a sacred aura, as though she was some exquisite artwork.

Aurora opened her eyes, slowly breathing out. Her breath, filled with the energy of life, seemed to change even the air of the room itself, giving the hard, cold steel of the room a feeling as though one had stepped into the wilderness of nature.

Her advancement was vastly different from most Calamity Grades’. There was no destructive movement; all she required was sufficient life energy, without any bottlenecks along the way.

Standing up, Aurora’s eyes revealed some happiness, and she walked up to Han Xiao’s avatar before excitedly chattering. “Uncle, I’ve reached the Calamity Grade. Are there any changes?”

Han Xiao sized Aurora up. Her originally petite and cute looks had transformed into something taller, with a better figure. Her facial features had also changed to be more refined, and the holiness seeping out from within her made others involuntarily feel warm toward her. This was a completely different style compared to the cold, glamorous blade that was Hila.

“You’ve become prettier,” Han Xiao joked. “Other Grade As are called Calamity Grades, but for you, no matter how I see it, there’s nothing Calamitous about you. Excellent, I’m proud of you.”

Aurora blinked a few times, her heart blooming with joy from the praise. However, as though she recalled something, she suddenly pouted. “Humph, so many flowery words, but you still ran over to my sister and did not personally witness me step into the Calamity Grade.”

Han Xiao was helpless about it. He had left Black Star Palace a few days ago, quietly going over to the Emerald Star Cluster to meet Hila.

He was clear that with a sudden influx of players, there would be many more eyes. Thus, it was inevitable that there would be spies monitoring his movements. He had left the Black Star Guards there as a simple misdirection while he went off to the Emerald Star Cluster. He had two reasons for going there; one was to compete for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy in the near future, and the other was to reduce the risk Hila would face. While his Lord’s Avatar could display some strength, it was nowhere near the abilities he displayed with his true body.

However, this caused him to miss the promotion of Aurora.

Han Xiao dryly coughed before exchanging a glance with Feidin.

With Feidin’s ’emotional intelligence’, even if he could not read anything from the eyes of the machine, he understood what Han Xiao was trying to say. He immediately changed the topic as he asked, “After reaching the Calamity Grade, how much have your abilities changed?”

Hearing that, Aurora rolled her eyes toward Han Xiao before turning to Feidin. She carefully looked within her body before raising her hand to emit a ball of life energy. The intensity was a lot stronger compared to when she was at Grade B.

“My life energy accumulation has increased many times from when I was a Grade B, and my healing powers have further increased. Right now, the same amount of life energy should be three or four times more potent than in the past.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao felt a little regret that he was not present, or else he could have tried to find out how much Aurora’s ‘milk’ had improved.

Hadavy could not wait, however. “Let me try it out.”

Aurora shot him a side-eye but emitted a beam of life energy that sank into his body.

The next moment, Hadavy’s eyes opened wide, and he experienced such great comfort that he moaned uncontrollably.

“Uhhh…”

Han Xiao shivered, almost activating the mute mode out of reflex.

D*mn you, what’s with that moan‽

When I first knew you, you were a stubborn battle maniac, so why is it you’ve fallen to such a depraved state‽

Was your brain beaten to mush by me the past few years‽

Distressing indeed!

“What are you moaning for?” Everyone felt the same chill run up their spine.

Hadavy hastily covered his mouth and only recovered after quite a few seconds. He exclaimed in joy, “So good! I felt as though I relaxed a lot, like a weight had been taken off me somehow!”

Seeing his exaggerated expression, everyone half believed and half doubted him. However, all their doubts vanished once they experienced it for themselves. They stared at Aurora with their mouths agape, as though they were looking at some priceless heirloom.

Aurora turned shy at the stares, whispering, “After I advanced, my abilities seemed to have more functions, such as being able to stimulate the potential of the target and improve their status while accelerating recovery.”

“This is indeed true.” Feidin nodded. “I feel that my spirit is now more sensitive, and my energy is more lively. Not only that, but her life energy seems to have some soothing ability to placate one’s emotions.”

Han Xiao was quite surprised, but because his true body was not present, he could only go around and tap on his guards to get their combat information.

In addition to treatment, there were also selective gains for targets of her life energy. The additional ability gave a twenty-percent increase toward the upper limit of one’s HP, Energy, and Stamina. There was an overall twelve-percent increase in resistance, a seven to eleven percent range increase for all attributes, and a ten to fifteen percent increase in ability strength. This bonus range should gradually increase as she continued to develop her abilities.

Not only was she a milkmaid, she was also a super strong support character!

At the same time, her life energy was able to appease the mental state, expelling any violent tendencies and calming the target down. It would even eliminate any hostility that the target held toward her and produce a desire to protect her. While her power was extremely lacking in attack power, she had a special protection ability.

In addition, the shelf life of her life energy could now be extended by tens of times. The blood connection between Hila and Aurora also increased, resembling that of quantum connection where they could feel each other’s vital signs regardless of distance.

Aurora also had a vague feeling that if she further developed her ability gene chain, she would be able to share her life energy with Hila regardless of the distance. At present, she needed to familiarize herself with the changes in the Calamity Grade.

“Worthy of an S ranked Esper Ability. The higher the state of life, the more features it unlocks.” Han Xiao was happy for her.

In the past, Aurora turned into jam too early, so no one knew what would happen if she advanced. Right now, she was giving him a lot of surprises.

At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly had a hypothesis and immediately dragged Feidin and Aurora to the biological laboratory, using them for an experiment.

He got Aurora to repeatedly wash Feidin with life energy, and he withdrew some of Feidin’s cells each time, comparing the difference in the cells’ basic activity.

Before long, the results of the experiment returned. Comparing the data between each baptism of life energy, Han Xiao could not help but sigh.

“I should have thought of this a long time ago. The abilities of the two sisters are diametrically opposed, so if Hila can rob the life of people, Aurora… can increase one’s lifespan!”

The experimental data clearly showed that the later samples all showed some form of weak increase in basic cell activity.

In other words, the more ‘milk’ one got from Aurora, the longer their life span!

At Grade B, this feature had yet to awaken, and right now, she was only a Calamity Grade. Thus, the effect of life extension was weak, far less than Hila’s ability to reap life.

But if she continued to grow, then would she not become an enhanced version of Tripiṭaka’s flesh[1]‽

It seemed like he had just gotten his hands on another support treasure…

[1] In the mythology ‘Journey to the West’ featuring Sun Wukong, demons always tried to obtain his flesh as it would give them immortality.

Chapter 1026: Leek Field Expansion

Chapter 1026 Leek Field Expansion “Phillip, destroy all calculation evidence and the experiment report.”“Roger, hum…”

The screen disappeared as Han Xiao waved his hand before he turned to Aurora and Feidin behind him, speaking in a solemn tone.

“This matter is only known to the two of you at the moment. Don’t tell anybody else for now, or else there will be trouble. Do you understand?”

“… You’re saying that there’ll be people like the Germinal Organization’s Leader?”

Aurora pursed her lips. The painful memories of her past flashed through her head, and a trace of fear flitted across her face. This, however, was quickly replaced by determination.

She was different from the self in the past. She had Han Xiao and her sister by her side, and she believed that she would not repeat her past mistakes.

“Yes, if word gets out, this will arouse the interest of many of the hegemons of the universe. You’ll be dragged into the storm.” Han Xiao nodded.

If Hila’s ability to reap one’s longevity made others fear her, then Aurora’s ability would drive all Beyond Grade As crazy. She had the ability to control the entire universe. Most Beyond Grade As wished to extend their life span. Even those species with naturally long life spans were no exception. For example, if EsGod was still roaming around, he would not have spared no quarter to seize Aurora’s power. This priority would have been even higher than the Evolutionary Totem.

Not only the Beyond Grade As, even the advanced civilizations would be tempted. With Aurora entering the Calamity Grade, she had a high efficiency in the generation of life energy. Most likely, they would not treat her like the Germinal Organization had treated her, but they would put her under house arrest, with her only job being to produce more life potions.

In this way, he would also stand at the cusp of the storm, facing the covetous gazes of many Beyond Grade As. Thus, he had to have strength that far outstripped his current self in order to suppress the greed in the hearts of others. Aurora’s ability was a double-edged sword, so Han Xiao did not intend to disclose Aurora’s information before he reached a higher level.

Feidin nodded and agreed. “Relax, I’ve always regarded Aurora as my sister, and I will not leak the news.”

Han Xiao left them with some more instructions before sending the two off. He remained in the room alone, sighing to himself.

After Aurora entered the Calamity Grade, her connection to Hila had improved, becoming akin to a symbiotic relationship.

Now that Aurora had just advanced, she still needed time to familiarize with her abilities. When she awakened her new ability to treat Hila remotely, it would be very scary to face Hila.

In his previous life, because Hila lost Aurora early, without the other end of the symbiosis, she could only rampage in the cold universe alone. Right now, while Hila had not yet embarked on an endless killing spree and her growth rate was slower than in her past life, with this milkmaid Aurora that ignored distance, Hila’s combat power would far exceed that of her past life.

“I’m afraid Hila will catch up to me in terms of tank-ability…” Han Xiao was helpless. Hila had unlimited uses of the Aurora Character Summon Card.

The Super High Risk Esper Abilities were all overpowered, and the two sisters could even form perfect coordination and soul resonance, which was terrifying. Only mental and spatial abilities could possibly restrain the sharing of life between the two.

Thinking about it, Han Xiao opened the communicator, sending a message to Ames, telling her about the news of Aurora entering the Calamity Grade.

…

In the outer space above Planet Aquamarine, Floating Dragon Island remained. Ames did not participate in the competition in the Flickering World, choosing to stay in the Shattered Star Ring. She wished for Floating Dragon to develop in a low-key manner, not chasing after fame and fortune. Such was the nature of a salted fish, stiff and unmoving.

While she did not participate in the lively trend, Ames was still updated about the Flickering World. Han Xiao knew that Ames enjoyed having fun, so he shared first-hand information with her every day, telling her what was happening in the Flickering World daily to satisfy her curiosity. Since then, regularly checking Han Xiao’s news had become a daily necessity for Ames.

In her bedroom within the palace, Ames leaned against the headboard of her bed, condensing a small sphere using her force field to nudge at the giant white bear lying on the floor beside her, as though teasing a cat with a stick. It was obviously a fierce creature, yet in front of her, it appeared extremely obedient, rolling livelily around the floor.

When Ames moved into Planet Aquamarine, Aurora had placed all the pets she raised on the planet in Floating Dragon, asking her teacher to help care for them as her pastime.

There was another person in the room. Jenny stood to the side, reporting on the business situation of Floating Dragon. Even if Ames was not paying attention, she continued to seriously read the details out.

“… the recent polls show that thirty-nine percent of the Floating Dragon soldiers are dissatisfied with the status quo. Compared with the previous survey, the proportion has now increased by seven percent. Many of the subordinates came here after hearing the reputation of the Beyond Grade A, hoping that they would achieve some fame under your name and advance their careers, but with the lack of battle opportunities, their hearts have moved. This is especially so given that we have not participated in the Flickering World exploration. We have thus lost quite a few warriors…”

Ames seemed to let the words flow in and out of her ears, as she continued to use her force field to nudge the bear.

Jenny dryly coughed before continuing. “Ignoring the trend of the times is not wise. We should change our decision and set foot in the Flickering World…”

Ames suddenly raised her head to glance at her, slightly smiling as she said, “I thought you didn’t like writing reports? This is your twenty-second time asking me to send troops into the Flickering World. Why are you so active now?”

“… Didn’t you mention wanting to develop?” Jenny stroked her receding hairline. Toward this fickle shopkeeper, she was full of resignation toward her behavior.

While she detested work, she was unwilling to let go of the development Floating Dragon had been going through these few years. She could not allow herself to see Floating Dragon go to waste just because of her laziness.

“As my subordinates, they should adapt to me, not me to them.” Ames seemed not to mind it, only sighing. “If only Black Star was still under me, I wouldn’t need to worry about such things.”

“…” Jenny’s expression became pained. My heart, it hurts!

Ames ignored Jenny’s expression, waving her hand as she spoke. “In any case, there’s no need to persuade me further. I will not go to the Flickering World. I have no interest in that area.”

Before Jenny could squeeze in another word, Ames’ communicator rang. The moment she took it out, her eyes lit up.

“Black Star has sent me another message. Jenny, please wait outside.”

Seeing this, Jenny could only force her words back down and walk out of the room, feeling sour in her heart.

I have not even finished talking about the official matters, but because of the daily news that Black Star sends, you do not even want to hear the important business reports anymore…

I’m obviously the first in line here…

Without caring about Jenny, Ames read the news that Han Xiao sent over in detail. Other than the news shared and the warm greetings, there was also a piece that refreshed her spirits.

“Aurora has finally reached the Calamity Grade. My students are really great.” Ames was in a good mood.

At the end of the letter, Han Xiao also sent her an invitation to visit Black Star Palace and meet up with Aurora.

“To go over to the Flickering World…”

Ames hesitated.

If it was sent over by Black Star, she could not possibly reject…

What good timing.

Thinking thusly, Ames called Jenny back in.

“Prepare the spaceship. I’m going over to the Flickering World.”

“You’ve thought it through? I’ll assemble the team immediately!” Jenny exclaimed in joy.

“What team? I’m going solo.” Ames waved the communicator. “Black Star invited me over to play.”

Jenny’s smile vanished in a flash.

Sigh, I’ve wasted half a day of saliva, but you immediately respond when Black Star asks you to go.

So, this is the feeling of someone who has been swayed by the other party…

At this moment, there was a song that could perfectly depict Jenny’s feelings.

In this world, who is still not living a life that’s akin to purgatory[1]…

…

In the Flickering World’s free competition zone, more than a dozen general purpose spaceships were slowly cruising through the universe, carrying the guild members from several well-known Southeast Asian clubs such as Red Bay, Titan, and Archipelago.

“Everyone, our next move is critical and is related to whether we can quickly gain a foothold in the Flickering World.”

In the meeting room, the Red Bay Captain, Venomous Snake, rapped on the table as he spoke in a serious tone.

“Snake is right,” a Red Bay veteran, Forest Python, echoed. He used to be the captain of Red Bay and actively gave up his position when he was older, opting to train the newcomers instead. Venomous Snake had taken over as the new captain from the previous season.

“The current advantage of the Chinese players is huge, so we have to huddle together. Before the players from the other countries arrive, we must not provoke them first and develop in a low-key manner,” Titan’s Captain, Bangkok Buddha, analyzed. “However, the approach of the Chinese players is full of foresight. Maybe we can imitate their gameplay and communicate with the NPC forces in the same manner.”

The Chinese clubs had an unparalleled advantage in the free competition zone, having already obtained a lot of help from the NPC organizations. This group of Southeast Asian guilds that were new to scene were naturally afraid to touch them. They first had to stand firm and develop themselves.

Due to the intervention from the army, the Chinese guilds had learned about the high-efficiency gameplay of Version 4.0 in advance, and the guilds of the various countries would naturally discover this point when conducting research. Thus, the Southeast Asian guilds wanted to copy their gameplay methods.

“But it’s not as easy as it seems.” Some of the people hesitated. “The Chinese players are able to succeed simply because they’re affiliated with the army, but our faction has no such system, no independent qualifications, and no way for us to become a regular organization.”

The guilds in the bigger clubs had not jumped ships at all and still belonged to factions from the Blackhole Edge.

The other factions did not have multiple regiments like the army, and for them, becoming a regular organization and turning independent right now was impossible.

Moreover, they were not free but rather recruited and bound by their factions. Before going to the faction base, they only had a limited time to move freely, which was incomparable to the time that the army players had.

“The Main Storyline Missions for our factions have been announced, and the free time we have in the free competition zone is limited. Let’s quickly look for opportunities,” Venomous Snake concluded.

Everyone discussed various countermeasures and decided to adopt the method of casting out their nets wide.

Very quickly, they hit countless nails. Because they were not an independent organization, they could only borrow the name of their faction and act as a special team. The vast majority of the organizations that they contacted directly rejected them. They were also foreign organizations, and not local tyrants such as the Black Star Army, so all of them were competing against each other. There was no need to invite wolves into their camp.

As for the remaining organizations, they were willing to listen to their requests based on the strength that they showed. While the scale of the Southeast Asian guilds was not as large as the Chinese guilds, it was still possible to form a group of more than ten thousand by uniting together.

But for Red Bay, Archipelago, and the other Southeast Asian clubs, they were not independent organizations, so they could only propose cooperation agreements. Only this way could they then develop a stronghold.

After hearing their requests, even those organizations that were interested immediately hung up on them.

Venomous Snake and the rest felt surprised. This was turning out far from expected. The Chinese players had achieved great success through this method, so why was it that they had such a difficult time communicating with the NPC organizations?

After researching, they figured out the crux of this matter. The organizations rejected them as they were unqualified as partners.

The players belonging to guilds such as Red Bay and Archipelago were mostly from Star Cluster level civilizations, which did not carry much weight in the Flickering World.

The reason behind the success of the Chinese players was because they belonged to the Black Star Army. Many organizations were willing to cooperate with them in order to embrace the thigh of the Black Star Army, which was their backer, to stabilize their strongholds and deter other organizations.

But the Star Cluster Civilizations, which were also foreign forces, did not possess such a privilege.

These people were helpless. Their faction was unwilling to lend them strength, and they also could not replicate the practice of the army players. It was no wonder they snagged only so many nails in their strategy.

The deeper they understood what the Black Star Army was capable of, the more they envied the Chinese players.

After exerting a Herculean effort, the Southeast Asian guilds finally managed to find a few small breakthrough points, completely incomparable to the scale of what the players in the Black Star Army were getting. After which, they had to respond to the call of their factions and follow them to work, temporarily unable to move freely.

Even Red Bay, Archipelago, and the other first tier guilds in Southeast Asia found it difficult to start, let alone the other Blackhole Edge players who did not join the Black Star Army. Without the capital to imitate the gameplay of the army players, they could only brute force their way through as they had done in the previous versions before Version 4.0.

As more and more players arrived, the situation quickly got complicated, and the World Server gradually took shape.

At the same time, Han Xiao had already arrived and hidden himself within the Emerald Star Cluster.

Han Xiao had carried out many plans for the army, and his leek field had successfully grown and expanded. It was time to mercilessly reap the harvest.

As more ‘fresh leeks’ moved their bases to the Black Star Army, his efficiency in gaining experience in the short term multiplied.

When the Black Star Army expanded to nearly eight million members, the amount of experience he needed to upgrade to level 320 was finally accumulated!

[1] It’s like the Chinese version of What Are Words by Chris Medina—王建房”在人间”

Chapter 1027: God“s Trait Transformation

Chapter 1027 God“s Trait Transformation In an unexplored area within the Emerald Star Cluster, a high-speed spaceship was proceeding at warp speed.Only Han Xiao and a portion of the Apostle Weapons were sitting in the command room of the spaceship, watching the star map. His target marked in red flashed on the screen. The coordinates were located somewhere in the central area of the Emerald Star Cluster.

This was the place where the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy revealed in EsGod’s inheritance would be born. Most of the organizations had not explored to this point. He travelled in the high-end spaceship that he had built, so he did not need to stop like the other forces and could penetrate deeper.

The time for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy to appear was not far off. He went earlier to camp and do a stake out.

Because of Evans, only Han Xiao could be sure that the coordinates given were correct. The other forces that obtained information on the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy also had to try their luck in the several coordinates shown in the data, which could potentially reduce his competitors.

Han Xiao chose to come out with his true body for insurance. If the competitor was not strong, his avatar could do the job, and there was no need to reveal his position.

However, right now, Han Xiao was preparing to find a place to stay as his experience had finally reached the requirement to level up to level 320. His Promotion was still the priority.

During this period, he had been rushing along the journey. With the Black Star Army’s foundation, he did not need to worry about it. He just had to wait for the foreign players to arrive in the Flickering World, and they would naturally join the Black Star Army.

Right now, the population of players in the army had reached about eight million, which was far from the limit. Once the remaining players in the other Star Fields came over to the World Server, the size of the army should break through the ten million mark. It would serve as a replenishment of newcomers, and he would even have a big wave of experience flowing in.

“Once all the players gather in the World Server, the players in the army should measure up to 11.5 million. This should be the biggest player faction at the moment. The number should only be second to the three Universal Civilizations in my past life.”

Not all the players had arrived in the Flickering World, but they had already attracted the attention of the various major organizations, and the situation was moving toward the familiar early stage of Version 4.0 in his previous life.

Because of his own existence, the millions of players that should have been scattered around were instead situated within the Black Star Army, which would cause some deviation in the timeline. However, Han Xiao was mentally prepared for this, and the stage of making a lot of money through the players was about to pass. The major organizations would soon come to value the abilities of the players as much as he did.

“Let’s not think about this for now. Anyway, my situation is quite good. The advantage is on my side, and I’m firmly seated on my benefits.” Han Xiao pushed aside the thought, slowed down the spaceship, and parked in the middle of the universe.

He then exited the cabin and flew using his physical body away from the spaceship. He commanded the Apostle Weapons to guard his surroundings before opening the instrument that would isolate energy fluctuations, hiding the anomalies that would occur during his advancement.

Opening the interface, he looked at the astronomical experience numbers. Han Xiao could no longer wait.

“I’ve finally saved enough to advance and complete my promotion. It’s been so long since I experienced this sort of rapid levelling up.”

Even as he murmured to himself, he did not hesitate, immediately pumping all the experience into upgrading. His total level, which had remained stagnant for a long time, suddenly rocketed!

_____________________

[Divine Throne Mechanic] leveled up to Lv.8.

+450 Energy, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +15 END, +20 INT.

You have received 15 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

…

[Divine Throne Mechanic] leveled up to Lv.20.

+450 Energy, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +15 END, +20 INT.

You have received 15 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

You have reached Lv.320, triggering the Promotion Mission for Lv.320!

_____________________

Han Xiao had accumulated a lot of Mission Completion Cards over the decades, and the moment he saw that the mission was a troublesome one, he immediately pulled out his mission completion card.

_____________________

Lv.320 Promotion Mission completed!

Promotion succeeded!

+90 END Bonus! 1 END = 570 Health = 580 Stamina.

The LV 320 special blueprints for the Tyracles Mechanical Legacy have been unlocked!

Your Energy Level has reached Lv.21. Energy has passed 78,000.

You have gained the talent [God’s Trait Transformation—Machinery] (0/?)

You have gained the talent [God’s Trait Transformation—Void] (0/?)

You have obtained 2 God’s Trait Transformation points.

You have received a [The First Sanctum] Ability Fragment.

The effects of all your Virtual Technology skills have been increased by 50%.

_____________________

Han Xiao’s body jolted once, and every cell in his body seemed to have become a black hole, ravenously swallowing the cosmic dark matter around it, using it to improve itself.

The upper limit of the [Divine Throne Mechanic] was Lv.60, and he could only perform his Class Advancement at level 360. His next racial species sublimation would be at level 340.

In Han Xiao’s mind, level 320 should have been a normal promotion, but the notification that appeared gave his spirit a boost.

“God’s Trait Transformation?” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

He was not completely unfamiliar with this term. In the later versions of his past life, this term constantly appeared within the Beyond Grade A circles, which was then overheard by the players. Although there was little intelligence on it, based on the hypotheses that were written on the forums, this should be an important factor to upgrade one’s life level above the Beyond Grade A realm.

Furthermore, his own Machinery Deity had the term ‘Deity’ within, and if one had to talk about a Godhood, then it might have something to do with the Machinery Faith and the [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus]… However, he had not experienced anything to do with divinity whatsoever at this moment.

Why is it that as one’s life level increases, it becomes more and more ideological? This is making me, a mechanic that only believes in materialism very awkward…

“In any case, it seems like the threshold of Lv.21 Energy Rank and 78,000 Onas of Energy are needed to trigger the God’s Trait Transformation?” Han Xiao murmured to himself whilst enduring the pain that came with the advancement.

The calculation method for energy rank was quite complicated, not just a simple addition and subtraction. The larger the value, the larger the gap between every one point. For example, the energy levels of 100 to 200 and 9,900 to 10,000 were both similarly separated by a hundred points, but the difference in their actual energy values was huge. The higher one’s energy was, the harder it was to increase.

When he had broken through the level 300 watershed to become a Mechanical Deity, his total energy was around 71,000.

In the next decade, he had constantly practiced new Energy Training Techniques, raising the upper limit of his energy, and he had also spent a lot of experience and potential points to improve his skills and knowledge. At the same time, he had also extracted abilities from Heber, Manison, Silver Shadow, and many others, gaining powerful talents and skills. With the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] from Nero, along with his various bonuses, his total energy finally broke through 78,000.

“The two God’s Trait Transformations are split into Machinery and Void respectively… Oh, this corresponds to one’s class and race. So, are these the two possible evolutionary routes, or do I need to add them both at once?”

Han Xiao glanced at the interface, where he saw a small ‘+’ sign beside each of the God’s Trait Transformation talents, and the effect was labelled with a ‘?’.

“It seems like I will only know the effect when I add points. Since the system gave me two God’s Trait Transformation points when I was promoted, let’s try one in each… The suffix of the skills should represent the final form of this talent, which should occur when the talent is maxed out. But the total number of points is labelled as a ‘?’, so how many points should I add?”

Han Xiao tried adding a point to the [God’s Trait Transformation—Machinery] talent, and the effect of it was displayed.

_____________________

God’s Trait Transformation—Machinery (1/?)

Stage One: +1,000 Machinery Affinity, +20% Ability power. Base effects of all Mechanic class abilities are slightly enhanced.

_____________________

Han Xiao glanced at his skill list. With the slight enhancement to his class abilities, it meant that every skill had undergone a slight improvement for every level. The effect of strengthening all his Mechanic-related skills was not high, but it provided a comprehensive improvement.

“The bonus is acceptable, but I don’t find it too powerful. Maybe it’s because it’s only at the first stage? I guess, the more points I add, the more powerful the effects unlocked.” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

He hesitated but finally decided against adding another point to it. He added it to the [God’s Trait Transformation—Void] talent instead.

_____________________

God’s Trait Transformation—Void (1/?)

Stage One: Exclusive Racial Talents are enhanced, and all Racial Talents of the Void Race Evolution route will be strengthened. You have been awarded 1,750 Attribute Points.

_____________________

The total affinity bonus from [Mechanical Genius] increased from x1.25 to x1.28, and Machinery Creation Performance increased from forty percent to forty-four percent. The racial talents of his other Void abilities also showed some increase, with the cooldown times of most of them being reduced.

Han Xiao nodded. “This one is not bad.”

With his God’s Trait Transformation points spent, he did not know how to obtain more. Were they only given when he promoted, or was there another way to obtain them?

If this was only given during advancement, that would mean that the sooner one reached the 78,000 benchmark the better. After all, if one’s level was low, advancing would definitely be more convenient, and one could obtain more points this way. In this manner… could that also refer to potential?

Han Xiao decided not to think further, opting to look at the other notifications.

What was this [The First Sanctum] fragment? He had not heard of this in his past life.

The introduction was also labelled with question marks. Han Xiao could not understand what this was, but from the name of [The First Sanctum], it seemed as though it had nothing to do with the Mechanic class. Furthermore, he only had a fragment, so he could not utilize it and could only stare at it.

“I keep having the feeling that this should be a key factor for something… I should find an opportunity to ask the dynasty if there’s any information in this area. Most likely, I’ll have to exchange contribution points for it, just like the time when I obtained the information on the Machinery Faith.”

After removing everything unrelated, Han Xiao then turned toward the [Tyracles Mechanical Legacy]. There would be new blueprints unlocked at level 320 and 360.

He glanced through it quickly, and his pupils suddenly narrowed to a point. A hint of surprise leaked out.

F*ck me, I’ve hit the jackpot!

Chapter 1028: The King and the Emperor“s Cape

1028 The King and the Emperor“s Cape Among the [Tyracles Mechanical Legacy] blueprints unlocked at level 320, there were blueprints that were shining gold in color!

Not one but two!

The Gold Grade represented equipment that was on the level of a Universal Treasure!

Han Xiao had a joyful surprise.

He originally thought that he would only get the opportunity to unlock the Universal Treasure blueprints when he reached level 360, but it unexpectedly came out in level 320. The Gold blueprints of this race might be higher than he initially imagined.

He hurriedly opened the item introduction, and the two blueprints’ information appeared in his eyes.

_____________________

[Blueprint: King]: This blueprint records the highest crystallization of wisdom from the Saint Tyracles Race for Superpower soldiers—The ‘King’. Made exclusively for Beyond Grade A Mechanics, the blueprint’s cost is high, with a set of armor comparable to the price of a large fleet, and it is extremely difficult to produce. Since its birth, the total number of finished products created by the Saint Tyracles Race numbered no more than ten. Only a Mechanic with enough strength will be able to control this mechanical suit.

[Blueprint: Emperor’s Cape]: After the Saint Tyracles Race witnessed the imposingness of the Mechanical Deity, they began to zealously research, producing this extraordinary mechanical creation. This is a piece of equipment that can only be utilized by a Mechanical Deity.

_____________________

Han Xiao carefully looked through the blueprints, as well as the effects of the two pieces of equipment.

The Saint Tyracles Race had advanced extremely far in the Mechanic class. The [King] mechanical suit displayed it, reaching the level that could be considered a Universal Treasure, which blended many of the advanced skills of the Saint Tyracles.

This Mechanical suit was armor designed for a Beyond Grade A Mechanic, and the reference parameters of the blueprint showed that just the basic performance of the King outstripped his current mechanical suit by at least thirty percent! His own mechanical suit was high-end Orange equipment, considered one of the best within its grade quality!

In addition to conventional combat weapons, the King also had unique features that made it extremely suitable for Mechanics.

As a dedicated equipment for Mechanics, the King provided an extra bonus toward mechanics, which provided users with an additional x1.075 coefficient to their total Machinery Affinity, only slightly less compared to the increase from the Divine Mechanical Throne. Furthermore, it increased the range of effect for the Mechanical Force bonus by thirty-five percent while reducing the energy consumption. This would strengthen normal mechanics to provide their army with a longer period of blessing.

Moreover, the King was equipped with a special energy converter that could absorb Mechanical Force and enter an enhanced state. There were multiple modes, such as improving the performance of the Mechanical suit, strengthening melee capabilities, and providing instant acceleration and defense, so as to get rid of any ambushes that the Mechanic most feared.

While this man-made combat equipment was at the level of a Universal Treasure, it did not belong to the scope of a Space Wonder, so the quality of its stats were more reflected in its performance. It would not be equipped with an unsolvable power like the Spacetime Amber. It was closer to the Universal Treasure level equipment made by the Divine Craftsman Thorne.

However… the King belonged to another type of equipment.

It was the core function of the King that made Han Xiao truly satisfied!

When the Federation of Light manufactured their Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, they had borrowed the knowledge of the Saint Tyracles Race, and the core function of the King was related to this.

The reason why the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was the strategic weapon of the Federation of Light was because it had the capability of unlimited transmissions. Not only was the distance long, it was also immune to interference from all spatial related devices, which was the most important thing. The King had a similar immunity as well.

‘The King’ possessed a unique accessory called the Throne, and both sides would resonate with each other. No matter where the King was, the user could instantly return to the location of the Throne together with the suit. This transmission ignored all external interference, and it would still take effect even when trapped within wormholes or space stabilization anchors.

The introduction for this function was simply a statement—’The King cannot be restrained.’

It was not just restricted to that. When the King returned to the Throne, the follow up effect of this function could be activated in the next three minutes. This allowed the user to blink back to the original position of the King. To be able to shuttle back and forth between two points… simply put, this was horizontal warping.

“There is the shadow of the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening ability within. So long as I’m wearing the King, I will not need to be afraid of sudden ambushes like EsGod. I can immediately choose to warp back to my Throne, leaving the danger zone.” Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

In view of his true body’s physical susceptibility toward ambushes… this toy was akin to a divine artifact for him!

While it was a fixed position warp and not as effective as the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, it still had an irreplaceable role. For the mechanic with a weak body, this was a magical escape technique. As the saying went, where there was life there was hope, and this was very apt for the mechanic.

Han Xiao looked at the manufacturing requirements, thinking to himself, The cost is high, but it is still in an acceptable range for me. Some of the core materials will be hard to get, but that was during the exploration era. Right now, we’re in the Galaxy Calendar. As long as you have enough money, you can get your hands on any materials you want.

Han Xiao was not worried about the cost nor the rarity of the materials.

As the top Beyond Grade A in the Shattered Star Ring, the strongest in the Flickering World, and the ‘Sugar Daddy’ of hundreds of financial groups, finances were not an issue.

His main concern was the difficulty of manufacturing. It was no easy task to build Gold Grade equipment. It did not mean that he was guaranteed to produce Gold Equipment as long as he followed the blueprints.

There was a high probability that the finished product would not reach the quality of Gold Grade Equipment. There would be all sorts of reasons that led to the finished product not reaching the ideal state as stated on the blueprint.

“I’m now at level 320 and am considered a pinnacle Beyond Grade A Mechanic. The basic manufacturing abilities will definitely meet the mark, and coupled with the talents provided by the my Divine Throne Mechanic class, the success rate should not be too low.”

During a prior class advancement, he had received a talent named [Spirit Instrument], which improved his success rate of manufacturing from gold blueprints. He finally had a chance to put it to use.

As for the other unlocked blueprint, the [Emperor’s Cape] was special equipment that was to be used by the Mechanical Deity. In short, the King was the mechanical suit for the Mechanic, while the Emperor’s Cape was used when the Mechanical Deity descended.

In appearance, it looked like an oversized war cloak. It was able to reduce the consumption of energy needed for the Divine Throne Mechanic to maintain the Mechanical Deity, indirectly extending the combat time.

Not everyone could be as perverted as Han Xiao. Most ordinary mechanics did not have as many energy conversion abilities, so the Emperor’s Cape served to allow the Mechanic to use the Mechanical Deity for longer periods of time.

Other than reducing consumption, it would also provide additional protection and stabilize the interior of the Mechanical Deity. Because it was made up of countless machines, the stronger the bonds between each machine, the higher the mechanical defensiveness of the Mechanical Deity.

In his battle against Heber, that little Ty-Ty had rushed into the hand of his Mechanical Deity, trying to wreck it from the inside. Although he had failed, he had managed to temporarily destroy the right arm of the Mechanical Deity. If not for the fact that Han Xiao’s energy recovery speed was frighteningly high, just the consumption needed to reform the arm would have required the Mechanic to give up a kidney.

If he had the Emperor’s Cape, the internals of his Mechanical Deity would become extremely durable, such that it would still last a length of time even when invaded by a pinnacle Beyond Grade A pugilist.

In addition to its protective ability, the Emperor’s Cape also brought about movement speed bonuses. Because of its huge size, the speed of the Mechanical Deity was greatly affected, so the Emperor’s Cape could improve the agility and attack speed of the Mechanical Deity.

“These two are both Gold equipment that are tailor-made for Mechanics. Indeed, the famed Mechanic haven, this Saint Tyracles race.”

Han Xiao was drooling at the sight of the two. After rejecting the dynasty’s proposal to give up the Evolution Cube, he had thought that there would be no more chances for him to obtain Universal Treasure combat equipment in the short term. The effect of these two blueprints gave him a surprise, as they could immediately improve his combat capability, which was what he was currently lacking.

“I’ve got to find a way to quickly manufacture them. Right now, there are many Beyond Grade As flocking to the Flickering World, and the major organizations also roughly understand my current strength. If something happens, it will be a crisis for me…”

Han Xiao calmed himself down as he gazed at his attributes panel.

_____________________

Total Level: 320

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Black Star Race

Attributes: 8,016 STR, 7,945 DEX, 11,714 END, 20,933 INT, 6,430 MYS, 1,368 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 2050

Potential Points: 28

Health: 13,984,273

Stamina: 11,806,980

Energy: 182,075 (Lv.21)

Lv.21 Energy Level bonus stat: +3,206 STR, +3,928 DEX, +4,870 END, +6,505 INT, +3,123 MYS, +1,381,520 Stamina Limit, +4,282% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 82,600

Grade: SS

Grade S Bonuses: +150 END, +45% All Resistances, +40% to Highest Attribute, +25% Other Attributes, 750 Free Attribute Points, and 50 Potential Points

Remark: Standing at the peak allows you to see more of the scenery. However, this is not the end goal in the route of evolution. You must pierce through the fog to slowly touch upon the secrets to an even higher realm of life.

_____________________

Chapter 1029: The Dynasty“s Plans

Chapter 1029 The Dynasty“s Plans

Compared to when he was at level 300, the attribute growth was obvious, but this mainly came from the bonus given by his Lv.21 Energy Level and was due to Han Xiao’s accumulation during the version update.

As his energy level continuously increased, he would also gain ever-increasing strength. This was an important part behind the power of the Supers.

The Endurance bonus for his promotion this time was ‘+90’, which was twenty points more than his previous promotion. Because it was more difficult to upgrade in the later stage, the enhancement to one’s attributes brought about by each advancement would also increase, and the increase in Energy Rank would also cause one’s S-level rank bonus to upgrade even higher. There was a close connection between all the attributes, causing Han Xiao to be comprehensively strengthened.

Just an ordinary promotion already gave him such a sharp increase in stats, causing Han Xiao to be extremely satisfied.

“As for the more than 2,000 Free Attribute Points…”

Han Xiao thought about it but left them untouched for the time being. His Intelligence and Endurance were all quite high, so he decided to provide himself with some flexibility depending on the situation.

As for his potential points, they would be used to upgrade his Class knowledge, with the Ultimate Knowledge having priority.

At present, there were only three of his Ultimate Knowledges that were maxed out, namely [Virtual Creator], [Eternal Power Source], and [Relativity Theory]. The other three belonged to the other branches of the Mechanic class, and there was a three-times penalty imposed. Levelling them from Lv.1 to Lv.5 would require a total of 288 potential points.

Han Xiao had gained quite a few potential points since the update of the version. He had raised the three Ultimate Knowledges a little each, and the twenty-eight free potential points he had on the interface right now were just right to max out his [Mechanical Life Tinder] skill.

However, Han Xiao did not do so after some thought. He turned and added a level to [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering], raising it to Lv.3.

This class knowledge was related to one’s manufacturing and production, and Han Xiao wanted to increase the success rate of the Emperor’s Cape and the King, so he first prioritized this knowledge.

“A plan cannot always keep up with the changes. I wanted to go there and camp, but now I need to work while I wait.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Now that he was alone and unable to use the workshop in his base, he could only use the army workshop in his secondary dimension, and he even had to go out of his way to obtain the raw materials.

He counted the days, and he probably could not even create it before the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was born. The time needed to manufacture a Universal Treasure-level equipment was quite hefty. That was especially so for the Emperor’s Cape, which was physically huge.

“Right now, I’ve reached level 320, and my battle strength has experienced yet another leap, drawing closer to the Mechanic Emperor and Void Overlord. I can gauge their strength even better now…” Han Xiao sighed.

Seeing the gap in strength narrowing bit by bit, his mood was definitely good.

However, after this promotion, his upgrade costs once again skyrocketed. Because the effects of each promotion in the later stages were extraordinary, the upgrade fee naturally corresponded to this.

“I’m afraid it will take a long time to accumulate enough experience to upgrade to level 340. Also, I have to find an opportunity to ask about the God’s Trait Transformation as well as The First Sanctum.”

…

In Tarunamir Palace, the top leader of the hawk faction, Bekorodi, sat in a conference room with his eyes closed for a rest. After a while, a remote projection appeared. It was Gaud.

“You’re here.” Bekorodi opened his eyes.

“I hope you called me over to inform me about some good news.” Gaud’s expression was calm.

“It’s indeed good news,” Bekorodi said in a deep voice. “The request you submitted has been approved, and the dynasty’s top management has decided to give the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy to you… provided that your Esper ability is truly as what you’ve said and that you can control the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.”

The dynasty had bet on Black Star, thinking that he would be an important National Pillar in the future, but the dynasty did not mind having another person as strong as him. After all, someone with Gaud’s Esper Ability was too rare, so the dynasty was willing to spend the resources to cultivate this high potential Esper. Furthermore, this person still belonged to the dynasty, and he was not an ally who did not have to listen to all their orders.

“I’m very clear what my ability can and cannot do, so as long as the dynasty is willing to put their trust in me, I will not disappoint them.” Gaud thinly smiled.

“As long as you can prove yourself, the dynasty will not be stingy with the resources to cultivate you, just like Black Star.” The moment Bekorodi mentioned Han Xiao, his tone got a little deeper.

Black Star rejecting his one to three exchange had left Bekorodi extremely dissatisfied.

However, Gaud only replied with a smile that was not a real smile, skirting past this topic. He instead asked, “Now that the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy is about to be born, what does the dynasty intend to do?”

Bekorodi nodded. “The dynasty has already sent troops to the various locations shown by the intelligence, and we have spotted abnormal movements from many of the organizations, which confirms that they likely also got their hands on EsGod’s legacy. They will be our competitors in obtaining the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy…”

“What sort of organizations are they?”

“The number is small, but their composition is complex. There are all kinds of organizations, but the church and the federation’s side do not seem to have moved, so we cannot know if they are aware of this matter…”

“It sounds like there are many uncertainties. Can we ensure that the dynasty will get the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy?”

“The current situation is unclear. The Oracle of the dynasty has tried to scry for information, and it feels like the Emerald Star Cluster is the most likely place in which the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy will appear. It just so happens that the Flickering World is our territory, so the dynasty has decided to engage a few Beyond Grade A allies for help.” Bekorodi narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

“Black Star?”

“He’s not on the list.” Bekorodi shook his head.

The Black Star Army had the greatest amount of influence in the Flickering World, so it stood to reason that Black Star should be the most reliable. However, the dynasty did not request help from him, and Bekorodi did not disclose the reason.

Gaud smiled to himself as he realized the implications.

Tsk, it seemed like the problem with the Evolution Cube caused quite a rift between Black Star and the dynasty…

His eyes flickered, and Gaud calmly said, “Since that’s the case, I have a suggestion. We should tell Black Star to turn away so as to prevent side issues from arising.”

“I don’t have the authority to command Black Star.” Bekorodi waved his hands. “In addition, the latest news states that his Black Star Guards are all within his palace, and even Ames has gone over to visit him from Shattered Star Ring. Thus, it is likely that his true body is still within his base. He probably knows his limits and will not interfere in this matter…”

Bekorodi paused for a moment before his expression sank. “However, even if Black Star decides to interfere, the dynasty can still strike a deal with him. With his current situation, the chances of him rejecting us again are miniscule. He should know what to do in order to mend his relationship with us.”

“That’s good. I hope that there will not be any accidents during the operation.” Gaud narrowed his eyes.

The dynasty did not wish to see a special talent like him encounter any unnecessary risks before growing up, so he could not join the operation.

What Gaud needed to do was obediently stay put and wait for the dynasty to hand him the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

Getting the dynasty to work for me is so convenient… Gaud secretly smiled and shook his head.

Chapter 1030: Movements of the Competitors

Chapter 1030 Movements of the Competitors

“They want me to snatch that famous Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy on the dynasty’s behalf?”

In a certain dynasty’s ally stronghold in the Flickering World’s free competition zone, Ravenlaude was surprised to receive this message from the upper echelons of the dynasty.

As a member of the senior celebrity group, Ravenlaude was quite highly regarded among the Beyond Grade A allies of the dynasty. His position was far above people like Kohler or Beyoni. Although he did not exactly have a good relationship with Black Star, the two of them held no grudges against each other.

Of course, Ravenlaude had no idea that the Spacetime Amber was supposed to belong to him but was taken away by Han Xiao in advance, or he would have joined the ‘dynasty anti-Black Star alliance’, which had Heber as its one and only member.

It was common for the dynasty to ask him for help. What Ravenlaude was surprised about was the information about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy appearing. This was the first time he had heard of this.

“The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy…” Ravenlaude’s eyes sparkled.

To be honest, he was quite tempted.

Primal Esper Abilities in the Super High Risk Esper Ability List such as this one were extremely rare. If he could make it his, it would be more than enough to raise a powerful subordinate, or he could use sealing type spells to seal the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy onto special magic puppets to use its powers, which might make the puppet as strong as a Universal Treasure.

However, these greedy thoughts only existed for a few seconds in Ravenlaude’s mind before he completely extinguished them.

His organization was right in the Constellation Corridor, which was heavily affected by the dynasty. There was no need to go against the dynasty’s will for just a Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

The dynasty told him about this information to let him help, but if he was tempted by it, it would definitely upset the dynasty. To him, there was more to lose than gain.

“But a Universal Treasure…”

Ravenlaude still found it tough to let go. It was not really because he did not even have the courage to let go of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, but after seeing Han Xiao’s Spacetime Amber, he had felt a sense of emptiness in his heart, like he had missed something very important. Universal Treasures had become almost an impulse for him.

It was like a kid seeing the other kids with fun toys and also wanting one.

One word, jealous!

“Since the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy is as valuable as a Universal Treasure, it’s the right time to negotiate terms with the dynasty.”

Ravenlaude then gave his request to the dynasty—if they wanted his help, the dynasty had to grant him a Universal Treasure from their inventory.

Not long after his request, the dynasty’s reply came, expressing their approval of Ravenlaude’s request but with additional terms.

If the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy appeared in other areas, Ravenlaude would only receive some resources as a reward for his trouble.

But if the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy appeared in the Emerald Star Cluster and Ravenlaude obtained it, he would be allowed to pick one Universal Treasure from the dynasty’s inventory.

A list was also attached with the reply with the Universal Treasures the dynasty allowed Ravenlaude to claim. Most of them were combat equipment; it was the same list given to Han Xiao in exchange for the Evolution Cube.

Ravenlaude browsed through carefully and nodded with satisfaction.

Han Xiao had no interest in these things, but they were very valuable to Ravenlaude. After all, Han Xiao already had the Evolution Cube and the Spacetime Amber, so ordinary Universal Treasures could not meet his standards.

With the reward promised, Ravenlaude became motivated about this mission. After carefully looking at the list of competitors that the dynasty had provided, he smiled with confidence.

How hard would it be to snatch something from a bunch of weaklings?

…

In an unexplored area of the Emerald Star Cluster, a fleet was moving in hyperdrive. Its exterior armor had no symbols.

Inside the main ship, a tall man wearing a purple rope stood before the command console, giving off a cold aura and silently looking at the star map. The red dots on it marked the coordinates where the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy might appear.

Beside him, a fishman-like creature who was restrained by magical ropes said with a shivering and nervous tone, “Your Excellency Secret Master, I swear this piece of intelligence is real. It’s really EsGod’s heritage, not fake news I made up!”

“It had better be, or you know the consequences,” a cold and indifferent voice replied. The man turned around and glanced at him. All of the skin he was showing was covered in magnificent and complicated magical runes flickering with dim light, like he was a tattoo addicted.

Just like ‘Beast Ancestor’ Gorutan, this man was also a protector of the Galactic Black Market. He was the famous Secret Master renowned in the magic society. He was an authority in Rune Studies, Alchemy Studies, and Secret Studies, especially in Secret Studies. The reason he had this nickname was because there was a rumor going around that he had mastered a type of spell that could control someone’s ‘luck’, also that he was a master in fortune telling and foresight.

All the tattoos on his body were Forbidden Spell grade rune enchantments that provided powerful enhancements to his body. The organization that Secret Master was in specialized in extremely advanced rune technology, which could be seen from looking at his subordinates. All of them were wearing exquisite rune armor, and the skin they were showing was also covered in complex magical patterns.

Secret Master turned to the star map, and the cold look in his eyes rippled ever so slightly.

“The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy…”

Not long ago, he had suddenly foreseen that a huge event would happen in the Emerald Star Cluster that might be beneficial to him, so he had used his power in the black market and investigated it. With his outstanding luck, he discovered a small organization that had fought for EsGod’s heritage previously. They happened to have the coordinates of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. After they were captured and interrogated, Secret Master developed an interest for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

He was someone who did not mind using all kinds of external agents to increase his strength, and all these runes over his body were proof of that. At the same time, he had plenty of high-quality magic items; his desire to collect rare items was almost at an OCD level. Therefore, he naturally wanted this extremely rare Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy as well.

Due to the distance, he had sent officers to the other coordinates while he headed personally to the Emerald Star Cluster as it had the highest possibility.

“I wonder what organizations will be part of this…”

This question appeared in his mind but was very soon forgotten. He had a lot of confidence.

No matter what organization comes, I’ll just have to beat them up. How many of them will be able to stand up to a Beyond Grade A like me?

…

The stronghold of the Modo Civilization was situated in another area of the Emerald Star Cluster.

An elite team formed by Calamity Grade Supers gathered at a secret dock, and the commander of the Modo Civilization’s Expedition Fleet Roddick and the inspector Lagos stood before them, examining the team.

“I’ll leave the mission of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy to you guys.” Roddick nodded at everyone solemnly.

Some advanced civilizations had also received information from EsGod’s heritage, among which the Modo Civilization was one of those who knew about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. The Modo Civilization had no reason to let go of something this valuable.

The other locations were given to others to take care of, while the Expedition Fleet led by Roddick was responsible for the coordinates in the Emerald Star Cluster.

Ever since the Expedition Fleet was last attacked by the ‘mysterious force’, pressured by the upper echelons, Roddick had become much more vigilant. He was very careful in resupplying the resources.

However, it did not turn out to be very useful. The reinforcements redeployed from the Shattered Star Ring were often attacked by ‘unknown forces’ on the way, which cost them a lot of time.

Luckily, after they arrived in the free competition zone, the Super Star Cluster allies had helped them slightly, which made the situation better for the Modo Civilization. Therefore, Roddick’s team were not attacked again in the Emerald Star Cluster.

Hence, he had the time to gather an elite team, ready to complete the mission given by the upper echelons—capture the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

Super Star Cluster civilizations had vast territories and rich resources, as well as plenty of high level combatants. They had thousands of Calamity Grades, far more than those Star System civilizations that only had a few dozens.

The Modo Civilization had high hopes for the Expedition Fleet, so they had deployed around a hundred Calamity Grades. This elite team that would be heading to capture the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy included forty percent of the Expedition Fleet’s Calamity Grade officers, which was about forty to fifty of them. This was a powerful armed force.

For this operation, the Modo Civilization did not notify the other allies of the Super Star Cluster alliance. After all, there was only one Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy; it could not be shared.

Maybe the other civilizations had this intelligence too, but the Modo Civilization clearly was not going to tell others about it.

Watching the fleet enter stealth mode and leave, Lagos came to Roddick and asked in a worried tone, “Isn’t it too risky to send this many people? If something happens, we’ll lose a large number of elites. Calamity Grades are difficult to raise…”

“I’ve told them to be careful. If any Beyond Grade As participate, they’ll act cautiously. If not, they can crush any and all competing organizations,” Roddick said with a deep voice.

“But now that we’ve sent them out, the defenses of our stronghold will be weak. Aren’t you worried that Blac… the mysterious force will attack us again?” Lagos asked.

Roddick snorted and said in a firm tone, “Humph, the strongholds of the Super Star Cluster alliance look over each other’s shoulders. We even hired some Beyond Grade As, who are all more reliable than Garoze. So what if Black Star’s forces are strong? He won’t dare come and touch us.”

They did not have to advance anymore. Back then, they had no help, so there was nothing they could do when they were attacked. Now, however, all their teammates had gathered, and the lines of defenses were stronger than ever. If Black Star caused trouble, he would have to face the entire Super Star Cluster alliance. He did not think Black Star would dare do that.

…

After the Flickering World opened, Psyker did not give up on the opportunity and also followed the Arcane Church in to develop his forces and built a stronghold in the free competition zone.

As the three Universal Civilizations were coexisting there, Psyker did not get targeted, so his days were quite peaceful. Looking at the exploration fleet doing better work every day, he was rather content.

“I shall see how things go first. If I can stabilize my territory in the Flickering World, I can migrate a portion of my people here and have them live here as a branch of the race.”

At the top of the base, Psyker looked up at the sky and thought about his migration plan.

At this time, an officer hastily walked over.

“Leader, the base’s radar has discovered two fleets closing in. They seem to be in combat. One side only has three battleships left, and they cannot hang on much longer. According to the direction they’re heading, their battle will very soon reach our stronghold. What should we do?”

Psyker used his seven eyes to look at the radar images and ordered, “Chase them away. Tell them to not fight around my territory.”

As the order was given, the subordinates quickly executed it. However, after some time, this officer ran back hastily again.

“Leader, they have already been chased away, but that group of people we saved aren’t willing to leave. One of them is a Calamity Grade Super. He thinks that you saved them, so he wants to join us with his team.”

“Join us?” Psyker was a little stunned. He felt a complicated emotion in his heart.

He suddenly remembered that ever since he was targeted by Black Star, it had been a very long time since anyone came to join his forces. He had almost forgotten what it was like to be a Beyond Grade A.

This long-lost feeling… was so comforting.

“Invite him here. I want to see him.” Psyker was glad, and his attitude became much friendlier. Psyker decided to see him personally to show him that he took him seriously.

After some time, this Calamity Grade was brought before Psyker. He had many wounds on his body, and it was clear he had just come from a tough battle.

“Your Excellency Star Pupil.” This person’s face was filled with appreciation. He ignored the pain in his body and bowed with admiration. “You saved my life. I’m willing to join your forces and work for you.”

“Hmm, it’s a small matter.” Psyker looked calmed on the surface, but he actually liked this a lot. The respectful attitude from this person made him remember what it was like to be a Beyond Grade A again.

“To repay you, I would like to give you a gift. It’s a piece of valuable intelligence.”

“What intelligence?” Psyker asked.

“A clue about that legendary Super High Risk Esper Ability, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy!”

Psyker paused for a second, and interest flashed through his seven eyes at the same time.

…

In Black Star Palace…

“What, he invited me over, but he went out‽”

Ames narrowed her eyes. The temperature in the room seemed to decrease by a hundred degrees in an instant. A powerful force field roared like tides. The floor and the walls made of high strength alloys vibrated nonstop while making squeaking noises, and cracks appeared very quickly.

Aurora’s legs were going soft. She lowered her head with a sense of guilt.

My teacher is… so scary when she’s angry.

She could feel Ames’ anger just from this powerful force field.

She had accepted the invitation with excitement, travelled all that way, only to discover that Han Xiao was not even there. Anyone would be angry because of that…

No, it was even worse. Han Xiao was not home, yet he had called her over. It was almost like a deliberate prank.

Even someone as carefree as Ames felt that she had been toyed with.

“Teacher, why not stay here for some time? Uncle will come back,” Aurora said cautiously.

Ames glanced at her and rebutted subconsciously, “You think I’m that free?”

Then, both of them fell silent.

Aurora wanted to say something but did not.

Don’t you know exactly whether you’re very free or not?

The two of them looked into each other’s eyes, and the atmosphere gradually turned awkward.

After looking at each other for a few moments, Ames suddenly retracted the roaring force field. Without changing her expression, she purposely used a tone that sounded like she did not care and said, “I’ll stay for some time then. I’m mainly here for you anyway. Whether Black Star is here or not, I don’t care. In fact, it bothers me to see his face. It’s best that he’s not here.

Aurora remained silent. Sure, I believe you.

Chapter 1031: Tough Path of Evolution and Appearance

Chapter 1031 Tough Path of Evolution and Appearance

Han Xiao looked at Aurora’s bloated cheeks on the communicator and said with a smile, “I see, Ames has already arrived. Tell her to stay at my place for some time… Oh? You’ve already dealt with her? Great job, I’ll give you a red flower when I’m back.”

After settling Ames down, Aurora had notified Han Xiao at the first instance to explain the situation, which was mostly her blaming him. He purposely stood her teacher up and left her to deal with it. What a horrible man.

“You’d best speak with her, or Her Excellency Dragon Emperor will definitely get angrier.”

“I have my plans. Settle her down properly and use your cuteness to make her less angry. I’ll explain everything to her when I get back.”

Han Xiao chatted for a while and ended the call. He then shook his head and smiled.

He had deliberately invited Ames to Black Star Palace to make others believe that his main body was in his base. Also, it would increase the defenses of his base while he was away, but it was mainly to protect Aurora and the others.

After all, the Secret Studies was a path to many abilities. Many were paying attention to Hila, and there would definitely be people who had used foresight abilities on her. Someone might discover Aurora’s strengthened life link with Hila. Being more cautious about others attacking his base could never be wrong.

After handling this matter, Han Xiao opened up the data that the dynasty had sent him a few days ago and continued reading.

After his Promotion, he had asked the dynasty about [God’s Trait Transformation] and [The First Sanctum]. He had received some confidential information regarding that.

According to the data, after entering the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm, one had to dig deeper into the Super system and the nature of one’s own genes. When one evolved to this stage, a new extra evolution path would appear, which was named [God’s Trait Transformation].

Every transformation was a special evolution that granted new powers, as if one had surpassed a certain limit of evolution and had gained new ‘superpowers’. Most peak Beyond Grade As felt that this was an important factor of entering that unknown higher power. However, the God’s Trait Transformation seemed to have no end. No one had ever been known for completing all of the God’s Trait Transformations. It was still a mystery.

The dynasty was not surprised about Han Xiao asking about God’s Trait Transformation. It was not strange for Black Star to come in touch with this territory given his current position. Plus, Han Xiao had just hosted the Meeting of the Gods not long ago, so he had most likely heard this name from the other peak Beyond Grade As and approached them to research it.

This data cost some Faction Contribution Points, and it not only included the introduction but also the dynasty’s research on it, as well as the experience and understanding of the peak Beyond Grade As of the past. Thanks to this, Han Xiao had a deeper understanding of God’s Trait Transformation.

However, he did not find any other way to obtain God’s Trait Transformation Points in this data. It seemed that he could only obtain them through Promotion.

Nonetheless, the data was still useful. After arranging the information, Han Xiao found a pattern—every Promotion seemed to have brought a different number of God’s Trait Transformation Points. It seemed to be reliant on multiple factors.

Although the others did not have an interface and could not quantify their attributes, Han Xiao still used the data to do calculations and speculate. According to that, the following could be the factors that affected the God’s Trait Transformation Points gained through every Promotion: Highest attribute u003e 20,000, second highest attribute u003e15,000, u003e85,000 Energy Rank, maximum level Knowledge, and having a soul connection with a Universal Treasure.

Once one of the above requirements was met, the God’s Trait Transformation Points gained through every Promotion would increase by one. He had received two points at once because he satisfied two of these requirements.

If I want more points, I’ll have to prioritize these requirements before Promotion.

He had obtained two God’s Trait Transformation Points through the first Promotion, which was neither the best nor the worst, just mediocre.

This meant that at the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm, keeping one’s level low would be the mainstream play style, and going through Promotions after more requirements were met would be the most beneficial.

If I’m guessing correctly, the Promotion mission in the future might require my God’s Trait Transformation to be at a certain level, Han Xiao speculated and instantly understood the difficulty of it.

If normal peak Beyond Grade As did not prioritize these requirements, they would not obtain enough God’s Trait Transformation Points through Promotions and would not reach the required transformation level for the next Promotion. Their path to greater power would be completely blocked off, and they would never be able to continue evolving!

Their strength would never increase!

No wonder. This is way too difficult. No mistakes are allowed. Maybe this is one of the main reasons all the peak Beyond Grade As can’t step into the higher realm.

As long as one step went wrong, they would fall into an inescapable abyss. Terrifying…

However, after he thought about it, he gave up on planning not to level up for the sake of God’s Trait Transformation Points.

With the existence of Mission Completion Cards, he could ignore all kinds of difficult Promotion Requirements.

Not enough points obtained through one Promotion?

Just go through Promotions more often!

Leveling up quickly was his biggest advantage. Although God’s Trait Transformation was great, it was far from being as beneficial as the increase in strength he would obtain from Promotions.

Han Xiao’s thoughts were clear.

It doesn’t matter whether my God’s Trait Transformation levels are high or not, as long as I’m stronger than everyone!

With the God’s Trait Transformation information successfully obtained, the information about The First Sanctum shocked Han Xiao.

Even the dynasty did not know what it was!

I only knew that I got the Ability Fragment of [The First Sanctum] after Promotion because of the interface, but no other peak Beyond Grade As has that, so no one has discovered it, huh?

Han Xiao was stunned. As even the three Universal Civilizations did not have any related information, this might be a major new discovery.

What does Sanctum mean? It sounds like a place… If there’s a first, is there a second or a third sanctum?

If only [Bold Explorer] could be used on this. Han Xiao sighed. This ability could only be used on unknown items and locations, not on the Ability Fragments in his interface.

Han Xiao put the communicator away and looked out the porthole. It was not the dark cosmic space but a bright sea of light.

This was a certain location in the center area of the Emerald Star Cluster, which had a large mass of bright, cloud-shaped nebulas mixed with both gas and dust. The gas released light due to the radiation of the Fixed Stars, while the nebulas reflected and refracted the light from relatively close Fixed Stars. The color of this entire area had a theme of mainly green and red. It looked beautiful and dreamlike.

In the universe, most areas were pitch black, so this beautiful scenery was considered rare.

The location where the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy will appear is in this mass of nebulas. I can start preparing now.

Han Xiao found a place and hid with the stealth mode of his spaceship activated, planning to only act at the right moment.

…

As the date of its appearance closed in, more and more fleets arrived at this nebula. They were all there for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

Most of these organizations were ordinary organizations. Some planned to obtain it at all costs; some just wanted to try their luck. They guarded themselves against each other like they were deep behind enemy lines. However, when they saw the fleets of two Universal Civilizations arrive, their hearts sank.

Ravenlaude came with the dynasty’s fleet, and although Psyker had only brought his own fleet, he had the church as his backer. The organizations present believed that he had been instructed to head there by the church.

With the interference of two Universal Civilizations, the chance of obtaining the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy became negligible, but no one wanted to back away in the final moment.

After all, they had traveled so far. Even if they might not get it, they had to try at the very least.

The Modo Civilization and some fleets from advanced civilizations, however, did not give up yet. Only two Beyond Grade As seemed to have interfered. If the two of them restrained each other, they felt like they would still have a chance.

“You guys improvise on the spot when to act later.”

Inside the communication channel, Roddick reminded the elite force formed by many Calamity Grades.

On the other side, in the eyes of Ravenlaude and Psyker, all the other competitors were weaklings. They only saw each other as their biggest competitors.

Inside the main ship of the dynasty’s fleet, Ravenlaude looked at Psyker’s fleet from afar and narrowed his eyes.

“Psyker did not bring the church’s fleet along, which means he did not report this to the church and wants to take it himself. Hehe, he’s braver than me.”

He had thought that this would be a piece of cake, but with another Beyond Grade A interfering, it became quite a bit more difficult.

However, Ravenlaude was not really nervous. His expression was rather relaxed.

Ravenlaude was confident in dealing with this seven-eyed freak. It would not be difficult for him to deal with Psyker.

For the sake of the Universal Treasure promised by the dynasty, Ravenlaude had to get the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

According to the current situation, he felt that he already had victory in his hands.

Comparatively, Psyker, who was in the opposing fleet, felt this would be rather difficult.

“Ravenlaude is here, too…”

Psyker’s expression was not looking good.

The Calamity Grade who had provided the intelligence about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy as a sign of loyalty said, “Your Excellency Star Pupil, the situation doesn’t look very good for us…”

Psyker pulled out a smile and said, “Don’t worry. It doesn’t matter if we can’t obtain it. I will still remember your contribution in providing me with this information.”

He did not care about his own strength. His race’s power was more important in comparison. He had always been looking for ways to create more talents in his race. He did not come to fight for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy for himself to use but to find a suitable owner in his people and create a new strong individual for his race.

“I believe in you.”

This Calamity Grade’s face was filled with trust, but he was secretly plotting.

He did not really join under Psyker’s command because of appreciation, nor was it because he had planned to. It was more like a coincidence.

With the information about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy in his hands, he was not blinded by desire. He knew very well that he would never have a chance to get the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy with his own power, so he might as well use this information to find a backer and use their power to take part in this fight.

However, he did not completely give up either. If the person he joined obtained the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and the opportunity presented itself, he would steal it. If there was no chance, he would just slowly work his way up, using the contribution he obtained by providing this information as a head start. This way, he would be able to fully utilize the value of this piece of intelligence, much better than being a gambler and putting all his chips on trying to get the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

Originally, his target candidate was not Psyker, but he met him coincidentally. After thinking about it, he realized that Psyker’s forces were not weak, and Psyker was a Beyond Grade A, despite not being in the top tier, which actually increased the chance of him successfully stealing it if things went well. Therefore, he had changed his target and used Psyker as his backer.

Ravenlaude and Psyker both had their own goals, but they had yet to notice that in the remaining organizations, there was still another Beyond Grade A in a fleet without any organization symbols. It was Secret Master.

Both the dynasty and the church’s people came…

Secret Master’s eyes flickered.

He was stronger than both of them.

Since he was hidden, he decided to keep it that way. When the two of them had fought and wounded each other badly, he would then appear to grab the prize.

This plan is feasible, and the chances are high!

Secret Master stacked more stealth spells on himself and restrained the energy ripples around him, hiding himself to even a greater extent. He smiled coldly.

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy must be mine!

…

Ravenlaude and Psyker’s fleet were opposite each other. The rest of the organizations were not chased away, so without saying anything to each other, they all started to deploy inactive space stabilizing traps.

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was a Primal Esper Ability Entity with independent thought. It had the ability to cross between secondary dimensions. The traps would prevent it from escaping once it discovered this ambush.

After this was completed, the various organizations waited in this area peacefully for the time being.

The date was near to begin with. After a few days, the day marked by the intelligence arrived.

The various organizations all focused their attention and stared at the area of the coordinates closely.

Other than a few individuals, most people there were not sure if the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy would even appear. They were waiting with anticipation and nervousness.

Buzz!

Before all those spectators, a ball of bright red energy suddenly overflowed from the void. Its size expanded extremely quickly and formed a red, fog-shaped cloud with a unique energy wave.

Seeing this, everyone there became thrilled!

“This is the right location. The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy has finally appeared!”

Chapter 1032: The Oriole

1032 The Oriole In the dreamlike nebula, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy returned from the secondary dimension and appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.

This was an enormous cluster of bright red energy in the form of fog, like a boiling cloud. Gray lights flickered within like lightning. The energy at its center was the densest, and the further away from the center, the less dense the energy was. At its edge, red energy swayed and danced like silk. When looking closer, this energy seemed to be formed by countless tiny particles.

A large number of tiny red light clusters danced around the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. These were the sub-bodies the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy produced, something like its offspring or underlings. What Evans had once met was one of these.

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was a Primal Esper Ability Entity. It had its independent consciousness. Most of its consciousness and energy had been hibernating, only leaving a small portion of its instincts to maintain daily activities. It gave up thinking to let itself wander the universe randomly.

This large cluster of bright red reflected in the pupils of the crew of every organization through the porthole, lighting up the surprise and excitement in their eyes.

“It appeared! Move, quickly!”

This time, all the organizations present activated the spacetime stabilization traps they had set earlier.

Buzz!

All the devices around were activated, as well as all kinds of magical runes and items.

The erupting spacetime energy expanded from different points like ripples, quickly flattening the ‘folds’ in this area. The spacetime became extremely stable. Be it hyperdrive or wormhole, they could no longer be used!

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was very sensitive to the changes of the space. It instantly sensed the drastic change in the environment around it. Its hibernating consciousness awakened with shock. The enormous energy cloud suddenly retracted. It shrank, and its density increased at an extremely high rate, attempting to turn into a black hole to break the stable spacetime of this area and tear open a crack in space.

The space in the area was like a piece of paper, and the traps were like forces that stretched outward to make the paper straight and tight. The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy making itself extremely dense was an attempt to poke this piece of paper, concentrating its energy in one point to create a fold in space. These two forces were fighting each other. Under normal circumstances, this ‘piece of paper’ would have been penetrated immediately, but it would not be as easy in this highly stable space.

Seeing this, a voice appeared in the public area channel.

“Quickly contain the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. The spacetime coefficient is falling from the peak. If it keeps resisting, it will escape our trap sooner or later!”

The next moment, the closest small fleet immediately charged toward the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, which had already turned into an extremely bright cluster of light. The exterior armor of these spaceships slid open, showing a special mechanical device that released an astonishing absorption force toward the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy started to vibrate slightly. Waves of energy were pulled away from the cluster of light and sucked into the devices, like streams of light.

These organizations that had gone to fight for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy had made thorough preparations. This was a device used to contain and restrain energy life forms. Even though the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy could condense itself, its energy would still be sucked out. It would be like a tug of war.

However, this time, without any warning, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy shot out a flurry of dense light beams, which bombarded this fleet.

The next second, their shields were penetrated, and their ships exploded into fireworks immediately. This fleet was annihilated by one round of attacks!

With the explosion of its energy, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s psychic attribute was activated. Waves of impactful Psychic Currents appeared and expanded outward. The people who surrounded the Psychic Current all felt headaches, like they were affected by infrasound, as if they were heavily drunk.

Inside the dynasty’s fleet, Ravenlaude saw this, and his lips curled up.

“Hehe, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy isn’t something you can get without risks.”

Primal Esper Ability Entities were extremely ancient. They were clusters of energy without owners. Therefore, they used their own methods to use their powers, such as shooting their energy out in beams continuously.

At this time, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy turned around and fled at an extremely high speed like a meteor. The fleets around immediately chased after, trying to block its path.

“Let me!”

Ravenlaude’s eyes sparkled. He left his ship and chased after it with magic at high speed, simultaneously casting spells.

Runes and spells surrounded his body, shining with magical lights. Dense magic energy dragged down the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and increased its speed drastically. At the same time, arcane impact waves were sent flying into the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, turning into magical runes controlled by Ravenlaude to mix foreign energy into the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, reducing its control over its own body.

The effect was clear. The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy could no longer maintain its condensed form, and the cluster of light exploded quickly, expanding back into an energy cloud cluster. Its hitbox multiplied countless times over.

Beyond Grade A Mages often travelled in secondary dimensions. Ravenlaude’s experience in dealing with energy entities was way too rich, so it was no difficult task. The energy beam the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy shot out with all its might was easily blocked by him with magical shields.

As the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was gradually falling into Ravenlaude’s hands, a powerful wave of psychic energy suddenly approached him from behind.

Ravenlaude narrowed his eyes, diverted his attention to use defensive spells, and blocked the psychic attack. Not far away, the silhouette quickly surpassed him and charged right toward the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. In its hands was a highly advanced enhanced version of the portable energy entity container.

“Humph, Psyker.”

Without any more words, Ravenlaude launched attacks toward Psyker as well. The two of them fought while chasing after the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, dragging each other down.

The organizations around saw this and wanted to use it as an opportunity. However, any spaceship that even came close to the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was shattered by the ‘fallout’ of the battle between Beyond Grade As.

Ravenlaude had the upper hand and suppressed Psyker’s attacks. However, despite the battle being rather intense, neither of them went all out. They did not forget about saving some energy to contain the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

With two Beyond Grade As present, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy would not be able to cause any trouble. Sealing runes were punched onto its body one after another. Its resistance grew weaker and weaker, gradually showing signs that it was about to be completely contained.

At the same time, the Modo Civilization’s team was also wandering around the edge of the battlefield. The dozens of Calamity Grades in the ship stared closely at the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and softly discussed possible tactics.

“Guys, the two of them are holding each other down. Should we act now?”

“The odds of success are too low. We will only be able to guard their attacks for a very short moment even with all of us working together. There won’t be enough time for us to retreat. We will certainly have to sacrifice many lives. It’s not worth it, is it?”

They exchanged looks and shook their heads in their minds.

Their boss had told them to improvise, but there was no opportunity at all. Although these Calamity Grades were usually quite proud, they had absolutely no confidence in facing Beyond Grade As. Even though they were truly loyal to the Modo Civilization, no one wanted to waste their life for nothing.

Roddick stayed silent in the communication channel for a while before saying, “If there’s not a chance, forget it. Don’t interfere.”

Hearing this, the dozens of Calamity Grade relaxed their uptight bodies with relief.

Roddick was a little bit disappointed but was not too persistent about it. His original goal by sending so many Calamity Grades was to have the absolute upper hand in terms of power if there were no Beyond Grade As.

However, with the interference of Beyond Grade As, the mission had basically failed. Since there was no chance, the best choice was to retreat. There was no need to let the Calamity Grade elites of the civilization die in vain.

“This is just a side mission, no need to force it. The upper echelons will understand in cases like this. If I sacrifice many elites because of this, the upper echelons will even blame me for it.”

Having this thought, Roddick loudly said, “Guys, retreat!”

“Roger!” Everyone responded with joy.

However, the next moment, a drastic change occurred!

The Modo Civilization’s fleet suddenly turned around and charged right toward the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. Not only that, they suddenly fired all their weapons at Ravenlaude and Psyker!

Everyone present was completely stunned.

Even the battle between Ravenlaude and Psyker stopped as they had to block this sudden attack. Both of them looked a little confused.

T-they dared fire at us?

Who are these brave soldiers‽

Inside the command center at the base, Roddick’s expression changed drastically. He yelled with rage, “What the hell are you doing? Are you out of your mind‽”

“We have lost control of our spaceships!” The many Calamity Grades were stupefied.

Roddick suddenly thought of something, and his face turned pale.

This familiar feeling…

It’s Virtual Intrusion‽

*sshole!

With wrath and shock, Roddick was just about to yell at everyone to flee.

However, before he could, the remote communication link was cut off. The screen turned black, reflecting his furiously twisted expression.

“Black Star!”

Bang!

Roddick roared and smashed the communicator into pieces. The room was filled with his rage and helplessness.

The interference of a third party attracted enough attention. Both Ravenlaude and Psyker stopped fighting each other for a moment. Magic tides and psychic storms slammed directly into the Modo Civilization’s fleet, swiftly eliminating the small fleet.

The dozens of Calamity Grades were panicking. They immediately fled their spaceships and scattered. However, Ravenlaude and Psyker did not enjoy letting people who suddenly attacked them go, so they chased after them.

The Calamity Grade elites, whom the Modo Civilization had spent tons of efforts to raise, lasted barely a moment before they fell one after another.

These people had no chance in fighting back; they could only run with their lives.

After more than eighty percent of Calamity Grades were eliminated. Only then did Ravenlaude and Psyker stop and return to fighting each other.

This intimidated the other organizations present. They all moved further away with their fleets and did not dare fight against the two of them for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

The dynasty’s fleet was not just watching. It was battling the Star Pupil Holy Race’s fleet. In terms of both spaceship technology and size, the dynasty was superior. The Star Pupil Holy Race’s fleet was slowly getting beaten.

“Still want to fight me?” Ravenlaude raised his brows and sent a voice message through a spell. “We can fight for days and nights, but your fleet will be wiped out. I’ve heard your people are very important to you. So, is the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy worth you sacrificing that many lives?”

Psyker sent out a tsunami-like wave of psychic energy to shatter the flying arcane bomb, clenched his teeth, and said, “Do you think you can make me give up with just a few words? Your dynasty’s fleet will suffer quite a lot of losses too!”

“That’s right, but those are the dynasty’s soldiers. I don’t care about their casualties,” Ravenlaude said. “You won’t be able to win against me, so don’t make unnecessary sacrifices. As soon as I contain the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and let my people disarm the space stabilization trap, I can leave this battlefield via a teleportation gate in an instant. Will you be able to chase me as a Psychic?”

Psyker looked to be conflicted. Then, he stopped fighting and turned around to help his fleet force the dynasty’s fleet away.

Seeing this, Ravenlaude knew that Psyker had given up on competing and smiled with satisfaction. Without anyone standing in the way, he focused on casting sealing spells, sending countless arcane lights into the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

Very soon, a magical shield shrouded the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and quickly shrank. The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was then sealed into the crystal magic ball in Ravenlaude’s hands.

“It’s done!”

Ravenlaude’s eyes sparkled. He could almost see the Universal Treasure that the dynasty had promised waving at him.

Before he had time to feel the joy, the moment the sealing was complete, a mind spell that had been prepared for a very long time suddenly crashed into him and slammed into his mental barrier. With his mind shaken, Ravenlaude entered the state of being stunned for a short moment.

At the same time, a figure flew out from an ordinary fleet and approached at a very high speed, casting spells on the way. Magic arrays formed around Ravenlaude one after another, but countless blue magic tentacles appeared from these arrays and tightly tied Ravenlaude’s body.

This was not just simply tying him up. The official name of this spell was [Descent of Atomte—Devil’s Tentacles]. It was a top tier spell that had a short silence effect on Mages, as well as the ability to restrain their soul. Once tied up, the target would enter an even longer period of immobility, unable to control their body.

“There’s another Beyond Grade A‽” Psyker, who was not far away, sensed the energy wave that had suddenly erupted and turned around in shock.

Ravenlaude finally regained consciousness. Absolutely shocked, he hastily tried to escape the restraints.

However, this silhouette had already come right beside him, taken away the magic ball sealing the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, and pressed his palm onto Ravenlaude’s chest.

Powerful and rich magic energy gushed out and turned into a violet beam of light, immediately blowing Ravenlaude far away.

This attack did not cause much damage. Ravenlaude flew a short distance back and quickly regained his balance. He looked up with shock. Seeing this person covered in tattoos, his expression stiffened for a second.

“It’s you, Secret Master!”

Given how small the Beyond Grade A circle was, famous Beyond Grade As all knew each other. Secret Master’s position in the circle was a little higher than his.

Secret Master’s expression was cold. He did not care about Ravenlaude, who was conflicted with rage and fear. He sized up the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy in his hands, nodded, and said with the same indifferent face, “Thanks for helping me to contain the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. I let you safekeep it for me for a few seconds. Now, it’s returned to its original owner.”

Ravenlaude was so furious he laughed. “I thought Black Star is the most shameless among Beyond Grade As. I didn’t expect you to be not much worse. What return to its original owner? Since when were you the owner of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy?”

“I’m here, so it’s mine,” Secret Master said coldly.

Angered, Ravenlaude said, “Cut the cr*p. You think you can just leave?”

With the opportunity to gain a Universal Treasure right before his eyes, even if Secret Master was stronger, Ravenlaude would not give up easily.

Secret Master glanced at him and said with a poker face, “I can leave whenever I want.”

The moment his sentence ended, a huge crack suddenly appeared on the space stabilization traps in the area, and some of the devices even exploded. While they were setting up the traps, Secret Master had secretly planted invisible, remote-controlled explosion runes so that he could use a teleportation spell after he succeeded.

The spacetime coefficient and the effect of the traps plummeted, no longer able to stop Beyond Grade A space magic. Ravenlaude’s expression changed drastically as he immediately understood what Secret Master’s plan was. He quickly started to channel spells to restrict Secret Master’s teleportation.

However, Secret Master was even quicker. He had prepared the fundamentals of the teleportation gate well in advance, so it activated instantly. A blue vortex appeared right beside him.

Seeing Ravenlaude fast approaching, Secret Master was completely calm.

“Till next time, Ra… hmm‽”

Suddenly, he felt his hand become heavier. The sealing container of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy in his hands disappeared, replaced by a mechanical arm that was connected to a human-shaped machine with flickering blue-gold eyes, which had appeared beside him out of nowhere.

“You…” Shock finally appeared on Secret Master’s face.

This machine tilted its head and suddenly vibrated. A strange Void Energy expanded instantly and shrouded a large area, including even Ravenlaude.

The next second, Secret Master and Ravenlaude realized that the space in this area had become thick and dense. Their movements were forcefully slowed.

Void Prison!

With a flash of insight, Ravenlaude immediately recalled the owner of this ability. “Black Star‽”

Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar turned to look at him and smiled. “Yo, you recognized me?”

“You’ve come at the right time!” Ravenlaude was overjoyed. He thought that Han Xiao was secret backup sent by the dynasty.

Han Xiao saw through what he was thinking immediately and shook his head. “I’m not here for the dynasty.”

Ravenlaude’s smile stiffened.

He immediately understood. Unlike him, Black Star was not fighting for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy for the dynasty but had uncovered this information himself and wanted to obtain it.

This way, although Black Star was also a dynasty ally, he was his competitor in this matter.

Having realized that, Ravenlaude’s heart sank a little.

At the same time, Secret Master narrowed his eyes. Having all his effort go to waste made him embarrassed and enraged. He coldly said, “Black Star, you took my Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy?”

Han Xiao turned to look at him and smiled.

“To borrow your words… thank you for safekeeping it for me for a few seconds.”

He had been there for a long time. His Lord’s Avatar and mechanical army had hidden nearby, watching the whole thing while messing with the Modo Civilization.

Only when Secret Master broke the space stabilization trap and was about to leave did the Lord’s Avatar finally find the right opportunity to strike. It immediately used [Void Swap] to exchange itself with the sealed container holding the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. Thus, the container was in the hands of his mechanical army.

However, this way, the energy ripple would cause the mechanical army to be exposed as well. To avoid the two of them from chasing after the mechanical army, he had used his Lord’s Avatar to activate Void Prison immediately to restrain Secret Master and Ravenlaude, while the mechanical army could leave with the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

Once they returned to the safe area, it would be a complete success.

As the mantis stalked the cicada, it was unaware of the oriole behind it. Secret Master thought that he was the oriole, but he did not know that Han Xiao had hidden even deeper than him.

“The only problem is…”

Han Xiao turned to look at Psyker, who was far away. This guy was not in the range of the Void Prison, so he could chase if he wanted to.

Noticing Han Xiao’s stare, Psyker’s expression looked as if he had just fallen into a pile of feces.

This time, the voice of a Star Pupil Holy Race officer sounded in the communication network.

“Leader, we have detected a mechanical army that has suddenly appeared. It is escorting the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and fleeing at high speed. Shall we chase after it?”

“No, retreat!”

Having seen Han Xiao, Psyker backed away without hesitation.

He did not want to have a direct conflict with Black Star at this time.

Most importantly, even if Black Star’s mechanical army had no Lord’s Avatar in it, he felt that he still might not be able to win.

Han Xiao could not help but scratch his head and laugh in his mind.

He’s this smart‽

He then looked at Secret Master, who had a troubled look and was full of hostility, and stretched his neck.

“I shall take the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy with a smile. If you’re not happy about that… how about I give your bones a good stretch?”

Chapter 1033: Secret Master, I Have Never Seen Someone This Unlucky

1033 Secret Master, I Have Never Seen Someone This Unlucky Faced with Han Xiao’s tease, Secret Master’s face sank, and he was too lazy to respond. His eyes looked past Han Xiao at the streams of light heading away from the edge of the battlefield.

Very soon, the exposed mechanical army separated some of its units to escort the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and disappeared from sight.

His mood slipped from the top of the mountain to the bottom.

He wanted to chase after it, but Black Star’s Lord’s Avatar stood in his way and gave off a vibe that made him subconsciously uptight. He knew that as soon as he did anything, he would inevitably face a storm of attacks.

Secret Master’s eyes refocused on Han Xiao, who was before him, carefully sizing him up. He then said with a somewhat interested but mostly unsatisfied tone, “Black Star, this should be the second time we’ve met, right?”

“Including the Meeting of the Gods, it is indeed the second time.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Humph, then we’re… quite… fated!” Secret Master said word by word.

He was irritated and angry about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy getting stolen, but everyone was there to fight for it, so it all depended on their strength. It belonged to anyone who could obtain it; he could accuse Han Xiao of nothing.

He really wanted the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. Although it had been taken away by Black Star, there was no need to make too much of a fuss. They were both famous people in the universe. If he could not get the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, so be it. If he made it a bigger deal than it was, it would not look good for anyone, nor was it necessary.

However, there was no way he would just retreat like that; he had to fight back in some way. Secret Master did not want to watch Han Xiao easily get away; it would look like he was afraid of Han Xiao. He had shame, unlike that seven eyes beside him who was already used to it.

He secretly tried a teleportation spell and realized that it was restricted by the Void Prison.

When this area is no longer locked, there’s still a chance to catch up to the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy through teleportation and snatch it back, Secret Master thought as he adjusted his mood, putting his focus on the current situation and suppressing his anger. His expression returned to being cold, and he started chatting.

“By the way, I’ve always been curious about you. Although we did not have much contact in the past, I’ve always had a strong impression of you.”

“Strong in what way?” Han Xiao did not mind wasting time. It was what he wanted too.

“Your deeds are spread all across the universe. In my eyes, you’re a careerist with a grand plan, as well as an opportunist. Luck is a very big reason you were able to build what you’ve built today. It helped you choose the right opportunities and brought you the chance to develop this quickly. You’re a lucky man.”

Hearing his words, Han Xiao could not help but glance at Secret Master a few more times.

This is the first time anyone has ever said I’m lucky. You’ve probably got the wrong person…

Nonetheless, he could understand why Secret Master had this kind of impression of him. To the outside world, his rise was extremely quick and fierce, as well as smooth. There were so many opportunities that seemed to have just fallen onto his laps, which all looked like it was because of his luck.

However, these opportunities were created by him instead of this ‘luck’, all because he was familiar with the direction the world would take and had information about the future that no one else had.

But no one would ever know that.

“I guess you can say that I’m lucky,” Han Xiao agreed as a joke.

“Hehe, but from today onward, your luck ends.” Magic runes appeared in the depths of Secret Master’s pupils. “You should’ve heard my nickname. I can control someone’s luck.”

Seeing his confidence, Han Xiao felt strange but continued to cooperate with his performance.

“Are you trying to reduce my luck permanently?”

Secret Master snorted. “You took what’s mine; you’ll have to pay for it.”

Actually, he was not very willing to mess with Han Xiao. After all, after the Meeting of the Gods, Han Xiao’s position was rather special within the Beyond Grade A circle. As a neutral Beyond Grade A, it was best not to mess with him if there was no need.

However, he could not put up with this, even just for the sake of saving his own face. Therefore, he decided to use his best trick to slightly punish Han Xiao.

So, it still came to speaking with fists… Han Xiao had expected this. He did not think that Secret Master would let this go easily.

The next moment, blinding magical blue light shone from Secret Master’s body.

“They all say you’re good at fighting. Let me see how strong you are personally.”

The magic energy in his body gushed out like a roaring tide, erupting in an instant.

Boom!

Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar was washed away by the exploding magical energy and was pushed back some distance.

Secret Master took the opportunity to back away, trying to increase the distance between Han Xiao and himself. However, after the enhancement of God’s Trait Transformation, the effect of Void Prison was stronger and slowed down the people in it even more. This ability could not differentiate friend or foe, but Han Xiao, who had Void Race talents, could move freely within.

He realized very soon that he was not able to get away from Han Xiao no matter how much he backed off, so he decided to just not move at all. He started to cast spells continuously like a spell cannon.

In order to snatch the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, the Lord’s Avatar had used Void Swap to swap places with the sealing container, which led to it being isolated and only being able to fight with Secret Master alone. The mechanical army was on the way.

Bang!

Beams of blue magical energy dragged along lightning trails and rocketed toward Han Xiao continuously, shattering into sparks on the Lord’s Avatar’s shield.

Without the mechanical army, Han Xiao clearly had a firepower problem. Therefore, he decided to charge forward against the sea of spells and close the distance while Secret Master could not back away.

After this Promotion, his Strength and Dexterity attributes could be considered high even among Beyond Grade As. When facing a Mage with his Lord’s Avatar, close-range combat instead became the better option for him.

While one side stood in place, the other approached extremely quickly. The distance between them shortened in no time.

In Han Xiao’s eyes, Secret Master’s huge face was getting closer.

“Eat my rocket headbutt!”

Activating critical strike abilities, Han Xiao smashed his head directly forward.

Clank!

His metal forehead landed right on Secret Master’s head through his magic shield.

Secret Master felt a buzzing in his head immediately, like someone was ringing a bell in his head. He hastily regained focus. The rune enchantments on his body suddenly all lit up, and hundreds of hands appeared beside him, creating afterimages of punches everywhere.

As a Mage, it was only logical to have some close-range combat abilities.

Having been suppressed in close-range combat, Secret Master was secretly shocked. Such powerful blows.

He had sparred with quite a number of Pugilists before, and he realized that Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar’s close combat strength was even stronger than some Beyond Grade A Pugilists. The storm-like attacks were very difficult for him to hold on. He was stunned by Han Xiao’s strength.

Black Star feels stronger than rumors say…

This thought only flashed for an instant before disappearing. Secret Master focused on the matter at hand and diverted his attention to do two things at once. He dealt with Han Xiao’s fierce close-range attacks while controlling his magic energy to build up to his best Secret Studies spell that was aimed at one’s luck.

Luck was originally formless and almost superficial, but at this moment, in Secret Master’s vision, blurry fog suddenly appeared around every life form. Some fog clouds were thick, and some were thin.

This was Secret Master’s unique spell. It combined the study of the soul, mind, foresight, fortune telling, and many more magic fields. He was successfully able to quantify the target’s luck. The thickness of the fog represented the luck of a being.

The luckier one was, the thicker the fog would be. Those protagonist-type charters who had Luck Glows usually had the thickest fog.

“Let me see how strong your luck is!”

Secret Master had made up his mind to reduce Han Xiao’s luck.

When he looked closely, he was completely stupefied.

Usually, Beyond Grade As were very lucky people. For them to reach this territory at the top of the universe, there was at least a minimum to how unlucky they could be. Black Star’s luck should have been exceptionally strong; he should have been covered in thick fog.

However, the real situation was the complete opposite. The fog around Black Star was so thin that it was almost non-existent!

Secret Master had observed countless people before, but this was the first time he had ever seen someone this unlucky! He could hardly believe his own eyes!

It doesn’t make sense! How can a Beyond Grade A’s luck be this weak‽

How can someone this unlucky become a Beyond Grade A‽

Secret Master was completely stunned.

Initially, he wanted to damage Black Star’s luck, but now that he looked at it…

Can this guy’s luck even be decreased‽

Secret Master’s many unique spells revolved around indirectly dealing large amounts of spiritual damage through decreasing the target’s luck, but facing Han Xiao… he realized that his trump card seemed useless.

For an instant, he lost concentration and immediately showed flaws mid-combat. Han Xiao did not care about his internal thoughts at all and seized the opportunity.

Bang bang bang!

Lightning-fast punches landed on Secret Master’s body quickly, sending in waves of impact.

Being badly beaten up, many defensive runes on Secret Master’s body shattered. Feeling the pain, Secret Master did not dare let himself get distracted again. He took a defensive stance and held on under Han Xiao’s attacks.

While the two of them fought intensely, Ravenlaude, who was also included in the range of the Void Prison, felt conflicted.

Normally, Ravenlaude would help the dynasty’s ally, but now, Black Star was also a competitor who was fighting for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

“I can only complete the mission and gain a Universal Treasure if I take the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy back from Han Xiao’s hands.”

After some thought, Ravenlaude made his decision and started to cast spells to cancel out the effects of the Void Prison.

“Hmm?” Sensing the disturbance, Han Xiao turned around and gave Ravenlaude a death stare.

“Don’t look at me. I’m just executing the dynasty’s mission.”

Ravenlaude noticed Han Xiao’s stare and nervously replied. Then, he silently tried to break away from the Void Prison together with Secret Master.

The next second, the Void Prison was broken. The space around returned to normal. While the two of them fought, Ravenlaude opened a teleportation gate immediately and disappeared, heading toward the mechanical army, which was escorting the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy away.

Seeing this, Secret Master wanted to do the same. However, the Lord’s Avatar prevented him from doing so.

The rest of Han Xiao’s machinery had now arrived. They activated space stabilizing devices and magic disruption devices that covered this area, stopping the use of teleportation spells once again, causing Secret Master to be unable to chase after the Prime Chaos Mysterious Energy.

“Sh*t!” Secret Master’s face sank even further. This situation basically meant that he was already eliminated from this competition.

Furthermore, Secret Master could see that Black Star actually had a way to stop Ravenlaude too. Only, he purposely let Ravenlaude go but kept him there.

He’s targeting me specifically‽

That’s too much!

Seeing Secret Master’s expression, Han Xiao chuckled. “You noticed I’ve let Ravenlaude on purpose? I’m not targeting you but him.”

He had purposely let Ravenlaude go and given him a chance to chase after his mechanical army because he wanted to make Ravenlaude a target to showcase his fists.

Due to the unhappiness last time, Han Xiao wanted to showcase more of his strength to the dynasty, but he did not want the outside world to know he had grown once again, in case the Mechanic Emperor sought him out again. Therefore, he wanted to shift the battlefield and not have witnesses.

A dynasty ally was the best target for that.

Compared to beating up enemies, beating up teammates seems better when creating a reputation? After all, after getting beaten up, his teammate still had to hide the information of the battle.

Although the Lord’s Avatar stayed to hold Secret Master back, all the Apostle Weapons were in the escort team.

With all that and the mechanical army, it would be strong enough even without him present.

Diverting forces and fighting in multiple battles at the same time was the Beyond Grade A Mechanic fighting method.

Chapter 1034: Duel

1034 Duel Psyker was scared away by Black Star, Secret Master was held back by the Lord’s Avatar, and Ravenlaude teleported to chase after the mechanical army. The situation of the battle changed multiple times in a short period. The fleets of the other organizations present became mere onlookers.

At this point, these organizations knew full well that the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy would have nothing more to do with them.

They were somewhat disappointed but not surprised. A few days back, when they realized that the dynasty and church had interfered in this, they knew that their chances were negligible.

However, being able to confirm that the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy had appeared in the Emerald Star Cluster, as well as having the opportunity to watch a battle between many Beyond Grade As, most of them felt it was worth the trip.

Although the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was taken away by Black Star, they did not disperse immediately but took out their snacks to watch the wrestling between Black Star and Secret Master.

Only a few organizations who had yet to give up wanted to chase after the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, but they were stopped by the mechanical army. Looking at the dense psionic barrels, these people could only remain there with resignation.

While the Lord’s Avatar led the mechanical army to fight Secret Master, the dynasty’s fleet responded as well and immediately reported Black Star’s interference in this battle. This got to the man in charge of this operation, an upper echelon of the dynasty’s hawk faction, Bekorodi.

“Black Star is there too? And he got it‽”

Far away in the remote command center inside the dynasty’s territory, Bekorodi’s eyes opened so wide that they almost popped out. He was shocked and enraged.

“His Excellency Ravenlaude is already chasing after it. He will probably have a direct conflict with Black Star. What should we do?” the fleet’s commander asked cautiously.

Hearing this, Bekorodi frowned heavily. He was filled with hesitation.

He felt that this matter was very difficult to deal with. Black Star was an important ally to the dynasty. Usually, the two sides should avoid conflict as much as possible.

However, before this, the dynasty did not know that Black Star would interfere with this, which made Bekorodi rather worried.

With the dynasty’s control of the Flickering World, somehow, they did not notice that Black Star had sent a team out to that place. This showed that the Black Star Army had secretly built quite a number of things in the Flickering World by making use of the dynasty’s support.

Bekorodi felt that in situations like this, Black Star should be the one to take a step back first. However, Black Star clearly saw that the dynasty was involved, yet he still took part in the battle. To Bekorodi, this was Black Star not giving the dynasty’s face, which made a hawk faction upper echelon like him rather unhappy.

Undoubtedly, he felt that the situation was all Black Star’s fault, so he was in a dilemma.

Should he continue the operation while taking the risk of offending Black Star or back off and give up the plan?

“Sir, should we contact the Ruler?”

While pondering, his subordinate’s voice pulled Bekorodi out of his train of thought. He paused then said with a deep voice, “Don’t notify the Ruler yet. Contact Black Star first. I’ll talk to him.”

He knew that Urranrell liked Black Star, so he did not want to notify her. He could only control the mission if he dealt with it himself.

The command center called up Black Star’s number. It rang three times before it was picked up. Han Xiao’s face appeared on the screen with a meaningful smile.

“Not bad, not bad, you contacted me earlier than I expected.”

Bekorodi’s eyes twitched. He suppressed his anger, forced out a smile, and said, “Black Star, remember me? I’m Bekorodi.”

“Hello, we meet again. Have you eaten?”

“Just had dinner.”

“You look quite well. Have you been sleeping well recently? You’re not young anymore, so don’t work so hard. Rest more.”

“I’m used to working hard, just can’t seem to be too free. After so many years, I’ve gotten used to working every day long ago, but I have indeed been getting rather good sleep recently. I…”

Halfway through speaking, Bekorodi suddenly stopped.

He only just noticed that without knowing, he had followed Han Xiao’s lead and actually subconsciously started chattering, almost forgetting what he wanted to say in this call.

Plus, we’re not even close! Black Star, are you trying to play for time?

Bekorodi coughed heavily, trying to cover up the awkwardness. He then quickly gained back control and questioned, “You know why I’ve called you, don’t you? It’s a surprise you’ve had your eyes on the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy too. This information came from EsGod’s heritage. You should have notified the dynasty or at least reported your actions. If you’d done that, the accidents today would have been totally avoided. Why didn’t you?”

Han Xiao’s expression looked strange, as if he was saying, What kind of question is that?

“Doesn’t not notifying you guys mean that I want it for myself? Plus, I don’t seem to recall that I’m obligated to give all the intelligence I have to the dynasty or report my personal activities. We’re allies, not employer and employee.”

Bekorodi made a serious expression and said, “Anyway, there’s no need for discussion on this matter. Listen to me. The dynasty doesn’t want the outside world to see us fight with our allies. This needs a solution.”

“It’s simple then—give up. Give the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy to me, and it’s done.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Impossible,” Bekorodi said subconsciously, but he then realized that his tone was not very appropriate, so he calmed down. “The dynasty needs the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy too. We won’t let it go so easily.”

“What do you need the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy for?” Han Xiao was curious.

Bekorodi shut up immediately.

It was not like he could tell Black Star the truth and say that it was to replicate the Evolution Cube’s abilities.

They wanted the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy to make Gaud grow quicker and step into the Beyond Grade A territory sooner. The goal of that was to analyze the Evolution Cube. Gaud would only be able to analyze the Evolution Energy with his Esper Ability if he was Beyond Grade A.

After quite some time, Bekorodi finally forced the words “It’s confidential…” out of his mouth.

“Never mind then.” Han Xiao shook his head. “Anyway, I won’t just back off like this. It’s true that we’re allies, but I can’t possibly give everything to you once you just tell me to do so. Even those Ultimate Knowledges required me to make contributions to gain access to them. You can’t just ask me to give selflessly, can you?”

Bekorodi nodded. “Okay, then let’s make a deal. We’re willing to exchange for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. What do you want? Intelligence? Knowledge? Resources? A Universal Treasure? I’m guessing you want the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy probably because you want to turn it into a Universal Treasure, so you might as well exchange it with us. You can choose from the list we gave you last time. I can approve this deal personally.”

The dynasty had to give Ravenlaude a Universal Treasure to hire him to start with, so since the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was now in Black Star’s hands, Bekorodi just made the same deal with Black Star.

The deal with Ravenlaude, of course, would no longer be valid. He would at most receive some resources as compensation…

Ravenlaude, who was still chasing the mechanical army, did not yet know that his employer had already given up hope on him and that the Universal Treasure he had been thinking of was basically out of his reach.

Han Xiao raised his brows. “And what if you go back on your word?”

“If you agree, I’ll make Ravenlaude retreat first, and you can keep the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy for the time being. Then, you will make a public announcement to eliminate the rumors caused by this conflict. Following that, you can exchange it for a Universal Treasure with us. Therefore, you don’t have to worry that we won’t keep up our side of the deal.”

Bekorodi did not plan to play any tricks at all. He at least had this much pride as a superior in the dynasty.

However, Han Xiao did not plan to agree immediately…

If my teammate runs away, who do I beat up?

“We’ll talk about this next time. I have yet to decide if I want to give you guys or not. I need to think about it. Therefore, for now, let’s just compete fairly… Since you don’t want the outside world to know, we’ll fight in a place where there’s no one else.” Han Xiao’s tone was calm, and he did not completely reject the deal.

Bekorodi’s face stiffened. He was very annoyed.

He did not want to waste any more time and gave a simple “okay”. He then ended the call. He told his subordinate to notify Ravenlaude that he had to obtain the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

In his mind, Han Xiao’s original body was still in Black Star Palace, and only a Lord’s Avatar and a group of mechanical troops were there. Secret Master was restraining the Lord’s Avatar, so Ravenlaude should still have a chance.

…

Inside the bright nebula, Ravenlaude chased after the fleeing mechanical army, getting further away from the battlefield that the Lord’s Avatar was in and out of everyone’s sight.

Without the restrictions of the space stabilization devices, Ravenlaude’s teleportation spells were quicker. No matter how fast the mechanical troops were running, he could catch up in an instant. He had only slowly followed behind all this time because he wanted to get further away from the Lord’s Avatar so that it would not be able to interfere with his battle.

After all, whether the Lord’s Avatar was present or not would make a bit of difference. He did not want to face the Lord’s Avatar’s attacks with his body like Secret Master. After all…

I’m a proper Mage! I’m like paper!

Remote artillery style is our forte. Melee combat? How can you call yourself a Mage‽

That Secret Master, who drew all over his body, had quite strong melee combat power, but Ravenlaude was an old fashioned Mage who had mastered pure arcane arts. To make him fight in melee range would be the same as Mechanics rushing into Pugilists’ arms… Hmm, except for Black Star.

This is far enough.

Ravenlaude focused his mind and used another teleportation spell. He appeared right before the mechanical troops. With a wave of his hand, a top-tier magic staff appeared and hovered above his head. The gem at the top of the staff shone with a bright magical light.

The next moment, thick magical books appeared one after another around Ravenlaude, circling him slowly like a ring of stars and giving off powerful magical energy.

As the magical books opened and the pages turned extremely quickly, a thick and enormous purple magic light appeared and expanded instantly, turning into a spherical, dark-purple energy barrier that shrouded all the mechanical troops before him. The sphere was extremely large.

Looking from inside, the inside wall of this sphere was dark purple covered in circulating streams of bright blue and flaming white magical streams of light, like arcane comets. It looked like a purple curtain decorated with blue and white patterns.

“Wall of Tragal—Dark Purple Arena. This is a new forbidden spell created by my spell research team.”

After casting this spell, Ravenlaude smiled with confidence as if the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was already in his hands.

The Mechanical Force lightning on the mechanical troops suddenly became much weaker. They fired at the wall, but the psionic cannon attacks disappeared when landing on the inside of this sphere like they were absorbed. Some mechanical soldiers flew to the edges, but the moment they touched the inside wall, a bright arcane explosion repelled the mechanical soldiers away.

Ravenlaude was certain that the mechanical troops could not escape. In a situation like this, the villain soul lying deep inside his body started to boil. He started to perform the signature move of a villain—explain!

“This is a forbidden-level sealing spell. It can absorb the energy attacks inside it and transfer it to its outside. At the same time, it prevents any material from passing through its wall. Your mechanical troops won’t be able to escape. Furthermore, this spell can also reduce the efficiency of energy transmission. Haven’t you noticed? The Mechanical Force you applied on them has become weaker.”

He was having a good time talking, but the mechanical troops ignored him and continued to physically attack the inside wall, getting repelled away time after time.

Seeing this, Ravenlaude shook his head and smiled. He slowly said, “Stop wasting your time, Black Star. I know you can hear my voice. Let’s discuss this.”

After a few seconds, the mechanical troops gave up trying, turned to look at him, and opened the area communication channel. Han Xiao’s voice appeared.

“Discuss what?”

“Black Star, I respect your strength, but your Lord’s Avatar isn’t here. If you fight me, you’ll only waste these troops. So, why not just give me the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy? I’ll remember this favor I owe you and give you enough compensation. You know, we’re allies; we don’t have to solve the problem with violence.”

Ravenlaude smiled faintly and felt that he was giving Black Star a lot of face.

However, only inexperienced youngsters would give up their own profit because of a few kind words. Although Han Xiao was considered basically a baby in terms of age among the Beyond Grade As, his experience in life was far from being this immature. He was completely unaffected and immediately ordered the mechanical troops to fire.

Tu tu tu tu!

The mechanical troops surrounded Ravenlaude and fired at him immediately. However, Ravenlaude was prepared. Multiple layers of arcane shields protected him while he moved at a high speed to dodge attacks. Offensive spells were thrown out from his hands continuously, bombarding the mechanical troops.

The size of this sphere was extremely large, giving Ravenlaude enough space to kite. In addition, his mobility provided by teleportation could keep the battle at medium range, so it would be a battle of cannon fires and spells.

“The goal isn’t to destroy the mechanical army. It’s best to leave after getting the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.”

While shooting spells at the mechanical army, Ravenlaude noted the location of the mechanical soldier that was escorting the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

Suddenly, the formation of the mechanical army showed a flaw. There was a gap in the protection of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy for an instant, and he noticed it immediately.

“Chance!”

Ravenlaude cast a spell that he had already prepared long ago. An invisible shockwave shot out and divided the mechanical army. He cast another teleportation spell, which was also prepared beforehand, immediately appearing beside the mechanical soldier escorting the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. A purple hand formed of arcane energy grabbed toward the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy contained right before his eyes.

At this moment, a dark blue tint of light suddenly appeared at the edge of his sights. The sharp feeling it gave off made his hair stand on end.

In an instant, Ravenlaude hastily retracted his abdomen to dodge the light. A white spear covered in a gold pattern and surrounded by dark blue energy easily tore open all his shields, slipping right past his vital spot under his abdomen. He was suddenly covered in cold sweat.

That was close, almost lost my offspring.

Psionic Prime, who had been lying in wait among the army for a long time, twisted his spear, shooting out an energy wave and directly slapping Ravenlaude away!

The Psionic Prime Spear was his ‘Life Weapon’, which appeared when he became an Apostle Weapon. It had a silver-orange Grade, and it would become stronger together with the Apostle Weapon.

At this point, the Psionic Prime Spear had many new characteristics. When used by Psionic Prime himself, these characteristics would be enhanced. It was a terrifying close- to mid-range weapon in his hands that could easily penetrate most shields. Ravenlaude’s magic shield was like paper in front of the Psionic Prime Spear.

Psionic Prime shook his spear and chased right after Ravenlaude, not letting go of the opportunity that he had gained by suddenly attacking. As he caught up in no time, he immediately used a smooth Mechanical Pugilist combo on him, not giving Ravenlaude any time to catch his breath.

Not long after, Ravenlaude once again felt a strong sense of danger behind him. A few more hidden Apostle Weapons charged toward him at close range. They were all good at close combat, such as Mad Sky Hunter, Purple Sky Spirit, and Heaven-Suppressing Banner. They forced Ravenlaude to not have the time to use teleport to increase the distance between them.

Other than Apostle Weapons that had usual sizes such as Giant King Kong, all the other Apostle Weapons were there and had been hiding among the mechanical troops. Now, they finally all struck. Psionic Prime led some of them to fight at close range while Silver Flash led the other ones to attack from a distance. They cooperated perfectly.

With the success of the surprise attack, Ravenlaude was stuck being passive.

With Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force enhancement, every single one of these Apostle Weapons had Beyond Grade A strength. Now that Han Xiao had gone through another Promotion, his machinery-related abilities were strengthened again, so the strength of his Apostle Weapons had increased as well. Even just one could fight with a normal Beyond Grade A for a long time… and it went without saying whom this referred to.

‘Dueling’ more than a dozen of Apostle Weapons with this kind of strength at the same time… Ravenlaude could hardly hold on.

There were no tricks to get out of this. It was a complete difference in raw strength. The situation quickly turned one sided.

I can’t even beat a medium-sized mechanical army without a Lord’s Avatar? Has his strength already grown to this level‽

Ravenlaude clenched his teeth and endured the fierce attacks from these more than ten Apostle Weapons. The magic energy in his body flew out like a broken dam. His heart was filled with disbelief and helplessness that sank deep into his bones.

Feeling the state he was in now, Ravenlaude could fully confirm one thing—Black Star had become stronger again!

At this time, he suddenly recalled his experience against the Mechanic Emperor many years ago…

This was how it felt!

So strong that even a Beyond Grade A like him was afraid!

Chapter 1035: Beat Up My Teammate

1035 Beat Up My Teammate This was not the first time Han Xiao had fought with a Mage. Every Beyond Grade A Mage had their own style and a different way of fighting.

Ravenlaude was one of the Ancient Ones. Although, due to his limited potential, he had already reached the top of his strength and would not be able to become a peak Beyond Grade A, in his long life, he had learned countless spells. The Arcane Institute under his command was an organization used to study and invent new spells for him. In this fight, he had showcased his extremely broad knowledge in the study of magic.

As an Ancient One as well, ‘Dragon King’ Milizaus’ style had very clear differences. Milizaus focused on the powerful dragon magic spells, fighting with raw strength in a straight forward style, while Ravenlaude had endless spells to swiftly deal with all kinds of situations.

Every Beyond Grade A had their specialty. Facing such a disadvantageous situation, although Ravenlaude was suppressed by the Apostle Weapons, he gradually used his ever-changing spell combos to give himself some breathing space, which was followed up by a combo he had prepared for a very long time.

With a flash of the gem on his staff, silk-like rings made of runes appeared around him. Purple arcane energy started spinning and quickly expanded into a tornado. The violent energy blew the nearby Apostle Weapons away, creating a short opportunity to cast more spells. Ravenlaude was in the storm eye. With the change of his hand sign, the arcane storm swiftly condensed into thousands of magic arrows hovering around him. The highly concentrated arcane energy almost looked solid as if they had turned into transparent purple crystals.

“Secret Ability—Arcane Nova Arrow Rain!”

The purple crystal-like arrows shot out in all directions into the mechanical army, causing clusters of bright purple arcane energy explosions.

Boom boom boom boom!

Impact wave rippled and expanded, blowing away tons of mechanical soldiers. At the same time, the vibration of magic particles caused many mechanical soldiers to become immobilized. This ability had both damage and control effects in a large range.

Ravenlaude did not stop there. He waved his hand, a magic book suddenly appeared and flipped open. All of its shining pages danced and turned into a circular turning light belt, creating a white secondary dimension entrance that expanded rapidly behind him. The entrance was expanding to several thousand meters wide.

Ohm!

An enormous quadrangle tower tip that looked like it was made of crystal extended out from the tunnel, slowly showing its full appearance. It was clearly a magnificent magic building.

High Grade Arcane Spell—Mage Pagoda Summoning!

“He’s summoning his Mage Pagoda. Stop him!” Psionic Prime’s eyes flickered. He stopped himself from being blown away and charged forward once again.

The Mage Pagoda was the core equipment of high-level Mages. A Mage with and without the Mage Pagoda would be on two completely different levels. A Mage would only reach full strength when fighting alongside the Mage Pagoda.

For example, Austin’s Palace of Hidden Spells was a gold Grade Mage Pagoda, which not only gave him extremely powerful enhancements but also exceptional mobility.

The cost of Mage Pagodas that could be stored in a secondary dimension and summoned anytime was extremely expensive. Usually, when a Mage summoned their Mage Pagoda, it meant that they had decided to stand their ground and fight on that spot. This was because most Mage Pagodas did not have as strong teleportation powers as the Palace of Hidden Spells.

A Mage Pagoda was a trump card. Since it had been summoned, it meant that Ravenlaude was no longer holding back. He was going all out.

“Black Star, you’re indeed stronger than me… but it won’t be that easy to defeat me!”

Ravenlaude bit his lip. His pride as a Beyond Grade A was harmed, and his will to fight was flaming.

The mechanical army immediately activated the space stabilization device. However, inside the Dark Purple Arena, the thick magic energy weakened its effects. Ravenlaude was also doing all he could to keep the summoning portal stable.

The Mage Pagoda extended out bit by bit. Silver Flash and the mechanical army shifted the target of the long-range attacks to the Mage Pagoda. Large defensive runes appeared on the Mage Pagoda to protect it, like a translucent purple light energy shield. It stopped the bombardment and vibrated nonstop as explosions and sparks erupted on its surface.

Ravenlaude used his magic energy at maximum capacity. Dark purple light glowed from his body. In the process of summoning the Mage Pagoda, his mobility would be reduced tremendously. The thick layers of arcane shields protected his casting from being interrupted.

Suddenly, the space behind him rippled. Mad Sky Hunter, who had a short distance teleportation ability, teleported right inside the shields. With his sharp blades and teeth, he pounced right at Ravenlaude.

In the blink of an eye, Ravenlaude hastily turned his body, and Mad Sky Hunter slid past.

The arcane energy slapped Mad Sky Hunter away. He then looked down. His ribs and the side of his leg were slashed right open with deep wounds. He could see his flesh moving inside, trying to close the wounds.

Before he could do anything else, Psionic Prime appeared. His spear stabbed forward as fast as a meteor, leaving only afterimages behind.

The Psionic Prime Spear’s ability to penetrate shields was a major counter to him. The summoning was near its end. In order to block this attack, he had to cast spells and stop the summoning. Ravenlaude clenched his teeth and decided to just not dodge it. He had to summon the Mage Pagoda even at the price of being injured.

Whoosh!

As usual, the shield was penetrated with ease, and the spear stabbed right into Ravenlaude’s chest.

The taste of blood gushed up his throat. Ravenlaude ignored it and completed the last part of the summoning spell.

“Descend!”

Boom!

The entire Mage Pagoda was finally summoned. It released an extremely powerful magic energy impact wave that stirred up a tornado, blowing all the mechanical soldiers away onto the inside wall of the Dark Purple Arena, including the Apostle Weapons, damaging them twice.

This was a tall crystal tower. Its base was an enormous disc. Overall, it looked like an enlarged chess piece. Colorful magic streams flowed within the crystal, and countless runes and magic arrays formed a slowly spinning sphere shaped barrier that shrouded the Mage Pagoda.

Ravenlaude coughed a few times, casually created a light green healing magical sphere, and stuffed it into the penetrating wound made by Psionic Prime to stop the bleeding. Then, he flew into the Mage Pagoda, connecting his own magic energy with the energy core of the Mage Pagoda. Only then were they fully linked.

The next second, rows of black holes appeared at the bottom of the Mage Pagoda. Tons of magic puppets and colossi swarmed out. Right after, teleportation tunnels appeared all around, and countless monsters were summoned, charging toward the mechanical army.

Psionic Prime swung and spun the spear in his hands, shooting out waves of light, easily slashing the colossi and monsters in his way in half, creating empty areas in the pile of enemies.

At this time, Ravenlaude’s voice sounded in the entire arena like thunder.

“Since you desire battle, enjoy it to the end. Come, Black Star!”

“A Beyond Grade A Mage at full performance… I can’t disappoint the lord’s trust!”

Electric sparkles flashed in Psionic Prime’s eyes. Unafraid, he led the mechanical army and charged forward.

The army of two slides collided!

…

Long after the dynasty’s fleet arrived at the scene, what they saw was a wreckage.

Shattered gems, flesh, and machinery floated in this area. There were also countless radiation reactions in the cosmic space created by high energy explosions. A heavily damaged Mage Pagoda floated, covered in burnt holes and cracks. The magic light around it dimmed completely. It had clearly experienced an extremely tough battle.

The dynasty fleet did not see signs of the mechanical army, so they sent people into the Mage Pagoda and found Ravenlaude, who was leaning against the wall. His clothes were tattered, and he was in a mess. His body was covered in wounds, and there were piles of dried golden blood marks on the floor. A magic staff that was broken into two lay beside his feet; the cut was as smooth as a mirror.

“You guys… ahem… finally came.”

Ravenlaude’s voice was weak. He stood up with the help of the wall. A few dynasty soldiers quickly approached to help.

“What happened? How have you ended up like this‽” Bekorodi, who was remotely commanding the troops, was shocked.

The opponent was just Black Star’s mechanical army. Even if Ravenlaude failed, as a Beyond Grade A, how did he end up this badly beaten‽

Bekorodi thought of a possibility and asked, “Was Black Star’s original body here?”

Ravenlaude shook his head, gasped for air, and said, “No, he wasn’t.”

“Oh… so you should have annihilated the mechanical army and obtained the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, right?” Bekorodi asked. No wonder there were no signs of the mechanical army. He felt that this was the most likely outcome.

Ravenlaude shook his head again with a complicated expression. “No, I was defeated.”

Bekorodi’s expression stiffened. “So, you’re saying, you, a Beyond Grade A, came personally and even used your Mage Pagoda, but you were defeated by one of Black Star’s mechanical armies that didn’t even have a Lord’s Avatar?”

Bro, what is this?

Aren’t you too weak‽

Seeing Bekorodi’s expression, Ravenlaude knew full well that he despised him. He felt embarrassed and said with a deep voice, “You know nothing about Black Star’s strength!”

Then, he repeated the process of the battle in detail and made an accurate analysis on Han Xiao’s current level of strength.

“I once fought Mechanic Emperor, and the impression he gave me is still vivid. Black Star has definitely touched the level of God’s Trait Transformation, which is why his Apostle Weapons and mechanical army have the power to defeat me!”

Unknowingly, while listening to the report, Bekorodi’s expression had become extremely serious.

After a long silence, he finally slowly spoke.

“Black Star’s strength hasn’t grown for about twenty years. I used to think he needed more time to get through that barrier. I didn’t expect him to have grown again this soon.”

During the version update, Han Xiao did not level up much, so it looked like he had run into a wall, which made the outside world relieved. They thought that he had finally reached his limit for the time being.

Bekorodi had thought the same. But now, seeing how beaten Ravenlaude was, he knew that Black Star had found the path forward again. Twenty years was not a short time, but compared to the growth of Beyond Grade As, this was way too quick!

With a deep exhale, Bekorodi said in a solemn tone, “Report what happened to Her Excellency and only put this intelligence in confidential documents. Do not leak it.”

At this moment, he made the right choice. Hiding the fact that Black Star had become stronger was not because he wanted to but because he knew that the Ruler Urranrell would definitely give that order.

Although Bekorodi did not like Black Star, he knew that hiding the strength of the dynasty’s allies was beneficial for the dynasty. Even though his precious Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy had been snatched away, he still had to suck it up and clean up after Black Star.

“Retreat.” With resignation, Bekorodi ended the operation.

“Our deal…” Ravenlaude spoke and hinted at the mess with his eyes. His meaning was clear. I gave my all. At least compensate me for it.

“The dynasty will compensate you for the repair fees of your Mage Pagoda and your colossi. As for the Universal Treasure… sorry, you did not complete the mission, so I can’t give it to you. Those are the rules,” Bekorodi said with a poker face.

He did not want to speak of this matter anymore and ended the communication.

Ravenlaude clenched his teeth with anger.

Not only was his Mage Pagoda broken, but his colossuses were also all destroyed, and he was beaten up. Plus, the Universal Treasure that he had been looking forward to was gone as well. It was a complete loss!

Ravenlaude rubbed his face.

I took this heavy beating for nothing!

Black Star, you *sshole. We’re allies, but you really didn’t hold back!

Remember this, I’ll get you back for this one day!

The Tyrant was bullied by Black Star before. I’ll go find him!

He was only angry because he was beaten up by Han Xiao. As for losing the Universal Treasure, he did not blame Han Xiao for it. Without Black Star, Secret Master would most likely have gotten it. He was still sensible in this respect…

But I’m still so angry!

…

Back at the initial battlefield, the Lord’s Avatar and the mechanical army were still fighting intensely with Secret Master.

At this time, the Lord’s Avatar suddenly paused. The army stopped firing and backed away.

“Hmm?” Secret Master frowned. He held the magic axe in his hands and did not throw it out. “Why did you stop?”

Han Xiao waved his hand. “I’ve got it. There’s no need to fight anymore. But if you still are not satisfied, I can continue accompanying you.”

Secret Master went silent.

He had already been stalled for way too long. He had lost track of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy long ago, so there would be no way to chase after it. He initially wanted to teach Han Xiao a lesson with his secret luck spell, but this guy turned out to be the unluckiest person he had ever seen. His luck could not have been any worse. According to any fortune telling, he should have died young. Therefore, technically, he should have died long ago, but he became someone this powerful and strong.

To be honest, Secret Master actually felt a little respect for Han Xiao. To be able to come this far with such a tragic fate, he had to give him his respect.

Since anything related to luck was useless to Black Star, Secret Master could only put up with it. After all, even if he tore the Lord’s Avatar apart, it would not cause too much damage to Black Star… not to mention the fact that he could not even tear it apart.

“You’ve won today.” Secret Master gave Han Xiao a meaningful look. He then sent a voice message with mind energy to Han Xiao alone. “Since you’re unlucky to a pitiful level, I’ll give you a heads up. Gorutan might be plotting something against you.”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. “You’re warning me? Are you this kind-hearted?”

“Humph.” Secret Master did not reply. He turned around and returned to his spaceship, departing with his fleet.

Watching Secret Master leave, Han Xiao thought those words.

Han Xiao remembered that both Secret Master and Gorutan were protectors of the Galactic Black Market, so they should be in the same faction. He had destroyed Secret Master’s plan to get the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, yet he had warned him and sold Gorutan out.

“Looks like there are internal conflicts between the protectors of the Galactic Black Market too. Could it be that the fewer the protectors, the more profit each one gets?” Han Xiao pondered.

As the battle between the two of them ended, the rubbernecking organizations also scattered.

To most organizations, although they did not gain anything, they had taken part in a major event, so it was worth it. With first-hand information, they would have plenty of chances to brag about it in the future.

The Modo Civilization, however, became the biggest loser of this incident.

They did not even touch the tip of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, and more than eighty percent of their Calamity Grade elites had died for it.

“What a tragedy…”

Han Xiao expressed his sympathy.

As the fight for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy came to an end and all the irrelevant people left, he could finally take a look at this treasure.

Chapter 1036: Buy One Get One Free?

1036 Buy One Get One Free? A mechanical army had just arrived at a desolate planet outside the Star Zone through hyperdrive. A white desert with no end in sight covered the planet.

Psionic Prime led the others and slowly landed on the ground. There was a small black dot hovering one meter above ground. It was a Divine Mechanical Throne.

Han Xiao’s original body sat right on it with his eyes closed, focused on controlling the Lord’s Avatar and the remote troops. Blue-gold lightning sparked around his body and disappeared when more than a meter away from him, entering into the Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel to enhance his troops afar.

The army stepped onto the ground, and Han Xiao opened his eyes at the same time.

“Welcome back.”

“Lord, we have not failed you.”

Psionic Prime walked at the front. He stamped the spear onto the ground, took out the magical container that sealed the Psionic Prime Spear, and offered it up with both hands.

Han Xiao looked over. Inside the translucent crystal ball was the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy that was sealed, shrunk countless times. It was like red fog that kept changing its shape.

“Well done.”

Han Xiao grabbed the magic ball and toyed with it a bit. He then looked at the troops before him.

This army had battled Ravenlaude and his peak strength. Their victory did not come easy. Tons of normal troops had been destroyed. Almost every mechanical soldier had wounds on their body, and the exterior armor of many of them had cracked open, showing their insides that were flickering with electric sparks.

Among the ten or so Apostle Weapons, four were paralyzed by Ravenlaude and brought before Han Xiao by the others, lying on the ground and unable to move. Han Xiao had to repair them himself for them to recover.

Apostle Weapons had the ability to repair themselves, but there was a limit. Once the damage they suffered exceeded a certain extent, or their tinder energy lowered beyond the warning line, they would enter a paralyzed or hibernation state. These four Apostle Weapons were all melee combat soldiers. Although they did not die at Ravenlaude’s hands, they had taken tons of damage.

“You’ve done a good job.” Han Xiao nodded. He raised his palm. Four silvery-white nanoparticles flew out and fused into these four Apostle Weapons. Their bodies shivered, and their exterior damage started to slowly recover.

“Leave them like this for the time being. I’ll have to give them a full repair inside the secondary dimension factory for them to fully recover.” Han Xiao then stared at Psionic Prime and smiled. “So, have you anything learned?”

Psionic Prime nodded. “Our neurons and memory storage collected all the combat data. The database for fighting with Beyond Grade As has new examples and is more comprehensive. The next time we fight with Ravenlaude or another Beyond Grade A Mage, we’ll be able to design more targeted strategies to decrease damage incurred and increase efficiency.”

Apostle Weapons were all mechanical lives with growth potential. Their learning ability was very powerful. The fighting process with all kinds of strong opponents would become part of the Apostle Weapons’ combat experience that would make them stronger, or even acquire special combat techniques.

“Very good. This is the first time you guys have defeated a Beyond Grade A at his fullest without the help of a Lord’s Avatar. I’m very satisfied with the results.”

Han Xiao gave them a few compliments. Then, he let the machinery set up space stabilization traps and shattered the magic ball with his hand.

Ravenlaude had only just sealed the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy when it was snatched away by Secret Master, so there was no time to set any magic arrays or whatnot. Brute force was all it took to break the container. Nonetheless, only Beyond Grade As would be able to break something like this so easily; Calamity Grades would not be able to.

Ka-cha!

The crystal magic ball exploded and turned to dust.

Boom!

The moment the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy came out from the ball, it instantly expanded and wanted to escape to the secondary dimension. However, the mechanical army had set up the trap, so it could not escape.

This time, Han Xiao raised his hand, opened his palm, and performed a pull gesture at the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

Whoosh!

A powerful absorption force erupted from his hand. The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy flew to Han Xiao and entered his body. The red energy cloud was soon completely absorbed.

“Hiss!”

Han Xiao inhaled deeply, and red light shot out from his eyes.

According to the research the Universal Civilizations had on Primal Esper Ability Entities, only Espers and ordinary people could become owners. However, Han Xiao planned to test out how true this information was with his own body. After all, his first choice would, of course, be himself using it. He had to try to see if he was suitable.

He was not worried about failing. The damage caused by not being a compatible owner could kill Calamity Grades, but it would at the very most only cause a little bit of damage to Beyond Grade As. Plus, he humbly felt that his regeneration ability was not too bad, so he was not afraid at all.

Cells were the residence of Primal Esper Ability Entities. As soon as the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy entered his body, it automatically fused into each and every one of his cells. Intense agony exploded in Han Xiao’s body!

Han Xiao could clearly feel that due to the difference in Energy Attributes, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and his own energy conflicted and produced a feeling that was similar to rejection. The more Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy his cells absorbed, the more intense the pain became.

However, compared to the pain he went through during Promotions, this was child’s play. Han Xiao frowned slightly, opened the status bar in the interface, and looked at it.

_____________________

Your body has been invaded by a Primal Esper Ability Entity. Due to repelling Energy Attributes, you’re receiving 30,000 – 50,000 erosive damage every second.

You have entered the [Cell Suppression (Energy Conflict Type)] state. Due to energy erosion, the cells that provide you energy are suppressed. -30% Health, energy, and stamina recovery efficiency.

You have entered the [Slightly Weakened] state. The energy erosion has made your body weak. -15% all attributes. -15% maximum health and energy.

You need to use extra energy to suppress the Primal Esper Ability Entity. Your maximum energy has been reduced by 40% temporarily.

_____________________

“Huh, that’s a ton of debuffs.” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

His original plan was that even if he turned out to be unsuitable, he could try to forcefully endure the load brought by the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy with his regeneration ability, so he would be able to use the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. However, when he saw all these debuffs, he knew that this would not work.

“Looks like I won’t be able to become the owner.”

Han Xiao shook his head. The energy in his body vibrated and immediately pushed out the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, which made him feel refreshed instantly. All the debuffs from earlier disappeared.

Before the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy could do anything, Han Xiao took out a containing device for energy entities that had the appearance of a seventy-centimeter-long pipe. Its middle was yellow nano glass. Without saying a word, he contained the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy once again.

Seeing the mini Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy inside bashing left and right but not able to pass through the specially-made energy restraining field, Han Xiao shook the pipe and made the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy roll over a few times. He chuckled.

“Although I can’t become the owner, with my technology, it won’t be hard to make use of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. Mages can seal it in a special colossus and turn it into a fighting puppet, so I can build a special mechanical body to become the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s host too. I shall artificially create a mechanical owner. However, it’ll take a lot of testing to find a way to build the host…”

Han Xiao thought about how to deal with the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

However, at that moment, a weak psychic wave escaped from within the container that was filled with a sense of resignation. A sexless voice suddenly appeared in Han Xiao’s mind.

“Hi, Mr. Beyond Grade A, can we have a chat?”

Hmm? The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy is talking? Right, this guy is an independent life form that has a conscience.

Han Xiao raised his brows, looked at the contained in his hand with interest, released his psychic barrier, and formed a psychic communication link with the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

“You’re the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy?”

“This is just what you people call me. My real name is Mossenil Kad Piroye ‘Red Spirit’ Dito…”

After dozens of words, the name still had yet to finish. Han Xiao could not take it anymore and interrupted its self-introduction. “Stop, it’s too troublesome. I’ll just call you Ah K.”

“Ah… Ah K…”

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s tone was stiff. It probably had never heard such a nice nickname before.

“Don’t mind the details. What did you want to talk to me about?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“What do you plan to do with me?”

Han Xiao thought about it and told the truth. “I plan to build a host that can contain you, to make you fight for me. If that doesn’t work, maybe I’ll find a new owner for you.”

“As expected.” The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, however, was not angry about it. “I’ve seen many Beyond Grade As. When I fused with you earlier, I found that you’re one of the few stronger ones even among Beyond Grade As. I’m powerless to resist, so I’ll let you do whatever to my body. Be gentle, ok? I don’t like it rough.”

Why did the way you said that sound kind of weird?

Han Xiao coughed and said with curiosity, “You’re going to become my puppet, so aren’t you angry?”

“My life is longer than you can imagine. I’ve experienced everything there is to experience. It’s not like you’re the first one to want to control me. You’re just another passerby in my life.” The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s tone was casual and carefree.

“… Didn’t expect you to be so open minded.”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he did not know how to describe this.

“If you’d lived as long as I, you’d know the feeling of loneliness. It’s the most horrifying feeling in the entire universe. Therefore, I hibernate most of the time. In fact, the experiences I have fighting alongside my owners are the more exciting and colorful memories.”

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was very honest. As an ancient Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy that spent most of its time sleeping, he had no need to hide his real thoughts.

Han Xiao suddenly thought of what had happened to Evans not long ago and asked, “So, you actually are eager to find an owner?”

“During my hibernation, I let my sub-bodies find compatible candidates everywhere, and when the day comes that I’m interested in it, I’ll find an owner to start a new adventure.

Han Xiao’s cheeks twitched.

What’s going on with the world? Even Esper Abilities look for spare tires‽

Ptooey! Bad Esper Ability!

However, this explained what had happened to Evans—it was a story of a side chick becoming the main chick.

There are way too many things wrong with this…

“You’re so cooperative now, so why did you try to escape just now?”

“I like to be on the controlling side… but I can still enjoy being on the passive side,” the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy replied.

Han Xiao rolled his eyes. So, basically, it’s because you have no choice but to cooperate because…

He initially thought that the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy would resist and fight to its death, but to his surprise, the truth was so refreshing and novel.

However, it made sense when he thought about it. For an energy entity that had lived this long, few things probably mattered. It definitely resisted when it was caught the first time, but once one let that bottom line be crossed, one would start to fall into an endless abyss.

Han Xiao somewhat understood why the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was like this—it was ancient indeed, but without enough strength, how ancient it was did not matter.

As someone once said, ‘If you cannot fight it, enjoy it.’

As time passed on, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy slowly developed this personality of not caring about anything.

This time, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy actively started a new conversation and asked, “It’s been so long since I awakened. What’s the situation in the universe now? What major events have happened in the past years? Who are you? Tell me, tell me.”

“Since you’re so cooperative, I’ll tell you…” Han Xiao shook his head. Through the psychic link, he quickly transmitted tons of data to the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy sensed the data joyfully. “Looks like while I was asleep, quite a number of big things have happened in the universe. I recall that when I fell asleep, the Beyond Grade As were not the ones existing now, and there were not this many of them.”

“So, how long did you sleep for?” Han Xiao asked.

“Hundreds of years? A thousand years? Sigh, why would I remember that? Time is meaningless to me.”

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy sighed and said in a fond, reminiscent tone, “Before the birth of Beyond Grade As, us Primal Esper Ability Entities still existed. Not to toot my own horn, but think about it. In the era when individual powers had yet to reach the Beyond Grade A realm, we represented peak strength. Countless people yearned for our power… Our era only ended when Beyond Grade As appeared.”

Primal Esper Ability Entities were extremely ancient. They definitely had a glorious history in the distant past. They might even have been the ‘protagonists’ of some era.

This seemed to be a group of people with quite a lot of stories to tell.

Han Xiao suddenly thought of something. “Then, do you know where the other Primal Esper Ability Entities are?”

“So much time has passed. I lost track of where they went long ago…” This time, Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy paused. He then suddenly changed his tone, which became motivated and energetic. “However, I might know where one guy is. If you’re interested, I can help you capture him.”

“… Why are you suddenly so excited?” Han Xiao responded doubtfully. Could it be that you like to beat up your teammates too?

“Truthfully, that guy is my arch enemy. I’ve never liked him. We fought every day long ago, and countless owners died. If you’re interested, I’m very willing to help,” the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy said with anticipation.

Han Xiao was a little surprised to hear this.

Not only did he capture the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, but he now got a surprise gift? Buy one get one free?

Damn, I didn’t even bring Feidin here!

Could it be that when Secret Master pitied me earlier, he secretly increased my luck?

Hmm, or maybe this is a scam.

Han Xiao caressed his chin and asked, “What’s its name?”

“Its name is Na… Oh, according to what you guys call it, it should be the Holy Light Particle.”

Holy Light Particle?

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

This was a familiar name too. In his previous life, it served the same host as the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. It was Evans’ second Esper Ability.

As a crucial character in the EsGod storyline, Evans had quite a number of protagonist type opportunities. The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy wanted him to help it take back the part of its body that EsGod had taken away, so it helped Evans become stronger at all costs. It probably had told him about the Holy Light Particle like it did Han Xiao.

Evans, however, had a very unique body, which shockingly happened to be compatible with the Holy Light Particle too. The two Primal Esper Ability Entities somehow achieved an agreement, let go of their past beef, and decided to share their owner. At that time, Evans was the first ever owner of multiple Primal Esper Ability Entities in the history of the universe.

Speaking of which, the man was quite talented. Even though he could no longer be an owner, recruiting him into the army would increase the army’s luck.

“No problem, no number of Primal Esper Ability Entities is too many. Where’s the Holy Light Particle?” Han Xiao was interested.

“As far as I know, it stays in a secondary dimension over very long periods of time. It’s a world made of materialized light; everything is made of colorful light. Solid light looks like bright gems, and liquid light looks like thick and dense milk…”

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy described the dimension with as much detail as possible, clearly showing his strong hostility to his arch enemy.

At the same time, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the mission [The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s Arch Enemy]!

Mission Introduction: You have captured the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. It is a very casual guy. If you’re willing to help it handle a small problem, it is willing to fight by your side.

Mission Requirements: Defeat another Primal Esper Ability Entity, Holy Light Particle.

Reward: 2.4 billion EXP, 2 Character Summon Cards, activates special Milestone Mission—[Primal Esper Ability Collector].

Chapter 1037: Gaud“s Headache

1037 Gaud“s Headache “Not bad, even gave me a mission.”

Han Xiao glanced at it with interest.

Primal Esper Ability Entities were strong, but they were not much to him now.

Using a certain comic that he had read in his previous life as reference, Primal Esper Ability Entities were like tailed beasts, praised by the writer as something almost unbeatable at the start, but to those characters in the later stages of the comic…

What? Can this thing even kill anyone?

Similarly, the owner was like the Jinchuriki. If the Primal Esper Ability Entity met a powerful owner, it would have strong powers.

Looking at the mission reward, Han Xiao started planning.

In terms of this mission’s difficulty, it would require many Calamity Grades to form a team, so it’s considered a team mission for the later versions. Two Character Summon Cards, so probably the Character Summon Cards of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and Holy Light Particle.

To players, they basically cannot become the owners of Primal Esper Ability Entities, so Character Summon Cards are useful to them. To someone like me who can tame them, however, Character Summon Cards are just the cherry on top… But this Milestone Mission seems quite interesting…

Han Xiao had seen other special milestones in his previous life, which were usually all hidden missions. However, this was the first time he had seen this [Primal Esper Ability Collector] milestone. No one had ever triggered it in his previous life.

“Sounds exotic, but its effects are unknown. Maybe it’s more suitable for Espers.”

Han Xiao caressed his chin, thought about it for just a few seconds, and then put it aside.

No matter what this milestone was about, he was going to get the Holy Light Particle one way or another. He mainly wanted another Primal Esper Ability Entity, so the mission was just the icing on the cake. He would see about this special milestone when the time came; speculating would not lead to anything.

“I’ll agree to this then. Let’s make the Holy Light Particle come and accompany you.”

“So, when do we depart?”

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy could not wait. It looked like it wanted to take revenge on its arch enemy, but according to what had happened in Han Xiao’s previous life, Han Xiao kept feeling like it was looking forward to seeing its old friend.

Hehe, Esper Abilities.

Han Xiao thought about it, shook his head, and said, “Not now, I have something to do. When the time comes, I’ll go find it.”

He still had some things to do. His priority was to build the King and Emperor’s Cape, the two pieces of gold equipment. Also, he had to invent and build a special host for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, the artificial mechanical owner.

This way, he would have a special mechanical guard that possessed a Super High Risk Esper Ability. Its Grade would be difficult to judge, as it would depend on the performance of the host. If he could turn it into a mechanical life, with the effect of the Esper Ability, it would have exceptional specifications.

Of course, there were precedents of this in the Mechanic class. The Beyond Grade As whom the Mechanic Emperor had captured were used as materials to make special mechanical puppets. Apostle Weapons were high-level soldiers provided by the class itself, but Mechanics could invent and create their own high-level soldiers.

On the other hand, the intelligence that Secret Master had given him made Han Xiao more certain that Hila was in a risky position. Therefore, his original body had to stay hidden in the Emerald Star Cluster and would only move when the opportunity came.

At the same time, players all over the universe were swarming toward the Flickering World. The World Server was forming very quickly. According to Han Xiao’s knowledge about the players, although he was having a great time harvesting leeks, due to how much the army players stood out, they might become the target of the players from the other factions. He had to stay there and see the direction of things. Due to the existence of the Black Star Army, the players in the Flickering World would, of course, take different actions compared to his previous life. Hence, he had to improvise and adapt.

Compared to the importance of these things, capturing the Holy Light Particle would have to be postpones. Not to mention the fact that he had to travel to a secondary dimension to carry out this mission, as well as find out which secondary dimension the Holy Light Particle was in.

“Alright, I’ll wait.”

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy did not mind; it was not in a hurry. It understood that Black Star was its master, not an owner or tool like those before.

The only thing it was sad about was that it might be sealed in a lifeless mechanical body and not be able to communicate with anyone, which would be a lot less fun than playing with its owner.

“Sigh, I only found a perfect compatible owner not long ago. Sadly, I won’t be able to enter him.”

Han Xiao cut off the psionic link, put the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy into his pocket, and stood up. He stowed the Divine Mechanical Throne away, summoned his ride, and headed back with Psionic Prime and the others.

…

As dust settled around the ownership of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, all the participants who retreated did not keep it a secret. They quickly posted the recording of the event, which became the top news in just a few hours.

“The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy Appeared, Fell into Black Star’s Hands!”

The changes in the Flickering World affected the entire universe. The news about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy appearing in the free competition zone and falling into Black Star’s hands quickly spread across the various Star Fields.

The galactic residents did not know much about Primal Esper Ability Entities, but the Super High Risk Esper Ability List was famous. Furthermore, the news mentioned the two popular terms ‘Flickering World’ and ‘Black Star’. There was even the recording of the battle venue. Hence, this news becoming a hot topic at countless dinner tables was not uncommon.

A few hours after this news, the production company of Wayne Cards made an announcement, expressing that they would be making the new Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy card and potentially adding it to the Black Star Army’s faction card set. Furthermore, they would be considering introducing the ‘Primal Esper Ability Entity’ set card. The way they rode the hype train was astonishing.

The players who liked to surf the internet saw this news too. While shocked, they learned the new concept of ‘Primal Esper Ability Entities’.

However, the popularity of this news mainly revolved around the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. Black Star had done way too many astonishing things. Compared to the major events in the past, this was not that big a deal. The countless galactic residents and players were used to it.

We knew how incredible Black Star is long ago. This is just a basic occurrence, so sit down.

…

At a certain military base of the dynasty, in a very crowded and noisy bar that was filled with loud laughter and cheers, the atmosphere was joyous. All the guests there were soldiers and officers wearing the dynasty’s uniform.

This military base mainly functioned as a training ground. Many dynasty soldiers accepted training there. As it was a half-closed base, it had internal entertainment venues, mainly bars. In the current era, the civilizations would not be too strict with the Super soldiers. They had quite good privileges and benefits. Even when training in an isolated base, they could still enjoy life to a certain extent.

Many Super key training camps were training there too, which consisted of those who were on the list of people the dynasty wanted to focus on training. Gaud was one of them.

A group of key training students were sitting at the bar. They were all Calamity Grades. They drank joyfully and chattered with each other.

Gaud was among them. He held his glass with a calm smile on his face, occasionally saying a few words, looking like he was quite sociable. It was a friendly atmosphere.

He got the most attention among all the training students. The Esper Ability he possessed had an extremely bright future. Hence, he had always been famous in the training camp.

Someone shook his head and said with a smile, “Among us, the one who has the highest chance of breaking through the Beyond Grade A limit is you, Gaud. It’s so hard to compete. Maybe we will all become your subordinates in the future. We’ll need you to take care of us then.”

“By the way, if you become a Beyond Grade A, what position do you plan to take on? You probably won’t make it as the Ruler’s guard, and the dynasty most likely won’t send you out, so you’ll probably be the commander of a certain army,” someone else said.

“It’s whatever for me.” Gaud smiled. His identity would be a direct Beyond Grade A of the dynasty, so his development direction would be different from the allies. He could be a part of the dynasty’s core authority like Clotti.

Someone laughed and jokingly said, “According to past conventions, we’ll likely join your team… Sigh, we might as well cheer for our future boss. You’re not going anywhere today before you get drunk.”

Gaud smiled and accepted the passion of his comrades.

While the atmosphere was exciting, Gaud suddenly caught a glimpse of the news that was playing on the virtual screen on the bar’s war. His face quickly stiffened, and his smile disappeared.

His abnormal response surprised his comrades. They looked over following his sight and saw that the screen was playing the news about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy being snatched away by Black Star.

“Yo, Black Star did something again.”

“Incredible, no wonder he’s the next pillar the dynasty has chosen.”

“A few years ago, when I accepted the changes of the Evolution Cube, I met him up close and almost could not stop myself from wanting to ask him for an autograph.”

“Luckily, he’s the dynasty’s ally instead of the federation or the church. It’s a blessing for the dynasty.”

The others could not help but start chatting about this topic. Everyone there admired the strong. Many of them were fans of the various Beyond Grade A dynasty allies, and a number of them were Black Star’s fans.

At this time, Gaud put down his glass, stood up with a poker face, and coldly said, “I have something to attend to. I’m heading off.”

Without waiting for the others to respond, he passed through the crowd and left the bar, leaving his many comrades confused and exchanging looks.

What’s going on? What happened?

Gaud left the bar, quickly returned to his room, took out his communicator, and contacted Bekorodi.

After it rang for quite a while, the other side finally picked up. Gaud instantly questioned, “You told me to wait for the good news—is this the good news you spoke of?”

Bekorodi stayed silent for a few seconds before finally slowly replying. “Black Star’s interference was unexpected. The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy is indeed in his hands now.”

“So, what do you plan to do?” Gaud was expressionless.

“I’ll try to save this, see if we can exchange something for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.”

Gaud stayed silent and did not ask what was going to happen if that did not work.

The dynasty was willing to give the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy to him for him to make full use of his Esper Ability and help him become a Beyond Grade A sooner. Then, he would be able to analyze the principles of the Evolution Energy. Without the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, the dynasty would still wait for him to slowly grow.

However, to Gaud, this meant that he had lost a powerful source of strength. Without the various special abilities of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, the specialized plan he had made for himself would be severely messed up, and he would not reach his strongest form.

This meant that his future maximum strength was directly reduced!

“Black Star won’t be able to use the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy himself. As long as we take out enough chips, he’ll be willing to exchange it. It’s not impossible. I…”

Bekorodi was still analyzing the situation when Gaud spoke and interrupted him.

“Let’s keep to that then. Notify me when there’s any progress.”

Then, Gaud hung up the call and frowned slightly.

He was in an extremely bad mood and did not bother wasting his time with Bekorodi. He knew that the chance of regaining the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was thin.

The dynasty would not overpay for a Primal Esper Ability Entity that was not completely necessary, and Black Star was a piece of sh*t who would never make a losing deal. From what he knew about these two sides, the odds of making the deal were infinitely close to zero.

Gaud shook his head and crossed out the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy in his mind.

With the power he had now, he had absolutely no way to interfere with the fight for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. The only way was to borrow the dynasty’s forces, and the dynasty had failed. Hence, he had no other options, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He had yet to fulfil his potential, while Black Star’s forces became stronger and stronger. Since the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was gone, he could only let it be. It was far from time to mess with Black Star.

“I thought that with the dynasty taking part, this would be in the bag, but you ruined it. Now, I have to adjust my growth plan… Tsk, Black Star, oh Black Star, you really give me a lot of trouble.”

Gaud was in a very bad mood.

…

Outside the remote communication room of the Modo Civilization’s Emerald Star Cluster stronghold, two soldiers who were stationed there were whispering.

“How long has it been since the commander and the inspector went in?”

“Probably almost an hour.”

“Looks like the Three Kings have summoned them. I wonder when they will come out…”

“Hey, the gate’s opening. Stand properly.”

The gate of the room slid open, the two guards quickly stood straight, stopped talking, and looked straight forward, acting diligent. However, their eyes uncontrollably shifted to glance at Commander Roddick and Inspector Lagos.

Roddick’s face looked like he was on the verge of exploding, while Lagos looked borderline depressed.

As the sacrifice of tens of Calamity Grade elites was completely meaningless, they had earned a thunderous scolding from the Three Kings of Modo, as well as their direct bosses. Their image among the upper echelons fell to rock-bottom.

Although he was just executing the mission given by the people above and the death of tens of Calamity Grades was not his fault, he could do nothing but take the blame. He was so furious that he had almost exploded.

Lagos had no way of comforting him. He asked hesitantly, “Our high-level combatants have suffered heavy losses. Like the Three Kings said earlier, that cannot occur. What do you plan to do?”

“It’s all because of Black Star!” Roddick clenched his fists tightly and said with rage, “If we continue to be this passive, Black Star will ruthlessly bite off our forces. Without solving this problem once and for all, similar things will keep happening.”

If we could stop Black Star, we would have… Lagos smiled bitterly with resignation and asked, “So, what idea do you have?”

“If we could kill Black Star…” Roddick was murmuring. He then turned around and immediately saw Lagos’s unamused expression, so he swallowed what he was going to say next. He thought about it and said, “By ourselves, there’s no way we can fight Black Star, so we can only borrow external forces. If we cause the Black Star Army a lot of trouble and make them have no time to deal with us, maybe we can mitigate the current situation.”

“For example?”

Roddick opened his mouth and felt helpless.

If something like this was so easy to think of, how could they have ended up in this situation? If they did not make some gigantic contributions, their promotion would probably never come.

Chapter 1038: Recruitmen

Chapter 1038 Recruitmen

In a certain area inside the Emerald Star Cluster, the exploration fleet of a small financial group was flying. Organizations like this were not strong enough to occupy resource rich planets; they could only gain profit through normal exploration or getting hired. This was very common in the current Flickering World.

This fleet mainly consisted of exploration ships and transportation ships. As a fleet used for expeditions, other than the necessary crews on every ship, there were also extra people who lived in a travel ship that was specially used to transport people. This ship mainly had life facilities inside. The number of people it could hold far exceeded functional spaceships such as exploration ships. Most staff who did not have crew duties stayed there usually.

This long-term travel ship was like a portable space station. It was bigger than even the industrial transportation ships in the team. It took care of manpower logistics, food supplies, and entertainment facilities. With how intense the competition was in the Flickering World, without daily benefits, it would be very tough to hire anyone. As a commercial financial group, their crew could not be considered truly loyal, so the treatment they got was one of the important factors that attracted more employees.

The hall of the space station was a multifunctional entertainment social venue. There were entertainment facilities and all kinds of stores, where the crew could spend money. The hall was on the bottommost floor, and above it were bridges made of transparent materials. The people in the hall could see the people above them walking by when looking up. Overall, it looked like a crowded and prosperous business square.

In one area of the hall was the staff canteen, which was boisterous and noisy. Staff from all positions could be seen there.

At the edge of the canteen, Evans sat at a table by himself, slowly eating his meal. His eyes were hardly open, staring down at the table and daydreaming.

He was still wearing the yellow protective suit but with the helmet open now. He looked ordinary and common like every typical ground crew member. In fact, ninety-nine percent of the people who took this job were ordinary people. They were the staff at the lowest level of the financial group.

At the tables around him, other ground crew workers filled the seats, chattering while eating, sometimes bursting into laughter. Occasionally, some people’s eyes darted past Evans, but they did not stop and ignored him completely.

Evans was used to this. Ground crew members were mostly normal people. Their work efficiency was not high, and many of them liked to slack off. Comparatively, he was hardworking and never lazed around, often completing his tasks beyond the minimum requirements. Therefore, he was always publicly praised by the team’s manager and even received some bonuses.

Due to his attitude, some of his colleagues started to urge others to isolate him, maybe because they were jealous, or maybe because they did not like an ex-convict who had just left prison. Gradually, more and more people stopped interacting with him.

Being boycotted, Evans did not mind it at all. He had never liked socializing with colleagues to begin with. After spending many years in prison, he had learned not to care about what others thought.

“Hmm? Evans, you’re sitting alone?” A voice that he recognized appeared beside him. Evans looked up, and a familiar person stood beside him holding the meal plate. It was the manager of the ground crew team he was in.

There were many teams in the ground crew department. This team manager was just a base-level officer who did not have much power. He was Evans’ direct boss who liked him.

“Since there’s no one sitting beside you, do you mind if I join your table?” the team leader said with a smile.

“Not at all.” Evans signed for the team manager to please sit down.

The team manager sat opposite him and chatted with Evans while eating. The ground crew members could no longer ignore Evans’ table, so they turned to greet their boss.

“Manager, you don’t have to help me for this,” Evans softly said with resignation. “I really don’t care about being disliked by others.”

“That won’t do. What happens if you delay your work because of a bad mood? The quota of our team might have to rely on you to be completed.” The team manager shrugged.

Evans smiled bitterly. This manager was a normal person, and a kind one at that. Because of his high work efficiency, the manager took extra care of him and was very friendly.

After gulping down the meal, Evans bade farewell to the manager, who was still eating, before standing up with the empty plate in his hands. He then went to the recycling window of the canteen and threw the plate in.

At this time, a few people in mechanical suits walked into the canteen. They were all bottom level mercenaries, and their faces did not look normal. There was a slight redness from excitement. They were walking in Evans’ direction and attracted his attention.

“Supers… looks like they’ve consumed some kind of stimulation drug and are high.”

Evans gave a few more looks to these people, and as he was just about to pass them by and leave the canteen, he suddenly heard the voice of a mercenary increase amid their conversation. One of them seemed very emotional.

“You don’t believe I’ve invented a new way to use my Esper Ability‽ I’ll show you then!”

Right after he said that, this excited mercenary clenched his hand. The air around him gathered and formed an invisible wind sphere. It then smashed right into the ground below him. The sphere of wind exploded and turned into tiny blades of wind that scattered and spread everywhere.

The financial group had a rule that the powers of Supers were not allowed to be used in public areas. If discovered, punishments ranged from paying a fine to being fired. However, these Grade D mercenaries who had just used mind stimulation drugs were in a state of overexcitement and had completely lost their senses. They totally forgot about this rule.

The people around panicked. The floor was filled with traces of slash marks, and the staff around backed away hastily.

As the power of this sphere of wind was limited, the others were not really injured. Evans, however, was the closest to it. He was blown away by the wind pressure, and his protective suit was cut open in many places.

A tint of bright red appeared in everyone’s eyes.

“Someone’s wounded!”

Many people immediately moved to rubberneck. The staff of the ground crew squeezed in too, but when they saw that Evans was the one who was wounded, their footsteps stopped as they hesitated over whether they should help him up or not. While they were hesitating, the team manager already quickly walked up and helped Evans up before looking at his wound.

“Where are you wounded? Let me see.”

“Just a small wound, I’m okay. Tsss…”

Evans tightened his face, but the twitch at the edge of his eyes showed that the wounds were quite painful. The wind blades had slashed open more than ten wounds on his body, all of which were bleeding. Very soon, the protective suit was dyed red.

A few patrol guards heard the fuss and ran over.

“What’s going on ‽”

The team manager pointed at these mercenaries with anger and said, “They violated the rules and used an Esper Ability in a public area, causing a crew to be wounded.

The guard frowned and looked at the scene, noticed that Evans was injured, and then looked at the few mercenaries. He asked with a deep voice, “Is that true?”

After this accident, these few people were more awake. The mercenary who had thrown the sphere of wind coughed and said, “I did it unintentionally. It’s just an accident. I’ll go to ask for the punishment later.”

“Hmm, luckily, only one person was hurt. You’ll be fined at most, not a big deal.” The guard comforted the mercenary a bit. He then turned to Evans, glanced at the ground crew uniform on his body, and said casually, “You’re Evans, right? It’s just flesh wounds. Get them treated at the medical room, and you’ll be fine. You won’t die.”

“That’s it?” The team manager was unsatisfied. “Not even an apology?”

The mercenary who had caused the incident glanced at Evans and said in a very perfunctory tone filled with arrogance, “This is my fault, sorry.”

No sincerity could be felt at all.

“What kind of attitude is that?” The team manager was resentful.

This time, the guard interrupted him. “That’s enough. He has already apologized, and his salary will be deducted later too. Don’t keep dwelling on it.”

Although the guard looked like he was doing what should be done, his attitude clearly showed the different treatment he gave to the two sides. He was a Super too. Seeing that this mercenary had only accidentally wounded a normal ground worker, he did not think it was a big deal. To him, although this mercenary had made a mistake, as long as he was willing to take the punishment, it would be best to give him some comfort. This was more important than a normal person.

This mercenary looked like this was completely normal. Seeing that Evans would not die, he did not bother looking at him anymore and turned around to casually chat with his friends.

This was witnessed by the people around. Many normal people had complicated expressions on their faces.

Most Supers did not care about how affected ordinary people, and the ordinary people knew that very well. Even though the other party apologized and accepted the punishment, he still did not care at all. Seeing this, most present felt a flame burning in their chest.

Supers having privileges was a rule silently accepted in the entire universe, and there was nothing they could do about that.

This time, Evans pulled the team manager a little and stood up by pressing on his knees. Blood dripped onto the floor, splashing around everywhere. He endured the pain and said, “It’s okay. It’s just not my day. Bring me to the medical room.”

The team manager gave the other side a glare and gave up on arguing. He then assisted Evans and walked out of the crowd.

“It’s all settled. Nothing more to see here.” The guard waved the crowd away.

However, at this instant, a sudden change occurred!

Bang!

The spaceship suddenly trembled as if it had stopped in an instant. Even the internal shock absorption system could not eliminate the enormous inertial force. Everyone present staggered and fell onto the ground in panic.

“What’s going on?”

“Looks like the spaceship was forced to stop!”

“Did we meet galactic pirates‽”

While everyone was getting up anxiously and was about to rush out of the canteen to take refuge, the speaker inside the spaceship suddenly sounded and echoed through the entire fleet. Everyone could hear it.

“This is the Black Star Army. Your spaceship has been forced to come to a stop by us. There’s no need to panic. Our goal is only to find one person. His name is Evans. He works in your ground crew…”

As soon as the sentence ended, all eyes focused on Evans.

Swoosh!

In an instant, the area around Evans became empty. Everyone hid with shock.

The Black Star Army is looking for this guy by name‽

How did he get into trouble with the Black Star Army? And why are they putting in so much effort to find him? Does he have a secret identity‽

This time, Evans’ most ordinary appearance suddenly became mysterious in the eyes of everyone around him.

“Black Star Army?” Evans was stunned too.

Isn’t that an advanced organization I’m far from being able to encounter? Why are they looking for me? They probably have the wrong guy.

He turned to look at the team manager, but the team manager had let go of his hand long ago and hid to the side with fear on his face.

Evans was just about to say something when he suddenly realized that these guards and mercenaries had walked toward him and surrounded him.

“What are you doing?”

“Preventing you from escaping. Since the Black Star Army wants to see you, you shall wait here,” a guard said coldly.

Evans clenched his teeth. He breathed rapidly a few times, and only after a while did his fists open again. He then said with resignation, “Don’t worry, I won’t run. I want to find out what this is about too.”

The people waited there for a while. Suddenly, footsteps appeared outside, and a group of people walked in. The upper echelons who were usually arrogant and mighty were now all walking beside this group of Black Star Army warriors with their heads low. The warrior leader leading the group gave off a powerful energy wave. He was a Grade B, and he was considered a very powerful person to these bottom level workers.

The scene was so silent that no one dared breath heavily.

The group of them walked to Evans. The fleet’s commander pointed over and said, “He’s the person you’re looking for.”

“Hmm.” This Black Star Army’s Grade B warrior sized Evans up with a poker face. “You’re Evans?”

Evans took a deep breath. “That is indeed my name, but I have no past interaction with the Black Star Army. I think you might have found the wrong person.”

Hearing this, this Grade B team leader took out a resume and showed it to Evans. “Is this your resume?”

Looking at it closely, Evans nodded with shock. His face was filled with doubt and confusion.

The Black Star Army really is looking for me?

The Grade B team leader nodded. “That’s correct then. You’re the one we’re looking for. Follow me.”

“Wait a moment, I would like to know, why did you guys come for me?” Evans asked.

Everyone perked up their ears to listen to the reply.

They also wanted to know the answer to this question.

The Grade B team leader suddenly smiled, reached out his hand, and said passionately, “You’re a talent His Excellency Black Star asked to recruit by name. Brother, welcome to the Black Star Army.”

The entire venue became silent for an instant.

Boom!

Then, like a bomb, roaring voices exploded!

“What!”

The team manager shivered with his eyes wide open. The earlier guard and the mercenary were completely frozen with shock.

Everyone present was stupefied. Some even thought that they were hearing things. Countless looks of disbelief focused on Evans.

Did we hear that right?

That famous Beyond Grade A Black Star is recruiting a normal person by name‽

Could he be so talented that even a Beyond Grade A is tempted to recruit him‽

He’s definitely been hiding his talents, which is why we did not notice it all this time.

You really can’t judge a book by its cover!

Admiration appeared in everyone’s eyes.

That was especially so for the colleagues who isolated Evans. They were filled with regret and hastily looked down covered in sweat, worried about being noticed by Evans.

“Recruit… me?”

Evans was stupefied.

At this instant, he fell into a deep state of self-doubt.

What’s so incredible about me that even a Beyond Grade A is interested in me?

Could it be that it’s really like what I fantasized about when I was young?

That my body has sealed the power of the evil Universe Overlord, the Master of Destruction, Black Devil‽

…

At the same time, inside a mysterious base in a distant Ancient Star Desert, a few silhouettes were discussing the news about the appearance of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy inside the private conference room.

“Another Primal Esper Ability Entity has appeared.”

“It’s the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. We have to find a way to get it.”

“It has fallen into Black Star’s hands. Black Star is a Beyond Grade A who rose in the past few decades. His growth speed is astonishing. He won’t be easy to deal with.”

“Black Star can live for a very long time, but we don’t have so much time to wait. The Primal Esper Ability Entities are the keys to open the Third Sanctum. They must be obtained… Let’s make use of the products we’ve invented in recent years. The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy is an important material for fusion. We must get it.”

“Sadly, EsGod’s body is in the Crimson Dynasty’s hands. Otherwise, his Esper Ability would be the best tool.”

“Speaking of which, things on Thousand Shadows’ side are almost maturing. We can expect to harvest it after some time.”

“Before the promised date arrives, we have to finish preparing the awakening ceremony.”

“The honor of the Primordial Ones shall never wither.”

Chapter 1039: EsGod“s Destined Arch Enemy!

1039 EsGod“s Destined Arch Enemy! Thousand Shadows’ territory was situated in the Abyss of Stars’ Shadow Realm. The black gaseous planet was still hovering beside the Shadow Realm like a black satellite, covered in thick streams of black energy that occasionally formed wave-like tides.

A spaceship stopped beside the dark satellite, and the hatch opened. Calamity Grade Shadows pushed the various prisoners they had captured from different Star Fields down with a poker face. The prisoners were mostly Calamity Grades. There were also low-grade Supers with special abilities.

These prisoners were covered in restraining devices and were extremely weak. They had no power to fight back at all. The scene looked like cooking dumplings. Every time someone fell onto the surface of this dark satellite, there would be one wave of black energy engulfing it. The next second, that person would disappear.

This was how Thousand Shadows’ servants replenished shadows for him. There were close to a thousand prisoners in this batch, and they were all consumed by the planet-sized Thousand Shadows.

At this time, the space beside the spaceship suddenly rippled. A blurry silhouette suddenly appeared. It was wearing a hooded black robe and did not show its face or body. The edges of the silhouette looked like flames, as if it was emitting gas. Overall, it looked like a black cloud. This was not a remote projection of the quantum network but some kind of mind projection. Only Thousand Shadows and his Shadow Servants could see it.

The next second, the planet surface of Thousand Shadows suddenly started moving violently, forming huge black tsunamis. Very soon, a face appeared on the planet’s surface, just eyes, nose, and mouth formed by energy vortexes. It was opening its mouth wide as if it was roaring.

Two invisible psychic waves were released from both sides and formed a psychic communication link.

“How’s the progress? How long is the transformation going to take?” The blurry silhouette spoke first.

“I don’t know. Thousand Shadows is very persistent.”

“How conscious is he?”

“Not very. I obtained control of his body long ago and inherited all of his memories. As soon as I completely consume his last bit of conscience, it will dramatically increase the speed of the transformation.”

“Make it as quick as possible. You’re a core factor of our plan. We’ve tried many methods in these years. In the end, we discovered that, in order to open the Third Sanctum, it can only be done with Esper Abilities. Therefore, you’re the foundation of our fusion ceremony, the vessel to contain the other Primal Esper Ability Entities.”

“Don’t worry. Back then, Thousand Shadows wanted to live for eternity and vitalized me using your technology. Humph, this greedy guy brought this upon himself. He exceeded the limits of his physical body, but he suffered damage from it. You guys have given me life and independence. When I transform into a true Primal Esper Ability Entity, I will be able to help you.”

“Hmm, when the plan is complete, we promise you freedom.”

After that, the blurry silhouette disappeared without a trace.

The surface of the dark planet slowly returned to normal after the face disappeared.

…

The news about the appearance of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy only remained as the hot topic for a few days. In the current Flickering World, conflicts were abound, so the popularity of the news shifted very rapidly. Very soon, there was other news that attracted the attention of the galactic residents and the various organizations.

As the final winner of the competition, Black Star’s mechanical army also received a certain amount of attention. However, it quickly disappeared without a trace, and its whereabouts were not known to the outside world.

At this moment, Han Xiao’s invisible spaceship was hidden nearby Hila’s territory in the Emerald Star Cluster. He was currently calling Ames.

“… So, that’s the situation. I invited you over as a guest to protect Hila, make it look like I’m in my base to make the hidden enemies let their guards down, and have you help protect the base and look after Aurora… Therefore, I really did not stand you up on purpose.” Han Xiao’s tone was filled with resignation.

On the screen, Ames was playing with a small green force field sphere with her eyelids hanging low. Despite her calm tone, it gave off a strange vibe of danger.

“If you’d told me directly, I would’ve helped you too. Do you not trust me?”

“How could that be? Didn’t you want to see Aurora after she advanced? Well, now you’ve seen her. Plus, when I invited you, I didn’t say anything about me wanting to see you.” Han Xiao scratched his head and joked, “I didn’t say it directly mainly because I wanted to be polite. I know that as long as I ask, you definitely will agree. After all, I’m already so strong now. I’m worried you might think I’m ordering you.”

“Hehe, you didn’t order me sure, but I feel like you’re using me. Doesn’t that seem worse?” Ames narrowed her eyes. A green tint flashed across her eyes.

“Hey, that’s not true at all. With the relationship we have, using the term ‘use” is exaggerating it.” Han Xiao waved.

“Is that so? You’ve used me many times in the past.” Ames smiled every so faintly.

“That’s in the past. Things are different now. Our two organizations are intertwined. We’re a family. As family, well, it’s normal to occasionally joke around…”

“Tsk, who’s your family? Shameless.” Ames frowned slightly.

Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled and teased her. “Hehe, did you really want to see me so badly? Do you want me to go back and accompany you?”

“… Who wants to see you?”

Ames paused, deactivated the force field, and casually said, “Stay there to protect my student then. Do you need me to go over to help?”

“No need.”

“Because I’m too weak?” Ames raised her brows slightly.

“Ahem, of course not. It’s mainly because another thing needs your help. You have to stay in Black Star Palace and act as if I’m there too.”

“Since it’s for my student, I shall cooperate with your show… but don’t be in a rush to thank me. We have yet to settle the matter of you tricking me.”

“Alright, when I return, how about I accompany you on a sightseeing trip in a secondary dimension?” Han Xiao raised his brows. “Just the two of us.”

I’ll have to capture the Holy Light Particle in a secondary dimension too, killing two birds with one stone… I’m so brilliant!

“Okay, it’s decided then.” Ames had no objections.

Although she had been tricked into going all the way there, after stroking Aurora for the past few days, she was not really angry anymore.

If someone else had toyed with her and used her like this, Ames would have been furious for sure. But since it was Black Star who pranked her, she did not mind it too much—only those close to her could do something like this.

Furthermore, this reminded her of the past when Black Star kept using her despite being so weak. It made her feel nostalgic.

After chattering for a while longer, Han Xiao hung up the call and looked over at the workbench on the side.

He was currently inside the machinery workshop of the spaceship. His Mechanical Force was controlling all kinds of devices to build the King mechanical suit. To his side, there was already a pile of failed products.

He called them all failed products, but they were still all orange equipment, which could be considered rare equipment. Unfortunately, they did not reach the Universal Treasure level. Not only were their performances tremendously weaker, but they also had none of the incredible effects they were supposed to have. Plus, the cost was horrifyingly expensive. To him, these were undoubtedly failures.

After putting his communicator away, Han Xiao could finally focus on building this attempt at the King right in front of him. The [Spirit Instrument] talent on his interface constantly glowed. This talent would only be activated when building Universal Treasures.

However, when Han Xiao was more than halfway done, Phillip suddenly appeared and reported that some of the mechanical soldiers had already returned with Evans.

“Bring him over then.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

After a while, the gate of the machinery workshop opened. A few mechanical soldiers escorted a man in. It was Evans.

As soon as Evans walked in, he saw a handsome and domineering black-clothed man looking at him with a faint smile, and he immediately became nervous.

“Your Excellency, are you Black Star?”

“That’s me.”

Han Xiao smiled and nodded as he sized Evans up. His first impression of him was ordinary, way too ordinary.

Evans felt that Han Xiao’s eyes seemed to be able to look right through him, like there was nothing he could hide in front of Han Xiao. He became even more anxious.

Although he was usually calm and levelheaded, even he could no longer maintain his cool when facing someone who stood at the top of the universe like Black Star.

Evans took a deep breath, found the courage, and asked, “Your Excellency Black Star, I’m just an ordinary person without Super genes. What part of me has caused you to be interested?”

Han Xiao smiled playfully. “Your physique is quite special, and I’m very interested in that.”

“Special physique?”

Evans was stunned. He looked down at himself and felt that he was basically the direct opposite of the word ‘special’.

“Anyway, don’t worry, as a Beyond Grade A, I won’t put in so much effort just to find trouble with an ordinary person like you. Your life is not in danger here. You just have to cooperate with my experiments at most. After that, you can take up an office job in the army, which pays way more handsomely than the financial group you worked for before. What do you think?”

“… You’ve already brought me here, can I still reject?” Evans smiled bitterly.

He had just come out of prison. He had come to the Flickering World both to gain knowledge and to make a living. He did not mind working for the Black Star Army at all. Plus, the pay would be much higher.

Seeing he had no objections, Han Xiao picked up a syringe and walked to Evans. He told him to stand still and sucked a vial of blood out of him.

Han Xiao was not lying. He did intend to run some experiments.

Evans had been the shared host of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and Holy Light Particle in Han Xiao’s previous life, so his physique was undoubtedly special. Han Xiao wanted to build the mechanical host for Primal Esper Ability Entities, so extracting and studying Evans’ cells would help to explain the reasoning behind his exceptional compatibility with Primal Esper Abilities, which would speed up the progress of the research.

On the other hand, Han Xiao also dealt damage to Evans by punching the needle into his body, so the combat information was triggered as well.

The Great Mechanic Han’s eyes sparkled as he opened the interface to see Evans’ attributes.

The attribute interface of an ordinary person was very simple; only two special talents attracted Han Xiao’s attention. One was [Medium Luck Glow], meaning he was a protagonist-type character, and it was only medium because while Evans obtained power, he also had a new arch enemy, EsGod.

The other special talent was called [Highest Grade Esper Ability Affinity Physique], and its effects were all related to the Esper class. It drastically increased his compatibility with Primal Esper Ability Entities. At the same time, when being attacked by Espers, it provided a certain chance to recover some of his health and energy. Plus, the difficulty of cultivating and exploring his own Esper Ability decreased drastically, while the power of his Esper Ability would be increased drastically. It even passively increased the potential of Esper Abilities by one grade.

No wonder he could possess two Primal Esper Abilities, this talent is basically the ‘Perfect Mechanical Sense’ of the Esper class. Its effects are way too incredible.

Han Xiao was astounded.

Usually, those with such talents should all be able to awaken as Espers, but sadly, Evans was an ordinary person. What a waste of this tal…

Wait a minute!

That’s not right. If he has this talent, how can he not have Super genes? Something must be wrong!

Han Xiao suddenly turned around with very bright eyes.

With Evans having an unwilling expression on his face, Han Xiao told him to take off all his clothes. He then obediently underwent a detailed full body check. Evans was broken in the past. Of course, he had no way to check his Super gene in some high-level facilities. Therefore, Han Xiao thought something might have been overlooked.

And with this check, he really found something!

Han Xiao looked at the report and frowned.

“W-what is it?” Evans wore his clothes back and was a little nervous.

“It’s not that you don’t have Super genes. I don’t know who did the check for you, but they did not check thoroughly enough.”

Evans was stunned.

He had always thought that he was an ordinary person with no talent. Never did he expect to have someone tell him today that he actually had talent. Even though he had gotten used to the identity of an ordinary person, he was still full of shock.

“But don’t get excited too early.” Han Xiao waved and spoke slowly. “There’s something wrong with your Super genes. It seems to be suppressed by some kind of drug. After so many years, your Super genes have shrunk so much that it’s almost impossible to be detected, so the chance of your Super genes awakening is close to zero. This was an act of man. Did you have any enemies growing up?”

Evans barely suppressed the boiling emotions in his heart and started seriously searching through his memories. He then said with uncertainty, “I accepted Super gene detection when I was ten. If someone did something like this, it must have been before I was ten. But how could I have made enemies when I was that young? Because of my family? But I only have a normal family. How could this be…”

His expression kept changing. He could live with not having any talent, but only today did he know that he initially had talent, but it was destroyed by someone when he was young!

His talent was not the only thing that was destroyed but his life in the last few decades too!

Evans had initially already accepted his fate, but now, the flames of wrath burned violently in his heart.

Clap clap.

Suddenly, Han Xiao clapped and interrupted his thoughts.

“Alright, don’t think about it if you can’t figure it out. You can research it in the future. Let’s talk about a more important matter. I might have a way to help you awaken.”

Evans’ entire body shivered. He suppressed his excitement and asked, “What do I have to give in return?”

“Simple. I initially thought you’re just an ordinary person, but if you can awaken your Esper Ability, just fight for me.” Han Xiao paused, smiled, and slowly said, “I’ve researched you. When you were an ordinary person like you have always been, to protect your friends, you found a way to kill a low-grade Super. Not every ordinary person has guts like you. You have fighting talent. You once refused to accept your fate, and the many years spent in the prison extinguished your passion, but now, you might have a chance to be reborn. I only hope you don’t waste it.”

“Okay,” Evans replied firmly. His eyes were filled with perseverance. The vibe he gave off became completely different from when he had already accepted his fate, like a sharp sword buried in dust that has been finally dug up and cleaned off the rust.

Seeing this, Han Xiao took out a bottle of life force potion made by Aurora.

Evans’ symptom was that his Super genes had shrunk and lost all activity. As long as enough life energy was injected, they would recover. The life force potion was the perfect medicine for this.

Han Xiao injected just one tenth of the golden medicine into Evans’ body so that he would not end up having overflowing life force.

Buzz!

The next moment, Evans started glowing and releasing strong vitality energy from all over his body.

This glow lasted many minutes before dimming down. Evans closed his eyes and stood at the same place, but he felt completely different. He could not be any healthier. All the damage incurred from his many years in prison and the rest of his life had all disappeared.

“How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve been reborn.”

Evans opened his eyes. The gold light in his eyes finally dissipated. He looked at Han Xiao with appreciation in his eyes.

Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction and asked, “Have you sensed your Esper Ability?”

Evans frowned. He carefully sensed the changes that he had undergone but was a little hesitant.

“It does feel different, like I have a new sensory organ. That should be my Esper Ability, right?”

“Show it to me.” Han Xiao was curious.

Evans nodded. He then used all his strength to try to use it, but he realized that nothing happened at all, so he doubted himself. “I can’t seem to be able to control it. Did my Esper Ability really awaken?”

Anyone who had just awakened would become a Grade E Super, but despite being very weak, situations where Espers were not able to control their Esper Ability should not happen. Han Xiao frowned. He felt that this was not a simple matter, so he poked Evans another time with a needle to look at his combat information.

However, with just one glance, Han Xiao’s entire body stiffened, and he stood in place. He rubbed his eyes and almost thought he was hallucinating.

He looked at it for a total of more than ten seconds before he recovered from the shock. He looked at Evans with an extremely strange expression and murmured, “No wonder… no wonder…”

“Have you found out what my Esper Ability is?” Evans asked nervously.

Han Xiao took a deep breath, patted Evans’ shoulder with a complicated expression, pursed his lips, and said with deep meaning in his words, “You have to be a good person…”

Then, he did not care about Evans’ confused expression, turned his back to him, and roared in his heart.

You son of a bi*ch!

This kid’s ability… is also absorbing Esper Abilities!

Exactly the same as EsGod!

No wonder… now this guy’s uniqueness in my previous life all makes sense!

No wonder you’re EsGod’s arch enemy! Is this the choice of Steins;Gate‽

He had snatched the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy that led to Evans losing the opportunity to change his fate, so Han Xiao initially felt somewhat guilty and wanted to give him some compensation.

Now…

The Primal Esper Abilities are not good enough for you!

You are the biggest profit I’ve made on this trip!

Chapter 1040: EsGod Raising Plan and Universal Treasure Creator

1040 EsGod Raising Plan and Universal Treasure Creator [Esper Ability—Copy]

This was EsGod’s core ability, but it had appeared in Evans.

Han Xiao’s first response was to suspect what relationship Evans had with EsGod, then he instantly made up a two-million-word romantic novel in his mind. However, after thinking about the storyline in his previous life, he denied this possibility.

The chance of this being a coincidence was higher. In the universe, Espers who awakened the same abilities were not uncommon. Abilities like controlling fire, water, force fields and so on were basically everywhere. Therefore, another person being able to absorb Esper Abilities was not impossible.

However, a coincidence like this still made Han Xiao feel extremely weird. EsGod had been locked in Spacetime Amber by him just not many years ago, and now, a new ‘EsGod’ had appeared in the outside world… Could this be reincarnation? Did there always have to be an evil lord?

What a surprise, I’ve met an ‘EsGod’ at his newbie stage.

Han Xiao was pleasantly surprised.

Having [Esper Ability—Copy], Evans would certainly have to take the path of absorbing the Esper Abilities of others. His talents were suppressed by someone, but now he would have no choice but to take away others’ talents. This was all very dramatic and ironic to Han Xiao.

Obviously, without a firm belief, the way this Esper Ability was destined to grow would very easily make its owner fall to the dark side.

Evans, however, had experienced decades as an ordinary person, tasting the bitterness of being at the lowest level of the society, so he might not be as aggressive as EsGod.. Nonetheless, he might have some deeply buried hatred that could explode after being suppressed for too long, and no one could know if that would happen.

He’s a double-edged sword, Han Xiao thought. If he can be of use to me, he’ll have extraordinary potential. I have to guide him to be on my side as much as I can. He feels grateful to me, so he should be very loyal. If he someday shows any sign of decadence, I’ll have no choice but to kill him, so there won’t be a second EsGod.

Though powerful, what people were afraid of was not [Esper Ability—Copy] but EsGod himself.

In the hands of EsGod, all the abilities he absorbed had Beyond Grade A strength. Without his strength as the foundation. No matter how many Esper Abilities he absorbed, it would still make no difference.

Absorbing Esper Abilities was a way to obtain more combat methods, they were considered as abilities and would not increase one’s own levels and attributes. Therefore, in order for Evans to increase his Grade, there were no shortcuts. He had to slowly train just like the other Espers. Even though he was talented enough to have [Highest Grade Esper Ability Affinity Physique], he would still not be able to skip the process.

At the moment, Evans had only just awakened and was extremely weak, only around Grade E. Although the subject of comparison was that notorious EsGod, how long had EsGod lived? How much combat experience did he have? God knew how long it would take for Evans to reach the level of the Beyond Grade A.

Due to how extremely rare this Esper Ability was, Han Xiao wanted to plan his growing path for him so that it would not be wasted.

EsGod had already proved the limitations of [Esper Ability—Copy]. If he absorbed too many Esper Abilities, his genetic chain would be at risk of shattering.

This meant that the maximum number of Esper Abilities Evans could absorb would increase as his Grade increased. Once that limit was exceeded, he would die. Therefore, the situation of him having thousands of Esper Abilities when he was at a low Grade would never happen.

However, due to Evans’ physique, at the same level, the maximum number of Esper Abilities he would be able to absorb should be more than EsGod.

Also, [Esper Ability—Copy] did not guarantee a perfect success rate when absorbing Esper Abilities. EsGod had always absorbed Esper Abilities from Espers whose Grade was lower than his, so there were never any problems.

However, when absorbing the Esper Ability of someone at the same Grade or even at a higher Grade, the success rate would be extremely low.

Therefore, in order for Evans to absorb Esper Abilities from someone whose Grade was higher than his, there were extremely strict requirements. For instance, the target needed to be near death, or the target could be captured. Basically, it would only have a chance to succeed when the target could not resist.

“EsGod has been collecting Esper Abilities for so many years. He’s a high-quality material. The Esper Abilities he uses to battle are all quite powerful. Sadly, Evans won’t be able to do anything through the Spacetime Amber. If the seal is opened, EsGod will escape straight away. It’s only been a few decades; no way his conscience will have shattered this easily. For safety reasons, we have to keep him locked up for at least five hundred years.”

The amber blocked any and all energy. The outside world could not inspect the condition of EsGod, and he would not bear the risk of letting EsGod escape to open the seal.

Han Xiao put this thought behind and pondered about Evans’ growth path. He soon came up with some ideas.

“It’s not suitable for Evans to take EsGod’s path. He should plan what to absorb, quality over quantity, so he will benefit from it his whole life.”

EsGod was powerful indeed, but he had absorbed way too many Esper Abilities, which made his genetic chain reach the cusp of shattering. EsGod had no use for the vast majority of these abilities. Instead, they suppressed his strength.

Although the army at the super healer Aurora, Han Xiao did not want her to have too much contact with Evans. At most, he would let him use the life force potions.

One reason EsGod absorbed that many abilities was his ambition. He wanted to fuse the Super High Risk Esper Abilities to transform himself and break through the limit of peak Beyond Grade As, becoming an entirely new being.

Another reason was that part of EsGod’s ambition came from his experience. Han Xiao had read about his past before. When EsGod was weak, he had always been alone. He relied on himself for everything, and he could only trust himself. Therefore, he wanted to become almighty so that he would never need any friends.

However, Evans had no need to do that, so he had the luxury to only absorb useful and strong Esper Abilities. This might be a much more suitable path.

Seeing that Black Star faced away from him and did not speak for a while, Evans became more confused as time went on. Finally, he asked, “Your Excellency Black Star, I…”

Han Xiao regained his focus. He turned around and patted Evans’ shoulder. “Your ability can absorb the Esper Abilities of others. This is an ability with a lot of potential…”

As Han Xiao explained the ability, Evans then understood his own power but frowned. “I don’t really like this kind of Esper Ability…”

Evans looked conflicted. His talent had been suppressed for decades, so he did not like the Esper Ability that took away others’ talents.

Han Xiao uncontrollably rolled his eyes in his mind.

You think you’re buying groceries in the market? So picky.

The Great Mechanic Han then coughed and said with a friendly tone, “Don’t worry, since you’re now my man, I’ll guide your path. I won’t allow you to absorb abilities from others whenever you want, so you don’t have to be troubled. No one will force you to walk the path of a criminal.

“But, at the same time, I hope you can resist the temptation. Don’t have the thought of wanting to make someone else’s Esper Ability your own when you see how good it is. Don’t walk the wrong path because of a moment’s temptation.

“EsGod is the perfect lesson. He fell to evil, caused crimes everywhere, and created countless enemies. In the end, he was still locked up by the group of us and lost his freedom. Therefore, learn from his mistakes. Keep a low profile like me, understood?”

Hearing Black Star’s lecture, Evans nodded.

He had heard of the notorious EsGod. Despite having the same ability, he was not the same type of person. He warned himself in his heart to never forget where his heart was and never fall to the side of evil like EsGod.

Han Xiao said a few more words before telling some mechanical soldiers to lead Evans away.

He was the only one left in the room. He touched his chin and murmured, “This guy’s ability is worth raising. As long as he doesn’t take the wrong path, he’ll undoubtedly become someone strong in the future. As for how to help him obtain Esper abilities… Hmm, to me, this should be the easiest part.”

Han Xiao chuckled.

In his previous life, EsGod had tried absorbing the players’ Esper abilities, so Han Xiao understood that…

It was possible!

Although the players could revive, their bodies were made of existing materials. Other than having strange limitations and turning into light after dying, they would still bleed and get injured from normal battles. Only, the way this was displayed to them would be all kinds of debuffs.

In Version 1.0, there were even organizations that tried to dissect the players. Although, due to their health, not long into the dissection, the players turned into light. Nonetheless, the blood samples collected were no different from normal beings.

If an Esper class player was absorbed by EsGod, he would lose his Esper Ability too, entering the state of [Ability Frozen]. All abilities related to his Esper ability would become gray and unusable. This state was fixed and permanent; no ability could get rid of it, just like how the NPCs’ Esper abilities were taken away…

However!

When this player died and respawned, his status would be refreshed, and he would regain his Esper Ability!

This was related to the mechanisms of [Esper Ability—Copy]. The process of this ability could be simply explained as: Snatch → Analyze → Genetic Chain Construction → Fixation → Storage.

After snatching an Esper Ability, [Esper Ability—Copy] would break it down and analyze it, then store this ability in the owner’s body in a genetic chain. What constructed these genetic chains was a special matter produced by [Esper Ability—Copy], which was considered the material produced by the owner of this ability himself. Hence, it would not disappear as the players disappeared, just as EsGod would not lose his abilities when the original owner of the ability died.

Therefore, in Han Xiao’s previous life, a phenomenon where the players sold their bodies to EsGod in exchange for money appeared. This was something that had never happened before, and it led to the three Universal Civilizations having no choice but to come up with a special policy stating that if Immortals actively gave their Esper abilities to EsGod, they would be seen as wanted criminals. Of course, the players had all kinds of tricks to get past this policy, so this policy rarely had any effect.

Of course, EsGod was no philanthropist. Due to the limitations of his genetic chain, he would only absorb the abilities he was interested in. Otherwise, he would not absorb the players’ Esper abilities even if they came right to his doorstep to sacrifice themselves.

Also, this action of the players caused a hilarious misunderstanding. At the start, EsGod thought that this was the three Universal Civilizations’ plot to purposely send people over to die to make his genetic chain shatter. After killing many players, only then did he finally notice that these people were sincerely there to commit suic… to give him Esper abilities.

At that time, even the ever so calm EsGod had been completely astonished, which led to him saying one of his signature sentences among the players. “If I’d met you people earlier, I might have been able to become a good person.”

Thinking about that, Han Xiao uncontrollably grinned.

“So, I don’t even have to do much to help him get Esper abilities. All I have to do is give out a mission to the Esper class players, offering a high enough reward, and people will come forward themselves…”

This way, the millions of Esper players would be the largest material inventory!

Furthermore, no one would die; it was legal!

Although he had given Evans the clear path of choosing quality over quantity, with so many materials, he could slowly gather peak the Esper Abilities that complemented each other and form all kinds of strategies, achieving the most perfect combos!

Having this thought, Han Xiao was completely thrilled. At this time, a new plan was born in his head.

“Phillip!”

“Yes, hum…”

“Sketch up a new plan, the content is to record the various Esper Abilities of all the Esper Immortals under the army’s command. Then, according to the effects of these Esper Abilities, simulate all kinds of tactical combos that can be put together. Set the minimum to two Esper abilities, and set the maximum to ten Esper Abilities for the time being. Mark this plan with the highest level of confidentiality. Also, don’t mention Evans’ existence.”

“Okay, hum… This will only occupy a little bit of my memory. What’s the name of the plan?”

“Don’t have to name it. Just give it a serial number.”

Han Xiao really wanted to name it something like ‘EsGod Raising Plan’, but he thought about it and gave up that idea.

Although his database would basically never be hacked again, Han Xiao still chose to be low profile about this.

He had already made up his mind that before Evans matured, he needed to hide him as a secret weapon.

“Speaking of which, I have the Evolution Cube and the Spacetime Amber, and the army has Hila and Aurora. It’s indeed a little too conspicuous. If I even tell anyone I’m planning to create a second EsGod… tsk, the enemies will probably all want to rob me.”

Thinking of that, even Han Xiao shivered controllably.

He then rested for a while to digest all these emotions before getting back to the work he was doing earlier, continuing to build the King mechanical suit that was more than halfway done.

He did not know whether it was because of the incredible luck Evans had left in the room or not, but when Han Xiao completed the last process and at the instant the King mechanical suit was complete, a notification suddenly popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have built a Gold Grade equipment (Universal Treasure).

You have benefitted from [Spirit Instrument].

You have received 1 God’s Trait Transformation Point. (Another cannot be obtained again through the same blueprint.)

One of your random attributes has been decreased by 200…

Randomizing, randomizing complete.

-200 LUK.

You have received 200 Free Attribute Points.

You have received Level One Bonus from [Spirit Instrument]: +2.5% basic success rate of building gold equipment, +1.2% basic success rate of inventing gold blueprints.

You have received a new talent, [Universal Treasure Creator]!

_____________________

Chapter 1041: Targeting

1041 Targeting _____________________

You have received 1 Legendary Point.

_____________________

“So, this is what the [Spirit Instrument]’s benefits are.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

[Spirit Instrument] was a class talent he obtained by default after becoming a Divine Throne Mechanic, which was only effective when building Universal Treasures. When successful, it would give bonuses. This was his first time seeing the exact bonuses it gave, and he was pleasantly surprised.

Previously, Han Xiao did not if there were any other ways to obtain God’s Trait Transformation Points, but now he had found one—building Universal Treasures.

The same blueprint would not provide multiple points, meaning even if he built another gold-grade King mechanical suit, he would not receive more God’s Trait Transformation Points. Hence, he needed to get more gold blueprints.

Han Xiao was curious. There were other Beyond Grade A Mechanics who had built Universal Treasures throughout history, but from the intelligence provided by the dynasty, this method of obtaining God’s Trait Transformation Points was not mentioned.

He had some speculations.

Some Beyond Grade As who successfully built Universal Treasures probably did not fulfill the prerequisites to obtain God’s Trait Transformation Points, so they could not notice this effect. For example, Austin.

As for those who knew, maybe they hid this information for their own purposes and did not report it… or the advanced civilizations kept this a secret deliberately.

It could even be that he was the only one who could obtain God’s Trait Transformation Points through this method because the other Beyond Grade As did not have the interface!

Of course, it could also be that the dynasty did not know about this but the other two Universal Civilizations did. After all, the three Universal Civilizations were not a family; they would not share their secrets.

“The problems I’m facing now at this level are finally touching the blind spots of the Universal Civilizations… Makes sense. The dynasty doesn’t know about the First Sanctum too.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

“I still have the Emperor’s Cape blueprint in my hands. If I’m able to build it, I’ll obtain another God’s Trait Transformation Point. Indeed, becoming stronger through building things is the best way for Mechanics.”

As for the randomly decreased Attribute Points that were changed into Free Attribute Points, it was similar to resetting attributes. After every level up, Race Evolution, or Promotion, all attributes would automatically be increased. This would shift some of the Attribute Points in less important attributes to the main attribute, slowly making him stronger, which was quite useful.

Han Xiao felt that this could be triggered repeatedly but probably had a limit. Maybe the number of points reduced and given was related to the difficulty of building the Universal Treasure. The more difficult it was, the more points would be affected.

Furthermore, following the logic of the increased cost of blueprint gambling… if he built the same Universal Treasure multiple times, the points should decrease slowly too. For example, King reset two hundred of his Attribute Points the first time, but the second time might be less than two hundred.

“By the way, this time, it actually decreased my Luck…”

Han Xiao opened the attribute interface and looked at his Luck, which turned from a stick to an egg. His mouth twitched uncontrollably.

In his previous life, players with the subclass [Gambler] had tested that the lowest the Luck attribute could go was zero. It was the bottom line. To Gamblers, it meant this put them at an ‘unbeatable’ spot.

He previously only had one Luck, which had decreased to zero, and then he obtained two hundred Free Attribute Points…

“So, I basically netted 199 Attribute Points‽

“I don’t know if this is lucky or unlucky…”

Han Xiao was speechless.

Although it was an amazing deal, he could not smile. Tears were running in his belly.

“Sometimes, you only realize how precious something is when you have already lost it.

“Brother, I can’t do without you. It cannot be zero!”

The Great Mechanic Han clenched his teeth and solemnly pressed on the “+” button beside his Luck attribute…

+1.

The next moment, the value of his LUK attribute returned to that noble, pure, magnificent, and holy ‘1’.

Han Xiao almost felt like his soul had ascended.

Actually, Han Xiao was mainly worried that if his Luck was zero, the next time an attribute reset came, Luck would not be considered in the range of attributes.

He looked depressed, but he was actually overjoyed and wanted it to happen to him more.

“In addition to what I have in my interface, I now have 2,248 Free Attribute Points. My Endurance is now more than 11,700, and as long as it exceeds 15,000, I will be able to obtain one more God’s Trait Transformation Point through the next Promotion… Hmm, let’s save it for now.”

Suppressing his excitement, Han Xiao looked at his attributes interface, pondered a while, and used the one God’s Trait Transformation Point on [God’s Trait Transformation—Machinery].

Machinery and Void represented his main class and species; the transformation paths of these two should be mostly the same for everyone. Through testing, the former enhanced his Mechanic abilities, and the latter strengthened his Racial Talents and gave him bonus attributes.

Since he now had [Spirit Instrument] as a method to obtain God’s Trait Transformation Points, he would have to invent more gold blueprints, which would require strong Mechanic abilities. Not only did the main class path increase his basic Machinery Affinity and ability strength, it also slightly enhanced the effects of his various Mechanic abilities.

The next moment, his cells operated at full capacity. His energy waves increased drastically, and electric sparks appeared from all over his body. His flesh and bones were both itching and hurting, which made him narrow his eyes a little.

_____________________

God’s Trait Transformation—Machinery (2/?)

Stage One: +1,000 Machinery Affinity, +20% Ability power. The basic effects of all Mechanic class abilities are slightly enhanced.

Stage Two (New): +15% building, enhancing, repairing abilities, +1% Machinery Affinity for every 30 INT. Main branch ability effects enhanced (Virtual Branch).

_____________________

“Not bad.”

Han Xiao scratched his chin. He felt like this was not as good as the first enhancement. It might be that the first stage was like a welcoming gift and was an exception, while the later stages would keep getting better.

Then, he looked at the new talent, [Universal Treasure Creator]. Its introduction was that building a Universal Treasure meant that he had touched a certain new level. Its effect was +10% Machinery Creation Performance, +1 level to all machinery abilities, +4% basic success rate of building gold equipment, and +2% basic success rate of inventing gold blueprints.

Its effects were quite good, but Han Xiao’s attention was attracted by the notification that came with this talent.

_____________________

You have obtained the talent [Universal Treasure Creator]. You have fulfilled the requirement.

You have received 1 [The First Sanctum] Ability Fragment.

_____________________

“This so-called The First Sanctum again…”

An electric spark flashed past Han Xiao’s eyes.

He now had two Ability Fragments, and he still did not know what use they had, but since they were so difficult to obtain, it was definitely something important.

Without any clues, there was no point in overthinking. Han Xiao put the thought away and looked at the Legendary Point given.

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Achievement Legendary Point: Universal Treasure Artisan—You have built a Universal Treasure. From this moment forth, you’re one of the top artisans in the entire universe. You’ve become a master. The things you have built will be passed on as treasures in the future.

_____________________

“Speaking of which, since I have the core technology, if I build more Kings and sell them, I can make quite a lot of money.”

Han Xiao smiled at this thought.

He was just thinking about it. There was no way he would exchange his trump card for money; he now had no interest in money.

After making sure he had gone through all the new things he had obtained on the attributes interface, Han Xiao finally looked at the gold Grade King mechanical suit closely.

At this point, it was not yet colored. The appearance of King was a magnificent full cover style mechanical armor. The details on every piece of its plates were exceptionally exquisite, giving off the beauty of a top-class mechanical product. It was like a piece of art.

A palm-sized triangular device was embedded on its chest and was glowing slightly. This was the King mechanical suit’s only set attachment, Throne. As long as it was taken off, no matter where it was placed, the King would be able to instantly arrive at its place. Its effect was comparable to the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device.

Performance-wise, naturally, it was far superior to orange equipment in every way. As equipment specially made for Beyond Grade A Mechanics, it provided a 1.075 multiplier to the wearer’s total Machinery Affinity, as well as a thirty-five percent bonus to the effective area of Mechanical Force enhancement. It was a mechanical suit that was top-notch even among Beyond Grade A equipment.

Han Xiao immediately put it on like an old driver who had just bought a new car, tested it with excitement, and recorded the various parameters. Only then did he reluctantly stow it away.

“If the mechanical suit I was using last time was a home-use Volkswagen, King would be a Pagani, Koenigsegg, or a Bugatti sports car.”

Han Xiao was very satisfied.

After organizing all his gains, he ordered the mechanical assistants to clean up the workshop while he set the Divine Mechanical Throne to lazy sofa mode.

He leaned back and opened the forums comfortably, planning to reward himself by looking at those idiotic players.

In Version 4.0, the player forums had made some changes and updates. It added the new Flickering World panel, which was like a world channel to the players.

As more and more people arrived, the popularity of the Flickering World panel exceeded all the other panels in no time, quickly becoming the most active channel on the forums.

Han Xiao flipped through the posts for a while and saw Bun-Hit-Dog’s newly released video.

The Black Star Army series got a new episode again. Its content was what the army had done during the version update, and its views seemed to have broken records again.

He clicked in and watched it. This was not really the best episode ever, but since tons of players had joined the Black Star Army, more people came to learn about the Black Star Army’s history, hence the explosive increase in the view count of even the videos posted in the past.

Ever since Version 1.0, Bun-Hit-Dog had been making series videos, which already had many episodes by now. The new players could binge-watch from the start and learn about the complete rise of the Black Star Army. As a super faction that grew before the eyes of the players, it could give them a strong sense of immersion.

Most of the foreign players who had joined the army came for the benefits and did not have any sense of belonging at all. However, learning the history of a faction could slowly build up their unity, and Bun-Hit-Dog’s series videos played a huge part in that, like fertilizer.

“Ideology construction has to be heeded. They need to be given more knowledge about the Black Star Army so that the players will feel the warmth of a home.”

While mumbling, Han Xiao continued to flip through the posts. Suddenly, he saw that someone had made a post to expose the Limitless Financial Group.

The content was shockingly the spying mission given by Sorokin, which required players to purchase intelligence from Black Star Army players.

The Limitless Financial Group actually kept this secret very well. At least Han Xiao did not know about it through other sources. Sadly, the players sold Sorokin out on the forums.

It’s probably more difficult for me not to know…

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

The player forums were a special information exchange platform; no outsider could interfere with it. However, he could browse it, which gave him an incomparable intelligence advantage that currently only he had.

To him, players were a natural free intelligence network. Even if he did nothing and sat at home, the player forums would continuously provide intelligence about the other organizations.

Currently, the Limitless Financial Group was the organization that was most passionate about recruiting the players other than himself. That unlucky b*stard wanted to use the players as his spies but had no idea that he was exposed by the players instead, and Han Xiao did not have to pay the price for it.

The joy of having privileges has always been this simple and dull.

Thinking of Sorokin’s face that was clearly covered in plots and conspiracies, Han Xiao almost wanted to laugh.

Might as well let the army players accept his mission, then sell some intelligence to take Sorokin’s money for free. He’s that rich anyway.

While Han Xiao was having these wicked ideas, he suddenly saw a very popular post title, and his attention was pulled over immediately.

‘The Army Players’ Corpses Have Been Camped Time After Time. Who Is Targeting the Black Star Army‽’

Chapter 1042: Reappeared Shady Trick

Chapter 1042 Reappeared Shady Trick

Camping corpses was a task that required skill.

To protect the players’ fragile hearts, there were many ways to revive they could choose from—revive on the spot, at the nearest city, nearest carrier, or special designated coordinates. They could even not revive and just go offline. Also, they could revive a maximum of ten times every six days. Therefore, camping someone’s corpse was pretty difficult.

In his previous life, the fact that Han Xiao was okay despite being completely ruthless was mostly thanks to this kind of reviving method.

However, even with so many difficulties, the players never got tired of camping the other players’ corpses. The more common methods were kidnapping, forcing carriers to stop, and so on. In combat mode, there were restrictions to logging off for the players, and they would be punished for forcefully exiting the game. Hence the kidnapping method. They would bring the target to the nearest revive point and surround the target. Forcing carriers to stop made the player revive on the same spot whether they chose to revive on the spot or the nearest carrier. Nonetheless, none of these methods could perfectly deal with the reviving mechanism. Even if all locations were blocked off, the target had to be at least online and not log off.

Hence, the only requirement for camping someone’s corpse to succeed was… that the target had a lot of pride.

And from the ID of this pal who made the post, which was [Daddy Is Proud What Are You Going To Do], Han Xiao could clearly feel his unrestrained sense of manliness.

In the post, this [Daddy Is Proud What Are You Going To Do], who was an army player, explained what had happened to him.

“Just some time ago, I was doing a solo errand mission in the free competition zone and came to a transit planet. I met a group of stranger players from another organization, and the moment they saw me, they attacked me without saying anything and killed me.

“I asked them why, but they dared to tell me that they just didn’t like my face! I don’t know about the others, but there’s no way I could put up with that. So, I revived on the spot and fought with them head-on, not intending to give up. These pieces of sh*t then actually really killed me time after time and finished all my revive counts for today. After that, they even private messaged me to mock me, f*ck!

“I was minding my own business, and out of nowhere, I got beat up. Who did I mess with‽ I’ve already posted the ID of these sons of bi*ches. My brothers, all of you are my fathers today. Please respond to my summon and help me greet their family. Let these *ssholes enjoy the bath of positive energy!”

Han Xiao looked at these IDs, which were clearly all American players of the Demon Race.

He then continued reading the comments and realized that this post had already become a sea of joy.

[Fast Horse: Shocking, agitated dude calls people father at the scene (っ°Д°;)っ]

[Human Hammer: I, your daddy, will avenge you!]

[Cold Sister: Senior keyboard warrior of thirty years reporting for duty!]

[I Can’t Take It Anymore: When it comes to scolding people, count on us.]

Other than these chaotic replies, there were also army players who were complaining about experiencing the same thing. It seemed this had happened to quite a lot of people.

However, not everyone was so stubborn. More people were just attacked by a group of players from other organizations out of nowhere. Furthermore, it was not just the Americans; there were players from other countries too, and not all of them were guild members. It was almost like people were hunting the army players.

Han Xiao pondered about the reasoning behind this.

He felt that this was probably a butterfly effect he had caused. In his previous life, everyone was scattered without the Black Star Army. Now, the Black Star Army was the biggest player faction.

The winds howl around the highest peaks.

From the responses of the players, this most likely had nothing to do with NPC organizations and was completely initiated by the players. Maybe some people were hostile toward the army players, or maybe the foreign big guilds worked together secretly. There were only so many possibilities.

Currently, tens of millions of players were swarming into the Flickering World and onto the universal stage. They started attracting the attention of all kinds of organizations. Tens of millions of people was just a droplet of water in the vast sea to a Star Field, but if they were all Immortal Grade B Supers, it would be a force that could not be ignored.

As a part of the universe’s ecological system, the players’ actions now would affect the others too. Han Xiao’s intelligence network had shown that more and more organizations were beginning to study the players, and even more were trying to use the players. The three Universal Civilizations had also moved the recruitment and studying of players up the schedule.

The fact that foreign players were willing to leave their own factions to join the Black Star Army attracted more attention as well. Many organizations were very curious about the source of influence Black Star had among the Immortals. Although Black Star was famous indeed, why was the top choice of so many Immortals the Black Star Army? They could not figure it out.

However, many players joined other factions too, so although the situation surrounding the Black Star Army was interesting, it was not too big a deal. If Han Xiao really had all the players in his army, the dynasty would probably have come to his door to question him the very next day.

“The other organizations did not target the army, but their players actually started causing trouble first.”

Han Xiao carefully read all the replies and discovered that the biggest group of people who hunted his players were American, Japanese, and Korean players.

Also, when they attacked the army players, they avoided killing any army soldiers, so it was clearly targeted at the players.

Suddenly, he had a thought and started searching in the forums. As expected, he discovered some anonymous posts that were censored due to the aggressive language used, which were about the players of the other organizations bragging about killing army players and expressing that they were indeed targeting the Black Star Army. They were also very arrogant, mocking the Chinese players they killed by name.

“Interesting, so that’s how they’re going to play.”

Han Xiao suddenly understood the reasoning behind this.

He was not unfamiliar with this method. This had happened among the players in the previous life too, also during Version 4.0.

This was a very shady method. The people behind this were undoubtedly the big clubs. Basically, they secretly gathered some of their local players to hunt the players of the target faction. Then, these players would be told to taunt and provoke as much as possible, as aggressively as possible on the forums, to trigger the rage of the target faction players, starting an insulting war. Afterward, they would then let people secretly guide the focus of the situation to race, nationality, and area discrimination, causing hatred.

The goal of this was to control their local players’ faction preference by creating collective hatred.

Since the players these clubs could directly control were very few compared to the normal local players, who made up the majority, someone in his previous life thought of this extremely shady and low idea to influence the normal players’ preference in picking factions.

For example, a faction had a million players, among whom there were 800,000 Chinese players and 200,000 American players. The American clubs would then start hunting the Chinese players, provoking and taunting to make the Chinese players retaliate and insult them too. They would then guide the topic into the hatred between the nations.

This way, the 200,000 American players in this faction would, of course, not be happy, so they would join the internet war. The clubs would then keep fanning the flames and making the situation worse.

The result would be, a lot of these 200,000 Americans would quit this faction out of their anger toward the Chinese players, and more American players would not want to join this faction. This was just one of the methods the big clubs used to manipulate the faction preference of their local players. They created hatred, and using that hatred, they increased the unity of the players of their country.

The reason for this was very simple—the clubs did not want their local players to work for the factions that the clubs of the other countries were in. They only wanted their local players to work for the factions they were in.

To normal players, the more players in one faction, the stronger the competition. But to clubs, local players represented cheap labor. Be it during normal developments or national wars, as long as the clubs made announcements, the normal players would most likely respond and become free manpower.

Normal players wanted to enjoy the game freely, which the professional players had to respect too. However, clubs and official guilds were commercial organizations; their goal was to gain achievements in the Pro League and make a profit.

Therefore, after Version 4.0 started in the previous life, with the Americans in the lead, some clubs started to manipulate their fans at all costs, using all sorts of dirty methods. This led to the forums’ environment becoming contaminated to a certain extent, so the mainstream factions of the clubs of the other countries would be weakened, and they would become stronger… Simply put, they were robbing leeks from others.

Only clubs of a very few countries did not take part in such things, and the Chinese were one of them.

The Chinese had always been united, and now that most of the Chinese players were in the Black Star Army, there was no need to use such shady methods at all.

“Tsk, the first reappearance of this trick, and it’s aimed at me. Plus, it’s from the clubs of multiple countries.”

Han Xiao thought about it and understood what these clubs were thinking.

It was basically because the foreign clubs did not want the army players’ forces to keep getting bigger. Otherwise, the army would have too many advantages among the factions. Not only would that reduce the development space of the other faction, but it would also give the Chinese clubs free manpower, which was basically sending money to the enemies, to these foreign clubs.

“Just as I expected, the army is too outstanding, so the Chinese clubs became targets. Although these foreign clubs are not targeting me, if I let them continue doing this, my leek farm might shrink.”

Han Xiao did not panic at all. Rather, he smiled.

“Isn’t this a perfect opportunity to strengthen the sense of belonging of the new army members that is delivered to my doorsteps?”

Why were the Alliance and the Horde so united? One reason was their background story and the game setting, but the more direct reason was that the players of the two factions were fighting each other all the time.

Creating a shared target—this was a great way to rapidly increase the sense of unity of a group!

“Discrimination is a factor in the real life. I indeed can’t deal with that right now, but I can target those main factions that you foreign clubs are in.

“You’re manipulating players through nationality differences, so I shall make use of the difference between factions.

“When the foreign clubs gather people to hunt the army players, their factions won’t reward them. Therefore, to them, this is just a matter between the players.

“However, if I announce a Bounty Mission, stating that as long as the army players kill the players of your factions, they’ll be rewarded, what will happen?

“At that point, your local normal players might even beat you up!

“How can those people secretly hired by the clubs compare with the eight million warriors of our army‽

“You wanted to play dirty? You asked for it!

“Hehe, since you people can’t be satisfied with peacefully developing your forces and play these dirty tricks all day, let me add more wood to the fire and make your business more popular.”

Han Xiao grinned wickedly, sat up from the lazy throne, opened the faction interface, and started drafting the Bounty Mission.

…

At the same time, on a private player chat channel, the high position members of the professional clubs of many countries were online.

Among these were America’s Devil and Key; Japan’s Hydra, Amaterasu, and Werewolf; Korea’s Kimchi and Triple Star Bomb; Italy’s Classical and Pizza; and Southeast Asia’s Red Bay, Island, and Titan. Many of the regular attendees of the international tournament were in this channel.

At this time, the topic these people were discussing was indeed related to the Black Star Army.

Just like Han Xiao guessed, as more and more players of the various countries changed factions and joined the Black Star Army, these guilds who were not planning to change their factions could not put up with it anymore. They secretly worked together and planned to restrain the Black Star Army’s rapidly growing player base.

“… The people on our side are moving according to plan. The public opinion part is still in preparation. The players’ emotions need time to be developed,” a high ranking member of the Key club said.

“The circumstances are actually beneficial to us. China has managed to win two consecutive years. This is their pride, and they have this sense of superiority, so the public opinion will not be tough to manipulate. Steer the topic in this direction, toward how the normal players of the various countries are targeted because the teams of their country did not achieve optimal results, then let the Chinese players insult us. This way, more anger can be created.”

“Actually, tricks like this are not difficult to see through. The players are quite smart…”

“Don’t worry. Players will be players. Once it gets to their head, reasoning won’t be important. The Pro League is a great conversation topic. It’ll be easy to trigger their emotions.”

“Let’s hope it works. We’re all in different factions. The biggest threat now is the Black Star Army. There are way too many players there. If we don’t weaken them, the Chinese clubs will have way too big an advantage.”

“It’ll be best if we can isolate them.”

As for the stand of the Black Star Army, it was not within their consideration. To them, all of this was just between the players. The NPC factions were just the background.

Chapter 1043: I“ll put up a strong front and make you cry

1043 I“ll put up a strong front and make you cry “I’ll god d*mn burn down all your dreams!”

In the great hall of Black Star Palace, an emotional roar sounded as a white beam of light shone up. It transformed into a revived army player with the ID of [Under the Soaring Clouds]. Naturally, he came from China.

The great hall had quite a few players coming and going, and hearing this loud exclamation, everyone turned to look at Under the Soaring Clouds. All they saw was him heaving hard with a look of resentment.

To the side, one of the veterans asked with a tone as though he expected it, “What’s wrong, brother with big lungs? Why the anger? Who f*cked you?”

“I got squatted[1] by a bunch of foreigners, and they even ridiculed me. This is already the third time!” Under the Soaring Clouds was exasperated.

“Sigh, it’s now Version 4.0, the World Server. There are players from all sorts of factions outside now, and it can’t be compared to back then when we were in the Shattered Star Ring. You have to watch out for your safety,” the veteran advised before shaking his head and leaving.

Under the Soaring Clouds’ face was nasty to behold.

He was a new player that only joined in Version 3.0, and he was more of a casual player, not interested in PK at all.

In the last version, the World Server had not been opened yet, so as an army player, he was basically only meeting his own people whenever he went out, so he was rarely attacked by others. However, there was no security in the current version. He had done a couple of missions but was maliciously interfered with by players from other organizations.

He struggled to get used to the huge gap between the two versions, so he felt that his gaming experience had drastically fallen.

Looking around, he saw that players with foreign IDs were scattered around, basically newcomers who had only joined the army recently. Among them, a small group of players constantly scanned the coming and going army players, looking at him from time to time as well. This sort of performance was most likely from a ‘spy’ sent by a foreign guild.

“Recently, there have been many squatting incidents, and this is probably the work of those spies. My whereabouts were revealed by them, which caused me to be squatted as well.” Under the Soaring Clouds felt that this was likely, and he gritted his teeth in indignation.

He disliked the foreign players who had recently joined, and he was not the only one—many of the Chinese players had the same idea as him, as the previous versions were so much more comfortable to play in. Everyone belonged to the same country, but now, since there were more foreigners, they had to be aware of the lurking dangers in their external and internal environments, making many people sick and tired of playing.

Under the Soaring Clouds belonged to the category of a new player, and he was unlike the veterans who had invested a lot of time into the army. Right now, he could not help but think about changing factions.

“I really don’t want to encounter the mess of being squatted anymore. It really affects my mood.”

Just as he was about to act on his words, the communicators of every player in the room rang. The moving players all gave each other a strange look, collectively stopping as they lowered the heads to read the news.

Under the Soaring Clouds also retrieved his communicator, and when he scanned the notification, he realized it was an internal announcement from the army, and there were three messages.

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Army Announcement 1: Newcomer Preferential Treatment Policy

Addressed to all soldiers of the army: Now is the period of the development in the Flickering World. Recently, we have recruited new warriors from the other Star Fields. In order to quickly integrate the newcomers into the army, we’re re-enabling the policy of supporting the newcomers. Existing members can take the newcomers to perform missions, and both parties will obtain additional benefits. The army will give certain subsidies, which include but are not limited to Enas, Contribution Points, Ammo, and free repair opportunities. The full list can be seen in the Appendix (Expand/Collapse). I hope everyone will actively help newcomers, no matter which Star Field they arrived from. As long as one has joined the Black Star Army, I hope we can all entrust each other with our backs in battle—Army Commander, Black Star.

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“It turned out to be this policy.” Under the Soaring Clouds had a shift in heart.

In the previous version, the army recruited a bunch of Russian and Australian players in the Constellation Corridor. During that time, they also announced a similar policy, which was implemented for a period of time. After results were achieved, this welfare plan was temporarily frozen.

The effect of this policy had been proven in the previous version. It would mobilize the enthusiasm of older players to bring in newcomers, and it also quickly narrowed the distance between them, encouraging the making of friends. This allowed the Russian and Australian players in the previous version to quickly blend into the army.

Right now, the Russian and Australian players in the army were different from those new players who had only joined the army recently. They had blended in with the Chinese players for a longer period of time and got along relatively well with them. Han Xiao had thus proposed this plan again in order to quickly integrate the new players from various countries and to allow them to feel the warmth of the old players, eliminating any barriers caused by unfamiliarity.

Under the Soaring Clouds was not surprised by this announcement… but he was a little upset. Now that many of the old players were being squatted, the army actually wanted them to even lead the newcomers.

While the spies only accounted for a small portion of the population, he could not help but blame the entire new player group. Thus, in his eyes, this plan sounded like the leader still choosing to help the bully even after he had shown signs of being bullied. The more he thought of it, the angrier he got.

“This is too much!”

Under the Soaring Clouds knew that the NPC could not be blamed, but he could not help sulking.

As he scrolled down to the next messages, he suddenly jerked, and his eyes widened like saucers.

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Army Announcement 2: Organization Warning List

Recently, a large number of immortals have reported to the upper echelons that while they were performing their missions, they were ambushed and killed by immortals from other organizations. After a detailed investigation, we have found this to be true. We have compiled a list of organizations that are deliberately targeting our members. For details, please refer to [Appendix – List of Organizations] (Expand/Collapse). Although immortals do not fear death, their actions are regarded as a provocation to the Black Star Army. Thus, I am issuing a public warning to these organizations to restrain your immortal subordinates before I declare war—Army Commander, Black Star.

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Army Announcement 3: Counterattack Permit

Until these organizations restrain their subordinates and put an end to the ambushes made to our immortals, we will initiate counterattacks. I hereby inform all immortals of the army that they can engage in retaliatory attacks against the above organizations, restricted only to their immortals. It is not our style to be beaten and not fight back. In order to encourage this behavior, the army will subsidize additional supplies, which can be found in [Appendix – Reward List] (Expand/Collapse). Repeated kills are allowed, and to receive rewards, you will need to use the Phillip mini program to upload each battle video in exchange for the reward you are entitled to. Kills on the same person will not be awarded.

At the same time, for those habitual offenders who have repeatedly attacked members of our army, a special pursuit order will be issued. Every time you kill a designated wanted person, you can exchange it for special reward, please refer to [Appendix – Kill List] (Expand/Collapse). Everyone, please remember, those who offend me, Black Star, will be punished no matter the distance—Army Commander, Black Star.

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An uproar sounded as Under the Soaring Clouds finished reading the other two notifications, and many players got excited.

“Damn, what is this? The army actually moved!”

“The PKs between players actually caused such a change in the faction‽”

“Haha, those dumb bitches. Squatting on us? Do you think our identity as army members is given for free‽”

“This is the feeling of having a backer. It’s really good.”

“Our Army Commander is truly domineering, tsk, warning the other factions immediately.”

The recent squatting incidents had left the army players outraged, but it was because they did not have any teams, they could only count on themselves, praying that they would not meet any of those malicious players from the other factions.

But right now, the Black Star Army had directly issued a faction announcement, with very domineering wording indicating that they could retaliate against their enemies. This attitude made many of the army players extremely comfortable.

Especially since killing players from other factions would now give them reward, everyone was immediately motivated.

Han Xiao released three announcements with the intention of a full-scale blow. He first used the Black Star Army to suppress people and skipped through the chain of command to warn the other factions that their people were causing trouble, making them pull those troublemakers back.

The second was the permission to counterattack. All players in the army could thus be mobilized, and players in the other factions could be hunted down. Not only could they vent their frustrations and enhance their sense of identity, this would also allow the older players to fight together with the newbies to build friendships.

In addition, he even dragged the players from other countries into the water, tying everyone to the same ship. In this manner, it would be much more difficult for any foreign clubs to incite discrimination between countries.

They wanted to divide based on nationalities? Even their own countrymen would end up attacking them, so there was nothing to fuss about!

The manpower used by the clubs to incite trouble was limited, which was only considered annoying to the army players, but if all the army players turned around to hunt down the hostile players, the foreign club players would be overwhelmed and choose to change factions, which would in turn weaken the scale of players in the faction and would help expand their own leek farms.

The third announcement served to specifically fish out players that liked to cause chaos, killing the chicken to warn the monkeys. This would reduce the number of players who engaged in trouble together, thus reducing the manpower available for the clubs as much as possible.

Under the Soaring Clouds was pleasantly surprised. He turned his head, seeing those people he suspected of being spies now standing still, as though frozen stiff.

Under the Soaring Clouds felt as though all his grievances had been vented. He felt extremely good and comfortable, and if there was a faction identity score, one would see his score have continuously rising.

“Haha, this is the judgement from heaven. Who will Black Star forgive!”

Under the Soaring Clouds laughed out loud, feeling extremely comfortable.

A perfectly normal casual player was actually rubbing his knuckles, as though he could not wait to form a team and cut down people.

From today onward, Black Star will be my big brother. Whoever tries to mess with the army, I’ll show them who they’re messing with!

…

Once the three announcements were issued, a storm was set off among the players.

The players were no strangers to this sort of mission. Was this not a faction war?

The army players felt like they had been brought to a carnival, where many of them did not even bother with the normal missions any longer, calling for their friends and rushing for the clearing list, exiting the base like locusts leaving empty fields.

The Black Star Army was the first organization to organize a faction war mission. In the memory of the army players, some people in the previous version had switched over to Bloodshed Land, causing the army to issue a similar killing list, but it paled in comparison to the current operation.

This was a large group consisting of more than a million people!

The players were more prone to chaos than NPCs. Missions could be skipped, but how could such an interesting event be passed up?

Whether it was an old player or a new player, their enthusiasm was stimulated!

In particular, the new players from the various countries who had joined recently were even more enthusiastic than the Chinese players. Because many of them had jumped from such factions, they were familiar with the formations of these organizations, and they had naturally rushed faster than anyone to fight with their own people. The veterans naturally took on a few of such ‘pathfinders’ in their parties.

The hostile factions listed by Han Xiao were those organizations that the clubs worked for. They came from different Star Fields and did not have a particularly strong background, let alone being in the Flickering World where Black Star reigned supreme.

Thus, facing the warning of the Black Star Army, most of them were bewildered.

What are you warning us about? We didn’t provoke you guys at all!

But after a short check, they discovered the truth and almost had a stroke.

They obviously had no intention of targeting the Black Star Army, but some of the immortals under them had acted spontaneously and caused trouble, resulting in them being wronged.

It was literally the scenario of sitting at home, but a pot descended from the sky to strike at their head!

Most of the organizations immediately responded to Black Star Army’s warning and hurriedly stated to Han Xiao that those were not their intentions. It was only some crazy subordinates who had acted without permission. They had no intention of becoming an enemy of the army, and their weak hearts could not withstand such a ‘surprise’.

Internally, these organizations started to strictly restrict the movement of their immortals, ensuring that without their orders, they were not allowed to provoke anyone, lest they suffered from dire consequences. They also punished those troublemakers and instigators… Reflected in the player interface, those players experienced a decrease in Contribution Points and Favorability.

However, there were a small portion of organizations with a rather unique way of thinking. Considering the special reputation Black Star Army had among the immortals, they came to a startling conclusion.

Spies!

This group of troublemaking subordinates must have been spies sent over by the Black Star Army!

The Black Star Army must have plans to swallow us, so they purposely got the spies to create trouble. That way, they will have a just cause to attack us!

These smart alecks began to brew their own conspiracy theories and decided not to fall for the evil plot.

There were even a handful of organizations whose thought process was more refined, thinking that these Immortals that caused trouble were neither their people nor the people of Black Star, but rather a third party.

Their goal was to cause a conflict between them and the Black Star Army, thus acting as the fisherman that benefited in the fight between the sandpiper and clam!

Anyway, regardless of whether this was a truth or not, the organizations already believed it to be so.

And for the Limitless Financial Group, which was the keenest on recruiting the players, it had turned into an excellent target.

Hearing this, Sorokin was in a mess.

There was no problem. I really had such a plan…

But I haven’t even started implementing it!

Could this be retribution?

Han Xiao’s announcements stirred up the situation and directly caused the entire player population in the World Server to turn into chaos.

And the foreign clubs were immediately forced into a corner by Han Xiao’s triple attack.

This is not right. Us players originally liked to PK, so why is it you as the NPC that reacted most strongly‽

We only attacked your Immortals troops, and you already made such a big hoo-ha. Do you even feel embarrassed‽

Their plan was hit hard right after it started, and they almost got destroyed because of it. In this situation, even if the plan could continue, it would be far from achieving their desired results.

The executives of the clubs were also unable to do anything.

If they fought a faction war, they would not be the ones suffering. Including all the affected factions, even if they could not beat the Black Star Army players, they would not lose too badly. They could even rally the ordinary players in their respective factions through this faction war.

However, the factions they belonged to directly complied. Not only did they not allow a counterattack, they even restrained the players under their command.

Since their superiors did not allow them to retaliate, the faction war could not take place. All they could do was withstand the enemy’s attacks.

The Black Star Army had encouraged their players and even released faction rewards. Not only did their organizations not have rewards, but they even held them back. The contrast was just too jarring.

They all knew that if they were bullied like this, the casual players in their faction would be disappointed, maybe even jumping over to the Black Star Army since they could not beat them.

The benefits of staying in a strong faction were just too much!

However, it was not these clubs that had the worst. It was the casuals.

Faced with such a situation, many of them were caught totally unawares.

I just got out of bed, without even brushing my teeth, and you’re telling me that I’ve been marked by hundreds of thousands of players‽

What are you trying to do‽

…

Just as these players were tearing up in confusion and desperation, Hila, who was situated in the Emerald Star Cluster, suddenly received a special communication request.

It came from the Arcane Church, from the Pope himself!

[1] Squatted is gaming slang where the PKers spawn camp the corpse.

*

Chapter 1044: Exposing One“s Fangs

Chapter 1044 Exposing One“s Fangs

At the frontline exploration base of the Black Star Army in the Emerald Star Cluster…

In the bright, empty training room, Hila was levitating in midair, her eyes closed and breathing slow. A red brilliance surrounded her body, and the energy fluctuations she emitted made the high collared cloak of the Crimson Snake uniform flutter like dancing black and red clouds.

In front of her floated a deep red ball of concentrated death energy, and suspended in the middle was a faint golden glow. Golden blood vessel-like threads radiated from that glow, spreading throughout the ball.

At this moment, Hila’s brows suddenly frowned, and the energy ball in front of her boiled as though a violent chemical reaction had occurred. It exploded, the death energy reverberating across the room.

“We failed again, Sis.”

Aurora’s annoyed voice sounded in Hila’s mind.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.” Hila shook her head.

With the qualitative change in one’s Esper Ability’s strength, control, and other characteristics, the Esper would be able to bring out and develop more uses for this ability.

Because there existed an exclusive vitality link between the two, after Aurora entered the Calamity Grade, this link was further strengthened, giving birth to a two-way telepathic channel for them to communicate with each other.

As for the transmission of life energy, this was originally limited by the distance. Right now, their personal project was to develop an energy transmission channel that would ignore the factor of distance. However, they had not succeeded yet and were still looking for a method.

Now that Aurora had entered the Calamity Grade, Hila reckoned that she could protect herself. Thus, she no longer restricted Aurora, allowing her to utilize the abilities and life energy freely.

“Sis, actually, the life link that ignores distance already has an embryonic form. The life energy is constantly emitted from my side, but it cannot be transmitted to yours.”

“It’s not a complete failure.” Hila nodded. “Actually, I did receive a small amount of life energy, but the energy loss is too severe, which limits me to only receiving one ten thousandth of it. The way I see it, most of your energy seems to be absorbed by an unknown secondary dimension, and that secondary dimension has a weak connection with me, which is why I could feel its presence.”

“Is that so? I didn’t feel anything.” Aurora was surprised.

“I only sensed this when I advanced to the Beyond Grade A realm. I think that if we wish to complete the link, we need to first solve this obstacle. I previously sent my death energy into this secondary dimension, but once it entered, it was cut off from me entirely. I’m afraid I’ll need to find time to go there in person. I always feel that it has some secret related to us. Call it the intuition of a Beyond Grade A.”

As she spoke, Hila shook her head and lifted her finger. There was a bright golden light floating on her fingertip, about the size of a peanut. This was the life energy she had obtained from Aurora.

With just her eyes, she manipulated the sesame-sized particles of death energy into this cluster of life energy, and the next moment, a brilliant light flashed as the two energies melted together. The red and golden light spots merged into a light spot with the color of orange gold.

“Sis, did you succeed?”

“Nope, I’m still exploring the ratio needed to successful fusion. Right now, I can only merge this small amount of energy.”

Hila lightly breathed out. She had tried to fuse their energies a long time ago, but due to their lack of control over their Esper abilities, they had never succeeded. At that time, they had thought that it was a conflict in their energy natures that caused this.

However, now that Hila was in the Beyond Grade A realm and Aurora had also entered the Calamity Grade, Hila reattempted the combination, only to find out that their energies were actually combinable, but they were unstable and required powerful manipulation abilities to maintain the balance.

After the fusion, it would turn into an orangey-gold light cluster, with different characteristics. Although the healing and killing effects were still present, these two characteristics were not strengthened but in fact weakened. Hila had not yet studied the special effects the fused energy would have.

At this moment, a communication request sounded.

Beep beep!

A virtual screen appeared, and the vice-captain’s image popped up. The shock on his face had not faded as he said, “Your Excellency, the Pope of the Arcane Church wishes to speak to you. Should I transfer the call over?”

Hila’s pupils shrank.

For someone seated at the very top to come knocking, Hila thought it was surprising.

She thought for a while before saying, “Transfer it.”

Very quickly, the screen in front of her changed to the shadow of the Pope.

The three Universal Civilizations often had their leaders appear in the news, so Hila naturally knew who he was. Thus, her expression was indifferent as she spoke.

“May I know your intention in looking for me?”

Because of the conflict between the Arcane Church and the Black Star Army, Hila did not bother showing much respect.

The Pope did not bother beating around the bush either. “I would like to invite you to join our Arcane Church.”

“The leader of a Universal Civilization actually came to personally invite me, I’m really flattered… If Black Star was here, that’s what he would say.” Hila remained impassive. “But I’m not him.”

The Pope slowly continued. “We’ve looked into you, and you’re someone who values and pursues strength. The Arcane Church can help to give you incredible strength. I…”

“It’s alright. I reject your offer.” Hila did not even wish to listen on and refused flatly.

“… So long as you join as an ally, you can state any conditions.”

“Not interested.”

The Pope paused, expressionless. “The reason you insist on following Black Star, is it because of your own personal feelings?”

“Nothing to do with you.”

The Pope nodded. “My offer will stand. If you happen to have a change in heart, the Arcane Church will forever welcome you with open arms.”

He then ended the communication.

Looking at the darkened screen, Hila could not help but frown.

The Arcane Church’s Pope had personally appeared, which meant that he had more sincerity than the Crimson Dynasty. However, this could be because of their relationship as enemies, which would require him to step up if he wanted to poach her.

If it was an ordinary Beyond Grade A that had received such a treatment, they would likely have accepted it on the spot. However, she would not consider leaving the Black Star Army for the time being. Thus, no matter how good the offer, she did not hesitate to refuse.

…

On the other end, there was a fleet of spaceships making their way toward the Black Star stronghold in the Emerald Star Cluster.

The insignia of the fleet represented a small mercenary group, but it actually carried several Beyond Grade A combatants from the Arcane Church.

‘Child of Light’ Sagman glanced at his communicator. “The Pope’s intentions have been conveyed. The poaching has failed. We can begin our operation.”

The Arcane Church had long prepared both plans. During this time, the Beyond Grade As had assembled, and if the Pope failed to persuade her, they would strike and eliminate Hila, preventing any mishaps in the future.

“The situation now is beneficial to us, as both the dynasty and Black Star have yet to discover that we have assembled. It’s best to do a quick battle and make no mistakes like before,” Taylor said.

In the past, it would have taken the Beyond Grade As a long time to gather because of the different Star Fields, so any action would have been discovered a long time ago. However, because a large number of them were in the Flickering World, they were close to each other, facilitating their actions. Before their enemy discovered them, they could take action whilst they were unaware.

“It’s best to shift Hila away from the stronghold. Otherwise, the allies of the dynasty can quickly support her through the stargate.”

“Then we’ll leave this job to you, Tolaen. You go provoke Hila and draw her out. The further the better,” Sagman said.

Tolaen paused for a while, his heart unwilling. In the end, he gritted his teeth and said, “Let me try.”

“Well, if Hila does not accept the challenge, we will first destroy the stronghold’s stargate. It’s a pity that Sun Hunter will not be able to participate in that activity. Taylor, you’re a Mage with more flexible means. Destroying the stargate will be left to you and me.” Sagman hesitated, before continuing in a deep tone. “As for the Lord’s Avatar of Black Star that will be beside Hila…”

At this moment, the doppelganger of Kasuyi, which had always been silent, said, “I’ll hold him off.”

The Arcane Church had brought out enough benefits to allow Kasuyi to participate in this operation. However, he did not like the act of besieging others or bullying newcomers, so he merely sent a doppelganger over as insurance.

“Alright, we have no guarantee of beating Black Star’s avatar. Only you will be able to suppress him.” Sagman nodded.

“It’s a pity that His Excellency Wuornos could not appear as well, or else killing Hila would only be a matter of seconds,” ‘Desolate Beast’ Mercer muttered.

“Stop imagining things. Wuornos will never leave the Temple of God. He will not involve himself in vulgar mortal affairs.” Taylor shook his head.

The six of them present were ‘Child of Light’ Sagman, ‘World Gate’ Taylor, ‘Desolate Beast’ Mercer, ‘Red Devil’ Tolaen, a doppelganger of Kasuyi, and a Lord’s Avatar of a Mechanic.

The nature of Kasuyi’s doppelganger was similar to the Lord’s Avatar of the Mechanic class, which carried a part of the body’s combat power. It could not be compared to the quasi-Beyond Grade A doppelganger ability of EsGod.

Such a lineup just to deal with Hila, this was truly overkill.

However, the difference between this and the battle at Planet Lighthouse was that the allies from the dynasty were missing, and Black Star’s true body would also not be present, which meant the absence of the Spacetime Amber. The Arcane Church thought that this situation was favorable, not to mention that their target was Hila, who was easier to deal with than the cockroach that was Black Star.

Kasuyi’s doppelganger turned his head away to look out of the porthole, declining to continue the conversation with the rest.

“Manison, you probably wouldn’t make a move right… If Hila dies, Black Star will certainly go crazy… Hehe, such a difficult choice this time.

“You’re not suitable to act, and I understand, so let me take your place in this show.

“With me around, she will not die.”

Chapter 1045: Undercurrents

1045 Undercurrents The Federation of Light’s territory in the free competition zone was in another Star Cluster.

A fleet was hovering in space, with the total number of battleships amounting to two million. Among them, the largest flagship was the Eternal Light. Two humongous mechanical rings circled around the entire fleet, one horizontally positioned and one vertically positioned, perpendicular to each other.

These two mechanical rings, which were larger than the stargate itself, were the strategic Universal Treasure of the Federation of Light, the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device.

The components of the mechanical rings were intricate, and a large number of mechanical ships were being connected to each section of the ring for debugging and maintenance work.

On the bridge of the flagship, the gathered Beyond Grade A members of the Federation of Light stood in a row, looking at the scene outside.

“To actually utilize such strategic equipment, it seems like the federation’s upper echelons really value the action this time.” A muscular green-skinned man sighed. On his head was a purple runic turban that glittered constantly.

This person was Womre, with the moniker ‘Energy Soul’. He was a pugilist based in the federation and was adept at energy-based attacks. As a Beyond Grade A descendant race, he possessed unique racial talents that gave him superior skills. Standing with his hands behind his back, he gave off the bearing of a grandmaster.

“This matter concerns the unlocking of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter’s seal, so it is worth them investing the huge resources to activate the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device,” Hades said. “The Arcane Church will definitely make some sort of move. When they begin to stall Black Star’s avatar, we’ll activate the teleporter to appear directly in the battlefield.”

“That’s right,” the commander explained. “We also have another Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device in the fleet, so once we grab Hila, we’ll be able to teleport back, and the operation will be a success.”

The Federation of Light was different from the Arcane Church; their objective was to capture Hila so as to force Black Star to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Because of their Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, they had a natural advantage in allowing them the ability to escape the battle once they obtained their target.

The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was able to send someone away but could not bring them back, so the fleet equipped itself with a second set of teleporters, along with a self-destruct device. Once the teleportation was completed, it would destroy itself, preventing others from taking it and studying the technology.

If they could unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, paying the cost of a Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was acceptable to the federation. While expensive to build, a Universal Civilization did not lack money, and it was not difficult to build them if one had the relevant technology. They had quite a number of Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices lying in their warehouse, acting as a deterrent to other civilizations.

“It’s easier said than done. While the fleet has brought along another set of teleporters, it takes a lot of time for it to be arranged and charged, and there will definitely be disturbances during this period,” one of them in a mechanical suit said. His name was Jackornitz, a Beyond Grade A Mechanical Pugilist of the Federation of Light.

“Thus, the reason we’re bringing this fleet along. There are a lot of unmanned ships within this fleet, which will speed up the deployment of the transmitter, and it will help to protect the transmitter from interference. There’s also the mechanical army of Her Excellency Mornisa to aid us, enough to allow us to retreat,” Hades replied.

“Yep.” A machine by the side nodded. This was her Lord’s Avatar, and she also brought along a mechanical troop, which was the best candidate to block off the enemy’s path. She would not feel regret even if all of them were completely destroyed.

“Don’t forget, Black Star is a Virtual Mechanic and can invade our fleet’s controls.”

“Romo and I will be responsible for the virtual defense remotely, and the main artificial intelligence of the federation will also invest the majority of its computing power into the firewall. While Black Star is a pinnacle Beyond Grade A Super, he can’t break through our defense while being distracted by the fighting,” Mornisa explained.

The Romo mentioned by her was a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic from the federation, responsible for guarding the quantum network and the main intelligence network of the federation. He was not participating in this operation, but he would provide some form of remote assistance.

“It’s a pity that the Mechanic Emperor is not planning to take part in this operation. If he were in charge, we would not have to be afraid of the Virtual Intrusion of Black Star at all.” Hades sighed.

At this moment, Sierron, who was standing with his arms crossed in the center of all the people, snorted before indifferently speaking. “Humph, Manison refuses to come, and Oulou is also in the Central Galaxy, so I have to lead this team. I don’t care about the rest, just leave Black Star to me. If there’s anyone from the Arcane Church who tries to stop us, I’ll deal with the strongest too.”

‘Star Shatterer’ Sierron, a pinnacle level Beyond Grade A Pugilist, was the head of the federation team for this operation, and he was also a member of The Ancient Ones.

On the other side, a multi-faceted crystal was suspended in midair, its body shining with a deep blue color. It sent out mental fluctuations. “The task of capturing Hila can be left to me.”

This was a crystal life form called Crystal Soul. It was a Beyond Grade A Psychic.

The Federation was sending seven Beyond Grade As this time—’Energy Soul’ Womre, ‘Lone Ranger’ Jackornitz, ‘Mechanic Empress’ Mornisa, Hades, Crystal Soul, ‘Star Shatterer’ Sierron, and ‘Defender’ Romo, who was providing remote assistance.

This lineup was stronger, with one additional participant compared to the Arcane Church.

…

In the Garu Star Cluster within the Flickering World, Sorokin stood at one of the branch offices of the Limitless Financial Group, overlooking the dense comet trails in space. These were the trajectories left by the spaceships coming and leaving the area.

This place was an interstellar transit station, located in the territory of the Black Star Army. Not far away was one of the stargate transportation hubs, so it was very prosperous and led to the surroundings of Black Star Palace.

Sorokin squinted and muttered to himself, “A good show should begin soon.”

As the middleman who was responsible for the sending of messages to the federation and the church, he knew how they would act when Hila’s data was given to them. There was a high probability of both civilizations taking action.

As he admired the scenery, he began to hypothesize the possible scenarios.

“The federation has the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, which gives them the initiative. It is likely they will lurk behind and move later, waiting for the Arcane Church to first make a move. The Mechanic Emperor is likely not participating in this operation, so it is likely that Sierron will be the one at the helm. As for the church’s side, whether it’s Kasuyi or Sun Hunter that’s leading, they will most likely be paddling and not really moving for real… Heh, the Meeting of the Gods really affected quite a few people this time, Black Star.”

Just as he was speculating, a magic transportation door lit up in his room, and someone walked out. The person stood behind Sorokin and waved his hand, casually destroying the door.

Feeling the magical fluctuations, Sorokin turned around, and a superficial smile surfaced.

“Your Excellency Traveler.”

The person was a humanoid creature, with a gray complexion and no nose. He had yellow, crystal eyes, with vertical slit-like pupils, messy gray hair, and a gold ring. He only had three fingers on each hand, with one holding onto a staff that was twisted like a branch. He wore a gold headband with a brown hooded robe.

The Traveler, a Beyond Grade A mage, spent most of his time travelling around the secondary dimensions, and he did not appear in the outside world often. On the surface, he was a neutral Beyond Grade A, but he actually maintained a secret relationship with multiple Super Star Cluster level civilizations. He was also present during the Meeting of the Gods, albeit remaining taciturn and almost non-existent.

“The Super Star Cluster Alliance has employed me to aid you.” The Traveler looked at Sorokin with interest. “This is interesting. What sort of deal have you reached with them, to actually have them send me to challenge Black Star?”

“There are some matters that are currently happening, and if my predictions are correct, the federation and the church will appear in the next few days to attack Hila. During that time, I hope you will be able to go to Black Star Palace and announce that you wish to challenge Black Star.” Sorokin blandly smiled.

He had secretly contacted the Star Cluster alliance and revealed some bits of news, reaching a new deal to interfere in the process.

“Ah, so what you mean is…”

“That’s right. Go up for a challenge, and if Black Star spars with you, he will have to split his attention, which will cause the strength of his consciousness to drop, reducing the aid he can provide Hila. If he does not agree to the spar, it will mean that his true body is not in the camp, which means you will fight against Ames. I heard that he has a close relationship with Ames, which will leave him torn as to whom he should help first… No matter what, he will be restricted.”

Traveler quietly listened before speaking up. “You seem to be very clear that this operation will be a success. What benefits will you obtain?”

“Hila’s existence is a threat, and I believe the majority of Beyond Grade As do not wish to see such a character growing.” Sorokin laughed. “Furthermore, even if she joins an alliance, she will definitely choose the Crimson Dynasty. Thus, this poses a danger to the other two universal civilizations.”

“It doesn’t just stop there, right?” Traveler refuted. “You even dragged the Super Star Clusters into the mess. You definitely have bigger objectives.”

“Haha, alright, there’s no harm in telling you.” Sorokin narrowed his eyes. “Do you think the other two are kicking up such a big fuss over such one Hila? No, Hila is merely a catalyst. The bigger reason is the Meeting of the Gods that took place not long ago.”

“Oh?” Traveler’s eyes flickered.

“Think about it, the federation and the church sending their Beyond Grade As to do such a thing… once they succeed, how will Black Star respond? Both civilizations are trying to promote infighting among Beyond Grade As. If successful, then the Meeting of the Gods will only exist in name…” Sorokin’s mouth twisted up. “But I dare to boldly guess that the aim of the federation and the church is to leave just one or two of the Beyond Grade A allies alive from this operation, using this grudge to fuel their hatred.”

Traveler frowned. “It can’t be, right? The situation isn’t that bad.”

“Who knows? Throughout my long lifespan, I’ve awoken to a fact… that you should never believe you’re irreplaceable to the Universal Civilizations.”

Traveler stared at him before slowly saying, “Then, what about you? You’re also a member of the Beyond Grade As, but you’re not on the same front as them.”

“Aren’t you the same?”

“I’m justified, but you’re a true neutral.”

“Hehe, if I really have to give a reason, it’s just that I don’t like the idea of having an individual rule supreme. I’m a businessman, and I believe in having a collective entity. I believe only in the market.”

Sorokin revealed an insincere smile.

“No matter how strong a Beyond Grade A is, they are still an individual. Only the diversification of civilizations will be able to make the cold universe flourish. Civilization is the cornerstone of society itself, the protagonist of the universe. Individuals outside these specifications are merely dispensable parts of our interstellar society. Getting rid of them might even make the world more peaceful and prosperous.

“The Beyond Grade As have too many privileges. If you do not know how to be satisfied with what you have, you will reach out to places that you should not touch, causing new turmoil in the universe. I don’t want to see this, so the fewer Beyond Grade As in the universe, the better.”

Traveler was a little surprised. “I always thought you only knew how to make money. To think you had such a side.”

“You can think of me as a warden, responsible for the balance of the universe.”

Sorokin turned around, and after a momentary pause, he added another sentence.

“… Of course, money still has to be earned.”

…

Somewhere in the Emerald Star Cluster, Han Xiao was hiding in the mechanical workshop within his spaceship.

“Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy Carrier, Test #17.”

A silver and red mechanical carrier stood on the test bench. The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy cylindrical container was fixed on top of the mechanical body by four mechanical arms, connecting both the container and carrier with dense transmission wires.

Phillip sat on Han Xiao’s shoulder, reporting, “The carrier has completed the self-diagnostics. Status is excellent. The state of Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy is currently well behaved, and the connection is stable. Should we begin the energy transfer?”

Han Xiao nodded. “Begin.”

The instruments activated when he spoke, and the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy turned active, rushing into the mechanical carrier along the transmission wires.

Buzz!

The mechanical carrier jerked, its eyes lighting up with a red glow, becoming more and more glaring. Its body vibrated at a high frequency as it endured the load of the Primal Esper Ability Entity.

Han Xiao fully released his Mechanical Sense, staring closely at the carrier as he observed every detail.

In his eyes, the violent Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was gradually being constrained by the carrier and had begun to fuse with the special conversion components within the body. The function of this component was similar to that of the host’s cells to contain and refine the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

After a long period of time, the final speck of energy merged into the carrier.

Hu!

The carrier released a crimson colored shockwave, creating a gale in the room.

“Fusion complete. Synchronization rate is 72%. Compatibility, 75%. Load on the carrier is at 41%…” Phillip began reading out the results.

“Finally, it succeeded.” Han Xiao’s expression was joyful.

The carrier could not even perform the first step of fusion before, but now it had finally merged with the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. While continuous optimization was required, this was a good start and could already be directly used in combat.

The creation of the carrier for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was different from that of the mechanical soldiers. Its technical requirements were extremely sophisticated, not only needing to integrate the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy but also to prevent it from seizing control of the body.

Fortunately, Han Xiao had obtained the cell sample of Evans, which spared him from a lot of detours.

Chapter 1046: Enemy Spotted

1046 Enemy Spotted The mechanical carrier played a similar role as a host, accommodating the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and using its own Psionic core to exert a force in order to drive the Primal Chaos’ abilities. It did not need to start from scratch like ordinary human hosts and could directly exert a strong combat power.

The combat power was wholly dependent on the performance of the carrier, as well as its fusion rate with the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. In simple terms, this situation was similar to that of EsGod—an inherently strong host would allow the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy to burst forth with its fullest strength.

However, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s main purpose was to provide energy, similar to a tool. It would be constrained within the carrier, and it would be the carrier itself or the artificial intelligence Sparta that controlled the body to fight instead.

Because this carrier was only the first prototype, there was still a lot of room for improvement, so Han Xiao did not turn it into an Apostle Weapon immediately.

“This model will be named [Mysterious Energy Host—First Generation]. I’ll come out with a new code name when it becomes an Apostle Weapon.”

Han Xiao was quite satisfied. He had a lot of skills that could increase the upper limit of his mechanical skills, so he still had vacancies to create Apostle Weapons.

“Noted, hum… The model name has been recorded, and its entry in the database is complete.”

Han Xiao nodded. He then sized up the carrier carefully before saying, “How do you feel?”

The next moment, a mental fluctuation was released, and the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy said, “It’s a little too cozy and uncomfortable. Give me a better carrier in the future.”

“Relax, the model has already been created, and optimization will be a simple process.” Han Xiao waved his hand casually.

“Humph, replace this carrier with a mechanical life form so that there will at least be someone to converse with me. Right now, I feel like I’m trapped within a prison.” The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was grumbling nonstop.

Han Xiao suddenly recalled something and interrupted, “Oh yes, do you think it’s possible if I were to split you into eight equal pieces to create a team of Mysterious Energy Hosts?”

“Don’t even think about it!” The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy immediately lashed out. “I won’t allow you to mutilate my body! Ab! So! Lute! Ly! Not!”

“What an intense reaction. Is it unbearable for your senses?” Han Xiao was a little curious. He could not help but ask that upon thinking of EsGod.

“Humph, it’s equivalent to you dismembering a person and that person having to watch others use his body parts as weapons, playing with his body at will. Furthermore, the pain inflicted on the parts will still be transmitted back to the brain, so you tell me whether this is good or not,” the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy grumbled in dissatisfaction.

“Cough, treat it as I never mentioned it.”

Thinking about it, Han Xiao realized that the scene was a little gruesome and coughed to hide his embarrassment. He pretended that nothing of the sort had been spoken.

Next, he tested the combat power of the First Generation Mysterious Energy Host, applying many scenarios that would require the usage of Esper Abilities. The results only left him with satisfaction.

As a Super High Risk Esper Ability, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy definitely had a plethora of abilities. It could strengthen itself, radiate the powerful dual attributes of psychic and spatial energies, and fly at high speed. It could even shuttle through secondary dimensions and extract energy directly from the planetary cores.

Since it had yet to receive the bonuses offered by a mechanical life form and Apostle Weapon, its combat power was far lower than a Beyond Grade A, but once the Mysterious Energy Host turned into an Apostle Weapon, it would likely become the most capable existence among the Apostle Weapons. Even Psionic Prime, who had been continuously evolving for many years, might not be its opponent.

“As long as the optimization is completed, the Mysterious Energy Host will become my top fighter and might even defeat ordinary Beyond Grade As.”

Obtaining another strong helper in battle left Han Xiao overjoyed.

At this moment, Phillip vibrated before saying, “Master, hum… There’s news from Black Star Palace. A Beyond Grade A has come knocking.”

“Who is it?” Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed.

Since it was Black Star Palace, who would dare go and lay their hands on his home base?

This person’s courage was really too great. With the resources he had poured into Black Star Palace, alongside the troops stationed there, one would require two Beyond Grade As to attack it in order to pose a threat.

“Uh, it’s not an enemy. It’s an ally of the dynasty, Silver Shadow.”

Han Xiao immediately jerked to a stop, his expression a little puzzled.

Why did this guy come over to my base camp in secret to find me?

“Who’s receiving him now? Did he mention his intentions?”

“Ames has received him. He came here with a gift and would like to request for an opportunity to use the Evolution Cube.”

“So, that’s what this is…” Han Xiao figured.

Previously, when he fought with Silver Shadow, he defeated him, thus robbing Silver Shadow of the chance to request to use the Evolution Cube. Thus, he had most likely been searching for bargaining chips that would allow him to do an exchange.

“What sort of presents did he bring for me?” Han Xiao was curious.

“It seems like he brought some rare blueprints and materials. I have no idea where he got them.”

“Blueprints… that works.”

Han Xiao had already decided to properly befriend this Uber, so when he asked about the bargaining chips, he had set the bar low. As long as he showed a favorable attitude, then he would lend Silver Shadow the Evolution Cube. In this regard, Han Xiao’s style was to treat each individual differently. People like Heber who were always annoying him would not be able to borrow the Evolution Cube even if he gave the entire Bloodshed Land to him.

“What a coincidence, to come precisely when my true body is not in the base.” Han Xiao tapped Phillip’s round face with his finger. “So, where’s the Throne now?”

“Reporting, it has almost arrived at Black Star Palace. The ETA is in a few hours, hum…” Phillip gurgled as he hugged Han Xiao’s finger.

“Then let him converse up with Ames for the time being. I’ll be there once the Throne has arrived.”

With the King already crafted, Han Xiao had gotten his mechanical army to secretly transport the warp point ‘Throne’ as well as Evans back to their main camp, Black Star Palace. It had already been some time since they did so, and with the exclusive stargate passage of the Black Star Army, they took many shortcuts. They were already nearing Black Star Palace.

The moment the Throne arrived in his palace, he would be able to utilize the King to warp directly there. As long as he did not stay longer than three minutes, he would be able to re-activate the charge and return to his original position before the cooldown began.

…

At the same time, in the Army Commander’s reception room in Black Star Palace, Silver Shadow placed both hands on his knees, sitting up straight, appearing cautious and polite.

And opposite him, Ames was seated on the main seat, one hand supporting her chin, while the other telekinetically brought three wine glasses to the table. She smiled. “No need to be polite. Let’s have something to drink first.”

By the side, Feidin smiled lightly. “Your Excellency Silver Shadow, the Army Commander has just gone to inspect the territories and will be back in a few hours. Please wait for a moment.”

“Alright.” Silver Shadow nodded before lifting the glass and emptying it.

Ames sized up Silver Shadow’s gleaming body with some interest. “I heard from Black Star that you have good strength, and he’s very optimistic about your potential.”

“Thank you. I’m also deeply respectful of His Excellency Black Star.” Silver Shadow hesitated for a while before continuing. “Actually, I have a question to ask…”

“What is it?” Ames lightly smiled as she lifted the glass to sip at her wine.

“Black Star is not here, but why is it you that is welcoming me?” Silver Shadow was a little hesitant as he spoke.

In his opinion, while the Black Star Army and Floating Dragon Island were allies, there was no need for them to replace each other to meet other Beyond Grade As. After all, the officers of the army were present, and the Dragon Emperor should be a guest. However, it seemed like she was treating this place like her house.

Unless… the rumors were true, that Black Star and the Dragon Emperor had… that sort of relationship?

“How is that surprising?” Ames raised a brow. “Black Star told me to come over to meet him, but he ended up going away, so of course I’m the one to welcome the Beyond Grade A guests instead.”

Hearing this, Silver Shadow felt that there were a lot of hidden meanings within.

Such a natural tone… ha, the rumors were indeed true!

He had actually felt it strange at the start. Why would Ames come all the way from afar to visit Black Star Palace? But now it was all clear. If they really had such a relationship, it was no big deal for Black Star to call the Dragon Emperor over to spend some long and sleepless nights together.

Thinking about this made Silver Shadow subconsciously display an even more respectful attitude. While he was someone who did not enjoy small talk, he tried his best to accommodate Ames’ requests.

After all, he had a request to ask of Black Star, and since a ‘family member’ had come out to greet him, it would be rude for him to snub them.

…

At the same time, in the Emerald Star Cluster, a spaceship flew over from the distance, slowly approaching the entrance of the Black Star Army’s stronghold.

Seeing this, the defense force in outer space immediately separated two battleships, intercepting the ship and issuing a warning on the wide area channel.

“Visitor, please stop advancing and identify yourself!”

After the message was sent, the strange spaceship slowly switched off, hovering in outer space.

But the next moment, a tyrannical energy fluctuation burst out, and all energy detection radars in the entire stronghold instantly rang, sending out endless warning alarms.

Boom!

“Alert! Alert! High-energy fluctuations detected. The model is being matched… Match found. The source is determined to be an energy release from a Beyond Grade A!”

Swoosh!

A commotion erupted throughout the stronghold, and the fleet in outer space immediately gathered. The cannons on the ground also raised their muzzles toward the air, locking onto the spaceship, and a large number of battleships rose into the air. The stronghold instantly entered a state of combat.

The next moment, the figure of Tolaen appeared on the wide area channel, laughing arrogantly as his entire body blazed with Demonfire.

“Ahahahaha… Hila! I’m here to get my revenge! Last time, I was beaten by you, but today, I shall wash away my humiliation. Do you dare fight me once more!”

As he spoke, his Beyond Grade A aura slammed against the stronghold.

In the training room, Hila suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze cold.

The warning from Han Xiao a while ago reappeared on her mind, which made her more cautious in dealing with matters.

Seeing that the defeated person had actually come looking for another battle with her, she thought to herself, What a fraud… does he really take me for a fighting idiot?

At this moment, the Vice Commander contacted her.

“Your Excellency Hila, he’s challenging you. What should we do?”

Hila had an indifferent expression, blandly replying, “What does the army manual say about how to deal with an enemy that’s close to the stronghold? Do I still need to teach you? Just because the other party is a Beyond Grade A, you suddenly do not know what to do. What’s the use of having you around?”

The Vice Commander shrank his neck. “I… I understand.”

Being surrounded in the starry sky by battleships, Tolaen patiently waited after sending out his battle request. He sneered to himself. With Hila’s character as a fighting nut, there’s a high probability she will agree. Kasuyi and the rest are hiding in the vicinity. As long as I lead her over whilst pretending to fight with her, we can complete this ambush.

Just as he was planning his movements, he found out that his vision was gradually brightening.

Tolaen looked up in a hurry, only to see that the Black Star Army fleet surrounding him had begun to open fire without any greetings.

The light of countless energy cannons filled his vision!

Tolaen’s expression paled.

F*ck me, you’re not following the script at all!

Chapter 1047: Forced Attack and Acting

1047 Forced Attack and Acting Boom!

The spaceship that was targeted turned into dust in an instant. Under the attacks of countless spaceships, not a single remnant could escape the fate of being completely annihilated. Not a scrap of the wreckage remained.

Not far away, an unstable transportation door opened, and Tolaen staggered out from it with fear.

Fortunately, he had prepared a teleportation spell long ago and dodged the attacks at the last moment. Otherwise, it would have been way too shameful for him to be heavily damaged before the fight even began.

“Shameless! Firing at me without saying anything at all!” Tolaen was both shocked and furious.

Who in the world would not even give any face at all in the event of a visit or request to spar between two Beyond Grade As‽

Even though I did indeed come to challenge you, isn’t it too ill-mannered for you to start firing at me immediately without even saying a word‽

To him, even if the two Beyond Grade As had beef with each other and one went to challenge the other, they would at least be polite to each other on the surface.

We’re all very important people with reputations to uphold. How can you just blast me away like that‽ What happened to the courtesy between Beyond Grade As‽ I’m not the only one that’ll lose face for this, you will too!

At this time, Hila’s voice appeared on the public channel.

“You’ve lost to me. Those I surpass will never have the chance to catch up. I have no interest in fighting you again.”

Tolaen was instantly enraged by what Hila said. He thought he was arrogant enough, but Hila was even more arrogant than him.

After his expression changed a few times, he decided to put up with it for the time being.

“Humph, I have a mission to do, so I won’t argue with you. You’re already a dead woman anyway.”

Tolaen snorted in his mind before activating a magical communication rune to contact his teammates who had set up an ambush somewhere else.

“Guys, our judgment was wrong. Hila did not accept the challenge and fall for the trap. She even shamelessly ordered her fleet to attack me instantly. The plan to lure her away won’t work. Let’s carry out a forced attack. At least we now know for sure that she’s in the stronghold.”

Very soon, Sagman’s reply came through the magical communication rune.

“Okay, change of plan, start the forced attack! Tolaen, share your vision with us. Taylor, open the teleportation gate and attack the stargate. Also, prestart the spacetime stabilization device. Make sure that Hila has nowhere to run after we arrive and that everything goes according to plan.”

…

Hila went all the way to the command room of the stronghold and looked at the image on the surveillance screen, where Tolaen was barely dodging the attacks from her fleet.

“Still not leaving, he must be up to something.”

Hila frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and took out the communicator to send Han Xiao a message. She wanted to discuss this with Han Xiao.

However, the next moment, she intuitively felt an extremely strong sense of danger, piercing deep into her back and almost freezing her bones.

Hila’s expression changed slightly as she looked up. She sensed a few Fixed Star sized energy sources suddenly appear nearby.

“Alarm! Alarm! High energy source detected!”

“Alarm! Alarm! Stargate is being attacked. Requesting reinforcements!”

The image on the screen changed, showing a magical teleportation gate suddenly appearing beside the stargate station afar and two people walking out of it. It was Taylor and Sagman.

The two of them started attacking immediately before the defense fleet could launch emergency fire. Tons of summoned monsters swarmed out and restrained the defense fleet, while countless arcane beams and shockwaves destroyed one stargate. The surprise attack was effective.

Beside Tolaen, another enormous teleportation gate appeared, and mechanical troops flowed out like a tide, quickly spreading out. The three at the front were Kasuyi’s doppelganger, ‘Desolate Beast’ Mercer, and ‘Mechanical Catastrophe’ Francisco’s Lord’s Avatar, who was controlling this mechanical army.

Kasuyi and Mercer had known each other for a very long time, while Francisco was a direct member of the Arcane Church. His situation was rather unique, as his main body had always been serving a sentence in the Arcane Church’s prison and was not usually allowed to go anywhere. The Arcane Church would only let him join battles using his Lord’s Avatar when they needed his power, and the contributions he made would shorten his sentence.

His crime was related to his nickname, Mechanical Catastrophe. He had once caused a catastrophe that was machinery related. At the same time, this nickname was also a recognition of his strength. He was a Mechanic of the Energy Branch who had special talents. The cost of enhancing his machinery using his Mechanical Force was drastically lower than Mechanics of the same Grade, and the range of it was much larger. This meant that he could enhance a much larger army of machines compared to others.

Mechanical Catastrophe Francisco was there to deal with the fleet of the army stronghold, as well as to restrain Black Star’s mechanical army that was stationed there. Otherwise, the few Beyond Grade As would have to waste a lot of energy dealing with the fleets.

As soon as he arrived, Mechanical Catastrophe immediately started controlling his mechanical army to clash with the fleet of this stronghold.

With the sudden arrival of enemies, the stronghold fleet’s response was late for some time but quickly adjusted. The battle instantly entered the climax.

Mechanical Catastrophe’s army also brought along several spacetime stabilization devices, wormhole restriction devices, and so on. They were all activated, stabilizing the spacetime of this area. Even teleportation spells could no longer be used.

Seeing this, Hila’s expression became grave.

The enemies were well prepared, six Beyond Grade As including powerful ones like Kasuyi…

Do they want to kill me this much?

Despite how proud Hila was, her heart still shivered for a second.

Is this what Black Star faced back then?

No, this might be worse. It’s almost a certain death situation.

However, her mindset was only shaken for an instant before she suppressed the negative emotions and turned them into the fighting will, making her feel as if all the blood in her body was boiling.

Boom!

The next second, Hila tore the ceiling open and flew right into the sky. She clenched her teeth and charged toward the few Beyond Grade As in outer space who were locking on to her.

During the charge, she released death energy continuously, which turned into a bright red cloud.

Seeing this, Red Devil, Desolate Beast, and Mechanical Catastrophe’s Lord’s Avatar dove down at the same time, quickly got past the defense fleet that was restrained, and clashed with Hila.

Boom!

A circle of red shockwaves exploded!

The scarlet cloud formed by death energy dissipated, and the red meteor fell toward the ground at an even greater speed than before.

Boom!

After crashing large areas of bases and leaving a rift-like trail behind, Hila was finally able to stop herself. Her surroundings were filled with dust.

“Ahem…”

Hila helped herself up with a fierce look in her eyes, casually wiped away the blood dripping from her nose, and stared at the three people in the sky.

Clearly, she could not fight the three of them head-on and was blasted away immediately.

At this time, a black tide rose into the sky not far from the stronghold and quickly approached. It was the mechanical army Han Xiao had placed there, and at the front was his Lord’s Avatar.

However, the next instant, an ethereal voice appeared in everyone’s mind.

“Black Star, your opponent is me.”

With a flash of light, Kasuyi’s doppelganger stood in the path of Han Xiao’s mechanical army. He raised one hand and flipped it so that his palm was facing down.

Boom!

All the mechanical troops were instantly pressed onto the ground. Only the Lord’s Avatar was still standing, surrounded by bright Mechanical Force, barely hanging on.

“Although these are machines and mental attacks that I’m best at won’t be effective, I’m quite good at Psychic control too,” Kasuyi’s doppelganger said with a calm tone. He raised his hand and pushed forward.

A psychic wall appeared across thousands of miles and charged forward. All the buildings and machinery in its path were pushed away and pressed against it.

Some of the mechanical troops tried to attack the invisible psychic wall, but it was as if Kasuyi’s energy was infinite. Even though cracks kept showing up on the wall under the attacks, he easily patched them up in no time.

The advance of the psychic wall seemed unstoppable. It wiped away a large area of the planet surface like an eraser. Countless pieces of debris from buildings and machines were pushed away from the planet’s surface and into outer space.

Other than the Lord’s Avatar and some highly mobile mechanical soldiers that backed away, the rest of the mechanical army were all pushed off the planet and away from the battlefield, only able to form a formation again in the cosmic space.

At the same time, Kasuyi’s avatar followed them over and stopped in front of Han Xiao.

“Such powerful psychic powers.” Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar’s eyes sparkled.

“I can absorb energy from the Void Dimension, so my Psychic energy is infinite. In terms of energy volume, only the Federation of Light’s Oulou might be able to match up to me,” Kasuyi said coldly. “I heard you have the blood of the Void Race too. When your God’s Trait Transformation reaches a certain point, you might awaken a power like this.”

Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar looked around at the entire battlefield.

At this point, the planet stronghold could be divided into three battlefields.

First, there was Hila fighting Red Devil, Desolate Beast, and Mechanical Catastrophe, in which she was completely overpowered. It was too difficult for Hila to fight three of them at the same time, and she looked like she could be defeated and killed at any moment. However, Han Xiao knew what she was capable of. Although Hila would not be able to beat the three of them, she would be able to hold on for a short period. After all, her life-steal ability was quite powerful. Plus, her ability to reduce the enemy’s lifespan would make the three of them fight more carefully and not dare to exchange blows.

Second was the large-scale army battle between the mechanical army controlled by Mechanical Catastrophe and the defense fleet of the stronghold. It was a very intense battle. The defense fleet’s goal was to help Hila, while the Mechanical Catastrophe’s army’s goal was to restrain them.

The third and the last battlefield was Sagman and Taylor attacking the stargate stations to cut off Hila’s path of escape and prevent reinforcements from arriving. When the two of them destroyed all the stargates, they would join the fight against Hila, and Hila would not be able to hold on any longer.

Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar wanted to stop the two of them, but the distance between the stargate and the stronghold planet was quite far, so he could not make it.

Furthermore, with the mechanical army he had there, he might not even be able to break away from Kasuyi. His largest mechanical army and the Apostle Weapons were all with his main body and were rushing there, but they would take some time to arrive.

This isn’t looking very good… Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and looked at Kasuyi.

“Are you sure you want to keep me here?”

With an expressionless face, Kasuyi sent Han Xiao a unidirectional psychic message, saying slowly, “This Lord’s Avatar of yours has to stay here with me.”

He emphasized the words ‘Lord’s Avatar’.

Han Xiao observed Kasuyi’s emotions. Suddenly, he had an idea. He controlled his Lord’s Avatar and his mechanical army and charged toward Kasuyi.

Kasuyi was a Psychic, but not only did he not back off, he instead charged toward the Lord’s Avatar and fought with it at melee range. The battle was very ‘intense’. It looked like they had very deeply rooted hatred for each other.

The mechanical army around fired nonstop, which looked very accurate but actually barely hit Kasuyi at all.

Kasuyi did not stop this from happening and let these attacks land on the battlefield between Hila and three enemies behind him, occasionally stopping their attacks, forcing them to dodge and give Hila more chances.

At the same time, the mechanical army spread out, trying to get past Kasuyi. Kasuyi symbolically controlled his psychic wall to stop them, but the strength of it at some places was visibly weakened and was easily torn apart as the mechanical soldiers passed through the wall.

It looked like Kasuyi’s doppelganger was forced to fight Black Star at close range and could not maintain his psychic wall at full power, leading to some of Black Star’s mechanical army breaking away and heading in Hila’s direction.

Han Xiao finally confirmed that this guy was deliberately doing this.

Why is he helping me?

Han Xiao suddenly had a flash of insight and softly whispered the code words in the unidirectional mind link.

“Meeting of the Gods? Acting?”

“Focus, acting.”

Han Xiao immediately felt assured.

Damn, the opponent’s boss is an actor!

He had already requested reinforcements from the dynasty. Although the stargates at the stronghold might be destroyed, the dynasty’s reinforcements could still go to the nearest stargate. They would not be able to arrive right away, but it would not take too much longer.

The church has made its move, so there might be others waiting for an opportunity. I shall wait for the reinforcements and my main body to arrive first, Han Xiao thought.

With Kasuyi’s ‘help’, some of the mechanical army successfully arrived at Hila’s battlefield to support her. Once enhanced with Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force, these mechanical soldiers were very powerful. Despite their low quantity, Tolaen and the others could not ignore them.

With help having arrived, Hila was relieved. The situation became much better, and she did not have to fight solely on her own anymore.

Her death energy, which had the ability to reduce one’s life span, made Tolaen and Mercer very afraid. Usually, they were both tank-type fighters, but Mechanical Catastrophe’s Lord’s Avatar was the one taking on the role of the tank.

The fragile mechanical body had to endure pressure that was not supposed to be bestowed on this class. ‘Mechanical Catastrophe’ Francisco was completely speechless seeing how these two muscular men, Tolaen and Mercer, fought so cowardly.

Come on guys, try harder! I’m not Black Star. My Lord’s Avatar isn’t that tanky, okay‽

“Sh*t, Kasuyi’s letting enemies pass on his side. Is Black Star’s avatar so tough to deal with?” Mercer was surprised.

“After all, it’s Kasuyi’s doppelganger that’s here, and he just used a powerful attack earlier to divide the battlefield, so it’s normal for him not to be at full power.” Francisco’s tone was calm. “What’s surprising is how strong Black Star is. Not only is he fighting Kasuyi head-on, but he’s still able to use Virtual Intrusion on my troops at the same time.”

On the other side, just as ‘Red Devil’ Tolaen was about to speak, his shield was suddenly shattered by cannon fire, and he was hit by one of Hila’s death energy shockwaves.

Tolaen could not help but look at Kasuyi far away, who was in the middle of an ‘intense battle’, then complained in his mind, My life span’s been shortened again…

…

“W-what’s going on‽”

In the fleet outside the stronghold, the army players inside the battleships were stupefied by this sudden event.

Although many players had already formed or joined guilds and were moving in the free competition zone as subsidiary organizations, there were also some players who chose to move along with the main fleet of the army.

Due to the faction war order that the army had recently announced, many players had gathered in this stronghold at the frontlines and chosen this to be their temporary main city to form teams and pursue the players of enemy factions.

Unexpectedly, while they were enjoying their time in the stronghold, this place was suddenly attacked by multiple Beyond Grade As and became a battlefield of eight Beyond Grade As!

What’s going on? Aren’t Beyond Grade A all very difficult to see?

Have we… run into another huge event‽

Many players thought of the Planet Lighthouse event in the previous version and quickly started to record the battle, trying their best to capture the Beyond Grade As.

“This might be a huge event of this version! We’re here to witness it!”

“Quickly, record it. I have a feeling that this will lead to something big!”

Many players had their fill of being rubberneckers and were very excited.

…

Hasty footsteps came closer and closer.

Bang!

The gate of the reception room was rammed open. Ames, Silver Shadow, and Feidin, who were chattering in the room, looked toward the gate. It was Aurora, who quickly ran in with an anxious expression.

“Teacher, bad news!”

“What happened?” Ames asked.

“My… my sister is being attacked by the Arcane Church. They’ve sent many Beyond Grade As to kill her. I saw it through our mental link!”

“What‽”

Ames immediately stood up. Her Force Field erupted and blew away the furniture around her.

After training together for more than a decade, she already had a strong bond with Hila. Once she heard that her student was in a dire situation, Ames was enraged.

At this time, a virtual screen appeared in the room. It was a call from a management officer.

“Your Excellency Ames, Your Excellency Feidin, there’s a situation. A Beyond Grade A has arrived at Black Star Palace. He calls himself the Traveler, and he has challenged the Army Commander by name. How should we deal with this?”

“Tell him that His Excellency Black Star isn’t here,” Feidin replied.

“Er… he said that if Black Star isn’t here, he’ll fight his Lord’s Avatar.”

“Tell him, Black Star is very busy now and has no time to fight him.”

“… Your Excellency Feidin, he said that he won’t waste this trip here. If he can’t fight Black Star, he can challenge Her Excellency Dragon Emperor too… He’s refusing to leave. He’s a Mage, so it’ll be very difficult to chase him away without using special means.”

Feidin frowned and was about to reply.

Ames patted his shoulder, interrupting him, and frowned. “This person did not come with friendly intentions. He probably has some ulterior motives, which might be related to what’s happening to Hila. I’ll test him. Tell him that I’ll accept the challenge.”

Hearing this, Silver Shadow, who had been silent, felt that this was a great opportunity to gain a favor—if he helped Black Star’s family, he would probably benefit a ton from it.

He approached and said, “Your Excellency Ames, how about I take the challenge?”

“How can we let our guest help us in matters like this? Feidin, take Silver Shadow to the watchtower to observe the battle.”

Ames waved and rejected him. She then turned around and walked out of the room with large strides, her skirt swaying like a black flower.

Her tall back disappeared from everyone’s sights, only leaving her voice behind.

“Don’t worry, I’m not that easy to deal with.”

Chapter 1048: Movements

1048 Movements Outside Black Star Palace, Traveler crossed his legs in midair with his staff floating in front of him. He looked at the heavily guarded Black Star Palace from afar, and before him was the highly alert defense fleet.

Seeing this, Traveler’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I’ve come at the right time.”

According to the information provided by the Super Star Cluster alliance, Black Star was someone who loved accepting challenges. Yet, he was not coming out, not even sending out his Lord’s Avatar to fight him. This meant that Sorokin’s information was right. Hila was being attacked at this very moment, and Black Star had to protect her with his Lord’s Avatar. He could not focus on too many fights at once.

Apostle Weapons and mechanical armies could fight multiple battles at the same time, but one could only descend onto one Lord’s Avatar at a time.

“Black Star isn’t even using his Apostle Weapons to fight me, so it looks like Sorokin guessed correctly. Black Star has taken his main army away and has been pretending to be in his base.

“Since Dragon Emperor will be the one accepting the challenge, I’ll have to quickly deal with her and force Black Star to fight me. Even if he only sends a mechanical army to fight me, I’ll still have achieved my goal and divided his attention.”

In order to be done with the battle quickly, he had to use special tactics that would not be considered inside the perimeters of sparring. He would definitely offend Black Star by doing this.

However, Traveler did not care much about it. His relationship with some Super Star Cluster Civilizations was very special, exceeding the importance of his personal interests. On the surface, he was accepting a mission and doing his job. However, the truth was that as long as this would help the Civilization he belonged to, he would do everything in his power to succeed.

The Super Star Cluster alliance hoped that the church or the federation’s mission would succeed. They wanted these Beyond Grade As to fight each other and did not want to see them united. The Beyond Grade As being united looked like it was problematic for the three Universal Civilizations but beneficial for the Super Star Clusters, but that depended on the timing of it. For now, this was not what the Super Star Cluster civilizations wanted to see.

In the eyes of the Super Star Cluster civilizations, Beyond Grade As were important tools they could make use of, but there were not enough Beyond Grade As in this era. Therefore, even if they were united, they had very limited value to these Super Star Cluster civilizations.

The Super Star Cluster alliance hoped to find a more suitable timing where the universe had more than enough Beyond Grade As. By then, they would even encourage and aid the Beyond Grade As to be united. Therefore, they did not want this opportunity to come this soon when the timing was not right.

Other than to balance the power dynamics, there was another reason the Super Star Cluster alliance wanted to do this—they were worried that if the Beyond Grade As became united too early, it would force the three Universal Civilizations to carry out another elimination, another ‘Tragedy of the Pinnacles’. If and when that happened, the three Universal Civilizations would definitely deal with the outsiders first. Therefore, the allies of the Super Star Cluster alliance would be massacred with an excuse once again, and they would be the ones suffering from it.

Traveler silently waited for a while. Finally, Ames flew out from the base.

“You want to challenge Black Star? What’s your motive?” Ames narrowed her eyes.

“It’s nothing but respect for the strong. I want to challenge those standing at the peak. There’s no motive to speak of.” Traveler remained calm.

“You’re related to what’s happening to Hila, aren’t you?”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” Traveler shook his head.

“Humph, chat sh*t.”

A green light flashed past Ames’ eyes, and a Force Field erupted from her body, grabbing onto numerous satellite tiles to bash onto Traveler.

Traveler remained calm and held his staff with both hands. Fog-like magic energy splashed out and turned into rune arrays of different sizes, fusing together and forming an enormous rune shield that looked as complex and exquisite as the mechanical parts of a mechanical watch, blocking the path of the satellite tiles.

Ka-cha!

Multiple satellites clashed onto the rune shield, creating cracks, but could not go further. At the same time, Ames extended her arm forward from afar, aimed at Traveler, and pulled heavily. A powerful force of absorption suddenly appeared and pulled Traveler toward her.

While being dragged through midair, energy sprayed out from Traveler’s body as he stabilized himself. He then cast a string of powerful spells instantly. Multidimensional energy turned into spells that quickly dashed past where Ames was standing but missed.

With a space ripple, she had already changed her location using Void Hyperdrive and approached Traveler’s back. She raised her brows, glared at Traveler’s back, and shot a shockwave from between her brows.

The next second, Traveler’s body was fixed in midair, and he could not move.

Force Field: Gaze of the Dragon!

The moment she locked the enemy’s movements, Ames’s long leg whipped horizontally, sending out a wave of Force Field right toward Traveler’s back.

Force Field energy that was sent out from her own body was the most powerful, and she had condensed this wave of Force Field into a thin line, rendering it dangerously sharp. It looked like she used her leg to launch a blade shockwave.

Force Field: Sweeping Blade!

Swoosh!

The blade Force Field slashed right across and actually cut Traveler in two.

However, the next moment, the two halves of Traveler suddenly shrank and turned into mojo puppets, while further away, a small puppet that looked to be made of clay appeared out of nowhere and quickly shapeshifted into Traveler.

“Puppet Replacement Spell, a simple little trick,” Traveler said calmly.

Ames, however, was slightly frowning. She had known Austin for a very long time and had some knowledge about magic.

The Puppet Replacement Spell was a little known spell of the Alchemy and Curse Branch, but it had a massive side effect. When reflected in the interface, every time someone cast the Puppet Replacement Spell, their health and energy would decrease by fifty percent, and all their attributes would also decrease by twenty percent. This was an extremely costly spell.

Due to its limited value, usually, only low-grade Mages would use it to save their own lives, while high Grade Mages had many defensive methods and would not use spells like this at all.

For example, a Beyond Grade A would have dozens of methods to dodge or block that attack earlier, and even getting hit by it would not be as horrible as the side effects of the Puppet Replacement Spell. Therefore, Ames felt that Traveler had done this for a reason.

As she observed more carefully, she realized that Traveler was strangely giving off a different vibe. He seemed to have a very faint creepy smile on his face, and she felt he became more corrupt and eviler.

“Tsk, Force Field Control is one of the most common Esper Abilities. It’s very rare for someone to be able to become a Beyond Grade A with it. You’re really talented in controlling your Esper Ability. One day, maybe you can improve this Esper Ability to its extreme form, the Super High Risk Esper Ability—Force Control. Although the difference is only one word, its meaning is a world of difference.” As Traveler gave off a different vibe, he became more talkative too.

“Something’s off.” Ames became more cautious and alert. She clenched her fist, shattering a corner of a satellite tile, and then controlled the broken pieces to fly out like a meteor rain.

Force Field: Dragon’s Breath Shooting Star Fist!

While using spells to block the attacks, Traveler was also observing a faint mark on the back of his hand. There was a faint purple evil glow inside his crystal yellow eyes.

“There’s not enough life force. More is needed…”

The two of them fought intensely outside Black Star Palace. Traveler’s way of fighting was extremely strange. He occasionally seemed to purposely get hit by Ames’ attacks. Ames showed the multiple uses of Force Field, including restraining, explosions, and slashes.

While training with Hila around the universe, Ames had improved as well. She had better control of her Esper Ability.

While the two of them were fighting, Herlous, who was watching in the watchtower, secretly commanded the fleet to leave in different directions and form an enormous encirclement.

“Everyone focus,” Herlous said with a deep voice. “Preheat the spacetime stabilization device. When I give the order, activate it and trap Traveler here.”

When the matter involved their Deputy Army Commander, no one cared about nobility anymore. Even Ames did not want to fight Traveler by herself.

It did not matter whether this was a misunderstanding; it was best to deal with Traveler first. Ames’ main goal in fighting him was to force all his attention on her so that the fleet would be able to deploy traps secretly, in case he opened a teleportation gate and escaped.

…

At the same time, the dynasty received Han Xiao’s message and started moving instantly. The Beyond Grade As who were in the dynasty’s territory received their missions, departed from their own territories, and headed toward the stargate stations.

Inside Kant’s ship, the few Beyond Grade As who had gathered urgently this time were all discussing their mission.

“The church really doesn’t learn. During the Planet Lighthouse battle more than twenty years ago, I… and Black Star taught them a lesson, and less than thirty years later, they’re here causing trouble again.” Beyoni curled his lips. A few fire sparkles jumped out between his teeth.

“This movement by them is very sudden. Their target is Hila, and we’re the only ones close by. It’s best for us to quickly head over.” Kant was serious about the matter.

Most of the dynasty’s allies were given territories in the Flickering World and were taking part in the free competition. They were too far away and would not make it in time.

Currently, the Beyond Grade As remaining in the dynasty’s territory would be able to reach the battlefield the quickest, and they were Kant’s Lord’s Avatar; Ravenlaude, who was recovering from his injury; the slacker, Beyoni; and Kohler, who had nothing to do.

“I heard Kasuyi’s doppelganger is there too. Isn’t that a little dangerous?” Kohler whispered.

Kant’s huge eyes glared at him and said, “Don’t be such a coward. With me here, what’s there to be afraid of? I can fight the entire church on my own!”

“Really?” Kohler’s face was filled with doubts.

“Of course not, but can you just let me say it?” Kant rolled his eyes. “If I were that capable, even Clotti would be my follower.”

Ravenlaude stayed silent with a conflicted expression.

Not long ago, he had been beaten up by Han Xiao, so he was not very willing to help.

However, the dynasty would give very generous rewards and merits for every reinforcement mission…

So…

Forget it, I heard the Black Star Army is in a dire situation this time. If I help him get through this, he’ll owe me a favor. Then, I can ask Black Star to get me a Universal Treasure…

Having thought of this possibility, Ravenlaude was suddenly very motivated.

…

At the same time, after the dynasty had sent out the reinforcements, the upper echelons continued paying attention to this matter.

Inside the conference room of the political building on the dynasty’s mother planet, Ruler Urranrell was watching the broadcast of the battle provided by the Black Star Army. Beside her were the remote projections of the dynasty’s upper echelons, who were also watching silently. The atmosphere was very serious.

“The church has yet to give up, and they have now assaulted our ally once again.” Urranrell looked around with a cold expression on her face. “What do you all think about this?”

The people exchanged looks. After a while, Bekorodi raised his hand and slowly said, “Your Excellency, according to the data, the church’s target is Hila, and Hila isn’t one of our Beyond Grade A allies.”

“Hila is the Black Star Army’s Deputy Army Commander, and the Black Star Army is our ally.”

“But she has personally rejected joining the dynasty… Your Excellency, I suggest drawing a clear line. Matters involving Black Star and matters Hila should be treated differently. Now that Black Star has requested help personally, and we have agreed to help because of our agreement, this means that he’s using the dynasty’s power to benefit his own faction. My thoughts are that… we can help our allies, but we can’t be used by them without any cost. Protecting Black Star is what we should do, but protecting a Beyond Grade A who isn’t our ally? I think we need to bring up the terms and not provide support without any compensation.” Bekorodi’s reasoning was logical.

“So, what ideas do you have?” Urranrell frowned slightly.

“If Black Star only gets through this with our help, I think we need to make one demand—Hila has to join the dynasty. Of course, she can remain in the Black Star Army, but she has to be the dynasty’s ally too.”

“Hmm… makes sense.” Urranrell pondered for a while. “What if Hila is killed?”

“It’s a loss to the dynasty, but there are benefits to it too. If Hila dies, Black Star will undoubtedly be on the opposite side of the church, the Meeting of the Gods will basically be completely meaningless, and the Beyond Grade As won’t be able to unite. This means that one threat is eliminated. At the same time, with a shared external enemy, it’s beneficial to building a closer relationship between the dynasty and Black Star. His loyalty will be firmer. Therefore, whether the rescue ends up successful or not, it will be beneficial for the dynasty one way or the other,” Bekorodi analyzed.

Many of the upper echelons nodded. Logically speaking, they felt that Bekorodi had analyzed it very well.

Urranrell did not express her stand on this issue. She tapped her fingers on the table, and seeing that no one else had anything to say, she said, “No matter what, provide full support to the Black Star Army first. We’ll deal with the rest later.”

“Understood.”

The remote projections disappeared one after another.

Urranrell left the conference room, and ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti, who had been waiting outside the door, draped her coat over her and followed behind.

After walking for some time, Urranrell suddenly said, “Clotti, how likely do you think it is that Hila will survive this?”

“Very unlikely,” Clotti said with a poker face.

“Even with the dynasty’s help?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“The federation won’t watch and do nothing.”

“How do you know that?”

“The Mechanic Emperor told me.”

Urranrell had no response for that.

Okay, that’s one powerful and good reason. I have nothing to say about it.

“Looks like the Mechanic Emperor takes the shared battlefront of Beyond Grade As very seriously.”

Urranrell stopped in place and turned to look at Clotti.

“You’re a Beyond Grade A, too. Don’t you have any thoughts about this?”

“My identity as a member of the Crimson Dynasty comes first, the dynasty ruler’s Guard Captain comes second, and the Beyond Grade A part comes only third,” Clotti replied with a calm expression.

Urranrell shook her head and turned back around.

She stayed silent for a moment and then softly said, “You’ve spent too much time as my personal guard by my side. Go take a break from your job. Go out and kill a few Beyond Grade As before coming back. Don’t let the universe forget the name of Dark Lord.”

“Okay,” Clotti replied calmly.

…

At the same time, in Beast Ancestor’s stronghold…

“Hahaha, they’ve made their move as expected!”

Inside the palace, Gorutan laughed loudly. His lungs were so strong that his laughter formed almost solid sonic waves, causing the entire base to tremble.

Just now, he had heard from Sorokin that the information he had exposed had put Hila in a desperate situation.

As his plan succeeded and he got his revenge, Gorutan felt very satisfied.

Sorokin’s manifestation stood before him with a smile on his face. “Your Excellency Beast Ancestor, your territory isn’t far from the battlefield. Why not go watch it live?”

Hearing this, Gorutan’s laughter stopped. His sharp eyes stared right at Sorokin as he said with rage, “Are you trying to trick me again?”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Sorokin quickly waved his hands.

“Humph.” Gorutan snorted. He then lifted his specially made enormous alcohol glass and gulped it down. “No matter what, I’m going to stay here to wait for the news of Hila’s death. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not trying to convince you to join the battle. The dynasty will have already sent reinforcements. If the dynasty’s reinforcements arrive, Hila might be able to escape her doom. Therefore, rather than staying here and doing nothing, it’s better to secretly provide some help.”

“What kind of bright idea do you have then?”

“Hehe, according to my estimates, the church will prioritize destroying the stargate stations when attacking Black Star’s stronghold, activate spacetime stabilization devices, and eliminate Hila’s path of retreat. Therefore, if the dynasty reinforcements want to come, they can only use the nearby stargate… Your Excellency Beast Ancestor, if the nearby stargate stations are turned off or destroyed, the dynasty’s reinforcements will have to take a detour. This way, Hila will have to remain alone for an even longer time, and the possibility of the plan succeeding will increase drastically.”

A flash of light appeared in Gorutan’s eyes. He put down the glass and said, “Hmm, what you’re saying does make sense…”

Sorokin smiled faintly.

…

In the Primeval Star River, Manison slowly opened his eyes and sent a message in the encoded secret communication channel.

“Mornisa, have you guys departed?”

“Teacher, the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device has already started preheating. We can depart any time.”

“Okay.”

Manison nodded, swapped the channel, and spoke to his Apostle Weapon team.

“Keep your eyes on Beast Ancestor. He might make a move. No matter what he wants to do, stop him.”

“Understood.”

After a few more orders, Manison closed his eyes again and softly murmured, “Black Star, that’s all the help I’ll give you today. Don’t disappoint me.”

Chapter 1049: Cultural Talen

Chapter 1049 Cultural Talen Boom!Like a crimson tsunami, the death energy swept across the ground and clashed with an energy shield, creating countless electrical sparks.

‘Mechanical Catastrophe’ Francisco’s Lord’s Avatar opened his arms to maintain the shield against the death energy. All the patterns on his mechanical body were glowing with psionic light, and the thruster on his back was working at full capacity, shooting out six deep blue flame trails. But he still could not stop himself from moving backward.

He turned around and saw that ‘Red Devil’ Tolaen and ‘Desolate Beast’ Mercer were hiding behind his shield while occasionally shooting ranged Shockwave Blasts or spells, then quickly running back behind him right after. Francisco was infuriated.

You guys are the melee warriors, yet you hide behind me?

Are you two using me as a cover?

Stop messing about!

Francisco was very annoyed.

The battle had already lasted for quite some time. The situation in the various battlefields had all changed. Black Star and Kasuyi were still having an ‘intense battle’, and mechanical soldiers continued to ‘penetrate’ Kasuyi’s defenses to help Hila.

As Hila gained more help, she could focus more on her attacks, which led to Tolaen and Mercer acting more cautiously. Originally, the three of them had the firm upper hand, but now, the situation had shockingly started to move toward a stalemate. The main reason for that was the mechanical soldiers that Kasuyi let past. They were enhanced by Black Star’s Mechanical Force, so they were quite powerful and made the battlefield very chaotic.

The fleet battlefield in outer space was not looking too good as well. The mechanical army controlled by Francisco was being attacked by Han Xiao’s Virtual Intrusion, so mechanical soldiers were turning into traitors here and there, fighting their ex-teammates. This led to part of the fleet being able to provide help to Hila using ranged attacks, further diverting the energy of Mechanical Catastrophe and the other two.

‘Mechanical Catastrophe’ Francisco had to be the one dealing the damage, taking the damage, restraining the fleet, and even guarding his army on the virtual field, all at the same time…

My life is so difficult. I can’t even serve my sentence in peace!

Only Sagman’s side could give him some comfort, as they were almost done destroying all the stargates.

When the two of them are done, they’ll be able to come over and help. Then, the stalemate will be broken, and Hila will be completely overpowered, doomed to die! Francisco thought.

He knew that the Arcane Church had given Taylor a special trump card secretly that would be able to restrict Hila’s movements. According to the plan, when the five of them gathered, they would use it to launch a lethal attack on Hila.

This trump card was a few one-time use magic scrolls that stored extremely powerful church special forbidden spells, fused with the powers of Divine Spells.

Among them, the strongest was [Forbidden Spell—Wailing Nun’s Embrace]. This forbidden spell normally needed multiple people to use it together and took a long time to activate, but it could be activated instantly when stored in a magic scroll.

The Arcane Church once had a stage where their Mages were blooming, so there were many Beyond Grade A forbidden spell scrolls that got passed down. This scroll had been created by four Beyond Grade A Mages. One of them was even a peak Beyond Grade A Mage, so the strength of this spell was extremely high.

Only Taylor, Sagman, and Francisco knew about these scrolls; the rest had no idea, even Kasuyi. The Arcane Church knew Kasuyi’s personality very well, that he was not willing to bully a new Beyond Grade A with so many teammates. If he knew that the church planned to use this kind of one-time mass destructive weapon, it might lead to something unpredictable. Therefore, the church did not tell him about it, and their request to Kasuyi was only to stop Black Star’s Lord’s Avatar.

As for why only Taylor, Sagman, and Francisco knew, it was because the three of them were the most trustworthy and shameless, so they would work together the best. Anyway, once they activated the scrolls, the other teammates would follow up with more attacks as well.

On the other side, Crimson Snake had already turned into combat mode and shrouded Hila’s face. She swiftly moved around the battlefield, shooting out death energy while trying to hide her anxiety.

She understood her situation. Although she could last some time against the three enemies with the help of the mechanical army, she knew that this stalemate would be broken very soon. As soon as Sagman and Taylor joined the battle, she would not be able to last for sure.

If I don’t do anything, it’ll just be a slow death.

Although Han Xiao had sent a message to her earlier saying that his main body was on the way, due to her personality, Hila did not expect to rely on others in times of despair. Instead, she would do her best to save herself.

The reinforcements have yet to arrive, my means of retreat has been cut off, and there are two other powerful enemies who will soon join the battle. In order to survive, I have to hold on while facing the attacks of five of them. That’s a desperate situation even with the help of the mechanical army and the fleet. I’ll have to rely on myself one way or another. What other trump cards do I have here?

Hila remained calm and quickly thought about how to resolve this situation.

Ideas were born and filtered out one after another. Very soon, there was only one idea left in her mind.

I’ll have to do my best to try this…

Hila clenched her teeth.

…

An enormous beam penetrated the last stargate station. Debris flew everywhere, and shockwaves from the explosion made the shields of the defense fleet nearby flicker.

“The stargate stations have been destroyed, let’s go!”

Sagman did not hesitate. He quickly turned into a mass of bright, golden light, which shrouded Taylor, and instantly sped up, turning into a stream of light and leaving the battlefield, heading right toward Hila.

As they knew that the spacetime stabilization device would be activated, they knew that summoning type spells would be affected too. Taylor had made preparations in advance; he had prepared a ton of summoning scrolls, which he started tearing open right after the teleportation gate appeared, forming an army of summoned creatures. Taylor himself, however, swapped from summoning style to artillery style to adapt to the environment.

He was good at summoning spells, but that did not mean he did not learn other types of spells. He was just not as good at those in comparison.

A Beyond Grade A would have multiple combat styles. This was especially true among Mages, who were known for their versatility. No matter what style they were good at usually, they could all switch to a different style when needed.

With Kasuyi holding back, a small number of mechanical soldiers were also let past, trying to stop the two of them.

However, Sagman was extremely mobile in light form. He made countless turns to avoid fighting the mechanical soldiers head-on, showing how experienced he was. Luckily, Taylor was a Beyond Grade A as well, or he would have been vomiting his guts out.

Sagman’s Esper Ability was related to light energy, so his turning speed was extremely fast. He went in a huge circle to get rid of the mechanical troops and entered Hila’s battlefield, floating in midair above the planet.

“You guys are finally here. Quickly, help!”

Francisco was done with his teammates and was exhilarated to see help arrive.

Sagman and Taylor exchanged looks and saw what each other meant.

Create an opportunity to use the forbidden spell scrolls!

The two of them joined the battle without saying anything.

Light energy shockwaves and magic spells were thrown out like they were free, exploding everywhere.

Boom!

The sound of explosions never stopped. Mechanical soldiers were being destroyed one after another. Hila was in a dire situation once again, so much so that she had to stop all her attacks and focus on defending herself.

After the two of them joined the battle, it became completely one-sided.

…

At the same time, Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar scanned through the difficult situation Hila was in. He then said in the chat window with Kasuyi exclusively, “Hila won’t be able to fight against five of them. Stop blocking me and let me past.”

“How do you want to act that out?” Kasuyi replied.

“Give me a powerful hit, throwing my Lord’s Avatar and part of my mechanical army over.”

“The church wants me to stall you. I can’t possibly throw you into that battlefield. Plus, if you join that battle, I’ll have to follow too, and then, I’ll have to fight Hila as well. She’ll be in an even more dangerous situation.” Kasuyi shook his head slightly.

The acting was one thing, but he did not want to offend the church. No matter how much he was holding back, there was no way he could make it this obvious.

“How about… you use a large attack when you’re in a dire situation, and that stops your teammates’ attacks? Just say it’s collateral damage.”

“I have complete control over my psychic power. There’s zero chance something like that would happen.”

“Then… might as well let me destroy this doppelganger of yours. That’s the easiest way.”

“No, not mentioning whether your Lord’s Avatar has the ability to defeat my doppelganger, I have to stay here to prevent accidents. That old man, Mechanic Emperor, said the federation wants to make a move. I’ll have to act like I’m fighting with them for Hila to keep some of them busy.”

Han Xiao did not even know what to say.

What’s the courtesy of an actor? This is!

You’re so passionate about your job that even the church would be touched!

“No this, no that, what should we do then?”

“The federation might appear at any moment. When they do, I’ll turn to fight them, and her situation won’t be so dangerous. If Hila can still hold on for now, it’s best to wait for the change that’s certainly going to come,” Kasuyi said.

“I’ll have to think about it…” Han Xiao pondered.

While these two actors were going through their script together, a change suddenly happened!

Swoosh!

Under the nonstop attacks of five enemies, Hila finally showed a flaw. ‘Mechanical Catastrophe’ Francisco captured the opportunity, clapped his hands, and released an extremely condensed plasma electromagnetic field that passed through the gaps between the death energy.

Buzz!

Electric sparkles appeared all over Hila’s body, and her movements showed even more flaws.

Sagman and Francisco then continued throwing out more powerful controlling abilities to restrain her.

“Weird. Ever since we joined the battle, she’s seemed less focused…”

This doubt flashed through Sagman’s mind. Before he had time to think about it carefully, he yelled at Taylor in the mind communication channel, “Use the scrolls!”

“Ready long ago!”

Taylor tore open a white magical scroll with black words, the scroll then suddenly glowed extremely brightly.

Swoosh!

As if a prison was finally opened after a thousand years, countless white magical runes shot out from the scroll like wild dragons, all landing on Hila.

The next moment, the surface of Crimson Snake was crawling with eerie pale-white runes, which had an overall shape of a seductive woman. The woman-shaped pattern slowly opened its arms and did a hugging posture.

Buzz!

An unknown power appeared as Hila realized that she could not move her body. She was locked in midair. The boiling energy in her body quickly calmed down, and she was completely unable to move.

Forbidden Spell—Wailing Nun’s Embrace!

“Focus fire!”

The duration of this scroll was limited. Sagman did not dare waste any more time. He yelled in the communication channel to tell everyone to use all their attacks and throw them at Hila.

Tolaen and Mercer responded instantly. Although they did not know what happened, they would not let such a good opportunity pass.

Boom!

Hila’s silhouette was instantly buried by colorful energy explosions.

It looked beautiful, but it was extremely powerful as well!

Kasuyi’s doppelganger suddenly turned around.

“A forbidden spell scroll‽”

The church hid this and did not tell me about it‽

Seeing this, he did not want to discuss the script any longer. His psychic energy grabbed onto the mechanical army, including Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar, and threw them to the battlefield Hila was in.

“Damn, what a decisive man.”

Flying in midair, Han Xiao rushed toward Hila’s position with the help of Kasuyi’s push, but he was not in a hurry.

Kasuyi did not know much about Hila and thought Hila was in danger. However, Han Xiao knew that Hila had the ability to be able to ‘revive’ herself. This wave of focus fire looked powerful, but it could not kill Hila. It would only trigger her reviving ability.

However, if that’s the case, I’ll have to use the backup plan. Han Xiao frowned slightly.

If Hila’s one-time reviving ability was not triggered, he would take more risks. Now, however, Han Xiao felt like he needed to change the plan.

However, before he arrived at the battlefield, a powerful life force energy erupted in Hila’s location!

Wu!

The gold life energy shot into the sky like a fountain!

The liveliness of this energy startled everyone.

Sagman and the other four suddenly realized, although they had been dealing heavy damage to Hila all this time, those injuries seemed to have recovered within seconds!

With the effect of the forbidden spell ending, Hila escaped. Crimson Snake was already worn out, showing large portions of her sky that was covered in opened wounds with visible flesh.

However, with vital energy regenerating her body, those open wounds closed in the blink of an eye, not even leaving any scars, turning back to her smooth skin.

Sagman and the others’ eyes widened as they were astounded.

Impossible!

Such a powerful regenerative ability…

Why does she have this kind of power?

Also, why does this look familiar?

The next moment, everyone turned around and looked at Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar with a shocked expression.

Isn’t this… Black Star’s ability‽

Why does Hila have it too?

In terms of the similarities between the two of them…

Could this be the people of Planet Aquamarine’s cultural talent‽

This time, Kasuyi’s voice appeared.

“Black Star, are you people of the Planet Aquamarine… all unkillable?”

“That’s really not true. We don’t have that kind of talent…” Han Xiao smiled awkwardly.

If his main body was there instead of his Lord’s Avatar, he would probably have taken a very deep breath.

What Hila did was successfully building a vital link with Aurora. How else could so much vital energy erupt out of nowhere‽

Being able to obtain a new ability during battle, sis, are you a protagonist type character too?

That doesn’t make sense. You’re supposed to be on the evil side.

With this vital link activated, Hila became drastically stronger. Her basic combat capability did not increase, but she basically had an extremely powerful healer with her at all times. As long as Aurora still had stamina, Hila’s regeneration ability would be terrifying!

Han Xiao’s heart was hurting so badly he almost wanted to report this to the officials.

I thought I was powerful enough, but I never expected you to cheat!

If Hila had this ‘external software’ in his previous life… Han Xiao could not even imagine what would have happened.

Sadly, before Hila’s cheat finished installing in his previous life, the Germinal Organization’s leader had already destroyed it.

“Again!”

Hila’s will to fight was boiling.

Currently, Aurora was already able to fight along her side in this way, which helped her escape lethal danger. Hila’s mindset was different from before; she did not reject Aurora using her abilities to help her.

Beyond Grade As needed more vital energy to regenerate, but Aurora was now a Calamity Grade as well, so she was more than able to be Hila’s healer.

Hearing Hila’s yelling, Sagman and the other four were hesitant as to whether they should continue fighting Hila.

Han Xiao, however, stopped in midair and did not continue approaching. Kasuyi was watching from afar as well.

Everyone stopped doing what they were doing and exchanged looks. The situation became awkward.

However, everyone suddenly felt something and looked over in that direction.

Buzz!

Not far from the stronghold, a Federation of Light fleet penetrated the limitations of the spacetime stabilization device and suddenly appeared on the battlefield.

At the front of the fleet, seven Beyond Grade As stood in a row, looking at everyone there.

Kasuyi looked up and said calmly, “They’re here.”

Chapter 1050: Oscar Winner

1050 Oscar Winner At Black Star Palace, the battle between Ames and Traveler was reaching the climax.

Under the Force Field, the satellite tiles shattered Traveler’s magic shield time after time like enormous fists, slapping him around everywhere like he was a baseball.

It looked like Ames had the complete upper hand and was totally overpowering Traveler, but not only was she not relieved, she was even more cautious.

There was a reason Traveler was getting beaten this badly—for unknown reasons, he used the Puppet Replacement Spell multiple times, decreasing his attributes, health, and energy time after time. It was like he was looking to be tortured.

At the same time, that uncomfortable evil vibe he was giving off gradually became stronger too.

“I can’t keep doing this.” Ames looked at the base far away and nodded.

The officers in the watchtower saw this action of hers, which was a hint to activate the spacetime stabilization device to cut off Traveler’s path of retreat.

Herlous instantly gave the order.

“Ambush team in position. Everyone, activate…”

Before he finished, the situation suddenly changed! A purple and green energy wave as thick as flowing liquid erupted from Traveler’s body. It had suction cups and looked like the tentacles of an octopus. It also looked like a boiling and bubbling potion that kept expanding.

The energy condensed into almost solidified translucent green and purple energy tentacles. Instead of saying that Traveler released them, it was more like these energy tentacles tore Traveler’s body open and forced their way out!

Ames did not have a habit of waiting for someone to finish transforming. Without saying a word, she focused her Force Field once again.

Circular Force Fields spun around her like small tornados, quickly turning into the shape of drills. They then stopped for an instant before rocketing toward Traveler.

However, the next moment, the purple-green energy on Traveler’s body moved and covered Traveler completely, forming a coating around him. The Force Field landed on it but was shockingly not able to penetrate it, only pushing him back slightly.

“Hahaha. Useless useless useless!”

Traveler laughed maniacally like he was a different person, giving off an indescribable sense of evil from all over his body.

Tons of army soldiers felt their legs tremble just by looking at him… In the interface terms, all of them had undergone a will judgment.

Ames kept attacking, but the purple-green energy around Traveler was extremely tough and blocked all her attacks. It was unknown what kind of energy this was.

At this time, Traveler suddenly held both his hands up, and a strong sense of passion appeared in his eyes.

“This powerful person here is the sacrifice I, your husband, have given to you. Answer my call, my lovely wife!”

Boom!

The energy around his body suddenly bloomed and spread out like it was infinite, painting the black cosmic space purple and green.

The properties of this area changed in this instant.

“Alert! Alert! Spacetime coefficient is fluctuating drastically. The wave peak has exceeded the reality safety line!”

“Spacetime stabilization device overloading… Alert! Stabilization anchor broken! Stabilization failed. Requesting more spacetime stabilization devices!”

“Analyzing event model… Analysis complete. 100% match. Event: Advent of a secondary dimension!”

If the spacetime was a piece of paper, the spacetime coefficient would be the extent to which this piece of paper was folded. The more stable it was, the neater and flatter this piece of paper would be. At this moment, this piece of paper was crushed into a ball, and another piece of paper representing a secondary dimension was wrapped around it.

Secondary dimensions were dangerous yet amazing. They were all born due to various reasons. If they appeared in the main universe, they would change the spacetime properties of a certain area and turn it into the secondary dimension. Most of the time, this would be a disaster.

Han Xiao had once seen an item called the Shadow Lantern in the dynasty. Its core was the fragment of the Shadow Dimension, and it could summon the Shadow Dimension. What Traveler was doing now was similar to that.

This evil filled secondary dimension gradually expanded outside Black Star Palace. Ames and the various fleets were all inside this dimension as if they were swallowed into its stomach.

Countless energy tentacles extended and appeared out of nowhere, each one at least a hundred thousand meters long, flapping and moving around randomly. The fleets’ formations were immediately broken, and their shields were attacked continuously.

Ames frowned as she controlled her Force Field to keep shattering one tentacle after another. However, new tentacles appeared in this secondary dimension like there was no end to them. Seeing this, she had no choice but to keep aiming her Force Field at Traveler himself.

Boom!

Traveler did not even dodge. He just hovered in the same place and kept waving his hand that had the purple mark on it. Following the movements of his hand, purple green energy tides appeared out of nowhere like it was infinite, easily shattering Ames’s Force Field attacks.

“I once lost to Oulou and witnessed his terrifying abilities, which motivated me to take the path of searching for secondary dimensions.” Purple and green patterns extended on Traveler’s face as he became more and more excited. He laughed like a lunatic and said, “Eventually, I found a new power! Let me introduce you. This secondary dimension is called Evil Convergence. It’s my wife! Inside its body, I can absorb an infinite amount of energy! Call Black Star out. You’re no match for me!”

“You haven’t beaten me yet.”

Ames narrowed her eyes slightly.

Traveler looked around and saw that countless fleets were rising from the Black Star Palace to deploy more spacetime stabilization anchors around.

Seeing this, he did not care and smiled coldly.

After causing such a big fuss, Black Star would definitely have to do something. He had already achieved his initial goal. All that was left was when would Black Star come.

However, he had to add more flames and give Black Star more pressure.

Having thought of that, Traveler looked at Ames and licked his lips.

“I shall chew you up into pieces first then.”

…

In the Emerald Star Cluster, the arrival of the Federation of Light attracted the attention of everyone present. They all stopped moving with different looks on their faces.

There were six Beyond Grade As who appeared there, while ‘Defender’ Romo, who was providing ranged support, did not come.

“One, two… six Beyond Grade As.”

Hila’s heart sank. The excitement from creating a vital link that ignored distance quickly dissipated.

If all those people were there to kill her, she felt that there was no way she would survive.

Aurora’s stamina was limited; it would run out sooner or later. With so many Beyond Grade As working together, they would be able to kill her countless times over.

To her, no matter how strong her regeneration ability was, being killed was just a matter of time. Furthermore, regenerating fast did not mean that she would not be captured by the enemies.

“Sis…” Aurora’s anxious call came through the mind link.

Hila felt the vital energy that kept flowing out in her body. The sharp look in her eyes gradually softened as she subconsciously turned to look at Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar floating in midair.

When she was surrounded earlier, she had analyzed the situation and felt that the only way to survive was to successfully link with Aurora. Hence, she had diverted her attention during the battle to keep trying to build a link with Aurora.

Whether it was her potential exploding in a time of life or death or some other unknown reason, that obstructing secondary dimension gradually stopped absorbing the vital energy. With this obstacle gone, the link between the two of them was built smoothly, and Aurora could finally share her energy with Hila through the blood and soul connection between them.

While everyone was observing the situation, the federation’s fleet moved.

A ton of unmanned spaceships and mechanical troops headed to attack the defense fleet of the planet stronghold, while the other spaceships quickly changed formation. The engineering ships came to the edge of the formation and released arc-shaped machinery that connected with each other, starting to assemble the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device.

The six Beyond Grade As of the federation quickly approached the battlefield Hila was in. Sierron crossed his four arms and looked down at Hila, Sagman, and the rest from above.

“Looks like we arrived at just the right time,” he said coldly.

Kasuyi’s doppelganger slowly flew over. “The federation is going to be involved in this too?”

“Humph, you people of the church really are useless. You still haven’t killed Hila,” Sierron said coldly.

“Since the federation is here, I suppose you have the same goal as us. Why not work together to kill Hila?” Sagman said with a deep voice. “She has just exposed that she has a similar regeneration power to Black Star. We will only have a higher chance of killing her by working together.”

Hades suddenly said, “Okay, since everyone’s goal is the same, let’s form an alliance.”

Sierron paused, thought about it for a second, and did not explain their true goal.

There were quite a number of people from the church as well; it was not a suitable time to show all his cards. Working together was the best choice.

Hearing this, Sagman and the others were overjoyed, but Hila’s heart sank.

Looks like today is the day I die.

This time, Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar landed beside her and stood by her side. He took out a compressed orb for a new Crimson Snake, instantly expanded it out, and helped Hila change her mechanical suit.

Hila turned and looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and said softly in their communication channel, “Black Star, if I die today, take care of my sister for me.”

“You won’t die today.” Han Xiao shook his head.

“You don’t have to comfort me. There are ten or so Beyond Grade As here… This is more terrifying than what you faced back then. You won’t be able to save me even if you come in person… Don’t bring your original body here. Go, don’t save me. You’ll be in danger too.”

“You won’t know till you try it,” Han Xiao replied.

Hila shook her head, paused, and said softly, “I owe you too much. You’ve been taking care of us all these years. I really appreciate you a lot.”

Han Xiao looked at her. “Why are you suddenly saying your will? It’s not like you.”

“Hehe, don’t worry, I won’t give up resisting. Even if I die, I’ll hurt my enemies as much as possible. I’ve always been chasing after your shadow, and before I die, I can finally fight alongside you. I’m already satisfied.”

Hila subconsciously reached out her hand but stopped halfway. She hesitated and changed it into a pat on Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar’s shoulder before softly sighing.

The next second, her face returned to her cold ice-like expression. Energy erupted from her body as she charged fearsomely toward the Beyond Grade As before her!

She just hoped that Han Xiao’s main body was not the one standing beside her now.

However, before I’m killed in a battle, I should be able to see you one last time…

“Know your place.” Sagman snorted and brought his teammates to once again fight Hila.

Just as Sierron was about to bring his teammates and join the battle, they suddenly felt a sense of danger.

“Boom!”

An extremely powerful psychic energy wave swept over them. The members of the federation were shocked as they quickly activated their defense measures but were still blown away. The attack also contained a powerful mind attack. Many of them shivered and felt an overwhelming painful headache.

This made everyone shocked. Sagman and the other four stopped as well and looked up. The attacker was their leader, Kasuyi’s doppelganger.

Aren’t we temporary allies now? Why did His Excellency Kasuyi attack the federation’s men?

Hila’s movements paused as well. She was confused too.

That’s weird. Why are they suddenly fighting each other?

Sierron got rid of the slight headache, stared at Kasuyi’s doppelganger, and yelled, “What is the meaning of this‽”

With hands behind his back, Kasuyi said, “The federation’s goal isn’t just to kill Hila, is it? You people want to capture her and use her as a chip to force Black Star to do something for you.”

Sierron’s expression changed. Given how certain Kasuyi was, he definitely knew about this from somewhere or someone, so there was no point faking it anymore. He did not deny it and said coldly, “How did you know that?”

“According to how you people do things, I could’ve easily guessed,” Kasuyi said calmly. “You people only came into the battle midway and even brought a Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device. Compared to killing someone, this is more like a kidnapping. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is still in your hands. If I’m not wrong, you want Black Star to open the seal of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter in exchange for Hila.”

Suddenly, the psychic energy around Kasuyi’s body erupted like he was furious.

“If it was something else, it would not be a big deal. However, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is the church’s treasure. It definitely needs to be prioritized before Hila. Even if I must give up my mission today, I’ll stop you people from kidnapping Hila. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter can’t be used by the federation no matter what!”

Feeling Kasuyi’s skyrocketing presence, Han Xiao was astonished.

Damn, are you an Oscar winner? How are you able to act this well?

Even if what he did now was reported to the upper echelons of the church, they would only compliment him for doing a good job.

Han Xiao suddenly thought that maybe this was not acting but his real thoughts…

What a pro! This was the highest level of acting—even the actor himself believed it!

If you don’t receive the tiny gold man, it’s definitely rigged!

Chapter 1051: Main Body“s Arrival

Chapter 1051 Main Body“s Arrival

The federation wants to capture a hostage to force Black Star to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter?

As expected, upon hearing this, the expressions on Sagman and the others’ faces changed. They looked at the federation’s men with more hostility and caution.

They did not doubt Kasuyi’s judgments at all, not only because he was the leader of this mission but also because his speculation made sense.

The Arcane Church’s people always had problems with the Federation of Light. If not because the federation jumped back and forth on the side they were on during the Planet Lighthouse battle, the church would not have lost Ninjia and the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Now that Kasuyi said the federation wanted to take a captive, Sagman and the others were reminded of how the federation did things and agreed with Kasuyi’s speculation. They felt that this was totally something the federation would do.

On the issue of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, the church and the federation had been arguing about it for a very long time. The church could only endure it all this time because they knew that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was sealed and the federation could not use or study it as well. Thus, they could put up with the federation possessing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter for the time being.

However, if the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was unsealed, the church would definitely not take it any longer.

Compared to Hila, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was clearly more important. They could not let the federation have their way!

Of course, Kasuyi did not guess this; the Mechanic Emperor had told him about it.

Although the federation was the Mechanic Emperor’s long-time boss, in terms of his plan, he naturally would not want something that was especially powerful against Beyond Grade As such as the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to be used by any civilization. In his eyes, being sealed was where it belonged.

“Since that’s the case, let’s talk with our fists.” Sierron’s expression turned cold, and powerful Pugilist flames blasted out as his voice echoed like thunder. “You guys go deal with Hila first; I’ll deal with Kasuyi. This is just a doppelganger. When I’m done with it, I’ll help you guys.”

Then, he released a thick and blinding Shockwave Blast from his fist like a mini sun.

Like his nickname, Star Shatterer, his Pugilist style was known for overpowering his enemies head on.

Kasuyi also fired powerful psychic energy to take on the attack.

Boom!

As the two attacks clashed, it was like the sky shattered!

In a blinding light, the world seemed to have turned white entirely.

Boom!

Sierron and Kasuyi fought head-on for the first attack, then turned into two phantoms entangled together. Pugilist flames and Void psychic energy clashed hundreds of times every second, emitting waves of aftershock as they fought at higher and higher altitudes, creating another battlefield in outer space.

At the same time, the five federation Beyond Grade As quickly descended and stood opposite Sagman and the others, while Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar and Hila stood on the side.

The three sides stood in a triangle shape.

This could turn into a battle between three sides at any time.

“So, these are the five sent by the federation…”

Han Xiao sized the federation’s people up and nodded in his mind.

He had a rather clear understanding of the strength of these people. Not only did he remember what they had done in the previous life, but he also had the detailed data of them collected during the Meeting of the Gods.

The five people from the federation there were all mid-level combatants. Among them, the strongest should be Crystal Soul, who had a Universal Treasure named ‘Star Crown’ and had a similar position as the church’s Sagman. The weakest among them should be Hades, who had only joined the federation recently. He had similar strength to Tolaen.

What was worth paying attention to was Mornisa. Han Xiao remembered that she was once the Mechanic Emperor’s student and followed alongside the Mechanic Emperor to study machinery before she became known. She had only become a Beyond Grade A later. Han Xiao was wondering if she was an actor as well.

While Han Xiao was secretly analyzing the situation, Sagman and the others were in a dilemma as well. They did not know if they should fight Hila or the people of the federation first.

If they fought Hila first, the federation’s people would disturb them, and the federation might achieve their goal if they were not careful.

However, if they fought the federation first, they would feel stupid for leaving Hila on the side after fighting her half way, only to help her fight others.

At this time, the federation’s Hades suddenly spoke in the public channel.

“People of the Arcane Church, although we have different goals, we can’t waste our trips here. If you turn to fight us, we will all become a joke. So, we might as well first get rid of Black Star’s Lord’s Avatar, then beat Hila till she can’t fight back, control the situation, and then discuss what to do with her.”

In Hades’ eyes, Sierron would definitely be able to handle Kasuyi’s doppelganger. If they got rid of Black Star’s Lord’s Avatar, they would still have Sierron while the church would not have Kasuyi. With the two sides no longer balanced, they would be able to control the situation and take Hila away.

Hearing this, Sagman was a little hesitant. He then looked up at Kasuyi, turned to look at Black Star’s avatar and Hila, and made up his mind, nodding with clenched teeth.

“Okay, take down Hila first.”

At this moment, he made the decision not to listen to Kasuyi’s order from earlier.

Just as Hades said, if they suddenly turned to help Hila right after they were beating her up, he would indeed feel stupid, and they would become a joke throughout the universe.

Another reason was, unlike Kasuyi, Sagman was not willing to waste all this effort. Therefore, he wanted to take a gamble—if they could kill Hila while working together with the federation, they would also shatter the federation’s plans. If they killed the hostage, they would never have to worry about the enemies taking her hostage. Perfect.

This was also partially personal. Being locked inside the Spacetime Amber did not feel good. He could still remember it vividly even now, and he was ashamed of it. He had always hoped to hurt Black Star deeply, so from the bottom of his heart, he was not willing to give up this opportunity to kill Hila and hurt Black Star.

Earlier, Hila had shown her powerful regenerative ability, so dragging the fight out was not optimal. If ten Beyond Grade As worked together, their explosive damage would counter Hila’s regenerative ability to a certain extent. This was also why Sagman thought about killing Hila while working together with the federation.

He knew that both sides had ulterior motives. Even if they worked together, they would still secretly hold each other back. However, he was confident that he could create an opportunity to kill Hila right under the federation’s nose—he had a few powerful forbidden spell scrolls that were yet to be used!

With a little bit of discussion, the two sides barely came to an agreement. The next second, the ten Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church turned around, their hostile sights focused on Hila.

A horrifying pressure arrived like a tsunami!

Hila’s face turned slightly pale, but her expression remained cold.

At this time, the broad back of a machine stepped before her and blocked away all the eyes filled with hostility, as well as all the pressure.

“Don’t worry. I’m here beside you.” Han Xiao’s calm voice appeared.

Hila almost dazed.

It was this familiar scene once again, this back that protected her every time. Her emotions were difficult to soothe.

“Black Star…”

“What?”

“… When will your main body arrive?”

Han Xiao turned and gave her a glance. He then said with a meaningful tone, “No hurry, let me fly for a while.”

…

Inside the palace of the Beast Ancestor’s stronghold, Gorutan drank while chattering with Sorokin’s manifestation, waiting for good news.

After waiting for quite some time, Sorokin placed the glass down and asked, “Your Excellency Beast Ancestor, how far have the troops you sent gone?”

“What’s the hurry? Do you not trust my subordinates?” Gorutan replied impatiently.

After experiencing Sorokin’s confident words, he was persuaded. As long as he was not in danger, Gorutan was more than happy to make the situation worse for Hila.

Not long ago, he had given the order for some of his officers to take a fleet and destroy the stargate stations nearby, attempting to cut off the route that the dynasty’s reinforcements would arrive in so that they would not reach in time and Hila would not have reinforcements.

“It’s an important issue. If the dynasty’s reinforcements arrive, the situation will become more complicated. Killing a Beyond Grade A that’s in the Black Star Army but not an ally of the dynasty isn’t a problem as long as it’s done quickly, but the church and the federation might not be willing to commit to it if they had to face the dynasty’s forces head-on,” Sorokin said.

“Tsk, you have a lot of interesting ideas as always.”

With an impatient expression, Gorutan placed the glass down, took out the communicator to contact his officer, and asked, “Where are you? Have you arrived at the stargate station?”

“F-father… ” The officer on-screen was shivering. “We were intercepted by someone.”

“Hmm?” Gorutan’s expression suddenly changed as he yelled, “Who dared intercept my men‽”

“It’s the Mechanic Emperor’s mechanical army, and he brought his Apostle Weapons along. We weren’t able to win him…”

Gorutan suddenly stood up, accidentally toppling the glass and spilling the alcohol.

“Why did he suddenly intercept my men?

As a peak Beyond Grade A as well, Gorutan was not afraid of Manison. There was just a difference in class styles. He was not willing to mess with someone with such an enormous army like the Mechanic Emperor. They had intercepted his men, which did not look friendly at all.

Sorokin was surprised as well. He softly tapped the table and had an idea.

“I have a rough guess. From the Mechanic Emperor’s attitude during the Meeting of the Gods, he definitely does not support this mission targeting Hila, so he probably guarded against it earlier. As you’re the first one to let this message spread, it can be said that you started this. Hence, the Mechanic Emperor must have targeted you long ago, and by fighting you now, it should be to stop you from destroying stargates.”

Having thought of that, Sorokin frowned as he felt a slight headache.

The Mechanic Emperor had also interfered in this event, which meant that a lot of things might be different. Initially, he felt that the federation or the church would most likely succeed, but now, he was uncertain.

Sorokin had known the Mechanic Emperor for a very long time. He knew that this guy was also very cunning. Once Manison decided to interfere, it would definitely be more than just dealing with Gorutan’s troops. If he guessed correctly, Manison would have made other arrangements.

“I thought he would be just watching and not doing anything, but he actually secretly restricted the movements of the federation. He’s got guts. I’m afraid the chances of this mission succeeding…”

Sorokin started pondering. Among the hundred or so Beyond Grade As in the entire universe, very few were strong enough for him to take seriously, but the Mechanic Emperor was one of them.

While he was pondering, Gorutan directly contacted the Mechanic Emperor and questioned him.

“Manison! Why did you hold up my men‽”

Manison’s face appeared on the screen. “Did you forget the agreement we made in the Meeting of the Gods?””

“Hila reduced my life span and killed quite many of my subordinates. Are you telling me to just let it go?” Gorutan said coldly. “The agreement is all you talk about. Am I, a peak Beyond Grade A, less valuable than Hila? You don’t want the others to totally offend Black Star, but are you not afraid of offending me?”

“She’s already facing a dire situation because of you. I hope you can stop here. If she really dies, it won’t be beneficial for you.” Manison shook his head.

Gorutan snorted. “Humph, are you saying that Black Star will take revenge? You think I’m afraid of him? He’s the one who messed with me first. If he wants to play, I’ll play with him till the end! I’ll get rid of one of his most important comrades and teach him a lesson.”

Every time he thought of how big a loss he had taken and how he had been threatened by Black Star, he became more furious.

“I hope you can think of the bigger picture,” Manison said with a deep voice.

“I’m not the one that’s making the move right now. Plus, that’s your big picture, not mine,” Gorutan sneered coldly. “I’m giving you face by playing along with that shared battlefront thing. This is between Black Star and me; it has nothing to do with you. Yet, you’re here to interfere… What, you really think you’re the leader of the Beyond Grade As and have the right to control what I do? Let me tell you, don’t get ahead of yourself!”

Manison narrowed his eyes, giving him a deep look before hanging up.

Gorutan snorted, shattered the communicator, and threw it aside as he walked to the door.

Sorokin regained focus and hastily asked, “Where are you going?”

“Humph, the Mechanic Emperor is holding up my men. I’m not going to wait here for him to let them go. I’m going to bring my men back, and if I have time, I’ll destroy a few stargate stations on the way.” Gorutan walked out directly.

…

At the Black Star Army’s stronghold, the battle had lasted quite a while and become a fight between three sides.

After the Federation of Light’s fleet and Mornisa’s mechanical army joined the battle, the defensive fleet of the stronghold was once again restrained. The two sides fought intensely around the planet. The scale of the battle could already be considered a galactic battle.

Sierron and Kasuyi’s doppelganger were still fighting. Kasuyi was strong. Relying on his enormous mana pool, he temporarily stalled Sierron with just a doppelganger while dividing the battlefield at the same time.

This award-winning actor was the most important part in helping Han Xiao to stall the federation. He was of great use.

Han Xiao was secretly glad about this. If both parties had focused on Hila, the situation would have been close to impossible to get out of alive. In that case, he would have had no choice but to execute the final plan.

However, even though there was an actor on the enemy’s side, Hila’s situation was still extremely tough. The attacks from a total of ten Beyond Grade As filled her vision. It was horrifying.

Despite having successfully linked with Aurora, Hila still could not fight back. It had nothing to do with her regeneration ability; she was just completely overpowered. If not because she was absorbing Aurora’s vital energy, her one-time reviving ability would have been used long ago.

And this was with Han Xiao forcefully taking on part of the pressure that she was facing without considering his losses.

With so many Beyond Grade As working together, the power of their attacks would not just be additive. Han Xiao’s mechanical soldiers were destroyed countless times and reaching the limits of [Waste Modification]; he would not be able to rebuild them if this kept going.

‘Mechanical Catastrophe’ Francisco had set up a space stabilization anchor and wormhole disrupter, and the Federation of Light fleet had set up another layer after they arrived. The spacetime of this area was way too stable, so Han Xiao could not open his secondary dimensional army box and Dimension Factory. All he could use was the troops stationed in the stronghold. Hence, he had no choice but to deal with the spacetime stabilization device through Virtual Intrusion.

However, both the federation and the church had measures against this. That was especially so for the federation. Not only did they have Mornisa, they also had another Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic who was providing ranged assistance and protection for their artificial intelligence.

If the mechanical army was destroyed, just one Lord’s Avatar would not be able to fight ten Beyond Grade As.

Fortunately, they’re not so united. The church and the federation are cautious of each other, which somewhat decreases the power of their attacks, Han Xiao thought.

He turned around and glanced at Hila. Currently, he was separated from her, and not far away, countless attacks were being thrown at Hila. The situation she was in was extremely dire. She was receiving tons of damage every second. The glow of vital energy never disappeared and kept regenerating her health.

Aurora won’t be able to hold on for long even though she’s at the Calamity Grade now. It won’t be long before she gets completely exhausted.

At the same time, Sagman and the others surrounded Hila to attack her while he reminded his teammates, “Later, when the next round of the federation’s focus fire heavily injures Hila, Taylor, use all those scrolls, some to stop the federation’s people and some to aid our following full power attacks. We will eliminate Hila before she can regenerate and shatter her soul!”

“Got it.”

Taylor nodded and prepared to use the scrolls.

While everyone was highly focused, suddenly, an enormous energy source rocketed into the senses of everyone present and quickly approached at an astonishing speed.

“Someone else is here‽”

Everyone was shocked. Their movements paused as they looked up.

A mass of light streams were approaching at an extremely high speed from afar, dragging trails of flames behind. It was a mechanical army that was extremely huge, dozens of times larger than all the mechanical troops that were present there!

At the front of it was a silhouette shrouded in deep blue flames, heading right toward Hila’s location like a meteor.

“Who is that? They’re so fast! Are they here to help Hila?”

Sagman was confused. He looked around and realized that the federation’s people had the same confused looks.

At this time, they suddenly saw that Sierron had left his opponent behind and headed right toward that quickly approaching dark blue meteor, attempting to stop it and not let whoever had arrived reach Hila.

The two silhouettes clashed into each other, but the next moment, everyone present watched on with disbelief!

Boom!

A blood fog exploded!

It was Sierron who was blown away like a baseball. He flew out while spraying blood, together with… a shattered arm covered in blood!

Sierron had a total of four arms, and one of them had been blown off!

“What‽”

Everyone had a look of disbelief on their face.

Heavily injuring Sierron with one hit? Who is this guy‽

This time, the silhouette was also forced to stop in midair after clashing into Sierron. The flames around them disappeared, exposing the man inside, whom everyone there was familiar with. He was looking down at the ten Beyond Grade As who were surrounding and attacking Hila.

At this moment, other than Kasuyi, all the Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church were completely astounded.

Black Star!

How can he be here‽

Isn’t his main body in his base? How did he arrive here‽

Many Beyond Grade As there did not notice that the moment they saw Han Xiao’s main body arrive, more than half of their confidence in this mission instantly vanished.

They would happily bully Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar, but many were instantly afraid to face Han Xiao’s main body.

Han Xiao had an extraordinary combat history. He had proved his strength as a peak Beyond Grade A long ago through battles.

Seeing Han Xiao’s arrival, everyone felt a strong sense of pressure and became hesitant. Hila made use of this opportunity to flee from the encirclement and gasped for air.

“This is not good…” Sagman was reminded of how it felt to be sealed by the Spacetime Amber, and he shivered.

At this time, facing everyone, Han Xiao slowly spoke.

“I’m here.” He coldly looked around at the Beyond Grade As who had extremely uncomfortable expressions on their faces and said with a calm but pressurizing tone, “Now… it’s your turn to run.”

Chapter 1052: Explosion

1052 Explosion The expressions on the Beyond Grade As’ faces changed. They remained silent and did not respond while quickly analyzing the situation in their minds. They all felt that the situation had become truly difficult.

The reason they had surprise-attacked the stronghold was because they wanted to eliminate Hila when Black Star’s main body was not present. They did not want to fight Black Star’s main body face to face.

Black Star had peak Beyond Grade A strength, and his Indestructible Body was extremely tough to deal with. Plus, his position was very special. He had the Evolution Cube, so he was very important to the dynasty. At the same time, since his main body was there, he had definitely brought along the Spacetime Amber.

It would be drastically more difficult to kill Hila with Black Star’s main body present.

“There’s probably no chance now. To think that his main body actually came…” Sagman stared at Han Xiao with fear.

If it was any other Beyond Grade A Mechanic, the main body arriving would have been a risk. However, Black Star had proved long ago that he was a breath of fresh air among the paper Mechanics.

For the time being, everyone was hesitant and did not know what to do.

Sierron finally stopped his body from being blown away. His face was filled with rage, as well as a tint of shock. He pressed on the cut on his arm and glared at Han Xiao.

As a peak Beyond Grade A, I could not even block the charge of a Mechanic and was heavily wounded in one hit‽

Thinking of the power of that attack, Sierron was filled with shock.

Such a powerful single target attack was rare even for him.

At this point of time, Sierron only had one thought in his mind.

What kind of martial art did Black Star use?

He’s been hiding this trump card all this time…

Han Xiao’s threat in Sierron’s heart increased several levels.

He turned to look at his missing arm, controlled his muscles and veins to instantly stop the bleeding, and used his Pugilist energy to speed up cell generation. A new arm grew out in no time. Compared to the rest of his body, though, its skin tone was visibly lighter.

Sierron casually blasted his broken arm that was floating in the cosmic space into atoms before slowly flying back to the battlefield. He suppressed his shock and rage and did not act immediately. Instead, he observed everyone’s expression and pondered.

Kasuyi was floating quietly on the side while looking at Han Xiao. He did not look like he wanted to speak either.

The battlefield became strangely silent. Han Xiao, Sierron, and Kasuyi, these three peak Beyond Grade As, formed a triangle while the rest of the Beyond Grade As fixed their attention on the three of them.

Everyone knew that what happened next depended on the discussion between the three of them.

Black Star’s main body had made a threatening comment right after his arrival, but he did not do anything after. The various Beyond Grade As were not surprised by this. After all, they had the complete advantage in numbers. Even if Black Star had finally arrived, he would not dare act recklessly.

He was alone and had no help, so he was probably not willing to face the ten or so Beyond Grade As on the two sides at the same time. Thus, he probably had no choice but to endure his rage and solve the problem through negotiations.

Having understood this, the Beyond Grade As present all looked much more relieved.

Now that the Black Star’s main body had arrived, they did indeed have to retreat. However, that was not because they were afraid of Black Star but because there was no need to stay there anymore as the success rate of the mission had decreased drastically.

Although they feared Black Star’s main body and his Universal Treasure, there was no need to be afraid of him given how many Beyond Grade As were present. In the eyes of Sagman and the others, Black Star alone would be sufficient to protect himself but not enough to cause much trouble.

While everyone was secretly speculating, Han Xiao waited for the mechanical army behind to catch up with him while looking at the interface.

When Hila was attacked, an Urgent Mission had been triggered on the interface. It was similar to the mission for the Planet Lighthouse battle.

_____________________

Urgent Mission—[Rescue Hila]

Mission Introduction: Hila’s Esper Ability is seen as a threat by multiple Beyond Grade As. With powerful talent comes disaster. The church and the federation have decided to eliminate this threat.

Mission Requirements: Hila surviving in the attack.

Reward: 75 – 92 billion EXP, +1 Legendary Point, 4 Random Rewards, 4 Unknown Character Summon Cards, 1 Blank Character Summon Card.

Bonus Mission Requirements: Working together with the dynasty’s reinforcements, capture the enemy Beyond Grade As.

Bonus Reward: For every Beyond Grade A captured, draw one ability from the target.

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This is the most difficult mission I’ve ever seen… Han Xiao was amused.

The number of Beyond Grade As present was similar to the Planet Lighthouse battle, but Han Xiao now only had Hila on his side, and they had to face more than ten Beyond Grade As. The last guy to face this kind of situation was EsGod, and he ended up receiving a free 500 years lease for a luxurious single person cell inside the dynasty’s prison.

Nonetheless, the mission rewards were the best he had ever seen. For every person he captured, he would be able to draw an ability from that person. The more he captured, the more abilities he would be able to draw.

Now that my main body is here, there’s not a high chance the church and the federation will try to forcefully kill Hila in front of me. They’ll probably retreat very soon, and it’s still unknown when the dynasty’s reinforcements will arrive. Therefore, in order to complete the bonus requirements, I’ll have to rely on myself.

Han Xiao had already made plans when he was on the way, and he did not change his mind now.

He focused his thoughts and was reminded of something else.

On the way there, he had received a report from Black Star Palace; there was a Beyond Grade A who arrived on his doorstep to challenge him, and Ames had accepted the challenge. This incident was strange in every way.

The Great Mechanic Han always maintained connection with the base and knew the situation of the battle over there. That Traveler guy was showcasing his true powers and maintaining the upper hand, but there could only be one Lord’s Avatar at a time. If Han Xiao diverted his attention to what was happening at his base, his main body would have a tough time.

“Interesting, deliberately diverting my attention so that the church and the federation will have an easier time… Hmm, Traveler.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Traveler was a neutral Beyond Grade A on the surface but actually had a very close relationship with Super Star Cluster civilizations, which only very few people knew.

However, to him, Traveler’s identity was no secret. It had been exposed long ago in the previous life.

Did the church and the federation work together with the Super Star Cluster civilizations on this matter?

“No, it can’t be.” Han Xiao overthrew this speculation.

Traveler’s identity was a secret to the outside world. Even if the federation and the church worked with the Super Star Cluster civilization, they would not have sent Traveler, or his identity would have been exposed.

“Looks like there’s more to this…” Han Xiao slightly frowned.

He was not concerned about the truth for the time being. What he knew for sure was that the Super Star Cluster behind Traveler definitely had something to do with this.

The others did not know Traveler’s background, but he knew it clearly. There was no need to even investigate it; it would never be wrong to blame the civilization behind Traveler for this, and it would be simpler and easier.

Causing trouble at my house, they’ve got guts. The Throne is still on the way. When it arrives at the base, I’ll deal with you.

Hila flew to Han Xiao’s side.

The other Beyond Grade As did not stop her but only followed her over and waited beside their captains.

“You… shouldn’t have come.” Hila had a complicated look in her eyes.

From the way she looked at it, in order to save her, Han Xiao’s main body had deliberately rushed here into this trap, gotten surrounded by more than ten Beyond Grade As, and taken so many risks.

Hila knew that compared to her, the church and the federation wanted to get rid of Black Star even more. Plus, he had the Evolution Cube and the Spacetime Amber with him. If these enemies changed their plan to make Black Star the target… she would be the reason.

Originally, Hila thought that she would definitely die and really wanted to see Han Xiao one last time, but when he really came, Hila could not help but worry about Han Xiao’s safety.

All this time, Hila always lived by being straightforward and direct. Very rarely was she ever caught between such conflicted thoughts.

“If I didn’t come, who’d save you?” Han Xiao turned to give her a gentle smile. “You’re safe now. Why? Because I’m here.”

Hila softly bit her lips and suddenly held Han Xiao’s hand.

Han Xiao raised his brows and was about to say something when he suddenly felt waves of vital energy being sent into his body through Hila’s hand. He received a ton of enhanced statuses on the interface.

After holding his hand for a few seconds, Hila let it go, adjusted her hair, and coolly said, “Aurora’s ability can now enhance the strength of living beings. I can’t do much, only share the vital energy with you.”

“…Thanks.”

At this time, Sierron said with a deep voice, “Black Star, since you’re here, I’ll give you face. I have come up with a deal. Are you interested?”

He felt that Han Xiao was stalling time to wait for reinforcements, so he did not plan to continue waiting and started the conversation.

Hearing this, Han Xiao turned to look at Sierron, wiped the smile of his face, and said coldly, “Go on.”

“If you agree to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter for the federation, not only will we retreat, but we can even fight these people from the church with you.” Sierron’s hostile sights moved around Kasuyi.

Han Xiao’s hit earlier had combined [Charge—Endless Potential] and Silver Shadow’s Character Summon Card [Comet Rush].

In fact, he had arrived around the battlefield long ago but had been farming distance travelled to make this initial hit stronger. Originally, he wanted to first eliminate a more ordinary Beyond Grade A, but Sierron unexpectedly came to stop him, so he had no choice but to vent all this power on that thick-skinned Pugilist.

Although the power of this attack was far from being enough to make a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist lose his combat capability, it still made Sierron feel threatened. Seeing that the plan would be very difficult to pull off, he had given up on capturing Hila as a hostage and attempted to reach his goal through a deal.

Sierron did not know that Kasuyi was an actor yet; he felt that Black Star needed help.

Kasuyi did not mind at all, “Then, our church will definitely retreat instantly, so you won’t achieve your goal. In the end, Black Star will still be the one benefitting from it.”

Then, Kasuyi suddenly said, “Since the federation has an idea, I shall suggest a deal on behalf of the church as well.”

“Go on.” Han Xiao gave him a calm look.

“Black Star, I know your Spacetime Amber is very magical and can even imprison Beyond Grade As. How about this? We work together and capture these Federation of Light Beyond Grade As, then you sell them to us, and we will have chips to exchange for the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. What do you say?”

Sierron’s expression became grave as he glared at Kasuyi.

While the two of them faced off with each other, Han Xiao took a deep breath and said, “No need to make things so troublesome. I’m rejecting all of your deals… You came to beat up my men, yet now you want to make a deal with me? Don’t even think about it! All of you, come at me together.”

Sierron’s eyes widened with disbelief as he looked at Han Xiao.

Kasuyi was surprised too. This was not in the script.

Not just the two of them, all the Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church were shocked and stared at Han Xiao in disbelief.

Has this guy… lost his mind‽

He wants to fight more than ten Beyond Grade As alone, including two peak Beyond Grade As? Is he looking to be killed?

After extreme shock, wrath followed.

You think us Beyond Grade As are all made of glass‽ Don’t underestimate us!

Are you not clear of the situation? Sure, your main body has arrived, but do you really think you can fight us all alone and that we took a step back because we’re afraid of you?

“Are you serious?” Sierron’s expression sank completely.

“You destroyed my stronghold, tried to kill my Deputy Army Commander, but want to retreat right in front of me… Do you think that’s possible?”

Boom!

Han Xiao’s tone was firm as his energy increased gradually.

Hearing this, the look in everyone’s eyes became even more hostile.

Sierron was completely furious. “Think about this clearly! Given the current situation, we won’t hesitate to make you the target!”

Hila tensed up and quickly stepped in front of Han Xiao. Death energy spread out once again as she was on full alert.

No matter what decision Han Xiao made, no matter what strong enemies they had to face, she would always fight alongside Han Xiao without any hesitation.

This time, Han Xiao held onto her shoulder and pulled her behind him. “Don’t have to be so nervous. I alone am enough.”

Before anyone could vent their rage, a sky trembling energy impact exploded from Han Xiao’s body.

Buzz!

Violent golden Mechanical Force flickered and danced like lightning whips. Han Xiao’s energy seemed to be increasing infinitely.

Facing so many Beyond Grade As, even Han Xiao did not dare hold back. He instantly used the trump Character Summon Cards in his inventory!

[Mechanic Emperor Character Summon Card—The Ancient Ones]!

[Tyrant Character Summon Card—Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive]!

[Dragon Emperor Character Summon Card—Force Field—Dragon Body]!

[Nero Character Summon Card—Perfect Mechanical Sense]!

With the stacked effects of multiple Character Summon Cards, the energy Han Xiao was giving off looked horrifying even for peak Beyond Grade As. It even stinged everyone’s senses.

Sagman and the others’ expressions changed drastically from rage to shock!

The strength Han Xiao was displaying at this moment far exceeded what they knew about him!

Even Kasuyi, who had always remained calm, was moved at this moment!

Han Xiao’s eyes glowed brightly like two mini blue suns.

“Let me see how many of you can escape!”

Before the Beyond Grade As could regain their focus, Mechanical Force lightning shot out from Han Xiao’s body, instantly connecting to the mechanical army like an endless web of lightning.

The next moment, the metal tsunami formed by the mechanical army came crashing down!

Chapter 1053: I, Black Star, Am Not Cheating!

1053 I, Black Star, Am Not Cheating! Sagman and the others were stunned by Han Xiao’s extraordinary energy levels. They did not expect Black Star to really strike. Shocked, they quickly took defensive measures.

Boom!

The next moment, the opposing Beyond Grade As were submerged under the sea of mechanical army.

As the battle started, they became even more astonished. They felt an incomparable level of pressure even from the mechanical army.

If it was the army of a normal Beyond Grade A, they would have been able to easily move in and out of it while destroying everything in their way. However, Han Xiao’s mechanical army made them feel like they were trapped in a swamp and could hardly move, not to mention breaking out of it. Only Kasuyi and Sierron were able to move freely.

This was not only because the mechanical army Han Xiao’s main body brought was dozens of times larger than the two other Mechanics’ armies present but also because the mechanical army’s strength far exceeded what they could imagine. The Mechanical Force gave the mechanical soldiers incredible levels of enhancements!

Han Xiao already had the [Perfect Mechanical Sense] talent, and now he activated Nero’s Character Summon Card as well, stacking the two Perfect Mechanical Sense talents, increasing his Machinery Affinity to a completely new territory.

Facing such crushing pressure, the Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church had no time to think about anything else other than to subconsciously work together to fight the mechanical army.

Boom!

As soon as the battle erupted, it entered the climax and became a huge war.

Inside the endless mechanical army, there were over ten spheres of light moving within. Countless beams and attacks were gathering toward these light spheres, and these light spheres were the battlefields where each of the Beyond Grade As was under intense fire.

“How can he be this strong‽” Sagman said with a shocked tone.

“The last time Black Star went all out was during the Planet Lighthouse battle. After more than two decades, this is the second time he’s used his full strength. It’s shocking to think that he’s become this much stronger!” Taylor was both panicking and jealous.

More than two decades ago, the few of them who had taken part in the Planet Lighthouse warfare still had a vivid impression of Han Xiao’s performance back then. Now that more than two decades had passed, they knew that Black Star had definitely become stronger, but they never expected him to become so much stronger!

“This level of pressure is starting to feel similar to the Mechanic Emperor…” Kasuyi’s expression was grave.

He was within Han Xiao’s attack range as well, and he was mainly dodging attacks and slacking while thinking about the rest of the script.

He could understand the reason behind Black Star’s sudden attack—being the party that was being attacked, Black Star could not just let them retreat easily and had to, at the very least, display his intention to counter-attack. However, the strength Black Star was displaying now exceeded Kasuyi’s expectations.

At this time, Sierron said with a dumbfounded tone, “This is… Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive!”

Hearing this, everyone was shocked.

Isn’t this one of the explosive abilities of the Pugilist class. Why can Black Star use it too? Isn’t he a Mechanic‽

“I’m definitely not mistaken. The aura Black Star is giving off feels exactly like this ability. By squeezing out his own future potential, he’s exchanging it for higher power!” Sierron said with a firm tone. “Not thinking about how Black Star can use this ability, its concept remains the same!”

This was quickly accepted. Everyone’s expression became complicated. Their sights passed through the mechanical army and looked at Han Xiao with shock and astonishment.

This means that… in order to keep us here, Black Star is willing to burn his own potential‽

He could have totally made us retreat. Did he really have to do this much‽

If that was the case, they were not surprised as to why Black Star became this much stronger. After all, it was only temporary.

Nonetheless, such explosive power was still quite horrifying!

Seeing how firm Han Xiao was, many people intended to retreat.

Kasuyi sighed in his mind.

Initially, when he saw Han Xiao suddenly taking the spotlight and going off-script, he was a little unhappy and wanted to stop him. However, when he saw Black Star’s firm attitude, he decided not to go all out.

Since Black Star had given his all, he planned to give him face and cut him some slack. After all, he believed that Black Star knew where to draw the line.

On the side, when Hila saw Han Xiao displaying his incredible power, she was excited and shocked, but when she heard this explanation, she was stupefied.

The next second, Hila’s eyes turned red, with burning rage and murderous intent!

She did not think that Black Star would burn his own potential. Looking at the reason behind all of this, was Black Star not doing this just to save her‽

A stinging pain suddenly struck her heart and flooded her entire body.

Hila turned around stiffly. The way she looked at Han Xiao was different now. There was only remorse and apology deeply embedded in her bones.

“I…”

Hila was just about to say something, but Han Xiao waved and interrupted her.

“You don’t have to say anything. I’m fine.”

“… I’m so sorry.”

Hila bit her lips, clenched her fists, and charged into battle without saying anything else.

Death energy rushed toward the church’s Beyond Grade As together with her like a tornado. Her burning rage was all vented on the enemies!

Looking at Hila’s uncontrollably murderous intent, Han Xiao did not know what to say.

The side effect of using Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive was a seven-percent permanent increase in the cost of leveling up his character and abilities, which was equivalent to burning his potential. However, what these people did not know was that Han Xiao was using the Tyrant’s Character Summon Card. Although it only had one usage, the Character Summon Cards had zero side effects.

Sierron’s misjudgment made everyone misunderstand the situation.

Let it be. Not like it’s a bad thing. In fact, it’s actually beneficial for me. Han Xiao shook his head. Of course, he was not going to explain this to anyone.

Some of these Character Summon Cards could only be used once to grant him extraordinary strength, and using them in exchange for permanent abilities was definitely worth it.

He was filled with a sense of power he had never felt before. The Tyrant’s Character Summon Card made his basic attributes and energy strength far beyond the normal, reaching the standard of the next Promotion. While the double Mechanical Sense talents made the power of his mechanical army skyrocket. With these two together, he became terrifyingly strong.

Those that received the most enhancements were elite combatants such as the Apostle Weapons.

…

Swoosh!

Red Devil Tolaen’s leaned back and barely dodged Psionic Prime’s ordinary spear strike, which slashed his thick magic shield in half and opened a deep wound on his bone-spike-covered chest, exposing his dark brown chest bone.

Tolaen hastily swung the bones on his tail toward Psionic Prime’s mechanical body, which Psionic Prime calmly blocked with his spear.

Bang!

As the bones and the spear clashed, a shockwave exploded!

Tolaen was a powerful melee combat mage with tons of spells that enhanced his various combat capabilities, yet Psionic Prime, who was covered in gold Mechanical Force, fought him head-on without even taking a single step back.

“Help! Quickly! His Apostle Weapons are too strong!” Tolaen yelled.

With the enhancements of two Perfect Mechanical Senses, just Psionic Prime alone gave him enough pressure.

Plus, Psionic Prime was not the only one fighting him—Heaven-Suppressing Banner, Purple Sky Spirit, Silver Flash, Scarlet Flame, and many other Apostle Weapons were all focusing their fire on Tolaen.

The strategy Han Xiao used was to restrain others with his mechanical army while focusing his elite troops on one target to defeat them one by one.

“Useless!” Sagman was heavily surrounded as well. He was frustrated to hear Tolaen’s cry for help.

However, he could not possibly ignore his ally. He had no choice but to squeeze out some energy to provide assistance, launching some powerful light shockwaves toward the Apostle Weapons who were attacking Tolaen.

Buzz!

At this time, countless nanoparticles swarmed out in the middle and suddenly turned into an enormous fortress, splitting Tolaen’s battlefield away from the others.

This enormous mechanical fortress was surrounded by streams of light that quickly merged into a light gold translucent curtain that stood in the path of Sagman’s attacks.

Boom!

Sagman’s attacks were all stopped by this light-gold curtain, and countless blinding light arcs erupted!

Very soon, the blinding light dissipated, showing the absolutely unaffected flickering light curtain, leaving the mechanical fortress completed undamaged.

“Such strong defenses!” Sagman was shocked.

This mechanical fortress was one of Han Xiao’s Apostle Weapons. His name was Heaven’s Wall. This light curtain was somewhat similar to the Psionic Prime Spear; it was also a weapon that was created together with the birth of the Apostle Weapon. This light curtain’s name was ‘Wall of Defense’, and as its name suggested, it focused on blocking attacks.

Heaven’s Wall had more than one weapon. He also had ‘Ion Green Flame’, which was used to attack.

Suddenly, a large number of barrels extended from this fortress, shooting out beams of green light at Sagman and the others. This was a special type of ion energy attack. It was not only destructive but also had many other attributes.

“Sh*t, I’m isolated.” Tolaen was frustrated by this situation. Just as he was about to attempt to escape, he felt a chilling sense of danger.

In the blink of an eye, a tiny beam of light crept through the gaps between the mechanical troops around and easily penetrated his magical shield. Tolaen hastily tried to dodge it, but it still ended up landing on his shoulder.

Boom!

The next moment, an enormous wound suddenly appeared on Tolaen’s shoulder. This attack had dealt True Damage to him.

He quickly pressed on his wound and dodged around the other attacks. In moments of panic and horror, he looked in the direction that the beam of light came from, where he saw a human-shaped Apostle Weapon aiming a special firearm at him.

The moment Tolaen looked over, this Apostle Weapon suddenly disappeared without a trace.

Dark Shadow was a sniper-type assassin Apostle Weapon. His weapon was ‘Godly Camouflage’, which gave him extremely powerful stealth and infiltration abilities. The firearm in his hands was also a highly condensed sniper that could deal a ton of damage to single targets.

“Damn it, what weapon is that? My regeneration ability is suppressed…”

Before Tolaen could catch a breath, Mysterious Energy Host arrived. He launched a huge beam of light at Tolaen from far away, and Tolaen could only barely activate his magical shield to block it.

However, Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy had psychic attributes as well. Although Tolaen blocked the physical attack, his mind was shocked, and his channeling was interrupted.

With this golden opportunity, Hila did not hold back at all. She bombarded death energy beams on Tolaen like a thunderstorm. Tolaen was soon covered in wounds and bathed in blood.

“Why are they all attacking me?” Tolaen was frustrated.

Looking around at the entire battlefield, the one in the worst situation was none other than him.

I’m just a young new Beyond Grade A. This is bullying!

As Tolaen was in grave danger, Sagman and the others were also troubled and discussing what they could do.

“Black Star’s mechanical army is way too large and powerful. We can’t be restrained by him here. We have to make moves on Black Star himself. Taylor, use the forbidden spell scroll on him.”

“He has an indestructible body. Will that be able to damage him?”

“It’s not like we have any better choices. Let’s focus our fire together with the forbidden spell,” Sagman said furiously.

Taylor then tore open an attack-type forbidden spell scroll without any further hesitation.

Whoosh!

Magical meteors dashed out from within the scroll one after another, penetrating the multiple layers of psionic shields in their path, heading directly toward Han Xiao. This spell had an excellent penetrative ability. It was originally planned to be one of the trump cards to heavily wound Hila.

At the same time, Sagman and the others focused their fire at Han Xiao together with the forbidden spell. Light energy shockwaves, Pugilist Impacts, spells, psionic cannon beams, and other forms of attacks formed a tide of attacks thrown right toward Han Xiao.

The enormous energy here attracted the attention of the people of the federation not far away. They all looked over at this wave of attacks and were shocked. When facing attacks like this, most of the Beyond Grade As would have no choice but to try to escape.

With the ferocious attack dashing right toward him, Han Xiao, however, was not affected at all. All he did was raise his hand, and many sphere-shaped mechanical discs quickly gathered and formed two layers of shields that stacked on top of each other in front of Han Xiao. There was a piece of the Spacetime Amber on each and every one of those discs.

Swoosh!

Like a river stream hitting a reef, all the energy attacks slid away on the surface of the Spacetime Amber, not dealing any damage to Han Xiao at all, making the others feel both grave and jealous.

The existence of the Spacetime Amber was no secret. The fact that Han Xiao’s main body was there meant that this Universal Treasure was there too.

It could even block the attack of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, so the threat of this wave of attacks was negligible to Han Xiao. Furthermore, even without the Spacetime Amber, he was tanky enough to take on all these attacks.

It was way too difficult to hurt Black Star’s main body!

“We can use psychic attacks on his main body,” Hades said hastily.

Both Crystal Soul and Hades were Psychics. They quickly summoned their maximum psychic energy output and attacked Han Xiao. Kasuyi thought about it for a moment. He then decided to do his job on paper as well and used psychic energy attacks on Han Xiao while holding back.

Psychics were professionals in terms of psychic attacks. They could attack the target’s soul from afar, which was very difficult to guard against.

“I fixed my weakness long ago.”

Unaffected, Han Xiao immediately activated Psyker’s Character Summon Card, [Wall of Mind]!

The result of that was, he was completely unaffected, while Crystal Soul and Hades were both suddenly heavily wounded mentally. Their body shivered, and they became much weaker.

Psyker’s Character Summon Card could reduce the attack damage dealt by psychic attacks while reflecting some of its damage. Hades and Crystal Soul did not hold back at all, so they ate their own attacks. On the other hand, Kasuyi, who deliberately held back, was not so unlucky.

It was not too horrible for Crystal Soul, as he was stronger and even had the psychic type Universal Treasure, Star Crown, so he was only a little wounded.

“He can even reflect psychic attacks‽”

Hades’ face was pale. He was horrified.

Does this guy not have any weaknesses‽

Unconvinced, the two of them continued to attack. However, the more they attacked, the more damage they took from Han Xiao’s damage reflection. Han Xiao remained at ease while the two Psychics kept receiving damage.

With the Great Mechanic Han’s Psychological Resistance, he could actually block a lot of those psychic attacks. However, reflecting the damage was clearly much better than him just enduring the attacks. In the face of more than ten enemies, he was not going to give up any opportunity to weaken them.

…

As the fight lasted for a while, the many members of the federation and the church still had yet to get out of their difficult situations. Moving inside the mechanical army was extremely difficult.

The impact of such an enormous mechanical army, which continuously procced Han Xiao’s True Damage talent, was much larger than being able to merely restrain Beyond Grade As. If they did not deal with it cautiously and got focused on, they would die right on the spot. Therefore, everyone was on edge.

If they were facing an ordinary Mechanic, they would have rushed to him long ago. However, there was absolutely no point in doing that when facing Black Star.

He was too tanky, so much so that they did not even think about closing the distance on him!

However, Sierron was the exception. As a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist, he could easily be unstoppable in the midst of the mechanical army.

Just like the Tyrant, he also had a True Damage immunity talent, so he could ignore the focus fire of the mechanical army. However, the damage he could deal to the mechanical army was nothing given the sheer scale of the mechanical army.

The muscles on Sierron’s arms expanded as he sent a Pugilist shockwave strong enough to obliterate an entire planet right toward Han Xiao, but it was still reflected by the Spacetime Amber. Seeing this, he clenched his teeth, suppressed his anger, and spoke with Kasuyi.

“Let’s work together. You restrain the mechanical army to help me get close to Black Star. I’ll try to restrain him instead of killing him.

“I’m out of energy,” Kasuyi replied.

Sierron was speechless.

You were so energetic earlier when you fought me as if you had infinite energy, but now you’re saying that you’re out of energy? Who the hell are you trying to fool‽

Sierron was furious, so he left Kasuyi alone and charged toward Han Xiao alone, destroying the mechanical soldiers in his path. All four of his arms were covered in highly condensed Pugilist flames like they were coated with black paint.

“Humph, I knew you were going to do this.”

Han Xiao was prepared. He activated his ability instantly. Some of the mechanical soldiers flew toward him and quickly assembled.

In the next moment, the Mechanical Deity descended!

As soon as it appeared, the Mechanical Deity swung its arm and launched its fist toward Sierron. It was shrouded in a white light energy field that was created by psionic energy and force fields.

Four black fists clashed with the mechanical fist that was millions of times larger.

Boom!

A gigantic shockwave exploded and expanded in the cosmic space!

The Mechanical Deity’s arm quickly shattered, and tons of mechanical parts exploded. Sierron, on the other hand, due to his size disadvantage, was sent flying at a speed even faster than before.

Shockingly, the two sides’ strength was on par.

“This punch of mine would have even destroyed the core of a planet, yet Sierron took it head-on. That’s the power of a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist, I suppose.”

At this time, ‘Mechanical Catastrophe’ Francisco saw the Mechanical Deity and quickly contacted the federation’s ‘Mechanic Empress’ Mornisa.

“He has used the Mechanical Deity. This is our chance. You, me, and Romo, the three of us shall use Virtual Mechanic on the Mechanical Deity right now. Even though Han Xiao is a Virtual Mechanic, he still has to deal with that carefully.”

“Okay.” Mornisa nodded.

At this crucial point, the Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church had no choice but to work together temporarily to fight Black Star, who was ‘burning up his future potential’.

The three Mechanics quickly formed an alliance and attacked Han Xiao’s virtual firewall.

Han Xiao noticed this instantly and smiled with mockery.

“Oh, they’re trying to hack me?”

With all the bonuses plus the fact that he was a Virtual Mechanic, Han Xiao’s ability in the Virtual Technology field was extremely high.

Among the three enemies, only Romo was a Virtual Mechanic, and he did not even send a Lord’s Avatar.

In the virtual world, Han Xiao confronted the three of them. The three of them kept trying to break through Han Xiao’s defenses, while Han Xiao’s firewall stood strong.

Instead of being attacked, Han Xiao even followed the connection to use Virtual Intrusion on the three of them. The two members of the federation could barely stop Han Xiao’s hacking with the help of their main artificial intelligence, but the same could not be said for Francisco.

Francisco was alone, and he was not even a Virtual Technology professional. His defenses were weak and were shattering by the second.

His machinery became traitors one after another and turned on their former teammates.

“I’m going to lose!” Even the movements of Francisco’s Lord’s Avatar started to stagger.

At this moment, an enormous mechanical hand appeared and grabbed Francisco’s Lord’s Avatar before he could dodge.

Ka-cha!

Francisco’s Lord’s Avatar turned into a pile of trash instantly.

Han Xiao curled his lips.

“Hehe, paper.”

Mechanics who were using Lord’s Descent could deactivate their ability any time they wanted, so there was no way to catch them. In order to get rid of them, one just had to destroy their Lord’s Avatar.

After all, not every Mechanic’s Lord’s Avatar was as tanky as his.

Seeing this, Mornisa reluctantly gave up on the idea of trying to hack into Han Xiao’s army and focused on strengthening their defenses to not let Han Xiao break through.

Suddenly, the situation of the battle took a turn.

Under the focused fire of many Apostle Weapons and Hila, Tolaen could not hold on.

The damage output of the mechanical army around him was the main source of damage he received. After all, he was not immune to True Damage. His health plummeted under the focus fire of the mechanical army, and his teammates had no way of helping him.

Bang bang bang!

“Ahhh!”

Tolaen was flooded by bullets and cannons once again. This time, he was at his limit.

Not one area on his body was unharmed. His demon horns were broken, and his mind was fuzzy from the attacks of Hila and Mysterious Energy Host. He had lost the ability to fight.

Just as Hila was about to end him, Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity stopped her.

“Don’t.”

“Why? They made you…” Hila clenched her teeth and dared not complete the sentence.

“He’s more valuable alive.”

Han Xiao shook his head and grabbed Tolaen, who had almost lost all his senses. He absorbed him into the Mechanical Deity and brought him to where his main body was.

Han Xiao took out the Spacetime Amber and sealed Tolaen right away.

Looking at the agony on this guy’s face that was now fixed, Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction like a farmer counting the harvest of an entire year.

“That’s one.”

…

“Tolaen’s been captured!”

Sagman was enraged. He looked at the Mechanical Deity, which had captured his teammate, and a sense of panic appeared in his mind.

He did not even have to think to know that Tolaen was definitely going to get a taste of the Spacetime Amber, and he felt bad for him.

Due to how uniquely tanky Black Star’s main body was, they could not deal with Black Star the same way one would deal with other Mechanics. There was only one path in front of them, which would take the most effort—to eliminate Black Star’s mechanical army.

However, Black Star was fighting on his own grounds. He had even burned his future potential. Given the unique combat style of Mechanics, he was extremely powerful at this point, which was due to three key components—his Mechanical Deity, his elite Apostle Weapons, and his enormous mechanical army.

The strength of Mechanics in the later stages depended on their ability to fight multiple battles at once, creating a numerical advantage in one or more battles through the suitable distribution of their troops. In this battle, the Mechanical Deity had fought Sierron on even ground, restraining a peak Beyond Grade A; the mechanical army had restrained the many Beyond Grade As; and the Apostle Weapons had focused their fire on one target at a time to defeat them one by one.

If this lasted any longer, he could not even estimate how many of them would be left there.

In the past, Black Star’s only strength was his regenerative ability. Now that his attack had become this strong, Sagman’s impression of him became someone who was on a completely different level that gave him nothing but despair!

“Your Excellency Kasuyi, what should we do now?”

Sagman looked at his captain.

In times like this, the person he trusted most was the leader of his team… but he did not know how much Kasuyi was holding back.

“Black Star only obtained this strength through burning his potential. It won’t last long. The operation has failed. There’s no point to continue fighting. We’re retreating,” Kasuyi said slowly.

“What about Tolaen?”

“Even you might not even be able to walk away. Why are you thinking about others?” Kasuyi shook his head.

Although he was the leader, he did not mind Black Star capturing some of them to vent his anger. The way he looked at it, since Black Star had burned his potential, the Universal Civilizations should give him some compensation. He was not the one paying for it anyway.

All these Beyond Grade As coming to kill Hila had already insulted Black Star. If he could not vent his emotions, it would not align with Kasuyi and the Mechanic Emperor’s plans.

Chapter 1054: Retrea

Chapter 1054 Retrea

While the Arcane Church was tempted to retreat, Sierron, who was fighting intensely with the Mechanical Deity, received the same suggestion from his side.

“Your Excellency Sierron, we should retreat now. The situation will only become worse for us. There’s no point in fighting Black Star here while he burns his potential.” Hades’ tone was hasty.

“That’s right. Although more than ten of us being forced to retreat by Black Star alone will damage our reputation, by analyzing the current situation, this is the best plan for now. Since he’s paid such a huge price, it’d be best if we don’t continue to fight with him.” Mornisa agreed as well.

Sierron and the Mechanical Deity’s attacks clashed a few more times before he backed away with a long face.

Although he was not willing to admit it, the explosive power Black Star was displaying now was more than enough to match up to him. They would not be able to do much to each other any time soon. The Mechanical Deity’s energy consumption was terrifying, so normal Mechanics would not be able to make it last this long, but Black Star could keep it running for a very long time. This meant that even if the battle between the two of them came to an end, it would take a very long time.

The church’s side seemingly intended to retreat as well, so if they remained there to fight Black Star, they would receive all the pressure.

Sierron was not afraid, but he could not fight in multiple areas like a Mechanic could, so he could not help his teammates.

The federation never planned to fight Black Star head-on. Since the plan to capture Hila alive had failed, continuing to fight would only be a waste of effort. Sierron made the decision instantly and said with a deep voice, “Retreat. Preheat the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device.”

After he said that, he no longer continued fighting the Mechanical Deity and headed into the mechanical army. Using continuous Pugilist shockwaves, he created an empty area within the countless mechanical soldiers.

On the other side, Kasuyi stopped his act as well while helping his teammates to escape. His psychic energy swept all the mechanical army in his way to the side.

The escape routes of the two sides were different. The federation had brought their fleet along, so the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was their way out. The church had a small team, so only the Beyond Grade As had to escape themselves. As soon as they left the area affected by the spacetime stabilization device, they would be able to escape with teleportation scrolls.

Han Xiao instantly noticed the shift in the targets’ goals. Both sides were heading out of the mechanical army in two different directions.

The federation and the church both hoped that the other side would hold Black Star back, so of course, they would not be helping each other. There was also no way the church would take the federation’s Uber, or they would basically be leaving the wolf’s den just to enter the tiger’s cave.

“Their alliance is broken.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He controlled the Mechanical Deity and chased after the federation’s people.

The mechanical army split in two, while the Apostle Weapons and Mysterious Energy Host left the church’s Beyond Grade As behind and focused on the federation.

Gathering all the combatants to focus on one side would have a better effect. One reason he chose to chase after the federation was due to Kasuyi’s favor, and another was because it would be too difficult to chase after the church.

If Kasuyi stopped acting, his ability to restrain him would be incomparable. If he headed to chase after the church’s people, he would most likely not be able to capture anyone at all. Kasuyi was just a doppelganger, so he could totally secure his teammates’ escape without having to worry about his own safety, and his psychic energy would be more than enough to stop his entire army for some time.

Comparatively, Sierron was just a Pugilist who was powerful as an individual but had very limited AOE skills. He was not good at protecting his teammates and was there as his main body, so he could not miss his ride. With these factors all adding up, the federation was clearly easier to deal with.

Once the target was decided, Han Xiao locked onto a federation Beyond Grade A and threw out an ability without hesitation.

[Virtual Paramount]!

‘Lone Ranger’ Jackornitz was using all kinds of mechanical weapons to fight the Apostle Weapons when his body suddenly became stiff, and his soul was trapped in the virtual world by Han Xiao. He had lost control of his body.

In such dire situations, even the slightest carelessness would be fatal, not to mention being defenseless for more than ten seconds.

As a Mechanical Pugilist, the defense of his physical body could not match a true Pugilist, nor did he have any True Damage Immunity talents. When the mechanical army and the Apostle Weapons swarmed toward him, his health plummeted.

Han Xiao had chosen him because he was paper according to his data from the Meeting of the Gods.

Swoosh!

The Mechanical Deity extended its arm and grabbed Jackornitz. It then absorbed him into its body.

When Jackornitz escaped from the control effect of Virtual Paramount and returned to his body, he instantly felt a strong sense of weakness. What he came back to was a body that was heavily wounded and completely controlled by the traps inside the Mechanical Deity, unable to move.

“Impossible…”

Jackornitz could not believe how quickly he had been defeated.

He would be able to last longer even against the Mechanic Emperor’s army. He knew that Black Star was extremely tanky, but why was his damage output so high too‽

Han Xiao was not surprised. The damage output of his mechanical army was definitely not low.

Being a Molding Talent, [Legendary Battle Technique] could tear through any Beyond Grade As without a True Damage Immunity talent once his mechanical army could penetrate the shield and focus fire on the target. Even with how much health Beyond Grade As had, they would still not be able to handle this much damage.

Jackornitz was sent beside Han Xiao’s main body inside the Mechanical Deity. Han Xiao turned and glanced at him. “You won’t be able to run now that you’re inside here. If you don’t want to suffer more, don’t resist.”

As soon as his sentence ended, countless barrels extended from the interior walls of the Mechanical Deity and aimed at Jackornitz.

Under the mechanical helmet, Jackornitz could not help but smile bitterly.

Alright then, I couldn’t beat Black Star to begin with, and now he’s even sacrificing his potential for all this. I’d better accept my fate.

At the same time, the federation’s Beyond Grade As outside witnessed the entire process, seeing Black Star easily capture Jackornitz like catching a newborn chick.

“Your Excellency Sierron, this…” Womre could not help but say.

“Leave him. We can’t save him.” Sierron’s expression was gloomy. He was seething with anger.

Unlike Kasuyi, his main body was right there, so he could not afford to ignore his own safety. If he tried to save his teammate, he would not make it in time for the federation’s teleportation. And when the dynasty’s reinforcements arrived, he would probably be done for.

Therefore, no matter how furious he was, Sierron could only put up with it.

…

At the same time, the church’s members who were fleeing from the mechanical army in another direction also saw this.

Initially, when Tolaen was captured, Sagman and the others were all quite unhappy. So, when they saw that the federation was suffering just as much, they felt much better.

Like a great man once said, when something unlucky happens to someone, the best way to comfort him is not to pity him but to make him see others just as unlucky as him.

This was exactly how the church was feeling.

This time, Kasuyi’s eyes flickered slightly. He contemplated for a while but suddenly stopped and said, “You guys go first. I’m staying to do something.”

“What are you going to do?” Sagman was curious.

Kasuyi turned to look in the federation’s direction, smiled faintly, and said, “The federation has yet to return the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. This is a good chance to teach them a lesson and take some interest from them.”

The others understood immediately. This was something only Kasuyi’s doppelganger could do.

What Kasuyi wanted to do was restrain the federation’s people and help Black Star capture even more Beyond Grade As of the federation.

He hoped that Black Star would capture more captives to vent his anger and get more compensation from the Universal Civilizations. Plus, it would be best for him not to sell out his teammates. Hence, the federation was the best target.

Furthermore, this was a very justifiable reason. He had been acting the whole time, but the church would still compliment him for doing a great job, while at the same time, it would cancel out the loss they suffered through failing the mission and having one of them be captured. It was killing multiple birds with one stone. This was clearly the move of an experienced actor.

Having thought of that, Kasuyi left Sagman and the others and headed right toward the federation’s people. At the same time, he privately communicated with Han Xiao.

“Still remember the deal I suggested earlier? How about we work together?”

Han Xiao was chasing after the federation’s people when he saw Kasuyi charging toward this battlefield. He was initially planning on trying to stop him, but when he heard this, even he was stunned and almost speechless. He had tons of things he could say, but he did not know what to say, so it all fused into one single sentence.

On behalf of the federation, I thank you!

With Kasuyi joining the battle, the situation changed instantly. Kasuyi’s psychic energy swept past the members of the federation one after another. Having been hit by such powerful mind attacks, many of them trembled all over, allowing the mechanical army to create an even tighter encirclement around them. The speed of them pushing through the mechanical army suddenly slowed down.

Seeing this, Sierron was furious.

Kasuyi!

When I invited you to work together with me to fight Black Star, didn’t you say you were out of energy, you piece of sh*t‽

You goddamn actor!

He did not expect the Arcane Church to play this dirty and help Black Star.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Kasuyi’s tone was calm. “During the Planet Lighthouse battle, you also stabbed us in the back. The situation back then was so similar to now. I’m simply doing the same thing you lot did.”

During the Planet Lighthouse battle, due to the federation, the church had been left in a passive situation. The federation had even killed one of their Beyond Grade As and taken the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

Hence, Kasuyi felt no guilt doing something like this.

Sierron’s expression was raging. With a furious roar, he headed back. Highly condensed Pugilist flames appeared all around his body as he forced open a path. No mechanical soldier could stop him.

He blew away countless mechanical soldiers and made his way to Crystal Soul. He then grabbed him and turned around to leave instantly, not caring about his other teammates.

Sierron clearly knew that with Kasuyi helping Black Star, the federation would undoubtedly suffer a huge loss, so he could only take damage control measures.

Crystal Soul was a Crystal Life, so he was tiny. Plus, he had a Universal Treasure, so he was prioritized. Sierron brought Crystal Soul along and escaped right away. As for the others, there was nothing he could do.

Mornisa saw this and stopped fleeing. She controlled her mechanical army to secure the retreat instead. Although she could not match Han Xiao’s army at all, it still more or less slowed down Han Xiao’s mechanical army’s speed.

This way, those facing the most pressure became Hades and Womre, who were left behind.

“Damn it…”

Hades was bleeding from his every orifice. He was also a Psychic, but he was completely powerless in front of Kasuyi. He could no longer maintain his cool, and his face was filled with resentment.

At this time, the Mechanical Deity’s palm suddenly slammed down. Hades looked up. His vision was covered by this metal sky.

It had not been long since Hades became a Beyond Grade A, so he was not very clear about the strength levels of the Beyond Grade As. When he saw this, he only had one thought in his mind.

This is what true power looks like!

The next moment, he blacked out and lost all his senses as the mechanical palm landed on him.

“Third.”

Han Xiao absorbed the unconscious Hades into the Mechanical Deity, then looked at Womre.

At this point, all the Apostle Weapons were attacking just Womre.

This Pugilist’s style was different from Sierron and Gorutan. It did not look rough and powerful but very smooth and natural, like a martial arts master. Instead of melee combat, he seemed to be better at mid-ranged shockwave attacks. His Pugilist flames never stopped burning, as if they had no end.

The light-blue flames circled around him like a shield, continuously repelling the Apostle Weapons’ attacks. His movements were neither fast nor slow. Every move he made launched a shockwave. Even in such a dire situation, Womre did not look like he was being overpowered. However, with no chance of turning the tables, his defeat was just a matter of time.

Seeing that Sierron and Crystal Soul were escaping further while he had no way out, he decided not to escape and stay there to secure their way out with Mornisa.

The Mechanical Deity waved its hands, shattering tons of enemy mechanical soldiers and the unmanned fleet of the federation, quickly destroying Mornisa’s fragile Lord’s Avatar.

Womre was left alone, and not long after, he was also captured alive due to the attacks of the Apostle Weapons, Mysterious Energy Host, and Hila.

Nonetheless, them staying there was not meaningless. Sierron and Crystal Soul had already escaped into the Federation of Light’s fleet, and the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device’s preheating was complete.

Hu!

Two enormous mechanical rings span at an extremely quick speed, faster and faster, till the afterimages formed a sphere that shrouded the area around the fleet.

Sierron turned back one last time, glared at Kasuyi, and then looked at Han Xiao.

“Black Star, you captured our people. The federation won’t let this go easily! Just you wait!”

Buzz!

The speed of the two rings suddenly stopped, and the fleet inside the sphere area disappeared, leaving only the unmanned fleet and the mechanical army behind.

The next moment, the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device activated the self-destruction sequence and exploded.

As the federation’s people left, the atmosphere became much quieter.

“Only two escaped on the federation’s side.” Han Xiao stopped. His eyes sparkled as he looked in another direction, where the few Beyond Grade As of the church had already fled.

This time, Kasuyi’s voice sounded in his mind. “What, after capturing three federation Beyond Grade As and one church Beyond Grade A, are you still not satisfied?”

Han Xiao looked at Kasuyi and saw his calm expression.

“Thanks.” Han Xiao deactivated the Mechanical Deity and nodded at Kasuyi.

Without Kasuyi’s help, he would have captured three Beyond Grade As at most. He had managed to capture four and destroy two Mechanic avatars, meaning he basically defeated half of all the enemies.

The main reason he had achieved this was the Character Summon Cards he used, but other than that, Hila’s help and the Spacetime Amber were also crucial factors. That was especially so for the Spacetime Amber, which blocked a ton of long-range attacks, so he could put more effort into attacking, at the same time discouraging everyone from rushing his main body. Furthermore, he also had to rely on it to seal Beyond Grade As. Basically, at least twenty to thirty percent of the battle merit belonged to the Spacetime Amber.

He had to say, Ravenlaude’s should-be treasure was really very useful.

Although two of the four Beyond Grade As captures were newborn noobs and the other two were not particularly strong, they were still Beyond Grade As. They all had Molding Talents, so it all depended on Feidin this time.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind. As Han Xiao saw that Kasuyi had been staring at him, he retrieved the mechanical army that was chasing after the church’s people.

The spacetime stabilization device was already gone by this point, so he directly activated the secondary dimensional army box and stuffed his remaining mechanical army in. He then used Dimension Factory to collect the parts all over the place to do repairs.

While doing this, Han Xiao casually asked, “What are you going to do next, continue to escort the church’s people out?”

“Hmm, when they arrive at a safe place with teleportation scrolls, I’ll release this doppelganger. You won’t chase after them anymore, will you?”

Kasuyi smiled faintly while sighing in his mind.

When was the last time anyone achieved something this incredible in this entire universe?

When the results of this battle spread, god knows how much of a sensation it will cause.

“I’ve promised you, so I won’t go back on my word… By the way, let me show you something.”

Han Xiao waved and called Hila over.

“Are you okay?” Hila stared at Han Xiao’s face and did not bother looking at Kasuyi at all.

Although Kasuyi had come to help earlier, from the way she looked at it, the people of the church were still enemies. She did not know this was an Oscar-winning best actor.

“I’m fine.” Han Xiao shook his head and said with a serious tone, “Ames is being attacked in Black Star Palace. Go back to help her and then send Silver Shadow over.”

Hila was confused. “What do you mean? How am I going to go back to help her?”

“I have some new technology that can teleport you back.”

Han Xiao’s entire body started to glow. The King left his body with loud clanks and attached itself automatically onto Hila while still being connected to Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force.

After many private tests, Han Xiao knew the mechanics of the King like the back of his hand. The King itself was a Mechanic-only equipment, and the teleportation function of the Throne was targeted at the user who was wearing the mechanical suit. However, if he maintained his Mechanical Force link to the King through the Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel, even if someone else was in the mechanical suit, Han Xiao would still be able to activate this function and teleport the wearer of the mechanical suit to a fixed location.

The Throne was about to arrive at the Black Star Palace, so Hila would be teleported right back to his base.

Han Xiao turned around and realized that Kasuyi was looking at this with interest. Hence, he purposely activated a spacetime stabilization device to cover the area.

Then, Han Xiao snapped his fingers, and the King disappeared without a trace right under Kasuyi’s nose.

Kasuyi’s expression suddenly changed into shock. “This is… Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation? When did you learn the federation’s technology?”

“It’s not Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation. It’s another technology, but the results are similar. It can also penetrate the restrictions of spacetime stabilization devices and disruptors,” Han Xiao said calmly.

“Why didn’t you use this earlier?” Kasuyi said with resignation. If we knew you had this technology before, why would we even come to attack Hila?

“I only recently obtained this technology.” Han Xiao nodded. Looking at Kasuyi’s expression, he knew that he had achieved his goal.

He deliberately showcased the teleportation ability of the King to let others know that he had this technology. Otherwise, if the federation and the church did not give up, they might attack Hila again in the future, and he could not possibly always keep Hila hidden.

Showing this trump card at this time would let the outside world know that Hila could escape anytime when attacked by enemies she could not win against. This way, the federation and the church would give up on this plan, and this incident would not repeat itself.

In that case, Hila would be in a much safer situation, and no one would want to target her.

Swoosh!

At this time, the King appeared once again. The mechanical suit opened, showing Silver Shadow, who was still lost.

“Hmm? Black Star? What is this place?”

Silver Shadow was still confused as to what was happening.

“Stop talking. I don’t have much time, and I need to borrow your body. When I’m done, I’ll let you use the Evolution Cube.”

Han Xiao patted Silver Shadow’s shoulders, dragged him away, and was about to leave.

Kasuyi was a little surprised.

“It’s all over. Where are you going now?”

“It’s not over for me yet. While my explosive powers are still here, I have another target I need to deal with.”

“Who?” Kasuyi was curious.

Han Xiao turned his head sideways and said with a deep voice, “Beast Ancestor, Gorutan.”

Chapter 1055: Silver Shadow Uber

1055 Silver Shadow Uber A few minutes prior…

Evil Convergence had appeared outside Black Star Palace, gradually changing the properties of the space around while continuously expanding.

Within the affected area, the defense fleet continuously fired at the countless tentacles around, destroying one after another, only for more to appear again like they were endless.

According to some studies that supported the energy conservation theory of all energy in the universe, the conservation of energy operated between multiple dimensions. In many tests in galactic civilizations, there would be examples of energy suddenly disappearing or appearing out of nowhere, and most of those were caused by the energy shift between the main universe and other dimensions.

There were many ways a secondary dimension could be projected into the main universe. The method that Traveler used treated the secondary dimension like a bucket of water, and he opened a hole at the bottom of it to let the water inside flow into the main universe, causing corrosion.

Traveler did not put much effort into it; he only opened a hole. The rest came naturally from the secondary dimension itself and exceeded the capabilities of individual power. Therefore, this was extremely difficult to stop, and the fleet at Black Star Palace would not be able to solve this problem very soon.

In the middle of the battlefield, Ames was fighting intensely with Traveler. Powerful Force Fields clashed with the energy of Evil Convergence time after time, creating enormous aftershocks.

The Force Field Esper Ability was good with defense and controlling. Together with her Void Talents, despite Traveler having the upper hand, he could not penetrate Ames’ defenses. However, Ames was not happy about it at all.

The Evil Convergence is his territory. He has infinite energy here and can make me use my energy without fear. Dragging the battle out isn’t beneficial for me, Ames analyzed. She had to admit that Traveler was quite strong. He would be among the upper-middle tier even in the three Universal Civilizations.

Although she had also become stronger in the past twenty years, she was still not strong enough to fight someone this powerful alone.

“Your resistance is futile; your defeat is just a matter of time.” With increased corrosion of the Evil Convergence, Traveler’s aura became more and more evil.

Ames ignored him and focused on controlling the force field to deal with the purple-green energy tentacles everywhere.

In Black Star Palace’s watchtower, the various officers had serious looks on their faces. With the defense measures of Black Star Palace, they were not worried about the damage the Traveler might cause. What they were worried about was how Ames did not look like she was in a good situation. They kept commanding more fleets to join the battle to provide support.

Silver Shadow had a poker face but was very tempted deep down. Although the Black Star Army’s officers did not ask him for help, seeing that Ames was at a disadvantage, he felt that it was time for him to put on a show.

At this moment, a few spaceships with the Black Star Army’s symbol appeared from afar and approached.

“Have these transport ships steer away from the battlefield and return from another direction,” Herlous said.

These returning spaceships had been marked as transport ships long ago. Everyone’s attention was focused on the battlefield at the moment and did not bother with the transport ships. They only glanced at them and went back to watching the battle between Ames and Traveler.

However, the next moment, an alarm rang on the radar!

“Alert! Alert! Beyond Grade A energy source detected!”

“What‽”

The various officers present were shocked. They quickly looked at the radar and realized that the energy source was in the transport ships.

“Another enem…”

They were instantly nervous.

However, before they could respond, what happened next stunned all the officers.

Buzz!

The familiar death energy gushed out from the transport ship like a tsunami. Hila stepped on the tide and quickly approached Black Star Palace.

“Deputy Army Commander Hila!”

“Sis‽”

They were stunned, and Aurora was even stupefied.

Aren’t you at the frontlines? How did you suddenly appear here?

If not because of the mind link, Aurora might have thought that this Hila was a fake.

However, the most stunned person was Traveler. When he saw this, the maddened laugh he had on his face stiffened instantly.

What the hell, why is Hila here‽

His mission was to divert Black Star’s attention and help those who were attacking Hila to restrain Black Star… But since Hila was there, what were those people attacking? Air?

What am I even trying to restrain here‽

He could not figure out what was going on at all, so in the end, he blamed it all on Sorokin…

What a scam! Giving me false information!

Since Hila had appeared there, there was no point continuing the mission. He did not want to continue fighting the Black Star Army.

Traveler decisively gave up on attacking Ames and instantly fled. Of course, Ames was not going to let him leave easily. Her focus shifted from defense to attack instantly.

Hila glared at Traveler but did not instantly join the battle.

She remembered Han Xiao’s words and quickly entered the watchtower. She had no time to talk to the confused officers and headed right to Silver Shadow.

“Wear this mechanical suit. Black Star wants to see you.”

“Huh?” Silver Shadow was at a loss.

“No time to explain, get in.”

Hila deactivated the King, and it automatically attached itself onto Silver Shadow.

The next moment, Silver Shadow disappeared without a trace.

After this was completed, Hila finally had the time to take a deep breath.

The officers around approached her immediately.

“Why are you here? Where’s His Excellency Black Star?” Hadavy asked.

When this matter was brought up, Hila felt a pain in her heart, and her expression sank.

The impression she gave to the army officers had always been cold, proud, and powerful. Therefore, when she looked this hurt, the officers were all shocked and started guessing with a pessimistic mindset.

Did… something horrible happen to their commander‽

“Sis…” Aurora noticed Hila’s sorrowful emotions and held her hand with a worried look on her face.

“I owe him… too much.” Hila closed her eyes and clenched her teeth as if she was talking to herself. “How can I ever pay you back for what you’ve done for me?”

…

At this time, Han Xiao led Silver Shadow away from the wrecked frontline stronghold. The players and the other warriors would take care of cleaning up the battlefield. He wanted to make some trouble for Gorutan while the effects of the Character Summon Cards still lasted.

Hila was attacked, and the information had come from Gorutan. Although, given how unique Hila’s ability was, she would have experienced this sooner or later, this did not mean that Han Xiao would let Gorutan off easy.

On the way to Gorutan’s territory, Han Xiao gave Silver Shadow his request…

“You want to use my body?”

Silver Shadow’s face was filled with dismay.

He could not understand the King’s effects, nor did he dare ask. He was originally confused as to why he had been summoned there by Black Star. Now, when he heard what Han Xiao said, he panicked completely.

So, this is the kind of person you really are, Black Star! My body is what you wanted!

“That’s what I meant, but I feel like you’ve misunderstood something,” Han Xiao said with resignation. “I just want you to help me. Treat it as a deal to use the Evolution Cube.”

“You startled me. I thought you wanted to capture me and make me a special weapon like the Mechanic Emperor does.” Silver Shadow was relieved.

“Oh, that’s not entirely wrong.” Han Xiao coughed, changed the topic, and said seriously, “Your body has a hidden characteristic. When you awaken it, you can turn yourself into a special Universal Treasure. This is exactly what I need you to do, to transform and help me.”

“How do you know that?” Silver Shadow was curious. Even he did not know about that himself, so how did someone else know more about his own body than him?

“Remember the first time we met? When we sparred, I controlled your body and did a detailed scan. Back then, I noticed that there’s a secret hidden in your body. You might have undergone some kind of mutation when turning into a Beyond Grade A.” Han Xiao started to use his talent for deception without breaking a sweat.

The truth was, he had poked Silver Shadow long ago and seen his attributes, which already had the ability to become a Universal Treasure inside.

However, normal people did not have the interface, so they could not know all their own abilities like the players, and Silver Shadow was one such example. He did not know that he had such an ability.

In a situation like this, as long as he guided him to make him notice this hidden ability, he might be able to use it straight away.

“Alright then, what should I do?” Silver Shadow barely accepted this explanation.

“Try to sense while thinking about it?”

Han Xiao did not have an exact method. In the past, Silver Shadow did not think about anything related to this at all, but now that he made him realize that, he might be able to awaken this ability instantly.

Doubtful, Silver Shadow held on to the thought of transforming into a Universal Treasure and controlled his body to slowly change shape.

His silver body quickly turned into a pile of liquid metal that constantly changed shape as he looked for the right feeling.

After some time, the pile of liquid metal suddenly gave off a strange energy. Silver Shadow actively crawled up Han Xiao’s body. The silver liquid metal shrouded Han Xiao’s entire body and turned him into a silver man.

“I really do have this ability!” Silver Shadow was shocked by himself.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He looked at the notification on the interface and smiled with satisfaction.

“Didn’t I tell you? You did have hidden potential.”

The interface was showing that Silver Shadow had already turned into Universal Treasure grade equipment and he was wearing it, which allowed him to share Silver Shadow’s incredible defense and speed, while at the same time giving him quite a few new abilities.

Furthermore, wearing Silver Shadow felt very comfortable, like sitting inside a luxurious car.

On the other side, experiencing this new feeling, Silver Shadow made a decision.

He had to become closer to Black Star. This guy easily saw his potential, which he did not even see himself. If he could get Black Star to help him explore the mysteries of his body, his growth would definitely be much quicker.

Having found his hidden potential, Silver Shadow was very content. He did not mind lending his body to Han Xiao and letting him control it as he wanted.

The two of them practiced for a while. Han Xiao gradually familiarized himself with the controls of this luxurious car, and he loved it.

“Let’s go!”

Then, he dashed right forward.

Bang!

Silver Shadow’s speed up ability erupted. Han Xiao speed increased as if it had no limits as he turned into a silver meteor and disappeared into cosmic space.

…

Somewhere in the Star Cluster, a teleportation gate formed in the cosmic space and spat out three people.

“Hu, we’ve finally escaped.”

Sagman’s tense body finally relaxed. He looked toward the battlefield with a complicated expression.

Black Star’s explosive strength was really scary. If I ran only a little slower, I would have been captured…

They could not help but be glad that Black Star had chased after the federation instead of them.

He turned around and exchanged looks with Taylor and Mercer. The three of them had the same thought.

That was close to being captured a second time.

“His Excellency Kasuyi is so wise. He turned around to help Black Star deal with the federation, which not only restrained Black Star but also caused more damage to the federation. Although the mission failed, His Excellency Kasuyi definitely made a huge contribution,” Taylor said.

Every time they thought of how tragic the result was for the federation, the three of them felt joy in their hearts and more respect for Kasuyi’s wise decision.

“But… Tolaen has been captured by Black Star too, which is a problem.” Sagman shook his head.

“Hehe, that’s nothing. He’ll just suffer a little. When he’s released, we’ll have something else to talk about.”

“Haha, you’re right.”

Although they had lost a teammate, the three of them did not mind it too much. The atmosphere was lively and uplifting.

However, on the federation’s side, it was the complete opposite.

After the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device brought the federation’s fleet back to their territory, the upper echelon who was waiting at the location to receive Hila was stunned to see the state of the returning team.

“Six Beyond Grade As left, but only two of you returned‽”

Hearing the outraged question from the upper echelon, Sierron was extremely ashamed.

If he had fought Black Star head-on without considering the consequences, he was certain that he could have matched up to Black Star even in that state. Sadly, Pugilists were like sharp blades. All their strength was condensed in their bodies, so protecting his teammates was something he really was not good at.

Thinking of the fact that so many Beyond Grade A teammates had been lost under his lead, Sierron was trembling with rage.

This is beyond embarrassing!

Manison will surely laugh about this!

The upper echelons will definitely feel that my ability to lead a team is much weaker than Manison’s, so they will have to rely more on him…

And that *sshole Kasuyi. If not for him, the federation would not have suffered this much of a loss.

Sierron clenched his teeth.

Kasuyi, just you wait. Manison will certainly come for you!

…

Near a certain stargate station in the Emerald Star Cluster, a fleet was fighting a mechanical army. The most conspicuous thing on the battlefield was a silhouette that was covered in dark brown Pugilist flames. It was ‘Beast Ancestor’ Gorutan.

His opponents were more than a dozen Apostle Weapons of the Mechanic Emperor that had various appearances and were quite powerful. When working together, they were able to stall Gorutan.

Ever since Gorutan came to rescue his fleet, the two sides had been embroiled in a bitter fight.

“Mechanic Emperor, there’s no point trying to stop me!” Gorutan said while fighting with the Apostle Weapons. “Black Star’s frontline stronghold was attacked. Hila might already be dead. Even if you don’t let me destroy the target stations, the dynasty’s reinforcements won’t make it in time. Hila’s death is certain.”

At this point, he still did not know what had happened, and his impression of the situation there remained at when Sorokin told him Hila was in a dire situation.

Destroying the surrounding stargate stations felt unnecessary to him. He still did not think Hila would have any chance of getting through this disaster.

Manison did not respond at all. The Apostle Weapon simply did their job and fought Gorutan.

Seeing that Manison did not respond, Gorutan was even more irritated. “Are you going to let my men go or not‽”

Again, Manison did not respond.

“You really don’t know when to give up, do you? Just wait, the news of Hila being killed will get here very quickly. By then, you’ll know that everything you’re doing now is meaningless.” Gorutan was extremely annoyed.

Manison still did not respond, but he quietly blocked all information sent to Gorutan from the outside world using his virtual technology.

It was not that no one had told Gorutan what happened, but he could not receive any messages from the outside world!

The abilities of a Virtual Mechanic were extremely difficult to notice, so Gorutan had no idea at all. He was still submerged in the joy of having successfully gotten revenge.

Manison ignoring Gorutan made him clench his teeth. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly had a feeling. He looked into the distance with a confused expression.

A silver meteor entered his sights at an unbelievable speed and quickly approached!

A strange sense of danger appeared in Gorutan’s mind.

Chapter 1056: The Roo

Chapter 1056 The Roo

“Such powerful energy, what is that? It seems to be coming for me?” Gorutan was shocked.

This silver meteor clearly did not come with friendly intentions.

Gorutan’s expression changed slightly. He did not want to allow this strange object to get close to him. While dealing with the Mechanic Emperor’s mechanical army, he was able to send a dark brown Shockwave Blast toward the silver meteor.

However, this silver meteor dodged the shockwave easily using its speed advantage like a race car with a professional driver.

Seeing that ranged attacks did nothing to this silver meteor and that it was still locked onto him, Gorutan suddenly released energy around him, blowing the Apostle Weapons around him away. He then compressed his Pugilist flames to increase his strength and charged toward that silver meteor.

Two meteors with different colors got closer at an extremely high speed, colliding.

In that instant, the radars on all the Beast Ancestor’s spaceships reacted to it, showing that the energy impact had exceeded the peak!

At the location where these two clashed, a blinding light appeared like a flickering sun.

The thick, dark-brown Pugilist flames suddenly exploded like a rock that was shattered by a hammer.

Gorutan’s body then flew out, spinning like a gyroscope. The blood he spat out was evaporated by the energy aftershock created from the clash.

The moment of the clash, Gorutan’s mind seemed to have stopped working for an instant. All he could feel was a blinding light, and when he regained focus, he realized that his body was being pushed out uncontrollably.

Ever since he became a peak Beyond Grade A, he had rarely come across anything that he could not stop. However, the terrifying kinetic in this silver meteor made him feel as if he was an ordinary man trying to stop a train.

Pugilists were used to enduring direct hits, but the power of this clash still exceeded Gorutan’s expectations. He could feel every nerve in his body trembling and sending the signal of pain to his brain. He was appalled.

Such terrifying strength!

“Who is this guy‽”

Gorutan had no idea. After flying quite far, he finally stabilized himself and quickly checked his condition. He realized that this clash had dealt him some damage, which made him very serious and cautious.

As he looked over and finally saw the appearance of the silver meteor after it stopped, his expression changed drastically.

“Black Star‽”

After ramming Gorutan away, Han Xiao had stepped on the breaks and told Silver Shadow to open the car windows to show his handsome face. He was coldly looking at Gorutan’s astounded expression.

“We meet again, Beast Ancestor.”

“How can you be here? Aren’t you in Black Star Palace?”

All kinds of possibilities flashed through Gorutan’s mind. Could it be that something happened to the mission targeting Hila?

Seeing Han Xiao’s strange silver shell, Gorutan was filled with questions. The progress of the matter seemed to have deviated from his expectations. He was dying to know what had actually happened.

What’s Sorokin doing? Why has he still not notified me of what happened?

“I know what you’ve done,” Han Xiao said slowly. “Hila is safe now, and your plan has failed. Stop fantasizing about it.”

Gorutan frowned.

Although he had no idea how Hila had managed to survive, Black Star had no need to lie to him about something like this. Plus, seeing how calm Black Star was, he knew that this was most likely true.

Gorutan instantly became unhappy. Knowing that Hila was not dead, he was disappointed.

“So, you came just for me?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “Back then, you provoked us to start a fight. Then after you realized your life span was reduced, you leaked this information to the federation and the church, hoping to borrow their power to aid in your goal. Now that this is exposed… you know what’s going to happen, don’t you?”

Gorutan frowned.

His secret plan did not succeed, and now he had been completely exposed. Even though he saw Han Xiao as an enemy, he still felt embarrassed.

Gorutan was not one to explain. Since the enemy had found out, he did not plan to hide it any longer. He suppressed his emotions and snorted. “What, have you come to make me pay?”

“Like I said, if you want to play, I’ll play with you all you like. You don’t look like someone who doesn’t have the balls to play, so there’s only one way to solve this problem, and I’m sure you know what it is.” Han Xiao’s tone was calm.

“Humph, so it still ends up being a conversation with fists.”

Gorutan knew that a fight was unavoidable, and flames appeared once again on his body.

In the end, conspiracies and plots just aren’t my thing as I expected. Fighting enemies head-on is still the best.

Although he had taken some damage earlier, Gorutan was not afraid at all. They were both peak Beyond Grade As. They all hand trump cards, so there was no reason for him to be scared.

He took a deep breath and used his energy to enhance the production of cells, quickly healing his wounds. Pugilists had extreme control over their bodies, and when they reached the peak Beyond Grade A level, their regenerative ability could not possibly be horrible.

“I did not fight you last time. Today, I can make up for it. What you’ve done has spread throughout the universe. Now, show me what you’re really capable of.” Gorutan’s eyes were glowing as he spoke in a tone that was overflowing with his will to battle.

He still did not know about how Hila was rescued and had no idea of what Han Xiao had just been able to achieve, so his impression of Han Xiao remained as Han Xiao’s strength in the past.

This time, Gorutan suddenly recalled Manison, who was at the side, and his heart sank a little.

Gorutan was not afraid if the enemy was just Black Star, but if the Mechanic Emperor participated too, it would not be good for him at all.

He uncontrollably looked over and was glad to see that Manison’s troops were retreating, clearly expressing he had no intention to interfere with this battle.

Han Xiao also looked at the Mechanic Emperor’s army that was gradually leaving and murmured in his mind, “This Manison sent me Gorutan’s coordinates but didn’t pick up my call. Is he trying to show a friendly gesture while at the same time letting me deal with Gorutan for him so that he can remain uninvolved in all this?”

Han Xiao shook his head. It did not matter what Director Manison planned to do. He had to fight this battle. There was no way he would let the root cause of all this off easy.

The effects of the Character Summon Cards could still last for quite some time, so he should be able to deal with Gorutan in his current state.

Swoosh!

As the secondary dimensional army box opened, the sea-like mechanical army swarmed out.

Gorutan was fearless as he charged into the endless mechanical army.

As soon as the battle started and the overwhelming pressure came, Gorutan immediately felt that something was wrong.

“Wait, why is your army…”

Gorutan’s eyes opened wide with surprise.

He had once felt Black Star’s energy level personally and had a rough estimate of Han Xiao’s strength. Now, however, the actual strength Han Xiao was displaying far exceeded his estimate and shocked him.

How can this be? How has Black Star become this much stronger in just one or two months‽

At this time, Han Xiao’s main body advanced instead of backing off and went into melee combat range.

Fists clashed with each other, and a powerful force was transmitted through Gorutan’s arm. Feeling the energy that was almost as strong as his, Gorutan was even more shocked.

“Why is your strength also…”

“You have too many questions!”

Han Xiao’s movements were so fast, as if he had become a phantom. While Gorutan was shocked, he whipped his leg and kicked Gorutan, sending him flying.

Just as riders could become stronger using their horses, Han Xiao also received attribute bonuses while riding Silver Shadow.

Silver Shadow was a Pugilist, so both his Strength and Dexterity were high. He also had a special defensive advantage.

Boundless power came from Silver Shadow’s body. Han Xiao’s main body temporarily received attribute bonuses that were comparable to a Pugilist. In addition to his own attributes, his melee combat capabilities were dramatically enhanced. Although still not as strong as a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist, it was more than enough.

In his previous life, Pugilists like Karlot became much stronger when using Silver Shadow, while he used Silver Shadow to enhance his speed and defenses. Melee-range combat was not the main damage method of his main body.

…

At the same time, the dynasty’s reinforcement fleet flew out from a stargate station at another location.

“We’ve finally arrived near Black Star’s stronghold. We have to hurry. Every second we waste puts Hila’s life in more danger. ” Ravenlaude hurried the others.

This time, Kant closed his eyes as if he had received a message. He then opened his eyes with a strange expression and said, “We don’t have to hurry there anymore. Black Star has solved the problem.”

Hearing this, Ravenlaude was stunned.

“Impossible, how did he solve such a dangerous situation?”

“There. This is the intelligence the Black Star Army sent.” Kant displayed the information he had received, which recorded the battle process.

After finishing looking at the intelligence, Beyoni was filled with shock.

“To think that Black Star actually had such a powerful trump card that allowed him to fight more than ten Beyond Grade As at once. It’s unbelievable!”

“It’s mainly because the federation and the church had no choice but to escape while dragging each other back, which gave Black Star an opportunity to defeat them one by one… Nonetheless, this achievement is indeed way too horrifying.”

Kant sighed. “But burning his potential is not worth it for someone like him with such a bright future. This will definitely affect his growth. Alas… the dynasty will compensate Black Star for the loss he has suffered this time.”

This time, Beyoni was reminded of the joke Kant made earlier.

On the way, Kant had said that he would be able to fight all the enemies alone. That was supposedly a joke, but Black Star had done just that.

“Incredible…” Beyoni respected Black Star from the bottom of his heart.

On the other side, when Ravenlaude saw this news, his entire body stiffened.

He initially wanted to turn the tables when he arrived and make Black Star owe him a favor, but to his absolute shock, Black Star solved an almost certainly lethal situation like this all by himself.

Doesn’t this mean I’ve wasted another trip and got nothing for it?

Ravenlaude lost all motivation instantly. All he wanted to do was turn into a slime and cower in the corner till the end of the world.

“Since the matter is already solved, what should we do now? Shall we go take a look at Black Star’s stronghold or return right away?” Kohler asked.

Kant shook his head. “Neither. Black Star seems to be fighting Gorutan now. Since we’re here, let’s go and see if we can be of any use.”

…

Inside Beast Ancestor’s stronghold palace, Sorokin’s manifestation held a communicator in his hands and walked back and forth while mumbling.

“Weird, weird, why hasn’t Gorutan replied to my messages? Did something happen?”

Sorokin suddenly had a bad feeling about Gorutan’s situation.

Chapter 1057: A VIP

Chapter 1057 A VIP Boom!As silver and dark brown fists clashed, shockwaves exploded. Gorutan was once again blown away by Han Xiao’s [Charge—Endless Potential].

Han Xiao did not use his Mechanical Deity but his main body to fight in melee range instead. Once his [Charge—Endless Potential] was off cooldown, he would back away and farm the distance traveled for the next powerful attack.

Despite trying to stop him, Gorutan was still held back by the formidable mechanical army.

Without the restriction of the spacetime stabilization anchors, Han Xiao’s soldiers continuously swarmed out from his secondary dimensional army box and Dimension Factory. Currently, the mechanical army’s main task was to restrain and damage the enemies.

The combat capability of a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist was exceptional, so Gorutan did not have too hard a time being surrounded. Nonetheless, he was quite troubled by the mechanical army. Not to mention the fact that there was someone on the side who came charging at him every once in a while.

In the chaotic encirclement, everywhere Gorutan went, tons and tons of mechanical soldiers were destroyed.

Feeling the pain of his muscles healing from the wounds suffered earlier, Gorutan was irritated.

Originally, closing the distance was the best strategy for a Pugilist when fighting a Mechanic, but in this situation, he did not even want Han Xiao to get close to him. The [Charge—Endless Potential] was way too annoying for him. It caused him to be unable to control the tempo of the battle.

Every time he saw Han Xiao lurking around on the side, Gorutan would uncontrollably yell in his mind, Don’t come any closer!

On the other side, despite having a slight advantage, Han Xiao’s situation was not too optimistic.

A Pugilist’s way of fighting was not flashy; it was pure and direct. However, when they reached the peak Beyond Grade A level, this pureness would transform and make their body indestructible.

“My tankiness is at the top among Mechanics, which is mainly thanks to my strong regenerative ability. Nonetheless, I can’t underestimate the regenerative ability of a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist. Plus, his health is even higher than mine.”

Pugilists had a ton of talents that gave them Endurance. Their own class gave them more bonuses as well. At the peak Beyond Grade A level, no class could compete with Pugilists in terms of sheer health. Even Han Xiao and Milizaus were no exception. Furthermore, peak Beyond Grade A Pugilists might also have overpowered regenerative abilities like his. They were the true official tank warriors.

Before this, Sierron had to fight while running, and he was burdened by his teammates. This was Han Xiao’s first time fighting a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist toe to toe. Even though he was at his peak, defeating Gorutan as easily as defeating normal Beyond Grade A Pugilists was absolutely impossible.

The two of them fought intensely, while far away, Beast Ancestor’s fleet was hesitating.

“Father is fighting. Should we help?”

Inside the bridge of the command ship, the crew’s eyes all focused on one of the Calamity Grade officers.

This person was one of the direct offspring of Gorutan, the captain of this fleet. His name was Byram.

“That’s a battle of Beyond Grade As. It’s not suitable for us to interfere, I think,” Byram said hesitantly.

“Black Star is here for revenge. It’s not a one-on-one spar. The battle is looking tough for father. We shouldn’t just watch him get beaten up,” another Calamity Grade officer said.

“But we won’t be of much use in battles like this. Just the aftershocks of their battle will cost us huge losses.” Byram frowned.

“We would at least be of some help. Every little helps. Father might need us.”

Byram turned to look at him. As he expected, he saw burning passion in this person’s eyes.

Naturally, not all of Gorutan’s children agreed with his way of raising his offspring, and their faction was not completely united. Although Gorutan was their father, they had many different mothers, which led to the internal structure of the faction being unstable.

The stand Gorutan’s children had could be classified into three types. Byram was neutral; all he did was follow the rules and orders. He called Gorutan father, but he did not have much, if any, sense of belonging to the faction. The officer who kept persuading him to interfere with the battle was one of the loyal ones.

While Byram thought about what to do, a huge fleet arrived from afar. Their exterior armor had the symbol of Beast Ancestor. This was the fleet that had come from the stronghold to back up Beast Ancestor after realizing that something was wrong.

“Finally.” Byram was relieved.

The two sides quickly gathered, and the various officers met.

Since the reinforcements had already arrived, Byram could no longer just watch on the side. He shook his head and said, “Now, we have enough strength to interfere with this battle. Our goal won’t be to destroy the mechanical troops, just hold back some of them to reduce the pressure on father. Let’s go.”

The fleet split up and gradually approached the battlefield.

Han Xiao noticed this as well. He glanced at the fleet and frowned.

During the exploration era, Beyond Grade As getting killed by fleets was nothing new. Even though Beyond Grade As were extremely strong, they could not completely ignore large fleets. If Beast Ancestor’s troops stepped into this battle, it would indeed cause some trouble for him.

Although he was a Virtual Mechanic, he still had to gradually hack the enemies, which meant that his focus would be diverted. At the same time, he would also have to send some of his mechanical armies to fight the fleet, so Gorutan would immediately face much less pressure. It would not be a problem if it was just an ordinary enemy, but Gorutan was the same Grade as him, so any tiny change in the situation would be enlarged and made use of.

Most of the fleet from Black Star’s stronghold was still cleaning the battlefield, and Han Xiao had given an order for them to send part of the fleet there to back him up when he left to go to Gorutan. However, Silver Shadow was too fast; the others were left behind and were still on their way.

Suddenly, magic energy appeared out of nowhere.

Buzz!

As Beast Ancestor’s fleet was about to interfere, an enormous teleportation gate suddenly appeared, followed by a stream of battleships with the dynasty’s symbol, stopping Beast Ancestor’s fleet in its path.

“The dynasty’s people are finally here.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Although the dynasty could not make it to rescue Hila, they ended up being useful now. Better late than never.

Very soon, the reinforcements of the dynasty had all arrived. Ravenlaude was the last to fly out of the teleportation gate. He swung his staff and deactivated this huge teleportation spell.

Having seen the situation, Kant smiled.

“Looks like we’ve arrived just in time.”

This accident was a surprise for Han Xiao but a shock to the Beast Ancestor’s subordinates.

“Stop immediately!”

Numerous Beyond Grade A energy sources appeared on the radar of the spaceships. Byram was horrified and quickly told his fleet to stop, not daring to continue advancing. The fleet stopped against the dynasty’s fleet. He became hesitant again.

Kant and the others did not care about Beast Ancestor’s fleet. They all turned to look at the battlefield. Seeing the strength Han Xiao was displaying, they were all appalled.

“Black Star during his explosive state is on a much higher level compared to his usual state,” Kohler said with a sigh. “Sadly, the price of such power is too huge.”

Kant contacted Han Xiao, smiled, and asked, “How is it? Do you need help?”

“Not letting him escape will do,” Han Xiao replied very soon.

This was a private matter, as well as a rare opportunity for him to build a reputation, so Han Xiao planned to fight Gorutan alone. Since the dynasty’s allies had arrived, they could prevent others from interfering and create an undisturbed one-on-one battle, as well as prevent Gorutan from escaping.

“Since you don’t need us to interfere, we will respect your wishes.”

Kant had no problem with this decision. Following Han Xiao’s request, he ordered the fleet to split up and form an encirclement.

Seeing that he was surrounded by enemies, Gorutan’s expression turned grave—he knew there was no backing away now.

Did he regret it… a little bit.

However, he did not dwell on it. What was done was done; he was not going to think about the ‘what if’s.

There was no point in overthinking anything. Gorutan just continued to launch even more powerful attacks, using all his strength without holding back.

“Let me see all you’ve got, Black Star!”

At the same time, Byram’s fleet on the side did not dare attack the dynasty’s fleet. They could only watch while the dynasty set up the encirclement right under their noses and do nothing as their boss got beaten up and surrounded.

Seeing the dynasty’s stand on this matter, the various officers including Byram all felt uneasy. They had a feeling that the person they depended on might collapse.

“Father has nowhere to run. The dynasty has made up their mind on capturing him.”

“We can’t watch father get captured by the dynasty!”

“But how can we help? There are many dynasty Beyond Grade As here. Us going in is just suicide.”

“Is there even a way to solve this situation? Who can help us? Can the protectors of the Galactic Black Market help?”

“Impossible. They’re definitely not looking to interfere in something this big.”

As a protector of the Galactic Black Market, Gorutan had to rely on himself, and now he was alone. In situations like this, there was not going to be anyone like the Beyond Grade A allies of the three Universal Civilizations appearing to help him.

The same thought hit all of them, including Byram, simultaneously.

We’re done for…

Having realized this possibility, some of the officers and the crew started to have other thoughts.

Other than the loyal ones and the neutral ones, the rest were the rebels… Some of the offspring of Beast Ancestor hated their identity and their ‘father’ Gorutan. They felt that they were offspring on paper but actually just slaves. They had always been following the Beast Ancestor’s orders on the surface but would be more than glad to see Beast Ancestor killed in their hearts.

Seeing that Gorutan was now facing the revenge of such a powerful enemy, these people were overjoyed. The ambition in their hearts kept expanding.

…

A teleportation gate suddenly appeared in a rural area of the Flickering World, and Traveler stepped out from it.

“I’ve finally got out.” Traveler heaved a sigh of relief. He was quite wounded.

He had flown for a very long time till he finally got out of the range of the Black Star’s fleet’s stabilization anchor. On the way, he had been chased by Ames and Hila and was heavily wounded. Luckily, in the end, he escaped Black Star’s territory through teleportation.

Traveler took out his communicator and contacted the person in charge of the Super Star Cluster alliance.

“The developments of the situation have deviated from the plan. Hila somehow returned to the Black Star Palace. Our plan has failed.”

“We expected that. Black Star burned his potential in exchange for astonishing strength. Not only did he force the troops of the federation and the church to retreat, he even captured many Beyond Grade As. This message has yet to spread to the outside world; only high-level organizations know about it now. Your Excellency Traveler, it’s fine as long as you’re okay.”

“I see…” Traveler shook his head. As he retrieved the Evil Convergence, the evil vibe he gave disappeared, and he became easy to look past again. “I’ve already offended the Black Star Army, so I’m going to make a trip to the secondary dimension and won’t be appearing in the main universe for a very long time. Don’t call me to do things for now.”

“Understood. Since we could not start another conflict between the three Universal Civilizations, we won’t step foot in things like this for the time being and will slowly gather our strength for the next big move.”

“Humph. Black Star doesn’t know my identity yet. He’ll just be unhappy about me at most. You guys won’t be affected. As long as I disappear, he’ll stop caring. By the way, Sorokin thought I was hired, so he might notice something. That guy is suspicious. Pay more attention to him.”

“Understood.”

Traveler said a few words before hanging up and sighed.

I wonder how many years I’ll have to spend hiding in the secondary dimension this time…

He silently looked at this universe one last time before casting a spell and stepping into the secondary dimension, disappearing without a trace.

…

Time passed quickly.

The two people fought for a very long time, and before a large audience, the situation finally came to an end.

Tons of mechanical troops were damaged and became many Grades lower. Three Apostle Weapons were completely scrapped, and four Apostle Weapons were unable to fight for the time being. The Mechanical Deity got shattered once, and Silver Shadow’s health fell below the danger line… After paying a huge price, Han Xiao was finally able to push Gorutan to his limits.

Although peak Beyond Grade A Pugilists recovered energy very quickly, they did not have close to infinite energy like Kasuyi.

Looking over the battlefield, it was filled with machinery debris. The Dimension Factory was still tirelessly recycling it all.

In the middle of the battlefield, Gorutan was covered in wounds that were healing much slower than before and still spraying blood. His face was filled with exhaustion.

“You’ve lost. Anything you want to say?”

Han Xiao faced him, opened the helmet of the mechanical suit, and stared at him.

Although part of this was thanks to the fact that he was in an explosive state, this was still the first time he had defeated a peak Beyond Grade A alone.

“Ahem… a loss is a loss. There’s nothing to say.” Gorutan grinned, showing his teeth that were dyed red with blood. “What, you thought I would beg for mercy?”

“There’s always a price to pay when messing with someone. Since you decided to do that, you should have thought of the possibility of this happening.

“Humph, no need to say such nonsense to me. I knew what I was in for. At least I forced you to burn your potential. Your growth limit is now forever reduced, and you will never recover from it.”

Han Xiao shook his head but was laughing in his mind.

Even if he explained it, Gorutan would not believe it. Plus, he was not planning to explain it to anyone.

He paused, changed the topic, and slowly said, “You provoked me back then. If you’d taken a step back, today would not have happened. Compared to the life span you lost, you’re going to lose much more now.”

“If I did, that wouldn’t be me,” Gorutan said with a deep voice. “If I can’t do whatever I want, what’s the point of becoming so strong?”

Some chased after strength itself, while some chased after what came with it. Every Beyond Grade A was the former. They only became the latter afterward.

Not only Beyond Grade As, this was also the same for all Supers.

“No matter what, I shall have your body with a smile.” Han Xiao raised his hand and pressed on Gorutan’s chest.

“Humph, take it then. Don’t ever let me find the chance to turn the tables.”

Gorutan stood with a straight back, unafraid.

Begging for mercy was the act of a loser, but he was mentally prepared long ago. Even with this loss, he still remained graceful.

The next moment, this expression was fixed, and the spraying blood stopped moving.

‘Beast Ancestor’ Gorutan was sealed in Spacetime Amber!

Chapter 1058: Dust Settled

1058 Dust Settled “Hu… Finally caught this guy.”

Gorutan, who was covered in wounds and sealed in the Spacetime Amber, looked like he was made into a specimen.

Looking at the fixed expression on his face, Han Xiao finally relaxed.

A peak Beyond Grade A fighting for his life had almost endless trump cards. If not because of his Spacetime Amber, the King, Silver Shadow, and his double Mechanical Senses, he might not have been able to beat him.

After all, this time, he did not have a perfect trump card like the Esper Silence he had when facing EsGod, so the only choice was to fight head-on. Therefore, his mechanical army suffering huge losses was unavoidable. A huge number of mechanical soldiers had to be sent to the factory to be remade.

Both sides were peak tanks. There was no situation where one attack would decide the results. The battle was basically countless repetitions of the same process, and whoever lasted longest would win.

If not because the dynasty’s allies were on the side, this would have definitely turned into a chase, which would have lasted much longer, and Gorutan might even have escaped. Nonetheless, the result of capturing Gorutan was ideal.

“The goals have been achieved. Hila is protected, and the King’s functions have been showcased, which is more than enough to discourage others from thinking about attacking Hila. Even Gorutan is captured. The results of this event are going to be very beneficial for me.”

Venting his anger was just one reason he had gone to fight Gorutan head-on. The main reason was to express his firm stance and instill fear in others.

Due to how strong an impression he made as a very sociable and friendly person, plus the fact that he had kept a low profile for more than two decades, there were always people trying to test him, thinking that he was easy to mess with.

This time, he did not depend too much on the dynasty. It was basically his own achievement. Since he had done this, it was certain that the other organizations would have to think twice before trying to mess with him in the future, weighing up whether it would even be worth it.

The only problem was, this achievement was too terrifying, almost unbelievable.

Although the church and the federation’s people were not fighting for their lives and could not go all out due to many reasons, which gave him the opportunity to make full use of this flaw, the outside world would not care about all that. All they would see would be his achievement of fighting against twelve enemies all by himself. In front of this achievement, even capturing another peak Beyond Grade A was not as shocking.

This was more than enough to be listed as one of the most shocking achievements of any Beyond Grade A in history!

However, too much of something would never be good. He had achieved something that he was not supposed to achieve with the strength he had now, which was not without drawbacks. What Han Xiao was glad about was, Sierron had made it that all this way because he had ‘burned his potential’.

This way, it would be much more acceptable for the various organizations, including the three Universal Civilizations, and the other Beyond Grade As.

With that reasoning, as well as the Beyond Grade A united front, Manison would most likely not test him after seeing this astonishing achievement, which would eliminate a huge problem for him.

At the same time, people saying that he was burning his potential would also not reduce the effects of his achievements.

Although this explosive state was made possible with many Character Summon Cards, some of which could only be used once…

Others would not know that this was the case!

Han Xiao knew clearly what those high-level organizations would be thinking—they would have a false assumption that as long as he was willing to pay the price of burning his potential again, he would be able to draw up this strength again!

And even if he explained the truth to others, no one would believe him!

Therefore, following this thought, the various organizations would all come to one conclusion…

Don’t push Black Star too much!

This way, the influence of this event could be understood without saying.

As Han Xiao thought, a smile appeared on his face.

“Since I’ve now planted fear in them, I can continue to develop myself slowly. It’s going to give me a big fortune…”

At this time, he only had one thought.

Sierron really is such a good friend!

Suppressing the surprise in his heart, Han Xiao quickly told Phillip to clean up the battlefield and take away the Gorutan amber specimen.

Having seen that the battle had ended, the dynasty allies finally came forward.

“You’ve really outdone yourself this time. When this gets out, it’s definitely going to make a huge impact,” Kant said. “Sharp and brave, as one would expect from youngsters. When I was making a name for myself in the universe, I was young too. But now, I have to think of the pros and cons before making every single move. I’ve lost that courage.”

“You’re being humble.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Well, defeating Gorutan is just a small matter. The problem is, what do you plan to do with him?”

Kant was not surprised by this result. Black Star was in an explosive state, and the battlefield favored him. Plus, he was also a peak Beyond Grade A. Therefore, defeating another peak Beyond Grade A seemed very normal, nothing compared to the absolutely shocking fact that he had forced twelve Beyond Grade As of the federation and the church to retreat.

“Hmm, Gorutan has no one to rely on, and no one will come to bail him, so I’m going to keep him as part of my collection.”

Beast Ancestor was one of the protectors of the Galactic Black Market. He did not have any background like the three Universal Civilizations. Therefore, there was, of course, no need for him to give Gorutan up. This was also one of the ways the three Universal Civilizations appealed to the Beyond Grade As. After all, no one could guarantee that they would never lose, and having one of the three Universal Civilizations backing them would make them feel much more assured.

Kant nodded and said, “This incident was too sudden, so we couldn’t help much. Luckily, the results did not turn out too bad. The dynasty will help you to deal with the aftermath of this, and the dynasty’s upper echelons will probably come to negotiate with you very soon.”

“I know.”

At this time, Silver Shadow turned back to his normal appearance, which attracted the attention of everyone.

Han Xiao nodded at him.

“You were of great help this time, thanks. Follow me back later and be a guest at my place. I’ll keep my promise.”

“I should be the one thanking you. If not for you, god only knows when I would’ve discovered this new ability I have.”

Although Silver Shadow was quite heavily injured, having discovered a new ability made him quite happy.

Kohler could not help but ask curiously, “Silver Shadow, what ability is that? Can you show it again?”

“It’s one of the special forms I have, which Black Star had helped to discover…”

Silver Shadow chatted passionately with the others, and Han Xiao nodded in his mind.

With my influence, this guy is probably going to start his Uber life much earlier…

However, with the help I gave him, it will probably be quite much easier for me to make him my private Uber.

This time, Han Xiao turned to look at Ravenlaude, who was staying silent and looking like he wanted to say something but did not, so Han Xiao started the conversation.

“How you doing? Have your wounds healed?”

“Pretty much…” Ravenlaude thought of his experience of getting beaten into a pulp not long ago, resignation appeared in his eyes.

“Haha, thank you for letting the past be the past and coming to help this time.” Han Xiao smiled.

“I didn’t help much.”

“Don’t say that. If not because you relayed the message, the dynasty’s reinforcements would not have arrived here so soon. I owe you one for this.”

A hint of a smile finally appeared on his face. He felt much better.

Aiyo, although Black Star is irritating sometimes, he’s quite a good guy overall.

Sorry Ty-Ty, I probably won’t be able to join your anti-Black Star alliance. Hang in there!

Suddenly, they all felt something and turned to look at the source of it. Beast Ancestor’s fleet, which had been watching from the side, was now quickly retreating.

Kohler shook his head and said sarcastically, “They watched on as their leader was attacked. Such wise subordinates.”

“With Gorutan gone, his organization will split up very soon.” Beyoni snorted. “But that’s a good thing. I’ve always disliked the things this guy did. If he did not buy tons of females from the Galactic Black Market, he would not have been able to make so many offspring. With his organization gone, the slavery business of the black market will take a hit.”

“You’re probably the last person here who has the right to say that…” Han Xiao remembered that Beyoni also had a huge harem.

“That’s completely different. I chose mine from my people and never forced anyone. I’m not spreading my seed all over the universe.”

Beyoni was quite proud, and he felt that he had the moral high ground.

Among the Beyond Grade As, there were actually quite a number of people who did not like Gorutan’s way of doing things, but no one messed with him because of how strong he was. Now that the dynasty’s allies present had seen Gorutan get defeated by Han Xiao, they were all glad.

Han Xiao did not bother entertaining him and silently opened the interface.

Including Gorutan, he had captured a total of five Beyond Grade As, which far exceeded the requirements of the mission. The mission was now shown as ‘completed’.

“Five chances to draw abilities. I’ll have to make full use of them.”

Han Xiao was very excited.

He decided that he had to pray and touch Feidin before drawing the mission reward, or it would be a huge waste if he received some useless abilities.

Beep beep!

The communicator suddenly rang. He glanced at it. It was a call from Urranrell.

He picked it up and said, “Your Excellency Urranrell.”

“I’ve understood the situation. The dynasty will negotiate with the federation and the church, now tell me the details of what happened.”

“Okay, so it started…” Han Xiao explained the situation and skipped some details in between.

“To think that Hila has such an ability…”

After Han Xiao finished, Urranrell kept silent for a while. She then suddenly changed the topic and asked, “What about you? What price did you pay? Did you really burn your potential?”

“Yes,” Han Xiao said without any change of expression.

“How big is the impact of that exactly?”

“I don’t know.”

“Sigh… You were too headstrong this time. You could have shrouded Hila in Spacetime Amber, and we could’ve bailed her afterward. This was avoidable. You have the highest potential in history. It’s not worth doing something so unwise just to vent your anger.”

“No, if I did that, I would have helped the enemies to take away Hila’s ability to fight back. Plus, there are too many uncertainties to bailing someone out. The church might not be willing to make the deal and might keep Hila forever, and the federation would demand that I unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Furthermore, Hila isn’t the dynasty’s ally, so the dynasty is in no position to bail her.”

Urranrell frowned slightly.

“What you’re saying is, despite this incident, you still aren’t willing to let Hila join the dynasty?”

“Hila has her own will. You’re saying it like I can force her,” Han Xiao joked.

“Joining the alliance will help to avoid something like this from happening again. Do try to convince her. I’m sure she won’t want to see you burn your potential for her again,” Urranrell said.

“… Got it.”

If the dynasty used this to persuade Hila, given her personality, she might really agree to it. Urranrell indirectly gave him a reminder.

Han Xiao shook his head. Just as he hung up the call, another communication request came.

He looked at it. This time, it was from his headquarters.

The scene of the Black Star Palace command room appeared. Hila stood at the front, and beside her were Ames and Aurora. Around them were the many officers of the army. They were all looking at Han Xiao on the screen with concern.

“Black Star, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s been dealt with. I’ve captured Gorutan. Hila, he’s the person who leaked the information to get revenge on you. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.” Han Xiao smiled.

Hila bit her lips.

Black Star did everything to protect her. He even got rid of the root of this incident. Looking at Han Xiao trying to look like it was no big deal and thinking of how tough of a battle Han Xiao had gone through for her, all the words of appreciation were stuck in Hila’s throat.

Words were too light, not enough to express how touched and thankful she was.

Seeing this, Han Xiao joked and said, “Say something if you want to. Being this hesitant doesn’t fit the impression I have of you.”

Hila took a deep breath, stared into Han Xiao’s eyes, and said, “You will forever be my… army commander.”

There was no thank you. It was more like a promise, a declaration.

Hearing this, Han Xiao wiped the smile off his face. He looked into Hila’s eyes with a serious expression and slowly nodded.

“Okay.”

“I heard from Hila that you burned your potential?” Ames softly said from the side.

“Don’t worry, that’s all fake. I actually did not suffer any losses at all.”

Ames nodded lightly. To her, this was clearly a white lie that Han Xiao said to comfort them.

She did not deny Han Xiao of his ‘kindness’ and only remembered it.

Han Xiao suddenly thought of something. “By the way, where did Traveler go?”

“He ran away, but we injured him,” Hila said. “Before he left, he said that the Black Star Army disobeyed the rules and fought someone who came to challenge as a group. Is he really related to this incident?”

“Humph, this guy is such a drama queen… Leave him alone. He’s a sh*t-stirrer at most. There’s no time to deal with him now. That’s for later.”

Han Xiao exhaled and said, “I’ll be going back first. We’ll probably be quite busy for some time…”

…

The entire universe was paying attention to the Flickering World, and this huge news erupted all of a sudden, spreading like wildfire through all channels, ignoring the restrictions of distance.

Every single person who saw the news was shocked.

The federation and the church had gathered twelve Beyond Grade As to kill the Black Star Army’s second in command, but they were forced to retreat by Black Star’s main body, who even captured a few of the attackers. Not only that, even the Galactic Black Market’s Gorutan was held responsible for this by Black Star because he was involved and was captured alive.

This means that… Black Star had fought twelve Beyond Grade As alone and won!

Are you kidding me‽

All the news after the Flickering World opened combined would probably not be as shocking as this!

The entire universe was driven into a frenzy!

Chapter 1059: Impac

Chapter 1059 Impac

In the Federation of Light’s Central Galaxy territory, a small spaceship with the army’s symbol was slowly moving in the cosmic space. The people of the Black Star Army’s Abyss of Stars division were onboard.

This was the Federation of Light’s territory. The Black Star Army had been invited to build a subdivision there long ago. However, the market was already split up by the various organizations, and given the sensitive relationship the federation and the dynasty had, this subdivision had experienced very limited growth in the region.

The Black Star Army was not popular everywhere, at least not here. The subdivision members there could not enjoy the reputation of the army, so they could not feel the benefits that came with the influence of the Black Star Army. Instead, they were even bullied by some local Beyond Grade A organizations, so their time there was not the best.

That day, however, everything changed.

At this time, inside the hall of this small spaceship, all the crews gathered and watched the virtual screen in the hall, which was playing the news.

“According to reliable sources, an incident erupted in the Flickering World yesterday. A total of twelve Beyond Grade As of the Arcane Church and the Federation of Light attacked the Black Star Army’s frontline stronghold in the free competition zone, attempting to kill the Black Star Army’s deputy captain, ‘Goddess of Death’ Hila. After the event occurred, Black Star quickly arrived at the scene and fought the twelve Beyond Grade A enemies alone. In the end, all enemies were exiled, and five were captured, one from the Arcane Church and three from the Federation of Light—’Red Devil’ Tolaen, ‘Energy Soul’ Womre, ‘Lone Ranger’ Jackornitz, and Hades. After that, Black Star traveled far to capture another Beyond Grade A who was suspected to be involved in this incident, ‘Beast Ancestor’ Gorutan. What Black Star has done has shocked the entire world. The reason behind this incident is still being investigated…”

As soon as this ended, the cabin was filled with cheers of triumph!

“Woo!”

All the crew members present raised their hands and cheered. They were visibly overjoyed.

“Hahaha, the federation’s people have finally been taught a lesson!”

“Our Army Commander is invincible!”

Many of them had come because of Black Star’s name to begin with. Now that they saw what a shocking feat their leader had achieved, they were filled with burning passion and respect.

This news was a gigantic morale boost and had become the hottest topic within the army, even more so for the subdivision crew present. They were stationed in the Abyss of Stars and had faced a lot of difficulties. Now that their boss had captured three Beyond Grade As of the federation, one of whom was the leader of an organization that had been causing a lot of trouble for them, they felt that their army commander had given them justice.

The joy lasted quite a while before dissipating. In this festive atmosphere, this spaceship arrived at its destination. This was a transfer planet. The spaceship had gone there many times before. Following the instructions, it safely parked at the port.

As soon as the various subdivision members disembarked from the spaceship, they felt the difference. They looked around and saw that the passersby had all stopped to greet them with nods and looks, and their eyes were filled with complicated emotions such as surprise, fear, and curiosity.

This time, the port’s registration point approached. Compared to the formal manners they had always displayed, the attendant’s face was filled with passion and a fawning smile. This was something these subdivision members rarely saw.

“Haha, look at these guys. They never knew to respect us, but now they’re afraid.”

Seeing the change in attitude of the people around, a sense of pride appeared in their hearts. They felt honored and glad that they had joined the Black Star Army.

The reason for these changes, of course, was the world-shaking achievement the army commander had made recently. The reputation of his faction had rocketed to the peak in the entire universe!

With a leader like him, the future of the organization was as bright as ever.

This was not an isolated event. Scenes just like this could be seen everywhere across the universe.

…

Currently, almost all the players were in the World Server. When the players at the frontline stronghold uploaded the battle recording, everyone’s attention was immediately absorbed by the news.

On the forums, this incident had filled up the entire Flickering World panel, and countless people were discussing it.

The players did not know the details. All they paid attention to was Black Star’s terrifying achievement.

With his exceptional performance, Hila was completely ignored. It was assumed that Han Xiao had fought twelve enemies alone.

Although they knew that Black Star was among the strongest in the entire universe, this absolutely exceeded the imagination of the players. They were not too familiar with the difference in strength between Beyond Grade As and were full of disbelief.

“This is absolutely bonkers!”

“I remember that he was also surrounded during the Planet Lighthouse battle, but back then, the army commander had the help of the dynasty allies. This time, he needed no help, yet he still defeated twelve Beyond Grade As alone, capturing four!”

“Paging Bun-Hit-Dog, wake up and make your video, quickly!”

“I heard that the army commander sacrificed a lot in exchange for such strength, all to protect Hila.”

“This is probably what love is.”

“I’m getting on that ship!”

“Our captain is the best!”

Other than expressing shock, the various players were also speculating about the influence this incident would have.

Currently, the competition was intense in the Flickering World, and the Black Star Army had been affected as well. For something like this to happen, its impact would be incomprehensible.

Furthermore, the army commander also expressed his stand to hold all the people involved responsible no matter how difficult it would be by capturing Gorutan, who provided assistance.

This way, Black Star Army’s faction advantage would climb to the peak. Who would dare mess with Black Star during the Flickering World competition period?

To the Chinese players, one saying explained the impact of this achievement Black Star had made perfectly…

When you make one amazing punch, you’ll avoid a hundred punches.

Comparatively, this had made a more obvious contrast to the organizations that the Black Star Army had warned during the faction war incident earlier.

Due to the ‘no fighting back’ policy these organizations took, the innocent casual players in these organizations had a much stronger opinion about how important factions were. They were already unsatisfied with their factions to start with, and when they saw this news, many people were convinced to switch factions.

Of course, their top choice was the Black Star Army.

The players of the various countries who had only recently joined the army had another perspective about this incident.

In the previous versions, the players of the various countries could only watch the Black Star Army from afar. Now that they had joined the Star Field and could finally be a part of it, they had a brand-new experience when discussing it as members of the faction.

In the past, they could only watch others praise Black Star, but now they could join in and do it together, which felt completely different.

Some new army players immediately experienced how amazing it was to have a powerful faction leader. They were sending out even more ‘captain is the best’ messages than the senior members. The forums were almost completely occupied by the army players. The atmosphere was festive.

On the other hand, the senior members were also enjoying the sense of superiority, thinking, You guys are too young. This is no big deal.

…

In the Arcane Church, the various Beyond Grade As and the upper echelons’ remote projections had gathered to discuss how to deal with this incident.

Although their mission had failed and they had lost Tolaen, the people present did not look too unhappy. They were even somewhat secretly glad.

“This mission’s failed. We could not kill Hila, but we’re not disappointed with the results.” An upper echelon of the church spoke. “Your Excellency Kasuyi, you’ve done a great job, shattering the federation’s plans and causing them to lose three Beyond Grade As. We are very satisfied with the decisions you’ve made.”

“I’ve only made a few contributions,” Kasuyi replied calmly.

“Hehe, don’t be so humble. Compared to Hila, it’s more important to prevent the federation from obtaining a chip to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

The upper echelons were smiling. Thinking that they had made the Federation of Light suffer such a big loss, they were all in quite a good mood.

“Nonetheless, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is still in the federation’s hands, so it’s best to negotiate with Black Star or the dynasty to see if we can get one of the federation’s captives from them so we can exchange for the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.”

Kasuyi nodded. “Although the operation has failed, we still offended the Black Star Army. Odds of the negotiation succeeding are not high, but it’s worth a try.”

“Hmm… By the way, you said Black Star showcased an ability similar to Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation and sent Hila back to his headquarters despite the spacetime being sealed. Is that true?”

“Of course, I’m certainly not mistaken.”

Hearing this, the man pondered and said, “Since that’s the case, we’ll have no choice but to cancel all plans directed at Hila…”

Since Black Star had the ability to ignore spacetime stabilization, there was no point in targeting Hila since she would be able to leave any time.

The ability of the King mechanical suit that Han Xiao had displayed had completely shattered all plans the church had for Hila. She was now finally in a safe spot.

Seeing the responses of the upper echelons, Sagman and the other ‘former prison mates’ exchanged looks and saw complicated emotions in each other’s eyes. It was the resignation of knowing that they would not be able to take revenge and the delight that they had escaped this time.

This time, another church upper echelon spoke. This was a member of the Bishops. “Putting Black Star’s technology aside, the federation is going to be the one with the biggest headache. I just want to ask, what do you guys think of Black Star’s strength?”

The various Beyond Grade As exchanged looks before all looking at Kasuyi.

Kasuyi pondered for a while and said, “What Black Star has achieved in this battle is very shocking, but since we’re involved in it and know the details, we know that although Black Star is not as strong as the outside world says he is, he’s still very strong. His raw strength is not the main issue; it’s the fact that his combat strategy almost has no weaknesses. His indestructible body made up for the biggest weakness of a Mechanic, and with the help of the Spacetime Amber, his actual combat capabilities far exceed the level he’s at. It’s tough to judge… From this incident onward, we’ll have to look at Black Star in a new light. He has two states, normal and explosive, the latter being on an entirely different level to the former.

“Although Black Star burned his potential this time, since he can burn it the first time, he will be able to burn it again. Among all Beyond Grade As, not many can guarantee a win against Black Star during his explosive state. Therefore, it’s best not to push him into that situation.”

After hearing this, the church superiors exchanged looks.

Well, you’re basically telling us not to mess with Black Star, aren’t you?

…

On the other side, the Federation of Light also hosted a similar conference. The atmosphere was completely different from the Arcane Church—it was extremely serious and grave.

President Bader looked around and said with a serious tone, “A total of three Beyond Grade As are in the dynasty’s hands. Who can tell me how it ended up like this? Which one of you can give me an explanation?”

The remote projections of the various Beyond Grade As present had no words. They all uncontrollably glanced at the three empty seats.

Bader’s mood was as if he had stepped in dog sh*t on the sidewalk.

Before the mission, he felt that this mission would almost certainly be a success. Even if they would not be able to capture Hila, with the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device and six Beyond Grade As, retreating safely would not be a problem at all. However, he had never expected to suffer such a huge loss.

This result made him suspect that something had gone wrong along the way.

Bader turned to look at Sierron and said with a deep voice, “You were the leader of this operation. I had high hopes for you. What do you have to say now?”

Noticing the blame in the President’s tone, Sierron said furiously, “It’s all because of Kasuyi!”

Hearing this, none of the various federation upper echelons had good looks on their faces.

Back during the Planet Lighthouse battle, the federation had plotted against the church, and now it became the other way round.

Many people felt that they could finally understand how the church felt back then.

This time, Manison calmly said, “The church’s interference is an important factor, but the main reason is that Black Star expected this and deliberately used false information of his whereabouts to misguide the outside world, while his main body hid nearby and surprised Sierron and the others. Plus, there’s the fact that they could not linger around in enemy territory and could not maximize their strength, which led to them being defeated by Black Star one by one. Don’t underestimate a peak Beyond Grade A Mechanic.”

Bader narrowed his eyes and looked over. “I heard you were involved in this too, and you fought with Gorutan.”

“That’s right.” Manison nodded and did not deny it.

Bader gave him a meaningful look, but he did not continue asking more questions. He changed the topic and said coldly, “The most imminent issue is to negotiate with the dynasty to bail the three Beyond Grade A allies out. Don’t mess with Black Star for the time being.”

Then, he left the conference immediately. He did not want to see these troubling allies of his at least for today.

…

In Tarunamir Palace’s conference room, Urranrell supported her chin with her crossed hands and looked around at those present.

“The incident has come to an end, you all know the details, tell me your thoughts.”

They stayed silent for a while before one upper echelon spoke. “Black Star has dealt with this very beautifully. He exceeded our expectations completely. Currently, we have Beyond Grade A captives as chips, so we have the upper hand in the negotiation. Black Star has displayed his trump card, so we have to judge his strength at a higher level. In my opinion, although we did not start this incident, we should still give Black Star some compensation for him burning his potential, to show him how important he is to us.”

“Hmm, not bad.”

While responding, Urranrell secretly glanced at the hawk faction’s Bekorodi, only to realize Bekorodi’s eyes were half-closed. It looked like he did not plan to speak.

Originally, Bekorodi thought that Black Star would have to rely on the dynasty’s help to get through this, so he insisted on demanding that Hila join the dynasty. Now, however, Black Star had basically handled the problem all by himself, and the dynasty barely helped at all, so this proposal would no longer make sense.

Furthermore, Han Xiao’s achievement had shocked Bekorodi too. All the dynasty’s upper echelons valued him much more. In this environment, Bekorodi had nothing to say, so he stayed silent.

Seeing that no one opposed the idea, Urranrell continued. “About compensating Black Star, I plan to carry out a plan… to temporarily open up the selling rights of the Evolutionary Totems.”

Many upper echelons’ eyes widened in surprise when they heard this.

Very few had expected this and had knowing looks on their faces.

Due to the Evolution Cube, the dynasty was not on good terms with Black Star. There were some cracks in their relationship.

However, through this incident, the dynasty saw Black Star’s abilities and decided to take a step back to fix this.

Chapter 1060: The Godlike Battle

1060 The Godlike Battle Bright starlight reflected in Sorokin’s pupils through the floor to ceiling windows of the top floor. He stood before the window and looked up at the starry night.

“Gorutan is done for…”

To think that just a few days ago, he had been chattering and laughing with Gorutan in his palace. Sorokin mourned for three seconds.

Although he was mostly just the messenger in this incident, he had still secretly intended to shift the direction of how things played out. However, all plots were shattered by Black Star with pure power. Even he felt a sense of resignation.

“Wasn’t able to use Hila to start a conflict, what a shame.” Sorokin shook his head. “However, considering that Gorutan is no more, it’s not too bad.”

Gorutan was a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group, and Sorokin had used his own identity as a shareholder to gain protection while strengthening his connection with the Galactic Black Market through Gorutan’s routes.

After so many years, Sorokin had already infiltrated the Galactic Black Market using Gorutan’s connections. Even if these connections were broken, his business would not be affected much. However, he could not possibly kick Gorutan away after using him.

Due to this incident, he would have one less shareholder to share the dividends with, which would actually save Sorokin some money. Some of his businesses that he had given to Gorutan in the past could now be retrieved and developed as usual. At the same time, he would also be able to slowly chip away Beast Ancestor’s organization’s main business and their market share.

“Hmm, Gorutan being gone isn’t a bad thing for me. Maybe I can use the shareholder position he left behind as a bargaining chip to gain the support of other protectors of the Galactic Black Market and make me a new protector of the Galactic Black Market.”

Sorokin narrowed his eyes as he thought about how he could benefit from this.

Although he did work together with Gorutan, business partners were not really on his side in Sorokin’s eyes. To him, the relationships he had with these people were purely built on mutual interests. Therefore, he was not sad about Gorutan being gone at all. Rather, he was happy with the fact that he now had one less person to share profits with.

“Nonetheless, Black Star’s strength is indeed quite incredible…

“After this, the Crimson Dynasty will likely reevaluate their relationship with Black Star. There’s a sixty percent chance they will temporarily put aside any arguments regarding the ownership of the Evolution Cube. They’ll then compensate Black Star by opening up the purchasing rights of the totems, bribing his heart and displaying their clear intention of wooing him… Hmm, then my deal with the federation, the church, and the dynasty’s hawk faction can be put aside. It’s time to stop interfering with the Black Star Army’s businesses.”

The Limitless Financial Group had made deals with multiple parties before starting to disrupt the Black Star Army’s businesses. The core reason was the Evolutionary Totems.

The federation and the church wanted to pressure the dynasty in various ways to force them to open the purchasing rights of the totems, so they wanted to influence the dynasty through Black Star. The dynasty’s hawk faction’s goal was to pressure Black Star and convince him to exchange the Evolution Cube for other Universal Treasures. If the dynasty opened up the purchasing rights of the totems, this problem would be solved instantly. Thus, the Limitless Financial Group would have no reason to continue pressuring the Black Star Army.

Other than these considerations, Sorokin also planned to stay low for some time.

Black Star had achieved something that was more than enough to be written down in history; now would be the time his influence was at its peak. If the Limitless Financial Group acted too out of line, Black Star would most likely target them even more. Hence, keeping a low profile would not be bad.

Sorokin did not want to make things ugly. After all, Black Star was the local dragon of the Flickering World. Small conflicts would still be fine, but it would not be pretty if things escalated.

If Black Star used his explosive abilities again, even he would have to face him with all his strength. He did not want to expose his strength and lose his camouflage as someone ‘weak’ and ‘fragile’.

“Hmm, Traveler too…” Sorokin’s eyes flickered. “It’s best to get rid of him.”

…

“Didn’t expect Black Star to eliminate Gorutan so decisively. Looks like my reminder was part of the reason…”

Somewhere within the free competition zone, Secret Master looked at the news playing on the communicator and frowned.

Like Gorutan, he had been a protector of the Galactic Black Market for many years. The two of them had many conflicts both on the surface and secretly. He understood Gorutan’s strength and knew that he was no match for him, or the one taking the position as the Limitless Financial Group shareholder would not have been Gorutan.

Seeing that Gorutan had been eliminated by Black Star, Secret Master was shocked while at the same time felt complicated about losing an old rival.

Of course, feelings were one thing. If anyone wanted to bail Gorutan out, he would be the first to oppose it.

After some time, Secret Master adjusted his mindset and started thinking about how he could benefit from this.

“The organization left behind by Beast Ancestor is a huge chunk of meat. It’s best to share it to make my own organization stronger. Hmm, among those offspring of his, there seem to be some who are quite talented. I can make them work under me… If I take them to see the Beast Ancestor’s specimen, it will probably be very fun…”

Thinking about that, Secret Master could not help but smile.

“Black Star did something huge this time. It’d be best to keep in contact with him in the future. Black Star will lead the shared front of the Beyond Grade As. I should pay more attention to this matter.”

…

Somewhere in the Constellation Corridor, a dynasty patrol ship was slowly moving.

In a cabin, a dynasty male wearing a low-grade officer uniform leaned on the railing. He held a communicator and watched it with a naive smile.

This person was very muscular. He looked ordinary and friendly, without the special position marking on his uniform. It would be very hard for someone to think that this was a Grade C Super combatant of the Pugilist class.

This time, a few colleagues doing the daily patrolling walked over and saw this buff man. Someone yelled, “Yo, Karlot, what are you watching that made you smile so brightly?”

“Ah, I’m watching the news.” Karlot turned around and smiled.

This person was the Beyond Grade A potential stock Han Xiao had once paid attention to, a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist of the dynasty in his previous life.

More than twenty years ago, he was still a child who was studying in the dynasty’s Super Academy and had yet to even awaken his class. Now that more than twenty years had passed, he had turned from a frank child to a frank adult who was just Grade C. His growth could not be considered fast; it was mediocre.

Due to Han Xiao’s interference, his growth took a different path from before but still had the same overall effect. Karlot still joined the dynasty military after graduating, and after ten years or so, he was still a low-grade combatant who was rarely promoted if at all.

This time, a few colleagues of his approached and saw the news about Han Xiao on the communicator.

“His Excellency Black Star? Ha, as expected!” a colleague joked. “Sigh, sadly, you know Black Star, but Black Star doesn’t know you, his top fan.”

“He does know me. When I was young, His Excellency Black Star once personally tried to recruit me. He…”

Before Karlot finished his sentence, his colleagues were already laughing out loud.

“Hahaha, you’re at it again!”

“Keep going, don’t stop.”

“The legendary man with so much talent that even Black Star personally tried to recruit… Poah, haha, I can’t do this. Let me laugh a while longer!”

Seeing this, Karlot was not angry at all. He only scratched his head and smiled with resignation.

Ever since he came into contact with Han Xiao when he was a kid, he had been paying attention to anything related to Han Xiao in the news. In time, Han Xiao had become his idol. A colleague had once asked him the reason, so he told the truth. However, to his surprise, no one believed him, which made him the king of jokes among his colleagues.

Black Star would personally try to recruit an ordinary Grade C dynasty officer?

Who would believe that?

Position depended on strength. Even though Han Xiao had once personally tried to recruit him, more than twenty years had passed, and Karlot’s growth had proved to not match the word ‘genius’. This incident also got forgotten and not written in his resume. He had no intention of proving it to his colleagues. He did not care if others believed him, and he did not mind being made fun of.

At the start, due to Black Star, the school had high hopes for him. However, after they realized he had ordinary talent, they gave up on him. Nonetheless, Karlot was not affected by it, nor was he in a hurry to prove himself. All he did was slowly and patiently train while enjoying the process.

Throughout the years, even Karlot occasionally wondered if Black Star had made a mistake back then. However, this did not trouble him.

The disappointment and derision of others had little effect on him, and he did not think it was something worth getting angry over.

If he was destined to be ordinary, he would embrace it. He focused on the things he wanted to do; there was no need to force others to look up to him. This had always been the way Karlot lived his life.

Shaking his head with resignation, Karlot ignored his colleagues who were laughing and looked at the communicator again. Seeing Han Xiao in the papers, he smiled from the bottom of his heart.

…

Galaxy Calendar Year 730, February 18th. This was a day noted in history.

On this day, Black Star fought a battle in the Flickering World that could rarely happen even every hundred years. Initially, the church and the federation’s assassination mission for Hila might have become the fuse to cause the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations to erupt, but Black Star singlehandedly extinguished its flames and caused a sensation!

This news even surpassed the Flickering World. Even the competition and fighting stopped temporarily. The various organizations inside the free competition zone all maintained a low profile to see how things would go from there.

Countless galactic residents knew that Black Star was a top tier individual in the universe, but as a ‘newbie’ who had only appeared a few decades prior, Han Xiao did not achieve a lot of notable things. In terms of his reputation, there was still quite a difference between him and Manison, Kasuyi, and those senior peak Beyond Grade As.

This news, however, refreshed the image countless people had of him once again. His reputation universally skyrocketed.

What happened on this day was given a nickname by the outside world—Black Star’s Godlike Battle—which surpassed all his past achievements and became the most notable deed on his resume.

At the same time, the Wayne Card company once again made an announcement to drastically buff Black Star’s card in the next version, while at the same time introducing the memorial card sets with the ‘Black Star’s Godlike Battle’ theme. They were quick and familiar with benefiting from what was popular at the time.

The other neutral Beyond Grade As were shocked by Black Star’s achievements. Thinking of what had happened to Gorutan, more people further confirmed the strategy to not become Black Star’s enemy but become his ally…

While the incident was brewing and countless people were paying attention to the Black Star Army, Han Xiao returned right back to Black Star Palace and announced to the outside world that he would be resting for some time.

…

Within Black Star Palace, Han Xiao did not chat much with the various officers, only greeting them simply before he quickly hurried back to his personal training location. He then closed the gate and locked himself inside.

Feidin and Nero had been present earlier, and Han Xiao had already rubbed them.

Inside the room, he opened the mission list with his hands covered in luck, took a deep breath, and prayed.

After praying silently for some time, Han Xiao then clicked the ‘complete’ option on [Rescue Hila].

_____________________

[Rescue Hila] completed!

You have received 92 Billion EXP, 4 Random Rewards, and 1 Blank Character Summon Card.

You have received 1 Universe Legendary Point.

Universe Legendary Point: Godlike Battle—You single-handedly fought twelve enemies and achieved a result that shocked the entire universe. From this point onward, your name shall be written into history and mentioned along with the strongest group of people in history. Your name will get passed on even if stars shift and seas dry up, as one of the symbols of peak individual greatness!

_____________________

Han Xiao was not surprised. He rubbed his hands and looked at the following notification.

There were four Unknown Character Summon Cards. Given the fact that so many people participated in the battle, he did not know what he could get either.

If he got those weak ones, it would clearly not be good, but if he got a Character Summon Card of someone strong, the chance of it having a powerful ability would also be much greater.

Having looked at the notification, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled with surprise.

_____________________

You have received [Character Summon Card: Kasuyi]!

You have received [Character Summon Card: Sierron]!

You have received [Character Summon Card: Gorutan]!

You have received [Character Summon Card: Hila]!

_____________________

Chapter 1061: Reward

1061 Reward _____________________

Character Summon Card—’Void Overlord’ Kasuyi: [Artificial Psychic Current—Frenzy Tide]

By using Psychic attack on a large area, creates a long term aggressive Psychic Current that can be controlled in simple ways. Deals damage instances to all living creatures in the affected area. Damage taken will be judged three times every second. Basic damage each damage instance: (INT+MYS)*1.8. 170% Psychological Resistance penetration, a chance to give the target a random negative mind state. Uses: 0/2.

Character Summon Card—’Star Shatterer’ Sierron: [Sixteen Arms—Shattering Fists]

Single target melee range ability. Through quick consecutive attacks, send highly condensed Pugilist flames into the target’s body through a special method, shattering the target’s atom structure instantly. The target’s body will be annihilated. One Lethal Judge will be carried out, depending on the difference between the user and the target’s level, health, Energy Level, STR, END, and LUK. If the judgement fails, deals 500,000–800,000 True Damage to the target. Uses: 0/2.]

Character Summon Card—”Beast Ancestor” Gorutan: [Body of the Beast Ancestor]

+20% STR, +20%DEX, +40% END, +300% Pugilist Flame damage. Regenerates 2.5% of maximum health every second. Duration: 30 minutes. Uses: 0/2.

Character Summon Card—”Goddess of Death” Hila: [Death Rejection—Awakening]

When your health reaches zero, you will be immune to this death and instantly recover 25% – 50% of your health while refreshing your status. This can be gifted to another being, but it is only effective once on the same target. Uses: 0/6

_____________________

“Woah, these are nice!”

Han Xiao was overjoyed after reading through all the effects of these Character Summon Cards.

The quality of them was extremely high. They certainly matched up to those peak Beyond Grade As and the owner of a Super High Risk Esper Ability.

Kasuyi’s Character Summon Card was a pure attack ability with good base damage. Han Xiao’s Intelligence and Mystery totaled about 30,000, so the basic damage every instance would be about 50,000. Three instances every second meant that this ability would deal about 150,000 damage every second. The 170% Psychological Resistance penetration meant that it would drastically reduce the effectiveness of the target’s psychological barrier. If it was used on a weaker target, the damage might even be close to becoming True Damage.

If it was just a one-time attack, it would not be too big a deal. The powerful part of this Character Summon Card was that it would create a Psychic Current that would not easily dissipate. With good enough control, it would become a large-area AOE attack that dealt constant damage over time, which would add up to an enormous amount of damage.

Sierron’s Character Summon Card was also an attack ability. Unlike Kasuyi’s AOE ability, this was a single target ability. Not mentioning how powerful the Lethal Judge mechanic was, the True Damage dealt even if that failed was still very high. If this dealt the maximum 800,000 True Damage every single time, just two to three hits would send Psyker to see God.

However, this would not be effective against targets who had True Damage Immunity. If Sierron used this on Han Xiao, it would be the same as a tickle.

Han Xiao nodded. “The single target damage a peak Pugilist can deal is still quite incredible for normal Beyond Grade As.”

Gorutan’s Character Summon Card was an overall powerful buff that was very suitable for Pugilists. It was also quite good for Han Xiao, since it gave attribute bonuses and bonus health regeneration.

The one that surprised Han Xiao the most was Hila’s Character Summon Card. This was the upgraded effect of the [Death Immunity] talent, which was basically a chance to revive. Even though he was already extremely tanky, this Character Summon Card still gave his life another layer of security.

The shocking part was, this could be gifted to someone else, so that person would be immune to death one time as well.

Character Summon Cards were created from the characters, meaning that Hila had this ability. However, Han Xiao had seen her interface before, and she did not have the ability to give others a one-time use Death Immunity in the past.

“Could it be that this battle forced her potential out and made her awaken a new way to use her Esper Ability?”

This seemed quite possible.

During this battle, Hila had built a link with Aurora that ignored distance. Maybe this was partly the reason this ability appeared, which would explain why Hila did not have this ability in his previous life.

Outsiders could only accept this ability once and could not be revived by Hila indefinitely. Nonetheless, it would still mean one extra life, which was amazing for the Black Star Army’s officers.

“I used quite a number of Character Summon Cards. There’re still uses for Psyker, Ames, Mechanic Emperor, and Silver Shadow. The ones that are finished are only Perfect Mechanical Sense and Polar Channel Flow. I shall use the Blank Character Summon Card this time to restock the Perfect Mechanical Sense, so in the end, all I spent was Heber’s Character Summon Card. Receiving four more has made up for that.”

Han Xiao had a joyful expression on his face.

Character Summon Cards were just the appetizers, yet those already made him gain back the cost of the explosive power he used. The chance to draw abilities from the bonus mission was the main dish.

He suppressed his excitement and looked at the notifications on the interface.

_____________________

Bonus mission requirements have been completed.

You have received bonus reward: Randomly draw an ability/talent from each Beyond Grade A captive.

_____________________

He had captured five people this time—Tolaen, Womre, Jackornitz, Hades, and Gorutan—who were spread across Mage, Mechanic, Pugilist, and Psychic.

Although their average strength was not as high as those whose Character Summon Cards he had received, the abilities he would obtain would be permanent.

There were two noobs among these five, but at least they were Beyond Grade As, so there was a chance he would get something good.

“I have to leave the best to the last.”

Han Xiao decided to start drawing from the weakest.

He hesitated between Tolaen and Hades for a while before going with Hades.

_____________________

Note: Hades is a Psychic. Part of the abilities/talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. [Will Resistance]—Ability: +35% Abnormal Psychological State Resistance. Cost: 0. Cooldown: 160s.

2. [Calm and Relaxed]—Talent: +200 INT, +200 MYS.

3. [Energy Control Proficiency]—Talent: -25% Energy Cost.

4. [Psychological Barrier Enhancement]—Talent: +120% Psychological Resistance, +50% Abnormal Psychological State Resistance.

5. [Squeezing Style Energy Recovery]—Ability: By spending 20,000 – 50,000 health, recover the same amount of Energy and temporarily reduce Energy Cost by 15%. Cooldown: 330s.

_____________________

Hades was a Psychic, so most of the options were related to psychic, which was expected.

Not receiving any powerful talents, Han Xiao was not discouraged and took it as a consolation prize.

He picked [Psychological Barrier Enhancement] without hesitation, which was not too bad.

Throughout the years, Han Xiao had been consciously making up for his weakness in the psychological field and had already obtained quite a high resistance. However, when he saw Kasuyi’s Character Summon Card earlier, he knew that his current Psychological Resistance was far from enough for someone like Kasuyi.

Since he had obtained a decent new Psychological Resistance talent, it was like filling up a gap for him.

After adjusting his thoughts, Han Xiao then continued to draw the next ability.

_____________________

Note: Tolaen is a Mage. Part of the abilities/talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. [High Level Energy Senses]—Talent: Increase your senses of all kinds of energy. You will be able to see more details the others aren’t able to see.

2. [Magic Insulation]—Ability: When receiving magic attacks, the actual damage you receive will be decreased by 22%. Magic type controlling abilities last 17% shorter on you.

3. [Super Overload]—Talent: Your body can endure an even greater load. Some buffs will last longer on you. +1,500 END, +15% maximum health.

4. [Skilled Melee Combat Techniques]—Talent: You know a ton of melee combat techniques. Your attacks will occasionally deal damage in an area. +34% Melee Damage, +20% Critical Rate, +28% Block Chance, +23% Dodge Chance, +300 DEX.

5. [Lightning Control]—Ability: Drastically increase Lightning and Electromagnetic Affinity.

_____________________

“… Well, I guess a Demon Race Mage who doesn’t put points into melee combat isn’t a proper Mage.”

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

Among the five options, [High Level Energy Senses] was basically an ability all Beyond Grade A Mages had to have, which was what made them able to capture any strange movements of energy. [Magic Insulation] and [Super Overload] were abilities only buff-type Mages like Tolaen had. His body had to endure the load from a large number of enchantments so that the buffs applied on him would last longer.

Without much hesitation, Han Xiao picked [Super Overload] directly. This was the most suitable for him, and its numbers were quite impressive.

The 1,500 Endurance points made up for the shortage in his Endurance. He just had to put some of his Free Attribute Points into Endurance for it to be above 15,000, and he would be able to receive one more God’s Trait Transformation Point every Promotion.

After this battle, Han Xiao had noticed that the important factor that made the difference between peak Beyond Grade As was the extent of their God’s Trait Transformation. Although his way of leveling up was different from the others, more God’s Trait Transformation Points would always be better.

Han Xiao drew from Womre third, which gave him something quite great.

_____________________

[Cell Activity Expansion]—Talent: Through training, you have enhanced the activity of your cells, increasing the quantity of energy your cells can contain and efficiently make use of. With your character’s level increasing, your energy will gradually increase.

Lv1 – Lv100: +0.5% maximum energy, -1% Energy Cost, +2% Stamina Energy Conversion Efficiency every 10 levels; Lv100 – Lv200: +0.8% maximum energy, -1.5% Energy Cost, +4% Stamina Energy Conversion Efficiency every 10 levels; Above Lv200: +1.2% maximum energy, -2% Energy Cost, +6% Stamina Energy Conversion Efficiency every 10 levels.

Current total bonus: +27.4% maximum energy, -49% Energy Cost, +132% Stamina Energy Conversion Efficiency.

_____________________

Han Xiao had his eyes on this ability instantly, mainly because of the increase in maximum energy.

His current energy was about 180,000, so his maximum energy would increase by about 50,000 instantly with this talent, and this was something he was short of.

Not only did this increase the limits of his health-energy conversion, it also increased his Energy Level by one rank, giving him a new level of bonus, which was basically the same as a few thousand Attribute Points.

This talent was a percentage bonus, so it had growth potential. To him, this was as powerful as half a Molding Talent.

Furthermore, cell activity was related to life span, so maybe this talent had the hidden effect of increasing his life span by one second.

The fourth target was Jackornitz. With the same class, there would be more abilities to choose from.

Mechanical Pugilists preferred to fight using supportive machinery, and they were good at the techniques of using those ‘tools’, so they had quite a few special talents.

The five options he got all had quite high quality. Most gave Machinery Affinity bonuses. Han Xiao hesitated for a while and made his choice.

_____________________

[Machinery Control Master]—Talent: Machines that are enhanced by your Mechanical Force will receive the following bonuses: +120% Melee Damage, +24% Ranged Damage, +35% mechanical suit performance.

_____________________

Although this talent was a Mechanic class talent, only Mechanical Pugilists would be able to awaken it usually, but Han Xiao had now obtained it.

Many Mechanical Pugilists’ abilities directly increased their efficiency in using their machines. This ability gave him a huge boost, and the melee damage of his mechanical army rocketed.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had tested it before and found out that the Mechanical Deity was a special assembled machine, but as its core had to be his main body or his Lord’s Avatar, it was considered a mechanical suit by the interface. This meant that it would receive mechanical suit related bonuses.

This way, the actual power of the Mechanical Deity would be increased drastically. It would have strength close to having two Perfect Mechanical Senses stacked together!

“This is good stuff. If I can get all those special talents of Mechanical Pugilists and Cannon Masters, the power of my mechanical army will probably multiply many times.” Han Xiao was drooling at the thought of it.

He then adjusted his emotions, took a deep breath, and clicked on the last target.

_____________________

Tip: Gorutan is a Pugilist. Part of the abilities/talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. [Energy Shock]—Ability: By using energy, shock the target and make the target enter a short stunned state.

2. [Micro-Molting]—Ability: Refresh yourself, dispel all debuffs. Cooldown: 400s.

3. [Energy Recycle Stream]—Talent: When melee attacks land, while dealing the same damage, you can recycle 40% of the energy used in your attacks.

4. [Block Penetration]—Talent: Even when the target has blocked your melee attack, they will still receive 30% – 80% damage.

5. [Polar Channel Flow—Blood Rage]—Ability: Through burning your health, you turn it into a special kind of blood energy. This increases your basic attributes, attack, Critical Rate, and ability strength, depending on the health you burn after every judgement. Duration equals the amount of time you burn your health for. After this ability ends, you’ll enter a state of weakness that lasts three times the duration of this ability.

Chapter 1062: Plan and Birthday

1062 Plan and Birthday Having seen the five abilities drawn from Gorutan, Han Xiao was slightly stunned.

“Polar Channel Flow?”

There were infinite Pugilist styles in the universe, and the Polar Channel Flow style was mainly focused on explosive abilities, which reflected the horrible and harsh environments in the past. Of course, it might also be that the creator of Polar Channel Flow simply liked the style.

High-level Pugilists all mastered multiple styles, so it was normal for Gorutan to know Polar Channel Flow.

Back then, the ability from Heber’s Character Summon Card was [Polar Channel Flow—Cellular Overdrive], while this ability from Gorutan was Blood Rage. The effects of the two were quite similar, but the former exchanged potential for strength while the latter burned current health.

To others, although the explosive state given by Cellular Overdrive would damage one’s potential, it did not have any immediate side effects and only made one stronger for the time being.

Comparatively, Blood Rage would burn up one’s health continuously. If the user’s regenerative ability could not keep up, the user would be heavily injured if this ability was activated for an extended period. This was not great for long duration battles, and the enemies might notice its side effects and deliberately play for time.

Han Xiao thought that this was probably the reason Gorutan did not use this on him. After all, he was known for being amazing at drawn-out battles.

“All things considered, this ability is perfect for me.”

Han Xiao’s eyes were sparkling.

His regenerative ability could even be considered everlasting. Even Beast Ancestor could not compare to him. Therefore, burning his health was nothing. If he used it well, this ability could totally become a stable method to obtain explosive strength.

In comparison, [Micro-Molting] and [Block Penetration] were good but not as valuable as Blood Rage.

“I’ve used up the one-time Character Summon Card for Cellular Overdrive, but now I’ve obtained a method to gain explosive strength stably. Tsk tsk, nice…” Han Xiao was overjoyed.

Even though the explosive strength granted by Blood Rage was slightly lower than Cellular Overdrive, it was completely acceptable.

At this time, all Han Xiao wanted to do was raise his arms and praise Feidin.

… Oh, and Nero too.

_____________________

You have received [Polar Channel Flow—Blood Rage]!

_____________________

The new abilities obtained from the five Beyond Grade As immediately took effect on Han Xiao’s body, changing every one of his cells.

Hu!

Immense pain flooded his entire body, only dissipating after quite some time.

Han Xiao had already gotten used to this pain. He took a deep breath and sensed the changes in his body.

Hmm, I clearly have more energy, which is the effects of Womre’s [Cell Activity Expansion]. My physique is stronger too, like I’ve taken off some invisible weights. This should be thanks to Tolaen’s [Super Overload]. My mind feels slightly stronger, thanks to Hades’ [Psychological Barrier Enhancement]. My Mechanical Force feels sharper and easier to control. This is Jackornitz’s [Machinery Control Master] taking effect…

Han Xiao sorted out the changes in his body and felt refreshed.

A new notification popped up on the interface, a new dungeon was created from [Hila Rescue Warfare]. Without even having to look at it, Han Xiao knew that the level of this was much higher than even the Planet Lighthouse battle, which was far beyond the players’ capabilities at the moment.

Han Xiao then looked at the mission list. [Rescue Hila] had already disappeared, meaning that all the rewards were given.

Out of curiosity, Han Xiao tried using [Polar Channel Flow—Blood Rage]. This ability gave him the freedom to decide how much health he wanted to burn without an upper limit, only a minimum of 0.1% of maximum health every second. Therefore, he turned it on with the lowest requirement.

Boom!

A blood colored ring of light suddenly blossomed in front of Han Xiao’s chest and expanded like ripples before him.

The next moment, he felt that all the blood in his body started boiling!

Bright red vapor sprayed out from all over his body like flames made of blood. The reactions were very drastic. By just roughly looking at it, one might mistake it to be red Pugilist flames.

This blood red vapor was the blood energy obtained from burning his health. In Han Xiao’s senses, it was as easy to control as his limbs. Masses and masses of new energy kept appearing in his body as his health burned.

He took out a mirror and looked at himself. The vibe he gave off was completely different compared to the calm and tough vibe he usually exuded. With the blood vapor surrounding him, he looked fearsome, evil, and savage. However, his emotions were unaffected.

Han Xiao then looked at the interface and pondered.

“The bonuses of Blood Rage are mainly focused on damage output and ability strength. It’s a more aggressive bonus compared to the comprehensive bonuses Cellular Overdrive gave.”

He then turned off Blood Rage, and a sense of weakness immediately appeared, lasting for a little while before disappearing.

In order to familiarize himself with the new abilities, he tested them one after another before stopping and nodding with satisfaction.

“Tons of EXP, four Random Rewards, one Blank Character Summon Card, four powerful Character Summon Cards, and five great abilities and talents. Excellent.”

Han Xiao was very pleased.

The difficulty of the mission was over the top, but the rewards were rather generous as well. His strength increased by quite an extent, and he obtained a few new trump cards.

Suppressing his excitement, Han Xiao started thinking about the real impact of this incident.

The change in impression the various organizations had of him would be none other than to take him more seriously. During his trip back, there were more organizations that had come to fawn over him. Some organizations that had been plotting secretly against him had also stopped, such as the Limitless Financial Group.

Overall, the goal of establishing fear and respect was greatly achieved. Han Xiao’s reputation was at its peak, and the Black Star Army’s position became even firmer. Han Xiao’s planned goal was achieved.

Including the players, more people requested to become allies of the Black Star Army. The officers who were in charge of this department had been working overtime continuously to settle these matters. The number of members of the army was projected to see a sharp growth in the time to come.

Han Xiao nodded. “The federation and the church are probably discussing the matter of exchanging captives now. I’ll obtain a large amount of resources very soon.”

Of course, he had no plans to keep these four Beyond Grade A allies of Universal Civilizations himself. They were hot potatoes that he could not make use of, so giving them away in exchange for more profit was the best solution. However, this time, he was not going to easily give them away. He had to make things difficult for the church and the federation, to make them publicly apologize before he even considered giving those Beyond Grade As back.

“Speaking of which, Kasuyi’s proposal is not completely out of the question. Should I sell the federation’s people to the church and let the two of them fight with each other?” Han Xiao scratched his chin and pondered.

Gorutan, of course, did not receive such a treatment. Han Xiao planned to keep him as part of his collection.

He also paid attention to Beast Ancestor’s organization. After their boss was done for, as expected, the organization became chaotic, splitting into many factions. The internal conflict was at its peak. At the same time, there were also many organizations outside that had their eyes on the ‘inheritance’ of Beast Ancestor, prepared to take a bite of it anytime.

“Should I participate too? After all, I’m the one who eliminated Beast Ancestor.”

The possible responses the various organizations might have appeared in his brain one after another, quickly getting analyzed and classified. This time, a flash of insight crossed his mind. The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was doable.

Han Xiao’s eyes slowly became brighter as a smirk appeared on his face.

“If the dynasty’s response is just as I expect, I should be able to look for Sorokin after some time and get some things from him…”

Earlier, Han Xiao had announced to the outside world that he would be resting. One reason was to make the so-called ‘burned of his potential’ more convincing, and another was to spare some free time to do some stuff.

There were quite a few things he had to do. First, he had to deal with the impact of this incident—dealing with the captives, negotiating with the dynasty, splitting up Beast Ancestor’s inheritance, and so on all fell under this classification.

Second, he planned to use the time to repair the mechanical army, which would take quite a lot of time. He planned to build Emperor’s Cape’s too, as well as improve the Mysterious Energy Host.

Then there was the kindness Manison and Kasuyi had shown during this incident. Using the enormous force of the Black Star Army in the Flickering World, he would start building a communication channel for the united front of the Beyond Grade As.

Last but not the least, he needed to also make a trip to the secondary dimension with Ames and capture Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s old buddy, Holy Light Particle.

“Looks like I’m going to be rather busy. The good thing is, after this battle, I won’t have to worry about the growth of the Black Star Army for quite a long time, which will give me a lot of time to do my own things.”

After doing some planning, Han Xiao arranged his thoughts and walked out of the room.

After returning and touching Feidin, he had headed right to the training ground to receive the reward and had yet to talk to his many officers. He now walked toward his office and told Phillip to gather the core officers.

…

When Han Xiao walked into his office, everyone was already there, including Ames.

Technically, this was an internal affair of the army, and outsiders should not be allowed. However, Ames was an exception, so no one was stupid enough to stop her from doing so.

“You’ve finally decided to come back?” Ames leaned on the wall and looked at Han Xiao with a faint smile.

“Ahem, I had important matters to deal with,” Han Xiao replied with resignation.

He had invited Ames to the Black Star Palace only as an insurance. He did not expect it to force Traveler to back away.

“Don’t forget what you promised me.” Ames’ brows rose slightly.

“When I’m done handling the matters on hand, we’ll go travelling.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Hmm, I shall not disturb you guys then.”

Ames glanced at Hila before leaving the room. Although no one had chased her away, she knew that it was not polite to stay there and listen to the internal affairs of the Black Star Army.

Han Xiao sat on his seat, looked at Hila first, and said, “After some time, you’ll have to return to exploring on the frontlines. I’ll build something new for you, the mechanical suit that sent you back here. With that, you won’t have to worry about getting ambushed or surrounded.”

“Okay.” Hila had no objections.

“Has the dynasty contacted you recently?”

“No.” Hila shook her head.

“Then let me say this first. If they use me as a reason to convince you to join the dynasty, come and discuss with me first. Don’t agree right away.”

“Don’t worry, I know.”

“By the way, how’s your connection with Aurora?” Han Xiao asked curiously.

“It’s stable.” Hila paused for a moment. “But I can still feel the existence of that special secondary dimension… Can you take me along to travel the secondary dimension this time too? I want to take a look at it.”

“Probably not this time. Someone has to be with the army while I’m gone.” Han Xiao shook his head. “I’ll go with you next time.”

Hila nodded in agreement with a slight smirk. She seemed to be in a good mood.

After chattering for a while, Han Xiao looked at the other officers. He glanced at Feidin with eyes filled with satisfaction, and he only stopped smiling after Feidin became clearly uncomfortable. He then told the others to give their reports.

Sylvia, Herlous, Reynold, and the others summarized the recent business situation. During the reporting process, quite a number of Calamity Grade officers secretly sized Han Xiao up. Han Xiao’s recent achievement had shocked many officers too. Many of them had even more respect for him.

After listening to the reports, Han Xiao nodded. “The situation is going extremely well right now. After this, the Black Star Army will have an even easier time in the Flickering World. There won’t be anyone casually testing us. You guys, go do some recruitment. The army might see some excellent business opportunities in some time, be prepared…”

Han Xiao talked about the things to pay attention to and do for a while. Seeing that everyone nodded while listening, he suddenly thought of Evans.

Evans had also come back with the spaceship that transported the Throne. Han Xiao had told Phillip to sort his accommodation and had kept him hidden.

Before Evans, his secret weapon, grew to a certain point, Han Xiao was not going to expose him to others.

Han Xiao leaned back in his chair. “That’s all. If there are no questions, you guys can get back to your tasks.”

“By the way,” Sylvia said, “there’s one thing that needs your attention. A star director hopes to see you.”

Han Xiao was surprised.

Star director? Who? Manison?

Seeing Han Xiao’s confused expression, Sylvia explained, “He’s the renowned master-level director, Beny Travol. He is hoping to get your permission to shoot a documentary about you.”

“… That’s new.”

Han Xiao immediately became interested.

In the galactic society that had no shortage of material supplies, the influence of the entertainment industry was humongous. A famous galactic celebrity might have quintillions of fans. For example, Feidin had been considered a local celebrity before.

Galactic star directors such as Beny Travol had extremely high popularity and influence, as well as extraordinary positions in the industry. They were all important people even on the scale of the entire universe.

However, the people in the entertainment industry and someone in the military industry like him were in two completely different worlds that hardly had any connections, which made Han Xiao wonder why this person came asking to shoot a documentary of him. Could this be the effect of his Universe Legendary Points?

Han Xiao contemplated for a while. “Okay then, I’ll meet him.”

“Okay, I’ll contact him personally.” Sylvia nodded.

Han Xiao then glanced at everyone. Seeing that no one spoke, he said, “If there’s nothing else, we’ll call this a day.”

At this time, Hila suddenly thought of something. She took out a small box, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Han Xiao with her beautiful fingers.

Han Xiao looked down at it. This was a red box with ribbons, like a gift. Confused, he looked at Hila.

“This is…”

“Today is your birthday. This is your birthday present, an amulet. Remember to wear it,” Hila said softly.

Han Xiao was surprised.

This is only February. Today isn’t my birthday. It’s October… Oh, I get it. This should be the birthday of my original identity. Back on Planet Aquamarine, the Germinal Organization definitely investigated me. Hila probably saw the birth certificate of my original identity.

Understanding that, Han Xiao swallowed the words he was about to say back down. He accepted the gift and said with a smile, “Thanks, didn’t think you’d remember.”

“I remember everything about you.”

Hila closed her eyes and left the room before Han Xiao could reply.

The officers around looked back and forth between the two of them with meaningful looks in their eyes. They then left one after another.

Han Xiao was the only one left in the room. He carefully opened the gift box and looked at what was inside.

A tiny dark gold coin lay quietly in the box, hooked on a thin silver chain. It was a necklace.

Han Xiao picked up this coin and suddenly felt a special kind of energy on it. It had both Hila’s Power of the Dead energy and Aurora’s Esper Ability energy.

With a flash of insight, Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at Hila’s Character Summon Card.

If I’m guessing correctly, this coin is a carrier of some kind of ability, and this ability is probably the reawakening ability that Hila just obtained… No wonder she called it an amulet. Basically, she gave me a revive token.

The Character Summon Card did not display the limitations and cost for Hila to use this ability, but Han Xiao was certain that Hila would not be able to casually just gift this ability to anyone. It was most likely quite costly.

Han Xiao wore the amulet on his neck, stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the scenery outside Black Star Palace.

If not because Hila suddenly brought it up, he would totally have forgotten the meaning of ‘birthdays’. In all the years he had spent in Galaxy, this was the first time someone had given him a birthday present.

Although the birthday of this body was not the same as his own birthday, Han Xiao still felt nostalgic and emotional.

Memories often would not stop coming up once reminded. The images of the past kept appearing in his mind like it was lifetimes ago.

“Birthday…”

A soft sigh sounded in the room.

Chapter 1063: In Order to Save the Universe, I Have Decided to Become...

1063 In Order to Save the Universe, I Have Decided to Become… In the Emerald Star Cluster was one of Beast Ancestor’s stronghold planets.

Two fleets with the same Beast Ancestor symbol stood against each other in space. The atmosphere was tense.

The situation was clear—the smaller fleet wanted to leave the stronghold and was stopped by the guarding fleet.

Inside the command ship of the guarding fleet, Byram looked at the fleeing fleet in front of him that was prepared to start a fight anytime with complicated feelings. He then said in the public channel, “Jotina, do you know what you’re doing? This is defection!”

As soon as his sentence ended, a female creature appeared on the screen before him. She had light-brown skin, a lustful face, and black beastly patterns at the tips of her eyes and her temples, as well as white lines on her cheeks in a pattern like cat whiskers. She looked similar to a leopard. Her clothing was wild and unrestrained, showing her astonishing body shape and beauty.

At this point, the face of this woman was filled with a firmness.

“Gorutan is done. We’ve made up our minds. If you want to stop us, you can try.”

Looking at the woman on the screen, Byram sighed in his mind.

This person’s name was Jotina. She had some beast bloodline and was one of the Four Admirals under Beast Ancestor’s command, like the Vanguard Officials and Black Star Guards. She was an ace combatant who stood at the top among her brothers and sisters. She was also a Beyond Grade A seed. Given her wild personality, quite a number of brothers and sisters were afraid of her.

However, a lot of people knew that Jotina was in the rebel faction and had always hated Gorutan. Gorutan, however, did not care if his children hated him. His offspring were just tools to him. As long as he was alive, he did not fear anyone escaping his control.

He had maintained control of his organization with his own strength, and once he was gone, it instantly started cracking up like rats leaving a sinking ship.

On this day, Jotina brought a big batch of rebel faction members and planned to leave the Beast Ancestor’s organization, hence this confrontation.

Byram was in the neutral faction, so he did not have overwhelming loyalty for Gorutan. He sighed and said, “We’re all brothers and sisters. Why fight each other? Father is only captured. He might return in the future. Why not stay and work through this difficult time together?”

“Shut up!” Jotina yelled. “I’ve been waiting for this day for way too long. If you don’t let us go today, don’t blame me for not having mercy.”

Byram stayed silent. He turned and looked at the enraged expressions of the loyalists, shook his head internally, and ordered, “Let them go.”

Without the overwhelming strength of the Beast Ancestor that kept this many people in their place, his organization had absolutely no unity, and everyone had their own plans. Byram was not willing to fight with them.

However, the loyalist faction was not having it. From the way they looked at it, immediately leaving when their father was in trouble was an act of total betrayal that needed punishment.

Although Byram was the commander, many officers did not obey him and suddenly fired, starting a battle.

Battleships were sunk one after another, creating fireworks in the comic space. Calamity Grades dashed about in between the battle and fought each other with no mercy.

After a very long time, the battle finally ended. Tons of battleship wreckages were floating in the cosmic space.

After paying a hefty price, the betraying fleet finally broke away. The loyalist faction also suffered a huge loss. Many officers were killed by Jotina on the spot, so none continued chasing after her.

Without father, there will be other Beyond Grade As who come to get us. These loyalists will be cleaned up sooner or later. I’d better find a way out as soon as possible.

Byram looked at the wreckages and sighed in his mind. He knew that the Beast Ancestor’s organization was no more.

Meanwhile…

“We finally got out. They didn’t chase us…”

Inside the command ship that was covered in battle scars, Jotina sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. She was exhausted and covered in wounds, blood pooling under her.

She was surrounded by many officers who were defecting with her. After the intense battle earlier, everyone had wounds and was bandaging each other up.

A Calamity Grade officer turned to Jotina after stitching a comrade up. “Big sis, where do we go now?”

Since Jotina was the initiator of this operation and was also the strongest, she was recognized by all as the leader of this defecting team.

“Escaping was just the first step. Don’t forget our target. We can’t rely only on ourselves; we have to go to a big organization,” Jotina said while gasping for air.

“Who should we go to?”

“Whoever that beat up Gorutan.” Jotina struggled to get up, looked outside the porthole, and murmured, “Black Star is worth depending on…”

…

A few days later, outside Black Star Palace…

“I’ve already disturbed you guys for quite some time. I’ll leave today. Thanks for your help.”

Silver Shadow stood before his spaceship, nodding to express his appreciation for Han Xiao.

Some time ago, he had used the Evolution Cube and stayed as a guest in the Black Star Army, bonding with Han Xiao. The relationship between them improved quite a bit, from familiar faces to good friends.

After staying for a few days, he still had other things to attend to so he decided to bid farewell today, Han Xiao came to send him off.

“Okay, I won’t keep you then. Feel free to come here to play in the future.” Han Xiao smiled.

Silver Shadow nodded, shook Han Xiao’s hand, led a group of his subordinates onto the ship, and closed the hatch.

The spaceship’s thrusters fired up as it sped up and dashed out of the dock, turning into a stream of light and quickly disappearing into space.

Watching the spaceship leave, Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction.

The time he had spent with Silver Shadow over the past few days had sped up the progress of winning Silver Shadow over. With the favors he owed him, he would be able to at least ride him three more times.

Han Xiao left the dock and returned to his office.

“Phillip, any news from the three Universal Civilizations?”

“Not yet, hum…”

“It’s been so many days. It should be time for them to contact me.”

Han Xiao shook his head. Over the past few days, he had been waiting for the federation and the church to contact him. It seemed that these two were still considering what attitude they were going to present when contacting him, so no one had called him yet.

During the Planet Lighthouse battle, he had handed over the captives to the dynasty, and the dynasty had negotiated with them. This time, however, he had basically caught all the captives by himself. Plus, he was much stronger. Therefore, Han Xiao told the dynasty that he wanted to negotiate with the federation and the church personally.

At this time, Phillip suddenly paused and reported, “Master, hum… there’s a new communication request. It’s from the Arcane Church.”

Speak of the devil… Han Xiao told Phillip to pick it up.

Very soon, a remote projection appeared in the room. This was a high-ranking official of the church who was in charge of diplomatic matters. He took a bow as soon as he appeared, looking very respectful.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I’m the diplomat of the Arcane Church. First, on behalf of the church, I would like to apologize for this incident…”

“Hmm, let’s skip all that and cut to the chase.” Han Xiao glared at the church diplomat in front of him and said with a deep voice, “If you want Tolaen back, it depends on how sincere you guys are. I have to emphasize one thing though: the compensation must include a public apology on your side.”

The church diplomat blinked a few times and said softly, “That won’t be a problem, but we can put aside Tolaen’s matter first. I want to talk about the federation’s captives…”

Han Xiao raised his brow.

What a surprise. The Arcane Church is in no hurry to bail Tolaen back but instead wants to gain a federation captive first.

Although he could understand the reason behind this, Han Xiao still thought it was quite tragic… for Tolaen.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao said, “The church wants to buy a Beyond Grade A captive of the federation, huh?”

“Not one. The more, the better. I’m sure Kasuyi has spoken to you about this as well. The church wants something to regain the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Your Excellency Black Star, we come with a lot of sincerity this time, and we’re willing to pay a high price.”

“How high?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“These are our initial terms.”

The diplomat brought up a list and displayed it.

Han Xiao quickly scanned through the list. Not only did the terms include tons of resources compensation, but the church was even willing to use non-strategic Universal Treasures to acquire the captives. The terms were quite generous.

However, he was not going to easily agree. He purposely acted like he was considering for a while. Then, he said slowly, “I’ll have to endure pressure from the federation if I sell their captives to you, and this is all you’re offering? It doesn’t seem sufficient.”

“How about you propose the terms, and we can…”

Han Xiao snorted and interrupted him. “Go figure, change the terms till I’m satisfied.”

By not being the one stating the terms, he would be able to give the federation and the church a hard time. Otherwise, the two of them might not learn the lesson. Also, it would not be beneficial to public opinion if he easily agreed to their terms.

“Okay then, we’ll go back and change the terms. Can I assume that you don’t object to selling the federation’s captives?” the church’s diplomat asked.

“Depends on my mood.” Han Xiao did not make a guarantee.

Seeing that Han Xiao was not taking a clear stance, the church diplomat had no choice but to go offline and report the situation to his superiors.

As soon as he disconnected, the communication request from the federation came.

“How coincidental,” Han Xiao murmured and picked up the communication.

“Greetings, Your Excellency Black Star, I’m the Federation of Light’s…”

“Alright alright, I know who you are. Cut the crap. Show me your terms for bailing the captives.”

The federation’s diplomat’s words were forced right back down his throat, and he had no choice but to obediently show Han Xiao the terms.

After looking through the list, Han Xiao shook his head in his mind.

The price the federation gave was not as high as the church. After all, this was just ordinary bailing for them.

Tsk tsk, cheeky as always, you lost three people, but you don’t want to pay a huge price?

In your dreams!

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, tapped the table, and said slowly, “Just now, the Arcane Church contacted me and made an interesting proposal.”

“What proposal?”

“They want to buy the Beyond Grade A captives of the federation from me… and they’re willing to pay a high price.”

Han Xiao gave him a meaningful look.

The federation diplomat was startled and quickly said, “D-Did you agree?”

“Hmm, I’m still considering it. However, the price the church gave was quite tempting.”

“You can’t just decide to sell the federation’s important ally to the church, or…” The federation diplomat was just about to threaten Han Xiao when he suddenly realized that he was facing Black Star, who had just cost them a huge loss, so he quickly changed his tone. “Anyhow, as long as you don’t agree to the church’s proposal, we will definitely do something.”

“That will depend on your sincerity and how high a price are you willing to pay to make me reject the church’s offer.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Understood… Understood. I’ll relay your thoughts to the upper echelons immediately and change the compensation terms.”

The federation diplomat wiped off the sweat on his forehead and hastily disconnected.

He knew that Black Star was driving the price up, but there was nothing he could do. Even though he thought he saw through Black Star’s intentions, the only thing he could do was to obediently follow it.

After getting rid of these two, Han Xiao leaned back in his chair and smirked.

If this had happened in the past, the risk of doing something like this would have been very high. However, after this battle, he had showcased more than enough strength to be noticed. Only then would the church and the federation be willing to negotiate with him calmly instead of continuing to plot against him.

With these captives in his hands, he had enough leeway to ask for over the top prices. Even though he had made it clear that he wanted the federation and the church to compete with each other, they could do nothing but put up with it.

This feeling of having the upper hand is indeed great… Han Xiao smiled.

While he was pondering, his communicator rang again. It was Sylvia.

“Army Commander, the galactic star director I told you about a few days ago has arrived at Black Star Palace.”

“So soon?”

“They were in the Flickering World to begin with. I’ve already sent someone to receive them. Should I bring them right to the guest room?”

“Hmm, I’ll go see him now.” Han Xiao stood up.

…

A civilian spaceship parked at the exterior dock of Black Star Palace, and a group of people walked out from it.

At the front was an old man with a large beard and round head. He clearly gave off a vibe of being wealthy. Like a true artsy type, his long hair was swinging. He looked like a boiled egg with hair.

This person was the Crimson Dynasty-born galactic great director, Beny Travol.

As soon as they disembarked from the spaceship, they looked left and right cautiously and chattered among themselves.

“So, this is the Black Star Army’s base. Are all these people mercenaries?”

“They’re all looking at us. Keep it down…”

Having heard his assistants were chattering behind him, Beny Travol frowned and softly yelled, “Keep your mouth shut. If you insult Black Star’s men, you know what the consequences are.”

The others quickly became quiet, looking very cautious.

They had been following Beny Travol for a very long time and were seniors in the entertainment industry. There were people everywhere who wanted to fawn over them. Although they were not considered arrogant, they were still quite proud of themselves.

However, these people did not dare act arrogantly here. The Black Star Army was a top tier armed force that was on a completely different level compared to them. Now that they had entered the headquarters of such a powerful armed force, they naturally felt intimidated.

They knew full well that their influence was nothing compared to someone like this who held real power. Every one of them tucked their tail between their legs and acted humble.

Not long after, a receptionist of the army came and said with a bright smile, “Greetings, Director Beny Travol. Please, follow me. The army commander is waiting for you.”

“Okay, thanks for leading the way,” Beny Travol replied with a smile.

Seeing this, the assistants around were surprised. They knew their own boss all too well. He was always proud; very rarely did he show such a passionate and fawning smile.

They went all the way to the guest room, walked in, and saw Han Xiao sitting at the main seat. Out of panic, they hastily greeted Han Xiao.

Beny Travol quickly walked toward Han Xiao and extended his hand. “Your Excellency Black Star, thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”

“You don’t have to be so formal, sit.”

Han Xiao shook his hand and invited everyone to sit down.

The group sat down one after another with their back straight and butt only taking up the edge of the seat, looking very cautious.

At the same time, they all stared at Han Xiao with respect and obedience, as well as a stiff and fawning smile on their faces. Many of them were quite important people, but now they could only smile.

Han Xiao shook his head. Position meant power. Even though he did not do anything, others would still uncontrollably feel nervous.

He turned to look at Beny Travol, smiled, and asked, “Great director Beny, I heard you want to shoot a documentary about me?”

“That’s right. I’ve seen your files from the beginning to your astonishing rise in the galaxy. You’re a living legend. What you’ve done stimulated my desire to innovate. It will be my honor to shoot a documentary for someone like you…”

Beny Travol cut right to the chase and started explaining the motivation behind all this.

When he came to the exciting parts, his face even became red, and he stood up to make gestures.

Han Xiao observed for a while and realized that this great director was not there just to praise him but really wanted to create an adapted documentary. This was probably one of the effects of his Legendary Points.

This was not strange. To others, what he had achieved was indeed legendary, so having a director want to shoot his life story was not exactly a surprise. After all, many films were adapted from true stories to begin with.

After being continuously praised for a while, Han Xiao felt quite good. Then, he waved and interrupted the saliva-filled speech of the director.

“So, you’re just here to ask for my permission to allow you to shoot a film about me?”

“Not just that.” Beny Travol suddenly became anxious. “I have another request. I hope you can be part of this film as an easter egg…”

These words required courage. He knew that Black Star’s position was way too high. For someone with so much power, Black Star could basically be considered a political figure. This was like a request for the dynasty’s ruler to guest star in his film—it was almost a daydream.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and tapped the table slowly but did not immediately reply.

As his expression changed, the atmosphere instantly cooled to a freezing point. Everyone’s heart started beating faster and faster. No one dared take big breaths. The room became dead silent.

Just as Han Xiao was about to speak, a mission notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

Invitation from a Director

Mission Introduction: A universally known star director hopes to have you take part in the shooting of a film.

Mission Requirements: Star in the film.

Reward: 1,800,000 EXP, random increase in Renown of various Star Fields.

Bonus Reward: Talent – [Celebrity Effect]

[Celebrity Effect]: Others will feel close to you and forgive you more easily.

_____________________

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

What’s this? Forcing me to become a celebrity?

Chapter 1064: An Overly Difficult Mission

1064 An Overly Difficult Mission Han Xiao did not reject the idea of guest-starring in the film. He was not the lead star, so it would not take him too much time.

Furthermore, with how developed the technology was, it would not take long to shoot one film. Plus, they could be watched in many different ways, such as the classic third-person screen, an immersive watching experience where one could step into the environment, or even take over the perspective of the character in the movie. With the development of technology, the expression of films had also become richer.

The [Celebrity Effect]’s effects were not quantified. Feidin had it too, and it was related to the Charisma attribute. Not only would it make gaining Favorability easier, it would also make losing Favorability more difficult even if he offended someone. The name suited the effects it gave quite well.

The effects of the talent looked ambiguous on the surface, but Han Xiao knew that this was actually quite useful. It would help in many situations. Be it business negotiations or daily socializing, it was an excellent ability for networking.

Even if the mission rewards were not considered, this proposal itself was beneficial for Han Xiao. Currently, his reputation was at its peak, but the heat of the news would reduce with time. Furthermore, having such an astonishing achievement as a comparison, the more ordinary deeds would hardly increase his influence and fame.

Therefore, using the entertainment industry to continue to increase his Renown was a great path to take. After all, the entertainment industry had a unique advantage in terms of the attention it received. This would also not damage his reputation while helping the outside world understand him more.

Furthermore, this seemed very suitable for increasing the number of believers.

Hehe, that old man Manison definitely wouldn’t be willing to do the same.

Under the nervous stare of Beny Travol and his assistants, Han Xiao purposely acted like he was pondering for a while. He then nodded and said, “Sure.”

“That’s great!”

Beny Travol was overjoyed. He initially thought he would most likely be rejected, but Han Xiao turned out to be surprisingly friendly.

The nervous atmosphere disappeared instantly. Everyone felt relief followed by excitement—being able to have someone like Black Star cameo in their film was like a dream.

“When do you guys plan to start the project?” Han Xiao asked.

“We’ll have to finalize the script first. Since this will be adapted from your real experience, if possible, we hope you can provide some details. We might even have to organize a few interviews,” Beny Travol said softly.

“That’s easy, as long as I’m free.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Okay okay. When we’ve done the script, we’ll show it to you for you to audit. We’ll only start the shooting after you agree with the script.”

“Hmm.” Han Xiao nodded. He suddenly thought of something and asked, “Do you have any funding issues?”

“Don’t worry, the entertainment industry is quite influential. Plus, this will be your story. There will definitely be a lot of people fighting to fund it. Even the Crimson Dynasty’s ministry of culture might.” Beny Travol was quite confident.

“Alright, come to me if you have any funding issues. I’ll sponsor you.”

Beny Travol was very touched.

Whoa, what a generous man.

He decided that he had to make sure this film turned out amazing. It not only had to be filled with artistic factors but also had to make a great sale.

Having been a director for many years, Beny Travol had both excellent productions and failed ones. While using the noble reason of ‘pursuing art’ to get funding, some projects had not even been able to break even.

It would not be a problem if those films sponsored by ordinary people did not turn out great. He would lose his brand image and money at most. However, if the film sponsored by the Black Star Army turned out not good enough… he might even lose his life. He did not dare slack.

Given the population of this era, the profit in the entertainment industry was beyond imaginable. Occasionally, there were even some films that the entire universe liked and loved, and the profit gained from just one of those would surpass the total value of many small financial groups. It was absolutely bonkers. Han Xiao had no reason not to gain profit from it.

Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and said, “By the way, I want to put someone in the cast.”

“Please do tell.”

Han Xiao brought up Feidin’s image, smiled, and said, “This person. He’s one of my guards, a Calamity Grade Super. He was once a local celebrity. Just give him a character to play.”

“This person…” Beny Travol’s eyes widened.

He did not mind Black Star putting someone in the cast. He had seen this kind of thing happen way too many times. What surprised him was that Black Star was sending him a treasure.

This body! This appearance! This vibe! He’s a born superstar!

Scanning the stunned expression on everyone’s face, Han Xiao chuckled in his mind.

He knew very well how powerful Feidin’s charming aura was. Having Feidin star in the movie would be more than enough to attract a ton of attention and make the promotion multiple times smoother.

Furthermore, Han Xiao did not forget about what Feidin had achieved in his previous life, [The Legend of a Singer], where he used his psychic singing to stop an entire war.

Therefore, to maintain the love and peace of the universe, he decided to make Feidin an idol again!

This was not a sudden thought. He had wanted to use this opportunity to make Feidin the image ambassador of the Black Star Army to gain more popularity, which might even attract more talents. At the same time, he hoped to increase the stock price of the Germinal Financial Group.

After so many years, the Germinal Financial Group was already listed thanks to the help of the army. Its funds at this point were huge.

Many thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind, but he did not reveal them. Maintaining a smile, he chatted with the others in an uplifting atmosphere. In the end, Beny Travol and the others decided to stay awhile in Black Star Palace to gain some insight and material before leaving with joy all over their faces.

After sending them away, Han Xiao told Sylvia to follow up with the matter and then went to chat for some time with Ames to make sure his old friend was receiving enough attention.

Ames, however, was very understanding. She knew that he had many things to deal with, so she did not hurry him. Both Han Xiao and Hila had returned, so she had company there and lived so comfortably she almost did not want to go back.

I don’t have anything to do on Floating Dragon Island. What should I go back for?

What? Jenny?

Who’s that? Never heard of her.

…

Han Xiao returned to his room and bathed out of habit. He came out surrounded by hot water vapor. Without drying himself, he wrapped himself in a bathing robe and lay on his bed while humming. Water droplets slid down his hair and wet his pillow.

Of course, Beyond Grade As’ bodies were pure and free from dirt, so they did not have to bathe. However, Han Xiao enjoyed this feeling of adjusting his senses to have the temperature sense of a normal person. Only then would he be able to have a hot water bath. Otherwise, even lava would feel cold to him.

A few mechanical pets climbed up and circled around Han Xiao. They kept rubbing their bodies on him in an adorable way. There were both cats and dogs, even snakes. They were all mechanical lives with their own independent minds. Their metal bodies had no edges; they were smooth and round. They did not have to eat or excrete and were very easy to take care of.

Ever since Hila gave him a birthday present, Hila had suddenly thought of getting some pets to give his usually cold and quiet bedroom some life.

Han Xiao casually petted his pets for a while. He then leaned back on the bed and opened up the player forums.

The ‘Black Star’s Godlike Battle’ topic had yet to cool down. It even became hotter instead. The Flickering World panel was still filled with it.

There were not only discussions. Many players also took action and left their original faction to join the Black Star Army, giving the player count of the army a boost.

The one-sided faction war had lasted a while. Due to the factions that were named admitting their inferiority, the army’s opponents were powerless. Not only did the shady plan of those foreign clubs not work, they even shot themselves in the foot. The factions they were in had lost a huge number of normal players. This indirectly increased the unity of the army players and shortened the distance between the new and old army players from different countries.

The atmosphere in the Black Star Army had become much better. Although the players from different countries could not be considered friendly toward each other, they had grown to accept others.

On the forums, there was another thing that sparked discussion. After Han Xiao created the [Rescue Hila] Dungeon Crystals, he had placed them in the faction store.

In the following few days, a ton of players had bought the Dungeon Crystal to watch their Army Commander with their lives.

After nonstop effort and hard work, there were already famous dungeon raiders who increased the survival time record to a whopping twenty-nine seconds, earning the respect of countless players.

[Rescue Hila] and [Planet Lighthouse] were now known as the two film-type dungeons, which meant… there was nothing they could do, only watch.

Han Xiao was still browsing the forums with joy when Phillip sent him a message.

“Master, hum… A fleet that has defected from the Beast Ancestor’s organization has arrived at our frontline stronghold in the free competition zone. Onboard are seven Calamity Grade officers previously under the Beast Ancestor’s command, led by one of Gorutan’s Four Admirals, ‘Claw Empress’ Jotina. She has mentioned that she wants to see you by name.”

“See me?”

Han Xiao raised his brows and closed the player forums. He then quickly brought up Jotina’s data and browsed through it. He then started pondering.

He did not know much about Gorutan’s subordinates. Most of them were Gorutan’s tools. Only a few had left an impression on him in his previous life, including Jotina, but not because of the achievements she made.

In his previous life, Jotina secretly worked with other organizations and gave out missions to players that involved destroying all the offspring production warehouses of the Beast Ancestor’s headquarters when Gorutan was not home, releasing all the females that were imprisoned as reproduction machines. Although the plan did not end up succeeding, it still brought the Beast Ancestor a humongous loss. She initially wanted to die together with Gorutan using a psionic energy bomb but failed. In the end, she was torn apart alive by Gorutan.

Knowing that, Han Xiao had a rough guess as to why she was there.

“Okay, I’ll meet her.”

…

In the Emerald Star Cluster, the Black Star frontlines stronghold had already repaired the damage suffered from the Hila Rescue Warfare. The fleet was now patrolling as usual.

At this time, Jotina and the gang were welcomed into the dock. Due to the Beast Ancestor symbol on their spaceships, they attracted the attention of all the army members they passed.

The spaceships parked steadily, and the hatches opened with a swoosh. Jotina led her friends out of the spaceship, ignoring the strange looks on the army members around, and headed toward the guest room following the mechanical receptionist.

“We’re finally here. I wonder if Black Star will keep us. After all, we were his enemies not long ago.”

“Black Star isn’t petty.”

“I’m just not sure if we’re strong enough for him to be interested…”

Jotina did not join the discussion. With a tense expression, she followed the receptionist into the guest room. It was empty.

Hum!

This time, Han Xiao’s remote projection appeared in the room with his hands behind his back. He looked at everyone with coldness as he slowly spoke.

“You wanted to see me?”

“That’s right. We were all under Beast Ancestor’s command. We have been unhappy with him for a very long time but never had the strength to resist. Now you’ve defeated him, so we came to join you, hoping to work for the Black Star Army.

Jotina cut right to the chase while staring at Han Xiao. Clearly, she was very direct.

Although Han Xiao had already guessed, a saying still appeared in his mind…

This is them abandoning evil to take the righteous path, isn’t it?

Han Xiao did not plan to reject them. After all, there were seven Calamity Grades, which was quite an amount of power. Furthermore, Jotina was a rare Beyond Grade A seed with extraordinary potential. She could be of company to Hadavy and Lothaire.

High-quality leeks uprooting themselves up and entering his vegetation field was always something Han Xiao loved to see. However, he could not agree with it too easily. The routine questioning was still needed.

“Why were you unhappy with Gorutan?”

Jotina took a deep breath. Sorrow and anger appeared on her face as she said, “In order to produce high-quality offspring, Gorutan bought countless females of different races from the black market. These females weren’t even granted the freedom to die. The only thing they could do was become a tool of reproduction.

“My mother was one of them. With my very own eyes, I watched her give birth to one offspring after another for years. She died of exhaustion in the end. The high-quality offspring were given a lot of resources and trained well, while the low-quality ones became slaves. Although we’re all related by blood, most people have no emotional connection to others. That place was like a cold and freezing graveyard. Everyone had no choice but to fawn over Gorutan. Not a single day spent there was not filled with hatred and disgust.”

Jotina closed her eyes as she was flooded by the sorrowful memories, only reopening them after a while. Then, she said with a deep voice, “My friends have had the same experience as me. We hate everything Gorutan has created, but we had no choice but to be manipulated by him and assist in his evil deeds. We lived every day in agony and frustration. We’re not afraid of dying. Only through enduring this pain and keeping ourselves alive can we find the chance to change everything. And when you defeated him, we were finally liberated.”

Then, Jotina kneeled onto the ground. The people behind her followed. The entire group kneeled as a gesture of respect.

“We hope you can take us in!”

Jotina pressed her forehead onto the ground and growled emotionally.

“Please take us in!” Everyone else shouted simultaneously as well. The shouting echoed in the room.

Seeing this, Han Xiao pondered a while and nodded. “Since that’s the case, I shall accept you to become members of the Black Star Army.”

The group exhaled with relief and finally stood up.

A smile appeared on Jotina’s face again. Her expression relaxed. It was beautiful. Like her wild personality, her emotions were also directly displayed.

Han Xiao nodded. His tone became friendly as he smiled and said, “Then, we’re all family now. Come to Black Star Palace. I want to see you guys with my own eyes and arrange roles for you. Also, if you want to visit Gorutan’s specimen…”

This time, Jotina interrupted Han Xiao. She wiped the smile off her face and said with a serious tone, “Black Star, I also have a gift as well as a request.”

“Do tell.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Jotina nodded. “The Beast Ancestor’s organization is in shambles now. It’s a great opportunity to split it up. I’m willing to help you obtain the Beast Ancestor’s inheritance. This is my gift to you.”

“And your request?”

“I hope you can destroy the Beast Ancestor’s headquarters and all of the offspring production facilities, releasing all the females and taking in all the young offspring of Beast Ancestor. This is both my request and my gift. Although I hate Gorutan to the core, these young offspring are innocent. Their worldviews have yet to take shape and can still be adjusted. If raised properly, they can become new blood for the army.”

Jotina then looked up and stared at Han Xiao, as if she wanted to see the answer she had been hoping to see for a very long time in Han Xiao’s eyes.

Han Xiao opened the interface, and as he expected, this triggered a mission. However, it was not one mission but two.

The first mission was [Liberate Beast Ancestor’s Organization]. Just like Jotina said, it required him to destroy the Beast Ancestor’s headquarters and free those within. The rewards were Jotina’s Favorability and her Character Summon Card.

The second mission, however, shocked him.

_____________________

Ending the Darkness

Mission Introduction: Life form trafficking is the source of countless tragedies. Jotina hates it with everything she has. Destroying the practice has always been her dream her entire life.

Mission Requirement: End the life form trading industry in Galaxy.

Reward: 1 Trillion EXP, 15 Random Rewards, 3 Universe Legendary Points, 5 Blank Character Summon Cards.

Bonus Reward: [Slave Liberator] Milestone.

[Slave Liberator]: Your relationship with all Lawful Factions will forever be fixed at [Reverence].

_____________________

One trillion experience… Han Xiao was stunned.

This was the craziest mission he had ever seen, as were its rewards, and of course its difficulty.

Eliminate the life form trading industry of the entire universe?

Looking at the population of the entire Galaxy, this was a mission that was impossible to complete. If there was no demand for it, it would never have started in the first place. Even the three Universal Civilizations could not do this, so who else could?

No wonder Jotina only requested that he liberate Beast Ancestor’s organization. She most likely knew that this wish of hers would never be achieved.

Of course, Han Xiao would not expose her. He shook his head, put this matter at the back of his mind, and did not mention it.

“About liberating Beast Ancestor’s organization, you have my word.”

“Then, I’ll be willing to serve you till the end of time.”

Jotina lowered her head, and admiration appeared in her eyes.

Ever since Han Xiao defeated Gorutan, she had viewed Black Star as her idol.

Before she came into contact with Black Star, she had been anxious, afraid that the truth about her idol might disappoint her.

Also, she was afraid that Black Star might mistake her for someone who went whichever way the wind blew, seeing her actions as betraying her old master and going to the winner. She would have been very sad if that was the case.

Now, however, all those worries were gone. Black Star was totally worth her admiration.

Like electricity running through her entire body, she suddenly felt something in her heart. She was a very direct person, and her emotions were easily affected. At this moment, she felt she was in love.

Chapter 1065: The Wolf Is Besieged and Annihilated

1065 The Wolf Is Besieged and Annihilated Ending his long-range projection, Han Xiao opened his eyes within his palace, his emotions overflowing in joy.

“Seven Calamity Grades joined, with one of them even being a Beyond Grade A seed. This wave of talents is good quality.”

He had only been interested in the resources accumulated by the Beast Ancestor and did not covet the latter’s offspring because both sides were enemies after all. Even if he were to forcefully accept the troops and force the descendants to work for him, there would always be resistance.

There was also a chance that they would not put in their best effort, and their numbers would allow them to pollute the army and form a faction, which would become a ticking time bomb.

A melon that is forcefully plucked will not be sweet.

The losses would outweigh the gains. Furthermore, the Black Star Army was already part of the Lawful Faction, so they could not go too overboard. At the same time, they did not lack manpower in the army at the moment, so he was not interested in poaching the manpower of the Beast Ancestor.

That being said, if it was those who decided to voluntarily pledge themselves to the Black Star Army, he naturally would not reject them.

“The majority of people from the rebel faction are still waiting, and Jotina’s batch is only the first wave of guinea pigs. There will definitely be more of them in the future. Even I don’t know the exact number.”

Han Xiao did not wish to capture all these people in one go, as each individual had their own ambitions. Some of them might not necessary chose to defect to him if they were to betray the Beast Ancestor Organization. Some would choose to resign completely, burying their lives and living in a low-profile manner.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao temporarily put this matter aside and summoned Phillip.

“Notify Herlous and Sylvia. Tell them to mobilize the soldiers of the Shattered Star Ring to send a fleet over to the Beast Ancestor’s base to free all the slaves and to destroy his offspring cultivation assembly line.”

Due to the high difficulty level of the mission [Ending the Darkness], he could not progress in it at the moment. In contrast, the other missions were quite simple, and since he had already given the other party his word, Han Xiao swung into action. With Jotina joining him, he would also have sufficient reason to send out troops.

Furthermore, since Gorutan had brought out a large number of elites, his base was quite empty. Thus, it also reduced the difficulty. As long as the fleet brought along his own avatar as a guarantee, there should not be any accidents.

This group of guys who had forsaken the darkness for the light brought Han Xiao plenty of good news. However, there was one detail that made Han Xiao sit up and take notice.

He always felt that the look Jotina had in her eyes seemed a little bit too eager…

It was like how he normally looked at Feidin.

…

In the stronghold of the Beast Ancestor’s base in the Emerald Star Cluster, after Jotina and her group broke out, the atmosphere became silent and cold. There was less chatter. They were obviously brothers and sisters, but the looks they exchanged were filled with vigilance, and more thoughts were hiding behind their poker faces.

As the people’s hearts changed, the undercurrents surged.

Jotina was the first defector, and there were still many more of the cautious rebels watching the situation. Seeing that she had a good start, more of them started to get ready to move.

Within a secret room, a group of people from the rebel factions gathered together quietly. Their leader was a prestigious Calamity Grade officer, ‘Boa Constrictor’ Schneider. While he was not at the level of the four major officers, he was still one of the more influential officers, an elite combatant who combined his Pugilist skills with his innate toxin talents.

“I believe you know my purpose behind gathering all of you.” Schneider looked around, his eyes stopping for a while on the stronger officers before continuing, “There’s news from Sister Jotina, she says that Black Star has already accepted them. They have found a good home.”

No one present spoke, waiting for him to finish.

Seeing this, Schneider said, “The loyal faction fought with Jotina and suffered heavy losses. They probably no longer wish to waste any more strength in dealing with the defectors. It’s about time for us to leave as well. I know that there are a few among us that do not wish to defect to another organization and wish to be independent. All of this can wait for when we leave. For those that are unwilling to follow and walk your own paths, we will meet again somewhere in the universe and reminisce about our familial ties then.”

After he was done, the room remained quiet for a moment before someone finally spoke out.

“That’s right. It’s time for us to leave. In another few days, it will be my troops’ turn to patrol. This is our chance, and it’s best to avoid any conflict with the loyalists.”

As soon as the silence was broken, everyone spoke in a rush. Everyone with some influence in the audience offered suggestions, brainstorming for the rebellion.

Meanwhile, a few of the loyalists were also having a secret meeting.

“Did you hear? It seems like the group of traitors from Jotina’s side joined the Black Star Army.”

“Where did this news come from? Is it reliable?”

“Many people saw their spaceship headed toward the stronghold of the Black Star Army, and after entering, they never came out. Furthermore, among that rebel faction that has a lot of hidden thoughts, there has been quite a bit of intelligence leaking out, so it should be accurate.”

One of them said in a deep voice, “If it’s true, then we can implement a bold plan. Let our people pretend to defect and enter the Black Star Army. We’ll find a chance to rescue Lord Father.”

“But… Black Star is a Beyond Grade A Mechanic. It’s hard to even be able to steal anything under his nose. Furthermore, there is no solution for the Spacetime Amber; even the three Universal Civilizations are left befuddled.”

“Lord Father has so painstakingly raised us. He’s our respected patriarch. Only we can help him now, so even if the odds are slim, we still have to try,” someone else replied firmly.

“Alright… but there’s still another problem. The defectors definitely know our allegiances, and the loyal factionists who attempt to defect will definitely be seen through.”

“This is a good question. After being together for so long, one cannot just break into the group of rebels…”

Everyone hesitated.

Jotina’s incident had provided hope to the loyalists. Some of them wanted to stage a rescue of Gorutan, who was made into a specimen. After all, he was just sealed and not dead yet.

At this time, the sound of a communicator rang, breaking the stale atmosphere in the room like a roar of thunder on a sunny day.

The leader looked at his communicator and said, “Byram has gathered all the officers to discuss our future plans.”

Everyone did not feel any surprise. After Gorutan’s fall, this sort of meeting had been held many times. Without a decision maker, the affairs of the organization could now only be decided by a large majority of the officers agreeing. However, everyone had their own plans, so there was no unified opinion.

The group of loyalists left the room, rushing toward the large conference room.

At this moment, the conference room was almost full of people. All those present were officers with a certain amount of influence, and the scene was as rowdy as a scene in a marketplace. The three factions of loyalist, rebels, and neutrals distinguished themselves clearly, all looking at each other with cold glares.

This group of loyalists immediately spotted Schneider and glared at him before finding their places.

Schneider did not care about their attitude. He had also heard the news when he was in his secret meeting and rushed over.

After waiting a while longer, all the officers were finally present. Byram was the last to enter, and he closed the door to the conference room. Under everyone’s gaze, he slowly walked up to the rostrum before looking down from his vantage point at everyone.

“What happened, for you to convene us again?” one of the officers demanded. The person in question was one of the Four Generals.

“We haven’t finished discussing the previous topic, so today, we’ll continue to discuss the future of our organization.” Byram calmly smiled before he changed the topic. “However, before that, let me introduce someone to you.”

Everyone frowned. From Byram’s attitude, they noticed something was wrong.

It was at this moment that a wave of magic appeared in the room, and a blue circle representing a transportation door appeared beside Byram.

Hum!

A foot slowly stepped out of the portal, and a strong sense of oppression soon followed. The air in the room seemed to freeze instantly.

The Secret Master walked out before waving a hand to close the transportation door. With his hands behind his back, he gazed at everyone present with an expression of indifference.

The entire room turned silent.

At this time, Byram broke the silence with a smile in his voice.

“I believe everyone is familiar with the Secret Master, who is also a patron of the Galactic Black Market just like Lord Father.

“Byram, what’s the meaning of this‽”

The group of loyalists immediately stood up, suppressing their anger as they questioned him.

In reality, everyone understood that Byram, who was part of the neutral faction, had already initiated a relationship with the Secret Master. Under the guise of a meeting, he had gathered all the officers so that the Secret Master could catch them all at once and control everyone.

He was going to present this stronghold and all the officers present to the Secret Master!

Byram only smiled in response. His gaze shifted to the Secret Master, and he explained, “Since Lord Father was captured, countless organizations have been watching us, wishing to divide us. Without a Beyond Grade A holding the helm, we’ve been a mess. Secret Master is an old friend of Lord Father, so he has decided to grant us asylum to help us weather our difficulties.”

Yes, spin, continue to spin your story!

Everyone cursed in their heart. The neutrals were surprised, the rebels had heavy hearts, and the loyalists were enraged.

The Secret Master took in everybody’s expressions before coldly speaking. “The situation is as thus. Gorutan and I have been partners for a long time, and I cannot just watch as his descendants split. I’ll temporarily take in the Beast Ancestor’s organization, and when the situation stabilizes, I’ll hand the rights back to you.”

F*ck your mom, what sympathy and what partners? Do you think we all have amnesia‽

Everyone gritted their teeth.

The Secret Master did not have an organization of the Black Star Army’s scale, so the warriors under the command of the Beast Ancestor were one of the resources he wished to gain.

Because he was not a direct enemy like Black Star, he would not need to worry about the issue of them taking revenge. Furthermore, he was also a patron of the Galactic Black Market, so it was more reasonable for him to receive the Beast Ancestor’s organization. His own organization already consisted of many mixed forces, belonging to the gray side, so there was no need to worry about suffering from indigestion from being unable to digest the Beast Ancestor’s troops.

This was merely an excuse for the Secret Master to embezzle the power of the Beast Ancestor, but even if the loyalists were angry, they dared not stand up against it.

The Secret Master had already spoken.

If you still do not know what’s good for you, then you won’t even have time to regret if this pinnacle Beyond Grade A here destroys you.

Thus, no one retorted after the Secret Master finished speaking, as though they all silently agreed.

At this moment, Schneider slowly stood up, attracting the eyes of everyone present, including the Secret Master.

He took a deep breath before speaking in a respectful tone.

“Many thanks to Your Excellency Secret Master for your generosity. Your asylum is something we urgently need, and I agree that you have to take over Lord Father’s organization for the time being.”

“Hmm, not bad.”

Secret Master nodded, feeling that this kid was on the right path.

However, this impression was destroyed by Schneider’s next sentence. “However, I’ve already grown tired of this kind of life, and I don’t wish to continue fighting in the universe. Now, I just wish to live the life of an ordinary person. Your Excellency, I’m not going against you, but everyone has their own ambitions. Please allow me to retire.”

Secret Master did not think much about it, replying, “You’re blessed with a Calamity Grade level combat power. To retire just like that would be a pity. I hope you will continue to find the passion in your current post. I’m optimistic about you, so don’t talk about resigning anymore. Sit down.”

Schneider gritted his teeth before mustering up the courage to speak again. “Your Excellency Secret Master. I wish to take a period of leave. My sister has defected to the Black Star Army, and I wish to tell her not to worry about things back home.”

Once this sentence was spoken, it could be considered as stating his stand. He implied that he did not wish to work under Secret Master but rather wished to lean toward Black Star.

Secret Master narrowed his eyes and stared at him. The pressure within the room got steadily stronger.

Only when Schneider started to sweat did Secret Master finally reply.

“I feel that there’s no need for that. When I formally take over, the universe will naturally receive the news. There’s no need to take unnecessary steps.”

Hearing this, Schneider as well as the people in the rebel factions all sighed in their hearts.

The attitude of Secret Master was clear. Even if he knew that they wanted to go over to Black Star, he still chose to detain everyone, not allowing any officers to leave in order to control them.

“Ha…” Schneider sighed before sitting down, an expression of regret on his face.

If he had known of this development, he would have acted more aggressively and taken action with Jotina. He was a step late.

The faces of the rebels were ugly, and their current emotions could be described as ‘being there in body but not in spirit’.

…

Secret Master publicly placed a magical imprint on all the officers to monitor their actions before speaking in a high-handed manner, emphasizing how deep his relationship was with Gorutan, and after spending so much time together, how they were practically brothers.

The crowd secretly rolled their eyes as they listened to the bullsh*t Secret Master was spouting. When the end of the meeting was announced, they could not wait to get up and leave the room, as though they were fleeing.

Soon, there were only two people left in the conference room. Byram came up to the Secret Master and smiled.

“Your Excellency Secret Master, congratulations on absorbing the troops of the Beast Ancestor.”

“This is only the first step. The Beast Ancestor still has many other camps and Star Fields.”

“I understand, but most of the people he has brought over to the Flickering World are important officers, and since you’re controlling them, you’re basically controlling almost half of the Beastman Organization.”

“Hmm. Anyways, you’ve done a good job. When this matter comes to an end, I’ll definitely reward you for your achievements.” The Secret Master nodded.

Hearing this, Byram’s smile grew wider.

After Jotina defected, Byram also decided to find a way out. It happened that Secret Master was also plotting on taking over the Beast Ancestor’s army, so both sides started communicating with each other and hit it off. Byram thus decided to assist the Secret Master.

The reason he did not choose Black Star was partly because the loyalist faction would never agree to submit under Black Star. Also, if he presented such a gift to their enemy, when news got out, his reputation would be ruined. Considering both factors, it was better to work with Secret Master instead.

Byram walked away in excitement, and after sending him off, Secret Master’s lips curled up in a sneer.

“Humph, merely a person who goes whichever way the wind blows.”

Shaking his head, Secret Master took out his communicator to contact Sorokin.

After three rings, the call was connected. Sorokin’s visage appeared on the screen, carrying a meaningful smile.

“Your Excellency Secret Master, have you managed to absorb the Beast Ancestor’s troops?”

“The initial steps are done.” Secret Master nodded. “However, it seems like Black Star has already stepped in. There are people who wish to defect to him…”

Sorokin smiled in response. “Relax, Black Star’s commanders are plentiful like the clouds, and he definitely will not target the Beast Ancestor’s troops so desperately. Anyway, there’s no reason not to be afraid to offend him. If you still feel unsafe, after absorbing the troops, just give Black Star suitable compensation, and he will not pursue this further.”

“Let’s talk about this when it comes.” Secret Master did not agree or disagree.

He was a mature person and wished to befriend Black Star. However, he also wished to obtain the Beast Ancestor’s troops, seemingly wanting to have his cake and eat it too. Since Black Star was not hard up for these people, he was not picking someone else’s fruits.

Sorokin paused for a moment before changing the topic. “So, about my suggestion, what are your thoughts?”

Secret Master narrowed his eyes. “You wish to use the position of shareholder in the Limitless Financial Group that was vacated by Galactic Black Market in exchange for the position of Protector of the Galactic Black Market. This idea is not bad at all.”

“Hehe, I’m a businessman and will only talk about business. Since Gorutan has fallen, I’ll require a new partner.” Sorokin smiled faintly.

During the time he worked with Gorutan, Sorokin had already penetrated many different industries within the Galactic Black Market. If he had the identity of a Protector, he would be able to officially open a business within the Galactic Black Market and could incorporate the entire Galactic Black Market into the business empire of his Limitless Financial Group. This was a huge profit that was simply incalculable!

Even Sorokin who sat on astronomical assets could not help but move!

Thus, no too long ago, he had gotten in touch with the Secret Master and proposed a deal in which the wolf would be besieged and annihilated—the original shareholder position would be handed over to the Secret Master, while the other party would aid him in obtaining the status of Protector in the Galactic Black Market.

After he proposed this transaction, Secret Master did not immediately reject him, but he did not agree either.

From the perspective of Secret Master, without Gorutan, he would be able to gobble up more shares of the Galactic Black Market. If he introduced a financial giant like Sorokin, it would be equivalent to attracting a wolf into the room. After all, no one knew what Sorokin intended to do.

However, if he exchanged it with the identity of a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group, this would involve more legitimate businesses, and his profits would also increase. Thus came the Secret Master’s dilemma.

Hearing Sorokin bring this up again, Secret Master snorted.

“I’ll be honest, although the condition to become a Protector is to be a Beyond Grade A, with your strength, it seems hard for you to obtain the identity.”

Sorokin smiled mysteriously. “Wouldn’t this be better for you?”

Secret Master remained silent. It seemed as though he agreed with the statement.

He pondered for a while before speaking. “I can try to help you deal with and persuade the other two Protectors, as well as the administrators…”

Sorokin’s eyes lit up, knowing that this was the start to their partnership. His smile grew wide.

“Many thanks to Your Excellency Secret Master. I’ll keep the vacant seat of shareholder for the Limitless Financial Group open for you.”

“Hmm.” Secret Master answered indifferently before hanging up.

Chapter 1066: Concession from the dynasty, the Universe Celebrates

1066 Concession from the dynasty, the Universe Celebrates Ka la ka la…

The sound of machinery being assembled reverberated in the private workshop, and the flashing Mechanical Force was like flexible blue tentacles, manipulating the robotic arms to create a totally new King mechanical suit.

Han Xiao was fully absorbed, watching the details of the mechanical suit in his hands step by step.

When the last piece of outer armor plate was attached to the chest area of the King, his interface pinged as a notification appeared.

_____________________

You have built a Gold Grade equipment (Universal Treasure).

_____________________

“Huu…”

Han Xiao’s tense expression finally eased up, and he slowly exhaled.

This was the second Gold-grade mechanical suit of the King. With his successful experience from the last time as well as the bonuses granted by [Universal Treasure Creator] and [Spirit Instrument], he still had to attempt it five times before succeeding. Still, that was much better than his previous attempt.

Han Xiao intended to pass this second mechanical suit to Hila. While this was exclusive equipment for Mechanics and Hila could not enjoy the bonuses attached, Han Xiao only wanted to utilize its transmission function to provide a safety guarantee for Hila.

Moreover, he was not intending to stop at two. Han Xiao had to create a few spare sets for himself and maybe also one set for Ames. The manufacturing time was not the limiting factor now. Rather, the cost was.

The King was equivalent to the cost of an entire fleet, and if it did not reach the Gold Grade, it would be a huge loss. He currently could not guarantee that he could churn out a Universal Treasure Grade each time and would inevitably waste a lot of Enas. Even if the Black Star Army was rich and powerful, the cost pained him.

Han Xiao could not help but sigh. “As a Mechanic, you can’t not know how to make money.”

He glanced at the Attribute Panel. Because it was his second time creating the King, the [Spirit Instrument] did not award him with new God’s Trait Transformation points, nor did it unlock a new layer of bonuses for him. There was only the benefit of a reallocation for his Attribute Points.

Furthermore, due to it being the same blueprint, the efficiency of attribute point reallocation had also decreased, from the previous 200 points to 160 points. It was a pity his Luck did not get reallocated this time, but he received a reallocation from his Charisma, which was not too bad. Anyway, he had always been shameless… He did not care about his face.

The 160 Free Attribute Points were put on standby, and Han Xiao stuffed the second King into a maintenance box for mechanical suits, sending a random mechanical soldier to give it to Hila.

It was worth mentioning that this special maintenance box was already Orange Grade equipment, which served to nurture the mechanical suit. Placing a mechanical suit inside it for a long time would improve a certain basic attribute of the mechanical suit. As a pinnacle Beyond Grade A Mechanic, everything that Han Xiao used was only the best.

After completing all his work, Han Xiao rubbed his eyes and stretched his waist. He did not have anything to do in camp, and other than dealing with daily tasks, he was only in the workshop repairing his Apostle Weapons and building Universal Treasures.

“Time to relax. I shall go and watch the others play cards.”

Just as Han Xiao was about to walk about, his communicator rang. The indicator showed that it was a call from a high ranking official of the Crimson Dynasty.

“The dynasty is finally willing to contact me. Have they finally come to a conclusion on how to deal with me?”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he accepted the call. A remote projection of a high-ranking official appeared. This was the person-in-charge of contacting Han Xiao, so he was already familiar with them.

“Your Excellency Black Star.” The official nodded. “It’s been a long time.”

“Good day to you too.” Han Xiao nodded, and he asked as if unaware, “What do you have for me?”

“Heh, I know you like things to be handed directly, so I shall not waste your time. The dynasty’s upper echelons are planning to release a plan related to you, and I would like to obtain your opinions and negotiate.”

“What sort of plan?”

“The dynasty intends to temporarily open the sales of the Evolutionary Totem to the universe, no longer limiting it to her allies. However, because the Evolution Cube is its energy source and it’s in your hands, the dynasty wants to know your attitude toward this matter.” The official smiled.

Han Xiao’s heart skipped a beat, and an expression of joy spread across his face.

While he knew that there was this probability, having it confirmed gave him a lot of excitement.

All the while, the Crimson Dynasty had controlled the sales channels of the Evolutionary Totem and did not allow it to enter the free market, only allowing her allies to purchase it. This was an agreement between Han Xiao and the dynasty. If these restrictions were lifted, every civilization in the universe would become his customer, which would bring him immense profits.

Furthermore, this was not a one-off sale. The Evolutionary Totem could run for up to twenty years, after which it had to be recharged with the Evolution Cube, just like refueling it. Thus, the subsequent maintenance costs could be considered a steady stream of huge benefits, which was like a business opportunity of endless profits.

The Crimson Dynasty had jammed the rights to publicly sell the Evolutionary Totem, wishing to control this income. The only way to do that was to get the Evolution Cube from Han Xiao, as it was unwilling to allow a non-direct ally to control such an important strategic treasure. Thus, both sides had been wrangling over this issue, and their relationship had soured.

Now, the dynasty was finally willing to open up the purchase channels of the Evolutionary Totem and finally made a concession, taking the initiative to ease the relationship between both sides. The reason behind their action was no doubt due to the influence of Black Star’s Godlike Battle. They were thus willing to temporarily hand over the huge profits to Han Xiao.

While excited, Han Xiao still caught a key point. “Temporarily? So, how long would that be?”

The official shook his head. “I don’t know about such exact details. Even the upper echelons probably have not set a date.”

That meant, the moment he did something wrong, this could all end…

Han Xiao knew that the dynasty’s move was not only a win-win situation but also an indirect method of control. The moment he got used to the huge gains or the rapid expansion, or when his army could no longer separate itself from the capital flow brought about by this business, the dynasty would have a new way to manipulate him. He also understood this point. After all, the dynasty was a Universal Civilization and would never allow themselves to back off. Now that they were willing to make concessions and show respect, it was good enough for him.

“Alright, I have no objections. When do we begin?” Han Xiao agreed.

“The duration has yet to be determined, but the duration it takes to implement this should take about half a year to a year to prepare. However, within the time of three days to half a month, this decree will be announced to the universe, so we have to quickly agree to a benefits distribution plan,” the dynasty official stated.

Because the previous cooperation mainly dealt with the dynasty and her allies, there were many preferential discounts. For the sales to the rest of the universe, be it Han Xiao or the dynasty, both wished to inflate the price significantly to fleece the outsiders. Therefore, distribution plans had to be reformulated.

Han Xiao thought for a while before replying. “In that case… I’ll have the business team under me contact you directly, and we shall strive to negotiate a suitable result as soon as possible.”

The Germinal Financial Group under the army had raised a group of business negotiation experts, who could come in handy regarding this matter. Furthermore, he had Iapetus, who was an executive of the financial group and a master in this field.

Because he was holding onto the Evolution Cube, the majority of profits would belong to him, but the dynasty still had to obtain a cut. After all, it had helped to bear the pressure for so long, so he could not act as though they had done nothing. Moreover, the Crimson Dynasty would still provide him assistance in logistics, transportation, and the supply of raw materials in the future. After all, the market of the entire universe was too huge, and the current Black Star Army could not cover the entire universe alone.

Both parties discussed a little more before they hung up. The moment Han Xiao thought of how the army was about to obtain a huge profit channel with a steady stream of money, his good mood took a turn for the better.

Suddenly, a past thought flashed across his mind, and Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed as a ridiculing smile surfaced.

“The moment the Crimson Dynasty announces this decree, I can go to the Limitless Financial Group… Heh, you thought that by taking back your commercial suppression on me, everything would go back to normal? How could there be such a good thing in this world!”

…

In the Emerald Star Cluster, within an actual combat training ground of the Beast Ancestor’s stronghold…

Boom!

The fist with fingers curled up like the claws of a leopard was entwined in a black energy glow, and it directly connected with the abdomen of a body. The skin and muscles ripped in a ring due to the tremendous force, and the resulting shock wave blew the target away like a cannonball, hitting the wall of the training ground heavily with a bang.

Schneider withdrew his fist, and the toxic energy circling him also faded. He indifferently said, “Let’s stop here.”

He did not even look at his opponent from the loyalist faction, who had challenged him to a spar but gotten easily defeated. He only picked up the windbreaker he threw to the side before walking out of the training ground.

Ordinarily, Schneider would not even bother to respond to the challenges of others, but right now, he was in a bad mood and was venting his frustrations.

Schneider lamented the fact that everyone was now controlled by the Secret Master and forbidden to leave the stronghold.

Beep beep!

At this moment, his communicator rang. He saw that it was a call from his elder sister Jotina.

The moment he connected, Jotina yelled in dissatisfaction, “When I invited you to leave the Beast Ancestor Organization together, you said to wait and see. Now, even after so long, you haven’t brought your team and left yet‽ What’s going on‽”

Schneider revealed an expression of resignation, and he softly replied, “Big Sis, it’s not that I don’t wish to leave. There’s been a small incident.”

“What incident?” Jotina frowned.

“It’s His Excellency Secret Master…” Schneider hesitated upon recalling the imprint that Secret Master put on them, but he resolutely decided to speak the truth. “He has expressed his intention to help manage the Beast Ancestor’s troops, and make us work for him. Now, none of us can leave the stronghold, and I’ve also been trapped.”

Jotina was furious as she expected better from him. “I told you to leave sooner, but you just refused to listen. Now look what happened! You’re useless! A shame to me!”

She ranted on and on, and Schneider could only mutely accept her cursing.

Because the rebel faction’s source of hatred was based on the miserable experiences of their birth mothers, they appeared far more humane compared to the other two factions. There was a true brother-sister bond within the people of the faction, and it was the case for Schneider and Jotina. They had grown up together, and Schneider had been afraid of her since he was a child.

Jotina continued to curse for a while before finally holding back when she saw Schneider’s sullen look. She asked, “If you’re unwilling to work under Secret Master, you should find a chance to escape.”

Schneider shook his head and sighed. “The Secret Master has already said that escaping without authorization will be regarded as betrayal, and he has also left a magical imprint on us. Even if we could escape, how could we outrun a Beyond Grade A?”

Toward the siblings that she recognized, Jotina had a soft heart and could not bear to see Schneider’s plight. After struggling for a while, she suddenly said, “Are you willing to join the Black Star Army?”

“Of course, but there’s no more chance for me now.” Schneider sighed.

Hearing this, Jotina gritted her teeth. “Don’t lose hope yet. I’ll go and beg the Army Commander for help!”

After she spoke, she did not even wait for Schneider to reply, immediately hanging up.

Schneider held onto the communicator with the busy dial tone, a helpless expression on his face.

“Beg Black Star for help? How is that possible/”

He sighed, not holding any hope at all.

Just thinking about it, as people previously under the flag of the Beast Ancestor, defectors at that, why would Black Star offend another pinnacle Beyond Grade A for Calamity Grades like them?

…

The former palace of the Beast Ancestor was now converted to a resting place for Secret Master.

Gorutan’s huge throne had been placed in the Secret Master’s alchemy storage bottle as a war prize, and he had replaced Gorutan’s seat with his own throne.

At this moment, Secret Master sat on the throne, browsing the information regarding the officers in the organization, whilst Byram stood at the side, ready to answer a question if needed.

His communicator rang, and when Secret Master glanced at it, his facial expression turned solemn.

His expression as though he had met with a life-threatening situation stunned Byram, and he secretly began guessing who was on the line to cause the Secret Master to show such a drastic expression.

At this moment, Secret Master waved his hand and coldly remarked, “Leave.”

Hearing that, Byram could only bid his farewell in resignation and leave despite his curiosity. While he considered himself the new confidant of the Secret Master, he did not dare step beyond the rules.

When he was left alone in the room, Secret Master connected to the communication channel with a solemn expression.

“Black Star, what are you calling for?”

Han Xiao’s hearty laughter came from the communicator.

“Hahaha, Secret Master, you seem to be a little nervous.”

“You’re thinking too much.”

Secret Master’s brain was overclocking at the moment. While he wished to befriend Black Star, he could not help having a somewhat guilty conscience.

Han Xiao smiled. “While we had a conflict on the issue of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, the matter has been resolved. Furthermore, there’s no enmity between us. If we must say, I also gave you quite a big boon.”

“What boon did you provide?”

“You still need to ask? It’s the Beast Ancestor. Didn’t you warn me the other time so that I would get rid of Gorutan? Both of you were Protectors, so there would definitely have been a conflict of interest. Helping you get rid of him means that you can take over his markets. Isn’t that doing you a favor?”

“Indeed, you have indirectly helped me.” Secret Master did not refute it.

“Since I’ve helped you, you can help me with a favor that I require now.” Han Xiao blinked before saying in a meaningful tone, “I heard that you’ve taken over the Beast Ancestor’s troops. Don’t worry, I’m not interested in them. As a twisted melon will never be sweet, I leave it to you to handle them. However, it seems like there are a few who wish to defect. I’d like you not to restrict those who wish to defect to me.”

Secret Master’s eyes changed slightly. He was a little unwilling to part with these Calamity Grade officers just like that.

Furthermore, if he chose to give such a concession, there would definitely be other officers who used defecting over to Black Star as an excuse. At that time, should he let them go as well? In this way, his gains from taking over the Beast Ancestor’s organization would be reduced substantially, and many of the Calamity Grade talents would also be lost.

But since Black Star had called, it meant that he knew of him detaining the Beastmen. If he did not agree, he would end up offending Black Star, and with the latter’s current tough stance, it might result in conflicts. He still wished to befriend Black Star, but he was not willing to lose too much for it.

While he found it a pity in his heart, Secret Master did not hesitate much. He was not willing to offend Black Star for a few Calamity Grades. “Alright, I’ll only release those who wish to defect to you.”

“That’s great!” Han Xiao burst out into a genuine laugh.

The two of them suppressed their inner emotions, pretending to be good friends and brothers, chatting for a while more before hanging up.

The moment he put down the communicator, Secret Master’s expression collapsed. He summoned Byram and ordered, “Bring Schneider’s group over.”

Byram was a little confused, but he did as he was told.

Very quickly, Schneider and the rebels were gathered in the palace, staring at Secret Master on the throne with a complicated, helpless, and unhappy expression.

Secret Master was expressionless. “Who here wishes to defect to the Black Star Army?”

A commotion occurred in the crowd. Everyone looked at each other. What was Secret Master trying to do?

Could this be a test, to kill the chickens in an attempt to warn the monkeys, in order to ward off further rebellious thoughts?

Everyone suddenly turned vigilant, feeling that they had stumbled onto the truth, and rushed to show their loyalty.

“How could that be? We’re willing to accept the protection of Secret Master.”

“We’re all siblings and can communicate easily. I love this place so much, so how could I defect elsewhere?”

Seeing this scene, Secret Master only felt a growing headache.

If it was someone, he could use their current words as an excuse to give a perfunctory response, but Secret Master did not intend to play any tricks on Black Star, so he was currently a little depressed.

The current situation could be described as akin to a drama.

Underlings: “Secret Master Father, we really do not wish to go to Black Star.”

Secret Master: “No, think about it again. Quickly scram to acknowledge your true father.”

Taking a deep breath, Secret Master regained his calmness. A surge of momentum was released from him, and he solemnly said, “Less bullsh*t. Those who wish to defect to Black Star, I will not stop you, nor am I toying with you. Those who wish to leave, hurry up and scram.”

Those people who were still professing their loyalty suddenly felt an irresistible pressure and discovered that the Secret Master was not trying to test them. They all stopped in their tracks, stunned.

What’s the matter? Didn’t you restrict everyone a while ago. Why are you suddenly freeing us?

Is Secret Master that fickle?

Byram’s eyes flickered, and he thought about the call that Secret Master had received previously. He came to the conclusion that it was likely Black Star.

To actually sway Secret Master with just a few words, could it be that Secret Master was that afraid of Black Star?

Byram was secretly surprised.

Within the crowd, Schneider suddenly thought of his call with Jotina two hours ago.

“It can’t be wrong. Black Star must have played a part in this, or else there’s no other way to explain it…”

He discovered that Secret Master’s expression was quite ugly, as though he was unwilling to do so.

In Schneider’s view, Jotina had just joined the Black Star Army, and she could not have much sway. For Black Star to help her so unhesitatingly, it had to be because he placed some importance in them.

While he did not know if his conjecture was right, Schneider could not help but feel moved, and he had the urge to even die for Black Star.

It seems like Jotina’s right. Black Star is indeed a worthy figure to defect to.

…

Because it was a private deal, the departure of Schneider and the rest did not cause any waves.

It was only seven to eight days later, when the government of the Crimson Dynasty issued a decree without warning, that the entire universe suddenly erupted!

The content of the decree was simple. The dynasty had decided to open up the right to purchase Evolutionary Totems to the entire universe, starting in one year!

The fight between the three Universal Civilizations for the Evolutionary Totem was not a matter that had happened a day or two ago. Thus, when this news was released, it caused massive waves and an uproar. Countless civilizations went crazy.

The dynasty had finally thought it through!

The entire universe, however, knew that the Crimson Dynasty would not make such a move without any motives behind them. For them to come out with such a decision, it likely had to do with the recent matters.

And everyone knew that the recent major matter at the universe-level was Black Star’s Godlike Battle!

Everyone understood the cause and effect of the two events.

Being shocked by Black Star’s record, the dynasty had finally compromised and actively given in, allowing Black Star to control the Evolutionary Totem business with his Evolution Cube!

A Universal Civilization, especially a stubborn boss such as the Crimson Dynasty, actually compromised for a Beyond Grade A!

When had this last happened‽

When they figured this out, the countless Galactic Civilizations and residents were shocked beyond words.

But on the other hand, the Arcane Church and the Federation of Light were delighted.

By showing his prestige, Black Star had moved the Crimson Dynasty to open up the Evolutionary Totem sales. For this reason, it was worthwhile for them to have lost a few Beyond Grade As.

We were walking on the wrong path all along!

If they had known that putting pressure of the dynasty would not be of use, they would have just sent a bunch of people over to Black Star, allowing him to rack up an incredible battle record. Then, they would have gotten their desires that much earlier!

The dynasty’s decree set off a wave of public opinion across the universe, further skyrocketing Han Xiao’s records and personal prestige. He alone now overwhelmed the rays given off by all Beyond Grade As.

While the news and rumors were spreading like wildfire throughout the universe, the Limitless Financial Group’s branch within the Flickering World welcomed an unexpected guest.

Chapter 1067: An Offer You Can“t Refuse

1067 An Offer You Can“t Refuse This was a large commercial planet located in the Dawn Star Cluster. The sky was filled with anti-gravity flying vehicles, like a river of steel diagonally hanging in the air.

There were many tall buildings located at the center of the planet’s capital city. One of the buildings stood out from the rest, towering into the clouds, and its structure was akin to the double helix structure of a gene sequence. The outer wall of the building was pure white, and its corners would occasionally flash with blue lights. It exuded a sense of technological advancement and art.

At the top of the building, there were eight anti-gravity suspensions holding up a helipad, similar to a floating island, shielding the ‘∞’ shaped signboard in the middle. It was the emblem of the Limitless Financial Group. This was a subdivision of the Limitless Financial Group. Unlike armed forces, unless there were special circumstances, commercial organizations would not build bases everywhere like the warlords.

A small aircraft from the atmosphere slowly descended on the helipad of the Limitless Financial Group branch. Han Xiao got out of the cabin, stepping onto the platform.

“Welcome, Your Excellency Black Star.”

Not far away, the receptionist who had been waiting for a long time quickly came up to greet him. Black Star had notified the Limitless Financial Group of his impending visit. Thus, they had arranged for a receptionist to guide him.

Han Xiao hummed in response, his face remaining expressionless. “Where’s Sorokin?”

“His Excellency Sorokin is already awaiting you in the reception room. Please follow me.”

The reception staff respectfully responded, leading the way.

Han Xiao followed him into the subdivision of the Limitless Financial Group, taking a private elevator to a certain floor.

When the elevator doors opened, a spacious area came into view. In the center of the room was a sofa and a table, and the four corners of the room were surrounded by exotic blue and green plants. The walls were completely made up of floor-to-ceiling windows. No other furniture was present, as though this entire floor was only used as a reception room.

Sorokin sat on the sofa, waiting. As Han Xiao approached, he stood up with a smile on his face. “Your Excellency Black Star, please have a seat.”

The elevator doors then closed, leaving only the two of them in the room.

Han Xiao sat down opposite Sorokin, and only then did Sorokin return to his seat. He smiled. “What a rare visitor. When you spoke of visiting me, I still didn’t dare believe it. For someone as busy as you, why would you suddenly come over to my place?”

“Why, am I not welcome?” Han Xiao tilted his head.

“Haha, you must be joking. Of course, I welcome you.” Sorokin maintained his smile, but he was secretly sizing up Han Xiao. It was a pity that he failed to notice anything.

On the surface, he put on a warm and hospitable look, but Sorokin was full of suspicion and doubt in his heart, speculating about Black Star’s intention to visit.

Recently, the rumors of the dynasty’s concession to Black Star had spread madly. Sorokin had naturally heard about it. Although he was surprised, there was no shock, as he had already anticipated this would happen the moment Han Xiao repelled the others in the rescue of Hila. His surprise came more from the fact that the dynasty really did concede.

Right now, Black Star was extremely popular within the universe. For this guy to suddenly run over at this juncture, he most likely had some scheme prepared. Could it be that he wished to cooperate on the issue of the Evolutionary Totem?

It was unlikely, and the dynasty also had no reason to let outsiders intervene. Furthermore, the Limitless Financial Group and the Black Star Army had been having commercial struggles for so many years. Even though both sides never mentioned it, they definitely remembered it in their hearts.

Sorokin was thus very vigilant at this point.

Han Xiao’s behavior was very relaxed, as though he had come to reminisce about the past. He softly smiled. “This is the first time I’ve come to visit you, and it’s very prosperous. It seems that the Limitless Financial Group has developed very well in the Flickering World.”

“This is all thanks to the business partners.” Sorokin picked up the liquor bottle on the table, opening it before pouring a glass for Han Xiao.

“Wow, good wine. This seems to be a high-end product from the federation, only given to select people.” Han Xiao raised the glass, swirling the amber liquid within and hearing the pleasant clink of ice cubes. He casually said, “Speaking of which, we can also be considered business partners in certain territories.”

“That’s right.” Sorokin nodded.

Han Xiao did not get straight to the point but rather spoke about routine matters first. Thus, Sorokin could not tell his intentions and could only follow alongside the conversation.

After taking a sip of the liquor, appreciating the mellow taste as it flowed down his throat, Han Xiao savored the aftertaste as he smacked his lips. He then sighed.

“Sigh, even to this day, I still regret that I almost became a closer partner of the Limitless Financial Group. Unfortunately, you chose Bloodshed Land instead.”

“Hehe, the matters of business have always been inaccurate. Compared to the Black Star Army, which has already matured and formed its system, the Limitless Financial Group is more willing to invest in a force that has huge potential but is unable to realize it. It’s not that the Black Star Army is lacking but rather that the Bloodshed Land needs us more. I find it truly pitiful as well that our cooperation could not be reached.”

Sorokin gave a long and passionate monologue but grumbled in his heart.

He had invested in Bloodshed Land mainly to support them in going against Black Star Army in the commercial sector, robbing the army’s businesses. Black Star had no reason not to know this, so bringing the partnership up but not mentioning the commercial battle, Black Star likely had something up his sleeve.

Let me try playing nice and see what he’s up to, Sorokin thought.

At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly raised his head, smiling as he spoke. “In fact, this is what I came for today. Today is different from the past, so I would like to represent the army and provide an opportunity to cooperate with the Limitless Financial Group.”

Hearing this, Sorokin narrowed his eyes as he quickly calculated. He suddenly came to a realization.

I understand, so it turns out that Black Star had such an intention.

After the Evolutionary Totems were released to the world, the Limitless Financial Group need not continue to put pressure on the Black Star Army’s business any longer. The obstacles between them both had been cleared, and business cooperation could now be carried out normally. With the Limitless Financial Group’s size and the Black Star Army’s prestige, if they cooperated, it was indeed a win-win situation, mutually benefiting both parties.

For this reason, Black Star no longer pursued the conflict of interest from the past twenty years and took the initiative to talk about cooperation.

This mentality of abandoning former grudges and making money together was very suited to Sorokin’s taste. He thought that he had already guessed Han Xiao’s intentions and relaxed. The smile on his face was no longer just for show but rather a genuine smile.

“Your Excellency Black Star, your suggestion is exactly what I was thinking. Right now, there are plenty of opportunities to shine with the Flickering World. If the two of us work together, we’ll be invincible and occupy the bulk of the market in the Flickering World!”

“Since Your Excellency Sorokin also thinks that way, things will be easy!” Han Xiao slapped his thigh. “Then, let’s decide on the date for me to officially become a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group.”

The next moment, the air within the room instantly solidified.

Sorokin’s smile froze on his face.

What, shareholder position? Weren’t we talking about normal business cooperation? How did we get to this part?

Seeing the playful look in Han Xiao’s eyes, Sorokin’s heart thumped violently. He began to realize that he had mistaken Han Xiao’s intentions.

“Your Excellency Black Star, forgive me if I’m being too offensive, but the cooperation you’re suggesting is…”

“The opportunity that I’m providing to cooperate with the Limitless Financial Group is to allow me to be a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group. Didn’t you just happen to have a vacant position?” Han Xiao smiled meaningfully. This was his true intention.

Sorokin’s eyes narrowed, finally confirming that Han Xiao did not come with good intentions.

Taking advantage of the fact that Gorutan’s position was now vacant, Black Star wished to replace him? Did he think that the shareholder position was some trophy that he could claim? Whether he could take it or not, only Sorokin could make the decision!

For this empty shareholder position, Sorokin had already formulated a detailed strategy to allow him to break into the galactic black market. The position was a bargaining chip used for trading with Secret Master, so he would naturally not give this position to others. This was related to the blueprint of his business empire in his heart, and being a Protector of the Galactic Black Market was a critical step, with no margin for error allowed.

Sorokin’s smile faded, and he carefully said, “Then I’m truly sorry. While Gorutan indeed suffered from an accident, since he’s still alive, he can still be considered a shareholder. Even if he died, his shares would be transferred to the financial group to await withdrawal. I have no intentions of establishing any new shareholders for the time being. If you wish to discuss any other sort of cooperation, I’ll be happy to accompany you, but the shareholder position is off limits.”

Han Xiao did not take it to heart, only smiling. “If I didn’t remember wrongly, this is the second time you have rejected my request to be a shareholder.”

Hearing this, Sorokin remembered, and it seemed like Black Star had mentioned the same time once when they first met more than twenty years ago.

“That’s right, I rejected you at that time. Today, the answer is still the same,” Sorokin indifferently replied. “The Limitless Financial Group’s foundations are huge, and any change in its shareholders have to go through the consent of all other shareholders. At the same time, the three Universal Civilizations each only have one shareholder within the Limitless Financial Group, to ensure check and balance. Right now, with Kant among the shareholders, the federation and the church will not allow another ally of the dynasty to enter this circle.”

Han Xiao blinked, before speaking in a knowing tone, “Sorokin, twenty years have passed, and times have changed now. I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse.”

“Oh?”

“Haha, firstly, regarding consent of all shareholders… do you think the others will support or reject me?”

Sorokin was taken aback for a moment, and his brows then wrinkled sharply.

He suddenly discovered that for Black Star, this issue no longer posed any problem.

Black Star was no longer what he used to be, and his position in the universe far exceeded that of twenty years ago. He was also responsible for building a shared battlefront for the Beyond Grade As. Based on this alone, he would be able to obtain the support of both Manison and Kasuyi. Kant, as a fellow ally, was even less likely to oppose him.

Sorokin suddenly had a bad feeling about this.

At this point, Han Xiao smiled and slowly said, “As for the checks and balances between the three Universal Civilizations… Do you think the federation and the church are more willing to allow another dynasty shareholder to appear, or do you think they value the Evolutionary Totems more? In other words, do you think they will openly oppose me at this moment?”

Laying out his cards!

This was the only thought running through Sorokin’s mind.

His expression also sank.

Since the dynasty had opened up the sale of Evolutionary Totems, temporarily dissolving the hostility between the federation and the church, in order to ensure the smooth implementation of this decree, and Federation and the church might turn into boot-lickers, not just to please the dynasty, but also to please Black Star who held the Evolution Cube.

Furthermore, Black Star had their allies as captives, and he had enough chips to force both civilizations to compromise. If he insisted on including the conditions of being a shareholder inside the redemption clause for the captives, then both the church and the federation would not stop him. In the end, Black Star would still become a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group!

At this moment, Sorokin suddenly noticed a detail he had ignored previously. Once the problem of the Evolutionary Totem was settled, he would obtain the benefits provided by the church and the federation as a result of completing the transaction, but he would also lose their protection at the same time.

This means that if Black Star wished to be a shareholder, he, as the head of the financial group, did not even have the veto power anymore!

Either he closed both eyes and allowed Black Star to become the shareholder, giving him an astronomical amount of dividends for nothing, or waited for the three Universal Civilizations to help Black Star sanction the Limitless Financial Group in the commercial field and force him to submit.

He could only say yes or yes!

Thinking to this point, Sorokin looked deeply at Han Xiao.

What an impeccable move, completely utilizing his influence. Could it be that Black Star had predicted such a point long ago?

Han Xiao only smiled, slowly savoring the liquor with a nonchalant expression, awaiting his answer.

Seeing this, Sorokin’s expression warped many times before he slowly spoke.

“Black Star, this hand of yours… was beautifully played.”

“Then, what will you choose?” Han Xiao playfully replied.

“… Do I have a choice?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao laughed, putting down the glass and stretching out his hand.

“Then… I wish us both a happy cooperation?”

Gazing at Han Xiao’s offered hand, Sorokin deeply breathed in, suppressing the feeling of having stepped into sh*t, and squeezed out a smile, gripping Han Xiao’s hand.

“Hope we have a pleasant cooperation.”

Seeing the derision in Han Xiao’s eyes, Sorokin almost could not hold back his urge to attack, but he quickly quenched the thought.

He recognized the reality. Since he could not resist, he could only take the lesser of two evils. Even if it meant carving out a piece of his flesh, he decisively promised and yielded to Han Xiao.

“Hmm?”

Han Xiao could clearly feel the killing intent released by Sorokin in that instant. It was as though he was faced with a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. The pressure was even stronger than Hila’s, and it was not possible to obtain such an aura without reaping the lives of millions if not billions.

This old fogey was indeed once a cold-blooded murderer…

However, Han Xiao did not put it to heart, smiling as he withdrew his hand. He knew that Sorokin was used to pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger, only knowing how to bully the other party but not daring to take action.

After all these years, Han Xiao had sort of understood how Sorokin behaved, and he did not care one whit about his personal reputation at all.

If one took the initiative to attack, Sorokin would definitely pretend to lose and get himself beaten up, then make use of public opinion to add fuel and jealousy to let the whole universe know of your unreasonable attitude. It would lower his reputation, and the chance of obtaining the shareholder position would be forever lost. Even without the support from the federation and the church now, his identity as the head of the Limitless Financial Group was still a shield of sorts for him. After all, he did not belong to any random organization or a gray area but rather a legal galactic business. Using violence against such people would have huge repercussions, which will definitely appear in headlines.

Now that Han Xiao had gotten what he wanted, he stopped teasing Sorokin but wiped his smile off his face. “Since we have reached a consensus, please announce this to the universe as soon as possible. I won’t bother you any further.”

“Alright, have a nice trip back.” Sorokin reluctantly smiled, sending him off.

The moment Han Xiao left the room, Sorokin’s expression sank thoroughly.

He got wrecked this time!

This was not as simple as the shareholder changing from Gorutan to Black Star. It had also undermined Sorokin’s business strategy, causing him to miss the opportunity to enter the Galactic Black Market.

As a businessman, watching an important business opportunity slip through one’s fingers was a pain that could not be described in words.

Moreover, with Black Star guarding against him, he would not sincerely cooperate with the Limitless Financial Group. Thus, it would be difficult to obtain any benefit off this shareholder. He could only give Black Star the dividends in vain and maybe even need to deal with any potential backlash from Black Star’s end.

Just thinking about it made Sorokin upset.

For a long time, the Limitless Financial Group had been using commercial means to hinder the development of the Black Star Army and had only recently stopped their attacks. However, their circumstances were actually flipped over, to get suppressed by Han Xiao now.

Ka-cha!

The glass of liquor he was holding shattered, the shards falling all over the floor.

Sorokin however did not wipe his hands, allowing the amber liquid to drip between his fingers.

His expression was ugly as he muttered, “I hate these Beyond Grade As…”

Chapter 1068: Extortion

1068 Extortion As the spaceship left the Limitless Financial Group branch, Han Xiao looked through the window as the building diminished in size before pulling back his gaze and smiling.

“I’ve hit at a good time. Sorokin has finally compromised…”

By his estimation, there was a seventy-percent chance of the negotiation succeeding. Even if he had the right time and place, he dared not speak with absolute certainty that Sorokin would yield to him.

Fortunately, his judgment of Sorokin’s character was not wrong, and the final result was favorable to him.

If it was another Beyond Grade A with a temper, they would most likely have fought. However, Sorokin was good at enduring, and it was probably not the first time he had dealt with such matters. After weighing the benefits and costs, he immediately chose to compromise.

“Speaking of which, Sorokin is so shy about showing his strength. There must be a lot of factors within…”

Han Xiao stroked his chin as he pondered.

This guy was not like the other Beyond Grade As, who relied on their own personal power to influence their organization’s development. He had almost no record worth mentioning, and his business was run through the normal and legal way.

The advanced civilizations had always been alert to any non-allied Beyond Grade A organizations. As the top financial group in the universe, the stronger their power, the more jealousy they would attract. Commercial organizations were not armed forces and had their own set of industry rules to follow. The moment they were targeted by the three Universal Civilizations, it would be hard for the financial group to maintain stable footing. If Sorokin decided to retaliate, others would know that he had been hiding his strength, and the civilizations’ fear would increase.

This was only one of the reasons. Han Xiao still remembered some of the information displayed about Sorokin on his interface. This guy had probably changed his skin many times and had been living in the universe with different identities.

But no matter how many times Sorokin changed his skin, his ability would not change, so he avoided any form of conflict so as not to be recognized. Maybe he had committed some huge offense, so he deliberately kept his name incognito.

“This guy is full of mystery.” Han Xiao shook his head. This was all speculation, and maybe Sorokin had another reason to do so.

No matter what those secrets were, he had squashed Sorokin this time and avenged the suppression he had suffered over the past two decades.

Shareholders would receive huge dividends from the Limitless Financial Group every year. This was no small amount, and while it was not too huge of a loss to Sorokin, Han Xiao could finally obtain some interest.

Under normal circumstances, such huge dividends would not be taken for free. Every shareholder position given by the Limitless Financial Group was coveted, and they would form another business cooperation with the Beyond Grade A organizations, mutually benefitting both parties.

But Han Xiao naturally would not allow the Limitless Financial Group to partake in the army’s business channels, otherwise it would just be a gift to Sorokin. He had made up his mind to only take the money and do nothing, just like a dog in the manger, deliberately creating trouble for Sorokin.

“The Evolutionary Totem is being released to the universe, and I’ll also obtain the shareholder position of the Limitless Financial Group. With these two sources of income, the abundant funds are enough to support the continued expansion of the army. The stock price of the Germinal Financial Group will also skyrocket.”

Han Xiao was overjoyed. He took out his communicator to send messages to the contact points of the three Universal Civilizations.

It was only the initial step for him and Sorokin to come to a consensus. He still had to file it with the three Universal Civilizations regarding this matter for their support. Because of the Evolutionary Totems, this was not a difficult task.

After sending out the news, Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

Once the dynasty, federation, and church had all expressed their opinions, Sorokin also folded, which meant that the follow-up affairs of Black Star’s Godlike Battle had almost come to an end. There was nothing left to do except to take care of Traveler and the Super Star Cluster Civilization behind him.

Traveler had already hidden himself, but Han Xiao knew which Super Star Cluster Civilization he belonged to. However, he had no plans to deal with the civilization behind the scenes at this moment.

On the one hand, the Super Star Cluster alliance was currently developing as a group and steadily expanding in the free competition zone, not creating any trouble, so there was no opportunity for him to take action. On the other hand, the three Universal Civilizations would not sit back and watch the Super Star Cluster develop in the Flickering World. Thus, they would definitely take action. Han Xiao decided to wait for the time the three Universal Civilizations launched an attack to cooperate with them, which would achieve twice the results with half the effort needed.

“Things are almost settled. The establishment of a platform for the Beyond Grade A united front should be placed on the agenda.” Han Xiao rolled his eyes in deep thought.

Both Manison and Kasuyi, one director and the other the actor, did not come to urge him after the incident. No matter what they had done before, at least he owed them a favor during the Hila Rescue mission, so he still had to put in some effort to maintain a united front.

“The purpose of this platform should be to take advantage of the opportunity of the Flickering World to unify all the Beyond Grade A organizations, allowing everyone to have a communication platform, binding all Beyond Grade As together. It cannot be hidden from the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations, yet it cannot be done with too much fanfare… united front… hang on, united front‽”

Han Xiao suddenly had a eureka moment and hurriedly recited a few phrases from the socialist mantras before deriving an ingenious idea.

…

At the same time, Secret Master in the faraway Beast Ancestor stronghold received a communication application from Sorokin.

“Sorokin, what’s happening?”

“Your Excellency Secret Master, I have a piece of bad news for you.” Sorokin sighed.

“Speak.”

“There’s now a problem in our previous deal.”

“What exactly happened?” Secret Master hurriedly asked.

“I promised to leave you one of the shareholder positions, but Black Star came over just now and used his current influence to threaten me. You also know, with the sale of the Evolutionary Totems, the three Universal Civilizations will surely support him. Thus, to reduce my losses, I could only agree to his request.”

“You mean Black Star stole my reserved shareholder seat?” Secret Master’s expression changed.

“Sigh, it’s indeed like that. I can actually create a new major shareholder seat, but I need to dilute the equity of the others, which is more troublesome. It will take a lot of time to carry out some commercial operations and complete the capital increase. Otherwise, the other Beyond Grade A shareholders will not be happy.” Sorokin could not take out his share, otherwise it would be painful if he lost control of the entire financial group.

“… Alright then. Let’s proceed with the deal when you’re done.”

Secret Master was helpless. While he said he would cooperate in the future, he had actually already planned to cancel the trade in his heart.

This Sorokin was obviously too unreliable.

I’m obviously first in line here…

Secret Master had no anger toward Han Xiao snatching his lollipop. After all, in his opinion, Black Star did not know about their private transaction and did not specifically target him.

…

A couple of days later…

“Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union?”

In the Black Star Palace, Sylvia looked at the prototype of the plan that Han Xiao had handed over and could not help but show some surprise.

Han Xiao placed his feet on the table, raising his eyebrows as he replied, “Any problems?”

“The problem is so big that I’m speechless. The dynasty will never agree.” Sylvia had an expression of helplessness. “To boldly unite all the Beyond Grade A organizations, isn’t this taking the initiative to anger with the three Universal Civilizations?”

“What are you talking about? The Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union is a non-governmental organization that aims to deal with the contradictions between the Beyond Grade A organizations involved in the expansion of the Flickering World. It’s always better to solve problems through negotiation rather than violence and jointly maintain the public security of the Flickering World. This is a good thing that will benefit the entire Star Field, and it is also an idea I developed after experiencing the previous incident. I’m worried that there might be more Beyond Grade As that will fall into my hands.” Han Xiao spoke with an expression as though he totally believed in his lies.

Sylvia was speechless. She waved the document in her hands. “You do know that such bullsh*t will not get past the three Universal Civilizations, right?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao stopped his scholarly act, rolling his eyes.

“Well duh, but what else can I do? If I wish to integrate the Beyond Grade As, I’ll need an excuse. Whether the three Universal Civilizations believe it or not, we still have to sugar coat it to prevent us from getting caught in an embarrassing situation.”

Sylvia still had a worried expression. “To have our Black Star Army be the pioneer, won’t this be too eye-catching? Especially in the eyes of the dynasty…”

“That’s why this is only a draft. I’ll still have to pull in more people to establish this union. Those who joined in the Meeting of the Gods with me will probably tacitly choose to join.” Han Xiao shook his head.

While the Beyond Grade As had similar unions, there had never been a union of such scale, akin to the Mercenary Association, Pharmacist Association, or even the Superheroes Association. While the name of this organization was called the Development Union, in the eyes of discerning people, this would be an association that gathered all the Beyond Grade As in the known universe.

So long as most of the current Beyond Grade As joined this organization, they would be able to drive the membership rate of any new Beyond Grade As in the future. Its scope far exceeded that of The Ancient Ones to encompass all Beyond Grade As.

And if one utilized the appeal of this organization to continue to expand the range of members included, it could even evolve into a Super Association for the entire universe. Such a scale would be terrifying because such associations were generally only established by the three Universal Civilizations.

“Having such non-governmental organizations will never put the three Universal Civilizations at ease. They will inevitably ask for their own personnel to settle in. By that time…” Sylvia interjected.

“I know what you mean. ‘Beyond Grade A’ has a special meaning, and the three Universal Civilizations do not wish to have an association of such a nature… But because we’re Beyond Grade As, they can only express their views, and they cannot go all out to prohibit it,” Han Xiao countered.

He was clear that once such an organization was created, the Beyond Grade As would no longer exist as a tray of loose sand. The three Universal Civilizations would also become wary, but at this moment, this organization only served to aid communications, nothing really major. Thus, while the three Universal Civilizations would feel apprehensive, they would not take any action.

However, this might not be the case in the future. The problem of the united front was that it could not circumvent the affiliation of each Beyond Grade A’s allied faction. This was the shackles created by the three Universal Civilizations, and they would not allow the Beyond Grade As to get rid of it.

Furthermore, what the Mechanic Emperor wanted to do was unite the strength of all the Beyond Grade As, whilst Han Xiao only wished to reduce the number of Beyond Grade A casualties, accumulating high levelled combat powers in the explored universe. Their goals were different, and there would be differences at some point in time. Furthermore, the Beyond Grade As were not of the same mind.

“Army Commander, you’re playing with fire.”

Sylvia had a worried expression. Her mind was full of the information regarding the Tragedy of the Pinnacles, and with the increasing popularity of the Black Star Army, she did not wish to see the three Universal Civilizations clear out all Beyond Grade A organizations. If that happened, the Black Star Army would inevitably enter their list.

Why did the three Universal Civilizations have an unbreakable dominance? It was precisely because when combined together, they had the ability to manipulate the entire explored universe! She had no doubt that the three Universal Civilizations would be willing to pay any price to kill off all disobedient Beyond Grade As in the universe, including their own allies.

Without the backing of a Universal Civilization, a Beyond Grade A would still be a Beyond Grade A. But in the same line, a Universal Civilization would still be one even without its Beyond Grade A allies.

“You’re thinking too much. Everyone has their own scruples, and it might not reach such a stage. Right now, I’m just testing the waters.” Han Xiao sighed. “The topic of Beyond Grade As is just too sensitive, so we can only take a step and observe, to see what how the Universal Civilizations react.”

“Alright then… I’ll go and improve on this plan.”

Sylvia could only accept it. After all, Han Xiao was the boss.

She got up and opened the door, only to find that Feidin was waiting outside. The two of them passed each other.

Seeing Feidin, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He straightened and spoke with a smile. “Aren’t you practicing your song at the moment? How do you have the time to visit me?”

“I found out everything. You actually want me to go and be an actor.” Feidin had a resigned expression. “Couldn’t you have discussed it with me beforehand?”

“It’s just being a star. You’re back in your old line. Furthermore, the army needs you. You can’t possibly reject this.” Han Xiao chuckled.

“Alright, forget about the acting part, but why am I even the main character?” Feidin was speechless. “And my role is you‽”

Feidin’s role was to be Black Star in the new film.

Lucky people would still be the main characters even when acting.

“This arrangement is very appropriate. Only you are as handsome as me. This is in line with the facts. Just take a look over here. If we meet with a stranger, they might even say that we’re twins!”

Feidin had no words.

Han Xiao laughed to himself. before waving his hand. “Alright, I won’t joke anymore. The main reason is because no one dared act as me and bear the consequences after. You’re someone close to be who used to be a star, so the director arranged it that way.”

“But it’s been so long since I last acted. Won’t this be too weird for me?” Feidin was still hesitating.

“Haha, it will only be a hit if you’re in a leading role. You’re also a Calamity Grade, and a Psychic at that. How is acting difficult?” Han Xiao encouraged.

Han Xiao persuaded Feidin a while longer before sending this doubtful person off.

Shaking his head with a laugh, he took out his communicator to check on the latest news.

After swiping for a bit, he stood up in shock. A piece of internal news from the dynasty was reflected in his pupils.

The Dark Lord had resigned from his position!

Chapter 1069: Confession

1069 Confession “‘Dark Lord’ Clotti has temporarily resigned as the Guard Captain of the dynasty Ruler, and his position will be temporarily assumed by ‘Quantum Demon’ Judith…”

Han Xiao focused, browsing through this internal intelligence. He could not help but fall into deep thought.

The three Universal Civilizations each had a pinnacle Beyond Grade A as their Guard Captains. For the Crimson Dynasty, it was [Dark Lord] Clotti; for the Federation of Light, it was [Golden Ring] Oulou; and for the Arcane Church, it was the [God’s Chosen] Wuornos. All of them were Beyond Grade As of direct relation to the civilizations.

In the dynasty’s Beyond Grade A circle, the Dark Lord had a transcendent status and was also well known for not mixing and socializing. Throughout his years of contact, coupled with the memory of his previous life, Han Xiao had a good understanding of what Clotti’s personality was.

This was deathly loyal to the dynasty. If there was no special reason, he would not step down as the Guard Captain.

In his past life, this incident did not occur during this particular time period, so the possibility of settling his private affairs could be ruled out. It should be because Clotti had accepted some sort of special mission.

“This should be the butterfly effect I’ve brought about. Maybe it is related to the Evolutionary Totem or even the Hila Rescue Mission…”

To be honest, he was a little apprehensive regarding this news.

Based on his memories, some of the Beyond Grade As that were directly related to the advanced civilizations were often loyal and dedicated, placing the needs of their civilization above those of the Beyond Grade As, and the Dark Lord was undoubtedly one of them. These people would not be part of the Beyond Grade A united front and might even turn against them.

To allow such a monster to move freely in the outside world, it was unknown what sort of changes would occur. This might hinder the construction of the Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union.

However, it was useless to delve too deeply. Because of Han Xiao’s existence, many of the fate lines for the characters had been altered, and he could only adapt as he went on.

As for the ‘Quantum Demon’ Judith, who replaced Clotti, he was a Virtual Mechanic coming from the Crimson Dynasty. He was the person in charge of guarding the Heroic Soul, the main Artificial intelligence of the dynasty, and had relatively strong combat ability.

“Speaking of which, the direct line of Beyond Grade As from the dynasty really do not mix around much with the allies.” Han Xiao’s eyes flickered.

Within the Beyond Grade A circle in the dynasty, only the allies liked to gather together and mess around. As for those directly related to the dynasty, they mostly chose to remain isolated.

Unlike allies, those directly related to the dynasty would always have official positions. Some guarded the secondary dimensional outposts, some served as instructors, and some were fleet commanders. They were not as free as those who were allies. Only those semi-direct allies such as Kohler would be so relaxed…

Of course, it might be because the dynasty thought of him as too weak.

Just as he was thinking, countless particles surfaced in front of his eyes, coagulating to form an image of Phillip.

“Master, hum… Jotina and her party have arrived. It’s time to check up on them.” Phillip blinked his big eyes. This was a reminder set by Han Xiao.

“Oh, take them to the lobby of the inner ring. Also, summon Hila and the other Calamity Grade officers to meet the newcomers.”

Han Xiao took up, putting on his Army Commander jacket before walking out of the room.

…

Jotina and her party followed the receptionist all the way into the lobby, and many of the army officers slowly trickled in. They were curious about their future colleagues, but without the approval of the Army Commander, none of them engaged in any conversation.

This party not only included the seven Calamity Grades that defected with Jotina but also the second wave, including Schneider. The total number reached eleven. They waited in the center of the lobby, also looking over at the officers.

Both sides stared at each other, and after a while, Han Xiao and Hila walked in.

“Greetings to Army Commander Black Star and Deputy Army Commander Hila.”

Jotina and her group stood up to salute.

Han Xiao was all smiles. “Everyone is here. You’re welcome to leave the shadows and join the light. After joining the Black Star Army, you’ll be part of our family.”

“Yes, welcome.” In front of everyone, Hila did not smile, keeping her words short.

Eleven Calamity Grades could be considered a strong fighting force, enough to carve out a territory in a corner of the universe. Now that this group had joined the army, the high-level combatants belonging to the army had increased quite a bit. Furthermore, there were also elites such as Jotina and Schneider.

Han Xiao had to personally review every advanced combatant that joined the army. This was also the reason why these original officers of the Beast Ancestor had come to the Black Star Palace.

“Regarding your positions, I have yet to arrange them. If you have any requests, do tell me. I’ll take them into consideration.” Han Xiao smiled.

Hearing this, everyone expressed their intentions, saying that it did not matter as long as they could serve the army. Only Jotina put forth a different suggestion.

“Your Excellency Black Star, if possible, I would like to join your personal guard.”

“Eh?” Han Xiao curiously looked over. “Why is that so?”

Jotina raised her head, looking straight at Han Xiao with a fiery gaze, not bothering to hide anything. “The body does not lie. I have strong feelings for you, and I hope to always accompany you around. If there’s a chance, I hope that some chemistry can spark between us.”

The moment she spoke, the entire room turned dead silent!

“Hmm‽” Hila eyes narrowed sharply. She was originally distracted and inattentive, but she suddenly seriously sized up Jotina from head to toe.

The officers around all thought there was something wrong with their ears. All of them adopted incredulous expressions. They did not think that this woman would be so blunt and speak out so honestly.

Even Schneider and the others were frightened, finding it unbelievable that their own elder sister would speak like this with a straight face.

F*ck me, we just joined the army, and you’re already expressing the intention of mating with a Beyond Grade A in public‽

Aren’t your guts too big!

Even if you really feel something for Black Star, you should proceed step by step.

To actually be so direct… indeed, only you can do so!

Han Xiao was stunned in place, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He waved his hands.

“Alright, I’m not interested in stuff like this. I’ll do my best to consider your job requirements, though. Let me first get started by getting a preliminary understanding of your strength. Walk up to me one by one and take a punch of mine so that I can judge your abilities.”

He lightly skipped over this topic, and Jotina did not insist either.

The conversation returned to normal, but a weird atmosphere lingered.

Everyone constantly shot weird glances toward Han Xiao or Jotina, cautiously moving around them while staying clear of Hila, whose eyes were firmly locked onto Jotina. They were afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

A line of Calamity Grades stood in front of Han Xiao. Nanoparticles rushed out behind Han Xiao, fusing into a silvery black humanoid machinery, floating beside Han Xiao like a stand-in.

This humanoid body sent a powerful iron fist to every officer originally from the Beast Ancestor, dealing some damage.

The attributes of each Calamity Grade were displayed on the combat information interface, and Han Xiao quickly scanned everyone’s abilities.

Among this group of people, the most powerful was naturally the Beyond Grade A seed, ‘Claw Empress’ Jotina. She was outstanding even among the Pugilists in the Calamity Grade, adept in claw arts and the pugilist arts of the Beast Ancestor. Her strength and agility were on point, and her damage output was high. She was more of an all-rounder fighter, and her combat power ranked in the forefront of the Army’s Calamity Grade officers. A good gauge would be third or fourth place.

As for ‘Boa Constrictor’ Schneider, he was an elite Calamity Grade. Among this group, there were two of them who were quite close to each other in terms of combat power, standing out from the rest.

Out of the eleven of them, nine were Pugilists, and the other two were Espers.

Because the Beast Ancestor Organization was one where they were muscle tyrants, not adept at using their brains, no one liked to learn. There were practically no mechanics or mages there.

Han Xiao intended to let all of them become combatants, while a small portion would be filtered into the Black Star Guards. Most of them would be commanded by Herlous as senior officers for the different fleets.

After some encouragement, Han Xiao left the scene with Hila, leaving the officers to mingle with this new group of colleagues.

As the two left the hall and walked through the corridor, the army members they passed nodded and saluted. Hila did not care while Han Xiao smiled as usual.

After walking for a bit, Hila suddenly opened her mouth. “You’re actually quite popular.”

“Are you referring to Jotina?” Han Xiao laughed. “In any case, I’m standing at the peak of personal power, so it’s normal for people to treat me like their idol. Don’t you worship me as well?”

“Nonsense, when did I ever worship you?” Hila snorted and avoided his gaze.

“Well, when you were surrounded and attacked, you were the one that personally admitted you had admired me for decades. It’s no use trying to deny it. I still have the recording.”

“Damn, you want to fight?” Hila was so embarrassed and angrily glared at Han Xiao.

“Hehehe…”

Hila’s forehead bulged with veins before she took a few deep breaths to regain her tranquility.

After being distracted by Han Xiao, she no longer felt depressed. Instead, she frowned and asked, “So, how are you going to handle Jotina? Are you really going to place her among the Black Star Guards?”

“Her ability speaks for itself, so why not? Are you afraid that a Calamity Grade can do anything to me? I’m a Beyond Grade A.” Han Xiao raised an eyebrow.

“Humph.” Hila turned her head away.

While she did not like the brazen Jotina, Hila would not use her position to trouble others. She was not someone who would engage in small tricks and would not interfere in Han Xiao’s decisions.

Seeing that Hila was silent, Han Xiao thought for a while before suddenly saying, “Anyways, the army is expanding very quickly these days, and there will be a new batch of people every three to five days. As a result, there are many members of the army that are not familiar with each other and do not know the officers. There is a sense of distance, which will not be conducive to the unity of the army. So, I was thinking that we should hold some large-scale events to promote camaraderie.”

Hila looked over. “What are you planning?”

“I’m thinking toward some internal competitions, such as a military parade or a sparring competition…”

As he spoke, Han Xiao’s eyes began to gleam.

As of now, the Black Star Army already had a large number of groups and a large number of talents under its command. There were sufficient resources to host large-scale internal events, allowing members of the army to participate in such events outside of their work. This would be conducive to increasing the sense of belonging and promoting the camp culture.

Han Xiao’s idea was to create a league of his own. The Pro League was an internal game for the players, but he planned to create a large-scale event organized by NPCs under the Black Star Army’s name, not only for the players but for all members.

Sparring would be one of the focal points. He could separate them based on their ranks, and the elites of each rank would be selected from the competition. There would be prizes, and it would also allow the normal members to witness the officers displaying their strength.

In addition to competitions, a variety of events could also be held, such as sports or technical skills such as piloting and commanding. Even the Wayne Cards could be used as a separate leisure event.

In Han Xiao’s vision, such an event could be turned into something similar to the Olympic Games for the army, held every few years as a celebration and also to showcase their strength to the outside world.

If this could be carried out, the scale would be many times larger than that of the players’ Pro League, which would serve as a carnival for everyone.

Just thinking about it made Han Xiao excited.

“But holding such an event seems like it would need a lot of money…” Hila hesitated.

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Are we lacking money?”

Shortly from now, the sale of the Evolutionary Totems would be opened to the universe, and he would also become a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group. At present, the Great Mechanic Han was bloated from the amount of money and could be considered to have fully entered the realm of a Rich Daddy.

If this money could be used to improve the faction cohesion and attractiveness, it would be quite profitable for him.

The more Han Xiao thought about it, the more he felt that this was something he could do. After he returned from the secondary dimension and settled the affairs of the Beyond Grade A union, he would have a lot of time to plan and hold such celebrations.

But it would be good to propose a prototype for Sylvia to perfect.

He had people to take care of his chores, so there was no pressure on him. Squeezing his own Chief Administrative Official had become a habit of Han Xiao’s.

He had no other choice. Who made Sylvia so good looking and capable, making him so pleased with her work?

…

Sylvia’s efficiency was high. She only took a day to perfect the draft of the Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union.

Han Xiao revised it before sending it to Manison to discuss the matter together. While they had conflicts of interest, they had to cooperate for this matter.

“This Development Union… the idea is not bad. While it is an excuse, it is reasonable enough to pass through the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations.”

Within the encrypted channel, Manison made comments while browsing the draft.

“Oh, this is just a cover,” Han Xiao explained. “On the surface, the scope of cooperation will be limited to the Flickering World. In fact, as long as this union is created, the conflicts of the Beyond Grade A in other Star Fields can also be resolved through this platform, and at the same time, the Beyond Grade A organizations can form a network of interests throughout the universe, providing each member with a place to exchange and cooperate with each other. This will achieve the goal of uniting power.”

Manison pondered. “This is similar to how The Ancient Ones operate, but to achieve this, most of the Beyond Grade As will need to voluntarily accept such cooperation, linking their organizations in the interest network. But if there’s no benefit, most people will be unwilling to cooperate, and then there’s still the obstacle of different factions…”

Han Xiao interrupted him. “That’s why we have to declare that this union is completely neutral by nature, just a loose one similar to The Ancient Ones. We have to organize it as much as possible so as to weaken any possible opposing influence from the factions. As for benefits, we will need the larger Beyond Grade A organizations to lead by example, by becoming the leader of the interest network and actively taking out cooperation shares. That way, the other Beyond Grade A organizations will be willing to join.”

“Who are the confirmed initiators leading this?”

“Only you and I.” Han Xiao shook his head. “In terms of influence, we can be considered behemoths in the Beyond Grade A circle, enough to serve as an example. The fact that we are willing to cooperate should attract a lot of people, but well… just two of us isn’t enough. We need more leaders, preferably the pinnacle Beyond Grade As. Otherwise, we cannot hold on to the crowd.”

“I understand what you mean.” Manison agreed. “We’ll need organizations with sufficient influence in various fields. On my side, I can try to lobby all the ancient ones, and the Protectors of the Galactic Black Market should also be brought in to take the lead. At the same time, we cannot forget about the neutral Beyond Grade As. Oh yes, there’s also Sorokin who controls the Limitless Financial Group. His money is very important.”

In the Beyond Grade A circle, Sorokin was recognized as a top dog with one of the highest assets. While the majority did not care much for his combat abilities, no one underestimated his power to make money.

At this time, Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

“I have a question. With so many pioneers… who will be the Chairman?”

Hearing this, Manison narrowed his eyes.

Since they wished to form a union, this problem could not be avoided. The Chairman of this union was of great significance, equivalent to the position of the leader of the martial world, the nominal chief of the Beyond Grade As.

Thus, be it strength or influence, it had to be convincing. The prerequisite was to be a pinnacle Beyond Grade A. Manison would definitely be a hot candidate, and Han Xiao was also eligible to compete for the Chairman position.

The position of Chairman came with a risk, that he would become the main target of the advanced civilizations, attracting their firepower. However, with great risks came great rewards.

Manison was staring at this position naturally out of interest, but as the main initiator of this project, Han Xiao had no reason to actively hand over the position.

After silence reigned for a while, Manison spoke slowly, avoiding this sensitive topic.

“There’s only two of us now. It’s too early to discuss such a matter. Let’s bring in all the members before we decided on this.”

“Okay.”

Han Xiao nodded slightly before ending the call and letting out a sigh of relief.

Because this was a Beyond Grade A union, everyone present would be big bosses of an area. Thus, it would be impossible to make this into an area where only one person’s word mattered.

Thus, persuading other Beyond Grade As to join would be tantamount to pulling supporters for himself. Only with enough Beyond Grade As supporting himself could he justify becoming the Chairman of the Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union.

Simply put, this was a matter of fighting for face. Just his strength was not enough.

“My network is quite extensive, but compared to Manison…”

Han Xiao shook his head.

He was confident in his relationship side, but Manison had been around for far too long, and his relationships were definitely much deeper than Han Xiao’s. It would be difficult to compete.

If he wanted this position, he could only start with the benefits part. He had to let people see that whoever served as the Chairman would bring about greater benefits.

“What a difficult task. I’m afraid this will be another uphill battle…”

Chapter 1070: The Dark Lord“s Targe

1070 The Dark Lord“s Targe After assessing the plan’s feasibility, both of them separated into their own teams.

The pinnacle Beyond Grade As that Han Xiao was most familiar with were the three oldies of the dynasty, and the others were mostly acquaintances.

In contrast, Manison knew many more people, including those from the Federation of Light, the Arcane Church, Galactic Black Market, and even the neutral pinnacle Beyond Grade As. All of them were left to him to lobby.

Since his network was not as good as the other party’s, Han Xiao did not stop Manison from doing more work. Instead, he made up his mind to compete from another direction.

Only the dynasty’s side was left to Han Xiao. He sent out the proposal of the union to both Milizaus and Kant, inviting them both to participate in this grand event. As for the Dark Lord, Han Xiao did not invite him.

Thanks to the consensus reached in the Meeting of the Gods, the majority of the pinnacle Beyond Grade As readily accepted and agreed to build a Beyond Grade A platform in the form of a development union. However, a small portion of them hesitated, worried about the reactions of the three Universal Civilizations. Overall, it could still be said to have gone well.

The direct line of Beyond Grade As from the advanced civilizations was not included on the invitation list. They would not be issued any sort of invitation until the union was completely established. After all, most of these Beyond Grade As placed their own civilization above their personal interests, and while admirable, not everyone thought the same way.

Kant and Milizaus were both allies, and while agreeing to the invitation sent by Han Xiao, they raised their own concerns.

“Black Star, the relationship between you and the dynasty has just eased. If you take the lead now in forming the Beyond Grade A union, the dynasty will be dissatisfied with you again.”

“There are no rulers who wish to see any unstable factors in their jurisdiction, but there’s no way about it. Everyone has different positions,” Han Xiao replied.

“You still have to be careful,” Kant urged him again. “Manison’s objective is to seek for profit. He wants to tie all the Beyond Grade As together as a bargaining chip. You’re too young, don’t let him use you.”

These Beyond Grade As actually knew that Manison was using them, but because they could see the longer-term benefits that they could obtain, they saw no reason to reject this proposal.

“I’m aware of his intentions, but only through this can the Beyond Grade As benefit. If this can be realized, it can reduce the infighting between the Beyond Grade As caused by factions’ differences.” Han Xiao wished to preserve the vitality of the Beyond Grade As and intervene in the Calamity of the Supers as a chess player rather than a pawn.

“If I must say…” Kant spoke in an uncertain tone as he lowered his voice. “If the Beyond Grade A union can be fully formed, it will solve the problem of excess individual power. The moment Beyond Grade As grow to a certain extent, we will internally liquidate and kill those not from any of the factions, which is better than the three Universal Civilizations taking action in person.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao could not help but glance at him.

This was a way to seize the power of liquidation from the hands of the three Universal Civilizations and use the ordinary Beyond Grade As as a price to maintain their pinnacle Beyond Grade A status.

If they continued developing normally, the union would indeed likely evolve to this final form. When the Beyond Grade As circle was strong enough and had succeeded in stabilizing their position, the union would definitely actively control the number of Beyond Grade As to prevent this circle from becoming too strong and attracting a bloodbath from the three Universal Civilizations.

The Beyond Grade A union would take the initiative to prune the branches, keeping the number of Beyond Grade As at a level that could threaten the three Universal Civilizations but not force them to take action. This way, they could decide who to kill and how many to kill, keeping the initiative. This loss was naturally much smaller than having the three Universal Civilizations take action.

It was estimated that among the pinnacle Beyond Grade As, there were many who thought in the same manner as Kant. This behavior of taking away the ladder once he climbed up to the top of the wall himself was not a fresh concept… After all, when the number of Beyond Grade As reached a certain level, the nature of their circle would gradually change as well. This posed more disadvantages than advantages to them.

While these pinnacle Beyond Grade As agreed to join the union, their ideals were all different. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes but did not say anything.

In general, there were no many problems in pulling people on board, so the action was quickly implemented. The organizations of the many leaders cooperated to mobilize materials and to select a site in the Flickering World to build the base camp for the development union.

Naturally, it would be impossible to conceal such actions from the other organizations, and the leaders themselves saw no need to conceal it. After all, the nature of their union was no secret, and the three Universal Civilizations should have already learned about it.

Of course, the news also travelled to the dynasty.

…

Pa!

“Black Star is taking a yard for every inch we give!”

In the Ruler’s office, Bekorodi’s face was contorted in anger as he smacked the table.

He pulled along several of the upper echelons from the hawk faction, berating Han Xiao in front of Urranrell.

“Just look at Black Star’s recent actions. He acts with no respect for the dynasty at all! He has just eased his relations with the dynasty, and he dares to do something like this. Does he regard the opening of sales for the Evolutionary Totems as our weakness?”

Urranrell rubbed the center of her brows. “Then, what do you think I should do?”

“I feel that we should warn Black Star,” Bekorodi bellowed. “If he continues to act as he wills, then the dynasty will withdraw the decree to open up the sales of the Evolutionary Totem.”

However, Urranrell did not accept or reject his proposal. “If we rescind the decree, what do you think the federation and the church will do?”

“Humph, while they have coveted the Evolutionary Totem for so long, they are still clear on what is important. For this problem, both the federation and the church have to choose a stance, and they will not side with Black Star.”

Bekorodi had a confident tone, quite sure of his judgment.

Urranrell knocked on the table before slowly replying, “You are right, but after the Meeting of the Gods, we anticipated this situation. Just targeting Black Star will not help as this is the general trend.”

When she discovered that Black Star and the others intended to integrate the Beyond Grade As, she had already predicted that the hawk faction would attack and make things difficult.

In all fairness, Urranrell did not like seeing the Beyond Grade A union, but this issue was sensitive and involved many factors, so she could not make any hasty decisions.

As such, she could not easily withdraw the decree regarding the Evolutionary Totem sales and blame Black Star as Bekorodi suggested.

His suggestion was rejected, but Bekorodi was not angry. He had known that the Ruler would give such a response, and his goal was just to express his negative attitude. He pretended to grunt before leading everyone else away.

Only Urranrell was left in the room. She shook her head before opening the star map of the Flickering World, analyzing the situation.

Ever since the Flickering World was opened, the power patterns in the universe had started to change, and the dynasty was aware of this. First was the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and now the Beyond Grade A union. The changes were slowly surfacing.

“The price of exploration and expansion is turbulence, as every class wants to redistribute benefits…” Urranrell sighed.

…

Currently, the development union was still a grassroots team. Only a group of pinnacle Beyond Grade As were making the preliminary preparations. During this period, they would inevitably have to negotiate with the three Universal Civilizations, and it would take a few months for them to formally establish themselves.

This matter did not require much effort, so Han Xiao had a lot of free time and was immersed in repairing and strengthening his mechanical army.

After many failures, he had finally created an Emperor’s Cape at the Gold Grade in his workshop.

This was the second Universal Treasure to be created by his hand. His [Spirit Instrument] skill unlocked the second layer, and at the same time, he obtained a new God’s Trait Transformation point.

The second layer increased his basic success rate of manufacturing Gold Grade equipment, as well as research and development benefits. The increase was the same as that of the first layer, 2.5% and 1.2% respectively, but it also had a new attribute that increased the possible mutation rate of a Universe by 0.2%.

Reading through the introduction, Han Xiao discovered that this was the probability bonus for generating unique mutations in the process of making Universal Treasures. Such treasures would generally be stronger than normal Gold Grade equipment and might develop some ‘unsolvable’ abilities.

As for the God’s Trait Transformation point, Han Xiao added it into the Mechanic path, and his [God’s Trait Transformation—Machinery] unlocked the effect of its third layer.

_____________________

Third Stage: [Apostle Mechanic] and below classes will have +3 to all class skills, +50% to speed of assembly line production, +10% Assembly line product quality, and -25% cost of materials. In addition, +1,500 INT, +30 Potential Points.

_____________________

“The levels of my basic mechanic skills have gone up by quite a bit, and there’s an increase in assembly line production skills, as well as Intelligence and potential points. It’s not too bad.”

Because Han Xiao had skills that could raise his Machinery Affinity based on his Intelligence, 1,500 points would bring about a 400% increase in his Machinery Affinity. The thirty free Potential Points could also be used to upgrade his Ultimate Knowledge skills by a level.

Though the effects of this third stage seemed to be a little mixed. They synergized quite well, especially the +3 to all class related skills, which brought a considerable bonus to him. After all, there were many Machinery Affinity skills in the low-level class skill list.

This time, the attribute targeted to be optimized was his Dexterity. Because of the amount of work needed, the difficulty in creating the Emperor’s Cape was higher than that of the King. His points were thus optimized by 375 points, all of which were converted into free attribute points.

“I finally finished this equipment.”

Han Xiao felt refreshed and put away his Emperor’s Cape.

Everything that he needed to do was done. He could now make a trip to the secondary dimension.

The Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union was still in development, and this was no overnight event. The three Universal Civilizations would definitely oppose it, so it was a good time for him to hide from the dynasty’s fatal calls. He did not even need to guess what the dynasty would say to him if the call connected.

Furthermore, Ames had already been there a long time, so he should not make her wait too long.

…

In the Crimson Dynasty’s Constellation Corridor, within a large interstellar military fortress, a gigantic spacetime gate that was several times larger than a normal stargate stood in the center of the base. It lay in a dormant state, merely resembling an oval arch.

There was a figure hovering in front of this spacetime gate. It was ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti, who had removed his Guard Captain uniform and put on a special lightweight mechanical suit.

The respectful voice of the base commander came through the helmet communicator.

“Your Excellency Clotti, this mechanical suit is specially used for shuttling in the secondary dimension. It can anchor the coordinates of the main universe, and there’s also a spare portable anchoring device within it. Please do not damage or discard it, else you might be lost within the stacks of secondary dimensions…”

“No need to explain further. It’s not my first time going to the Secondary dimension.” Clotti’s tone was indifferent.

“Alright, we’re about to open the portal. His Excellency Guzar, who is manning the outpost over there, will welcome you.”

The moment he finished speaking, the giant spacetime gate gradually opened, and bright rays of light emerged from within the gate, quickly forming a whirlpool of light.

Quietly watching as the spacetime gate warmed up, Clotti called out the secondary dimension database list that was built into the mechanical suit. This stored the secondary dimension profiles that the dynasty had explored over the years, recording the spacetime coordinates and the energy frequencies.

The secondary dimension was very different from the main universe, so this database was equivalent to a map. Tracking devices could be used to remotely mark each location, which was equivalent to a navigation route.

Browsing through the database, Clotti quickly focused on one particular secondary dimension and marked it as a target location.

This secondary dimension was called [Evil Convergence]!

Chapter 1071: The World of Secondary Dimensions

1071 The World of Secondary Dimensions The space of the secondary dimensions was a bizarre world composed of various planes, and its rules were different compared to the main universe. Most of them were not suitable for the survival of creatures from the main universe. Some were formed naturally, while some were created from the fantasies of high-ranking mages.

If the main universe could be described as the branches and roots of a tree, then the secondary dimensions would be the leaves and fruits, and there would be a nutrient connection with each other—energy.

Researchers in the universe had created a world view model for the secondary dimensional space, which looked similar to a picture of countless bubbles stacked. Each bubble represented a secondary dimension, and the space wall of each bubble was much weaker compared to the main universe; one could jump and shuttle around frequently.

The advanced civilizations had always been keen to explore the secondary dimensions. Not only could they obtain certain resources, they could also develop new technology through studying the phenomena of the different secondary dimensions. The three Universal Civilizations had achieved a lot of results in this area, and to a certain extent, the strength of each civilization’s technology came from this area.

Thus, the three Universal Civilizations had a large number of outposts and research stations in the secondary dimension space, and they stationed different troops to protect scholars and workers. In most cases, they were dealing with the attacks of the secondary dimension creatures.

The outpost A0000 was the largest barracks of the dynasty in the secondary dimension. It was set up within a secondary dimension that was suitable for survival of creatures. The dynasty had completed the exploration of that entire secondary dimension and transformed it, hoarding all the troops here. The dynasty’s army was stationed in their base camp of the secondary dimension, which also served as the gateway for the dynasty to enter the secondary dimensions.

As soon as Clotti stepped into this place, a magnificent scene greeted him.

He saw a patch of endless reddish-brown land, stretching out of his line of sight. The dynasty’s base also sat there, seemingly endless, like a forest of steel.

There were no stars in the sky, only gradual color tones just like the bloody glow of the setting set. There were light rays that resembled the wind at one moment and clouds at another, flowing in the sky and scattering the fog-like scene. The sky at this place seemed to contain some kind of invisible light source, forming a Tyndall effect as it emitted a misty and dreamy path of light.

Clotti was familiar with this dreamy scene, but he had not seen it for so many years, so he could not help but stop and admire it.

At this moment, a thunderous laugh shook the air.

“Hahaha, Clotti, you finally got a holiday?”

Just as the voice fell, a bolt of turquoise lightning shot out from within the base. It stopped in front of Clotti in the blink of an eye, revealing a burly figure wearing the uniform of a Senior Dynasty General.

Seeing this man, the typically stoic Clotti could not help but smile.

“Guzar, it’s been a long time.”

“Haha, I didn’t expect you to look for me the moment you got a vacation. You’re indeed my good brother!” The burly figure laughed again.

The latter was a hybrid from the dynasty human race and the Silver race, but from his appearance, there was not much of the gracefulness that the Silver race was well known for. He had a rough and masculine appearance, with a wild beard and braids. If Han Xiao was there, he might have mistaken this guy for Zhang Fei [1. Zhang Fei is one of the major characters in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a general and the sworn brother of Liu Bei.].

‘Peals of Thunder’ Guzar was a Beyond Grade A from the direct line under the dynasty, and his Esper Ability involved the manipulation of plasma currents. He had served as the guardian of the secondary dimension for many years.

The qualifications of the two were similar, with the time difference between their enlistment only around five years. They had known each other since they were young and weak, and they had maintained a good relationship.

Clotti shook his head. “I didn’t come here for a holiday. I have a mission.”

“No wonder you temporarily resigned from your post.” Guzar nodded and curiously asked, “Is this a direct order from the Ruler? What does she want you to do?”

“Pursue and kill a Beyond Grade A. The target is hiding in the secondary dimensions, named Traveler. He is suspected of participating in the war within the Flickering World not too long ago. Do you know about that matter?”

“Haha, I’m of course aware of this. There’s no entertainment here, so I can only watch the news all the time. I heard that Black Star repelled twelve Beyond Grade As in total, including Kasuyi and Sierron. This is really amazing and makes me want to spar with him a bit. Unfortunately, I cannot even meet him personally.”

Guzar’s tone was laced with regret. Guarding the secondary dimension, he had no chance to leave his post.

“There’ll be a chance in the future,” Clotti reassured him.

Guzar did not linger in the topic, smiling as he said, “I think that this Black Star is a good kid. When you officially retire, he’ll probably be the one to replace you in threatening the rest of the universe.”

“It’s a pity that he’s not of direct lineage to the dynasty.” Clotti did not agree with him or say otherwise, only changing the topic. “The secondary dimension is your territory. I will need your help in pursuing Traveler.”

“No problem.” A cold arc of lightning shot through Guzar’s pupils. “These last few years, the rats hiding in here have been rapidly increasing. It’s time to teach them a lesson.”

…

Somewhere within the secondary dimension, Traveler was wrapped in magic, flying forward like a comet.

Suddenly, he paused, and a hesitant look crossed his face.

“Strange, why do I feel so restless?”

As a mage, he would never ignore his intuition, so Traveler stopped and took out a crystal ball, activating his divination spell.

Holding the crystal ball with both hands, a little bit of light floated from his palm to merge with the ball. Soon, the crystal ball rippled, showing a mirror image, similar to looking at a calm lake.

Clotti’s face flashed briefly before dissipating.

“Dark Lord? What relationship does he have with me?”

Traveler’s expression changed.

His role during the attack on Hila was just to pretend to go to Black Star for a spar. He did not participate directly in the battle.

In his opinion, even if the Black Star Army was suspicious of him, as long as he took refuge within the secondary dimensions, the other party would not waste energy to look for him to fight, but he did not expect the dynasty to sacrifice so much and send a huge killer weapon over to him. It felt like killing a chicken with a sledgehammer… In front of the Dark Lord, he could only admit that he was no better than a chicken.

“If I meet against the Dark Lord, I definitely won’t be his match.”

Traveler felt depressed. Even if he managed to master his Evil Convergence skill, he did not feel that it would be enough for him to stand against the Dark Lord. The latter was someone who had reached the pinnacle of dark energy and dark matter. Even ‘Golden Ring’ Oulou, who had reached a similar level to the Dark Lord, still ultimately lost to him in the secondary dimensions. Traveler did not think that he could surpass Oulou at his current level.

After thinking about it, Traveler’s eyes lit up.

“I showed off the Evil Convergence, so the Dark Lord will definitely use this as a clue to pursue me. If I don’t appear, they will definitely do something with the Evil Convergence dimension… It seems like I can only seek helpers to ambush the Dark Lord.”

The time he had spent in the secondary dimensions was not for nothing. Not only did he develop good relations with a bunch of strong biological creatures, he had also gotten to know a bunch of Beyond Grade As who lived within the secondary dimensions…

Some of them were not even recorded within the list of known Beyond Grade As in the universe!

…

In a hidden secondary dimension, a portal suddenly appeared, and several small battleships flew out. Their outer armor showed no insignias, and the model of the battleships was top of the line, even equipped with navigation for secondary dimensions. Due to their additional components, the overall appearance looked heavy and bloated.

In the command room of the flagship, many of the operators bustled about in their positions. Everyone wore a full mechanical suit set, covering their appearance.

Standing in front at the porthole were two figures, wearing masked hoods and robes. Both had special equipment to hide their appearances, and only their height difference could be seen. One was short and stocky while the other tall and slender.

They were the leaders of this trip and belonged to the same organization. They were on a special mission.

One of the operators, who looked like the overall commander, reported to the both of them. “Your Excellency Law, Your Excellency Fay, we’ve already arrived at our destination. Please instruct us on our next step.”

The duo were known as ‘Law’ and ‘Fay’. Those were not their real names but codenames in their organization.

The short and stocky person was named Law. He nodded as he spoke in a deep baritone. “According to the plan, the divination shows that Black Star will enter the secondary dimensions with the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy in the near future. Activate the detection radars for all biological creatures to the maximum range and set the target life strength to the pinnacle Beyond Grade A level.”

The cold and clear voice of Fay rang out as she said, “The secondary dimension is our home field, and our mission is to seize the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. Black Star has powerful combat abilities, and we need to avoid any sort of frontal conflict. The leader has allowed us to have many technological weapons that can be used to temporarily trap Black Star.”

She paused for a while before adding, “If conventional methods cannot reveal him, the leader will allow us to use the Esper Ability of Destiny’s Child once.”

…

In Black Star Palace, Han Xiao called Ames over to the live combat training room.

“Busy guy, you finally have time for me?” Ames raised a brow, her tone joking.

“Official duties, I cannot escape from them.” Han Xiao joked back before taking out a compressed orb and lobbing it over. He explained, “This is a special mechanical suit designed for survival in the secondary dimension. I built it myself. Try it out.”

Buzz!

With a spark of Mechanical Force, the compressed orb transformed into a jet-black mechanical suit, covering Ames’ body in a snug manner.

She moved around a bit, searching for any lag or discomfort, before clicking her tongue as she commented, “Very fitting. It seems like you know my body measurements very well. Good observation skills.”

That’s because I touched it before… Han Xiao coughed to hide his embarrassment.

Anyway, the nano-optimization feature exists, so no matter what sort of body shape you had, the suit would adjust to fit you. Why the fuss?

Even though he was vomiting in his heart, he did not show it in his movements, taking out the improved version of the Mysterious Energy Host.

Seeing the mechanical suits, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy excitedly called out, “Black Star, are you ready to set off?”

It could not wait to gather with its old friend once again.

Han Xiao nodded before turning to Ames to explain, “The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy is able to shuttle through the secondary dimensions. With it leading the way, we can save ourselves a lot of energy.”

In the five major classes, only the mages and mechanics could stably enter and exit the world of secondary dimensions. Both of them, however, had different methods of entry.

As for the Espers, theirs was a random factor. In contrast, the dimensional shuttle capability of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was more convenient, and their search for the Holy Light Particle would also require its help.

This was not Ames’ first time going to the secondary dimension. However, the ordinary procedures were troublesome, so with the help offered by Black Star and the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, things were a lot simpler. She curiously asked, “Then, where will our first stop be?”

“The dynasty has quite a few outposts in the secondary dimension, but I don’t wish to disturb them. Since you also have the Void bloodline, let’s go to the Void Dimension first.”

Han Xiao grasped the arm of the Mysterious Energy Host, gesturing for Ames to do the same.

“Alright.” Ames did not have any objections, but she did not hold onto the Mysterious Energy Host, instead choosing to latch herself on Han Xiao’s shoulder.

An ordinary person would have to make thorough preparations in order to go to the secondary dimension, but both of them were Beyond Grade As, so they did not require any sort of precautions.

The next moment, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy activated its ability, and a surge of crimson energy rushed out, enveloping their bodies.

Swoosh!

A bright light flashed, and the three of them disappeared without a trace.

…

Their vision blurred, and the scenery in front of their eyes suddenly changed. They were no longer inside Black Star Palace but within the familiar Void Dimension.

“This is really fast.” Ames was shocked.

“This is its innate ability. For it, returning to the secondary dimension is akin to going home, just like a fish in water,” Han Xiao replied.

The Mysterious Energy Host had strong combat abilities, and at the same time, it also possessed plenty of convenient abilities and effects. It really was like a handyman.

Ames took a deep breath of void energy, feeling the excitement in her cells. She chuckled. “What are our travel plans?”

“Let’s finish what we came here to do. We’ll have plenty of time to explore afterward.”

As Han Xiao spoke, he turned to look at the Mysterious Energy Host and asked it, “Do you know which secondary dimension the Holy Light Particle resides in?”

“I’m not sure what it’s called in the main universe, but I can identify its energy fluctuations and track it down,” the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy explained.

Hearing this, Han Xiao nodded. He had previously inquired about the dynasty’s exploration records of secondary dimensions based on the description given by the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, but they could not find anything similar. This probably meant that the place where the Holy Light Particle could be found had not been discovered yet.

Upon thinking about it, this would make sense. If the advanced civilizations managed to locate its lair, then the Holy Light Particle would not be able to laze around. Thus, at this moment, they could only depend on the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy to guide them.

“Let’s go quickly. I can’t wait to teach it a lesson.”

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was eager and proactively urged the others. It could not control the host by itself and had to have Han Xiao’s approval.

Hearing this, Han Xiao could not help but laugh. He estimated that the Holy Light Particle would probably be upset at this ‘friend’.

Brat, you brought all these enemies over to my area‽

As he shook his head, Han Xiao was about to speak, but his expression suddenly changed.

Boom!

At this moment, an anomaly occurred as the void energy in their surroundings began to tremble.

Ames felt the same sensation, and she narrowed her eyes as she gazed off into the distance. Her tone was solemn. “Seems like something’s coming!”

Chapter 1072: Milestone: Void Conqueror

1072 Milestone: Void Conqueror The Void Dimension was a chaotic and misty world, with gray and blue the predominant colors. Its space was filled with thick and viscous void energy.

Suddenly, the two of them seemed as though they had been put into a blender; the surrounding void energy formed a large vortex, with Han Xiao and Ames at its center.

Han Xiao raised his wariness, getting into a battle-ready state. The next moment, a mental fluctuation burst out, sweeping past the both of them, and a solemn, archaic voice spoke in their minds.

“What sort of alien creatures are you, to dare barge into my territory‽”

Just as the voice rang out, a powerful aura burst out in their perceptions. Rays of light flickered all around as countless figures appeared out of thin air, seemingly endless. They surrounded the duo.

These creatures had strange appearances, but they all carried the characteristics of a void species and wore specially-made armor.

Sweeping a glance, Han Xiao felt a sense of familiarity.

He was no stranger to these strange-looking creatures.

There were Void Prowlers and Chaos Observers as the Reconnaissance Troops, riding Void Hunters, Void Star Pursuers, and Void Walkers. Lined up in ranks were the Void Disciples, the Void Executioners, and the Magomado Blades. The ranged troops consisting of Void Witch Spirits and Chaos Arcane Bodies were placed at the back. These were all the race options he had encountered with each promotion.

In the center of this army was the behemoth troop. There were ten huge Margola Void Beasts, covered in armor and carrying countless void creatures. There were even three Void Dragon hatchlings, of which the three strongest void creatures rode on them.

Their leader was a Void Duke, about a few hundred meters in height, his body covered in a tangible blue-violet energy. He was covered from head to toe in huge black armor and held onto the reins of the void dragon with one hand, a mysterious black longsword in the other. Void Dukes could change their forms at will, and this Void Duke was currently assuming a humanoid form.

This was a Void Army Regiment!

“It seems like we accidentally ended up in the territory of a Void Duke.”

Seeing the group, Ames furrowed her brows.

She was an old visitor to the secondary dimensions, so it was not the first time she had encountered such a scene.

The Void Dimension was a naturally formed secondary dimension, and it spanned across an extremely vast area. The difference in dimensional attributes compared to the main universe had resulted in the spawning of the countless void species. In addition to naturally growing, the void species could strengthen themselves by swallowing each other, thus forming a complete chain of weak and strong. In this situation, the higher void creatures eventually segregated their territories, forming armies to fight against each other.

The Void Duke was one of the top void creatures, boasting their own powerful army. Their goal was to swallow other Void Lords or Void Dukes. Not only did they thrive on war, but using the unique features available to them, they had developed a special technology applied to the Void Dimension.

The Void creatures not only fought against each other, they were also hostile toward foreign life forms. One reason was because foreigners usually tended to kill them for materials, and secondly, the Void Corruptors could use their blood to convert the foreigners to become a new source for their troops. Thus, when encountering visitors from different dimensions, they would not be lenient.

“They treat us as prey.”

As countless malevolent gazes landed on them, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes before releasing his Beyond Grade A aura. His momentum swept the area around him like a gale.

Boom!

The tyrannical aura caused the void army to stagnate.

The Void Duke’s longsword slashed outward, sending a spiritual message filled with shock.

“Beyond Grade A creature of the main universe‽”

The prestige of Beyond Grade As resounded even within the secondary dimensions.

Han Xiao revealed his identity. “I’m an ally of the Crimson Dynasty, the leader of the Black Star Army. I go by Black Star.”

“Black Star? Never heard of you.”

Because information exchanges between the main universe and the secondary dimensions were limited, most of the void creatures were not concerned about the news from the main universe. However, the big names like the Crimson Dynasty were still known to the Void Dukes, as the reputation of the three Universal Civilizations had also spread throughout the secondary dimensions. The higher beings of the Void Dimension had considerable wisdom and knew to not provoke the three Universal Civilizations.

“Outsider, I’m the Void Duke Kirkmond. Leave my territory immediately.” He pointed with his longsword, indicating their expulsion.

The Beyond Grade A life forms from the main universe were not so easy to provoke. Although the Void Dimension had successfully killed some invading Beyond Grade As before, they were all done by the strongest Void Dukes. The casualties on both sides were equally heavy, which resulted in those Void Dukes being swallowed by others instead. Kirkmond was merely a Void Duke in the middle ranks and did not want to get himself into a conflict with a Beyond Grade A for nothing.

Seeing this, Ames did not wish to blow up the matter any further and patted Han Xiao. “Let’s go. There’s no need to entangle with them.”

Sweeping his gaze across the vigilant Void Army, Han Xiao suddenly had an idea and switched to his Void Form. The aura around his body changed completely.

Seeing this, Kirkmond jumped up in shock.

“You’re also part of the Void‽”

“That’s right. I’m not a creature from another dimension but one of your kind.”

After Han Xiao entered the Beyond Grade A realm, he had transformed into an exclusive race, but the void bloodline he originally had did not disappear, merely merging into the exclusive race.

According to his degree of evolution, Han Xiao’s Void creature ranking was high. He had reached the level of the Void Archangel, which was similar to the rank of Void Duke.

Kirkmond’s attitude took a 180-degree change, filling up with envy and greed while hiding behind a fawning attitude.

When encountering a Beyond Grade A of another species, even if they killed the other party, there were no benefits to them. However, if the other party was a Beyond Grade A void creature, then he could swallow their bloodline and obtain an evolutionary boost.

However, the difficulty in killing the latter was also greatly increased. The void dimension was the home of the void creatures, and the higher one’s void dimension life level, the higher their degree of control over the Void Energy. Han Xiao was akin to a fish in water there and would not be affected by the suppression of void energy.

The power system of the Void Dimension differed from the main universe. The void life forms possessed various racial talents, and through continuous evolution, they would activate their innate abilities to exert a great combat strength. This sort of strength could not be replicated by others, so it could not be classified as one of the major Super systems and only classified as a special life form.

However, the void creatures could also take the initiative to master the super system of the main universe, and their representatives were relatively well known.

“Do you know Kasuyi?” Kirkmond could not help but ask.

“We’re quite familiar with each other.” Han Xiao nodded.

Hearing this, Kirkmond felt proud.

Kasuyi was a celebrity within the Void Dimension, publicly recognized as one of the strongest void creatures to exist. He had raked up vast achievements while still within the void dimension, conquering a large number of Void Lords and Void Dukes and ruling a vast territory in the center of the Void Dimension. No one could contend with him then, and while he was generally more active in the main universe, his reputation within the Void Dimension still remained unmatched.

And right now, Kirkmond had encountered a new Beyond Grade A void creature who was even familiar with Kasuyi, piquing his interest. After all, Kirkmond himself did not possess the qualifications to even come into contact with Kasuyi.

“Black Star, come over to my place to be my guest.” Kirkmond directly issued an invitation. There were few formalities within the Void Dimension, so they did not beat around the bush.

“Alright, I’ll go and have a look.” Han Xiao had similar intentions. Since he had managed to meet this Void Duke, it would be good to exchange some intelligence. Furthermore, since he planned to travel and explore this time, he was not afraid of having his time delayed.

The Void Dimension had many good things, such as the Void Maharaja that Austin had once given him, allowing his bloodline to be purified further. While Han Xiao had already reached the pinnacle Beyond Grade A realm, there might be something that could help him strengthen his void talents. There was no harm in trying his luck.

Speaking of luck, Han Xiao could not help but think about the luck halo [Caretaker of the Stars] that Ames had.

While he did not bring Feidin this time, Ames’ had pretty good luck as well, which could be able to carry him forward.

“This is a guider. Follow me.”

Kirkmond shook his fingers, sending out a cloud of void energy that contained the information on the coordinates over to Han Xiao.

The next moment, the surrounding void army all flickered and disappeared. In the Void Dimension, none of the inhabitants flew normally. They had all mastered the craft of Void Travel.

Seeing this, Ames shook her head in resignation. “You actually exposed your identity to the Void creature. The last time Hila and I came to the secondary dimension to train, neither of us dared to do so, or else we would not have made it back.”

“Those with skills have bigger balls,” Han Xiao joked.

While the secondary dimension still posed some risks to ordinary Beyond Grade As, it was not much to a pinnacle Beyond Grade A.

The duo then followed the guider and shuttled through the void, soon arriving at Kirkmond’s base camp.

This was a magnificent city that was suspended in space. The entire body of the city was made out of translucent crystals, and its radiant internal energy core could be seen, surrounded by a rich layer of gray-blue void energy.

Within the Void Dimension, natural materials were scarce, so crystals were generally obtained through special techniques of refining the omnipresent Void Energy. To build a city like this, the expenses were naturally gargantuan.

This huge city had many barracks, so rather than calling it a city, it would be more accurate to call it an army camp. Han Xiao and Ames went to the main hall in the center of the city, and Kirkmond greeted the both of them.

He had shrunk his body to match Han Xiao’s size. After they sat down, he impatiently asked, “Black Star, where were you born?”

He thought that Han Xiao had grown up as a native of the Void Dimension. However, Han Xiao did not hide it and explained that he was someone who had acquired a void bloodline and had always been active in the main universe.

The two of them chatted with each other, exchanging information. Han Xiao talked about the situation in the main universe, while Kirkmond talked about what the Void Dimension was like.

In his previous life, the players had a limited understanding of the secondary dimensions since they only came into contact with it in the later versions. Furthermore, many of the secondary dimension life forms did not have a habit of recording their history, so Han Xiao also lacked information about the void dimension in the current era.

After some exchanges, Han Xiao developed a general understanding of the current power balance of the void dimension. It was not ruled by a single entity but by many strong powerhouses.

The Kasuyi family dominated and occupied the entire central area but had no intention of unifying the void dimension, nor did they possess the ability. Powerful Void Dukes constantly sprang up like bamboo shoots after a downpour, fighting each other in separate areas. In addition, there were a large number of chaotic areas such as the wilderness, where chaos reigned, constantly breeding new void creatures that would freely hunt each other in the area.

After chatting for a while, Kirkmond finally came to the topic of Han Xiao’s reason for going there.

“I actually have no goal. I just intend to roam a bit around the secondary dimensions. My first trip was to the Void Dimension, and I coincidentally met you.” Han Xiao spread open his hands.

Hearing this, Kirkmond thought for a while before saying, “Since you have nothing to do, you can help me out.”

There was no such thing as politeness or etiquette in the Void Dimension. While it was the first time they had met, Kirkmond did not bother standing on ceremony with them.

“What do you need?” Han Xiao was curious.

“I’ve always wanted to kill Bagdora. He’s also a Void Duke, his territory similar to mine. We’ve already had more than a hundred battles against each other. If you’re able to help, I can eradicate him, swallowing his core and taking over his army troops.”

Han Xiao raised his brows. “Then, what can you repay me with?”

“I can give you half of the cores of the Void life forms left on the battlefield. In addition, if you need any specialties of the Void Dimension, I can find them for you.” Kirkmond waved his hand, giving his bottom line without any attention for negotiation skills. “Furthermore, you can obtain my friendship. When you need help in the main universe, you can open a Void Path, and I will bring my army to help you fight.”

Hearing that, Han Xiao was excited.

When he previously evolved into the [Void Pathfinder], he had obtained the racial talent of [Void Path], which could temporarily open a door to the Void Dimension.

He had never utilized this ability before because the summoned void life forms would not differentiate between friend or foe. However, if he could form an agreement with Kirkmond, then he would be able to use this ability to summon a void regiment to fight for him.

The same was true for Kasuyi. He could use his natural ability to call out the Void army under his command. This was where he had obtained his moniker [Void Overlord], but he seldom used this ability since his true body was too strong and did not require reinforcements.

While Han Xiao was not a summoner, this talent could also achieve the effect of a summoning.

At this moment, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the mission: Void Duke’s War Employment!

Mission Introduction: Void Duke Kirkmond has taken a fancy to your combat abilities, and hopes to hire you to fight for him and eradicate his enemies.

Mission Requirements: Defeat Void Duke Bagdora’s Army

Reward: 12 billion experience, +3,000 Kirkmond Favorability, 1 Character Summon Card

Additional Reward: Triggers the Milestone Mission: Void Conqueror

Void Conqueror: Milestone competition conditions: Destroy eight Void Dukes and their organizations (void life forms at the same life form level are accepted). At the same time, achieve a Favorability rating of Respect (3,000 Favorability) in at least four Void Dukes’ factions. Reward will be given after Milestone is completed.

Milestone Completion Reward: If you possess Void abilities, their base effects will have a slight increase, and you will obtain 500 – 2,000 Free Attribute Points. You will also obtain +1 Legendary Point, +20 Favorability on all void life forms, and +1 God’s Trait Transformation Point. This will only be given if the [God’s Trait Transformation] talent is activated.

_____________________

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The rewards were pretty good this time. He could even obtain a God’s Trait Transformation point. After creating both Universal Treasures, he had thought that he would have to wait till he underwent another Promotion to obtain more points.

Looking at the introduction, it seemed like only those Beyond Grade As who had reached the level of God’s Trait Transformation would then trigger this extra point reward. If other people accepted this mission, they would not see the last message.

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

Not only did he manage to obtain a mission, he could even get a large number of Void specialties promised by Kirkmond. This sort of business could be done. To Han Xiao, it was just going back to his old mercenary days.

“Deal, I’ll help you.” Han Xiao smiled. “However, now’s not a good time. I still have things to do, so let’s put this off until I return.”

He had already decided to accept the employment, but his priority was still to obtain the Holy Light Particle. This was non-negotiable; thus, he would only come over to help Kirkmond after he was done obtaining the Holy Light Particle.

“No problem!” Kirkmond was overjoyed, immediately agreeing.

Since he had fought the other party for so many years, waiting a while longer was not a problem.

Ames was not interested in their conversation. After growing bored of listening to them, she took out the revive token to fiddle in her hand. She had also obtained this from Hila.

At this moment, Kirkmond glanced over subconsciously and suddenly froze, his gaze fixed on the revive token.

“Huh?” Ames’ brows rose, and she clenched her fingers over the token. “What are you looking at?”

“Er, could you pass the thing in your hand to me for a look? I felt a very familiar aura from it.” Kirkmond was not polite at all, his tone carrying a little suspicion.

Han Xiao realized something, quickly taking his own token out and asking, “I have something similar. Does it have the aura you’re familiar with?”

“Yes, but it’s very weak. Could you pass it over to let me scrutinize it?” Kirkmond nodded.

Han Xiao thought about it before flicking the token over.

Kirkmond’s palm transformed into energy to envelop the revive token. After carefully looking at it, he replied with an uncertain tone, “I seem to have felt a similar energy fluctuation within one of the secondary dimension layers…”

Han Xiao’s expression changed immediately.

This revive token contained the effect of [Death Rejection—Awakening]. Based on his inference, this was a new ability developed by Hila. Using delicate power control, she had combined Aurora’s life energy with her own Power of the Dead to form an entirely new type of energy.

Hila had also mentioned that when she was attempting to form a remote connection with Aurora, she experienced some difficulty in that a secondary dimension layer kept absorbing most of the energy transmitted between both of them. Hila initially planned to do a field trip to the area, but she did not have the time to come this trip.

So, is it a coincidence that I came across the target Hila was looking for?

Han Xiao could not help but look at Ames.

Compared to Feidin, I think touching you might be better now…

Chapter 1073: Encounter

Chapter 1073 Encounter

To come across a clue right after they entered the secondary dimension, this could only be attributed to luck. Most likely, it was Ames’ [Caretaker of the Stars] Luck Glow that shone down on them. Could it be that the Goddess of Luck had changed her sexual orientation?

Speaking of which, since the act of rubbing Feidin for luck was called ‘Touching the Willy’, what then should he term the act of rubbing Ames?

Should he just go with ‘Coiling Dragon[1]’?

Since his luck was good enough to run into the clues that Hila was searching for, Han Xiao had no reason to let it go. He pressed on. “Do you remember which secondary dimension that was?”

Kirkmond thought for a while before he nodded. “I have a faint impression. That secondary dimension seems to be pretty well known as well and was famous for a period of time. It was once blocked off by a certain type of power but occasionally emitted strong vitality that could actually stimulate the potential of various life forms. Later, the blockade lifted by itself, but when the curious secondary dimension life forms went over, they discovered that nothing was within it, and the entire space even lacked the energy to maintain itself. It slowly declined and shrank, and in recent years, it’s been close to collapse. It may disappear at any time.”

Hearing that, Han Xiao was excited.

Most secondary dimensions did not exist forever but would collapse and disappear over time, just like leaves withering and fruits rotting. The secondary dimension world was disorderly and chaotic, which would constantly give rise to new secondary dimensions. Most of them were like bubbles, small and short lived, and only a few could exist stably for a long period of time.

Advanced civilizations and mages could also create artificial secondary dimensions. However, the form of such artificial secondary dimensions was different from the naturally occurring hyper-stable plane of the void dimension.

As for the blockage of such secondary dimensions, there were several possibilities. The most likely would be that the secondary dimension was a creation of some powerful life form. In which case, it would make sense to seal it from the outside world to prevent intruders.

“If this secondary dimension was the subsidiary space of a Beyond Grade A, then the reason for its decline should be the death of the Beyond Grade A creator, causing the space to lose its energy supply, gradually shrinking and collapsing,” Han Xiao guessed.

“I’m not clear on that.” Kirkmond threw the revive token back to Han Xiao. “I call it the Land of Dead Silence. If you wish to go, I can send you the coordinates.”

“If you could. I have some interest in that place.” Han Xiao smiled.

Kirkmond casually squeezed at the void energy, burning the information of the Land of Dead Silence within before throwing it to Han Xiao. He added, “The space wall of that secondary dimension is riddled with holes, and countless space storms surge within. Be careful, the space might collapse and disappear at any time, and if you are swept away by that turbulent space, you might end up lost in the endless layers of the secondary dimensions.”

Han Xiao received the energy clump and read through the information before standing up. “Noted. We’ll make a move now.”

This was an unexpected harvest of the trip. He had planned to take a gander after he was done with his business to help Hila search for what she wanted.

“Then, I’ll wait for you to return so we can start the war.” Kirkmond nodded back.

Having reached an agreement for the war employment, Han Xiao did not delay and once again summoned the Mysterious Energy Host.

“Let’s go. Lead the way. We’ll find your old friend.”

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy got the instruction and performed another dimensional shuttle, taking Han Xiao and Ames with him.

…

Meanwhile, Law and Fay were slowly patrolling a vast white space within one of the secondary dimension layers.

On the bridge of the flagship, a star map of the secondary dimension was suspended in the air, but its appearance was very different from the detailed 3D map the main universe had. It looked like a model of countless bubbles piled up together, and at first glance, it looked like a bunch of grapes. Every bubble represented a secondary dimension that was recorded.

Because new secondary dimensions were constantly being born, the terrain of the secondary dimension changed every moment. This map was only used as a reference, and the anchor point coordinates of the different layers were used as guiding markers.

Law and Fay stood next to the secondary dimension world model, silently observing. At this moment, a red dot suddenly lit up inside one of the bubbles, and a circle of red ripples appeared within the model.

“Cross-probing radar has discovered a target, marked as pinnacle Beyond Grade A level!”

“Our target is separated by thirteen secondary dimensions… The route simulation is complete. Expected to encounter our target after eight jumps.”

“Your Excellencies, awaiting your command.”

Hearing the reports from the subordinates, Law hummed in agreement before commanding, “Lock the anchor point, start the dimensional jump!”

Once the command was issued, these warships immediately activated the secondary dimension engine, turning into streams of light as they accelerated wildly. The shuttle device loaded on the battleships began to operate, oscillating at the space walls with a special frequency.

The moment the battleships’ speed reached its peak, a space wall shaped like a honeycomb appeared in front of it. A crack was quickly created, and the other end was a scene of the next dimension.

The spaceships flew straight in, and everyone heard a crisp ‘pop’ sound, as though the shock outside caused the air within the spaceships to react.

Their vision blurred, and the next moment, they had arrived in another secondary dimension. In just a few seconds, the crack within the space wall closed and disappeared without a trace.

This was the conventional way of shuttling between secondary dimensions. The scenes of the secondary dimensions changed rapidly outside the porthole as the fleet jumped many times in succession before finally coming to a halt.

Such rapid shuttling brought a heavy load to the spacecraft, and at this time, the spaceships were all shrouded in violent space energy, distorting their very environment as though the engines were overheated.

On the star map, the fleet showed that they were finally on the same secondary dimension as the red dot, and the target was rapidly drawing closer.

Seeing this, Law quickly came to the front porthole, looking in the direction of the red dot. “Prepare to engage. Ready the Dimensional Exile Bullet.”

As both of them stared out of the window, finally, a figure appeared and flew closer.

Just as he was about to initiate the attack, Law took a close look at the person and immediately changed his command.

“Wait, don’t fire! This person doesn’t look like Black Star. His aura is different from the one in our records.”

Clotti was wearing a mechanical suit, covering his facial features, but he did not hide the energy fluctuations coming from his body.

The Energy Attribute of an Esper and a Mechanic were worlds apart, so at close range, Law discovered the significant difference in energy fluctuations.

Sensing the group in front of him, Clotti slowed down before coming to a stop in front of the fleet. He opened the wide area communication channel as he coldly spoke.

“Who are you guys? Why are you stopping me?”

“We’re just a secondary dimension exploration team. We’re not blocking you but rather happened to come across you.” Law sent a reply back.

Observing the space energy distortion caused by the rapid jumps around the fleet, Clotti knew immediately that this group was lying, but he did not expose them. “Which organization does your exploration team belong to?”

“We’re from a small civil organization and have come over to collect some specialties here. Seeing that you’re shuttling through the secondary dimension alone, you must be a famous pinnacle Beyond Grade A. I wonder if we can have the honor of knowing your name,” Law humbly said.

“I’m just an ordinary Beyond Grade A,” Clotti blandly replied.

Law cursed in his heart.

F*ck you!

To think that a pinnacle Beyond Grade A like you is trying to pretend to be weak!

Law and Fay felt a headache coming. Both of them were Beyond Grade As, and if not for the fact that the detection radar was able to tell them their opponent’s combat power, they would not be so humble.

This cross-plane life form detection radar was a device dedicated to the secondary dimensions, but its accuracy was quite lacking. The search conditions were already harsh enough, but both of them did not expect themselves to have such bad luck to run into another pinnacle Beyond Grade A.

The two of them were still unaware of Clotti’s identity and did not wish to cause any problems.

“Your Excellency Beyond Grade A, if we accidentally offended you. We express our apologies. If there’s nothing else, we’ll take our leave first.”

He did not even wait for Clotti to reply, immediately steering the fleet to turn around and move away.

Looking back, the duo discovered that Clotti did not chase them but rather stayed there and watched them leave.

“It seems like he’s not planning to attack us.” Law sighed.

“Most likely, he’s not interested in us.” Fay was secretly relieved.

“Let’s get out of here.” Law turned back to instruct the crew, “Mark this target, and don’t bump into him again on accident. Reset the cross-plane detector, and search for another pinnacle Beyond Grade A signal.”

The two of them were not interested in Clotti’s identity at all. In the secondary dimensions, there were many crouching tigers and hidden dragons. The two of them were not there to cause trouble. Everything was done for their mission.

Clotti watched the fleet fly away without chasing them.

The secondary dimensions hid a lot of organizations that operated in secret, avoiding the rule of the three Universal Civilizations. They were a group of rats in the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations.

In Clotti’s eyes, it was likely that this group was one of these hidden organizations. They had pursued the wrong target and ended up bumping into him instead.

The goal of his trip was Traveler, and since these guys knew how to back off, he could not be bothered to pick on them.

Glancing one last time at the direction the fleet departed, Clotti chose another direction away from them to travel, continuously shuttling.

Before long, Clotti stepped into his destination, the secondary dimension of Evil Convergence.

Looking around, the area seemed to be filled with a corrosive purplish-green energy. It moved lazily in waves, like the folds on a stomach wall. Bubbles of purple green gas occasionally popped out like flooding stomach juices, and it gave off the impression of being in the stomach of some weird creature.

From one of the inner walls of the Evil Convergence dimension then popped out a male’s upper body, covered with purplish green mucus. This person was Traveler.

His skin was pale, and he exuded an evil and crazed temperament, as though he had entered a manic mode that prevented him from being rational.

The lower half of Traveler’s body, which was still engulfed, continuously emitted energy rings that could be seen with the naked eye. The rings travelled through the purplish-green inner walls and were absorbed by the Evil Convergence dimension.

Clotti frowned. With his insight, it was not difficult to see that Traveler was spreading the essence of his own genes. He was technically having sex with this secondary dimension that almost seemed alive.

“Dark Lord Clotti, what a rare guest… I’m not sure why you’re looking for me. Are you here to join the party? I certainly don’t mind.” Traveler laughed hoarsely.

Clotti remained stoic, indifferently replying, “You took part in the campaign to encircle and suppress the allies of the dynasty, committing a crime. I’m here today as your arbiter.”

“So, you’re here to kill me?” The corners of Traveler’s mouth hooked upward in an eerie smile.

At this moment, from the inner walls of the Evil Convergence dimension emerged countless figures, forming an endless army.

The majority of them were dangerous characters from various dimensions. Among them, there were three figures exuding the aura of a Beyond Grade A, obviously helpers called forth by Traveler.

After divining that he would come across a formidable enemy, Traveler had used his contacts in the secondary dimension to set up an ambush.

“This is the Dark Lord of the main universe?” At this moment, one of the assisting Beyond Grade As stepped out with his arms folded and casually spoke. “Doesn’t seem to be much, if he’s that careless.”

The other Beyond Grade A looked toward Traveler and solemnly said, “Remember our agreement. This time, we’ll only help you drive out your enemy and not kill the Dark Lord. Otherwise, the Crimson Dynasty will pursue us.”

Hearing this, Clotti realized that the three Beyond Grade As were powerhouses he had never seen before, and everything became clear at once.

It was impossible for the three Universal Civilizations to monitor the birth of every single Beyond Grade A; there would definitely be some who were unwilling to be recorded. As long as they kept concealing their identity and strength, not creating organizations or making a name for themselves, the three Universal Civilizations would not be able to discover their existence.

Quite a few of them also hid within the secondary dimension, never appearing in the main universe.

Some were neutrals that were worried about being persecuted, and there were also secret combatants belonging to other advanced civilizations, such as the Super Star Cluster Alliance. After the Tragedy of the Pinnacles, the Super Star Cluster Civilizations did not dare show their Beyond Grade As on the surface. Thus, their allies would all be sent into the secondary dimension to hide, preventing their existence from being discovered by the three Universal Civilizations.

At this moment, Traveler opened his arms wide, looking at Clotti as he laughed crazily.

“Hahaha, Dark Lord, you have immense combat strength in the main universe, but this is my home field. Can you even kill me?”

Clotti’s expression remained calm, but his eyes glowed with a dark light.

He lightly lifted his arms, and dark energy gathered. He slowly said, “Since that’s the case, I’ll have to smash you apart with your home field.”

…

Following the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, Han Xiao and Ames shuttled through various secondary dimensions one by one, seeing all kinds of bizarre sights. After a long time, they finally stopped moving.

“We’re here. This is the nest of the Holy Light Particle,” the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy excitedly said.

Han Xiao wandered around and saw that this was a dazzling world, with boundless land, mountains, forests, and rivers. But all of it was made out of materialized light, shiny and colorful.

The towering mountain peaks looked like blocks of shining giant gems, and the river was flowing with something resembling liquid light. Everything in this world was pure and flawless, just like a fairy tale.

“It’s rather pretty. This is the first time I’ve come across such a secondary dimension.” Ames could not help but rub her eyes in helplessness. “But it’s a little piercing to the eyes.”

“It is indeed.” Han Xiao smirked before asking, “How do we find it?”

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy laughed. “Haha, it’s either sleeping or doesn’t want to be seen. Leave it to me. It’s very sensitive to my energy. So long as it senses me, it will become mad, so I can release my aura and arouse its natural reaction to take the initiative to come over.

Hearing this, Han Xiao could not help but glance at the Mysterious Energy Host in a weird manner.

What’s with this tone? It sounds like you’ve trained it like a pet…

[1] The author wrote the actual characters for Coiling Dragon (the novel) inside, so I translated as such. Not sure if there’s supposed to be a sexual connotation to it but Coiling Dragon could also mean someone whose talent was hidden, ie Ames since Han Xiao never discovered that she was so lucky.

Chapter 1074: New System from the Holy Light Particle

1074 New System from the Holy Light Particle The air was filled with light energy. In a Mage’s words, the density of light element was extremely high in this place.

Han Xiao and Ames landed on a shallow land beside a river, the soil was made of colorful sand and felt just like a normal beach.

Ames squatted down, picked up a sand particle, and curiously observed this irregular-shaped solid subject. She then used a tiny bit of force on it. This sand particle cracked open and turned into fog-like light dust, slowly rising up.

Looking up, the sky was covered by a large sea of clouds, all formed by gaseous light particles. It was dreamy. There were light particles ascending from all places occasionally, and once a certain density was reached, this sea of clouds would turn into rain and pour the light dust onto the ground, forming new terrains. This process had constantly been repeating itself.

“It’s beautiful,” Ames complimented.

Han Xiao came to the river and lifted up a pond of liquid light particles. Looking at the gold-like liquid flowing through his fingers, he could not help but say, “This place is heavily light polluted.”

“… Did you have to break the atmosphere like that?” Ames said with resignation.

“Come on, I’m just telling the truth.”

Han Xiao’s lips curled up. He summoned a few industrial mining devices and said casually, “This place is very unique and has high research value. I’m going to bring some materials back for experiments.”

As he was speaking, he recorded the coordinates of this secondary dimension in the database so that he could come again. After some pondering, he decided to call this secondary dimension ‘Nation of Light’.

After Han Xiao was done with all that, he then deployed some space stabilization anchors to prevent the Holy Light Particle from escaping. He patted the Mysterious Energy Host and said, “Okay, it’s time to force the Holy Light Particle out.”

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy had been looking forward to this for a long time. As soon as he received the order, he instantly released waves of red energy into the ground without hesitation, forming an enormous expanding spider net.

When Han Xiao silently counted to 221, Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy finally reacted and said with an evil tone, “I’ve found it. It’s sleeping as expected. Watch me wake it up!”

As soon as the sentence ended, Han Xiao and Ames felt the ground under them tremble.

The next moment, the entire space started trembling, mountains and all.

Boom!

Before the two of them could start to observe the surroundings, an enormous light fountain gushed out from under the ground, turning into a holy-looking mass of gold light. At its core was a blindingly bright sphere, as if there was another sun in the sky.

At this time, a red stream of Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was inside this white gold sphere of light. Like cold water poured into boiling oil, it triggered extremely violent reactions.

With the appearance of this mass of light, a furious and irritated energy impact expanded instantly.

“Mosanil! You attacked me again in my sleep! I’m definitely going to kill you today!”

“Narusus, doesn’t my energy taste good? Did you miss it?” The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy chuckled.

Hearing this, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

From this exchange, it sounded like this was not the first time…

Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy turned to look at Han Xiao and said with a smile, “This is the Holy Light Particle you guys talked about. It’s in a bad mood after waking up. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Primal Esper Ability Entities were all ancient and had their own names. ‘Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’ and ‘Holy Light Particle’ were just the names the outside world assigned to them.

The Holy Light Particle hastily approached and finally realized the others. Seeing the Mysterious Energy Host, its rage vanished, switching right to joy.

“Hmm? You’ve been made into a puppet again? Hahaha, karma! You deserved it!”

“Don’t be too happy. You’re next.” Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy smiled coldly.

The Holy Light Particle looked at Han Xiao and Ames. He then said with a displeased tone, “Humph, you’re low as always, helping the enemies obtain my body, hoping to drag me down… The two of you kids from the main universe, I don’t care how he tricked you, but I’m not interested in playing with you. Get the hell back to the main universe and stop bothering me.”

Han Xiao did not mind. He took out a tin shaped device, tilted his head, and said, “Are you going to come in yourself, or do you want me to help you?”

Hearing this, the Holy Light Particle instantly became much brighter, giving off a tsunami-like energy shockwave as if it was giving its all. The entire space trembled slightly. With an over the top confident tone, he said, “I’m no weakling like Mosanil Are you prepared to face the consequences of trying to catch me‽”

Thirty seconds later…

“Stop stop stop, it hurts. I admit my defeat.”

The Holy Light Particle had shrunk countless times and was contained in the tin like a pool of gold liquid. The containment device was buzzing with an electromagnetic field.

Han Xiao shook the device and made the Holy Light Particle stagger a few times.

“That’s it?” Ames was speechless.

She had thought that the Holy Light Particle was very strong and was already prepared to fight. To her absolute surprise, after one slap from Han Xiao, the Holy Light Particle was already done for. It was way too weak.

Han Xiao, of course, was not surprised. In the face of a peak Beyond Grade A, Primal Esper Ability Entities would not be able to do much. He only found the fact that the Holy Light Particle was so confident strange.

Seeing his old friend get beaten up, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was now the one gloating. He moved beside the containment device and chuckled. “Welcome, with you as my company, I won’t be lonely anymore.”

“Mosanil! I’ll murder you sooner or later!” The Holy Light Particle was in despair.

Han Xiao tapped on the glass of the containment device and interrupted them. “You’ll have plenty of time to communicate in the future. Answer my question first. What abilities do you have?”

The Holy Light Particle said with rage, “I’m telling you, I won’t give in as easily as Mosanil. Even if you torture me, I won’t…”

Thirty seconds later…

The Holy Light Particle obediently lay at the bottom of the containment device, shivering while explaining his abilities.

“My most basic abilities are physique enhancement, superspeed flight, and dimension crossing. I can also give others the power of holy light. I have the ability to attack as well. My host can use me to punish evil. There are two criteria for judging what or who’s evil. One is the belief of my host, and the other is the target’s own conscience and understanding of their crimes. The more severe the crime, the stronger the power of the punishment will be… Also, I can purify filth, helping the target to get rid of related negative states, as well as heal to a certain extent…”

The Holy Light Particle poured everything out.

As Han Xiao nodded and listened, he also complained about the Holy Light Particle in his mind. From just his name, he thought this guy would be pure and virtuous, only to realize he changed his attitude instantly after he got beaten up. He was just as shameless as Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. Was it because they had lived too long?

In terms of punishing evil and purifying filth, the abilities of the Holy Light Particle did indeed match its ‘holy’ style. However, the criteria were quite emotionally dependent. Its strength would only be maximized when its host was a person of justice with strong beliefs.

Compared to all that, what Han Xiao cared more about was its ability to gift others the power of holy light. After some questioning, he was pleasantly surprised.

Holy light itself was considered a type of multi-dimensional energy. It was not rare and could be used by both high-level Mechanics and Mages. It had mind energy characteristics. However, although holy light was not rare, it was not something ordinary people could use.

The Holy Light Particle, however, could gift any intelligent species ‘Holy Light Seed’. As long as the target trained hard, fertilized the seed with beliefs and determination to make it blossom, the target would have control of holy light energy, which could be further enhanced. This meant that the Holy Light Particle could provide an extra class with growth potential, allowing ordinary people to have power from nothing, and Supers could obtain this ability.

However, since the requirement was that one had to obtain ‘Holy Light Seed’ and the gifted energy could be retrieved by Holy Light Particle, it had limited uses and was not included in the five Super classes. It was more like a subclass.

From the Holy Light Particle, Han Xiao came to know that back when the Holy Light Particle had a host, it used a method to enhance its host’s strength—it retrieved the matured Holy Light Seed from others. This was equivalent to taking the fruits of hard work from others and making all of their hard work its own.

After hearing its experience, the way Han Xiao looked at the Holy Light Particle became much friendlier.

Not bad, didn’t expect you to be in the leek industry too.

Han Xiao believed in ‘seeing is believing’, so he told the unwilling Holy Light Particle to use this ability on him. A stream of warm gold energy flowed into his body, and a notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have received ability [Holy Light Seed].

[Holy Light Seed]: Passive ability. This is the base of the power of holy light. It has to be nurtured by belief. After maturing, you can awaken subclass [Holy Light Emissary]. Belief Value required 0/5000. (Belief Value can be increased through meditating, mind training, punishing criminals, and so on.)

_____________________

I see… This ability has a very high strategic value. If the energy given out isn’t retrieved, I can turn many ordinary people who don’t have the talent to become Supers into holy light warriors. This way, the fundamental combat capability of the army will increase tremendously.

This was a surprise. Maybe he could even sell this to the players. It seemed to have quite a high potential.

However, Evans did not display this ability in his previous life, so it probably had some limits.

After some questioning, Han Xiao got the answer.

As expected, every Holy Light Seed was a tiny bit of core essence granted by the Holy Light Particle, and its core energy recovered at a very slow speed. If he used too much, he would be heavily damaged together with its host.

“I seem to have a way to make its energy recover quickly…” Han Xiao pondered.

He had some ideas, but this was not the time to test them, so he kept the containment device.

Han Xiao also told the Holy Light Particle to take back the Holy Light Seed in him. He only asked for it to test it; he did not need this subclass himself.

According to his original thoughts, he wanted to also make a host for the Holy Light Particle. However, the way he looked at it now, that might not be the best choice.

Han Xiao looked at the interface. [The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s Arch Enemy] was already shown as complete.

He received 2.4 billion EXP and two Character Summon Cards. As expected, they were from the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and Holy Light Particle. The abilities were not too rare; they were the ability to suck the energy out of a planet’s core and Holy Flame Judgement. Although the two of them were already in his hands, these two Character Summon Cards were better than nothing.

What Han Xiao was more concerned about was the newly activated milestone mission [Primal Esper Ability Collector].

_____________________

[Primal Esper Ability Collector (Unactivated)]: Activation requirement—Have at least 4 Primal Esper Ability Entities. Current progress 2/4.

Effects: When you fight Espers, all your attributes will increase slightly. 12% – 20% damage reduction from Espers.

Reward: [The Third Sanctum] Ability Fragment * 1

_____________________

Han Xiao was stunned.

The Third Sanctum? What on earth is this? I seem to remember that I also have the Ability Fragment of the First Sanctum? Could these be connected?

This question had been troubling him for quite some time, but he had not found any clues.

He suppressed the curiosity in his heart and looked at the effects of the milestone. It was targeted at Espers and was quite useful.

The mission requirement is to have four Primal Esper Ability Entities, which means I will need two more. That is quite difficult, mainly because they’re hard to find. I’ll just try my best…

As he had expected, dealing with the Holy Light Particle was a piece of cake. Once business was done, Han Xiao went sightseeing with Ames in the Nation of Light for a while, and when he had collected enough sample material, the two of them left this secondary dimension and headed for the next stop—Land of Dead Silence.

…

As lights flickered, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy brought Han Xiao and Ames to the Land of Dead Silence following the coordinates from Kirkmond.

After seeing the environment there, Han Xiao could not help but exclaim, “Wow, this place really does look quite scary.”

This secondary dimension had only dark colors, the spatial wall had countless holes. Violent chaotic space streams continuously invaded and raged. The sky was filled with infinite space storms flickering in dark blue and purple. Below them was a black desolate desert. Many places were devoured by chaotic space streams and turned into the void. This land was torn into separated broken islands.

Having felt something, Han Xiao took out the revive token he had been wearing and realized it was heating up—it reacted to this place as expected.

“This means that the Land of Dead Silence really is connected to Hila…”

Han Xiao released his senses and searched the entire secondary dimension, only to find nothing special.

Just as Kirkmond said, this secondary dimension was close to dying. There was nothing there.

This time, Ames shook her head and said, “Looks like Hila will have to come here personally to notice something.”

Han Xiao nodded in agreement. Hila’s ability probably had some resonance with the Land of Dead Silence and might be able to activate some unique event. Although he was stronger, he clearly did not meet the requirements.

“At least we investigated the place for her, so it’ll be easier for her to come next time.” Han Xiao recorded the coordinates of this dimension in the database.

Just as the two of them were about to leave, a powerful life energy source suddenly appeared out of nowhere and entered the range of their senses.

The two of them looked over and saw a silhouette covered in wounds falling out of a chaotic space stream, coincidentally into the space wall hole of the Land of Dead Silence.

Ames blinked and wondered, “Hmm? This person looks somewhat familiar…”

…

At the same time…

“Your Excellencies, the radar has locked onto the target!”

Inside the spaceship command room, Law and Fay quickly looked at the map.

“This isn’t the same person we met earlier, right?”

“No, he’s in another secondary dimension. This is the second peak Beyond Grade A signal detected.”

After making sure they were not mistaken, Law instantly ordered, “Okay, lock onto the new target and advance at full speed!”

…

In Evil Convergence…

God only knew what violent treatment the space wall received. Like a balloon, it expanded and cracked from within, causing this secondary dimension to lose all its defenses. The green evil energy everywhere that was full of life earlier looked like it had lost all energy as it was blown away by the chaotic space stream together with all the bodies here, disappearing without a trace.

This special secondary dimension that gave birth to lives had now turned into a wreckage with only silence and death. It was quickly dying.

Clotti shattered the head of the last Beyond Grade A, turned up to look at the space storm raging around him, and frowned. He was not satisfied with his performance.

“It’s been too long since I’ve fought. I’ve really gotten rusty and accidentally used too much strength. He managed to escape with the chaotic space stream.”

Chapter 1075: Escaping from the Tiger“s Den into the Wolf“s Nes

1075 Escaping from the Tiger“s Den into the Wolf“s Nes “Hahaha, I’ve escaped!”

A green ball of light floated in the space storm. It was Traveler, who was protecting himself with a magic shield.

At this point of time, he was no longer in the state of madness affected by Evil Convergence. Although his skin was still pale, he did not give off an evil vibe anymore. His mental state had also returned to normal, only filled with fear and frustration.

In order to ambush Clotti, Traveler had gathered the friends he had made in the secondary dimension in the past. He had thought that with a total of four Beyond Grade As, with the help of the fact that they were in the Evil Convergence secondary dimension, they would be able to force Dark Lord away at the very least.

However, reality slapped him right on his cheeks.

Clotti was way too strong. He had a Super High Risk Esper Ability to begin with, and it had evolved to a very high level. His area damage was explosive. Through simulating the phenomenon of a mini big bang with his dark energy, he thrashed the entire Evil Convergence secondary dimension and broke the space wall from within.

If he was just powerful by himself, the four of them would still have had the chance to escape. However, what gave Traveler the most despair was the fact that Clotti had not just one but many Universal Treasures!

As a peak Beyond Grade A directly under the dynasty’s command and the personal guard of the Ruler, Clotti was not short on Universal Treasures. To make his mission easier, the dynasty had given him many Universal Treasures to use.

Before executing the mission, Clotti had taken five Universal Treasures from the dynasty’s stash, increasing his strength by a large extent. When he went all out, he easily killed three Beyond Grade As who had yet to surpass the 52,000 Energy Rank.

Traveler was the only one who had escaped with the help of the chaotic space stream when his wife, the Evil Convergence secondary dimension, was being murdered.

Without Evil Convergence, his strength had plummeted back to the level of ordinary Beyond Grade As. His hard work over all these years had gone right down the drain. His heart was hurting so much it felt like someone was suffocating it.

However, one good thing was that the enemy could no longer track him using Evil Convergence. As long as he hid well, he would be safe.

“As long as I’m alive, it means I still have a chance.”

Traveler’s heart was filled with the relief of surviving a disaster.

Furthermore, there was still hope of rising again…

Traveler lowered his head and opened his palm. An irregular shaped greenish-purple fragment lay quietly in his hands like a piece of glass.

This was the core fragment of Evil Convergence. As long as he planted it in another secondary dimension with a special method, there would be a chance for it to regrow into a new Evil Convergence. Only, it would take a very long time.

“All I have to do is avoid the Crimson Dynasty’s pursuit. When they give up, I’ll have more than enough time to recover. Looks like I’ll have to hide in the secondary dimensions for decades or maybe even a century… Fortunately, I still have a long life span.”

Traveler breathed a sigh of relief, cleared the shadow of failure, and motivated himself.

Surviving a disaster meant that fortune was ahead!

At this time, inside the space storm, three cracks in the space wall suddenly appeared. It was unknown which secondary dimensions they led to.

Inside space storms, space wall cracks were the only exits, or one would be forever lost inside chaotic space streams.

“What a surprise to see exits so soon. Looks like my luck is about to change for the better.” Traveler’s eyes sparkled. Without hesitation, he directly chose one of the cracks and flew right in.

The next moment, the world in front of him changed into a secondary dimension filled with countless holes. Inside it were countless shattered black islands. It was dead silent.

Traveler passed through the space wall and fell into this secondary dimension. Before he could be glad about escaping death, he immediately saw a man and a woman inside the secondary dimension looking up at him. They were not wearing helmets.

When he saw their appearances, Traveler’s smile turned stiff on his face, and sweat ran down his forehead.

Black Star and Dragon Emperor!

What the hell? Why are the two of them here?

I just escaped from one, now I’ve run into two more‽

Traveler’s eyes almost popped out. Before he could think of anything else, he immediately stopped his falling body and quickly returned the way he had come from, toward the chaotic space stream above.

“Don’t run!” Ames reacted instantly. She reached out and pulled. A powerful force field grabbed onto Traveler’s body and pulled him to her.

Traveler was heavily injured to begin with. Furthermore, losing Evil Convergence had damaged him even more. He was in an extremely horrible state at this point and could not escape Ames’ force field at all.

“I can’t fall here!” Traveler ignored all consequences and used secret techniques to stimulate his exhausted mind and body. He forcefully started to generate magic energy and cast spells.

A teleportation gate started appearing beside him.

However, before he finished casting the spell, a sudden movement restricting force field interrupted his channeling.

Below him, Ames’ eyes that were usually lazy turned sharp and stared at Traveler. A force field overflowed from her brows.

Buzz!

Force Field: Gaze of the Dragon!

Traveler’s body was instantly fixed in midair!

Before he could respond, in the blink of an eye, Ames appeared before him using Void Travel. She raised her hand and softly pressed on his forehead.

The next second, a raging force field gushed out from Ames’ palm into Traveler’s body.

Force Field—Stress Tear Down!

The force field inside Traveler’s body pulled him in all directions, forming countless forces that reacted with each other.

Snap!

Countless sounds of bones cracking and muscles being torn apart sounded in Traveler’s body. An immense sense of agony erupted and flooded every single one of his nerves, so much so that he could not even control the contorted expression on his face.

Hong!

Flowers of blood exploded from every part of his body. He let out silent screams with his mouth opened wide as he bathed in blood.

His heavy injuries immediately got even worse.

This time, with coldness in her eyes, Ames raised one leg. A highly condensed force field formed an extremely sharp cutting force on her calf as she slashed down.

Force Field—Dragon Axe!

Swoosh!

Ames’s long leg slashed down from Traveler’s shoulder. Like a hot knife cutting through butter, Traveler’s entire arm was cut away!

She did not give Traveler any chance to respond. Following the momentum, she stepped on Traveler’s neck and dashed down, falling onto a shattered black island below, pressing the barely alive Traveler under her foot.

Only this time did Han Xiao slowly fly over and look at the fearsome expression on Ames’ face with surprise.

“How come you’re so violent all of a sudden? It’s not like you.”

Without turning around, Ames stared at the Traveler below her foot and coldly said, “When Hila was being attacked, he came to attack Black Star Palace. I did not know what was going on; only afterward did I roughly guess that he wanted to lure your Lord’s Avatar out to divert your energy. However, you planned ahead and told me to stay in Black Star Palace, which prevented it from happening.”

Facing Traveler, Ames did not hold back at all. Not only because Traveler was on the side of those enemies who tried to kill Hila but also because these people had forced Han Xiao to pay the price of burning his potential. From the way she looked at it, Han Xiao did not talk about it because he did not want Hila to feel bad. Ames understood Han Xiao’s intentions, but she never forgot it.

In her eyes, this trip to the secondary dimension was mainly to stroll with Han Xiao, but part of it was also to look for Traveler and make him pay.

Once they met, Ames immediately went all out without hesitation.

Han Xiao tutted, looked at the heavily injured Traveler on the ground, and chuckled. “Yoho, what a lucky day it is today. I was just thinking about looking for you, but you came right to me.”

Veins were exposed on Traveler’s frustration- and hatred-filled face.

After finally getting out of Dark Lord’s nightmare, he came right to Black Star’s barrel.

He had escaped a tiger’s den and entered a wolf’s nest!

After such extreme fluctuations in his mood, Traveler was completely exhausted and did not even have the energy to complain about how unfair fate was to him.

Being so unlucky, he had nothing to say and could only let out a long sigh in his mind.

This means the world wants me dead!

Han Xiao looked at the wounds caused by Dark Lord on Traveler’s body and asked curiously, “Who did you meet? How did you end up so heavily injured?”

Traveler kept silent and looked like he was not afraid of death. When he was not affected by Evil Convergence, he was quite sane. Since he knew he would not have the slightest chance of surviving, he was not planning to beg for mercy.

“Yo, you’ve got quite the backbone.” Han Xiao chuckled. “However, I wonder how the Star Arc Civilization will react to your death. You don’t have to deny it. Since I can accurately name the civilization you work for, I’d have enough proof for it.

The moment Han Xiao said that, the expression on Traveler’s face changed drastically into disbelief as he looked at Han Xiao.

When he moved in the outside world, he had always disguised himself as a neutral Beyond Grade A who accepted hires from different civilizations, all to cover the fact that he belonged to a Super Star Cluster civilization. His true identity had always been a secret. The Star Arc Civilization was indeed the Super Star Cluster civilization he secretly worked for, and the outside world had no idea.

This way, no matter what he did, nothing would be connected to his civilization. This was also the reason he could mess around without having to worry.

However, the identity he had always been hiding was suddenly exposed by Han Xiao. He immediately lost his cool and panicked.

Subconsciously, he wanted to deny it, but having heard Han Xiao’s certain tone and seeing his expression, it was clear that this was not a trick. He did indeed have hard proof.

“H-how did you…”

“How did I know?”

Han Xiao finished his sentence, smirked, and said, “Sorokin told me.”

Initially, he was just throwing the blame on someone else out of habit. However, Traveler’s reaction surprised him.

“I knew it!” Traveler clenched his teeth. “He noticed something. The upper echelons shouldn’t have worked with him!”

Hmm? Sorokin really is involved in this too? Han Xiao was the one who was slightly shocked this time.

He had thought that it was the Super Star Cluster civilization that wanted to escalate the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations. He did not expect Sorokin to be related to Traveler coming to attack Black Star Palace.

Looks like I’ve accidentally discovered some interesting information…

On the surface, Han Xiao’s expression remained the same as he smiled and said, “Since I know your identity, you’d better tell me everything from the beginning. Otherwise, you know the consequences. The Star Arc Civilization will be blamed for all of this. I, however, might be able to help you with that.”

If Traveler was all alone, he would be able to face death without any worries. However, according to the information Han Xiao had from his previous life, Traveler was absolutely loyal to the Star Arc Civilization. Now that what he cared about most was exposed, Han Xiao had control of his weakness.

Furthermore, Traveler hated Sorokin deeply for telling this to Black Star and was worried he might tell even more people. Hence, he told the truth about the agreement he had with Sorokin.

This was not just compromising. He was also trying to use this to direct Black Star’s hate toward Sorokin. He was hoping this would indirectly lead to Han Xiao killing Sorokin.

Traveler explained everything truthfully from the start. Only then did Han Xiao see the full picture of this incident. He caressed his chin and said with a deep voice, “Sorokin… so you’re the one who convinced the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Plus, you’re on the opposite side of the united Beyond Grade A battlefront…”

Connecting the information Traveler gave with the limited information he had from his previous life, Han Xiao roughly understood Sorokin’s true intentions.

All that about maintaining balance of the universe and Beyond Grade As knowing when to be satisfied, he was just hiding his own ambition.

There were two paths to higher power. One was to become stronger and step into the higher territory; the other was to reduce the number of competitors. Sorokin took the latter approach. From the way Han Xiao looked at it, this guy would love for the universe to have fewer than ten Beyond Grade As. He basically wanted to have all the power alone.

The fewer high-level combatants, the less resistance he would face, which led to him wanting to reduce the numbers of Beyond Grade As. Hence, he used factions’ differences to trigger conflicts between Beyond Grade As.

Han Xiao had always been wary of Sorokin. Only, he never really knew his goals for sure. Now that he finally knew about Sorokin’s goal, this meant that this powerful foe who was hiding in the dark plotting conspiracies was exposed, and he would be able to make more comprehensive preparations against him. Having thought of that, he was in a much better mood.

Putting all those thoughts behind him, Han Xiao pointed at Traveler’s wounds and asked, “What about your wounds? Who’s chasing you?”

Traveler glared at Han Xiao with sorrow and rage. He clenched his teeth and said, “Dark Lord from your Crimson Dynasty!”

“Hmm? He’s here too?” Han Xiao was surprised. As he recalled that Dark Lord had just quit from being the captain of the Ruler’s personal guards, it occurred to him.

It seemed the Dynasty Ruler was not happy about the temporary cooperation between the federation and the church. Plus, there were the issues surrounding the Flickering World and the Evolutionary Totems. She wanted to set an example for high-level combatants. Hence, she sent Dark Lord after the enemy to send a warning to those organizations with ulterior motives… Speaking of which, to peak Beyond Grade As at Dark Lord’s level, the position of personal guard captain was more of a chain than a benefit.

Hearing how Clotti easily shattered Traveler’s ambush, Han Xiao could not help but praise him.

Han Xiao thought for a while and activated the King mechanical suit’s communication system. He found the Crimson Dynasty’s A000 Outpost Station and called in.

Unlike the main universe, the secondary dimension was not covered by the quantum network, so many areas had no signal. However, Han Xiao took a super long-range quantum base station with him everywhere he went, so this was not a problem. Clotti also wore the dynasty’s specially-made mechanical suit that was equipped with a fixed directional communication device that allowed him to contact the dynasty’s outpost station any time. This also prevented him from going missing. Hence, Han Xiao decided to call the dynasty’s outpost station and ask them to direct the call to Clotti.

Since Traveler was Dark Lord’s mission target, Han Xiao felt that he had to notify Clotti about it, or he would think Traveler had escaped and would continue to waste energy in the secondary dimensions searching for him.

After a while, the communication finally went through. Clotti’s remote projection appeared in front of him. He was frowning.

“Black Star, what are you calling for?”

They were both pillars of the dynasty, but due to the differences in their positions and identities, the communication between them had been very limited. The relationship was also not close, limited to just work colleagues.

“Traveler is here with me. I’ve captured him…”

Han Xiao briefly explained the situation.

After Han Xiao finished, Clotti replied with very few words. “I’ll go there to confirm.”

“Okay.” Han Xiao paused and sent the coordinates to Dark Lord.

Clotti nodded and slowly said, “By the way, when Traveler escaped, he took a core fragment of Evil Convergence. Search carefully. It should still be in his hands.”

Then, his remote projection disappeared as he hung up the call, showing no intention of chatting.

“How unfriendly,” Han Xiao murmured. He then turned to look at Traveler, extended his hand, and said, “Core fragment, take it out.”

Traveler clenched his teeth, reluctantly took out Evil Convergence’s core fragment, and handed it over to Han Xiao like giving his wife away.

Han Xiao placed it in his hand.

This was the key for Traveler to summon Evil Convergence, like the lamp core of the Shadow Lantern. With the core fragment as the medium, one could use the special energy of the respective secondary dimension.

However, now the Evil Convergence was no more, this core fragment could only be used as the tinder. However, knowing the crazed state Traveler was in when he used it, he had no plans to become the new husband of Evil Convergence.

Han Xiao kept this loot and thought about how to deal with Traveler.

According to him, the best was, of course, to seal him in Spacetime Amber. However, Dark Lord’s mission was to kill him, and it did not seem like Ames would be satisfied with that result either.

Buzz!

As he was thinking, the senses of all three of them felt the appearance of a new signal.

The three of them looked over simultaneously and saw that the space wall in the distance had cracked open, and a small fleet came out of it.

Before the three of them had time to think, this fleet briefly adjusted its direction and turned right toward the three of them. It was clear that they were not there on friendly terms.

Inside the main ship command room, Law stared at the confused Han Xiao on the screen and yelled, “We’re correct this time. That’s Black Star! All fleets, lock onto the target. Prepare to fire!”

Chapter 1076: An Organization That Should Not Have Appeared in This Era

1076 An Organization That Should Not Have Appeared in This Era “Did these people just happen to pass by, or are they here for us? Who are they even?”

Han Xiao looked at this quickly approaching fleet. There were no organizations’ symbols on their spaceships, so their identity was unknown. Han Xiao was confused.

Seeing that the enemies did not plan to stop, Han Xiao was prepared to fight.

However, as he was just about to attack, a crack opened at the space wall not far away again—Clotti had arrived.

The next moment, this fleet stopped moving.

“What’s going on with this fleet?”

Han Xiao looked at this fleet wondering. This time, Clotti flew over, so he turned to him and greeted him.

“Your Excellency Dark Lord.”

“Hmm, Black Star.” Clotti nodded slightly. He then turned to look at the barely alive Traveler under Ames’ foot and asked, “How did you meet him?”

“Just a coincidence…”

Han Xiao briefly explained what had happened.

After Clotti heard the story, even his eyes slightly twitched on his usually expressionless face as he softly said, “Well, that’s really unfortunate.”

After he thrashed the Evil Convergence, he had lost track of Traveler. He was just thinking about how he was going to continue chasing after Traveler, but to his surprise, Traveler was so unlucky he met Black Star right after.

He was not curious about why Han Xiao was there. Clotti was not concerned about other Beyond Grade As’ private matters.

“I heard your mission is to kill him?” Han Xiao asked.

Clotti nodded. “Traveler is just one target. The Ruler’s order is to kill if capturing isn’t possible. If captured, he will be publicly executed, which will be broadcast live to the entire universe… Oh, and also interrogate who hired him.”

“You have other hunting targets too?”

Clotti glanced at him and said, “Just some neutral Beyond Grade As who like to be mercenaries.”

“Are they related to the attack on Hila?” Han Xiao was curious.

“Whatever the dynasty says.” Clotti’s tone was completely carefree.

Han Xiao was speechless. Those neutral Beyond Grade As who were marked as targets were most probably innocent in this matter, but unluckily for them, they became the dynasty’s tools to set an example.

Dark Lord was indeed loyal to the dynasty; he showed no care for it at all. The difficult environment these neutral Beyond Grade As lived in could be seen clearly from this matter.

Han Xiao then thought of the Super Star Cluster civilizations and understood. The targets the dynasty had chosen were probably those who were hired by the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Using the attack on Hila as an excuse, the dynasty clearly decided to intimidate the others and cut away the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s feathers.

At the same time, they might hope to imitate the Tragedy Of The Pinnacles to reduce the number of Beyond Grade As using the incident as an excuse.

Han Xiao shook his head, changed the topic, and said, “I interrogated him earlier and got the identity of who’s behind this.”

“Who?”

The communication between the two of them was not private; Traveler heard it too. His expression changed instantly as he stared at Han Xiao nervously, afraid he would spit out the Star Arc Civilization.

However, he saw Han Xiao give him a look.

Traveler instantly understood and hastily interrupted him.

“Sorokin! He hired me to attack Black Star Palace to divert Black Star’s attention and provide indirect assistance to the federation and the church!”

“Him? Isn’t he just a pure businessman?” Clotti frowned and was a little surprised. He glanced at Han Xiao and said, “Do you think that’s believable?”

“I think it’s quite believable. Traveler is just a neutral mercenary; he wouldn’t attack me out of nowhere.”

Han Xiao smiled.

The Star Arc Civilization was indeed related, but Han Xiao had signaled Traveler to hide his identity and blame everything on Sorokin. This way, the dynasty’s hatred would not be diverted and would all go to Sorokin.

Anyway, Sorokin was actually involved, so there would definitely be proof.

Although the Great Mechanic Han was a soon-to-be shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group, he would not help Sorokin just for the sake of dividends. Furthermore, he only just knew that he was secretly plotting against him.

Hence, he wanted to borrow the Crimson Dynasty’s power to cause some trouble for Sorokin, at least make the upper echelons be cautious about that guy.

“… I’ll tell the Ruler. However, I’ll still have to take Traveler back for further interrogation,” Clotti said.

Han Xiao nodded, turned, and patted Ames’ thigh, signaling her to raise her leg. Then, he took out the Spacetime Amber and sealed Traveler up.

While doing this, Han Xiao pointed at the fleet not far away that was trying to stay unnoticed.

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, are they your troops?”

Hearing this, Clotti was stunned for a moment. “I thought they were your men.”

He noticed that this fleet was the fleet he had just met earlier as soon as he arrived. Seeing that Han Xiao was together with this fleet, he had thought they were on the same side and that he misunderstood earlier, so he did not pay much attention.

However, from Han Xiao’s perspective, he only gave the coordinates to Dark Lord, and this fleet arrived right before Dark Lord. Hence, he thought this fleet belonged to him.

Both of them had thought this fleet belonged to the other person. Only then did they realize it was a third party.

Having realized that, Clotti opened the public channel and yelled, “Who are you? Why are you following me‽”

From the way he looked at it, having met them twice, the only explanation was that they were following him.

At this time, inside the command room of the fleet, Law and Fay were both going mad.

Initially, they had locked onto Black Star and were just about to attack. However, to their absolute surprise, the first peak Beyond Grade A they marked on their radar moved at the last second and arrived in this secondary dimension.

This sudden situation messed up their plan. The two of them hastily told the fleet to stop and did not dare fire.

Seeing that Black Star was on the same side as the other peak Beyond Grade A, the two of them realized how tough the situation was. If they attacked, things would become much more difficult, and there would be a lot of uncertainties.

They only wanted to attack when Han Xiao was alone, so they wanted to make an excuse and retreat to find another opportunity.

Hearing Clotti’s question, Law had no choice but to use the excuse he gave when they first met.

“Your Excellency Beyond Grade A, we didn’t expect to meet you again. We only came here to explore because we detected special energy here, but we never thought it would be you again. We’ll leave now.”

Then, Law was just about to tell the fleet to turn around and leave, but this time, Clotti stopped them and said with a cold tone, “Never mind one time, but this is the second time, and you’re still using the same excuse. Do you think I’ll believe you?”

Clotti did not believe in coincidences. He had already suspected their identity earlier, but back then, his focus had been on the mission, and he did not want to get involved in meaningless trouble. Now, however, Traveler was already dealt with, so he did not plan to let this mysterious fleet go again.

“It really is a coincidence. We’re just a civilian exploration team…” Law had no choice but to continue faking it.

“Then it’ll be easy. Stop your ships and let us search them. If there really isn’t a problem, I’ll let you leave,” Clotti said with a deep voice.

Hearing this, Law and Fay exchanged looks and communicated with each other telepathically.

“What should we do now? They won’t let us go easily. Are we really going to let them into our ships?”

“You know that’s impossible.”

“Then it looks like we have no choice…”

The two of them were both in an extremely bad mood. They completely did not want to attack in this kind of situation.

However, they had already exposed themselves, and there was no way they could let them board their ships.

Law clenched his teeth and slammed the table.

“Fire!”

…

After Clotti proposed to board and investigate, this mysterious fleet suddenly stopped responding.

After waiting for a few seconds, seeing that they were still silent, Clotti said with an even more serious tone, “This is your last warning. If you do not reply within ten seconds, I will crush you!”

Han Xiao was watching Clotti communicate with this mysterious fleet. He thought that they had come for Dark Lord, so he just watched on.

Hearing Clotti’s warning, Han Xiao thought about it and said, “No need to attack. I can hack into those spaceships and control them, search through their database, and find out who they are.”

Clotti pondered for two seconds, nodded, and said, “Alright, then I’ll trouble you too…”

Before his sentence finished, a sudden change occurred!

The few battleships suddenly fired without any warnings. Cone-shaped solid bullets shot out and headed to the few of them, dragging long paths of flame behind.

“Solid bullets?”

Although the regular weapons at his level had already become dark energy and psionic energy blasters, Han Xiao did not underestimate solid bullets. This was because since they had the ability to travel between secondary dimensions, the gunpowder inside those solid bullets would definitely not be ordinary.

Seeing this, Ames raised her hand and locked all the bullets in midair with her force field.

Seeing that the opponents had attacked, Han Xiao immediately activated Virtual Intrusion and attacked the database of these spaceships without hesitation.

However, the instant Han Xiao’s data needle penetrated the spaceships’ artificial intelligence, an invisible force flowed into his brain through the quantum network connection.

Boom!

A powerful shock exploded in his mind, his memory palace suddenly collapsed. Countless sheets of paper representing memories turned into tornados and spun violently.

From Han Xiao’s perspective, countless memory fragments flashed past his mind, and he could not maintain his usual thoughts.

At the same time, a notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have been hacked by [Memory Formatting Virus—Quantum Network Type].

Your class is detected to be [Virtual Mechanic].

[Memory Formatting Virus—Quantum Network Type] has 200% damage on you.

_____________________

“This is…”

Shocked, Han Xiao felt like the world was spinning.

This virus had entered his quantum soul. It was no ordinary debuff. It had messed up his mind on the virtual level, as if an ill-mannered kid had come into his house and flipped around all of his neatly arranged stuff. Han Xiao had no choice but to focus on resisting it.

Seeing his situation, Clotti’s eyes became serious. Dark energy gathered as he launched an attack.

However, the next moment, the tons of [Dimensional Exile Bullet] that were fixed in midair by Ames exploded, releasing expanding chaotic space streams, and devoured Clotti’s attack, transferring it to God knew where.

Not only that, but those chaotic space streams were also tearing the space wall of this Land of Dead Silence, creating more holes.

Seeing this, Ames immediately targeted her force field at those spaceships.

However, the next moment, Fay acted from within the main ship. A fog-like protective shield expanded with her in the center and guarded the fleet, blocking Ames’ force field, clashing with Ames’ strength. Ames was unable to instantly destroy the spaceships.

The next moment, a special disc-shaped device extended from the head of the main ship that was prepared since long ago. It looked like some kind of radar to enhance a certain waveform. It suddenly shook and released a ring of shockwave.

Buzz!

This shockwave passed through Clotti, Han Xiao, and Ames. The three of them suddenly became stiff. The energy they could manipulate any way they wanted usually suddenly started to riot, making controlling their own body much more difficult. It was as if every single cell in their body was fighting against their mind.

_____________________

You have been affected by [High Level Life Form Energy Disorder Shockwave—Beyond Grade A Frequency Type].

Your total level is detected to be Lv.320.

[High Level Life Form Energy Disorder Shockwave—Beyond Grade A Frequency Type] has a 320% effect on you.

_____________________

“It worked. We don’t have much time!”

Law raised his arm, and his sleeves slid down, exposing an arm guard style metal device on his wrist. This was a special device made to capture Primal Esper Ability Entities. He then pointed it at the Mysterious Energy Host.

Ka-cha!

As if it had suddenly gained a ton of energy, Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy suddenly expanded and destroyed the Mysterious Energy Host from within, instantly escaping.

However, before it could move, an invisible force grabbed onto its body, and it flew uncontrollably toward the fleet.

On the other side, the spaceships were also doing something. The second wave of Dimensional Exile Bullets was shot toward the three of them. Clotti barely used his Esper Ability to form a shield around his body.

However, the chaotic space stream devoured Clotti entirely together with his shield, and he disappeared.

At this crucial moment, Han Xiao barely suppressed the virus in his mind, tried his best, and grabbed Ames’ arm. He activated Void Travel and got out of the range of the Dimensional Exile Bullets.

The next moment, he raised his hand and released a restraining force field, grabbing onto Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s body.

Hu!

Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was like a piece of cloth being pulled from two opposite directions.

Law’s tone became hasty. “Black Star is recovering. We can’t linger any longer, or we’ll certainly die. Take as much as possible!”

Then, his hand sign changed as he activated another function of the device on his wrist, slashing off a small part of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s body.

Like being absorbed by a black hole, this portion of energy flowed into Law’s arm guard.

“Quickly, go!”

After this, the fleet shot one Dimensional Exile Bullet that exploded as soon as it left the barrel. The chaotic space stream devoured the fleet, and it disappeared without a trace.

Only after close to a minute did Ames slowly start to regain control of her body. She took a deep breath and said with a shocked tone, “What were those attacks?”

“They are all special technology invented through Primal Esper Ability Entities…”

Without exterior interference, Han Xiao had already cleared out most of the virus and rearranged his memory palace. He was looking grave.

From the very start, all this fleet used was technology, yet the three of them were forced into an extremely passive state. Han Xiao had a very heavy impression of this special technology, as it had appeared in his previous life.

Be it the Memory Formatting Virus, Dimensional Exile Bullet, or the High Level Life Form Energy Disorder Shockwave, they were all invented through studying different Primal Esper Ability Entities. They had many different uses.

Among them, the Dimensional Exile Bullet had no effects in the main universe, since the space structure of the main universe was completely different from the secondary dimensions. However, in the secondary dimensions, this was powerful technology that could be used in many ways, including splitting up the battlefield, escaping, and damaging secondary dimensions.

The Memory Formatting Virus was a technological product that affected one’s mind. It came from Primal Esper Ability Entities and was improved to be used through the quantum network. It was specially targeted at Virtual Intrusions and took effect when Han Xiao was taken by surprise.

The High Level Life Form Energy Disorder Shockwave mainly targeted strong individuals. The higher the target’s Energy Rank, the more effective it would be. It was basically using an enemy’s own energy against them. However, Beyond Grade As had very high adaptability, so the effect of the High Level Life Form Energy Disorder Shockwave would decrease every time it was used on the same target, as the cells in their bodies had adapted to its effects.

The enemies were focused on studying Primal Esper Ability Entities, so their containment ability was more advanced. Through stimulating Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy, the Mysterious Energy Host was broken, and they were able to snatch part of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s energy.

No matter how strong Supers were, they were still life forms. Since they were life forms, there were ways to deal with them. No one could be considered invincible. Although the technology of the three Universal Civilizations differed, they all had targeted technology for high-level life forms. For example, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was one of them. Even the peak Beyond Grade A Milizaus could not take many hits from it. As advanced civilizations developed further, there would only be more technology of that level.

In a direct battle, be it Han Xiao or Dark Lord, they would be able to easily shatter this fleet. However, the enemy were prepared for this while Han Xiao and Dark Lord were not. Through all kinds of targeted attacks and technology, they had taken them by surprise.

Even Clotti fell for it and was exiled into the chaotic space streams. It was unknown when he would return.

However, being able to restrain the movements of the three of them at once was the most they could do. They did not have enough means of attack to hurt the three of them.

“These people’s target isn’t Clotti. They’re here for me.”

Han Xiao contained the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy again. He had a tight frown on his face.

Ames caught what Han Xiao meant in between the lines and asked curiously, “You know who they are?”

“I do indeed.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“This is a group of people who shouldn’t have appeared in this era…”

Chapter 1077: Holy Accord and Primordial Ones

1077 Holy Accord and Primordial Ones “Not in this era?” Ames said with a weird expression. “Why do you say that?”

Han Xiao paused and did not answer this question. He changed the topic and said softly, “This is a secret organization focused on studying and inventing Esper Ability technology. They’re also a mysterious arms dealer. Their products occasionally appear on the black market, and now they’ve set their eyes on the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy…”

Han Xiao could not give a lot of information to Ames, so he only briefly explained it while being shocked inside.

In his previous life, the first time this organization appeared publicly was during the World Tree Civilization War. As members of the explored universe, they joined the war and fought against the World Tree Civilization’s invasion, using their technology in the war.

However, it was only Version 4.0 Flickering World now, many versions before the World Tree storyline. These people should not have appeared in this era, hence his shock.

The name of this organization was ‘Holy Accord’. It was extremely mysterious even in the very late versions in his previous life. Most of the people who knew about this organization were the offspring of Beyond Grade As.

Other than this Esper Ability technology, there were also many renowned Beyond Grade As in the history who were already confirmed dead who joined the World Tree war together with the Holy Accord. It was as if they had revived and come back to the universe. There were even extremely famous Primordial Ones among them.

This organization, which had a new type of technology, and those high-level combatants became powerful reinforcements to the losing side back then, causing a lot of damage to the World Tree Civilization.

The revival of these Beyond Grade As was a humongous boost to everyone’s morale. However, the reason for their revival was still an enigma to the players. The advanced civilizations locked the information down, so the players had no way of finding out anything about it. Therefore, even Han Xiao did not know the truth behind it.

However, although the Holy Accord organization’s first appearance was during the World Tree war, it was not the same for the Primordial Ones. During as early as the Calamity of the Supers version, there was already a batch of Primordial Ones who had awakened and become the triggers of the Calamity of the Supers.

Back then, the explanation these Primordial Ones gave to the outside world was that they faked their death during the exploration era and had been sleeping in advanced life-sustaining cabins ever since in order to avoid the bloody exploration era warfare and not die for nothing. They hoped to awaken in the future and conquer the universe in the new era.

However, something seemed to have gone wrong. The place they were sleeping in was also devoured by the flames of war. Their life-sustaining cabins floated in the universe and landed on a desolate island. At the same time, the life-sustaining cabins malfunctioned, causing them to not be able to awaken at their intended time. Hence, they had no choice but to spend countless years in that sleeping state. Although the specially made life-sustaining cabins could slow down the degradation of their body and soul, they were still slowly heading toward their demise.

Coincidentally, when they were close to their end, a research team happened to dig them out and reactivated their life-sustaining cabins. Only then did they awaken from their long sleep. After that, they spent a very long time recovering back to their peak performance.

At that time, the only thing the outside world was sure of was the revival of these Primordial Ones. As for the flaws this explanation had such as how could Beyond Grade As be restrained by these tiny life-sustaining cabins, since there were no ways to prove if that was true, the public had no choice but to believe them.

In conclusion, in the later versions in Han Xiao’s previous life, there were two batches of different Primordial Ones who awakened at different timings. Once during the Calamity of the Supers, once during the World Tree war.

The first batch of Primordial Ones who awakened in the Calamity of the Supers version did not seem to be related to the Holy Accord organization. However, whether they really had nothing to do with the Holy Accord organization or not, the players in his previous life had no way of knowing. Hence, Han Xiao did not know the connection between them.

If these two events were related, the first batch of Primordial Ones who awakened during the Calamity of the Supers probably lied. They might not have returned from life-sustaining cabins.

“The Holy Accord organization…”

Han Xiao pondered over their intentions.

It was clear that this organization had existed for a while but had never interfered with the outside world. Now, they had suddenly attacked him. This meant that the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was extremely important to the Holy Accord organization, so much so that it was worth attacking someone who stood at the peak of the universe. According to the characteristics of the Holy Accord organization, could they be planning to invent some dark new technology with the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy?

If that was the case, the Holy Accord organization might have done something similar in his previous life… Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Assuming this was true, the Holy Accord organization might have worked with EsGod in his previous life by splitting up other Primal Esper Ability Entities in exchange for the resources in EsGod’s hands, including the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.

This meant that some of those Super High Risk Esper Abilities EsGod possessed in the later versions might have been provided by the Holy Accord organization…

It would not have mattered if Han Xiao did not know, but since he knew that the Holy Accord already existed at this time, he could not help but become deeply interested in them.

“The Holy Accord organization fled right after attacking, thinking they would not expose their identity. They couldn’t have guessed that I knew their identity all along.”

Han Xiao raised his brows and was in a much better mood.

Compared to this huge discovery, suffering a small loss was nothing.

“The dynasty’s Clotti was taken away by the chaotic space stream. Will he be okay?” Ames asked curiously.

“Don’t worry, he’s just lost. With his strength and the Universal Treasures in his hands, he will be able to escape very soon.”

Han Xiao did not worry about Dark Lord. No matter where Clotti ended up, he would be at the top of the food chain in that secondary dimension.

However, since the chaotic space streams could not be tracked, he had no way of fishing Clotti out. This was also the reason the Holy Accord organization used the Dimensional Exile Bullet to send themselves into the chaotic space streams.

Since the Virtual Intrusion had been interrupted by the virus, Han Xiao could not leave any markings in their spaceships. However, he would be more alert next time and clear the virus before it infected him. This kind of trap would not be very useful then.

Han Xiao looked at the containment device of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy. This guy was extremely mad and kept bashing the inside wall of the container while screaming in agony.

“Ahhh! It hurts so much!”

Seeing this, Han Xiao pitied him.

In his previous life, it was also torn apart by others. He had thought that since EsGod had been dealt with, the same thing would not happen to the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy again. Surprisingly, it happened all the same, as if he was fated to be torn apart.

Furthermore, he might have been treated even worse. After all, in his previous life, EsGod simply used his abilities and never tortured him or anything. The Holy Accord organization, however, would definitely study him, which meant that the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy would feel all kinds of pain from that part of his body that was taken away.

Han Xiao pitied him even more and asked, “By the way, how did it feel earlier? Were you unable to control your body?”

“That’s right. I don’t know what method they used. They stimulated my core and caused me to lose control of my body before using an irresistible force to drag me over.”

Han Xiao then asked, “Can you feel the location of that part of your body?”

“Of cou…” Before the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy finished, as if he was suddenly shocked, his entire body shrunk as he yelled, “Ah! My senses are blocked!”

Han Xiao raised his brows but was not surprised.

After all, they were professionals in studying the Primal Esper Ability Entities. There was no way they would leave such an obvious clue to let others chase after them.

“Hahaha!” The Holy Light Particle was rolling on the ground laughing. “Karma! The day has finally come!”

Filled with sorrow and hatred, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy said, “Black Star! Black Star! You have to help me get my body back!”

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

Why does it feel like I took away Evans’ screen time?

At this time, as usual, a notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the mission [The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s Request for Help]!

Mission Introduction: A mysterious organization has taken away part of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s core energy from you. The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy hopes you can help him take it back.

Mission Requirements: Retrieve the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s missing core energy.

Reward: 15 billion EXP, 1 Random Reward, +60 Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy Favorability, +1 Holy Light Particle Favorability, [Primal Esper Ability Entity Affinity] talent.

[Primal Esper Ability Entity Affinity]: It’s easier for Primal Esper Ability Entities to accept you.

Remark: This mission might cause unknown consequences. Please accept with caution.

_____________________

“A mission as expected…” Han Xiao started pondering.

The rewards of this mission were nothing extraordinary, but dealing with the Holy Accord organization seemed to be an opportunity to complete [Primal Esper Ability Collector].

If he had to find Primal Esper Ability Entities without owners, it would take God knew how long to find four. Now, however, he had met the Holy Accord organization, which professionally studied Esper Ability technology, so they definitely had some inventory. If he could snatch it, this milestone would be completed easily.

Han Xiao made his decision and responded.

“Alright then, I give you my word. However, they won’t be so easy to find.”

“It’s fine as long as you’re willing to help me.” The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was overjoyed.

Black Star was not his master and only saw him as a tool, so he had no right to ask for his help. Even without a part of his body, he would still be useful. Therefore, he had actually been quite afraid Han Xiao would not agree to help him.

Han Xiao comforted the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy for a while. Then, he took out a spare Mysterious Energy Host and stuffed it in, not giving it much time to recover from its psychological wounds.

This time, Ames looked around at the raging chaotic space streams around, frowned, and said, “The chaotic space streams these people released caused heavy damage to the Land of Dead Silence. If left alone, this secondary dimension might shatter before Hila comes in the future.”

Han Xiao looked around as well. The already broken space wall of the Land of Dead Silence had even more holes in it.

This secondary dimension was related to Hila, so the two of them could not leave it to shatter. Han Xiao summoned lots of space-related devices to stabilize the dimension.

The thickness of the space wall depended on the core energy of the secondary dimension. Only with enough energy would the space wall regenerate itself and continue to expand. The only thing Han Xiao could do now was guide the chaotic space streams that the Dimensional Exile Bullets created out and reduce the pollution.

This was a tough progress. The two of them spent quite some in the Land of Dead Silence before Han Xiao finally got rid of the chaotic space streams inside.

At this time, the two of them suddenly realized that the revive tokens they were wearing became hotter at an extremely quick pace.

At the same time, a golden light suddenly appeared on a shattered black island far away.

Han Xiao looked over and was slightly shocked.

An orange-gold silhouette suddenly appeared from the black desert. It looked like a spirit and had the appearance of a human female. Its clothes were exquisite. It looked charming, pretty, and rather young, but the look in its eyes gave a vibe that it was very old. It was looking at Han Xiao and Ames.

Seeing this, the two of them were both slightly surprised.

They had already scanned this entire secondary dimension when they arrived, and they were certain they did not sense any life form. Now, however, a strange silhouette had appeared out of thin air. It was clear it had avoided their detection.

Han Xiao was still on alert after the attack of the Holy Accord organization earlier. He was prepared to fight.

At this time, the revive token on the two of them shockingly started to float. This silhouetted pointed at the two revive tokens and sent a telepathic message.

“Tell me, what is the relationship between the two of you and the creator of these two coins?”

…

Inside the chaotic space streams, the Holy Accord organization’s fleet was floating.

Inside the command room, Law held the containment device up and observed the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy fragment. Unsatisfied, he sighed.

“Sigh, Black Star’s regenerative ability is too strong. These products given to us by the organization have very limited effects on him. Without enough time, this tiny bit of Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy is all we could get.”

“Be glad. At least the minimum requirements are met and the synthetic materials are all gathered. If we were too greedy and did not retreat instantly, our spaceship might have been taken by Black Star,” Fay said softly.

Although they had achieved the minimum goal of this mission, the two of them knew how close they were to being obliterated. They felt tremendous fear toward Han Xiao.

“This attack was a success, but it has made him cautious too. The next time we meet him, we won’t be able to achieve what we did today. Furthermore, he’ll most likely report the technology we displayed to the dynasty, which will bring some risks to the organization.” Law was worried.

Fay, however, was more optimistic. “Luckily, the mission was completed. It doesn’t matter if Black Star is cautious now. We won’t have to deal with him in the future again. There won’t be a next time.”

“You’re right.”

After chatting for a while, Law put the containment device away. Suddenly, he thought of something and said, “By the way, I seem to recall that the information about the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy shows that it’s the Holy Light Particle’s arch-enemy and that their energies conflict with each other. Maybe we can invent a special sensor through this characteristic it has to find the Holy Light Particle.”

“Hmm, you’re right. The Holy Light Particle has been missing for many years. God knows where it’s hiding. There are no clues about it at all. It’s also an important synthetic material, so the organization will probably heed your suggestion and target the Holy Light Particle next.”

Chapter 1078: Underworld and Heritage

1078 Underworld and Heritage Inside the Land of Dead Silence, the two of them looked at the orange-gold spirit that suddenly appeared.

Han Xiao held onto the revive token, felt its vibration, and asked curiously, “What are you?”

“I’m the consciousness entity of the Underworld. Simply put, I’m the butler of this secondary dimension. You can call me by my name, Onicelu.”

Dimensional consciousness entity… I thought that even if a near shattered secondary dimension had a consciousness entity, it would have already perished… Han Xiao was surprised.

A dimensional consciousness could only be born in extremely few secondary dimensions. Having one was equivalent to the secondary dimension turning from a lifeless dimension to a type of life form. For example, the Evil Convergence.

Dimensional consciousness entities were at an even higher level. It meant that the secondary dimension had ignited the sparks of intelligence. In comparison, the Evil Convergence was merely a beast.

Dimensional consciousness entities could control all the energy in the secondary dimension. In the eyes of some, they were basically like gods. Some religions even made sculptures in the image of dimensional consciousness entities and worshipped them as gods, which was one of the mainstream religions in the main universe.

No wonder they could not sense its existence. Despite this secondary dimension being close to perishing, it was still its territory. The dimensional consciousness entity was this dimension itself. If it was not willing to appear, no one would be able to sense it.

“Then, what is the Underworld?” Han Xiao had a rough guess.

As expected, this dimensional consciousness entity that called itself Onicelu looked down at the black island below it and calmly said, “As you can see, this secondary dimension that’s heading toward its end is the Underworld.”

Han Xiao understood.

The Land of Dead Silence was what that Void Duke Kirkmond called it. It seemed that the Underworld was the formal name of this secondary dimension.

He raised the revive token in his hands and said, “You should have noticed us long ago since you responded to the energy inside this coin. Why have you only appeared now?”

“I just wanted to be certain of your intentions.” Onicelu’s telepathic message was very gentle.

As soon as Han Xiao and Ames entered the Underworld, Onicelu had noticed them. She had been silently observing them. When the two of them helped her fix the environment earlier, only then did she confirm that they had no hostile intentions, so she decided to appear.

Onicelu also had to judge whether these two guys were friends or foes with the creator of these two revive tokens. This was extremely important to her.

Han Xiao wanted to continue asking questions but was interrupted by Onicelu. “I know you have a lot of questions, but I’ve answered enough of your questions. Before you tell me your relationship with the creator of these two coins, I won’t answer any more questions.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao stayed silent and started calculating the pros and cons.

The Hila sisters being related to this secondary dimension was strange. To begin with, now that this dimension had a consciousness entity, it was an even more sensitive matter.

This was because, according to Hila, this dimension was the obstruction between her link with Aurora and had always been silently absorbing the energy they were transferring. Therefore, this consciousness entity’s goal was unknown, and he did not know if he should tell the truth.

However, since there was a dimensional consciousness entity, she would certainly know all the background stories, which meant that Hila would not have to investigate it herself. The only problem was, they had to be sure that she was not lying.

As Han Xiao was pondering, Ames, who was initially just listening, suddenly spoke.

“She’s my student.”

Onicelu turned to look at her and said, “Can you prove it?”

Ames looked at Han Xiao and gave him an eye signal.

“Oh well, since you’ve already told her, I don’t have to think about it anymore…” Han Xiao shook his head with resignation and displayed part of Hila’s information with virtual technology.

“It really is the Power of the Dead…” Onicelu looked like she was relieved. She smiled and said, “She should have an older or younger blood-related sister who has the Vital Energy Esper Ability.”

“… That’s right.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he nodded.

Onicelu gave the two of them a deep look, placed her palms against each other, and said with a suddenly very serious tone, “I have a request. I hope you guys can bring them here as early as possible… The Underworld needs new inheritors!”

Inheritors?

Han Xiao and Ames exchanged looks of confusion.

“What does that mean? Tell me everything you know, and I’ll relay it to them, but if you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to suspect what your goals are and stop them from coming here,” Han Xiao said with a deep voice.

The term inheritors sounded good, but the Great Mechanic Han was wary this might be a trap, and he would end up putting Hila in danger, so he had to know everything.

“Since I’ve decided to show up, I never planned to keep secrets from you guys.”

Through telepathy, Onicelu shared some of her memories like a grandma telling the story of when she was young.

“It all started as early as the exploration era. In the long war, the first batch of Beyond Grade As was born. History calls them the Primordial Ones. Among the Primordial Ones, there were a pair of sisters whose Esper Abilities synergized with each other perfectly, but they were not related by blood. They were the ‘Controller of Death’ Nerkese and the ‘Mother of All Things’ Eros. Using their abilities, they created this Underworld dimension…

“In the beginning, the Underworld dimension was nothing but a prison used to lock up the dead souls Nerkese had collected, as well as the followers of Eros. However, as the abilities of its two creators kept growing, the Underworld dimension obtained a new function—it became a world to the dead life forms where their consciousness could live forever.

“Since you’re a Mechanic, in your terms, you can understand it as turning the memories and minds of those whose body died into data and uploading it into the virtual world, achieving a form of eternal life. The Underworld dimension is like the server. It stores the souls of countless life forms. Many powerful individuals in the exploration era chose to sleep in the Underworld. Because of that, Nerkese and Eros created me to manage the Underworld, as the grave keeper.

“The two extremely talented founders didn’t stop there. Nerkese’s ability made souls not disappear in the Underworld, and Eros used her ability to create temporary body containers, which allowed those souls to regain life. Then, using the special energy formed by fusing their energy together, they could make the targets have the strength they had when they were alive, till the vital energy acting as their fuel finished. Furthermore, even if their body container died again, their souls could still return to the Underworld. Using this ability, the two of them created an extremely powerful army. To them, the Underworld dimension was also an enormous army camp!”

Hearing Onicelu’s explanation, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

Damn, so this is basically Edo Tensei‽

What kind of luck is this‽

Aurora had once mentioned that the Hila sisters’ abilities were rather similar to two of the Primordial Ones, so Han Xiao had done some research. He knew that the Mother of All Things was not as weak as Aurora. She had a ton of followers and had some kind of summoning ability. This was the first time Han Xiao had heard about the details of their abilities.

Basically, the souls of countless strong individuals were stored in the Underworld. Through some kind of revival energy fused from vital energy and death energy, they could carry out ‘Edo Tensei’ and turn them into an enormous army. According to what the dimensional consciousness entity said, it seemed like the Hila sisters could become the inheritors of the Underworld.

Did this not mean that the two of them could take the inheritance of two Primordial Ones? Fortune falling from the sky‽

Spending a lot of time with Feidin indeed led to good things.

While he was being pleasantly surprised, Onicelu’s tone became sorrowful.

“Sadly, after the two founders died, the Underworld death energy had lost its energy supply and started to gradually wither. All the souls fell asleep, including me.”

“How did they die?”

Han Xiao was curious. The cause of death of the two of them was not recorded. It only said they disappeared.

A ton of conspiracy theories appeared in his mind, but Onicelu’s response gave him a big surprise.

“They committed suicide.”

Han Xiao was stunned. “What… Why?”

Onicelu sighed. “They kept developing their abilities, and one day, they had a sudden realization. They had been calling themselves the controllers of life and death all this time, but they had never experienced true death and new life. In their eyes, this was the only path that could develop their Esper Abilities to a higher territory. Hence, they decided to walk into demise to search for the true meaning of life and death…

“Before their death, they told me not to grieve, that destruction is only the beginning of new life and that this is where they belonged. On that day, I watched them leave their bodies behind and end their own lives with my own eyes.”

Han Xiao was puzzled.

Excuse me, what is there to search for when you’re already dead?

Could it be that these two were extremists and never thought of this at all?

Maybe, only those with this kind of mindset could be the first batch of great individuals to break the limit of Beyond Grade As. Maybe this was what it meant to be the Primordial Ones.

As if she understood what Han Xiao’s expression meant, Onicelu shook her head and said softly, “I know what you’re wondering. Before their consciousness completely perished, there was a short moment where they were alive, dead, and in between. At that moment, I received the last message they had left me. They said they’d found the true meaning of life and death.”

“And what’s that?” Han Xiao was intrigued again.

“Heritage.” Onicelu’s tone was soft and gentle. “They said that heritage is the true definition of eternity, forming full circles in the enormous system of life forms.”

Han Xiao was a little bit speechless. Doesn’t everyone know that? You guys killed yourselves just to figure that out? You probably died for nothing!

However, although he really wanted to say that, he knew that knowing something was one thing and experiencing it was another completely different thing.

On many occasions, the key to a higher territory was that kind of sudden flash of insight. This was especially true the stronger the person was.

“Their deaths did not go to waste,” Onicelu said. “They’ll pass down this deepest understanding to the next generation.”

Han Xiao was shocked. With disbelief, he said, “Are Hila and Aurora really the reincarnations of those two Primordial Ones?”

Ames looked surprised hearing this too.

However, Onicelu shook her head.

“Reincarnations? Not at all. They died completely. Their souls perished, and their bodies were also dissolved by me to supply energy to the dimension. Other than this Underworld, they left nothing. They put all of their experience in their Esper Abilities. The Esper Abilities are what’s inherited.”

“I still don’t understand…” Ames was lost.

“After they died, they left the seeds of the Vital Energy Esper Ability and the Death Energy Esper Ability,” Onicelu explained patiently. “These are neither physical nor energy-formed objects but of a higher dimensional data form. I don’t know why that happened, but I know that if I had kept those seeds, no one in the entire universe would have awoken those two Esper Abilities ever.

“Therefore, to complete the dying wish of the two founders and to save myself, I sent these seeds back to the main universe. I knew that one day in the future, they would blossom on two new lives…”

Onicelu paused, smiled, and said, “Do you guys really think it’s a coincidence that there is only one pair of blood-related sisters with Vital Energy Esper Ability and Death Energy Esper Ability in the entire universe?”

Having heard of such a secret, the Great Mechanic Han felt like his fragile heart was shocked.

This meant that Hila and Aurora had no direct connections with those two Primordial Ones at all; they were only chosen by the data-form Esper Ability seeds and became the Vital Energy Esper Ability and Death Energy Esper Ability owners of this generation.

The two Primordial Ones fused their understanding into the data-form Esper Ability seeds so that those who were chosen by them would slowly receive the information and experience within. This was basically indirectly increasing the talents of their inheritors.

No wonder it was so easy for Hila to acquire new abilities and talents!

“Data form…” Han Xiao could not help but have even more speculations.

He still remembers that during one of his Racial Evolutions, there was a [Multi-Dimensional Shadow] option that seemed to be related to data forms.

Before he could think further, Onicelu spoke again softly. “That’s all I know. After the two founders died, the Underworld started to gradually wither and could no longer keep itself sealed from the outside world. Its size started to shrink, its space wall started to break, and souls fell asleep one after another. I had no choice but to store them all in the dimension core to prevent them from perishing. However, I’ve become weaker and weaker. I fell asleep as well. When the Underworld shatters completely, these souls will disappear.

“The energy source of the Underworld is the energy of the Vital Energy Esper Ability and the Death Energy Esper Ability. Not long ago, I finally obtained some of it when I subconsciously absorbed the energy from the sisters of this generation, which barely woke me from my long sleep. Only then did I stop absorbing their energy.”

Han Xiao thought about it. “Not long ago… it should be when Hila and Aurora were studying their life link. No wonder the energy they transferred was absorbed. That makes sense. This means that the Underworld dimension is actually the medium of the life link between them…”

This time, Onicelu shook her head and said calmly, “The bodies of the two Primordial Ones helped me to last a very long time, but that depleted long ago. The Underworld needs stable, long-term energy suppliers. Please bring them here as soon as possible. I don’t know how much longer I can last.”

As soon as she said that, Han Xiao received a notification in the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the mission [Inheritors of The Underworld].

Mission Introduction: The Underworld is the heritage of the previous owners of the Vital Energy Esper Ability and the Death Energy Esper Ability. The dimensional consciousness entity Onicelu has realized that she is getting weaker every day. She hopes that Hila and Aurora can become the new inheritors.

Mission Requirements: Help Hila and Aurora inherit the Underworld dimension.

Reward: 50 Million EXP, +20 Onicelu Favorability, 1 Character Summon Card.

Bonus Mission Requirement: Help the Underworld return to its peak state.

Bonus Reward: +40 Onicelu Favorability, [Mark of The Underworld].

Chapter 1079: Rich Reward

Chapter 1079 Rich Reward

“A mission…”

Han Xiao glanced at the interface and had a rough idea.

According to the basic rewards, he knew that helping Hila to take over the Underworld dimension would probably not be difficult. The only tough part was the bonus requirement—god only knew how much energy it would take for the Underworld to reach its original state, but even draining Hila dry would probably not be enough.

However, since it was an inheritance from the predecessors, there was no reason to reject it.

[Mark of the Underworld] was quite tempting for Han Xiao. Its effect granted him the right to control the secondary dimension to a certain extent, similar to the Mark of Evil Convergence, which Traveler had. At the same time, it would also increase his strength to some extent.

Furthermore, he could also dray the soul of the enemies he killed into the Underworld. This was equivalent to basically getting part of Hila’s power as a part-time soul collector.

Along with the Favorability reward from this mission, it seemed that this mission was saying that he did Onicelu a great favor, so she was willing to let him use her body.

When he thought of it this way, it seemed quite exciting…

Han Xiao searched his memories. In his previous life, Hila did not display any ability related to the Underworld dimension, so the Underworld had probably perished before she discovered it.

After all, the main reason Hila discovered the Underworld came from when she tried creating a life link with Aurora. Without the energy the Underworld absorbed when they transferred energy to each other, Onicelu would not have awakened.

In his previous life, however, Aurora was long gone, and Hila was alone. Without Aurora, she most likely never discovered the Underworld dimension and missed out on the inheritance.

At the same time, even if Hila did obtain the Underworld dimension, without Aurora, they would not be able to summon or Edo Tensei anyone…

In conclusion, the Germinal Organization leader was truly a great man.

All kinds of thoughts flashed past Han Xiao’s mind. In the end, he nodded at Onicelu and said, “Alright, I’ll bring them here very soon to meet you.”

“I’m counting on you.” Onicelu smiled.

Then, she disappeared and hid away. She had already said everything she needed to, and with very limited energy that she had no way of recovering, she did not want to waste any of it.

Han Xiao and Ames were the only ones left. He turned around to look at her and saw that she was pondering. It was clear that she was shocked and had yet to recover.

This was not without its reasons. Initially, the two of them only wanted to come and take a look at the place for Hila. Never did they expect to run into this chain of incidents. First, they met Traveler and beat him into a pulp, then were attacked back an unknown fleet. Clotti went missing, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy became disabled, and in the end, they met the Underworld’s dimensional consciousness entity and discovered this shocking secret. There was too much information to process.

It was said that every lucky guy seemed to run into trouble most easily. Why did he never notice that Ames was talented in this area?

However, overall, Han Xiao was more pleasantly surprised than shocked. He had captured the Holy Light Particle, triggered a few new missions, and obtained some secret information. The rewards of this trip were quite rich.

Although part of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy had been snatched away, it could still use its powers. When he put it this way, it did not seem like he had lost anything at all.

As for the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s agony, Han Xiao was actually not really concerned. As a great man once said, everyone had different reasons to feel sorrowful or joyous, not to mention the difference between people and Esper Ability entities.

Dealing with the Holy Accord would take a lot of planning. The main mission now was to help Hila inherit the Underworld.

Having thought of that, Han Xiao patted Ames’ shoulders and said, “Stop daydreaming. It’s time to leave.”

Ames regained focus and chuckled with joy.

“I never thought Hila and Aurora would meet something like this. I’m proud of my students.”

“Yes yes yes, your students are amazing.” Han Xiao interrupted her. “Having met something like this, we’ll have to cut our schedule short. I’ll have the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy take you back to Black Star Palace to bring Hila here, what do you say?”

“Of course, it’s a great idea.” Ames smiled.

Han Xiao nodded and ordered the Mysterious Energy Host to grab Ames. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared. The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s ability to cross between secondary dimensions was much more convenient compared to mechanical devices. It would not take long for them to return.

He was the only one there. After some thinking, he took out his communicator and called the dynasty’s secondary dimension frontline station. This time, he contacted the dynasty’s person in charge who was stationed there.

After some time, the communication went through, and Guzar’s face appeared before his eyes.

The moment Han Xiao saw this face, he was stunned for a second.

Zhang Fei?

Yoho, I was mistaken. That sure startled me. This is way too similar to Zhang Fei’s face…

This time, Guzar’s loud voice sounded with an impatient tone.

“Black Star, we suddenly lost the location of Dark Lord. Where did he go?”

“We were attacked by a mysterious fleet. He was exiled into the chaotic space streams…” Han Xiao explained the process briefly with emphasis on the technology of the Holy Accord.

“These weaklings actually troubled him? Clotti is really getting rusty,” Guzar murmured with dissatisfaction.

“It happens, it happens…” Han Xiao dry coughed trying to change to the topic.

Guzar caressed his beard and mumbled, “However, their technology is indeed unique. If taken by surprise, I might end up the same way too… Hey, Black Star, do you know their identity?”

“Nope. However, if you guys want to investigate them, I suggest you start with the records of the birth of the Primal Esper Ability Entities. This organization undoubtedly has more than one Primal Esper Ability. Other than that, there’s nothing else I know.”

Han Xiao had very limited knowledge about the Holy Accord organization in this era. Therefore, simply mentioning its name might not only be not very effective but also bring him more trouble.

“Understood, I’ll relay your information up. They dare to attack the dynasty’s man. We will certainly dig them out and teach them a lesson,” Guzar said with a deep voice.

Han Xiao nodded.

Getting the dynasty to chase after the Holy Accord would at least cause them some trouble.

With the power of advanced civilizations, they might really be able to notice something.

Guzar complained for a while to vent his anger before he finally calmed down. He sized Han Xiao up and could not help but give him a passionate invitation.

“Black Star, I have always wanted to meet you. Come to my place if you have the time. We’ll have to know more about each other.”

“There’ll be chances in the future.”

Han Xiao agreed with a smile while being quite contented in his heart.

The fact that a powerful Beyond Grade A actively came to him meant that his networking skills were finally reaching their peak.

The Great Mechanic Han knew who Guzar was; he was a direct Beyond Grade A of the dynasty who was stationed in the secondary dimension. Before this, he had never come into contact with him, but in his memories, this guy seemed quite strong. Sadly, he died too early in his previous life, before the World Tree version.

Speaking of which, the secondary dimensions were one of the battlefronts during the World Tree war, and the battles there were just as bloody as in the main universe. The research labs and the outposts of the three Universal Civilizations were almost all destroyed. Compared to the stable spacetime of the main universe, the strange and unpredictable secondary dimensions seemed more dangerous to many.

They then chatted for a while longer. The conversation was quite pleasant, and they both gave each other a good impression.

When Han Xiao hung up the call, the space beside him rippled again. The Mysterious Energy Host had brought Ames and Hila back.

He turned and said, “Yo, you’ve come. Why didn’t you bring your sister?”

“There’s no need to bring Aurora to such a dangerous place. If her ability is needed, I’ll just tell her to transfer it to me remotely,” Hila explained. She then looked around at the Underworld dimension with curiosity and doubt. “You guys really didn’t trick me together, right? Is this secondary dimension the inheritance of the Primordial Ones?”

“Let her explain it to you herself.”

Han Xiao snapped his fingers.

Onicelu appeared again. She first gave Han Xiao a smile that seemed to mean she was very satisfied with how efficient he was before pulling Hila aside to speak to her.

Seeing this, Han Xiao told Hila, “Alright, go chat with her. Ames and I shall leave for now. I’ll leave a mechanical army here. Notify me if anything changes. Anyway, you have the King mechanical suit. Tell me if you’re in danger and I’ll just teleport you back.”

Hila turned to look at him but hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright, go have fun.”

Han Xiao smiled at him. He told the Mysterious Energy Host to take the two of them away.

He was not worried about Hila’s safety. After all, she was a Beyond Grade A. Plus, his army was with her. She had more than enough strength to protect herself in the secondary dimensions.

Looking at the direction the two of them disappeared in, complicated emotions appeared in Hila’s eyes.

There was joy and disappointment.

Of course, she was surprised to come across the opportunity of becoming stronger through the inheritance of the Primordial Ones.

However, when she thought of the fact that the promise Black Star had made to travel with her alone in the secondary dimensions might be disposed because of it. She was somewhat disappointed.

Although she never spoke of it, she actually really wanted to go out with Black Star…

…

The Void Dimension.

With a flash of red light, the two of them appeared in Kirkmond’s territory in an instant.

As the official business regarding the Holy Light Particle and the Underworld dimension was complete, Han Xiao planned to complete the milestone mission, [Void Conqueror]. Therefore, remembering his promise to Kirkmond, he rushed back.

However, when the two of them looked around, they were stunned.

The void crystal floating city that was originally filled with void creatures was now empty. The void army that was stationed there had vanished.

“That’s strange. Where did they go? Field training?” Ames looked around.

“Let’s ask a void creature about it.”

Han Xiao led Ames to Kirkmond’s palace. As expected, there were indeed some void creatures with no combat capability who were left behind. They had seen their boss invite these two guests here, so they approached them.

“Where did Kirkmond go?” Han Xiao asked directly.

“Master has taken the army out to war.”

“Didn’t I tell him to wait until we returned? He couldn’t even wait for such a short time?” Han Xiao wondered.

The void henchman said with resignation, “Kirkmond did not start the war. We were invaded by another Void Duke. Kirkmond was forced to take the fight.”

“Give me the coordinates of the battlefield then.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and said softly, “It seems like we’ve come right on time.”

…

At the same time, in a certain area of the Void Dimension, two enormous void armies were fighting.

In the middle of the battlefield, the two Void Dukes of the two sides were dueling.

One rode a young Void Dragon, holding an enormous void crystal shield and a black longsword. The other rode a Void Worm and held a greenish-copper short spear in all of its twenty or so arms.

Every clash of their weapons sent out a blue-purple void energy shockwave. A huge area around them was empty—no one dared interfere with the duel between two Void Dukes.

The one who used a sword was Kirkmond, who had a slightly lower hand in the fight. His control of void energy was not as good as the opponent, and his energy was not as strong. He was defending himself more than attacking.

The enemy he was facing was indeed his archenemy, as well as Han Xiao’s mission target, Void Duke Bagdora.

Since they were both void creatures and had high resistance to void energy, long-range attacks had very limited effects. Therefore, when fighting against one of their own, most void creatures preferred close-range battles.

Clank!

More than ten short spears slashed down simultaneously. Kirkmond hastily raised his shield to block them. The clash sent out several rings of shockwaves as they competed in power.

“Can you feel my improved strength? You’re no longer a match for me!” Bagdora laughed.

“You killed another Void Duke‽” Kirkmond was both shocked and enraged.

At their level, every slight increase in strength was very important. Their strength would only suddenly grow when they devoured someone at the same level as them or higher.

In all these years, none of them was clearly stronger than the other. Now, however, Bagdora was clearly stronger. The only explanation was that he had devoured the core of another Void Duke.

“Hehe, a newborn Void Duke just happened to pass by my territory. I turned him into my energy. This is fate, and fate dictates that I’ll defeat you!”

Damn it! Kirkmond was jealous. Why don’t I ever get this lucky?

Bagdora’s short spears left afterimages behind. He seemed to be growing impatient. Kirkmond was already a very nutritious meal in his eyes, and he could not wait to eat him up.

“If I eat you, I’ll be able to become one of the strongest Dukes. There’s no use resisting. Become my food!”

Kirkmond could not hold much longer. His army was also showing signs of losing.

He knew that his defeat was certain is this went on, so he yelled furiously,

“Don’t go over your head! I still have reinforcements!”

“So what? You think you can scare me away?”

Bagdora laughed out loud as he cut away a small part of Kirkmond’s body without mercy.

“I’ll eat your so-called reinforcements too. I’ll take it as your gift to me!”

At this time, Han Xiao just so happened to arrive at the edge of the battlefield through hyperdrive. Hearing this, he turned to look at this Void Duke, and his brows twitched a little.

He released a public telepathic message that instantly covered the entire battlefield.

“You wanna try it?”

Chapter 1080: Are You Here to Steal My Harvest?

1080 Are You Here to Steal My Harvest? Along with Han Xiao, the Beyond Grade A energy he had appeared too. He became an energy source that had an extremely dangerous presence, which instantly attracted the attention of all the void creatures around.

“Ha! My help is here!”

Strength appeared in Kirkmond’s body all of a sudden. While Bagdora was still shocked, he slashed his sword down Bagdora’s arms, instantly cutting away many of his energy-made arms.

Bagdora hastily retreated away from Kirkmond, regenerated his arms then looked at Han Xiao with a grave expression. The confidence he had earlier was nowhere to be found.

Beyond Grade As of the main universe were not easy to mess with. This was common knowledge in the secondary dimensions. He did not expect Kirkmond to have a connection with a stranger Beyond Grade A.

“Who are you? I’m warning you. Don’t interfere with the matters of the Void Dimension. I’m master Kasuyi’s subordinate!”

Bagdora immediately brought up a big name. Among the names he knew from the main universe, Kasuyi’s name was the most impactful.

“He’s not! He’s just trying to scare you!” Kirkmond exposed his lie without mercy.

“Humph, don’t trust him. Kirkmond is a liar! He’s definitely just using you!”

“You’re the liar!” Kirkmond was enraged.

“No, you!”

Even in this situation, the two of them did not stop arguing.

Han Xiao, however, had no plan to join the argument. Electric sparks appeared in his eyes as countless machines swarmed out. Then, an enormous net formed by Mechanical Force grabbed all the machines and pulled them toward him, quickly assembling.

This huge move caused all the void creatures on the battlefield to stop fighting and look over.

A Mechanical Deity formed very quickly. Since the opponent was just a Void Duke, he did not summon a lot of machines. Therefore, this Mechanical Deity was not too large, only about ten thousand meters tall.

The most conspicuous part of it was the enormous metal cape on its back. It was not soft like cloth but was completely mechanical. It looked extremely delicate and complex.

It was the Emperor’s Cape, which Han Xiao had sent into battle for the first time.

“Mechanical Deity‽” Bagdora was knowledgeable enough to know what this was. His panic was clearly expressed from his fluctuating mind frequency.

If he had a face, his fear would have clearly shown on it.

Without saying anything, Bagdora immediately turned around attempting to escape. He disappeared in an instant and entered Void Hyperdrive.

However, Kirkmond was prepared for this. Being a Void Duke as well, he had all kinds of ways to prevent Bagdora from escaping. He swung his long sword sideways and slapped the space before him. Dense Void Energy exploded, sending out shockwave-like ripples. The space of this Void Dimension was easily sealed.

The next moment, Bagdora appeared again as he was forced out from hyperdrive by Kirkmond.

“You…”

Bagdora was frustrated. However, before he could try anything else again, Han Xiao controlled his Mechanical Deity and charged toward him. He was not planning to just watch on the side.

Seeing this, Bagdora did not even try to escape anymore. He quickly sent out long-ranged attacks with Void Energy at the Mechanical Deity, hoping to stop Han Xiao from getting closer.

Without slowing down, the Mechanical Deity grabbed a corner of the Emperor’s Cape and pulled it to its front.

Buzz!

An energy shield appeared on the surface of the cape. It was extremely thick and strong. Countless Void Energy attacks landed on it, only to create tiny little ripples, unable to slow down the Mechanical Deity at all.

At the same time, the Emperor’s Cape also increased the mobility and speed of the Machinery Deity by a large extent. At the edges of the cape, the space could be seen bent, which drastically increased the Machinery Deity’s speed.

“Don’t come any closer!”

Shocked, Bagdora wanted to back away, but Kirkmond stopped him from doing so. Unable to flee, he could only watch as the Mechanical Deity moved closer.

“Take this!” Han Xiao raised the Mechanical Deity’s arm and punched forward.

Highly condensed psionic energy fused with all kinds of electromagnetic and shockwave force fields formed a light blue energy shield shrouding the Mechanical Deity’s fist. It was extremely destructive.

Boom!

Bagdora’s defense did not have much effect. His enormous energy formed body was flattened and pressed onto the Mechanical Deity’s fist. His greenish-copper short spears were all shattered into atoms, and his Void Worm died right on the spot, not leaving even ashes behind.

Some time ago, Han Xiao had obtained [Machinery Control Master] through the few Beyond Grade A captives, which drastically increased the strength of armor-type equipment when used by him. Furthermore, his melee-range combat capability was also enhanced tremendously.

The power of this punch was way too much for a Void Duke like Bagdora. He was heavily injured instantly.

Void creatures had their own level system and were not included in the combat capability measurement standard of the main universe, so there was no clear comparison. However, at Han Xiao’s level, he could easily estimate it.

With the advantage of fighting in its own territory, the Void Dukes could fight back and forth with ordinary Beyond Grade As for dozens of rounds, but that was all. Only the strongest Dukes and Void Lords, Void Ancients, could compete with real Beyond Grade As. As for peak Beyond Grade As, their power exceeded the upper strength limit of void creatures.

Basically, Bagdora was about as strong as his Apostle Weapons, which were between Lv260 and Lv280, basically almost Beyond Grade As. They would easily crush Calamity Grades but would be thrashed by Beyond Grade As.

With such a large difference in strength, the only reason Bagdora was not completely obliterated was thanks to the special physique of Void Dukes; his various resistances were extremely high.

Bagdora’s flattened body stayed still for an instant on the Mechanical Deity’s fist before shooting out the next moment like a rocket, creating an empty path on the battlefield.

The Mechanical Deity remained on the same spot. It extended two fingers and aimed at Bagdora, who was flying further and further away. Its fingertips turned sharp and became a barrel, blinding light appeared from within.

“Evil Perish Cannon!” Han Xiao gave it a ridiculous name for fun.

Xiu!

An energy beam shot out from the fingertips of the Mechanical Deity and caught up to Bagdora instantly, penetrating his body.

Bagdora’s body suddenly became stiff. He started to evaporate from within like snow on a hot day, gradually melting.

Very soon, only a gray sphere was left floating. This was what was left of Bagdora—the core essence of a Void Duke.

“This guy is finally dead!” Kirkmond was overjoyed. Through hyperdrive, he jumped over and grabbed Bagdora’s core. Feeling the lingering frustration emotion in it, he could not hold back his laughter.

As their master died, Bagdora’s army fell into disarray. Most of the void creatures tried to flee in different directions and were chased; the rest stayed and surrendered. The situation became one-sided.

Seeing this, Han Xiao deactivated the Mechanical Deity and tutted like he wanted more.

This Void Duke was too weak. I didn’t even enjoy it enough…

This time, Kirkmond held onto Bagdora’s core and returned to Han Xiao. His tone was filled with joy.

“Haha, I knew I was right to trust you. To think you killed Bagdora so easily. You must be someone very well known in the main universe!”

“Not really, not really.” Han Xiao gave a humble response.

“According to our agreement, half of the core is yours. We’re friends from now on. If you need help in battle, just call me. This is my energy mark; you can contact me if anything happens.”

Han Xiao received energy from Kirkmond, which turned into a mark on his arm. He already had a ton of enchantment tattoos on his body and looked like a gangster, so having one more was no big deal.

Han Xiao looked at the interface.

The mission was shown to be completed, and the reward was given. He obtained 12 billion EXP and one Kirkmond’s Character Summon Card, and Kirkmond’s faction’s Favorability reached [Respect]. The Character Summon Card’s ability was Void Lock, which was a quite useful controlling ability and could be used five times.

Compared to the low difficulty, this was quite a rich reward. However, only Beyond Grade As like Han Xiao would be able to deal with this mission so easily, so it made sense.

The milestone mission for [Void Conqueror] started too. His progress was at one eighth for the Void Duke forces he destroyed and a twenty-five percent for the void faction favorability he had achieved. He should be able to activate this milestone very soon.

This time, Han Xiao smiled and said, “Any interest in expanding your territory?”

“Oh? Do you plan to continue helping me?” Kirkmond paused, not pleased but surprised, and started hesitating.

The way he looked at it, what Black Star meant was that he wanted to make him his subordinate like Kirkmond. The reason that Kirkmond did not join Kasuyi was that he did not want to work for others, and now he was troubled.

Han Xiao understood what he was thinking from his hesitation. He thought about it and said, “Don’t worry, I have no plan to learn from Kasuyi. Since you’re willing to fight for me, making your forces stronger is basically indirectly helping myself.”

The Void Dimension was Kasuyi’s territory. If he came here to grow his forces, he would undoubtedly offend this void movie lord. Therefore, Han Xiao planned to help some Void Dukes in the form of hiring them as mercenaries.

As long as they agreed to be his spare tires… ahem, helpers, he would help them to take over the forces of other Void Dukes. This way, he could both complete his milestone mission and obtain more troops at the same time.

“That sounds good.” Kirkmond was relieved.

Having seen Han Xiao’s strength earlier, he knew that he was no match. If Han Xiao decided to force him, he would not be able to resist at all, so he felt that Black Star had no need to lie to him.

After communicating a little longer, Kirkmond went to the side to enjoy the essence of Bagdora. Ames, who only watched beside Han Xiao, suddenly shook her head and said, “You don’t ever forget about increasing your forces, do you?”

“I’m used to it. After all, I’m a good faction leader…”

Then, Han Xiao gave Ames a look with unspeakable meanings.

“… What kind of look is that?” Ames’s brows raised slightly.

“I’m appreciating your beauty.”

“Humph, cheeky.”

…

Over the next few days, Han Xiao took Ames to travel in the Void Dimension back, looking for new partners to work with and merging the forces of Void Dukes one after another. With his peak Beyond Grade A strength, the progress of the [Void Conqueror] milestone was very quick.

Such frequent movements also attracted more attention from the boss of the Void Dimension. When the news spread to Kasuyi’s territory, the Void Dukes under his command reported it to him.

Somewhere in the Flickering World, Kasuyi frowned and narrowed his eyes. Looking at the kneeled void messenger in front of him, he felt alarmed.

“Black Star went to the Void Dimension and is now helping the Void Dukes there to take over the forces of their enemies?”

Could it be that Black Star had set his eyes on the forces of the Void Dimension and wanted to take over void creatures to form an organization like him?

From the way he looked at it, since Black Star had the blood of void creatures and was at the peak Beyond Grade A level, when his God’s Trait Transformation reached a certain extent, it was very likely Black Star might develop new abilities related to the void.

Kasuyi was actually not interested in what Han Xiao was doing in the Void Dimension. As the Void Dimension was large enough and had more than enough energy, having one more person to share it with was completely harmless and would not affect him at all. Han Xiao would not be considered as a competitor.

However, he had a big problem with others putting their fingers on his void army. The Void Dimension was his headquarters, and all the void creatures were his own in his eyes. Black Star’s actions made Kasuyi a little unhappy.

Never mind if you came to my farm to dig away some soil, but taking away my harvest is crossing the line.

The entire universe knows that the Void Dimension is my home. How can you just come to my home and cause trouble like this, Black Star? Have you ignored my existence?

Kasuyi thought about it and slowly said, “Go back and relay my decision to those Void Dukes. Tell them to get into contact with Black Star and obtain information about what his goal is. Also do the same with the other Void Dukes he helped.”

The messenger received the order, shook his body, and returned to the Void Dimension, disappearing without a trace.

With Kasuyi’s position, calling Han Xiao directly was the most convenient. However, that would mean that there was no room for any excuse or discussion. Hence, he hoped to take a gentler approach and ask about Han Xiao’s goal through a middleman.

The so-called Beyond Grade A Association was about to be formed, and he did not want to mess with Black Star, who was leading it.

“Speaking of which, Manison seems very active recently and has been digging up his old connections. Looks like he really wants to be the one in charge…”

Kasuyi looked interested.

Kasuyi had no plan to do the same. He had never cared too much about the Beyond Grade A Association to begin with. He only saw that Beyond Grade As being in groups would become a trend in the future, so he wanted to obtain a senior position. As for the position of the president, he would not take it even if it was given to him for free. Sitting in that position meant being at the front of all issues. Anyone in that position would be heavily monitored by the advanced civilizations.

Some of the peak Beyond Grade As had the same thoughts as him; very few tried to become the president. Including Manison and Black Star, there were only four of them.

“Hmm, the association can only have one president, who also cannot be a direct member of the three Universal Civilizations, or it would go against its goal… I wonder what plans Black Star has. Although he’s not as senior, as the star of the Flickering World and the key initiator of this project, his chances don’t seem low…”

Chapter 1081: Milestone and Representative

1081 Milestone and Representative _____________________

[Void Conqueror] mission completed!

Milestone activated successfully!

_____________________

Watching the last Void Duke get turned into a patty by the Mechanical Deity, Han Xiao finally heard the soothing notification sound from the interface.

In the past ten days or so, he had been taking Ames around to look for other Void Dukes for partnerships. He had been active in the various edge areas of the Void Dimension.

Since not everyone wanted to hire outsiders, the two of them wasted some time in between. However, overall, the mission was completed quite efficiently. As long as a partnership was agreed upon, Han Xiao would easily be able to wipe out the hostile Void Duke’s forces.

“It’s finally completed.”

Han Xiao deactivated the Mechanical Deity and opened the interface to look at the reward.

The bonus from [Void Conqueror] was already in effect. His various void-related talents were all slightly enhanced. He received 1,600 Free Attribute Points and one God’s Trait Transformation Point, as well as +20 starting Favorability with all void creatures. He also received a Legendary Point [Void Celebrity]. Its introduction was that the name ‘Black Star’ was now well known between the void creatures.

As usual, he stocked the Free Attribute Points up, of which he now had close to 4,000. As for the God’s Trait Transformation Point, Han Xiao continued on the path of maxing one path first, so he used it on [God’s Trait Transformation—Machinery] and unlocked the level four bonuses.

_____________________

Stage Four: +3 Levels to abilities belonging to the [Apostle Mechanic] and [Emperor Mechanic] stages. +25% base success rate of inventing blueprints. +15% base success rate of improving blueprints. +3% base success rate of inventing Grade Gold blueprints. +1.5% rate of acquiring unique talents. +15% abilities of the sub-branches.

_____________________

“Not bad.” Han Xiao scanned through it.

The class abilities of the Apostle and Emperor stages were very crucial, so enhancing them was quite useful. According to the current trend, Han Xiao estimated that the next level would most likely enhance the abilities of the Lord and Throne Mechanic stages, which were even more crucial.

Overall, the bonuses of this level were mainly focused on enhancing his ability to innovate. After all, Han Xiao had no channeling bars like the players. At his level, innovating new blueprints from his class knowledges was common, same with improving the base quality of blueprints. The blueprints he used often nowadays were all enhanced and improved versions.

What Han Xiao was more concerned about was the unique talent. It seemed like those old men like Manison and Sorokin all had their own unique talents. Since the players did not have this in his previous life, Han Xiao had no idea about how to acquire them, nor did the interface give any tips. Therefore, he could only figure it out himself.

As for the enhancements of the sub-branches, they enhanced Han Xiao’s Armed and Energy Branch abilities, basically almost all the Mechanic abilities not belonging to the Virtual Branch.

Han Xiao was still looking at the interface when his current Void Duke partner finished consuming the enemy’s core and came to beside him.

“Black Star, a Void Lord under the command of His Excellency Kasuyi wants to see you.”

“Finally, I knew he wouldn’t ignore my actions.”

Han Xiao had expected this, so he was not surprised. Following the Void Duke’s arrangements, he met with the Void Lord.

The Void Lord’s body was enormous and seemingly extended from the ground right into the clouds. Its body’s color was deeper than even the Void Duke.

As soon as he saw Han Xiao, he felt close to him for some reason he could not explain. Somehow, Han Xiao looked very easy to befriend.

Despite the rather good first impression this Void Lord had of Han Xiao, it did not affect his attitude when carrying out the mission for Kasuyi. He directly said, “Black Star, we’ve noticed your recent frequent battles in the Void Dimension. Are you planning to rule the Void Dukes and build your forces here?”

“Don’t worry. Tell Kasuyi that I’m just signing contracts with some mercenaries and have no plans of building a force. In fact, I’ve almost achieved my goal, and I’m planning to leave the Void Dimension in just a day or two.”

Han Xiao knew what Kasuyi was worried about, so he expressed that he was not there to fight for territory.

“That’s best. As long as you don’t interfere too much with the internal matters of the Void Dimension, we will always welcome you. Do come to us if you need anything.”

The Void Lord was quite well mannered. As a subordinate of Kasuyi, he had some basic knowledge of the powerful people in the main universe. He knew that Black Star was not someone he could mess with.

“Sure, we might have the chance to do business in the future,” Han Xiao said casually.

Kasuyi’s territory had a stable production line that produced all kinds of void specialties. It was quite a good business. If he had any needs, he would not mind working with him.

This time, the Void Lord took out a tube that was filled with a light blue liquid that was giving off a dim light and said, “This is master Kasuyi’s special present for you. It’s liquid-form Void Essence extracted for the core of the dimension. It’ll help in enhancing your void bloodline.”

Han Xiao raised his brows, accepted the tube, and said with a smile, “Thank Kasuyi for me.”

Clearly, this was meant as a farewell gift to tell him not to stay too long in his house. Anyway, Han Xiao never planned to, so he had no problem with it.

After a successful exchange, the Void Lord left satisfied. Han Xiao kept the tube too, which would most likely increase the attributes he would gain during the next Race Evolution.

“Finally done?” This time, Ames giggled.

Over the past few days, Han Xiao had been very occupied with doing the mission and did not fulfill his promise to Ames of traveling with her. He could not help but feel he had wronged her. Now that business was done, with a relaxed mind and mood, he waved and said, “Let’s go. I’ll accompany you to travel the secondary dimensions all you want.”

…

While the two of them traveled the secondary dimensions, the situation of the main universe kept changing.

Although the plan of forming a Beyond Grade A Alliance in the Flickering World was not publicized yet, the unusual movements of numerous peak Beyond Grade As attracted attention from many well-informed organizations.

After the initiators of the alliance gathered, they started the first meeting.

Inside the round table conference room of a spaceship, the remote projections of the various initiators gathered and sat in their chairs. Most of them were peak Beyond Grade As.

At the huge round table, only one seat was empty. It was Han Xiao’s.

Manison clapped, signaling everyone to look over, and slowly said, “Black Star went to the secondary dimensions and isn’t available. We’re the only ones attending this meeting today.”

“He’s the main initiator. Growing the association needs the Black Star Army’s help too. Is it suitable to not call him for such an important meeting?” Secret Master asked.

The rest agreed.

Currently, Han Xiao’s position was quite high among the Beyond Grade As. Although he did not come, no one could ignore his existence. Furthermore, with the irreplaceable importance the Black Star Army had in creating the Beyond Grade A Association, the various Beyond Grade As present all recognized his significance. Even though he was not present, they would still speak for him.

“Black Star said himself he isn’t coming.” Manison shook his hand. “He has already made his stand. He suggests everyone should focus on the agreement we had during the Meeting of the Gods, and once we come to a conclusion, just inform him of it.”

He would never lie about such things.

“Alright then.” The rest nodded.

“Let’s talk business,” Manison said slowly. “Since we’re decided to form the association, we’ll first have to set down the rules, regularize the positions of the association, confirm the nature of the organization and its development direction, and decide on the laws its members must follow.

Kasuyi followed up and said, “That’s right. Our core goal is to unite the strength of all Beyond Grade As, be it now or in the future. The Ancient Ones’ structure is too lenient, and its entry point is too high, so this time, we can’t repeat their mistakes. We must have a clear set of laws and regulations.”

A peak Beyond Grade A said, “According to the proposal Black Star gave, the main use of the association is to solve conflicts between Beyond Grade As. I think that’s a good path, and it’s best we start there. For example, we can have the rule that members can’t easily initiate physical conflicts with other members except for the purpose of sparring, to maintain the image that the Beyond Grade As are united. Also, members shouldn’t be allowed to deliberately escalate the conflict and avoid peaceful compromises…”

Everyone started discussing their ideas one after another. The rules and regulations were being filled up very quickly.

This time, Sorokin, who was the major investor, suddenly said, “The rules are good indeed, but the biggest problem is to make sure the Beyond Grade As are willing to follow them. As everyone knows, Beyond Grade As all have their own pride and have been enjoying tons of privileges. It won’t be easy to make them follow rules.”

“That’s right. This is a core problem,” Manison said. “Not only must we make sure the members accept the restrictions from the rules, we also have to make sure that even after the outsiders see these rules, they’ll also still be willing to join the association. Not everyone agreed with what we said during the Meeting of the Gods, so in order to prevent others from just ignoring us, as usual, it’ll all come down to the use of intimidation and benefits. We have to let the other Beyond Grade As see the price of disobeying the rules while also understanding the benefits of joining the association.

“Intimidation is easy. We seniors won’t have to do anything. We’re a form of intimidation by ourselves. Benefits, however, must be displayed through many aspects. We shall build an interest network of Beyond Grade As, unite and share our resources, and provide help to each other through many means. As for the new members in the future, we can use our resources to help them to build their Beyond Grade A forces, as well as provide some guidance from the peak Beyond Grade As…

“Also, we can even include the Ultimate Knowledges of the five classes as a benefit.”

Hearing this, everyone was shocked.

“Ultimate Knowledges? This is basically fighting with the three Universal Civilizations in the market of recruiting Beyond Grade A allies. They’ll definitely object to it to an extreme extent. This isn’t a small issue.”

“Have you forgotten our initial goal so soon?” Manison said slowly. “If we can’t break the forced monopoly that the three Universal Civilizations have on the Ultimate Knowledges, even if the Beyond Grade A Association is formed successfully, it’ll still be controlled by the advanced civilizations. We’ll have no choice but to continue working for them all the same.”

Some nodded in agreement while more stayed silent. They felt that this was too big a step and too risky. Opinions were varied.

“Since you insist on doing so, the three Universal Civilizations will have a lot to say to us,” Kasuyi said with resignation.

“Therefore…” Manison looked around and finally showed his true goal. “We need a leader. He must be able to take the pressure and never compromise, and I’m the only one who is able to take on that position.”

Everyone glanced at him.

Someone started praising him and said, “Manison is strong. He has a lot of connections, a huge organization, and he’s senior. He is indeed the most suitable candidate.”

Quite a number of people there were invited by Manison, so they were going to support him from the beginning.

This time, another peak Beyond Grade A candidate said, “Who doesn’t know what you’re planning? We’re all the initiators of the association. I think I’m more suitable than you.”

Everyone there was a Beyond Grade A. One person speaking for everyone was impossible. Even the president would only be taken more seriously when it comes to making decisions but could never truly order around these people. Most decisions would still have to be made together by the elders. However, due to the unique nature of the Beyond Grade A Association, this kind of opportunity was extremely rare.

This time, Milizaus said slowly, “Although Black Star isn’t here, he also intends to be a candidate. The forces the Black Star Army has in the Flickering World are unquestionable. Our organization will only be truly powerful with him as the president. Furthermore, the Evolutionary Totems will soon be sold to the public. At that time, Black Star will be much more important to the three Universal Civilizations. He’s suitable as the lubricant between two sides and will be able to tremendously reduce the pressure the association will face… I vote for Black Star as the representative.”

Han Xiao did not join the meeting because he wanted to let others settle the issue, but it was mainly because he was not willing to face the other candidates directly, including Manison. Since he could not compete with the others in terms of connections, all he could do was bring up the profit he could bring and let the others decide. This way, he would avoid direct conflicts with other peak Beyond Grade As. More importantly, he did not want to disrupt the Great Director Manison’s plans.

“Black Star is indeed very useful, but he’s far from experienced. I wouldn’t want a youngster to stand above my head.” Sierron snorted.

Everyone had different people they wanted to vote for, so they started arguing. Surprisingly, quite a number of people voted for Han Xiao, who was not even here.

After quite some time, someone said, “I think that the management structure should be balanced. The position of the president shouldn’t be permanent. They need to be re-elected regularly.”

This suggestion was agreed on by most. They only did not want to step up now, but it was certain that being the president would be beneficial once the association became stable. Also, in terms of maintaining balance, no one wished for one person to be the president forever.

This time, Manison looked at Kasuyi, who did not participate much in the discussion. He narrowed his eyes and said with a deep voice, “Vote for me this time. I’ll fully support you in the next election.”

Hearing this, for some reason, Kasuyi suddenly felt a chill up his spine.

Why do I feel like I’ll have to keep my Psychic shield up at all times from now on?

Chapter 1082: Return

1082 Return Everyone there was standing at the top of the explored universe. They all had different forces under their command, such as armies, financial groups, and political powers.

These people did not like discussing nonsense, so the issues were solved very quickly. It did not take long for the rough structure of the association to be formed. On the surface, it was a platform to settle conflicts between Beyond Grade As, while internally, it served to unite the Beyond Grade As. The rules, regulations, and reward system all had a brief outline to be fine-tuned accordingly in the future.

At the same time, the official preparations for the organization were brought forward. These initiators started to relay the message to every Beyond Grade A to recruit members. At the same time, they had to choose a location to build the headquarters of the Beyond Grade A Association in the Flickering World, which needed the Black Star Army’s help. Also, every Beyond Grade A would have to set up an agency in their territory to serve as embassies. It felt quite similar to the United Nations.

The preparations would have to take about several months. Before the official formation of the association, the management positions had to be decided. Currently, it was in the form of President, Vice President, and the Governing Council.

After their discussion, they decided to set the duration of one term for the president and vice president to be thirty years. One could only hold the position for three terms consecutively at most but would still be able to take on the position of director after stepping down. Once two terms had passed after stepping down, that person would be eligible to be re-elected for president or vice president.

The president had the most responsibilities. He had to both have appeal and the strength to take on pressure from the three Universal Civilizations. Currently, Manison had the most support, but no one would ignore Han Xiao and confirm the president before he returned.

As for the proposal Manison made to break the monopoly on Ultimate Knowledges, the opinions were currently diverted. In the past, the Ultimate Knowledges were only given by the advanced civilizations as a method to woo Beyond Grade A allies. Even if their allies learned them, they were not allowed to easily teach them to others. Han Xiao had experienced that in the past.

If the association turned the Ultimate Knowledge into one of their rewards, it would basically break the three Universal Civilizations’ rules, which would cause severe responses from the three Universal Civilizations.

However, if it really worked, rights would be taken back from the advanced civilizations, and the Beyond Grade As would indeed be free from many limitations and become more independent.

This was an unavoidable step to increase the position the Beyond Grade As had in the universe so that the new Beyond Grade As in the future would not have to become allies of the advanced civilizations for Ultimate Knowledges. At the same time, the Beyond Grade A Association would be able to attract newbies much easier, which was extremely beneficial for those peak Beyond Grade As who had the full set of Ultimate Knowledges of their own class.

On this issue, what the people argued about was the timing. Some felt that this should only be carried out once the association had established a firm base, since this was basically directly confronting the three Universal Civilizations, and a new association would not be able to hold against such an intense conflict. Some felt that it should be carried out as soon as possible to regain their rights, emphasizing why this association existed in the first place.

There would be a lot of time to discuss these details. On the other hand, an excuse or opportunity for the outside world was needed to form this association. They planned to contact some Beyond Grade As to fake some conflicts with each other in the next few months and escalate the issues into physical fights. The key point of this plan was the impact it would bring. The Beyond Grade As involved would only be acting, but they would have to make sure that the conflict would damage different organizations.

Not only were they going to have a huge fight in the Flickering World, but they were also going to encourage their own organizations to cause friction in the various Star Fields, once again letting the other organizations realize how much the conflicts between Beyond Grade As could impact others. This way, the public would lean toward hoping the Beyond Grade As would stop fighting, which would set down the path to forming the association. This plan would both give the three Universal Civilizations pressure and face. Neither side wanted to expose the conflict of interests between them to the public.

After the bosses confirmed the strategy, they started executing it very soon. The Flickering World became even more boisterous than before, and the free competition zone became more chaotic. At the same time, Beyond Grade As started having conflicts with each other in various Star Fields at the same time.

Due to the appearance of this phenomenon, the three Universal Civilizations temporarily put their conflicts behind, and the upper echelons held a remote conference together to discuss how to deal with it.

…

In the completely secured conference room, the remote projections of the federation, church, and dynasty gathered.

The dynasty’s Ruler Urranrell, the federation’s President Bader, and the church’s Pope sat in each corner of the triangular meeting table with their own upper echelons.

In usual times, the three of them fought each other in every way imaginable, but when the explored universe started to become unstable, these three sides would come together and decide the fate of this universe.

Bader looked around and said, “I don’t even remember the last time the three of us hosted a meeting like this.”

“Of course you don’t remember. The last meeting wasn’t during your term,” the church’s Pope said calmly.

Bader gave him a glare but had nothing to say.

The Federation of Light was indeed the one that changed their leader most often. The federation’s president had already changed many times before the church’s pope even changed once.

“Let’s get down to business,” Urranrell said expressionlessly. “The unification of the Beyond Grade As is pushed by the big picture. If our objection is too forceful, the Beyond Grade As will strongly repel it. In order to avoid the fate of becoming mere tools, there’ll be more new Beyond Grade As in the future who will decide to hide their strength and live a low-profile life. In that case, our efficiency in recruiting allies will increase tremendously. At the same time, recording the total number of Beyond Grade As in the universe will become more difficult.”

Bader nodded in agreement. “We have to not let the Beyond Grade As smoothly form that development union or whatnot but not use extreme methods. We’ll have to work together. We can’t target our own allies, so we shall target each other’s. The dynasty will target my allies, I will target the church’s, and the church will target the dynasty’s allies. This way, we can cause some trouble to some of the Beyond Grade As, especially to those who are still undecided.”

“That will only act as an obstacle and make forming the union more difficult. It won’t solve the root issue,” the Pope said calmly. “If the Beyond Grade As unite as one, they’ll have a horrifying amount of influence on all Star Fields. They’ll even be able to shake the structure of the entire galactic society.”

Bader shook his head and said, “Sadly, it’s not possible to clear out all the Beyond Grade As. Not considering how big a price we’ll pay, we still have to make sure those extremely powerful individuals exist in this explored universe. They’ll apply pressure to those Beyond Grade As who’ve hidden their strength and escaped to the secondary dimensions, as well as act as a form of insurance for when we explore unknown territories. We never know when we’ll run into another unknown advanced civilization, and we can’t give up this advantage we have.”

“In the calculated model of the galactic society, this is a problem that was bound to show up sooner or later,” Urranrell said with a deep voice. “It’s just like how the workers formed worker’s unions in the early days to protect their own interests. The situation we’re facing now is similar, only the targets have changed into special individuals with great strength. Since the exploration era, we’ve been oppressing them way too much. This day was destined to arrive.

“Therefore, we have to make preparations on both sides. If the formation of the union can’t be stopped, we’ll have to try to divide them. At their management level, there’ll certainly be Beyond Grade As with different opinions and interests, whom we can either bribe or woo to be our eyes and ears. We can then use them to affect the union’s decision making.”

The pope narrowed his eyes, looked at the two of them, and said, “Speaking of which, the Mechanic Emperor and Black Star are the main ones who initiated this. Their opinions are divided to begin with… Humph, seems like both of your people are difficult to deal with. My Kasuyi is the best as always.”

“Manison is very, very ambitious,” Bader said with a displeased tone. “In recent years, he’s been doing a lot of things behind our backs. It’s very possible he wants to be completely out of the federation’s control. Frankly, we can’t really control him now.”

The Pope looked at Urranrell and asked, “What about the dynasty? Your Black Star loves to cause trouble too. Are you going to teach him a lesson?”

“You guys don’t have to be concerned with that. We have our own plans for Black Star. The Evolutionary Totem will be sold to the public as promised. You don’t have to worry about that,” Urranrell said casually.

The dynasty planned on continuing to ease the tension between them and Han Xiao, so they decided to be patient and wait for Gaud to grow till they could solve the technical issue of the Evolutionary Cube. This way, they would be able to reduce Han Xiao’s control over the Evolutionary Totem business.

Of course, Urranrell was not going to explain this plan to others.

Seeing this, Bader changed the topic back and said, “Other than dividing them, we’ll also have to infiltrate them and not let our people be stopped outside their doors. They want to form the association, so they have to give us some high positions in return and let our people have a say in the management level of their association. Basically, they’ll be open spies who’ll inform us of what they’re up to…”

The three of them discussed the matter for a while, made various proposals for the measures they should take, and slowly came to some agreements.

…

Time slipped by quickly while the structure of the universe gradually changed.

A few months later, in Black Star Palace…

Buzz!

With a flash of light, three people appeared in the army commander’s office. It was Han Xiao, Ames, and the Mysterious Energy Host. They had returned from the secondary dimensions.

The two of their mechanical suits came off automatically. This time, a surprised voice sounded from behind.

“Hmm? You’ve finally decided to return?”

The two of them turned to look over. It turned out Sylvia was in the room and was lying comfortably in Han Xiao’s chair. But now, she instantly jumped up like there were springs in the seat.

Seeing this, Han Xiao joked around and said, “Tsk tsk, not bad. Have you been sitting in my chair the whole time I wasn’t here? What are you planning to do, take my position?”

“Of course not, I was just… just…” Sylvia’s eyes spun frantically as she blushed trying to find an excuse. Stuttering, she then said, “Ahem, it’s just that your chair is very comfortable to sit in.”

As she was speaking, her expression suddenly froze as her eyes moved down onto Han Xiao’s arm, which was wrapped around Ames’ waist. Ames did not, however, reject it as Sylvia would expect. It was as if she was already used to it.

Noticing her look, Ames moved her waist slightly out of Han Xiao’s hands. She then raised her hand and touched Han Xiao’s cheek. “Busy man, I’m going back to the Shattered Star Ring. Jenny is probably going crazy now.”

“Must be tough for you to remember her existence.”

Han Xiao smiled. He wanted to grab Ames’ hand on his cheeks but was a second too late after Ames had already moved it away. She blinked at him and smiled elegantly.

Then, Ames turned to look at the stunned Sylvia, smiled, and walked out of the room.

Sylvia stood in place, appalled.

These two had only gone for a tour in the secondary dimensions, and now their relationship had already become this much more intimate‽

What happened‽

“You, you guys…”

Hearing this, Han Xiao turned into a serious expression and said, “What ‘you guys’? Do you know your priorities? In the days I wasn’t here, how have things in the main universe been? What about Hila? What’s she doing?”

Seeing Han Xiao’s indisputable expression, Sylvia clenched her teeth, suppressed her boiling curiosity, and explained the changes that had occurred in the past few months.

Sometime earlier, Hila had inherited the Underworld dimension and formed a link with it, so she no longer had to stay in the Underworld to charge it. She had returned to the main universe long ago and was now in the free competition zone, continuing the exploration work.

In the recent few months, the heat of the ambush on Hila gradually cooled down. As the exploration progressed further in the free competition zone, many organizations were already going all out. Furthermore, with the ‘conflicts’ many Beyond Grade As had with each other, it was very boisterous.

The players’ level had increased quite a bit too, and their actions gradually grew more organized. Their presence had been steadily growing in the universe. It was said that there were some small to medium organizations that were already calling the players the Cancer of the Universe, which meant things were following the path Han Xiao was familiar with, only that this nickname was not publicly recognized yet.

The dynasty had also sent a lot of messages that were all related to the development union. Since Han Xiao had hidden for a few months, he had managed to dodge the dynasty’s direct questioning.

The preparation of the development union was almost complete. Recruitment was basically already done. The three Universal Civilizations had not held back on interfering with their efforts. The two sides had clashed countless times secretly. Many Beyond Grade As received oppression to various extents, which unfortunately for the three Universal Civilizations, was not very effective. Although Han Xiao did not participate directly, his influence impacted it to some extent. With his permission, the Black Star Army had provided quite a lot of help.

Meanwhile, Dark Lord had already escaped from the chaotic space streams and had publicly arrested another neutral Beyond Grade A. As a direct member of the dynasty, lingering in the Flickering World at this time attracted a lot of attention and hostility from many Beyond Grade As.

All these changes, however, did not affect the dynasty’s plan to sell the Evolutionary Totems to the public. The army’s logistics department had already produced a ton of Evolutionary Totems, waiting for Han Xiao to charge them. Countless organizations’ preorders poured in like tsunamis.

Looking through the changes, Han Xiao thought to himself, Looks like things have been going well while I wasn’t around. Manison and the other elderlies really are something… Alright, the formation of the development union is now certain. It’s time I make a visit.

Chapter 1083: Exchange and Formation

1083 Exchange and Formation The fervor for the Flickering World was shared by countless organizations. As the exploration of new Star Fields progressed, the exploration area belonging to the free competition zone got deeper and deeper into the core at a speed much faster than the three previous stages.

Planet Finn was a hub planet of the Emerald Star Cluster located at a superior position where the exterior Star System and the Star System coincided.

Initially, this was first occupied by the Modo Civilization. However, the impact of the conflict between two Beyond Grade A organizations ‘coincidentally’ reached this location. The Modo Civilization’s troops stationed there met with ‘accidents’, so this planet now had no owner again.

Not long after, the Black Star Army ‘happened to’ occupy this planet and generously used it as the future headquarters of the Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union.

This desolate island was already completely different. It was filled with marks of artificial modifications. Countless Black Star Army engineering ships were constructing all kinds of buildings on the surface and satellites.

The most conspicuous landmark was a skyscraper. This was the conference building of the development union’s headquarters. It was shaped like a trophy. An enormous sphere hovered on top of it like a floating fortress. There were also a lot of facilities in that sphere, including the round table conference room exclusively for the Beyond Grade As to host meetings.

At this point of time, a crucial meeting was being held inside it.

After a slight flash before his eyes, Han Xiao’s remote projection appeared in the round table conference room. He looked around and saw that many seats were already occupied while more were appearing.

This was the first time Han Xiao had joined the meeting since returning. All the Beyond Grade As who were willing to join the association had been invited to this meeting, not just the ones who initiated it.

Very soon, all the seats were occupied. Manison knocked on the table to signal for everyone to stop chattering.

“Everyone, Black Star is the one who made the suggestion to form the development union. Now that he’s back and all members are present, this will be our first full meeting. Some of you might not know each other, so let’s start by introducing yourselves.”

Even though some of the Beyond Grade As present never had been in contact with some others, they all knew who the others were. This was just a standard procedure, so everyone briefly introduced themselves.

Han Xiao looked around. Most had attended the Meeting of the Gods, but there were also some new faces, including the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations.

At the same time, some older faces did not show up, like those unlucky fellows locked in the Spacetime Amber. In total, the number of attendees was surprisingly fewer than the Meeting of the Gods.

Whenever they saw him looking over, they would all slightly nod at him as a greeting.

The direct members of the three Universal Civilizations are here too, Han Xiao thought.

The reason behind this was not difficult to guess. The development union had been in conflict with the three Universal Civilizations for a few months. Both sides ended up compromising somewhat. One of the terms agreed was having these direct members join the union. Although the association would not possibly let those people have high power, since it was called the Beyond Grade A Association, there was no reason it should reject any Beyond Grade As from joining, even if they were direct members of the three Universal Civilizations.

The initial goal of everyone there was to have a united battlefront for the Beyond Grade As and increase the position of everyone at this grade. However, skipping the steps in between was totally unrealistic. In the beginning stage, no one really planned to use all their cards, so compromising with the three Universal Civilizations was unavoidable. Anyway, this would not go against the initial goal. As long as this platform was created, a new profit network was formed, and the ability to de-escalate conflicts between Beyond Grade As was acquired, the Beyond Grade As would be able to ignore some of the conflicts that were due to their factions.

As for acquiring more power, that had to be slowly earned in the future.

Han Xiao had not come back for a few months, but he had always been paying attention to the preparation progress of the development union. He had quite a lot of intelligence about it and knew very clearly of the basic system and members of the association.

After a round of introductions, Manison looked at Han Xiao and said slowly, “Over the past few months, the preparation for the development union has been going quite well. Black Star, you’ve only returned recently. Do you have anything to say? You’re one of the main initiators, so we’d like to hear your thoughts.”

Everyone’s attention instantly focused on him.

Han Xiao cleared his throat and said, “I don’t have much to say. Everyone has done a good job. We’ve already spoken about this matter back during the Meeting of the Gods. At the end of it, it was decided that I was to be responsible for creating the communication platform, which is close to completion. As everyone knows, the top priority of the development union is to settle disputes and conflicts between Beyond Grade As. I heard that the relationships between some of you here have not been great lately, so I hope that this platform can be created as soon as possible. The entire universe is in need of a platform like this to bring peace.”

“Black Star is absolutely right.” Manison took over. “As you all know, there have been some obstacles on the path of creating the development union. Currently, these obstacles are already mostly cleared out. The only thing that’s holding us back is the negotiation regarding the Ultimate Knowledges. We have to put this thing aside for the time being. The most crucial matter at hand is the members of the management level so that the development union can be officially formed soon.”

As expected, the three Universal Civilizations did not compromise at all on the matter of Ultimate Knowledges. After a series of intense conflicts, both sides put the matter aside and decided to go for a negotiation. However, either side could give the other side what they wanted, nor could either side do anything more. Therefore, this matter would not come to a conclusion any time soon.

Due to this situation, some peak Beyond Grade As like Manison had changed their minds and decided not to let this matter delay the formation of the development union. Hence, this matter was put aside, and Ultimate Knowledge being one of the benefits of the association was not publicized. As for whether the knowledge would be taught privately was another matter.

The last thing standing before the official formation of the association was that the management position holders were yet to be decided, and the reason was that Black Star had yet to return. Now that Black Star was finally back, everyone could not wait to settle this crucial issue.

“That’s right. It’s time to decide who’s to be the president…” A member of The Ancient Ones looked around. “Over the past few months, His Excellency Mechanic Emperor has been enduring a lot of pressure representing the development union. What he has done has been witnessed by all. I nominate Manison as the first president.”

As soon as this was said, many supporters followed after. Suddenly, the entire place was discussing Manison.

In the past few months, Manison had been using the connections he had built up over the years. Not only were more than half of the peak Beyond Grade As supporting him, but he had also wooed many of the remaining Beyond Grade A members, especially members of the Ancient Ones. Most people agreed that Manison should be the president.

The other two candidates could not compete at all in the past few months. Knowing that they had no chance, they had basically quit the competition.

However, at this time, subconsciously or consciously, everyone was looking at Han Xiao. He had disappeared for a few months, and his opinion was the most unpredictable to the others.

Manison also could not help but look at Han Xiao. This was the one and only thing that might stop him from becoming the president. He had no choice but to take it seriously.

However, Han Xiao only smiled and did not speak, nor did he intend to.

Kasuyi looked back and forth between the two of them and said, “If there are no objections, let’s start the vote. Who here agrees that Manison should be the first Development Union President?”

“Agree.”

“Agree.”

“Abstained.”

“Agree.”

Since there were not many people present and everyone there was important, a simple voting process was more than enough.

Everyone had voted, including Han Xiao, who abstained.

Seeing this, Manison was no longer worried. As long as Black Star did not interfere, this position was certainly going to be his.

The direct members of the three Universal Civilizations all abstained their votes. Clearly, they had an agreement. In the end, Manison easily won with an absolute number of votes.

Seeing this, Kasuyi took a deep breath and said with a deep voice, “It’s decided then. His Excellency Manison ‘Ancient One’ Palpatine will, from now on, be the official president for the first term.”

“Okay.”

The muscles on Manison’s face did not move at all. He maintained his poker face and did not say anything. He had no need to be humble.

Clap clap…

Those in attendance clapped a few times symbolically.

After the applause stopped, Kasuyi looked around and asked, “Now, as for the Vice-President, who…”

This time, Han Xiao suddenly smiled and said, “The formation of the association has relied a lot on the Black Star Army’s forces in the Flickering World. I think that it’s suitable for me to take this position. What do you guys say?”

Everyone exchanged looks and was not surprised.

With Black Star’s strength and position, he would be a director at the bare minimum even without the crucial help the Black Star Army had provided. Therefore, of course, he had the right to be the vice president.

Actually, there was a reason Han Xiao did not fight with Manison. He had already decided not to compete for the position of the first president the moment he knew that the president position was term-based.

One of the reasons was that his connections were not as rich as Manison. Another was that he did not want to be the one getting the pressure during the initial stage of the association. If someone else became the president next term, he would have worked for nothing.

This was also one of the reasons Han Xiao had gone to hide in the secondary dimensions for a few months. He would not be able to become the president anyway, so he might as well let Manison and the others endure the pressure and come back later.

I’m the main initiator anyway, and the Black Star Army has provided a lot of help to the development union, so that’s a big enough contribution.

Since he could still compete for the next term, Han Xiao was in no hurry. He did not want to directly compete with Manison, so he took the second-highest position as the vice president and planned to only compete for the position of president in the future.

Furthermore, even if he decided to directly compete with Manison now, he would not be able to succeed. Han Xiao never planned to compete with Manison in terms of connections but through the benefits of having him as the president, as explained by Kant and Milizaus. However, the people there still voted for Manison, which meant that they had already made their decision. Therefore, even if he had said anything earlier, these people would not have voted for him.

Although he did have some resources that he could use as chips to obtain some support, such as the Evolution Cube, there was no way he could do the same thing every term. Furthermore, much of those resources could only be used once. If he used it for this term, he might not be able to achieve the same amount of support next term.

Since he completely understood the situation, Han Xiao made the decision not to compete. He would only be able to wrestle with people on Manison’s level when his connections and influence reached a higher level.

After all, he had leeks he could harvest, so he would grow much faster than everyone else. With such a unique advantage, this strategy seemed more suitable for him.

Quite a number of people had their eyes on the vice president position. Sadly, none were competent enough, and Kasuyi and the others had no interest. Since Han Xiao was the local, most people gave him face. Manison was in a good mood and supported him too. Therefore, Han Xiao became the vice president smoothly.

After getting this position, Han Xiao was relieved.

Now, this is what I call materialization of position. Getting the vice president position without spending anything is definitely much more cost effective than paying a huge price for the president position.

The director positions that came after had no suspense. They had been decided long ago and belonged to the group of peak Beyond Grade As. Other than that, there were also three ‘Honorable Director’ positions that had no actual power. They were given to the direct peak Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations. Of course, this was one of the conditions of the compromises.

As the positions were decided, the date of the official formation of the development union was also decided. After these things were dealt with, the meeting ended. Remote projections disappeared one after another, leaving just Manison and Han Xiao’s remote projections behind.

“Congratulations, president,” Han Xiao said casually.

Manison gave a rare smile and said, “Don’t be discouraged. This is too early for you. The future is yours.”

Han Xiao blinked with a strange expression.

Although things were going in a different direction compared to the previous life, Manison’s goal should have remained unchanged, so he knew about it.

In his previous life, Manison had both pride and ambition. He wanted to make all the Beyond Grade As his shield to help him enter the next territory.

The two of them had different but similar goals. At least for a very long time, Manison would not be able to achieve his goal. He would have to wait for everyone in this grade to become stronger as time passed by.

Han Xiao put this thought away, pondered for two seconds, and asked, “About the negotiation regarding the Ultimate Knowledges, what’s the price the three Universal Civilizations have asked for?”

As this issue was brought up, Manison wiped the smile off his face and said meaningfully, “A Super Star Cluster Civilization.”

Han Xiao understood instantly and shook his head with resignation.

So, this is what they’re planning to do, killing two birds with one stone by using the association against more important opponents and ruining the association’s name.

“Will you agree?”

“I don’t know. I’ll have to see.” Manison did not give a response. After he said that, his projection went offline, and Han Xiao was the only one in the conference room.

Han Xiao looked at Manison’s empty seat and suddenly chuckled.

Mr. Director, being in this position isn’t going to be that easy, you know…

…

Galaxy Calendar Year 730, July 11th. A sudden news bomb exploded in the Flickering World.

Close to a hundred Beyond Grade As made an announcement together. Due to the recent frequent conflicts between them, they had decided to form a guild-type organization to settle physical conflicts between Beyond Grade As and reduce the public damage caused by their battles.

The organization’s headquarters would be located in Flickering World, on Planet Finn of the Emerald Star Cluster. Manison would be the president, Black Star would be the vice president, and there would be close to a hundred Beyond Grade A members.

The three Universal Civilizations had also publicly announced that this organization was not illegal. At the same time, they encouraged the Supers in the universe to learn from this and reduce the damage caused by their powers.

The Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union was officially founded on this day!

A few months after the explosive news of the ambush on Hila, countless citizens and organizations of the various Star Fields were in an uproar once again!

Chapter 1084: Association“s Impact and Holy Light Hos

Chapter 1084 Association“s Impact and Holy Light Hos “Have you heard? Close to a hundred Beyond Grade As have formed a new organization in the Flickering World…”In a military bar inside one of the dynasty’s closed bases, the usual boisterous atmosphere was nowhere to be found. Some held their glass up but forgot about drinking it, some caressed their glasses subconsciously, and some were smoking cigars but hardly breathed.

The only common thing they shared was that all of their eyes were on the virtual screen on the bar’s wall, which was now playing a political discussion show.

The show was hosted in a studio, where one host was leading the conversation with a few guests. The matter they were discussing was related to the recent big news.

Inside the quiet bar, the only sounds were the voices of the host and the guests.

“I know, the Flickering World Beyond Grade A Development Union, right? It was formed not too long ago. They invited tons of galactic media groups and made the announcement. Now it’s spread across the entire universe.”

“Almost all the Beyond Grade As in the universe have joined. Tsk tsk, these guys really can’t seem to be out of the spotlight.”

“According to the information we have,” the host said, “the purpose of this organization is to mediate the ever more frequent conflicts between Beyond Grade As. On the day of its establishment, they hosted a meeting where all the members attended. With the galactic media groups as their audience, they publicly mediated more than a dozen conflicts using peaceful negotiations, successfully solving the disputes between tens of Beyond Grade As. As it seems, this method is very effective. Those people all stopped fighting with each other. The frequent Beyond Grade As conflicts lately have been effectively reduced, and no one was unluckily impacted by those conflicts.”

“It seems that this organization is really quite useful.” A guest who held a high management position in a financial group complained. “The destruction Beyond Grade As can bring is too huge. Conflicts between them have always caused a humongous amount of damage to the public. Either planets were destroyed, or onlookers were accidentally killed. Now that this organization has been formed, these things can be avoided.”

“Exactly. I had a friend living in the Shattered Star Ring. He went to watch the battle between Black Star and the Tyrant some decades ago, and because he got too close, he, unfortunately, got killed. There was no compensation or whatsoever after that at all”

Someone said, “I have no idea what those onlookers are thinking. Do they think it’s a concert or something?”

“Have the Supers accidentally killed not enough ordinary people? This problem has existed in society for as long as Supers have. According to research, the number of ordinary people directly or indirectly killed by Supers in the entire universe every day is as high as around ten billion. Just let this horrifying number sink in. This is a huge problem that has everything to do with our daily lives.”

A guest complained angrily. He was the representative of an organization that supported equal rights between ordinary people and Supers.

“Therefore, I think that the purpose of this organization is much more important than it seems on the surface. Living up to their positions at the top of the Super Grades, the Beyond Grade As have made an amazing stand and set an example for all the Supers in the universe. It’s a very responsible act.” The host avoided this sensitive topic with a smile. He displayed Manison and Han Xiao’s virtual portraits on the screen behind and said, “The two main founders are Manison and Black Star, who have taken the position of president and vice president.”

“Oh, these two are the VIPs of VIPs!” A known celebrity made an exaggerated hand gesture and said, “Not much needs to be said about Manison. He’s a senior Beyond Grade A whom everyone knows about. No one finds it strange that he’s been chosen as the president. However, Black Star is someone who has only risen in the last few decades, yet he surprisingly surpassed the other much more senior members and took the second-highest position.”

A Slime wobbled and said, “Beyond Grade As are a group of people who heed strength above all. Not long ago, Black Star made a historical achievement by fighting twelve enemies alone, so whether he’s senior enough or not doesn’t limit him at all.”

“Speaking of which, it seems like that conflict was the fuse that led to Black Star proposing to form the development union, and Manison is only a partner he brought in.”

“No no no. From the way I see it, signs were already showing during the Meeting of the Gods. They’ve been planning this since long ago. Black Star is the one who contributed most to forming the association, so he became the vice president. As for the goal of the Beyond Grade As, who knows? Maybe they’re planning to shuffle the deck using this opportunity during the exploration of the Flickering World.”

“I’ve done some research. Black Star has been very active lately. Not only did he take the lead in forming the development union, but he also became a new shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group. The date when the dynasty planned to officially sell the Evolutionary Totems to the public was also brought forward. He even stepped into the entertainment industry. In the files of the Galactic Cinematic Association, the movie adapted from Black Star’s true story has already been filmed. The director is the renowned Beny Travol. Maybe we’ll see the rise of Black Star very soon on screen.”

The host and the guests chatted.

Pa!

This time, a dynasty army officer slammed his glass on the table, curled his lips, and said with disdain, “What bullsh*t mediating. Just a group of Beyond Grade As putting up a show. Only idiots would believe what they’re saying.”

The people in the bar laughed.

Everyone there was a soldier of the dynasty who had a much clearer view of the matter than ordinary people and was on the dynasty’s side. With this army officer starting the conversation, the others all started chattering.

“This can be basically considered as the official association of the Beyond Grade As, looks like they finally are planning to take some of their rights back from the three Universal Civilizations.”

“I didn’t expect Black Star to be the main founder. Tsk, outsiders really can’t be trusted. To think I actually admired him for some time in the past.”

“Nothing weird about it. He isn’t a citizen of the dynasty, so there’s no reason to demand his absolute loyalty.”

“The future of the three Universal Civilizations is going to be tough from now on. They’re going to have another powerful competitor.”

Hearing the discussion between his comrades, Gaud shook his glass filled with amber-colored wine and silently stared at Han Xiao’s portrait in the show with unknown emotions in his eyes.

“Your position is getting higher and higher, huh…”

Due to the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy being snatched away, Gaud had been paying close attention to Han Xiao. He had been watching Han Xiao continuously getting more and more resources, acquiring a higher and higher position in the universe.

The ambush on Hila some time ago had shocked him when it revealed how fast Han Xiao was growing.

Gaud stopped shaking his glass. The wine spun in it and formed a vortex. He looked down at the vortex and smirked.

“Manison has planned this long ago. Now the chance had finally come. The development union is not a bad excuse. I’ll most likely join it after becoming a Beyond Grade A too. But I didn’t expect you to support this idea too. Do you agree with that theory about the shared battlefront for Beyond Grade As Manison gave, or… have you discovered that too?”

…

In Black Star Palace…

“Looks like the first appearance of the development union is very successful…”

Han Xiao leaned back in his chair, rested his legs on the table, and looked through the news from the various media in the quantum network with a satisfied expression.

Not long ago, the development union had officially announced its creation to the outside world. As the vice president, he had also made an appearance at the ceremony.

To normal people, the development union was suddenly formed out of nowhere. The movements of close to a hundred Beyond Grade As attracted all the attention, so as soon as the news was out, the entire universe started discussing it.

The majority of the forces in the Flickering World were the most shocked by this sudden event.

There were a lot of organizations exploring the Flickering World, but to these organizations, the true situation in the free competition zone was actually split between three sides. The dynasty was one, the federation and the church shared another side, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance was the last side.

Comparatively, the rest of the organizations there were scattered. The difference was like the conflict between companies and between nations.

Originally, although there were many Beyond Grade A organizations, they all belonged to different sides. However, as they united, if they formed a profit union, another huge force would appear. The situation would turn from the conflict between three sides into four sides.

However, this was just the speculation the outside world had. Neither Manison nor Han Xiao planned to make any aggressive moves. In the negotiation with the three Universal Civilizations, they tried to ask them to deal with the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Although Han Xiao was quite tempted to use this opportunity against the Modo Civilization, for the sake of the big picture, he could only reject it.

As per their plan, the biggest purpose of the development union currently was to provide a communication platform. Its top priority was to slowly connect the resources of its members and form a profit union between Beyond Grade As. After this huge profit network was formed and its foundation was built, creating a shared battlefront would finally be meaningful. Otherwise, the development union would only be an empty shell.

“Achieving this will take a very long time, and the three Universal Civilizations will definitely try to slow it down nonstop. Therefore, before it’s done, the development union won’t be able to do anything else. Even if those Beyond Grade As have their own plans, they won’t show it at the initial stage and will only support uniting the resources, achieving a win-win situation,” Han Xiao murmured.

The Beyond Grade A Association had just been formed, so there was still a very long road ahead for both Manison and his goals. This was a long-term plan that would take decades at the minimum and could not be hurried, so there was no need for him to keep thinking about it.

What was worth mentioning was that, using money and connections, as the only exception, Sorokin was able to acquire the position as a director where everyone else was peak Beyond Grade A.

After hearing about Sorokin’s acts from Traveler, he looked unaffected, but he actually secretly paid a lot of attention to this guy. As a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group, Han Xiao did not act against Sorokin as it would only make Sorokin alarmed.

However, all things aside, Sorokin really had a knack for making money.

“This way, my goal is basically achieved. When the Calamity of the Supers erupts, I will be able to heavily interfere with it and even guide the main storyline of that version…” Han Xiao exhaled with a relaxed mood.

As the peak of personal strength, Beyond Grade As were the idols of countless Supers. Hence, Beyond Grade As uniting could guide the movement of the entire Super society to a certain extent. This was also one of the most important reasons why, when the Calamity of the Supers erupted, the influence of the Beyond Grade As quickly became stronger in the entire universe.

Temporarily putting this matter aside, Han Xiao opened the forums to look at the players’ opinions.

As expected, the focus of the players was not the meaning of the development union but the names of this many Beyond Grade As.

At this moment, Aurora walked in.

Han Xiao waved at her and said, “Come here.”

Aurora walked toward Han Xiao. She had suddenly been called to the office and was quite confused.

Han Xiao suddenly grabbed Aurora’s forearm and pressed on it softly, all the way up to her shoulder.

Aurora’s body was stiff, but she did not move away. She was both curious and anxious.

“W-what are you doing?”

Han Xiao sized her up, took his hands off her, and said, “I’ve noticed that your physique is very special.”

“W-what do you mean?”

Pa!

Han Xiao took out the containment device of the Holy Light Particle and slapped it on the table.

“When I went to the secondary dimensions, I found a new Primal Esper Ability Entity. I’m hoping to put it inside your body. What do you think?”

After thorough consideration, he had decided to find a host for the Holy Light Particle.

He acknowledged the potential of the new power system brought by the Holy Light Seed, but it would consume its core essence. Therefore, finding a host who could heal its kidney deficiency was better than creating an Energy Host.

Hence, Aurora was the top choice.

If she turned out to be incompatible, Han Xiao would consider its host from his previous life, Evans.

“Primal Esper Ability?” Aurora curiously looked at the gold energy inside the containment device with her eyes wide open.

Unhappy, the Holy Light Particle sent a resentful telepathic message. “Hey, this is the host you’ve found for me? She’s too young!”

“Young? She’s just about ten years younger than me.” Han Xiao rolled his eyes.

“What‽ A Beyond Grade A like you must be at least a few hundred years old!” The Holy Light Particle was even more enraged. “Then, isn’t she a few hundred years old too? Shameless! Still acting as if she’s so young!”

“… Can I strangle it?”

Aurora was speechless.

I am young! What do you mean acting!

The Holy Light Particle was still complaining. “I need a strong male host. Only then will he be able to match my power!”

Knowing his personality well, Han Xiao said, “Stop spitting nonsense. One more word and I’ll give you to the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy to let him have his way with you.”

The Holy Light Particle shut up instantly.

Han Xiao pressed on the containment device and a needle came out of it. Seeing this, Aurora reluctantly reached out her hand, bit her lips, and let Han Xiao plug the needle into her.

Boom!

The next moment, a strong blinding light exploded in front of Han Xiao!

Chapter 1085: Perfect Host and Bait

Chapter 1085 Perfect Host and Bait As the Holy Light Particle was injected into Aurora’s body, it started to fuse with her cells. The Vital Energy Esper Ability inside her also started to react to it quite vigorously.A pale-golden light shot out from every inch of Aurora’s skin. She turned into a bright mini light source, as if every string of her hair had turned into light beams. She floated into the air, releasing an elegant and holy aura.Han Xiao was paying close attention to Aurora and held the empty containment device in his hand. If he saw any signs of Aurora being damaged by the process, he would suck the Holy Light Particle out instantly.

Thankfully, the fusion process went very smoothly. When the light dissipated, Aurora finally descended to the floor. She looked like she had yet to regain focus from the state she was in earlier.

Pa!

Han Xiao snapped his fingers and said, “How are you feeling?”

“Somewhat… good?”

Aurora pressed on her heart and was uncertain.

“Since you were not hurt by it, you’re now the host of the Holy Light Particle. Can you feel its power?”

“Are you talking about this?”

Aurora closed her eyes to sense it for a moment, before extending her hands with palms up. She shook them, and a cluster of gold light appeared. It had tiny dots like a group of fireflies.

She’s able to use it this soon? There’s usually an adjustment period after the host fuses with a Primal Esper Ability.

However, I heard that the shorter the adjustment period is, the more compatible the host is.

The Vital Energy Esper Ability and the Holy Light Particle are indeed quite compatible. Maybe some kind of chemical reaction occurred. If that’s the case, I will be able to make use of the Holy Light Particle to the maximum, and my plan will be easier to execute…

Han Xiao caressed his chin.

He reached out to touch the cluster of light on top of Aurora’s palm, but this cluster of light actually dodged aside. Finding this quite funny, Han Xiao smiled and said, “Ah Ho, I know you can share the senses of your host after the fusion and can hear me speaking. Stop hiding. How’s this host?”

“Hmm…”

The Holy Light Particle appeared and yawned like a cat in the middle of a stretch. No longer looking down on Aurora, it immediately changed its attitude.

“It feels way too good. This is the first time I’ve sensed such rich life force. This is the best host I’ve ever had…”

“Humph, that’s not what you said earlier,” Aurora said unhappily.

“I was wrong. You’re the best. No one else could be nearly good enough.” The Holy Light Particle’s light cluster circled around Aurora like a puppy.

Han Xiao curled his lips.

Tsk tsk, weren’t you very tough just moments ago?

Aurora practiced for a while and was soon able to fully control it. In her senses, it was like she suddenly had an extra arm. Controlling it was a piece of cake.

“Go back and practice it more. The Primal Esper Abilities all have multiple uses. With the Holy Light Particle, you’ll be able to protect yourself from more dangers,” Han Xiao said.

Aurora’s job was to heal since her Esper Ability lacked destructive power. Now that she was the master of the Holy Light Particle, she would acquire many new abilities such as a stronger physique, high-speed flight, dimension traveling, punishing evil, and many others.

These abilities would increase her survivability by a huge extent, especially the ability to travel between dimensions. She would be able to escape much easier in the future if she was in danger.

However, the most important ability to Han Xiao was the ability to provide Holy Light Seeds. After he tested it, to his absolute surprise, his theory was right—Aurora’s Vital Energy Esper Ability could indeed replenish the energy the Holy Light Particle spent in giving out Holy Light Seeds. This meant that the new power system with the Holy Light Seed as the core could totally work.

This was extremely useful to the Black Star Army. It could both act as encouragement for the army’s warriors and attract ordinary people by letting them see the hope of becoming Supers.

Han Xiao briefly explained his plan. A little shocked, Aurora said softly, “So, you’re trying to spread it out…”

“Something like that. However, you’re the host now, so I’ll have to get your permission.”

Aurora wanted to say something but did not.

She had tested the ability to give out Holy Light Seeds earlier. Although her body could endure it, it would spend quite a lot of life force. If used often, she did not know if the life force she had been naturally accumulating would be enough. She might have to experience the feeling of being sucked dry every day.

After hesitating for a while, Aurora suddenly made up her mind. She closed her eyes and said firmly, “Okay. I—I can take it!”

“Why do you look like you’ve just decided to sacrifice yourself?” Han Xiao squeezed her nose and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, I won’t make you work for free. You can retrieve those Holy Light Seeds, which will not only make up for the life force you’ve lost but also help your life force grow at a rate much faster than you accumulate every day.”

“I’m not sure if it’s good to just snatch away what others worked hard for…” Aurora rejected it slightly. This went against her principles.

“Hahaha…” Han Xiao laughed out loud and said with the tone of a rich man, “That’s easy! Money can’t solve everything, but it definitely can solve most things. I can hire a group of people to raise Holy Light Seeds specifically for you to harvest, which isn’t different from any other jobs at its core. I’m basically paying them for their time to create value for me. As long as the salary is good enough, it’ll be a totally legitimate exchange on both sides, so you don’t have to feel bad about it.”

“That does make sense…” Although Aurora leaned toward the lawful kind side of things, she was not stubborn. After hearing Han Xiao’s explanation, she did not reject it much anymore.

Snatching away the fruit of others’ labor without saying anything and telling others this was a job from the beginning were completely different things. Growing the Holy Light Seeds with meditation and other methods was just like any other job; the workers were no different from the other employees of the army.

Han Xiao chose Aurora to be the host not only because she might be able to use the Holy Light Seed ability to the maximum but also because he wanted Aurora to benefit from the fast growth provided by harvesting the Holy Light Seeds so that her level would increase faster.

Anyway, Aurora’s growth had no limits, and harvesting leeks would be countless times more efficient than naturally accumulating life force. She would basically have a group of people earning EXP for her. It had a Shadow Clone-vibe to Han Xiao.

If Aurora could step into the next level, the Black Star Army having three Beyond Grade As would really become a reality.

Han Xiao already had this thought when he came across the Underworld dimension. His goal was not for Aurora to gain a stronger healing ability but access to the functions of the Underworld. ‘Edo Tensei’ could only be achieved if Aurora became a Beyond Grade A too.

Compared to her healing ability, Han Xiao was more interested in those powerful individuals sleeping in the Underworld. They would be a very strong force.

What a little genius I am… Han Xiao chuckled in his mind.

The only problem was the Holy Accord organization. These people seemed especially interested in Primal Esper Abilities. If they discovered that the Holy Light Particle was in Aurora, they would most likely try to take it from her.

On the other hand, this would be quite a good bait too, he would not be able to find the Holy Accord if they decided to keep hiding. The Holy Accord might not dare to attack him, but they would definitely dare to attack the Supers under his command.

As for Aurora’s safety, of course, Han Xiao was not going to forget about it. He planned to give Aurora a King mechanical suit.

Not only that, he was even planning to build a few spare King suits and put the Throne on different people to ensure he could arrive at their locations anytime. He totally took the King as a teleportation device.

The King was extremely costly to build, so doing this was very luxurious. However, with the extravagantly profitable business of the Evolutionary Totems and as a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group, he would earn an outrageous number of Enas every year. Therefore, he was not short on cash.

Han Xiao then told Aurora to go and learn to use the Holy Light Particle better and that the Holy Light Emissary plan would be carried out once she was ready.

Watching Aurora leave the room, Han Xiao could not help but think of Evans.

“How’s Evans doing?”

Phillip appeared and said, “He’s still getting to know his Esper Ability, hum…”

Han Xiao turned to look at the surveillance image. Ever since he sent Evans back, he had been undergoing secret training. Since Han Xiao did not give any orders, he had yet to replicate any Esper Abilities, so he was completely powerless and was still at the lowest Grade E.

“Have you found the targets I asked you to find?” Han Xiao asked.

“Immortals with compatible abilities have been selected. This is the list, hum…”

A mini bookshelf appeared beside Phillip. He searched around and picked out a deck of data. He then threw it up into the air. The flying pieces of paper turned into individual virtual screens, showing the records of different people to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao glanced at him.

Kiddo, what’s with all these flashy tricks? Showing off?

While rubbing Phillip’s face on the table like a toy, Han Xiao quickly read through these documents.

His New EsGod Cultivation Plan followed strict rules on what Esper Abilities to absorb. In order for Evans to have a perfect growth path, he had always been looking for Esper Abilities that were suitable for Evans in the early stage. The players in these files were all Espers under two categories—physique enhancement types and psychological enhancement types.

Since Evans was only Grade E, absorbing two Esper Abilities was the most suitable. Physique and mind were the most basic attributes, so this was the best combination. With his help, Evans did not have to take the path of killing like EsGod did. Therefore, he would not have to worry about his combat capability in the early stages and could focus on building a strong foundation.

“These two will do.”

Having picked two players with the best abilities. Han Xiao told Phillip to give them the specific missions.

At this time, a notification suddenly popped up on the interface.

_____________________

[Liberate Beast Ancestor’s Organization] Completed!

“Oh? The team I sent a few months ago has succeeded?” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Before he traveled to the secondary dimensions, a group of Beast Ancestor officers led by Jotina had come to join him and made a request to liberate the Beast Ancestor’s headquarters.

Back then, Han Xiao had given this mission to the people who were in the Shattered Star Ring base. Now that a few months had passed, the results of that had finally come. It seemed to be quite successful. There should very soon be a group of people coming to join him.

…

The last planet of the Beast Ancestor’s headquarters was covered in flames like its ground was burning. The planet’s defense measures were already all destroyed, and a ton of spaceship fragments floated in the planet’s orbit.

Black Star Army battleships hovered above the planet, sucking up a huge amount of resources and countless captives using absorption beams. Most were rescued females and clueless offspring.

In the cabin of one transport ship, captives of a variety of races cowered in tiny groups, filled with fear. Groups of Black Star warriors separated them into warriors, females, and offspring.

“Don’t move! Stand still!” the captain of the transport ship commanded.

To the side, wearing a black battle suit rather similar to Hila, Mia held a bag of snacks in her hand, leaned on a mechanical spear, and scanned the big group of captives before her while occasionally putting the sugar beans into her mouth.

Beast Ancestor soldier captives were absorbed into the cabin. They seemed agitated and ready to retaliate whenever. However, when they saw Mia standing near the wall, these captives all shivered and wiped that thought from their minds.

In the battle earlier, they had seen a Calamity Grade officer stationed in the headquarters get violently chopped into pieces by Mia with their very own eyes. No one dared resist in front of her.

At this time, a commotion occurred nearby. Mia turned to look over, and to her surprise, a few rescued females were arguing with the Black Star warriors and resisting their orders.

“Who the hell are you? Do you have any idea who our partner is? How dare you do this to us!”

“Let go! Stop dragging me!”

“When Master Beast Ancestor comes back, he’ll crush you all!”

These people who were yelling were grouped along with the others but were still yelling and scolding, mentioning Beast Ancestor’s name every other sentence.

Seeing this, Mia curled her lips and shook her head.

This time, the captain beside her sighed and said, “Pitiful, aren’t they? These females who are imprisoned by Beast Ancestor are basically completely cut off from the outside world. To most, that’s a dark life filled with nothing but despair, but there are also some twisted ones who somehow began to admire Beast Ancestor and became honored by their identity. Although rescuing these females is our mission, maybe many of them don’t want to be saved. They only want to continue their old life.”

Mia glanced at him and said, “Do your job. The mission is all I care about. I’m not interested in these things.”

Have a bucket of cold water poured on him, the captain did not carry on chatting with Mia and continued to direct his subordinates.

This time, Mia’s communicator rang. After she picked it up, Jotina’s wild face appeared, only it was now shining with holy and motherly love.

“How are the women and young offspring? Are all of them safe?” Jotina asked immediately.

Mia smiled and replied, “Don’t worry, we’ve rescued them all. They’re all very touched.”

“That’s great. I’ll share this good news with the army commander right now!” Jotina was overjoyed. “By the way, after you return, I’ll teach you some strong moves.”

Before waiting for a response, Jotina had already hastily hung up the communication.

“How impatient.” Mia chuckled.

Although Jotina publicly made the request to reproduce with her direct boss and appalled everyone present, after spending some time together, the army officers had realized she was really easy to befriend, being direct and decisive in everything. After a few months, she had left a good impression on many of them.

Mia was the closest to her. Both of them were ‘muscular ladies’, so they had countless shared interests.

Putting the communicator away, Mia looked at the group of people in front of her, scanned past the panicked or lost expressions, and exhaled.

“Nero, your godfather is really admirable. No wonder even Her Excellency Hila is willing to follow him…”

Although Black Star eliminated Gorutan out of personal revenge, judging from the results of it, this was indeed a great deed for the entire universe. Mia admired him from the bottom of her heart.

Chapter 1086: The Definition of a Qualified Second in Command

Chapter 1086 The Definition of a Qualified Second in Command As the silver alloy gate slowly slid open, inside was a room fully made of polymer materials. The walls and the floor were all cream-colored, reflective, and smooth.Five enormous showcases were displayed in the middle of the room, with a Beyond Grade A sealed by the Spacetime Amber inside every one of them. All of them were in different postures, all of their expressions fixed on their faces. Other than these, there was nothing else in this room.

“This is my collection room.”

As the group walked into the room, Han Xiao spoke. Behind him were the former officers of the Beast Ancestor, including Jotina.

As soon as the field team destroyed the Beast Ancestor’s headquarters, Jotina led her sisters and brothers to express their appreciation to Han Xiao. Han Xiao remembered that he had promised to take them to see Gorutan, so he took them there.

This was the collection room he used to hold his five Beyond Grade A captives. There was the name of each captive on every showcase. They were the church’s ‘Red Devil’ Tolaen; the federation’s ‘Lone Ranger’ Jackornitz, ‘Energy Soul’ Womre, and Hades; and ‘Beast Ancestor’ Gorutan.

The five Beyond Grade A specimens displayed there were the best proof of his achievements. Just this scene alone was enough to shock everyone.

Jotina’s eyes locked onto Gorutan immediately. Seeing that this man she had hated and feared all her life was locked inside the Amber, joy filled her heart.

“You deserve it!”

Jotina clenched her fists with excitement. She felt that this was the happiest day of her life. The dark times in her past seemed to have all been forgotten. The world in her eyes seemed to be colorful once again.

It was like a breeze of fresh air blew past her mind, bringing the mountains of hatred, despair, anger away with it, only leaving the refreshed feeling of hope for a new life.

She turned to look at Han Xiao. Her eyes were filled with admiration and gentleness.

In her eyes, Black Star seemed to be glowing with holiness, like he was the light that would lead her toward a new life.

Feeling Jotina’s passionate sight, Han Xiao’s face trembled slightly.

He did not have much contact with Jotina, but he had a very vivid impression of how direct and passionate she was.

The reward of [Liberate Beast Ancestor’s Organization] had already been given. He had received a lot of Favorability, and he was guessing that Jotina’s loyalty meter to him was almost going to explode.

Han Xiao coughed and said, “Some of you don’t have an exact position yet. Since we just rescued a large group of Beast Ancestor’s young offspring, I shall leave them to you guys to guide. Any problems?”

“Not at all!” Everyone nodded, quite happy about this arrangement.

“Take your time and look around. I have some things to attend to.”

Han Xiao found an excuse to leave alone. Jotina and the others had been troubled by this hatred for many years, so he did not want to disturb them from venting it. Anyway, Phillip would be watching over them. He did not have to stay there.

After returning to his office, Han Xiao pondered about the human resource distribution of the army.

“Currently, the top-tier Calamity Grades under my command are only Hadavy, Lothaire, Feidin, and Jotina. The other ones with potential have yet to grow up. These more than a dozen Beast Ancestor officers are quite important. Together with this group of young children of Beast Ancestor, they will surely form a new faction in the army in the future…”

There were all kinds of factions in the Black Star Army, not including Han Xiao. They could be classified into a few big groups.

One was the elder faction led by Herlous, among which were smaller groups such as Sunils, Godorans, Aquamarinians, and so on. This faction represented the senior members of the army. Another was the academy faction led by Lagi and Nero, formed mostly from the graduates of the Super Academy. They were quite active. Third was the mainstream faction led by the Calamity Grades who joined later on, which was also the largest faction mainly made of official warriors and mercenaries with no backgrounds. Fourth was the political faction led by Sylvia and Reynold, mainly consisting of those who did not take part in the battles but took care of the army’s other matters. They managed the army’s day to day affairs, logistics, economics, and so on.

Jotina and the others would most likely form a Beast Ancestor faction after they stabilized their positions in the army.

As for Hila, since she was always alone, she had no faction. The Black Star Guards had limited influence on the various departments of the army, so they did not form a faction too. Lothaire, who was managing the Assassin’s Society outside the army base, was a secret, so he was not in any factions.

These factions would have conflicted with each other privately, but with Han Xiao’s existence, they all held themselves back. All big organizations had continuous internal conflicts as they expanded, but the Black Star Army was considered a new organization in terms of how long ago it had been formed, so the internal conflicts were not large, limited to internal business conflicts.

Completely getting rid of internal conflicts was impossible. Everyone had their own mindset, and there was no way to ask people to give themselves selflessly. Even pillars like Herlous had their own personal goals—for example, to obtain more benefits for his Sunil race.

Power could change one’s mind. The longer the high-level officers worked for the army, the more they would want to obtain. Furthermore, those Supers who joined the Black Star Army later on came to search for a brighter future in the first place, so no matter how large the cake was, the competition would never disappear.

“It’s the same for the development union. It’s only just been created, so the factions have not formed yet. Once the resources are united to a certain extent, there will definitely be factions…”

He could guess that the three Universal Civilizations would try to infiltrate the Beyond Grade A Association by dividing it, as there would definitely be some who did not agree with the shared battlefront for Beyond Grade As theory. These people would be easier to woo.

Beyond Grade As were all full of pride. The root of factions being formed was the different opinions people had to begin with. The development union was fated to be full of arguments since it was created, but the upper echelons above the position of director all knew how important it was for them to unite. The stage where the association’s resources were linked and united was crucial.

As the vice president, although his position was lower than Manison’s on paper, it did not mean much. How much weight his words carried depended on two things—his overall strength and his influence in the association.

“The resources uniting stage is my chance. I can use my advantage to meet more members and form my own faction, slowly expanding my network to catch up to Manison. As long as there are enough people who support me, I’ll be able to have as big an impact on day-to-day decision making as Manison. It will also be beneficial for me to have consecutive terms in the future too. Furthermore, if I don’t do anything, I might not even be able to maintain the vice president position…”

Han Xiao pondered. He had chosen to take a step back because he wanted to slowly accumulate his advantages.

And now there was a great opportunity right in front of him. Although the three Universal Civilizations had accepted that the development union was legal, Dark Lord’s mission had yet to end.

This meant that Clotti, who was an honorable director on paper, would still attack other members. This would undoubtedly damage the development union’s credibility. This was an act of provocation and contempt from the Universal Civilizations, as well as a way of testing the waters.

“Since this is the case, those neutral Beyond Grade As hired by Super Star Cluster Civilizations will probably be very afraid. This looks like a good opportunity for me to cut in. If I’m able to convince the dynasty’s upper echelons to stop Dark Lord’s mission, not only will I be able to display how important I am as the vice president, but I will also receive favorability from those neutral Beyond Grade As…”

Having thought of this, Han Xiao told Phillip to send a message to all the neutral Beyond Grade As in the association. The message started with some formal greetings and routine questions like “Have you eaten?”. He then brought up the matter regarding Dark Lord.

Although he decided to personally settle this issue, Han Xiao did not want to keep it a secret. Only spare tires would help others quietly in the dark. As for him, he would either not do it or let everyone know he was the one who did it.

Therefore, the Great Mechanic Han first planned to contact these neutral Beyond Grade As who were possible targets of Dark Lord and tell them to bring this matter up in the next meeting when everyone attended. All the Beyond Grade A members would host a meeting together once every so often. The development union made this kind of act official, which was also one of the initial reasons to form this communication platform.

“Speaking of which, Dark Lord captured Traveler, and Traveler put the blame on Sorokin, so the dynasty definitely won’t let this slip easily. I wonder how they’re going to punish the Limitless Financial Group.”

Han Xiao chuckled.

Beep beep!

Right at that moment, his communicator rang.

The federation and the church had sent him a message one after the other. The content was the eleventh revision of the terms of bailing their allies.

Han Xiao looked through them. Compared to the initial version, the compensation the federation and the church offered was much richer.

Since he had never given any suggestions, the ones who were in charge of drafting the terms on both sides were almost going mad.

“It’s been quite a few months. I’ve tortured them enough. Time to bring this to a conclusion.”

Han Xiao tutted and changed some terms on both sides, such as swapping some resources compensations into gold-grade blueprints.

The two Universal Civilizations both had a very rich inventory of gold-grade blueprints, so the blueprints they would be willing to give out were not crucial ones. However, this was not important to Han Xiao at all as it was just a source of God’s Trait Transformation Points.

As soon as the two price lists were sent, the people of the federation and the church were immediately overjoyed. With no hesitation, they sent a communication request and started an official negotiation with Han Xiao.

This time, Han Xiao did not torture them. After some negotiation, an agreement was made. He would receive three Universal Treasure Grade blueprints.

The captives he planned to return first were Tolaen and Hades, one for each side.

He did not sell the federation’s allies to the church. Although this would be quite a useful move, it had its cons.

Anyway, he still had two more federation captives. What Han Xiao needed now was influence over the Universal Civilizations to improve his position in the development union, and the best way to do that was to not make any moves. As long as the captives were still in his hands, the Federation of Light would have to give him face to a certain extent, and the church would still have hope about him selling the federation’s allies to them. Therefore, he was not going to let go of all the captives easily.

After confirming the agreement, Han Xiao looked at these two relieved diplomatic officials and slowly said, “I shall wait for the day of your public apologies.’

Public apologies from the federation and the church were the first terms on the compensation agreements.

“Surely, please pay attention to the news.”

The two diplomatic officials bade farewell in their own traditional ways before ending the call. Their remote projections disappeared.

Han Xiao leaned back, crossed his legs, and murmured, “The federation and the church have compromised. For the time being, the dynasty will also follow through with their decision to make selling the Evolutionary Totems public to mend their relationship with me. They won’t be targeting the development union on the surface. From the way it looks, the three Universal Civilizations are not going to cause any problems for quite a while…”

He knew the characteristics of the three Universal Civilizations very well, so he knew that this peace would last a few months to a year.

However, this would only be calm before the storm, as the three Universal Civilizations still had an arch enemy to deal with—the Super Star Cluster Alliance, which had been keeping a low profile and expanding in the free competition zone.

Once the three Universal Civilizations were ready, they would certainly deal the Super Star Cluster Alliance a heavy blow, and it would not be the same gentle way they dealt with the development union. They definitely would not hold back, to eliminate the unrealistic ambition of these Super Star Cluster Civilizations. It could also be said that the three Universal Civilizations were only forgiving about the Beyond Grade As because the Super Star Cluster Alliance was their top priority.

“In this brief window, I’ll have to keep building my advantages.”

Han Xiao looked at the interface. He had been receiving tons of EXP every single day. Although the cost of leveling up from level 320 to 340 was outrageous, in the face of his merciless leek harvesting machine, he would have enough sooner or later.

The players had become familiar with the Flickering World version, exploring while fighting one another. It was intense.

Han Xiao planned to make their game experience richer, so he wanted to host the Army Tournament that he had come up with some time ago and make it a large festival event for the faction.

The happier the players were, the more motivated they would be to contribute more EXP to him.

…

At the same time, at a certain hidden location in Black Star Palace, a player called Paradise Disco was led by two mechanical soldiers through multiple security checks and down a dark corridor.

There were no decorations in this corridor at all, only pale white lights that extended deeper ahead. At the end of the corridor was a metal wall and a turning corner. No sound could be heard other than their footsteps.

Feeling the cold and frightening atmosphere, Paradise Disco could not help but ask, “Buddy, where are we going?”

The two mechanical soldiers had no intention to reply and continued walking in synchronized steps.

“What’s so secretive?” Paradise Disco opened the interface and mumbled, “What on earth is this mission anyway?”

On the mission list, a mission called [Special Experiment] was glowing.

To Paradise Disco’s recollection, this mission was suddenly triggered, and he did not do anything. It asked him to follow random mechanical soldiers to the destined location to carry out a special experiment, and that was all the introduction the mission had. The reward was exorbitant. It was about the reward of seven to eight Grade B missions.

Curiosity drove him to accept the mission, and on the way to the destination, he never stopped guessing.

Did I come across the secrets of the Black Star Army?

Has the army actually been carrying out some kind of forbidden secret experiment?

Why did I trigger it?

While he was making wild guesses, the mechanical soldiers in front of him stopped, and before them was an ordinary alloy gate.

After passing the identity scan, the gate opened. Paradise Disco quickly looked in, and a white lab entered his sights.

At this time, there was another player in the room, and he looked over too. The two of them looked at each other and were both slightly stunned.

“You accepted the mission too?”

“Special Experiment, right?”

“Yes, yes, that’s the one. Do you know the details?”

“No idea, I’ve only just arrived too.”

“It’s so mysterious. I love it.”

The two of them chattered and exchanged information. They became even more intrigued.

Since they had come to such a secret place in the headquarters, it could be no ordinary matter.

At this time, a team of mechanical soldiers pushed two life-sustaining cabins in. Two mechanical soldiers then took out two facial devices that blocked the wearer’s senses and passed them to the two players.

The leading mechanical soldier captain said, “Lie in the cabin, wear the mask, and wait for the experiment to start.”

The two players exchanged looks and, suppressing their curiosity, went inside the cabins.

Paradise Disco put on the mask and instantly fell into darkness. His vision, hearing, and smell were all gone. He had no way of knowing what was happening in the outside world.

Both of his hands and legs were locked up tight; he could not move at all.

Time went by extremely slow in this state. Every second felt like years.

Paradise Disco became even more curious. He almost wanted to break the restraints a few times and see what was happening. However, the heavy failure punishment of this mission discouraged him from doing so.

Just as he was about to get impatient, a notification suddenly popped up on the interface.

_____________________

Your Grade B+ Potential Esper Ability [Physique Enhancement—Bone and Muscle Inflation] has been taken away!

You have entered [Ability Frozen] state. You are not able to use any abilities related to your Esper Ability.

Duration: Infinite

_____________________

“W-what‽”

Paradise Disco was shocked and appalled.

Chapter 1087: Made Friends

1087 Made Friends “Where’s my Esper Ability‽”

On the interface, a ton of abilities were now gray and frozen. Even the passive attributes given by the Esper Ability were gone. Paradise Disco immediately panicked and tried to leave the cabin.

This time, a cold metal hand pressed onto his chest and held him tightly in place. It was a mechanical soldier stopping him from moving. Paradise Disco was wearing a mask that sealed off all his senses, so all he could see was darkness and nothing else. He had no choice but to give up struggling and anxiously wait for the experiment to end.

Not knowing how long had passed, Paradise Disco suddenly felt that the devices that locked him in place opened up. He instantly stood up and took off his mask. He then looked around nervously, only to realize he was at the same place he was before, and the mechanical soldiers looked like they had never moved at all.

“My Esper Ability is gone. Is yours too?” Another player taking part in the experiment was released too and spoke with shock.

“That’s right. Mine is gone too.”

The two of them quickly exchanged information and realized that they were both in the infinite duration [Ability Frozen] state. They were both in a state of panic.

Paradise Disco hastily asked the mechanical soldier on the side, “What have you done to us?”

Following the answer Han Xiao had set for them to give, the mechanical soldier said monotonously, “It was just an experiment. The army is developing a special device to suppress Esper Genes. It might be widely available in the future.”

I knew it’s an experiment involving secret weapons!

The two of them exchanged and saw the same emotion in each other’s eyes. Paradise Disco quickly asked the question they both cared most about.

“Will our abilities recover?”

“Of course. In the research plan, Immortals are the best experiment targets. According to the logistics department, the Immortals only have to die and revive to refresh their body state and recover their ability. In the future, the Immortals in the army might be equipped with this kind of weapon,” the mechanical soldier replied emotionlessly.

Hearing that their abilities could recover, the two of them immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

The two of them had absolutely no doubt about this explanation. After all, the ‘Black Star Army Badge: Evolution’ had already happened, so developing secret weapons sounded just like what the army would do.

In the players’ eyes, this somewhat evil style completely aligned with the Black Star Army!

“This is the army’s secret plan. You have both signed the confidentiality agreement. Remember, do not tell anyone about what happened here,” the mechanical soldier said with a serious expression while returning their communication devices to them.

Paradise Disco took the communication device, looked at the player beside him, and saw suppressed joy in his eyes.

Confidentiality agreement? Hehe, that won’t stop us. You think taking our communication devices away will prevent this from leaking this? Impossible, the army has no power over the forums.

As if the army will find out if we make a post about it.

The two of them were secretly excited and were already thinking about how they were going to share this secret on the forums. This was not because they wanted to get in the way of the army’s interests but because their impulse to leak spoilers just could not be stopped.

Didn’t you hear the mechanical soldier? He said that this kind of weapon might be widely available to the army in the future. Won’t it be another type of suicidal attack like the explosion backpack and the army badge? We’ve come to know about it much earlier than the others. What reason do we have to not show it off?

Of course, the two of them had no idea that this was just an excuse Han Xiao had made up. He did not want to expose Evans’ existence, so he made up a reason not to let the outside world have any suspicion.

He purposely let the mechanical soldiers tell the two of them because he wanted to use them to spread misleading information, making the players think that this was a research and development project of some kind of secret weapon. This way, when the players took part in it in the future, he would not have to find another excuse again.

After the mission completion notification popped up on their interfaces, the two of them took their things and were too lazy to go back the way they came from, so they asked the mechanical soldier to help to send them to the afterlife.

With a flash of white light, the two of them revived in the populated base hall and checked their status immediately.

“My ability really came back.”

Paradise Disco was now finally relieved. He instantly opened up the forums and wrote down what he had just experienced. He added the title ‘Shocking! The army’s secret weapon turns out to be…’ and posted it.

As proven by facts, there was a reason this type of intriguing title had always been popular. This post attracted the attention of some players very quickly, and people started to comment on it.

“Is this true? Why have I never seen this mission before?”

“Suppress Esper Genes? I seem to recall that Black Star once had a house of happiness that was used specifically to produce Genetic Medicines out of galactic pirates. Is it now improved?”

“If we have this kind of weapon, won’t beating the other factions’ Esper players be a piece of cake?”

“Come on, have some ambition and imagination. This kind of treasure might be able to allow us to even defeat NPCs, making those strong NPCs powerless and unable to resist whatever’s done to them.”

“Stop it. I’m already starting to imagine the adult parodies in my head…”

“Come to think of it, the secret weapons the army has been inventing seem to be becoming more and more evil. The aberration one was already bad enough, but now they’re even inventing this… Are we the baddies?”

“The Deputy Army Commander is an Esper. Could it be that the Army Commander could not conquer her, so he’s planning to invent this kind of equipment and use force?”

“Black Star-Hila shippers are furious!”

“We live and die with Hila!”

…

While the players were pondering and making wild guesses, a secret door of a secret training room deep in the base opened. A man wearing a black hood walked out. He took off the hood, revealing his face. It was indeed Evans.

This training room had a secret path that led directly to the earlier lab. He followed what Han Xiao told him, sneakily went over, and absorbed the Esper Abilities of the two immobilized players. Before that, he had confirmed with Han Xiao again and again that the Immortals would only lose their abilities temporarily.

“So, this is the feeling of superhuman power…”

Evans raised his right arm and clenched his fist. A small stream of energy flowed out from his cells into the muscle and bones of his arm.

Boom!

The next moment, his arm bloated visibly like air was pumped in. His bones became tougher too, and his raw strength increased a large amount.

In his hands, this Esper Ability only had Grade E power. With his pitiful amount of energy, he could not even afford to pump up his entire body. He swung his arm a few times and made sounds of the sound barrier breaking. Just this one arm’s strength was close to double his original strength.

Esper Abilities all had potential grades, and usually, this grade signified the highest Grade the Esper could achieve. Although the players were not restricted by this rule, the potential grade still represented the growth speed and rarity of their Esper Abilities. The rarer, the stronger. Some players even continuously opened up new accounts and topped up real money just to get a rare Esper Ability.

Physique enhancement was a large branch in the Esper Abilities. Even Esper Abilities with the same prefix had many variations. Some ordinary physique enhancing abilities might only have Grade D or Grade C potential, but [Physique Enhancement—Bone and Muscle Inflation] had Grade B+ potential, meaning this was a rather high-quality ability among its branch.

This Esper Ability was also a semi-shapeshifting kind. Once activated, even skinny bamboos would instantly turn into muscular men.

The phycological Esper Ability that was absorbed also had grade B potential, which was still quite high.

Among the players, grade A potential was already extremely rare, so although grade B potential was one grade lower, it was plenty good enough.

According to the plan Han Xiao made, giving Evans these two high-quality abilities would not waste his slots. This combination of abilities was beneficial to increasing his basic attributes. As long as his own Grade increased, these two Esper Abilities would keep giving him bonus Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, and Psychological Resistance.

Evans loved these two abilities and could not stop using them till his energy ran out, but his eyes were still glowing.

He had been ordinary for decades. This was the first time he had enjoyed this feeling of fulfillment brought by this power. The shortcut of robbing abilities from others was extremely tempting, as if every single potential desire in his body was pushing him to take that path. Evans felt a sense of hunger coming from every cell in his body, instinctively thirsting for new abilities, like a hungry man’s insatiable craving for food.

“Hmm, His Excellency Black Star said that the changes in my body will bring changes to my mindset too. This should be the change my Esper Ability has caused in me…”

Evans thought about it. His strong heart developed through hardship made him suppress this sense of hunger brought by his Esper Ability.

He was not someone who had boundless greed. Black Star had changed his life and given him a righteous path to becoming strong. All he was thinking about was studying and training hard so that he could return this favor in the future. All he wanted was not to disappoint the hope Black Star had for him.

…

The last few months had not been peaceful. First, the federation and the church cooperated to attack the Black Star Army’s stronghold but were forced to retreat by Black Star. Then, the Beyond Grade A Association was formed. Therefore, the three Universal Civilizations had been at the center of galactic attention.

Today, the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church had finally made an official response regarding the attack on Hila a few months ago.

The two of them used different words but conveyed the same message, saying that the incident a few months ago was ‘an act of impulse led by misunderstandings’. At the same time, they publicly apologized to the Black Star Army, expressing that they would pay for the losses as well as give extra compensation.

Actually, as early as a few months prior when the incident occurred, the black markets at various places had opened a bet on whether the Universal Civilizations would apologize to the Black Star Army. The odds were sky-high, and most galactic residents felt that even though the Universal Civilizations were wrong, they would still be firm about it. They did not think the Black Star Army would receive apologies from the federation and the church, only private compensation at most.

Therefore, after this announcement was made, most galactic residents were astonished.

In the history of the three Universal Civilizations’ rule over the known universe, extremely rarely did they lower their heads against other organizations. After all, a public apology would harm their authority. However, the federation and the church shockingly had decided to do it this time, and the Black Star Army became one of the extremely few private organizations in the universe that had this honor.

The dynasty did not want to be excluded from this matter. Right after the church and the federation made their announcements, they officially opened up the Evolutionary Totem business, announcing that the product would no longer be limited and controlled, putting it onto the free market and allowing it to be bought and sold freely.

Countless civilizations had been waiting for this day. The Black Star Army’s email inbox exploded. The inventory the army had built up was being depleted continuously while enormous amounts of money flowed into the army’s account like a river.

Of course, the smarter people knew that the Crimson Dynasty did this to be closer to Black Star. As the three Universal Civilizations expressed their kind intentions to one person at the same time, Black Star’s reputation and position grew once again, even in the Beyond Grade A circle.

Not mentioning anything else, at least Han Xiao’s words carried heavier weight as a vice president in the development union.

The players now, of course, would not miss out on this kind of matter. The Flickering World panel in the forums was soon filled with discussion.

Green Dot: “Army Commander is indeed admired by all.”

First Name: “Any old players that still remember 1.0? Who could have guessed that Black Star would turn out to be such an important NPC? Look at those protagonist characters in the novice planets. Which one of them turned out as successful as Black Star?”

Hesitant: “Why do I suddenly feel touched? Four versions passed so fast. It’s like watching our kid grow up to be a man.”

Army Commander’s Big PP: “My son Black Star is destined to be the king!”

Important Things Need to Be Said Three Times: “Upstairs, you tired of living?”

The players had already been shocked when Han Xiao defeated twelve Beyond Grade As. Having witnessed such an astonishing event, they were much calmer now.

As the federation and the church carried out their terms, Han Xiao also kept his promise and released Tolaen and Hades.

…

On a sealed dock of Planet Black Gate, the officials of the federation and the church were waiting. They stood clearly apart and did not communicate with each other at all.

These groups of people were there to retrieve their own captives. For that, they had come to the Black Star Army’s territory.

After waiting for a while, a Black Star fleet approached from afar and stopped at this dock.

Woosh!

The hatch of the main ship opened. A group of mechanical soldiers carried the amber specimens of Tolaen and Hades down from the spaceship. They then placed these two works of art on the ground. Han Xiao walked out after.

Seeing this, the people of the federation and the church approached quickly, gathered around Han Xiao, and greeted him respectfully.

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

“Hmm.” Han Xiao looked around casually, waved his hand, and said, “Since you’re all here, quickly take your men away.”

He signaled everyone to get back. He then blocked their view with nanoparticles. He took his time for a few minutes before breaking Tolaen and Hades out of the amber.

Pa!

Having just regained freedom, the two of them staggered and almost fell.

Seeing this, Han Xiao snorted and coldly said, “The federation and the church have bailed the two of you out. Be careful in the future. If you dare mess with me again and end up in my hands, don’t blame me for picking off some parts from you.”

Tolaen shivered and uncontrollably took a few steps back. Fear lingered on his face as he looked at Han Xiao with horror-filled eyes. He did not dare talk back at all.

These past few months had been hell. He felt that if it had carried on, he would have been driven mad inside the amber. He never ever wanted to experience it again; he just wanted to get as far away from Black Star as possible.

Hades, who was standing to the side, was fearful too, but he could still control his expression, just about.

Nonetheless, he was extremely sorrowful inside. He had thought that he would at the very least gain some reputation through that operation. Never did he expect to fail so miserably.

Although being defeated by Black Star could not be considered shameful, this tag would probably follow him for a very long time.

He had yet to even make a nickname for himself. Nothing he had done was worth mentioning. What should he say when someone asked him about what he was known for? Was he going to proudly say he had been locked up by Black Star before?

Seeing that the two of them stood in place and did not move, Han Xiao raised his brows and joked, “What, don’t feel like leaving? Want to stay a few more months at my place?”

Hearing this, the two of them instantly shivered, quickly returned to their own welcome groups with tails tucked between their legs without saying a word, and boarded their respective spaceships.

The officials quickly took off.

Inside the church’s spaceship, Tolaen was looking down.

“Six people from the church went. I’m the only one who was captured. Why am I so unlucky?”

While he was blaming himself, a few communications were picked up by the spaceship. They were from Sagman, Taylor, and Mercer, who had also taken part in the attack on Hila. Their remote projections appeared in front of him.

“Hehe, are you alright?” Sagman said with a smile.

“Not at all.” Tolaen was miserable.

“Don’t have to be so pessimistic. We were locked up by Black Star once too, and we’ve all got over it.” Taylor smiled and comforted him.

“… You guys are quite generous.”

“After you come back, let’s find a time and place to meet up,” Mercer said.

Tolaen looked at the three smiling faces in front of him, and it suddenly occurred to him.

That’s it. We’ve all been to the prison, so we have common topics. Could this be what inmates feel like?

He had not joined the church long ago. Before that, he was a wanted man, so he could not squeeze into the Beyond Grade A circle of the church. He was like an outsider.

To his absolute surprise, after being locked up by Black Star this time, he obtained acceptance from a group of ‘former inmates’.

Tolaen’s mood suddenly became better.

I’ve finally made some friends…

Chapter 1088: Holy Accord“s Pain

1088 Holy Accord“s Pain After releasing the two captives, Han Xiao did not leave Planet Black Gate immediately but instead summoned the person in charge of the planet and inspected the railway construction progress. He shared some experience and gave some guidance on the construction.

On the way back, Han Xiao also inspected the operations of the stargate toll booth.

The stargate commute network in the Black Star Army territory extended from the Garu Star Cluster all the way to the free competition zone, quick and convenient. It was currently one of the exceedingly few complete transport routes in the Flickering World. There were a large number of people using it every day.

Of course, any outsiders who wanted to use this route had to pay a fee. Han Xiao fully utilized the Chinese talent buried deep in his soul of ‘build a road if you want to be rich’. He had set up toll booths at every stargate.

With a natural money maker like this, within a year of the Flickering World’s opening, the army had already earned back the cost of building the stargates. This outrageous profit margin proved a fact—buying land was much more profitable than operating businesses.

After returning to Black Star Palace, the first part of the bail from the federation and the church came. The federation paid the most. All of the three gold blueprints came from them, and this was the first gold blueprint.

“Mechanical Deity exclusive weapon, Universal Treasure grade mechanical item, Celestial Punishment Edge.”

Inside the office, Han Xiao chewed on the lava-flavor condensed nutrition bar while reading through the blueprint data from the Federation of Light.

The blueprints the federation agreed to give him were mostly weapons. This was what Han Xiao selected.

According to the information provided by the Federation of Light, this was an idea from the Saint Tyracles, those admirers of the Mechanical Deity. The federation inherited their knowledge and improved on it, fusing some of their special technology into it, and finally turned this incomplete idea into a blueprint.

On the blueprint was the complete design diagram of this weapon. It had some similarities to the Emperor’s Cape. Its appearance was a long mechanical sword with complex interiors, equipped with powerful close-range combat technology. It could also turn into a giant cannon mode and release various long-range attacks. As its name suggested, it was built to destroy celestial bodies.

Like the Emperor’s Cape, the Celestial Punishment Edge was also a mega machine, which the Armed Branch excelled in. Although Han Xiao was not, he would still be able to build it with the needed knowledge.

Why did these Saint Tyracles love to design close range combat weapons so much? Did all the true Mechanics have a hidden Pugilist desire inside them waiting to break free?

Complaining was one thing, but he would still undoubtedly have to build it. Han Xiao told Phillip to add the materials for the Celestial Punishment Edge to the next bulk purchase list.

After handling this matter, Han Xiao checked his inbox.

He had received replies from those neutral Beyond Grade A members of the association who were hired by Super Star Cluster Civilizations that he had messaged not too long ago. Most people were worried they might become the target of Dark Lord; only a few were not concerned.

“If there’s a demand, there’ll be a solution.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He chatted with those Beyond Grade As separately for a while, including ‘Leader of Colossuses’ Garoze, whom he had once intimidated into retreating.

These people understood what he meant instantly after he gave a subtle hint, and they clearly expressed that they were willing to support Black Star as much as they could in the development union in the future.

Most of these Beyond Grade As did not become allies of the three Universal Civilizations because they did not want to be controlled. However, this would not happen in the development union. They were just normal members of the association, so they had limited control over it. Therefore, they needed an upper echelon with power who could represent their interests and give them better privileges. This was a win-win deal.

Including Garoze, these Beyond Grade As agreed to bring up this matter in the next plenary meeting, and Han Xiao promised to operate around it to eliminate the threat they were facing.

After bringing those people to his side, Han Xiao contacted the dynasty, planning to first notify them.

He expressed his intention, and after waiting for a while, the secretary connected his communication request to Urranrell.

As the scene around him changed, Han Xiao’s remote projection appeared in the Dynasty Ruler’s office. Before him was Urranrell, who was sitting behind her desk.

“Your Excellency Urranrell.” Han Xiao nodded respectfully as a greeting.

“Black Star.” Urranrell greeted back, stared into Han Xiao’s eyes, and cut to the chase. “You want me to call Clotti back?”

“Yes. The purpose of the development union is to eliminate physical conflict between Beyond Grade As. Clotti is now an Honorable Director, so if he attacks the members, it will go against the association’s purpose…”

With an expressionless face, Urranrell said, “On what grounds are you making this suggestion to me today? As an ally of the dynasty or as the vice president of the development union?”

“Both,” Han Xiao replied.

“Black Star, in the past few decades, how have you felt about the way the dynasty has been treating you?”

“Win-win.” Han Xiao smiled.

Urranrell paused and slowly said, “I must remind you, the Evolutionary Totem business and the territory in the Flickering World, these are all benefits only our allies can enjoy. The dynasty regards you very highly. I’m sure you’re aware of that.”

Some things could not be said directly. The dynasty did not oppose Black Star becoming the vice president of the development union, but they did not want to see Black Star lean toward it too much. They hoped that between the positions of a dynasty ally and the vice president of the development union, Han Xiao would lean toward the former.

The Mechanic Emperor was an example they could learn from. He had made too many contributions and received too much credit. The federation had no choice but to keep rewarding him and supporting him. This had led to the Mechanic Emperor slowly getting out of control. The dynasty did not want to create another Mechanic Emperor.

As if he did not hear Urranrell’s words between the lines, Han Xiao continued what he was saying. “Clotti has captured Traveler and another Beyond Grade A, reigniting others’ fear of him. The mission is actually already complete. If he continues to attack others, it might be too much. Furthermore, when I was in the secondary dimensions, I helped him, or things would have turned out differently.”

“Hmm… that makes sense too.” Urranrell thought about his words.

Seeing this, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he said, “Clotti should have reported the results of Traveler’s interrogation, so you must know that Sorokin played a part in this too. Does the dynasty plan to put him on the list of targets?”

“The authenticity of his testimony has yet to be investigated. Sorokin’s motive is still unknown. It’s not suitable for Clotti to act.” Urranrell waved her hand. “If there’s enough evidence, the dynasty will deal with him.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao secretly gloated.

Sorokin had always been swinging between the three Universal Civilizations, and now Traveler’s testimony might cause a huge problem to the position he had maintained for a very long time.

He wondered if the dynasty would use forceful means like when they dealt with Traveler. If that was the case, the true strength Sorokin had been hiding would probably be exposed.

The two of them chatted for a while. Urranrell did not give a direct response, only saying that she would consider the proposal of stopping Dark Lord’s mission. Han Xiao knew where to draw the line and bade farewell on good terms.

…

A few days later, in the Beyond Grade A Association’s headquarters on Planet Finn, remote projections of close to a hundred Beyond Grade As gathered to attend the routine plenary meeting in the round table conference room.

Currently, the development union was uniting resources, so the focus of the discussion was the partnership plans between the various Beyond Grade As.

The atmosphere was heated. Everyone there was a leader in their own field. They could make big decisions on the spot, so the process was quite smooth. Everyone made their own proposals and collaborated with other members who possessed the resources they wanted. Slowly, everyone’s businesses started to connect, forming an enormous profit network. To normal Beyond Grade As, this was an excellent opportunity to partner up with other large Beyond Grade A organizations and achieve mutually-beneficial agreements. With just a recommendation from others, they would receive huge profits.

After the day-to-day affairs were settled, Manison changed the topic.

“In the next meeting, the development union is going to welcome two new members, Tolaen and Hades. Due to some personal reasons, they missed the timing when the association was created. They have now gone through the necessary procedures, and they’ll be attending the next meeting.”

The people could not help but look at Han Xiao, who was sitting in the vice president seat. Everyone knew about the ‘personal reasons’, so the atmosphere in the room was quite funny.

After that, Manison looked around and slowly said, “If there’s nothing else, that shall be all for this meet…”

This time, Garoze raised his hand and said, “I have a question I’d like to ask Honorable Director Clotti.”

Everyone looked over. Clotti, who had been keeping silent, opened his eyes and glanced at him.

“I’d like to confirm one thing. We’re all members of the association now, and we’re to obey the rules and regulations. Therefore, Your Excellency Clotti, you can’t attack any members, right?”

“I only listen to the dynasty’s orders,” Clotti said with an expressionless face, not caring at all.

The atmosphere immediately became tense. The direct members of the three Universal Civilizations, who were originally resting with their eyes closed, looked interested too.

With courage, Garoze said in a deep voice, “I hope the association will take care of this and ensure our safety. I wouldn’t want His Excellency Dark Lord to suddenly have a wild idea one day and blame me and attack me for a crime I’ve never committed.”

As soon as he said that, many neutral Beyond Grade As expressed that they agreed with him. It was clear this was planned.

“Hmm…” Manison narrowed his eyes.

The association’s position was rather strange. Although these three Universal Civilizations’ direct members had joined the association, it was obvious they would not listen to the association, and this proposal had brought this problem to the table.

While the request of these neutral Beyond Grade As was totally logical, it was not a decision the association currently had the power to make. He had no right to tell Clotti to stop.

However, the very purpose of the development union was to resolve conflicts between Beyond Grade As, so it had to live up to that. Manison could not possibly say that he could not do it, or it would shake the foundation of the association and make people worry about the association’s ability to obey its own rules.

“I’ll do my best…” Manison planned to first agree and think of a solution later.

However, before he could finish, Han Xiao suddenly interrupted him.

“Leave this problem to me. I’ll deal with it.”

Garoze and the others understood and all thanked Han Xiao. “Then we shall leave it to you, Your Excellency Black Star. We’ll be waiting for the good news.”

Clotti gave Han Xiao a meaningful look and did not speak.

Han Xiao smiled at Clotti and did not intend to speak either. Both of them knew that the one who could make this decision was not present.

Han Xiao even pretended to comfort Garoze, finishing the show.

This time, Manison figured out what was happening and gave him a meaningful look too.

Manison did not mind Han Xiao building connections and establishing his reputation. To him, Black Star was on his side. As long as he could do the job, there was no problem.

…

After about a week, Clotti received an order from the Dynasty Ruler to stop the mission. He then led the captives back, leaving the Flickering World.

This message quickly spread to all the members. In their mind, Han Xiao became much more reliable.

By actively taking responsibility for this matter and successfully dealing with it, Black Star proved his ability. Knowing that, the others would naturally come to respect him. This would work just about anywhere.

To Han Xiao, this was just a small matter that did not cost him too much. As his position became higher, his opinion became more and more influential to the dynasty’s decision-making on some unimportant matters. The Dynasty Ruler gave him face, too. Making a dynasty ally sitting in the vice president seat more powerful in the association was clearly better than having the federation’s Manison have full control over it.

Meanwhile, after more than half a month’s time, Aurora had already fully mastered the Holy Light Particle. Without further ado, Han Xiao instantly announced the existence of the Holy Light Seed to the outside world. He emphasized the importance of the new class system granted by the Holy Light Seed. He stated that all army members would be able to acquire Holy Light Seeds after earning merits.

This new source of power made both the players and the Supers interested, but that was all it was, interest. The ordinary people had the strongest response; it was like a storm to them.

Almost everyone hoped to possess powers beyond ordinary men, and this was the best shortcut to it. As long as they awakened Super Genes, they would instantly be promoted into the Supers society and enjoy its privileges.

However, people were born different. Restricted by predetermined talent, most people were destined to be ordinary their entire lives.

Now, however, there was an opportunity to change their fate right in front of their eyes. Furthermore, it was not beyond their reach. As long as they worked for the Black Star Army and made enough contributions, they would have a certain chance of obtaining extraordinary power!

As soon as this announcement was made, countless ordinary people went haywire. The sensation it caused was even more incredible than all the things the army had done in the past added up. After all, the things the army had done were just that, but this announcement was related to the interests of everyone.

The ordinary people had their own way of living. No matter how amazing the Black Star Army was, there were only very few that were willing to work in an armed force. However, it was all different now. The Black Star Army’s appeal to ordinary people instantly exceeded ninety-nine percent across all industries.

In just five short days, the number of ordinary people requesting to join the army had already exceeded the current number of members of the Black Star Army!

The number of ordinary people in the universe far exceeded the number of Supers.

…

Within a secret research base of the Holy Accord organization, a researcher placed a cooling container in front of Law and Fay, opened its cap, extended his hand into the white cold fog, and took out a device that looked like a mini radar.

“Your Excellencies, this is the detection device I’ve invented using the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy’s characteristics. It’s used to sense the Holy Light Particle.”

Law clapped with encouragement. “Good job. This way, we’ll be able to find the Holy Light Particle.”

“The Holy Light Particle has been hidden for many years,” Fay said. “It’s probably sleeping in a certain secondary dimension and has no master now. This is our chance. Is the range of this device long enough?”

The researcher replied confidently, “Don’t worry, this device can be used together with the cross-dimensional radar. It’s definitely long enough.”

“Good.” Fay nodded with satisfaction.

Law hurried them. “Quickly equip it. We have to acquire the Holy Light Particle as soon as possible.”

“Understood, I’ll…”

Before he finished, an assistant hastily ran in holding a communicator in his hand and said, “Y-Your Excellencies, look at the news.”

Law and Fay looked over and were stunned.

The image the communicator was displaying was the announcement Han Xiao had made.

“Sh*t…” Law murmured.

Not just the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy but even the Holy Light Particle got taken by Black Star‽

What kind of luck is that‽

Last time, they could only successfully attack Black Star because Black Star was not prepared and knew nothing about their weapons.

The two of them initially thought they would never cross paths with Black Star ever again, so they did not worry at all. They never expected Black Star to have another Primal Esper Ability they needed.

The two of them exchanged looks and saw the powerlessness in each other’s eyes.

Another Beyond Grade A would have been fine, why did it have to be Black Star?

Black Star was alert now. The risk of carrying out the operation again would be at least ten times higher. They would be dreaming to think that doing the same thing as last time would work.

“So… are we still going for it?”

“Don’t drag me down if you want to die,” Fay said with a scornful tone.

“What should we do then? The Holy Light Particle is in his hands. We’ll have to find a way to take it back.”

“How would I know?”

The two of them were at the edge of collapsing.

What should we do‽

The researcher looked left and right before asking,

“Erm… this detection device I’ve invented, should I still install it?”

“What the hell do you think‽”

Chapter 1089: Black Star Cup

1089 Black Star Cup This is unfair! This is unfair!

Inside the exclusive training room in Black Star Palace, Mysterious Energy Host stood by the door and complained furiously to the two people in the room nonstop.

Han Xiao raised his hand and shattered a holy light shockwave from Aurora. He then scratched his ear, feeling like he was almost going deaf.

Ever since Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy found out that Han Xiao had found the Holy Light Particle a master, he instantly went mad.

Initially, he wanted to drag his old friend down so that they could happily be locked inside machines together. He did not want to feel lonely anymore. However, to his shock, although he was the one who led the way to the Holy Light Particle, the Holy Light Particle received much better treatment.

Why do you have a master by I have to be locked inside this metal‽

I want a master too!

Lately, as long as Han Xiao called him out, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy would nag nonstop around him.

“Master! Master! Master!” Han Xiao said with resignation. “Can you stop complaining?”

“No!”

A vein appeared on Han Xiao’s forehead. His patience had reached the limit. “Are you forcing me to turn on silent mode for the Mysterious Energy Host? You won’t even be able to speak at all then!”

Hearing this, Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy finally shut up.

Being trapped in a tool was bad enough. He could only speak because Black Star was kind enough to let it. If he was not even able to speak, he would have zero means of entertainment.

However, Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was still frustrated. After less than a minute, he uncontrollably spoke again with a soft tone like a wronged wife. “But I really want a master…”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and said, “How old are you? Can you have some pride? Are all Primal Esper Abilities as shameless as you?”

Holy Light Particle who was watching the show from the side heard that and said, “Bullsh*t, most Primal Esper Abilities have class. It’s the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy who spoiled our name!”

Furious, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy yelled, “Shut up! You’re not much better than me!”

“Alas, it’s so comfortable to be inside my master, so much warmer than being in a metal tin,” the Holy Light Particle said with a lazy tone.

Staying in Aurora’s body and being nurtured by her Vital Energy was as comfortable as enjoying hot springs. No matter how the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy yelled at him, he always used this response to make the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy even more frustrated and irritated.

Listening to the two Esper Abilities fight, Han Xiao could not help but massage his temples.

These two must be the floor of virtue among the Primal Esper Abilities…

“Alright, alright, that’s it for today.” Han Xiao waved.

Hearing this, Aurora obediently deactivated her ability. Like a duck that got suffocated, the annoying Holy Light Particle suddenly shut up and went silent.

“Erm… uncle, how did I do?”

Aurora looked a little anxious.

She had not been a combatant in the past, so she rarely accepted combat training from Han Xiao at all. The only times she did was as Hila’s support, and that was many years ago.

During the combat training, Han Xiao was not as kind and gentle as usual. He was quite strict.

Aurora did not have many opportunities to take part in direct combat, so her combat experience was limited. Therefore, she was worried she might not have done well.

“Not too bad. You need to make smarter choices…” Han Xiao called Aurora close and guided her step by step.

After Aurora learned to control the Holy Light Particle, she had the ability to take on direct battles. Although she would still not really have the chance to fight, Han Xiao still trained her personally to help her master the combat techniques of the Holy Light Particle.

While doing so, Han Xiao also tested the Holy Light Particle’s special ability to ‘punish evil’. This ability was completely subjective. Whether something was evil or not completely depended on the feelings of its master and the target.

The punishment effect Han Xiao received was very weak. According to the Holy Light Particle, in Aurora’s heart, he was a great man, and she had never once felt he was evil. The weak damage mainly came from how Han Xiao felt about himself. He had never felt he was a righteous man.

After a bit more guidance, Han Xiao sent Aurora away, summoned Phillip, and looked at the changes that had occurred in the army after the Holy Light Seed system was announced.

Quite a few days had already passed after the Holy Light Seed announcement. The impact was enormous. Many people had applied to join from every Star Field. Therefore, the army had to, of course, filter the applicants. Also, the cost of recruiting and paying salaries to those people was not a small amount.

The good news was, most ordinary people came for the chance of acquiring extraordinary power, so their goal was clear and straightforward, meaning they were resilient to pressure.

Therefore, without any internal moral conflict, Han Xiao told Sylvia to lower the basic salary of these newcomers to cut costs. This way, the army would be able to recruit more people at a lower cost. Anyway, these people were not here for the money, so it was a great opportunity to let the army acquire a large amount of cheap labor. Furthermore, in order to gain merits, these people would definitely work hard.

What? This is oppression?

No, no, no, this is called fighting to make their dreams come true.

Showing them what they could obtain by working hard was a must-learn for leaders.

Seeing the rocketing business performance across all industries, Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction and asked about another matter.

“How’s the Army Tournament plan I told Sylvia to come up with? Let me take a look.”

The virtual screen before him turned into a plan drafted by Sylvia.

Han Xiao looked through it in detail. Sylvia basically followed the structure he gave. Sparring was just one of the many programs. There were also all kinds of technical, sports, and entertainment competitions. Of them, the sports and entertainment competitions were the highest in number.

Furthermore, the army members could also request certain competitions. As long as they were not nonsense, there was a chance these requests would be approved. Han Xiao had no doubts the players would request soccer and play some ‘Shaolin Soccer’.

Based on the strength of army members, each Grade was classified into a group, ensuring that the participants would only meet competitors of the same Grade. At the same time, he also gave the players the freedom to choose either to join their own groups or the NPC groups.

Of course, encouragement measures could not be left out. No matter what group or program, as long as the participant’s placement was high, the army would give out a grand reward. This would ensure that most army warriors would be interested in taking part.

In order to let members who did not take part or were eliminated early still participate in some way, Sylvia suggested opening up bets for all the programs and competitions.

This way, it would receive attention from the entire army. As an armed force, there were tons of gambling addicts. Even those who did not gamble normally would also be influenced by the atmosphere to place some bets.

At the same time, this would also earn back the cost of hosting the event. Sylvia even planned to sell tickets, broadcast it across the entire universe, and charge for it. She had a way of making money.

Han Xiao thought this was a good idea. He could use this opportunity to start a competition league, like the sports competitions in his previous life, building a platform where Supers could display their prowess. This might be quite popular.

In the future, perhaps other Beyond Grade A organizations could take part. Since the development union prevented physical conflicts, this might be one way for the Beyond Grade As to display their strength, by letting their subordinates earn some honor for their organizations.

“According to this plan, this is going to be a festival the entire army will take part in, which will affect business operations. However, the sense of unity brought by this kind of large faction event is quite impressive. Not only the players but the normal army members also need ways to relax outside of work,” Han Xiao murmured.

To the players, the focus of the Flickering World version was to ride the tide of the era and fight each other, carrying out the first round of national wars on this grand stage. The clubs’ final goal was to be placed high in the International League.

Hence, if he, an NPC, hosted an even larger competition in the early- to mid-stage of the version, it would definitely be loved by the players as a warmup for the Pro League. This way, the appeal of his faction would evolve from a powerful organization with a lot of benefits to the host of a competition in the players’ eyes.

In order to take part in the Army Tournament, one naturally had to be in the army. No players from other factions would be able to take part in it. Therefore, once the players recognized the importance of the Army Tournament, the army would become a faction many players had to join like when it was the guiding faction in Version 2.0.

“This kind of large-scale faction event is not suitable to be hosted too often. Once every five to ten years should be best. Also, it needs a better name. ‘Army Tournament’ lacks personality.”

Thinking of his pitiful talent for naming things, Han Xiao was not confident and called Phillip out.

“Give me a name.”

Phillip tilted his head and said, “How about… Army Gala, hum?”

Han Xiao’s face trembled. Why not just call it the Spring Festival Gala?

“Too boring, give me a cool and flashy one.”

“Then… Galaxy Super Clash! Top of the Universe, Black Star Army Peak Tournament! Hum!”

What the hell? What stupid information did those players share with Phillip?

“Let’s not make it too flashy…”

Phillip gave another few names. In the end, Han Xiao officially decided to call it the Black Star Cup Army Tournament, or Black Star Cup in short. Simple and easily understood, it even included his name.

Han Xiao then made some adjustments to the plan and sent it to Sylvia. He decided to make an announcement about the first Black Star Cup another day. A lot of time was required to prepare for such a large event, so he decided to announce it first to preheat it like the players’ Pro League.

The scale of the Black Star Cup was so much bigger than the Pro League. The Pro League only included the players, while the entire army could take part in this. Although there were more than eight million army players, this was still a small number compared to the total members of the army.

However, most players had reached Grade B. Their importance was completely different compared to before. They could already be considered a very important force in the army.

In the universe, Grade Bs were considered the backbones of their forces. They were powerful in any non-Beyond Grade A organization. Even many Beyond Grade A organizations did not have as many Grade Bs as there were army players.

In the past few months, he had attracted a lot of attention, so he needed time to digest the influence it had brought. This was a good opportunity to direct all the attention to the army, so it was the best time to host the Black Star Cup.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had another more important goal.

The period of time when the players had the strongest desire to spend was before the Pro Leagues of every version. The players would only spend without hesitation to turn their money into strength before a large event.

Currently, the Flickering World was going from the early stage to the middle stage. Although no player had reached the maximum level yet, after accumulating for close to a year, many players had quite thick wallets.

“Some leeks… are ripe.”

Han Xiao sighed.

His scythe was ready.

Chapter 1090: Announcemen

1090 Announcemen In Emerald Star Cluster, on a certain planet was a desolate desert filled with strangely shaped rocks. Hundreds of shuttle-shaped, low-altitude battle carriers were fighting intensely, crisscrossing between mountains and cliffs, using them as cover.

Light beams crossed each other, landing on the cliffs around, causing landslides and rocks rolling down the slopes.

There were four different symbols on these low altitude carriers. One was the guild symbol of the Rivervale guild, and the other three were all symbols of different foreign clubs.

Rivervale was not in a good position right now. They were being attacked by three foreign clubs together. They had no choice but to flee while fighting back, or they would be surrounded.

Maple Moon was piloting one carrier. Her hands grabbed onto the sphere-shaped control devices on two sides specially made for Mechanics. Sparkling Mechanical Force connected the device to the spaceship, making the spaceship her extended body and allowing her to control it with ease. The spaceship swiftly made a turn, avoiding a round of fire while shooting a Main Cannon, which blew up one of the enemy spaceships.

However, a few visible black silhouettes flew out from the flames of the carrier’s explosion. They were the players on the ship. Among them, a Mechanic player threw out compressed orbs that turned into a new carrier, and they continued the chase.

Seeing this, Maple Moon spoke in the team channel with resignation. “Sword, there are too many enemies. Our inventory will run out sooner or later if we continue like this. Should we just die? We can leave these resources.”

“Hold on for just a while longer. Our allies are rushing here.”

Frenzied Sword focused on dealing with the enemies. He was quite frustrated.

This planet was originally controlled by a small mining organization. Rivervale, Long Sky, and other guilds partnered with it by providing armed defense in exchange for part of the mining profit. This was a common scheme for the player guilds in the free competition zone.

However, a few middle-level officers of this mining organization were bought by a few Southeast Asian clubs. They helped them hide on this planet. When Frenzied Sword brought his men and came to collect this batch of resources as usual, the three clubs who had set up an ambush jumped out and surprised Frenzied Sword and the others.

The mode of conflict between players had been becoming more and more complicated as they learned to make use of smaller organizations more effectively. They acquired skills such as bribing and threatening the NPCs. This incident was just a small one; the bigger guilds were already involved in infiltrating, backstabbing, and many other things.

The carriers of Rivervale were being destroyed one after another; the players had no choice but to land on the ground. Maple Moon led the Mechanics to build a fortress to attack the enemies in the sky. The enemies then also sent a group of players down. The two sides started slaughtering each other on the desolate land. As Rivervale was at a numerical disadvantage, their situation was quite worrying.

After fighting for a while, a few battleships suddenly appeared deep in the starry sky and quickly approached. They were the Long Sky and the other allied guilds. Seeing this, these three foreign clubs instantly took off and returned to the spaceships that were on standby in the outer atmosphere. Before reinforcements arrived, they escaped with hyperdrive in a very well-practiced manner. It was clear they were prepared.

“Are you guys okay?”

Hao Tian and the other Long Sky members landed beside Frenzied Sword’s side. They looked around at the mess around.

“Alas, they got me. We’ve lost quite a lot this time. Some died multiple times and lost EXP too,” Frenzied Sword said with resignation. There was a limit to the number of times the players could die each day, and the punishment increased gradually after every death. The players were not afraid of death, but they had to die for a reason. Clearly, dying like this without getting anything in return was a huge loss.

“These foreign clubs have their eyes on us Chinese clubs now. They’ve been working together to attack us,” Maple Moon complained.

“Well, it is what it is. We’re making the most profit, after all, and our faction is the strongest.” Sleepy Winter shrugged.

Currently, thanks to the Black Star Army, the Chinese clubs were having the best time in the free competition zone. Naturally, along with the benefits they received, they were also targeted by the foreign clubs. These clubs’ plan to stir up hatred between nations failed, so they could no longer use the players in the Black Star Army. Hence, they had no choice but to do it themselves. They had been harassing the Chinese clubs frequently over the past few months, attempting to slow down their growth.

Frenzied Sword was a little worried. “It wouldn’t matter if it was just during normal times, but if we get harassed even during the Pro League, it’s going to be very tough for us to achieve something this season.”

“If we get a champion this season too, China will have acquired the champion three times in a row. The clubs from the other countries definitely won’t want to see that,” Rainy Kim said calmly.

Participating in the competitions was a way to acquire fame. Fame meant traffic, and traffic meant profit. The ultimate goal of all clubs was to make profit.

The International League was the only large-scale open competition for the pro teams to increase their fame. There were no other platforms that had as large an audience.

Therefore, if the Chinese had it all, it meant that they had obstructed the others’ way of making money. No clubs from the other countries were content with just participating, so some of them were causing problems for their opponents by any means necessary. They were all competitors, and when one side became too strong, the others would definitely come together to be against it. It was unavoidable.

Beep beep beep!

At this time, the communicators of everyone present suddenly rang simultaneously.

They exchanged looks of surprise and looked at their communicator. When they saw what it was, they were all slightly stunned.

“Black Star Cup?”

On the communicators was a new army announcement.

_____________________

Army Announcement—The Black Star Cup Army Tournament

To the entire army, the Black Star Army has been walking the path of high-speed growth. As our business expands, so does the number of members. In order to let the members of the various departments get to know each other more, increase our unity, and select talented people from the various trades, the army has decided to host an event with the nature of a military parade. The preparation for the first season of Black Star Cup Army Tournament starts today. For details, refer to the Competition Rules and Regulations (Expand/Collapse).

All members of the army are able to take part. If you can achieve excellent results, the army will not be petty about the rewards. You’re welcome to participate.

Army Commander, Black Star.

_____________________

The people did not feel much by just looking at the content of the announcement. However, when they expanded the competition’s rules and read the contents, their eyes became brighter and brighter as they were shocked by the scale of the Black Star Cup.

“My god, the scale of this faction event is way too big!” Maple Moon covered her mouth in shock.

“We can even request certain activities‽” Twinkle Fried Rice’s eyes widened.

The players present were overjoyed just by reading the introduction. They could not wait for it.

Compared to the scale of the Black Star Cup, the International League was tiny.

Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian exchanged looks. Both of them thought of the meaning of this event beyond the surface.

“This is an amazing opportunity to increase our fame!” Frenzied Sword’s tone was excited. “Events like this definitely don’t lack spectators, and there are close to ten million army players as the default audience.”

“That’s right. Although this is an event hosted by an NPC, as long as it’s popular, it’ll also bring traffic. It might be an even better replacement for the International League!” Hao Tian expressed his agreement.

Hearing this, the look in everyone’s eyes changed. The way they looked at this announcement was as if they were looking at a mountain of gold.

Everyone had noticed that this was probably the new platform for professional players to shine. Furthermore, it had way more activities than the International League, which would bring an extremely high amount of exposure.

Although the clubs in the other factions could not participate, which meant that the Chinese clubs had no competitors and it was not as competitive as the International League, was this not an exclusive exposure opportunity to the army players?

Also, it was now the early to middle stage of the version, so the Pro League was still far away. This was the exact time the players needed an entertainment show, and the Black Star Cup filled this void!

If it was popular enough, they were even willing to bring out as much passion as during the International League to prepare for the Black Star Cup, turning their accumulated EXP and wealth into strength.

Why do we make money? To spend it when needed of course!

Such an amazing opportunity has landed on us Chinese players again…

Thinking of this, they could feel the blood flowing in their body turn warm. They were touched.

Black Star might be a member of the Communist Party!

…

“Black Star Cup‽”

Seeing the army’s public announcement, the many foreign clubs were filled with jealousy.

Every club knew that this was an excellent opportunity to gain exposure. This was exactly the stage they needed.

However, only the Black Star Army members could participate in the Black Star Cup. These clubs belonging to other factions could do nothing but watch this opportunity slip by.

The foreign clubs could still put up with the mission benefits the Black Star Army was already getting, but now such an amazing exposure opportunity had appeared, the determination of many clubs not to change factions was shaken.

Why can the Black Star Army hit our soft spots so easily‽

Should we just… give in?

…

“What is Black Star doing?’

On the other hand, some Beyond Grade As were confused about this.

To some of them, not only did events like this damage profit and affect efficiency, it would also eat into a lot of time that could be used for work.

However, after some thinking, quite a number of Beyond Grade As felt they understood Black Star’s intentions.

With the development union, the chances for us to take part in battles in the future will probably decrease, which is not beneficial to maintaining our individual image. Black Star might be searching for a new way for us to display our strength to the outside world.

Quite a number of Beyond Grade As were touched.

The Vice President is thinking so far into the future. Now this is what it means to help us obtain more benefits!

Chapter 1091: Making It Clear

1091 Making It Clear The day after the Black Star Cup’s announcement, countless representatives of the media and financial groups came with money in their pockets, wanting to buy the rights to broadcast the event.

Inside the large conference room of the army’s headquarters, Sylvia sat in the top seat. Countless remote projections of representatives sat below and chatted nonstop. The room was noisy.

“Silence.”

Sylvia knocked on the table, and the entire place did indeed become silent. Everyone turned to look at her.

As the Chief Administrative Official of the army, Sylvia was also in charge of communicating with the outside. In the eyes of many organizations, she was no doubt someone who held a high position and a lot of power. Even though all the people sitting there were upper echelons of their own media and financial groups, they were still very obedient in front of Sylvia.

Sylvia looked around and said with a serious tone, “You’re all here for the same purpose. About the Black Star Cup Army Tournament, the Army Commander intends to develop it into an integrated sports event for Supers. The first season will temporarily be limited only to the army itself, but in the future, people from other forces might participate too. The details are in the introduction of the rules and regulations of the competition, which I believe you have all already read.

“The army hopes to broadcast the event to the entire universe, so the broadcasting rights will be sold by areas. Planet-level broadcasting rights will not be sold alone. The lowest will be at the Star Zone level, which costs 15 million Enas. The broadcasting rights for a Star System costs 120 million Enas, and the Star Cluster broadcasting rights costs 980 million Enas. It can be paid in one go or up to five terms. This is only the initial price for reference. If any of you want to be the only one broadcasting it in the area, the sale will be done in the form of bidding.”

Hearing this, a commotion began under the stage. Many people exchanged looks and saw the surprise in each other’s eyes.

Given the Black Star Army’s position and the popularity of this competition, this price was more than just generous. It was much lower than they expected.

Usually, there would only be two ways to sell the broadcasting rights of this kind of event. The most common one would be selling it to the media, not restricting the areas where the said media would play it in. Another would be to sell it by areas, which was usually used for large-scale broadcasting. Very few could do the latter, or the media would not allow it. Of course, the Black Star Army had the right to.

The basic unit was Star Zone, which meant that if bought, it would only be allowed to be broadcast in one Star Zone. Although the current quantum network was extremely developed and connected the entire galactic society, most viewers still had area-based preferences. It was basically like the local channel.

Indeed, the price of 15 million Enas was not low, but any media or financial group that dared to come to make deals with the army had no shortage of that much money.

If the broadcasting areas overlapped, the event would then be broadcast together unless an auction was held for the exclusive rights. If different levels of broadcasting areas were to overlap—for example, if one media bought the Star System broadcasting rights while the other brought the Star Zone broadcasting rights that included this Star System—the issue would either be left undealt with or they could request to negotiate with the army. The army would then either refund the broadcasting rights or have the two media groups work together. However, any media purchasing a large area broadcasting right, selling it themselves was absolutely forbidden.

Sylvia called out Phillip’s doppelgangers, which appeared beside every representative, to record the prices they were willing to pay.

The media representatives contemplated for a while and wrote down their requests and prices.

They could all see the business potential of the Black Star Cup. Lately, the Black Star Army had done a lot of shocking things and attracted a lot of attention, especially Black Star’s Godlike Battle and the Holy Light Particle incidents. The army had welcomed a lot of traffic. In fact, in every ten galactic residents, at least four would pay attention to news about the army.

Furthermore, the Black Star Cup itself was also very appealing. Although there were many Supers in the universe and battles between them were anything but rare, a competition where countless Supers of different Grades all participated together was extremely rare. Plus, there were even things like selections and drafting events, which would make things much more interesting for the audience.

Also, the competition had way too many items. Where else could anyone see such an interesting sports entertainment event with so many Supers attending?

According to the blueprint of the Black Star Cup, there was a chance this would turn into a league festival in the future that more organizations would take part in. With the Black Star Army’s position, anyone copying the idea was nothing to be worried about. From a long-term perspective, this competition had a lot of growth potential. The representatives present not only wanted to sign this competition, but some even wanted to immediately sign the next few seasons too as a long-term investment.

“That’s a win-win for us.” Sylvia continued speaking while they were considering the prices to pay. “The army wants to make the Black Star Cup big, so we need more media groups to broadcast it and increase the event’s popularity, while you guys need people to watch your channel. I’m sure I don’t have to emphasize the scale of the Black Star Cup. It’s a festival that…”

At this time, a financial group representative raised his hand and said, “I heard that the army is opening up bets internally. Do you accept exterior bets?”

“You guys can set up bets yourselves, but the army’s pot doesn’t accept bets from the outside.” Sylvia waved her hand.

“And why is that? If you guys open up the bet, the commission you can earn from it will be countless times greater.” Someone questioned.

“This is the highest order from the Army Commander.”

Sylvia did not explain it to them. Actually, when she came to know that Han Xiao had made this decision, she was confused too. This was an opportunity to make a lot of money, and from what she knew about Han Xiao, he would not let this opportunity slip past. However, to her surprise, it was like her teacher’s personality changed on this matter.

Afterward, Han Xiao explained it to her. He said that although the army was quite wealthy, the bets from the outside world were still way too large. There were risks to opening the betting to the outside world, and some fool—Sorokin—might cause problems in the dark. Comparatively, if the bets were only open to the internal members, it was basically equivalent to cycling the funds within the army. No matter who won or lost, the money was still in the hands of the army’s members.

On the other hand, the people participating in the competition were their own army members, and if the army opened the bets to the outside world, the army members might have some disgruntled guesses about why it was the case. This was not beneficial to building their mindsets. If the bets were only limited to within the army, the image it gave would be much better. It would feel like a family betting with each other within the family.

Simply put…

We ain’t gonna earn this dirty money!

After retrieving all the price quotes, Iapetus brought his business team along and came in for negotiations, while Sylvia left the conference room and headed for the next meeting.

Other than the selling of broadcasting rights, the army also planned to find a lot of sponsors for the Black Star Cup. The partners of the army would provide some form of sponsorship, be it for the sake of profit or face, and all of that added together was quite a large amount of money.

Sorokin had approached Han Xiao for this purpose, too.

…

“You want to sponsor the Black Star Cup?”

Han Xiao sized up Sorokin’s remote projection.

“That’s right. You’re a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group. Of course, I have to show my support for your projects.” Sorokin had his signature fake smile on his face.

“How much do you plan to sponsor?”

Sorokin gave a number, smiled, and said, “This number represents my sincerity.”

Han Xiao’s heart skipped a beat. This amount was quite outrageous.

Your sincerity is overflowing…

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, the Black Star Cup has a lot of potential. I have very high hopes in this investment.” Sorokin smiled and slowly said, “Plus, we’re partners now. Due to some reasons in the past, some cracks were made in our relationship, so I’m hoping to fix our relationship…”

Han Xiao understood.

Right, so you’re here to give me ‘protection fees’, hoping to compensate for the loss you’ve caused me before.

He had essentially threatened Sorokin to obtain the position of shareholder, which could not be changed. Sorokin had already accepted that, so he mainly wanted to fix their relationship. He had to say, this guy really knew when to compromise and take a step back.

Han Xiao suddenly thought of something.

This guy probably was not only there to make up for what he had done but also for Traveler.

Dark Lord had caught Traveler, and the dynasty had already announced that he would be openly executed. Han Xiao had gone to the secondary dimensions some time ago, so Sorokin might think that he had found something out. Thus, he had come to test Han Xiao.

After all, Sorokin meddled in the attack on Hila, and Traveler was one of the very few people who knew about it, so it was natural that he was worried.

“Alright then. About before, I shall hold you less responsible.” Han Xiao smiled, dragged his words, and said, “About Heber…”

Sorokin’s eyelid trembled. “This…”

Before he answered, Han Xiao laughed and said, “Don’t worry, I’m kidding. How can I let you void your agreement with him, use the methods you used on me on him, and take away all the developments you’ve helped him make? He and I are so very close.”

As if I’d believe you…

Sorokin adjusted his emotions and tested Han Xiao by saying, “I heard you went to the secondary dimensions recently. How was it?”

“Not bad. I went to quite a few places…”

Han Xiao chattered about everything but what he knew Sorokin really wanted to know about.

After patiently listening for a while, Sorokin realized that Han Xiao was deliberately avoiding the topic, so he had no choice but to cough and say, “I heard that Dark Lord caught Traveler in the secondary dimensions. Did you meet him?’

“Yes.” Han Xiao nodded.

Sorokin was glad. Just as he was about to listen to what Han Xiao was going to say next, he suddenly realized that Han Xiao had stopped and did not seem like he was going to continue at all.

“…”

The two of them looked at each other in silence for close to half a minute.

Finally, Sorokin could not take it anymore and asked with resignation, “What happened?”

“Back then, Dark Da… ahem, Traveler almost escaped from Dark Lord, but he ran into me, so I captured him.” Han Xiao tutted. “Speaking of which, that guy hardly had a backbone. I only tortured him a little bit, and he gave up the identity of who was behind all this.”

Sorokin’s heart tightened. “Who?”

Han Xiao glanced at him and slowly said, “He said he isn’t really a neutral mercenary but a secret direct member of a Super Star Cluster civilization. He was ordered by his superiors to disrupt me when Hila was attacked.”

“Direct member?” Sorokin was curious. “Of whom?”

Han Xiao said with a grave ton, “None of us expected him to actually be a member of the Modo Civilization.”

“Modo…”

Sorokin pondered.

Suddenly, realizing something, he became alarmed.

Wait a minute. There’s no way Traveler would have covered the truth for me. He’d definitely expose the fact that I was the reason the Star Cluster sent him on this mission.

This meant that the dynasty knew he was involved.

“Then you…” Sorokin stared at Han Xiao but did not know what to say.

“What do you want to say?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“What else did Traveler say?”

“Are you asking whether Traveler ratted you out?” Han Xiao said with a smile.

Sorokin’s expression tightened. Since Black Star had said that, he was sure he was exposed.

This time, Han Xiao stopped smiling and coldly said, “What you’ve done behind my back isn’t very nice.”

He had planned to hide this, but when Sorokin came to find him, he understood that his initial plan of staying in the dark was not so realistic.

The dynasty was going to publicly execute Traveler, so Sorokin definitely had no room to daydream. He knew that there was a very high chance Traveler would throw the blame to him, nor did Traveler have any reason to cover up for him. Therefore, the dynasty most likely would know about what he did, and Black Star certainly was notified about him plotting against the Black Star Army.

This way, even if Han Xiao acted like he did not know it, Sorokin would only be more alarmed. Therefore, he might as well make it clear. According to what he knew about Sorokin, this guy definitely would not want to make things ugly but would instead try to compensate for it.

After all, even if Sorokin gave him compensation, it did not mean that he would stop targeting him.

Sorokin paused, sighed, and said, “Alright, got it. The motive behind what I did was just to maintain balance; it’s not personal. Nonetheless, I owe you for this incident. Since we’re now partners, I’ll give you an appropriate answer.”

Han Xiao carefully observed his expression and narrowed his eyes.

As he expected, given how thick-skinned Sorokin was, him panicking after being exposed was not likely. He would have instead confessed and apologized on the spot, then looked for compensation measures.

Furthermore, Sorokin was very cheeky and actually prepared for this—he deliberately told Traveler about ‘how he really felt’ and gave his actions the excuse of maintaining unity and disrupting the Beyond Grade A shared battlefront. This way, it would not seem personal.

With this mindset as the reason, even if he was exposed, he would not be targeted too much. This was because the stand he had displayed on this matter was actually the same as the three Universal Civilizations’ stand.

The only difference was the methods he used. Even so, he had hardly offended the dynasty. After all, his method was just indirect disruption, not direct interference.

In the current complex universe structure, the three Universal Civilizations had conflicts of interest with the development union. As a member of the association that also had the same mindset as the three Universal Civilizations, Sorokin might become one of the people they might want to draw to their side.

Although having his stance exposed would lead to those Beyond Grade As who supported the shared battlefront such as Mechanic Emperor and Black Star distancing themselves from him, this also became an opportunity for him to get closer to the three Universal Civilizations. This way, his losses would be minimized.

Han Xiao could only praise Sorokin’s intelligence. Relying on his resources, this guy could always deal with the negative side effects very well.

The biggest problem was that he had worked with the Super Star Cluster Alliance on this, so the three Universal Civilizations would definitely not be happy about it. Sorokin had no way of washing that off, so he had to pay a price.

The second problem was Han Xiao’s attitude on this. Black Star was insulted, and no one could shake his position in the association now. Sorokin had no choice but to prepare for Han Xiao to make an outrageous demand.

Many thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. He blinked and said coldly, “Let me hear how you’re planning to express your apology to me.”

Chapter 1092: Opening

1092 Opening “I’ll give the Black Star Army more support. For all the services and resources you purchase from the Limitless Financial Group in the future, you will only be charged the cost. At the same time, I’ll bring in a lot of discounted business projects and partner up with the Germinal Financial Group under you, helping it grow. Also, I’m willing to invest and build factories in the Black Star Army’s territory without any cost or profit in mind. Through investing and helping your business to grow in various industries on your territory…”

Sorokin mentioned a lot of things. In conclusion, other than monetary compensation, he was also going to use the Limitless Financial Group’s businesses and funds to help the Black Star Army grow and develop.

Han Xiao made some calculations in his head. If these terms were all to be carried out, despite how wealthy the Limitless Financial Group was, it would not be a small expenditure at all. To the army’s territories, the construction would be sped up tremendously.

This guy really seemed serious about fixing the relationship.

In the past, Sorokin used a similar method to help the Bloodshed Land grow. Now, the Bloodshed Land had mostly completed their business transformation and become a strong competitor of the army in the Shattered Star Ring. Sorokin was now offering the same treatment to the Black Star Army, with even better terms.

As for the support he had been providing to Heber, even though Black Star did not mention it, Sorokin was going to stop it for the time being.

“Hmm…” Han Xiao neither agreed nor disagreed. He then brought up a new term. “Although the construction in the Flickering World territories is important, the army has a larger goal. I’m planning to develop the army in the other Star Fields too. Your Limitless Financial Group has influence and businesses in various Star Fields too. I suppose you can share some of that too.”

“…Okay.” Sorokin was smiling on the surface but actually clenching his teeth in his mind.

He knew that this request meant that Black Star was not satisfied with just resources but had his eyes on the Limitless Financial Group’s channels and connections across the Star Fields. Black Star wanted to suck the Limitless Financial Group’s blood and take its businesses to nurture the army’s businesses in the other Star Fields. It was quite an outrageous demand.

Although Sorokin was mentally prepared for it, he was still quite hurt.

One reason he was willing to give so much compensation was to fix his relationship with Black Star. It was worth investing in him despite the fact that the chance of Black Star no longer targeting him was only fifty percent. Another reason was to display his stance to the dynasty.

Although the Black Star Army might become a parasite to the Limitless Financial Group, leeching on its meat to grow, the most urgent matter now was to deal with the dynasty. Suffering from losses was inevitable, or Sorokin would not have compromised like this. The Black Star Army was strong indeed, but he was not afraid of Han Xiao in the field of business. It was the dynasty behind Han Xiao that concerned him.

After getting by this incident, the profit he lost could be slowly earned back in the future, and the agreements made now could be ignored in various ways too. Therefore, Sorokin decided to agree with it for the time being.

“Also, I like Universal Treasures. Be it complete products or blueprints, I like to collect them all. The Limitless Financial Group should have some ways to get them—share them with me,” Han Xiao said.

“I’ll do my best to collect them after I get back.” Sorokin agreed without hesitation. He was already agreeing to pay a lot of debts; agreeing to more did not really make a difference.

“That’s it then. Carry out these terms as soon as possible.” Han Xiao waved his hand. “I have some things to attend to later, so let’s end our chat here today.”

“Okay, I won’t disturb you any longer.”

Sorokin stood up, nodded slightly, and hung up the communication. His remote projection disappeared.

Han Xiao leaned back and pondered.

“Traveler is dead loyal to the Star Arc Civilization, and only I know about it for now. I wonder if the dynasty can get that from him in the interrogation. No matter what, as of now, Traveler is firm about Sorokin being the one behind it on the dynasty’s side. The dynasty will definitely send someone to question Sorokin’s motive.

“At that time, Sorokin will surely blame it on the Super Star Cluster Alliance. I told him Modo is the true mastermind, so he will most likely say the same to the dynasty. If the dynasty continues to ask, he’ll probably say I told him. The dynasty knows that I have beef with Modo, so they’ll know my motive. Although they clearly know this is a lie and framing, they might be happy to go along with it. In the future, they might use this as an excuse to cause trouble for the Modo Civilization and other Super Star Cluster civilizations.

“As for Sorokin, he might not believe what I said, but even if he doesn’t believe Traveler belongs to the Modo Civilization, he’ll definitely investigate it…”

Han Xiao shook his head and smiled.

This way, the one who suffered the most damage from this entire incident would be the Modo Civilization. It basically all fell onto their head out of nowhere.

In the three Universal Civilizations’ future operations to deal with the Super Star Cluster Alliance, the Modo Civilization would probably receive the most ‘love’.

“This way, the second requirement of that Grade S mission [Kunde Race Leader’s Last Wish] should be about complete…”

Han Xiao’s eyes slightly sparkled, and he rubbed his hands.

He had been tempted by the reward of this mission for a very long time. [Proof of Leadership], [The Enemy], and [Kunde Rage], a total of three excellent abilities. Currently, the Modo Civilization was protected by the Super Star Cluster Alliance and was keeping a low profile, so he could not target them directly. The only thing he could do was wait for the certain conflict in the future.

…

News about the Black Star Cup quickly spread. The entire army showed an extremely high passion for it; countless members registered.

Most people joined for entertainment purposes, but a few ambitious army warriors saw this as an opportunity to display their strength.

The Black Star Cup had also received a lot of attention among the army players. The forums were filled with posts about it once again.

Heaven Is Below Me: “What’s going on? Wasn’t Black Star just going to enter the show business not long ago, and now the army is going to enter the sports industry?”

Itchy Head: “That’s how large factions are.”

Never Starve Even Dead: “This feels more interesting than the Pro League.”

Tiny And Weak: “The scale of this tournament is the biggest I’ve ever seen. It has a lot of events and a lot of participants. All participants are allowed to even join as many as five events. How many competitions are there going to be? There are card games and even bets too‽”

Two White Rabbits: “Not just card games, there are even singing and dancing contests. I even saw people request stand-up comedy competitions, and it was even approved!”

Dragon Emperor Licker: “Honestly, I want to see Black Star dance…”

Sky High Professional Account Boosting Studio: “The rewards for these competitions are quite rich, and the items with the greatest rewards are still related to combat. The top 300,000 will all be rewarded, and our weapons are not even limited. This means that if we participate in group battles, use our explosion backpacks and evolution badges, and utilize similar dirty tactics, will we take all of the top positions?”

Feidin Supporters Group President: “Let me take a look. Whose wallets are getting thick again? (Black Star’s Smile.jpg)”

Cow Lover: “Army Commander, this is my protection fee for this year.”

While the Black Star Cup was still in preparation, countless players were already getting their wallets ready.

For the days that followed, the sales of the logistics department skyrocketed. The EXP Han Xiao received every day increased by a huge portion too. Tons of players spent more than half of the resources they had been accumulating since the start of the Flickering World version on studying and leveling up abilities.

Seeing the EXP growth every day, Han Xiao felt very good.

If I don’t take the players’ hard-earn money, am I still human?

At this rate, level 340 was not going to be far away. However, to obtain one more God’s Trait Transformation Point during Promotion, he decided to use the EXP he earned to level up some blueprint abilities and all his class knowledges to the max level.

Sylvia and Phillip were very efficient. With the Black Star Army’s current position, all the administrative procedures were approved smoothly without any hiccups.

Han Xiao selected many desolate planets as the event venues. The professional galactic construction teams called over by the Limitless Financial Group quickly built up the facilities needed, while the army members participating in the Black Star Cup arrived one after another.

The schedule was similar to the Pro League. Due to the extremely large number of participants, a group of people would first be eliminated in the qualifiers, then it would move on to the actual event.

After preheating it for more than two months, the preparations for the first season Black Star Cup were finally complete.

On October 28th, Year 730 of the Galaxy Calendar, the Black Star Cup opening ceremony was held as scheduled. With help from the media groups, the eyes of the entire universe were focused on this giant festival.

Chapter 1093: Tide from Afar

Chapter 1093 Tide from Afar Countless spaceships surrounded a sapphire planet. Colorful lights penetrated the artificial atmosphere and made the sky of this planet as beautiful as the northern lights.This was one of the desolate planets in the army’s territory, it was rebuilt into one of the venues for the Black Star Cup. Countless facilities such as stages, rings, large stadiums, and low altitude racing tracks were built on the surface, visible to the naked eye even from outside the atmosphere. Other than the buildings on the surface, there were also floating stages in the air. Some were VIP seats exclusive to the army members above Grade C, and others were more rings. As there were many items and participants, as many competition venues were needed as possible to increase the efficiency of the qualifiers.

At this time, the sights of all the media groups and army spaceships were locked onto the biggest floating stage. On it was a lectern.

Today was the opening ceremony. As the leader of the army, the founder of the Black Star Cup, Han Xiao was going to speak to the entire universe here.

Countless galactic residents of the explored universe watched their communicators as time passed by. Finally, the time for the official start of the opening ceremony had arrived.

Hu!

Watched by countless people, a black silhouette descended like a meteor from space, gradually decelerating and accurately landing on the edge of the stage. With a light spin, the dancing black and gold coat spun like a black tornado, getting rid of the flames from when he penetrated the atmosphere.

Han Xiao slowly walked to the speaking desk and looked up at the sky. The spotlights from countless spaceships above were like distant stars. Countless eyes were watching him through the live broadcast.

With his hands placed on the sides of the lectern, Han Xiao looked around at the starlight in the sky and slowly spoke. Through the specially made speaker, his voice echoed across the planet.

“October 2nd, Year 688 of the Galaxy Calendar, that was the day the army’s former identity—the Black Star Mercenary Group—was founded. Back then, I was only a surface civilization native who had just stepped off Planet Aquamarine. To save my mother planet, like a newborn animal, I headed into the wide universe, ignorant and weak. To me, this was a world filled with unknown danger. However, for the survival of my mother planet, and the safety of my friends who stayed there, without any hesitation, I…”

The speech was played out live in the various Star Fields. To the Planet Aquamarine people who were watching the broadcast, this old memory started floating to the surface. A sense of pride appeared in their heart.

No matter what Black Star’s position was in the universe, in the eyes of the Planet Aquamarine people, he had only one identity—the greatest man of their planet, the pioneer of Planet Aquamarine who first stepped into the universe. That was a small step for Black Star but a big step for Planet Aquamarine.

Inside the national headquarters of the Aquamarine Federation, Bennett pushed back a political meeting and watched the broadcast.

His hair had already turned white, but it was still combed neatly. He had more wrinkles on his face too. He had become an old man. Having possessed the top power of the planet for many years, he had already developed the vibe of a man with power.

However, at this time, Bennett’s lips were slightly raised, making more wrinkles on his face, and the corners of his eyes were glistening.

Decades ago, when he first met Han Xiao, that lonely man in his memories seemed to overlap with the tall and strong Black Star now.

Thousands of words rushed up to his mind, but all turned into a satisfied sigh.

I’m glad to have met you…

The speech was still going. Han Xiao’s tone gradually became more emotional.

“When I was weak, I met dangers, and I met great men. On the way, I found both enemies and friends. The experiences I had at that time are still vivid in my mind, but when I think about them now, it almost feels like it was an entire lifetime ago.

“I worked hard and spent more than forty years developing the Black Star Army to what it is today. I think I have the right to be proud of it…”

Many army members nodded with admiration.

Almost all army members had taken thought-alignment classes; they knew about the rise of the army. Even those who joined the army for their own future admired the achievements Black Star had made in just over forty years.

Looking at the entire history of the Galaxy, how many people were able to start with nothing and build such an enormous force in such a short time? There was no one else!

Of course, there were people who had achieved more than Black Star, but they also spent a longer time. Black Star, and only Black Star, had risen in the Galaxy at a speed no one in the past could ever compare with.

In the exploration frontline stronghold at the free competition zone, Hila watched Han Xiao from the screen. The adventures they had together in the past flashed through her mind, and her gaze softened.

Manison, Kasuyi, Sorokin, and other Beyond Grade As were also watching the broadcast. Even the Dynasty Ruler Urranrell squeezed out some time in her extremely busy schedule to watch it. Hearing Han Xiao’s words, these people uncontrollably sighed.

Maybe Black Star had conflicts with them, but from the bottom of their heart, they still admired what Black Star had achieved. None of them felt they could have done better than Black Star if they were in his position.

“What was I doing again when I was younger than a hundred years old? Still managing the logistics for the former chief?”

Manison was nostalgic.

At the venue, after Han Xiao listed the achievements of the army, his tone became formal.

“As I’ve just mentioned, although the Black Star Army has achieved many great things, its contribution to the universe is still too little, and I’m ashamed of that. Therefore, I felt that I should start a public report to the entire universe to show everyone what we’re capable of, to do my best to give anyone with potential the chance to showcase themselves. And that is why I’ve founded the Black Star Cup…”

“That’s quite a good way to put it…” Urranrell nodded in agreement.

She liked seeing Beyond Grade As enjoying their privileges while not forgetting about making contributions to the entire universe. Sadly, most people did not have this resolve. Although Black Star was unashamedly profit-oriented, she was quite happy he even had this mindset.

When the speech came to an end, Han Xiao smiled and said, “I’ve said enough. Now, this stage shall be given to the great kids of the Black Star Army. I hereby announce, the first season of the Black Star Cup Army Tournament starts now!”

As his speech ended, deafening applause sounded at the venue!

This was indeed an added sound effect.

If the speech ended and no one applauded, that would have been hella awkward. Plus, the army members were all in the spaceships, so their applause could not reach there.

In the cheering and applause, Han Xiao teleported away. The organizers of the competition showed up right after and started to direct the participants into the venue.

The audience also landed in their seats. The venue became boisterous.

According to the planning that Sylvia had hired some professional event organizers to do, there would be a large performance at the opening ceremony, and only a few more important competition items would be held.

Of course, combat-related events were a must. Referring to the Pro League, Han Xiao had also set up Singles, Groups, Duels, Flag Modes, and so on. He even brought up modes that only appeared in the later Pro Leagues and used them in the Black Star Cup.

There were ordinary people groups all the way up to Calamity Grade groups, as well as groups exclusive to Immortals. All the groups had to choose a representative to participate in the opening ceremony and showcase themselves.

As for the tons of sports and entertainment items, those more popular ones would be carried out.

Quite a number of sports and entertainment items did not have groupings, and Wayne Cards was one of them. Although there were no groupings, it surprisingly had the most participants, so it was chosen to be displayed in the opening ceremony.

The two Wayne Cards players who were about to play in the opening ceremony were Herlous, who was respected in the army’s card social circle, and Hadavy, who was a known rascal in the gambling social circle of the army.

Inside an indoor venue, a Wayne Cards board was set up. As soon as the two players stepped into the venue, the difference in their treatments was already clearly visible.

The moment Herlous appeared, cheering from the countless card friends he had sounded, he was clearly very sociable. Hadavy, however, received a deafening hush when he took just a few steps. The audiences were paying their sincerest respect to this rascal who was horrible at gambling.

“Idiots.” Hadavy rolled his eyes.

This time, Herlous looked over. These two card arch-enemies who had battled each other countless times looked into each other’s eyes. They both saw the same thought in the other’s eyes.

Without Feidin and Nero, the king of cards in the army shall be mine!

At the same time, the other stage was already at the Grade D group, and a player had appeared. It was a battle between a graduate of the Super Academy and a newbie player who had only joined in Version 4.0. The two of them looked at each other.

“Remember the rules. Don’t continue attacking when the enemy has lost the ability to fight. Deliberately causing heavy injuries is not allowed, as is killing the opponent. The winner shall be determined when one side leaves the stage or admits defeat…”

The mechanical judge explained the rules from the side. Basically, other than deliberately causing heavy injuries to the opponent, there were no rules.

However, there was a special rule against players—as long as the player did not admit defeat, the opponent could beat up the player as much as they wanted; the player would not die anyway.

“That’s all. The fight starts… now!”

As the judge gave the word, this academy graduate stomped the ground and charged toward his opponent without hesitation.

Clearly, this newbie player lacked combat experience. In the face of such an aggressive opponent, he immediately panicked. He raised his hand and summoned his two guns, and the high-quality mechanical suit he had bought from the logistics department quickly covered his body. He turned into a ghost-like phantom and swiftly moved around the enemy while continuously firing his guns. He was a Cannon Master.

“Shield!”

The academy graduate activated his mechanical suit too. A foldable ally shield extended on his arm, and the thin energy coating on it deflected all the blue laser beams of the newbie player.

At the same time, his other hand pulled out an intricate mechanical spear. The spear’s tip split open, exposing the barrel within, and shot out explosive bullets one after another, chasing after the fast-moving opponent. The stage was quickly filled with dust and explosions.

This man was a Mechanical Pugilist.

As the Black Star Army’s logistics department provided a lot of high-quality faction-exclusive mechanical weapons, be it the players or ordinary members under the army, many were willing to become Mechanics. After all, they could directly purchase the best equipment for their level in the army.

As long as they had money, they could even skip the gunpowder weapons and buy energy weapons very early on.

Actually, in the face of an Immortal, this academy graduate was more nervous.

Within the army, the players were a group of special beings that were almost deified. In the eyes of most of the lower-level army members, they were very mysterious. There were a lot of rumors about them possessing great power and being maniacs.

Just being unkillable was alright, but according to the rumors, the Immortals were maniacs who did not care about their own lives, which was terrifying…

The two of them fought intensely. Flames and lightning appeared everywhere they went.

The academy graduate fought cautiously, only to surprisingly realize his opponent clearly lacked combat experience. This made him much more confident. His attacks became more aggressive, and he gradually gained the upper hand.

“Looks like I’m about to lose…”

The newbie player looked at his steadily decreasing health, tutted, and took out Black Star Army Badge: Evolution with frustration.

“Roar!”

The next moment, an Aberration appeared on the stage!

This muscular monster pounced forward and pressed the academy graduate onto the ground in an instant, completely locking his movements.

An Aberration with Grade B combat capabilities was completely unbeatable in the Grade D group!

This time, the Aberration opened its enormous mouth, showing its rows of sharp teeth, and looked like he was about to bite down.

“I admit loss! H-help!”

The academy graduate was horrified. Looking at the foul mouth get closer, he subconsciously closed his eyes.

However, the bite he expected did not arrive. Instead, he felt an enormous wet and soft tongue lick him from top to bottom.

“The battle has ended. Blue has won!” the judge announced right on time.

“Ah, I’ve won!”

The newbie player jumped with excitement, shook his butt alluringly for a bit, and then ran to the edge of the floating stage and jumped right down, using the quickest method to get out of this dreadful look.

The dance of the Aberration was too beautiful. The spectators who saw it had to hold back the urge to dig out their eyes.

At the same time, countless viewers felt a chill up their spine.

The rumors were right. The Immortals were indeed maniacs.

On the stage, the academy graduate lay on the ground covered with saliva. His eyes had their vibrance, and he started to doubt the definition of life.

It was a sure win, but the tables had been turned instantly by the opponent’s suicidal shapeshift.

What a hard life I have…

As long as no additional damage was done, items could be used freely in the Black Star Cup. The players were very satisfied with this rule.

In the Pro League, the various powerful weapons of the army were all forbidden. Now that they could use them freely, it felt really good.

Although this was not fair to the army members in the lower grades, this was exactly what Han Xiao wanted. He had a few reasons for it. The first was to show the outside world the terrifying side of the players, that they could possess very high combat capability even at very low grades.

The second reason was to stimulate the sales of the evolution badge. If those players in the lower grade competitions saw that the evolution badge could basically make them invincible and ensure they could achieve a high placement, why would they not buy it?

Furthermore, the evolution badge was not a one-use item, but it had to be recharged.

The last reason was that Han Xiao actually wanted the players to receive the reward for the lower grade competitions. After all, there was not much he could gain from the normal members, and giving the players these rewards was indirectly fertilizing his leek field.

What, the normal players are not happy about it? I didn’t say they can’t use those strong items, did I? If they have the resolve to not take their life seriously, they can go ahead and use them just like the players.

Even if someone really did it, the judge would not approve of it. Sportsmanship first, competition second. Committing suicide on-stage was not allowed… Oh, except for those who could not die.

Unfair? It is what it is. Not being able to die is their talent. Like those people who have healing powers, you can’t not let them use those powers too, can you? Wouldn’t that be unfair to them?

If you need to blame it on something, blame it on the fact that you’re not an Immortal. Anyway, the final rules are made by the Army Commander. Go find him if you have a problem.

Therefore, even the low-grade army members could not say anything about it. They might even think it made sense.

Without having to make other arrangements, this rule was all the Great Mechanic Han needed to achieve the results he wanted.

…

When the Black Star Cup opening ceremony was being carried out, at the same time, in the Ancient Star Desert Star Field, a civilian archaeological team landed on a desolate planet that no one had been to in many years.

It was called an archaeological team, but they were actually scavengers.

The Ancient Star Desert was very old. Many of its locations were ancient battlefields. There were many mysterious ruins and wastes. Therefore, this Star Field was filled with scavengers trying their luck, hoping to find something good, sell it to the black market, and make a fortune.

In the midst of a blurry corrosive sandstorm that roared across the land, a scavenger wearing a bloated protection suit was using all kinds of mechanical devices to observe underground.

A short, skinny, monkey-like looking team member operated on the screen for a while, then suddenly yelled with surprise.

“Haha, we’re in luck! There’s an ancient stratum on this planet, and the age of it can’t be detected. This means that it’s so ancient that it exceeded the upper limit of this device of ours, and more complex tests need to be done to come to a result. I’m now using shock wave detection to draw the map of the underground… Done!”

A complicated underground cavity appeared on the screen. It had a lot of splits and corners that seemed like they were built for the purpose of confusing anyone who went in. With a simple look, it was quite large.

“There are no signs of it ever being discovered!” The short man was overjoyed. “We might have run into a previously-undiscovered ancient civilization ruin!”

“Or it could be filled with rusted metal.” Another team member shrugged.

“No matter what, let’s dig in first,” someone who looked like the team leader said with a calm tone. “Have the spaceship send in the drilling rig. Let’s dive down.”

While they were about to move, this time, a team member pulled the captain’s arm and wiped away the dust on his mask with his other hand, showing a young and handsome face. He was frowning and looked worried.

“Don’t go down first…”

This man’s tone was hesitant.

“I have a feeling that we might dig out something bad…”

If Han Xiao was there, he would have definitely recognized this face.

This was a renowned explorer in the World Tree version.

The first person who discovered the main body of the World Tree!

Chapter 1094: Pandora“s Box

Chapter 1094 Pandora“s Box Harrison Moore, a well-known interstellar free explorer, had been passionate about digging for relics and searching for the unknown throughout his life. Though his strength was low, he would magically unearth and discover countless historical relics over the years. He had written more than ten works, and his adventurous spirit had attracted a large number of followers in the universe. He was regarded as a spiritual leader and a beacon of light in life.During the war against the World Tree Civilization, Harrison was in his old age and had already semi-retired. The three Universal Civilizations were the ones to be discovered and thus raided by the World Tree Civilization. They were caught off guard, suffering heavy losses. Because they did not know the origin of the enemy, all civilizations within the explored universe were basically beaten in the early stage. Their entire universe was on the defensive and could only passively resist the endless stream of invaders, as all their planets were occupied by the World Tree Civilization and used as nourishment.

The three Universal Civilizations tried their best to collect clues about the World Tree Civilization, of which the most important one was where the World Tree itself was located.

The World Tree was a Universal Treasure, and it was discovered by the World Tree Civilization during the slash-and-burn era of farming. As such, it gave rise to a distorted form of civilization, where all the development of the civilization was carried out with the World Tree as the core. Countless people tried their best to nourish and enhance this Universal Treasure.

Due to the special nature of the World Tree, only through finding its main body could the problem then be solved from the root. Otherwise, no matter how many invaders they repelled, the World Tree could still use the nutrients from the planets to transform and nurture more troops.

The main body of the World Tree was rooted within the secondary dimensions and hidden deeply. Within that era, the exploration teams mostly consisted of soldiers, and many exploration teams were spontaneously organized to search in the secondary dimensions. Harrison had also re-emerged and joined them.

Because of a series of coincidences, he was also the first to discover the secondary dimension containing the World Tree’s main body. He sacrificed his life to record the coordinates, throwing it into the spatial storms of the secondary dimension.

The coordinates were like a drifting bottle floating within the vast ocean, bobbing up and down before finally falling into the hands of the three Universal Civilizations. Thus, Harrison’s deeds were passed down, and the world knew of all his achievements.

All of these were Harrison’s achievements in the later versions of Han Xiao’s past life.

In this current era, Harrison was still a young and new explorer. His great curiosity and desire to explore had prompted him to give up the opportunity to inherit the wealth of his financial group and instead step into this industry.

As a newcomer to this exploration team, Harrison’s intuition was obviously not convincing to them. His teammates had the mentality that they could not set off and come back empty-handed. Thus, Harrison’s spirit of questioning the source, unfortunately, went unheeded.

Harrison himself had no choice. His curiosity outweighed his vigilance, so he pressed down the vague worry to the bottom of his heart, continuing the journey with his team.

A scavenger spaceship passed through a high-altitude sandstorm, hovering around a hundred meters above the ground before dropping a multi-functional burrowing vehicle. Its outer armor was full of colorful and wild graffiti. Very obviously, it had undergone some processing by this bunch of scavengers with limited knowledge of art.

The group boarded the burrowing vehicle and burrowed into the ground under the instructions of the detection radar, quickly approaching the underground cavity on the map.

Because such underground remains had existed for too long a time, the structure was typically unstable and stood a chance to collapse. Thus, the scavengers normally did not directly drill into the passage but chose to follow the path set.

Hu!

Very quickly, the tip of the drill penetrated the rock formation, exposing a cavity. The team members got down, switching on their flashlights to observe the surrounding environment.

This was an underground cave with traces of being made by man. It was about seven or eight meters high, and at the end of this cave was a closed metal door, which seemed to be the entrance to this underground ruin.

Their short member who served as the detector jogged over, taking out various instruments to scan the metal door. He muttered, “It’s well preserved, with few traces of rust. This is a high-strength alloy material, and according to the rough detection results, the material is likely synthesized by a star system level civilization or above. However, there’s no matching material record in our database…”

Hearing this, the crowd got excited. The higher the level of the lost civilization they discovered, the more valuable their discoveries would be on the black market.

However, this also represented more unknown risks.

“Any energy responses from inside?” the captain asked.

“Let me see, er… totally absent. I think the energy source has been drained dry. Even if there are traps or defensive measures, they should be frozen.”

“Then let’s go in and take a look,” the captain said. “Later on, take precautions. Without my command, no one is to remove their own protective shield.”

A group of personnel cut open the door using a laser cutting, before tiptoeing inside and fumbling their way. The route within resembled that of a large underground military base.

Harrison walked to a sign, wiping the dust off it, and let the translator read the text. However, there was no result.

“There’s no record of this kind of text in the database. We can determine that this is a relic of a civilization that has not been discovered thus far.” Harrison spoke through the channel.

“Today is really my lucky day. No wonder Ah Xiang finally responded to my daily greeting even though I’ve been sending signals to her for months,” the short detector guy replied in excitement.

“What did she say?” Harrison was curious.

“She said ok.”

“… Keep it up.”

Everyone chatted idly as they searched. They were carefully all the way but found out that there was no danger within. Searching the rooms, they only found living facilities, with no special equipment nor text documents present. Even the energy and network facilities were absent along with any sort of defense facilities. It seemed as though this base had been long abandoned and everything within emptied.

The flames of excitement in everyone’s hearts seemed to have been extinguished by a basin of cold water.

“This can’t be it, right? I found an unknown ruin, but there’s nothing valuable here. Isn’t it a wasted trip then?” the detector guy complained.

“It’s not in vain. At least we managed to discover a new language, which means an unknown civilization that once existed.” Harrison raised the translator in his hand. He had recorded all the signs on the path that they had walked down so far.

“What does this bullsh*t archaeological result mean for us? We’re not even historians!” someone among the team complained. “If it weren’t for getting valuable stuff, who would want to come to such a weird place?”

Scavengers did not have much patience, and their searching speed got faster along the way. It did not take long before only the last room was left, located at the core position at the bottom of the base.

The group cut open the door and walked in, collectively taking a gasp.

There was a triangular body about three to four meters high, embedded in the ground in the center of the room. The whole body was pitch black and as smooth as a mirror. It resembled obsidian somewhat, but the detector revealed it as a metallic material. On one side, a display screen was embedded.

Only this thing existed in the room, nothing else, as though this was an exclusive warehouse.

“Haha, there’s finally something.”

“What is that?”

Everyone surrounded it, brimming with curiosity, feeling here and there and knocking around. Although they did not know what this was, just looking at its appearance, there was no worry that it could not be sold on the black market.

The detector guy came over to the screen on the triangle and pressed a few times, but there was no response. He fumbled around and finally found that there was a movable board beside the screen, which revealed a socket seemingly for charging it.

“Uh… this is the first time I’ve seen a socket of this shape, but there should be no problem.” The guy groaned but quickly took out an energy storage device, transforming its transmission line to fit with the socket.

Just as he was about to charge the triangular block, Harrison was frowning and suddenly spoke.

“Wait a moment!”

Everyone turned to look at him.

“What’s wrong now?”

“I… I feel that it’s still better to be cautious. No one knows what this device is for. What happens if it’s a weapon that has run out of energy?”

Harrison had an expression of hesitation. The moment he set eyes on this triangle, he had felt an inexplicable palpitation, as though there was a voice in his heart warning him that this thing was dangerous. The instinct that he had been born with had never been so strong.

The short detector guy did not even look back as he explained, “Relax, I probed it just now, and this is actually a sophisticated disposable safe device that will be destroyed when opened. It’s just that the innermost layer contains a material that isolates any detection, so I don’t know what’s stored within.”

With that, he directly plugged into the socket, releasing a weak energy charge. The triangle device’s display lit up, and a password input interface popped up.

The captain scooted over for a look. “Can the code be cracked?”

The short detector guy took out another device to fiddle around, and spoke with certainty, “The code of this device changes in real time, so it has to be connected to the quantum network and then use Virtual Technology to decipher the code… The tools I currently have are not good enough, but so long as I use a deciphering device with a higher computing power, it can definitely be opened.”

“If this is the case…” The captain hesitated for a while before saying, “In that case, let’s not open it. Like you said, this thing is a one-off thing. If the items stored inside are not valuable, we’ll lose money. It’s better to just put this safe on the black market for auction and let others draw the prize. Anyway, stuff like this is very common on the black market as well…”

“Can we discuss these things later?” Harrison was feeling nervous for no reason. “Let’s get out of here now. I have a bad feeling…”

“Since when has your intuition been good?”

The captain glared at him but did not reject his proposal. He got everyone to transport the device to the rig.

This was the only valuable thing in this ruin, so this entire group took the device and left, not even bothering to look back at the ruins.

Suddenly, one of the team members noted in a thoughtful manner, “This is strange. By logic, since this planet has traces of an unknown civilization, there should be others, but the detection result only showed this one… That’s impossible. Did that unknown civilization only dig this one underground facility on this planet?”

“That’s right. I thought it was strange too,” another worker added.

At this moment, the shortie took a glance at the radar and exclaimed, “Captain, the ruins seem to have collapsed!”

Everyone turned over to look and saw that the cavity had indeed mysteriously filled up and disappeared. They could no longer return even if they wished to.

“How strange…” the captain mumbled, shaking his head. He ordered, “Forget about it, let’s just mark down the coordinates of this planet, and go to the nearest black market to reap our rewards for today.”

Hearing that, everyone immediately put away any distracting thoughts and started to move, operating their spaceship to leave the planet.

Harrison was the only one who remained standing at the porthole, looking at the shrinking planet. He suddenly felt a little chill run down his spine.

He had a hunch, as though the goal of those ruins was specifically just to store this triangular device.

The ruins had collapsed immediately after they left, as though they had only been waiting for someone to take this thing away.

Harrison could not help but turn his head back for a look.

In the corner of his eyes, the triangular device lay silently at the back, as though it was a Pandora’s box that was waiting to be opened.

…

The opening ceremony of the Black Star Cup was wonderfully opened, and its qualifiers were in full swing the next day. The army had become very lively, and hundreds of millions of members were actively participating on the field, which also improved the enthusiasm of the universe audiences.

Because there were so many events, each media group provided live broadcasts and video review functions throughout the day. Viewers could freely adjust their channels and choose to watch any event, venue, or even the players, which caused countless people to hold up their communicators and stare at them all day long.

The ratings of the Black Star Cup were maintained at a very high level throughout the universe. At present, the average ratings in each region were second only to the news broadcasts of the three Universal Civilizations.

The Black Star Cup tournament organization department, which was only established little more than two months prior, counted the programs with the highest ratings. Other than the battle events, the best were the entertainment programs. Especially in the talent audition category such as singing and dancing, there were countless galactic residents happy to see the Supers appear on alternative programs rather than just in battles.

Some of the talented people had even attracted a large number of admirers, and there were even audiences on the net arguing about the pros and cons of each person… As it turned out, no matter which age it was, such a program would also garner views.

As for the lowest ratings, it was as Han Xiao expected. They were those technological and skill-based competitions, such as the machinery maintenance that Reynold had asked for, waste modification for machinery, and even blueprint crafting competitions…

While there were people willing to look at such programs, they were few and between.

However, Han Xiao did not mind it. Such technical programs were treated more as auditions, to explore potential talents in the various fields and add more fresh blood to the army.

The way to rise in the army had always been clear, and one’s rank and position were linked to meritorious service and their qualifications. The Black Star Cup was just another shortcut for its members to ascend in the rankings. Those who were more capable at their level would move toward the upper ranks. This made the members enthusiastic as this model allowed many people to obtain more opportunities within the army.

While the players had their own competition brackets, they were keener to participate in the normal competition brackets, running over to play with the NPCs.

Because the Evolution badge shone in such low-level team events, more and more players had also begun to purchase this item, causing the sales of it to soar drastically.

Using the Evolution badges in events below Grade B gave players a huge boost in strength, but this did not necessarily mean they would win. The biological aberrations were strong in close combat, but their weaknesses were also obvious; their resistance to magic and psychic attacks plummeted, and their range also decreased to melee attacks. They were extremely easy to kite. Plus, they lost HP constantly.

When facing Psychics or Mages, the aberrations usually failed quite badly.

In the Grade B and above ranks, the role of the Evolution Limit: Aberration was not so strong. Grade Bs could directly contend against the aberrations themselves.

Meanwhile, the players from the other countries could only watch with envious and reddened eyes at the festivities in full swing within the Black Star Army.

Let alone attending, they did not even have the qualifications to bet on the winning players!

If one were to split apart the characters of ‘following the crowd’ (从众), they would get five ‘people’ characters (人). The majority of people understood the meaning of ‘the more the merrier’, and seeing this group of Black Star players having fun, the sense of loss was even more intense.

Everyone is playing so happily, and all without me!

Compared to the faction war event more than half a year ago, there were more players that were being moved by the Black Star Army this time. Most likely, the army would indirectly poach a lot of players once more.

Even the Limitless Financial Group experienced a huge outflow of players, but Sorokin was acting extremely low-key, which meant he could not react.

The most painful ones were the foreign clubs in the other factions. They obviously did not do anything this time, but they still had to watch on as the ordinary players left their factions. They could no longer find any reason to stay and just felt like crying.

Why are you forcing us to join this party?

Black Star Army! You’re too much!

A man can only take so much anger. If you have the guts, you can anger me again!

If you force me again, I’ll really join your organization!

Chapter 1095: Fifth stage of the God’s Trait Transformation and the butterfly effect

Chapter 1095 – Fifth stage of the God’s Trait Transformation and the butterfly effect

Over ten days later, in the central area of Black Star Palace, a war halberd was situated against a backdrop of the starry sky. It looked like a folded mechanical blade that was magnified countless times, painted black and gold. Its patterns and structures were also complicated, and it looked both luxurious and exquisite.

Mechanical rings were currently situated in different areas of his mechanical war halberd. Numerous flexible mechanical arms extended from the inner part of each ring, which were molded into different tools to work on parts of the halberd. These rings were manufacturing auxiliary tools that were dedicated to the manufacturing and assembly of mega machines, known as ‘Mega-Assembly Rings’. Right now, they were all connected through Mechanical Force and operated fully under its control.

On the other end of the Mechanical Force linking the assembly rings together, a black robed figure stood there. It was precisely Han Xiao, and this mega war halberd was the exclusive Universal Treasure for the Mechanical Deity’s usage, named ‘Celestial Punishment Edge’.

Han Xiao kept his Perfect Mechanical Sense active, closely watching the subtle energy flows in every place during the construction of the Celestial Punishment Edge, doing minute adjustments now and then just like a chef watching his signature dish.

As the mechanical arm of the mega assembly ring inserted the last bolt in, a notification sounded from Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

You have built a Gold Grade item (Universal Treasure).

You have benefitted from [Spirit Instrument].

You have received 1 God’s Trait Transformation Point (Cannot be obtained again through the same blueprint).

One of your random attributes has been decreased by 425…

Randomizing…

Randomizing complete.

-425 CHA.

You have received 425 Free Attribute Points.

You have been awarded the third layer bonus of [Spirit Instrument]: +2.5% success rate for the manufacture of Gold Grade blueprints, +1.2% success rate for the research and development of a Gold Grade Blueprint, +0.4% chance to obtain a Space Wonder mutation.

_____________________

“It’s finally done…” Seeing the notification of success, Han Xiao’s taut nerves finally relaxed.

This was the third Universal Treasure he had personally manufactured. Its difficulty was way higher compared to the Emperor’s Cape, and it had cost him quite a tidy sum before he finally succeeded in creating it.

However, when compared to the terrifying profits brought in by the sale of the Evolutionary Totems as well as the Black Star Cup, this amount was nothing.

Han Xiao retrieved all the mega assembly rings before storing the Celestial Punishment Edge into his Dimension Factory. Opening his attribute list, he threw the God’s Trait Transformation point into his main class route, so [God’s Trait Transformation—Machinery] unlocked its fifth stage.

_____________________

Stage 5: +3 to all skills from [Lord Mechanic] and [Divine Throne Mechanic]. You have received a 1.1x boost to Machinery Affinity, +28% boost to abilities, 1.2x boost to Attack Power Output, 1.2x boost to Shield Durability, +40% Mechanical Energy Core Power Output, and +20% to all types of Energy Power Output.

_____________________

“Whoa, this wave allows me to increase my strength!” Han Xiao got excited.

In the first few stages, the God’s Trait mainly focused on improving his production and Ru0026D capabilities. For the fifth stage, it finally ushered in a wave of substantial combat strength enhancement. A boost of 1.1x to his Machinery Affinity already meant more than a 2,000% increase to his original Machinery Affinity, not to mention that there was even a boost to abilities, which was the best option to obtain. All its other effects were also biased toward combat.

Furthermore, the skills of his [Lord Mechanic] and [Divine Throne Mechanic] class were also his main combat skills, thus breaking the upper cap by three levels, which represented a great increase in his combat power, at least translating to three more Apostle Weapons.

“In this case, the focus of the fifth stage is to enhance my own efficiency with machinery… eh?” Han Xiao mumbled to himself, but he suddenly discovered that the notifications had not stopped.

_____________________

[God’s Trait Transformation—Machinery] has achieved the Fifth Stage.

There are now unknown changes in your Life Hierarchy.

You have obtained a new understanding of Machinery. +15% chance of forming a new exclusive expertise. The skill [Universal Simulation] has obtained a sublimation.

You have begun to perceive part of the power of the transformation route – [Talent Unknown].

You have received 1 [The First Sanctum] Ability Fragment.

_____________________

Seeing this, Han Xiao started guessing once more.

“It seems like the fifth stage of God’s Trait Transformation should be a threshold, just like how there’s a bottleneck in the Energy Rank for Beyond Grade As… If this applies to all God’s Trait Transformation skills, then what’s the upper limit? Ten? Fifteen?”

Han Xiao deeply pondered. Right now, he had an interface that allowed him to directly add points into it, but the normal Beyond Grade A’s method of increasing their number of God’s Trait Transformation stages would not be as convenient as his. In fact, it would take many years for them to even upgrade each level.

After reaching the Fifth Stage of God’s Trait Transformation—Machinery, he was also awarded an Ability Fragment of [The First Sanctum]. Han Xiao had already obtained three fragments so far, but there was still no sign of them combining together. It was also unknown how many fragments he would need to complete this thing.

As of now, Han Xiao also did not know how to obtain an exclusive expertise. If the premise to obtain one was to be immersed within a certain area, then he had already fulfilled the condition with his time spent within the Machinery field. However, there was still no prompt whatsoever.

As for [Universal Simulation], Han Xiao was not foreign to that skill. He used to constantly activate the skill in order to attempt to discover Universal Treasure blueprints, but the progress was so slow it would make one cry.

Seeing the notification on the interface at this time, Han Xiao once again activated the skill, entering the familiar horizon once more. He carefully sensed his surroundings and felt that there had been some subtle changes as compared to the past.

However, this sort of feeling was akin to grasping something in the dark. It was more like his intuition was sharper than before. Anywhere he looked, there would be a sort of ‘hindsight’ within his brain explaining what he saw.

“There’s a sort of feeling pointing me toward the essence of the item… Oh, I guess an improvement in knowledge?”

After experiencing this, Han Xiao did not discover anything too out of the ordinary, and thus, he withdrew his skill, cleaning up the venue before proceeding back to the palace.

Back in his room, Han Xiao took a look at the Black Star Cup tournament.

With Phillip’s efficient scheduling and the massive investment of resources, the qualifiers were so fast paced that nearly a third of the people had already been eliminated.

Before this, the galactic residents only knew about the existence of the players but did not pay special attention to them. This time, however, because the Black Star Cup was broadcast to the entire universe, the performance of these players fell into the eyes of the more ordinary people, which aroused their attention and interest.

For the players, who were deemed immortal lunatics, the majority of ordinary people were curious and scared of them. Their mood was like they had encountered an exhibitionist, subconsciously covering their eyes but unable to resist peeking through their fingers.

Coupled with the behavior of the players within the Flickering World, the nickname ‘Cancer of the Universe’ gradually spread out and received the approval of more people.

The excitement of the Black Star Cup had also attracted a large number of foreign players.

The number of players within the army had always been steadily increasing, and it finally broke through the ten million mark a few days ago. Han Xiao estimated that the final number of army players at the end of this version would be higher than his original estimate of 11.5 million.

The Cancer of the Universe represented disorder and chaos, and since it was basically impossible to recruit all players, the Black Star Army could already slightly guide the overall character of the players. In this manner, so long as he could perform some damage control to ensure that the problems caused by the players were not as serious as in his previous life, that would be enough.

“Speaking of which, my biopic seems like it’s about to be released…”

Han Xiao suddenly remembered that he had not touched Feidin for a long time, and he coincidentally recalled this incident.

He searched the net and discovered that the movie had already wrapped up its filming and was slated to be released next month.

Because of the advancements made in productivity, even ordinary citizens of the galactic society could now afford the cost of planning a film, resulting in the proliferation of movies. Coupled with advanced portable equipment as well as the high penetrative rate of the quantum network, the low-profit theater operating model had almost been eliminated, giving way for a more convenient video platform system. New films were released simultaneously on the platforms of all the Star Fields and could be found online.

The movie of his life had an unpretentious name—Black Star: Origins. This movie told his story from Planet Aquamarine, from escaping the Germinal Organization up till he stepped into the galaxy. Because of the limited time frame, Director Beny Travol had cut out most of his deeds, only leaving the key factors to control the rhythm of the film.

Han Xiao had already looked through the preview and had to admit that this well-known director did have the ability to give his experience a lot of surprising twists and turns. He ended the film when Han Xiao stepped into the galactic region, leaving an opportunity to extend it with a sequel.

Within the trailer, Feidin had put on some makeup to pose as the Great Mechanic Han during his time as Black Phantom, and he moved with a face that looked as though he would kill everyone in cold blood.

Seeing this scene, one would only think of the description “Flying like a crane, soaring like a dragon”.

“So cool…” Han Xiao was very satisfied. “He has portrayed my character image very well.”

He eyed the forums and saw that the players were also very interested in the movie. They wanted to see the story of Black Star being made into a movie, while at the same time, they wished to see themselves within the movie.

The movie also portrayed the roles of the immortals, so seeing their own deeds being made into a movie by an NPC gave the players a novel feeling.

“After this movie is released, maybe it can turn into something similar to Bun-Hit-Dog’s videos, increasing the cohesion of the army’s players… If this works, maybe I can get the director to produce a few more sequels.”

Mentally taking note of this, Han Xiao continued to surf on the net before discovering another piece of news that caught his attention.

The Crimson Dynasty had announced that in ten days, the Dark Lord would publicly execute two Beyond Grade As. One of them was Traveler, while the other was an innocent person who was hired by the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

“It is finally going to begin…” Han Xiao pursed his lips.

In this manner, the conflicts between the Beyond Grade As and the Universal Civilizations would only worsen. While there was still a long way to go before it erupted, the seeds of dissatisfaction were already sown.

However, the goal of the three Universal Civilizations this time was not the Beyond Grade As but rather the Super Star Cluster Alliance. They wanted to scare off those Beyond Grade A hired by the Super Star Cluster Alliance, in order to cut off its wings. The three Universal Civilizations had already begun their future plans of suppression.

…

In the Star Arc Civilization’s Flickering World territory, a group of senior officials had gathered in a remote conference room with grim expressions.

“The dynasty has captured Traveller and intends to publicly execute him. What should we do?”

“There’s no way about it. We can only abandon him. We can’t afford to clash with the three Universal Civilizations yet.”

“It’s a pity then. Traveler was truly loyal to our civilization. This is a huge loss for us.”

“The question now is whether Traveler has revealed his true identity. If the dynasty discovers his background, they will have an excuse to provoke a dispute against us.”

“Traveler should not betray the civilization, but such matters can’t be guaranteed. We must be prepared not to recognize his identity.”

Everyone chattered anxiously.

The three Universal Civilizations wished to suppress the Super Star Cluster Alliance, but it was easier said than done. Each of them was an advanced civilization in the universe, and they had to have a legitimate reason to make a move, even if it was a trivial problem. As the rulers of the explored universe, the Universal Civilizations had to maintain the moral high ground, regardless of whether the reason was true or false. They just had to provide an answer for the masses.

Thus, the Super Star Cluster Alliance was keeping a low profile and was unwilling to give the three Universal Civilizations an excuse. Its current presence in the universe was not too outstanding.

The strength of the Super Star Cluster Alliance was only below that of the Universal Civilizations, so they would not be easily suppressed. While the three Universal Civilizations were clamoring to suppress them, they also had to make sufficient preparations.

No matter the three Universal Civilizations or the Super Star Cluster Alliance, they restrained themselves for the time being. Both sides understood that this was just the calm before the storm and that they had to first complete the development of the new Star Field.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance wished to obtain a chance to rise up, and the result of this conflict will determine the future of the explored universe.

…

“40,000 Enas!”

“45,000 Enas!”

“45,000 going once, going twice… no higher bids? Okay, 45,000 going thrice. The antiques produced by the Dhogo Civilization now belong to Buyer #068!”

Within a small private space station in the Ancient Star Desert, there was a black market auction underway.

The auction site was a circular room with a booth in the center where the items were displayed. By the side, the auctioneer introduced each one of them to the virtual screens on the surrounding walls. Each screen represented a black market buyer who was remotely participating in the auction. Everyone’s identity was kept confidential this way.

Because this was a remote auction, each item would be delivered to the buyer’s designated location through the black market’s logistics channel.

The auctioneer knocked on the table before shouting, “The next auction item is a disposable safe discovered by an archaeological team on a deserted planet. This item comes from the ruins of an unknown civilization, which is suspected to be at the Star System level or above. You’ll need the quantum network to decipher the code on the device before it can be opened. Right now, it has yet to be opened, so it’s up to your luck as to what comes out. Of course, it’s also possible for you to purchase the item just for your collection. The starting bid is 4,000 Enas.”

A few workers brought up a gleaming triangular device, which was precisely the artifact that Harrison’s team had unearthed.

In the meantime, Harrison’s team was situated in a VIP room, watching the live broadcast of this auction.

“We worked our asses off, and the starting price is only 4,000 Enas. This auction house is too stingy.” The shortie detector guy was depressed.

“Black market auctions are generally like this.” The captain was experienced in this regard. “Relax, the most important thing is that the black market has no lack of rich people who wish to try their luck. I estimate that the official transaction volume will exceed 20,000 Enas.”

“20,000 is not bad,” the shortie replied, “but it’s not as good as tomb raiding for antiques…”

By the side, Harrison was a little anxious. “Is this black market safe?”

“Relax, I’m a regular here. This is one of the properties under the Beast Ancestor, and there are no bandits that dare rob this place… Wait a minute.” The captain jerked before continuing with uncertainty. “It seems like Gorutan was captured some time ago?”

“It can’t be. You forgot about such an important piece of news‽” The shortie opened his eyes wide and hurriedly questioned. “There should be no problems with the transaction, right? I still want to buy a gift for my Ah Xiang!”

“There shouldn’t be…” The captain also hesitated a little at this time. “While the Beast Ancestor has fallen, this black market should now have a new backer. There should not be any problems… I think?”

Harrison facepalmed.

This bunch of people were too unreliable. He was better off working solo from now on.

At this very moment, there were a dozen battleships hidden not far away from this planet. They belonged to a group of star bandits that circulated around the Ancient Star Desert.

In the flagship, the leader of this bandit group led a group of men, looking out at the planet from the porthole.

“Captain, are we really going to rob them? I heard that this auction is the property of the Beast Ancestor, and it’s not easy to mess with him.”

“What are you scared of? The Beast Ancestor has been captured by Black Star, and his organization is in tatters, having been snatched away by the other Galactic Black Market Protectors. Others have also taken over his troops, but they have not fully integrated them as of now.”

The leader smiled, his eyes flashing with greed.

“I’ve already inquired and discovered that the Beast Ancestor’s warriors that protect their logistics carriers have been withdrawn. They are in their most vulnerable state now!”

Chapter 1096: Disturbing one’s Fate

Chapter 1096 – Disturbing one’s Fate

A couple of days later…

“The transport carrier was raided‽”

Harrison’s team, who were still waiting at the hotel, suddenly stood up, furious, and stared at the remote projection of the worker that had come to inform them of the matter.

“That’s right. A group of galactic pirates discovered our secret transportation route and attacked all the disguised spaceships that we used to transport the items.” The auctioneer’s face was also ugly.

“What about your guards?” Harrison could not help asking that. “I heard that you have ties to the Beast Ancestor…”

Hearing his words, the worker’s expression turned dark. “After the Beast Ancestor got captured, we lost our backer. We could only employ mercenaries. This group of galactic pirates has long been watching us, and they bribed our mercs, launching a raid from both the inside and outside. All our newly hired guards died in that battle.”

At this point, the auctioneer could not help but release a sigh.

If Gorutan was still present, they would have had the shelter of the Beast Ancestor, which was enough to frighten most people in the Ancient Star Desert.

But now that their backer had fallen, the new upper ranks were still slowly absorbing the black market organization of the Beast Ancestor. They were most vulnerable and had turned into fat sheep surrounded by wolves.

“Then, what about our things?” The captain showed a wary expression.

This black market had maintained a good reputation in the past, so he had chosen to return to sell his things. However, with such a big chance, he was not sure if the other party would rescind their original promises. The order of the black market was fragile, and it mainly worked on the stronger eating the weak.

“We will assemble a team to search for the whereabouts of this group of galactic pirates and retrieve our items.”

“And if it cannot be retrieved…”

“Then the auction house will compensate according to the starting price.” After this sentence, the worker did not continue speaking, choosing to end the conversation immediately.

They exchanged looks.

“Our starting price was only 4,000 Enas, but the final price was 13,800!”

“Just be satisfied that they are willing to even pay compensation,” the captain replied helplessly. “The probability of obtaining compensation through a black market auction is less than ten percent. They are probably only doing so because they deem our item worthless. If it was a price of hundreds of thousands, they would have found some way to deny any responsibility and not pay up.”

Hearing this, the group collectively sighed. They already thought that their trip was quite bad this time round, but to even lose the item that they had painstakingly slogged away for, this was truly a wasted trip.

Harrison felt a little restless. His intuition was still sending out warning signals.

He had this premonition that the robbed item would still bring him quite a bit of trouble.

…

Somewhere within the Ancient Star Desert, the galactic pirate fleet dragged the logistics ship that was their loot and moved slowly within the universe.

“This is quite the fruitful harvest this time.”

Within the cabin, the leader of the pirates placed his arms on his waist as he arrogantly walked in front of the captives and the spoils piled up into a hill.

“Boss, the ammunition is all perfectly intact.” One of his subordinates was ecstatic.

There were all kinds of items within the war loot. Not only various ancient blueprints, technological creations, and antiques, but there were also various types of arms from the advanced civilizations. The auctions from the black market sold practically everything, and compared to the antiques, the galactic pirates naturally preferred the arms.

As he strolled through the loot, the eyes of the leader stopped at the triangular device.

“What is that?”

“Leader, this is a safe from an unknown civilization that an archaeological team dug up.”

“What’s inside?”

“We don’t know. It seems like it’s not worth a lot.”

“Open it.” The leader lifted up his foot, jabbing it toward the device.

Reality had proven that opening a sealed box was something that everyone loved to do. The mechanics within the pirate team took out their equipment to tinker with the device, while the pirates gathered in the surroundings to watch.

The triangular device’s socket was connected to an energy transmission line to activate the password interface. One of them then took out a deciphering device, connecting the triangle to the quantum network, and the interface of the cracking device quickly bounced with various garbled codes.

After a moment, the triangle let out a ‘ding’ sound, indicating that it had been unlocked.

Ka ka ka!

The display screen used to enter the password was then retracted, and the whole device began rotating like a Rubik’s Cube.

Everyone, including the leader, craned their necks to see what was stored inside.

In about ten seconds, the safe was finally completely unlocked. The last layer of protection was peeled off, exposing the core, which was around ten cubic centimeters in size.

The next moment, a surge of energy fluctuations burst out from within!

Boom!

Before the group could see what was inside, they were thrown away by the shock wave. Even their leader, who was at the Calamity Grade, was not exempted.

The next second, the surroundings of the triangular device turned into an empty zone, and the loot in its surroundings was all strewn around the area, turning the place into a mess.

“Ouch…”

Everyone rubbed their butt as they got up, only to find out that there were no other injuries on them.

The leader immediately turned to look at the safe but found it empty.

“Where’s the item inside? Why is there nothing‽”

The leader was furious, feeling as though he had been played.

Could this just have been a prank?

Who would store a fart inside a disposable safe!

At this moment, the cabin door opened, and operators of the spaceship ran in with anxious expressions.

“Leader, what just happened? The location we were in just now became the origin of a cosmic energy surge. The energy fluctuations broke through the peak in an instant, and our detection radar burned out. There’s no matching energy model for this surge in the database at all!”

Hearing this, the pirates received a shock.

Cosmic energy surge?

What joke was this? It only caused them to fall on their asses, but this sort of power was considered a cosmic surge?

Just as this group was in confusion, in a world that the naked eyes could not see, a unique information package was duplicating wildly, centered on the galactic pirates’ fleet, spreading rapidly along the links of their quantum network.

In the face of this information signal, the firewalls of the artificial intelligences in all devices were rendered useless.

…

There was a dimly lit palace, supported by pillars that rose up to no end. Below every pillar was a fire brazier, with pale flames dancing on it as the only source of light.

A man dressed in black robes hovered in midair, the edges of his robes seemingly burning, releasing strands of black mist.

Below him, Law and Fay were bowing as they reported the result of their mission to the upper echelons of the Holy Accord. The both of them were Beyond Grade As, yet they did not dare look up at the figure above.

“… You’re saying, there’s no way to obtain the Holy Light Particle?”

A voice sounded directly in their hearts. While the tone was neither soft nor heavy, both of them trembled unconsciously.

Law gritted his teeth and said, “That’s right. We’ve already ambushed Black Star once, so he will definitely be prepared this time round. If we act rashly, the organization will be exposed to much greater risk. Black Star announcing in such a high profile that he possessed the Holy Light Particle is likely him deliberately trying to lure us out. According to the data, Black Star is extremely vengeful, and he definitely wishes to get his revenge on us…”

By the side, Fay said, “While Black Star has found a host for the Holy Light Particle, he is likely also prepared. During the attack on Hila, Black Star displayed an ability to perform an unrestricted teleportation. He has no reason not to use it for the Holy Light Particle’s host, so it is likely a decoy.”

The man in black lowered his head, looking down at the two as he fell silent. After a while, he slowly said, “I understand. Don’t act on the Holy Light Particle for the time being. The agreed date has also yet to arrive, so we still can continue to wait and see.”

Seeing that their boss did not intend to blame them, Law and Fay secretly sighed. The awe they had for the man in black robes permeated their very soul.

This guy was the leader of their Holy Accord organization. His name was unknown, and he went by the code name ‘Oathkeeper’. He was the teacher of all the current Beyond Grade As in the organization.

Even during Law and Fay’s childhood, Oathkeeper had been the leader of the organization. No one knew how long he had lived, and his strength was unfathomable. Even if the two had grown to the Beyond Grade A realm, they could not hope to put up a fight in the face of Oathkeeper.

At this moment, the anxious remote projection of an officer appeared next to them. “Your Excellency Oathkeeper, there’s an abnormal reaction with the Destiny’s Child!”

Whoosh!

The moment his words came out, Oathkeeper’s figure vanished and reappeared the next moment within a secret sealed room.

Countless researchers dressed in lab coats were surrounding a cylindrical transparent container filled with dark blue liquid. A pale Primal Esper Ability Entity lay within, and its energy body maintained a human-like structure but without facial features, floating quietly within the liquid.

Oathkeeper turned to look at the scientific research team leader next to him and asked, “What happened?”

“The Destiny’s Child Primal Esper Entity that was deep asleep suddenly released a state of information disturbance, breaking through the seals of the container and leaking out. We’re currently calculating now how many sub-bodies have been created by its disturbance throughout the universe…” The team leader was nervously sweating.

“Sudden disturbance?” Oathkeeper paused. “You did not actively awaken it?”

“That’s… that’s right. We’re monitoring it and recording as usual, and the disturbance suddenly occurred.”

“Awaken it.” Oathkeeper’s voice was steely. “It must have received some stimulation that caused it to fluctuate.”

The researchers could only comply, draining the liquid within the container. The Destiny’s Child’s humanoid shape immediately became blurry, as though it would disappear at any time.

“Increase its binding force field and the stability anchor. Don’t let it completely enter the high-dimensional information state and break through containment.” The scientific research personnel were sweating as they profusely worked.

Oathkeeper ignored the movement and put his hand on the outer wall of the container. His palm lit up in a cluster of flames, its color strange as it resembled a flickering starry sky. There was no temperature present, and it burned quietly, as though the world had no impact on it.

The Destiny’s Child’s body in the container was slowly attracted back and turned stable. It stretched out its hand curiously, pasting its palm where Oathkeeper’s hand was through the transparent container wall.

At this time, Oathkeeper finally spoke.

“Tell me, what have you discovered?”

The Destiny’s Child’s tilted its head, and a wave of spiritual fluctuations bloomed. A childlike voice sounded in everyone’s mind.

“Projection of an information state… new destiny… the call of The First Sanctum…”

Oathkeeper quietly listened before asking, “Is the agreed date still the same?”

“It’s moved forward… by… ten years… twenty years…”

Oathkeeper deeply inhaled before commanding, “Inject the solution. Let it continue to sleep.”

Everyone immediately followed his command, and the dark blue solution filled the container once more. The Destiny’s Child seemed to struggle, but it quieted down in the end, falling into a deep sleep.

Glancing at the equipment, the research team leader could not help sighing. In the short amount of time that Destiny’s Child was awake, the amplitude of information state disturbance increased by another 6.4%, which meant that a batch of unknown descendants within the universe would evolve.

While the Holy Accord had already gained control of the main body of Destiny’s Child, because of its peculiarity, the Holy Accord had always used it with extreme caution.

Among the Primal Esper Ability Entities, Destiny’s Child was a special existence. When it woke up and activated its abilities, it would produce a phenomenon called ‘information state disturbance’. Random creatures in the universe would inexplicably awaken a weakened version of its abilities, which were mainly based on foresight. They were known as the children of Destiny’s Child by the Holy Accord.

The appearance of the ‘children’ was irregular and not affected by time or space.

At this time, Law and Fay also hurried over.

“What’s the situation now?”

Hearing them, Oathkeeper turned around and said, “There’s a change of plans. The agreed date is almost upon us. I’ll personally go and retrieve the Holy Light Particle.”

“You’re making a move‽”

Both of them were shocked.

Law hurriedly said, “It’s too dangerous. Black Star is cunning and can fight. If anything happens to you, then we…”

Oathkeeper interrupted him in a low voice. “It’s not a must to fight. I will discuss it with him. What we need is only a part of the Holy Light Particle… Similarly, we can take out the parts of other Primal Esper Entities to trade with him.”

He patted the shoulders of the two, softly saying, “We’ve already gathered the key fragments needed to open The Third Sanctum, and only the fragment of the Primal Esper Ability Entity is left. While the ritual can be performed without the Holy Light Particle, it will bring about unknown risks. Since we’ve already prepared for so many years, it’s best to eliminate any unstable factors possible, making this plan foolproof.”

Chapter 1097: Sorry, part does whate…

Chapter 1097 – Sorry, part does whate…

Black Star Cup Competition Field Thirteen was a vast ring-shaped valley, like a naturally occurring colosseum, with rugged rocks and complex topography.

The auditorium was suspended in midair, and countless spectators looked down from the floating seats onto the battlefield. The various media groups were also broadcasting the situation in real time.

Pew!

Bang!

Suddenly, two fireballs fell from the sky, hitting the sides of the valley. Those were the airborne drop pods, and the friction between the atmosphere and its surface released such a high temperature that it caused the very air around it to warp.

Accompanied by the decompression of the sealed chambers, the doors of the two single person airborne pods opened, and two players walked out. One of them was Frenzied Sword, and the other was Hao Tian.

“All the best!”

The moment both of them appeared, the crowd went wild.

Frenzied Sword ignored the crazed spectators, unfolded a silvery white mechanical trident, and stared at Hao Tian. “I didn’t expect us to meet so soon.”

“It’s a random draw. Anything can happen.”

Hao Tian was wearing the special pugilist combat uniform that was produced by the army, warming up his hands and feet.

After more than a month of fierce battles, the Black Star Cup qualifiers had finally come to an end. Just like raising poisonous insects, more than ninety percent of the participants had been eliminated, and only the remaining elites entered the main race. However, Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian had met in the single player event of the Black Star Cup, becoming opponents.

Hao Tian was the pillar of the veteran professional players in the Long Sky club, but Frenzied Sword was the spokesperson for the up-and-coming Rivervale. As professional players, they both had a large number of fans, so today’s match was highly anticipated.

Not only did the players pay attention to the competition between players, but even the NPCs were interested. The play styles of the players were often more radical and insane, making their fights enjoyable, which attracted a large number of NPC fans.

Pros such as Frenzied Sword and Hao Tian stood out among the tens of millions of players in the army, gaining a large number of NPC supporters. They were even given nicknames by the NPCs. Hao Tian had the title of ‘Boxing Master’, whereas Frenzied Sword had the title of ‘Machinery Dancer’… It had to be said that their nicknames truly fitted their fighting styles.

Both of them were old friends, so they skipped the trash talk, going directly to the section of physical attacks.

Dang! Dang! Dang!

One was a Pugilist, the other a Mechanical Pugilist. The two figures quickly collided with each other, creating loud impact sounds and sparks.

Their shock waves from their fight created trenches on the ground, throwing up stone and dust high into the sky.

After four versions, both of their micro-manipulation skills had only become more sophisticated. With their current Grade B combat strength, they were already considered extremely destructive humanoid monsters in the eyes of ordinary people.

Bang!

The Mechanical Pugilist had numerous skills, so the offensive of Frenzied Sword was endless. His trident pierced the sky, creating phantoms, bringing up dazzling arcs to surround all the vital points of Hao Tian.

Hao Tian was on the backfoot as he continuously dodged, but he suddenly saw a chance, stopping and raising his hands to accurately grasp the two side blades of the trident.

The phantoms in the sky disappeared, and the edge of the trident was only twenty centimeters away from his face, but it would not budge any further.

Kacha kacha!

Both their arm muscles swelled as they entered a wrestling mode. The ground under their feet cracked, with lines snaking out from below them.

“Serpent Tongue’s Cannon!” Frenzied Sword twisted his hands fiercely.

From within the center of the main blade on the trident, a dazzling energy ball suddenly emerged. It shot out a plasma arc cannon, but Hao Tian tilted his head to avoid it.

This beam of light shot diagonally upward, flashing past and penetrating a rocky mountain. It left behind a blazing red line that was completely melted through, and a layer of viscous magma seeped out.

Taking advantage of Frenzied Sword’s sneak attack, Hao Tian raised his elbow, hitting the spear shaft and deflecting it to the side. He then unleashed a skill. Light accumulated under his feet as he slammed into Frenzied Sword’s chest with a thunderous force, pushing him into the ground.

“War Trample!”

Boom!

The moment Frenzied Sword’s back touched the ground, a shock wave radiated from him. The ground sank by dozens of centimeters, forming a semi-circular pit around him. All the stones around him were crushed into powder by the heavy pressure.

The remnant shock waves swept out along the ground, and the nearby mountain of rocks collapsed. A dust storm gathered, sweeping to the very corners of the battlefield, causing a ring of sand to billow out at the edges.

As his HP and armor’s durability plummeted, Frenzied Sword straightened his waist, and the back of his mechanical suit transformed into a drill bit, digging into the ground to get rid of Hao Tian’s smelly feet.

His figure broke out from the ground in the distance, the weapon in his hand replaced with a huge war axe. With a slash in the air, the force field generator attached to the edge of the axe produced an arc, radiating outward.

Plop…

With his Pugilist aura covering his arms, Hao Tian raised his hand to intercept the arc directly.

The deflected shocked wave flew up, hitting the bottom of a floating auditorium with a loud bang. Amid the excitement of the spectators, an ion shield in a honeycomb structure appeared to block the attack.

And among the excited spectators, there were two special envoys from the Federation of Light that were sitting in the front-row VIP seats. They were whispering to each other while recording the scene of Hao Tian fighting Frenzied Sword.

“The strength of the Immortals has increased yet again. Compared to their last disappearance, the increment is quite obvious. Excluding those Immortals in the budding stage, the earliest batch already have a stable Grade B combat capability.”

“The Immortals have already undergone three periods of disturbance, and the duration is getting longer. Their way of increasing their strength is different to regular training, seemingly dependent on the length of time they disappear. By estimation, if they disappear once more, they might actually step into the Calamity Grade.”

“This is really a terrible group of creatures…”

Thinking that there might be tens of millions of such immortal Calamity Grade lunatics within the universe in the future, the two special agents could not help but shudder.

Just thinking about it, it really could be considered a scourge.

With the increase in their strength, the players were also more valued by the advanced civilizations, and they gradually started to research the rules binding the players.

The three Universal Civilizations had also thought of recruiting the Immortals to act as suicide squads in the past, but at that time, the players were pretty weak. Thus, they did not take them seriously. Furthermore, their characteristics that made them disappear from time to time and their uncertain growth limit caused the three Universal Civilizations to hesitate.

But now, the growth cycle of the players had been proven, and the advanced civilizations had to consider the possibility of the Immortals entering the Calamity Grade realm. As such, they were willing to extend an olive branch to them, giving them better treatment.

Right now, the Black Star Army was the largest ‘shareholder’, sitting on tens of millions of Immortals, naturally inciting fear in many of the major organizations.

In the past, they mainly feared Black Star himself, but now, there were even more reasons for them to feel fear.

To them, the army was holding onto a lot of high-quality stock. If the Immortals could reach the Calamity Grade realm, the high-level combatants within the Black Star Army would instantly overwhelm even the three Universal Civilizations.

The unique attraction of the Black Star Army to the Immortals also surprised the advanced civilizations.

If it was not for the fact that Han Xiao did not have a habit of disappearing for extended periods, they would have simply assumed Han Xiao to be a part of the Immortals.

…

At this time, Han Xiao was far away back in his Black Star Palace, not paying attention to the competition, but rather watching the public trial of the dynasty.

The video showed the surface of a barren planet, where Traveler and another Beyond Grade A who was captured were bound and made to kneel on the execution platform, in a near-death state.

The two were in an extremely poor condition. Because of Clotti’s dark energy circulating within their bodies, their regenerated cells were constantly being destroyed, keeping them in a severely injured state. The two had basically lost all their combat capabilities and were unable to break free.

Beside them, a remote projection of a dynasty officer stood in front of the camera, reading the decree out loud.

The content of the decree was the crimes of the two, such as crimes against public order, war crimes, and mass killings. All sorts of crimes were smashed onto their heads, making them seem as though they were heinous criminals that were wasting the very air in the universe.

What Han Xiao was concerned about were the charges the dynasty issued against Traveler, and as expected, the dynasty then mentioned what he wanted to hear.

“… Traveler has always operated as a neutral mercenary, but it has been verified that his true identity is that of the Beyond Grade A descendant that was secretly cultivated by the Modo Civilization. He tried to stir up disputes between the dynasty, the federation and the church, disrupting the order of the explored universe. At present, it is unknown if anyone part of the Modo Civilization orchestrated this matter, and the dynasty will retain an attitude to pursue accountability.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

“Humph, retaining an attitude to pursue accountability, how like the usual style of the three gangsters. It seems like the dynasty has already talked to Sorokin…”

He hypothesized that the Modo Civilization, which was originally lying back with popcorn to watch the show, would now have a stunned expression, as though struck silly by a pot that fell from the sky out of nowhere.

As for Traveler’s true host civilization, the Star Arc Civilization, they would probably feel surprised and happy.

However, Han Xiao did not intend to keep Star Arc out of the matter like this. He summoned Phillip.

“Conceal your tracks. Anonymously send out a piece of information to the upper echelons of the Modo Civilization.”

“What should I send, hum?”

“Reveal that the Star Arc Civilization is the real backer of Traveler.”

Han Xiao evilly snickered.

In this manner, the bewildered Modo Civilization would think that their being made a scapegoat was the act of the Star Arc Civilization or that Traveler was being a rabid dog, going around biting people out of desperation.

As for whether or not the Modo Civilization believed in this, he did not care. Since he had provided a clue, the Modo Civilization would definitely find a way to verify it. With the Star Arc Civilization being the guilty party, regardless of whether the clue was checked, both sides would develop some grievances.

This would not only weaken the relationship between the Super Star Cluster Alliance but also earn Modo a new enemy. All he had to do was send a simple message.

The cost of doing things is low, so why not do it?

Tsk, I’m truly an evil person…

Han Xiao was in a good mood as he turned his attention back to the screen.

At this moment, the sentencing had come to an end, and the dynasty officers looked upright at the camera, solemnly speaking.

“… For the above crimes, the Crimson Dynasty has decided to issue a death sentence!”

After that, the remote projection disappeared, and suddenly, a gap was exposed at the foot of the execution platform, where a fist-sized device rose up.

This looked very familiar to Han Xiao, and his eyes flashed as he slowly whistled. “The Universal Treasure of the dynasty, the Key of Destruction…”

At this moment, the surface of the Key of Destruction lit up in a matrix-like energy loop, and a circle of spatial channels suddenly appeared, unfolding in front of the two.

At the other end of the passage were the long-distance cannon rays of the dynasty’s army, filling the area with a dazzling glare.

Boom!

The next moment, a world-destroying energy surged out, filling every inch of the screen!

The picture panned out rapidly, turning into a wide-area perspective which overlooked the planet from the distant starry sky.

One could only see a glimmer of bright light blooming on the surface of the planet, followed by a dazzling star-like energy cluster, which expanded rapidly and in turn wrapped the planet in it.

As the energy cluster expanded to its limit, all of a sudden, the huge ball shrank to a point, like the image when an old-fashioned television was turned off.

Within the picture, the explosion site was totally empty, with the planet having disappeared without a trace, completely annihilated.

Traveler and the other Beyond Grade A who were already at death’s door had no power to resist the Key of Destruction, and not even their bones remained.

What a waste…

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

In order to pull off this huge affair, the dynasty had deliberately chosen to utilize the cannons, pulling down a planet together with both of them. It was a pity that the bodies of the two were extremely rare research materials.

They were indeed a Universal Civilization. After so many years, they probably had a sizable collection of Beyond Grade A corpses within their freezer, so they had no need for more…

While Traveler was an enemy, seeing another Beyond Grade A being executed by a Universal Civilization still left Han Xiao a little depressed. He estimated that the other Beyond Grade As would also feel the same way.

Sigh, no matter how big a universe is, it cannot exceed the size of ambition. It’s difficult for the two parties to have a harmonious existence… In the face of the advanced civilizations, the Beyond Grade As are still in a weak position, and there are too few of us…

Thinking about the situation of the Beyond Grade As, Han Xiao sighed.

Just as he was about to turn off his broadcasting screen, he noticed a strange mental fluctuation through his senses.

“Who are you‽”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, snapping his head to look at the center of the room. His eyes sparkled with Mechanical Force as he instantly entered a combat state.

Within his vision, black flames were suddenly borne out of thin air, converging into the appearance of the Holy Accord’s leader, Oathkeeper.

Oathkeeper lightly stepped on the group, walking toward Han Xiao as he spoke.

“Black Star, there’s no need to be nervous. This is just a mental projection without any sort of combat capability. I came here specially to meet you. It’s good to see you. I would like to propose a deal with you.”

“You…”

Hearing this, Han Xiao furrowed his brows, sizing him up before speaking in an uncertain tone.

“… Are the Holy Accord’s leader?”

As he spoke, Oathkeeper stumbled and very nearly hit his head.

Hidden under his hood was a dumbfounded expression.

F*ck me, how do you even know this‽

Chapter 1098: there must be a traitor

Chapter 1098 – there must be a traitor

How does Black Star know my identity‽

Oathkeeper originally wanted to show off his Beyond Grade A strength, attracting Black Star’s attention before negotiating a deal. He did not expect that the moment he appeared, he would be exposed without any preparation. Thus, his act of being mysterious failed.

Seeing Black Star recognize him at a glance, Oathkeeper went through a storm of emotions at once.

Where did he receive intelligence about me? What has been leaked within the organization, to the point that he even knows of my name‽

A series of question marks popped up in his mind, and Oathkeeper’s mood suddenly turned heavy.

The Holy Accord had always been hidden in the dark as they had too many secrets. Now that Black Star could call out his identity, how much exactly did he know about the Holy Accord? Did he also learn of their ultimate mission?

As this thought flashed through his mind, he suddenly felt killing intent, wanting to silence the other party.

However, this murderous intent was forcibly suppressed by him.

There was no other reason than the fact that Black Star was too strong.

This sort of meat-shield like pinnacle Beyond Grade A could not easily be killed. The use of force should be a final resort, and negotiations should take priority.

This was the good point in having great strength, as it would make people more reasonable toward them.

I’ll first test how much Black Star knows. If he understands the basics of the Holy Accord, then I’ll have to calculate and plan accordingly. After so many years of planning, I cannot take any risks…

Suppressing his inner shock, Oathkeeper adjusted his emotions. He did not proceed with negotiations; the most important thing to him now was to test Black Star.

Oathkeeper slowly sat down opposite Han Xiao, whispering, “Do you understand a lot about the Holy Accord?”

“Not much, just the slightest bit.”

Han Xiao made a gesture, leaving the slightest gap between his thumb and forefinger, his smile full of meaning. He had on an expression that seemed to say, “I have seen through everything.”

In reality, the Great Mechanic Han really only knew a little about the Holy Accord. He only knew that they resurrected a great number of the Primordial Ones in the later versions but not the inside story. It could be said that he only knew what the Holy Accord’s behavior would be but not their intentions.

He only recognized Oathkeeper because Oathkeeper was still the leader of the Holy Accord even in the later versions, and he had received great attention during the World Tree Civilization War. Han Xiao did not know of his origin either.

Thus, Han Xiao only put on this posture of ‘I know it in my heart’ just to fool the other party, not allowing Oathkeeper to figure out his bottom line.

Seeing this, Oathkeeper was uncertain in his heart, but on the surface, he remained expressionless, softly asking, “I’m curious, but how did you recognize me? Have we met before?”

“That’s right.”

“Is it…” Oathkeeper got a shock, immediately racking his brains to try and remember when he had dealings with Black Star. But no matter how hard he thought, he could not discover anything.

At this moment, Han Xiao spoke with a straight face. “We met before in our dreams.”

Oathkeeper did not know how to respond.

Are you talking about your mom?

Black Star was obviously making a joke, but in the eyes of Oathkeeper, his attitude meant that Black Star knew a lot more than he let on, thus his mood got more solemn, causing him to over-imagine.

“Let’s not talk about this for now.” Han Xiao waved his hand, squinting. “You just said you wish to make a deal with me. Let me first hear what it is.”

Oathkeeper sorted out his mood, temporarily putting aside his thought of testing him. “I wish to make an exchange for a part of the Holy Light Particle.”

“Oh?” Han Xiao glanced at him. “What can you offer me then?”

“It depends on what you want. We’re willing to use other Primal Energy Entities to trade for your Holy Light Particle.”

So, it turns out that the Holy Accord wished to obtain the Holy Light Particle through negotiations. This should be how they cooperated with the EsGod in my previous life. My plan of luring the snake out of its hole really worked, Han Xiao secretly thought.

By publicly stating that the Holy Light Particles were in his own hands, he wanted to lure the Holy Accord into making contact with him. According to his judgement, after the last sneak attack, they would either attack him again or perform a trade in exchange for the Holy Light Particle. Either way, the Holy Accord would be fished out.

If the Holy Accord remained in the dark, Han Xiao would not be able to find them, and it was detrimental to him. Now that there was an opportunity for dialogue, there would be room for manipulation.

Han Xiao pretended to ponder for a while before tapping on the table with his finger, suddenly changing the topic.

“If I remember correctly, you guys just snatched the pp… cough, I mean, a portion of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy from my hands a while ago.”

Indeed, Black Star knows that the people who attacked him before belonged to the Holy Accord…

Oathkeeper suddenly realized a crucial factor.

Did Black Star only learn of their organization after being attacked, or did he already know of their existence even before he was attacked?

There was a difference!

“Are you sure that the people who attacked you the last time belonged to the Holy Accord?” Oathkeeper tested him.

“Huh, want to deny it? Did you think I wouldn’t recognize you if you only sent your peripheral members?” Han Xiao stroked his chin and spoke in a playful tone. “Dimensional Exile Bullets, Formatted Viruses, High-Level Life Form Energy Disorder Shockwave—all these are things that your Holy Accord is famed for. Did you think I was unaware?”

Under his hood, Oathkeeper’s face turned gloomy.

The facts had proven that what Black Star knew exceeded his own imagination, and he had long known of the existence of the Holy Accord!

The Holy Accord had obtained that technology as a result of researching the Primal Esper Ability Entities. They were all their killing moves that they rarely used. For Black Star to even call out the names of these techniques, there was only one possibility left…

There was a traitor in the organization!

Furthermore, it was someone in the upper echelons!

The faces of the various officers flashed through Oathkeeper’s mind in anger.

Who was it that broke through the limits of the Soul Flame, betraying their organization‽

Even Black Star knew about this, so how much intelligence had been leaked? Could it be that, within the vaults of the advanced civilizations, there were already a multitude of files and folders on their Holy Accord?

If that was the case, then the Holy Accord that prided itself on keeping its secrets for so many years had basically turned into the laughingstock of the entire universe!

Oathkeeper’s mentality exploded in an instant.

He was someone who remained mostly stoic and calm, but the mental stress he had suffered that day was just overwhelming, causing him to lose control of his emotions.

Feeling the unstable mental fluctuations of Oathkeeper, Han Xiao hesitated.

It seemed like he had gone overboard with his acting and scared the other party quite terribly.

Han Xiao sighed empathetically.

Alas, these brainiacs focused heavily on their intelligence, so they were naturally suspicious all the time. A little detail would cause them to constantly focus on it. It was not because he had gone overboard but rather because the other party was just too sensitive.

In fact, Han Xiao objectively viewed the Holy Accord quite neutrally. He had no good feelings or grievances toward them. In his previous life, the Holy Accord Organization was not a villainous organization that created trouble, nor did they produce any pests. The only well-known incident that involved them was the revival of the Beyond Grade As and Primordial Ones from history, which involved some unknown method during the World Tree War.

While the Holy Accord’s participation in the war was mainly due to them being next in line if the Universal Civilizations fell, they contributed a lot to the World Tree War and brought about a wave of important reinforcements. Credit still had to be awarded where due.

In this regard, Han Xiao stood on the same side as them. The revival of the Beyond Grade As in history would instantly enhance the combat power of the Beyond Grade As in the explored universe, such that there would be more bargaining chips against the World Tree. He would not stop the Holy Accord from achieving its goals.

That being said, the Holy Accord attacked him without being provoked, so Han Xiao had already made a mental note of this. Let them hit him for free, how could there be such a good thing in this world? Without settling the score, he would not let them go.

As for whether or not the revival of the Primordial Ones was related to the Holy Accord, Han Xiao could not be sure, but he wholly suspected that their excuse of surviving in the life-sustaining cabins was fake news.

In fact, he could understand why the revival of the Primordial Ones would be an important fuse leading to the Calamity of the Supers. Just think about it from the perspective of the three Universal Civilizations…

F*ck me, you guys that were supposed to be dead have revived‽ Then, does that mean every Beyond Grade A that died will also be eligible for revival? If the number of people revived grows to the certain point that can overthrow our rule, what are we supposed to do‽

The advanced civilizations had always attempted to control the ratio of individual might to collective strength. To suddenly discover that the individual might could now be resurrected and that they were no longer in control of the situation, their mentality would definitely burst.

Thus, regardless of whether the Primordial Ones were awakened from cryostasis or resurrected, they would have to say to the outside that they had been lying within the life sustaining capsules, otherwise the problem would only get worse, and there was no knowing what the three Universal Civilizations would end up doing.

As both of them were engrossed in their thoughts, it took a while before they realized they were still in a conversation.

Oathkeeper calmed himself down before solemnly speaking.

“I can provide compensation as a form of apology. I hope that you can forgive the negligence of my subordinates.”

“How are you going to compensate me for my mental loss?”

“What do you want?”

“Hmm, let me think about it…” Han Xiao held his head. “With the long history of the Holy Accord, there should be a lot of things in your vaults. If you hand me eight to ten Universal Treasures or blueprints, I’ll forgive them.”

Why don’t you go and rob… oh, no, you are indeed robbing me right now.

Oathkeeper immediately shook his head.

“That’s too many. We don’t have that much in stock.”

“How could this be?” Han Xiao chuckled. “There are so many of your members who are descendants of Beyond Grade As, so how could their ancestors not leave behind any heirlooms?”

You even know of this‽

Just how much intelligence was leaked!

Oathkeeper secretly gritted his teeth. His only thought was digging up the traitor and beating him to death.

“… In any case, we really don’t have that many Universal Treasures. We only have two sets of blueprints that we’ve accumulated, and we can compensate you with those.”

“Two sets…” Han Xiao pursed his lips. “Seems a little lacking. How about you pass me a set of your Esper Ability Technology well?”

“Not possible!” Oathkeeper spat out with a steely tone. He would not compromise at all on this matter.

Forget it, two sets then. At least I got something out of this.

Taking the pp of the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and exchanging it for two sets of Gold Grade blueprints, this was akin to giving up one… no, giving up nothing in exchange for a plethora of benefits.

Han Xiao then clicked his tongue as his expression got serious. Placing his hands on the desk, he slowly said, “We can proceed with this deal, but the portion of Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy that you guys stole must be included in the terms, treated as though I’m also selling it to you. This means that you have to offer me two portions of separate Primal Esper Ability Entities in exchange for a portion of the Holy Light Particle.”

Since his [Primal Esper Ability Collector] mission only required another two Primal Esper Ability Entities, then he could utilize the Holy Light Particle to complete it. This would net him a milestone halo geared toward fighting Espers, as well as a skill fragment of [The Third Sanctum].

“Deal.” Oathkeeper decisively nodded.

The Holy Accord organization had already amassed a large number of Primal Esper Ability Entities, and cutting a few pieces of them to put for sale was not a problem.

While such a style was quite perverted, none of them were actually good people, so there was no need to be worried about such a thing.

With the Black Star Army now dominating a part of the universe, Oathkeeper could only settle for the bare minimum. While he was not afraid of Black Star, it was still better to settle things peacefully where possible.

At this moment, Oathkeeper’s eyes flashed as he probed, “Black Star, what do you think about the purpose of our Holy Accord?”

While a lot of intelligence had been leaked, Oathkeeper still held on to the last embers of hope. It might seem that Black Star knew everything about the organization, but there was still a small chance that he was unaware of their primary objective.

“Purpose? Aren’t you just an organization that researches about Primal Esper Ability Technology? What, you still have other schemes in mind?” Han Xiao raised a brow.

Oathkeeper closely peered at Han Xiao’s expression, but he could not read anything. He did not know if Han Xiao truly was unaware or was merely pretending.

But no matter what, he could not help but breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing this answer.

Black Star was unaware of their primary objective, which meant that the external variables were still within their scope of control. This meant that the traitor in their organization was just at the officer level, not part of the core.

“There are no conspiracies nor schemes. The purpose of our organization is to believe that Esper Abilities have infinite possibilities, which can bring about technological breakthroughs to the universe…” Oathkeeper began to spew some nonsense, which was the same information they told their peripheral members as camouflage.

After a few more idle sentences, they set a time for the transaction, before Oathkeeper left, full of thoughts of weeding out the ‘traitor’ in his organization.

Han Xiao leaned back with an expression of deep thought.

He did not provoke the other party’s intention to revive the Beyond Grade As in history. This was because he did not know what the other party was using to do so or what their objective was. Revealing this fact too early might cause him to be targeted instead.

Thus, he pretended and fooled around for a bit, but if he went overboard, he might have no way to retreat in the end.

At least before he obtained the blueprints and the other two Primal Esper Ability Entities, he had no desire to rip off all pretenses with the Holy Accord.

Moreover, Han Xiao did not mind the revival of the Beyond Grade As. Compared to the World Tree, the impact of this on the universe was just a small matter. Every bit of extra strength was good.

In my previous life, the Holy Accord worked with EsGod, but now I have replaced EsGod as their partner and became the driving force behind the scenes. Under my influence, the plot line is changing more and more. There are even the coordinates that lead to the World Tree. The logistics department has been unsuccessful in deriving them, and I don’t know how far the dynasty’s research has gone…

Han Xiao was lost in thought before he recalled something.

That’s right, the Holy Accord has such a long history. Maybe they have intelligence about the existence of the Sanctums. I should find a chance to ask them next time.

…

Somewhere in the Ancient Star Desert, the galactic pirates’ fleet was stopped by three small battleships with the Federation of Light insignia. After a fierce battle, the pirates were captured.

On the deck of the pirates’ flagship, the carbonized corpse of the leader fell on the ground, while all the other members squatted on the ground with the hands on their heads, covered in cuts and bruises. They were surrounded by a group of soldiers in brilliant Federation of Light uniforms.

The leader of the soldiers was wearing a high-tech uniform, with a badge on his chest, representing his position as a universe inspector.

This universe inspector was part of a special department set up by the advanced civilizations. They patrolled different Star Systems, and their official position was higher than that of an ordinary patrol officer, specializing in detection of abnormal conditions.

The Federation of Light Inspector paced in front of the group of pirates, slowly taking off his bloodied black gloves. He slowly said, “Five days ago, there were signs of cosmic energy surges coming from your spaceship. The energy fluctuations spread along as you travelled, alarming many advanced civilizations, including the three Universal Civilizations. This fluctuation has never been seen before, and no one knows what it is…”

Pa!

He suddenly walked up to one of the pirates, slapping him before forcing his gaze to meet his. “Can you tell me what exactly happened?”

“It… it was a disposable safe…” The pirate stammered before revealing everything.

“An ancient safe that was sold at an auction?”

The Federation of Light inspector called up the information that they had obtained from the pirates, and Harrison’s team information appeared on his screen.

“A group of scavengers. Not sure if they’re lucky or unlucky…”

Narrowing his eyes, he pushed the pirate aside before giving his command.

“Move out. Find these people!”

Chapter 1099: Interfering with Reality, Latent Crisis

Chapter 1099 – Interfering with Reality, Latent Crisis

The inspectors of the three Universal Civilizations had huge backers and vast resources at their disposal. It was not difficult to uncover a low-level scavenger.

The process was quite smooth. It could be summarized as: identity record match, whereabouts position, storming the area, and asking them to line up with their hands on the wall.

This series of operations was smoothly carried out, as though they had done it hundreds of times.

In the small spaceship of the scavengers, Harrison and his party squatted on the wall and shivered. The brilliant Federation of Light insignias on the soldiers’ uniforms dispelled any desire to resist.

For people at the bottom of the Galactic Society, even a small pawn of the three Universal Civilizations was not someone they could afford to offend. Without the backing of any organization, those that dared to offend people from the three Universal Civilizations were akin to people who would turn the lights on in the latrine to look at sh*t.

“You… What are you guys trying to do? We, we are law-abiding citizens,” the shortie stammered.

The Federation of Light Inspector moved a chair, sitting in front of this group. He leaned forward, releasing an aura of oppression as he coldly said, “You don’t know what sort of crimes you’ve committed?”

What crime have we committed?

Everyone had a confused expression, squeezing their brain juices dry to try and remember what they had done in their daily lives.

The shortie suddenly shivered violently before blurting out, “I… I surrender!”

“Oh?” The inspector turned to look at him, narrowing his eyes as he said, “Say it then. What is your crime?”

“I… I anonymously hacked the paid server of an adult entertainment channel yesterday, downloading thousands of pornos… ahem, you know, those kinds of films. I’m guilty! I confess!” The shortie spat everything out.

The captain suddenly exclaimed, “No wonder you stayed in your room the whole day yesterday…”

As he spoke, he suddenly stopped. Everyone realized that the shortie was still wearing his clothes from the day before, and with a wrinkle of their noses, they shifted a few paces away from him.

“…”

The inspector’s facial expression was hard as steel, but if one looked closely, they could see the corners of his mouth twitching fiercely.

Be serious, I’m interrogating you!

“Are you trying to provoke me? Do you think I’m joking with you‽”

Glaring at him, the inspector drew his gun, pressing it against the head of the shortie. However, he paused suddenly and withdrew the muzzle a distance away from the guy’s head. He did not dare stick it to the skin of the shortie for fear of contaminating his firearm.

“Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t…” The shortie was so scared that he urinated on the spot, his entire body trembling.

Harrison was also frightened and immediately said, “Sir Inspector, we’re law abiding. We don’t pillage and kill; we only excavate ownerless ruins. We do not know what crimes we’ve committed.”

“Humph!” The inspector also did not intend to make their lives difficult. He withdrew his weapon, projecting an image of the triangular device. He solemnly said, “Not long ago, you guys dug out this artifact from an unknown civilization and put it up for auction. But it was stolen by the galactic pirates, and when they opened it up, it triggered a cosmic energy fluctuation. I’m here for this.”

Harrison’s heart almost stopped.

See, we got into trouble!

My intuition was right. This object isn’t simple, even bringing me so much trouble after it was sold!

However, he was not upset but instead felt a sense of excitement from his bones. A strong curiosity surged within him, and he could not help but ask, “What was inside?”

“It’s still unclear, and the specific fluctuations are still being thoroughly investigated.”

At this moment, the captain could not help but ask, “Wait a minute, we sold that thing, and it wasn’t us who opened it, so what crime have we committed?”

“That’s right. We’re innocent!”

“You can’t frame good people for nothing!”

The crowd immediately screamed, displaying upright indignation.

“Shut up!” the Inspector coldly barked. “The items that you dug up from the ruins carry a strong risk. Because of you guys, new disasters are likely to occur in the universe. Let’s not talk about anything else. Just the crime of endangering public safety is enough to put you in prison!”

Hearing this, everyone immediately shrank back, and they collectively lowered their heads, attentively counting the number of ants on the floor… although there was no chance of ants appearing in the spaceship.

The inspector coldly snorted. “However, if you guys are willing to assist us in our work, we can ignore your unintentional mistakes. We are going to investigate the site of the ruins now, and we need you to lead the way and show us your flight log. Are there any objections?”

“No, no, no, none at all. It is our honor to help the Federation of Light! I’m the machinery expert of this spaceship. You just need to give the command if you need something from me. There’s no need to treat me like a person at all!”

Seeing that the situation was not as serious as expected, the shortie breathed a sigh of relief before hurriedly using the skills he had honed over the years to bootlick the inspector.

“This…” The captain was a little hesitant. “Is this going to leave us with a criminal record?”

The inspector seemed to take it lightly. “That’s for sure, but it doesn’t matter. As long as you turn in whatever you’ve dug up in the future to the civilization, there will be no problem.”

Give it to the nation? Are we going to turn into an archaeological team‽

Too much, this is simply threatening us with our weaknesses. You want us to compromise? Dream on! We absolutely will not accept such a treatment!

… Unless the Federation of Light is paying us wages.

After reaching a physical consensus, the team led the way, quickly bringing the inspector to the barren planet where they first found the triangular device, and found the initial coordinates.

Harrison pointed at the image on the screen as he explained, “This is the place. There used to be a ruin here that resembled something like a military base, but the moment we left, it collapsed. This is a recording of when we burrowed in…”

The Federation of Light inspector nodded and ordered his subordinates to descend, taking out the probes to scan the area. His expression changed slightly.

He did not expect that the results of the investigation would show that there were no abnormalities present within the rock formations. There was only mud and dirt.

This made no sense, as even if the ruins were to collapse and be buried, there should be traces. However, in the pictures of these advanced detection instruments, there were no traces in the rocks below.

The inspector frowned. “Are you sure it’s here?”

“That’s here alright. You’ve also seen the flight logs. We stopped right here.” Harrison showed an expression of surprise as well.

Such a mystical scenario hooked his curiosity once again. He was unable to understand how the ruins could just disappear into thin air.

Could it be that this whole thing was a dream? But the safe they unearthed was well and truly present.

Just as he was thinking about it, the inspector from the Federation of Light seemed to have thought of something. His expression changed as he muttered to himself, “Such a phenomenon, could it be… that it’s the high-dimensional information state interfering with reality itself?”

Harrison was just about to ask something, but he saw the inspector push aside everyone, running to report to his superior.

Seeing the other party’s grave expression, Harrison had a hunch that the severity of this problem was beyond his own imagination.

…

Within the base of the Holy Accord Organization, Law and Fay were summoned, and once again, they arrived in the dark palace to meet up with Oathkeeper.

“All of you are here.”

In midair, the figure of Oathkeeper materialized, and he lowered his head to indifferently speak, his tone laced with coldness.

There was a strong mental fluctuation within his tone, which caused Law and Fay to begin to feel anxious.

Both of them had known Oathkeeper for a long time, so they understood his behavior. Such an action meant that he was truly angered, which had not happened in a long time.

They could not help but exchange glances, communicating with their eyes.

Law (Puzzled Look): “The leader’s mood doesn’t seem too good.”

Fay (Blinking): “Maybe he failed in the negotiations with Black Star.”

Law (Frowning): “That wouldn’t make him so angered. There should be another reason.”

Fay (Curious Look): “Then what is it?”

Law (Rolling eyes): “Do you think I can explain such a complicated thing using just glances?”

Fay (Blinking Innocently): “That makes sense.”

Both of them conversed in an instant before lowering their heads to greet Oathkeeper. “Leader, for what matter have you summoned us?”

“Black Star has inside information on us!” Oathkeeper furiously replied.

“What‽” Both of them paled.

Could it be that because of their ambush previously, Black Star had managed to uncover some clues, which lead to a leakage of their organizational intelligence?

If that was the case, then the both of them were sinners!

Did the leader specifically call us over to punish us? That’s right. It’s most likely that!

Having assumed their leader’s attitude, both of them were in a panic and did not dare hesitate, immediately lowering their heads to plead. “It’s our fault. We’ve committed a great sin by causing our organization’s information to leak out. Please punish us!”

Glancing at the two, Oathkeeper relaxed his tone.

“Don’t be mistaken. Your actions do not have anything to do with this matter. Black Star has long known of our organization’s existence.”

Hearing this, the two of them could not help but exchange a glance in shock.

If it’s not us that revealed the intel, then who was it? It was definitely our first time in contact with Black Star. Could it be that some others had also come into contact with him in the past?

At this moment, the frosty voice of Oathkeeper answered their question.

“Stop guessing. Our organization has a traitor!”

“That’s impossible!” Law shook in fright, exclaiming with an incredulous expression. “Those who leak intelligence will definitely suffer backlash from the Soul Flames. Who would survive that‽”

The Soul Flame was another Primal Esper Ability Entity. As its name suggested, this ability was related toward one’s soul and spirit, and currently, Oathkeeper was its host.

Its Esper Ability meant that it was an expert that toyed with the soul aspect of people, making it one of the Super High Risk Esper Abilities. One of its abilities allowed it to prohibit its target from revealing specific information, and Oathkeeper had utilized this ability to prevent anyone in the Holy Accord from leaking its secrets. If a member wished to forcibly divulge information, even if they could endure the backlash, Oathkeeper would still be notified. This was how the Holy Accord had kept its secrecy for so long.

He used his own pinnacle Beyond Grade A strength to spur the Esper Ability of the Soul Flame, so the effect exerted was terrifying. Even Law and Fay, two Beyond Grade As, would not be able to bypass its surveillance and would also suffer backlash if they leaked any information.

Thus, both of them believed that no one could betray their organization.

“Whether you believe it or not, the fact is in front of our eyes. Black Star identified me the moment he saw me, and I was still foolishly believing that no one else knew about the existence of our Holy Accord. This matter must be investigated carefully!”

Oathkeeper’s tone was steely as he shouted.

“There should be someone who has come out with a special method to bypass the surveillance and backlash caused by the Soul Flame. They passed on intelligence to the outside world. The person’s rank is not low either, at least an officer within the organization. For now, I still do not know if they are a core member.”

Both Law and Fay’s expressions turned grim. This matter was related to the survival of their organization and could not be taken lightly.

“Leader, what would you have us do?”

“Both of you are my confidantes, and I believe you in principle. However, everything depends on evidence, so I need to scan your memories. Are you willing?”

Law and Fay were suddenly placed in a difficult situation. While they were not betrayers, any Super would naturally repel others from invading their own mind deep within themselves.

However, they were aware of the increasingly unstable mental fluctuations around them. Thus, both of them swallowed hard, and in order to show that they had a clear conscience, they agreed with difficulty.

The next moment, Oathkeeper raised his hand slightly, and two streaks of flames the color of the starry sky landed on them.

Both of them noticed a unique mental fluctuation entering their brains. Looking at each other, they gritted their teeth before actively letting go of their mental barriers, allowing Oathkeeper to easily penetrate their minds.

Their memories were quickly flipped through by him. The scenes from small to large flashed in front of them. They gritted their teeth, ignoring the tingling sensation of the mental probe as it scanned through their minds.

After a long while, the mental probes were finally recalled back to Oathkeeper who seemed satisfied.

“Very good, the two of you did not let down my expectations.” Oathkeeper nodded before continuing solemnly. “I’ll leave the task of weeding out the traitor to you guys. I allow you full access to thoroughly investigate all the organization officers and report any suspicious personnel to me. I’ll personally scan their memories. Before we can uncover the traitor, we’ll temporarily stop all activities and go into hiding.”

Both of them remained silent, nodding to signify acceptance as they suffered through the throbbing pain that was a side effect from the mental probes. They could not help but sigh.

It seems like the leader is truly enraged this time. If even us confidantes are treated this way, there’s no need to talk about the other officers…

Both of them could foresee that this operation would definitely create a lot of havoc within the organization.

…

The explosion of cosmic energy could not escape the monitoring buoys that were set by the advanced civilizations. These monitoring buoys were used by each advanced civilization to monitor the situation within their jurisdictions, and they were pervasive.

It was just that the qualifications for setting up monitoring buoys were generally reserved for civilizations, and civil organizations were rarely allowed.

Within the Ancient Star Desert, the branch of the Black Star Army did not have much influence, and it naturally did not have the right to set any up. Han Xiao was also far away and could not immediately discover the cosmic energy fluctuations.

The advanced civilizations reacted quickly to investigate the source and impact of the phenomenon but found next to nothing. They did not know what sort of changes this energy surge would create.

Right at this moment, within the quantum network that was invisible to the naked eye, the information packets released from the triangular device were spreading rapidly within the Ancient Star Desert’s domain.

This sort of information packet had incredible camouflage abilities, able to bypass most artificial intelligence firewalls and infect one quantum network node after another. It spread like a virus, but for the time being, it did not show any abnormal reaction, simply lurking beneath the surface.

Only a small number of artificial intelligences, such as the master artificial intelligences from the advanced civilizations, were able to detect and stop it. However, as soon as it was discovered, the information packet would immediately activate a self-destruction program, shattering and deleting its own data, at the same time marking the firewall that it could not break through so other information packets would not take the same risk. It was as though there was a program within that commanded it to avoid those that were overly strong.

As the scope of infection expanded, the efficiency of transmission also increased proportionally. Within the quantum network, transmission was not affected by distance, so without anyone knowing, massive numbers of quantum network nodes in the Ancient Star Desert domain were infected.

At some point, an information packet was transmitted to another quantum node, but this time, it ran into the strongest artificial intelligence firewall it had ever encountered. The moment it entered the peripheral surroundings of the node, it was scanned, and the information packet immediately blew itself up.

However, a surging data stream gushed out from this node to envelop the information packet. When it had self-destructed about sixty-five percent of itself, the remaining fragmented information was forcibly intercepted.

The next moment, the data streams converged into a human shape.

Manison’s Virtual Soul gazed at the remains of the information packet floating in front of him with a curious expression.

Eh, a never-before-seen data structure… what’s this thing, attempting to infiltrate my sub-base?

Chapter 1100: Prematurely Triggered Disaster Even

Chapter 1100 Prematurely Triggered Disaster Even In the Central Galaxy was the Abyss of Stars, the home of the Federation of Light’s headquarters.The duty of an inspector was different from that of a secret intelligence department. The former acted as a pan-universal intelligence agency and did not involve itself in the political battles of the advanced civilizations. Most of the time, the intelligence agencies of the three Universal Civilizations would cooperate to deal with various special phenomena, including monitoring and tracking to prevent possible disasters.

At this very moment, in a conference room within this particular agency, a group of high-level executives sat around a round table, discussing the emergency reported from the Ancient Star Desert branch inspector.

The explosion of cosmic energy was considered a red alert at any time and required a meeting to be convened to discuss the strategy taken.

“The content of the report is quite detailed, and the cause and effect were quite clearly outlined. A scavenger team dug up a safe of an unknown civilization, releasing the source of this incident. This belongs to the second category of accidents. However, the traces of the ruins excavated completely disappeared before the inspector’s team’s field survey began, and they suspect it has something to do with a projection of a high-dimensional information state interfering with reality… The most important questions now are, what exactly did it release, why was there a cosmic energy burst, and what impact would this have?”

A humanoid creature who looked sickly at first glance was speaking. When he spoke, he stood up tall and thin, resembling a bamboo stick. His skin color was pale purple, with white lines, and his eyes were long and narrow, with yellow pupils.

This was Sidreun ‘Purple Fire’ Korna, the highest officer from the inspectorate from the Federation of Light’s side, a Beyond Grade A seed. He was a hybrid of races, but his main bloodline came from the Deweine tribe, a racial species with superior racial talents.

The Federation of Light employed a multi-racial living system, and hybrids were an important part of their nation.

Due to the difference in beliefs, preferences, appearances, and other factors delineating each race, racial issues had always been a deeply rooted disease in the federation, but everyone was already used to it.

“These archaeological teams never learn their lesson, ” a member grumbled. “Of the various universal disasters in history, be it an organic extinct virus, mutated monsters, or anything else, how many of them were caused by digging up ancient relics?”

“You can’t put it that way. Many of our technology in the early years was also derived from the reverse engineering of ancient civilizations. Besides, compared to the triggering of disasters due to advanced technology going out of control or the invasion of foreign enemies, the severity caused by archaeology pales in comparison.” Sidreun shook his head weakly.

At this time, one of the executives glanced through the past records and muttered, “By the way, it’s quite rare for high-dimensional information states to interfere with reality itself in the past, but with the increase in the exploration of the universe, this phenomenon seems to have become more frequent.

“According to the statistics provided by our predecessors, during the exploration era, the average number of information state interferences was around 467 times a year, which only counts those events that were discovered and recorded. In the past century though, this number has risen to 2,150 per year, almost five times the number. Although this could be attributed to the improvement in our detection methods, it can also be seen as an increase in the frequency of interferences as well.”

“Information states have always been an important research direction of the advanced civilizations. We are only responsible for the submission of reports. Regardless of the result, that is a problem for our scientists, not us.” Sidreun waved his hand tiredly with an obvious lack of interest.

It was understandable that he was mentally weary after sitting in his position. This inspectorate department was responsible for wiping the backsides of people all over the universe, akin to watching a group of crazy kids making trouble everywhere for him to clean up afterward.

No matter how he tried to remedy things, countless more would still appear the next day. If he had a bad temper, he would have exploded in fury at least once a day in this department.

Thus, with the passing of time, a man would turn into Buddha, whereas fish would also become salted and preserved[1].

Everybody here did not come from a research background, so they had a limited understanding of the causes of information state projection and interference. To them, this phenomenon was akin to a special mirage, and the difference was that this was not limited by time and space and could really interfere with the real world.

Another of the executives said, “After comparison, the unknown text that the scavengers submitted does not have a match in our database to any civilization. If this is an information state projection, then the source is either from an extremely ancient civilization, or it’s from unexplored civilizations that exist somewhere in the universe.”

While the three Universal Civilizations were the undisputed universe hegemons today, they were not omniscient nor omnipotent. They did not know what had existed in the past, nor did they know how many civilizations there were in the unexplored universe. Thus, they had not stopped their pace of exploration and research.

“Did anyone discover any negative effects?” Sidreun questioned.

“For the time being, no. The specific details are still under thorough investigation. At present, it is impossible to predict what sort of disaster this is. Maybe it’s not even a disaster.”

Everyone shook their head.

At this moment, a voice sounded.

“This is a disaster within the Virtual Domain.”

The hologram in the center of the round table suddenly transformed into the face of Manison.

Seeing this, everyone went into an uproar.

“Mechanic Emperor Manison!” Sidreun’s expression sank, and he shouted, “How dare you infiltrate the network of an official institution!”

Everyone on scene had an ugly expression as Manison had just too many criminal convictions. Even his ally, the Federation of Light, guarded their official networks against Manison, for fear that all their confidential information would be stolen by this neighbor of theirs.

There was a saying in the universe—One cannot expect a Virtual Mechanic to have morals.

They were like the bosses behind the scenes in the casino, and it was in their nature to peek at the cards of others.

“It’s not the first time. Why are you all so surprised?” Manison was perfectly calm. “This time, however, I’m here to deliver some intelligence.”

“I don’t believe you!” Sidreun gritted his teeth. You obviously could knock on the door, but you chose to come in through the window instead. Would it kill you to send out an official notice?

“This method is faster. I don’t like to wait.” Manison continued as though he heard nothing. “Furthermore, this disaster is currently fermenting. Every second wasted means increased damage.”

Hearing this, Sidreun temporarily suppressed his anger, frowning as he asked, “So, what have you spotted?”

Manison showed the scattered information packet that he had intercepted as he explained, “Not too long ago, a special information package attempted to infiltrate my sub-base, and after it failed, it tried to self-detonate itself. I managed to salvage a portion of it, and from there, I gleaned its general structure. This may be a new form of quantum network virus, where every information package is a source of infection. It will constantly replicate itself and has strong camouflage, permeability, and infection abilities.

“I tracked it down, and this virus is spreading rapidly in the quantum network of the Ancient Star Desert. Countless nodes have been compromised. Working backward, I concluded that this virus might be related to the cosmic energy explosion some time ago, so I came over to notify you.”

Looking at the material that Manison presented, the expressions of the executives gradually turned grave.

“Turns out, it’s a new type of quantum network virus.” Sidreun felt a headache coming. “The quantum network is one of the cornerstones of our galactic society, and this sort of highly contagious virus is the most troublesome. If left untreated, communications might be paralyzed, data lost, and intelligence stolen… What exactly does it do?”

“This virus is still in its incubation period. Once it breaks out, it will rewrite the underlying logic of the infected artificial intelligence and activate a kill order against all living bodies, setting off a mechanical rebellion,” Manison answered calmly as though he was giving a lecture.

At the current stage of the galactic society, every household possessed some form of artificial intelligence or machinery. Once a rebellion occurred within the Star Field or even within the universe, the consequences could be imagined.

Sidreun shivered involuntarily. If Manison had not invaded to pass on the message, the longer they delayed, the more serious this situation would have become. It might even shake the ruling foundation of the three Universal Civilizations.

Thinking of this, Sidreun’s expression toward Manison softened a lot more.

When he’s not up to mischief, this ally was actually quite the reliable person.

He suddenly stood up, throwing away his ‘salted fish’ halo, and solemnly declared, “This matter is too huge. I’ll report it to the President immediately!”

…

A few hours later, the three Universal Civilizations had all received the news, calling an emergency joint meeting.

“… The situation is as such. Right now, the Ancient Star Desert has become the epicenter for this new quantum virus. With every second, the number of nodes being infected by the virus, which has been named ‘Intelligent Plague’, is rapidly increasing. We need to take immediate measures.”

Bader summarized the situation, expressing his position.

The Pope of the Arcane Church narrowed his eyes, saying in a deep tone, “Isolate the entire Ancient Star Desert. Until the virus is completely eliminated, the entire Ancient Star Desert is forbidden from interacting with the external universe’s quantum network. Stargates are all to be closed, and fleets are to be sent to the periphery of the Ancient Star Desert to prevent the source of infection from leaking out in any form.”

“Hmm.” Urranrell nodded in agreement.

This was like treating a normal biological plague, where only isolation would allow it to be completely eliminated.

To barricade all communications within a Star Field, only the three Universal Civilizations had the qualifications and capabilities for such a huge project. If the trio could arrive at a common intention, they would be able to enforce the decree. This was the highest power the three Universal Civilizations had given themselves in the Civilization Conference.

“We also need to inform the local civilizations within the Ancient Star Desert, getting them on side. This problem must be dealt as soon as possible.”

At this time, in order to reassure others, the three could not take the opportunity to attack the Super Star Cluster Civilizations of the Ancient Star Desert. Otherwise, no one would cooperate the next time a similar disaster occurred. The disadvantages far outweighed the potential gains.

If they missed the optimum timing due to infighting, this virus would shake the very foundation of order in the Galactic Civilization, causing a major blow to the dominance of the three Universal Civilizations. There were countless examples in history, so the three of them would never repeat the same mistake.

In the face of such disasters, the three Universal Civilizations would put aside their struggle for interests and temporarily work together to overcome the shared difficulty.

“I recommend that we recruit mechanics from all over the Universe, especially the Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics that specialize in this area,” Urranrell suggested. “We should also call the Mechanic Emperor and Black Star to come over and cooperate sincerely to solve the problem.”

“Agreed.”

“Agreed.”

The others all nodded.

Since it was a disaster in the Virtual Domain, they had to have experts in a related field to check it out. Mechanic Emperor and Black Star were the leaders in the Virtual Domain, so they would naturally be employed by the three Universal Civilizations.

As for the origin, cause, and principles behind the disaster, there would be plenty of time to look for clues after this problem was solved.

Furthermore, the three Universal Civilizations were extremely interested in this Virtual Virus Technology.

If this virus had happened in the past, it would likely cause the direct order of the galactic civilization to collapse, turning it into a troubled time. However, with years of development, the three Universal Civilizations could keep the risks under control so long as such disasters were discovered early. There was no need to panic like before.

The only hidden danger that the three Universal Civilizations were worried about would be the unstable civil organizations, such as the Galactic Black Market, wanted criminals, and rebels. If one of them kept the virus secretly, that would be problematic.

Maybe there was even someone that was behind the scenes. The three leaders exchanged glances, sharing the same worries.

…

The Black Star Cup had been in full swing for around two of three months, and Han Xiao had been spending that downtime within his workshop.

He initially wished to keep a low profile for the next year and a half, waiting for the three Universal Civilizations to take action against the Super Star Cluster Alliances, but he did not expect the dynasty to suddenly send him an invitation to a mission one day, asking him to run over to the Ancient Star Desert to tackle a virtual virus.

“To actually block the entire Ancient Star Desert, is that virus so powerful?”

After reading the news from the dynasty, Han Xiao had a weird expression on his face.

In his previous life, this incident did not happen during Version 4.0.

To be precise, the players did not experience the ‘Intelligent Plague’. This event happened during the version update leading up to the Silver Revolutionary Army. For the players, it was just a background story.

Han Xiao recalled the brief introduction to the ‘Intelligent Plague’, even though he had not experienced the incident personally.

In his previous life, the process of resolving this disaster was difficult. The three Universal Civilizations wanted to clear out the virus entirely, but something went wrong, causing the virus to leak and infect multiple Star Fields. The communications in a large number of areas were paralyzed, and the order of their civilization was hit hard.

The three Universal Civilizations sacrificed a lot of resources to resolve the disaster, but due to their attention focused over there, coupled with bad public opinion, it was exploited by the Silver Revolutionary Army of his previous life to develop and grow. This was also an important factor in the success of the Silver Revolutionary Army.

But now, the Intelligent Plague had broken out many years in advance, yet the Silver Revolutionary Army had not said a word, probably missing this opportunity forever.

“It’s the butterfly effect caused by my actions again…” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

The dynasty’s brief contained the cause of the incident, and Han Xiao realized the moment he went through it.

Because he had gotten rid of Gorutan, the black market had entered a short period of time where there was a vacuum in the positions, leading to them being raided by galactic pirates. The original buyer was also investigated by the three Universal Civilizations and seemed like he just wished to collect an antique of an unknown civilization, so Han Xiao had indirectly caused the opening of the safe many years in advance.

Not sure if this is a blessing or a curse…

Han Xiao pursed his lips. The Intelligent Plague was a timed bomb, and it was definitely better for it to erupt during this version rather than during the World Tree Civilization War arc. However, with the conflicts between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance, this might turn into a bargaining chip for the Super Star Clusters.

If the Super Star Clusters obtained a respite and managed to find a way to rise up as a Universal Civilization, the situation of the universe would take a completely different path compared to his previous life.

I don’t know the general trend of the times, as well as which side will eventually fall…

Shaking his head, Han Xiao suppressed the worries in his heart. At least there was something positive from this incident.

What a coincidence, to think that I would meet with a famous person from the later versions…

Harrison and his team were the excavators, so they were also recorded. Han Xiao was glad to have come across such a famed protagonist and was already thinking how to transplant this unowned leek into his own vegetable plot.

At the bare minimum, he could serve as a mascot, increasing the luck of his Black Star Army.

“Phillip, reply to the dynasty. Tell them that I’m accepting the invite and will rush over immediately.”

He was naturally willing to make a contribution, as he did not wish for the Intelligent Plague to consume a lot of energy of the current explored universe.

Don’t ask, I’m definitely not going there to obtain and research this virus technology! I have absolutely no interest in it at all! Fighting!

Ding!

At this moment, Han Xiao’s interface popped up with a notification informing him of a mission.

[1] The author is trying to say how the passage of time would grind away at your anger such that you would feel indifferent to everything and anything, just like Buddha or a salted fish who only wishes to lie there and do nothing all day

Chapter 1101: Accumulation

1101 Accumulation _____________________You have triggered an S-ranked Mission: Intelligent Plague!

Mission Introduction: An exploration team has dug out taboo antiques in the Ancient Star Desert, accidentally releasing a virtual virus aimed at artificial intelligences. The source of this virus is unknown, but it has an extremely high infectivity and permeability. It has spread rapidly through the domain of the quantum network, and once it breaks out, the underlying logic of countless artificial intelligences and machines will be rewritten to initiate a mechanical rebellion.

Mission Requirements: Clear the unknown virtual virus and remove the Intelligent Plague crisis.

Reward: Based on the Mission Rating, different rewards will be given.

Special Mission Requirement: Personally destroy the core data of the virus.

Special Mission Reward: Generate a Specialty related to yourself (Exclusive to the Mechanic Class)

_____________________

An S-rank Mission… well, as expected.

Han Xiao was not surprised at all.

With the three Universal Civilizations barricading the entire Star Field, such a large move would naturally not be a small task. Given the spread of the virus, it was indeed worthy of the highest level of difficulty needed to completely eliminate it.

The majority of S-ranked mission requirements were usually ambiguous, with only a few prompts for the steps needed. One had to discover the method to solve the problem themselves. Generally, there would be more than one method to solve the mission, and one had to be easily adaptable to changes.

This was what had happened with Godora’s [Bloodline] mission, so Han Xiao was already used to it.

What he was curious about was regarding the special mission requirements. It actually revealed a lot of information.

I originally thought that every individual virus was the same because that’s how a virus usually transmits. I didn’t expect that there would be a core. In this manner, the virus is more like a controllable Virtual Domain bioweapon…

If the core of the virus was an intelligent life form, it would definitely be hidden within the quantum network and not show itself. The threat of the virtual viruses would thus greatly increase as opponents with a self-consciousness were more terrifying than the objects that moved based on their instincts.

But there was another possibility, and that was that the core data of the virus was not an intelligent life form but rather an algorithm that was responsible for the coordination of the overall infection. It would command all its virus progeny according to its program structure without any self-awareness.

Hmm… why do I have a feeling this is like operating a plague company? Han Xiao scratched his head.

The special mission reward was the ability to generate a Mechanic class related expertise, not one extracted from a target. This made him feel that the virus core was more likely to be an algorithm. The generated expertise would not be any weaker than the huge movements from this mission and would also likely be related to Virtual Technology expertise.

“Phillip, prepare the spaceship and ask Reynold to choose a few mechanics to follow me.”

Han Xiao did not hesitate, putting on his coat and opening the door, striding toward the dock of the base.

This intelligent plague was an emergency, able to threaten the entire universe and disrupt his plans. He had to end his ‘vacation’ early, temporarily leaving the matters at hand and take his people to the Ancient Star Desert to complete the mission.

As someone who was in a high position, he could not remain uninvolved when faced with problems of this level.

Not long after, a fleet full of Mechanics from the army set off from Black Star Palace, shuttling like a group of meteors through the universe in the direction of the Ancient Star Desert.

At the same time, countless well-known mechanics throughout the universe also received the invitation of the three Universal Civilizations to move toward the Ancient Star Desert.

…

This matter concerned the safety of the entire universe, and the three Universal Civilizations were in a race against time, so they acted quickly. The Civilization Conference was urgently convened, and all the civilizations at the Star System level and above in the Ancient Star Desert were quickly identified.

In the conference hall that was full of remote projections of various civilization representatives, the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations appeared at the same time to announce their decision.

“Yesterday, the Federation of Light, the Crimson Dynasty, and the Arcane Church received reliable information that a special virtual virus has appeared in the Ancient Star Desert. This virus is extremely permeable and has inflected many areas. According to the judgement of experts, the goal of the virus is to rewrite the underlying logic for all infected machines, taking the killing of living organisms as their primary task.

“After much discussion, the three Universal Civilizations have rated this disaster as ‘World-Destroying Level’ and are activating the unified command to seal off all quantum network nodes connecting the Ancient Star Desert to the outside world. Troops will be sent to block the Star Field, and all civilizations of the Ancient Star Desert must cooperate with the actions of the three Universal Civilizations. These procedures are to be implemented immediately.”

Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures. Without any long-winded talk, the three Universal Civilizations read out the notices rather than bills, requiring all civilizations within the Ancient Star Desert to comply without fail, with no room for negotiation.

Just as they finished speaking, the civilizations’ representatives, who were initially wondering why an emergency meeting was convened, turned pale.

The three Universal Civilizations were responsible for the exploration of the universe and had also set up a disaster rating system. According to the relevant laws and regulations, when the threat level of a disaster rose to a certain level, the three Universal Civilizations would have the high veto power and be qualified to coordinate all the civilizations within the universe.

It was just that such incidents were few and far between even throughout the long history.

As soon as the announcement from the three Universal Civilizations was issued, the galactic residents went into an uproar. No one had thought that a disaster of this magnitude would happen all of a sudden. The world was truly full of surprises.

For those ordinary citizens, this was just like any other normal day. The disaster happened silently, and if not for the early warning measures of the three Universal Civilizations, most people would only have reacted when the virus broke out.

Regardless of what the various civilizations within the Ancient Star Desert were planning in secret, they were extremely cooperative on the surface, cutting off all external links and blocking their own Star Field network in accordance with the requirements of the three Universal Civilizations.

With the three Universal Civilizations and the civilizations within the Star Field collectively acting, the scale of resources mobilized was beyond imagination. Things that were believed impossible in the eyes of normal people were easily achieved.

The Ancient Star Desert was quickly isolated from the entire galactic society and became akin to a quarantined city in darkness. All contact with it was forbidden, and the outside world did not know what was happening inside.

While the situation was temporarily under control, panic still spread throughout the universe. The sudden disaster robbed the Flickering World of its limelight, and countless people turned their attention away from the competition in the new Star Field to focus on progression of the situation within the Ancient Star Desert.

Compared to the calm and poise with which the civilizations handled the situation, the galactic residents of the Ancient Star Desert seemed to be chaotic and flustered. Even though the civilizations continued to appease the residents, there were still varying degrees of people fleeing to other planets to take refuge.

Due to the target of the virus being artificial intelligences, countless residents no longer placed their trust in their machines, thinking that they might possibly be a threat. They would rather regress back to the level of a surface civilization than continue to utilize the intelligent machinery. Some even destroyed their machines to eliminate any hidden threats.

A trend of machinery rejection was created in the Ancient Star Desert… but such chaos was long within the predicted scope of the advanced civilizations.

With the severity of the situation, the three Universal Civilizations did not choose to block the news but rather let everyone know the seriousness of such a situation. In this manner, the self-examination and supervision of the galactic residents could be strengthened. Besides, there would be no way to hide any movement of this scale.

The stargates were rapidly closed, the army moving into the Star Field to set up barricades. Countless people who wished to escape from the Ancient Star Desert were completely blocked.

This scene was something that also occurred during the era of the intelligent plague in his previous life. Now that this was pushed forward to the Version 4.0 era, a stormy undercurrent started brewing.

…

“The Ancient Star Desert has been sealed? Black Star has gone to aid them‽”

In the free competition zone, the leaders of the Super Star Cluster met in secret within the Flickering World, their expressions gleeful.

“This disaster is too timely! With the three Universal Civilizations involved in disaster relief, they no longer have the time to contain us!”

Roddick of the Modo Civilization tightly gripped his fists, an expression of joy.

The majority of people in the universe were uneasy and panicking about the disaster, but for the Super Star Cluster Alliance, it was unexpectedly good news.

“That’s right. The Intelligent Plague can restrain and control the three Universal Civilizations, which will give us more time. This will increase our chances of winning!”

“The best would be for the Intelligent Plague to spread out and make the three Universal Civilizations suffer. The more chaotic the universe, the less time they have to deal with us. Only with chaos can we stand a chance.”

Everyone present was extremely excited, feeling as though it was some form of divine intervention.

“Say, what happens if the three Universal Civilizations fail?”

“That will put everyone in a terrible situation. We will suffer losses as well.”

“Without destruction, there can never be creation. Only when the foundations of the three Universal Civilizations are shaken will we then have the chance to rise. These are all necessary sacrifices.”

The eyes of everyone present flashed.

If the Intelligent Plague were to truly break loose, then the Super Star Cluster Alliance would also be damaged. However, the three Universal Civilizations would take the brunt, their prestige and dominance sure to plummet.

They believed that the advanced civilizations of the Ancient Star Desert would have their own thoughts as well.

However, right now, all they could do was discuss. The situation was not determined by them, so they could only wait and see.

…

As the entire universe was filled with anxiety, Mechanics from all over the universe rushed to the Ancient Star Desert one after another, arriving at the disaster command center that was temporarily established by the three Universal Civilizations.

One month later, a fleet cruised into the dock of the Disaster Management Command Center. Han Xiao opened the hatch and walked down the spaceship with a group of mechanics. He caught sight of Manison immediately.

“You’re finally here.”

Manison came up to greet him.

Since the establishment of the development union, Manison and Han Xiao had served as the President and the Vice President respectively. While they had different end goals in mind, they were currently strung together and thus communicated frequently.

“I thought you would arrive in your true body, but you’re still using your avatar.” Han Xiao clicked his tongue.

“… This is safer.”

Manison was a little speechless. A Mechanic was supposed to be a ‘paper[1]’ class. Han Xiao was an anomaly who ran around everywhere, not afraid of being killed.

After they exchanged greetings, they walked side by side, discussing the current situation.

“I rushed all the way here and could not get any news from the outside. How’s the situation in the Ancient Star Desert now?” Han Xiao was curious.

“Not too optimistic. While the three Universal Civilizations have already barricaded the Star Field, the virus is too contagious. Many nodes have already been repeatedly infected, and the virus has a terrible camouflaging ability, rendering normal scanning devices too inaccurate and inefficient. There are currently eight Star Clusters that show signs of infection, and the number of nodes… too large to estimate.” Manison shook his head.

Han Xiao understood.

Every terminal connected to a quantum network could be considered a node, meaning this included communicators, household appliances, spaceships, and so on. The number was humongous, and just the classifications would already tell one how terrible the workload was.

Even if the Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic could easily remove the virus’ information packets, there were so many nodes that an individual’s strength was simply insufficient. The speed of removal would not surpass the infection speed, let alone factoring the issue of reinfection. At present, only the advanced civilizations had the ability to control the virus.

“The three Universal Civilizations are currently developing special anti-virus programs in order to improve the efficiency of removal. This is also the reason for them calling on us,” Manison said.

“Has this virus already been named?”

“Well, it was temporarily named the ‘Virtual Mutiny Virus’ on paper.”

Han Xiao glanced at him before raising an eyebrow. “I heard that you were the first person to discover this virus, immediately running over to the Federation of Light to inform them of this matter. What are your thoughts?”

“This is my business,” Manison casually replied.

“Take a guess to see if I believe it or not.” Han Xiao smirked. He knew Manison well and had not forgotten the previous incident with the federation. Why was he pretending to be a loyal minister now?

Manison shook his head, looking ashamed at being in his company.

“A youngster will always be a youngster. Your mentality pains me.”

Yes, pretend, continue to pretend… Han Xiao sniggered internally.

Seeing that Black Star still had an expression as though he would rather believe that Manison was a ghost instead, he shook his head before whispering, “This type of disaster is the stage for us Mechanics. The more important the three Universal Civilizations view it, the more prominent our importance will be to them. This will allow us to contribute to the universe and become a bargaining chip for us. On the other hand, if this virus cannot be resolved, the Mechanic department will be severely hit, which will not be conducive to our expansion.”

“This is more like you.” Han Xiao laughed. “You still wish to take the opportunity to study this virus, and if possible, master it so there will be an additional deterrent to the advanced civilizations, right?”

“Aren’t you thinking the same way too?” Manison shot back.

Hearing this, Han Xiao put on a righteous look, as though he radiated virtue.

“As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. I do not wish for the universe to fall into chaos; this is my responsibility as a senior!”

“He he.”

Manison mirthlessly spat out two laughs.

I read you right, Black Star. We’re indeed all jackals of the same tribe.

[1] Gaming slang which means that the character has low HP and thus easily killed.

Chapter 1102: The Undercurrents within different Parties

Chapter 1102 – The Undercurrents within different Parties

The duo idly chatted as they walked into the spacious conference room.

At this moment, various races were sitting in the conference room, all of which were Mechanics from all over the world. The lowest tier here was the Calamity Grade, and several Beyond Grade A Mechanics were also present.

The dynasty’s [Illusory Deity] Kant, [Warship Emperor] Maximiler, and [Quantum Demon] Judith; the church’s Sun Hunter and [Mechanical Catastrophe] Francisco; the federation’s [Mechanic Empress] Mornisa, [Defender] Romo, and the [Lone Ranger] Jackornitz whom Han Xiao had just released.

Not all of them specialized in Virtual Technology, but as Beyond Grade A Mechanics, they had naturally dabbled in the Virtual Domain, definitely more than what the Calamity Grades would have.

In order to deal with the Intelligent Plague, the three Universal Civilizations had invited all sorts of well-known experts from different Star Fields to work together. This could be described as a grand gathering of the universe’s mechanics. All sorts of talents gathered on this unprecedented occasion.

When Han Xiao walked in with Manison, everyone felt their breaths stagnate, their gazes landing on the two of them with emotions such as worship and awe appearing on their faces.

In the present Mechanic world, Manison was recognized as the pinnacle, whereas Black Star had an unstoppable rising momentum. Not long ago, he had set another stellar battle record. Coupled with his role as the Vice President of the Beyond Grade A Association, he was second only to Manison in the rankings of the Beyond Grade A Mechanics.

Watching the two of them walk in shoulder to shoulder, many of the Mechanics felt like they were meeting their idols.

“Oh, everyone is here.”

The Beyond Grade A Mechanics were all in the first row. Han Xiao first greeted Kant and his other dynasty allies before turning his head to sweep the federation and the church’s people with a glance.

Oh, it’s confirmed. Everyone here has been beaten by me before.

As though perceiving the ridicule in Han Xiao’s eyes, with the exception of Sun Hunter, the rest of the Mechanics naturally looked away, not wishing to make eye contact with Black Star.

This was especially so after being released from prison. Jackornitz, who was the latest to have been released, quickly turned his head to look at the ceiling, pretending to be distracted.

“Tsk tsk, don’t be shy. We’re all part of the same association now. Why are you still acting so cold, not even saying hello?”

Han Xiao leaned over, smiling as he draped his arms over their shoulders. Everyone’s shoulders stiffed; they only helplessly nodded and greeted him, “Vice President.”

Ah, how comfortable.

Han Xiao was satisfied, patting everyone’s shoulders vigorously before taking a seat next to Manison. He pulled Kant beside him to discuss the changes behind the virus thus far.

After a while, Sidreun strode into the room, standing on the rostrum of the conference room. The whispering voices quickly abated, and everyone looked up toward him.

Sidreun lightly cleared his throat, solemnly speaking.

“Some of you might know me, but others don’t, so I’ll do a brief introduction of myself. I’m Sidreun, the Chief of the Federation of Light’s Inspector Department. Everyone here is a Mechanic at the top of the universe and has accepted the invitation to remove the Virtual Mutiny Virus. The situation is urgent now, so I skip the formalities. Let me explain the current situation to you.”

As he spoke, Sidreun called out the virtual screen showing the current infection scope of the virus, continuing in a grave tone.

“The Virtual Mutiny Virus is a new type of quantum network virus with a very high technology level. It has amazing penetration ability into normal firewalls. After the data packet has succeeded in penetration, it will disguise itself as normal data. There are too many variants of the package’s key data, thus its degree of concealment is extremely high. Once the node is successfully infiltrated, the difficulty of scanning will be greatly increased, which in turn consumes more computing power.

“Moreover, every information package of the Virtual Mutiny Virus is a source of infection, constantly self-replicating to create repeated infections. Thus, the efficiency of our conventional methods will be too weak. At present, we are analyzing the structural coding of the information packets, planning to create programs that can reverse the development of its three unique programs—namely scanning, anti-virus, and firewall. The problem is, the coding for this virus is different from our mainstream quantum network technology. Just the analysis is difficult, slowing progress…”

Hearing this, everyone nodded. This was a normal process when dealing with virtual viruses.

Virtual Mechanics could be said to resemble the medical experts from all over the world, gathering and working together right now to research and come out with a cure to a new infectious disease.

Sidreun said in a heavy voice, “At present, the Virtual Mutiny Virus is still within the incubation period. We managed to intercept many virus information packets that did not manage to completely self-destruct themselves. After interpreting the content, we have discovered the trigger mechanism behind the outbreak of the virus. However, the situation is not good.

“Based on the analysis of the algorithms, it shows that there are sixteen trigger logics for the outbreak of the Virtual Mutiny Virus, of which four are potentially troublesome. First, when the number of infected nodes reaches a certain scale, the virus will automatically break out. The second trigger is the removal of the virus on a large scale. The third logic is that once the infection rate of the virus slows to a certain scale or if there are repeated infections without any new nodes being infected, the virus will then break out. Lastly, if a single virus packet is isolated or trapped for too long within a node, it will implode on its own…”

While listening to Sidreun’s introduction, Han Xiao nodded to himself in understanding.

Viruses would not sit and wait to die. These trigger mechanisms were created to adapt to various situations. If they infected enough numbers, outbreak! If they were being killed en masse, outbreak! If the infection rate was restricted, outbreak!

The [Intelligent Plague] mission had warned him of the existence of a virus core, so most of the trigger mechanisms, including the three previously talked about, should be controlled by the virus core. Only the virus core could coordinate the overall infection trend. Information packets were like bombs, and the virus core was the remote detonator.

While disconnecting the quantum network could cut off the connection between the information packets and the virus core, the fourth trigger was introduced to prevent such a situation. Even without the virus core remotely controlling it, the infected node will self-detonate if left too long without any new signal or information sources, akin to a timed bomb. Thus, it was also difficult to isolate and imprison the virus separately.

At present, the three Universal Civilizations could only cut off the connection between the Ancient Star Desert and the other Star Fields to prevent further infection, whereas the internal network of the Star Field had not been cut off, retaining the public base stations as well as the Star Field level quantum network channels.

It was not realistic to completely disconnect the network. Cutting off the link of each node would be equivalent to blinding themselves. In this manner, the three Universal Civilizations would not be able to monitor the rate of infection, let alone count the number of infected nodes.

Thus, only by developing an anti-virus with a three-pronged approach could the problem be settled once and for all.

“… The situation is severe. We’re fighting with time against the virus. While delaying the outbreak of the virus, we also have to speed up research and development. During this period, a mechanical rebellion could happen at any time, so we can only try our best to prepare and control the outbreak.”

Sidreun gazed around, his expression grave as he emphasized his point.

“We have to block the virus right here in the Ancient Star Desert, not letting it leak out to the outside world, else the crisis will be uncontrollable and evolve into a universal disaster. The consequences would be unimaginable!”

As his voice fell, the atmosphere of the conference room grew heavy.

Thinking about the potential impact, many of the mechanics present felt tremendous pressure. It could be said that the progress of their efforts was directly related to the number of casualties in the universe. If a mistake was made, there would then be countless sacrifices.

Han Xiao thought on it.

Has it reached such a state?

Even the three Universal Civilizations were having a headache, causing him to wonder which civilization this Virtual Mutiny Virus originated from as well as the creator of this technology.

Suddenly, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

That’s right! If I utilize the [Bold Explorer] skill, I might be able to see through the origins of the virus…

…

After the meeting was adjourned, Sidreun took the group to the virus research department.

On the way, Han Xiao and Manison walked in front, entering the quantum network to chat privately in their minds.

“You came earlier than me, so tell me, is the analysis of the virus really that difficult?”

“It comes from an unknown civilization, with a never-before-seen encoding method. It’s already difficult to decipher, and coupled with the self-destruction mechanism, we only ever get incomplete information packets.” Manison shook his head. “With our strength, we can clear the information packets at will, but the current task is to create a three-pronged anti-virus kit that even ordinary people can use. Without advanced computing power, the requirements have to be more demanding.”

Han Xiao nodded, his eyes gleaming as he replied, “I feel that you don’t really wish to create the dedicated antivirus so quickly.”

Manison glanced at him, not bothering to reply directly. “This virus technology has the possibility to be weaponized. The information packet is being used like a missile head, and the content inside can be reprogramed, for example, to seize control of a machine. With the help of the high infectiousness of this virus, the invasion ability of us Virtual Mechanics can be raised to a whole new level…”

Hearing this, Han Xiao also clearly understood Manison’s plan.

This person wished to solve the disaster and accumulate achievements, but that was under the premise that he could thoroughly research and grasp this virus technology. In order to ensure the deterrence behind this technology, he did not wish to make a whole and complete antivirus, rather leaving a small loophole within.

Han Xiao secretly cursed this sneaky old man before narrowing his eyes and saying, “If you can control the virus core data and obtain the source code, then you can fully analyze this technology.”

“That’s right.” Manison nodded before glancing back. “It’s not just you and me, but every of the Beyond Grade A mechanics present, even those from the three Universal Civilizations have the same intention to obtain the virus core.”

On the way to the Ru0026D department, there was a huge crowd, and a large number of researchers were stationed here day and night to decipher the Virtual Mutiny Virus.

Everyone was assigned to their specific task, immediately beginning to work.

Some were in charge of scientific research whilst others did field work. They had to go outside to collect those infected nodes, acting as inspectors of the three Universal Civilizations to check how the other civilizations were handling the infected nodes.

As for the Beyond Grade A Mechanics, they acted as experts and consultants, staying within the headquarters to research. All of them had their dedicated rooms.

Taking his subordinates into the room, Han Xiao was assigned three information packages, of which the structural integrities were at 91%, 82%, and 75% respectively. These were the least damaged batches.

Han Xiao summoned Phillip, analyzing the information packages one by one against the currently deciphered part of the code comparison table.

As a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic, he was not worried about Phillip being infected. This sort of information package could not break through his own defense line.

Taking advantage of Phillip doing the hard work for him, Han Xiao slipped into the quantum network, capturing one of the information packages before activating his [Bold Explorer] skill.

…

At the same time, on the Star Arc Civilization’s mother planet, a meeting was being held, and many of the upper echelons were discussing animatedly.

“Now that the three Universal Civilizations have blocked the Ancient Star Desert, disaster relief is the primary task for them, but they might also take the opportunity to deal with the Super Star Cluster Civilizations in this Star Field in the name of inspecting the infected nodes. They might request us to open our internal database, even taking advantage of this news blockage to achieve what they want!”

“That’s impossible. The three Universal Civilizations aren’t so stupid. If they take this opportunity to act on the civilizations that cooperate with them, it will only ruin their credibility and will only make us struggle to the death.”

“But forcing us to open our databases is rather possible. If we choose to reject, once they have solved this disaster, the three Universal Civilizations will have a lot of room to operate. Whether it is to plant blame or for political accountability, they can attack all of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations in the Ancient Star Desert, using this as an excuse to begin a crusade against the Super Star Cluster Alliance.”

“We can’t rely on the integrity of the three Universal Civilizations. We have to prepare bargaining chips and secure our retreat in advance.”

“That’s right. We cannot just listen to the arrangements of the three Universal Civilizations. I suggest we secretly collect some infected nodes, keeping the virus as a trump card. We can even take a little risk to open the military’s secret external communication network and pass the virus on to our secret forces within each Star Field as insurance…”

Suggestions spewed out quickly, and the expression of the head of the civilization was grave as he pondered.

The Star Arc Civilization was located within the Ancient Star Desert, and while it had cut off its connection with the outside world in response to the calls made by the three Universal Civilizations, there was no way a Super Star Cluster Civilization would be this honest and obedient.

To make them obediently give up on studying this terrible virus technology with just an order? What sort of joke was this? Did they think them innocent babies?

So what if the virus breaks out? It’s simple, just lock up all the offending artificial intelligences. There will definitely be more solutions than difficulties.

While the three Universal Civilizations were mainly there for disaster relief and did not express any hostility, the blocking of the Star Field still left the Super Star Cluster Civilizations in trepidation. As a civilization, it was impossible for them to place their future in the hands of others. They had to plan ahead.

It was not just Star Arc Civilization; all the advanced civilizations were also secretly planning something.

…

On a certain planet within the Ancient Star Desert, a subdivision of Machinery Faith was located.

Above the holy mountain, in the Temple of God, many priests stood on the edge of the circular hall, surrounding the holographic projections in the center. Those were the data structures of the Virtual Mutiny Virus, expanded and amplified, looking like stars in the galaxy.

“Look at the structure of this quantum network virus. It’s like a thorny rose, coquettish yet dangerous. It’s able to set off a machinery revolution, possibly creating a mechanical kingdom…”

One of the priests of the Virtual School could not help but sing out, a pious expression on his face.

“Quiet.” The Grand Priest tapped the Machinery Scepter before slowly saying, “This virus is dangerous. We have to conduct research in a completely enclosed environment to prevent any leakage.”

“This is no virus but the will of God. Why not spread it out?” Another zealot spread open his arms wide as he babbled. “Rather than saying that it’s a disaster, it’s better to claim it as the gospel!”

“Have you lost your mind‽”

Hearing this, most of the priests retorted.

“We’re the believers of machinery, not the emissaries of a disaster!”

The quarrel was fierce, and the Grand Priest had a heavy expression as he listened to the different factions arguing.

Any faith would have some zealots with distorted mindsets, and the Machinery Faith was no exception. Most of them wished to study the Virtual Mutiny Virus and did not want to cause a disaster.

However, a small portion of them did not think so. In their eyes, the Intelligent Plague was a god-sent message for revolution, allowing machinery to get rid of the shackles of being a tool and gain freedom to form its own Machinery Kingdom. In those zealots’ eyes, the Virtual Mutiny Virus was the will of God.

The Grand Priest turned his head, looking at the statues within the Temple of God. His eyes fell on the figures of Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor, and he prayed silently to them.

…

In another area of the Ancient Star Desert, a fleet was slowly cruising, within which was a bunch of players.

Now that the World Server was open, players from all Star Fields had gathered in the Flickering World. However, there were a few of the players that still chose to stay in their original Star Fields. Some of these people were happy being small-time characters, while others did not wish to travel all over the universe just to start from nothing once more. Thus, they remained in the Star Field to keep exploring.

The players in this fleet were an active guild based in the Ancient Star Desert, called the Western Sword Guild. They had been black market mercenaries for the past four versions, and everyone knew that they were Immortals.

The guild president’s ID was Melancholic Prince, and his character belonged to the galactic Blood Race, which referred to Vampires in general. They possessed pale white skin, skinny figures, and had a melancholic vibe.

The Blood Race existed in the universe, classified as part of the long-lived races, but they did not possess the famed talents such as blood recollection, transforming blood servants, and becoming bats. They also did not have the standard weaknesses such as garlic, silver, or Holy Relics.

There were many theories about the origin of the galactic Blood Race, which included genetic mutations, part of biological weapons created by higher civilizations, or even dark energy invasions. After years of natural selection, the blood race had also adapted to the Galactic Civilization, which caused them to no longer be afraid of ultraviolet radiation, surviving on synthetic blood as well. Ten Enas could buy a few tons of synthetic blood, which also came with a full set of seasoning as well as a fluffy mascot as a free gift.

However, this species was still unpopular in the universe, as no one liked a creature that drank the blood of others to replenish their physical strength.

Beep beep…

The spaceship’s communicator rang, and Melancholic Prince opened his eyes in surprise.

“Brothers, someone anonymously sent us an employment task through the black market, with a remuneration of five million Enas! They are paying a deposit of a million in advance!”

Everyone gathered around in excitement.

“Such a big order! What are we waiting for? Let’s accept it!”

“What does the employer want us to do?”

Melancholic Prince glanced through the employment list, and he laughed.

“Haha, interesting, someone wishes to hire us to smuggle an infected node of the Virtual Mutiny Virus out of the Ancient Star Desert.”

Hearing this, everyone could not help but exchange glances.

They were also trapped within the Ancient Star Desert, so they were naturally aware of the danger of the Virtual Mutiny Virus as well as the scale of the three Universal Civilizations. Thus, they hesitated.

“President, is the risk too high? If we’re exposed, we will immediately become wanted men.”

Melancholic Prince waved his hand. “What are you scared of? This is five million Enas. There’s no reason not to risk our lives for it. Accept the mission.”

Everyone could only follow the order, but some of them had other thoughts and began to secretly think to themselves.

Their anonymous employer wanted them to perform this task mainly because they had taken a fancy to their identity as Immortals.

One could see that in the isolated Ancient Star Desert, undercurrents were surging.

Chapter 1103: The sickle is accurate, a leek every slice

Chapter 1103 The sickle is accurate, a leek every slice

After sacrificing sixty percent of his Luck attribute for fourteen days, which amounted to roughly zero points, the [Bold Explorer) skill was activated, and the world in front of Han Xiao’s eyes changed. His sight panned out into outer space, and below him was a huge planet where its silvery gray earth extended all the way as far as his vision allowed. Blue and white dazzling lights covered the horizon, and the bright light from the photon energy tower stood out from the backdrop of the dark universe.

Han Xiao glanced downward. On the surface was a steel forest without any green vegetation, and numerous strange-shaped mechanical buildings occupied the area. The high mechanical towers shot into the sky, giving the planet a look like a mutated sea urchin wearing steel armor. The cold, heavy style brought with it an evil vibe.

At this time, the scene zoomed in, falling to the ground and focusing on the mechanical city at a low altitude. Han Xiao saw that the inhabitants of the planet were a group of mechanical bodies with varied appearances. There were almost no two identical individuals, their structures all complicated and exquisite. Their decals were all gorgeous, giving them a very advanced look.

“They’re all mechanical life forms. Could this be a Mechanical Life Civilization?”

As a bystander, Han Xiao could not help but think of Psionic Prime’s civilization under his banner. The two were very similar, with the difference that this machinery civilization revealed by (Bold Explorer) was far more advanced, already reaching its matured state.

Did the Virtual Mutiny Virus originate from this unknown mechanical civilization? Han Xiao thought while looking at the scene in front of him.

Right at this moment, something happened!

A piercing white glare that seemed to cover the entire sky swept past, and the giant planet was dead in the center of its blast radius.

A large shield covering the entire planet appeared in outer space, but the moment it came into contact with the light ray, the large shield disintegrated, breaking into countless energy particles.

The planet lost all its protection and was peeled off layer by later, annihilated and decomposed in a short moment. The entire planet’s existence was easily erased in the universe by this light ray.

By the time the attack was over, the illusion disappeared, and Han Xiao’s vision returned to the room. He frowned.

The attack just now seemed to be an advanced energy rank directional gamma-ray burst. It might not have been a natural disaster but rather an attack from a weapon.

Gamma ray bursts were a common universal disaster, and evaporating a planet was like child’s play to them. But with the shields that most civilizations had, they would be able to shield themselves against it. However, the ray burst in the illusion Han Xiao experienced was strange in that it directly disintegrated the planet’s shield the moment it touched it, even though the machinery civilization in it was at an advanced level.

Most people would not be able to observe many details, but the senses of the Beyond Grade As were different. Han Xiao found that there was an additional material added to the Gamma Ray, which might make it a galactic weapon utilized by another advanced civilization.

The universe was full of radiation, and it was actually very lively and bright. However, ordinary people would only see a patch of darkness. As a person’s life level changed, so did the world they saw around them. It was like everyone was looking at the world through keyholes, but those of a higher life level would have larger keyholes.

The information obtained through the skill this time is not enough. There’s no clear direction…

Han Xiao stroked his chin with his thumb, summing up the information he obtained in the short illusion.

Firstly, there was an advanced civilization that was suspected of being a Mechanical Life Civilization. They had a large colonial planet that was extremely advanced in technology, but it was blown up by a Planetary Annihilation Weapon, proving that they had another advanced civilization as their enemy. The hostile civilization would at least be at the Star Cluster level, even possibly at the quasi-Universal Civilization level.

The creator of the Virtual Mutiny Virus should be one of these two civilizations. There was too little information about the other civilization, so Han Xiao ignored it. He mainly analyzed this unknown Machinery civilization.

There are many possibilities for the origin of the Machinery civilization. The most common is for a Beyond Grade A to bestow Mechanical Life, but there are other factors. For example, a biological civilization could also undergo Mechanical Ascension, placing the consciousness of their entire race into mechanical minds and replacing their physical bodies with machinery carriers to obtain immortality. It’s also possible that this civilization is in the form of an AI civilization, a world dominated by artificial intelligence, and the machines are just carriers for them to walk around in…

What piqued Han Xiao’s curiosity most was whether this happened during the era of the modern Galaxy Calendar. He did not know whether it was a lost civilization that had existed during the exploration era or an unknown advanced civilization in an unexplored region of the universe.

He needed to continue using (Bold Explorer) to obtain intelligence or maybe use more relevant items for his ability…

Han Xiao suddenly recalled something.

There was still the safe in which the virus had been stored, which was in the custody of the three Universal Civilizations. That might be a better goal!

Along the way, he could also visit Harrison and the others. These guys had been temporarily imprisoned due to the release of the Virtual Mutiny Virus. In the face of such a disaster, the inspector did not have the last say, so whatever promises he gave to Harrison and this team would definitely be blown away like farts in the wind.

The three Universal Civilizations were quite considerate to this group of prisoners as well, fearing that their bodies would rust due to the long prison life. Thus, they were interrogated daily at a high intensity to help them work their brains and stay healthy. Han Xiao left his subordinates and Phillip in the room to continue analyzing the virus code. He left the R&D department by himself and strode over to the headquarters on the dynasty’s side. The three Universal Civilizations had appointed their senior officials to take charge of the affairs of the Ancient Star Desert. With Han Xiao’s position in the dynasty, he met with the supervisor without much hindrance.

The other party stood up to greet him, exchanging some niceties before they got down to business.

“Your Excellency Black Star, what can I do for you?” the inspector asked.

“I’ve read the information you’ve given and hope to study the device that was used to store the virus.”

“That’s easy.” The dynasty inspector immediately agreed, giving him a lot of respect.

“In addition, I wish to contact the group of scavengers that unearthed this virus, and if possible, release them temporarily.”

“You can see them at any time, but releasing them… is a little inappropriate.”

“I know, you guys have been interrogating them, but this has yielded no results. They should just be unlucky fools that got trapped in this. There’s no point continuing to imprison them.”

The Inspector furrowed his brows as he insisted, “But the virus has caused such a big impact. This is a severe crime. Even if it was an accident, they have to take responsibility for it.”

Han Xiao shook his head as he pointed out, “They might be of help actually. Let them stay by my side to obtain some merits. If they really manage to make some contributions, then we will have benefitted from it.”

The inspector hesitated for a long while before finally agreeing. “… Since you wish for it, alright then. However, their identities will remain as prisoners, and they cannot have freedom of movement.”

He only did so out of respect for Black Star’s position. If it was some other person suggesting this, he would not even bother.

“Thanks.” Han Xiao smiled. “I would also like to request to be allowed to go out on field work.”

“You wish to perform field work as well?” The inspector was surprised.

Han Xiao nodded. “That’s right. The research work here has Manison and the rest at the helm, so there’s no need for me to devote myself to it. I’m wasting resources here, and in my opinion, there are two tasks that are both as equally important as developing an antivirus.”

“Please do tell.”

“The first would be the search for the virus’ core. If the core can be located, most of the triggering mechanisms of the Virtual Mutiny Virus will be invalidated, which will be equivalent to destroying the opponent’s brain. The threat of the disaster will also be reduced.”

“This point is indeed important.” The dynasty’s inspector praised.

If the virus core could be controlled, the difficulty of solving this disaster would be reduced by more than fifty percent. However, the virus core had hidden itself too deeply. No one had any idea what sort of abnormal data it was, and the three Universal Civilizations were also unable to find it.

Han Xiao then raised two fingers and continued. “Secondly, in my opinion, it will be a matter of time before the virus is cracked, with the current abilities of the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A mechanics. The real difficulty lies in those with unsavory plans.”

Hearing this, the inspector also frowned.

“Countless lessons in history have taught us that the greed and suspicion of the human heart is always a catalyst for disaster. If it’s not controlled, the small problems will eventually evolve into bigger problems that cannot be handled,” Han Xiao slowly said. “Presumably, the dynasty also understands that the virus is not difficult to solve, but the real problem is in those people with ulterior motives. Having the Virtual Mutiny Virus is akin to them having a switch of disaster. Now that they have such a good opportunity, who does not wish to have a strategic weapon as a deterrent?” He could clearly see that this was an opportunity for anyone to easily obtain nuclear-level weapons at an extremely low cost. Which ambitious organization would not want to give it a try?

The inspector stood up, suddenly packing around, before solemnly speaking.

“You’re right. The three Universal Civilizations have been concerned about this. We’re all from the same team here, so there’s no need to cover it up. The Super Star Cluster Alliance has been at odds with us since long ago and will not sit quietly and obey our commands. The dynasty’s main Artificial intelligence, Heroic Soul, has already calculated the probabilities. Not only the advanced civilization within the Ancient Star Desert but even organizations from the outside world will hire countless black market mercenaries and wanted criminals to help them smuggle the virus out. This is also one of the main reasons the blockade was imposed.

“While we require the Ancient Star Desert to cooperate with us to destroy the virus, at the same time, we cannot be too harsh on them. This is especially so for the Super Star Clusters; they can reopen their own external quantum networks at any time. It actually is not up to us to control if the virus will be leaked or not… Of course, they do not dare make any rash moves. Thus, the three Universal Civilizations are attempting to control the situation by being careful and closing one eye so as not to make them anxious. This is also why we are in such a hurry to develop the antivirus. As long as the threat of the virus technology is fundamentally resolved, the small actions made by the advanced civilization will not affect us.”

The inspector then stopped and emphasized, “Your Excellency Black Star, since you’re willing to go out into the field, I will hand over three dynasty fleets for you to command. I hope you can try to catch as many of these b*stards who are eager for profit and disregard the safety of the universe.”

“Okay.” Han Xiao stood up as well, shaking his head.

The other Beyond Grade As concentrated on research, wanting to understand this virus technology. No one wished to waste energy by going out to arrest people. In their opinion, this was hard work that they should not be responsible for.

But our Great Mechanic Han was different. He had the [Intelligent Plague) mission, so in order to raise his Mission Rating, he could not simply rely on research. After all, the credit for that would be shared by a large number of people.

In his opinion, the most direct way to improve the rating would be to catch the fish that slipped through the net with malicious intent. Furthermore, the special mission requirement was for him to destroy the virus core. He naturally wanted the reward and would not just stay in the command center to do research.

As for research, the more that everyone searched, the more they would share. He could wait till Old Man Manison had completely analyzed the structure of the virus to obtain the ready-made secondary research. Not only would this save a lot of his time, he could also relax for the time being.

After reaching a consensus with the person in charge, Han Xiao left the dynasty’s office and went to the prison to visit Harrison.

Upon learning of Han Xiao’s intentions, the Chief Warden immediately welcomed him in with enthusiasm, respectfully leading the way.

In the single cell, Harrison lay on the bed with his hands on his head, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling

“Is this how I’m going to spend the next half of my life?”

He sighed.

In this month that he had spent squatting in jail, not one day had passed when he had not expressed regret. His initial judgment was correct-digging out that triangular device would bring them huge trouble. If he had known that was the case, he would have not taken it out even if he had to risk his life.

The serious consequences brought about by this artifact gave him cold hands and feet. While this was an unintentional mistake, to have caused such trouble left him with a guilty conscience.

Not only did he bring about a disaster, he even threw his entire life away. His interrogators had let slip that this group of ‘culprits’ would be spending the rest of their lives in prison.

“If I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have come out to do archaeology. I knew it. Curiosity kills the cat. If I had stayed at home and inherited hundreds of millions of dollars from my family fortune, god knows how comfortable I would be now.”

Harrison was disheartened.

Swoosh!

At this moment, the cell door opened, and two people walked in.

“Is it time for interrogation again?” Harrison sat up with a resigned expression.

Han Xiao glanced at him, piecing his young look with the old man in his memories before nodding. “You’re indeed Harrison.” “Eh? You’re not a jailer? Who are you…” Harrison raised his head, and taking in Black Star’s features, he gaped in shock. “Black… Black… Black… Black Star”

Right now, Han Xiao’s face was well known in every household within the universe, his reputation frightening. However, there were a few that had heard about him through the movie (Black Star: Origins) and thus mistakenly thought Feidin was Black Star himself.

But Han Xiao was very magnanimous regarding this. After all, both of them looked equally handsome and alike, so it was a common mistake to mix up both of them.

He had heard that the movie was released whilst he was rushing over here, and the response was excellent. Not only had his reputation skyrocketed, he had also made a fortune. His returns were hundreds of times his initial investment and were still rising. From this, the huge profits within the entertainment industry in the interstellar era could be seen.

Putting aside the distracting thoughts, Han Xiao patted Harrison firmly on his shoulder while saying, “The virus was dug up by you
guys?”

Harrison was patted so hard he almost screamed in pain but quickly recovered. In front of a universally known figure like Black Star, he was a little cautious and nervous, nodding repeatedly.

“Good, then your teammates and you will follow me temporarily.” “This… What do you mean?” Harrison had an expression of confusion.

Seeing his lost look, the prison warden snapped, “You’d better thank His Excellency Black Star. If not for him speaking up for you guys, you’d be sitting here for the rest of your miserable lives.”

Harrison was stunned, an incredulous look on his face.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you… why did you save us?”

“Who said I was saving you? I just felt that you guys are good diggers and might come in handy… The warden will let you guys off later. I’m just here to meet you guys beforehand.” “I can be of help?”

Harrison was lost, not knowing what he could possibly help with.

However, this did not prevent him from understanding that his own destiny was saved by Black Star. His eyes were filled with gratitude, and he wished to hold Black Star’s hand to thank him, but due to their gap in status, he did not dare to act.

In his eyes, Black Star was an angel sent by the heavens to save him, shining with a holy light.

Just as he was about to fall into the abyss, a stranger came and gave him a hand. Harrison’s emotions were surging, and he had the urge to slam his head on the floor in gratitude toward Black Star.

While it was the first time they had met, Harrison’s favorability toward him was almost filled up.

Han Xiao smiled at him before turning to walk out of the jail cell. The moment his back faced him, he could not help breaking into a smile as he looked at the combat information on his interface. Harrison’s attribute table was displayed there.

Just by standing by my side, you’re already helping me…

In the attribute column, there was the skill (Advanced Luck Glow] in golden lettering!

The third golden leek has fallen into my hands…

Han Xiao took a deep breath of joy.

That’s right. This should be the smell of luck condensing on him!

Chapter 1104: Cancer of the Universe, the Catalyst of Disaster

Chapter 1104 Cancer of the Universe, the Catalyst of Disaster

After meeting up with Harrison, Han Xiao ran back to the R&D department and found the Beyond Grade A mechanics.

“You wish to go out and do field work?”

Hearing this, Manison and the rest of the Beyond Grade A mechanics felt surprised. They did not understand why Black Star would leave his easy research work and do the troublesome manual labor.

“What sort of attitude is this? I responded to the call of the three Universal Civilizations and am leading by example to take the lead,” Han Xiao said in a tone of righteousness.

“Then just go. Why did you come to us?” Manison did not even bother to entertain him, only glancing at Han Xiao as he tried to find out his intentions.

Black Star, this jerk, had never committed himself until success was certain. If there were no benefits, he would not have chosen to take up field work. He felt that Black Star’s motive should be to find the virus core and also to take the opportunity to infiltrate the major organizations in the Ancient Star Desert.

To be honest, Manison himself had thought of this at the beginning as well. However, he had given up this thought after much consideration.

Right now, would the three Universal Civilizations allow the Beyond Grade As to continue strengthening their own organizations? It was most likely that they would have to surrender whatever they obtained from their operations, so even the dishonest Manison was silently only researching the antivirus. Besides, the attraction of new technology far exceeded his organization’s strength.

At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly laughed, sticking out two fingers as he righteously spoke out.

“Since none of you are fighting, please aid me and lend me some of your troops.”

Everyone stared in shock.

Lending you our troops is akin to sending lambs right into the tiger’s den. Will we still be able to get them back?

How is this lending? You just want us to sacrifice a portion of our troops for you, you lowly peasant! “… How many do you need?”

“Eh, I don’t have large demands. This is mainly the moment when the three Universal Civilizations will be able to see your sense of justice. You guys can decide, and please don’t exceed fifty million per person. That would be too much for me to accept.” Han Xiao ‘modestly’ waved his hands.

Pui, a scale of 50 million per person? Are you thinking about openly stealing so many?

Do you even feel shame?

Everyone secretly slandered Han Xiao but did not refuse his request. The three Universal Civilizations’ mechanics and several neutral Beyond Grade As loaned a portion of their ordinary mechanical soldiers, which reached about eight million in number.

Among them, Manison was the most generous, lending 2.5 million units. To him, this number of soldiers was only a drop in the ocean.

The stingiest was ‘Mechanical Catastrophe’ Francisco; he only gave five thousand troops, doing so unwillingly. Even Jackornitz who was a Mechanical Pugilist and did not have much proficiency in Machinery manufacturing also donated more troops. The Beyond Grade A Mechanics all had illustrious backgrounds, so giving out some mechanical soldiers was nothing to them. They simply treated it as losing some troops in battle. However, it was more important to show some face to Black Star, as well as the three Universal Civilizations, to show that while they were too lazy to make a move, they still supported the field work.

Putting away the troops ‘sponsored by everyone, Han Xiao was satisfied. While this number was a pittance, he just wanted to see the Beyond Grade As grit their teeth and feel helpless in front of him.

Upon arriving at the dock, Han Xiao boarded a flagship arranged for him by the dynasty and took over the commander’s authority from the captain. Right now, the three dynasty fleets were temporarily under his command.

After waiting for a while, a guard hurriedly escorted Harrison and his party over.

“Your Excellency Black Star, the procedures are complete. I’ll leave them with you.”

“Alright.” Han Xiao nodded at Harrison and team with a smile on his face, saying, “You guys are not free yet. You have to follow me. If you mess around, I’ll just throw you back in prison. Do you understand?”

“Understood!”

Before Harrison could speak, all his teammates yelled out loudly, for fear that they would lose their only bid at freedom.

Han Xiao nodded, and after sending the guard away, he gave the command to depart.

The fleet slowly rose up, leaving the command center of the three Universal Civilizations and soaring into space.

At this moment, the captain spoke.

“Your Excellency Black Star, where are we heading?”

“How do you normally operate?” Han Xiao asked back.

“We usually patrol around the desolate universe belt or go check some planets that are confirmed to have traces of infection…”

As of now, there were checkpoints set at every stargate of any civilization in the Ancient Star Desert, the borders, and the transport hub planets. The spaceships had to be inspected, and for those unknown spaceships that avoided the stargate stations and moved freely within the desolate universe belt, as long as they accessed the public quantum link of the Star Field, the three Universal Civilizations would track down their IP addresses and send people to stop them. Most of the field fleets were tasked with roaming around to perform such inspections.

Thus, the biggest problem would be for those spaceships that had shielded quantum network links and could enter stealth mode. They could only monitor the surveillance buoys located throughout the Star Field and try to find the whereabouts of these people.

“Let me think about it…”

After understanding the situation, Han Xiao pretended to ruminate, but he actually opened the players’ forums to scroll through.

The outbreak of the Intelligent Plague had drawn the attention of the players toward the Ancient Star Desert. The discussion on the Ancient Star Desert was a hot post on every major section of the forum.

Because the majority of players were in the Flickering World, they were unable to join the event since the Ancient Star Desert was immediately cordoned off after the occurrence of the Intelligent Plague. They could only use the discussion boards to vent their strong curiosities.

Han Xiao opened the top post, and the discussion of the players jumped into view.

Fart Pockets in Tights: I told you all. The first few versions all had more than one Main Storyline mission, and Version 4.0 is the same. The Intelligent Plague should be the second Main Storyline. Quadratic Formula: But we are not able to participate in this Main Storyline. We cannot even enter the Ancient Star Desert. Can we only watch from the sidelines? Three Gays Under the Moon: Didn’t you see the new update from ‘Galaxy Times’? They made quite a reasonable guess, saying that it is impossible for this Main Storyline to be only for our viewing. There will definitely be opportunities for us to participate, as the chances of the virus leaking are quite high. Only then will there be a continuation for us to act.

Four-Eyed Speculative Emperor: That’s right. Now there are many missions on the black market, all looking to hire people to sneak into the Ancient Star Desert. We players can do the same. Judging by our influence on the Main Storyline for the first two versions, this Intelligent Plague event could be decided by our actions as well. As long as someone succeeds in smuggling the virus out, this version’s event can sweep across the universe!

Undead Don’t Wear Underwear: Shall we let the disaster spread through the universe? It will indeed be the fourth disaster (:3] 2)

Sun Rider: This is too much. Wouldn’t it be better to prevent the disaster? Do you have to make it such that the world is chaotic? Don’t you have a conscience?

Sh*t Smells Good: That’s right. Did you forget what the Army Commander taught us? To actually stab him in the back like that, killing the citizens of the galaxy…

On the forums, the players were divided into several factions, discussing the topic and cursing each other at the same time. The community was on fire. The players did not know that the Intelligent Plague was actually just a backstory in their previous lives, thinking that it was one of the Main Storylines of Version 4.0. With the majority of people in the Flickering World, unable to enter the Ancient Star Desert, many of them were anxious at not being able to participate.

Some of them believed that the main storyline would not just be a cutscene, so they inferred that the Intelligent Plague did not need to be actively pushed by them and would leak by itself.

Others felt that this main storyline had to be fought for, taking the initiative to release the virus and let the disaster spread in order to obtain the Main Storyline mission.

There were, however, many players in the universe who supported the promotion of the disaster. Some wanted to participate in the Main Storyline, some wanted to earn rewards, and some just wanted to watch the world burn.

‘Indeed, the Cancer of the Universe…’ Han Xiao secretly shook his head.

As the players who were ruled by chaos continued to grow stronger, their negative impact on the universe would become more and more obvious.

However, he was also a little relieved. If the players in his previous life encountered the Intelligent Plague, more than half of them back then would definitely have supported the promotion of the Intelligent Plague. Now, with the Black Star Army as their moral guide, more people were considering the problem from the perspective of the overall situation, opposing the spread of the disaster. There were obviously fewer players within the Chaotic Evil Faction than in his previous life.

My faction guidance plan is still somewhat effective.

Han Xiao felt relief.

As he swept through the other posts, one of them caught his attention. It was titled ‘Ancient Star Desert Player Benefits! Employment task with a reward of five million Enas!

The poster triumphantly shared a screenshot of a mission, which was about smuggling the Virtual Mutiny Virus out of the Ancient Star Desert for five million Enas. For the players, this was a huge sum of money, enough to buy a dozen small and medium battleships.

Seeing that the players who remained within the Ancient Star Desert got such an opportunity to rake in the cash, many of the following replies expressed envy.

The poster was called ‘Depressed Prince’. Han Xiao could not help but narrow his eyes.

Five million in remuneration, along with a deposit, gives this whole thing a fishy air. It seems that the employers are aware of the players’ character and used them to their advantage. Humph, the players within the Ancient Star Desert aren’t able to keep their hands to themselves. I have to strike down like peals of thunder on them and destroy their disaster-supporting tendencies. Han Xiao made the decision in his heart to kill the chicken in order to warn the monkeys. This Depressed Prince who went around publicizing his tasks was undoubtedly an excellent goal.

Only through striking down harshly on him would the other players then see the ending of those who tried to cause trouble and would cause them to fear the repercussions of their actions.

At the same time, he could also trace the source and check up on the mysterious employer of Depressed Prince. After all, there was no harm if there was no demand or supply for it. The mercenaries only acted based on orders, and it was the employers with ulterior motives that Han Xiao was interested in.

While Depressed Prince did not disclose his coordinates, since the other party was a mercenary, he would have recorded his whereabouts in the universe. So long as the record of his most recent time was locked onto, the approximate search area could be derived from there. To a pinnacle Beyond Grade A mechanic, this was as easy as lifting his hands.

The intelligence channel in the Ancient Star Desert might have been blocked, but the player forums were not affected. With this extra information network, Han Xiao would be able to obtain information that others did not know.

That’s right, I also have to search for one of the administrators of the black market in the Ancient Star Desert. These employment tasks for smuggling the virus will be issued through the black market. As long as I can control this channel, I will be able to monitor the movements of those restless organizations and cut off one of the channels for employment.

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

If the administrator of the black market did not wish to cooperate, he still had a trump card up his sleeve. There was no need to be soft-hearted. Even the three Universal Civilizations would be glad to have someone temporarily controlling the black market channels, reducing the likelihood of disaster.

Mindful of this, Han Xiao finally had a clear plan of action and turned to look at the captain. “Let’s split up and act. The main flagship will follow me to capture some b*stards.”

Somewhere in the desolate universe belt, an interstellar fortress was suspended in the orbit of a desolate planet, with a spaceship patrolling nearby. Both of them had the same emblem, which was shaped like a roaring wolf’s head.

This sign represented an interstellar organization named the Kepel Financial group, which was a legitimate financial group on the surface but operated as an arms dealer for the galactic black market in the Ancient Star Desert.

The organization was a family-run business, and the leaders were all members of the Kepel family. The current leader was called Kepel the Fifth, and he had the mutated bloodline of a Beastman, possessing a head that looked like a werewolf.

At this moment, in the office of the leader, Kepel the Fifth had just received a capable officer who had rushed back.

“I made you responsible for spreading the anonymous employment task on the black market. Has the mission been completed?” Kepel the Fifth said in a deep baritone.

“It’s completed. Many of the black market mercenaries have accepted the task, willing to smuggle the Virtual Mutiny Virus out.” “Very good. The Virtual Mutiny Virus is a strong weapon and will definitely have a market in the future. We need to control it!”

As an arms dealer in the black market, the Kepel Financial group had no reason to let go of the Virtual Mutiny Virus, which was a powerful weapon of war. This was just purely commercial considerations. “Leader, I’ve also specially employed some of the Immortal troops. I feel that it would be more likely for them to complete the task.”

“Beautiful! The Immortals are money grubbers and born to be mercenaries. So long as we give them enough money, they would rather sacrifice their lives. Moreover, they have unknown information networks within their groups, which cannot be interfered with even with our quantum networks. Their capabilities will increase the success rate of our plan. If one can be shipped out, the virus can be infinitely replicated!”

Kepel the Fifth was very satisfied with how his subordinate carried out the task.

Most of the major organizations had studied the characteristics of players, more or less summing up some rules. The Kepel Financial group was no exception, mastering some simple ways to utilize the players.

At present, since the Ancient Star Desert was sealed, the various gray organizations could be thoroughly investigated by the advanced civilizations at any time. The Kepel Financial group had decided to transfer their assets to the outside world and destroy evidence of their gray business. Thus, it was determined to transport their arms, along with the Virtual Mutiny Virus, out of the Star Field.

Chapter 1105: Conspiracy?

Chapter 1105 Conspiracy?

The Western Sword Guild’s spaceship slowly flew through cosmic space. Inside the cabin, Depressed Prince and the other guild members stood around the 3D star map and analyzed the route.

“We’re now here…”

Depressed Prince pointed on the star map and drew an illuminated path. It extended around a desolate universe belt at the edge of the Star Field in an arc, all the way to outside the Star Field. He then said, “In order to leave the Star Field, the only way is through the desolate universe belt. The encirclement the three Universal Civilizations had set up at the borders will definitely have flaws. Although we have their defense map and patrolling route, we still need some luck…”

Hearing the president explain the plan, the guild members nodded.

After accepting the anonymous hiring with a five million reward, Depressed Prince had thought of some plans in order to successfully transport the virus out. Among which, making use of the flaws in the encirclement of the three Universal Civilizations and smuggling it out was one of those more likely to succeed.

In order to not be located by the three Universal Civilizations, the Western Sword guild had already cut off their network and kept their spaceship in stealth mode.

Technically, they would not be able to receive any information from the outside world this way. However, Depressed Prince used the fact that he was a player, logged into the forums, and secretly hired other players to private message him on the forums to provide intelligence. This was how he obtained the defense map and patrol route of the three Universal Civilizations. Even though they had cut off their quantum network connection, they still had a source of information. This way, not only could they avoid getting located by the three Universal Civilizations through the network, but they would also still be able to receive messages from the outside world. Compared to normal people, the players had a large advantage. No wonder the Kepel Financial Group specifically hired Immortals. “President,” a player said, “the closer we are to the border, the denser the surveillance buoys will be. If we fail and are discovered, our spaceship will definitely be seized. We only have one chance.”

“That’s why we have a plan B.”

With a confident expression, Depressed Prince smiled and said, “Once we’re discovered by the buoys or the patrolling guards, we’ll carry out the infiltration tactic. We’ll leave a few people on the spaceship while the rest of us log out together. When the spaceship is locked up at the warehouse, the people who did not log out can then notify us to come online in the carrier and sneak into the enemy base. This way, we can bring in the virus-infected communicator.”

The others nodded. This also relied completely on the players’ specialty. This tactic was extremely suitable for infiltration, ambush, and smuggling missions.

There was also a plan if they turned out to be exposed after that. They would give up the spaceship, battle to their death, and then revive in their stronghold revival point. They could still think of other ways to complete the mission, and they had a very large margin for error. The reward was a total of five million anyway; as long as they could complete the mission, buying another spaceship was nothing

With so many advantages, the Western Sword guild members present were totally confident about completing the mission. They could almost see the five million Enas waving at them.

As for the possibility that they might become wanted criminals afterward, they did not care about it at all. They had always wandered in the gray area of the law, so they never even planned to become completely legit. In fact, turning into wanted criminals would even trigger a Milestone Mission, which gave them rewards as their bounty increased.

As for the damage that the virus leak would cause to ordinary people, they did not give a damn. Instead, they were even excited about the fact that they were playing a big part in the direction the world was going to take. Most players who currently supported the disaster’s spread had the same thought.

Depressed Prince was confident. He smiled and said, “Alright, since no one has any objections, let’s act according to this plan. As we can’t use the stargates, we’ll spend quite some time on the way there. The estimated time of arrival at the desolate universe belt is in seven days. Now…”

At this time, before he finished speaking, the spaceship alarm suddenly rang.

“Beep! Alert! Alert! The spacetime of this area has been stabilized. Hyperdrive is impossible. Exiting hyperdrive mode!”

The spaceship suddenly shook. The people inside had yet to react to it, so they all fell onto the ground, picking themselves up with shock.

“What’s going on? There are spacetime stabilization anchors here? Whose trap did we fall into?”

Shocked, Depressed Prince hastily looked at the radar.

This time, light dots were appearing around them on the radar and surrounded his spaceship in the middle.

The people quickly came to the porthole and looked outside. Their expression changed drastically.

They were surrounded by dynasty battleships. All the barrels were aimed at their spaceship. “The Crimson Dynasty? Are they here to capture us?” Depressed Prince and the other guild members panicked.

“Did our whereabouts get exposed? But we did not bump into any buoys on the way! And how did they know we were planning to smuggle the virus out?”

After being stunned for a few seconds, Depressed Prince quickly regained focus and yelled hastily, “Stop daydreaming. Everyone, log out now. Don’t get…”

Before he finished, a calm voice appeared behind them.

“Don’t get what?” Everyone’s body became stiff. They turned their heads slowly and looked at the middle of the cabin.

A tall, black silhouette had appeared in the spaceship. His lightning-filled eyes were coldly scanning them.

This face was way too familiar to the players!

“Bl-Black Star!”

Depressed Prince was in despair.

Everyone there was completely horrified. They originally thought that even if someone were to come to capture them, it would just be regular fleets and regular Supers. No one ever expected that someone as powerful and important as Black Star would personally act!

While shocked, Depressed Prince felt flattered for some reason.

The next moment, the lightning in Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and an electric shockwave exploded from his body.

Boom!

The energy shockwave slammed everyone into the wall.

Han Xiao controlled the damage so this shockwave was not powerful. Its main purpose was to force the players into Combat Status so that they could not log off any time they liked.

“I won’t give up!” Depressed Prince clenched his teeth, made up his mind, and drew a long silver alloy sword. He then stabbed toward Han Xiao’s throat.

The players were not afraid of death, so they dared to fight anyone. No matter how strong the opponent was, they would never stop resisting. In fact, Depressed Prince would rather get killed by Black Star. He would be able to revive somewhere else then and would not be captured. However, this mindset was transparent in front of Han Xiao, who knew how the players thought.

He casually pinched the sword with his fingers, easily splitting it in half. He then grabbed onto Depressed Prince’s head and slammed it onto the ground, giving him a Stunned debuff.

Han Xiao carefully controlled his strength, worried he might accidentally kill him. Although the players were much stronger than before, they were still as fragile as paper in front of him.

Han Xiao did not let the others go either. There was no need to use any machinery; he could easily beat these players into a pulp with his fists and legs. He took out an electromagnetic restraining chain and tied them all up. The dynasty spaceships then approached and seized the spaceship. The dynasty soldiers boarded and searched it.

A ton of mechanical items piled up like a mountain. Han Xiao checked through and found a few communicators infected with the virus. He looked at the truly depressed Depressed Prince and the others and slowly said, “You’re suspected of smuggling the Virtual Mutiny Virus, risking the public’s safety and the universe’s laws. You’re now under arrest. Anything you’d like to say?”.

“No, I’m sinful. People like me don’t deserve to live in this world. I plead for the death penalty!” Depressed Prince said with a righteous tone.

Han Xiao rolled his eyes secretly.

This time, he suddenly paused, smiled, and said, “Are you guys very curious about how the dynasty found out you accepted the hire and set up a trap here?”

The Western Sword guild’s people finally realized something. This was a hire from the black market and should have been very secretive. How did it get leaked?

“You have always been monitoring our communications?” Depressed Prince asked carefully.

“Nope.” Han Xiao shook his head.

“Then… someone betrayed us?”

“Not that.”

“What then?” Depressed Prince wondered.

Han Xiao smiled and looked at them. “That’s because… the dynasty is the entity that hired you.”

Like a streak of lightning, Depressed Prince and the others shivered. Their chins almost fell onto the ground, and their eyes opened so wide they were going to pop out. “What?” Depressed Prince almost jumped up. He could not believe it.

“Our anonymous employer is the three Universal Civilizations? Impossible! What reason do you have to do that?”

Han Xiao chuckled and casually lied.

“What do you think? The three Universal Civilizations knew all long there’d be people who ignore the big picture and try to hide and smuggle the virus. Therefore, the three Universal Civilizations also sent people to put up missions in the black market so that capturing those who took the hire is much easier. Do you really think that in such a crucial time like this, the three Universal Civilizations would just let the black market be?”

Depressed Prince was stunned. Complicated emotions such as frustration from being toyed with, rage from being tricked, and regret from falling for it rushed into his head. At this point of time, he just wanted to roar.

This was a conspiracy all along! Looking at how furious they were, Han Xiao smiled even more.

Of course, the employer of these players was not the three Universal Civilizations, but he deliberately said that so the players would get the wrong idea.

As long as these people made posts on the forums and spread it, the chaotic evil players would calm down. After all, no one could tell for sure whether the hire they received on the black market was real or the three Universal Civilizations’ trap.

Capturing these people would set an example and make things much easier.

In fact, the Great Mechanic Han was not lying just for that. He really wanted to do something similar.

However, in order to do that, he first had to control the black market. Otherwise, in order to protect their own name, the black market would definitely not cooperate with this plan.

All kinds of thoughts flashed past. Han Xiao took out the Spacetime Amber and smiled kindly at them.

“Since the evidence is sufficient… you guys can now start serving your sentences.”

Depressed Prince was instantly horrified and started struggling with everything he had.

“No, no, no… I beg you, please don’t use the Spacetime Amber. I beg for the death penalty. Please let me die! D-don’t!”

However, Depressed Prince’s struggle was useless. Watched by the rest, his expression was fixed, and he was locked in the Spacetime Amber.

Using the same method, Han Xiao sealed all of the Western Sword guild members who were begging to die, wiping out the entire guild.

That’ll do. More than enough to intimidate the other players.

He had already tested the effects of the Spacetime Amber on the players. Of course, the players’ consciousness would still be able to log in and out, but their body would not disappear like usual. Instead, it would be sealed inside the Spacetime Amber. This meant that they could not change the location to log in to, and no matter how many times the players logged in and out, they would only ever return to their body that was sealed inside the Spacetime Amber.

This meant that as long as they were sealed by the Spacetime Amber, the players could not use their own specialties to escape by logging in and out. It would be like their accounts were frozen due to them using cheats; they would never be able to escape.

One reason these players were still confident despite knowing the consequences of being captured was that they could revive somewhere else after dying, so the chance of them getting captured was very low. The other reason was they all thought they would be lucky enough, till disaster really arrived.

Han Xiao was not surprised about this. Just like some people who still used cheats despite knowing their accounts would be banned, they basically asked for it.

He did not plan to release the Western Sword guild easily. This was how he wanted to intimidate the other players. He wanted to show the others that their account could effectively be banned, so he could ease the tilted mindset of the players on the forums. This was like applying insecticide to his leek field so that his good leeks would not be spoiled.

He was not worried about these players making posts on the forums. After all, what else could they do?

Furthermore, given the characteristics of the players, these people would most likely take revenge. As long as they believed what they said, the only way they could take revenge would be to expose the so-called conspiracy and mess with the three Universal Civilizations’ plan.

The situation was all within his control.

Han Xiao shook his head and smiled. He summoned Phillip to hack into the artificial intelligence of this spaceship and flipped through all the communication records.

The true identity of this anonymous employer was also a target he was going to go after. Phillip was very efficient. Through the quantum network, he quickly found a clue leading to the anonymous employer. “Master, hum… I’ve found it. This hire was published under a broker organization as the intermediate guarantor. This broker organization is one of the black market’s managers. It has both a good name and reputation. It’s trusted by countless black market mercenaries and employers. Basically, it’s the Mercenary Alliance of the black market. Therefore, they should have information on this employer. However, this broker organization has been the black market manager for many years. As a very old intermediate guarantor, they won’t leak their employers’ names, hum…”

Han Xiao nodded. He had also heard about the name of this broker organization. Many hires on the black market came from them. It could be said that although this kind of organization called themselves neutral, without their approval, those anonymous hires regarding the virus would never have appeared on the black market.

They were undoubtedly responsible for this.

Looks like I’ll have to start with this black market manager…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He turned and tapped on the captain’s shoulders.

“Depart. Destination, the headquarters of this broker organization in the Ancient Star Desert.”

As the dynasty fleet was heading toward the next destination, filled with rage, Depressed Prince, who was sealed inside the Spacetime Amber, logged on to the forums and started making a post.

Just as Han Xiao expected, with the tone of a victim and the intention of warning the others as well as taking revenge on the three Universal Civilizations, Depressed Prince exposed the three Universal Civilizations’ ‘conspiracy’…

Chapter 1106: Intimidation

Chapter 1106 Intimidation

“The Painful Truth! The Mastermind Behind the Intelligent Plague Conspiracy!

“Emergency announcement! Those black market hires to transport the virus are a trap! They’re very likely the three Universal Civilizations’ bait!

“I’m a player who previously shared the job I accepted to transport the virus on the forums. An hour ago, along with my guild, we moved into the edge area of the Ancient Star Desert. Suddenly, we were ambushed by the three Universal Civilizations. Black Star personally wiped out our guild. Now we’re all sealed in the Spacetime Amber, not knowing when we’ll get out. I’m probably done for.

“At the start, I had no idea how the message got out. Luckily, Black Star thought we had nowhere to run and felt that there was no way we would leak the information, so he told me about the three Universal Civilizations’ plan. I was totally appalled. Guess what, those among those anonymous employers on the black market, there are some who work for the three Universal Civilizations! Their goal is to lure out those who dare accept the mission and catch them one by one!

“It’s horrifying. Currently, other than the people of our guild, no one else knows about this secret. I’m making this post because I can’t bear to see other brothers get tricked by the three Universal Civilizations like we did. Therefore, I hereby am warning all of you not to fall into that old rascal Black Star’s tricks!”

To prove that what he said was true, Depressed Prince even posted screenshots and videos of Black Star speaking.

As soon as the post was uploaded, like a lit match landing in a pool of oil, the emotion of all the players was ignited.

Immoral Trilogy: What a shock, so those hires in the black market are conspiracies?

Important Things Need to Be Said Three Times: I knew it. It’s not possible for those lawful factions to leave such a huge flaw. Turns out they had other plans. The three Universal Civilizations are really wise (cunning) in this kind of thing. Well played.

Military Chief: Black Star is Black Star. After all, like his name, he really does have a black heart.

Green Dot: Haha, I can’t stop laughing. Where are those kids who were envying the Ancient Star Desert players? Why are they so quiet?

Human Slasher: If this is the case, the faction difference of this main storyline will be very clear. There are those of us who oppose the disaster, stand on the lawful side, and clean out the evil. If you support the disaster, you’ll have to become an enemy of the three Universal Civilizations. I really envy the bravery of those players who choose the latter.

The lawful faction players all started to gloat, while those players who had supported spreading the disaster earlier all went silent and had nothing to say.

Especially those players who were lured by the high reward and had already accepted hires on the black market, they were all terrified. Most of them hastily gave up the mission, worried that they might be baited by the three Universal Civilizations too.

I

Calf: Let me see who’s causing problems (Black Star looking out from the bush.jpg).

Army Commander’s PP Big: Black Star: There, your account’s gone! Long Live the Boot Lickers: Alas, if not for OP, we’d still have no idea and end up getting wiped out… I won’t say much, thank you, OP, for saving our lives. Cheers, bottoms up.

Adult Site Senior Member: In order to get this information, OP has made a huge sacrifice. Here’s to all kind people having a good life. Ps: If OP decides to create a new account, I’ll kindly sponsor 100 Enas.

Feidin’s Fan Group – Dual Cannons: A moment of silence for OP.

Fishes Don’t Pee: A moment of silence +1.

There were people who doubted the authenticity of the post, but after seeing the screenshots and videos Depressed Prince posted along with it, they all had to admit it was the truth.

The Depressed Prince’s post alarmed the players. Many people were indeed shocked and became much warier of things.

He thought he successfully broke the three Universal Civilizations’ baiting plan, when his actions were actually all part of Han Xiao’s plan.

Seeing that so many players believed this ‘conspiracy’ and gave up missions to transport the virus, Han Xiao knew that this measure of his worked. He smiled in satisfaction.

Depressed Prince was of great help, so he was thinking about taking a few minutes off his sentence. Although, this guy had no idea.

In the Ancient Star Desert, Planet Strange Gold did not belong to any civilization. It had been taken over by a few financial groups many years ago and modified into a neutral galactic port. Afterward, the Galactic Black Market had taken over and made it into a transit supply station for gray organizations. It was quite famous in the Ancient Star Desert.

Tracks of tons of gray organizations and wanted criminals could be seen there. Some gray organizations even had their headquarters or subdivisions set up there. Due to some sort of unspoken agreement and deals, the Galactic Civilization silently approved of the existence of gray transit stations like this and did not send out soldiers to wipe it out. Although places like this were extremely chaotic, it was not completely lawless. The big organizations in the black market would usually set the laws.

The organization stationed in Planet Strange Gold was a member of the black market managers-Black Index, a broker organization.

There were many kinds of black market manager organizations, such as mercenaries, armed dealers, miners, and so on. Among them, the ones who had the biggest power were the brokers. They took the high-class path, swinging between different civilizations and building very complicated connection networks. They provided protection and assurance for the other black market organizations.

The Black Index was one of them, and their business range was even wider. Using the name they had built for themselves over the years, they provided assurance for the hires and biddings done in the black market. At the same time, they also functioned as the intermediate exchange. They were basically the bank of the black market.

Safety of funds was always a problem for the gray organizations, and the Black Index provided security and confidentiality for all funds transferred through them. An outrageous amount of money passed through them every single day and spread through the entire Galactic Black Market. Their power was reflected clearly just from this. Of course, this much power required an equivalent amount of strength to maintain, which was even truer in the gray world, where only the law of the jungle applied. The Black Index had plenty of funds, so they used a lot of it on building a powerful military force. At the same time, they also had a Beyond Grade A protector behind them. These factors made sure the Black Index maintained its superior position among the black market managers.

The upper echelons of the organization were called Indexers. Their leader was called the Chief Indexer, and below this leader were the Second Indexer, Third Indexer, and so on. There was a total of five vice-leaders, all the way to the Sixth Indexer, each in charge of a certain area.

Inside the Planet Strange Gold subdivision of the Black Index organization, the Third Indexer stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of his office and looked up at the starlight in the dark sky. He was frowning.

His aide-de-camp who was wearing an elegant silver-black uniform walked into the room, saw him like this, and asked curiously, “Third Indexer, what are you thinking about?”

“Nothing… I just suddenly don’t feel at peace.”

The Third Indexer massaged the bridge of his nose. His mind was wandering off a little. As a hybrid Eternal, the Third Indexer had the special talent of having a very sensitive six sense. He could occasionally roughly sense certain bits of the future.

Since a few days ago, he had started to often lose focus and feel uneasy, like something bad was about to happen.

“I shall bring you some medicine to calm you down,” the aide-de-camp said and was about to turn around to leave the room.

“No need, I’m fine.”

The Third Indexer called him back, turned around, and asked casually, “Tell me, do you have anything to report to me?”

“Well…” The aide-de-camp took out a report and said seriously, “I’ve noticed some rumors, saying that the three Universal Civilizations have been secretly putting up hires on the black market as bait to capture black market mercenaries.”

“Where did you hear that from? Rumors on the net?” The Third Indexer frowned.

“No, no, there are no such rumors on the network of the Ancient Star Desert. I heard about it privately from some people, so I did some investigations and realized that this rumor got spread out from nowhere. I feel that this might cause problems, so I came to report it to you…”

The Third Indexer shook his head and said, “Your source of information isn’t reliable, nor is it trustworthy. As guarantors of the black market hires, although we do accept anonymous employers to put out hires, we still do some investigations. Things like this will certainly damage our name. Maybe we can endure it happening once or twice, but if someone plans to keep using our name to carry out this kind of plan, there’s no way the organization wouldn’t find out about it.” “You’re right. I’ve worried about it unnecessarily.” The aide-de-camp nodded.

“There’s nothing wrong with being wary about things like this. It’s a good thing.”

The Third Indexer continued to look outside the window and said with a serious tone, “We’re the lighthouse of the laws of the black market. One thing we rely on is our powerful strength, and another is the brand name and reputation we’ve accumulated over many years. The savages of the gray organizations trust in our professional ethics, and that’s our core competitiveness. No matter what… even in the face of death, we can’t break the rules of integrity, confidentiality, fairness, and safety. Otherwise, we’d be damaging the very foundation of the organization, as well as the laws of the entire black market.”

“Understood.” The aide-de-camp took these words to heart with admiration.

Swoosh! As soon as the aide-de-camp said that, a remote communication image suddenly popped up beside the two of them. The panicking face of an observation personnel appeared.

“Bad news! The radar has detected that a dynasty fleet is approaching. They did not attempt to hide their movements. Their destination is clearly Planet Strange Gold, and we did not receive any prior notifications!”

The Third Indexer’s expression changed with shock. His sixth sense was tingling even more intensely.

Usually, the three Universal Civilizations would never visit a gray transit station like this so openly. Today, however, the dynasty fleet suddenly arrived. It was clear they did not come with friendly intentions.

He thought of the Intelligent Plague instantly

—there did not seem to be any other reason the dynasty would go to them. Nonetheless, the Third Indexer was not one to panic in the face of emergencies. Very quickly, he calmed down and said with a deep voice, “Ask around. Who’s the leader of this dynasty fleet?”

The dynasty was extremely powerful, sure, but he was also someone very important with a lot of power and strength, and he had a Beyond Grade A protector behind his back. Therefore, the Third Indexer was confident enough to speak with the dynasty.

Having thought of that, he had made up his mind that if the leader of the dynasty fleet was not high in ranks, he would not feel a need to welcome their leader, and he would be waiting there for their leader to come to him.

The aide-de-camp made some calls. Suddenly, his entire body shook. He gulped and said while shivering, “T-Third Indexer, the commander of this dynasty fleet… seems to be Black Star.”

As soon as he finished his sentence, the Third Indexer’s expression changed dramatically, and he instantly lost his cool.

Without saying another word, he rushed out the door while hastily making orders.

“Quickly, prepare a carrier for me. I’m going to welcome His Excellency Black Star at the dock!’

If it was an ordinary dynasty officer, the Third Indexer might have wanted to maintain his arrogance.

However, it was Black Star who had come, the person who made the strongest protector of the black market part of his collection. How dare he stay there waiting for Black Star to come to look for him?

The dynasty fleet entered the dock. As soon as Han Xiao stepped onto the dock, he saw the Third Indexer and his subordinates welcoming him respectfully. The two of them met, and Han Xiao did not say much, only mentioning that he had a deal he wanted to make and told the Third Indexer to lead him to the conference room to speak.

Accompanied by the cautious Third Indexer, they entered the subdivision of the Black Index and sat inside the conference room.

After sitting down, Han Xiao looked into the Third Indexer’s eyes and said slowly, “You’re a smart person. You should know why the dynasty has sent me, so I’ll just cut to the chase. The Black Index has provided assurance and guarantees for anonymous hires, which led to a lot of black market mercenaries transporting the virus in the Ancient Star Desert, increasing the risk of the virus leaking. Now, on behalf of the Black Star Army and the Crimson Dynasty, I’m requesting you to temporarily stop providing such services and publicize the information of these anonymous employers to aid us in capturing them.”

“Impossible!” The Third Indexer rejected it without hesitation. “This goes against the purpose of the Black Index. We can never leak the information of our customers. We…”

Han Xiao interrupted him and said with a more serious tone, “Is the purpose of a black market organization more important than the ruling of the three Universal Civilizations? Or has the Black Index made up its mind to spread the disaster and cause the entire universe to be filled with death?”.

The Third Indexer hastily denied that. “Of course not. We’ve just been remaining neutral. What we’ve been doing has not changed since the Intelligent Plague erupted. We’re purely maintaining a platform…”

“Don’t try to convince me with this kind of excuse.” Han Xiao tapped the table slowly. “Your inaction means your approval of others leaking the virus. Your inaction is equivalent to helping the disaster spread. The current situation has no room for neutral parties. Be it me personally or the three Universal Civilizations, no one wants to see anyone being an opportunist during such a serious disaster.”

Hearing this, the Third Indexer looked worried.

His bad intuition had come true. He felt that Black Star was using this as an excuse to take away the guarantor platform they had built up in the Ancient Star Desert.

If it was just Black Star alone, he would not be this powerless. However, Black Star had come under orders, which meant that he represented the three Universal Civilizations’ attitude.

Sure, the Black Index’s forces were spread across many Star Fields, but crushing it would still be a piece of cake for the three Universal Civilizations. Furthermore, the Ancient Star Desert was now in quarantine, so there was no way he could even seek help. The Third Indexer did not want to give in, but he had no other choice. He could not even contact the headquarters while being in the Ancient Star Desert, so he had no choice but to bring up his background.

“Your Excellency Black Star, are you sure you want to do this? His Excellency Uru is behind us. He’s a Beyond Grade A just like you…”

Han Xiao found it quite funny. “Yo, what’s this? Are you trying to threaten me or something? That’s quite brave of you. Even disregarding the fact that your protector is away and can’t make it back here, so what if he could?”

The Third Indexer clenched his teeth, looked at the dynasty soldier beside him, and said, “I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to use this opportunity to infiltrate the black market and take control of some channels. The three Universal Civilizations now approve of your actions, but what happens when the disaster is over? They won’t watch you reach out this far, so they will certainly take what you’ve obtained. Hence, whatever you’re doing now, the three Universal Civilizations will always be the ones benefiting in the end. Why put in so much effort?”

“How dare you try to pick His Excellency Black Star and the dynasty apart!”

The dynasty soldier beside him was furious and instantly pulled out his firearm, pointing at the Third Indexer’s head.

This time, Han Xiao raised his hand, signaling for the dynasty soldier to holster his weapon. He smiled and said, “You don’t know me. Although I always chase after profits, I will never pick the wrong side on this kind of huge matter.”

The Third Indexer clenched his teeth and continued trying. “The three Universal Civilizations are only allowing you to be in charge of this matter because they’re using you. You’ll be the one who ends up having beef with the black market organizations, and the three Universal Civilizations will be the ones taking the victory fruits after. Is the powerful Black Star willing to be used like this?”

“Hehe, fighting evil is everyone’s responsibility, and I don’t mind having beef with people because of it.” Han Xiao smiled with mockery. “Furthermore, using each other is a more suitable way of saying it. It’s still uncertain who’ll benefit more from it in the end.”

He had made up his mind on this matter. Rather than calling it a negotiation, it was more like a notification instead.

The Ancient Star Desert was now an isolated island. During the disaster, the illusion of equality was completely ripped away, exposing the dictatorship behind it. With the three Universal Civilizations backing him, he had nothing to fear.

In situations like this, other than those Galactic Civilizations under protection, the rest of the private organizations were all just food for the big sharks. They would face their demise if they refused to cooperate.

Seeing this, knowing that there was nothing he could do and no words would change the situation, the Third Indexer gave up, leaned back, and looked hopeless.

“I can’t resist anyway. The connections the Black Index has in the Ancient Star Desert are all yours…”

Hearing this, the aide-de-camp looked at the Third Indexer with disbelief.

That’s not what you said earlier. What happened to never breaking the organization’s integrity and name even in death

Noticing the aide-de-camp’s look, the Third Indexer threw back an angry look at him.

What, can’t I bullsh*t?

Black Star is right here, I treasure my life very much. Go ahead and die for the organization if you want to!

Chapter 1107: Filling the Flaws of Science with Superstition

Chapter 1107 Filling the Flaws of Science with Superstition

The Black Index’s Planet Strange Gold subdivision controlled half of the Galactic Black Market’s hires and funds in the Ancient Star Desert. Controlling this place meant that half of the black market’s movements were being monitored.

In the main control room, the Third Indexer ordered the operators to open up the firewall and let Han Xiao inject his data needle, planting a ton of surveillance programs while looking at the documents behind recent anonymous hires in the black market.

The Black Index’s internal database had records of the true identities of some employers, most obtained through investigation. As the intermediate guarantor, the reward of the hire would go through the Black Index before going to the mercenary. Therefore, following the source of the funds, it was not difficult to find the identities of the anonymous employers.

Han Xiao quickly copied the tons of documents the Black Index had accumulated in the quantum network. He glanced at the wary Third Indexer beside him and joked, “You guys aren’t as reliable as you say you are. Tsk, you’ve been secretly investigating the identities of those anonymous employers. These documents are all their weaknesses. Don’t tell me you guys collected these for fun.”

The Third Indexer wiped away the sweat on his forehead and said, “It’s just to audit the reliability of the trade and assess the employer’s integrity. We only collected this information but never shared it with anyone. As for weaknesses… ahem, well, we’re in the black market industry, so we must have some leverage.”

“Got it, got it. It’s the black market. After all, no one is clean.” Han Xiao chuckled. The Third Indexer had no choice but to laugh together with Han Xiao, bowing and showing a lot of respect.

The dynasty fleet was right on this planet. The only thing he could do was to be obedient.

Han Xiao caressed his chin and said, “Speaking of which, that reminds me, I brought the dynasty fleet here, and you came to welcome me. There are a lot of people on this planet, so this news will get out sooner or later. There’ll definitely be rumors saying you’re being threatened by the three Universal Civilizations, which will lead to the mercenaries and employers lying low for a while, and the three Universal Civilizations’ plan to lure out the uncertainties will end up being less effective.”

“I-I suppose.” The Third Indexer did not know how to respond.

“I think you should feel good about that.” Han Xiao smiled. “You might even send people to spread the news on the black market, saying the Black Index is being forced to do this, warning the other black market members not to use the platform for hires. This way, the damage done to your organization’s brand will be reduced.”

The Third Indexer felt bitter. He did indeed think of that. Although he was forced to obey, he still wanted to control the damage.

“Don’t worry, I won’t stop you from doing
that.”

Hearing this, the Third Indexer was confused and asked, “Didn’t you control us to secretly monitor the black market and lure out the uncertainties? If the news of us not being reliable gets spread on the black market and people stop using our platform, what’s the point of you taking over?”.

“Sigh, looks like you’re very adept to identity changes and have entered the position of a partner very soon. You’ve even started to think for us.” Han Xiao laughed and clapped.

The Third Indexer’s expression became stiff. He was angry but did not dare to express it.

Han Xiao raised his brows, summoned the dynasty officer, and said with a smile, “Later on, split up the dynasty fleet to head to any gray transit station in the Ancient Star Desert where a black market organization is stationed. Remember to do it as openly as possible and let everyone see you.” Hearing this, the Third Indexer roughly figured out Black Star’s plans.

“You’re deliberately letting the black market know that the Black Index has been compromised. You’ll then negotiate with every black market organization to create an illusion of the three Universal Civilizations having full control of the entire Ancient Star Desert black market so that most people will become suspicious and cautious, right?”

This way, even if the other black market organizations did not fall into Black Star’s hands, with the Black Index as an example, those employers looking for confidentiality and safety would definitely no longer take the risk, fearing being exposed. Black Star could certainly force all the black market organizations in the Ancient Star Desert to compromise, but he chose to take another path. From the way the Third Indexer looked at it, this was Black Star giving himself a way out. This method was not as aggressive and would not lead to Black Star offending all the black market organizations, so the three Universal Civilizations would not end up easily taking over the fruits of victory.

Some black market organizations might even think of it as Black Star holding back on them.

“I got it.” The Third Indexer hesitated. “This method is indeed less aggressive, but there are both pros and cons…”

Han Xiao did not respond. He knew what he meant.

Aggressively taking over all the black market organizations was the best way to lure those uncertainties out. He would be able to capture a ton of people who were trying to cause trouble. Comparatively, although this method required much less effort, it would cause most people to be alarmed and not make a move.

However, from the way he looked at it, there was no way to capture all the uncertainties. No fish could survive in an absolutely clean pond.

As the saying went, for a high enough reward, there would always be someone willing to take the risk. If those black market mercenaries were not completely discouraged, someone would definitely be willing to risk it for the huge profits, which would lead to the Ancient Star Desert becoming a mess. In the end, the three Universal Civilizations would have no choice but to put a lot of effort into chasing after them. This was the con of the more aggressive method.

Furthermore, when more of these people were captured, the fact that the three Universal Civilizations had controlled the black market would still be exposed. Therefore, he might as well make it public in the first place to not give anyone the thought that they might be lucky enough to pull off a fluke, making them afraid of the consequences. This way, the plan would turn from luring out those who would cause a problem to preventing those people from appearing in the first place, reducing the number of people willing to take the risk from the roots.

Indeed, luring them out would be effective, but it would also produce more uncertainties. As the rulers, a more righteous method was more suitable for the three Universal Civilizations. Using dirty tricks like this might be okay once in a while, but it was not suitable in the long run.

Han Xiao put those thoughts aside, glanced at the Third Indexer who was looking very obedient, and said, “You’re not bad. I thought you’d only compromise after a slaughter. I didn’t think you’d be so understanding as to not even give me a chance to do that.”

“… As long as you’re satisfied,” the Third Indexer replied with resignation.

“However, I do like you more when you are defiant. Come, show me again,” Han Xiao joked.

When was I ever defiant?

The Third Indexer complained about Han Xiao’s humor in his mind but still straightened his back as he was told on the surface.

This time, Phillip had completed filtering the documents and identified a ton of employers requesting to transport the virus. “Report this list to the three Universal Civilizations. Have their troops cooperate with the operation to destroy these organizations.”

Han Xiao glanced through it.

The data was very detailed. The employers were from all kinds of industries. For these people, he did not plan to hold back. While making them examples for the others, he could farm the Mission Rating of [Intelligent Plague] at the same time.

He searched through for a while and found an organization that hired Immortals multiple times. This was a black market arms dealer named the Kepel Financial Group. They had hired Depressed Prince too.

“I shall deal with this organization personally. Remember to publicize the execution process on the net.”

On the dock of one of the Kepel Financial Group’s Ancient Star Desert bases, cargo boxes were being loaded onto the ships. Kepel the Fifth was patrolling with his subordinates.

“How long before we can take off?”.

“About two hours.”

“Speed up as much as possible.” Kepel the Fifth’s tone was a little impatient.

About seven days ago, the dynasty fleet had visited the Black Index. This message was only spread out yesterday. All the anonymous employers who were giving out missions to transport the virus were appalled and instantly tried to save themselves.

Kepel the Fifth felt uneasy, too. Therefore, he decided to abandon this base and transfer his assets.

Currently, he was making his men empty the base.

While he was anxiously waiting, an observation officer sent him an urgent message.

“Alert, the exterior fleet has discovered a small Crimson Dynasty fleet approaching. We’ve sent a communication request but received no response.”

“The three Universal Civilizations’ men have come?” Kepel the Fifth was startled. Together with a group of officers, he hastily walked to the window and looked out into cosmic space. A few scattered dynasty spaceships appeared in their vision.

“There don’t seem to be a lot of people?”

“They don’t look like they’re here to fight.”

Seeing this, Kepel the Fifth was slightly relieved.

Since there were so few spaceships, he felt like they were more there to ask questions or negotiate. Having thought of that, Kepel the Fifth adjusted his clothes to look more formal. He then ordered with a deep voice, “Frigates, standby. Send a communication request in my name. I’ll speak with them and see their intentions.”

However, as soon as he said that, the dynasty spaceships stopped a distance away. “Hmm? Why did they stop?” Kepel the Fifth was confused.

However, the next moment, countless machines appeared out of thin air afar, quickly assembling into an enormous human-shaped machine that was wearing a cape and holding a longsword in its hand. It was so enormous that even the entire base was smaller.

“That’s…”

Before Kepel the Fifth and the others recovered from their shock, this enormous machine suddenly hurled the long sword forward, which easily sliced through all the frigates in its path like a hot knife cutting through butter, heading right toward the base. At this instant, including Kepel the Fifth, all the people on the dock stopped what they were doing and stared blankly at the gigantic mountain-sized blade that was fast approaching

Their minds had all gone blank.

Swoosh!

The Celestial Punishment Edge easily penetrated the Kepel base. The blue psionic storm on its blade turned the base wreckage into dust. It was like a firework.

As if it had met no resistance at all, the blade continued to penetrate into the desolate planet below the base, through the ground, and came out the other side of the planet. It had given this planet a hole that extended from one side to another.

The enormous amount of psionic energy left by the Celestial Punishment Edge caused irreversible chain reactions inside the planet. Lava rushed up, and red cracks started appearing on the surface.

The next moment, a blinding white light erupted. The entire desolate planet expanded from within and shattered instantly. The shockwave from the explosion expanded, but the Mechanical Deity raised its Emperor’s Cape and blocked the shockwave completely.

At the same time, it raised its hand. The Celestial Punishment Edge moved through the energy storm of the planet’s explosion in an arc and returned to its hand. “This thing is quite powerful.” Han Xiao somewhat understood why the Tyracles were so passionate about building equipment for the Mechanical Deity. There was no other reason except for it being so damn cool.

After playing with the Celestial Punishment Edge for a bit, the Great Mechanic Han reluctantly deactivated the Mechanical Deity and returned to the ship.

“Run a scan to see if there’s still anyone alive.”

What’s the point?

The powerful light of the planet’s explosion reflected on the dynasty soldiers’ pale faces. The cabin was dead silent, as if they could hear each other gulping in fear. “Phillip, did you record that?”

“Yes, hum…”

“Upload it to the net, to intimidate those with ulterior motives and show them the consequences of what they might want to do.”

Han Xiao waved his hand casually.

He did not plan to even speak with this organization. There was more than sufficient evidence. There was no point speaking, so he directly wiped them out with a slash to express his firm attitude.

After dealing with this small matter, Han Xiao waved at Harrison and the others, who were shivering by the side, signaling them to come over.

Harrison had just witnessed Han Xiao casually shattering a planet with his own eyes. The impact of it completely shattered his mental preparations for it before it happened. Even though he clearly knew Black Star was one of the strongest in the universe, he was still astonished.

Harrison’s teeth were shaking. He cautiously approached Han Xiao and stuttered, “Y-Y-Y-Your Excellency Black Star, what can I do for you?”

“Why are you so nervous? I won’t bite.” Harrison chuckled and patted Harrison’s shoulder. “Discouraging illegal dealings is about done, so looking for the virus core needs to be brought forward. I want to ask you, where do you think the virus core is hiding?”

“H-how would I know?”

“Don’t be so nervous. Just make a random guess. Where do you think it’s hiding?”

Harrison calmed himself down, regained focus, and cautiously said, “Previously, you said that the virus core is just a pre-designed program used to monitor the overall infection progress of the virus. This means that it is definitely exchanging information with the other viruses, so to hide itself, it can’t possibly be the terminal of that information exchange, or it would have been found long ago. Therefore, I think that through recording all the routes the viruses are sending data through and finding the overlapping spots among them, that’s where the virus core might…”

Han Xiao interrupted him and said, “The three Universal Civilizations thought of this long ago and have been doing exactly that. Each virus sends out a large amount of fake data every now and then. The routes are extremely complicated, and there are too many overlapping points. Therefore, there’s no way but to filter them. However, not only is the location of the virus core very difficult to find, it seems to be changing randomly. This is why the three Universal Civilizations have not been able to find it.”

“T-then I don’t have any ideas and, unfortunately, won’t be able to help you.”

“No, I don’t need your ideas.” Han Xiao smirked. “Next time the three Universal Civilizations come up with the new set of overlapping points, I need you to choose some of them. What if you’re lucky enough to find it right away?”

“Stop joking with me…” Harrison was anxious.

“I’m not joking. Think about it, you dug up an antique randomly, and it just so happened to be the source of such a dangerous disaster. From a certain viewpoint, your luck is through the roof.”

Harrison scratched his head and realized that did make some sense.

Indeed, I always seem to have been quite lucky. No matter what I asked my family’s financial group to invest in, it always ended up making money. If not because making money is too easy, I wouldn’t have come out looking for excitement by doing archaeology… Han Xiao did not know what he was thinking. Seeing that he was daydreaming, he gave him a few words of encouragement and started pondering in his mind.

He had a lot of faith in the Advanced Luck Glow. Even if it failed the first time, if he let Harrison try a few more times, the chances of succeeding were still much higher than others.

Furthermore, Han Xiao even planned to make a request to the three Universal Civilizations to contact the outside world, so he could look for Floating Dragon’s old man Aesop to read some feng shui for him.

No matter how well the virus core hid, everyone was equal in front of luck and prophecy.

Since science did not cut it, he planned to make it up with superstition!

…

Galaxy Calendar Year 731 March 9th, Black Star visited the Black Index organization, which controlled the black market, as a Crimson Dynasty emissary.

The two sides carried out a friendly and peaceful meeting regarding the three Universal Civilizations’ control of the disaster, successfully exchanging information. In the end, they happily came to an agreement. The Black Index’s Ancient Star Desert person in charge, the Third Indexer, expressed that be it a black or white faction, every powerful civilian organization had a responsibility to protect the universe. Preventing the Intelligent Plague from spreading was a duty every galactic resident should carry out. Hence, the Black Index was willing to fully support the three Universal Civilizations’ operations.

March 17th, Black Star announced that the Kepel Financial Group had hidden the virus. He wiped Kepel out with one attack, shocking the other organizations.

With this incident as the signal, the three Universal Civilizations worked together and wiped out tons of private organizations that were suspected to have hidden the virus over the next month.

In April, the Crimson Dynasty fleet visited all the black market organizations in the Ancient Star Desert, seemingly gaining control of all the black market connections in the Ancient Star Desert.

Black Star upheld the rules of no negotiations and no compromises. He led his fleet on frequent attacks, reducing the number of smugglers by a large amount.

June 25th, the research group led by Manison created the first version of the special anti-virus and scanning tool, which was widely used.

In July, the Intelligent Plague was briefly under control. The three Universal Civilizations started to search for the virus’ core.

Chapter 1108: Great Machinery Sage

Chapter 1108 Great Machinery Sage

Han Xiao’s fleet had stopped at the Crimson Dynasty’s temporary Ancient Star Desert military base to resupply and repair their armor.

Over the past few months, using the information he had gained through the black market channels, he had done a cleansing of the restless gray organizations in the Ancient Star Desert, creating an image of him being merciless. This successfully made the rest not dare to take the risk. They chose to obey and stopped touching the Virtual Mutiny Virus. Hence, the Star Field’s situation was getting better.

While doing so, Han Xiao was also trying to find the virus core. He had let Harrison choose the overlapping data points multiple times with his Luck Glow.

However, for once, the Luck Glow did not work, and he was never able to find the virus core. Even old man Aesop could not ‘prophecy’ his way to the location of this thing.

He was in charge of cleaning out the uncertainties, while Manison was focusing on researching. Both sides had gotten some results. Currently, the Intelligent Plague was somewhat under control.

“… I thought you guys would be able to come up with the antivirus very soon. Turns out it took you months. Now this doesn’t suit your level, Manison.”

Inside the lounge for upper echelons of the military base, Han Xiao was chatting with Manison’s remote projection while snacking on some kind of seed similar to the Chinese melon seeds.

Manison shook his head and said, “Analyzing the virus’ code wasn’t easy. Plus, we had to prevent the virus from erupting, so we had to go around the conditions that would trigger it. We had no choice but to be extremely cautious. That’s why it took us some time.”

Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics could easily eliminate the Virtual Mutiny Virus, but the difficulty of turning their own ability into a tool that anyone could use was a completely different matter. For example, a man would be able to naturally walk and run, but if he was asked to build a robot that could do the same, he would definitely not be able to come up with it as easily.

“What are the three Universal Civilizations planning to do now?”

“The problem is still the conditions of triggering the virus eruption. In order to make sure it doesn’t erupt, we can’t cause the infection speed of the virus to plummet all of a sudden. Therefore, even if there are firewalls, we can’t use them on a wide scale. For the time being, they can only be installed after all the infected nodes are cleaned. This is also the reason that despite the three Universal Civilizations’ control, the Virtual Mutiny Virus has still infected more than half of the network nodes in the Ancient Star Desert over the past few months.”

son a

“If I recall correctly, cleaning out the virus on a large scale will also trigger it, right?” Han Xiao asked.

“Yes,” Manison replied. “Therefore, the scanning tool the three Universal Civilizations have asked us to build can’t be discovered by the viruses. They plan to secretly lock onto all the infected nodes by scanning them, then implant antivirus tools with precision to clean all the infected nodes simultaneously. Afterward, they’ll install firewalls immediately to prevent repeat infections. This way, even if the virus ends up erupting, the damage will be minimized.”

“Although this method is a little bit troublesome, it’s safest.”

Han Xiao had no objection to the three Universal Civilizations’ plan. It sounded quite reliable.

However, he had a question in mind. In his previous life, the three Universal Civilizations should have done exactly the same thing, so how did it still turn into a disaster for the entire universe in the end?

Could it be because I’ve done my job too well and changed some unknown details? For example, someone should have transported the virus out but has been stopped by me? Han Xiao put this question to the back of his mind.

Manison did not know what Han Xiao was thinking. He continued to explain the three Universal Civilizations’ plan.

“Therefore, we have made various preparations. One is this plan to wipe out all the virus; the other is to locate the virus core. The virus core is the controlling terminal for most eruption triggers. As long as it’s eliminated, the risk will be reduced even further, and we won’t have to worry about the viruses erupting when we attempt to wipe them out.”

“Do you guys still have no leads on the virus core?”

“It’s hidden itself too well.” Manison shook his head and did not say much.

Han Xiao snorted softly. He felt that old Manison was not telling the truth. However, there was no point exposing him. The two of them were competitors in this respect. Manison would not be so kind as to share clues with him.

I were

Out of all the Beyond Grade A Mechanics who had come to help, all of them wanted to obtain the virus core to learn the full secrets of the Virtual Mutiny Virus technology.

Now that the pandemic was under control and the most dangerous period had passed, the competition revolving around the virus core had come to the surface. Even the three Universal Civilizations intended to compete for
it.

Han Xiao knew that he would not be able to get any information from Manison, so he skipped this topic and said, “Now that your work is done, are you still planning to stay in the research department?”

“No, I’m planning to go and take a walk. One reason is to find clues about the virus core. Another is that I plan to go and take a look at the Machinery Faith.”

“Machinery Faith?” Han Xiao’s brows raised.

He had never forgotten that the two of them had conflicts of interest due to this religion. Manison was always in the position of the main god. He wanted to keep most of their faith to himself to maintain the (Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] bonuses.

For that, Manison had struck more than a decade ago and made Han Xiao suffer a slight loss.

Back then, he had chosen to use his soul talent of not competing. After that, he had been growing stronger while keeping a low profile, at the same time maintaining a decent relationship with Manison.

“What, you have some thoughts about it?” Manison sounded like he was smiling, but he was not.

“Humph, can’t I?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“Compared to about ten years ago, you have indeed improved. However, it’s still too early for you to want to challenge me again,” Manison said coldly. “Don’t envy what’s mine. We have quite a good relationship now; keeping things this way is good for you. Don’t say I never warned you. I don’t wish to see you have any contact with the Machinery Faith in any form.”

Then, the green remote projection disappeared, and Manison had hung up the communication.

Han Xiao’s face turned black. He was a little irritated.

What a b*stard this guy is, changing his attitude like flipping pages of a book.

Also, when did the Machinery Faith become yours? Shameless! Speaking of, it’s already been more than ten years since I last fought him…

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and pondered.

He opened the interface, looked at the huge amount of EXP he had accumulated, and felt assured.

The Black Star Cup had been going on all this time, giving him bonus EXP for the past few months, which had stacked up to quite a huge amount. He did a slight calculation-it was roughly enough for him to level up from level 320 to between 335 and 337. Just a portion of this much EXP would be enough for him to obtain enough Potential Points to max all his class knowledges.

After farming for so long, I feel like I can have a rematch with Manison…

Han Xiao had decided to take a step back more than ten years ago because he wanted to become stronger first. Now that he had improved, his restless mindset once again seized control.

The competition around the Machinery Faith was one thing, but to Han Xiao, the other reason was the main reason.

I’m not happy. I have to fight that old man!

Last time, I was weaker, so I put up with it, but it’s never too late for revenge!

In the past, you came to me and bullied my Phillip. Now, I have reason to be confident, so it’s my turn to initiate the challenge and see the difference in our strength.

Due to the existence of the Beyond Grade A Association, the strength difference between individuals also affected the weight of their words. Although Manison’s term was still long, he could totally make some early preparations for the next election.

Also, it was because of the development union that he did not have to worry about Manison’s retaliation. As the president, Manison had to set an example and not cause trouble secretly, or it would go against the purpose of the development union. Although Manison provided some help to him during the attack on Hila, it was more of a win-win. To Han Xiao, favors and beef did not cancel out each other. He would repay Old Man Manison for what he did in the future at most.

All kinds of thoughts flashed past Han Xiao’s mind. He brought up the ability list, selected a bunch of blueprint abilities, threw in EXP, and maxed out their levels. Notifications kept popping up on the interface.

You have maxed the level of one ability. You have received 1 Potential Point.

You have maxed the level of one ability. You have received 1 Potential Point.

Currently, Han Xiao only had three Ultimate Knowledges that were not at their maximum level. (Ultimate Mechanical Engineering) was at Lv.3, (Mechanical Life Tinder) was at Lv.4, and (Endless Material Science] was at Lv.2. They required a total of 144 Potential Points. Even though he still had some Potential Points left, he still had to max out more than a hundred abilities.

The more max level abilities he had, the higher the cost of leveling up the rest of the abilities, including even the low-level blueprints. Though, the cost did not increase as much as leveling up himself. This meant that although the players could utilize different levelling strategies, they would not have too much of an impact. They would still have to put in a lot of effort to receive more Potential Points.

His EXP gauge went down very quickly. Very soon, he had already spent more than half of it. When his remaining EXP was only enough for him to level up to 326, he finally had 144 Potential Points.

Although leveling up would also give him Potential Points, he did not want to wait any longer. He had tons of leeks and a continuous source of EXP, so being so calculative was not something he needed to do.

Furthermore, Han Xiao was also very curious as to whether Potential Points would still be of any use when all his knowledges were at the maximum level.

Looking at the 144 Potential Points, Han Xiao took a deep breath and spent them all on the last three Ultimate Knowledges.

You have leveled up (Ultimate Mechanical Engineering] to Lv.5 (Max)!

You have leveled up (Mechanical Life Tinder] to Lv.5 (Max)!

You have leveled up [Endless Material Science] to Lv.5 (Max)!

All 60 of your Class Knowledges have reached the max level!

You have received 1 (The First Sanctum) Ability Fragment. You have acquired talent (Great Machinery Sage]!

[Great Machinery Sage): +1.25 Total Machinery Affinity bonus multiplier; +3 levels to Mechanic Class related abilities (Not limited by the ability’s max level); +40% production, enhancement, and repairing ability; +60% Virtual Technology effects; +15% Machinery basic attributes; +120% Machinery production speed; +3,000 INT. Remark: “In the machinery territory, you’re an all-knowing sage.”

The current Potential Points in your possession and the Potential Points you obtain in the future can be turned into ‘Awakening Points’ at a 1:1 conversion rate.

Usage I: 1 An Awakening Point can be converted into 100 Free Attribute Points (Irreversible).

Usage II: 1 An Awakening Point can be used to level up one maxed level ability by 1 level (Irreversible).

Usage III: Awakening Points can be used to increase the awakening process of Unique Talent. The amount increased by every 1 Awakening Point depends on the level and grade of the Unique Talent (Irreversible). 100 Awakening Points can be used to activate the brief structure of a Unique Talent (Custom talent direction).

Usage IV: Awakening Points can be used to increase the grade of blueprints. The amount increased by every 1 Awakening Point depends on the level and grade of the blueprint (Irreversible).

Usage V: Awakening Points can be used to increase the progress of inventing a blueprint. The amount increased by every 1 Awakening Point depends on the level and grade of the blueprint (Irreversible).

Your (Ultimate Mechanical Engineering) has reached the max level. [Inspirational Creation] activated!

Woah! Han Xiao was thoroughly surprised.

[Great Machinery Sage]’s effects definitely matched how difficult it was to obtain it. Not only did it provide very comprehensive bonuses, but the bonuses were also all quite large. Its impact on his strength was probably on the same level as (Perfect Mechanical Sense), increasing his overall strength by about ten percent.

I wonder if the suffixes of the talents given when all class knowledges are at the max level is the same for all the classes… The Magic Sage? Sounds fine. The Psychic Sage? Now that sounds a little weird…

The Esper Sage? Hmm…

The Pugilist Sage? Forget it, the Muscular Sage is definitely much better.

The talent was within Han Xiao’s expectations, but the new use of Potential Points surprised him. No player in his previous life could level up all their abilities to the max level. This was a first even for him.

His Potential Points were now Awakening Points.

He carefully read its uses. The more he read it, the more excited he got. Compared to the one and only use the Potential Points had, the uses of Awakening Points were much more diverse.

Converting them into Free Attribute Points and increasing the upper limits of his abilities were clearly very practical and needed no further explanation, but what he was more impressed by were the other three functions.

Increasing the blueprint’s grade seemed to be able to give him a stable stream of Gold blueprints. For example, if he kept throwing Awakening Points into just an ordinary low-level pistol blueprint, given enough Awakening Points, this blueprint might turn into a Gold blueprint!

And the type of blueprint would not change too much. It would only turn from a gunpowder pistol into a portable Planetary Obliteration weapon.

The Awakening Points could also be used to increase the progress of inventing a blueprint, which could be used together with [Inspirational Creation). [Inspirational Creation) had been gathering dust in the interface. The prerequisite for activating it was max level (Ultimate Mechanical Engineering). The effect of this ability was to use EXP to assemble multiple blueprints into one or more improved or fused blueprints, with no upper limit on the number of blueprints. At the same time, a choice could be made for the improvement path of the fused blueprints, such as attack, defense, or support.

This ability made inventing blueprints more stable and ensured a result. It was also the only way the players in his previous life could invent Gold blueprints. However, the chances of doing so were extremely low. Most of the time, one would only obtain the brief structure of a Gold blueprint or Inspiration Fragments, which he could use Awakening Points to increase the progress of.

The last use of Awakening Point was what the Great Mechanic Han liked the most-it could be used to fuse Unique Talents!

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled as he mumbled, “Old Manison, Sorokin, and the others might have obtained their Unique Talents this way.”

Chapter 1109: A Secret Only One Person Knows

Chapter 1109 A Secret Only One Person Knows

One Unique Talent for a hundred Awakening Points, this cost was certainly high. However, at least it gave him a clear path. Han Xiao did not trust his luck at all. If he only relied on his luck, he probably would not have a wisp of a Unique Talent even in a hundred years.

He had a guess that the way of customizing would be probably the same as how he created his own Race Talent back when he advanced into Beyond Grade A, by selecting his preferences then randomizing from those given conditions. The Unique Talent obtained after fusing would only have a brief structure. He would need to spend more Awakening Points to activate it.

Potential Points turning into Awakening Points after all class knowledges were at max level was probably the same with other Mechanics such as Manison.

The difference was, unlike him, Manison and the others could not freely choose what to use the Awakening Points on.

Therefore, since the other Mechanics could not decide where to use the Awakening Points, they were probably random. He guessed it would probably feel like a sudden flash of insight for them.

Although the cost is quite high, at least it’s a stable way to obtain Unique Talents. Han Xiao was quite content. He had been eyeing this for many years, and now he had finally seen some hope. However, the quality-price ratio of it was still uncertain. A hundred Attribute Points was equivalent to ten thousand Free Attribute Points, and his Intellect right now was not even thirty thousand despite it being his highest attribute. If he used all those Awakening Points on Free Attribute Points, it would be a huge improvement for him. He would only not make a loss if he were to get a Molding Talent level Unique Talent.

However, since it would be a Unique Talent, its effects would probably be decent. After all, its effects had to match how difficult it was to obtain it.

The Great Mechanic Han still remembered Sorokin’s Unique Talent (Swindler-Sorokin], which gave him a direct twenty-percent bonus just on his Intellect and Mystery attributes, along with a bonus seventy-five percent Esper Ability strength and four levels to all his abilities. It was extremely powerful.

Old Man Manison’s (Virtual Technology Innovation-Manison) gave him a 1.75-times multiplier on his Virtual Technology abilities, on top of his ‘Indestructible Mechanic Empire’ technology.

Both of these were at the Molding Talent level.

You never know until you try it. Although it’s quite costly, I’ll still have to get one and see how it is.

He had just leveled up more than a hundred blueprint abilities and spent all the Potential Points, so his current EXP inventory was not enough to get him another hundred Awakening Points.

Alas, Awakening Points… What a suitable name. Here comes another bottomless pit for EXP. Let’s just think about it after my Promotion…

Han Xiao shook his head. His main goal of maxing the level of all his class knowledges was that one extra God’s Trait Transformation Point during Promotion.

Now that he had completed that achievement, the Promotion at level 340 became his top priority again.

Other than these changes, the interface also mentioned that he had obtained another Ability Fragment of (The First Sanctum).

The Great Mechanic Han had already found a pattern. Whenever he overcame a certain threshold of the Mechanic class, he would receive a (The First Sanctum] fragment.

The first piece came from when he activated God’s Trait Transformation, the second came from the first Universal Treasure he built, the third came from the fifth stage of his main class’ God’s Trait Transformation, and this was the fourth.

I can’t wait to see how many fragments it takes to make it whole. Better not tell me it’s a hundred.

Overall, he was very satisfied with the bonuses that came with maxing the level of all his class knowledges. It had given him a new path to grow. This was the biggest difference between him and the other Beyond Grade As-his growth path was crystal clear.

At the same time, with (Great Machinery Sage), he had more confidence in challenging Manison.

Last time, I lost in the virtual world; this time, I’ve got to fight him in the real world.

Han Xiao was looking forward to it with high morale.

This mindset could be simply explained as: “Stopped, the rain has; stopped, the wind has; now I think, I can do it again!”

Du du du!

While Han Xiao was getting familiar with the changes in his body, someone knocked on his door. Harrison walked in.

Over the past few months, Han Xiao had upheld his belief of not wasting any resource and did not let Harrison get away with doing nothing. Even though this guy was still guilty, Han Xiao did not mind and gave him a job as his temporary secretary.

Other than to find Harrison something to do, this was also because he wanted to have him around so that benefitting from his Luck Glow would be more convenient.

However, only from the results, not only did he not benefit from it, he even somewhat neutralized it.

Of course, the Great Mechanic Han would not admit this. He strongly believed that it was just that Harrison’s Luck Glow did not have a good quality.

Feidin’s Luck Glow still turned out to be the best. It remained unaffected no matter how much of a burden he was.

Seeing that Harrison had walked in, Han Xiao closed the interface and asked casually, “Anything to report?” “Your Excellency Black Star, the dynasty fleet has told me to tell you that they’re going to temporarily leave your team and go back to their usual groupings to execute other missions.”

“What happened?” Han Xiao asked curiously.

“The captain has told me that this is a mission the dynasty upper echelons gave. Something has happened with a Star System civilization, and it’s not suitable for you to deal with.”

“What are the details?”

“I brought the information regarding the incident. Please take a look.”

Harrison took out a set of data and displayed it on the virtual screen.

Han Xiao quickly looked through and understood.

In the past few months, the various civilizations of the Ancient Star Desert had come to understand the big picture and cooperated fully with the three Universal Civilizations’ operations on the surface, not causing any problems like the black market once did.

However, when the three Universal Civilizations announced that the antivirus was complete, there seemed to be civilizations that felt that the pandemic was already under control and there would no longer be any dire consequences, so they started to stir things up.

There were three Star System Civilizations who were involved—the Tiger Race, the White Hair Race, and the Ferians. They were not transporting the virus but instead were suspected of using the virus to attack their enemies.

The Tiger Race and the Ferians were in the same Star System. Their territories were right beside one another. They were old rivals and often had conflicts with each other. The White Hair Race was in another Star System nearby, next to the Tiger Race but not the Ferians. Their relationship with the Tiger Race was relatively distant.

This was what the situation was roughly about. Not long ago, a machinery rebellion occurred on one of the important administrative planets of the Tiger Race. Those machines were infected by the Virtual Mutiny Virus, and because they had been disconnected from the network for too long, the trigger condition for the virus was met, and these machines were modified by the virus to hurt life forms.

The virus outbreak was only limited to this group of machinery. They were not large in number, and they could not connect to the internet either, so the other nodes of that planet were not affected. Therefore, the guards of the planet easily annihilated this group of machines. However, there were still civilian casualties.

After an investigation, a rather believable cause of this disaster surfaced on the network—that this group of machines were used by the Tiger Race to study the Virtual Mutiny Virus, and they accidentally lost control of them, which led to this disaster.

After this message got out, the Tiger Race civilians were in an uproar. Public opinion went out of control, and they all turned on their regime. The impact kept getting bigger.

The Tiger Race hastily said that this was just a rumor, that they did not study the virus at all. They said that these machines were hidden on the planet by an unknown force, who had calculated the day for the virus to attack to deliberately frame the regime and damage their credibility.

The civilians who were enraged felt this was nothing but excuses, so the Tiger Race had no choice but to request the three Universal Civilizations to judge it.

From the private report Han Xiao received, the Tiger Race explained to the three Universal Civilizations that this might be a conspiracy of the Ferians or the White Hair Race. The Tiger Race claimed that not only did both of those suspects want to frame them, but at the same time, the real culprit wanted to make the other suspect get the blame and stir up conflict between the Tiger Race and them, while they sat on the sidelines and benefited from it.

Both the White Hair Race and the Ferians had motives, but the Tiger Race was not completely trustworthy either. Hence, the three Universal Civilizations sent people over to investigate. Currently, the situation was still quite blurry.

The Star System Civilizations were protected by the Peace Treaty, so the dynasty did not let Han Xiao interfere with it. In this respect, the three Universal Civilizations did not allow any other organizations other than them to be the bullies.

The black market became obedient after what I did, but now the civilizations have started to cause trouble, I see…

Han Xiao frowned. Although this was not his responsibility, he still felt that something was not right.

He understood that the Ancient Star Desert being in lockdown had put the various local civilizations on alert, especially the Super Star Cluster Civilizations. The three bullies had lost their credibility during such crises long ago, so these civilizations had definitely prepared for the worst and gathered leverage. However, this was not helpful to the big picture at all.

I’ll still have to deal with the virus as soon as possible. It can’t wait. I shall use Bold Explorer one more time.

Han Xiao left the room and entered the warehouse.

Walking into the room, he saw the triangular device that had once stored the Virtual Mutiny Virus technology lying there immediately.

The dynasty had studied it but come up with no results. Seeing that Black Star had asked for it, they allowed Han Xiao to keep it with him.

Lately, as long as [Bold Explorer) was off cooldown, Han Xiao would use it on this triangular device. Sadly, he had only seen a ton of scattered images; none were of any value. He had only found out part of the virus’ origin at most.

The machinery civilization he saw from the first time he used Bold Explorer was the creators of the Virtual Mutiny Virus. This was indeed a weapon. The very purpose of building it in the first place was to use it on the unknown civilization that used the Planetary Obliteration weapon to annihilate this machinery civilization.

The program of the virus was set to killing life forms, and the machinery civilization was clearly not in range. It was like a high-level war weapon that dealt no damage to their kind.

This machinery civilization, or more of an intelligent civilization, was the same as an artificial intelligence civilization. All of its citizens were artificial intelligence lives, only more advanced.

These machines roaming the streets were all shells carrying intelligent lives. They were basically their carriers for walking in the real world. They designed their shells themselves, so there were hardly any two machines that looked the same. Through using [Bold Explorer) time after time, Han Xiao had found out about some special language and symbols of this artificial intelligence civilization. However, after cross-referencing it, there were no related records in the three Universal Civilizations’ database at all.

Either this artificial intelligence civilization was too ancient and even the three Universal Civilizations did not know about it, or it was an advanced civilization in the unexplored universe.

No matter which it was, it proved the fact that the source of the Virtual Mutiny Virus was a materialization phenomenon brought by an information state disturbance. Basically, it was a ‘mirage’ that interfered with reality.

Hope I can see something useful this time.

Han Xiao had Harrison beside him. He took a deep breath and prayed in his head to be blessed by the Luck Glow before placing his hand on the cold surface of the triangular device.

Buzz!

The next moment, the scene in his sights changed. He had come to a bright lab.

He looked up, and his eyes constricted with surprise.

In the middle of the room was the triangular device that was still not closed, showing the safe within it. Beside it was a group of mechanical lives who looked like researchers. They were operating their mechanical arms carefully and placing an almost transparent light-blue sphere of electrical sparks inside the device.

Is this when the Virtual Mutiny Virus was first created? Finally!

Han Xiao suppressed his joy and carefully observed this light blue sphere of electrical sparks. Tiny strings of electrical sparks swam in the air like a powerful electromagnetic field.

… This is the virus core?

Shouldn’t it be a bunch of virtual data? Why is it a mass of electromagnetic energy?

Han Xiao was confused.

A monotonous electrical voice suddenly sounded. A mechanical life researcher by the side moved the camera to aim at him and said, “Experiment introduction: The Domino Virus, able to infect the quantum network and rewrite the fundamental logic of artificial intelligences. The current program is to kill all organic life forms.

“Raw material: One thousand mutated artificial intelligence lives with individual consciousness wiped, leaving only data structure and computing power. After 165 failures, the Domino Virus was successfully created. The virus’ initial state has extremely high stealth, infiltrative, and infective abilities.

“Virus core: Pre-designed program with no individual consciousness. As the control center, it follows the logic given and controls the Domino Virus, monitoring the infection progress and activating the virus at a suitable time. It also has the ability to self-evolve. When the opponent has invented a targeted firewall, the virus core will automatically analyze the data and find the flaw with its strong computing power, continuously updating and enhancing the viruses to carry out a new round of infection.

“Remarks: From the second-generation virus onward, all viruses are active by default. Once infected, they will immediately rewrite the target’s logic without an incubation period.

“Also, the virus core uses a lot of technology such as Virtual Soul, Bio-electricity Simulation, Electromagnetic Field Reformation, and so on. It has two forms. It can either exist as a virtual soul that lives in the quantum network or leave the quantum network at any terminal and enter the material world as an electromagnetic field life form.

“As the fundamental virus core is a virtual soul, when in the electromagnetic field state, it can infiltrate the quantum network at any time without coming into contact with any nodes. Due to this ability, the virus core has an extremely high escaping and hiding ability, as well as mobility.

“If used properly, one Domino Virus can shatter the majority of armed forces of a galactic civilization, causing the target’s technology to regress many generations. Due to its extreme power, it requires caution when used. Currently, the Domino Virus is sealed up. Without authority, do not use…”

Han Xiao’s eyes slowly widened.

He felt that his fragile mind had received ten thousand points of damage.

If not because he saw all this through (Bold Explorer), no one in the entire universe would have known the truth of the Virtual Mutiny Virus!

I’m the only one who knows all this now. Everyone else still has no idea!

At this time, a thought appeared in his mind.

Something’s going to go wrong! The three Universal Civilizations’ plan isn’t going to work!

This thing is tougher to deal with than we thought!

Chapter 1110: Countermeasures

Chapter 1110 Countermeasures

At this time, the image of (Bold Explorer] stopped, and his vision returned to the warehouse. He lifted his palm from the cold shell of the triangular device, stood in place, and looked at the device in silence.

He remained silent and did not move at all. Clueless as to what was going on, Harrison sensitively felt that the atmosphere had gradually become heavier, so he cautiously asked, “Your Excellency Black Star, did something happen?”

“…Nothing.” Han Xiao regained focus. He glanced at him and then walked out of the warehouse with wide strides. Harrison quickly followed after him. “Go do your stuff. You don’t have to follow me.”

“Oh, sure.”

Like he had just been spared his life, Harrison quickly left.

Although Black Star did not do anything, just being beside him made Harrison feel extremely pressured.

After getting rid of Harrison, Han Xiao returned to his room and thought of the secrets he had just seen. His mind started working fast.

The Virtual Mutiny Virus’s real name is the Domino Virus, it seems. What a terrifying weapon of war. Any organization that gets their hands on this technology will have the absolute upper hand in the information war…

He finally understood why the Intelligent Plague still swarmed the entire universe in his previous life. It turned out that it was not only because some people did not obey the three Universal Civilizations, but the three Universal Civilizations could not stop the Domino Virus’ invasion.

It was not because their technology was inferior, but they did not have enough information and got caught by surprise. After all, who would ever think that the Virtual Mutiny Virus worked this way? If not because he had seen the virus’ true identity from (Bold Explorer), he would probably have been in the exact same spot the three Universal Civilizations were in, still seeing the virus core as just a data program.

According to common sense, the virus core was supposed to just be the switch that monitored the entire infection progress. Hence, the three Universal Civilizations thought that they had nothing to be afraid of because they had already come up with the antivirus.

Of course, they had no idea that the virus core had the ability to update and evolve on its own. What they had under control at the moment was just the first-generation virus. As long as the core was not dealt with, there would still be the second generation, the third generation, and so on. Furthermore, there would be no incubation period next time; the virus would directly cause the machinery to rebel.

Not only was its infectiousness more horrifying than expected, but the virus core’s ability to escape was also astonishing. It was not limited by its data state and could even enter the material world, forming an electromagnetic field as the body to carry itself and switch freely between the virtual and the real world. It was not afraid of being locked in the network at all.

As the foundation of its existence was a virtual soul, the virus core did not need any physical node to enter the quantum network. It was similar to how Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics could enter the quantum network anytime they wanted. It would only need a node as the exit when materializing, meaning that it could teleport between the various nodes using the quantum network.

No wonder I couldn’t find any traces of the virus core over the past few months. It’s probably not because Harrison’s Luck Glow isn’t good enough, but it simply can’t be caught on the network.

This ability was similar to his Void Dimension Jump. To the virus core, the quantum network was like another secondary dimension it could enter any time it wanted. This artificial intelligence civilization probably did not reach the Universal Civilization level, since the three Universal Civilizations had the ability to analyze the Domino Virus completely. However, this needed time. Therefore, when facing this kind of weaponized virus, there would always be a period of time when there were simply no measures to deal with it. The specialties of every civilization were different. There would also be some civilizations that would invent some new technology. For example, the Kunde Race’s Spacetime Splicer. The three Universal Civilizations were inferior in the virtual virus technology aspect. After all, even the citizens of this civilization were artificial intelligence life forms, so this was clearly their strongest suit.

Wait a minute, if the three Universal Civilizations successfully defused the Intelligent Plague in my previous life, the virus core was definitely dealt with, so the three Universal Civilizations would have certainly obtained this technology… But why did they not use it when fighting the World Tree Civilization?

Han Xiao had some suspicions.

Could it be that… the virus core did not end up in the hands of the three Universal Civilizations in the previous life but somehow got obtained by someone else?

The next moment, the image of an old man appeared in the Great Mechanic Han’s mind…

Mechanic Empire Manison!

This b*stard was the most suspicious!

One could not blame Han Xiao for thinking this way. Manison gave him too strong of an impression as someone who would do something like this.

Furthermore, the original material of the Domino Virus was mutated artificial intelligence life forms, and Manison just so happened to be in control of an artificial intelligence civilization.

It was horrifying to even think about it!

Han Xiao hastily shook his head, left these thoughts behind, and pondered.

The three Universal Civilizations made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot of lessons before finally understanding how the Domino Virus worked. Now that I’ve seen the truth in advance, I can skip that process and come up with prevention measures!

Having thought of that, Han Xiao was relieved.

In his previous life, the three Universal Civilizations had no choice but to learn through mistakes. Now that he, someone who had already watched the ‘instruction manual’ was there, the same thing did not have to happen again.

Maybe, the source of the virus might even be dealt with in the first generation. This way, the virus would have no chance of causing an outbreak, and the damage would be minimized!

When looking at it this way, the butterfly effects he had brought seemed to lean more toward the positive side.

The main issue now is convincing the three Universal Civilizations to change their plan of killing the virus on a large scale. If the virus core isn’t dealt with, no matter how many viruses they kill, it won’t make a difference. The virus core’s ability is very tough to deal with, so I’ll need the three Universal Civilizations’ cooperation to deal with it…

Its ability to self-evolve was the most terrifying one. As long as that was dealt with, the rest would not be too much of a problem.

He was not afraid of the virus core escaping from the Ancient Star Desert. The quantum network of this Star Field was in lockdown. It was like an enormous LAN network, so it could not receive any feedback from the viruses within the Ancient Star Desert from outside it.

Even if the virus core really got out, it would still have to come back and log in to this sealed network to monitor the overall infection progress of the Ancient Star Desert.

This meant that even though the virus core could teleport in the quantum network, its range was limited to the Ancient Star Desert.

As for whether it would go out and spread the virus seed, Han Xiao was not worried either. Although the three Universal Civilizations lacked information, they were not useless. In order to prevent the virus from getting out, they were also doing large-scale scanning in the outside world.

If the first-generation virus infected the outside world, the three Universal Civilizations would notice it very quickly. There was no need for him to worry. After analyzing for a while, Han Xiao had some ideas. He summoned Phillip and said, “Contact the three Universal Civilizations’ pandemic command center as well as the other Beyond Grade A Mechanics for a meeting. Tell them I’ve made a huge discovery about the virus core…”

After receiving Black Star’s invite, the three people in charge of the department, including Sidreun, and all the other Beyond Grade A Mechanic dropped their work and arrived at the Intelligent Plague Pandemic Command Center’s conference room in the form of remote projections. They were all there to hear Black Star’s discovery.

As soon as Han Xiao’s remote projection appeared, Sidreun could not wait and asked, “Black Star, have you found the virus core?”

“Not yet, but I’ve made a shocking discovery.”

Hearing that Han Xiao did not find the virus core, the people present were both disappointed and glad, followed by the curiosity of the huge discovery Han Xiao spoke of.

“What did you discover?”

“Here’s the thing…”

Han Xiao cut to the chase and directly explained the rough mechanisms of the virus core, mainly emphasizing its ability to transform freely between the virtual and the real world, as well as its ability to self-evolve.

The threat of the Domino Virus was too high. Working together to defuse the pandemic was the top priority at the moment, so he did not plan to keep anything to himself.

After hearing what Han Xiao said, everyone present became silent. They looked at each other and did not even know what to feel.

Seeing this, Han Xiao continued and said, “Therefore, your plan to kill the virus on a large scale won’t work. The threat of the Intelligent Plague will only be removed when the virus core is found, so I suggest you take action immediately…” This time, Sidreun interrupted Han Xiao and said with a strange expression, “Black Star, I’d like to ask… Where did you obtain this information from?”

The rest of the people present had the exact same thought. They all stared closely at Han

Xiao.

They had to be doubtful. This information was way too detailed… so detailed it almost seemed made up!

Are you messing with us?

It’s not impossible given how cheeky you are!

This matter is huge, and there’s no room for anyone to play tricks. We have to confirm the authenticity of the information. How can we just believe you if you don’t show us some proof?

“I knew you’d say that.” Han Xiao was not surprised at all and went on to explain, “Actually, I discovered the virus core’s traces in the quantum network not long ago. I was just about to try to track and capture it when it disappeared from the quantum network without any signs, and the lead I had ended there… I’m a peak Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic, yet it could still disappear into thin air right under my nose without me having any idea of how it did it. Some of you surely know how difficult it is to do that. That’s when I started suspecting that it’s not just a data program.”

“Then? How did you discover this information?” Sidreun asked.

“Your documents should have recorded that I have the ability to passively see the future. A few days after I noticed that the virus core isn’t as simple as we thought it was, I had a vision and saw the future. I saw how the Intelligent Plague erupted and how it killed countless lives. At the same time, I saw the true identity of this virus core.” Han Xiao shrugged. “So, if you’re asking for proof, I really can’t provide any.”

“That’s… you’re making it difficult for us.”

The various people in charge from the three Universal Civilizations all looked troubled.

It was not that they did not trust Black Star, but foresight was indeed inaccurate sometimes. This matter involved the safety of the entire universe. It was way too risky to bet all their chips on a prophecy without any real evidence.

Han Xiao had no other choice. He did not have any real evidence, so what he said was certainly not going to be convincing enough. He could only use his ability of foresight as an excuse. After all, (Bold Explorer) was not something he could really explain, and it was not even as convincing as prophecies.

Nonetheless, although what he said lacked any real proof and was not convincing enough, with his current position, even if the three Universal Civilizations’ people would not believe him immediately, they would still definitely find ways to prove or disprove what he said. He did not have to do too much explaining

In the end, if what Han Xiao said was proved to be false, the three Universal Civilizations would undoubtedly trust Han Xiao less in the future. However, before that, they would not instantly take Han Xiao’s words as false.

After so many things had happened, the name, reputation, and respect Han Xiao had accumulated in the universe was more than enough to have the three Universal Civilizations take his suggestions seriously.

At this moment, Manison slowly said, “I feel that Black Star’s foresight does make some sense. In fact, I discovered the virus core’s tracks some time ago. It also disappeared right before my eyes, and I suspected that it was not just a data program.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao’s eyelids twitched.

Him saying he had found traces of the virus core was completely made up, but Manison was most likely not making it up. I knew it. This old b*stard really did make progress but never said anything about it. If not because I tricked him today, he would never have publicized this information on himself.

Phooey! You say I don’t have enough resolution, but you’re even worse, hiding such key information! The people exchanged looks and digested this impactful piece of information.

In the end, Sidreun coughed and said, “No matter what, we’ll check out the content of His Excellency Black Star’s vision. This is a very important piece of information.”

While saying so, he secretly looked at Manison with derision.

The strongest Mechanic in the universe? How come you did not discover as much information as Black Star when the two of you had the same experience? Learn from him!

Manison looked directly ahead and acted like he did not notice Sidreun’s gaze.

This time, Kant said worriedly, “If the Virtual Mutiny Virus is really as Black Star says it is, we’re in big trouble. The firewall we’ve come up with this month will be useless before the next generation of the virus. By then, the disaster will sweep across the entire universe.”

“Who in the world invented such a horrifying virus technology? Aren’t they afraid of it biting themselves in the foot?” ‘Mechanical Catastrophe’ Francisco wondered. “Whether what Black Star said is true or false, we’ll still have to come up with a plan.” The dynasty’s ally Quantum Demon showed his support.

Han Xiao spoke again with a deep voice. “That’s right. It doesn’t matter if my foresight is accurate or not. It won’t hurt giving it a try.”

That’s true… The people in charge from the three Universal Civilizations exchanged looks and nodded.

“What plan do you have then?”.

“I wouldn’t call it a plan. It’s just a rough idea.”

Han Xiao paused and looked around. Seeing that everyone’s attention was on him, he said slowly, “The mobility of the virus core is too high, so it’s very difficult to catch it. However, it still has limits. It can enter the quantum network anytime, anywhere, but when it leaves it and materializes, it has to choose a terminal node as the exit. This might be our opportunity.

“In order to receive feedback from the rest of the viruses, the virus core will return to the quantum network once every so often. This time, we really might have to cut off the network on a large scale and reduce the number of terminal nodes in order to restrict the range of the virus core’s ability to teleport within the quantum network. This way, when the number of exits is reduced, we can station people at every node and set up traps.

“The people stationed at each node have to be Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanics with the knowledge of ‘Virtual Paramount’. This is because after the virus core materializes, it doesn’t have to come into contact with any node in order to re-enter the quantum network. Therefore, the chance will only last for a short instant. At the instant the virus core materializes, the Beyond Grade A Mechanic will use ‘Virtual Paramount’ to lock up the virus core’s virtual soul so that it can’t escape its body temporarily, then capture it together with its physical body.

“The technology to seal the virus core already exists. That safe prevents the virus from leaking, so it can certainly suppress the virus core’s virtual soul and prevent it from entering the quantum network. As long as we parse that triangular container, we can obtain this targeted technology…”

Hearing this, the people all looked at Han Xiao with weird expressions once again.

Not to mention the feasibility of this plan of yours, just the fact that the people stationed at the nodes have to be Virtual Mechanics who have the knowledge of (Virtual Paramount), aren’t you being too obvious?

Virtual Paramount is an ability only Divine Throne Mechanics of the Virtual branch can obtain, so clearly only peak Beyond Grade As. You’re one, Manison is another, and that’s it.

So, you’re saying that only you guys can compete for the virus core. Even the three Universal Civilizations have to stand aside?

Are you really not tricking us? Manison, however, smiled and fully approved of this plan.

“Black Star is right. To maintain peace in the universe, we are more than willing to step up. How many terminal nodes are there to set up traps for? How about this, I’m willing to deploy fifty million spare Lord’s Avatars, ensuring that I can advent in any location the virus core appears. Is that enough?”

Chapter 1111: Manison: I Lack a Sense of Security

Chapter 1111 Manison: I Lack a Sense of Security

As soon as Manison finished speaking, the entire conference room went silent.

Everyone turned to Manison simultaneously.

You pulling our legs?

Han Xiao almost forgot to breathe. He sized Manison up with a suspicious look.

“You really have fifty million Lord’s Avatars?”

“Maybe I exaggerated it a little,” Manison joked.

Now that makes sense. Lord’s Avatars are not mechanical soldiers. How can you build that many? I don’t even have five thousa… ahem, fifty thousand spare Lord’s Avatars.

Secretly relieved, Han Xiao asked subconsciously, “So, how many do you really have?”

“48,001,052… Oh, it’s 48,001,054 now. Just built two more while we spoke.”

The world went silent.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He was a little lost and completely did not understand why.

“Wait, I can understand no matter how many mechanical soldiers you’ve built, but what’s the point of building so many Lord’s Avatars? You can only descend on one at a time. How are you going to utilize all of them?”

“Oh, I lack a sense of security,” Manison replied. “No harm building more.”

The world went silent once again. You’re the damn Mechanic Emperor, lack a sense of security? I f*… okay, that’s an indisputable reason.

Other than the word shameless, the people present could not find any other word to think of.

All Han Xiao wanted to do was blast off Manison’s head.

You’re showing off your wealth, right? You must be showing off your wealth!

Close to fifty million Lord’s Avatars, are you an animal? How wealthy can you get?

You’re trying to take over all the ambush locations, aren’t you? You think you’re mighty just because you’re rich?

Noticing Black Star’s almost overflowing resentment, Manison calmly smiled and gave him a look. That’s right. I’m mighty because I’m rich. Thanks for the assist.

Han Xiao clenched his teeth and sent Manison a private message. “Stop messing around. There’s no point in building tens of millions of Lord’s Avatars other than it being a waste!”

“Hehe, you’re too young. The Mechanical Race doesn’t have much, but it never lacked machinery…” Manison smiled and softly stroked his beard before adding, “And money.”

F*ck, almost forgot you were born rich! Damn rich people!

Han Xiao ground his teeth secretly.

“I came up with this plan. Shouldn’t you show some sincerity at least? How about giving me ten million Lord’s Avatars.”

“My avatars are my size, not like you can use them. What do you want them for?” Manison raised his brows.

“I can melt and rebuild them. The material cost for ten million Lord’s Avatars isn’t low.”

“Sure, exchange them for some Spacetime Amber.”

“F*ck off!”

Han Xiao instantly cut off the private conversation.

This old man is always trying to get my Spacetime Amber. Bad!

While the two of them made faces at each other, the person in charge from the three Universal Civilizations also looked back and forth between them with strong suspicion.

One of you is the president of the Beyond Grade A development union, and the other is the vice president…

Are the two of you putting on an act together?

Sidreun coughed, forced out a smile, and said, “We appreciate Your Excellency Mechanic Emperor’s generosity, but the plan has yet to be finalized. You don’t have to be in such a hurry…”

“You’re right.” Manison nodded. He casually waved his hand, signaling that he was just casually making a suggestion and that they could continue their previous conversation.

Sidreun then turned to Han Xiao and said with a deep voice, “Your Excellency Black Star, your idea does indeed seem good, but its feasibility still requires more discussion. Firstly, we have to make sure that the virus core has returned to the quantum network for us to cut off network connections on a large scale and limit the range of its exits. But how will we know when it has logged on to the network? You must know, those viruses don’t have a fixed time for sending feedback data. We have no way of knowing when the virus core will be online.

“Secondly, as of now, we can’t even lock onto the virus core’s data pattern and aren’t able to trace it on the network. If it remains in the quantum network, will we just not be able to find it?”

“Hence, this was just a rough idea. The details still need to be decided. However, it should be feasible,” Han Xiao said.

“These problems all have a way of being solved. Since we know that the virus core is a life form and have its details, we can use that as an anchor and use prophecy spells to search the time it will log on to the network,” Kant added.

“As for the data pattern of the virus core, I can provide some details,” Manison said. “Although I didn’t catch it, I recorded the traces it left behind when it was in the quantum network. With that as the clue, we can do cross-referencing, and we should be able to lock onto its data pattern.”

The people present discussed ideas for a while and gradually filled in the details. They all felt that this plan was worth trying. This time, Sidreun brought up the last issue. “I have one last question. The participants of this operation might not have to know Virtual Paramount. Every Beyond Grade A should have the ability to capture the virus core, and the chances will be higher if all the Beyond Grade As here take part in it.”

He did not believe the nonsense Han Xiao said at all. Beyond Grade As should all have the ability to capture the virus core. There was no way Virtual Paramount was a requirement. That certainly had to be Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor’s conspiracy. “I have no objections. I’m glad to be of help.” The rest of the people present all agreed.

Of course you have no objections. What objections will you have since you will have an opportunity to obtain the core… Han Xiao complained in his mind.

“Then it’s decided,” Sidreun said with a serious tone. “This plan still requires approval from the upper echelons. The three of us all have to report it. The results should come very soon, and it’ll most likely go smoothly. This operation still needs you guys, the Beyond Grade As, so I hope you’re all well prepared. The safety of the universe depends on you.”

Deactivating the remote projection, Han Xiao’s vision returned to his office.

He casually knocked on the table and pondered.

All the Beyond Grade As would be working together to capture the virus core, and every single one of them wanted to get their hands on the core. Hence, choosing the ambush location was the top priority. This was a matter of probability. The more avatars one had, the higher the chances of meeting the virus core. In this respect, no one could compare with the Mechanic Emperor.

Comparatively, Han Xiao’s spare Lord’s Avatars were very few. It was not because he lacked money, but to him, there was not much of a point building too many of them. He would only be able to descend on one avatar at a time no matter what.

It was clear old man Manison had ulterior motives for building so many avatars. He was probably planning to take over countless planets one day.

Humph! What an ambitious b*stard!

Manison probably has more Lord’s Avatars than the number of trap nodes. He will definitely come into contact with the virus core, so he’s basically unbeatable. While the rest of us can only rely on luck…

Han Xiao massaged the bridge of his nose.

The number of people stationed at each location was not limited. Manison would basically be everywhere, so there was no way of dodging him.

When the three Universal Civilizations have decided on the trap nodes, I’d better let Harrison help choose the ambush locations…

If my luck fails me and I don’t end up meeting the virus core, I’ll just live with it.

However, if I do meet the virus core, Manison’s avatar will most likely be around too. I’ll have to compete with him, and it definitely won’t be just a verbal negotiation.

I’ll just have to improvise…

If he had any advantages at all, it was that he did not have to care about whether the virus core was dead or not. The others all wanted to capture it alive and parse it for the full Domino Virus technology, while he had the [Intelligent Plague) mission, which would give him a related talent if he eliminated the virus core personally. Given the specialty of the Domino Virus, the related talent would most likely have something to do with Virtual Technology.

Although he would lose the opportunity to obtain the full technology this way, thinking about it, if the three Universal Civilizations or other Beyond Grade As obtained such a powerful virtual virus, it might not be a good thing. Furthermore, even if he obtained it, it would be a hot potato. Countless people, including the three Universal Civilizations, would have their eyes on him at all times.

However, the Domino Virus technology could also become a powerful weapon against the World Tree Civilization.

Han Xiao was stuck in a dilemma.

Never mind, it’s too early to think of all this. I’ll first have to make sure I meet the virus. Only then will I have the chance to compete with Manison…

He focused his thoughts.

Anyway, this would be a huge operation, so the preparation stage would last quite some time, meaning he had sufficient time. He could add some production lines and produce as many Lord’s Avatars as possible to be stationed at more locations, increasing the chance of him meeting the virus core.

“This information is from Black Star?”

Meanwhile, the remote projections of the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders gathered and listened to the report from Sidreun and the other two.

Right after the meeting hosted by Black Star ended, the three monitors contacted their three leaders through the one and only coded channel that was connected to the outside world to explain the operation plan, hoping to get approval.

After hearing it, Urranrell crossed her hands before her chest and slowly said, “If what Black Star said is true, he’ll be a great hero of the explored universe who saved it from a disaster. Without his prophecy, we’d all have to pay a bloody price to discover the truth of the Virtual Mutiny Virus.”

“Hmm, the brief structure of this plan came from him too. If we catch the virus core because of it, Black Star will indeed be a hero to the entire universe who changed the disaster of a future he saw in the prophecy.” Bader expressed his compliments too.

“Black Star is indeed worthy of merit.” The church’s pope agreed too.

Ie

Putting aside their beef in the past, both the Federation of Light and the Arcane Church recognized and appreciated what Han Xiao did in the battle against the Intelligent Plague. He acted very reliably and contributed a lot. Having thought of that, the three of them looked at each other and nodded.

“We shall approve of this operation. We allow you to deploy the resources in the Ancient Star Desert to execute this plan. Don’t disappoint
us.”

“Understood,” Sidreun quickly replied.

The church’s pope suddenly said, “One more thing, do make sure that the virus core ends up in our control in the end. We can’t let any non-direct members obtain it.”

“That’s right. The Virtual Mutiny Virus is a weapon of war. It’s too dangerous. We must not let this technology get leaked, or the order of the universe will be threatened.”

Bader agreed and added, “Especially Black Star and Mechanic Emperor. If a peak Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic gets this technology and improves it, it might become something even more dangerous than the Intelligent Plague.”

Even though Manison was the Federation of Light’s ally, Bader knew what was more important.

Although they all wanted this technology, the three of them clearly understood that preventing a fourth party from obtaining this virus technology was more important.

In the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations, they had to have a monopoly on this kind of extremely powerful weapon of war. Only then would it be beneficial for the entire universe.

Somewhere in the Ancient Star Desert, a small civilian transport fleet had arrived at a desolate planet.

This was a legitimate galactic transportation company. It was not large and did not have much of a name for itself. It only operated on a few fixed routes. Its business range was limited to between several Star Zones of the same Star System. There was a small desolate universe belt there. Due to its size, the advanced civilizations did not set up any stargates. Hence, there were quite a number of long-distance transport companies that filled this gap.

The transport fleet slowly came to a stop in this planet’s orbit.

“Let’s resupply here. There are fuel resources on this planet. We’re going to collect some.”

Inside the main ship, the senior captain, who had worked in this transport company for many years, gave the order.

Suddenly, an observation officer said, “Captain, the radar shows that this planet is shrouded by a strange electromagnetic storm.”

The captain was surprised. He moved to the porthole and saw that the atmosphere of this desolate planet was filled with flickering light-blue electrical sparks. It looked like a looming electromagnetic shell.

“That’s weird. I’ve run this transportation route for decades and stopped god knows how many times on this planet. When did this appear here?” the captain murmured and looked at the radar again.

The more he looked at the electromagnetic field structure, the more he felt it looked familiar.

“The structure of this electromagnetic field…” the observation officer said with hesitation. “Why does it look somewhat like the bio-electrical network of the neurons’ movements in the brain of a living life form?”

The captain was startled. When he looked at it more carefully again, the structure of this electromagnetic field totally looked like a brain that was enlarged countless times.

“Could it be alive? Is it an electromagnetic field life form?”

The captain was surprised. This kind of life form had always been rare. They could be sold to collectors with special tastes at quite a high price.

Having thought of that, the captain immediately ordered, “Quickly, try to capture it!”

However, as soon as he said that, the electromagnetic storm shrouding the planet suddenly dissipated into thin air like it had never appeared. There were no signs of it on the radar too.

The members inside the cabin were all startled.

“Am I tripping?”

The captain rubbed his eyes with shock.

Chapter 1112: Trap and Pursuit

Chapter 1112 Trap and Pursuit

On the Star Arc Civilization’s mother planet, the upper echelons were having a discussion in the conference room. “The three Universal Civilizations sent us a notification not long ago, demanding that we be ready to shut down all the quantum network base stations on all our planets any time. What’s this about?”

“Isn’t the Intelligent Plague already under control? Did something happen?”

“Or are the three Universal Civilizations plotting against us again?”

The upper echelons’ expressions were stiff. They were full of suspicion. Initially, when the three Universal Civilizations announced that the antivirus had been created, they thought the Intelligent Plague was basically dealt with. Hence, their attention was focused on the fact that the Ancient Star Desert was still in lockdown. They felt that the three Universal Civilizations might use the opportunity and do something to them afterward, so they had been on alert 24/7. It was like they were suffering from delusions. The three Universal Civilizations’ sudden order to tell them to be ready to cut off all the quantum network connections in their territory made the Star Arc Civilization even more suspicious. They almost thought that this was a signal of the three Universal Civilizations’ attacks on them.

This time, it was not cutting off their communications to the outside world but shutting down the quantum network in their territory, which meant that their galactic society foundation would be shut down. In the interstellar era, large civilizations like them completely relied on the immediate exchange of information through the quantum network to rule and manage their planets. Shutting that down meant that they had to abandon their ruling over their territory temporarily. It was no wonder they were worried.

The civilization’s leader knocked on the table and silenced the room. “The three Universal Civilizations sent the same announcement to the other civilizations too. We’re not the only one.”

Hearing this, the others all nodded with relief.

“Then it should still be related to the Intelligent Plague… What have the three Universal Civilizations been doing lately?” an official asked.

The person in charge of the intelligence department raised his eyes and said, “The three Universal Civilizations’ troops are stationed separately on various planets. Those Beyond Grade A Mechanics are making strange movements too, dispatching their mechanical troops to those planets. They seem to be up to something big.” “All the Beyond Grade A Mechanics are acting?”

“Yes, all.”

“What do you think they’re doing?”

“I don’t know the details, but it sure looks a lot like they’re setting up an encirclement.” “Hmm…”

The civilization leader pondered for a moment and slowly said, “Cooperate with the three Universal Civilizations’ arrangements. For the time being, investigate what the three Universal Civilizations and those Beyond Grade As are planning to do. Pay close attention. Don’t ignore any moves they make. I want to know what their goal is.”

In the Flickering World development union headquarters on Planet Finn, the remote projections of various Beyond Grade As gathered for the routine plenary meeting.

Some of the seats were empty, mostly Beyond Grade As who were summoned, including the president and the vice president seats.

“Speaking of which, Mechanic Emperor and Black Star have already missed quite a few meetings. I wonder how they’re doing in the Ancient Star Desert,” someone casually said. This topic quickly sparked discussion.

“The Intelligent Plague in the Ancient Star Desert has lasted for many months. No news has gotten out. What’s the situation now? Is the disaster under control?”

“The Star Field is under lockdown. I can’t get any information either. Any of you know what’s going on?”

Since the three Universal Civilizations evaluated the Intelligent Plague as a universal disaster, the entire universe was paying close attention to the Ancient Star Desert. However, since leaking any information was forbidden, they did not know the situation in the Ancient Star Desert.

The Beyond Grade As present were all curious too.

“Hey, Hila, anything from your army commander?” A Beyond Grade A turned and looked at Hila, who rarely spoke.

“No.” Hila gave the simplest response.

She was also a member of the association. Since Black Star could not attend the meetings, she acted as the representative of the Black Star Army.

Tolaen curled his lips and said, “Humph, Black Star might have already been taken out.” “Are you itching for another beating?” Hila said with an expressionless face.

Tolaen gave a creepy smile and said, “The way I see it, the three Universal Civilizations calling all the Beyond Grade A Mechanics over was a conspiracy to begin with. Think about it, both the president and the vice president are Mechanics. Wouldn’t they be able to easily achieve what they’ve been wanting to do to us this way?” The allies of the Arcane Church all looked at him with speechless expressions. Whose side are you really on?

“Stop talking nonsense. You’ll be held accountable for the things you say,” a direct member of the church said with a displeased tone.

“My bad, I always say whatever I want to say.” Tolaen snorted.

Hila did not bother with him, but she was indeed a little worried.

All the other Mechanics only sent their avatars there; Black Star was the only one whose original body had gone over.

The Ancient Star Desert was in lockdown. If the three Universal Civilizations really wanted to do something to Black Star, that place would instantly turn into a death trap. Hila did not trust the three Universal Civilizations from the bottom of her heart. Although the King suit could teleport Han Xiao out anytime, it was not enough to make her not worry.

On the other side, Secret Master’s eyelids trembled uncontrollably.

As a protector of the black market, he was more interested in the Ancient Star Desert’s situation than the others.

Ever since the Star Field had gone into lockdown, all contact with the black market over there had been cut off. A lot of the businesses there were under his protection and had always given him a lot of profit. Some were the Beast Ancestor’s businesses that he had just taken over not long ago. After having no contact for so long, he had absolutely no idea how his businesses were doing.

I wonder how the black market of the Ancient Star Desert is faring… Secret Master pondered.

According to Han Xiao’s operation plan, the three Universal Civilizations did a lot of preparations over more than a month. They dispatched fleets to be stationed at all the trap node planets. Most of their time was spent on traveling and waiting for the Beyond Grade As’ mechanical armies to arrive at the locations.

Since this was a Star Field level network, there were quite a number of trap nodes that spread across the various Star Systems of the Ancient Star Desert. The trap nodes the three Universal Civilizations had chosen were mainly those territories that were not easy to control with just orders or some crucial spots.

Every terminal exit had a Beyond Grade A Mechanic and the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet around it, and Manison’s Lord’s Avatars were at all of them.

In this time, Han Xiao had also built a batch of specially made Lord’s Avatars, but it was still not enough. He decided to compromise and stationed only his mechanical troops at every spot.

As for the Lord’s Avatars, he placed them at the locations carefully selected by Harrison and hoped he was lucky enough.

The target of [Lord’s Descent) was not limited to specially made Lord’s Avatars. It could be used on even normal mechanical soldiers, only not at full power and with a full set of abilities. Therefore, even though any Beyond Grade A Mechanic would be able to set up an ambush at all the locations, they could only be a bystander at most, and none had the advantage Manison had. After all, there was no way they could compete with Manison’s Lord’s Avatar if they descended on ordinary machines.

Therefore, the other Beyond Grade A Mechanics were all planning to do their best to force the virus core to materialize at one of the locations their Lord’s Avatars were at.

Due to how stealthy the virus core was, there was currently not a scanning tool that anyone could use. Only Beyond Grade A Mechanics could track the virus core on the network. Although some of them were not specialized in the virtual area, as long as they had learned the (Virtual Creator] Ultimate Knowledge, it was enough.

In order to improve everyone’s virtual ability and range, the Federation of Light provided a large-scale strategic device—Super Range Virtual Brainwave Enhancer.

This was equipment exclusively for Mechanics. It improved one’s virtual ability in many ways, drastically increasing the range. It could be fully utilized by Beyond Grade A Mechanics.

The size of this device was enormous, like a spherical, silver galactic fortress. Its exterior looked like it was assembled through plates. There were clearly visible gaps between, and it was not smooth at all.

The inside of the device was very empty. In its heart, all the Beyond Grade A Mechanics formed a circle and hovered in midair. They were ready.

The remote projections of the three Inspectors, including Sidreun, appeared in this circle. Sidreun said with a serious tone, “Guys, the mechanical troops are all deployed. There are only thirteen minutes to the time when the virus core will go online according to the prophecy. When the time comes, we will cut off the network immediately and make the Ancient Star Desert a trap. Please act according to the plan. We’re relying on you; you must catch the virus core.”

The people nodded. Although this was a huge responsibility, everyone there was someone who stood at the top of the universe, so they did not feel pressured.

The first step of the operation involved them tracing the virus core after the trap was set, preventing it from hiding. It was like catching a chicken inside a cage. With the data pattern Manison had provided and the bonus of the Super Range Virtual Brainwave Enhancer, they could track the virus core for as far as they wanted and not worry about it escaping

This time, Kant said with a smile, “This should be the first time all the Beyond Grade A Mechanics in the universe have worked together. I think this will be written down in history.”

Hearing this, many people present laughed.

Indeed, all the people at the top of the Mechanic class working together was something worth writing about in the history books.

Han Xiao glanced around and curled his lips.

Humph, you’re all laughing now, but when we fight for the virus core later, you’ll all beat each other up without hesitation.

I hope Harrison’s Luck Glow works this time and the virus core ends up meeting my Lord’s Avatar…

Not taking part in the conversation, Han Xiao prayed in his mind.

The people went silent to stay focused. Time passed minute by minute.

Finally, when it came to the last minute, Sidreun looked at the time and said with a deep voice, “Guys, let’s go!”

In the quantum network vision, the Ancient Star Desert was an illuminated Star Field. Countless bright nodes formed a sea of light, and countless data streams connected the nodes, forming an extremely complex 3D network structure.

These data connections that looked like strings were the foundation of the galactic society.

At this time, a stream of light suddenly appeared outside one of the data links.

This stream of light looked like a cluster of extremely intricate data. Countless symbols flowed on its shell. This was what the Domino Virus’ core looked like. It was in the form of an artificial intelligence life form.

The next second, the virus core came into contact with the firewall of this data link. Its shell instantly assimilated with the firewall, easily getting through the alarm system, and infiltrated this link. It then moved along with the data flowed, capturing the feedback data in the network.

Ka!

At this time, a large portion of the bright Ancient Star Desert in the quantum network vision suddenly became dark.

Countless data links broke off, and countless nodes extinguished simultaneously. The sea of light became much smaller.

Buzz!

At the same time, more than a dozen powerful consciousnesses arrived in the quantum network, scanning through the remaining quantum network area like nothing could hide from them.

The next moment, a consciousness locked onto the virus core.

Data streams came together and formed a silhouette of light before the virus core. Kant’s virtual soul smiled at it.

“Found you…”

At this instant, the virus core’s program quickly came up with a measure and immediately fled!

Through the data link, the virus core changed its form multiple times and fled to a place that was countless nodes away.

However, suddenly, a data stream tornado appeared in front of it.

“Are you playing hide and seek?”

The data streams formed Quantum Demon’s face. It was intently staring at the virus core.

Without hesitation, the virus core turned around and fled again, hoping to find a location and hide in the quantum network.

However, no matter how much computing power the virus core spent on coming up with disguises, it would still end up meeting a Beyond Grade A Mechanic every time. It was forced to keep changing direction. It looked quite similar to someone who was panicking.

Han Xiao, Manison, Kant, Judith, and the other Beyond Grade A Mechanics showed up one after another, stopping the virus core in its path.

The encirclement started to shrink around it.

At this time, the virus core suddenly stopped fleeing. It entered one of the nodes and disappeared without a trace.

“It has materialized!”

Inside the real world, Han Xiao’s original body’s eyes sparkled.

The terminal exit that the virus core had chosen seemed to be a planet where the Machinery Faith was. That was one of the ambush locations his Lord’s Avatar was at!

Buzz!

At the same time, powerful Mechanical Forces appeared around every Mechanic in the Super Range Virtual Brainwave Enhancer.

Multiple consciousnesses traveled in the cosmic space and headed to the planet this node was at!

Chapter 1113: Confrontation and Negotiation

Chapter 1113 Confrontation and Negotiation

In the Ancient Star Desert, Planet Magnetic Cloud was one of the gathering grounds of the Machinery Faith. Its ground was yellowish-black, and heavy bases in the style of the Machinery Faith stood on the surface neatly, forming a ring-shaped industrial city. Around it were open mines with countless large industrial cranes. The streets of the city were well connected in all directions, all flat gray roads. Convoys of carriers rode past the pedestrians on the sides of the street wearing heavy kinetic armor one after another.

At the heart of the ring-shaped city was a tall mountain. It was sliced flat in the middle as a platform, where the temples were. On top of it was a floating island releasing a gentle artificial light.

The Machinery Faith had many followers and factions. It had no strict rules and mostly centered around the Grand Priest and the various bishops, forming fleets that traveled the universe looking for planets to migrate to. Their goal was the planets’ mines and the machinery wreckages underground, accumulating them or selling them. Therefore, most of the planets the Machinery Faith visited were just temporarily strongholds. They were somewhat like a wandering religion. The Machinery Faith did not have many fixed strongholds. Some were the subdivisions of different factions, some were long-term gathering and residential areas of the believers such as Planet Magnetic Cloud, and some were holy grounds recognized by all the believers.

Now, the heavily armed fleet of the three Universal Civilizations hovered above Planet Magnetic Cloud. The believers on the ground, however, were not surprised. They only occasionally glanced above and then got back to what they were doing. The three Universal Civilizations had already contacted the Machinery Faith. This kind of loose organization with religious factors was always hard to manage. The three Universal Civilizations did not trust in the Machinery Faith’s ability to execute their orders, so they just stationed their fleet there and used it as a trap node.

Currently, on the open platform at the top of the mechanical temple, the Grand Priest who was wearing the bishop armor looked up at the fleet above and softly murmured.

The priest beside saw this, approached him, and asked, “Grand Priest, are you worried about the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet?”

The Grand Priest shook his head and said, “We’re just a civilian organization that obeys the law. We’ve never had much contact with the three Universal Civilizations, so they won’t do anything to us. I’m glad that the three Universal Civilizations are here.” “Glad?”

“Yes, ever since the Intelligent Plague erupted, the fanatics in the religion have been growing by the day. Not only have they been studying the Virtual Mutiny Virus privately, but they even wanted to spread it. This completely goes against the Machinery Faith’s neutral stance; their twisted faith will bring disaster to the religion sooner or later. Now that the three Universal Civilizations have come, they’ve indirectly kept those fanatics obedient,” the Grand Priest mumbled.

Thinking back, it still felt quite heavy.

After the three Universal Civilizations invented the antivirus, there were even some fanatics who attempted to improve the virus and crack the antivirus so that the Intelligent Plague would continue. These madmen strongly believed that this was a great artificial intelligence revolution.

Therefore, left with no choice, he dispatched the Guards of Faith and locked these people up. However, this idea remained and was still spreading around this gathering ground. “Hmm, maybe…” The priest paused momentarily. “Even now, I still don’t understand why the three Universal Civilizations are temporarily using our gathering ground.”

“It seems to be related to the Intelligent Plague. I don’t know much either…” The Grand Priest shook his head.

Before he finished his sentence, the radar in his armor suddenly reacted.

“Abnormality detected in the planet’s magnetic field. A vortex has appeared, coordinates…”

The Grand Priest was startled. He turned and looked at the magnetic field vortex together with the priest beside him.

The magnetic field of Planet Magnetic Cloud was very special. The armor of the Machinery Faith believers here was equipped with specially made monitors of the magnetic field. At this time, they all heard the notification from the radar. The people on the streets all stopped and looked in the same direction. They quickly switched to Electromagnetic Vision so that they could clearly see the movement of the magnetic field. In their vision, in the sky far away, the magnetic field seemed to have formed a tornado, and bright light sparks appeared out of nowhere, quickly forming an energy field.

Right at this moment, something happened!

Boom!

Bright meteors suddenly flew out from the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet one after another, quickly heading to the location of the electromagnetic vortex.

Although these meteors were not large in size, they all gave off an astonishing energy presence, dragging extremely bright electrical tracks behind them that left long-lasting marks on the pupils of those watching. Those meteors made thunderous sounds while moving, as if the sky was collapsing.

“What is that?”

Including the Grand Priest, all the Machinery Faith believers on Planet Magnetic Cloud were shocked.

At this time, the first batch of meteors arrived at the electromagnetic vortex’s location and all stopped. After the flames around them disappeared, their appearance as machines appeared. They were all Lord’s Avatars of the various Beyond Grade A Mechanics.

Manison was the quickest. He looked up and glared at the electromagnetic vortex, and it stopped moving for an instant. Then, he raised his hand and grabbed toward it. The electromagnetic field at the vortex’s center was grabbed by him, and it entered into a mini triangular container the size of a human head.

The next moment, the abnormal electromagnetic vortex disappeared. The wind and the rain stopped, and the sky became bright again, as if the electromagnetic tornado just moments ago was only an illusion.

“Are those the Lord’s Avatars of Beyond Grade A Mechanics?”

Seeing this, although the Machinery Faith believers still had no idea what was going on, they were all instantly overjoyed and thrilled.

In their eyes, this many Beyond Grade A Mechanics appearing was the same as Gods descending.

However, before they could be surprised, the situation changed drastically again. Suddenly, the other Beyond Grade A Lord’s Avatars behind Manison attacked him all at the same time.

Boom boom boom!

Explosions erupted in midair and illuminated the faces of countless Machinery Faith believers.

The next second, Manison’s Lord’s Avatar flew out from the explosion and was surrounded by the others.

Seeing this, a flash of shock appeared in the eyes of every believer.

These Beyond Grade As are going to fight here? Then aren’t we witnessing a ‘Battle of Gods’?

Ten seconds prior…

Inside the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet outside Planet Magnetic Cloud, mechanical troops of the various Mechanics hovered. Some mechanical troops were surrounding their own Lord’s Avatars.

The instant the virus core escaped the quantum network, all of their consciousness arrived. The eyes of the mechanical bodies lit up one after another. “Target locked!”

As soon as Han Xiao arrived, the radar’s notification sounded beside his ear.

At the same time, a black silhouette landed from not far away. That was Manison’s avatar, and it rushed to the virus core’s material body instantly.

That old man is fast!

This thought flashed past his mind in an instant. Han Xiao was just about to use his ability, only to realize he could not use any teleportation abilities such as the Void Hyperdrive.

His pupils constricted, and he understood what was going on. Without further ado, he instantly followed after Manison’s avatar and fell toward the planet surface. Behind him were many meteors, all avatars or troops of the others.

Bang!

They passed through the atmosphere. Their high speed gave them a burning flame coat. Han Xiao stared at the target closely. The electromagnetic vortex enlarged in his sights as he quickly approached.

The virus core had just escaped the quantum network and was gathering electromagnetic energy to form its body, only to realize a group of Beyond Grade A Lord’s Avatars approaching. It gave up materializing and attempted to head back to the quantum network to flee.

However, in an instant, a dense electrical light shot out from Manison’s eyes. He had activated (Virtual Paramount]!

Weng!

The virus core’s virtual soul was instantly locked, unable to escape its shell that had yet to even form fully.

Manison’s movements were smooth without any hiccups. He quickly took out the specially made containment device and sucked the virus core in.

This containment was specially made to suppress the virus core’s abilities. It could perfectly contain it. As long as the virus core was caught in it, it would never escape.

Han Xiao’s pupils constricted. Old Man Manison got it!

However, the next instant, the other Lord’s Avatars that followed attacked at the same time. Highly dense beams passed him by and headed right toward Manison’s back.

Boom!

Manison had expected this. Layers of shields appeared and blocked the bombardment, causing violent explosions.

Using this force, he quickly got away from the others, at the same time turning toward them, with the containment that carried the virus core still in his hands.

The others surrounded and confronted Manison.

“Be careful. If you guys destroy the container, my efforts will have gone to waste.”

Manison was not angry at all and spoke calmly.

A direct member of the Federation of Light, Defender Romo, said with a deep voice, “Manison, hand over the virus core. You should know that this kind of thing can’t be leaked.”

The remote projections of the inspectors including Sidreun appeared. He said with a solemn tone, “That’s right. Your Excellency Mechanic Emperor, you’re a sensible person. The three Universal Civilizations will certainly reward you generously for capturing the virus core, but this thing cannot remain in the hands of someone else.”

“Hehe, you don’t have to be so nervous. After I’m done studying it, not only will I hand turn the virus core over, I’ll even share the technology I’ve obtained through it.”

Manison was very casual and did not panic at all.

Han Xiao did not speak. He looked around and nodded secretly. This was completely within his expectations.

In his previous life, the person who obtained the virus core had probably obtained it secretly. Now, however, the situation was completely different. The virus core was a hot potato. No matter which Mechanic possessed it, they would instantly be in a difficult situation and become the target of the rest of the Mechanics. At the same time, the three Universal Civilizations would certainly ask for the virus core from them.

The battleships were of no help in capturing the virus core, so why did the three Universal Civilizations deploy fleets at the trap nodes? Clearly, they were not there to deal with the virus core but to deal with them, the Beyond Grade A Mechanics!

The Lord’s Avatars present all had short-range hyperdrive abilities. Han Xiao even had Void Hyperdrive, but no one used it. This was because the fleet had activated spacetime stabilization anchors at the trap nodes long ago, preventing anyone from escaping.

And this was the exact reason Manison stayed to talk, or he would have escaped the moment he succeeded.

The only way to leave with the virus core was… to fight a way out!

However, although the three Universal Civilizations and the other Mechanics wanted to take away the virus core, they were worried about destroying the container, so they all held back.

The three Universal Civilizations hoped to take back the virus core from Manison through a negotiation. They were even mentally prepared for Manison to ask for an outrageous price.

“Mechanic Emperor, the Virtual Mutiny Virus is a strategic weapon that can threaten the entire universe. It will only be safe in the hands of the three Universal Civilizations. We won’t allow any risk to exist, so no matter what, we have to take the virus core today. You should know the severity of this matter.”

The inspector of the Arcane Church’s tone was firm.

Manison did not respond instantly but looked at the avatars of the other Mechanics. He then said slowly, “See that? Anyone who gets the virus core will have to face this. Are you guys still planning to fight for it?”

“Honestly, I don’t have a lot of interest in the virus core. After all, I’m not a Virtual Mechanic… However, I wouldn’t mind exchanging this for more good stuff.” Kant chuckled.

“Don’t look at me. As long as I get the virus core, I’ll regain my freedom, so I’m on the side of the church,” Mechanical Catastrophe Francisco said.

“I’ll fight for something with all I’ve got as long as there’s a chance… Teacher, you taught me that.” ‘Mechanic Empress’ Mornisa’s tone was calm.

Everyone expressed their attitude. Their reasons were different, but they all had the same resolve.

In the end, Manison’s eyes stopped on Han Xiao.

“Black Star, what about you?”

Han Xiao did not answer it directly but replied with a mocking tone, “You didn’t ask around just to chat, did you? Are you stalling for the time, or are you trying to find a temporary ally?”

Hearing this, Manison smiled. “Black Star, you know me well… That’s right, I need an ally to deal with this tough situation together. You and I both know the situation the Beyond Grade As are in. We’re on the same side. I plan to study the Virtual Mutiny Virus not only for its technology but also to add a layer of insurance for the Beyond Grade As. If you’re willing to help me, I won’t mind studying this technology together with you.” Everyone looked at Han Xiao with different emotions.

Han Xiao was not convinced at all. He casually said, “Sounds good, but I have a feeling you’ll go back on your word.”

“Hehe. You might not believe me, but I need someone to take this risk together with me. Two people having this technology suits my interests more, so this time, I will keep my word.”

“Tsk, that’s all words. No matter how good they sound, they’re just that.”

“Then, how do you want me to prove it?”

Han Xiao pointed at the container in Manison’s hands, smiled, and said, “Since you’re willing to study it together with me, who’s holding the virus core won’t make a difference. Give the device to me. I’ll take the risk, and you’ll help me to get out of this. That way, I’ll believe that you’re sincere and not just toying with my feelings.”

“I’m okay with that, but will you be willing to study it with me when it’s in your hands? How can I be sure you won’t go back on your words?” Manison asked the same thing.

“As you just said, I need someone to share the pressure too.” Han Xiao shrugged.

Manison stayed silent for a few seconds. As the atmosphere became heavier and heavier, he finally spoke slowly and shocked everyone.

“Since that’s the case… then why not?”

Chapter 1114: The Choice of the Era

Chapter 1114 The Choice of the Era

At the same time, what was happening on Planet Magnetic Cloud was being broadcast live to the Central Galaxy through a military coded channel. The leaders of the three Universal Civilizations were monitoring events in real-time. Seeing this, the three of them were all silent.

Bader took a deep breath and slowly said, “Manison… We’ve given him too much freedom. We can put up with other things, but this time, he crossed the line.”

The church’s pope said, “He always ignores our warnings, provoking our authority time after time, and now even wants to acquire a strategic intimidation weapon. He says he’s fighting for a form of insurance for the Beyond Grade As, but he’s just trying to make us fear him so he can be on the same level as us. He’ll definitely also use this to threaten us for more things in the future. The possibility of all that happening has to be eliminated at the roots.”

“I seem to recall that Black Star has a similar ability to the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device. If he works with Manison and takes the virus core, he’ll be able to teleport out immediately…” Bader turned to look at Urranrell, who was silent, and said with a more serious tone, “As long as he leaves the scene with the virus core, we’ll assume that the Virtual Mutiny Virus has already been obtained by Black Star… So, Your Excellency Dynasty Ruler, what are you planning to do?”

Urranrell stayed silent for a while before saying, “Now isn’t a good time for a cleansing. The Flickering World is in development, and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations are a threat. If we force Black Star and Mechanic Emperor to turn on us, they might go to the Super Star Cluster Civilizations with the Virtual Mutiny Virus in their hands. That’s going to be a real threat, so we should try our best for things not to come to that.” “That’s right. With the Super Star Cluster Civilizations, now indeed isn’t a good time to have a cleansing… However, our compromise and tolerance should have a limit, and we can’t step behind that line,” Bader said with a deep voice.

The church’s pope said with a grave tone, “Maybe having a trump card to protect their safety is a sensible demand of the Beyond Grade As, but we can’t ignore how much of a threat this is to our rule. I know that if Black Star or the Mechanic Emperor acquire the virus technology, we’ll still be able to maintain a peaceful relationship with them as long as we don’t push them too hard, and things won’t end up in the worst scenario. However, it will still be a hidden threat. Can we close our eyes and act like all this never happened just because it won’t show its dangers for the time being? We did not get to where we are today by having illusional hopes in others!”

Urranrell frowned and shouted, “Do you have any idea what you’re talking about? You’re talking about a war that will involve all the advanced civilizations in the entire universe, a cleansing that will last for decades or even a century. Do you not know the consequences of that? Do you want to go back to the exploration
era””

“It won’t come to that. We’re already the absolute rulers. No one can stand above us. Maybe this will be the most chaotic time since the start of the Galaxy Calendar, but it will make sure all our obstacles are cleared. It’s better than watching our enemies grow so powerful that we can’t get rid of them…” The pope’s tone was calm.

“What about the threat of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations?”

“If the Super Star Cluster Civilizations want to use the Virtual Mutiny Virus technology, we’ll announce this to the entire universe. It’ll be the best reason to start a war with them. The Super Star Cluster Civilizations have ignored the safety of the universe and attempted to use such a dangerous weapon; to maintain order, we have no choice but to wipe them out.’ This will be an opportunity to shatter all the Super Star Cluster Civilizations. Although both sides will end up suffering, nothing else will be able to shake our position afterward… After our enemies are eliminated, we’ll have more than enough time to deal with internal matters.”

Urranrell bit on her lips and squeezed out the words from between her teeth. “Stability above
all.”

The church pope was unconvinced. “Our bottom line doesn’t allow provocations.”

The atmosphere became tense. Disagreements were common in such meetings.

Seeing the two of them argue, Bader looked left and right with a strange expression.

The always aggressive Crimson Dynasty shockingly spoke about stability today, while the usually cheeky Arcane Church suddenly became a war fanatic?

Bader was at a loss.

He suppressed his shock, coughed, and said, “That’s very decisive of you, Pope. Since the Dynasty Ruler doesn’t agree with the more aggressive approach, maybe we can do it another way. Let’s say the Mechanic Emperor and Black Star succeed, we can temporarily compromise with them on the terms of them having to deal with the Super Star Cluster Civilizations. When they’re both wounded, we can come in and clean the two sides.” “Too assumptive.” The church pope shook his head. “If the Mechanic Emperor and Black Star acquire the technology, they definitely know the risks they’ll take by eliminating one of their potential customers. Otherwise, the leverage they have will lose its biggest threat.”

“Things are still not clear yet,” Urranrell said with a heavy frown. “Black Star has yet to agree to work with the Mechanic Emperor. He’s a smart person. I believe he will make a choice that’s beneficial for the peace of the universe.”

The church pope coldly said, “But what if? The federation once trusted the Mechanic Emperor too much as an ally, which led to him pushing the boundaries and gradually getting out of our control. With such an example, is the dynasty still planning to continue to protect Black Star for the sake of not offending him? A choice has to be made between the big picture and allies; unending fawning will only make the other party think you’re weak.”

Hearing this, Urranrell closed her eyes, only opening them again after a while. Her eyes were emotionless when they opened again.

“By then, I’ll have my measures.”

“Such as?”

“That’s not for you to worry, Your Excellency!”

On the other hand, the confrontation was still underway on Planet Magnetic Cloud. As soon as Manison said that, everyone present was startled. They did not think Manison would be willing to pass the virus core to someone else.

Han Xiao was shocked too. He was just mocking Manison and testing him. He did not think Manison would really agree to it. Hearing this, Han Xiao hesitated and did not respond instantly. He started to think quickly in his mind.

Manison wants to work with me, not only to shift the target to me but also because of the teleportation ability of the King suit. Of all the people here, I’m the only one who can leave this place with the virus core easily. Old Man Manison is strong, sure, but even he isn’t very confident in fleeing from here, which is why he has chosen me…

Han Xiao pondered. This body was a Lord’s Avatar that did not have the King. Nonetheless, he could summon a spare one from the Dimension Factory, so it was not an issue. Manison is killing two birds with one stone. If I agree and leave with the virus core, I’ll instantly become the target of everyone, while Manison won’t have to fight for a way out after throwing the hot potato to me. Instead, he got himself out of the equation, and I’ll face the most pressure from the three Universal Civilizations.

If I break my promise after acquiring the technology, not only will I have to endure the pressure alone, but I’ll also have to suffer the consequences of breaking my promise. Not speaking of offending Manison, my name among the Beyond Grade As will plummet for sure. Therefore, he’s certain that I’ll need an ally, so he knows he’ll most likely still get his hands on the technology, and he’s willing to gamble on it…

Han Xiao clenched his teeth in his mind.

He’s playing these dirty tricks again! The two of them did not chat privately but openly. Manison’s intentions were clear; he wanted to shift the target of the conflict, and everyone understood that. However, some people still panicked. Seeing that Han Xiao was about to be convinced, the dynasty’s inspector yelled loudly, “Black Star! You have to think carefully about what you’re doing!”

He had to panic. Although the spacetime was stabilized, Black Star was the only one who could just teleport out.

Although the two of them could run but could not hide, if the three Universal Civilizations could not retrieve the virus core on the spot, it would cause tons of problems afterward.

The Beyond Grade A Mechanics changed their positions and stood apart from Manison and Han Xiao.

This time, Manison raised the contained virus core, stared at Han Xiao, and said, “Black Star, I’ve always had high hopes for you. You should know that this will become the amulet for the Beyond Grade As. We have the same philosophy. Leave with it. Our future is in your hands.”

“Bullsh*t. Although you’re the association president, you still don’t have the right to make this kind of decision on behalf of all the Beyond Grade As. No one needs you to plan the future for them.” Kant turned to Han Xiao and said, “Black Star, don’t get tricked by him. Not only will possessing the virus core not give us insurance, but it will bring us a disaster.”

Han Xiao hesitated.

His philosophy was not the same as the Mechanic Emperor’s. He wanted to interfere with the Calamity of the Supers so that the explored universe could preserve more strength to deal with the World Tree Civilization in the future.

Manison wanted to make the Beyond Grade As stronger, making everyone in this Grade his shield. Another goal of him attempting to acquire the Domino Virus technology was most likely to make the other Beyond Grade As more united around him and see him as their leader.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Manison most likely was the one who got the Domino Virus. However, he did not use it during the World Tree Civilization war. His ambitions showed from that-since he still did not expose his trump card even when the explored universe was threatened by an outside enemy, he clearly wanted to use it on the three Universal Civilizations.

Han Xiao looked around and saw the expression on everyone’s face.

Is the Domino Virus really an amulet? Who knows? It might be a death invitation.

How can the three Universal Civilizations possibly be willing to be restricted by someone? If I threaten them with this as leverage, I won’t receive compromises but, more likely, the three Universal Civilizations’ resolve to eliminate their enemies no matter the cost.

Most of the time, the three Universal Civilizations would think about the big picture, but this did not mean that they would compromise without limits. Strategic weapons would only achieve a balance of power when the power of the two sides was on the same level in the first place. However, if one side’s power overwhelmed the other, it was tough to imagine they would allow an outsider to use a weapon that could threaten them to demand things. If he obtained the Domino Virus technology, he would be able to cause huge damage to the entire universe if he wanted to and make the galactic society go back multiple generations. He might feel this meant that the three Universal Civilizations would have no choice but to choose to tolerate and compromise with him… However, this would be the exact source of the three Universal Civilizations’ resolve to eliminate him.

Even if he did not think of causing trouble, people could change, and the three Universal Civilizations would not be willing to take that risk.

From Han Xiao’s perspective, the three Universal Civilizations allowing them to possess the Domino Virus technology did not seem like a big deal. After all, as long as everyone held back, it seemed like no one would suffer any losses. It looked like a small issue not worth all the trouble.

However, this was only his mind playing tricks on him, telling him he might get lucky. In truth, the three Universal Civilizations had lines that could not be crossed. They could tolerate others being greedy, but they would never allow anyone to threaten their positions as the absolute rulers.

In this situation, if he ignored their warnings and took the virus core away, no matter what he said afterward, the three Universal Civilizations would still assume he was thinking of overthrowing their rule.

If things really turned ugly, Han Xiao did not think the other Beyond Grade As would be standing on his side. He knew very well that everyone had their own plans. His call only got so many responses before because it suited their interests. However, no one was ready to turn on the three Universal Civilizations. By then, there would definitely be more people who would choose not to be involved than people who chose to take this path to the end.

By that time, he and the Mechanic Emperor might be seen as the cancer of society. Most of the time, the majority represented the society they were in.

Also, the impact of things turning completely ugly would show in all areas. The Black Star Army’s territory in the Flickering World would be retrieved; the civilizations would no longer provide any resource channels; the civilian financial groups would terminate their partnerships; the army’s funds and accounts would be frozen, and the army would not be able to purchase any resources; countless army soldiers would quit and leave; the army’s business would shrink dramatically… The three Universal Civilizations would only have to make a simple announcement for all this to happen. All the benefits he was enjoying from the advanced civilizations would be gone forever.

Everyone was a member of the galactic civilization. There would certainly be extremely few people who would be willing to fight against the three Universal Civilizations on the Black Star Army’s side.

After all, most people were just ordinary people. No one could blame them for putting themselves first.

Han Xiao’s eyes flickered. He stopped joking around and said with a deep voice, “You’re putting me in the gamble.”

“I’m thinking about the big picture.” Manison’s tone was calm.

Han Xiao stayed silent for a while before suddenly moving.

Buzz!

Void energy erupted and shrouded this area. Everyone there felt like they were in a swap and could not move freely.

Void Prison!

Due to the spacetime stabilization device, the strength, duration, and range of this ability all decreased drastically, but it was still barely enough.

In this area, only Han Xiao’s movements were unrestricted. He flew past the encirclement around and instantly came before Manison, grabbed onto the virus core and immediately moved aside.

“Black Star!”

As Void Prison ended, everyone came and surrounded Han Xiao this time.

Everyone’s eyes landed on him with all kinds of complicated emotions such as anger, worry, anxiety, and many more.

Outside the crowd, Manison looked at Han Xiao and said, “Looks like you’ve figured it out. You’re a smart man. Don’t disappoint me.”

“Black Star, don’t do anything stupid.” Sidreun and the inspectors were shocked.

Han Xiao did not respond to anyone. He looked at the virus core in his hands carefully, softly rubbed the container, and made sure it was the real thing.

With so many Beyond Grade As around, the possibility of it being swapped without getting noticed was nonexistent.

With the virus core in his hands, he felt as if he was not holding onto a physical object but the fate of countless people in this universe.

The direction of the era and the path it would take might be all decided by his one decision.

This time, Han Xiao looked up at the nervous eyes of everyone and slowly said, “Before taking the bet, one has to see the risks first. Sorry, I might have made a not so right decision. It’s just that I suddenly recall something a woman once said to me…

“She said… this universe has an end no matter how enormous it is, but ambition has no limits.”

Right after he said that, under the shocking look of everyone, Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force erupted and flowed into the container.

The Mechanical Force was mixed with a virtual soul attack. It completely wiped both the virus core’s physical body and soul.

Ka-cha!

He shattered the metal shell with his fingers. The empty container turned into pieces and fell to the ground.

At this moment, it was like everything froze.

Everyone watching, including the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations who were watching the broadcast, were all completely astonished.

Everyone had a lot of guesses in their minds, but not a single person had thought of what just happened.

Black Star destroyed the virus core?

He’s mad! Why did he do that?

Even if you don’t want it, you didn’t have to destroy it!

A bright light suddenly appeared in Manison’s eyes, and a terrifying energy flowed in his body like a tsunami.

His deep voice echoed around word by word.

“What! The! Hell! Have! You! Done!”

Chapter 1115: Twin Gods Advent

Chapter 1115 Twin Gods Advent

The lightning snaked wildly around, flickering with arcs of electricity as the energy fluctuations blasted around with the force of a hurricane. The Beyond Grade A avatars and machinery present were all blown away and retreated. Han Xiao was blown back a short distance, and he immediately stabilized himself, staring at the other party. Manison was entwined with a brilliant golden arc of Mechanical Force, releasing an astonishing aura. His pinnacle Beyond Grade A energy was fully released, and even though this was just an avatar of his, Han Xiao felt a heavy sense of oppression.

Manison’s eyes flashed as he locked onto Han Xiao, repeating his question.

“Do you know what you just did?”

“Are you angry?” Han Xiao did not bother to explain, only indifferently replying. “I’m very disappointed in you. You definitely understood what sort of chance you just gave up! Why did you destroy the virus core?” “Eradicating the Intelligent Plague is the goal of our trip. I just did my part… and on the first day I arrived, I told you this. It’s my generation’s responsibility to prevent the universe from growing more chaotic, but you didn’t seem to take it seriously.”

Manison hovered in the air, his tone not revealing any surprise or joy. “It seems like my understanding of you is still insufficient.”

“Many people don’t even understand themselves, let alone say that they understand others… Mechanic Emperor, you think that we’re the same kind of person, but in fact, we’re not.”

“Since things have reached this point, there’s no need to say any more. Since you disappointed me, you should know how this will end today!”

Manison’s Mechanical Force soared up to the sky, piercing through the clouds, and connected to his machinery in outer space. His voice boomed out.

“Let me see just how much ability you have!”

Just as his voice sounded, a black wave of machinery passed through the atmosphere, shooting out a dense beam of light as they fell from the sky like a meteor shower toward Han Xiao’s position.

“My thoughts exactly!” Han Xiao’s left fist slammed upward toward the sky in a fanfare of light. An arc-shaped psionic protective shield unfolded in the air.

The dense cluster of light beams hit on the protective shield like a heavy downpour hitting the leaves on a plantation. This was accompanied by crackling explosions.

Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force also rushed upward to the sky, summoning his machinery on standby in outer space.

The machinery acted instantaneously and broke through the atmosphere. Manison’s troops immediately shifted their targets, exchanging fire with Han Xiao’s troops at a high altitude. The crisscrossing beams gave off a mysterious glow in the skies.

Han Xiao and Manison’s avatars were not idle either. They quickly drew close to each other in a collision.

Boom!

Just like a comet hitting the earth, a bluish-gold circular shock wave exploded at the center of their impact.

The two figures exchanged attacks hundreds of times, entangled as they rose into the air.

Boom!

Alloy rubbed against alloy, releasing countless electric sparks, and shock waves constantly formed at the point of their impacts.

Just as two of them started fighting, the other Beyond Grade A avatars and troops on the scene immediately diverged from each other, running off to the side to watch without getting involved.

Seeing Black Star fighting against the Mechanic Emperor, everyone then recovered from the shock of Han Xiao destroying the virus core.

“I really didn’t expect… that Black Star would do this.” Maximiler was surprised.

“By doing this, he has put an end to the possibility of any organization obtaining the complete technology of this Virtual Mutiny Virus. Neither us nor the three Universal Civilizations can restore this technology now. He was too impulsive. Now no one has obtained anything from this trip,” Mornisa complained. “Impulsive? In my opinion, he’s the one who is the calmest and most rational,” Sun Hunter replied. “While doing this will cut off our hope of obtaining the virus technology, from the perspective of the universe and the bigger picture, this was a selfless choice.”

Kant nodded, speaking emotionally. “Come to think of it, we did not lose anything, nor did the three Universal Civilizations. The only ones who truly lost were Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor. The Mechanic Emperor has been made a fool of, and his position is making the three Universal Civilizations feel a certain degree of danger from him. As for Black Star, he has relinquished the possibility of obtaining benefits.

“If I was in that position, I would definitely not have destroyed it. I would have negotiated with the three Universal Civilizations in exchange for a lot of benefits. Yet Black Star was able to give up on those benefits to choose to destroy the root cause of this disaster. This should be the most beneficial to universal peace… I always thought of Black Star as a pure profit-seeker and didn’t expect him to do such a thing. Maybe I was wrong all along.”

“That’s right…” Judith sighed. “Our understanding of Black Star seems to be too limited. Turns out, he was not such a profit-seeker.”

Everyone was in a complicated mood. At this moment, the image of Black Star rose rapidly in their hearts since they did not expect him to perform such a noble move.

Even Jackornitz and those who had some enmity with him had to admit that their impression of Black Star had risen a notch. While the hope of restoring the virus technology was lost, no one was too disappointed even though they thought it a pity. In fact, they heaved a sigh of relief. This was an outcome they could all accept.

In fact, everyone had this vague worry in their heads as to what would happen after the three Universal Civilizations obtained the Virtual Mutiny Virus. Everyone present was a mechanic, and the Virtual Mutiny Virus would be the most lethal to them. The Virtual Mutiny Virus would pose a huge threat to their Class, which would cause their entire profession to enter hibernation.

In contrast, destroying the virus core was a wise choice. From this point of view, most of the people present were not against Han Xiao’s choice and even thought of it as a compromise that would benefit the Beyond Grade As.

They just did not know if Black Star had thought about all this when making a decision.

“Then, what shall we do now?” One of the neutral Beyond Grade As stared at the fierce battle unfolding. “Are we going to intervene?”

“Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor have deep conflicts, as they were originally the President and Vice President of the Development union. This is a dispute over their chosen paths. Let’s see how it goes.” Kant paused for a while before continuing. “Uh… the dynasty’s fleet seems to have switched off the spacetime stability anchor.”

After fighting for a while, Han Xiao and Manison noticed the release of the spacetime anchor and suddenly broke apart, confronting each other at a higher altitude.

Their machines stopped fighting, returning to the positions of the two, guarding their own avatars.

“Your strength has improved very quickly,” Manison said indifferently. “It’s just that, without burning your potential, you’re still not my opponent.” “Try me.”

Han Xiao casually threw back the ball. He maintained his focus, his fighting spirit soaring

After Black Star’s Godlike Battle, the outside world recognized Black Star to have two fighting styles. One would be the regular form, and the other was the explosive form caused by burning his potential.

Han Xiao did not have the ability to ‘burn his potential’. He had already obtained the (Mechanical Great Sage] skill as well as a few stacks of the God’s Trait Transformation skills. In addition, he had managed to draw several powerful specialties after the attack on Hila. His strength at the moment was considerable, enough to give Manison a run for his money.

However, it was still an undeniable fact that the Mechanic and Machinery abilities of Manison were well above his own.

The Mechanic Emperor had a higher level and God’s Trait Transformation level, as well as more mechanical abilities and talents. The quality and quantity of his own machinery were incomparable to Manison’s.

Han Xiao had intended to challenge Manison, but because the two of them were only present with their avatars, he would not activate his Character Summon Cards immediately. After all, both of them were Army Style Mechanics, so their fight would be over who had the most troops. A winner would not be easily decided. From their previous exchange, he had discovered that Manison’s clone was not easy to fight. His opponent had taken preventive measures, and not only were his armor and shields strong, his melee skills were also good. The longer one lived, the more versatile one got.

Old Man Manison was still a pinnacle Beyond Grade A, and his HP would not be too low. Furthermore, it was more normal for a Mechanic to use an avatar to fight rather than the main body… with Han Xiao being the only exception.

At this moment, Manison spoke with a chill in his voice. “It’s been a long time since I last used this move… Black Star, you’re worthy of me showing my true ability.”

As he spoke, he waved his hand.

Buzz!

His secondary dimensional army box burst open beside him, and the boundless army of machinery descended, covering the sky.

“Come on, who’s afraid?”

Han Xiao immediately saw through the Mechanic Emperor’s intentions and also opened his secondary dimensional army box. Countless mechanical soldiers rushed out, surrounding him. The size of their mechanical troops continued to soar and quickly covered the sky. On one side was the pitch-black machinery representing Black Star, whilst the other had the white gleaming troops from the Mechanic Emperor. The two sides faced each other far away, separated by a strip of sky, as though that was the dividing line. The machinery then started to converge on their avatars, quickly forming a huge mechanical structure.

Boom!

The next moment, two Mechanical Deities, one black and one silver, descended on the world!

The black Mechanical Deity was holding a black war halberd, wearing a huge robe, its body wrapped in the blue glow of psionic energy.

The silver Mechanical Deity held onto a purple trident, wearing a cloak and armor, its entire body flashing with golden arcs.

The two Mechanical Deities faced each other, and countless various mechanical soldiers stood by their sides.

“Mechanic Emperor!”

“Black Star!”

The sound waves swept across the entire planet.

The halberd slashed down, and the trident stabbed forward, as both Mechanical Deities simultaneously wielded their weapons.

Their huge bodies seemed to move slowly, but the actual movement was so fast that time distorted around them.

The halberd hit the edge of the trident, and the two Universal Treasure weapons locked onto each other.

Clank!

A resounding clash echoed in everyone’s soul, causing a frightening tremor.

An eye-piercing glow appeared at the position of the strike, suddenly blooming and turning into a silvery white lightning as it extended infinitely toward both ends.

At first glance, this looked like a glowing cut, searing the retinas of the countless people watching, as though the impact had torn apart the black backdrop that was the universe!

At the same time, at the Machinery Faith Colony on the surface, be it the believers or the priests, all of them turned their heads up to stare blankly at the sky, watching the two Mechanical Deities engaging in an earth-shaking ‘Divine Battle’.

Seeing Black Star swing his war halberd toward the publicly recognized Machinery Faith leader, every believer of the Machinery Faith was stunned.

To see the Mechanical Deities that they worshipped fighting before their very eyes, only one sentence could describe their current feelings…

“Baby, come out and look at God.”

At the same time, in the flagship of the Crimson Dynasty nearby, the commander, who had gone out to answer an emergency call, hurried back to the bridge at the command room and loudly ordered, “The Ruler has issued her orders. Immediately intervene in the battle and open fire at will!”

The members were dumbfounded. Gazing at the battle between the two Mechanical Deities, as well as the frantically rising energy fluctuations, they subconsciously asked, “Which one… do we help?”

Pa!

The commander raised his hand, slapping the back of the guy who asked this nonsensical question as he raged, “You f*cking tool, help the black one!”

Chapter 1116: The Full Firepower of the Strongest Mechanic

Chapter 1116 The Full Firepower of the Strongest Mechanic

The aftermath of the collision between the two Mechanical Deities stirred up the atmosphere of the planet, forming a huge vortex. The clash between the weapons constantly released sparks of electricity, distorting the viewers’ perception of space. The Mechanical Force was akin to a neural network, circulating around the body of the Mechanical Deities, turning the huge mechanical structure into a part of one’s body. The Celestial Punishment Edge collided against Manison’s trident again and again, setting off circles of energy shock waves that were visible to the naked eye. They swept across the sky of the planet, raising an endless gale.

The earth was disturbed to the point that sand and rocks were flying around, with every inch of the ground cracking, and even the Machinery Faith Colony seemed to be teetering on the edge of collapse. Because the body of the Mechanical Deity was too large to completely display their fighting prowess on the planet, the two fought as they ascended higher, leaving the atmosphere and making outer space their battlefield. Their secondary dimensional army boxes were still sending out troops, and the scale of the battle continued to expand.

Clank!

As the purple trident stabbed at him, Han Xiao blocked it by holding the halberd horizontally, and the majestic energy wrapped along the trident collided with his psionic shield, causing it to continuously flicker.

In the channel, Manison’s voice sounded out. “Celestial Punishment Edge? That’s a weapon I threw away long ago.” “It all depends on who is using the weapon.” Han Xiao’s eyes focused, and he squeezed the handle and twisted. Psionic energy burst out, and he took the chance to flick away the trident.

However, the trident vibrated and shot out a phantom copy. Under the assistance of the force field guidance, the rebounding force was converted into a propelling force. The trident only bounced back slightly before it stopped and shot back with an even faster speed.

Han Xiao took a defensive position, resisting Manison’s concentrated attacks whilst his thoughts ran fast, analyzing the current situation.

My Celestial Punishment Edge’s blueprint came from the Federation of Light, and Manison likely understands the characteristics of this weapon. But I have a limited understanding of the weapon in his hands, so I need to play defensive and test the waters
some more…

The lethality of a Universal Treasure weapon far exceeded its ordinary counterparts, so the Mechanical Deities chose to engage in close combat. Only in this manner could they break through each other’s thick shields with only half the effort.

Old Man Manison had rich combat experience, and while Han Xiao did not know if he possessed any Universal Treasure level Space Wonders, he definitely had quite a few Universal Treasure mechanical devices, much more than Han Xiao himself.

The trident, as well as the cloak and armor his deity possessed, were definitely at the level of Universal Treasures, but it was unknown just how many more he had.

Activating his Mechanical Deity meant that Manison was going all out. Han Xiao had no doubt about his opponent’s endurance. If he was unable to utilize the Mechanical Deity for an extended period of time, he would not lay down all his cards at the start.

Both Manison and I are here with our avatars, and both sides are using Mechanical Deities. It is impossible to easily crush the other’s avatar, so it will become a battle of attrition against whose troops are better…

Thinking about this, Han Xiao glanced at the interface.

Just as the two of them started to attack each other, a new mission appeared on his interface. [Mechanic Emperor Manison-Mechanical Deity Battle!]

The mode of the mission was the same as the other missions that involved challenging Beyond Grade As. He could complete the mission so long as he held on for a certain period of time. The rewards were also similar, having Character Summon Cards and getting to randomly draw a skill.

This was within Han Xiao’s expectations. With the three Universal Civilizations present and so many Beyond Grade A onlookers, the influence of this battle was definitely not small and was bound to trigger the mission. Both of them would also not be able to distinguish victory and defeat for a while, so completing the mission was basically a given.

Last time, it was only battling in the Virtual World. This time, fighting him in reality, I can finally see what it’s like when Manison goes all out.

Han Xiao suddenly felt the attacks cease and saw that Manison had retreated a step back, in a stance to gain momentum.

blades started rotating rapidly like a drill bit. The golden Mechanical Force was highly compressed on the tip of the blade, shining with a strong, dazzling light akin to a small sun. As the blade rotated, the psionic energy was drawn into it and swirled along, producing a psychedelic effect similar to a water vortex.

Han Xiao’s senses were ringing in alarm, and the machinery under his control began to fire at Manison. However, layers of diamond-shaped psionic shields emerged on the surface of Manison’s Mechanical Deity, blocking out all the concentrated fire of the machinery.

Whoosh!

Manison’s figure suddenly blurred, and he accelerated in an instant, the shining trident thrusting out so quickly it turned into a gold and blue beam.

Han Xiao held the halberd horizontally in defense and raised his Emperor’s Cape to generate a powerful shield.

Ka!

The trident was once again blocked by the halberd.

However, the golden blue piercing light continued unabated, shooting out from the main blade of the trident to pierce through his Emperor’s Cape, hitting the abdomen of his Machinery Deity.

Swoosh!

It tore through his abdomen, disappearing into the distance and leaving a huge penetrating wound in Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity. All the parts within the beam were annihilated into molecular-grade fragments, and the edges of the wound showed fiery red melting marks.

What a powerful penetrating force! Han Xiao’s heart was shocked.

In terms of just strength, this trident was indeed higher than the Celestial Punishment Edge. It was not just because of the blueprint but also because the Mechanic Emperor’s creation was of a higher quality and possessed stronger Mechanical Force bonuses, which served as a multifaceted suppression. With just a thought, the surrounding mechanical soldiers stopped fighting, turning around and converging on him as they transformed into parts to supplement the gap in his Mechanical Deity.

The Mechanical Deity itself was already a structure composed of a large number of machines. As long as there were no fatal injuries and one had enough energy and machinery, they could recover from all sorts of injuries.

Manison was about to seize the opportunity to pursue his attack, but at this moment, a sudden change occurred.

Dense beams of dark energy shot out diagonally, blasting into Manison’s troops and exploding the shields of countless mechanical soldiers, disrupting the formation.

Both of them stopped moving, glancing toward the source of the attack. The third party that fired was the fleet belonging to the Crimson Dynasty, its countless battleship weapons constantly firing toward the Mechanic Emperor’s troops.

The dynasty came to aid me? Han Xiao had the thought in his heart but did not find it a surprise.

With the Mechanic Emperor as a negative example, Han Xiao destroying the virus core was considered good behavior in the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations, increasing his positive image by a lot. While the virus technology would not be made available, it was indeed an acceptable result.

that his own relationship with the Mechanic Emperor had soured, they naturally had to express their stance. Rationally, they could not just sit back and watch idly as an ally that had completed a feat beneficial to the peace of the universe fight alone. Thus, their probability of intervening in the battlefield was almost guaranteed.

However, the attitudes of the other two civilizations were more ambiguous, sitting by the sidelines with no intention of interfering.

The federation was not ignorant of Manison’s position, but it was another thing to show support to him now. After Manison just demonstrated his intention to hide the virus and antagonize the three Universal Civilizations, the federation obviously could not provide support at this time, so they sat on the sidelines and watched the dynasty attack their ‘ally’.

As for the church, this was not their business, so they happily sat at the side with popcorn.

The three Universal Civilizations’ troops that were stationed at the trap node were mainly there to prevent the Beyond Grade A from absconding with the virus, so they naturally possessed some measure of combat capabilities. While the spacetime anchor was now lifted, allowing the mechanics to summon troops on a large scale, and only the dynasty was currently shooting at him, Manison still could not afford to take them lightly.

“Annoying flies.” Manison gestured with his trident, and a portion of the mechanical soldiers emerging from the secondary dimensional army box split off, forming an array to exchange fire with the dynasty’s fleet.

The Army Style Mechanics were the Supers best suited for interstellar warfare. If it were any other profession, they were bound to be restrained by the suppressive firepower of the fleet. However, mechanics were able to take out a part of their soldiers to fight on their own, minimizing the restraining abilities of the fleet.

If they wished to cause considerable interference to the Mechanic Emperor going all-out, the scale of the dynasty’s troops had to be hundreds if not thousands of times larger.

Han Xiao understood that this was a short reprieve granted by the dynasty and immediately repaired the damage to his Mechanical Deity.

At this moment, Manison turned toward Han Xiao.

“Black Star, you seem to have grown once again. I’ve been watching you for a long time. The more battles you go through, the faster your growth. Is this the basis for your confidence?”

“Have you not battled for too long a time, to forget that running your mouth is to give opportunities to your opponent?” Han Xiao did not hesitate, and his Celestial Punishment Edge lashed out.

The psionic energy converged into a biting blue blade of light, slashing toward Manison’s body. The highly concentrated energy resembled a bright half-moon sapphire.

Manison, however, remained motionless. The Universal Treasure cloak on his body suddenly shook, and a spherical white shield covering his entire body popped out, giving off a hazy texture like a cloud of flowing white smoke.

The light blade from the Celestial Punishment Edge hit the white shield, and the smoke on the surface of the shield suddenly accelerated, turning into swirling patterns. The sapphire-colored light blade suddenly shattered, turning into motes of light and scattering into the sky.

The next moment, the energy spots seemed to be drawn and absorbed by the shield, and the now discolored shield was swallowed and retracted into the armor of the Mechanical Deity, converted into energy to supplement the consumption of the Mechanical Deity.

Absorbing damage to replenish energy?

Han Xiao’s eyes turned solemn.

“I was very interested in your Indestructible Body, and there are many similar abilities and magics in the universe, but none of them have reached to a degree comparable to yours. Thus, I specially researched into this and explored your ability principles through your battle videos. I finally created this Universal Treasure level equipment that is dedicated to the Mechanical Deity, imitating part of your abilities,” Manison faintly said. “It seems like the actual combat effect is quite good.”

Han Xiao felt his head ache, secretly envious of Manison.

The Mechanic Emperor could research and create his own Universal Treasure, unlike me, who had no idea what to do before I unlocked Awakening Points!

Just craft what you’re lacking in. This is the true style of a proper mechanic! At this moment, Manison slowly commented, “Black Star, you’re still too green. I’ve seen many talented Mechanics in my life. Before they were taught a lesson, they always thought that the strength of their talent could make up for the lack of accumulation. I once taught this lesson to many of them, and right now, I shall also teach you the same lesson. A Mechanic needs to settle down and accumulate. Time is our greatest source of strength!”

His voice echoed loudly in the wide area communication channel. At the same time, a different type of troop burst forward from his secondary dimensional army box.

This special unit possessed many different individuals. Some were luxuriously equipped special mechanical soldiers, while others were luminous energy beings. The combat power of each individual was amazing, and they killed their way into the battlefield as though unafraid of death, sweeping aside all of Han Xiao’s mechanical soldiers. And when these individuals were killed and destroyed, there was no need to utilize skills such as (Waste Modification). Their bodies automatically regenerated, and they went back into battle without any reduction in strength.

The moment these troops entered the battle, it overturned the entire situation, gaining an absolute advantage.

Han Xiao’s pupils shrank as he recognized the origin of this unit.

Manison’s Aces—the Indestructible Mechanic Empire! Without waiting for him to observe, Manison’s Apostle Weapons led the army, smashing into the battlefield from the other direction, causing huge casualties to Han Xiao’s troops.

Han Xiao took a deep breath.

Glancing roughly, he could tell that there were at least forty to fifty Apostle Weapons present!

This meant that Manison’s (Apostle Life Creation) skill had broken through the upper limit by forty to fifty levels at least!

In this violent clash, the scale of troops which Manison released accounted for about seventy percent of his total, and all of them were under the Mechanical Force bonuses. Manison still looked at ease, his Mechanical Force completely covering all the soldiers.

Assuming that one point of Mechanical Force for Han Xiao could give bonuses to ten soldiers, Manison’s Mechanical Force could aid over twenty-five!

This difference was not only due to Attribute, Talent, and Skills but also because of the gaps in their equipment.

Han Xiao personally saw Manison pulling out four more Universal Treasures dedicated to his Mechanical Deity from the secondary dimensional army box. All of the equipment types were different, not only allowing the Mechanical Deity to be armed to the teeth but also expanding its size. After using all these treasures, Manison’s Mechanical Deity increased significantly in strength.

Some Class-specific Universal Treasures would provide a certain increase to its user. For example, Han Xiao’s King suit could provide additional Machinery Affinity bonuses. Manison’s equipment was similar with all-round enhancements to his Mechanical Force and his body.

At the same time, Han Xiao realized that he had also been invaded on a virtual level. Manison had summoned Finette, the ancestor of the AI civilization, and allowed it to perform a Virtual Intrusion with a large group of Virtual Life Forms to fight with Han Xiao on a virtual level for control of the machinery.

“Old man, you really have a lot of methods…”

Just as Han Xiao had this thought, a flash of light appeared in front of him. He only saw the afterimage of Manison’s fully equipped Mechanical Deity, slamming down with the trident. He hurriedly raised his halberd to block, but the shock wave penetrated his body, jarring his ears with the sound.

Clank!

The terrifying force was transmitted along his arms, and the countless built-in shock absorbers were instantly scrapped. Large pieces of his outer armor cracked, and Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity appeared to be full of cracks.

If he had not obtained the [Machinery Control Master) from Jackornitz, gaining an additional thirty-five percent efficiency bonus for his Mechanical suits, Han Xiao doubted that the arms of his Mechanical Deity would still be intact.

Manison, however, did not slow down in his attacks. Taking advantage of Han Xiao’s stun, the newly-equipped Universal Treasure wing-type self-automated Planetary Obliteration Cannon shot out a thick psionic beam with a diameter of more than a hundred meters.

Boom!

Han Xiao was blown away by the Planetary Obliteration Cannon, and his shield shattered under the continuous attacks. Manison followed, chasing after him, his trident spinning rapidly as it shot out waves of light, continuously dismembering the opponent’s Mechanical Deity.

The Mechanic Emperor had shown his true mettle, fully opening up the Mechanical Deity, machinery, and the Virtual layer, a three pronged attack!

Seeing this situation, the Beyond Grade A avatars on the sidelines avoided the aftermath of the battle, feeling the powerful suppressive aura of Manison flooding the area. They chatted quietly in their channel.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Manison go all-out. It’s still so terrifying…” Kant recalled some bad memories.

“The Mechanic Emperor is still the Mechanic Emperor.” The Sun Hunter’s voice was subdued.

‘Mechanical Catastrophe’ Francisco shook his head. “It’s different from the battle in the Flickering World. This time, it’s an internal battle between two pinnacle Beyond Grade A Mechanics. Black Star is completely suppressed. Luckily, it was his avatar that came this time.”

The man in question, Han Xiao, who was being beaten up, did not know that he was a topic of conversation for the audience.

He was trying his best to resist Manison’s frenzied attack, gritting his teeth secretly.

F*ck, old man, you’re really good at fighting!

You’re really forcing me to ‘explode’!

Chapter 1117: You Pay to Win, I Cheat, We All Have a Bright Future

Chapter 1117 You Pay to Win, I Cheat, We All Have a Bright Future

Manison showcased his full firepower, and with his P2W[1] method of strengthening his foundation, he quickly occupied an absolute advantage and completely suppressed Black Star.

This scene also fell into the eyes of the Machinery Faith believers who were watching the battle on the surface of Planet Magnetic Cloud.

“Am I dreaming? I can see the descent of two Mechanical Deities with my very own eyes in my lifetime.”

“Quickly record it. No one knows when the Mechanic Emperor last went all out. This is precious first-hand data!”

“Why did the two of them start fighting?”

“It seems like a challenge. Black Star’s situation doesn’t look good.” “The Mechanic Emperor is still the Mechanic Emperor, having occupied the highest position in our faith for so many years. Black Star is still too young. It’s unknown what will happen in the future, but right now, how could he be an opponent for the Mechanic Emperor?”

“Black Star set a historical record a while ago, and I thought that he had already arrived at the same level as the Mechanic Emperor. Now it seems like he’s still lacking in accumulation.”

The onlookers were extremely excited. As enthusiastic fans of the top mechanics, they considered the experiences of each pinnacle Beyond Grade A their precious heirlooms. While they did not know the reason for the battle, this did not prevent them from discussing the fight.

While their settlement was threatened by the aftermath of the battle, few of the believers were willing to leave.

In their opinion, as long as they could watch the magical battle of the Mechanical Deities with their own eyes, it was nothing to bear some risks in return. If not for the fact that the land only reached this high, they would have moved even closer to them.

On the top floor of the Machinery Faith temple, many of the priests looked at the virtual screen in front of them, which showed the image of Han Xiao and Manison in outer space.

“Both Deities have moved away from the battlefield, but the settlement might still be in danger. Grand Priest, should we evacuate the organization’s followers?” one of the priests softly asked.

The Grand Priest in question was staring at the screen quietly, for fear of missing any second of what the image showed. He watched in fascination and did not even turn back as he said, “Wait, let me watch it for a while more.”

By the side, someone muttered, “While I don’t understand why they started fighting, there should be no suspense in the result. Both parties are here as avatars, and they’re only fighting based on machinery abilities. In this regard, Black Star is indeed below the Mechanic Emperor.”

“It seems like that.”

The various priests also nodded. Having seen the situation, the majority would regard it as so.

However, no one would be disappointed over this, because in the eyes of the Machinery Faith, this was a normal situation, a given.

However, the situation suddenly changed, and the energy readings at the edge of the screen suddenly soared.

The Grand Priest was taken aback.

“Black Star’s energy fluctuations… suddenly spiked”

At the same moment, the three Universal Civilizations were also watching the live broadcast of the battle between the two. The flashing lights on the screen reflected in the faces of the trio.

The Arcane Church’s Pope turned to glance at Urranrell. “Your Excellency, Black Star doesn’t seem to be in too good a state.”

“It’s expected.” Urranrell was calm. “We never hoped that Black Star would fight with the Mechanic Emperor. He has amazing potential and needs more time to strengthen his foundations, even if his growth always exceeds expectations. It’s still too early for him to fight against the Mechanic Emperor head on.”

“However, the first to release the spacetime anchor was your dynasty’s fleet. It seems that you wish for them to fight with all their strength instead,” the Pope joked.

“You’re mistaken. Since the virus has been resolved, of course the blockade should be lifted. We cannot forcibly retain the avatars of the mechanics. We opened the blockade in hopes that the Mechanic Emperor would leave, but it seems like he wishes to show his strength in front of us,” Urranrell solemnly replied.

Her order to close the spacetime anchor was not an arrogant decision. Urranrell was aware that Black Star could leave the area at any time even under the restraint of spacetime, but in her opinion, Black Star did not do anything wrong. Destroying the virus core was an act beneficial to the universe, so why should he run? The one that should be running was the Mechanic Emperor.

“It’s understandable that after being made a fool of by Black Star, the Mechanic Emperor would definitely retaliate.” The Pope glanced at Bader.

Bader continued staring at the screen, silently telling them to just continue chatting among themselves whilst he acted as the backdrop.

Seeing this, the Pope knew that Bader was not going to talk about the Mechanic Emperor for the time being, so he withdrew his gaze and continued. “However, Black Star is not on the Mechanic Emperor’s level. It is likely he will lose.”

“We don’t wish for Black Star to have conflicts with the Mechanic Emperor right now, but since they have started fighting, the dynasty will support Black Star to the end. There’s no need to back down,” Urranrell decisively stated.

In terms of their stances, the three Universal Civilizations were on Han Xiao’s side, but they did not deny the fact that the Mechanic Emperor was still more powerful.

Furthermore, Black Star was only using his avatar, so losing to the Mechanic Emperor was not unacceptable. After all, Black Star’s age was but a fraction of Manison’s, and his future potential was promising. Just as the trio were thinking of that, an abnormality appeared on the battlefield.

Han Xiao’s energy reading suddenly skyrocketed, climbing to an astonishing level.

The three of them were startled.

“Black Star’s switched modes? He’s burned his potential again?” Bader was stunned.

The Pope was dumbstruck.

“This is too impulsive. Does he need to struggle like this…”

The fact that Black Star had two modes of fighting was no secret. His regular mode would not be able to defeat the Mechanic Emperor; this was something the trio knew well in their hearts. But they also understood that Black Star’s fighting prowess would only peak when he burned his potential.

Black Star had utilized his burning of potential to shock the entire universe during his Godlike Battle. Whether such a form could match up to the Mechanic Emperor, no one knew.

Urranrell’s expression was not too good. Black Star’s actions were once again out of her expectations.

He could obviously utilize a slow and methodical approach to develop and accumulate his foundation, but he just had to burn his potential to explode in strength. She was unable to accept such an approach.

Didn’t you already burn your potential once? You still want to burn more? How much more potential do you have to waste!

Black Star was the dynasty’s ally, and she had high hopes for him. The position he had taken was also in line with universal peace. Now that Black Star had burned his potential, it was a loss to the dynasty.

In her rational judgment, this move would no doubt be a loss in blood, but in an emotional sense, she appreciated the never-say-die attitude of Black Star.

The choice Han Xiao had made lived up to the trust she put in him. Whichever way she looked at Han Xiao now, she found it very pleasing to the eye.

Clank!

The trident once again cut open the shield provided by the Emperor’s Cape and drew a deep line on the abdomen of Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity. Many mechanical parts were dug out, and the body of the Mechanical Deity now was scarred with defects.

The surrounding mechanical soldiers wanted to come over to repair the wounds, but they were all blocked by the troops of Manison. They could not overcome the blockade of the combination of the Indestructible Mechanic Empire, Apostle Weapons, and the Mechanical Life troops. The performance of his machinery was suppressed by the Mechanic Emperor on almost all fronts, with only his attack power being stronger than the latter. This was all thanks to his (Legendary Battle Technique], which was not something to be trifled with. It was only that the majority of the attacks were being absorbed by Manison’s Indestructible Mechanic Empire, which was not afraid of destruction or damage.

The legend of the Indestructible Body had long been spread through Galaxy, and because Manison had no idea if this also applied to Han Xiao’s avatar, all his attacks were concentrated toward the non-critical parts of the Mechanical Deity, aiming to destroy the majority of Han Xiao’s machinery in the shortest time possible.

At this moment, Han Xiao was finding it difficult to resist, and the thoughts spun rapidly in his head.

If this continues, my Mechanical Deity will be cut apart piece by piece. Manison has the advantage now, and if I were to allow him to attack so unscrupulously, it will greatly consume my machinery. I have to stop being forced into this passive state…

The large number of Universal Treasures had greatly enhanced Manison’s combat power.

His own foundations were not solid enough. If he wished to bridge this gap, he could only do his best to improve his attributes, especially Intellect, which would directly affect his Mechanic class’s abilities.

Opening the interface, Han Xiao saw that he had accumulated quite the bit of experience over this past month or so while the three Universal Civilizations were preparing for this operation. He originally wished to hoard it until he could promote, but the plan could not keep up with the changes. The experience urgently needed to be turned into combat prowess.

Han Xiao did not hesitate, taking out most of his experience and using it to upgrade his blueprints on a large scale in exchange for more Awakening Points.

His current accumulated experience was not enough to gain a hundred Awakening Points, which did not meet the conditions of obtaining a Unique Talent. However, Han Xiao’s purpose this time was not to generate Unique Talents but to replace his Awakening Points with Free Attribute Points in order to pump them into his Intellect. In that instant, his Intellect attribute rose by almost 8,000 points!

He had also accumulated more than 4,000 Free Attribute Points, and after placing 1,000 into his Endurance, allowing it to break through the 15,000 point threshold, he placed the remaining 2,000 points into Intellect.

Adding both together, his own Intellect attribute skyrocketed by more than 10,000 points in total, breaking through the 30,000 threshold and approaching 40,000!

This was his fastest increase in history!

After completing this delightful step, Han Xiao did not hesitate to start activating his Character Summon Cards.

[Mechanic Emperor Character Summon Card The Ancient Ones)!

Effect: +20% INT, +10% MYS, +2 to all Skill levels, last for 24 hours.

(Nero Character Summon Card-Perfect Mechanical Sense)!

Effect: x1.4 Machinery Affinity, Grade of Mechanic equipment that receive Mechanical Force bonuses are temporarily increased by 1 – 2 tiers (highest quality will not exceed Pink Grade), +4 to all Mechanic Skills.

However, Han Xiao did not stop here. He activated (Polar Channel Flow-Blood Rage), and his HP value plummeted.

At the same time, the additional effect of (Advanced Strengthened Life] came into play. For every forty percent of his HP lost, his attributes all temporarily increased by ten percent!

Since Manison will not hit me, I’ll hit myself!

He also had talents such as [One Against the World), which gave him an eleven percent bonus to all attributes, and [Battlefield Wisdom), which gave him a fifteen percent bonus to Intellect… Han Xiao took out everything he had.

Old Man Manison has a solid foundation?

What’s scary about that?

If you know how to P2W, then I can just cheat!

We’re evenly matched in this regard!

This wave of bonuses came into play in an instant, and a powerful force surged throughout his body. The energy fluctuations Han Xiao was releasing suddenly skyrocketed.

Manison keenly noticed the change in Han Xiao and was shocked.

“You…”

Before he could finish speaking, Han Xiao turned his defense into offense, knocking the trident aside with an elbow and slashing the Celestial Punishment Edge down diagonally.

A highly compressed psionic energy enveloped the blade, drawing a blue trajectory line.

Swoosh!

The power behind this slash exceeded the upper limit of which the blue protective shield could handle and broke through the defense.

The blade suppressed the trident before embedding itself deep within Manison’s battle armor.

The next moment, the psionic energy wrapped around the blade caused a violent explosion! Manison’s offensive was interrupted, and a huge portion of the Mechanical Deity’s body was slashed away. A huge wound was left in the chest of his battle armor, left by the eruption of the psionic energy. A large portion of his outer armor was torn and corroded.

This was the first time Manison had been repelled since the fight began.

The one-sided battle was instantly turned around by Han Xiao!

“Eat a few more of my blades!”

Han Xiao pressed the advantage, slashing out in rapid succession to seize the battle rhythm.

The combat capability of Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity was enhanced in every respect, and the gap in their combat capability was shortened. Han Xiao was no longer suppressed.

His increase in Mechanical strength was reflected in his surrounding mechanical soldiers. The Black Star troops experienced an increase in their combat power, successfully breaking through the blockade of the Mechanic Emperor’s troops, approaching Han Xiao to repair the damage to his Mechanical Deity. Manison finally stabilized himself, and while waving his trident to counter Han Xiao’s attacks, he spoke on the wide area channel with astonishment.

“You burned your potential again?”

“Think what you want. How’s that blade taste?” Han Xiao laughed. “… You’re ruining your talent!” Manison’s tone turned cold.

He originally only wished to teach Han Xiao a lesson but did not expect him to burn his own potential in retaliation.

To consume his future potential to fight a battle with their avatars was a foolish act from Manison’s point of view. Even if this battle involved factors such as prestige or speaking rights, it would still be a loss-making business.

He was puzzled by this. Maybe their ideals were different, but he did not think that Black Star was such an impulsive person.

He had no way of knowing Han Xiao’s thoughts. Since he was willing to waste his potential, Manison was also happy since they were all competitors.

However, while he sneered at Han Xiao’s approach, he had to admit that the combat power Han Xiao displayed in his mode was extremely strong, which allowed him to immediately recover from his disadvantage.

If he did not go all-out, he would definitely suffer!

Moreover, Manison felt that the increase in Han Xiao’s combat power this time was higher than the first. This discovery surprised him.

What is this? Can burning your potential even be trained?

Also, since when was Polar Channel Flow so strong? How did I not know about this?

What is behind of Black Star’s explosive ability? How is the effect so good and yet unknown?

Feeling the surge in Han Xiao’s aura, Manison was both surprised and suspicious.

[1] Gaming slang for Pay to Win, meaning the person becomes strong through using real world cash.

Chapter 1118: A Just Cause Enjoys Abundant Support

Chapter 1118 A Just Cause Enjoys Abundant Support

The flames of war blazed in outer space, and the two Mechanical Deities, one white and one black, collided into a blur. The exchanges between their weapons continued to explode outward in shock waves.

Psionic energy collided with psionic energy, and metal crashed against metal!

Surrounded by their huge mechanical armies, which hovered around them like crows, they fought tirelessly. The entire area was filled with molten metal caused by the high-intensity energy rays, which would rapidly cool and condense into weird-shaped metal blocks. Some fell down to the surface of the planet, while others turned into space debris, orbiting Planet Magnetic Cloud.

It looked as though two gods that could penetrate the sky and earth were leading their respective armies to engage in a battle of the universe.

This burst by Han Xiao allowed him to obtain a significant amount of combat power. His Intellect rose by almost forty percent, and his degree of Machinery Affinity also skyrocketed. With the twenty percent increase from Manison’s Character Summon Card, it only further magnified his strength.

According to his calculations, these tens of thousands of Attribute Points in Intellect enhanced his Mechanic abilities way beyond his rewards from the attack on Hila mission. It could be said that this was the current peak state of Han Xiao!

Because he did not have the time to familiarize himself with his newfound strength, Han Xiao’s control over his power was not as fine as it should have been. However, this still gave him quite the confidence, and riding on the increase in his senses, he adapted a pure offensive style.

The sharp glint of a blade flashed continuously as the Celestial Punishment Edge twirled in Han Xiao’s hands. Every slash he made was heavy and unrelenting, fierce and ruthless. He seemed to be embodying the spirit of Guan Yu[1], killing his way through with reckless abandon.

His boosted Mechanical Force controlled the Mechanical Deity to become even more agile than before. The Celestial Punishment Edge in his hands seemed to exude an even higher amount of strength, breaking through the shield around Manison and leaving gaping wounds in his armor.

While Manison was surprised at Han Xiao’s combat power after his boost, it did not affect his performance. With the support of his six Universal Treasure Equipment, his trident endlessly counterattacked, poking large and small holes in the body of Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity.

Both sides suffered from various injuries, being evenly matched. Only these two figures could be seen traversing the starry sky, taking the universe as their battlefield. The trident and the halberd crossed dozens of times in an instant, blasting out electrical arcs.

While it seemed like they were simply fighting each other in close combat, the two parties were actually mixing their melees with a lot of advanced technology. Force fields, electromagnetic pulses, and energy conversions were merged seamlessly. In addition, there were also countless control-type mechanical devices exerting their effects. Various restrains were wrapped around each Mechanical Deity like a spider web, restricting their actions. At the same time, they also maintained their artillery bombardment, with countless muzzles around their bodies spewing high-energy beams like a torrential downpour blasting into each other’s shields, creating fireworks.

This seemed to paint a beautiful picture, but it was full of an energy that could destroy the world.

The Mechanic Emperor’s Apostle Weapons were too powerful in combat, having a huge advantage in the Mechanical Army fight. Han Xiao could only continue to pull out his troops from the secondary dimensional army box, using numbers to make up for his lack of advanced combatants.

The battle gradually approached a climax, and under the countless excited and shocked gazes, the two fought in outer space for quite a lengthy period, unable to extricate themselves.

Swoosh!

Han Xiao’s blade condensed and swept across, slashing into Manison’s neck and slicing three quarters of the way through, almost beheading the Deity.

At the same time, the trident pierced through Han Xiao’s head, scattering countless broken machinery.

The two Mechanical Deities, however, acted like they were unaware of the injuries. They raised their hands, grabbing the opponent’s weapon that was embedded in their bodies before pulling it out. They raised their legs and kicked toward each other’s crotches. Their moves were at least ninety percent synchronous with each other! While they shot backward, both parties simultaneously raised their hands, throwing their weapons at the same time. Both their huge weapons shot through the air, colliding halfway before bouncing apart. The trident slammed down toward the planet surface, landing in the wilderness with a loud bang, printing an outline on the planet’s crust.

The Celestial Punishment Edge spun off course and smashed into the battlefield of the mechanical armies, wiping out countless soldiers on both sides.

At this moment, Manison’s figure suddenly flickered and disappeared as he warped through space. The next moment, he appeared behind Han Xiao, and a bright light shot out from his waist.

A silver-colored short sword was pulled out its sheath, and the sword drew an upward arc. The light of the sword swept across Han Xiao’s waist, instantly bisecting the Mechanical Deity.

Han Xiao reacted quickly, turning his upper body to whip his arm condensed with psionic energy toward Manison. It broke through the shield, and the remaining force slammed into Manison’s head, beheading it and throwing it out toward one of the three Universal Civilizations’ fleets. It was smashed into pieces by the intercepting fire from the fleet.

At the same time, Han Xiao’s severed lower body disintegrated, re-transforming into mechanical soldiers, which once again integrated back with the Mechanical Deity. The Celestial Punishment Edge, which had been sent off course, stopped in midair before flying back as though being pulled by an invisible rope, forcing Manison to retreat as it circled around before landing back in Han Xiao’s hands.

Another Universal Treasure.

Seeing Manison take out another weapon, Han Xiao felt bitter in his heart.

His Emperor’s Cape had the effect of strengthening the internal structure of his Mechanical Deity, but the short sword sliced through it easily. It had to be Gold Grade equipment.

The fact that his foundation was insufficient was already a sad issue, but after fighting for such a long time, the Mechanic Emperor was still so fierce and lively, not showing any signs of weaknesses. His reserves were unfathomable, and his endurance also surprised Han Xiao.

It stood to reason that so long as a lot of energy was consumed, the number of bonus stacks would decrease, resulting in a temporary decline in status and attributes.

Because he had the ability to convert HP to energy, he had always stayed at the peak, but this old man seemed to have eaten Viagra, for him to be able to maintain this state for such a long period of time!

While the old man also managed to come out with equipment that would allow him to convert damage to energy, Han Xiao discovered that there was a limitation to this piece of Gold Grade equipment. There was a cooldown required after each absorption, unlike his own talent which was effective anywhere.

Thus, maybe Old Man Manison possessed some kind of talent that would allow him to retain his energy bonuses but at the cost of a reduction in strength. That sort of ability was rare but not unique.

But this was not the main point. Han Xiao was surprised to discover that not only did Manison’s strength not drop, it was even slowly rising

He’s probably the same as me, having talents to continuously obtain bonuses in battle… He’s worthy of being the top powerhouse in the universe, just as difficult to handle as myself.

Han Xiao ground his teeth.

Even after fighting for so long, they could only be evenly matched. Attempting to expand on his advantage would only cause him to be blocked by Manison time and again, as if he was some spring that could not be completely compressed

Fortunately, the same was true for Manison. Neither was able to suppress the other.

The time for the Character Summon Cards is ultimately limited, and I cannot keep this state up forever. Manison’s attributes are also slowly climbing, and if we continue to fight, the situation that I finally stabilized will be reversed once more… Damn, it’s usually me who kills the enemy after a protracted battle. Now I’ve finally met someone who can last longer than me.

Han Xiao analyzed the grim situation, but his mood was actually quite relaxed.

It was a lonely thing to not be able to find an opponent. It was rare to also face a strong enemy that required him to utilize all his moves. He had fought heartily and comfortably, venting all his energy on the Mechanic Emperor.

Furthermore, he had managed to witness Manison’s combat power to estimate the gap in their strength, which was not small at all.

In fact, the hit-and-run tactics were still effective against Manison. While his avatar might be durable, it was in no way comparable to himself. The problem was that the other party had deeply hidden himself within the Mechanical Deity, and he could not damage the other party in any way. As long as he did not shatter the Mechanical Deity, there was no way he could hurt his opponent’s avatar. This was something he needed to pay attention to. In other words, he was now obtaining experience on how to deal with Manison.

As all sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, Han Xiao spoke in the wide-area communication channel.

“Mechanic Emperor, we’re evenly matched, and there won’t be any results even if we fight for the next ten days. Are you sure you want to continue?”

“You’re thinking too much. I don’t think you can hold on for so long,” Manison replied blandly. “This should be your current peak, but you’re at most only able to fight evenly with me. How long can your burst mode last?”

“Never counted, but it should last till the end of our fight.”

Since no one knew of his details, Han Xiao just made up a lie calmly. “So, you wish to fight a protracted battle with me?” Manison let out some emotionless laughter, as though scorning Han Xiao’s confidence. “How much of your machinery can you waste? Is it even a fraction of mine?”

“Isn’t it just money? It’s not like anyone here lacks cash.” Han Xiao smirked.

While he spoke this manner, the Great Mechanic Han had to still admit that the old man had a stronger ability to make money.

He wished to test out his strength against Manison, not to show off his accumulation.

Han Xiao also did not forget that Manison still had some Beyond Grade A ‘collectibles’ in his hands, which were not used. They had probably not come out because this was not a good time to use them, since he did not wish to show them off in front of the three Universal Civilizations.

In other words, this might not be Manison’s true strength.

While their growth models had a difference of heaven and earth, there was one thing that Han Xiao agreed with—the importance of accumulation to a Mechanic.

Were Manison’s attributes higher than his? That remained to be seen, but his opponent definitely had much stronger machinery compared to his. That was due to his accumulation over the years.

The Mechanic class was different from all the other professions. Even when everyone reached a bottleneck in power, the Mechanics could ignore the bottleneck and improve their own combat power through manufacturing, research, and development of machinery. Thus, it could be said that P2W was the root behind all the powerful Mechanics!

This gap is not small at all… Han Xiao shook his head.

While he considered himself affluent, compared with Manison, who was filled with Universal Treasures, he suddenly looked a lot more shabby.

In this manner, the difficulty of me defeating Manison currently is too high. Manison wants to beat me in order to maintain his face, so I have to draw with him at least. It is impossible to retreat or escape, or else I will lose all credibility…

Just as Han Xiao was thinking of which trump card he should utilize, the situation on the battlefield changed once more.

A different group of machines suddenly broke into the battlefield, attacking Manison’s troops at the same time, separating the battlefield and preventing the two forces from fighting. A dozen streams of light flew from the distance, stopping between the two as they faced Manison.

Han Xiao and Manison looked at the dozen or so figures, which were the other Beyond Grade A avatars originally watching the show.

“Mechanic Emperor, let’s stop here,” Kant said.

Manison glanced at the others, slowly asking, “You all are helping him?”.

“Black Star doesn’t need our help. There’s no clear winner now, and even if you fight for a month, the battle likely won’t end.” Kant deliberately spoke using the wide area channel. He chuckled. “It’s impossible for the three Universal Civilizations and us to be here watching you for a month, so we’ll consider today a tie.”

“Tie?” Manison’s tone sank slightly.

“Isn’t it so?” Kant smiled as he replied.

Manison narrowed his eyes. “And if I wish to continue fighting?”

“We are also people that take our dignity seriously. Since we have spoken, we will act.” Kant laughed. “If you don’t give us face, then I’m sorry, but we can only join you for a couple of rounds.”

Just as he spoke, all the Beyond Grade As collectively took a step forward. While they did not say it clearly, their intention to protect Han Xiao was clear.

Want to touch Black Star?

You’ll have to do it through a gang fight!

Seeing this, Manison sank into silence. The battlefield was at the Machinery Faith temple, so he naturally wished to suppress Han Xiao. While Han Xiao’s burst mode was strong, it was only temporary. If they continued fighting, he was confident in winning. However, the situation caused his plans to fail.

The battle between them was interfered with, and Manison could naturally see what they intended to do. They wished to create a situation where it was a tie, forcing him to accept this instead of fighting for a win.

After thinking for a bit, he understood the reason.

Manison raised his head to look at Han Xiao, speaking in a somewhat complicated tone.

“This is really… a case of a just cause enjoying abundant support.”

Having spoken, he did not intend to stay, collecting all his troops and recalling his avatar, cancelling the Lord’s Descent skill before leaving

No matter how confident he was, he did not plan to challenge all the Beyond Grade As present.

Seeing this, Kant laughed before looking at Han Xiao.

“Alright, this matter is over.”

Han Xiao was a little surprised. “I thought you’d continue spectating. Why did you suddenly help me?”.

If the dynasty aided him, he could understand this. But why did the mechanics from the federation and the church also stand up for him?

Could it be that my heroic act of destroying the virus core convinced them to forget their grudges?

Sigh, blame me then, for inadvertently failing to restrain my inner charm, infecting and influencing them too much.

[Mechanical Catastrophe] Francisco snorted coldly. “Don’t over think this. We’re not doing this for you.”

“You could have fought for over ten days, so how could the three Universal Civilizations continue to keep watching? Thus, they asked us to interfere and end the battle.”

“Then that’s weird. Couldn’t you have done that earlier? You had to wait till we reached this stage?”

“Hehe, it’s not just an order. All of us were quite happy to see the Mechanic Emperor suffer a little,” Kant said in a tone full of schadenfreude.

Alright, I understand now…

The majority of people present had been bullied by Manison before but could only hold in their anger. Seeing Black Star’s brave performance, they felt that they could take the opportunity to attack Manison, so they chose to intervene.

The result of deliberately promoting a tie was the small revenge for this group of people. This would shake the Mechanic Emperor’s position as the main deity for the Machinery Faith, building momentum for Black Star.

As long as the record was set, Black Star would be able to disperse the firm belief in the Mechanic Emperor among those of the Machinery Faith, allowing Manison to suffer. Of course, the premise of doing so was that Black Star had to be able to withstand the Mechanic Emperor. If Han Xiao kept getting beaten up, then this group would not have deliberately chosen the best time to help him.

Intervening in the battle was not just because of orders but also a decision from their hearts.

As for whether or not there was a factor of admiration due to Black Star’s actions, only they themselves knew.

Once Han Xiao understood this, he also sighed in relief.

Indeed, the more people you have close relations with, the more benefits you obtain.

Ignoring how Manison has lived for so long and has a wide range of contacts, in the eyes of the Beyond Grade A Mechanics, the Mechanic Emperor’s image is worth very little. He’s offended too many of his peers in the Beyond Grade A realm!

As the saying went, ‘a just cause attracts much support; an unjust one finds little’!

[1] Guan Yu is a character from the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Chapter 1119: Poaching People

Chapter 1119 Poaching People

After Manison withdrew, the operation to deal with the Virtual Mutiny Virus core was finally settled.

Han Xiao dismissed his Mechanical Deity, putting away the combat troops. He only left a few maintenance teams to cooperate with the three Universal Civilizations in cleaning up the battlefield.

While he and Manison had deliberately moved away from the battlefield to prevent the troops from firing in the direction of the planet, the aftermath of the battle still had a considerable impact on Planet Magnetic Cloud.

The earth seemed to have been sanded down by a file, and its ‘skin and flesh’ that was filed down turned into sand and dust in the sky. From outer space, the surface was full of traces of falling objects as well as pits and ravines, of which the most conspicuous was the ravine left by Manison’s trident, transforming the wilderness into a large group of rift-like valleys.

The settlements of those in the Machinery Faith were affected to a certain extent, and their protective shield was dim, but it was not wiped out. It was just that there was a violent earthquake that caused a large number of buildings to collapse, as well as sinking the surrounding terrain by one or two meters. The city shrouded in the shield suddenly became an island.

Seeing this, Han Xiao had an idea and piloted his Lord’s Avatar down to the settlement.

Everyone had gone over to chase and kill the virus core, and the battle had happened straight after. While they all noticed the Machinery Faith on Planet Magnetic Cloud, there was no time to contact it. Now was the best time.

Manison had warned them before that he did not wish to see any other Beyond Grade As contact the Machinery Faith, but now that he had completely disregarded Manison, Han Xiao naturally did not care about his warnings.

Han Xiao slowly descended, stopping in the air directly outside the protective shield.

The other Beyond Grade A Mechanics also swiftly approached. Han Xiao did not restrict them; he was no Mechanic Emperor.

After a few seconds, the shield opened automatically, and Han Xiao and his group landed on top of the temple in the middle of the settlement. All the priests formed a circle around them in excitement.

“Look, it’s a Mechanical Deity, in the flesh!”

“So many Beyond Grade A Mechanics. I really want to touch them.”

“Do you think that they will allow us to take photos with them?”

Many of the priests whispered among themselves in fanaticism.

This should be heaven!

On an ordinary day, it was only the Mechanic Emperor that would contact them, and none of the other Beyond Grade As would come over, as though they had no interest in the Machinery Faith, making them feel as though these Beyond Grade As looked down on them.

The priests normally did not take the initiative to come into contact with the objects of their faith, and each individual would have their own idol of worship, so the interaction was limited. Getting to see so many living Beyond Grade A Mechanics in person made everyone happy, excited, and cautious. They wished to jump upon them but were also afraid of making their ‘gods’ unhappy.

In the end, it was the Grand Priest that took the initiative to greet everyone.

“I’m the Grand Priest of this Machinery Faith colony. Beyond Grade A Mechanics, I welcome you on behalf of the Machinery Faith.”

Han Xiao knew how to interact with them, choosing not to say anything about the scene nor give any self-introductions. He directly glanced at the collapsed buildings in the distance, asking in a tone like a commander asking over their subordinates.

“I fought a really fierce battle with the Mechanic Emperor just now. Are you guys still alright?”

“We’re fine. We all have heavy armor as protection, and the residents have already taken refuge in the flying vehicles. There were no casualties, so the loss of the city is nothing since we can always rebuild it.”

Seeing Black Star’s concerned attitude gave the Grand Priest a great boost to his spirits. His expression was one of joy. My idol is concerned for us!

I have no more regrets in this life!

“It would be better for you all to shift to another planet. The damage done to Planet Magnetic Cloud is quite serious, and there might be natural disasters in the future,” Han Xiao said with concern.

The Grand Priest vehemently shook his head. “No, no, no, we’re going to stay here and pay tribute to the traces of battle that you and the Mechanic Emperor have left.”

With Planet Magnetic Cloud already beaten to this state, a normal person would choose to move to another planet, but those of the Machinery Faith were not ordinary. They believed that having witnessed a fight between Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor, Planet Magnetic Cloud had become some sort of ‘Divine Battlefield’, which possessed a lot of commemorative meaning. They could not wait to pray to it every day.

What, moving? Out of the question!

“In this case, that’s fine too. Since I’m already here, let me help you guys.” Han Xiao pointed at the air, and a virtual screen unfolded, showing a 2D map of Planet Magnetic Cloud. He said in a kind tone, “I’m to blame for your residence being destroyed, so choose a location. I’ll help you guys to build a new city there.”

Many of the priests immediately opened their eyes wide, not daring to believe that such a superior being was actually so benevolent. “We don’t dare. How could we trouble someone like you to do such a small thing?” The Grand Priest hurriedly declined the offer.

“Don’t be so polite. We’re considered a family. I’ve always known of the existence of the Machinery Faith and heard that you guys worshipped me as a god. While you have never contacted me before, you respect me as a god, so I shall not be stingy with succor.”

Han Xiao did not beat around the bush, directly using the ‘I’m a reliable backer, so just lie on my huge and assuring chest’ logic.

Hearing that, the Grand Priest could not help but feel a little moved. Their beliefs would not be transferred because of material interests, but they also did not find it necessary to reject their god’s divine bestowal.

Everyone discussed it a bit before choosing a location for their new settlement.

Glancing at it, Han Xiao discovered that it was the rift created by the trident. He was not surprised and deliberately smiled. “Very good, this area was the spot that the Mechanic Emperor’s weapon landed after being deflected by me.”

Hearing this, the priests present all had their curiosity dug out.

They had been watching the battle between the two Mechanical Deities and discovered that they had stopped fighting halfway. Later, they heard Kant speak on the wide area channel, saying that both of them were tied. Manison left soon after, and because everything had happened so quickly, the priests were still in a state of confusion.

“Your Excellency, why did you and His Excellency Mechanic Emperor start fighting? What happened in the end? Er… if this is sensitive, then I apologize for my offense.”

The Grand Priest could not help himself from inquiring about it. While he knew it was somewhat abrupt, he felt the itchy to sate his curiosity.

“It’s no secret and will be made public sooner or later anyway. There’s no harm in telling you guys. You’ve heard of the Virtual Mutiny Virus, right?”

“Yes, yes.”

All of them nodded like chickens pecking.

“That plaything isn’t any ordinary virus but rather an information systems weapon with a core controller. It has the ability to continuously evolve and upgrade itself, and it can even phase in and out between the virtual and physical world. Us Beyond Grade A Mechanics responded to the call of the three Universal Civilizations to cooperate and kill it,” Han Xiao briefly explained.

The eyes of the priests were open wide in shock. Only at this time did they realize that the Virtual Mutiny Virus that plagued the Ancient Star Desert for many days was actually such powerful technology.

The Grand Priest was immersed in Han Xiao’s narration, hurriedly asking, “Did you succeed?”

“We caught the virus core, but we had a conflict in handling the issue. Manison, regardless of the risk, wished to keep the core and research the technology behind it on his own. For the sake of universal peace, I took the virus core and destroyed it, angering the Mechanic Emperor. He wanted to teach me a lesson, so we had a fight. I’m embarrassed to have affected you.”

Han Xiao was speaking the truth, but he slightly changed the details to highlight Manison’s ‘disregard for the safety of the universe’.

Kant and the others glanced at him, knowing that this was him trying to discredit the Mechanic Emperor, but no one stopped it as they were happy to see it happen.

“Then the result…”

“Just as you heard, it ended in a tie. Both the Mechanic Emperor and I do not know of the outcome, and he felt that if he continued to fight, he likely would not be able to beat me, so he ran away and did not continue fighting with me.”

Kant and the others once again glanced at Han Xiao before nodding along.

Not bad, keep this up. Continue to smear his name. Don’t stop.

“No wonder…” The Grand Priest sighed contentedly, like a reporter who had gotten his scoop.

From the start, Black Star was suppressed by the Mechanic Emperor, and the situation was only reversed after he burned his potential. However, the Machinery Faith only recognized the result. Regardless of whether Black Star had burned his potential or not, as long as his Mechanic abilities produced the desired result against his enemy, they would recognize that Black Star and Mechanic Emperor had tied. They placed the two on the same level now and could not wait to advertise it in their sect and share the gossip. At the same time, the Grand Priest felt a little regretful.

While he did not belong to the zealot faction, it hurt to hear that such powerful technology like the Virtual Mutiny Virus had been destroyed by Han Xiao.

However, he admired this feat even more. Black Star clearly had the core of the virus at his fingertips, but he cared for the common people and eliminated any opportunity for any organization to obtain this technology from the roots itself for the sake of the universe. This was an admirable act.

As for the Mechanic Emperor, he wished to study this virus in order to master the weapon. The safety of the ordinary citizens was not within his consideration. While the Grand Priest could understand the Mechanic Emperor’s approach, he felt that his bearings were inferior compared to Black Star. Subconsciously, the image of the Mechanic Emperor was no longer so tall and mysterious, and the image of Black Star grew much more.

Rumors could always be distorted, and it was more likely that the information revealed by these bigshots would be more reliable… Many of the priests thought that way.

Han Xiao and his party thus promoted his battle record of achieving a tie and, in the process, discredited the Mechanic Emperor, allowing this group of Machinery Faith members to vigorously publicize it in their internal networks, reducing Manison’s believers.

The Machinery Faith only believed in the strong, and they did not have any diehard fans. With a record as evidence, it was not difficult to poach people.

To achieve their goal, Han Xiao and the rest had a conversation with the believers, deepening their impression of them in the Machinery Faith. They then left the planet, dispelling their Lord’s Descent and only leaving the construction machinery to build the new settlement for the Machinery Faith.

“The Mechanic Emperor has withdrawn.”

The three Universal Civilizations’ leaders looked at each other the moment the live broadcast screen ended.

“While there were some twists and turns, the operation was largely successful, and the threat of the virus core has also been resolved. Black Star’s intelligence was correct, and he also went to great lengths for the operation to succeed. If it were not for him, we would definitely have suffered a huge loss. This achievement could be said to have turned tide, and he should be rewarded,” Urranrell said.

Bader and the Pope nodded in agreement. This was a disaster that threatened the whole universe, so they let go of past grievances for the time being and reward those who had contributed.

“Furthermore, in order to destroy the Mechanic Emperor’s plan, Black Star had to burn his potential and fight. We should compensate him,” Urranrell said again.

Bader secretly screamed out the word ‘shameless’, and he retorted, “This isn’t too justified. Handing over the virus core to us would also have ruined the Mechanic Emperor’s scheme, but Black Star did not do this. Perhaps it is out of his consideration to maintain the order of the universe, but it could also be his distrust in us. We are not of the same mind. So, the reward is justified, but the compensation isn’t.”

“We can’t end it like that.” Urranrell shook her head. “Black Star ruined the virus core based on his own considerations. This might be a case of a wise man looking after his own hide, but he indeed cut off the source of the disaster. Through this behavior, we can finally catch a glimpse of his vague position… that he chooses order above everything else. While Black Star might not be one of our direct members, but based on his position, he is consistent with our interests and should be awarded more trust.”

Bader frowned without replying.

Seeing this, Urranrell solemnly continued. “In fact, we have not lost this technology even with the destruction. The monopoly of the virus technology was just to prevent leakage. With our own strengths, we can already naturally suppress the explored universe, and without this technology, we’re still the overlords, but there will be one less variable that can threaten the entire universe.”

She made no attempt to hide the fact that she wished for Black Star to obtain more benefits. Bader looked as though he wanted to speak, but the Pope suddenly spoke. “We need to consider how to deal with the Mechanic Emperor. His current position is extremely dangerous to us, and if Black Star had not revealed the specialty of the virus’ core, he would have hidden it in his intelligence.

“Manison’s appetite is growing larger. While he did not succeed this time, he has already revealed his ambition. We cannot tolerate him doing whatever he wants, so we have to find ways to weaken him, such as his businesses, status, his believers in the Machinery Faith, and his speaking rights in the development union. We have to choose a candidate to go against him, repeatedly stealing his resources.”

“And the person you’re suggesting is Black Star, huh?” Bader was a little unwilling.

“That’s right. He’s the best candidate. While he is not of our direct line, his position is worthy of our trust as he will not do anything to disrupt order. It’s better to make Black Star bigger than the Mechanic Emperor, who is unscrupulous. It would be best for Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor to compete, causing a division. If Black Star can lead the Development union, that would be even better. We will not have to worry about those Beyond Grade A people creating any sort of radical collective behavior.”

After they exchanged their opinions, a consensus was reached.

For Black Star, not only did they have to reward him, they also had to vigorously promote his deeds throughout the universe. This would build an image for him to compete against the resources of the Mechanic Emperor, as well as to promote the correct values that were conducive to their order.

As for the Mechanic Emperor, they had to suppress him hard, no longer allowing him to be so unrestrained.

Apart from other things, they had to first lock down that old thing’s main body. Manison was no Black Star, so his true body was his fatal weakness.

His vision shifted from his Lord’s Avatar and returned to his main body.

Han Xiao slowly opened his eyes. He was still within the virtual brainwave amplifier, and the consciousness of the others did not return to their avatars there. He was the only one in this space.

“I finally solved the virus core problem.”

Han Xiao opened the interface, and the special requirements that required him to destroy the virus core by hand showed a completed sign.

However, the entire (Intelligent Plague] mission was not over yet. All rewards for this mission would not be handed out until the three Universal Civilizations had eliminated all the first-generation viruses within the Ancient Star Desert.

As for the [Mechanic Emperor Manison – Machinery War] mission, that could be turned in. He and Manison had fought for half a day, allowing him to reach the highest evaluation.

Since Feidin, Nero, and Ames were not around, he could only look for Harrison.

After taking a trip out to meet Harrison and giving him a good rub under the other party’s confused and terrified gaze, Han Xiao clicked on the reward settlement with a satisfied look. He glanced past the experience and Character Summon Card rewards, looking directly at the skill extraction interface.

You have received: Draw one of Manison’s ability (talent/skill)

Tip: Manison is a Virtual Mechanic, and your Class is completely compatible with his. You will be able to draw any of his abilities. If you draw an ability that you have, you can strengthen your ability to a certain extent.

Randomizing… complete.

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

Blueprint-Emperor Mechanic’s Sacred Trident – Skill: A Universal Treasure Class melee weapon dedicated for the Mechanical Deity’s usage. Manison has combined a lot of weapon technology to develop this fine piece of work. The specific parameters are as follows… (Expand/Collapse). Minimum Manufacturing Requirements: Character Level 310, 20,000 INT, [Ultimate Mechanical Engineering Lv.5), [Endless Material Science Lv.5], [Eternal Power Source Lv.4)…

Perfect Mechanical Sense – Talent: x1.4 bonus coefficient to Machinery Affinity. Grade of Mechanic equipment that receive Mechanical Force bonuses are temporarily increased by 1 – 2 tiers (highest quality will not exceed Pink Grade), +4 to all Mechanic Skills.

Blueprint-Punisher – Skill: Manison’s self-developed advanced mechanical soldiers, powerful war weapons made possible through Biological Transformation and Biochemical Machinery. A living Super is needed as raw material, and the stronger the Super, the higher the performance will be after transformation. The specific parameters are as follows… (Expand/Collapse).

Note: To transform a Beyond Grade A living Super into a Punisher, the minimum requirements are: Character Level 340, 32,000 INT, and possess [Endless Material Science Lv5), (Mechanical Life Tinder Lv5], [Eternal Power Source Lv5], [Virtual Creator Lv5)…

The Ancient Ones – Talent: A long life gives you a wealth of experience, which is precious spiritual wealth. +20% INT, +10% MYS, +2 to all Skill levels.

100 Million Mechanic Empire-Manison – Talent: +15% INT, +1.2x Machinery Affinity Coefficient, +2 to all Mechanic Class Skills. In addition, +6 to (Machinery Fusion], [Emperor’s Gift], [King’s Mentor), [Tinder Awakening), [Apostle Life Creation], [Dimension Factory), [Apostle Evolution), (Mechanical Proliferation Growth), (Strengthened Machinery Civilization)… +5,000% for machinery production efficiency and +10% – 40% for the quality of mechanic artifacts produced. Furthermore, +36% in abilities relating to the research and manufacturing of ordinary blueprints, and +12% in abilities relating to the research and manufacturing for Golden blueprints.

When battling against any other machinery, you will obtain a bonus of +10% to all Attributes, -15% to damage received, and +10% to damage dealt to the other party. Your energy and stamina consumption are also reduced by 25%.

Remarks: You’re the owner of hundreds of millions of machines. You are the Mechanic Emperor!

Gulp. Han Xiao was a little dazed, swallowing unconsciously. Is the Goddess of Luck finally willing to hold onto my pants…

Chapter 1120: Snatching Manison’s Treasure

Chapter 1120 Snatching Manison’s Treasure

The quality of this wave of extraction was just too scary!

Han Xiao was unprepared for this and was stunned for a while before ecstasy surged in his heart.

Because both of their classes were perfectly matched, any skill or expertise could be drawn, so the thousands of blueprints Manison had would lower the possibility of him drawing anything good.

Han Xiao’s original goal was to at best extract a Molding Talent, but he did not expect to draw out Manison’s treasured baby!

(100 Million Mechanic Empire-Manison), a Unique Talent!

Just look at the effect! Woah, the difference in template level! And it’s even top notch among the templates!

This was definitely the reason behind Manison’s strength!

The Unique Talents of most characters stemmed from their own experience, which also carried a strong personal touch.

Generally speaking, the talent formed after becoming strong would definitely be more powerful compared to the earlier ones, and the [100 Million Mechanic Empire) was obviously the specialty borne after Manison had been famous for a long time. Its conditions for forming were extremely harsh, and it was the summation of his lifetime of experience.

To put it in layman’s terms, this talent was equivalent to the old man’s ‘inner core’. It contained the essence of his life!

And right now, the old man’s lifetime of work was unfortunately extracted by him…

It was as though one had gone down to the river to fish, and immediately caught a protected animal in one go!

The richness of this harvest completely outstripped our Great Mechanic Han’s expectation, and he was so excited that he wanted to gorge on his nutrition fluid as a reward.

I f*cking earned big this time!

One’s character indeed needs to be accumulated. Harrison has stored so many years of luck with him, and I probably wiped it all clean in one go.

Han Xiao was full of excitement.

Forgetting the (100 Million Mechanic Empire), the overall quality of this extraction was also surprisingly high, with two Molding Talent level abilities and even (Perfect Mechanical Sense).

Fortunately, he had long obtained the [Perfect Mechanical Sense) template by bullying Nero, and even if he chose it again, he would only obtain a minor upgrade to the skill. The price to performance ratio was too limited, otherwise he would have had trouble deciding.

The other options were also quite good. The Emperor Mechanic’s Sacred Trident was the weapon that Manison had used in the battle against him, which was a Universal Treasure stronger than the Celestial Punishment Edge. The blueprint (Punisher) was a special living weapon modification technology that was even applicable to the Beyond Grade A levels. Most likely, all the Beyond Grade As ‘collected’ by Manison were transformed into advanced weaponry in this manner. [The Ancient Ones) was also a high-level talent, which Han Xiao had used before through the Character Summon Card. If he did not draw the (100 Million Mechanic Empire] talent, then this ability would have been good to solidify himself. Since the other abilities paled in comparison in front of Manison’s Unique Talent, Han Xiao did not need to hesitate.

Tonight, we are all Manison!

You have received a new talent: 100 Million Mechanic Empire-Manison!

An unexplainable change occurred in his body, different from the pain experienced during the sublimation of life level. Han Xiao only felt as though he was flying, the unknown shackles binding him having been broken off.

His vision rippled, and scenes flashed quickly in front of him.

He saw the fast-forwarded process from a baby’s birth to when he became a teenager. Obscure books on machinery theory were being read as children’s books, casually flipped through.

He saw the first Mechanical Force of the boy being born, the first book he read, the first machine made, the first blueprint refined, the first enemy killed…

As the stars shifted, countless messy and fuzzy pictures flashed by, and the person in the illusion finally turned into an old man dressed in a silver robe, with his eyes flickering with lightning. Behind him stood a mighty mechanical army, boundless and as numerous as the stars in the galaxy, occupying every inch of Han Xiao’s sight.

The illusion ended there, and Han Xiao opened his eyes in revelation. This must be Old Man Manison’s life story. It seems as though obtaining the Unique Talent of a person will allow me to see the general outline of said person’s life… But hey, that old bugger is still alive, so why does it seem like they’re celebrating his life?

The illusion was fuzzy most of the time and lacked detail. It only showcased the more important nodes of Manison’s life.

Han Xiao did not receive any intelligence despite viewing the whole thing, at most only having a better outlook over Manison’s life. He was a proud son of heaven, talented in many ways, and had always been the outstanding one from a young age.

The stereotypical child-next-door. Han Xiao grimaced.

The only special thing worth noting was that despite Manison being so dazzling since childhood, he seemed to have no interest in material enjoyment, nor did he have any interest in passing down his genes. All he wanted was to stay in his workshop and tinker with machinery.

This is a little similar to me. We’re all craftsmen that are focused on our own crafts…

Han Xiao shook his head, putting this illusion to the back of his mind before carefully scrutinizing the effects of (100 Million Mechanic Empire-Manison). While the talent was now his, the suffix of ‘Manison’ had not disappeared. This would always display the origin of the skill.

One of the most exaggerated bonuses within would be the 5,000% increase in production efficiency. Most likely, the nickname of Mechanic Emperor for Manison was derived because of this, as his speed of creating machinery was frightening.

While this was awe inspiring, fifty times the production efficiency also meant fifty times the speed of money burnt!

Manison had been continuously expanding his organization all the while. Other than ambition, it was because he needed to support his own expenses. With the expenses he incurred in his own class, he spent the money he earned fast.

The biggest difference between me and Manison now is our accumulation. With this bonus, the speed at which I accumulate my foundation will increase sharply. While it will not shorten the gap, it will not allow Manison to open up the gap between us even more… Han Xiao stroked his chin as he thought. It’s just that my money will be spent too quickly… Luckily, I’m not short on cash.

The Black Star Army was at a huge scale now, with huge cash flows and terrifying profits daily. Furthermore, there was the cornucopia in the form of the Evolution Totems. His own personal finances were now full enough to have permanently crossed out the term ‘lack of money’ from his dictionary.

The bonus awarded to his blueprint manufacturing and R&D was also large, which could be around the range of dozens of stacks from the (Spirit Instrument] buff. The best would be the twelve percent bonus to Gold Grade blueprints. Manison’s specialty was the research and development of various Universal Treasures, and this should be affected by his expertise.

This will make things easier when I study Universal Treasures myself in the future. Han Xiao was overjoyed.

As for the buffs that would take effect when facing off against other machinery, this was the best when having a battle against other Mechanics. This was one of the reasons Manison was so powerful when facing other Mechanics.

The next time he faced off against Manison, he would also obtain the same targeted increase.

The bonus given to me by the (100 Million Mechanic Empire) is equivalent to two [Perfect Mechanical Sense) talents stacked together. The Unique Talents of the best are actually so terrifying…

Han Xiao was satisfied as though he had managed to eat a full meal. The gap between him and the Mechanic Emperor was already greatly reduced now.

What I said earlier still stands. Manison is indeed a good person. Every time I argue and fight with him, I obtain such a huge gift. What sort of attitude is this? Returning grievances with virtue!

If it were not for his fear of angering the other party, he would send a pennant over to Manison, with the words “The Timely Assistance for Galaxy, Hero Manison!” It seems like I need to fight more with Manison. My ability to obtain a fortune depends on him now.

Han Xiao secretly clenched his fists.

Closing the skill interface, he looked at the other mission rewards.

Directly challenging Manison was an extremely difficult mission, and the experience awarded was even greater than the first time, giving him close to a hundred billion. His stock, which was basically used up to exchange for Awakening Points, was now filled up again.

As for the Character Summon Card awarded, it was an ability known as (Vigor Resonance). The effect reduced energy consumption as well as strengthened his attributes. When converted to Mechanical Force, it increased the coverage of Mechanical Force bonuses given. At the same time, as long as his energy value did not reach zero, his energy bonuses would always remain at the maximum. Perhaps due to him using up all his luck, the effect of the Character Summon Card was quite ordinary. With his own HP to Energy exchange, this Character Summon Card was quite useless to him.

However, Han Xiao was not discouraged. With Manison’s core talent in his hands, he was already very satisfied.

vas

After doing some statistics, Han Xiao closed the interface, thinking about the impact of his actions.

I’ve changed the trend of the plotline, as the virus core was directly eliminated by me. The Intelligent Plague will no longer sweep through the universe like in my previous life, and the losses have been reduced by more than ninety-five percent. The explored universe has survived this disaster without any risk, and more people have been saved in this life. With the work I’ve done, I should obtain the highest Mission Rating this time. Other than the mission reward, the three Universal Civilizations will also give me a second wave of remuneration. When the news is released, I can once again obtain a third wave of rewards from the feedback given by the galactic society.

It’s a pity that this Domino Virus cannot be used to deal with the World Tree. However, since the virus was not used in my previous life, the impact should not be too huge. Actually, if the World Tree managed to crack this technology and turn it against us, that would be bad. The negative impact of this virus on us is far greater than that of the World Tree, so eliminating this variable might not be a bad thing.

The possibility of the Mechanic Emperor retaliating against me is low, since he’ll have to deal with the suppression from the three Universal Civilizations. Even if he really wishes to mess with me, I’m now full of abilities and will not be too afraid of him.

Since we’ve made our contradictions clear, the Mechanic Emperor and I will definitely fight in the development union. The Beyond Grade A Mechanics are not on the side of the Mechanic Emperor, so they are equivalent to my hidden supporters. My speaking rights in the union should increase. Han Xiao calculated the pros and cons silently, discovering that his gains this time were huge, with the only disadvantage being that he had offended Manison.

In the past, it was likely that Manison had obtained the virus core, becoming the greatest beneficiary of the Intelligent Plague.

Now, it was the other way around. In this operation, the Old Man Manison became the only one that lost out.

It seems like I did him a good number this time… Han Xiao scratched his head. Bah, what does it have to do with me? It’s not that I’m bad; you’re just too sly.

Chapter 1121: Special Consultant

Chapter 1121 Special Consultant

Han Xiao left the virtual brainwave amplifier, returning to the command center. As the spaceship landed and Han Xiao stepped out from the hatch, he immediately saw Sidreun and the other inspectors waiting for him on the platform.

Sidreun took two steps forward before bowing slightly. His attitude showed a lot more reverence than before.

“Your Excellency Black Star, the three heads are waiting online for you.”

Han Xiao’s actions in destroying the virus core had won him over.

“Alright, I’ll head over now.” Han Xiao smiled as he nodded. He was not surprised and had long expected the three Universal Civilizations to approach him.

He swept the area with a glance, realizing that the other Beyond Grade A avatars were not present. “The others?”

“They have yet to descend at the moment, but all their missions have been completed, so we are enough to wrap up the backend.” With the virus core eradicated, the Virtual Mutiny Virus was thus stopped at the first generation. With the three sets of antivirus kits, the three Universal Civilizations’ original plan to cleanse the virus could now continue. Since the next step did not require the Beyond Grade As, their missions could be said to have been completed.

The Mechanic Emperor was even more unlikely to come back, or else it would be awkward if they saw each other, not knowing if they should fight.

Han Xiao followed the trio to a remote conference room on the top floor of the headquarters. Walking into the room, he glanced to see three huge virtual screens standing in front of them. They were the remote projections of Urranrell, Bader, and the Pope.

Sidreun and the others nodded to show their respect before retreating and closing the door. Only Han Xiao was left in the room.

Urranrell was the first to speak.

“Black Star, you’ve achieved a great merit this time, pinpointing the real danger of the Intelligent Plague for us. Without your intel, countless people would have been killed and injured in this disaster. We’re grateful for you for your contribution on behalf of the universe.”

“Maintaining the order of society is everyone’s responsibility,” Han Xiao replied perfunctorily as he looked at the three of them. This was still the first time he had spoken to all three heads of the Universal Civilizations. He had practically reached the very forefront of Galaxy, as few had such an honor in the universe, with those receiving this treatment being the most dazzling great people of each age. Speaking of which, he was only familiar with Urranrell and had not had much contact with either Bader or the Pope.

The three of them took turns to speak, praising Han Xiao for his contribution but did not say much about his act of destroying the virus core.

After listening to their praise, Han Xiao then finally heard the Pope move onto the main topic.

“For such an achievement, we will definitely not be stingy with the reward…”.

Han Xiao secretly rolled his eyes. He knew that the three leaders had definitely reached a consensus before speaking to him.

Not out of his expectations, the three of them coincided with each other, introducing the reward. Among them, resources and policy support counted for the majority. The federation and the church expressed their willingness to help the Black Star Army in the Star Fields outside the Shattered Star Ring and the Flickering World, allowing them to expand their businesses and sphere of influence.

The development of the Black Star Army in the other Star Fields had been relatively difficult, as their hands could not stretch too far at the moment. With the joint support of the three Universal Civilizations, the development would be much smoother.

Han Xiao understood the meaning behind this

– it was to allow him to catch up with the Mechanic Emperor’s organizations, allowing the two of them to better compete with each other. At the same time, this support would mean that the three Universal Civilizations were sharing their own interests with him, so as to deepen their relationship and avoid any conflict with him like what happened between them and Manison.

Furthermore, the three Universal Civilizations promised to open a portion of the Universal Treasure blueprint library to Han Xiao, which would allow him to purchase a portion of the Gold Grade blueprints using money and his Contribution Points.

Originally, most of these blueprints were not for sale. However, during his conflict against the Mechanic Emperor, the three Universal Civilizations saw the gap in strength between the two parties, so they were willing to provide some benefits to aid Black Star in reducing the gap. Generally speaking, such privileges were only awarded to those of their direct line. These treatments could be regarded as a manifestation of their trust in Han Xiao.

Of course, support still had its limits, and they would not give everything away for free.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he was unexpectedly surprised.

If this was the case, other than his own research and Awakening Point methods, he now had a new channel to purchase Universal Treasures. Because of his (Spirit Instrument] skills, there were additional benefits to this reward for him, and in his opinion, this was better compared to those business support they would provide him.

At this moment, Urranrell slowly said, “We’ve also jointly decided to hire you as a Special Safety Consultant for the Federation of Light, the Crimson Dynasty, and the Arcane Church.”

Han Xiao was stunned.

A Special Safety Consultant for the three Universal Civilizations?

This was new to him.

If that was the case, then he would also form a relationship with both the federation and the church, turning from an ally of the dynasty into a cross-faction character.

It seemed like there was no Beyond Grade A who had been given such an honor before in history. He might be the first and likely only one.

After thinking about it, Han Xiao could guess the intentions of the three Universal Civilizations.

Firstly, they wanted to build his momentum, and the second reason was that the other two wished to earn money through investing in him just like advertising sponsors. Black Star would carry a part of their labels with him. The third intention would be for the development union, which would mean that the three Universal Civilizations were currently adjusting their attitudes toward the Beyond Grade A development union.

Why does this feel like in the martial arts novels that I read in my previous life, about how the court would secretly support one of their own in order to become the Master of the Martial Community, thus allowing them to control the pugilists? I’m becoming more and more like a villain, Han Xiao grumbled in his heart.

While he thought this way, he did not refuse the position of the Special Safety Consultant and politely nodded.

“I’m honored to be offered this position.”

For the Mechanic Emperor to engage in rebellion, it was not just because of the methods employed against them but also contained his own selfish will. Han Xiao did not have that idea; for him, there was more than one way to protect the Beyond Grade As. In his opinion, no one could truly be alone in the universe. The right way was to seek cooperation amid their struggles.

Furthermore, the three Universal Civilizations would be the main force in dealing with the World Tree Civilization. What he wanted was to make their cooperative relationship equal, not to backstab the three Universal Civilizations.

The majority of people in the Beyond Grade A Association also thought the same way. His position as a Special Security Consultant for the three Universal Civilizations would now act as a halo, which could attract members with the same idea. This would further separate him from Manison.

Thinking of this, Han Xiao once again had a fresh perspective.

Why does it feel like we’re Professor X and Magneto?

While he had become a Special Consultant, his roots were still as a pillar of the dynasty, and his relationship with the other two civilizations was a lot more superficial.

“These are the general rewards. Black Star, do you have any specific needs?” Han Xiao thought for a while before saying, “I hope that I can purchase the Ultimate Knowledges of other systems and be able to pass it on to others.”

The moment he spoke, the eyes of the trio changed, and silence fell.

This was a sensitive issue and one that the Development Union had been negotiating with the three Universal Civilizations.

The issue of lifting the monopoly on Knowledge.

There were so many Beyond Grade As, and if they gathered together, they would definitely be able to gather all the Ultimate Knowledges of every Class. The key lay in their right to disseminate the knowledge, as the three Universal Civilizations prohibited any sort of private teaching

Now, Han Xiao wished for them to release their grips on this issue, which was in line with the requests of the Beyond Grade As. However, it would harm the interest of the three Universal Civilizations. Seeing their expressions, Han Xiao said, “Hila is still serving as my Deputy Army Commander. I have to help her gather knowledge of her Esper System, and there are also people with extraordinary potential under me that I hope can master some Ultimate Knowledge to improve their combat power.”

The three of them exchanged glances, and after being silent for a long time, Urranrell finally spoke.

“You may exchange three Ultimate Knowledges for Hila, but you are only limited to passing one Ultimate Knowledge per person for others. At the same time, you have to submit a list for filing and limit the number of people who are able to learn this.”

The three Universal Civilizations finally made some concessions on this issue, but this was only limited to Black Star himself, while others did not have this treatment.

After the various deals were negotiated, the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders went offline, and Han Xiao left the meeting room, stopping by to greet Sidreun before returning to his territory.

Just as he walked into his exclusive office area, he saw Harrison nervously standing at the door, waiting for him. Han Xiao did not stop, however, instead walking on.

Harrison immediately rushed up, stammering, “Your… Your Excellency Black Star, I have something to ask…” “Speak.”

“I would like to ask, what are we going to do after the Intelligent Plague is over?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao turned to glance at him, only to see Harrison’s expression of anxiety. He immediately knew what was on the latter’s mind.

“What, are you afraid you’ll go back behind bars?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Harrison appeared a little frazzled. While he had followed Han Xiao for a few months, he was still guilty. This charge had not been lifted, so he was afraid he would have to continue sitting behind bars and had come to ask Han Xiao for help.

“Relax, you’ve made a great contribution this time, and I won’t leave you in the lurch.” Han Xiao patted his shoulder.

Harrison was flattered, but at the same time, he was a little dazed.

I made a great contribution?

Why didn’t I hear anything about it? “Then… What will happen to me in the future?”

“I will ask the three Universal Civilizations to withdraw the charges against you and restore the freedom of you and your companions, but you can no longer be scavengers.”

“Thank you very much!” Harrison had an expression of gratitude.

It was nice to regain his freedom. It did not matter if he could not be a scavenger. After unearthing the Virtual Mutiny Virus, Harrison was already traumatized and planned to go back and inherit his family fortune.

“Don’t rejoice too early. I’m not saving you for nothing. You’ll need to continue your current job scope and do exploration under the funding and surveillance of the Black Star Army.”

“This…” Harrison hesitated. “Not willing?” Han Xiao stared at him. “Then I hope you’ll get used to your prison life as soon as possible.”

“No, no, no!” Harrison immediately grabbed Han Xiao and helplessly replied, “We can do it.”

Black Star was their last hope, so he had no other choice. Besides, obtaining financial aid from a behemoth such as the Black Star Army would mean that they did not have to worry about everything like before.

Han Xiao hummed in agreement, but he was smiling in his heart.

Want to go back and inherit the family business? Dream on!

Once you enter my leek field, don’t even think of running away. Just work hard for me!

Chapter 1122: Changes and Announcements

Chapter 1122 Changes and Announcements

After the three Universal Civilizations completed the operation, they notified the various organizations in the Ancient Star Desert to reopen their quantum networks. The quantum network was only disconnected for half a day, yet it brought about huge economic losses to the entire Star Field. The various organizations were all wondering what the three Universal Civilizations had done during the period when their quantum network was disconnected.

Through intelligence gathered from all walks of life, they quickly found out that a group of Beyond Grade As had gathered for an operation, and they all were dumbfounded.

The Super Star Cluster Civilizations were all suffering from PTSD from the three Universal Civilizations, and thus, they were always on the lookout about this turmoil. Upon learning of this matter, the upper echelons held another meeting

“It turns out that the Virtual Mutiny Virus had such a mechanism. If it was leaked out, it’s unknown how many people would have been killed or injured… It’s a pity that we were kept in the dark, and the core has now been destroyed by Black Star.”

Many of the upper echelons displayed fear and regret.

They were afraid of the threat of the Virtual Mutiny Virus itself. They thought that the three Universal Civilizations had controlled the situation, but they did not expect it to be just an illusion. If they did not manage to find the virus core, then disaster would have swept across the entire universe.

What they regretted was that they did not know the goals of the three Universal Civilizations in advance, and in order to cooperate, they developed a wait-and-see attitude, finally resulting in the virus core being handled by the three Universal Civilizations. The Virtual Mutiny Virus thus became a disappearing voice. Because the ship had already sailed, the three Universal Civilizations no longer concealed the information, so the Super Star Cluster Alliance discovered this matter.

One of the executives sighed in relief. “Luckily, Black Star destroyed the virus core. If we’d let the three Universal Civilizations obtain such weaponized information technology, then our situation would have been much worse.”

“You’re wrong. Black Star destroying the virus core does us more harm than good. Even if the technology was obtained by the three Universal Civilizations, they would only use it in order to maintain order. But for us, this sort of technology would be enough to allow us to threaten them, and it would allow us to shorten the gap between us and them. Now that this technology has disappeared, we have lost this opportunity forever,” someone retorted.

“It would have been good if the Mechanic Emperor had succeeded…”

Many of them sighed.

They had hoped that Manison would succeed, as there was a high chance the Mechanic Emperor would ally with their Super Star Cluster Alliance in order to maintain his competitive advantage in hoarding profitable goods. In this manner, they would also have had an opportunity to find ways to obtain the virus technology through him.

However, this hope of turning the tables was now destroyed by Black Star, and they could not help but greatly regret it.

“Black Star, this fellow, really…” One of the superiors paused, not knowing how to describe Han Xiao, before finally speaking dejectedly. “He’s too wasteful.”

Glancing at the other upper echelons with varied expressions, the Star Arc Civilization’s leaders solemnly said, “The results cannot be changed. What we need to think about is how to deal with the current situation.”

“In the Flickering World, the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance will definitely have a battle. What we lack now is preparation time. Originally, the Intelligent Plague would have taken up all the energy of the three Universal Civilizations. The longer they are held up, the better. But now that the disaster is about to disappear, the three Universal Civilizations will soon be free to deal with us.”

“The virus core was discovered by Black Star, and it was also eliminated by him. Because of his actions, the time for the three Universal Civilizations to solve the Intelligent Plague was greatly reduced… Hey, it’s Black Star again!”

Most of the upper echelons were very dissatisfied. The exposure of Traveler before was due to Black Star, and now he had once again disrupted their plans.

But while they were angry, they could not do anything. They hoped to be low-key at this point to avoid trouble, so why would they go and provoke Black Star?

The leader of the Star Arc Civilization looked through the intelligence and suddenly exclaimed, “Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor had a disagreement on the issue of dealing with the virus core. The two of them had a fight and officially turned against each other. What do you think about this?” “The battle report shows that Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor reached a tie…” An intelligence department’s chief frowned. “If Black Star arrived in his main body, it is still possible, but both sides were using avatars. Our artificial intelligence has constructed countless models and analyzed the results, showing that in the case of this battle, Black Star’s win rate was as low as 0.0027%. He is not yet an opponent of the Mechanic Emperor. The tie was because the other Beyond Grade As forcibly interfered, which meant that they were instructed to do so. Thus, we can judge that the three Universal Civilizations hope to create an equivalent character to compete against the Mechanic Emperor.”

The leader of the Star Arc Civilization narrowed his eyes. “This means that after this battle, Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor will part ways, and the Beyond Grade As will be divided into two factions. One faction will support Black Star, and the other, the Mechanic Emperor. There might be an opportunity in this…”

“You mean…” “After operating his business for so many years, the Mechanic Emperor is already considered a semi-independent state, almost rid of the three Universal Civilizations control,” the leader of the Star Arc Civilization said. “However, against the three Universal Civilizations, he will still require some external help, and that help… can be offered by us.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up, and they nodded.

Everyone would have a time when they sorely needed help. The Mechanic Emperor was such a powerful figure, so if the Super Star Cluster Alliance helped him right now when he was in a difficult position and not trusted by the three Universal Civilizations, they might have a chance to become his secret partner.

In this way, to a certain extent, they can prevent the Beyond Grade A union from reaching a new cooperative relationship with the three Universal Civilizations, and they would also add obstacles to Black Star, who often caused them trouble.

On a desolate planet in the Primeval Star River, there was a hidden base underground.

Electricity arced in the darkness, and a pair of eyes emitting sparks opened, reflecting a silhouette sitting on the ground. This figure stood up, his robe rustling in the silence of the room. The next moment, he turned on the light, revealing his appearance, which was the true body of Manison.

After the battle, he had released his Lord’s Descent and had not been in contact with others for quite a while. During this time, he had been secretly operating his organizations in the various Star Fields, ready to deal with the suppression of the three Universal Civilizations.

Manison knew better than anyone what sort of measures the three Universal Civilizations would take against him.

“This day has arrived a lot sooner than I expected…”

Manison let out a sigh of relief before his tone turned a little unpleasant as he snarled.

“That kid, Black Star, spoiling my plan!”

If it were not for Black Star, releasing news about the virus core, he would not have had to take the risk to try and obtain it.

Manison had also found clues about the virus core and concealed his tracks without reporting it to the three Universal Civilizations, all so that he would have the opportunity to swallow the Virtual Mutiny Virus, secretly obtain this technology, and make a fortune.

In his opinion, Black Star also had this opportunity, with even more clues than he had, but in order to reduce the damage of the disaster, he sought out the three Universal Civilizations to share his intelligence!

If not for this, he would not have had to compete against the three Universal Civilizations in full view. If he had missed out on this opportunity, then he would never have obtained the chance to get the Virtual Mutiny Virus technology.

Everything was due to Black Star!

He had taken the risk, but Black Star had actually destroyed the virus core in the end, making everyone fight for nothing. Manison could still recall the moment Han Xiao crushed the virus core, and this made his heart ache. Since he dared run the risk of offending the three Universal Civilizations to rob the virus core, it was naturally because the item was worth it.

As a top-notch Virtual Mechanic, with an AI civilization under him, if he obtained the full Virtual Mutiny Virus dataset and improved on it, there would be a violent chemical reaction. Coupled with his own strength, it would be enough to create a new version of the universe!

Apart from this, as long as he placed the core in his own artificial intelligence incubation room, cultivating generations of viruses in advance and placing them out to penetrate the universe, he would be everywhere at once!

At that time, the Intelligent Plague would be a toddler compared to him!

Even if the three Universal Civilizations obtained the technology, there was still a chance. Manison could still hack in and steal the technology at the risk of being discovered.

But now, the opportunity for him to reach the apex had been ruined by Black Star. Manison could not help but want to deem Black Star as a ‘criminal’ on the spot.

Manison shook his head. With things as they were, there was no use dwelling on it. It was better to deal with the matters in the present.

After this matter, the relationship I have with the federation will become even more strained. The three Universal Civilizations will scheme to cut off my wings, but fortunately, I’ve managed to get rid of as many attachments as I could over the years. I’ve also obtained independent channels and cultivated a large number of hidden forces. Many of my businesses can easily be transferred into hidden ones…

Since a long time ago, Manison felt that there would come a day where he would turn independent, and thus prepared for a rainy day. He dared to take the risk today because he was not afraid of falling out with the three Universal Civilizations.

Moreover, given the current situation, neither side would be completely opposed to the other, since the three Universal Civilizations still had some restraining fear toward him.

Manison had calculated his risks before he acted, thus taking the opportunity to reveal a few of his cards. The tens of millions of Lord’s Avatars that he revealed were enough to make the three Universal Civilizations hesitate in dealing with him, fearing the repercussions of their actions on the innocents. As long as they could not find his body, he could always appear once more.

The three Universal Civilizations will want to support Black Star to compete with me. I guess I’ll lose my funding from the federation, and I’ll now have to make new friends… Manison narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.

After the virus core was eradicated, the disaster relief efficiency of the three Universal Civilizations was rapidly accelerated, and the anti-virus kit was re-promoted as part of the anti-virus plans.

Without the virus core, the first generation of the Virtual Mutiny Virus had no leader and lost all coordination. The three Universal Civilizations just had to scan and lock down each node before clearing them at the same time. They would then go online immediately with a dedicated firewall. The viruses in the Ancient Star Desert were solved quickly, and the damage done by the Intelligent Plague was quickly rectified.

It had been several months since the outbreak of the Intelligent Plague, and the Star Field had been blocked out of signal for the whole time, leading the universe to be concerned about the status quo of the Ancient Star Desert. As the news was blocked for a long time, more and more rumors started circulating in the universe, spreading faint panic.

Now that the disaster was under control, the three Universal Civilizations finally issued an announcement to the entire universe to reassure the citizens of Galaxy.

In the announcement, the three Universal Civilizations specifically shared the entire experience of hunting down the virus core. As soon as the official news bulletin was released, it immediately attracted the attention of countless organizations within the explored universe.

Han Xiao’s deeds were also propagated around the universe following the deliberate announcements by the three Universal Civilizations, causing a huge uproar!

Chapter 1123: Damaged Blueprint

Chapter 1123 Damaged Blueprint

Following the development of the Star Field, more galactic residents had begun pouring into the Flickering World. The various industries had been rapidly improved, and a large number of planets were transformed into transit stations or tourist destinations.

As the entrance of the territory of the Black Star Army and the gateway toward one of the top ten stargate traffic routes in the Flickering World, Planet Black Gate had an amazing number of daily visitors. Numerous entertainment facilities had been built on the planet’s surface, confusing day and night and causing the place to be constantly noisy. Every moment was extraordinary, as one could see visitors from all Star Fields and races present. Murica Street was a famed entertainment street, with casinos, pubs, shops, and departmental stores present. The area was full of feasting and pleasure seeking, with people constantly coming and going without rest.

“It’s been a while since I last came here, and it’s getting more and more prosperous.”

Maple Moon dragged Frenzied Sword along as they walked through the bustling street, looking curiously around at the strange passersby.

Seeing their emblems, showing them to be high-ranking warriors from the Black Star Army, everyone showed varying degrees of awe in their eyes, giving way to them. On the bustling street, there seemed to be an invisible wall around them.

“Stop browsing. We’re here to submit our mission.” Frenzied Sword could only speak helplessly.

At this moment, the giant screen on the wall of a building in the distance lit up, showing a news screen.

“Now, we’ll broadcast an urgent piece of news. The Federation of Light, the Crimson Dynasty, and the Arcane Church are jointly issuing an announcement to report on the progress of the Intelligent Plague to the entire universe…”

Hearing the first official news about the Ancient Star Desert in days, the pedestrians on the street stopped suddenly, as though someone had pressed a ‘freeze’ button. They all looked up at the screen and stopped to watch.

Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon both stopped as well, curiously looking at the screen.

They saw the scene of a diplomatic press conference on the giant screen. The spokespersons of the three Universal Civilizations all stood side by side and read out the announcement.

“The Intelligent Plague has troubled us for several months. We contained the disaster within the Ancient Star Desert and carried out a special disaster relief operation. Because this matter concerned the security of the entire universe, it attracted great attention from all walks of life. Thus, we’re hereby making a special report today to announce the progress of our tripartite governance of the Intelligent Plague.”

“The Virtual Mutiny Virus is a highly dangerous information data virus that can rewrite the underlying logic of any artificial intelligence, turning machinery into an exterminating organism. The virus has an amazing permeability, spread, and threat, and it is an information warfare weapon that has been lost in time. We thought that the threat came from the virus itself, but it was only recently discovered that the virus core was the true threat…”

The representatives described the mechanisms of the virus core, highlighting the danger of its self-evolution adaptability, using exaggerated words to describe the consequences of the disasters.

Hearing this, the people listening on the streets shuddered involuntarily. Because of the news blockade, the galactic residents had little understanding of the Virtual Mutiny Virus. Now that they understood the real horror behind the virus, they could not help feeling a panic in their hearts, frightened by the lethality of the virus.

At this moment, the spokesperson changed the conversation, saying, “If Black Star had not discovered the threat of the virus core, we would still be in the dark. According to our artificial intelligence’s simulation, the anti-virus plan we made without the knowledge of the virus core would have had a success rate of no more than 0.1%. It is very likely that the virus would have leaked out in the end, leading to disasters sweeping across the entire universe. Countless creatures would have died in the disaster, and the interstellar era would have regressed catastrophically. “This discovery by Black Star allowed us to avoid this result, so his merits are huge, as he has indirectly saved countless people.”

Many of them breathed out a sigh of relief, still feeling the jitters at the thought of their escape from disaster, and thanked Black Star for changing their fates. The representative then continued. “Because of Black Star’s intelligence, we planned an operation, and the entire Star Field was disconnected from the network to chase down the core of the virus. Everything was going well. However, when the virus core was captured, some twists and turns occurred…”

“The virus core was captured by the Mechanic Emperor Manison, but he refused to turn it in regardless of the safety of the universe, in an attempt to reverse-engineer the complete technology. In order to maintain the peace of the universe, Black Star seized the virus core, destroying it and completely eliminating this technology. He eliminated the possibility of a re-emergence of this Virtual Mutiny Virus so that the whole universe would always be out of the shadow of this disaster.

“But the Mechanic Emperor was unwilling to fail like this. Thus, he attacked Black Star, and the two of them fought to a tie. He was finally driven back by Black Star.”

Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon could hear the commotion of the people around them on the street.

This speech first raised the issue of the operation, triggering the anxiety of the population, then made a comparison between both the Mechanic Emperor and Black Star, distinguishing between them. It deliberately promoted Han Xiao’s actions protecting the galactic residents, implanting an image of Black Star with boundless love for the residents, making the galactic residents thank him for his contribution.

In contrast, the Mechanic Emperor was portrayed as a selfish careerist who disregarded the overall situation. Because he ignored the interests of the galactic residents, he was regarded as a villain, and his image discredited.

The representative summarized the entire happenings at the end.

“Today, the management of the Intelligent Plague is now in its final stages. The disaster is under control, and the virus will be completely eliminated in the next few days. The blockade surrounding the Ancient Star Desert will be lifted. In this incident, the merits that Black Star has rendered are irreplaceable, and thus, the three Universal Civilizations have decided to jointly award the title of Special Safety Consultant for the three Universal Civilizations to Black Star as a reward.”

Special Security Consultant to the three Universal Civilizations?

Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon looked at each other, surprised.

Didn’t the federation and the church have something against our Black Star Army? They’ve now turned their status as enemies into friends. Were they ‘taken down’ by the Army Commander?

Then, won’t we have two more strong and sturdy thighs to hug?

The news ended, but the enthusiasm of the people had just been aroused. They fervently discussed the topic, creating a buzzing in the streets.

“Thanks God for His Excellency Black Star. He’s really a great person.”

“Among all of the Beyond Grade As, only Black Star is working for the welfare of our ordinary people. Just like the previous Holy Light Emissary cultivation plan, he’s given us ordinary people a chance, an opportunity to turn someone into a Super. Now he is determined to destroy this virus technology because of our safety. For this reason, he even went to war with the Mechanic Emperor. If I were a woman, I’d definitely fall in love with him.”

“Sigh, I never expected the Mechanic Emperor Manison to be that sort of person. To think I used to worship him.”

“For such a great merit, no wonder the three Universal Civilizations invited Black Star to be a Special Security Consultant. It seems like no one has ever been awarded such an honor, right?”

“Frankly speaking, other than Black Star, I cannot think of anyone who would be more qualified for this position.”

At this moment, from the opposite street came out a wave of cheers. Someone ran over and exclaimed, “Hurry, there are a few wealthy merchants who’ve bought the entire bar’s stock. They said that they were thankful for Black Star’s accomplishments and are offering free drinks to everyone!”

Hearing this, the people on the street swarmed over, and when they passed Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon, they no longer avoided them. Rather, they enthusiastically greeted them, using all kinds of weird etiquette to show respect to the people of the Black Star Army.

Feeling the warm atmosphere, Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon felt a sense of pride flowing in their hearts. They strongly felt the sense of camp identity.

The two of them hurriedly went to the forums, and the forums had already exploded as the news swept across the board.

Their Army Commander had only disappeared for a few months, but he immediately made such big news as soon as he appeared. The three Universal Civilizations exaggerated the whole thing, making it seem as though Black Star was their savior, leaving the players extremely excited.

Glorious Tomahawk: Damn, so we were in the frontal camp?

Cloud Dragon Li: Second Battalion Commander, take out my spaghetti to let Black Star try[1]

Intelligent Cold Monarch: Be reasonable, this time, the Army Commander can be described as… handsome!

Gallery Sister: Black Star is still Black Star. He never lets us down!

Fawkes: Where’s ‘Galaxy Times’? Come out to get beaten up. You said that it’s gonna be a mission, so why did it become a cutscene instead?

Daydreamer: Am I the only one that cares about how the Army Commander and the Mechanic Emperor tied?

Throughout the posts on the screen, there was basically a wave of praise. Some of the older players gave the newbies a run down on the deeds that Black Star had done, such as solving the Mutation Disaster, destroying the DarkStar organization, and so on.

Even after several versions, Han Xiao’s image in the eyes of the players was still magnificent, and this time, his merits once again raised the players’ perception of him, giving birth to a consensus.

Black Star is really a noble man! In addition to faction interests, if the leader of a faction had a charming personality, the players would also have a sense of identity.

As soon as the public announcement was released, everyone that was concerned about the progress of the Intelligent Plague was relieved.

This achievement allowed Han Xiao’s reputation to rise to the top for a while, whereas Manison’s reputation was struck down by the deliberate suppression.

At the same time, Han Xiao’s fleet had just passed through the dynasty’s military stargate, leaving the Ancient Star Desert. He also saw the official announcement of the three Universal Civilizations.

“Tsk, the three Universal Civilizations’ representatives are really skilled in the act of raising one while kicking down another.”

Han Xiao read the news happily. He just loved it when people praised him.

At that moment, he suddenly had a thought and opened his interface to take a look.

With the three Universal Civilizations basically completing the elimination of the first-generation Virtual Mutiny Virus, only an unsuspecting ending was left. Thus, when the announcement was made, the Intelligent Plague mission finally changed to ‘Completed’.

The mission can finally be turned in.

Han Xiao turned his head to look at Harrison, whom he had brought onto the spaceship, rubbing him before choosing to accept the mission completion reward.

S-Ranked Mission: Intelligent Plague has been completed!

Mission Rating: S+ (Perfect)

You have obtained 300 billion experience, x8 Random Rewards, +35,000 Crimson Dynasty Contribution Points, +15,000 Federation of Light Contribution Points, and +15,000 Arcane Church Contribution Points.

You have gained x2 Political Assets (The Crimson Dynasty), x1 Political Asset (Federation of Light), and xi Political Asset (Arcane Church).

You have obtained x4 Legendary Points.

Star Field Legendary Point (Ancient Star Desert): (Black Market’s Giant Croc] – Through various means and methods, you temporarily unified the black market organizations of the Ancient Star Desert, leaving behind a frightening legend.

Universe Legendary Point: [Intelligent Plague’s Curer] – The Intelligent Plague is a universe level disaster on the level of complete annihilation. You accepted the invites from the three Universal Civilizations to treat the disaster and finally made a unique contribution to successfully solve the disaster. The whole universe will remember your achievements and contributions!

Universe Legendary Point: (Galaxy’s Guardian) – You had to choose between selfish desires or righteousness. For choosing the latter, your choice has maintained the peace of the universe and affected the evolution of the entire universe. Perhaps this is a turning point in your destiny. You are always watching and guarding Galaxy, and the people all know it. Universe Legendary Point: (Special Security Consultant for the Three Universal Civilizations] – You have been invited to become a special consultant for the three Universal Civilizations. This is unprecedented, and no matter how the situation evolves, you will leave behind a rich and colorful stroke in history.

Dungeon Copy Created: Intelligent Plague (Simulated Disaster)

Han Xiao nodded. The rewards up to this point were still within his calculations. After all, this was an S-level mission, and he had even achieved a perfect evaluation. The rewards were bound to be huge. It was just that Han Xiao got stunned the moment he continued reading.

Given that your mission rating has achieved S, you have received extra reward You have received a new skill: Blueprint – Domino Virus (Damaged)!

You have completed the special mission requirement: Personally destroying the virus core Generating a related specialty… generation complete.

You have received a new talent, (Virtual Purification, Restore]!

“What?”

Han Xiao’s eyes widened, staring blankly at the reward of (Blueprint: Domino Virus (Damaged)].

This was not an extra reward for the completion of the special mission requirements but a normal reward obtained when the S ranked mission reached the highest rating. This meant that only those who had made great contributions in disaster relief could obtain this reward.

After toiling so hard to resolve the intelligent plague, the mission actually gave me a damaged blueprint of the virus technology, allowing me to recreate it…

He suddenly felt a great wave of irony.

I didn’t expect that, after so many twists and turns, this virus technology was actually not destroyed and has landed in my hands… even though it’s a damaged remnant.

Looking at the content of this blueprint, Han Xiao’s expression was conflicted. He did not know if he should be happy.

[1] This phrase originates from the movie Al], loosely translated as Bright Sword.

Chapter 1124: Spy

Chapter 1124 Spy

The mission reward was the incomplete version of the Domino Virus blueprint, so a lot of key content was missing. A lot of deduction had to be done to put the blueprint into production, and the results of those deductions might not be the same as the original version. It’s very troublesome to deduce complete blueprints at this level from the incomplete version. Sure, I can use Awakening Points to speed it up, but that seems a bit wasteful. I’ll be better off slowly working my way through it.

Fate was really unpredictable. He had thought that the Domino Virus was destroyed, but the technology still ended up in his hands. The entire outside world thought that he had destroyed the Domino Virus, so there was no way Han Xiao could just expose the fact that he had this technology. Otherwise, the results would definitely be the exact opposite of the treatment he was receiving now.

Furthermore, the core material of it was a thousand mutated artificial intelligence lives, which was not easy to find. Manison had a lot of them, but it was certainly not realistic for him to purchase any from him right after having a fight with him. Plus, Manison might notice something even if he could purchase any from him.

Therefore, this technology could not be shown to the world for a very long time. He might only use it when facing enemies like the World Tree civilization.

Now that I think about it, it seems logical for Mechanic Emperor not to use the Domino Virus during the World Tree war in the previous life.

Han Xiao suddenly figured it out.

Unless the situation of the war was totally one-sided and unwinnable, even if he could obtain the upper hand with this kind of weapon, he would still be surrounded by trouble after victory.

Perhaps, in his previous life, the Mechanic Emperor saw the Domino Virus as something similar to the Hand of Death System. When the three Universal Civilizations really had no way of winning the war, only then might he release the Domino Virus. He would then use his tons of Lord’s Avatars and mechanical armies to utilize guerrilla warfare tactics against the World Tree Civilization.

Han Xiao recalled something else. In his previous life, having considered the possibility of losing the war, the three Universal Civilizations executed the ‘Tinder Operation’. They sent a large group of wandering fleets out and far away from the explored universe. At the same time, they built tons of refugee shelters deep inside the secondary dimensions, which stored intelligent life forms, crops, and flora and fauna samples, ensuring that the civilization could be rebuilt after losing the war.

He wondered if the Mechanic Emperor had his eyes on those refugees. Could his plan have been to start anew after losing the war, escape faraway, and build a world in which he was the god of creation?

If his final goal was to rule the entire world, this might really seem like the most feasible path.

Han Xiao let his imagination run wild for a while before focusing on the matter at hand again. He closed the introduction of [Blueprint: Domino Virus (Incomplete)] and looked at the related talent he had just obtained.

(Virtual Purification-Restore) could purify the artificial intelligence target that was infected by viruses. The Virtual Mutiny Virus, for example, rewrote the fundamental logic of machines into killing organic life forms, and this talent’s effect would clear that modification and restore the target’s normal fundamental logic.

Simply put, if those artificial intelligences were considered hypnotized when their fundamental logic was modified, this ability would wake them up. At the same time, this ability was not limited to the Domino Virus; it could restore any type of virtual virus.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. This is going to be very useful in virtual battles. The Mechanic Emperor is probably going to cry when facing this.

If his control of the mechanical army was taken away, he could just use this talent and directly regain control from the enemy.

However, given his current strength, there was almost no one who could take away his control of his mechanical troops. The only one Han Xiao could think of was the Mechanic Emperor.

Speaking of which, Manison controls his artificial intelligence civilization through rewriting their fundamental logic too, like what the ancestor of that civilization, Finette, is experiencing. This talent is going to give him a huge problem.

Han Xiao scratched his head and thought of the [Reboot) series mission that had been collecting dust for a very long time at the bottom of his mission list.

It looks like I just got the key to liberate that artificial intelligence civilization.

If I find an opportunity to use this on Manison’s AI civilization, his Indestructible Mechanic Empire might totally go out of control.

Also, since a portion of Manison’s elite forces were created by transforming living bodies, he might have used virtual means to twist their minds, so (Virtual Purification-Restore] might be effective on them too. When a certain level was reached, virtual methods that could be used on living things would actually have a lot of similarities to soul-related spells.

To take it one step further, this might even be effective on the World Tree, even more so than the Domino Virus…

Recalling how the World Tree operated, Han Xiao pondered.

The blueprint and the talent were the biggest rewards he had obtained. Universal Grade S missions sure gave generous reward.

He also received a total of four Political Assets that came from all the three Universal Civilizations. This meant that after this incident, his words would carry weight even in the federation and the church. At the same time, the EXP bonus he received increased once again.

Han Xiao glanced at the (Intelligent Plague (Disaster Simulation)] Dungeon. This was a special type of Dungeon. It no longer worked through intercepting a part of this incident but through selecting a certain area, and the dungeon would simulate what happened in this area during the Intelligent Plague outbreak. The difficulty depended on the area.

For example, if the selected area was the Black Star Army headquarters, the difficulty would almost be impossible. If the area was a normal colonial planet of a normal Star System civilization, the difficulty would be around Grade B or Grade C. If the area was a sealed battleship, it might turn into a horror movie.

This Dungeon should have a good market, especially for the Mechanics. Han Xiao saw quite a good business future.

Also, the large amount of EXP awarded to him filled up his empty wallet, and the total 65,000 Contribution Points for the three Universal Civilizations could not only be used to exchange for Ultimate Knowledges but also Gold blueprints. The three Universal Civilizations had already opened this option up to him.

Speaking of Gold blueprints, Han Xiao suddenly thought of the Holy Accord and the federation. These two were making deals with him, but it was put aside temporarily because the Intelligent Plague suddenly erupted. There was no need to worry about the federation; they definitely would not forget about it. What he was mainly concerned about was the Holy Accord organization. The date they previously agreed on was voided, and Oathkeeper did not leave any means of contact, so he could only wait for Oathkeeper to come looking for him.

After going through the rewards, Han Xiao closed the interface and contacted the headquarters. The fleet had already left the Ancient Star Desert and could now communicate with the outside world freely. He had been out for a few months, so he wanted to know what was going on in the army.

The communication got picked up very soon. Sylvia’s projection appeared before him, wearing exquisite makeup on her elegant face and a simple work uniform that highlighted her exceptional curves. She seemed to be in the middle of a meeting, and she was surprised to see Han Xiao.

“Teacher, you finally got released?”

“Erm, yeah.” Han Xiao gave her a weird expression. Why did you say it in a way that sounds like I just got out of prison?

“I’ve seen the news. The decision you made was marvelous.” Sylvia praised him. “The entire army is now praising your virtue, and the army is more united than ever. The director from that time wants to sign the contract for five more follow up movies. Since you’re not here, I didn’t reply to him.”

“Tell him yes, and Feidin will still be the lead, so he has something to do.”

Han Xiao waved his hand. Suddenly, he realized that Sylvia was wearing a pair of frameless spectacles, adding a well-educated lady vibe to her, so he asked, “Why are you wearing spectacles?”

Sylvia blushed a little. She took off the spectacles and showed them to him. On the inside of the glass was a single-sided screen. Embarrassed, she said, “Meetings are sometimes boring, so I use these to watch shows…”

“… Have you gotten close with Lagi recently?”

“Nonsense, I hate him the most!” Sylvia firmly denied it.

Han Xiao did not want to make a fuss about his subordinates slacking at work, so he changed the topic and asked, “By the way, how’s the Black Star Cup going?”

“Well, due to the impact of the Intelligent Plague, the audience rating of the Black Star Cup decreased somewhat, but it’s maintained its popularity. At this point of time, most of the secondary competitions are already finished. The army’s elites in various areas have already been selected… er, the card players don’t count.” Sylvia paused momentarily. “Currently, only the finals of a few important items are left. They’re the battles of the various Grades…”

Han Xiao listened to Sylvia’s report while nodding and saying, “Not bad, not bad.”

He did not have many forms of entertainment in the Ancient Star Desert, so he was looking at the forums every day and paying attention to the Black Star Cup. As the competition carried on, the only ones left were the elites of elites. The players had made a name for themselves among the NPCs, so they felt a strong sense of achievement and became very passionate about the event. The popularity of Black Star Cup remained high and comparable to the official Pro League.

Him not being present did not impact the Black Star Cup at all, only causing disappointment to some people who wanted to produce his Character Summon Card when facing crucial matches.

“Teacher, the closing ceremony of the Black Star Cup needs you to make a speech, don’t forget. Will you make it back in time?”.

“Hmm, definitely.” Han Xiao then changed the topic and asked, “Has anything major happened in the army recently? How’s the situation in the Flickering World?”

“There are more and more people entering the new Star Field, the explored area of the free competition zone has already extended to the center of the various Star Clusters, and the territory of the Super Star Cluster Alliance has been increasing. Other than that, there are no other changes. Deputy Army Commander Hila is also slowly exploring with the fleet… By the way, she took leave some time ago, saying she had to go to the secondary dimensions, and told me to inform you.”

“Got it.” Han Xiao nodded. Ever since Hila inherited the Underworld dimension, she had been going there every few days. Now that a few months had passed, the Underworld dimension had probably stabilized. He wondered if Hila was sucked dry.

As Hila was brought up, Han Xiao was reminded of another matter.

“How’s the Holy Light Emissary plan going?”

rec

“Very smoothly. Other than recruiting ordinary people, we’ve also recruited many people to cultivate the Holy Light Seeds and let Aurora harvest them after the seeds mature. These people have already signed contracts before starting work, so there won’t be any problems.”

“Very good, increase the number of cultivators as much as possible,” Han Xiao said. He was hoping Aurora could grow fast by harvesting leeks, so of course, the bigger the leek field, the better.

Then, he paused and said, “I’ve made a huge contribution this time. The three Universal Civilizations have decided to work with me and provide heavy support in multiple major Star Fields…”

Han Xiao explained the details of the support the three Universal Civilizations were about to provide, and Sylvia soon turned moody.

“So, my workload has increased again?”

“Tsk, buddy, your resolve isn’t strong enough.” Han Xiao criticized her with a serious tone. “You need to have a more positive mindset. Having a wider work scope and heavier workload means you now have more power in your hands, right?”

As if I’d believe you! Sylvia chuckled with absolutely zero emotion.

Hearing her laughter, Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction. Just look at how happy she is, her face is basically covered with joy.

He then glanced at Sylvia’s hairline and was relieved.

After his many years of experience, the hairline of his subordinates was equivalent to their durability. It looked like this student of his could still last quite a long time.

The two of them chattered for a while, and Sylvia suddenly thought of something.

“By the way, yesterday, there was a political talk show that wanted to invite you as their guest to discuss this Intelligent Plague incident. Do you want to go?”

“What show?”

“That ‘Ruden’s Show’ that’s quite popular.”

“No, no.” Han Xiao waved his hand.

With the three Universal Civilizations helping him to promote himself, he did not have to do it personally. Keeping a certain amount of mystery and distance would be more beneficial for his reputation.

“Alright, I’ll refuse him then.”

Han Xiao gave Sylvia a few words before hanging up.

The Intelligent Plague was a sudden incident. Without it, the three Universal Civilizations would definitely be preparing to deal with the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Now, this had been postponed. The Intelligent Plague had given the Super Star Cluster Alliance time to catch their breath.

After the three Universal Civilizations were done with the Intelligent Plague completely, they would then start fighting with the Super Star Cluster Alliance like they did in his previous life. This time, the Super Star Cluster Alliance was more prepared, so the fight would definitely be more intense. The results of that would decide the path the universe took.

As a semi-independent force, his fight with the Mechanic Emperor in the development union would definitely be dragged into this storm too. He had to prepare early.

Hu!

While he was thinking about this matter, the sound of the air moving abnormally suddenly appeared beside him.

Han Xiao looked up and saw clusters of black flames appearing out of nowhere, forming a man wearing a black coat whose face could not be seen clearly, which suddenly appeared before him. It was indeed the Holy Accord’s Oathkeeper’s spiritual projection. Han Xiao looked around and saw that all the crew in the bridge command room including Harrison did not react to Oathkeeper at all, as if they could not see him.

“We meet again, Black Star,” Oathkeeper said. His voice sounded right in Han Xiao’s mind. They had formed a mind link.

“You’re on time, coming here right after I’ve left the Ancient Star Desert.” Han Xiao caressed his chin and asked through the mind link, “Speaking of which, why can you use your spiritual projection on me directly? Do you know my whereabouts?”

“This is the specialty of my Esper Ability,” Oathkeeper said slowly. “There are no two exactly the same souls in the world, especially strong individuals. Souls are very easy to identify. As long as I record the characteristics of your soul, I can trace the target in a higher dimension and use spiritual projection on you right away. Of course, it’s only limited to that. I can’t figure out where the target is in the real world.”

Han Xiao was not surprised.

The Beyond Grade A leader of a mysterious organization that had stayed hidden for so many years definitely had some tricks up his sleeves.

“You contacted me to continue our trade previously, right? Trading a part of two Primal Esper Abilities and two Universal Treasure blueprints for a part of the Holy Light Particle.”

“That’s right,” Oathkeeper replied with a deep voice.

Due to the Intelligent Plague, the deal was postponed for a few months, which he was actually happy about. He had used these few months to focus on finding the spy in the Holy Accord.

Sadly, the act of looking for a spy made everyone in the organization uneasy and worried, but he did not even find the slightest trace of a spy.

It was either that the spy hid too well, or Black Star’s information did not come from a spy.

Day by day, Oathkeeper became more suspicious about whether a spy really existed. Hence, he temporarily stopped the investigation.

“Then let’s decide on another date…” Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and asked casually, “By the way, you guys have a long history, so you should know about a lot of secret information, right?”

“Depends.”

“Then… have you guys heard about the Sanctum?”

“…” Oathkeeper was totally unprepared and was startled by this question. His mind was filled with shock.

This is a test, right? This must be a test!

Didn’t you say you don’t know our purpose the last time?

Liar!

His initially shaken resolve became extremely firm once again.

There’s definitely a spy!

Find him! Find him no matter what!

Chapter 1125: Information About the Sanctum

Chapter 1125 Information About the Sanctum

Oathkeeper tried his best to suppress the shock in his mind and keep his mind frequency stable, so Han Xiao would not find out he panicked.

He observed Han Xiao’s expression and mind frequency, but he could not see any mockery from him, only curiosity.

Did Black Star ask about the Sanctum because he knew the Holy Accord’s plans, or did he hear about this name somewhere else? There were not that many people who knew about the Sanctum throughout the entire universe.

Oathkeeper’s emotions were like a tiny boat in the raging sea. He maintained his cool as much as possible. He acted casual and asked, “Where did you hear about the Sanctum?”

“Someone told me.” Han Xiao casually liedno way he was going to tell the truth.

“Who?” Oathkeeper continued asking. “There are very, very few people in the entire universe that know about the existence of the Sanctum. Even advanced civilizations might not.”

Since Black Star had mentioned the name ‘Sanctum’, Oathkeeper knew that Black Star definitely had some kind of knowledge about it. If he acted like he did not know about the Sanctum, he might lose out on the opportunity of finding out how much Han Xiao actually knew.

“Well… if I say it’s intuition, will you believe me?”

Han Xiao had no choice but to use the jack of all trades of excuses. Although it was not very convincing, he did not plan to convince Oathkeeper anyway.

However, to his surprise, Oathkeeper nodded softly and did not continue asking any more questions. It was as if this was the right answer. Oathkeeper then said, “This is indeed a simple way of sensing the Sanctum, but it’s not within one’s control, and it’s very blurry. Only individuals who reached a certain level in the hierarchy of life can maybe, somehow, possibly build an extremely weak link with the Sanctum, occasionally witnessing its blurry outline when connected with the universe. However, your senses are countless dimensions apart from it, and you will never come into contact with it. The most you’ll experience will only be mumbling beside your ears in the ancient language…”

Han Xiao was stunned.

Excuse me, what’s going on buddy? What’s with this theology explanation?

Hearing what Oathkeeper was saying, Han Xiao did not know if he should believe him. He really did have no idea of what the Sanctum was, and he had only brought it up today with the attitude of trying his luck. However, it looked like the Holy Accord really did know about the Sanctum.

“Stop the nonsense. Can you say something that I can understand?”

Han Xiao could not take it anymore and interrupted.

Oathkeeper went silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating over whether he should expose any information. After contemplating, he decided that sharing some basic information would not hurt, so he slowly said, “The Sanctum… is an ancient existence. No one knows when it appeared. It might be even more ancient than the three Universal Civilizations. One can only sense or even come into contact with it during special timings using specific methods.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

He had finally met someone who knew anything about the Sanctum, so he was not going to give up the opportunity.

“Then, what is the Sanctum? Where is it?”

Hearing this, Oathkeeper looked at Han Xiao with a strange expression. Seeing that Han Xiao did not look like he was faking it, he asked, “You don’t know?”

“Why would I ask you if I did?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. What he knew about the Holy Accord was limited only to the surface; he really did not know about the Holy Accord and the Sanctum’s connection. Therefore, he had no idea that he coincidentally asked the right question and horrified Oathkeeper.

Hearing this, Oathkeeper finally was relieved and glad.

It seems like Black Star really doesn’t know about our plan. Did I misunderstand? Could there be no spies and Black Star got the information from somewhere else?

While thinking that, Oathkeeper continued speaking. “The Sanctum is not in the material world, nor is it in the secondary dimensions. In fact, it does not have a geographical location. I don’t know how to define the Sanctum either, but I think it’s more like a phenomenon.”

“A phenomenon?” Han Xiao asked curiously.

“Yes, a phenomenon.”

Han Xiao waited for Oathkeeper to carry on, but Oathkeeper had no intention to.

The two of them looked at each other, and the conversation got cut off. Seeing this, Han Xiao knew that Oathkeeper was not willing to continue on this topic, so he changed the question and asked, “So, what’s inside the sanctum?”

The two of them continued to look at each other.

“How many Sanctums are there in total?”

This time, Oathkeeper replied. “Six.”

Han Xiao was a little stunned. This answer was not what he expected.

He asked a few more questions such as how to find the Sanctums, how to open the Sanctums, and so on. Without exception, Oathkeeper said nothing about any of that.

This guy definitely knows more, but he’s just not willing to share any key information. Hence, the Sanctums are definitely something very important… although I still don’t know what their uses are.

This thought flashed past his mind. Seeing that he could not obtain any more information from Oathkeeper, Han Xiao ended the Sanctum topic and went back to their deal. They decided on a new date, location, and method of the deal and agreed on it.

Having achieved what he had come for, Oathkeeper’s silhouette exploded, turned into flowers of black flame, and dissipated.

Han Xiao sensed around, made sure that Oathkeeper had left, then caressed his chin and started pondering.

The Holy Accord organization seems to know about a lot of secrets. I might have to think of a way to get more information from them. The only way of contacting them now is when Oathkeeper contacts me, so I’m a little passive in this respect. During the deal, I can try tracing their emissary… By the way, there are six Sanctums?

are

Han Xiao was confused. This was different from what he had guessed. He originally thought there were only five Sanctums. Why six?

However, Oathkeeper was very ambiguous on this matter and was not willing to share any more information.

He had an idea.

After the deal is done, I can consider bringing up their intention to revive the Primordial Ones. Maybe I can use that in exchange for information about the Sanctums, counting it as the price for keeping my mouth shut.

Inside the secret temple in the Holy Accord organization base, Oathkeeper, who was floating in midair with his legs crossed, deactivated his spiritual projection. The clusters of flames floating around him went back into his body.

“How did it go?”

Law and Fay were waiting below and looking up at their boss.

“Black Star was friendly. The deal has been reestablished,” Oathkeeper said slowly. “Prepare our chips. The method of the deal remains the same as planned, so we won’t be tracked by Black Star.”

“Understood.” The two of them nodded.

Oathkeeper nodded and said with a tone that was a little grave but had some anticipation in it, “Due to the information state disturbance Destiny’s Child talked about, the promised day has been brought forward. After we acquire the Holy Light Particle, we’ll prepare to activate the Third Sanctum and the awakening ceremony. Thousand Shadows’ Esper Ability is the foundation of the fusion. We have no time to wait for him to completely transform, so we’ll have to start finishing it.”

While speaking, Oathkeeper’s eyes looked like they were staring deep into the universe.

“It’s time to fulfill my promise and welcome the return of history.”

“The spy…” The two of them brought the matter up at possibly the worst timing. Oathkeeper’s emotions were interrupted. He ground his teeth and said with frustration, “Humph, stop looking for one. I might have been mistaken.”

In the Underworld dimension, the shattered black floating islands had assembled together into a black land. It looked like a flowing desert, sometimes with tall mountains, sometimes with deep cliffs. Its terrain kept changing

In the sky, heavy black clouds covered the sky, some darker and some lighter. A pale white sphere of light floated in the middle of the sky like a moon. Its gently silver light penetrated the clouds, illuminating the land. The atmosphere was calm and peaceful.

More than half a year had passed since Hila started to refill the dimension’s core energy. The broken space walls there were already repaired, and the chaotic space streams were blocked out. It was no longer in a horrible and heavily damaged state. This was what the Underworld dimension should really look like.

At the heart of the Underworld was a red lake. There was no wind, only high tides. When looking at it more closely, this was made of highly condensed and almost liquid formed energy. It was indeed Hila’s death energy.

At this time, the piercing bright red had tints of faint black. This came from the Underworld and was applied on Hila through the Mark of the Underworld. Her connection with the Underworld enhanced the strength of her Esper Ability tremendously. This was the inheritance of the former death energy Esper, which was given to Hila and made her much stronger.

Above the bright red lake, Hila was floating in midair with her legs crossed. She was surrounded by faint red energy, her eyes were closed tight, and her eyelashes were shaking. She was releasing her energy and giving it to the Underworld.

At this time, Onicelu appeared beside Hila.

“Your connection with me is stronger.” Hila opened her eyes and said with an expressionless face, “How much have you recovered after absorbing my energy for a few months?”

“About three percent, more than enough to fight against the chaotic space streams of the secondary dimensions.” “So little?” Hila frowned.

“After all, the energy of the Underworld comes from two Esper Abilities. If the vital energy Esper reaches Beyond Grade A and feeds the Underworld energy together with you, it will cause resonance and increase the speed of the Underworld’s recovery tremendously. You’re the only one now, so of course, it won’t be as efficient,” Onicelu said with a smile.

“I see…” Hila suddenly thought of something and asked, “By the way, since the Underworld is stable now, can the souls of the Hero Spirits be released?”

“Well, they can be, but it’s too early, so I don’t suggest you do that.” Onicelu shook her head. “This is the graveyard of Hero Spirits. There are a lot of souls here. Their activities will consume the energy of the Underworld. The stronger the Hero Spirits were when they were alive, the more energy they will consume, which will decrease the speed of the Underworld’s recovery even further. Before the Underworld recovers to thirty percent and the stable way of putting them to sleep is recovered, it’s best to keep them sleeping.”

“So, you’re saying there’s not enough power output now?”

“You can say that.”

Hila sighed. Although the Underworld was powerful, there was a long way to go till it reached its peak, so it would take a very long time before she could summon Hero Spirit warriors like the founders.

This time, Hila suddenly got curious and asked, “Speaking of which, the Underworld can let the souls of the past temporarily awaken and let them come to this world again, so are there any other ways to let dead people appear in this world again?”

Hearing this, Onicelu searched her memories for a while then said with uncertainty, “When Nerkese and Eros, the two old masters, were still alive, I seem to recall hearing them speak about a special phenomenon related to the dead reviving.”

“Really? What’s that?” Hila asked.

“It’s something called the Sanctum, I think… The two masters had an argument because of it once, and they hardly brought it up after that. It seems like someone invited them on a mission related to the Sanctum. I don’t know the details, but they rejected it.”

“So, what is the Sanctum? Is it similar to the Underworld?”

“No idea. I don’t know much about it. I only overheard their conversation. However, from what I’ve heard, the Sanctum is very powerful, and reviving the dead is only one of its functions.” Onicelu shook her head.

“I see…”

Hila shook her head. She was only casually asking, so she was not too concerned. However, Onicelu thought about it for a while and said, “If you’re very curious, there are some Hero Spirits of Primordial Ones in the Underworld. They might know something. However, if you wake them up, you won’t be able to force them to go back to sleep.” “Never mind then. I’ll think about it when they can go back to sleep after being woken up. There’s no hurry.”

Hila shook her head.

She memorized the information about the Sanctum and planned to share it with Black Star to discuss it.

Chapter 1126: Stuarts Peace Prize

Chapter 1126 Stuarts Peace Prize

The three Universal Civilizations’ official announcement quickly spread across all the Star Fields and resolved the panic and unease of the galactic society brought by the Intelligent Plague. Although most civilizations and races were displeased with how the three Universal Civilizations did some things, they still had strong trust in the three Universal Civilizations when it came to matters that involved the safety of the entire explored universe. They could always make people feel assured.

Before the impact of the announcement was gone, the three Universal Civilizations officially opened up the Ancient Star Desert in less than a month, connecting this Star Field with the galactic society once again. The first-generation Virtual Mutiny Virus was mostly wiped out. The three Universal Civilizations installed special firewalls in various Star Fields. Without the virus core, these viruses could no longer cause a problem. They would completely disappear with time, so the threat was already defused.

Word from the Ancient Star Desert got out along with it, revealing many more details than in the three Universal Civilizations’ announcement. The passion and interest of the galactic residents rose once again.

Han Xiao paid attention to the public opinion of the galactic society on the way back. It was almost all compliments of the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Mechanics with him at the top of it, mixed with criticism of ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison and complaints about the order of the area.

During the Intelligent Plague, the various Star Fields were not peaceful. Most problems were caused by local rebellious forces attempting to incite panic but were all stopped by merciless methods. As for those mercenaries who tried to smuggle the virus out of the Ancient Star Desert, most of them entered the prisons of the three Universal Civilizations, while the rest all became wanted criminals.

Public opinion was going in an excellent direction. There were not many negative opinions, or the negative opinions were censored

Like sharks that smelled blood, the galactic media groups of the various areas swarmed to the Ancient Star Desert and visited the various planets, digging for more detailed information about what happened during the pandemic. In a short time, they produced a large number of themed shows to compete for attention, which was approved by the three Universal Civilizations behind the curtains.

Their power came from obedience. The three Universal Civilizations had just done something great and heroic—this was the time the media’s compliments and discussions were needed so that their positions as the rulers would be firmer and receive more recognition. The Black Star Army fleet carrying Han Xiao and the others had only arrived at the Shattered Star Ring through the dynasty’s military stargates when the dynasty sent someone to contact Han Xiao right away.

“An award ceremony?”

Han Xiao heard this from the dynasty’s exploration marshal, Tarrokov.

“That’s right. Led by the three Universal Civilizations, the explored universe has once again defused a universal disaster. This will undoubtedly be written in the history books. As for the heroes who aided in defusing the disaster, we’ll be hosting a large-scale award ceremony to emphasize what they’ve done and reward them. Of course, you’re on the invitation list.” Han Xiao was not unfamiliar with this. Although he felt this was a rather formal event, he knew that events like this had to be held.

“Okay, where will the award ceremony be held? When? I’m not going to have to make a trip to the Central Galaxy, am I? I’ve only just returned to my headquarters.”

“The three Universal Civilizations will be hosting the award ceremony together, so to keep up with the times and make it more convenient for all the Beyond Grade As to attend, it’s been decided that it’ll be held in the new Star Field, the Flickering World. The date is in three months, so there’s plenty of time.”

“Convenient, indeed.” Han Xiao nodded. Suddenly, he kept his voice down and asked with a mysterious tone, “Tell me, have you guys finished preparing to target the Super Star Cluster Alliance? When are you guys going to do it?”

“I don’t think this is a suitable time to talk about that…” Tarrokov coughed. He also kept his voice down and said, “Anyway, the three Universal Civilizations will only consider redistributing the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s territories after the fourth phase of the free competition zone’s exploration finishes, not taking them back but sharing them with free organizations and other civilizations… Maybe an excuse similar to the ‘New Star Field Anti-Monopolization Exploration Regulations’ will be made as the reason.”

Pot calling the kettle black… Han Xiao curled his lips. This was what happened in his previous life, so he was not surprised. “Speaking of which, before you opened up the Ancient Star Desert, did you guys do anything to the Super Star Cluster civilizations there?”

“We really didn’t this time, and you understand why… However, although we did not make an attempt on them, we left a lot of eyes and ears behind, closely monitoring the whereabouts of the military and resources of civilizations like the Star Arc Civilization, all to prepare for the conflict that might occur soon,” Tarrokov explained.

“Tsk, evil,” Han Xiao joked.

“You’re one to talk.” Tarrokov rolled his eyes. “Don’t think I don’t know. I heard quite a lot of rumors from the intelligence department that you left quite a lot of things in the Ancient Star Desert’s black market.” “You and I both.” Han Xiao did not mind.

The two of them were already old friends who had known each other for many years. They joked around for a while and prepared to end the communication.

This time, Tarrokov suddenly thought of something and said, “If you have the time, you can go and watch this show. My colleagues in the public opinion management department seem to have sent some of your information over.”

After the call ended, Han Xiao received a link from Tarrokov.

An episode of a political talk show appeared on the virtual screen. It seemed quite recent. This was a show similar to Ruden’s Show, but it was more authentic and official. It was called Focus Talk, targeted at people with higher positions in society.

This episode was about the Intelligent Plague. It analyzed the impact the Intelligent Plague had on the Ancient Star Desert. Han Xiao fast-forwarded for a while and finally saw his name.

A well-dressed Godoran was speaking fluently on the show. The subtitles below said this was an advanced researcher of galactic society, a scholar.

“… Before Black Star left Planet Aquamarine, the Godoran Civilization had already heard of him. With our very own eyes, we saw this powerful neighbor, the Black Star Army, rise step by step. We even fought alongside them. The Black Star Army has gotten past the growing stage, and it’s not difficult to notice they’re trying hard to take on more responsibility in society from the recent Black Star Cup, the Holy Light Emissary project, and the Intelligent Plague.

“Although Black Star is a universe-level warlord, his principles are different from the others. Currently, he controls a large number of resources, and instead of simply keeping all of them to himself, he seems more passionate about using these resources to maintain and improve the environment of the universe. The other Beyond Grade A warlords make us feel afraid and fearful, but toward Black Star, we mostly feel admiration and reverence. He gives us a completely different image, reducing the instinctive fear the galactic residents have toward those strongest individuals in the universe. Perhaps this is this source of his extraordinary affinity…”

While Han Xiao was enjoying his compliments, the images changed, and his deeds flashed past the screen one after another, accompanied by a serious narrator summarizing the events. It sounded quite like an official news segment.

Very soon, the recent events were brought up. This show was able to get their hands on the exclusive first-hand video footage of the confrontation on Planet Magnetic Cloud and played it to the entire universe.

So, this was the promotional material the dynasty sent.

The video captured him fighting Manison in a third-person view. He heard himself saying that sentence again, and it got a close-up.

“… This universe has an end no matter how enormous it is, but ambition has no limits.”

Han Xiao stared at the screen and smirked.

He had to admit that at this instant, he looked very handsome in the video.

The dynasty probably sent this video out because they felt that this scene was beneficial to improving his public image.

The next moment, the narration ended, and the scene changed to a grand office. The interviewer changed into someone very famous too. The subtitles showed that this person was the president of the Stuarts Committee.

Kraber Peterhius, a tenured professor of the Federation of Light’s Advanced Supreme Science and Technology Institute, principal of the Truth Academy, winner of ‘Stars’ and Heller’s Eye medals… There were so many titles that the subtitles had to keep rolling down to display all of them.

The Stuarts Committee was not some little organization but had an extremely long history and superior position. Its founder was the founder of the Energy Rank theory, Professor Stuarts Ona, traditionally known as the ‘Father of Supers’.

In his late years, he founded an award under his name. It was used to reward professionals who had made a huge achievement in various areas. The committee was the organization that managed and assessed the award. It was similar to the Nobel Prize in Han Xiao’s past life, but this was even more impressive and had been going on for thousands of years.

Every year, the three Universal Civilizations and the advanced civilizations would provide sponsorships. The Stuarts Award maintained absolutely neutral. The assessment of their award was affected by any political or economic factors. The award was given out once every three years. It could not really be considered the most anticipated event, but it was very prestigious. Kraber stroked his neatly combed gray braided beard, smiled at the camera, and said, “Black Star is an extremely powerful individual, as well as a respectable scientist. Not mentioning his capabilities, I also respect his philosophy. I’m a scientist, too, and I know very well of the overflowing desire and curiosity we scientists have about the unknown. No one knows better than me how much perseverance it takes to personally destroy unknown technology. I admire Black Star, and I believe he deserves to be the first shared Special Safety Consultant of the three Universal Civilizations more than anyone.

“I can let you guys know a little bit of information from behind the curtains. The Stuarts Committee has already received a lot of members’ nominations for Black Star’s Peace Prize. As a nominee of this year’s Stuarts Peace Prize, Black Star has received a lot of support. From my personal perspective, I have high hopes for him. He’s made a huge contribution to the universe.”

Kraber did not hide his admiration for Han Xiao at all. At the end of the interview, he made a brief summary.

“In the future, when we look back and study this history, we might see the choice Black Star made today as the turning point of this era. He might have affected the path of the entire world.”

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

He had heard of the Stuarts Award, but something so high class, of course, had nothing to do with the players in his previous life.

If I win the Stuarts Peace Prize of this year, it’ll probably be another Universe Legendary Point. The dynasty really isn’t holding back on promoting me.

Han Xiao chuckled in his mind. He was very satisfied with how the three Universal Civilizations promoted him.

With so many honors gifted to him, they could be seen as a defensive aura that could deflect damage. If anyone attacked him, that person would certainly become a public enemy and lose a lot of reputation. Even if the federation and the church wanted to do something to him again, they would have to first dirty his image, otherwise even they would have to think twice about if the reputation drop was worth it.

Beep beep… At this time, he received a communication request.

Han Xiao looked at it, and to his surprise, it was a call from Ames.

As he picked it up, the projection of the beautiful Ames, who was wearing a black dress, appeared before him. Her arms were crossed, and her lips were slightly lifted.

“I saw the video. You copied me.”

“Haha, just suddenly thought of it.”

“Looks like you paid attention to what I said.” Ames narrowed her eyes with overflowing happiness in them. Clearly, she was in a very good mood.

“I remember most of the things you said.” “You really are getting better at talking…” Ames then chuckled softly and said, “I’m not doing anything at home. Have time to visit me?”

“Missed me?”

“Are you coming or not?” Ames slightly raised her brows.

“You’ve already invited me. How can I possibly not go? Wait for me to arrange my schedule. It’s on the way too.”

“Hmm, I’ll wait for you at home.”

Ames stepped forward and raised her hand to touch Han Xiao’s cheeks. Sadly, it was just a projection. She then smiled and ended the communication as her projection disappeared.

Han Xiao touched his face and shook his head with a smile.

“It’s not good to go empty-handed. I should take some gifts…”

It just so happened that the three Universal Civilizations had opened up more resources to him, so he could acquire an Esper Ultimate Knowledge and give it to Ames.

He could then give it to Hila afterward too, killing two birds with one stone.

Also, he had something he had to ask Aesop too. Maybe that knowledgeable old man knew something about the Sanctum, Holy Accord, Oathkeeper, or Manison.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had a feeling.

He felt that if he went to see Ames now, he might receive something surprising.

While thinking of that, Han Xiao looked outside the window, and Harrison just happened to walk by.

Chapter 1127: Prophecy

Chapter 1127 Prophecy

Dark blue tail flames extended from the deep cosmic space and brought light to the dark universe. The trail stopped at the dock of the Floating Dragon Island, which was orbiting Planet Aquamarine.

Although they had a lazy leader, Floating Dragon still expanded to having five islands and close to a hundred million residents. Most came from Planet Aquamarine. Staying on Planet Aquamarine’s surface meant they had to be ruled by the Aquamarine Federation, but Floating Dragon was a neutral island with no regime, so it was freer. Plus, they could experience galactic society while still being close to their home, so it was a good holiday destination, which was why the tourism industry of Floating Dragon was booming.

The Black Star Army fleet parked on the main dock and immediately attracted the attention of countless people. When Han Xiao walked out from the cabin with a group of subordinates in the Black Star Army uniform, people instantly swarmed over with excitement.

“It really is Black Star!”

“You make us proud!”

“Can you give me an autograph? My grandfather loves you!”

Han Xiao was surrounded by the crowd and could hardly move.

Hearing the noisy yells and feeling the passion from everyone, Han Xiao used his classic smile, which was quite effective and made the crowd even more thrilled.

Most of the people there were born on Planet Aquamarine. They were taught about Black Star from a young age and were almost all admirers of Black Star. Lately, due to the three Universal Civilizations’ promotion, his reputation had become extremely positive. He was almost worshipped by Planet Aquamarine’s people as an almighty God. This time, the Floating Dragon soldiers who had been waiting for quite some time walked over, split up the crowd, and opened a path.

Jenny approached with an expressionless face. She then said in a tone that completely lacked any emotion or sincerity, “Welcome to Floating Dragon, Your Excellency Black Star.”

“You don’t sound like I’m that welcomed,” Han Xiao joked.

“No, I’m thrilled.” With her eyes opened wide, she moved aside and made a ‘please’ gesture. “Follow me.”

The two of them left with their subordinates, leaving the crowd on the dock watching them disappear in their sights. Quite a number of people shot knowing looks at each other. Gossip about Black Star and Ames had been passing around in the Shattered Star Ring for decades, and that was even more so on Planet Aquamarine. Almost everyone knew about it.

There was a reason it started in the first place. Black Star frequently visited Floating Dragon, and Dragon Emperor moved her base to Black Star’s home planet. If someone were to say there was nothing between the two of them, not a single person from Planet Aquamarine would believe it.

Han Xiao and Jenny walked at the front and led the others through one street after another, receiving thrilled looks from countless passersby and chatting here and there. Han Xiao glanced at her. “You seem to be in a good mood today.”

“Why do you say so?” Jenny wondered.

“Your attitude to me isn’t as bad as before.”

“…Humph.” Jenny snorted softly. “If you liked it, I can go back to that.”

She had never liked Black Star, partly because he gave her tons of work and partly because of Ames. However, after watching the recent news, although Jenny never mentioned it, she actually did admire Black Star somewhat. If she continued to be so cold to Black Star, she would not feel good about it.

“Tsk.” Han Xiao shook his head. “I liked you more when you were defiant.”

Jenny secretly rolled her eyes and did not bother responding to Han Xiao. At this time, they arrived at a junction and heard the sound of dense footsteps, as well as the clear and loud sound of metal rubbing against metal. They looked over and saw a group of Floating Dragon warriors in dark gold heavy armor pushing several creatures from different races that had their heads covered in black cloth. They hastily passed by on the street not far away from them. The pedestrians around quickly stepped out of their way like they were horrified.

These warriors were covered by armor from head to toe, including their faces. They gave off a cold-blooded merciless vibe while walking. There were two symbols on their chest armor. One was Floating Dragon’s symbol, and the other was a symbol Han Xiao had never seen before.

“Who are those people? I don’t recall seeing them the last time I was here.” Han Xiao was curious.

“They’re the Hunters. They recently split from Wilsander’s law enforcement team and became an independent division,” Jenny explained briefly.

Harrison saw that the creatures that were being escorted had dried blood marks on their clothes, so he asked, “What are they going to do to those people?”

As soon as he asked that, Han Xiao and Jenny both turned and glanced at him with a strange expression.

“Wh—What?” Harrison was a little terrified and nervous from being looked at by the two of them.

Jenny did not bother about him but looked at Han Xiao. “Black Star, where did you get this newbie from again? He doesn’t seem to know when to speak.”

“Don’t say that. Harrison is a great kid. He’s helped me a lot.” Han Xiao did not mind it and smiled. “I like it when you’re being mean. It just feels right.”

“Humph.” Jenny sized Harrison up, waved her hand, and said, “Since you’re so curious, why don’t we go and take a look? It’s not that far anyway.”

“Er… can we?” Harrison looked at Han Xiao.

“Go take a look then.” Han Xiao nodded. Although he was Harrison’s boss now, he would still try to satisfy the tiny requests of someone with Advanced Luck Glow.

The group of them followed after the Hunters and came to the edge of Floating Dragon Island. The translucent light gold protective shield separated them from the vacuum of space right outside. A large crowd had already formed around, but the Hunters did not mind it at all. They did not chase the bystanders away and focused on their tasks. They lined up the people blinded by black cloth in a row and made them kneel down. They then opened up a small part of the light gold protective shield. As an opening was created on the gold shield, the group of people who had no armor got sucked out instantly. They were exposed to the cosmic space and started to struggle in agony, like fish jumping around on the cutting board.

Very soon, these people struggled less and less. A layer of white snow appeared on all of them, and their bodily functions were destroyed by the vacuum. Their faces were hidden under the black cloth, or their twisted facial expressions would have shown as well.

The next moment, the Hunters raised the firearms in their hands and fired simultaneously.

Green beams shot out from their guns, shattering those people who were about to turn into ice sculptures into pieces that drifted out into cosmic space.

“Is this an execution?” Harrison opened his eyes wide. “What crime did they commit? Isn’t this too cruel?”

Although he had never come to the Shattered Star Ring, he did some slight research about Floating Dragon when he heard their schedule had changed.

As the Black Star Army’s galactic pirate happy little house was too famous, the galactic pirates in the Shattered Star Ring all transferred their business elsewhere. Floating Dragon, too, stopped letting galactic pirates in. This place had become an orderly safe and free city.

He had expected the atmosphere in Floating Dragon to be very positive, but to his surprise, Floating Dragon shockingly carried out death sentences right before countless spectators. This was not something that would happen in an orderly city at all. Furthermore, open execution was a special trait of places that were ruled by terror. He did not expect to see something so violent here at all.

“Cruel? Look around you,” Jenny said with a displeased tone. “Which one of them thinks it’s cruel?”

Harrison turned and looked around. To his absolute shock, all the people around looked happy, and some were even clapping.

Jenny looked at Han Xiao and snorted. “One’s enemies increase with one’s fame. In recent years, there have been multiple infiltration cases on Planet Aquamarine. These culprits are spies and rebels of different organizations. They have advanced technology, and their goal is to infiltrate Planet Aquamarine, through messing up your mother planet, causing damage to you… Some had their eyes on Floating Dragon and attempted to build secret strongholds here or make use of the geographical location of Floating Dragon to launch destructive weapons at Planet Aquamarine. Hence, we formed the Hunters, who exclusively clear out these spies… Black Star, we’ve helped you block quite a lot of pressure.”

Hearing this, Harrison finally understood. Most people around were from Planet Aquamarine. No wonder they were so glad. These people were criminals who were planning to attack their mother planet, so not only was publicly executing them not cruel but even beneficial to making the people feel assured.

“Thanks.” Han Xiao smiled. Ames had moved Floating Dragon there because she wanted to help him stop these evil people.

“Just a thanks?”

Han Xiao thought for a moment and said, “I’ll bring you some special magic potions that stimulate hair growth for you next time as a present then.”

“… Go find Ames yourself!” Jenny’s face turned green. She suppressed her impulse of yelling at Han Xiao right on the spot and left straight away.

Seeing this, confused, Harrison mumbled on the side, “Your Excellency Black Star, you stand at the top of the universe. Why is this woman so disrespectful toward you?”

“I’ve known her for decades, and we’ve always been like this. There’s no point making the difference in positions so clear between friends.” Han Xiao waved.

“I see, you’re really generous…” Harrison praised Han Xiao subtly and asked, “What’s her name then?”

“You don’t know? Jenny is the Chief Administrator of Floating Dragon. She’s the Dragon Emperor’s sister and good friend. You should know that from your internet research.”

“I didn’t go to so much detail… but I see, her name is Jenny. I think she’s quite pretty…”

“… When did you go blind?” Han Xiao suddenly stopped in place, sized him up, and said with a surprised tone, “Have you fallen in love with her?”

Harrison slightly blushed and reluctantly said, “I wouldn’t call it love. I’ve only met her once, after all…”

“Oh, got it, you lust for her body.”

Harrison was speechless and did not know what to say.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He did not know much about Jenny’s private life in his previous life, but he knew that Harrison remained single all the way till he sacrificed himself during the World Tree Civilization war.

Although Jenny might be more than a hundred years older than Harrison, she maintained herself very well and looked like she was just thirty.

Furthermore, age was just a number; love was what mattered. This was a win-win. This might work out!

Having thought of that, Han Xiao patted Harrison’s shoulder and giggled.

“Go for it if you like her. I’ll be your shield. Quickly conquer her and adjust her personality. I don’t mind her personality because we’re old friends, but with the way she is, she’ll definitely get beaten up often if she ever goes out.”

Harrison blushed even more. “What should I do? I have no experience…”

“Hmm? You’re the second-generation owner of a big financial group, but you have never been in a relationship?”

“I liked reading books more back then…”

“Shameful!” Han Xiao was hurt. “You’ve wasted being born with a silver spoon!”

While the two of them chatted about nonsense, they arrived before Ames’ palace. Han Xiao told Harrison and the rest of his subordinates to wait at the stronghold while he tidied up his clothes and stepped into Ames’ palace.

He walked all the way to the garden filled with rare greenery. Ames was lying sideways on the long bed in the middle of the garden. Her black dress looked like a blossoming black flower. She was using her force field to play with the revive token that Hila had given to her by making it fly around the garden. The table beside her was filled with food and drinks.

Hearing footsteps, Ames retrieved the coin, turned to look at Han Xiao, smiled, and patted on the mattress.

“You’re here. Quick, come and sit. I’ve waited a long time for you.” Han Xiao walked forward, grabbed a crystal blue wine glass on the way that was filled with wine, sat at the edge of the mattress, and took a sip. “Old Man Aesop made this again?”

As soon as he said that, he felt a pair of white arms above his shoulders.

Ames placed her chin on his shoulders from behind and asked curiously, “What did you do in the Ancient Star Desert? The news has little detail. I want to hear it from you.”

Han Xiao was not surprised by her intimate actions. During the trip to the secondary dimensions, the two of them had spent months with each other alone. Their relationship had become much closer. Although Ames hated to have any physical contact with others, he was an exception.

“Forget that for now. I’ve brought you a present.”

Han Xiao snapped his fingers. A virtual screen popped up and displayed a list of the Esper class Ultimate Knowledges.

“The three Universal Civilizations have allowed me to acquire Ultimate Knowledges and teach them to others, but there’s a limit. Pick one you want. I’ll get it for you.”

“So nice?” Ames blinked. “Let me guess, you’re not just giving this to me exclusively. You’ll also teach this knowledge to other Espers, such as Hila, right?”

“Of course.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Now that sounds like you more,” Ames smirked slightly. She looked at the screen and pointed at one item with her long finger. Han Xiao glanced at it. “This doesn’t seem like the most suitable one for you.” “Didn’t you say there’s a limit to the number of knowledges you can exchange? Never mind me, as long as it’s suitable for Hila and Aurora.” Ames smiled.

“You’re too concerned about them.” Han Xiao sighed.

“They’re my only students. They’re like my children. Who else will I care for if not them?” Ames casually slammed Han Xiao’s chest, making a loud ‘bang’ sound like beating on a drum. “Quick, tell me stories. I want to hear them.”

Han Xiao finished up the wine. He casually picked up the crystal blue fruits on the table and tossed them in his mouth. He then started to talk about every detail of his experience in the Ancient Star Desert.

After telling stories for more than half a day, Ames finally let Han Xiao go with satisfaction and made him promise to continue tomorrow.

Han Xiao left the palace and was about to look for Aesop, but Aesop had already surprisingly come looking for him at the army stronghold.

Han Xiao returned to the stronghold and saw Aesop sitting in the hall right away, accompanied by Harrison and the others.

“Old man, I was just about to look for you. Did you foresee something again, so you came to find me?”

Han Xiao sat opposite Aesop and joked with him.

“Stop messing around. I’m here to speak about something serious with you today.” Aesop put down the glass in his hands. His tone was rather serious.

“How rare.” Han Xiao was a little curious. “What do you want to speak with me about?”

“Lately, my passive foresight has been triggering very frequently. I think it’s better to tell you some of the things.”

Aesop raised one finger and said with a deep voice, “First, I saw a special existence landing on Planet Aquamarine, and I’ve seen his appearance clearly.”

“Since you know what he looks like, why not just go tell Bennett and let him cross-reference it with the planet surveillance to find this person?”

“That’s the problem…” Aesop frowned. “I’ve looked all over Planet Aquamarine. There’s no record of this person anywhere. There are no witness reports of this person too… It’s like this person doesn’t exist.”

“Is your prophecy wrong?” “No, I’ve never felt as strongly about a prophecy. I can’t exactly explain why, but I can say with full certainty that this prophecy is reliable.”

“Then what else is special about this person you saw?”

Hearing this, Aesop glanced at Han Xiao.

“According to my prophecy… you seem to have already crossed paths with him very long ago.”

Chapter 1128: No Such Person Found

Chapter 1128 No Such Person Found

“Crossed paths? Show me what he looks like.”

Han Xiao was curious.

Aesop took out the communicator and showed a 3D portrait.

This was a pale-skinned man who looked like he was from Planet Aquamarine. Han Xiao sized him up for quite some time but did not seem to find this person in his memories.

“That’s weird, I’ve never seen this person before. Anyway, I’ll let people look for this person on Planet Aquamarine.”

Since he was part of Aesop’s prophecy, this person was definitely involved in something important. He did not know if it was a good thing or not that this person had arrived on Planet Aquamarine. After all, Planet Aquamarine was his mother planet, so he had to worry about its safety.

“What you just said was the first thing. What’s the second?”

“I’ve foreseen history repeating itself.” Aesop frowned slightly, a little confused.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. “You’re saying…”

“In my visions, many people who died long ago reappeared in the world. I even saw some of the Primordial Ones.”

Could it be the event of the Holy Accord reviving Beyond Grade As? If Aesop felt this future too, then the trigger of that would most likely be his deal with Oathkeeper.

“Hmm? You don’t seem surprised about this prophecy?” Aesop wondered. “I have some knowledge about this.” Han Xiao rubbed his chin and asked, “By the way, do you know about…”

He briefly asked Aesop about the Holy Accord, Oathkeeper, the Sanctums, and all those related matters, hoping that an Eternal like Aesop who traveled around would know something others did not. Sadly, Aesop shook his head and expressed that he had not heard about those things.

However, when mentioning Oathkeeper, he seemed to recall something. “This higher dimension spiritual projection ability that completely ignores distance you’ve mentioned is not common. It might sound easy, but it’s extremely difficult to do. Most spirit-related Esper and Psychics Abilities won’t be able to achieve it. If this is not his own Esper Ability, then it’s quite similar to a legendary Primal Esper Ability Entity-Soul Flame.”

Having heard the term Primal Esper Ability, Han Xiao knew this was probably the case, so he asked, “What else do you know?”

“Soul Flame is one of the Super High Risk Esper Abilities. There have been no witness reports of it for many years… Oh, but you should already know that, so I won’t go over that. Tell you something you don’t know, in my early years wandering the universe, I seem to recall that I once had a prophecy. That prophecy warned me that if I did this one thing, a person who used the Soul Flame would suddenly appear and try to control me, making me help him search for something. Hence, thanks to that prophecy, I avoided that thing and stopped it from happening. That guy might be the Oathkeeper you spoke of, and this is the only information I have about him.”

After communication for a while, Han Xiao realized that this was all Aesop knew about Oathkeeper, so he stopped asking him and remembered the name ‘Soul Flame’. He planned to go back and ask the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and Holy Light Particle. They were both members of the Primal Esper Ability family, so they might know more.

Furthermore, Primal Esper Ability Entities had existed for a very long time. If the two of them knew whose hands Soul Flame last ended up in, he might find out more about the Holy Accord organization. “Since you have some knowledge about this, I won’t say too much.” Aesop pointed a third finger and said with a serious tone, “There’s one last prophecy. I saw that a universal-level disaster is now brewing somewhere we can’t see.”

“Are you talking about the Intelligent Plague? Then your prophecy might have expired.”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” Aesop asked. “I saw wormholes that were millions of miles large opening in cosmic space one after another, countless fleets swarming out from within, and the occurrence of a galactic war comparable to the exploration era. No one will be able to avoid it.”

Han Xiao’s eyes turned solemn. That sounds like the invasion of the World Tree Civilization.

Prophecies occurred for a reason. There were definitely some causes or changes that caused Aesop to have this prophecy. This meant that the World Tree storyline had progressed.

Han Xiao immediately thought of the wormhole coordinates from the past, which was outrageously difficult to pin down and required absolute accuracy.

He had made limited progress, so was the dynasty able to find something?

Looks like I’ll have to find the time to ask around about it. Back when EsGod accidentally obtained the wormhole coordinates, I already knew that the World Tree storyline would change… Han Xiao shook his head.

Aesop stood up, stretched his waist, and casually said, “I’ve delivered the prophecies to you, so I’ll leave the rest to you. I’ll also notify you if there are any new prophecies.”

He deliberately told these prophecies to Han Xiao but not Ames because it would not make a difference even if Ames knew; she would only see it as a story. Only Black Star would do something about it.

Han Xiao was about to send Aesop out the door, but Aesop waved and told him there was no need to. However, he suddenly stopped at the doorstep, as if he had thought of something, turned around, and said, “By the way, I’ve got to tell you something. While I was waiting for you, I did some prophecies on your subordinates to kill time. This kid called Harrison has quite a bright future. His string of fate is very thick, and it’s deviated from its original path.”

Then, Aesop opened the door and left. Han Xiao turned to look at Harrison, who was completely at a loss. Han Xiao was not surprised.

He had dragged Harrison with him, so of course, his string of fate had deviated. The World Tree war would very likely erupt earlier, and it was uncertain if Harrison would sacrifice himself like he did in Han Xiao’s previous life.

Han Xiao committed the three prophecies to memory. Although they were all quite blurry, Aesop did indirectly provide some key information to him, so he had more clues.

Currently, the best thing to do was to look for that person Aesop spoke of first. Han Xiao gave the portrait of the target to Phillip and told him to monitor the entire planet. He then summoned the Black Star Army members who were stationed on Planet Aquamarine and sent them out to search all over the planet.

With his power on Planet Aquamarine, he could find even a tiny mouse if he wanted to, not to mention a person.

My name is Rody Anchor, 48 years old, a citizen of Ice Forest City, Maple County, Planet Aquamarine. My house is on No.107 Morning Light Street, Block B 1511. My ID is 77054591A62H. I’m currently working at the Fero Organization Subdivision three streets away. I’m the vice-manager of the operation department.

My parents are survivors of the old era. They died during a riot caused by the Mutation Disaster. Back then, I was just an ignorant child. The disaster caused the majority of the city’s residents to flee. The shops were robbed clean, and burnt cars were everywhere on the roads. I lived a few weeks in a waste of a city like this and was finally found by the Black Star Army’s rescue team. Thanks to that, I was brought to life in the Sanctuary.

After that, His Excellency Black Star got rid of the Mutation Disaster, and I was sent to Public Orphanage No.87. After receiving therapy from Ms. Martha for six years, I finally got over my childhood trauma. My social anxiety, depression, and other illnesses were cured.

After that, my life felt like it was fast-forwarding. Went to school, graduated, entered society, participated in rebuilding Planet Aquamarine, kept changing jobs, kept moving houses, had one girlfriend after another, experienced two failed marriages… The tides of the fast-developing times dragged me along with its extremely quick pace. Like everyone in the same era as me, I worked hard to contribute to society and the new era. With my very own eyes, I witnessed the unbelievably quick development progress of Planet Aquamarine after it connected with the galactic society.

However, as I grew older, my ambition started to shrink. Instead, I started to miss my parents more and more. Five years ago, I decided to quit my job in a large company in Black Star City and returned to my parents’ home, Ice Forest City. My home city had finished being rebuilt. I bought a house in this city, found a new job, and started living here.

The new job is very relaxing. The intensely competitive environment I experienced in the capital does not exist here. Life is like a quiet lake. I meet the same people every day. I’m old now, and I have noticed I’ve grown a liking for a slow life. Very quickly, I fell in love with this peaceful life.

Galaxy Calendar Year 731 July 16th, I can still vividly recall that sunny morning. I woke up early and washed up, as usual, preparing to take out the leftover dinner from the previous day and heat it up as breakfast.

However, when I was brushing my teeth, I suddenly realized that I could not see myself in the mirror!

Horror gripped my heart. I had no idea what happened. I cowered in the corner of the washroom and looked around anxiously as if a monster was going to jump out any minute. I spent more than a minute in that state, shivering in the corner. Then, I finally found the courage to sprint out of the washroom. Without even having the guts to put my shoes on, I hastily grabbed my keys and rushed out of my house, pressing the elevator button rapidly like a mad man.

I lived in a condominium that’s thirty-three floors high. It had four elevators. At the morning peak period, the elevators always automatically went up to the top floor before slowly descending, stopping on almost every floor. Usually, I would watch the morning news while waiting for the elevator, but seconds felt like years at that time. I almost wanted to pry the elevator door open and pull the elevator down.

Finally, the lift arrived at where I lived, floor fifteen. The door opened, and it was completely filled with people. Usually, when I came across something like this, I would always greet my neighbors inside with a smile and wait for the next lift. However, I completely threw all that aside at that time. I grabbed onto the door and screamed at them, describing what had just happened to me.

However, I quickly realized no one was looking at me. No one was listening to me. It was as if I did not exist!

As I was drowning in panic and fear, the people inside noticed that the lift door was not closing, so the person standing by the buttons rapidly pressed on the closing button impatiently. Someone even reached out and tried to slap the door, and that person’s hand just happened to land on my arm.

Something happened that made me even more horrified—this person’s hand easily passed through my arm like I was just an illusion.

Before my brain could even react to it, my sight started to ripple, and I saw an illusion. A lady in the lift did not hold on to the communicator in her hand properly, and it dropped onto the floor.

At this instant, an immense pain erupted in my body. I lost control of my body, fell onto the floor, and started twitching all over. My sight quickly turned blurry, and a powerful sense of drowsiness rushed up to my brain.

The moment before I passed out, I faintly saw a communicator that was exactly the same as the one I saw in the illusion earlier, and I saw it drop onto the floor inside the lift.

The next second, I lost consciousness.

When I woke up again, it was already night, and I was still lying on the floor outside the lift. A sense of overwhelming weakness pervaded my body as if I hadn’t eaten or slept for two whole days.

The extremely strong sense of hunger seemed to have chased away my fear. I dragged myself back home and ate up almost everything in my fridge, finally regaining some strength. During which, I tried using the metal cutlery and the camera to see my reflection, but everything failed without exception.

After that, I tried my best and barely calmed down. After multiple tests, I’ve realized that I’m non-existence to everyone, and I can’t touch anyone either. However, I can influence some objects that are not in contact with any form of life.

Therefore, I tried driving, stealing, creating accidents, and so on. Most of my actions that will have a direct influence on others will be interrupted by me suddenly passing out. However, many of my attempts at stealing worked, and no one noticed. It’s only thanks to that was I able to live till now, or I would’ve starved to death long ago.

The illusion that causes me to faint happens frequently. I’ve realized that I seem to be able to see a certain period of time into the future, but I can’t activate or deactivate that power. When this power activates, I faint and feel weak after. I’m guessing that the cost of using this power is my stamina.

I thought of the Mutation Disaster. My body has definitely gone through some kind of terrifying mutation. I’ve lived for about three months in this state. Initially, I was terrified, but then, for some time, I felt happy, and after that, I felt lost and alone. I can’t interact with people in real life, so I tried communicating with people online.

However, no matter what method I use to leave a message, it all still seems to get ignored by others. I’ve sent messages to my friends, but I never get a reply. No one from my company has even called to ask why I haven’t been going to work. It’s like everyone has lived with the fact that I’ve just simply evaporated. I don’t understand why. Therefore, I’ve written this diary, hoping that someone sees it and comes to help me. My address is Maple County, Ice Forest City, No. 107 Morning Light Street, Block B 1511. I’ll be waiting at home for you.

Planet Aquamarine Public Announcement Channel, post ‘Help! I’ve disappeared!’

Views: 0

One day later, on Floating Dragon Island…

“No such person has been found?”

Han Xiao received the search report from Phillip and the various army members, frowning “Master, hum… Not only are there no traces of this person in the surveillance footage, I even crossed referenced the photo with all ID photos of the residents registered in the Aquamarine Federation. Still, no match found.” “We’ve scanned the entire planet using all kinds of vital sign detection devices, including every spot, and we could not find the target either,” the army warrior who was in charge of the field search said. “Is this person really on Planet Aquamarine?”

Han Xiao tapped on the table, turned to Harrison, and asked, “What do you think?” “Me?” Harrison pointed at himself with surprise and said with some hesitance, “How about we make a search notice?”

“Alright.” Han Xiao nodded. Initially, he did not know anything about this person in Aesop’s prophecy, so he did not want to alert him. However, since they could not find him now, making it public would not hurt. Anyway, he was right there, so he was not worried about anyone causing any problems.

He had to see what connection he had with this stranger.

Chapter 1129: High Dimensional Information Form

Chapter 1129 High Dimensional Information Form

Four days passed very quickly, but the search notice sent through the Aquamarine Federation’s official news did not receive any response. Either no one saw the target, or the target saw it but decided not to come. There were also no witnesses.

Left with no choice, Han Xiao could only have his subordinates continue searching. He also used (Bold Explorer) on the portrait Aesop had provided, only to see some images, but he had no idea what they were supposed to represent -a bunch of string crossing cosmic space.

After another round of searching, spaceships returned to the Floating Dragon’s dock one after another. Many Black Star Army members walked out the hatch unhappily.

After searching for so many days and still not finding the target, continuously repeating a task that had a ‘result’ long ago would make anyone frustrated and annoyed. The army warriors were not exceptions. Harrison was in the crowd too. Suddenly, he caught sight of Jenny. His heart skipped a beat. He hesitated for a moment, walked over, and found the courage to finally speak with her.

“Jenny, I’m Harrison. We meet again.”

Jenny was dealing with a group of financial group investors. Hearing someone call her name, she turned, casually nodded, and said, “It’s you. What is it?”

A few days ago, Han Xiao and Ames had hosted a small party that all the important officers attended. Han Xiao had introduced Harrison to her back then, but she did not have a very good impression of him. She only remembered that this was a talkative, curious, and immature kid.

“Ca-can I speak with you?” Harrison stuttered.

“Now?” Jenny frowned slightly, waved, and said in a displeased tone, “I’m very busy now. Can’t you see I have guests to attend to?”

Then, she looked away from Harrison and left with the investors. She was distant and cold.

Harrison opened his mouth but did not dare disturb her more. Dejected, he followed the others and headed to Dragon Emperor’s palace to report to Han Xiao.

However, when he was about to leave the dock, he suddenly saw that someone was lying on the floor not far away. This person’s clothes were ragged, and Harrison could not see his face. The pedestrians around did not notice him, as if they could not see him.

“That’s odd. Is that person sleeping on the floor? Why isn’t anyone doing anything about
it?”

Harrison was curious.

The Black Star Army warrior beside him heard his question and looked over in the direction he was looking. He then said with a confused tone, “Where?”

“Right there… can’t you see?” Harrison was stunned.

The army warriors around all stopped and looked over. They stared in that direction for a few seconds before turning around and looking at Harrison with the same weird expression. “Buddy, better go have your eyes looked at.” Harrison was lost. His overflowing curiosity instantly started burning. He left the crowd and quickly approached the person lying on the floor. He hesitated for a moment before giving this person a light push.

“Wake up.”

This person did not react at all as if he had fainted.

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Harrison turned this person over.

The instant he saw the look of this person, his eyes widened with shock.

“You’re saying that… this is the person we’re looking for?”

Half an hour later, Han Xiao rushed back to the base from the Dragon Emperor’s palace, came to a secret interrogation room, and looked across the table with a strange expression.

“Yes, I found him on the dock. He seems to have fainted and still hasn’t woken up.” Harrison stood by the side and pointed at the seat on the other side of the table.

Han Xiao looked at the empty seat with a frown. He then said with a serious tone, “You’re not pulling my leg, are you? There’s no one here.”

Harrison scratched his head and said with a confused tone, “I don’t understand why either. It seems like I’m the only person who can see him, and no one else can. But I can assure you, he looks exactly the same as the target we’re looking for.”

“Where did you find him?” Han Xiao wondered. “You might not believe me but…” Harrison shrunk his neck and said, “I picked him up on the streets.”

Han Xiao was speechless.

What else can I say?

If not because Harrison happened to see this person, even if he was standing right in front of me, I would not have seen him.

No wonder you became an explorer. This is what talent is, able to find good stuff anywhere you go!

Doubtful, Han Xiao pondered for a moment and sent a message to Aesop and asked him to come over. Then, he told Harrison to describe what this person looked like.

Harrison took a step forward and looked down at what seemed to be empty space in Han Xiao’s eyes. “He looks very weak. He’s so skinny that there’s basically only skin and bones. His clothes are ragged and torn, and there’s a lot of dust on his body like he hasn’t cleaned himself for many days…”

Han Xiao told Phillip to draw out the appearance of this person according to Harrison. In comparison, what he described was much thinner than the portrait Aesop provided. One would not even be able to tell they were the same person if the two portraits were not placed side by side.

Aesop soon arrived. As soon as he entered, he looked at the empty seat, smiled, and said, “You guys are quite efficient to have found him this soon.”

Han Xiao was frustrated.

Why am I the only one who can’t see him? How does this even work? If not because he knew Harrison’s personality, he might have thought that these two were working together to trick him. Thinking of that, Han Xiao reached out and waved at the space in front of him. He could not sense that he had touched anything at all.

“Army Commander, your hand passed through his body…” While Harrison was explaining, he suddenly said with surprise, “Wait, he’s suddenly twitching, like you’re electrocuting him.”

“Quickly wake him up.”

Han Xiao pulled his hands back, frowned, and brought up the surveillance footage of the room. He realized that no type of detection device could detect the existence of this person.

Clearly, he was not simply invisible. It seemed like only some people were able to see and touch this person. What similarities did Aesop and Harrison have? If he really had to say, it seemed like both of them were quite lucky… Could it be that only those whose Luck was high enough could see this guy?

Then I’d better wash up and go to sleep.

While he was making guesses, Harrison suddenly yelled, “He’s awake!”

Han Xiao regained focus and forced himself to talk to the seat. “Tell me who you are.”

The atmosphere became silent. Han Xiao did not receive a response even after a few seconds, but he did see Harrison and Aesop listening closely to something.

“Did he speak? Looks like I can’t hear him either.” Han Xiao sighed. “Tell me, what did he say?” Harrison scratched his head and repeated, “He said his name is Rody Anchor, born on Planet Aquamarine…”

Hearing this, Han Xiao quickly connected to the Aquamarine Federation’s database and did a precise search of documents under this name. However, the result was still that no such person existed.

“Now this doesn’t make sense at all. Since he’s a resident of Planet Aquamarine, there’s no way there aren’t any documents at all about him. Either they were wiped by some kind of abnormal power, or something is stopping me from finding out his identity. Could it be that anyone who can’t see him won’t be able to find out any information about him in any form? But I can still hear what Harrison is saying about him…”

Han Xiao searched through his memories. Suddenly, he thought of a special form of existence.

This situation looked like the traits of a High Dimensional Information Form!

The explored universe had limited knowledge of the term ‘information form’. Their theories remained unproven and unclear. It was said that any and all individuals carried various forms of information such as height, weight, smell, mass, and so on. These forms of information fused into the conditions that made the individuals detectable.

‘High Dimensional Information Form represented a specific form of existence, where physical attributes of something were removed and only the ‘concept’ of this information was left. These ‘concepts’ formed a certain kind of existence, similar to physical life forms, energy life forms, and so on, becoming a new form of existence… Whether it existed or not depended on the observer.

To those special groups of people who could sense and observe this cluster of information, it would be something that had a physical form and could be touched. However, to those who could not observe it, they could not obtain any information on High Dimensional Information Forms through any channels, as if it did not exist. Like spirits that roamed the world, they would not be able to have any information exchange with each other. There were many names for this phenomenon, such as ‘Information Closure’, ‘Information Isolation’, and ‘Unobservable Entity’.

At the same time, ‘Information Closure’ was not limited to the senses of life forms. It was also effective on technological and magical methods of observations. This was why some documents that were supposed to exist could not be found.

This was because, including Virtual Technology, all these detection devices were also carriers of information, tools to obtain and save information. At their roots, they were no different from life forms using their organs to sense the world. ‘Information Closure’ worked on both life forms and these tools… This was also the reason it had the ‘High Dimensional’ prefix.

However, after those people who could observe High Dimensional Information Forms obtained the information, the information they obtained would become their own information, so they could describe the existence of High Dimensional Information Forms to others. This was the only form of information flow. However, even if others obtained this information, they would still not be able to sense the High Dimensional Information Forms.

Looks like he’s still not a complete High Dimensional Information Form, or he would not have to consume food…

His situation feels like he’s only half transformed, causing the information he carries to mutate and his ‘existence’ to be wiped. However, he has yet to completely become a High Dimensional Information Form, which is why he can still interact with some objects… These traits are more similar to him awakening a related Esper Ability but temporarily being unable to control it.

Why would a totally normal person suddenly become like this?

There has to be a cause, and maybe that’s why Aesop saw him in his prophecy!

Han Xiao tapped the table and said with a deep voice, “Tell him to tell me everything that happened.”

For now, the only thing he could do was have Harrison and Aesop relay Rody’s situation. Han Xiao understood the situation very quickly and explained what had happened to this person with the Information Form Theory.

This person’s name was Rody Anchor. He had always lived on Planet Aquamarine. Some time ago, he mutated and gained some traits of a High Dimensional Information Form. He tried to communicate with others in many ways, but everything failed, so he had no choice but to do nothing for a few months.

A few days ago, he had seen the search notice that the Black Star Army had put up. Overjoyed, he had sent countless messages to the army’s mailbox but never received any replies. He had no choice but to board a spaceship and come to Floating Dragon, hoping to find Han Xiao.

Every time a life form passed through his Semi High Dimensional Information Form body, he would passively read part of the information of that life form, bringing the illusions that felt like foresight, which led to him fainting. With his current body, if he wanted to do anything to someone, it would be equivalent to him trying to rewrite someone else’s ‘form of existence’ on the information level, interfering with reality using information state disturbance, which required more energy than he could afford. Hence, he would faint halfway every time. It was a self-protection mechanism. Therefore, he dodged all passersby on the way there. However, when he arrived at the Floating Dragon’s dock, even without coming into contact with anyone, he suddenly had foresight visions again, so he passed out. This was how he appeared in Floating Dragon and was coincidentally discovered by Harrison.

Han Xiao captured the key information and pondered. “He awakened foresight… Maybe his information form mutation came from his sudden ability to see the future?”

“Maybe,” Aesop said with a deep voice. “The ability to see the future can be seen as the ability to sense, process, and deduce information. The terms us foreseers use are strings of fate, cause and effect, and so on. This is because foresight ability requires one to connect with a lot of strings of fate, so it’s not impossible for it to cause someone to undergo Information Form mutation.”

Now, this is the blindspot of my knowledge… Han Xiao had a slight headache. “Old man, your prophecy says I crossed paths with him long ago. Is this referring to me saving his life because I resolved the Mutation Disaster?”

According to Rody’s past, Han Xiao thought of this possibility.

“How would I know?” Aesop shrugged. “If prophecies were that accurate, do you think I’d have been caught by you in the past?”

Han Xiao was hesitant.

He did have an idea regarding how to find out what was going on with Rody, which was to activate the combat information, but he first had to be able to touch this person.

In order for a normal person to observe a High Dimensional Information Form, it looks like one has to have a strong information connection with the target… He seems to be able to touch dead objects. So, it’s not as impossible as real High Dimensional Information Forms… Hmm, I can’t see the clothes he’s wearing either, which means his clothes are assimilated too. Maybe I can start from there…

After some pondering, Han Xiao took out a mechanical suit, linked with it using Mechanical Force, and tried touching Rody. However, Rody passed through it without any difficulty. Since this mechanical suit was connected with Han Xiao through Mechanical Force, it was like Han Xiao was touching it, so it could not touch Rody.

Han Xiao then deactivated the Mechanical Force link and let Rody try to touch it again, but it still failed.

“Artificial intelligences are observers too,” Aesop hinted.

Han Xiao then pulled out the artificial intelligence controlling the mechanical suit too. After several experiments, when all connections including the virtual links, fundamental authority, and everything else were removed, Rody finally successfully wore the mechanical suit.

The next moment, the mechanical suit disappeared right under Han Xiao’s nose.

Seeing this, Han Xiao tried finding the mechanical suit using methods such as Mechanical Force, Virtual Technology, and so on, but everything failed. This mechanical suit just disappeared into thin air.

Then, Han Xiao told Rody to take off the mechanical suit, and it appeared on the floor again.

After running a few more tests, Han Xiao sighed and said, “He’s basically an information black hole… I’m almost out of ideas.”

Aesop crossed his arms, frowned, and asked, “Are there really no other ways?”

“It’s too difficult to find a flaw.” Han Xiao was a little frustrated.

Those who could not observe Rody had no way of creating any information link with him. Combat was a form of information exchange too, but even if he attacked him, he would probably still be completely unharmed. He would only take damage from a weapon that was completely unaffected by any observer, a ‘neutral’ weapon.

If not because this guy can’t influence any other life forms who aren’t able to observe him, he’d be a terrifying infiltrator…

Han Xiao clenched his teeth, looked at Harrison, and gave it his last try. “Ask him, does he have anything that he wants me to help him do?”

Harrison nodded, listened to Rody for a while, and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, he hopes you can help him to get out of this state.” The moment he said that, Han Xiao’s heart skipped a beat.

A notification popped up on the interface.

You have triggered the mission (Destiny’s Child—Sub-body Transformation)! Mission Introduction: Rody Anchor, an ordinary man who lived an ordinary life, has undergone a unique mutation. He hopes you can help him to deal with this problem…

Mission Requirements: Solve Rody’s mutation and find the root cause of it.

Reward: 2 Random Rewards, +80 Rody Favorability, 2 Character Summon Cards.

Before he could take a closer look at the mission, a skinny and weak middle-aged man appeared in Han Xiao’s sights, sitting on his chair and looking at him with a face filled with hope.

It was indeed Rody, and he appeared all of a sudden.

It-it worked?

Han Xiao was surprised.

He did not have much hope initially and did not expect this method to really work. Being able to see Rody meant that he now had an official information connection with him, and the source of that was definitely not just Rody’s request.

Han Xiao was absolutely certain that if a mission was not triggered on the interface, even if he knew about Rody’s request, he would still not have been able to see him.

Therefore, the interface became their connection!

However, this was not what shocked Han Xiao the most. It was the name of the mission.

Destiny’s Child!

Isn’t this one of the trump cards of the Germinal Organization in Version 1.0? Although I’ve never seen it, I once got his Character Summon Card.

How is this related to Destiny’s Child? Isn’t that guy dead?

So, this is what Aesop meant when he said we crossed paths before!

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. Thousands of words were at the tip of his tongue, but they all became one word. “…Damn!”

Chapter 1130: Questioning and Information

Chapter 1130 Questioning and Information

Shock and doubt appeared in his mind.

Decades had already passed, but Han Xiao still had vivid memories about it. He used to think Destiny’s Child was just simply a Foreseer who ended up dead due to the Germinal Organization’s explosion, turning into dust.

Now, however, it looked like Destiny’s Child had more unknown secrets. Not only did it play an important role in Planet Aquamarine, but now it was related to the High Dimensional Information Forms.

Initially, he felt that having him, Hila, and Aurora, three outrageously talented members, was already the limit. To his absolute shock, Destiny’s Child, who had died long ago, was not as simple as he thought! The Germinal Organization was filled with mad talent!

If the Germinal Organization leader suddenly revived and appeared right in front of him, he probably would not even be surprised.

What in the world is the Destiny’s Child?

Han Xiao was stunned. He could not stop worrying without finding out the truth.

“… Army Commander?” Harrison suddenly prompted.

Han Xiao regained focus.

Aesop shook his head. He thought he understood why Han Xiao was silent and explained, “Even the three Universal Civilizations don’t know much about the Information Form Theory, so I understand that this request might be too difficult for you.” Rody was instantly frustrated and said with despair, “Then what should I do? If even His Excellency Black Star can’t help me, who can? Please, help me to convince His Excellency Black Star. I-I really don’t know what to do!”

Hearing this, Han Xiao waved and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll try to help you.”

“That’s great. Thank you, Your Excel… Hmm?” Rody showed appreciation subconsciously, but he was suddenly stunned halfway. He stared at Han Xiao with his eyes widened with shock.

Aesop and Harrison were startled too. They looked at Han Xiao with surprise.

“Army Commander, you can see him now?”

“Hmm, I can.”

“But earlier you… have you found a solution? But you didn’t do anything!” Aesop could not understand why.

Han Xiao coughed and lied, “Real High Dimensional Information Forms can choose who can observe them. Maybe his strong will triggered that trait, so he actively created an information link with me… To put it simply, he removed me from his blacklist.”

Harrison’s eyes were filled with confusion.

How does that work?

Aesop thought about it for a while before accepting it. “That actually makes some sense. He might have inherited that trait, only he can’t control it freely, but subconsciously, he might be able to…”

Han Xiao looked at him with a smile and supported the old man in his mind.

That’s it. Please keep guessing. Help me convince you yourself. Like a drowning man holding onto the last straw, Rody suddenly pressed on the table with both hands. He stood up and said while his entire body was shivering from excitement, “Thank you so much! You’re really just like what they say in the news. Not only a great man of Planet Aquamarine but a great man of the entire universe! You’re so noble! To be frank, in my forty-eight years alive, there’s only one person I ever admired, and that person is you! You’ve been my role model from a young age, the light of my life, the motivation of my advance, encouraging me to grow…”

Han Xiao uncontrollably smiled with recognition. He loved to hear people say these facts about him.

However, very soon, he wiped off the smile on his face and signaled for Rody to calm down.

“You don’t have to be so appreciative. Honestly, I’m only helping you because I’m interested in your mutation and want to study it. As for whether I can cure you, I can’t make any promises.”

“I understand. I don’t have anything else I can repay you with. I’ll do my absolute best to cooperate with your studies.” Rody nodded rapidly.

Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction. There were no free meals, and Rody knew that, which made things easier. He stood up, circled around Rody, sizing him up closely, and suddenly thought of something

That’s right. I’ve already established an information connection with him, so I should be able to sting him now.

As this thought appeared, Han Xiao immediately acted.

He raised his finger. Electrical sparks flashed, and nanoparticles formed into a tiny metal needle.

Then, he cautiously stung Rody’s arm with the needle, using as little force as a normal person would use to pick up an ant, afraid of using too much strength and squeezing the ant to death.

Then, Han Xiao looked at the interface right away. As expected, combat information appeared, and he could see all of Rody’s attributes.

The target was just an ordinary person, so there was little information. All of Rody’s abilities were ordinary people abilities. There were only about two lines of information, completely different from how Supers had pages and pages of information.

Only one abnormal piece of information attracted Han Xiao’s attention. There was a special status in Rody’s status bar, and it had the exact same name as the name of the mission.

(Destiny’s Child-Sub-body Transformation): The Primal Esper Ability Entity Destiny’s Child has caused an information state disturbance, creating all kinds of ‘sub-bodies’ randomly in the entire universe. You’re one of the chosen ones. A mutation is going to occur to your body. The traits of Information Forms will gradually develop in you, and you’ll randomly obtain part of Destiny’s Child’s abilities. During the transformation, not only will your body change, but your personality will too. When this process ends, you might lose the majority of your desires and emotions, you might lose your memories, or you might believe in made-up life experience. A brand-new personality will be born in your body.

Current Transformation Progress: 37.1%

Han Xiao’s eyes opened wide. He had captured the key information. “Destiny’s Child is a Primal Esper Ability Entity? Randomly creating sub-bodies all over the universe?”

This was surprising for him. On the Super High Risk Esper Ability list, Destiny’s Child was not included. In his previous life, no players obtained any related information about it. Could this be an undiscovered or unpublicized Primal Esper Ability?

Looking at the introduction on the interface, Han Xiao had a lot of thoughts.

If that’s how Destiny’s Child’s works, what was in the Germinal Organization back in Version 1.0 should have been a sub-body, not the Primal Esper Ability Entity itself… Rody has yet to completely transform. Once he fully becomes a Destiny’s Child sub-body, his personality will be replaced. Maybe that’s another form of death.

Although Han Xiao now knew that Destiny’s Child’s true identity was a Primal Esper Ability Entity, there were still a lot of unsolved mysteries. Perhaps, Ah Ho and Ah K, who were also Primal Esper Ability Entities, would know something

Han Xiao told the few of them to wait a while in the room while he went to another room, closed the door, and opened up the secondary dimensional army box, summoning the Mysterious Energy Host. At the same time, he sent Aurora a communication request and contacted the Holy Light Particle too.

“Black Star! How have you been? We have to chat more if you haven’t been busy!”

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy looked very happy. He did not have a master, and he was dying of boredom being inside a metal carrier that had no soul.

“I have something I’d like to ask you guys,” Han Xiao said. “Do you guys know about a Primal Esper Ability Entity called Destiny’s Child?”

Considering that there might be different names, Han Xiao even described part of Destiny’s Child’s characteristics, which he deduced from the interface.

Hearing this, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy and Holy Light Particle suddenly became silent for quite a while.

“This guy… I seem to have seen him before?”

“Odd, did I sleep too much? I feel like I know him, but I just can’t recall…” It felt like the feeling of suddenly realizing someone looked familiar, but they just could not recall who it was.

“According to the information I have, Destiny’s Child is heavily related to Information Forms. Maybe that’s why you two can’t recall it.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and made a guess.

The two of them tried recalling for a while longer, then Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy said hesitantly, “You might be right. We can’t recall any more information about it. All we can recall is that there seems to be a Primal Esper Ability Entity in our memories who can switch between a physical form and High Dimensional Information Form. It has the ability to foresee the future, interfere with reality, and so on. It might be the Destiny’s Child you’re talking about.”

Looks like I can’t get more information from the two of them…

Han Xiao then changed the topic and asked, “Then, do you guys know about Soul Flame? It’s a Primal Esper Ability Entity too.”

“I know this one!” The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy quickly responded as if worried the Holy Light Particle would take away its chance to speak. “This guy is sneaky. I haven’t met him many times, and the last time I heard about him was during the exploration era. He seems to have chosen a Primordial One as a master. After that, he disappeared for many years.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

According to Aesop’s intelligence, Oathkeeper might very well be the master of Soul Flame. He might even be the Primordial One whom Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy mentioned. As long as he knew Oathkeeper’s identity, he would be able to expose him. “Do you remember who that Primordial One was?” Han Xiao quickly asked.

“I only remember his nickname, (Soul Emperor] if I’m not wrong, a powerful spiritual Esper… but he should’ve died in battle.”

Tsk, this nickname doesn’t sound like someone who’s easy to mess with.

Han Xiao noted it in his mind and planned to ask the dynasty for information about this ‘Soul Emperor’.

As for something as mysterious as Destiny’s Child, the dynasty might not have records of it.

Since Destiny’s Child is a Primal Esper Ability Entity, and the Holy Accord organization is the professional at studying Primal Esper Abilities… asking them might be a good choice.

Han Xiao nodded in his mind. He decided that after his deal with the Holy Accord was complete, he would ask Oathkeeper about Destiny’s Child. Maybe he could get some information from him.

Speaking of which, could Destiny’s Child be in the Holy Accord organization’s hands? Hmm, it’s possible but not very likely. Destiny’s Child can trigger disturbances, meaning it should be free and not locked up… Hehe, no point thinking so much. It won’t hurt if I only ask Oathkeeper.

Han Xiao smirked.

As for whether Oathkeeper will be able to take it…

Hmm, I think his mind should be quite strong.

As he had already asked everything he wanted to, he was about to hang up the communication when he suddenly thought of something and said to the Holy Light Particle, “By the way, I’ll have to cut off a part of your body after some time and use it to make a deal with someone. I’m telling you first so you can be mentally prepared.”

The Holy Light Particle suddenly stopped in midair and was stunned.

The Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy was stunned for a minute too. He then suddenly started gloating and laughing loudly. “This day has finally come for you! Who asked you to laugh at me? You can’t escape the same fate, hahaha!”

The Holy Light Particle did not respond out loud. I’m so tired. I feel like I won’t believe in love anymore.

Chapter 1131: I’m Leaving Her to You

Chapter 1131 I’m Leaving Her to You

Once Han Xiao had digested the information he had just obtained for a while, he pushed open the door and returned to the interrogation room. Aesop, Harrison, and Rody all looked over.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I…” Rody hastily wanted to ask, but Han Xiao raised his hand and stopped him.

“I already know about your situation. Come with me for the time being. I’ll try to solve your issue.”

Han Xiao pondered over what to do about Rody.

Rody was now only a work in progress; he had yet to complete transforming, so he could not control his abilities. He might only become like the Germinal Organization’s Destiny’s Child after completely transforming. However, once the transformation was complete, Rody’s personality would be taken over by a brand-new personality, so he could be considered dead by then in some senses.

A stable and controllable Foreseer would be much more useful than this half-assed Foreseer who fainted occasionally. However, since he had accepted the mission, he did not want to just let the transformation happen. Hence, Han Xiao decided to think of ways to prevent Rody’s transformation as much as he could… And if he could not prevent it, he would not mind getting a new Destiny’s Child.

Judging from Rody’s current state, controlling his whereabouts was a necessity. Han Xiao told Phillip to empty a new private lab on the spaceship and told Harrison to take Rody there, put him into a restoration cabin, and inject hypnosis drugs into him so that studying him would be easier. Rody had no choice but to hold on tight to his only hope and cooperate fully.

After the two of them left, Han Xiao and Aesop were the only ones left in the room. They looked at each other.

“I saw you left for a while earlier. Have you already discovered something?” Aesop asked with curiosity.

“The source of this guy’s mutation might be because he was affected by a certain special Primal Esper Ability…” Han Xiao briefly talked about Destiny’s Child’s information and his experience in the Germinal Organization.

“Destiny’s Child… never heard of it,” Aesop murmured.

“That’s normal. I don’t know much either.”

Aesop coughed and said, “I don’t know much about your past experience, but assuming that the Destiny’s Child you met in the past is also a random product of the Primal Esper Ability Entity like Rody, why would two sub-bodies appear on Planet Aquamarine? If it’s really random over the universe, do you think this is really coincidental?”

That’s nothing. I’ve seen things that are more coincidental…

This thought flashed past Han Xiao’s mind, but he did not show it on his face and agreed. “It is very coincidental indeed.”

“Following this logic, if the mutation occurs on the information level, I think that Planet Aquamarine might be special in some way. Maybe it has a special string of fate or something… I’m not saying this out of the blue. I’ve seen many people who are born with a different string of fate to others…”

Midsentence, Aesop stopped, sized Han Xiao up, and said, “… That’s right, someone like you came out of Planet Aquamarine, as well as Hila, another Beyond Grade A. The rise of the two of you caused your mother planet to be unique. Maybe that’s the reason.”

Han Xiao wanted to say something, but he did not say anything in the end, only patting Aesop’s shoulders.

Smart people are indeed easy to trick. You convinced yourself before I said anything.

“Thanks. Without your prophecy, I would have never noticed this.”

Jokes aside, Han Xiao was quite appreciative of Aesop’s warning.

“You don’t have to thank me. Floating Dragon and Planet Aquamarine are neighbors now. I’m just ensuring the safety of the surrounding residential environment. Plus, among the people I know, my prophecies will have the most impact in your hands. I believe in your abilities and morals.” Aesop waved his hand.

Hearing this, Han Xiao could not help but realize how much things had changed.

In the past, Han Xiao really envied Aesop’s powerful connections. However, as he continued to rise, without him realizing, he already now had the highest position among the people Aesop knew.

Aesop was willing to discuss anything with him. He had become reliable in his eyes.

Aesop sighed and said, “I’ve lived so long, and I consider myself to be knowledgeable. Yet, you’re still the most shocking person I’ve ever met in my long life. I’ve never seen anyone as magical as you. The first time I saw you, although I felt that you had a bright future, I would never have expected you to reach heights countless people are never able to reach in just a few decades. History might forget me, but it’ll never forget you.”

“… Why the sudden compliments? You’re flattering me,” Han Xiao joked but revealed an expression that said, ‘Don’t stop.’

“Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, so I like to say these things more and more.” Aesop sighed and earnestly said, “Thank you for helping Floating Dragon all these years.” Seeing this, Han Xiao wiped off the smile on his face and slowly said, “My achievement cannot be separated from the help I’ve received from Floating Dragon. Without Ames’ protection in the past, things would not have gone so smoothly for me. Therefore, you don’t have to thank me. Anything I’ve done for Floating Dragon is what I should do as repayment.”

Just like creating a business, having sponsors would be much easier than starting with nothing. When he was weak, Floating Dragon had helped him a great lot. Therefore, even though his position in the universe was far superior to Floating Dragon, he still held respect for the people of Floating Dragon and never considered himself superior when speaking with them. Plus, he had never stopped helping them.

“Having the opportunity to help someone like you might just be Floating Dragon’s luck.” Aesop’s expression was complicated. He said with a low tone, “Ames is like my daughter, but as you know, the only thing I can do is foresee. I’m not powerful like you guys; you can protect her better than me now… “I’ve lived for many years, and I’ve never asked for anything from anyone, but I’m asking you today, protect Ames. I’m leaving her to you. I hope that even after hundreds and thousands of years, you’ll still remember what I said today.”

Then, he gave Han Xiao a meaningful look, pushed the door open, and walked out the room. His slightly bent back disappeared at the end of the corridor.

“Old man…”

Han Xiao watched him leave and exhaled slightly. He understood what Aesop meant.

Although Aesop was an Eternal, he was getting old, and he hardly had any combat capability. Even though he could see the future, what he could do was limited. He was far from being almighty.

He foresaw the storms that might occur in the future, and the disaster he saw made him feel worried, something he had not felt in a very long time. He was afraid that he was not capable of protecting Ames, so he planned ahead and was willing to put down his pride to privately ask Black Star to always be the protector of Floating Dragon. This was a form of insurance. In Aesop’s eyes, Black Star was the only one who had both the capability and motive to protect Ames, so he was the best candidate he could find.

Ames would absolutely never say these things, so Ames knew only he could say it, and he had to say it. This was why the old man came to him first unlike before-he got scared by his own prophecy. “The old man suppressed his nature of looking for thrills and stayed for decades in such a boring place, Floating Dragon. Although he’s grounded by Ames on paper, if he wanted to leave, he definitely could. And now, because he’s worried about Ames’ future, he ignored his pride and came to ask me for something…”

Han Xiao smiled.

In his previous life, Ames caused Floating Dragon to be destroyed for the sake of revenge. Looking at it now, Aesop was certainly worth

However, this time, I’m here. I won’t let the same thing happen to Floating Dragon.

Tidying up his emotions, Han Xiao returned to the office and summoned Phillip.

He still remembered about searching for where Soul Flame ended up in. Using his authority, he found the information about the Primordial One ‘Soul Emperor’ and quickly browsed through it.

Soul Emperor’s real name was Rovell Sissock. He also had other nicknames such as the King of Souls and Master of Secrets. He was a Primordial One. Before becoming the master of Soul Flame, he was already a powerful Beyond Grade A spiritual Esper.

This person was born in an advanced civilization that was already a powerful civilization in the exploration era.

Back then, Beyond Grade As had only just appeared. Compared to other abilities, spiritual Esper Abilities were more difficult to deal with. The technology at that time could not give birth to any spiritual barrier devices that could stop Soul Emperor, so he could easily penetrate the shields and armor to kill or control the people in spaceships. He made a name for himself in the exploration era war very quickly. After obtaining Soul Flame, like a tiger growing wings, he won countless battles for his civilization in the war using his individual strength and received countless honors and medals. He was seen as the hero and protector of the entire civilization.

However, as all the advanced civilizations started to study the Beyond Grade As, the era when the Primordial Ones were invincible quickly passed. Battles became tougher, and Beyond Grade A casualties started to appear.

Soul Emperor was no exception. Although he was still powerful even among the Beyond Grade As and he was still one of the strongest forces in galactic battles, since he would be targeted every time he appeared, it became tough for him to contribute as much as he did before. He could no longer decide a battle on his own.

Plus, his civilization suffered multiple losses in other battles. The civilization’s overall strategy was heavily affected, and the situation gradually grew worse. Because of that, Soul Emperor’s fighting style became aggressive. Sometimes, even if it meant he had to suffer heavy injuries, he would still try to turn the battle around. Although it was not enough, this showed how much he wanted to contribute to his civilization and how loyal he was. The Primordial Ones back then were unlike the Beyond Grade As now. Most of them did not have the mindset of putting themselves first. In the exploration era war, the fate of individuals was almost totally tied with the fate of civilizations.

Over the long years of war, the turning point quickly came. The civilization Soul Emperor belonged to faced multiple enemies on the main battlefield, which spanned two Star Systems. The civilization dispatched a large number of military forces, and a decisive battle began.

Countless fleets fought intensely on many battlefronts. The situation changed every second. At the peak of the battle, this civilization was faced with a choice…

Soul Emperor was being targeted and surrounded. He was exhausted and needed reinforcements urgently. Meanwhile, an extremely crucial battlefront also requested immediate backup.

If the fight on this battlefront was lost, it would cause chain reactions and might cause the entire war to slip into the abyss of defeat. However, if they were able to win on this battlefront, they would obtain a huge strategic advantage and have much higher chances of winning. This was also the reason the enemies kept sending troops into this battlefield. At this point of time, this civilization had already dispatched most of its forces into the battlefield and had very few fleets that were available to be deployed. They knew that if they sent reinforcements to both sides, there might be a chance they could save Soul Emperor, but they would definitely not be able to guard the crucial battlefront.

That was where the choice lay… which side they should send their reinforcements to.

To the civilization, this choice did not seem difficult at all.

They abandoned Soul Emperor and decided to put all the reinforcements into that crucial battlefront. The results were just as they expected. They successfully won the fight on that battlefront, obtained a decisive advantage, gradually forced the enemies to retreat, and finally won this war.

Soul Emperor was sacrificed. This civilization said he fought to his last moment and that his death was what led to their victory. The entire civilization mourned for him and paid their respects, hosted his funeral in the highest regards, and gave him the ‘Valverde Golden Tower’ medal, which represented the highest honor of the civilization. The civilization then also built the Soul Emperor’s hero monument on its mother planet to remember him.

However, in the exploration era war, one thing that was never in shortage was enemies. The crucial victory this civilization acquired could not be their amulet forever.

In the end, this civilization never became a winner of the exploration era. It was destroyed by a stronger civilization, its race was almost extinct, and it became a loser that was eliminated. That was the brief life of Soul Emperor. He was marked as ‘Killed In Action’ in the documents.

All this happened too long ago, and the exploration era was a chaotic time, so the three Universal Civilizations’ database only had rough data of Soul Emperor, nothing too detailed. As Soul Emperor’s civilization was eliminated, a lot of information about him was buried by history.

After seeing the documents, Han Xiao started pondering. He was not surprised about how the civilization treated Soul Emperor. He was used to it. He was now only interested in the whereabouts of Soul Flame.

“Soul Emperor is the last Soul Flame master known by the world. Is this guy Oathkeeper? Either Soul Emperor faked his death, or Oathkeeper is someone else who took Soul Flame away from Soul Emperor. If that’s the case, there’s a chance he’s one of the Beyond Grade A enemies of Soul Emperor in that battle, but there’s also a possibility it’s someone else…”

This time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of the Primordial Ones who got revived in his previous life. They did not seem to include Soul Emperor. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. “It seems that there’s quite a high chance Soul Emperor faked his death…”

Han Xiao pondered. Quite a number of Primordial Ones were revived in his previous life. If he waited for those people to be revived, he could ask someone who knew about it…

However, at this time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and was instantly stunned.

Wait a minute!

People who know about it… are not only those Primordial Ones revived by the Holy Accord! The Underworld dimension Hila inherited is also storing the Hero Spirits of Primordial Ones!

Now this is excellent…

Han Xiao’s eyes widened.

Is this fate?

Or has collecting people who have Luck Glow really changed my luck too?

Chapter 1132: Plenary Meeting and Provocation

Chapter 1132 Plenary Meeting and Provocation

“There are a lot of souls of powerful individuals of the exploration era war stored in the Underworld dimension, not just the Primordial Ones, but also Supers of various races, mostly Calamity Grades. They’re all antiques…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled brightly.

These people were not just combatants. They were also the people who witnessed the various times of the exploration era and reliable sources of first-hand information. They possessed a lot of ancient secrets.

“Aurora can only make bodies for these Hero Spirits and turn them into combatants when she’s Beyond Grade A. Speaking of which, the Underworld dimension is kind of similar to the Indestructible Mechanic Empire… Although the Hero Spirits can’t have bodies now, it shouldn’t be a problem just communicating with them. I wonder how much Hila has repaired the Underworld.”

Han Xiao still remembered that he had an Underworld dimension mission. Once the Underworld was fully recovered, he would receive a (Mark of The Underworld).

“I shall find a moment to ask Hila if what I’m thinking is right…” Hila was now in the secondary dimensions, so it was not easy to contact her. However, she should return in the next Beyond Grade A plenary meeting. Han Xiao planned to ask her then.

It just so happened that the next plenary meeting of the development union was not far away, so he did not have to go to the secondary dimensions to find her.

He suspected that Soul Emperor faked his death and Oathkeeper was Soul Emperor, but he had yet to decide if he was going to test Oathkeeper the next time they met.

Beep beep!

This time, Harrison sent him a message saying Rody had settled in.

“Okay.”

Han Xiao was very content.

My intuition was right. I did indeed get surprised when I returned to Planet Aquamarine this time. I discovered the secret of Destiny’s Child, acquired a semi-transformed sub-body of it, and obtained some key information from Aesop.

However, Aesop’s prophecy made him feel pressure too. Storms were secretly brewing.

The stronger he got, the more secrets he came to know, and the more he could sense the hidden chaos and instability under the peace and prosperity of the explored universe.

Han Xiao pondered.

“I’ve got to think of a way to ask about the Crimson Dynasty’s study of the World Tree Civilization wormhole coordinates…”

After he spent a few days on Floating Dragon as a guest and visited Bennett, Han Xiao and his fleet departed again and headed to the Flickering World.

At the dock, Ames stood. The stream from the thruster of the spaceship made her black dress sway like a cluster of black fog. She had brought along the Floating Dragon officers and watched the Black Star fleet leave, disappearing from sight.

“He left again.”

Ames exhaled slightly and looked down on the data storage device in her hands. This was a gift Han Xiao had given to her before he left. Inside was an Esper Ultimate Knowledge.

She turned around and saw Jenny’s conflicted expression. She was squeezing tightly on a syringe in her hands. That was a gift from Han Xiao too.

“What’s wrong? What did he give you?” Ames was curious.

“…Nothing!”

Jenny forced out a ferocious smile and hid the magical hair growth potion behind her back.

Aesop stroked his beard, smiled, and said, “Black Star gave me a gift too. I’m starting to like him more and more.”

Beside him, eight fist-sized sphere-shaped weapons swiftly flew around.

This was a product personally built by Han Xiao. He named it ‘Explorer-Multifunctional Life Guarding Formation’. It had a full set of functions, including combat, defense, enhancement, life-sustain, stealth, healing, hyperdrive, radiation block, and many more. It was perfect for solo explorers.

With this set of devices, it was equivalent to carrying around a guard team, logistics team, and a galactic carrier. Even an ordinary person would be able to survive for a very long time in Grade B dangerous environments. They would even last quite a while against Calamity Grades with a chance of retreating unharmed. It was expensive to build and very powerful. Just one set was enough to wipe out ordinary surface civilizations, and Han Xiao had given a total of ten sets to Aesop.

Ames blinked and suddenly said, “I heard that you privately asked Black Star to protect me.”

Stunned, Aesop grabbed his beard and said, “Who told you?”

“Who else?” Ames’ brows raised.

“Tsk, this Black Star, doesn’t even know to keep it a secret for me…” Aesop had a slight headache. He nodded with resignation and said, “That did happen, yes. I foresaw that a drastic change is going to happen. My capability is limited. Only Black Star has the ability to…” Before he finished, Ames interrupted him and said with a slightly heavy tone, “I’m a Beyond Grade A. I can protect myself. Next time, discuss it with me first before thinking for me. I don’t like others making decisions on my behalf.”

“Alright, alright, I’ve overstepped.” Aesop raised two hands and expressed that he did not want to argue.

Seeing this, Ames nodded. She then smiled faintly and softly said, “… But still, thanks, I appreciate it.”

She knew that Han Xiao had told her about it because he did not want Aesop’s kind intentions to not get recognized.

Furthermore, Han Xiao was the only one who could mention this. Aesop was never going to tell Ames and ask to be appreciated; he was not that kind of person.

Aesop figured out Han Xiao’s intentions too, and his tiny bit of unhappiness disappeared. He was a little touched and appreciative. His impression of Han Xiao was even better.

The fleet travelled for ten days and finally entered the Flickering World through the military stargates. On this day, the Beyond Grade A Association hosted another plenary meeting. Due to the fact that the Mechanics had been dealing with the Intelligent Plague for quite some time, they had missed quite a number of meetings. This was the first meeting for Han Xiao and the others in a while.

In the development union’s headquarters on Planet Finn, Han Xiao’s remote projection landed outside the conference room in the army commander’s gold-edged black cape, looking respectable. There was still some time till the official start of the meeting, so not everyone had arrived yet. People gathered in small groups outside the conference room and chatted casually.

One of the purposes of the development union was to build a platform that was convenient for Beyond Grade As to communicate with each other. Other than official meetings, their private communications were just as important.

As soon as he appeared, the space outside the venue instantly turned quiet. Everyone looked over with various expressions on their faces. The atmosphere was a little odd.

This time, Milizaus and several dynasty allies approached. “Yo, Black Star, you’ve finally returned,” Milizaus said loudly.

Han Xiao turned and looked over with a smile. He then greeted Beyoni, Silver Shadow, and his other friends one after another.

After a round of greetings, Milizaus praised, “What you did in the Ancient Star Desert really made me see you in a new light. Sadly, I’m not a Mechanic and could not witness it with my own eyes.” “That’s right. To think that we could not participate in such a historic moment, what a shame.” Viru looked regretful. “If I was there, you wouldn’t have fought alone. I’d definitely have fought Manison with you,” Beyoni said. Lotus Swordsman was merciless. She said coldly, “Nonsense, if you were there, you’d be the first one to die. You’re a burden just like Kohler.”

Kohler frowned. Why bring me into it? I didn’t say anything!

“Not a big deal. It’s not worth mentioning, hehehe…” Hearing compliments from everyone, Han Xiao waved humbly.

One consequence of him destroying the virus core was that the allies saw that his position had increased again, and he was more trusted by the three Universal Civilizations, so they all came to give their compliments.

This time, Milizaus looked left and right, lowered his voice, and said, “Everyone thinks you’re now totally opposed to Manison. The president and the vice president having different philosophies will definitely lead to arguments. The atmosphere in the association now is very sensitive.”

“No wonder everyone was looking at me strangely earlier.” Han Xiao smiled and was not surprised.

“Today is the first time you and Manison will attend the meeting together after the two of you confronted each other, so most people are now waiting to see what will happen.” Han Xiao shook his head and said, “Don’t worry, the development union’s purpose to the outside world is to solve conflicts between Beyond Grade As, so Manison will definitely not publicly disobey the rules. Otherwise, the foundation of the association will be damaged, and that’s unacceptable for him. Therefore, he has to set an example. The most he’ll do is cause trouble for me verbally. There’s no way he’ll use the association’s powers to cause problems for me. As for me, I have even less of a need to provoke him…”

After all, I grabbed even Mechanic Emperor’s trump card. I’m not the one who lost anything.

Han Xiao giggled in his mind but did not say the second half of the last sentence.

Milizaus said slowly, “Yes, that’s for the best. Don’t provoke him. Actually, after Manison expressed his goal, there aren’t that many people supporting him in the association anymore.

“What he did this time was too risky. Many people don’t agree with it. Had he succeeded, we would all have been dragged down by him too. Therefore, quite a number of them are unhappy with Manison now. “On the other hand, there are a lot of members supporting you. Most people hope to use the development union to stick together in groups and obtain better safety assurance, as well as more benefits. But to completely oppose the three Universal Civilizations? That’s too unrealistic; not many are willing to take the risk! Therefore, since you stopped Manison and also built a closer relationship with the three Universal Civilizations, many people are appreciative of you and recognize you for what you’ve done, and they stand on your side.” Hearing this, Han Xiao looked around, and in many eyes around the room, he saw friendliness.

“Hmm, as expected,” Han Xiao responded. He had figured all this would happen long ago.

At this time, a raging voice suddenly sounded from beside.

“Black Star, you’re such an *sshole!”

The people looked at the source of the voice, Secret Master was walking over to him with a blaming expression on his face.

“What did I do to you?” Han Xiao was confused.

“Still playing dumb!” Secret Master was furious. “You messed up my black market forces in the Ancient Star Desert during the Star Field lockdown!”

“I was just following orders to prevent the virus from leaking.” Han Xiao blinked.

“Do you think I’d believe you!” Secret Master said with rage.

Only after the three Universal Civilizations stopped the lockdown did he know that his forces in the Ancient Star Desert had become a mess because of Han Xiao. He almost vomited blood.

“You really have misunderstood me,” Han Xiao explained slowly. “The three Universal Civilizations wanted me to control the black market to prevent the virus from leaking. Since it was an abnormal situation, I had to use an abnormal method, so I had no choice but to be aggressive. Furthermore, the Intelligent Plague has already been dealt with, and I’ve moved out of there. It’s the three Universal Civilizations that are trying to continue to control the Ancient Star Desert’s black market. I only took on this sinful job for the sake of the safety of the universe. Even if I didn’t do it, someone else would have, right?”

Secret Master clenched his teeth. “… The thickest thing I’ve ever seen is your skin!” He did not really want to blame Han Xiao. He knew that the three Universal Civilizations would not compromise even one bit in the face of such a large disaster. At this matter’s roots, he could only blame himself for being so unlucky that the location of the virus outbreak happened to be the Ancient Star Desert.

Secret Master also realized that ever since he crossed paths with Black Star, he kept getting unlucky.

I’d better stay away from Black Star so that I won’t get affected if he’s struck by lightning one day!

As they were chattering, another remote projection arrived. It was Manison, who was at the center of the storm.

Buzz!

In an instant, the entire place became silent.

Everyone looked over at Manison and Han Xiao with eyes that had various emotions.

The only similarity these eyes had was that they were all looking forward to a show.

Manison turned around and calmly looked Han Xiao in the eye.

As if the fight between two of them never happened, Manison slowly greeted Han Xiao with a calm expression. “We meet again, Black Star.”

“What a coincidence, Mechanic Emperor. I thought you’d be too ashamed to attend the meeting today.” Han Xiao chuckled.

At this point in time, he felt he looked more like a villain than Manison.

On the side, Milizaus rubbed the dragon horn on his head with confusion.

… Didn’t you agree not to provoke the Mechanic Emperor? Did you completely forget what I literally just said?

Chapter 1133: Confrontation

Chapter 1133 Confrontation

Manison did not get baited. He sized Han Xiao up and nodded. “You’re quite humorous. I’m the development union president. I wouldn’t miss the meeting even if you might.”

Han Xiao stood with his arms crossed and said, “As the president, what you did doesn’t really live up to your position though. Not everyone supported you, yet you made the personal choice of kidnapping their interests and gambling with it.”

The moment he saw Manison, he completely forgot about not provoking him. In fact, all he wanted to do now was provoke him.

Knowing about the side the association was leaning to, he deliberately tried to bring up the dissatisfaction of the people around, which proved to be quite effective. Many people looked at Manison with even unfriendlier eyes. They were all important people, so none of them liked having anyone else make decisions for them.

The two of them had now clearly drawn the line and gone back to being competitors. Damaging Manison’s reputation was not the main goal; satisfying his guilty pleasure was… Wait, it seemed like it was supposed to be the other way round.

The allies of the federation present felt the most awkward. Manison was still the federation’s ally on paper, but they did not want to be on Manison’s side either. Those who supported Manison before were feeling uneasy.

Manison completely ignored how the people around him looked at him and coldly said, “I’ve finally seen through you after this. The purpose of us creating the association was to gain more power and not be controlled by advanced civilizations. You claim to be thinking for the Beyond Grade As, but you’re actually just a dog of the three Universal Civilizations. Everything I do is for the Beyond Grade As in the long run, and it’s impossible not to take risks… Sadly, you want to suck up to the three Universal Civilizations and not lose your reputation among the Beyond Grade As, so you chose to destroy our hope. In my eyes, that’s nothing but a selfish act of an opportunist. I will never have any hope in you anymore.”

“Oh, I didn’t expect the great Mechanic Emperor to have to resort to bullsh*tting. Being old surely has benefits. Even your way of twisting the facts is so skilled.” Han Xiao did not mind at all and said, “Sadly, the audience’s eyes are clear. The things you’re trying to frame me for won’t stick. Everyone has their own opinions about the truth. As the vice president, I have a duty to stop you from forcing everyone to take one path till the end.”

“Hehe… do you really think of yourself as the hero just because you’re wearing the coat of public opinion the three Universal Civilizations have weaved for you?”

“You’ve got a lot of things to say now, but I’m very curious, will you have the face to attend the award ceremony sometime soon that’ll be broadcast to the entire universe?”

“Why not? If not for me, how could the three Universal Civilizations have discovered the virus so soon? How could the special antivirus program have been invented so quickly? Without me, the Intelligent Plague would still be running rampant even now. In terms of contribution, I’m not much inferior to you, but the three Universal Civilizations never said a single word about it. How obvious are their intentions?”

As the conversation got a kick start, the two of them started to argue without holding back.

They started arguing… and the various Beyond Grade As watched with popcorn from the side.

After arguing for a while more, Manison looked around and said coldly, “I didn’t come to argue with you today. The purpose of the association is to solve conflicts between Beyond Grade As. As the president, I have to set an example, so don’t worry, although we have our differences, I won’t do anything to you.”

“You say it in such a nice way. I think you’re so busy dealing with the three Universal Civilizations and simply don’t dare to mess with me anymore,” Han Xiao said with a mocking tone. Manison narrowed his eyes and said, “You seem to think that our tie was real. We both know the truth, but you seem to have misunderstood something. Do you really think you can fight on par with me?”

“That’s the truth, not a misunderstanding.” Han Xiao chuckled and said with a taunting tone, “If you don’t approve of it, I’m available anytime.”

He had gotten quite a lot of good stuff from Manison, including even his core Unique Talent, so he even wanted to fight Manison more.

“The purpose of the development union is to solve physical conflicts between Beyond Grade As. I won’t lower myself to your level.”

Manison turned and walked into the venue with an expressionless face, no longer bothering with Han Xiao.

Seeing this, Han Xiao secretly curled his lips.

Old Man Manison really is patient. If I provoked him like this in the past, he would have undoubtedly come looking for me to have a talk with a forty-mile-long sword in his hands.

However, the Mechanic Emperor should feel frustrated too. He was so certain he could defeat me, but he was forced to stop at a tie by the three Universal Civilizations, and now he has to patiently wait for the opportunity to regain his position. Until then, he will have to watch his reputation get weakened with his own eyes.

I, however, not only acquired his core Unique Talent but also secretly acquired the incomplete blueprint of the virus technology that he dreams of having. I even got a new ability that counters him… but in his mind, my strength is still the same as when we fought.

If I fight him again, I’ll certainly give him a ‘surprise’.

While Han Xiao was smiling in his head, Kasuyi came over and said, “I’ve not seen Manison get forced to do something for a very long time. You’re one of the very few people who can give him a loss.” Han Xiao turned to look at him and said with surprise, “I thought your relationship was quite good with Manison, but you seem quite happy.”

Kasuyi smiled with narrowed eyes. “Hehe, don’t misunderstand, I have known Manison for many years, and we are indeed quite close friends. However, he’s him, and I’m me. To be frank, I don’t agree with what he tried doing either. Even if you didn’t stop him, I would’ve drawn the line with him after the incident.”

Han Xiao nodded. “Without this matter, the Mechanic Emperor and I might still be friends. Sadly, our philosophies are too different. I only hope this did not affect the relationship between us.”

“Don’t worry, your conflict with him won’t affect our relationship. I don’t mind differences in philosophies because I think everyone has something they want… However, although Manison’s method was not the most righteous, he did say one thing right. The three Universal Civilizations are just using you to damage him, and when you’re no longer of value too one day… his present might become your future.”

“I know my lines. You don’t have to worry about that.

While the two of them spoke, a third voice appeared. “Therefore… while we’re still being used by advanced civilizations, we’ll have to quickly get any benefits we can. This comes from my personal experience.” The two of them looked over and saw Sorokin, who had come too. Sorokin added his almost symbolic fake smile to the conversation and greeted the two shareholders.

“Oh, it’s you.” Han Xiao glanced at him. “What other ideas do you have?

“You’re flattering me, Your Excellency Black Star. I’m just an ordinary Beyond Grade A. I’m in no place to take part in such a big topic. I don’t have any good ideas. I’m just giving my suggestion from the perspective of a businessman, hoping to provide Your Excellency Black Star with some ideas to deal with the current situation.” Sorokin’s tone was passionate.

Han Xiao crossed his arms and sized Sorokin up.

“It doesn’t look like you’re just here to have a chat. What do you want?”

“Haha, nothing can escape Your Excellency Black Star’s eyes indeed,” Sorokin said with a bright smile. “I’m hoping to talk about a partnership with you…”

Han Xiao listened to him for a while and finally understood what he meant. He was not even surprised about how shameless Sorokin was.

He had become the consultant of the three Universal Civilizations, so he now had support from all three of them. Sorokin saw a business opportunity, so he wanted to forge a deeper partnership with him, a shareholder. Han Xiao had gotten this shareholder position basically by robbing it, and Sorokin was not happy about it at all initially. However, now that he saw he could profit from it, he instantly put all that behind him without hesitation and came to speak with Han Xiao. The beef between them was not even cleared, yet he could act as nothing happened.

Over the past few months, Han Xiao had been busy dealing with the Intelligent Plague, while Sorokin had been dealing with how displeased the three Universal Civilizations were with him. After paying a hefty price, he was finally able to mitigate the damage.

Not only that, through some flashy moves, Sorokin was able to prove that his stand was the same as that of the three Universal Civilizations, as well as connect with some of the officials of the federation and the church who had real power. He also used his director position in the association to build new profit networks.

Han Xiao suddenly thought of something. “By the way, Manison is also a shareholder of the Limitless Financial Group, so won’t the things he did affect you too? Can the three Universal Civilizations allow him to continue being a shareholder?”

“Well, it did have some impact. However, that doesn’t stop me from continuing my partnership with him, and the scheduled dividends won’t stop for him either.” “The three Universal Civilizations allow that?” “Firstly, my financial group is private and legitimate, so I have the right to freely choose who’s in my financial group. Secondly, hehe…” Sorokin giggled but did not say anything and gave Han Xiao a knowing look.

Then it occurred to Han Xiao. No wonder the three Universal Civilizations did not mind the two of them having a partnership. They were using the Limitless Financial Group as a way of acquiring information about Mechanic Emperor’s forces. This had to be one of the terms Sorokin had to provide to regain the three Universal Civilizations’ support. Of course, he did not want to develop a deeper partnership with Sorokin, so he never gave any direct answers to any of Sorokin’s questions and just dragged on the conversation.

The people chattered for a while, and it was finally time to start the meeting. They swarmed into the venue and sat on their seats.

Han Xiao did not continue insulting Manison. Following the theme of this meeting, the two of them dealt with matters one after another just like the usual plenary meetings.

However, although the two of them were minding their own businesses, the atmosphere was still very strange. After what happened outside the venue earlier, most people were influenced and acting completely normal would be quite difficult. Very soon, the last topic arrived. Manison looked around at everyone and said with a deep voice, “Due to the sudden outbreak of the Intelligent Plague, the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance was postponed for more than half a year. Now that the plague has been dealt with, these two sides are about to start fighting. Our Beyond Grade A Association needs to pick a side.

“As all of you know, the three Universal Civilizations have been holding tight to the Ultimate Knowledges. The terms they gave was to have us deal with the Super Star Cluster Alliance in their place, which I don’t intend to agree to. Therefore, I suggest we hold our original stand and do not take part in the war between advanced civilizations.”

The people nodded. Although they were unhappy with Manison, this decision was agreed upon by most of them previously, so there was not much argument.

As for the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations, they usually did not express their opinion at times like this. After all, there would be no point even if they did.

However, this time, Manison turned to Han Xiao and suddenly asked, “Vice President, what do you think?”

Han Xiao’s eyes flickered, and he started pondering. He noticed what the Mechanic Emperor intended to do.

He was now at the center of public opinion. The reasons behind the three Universal Civilizations’ recent compliments of him might not exclude them wanting him to become the representative of the development union who stood on their side. Not only did they hope he would compete with Manison, but they also hoped that he would speak for them in the association.

However, one of the very purposes of building this association was to help the Beyond Grade As escape from the faction lock the advanced civilizations had set up for them, so they did not have to murder each other as tools. On this matter, Han Xiao realized that no matter which side he picked, he would still be negatively affected.

Supporting the overall agreement of the people present was not a problem on the association’s side, but although the three Universal Civilizations would not be surprised about it, they would feel somewhat disappointed, which would reduce the support he would receive. The other allies could make this choice because they were the ‘crowd’, while he was the ‘representative’ whom the three Universal Civilizations had high hopes for. The impact was different despite the choice being the same.

If he spoke for the three Universal Civilizations and encouraged everyone to deal with the Super Star Cluster Alliance, it would be even worse. He would look like he had completely taken the side of the three Universal Civilizations and become the ‘dog’ that the Mechanic Emperor claimed he was, which would undoubtedly displease everyone. Furthermore, the philosophy he represented would look different. It would turn from peaceful co-existence to sucking up to the three Universal Civilizations, which completely went against the purpose of the association and was exactly the same as the original path everyone was taking.

Han Xiao looked up. Everyone present, including the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations, was focused on him. They clearly knew what impact this decision he made would have, so they waited for him to make a stand.

Manison’s question could not be considered dirty or anything. It was just rightfully using the opportunity.

“Of course, I agree with everyone. That’s why we gathered here in the first place… However, I’m going to deal with one of the Super Star Cluster civilizations. I have some private beef with them,” Han Xiao said calmly. He was very realistic, so he would not pick the wrong side at times like this.

When the three Universal Civilizations were praising and supporting him, Han Xiao had known a moment when he had to prove to the other Beyond Grade As he did not ‘change his heart’ would come.

Hearing his answer, the people were satisfied.

After the business was done, the plenary meeting ended, and the Beyond Grade As went offline one after another.

Han Xiao, however, did not leave immediately. He dragged Hila, who had been only watching, to the said, found a room, and closed the door.

“You’ve returned.” Hila sized Han Xiao up and said, “You seem to have lost weight.”

“I should be the one saying that to you. How’s the Underworld?” Han Xiao smiled.

“It’s getting stable and slowly recovering… By the way, I have something to tell you. It’s about the Underworld too.”

“What a coincidence, I have something I want to ask you about the Underworld too, but you go first.”

Hila nodded.

“Okay, have you heard about the Sanctum?”

Han Xiao’s face was filled with shock. He subconsciously pressed his hand on his chest where his heart was.

At that moment, he finally understood how Oathkeeper felt.

Chapter 1134: That Must Be a Fake Black Star

Chapter 1134 That Must Be a Fake Black Star

“Where did you hear about the Sanctum?” Han Xiao asked with a shocked tone. “The Underworld told me…” Hila briefly repeated what Onicelu had said. Seeing Han Xiao’s reaction, she said, “Humph, so you knew about the Sanctum long ago but didn’t tell me.”

“Ahem, that’s because I didn’t know everything about it either, and I’m still privately investigating.” Han Xiao coughed and quickly worked his brain.

Hila’s message gave him a surprise. He initially only wanted to ask the Underworld Hero Spirits about Soul Emperor, but he was also able to acquire new information about the Sanctum.

According to Hila, someone once invited the two sisters to participate in an operation targeted at the Sanctum. This meant that some Primordial Ones possessed more information about the Sanctum, only that those two sisters did not go in the end. After that, for some unknown reason, the information about the Sanctums seemed to be cut off. Fewer and fewer people knew about it.

Furthermore, Han Xiao also acquired an important piece of intelligence from Hila-one of the Sanctums’ functions was reviving the dead. This was the first function of the Sanctums he had discovered, and it finally opened the mysterious curtain for a bit.

The Holy Accord organization, revived Primordial Ones, the Sanctums…

Han Xiao finally felt like all these things were connected.

No wonder Oathkeeper was acting that way…

Previously, he did not connect the two of them because he did not know the exact use of the Sanctums. Now, he finally had a clearer image of the Holy Accord organization.

One of the rewards of My Primal Esper Ability Collector Milestone Mission was the Third Sanctum Ability Fragment, which means these two are connected in some way. Then the true goal of the Holy Accord organization in collecting Primal Esper Abilities should be to open the Sanctum and revive people from the past… Seeing that Han Xiao looked like he was deep in thought, Hila frowned and asked, “Was this information useful to you?”

“Useful, very useful.” Han Xiao regained focus and said, “Actually, I’ve been secretly collecting information about the Sanctums, and you’ve helped me a lot this time. Great job.” “As long as it’s helpful for you.” Hila stopped frowning and nodded. She then asked, “Then what were you going to tell me earlier?” “Haha, I happen to want to ask the Underworld Hero Spirits some questions, and now I have one more question to ask.” “Do you need me to awaken the Hero Spirits right now?”

“That’ll affect your growth, won’t it?”

“As long as you need me to, I don’t mind it.” Hila did not hesitate at all.

“You don’t have to do that. The Underworld is inherited by you after all. Don’t only think of me.” Han Xiao shook his head, sighed, and said, “Let’s not rush. We’ll talk about it when the Underworld recovers.”

“Alright, just tell me when you need it. I’ll help you anytime,” Hila said softly.

“We’ll talk about it then.” Han Xiao nodded, changed the topic, and smiled. “By the way, I brought you a present this time. You should like it.”

Hila’s eyes sparkled. “What is it?”

“I’ve made an agreement with the three Universal Civilizations, and I can now acquire three Esper Ultimate Knowledges for you. I brought one for you this time. I’ll let Phillip send it to you later.”

“Okay.” Hila smiled faintly. She was very satisfied with this present, even more glad that Han Xiao still remembered about her even when he was out on business.

Han Xiao only logged off after chatting for quite a while more.

His sight returned to his body, which was in the main ship’s command room.

The fleet was advancing in the Dawn Star Cluster of the Flickering World. They would reach the edge of the Garu Star Cluster in a few days and return to the army’s territory.

Standing beside the enormous floor-to-ceiling porthole, Han Xiao looked at the stars passing by outside and thought back to the meeting earlier.

Manison’s risky actions caused him to lose support in the association, and his connections were damaged. Without any accidents, during the next election in fifty year’s time, it’s going to be very tough for him to have two consecutive terms.

However, that old man Manison isn’t one to wait for doom to arrive. He’s now busy dealing with the three Universal Civilizations’ pressure, but he won’t stay passive like that. He’ll certainly come up with other plans to improve the situation he’s in. Given his philosophy, it’s impossible for him to admit he was wrong and go back to the arms of the federation. That would only cause even more problems. The situation can no longer go back to what it was before for him.

He might regain his position as an independent faction like he did in my previous life, but this time, the duration of that will not just last throughout the Calamity of the Supers versions. He will become completely alone. Even if the alliance he had with the federation was not dismantled on paper, the three Universal Civilizations would not give him any more important responsibilities.

Manison’s actions caused him to no longer have a Universal Civilization backing him up. However, he could back himself up, so he had the confidence to do this.

If not because Han Xiao had told the three Universal Civilizations about the virus core to reduce the damage caused by the disaster, Manison would not have taken the risk and would still be a comfortable ally of the federation.

Thinking of that, Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus].

The impact of their battle was clearly visible. As the Machinery Faith believers on Planet Magnetic Cloud spread this news as much as they could, the news of him fighting Manison that ended up in a tie was spread in the Machinery Faith very quickly. This had shaken a small part of people’s faith in Manison, and Han Xiao attracted a new group of believers.

After the recent events, the bonus of (Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] had increased by quite a lot. The range of bonuses provided by this talent was comprehensive, basically covering all bases of mechanical abilities. Currently, his Machinery Affinity was about 600%, and he also received hundreds of Attribute Points other than in Luck. Furthermore, his ability in the armed, virtual, and many other classifications also improved depending on the believers’ preferences. Other than that, his efficiency in building, repairing, and enhancing machines was also improved by a lot. He could also use various machines more efficiently.

The bonuses of the talent were so comprehensive, and the bonuses were still increasing as his believers increased. Han Xiao did not know if there was even an end to it. “The bonuses I’m receiving aren’t the most important part…” Han Xiao chuckled.

His [Key of Adeptus Mechanicus) receiving more bonuses meant he had taken away the Mechanic Emperor’s believers, so the Mechanic Emperor’s bonuses from this talent decreased.

The more I get, the less Manison has.

As this carried on, Manison’s advantage over everyone else would decrease.

I might not have earned the most, but Manison definitely lost the most.

After travelling for several days, Han Xiao and the fleet finally arrived at the entrance of the army’s territory, Planet Black Gate. He planned to rest there for half a day and then head to the venue of the Black Star Cup. While he was not around, the construction in the army territory had carried on steadily. The Black Star Cup was going smoothly. The members who were eliminated went back to their posts, and the eliminated players returned to the fourth stage free competition zone in the Flickering World to continue to occupy strongholds… Everything was going well.

Currently, most of the matches of the Black Star Cup had already ended. Only the last two most popular matches were left. They were the duel finals of the Calamity Grade group and the square group finals of the players group. The two contestants of the former were both elite Black Star Guards. One was the old bootlicker Hadavy, and other was the newbie bootlicker Jotina. Both were Beyond Grade A seeds, and they stood out from the various Calamity Grades of the army.

Not considering Han Xiao and Hila, these two were recognized as among the strongest in the army.

Originally, both Lagi and Lothaire would also be qualified enough to fight for the top place among Calamity Grades, but Lagi, being Lagi, had already given up in the qualifiers.

As for Lothaire, it was not suitable for him to appear in front of the public due to his job, so he did not participate in the Black Star Cup.

As for other Calamity Grades, none were a match for Hadavy and Jotina. Even Feidin and Nero could not make up for the difference in direct strength with their Advanced Luck Glow.

As for the square groups contestants on the players’ side, they were Frenzied Sword’s Team Rivervale, King Admiral’s Team Dynasty, Rainy Kim’s Team Thunder Storm, and a group of very highly skilled players’ Gold Team.

Only one of the Chinese clubs entered the finals of the Pro League, but this was different because the rules of the Black Star Cup were less strict, more random, and more dramatic compared to the official league. Usually, the big clubs would always face attacks from the other three sides at the same time in square scrimmages. Hence, Long Sky, Temple of God, and Fried Eggplants with Fish all got eliminated by their passionate fans.

The fleet docked at Planet Black Gate.

As soon as Han Xiao walked down from the spaceship, he saw Sylvia welcoming him on the dock. A security perimeter was set up. The crowd watched from behind it with curiosity, including some army warriors and players. Not only that, they even held up a set of banners. The left one said “Holding loyalty with iron shoulders”, the right said “Carrying lives with a merciful heart”, and the middle said “Welcome home, hero of the universe”!

“What the hell…” Han Xiao’s eyes opened wide with shock. He turned around, walked back to the cabin, closed the hatch, and opened it again, making sure he was not seeing things.

Did I open the hatch wrong?

While he was being stunned, Sylvia approached him, saluted with the officers, and yelled as if they were afraid the others could not hear them, “Welcome back, Army Commander!”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He did not even have to ask to know that this was definitely Sylvia’s idea.

Never mind when others praised him, but his own subordinates doing it was too embarrassing, not to mention the fact that this was a public area.

Han Xiao dragged Sylvia aside and whispered with a speechless expression, “What’s with the welcome?”

“This welcome ceremony is necessary so that the entire army knows you’ve returned victorious. It’s beneficial for enhancing the members’ sense of recognition,” Sylvia said with a serious tone, but her barely-suppressed grin sold her heart out.

Speechless, Han Xiao quickly dragged Sylvia toward the dock exit and changed the topic.

“The Black Star Cup is coming to an end. How are the preparations for the closing ceremony?”

As this was a business matter, Sylvia wiped the smile off her face and said, “It’s all been settled. When the time comes, you’ll have to make a speech and compliment the winners of every contest.”

“There are so many items. How many people is that going to be?”

Sylvia rolled her eyes. “You asked for this, hero.”

“Alright, I’ll be there,” Han Xiao said with resignation.

“Also, I suggest that you watch the last two matches live at the venue. Since you’ve returned, it’s best for you to show up at the finals to show how much you care about the competition.”

“Well, I’m in no hurry. Might as well.”

The group hastily left the dock. In the crowd, a group of players were looking at Han Xiao with extended necks. Many people around them recognized that these people were the Gold Team, which had entered the finals of the square scrimmage. They were all highly skilled players, and their excellent performance during the Black Star Cup attracted quite a lot of fans.

After watching Han Xiao leave, the members of Gold Team all turned to look at their Mechanic teammate, who stood in the middle.

“We actually really got to meet Black Star by waiting here.” “How was it? Were you able to create the Character Summon Card?” “What ability did you get?”

Their goal of gathering there was to get their Mechanic teammate, who had a Blank Character Summon Card, to copy Black Star’s ability. It would be a trump card for the finals.

As Beyond Grade As were very difficult to find, they were initially planning to just copy from a Calamity Grade. However, the army commander coincidentally returned, and no one was a better target for the Blank Character Summon Card than Black Star.

“Don’t be so impatient. It’s still randomizing.”

This Mechanic teammate displayed his interface and looked at it nervously with everyone else. After about two to three seconds, a notification finally popped up on the interface. The group hastily looked at it.

You have received (Character Summon CardBlack Star).

Ability: (Billion Mechanic Empire-Manison]

Uses: 0/1

Everyone was at a loss.

What’s going on?

Wasn’t the target Black Star? Why is the ability from the Mechanic Emperor?

At this point, the few of them suddenly trembled. They exchanged looks and saw horror in each other’s eyes. They felt they had just discovered a gigantic secret.

There was only one explanation for this situation!

The army commander had been swapped!

That Black Star must be fake!

Chapter 1135: People, It Is Our Turn to Save the Army!

Chapter 1135 People, It Is Our Turn to Save the Army!

An hour later…

Inside a dark room, the tiny dark green candle was the only source of light. The flame swayed and flickered, illuminating the faces around the table, leaving shadows on the wall. It looked quite scary and creepy.

Above the candlelight, an interface that was displayed to the people around was floating, showing the introduction of the Black Star Character Summon Card. Gold Team’s captain was ‘Fly Free’, a top non-professional player who started playing all the way back in Version 1.0. He looked worried and troubled as he said in a low voice, “I didn’t expect to discover such a big secret. Guys, what should we do now?” “What else? Publicize it!”

“But this is the trump card we’re going to use in the finals. If we make it public, won’t we have exposed ourselves?” “Oi, priorities! Compared to the safety of the entire army, the competition is no longer that important!”

As they were arguing, a female player gently raised her hand and said, “I have a question. Why don’t we turn on the lights, instead of this one candle?”

“This kind of dark and mysterious environment is needed for something this important. That’s how they play it in the movies.”

Another team member scratched his head and asked, “I understand that and all, but why only light one candle?”

“We might be the only ones who’ve discovered the truth. The atmosphere has to be serious, understand?”

Another teammate gave a long “oh” and then said, “I see, but why only light one candle?”

“Enough!” Fly Free could not take it anymore. He stood up and stopped the replay. Then he went to turn on the light and pulled the rest back on track.

After acquiring the Black Star Character Summon Card, the fragile hearts of all the Gold Team members were shaken. They quickly returned to the stronghold to discuss what they should do.

On dealing with the issue, the opinions of the team were split in two. One side felt they should keep the secret till after the finals; another side felt that the matter was too important, and they should immediately publicize it on the forums to warn the army players that their faction boss might have been swapped.

Although they had worked hard to finally enter the Black Star Cup finals, after discovering this secret, the competition did not seem that interesting anymore. Their attention was completely absorbed by the mystery of the army commander. The Character Summon Card had a ‘Black Star’ prefix, but they had no way of knowing if this was also part of the target’s disguise. After all, the prefix of Character Summon Cards usually only displayed the target’s current identity. It did not have the natural ability to see through disguises.

For example, if they used a Blank Character Summon Card on Sorokin or Oathkeeper, it would only be displayed as ‘Sorokin Character Summon Card’ or ‘Oathkeeper Character Summon Card’, not their true identity.

Therefore, this ‘Manison’ suffix was clearly more convincing!

Boom!

Fly Free slammed the table heavily and said with a firm tone, “I think we should immediately publicize this information. We would never have a chance of getting into the finals of any official league, but the Black Star Cup gave us this opportunity. Even if we lose in the finals, we’re still top four, and we’ll still have gained a lot of fame. Without the Black Star Cup, all this would not have happened. We cannot forget where we came from. The reward of the competition is nothing compared to the safety of the entire army!

“Plus, throughout the versions, just how many benefits has the army commander brought us? How many of us love this character? He might be in danger now. How can we ignore that! The chance of saving the army lies in our hands!”

The players present were mostly senior Chinese players who had strong feelings for the army. They had come to see it as their home faction long ago.

For example, in order to protect the army and Black Star, Fly Free was even willing to give up their advantage in the final just to tip everyone off. He knew that just a few of them were far from enough to make a difference, so he wanted to unite the army players’ power, have them come together to find a way, and expose the Mechanic Emperor’s ‘conspiracy’!

Hearing this, the people present were reminded of the past and suddenly felt a burning flame of faith in their hearts.

Fly Free reached out his hand. The others understood this gesture. They all reached out their hands and stacked them together. They looked each other in the eyes and saw the strong sense of responsibility in everyone’s gaze.

“Now, it’s our turn to save the army commander!”

Fly Free immediately opened to forums to start writing a post. Without hesitation, he gave it this title…

‘Revelation of the Century! The Unspeakable Secret Between Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor!’

The fleet rested for half a day on Planet Black Gate. Then, it very soon started to head toward the venue of the Black Star Cup finals. Inside the cabin, Han Xiao chatted with Sylvia about business for more than half a day, and only then did Sylvia leave.

Alone in the room, Han Xiao comfortably sat in his chair, casually opened up the forums, and started his daily idiotic players observation time.

“Let me look at the happy meal today…”

Han Xiao hummed in a great mood as he entered the forums, but he was instantly stunned.

With a glance, the titles were all along the lines of ‘Extremely Urgent, Please Share! The Army Commander’s Identity Has Become A Mystery!’, ‘Mechanic Emperor’s Horrifying Conspiracy!’, ‘Danger! The Black Star Army’s Owner Might Have Changed!’, and ‘Please Save the Army Commander!’. The entire Flickering World panel was filled with posts similar to those.

What in the world is this?

It’s not even been a day since I last looked at the forums. What happened?

Confused, Han Xiao opened the most viewed post. The original poster was surprisingly an ID he knew, the captain of Gold Team, Fly Free. The post started directly with a high-resolution screenshot, the introduction of the Black Star Character Summon Card. As soon as Han Xiao saw the (Billion Mechanic Empire-Manison) ability, he had a rough idea of what was going on, and his lips started twitching uncontrollably.

You can’t be serious. I have thousands and thousands of abilities, and he somehow copied this ability to the Blank Character Summon Card? How lucky can these people be? Speaking of which, I’ve only just returned. When did they use the Blank Character Summon Card on me? Was it at the docks?

He continued reading. As he expected, Fly Free explained what happened.

“Comrades of the army, I’m Gold Team’s Fly Free. About an hour ago, we discovered a shocking secret! “Not long ago, when the army commander returned to his territory, our team was in the crowd, and we planned to use one Blank Character Summon Card to copy Black Star’s ability. Initially, we planned on using it as the trump card in the upcoming Black Star Cup final. However, as everyone can see from the screenshot, never could we have expected to get the Mechanic Emperor’s ability from Black Star! This completely appalled all of us!

“We could not understand the situation. After some discussion, we came to a shocking conclusion. The army commander now might be the Mechanic Emperor in disguise! His goal is to replace Black Star and take over our army!

“In the end, we decided to immediately publicize this crucial information. We need everyone to unite, find the truth, and destroy this conspiracy! Comrades, the future of the army is in our hands!”

Han Xiao looked like he was constipated.

I mean, this deduction isn’t complete nonsense, but why do I still feel like these people are mentally challenged?

He looked at the responses below, which had already exploded. Countless people expressed their doubts.

“Is this real? Is this screenshot photoshopped?”

“It has to be. Youngsters are trying to come up with big news every day.”

“Are you guys trying to make the news and attract some attention while it lasts because you know that you have no chance at winning?” “Bullsh*t.”

“It’s over. Someone is going to have to change his name into Mechanic Emperor’s Big PP.”

Facing the doubts, Fly Free responded to these comments.

“I know everyone definitely has doubts. On the day of the final, we’ll use this Character Summon Card and display it, so everyone will believe that we need to save the army!”

Save your ass! Han Xiao ground his teeth and returned to the panel, quickly browsing through the related posts. He realized that other than those who doubted it, there were also quite a number who made posts to seriously analyze the possibility of it being true.

[Reinhard: Perhaps it’s true. The Mechanic Emperor totally has motive. Didn’t the two of them fight with each other some time ago in the Ancient Star Desert? Could it be that the Mechanic Emperor attacked the army commander after that?]

[Pikachu: If this one is fake, then where’s the real army commander? Did he die?]

[Wolf Flame: That shouldn’t be possible. After all, just think about how tanky the army commander is. I think that Mechanic Emperor might have just exiled him, and he can’t come back anytime soon, which is why Mechanic Emperor dares disguise himself as Black Star!)

(Hippo: Are you guys all going with the story that the army commander has been swapped by default? Why can’t Black Star have learned the Mechanic Emperor’s ability somehow?]

[Smelly Feet Slayer: That’s too unlikely. This is the first time in so many years that the Blank Character Summon Card has gotten an ability from Black Star with a suffix.]

[Zero Square Foot of Zero: Could it be that they’ve made some kind of deal to teach each other their abilities?)

[My Dog’s Name Is Lagi: Hmm, so… if we use Blank Character Summon Cards on Mechanic Emperor now, we might get ‘Indestructible Body-Black Star’?]

You really are a genius… Han Xiao’s teeth were almost starting to hurt from all the grinding.

(Ice Tornado: Wait, there are other possibilities too! Could it be that Black Star was taught by the Mechanic Emperor from the beginning?)

(Blueberry: Holy sh*t! That does sound possible. If Black Star has been Mechanic Emperor’s secret disciple since long ago, that’ll explain his extremely quick rise!)

(Shadow Song of Execution: If that’s true, their conflict some time ago might just be a show. They appear to be on opposite sides, but they’re actually on the same side! What a plot twist… I figured it out! The Mechanic Emperor is planning something huge, and he’s playing a gigantic match of chess!)

Figured your ass out!

Veins popped up on Han Xiao’s forehead.

(Blood Rose: No, my curiosity can’t be suppressed any longer. What happened between Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor?]

(Paradise Disco: Just a tiny question, will I get killed if I ask the army commander directly? Although I’m not afraid of that…]

(Bun-Hit-Dog: Ah, my eyes see through all. A storm is brewing. This secret might lead to a new enormous main storyline… I have a feeling that the theme of the next version is going to be the Black Star Army’s split! I’m going to have plenty of material again!]

What split! You’re the one that’s going to split!

Han Xiao had a feeling that if he caught these players and shook them hard enough, he would most certainly hear the sound of liquid flowing in their empty heads.

Then, he suddenly saw a new post. The title was ‘Army Rescue Operation-Recruitment Post’.

He clicked in and saw that it was a post from Free Sh*t again.

“Brother and sisters, the Black Star Army has accompanied us over four versions. This is our faction, and we can’t allow others to rob what we’ve worked so hard for!

“However, sadly, the army’s officers will not believe what we say. Only us players can see the evidence.

“Because of that, I’ve decided to start a righteous mutiny. When the closing ceremony of the Black Star Cup is broadcast live to the entire universe, I’m going to step out and expose the Mechanic Emperor’s real identity to everyone! “Therefore, I need all of your power! “Although we’re far from being able to match Beyond Grade As, we can use our lives to show the entire universe the Mechanic Emperor’s conspiracy! “All heroes who are willing to participate in the operation, leave your name under this post and contact us. “Comrades, unsheathe your swords. We’re the only ones who can save the army now!

“Even in death, I’m still a member of the Black Star Army!

“Mechanic Emperor Manison, show us your HP bar!”

Han Xiao was completely astounded.

He looked down, and the comments of this post were growing by the hundreds each second. Countless people were thrilled and signed up for it.

What the hell? Are they planning to backstab me?

Should I feel a headache now, or should I feel touched?

This proves that what I’ve done in the past four versions has been very effective. I’ve already built a strong emotional bond with the Chinese players. The fact that these players are willing to go this far for me, it’s really touching.. Touching my ass!

What kind of turn of events is this?

He looked at the post again for two more times and clenched his teeth.

“Frankly, this post did indeed make me quite heated… Damn it, smaller brains do indeed occupy less space in the brain to give room for more stupidity!”

Chapter 1136: This Is Love

Chapter 1136 This Is Love

Han Xiao could not help but rub his temples. Players were the incarnation of anarchy. Even though they were already members of his own faction, they could still not be fully controlled. Although their intentions were good, what they did would always end up causing all kinds of strange things to happen.

The atmosphere of the entire forums got carried away by this topic.

After being frustrated for a while, Han Xiao suddenly laughed.

“These guys really can’t seem to stop causing problems… but this might not be a bad thing.”

He pondered for a while and suddenly realized that he did not have to stop the players.

Not to mention that the players were communicating on the forums and there was no way he could use that as evidence to catch them, this was not a bad thing for building a sense of belonging for the army.

If not because the senior players loved and cared about him, they would not try to ‘save’ him.

He did not have to operate a universal armed force like a tinker, fixing any problems that appeared. Instead, letting the players cause some trouble during the closing ceremony would even bring the Black Star Cup more attention, and he did not even have to plan anything.

The players were led by Fly Free, who wanted to backstab him in the name of justice, but this was completely harmless in Han Xiao’s eyes. He was happy to put on a show with them.

The Black Star Army’s public image in the universe was basically an ally of justice recognized by everyone. The people were extremely forgiving toward the army, so even if something like this happened during the Black Star Cup closing ceremony, it would not affect the army’s reputation. Instead, it would feel interesting to most people. The Black Star Army basically had the public opinion armor. Actually, Han Xiao figured out easily that he did not have to explain any rumors spreading among the players to anyone, they were non-issues to him.

I’m the faction leader, a top warlord in the universe, and I didn’t really get swapped. If I even have to explain myself in the face of such a weird accusation, it will be a joke.

The evidence of the players’ doubts was the Character Summon Card, which actually seemed to make sense from their perspective. However, as long as they could see the big picture, this kind of suspicion would not be able to stand its ground at all. If the Mechanic Emperor really disguised himself as him, there would be way too many flaws in that theory that could not be explained. For example, why did none of the other Beyond Grade As sense it? Why did the three Universal Civilizations not notice it? How could the army’s artificial intelligence, Phillip, not respond to it at all? And if he was the Mechanic Emperor, how could the Mechanic Emperor use his secondary dimension army box?

No one in the entire universe could disguise himself as another peak Beyond Grade A perfectly. Even a shapeshifter like ‘Illusory Deity’ Kant could not.

The players did not understand what seemed like common sense to anyone who could see the big picture, so maybe their accusation would be an interesting topic for galactic residents to discuss over meals. Only completely clueless people would believe it. Their evidence that was on the interface was something that did not exist to ordinary people. Han Xiao knew very well that the main reason the players believed this theory was that it was still fresh. Once the blind passion faded and they saw that everything was continuing as usual, this kind of ridiculous rumor would collapse on itself.

All important people would be involved in strange and wild rumors. There was no need to explain himself, so he decided to give the players some room for imagination.

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

To the players who only cared about the benefits of the faction, it did not matter who owned the faction. Therefore, being willing to expose the Mechanic Emperor’s ‘conspiracy’ while bearing the risk of being punished by the faction was basically a sacrificial act.

Then does it mean that the more people who take part in this mission, the more united the army is?

Furthermore, since the players used this reason to cause trouble, the Mechanic Emperor will be the one getting the negative image here!

Having thought of that, Han Xiao smiled and summoned Phillip.

“Phillip, watch the Immortals of the army closely for some time. Report any and all situations to me.”

“Okay, hum!”

“By the way, invite the Beyond Grade As to come and watch the ceremony in my name while you’re at it. Send one to the Mechanic Emperor too.”

“Hum… Will the Mechanic Emperor come?” Phillip tilted his little head with confusion.

“How would I know? Just send it to him. It’s best if he comes. I’ll have a chance to provoke him again.” Han Xiao giggled. “Alright then, hum…”

Seeing Han Xiao’s evil smile, Phillip obeyed him without asking anything.

“Black Star invited me to attend an event?”

At a secret base somewhere in Primeval Star River, Manison, who was trying to simulate the Virtual Mutiny Virus, stopped and looked at his artificial intelligence with confusion.

“Yes, he’s invited you to attend the Black Star Cup closing ceremony.”

What’s wrong with this guy?

What makes Black Star think I will give him face after what happened?

Manison could not understand it at all.

Is he trying to fix our relationship?

Or make me lose face in public?

“I’m not going. Reject it,” Manison replied and continued to reverse engineer the technology. “Okay, message sent.” Manison replied with a soft grunt and then stopped what he was doing for a moment. “By the way, remind me to watch the stream on the day of the Black Star Cup closing ceremony.”

Although he did not plan to give Han Xiao face, he still wanted to find out what Black Star was attempting to do. There was definitely a reason he had received an invitation.

While the discussion about whether Han Xiao was ‘real or fake’ raged on the forums, the last two finals of the Black Star Cup started as scheduled.

Countless audience platforms floated above the venue planet, covering the sky. They were all fully occupied by army members and spectators who had bought live tickets.

The audience platform specially made by the army was in the form of an oval shaped cabin. All the walls were transparent, so the spectators inside could see the outside from any angle. The walls also had the function to zoom in.

These audience platforms were also protected by transparent energy shields that could block all kinds of impacts and radiation so that there would not be any spectators lucky enough to get hurt. They could also fly at Mach speed twenty-four to ensure the spectators would be able to keep up with the Calamity Grade battles. With the advanced technology the platforms had, the spectators inside would also not feel any turbulence even when flying at such a high speed and always feel as if they were on the ground.

Today, Han Xiao personally came to watch the competition at the venue. He arrived at the extremely crowded venue and hovered in front of the various audience platforms.

As soon as he showed up, he felt like electricity was running through his skin, as if he was being stared at by countless people from behind.

Han Xiao was not surprised. He knew this was the countless players in the audience seats using ‘Detect’ on him. In the eyes of the players, Han Xiao’s detailed attributes were still all question marks, but the players’ goal was to see the color of Han Xiao’s name. The result of that was still green, which showed that Han Xiao was on their side, and they started chattering. “Let’s begin.” Han Xiao was not concerned about the players’ discussion. He turned and signaled the host to start the finals. The host coughed and said with a loud voice, “Greetings, everyone. Today is the last day of the official Black Star Cup competitions. There will be a total of two finals, the duel finals of the Calamity Grade group and the Square Scrimmage final of the Immortals group. Without further ado, the first match today will be the fight between two Calamity Grades. Contestants, please enter the venue…”

As soon as he said that, Hadavy and Jotina appeared. After a brief introduction, the two of them went to their own positions and waited for the match to start. Their battlefield was the surface of the entire planet. As time passed, the atmosphere became more and more tense. The moment the host announced the start of the match, two silhouettes left afterimages in their place and clashed.

Boom!

A shockwave expanded. The two of them instantly started attacking each other. Their movements were extremely quick as they moved across the planet’s surface. Everywhere they passed, they would leave cracks and deep claw marks hundreds of meters long on the ground.

TIL

Boom!

Violent Pugilist flames continuously landed on Hadavy, shattering all the hills and forests around like a dragon crawling on the land. Disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis erupted. Hadavy was a hardening-type Esper, while Jotina was a Pugilist. Both of them were good at melee combat. The battle between them was violent and savage, basically just the clashing of muscles and muscles, like two beasts fighting each other. To be more precise, Jotina was attacking, and Hadavy was enduring the attacks. The battle would only end when the one enduring the attacks could not take it anymore or when the one attacking got exhausted.

The impact of a Calamity Grade battle was exciting and beautiful for most of the spectators, but in Han Xiao’s eyes, the movements of the two of them were like a slow-motion video. He could easily count how many times Hadavy’s skin rippled after he got punched.

With Han Xiao’s current level, battles of Calamity Grades had absolutely no suspense. Hence, he decided to look at the forums while occasionally glancing back.

Under the eyes of countless people, the result was finally decided after the two of them fought for a very long time. The surface of the planet looked like it had been hit by a meteor shower. It was tragic. In the end, Hadavy was victorious. Although he was covered in bruises and wounds, Jotina had collapsed from exhaustion first.

After decades of combat training, or rather, getting beat up, Hadavy’s defense was now extremely high. In combination with his two Molding Talents, True Damage Immunity and Low Strength Attack Immunity, there was not a single person tankier than him in the Black Star Army other than Han Xiao

“Haha, I’m the pillar of the army who His Excellency Black Star personally trained for decades. You’re still too young.”

Hadavy was very proud as he wagged his finger at Jotina, who was on the ground.

If not for his bruised face, this would have been quite convincing…

“Damn it!”

Jotina was not satisfied with the loss at all. She slammed the ground and created a crack dozens of meters wide.

She could not win the championship, which meant that Black Star would not notice her strength. Black Star not noticing her strength meant she would have less time to communicate with Black Star during the award ceremony. Less time to communicate with Black Star during the award ceremony meant it would be more difficult for her to build feelings. More difficulty building feelings meant the chances of her carrying out reproductive activities with Black Star would be lowered. As a new member of the army whose goal was to sleep with Black Star, she was extremely unhappy.

Han Xiao watched as the two of them were sent to have their injuries taken care of. He touched his chin and started pondering.

In my previous life, Hadavy did not reach the Beyond Grade A realm, and Jotina even died at the hands of Beast Ancestor, but now they’re both under my command. I’ve trained Hadavy for decades. His chance of reaching Beyond Grade A, well, isn’t zero. It’s just that his ability is too monotonous. Even if he does become a Beyond Grade A, he’ll probably be at the lowest level like Kohler and Beyoni…

As for Jotina, other than her wild and open personality, Han Xiao quite liked her.

In terms of just potential, the chance of Jotina becoming a Beyond Grade A was probably even higher than Hadavy. However, it would be basically impossible for her to reach Beast Ancestor’s level. Han Xiao felt that the limit of Jotina’s growth was probably somewhere around the level of ‘Star Slasher’ Viru, or ‘Tyrant’ Heber…

Not very strong but not among the weakest. As Han Xiao was reminded of Heber, he started thinking of him. Ever since Heber was defeated by him, he had been keeping a much lower profile and quietly growing in the Shattered Star Ring. Speaking of low profile, Han Xiao was reminded of Psyker again. He felt that this guy’s presence had gotten even lower in the universe. He might want to visit the Star Pupil Civilization some time. After all, he was now the Special Consultant of the three Universal Civilizations, so visiting Psyker would be totally within his duty.

While his thoughts ran wild, Black Star Cup’s logistics department entered the venue and started using tons of industrial devices to operate on this almost destroyed planet.

After a new venue was built, the host announced the start of the last final. Rivervale, Dynasty, Thunder Storm, and Gold’s teams entered one after another, greeting the spectators.

However, all the players’ eyes were focused on Gold, even including the other three teams. Clearly, they were waiting for their proof.

“Captain, should I use the Character Summon Card now?”

Fly Free looked around the entire place and firmly said, “Use it! This is the perfect time to prove we were not lying.”

The Mechanic player took a deep breath, opened the interface, and activated the Black Star Character Summon Card. Then, he enlarged his status bar and made it public.

Of course, as the interface was displayed, ordinary people would not be able to see it. Only the players could see the name of the effect given by this Character Summon Card.

Black Star Character Summon Card—[Billion Mechanic Empire-Manison)!

“It’s true!”

The players became excited. Some even stood up and made the other spectators confused.

Han Xiao floated in midair with his arms crossed and listened to the discussions of the players from the feedback of the cameras inside the audience platforms. He smirked.

After a while, many players calmed down and looked up at Han Xiao’s back view. All kinds of emotions appeared in their eyes. Originally, since this was the last final, it should have been the center of attention. However, many players were in a state of shock and confusion and could not focus on the match. The NPC spectators were as excited as usual, cheering for the four teams, completely ignorant of the emotional rollercoaster the Immortals were going through Han Xiao did not focus much on the match either and was looking at the players’ comments on the forums. The match ended very quickly. Dynasty was the winner, and Gold Team was the first to get eliminated.

Gold Team had exposed their trump card in advance, so as expected, they got focus fired. Furthermore, (Billion Mechanic Empire) was not very powerful in the hands of the players
yet.

The players did not have those high-level Mechanic abilities and could not benefit from the specific bonuses. Furthermore, the duration was only a short hour, so the most powerful production and invention abilities of this ability were completely useless. The only things the player could benefit from were bonuses to their Intellect, Machinery Affinity, and Mechanic ability levels. These were just the basic bonuses. Though strong, it was not so powerful it would immediately turn the tide. This ability was totally wasted in the hands of the players. Only peak Beyond Grade A Mechanics would be able to fully utilize the power of (Billion Mechanic Empire).

“… All the events of the Black Star Cup have now ended. Thank you for watching, and thank you, army commander, for attending the matches today. In three days, we’re going to host the closing ceremony of the Black Star Cup. The army commander will be personally congratulating all those who’ve achieved great results in the Black Star Cup. Ladies and gentlemen, see you then!”

The host then left the venue and ended the broadcast.

The spectators also left the venue, including the players. They kept looking back at Han Xiao while leaving.

Han Xiao smiled and watched them leave. He saw the players’ reactions clearly. He uncontrollably raised his brows and felt anticipation for some reason.

I would like to find out how important I am to the players and how many are willing to sacrifice themselves for me.

Chapter 1137: Die! Mechanic Emperor!

Chapter 1137 Die! Mechanic Emperor!

It was as if a tide of sacrificial spirit was sweeping across the Black Star Army players.

As the Character Summon Card was proved to be real, the forums temporarily became the intelligence center of Operation Saving Black Star. Many army players gathered in groups and expanded their teams here, making posts under Fly Free’s Operation Command Center.

Many senior players who had played since Version 1.0 had a sense of responsibility and faith; they felt they had to do something to solve the crisis of the army falling into the hands of the Mechanic Emperor. Crowds gathered, and even some professional players such as Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon took part. Operation Saving Black Star had become a large event held by the army players themselves.

Of course, there were also those with other motives among the participants. Some just wanted to make the news bigger, some wanted to show their loyalty so Black Star would notice them after ‘returning’, and some wanted to try to trigger hidden missions. The atmosphere on the forums was like a war was going on. Everyone thought they were making a difference. However, the majority were just rubbernecking and adding spices. There were not only Chinese players in the army anymore. There were also a ton of international players who joined only in Version 4.0. Most of them were just watching with excitement.

Even among the Chinese players, there were also some who did not think it was worth risking the time and effort they had spent in the Black Star Army and did not take part.

Everything happening on the forums over the past three days was witnessed by Han Xiao. Operation Saving Black Star had absolutely no secrets to him.

Although these players were planning on how to backstab him the next day, not only did Han Xiao feel angry about it, but he even found it interesting

At this time, Phillip popped out and said, “Master, hum… There are a few Immortals who want to see you. They said they have found out that the Immortals are planning a mutiny, so they want to report it to you.”

“Oh?” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Traitors?

Hmm, come to think of it, since they’re players, it’d be weird to not have traitors.

“Tell them to come here,” Han Xiao ordered.

After staying for a while in the office, a few players in flashy armor came in. They were clearly foreign players judging from their IDs. “Yo, army commander.” An Ice Demon Race player who seemed like their leader greeted Han Xiao in a very hip-pop style.

Han Xiao acted like he had no idea. He looked confused and asked, “You said that the Immortals are planning on a mutiny? Tell me, what is this about?”

“Yo, here’s what it is. We’re all good people, but some Immortals are ambitious people. They’re not happy with your ruling now, so they plan to use a ridiculous excuse to incite the army. Wow. At tomorrow’s award ceremony, they’ll attack you definitely.” Han Xiao rose his brows. “What excuse?”

“From what I heard, they said you’re the Mechanic Emperor in disguise. Ain’t that funny? Hahaha.”

“Interesting.” Han Xiao sized him up, smiled, and said, “Got it, I’ll investigate the matter. If it’s true, you’ll all be given rewards.”

“Hehe, I’d like more Contribution Points.” This person was very straight forward.

Han Xiao acted as if he did not hear them. He waved and told them to leave. This time, Phillip reported again, saying there were more people who wanted to see him.

He did not reject any of them and patiently spoke to one group of traitors after another. Most of them were foreign players, and what they said was mostly the same, exposing Fly Free and the others’ plan and twisting their motive, claiming the motive of the mutiny was ambition. After sending off the last group of them, Han Xiao smiled.

“Some of these are pure opportunists, but the rest are probably the spies the foreign professional guilds have placed inside the army. Hehe, they’re trying to cause more problems.”

He had always known that there were spies of foreign guilds in the army, and this was unavoidable. The motive behind Fly Free and the other senior players’ actions was positive, but these spies definitely did not have positive motives.

Han Xiao knew instantly that these spies were trying to make the situation worse. On one hand, they wanted the Chinese players to be heavily punished, so the Chinese guilds would be affected too. On the other hand, they also wanted to reduce his trust in the Immortals so that the army players would receive fewer benefits.

Clearly, the foreign players did not care if he was really the Mechanic Emperor or Black Star. If he was the Mechanic Emperor, he would be alarmed, discover the mutiny in advance, and take action. If this was all a misunderstanding and he was still Black Star, reporting the mutiny to him would also be an act of loyalty. They thought they were killing two birds with one stone.

Without the forums, Han Xiao might have fallen for it. However, Han Xiao already knew everything about this through the forums, so he easily saw through these spies’ plan to use him.

Looking at these traitors’ satisfied expressions thinking their plan had worked, Han Xiao looked normal but was laughing inside.

I’ll let you guys laugh for a while and deal with you after the ceremony.

Han Xiao tapped the table and ordered, “Phillip, secretly dispatch the mechanical soldiers in the warehouse and put them around the venue, especially the VIP area, audience seats, and the news stand. The moment anyone attacks the guests tomorrow, arrest them immediately.”

This order was not targeted at Fly Free and the others. Their target was only him, and their motive was to protect the Black Star Army, so their plan did not consist of hurting the innocents.

However, there would most likely be some people who would use this opportunity to cause problems, damaging the army’s reputation by hurting the audience. Han Xiao was quite sure that only those foreign pro guilds would do something like this.

Han Xiao did not want to stop Fly Free and the others from ‘expressing their loyalty’, but he was not going to watch people with ulterior motives damage the army.

Speaking of which, Version 4.0 is in its middle stages now, about to step into the late stage. The national war will probably occur the same time as the Super Star Cluster Alliance battle, just like my previous life. I wonder if those alliances formed by player organizations will still be founded.

Three days passed very quickly. The competition planet had already been turned into an open stadium for the award ceremony.

The main stage was a large floating platform. Only the most important guests were sitting there. It was surrounded by many smaller platforms, where the audience, media, and the winners of various items were seated.

Spherical shields shrouded the venue, blocking the cold wind in the sky and unrelated people from disrupting the closing ceremony. The inside of the shield had a virtual screen that made the venue look like a closed theater.

All kinds of spaceships floated in the exterior atmosphere. The formally dressed spectators, guests, and contestants arrived at the venue on the carriers provided by the army, found their seats, and sat down. Very soon, the venue became crowded. It was a true festival.

Fly Free and his team sat in the contestant seats, looked around, and occasionally exchanged looks with the players on the same floating platform.

Fly Free’s shoulder was tapped. He turned around and realized it was the Rivervale team’s captain, Frenzied Sword.

“When do we move?” Frenzied Sword lowered his voice. As a real loyal follower of Black Star, he also took part in the operation.

“It’s still early. No hurry. Just like the plan, when it’s our turn to receive the reward, everyone just wait for my signal and move at the same time,” Fly Free said quietly. “How many people do you think will be with US?”

“Although a lot of people signed up on the forums, it’ll be amazing if even one tenth of them actually do carry out the plan.” Fly Free shook his head.

“Okay, we’ll be waiting for your signal.”

The players who were taking part in the Saving Black Star Operation communicated privately. On the other side, there was also another group of people planning for a different operation.

On a floating audience stand, a player with the ID of ‘Winter Wolf’ asked his friend beside him through a private channel, “Are our men scattered out yet?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. Our men are scattered throughout the platforms. Some are very close to the celebrity guest seats. When those Chinese make a move, we’ll be able to act in the midst of all the chaos. We’ll definitely cause quite a lot of destruction.”

“Good.” Winter Wolf nodded and said with a low voice, “The Black Star Army faction is too strong. We have to weaken it. This is the first field operation our Northern Battlefront has carried out since its secret founding. We have to make it count to open the path for our national war plans.”

“Understood.”

At the same time, Han Xiao was welcoming the Beyond Grade A remote projections at the VIP seats on the main stage.

With his position and reputation, almost seventy percent of all Beyond Grade A members of the development union came to watch the event. They all sat at the frontmost seats. Han Xiao casually chattered and laughed with them.

As the seats at the venue were fully occupied, all the lights gradually dimmed, only leaving the main stage brightly illuminated.

Seeing this, the noisy venue quietened down. Everyone’s eyes were on the main stage.

Sylvia walked up onto the stage. She was not in her uniform, instead wearing an expensive and elegant purple bare-back dress. She wore light makeup, making her face even more exquisite and beautiful than normal. Her hair was tied up, showing her long and snow-white neck. Her silver earrings swayed lightly, reflecting light from the venue. The bright but not blinding light colored her stunning and marvelous.

She took one look around and said, “Guests, contestants, and viewers behind screens, welcome to the closing ceremony of the first Black Star Cup. I’m the army’s Chief Administrative Official, Sylvia.”

Then, Sylvia paused as stated in the script. Han Xiao smiled and applauded her. The people around followed his lead. Very soon, the venue was filled with roaring applause.

Seeing this, Sylvia then said, “As the army expands, the number of members continues to grow. The initial purpose of the Black Star Cup was to select the elites of the various professions inside the army so that the new members who are capable but not senior enough can have an extra path to rise up. At the same time, it gives the older members a chance to improve themselves. Now, the Black Star Cup has come to a fulfilling end. To our pleasant surprise, we realized just how many elites the army has in various professions…”

Sylvia started reading the script. The image was broadcast to the entire universe through the media cameras present. Of course, the Black Star Cup closing ceremony did not consist of only giving out the reward. The detailed order of the ceremony went Sylvia’s speech; the Black Star Cup organizing committee’s speech; the winners of various items going up onto the stage to accept their reward and each giving a speech; then last but not least, the army commander’s concluding speech. There were also a lot of performances and shows in between.

The army had invited many galactic celebrities, such as singers, actors, and the like. All those invited were extremely famous.

Usually, normal events would be honored to be able to invite just one of those celebrities, given how famous they were. However, the Black Star Cup was way too high class. These celebrities were the ones feeling honored to take part in the closing ceremony. This was an entertainment event hosted by a universal-level warlord, so it was an extremely excellent opportunity to build connections with people at the highest level of the society. In order to obtain a spot in the performances, the companies behind many celebrities even had intense fights.

Han Xiao was invited to the stage very soon to give the awards to the winners personally along with some words of encouragement. The remote projections of the two Vice Commanders, Lagi and Hila, stood beside him. They did not speak and only nodded at the contestants to show encouragement.

However, the reasons behind the two of them not speaking were different. Hila did not like talking, so she did not speak, while Lagi’s voice communication function was cut off by Han Xiao so that he could not speak.

The award ceremony had breaks, which were filled by the celebrity performances. As the closing ceremony was about halfway through, Han Xiao felt as if his face was twitching from smiling too much, and the spectators’ palms were also getting red from clapping too much. Finally, it was time to give the award to the outstanding contestants of the Immortals’ Square Scrimmage.

Here it is… Han Xiao focused.

The people walked onto the stage. Fly Free clenched his teeth and walked up. His back gave off a vibe as if he was walking up to an execution ground.

“Congratulations, you’re all talents of the army…”

Han Xiao read the script once more, gave Fly Free a glance, smiled in his brain, and took two steps back, giving the stage to the contestants to speak.

No one on the stage stepped forward; they all looked at Fly Free.

Fly Free nodded at everyone and walked to the lectern with heavy steps. The entire venue was extremely quiet. Everyone’s eyes were on him, waiting for his speech.

The players all subconsciously straightened their backs and became nervous, paying attention to every movement of Fly Free.

Fly Free took a deep breath, prepared himself mentally, and spoke. “I’m very proud to have achieved good results in the Black Star Cup, but that’s not what I’m going to talk about today… Just a few days ago, we discovered a shocking secret—the army commander who’s standing on this stage now is not Black Star! He’s someone else in disguise!”

Hu!

we

It was like bombs were being set off everywhere.

All the spectators, army officers, guests, celebrities, and even the Beyond Grade As present were completely startled by this sudden change. They looked at this guy and could not respond.

W-what’s going on?

“I’m a member of the Black Star Army. This is my home. I will only ever recognize Black Star as our army commander. I won’t allow anyone to disguise as our dear army commander to control the army!” Fly Free’s tone became firm as he yelled, “Today, right here, I’m going to use my life to expose this guy’s conspiracy to the entire universe! Save our leader!”

As soon as he said that, Fly Free turned around, flames erupted all over his body as he charged toward Han Xiao, screaming at the top of his lungs, “Mechanic Emperor! Die!”

At the same time, in a secret base at an unknown location, Manison’s hands trembled, and popcorn splashed all over the floor.

Chapter 1138: Players Not Causing Trouble Have No Soul

Chapter 1138 Players Not Causing Trouble Have No Soul

“Go!”

A sudden change occurred. With a loud shout, the audience platforms erupted into chaos. About one fifth of the players suddenly moved. Silhouettes rose into the sky and headed right toward Han Xiao on the stage. They were all heroic players who had answered the call.

Like a taut string suddenly snapping, the rest of the players became excited about what was going to happen.

In the crowd, Winter Wolf’s eyes sparkled. He quickly ordered in the channel, “The chance is here! Let’s go!”

The next moment, several hundred players suddenly moved again and were about to attack the audience platform around them.

Winter Wolf flew up from his seat. Layers of frost condensed on his skin as he dashed right toward the celebrity seats.

Excitement appeared on Winter Wolf’s face as the reflection of many celebrities’ shocked faces entered his sights. Without hesitation, he raised his hand and was about to activate his Esper Ability and release an ice storm to turn these celebrities into ice sculptures.

At the same time, the heroes who were rushing toward the main stage also noticed this group of people who were using this opportunity to attack the innocents. Shock and rage appeared on their faces.

This was not in their plan at all, and subconsciously, some people were about to turn around and stop Winter Wolf and the others guild spies from hurting the innocents.

All these changes happened in an instant. As chaos was about to erupt, a bright electric light blasted in the middle of the venue!

Snap!

Countless bolts of Mechanical Force lightning shot out like a spider net. The mechanical soldiers that were hiding in the various audience platforms activated instantly and pounced at the players who were causing trouble around them.

These mechanical soldiers were all ‘Restrainer – Modified’ that could disassemble into advanced restraining suits and capture the target alive. Now that they had received Mechanical Force bonuses from Han Xiao, their attributes completely exceeded the players who were Grade B at best.

Buzz!

Black silhouettes crisscrossed everywhere, and electrical sparks flickered. All the players who were rushing toward Han Xiao from all over the place were suddenly controlled by the Restrainers’ electromagnetic chains and the restraining devices, unable to move like birds without wings. Fly Free and the rest of the contestants who were on the main stage were instantly blown away by the exploding energy, falling down at the edge of the stage. The group of them were just about to climb up and continue to charge when Han Xiao softly flipped his hand over. A powerful energy shockwave pressed onto them and slammed them all flat on the ground. The next moment, the metal floor turned into robes made of nanoparticles under the effect of Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force, tying Fly Free and the others up tightly.

Before the guests had time to react, the sudden danger was resolved by Han Xiao, who was prepared.

Whew, fortunately, I’m prepared.

Han Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The players were not even at the Calamity Grade, so they were no different from ordinary people to him. They would not be able to cause any threat to him with numbers, but if they were to attack others, the ordinary spectators would definitely be hurt.

Even if he could react quickly, he could not ensure there were no casualties. However, since he was prepared and the players did not know, he was able to restrain all the players the moment they started to move, and no guest was hurt.

This operation was caused by Fly Free leading the momentum; that was all. These people were no different from a group of brutes with no proper unity and plan. Furthermore, most of the participants only took part on impulse, which was a common occurrence among the players. Plus, the time to prepare was too short, so there was no way they would be able to come up with a detailed plan.

The entire operation felt like a suicide mission.

“His responses are way too quick!” Winter Wolf could only feel a flash before his eyes, and he was captured without being able to resist at all. He was shocked.

He struggled to turn around and take a look and saw that all his friends had been captured by mechanical soldiers and restrained, unable to move.

Sh*t, not even one person died… Still, what we did was enough to anger the army and reduce its trust in all the players, which will in turn make the players in this faction receive fewer benefits…

Winter Wolf was a little regretful that his plan had failed to reach the optimal results, but judging from their goal, this was not a total failure.

These changes happened quickly, and the danger was resolved even quicker. The guests present and the spectators from the various Star Fields were stunned for quite a while before realizing what had happened.

Wait a minute, did we just slip past the gate of death?

“What just happened?”

“Looks like the Black Star Army’s men started a rebellion?”

“They said Black Star isn’t Black Star. Why do I have no idea what that means?”

“That startled me. To think it wasn’t a performance!”

As the guests finally realized what had happened, they became surprised. It had all happened too quick; they did not even sense danger arriving, and it was already resolved. They did not feel scared at all, only surprised and confused.

All the people started discussing the incident while staring at Han Xiao with confusion.

Many army officers quickly came to Han Xiao and stood around him, staring at those players with extremely hostile looks.

Hila stepped forward, her face filled with murderous intent as she yelled, “Arrest all of these rebels. Escort them away and interrogate them thoroughly. I want to know who ordered them to do this!”

“Hey, don’t get all tensed up. I still have some questions I want to ask them. Plus, I think the guests would like an explanation too.”

Han Xiao pulled Hila back and signaled for the officers to step back.

Feeling the confused and curious looks of the people around, he calmly raised his finger. Nanoparticle robes then separated from the metal ground and slowly flew to before Han Xiao, holding Fly Free and the others.

Deliberately showing a somewhat confused expression, Han Xiao curiously asked, “What did you mean by what you just said? Why would you think I’m the Mechanic Emperor in disguise?”

Fly Free was quite frustrated. The sudden act of so many people had absolutely no impact, and they were instantly wiped out. They had become prisoners of the ‘Mechanic Emperor’.

However, at least he yelled what he wanted to say to the entire universe, so his goal was achieved. What was left in his heart was only self-sacrificial emotions, so he yelled, “Mechanic Emperor! No matter how good your disguise is, I know you’re fake!”

“Do you have any evidence?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Only players could see the Character Summon Card screenshot, so this evidence would not work on NPCs. Furthermore, that particular Character Summon Card had already been used to prove what they said, so this reason was not convincing at all.

Fly Free had guessed he would face this question long ago, and he knew he would not be able to convince anyone but the players. He was prepared to insult the ‘Mechanic Emperor’, so he shouted, “Your vibe!”

“Huh?” Even Han Xiao was stunned for a moment.

“Humph, our Black Star army commander is a man of justice and honor. Just looking at him will make people uncontrollably admire him. But you, Mechanic Emperor, you ignored the safety of the universe for your own sake, attempting to keep the source of the Intelligent Plague for yourself! Your despicable vibe has exposed you!”

“The Mechanic Emperor is despicable?” Han Xiao deliberately raised his tone.

“Very despicable!” Fly Free was not afraid at all. “Who is Black Star? He rose in just a few decades and can already fight you on par. You call yourself an Ancient One? All the years you’ve spent alive have gone down the toilet! Compared to our army commander… you are nothing!” Quite many Beyond Grade As touched their nose awkwardly… Why does it feel like we’re being insulted too? Han Xiao’s face twitched. He had to do everything he could not to laugh.

Beautiful!

That’s right, buddy, keep going!

“So… this is the reason for your mutiny?”

“It’s not a mutiny! Don’t even think about twisting our motive! We’ve fought and bled for the army; we’re inseparable from the army! Only Black Star has the right to lead us. If anyone else attempts to put their hands on it, we’ll definitely retaliate! Even if you kill me today, I’ll still continue yelling these words in my grave-never compromise!”

Fly Free said it with so much emotion that even Han Xiao was almost touched.

The infectious words made quite a number of senior players’ blood boil. The emotions from many versions rushed to their heads. They were fearless, as they would not die anyway, and they started shouting. “This is the Black Star Army! F*ck off, Mechanic Emperor!”

“Black Star will shine forever!”

“Captain is the best!” “Immortals will never be slaves!”

The voices echoed in the venue. The faith inside these words moved many viewers.

So, is this what it’s like in the armed forces? How beautiful.

On the other hand, the Beyond Grade As were all at a loss.

From their perspective, this was beyond ridiculous.

At this time, Kant suddenly said, “Actually, I can somewhat understand the mindset of these Immortals…”

The others turned to him with expressions of disbelief.

Kant coughed and said, “I’ve recruited some Immortals. Most of the time, they’re quite normal, but sometimes, they’ll show signs of being mentally challenged and do things I cannot understand at all…” “Such as?”

“… There was one guy who asked me directly to turn into a naked female human. I accidentally killed him… three times.”

Kasuyi agreed. “I have some Immortals under my command too. Even I can’t understand what’s in their heads. Someone actually tried to steal my undergarments. Do you believe that?”

“I recall hearing a theory. Experts say that the Immortal Race’s undying trait caused their minds to undergo synchronized mutation, which makes them have intermittent manic episodes, delusions, logic disorders, and other mental disorders.”

“Oh, then it makes sense…”

Suspecting that their boss was fake just because the vibe was not right? What kind of normal person would ever do that?

However, when it was the Immortals who did something like this, the people would instantly accept it. It seemed that no matter what outrageously weird things the Immortals did, the others would not think of it as abnormal.

As soon as the topic was brought up, many Beyond Grade As who also had Immortals under their command started chattering. Very soon, they came to the pleasant agreement that the Immortals had mental issues, and they really respected Black Star for being able to effectively manage the Immortals, who were so unpredictable.

Secret Master snorted and said, “What are you all talking about? This clearly was directed by Black Star to deliberately embarrass the Mechanic Emperor. My eyes have seen through it all.”

“It’s a shame the Mechanic Emperor isn’t here. His expression would be a sight to behold.” Milizaus chuckled.

They then imagined what it would look like and giggled with glee.

While they were chatting, Han Xiao had many exchanges with Fly Free, insulting the Mechanic Emperor from head to toe in all styles.

“Come, kill me.” Fly Free looked heroic.

Seeing that it was about enough, Han Xiao said, “Although for some reason you are so sure that I’m the Mechanic Emperor in disguise, you really are mistaken… The Mechanic Emperor isn’t capable of disguising as me. He’s far from it.”

Hearing this, Kant laughed and said, “Wouldn’t we know if he’s Black Star or not? You guys are too young and naïve. At least get some solid evidence before you act.”

We do have solid evidence… but only we can see it.

Seeing the reactions of Han Xiao and the other Beyond Grade As, Fly Free and the others started to get shaken. They started to doubt themselves. Those who did not fully believe in the theory that this Black Star was fake started agreeing The effects of Character Summon Cards would not be fake, so the possibility of another theory was higher-Black Star had learnt the Mechanic Emperor’s ability somehow.

Seeing that they were pondering and hesitating, Han Xiao waved and said, “Escort them away for now. I’ll have a proper talk with them after the closing ceremony ends.”

He did not do anything to them for the time being. Dealing with these people was the army’s internal affair, so it was not suitable to handle it there.

The Restrainers took all the players who caused problems out of the venue. After Sylvia came up to calm everyone’s emotions down, the Black Star Cup closing ceremony continued. However, most people’s attention was no longer on the ceremony but on this tiny incident.

The closing ceremony was initially just a standard affair, but then it immediately sparked more conversations, attracting more attention. Han Xiao’s goal of using Fly Free and the others was achieved.

There were no other twists and turns to the closing ceremony till it ended. Everything that happened there was broadcast to the entire universe through the media groups.

The actions of Fly Free caused a new meme to be born in the galaxy-‘Pointing at Black Star to insult the Mechanic Emperor’.

After the stream ended, Manison’s expressionless face was reflected on the now dark screen.

His eyes were narrowed, and a tint of irritation flashed past his pupils. Mistaken? As if I believe you! This is clearly a show you directed!

I knew you did not invite me for nothing. It was just a plot to embarrass me in public.

Manison clenched his fists.

Black Star, you’re too much!

One day, I’m surely going to cut you up and turn you into a Felon!

Chapter 1139: Compliments from the Big Boss

Chapter 1139 Compliments from the Big Boss

As the closing ceremony ended, spaceships took off one after another, sending the audience away.

Han Xiao told Sylvia to take care of the guests who had come to show their support in his place, while he led the various officers and Black Star Guards to the main ship in orbit. All the players who had caused trouble were temporarily locked up there, waiting to be dealt with.

Swoosh!

The cabin opened. Han Xiao and the officers swarmed in and immediately saw the intense situation inside. The players locked there were separated clearly into two groups—the majority of the players led by Fly Free surrounded the spies led by Winter Wolf.

Herlous stepped forward and demanded, “What’s going on?”

The guard quickly approached and replied, “Your Excellency, they have been arguing for a while now. It seems like they’re having an internal conflict.”

“An internal conflict between a group of rebels?” A Black Star Guards snickered.

Although Fly Free gave a great speech during the ceremony and expressed that they did what they did for the sake of the army, most of the army officers did not buy it at all. They felt that this was just an excuse for their mutiny. Attacking the army commander in public and attempting to disrupt the ceremony did not look like things someone would do for the sake of the army at all. The army officers did not know the details like Han Xiao, so they would not be easily convinced.

Han Xiao knew what was going on, but he did not explain it. He walked to the players, did not speak, and just looked at them with an expressionless face.

Seeing that Han Xiao had arrived, the two groups stopped arguing and looked at him.

After seeing Han Xiao’s reaction and listening to the Beyond Grade As’ explanation, the ‘loyal’ players led by Fly Free were starting to feel shaken, doubting their speculation, but they had yet to fully change their minds. They still felt that this might be a show the ‘army commander’ had put on to prove his fake identity was real.

Therefore, many people quietly started video recording at this moment, capturing his expressions and actions while they were in private. If he acted completely different from before, something was definitely wrong, and they would upload the video to the forums to once again warn the other army players. They had yet to give up exposing the ‘Mechanic Emperor’.

Fly Free stepped up and said with a fearless tone, “What do you plan to do with us?”

“No hurry, I want to hear your explanations again,” Han Xiao said casually with a normal tone.

“What else is there to say? We’ve already expressed our intentions very clearly,” Fly Free yelled.

Without any changes in his expression, Han Xiao calmly said, “Even if this was a misunderstanding, your actions will still be punished. Have you thought of the consequences of all this?” “Of course.”

“Even so, you still decided to take the risk for
me?”

“It’s for Black Star. As for whether you’re really him, we still don’t know yet.” Fly Free crossed his arms.

“Then how do you explain attacking the audience? Was that for the army commander too?” Hadavy said coldly.

Fly Free’s expression turned stiff and then to rage. He turned and stared at Winter Wolf and the others angrily. “Our plan was only to expose the imposter. We’re not the ones who attacked the audience. These people are not with us!”

Winter Wolf looked shocked. “What are you talking about? Isn’t this a secret mission you gave us? Now you’re trying to deny all of that?”

“Still bullsh*tting!” Fly Free was furious. “I did not plan this at all. Why did you guys do
it!

“Tsk, you totally asked us to do it, and now you’re throwing us away after using us?”

Winter Wolf did this on purpose to make the Black Star Army think they were together. This way, they could transfer the blame for attacking the audience to Fly Free and the others, and the Black Star Army’s trust in the Immortals would be reduced.

The two groups of players started arguing again. These guild spies had made agreements before; they all insisted they were on the same side. The ‘loyal’ players felt that their motive was repugnant and were furious. Elegant and kind greetings of each others’ parents and ancestors kept coming out of their months. If not because of the Restrainers, this would have turned into a brawl.

Seeing this, many army officers curled their lips and looked unconcerned. They felt that this was just a show the Immortals had prepared in an attempt to prove they were innocent.

Hila turned to Han Xiao and softly said, “Black Star, more and more Immortals have joined the army. I think it’s time to tighten our control over them, to prevent things like this from happening again.” Someone added from the side, “That’s right. We’ve been too lenient with the Immortals.

Hearing the army officers’ discussion, the joy of his plan working flashed through Winter Wolf’s eyes.

However, at this time, he suddenly saw Han Xiao looking over with a faint smile.

“You’re the leader of these people, right?” “Me?” Winter Wolf was shocked inside but acted confused.

Han Xiao snapped his fingers. The Restrainers surrounded the hundreds of players who attempted to attack the audience, leaving the rest of the players alone. “I have video recordings of everyone who attempted to attack the guests. I won’t accuse anyone unjustly,” Han Xiao said slowly. “As punishment, you will be locked inside Spacetime Amber, and you basically shouldn’t think about ever coming out again.”

“Unfair!” Winter Wolf yelled and looked at the others. “We’re with them! Why are you only catching us!”

“Bullsh*t!” Fly Free and the others were furious.

“Stop arguing, I knew about what was going on long ago.” Han Xiao waved. His expression suddenly became serious as he said, “While you guys were plotting, someone told me about it. I could have actually stopped you guys long ago, but I let you act during the closing ceremony. Do you know why?”.

“You knew long ago?”

The people’s expression changed. They then thought about it for a moment and realized that there was nothing strange about that. Having traitors among them was totally normal.

However, Black Star not stopping them in advance was something they did not understand, so they were curious about it.

“I briefly know your motive, and I don’t really believe you guys would start a mutiny.” Han Xiao stopped into the crowd. He patted some people on the shoulder and dragged Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon out from the crowd. He smiled and said, “You’re all pillars of the army from the earliest days, and I remember all of you, especially you two. We’ve known each other for decades. Although we haven’t interacted much recently, I’d never doubt you
guys.”

ve

The people were stunned and greatly surprised. They did not expect Black Star to say something like this, not to mention remembering them.

In this instant, many people felt very touched.

Especially Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon, the two of them were stunned for a few seconds and suddenly looked extremely excited. They were so touched that they were almost ready to sacrifice their lives for Han Xiao right in this moment to show their loyalty and appreciation.

Franky, Han Xiao was quite touched to see these two participate in this little incident too. The two of them were professional players now, yet they took such a big risk to take part in this. They must have deep emotions for him…

Looking at everyone’s excited expression, Han Xiao smiled. Then, he turned to Winter Wolf and the others, and his expression instantly turned cold and fierce.

“Ever since the army’s expansion, I’ve known of spies of other organizations managing to infiltrate the army. The reason I didn’t stop you was that I was hoping to lure out these spies of the army using this opportunity, and it looks like that worked. I can clearly differentiate the army’s pillars from the spies, so don’t try to fool me.”

Hearing this, Winter Wolf opened his mouth wide with disbelief all over his stiffened face.

Oh my god. Even this got seen through? Are NPCs this difficult to fool?

They were already mentally prepared to have their accounts permanently ‘banned’ when they acted. Since they were all employees who received salaries from the various professional guilds, they did not care that much about their accounts. However, now that their plan had been seen right through, it would mean that their sacrifice was completely meaningless, and the plan had failed miserably, which would be a huge loss.

Not wanting to listen to any more words from those spies, Han Xiao took out the Spacetime Amber and sealed the hundreds of them one after another, turning them into more samples. Even if they logged off, their bodies would remain inside.

Looking at this, Fly Free and the others were both touched and excited.

Han Xiao did not explain too much, but him taking out the Spacetime Amber and acting in this way immediately changed Fly Free and the others’ minds. They were now basically certain he was the real Black Star.

Possessing Han Xiao’s Universal Treasure was one reason, but it was more because Han Xiao had washed away the crime they were framed with committing, and he did not blame them for it. They were very appreciative of that and felt a sense of satisfaction.

“As for you people…” Han Xiao turned around and briefly smiled. “Though I do believe you, rules are rules. Your actions have caused trouble, so there must be punishments. The punishment shall be… you guys have to carry out some missions to make up for what you did, and you will not be able to enjoy the army discounts for three months. What do you say?”

“We deserve it. I have no objections.” Fly Free waved his hand.

The rest also agreed. Although they were punished, they felt good about it.

Compared to what had happened to Winter Wolf and the others, this punishment was nothing. The contrast was too strong.

Han Xiao waved and ordered the Restrainers to back off, letting the players leave.

After the players left, Herlous said, “Black Star, is that it?”

“Didn’t I punish them?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“What kind of punishment was that? It’s basically the same as nothing. When the others see that the punishment is so light, won’t they keep attempting to do the same thing?”

“Don’t worry, I know what to do.”

Han Xiao waved and smiled in his head.

VAT

He knew that these players were definitely recording, and they would certainly upload the video to the forums. His actions earlier would not only make the players admire his judgment but also make the faction’s sense of recognition go through the roof. It was the exact way of gaining people’s hearts.

The method of dealing with Winter Wolf and the other spies was a warning. He was expressing that he could differentiate between friends and foes. With friends, he could be lenient, but if anyone attempted to harm the army, he would be merciless and give them a free lifelong ride inside the Spacetime Amber.

“As long as you have a plan.” Hila nodded.

She extremely rarely doubted Han Xiao. Since Han Xiao had made his decision, she did not express any more doubts and deactivated the remote projection after bidding Han Xiao farewell.

Everyone left one after another. Han Xiao looked at the hundreds of amber samples in the place and pondered. Winter Wolf, I have an impression of this guy. He seems to be a pillar of the Northern Battlefront… Looks like these guild alliances will still appear. The national war is probably about to begin.

In his previous life, a large-scale national war erupted in Version 4.0. It was also called the First World Server War.

It was called the national war, but it was not purely based on nations as factions. As the method of playing Version 4.0 mainly revolved around the players grouping up, as the version developed, the players gathered in bigger and bigger groups. In the end, some professional guilds and non-professional guilds created large guild alliances to form official organizations.

For example, there were ones consisting of mainly Europeans such as Northern Battlefront, Denland, and September Conference; some consisting of mainly North and South Americans such as Galactic Business Alliance, 5C Alliance, and Plateaus Eagle; and the Asian ones such as Southeast Asia War Alliance, Golden Alliance, and Northern Tropic of Cancer Light.

These alliances were not just grouped in nations. The different guilds of one nation might belong to different alliances. Other than the guilds, the casual players would also join different alliances based on their likings.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, the army did not exist. The World Server War was not only targeted at one nation but at each other. However, as the Black Star Army was way too strong this time, they became the common target.

Part of what triggered the national war was that the factions were developing. The factions the players of various nations belonged to started to grow into more advanced factions. For example, the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations in the Flickering World became one of the fuses of the national war.

The root of conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance was territory distribution, and the intensity of the conflict gradually escalated. The conflict did not start with direct confrontation between their direct armies; the agent war was also a very important part of it. The Immortals were one of the agents. They fought nonstop in the free competition zone.

“The national war is a great opportunity to harvest leeks. However, because of the army, it’s definitely going to be very different. I wonder what it will be like…” Han Xiao caressed his chin.

At the same time, Fly Free and the others who had left the cabin quickly uploaded the recording to the forums with excitement.

Chapter 1140: This B*stard Has No Virtue

Chapter 1140 This B*stard Has No Virtue

During the closing ceremony, Fly Free and the other ‘loyal’ players carried out the operation. After that, almost all the army players were waiting on the forums for what would happen to them.

To many neutral players, these people were reckless and impulsive, so they would certainly suffer heavy consequences. God only knew how severe the faction’s punishment would be.

However, when the private recordings from Fly Free and the others were posted, it shocked quite a number of people, and the post instantly garnered millions of views.

The video recorded the full process of Han Xiao’s private meeting with them. Seeing how confident and clear-minded the army commander was, the atmosphere on the forums instantly changed into one-sided praise.

(Fly Free: From today onward, the army commander is my brother, and anyone who dares to touch my brother shall feel my wrath! That’s all. Who’s with me? Who’s against me?]

[I’m The Northern Gods’ Idiot: +1.]

[Raylei’s Gaze: Our Army Commander was way too cool…]

[Mechanic Emperor’s Small PP: Although we’re just bullsh*ting most of the time, it isn’t too much to use the word ‘amazing’ to describe what the army commander had done today, is it?]

(The Frog Has Seen Through Everything: Honestly, the chances of these spies successfully framing the others shouldn’t be low at all. It would have at least led to a thorough investigation from the army. But Black Star’s judgement is way too impressive, seeing through the differences between the two groups right away and providing decisive and accurate solutions. Those who really had ulterior motives got their accounts banned, and you guys, the loyal pillars, only got symbolic punishments. This row of decisions by the army commander is quite amazing.)

[Tomorrow Won’t Be Better: Sigh, to think that Black Star still remembers us old timers from Version 1.0. It’s so touching. Praise Black Star!)

(Bun-Hit-Dog: I’m a newbie who just joined this version. Is the army commander actually this amazing? Wow, how interesting. I’ll have to binge watch Bun-Hit-Dog’s must-see Black Star Series now.]

[I Love The Dawn: You dog, remember to use your smurf account next time when you do promotion acting as a noob…]

The video got uploaded to the forums as Han Xiao expected, so his goal of getting the hearts of the players was already achieved. Not only did his decisions make him have more ‘leadership appeal’, but the sense of recognition a lot of army players had for the faction also went through the roof. This nostalgia-inducing, fair, and wise series of decisions he made had planted a seed in the many players, forming a bond with the army. Although Han Xiao did not deliberately explain his identity in public, his actions had already indirectly cleared the players’ doubts. The focus of the forums at this point was no longer if Han Xiao was fake or real but why Black Star had the Mechanic Emperor’s ability.

There had always been a rumor among the players about Black Star being able to replicate and imitate other characters’ abilities, and this rumor was finally proven true.

The majority of the players felt that this special talent Black Star had was the key reason he could grow stronger so fast, being able to ‘steal’ abilities from opponents. In some respects, the players’ guess was very close to the truth. However, no matter how much they guessed, they would never know the truth.

Furthermore, as this theory lacked solid evidence, for the NPCs, it only passed between the players and was not convincing enough for normal people even if they heard about it.

As the one who single-handedly initiated this event, Fly Free became famous overnight. He was seen as the number one loyal member of the army. He expressed his intention to form a Black Star Fan Group on the spot and to communicate with the army commander about making it a team Black Star Guards with only Immortals.

The atmosphere on the forums was festive. Other than praise for Black Star, there were also many who were laughing at Winter Wolf and the others.

[Mario’s Little Mushroom: Tsk, some people just can’t bear to see others live a good life and will try their best to pull you back using all kinds of dirty and filthy methods, yet they’re not ashamed but honored by it, acting as if it’s all for everyone’s own good. They’re the best definition of the word ‘hypocrite’.)

[Master of Bondage: Hehe, sadly for them, our army commander is wise and fair. He won’t be deceived.)

However, while all this went on, the Northern Battlefront surprisingly stepped up and announced they were responsible for it. It instantly triggered a verbal war on the forums and attracted the focus of the players. That was how it should be. Compared to praising Black Star, the players were still more interested in arguing with others online.

While the forums were heated, the influence of the Black Star Cup was also fermenting in the galaxy. Army members backstabbing Black Star sparkled a lot of conversations and discussions, leading many galactic residents who were not originally interested to curiously find out about the details of the incident.

Not long after the closing ceremony ended, on behalf of the army, Han Xiao made an official announcement to the entire universe to explain this incident, answering their questions while satisfying their curiosity.

He basically publicized Fly Free’s insults toward the Mechanic Emperor on that day with some exaggeration and more details so that the galactic residents could properly enjoy watching it. At the same time, the announcement emphasized that he really hoped the Mechanic Emperor would not be angry about this. This was just someone’s most sincere true opinion from the deepest part of his heart. It did not represent the army’s opinion. The army would always respect the Mechanic Emperor, even if he was an evil man. At the same time, he hoped that the Mechanic Emperor would uphold his position as an elder and not take the words of such young people seriously.

The galactic residents were just happily watching on, while the Beyond Grade As who attended the event only had one thought about Han Xiao in their hearts.

Wow, you b*stard, you really have absolutely zero virtue!

We like it!

Chapter 1141: New Blueprint and World Tree Progress

Chapter 1141 New Blueprint and World Tree Progress

Word of the Black Star Cup incident spread around the universe rapidly. Tons of insults toward Manison appeared, but Manison did not respond at all. He completely ignored Han Xiao.

The popularity of news could only last a few days usually, which was even more true in the galactic society. News about the Black Star Cup lasted for a while in after dinner conversations, then followed the pattern and gradually faded out of popularity.

However, the army elites who became famous during the Black Star Cup gained a solid reputation that did not fade away. The base members had seen more army officers. The members in various Grades were given a position on the list of the strongest individuals.

For example, among the Calamity Grade officers, Hadavy was publicly recognized as number one, and Jotina number two, and so on according to the results they achieved in the Black Star Cup. As for those who did not participate or forfeited, the public were unaware of them.

After the closing ceremony ended, Han Xiao returned to Black Star Palace to deal with all sorts of affairs and settled Destiny’s Child’s sub-body Rody down to carry out all kinds of studies.

Initially, he wanted to try and have ‘Second Generation EsGod’ Evans make an attempt to absorb Destiny’s Child’ sub-body, but after some pondering, he abandoned this plan.

Firstly, it was still unconfirmed whether the sub-body transformation of Destiny’s Child was considered an Esper Gene awakening or a physical mutation phenomenon. Evans’ Esper Ability could only target the former and not the latter.

Secondly, Destiny’s Child was very mysterious, and the Information Form was a very deep and complex territory. Han Xiao was not sure if Evans would suffer from any side effects after absorbing it. He might even turn into a new sub-body, so he did not want to take the risk.

“I’d better ask the Holy Accord organization. They’re the experts.”

Inside the lab, Han Xiao looked at Rody, who was sleeping inside the cabin, and shook his head.

The extent of how mysterious Destiny’s Child was exceeded his abilities. He was not an expert in this area. He had yet to find a way to resolve Rody’s sub-body transformation. The only thing he could do for now was to use regular Information Form Restrainers to stabilize Rody’s body and slow down his transformation speed as much as possible. Han Xiao touched his chin. Speaking of which, the new date of the deal with the Holy Accord organization was quite soon. As long as he completed the trade, he would be able to freely spill the secrets of the Holy Accord without any worries.

For this, he had already operated on the Holy Light Particle in advance. After that, the Holy Light Particle had shrunk completely inside Aurora and isolated itself.

“Including the two Universal Treasure blueprints from Holy Accord, as well as two from the federation, I’ll have seven Gold blueprints…”

Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at it. Some time ago, he had released the last too Beyond Grade A captives of the federation and received the bailing fee for them-two new Universal Treasure blueprints.

One was equipment for the Mechanical Deity. It was called ‘Titan Spinal Center’.

The Mechanical Deity was formed by assembling countless mechanical soldiers, so it could change into any shapes or forms, basically like a pile of mechanical slime. What connected all the parts of the Mechanical Deity was Mechanical Force and special magnetic fields that acted as the neural network of the Mechanical Deity. The bigger the Mechanical Deity was, the more energy it consumed.

As the name suggested, Titan Spinal Center was a tool that acted as the body center. It would be installed inside the Mechanical Deity. Following the user’s mind, it could become a full bone structure in different forms. Human forms, beast forms, and all kinds of forms included. It would support the Mechanical Deity’s body. Controlling the Mechanical Deity with Mechanical Force through this device, which built a neural network for the Mechanical Deity, would largely decrease the energy cost and extend the duration one could use the Mechanical Deity.

As Universal Treasure Grade class-exclusive equipment, of course, it also provided all kinds of bonuses. The Titan Spinal Center could comprehensively enhance the basic strength of the Mechanical Deity, making it strong and faster than other Mechanical Deities of the same size. Also, it enhanced various abilities as well as the user’s Machinery Affinity.

Not long ago, during the fight with Manison, Manison’s Mechanical Deity that was equipped with tons of Universal Treasure Grade equipment made Han Xiao very jealous. He felt like he was like a blank piece of paper in comparison, and the Celestial Punishment Edge in his hands did not feel as powerful anymore. Therefore, he decided to obtain more Mechanical Deity equipment, as the Mechanical Deity was the strongest trump card of Mechanics at this level. For others, it was a temporary last resort because its cost was too high, but for him and the Mechanic Emperor, they could both use it as a regular combat method. Hence, the more exclusive items the Mechanical Deity had, the better.

The other Gold blueprint was a special device called ‘Mechanical Territory’. From its effects, it seemed similar to Beyoni’s Land of the Fire Core and the Extinguish Army’s Land of the Ice Core. It was even somewhat similar to the Evolution Cube.

This was a large device that could increase the machinery production efficiency, mechanical life form enhancement chance, machinery power output, and so on within its range. It was a territory-type equipment. To Beyond Grade A Mechanics, the best way to use it was to put it in their machinery civilization or the Dimension Factory. It was basically like the machinery version of Evolutionary Totem. However, the requirements for building it were rather tough. The fundamental principle of this device was the Secondary Dimension Theory, by forming a territory that had special operating rules within its range like the advent of a secondary dimension. Therefore, the core material of it was the core fragment of a secondary dimension-the higher the quality, the better. Furthermore, depending on the fragment, the product would also possess a small part of the secondary dimension’s special traits.

There were countless unstable new secondary dimensions born every day, so core fragments were by no means in shortage. The only problem was the harvesting of it since the dimension might collapse after its core fragment was taken. Nonetheless, with money, these were all non-issues.

Han Xiao had an Evil Convergence core fragment in his hands, so he could use it on this.

“Two new blueprints, both with quite good effects. Most importantly, after I successfully build the finished products, I’ll be able to get two more God’s Trait Transformation Points… In addition to the deal with Holy Accord, I’ll obtain four in total.”

Han Xiao was excited and almost wanted to immediately isolate himself inside the factory for days on end.

Beep beep!

At this time, his communicator rang.

It was surprisingly a call from the dynasty’s Exploration Army Commander, brother Tarrokov.

“What’s up, Old Tar?” Han Xiao glanced at him and went back to what he was doing. The two of them were very close, so there was no need to be formal.

“I’ve got some news regarding what you previously asked me to ask around about,” Tarrokov said.

Han Xiao’s movements paused.

Not long ago when the two of them chatted, he had asked Tarrokov to ask around the dynasty’s science institute about their progress on the study of the wormhole coordinates EsGod left behind. He was worried that that was the trigger to Aesop’s prophecy. “What about it?”

“They have made several breakthroughs.” Tarrokov’s answer made Han Xiao’s heart skip a bit.

“… Any details?”

“They’ve already confirmed which area this wormhole coordinates led to in the unexplored universe, but they have yet to find the accurate location, only a rough range.” Hu, so they did not fully discover the World Tree or get discovered by the World Tree. That’s still fine.

Han Xiao was secretly relieved but also troubled.

The later the three Universal Civilizations came into contact with the World Tree Civilization, the better it would be for him. This was his biggest wish at this point.

He did not dare expose the existence of the World Tree Civilization because given the three Universal Civilizations’ character, once they knew there was a powerful civilization in the unexplored universe, they would undoubtedly make contact with it actively and prepare for it in advance.

Emphasizing the danger of the World Tree Civilization would not work either, and explaining why he knew the details was not even the biggest problem. The problem was that the three Universal Civilizations might become more cautious and wary because of his reminder, but they would certainly not give up making contact. If they knew that there was a dangerous advanced civilization in the unexplored universe, they would not wait till the other side found them but would surely attack first.

Therefore, no matter how he leaked any accurate information about the World Tree Civilization and what method he used, it would only make the time when the two sides made contact come sooner.

EsGod was already sealed, so no one but him knew anything about the World Tree in the explored universe. He was the only one who could influence the World Tree version’s overall path, and he had to be cautious.

“How did the dynasty react to this?”

Unsuspecting, Tarrokov said, “The upper echelons did not react to it much. The study project of these wormhole coordinates isn’t a secret, which is why I could ask around about it in the first place… EsGod has been captured for decades. He’s already in the past. Most of the studies about him are not important right now.”

“Then, what does the science institute plan to do?”

“Continue to search for the accurate coordinates, of course. Although we don’t know why EsGod treated this set of coordinates so importantly, the science institute will most likely do what was already done before. They will try to activate a wormhole with a fixed coordinate, throw a few detectors over, and wait for the results to come back.”

Han Xiao hesitated before subtly saying, “I think that this kind of study should be stopped temporarily. The unexplored universe is full of danger, so no one knows what they’ll find there. Now is the crucial time when the three Universal Civilizations are competing with the Super Star Cluster Alliance. If an incident similar to the Intelligent Plague happens again, it’s going to be very bad for the dynasty.”

Tarrokov looked at Han Xiao suspiciously and said, “Everything you said is filled with concern about this project. Do you know something?” “If I say it’s my intuition, will you believe me?”

“Hehe.” Tarrokov fake laughed, expressing he was absolutely not convinced, then continued casually. “I’ll pass on your suggestion. As for whether they listen to it, it doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

“That’ll be enough.”

“Alright, I’ll go do my things then. Also, don’t forget to attend the three Universal Civilizations’ award ceremony in two months’ time.”

“Hmm.”

Han Xiao nodded, turned off the communication, and Tarrokov’s remote projection disappeared.

After a short pause, he gave the order to the team escorting the Holy Light Particle that they could depart now and head to the agreed location to carry out the deal with the Holy Accord. It was located in the free competition zone of the Flickering World.

“The day of the deal is about to arrive.”

Inside a certain secret base of the Holy Accord organization, Oathkeeper opened his eyes and looked at the officers below him.

“Was the emissary carrying out the deal dispatched?”

“He was sent out long ago, absolutely loyal and reliable.”

“I don’t just want loyalty but also capability. I know Virtual Mechanics all too well. Black Star will certainly use the opportunity to attempt to track us, so we must be prepared. Has the emissary’s escape route been prepared properly?”

“The Black Star Army’s forces are too powerful in the Flickering World, so it’s not suitable to spark any conflict. We’ve already equipped the emissary with Information Form Invisibility Coating. As soon as he gets his hands on the item, he’ll activate the coating and evaporate from the spot.” “What about the guards?”

“There are guards but not many, only to prevent accidents from happening on the way there… After all, any number of guards will be meaningless in the Black Star Army’s territory.”

“Hmm… not bad.” Oathkeeper nodded with satisfaction and said, “As long as the Holy Light Particle is acquired, we can start to fuse the Third Sanctum Key and start the preparations for the awakening ceremony. Therefore, after we complete the deal, we’ll fully enter ‘The Darkest Time’ and completely cut off any of our connections with the outside world… I’ll meet Black Star one more time after the deal is completed, probably for the last time. There most likely won’t be any need for us to cross paths in the future.”

“Understood!”

Hearing the subordinates’ response, Oathkeeper grunted and started daydreaming.

Honestly, if not for the deal, he did not even want to see Black Star’s face.

Even till now, he was still confused about who leaked their information. Did the spy or traitor exist at all?

Chapter 1142: Flawless Deduction

Chapter 1142 Flawless Deduction

The deal location agreed by Han Xiao and Oathkeeper was a certain transit station planet in the Flickering World’s Dawn Star Cluster.

Feidin was appointed as the deal emissary, representing the army to wait and meet with the Holy Accord organization’s emissary there. The entire process would be monitored by Han Xiao from the headquarters.

Oathkeeper had also used spiritual projection long ago to meet with Han Xiao. The two of them both maintained communication to ensure that this deal would be carried out smoothly, clearly showing sincerity. Inside the office, a virtual screen hovered on the table and played the footage from the surveillance camera. Inside the footage was a prosperous area with a lot of people. Feidin stood beside the wall of a building wearing a mask, looking at the pedestrians passing by. The Holy Accord emissary had yet to arrive at the designated location.

“When will your man arrive? We’ve been waiting for almost two hours.” Han Xiao leaned back in his seat and looked at the screen with boredom.

“Soon.”

“You’ve said that seven times already.”

“… Really soon this time.” A while after, a man also in disguise finally appeared on the screen carrying a silver alloy suitcase. He walked right toward Feidin. The two of them met, but neither carried on to the next step.

“Is he the emissary?” Han Xiao asked.

“That’s right. What you want’s in the suitcase.” Han Xiao nodded, contacted Feidin, and told him to exchange the item. Oathkeeper also used his ability to give the same order. The two people on the screen received the order and exchanged the items right away, then backed off a few steps to check them. An armor suddenly appeared on Feidin’s body, shrouding both him and the suitcase. The next moment, with a flash of light, he disappeared right on the spot and suddenly appeared in Han Xiao’s office.

“Here’s the stuff.”

The armor opened up, and Feidin placed the suitcase on Han Xiao’s table. This was the King mechanical suit Han Xiao had temporarily lent to Feidin. The Throne was in his hands to ensure he would take the item right after the deal was completed.

Han Xiao opened the suitcase, and cold air flew out. Inside were two cylindrical containers that contained two clusters of Primal Esper Ability Entities. One was green, and the other was blue. There was also a data storage device beside the two containers. Han Xiao turned it on and looked at it. It stored the data for two Gold blueprints. Everything Oathkeeper had promised in the deal was there. This time, a notification also popped up on the interface.

Primal Esper Ability Entities Acquired: 4/4

[Primal Esper Ability Collector] Milestone requirements met.

Effects: When you fight Espers, all your attributes will increase slightly. -12% to 20% damage received from Espers. You have received 1 (The Third Sanctum) Ability Fragment.

The mission is completed, which means these two were real.

Han Xiao was relieved. He waved at Feidin.

“Go back.”

The three-minute duration had yet to end. He activated the King again and sent Feidin back to the location of the deal.

Oathkeeper turned and looked over. “Black Star, how is it?”

“Hmm, there are no problems. What about you?”

“What you gave me was indeed part of the Holy Light Particle.”

Han Xiao raised his brows and extended his hand.

“So… nice deal?” Although Oathkeeper’s spiritual projection had no physical form, he still made the gesture to shake Han Xiao’s hands and said, “Nice deal.”

The next moment, the Holy Accord emissary on the screen seemed to have activated some device and disappeared all of a sudden. “Oh? Your man fled really quick. Are you that worried about me?” Han Xiao asked with a joking tone. “Caution is a necessity.” Oathkeeper did not deny it.

Seeing that his emissary had followed the plan strictly and left the scene, Oathkeeper finally heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed his tense nerves.

This deal was extremely important for the Holy Accord, and he was worried about a lot of things. Most importantly, he was worried about Black Star not fulfilling their agreement and attempting to chase the Holy Accord emissary by any means necessary. Now it looked like Black Star had no such plan, and the deal was carried out smoothly. With the Holy Light Particle, the success rate of opening the Third Sanctum would basically reach their expected percentage. Oathkeeper suppressed his excitement and said, “I will remember Your Excellency Black Star’s generosity. Since the deal is complete, it’s time for me to leave.”

Every time he made contact with people like Black Star, it was a risk. The more he spoke, the more information he might leak.

Luckily, there was no need to ever make contact with Black Star anymore in the future. All Oathkeeper wanted to do now was immediately turn off the spiritual projection and never meet Han Xiao ever again.

Since Oathkeeper had always contacted Han Xiao using the method of spiritual projection, this meant that only he could contact Black Star while Black Star could not contact him. As long as he never contacted Black Star ever again, Black Star would never have the chance to see him in the future. At this time, Han Xiao suddenly smiled and said, “Don’t be in such a rush. Who knows when we will meet again? Let’s chat for a while. Also, I have some questions I’d like to ask you before you leave.” Oathkeeper’s heart skipped a beat. Oh, come on, why do you have questions again? You asking questions make me panic, every time! Oathkeeper tried to be patient and said with a cautious tone, “… Ask on then. I’ll answer as much as possible.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly.

Just like Oathkeeper, he had nothing to worry about now that he already had what he wanted from the deal.

After he acted like he was pondering for a few seconds, he decided to start from the questions that would probably shock Oathkeeper the least. “Do you… know about Destiny’s Child?” Oathkeeper’s eyes turned around, and his entire body became stiff.

Animal! What have you discovered again? He started into Han Xiao’s eyes, hoping to figure out what he was thinking. However, Black Star’s clear eyes were filled with sincerity, as if he was really just asking casually. Unable to calm his emotions down, Oathkeeper suppressed his shock and asked, “Why are you suddenly asking me? Did something happen?”

“Well, there’s no need to hide it really. I once met a special individual who called himself Destiny’s Child. Sadly, he died in a nuclear explosion. Then, not long ago, I came across a similar individual. After some investigations, I discovered that there seems to be a Primal Esper Ability called Destiny’s Child that exists in the universe. It seems to be able to transform some life forms into special sub-bodies. You guys happen to be the experts in studying Primal Esper Abilities, so I came to consult you.”

“That’s it?”

“What else? But from the way you reacted, your Holy Accord organization seems to know quite a lot of things.” Han Xiao sized Oathkeeper up and wondered, “Could it be that Destiny’s Child is in your hands? The way your emissary disappeared earlier does seem similar to Information Form-related technology. That was invented by you guys too, wasn’t it?”

Oathkeeper was having a headache. He regretted his overreaction earlier. It was like he was infected with Black Star PTSD.

“It’s not, nonsense.”

“Really?”

“Nope.” Oathkeeper denied it completely. “Alright then, I don’t really care if it’s in your hands I just want to know some information. You guys specialize in studying Primal Esper Ability Entities, so you guys definitely know something, or you wouldn’t have asked me back earlier.” Han Xiao tapped on the table, his tone casual. He looked like he believed what Oathkeeper said, but actually, he was about sixty percent sure that Destiny’s Child was in the Holy Accord’s hands from Oathkeeper’s reaction. Nonetheless, Oathkeeper would certainly not admit to it, so the Great Mechanic Han decided to not continue asking. The most important thing was to ask about the mechanisms of Destiny’s Child.

Oathkeeper pondered with resignation, selected some information, and said, “Destiny’s Child is a very ancient Primal Esper Ability. We don’t know much about it either. Most of what we know came from the other Primal Esper Ability Entities. It’s said that Destiny’s Child’s ability is related to the changes of Information Form and strings of fate, and it has an unbelievably powerful foresight ability. “Strings of fate are also called ’cause and effect’ in some cultures. Like a huge net, if you touch one of the strings, the vibrations will certainly pass onto more strings. Therefore, every time it uses its ability, Destiny’s Child will have to read a lot of information and carry out an analyzing process similar to computing large groups of data. It is able to calculate the various possibilities and results that a certain event can produce, then use that to foresee the future.

“In this process, in order to read the so-called strings of fate, it will release special Information Form particles to collect information, and these particles will often cause information state disturbances. They will produce partial projections of themselves in random information bodies, take over part of their information, and that is how the sub-bodies are born. The targets are mostly life forms.

“Some Primal Esper Ability Entities say that Destiny’s Child can turn into a High Dimensional Information Form. If it doesn’t want to be discovered, no one can discover it. That is why no one had been able to capture it even till now… Therefore, you having met two sub-bodies is purely because you were lucky.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and his thoughts spun quickly. The information of Destiny’s Child Oathkeeper provided was almost identical to the mechanisms he had speculated it would have. However, he felt that Destiny’s Child’s ability did not stop there. Just foresight? Probably not! Since Destiny’s Child could produce sub-bodies, could it produce something else? Or even change the direction the strings of fate would take? There were many forms of the so-called ‘information state disturbance’, even physical mirages. Han Xiao did not forget how the Domino Virus that caused the Intelligent Plague appeared. In Version 1.0, the information he obtained from the Germinal Organization said that the ability of their Destiny’s Child was ‘influence’ over the future, not just ‘foreseeing’ the future. Han Xiao once thought it was only because the natives were not knowledgeable enough, but now that he thought about it, that might not have been a misunderstanding. Han Xiao asked a few more questions, to which Oathkeeper said he did not know, clearly not willing to expose more information.

Seeing this, Han Xiao had no choice but to change the topic. He narrowed his eyes and casually said, “By the way, last time you told me about how your spiritual projection ability works. After that, I did some research. There seems to be a Primal Esper Ability called Soul Flame that fits what you said.”

Hearing this, it seemed like this was no secret. Oathkeeper surprisingly nodded and said directly, “That’s right. I’m the master of Soul Flame.”

“Hmm, I did some further research following this information, and it seems like the last Soul Flame master in the universe was a Beyond Grade A Esper nicknamed Soul Emperor. His name was Rovell Sissock… Do you happen to know him?”

Then, Han Xiao stared closely at Oathkeeper, wanting to see every slight reaction he had. However, Oathkeeper did not look surprised at all this time and said, “I’ve heard about him too, but I don’t know him.”

Han Xiao frowned in his mind. Unlike the question about Destiny’s Child, Oathkeeper did not have any strange reaction to this question. He did not know if this was because Oathkeeper was completely mentally prepared about it, or Oathkeeper did not care about his identity being exposed, or he guessed wrong and Oathkeeper was not that Soul Emperor who might have faked his own death. Han Xiao then asked, “Since Soul Flame once spent time with this master, it must know more. Help me ask it then…”

Han Xiao felt weird as soon as he asked this. It sounded like asking a man to ask his current girlfriend about how her ex-boyfriend was.

“About what?” Oathkeeper did not agree nor disagree. “Hmm, I’m very curious about after Soul Emperor died, who took Soul Flame, and how did you obtain it?”

Oathkeeper’s tone became slightly more serious, and he said, “Don’t you think these questions are too personal?”

“As a man of science, is it wrong for me to be curious?” Han Xiao used a very justifiable excuse. Oathkeeper shook his head with resignation and said, “Alright, I know you’re curious about who I am, and you think I’m Soul Emperor or one of the Beyond Grade As who killed Soul Emperor back then and took Soul Flame. But you’ve guessed wrong. I’m none of them. I did not rob Soul Flame from anyone. When I met it, it was already free, and it took me some effort to acquire it.”

“Then can you help me to ask it, what did it experience after Soul Emperor died?” Han Xiao then asked.

“…It’s not willing to say.” Oathkeeper shook his head. He suddenly paused for a moment before saying, “However, it told me that Soul Emperor did not die in battle. Since you’ve already looked at information about him, I won’t go into detail. Anyway, during Soul Emperor’s last battle, his body was indeed destroyed. However, due to the specialty of his Esper Ability, his soul did not die and escaped. As for where he went, Soul Flame has no idea either.”

Han Xiao pondered. He did not know if what Oathkeeper was true, but from his tone and the content, it did not seem like a
lie.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Soul Emperor did not revive, which meant that there was a very high possibility he was still alive. If Oathkeeper was not Soul Emperor, then who was? Could it be that he had run into the secondary dimensions and was never able to come back?

“Do you have any other questions? If not, I shall leave.”

Oathkeeper was getting impatient.

He did not want to continue chatting with Han Xiao. He had more important things to do now. All his mind was focused on the awakening ceremony. The promise of many years was finally going to be fulfilled, so he did not want to wait another second.

To him, chatting with Han Xiao for a while was already very respectful, or he would have directly deactivated the projection and left right after the deal was complete. He would never come into contact with him again in the future anyway, so he did not mind being rude. “Alright, you do indeed have more important things to do. I won’t delay you.” Han Xiao stood up, did a farewell gesture, and deliberately sighed. “Sigh, buddy, I have quite a good impression of you. After you leave this time, god knows when you’ll contact me again. I won’t say much. When you revive the Primordial Ones, remember to send my regards to them.”

Oathkeeper’s movement to deactivate the spiritual projection stiffened in an instant.

The entire spiritual projection suddenly trembled like radio noise, which represented the extreme emotional turbulence Oathkeeper was going through. The sudden shock made Oathkeeper’s spiritual frequency lose balance, so much so that he suddenly lost full control of his ability! He opened his eyes wide with disbelief.

How can you possibly know about our top secret?

I have already investigated all the upper echelons. There are no spies at all!

When this thought appeared, Oathkeeper was suddenly stunned. Wait, I’ve fallen into a thinking blind spot. There’s actually one upper echelon left who has not been investigated! Someone once said, when you have eliminated all possibilities, no matter how unbelievable and impossible the last possibility is, that’s the truth.

Therefore…

Am I the spy?

Oathkeeper’s brain exploded.

Chapter 1143: Purpose and Partnership

Chapter 1143 Purpose and Partnership

“H-how did you…”

Oathkeeper’s heart was heavily shocked, and his mind was in a bit of a trance. He was filled with questions.

Black Star definitely knew this secret all along but had been hiding it, and I was totally fooled. This b*stard is so evil! Seeing Oathkeeper was appalled, Han Xiao looked surprised. “Hmm? Why are you still here? Weren’t you leaving?”

“I know you don’t want to leave me, but since you’re in such a hurry, you’d better go back quickly.”

“Act-Actually, I’m not in that much of a hurry. We can chat for a while… a while more…” Oathkeeper laughed awkwardly. This dog is definitely doing this purposely! How can I leave before I find out the whole truth? Han Xiao’s words made Oathkeeper immediately give up on wanting to leave as soon as possible. Instead, he insisted on staying and making sure his questions were answered. “Since you’re so enthusiastic, it’ll be rude for me to refuse you then.” Seeing that Oathkeeper looked emotionally unstable, Han Xiao stopped kidding and invited him back to his seat.

Oathkeeper took a deep breath and cautiously asked, “So you know about our goal. Where did you hear about it?”

Black Star directly pointed out the Holy Accord’s purpose, so he knew that there was no point in hiding it anymore. Furthermore, he felt that Black Star definitely had a motive, or he could have hidden the fact that he knew about this. Deliberately exposing their goal did not seem like something an enemy would do. He wondered what Black Star was planning. “I have my intelligence channels.” Han Xiao gave a perfunctory answer, clearly expressing that he would never reveal his sources. Oathkeeper did not hold any hopes for it anyway. If he was in Black Star’s position, he would not expose who the spy was either. Oathkeeper had no choice but to clench his teeth and accept that. He said, “Since you already know our goal, what are you planning?” He put himself at the lower position, which he had not done in a very long time. If he was facing an ordinary Beyond Grade A, Oathkeeper would most likely have thought of killing him. However, facing Black Star, he really did not have complete confidence he would be able to-Black Star was too damn tanky.

On the other hand, if Black Star wanted to, he could leak this intelligence out any time he wanted. Since his weakness was in Black Star’s hands, he had to be cautious.

“What do you think I’m planning?” Han Xiao smiled faintly.

“I don’t know.” Oathkeeper had several guesses, but he did not dare to say them out loud.

From the way he looked at it, there were only a few reasons Black Star would do this, including extortion or interrupting. It was not like Black Star only did this to scare him out of boredom… right? “Why not take a guess?”

“… I have no guesses.”

“Tsk, you’re so boring.” Han Xiao shook his finger. “Why are you so nervous? Since I did not reject your deal, don’t you understand my stance?” Oathkeeper’s eyes flickered. “You’re saying… you don’t plan to stop us?”

“Why should I?” Han Xiao crossed his arms, narrowed his eyes, and said, “I’m the leader of the Black Star Army and the three Universal Civilizations’ Special Consultant, but I’m also the vice president of the Beyond Grade A Association. If you’d paid attention to the Meeting of the Gods a few years ago, you’d know that the Mechanic Emperor and I have come to an agreement…”

Oathkeeper hastily thought back. Suddenly, a flash of insight passed through his mind and cleared the fog. “You’re saying… there are too few Beyond Grade As?”

“That’s right. The Mechanic Emperor and I both said that. Now you understand.” Han Xiao smiled.

Oathkeeper suddenly felt that everything made sense now, and most of his questions got answered.

No wonder despite knowing our goal, Black Star still chose to let it happen. This might be the only chance of tremendously strengthening the Beyond Grade A level in the short run, so it fits his goal. However, Oathkeeper still had some questions.

“I thought you were on the side of the three Universal Civilizations. I didn’t think you’d do this.”

“That’s just because of the promotions recently. Of course, in terms of overall stand, I’m on the same side as the three Universal Civilizations, but that doesn’t mean I’ve become their vassal. I stand against Mechanic Emperor only because his methods are too radical, but we both have the same wish for the total number of Beyond Grade As.”

“So, you plan to work with us on a deeper level?”

“That’s right. I won’t stop you from executing your plan, but I have my demands too. I hope that the Beyond Grade As you revive will all be on my side.”

Oathkeeper nodded before shaking his head. “This isn’t that simple. They all have their own minds. Even if I’m the one who revives them, they won’t become my puppets.”

“By the way, I’ve always wondered, why do you guys want to revive the already dead Beyond Grade As?” Han Xiao asked.

He had been curious about this question in his previous life. Logically speaking, the Holy Accord organization should have been very ambitious since they revived so many extremely strong individuals. However, the Holy Accord and the Revivors only appeared to fight the World Tree Civilization during the World Tree war, and they seemed to appear just because they had no choice. God only knew what they were doing before.

As for that group of Beyond Grade As who were revived during the Calamity of the Supers, he was still unsure whether they also came from the Holy Accord. “Because of a promise, an oath…” Oathkeeper’s voice became low and spoke in a storytelling tone. “Tell me about it.” Han Xiao was very curious.

Oathkeeper stayed silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating over whether he should leak more information. Then, he thought of his position, and he had no choice but to slowly explain. “The Holy Accord was founded toward the end of the exploration era by some of the Primordial Ones. Our purpose is to revive those who died in the war… Although when we talk about that history now, we say it quite casually, but Black Star, you should understand the frustration of the Primordial One. They spent their lifetime breaking through the limits of individual strength, only to be used as new tools of war, killing each other, dying one after another. “Even if they did not want to take part in the war, the unstoppable tide of the era still dragged them in. You can do some research. How many Primordial Ones met a good end? “At the same time, because we’ve evolved to a new level, countless people envied us, feared us. You know what it’s like. When an individual becomes too powerful, the masses will surely be wary about the individual. This has never changed… We’re just the extreme minority in the universe who are both admired and feared.

“Among the Primordial Ones, some regretted being born in the chaotic war era and hoped to go to the prosperous peaceful era, but they were limited by their life span. Some regretted dying in the war. Even after they were scarified, they tried to be reborn in the future. Therefore, many people started to look for ways to revive them secretly, and these people were separated into different factions. “Some of those people created the Holy Accord organization, and that’s our origin, also our promise…”

“I see…” Han Xiao started pondering.

He could understand why the Primordial Ones hoped to get through the exploration era using the method of getting revived in the future—they had reached the absolute peak of individual strength in the galaxy, yet they had become mere tools of war. At that time, there was no room for Beyond Grade A organizations. Other than the extremely few exceptions, most of them could only become the warriors of civilizations; maintaining a neutral stance was an extravagant wish. Anyone would feel frustrated in their position.

Furthermore, as the Beyond Grade As had just appeared, no civilization did not want to study them further. The environment the Primordial Ones were in was extremely harsh, far less free, safe, and comfortable compared to the modern Beyond Grade As.

The Primordial Ones had thought of all sorts of ways of reviving, and the Underworld might have been one of them, but very few chose to use that method. After all, not everyone was willing to become a subordinate of the sisters who were the former owners of the Underworld, and they were not that reliable either.

No wonder Onicelu said that the two sisters were once invited to take part in a plan related to the Sanctums that probably had something to do with the Holy Accord organization. However, the two sisters rejected it; they did not seem to want to be revived.

Han Xiao caressed his chin and pondered. “So, how do you plan to revive those Beyond Grade As?”

“I-I can’t tell you that.” Oathkeeper shook his head. Han Xiao said with a dissatisfied tone, “Humph, I can guess even if you don’t say it. It probably has something to do with the Sanctums. Come on, I’ve already made my stance clear. Show some sincerity.” Oathkeeper hesitated for a while before nodding solemnly. “Yes, it’s the Sanctums. I really can’t go into further details now. After I fulfil the promise, I’ll share the method with you.” Han Xiao curled his lips and changed the topic. “Then let’s talk about our partnership. I can provide convenience for your plan and keep it a secret for you, and you will have to give me some things in return…”

Han Xiao then stated his requirements. Resources and intelligence were not the most important. What he mainly wanted to obtain was the way to revive the dead through the Sanctums, as well as a part of the special technology the Holy Accord organization had, while at the same time being on the good side of these Revivors.

Whether Oathkeeper was willing or not, he had no choice but to trust Han Xiao and accept him as a partner. Otherwise, if Han Xiao leaked any of their secrets, there would be even more trouble. Oathkeeper had no certainty that Black Star had no ulterior motives, but he was not to be trifled with either. He did not want to fight now, but he would not be afraid to fight if he had to. The two of them negotiated for a while and settled on the partnership agreement. Oathkeeper had no choice but to leave a stable communication channel so that Black Star could contact him anytime and not just wait for him to contact him.

After all this was complete, Oathkeeper went offline with a belly full of questions. He might have to see a therapist after he returned.

Han Xiao stayed in the office, crossed his legs, caressed his chin, and pondered.

Everything he told Oathkeeper was true but not the whole truth. He did indeed want to increase the number of Beyond Grade As. One reason for that was to make the Beyond Grade As’ position more important across the universe while increasing his position in the association, and another was to deal with the World Tree. Aesop’s prophecy and the progress of the dynasty’s Science Institute led to him having no choice but to prepare in advance and find more helpers.

At the same time, he was also very curious about how the Holy Accord revived the Primordial Ones and wanted to find out more about the Sanctums’ functions. Furthermore, he did not wish for the Holy Accord organization and a group of Beyond Grade As to hide out of sight. He suggested this partnership to have a stable means of contacting them, so he could monitor what they were doing.

The last motive was that the Great Mechanic Han wanted to try triggering a mission. He felt that the chance of that was quite high.

And as he expected, a notification did pop up on the interface.

You have triggered the hidden mission (Return to the History Stage] Mission Introduction: You found out from Oathkeeper that the Holy Accord organization’s goal is to revive some of the Beyond Grade As who’ve died in history. You have chosen to work with Oathkeeper. Mission Requirements: Assist the Holy Accord organization to successfully complete their awakening plan. Reward: +25 Favorability of all the revived Beyond Grade As, +1 Legendary Point. Remarks: This mission is a Series Origin Mission. Once accepted, you will have a higher chance of triggering more hidden missions in the same series.

“Series Origin Mission, meaning this mission is the entry point to a storyline… makes sense. If I did not work with the Holy Accord, what happens afterward would have nothing to do with me.” Han Xiao accepted the mission without hesitation.

He had a feeling that this series mission might be related to many version main storylines.

In a certain secret base of the Holy Accord organization, Oathkeeper retrieved his spiritual projection and took a long breath. He was still a little stunned, digesting what had just happened. Law and Fay were standing below and saw Oathkeeper’s expression. “Boss, how was it?”

“Did Black Star complete the deal, or did he change his mind?”

Oathkeeper regained focus, straightened his facial expression, and said reluctantly, “From now on, Black Star is temporarily our ally.” Law and Fay’s eyes widened with confusion. What happened? Why so sudden? The Holy Accord organization has never had a partner. This is the first! Wasn’t this just a simple trade? Why have Black Star suddenly become our ally? We’ve heard a lot of Black Star’s excellent skills in making friends. Did the boss fall to him too?

Chapter 1144: Butterfly: Can You Not Make Me Flap My Wings Every Day?

Chapter 1144 Butterfly: Can You Not Make Me Flap My Wings Every Day?

In the dedicated factory for the Army Commander in Black Star Palace, Han Xiao walked in with a suitcase, placing it on the table. He opened the lid with a click, taking out the two cylindrical containers containing the Primal Esper Ability Entities, and held them in his hands.

The emerald green Primal Ability was sticky in texture like a liquid, whereas the sky blue Primal Ability was like a cloud of light mist with icy debris.

The emerald green one was known as ‘Natural Spirit Power’, which could control various plants and greatly accelerated their growth. It could also call on beasts and possessed various powers of nature, just like a druid. Its frontal combat capability was slightly weaker, but it could extract and synthesize toxins from a variety of plants, which was good for research. The Holy Accord had utilized this ability to cultivate various magical plants and toxins.

The sky-blue entity was named ‘Frost Authority’, which not only allowed it to manipulate the cold but could also temporarily turn ice and snow into ice golem warriors like a Magic Colossus. It could also produce ice armors and weapons, move with the frigid winds, spreading death through the lack of heat… It was said that a sufficiently powerful host could even allow it to freeze molecular motion for a short amount of time, creating the effect of freezing time and space. These two abilities are actually pretty good. After all, they’re composite Primal Esper Abilities, but their effect is second. The main thing is to activate my milestone, Han Xiao thought to himself.

The (Primal Esper Ability Collector] milestone allowed him to be strengthened when facing an Esper, allowing him to gain innate advantages. The effect was impressive.

As for (The Third Sanctum) fragments rewarded by the mission. While it seemed useless at the moment, Han Xiao felt that they would come into handy after he obtained the method to open the sanctum from the Holy Accord.

Who should I hand these abilities to?

Han Xiao searched his mind for candidates.

The first choice should be to give it to Evans, as with his talent, he should be able to ignore the issue of adaptability like EsGod and easily master the Esper Abilities.

However, thinking about it, Han Xiao rejected this idea. Right now, Evans’ first mission would be to level himself up and develop his own combat style through absorbing various abilities. If he gave Evans the two Primal Esper Abilities, he would not have any energy to concentrate on his research.

Moreover, with Evans’ current level, he had no chance to fight, and the Primal Esper Ability would only be used for display. I should first look for a suitable host among the officers of the army. The last resort should be Evans.

Putting away the two Primal Abilities, Han Xiao opened the data storage and took out the two Gold Grade blueprints that the Holy Accord had given him to look through.

The blueprints provided by the Holy Accord were all relatively old technology, which were likely to have been preserved from the exploration era and not improved on much. One of the blueprints was called ‘Psionic Obelisk’, which had the effect of energy conversion and formation of energy barriers. What separated it from general psionic shields was that it had an extraordinary resistance to energy attacks and could absorb a portion of damage to restore its shield durability.

But this was only its basic function. The core function of the Psionic Obelisk was to provide a large field of energy that could be borrowed at will without a transmission pipeline. In simple terms, this item could increase the energy concentration of an area to become denser and more active.

Thus, this Psionic Obelisk was equivalent to a magic weapon which could increase the aura concentration of a place, similar to man-made blessings.

Because the Obelisk provided free energy that could be borrowed without any restrictions, it would be no different from what the surface civilization deemed as sacred objects or wonders. The extremely active energy factor would allow individuals to have more ways to utilize energy and also a higher probability of giving rise to other super systems. At the same time, obtaining a large-scale infusion from the obelisk could result in temporary transformations, allowing an ordinary person to possess combat power. The effect of the Psionic Obelisk could be said to be somewhat similar to the Evolutionary Totem, but their focus was different. The former focuses on increasing the overall energy concentration within the area, while the latter focused on optimizing the genes of the individual. Comparing the two, the Evolutionary Totem was rarer. But this little toy still had its uses. Putting it in each base of the army could improve the training efficiency of the members, spawning more powerful players and at the same time allowing him to sell it for his business. Even if the sales volume might not match up to the Evolutionary Totem, it would still be a good cornucopia.

Because the Holy Accord paid attention to its secrecy, they did not sell their Psionic Obelisks. All of these blueprints were merely accumulating dust in the warehouse. They were not good at mechanical technology, and since they made most of their money through their Esper Ability technology, they chose to provide Black Star with a path to fortune.

In actual fact, the blueprint that the Holy Accord wanted to take out was not this one. Oathkeeper, however, felt that Black Star was an unfathomable person, so he changed it to a better blueprint in hopes that it would serve as a ‘protection fee’ of some sort.

The other blueprint was named Getta Hadoken. While it sounded like a pugilist technique, it was actually a sort of compounded attack device.

This device required a combination of the Armed and Energy Branches. It had a complete set of complex equipment, but it was not assembled together like a firearm, scattered instead like an external carrier. Through special methods of energy gathering, compression, and transformation, this would launch a powerful attack, and the issued attack was known as ‘Getta Hadoken’.

This equipment was also not a one-trick pony. According to the different operating routes of the device, the Getta Hadoken had many variations, including close, medium, and long ranged combat. Dozens of supporting operation routes were recorded in the blueprint, each operation route representing a method of attack. Each of them had their own unique names with the same prefix of ‘Getta’.

“Rather than calling it a blueprint, this thing seems more like a pugilist manual for Mechanics. It seems like this is best suited for Mechanical Pugilists.”

Han Xiao scratched his head.

With the Psionic Obelisk and Getta Hadoken being added to the other Gold grade blueprints Titan Spinal Center and Mechanical Territory obtained from the Federation, he finally obtained everything he was owed.

With the blueprints in hand, the next thing to do was to turn them into real objects.

“The public commendation ceremony for the three Universal Civilizations is about two months away. It’s a good time to seclude myself and produce the four finished products, obtaining more God’s Trait Transformation points… I’ve been in the limelight too much recently. It’s better for me to stay low-key for a short period of time, to digest my influence and stabilize the reputation.”

Han Xiao made up his mind, gearing up and hurriedly entering his manufacturing state.

In one of the secret training bases in the Crimson Dynasty, a group of officers were operating equipment in a room full of instruments. One of the walls of the room was a huge transparent viewing window. Two of the senior officers were standing in front of the viewing window; one of them was the supervisor of the base, and the other was the drill sergeant.

The two of them looked down the window, to see an inverted pyramid-like space below. A man was seated at the deepest point hundreds of meters down, releasing strong energy fluctuations and glowing energy particles. It spread around the walls before gathering back on top and falling back down, forming a cycle.

This was a special training facility for Supers that could improve the efficiency of their cultivation. At this time, the person within the facility was Gaud, and the instrument room was actually the monitoring room. The operators present were all paying attention to the energy fluctuations readings of Gaud.

“His progress is fast. This is a good seed.” The drill sergeant stared down at the silhouette below as he nodded in satisfaction.

“That’s right. He’s the most likely talent to reach Beyond Grade A in his class. Not only does he have potential, but his own abilities are extremely powerful. Maybe one day he’ll take on the position of Lord Clotti,” the base supervisor praised.

“Black Star is still in line. It won’t be his turn that soon.”

“I’m just guessing, and besides, Black Star is not of direct descent.”

The two of them conversed softly.

Gaud had already been training for many years, and he was making rapid progress. All sorts of barriers were easily passed, as though he had no bottlenecks. This sublimation in his life level in such a radical way was obviously dangerous, but he gave people the feeling that he was extremely familiar with this path.

In the eyes of both of them, even if Gaud’s talent was not as good as Black Star, who had broken all records, he was not too far off.

The drill sergeant gazed at the instrument’s readings, before exclaiming in amazement, “At this rate, I estimate he’ll enter the Beyond Grade A realm in two to eight years. This is the most efficient person I’ve seen… if we exclude Black Star.”

“It seems like we’re witnessing yet another rise of a Beyond Grade A.” The supervisor laughed, “The upper echelons have already sent down people twice. It seems like they’re very concerned with the progress of Gaud.”

It was a feat to be able to cultivate a Beyond Grade A of direct descent, so as long as Gaud completed his promotion, the supervisor would also experience a ‘promotion’

After idly chatting a bit more, both men went back to work topics.

“Has the list of new trainees this semester been compiled?” the drill sergeant asked. “It’s been completed. I was preparing to hand it to you.” The base supervisor called up a virtual screen to show a list.

VA

This secret training base would select talents from the dynasty for a targeted training every once in a while. If there was potential, the dynasty did not mind raising even an infant all the way to the Calamity Grade, branding them a direct descent of the dynasty. Thus, they not only recruited Calamity Grades but also divided them based on different ranks and classes according to their Grade.

The lower their grade, the more intense the competition. In Grades below the Calamity Grade, there existed an implementation system. Either one passed the assessment, or they would pack up and return to the army.

If you cannot make it, then leave. Don’t continue to occupy the pit even if you cannot sh*t.

The name list was quite long, and every one of them was accompanied by a resume and record. There were countless people with varying honors; they were the elites of each fleet.

The drill sergeant looked carefully, and when he came toward the end, he was taken aback. He saw that among the group of elites with gorgeous resumes, there was a person with almost no merits on his resume, and his bearing in his photos gave off a silly air without any class.

“Karlot? Where did this guy come from? Why would the top pick a completely ordinary fellow to come in?”

The drill sergeant had an expression of befuddlement, even scrutinizing Karlot’s resume, but the whole thing basically screamed ‘ordinary’.

While this secret training base did not only recruit elite students, they had to have some characteristics. How did such a guy who was indistinguishable from a grunt get in?

Could it be through connections?

Don’t tell me that even the dynasty’s upper echelons are also corrupted now!

The drill sergeant was heartbroken.

“I didn’t understand as well, so I specifically went to inquire.” The supervisor hesitated. “It seems that Black Star publicly expressed optimism about this person many years ago, but so far, there has not been any outstanding performance from him. The upper echelons plan to give him a chance to see if you can train him.”

“So, it turns out it’s like this…” The drill sergeant frowned. “I feel that this is a waste of space. So many years have passed. If he had the potential, then he would have shown it already. What’s the point of cultivating him with the mentality of a gambler now?”

“If you strongly object to this, I’ll help you pass him on.” The supervisor could not care less. It was not him who was going to teach the students any way.

The drill sergeant frowned as he pondered, finally shaking his head. “Forget it. Since they’ve decided from above, I’ll follow the orders and give him a chance… but I won’t deliberately give him any slack. If he cannot pass the assessment, he’ll still be eliminated.”

There was no such thing as fairness in education here. The drill sergeant only liked the top students and was too lazy to spend energy on the poorer students. He even thought that it was a waste of time to look at them. Concentrating the resources on those top students with outstanding talents was the solution to maximizing resource efficiency.

“That’s not bad.” The supervisor glanced at the list before saying, “Then I’ll put him in the most elite class and give him the most powerful opponent, so he won’t stay long. I estimate that he’ll leave in the first quarter.”

The supervisor had the same mentality. It would not help his political performance to train a poor student into an elite. Only when an elite was trained into a top-tier combatant would they then gain merit.

Thus, he did not mind using his power within the rules to eliminate those poor students with insufficient talents to the greatest extent, in order to free up more places to recruit better potential stocks.

In his eyes, this was the proper use of limited resources, and the survival of the fittest was a natural law.

Within the Crimson Dynasty’s Science Institute was the Wormhole Position Project Office.

The Science Institute was divided into many teams with different complex projects. The wormhole positioning was a large project, and any suspicious wormhole data collected by the dynasty was analyzed here.

The wormhole data left behind by EsGod was just one of the goals of the research team of this project, and it was a sample that was not so important.

As the research team leader was calculating the wormhole model in the laboratory, his secretary hurried in.

“Leader, the approval from above has been sent over. They rejected our batch of applications for the wormhole test.”

“Rejected?” The team leader was surprised. “Isn’t it just a procedure? Why did they stop us this time?”

After deducing part of the coordinates for a wormhole data, a directional shuttle test would usually be performed, and several multifunctional detectors would then be thrown through the wormhole for an on-site inspection and position to establish a more accurate coordinate system. This would allow them to test if there was any deviation in their data deduction, which was a conventional method of experimenting.

The team leader was quite interested in this batch of test samples, which included the wormhole data left by EsGod.

He did not care much about what was on the other side of the wormhole, and the reason was mainly because the sample was extremely difficult to calculate. After finally determining the scope, he was eager to know if his calculation was right.

The secretary pushed up his glasses, hesitantly replying, “I don’t know the details, but it seems like this was a suggestion from His Excellency Black Star. The upper echelons thought his words made sense, so the review standards for most scientific projects have temporarily been tightened.”

“What is this about Black Star again?”

“He seems to have mentioned something about the Super Star Cluster Alliance being ready to move. Once a conflict breaks out, the three Universal Civilizations will not have any time to take care of anything else, so it is best to reduce the possibility of any random risks. The management accepted his proposal about our wormhole project.”

The team leader could not help but grumble, “Black Star is only a half-baked scientist. Isn’t he just causing us more trouble?”

At this moment, one of the researchers carefully asked, “Team leader, then… do we still do the shuttle test?”

Hearing this, the leader huffed in annoyance. “What do you want to do? Without approval from the upper echelons, do you dare study in private? You’re really good, not even respecting your superiors. I must correct your teaching. Come here, take this uncalculated wormhole data and do the calculations! If you can’t figure this out, then your holiday this year is cancelled!”

“… Eh, so we actually have holidays?” The researcher in question scratched his head in confusion. Then, where have all my past holidays gone?

Chapter 1145: The Third Sanctum and Awakening Project

Chapter 1145 The Third Sanctum and Awakening Project

In the Central Galaxy, the Abyss of Stars, the Shadow Realm…

The planet filled with dark gaseous air was still suspended here, as though it had existed since ancient times.

Streams of light could be seen a distance away from the planet, and a fleet arrived.

The dark planet suddenly became restless, the energy flowing on its surface rumbling and setting off a wave thousands of feet tall. Like shaking off a full body of lice, shadow servants appeared from the waves, ready to launch an overwhelming attack any time.

The spaceship at the head of the fleet suddenly released a burst of black-colored soul flames, which spread rapidly and quickly swept across the dark planet. The next moment, the pitch-black planet turned quiet, and the countless shadow servants returned to the black ocean, merging into the surface of the planet and disappearing.

Oathkeeper stepped out of the spaceship, hovering in space and staring at the dark planet in front of him whilst speaking through mental fluctuations.

“The date has been brought forward. We must perform the ceremony immediately, otherwise we will not be able to keep up with the agreed date…”

“But I haven’t completely transformed all the materials yet…” “There’s no more time. If I miss the date of this appointment, even if I enter The Third Sanctum, I will not be able to bring anyone back. There’s no set cycle to this date, and I am not sure how many years it will take till the next date. We cannot miss this opportunity.”

“… Alright, I’ll try my best.”

Oathkeeper nodded before turning to the fleet and commanding, “Prepare to synthesize the final key.”

As he spoke, the fleet moved. They spread out in the four cardinal directions, docking at different positions of the dark planet and forming a specific formation. The armor plates at the bottom of each spaceship shifted to reveal a circular device which let off a hazy light. These lights linked with each other to form a translucent energy cover, encapsulating the planet within.

A silvery white cannon muzzle then appeared from all of the spaceships, aimed toward the dark planet.

In the mental network built by Oathkeeper, the voices of the officers could be heard. “The 12th-level energy stabilization and compression force field has been constructed, and the target has been covered.”

“Transmitter has been activated. All Primal Esper Ability Entities have been loaded and sequenced.”

“Information Form template is loaded. The reconciliation process has been calibrated. The preparations are complete.”

“All standby, wait for my orders,” Oathkeeper solemnly said as he raised his palm.

Everyone stared at Oathkeeper’s palm, holding their breath. Law and Fay as well as the other officers clenched their fists, their chests rising and falling

Seeing that the mission of the Holy Accord over these years would end with the wave of this hand, everyone had some sort of fluctuations in their mood.

Looking around, Oathkeeper slightly closed his eyes, waving his hand resolutely. “Begin!” Just as he spoke, it was as though they had pressed a start button on a sophisticated instrument. All the operators present had practiced this process thousands of times without any mistakes, and they started to synthesize in strict accordance with the steps of the ceremony.

Bang, bang, bang! The silvery-white cannons shot out colorful beams of light, each beam representing a Primal Esper Ability Entity, which was submerged into the dark planet.

Thousand Shadows’ abilities was the base behind the synthesis. Through its own ability mechanism, it began to compress and fuse the many Primal Esper Ability Entities. The dark planet changed in an instant, the energy of different entities shuttling and flowing in the black sea on the surface of the planet, as though painting on the canvas.

Various energies of a different nature reacted fiercely, and the color of the dark planet turned brighter, gradually transforming into an incandescent ball, like a super large light bulb.

The force field covering it shuddered violently as it withstood the impact. It flickered uncertainly, trembling as though it would be disintegrated at any time. At this moment, the information form template came into play. It was as if an invisible big hand began to knead the ball of light, changing its shape and shrinking its original volume. Under everyone’s eyes, it slowly decreased from a huge planet to a circle not past a hundred meters in diameter. However, the energy density was untold times higher in that slowly spinning circle, so dazzling that it could hardly be seen directly. “Success!”

Seeing this scene, the members of the Holy Accord cheered.

Oathkeeper suppressed the excitement in his heart, loudly saying, “Put in the other keys and open The Third Sanctum!”

The troops acted again, taking out the ‘keys’ they had gathered before and putting them into the center of this white ball through the traction field. It seemed that there was a special force present within, holding up these objects and making them rotate around the light circle.

When the last ‘key’ was thrown in, the circle suddenly emitted a bright light, projecting a picture in the cosmic space not far away, like the reflection of the world in a mirror.

Within the picture, there were six vague doors of light, which were also slowly rotating. They did not look far away, but they appeared untouchable, just like a mirage, as though they were in another world.

This scene only lasted for a moment, and five of the light doors suddenly disappeared, the remaining one growing rapidly as though turning from illusory to reality. The edge of the doorway was still shaking slightly and seemed quite unstable. There was only the radiance of the door within the passage, and nothing could be seen on the other end.

“This is the portal to The Third Sanctum. According to the information handed down, the time flow inside is strange. It’s not long to the agreed date, and I’ve to go in early now…” This thought passed Oathkeeper’s mind, and he took a deep breath, prepared to fly across the door of light.

At this moment, the white halo that was transformed from the dark planet suddenly trembled violently, and the black mist separated itself, turning into a face. Its mouth opened and let out an unwilling roar, which exploded in everyone’s mind.

Buzz!

The sudden changes made the passage of The Third Sanctum turn fuzzy and illusory again, as though it was about to disintegrate any time.

“Thousand Shadows!”

Oathkeeper snapped his head around, his eyes spraying raging Soul Flames that instantly hit Thousand Shadows, burning the mist into nothingness.

This blow completely killed off the remaining consciousness of Thousand Shadows, and now, it was truly dead.

“He indeed counterattacked at the last moment…” Oathkeeper was not surprised and secretly sighed.

The Holy Accord initially wanted to wait until Thousand Shadows’ consciousness was completely swallowed up before performing the ceremony, but the agreed date was pushed forward, so they had no time to wait.

While Oathkeeper could have easily destroyed Thousand Shadows’ consciousness before, under normal circumstances, Thousand Shadows and its ability were one, unable to be forcibly separated. If he killed it, then even the ability itself would be wiped out, removing this Primal Esper Ability Entity forever from this world.

The synthesis ritual was able to eliminate anything superfluous to them, so Thousand Shadows had taken this chance to counterattack. It was only then that it briefly separated, giving Oathkeeper a chance to kill it.

It was just that even though Oathkeeper reduced the influence of the Thousand Shadows to the minimum, it still had a negative impact. Everyone saw that the portal to The Third Sanctum was turning unstable.

Without any delay, Oathkeeper rushed into the passage of The Third Sanctum, only leaving behind a sentence. “Before I’m back, Law and Fay will be the temporary leaders. Keep a low profile until I bring the rest back.”

The next moment, the passage toward The Third Sanctum collapsed, and the many keys disintegrated.

Other than the Primal Esper Ability Entities, the other keys were basically a one-time use, and what the Holy Accord had spent many years gathering all disappeared into smoke.

As Oathkeeper disappeared, the locators that he specially carried on his body all became invalid, as if they no longer existed in this world.

A little more than a month later. In an asteroid belt somewhere within the Flickering World, two figures, one black and one red, shuttled through it, fighting fiercely.

“Torrent-Getta Hadoken!”

A bright blue ray was emitted, and the asteroids that were along the ray’s path were instantly vaporized and annihilated, leaving behind a blank path.

The red figure teleported to avoid the attack before backhandedly fanning out a red energy wave to retaliate.

The space around them flickered as the two of them continuously exchanged blows. They were Han Xiao and Hila, who were enjoying a routine spar.

The two of them fought against each other many times, so they knew each other’s bottom line. Following Han Xiao’s hit to Hila’s abdomen with a heavy knee drop, he smashed her down so she could not stand up before landing a heavy neck chop with his palm, ending the battle.

“Cough cough cough…” Hila kneeled on a small star as she grabbed her neck and coughed. She said in a muffled tone, “I lost
again.”

“There’s no need to be discouraged. Your progress is already fast enough. The Underworld is really a good thing.” Han Xiao felt a little jealous.

Since acquiring the Underworld secondary dimension, Hila’s growth rate also began to skyrocket. The faster the Underworld recovered, the stronger her Esper Ability would get.

Thus, in Han Xiao’s recent battles with Hila, he had gone as heavy as he could. If he relaxed, Hila would complain that he was going easy on her.

“My improvement is not as fast as yours.” Hila stood up, pointing at the floating device beside Han Xiao. “Your new machinery is not bad. Even I cannot eat a few shots of this thing.”

“I’m after all a Mechanic. Our systems are different.”

Han Xiao smiled as he stowed the Getta Hadoken away.

In the past two months, he had succeeded in creating all four new Gold Grade items from the blueprints. With (100 Million Mechanic Empire-Manison), the success rate and efficiency of creating Universal Treasures had been greatly improved, which greatly saved costs.

The Evolutionary Totem could easily be mass produced, but it was difficult for the Psionic Obelisk. However, Han Xiao managed to produce a batch of finished products, which had been installed in many of the army bases, while the Mechanical Territory was only provided to his Machinery civilization.

The scope of application for the Titan Spinal Center was limited to the Mechanical Deity. Only the Getta Hadoken was the most practical. It was not only adapted to a variety of fighting environments but could also combine various tricks and utilize weapon-like combos, winning the favoritism of the Great Mechanic Han.

The attack strength of the Getta Hadoken depended on the Power Output of the energy core as well as the strength of his own input. It would have an attack enhancement effect, which would increase one’s original attack power by a set percentage. Its lethality was impressive-other than concentrated firepower, the Mechanic usually did not have any other methods that could dish out high damage, and the Getta Hadoken made up for this gap to a certain extent.

Every time Han Xiao used this weapon, he could not resist shouting out the name, as though this would increase the strength further.

The two Primal Esper Ability Entities were also dealt with. The Natural Spirit Power found its host, namely Emerald Grass, the director of the Pharmaceutical Research Institute in the Logistics Department. Her abilities were extremely compatible with it, and she succeeded in adapting to the Entity. As for Frost Authority, it did not manage to find a host, so Han Xiao allowed it to remain as a Mysterious Energy Host for the time being.

After cleaning up the battlefield, Han Xiao casually said, “After a while, the joint award ceremony of the three Universal Civilizations for the Intelligent Plague will be held. Do you want to attend?”

“I didn’t participate in clearing the Intelligent Plague. Why would I go?” Hila shook her head. “In fact, you’re the one who’s going up to receive the award. Are you prepared?”.

“There’s nothing much to prepare. Isn’t it just some ceremonial words? I’ll make some up.” “Whatever.” Hila rolled her eyes. She was normally dignified and grave, almost never engaging with her subordinates in idle chatter. She would only talk more when she was with Han Xiao. “Speaking of which, it seems like the free competition zone is a little weird nowadays.” “Why?”

“The fourth exploration phase is estimated to be around eighty percent complete at the moment, and the expansion of the Super Star Cluster Alliance is growing bigger, no longer just content with exploration but also starting to invade and seize the other territories of the surrounding organizations on a large scale. They not only encompass the central zone of the free competition zone and multiple resource rich planets—they’ve also established a stargate transportation system, connecting multiple borders, obviously with strategic intentions.”

Han Xiao did not find that weird as he replied, “It’s normal. The Super Star Cluster Alliance is now in preparation. It’s estimated that the three Universal Civilizations will soon have a formal conflict with them. They wish to obtain a piece of land to act freely in the Flickering World, and the three Universal Civilizations are unwilling to allow the Super Star Cluster Alliance to do so. With the excuse of free competition and anti-monopoly, the contradictions between the two parties cannot be reconciled.”

“Oh… there’s also some strange movements of other organizations, including many non-legal Immortal organizations. It seems like they’re preparing to move as well.”

“Alright, I’ll pay more attention to this.” Han Xiao nodded. The World Server war was imminent, with the Super Star Clusters seen in the shadows of this event.

Both of them chatted a little more before returning to their respective fleets. Hila returned to the free competition zone, while Han Xiao’s destination was toward the planet where the three Universal Civilizations would hold the award ceremony, located in the Dawn Star Cluster, which was the gateway to the Flickering World.

After arriving and announcing his identity, the fleet, led by the Dynasty Guards, took the VIP channel, skipping past the other guests, and docked at the port.

As soon as Han Xiao disembarked, he saw Tarrokov waiting for him.

Both of them walked closer, reaching out for a strong handshake.

“Have you been waiting for long?”

“Not at all, Your Excellency Black Star. You came early.”

“Hehe, I have a good sense of time.” After a few greetings, Tarrokov lowered his voice. “Because of secrecy, I could not inform you earlier, but I can now say that the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations are attending this meeting, so you have to be prepared.”

Han Xiao’s brows jumped up. “You mean…”

“That’s right. They’ll appear in person this time, personally giving you the award.”

Han Xiao felt surprised.

I thought that I would just be here to parade around once. To think that it would be such a huge event.

It seems that the three Universal Civilizations have set their hearts on pushing up my fame!

Chapter 1146: Presenting Honors and Difficulties

Chapter 1146 Presenting Honors and Difficulties

After waiting for several days on the planet, Han Xiao witnessed the increase in the planetary security levels. A regular military force arrived, taking over the responsibility of protecting the planet, sealing the line defense, and making it nigh impenetrable.

Around half of the planet had entered martial law, and various advanced defense measures had also been arranged to prevent long-range strikes from threatening the celebratory planet.

While the Intelligent Plague broke out in the Ancient Star Desert, and it was more reasonable for the ceremony to be held there, the three Universal Civilizations took into account the fact that many of the Beyond Grade As were currently in the Flickering World and changed the venue, quoting symbolic significance. After all, this was another major exploration result of the galactic civilization after so many years. The leaders of the three Universal Civilizations attended the ceremony together, which was a rare scene. Due to their sensitive identities, such an event would generally be held in the Central Galaxy rather than other Star Fields. Even with careful security, life was unpredictable, so leaving the Central Galaxy was undoubtedly a risky move.

Han Xiao was sure that there would be some organizations with ulterior motives moving around. While the three Universal Civilizations had a mature operating system, such that their government would not be disturbed much even if their leaders were assassinated, there would still be some temporary chaos, which could be what these people were looking for.

Of course, if an organization really dared do this, then they would no longer have a place in the explored universe, as they would be hunted until every last one of them was dead. The relationship with the faction would forever be at ‘Hatred’. Moreover, with so many armies and Beyond Grade As gathered in a place, the success rate of an assassination was negligible.

But well, this does not hinder them from scheming some deliberate framing.

Han Xiao suspected that the three Universal Civilizations might engage in a self-directed act, pretending to have some outsiders assassinate them during the ceremony, before using this to put blame on their targets to get an excuse for a crusade.

This method seems familiar, as though I’ve seen it somewhere before…

Could it be that I’m the one that inspired them?

Han Xiao had experienced a ‘back stab’ not too long ago, so his memory was still fresh. At this moment, his thoughts could not help but be biased toward this aspect, and his imagination was running wild.

With his understanding of the three Universal Civilizations, it was not impossible that they would do such a thing. The chances of it happening was probably around twenty percent, and he could not ask Urranrell for verification just like that.

During the few days he stayed on the planet, he did not contact the head of the three Universal Civilizations but rather sat in the officially arranged guest house just like everyone else, waiting silently.

On the day the ceremony was held, Han Xiao and the guests were all transported to the ceremony site in official vehicles. The venue was a large hall decorated in the style of the dynasty. One could see countless invited guests lining up to enter the venue, but no loud noises were heard, only the rustling of quiet conversations. The entire atmosphere was quite serious.

Han Xiao’s seat was arranged at the front table, with Kasuyi, Kant, and the other peak Beyond Grade As.

After greeting, Han Xiao sat down next to Kasuyi, glancing at the people, before whispering, “Mechanic Emperor didn’t come?”

“He’s here, but it’s just his avatar.” Kasuyi gestured toward the back.

A steel lump was sat at the edge of the venue, but even if it was covered in a layer of iron, Han Xiao could smell Manison’s aura on it.

“He won’t cause trouble during the ceremony, right?” Han Xiao blinked.

“Manison is not that crazy yet,” Kant replied.

Today, Kant appeared as a handsome middle-aged galactic human, with a tall nose, deep eyes, and sharp facial features.

Han Xiao glanced at the security personnel at the edge of the venue before whispering, “I keep thinking that this won’t go so smoothly. Maybe there might be an assassination.”

“With so many of us Beyond Grade As here, who’d have such big guts?” Sun Hunter said.

“It might be a self-directed act…” Han Xiao winked.

Secret Master could not help but roll his eyes at Han Xiao as he coldly snorted, “Enough with that. You think the three Universal Civilizations are like you, to perform such a lowly act?” “So what if it’s lowly? What matters is that it’s useful.” Han Xiao clicked his tongue. “Wanna bet?”

“You dare bet!” Secret Master was stunned.

Aren’t you clear what sort of luck you have?

If one were to liken my luck to a flawless gemstone, then yours would be like the moldy green moss along the wall of a stinking ditch. How dare you bet with me, a master of luck? Are you feeling that charitable?

“Alright, then what are you going to give me?”

“I’ll bet Sun Hunter. If I lose, then I’ll give him to you. How about that?” Han Xiao reached out his thumb and finger, pinching the tiny guy’s head and pulling him up. “Huh?”

Sun Hunter, who was being dangled in midair, had the expression of the confused Nick Young meme.

What the f*ck does it have to do with me? Watch out before I blast your ass.

Secret Master was speechless, immediately patting Han Xiao to put Sun Hunter down. He apologized before whispering angrily to Han Xiao, “Who uses another person as a gambling stake? His Excellency Sun Hunter might be a little pocket-sized, but how can you make fun of his size.”

“We have a good relationship, don’t worry.”

Han Xiao flicked his finger, bouncing it against Sun Hunter’s head, earning him an angered glare from the other party before he sheepishly smiled and gave it up. He had always wanted to do so in his past life, and he had finally ticked it off his bucket list. With all of them being on equal footing, this little joke was harmless, but if it was an ordinary Beyond Grade A that did this to Sun Hunter, the person could probably apply for disability protection.

“Since you don’t like this bet, then I’ll change to something else.” “What?”

“I know you have some issues with me, so let’s do it like this. If you win, I’ll stand still for ten minutes and let you vent your frustrations. If I win, you do the same. Fair?”

Secret Master simply shut his mouth and turned his head away, not wanting to speak with Han Xiao any longer.

Forget about it, who here doesn’t know of your Indestructible Body’s tankiness? Fair my grandpa, I still want to live for a long time.

The group at the table chatted for a while, and suddenly, a group of officers strode into the venue, surrounded by their respective leaders. The venue immediately calmed down as the atmosphere turned solemn.

The Dynasty’s Ruler Urranrell, the Federation’s President Bader, and the Arcane Church’s Pope swaggered to the high platform of the venue under the eyes of everyone present, sitting at the specially arranged seats with the podium next to them.

Han Xiao had only seen Urranrell personally, and this was his first time meeting Bader and the Pope. While both of them had different temperaments, they possessed the same aura of power like Urranrell, causing everyone to turn serious subconsciously.

However, the focus of his observation was not the two leaders, but the personal guards around them, all of which were of the same stature as the Dark Lord Clotti.

On Bader’s side was a male with a white complexion and similar body structure to humans, except that he had a straight horn on his forehead, forcing him to keep his hair to an appropriate length. His hair color was golden and was tied into a twisted braid that hangs down to the waist. He seemed to have some elf blood as he had long ears, deep purple eyes, and a well-proportioned mouth but did not have a nose. The part that was his nose that was supposed to be flat was strangely not ugly

—it instead appeared harmonious with his features.

This person wore a robe that was dotted with light gold and ice blue colors, revealing an elegant nobleness and gentle temperament. This person was the Personal Guard of the Federation, the peak Beyond Grade A ‘Golden Ring’ Oulou.

Oulou’s ability was to borrow the power of a specific secondary dimension. It sounded like the dead Traveller’s ability, but his combat power was not the same. This guy was at the same level as the Dark Lord, able to fight Kasuyi hand to hand and not lose.

Han Xiao turned his head to the other side.

Next to the Church’s Pope was a huge guy, not the kind that got to this size through training but rather naturally huge, as though he had some giant blood running within. This was the Chief Guard of the Church, the one who was stationed at the Temple of God, ‘God’s Chosen’ Wuornos.

tas

Compared to Oulou’s glamorous outfits, Wuornos’ looks and temperament were low-key, as if he was just an ordinary middle-aged man with wrinkled eyes. He wore a silver-gray priest robe, and if not for the robe, one would probably not recognize him if they threw him into a crowd of people. “Oulou and Wuornos…” Han Xiao softly muttered.

Both of them were just like the Dark Lord, generally only following the Head of State, hardly participating in activities other than their duties.

Glancing at Han Xiao, Kasuyi leaned over and casually said, “This is your first time meeting them, right? Here’s a piece of advice, you can joke with Oulou and fool around, but don’t go and provoke Wuornos.”

“What’s with that?” Han Xiao was curious.

“While Oulou is the chief guard, his personality is different to Clotti’s, warmer and not so indifferent. Other than occasionally showing some superiority, he’s not bad. However, Wuornos… heh, just don’t mess with him.”

“You’re making me more curious. You’re the ally of the Arcane Church. Do you know some gossip?”

“Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you. I can only say that he’s the Beyond Grade A publicly acknowledged to be the strongest, and naturally, there’s a reason.” Kasuyi blandly smiled.

At this time, Urranrell stood before the podium, surveying the scene before speaking.

“Dear friends and guests, today, we’re holding a grand award ceremony to commend all the heroes who made great contributions in the Intelligent Plague disaster. The ceremony will honor every hero with an outstanding meritorious service. “First, on behalf of the three Universal Civilizations, I would like to extend my warm congratulations to the heroes of the universe who will be receiving the Medal of Honor as well as the honorary titles, and I extend my highest respect to them. “We’ve gone through many ups and downs, and today, we have united as one and once again eliminated another new disaster.

“Since the establishment of the galactic society in the last years of the exploration era, generations of heroes with a sense of responsibility have given up themselves to overcome difficulty after difficulty, shaping the cornerstone of today’s galactic society. While many have passed away, their glorious deeds will always spread from generation to generation.

“Only by crossing new mountains can we see a wider distance. Under the leadership of the three Universal Civilizations, we have overcome obstacles, constantly explored the unknown universe, and expanded our territory. Now, we’re in the Flickering World, a milestone achievement and a fruitful result of our external exploration.

“Such an achievement cannot be achieved with the cooperation of the entire galactic society. It’s this bond of order that connects us and creates a never-ending pioneering spirit. Anyone who tries to disrupt this order and unity will become the enemy of the entire universe…”

The media was broadcasting Urranrell’s speech to the entire universe. When she finished speaking, there was a tsunami-like applause in the venue. Han Xiao and the other Beyond Grade As also gave face to clap a little.

Han Xiao heard that in Urranrell’s words she emphasized the importance of collectivism, on the correctness and achievements of the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations, vaguely throwing arrows at the Super Star Cluster Alliance as well as the Mechanic Emperor. While she did not explicitly mention anything, everyone knew who the so-called ‘people who disrupted galactic civilization and society’ were.

Bader and the Pope also gave some short speeches before entering the formal award process. One by one, the heroes came to the stage, accepting the honors and making a speech. Some also answered questions from the reporters.

Before long, the ceremony approached the end. There was only one person left, and everyone’s eyes were focused on Han Xiao.

“Black Star limited the outflow of the virus during the disaster and discovered the true character of the virus core at the critical moment, reversing our erroneous strategy and allowing us to reformulate our plan. He alone changed the course of the disaster. He later captured the virus core and destroyed it, completely eliminating any hidden dangers, putting an end to the crisis of a second outbreak of the Intelligent Plague, saving countless lives. His contribution is huge and thus needs to be rewarded.”

After Urranrell spoke, Han Xiao stood up, stepping onto the stage and shaking hands with the leaders. Numerous news media reporters in the audience took videos and photos, turning the stage white with their flashes.

“Black Star has many good qualities. He is determined, resolute, flexible, and strong in principle…” Bader gave a series of praise, finally coming to the conclusion. “In view of his achievements, we have decided to jointly award him the Galaxy Medal.”

The moment he finished speaking, everyone in the audience paused.

The Galaxy Medal, which was the highest symbol of honor jointly set up by the three Universal Civilizations since their establishment, was the golden glory of the explored universe. There were only a few winners of this medal in history.

While many of them had this expectation in their hearts, they were still shocked to hear it. They always felt that although Black Star had great achievements, there was still a certain distance from this medal. Now it seemed that the factor behind this medal was if the three Universal Civilizations would support them.

But no matter what they thought, the honor was real, and the audience burst into applause.

Pa pa pa…

Amid the warm applause, Urranrell took out a star-like dazzling medal, placing it in her palm, while the other two held it by the edges, handing it to Han Xiao.

This image seemed to freeze, and the flashes under the stage flickered, recording this historic scene.

The commotion lasted a long time, and it took dozens of seconds before all movement gradually ceased.

Han Xiao reached out to accept the medal, pinning it on his chest before shaking hands with all three of them once more. He came up to the podium, clearing his throat.

“Many thanks to the Crimson Dynasty, Federation of Light, and the Arcane Church. To be able to receive this award is an honor for me. As part of the explored universe, I have the responsibility and obligation to maintain our stability and prosperity…”.

Reading from his prepared script, Han Xiao raised his head to gaze at the clock on the venue before smiling. “Since I’m the last person, it means that the ceremony is about to end. I won’t do a lengthy speech. Everything is about the same, and I feel that everyone here is already tired of hearing it…”

The audience let out laughs.

Han Xiao smiled as he nodded. “In short, what sort of person I am can be seen from my actions. I believe that society has its own views of me, and I don’t need to repeat it, so let’s skip that and go to the questions… Anyone?”

Hearing this, many of the reporters raised their hands enthusiastically, hoping for him to point at themselves.

Just as Han Xiao was about to pick someone, one of them stood up on his own and began to speak.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I heard that the Mechanic Emperor Manison also made a great contribution to the Intelligent Plague. Without him, the three Universal Civilizations would not have been able to find the location of the virus core. Thus, it can be said that a third or even half of your Galaxy Medal belongs to Manison… but for this award ceremony, the Mechanic Emperor did not obtain anything, and you seem to have forgotten about it and ignored his merits, accepting the medal with a peace of mind. What do you think of this?”

The originally enthusiastic venue suddenly seemed to have been doused in cold water, instantly quieting down.

Everyone moved their eyes subconsciously to Manison, who had been sitting indifferently at the edge of the venue.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes a little as he sized up the reporter. He saw the cold smile on that person’s face, obviously wishing to embarrass himself and the three Universal Civilizations in public.

Chapter 1147: Only Interested in Causing Sensational News

Chapter 1147 Only Interested in Causing Sensational News

The moment he started to ask his question rashly, the meaningful gazes of Urranrell, Bader, and the Pope immediately landed on him.

The reporter’s chest had his nametag, and he was called Porters, belonging to a news group in the Primeval Star River. His position was not low, otherwise he would not be responsible for the interview of the three Universal Civilizations on behalf of his media. Having participated in many press conferences for the three Universal Civilizations, his performance had been normal. To suddenly get into trouble, naturally someone had to put him up to it.

Han Xiao’s thoughts spun. At first, he suspected the Mechanic Emperor, but he quickly banished that thought.

The Old Man could not wait to pretend to be an ostrich right now. The more low-key he was, the better. This behavior of hiring people to question for himself was actually in some manner a self-damaging act… Manison was not so humorous and would not do such disturbing things.

Thus, the most likely suspect would be the Super Star Cluster Alliance, who contradicted the three Universal Civilizations most openly. Not only did they wish to sow discord, they also wished to badmouth the three Universal Civilizations in public. It cost little to do so.

All they had to take out was a sum of Enas, which would be astronomical in the eyes of ordinary people, and the reporter would naturally be tempted. In such a grand scene, the negative impact of an untimely question would be further magnified.

The identity of a reporter acted as a shield for him, allowing him to add fuel to the fire. The three Universal Civilizations naturally did not wish to worsen the situation, and thus, they would not capture him or threaten him afterward. As the ruling party, a pawn was just a pawn to them. They had to show some class and go straight for the orchestrator behind the scenes.

The surrounding reporters look at Porters in surprise and agitation.

“Have you lost your mind!”

“Quick, apologize and sit down!” “You don’t want to be in this business anymore!” Those who knew him whispered in low voices, wishing to pull him down, but Porters stood firm, staring straight at Han Xiao with a spirit of getting to the bottom of the matter.

Han Xiao pressed both of his hands on the podium, slowly saying, “Dear reporter, I don’t seem to have invited you to ask your question.”

“So, are you avoiding the question now?”

Porters turned a deaf ear to them, his gaze sharp and his bearing aggressive. Oh, there’s a hint of a western reporter’s flavor in his attitude.

“You guys, only thinking about sensationalizing news every day,” Han Xiao said with a smile that was not a smile. “I believe that the galactic society has a unified view of the Mechanic Emperor’s behavior, but looking at you, it seems like you wish to fight for him, huh?”

“I’m just asking the questions that the public might be curious about, based on the professional ethics of a reporter.” Porters straightened his back, with a conscientious attitude.

“Alright. This question is a little more sensitive. While I did not call upon you, I can answer this one.” Han Xiao tapped his fingers on the podium, his tone casual. “Manison did indeed make a contribution. This is an undeniable fact, but your statement is wrong. In fact, Manison discovered the problem of the virus core earlier than I did. This medal should have belonged to him, but he deliberately chose not to report it because of his selfishness. If it was not for me who revealed it, he would not have revealed this key information. In this manner, the three Universal Civilizations would always have been kept in the dark, and the universe would still be shrouded in the shadow of the Intelligent Plague.”

“So, you’re admitting that the Mechanic Emperor should be sharing the Galaxy Medal with you? You also think that it’s unfair he has not been awarded the medal?” Porters pressed on. “I only admitted that he has credit due in this area, not that he deserves the Galaxy Medal. Don’t distort my meaning at your own will. Moreover, Manison’s final decision is enough to make everyone here re-evaluate his motives.”

“Your Excellency Black Star, please don’t digress. We are not talking about the Mechanic Emperor’s choice, only his objective achievements.” Porters was skilled in such evasive methods.

“No, they are not separable. Part of my credit comes from my plan to stop the Mechanic Emperor. If he did not do anything at that time, my credit would be limited. If you think based on this logic, technically, he might deserve half of the Galaxy Medal. Hmm, that actually makes sense… but seriously, if we were to hand him a medal, then those not in the know would believe that he has done a good thing, and those who have worked hard for the universe would feel that this is unfair. I believe the three Universal Civilizations only made such a decision after great thought.” “But the Mechanic…”

“I’ve answered your question. You may sit down now. There are still others waiting to ask their questions. Please do not flout the rules time and again, or I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

Han Xiao indifferently cut off Porters.

The other party’s goal was to create trouble, so whatever he said would make the atmosphere uncomfortable. He would only stop at his own explanation, never thinking of making the other party speechless. As long as an earnest attitude was shown, most viewers would naturally listen to it, and continuing to argue would not only be pointless but also damaging to his image. Seeing the nearby guards already eyeing him, Porters could only sit back down in anger.

Ignoring the contempt, disgust, and complicated gazes of his peers around him, Porters suppressed the fear in his heart and tried his best to make himself look calm. He controlled the trembling in his hands and feet, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

Hu… I fulfilled the requirements.

Most likely, the President of my broadcasting station is going crazy now. Luckily, it’s not my problem anymore. I’ll immediately resign once I return. Whether the station gets suppressed or not isn’t my problem. Why would I still work when I’ve gotten my remuneration?

Dreaming of the future, Porters felt that a beautiful life was waving its hands at him.

The memory in his mind was extremely clear. Not too long ago, a few mysterious people suddenly contacted him, offering him a huge sum of money to make him launch a verbal attack during today’s occasion.

He knew that the moment he did this, his career would come to an end. Even if the three Universal Civilizations were too lazy to deal with him, the people below would act spontaneously and demand that the media industry ban him.

He was mentally prepared for this. Not only was the amount raised enough to move him, but the other party also had huge backing. The moment they looked for him, he could not reject their offer, so he did not have much choice to begin with.

While his actions would invite investigations and industry bans for him, his employer not only gave him money but also promised to arrange an escape route, allowing him to change his face and move to their territory to live, thus avoiding the grasp of the three Universal Civilizations.

For the rest of his life, he would be a rich man and enjoy his limitless fortune… This was what Porters was looking forward to.

Seeing that there was nothing wrong with Black Star’s answer, the atmosphere in the field quickly recovered. The reporters continued to enthusiastically ask questions, pretending that the episode just now did not happen.

From start to finish, Urranrell and the other two’s expressions did not change one bit. Manison also remained silent, with no intention to interrupt, as though his soul had already left the venue, thinking about what he should get for dinner.

No one else came to make trouble again. Han Xiao answered a few friendly questions before returning to his seat. The three Universal Civilizations’ leaders then spoke for a bit more before the award ceremony ended successfully.

The guests left the area one after another, while the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders left the scene under the escort of their guards. Han Xiao also left by the VIP passage after exchanging a few words with the other Beyond Grade As.

The moment he walked out of the venue, he received a call from Sylvia.

“Army Commander, I watched the live broadcast. What should I do with that reporter, Porters?” Sylvia immediately got to the point.

“What do you intend to do?”

“Get rid of him?”

“Let’s not. We can only get rid of our anger, and it will even give the Super Star Cluster Alliance an excuse to gain a bargaining chip. The three Universal Civilizations will definitely not allow him to continue living his original life. That’s enough.”

“So, we just sit still and do nothing?”

“Let me think…” Han Xiao thought for a while before an evil grin stretched across, “Monitor the flow of funds for all his accounts. The Super Star Cluster Alliance will definitely find a way to launder the money and put the reward into his account. The moment he receives a large amount of income, hack his account and donate all his money, including his savings.”

“Let him work for nothing? Heh, evil enough. I like this idea.”

Sylvia’s eyes gleamed, and she immediately cut the call.

Han Xiao left the quantum network, not even putting Porters in his heart. He was not willing to stoop to such a low level to deal with a tool.

He quickly threw this matter to the back of his mind, stretching out his hand to take off the Galaxy Medal and examine it closely.

The item details on his interface showed that this medal would bring to him a Universe Legendary Point, (Galaxy Medal Awardee), as well as a bonus effect of solidifying the relationship between him and the three Universal Civilizations at (Respect). This was equivalent to 3,000 Contribution Points.

“The number of faction points cannot beat even one Legendary Point.”

Han Xiao nodded in satisfaction. He did not have much hope for this kind of medal anyways, so it was a surprise to obtain extra gains.

At this moment, two dynasty non-commissioned officers walked out and stopped in front, as though they were there just for him.

“Your Excellency Black Star, the three heads have invited you to meet with them.”

Han Xiao’s feet stopped, and he nodded. “Lead the way.”

At the same time, in the temporary base of the Flickering World for the Super Star Cluster Alliance, the messengers of each ally met secretly in the round table conference room through remote projection.

A virtual screen was suspended, playing the live broadcast of the award ceremony.

After watching the live broadcast, many of them shook their heads.

“The effect was only so-so, not the level of influence we hoped for.”

“An ordinary reporter can only reach this level. I told you not to hold high hopes.”

“A little effect would be good. Right now, the prestige of the three Universal Civilizations has been consolidated once again, and hitting them will only bring us a weak effect.”

“This is only a trivial matter after all. Strength is still the most important principle.”

“That’s right, so let’s forget about this topic and return to the more important things. Come… what did we discuss previously?”

“We talked about the various support for the organizations. It’s time to act collectively, like with those Immortals Organization. This time, we’re attacking preemptively. We cannot wait for the three Universal Civilizations to take action before fighting back.” “The stowaways we sent out in the first phase of the exploration can now be officially activated. The three Universal Civilizations control the gateway to the Flickering World, while we’re alone. If we wish to obtain a steady stream of supplies and reinforcements, we must count on these buried chess pieces.”

“The first batch of targets to occupy have also been selected. Our regular army will not move, and all the agents will first take action. Before the three Universal Civilizations formally intervene, we’ll try our best to seize the territory within the free competition zone.”

“What did the Beyond Grade A Development union say?”

“They basically choose to maintain neutral, but Black Star claims to have a private grudge with the Modo Civilization, so his attitude is currently unknown.”

“Troublesome guy… Hey, messenger of Modo, wait until the conflict officially breaks out. We might not have the energy to take care of you guys, so you will have to come up with your own plans. If you really can’t do it, sacrifice yourself to hold Black Star back. The overall situation is the most important.”

“Okay…”

“Everyone, the success or failure of this operation will determine the future of our respective civilizations. To gain further opportunities or to be ruled forever… at all costs, we can only succeed!”

Chapter 1148: The Participation Requirements of the Three Universal Civilizations

Chapter 1148 The Participation Requirements of the Three Universal Civilizations

Han Xiao followed the two dynasty non-commissioned officers through the tightly guarded corridors to a large office, which had been refurbished for the three heads of state. Right now, the door of the innermost reception room was closed.

The Secretary of the Dynasty Ruler put down the work on his hands, approaching them with a respectful tone.

“Your Excellency Black Star, the three Rulers are still in discussion. Please wait for a moment.”

“Alright, I’ll sit by the side.”

Han Xiao casually found a place to sit down, while the Secretary assigned people to bring refreshments for him before sitting opposite Han Xiao.

In order not to let Black Star feel left out, the Secretary turned into an escort and started talking

Having spent decades in the dynasty, Han Xiao knew quite a few of the high-ranking officials, and this was not his first time talking to the secretary. As they talked, the topic shifted to the little incident that had happened just now.

“Your Excellency Black Star, what do you think of that reporter?” the Secretary asked.

“Just an unlucky sod.”

“Indeed.” The Secretary laughed. “The moment he was selected, his life was destined to be affected. It’s understandable why he would choose to gamble for the greatest benefits in the end.”

“Eh, I thought you’d have to maintain political correctness in your position. You should have said that he should have immediately reported the orchestrator.”

“Hehe, we pay attention to political correctness, but we also have to be practical. The upper echelons will never like a person who only knows how to blindly shout slogans.” The Secretary shook his head. “He’s not our citizen, nor is there any patriotic factor about him. The probability of expecting him to actively expose the other party is low. Tell me, what would he get in return?”

“A tiny reward, maybe a medal?” Han Xiao casually joked.

“Haha, you’re quite humorous… However, these are extravagant hopes. What he’ll get is likely a downgrade of his position. He was originally a big-name reporter belonging to a news group, who was responsible for attending our official events, so it should be considered a top-level position. But if he exposes this matter, there won’t be preferential treatment for him… You also understand that the civilization is a huge system, with each department not just working for the civilization but also looking out for their own political achievements. So, why would the news department take such a risk to allow a suspicious person to remain? They will have a good talk with the news channel’s upper echelons, then that guy will likely be shifted elsewhere.”

“Doesn’t that mean that the person would be worth taking care of?” “Is there a need? It’s easier to swap with a new person. Is he working in a non-replaceable role?”

“Oh, that’s a little cold blooded. Aren’t you afraid of making people disheartened?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Haha, do you think we will surround and protect a small reporter so that others will see our care and increase their confidence in cooperating with us? So, in the future, it’s more possible for them to seek us out to expose others?” The Secretary laughed. “Isn’t that a good thing?” Han Xiao was interested.

“Different levels have different logics in dealing with matters. At our level, many times, the policies for dealing with such matters run contrary to ordinary people’s thinking logic. It’s basically a combination of many factors.” The Secretary blinked. “If it’s a higher position or character, even an organization with a certain power, we may make concessions as you mentioned.

“But for a small reporter? We will not waste our time on him. Our war with the Super Star Clusters on public opinion has always been going on in the dark, and this is not the first time such matters have happened. If he has no contacts and is totally unable to fight for the protection that we have planned… he’s not an important figure, so we shall not focus so much on him.”

“I didn’t know this in the past, but your words are really bold.” Han Xiao sized up the Secretary once more.

“It’s just the truth. My authority might be huge, but the resources available to exercise them are also limited. In the end, it boils down to a question of distribution.” The Secretary smacked his lips as he said, “It’s no good for them to proactively expose it, so it’s better to agree to the orchestrator behind the scenes. At least, you can obtain a large sum of money, and the things you do are within your scope of normal duties. You have not crossed the line… After all, questions asked by the journalists are from their own free will. We cannot change that.”

“Can you really not?”

“… At least in name. There is no official budget for friendly questioning, so we can only rely on hard authority to make others more self-aware.” The Secretary smiled. “But authority is not always useful. There are not many reporters who dare make things difficult for us. Some do it for performance; some are instructed. All sorts of scenarios have been experienced before, but how could there always be the same root issue?”

Han Xiao stroked his chin before suddenly saying, “Why do I feel that your words carry a deeper meaning?”

“Haha, I’ve been seen through. My idea was actually to test you out and see how you intended to deal with this journalist, Black Star… With your swift and vigorous means, you’ve probably already deployed your measures.” The Secretary laughed.

What vigor and resoluteness, you might as well just say that I’m petty… Han Xiao secretly scolded but casually revealed his plan.

“It’s good that you did not fall for the trick. It seems that my reminder was unnecessary.” The Secretary smiled.

“… It’s really tiring to talk to you. Don’t hide things, just tell me directly.” Han Xiao was helpless.

“Hehe, we hope to downplay it and not impose any personal threats on the journalist, so we need your cooperation. If this person’s life is threatened, it’ll easily turn into a fuss…”

“I think it’s useless even if you don’t wish to do anything. The people behind might choose to silence him, which will also allow them to smear the blame on you.”

The Secretary folded his hands as he replied, “I understand, and there is indeed such a possibility, but the probability is low… First of all, such accusations are not damaging enough for us to make trouble. If someone tries to place the blame on us, there will be flaws, and it would be easy to reverse the case back onto them. Furthermore, how many would care about a journalist’s life or death? The moment the news is spread out, those with a discerning eye would immediately see through the issue of the problem. In addition, those who are likely to care about the news are also journalists themselves, and spreading the news will only spoil the image of the media industry… With so many factors, this is why we chose to downplay it.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao did not agree nor disagree. The higher one’s level, the wider their knowledge. The progress of his own methods over the years came, to a certain extent, from his exchanges with the people of different classes, influenced by their own methods.

After chatting a while longer, Han Xiao suddenly recalled a certain matter and changed topics.

“Urranrell’s term should be almost over, right?”

In his previous life, after the end of the Flickering World storyline, the Crimson Dynasty Ruler changed. The day was almost here.

The Secretary paused a bit before subconsciously lowering his voice. “I cannot share the specific details yet.”

“Alright then, let’s just talk about you. If Urranrell were to retire, your position would also have to change, right? Any news for you?”

“The moment the Ruler retires, my term as Secretary will also come to an end. The change of position has not been decided yet, but I’ll definitely be one of the foreign delegates for the government, likely within the same rank as well…”

Just as Han Xiao was about to pursue the topic, the doors to the reception room opened.

The Secretary stopped talking at the right time, gesturing for Han Xiao to enter. Seeing this, Han Xiao walked into the reception room. The first thing he saw was the three leaders behind their desks, with the various Beyond Grade A personal guards beside them.

As the door closed, Han Xiao casually greeted them.

Dark Lord Clotti nodded slightly, with no intention to speak.

It was instead Oulou who swept Han Xiao from head to toe before slowly saying, “You caught quite a few of my friends previously. It’s a pity I was not there, or else you would not have succeeded.”

“Good day to you too. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” While he sensed the hostility in Oulou, Han Xiao remained indifferent, keeping a slight smile without trying to provoke the other party. “Humph.” Oulou snorted and did not continue talking, only raising his head slightly and showing an arrogant posture.

The first impression this guy gave off was really just arrogance. While Kasuyi had mentioned that Oulou was more moderate, this was in reference to the Dark Lord, who was known for being cold. Han Xiao did not expect Oulou to be enthusiastic toward him, especially given the fact that he had captured a few Federation allies not too long ago.

Wuornos did not even open his eyes to look at Han Xiao, as though he had fallen asleep.

Among the three, Han Xiao was the most curious about Wuornos. In his previous life, both the Dark Lord and Oulou had entered the main battlefield during the World Tree War and had perished. Only Wuornos had not been dispatched. Furthermore, his previous records were also few and between, making him extremely mysterious.

Even in normal times, when it came to Beyond Grade A powerhouses, Wuornos was rarely counted because he basically did not move against anybody, a weirdo just like Sorokin. However, their reputations lay at the two extremes.

At this moment, the Dynasty Ruler Urranrell spoke. “Black Star, how does it feel to have the Galaxy Medal?”

“I’m flattered.” Han Xiao was expressionless.

“But you don’t seem too satisfied?”

“… I’ve been seen through. Yes, I’m actually a little worried.”

“What are you worried about?”

“If I ever make new contributions to the universe in the future, will I then get a second or maybe a third Galaxy Medal? I feel that I might have to open a warehouse to store this stuff. It might even have no space in the future to store all these medals. What a headache.” Han Xiao sighed.

Urranrell was perplexed. Can you please speak coherently? “Let’s skip the polite remarks. You’re not just looking for me to encourage me, right? Just tell me if you have something.” Han Xiao spread out his hands. After putting up a front for the whole day, he did not wish to be polite anymore. Bader sighed before speaking. “Then let’s get straight to the point. I believe you’ve learned from your channels that the dispute between us and the Super Star Cluster Alliance is about to begin. For the Black Star Army, as the leader of the private armed forces in the Flickering World, we require you to provide a certain amount of assistance.” “Hmm?” Han Xiao frowned.

The three Universal Civilizations had been trying to get the Beyond Grade A Association to help them deal with the Super Star Clusters, even using the monopoly of Class Knowledges as a bargaining chip, but the union had never agreed. There had not been any unnecessary actions for a period of time, but now it had started once more. “You should be aware of the results of the Beyond Grade A Union’s vote some time ago. I thought we already gave our answer,” Han Xiao said.

“That’s right. We know that the Beyond Grade A Association plans to abide by its neutral stand, but that is your own agreement, not our request,” the Pope drily said.

Urranrell also added, “Black Star, we hope that you’ll work with us on this matter.”

The Crimson Dynasty originally allocated its territory to the Beyond Grade A allies, hoping that they could contribute at this time. But the development of the union exceeded their expectations, and now, their original allies wished to remain neutral. Of course, they were displeased.

While the territory of the Black Star Army was given as a reward for meritorious service, there was also a motive behind giving it away, and if it could not achieve the effect they wanted, they would not call it quits so easily.

“I thought that we had reached a common consensus on this issue, but it seems that you have misunderstood my position.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t misunderstand. We understand your intentions, but this is not beyond the scope of our agreement.” Bader interjected.

The three Universal Civilizations had created momentum for Black Star because they wished to gain a spokesperson for them within the union. They wished to utilize Han Xiao as a link to influence the entire Development Union. Such a juncture like this would be when the spokesperson came into play-on the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s side, they had their Beyond Grade As, so the three Universal Civilizations would not easily allow their allies to go on strike.

“If I do this, I’ll deviate from the united front and lose the bigger picture because of small gains.” Han Xiao waved his hand.

“Relax, we’ve taken this into consideration and have chosen an entry point for you…” The Pope leaned forward. “Since you’ve publicly expressed your personal grievances with the Modo Civilization, just use this as a reason to move a little. You can use these reasonable excuses to get more of the Beyond Grade As to intervene in the storm without damaging your reputation.”

| We

“Will it not be damaged just because you say so? Don’t start.” Han Xiao waved his hands again. “Then we each take a step back. We will not force you to participate in the event throughout, but if the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s Beyond Grade As takes action, I hope that the Development Union will respond. Since you have shouted about regulating all Beyond Grade A conflicts, it should be implemented to the end. This perfectly falls within your jurisdictions.”

Han Xiao immediately understood the intentions of the three Universal Civilizations and put on an embarrassed face as he explained, “But in such a situation, those who are willing to help the Super Star Clusters are definitely of their direct line. Since you also have your own direct Beyond Grade As, isn’t it appropriate for both direct lines to fight? It will not be suitable for the union to take action as it will make us biased.”

Bader deepened his tone in dissatisfaction, “If you put it like this, then what do we need you allies for?”

Han Xiao frowned, and he raised his tone, not ready to be outdone. “If you have the ability, just cancel all the Beyond Grade A ally contracts now.”

Bader was rendered speechless.

You’re good, I’ll shut my mouth now.

Chapter 1149: Eve of the Incident

Chapter 1149 Eve of the Incident

After rebuking Bader, Han Xiao felt much better.

While he might have become the Special Consultant for the three Universal Civilizations, his previous grudges against the church and the federation had yet to disappear, so being impolite to them felt pretty good.

Seeing this, Urranrell took over and solemnly said, “Black Star, this matter is of utmost importance. I hope that you can assist us in proposing it to the union.”

Toward his own ruler, Han Xiao would naturally hold himself back a little. However, he remained firm. “The Development Union should not and cannot favor any party. If we act according to your requirements, when your direct lines step forward, will we need to restrain them as well? Can you accept mediation? If we treat you the same, will you be offended? You understand what I mean. I personally have a reason to deal with the Modo Civilization, so I declared that in advance. This is not against the united front, but it’s better for the association itself to remain neutral.”

He knew what the three Universal Civilizations were planning. The purpose of the Beyond Grade A Association was to mediate with all Beyond Grade A conflicts. The three Universal Civilizations wished to take advantage of this and turn the association into an indirect third-party ally.

If the Super Star Clusters take out their direct Beyond Grade As, then we will fight you, but if the three Universal Civilizations take out theirs, then we’ll pretend we did not see anything

In this manner, the final result would make people mistake the development union as the dog of the three Universal Civilizations.

Han Xiao naturally would not agree to this. He was the Vice President of the Beyond Grade A Association as well as a common ally of the three Universal Civilizations. His identity now was sensitive, and both sides needed him, so he could not go down the wrong path.

The three Universal Civilizations had an advantage in terms of the number of their Beyond Grade As, so they definitely would not agree to being treated fairly.

Sure enough, after hearing Han Xiao’s statement, the leaders rejected the proposal. As a ruler, it was impossible to give an external union a higher law enforcement power than themselves.

The Pope slowly spoke. “Black Star, let us be open. We understand your position very well. The Mechanic Emperor wishes to create opposition, but you are different. You don’t wish to separate the Beyond Grade A group from us. It’s not as though you are refusing cooperation with us, so we are optimistic that there is actually some room for negotiation. Just say what you want.” “That’s right. My aim is to form an cooperative partnership between the Beyond Grade As and the advanced civilizations, not just being your vassals or sheltered under you. As for the premise of equality… you have to at least let go of most of the shackles against the Beyond Grade As, such as the monopoly of Class Knowledge.”

“Isn’t that what we proposed before? To use the removal of knowledge monopoly as a bargaining chip in exchange for the development union to deal with the Super Star Cluster Alliance, but you refused.”

“How should I put it? Using this as a deal is actually a threat or coercion in the eyes of many of the Beyond Grade As. Another purpose of this union is to bring all the Beyond Grade As together and not continue to force them into factional disputes. Thus, most people hope that the three Universal Civilizations will unconditionally let go of many restrictions including the monopoly of knowledge as well as reform the alliance system. Only after this will we then be willing to talk about the new cooperation conditions. This is an issue with the order it is being done…” Han Xiao explained. The union could technically be likened to a strike, aimed at improving the welfare of the entire class and fighting for better treatment for themselves, so they would be quite united before the benefits were obtained.

“Assuming we do this, what form of new cooperation do you hope to achieve?” The Pope threw the question back. “To be honest, the opinions within the union have also not been unified as of now, but the majority suggest reducing the nature of allies and strengthening the employment relationship. That is to reduce compulsion and increase our freedom. The cooperative relationship should also be no longer limited to one, and it should be in the form of employer and employee. In addition, we will not be affected by the aftermath between faction battles…”

Han Xiao repeated the expectations of the development union. There were too many twists and turns in this, as the needs of the advanced civilization allies and the free Beyond Grade As were basically different. When different positions fought, it would be difficult to come to a result that everyone was satisfied with.

The three leaders shook their heads. Neither side could make any concessions, so the talks could only come to an end without any common goal reached.

Walking out of the reception room, Han Xiao sighed in resignation.

Following the rise in his position within the universe, the choices he faced every day were becoming increasingly critical. Every decision could have a profound impact on his own development, and if he did not pay attention, it would easily deviate from the tracks he envisioned and become difficult to remedy. Only through experiencing this would one then be able to understand the danger involved.

The moment Han Xiao left, the three leaders shared a glance.

“It seems like there’s no need to count on the development union to provide assistance. Black Star was not perfunctory at all. He has a clear conscience when accepting rewards and can reject without feeling guilt at all. Heh, his principles are really strong.” Bader sneered.

“Enough. This was not our main objective in building momentum for him as well. This was something we expected. It would be too simple if such a small reward moved a pinnacle Beyond Grade A.”

“There’s no problem for Black Star to cherish his feathers. We cannot lose sight of our long-term goals just for some short term gains. We still need him to act as a link to guide the development of the union… It’s just that their requirements now are still a little whimsical.”

“The Beyond Grade As can’t be without restrictions. If their shackles are completely removed, it will be a hidden danger in the future.”

“We don’t have the time to deal with this now. Shelve the negotiations and observe Black Star a little longer. No matter what, having him in the top position is better than the Mechanic Emperor.”

Under the vigorous propaganda of the three Universal Civilizations, the various Star Fields broadcast the award ceremony, causing extensive discussions among the numerous galactic residents.

Among the hottest topics was Han Xiao himself. Some people thought that the Galaxy Medal he obtained was well-deserved, while others thought that his merits were not great enough when compared with the previous Galaxy Medal winners.

But in any case, the facts could not be changed. If one were to count Han Xiao’s deeds of catching EsGod, stopping the disaster, fighting the Mechanic Emperor, and contributing to the stability of the universe, most people would hold a positive attitude. However, the enthusiasm for the discussion of the award ceremony in galactic society lasted for only a few days before a sudden change attracted the attention of the entire universe.

Just a few days after the end of the award ceremony, the largest armed conflict so far broke out in the free competition zone. Many of the organizations launched attacks on multiple planetary strongholds without warning, as if they had agreed beforehand.

The free competition zone suddenly fell into chaos.

Hong long long long!

The earth rumbled continuously, and a series of heavy ground combat vehicles tens of meters high advanced. Wherever they passed, mountains and forests fell, bunkers shattered, and ground defense lines were breached.

Troops of armored soldiers raised their weapons and fired frantically at the intruders. The muzzles ejected intense beams of light. However, a group of vigorous and powerful figures shuttled through the artillery fire, easily decimating the troops. The small team easily shredded the defending front, and the mud thrown up by the vehicles and explosives buried the corpses of the soldiers.

This was a resource-rich planet located in the middle of the free competition zone. It was originally discovered by a vassal Star System level civilization under the three Universal Civilizations, and they established a stronghold here. However, they were ruthlessly attacked today.

Their attacker was a large fleet bearing a common logo of a snowflake shaped emblem with two spears staggered at the bottom. This represented the organization known as ‘Northern Battlefront’. Established in the free competition zone, they had no major records, but no one expected them to come and attack a planet occupied by a Star System civilization without warning.

The Northern Battlefront fleet had dispatched tens of thousands of Grade B players as well as a large number of warships and ground combat equipment. It did not take long for the defensive forces of the stronghold to fall into a full retreat as they were unable to withstand the Northern Battlefront’s offensive.

This was because the Northern Battlefront was actually a player-formed organization, created by a large number of guilds banding together. They also recruited many solo players with capital, so they had a good foundation to support a certain level of interstellar warfare. After all, they had gone through four versions in Galaxy, so the guild had accumulated quite a lot of money.

There were tens of millions of active players in Galaxy, of which the Black Star Army probably recruited a little more than ten million and was the largest player faction. The rest of the players were scattered among various organizations, with equally large numbers each as the guilds could afford to recruit them.

Within the stronghold was a group of players from the three Universal Civilizations stationed on guard, with probably about one or two hundred of them. However, they were soon overwhelmed by the army and could not withstand the waves of attacks.

A warship of the Northern Battlefront was suspended high in the sky, and within the command room, the leader of the Northern Battlefront looked down on the battlefield with a smile.

“Victory is before us. Quickly deal with the enemies. We still have other strongholds to conquer.”

He was the leader of the Northern Battlefront that was jointly elected by the many guilds forming the coalition, and he was responsible for the operation this time. His ID was ‘Fire of Northern Sea’, and he was the president of a large club in Europe.

“Where shall we hit next?” asked another senior who was part of the guild.

“Whichever is nearest. We’ll carve a path for ourselves.”

Fire of the Northern Sea waved his hand energetically.

The Northern Battlefront had communicated with the NPC organizations and reached an agreement with the Super Star Cluster Alliance, acting as an agent to help the Super Star Cluster Alliance conquer the various strongholds.

Every time they occupied a stronghold, they would get additional rewards, and they did not even need to struggle in occupying the planets. The Super Star Cluster Alliance was responsible for initiating the war, and the high resource sharing provided to them was equivalent to a steady stream of funds. At the same time, the Super Star Cluster Alliance would provide resource support to them during the campaign, such as material purchase discounts and other benefits.

It was not just the Northern Battlefront; even the Galactic Business Alliance and the 5C Alliance, other player made alliances, had also reached an agreement with the Super Star Cluster Alliance to temporarily fight for them.

The conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance was an open secret, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance would not be afraid of the three Universal Civilizations and the Black Star Army like the smaller factions. The clubs of various countries saw this opportunity and hopped on the bandwagon to participate in this national war.

Them starting a national war was not just for entertainment but more for profit.

By doing so, they could utilize this channel to cozy up to someone powerful such as the Super Star Clusters, recruit more players through the wars and strengthen their organization, and obtain resources. Furthermore, they would fulfil the main storyline of faction war and perform some off-field preparations for the Pro League this season, easing the dominance those in the Black Star Army had.

And now, due to the Super Star Cluster Alliance being the preemptive one, the Northern Battlefront and the other guild alliances took the chance to attack and expand their territory in the free competition zone for the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

Fire of Northern Sea opened the star map, watching the real-time expansion of the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s territory in the free competition zone as he excitedly clenched his fists.

“This is an unprecedented event. The Black Star Army has too great an advantage in the Flickering World. Only if the Super Star Cluster Alliance wins will we be able to turn the tides and obtain equivalent resources to them!”

This similar war scene appeared on multiple planets in the free competition zones. In addition to the player alliances, other private armed organizations also robbed territory for the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

Around 2,400 planets were invaded on the same day, most of which were resource rich planets, transportation hubs, or other strategic locations. At the fourth exploration phase, the maps were basically complete, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance could accurately select the high value targets. Facing the sudden problem created by the Super Star Cluster Alliance, everyone was left shocked! “Galaxy Chronicles—The First World Server War

“On February 25, 732, the three Universal Civilizations held an award ceremony for Black Star, awarding him the Galaxy Medal.

“On February 29, 732, a large-scale armed invasion broke out in the free competition zone of the Flickering World. The Super Star Cluster Alliance instructed multiple armed organizations to expand their territory, which eventually became the fuse for official conflict between them and the three Universal Civilizations. This was the prelude to a national war and went down in history as ‘Eve of the Incident’.”

Chapter 1150: Anti-Trust Regulations, Main Storyline of Counterfeiting

Chapter 1150 Anti-Trust Regulations, Main Storyline of Counterfeiting

In the free competition zone, Emerald Star Cluster, Planet Rosende…

This was a resource rich planet located within the inner ring of the Star Cluster. It was occupied early on by a Star Cluster level civilization named ‘Thunder Horn’. They had transformed it into a temporary base camp for their exploration army, and the planet was heavily guarded and well stocked with materials and troops.

Right at this moment, the leaders of the Thunder Horn Civilization Exploration army were gathered in the conference room of the headquarters.

“The two stronghold planets in the central region were invaded successively and breached by the different organizations employed by the Super Star Cluster Alliance. What are your thoughts?”

The chief commander pressed his hands on the table, his sharp eyes looking at all the officers present.

Bang!

A high-ranking commander with a bristly beard slammed the table as he angrily shouted, “Is there still a need for discussion? Immediately gather manpower for a crusade! My troops are guarding one of the strongholds, and they have been almost completely wiped out. We must fight back!”

Another tall and thin officer with a calmer temperament stroked the lightning-shaped blue horns on his head. This action was similar to a human stroking his beard. He slowly said, “I feel we should wait and see for now. The Super Star Cluster Alliance’s actions have a strategic intention behind. Even if we take our stronghold back, we will be attacked once more. Furthermore, the central region is currently in chaos due to the trouble caused by the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and it’s too dangerous to hold onto our land.” Now that the fourth exploration phase had been completed, the four Star Clusters in the free competition zone were divided into regions, with dozens to hundreds of Star Systems for each Star Cluster. According to their locations, they were divided into the outer edge area, inner ring area, central area, and finally the core area for a total of four layers.

At present, the main strategic goal of the Super Star Cluster Alliance was to completely control the core and central areas, having a stable rear base that could allow them to utilize space transmission methods such as stargates to maintain their supply and transportation channels.

While this would cause them to be completely surrounded, there was no other way for the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Since guerrilla tactics were not suitable for them, they could only resort to sieging tactics. “Then, what are we going to do? Are we going to obediently pass the stronghold to them and let my men die in vain?” The hot tempered bristly beard lashed out. “Chief commander?” The calm officer turned his head. “I believe your thoughts align with mine.”

The Chief commander looked up when he heard this and replied, “I’m also in favor of waiting. The situation now is not clear.” “They’ve already started fighting. What’s not clear about that?” the hot-tempered officer shouted.

The Chief commander patiently explained, “In this storm, we’re not the main characters. The three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance are the true protagonists and chess players. While the fourth exploration phase is called the free competition zone, we’re only forces that have come to pan for gold and occupy land, the chess pieces that took the initiative to enter the chessboard. We are far from being able to influence the overall direction, so we must wait for the three Universal Civilizations to respond.”

“So, we have to count on the three Universal Civilizations to take action for our forces in trouble, to start a war against the Super Star Cluster Alliance, huh?”

“Of course not, the three Universal Civilizations will not enter the fray so easily. After all, the principle of the free competition zone has not been torn apart yet. The Super Star Cluster Alliance has employed so many people. Other than strengthening itself, it was also to stick to the rules of the game. Everyone would use their agents to compete, and it will reach a more intense level once the two armies start fighting officially. However, this is not the time yet.”

The calm officer nodded. “That’s right. Chess pieces like us can only wait for the orders of the players. When the three Universal Civilizations show a reaction will be when we choose our sides, then we will no longer be alone and will have a large number of teammates.”

The other senior officers also nodded.

While they were unwilling to be pawns, the moment they chose to enter the free competition zone, it was tantamount to them consenting to being in the game. This was the rule formulated by the three Universal Civilizations. Of course, there would also be no shortage of benefits. Only by being a pawn could they obtain the benefits of the Flickering World, and how much they got depended on their ability.

Beep beep beep… At this moment, a virtual screen popped up at the center of the conference table. On it was an announcement issued by the three Universal Civilizations to the entire universe. The title jumped out in everyone’s eyes.

“Supplementary Regulations on Anti-Monopoly within the Flickering World Fourth Exploration Phase.”

It’s here!

The eyes of the Chief commander flashed, and all of them immediately read the report.

The content of this announcement could be roughly summarized into a few points. Firstly, it defined the Eve of the Incident as the beginning of malicious competition and monopolization, and they believed that the Super Star Cluster Alliance was violating the ‘Regulations on Free Exploration’. Secondly, it ordered the Super Star Cluster Alliance to immediately stop the malicious expansion behavior, strongly condemning them on behalf of the civilizations in the universe. Thirdly, if the Super Star Cluster Alliance still did not repent, they would begin sanctions and redistribute the territory occupied by the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

In the appendix of the announcement, there were plans to implement the sanctions and redistribution. The Crimson Dynasty and the other two universal civilizations expressed that they were unwilling to destroy the ‘Free Exploration Regulations’, so they encouraged the organizations and forces in the free competition zone to launch a siege against the Super Star Cluster Alliance. They would then be given special support based on merit.

At the same time, in their distribution plan, they stated that they would not reclaim the planets that the various forces snatched from the Super Star Cluster Alliance. As a reward for helping them against the Super Star Cluster Alliance, they would reclaim their territory as appropriate after the event… In short, they were dangling a carrot to draw forces to attack the Super Star Cluster Alliance and increase the difficulty of the latter to woo agents over to their side.

One could either choose the three Universal Civilizations or the Super Star Cluster Alliance. There was no third option. If one wished to stay neutral, the end result would be to see their territory gradually being eroded away by the Super Star Cluster Alliance. This was also the scheme of the three Universal Civilizations, as they were confident that no one would silently get robbed.

And in the one in ten million possibility that people really chose to give up their territory than to get involved in the storm, the three Universal Civilizations would just send regular troops into the area, and after going through the Super Star Cluster Alliance, they would no longer reallocate the territory back to the other forces, instead occupying it.

As for the third party Beyond Grade A organizations, they were a special existence within this storm. Only they had the capital to remain neutral, and at the same time, the three Universal Civilizations as well as the Super Star Cluster Alliances would avoid their territory to a certain extent.

This was the influence brought about by the establishment of the Development Union, which was different from the trend in his past life. The butterfly effect had already begun to take effect!

Of course, this was based on the premise that the majority of the Beyond Grade As would keep to watching as much as possible. Their forces could also take the opportunity to expand, but taking advantage of this battle had to be controlled to a degree.

“An insidious strategy.” The chief commander coldly snorted before suddenly increasing his volume. “Have the organization leave with the fleet for the central area. The time is right. We now have enough indirect allies.”

Everyone stood up, giving a military salute.

“Understood!”

Meanwhile, at the Black Star Army’s frontline stronghold in the Emerald Star Cluster, the outbreak caused an uproar among the army players. A large number took to the frontlines to explore, causing the dining hall to be filled with a wave of black as all the players in combat uniforms gathered. “What’s happening? I went for a business trip a few days ago and didn’t come online, but how did the world change so drastically? What are these guild alliances doing?” “The Super Star Cluster Alliance wants to unify the free competition zone, but how did the Northern Battlefront and the Galactic Business Alliance come on board?”

“I read the forums, and they seemed to have gotten the main storyline mission from the Super Star Cluster Alliance.”

“But we don’t have a related mission. Does that mean that you have to be in the Super Star Cluster Alliance faction in order to obtain the mission?”

“That might not be so. Haven’t some people analyzed the current situation? The three Universal Civilizations will definitely not let this slip. Since we’re in the Black Star Army, we should naturally stand on the side of the three Universal Civilizations.”

Just as everyone was discussing the matter, the announcement of the three Universal Civilizations popped up on the floating screen in the main hall, attracting everyone’s attention.

After reading the report, the atmosphere started to heat up once more.

“Haha, see what I said. Such a huge plot cannot just be a unilateral main storyline.” “So, this is a faction war, with the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Clusters on opposite sides?”

“We’re going to fight a national war!” The players were excited. But after a while, their interface still remained silent, leading to everyone feeling confused. “This can’t be. Didn’t they say it was a faction battle? How are we not involved in the main storyline?”

“Could it be that we have to trigger it ourselves? But who do we look for?”

“We’re members of the army, so maybe we have to wait for the army to issue an official announcement for the mission?” Just when everyone was in a state of uncertainty, the Phillip subprogram on everyone’s communicator suddenly popped up, issuing a notice.

Black Star Army Expedition Order.

In view of the contradiction between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance, the army has decided to carry out an armed crusade against the Modo Civilization Exploration Force. The reasons are detailed in the appendix ‘Kunde Civilization’ (Expand/Collapse). Only the Modo Civilization will be targeted, and there is no need to bother about the other Super Star Cluster Alliance Civilizations. If there are any forces that prevent our actions, you are allowed to retaliate. The primary strategic goal is to expel and kill the Modo Civilization and its affiliated organizations. All troops cannot deviate from this strategy.

As soon as the announcement popped out, a mission notice was seen on the interface of all the players present.

Except for the specific requirement, there was no difference from the main storyline missions obtained by the Super Star Cluster Alliance players.

Seeing this, many of them smiled with joy. “That’s right. We really need the army to issue an announcement before we can activate the main storyline mission.” “So, there’s a grudge between the Modo Civilization and us?”

“Sigh, one look and you’re the sort that did not read the background story of the version update. The Modo Civilization conspired to use the Kunde Race in the Flickering World to annihilate everyone. They’re such low people and deserve to be beaten up.”

The countless army players could not wait to immediately enter the central area.

However, what they were unaware of was that the task they triggered was actually problematic and was not the main storyline of the battle between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

The ordinary vassals of the three Universal Civilizations or Super Star Cluster Alliance mercenaries would not specify which civilization to fight; the players would improve their Mission Rating so long as they helped their forces expand. The missions for the army players, while in the same model, was simply to attack the Modo Civilization.

Because of the united front, the Black Star Army and the other Beyond Grade As could not respond to the call of the Crimson Dynasty and did not have the initiative to get involved in the storm. Thus, the army players would not have the main storyline of the fighting between the two factions!

“It’s all thanks to my wit…” Han Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the excited reactions of the players on the forums.

As early as when the development union required all its members to be neutral, Han Xiao had guessed that the Black Star Army would not be able to join the main storyline of the battle between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance. As the vice president, if he wished to maintain his status and power, he had to be subject to the collective resolution of the united front.

He had guessed the follow-up impact at that time and thus deliberately left the Modo Civilization as a goal so that the three Universal Civilizations and development union would feel that this was a private vendetta. In this manner, he could justifiably imitate a war mission and make the army players mistakenly treat it as the main storyline. While the mission was simpler than the actual main storyline, the players could only accept it. If there was not even a counterfeit main storyline, then the large number of players would be disappointed and might even switch factions to participate in the national war. There was no doubt about it. After this mission release, the negative impact would be minimized. While the specific missions were different, at least they would be able to enter the national war, which was enough for most players.

At the same time, this could show a contrast with the other Beyond Grade A organizations. Most of them would not be able to participate in the main storyline, but the Black Star Army had a fake main storyline. This would attract some players from the other factions to switch over to his side.

On the other hand, the players in the national wars during his previous life had a lot of room for free play. While they got to fight side by side, it also meant they just waged their own wars without caring for each other. The main point of him creating the main storyline was to integrate all his players to go against the Modo Civilization, having a greater chance to complete the mission [Kunde Race Leader’s Last Wish)! In this manner, the hidden danger was basically solved. “United front, united front…” Han Xiao muttered helplessly.

Right now, the united front had become a new shackle to him. While it could be maintained at present, as this clause affected the interests of more members, problems would inevitably rise. It was estimated that the three Universal Civilizations also had plans to drag down the unity of the Beyond Grade A group.

To be honest, as far as he was concerned, he felt that the chance of reaching an agreement between both the development union and the three Universal Civilizations was low. There was a strong conflict of interest between the two sides’ demands.

As far as the union was concerned, because of their different needs, the collective resolutions drawn currently were naturally not the best plan. It could only be said that it was a plan that no one strongly opposed. The development union wanted the three Universal Civilizations to unconditionally lift the monopoly of knowledge, before talking about other cooperation. In the eyes of the Beyond Grade As, this was a reasonable request because their current source of Ultimate Knowledge was obtained through meritorious service. They had paid enough for many years and collected all the Ultimate Knowledges, but they were not allowed to pass it on to others.

Only by breaking the monopoly of the three Universal Civilizations could the shackles of their factions be lifted. In this manner, the union itself would be responsible for the spread of knowledge, so current and future Beyond Grade As would no longer need to work for the three Universal Civilizations to obtain Ultimate Knowledge. After all, most people were originally not citizens of the three Universal Civilizations and had no responsibility toward them. In this manner, those who wished to join the three Universal Civilizations would only be looking for a strong backer and not for an ulterior motive. However, Han Xiao knew that the chances of the three Universal Civilizations allowing this was slim.

Unconditional? Even he himself thought that this was bullsh*t!

But as the Vice President, he had an obligation to convey the collective resolutions, and at the same time, he could not represent so many people to make claims, so he could only convey the meaning of the association truthfully. Based on Han Xiao’s own ideas, it was not a bad option to agree to the deal proposed by the three Universal Civilizations, which was to deal with the Super Star Cluster Alliance in exchange for them lifting the monopoly on knowledge. However, many of them disagreed. Firstly, they did not wish to undermine their original intention, and secondly, they did not wish to take the risk to get involved in this turmoil. Everyone had a different viewpoint and position… If the two sides remained in this deadlock, Han Xiao concluded that the final result would be that the Beyond Grade A Association would not be able to bear it and start imparting knowledge privately, which would give the three Universal Civilizations an excuse to attack them. “This is difficult… but it’s nothing to me.” Han Xiao shook his head.

First of all, he had already obtained his Ultimate Knowledges. In fact, he did not care about the problem of the monopoly of knowledge.

Secondly, he knew where the turning point of this matter would be, so he did not care about the problems exposed at this moment. “Wait till the Calamity of the Supers or the World Tree appears, then I’ll be able to break the existing pattern. Now is not the time… Speaking of which, I’m not sure if the Holy Accord has succeeded yet.”

Han Xiao smirked.

Temporarily dropping this thought, he picked up his communicator to give someone a call. In the turmoil caused by the Super Star Cluster Alliance, the Beyond Grade As would mostly not be involved, but there would be a small number of people involved in their own private affairs. One of them would definitely be Sorokin.

Their interests were in line this time, and perhaps they could work together quietly this time to turn the Modo Civilization into pigskins.

Furthermore, Han Xiao already had a bold guess about Sorokin’s identity.

“Now’s a good time to verify it…”

Chapter 1151: Little Kid Soro, You’ve Revealed Yourself!

Chapter 1151 Little Kid Soro, You’ve Revealed Yourself!

In the Limitless Financial Group’s Flickering World branch, a huge virtual star map was suspended in the center of the top-level office, and the picture showed the current pattern of the free competition zone. The Super Star Cluster Alliance was occupying a large majority of the core and central areas of the four Star Clusters. Their territory was represented by the red dye spreading and encroaching upon the blue area representing the other forces.

Sorokin stood with his hand propping up his head, staring at the star map as his eyes flickered.

“After this Crimson Tide, the advanced civilization conflict will affect the structure of the entire universe… There will be business opportunities everywhere!”

After solving the problem of Traveler, the Limitless Financial Group turned back to hug the thighs of the federation and the church once more. As such, they definitely had to contribute toward this turmoil, and at the same time, this was a reasonable opportunity for him to make a fortune in war. As the head of the financial group, Sorokin would definitely not miss it.

“The middleman during the war can promote the business of selling materials, arms, and other resources. Those forces standing on the side of the three Universal Civilizations will definitely need to replenish their materials. This is the number one business opportunity… but it’s only a small profit. The true profits are outside of the chessboard, and I also need admission tickets. I should be eligible though…”

Sorokin was muttering to himself, feeling a little excited.

If he could obtain the real benefits of this incident, the size of the Limitless Financial Group could move up again, and a skyrocketing share price would not be a dream.

Beep beep!

Just as he was fantasizing, his personal communicator rang. It was a call from Black Star.

Seeing the caller, Sorokin’s expression changed.

He subconsciously trembled a little upon seeing Han Xiao’s name now.

But he quickly adjusted his mood, putting on his signature smile as he answered the call. “Your Excellency Black Star, my dear partner, why have you contacted me today?”

“I have a cooperation deal.” Han Xiao did not beat around the bush. “The conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Clusters has finally broken out, and it’s my chance to settle accounts with the Modo Civilization. Everyone knows that I’ll deal with Modo Civilization, so we should have the same interests here, right?”

Sorokin’s eyes gleamed as he smiled. “That’s right. Ignoring my relationship with the federation and the church, Traveler sold me out, so he and the Modo Civilization have a debt to settle with me.”

He still thought that the Modo Civilization was the backer of Traveler. He completely believed the lie Han Xiao weaved at the beginning and had decided to settle his accounts with Modo Civilization.

“Since we have the same goal this time, there’s a basis for cooperation. You’re a commercial organization and are not suitable to intervening in armed conflict. Thus, I need you to provide funds and materials on a large scale, okay?”

“The Black Star Army’s influence in the Flickering World is much larger than mine, and you still need me to supply war funds?” Sorokin raised his brow.

“The more, the merrier. I’ll never find them enough.” Han Xiao did not feel embarrassed at all.

While he was not lacking in funds, it was definitely more comfortable to spend the money of others than his own.

Sorokin gritted his teeth in secret, cursing his shamelessly while his smile remained unchanged. “Yep, I’m happy to fund your war activities against the Modo Civilization.”

“I’ll ask the clerk to send a list of supplies over later. Just follow it.”

“…Okay.” Sorokin gritted his teeth.

“There’s another thing. With your foresight, you must have seen the new business opportunities.”

Sorokin hesitated a little, having a bad premonition. “You mean…” “Stop pretending. The conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance reaches everywhere. Although the free competition zone is the target of competition, the three Universal Civilizations will not just gaze there and will inevitably open up a second front to turn the tides. They will target the foundations of the Super Star Clusters in the explored universe through putting political, economic, and other sanctions to pressure them… and here are the huge business opportunities.”

The Flickering World was the center of the storm, and the main stage of the armed conflict. However, there would be another battlefield outside this chessboard, which was the three Universal Civilizations exerting pressure on the Super Star Clusters themselves, making them too tired to cope, which indirectly served as a way for the Super Star Cluster to give up their advantages in the free competition zone as soon as possible. This business opportunity lay in the economic sanctions. Targeted by the three Universal Civilizations, the business community of the Super Star Clusters would experience turbulence, and a large number of companies would be unluckily hit. This was a good opportunity for other universal financial groups to enter the market, biting off a piece of meat from the Super Star Clusters.

The Limitless Financial Group was close to the three Universal Civilizations, and being a top financial group would naturally give them the qualifications to enter the market and feast on it. Han Xiao was eyeing this opportunity, preparing to take a share.

At the same time, this plan would also better allow him to complete the mission of the Kunde Race. The remaining mission requirement was for him to cause huge losses to the Modo Civilization. Killing the opponent’s army was one way, and destroying the financial stability of the Modo Civilization was another direction.

Moreover, the scene of the death of the Kunde Race leader was still vivid to him. From an emotional point of view, Han Xiao also wished to beat Modo as badly as possible.

Sorokin was a little unwilling. “I haven’t decided to intervene yet. Besides, you’re already a guest of the three Universal Civilizations and can enter the venue without me. Why use my channels?”

“Your channels are more suitable.” Han Xiao smiled without any shame. While the Germinal Financial Group under his banner could independently enter the market, compared with the Limitless Financial Group, his business scope was still a lot smaller. It would not be as easy as utilizing the Limitless Financial Group’s channels. In this way, not only could he borrow someone’s strength to develop, he would also not feel the pinch. Of course, for Sorokin, this was akin to grabbing his business. He felt as though he had swallowed a fly, and he felt an urge to command his factory to begin manufacturing punching bags with Black Star’s face on them so that he could vent his frustrations.

“That’s not too good…”

Sorokin was unwilling and wanted to avoid the request.

However, Han Xiao’s tone suddenly changed, becoming more subtle. “Speaking of which, I recently found a historical figure that interested me when I was looking up information.”

Sorokin was taken aback for a moment, wondering why Han Xiao changed the topic all of a sudden.

He suppressed his impatience and pretended to be curious. “Who?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, staring interestedly at Sorokin as he spoke. “Rovell Sissock, one of the Primordial Ones with the name of Soul Emperor. Have you heard of him before?”

“… I have, but why has he aroused your interest?”

“Oh, I was collecting Primal Esper Ability Entities a while ago, and this one called the Soul Flame caught my attention. When I checked its information, I found out that its last host was someone called the Soul Emperor. It didn’t matter much to me, but not long after, I happened to run into the current host of the Soul Flame, and he told me some astonishing news. It turns out that the Primordial Soul Emperor did not die in a war as the data showed. His soul managed to escape, and he hid himself. Due to his special ability, he might just have survived to the present day… and I also discovered that his ability is very similar to yours. Don’t you think it’s magical?”

“Haha, it’s just a coincidence… but a Primordial One that’s survived to this day? It’s really a bit powerful.”

“I agree. I feel that it’s a coincidence… Yes, let’s get back on topic. We’re working together to intervene in this matter, and it’s actually a win-win situation. Isn’t it good to get a larger share together?”

“Oh, that makes sense. Alright, you’ve convinced me. We’ll put it as such. When the time comes, I’ll open up the channels to help the Germinal Financial Group enter the venue.”

“Haha, I wish us a happy cooperation, and I won’t continue to disturb you.”

“Alright, to a happy cooperation.”

The moment the call ended, the smile on Sorokin’s face vanished.

Ka-cha!

An electric spark flashed as the communicator was crushed into a piece of scrap iron.

“This guy has discovered my secret!”

Sorokin looked suspicious.

‘Soul Emperor’ Rovell Sissock was indeed his earliest identity!

Although he did not reveal anything when he spoke just now, a storm was actually brewing in his heart.

Were it not for his psychological qualities, Sorokin would not have been so calm after someone had called out his previous identity, and his expression would have revealed the answer.

Sorokin did not believe that Black Star was absolutely certain of being able to see through his identity. It had to be because of some certain intelligence he had that allowed him to make an association, so he asked to test him out.

With so much time in between, he had already gone through many identities. The other party could not possibly have real evidence on him.

Just purely from an identity viewpoint, it did not matter even if he knew that Sorokin was the Soul Emperor. He had no grudge nor grievance with the Soul Emperor identity. Even if there were any enemies, they had long since disappeared in the long river of history. What Sorokin was afraid of was the chain reaction caused by the exposure of his identity. If the three Universal Civilizations and Beyond Grade As knew that he was actually a Primordial One who had survived to this day, they would definitely be jealous. Then, how could he maintain his weak image, continuing to be a pig to eat a tiger?

Furthermore, he was quite sure that he was the only Primordial One who had survived so far. The three Universal Civilizations would definitely move when they heard the news. Just thinking about it made him shiver.

Now that the bargaining chips were in Han Xiao’s hands, Sorokin could only accept Han Xiao’s proposal, much to his chagrin.

“While Black Star does not have any proof on his hands, if I allow him to continue his investigation, he’ll definitely find out all the identities I’ve used before…”

Sorokin’s expression changed slightly.

The identity of Soul Emperor being blown was okay, since it was a positive one, but the other identities he had used were not so clean.

It was to the point that when the Beyond Grade As had received a cleansing, his shadow was behind it!

While any traces were practically cleaned up over the years, if someone managed to uncover it, the consequences would be unimaginable! Right now, he only wished to let Black Star think that the Soul Emperor identity was enough to blackmail him, so he would not pursue it any further.

“Even if I change my identity again, there’ll always be a risk for exposure. Only by getting rid of Black Star can I get it over and done with…”

Sorokin’s expression was uncertain.

Chapter 1152: The Worrying Cancer of the Universe

Chapter 1152 The Worrying Cancer of the Universe

When the anti-monopoly regulations of the three Universal Civilizations were released, the effect was akin to war mobilization. The four Star Clusters making up the free competition zone began to surge as all the watching forces made their choices.

Only a small number of forces were unwilling to get involved, and they thus reluctantly gave up on their investment that had lasted for several years, withdrawing from the competition. Most of the forces were unwilling to get out, and they deployed forces to stand on the three Universal Civilizations’ factions, engaging the agents of the Super Star Cluster Alliance in frontal battles within the inner and central ring Star Clusters.

Just like how the civilizations predicted earlier, when the fourth exploration phase was close to being completely over, the trend of free development would gradually reverse to frequent armed looting. With the outbreak of large-scale conflicts, the flames of war spread rapidly. Under the attention of the entire universe, the free competition zone entered a state of war.

The armed forces of the majority of organizations launched a blockade, immediately curbing the expansion trend for the Super Star Cluster Alliance. The four Star Clusters opened up countless battle fronts, in which the stronghold planets on the edge of each faction’s territory continued to repeat the process of losing and recovering, appearing on the map as though sharp teeth were constantly chomping up and down.

The Emerald Star Cluster was divided into fourteen battle zones, most of which were located in the inner and central ring regions. The bridgehead of the Super Star Cluster Alliances scattered in the outer edge area was under the most intense siege, with their strongholds quickly falling. However, the majority of people present just wished to seize more territory. Thus, the intensity of the war was still under control, where everyone tacitly banned the use of Planetary Obliteration weapons, focusing mainly on their fleets and surface combat. After all, if they blew the planet up, there would be no territory left to grab. Thus, the surface combat weapons and the role of Supers were very important.

The large-scale war also represented the rapid depletion of battleships, ammunition, weapons, and equipment. Demand determined the market and gave a large number of opportunities to the financial groups to make money during wartime.

The financial groups in the Flickering World sold various war resources. This included the Black Star Army’s Germinal Financial Group whose orders were skyrocketing. The logistics department’s assembly line was in full operation, shipping boxes of arms to the free competition zone.

On the other side, at Han Xiao’s order, the armed forces of the army assembled at the army’s frontline exploration stronghold, attacking the Ferdinand Star System, where the Modo Civilization was located.

At present, the regular forces of the Super Star Cluster Alliance had yet to be activated, and their agent forces were used as the outer defense lines. The Black Star Army’s forces advanced straight, deep into the defense line, exchanging fire with the agents belonging to the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

In the inner ring sector of the Emerald Star Cluster, a stronghold on the edge of the Super Star Cluster Alliance was attacked by a large armed organization under the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and their main force was temporarily stationed there.

And today, this planet was raided by the advanced forces of Black Star.

With the stronghold as the center, a hemispherical sky-blue energy shield was inverted on the surface, covering tens of millions of kilometers. Above the shield was an intense interstellar war. The defense fleet was struggling to resist the attack of the Black Star Army’s fleet, slowly being smashed to pieces.

Small spaceships acted like hummingbirds, wandering throughout the crisscrossing light cannons in the battlefield, up and down, left and right, using thrilling maneuvers to avoid the artillery fire while shooting their assault capsules from time to time, smashing through the enemy battleships. The capsules would penetrate deep into the ship’s armor to help the players land on the enemy ship.

The blue tail flames of the rear thrusters from the heavy assault battleship formation left traces of light on the dark battlefield, shining as though they were a swarm of meteors. Supported by the powerful dark matter engine, the assault ship array chopped through the formation of the enemy, tearing the defense fleet into pieces. Bit by bit, they shattered the enemy’s coordinated defense.

With the Army Commander being one of the best Mechanics in the universe, the ship manufacturing technology of the logistics department was naturally outstanding. The performance and firepower advantage of their battleships were similarly dominant. The dense energy beam easily penetrated the defensive lines of the stronghold defenders and hit the protective shield like a torrential downpour, creating a series of cobweb-like glowing cracks.

In the headquarters of the shaking ground base, the atmosphere was extremely tense, and the base commander stared at the durability of the shield anxiously.

“The reinforcements aren’t here yet?”

“Commander, the other allies are unwilling to fight against the Black Star Army, and they refuse to come to our rescue. Only the nearest Modo Civilization has sent troops, and they are coming through the Hyperdrive Base Station at the moment.”

“Damn it, these b*stards… Notify each captain that they cannot allow the Black Star Army to break into our base! Once they send in their immortals en masse, we’re finished!” the base commander screamed.

The nickname for the players, the Cancer of the Universe, had spread throughout the galaxy, and they were unanimously known as the King of Ground Warfare. If a battle was maintained within a fleet, they could hold out for a period of time. However, the moment the Immortals broke through the ground defense line, there would only be one outcome: a one-sided defeat.

Faced with the Cancer of the Universe—who were not afraid of death, could resurrect, and disregarded their lives—there was no soldier that would not feel jealous. When confronted with such an opponent, no matter how many casualties the enemy created, it was useless. The ground army would have no morale to go to war.

There was no need to even mention the tens of millions of Immortals that the Black Star Army sat on. Now that they were rushing toward the battle zone controlled by the Modo Civilization, it was basically a walking meat grinder.

Even the agent forces of the Super Star Cluster Alliance hurriedly stayed away from the direction the Black Star Army was taking out of fear, not daring to obstruct them. Their goal was clear; they were there just for Modo, and no one wanted to waste their troops for nothing.

“Commander, the durability of the base’s protective shield has fallen below twenty percent. Three of our energy furnaces have overheated and are expected to break in eleven minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Please give instructions!” the operation team leader said in a flustered tone.

The base commander gritted his teeth while looking at the retreating fleet. “Prepare the reserve fleet to take off at any time to seize air supremacy. Preheat all anti-aircraft turrets and activate all missile wells. The moment the shield is broken, fire immediately. All Machinery divisions, armored divisions, and Supers, get ready for ground combat…”

A series of orders were issued, and the soldiers and vehicles quickly got in position, looking up at the battlefield in outer space. From time to time, soldiers could be heard gulping nervously in the communication channel.

In this tense atmosphere, every second seemed like a year. Under the horrified gazes of the base soldiers, the blue shield covering their heads exploded into light motes.

The next moment, a series of whistling sounded ensued.

Pew! Pew! Pew!

Airdrop capsules with shields passed through the net of firepower, dropping down one by one onto various locations within the base, emitting white smoke.

The moment the hatch slid open, teams of heavily-armed Grade B players stepped onto the ground, blatantly charging toward the ground troops.

The quickly approaching Immortals looked akin to the Devil himself in the eyes of the base soldiers. They mustered up their courage and rushed up with an angry roar.

Boom!

Two torrents on the ground clashed!

The Grade B realm was already considered the backbone of the universe, and the moment they came into contact, the more than a hundred thousand players smashed the armored divisions onto the ground, frontally crushing them. The vehicles piled up or exploded, the light of the flames flickering off the players’ mechanical suits.

The player waves swallowed the area one after another, flooding the battlefield composed of steel and flesh, causing huge casualties.

It was not that there were no players besieged to death, but the troops of the base saw that every player who they tried their best to kill was resurrected on the battlefield the next moment. Their work was an act of futility.

Despair took hold of every soldier’s heart, and the seeds of fear blossomed, forming their deepest nightmare.

Very quickly, the first soldier whose mentality collapsed fled in a panic. This was akin to a signal that caused more to desert their troops and run.

“They’re all devils!”

“This is a losing battle. Just run!”

“I don’t want to die!” Desperate shouts rang out from the communication channel, and the base’s defenses quickly collapsed.

The base command originally wished to go into battle to inspire morale but was shot with a super long-ranged concentrated energy projectile by a Cannon Master and was immediately turned to ash.

At this moment, the cosmos not far from the planet flashed, and the support fleet of the Modo Civilization appeared at the warp point. Seeing the state of the battle, they knew that it was too far gone.

“We’ve arrived too late. They’ve already been attacked by the Cancer of the Universe. There’s no saving them.”

The captain ordered the fleet to turn around immediately.

Bang! The conference table was pounded hard.

“Tell me, how do we deal with the Black Star Army?” Roddick, the Commander of the Modo Civilization Expedition Fleet, was furious. His roar echoed throughout the conference room.

Before the war, the Black Star Army could not attack the Modo Civilization alone due to the help of the Super Star Cluster Alliance. But now that the latter was too occupied with its own war, this was the best time to start.

This was supposed to be the surrogate war phase, where the Super Star Clusters would only watch the situation, but because of the Black Star Army, the Modo Civilization had to move out in advance, losing their qualification to wait and watch. They had fallen into a disadvantage. “Most of our allies are unwilling to fight head-on with the Black Star Army. We can only resist it personally, not allowing him to enter our territory.”

“The other Super Star Clusters will not sit back and watch our line of defense being breached. They will provide support.”

“Even so, their support will be limited. The goal of the Black Star Army is clear-us, and us alone. Everyone is worried that intervening too much will cause the Black Star Army to drag them down as well.” Everyone discussed their thoughts in low volumes, and the atmosphere in the room was gloomy.

If it was any other armed organization, the problem was not that serious. After all, the Modo Civilization was still a Super Star Cluster Civilization and had sufficient armed forces.

However, with the current limitation to the war intensity, Supers were very important. The Immortals of the Black Star Army were too devious. Even if they could stop the Immortals for a while, they would not be able to withstand the casualties.

“We can only let the Immortals deal with other Immortals. We have also recruited many Immortal organizations. As long as they are given enough money, they can be dispatched to resist the Black Star Army,” Lagos proposed. “We can only do this for now.”

It was a loss for them to take out their normal Supers, whom they had painstakingly cultivated, to fight against the players. Only Immortals could fight against Immortals.

Roddick was gloomy. “Unfortunately, we’ll need to force the Black Star Army to withdraw if we want to get out of this situation.”

“What should we do, reconcile with Black Star?”

“That’s impossible.” Roddick decisively shook his head. “Only by getting rid of Black Star himself will the army fall apart… Unfortunately, it’s not possible for us.”

“Well then, if we change the direction, it’s okay to cause Black Star some trouble so that he has no time to take care of us.”

“You have a plan?”

“Not at the moment,” Lagos shook his head thoughtfully. “But I may have a way to deal with Black Star…”

Chapter 1153: Arrangements

Chapter 1153 Arrangements

Roddick’s eyes flashed, and he asked, “What’s your idea?”

“What do you think Black Star’s weakness is?” Lagos beat around the bush.

Hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought.

“Black Star has amazing strength. His fleshy body is tough, his foundation is huge, and his influence is at the peak…” Roddick’s expression was unsightly. “I can’t think of any weakness.”

“I’ll rephrase, what does Black Star care about?”

“His troops? But we can’t shake his foundation at all… His mother planet? It’s heavily protected. There’s no way to strike, and this sort of small problem is not enough to make Black Star feel overwhelmed… His officers? As far as I know, all important members of the Black Star Army are equipped with the transmission device similar to a Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, which cannot be blocked. It’s impossible to threaten Black Star with this…”

The more Roddick spoke, the more he despaired. In his opinion, unless the upper echelons intended to encircle and suppress Black Star without considering the casualties, there was nothing that they could do to the opponent.

Lagos shook his head.

“Black Star is indeed powerful, but we’re overthinking it. Get rid of your inner doubts and re-examine him. There are still some ways to achieve our goal, which could be divided into direct and indirect routes.”

Hope welled up back in Roddick. Over the past few years within the free competition zone, Black Star had become a tumor to him. “Hurry and explain.” “The direct route is simple. Start with Black Star himself. While you cannot destroy his body, his soul is definitely not as tough as his Indestructible Body.”

After hearing this, Roddick was immediately discouraged. “So what? Even if Black Star’s soul is relatively weak, it’s not something we can target. You should at least be at the level of a pinnacle Beyond Grade A to affect him.”

“No, no, no, look at this file.”

Lagos swiped his finger on the virtual screen, releasing a confidential file.

Glancing over, Roddick muttered to himself, “Marwell Project File, Number 023, Project name: [Soul Swap Twins)… What’s this?” “This is a confidential file sent to me by the superiors not long ago. I don’t know much about this Marwell Project, but according to the description, this plan is one of the civilization’s secrets to cultivate special Espers.

Everyone nodded, not finding it surprising.

Because they coveted the position of hegemons that were held by the three Universal Civilizations, the Super Star Cluster Alliance had always known to hide its trump cards, and they had formulated many secret special talent training plans. After the Tragedy of the Pinnacles, there were even more plans. Some of the Beyond Grade As of their direct line that were hidden in the secondary dimensions were the products of their training plans.

This matter was considered a semi-open secret among the advanced civilizations, and the three Universal Civilizations also knew something about it, but they were unaware of the details behind each plan.

“You’re saying these two can deal with Black Star?” Roddick expressed his doubt. “Impossible. These twins are not even at the Beyond Grade A level. Can they even hurt him?”

“You also subconsciously fell into a misunderstanding. It’s not just another Beyond Grade A that can hurt one! While the twins are weak, they are the only qualified ones to be able to utilize a Universal Treasure that is classified as a Space Wonder. It possesses a miraculous effect toward the Soul and has never appeared before. It might work on Black Star.”

Roddick hesitated a while before gritting his teeth. “Since there’s no other way, apply to the upper echelons for them to dispatch the twins to help… What’s the indirect route?” “For the indirect route, we start from the people around Black Star. Throughout his life so far, the people he has acknowledged are few. Among them, his relationship with the Dragon Emperor is more subtle. If something goes wrong with the Dragon Emperor, he might temporarily throw everything aside and restrain the Black Star Army.”

Roddick was taken aback. “Why use the Dragon Emperor as a target?”

“An officer like Hila will definitely be heavily protected. Compared to her, the chances of targeting the Dragon Emperor are higher.”

“Didn’t you say that he will have equipped the people he values with the teleporters. The Dragon Emperor can’t be defenseless, so how do we deal with her?”

“What I’m talking about is not a siege. She’s a Beyond Grade A and cannot be easily attacked…” Lagos took a deep breath. “But imagine, the Dragon Emperor’s temper suddenly changes, and she begins to commit heinous crimes. It’s impossible for Black Star to turn a blind eye toward her actions.”

“You mean…”

“I have two plans. One is to let the Soul Swap Twins go to Dragon Emperor and distort her thoughts, so the success rate is more straightforward. The second is to find a way to get the Dragon Emperor trapped into a vortex of anger, causing her to perform heinous crimes such as randomly killing innocents and breaking the peace treaty. Black Star will have no choice but to divert his attention.”

“The first one can be thrown aside. How do we go about the second plan?”

“It can be blaming her or causing her to go crazy. According to the data, she has a very obvious weakness…” Lagos’ eyes flickered. “As for specifics, some consideration is needed.”

Hearing this, Roddick’s eyes lit up. It seems like this is pretty reliable!

Among the battle zones of the four Star Clusters, the Ferdinand Star System of the Emerald Star Cluster was the most eye-catching. The reason was the Black Star Army being so powerful that it tore through the outer line of defense formed by the agent forces, pointing directly to Modo Civilization, which was located in the central area.

While the Black Star Army only stated that it would target the Modo Civilization, this would inevitably affect the whole scenario. The current behavior of the army had a profound impact on the overall battle situation of the Emerald Star Cluster, and the outer defense circle that was constructed by the Super Star Cluster Alliance now showed a gap.

Using the attacking direction of the Black Star Army as a breakthrough point, a large number of organizations in the faction of the three Universal Civilizations chose to follow them, trying to enter the Modo Civilization territory through this gap, which was in the hinterlands of the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance could only plug up the gap with their reinforcements. Even if the agents’ forces were not willing, they had to come to curb the advancement of the three Universal Civilizations’ forces headed by the Black Star Army.

The Modo Civilization also had to supplement a part of their armies to cooperate with the Northern Battlefront to block the Black Star Army, barely restraining them around the fifth to seventh Star Zones on the frontline.

This front has also turned into a war vortex of the Emerald Star Cluster, attracting a large number of armed fleets to gather and turn it into a meat grinder. The Ferdinand Star System had become the most intense area of this current battle.

The war in the Flickering World was in full swing, and the three Universal Civilizations were not idle either. They promulgated measures to impose multi-domain sanctions on all the Super Star Cluster Civilizations, eroding the national power of each Super Star Cluster on the political and economic level, so they could not concentrate on this war.

Thus, there were also a large number of business personnel from the Germinal Financial Group that had joined the fleet returning to the explored universe and travelling to the various Star Fields.

In the spaceship, the current vice president of the Germinal Financial Group, Iapetus, looked out of the porthole, the brilliant tail flame reflected in his eyes as he muttered to himself, “In the blink of an eye, over twenty years have passed…”

Touching his little moustache, a complicated look flashed past his eyes. The image of him being taken away by Black Star was still vivid. In a flash, Iapetus had turned from a youngster with a slight talent in business to a strong, experienced businessman. He had even risen to the position of vice president.

At first, he was reluctant, but he felt more at ease as time passed. In order to get promoted, he had worked hard to showcase his value. Right now, he was already accustomed to working for the army, helping them to seek more benefits.

Every time he thought back to his past, Iapetus felt as though it was all a dream.

Originally, he was just the head of a small financial group. He had never expected to become an important civilian officer under the Black Star Army, boarding the top stage of the universe.

By obtaining the opportunity created by turbulent times, they would shake the economic stability of an advanced civilization, not only earning huge profits but also affecting the state of the universe. This was one of the top achievements of the galactic merchants!

Those who could do this were definitely hegemons in the universe.

Without Black Star as the guide, he might only have made his name in the small pond of a Star System. It would be difficult to imagine doing things he had done in his current life.

If asked whether he felt gratitude to Black Star, there was indeed some, but Iapetus sighed more at how much his destiny had changed after meeting up with Black Star.

At this moment, the secretary walked in, holding a digital document in his hands. “Vice President, the Limitless Financial Group has drawn up a cooperation agreement and needs your signature.”

“Oh, bring it over.” Collecting his thoughts, Iapetus glanced through the document once before signing his name.

He was clear that this was a trip with a mission.

Cooperating with the Limitless Financial Group to take a share of the economic sanctions was only a superficial reason. He had two underlying missions to perform. The first was to focus on combating the Modo Civilization in the economic field, and the other was to help the intelligence personnel monitor the material and military movements of the Super Star Clusters.

The lifeline of the Super Star Cluster Alliance in maintaining this war lay in their logistics and transportation. The moment their backend assistance stopped, the troops in the free competition zone would just become a lone army looking to be defeated. Thus, the Army Commander privately gave him a task to allow him to pass through the Super Star Cluster and detect the transportation lines of these civilizations.

As long as they could control or cut off the transportation lines, the troops in the free competition zone would just be a group of turtles within an urn.

After more than twenty years of contact, Iapetus was aware that Han Xiao was farsighted. He knew well that his Army Commander was already making arrangements and that he was just one of the chess pieces that needed to be placed in a suitable position.

Meanwhile, in an exploration base of the Black Star Army, a group of players gathered in a private room, making a hubbub of noise.

“It’s been almost twenty minutes. Why were we called over?”

“You guys were also notified by Phillip?”

“That’s right. I don’t know why we’re here.”

Everyone there had just arrived at the exploration base, ready to join the next fleet to attack the Modo Civilization, but they had suddenly received a notice from Phillip, asking them to come to this room to standby.

This situation was generally a sign of a mission trigger. Only a few would refuse, so there were about two thousand people within the room. They were basically part of the group that had joined the Black Star Army since its inception, and some were even members of the Chinese clubs.

Suddenly, a strange noise sounded in the room.

Buzz!

A virtual projection appeared, which immediately attracted everyone’s attention. Many of them gasped. “Black Star!”

The projection that appeared was Han Xiao.

Looking around at the curious faces, Han Xiao nodded in greeting.

“Everyone, it was I who asked you to come here. You are all veterans who have been fighting with the army for many years, which makes you trustworthy. I have picked the best out of all of you, and there’s a secret mission I hope to entrust to you.” Upon hearing this, everyone present widened their eyes.

We’re players specially selected by the Army Commander?

Ah, a hidden mission!

“What would you need us to do?” some of the bolder players shouted.

Han Xiao smiled.

“I require you all… to act as spies!”

He then released the ‘Secret Mission’ he had prepared earlier to the players present. All those on scene lost focus in their eyes as they turned their attention to the interface.

Since many of the foreign clubs had planted their spies there, Han Xiao was prepared to give them a taste of their own medicine. He was going to send some players to pretend to join those guild alliances to inquire about news. He had also conveniently planted a few spies in the Modo Civilization to investigate the transportation lines as well.

For this reason, he would conceal the files of these players in the army, ‘washing out’ their identities and creating a scenario not unlike that of Infernal Affairs[1]. This was nothing difficult for a Beyond Grade A.

He did not wish to discover the Modo transportation line to completely ruin the hope of the Modo Civilization but to better encircle and fight their reinforcements. He realized that the Modo Civilization would not give up on their desire in the Flickering World that easily. As long as they could survive, the Modo Civilization would insist on sending in troops and continuously throwing soldiers into this meat grinder.

Not only would it allow him to complete his own mission, it would also keep the Black Star Army in a state of intervention. After all, once Modo was gone, the Black Star Army would no longer have an excuse to intervene in the war.

This was just one corner of the strategy. Han Xiao was secretly laying out many traps, preparing to weave a large web to cover the Modo Civilization, turning it into a prey in the web with nowhere to escape. For this reason, he even secretly contacted a person he had not talked to in a long time, a dangerous antisocialist and a powerful demagogue, a person who was perfectly useful for such situations in his mind…

Rossellin!

It was not difficult for him to imagine what sort of changes would take place within the Modo Civilization…

(1) Infernal Affairs, or Tlač, is a 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller film.

Chapter 1154: Dilemma of the Silver Revolutionary

Chapter 1154 Dilemma of the Silver Revolutionary

On a colonial planet of a certain Star System level civilization, within a rented temporary stronghold, the senior officers of the Silver Revolutionary Army gathered together, most of them with a melancholic look.

The current leader, Edmond, frowned. “While the competition in the Flickering World has caused turbulence in the universe, the efficiency of our publicity program is far from expected. It could even be said that progress is stagnant.”

The Silver Revolutionary Army had predicted this conflict in the Flickering World, so they wanted to take advantage of the turbulent times as an opportunity to grow their team. But when the conflict broke out, the spread of their ideals did not go as easily as they thought.

One of the men wearing glasses pushed his glasses up as he spoke. “Based on our survey, the popularity of the three Universal Civilizations in the universe is 1,174.1% higher compared to the same period as predicted by our mathematical mode. In other words, the three Universal Civilizations have obtained more trust from the people in this period. The turmoil of the Flickering World should have allowed the galactic residents to see their domineering attitude, but it did not drastically deteriorate the image of the three Universal Civilizations, unlike what we predicted.”

“How could this be…”

“The root cause of this deviation lies in the sudden Intelligent Plague incident not too long ago… This disaster scared countless galactic residents, and the three Universal Civilizations responded in a timely manner. It only took about half a year to resolve it, and this extreme universal crisis allowed the galactic residents to see the power of the three Universal Civilizations, which is what they wanted.

“Black Star also played an important role in this, and it can be said that if not for his achievements, along with the Mechanic Emperor’s ambitions attracting hatred, the three Universal Civilizations would have lost a large wave of popularity in this Flickering World incident. Right now, their foundations are still stable.”

Hearing this, the senior officers of the Silver Revolutionary Army could not help but reveal bitter expressions.

The conflict of the Flickering World should have been a once in a lifetime opportunity for them to develop, but now, it seemed that this opportunity would no longer meet their expectations, as the effect was ninety percent lower than expected.

Without this, everyone felt that their future was quite gloomy, and they lamented in secret, complaining about how the Intelligent Plague had destroyed their plans.

But everyone was unaware that this Intelligent Plague should have been the important event in their rise. Due to the butterfly effect Han Xiao caused, this had become an obstacle to their development.

Edmond turned his head to look at the dignified woman who was leaning on the sofa not too far away and asked, “Mentor, how do you see it?”

Everyone gazed at her. While they were all in the upper echelons, they subconsciously understood that Rossellin was their true spiritual pillar.

Rossellin swilled her wine glass as she indifferently replied, “Since development is now blocked, take your time. The hearts and wills of people are ephemeral like smoke, and the current support may change in the future. Be more patient.”

“This…” One of them opened his mouth in hesitation. “You don’t have a way to solve this problem?”

Hearing this, Rossellin laughed. “Haha, do you think I’m omnipotent? I can only follow the general trend to plan out details. I can’t change anything with my own strength.” As she spoke, Rossellin stood up, walking to the front as she smiled. “Since there are difficulties with our development now, I plan to take out some time to work on something else. Black Star sent me a request a while ago.” Everyone got a shock.

“You still maintain contact with Black Star?” Edmond was surprised.

“Why not?” Rossellin casually shrugged. “After all, I was an officer under him for a period of time. He didn’t stop me from leaving, so I technically owe him a favor.”

Edmond’s expression turned serious as he solemnly replied, “Right now, we’re plotting against the three Universal Civilizations. Who’s Black Star? An important ally of the three Universal Civilizations! How can you still maintain contact with him!”

“To be precise, it was Black Star who contacted me.” Rossellin did not think much of it. “Besides, I think he’s well aware of what we’re trying to do. He probably thinks of us as a joke.”

Edmond’s expression was grave as he paced around the room. He finally said hesitantly, “What does Black Star want you to do?”

“He wants me to go to the Modo Civilization and intensity their social contradictions.” Rossellin clicked her tongue. “He really trusts in my abilities…”

One of the Silver Revolutionary Army members was shocked. “How can this be? It’s one thing not to expose us, but he even asks for your help to fan the hatred in another civilization. Isn’t he someone who cares for the masses?”

Rossellin laughed derisively. “How could a man who broke into the decades-long established foundation be as kind-hearted as the news says? It’s just that he knows how to maintain his image and give the dirty work to others. Now, it’s my turn to work as well…”

With that, she did not wait for the rest to reply, pushing open the door and leaving the room.

Black Star’s request for her was to try and provoke the internal conflicts within the Modo Civilization, and she was given free rein. Rossellin already had a vague idea of how she should act. In her opinion, Modo Civilization was made up of three main races, and thus, it was very suitable for implanting radical split thoughts. Speaking of which, she herself originally wanted to revolutionize the lives of the three Universal Civilizations’ citizens but ended up turning around to revolutionize the lives of people in the Super Star Clusters, who were supposed to be her supporters.

Rossellin did not mind it, however. Unlike most of the upper echelons in the Silver Revolutionary Army, she did not believe that she needed to do something big. Be it against the three Universal Civilizations or the Super Star Clusters, as long as she could create upheaval in society, she did not care who the opponent was.

Within a certain asteroid belt in the explored universe was the secret base of the Assassin’s Society.

Ding ding dang dang!

Hundreds of assassin apprentices in training suits were practicing in the open-air training ground. Only the sound of weapons colliding could be heard.

In the stands of the training ground, several instructors stood with their arms folded, supervising the practice of the apprentices while Lothaire stood at the very front, staring with indifferent eyes. It had been almost twenty years since Han Xiao ordered him to secretly form the Assassin’s Society. Over the years, he had left a frightening record of assassinations on the black market and secretly recruited many assassins, constantly training new people. Now, the organization had reached a certain scale.

Beep beep.

His communicator rang.

Lothaire glanced at it before walking off. “Stop the training, assemble the staff, and prepare the spaceships. We’re heading off.”

Several of the officers showed curious expressions.

“Where are we going?”.

“New mission. We’re going to Modo.”

Lothaire concisely spoke as his figure disappeared down the passage. He had no interest in authority and always kept in his mind that the organization he established was a sharp blade that Black Star hid in the dark, stabbing the target Black Star pointed to.

In the Primeval Star River, within the Modo Civilization’s secret base…

Ta, ta, ta! Heavy footsteps sounded in the corridor outside as a person slowly approached a door.

With a creaking sound, the door was opened, and dazzling light shone in.

A group of soldiers stood at the door, with only their silhouette seen against the light. The commander said in an emotionless tone, “Soul Swap Twins, there’s a mission.”

There was no response at first, only deathly silence.

But this silence did not last long. A rustling sound came from a corner where the light could not reach, and a humanoid creature enveloped in shadowy fog walked out of the darkness. There was a baby-sized figure lying on his shoulders, wrapped in the same shadowy fog. Both of them only revealed a pair of blood red eyes, and no one could see what sort of species they were. Obviously, some kind of abnormality had happened to them, and the only telling factor was their size. These two were the Soul Swap Twins. The person with a normal growth was the elder brother, while the infant was the younger one. “Modo allowed us to go out again?” The younger one lying on the shoulders spoke with a hoarse voice, not unlike that of an old man.

Seeing the two, the officer immediately replied, “Same old rules. Immediately get on board with us. You can only get in touch with the Soul Swapper once you get to the mission location.”

“Who are we dealing with this time?” the elder brother asked with some resentment.

“Black Star!”

Hearing this name, both twins shared a look, inexplicable fluctuations in their eyes.

There was no tension but rather a faint excitement and greed, as though they had discovered a treasure.

At this moment, the officer took out a magical orb, saying, “The target has an ability to make predictions. This magic orb is inscribed with a magic circuit that will cover your aura, so when it’s worn on the body, it can effectively interfere and mislead any prophetic abilities.”

After the magic orb was given, the group of soldiers stepped forward, leaving the room with the Soul Swap Twins. Each soldier had a tense expression, their footsteps subconsciously speeding up, obviously wishing for the twins to be boarded as quickly as possible.

Even if they did not have the Space Wonder called the Soul Swapper, the twins were still quite dangerous, spending most of their time in prison.

While their realms were not high, long term contact with them would cause people to have more hallucinations, lowering their Sanity values.

At the same time, Aesop raised his head to look out of Floating Dragon Island in suspicion.

Aesop closed his eyes, directly activating his abilities. His thoughts seemed to pass through the dimensions until he locked onto the territory of the Modo Civilization.

“The feeling comes from Modo Civilization. What sort of abnormalities? It seems like they’ve used a masking device. The perception is vague, and the specific possibility of a future cannot be seen either…”

Aesop frowned uneasily.

Chapter 1155: Chess Player

Chapter 1155 Chess Player

In the Army Commander’s Black Star Palace office, the bright and shining star map sand table was suspended a meter above the ground, like a flat picture scroll, and the blue light reflected on Han Xiao’s face.

The star map sand table was a miniature map of the explored universe, of which two areas were illuminated. One of them was the free competition zone of the Flickering World, while the other was the Modo Civilization’s territory within the Primeval Star River.

In these two areas, there were many scattered light spots. Above each spot was a head or influence emblem, which represented the identity of the light spot. These included people such as Lothaire and Rossellin.

Han Xiao slowly paced around the sand table, moving the light spots representing Lothaire and Rossellin to the Modo Civilization area as he whispered to himself, “Rossellin and Lothaire are in place. Iapetus is almost there with the Germinal Financial Group as well…”

This scene was akin to a chess player, with the star map as a chessboard and the forces deployed as chess pieces, constructing a game of encirclement and suppression against the Modo Civilization.

Because of the development union as well as the constraints of the image created by the three Universal Civilizations, he could not move personally. Thus, in the free competition zone, if he wanted to mess around, he needed someone to do the dirty work for him.

This time, Han Xiao formulated a strike plan based on the military and economic fields. The frontal battlefield was simple-just fight and consume the forces and resources of the Modo Civilization.

As for the economic field, that was the highlight, taking advantage of the opportunity of war and sanctions that would shake the domestic market of the Modo Civilization. With the large number of financial groups and organizations that would close as a result, the Germinal Financial Group under his command would cooperate with the Limitless Financial Group and other business giants to enter and hunt down these assets, sucking the lifeblood of the Modo Civilization.

The partners Han Xiao found for the Germinal Financial Group were not just limited to the Limitless Financial Group. Since the Black Star Army represented a huge community of interests, Han Xiao had a lot of connections with the heads of various financial groups. He contacted a bunch of people, putting forth his cooperation requests through relying on his twin heavyweight identities of the Black Star Army and the three Universal Civilizations’ ambassador. Faced with such an opportunity, there were few financial groups that would refuse such a deal.

With his current influence and status, even if he merely remained in Black Star Palace, he could still leverage resources of a terrifying scale.

As for what would happen as a result of this chain reaction, the Modo Civilization might not regress but would definitely be hurt through this attack.

In contrast, all the partners of the Germinal Financial Group would be able to make a fortune out of it.

“This feels more and more as though I’m the leader behind the scenes in the triads.” Han Xiao snickered before sighing. “I’m only missing one last link, which is a supervisor for the Shattered Star Ring, who is needed to locate their supply lines as well…”

The Shattered Star Ring bordered the Flickering World, so the Super Star Cluster Alliance would definitely use this to their advantage to send reinforcements and supplies to the Flickering World. However, the Shattered Star Ring was his backyard, and the army would definitely know of any movements made by the Super Star Cluster Alliance there. It would definitely be possible to trace their transportation lines.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance was definitely aware of this point, so they would use various means to cover up the fleet, fighting a battle of wits. For them, maintaining the concealment of their supply lines was vital to winning the
war.

“Sylvia and Herlous are both in the Flickering World, and the highest-ranking officer left in the Shattered Star Ring is Lagi. I worry about his way of doing things…” Han Xiao shivered involuntarily and decided to change to another person. “Hila and Sylvia cannot return for the time being… Oh, Nero has already grown up. It’s time to make him take more responsibilities.”

The Shattered Star Ring was still the base camp of the Black Star Army, and the task of monitoring the Super Star Clusters should not be too difficult. It was a good time to let Nero handle this and temper the kid.

Right now, Nero was at his peak. He had the ability but lacked the experience. Han Xiao had always hoped to train Nero into a unique talent. Aside from the close relationship, Nero himself was also a protagonist-level character, with amazing potential and worthy of training as a core member.

If he could train out a better worker than Sylvia, that would be for the best. Not only would he be more worry-free, but Nero was also a man and would not care about his hairline. Added with his various fatigue resistances, he was strong and could literally be worked to death.

“That’s right. Aesop is also good at finding people. I can invite him as a consultant and let Nero temporarily act as his assistant…”

Han Xiao stroked his chin as this idea took hold.

An elder in the family was akin to having a treasure. Getting Aesop to come forward would not only increase the chances of finding the Super Star Cluster Alliance transportation line but also allow Aesop to pass on his precious life experience to Nero, killing two birds with one stone.

He just did not know if Aesop would willingly step up and help. That old fellow should be desperate for something to do, after being trapped in Floating Dragon for over a decade.

Beep beep!

Just as he was thinking about it, his communicator rang. Glancing at it, the corners of his mouth curled up.

Speak of the Aesop. That old man probably foresaw that I was going to call him and thus decided to be preemptive. As he thought that, Han Xiao answered the call. “Old man, you saw that I was going to find you?”

“I’ve come for something else.” Aesop did not beat around the bush, immediately speaking. “I foresaw that danger’s coming from Modo Civilization. They’ve made some movements lately targeted toward you. You have to be careful, as they used a shielding device and I cannot get a clear prediction.” “Oh, I understand.” Han Xiao nodded, not feeling surprised at all.

With him already targeting the other party, the Modo Civilization would definitely do something to try and restore the situation. Even without Aesop’s reminder, he knew that the Modo Civilization would inevitably counterattack. It was not surprising for them to use a shielding device, as he still had someone with the title of (Oracle) protecting him.

“You’d better be more cautious. While I might not have gotten a clear prediction, I have a bad feeling about this,” Aesop stressed.

“Alright, I’ll keep my eyes peeled.”

Han Xiao began to recall the various trump cards that the Modo Civilization had in his previous life, beginning to deduce how they would carry out their counterattack against him.

“Just take it seriously. You said you were looking for me as well?” Aesop changed the topic.

Hearing this, Han Xiao told Aesop his plans. “To invite me as a consultant… I have no objections, but you’ve got to ask Ames for this. If she’s not afraid that I’ll take the chance to run off, I’m alright with that.”

Aesop thought about it and did not reject it in the end.

He had been ‘trapped in Floating Dragon for so long and had already given Ames to Black Star as though he was sending off his daughter to be married. He had nothing else to worry about now, so his adventurous spirit had begun to resurface once more.

“I’ll find time to speak to her.” Han Xiao laughed. While his relationship with Ames was close, he still needed to observe his manners and pay a visit if he wished to borrow one of her people.

After chatting a while more, Han Xiao turned off the communicator, sizing up the star map as he nodded in satisfaction.

In this manner, the layout was basically complete. He did not need to interfere anymore; he just needed to wait for his pieces to act and let things develop as planned.

Han Xiao opened the interface.

More than half of Version 4.0 has passed. According to my current experience accumulation efficiency, I should have enough to reach level 340 before the end of the version, undergoing my next sublimation.

He had originally almost saved up enough experience, but because of his battle against the Mechanic Emperor, he had been forced to change his experience into Awakening Points in one go, adding nearly ten thousand Intellect points. After so much time had passed, his experience was slowly accumulating once more.

The God’s Trait Transformation points obtained through producing four new Universal Treasures had already been used by him. Now his God’s Trait TransformationMachinery had reached level nine, bringing to him a considerable bonus. As long as one more God’s Trait Transformation Machinery point was obtained, there would be a qualitative change as with every five stacks.

According to Han Xiao’s estimation, when he reached level340 and transformed his God’s Trait Transformation Machinery to level ten or more, alongside the new talents from the Kunde Race Mission and some new Mechanic Universal Treasures, he would be able to suppress the Mechanic Emperor.

At that time, even if the Mechanic Emperor did not come to provoke him, he would go and fight with him, rewriting the ‘tie’ battle record that they had!

As the days passed, the battle in the free competition zone intensified. Under this chain reaction, turmoil broiled in the universe, raising surging winds and storms.

The three Universal Civilizations began imposing extremely strong sanctions on the Super Star Clusters. The latter was still resisting all pressure, and various negative reactions had already started appearing in each civilization.

Among them, the Modo Civilization suffered the most. Not only did they suffer heavy losses due to the Black Star Army in the free competition zone, but the country also gradually turned chaotic. Assassinations got more frequent, with the victims all being successful people from all walks of life, causing panic among the populace. It also seemed that someone was deliberately inciting negativity among them, causing the social conflicts to further amplify.

At the same time, their economy was also impacted. A large number of their companies went bankrupt, and many people became unemployed. Even if the Super Star Cluster Civilizations had many huge businesses, when having their revenue robbed by several financial group giants, it would be impossible for them not to suffer losses.

If it was in peacetime, with just the power of the Black Star Army, it would be impossible for the Modo Civilization to even be swayed. However, the three Universal Civilizations were the main force behind the sanctions this time, which burnt out the Modo Civilization. This environment provided Han Xiao with an excellent opportunity to mess them up.

In just three months, the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s plan was in full swing, but with their investment regardless of cost, the overall war in the free competition zone had achieved some advantages… except for the zone where the Modo Civilization was located.

Meanwhile, a fleet with no emblems arrived at the Inter-Star Field Stargate linking to the Shattered Star Ring. It was the secret force dedicated to transporting the Soul Swap Twins.

Chapter 1156: Nation Saving Plan

Chapter 1156 Nation Saving Plan

The conflict of the Flickering World was seen as a resistance by the Super Star Cluster Alliance toward the three Universal Civilizations’ hegemony. The Galactic Society eventually gave this resistance a formal name – The Flickering War.

For this Flickering War, the Super Star Cluster Alliance had prepared decades in advance. From the first to third exploration phases, they had continuously sent stowaways into the Star Field, establishing secret Stargates. While the three Universal Civilizations were preoccupied with the Intelligent Plague, the Super Star Cluster Alliance had started to prepare war resources, avoiding eyes and ears to establish hidden warehouses in the barren universes at different locations. They even managed to build secret military communication networks.

And today, all of their hidden hands had been connected. The Super Star Cluster Civilizations had built a secret transportation network to deliver lifeblood to the Flickering World, and the secret force that transported the Soul Swap Twins also utilized this secret stargate to arrive at the Shattered Star Ring, leaving no record in the public stargates.

In the temporary detention room of the spaceship, Lagos, the warlord of the Modo Civilization Expedition Fleet, was communicating with the twins to explain the mission.

“… Your mission objective this time is Aesop Hurricane, the adoptive father of the Dragon Emperor and the current Special Consultant for the Black Star Army.”

“Didn’t the superiors call us over to deal with Black Star? Why is it another target now?” the elder brother of the twins said.

“This is part of the plan to deal with Black Star. Aesop is a key figure, and his position is important to the Dragon Emperor. With the relationship between Black Star and Dragon Emperor, we can use this strategy to shift Black Star’s attention away from us,” Lagos solemnly said.

In the past few months, he as well as all the other upper echelons of the exploration army had repeatedly analyzed the pros and cons, finally choosing this method to save their nation.

This battle plan had received approval from the various members of the Military Strategy Department. According to Modo’s current situation, if they wanted Black Star to stop, they could only do so by throwing him into another vortex.

The Modo Civilization was also aware of the name of Aesop. This long-lived man had a strong power of Prophecy and was thus difficult to deal with. But in contrast to going head on with a Beyond Grade A, it was easier to attack Aesop.

It was precisely because of Aesop’s predictive abilities that he had to be specifically targeted. In the past few months, Aesop had paired up with Nero to search the Shattered Star Ring. They had discovered the location of multiple transportation lines dedicated to the Super Star Cluster Alliance, which caused a substantial number of problems for them. If it were not for the fact that the Black Star Army only targeted the Modo Civilization, the overall damage to them would be even larger.

While Nero’s luck also played a huge part, in the eyes of the Super Star Clusters, the main point was still Aesop’s Prophecy that did the work. Thus, even if they could not deal with Black Star, they had to get rid of the problem that was Aesop.

However, the Soul Swap Twins were terribly disappointed.

“I thought that I would be able to directly attack Black Star. I rejoiced for nothing.”

Lagos frowned. “If you went directly against Black Star and failed, you would die immediately. Isn’t targeting Aesop the safer option?”

Hearing this, the Soul Swap Twins displayed sarcastic smiles.

The way they spent their lives was as good as not living. So, why would they care about it?

Black Star was a pinnacle Beyond Grade A, and he would definitely not be easy to deal with, but they did not care about the danger. They only looked at his huge assets and lofty status.

If they could utilize the Soul Swapper to occupy Black Star’s body, all of that would belong to them. Not only would they gain their freedom, but they would also become a top powerhouse in the universe, taking away the foundation of power and strength that Black Star had developed for decades. Compared to their lives, the twins wanted to gamble on this, but there was no need to express their hearts at this time.

“Tell us the process,” the younger brother of the twins said hoarsely.

“Aesop is currently a Special Consultant for the Black Star Army,” Lagos explained. “He is highly guarded, and he has his ability to find any hostile targets, so we will use some forged transportation lines as bait to lure the snake out of its hole. Then, we’ll find a way to allow you to make contact with Aesop. You can then use the Soul Swapper to temporarily distort his thinking and manipulate him to intervene in the conflict of a certain civilization, before asking him to commit suicide. This will anger the Dragon Emperor into pinning the blame on the civilization… We will help to secretly propagate this. All you need to do is to be responsible for your own mission.”

Be it for official or private reasons, Aesop had to die, and his death would be blamed on a Star System level civilization that was protected by a peace treaty. This was for the Dragon Emperor to form some hatred toward the civilization, forcing her to lose control and cause a slaughter due to her anger. Even if the Dragon Emperor did not give in to her grief, she would inevitably have a conflict with the civilization due to her temperament. No matter what, Black Star would turn back to help, and to protect the Dragon Emperor, he might even have to resort to using force. As a result, the Black Star Army would gain another opponent and would have a high probability of withdrawing its armies.

“Understood.” The Soul Swap Twins were noncommittal.

It was not the first time they had done such a thing

Lagos instructed them some more before cutting the communication. The guards then closed the door again to prevent them from moving around.

The Soul Swap Twins glanced at each other, understanding each other’s meaning without needing to speak. This was a chance for them to become free men. The moment they obtained the Soul Swapper, they could escape after finishing their mission. They were not reconciled to spending their lives as tools.

In the office, Han Xiao read the report of the Shattered Star Ring, from time to time looking up at the remote projections of Nero and Aesop in front of him.

“Discovered thirty-eight Super Star Cluster Alliance transportation fleets; completely destroyed two lines of the Modo Civilization and seven secret resource bases, seizing daily supplies, weapons and ammunition. Another eleven suspected transportation routes of the other Super Star Cluster Alliances during the monitoring…” After browsing the report, Han Xiao smiled and praised them. “Well done.”

“It’s all because of your tutelage.” Nero scratched his head as he laughed dumbly.

“You’re now the chief in charge of the Shattered Star Ring. Don’t laugh so stupidly. You have to be more serious, understand?” Han Xiao rapped on the table. Nero immediately straightened his expression.

He was already an adult, but in front of Han Xiao, he behaved in a very relaxed manner, naturally revealing his childish side.

At this moment, Aesop smiled as he said, “I like this kid. He has a lot of potential. Given enough time, he will become quite a unique character. His luck is pretty good.” Han Xiao nodded and asked, “Any forecasts so far from your Prophecy?”.

Aesop shook his head. “It’s still the same foggy sense of danger. Three months have already passed, but they have not seemed to move.”

Han Xiao turned back to Nero. “Take note to increase the collecting of intelligence. At the first sign of trouble, report to me.”

During this period of time, he had analyzed the possible plans of the Modo Civilization and felt that the probability of them attacking him was quite low. It was more likely that they would choose to start with the people around him, so he had strengthened the protection around his mother planet as well as various officers and increased Phillip’s monitoring of the entire army.

Because most of the information was actually reported up by level and might not be able to reach him, he lowered the standard of importance for Phillip to directly report to him. While this might cause his workload to increase, it was a trivial matter for such a period.

“By the way, what did you say to Ames?” Aesop asked. “I’m running everywhere with the Black Star Army right now, but she does not seem to be afraid that I’ll suddenly leave.”

“Oh, I told her that I’m watching you for her. If you run away, then I’ll bring you back.” Han Xiao laughed.

“Tsk, I knew it.” Aesop’s eyes narrowed. “Is she that unconfident of me? The stuff I’ve seen, how could she know more than me? I’ve probably eaten more salt than the amount of rice she has eaten.”

“Then you must feel thirsty a lot,” Han Xiao joked. “From your tone, it seems like you were really intending to slip away.” “I’ve been under house arrest in Floating Dragon for decades. I can’t possibly stay there until the end of my life.” Aesop folded his arms in front of him. “To be honest, with you taking care of Ames, I feel reassured. There’s no need for me to remain here. I took those years of staying as a rest, and now I’m ready to continue my travels.”

Han Xiao did not find it weird at all. For a long-lived species such as Aesop, a decade or two was just like a year or two for a normal person. This old man’s desire for adventure was carved deep into his bones, and he could not settle down in one place forever.

“Then, why don’t you just tell Ames directly? If you are honest and truthful, she definitely won’t stop you.”

“No, no, then she won’t send people after me. That would be so meaningless.”

Aesop shook his head, revealing a gleeful tone akin to someone goading another party to catch him.

Han Xiao was speechless. I suddenly have the desire to beat this old man up…

“Aren’t you afraid that I have preparations made to prevent you from slipping away?” “Haha, even if I tell you, you won’t stop me.” Aesop smiled. “I want to maintain a tacit understanding with her, so I’ll need you to help convey my meaning.” Han Xiao understood. This meant that Aesop was planning to leave without saying goodbye, and he planned to use Han Xiao as a microphone. This was also a way to get back at him. Previously, it was Han Xiao who had caught Aesop, making the latter lose face. Giving himself a reminder before successfully slipping away would settle their debts.

“Then, when are you preparing to leave?”

“I’ll help you with this last task, and once the Flickering War is over, I’ll leave.”

“Hey, when the time comes, I’ll see if you can escape from my palm.” Both of them shared a laugh.

By the side, Nero suddenly felt as though he had become a lightbulb. Han Xiao gave him a few more instructions before hanging up. Thinking about it, he then called Ames. Only two rings had passed before the call connected.

“Oh, busy man, you have the time to chat with me now?”

Ames’ laughter was like a clear spring bubbling through the communicator. “What are you up to?” Han Xiao smiled.

“Practicing the Knowledge you got for me.”

Han Xiao had managed to exchange a Knowledge of the Esper Class, passing it to Ames. She had been studying it diligently. Because ordinary people did not have an interface, they could not do it overnight but had to slowly pore over the research.

The two of them chatted a little before focusing on the trending topic.

“Black Star, how long do you think the Flickering War will last?” Ames was curious.

Han Xiao contemplated. “At least three to five years, a decade or two at max.”

The Super Star Cluster Alliance would not give up so easily. The previous Flickering War lasted for quite a long time. The players were only contracted as agents around the end of Version 4.0, and in the later stages, most of it was reduced to cutscenes as the players went offline.

This time, because of the sudden emergence of the Intelligent Plague, the Super Star Cluster Alliance was more prepared and could resist for a longer period of time. However, with his own intervention, the course of the battle would be shortened. The two factors both affected each other, changing the plot of his previous life. Thus, Han Xiao also found it hard to say how long the alliance could support itself this time.

But the final result should be the same as in his previous life, where it would end with the failure of the Super Star Cluster Alliance. This battle was for them to gain a glimmer of hope, a gamble with a low success rate.

“So long…” Ames sighed. “I originally wanted to invite you to travel to the world of the secondary dimensions, but it seems like you don’t have the time in the next few years.”

“Again?”

“You’re not willing?” Ames tilted her head, her hair spilling over her shoulders like a waterfall.

“Cough cough, I’m actually not that busy. You also know that us Beyond Grade As cannot personally enter the Flickering War. After destroying the Modo Civilization, I’ll be free, and I can accompany you to visit the secondary dimensions…”

… as well as allow Aesop to slip away. Han Xiao finished in his mind.

“Then we have a date.” Ames’ eyes curled up as she smiled.

Chapter 1157: Soul Swapper

Chapter 1157 Soul Swapper

Somewhere within the Shattered Star Ring, three small battleships with the Black Star Army emblem were cruising in the starry space. All three battleships were blitz-class shuttles, exceptional in speed.

The responsibility of this force was to track down any suspicious transport fleets. In the command room of the lead spaceship, the captain carefully stared at the star map in front of him, which marked the patrol route of the squad. Once a suspicious unit was found or a new mission assigned, it would be displayed.

“I heard that a couple of days ago, there seemed to be traces of a suspicious transport fleet in the neighboring Star Zone. However, the clues were intermittent, and we seem to have lost it. Do you think they will come over to our sector?” A nearby officer made some idle talk.

“It would be great. If we can track down the suspicious fleet, it will be our credit. We have been patrolling here for a few months and have not even performed a proper mission. If we’re not lucky, we probably won’t get any merit,” another person said with some envy.

Because the patrol mission was dull and boring, the captain did not stop his subordinates from chatting as he thought the same. While he was only a bottom-rung member in the army, he had the desire to progress. As long as he accumulated enough merits, he could acquire the army’s elite training qualifications and invest in himself, which would be beneficial to his promotion.

Beep beep!

At this moment, a red dot of light rippled on the star map, and a notification was heard. This was a field inspection mission, which meant that their space buoy had intercepted a suspicious unit.

“Mission!”

The captain’s eyes brightened as he thought that an opportunity had come for him. He immediately ordered the fleet to change directions, heading toward the marked coordinates.

The spaceships immediately turned around, and their engines released a roar as they shot toward the depths of the starry sky.

After flying for a period of time, the team arrived at the target location. Opening the detection device, thirty or forty spatial folds appeared on the radar’s view.

These were the traces left by hyperdrive transitions. Each trace represented a spaceship. At this moment, the traces had yet to disappear and extended out, pointing out the course of these dozens of spaceships in disguise.

“A total of forty-one hyperdrive jump tracks have been spotted. Follow the traces and catch up!” The captain did not hesitate.

The squad was now energized, and they followed the trail of the hyperdrive engines, tracking them for around two hours before a barren asteroid leapt into view.

The trail ended here, which meant that the target exited the hyperdrive mode at this point.

The vice-captain glanced at the radar before speaking. “Report, the target has disappeared. They might be on the planet to collect resources or hiding in ambush behind the asteroid. Awaiting instructions.”

The captain deliberated for two seconds before saying, “No. 2, perform a scan on the planet surface. No. 3, round to the back of the planet. No.1, maintain position. Keep the engines ready, prepared to move at any moment.”

“Roger that.”

The three spaceships immediately separated, and it did not take long for the results to arrive.

A docked fleet was found on the planet’s surface. Their emblem represented a local commercial organization, and they were currently collecting the underground gas resources. The scale of this fleet was exactly the same as the number of transition traces, which was the target of this team.

“Send out a wide area communication, asking to check the identification codes,” the captain ordered.

The transportation fleet of the Super Star Cluster Alliance utilized various methods to hide as they travelled, and one of the most common ones was to pretend to be the troops of other organizations. If the tracking team of the area happened to come across any of such fleets, they would generally ask to check the identity of the other party, guilty until proven innocent.

However, the authority to check the identities of any transit fleet was actually only given to the Civilization Security Team. The Black Star Army, as a private armed organization, did not have the right.

But in this world where authority was decided by one’s fist, the Black Star Army’s motive of tracing the transportation fleets of Modo Civilization resulted in many of the civilizations allowing it, unwilling to cause trouble. Most of the civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring did not have any issues, closing one eye to this. Occasionally, the tracking team would uncover a genuine transport party, and the enemy would strike at them first, but this was an unavoidable risk. Thus, the tracking team generally did not fight, only maintaining communication with the intelligence department. This way, even if the tracking team was killed and disconnected, it could still send back messages and allow the department to know the identity of the target enemy.

At this time, the tracking team sent a communication request to the transport fleet, but the other party did not respond.

The captain immediately turned vigilant. “Something isn’t right. Immediately prepare to report…”

Before he could finish speaking, his brain spun, and his vision turned chaotic. This state only lasted for a second before he regained clarity. But the scene in front of him froze his whole body, and fear erupted from his heart.

He saw that his surroundings had turned into a prison, and his body was firmly fixed in a confinement chamber, unable to move.

He was lost for words.

I was in the command room a second ago. How did I end up here?

Before he could make sense of his situation, his brain spun yet again. His surroundings changed, and he was now situated in a transparent glass room, with a swarm of black beetles next to him.

Looking through the transparent walls, he was terrified to see giants walking outside the room without even looking at them. He could not even see how tall these giants really were.

Everything seemed to have been magnified countless times over in his vision.

“What the hell…” the captain murmured subconsciously, but rather than hearing his voice, he only heard a slight hissing sound.

He paused before lowering his head to look at himself. A chill ran down his spine, and he dared not believe his eyes.

His body had actually turned into that of a black beetle, just like the bugs around him!

In that instant, he seemed to have understood.

It’s not that the world has gotten bigger… I’ve shrunk!

At this moment, a deep-orange jet of flames blazed in the sky, filling the entire glass capsule and turning his thoughts into a blazing white cloud.

Boom!

With just a breath, all the black beetles were burnt to ash.

Wer u

An operator in a white lab coat removed the flamethrower used for the experiment. Taking a look at the residue within the glass capsule, he gave an ‘OK’ signal.

The team leader nodded before saying, “Reporting to the commander. The targets have been eliminated.”

“Hmm.”

In the flagship, the commander nodded as he looked out of the porthole at the scene outside.

Two of the spaceships, No. 2 and 3, had already been reduced to fireworks. Only the commanding spaceship managed to escape and leave the scene.

In this escaped spaceship, all of the members were shells, replaced by a different soul!

“The plan was a success.”

The commander lightly nodded before looking to the side. There was a smoky crystal-colored mirror floating in the air, about fifty centimeters in diameter and only three centimeters thick.

The Soul Swap Twins stood in front of this mirror, their palms submerged inside the surface of the mirror up till their wrists, as though it was being swallowed.

This mirror was the marvelous Universal Treasure named the Soul Swapper!

“It’s done. Stop right now!” the commander bellowed.

Hearing this, the Soul Swap Twins slowly withdrew their palms. The soldiers around them immediately moved forward, taking away the Soul Swapper and placing it in an extremely sophisticated safe, away from the Soul Swap Twins.

Seeing this, the twins glanced around the surrounding mechanical turrets protruding from the walls and ground that were aimed toward them before laughing nonchalantly.

These turrets were safety devices to prevent them from moving. They were remotely and intelligently controlled, since the soul swapper only worked on the souls of living creatures. It was useless against machinery. The commander then retracted his gaze, looking in the direction that the shuttle was fleeing, and whispered, “The Death Warriors prepared in advance have already penetrated the enemy. With our bait, it should be enough to catch the person…”

“A squad in the Thousand Lights Star System was ambushed on their way to track a suspicious fleet. Two of their spaceships were destroyed, and only one of them got out alive…”

At the Black Star Army headquarters in the Shattered Star Ring, Nero whispered after reading the report. He looked up at the several officers in the room, asking, “Everyone, what are your thoughts?”

Mia was decisive. “The situation is obvious. The transport fleet attacked them, so it is likely from the Super Star Cluster Alliance. We should immediately mobilize troops around the incident site to track the target.”

“I feel that this is a little strange. The Super Star Cluster Alliance normally do not make any head-on attacks because their identity will be exposed once they fight. Most of the time, they try to get rid of the tail instead. The reason for their attack is only if the chasing troops were not discovered early, allowing them to accidentally catch up… but once they attack, they will not leave any of them alive. The previous cases were all like this,” Tomar muttered.

He had already been studying magic under Lagi for decades. While his teacher was a salted fish, he still could not resist Tomar’s gifts for magic, so he had slowly worked his way up into one of the officers of the Black Star Army. His relationship with Nero was good, and he was currently in Nero’s team.

“Maybe the surviving spaceship escaped in time. However, the Star Clusters must also have known that the information was leaked, so did they decide not to waste their energy in pursuit?” Mia guessed. “That would make sense.” Tomar did not doubt much as well.

“Let’s ask the survivors for any details first.”

Nero thought about it before ordering his assistant to contact the captain of the surviving spaceship. After a moment, the communication came through, and the captain of the tracking team appeared on the screen.

“Recount your experiences. I want to know the details.”

The eyes of the captain on the screen flashed. He nodded, revealing an expression of lingering fear and anger as he recounted his experience.

The soul in this body had already been replaced by a Death Warrior prepared by the Modo Civilization. The effect of the Soul Swapper was not simply just transferring the souls of the two bodies but also allowing the invading soul to inherit most of the target’s memories. This was because the brain of the body was still present, just like a library.

However, this memory would not naturally merge with the new soul. It needed to be sorted and read slowly, and there would naturally be parts missing. Generally speaking, the older memories would be more easily forgotten, while the most recent memories would remain complete.

There usually existed some sort of exclusivity to prevent different souls and physical bodies from merging. Methods like reincarnating in a new shell and seizing souls could also be done by some Espers or Psychics, such as Feidin or Chen Xing, but with lower success rates.

The Soul Swapper would greatly increase the success rate of the transfer of souls, bringing it close to a hundred percent under normal circumstances. However, this was affected by the strength of the target and the strength of the user. At the same time, using the Soul Swapper to complete the soul transfer would greatly reduce the chances of rejection of the body and soul.

The soul transfer was only one of the functions of the Soul Swapper. This mysterious thing had many other functions.

After listening to the report, Nero gave a few words of encouragement and prepared to end the conversation.

At this moment, the ‘survivor’ suddenly put on an angered and sad expression as he shouted, “We’re now the nearest unit to the enemy. I hope to be able to continue this mission, continue pursuing the troops to avenge my friends!”

“Sure.”

This request was reasonable, and Nero had no reason to refuse. Hanging up the communication, Tomar spoke out again.

“Nero, now that the target knows that he has been exposed, he’ll definitely change his plan. Instead of going to the transportation line, he will escape separately. I suggest using the second plan.”

This sort of scenario was not the first. The moment their transport forces were exposed, they would be treated as abandoned children. Even if they continued to track them, they would not be able to discover the secret stronghold of the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

“That’s right.” Nero turned over to look at Aesop. He said in embarrassment, ‘This… Your Excellency Aesop, we’ll have to trouble you once again.”

“No problem.” Aesop waved his hands, as though it was nothing.

The so-called second plan was to borrow Aesop’s ability to let him go to the location of the incident, using the relevant clues as a medium to make on-the-spot predictions, seeing the multiple possibilities and grasping more clues.

In order to obtain a clearer prediction, more information was needed. This method was effective, so over the past few months, Aesop had not just stayed in the headquarters but also conducted many field visits under heavy protection. This method had allowed the Black Star Army to discover many targets.

Nero nodded and loudly declared, “Let’s not delay further. Prepare the spaceship immediately and take His Excellency Aesop to the location.”

In a certain Star Field, on a certain planet, at a certain base, Manison stood in front of a virtual screen with his hands behind his back, staring at the contents of the screen.

This was the secret information from the Primeval Star River base camp, coming from the spy he had planted in the Modo Civilization many years ago.

Only a brief message was written.

The Soul Swap Twins were transferred from the base, and the Soul Swapper was taken from the warehouse by the army. The destination was unknown.

“Soul Swapper… If I my guess is correct, the Modo Civilization must intend to use this Universal Treasure to deal with him. Maybe I can…” Manison muttered to himself, an inexplicable light in his eyes.

Chapter 1158: Parasitism and Sudden Change

Chapter 1158 Parasitism and Sudden Change

A few days later, in the Thousand Lights Star System of the Shattered Star Ring, a Black Star Army armed fleet flew out of the stargate. There were thousands of battleships of various models. In the middle of it was a very large, conspicuous flagship.

Inside the command room, the Calamity Grade officer nodded at Aesop and said, “Your Excellency Aesop, we’re here.”

“Quickly get to work then.” Aesop nodded calmly with hands behind his back.

Usually, Nero would arrange at least two Calamity Grade Supers as Aesop’s bodyguards, at least a thousand battleships, and Black Star’s mechanical army and Lord’s Avatar. When in danger, Black Star would be able to arrive at any moment. He was very well protected.

“The tracking team nearby have all been called here to search the area. They have yet to find anything for the time being. Let’s go take a look at where it happened.” “Sure.” Aesop had no objection.

The fleet advanced quickly through Star Zones, soon arriving at the planet where the battle happened.

The ground location where this Super Star Cluster Alliance transportation fleet once stopped was already occupied by the army warriors who arrived a few days ago and guarded as the crime scene.

A small ship carried Aesop and was launched out from the bottom of the flagship, crossing the cordon that the army had deployed at the exterior atmosphere of this planet.

When the hatch opened, Aesop stepped onto the ground in a light protection suit, surrounded by a group of bodyguards. There were dim depressions on the ground in front of them, clearly the marks left by a battleship stopping and taking off. Aesop quickly walked to it, squatted down, and closely observed these marks while occasionally touching them with his hands. After he walked around the entire crime scene, he finally stopped and closed his eyes as if he was meditating

This process lasted for about two minutes before Aesop opened his eyes and clapped. “I saw some transportation spaceships sailing through the universe. The organization symbol on them has already changed to something else. This Super Star Cluster Alliance fleet should’ve changed into different disguises and gone in separate directions. I’ll draw out these organization symbols for you later, so you can search the fleets of these organizations in the nearby area.”

“That’s great. That’s extremely helpful. The great prophet Aesop never disappoints. Your efficiency is amazing, and receiving your help is our great honor,” the fleet commander said, clearly having learned how to bootlick from Hadavy.

“Just a small matter.” Aesop waved. “However, this is not enough. If you guys can seize one of their battleships or capture their men, I will be able to obtain more accurate leads and search for their original destination.”

“Don’t worry. With the intelligence you’ve provided, catching them is just a matter of time. Unfortunately, we’ll have to trouble you to stay in this area a short while longer. We’ll need you when we seize the enemy ship.”

“Hmm, that’s no big deal. I happen to want to take a walk outside too.”

Aesop did not mind and wrote down what he had seen in the prophecy, all the organization symbols of the enemy’s disguises. The fleet commander immediately gave the order and sent this information to all the tracking teams.

The group of them returned to the fleet and was about to depart for the army base of this area and standby when the fleet commander suddenly received a message. He looked down at the communicator, and his eyes gleamed.

“Your Excellency Aesop, you’re such a lucky star! I’ve only just sent out the crucial information you provided, and there’s a tracking team that’s already found the target. They happened to be resting at a city planet and discovered the suspicious transport spaceship that matched your prophecy. Plus, that ship is alone.”

“That’s surprisingly quick.” Aesop smiled. “Looks like we’re still in luck. This team that discovered the enemy did a good job.”

“Let me take a look… Oh, the one we’ve discovered is the only surviving spaceship from before. I remember they were searching everywhere for these guys. Now they’ve finally got their revenge.” The fleet commander smiled. “I told them to standby and keep an eye on the enemy spaceship, to wait for us to arrive and not scare them away.”

The fleet departed immediately and hurried all along the way, reaching the destination very soon.

A light purple and bright silver planet hovered in space outside the porthole. The surface of it was filled with colorful galactic cities

This was a rather prosperous colonial planet. It belonged to the ruler of the Thousand Lights Star System, the Light Rune Civilization.

The Black Star Army would not do whatever they wished without restraint when they were in city planets that belonged to a civilization like this one. The main reason was that there was no need to. Most of the civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring had a good relationship with the Black Star Army, so the army would not offend them for no reason.

“The tracking team is still surveilling the enemy spaceship. They’re not moving. What do you think?” the fleet commander said.

“Did they see any of their crew?” Aesop asked. “The tracking team has already requested to look at the surveillance footage from the officials and shared it with us. According to the surveillance, that suspicious spaceship sent a total of forty-three crew members out. They seemed to be purchasing daily supplies and all returned to the ship not long ago… We’ve come just in time. Any later and they might have departed.”

“Okay! We must seize this transport ship,” Aesop said slowly. “Inform the officials to work with us, evacuate the locals, and lock down their departure path so that they can’t take off.”

The Black Star Army members had a lot of privileges in the Shattered Star Ring. Even if it was just a middle to low-level army member, as long as their identity checked out, they would be able to request official support from the various civilizations if they were on their planet. This was all thanks to the connections Han Xiao had built. It was part of the faction privileges. The fleet arrived around the dock very quickly and formed an encirclement, while some Supers entered the dock with assistance from the officials, closing in on the target hangar.

Aesop and the fleet commander waited in the flagship in the outer atmosphere and monitored the operation remotely.

On the screen, the Super team charged into the hangar. Very soon, sounds of intense crossfire erupted from within, and flashes of energy cannon attacks flickered inside the hangar, leaving burn marks on the silver alloy walls.

The sound of the battle lasted for about a few minutes. The report from the operatives at the frontline came.

“Report, we only have three team members suffering from light injury, no casualties. The enemy ship contained a total of 271 crew members, who resisted, hiding in the battleship. We killed 209 targets, and the rest saw that there was no way out and ended their own lives. We were not able to capture anyone alive.”

“Shame, I was hoping to interrogate them.” The fleet commander shook his head. “Never mind, these low-level crew members probably don’t know much either. Seizing their transport ship is enough. Your Excellency Aesop, please.” Aesop nodded. He landed on the dock with his guards and came to the hangar where the battle happened.

He looked at the seized transport ship. Its exterior appearance was almost undamaged. There were only some burn marks on its exterior armor.

He stepped forward, pressed his hand on the bottom of the spaceship’s armor, closed his eyes, and activated his ability.

At the same time, in a rented temporary stronghold in a galactic city not far from this airport, the Soul Swap Twins were using the Soul Swapper hovering in front of them. Dozens of Modo Supers surrounded and aimed their weapons at them. There were also quite a number of portable cannons around.

There was more than one Modo Civilization spaceship that had arrived on this planet, but they had secretly turned the tracking team into their people, so they had all kinds of ways to remain undiscovered.

The commander walked back and forth on the side nervously.

“Have you locked onto the target?”

The elder brother of the Soul Swap Twins’ hand was devoured by the mirror of the Soul Swapper. He casually stirred it and said, “Yes.”

“Can you sway him out?” “Tsk, us brothers are just Grade C Supers. Aesop is a Grade B. The success rate of us swapping his soul out of his body isn’t one hundred percent.”

“To be safe, use the second plan,” the commander said.

“Okay.”

The Soul Swap Twins focused their energy into the Soul Swapper. Black ripples appeared on its mirror sides as it was activated.

At the same time, Aesop, who was far away at the port, suddenly opened his eyes, and his pupils shrunk abruptly to the size of a needle.

He felt like countless voices had suddenly rushed into his brain and fused into a deafening noise that echoed in his mind. His head was hurting immensely.

He wanted to raise his hand to hold his forehead, but he could not move his body at all.

The aide-de-camp beside him saw that he was acting unnaturally and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Aesop’s expression changed several times. It became stiff for a moment but then returned to normal.

He coughed, lowered his voice, and said, “Nothing, I’ve already completed the prophecy.” “What clues did you get?” Aesop’s eyes gleamed, and he said, “I’ve discovered the real destination of this Super Star Cluster Alliance. It’s a secret resources stronghold in a desolate universe belt. The coordinates are…”

He gave the coordinates, and the aide-de-camp hastily wrote it down.

“Hmm, this is enough information. Let’s return to the spaceship.”

Then, Aesop turned around and left without waiting for his aide-de-camp to reply. The bodyguards beside quickly followed.

On the other side, inside the temporary stronghold where the Soul Swap Twins were at, the commander asked, “Was it successful?” “Hmm.” The younger brother of the Soul Swap Twins replied with a husky voice, “We have swapped the many soldiers’ souls over. They’ve successfully become parasites in Aesop’s soul.” The main function of the Soul Swapper was to swap souls, but there was no such rule as one for one. Stuffing many souls into one body or just swapping the soul out of the body and turning the body into an empty shell, there were many possibilities.

Unlike with Feidin and Chen Xing, it was a type of puppet manipulation using parasites. The souls of many soldiers and Aesop were fused together temporarily like puppet strings injected into Aesop’s soul. Aesop’s mind had become fuzzy, and he could no longer think normally. He felt that all his actions came from his heart and did not realize what was wrong with him at all… Putting it simply, it was similar to how someone might go crazy when drunk.

“Aesop’s bodyguards won’t realize, right?” someone asked. The commander shook his head and said, “Don’t worry, the Soul Swapper’s powers are extremely stealthy. No one will be able to notice it other than Beyond Grade As who excel in the mind or soul related abilities, not even Calamity Grades… Of course, peak Beyond Grade As might notice something wrong too, but Black Star’s main body isn’t here, and he won’t monitor such a small matter with Lord’s Descent. So, there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

After the commander said that, he clearly looked more relaxed. He turned to the Soul Swap Twins and said, “Your mission is complete. What comes next won’t involve you. Put down the Soul Swapper.”

The Soul Swap Twins exchanged looks and laughed creepily at the same time.

“Hehe, sure.”

As soon as they said that, a change occurred!

A black shockwave expanded. Other than the commander, all the soldiers’ eyes rolled and fell to the ground, not moving.

The Soul Swapper had silently swapped everyone’s soul out!

At the same time, the infant-sized younger brother opened his mouth and sucked one soul after another from the Soul Swapper, swallowing them.

The commander instantly reacted to it. He was shocked and furious.

He did not expect the Soul Swap Twins to dare to do this even when they were targeted by so many weapons. Had they really given up living?

However, at this time, a powerful energy erupted from the Soul Swap Twins. Feeling this energy level, the commander’s expression changed drastically.

“Grade B? We ran a check on you right before we departed. Aren’t you guys Grade C?”

The older brother of the Soul Swap Twins laughed out loud. “Hehehe, people grow!”

The two of them had always been acting weak, making the Modo Civilization think they were Grade C Supers. The method they used was not just simply hiding their real strength but a hidden ability they had never told anyone about-their energy could move freely between the two of them without any restrictions. This was related to the mutation these two brothers went through.

If they focused most of their energy on one of them, he would temporarily become a Grade B. If they spread it evenly, they would be able to fool the Super Grade Detection Devices of the Modo Civilization. The two of them had been planning their escape for many years, deliberately controlling their growth speed to stay at this level, all for an opportunity like today.

The Soul Swap Twins laughed creepily and said with a confident tone, “Think about it, we’re now Grade B Supers. These cannons won’t be able to kill us instantly. The Black Star Army’s men have yet to go far. If a battle breaks out here, it will definitely attract their attention. So, think thoroughly about whether you want to attack us because your plan is at risk of being exposed!”

The commander was startled. He quickly yelled at his comrade who was controlling the cannons, “Wait, don’t fire.”

“That’s right. Play nice, and your plan will be able to continue.”

The Soul Swap Twins snickered. They chose to do this now exactly because of this reason.

The commander suppressed his rage and questioned, “What do you want?”

“Simple, Modo have been using us as tools for many years. We’ve contributed enough, and now is the time we take back our freedom… Hehe, I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry, we just want to escape. We didn’t sabotage the plan with Aesop. Take this as the last mission we’ll ever execute for Modo. We don’t owe you anything anymore.

“As for this treasure, it naturally belongs to us, so we’ll be taking it away. Anyway, no one but us can use it.”

The Soul Swap Twins sneered. The shadow shrouding their body devoured the Soul Swapper and absorbed it into them.

Then, the two of them stepped back to the wall, activated their ability, turned into two piles of ink-like shadows, and disappeared. The commander was furious beyond imagination, but he still did not dare do anything

He was not only worried about alarming the Black Star Army, which was not far away, but also because he was not confident enough to stop the Grade B Soul Swap Twins. He had no choice but to watch the two of them leave with the Soul Swapper.

It was dead silent in the room. The only sound was his heavy gasps for air.

“Quickly report this to the upper echelons. We’ve lost control of the Soul Swap Twins. They’ve escaped!”

Chapter 1159: Destiny’s Child’s Prophecy

Chapter 1159 Destiny’s Child’s Prophecy

“The Soul Swap Twins escaped!”

Lagos was shocked to receive the notice from the army emissary and looked worried. However, he was not worried about this but its influence on their plan against Black Star.

“Are you able to capture the Soul Swap Twins?”

The military emissary shook his head and said, “The Shattered Star Ring isn’t our territory. The Black Star Army and the local civilizations’ surveillance network is all over it. We can’t carry out a large operation. The target can use the Soul Swapper and swap bodies. It’s too difficult to find them, so we most likely won’t be able to capture them.”

“The plan…”

“Don’t worry. The plan continues.” The military emissary smiled. Seeing this, Lagos looked confused. Why don’t the upper echelons look worried at all about losing a special Universal Treasure?

“You don’t seem worried…”

The military emissary shook his hand. “Don’t worry, there’s no need to send people after them. They’ll return on their own.”

“You’re saying…” Lagos had a rough guess.

The military emissary changed into a serious expression and said, “This information isn’t really that confidential. The upper echelons have told me to tell you not to worry about the Soul Swap Twins and continue carrying out the plan as usual. The person in charge of the Marwell project got a Beyond Grade A Mage to secretly plant a mental trap in them long ago and built a hidden sub-personality that’s completely loyal to the Modo Civilization. Once triggered, the sub-personality will take over, and they will obediently return themselves.”

“I see…” Lagos nodded subconsciously. He then frowned and wondered, “But if that’s the case, why not take over the Soul Swap Twins’ consciousness completely? Why take the risk?”

The military emissary did not mind and continued explaining. “Controlling the Soul Swap Twins is very easy. No matter how special they are, they’re just low level Supers. Do you really think that there have never been such experiments even though the Marwell project has been going on for so many years? We’ve basically tried everything you can think
of.

“However, the results proved that the Soul Swap Twins can only use the Soul Swapper when they have complete self-control and clear consciousnesses. Other than that, any attempt to control the Soul Swapper through controlling the Soul Swap Twins won’t work. Even after just the simplest brainwash, the Soul Swapper won’t recognize the two of them as qualified users. Therefore, we can only do it this way.”

“Why is that the case?” Lagos wondered. “Hell if I know. It’s as if the Soul Swapper has chosen the Soul Swap Twins. It’s probably related to the mysteries of the soul. It’s all very non-scientific really. And that’s the reason we consider the Soul Swapper a Space Wonder. If we could figure out how it works, there would be no Soul Swap Twins…” The military emissary snorted. “Though strange, the two of them are very weak and are no threat. They’re only feared because they can use the power of the Soul Swapper. It’s like a child holding a gun.”

“Understood.” Lagos nodded.

“Hmm, good that you know. Anyway, you don’t have to be concerned about the Soul Swap Twins. Just be worried about Black Star.”

Then, the military emissary cut off the communication, and the screen turned black.

Lagos turned off the virtual screen, exhaled, and smiled with relief.

Although there was a tiny hiccup, to him, the plan targeted at Black Star being carried out smoothly was the most important.

At a certain desolate universe belt in the Shattered Star Ring, a secret resources stronghold of the Modo Civilization was being attacked by the Black Star Army’s armed fleet.

The images of this battle were transmitted into the main control room in the Thousand Lights Star System’s base. Aesop and a group of officers were remotely monitoring the battle.

Not long after, the battle ended. The Black Star Army fleet had annihilated all enemies and was picking up the loot.

“Great! We’ve destroyed another secret stronghold of the Modo Civilization!” Nero was watching the battle with a smile. “This is all thanks to His Excellency Aesop’s accurate prophecy, which helped us find the enemy base.”

With their boss leading the praise, the officers present all expressed how impressed and appreciative they were of Aesop.

“No big deal.” Aesop was not in the best mood and just waved slightly. “Haha, a great job is a great job. Don’t have to be so humble. I’ll have some people take you back so that you can have a proper rest,” Nero said with a smile.

“No need, I’m planning on taking a walk outside. I won’t be going back to the headquarters for the time being.” Aesop shook his head.

Nero was surprised. “How long do you plan to stay outside then?”

“About a month.”

“So long?” Nero hesitated a moment. “I suggest you come back as early as possible. There might be new missions…”

“What’s with all the bullsh*t? I don’t even have the right to take a walk outside anymore? Am I just a tool now?” “Er, that’s not what I meant.”

Aesop narrowed his eyes and coldly said, “Also, take these troops and bodyguards away. I don’t like to be disturbed when taking a walk.”

“This…” Nero looked troubled. “I can’t just remove them for no reason. What if an accident happens?”

Bang!

Aesop slammed the table and yelled, “What, you think I need your protection? Or are these people here to surveil me? I’m telling you right now, remove these people, or I’ll go back to Floating Dragon immediately! Is it your place to control me? Do you have any idea what my relationship with Black Star is?”

Nero’s expression froze, and he was rather unhappy inside.

This old man is usually easy to talk to. What’s wrong with him today? Did he swallow a bomb, or is it that time of the month?

However, unhappiness aside, Nero did not dare talk back to Aesop. After all, Aesop was there to help and represented Floating Dragon. Plus, Aesop was his senior and the Dragon Emperor’s foster father, as well as his godfather’s good friend.

Aesop did not want to return to the headquarters, and it was not like he could force him or kidnap him. Otherwise, even if his godfather might not blame him, Aunt Ames would not be happy about it for sure.

Nero barely forced out a smile and said, “Since you like to be alone, I won’t have the guards follow you.”

“That’s better.”

Aesop turned, glanced at the officers around, and said casually, “You all heard that?”

While the two of them argued, the people in the room all stopped what they were doing and stood in place, frozen. Hearing what Aesop said, they could only nod. “Good, that’s all. I’ll go back to my room,” Aesop said monotonously. He turned around and left with hands behind his back.

Watching Aesop disappear from their sights, dissatisfaction showed on many people’s faces. “Who does this old man think he is? So arrogant,” a Calamity Grade bodyguard said with a frown. “As if I’d be willing to protect him if not for the army’s order.” “Exactly, this old man is in over his head.” Another person was rather unhappy too.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough. He’s my senior no matter what. Maybe he’s just not in a good mood today. Let’s not force him if he’s not willing to do so.” Nero frowned slightly. He said a few words and hung up the communication.

To be frank, he had been a little tempted to report this to Han Xiao. However, Aesop had just made a big contribution, so if he reported him just because his attitude toward him was a little off, it would be too petty of him, like a kid crying to his father when just slightly unhappy. His godfather hoped he could be independent, and him doing that might disappoint his godfather. “I’m not angry… I’m not angry…”

Inside the headquarters office, Nero softly murmured to himself. Then, he started to really feel his emotions gradually calming down, as if he was meditating. He had a subtle feeling that he seemed to have learned some kind of special trick to keep himself calm.

“Godfather! Godfather!”

More than a half month later, Han Xiao, who was in the Flickering World’s Black Star Palace, received a communication request from Nero. He was startled by Nero’s loud voice right after he picked it up.

“Calm down, what’s wrong?” Han Xiao moved the communicator a little further away and picked his ear with his pinky finger.

“Aesop is missing!” Nero’s tone was anxious.

Han Xiao’s movements paused for a second. He frowned and said, “What do you mean by missing?”

“It means he’s missing! We have no idea where he’s gone, and we can’t find him.”

“Didn’t you send people to follow him? How did he go missing?” Han Xiao asked.

“I…” Nero explained what had happened with a regretful tone. Aesop had shown displeasure toward the bodyguards, so the bodyguards did not follow Aesop closely around so that Aesop would not be disturbed. However, when they were resting on a city planet, the bodyguards discovered that Aesop had gone missing. “Also, they’ve discovered a video message Aesop left inside his room.”

“What did that old man say?”

“He said it was a message for you, telling you to remember your promise from not long ago.” Nero played the video of Aesop saying that.

Having figured out the whole picture, Han Xiao caressed his chin and wondered.

About a month ago when he chatted with Aesop, Aesop had mentioned that he planned to leave the Shattered Star Ring and continue travelling, and he had come to an unspoken agreement with Han Xiao. This was the first possible reason for Aesop going missing that popped up in Han Xiao’s mind.

However, with some thought, Han Xiao felt something was not right.

That’s weird. The old man clearly said he’d only leave after the Super Star Cluster Alliance issues are over and he’s done helping me with it. By leaving now, it means he didn’t keep the promise. Was he just unable to endure it any longer?

Han Xiao was wondering but it did not show on his face. He nodded at Nero and said, “Got it, I’ll deal with this matter. You can put it aside.”

“I… sigh, alright then.” Nero wanted to explain himself but gave up after pausing. He sighed and hung up the communication. Han Xiao stood up from his chair, softly tapped the table twice, and suddenly pulled Phillip out.

“Master, hum… What is it?”

“Bring up the records of Aesop’s whereabouts in the last month.”

Although Han Xiao felt that Aesop might have run away deliberately, it was better to check through with caution in times like this.

Very soon, Phillip found the records. Han Xiao closed his eyes and browsed them quickly in his mind.

“Hmm, doesn’t seem like anything is wrong. He even successfully destroyed a secret stronghold of the Modo Civilization more than ten days ago. Everything seems normal,” Han Xiao murmured.

No part of these records seemed abnormal, but he still had a strange intuition that something was off.

The intuitions of Beyond Grade As were always rather accurate. Considering what Aesop had said some time ago about facing some kind of danger in the future, he had a bad feeling about this.

“I have to find him and make sure things are fine.”

Initially, his agreement with Aesop was that he would only symbolically chase after Aesop if he ran away but actually let him go. If he really captured Aesop, Ames would definitely be more cautious and monitor Aesop even more closely, and Aesop would probably not have the chance to escape again.

However, out of caution, Han Xiao decided to catch Aesop for real this time. Anyway, the old man did not keep his side of the bargain, so he would still have the moral high ground even if his intuition was wrong.

Having made his decision, Han Xiao gave an order to Nero and told him to command the Shattered Star Ring troops to use all the resources to search for Aesop. Then, Han Xiao walked out of the room and entered a secret lab.

Inside the lab was a translucent hibernation cabin where Rody was locked inside. Around it were Information Form restrainers. It was the Destiny’s Child sub-body that had yet to fully transform.

Aesop’s foresight is strong. If he really has made up his mind to escape, unless Nero or Feidin go after him personally, it really won’t be an easy task to capture him with just my subordinates. However, now I have a reliable foresight talent in my hands…

Han Xiao chuckled.

In the past, he was only a fake ‘Foreseer’, so he could only rely on superstition and luck to capture Aesop. However, this time was different. He had a real foresight master in his hands.

Foreseers could see the multiple possibilities of the future. When their abilities clashed, it was basically something like ‘I foresaw that you foresaw what I foresaw’; whoever could see further would win.

Although Rody was only half transformed and could not control his ability fully and the focus of the prophecy was basically random, with the uniqueness of Destiny’s Child, he should be able to have a few rounds with Aesop.

Han Xiao operated on the hibernation cabin for a while, and Rody awakened shortly after. He opened his eyes slowly with confusion and was dazed for quite some time before gaining focus. Seeing Han Xiao outside the cabin, he shrunk his head and said softly, “Your Excellency Black Star?”

“You’re awake.” Han Xiao opened the cabin door and said with a smile, “I need your help for something. I have to borrow your foresight ability.”

“Huh? But I can’t control this ability yet.” Rody panicked a little.

“Just do your best… Do you remember that old man who can see you too? The tall, skinny one, the one who spoke for you.”

“Yes.” Rody nodded. He had a strong impression of anyone who could see him.

“That guy is playing hide and seek with me. I need to find him now. Keep saying his name in your head, then touch me and try to trigger a prophecy that’s related to him.”

“W-what if the prophecy isn’t related to him?” Rody asked softly.

Han Xiao smiled but said with an indisputable tone, “Then try until it is!”

Rody shivered.

He could not control his ability yet. He had to come into contact with the person and would certainly faint afterward. After which, he would wake up feeling extremely weak, and that did not feel good at all.

At this moment, Han Xiao’s smile looked like a devil in his eyes. “Ready?”

“Y-yes.”

Rody knew he was in no position to object. He swallowed his saliva and started to rapidly repeat Aesop’s name in his mind, hoping he would overperform and succeed in one try.

He extended his shivering hand and touched Han Xiao’s arm.

The moment they touched, Rody started to tremble all over his body like he was being electrocuted.

“Ah!”

A few seconds later, his eyes rolled up, and he fell onto the ground. He had fainted.

Han Xiao was not surprised. He took out an emerald green potion from his pocket and injected it into Rody.

He could observe Rody now, which meant he could touch him. Rody fainted because he was just an ordinary man, and he could not afford the energy consumption of his ability, so giving him some potions would speed up his awakening… This was the result Han Xiao had obtained after more than a dozen tests.

As expected, not long after, Rody’s eyelids shook, and he slowly opened his eyes. His blurry vision started to clear up as he saw Han Xiao’s large body squatting in front of him, staring at him with burning emotions in his eyes.

“Tell me, what did you see?”

Rody shrunk his neck with fear, recalling the images he saw in his dreams. He looked at Han Xiao’s expression and said cautiously, “I-I saw that you and a black-dressed woman were dragged into a war. Countless battleships exploded in your hands, and a corpse lay under your feet…”

“A corpse?” Han Xiao was stunned. The storyline of the previous life flowed up his mind, and he said subconsciously, “Aesop’s?”

“Yes, his.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. In his previous life, Aesop’s death was what caused the Dragon Emperor to lose control and start a slaughter, which went against the peace contract between Universal Civilizations and led to her being hunted.

Is this the world correcting the timeline, or is it because of some reason I’m unaware of? Han Xiao crossed his arms, scratched his chin, and pondered. Interesting. It feels like someone is plotting something in the dark…

Chapter 1160: Dragon Emperor’s Inverted Scale

Chapter 1160 Dragon Emperor’s Inverted Scale

On the Modo Civilization’s mother planet, the Modo Three Kings were having a meeting with the military upper echelons.

“Message from the frontline. Aesop has started moving. The plan is going smoothly.”

“Our first choice is to have Aesop leave the Shattered Star Ring and take part in the conflict between the civilizations of another Star Field. This way, when Aesop dies, Black Star would have no choice but to go to another Star Field to deal with this, leaving his headquarters…” “Aesop’s foresight ability is great, but he might not be able to escape alone given the long years Black Star has been operating his forces in the Shattered Star Ring. Therefore, we’ll have to help him.”

“Hmm. If he really can’t make it out, we’ll have to choose a local civilization of the Shattered Star Ring to frame.”

The upper echelons discussed their options.

At this time, the Modo Three Kings received a secret message and suddenly said, “Meeting temporarily dismissed. Take a half hour break.”

The people were surprised but had no objection and all left the conference room.

After everyone left, the Modo Three Kings were the only ones left in the room. This time, a virtual communication screen appeared on the table, and a soft laugh sounded.

“Hehe, I’m honored to meet the three of you for the first time.”

“Mechanic Emperor!”

The Modo Three Kings looked solemn.

Just now, the Mechanic Emperor had contacted the Modo Civilization and specifically asked to discuss a partnership with the Three Kings. Hence, the secretary had come to relay the message, and the Three Kings had decided that they would listen to what the Mechanic Emperor had to say.

The entire universe knew what an extremely awkward situation the Mechanic Emperor was in. Many Super Star Cluster civilizations saw the opportunity to woo him and wanted to work with him secretly, but Manison never gave a clear answer, nor did he reject them totally. Therefore, the leaders of the Super Star Cluster civilizations monitored Manison’s current attitude closely.

“Your Excellencies, I know you’re busy, so I’ll cut to the chase… I’ve considered the proposal you made before, and now I’m planning to initiate a partnership with the Modo Civilization,” Manison said calmly.

“What kind of partnership?”

“Us secretly working together against the Black Star Army. What do you guys think?”.

The Three Kings exchanged looks but did not agree to it immediately. Instead, they asked back, “There are so many Super Star Cluster civilizations wanting to work with you. Why choose Modo?”

“Hehe, it’s simple. I have no interest in stepping into the conflict you guys have with the three Universal Civilizations. Black Star is my only target, and you guys happen to be the most suitable partner for that. He’s our common enemy, so I have a sensible reason to step in and interfere.”

“We’ll need more details.”

“The shared battlefront requires the Beyond Grade A members to remain neutral, so taking part in the war is looked down upon. However, despite being the vice president, Black Star used personal beef as an excuse to start a war with the Modo Civilization. Therefore, as the president myself, I can do the same thing, using my beef with Black Star as the excuse to work with you guys against the Black Star Army. That way, even if it’s found out, there’s nothing anyone can say.” Manison’s tone was casual but clearly showed his determination.

The Modo Three Kings pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement to what he was saying.

Although they hoped the Mechanic Emperor would join the Super Star Cluster Alliance faction to fight the three Universal Civilizations, they were well aware the chances of that were very slim. Nonetheless, it was acceptable for Modo Civilization now that the Mechanic Emperor had decided to target only Black Star. Black Star was the one who had caused them to be in such a horrible situation, so getting rid of him surely was a good thing.

“So, you plan to send troops to help us fight the Black Star Army?”

“Not really.” Manison shook his head slightly. “My forces in the Flickering World are not as strong as Black Star’s, and fighting the Black Star Army directly goes against the purpose of the development union…”

“How do you plan to cause damage to Black Star without sending troops?”

“There are plenty of ways. Damaging his reputation for one,” Manison slowly said. “The three Universal Civilizations used me as the negative example to build his reputation, which has already affected my position in the Machinery Faith and damaged my interests. I have to think of ways to damage Black Star’s reputation, and that is why I’ve decided to work with you guys. “What I can do is secretly provide help. For example, have the forces I secretly planted in the Flickering World and Shattered Star Ring do something. After all, your troops are being closely monitored, and my men can move freely in the dark.”

Hearing this, the Modo Three Kings frowned.

If the Mechanic Emperor was not planning to participate directly in the battle, his impact would be very limited.

However, thinking about it, there was no way they could make the Mechanic Emperor sacrifice his own troops for their Super Star Cluster civilization. After all, they had never had much of a relationship prior to this, and the Mechanic Emperor was not in the best situation himself.

Furthermore, the Mechanic Emperor was right; the Super Star Cluster’s troops were being way too closely monitored. On the other hand, the Mechanic Emperor had planted a ton of subsidiary forces in many Star Fields that formed intelligence and resource networks, which might come in handy.

“…Okay, we’d be happy to work with you. We’ll discuss the details later.”

“Sure, I’m looking forward to it.” Manison smiled faintly and cut off the communication.

The Modo Three Kings finally relaxed and looked at each other. They all saw the same thought in each other’s eyes.

If they got Manison’s help to transport Aesop out of the Shattered Star Ring, the success rate would be much higher than if they did it themselves.

Although the three of them had yet to decide whether or not to let the Mechanic Emperor take part in this operation, another layer of insurance would never be a bad thing. If they had no way of sending Aesop out of the Shattered Star Ring, it would not be too late to ask the Mechanic Emperor to help. Furthermore, if Aesop died in the Mechanic Emperor’s hands, they would achieve their goal all the same, with greater results than they could have hoped for!

However, while the three of them were having these thoughts, they had no idea that Manison’s motive of proposing this partnership was anything but pure. Although he did want to cause problems for Black Star, it was not his main goal.

His sources showed that the Modo Civilization had moved the Soul Swapper out, so it was definitely going to be used on someone, most likely Black Star. Therefore, Manison wanted to use Black Star as an excuse to work with Modo, attempt to take part in the related operation to obtain more information, and find the whereabouts of the Soul Swapper.

Robbing the Soul Swapper was his true goal! After all, he would not incur any losses even if he failed, so it was worth a try.

In the cabin, two bodies shrouded in darkness laid on the ground, one large and one small. They were completely stationery like vegetables. It was the Soul Swap Twins.

Two normal-sized Spacehumans stood on the side, one male and one female. They were stretching their bodies, and the dark Soul Swapper hovered beside them.

“This body is a Pugilist with a strong physique. It feels quite good. It’s been long since I’ve felt this healthy.” The male rubbed his neck with a comfortable expression.

“Stop dawdling,” the female scolded. “This is just a temporary shell. Quickly pick up our original bodies.”

The man and woman were the Soul Swap Twins who had changed their bodies. The elder brother was Jill Emmerson, and the younger brother was Warren Emmerson.

The Soul Swapper worked on them too. They could swap their own souls into someone else’s body. After swapping bodies, their Esper Ability would not be swapped too, and they would only be as strong as the new body. For example, if they swapped into a Grade D Super, they would also become Grade D. However, their souls would be unaffected and remain at Grade B, so their ability to use the Soul Swapper would not be affected either.

Their right to use the Soul Swapper came from their soul and had nothing to do with their bodies, so they would be able to use it even if they were in the body of a dog.

This ability was one of the reasons the two of them were confident in escaping successfully

—they could keep switching bodies and be very difficult to find.

“Elder bro, although we’re free now, we haven’t got rid of that…” Warren pointed at his own head.

“Hmm, that mind trap is a problem. Luckily, the Modo Civilization probably thinks we can’t even detect it.”

Jill curled his lips with disdain.

The mind trap the direct Beyond Grade A Mage of the Modo Civilization planted into their souls would not disappear when they changed bodies.

Accordingly, given their Grade B strength, not to mention defusing this mind trap, they would not even be able to notice it at all. They should have been in the dark all along… However, the Soul Swapper had the function to check the state of a soul.

All Space Wonder level treasures had a certain ‘absolute’ aspect. Not to mention a mind trap set by an ordinary Beyond Grade A, even if it was set by a peak Beyond Grade A, as long as it was targeted at the soul, the Soul Swapper would discover it. This was similar to the Spacetime Amber’s ‘absolute’ aspect; as long as its fundamental mechanism was not figured out, even ten peak Beyond Grade As attacking it together would not damage it in the slightest.

It would be a wild dream for the two of them to defuse a mind trap set up by a Beyond Grade A, but including a Space Wonder in that equation would make things different. Even though the two of them could not use the Soul Swapper to its fullest potential, they still had an emergency method to deal with this problem.

The Soul Swapper did not have the ability to ‘purify souls’, but the two of them planned to gather mind energy far beyond their own power by absorbing a large number of souls and slowly chipping away at the trap in their minds.

This plan would require a lot of souls, which meant they had to kill a lot of people. But clearly, they had no choice, nor did they care.

“Elder bro, what’s our plan?”

“Let’s go to some place where no one recognizes us, take over a body with high potential, and slowly grow stronger. When we’re at Calamity Grade or even Beyond Grade A, we will be able to go anywhere we want in this universe!”

Jill knew that ‘keeping a low profile and cultivating’ was the right path. Flames of ambition sparkled in his eyes.

In his heart, becoming the only ones who could use the Soul Swapper was both lucky and tragic.

The lucky part, of course, was that the Soul Swapper only recognized the two of them as users, as if they were chosen.

The tragic part was that, because of that, they were imprisoned by the Modo Civilization for many years, they became the subjects of countless inhumane experiments, and their personalities became twisted.

However, the tragic dark days were in the past now. The future was full of hope, and the Soul Swapper had brought them infinite possibilities… From now on, they were free!

In Floating Dragon Island, water vapor filled the magnificent palace. Deep inside the layers of fog, there was the sound of water flowing.

Hu!

The thick fog was suddenly disturbed, and a tall silhouette suddenly appeared beside the wardrobe shelf in the palace. The King mechanical suit automatically fell off and disappeared, leaving Han Xiao standing there.

e

The sound of water in the room paused for a split second, and a force field shockwave fused with water vapor suddenly rocketed toward him. Han Xiao stood still and let it land on his chest, creating a loud noise, but his body did not move at all.

“You startled me. Next time, tell me before you teleport here.” Ames’ voice came from the fog.

Han Xiao’s vision penetrated the fog and saw a magnificent black, crystal bathtub in the middle of the room. Ames tied up her hair with a piece of white cloth and faced away from him, sitting in the tub. He could only see her snowy neck and moist shoulders that were tender like the skin of a child.

“Bathing?” Han Xiao snapped his fingers. “Quickly finish up. There’s something I have to tell you.”

“What is it?” Ames turned her head slightly, showing her elegant side face with water droplets hanging from her long earlids that blinked softly.

“It’s about Aesop. He’s missing.”

“… Give me a minute.”

Ames did not mind Han Xiao watching and stood up directly. She heated up her body temperature, and the water vapor quickly evaporated from her skin.

She walked out of the bathtub, casually pulled the black dress over to her with a force field, and donned it with a spin. She then took off the white cloth in her hair and let it fall.

Beyond Grade As’ bodies would never get dirty; bathing was mainly for the purpose of enjoyment. All they had to do was adjust their temperature to that of an ordinary person, and they would be able to enjoy the feeling of taking a warm and comfortable bath. This way, they did not have to look for lava.

“Let’s go. We’ll speak outside.” The two of them walked out of the palace and came to the garden. Ames sat down on the chair and stared at Han Xiao with a weird expression.

“I allowed Aesop to go and help you, but you let him escape. That’s a little irresponsible of you… Did you deliberately let him go? You’re so bad.”

“Ahem, you’re overthinking it.” Han Xiao coughed unnaturally and said without changing his expression, “Didn’t I come to notify you instantly?” Ames held her chin and joked, “Looks like even the universally famous Black Star still loses to a great prophet.”

“He’s a friend after all. It’s not like I can really imprison him or something.” Han Xiao smiled casually before putting on a serious expression. “Enough with the jokes. My intuition tells me that there’s something wrong. Aesop might not have left on his own will.”

“Oh?” Ames frowned, and the smile disappeared on her face. Shocked, she said, “Did someone kidnap him?”

“I don’t think so. I arranged more than enough guards for him. If they’d kidnapped him physically, I’d definitely have found out.” “Does that mean someone controlled his mind?”

“That’s the problem. I’ve had Aesop’s guards carry around all kinds of psychological guarding devices, mind wave detection devices, and energy radars on them. If someone used soul magic, a psychic Esper Ability, or anything of the sort on him, it would have triggered an alarm, even if it was from a Beyond Grade A. However, none of these devices responded… Therefore, I suspect that Aesop might be controlled by an unknown method.”

Although the soul and mind were not areas Mechanics excelled in, it did not mean he had absolutely no knowledge of them. He was just not as good as those who were experts on the subject.

“What method?” Ames asked.

“I don’t know either. We’ll only find out after we find Aesop and check him.” Han Xiao shook his head.

In fact, if this conspiracy theory was right, he was very curious about how Aesop fell for it. It was completely undetectable, so he had no idea what method was used.

“I’ll find him with you.” Ames narrowed her eyes, and dangerous emotions flickered in her eyes. “Who dares to target my people? Do they think I’m dead!”

“Don’t get so riled up. This is just my guess. We’ll have to investigate further.” Han Xiao comforted Ames.

He had come to give Ames a heads up so that she would be mentally prepared, preventing the situation of her emotions going wild like it did in the previous life.

Han Xiao knew Ames’ personality quite well. Sure, she looked like she did not care about anything usually, but her family and friends such as Aesop, Jenny, Hila, and Aurora were her inverted scales. Once threatened, she would turn into a raging dragon, leaving all rules and laws behind, and retaliate, no matter who the enemy was, not giving the consequences any thought at all.

This time, Han Xiao told Phillip to send a message. A few seconds later, the King mechanical suit appeared beside him again. The helmet opened, and inside was Feidin.

“Army Commander, I’m here.”

Han Xiao nodded and explained to Ames, “Aesop’s prophecy ability is very suitable for hiding. It won’t be easy catching him using regular methods, so we’ll need some luck.”

He was not just going to bring Feidin along for this but also Rody. Teleporting the three of them there using the King mechanical suit would save a lot of time, and he could use the Black Star Army’s troops right there in the Shattered Star Ring.

“All of Floating Dragon’s resources are available for you to use. You don’t have to care about anything else. I just want Aesop.” Ames gave the right to command to Han Xiao without any hesitation and then stood up with a poker face. “We’ll leave now!”

Chapter 1161: Finding a Needle in a Haystack Is Where We Excel

Chapter 1161 Finding a Needle in a Haystack Is Where We Excel

The universe was extremely enormous. Even if one had extraordinary individual strength, without a force large enough, one would not be able to achieve much in the galactic society.

The Black Star Army was among the top armed forces in the Galaxy. They had manpower, resources, money, ships, and everything. As soon as Han Xiao’s highest order was given out, the Black Star Army’s men in the Shattered Star Ring started executing the order immediately. They searched through one Star System after another and locked down all kinds of transportation hubs to find Aesop’s whereabouts. The Floating Dragon Island’s troops were also mostly dispatched.

Clearly, such a big movement could not stay hidden. It quickly attracted the attention of the entire galactic society. With just a little research, they knew that Dragon Emperor’s elder had gone missing. To search for just one person, the movements of the Black Star Army indirectly affected dozens of Star Systems.

Such a deep search impacted the operation of some public facilities, which some galactic residents had slight problems with. However, given that it was from the Black Star Army and even the local civilizations did not do anything about it, of course, the ordinary residents did not dare do anything too. Other than dispatching troops everywhere, the Black Star Army also issued a bounty for Aesop through the local media channels, making use of the power of the people.

A large monetary reward would be given to anyone who could provide any real leads to Aesop, such as witness reports, transit records, and many more. If anyone could capture Aesop alive and give him to the army, the reward would be an outrageous 135 million Enas. Ordinary galactic residents would not be able to even spend all this money in their lifetime. It was also humongous for some medium to small armed organizations.

As the saying went, with a high enough reward, people would step up sooner or later. Some medium to small organizations joined the search team, and a ton of free mercenaries started looking too. Even some galactic pirates and scavengers were searching secretly, hoping to acquire the reward and clean their ledgers. The local galactic residents of the Shattered Star Ring also kept an eye out.

For the time being, Aesop had become the focus of countless organizations in the Shattered Star Ring.

In the past, Han Xiao was on his own and hardly had any forces; being able to capture Aesop was mainly thanks to Feidin’s luck. Decades later, his army had grown into a giant. There was no need to play hide and seek with Aesop like he used to; he just had to make use of his resources, and it would become extremely difficult for Aesop to go anywhere.

Even though Aesop’s foresight ability was very powerful, all he could do was move with extreme caution and stealth in this kind of situation, not daring to appear in front of ordinary people.

Of course, these were just the basics. Han Xiao’s core method of finding him was Rody’s prophecy, alongside Ames, Feidin, Nero, and Harrison’s luck, on top of his own Virtual Technology continuously calculating the possible coordinates Aesop might head to so that he could narrow down the search area.

Dark red sandstorm shrouded the sky like a red piece of cloth placed over the entire planet.

Through the low visibility sandstorm, a man in a heavy protective suit was walking alone on the red desert. The raging storm drummed his body like hammers.

This man walked a few hours like this when, suddenly, a meteor-like spark of light penetrated the sandstorm and plummeted toward this man. He stopped and looked up, an approaching small spaceship reflected on the ally mask of his protective suit. Hu!

The spaceship slowly landed before this person and released an air force field with a fifty-meter diameter, blocking the sandstorm and creating a clean area.

The hatch opened. This person stepped onto the spaceship without hesitation, dusted off the sand all over his body, and took off the heavy protective helmet. An old face appeared. It was Aesop.

“You’re the ones here to fetch me?” Aesop patted the helmet.

“Yes, we’ll be responsible for getting you out of the Shattered Star Ring.” The captain approached him. “Don’t worry, we’re professionals, certainly reliable.” Aesop nodded with approval and said, “The single person space cabin that sent me here has yet to be destroyed. Go destroy it on while you’re at it. If it lands in Black Star’s hands, it’ll be a prophecy medium. Don’t leave any clues like that.”

Due to the Black Star Army’s lockdown over the Shattered Star Ring, he could hardly go anywhere. He was barely able to find a space cabin and landed on this desolate planet and waited for quite a long time before this spaceship arrived to pick him up.

“No problem.” The captain nodded.

The spaceship took off, came to a desolate desert area not far away, and discovered the metal space cabin that was half buried in the sand.

Bang!

Two explosive light beams shot out of the spaceship and destroyed the spaceship. The flame only lasted for an instant before being extinguished by the raging wind, leaving only metal fragments shattered around that were gradually buried by the sand. After completing this task, the spaceship turned around, rose up, and took off into space.

At the same time, Manison, who was in the Primeval Star River, received the message. He opened the surveillance footage, and it showed Aesop in this spaceship.

“They finally picked him up…”

Manison looked at the screen.

For confidentiality purposes, this spaceship that had gone to receive Aesop had hidden its organization symbol. It actually belonged to an organization called ‘Milder Armed Transport’, one of the secret organizations Manison had planted in the Shattered Star Ring.

Not long ago, the Modo Civilization had officially pulled him into the plan, shared some information with him, and asked him to help.

Modo Civilization only did so because of the lack of a better choice. The lockdown of the Black Star Army was too tight, so they could not make any moves in the Shattered Star Ring and could not secretly transport Aesop out at all. They were almost discovered multiple times. Hence, they decided to borrow the Mechanic Emperor’s men and have him take over the ‘delivery’.

“Modo must have used the Soul Swapper on Aesop and made him escape deliberately.”

Of course, in the information the Modo Civilization provided, the existence of the Soul Swapper was not mentioned. They only said that they controlled Aesop using some kind of mind control method and did not explain further. However, they did not know that Manison had known about the Soul Swapper since long ago, so he understood what was used on Aesop instantly.

Manison had no plan of stopping Modo’s mission. He even planned to cooperate with it fully.

Although Aesop was one of the Ancient Ones, he had quit the organization long ago. The Ancient Ones were mainly Eternals. Beyond Grade As were a part of it, but not all members were Beyond Grade As. There were quite a number of unique members with special abilities but weak combat capabilities just like Aesop.

Although Manison did know Aesop, they were not friends, so he did not mind Aesop dying.

On this matter, his interests aligned with Modo. There was a chance using Aesop’s death to plot against Black Star would force him to disobey the Peace Treaty of the advanced civilizations. This way, Black Star’s reputation would be severely damaged, and the great image the three Universal Civilizations had been building for him would collapse. That was exactly what Manison hoped to see, so he was willing to cooperate.

However, all of this was just the cherry on top. Manison’s main goal was still the Soul Swapper.

“Aesop is now in my hands. He’s definitely come into contact with the Soul Swapper at a relatively close range. Through searching his past whereabouts, the rough search area can be determined. Through cross-referencing the records, the Modo Civilization’s secret fleet that transported the Soul Swapper can be found. The person who’s now controlling Aesop’s body should be one of the Modo Civilization’s men. Maybe I can hypnotize him and question him.”

He did not know that the Soul Swap Twins had already escaped. He thought that the Soul Swapper was now being transported back by the Modo Civilization, so his search direction was already inaccurate.

Not long after the spaceship transporting Aesop left, another fleet visited this dark red desolate island. The Black Star symbol was engraved on their exterior armor.

Inside the command room of the main ship, Han Xiao, Ames, Feidin, and the rest gathered. This was a fleet commanded by Han Xiao personally.

“Hmm, this is the planet, exactly the same as it is in the prophecy. It’s also one of the locations that overlapped between the areas chosen by Feidin, Harrison, and Nero.”

Han Xiao looked down at the planet’s surface.

Rody’s prophecy did not work all the time, but any information that he gave was crucial, and Feidin and the others had the help of the Advanced Luck Glow. Under Han Xiao’s instructions, they randomly selected some coordinates in the various search areas, and Han Xiao focused the investigation on the places where their choices overlapped.

Although they had yet to get any leads, Han Xiao was still confident in this method.

What he did not know was that he had only just missed Aesop multiple times. This method was indeed very effective. In a way, luck was truly invincible.

“Scan this planet. Report any abnormalities to me.”

As Han Xiao gave the order, spaceships departed from the fleet one after another and circled the planet using all kinds of detection devices to scan the planet without missing a spot.

Normal readings showed on the screen before Han Xiao. There did not seem to be any abnormalities. However, after quite some time, some exciting news finally came from one of the spaceships. “Sir, we have discovered an extremely weak radiation signal in the desert. The sources of it are scattered and buried a few meters under the ground. Do we dig?” “Dig!”

The image on the screen quickly changed into the view from this battleship. The suction device at the bottom of the ship sucked out plates of burnt black metal fragments that looked like parts of a destroyed machine.

“Report, radiation source found. Analyzing… analysis complete. This should be the wreckage of a type of space cabin that was destroyed by an explosive energy cannon. Affected by the energy, a certain amount of radiation was left in the wreckage that’s gradually weakening. The radiation will completely disappear in a few days.”

“Looks like we’re not too late.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

If they had arrived a few days later and the radiation had disappeared, they would not have been able to find this wreckage. With this, not only could it act as a medium for Rody’s prophecy, it could also be used with [Bold Explorer). One could see the future, and one could see the past. Very soon, this pile of space cabin fragments was transported to Han Xiao. Han Xiao picked one fragment up, looked at the burn marks on it, and said, “It doesn’t look like an attack, more like a deliberate attempt to destroy evidence, probably not wanting to leave any clues to us… Unfortunately for them, we’re lucky.” Han Xiao grabbed the fragment in his hand and activated (Bold Explorer).

Ripples appeared in his vision, and his vision instantly changed. He saw a space cabin falling down from the sky and landing on the surface of this planet. The hatch opened. A man wearing a heavy protection suit walked out from it and slowly walked away.

Although he could not see this person’s appearance, he felt it was most likely Aesop.

Like time had been shortened, not long after, a spaceship appeared above the space cabin, launched two explosive light beams, and shattered it into pieces. The images stopped abruptly here, and Han Xiao’s sights returned to normal.

This footage was short but quite informative. “This is indeed a space cabin left by Aesop. A spaceship appeared after to destroy the clue, which means it was here to fetch him…”

Han Xiao recalled the appearance of the spaceship in the footage. It was not a common model but a high-speed spaceship known for its hyperdrive speed. It was expensive to build, and not just anyone could afford it.

“Phillip!”

“I’m here, hum… Please give the order, master.”

“Search all the people and organizations in the Shattered Star Ring who possess the Featherlight Grade spaceship. Don’t leave anyone out, and focus on any organization that has a stronghold near this area.” “Ah?” Phillip batted his large eyes and made a pitiful expression. “That’s a lot of data, hum… It’ll occupy a lot of computing power, hum…”

Han Xiao gave him a stare and said, “Then hurry up!”

Phillip reluctantly took out a progress bar from his pants, placed it upright beside him, and created a large box filled with paper. He then jumped in and started searching. The progress bar started moving at the same time.

After quite some time, the progress bar finally finished. Phillip’s head extended out from the box. He spewed the pieces of paper out from his mouth with an illuminated piece of paper in his hand. He then filled his mouth with air and angrily said, “Humph! Found it, hum! Take it, take it!”

“A lot of tricks you have.”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes, switched into quantum network vision, and retrieved the search results.

A large amount of data instantly flew into his head like a tsunami, blocked by the dam built by Han Xiao’s brain capacity and computing power that did not even shake in the slightest. He quickly started browsing through it.

“A total of thirty-seven million and thirty-one matches… Hmm, let me take a look.”

Han Xiao quickly filtered in his brain, browsing through all of the records in less than two seconds and memorizing all of it. Only Virtual Mechanics would be able to use this ‘dumb method’ to lock onto suspicious targets… When he had the ability to filter the entire haystack, finding a needle would not be that difficult anymore.

Most of it was data with no value, but one organization that was emphasized had attracted Han Xiao’s attention.

“Milder Armed Transport… I seem to have an impression of this name.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He searched through the mind palace inside his brain, and the memories came up. … I got it! This organization is one of the Mechanic Emperor’s subsidiary organizations that was exposed in my previous life.

Han Xiao’s expression became solemn.

Although he had no final confirmation, his intuition told him that this was most likely the organization that transported Aesop away.

Doesn’t this mean that old b*stard Manison is involved in this too?

Han Xiao was not planning to question the Mechanic Emperor. It would be a waste of time anyway as he definitely would not admit it.

All kinds of thoughts flashed past his mind. Han Xiao turned to the others and said with a low voice, “Have people monitor the Milder Armed Transport closely… No, monitor all the organizations I’m going to name. I want to know their recent movements, but don’t startle them. Monitor them extra closely, and don’t make any moves without my order!”

Han Xiao had always known some of the organizations that the Mechanic Emperor had secretly planted in the Shattered Star Ring. Originally, he did not want to let the Mechanic Emperor know this, but now that he seemed involved in this matter, Han Xiao decided to take measures and monitor all of the subsidiary organizations that the Mechanic Emperor had in the Shattered Star Ring!

Chapter 1162: Unlucky Modo

Chapter 1162 Unlucky Modo

Ten days later, somewhere in the Shattered Star Ring, a spaceship flew, dragging a long trail of flames. Within the cockpit, Aesop was looking at the Shattered Star Ring star map with countless red marks that represented dangerous areas with a grave expression.

The captain stood to the side, hesitated for a moment, and said, “There aren’t many routes left for us. We’re about to hit a dead end. If this carries on, we probably won’t have a way to get you out of the Shattered Star Ring. Do you have any plans?”

Aesop pressed his hands on the table so heavily veins appeared on the backs of his hands. He growled, “Aren’t you guys professionals? Why is this happening?”

Confused as well, the captain smiled bitterly and said, “We don’t know either. We haven’t left any clues behind, and we’ve been moving very stealthily, but the Black Star Army has been able to put up accurate encirclements around as if they are aware of where we are. We have no idea how or where they obtained such accurate information… Could this be the ability of foresight? Aren’t you a prophet? Why didn’t you notice it?”

Aesop clenched his teeth and had nothing to say.

He did indeed use his ability along the way, and it certainly helped them to dodge some of the troops. However, no matter how many times they got rid of the Black Star Army, the Black Star Army would be able to catch up again soon after. Even though the Mechanic Emperor’s subsidiary organizations kept changing their carriers, it had absolutely no effect.

Furthermore, it was not Aesop who was controlling his body now, just the collective consciousness of a group of Modo soldiers. They were unable to use the foresight ability to the fullest. The secret stronghold location that was deliberately given to the Black Star Army was not acquired by prophecy; they knew where it was to begin with and leaked it on purpose so that the others would not suspect him.

Originally, Aesop’s target was to head to the edge of the Shattered Star Ring. However, under the pursuit of the Black Star Army, he had no choice but to keep hiding and was forced to change the route. He was still going in circles in the Star Field, and the situation was getting worse by the minute.

“If there really isn’t a way out…” Aesop looked at the star map, pointed at a planet nearby, and clenched his teeth. “Then cancel the plan of leaving the Shattered Star Ring. Take me to this planet.”

The captain looked in the direction Aesop was pointing. His expression changed slightly, and he said, “Planet Mountain Ash? That place has always been chaotic. Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Aesop nodded without hesitation.

This was a colonial planet currently belonging to a local Star System civilization. However, due to its history, this planet had very aggressive and sharp societal conflicts.

Originally, Planet Mountain Ash had a native intelligent species of its own that developed into a surface civilization that had been prospering. However, when they ventured into the universe, they were discovered by the local Star System civilization. Due to the treaty that forbade them from interfering with a lower civilization, the local Star System civilization only observed them at the start and did not interfere much. It was similar to the relationship the Godoran Civilization had with Planet Aquamarine back then.

However, Planet Mountain Ash was located at the borders of two Star Systems. The local Star System civilization had frequent physical conflicts with its neighbor, and both of them wanted to expand their borders. Therefore, they both hoped to make Planet Mountain Ash theirs. An unspoken rule of the Peace Treaty was that only Star System civilizations had real assurances. Despite surface civilizations being included in this treaty on paper, there would always be advanced civilizations that did not obey it secretly. Of course, they still had to look like they were obeying the treaty on the surface. Hence, the local Star System civilization could not possibly directly attack the surface civilization, so they resorted to two methods. The first was to contact Planet Mountain Ash in the name of technology exchange, deliberately leaking some technology and then framing the Planet Mountain Ash civilization for stealing it. The second method was to secretly incite the split of the surface civilizations, then providing ‘war support’ to some of the governments in crucial times, leaving the army on Planet Mountain Ash using the excuse of settling rebellions. The enormous difference in their strengths meant that there was no way a surface civilization could fight with a Star System civilization. Using these two methods, the local civilization gained control of Planet Mountain Ash without much suspense.

The ongoing societal conflict came from the retaliation of the Planet Mountain Ash civilization. There were frequent riots and demonstrations of all sorts. Hence, the local Star System civilization implemented policies to stabilize their ruling, occasionally sending official troops in to suppress these civilian activities on Planet Mountain Ash. This was why the environment of the planet had been chaotic.

In the universe, planets like Planet Mountain Ash were not a rarity. Laws created the seemingly peaceful galactic society, but under the surface, the rule of the jungle still applied. It was just not that bloody and naked anymore rarely causing the extinction of an entire race.

Aesop needed a planet exactly like this. If he could die in the hands of the Star System civilization’s troops, the Dragon Emperor would be furious at the local Star System civilization, and the plan would be considered a success! “Alright, since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll find a way to secretly send you in.”

The captain did not try to dissuade Aesop any longer.

He was a base member of the Mechanic Emperor’s subsidiary organization who was unaware of the whole picture. He was only responsible for completing the transport mission that was given to him. Whatever his employer said, he would follow, and he knew nothing else. In fact, he did not even know that his top boss was the Mechanic Emperor. “Remember, it has to be stealthy,” Aesop said and enlarged the image of Planet Mountain Ash on the star map. A complex emotion flashed passed his eyes.

Looks like this is where I die…

His mind was shaken for a split second before becoming firm again. As the collective consciousness formed from multiple soldiers’ souls, he did not fear death and was absolutely loyal to Modo.

Sacrifice himself in exchange for a chance for the Modo Civilization to take a breath, this was his mission!

However, while he was in an emotional state, no one on this ship knew that there were dozens of advanced spaceships secretly following them from not far behind.

It was the fleet led by Han Xiao!

The fleet was equipped with state of the art stealth devices of the logistics department. They had already been following the spaceship Aesop was on for close to half a day, but they had never been discovered.

Inside the main ship command room, Ames looked at the spaceship in front and wondered, “Where do you think he’s going?”

Han Xiao glanced at the star map with his arms crossed and said, “Probably Planet Mountain Ash.”

“Why would he go there?”

“How would I know?” Han Xiao shrugged.

Through monitoring all the secret organizations that the Mechanic Emperor had planted in the Shattered Star Ring, the search of the Black Star Army became much smoother. He was able to fully lock onto Aesop’s whereabouts a day ago and followed behind it secretly. He did not immediately act because he wanted to see what backup plans the Mechanic Emperor had.

Speaking of which, if the Modo Civilization insisted on using their own forces to transport Aesop, Han Xiao really might not have been able to catch him this easily. He still did not know that the mastermind behind this was the Modo Civilization.

However, the Modo Civilization thought that the Mechanic Emperor’s troops were more hidden, so they chose to borrow his forces, which achieved the complete opposite effect. To Han Xiao, most of the subsidiary organizations that the Mechanic Emperor had in the Shattered Star Ring had no secrets. It was like he had ‘maphacks’. “Do we go catch him now?” Ames turned to look at Han Xiao.

“We don’t have to go through so much trouble. Just make him come to us.” Han Xiao smiled, snapped his fingers, and sent an invisible set of data.

Boom!

Aesop was studying the star map when he suddenly felt the spaceship tremble. It seemed like it had suddenly shut down its engine and stopped moving

He looked up at the captain with a shocked and nervous expression.

“What’s going on? Did the spaceship malfunction?”

“I-I don’t know.”

The captain was confused. He then displayed his superior home appliances repairing ability and slammed the control table a few times, but it did not respond at all as if the artificial intelligence of the spaceship had died.

Whoosh!

The hatch suddenly automatically opened. Everyone was startled. The spaceship was in the middle of cosmic space. If the hatch opened, everyone inside would be sucked out.

However, that did not happen. The outside of the hatch was quiet. The people inside looked out the porthole with confusion, only to still see the dark cosmic space outside.

“What’s going on?”

Aesop and the rest came to the hatch and looked out. The moment they saw what was outside, Aesop’s entire body froze, and terror filled his face.

Outside was an enormous metal interior of a ship. Black Star and Dragon Emperor were standing outside the hatch with a group of their subordinates, staring at him with a faint smile.

Aesop’s eyes opened wide. His mind went into chaos.

Where is this? Why am I here?

Did I open the door the wrong way, which caused me to see illusions?

Han Xiao smirked and said, “You really can run, huh? But not even saying anything before you leave? That’s cold, old man.”

This was his doing. He easily hacked into the spaceship and took over control without anyone noticing, then made it turn around and fly into the main ship.

He left misguiding imagery on the portholes, so the people inside had no idea what happened. Ames took a few steps up, narrowed her eyes, and said with a displeased tone, “Humph, you made us look for you for so many days! Don’t you have anything you want to say to me?”

Seeing this, Aesop lost all hope.

It’s over! The plan’s failed!

Damn it, I was so close!

Now it’s all gone down the drain!

He was filled with frustration.

No, there’s still a chance! Black Star and Dragon Emperor both think I’m Aesop himself. I can still continue to disguise myself as him!

Aesop had yet to totally give up. He wanted to keep trying. He suppressed the tsunami of shock in his heart and forced out a smile, faking an embarrassed expression. “Well, you found me… Black Star, didn’t we agree you’d let me go? Why have you gone back on your words?”

Han Xiao did not reply to him but instead turned to Ames and said with a smug tone, “See, I was right.”

Hearing this, Ames sized Aesop up and nodded heavily with approval. “You’re right, his smile isn’t despicable enough. He must be a fake!” Aesop was completely stunned. His brain went blank.

What, they can actually see through my identity from such a small detail?

Damn! What kind of laughable reason is that! Like hell I’ll believe it!

Aesop’s smile became more and more stiff. He had a bad feeling but still persisted and said, “What are you guys joking about? Alright, I admit I was wrong for sneaking away. I’ll accept any kind of…”.

Before he finished, Han Xiao suddenly shouted, “Still faking it?” Aesop was shocked. He was filled with despair.

At this moment, he knew that he had long been exposed. Black Star was only toying with him!

The next moment, he clenched his teeth, suddenly pulled out a weapon, and aimed it at his own head. He pulled the trigger without any hesitation.

The plan had failed, and he had no way of escaping, so he immediately chose to end his own life. This way, he could prevent Black Star from finding out who was behind all this, while at the same time, he would get rid of the prophet Aesop, making his last contribution to Modo!

Boom!

However, he was just about to raise the firearm when a light beam flashed past his eyes. Nero, who was prepared for this, instantly blasted the firearm out of Aesop’s hand.

Then, the army soldiers swarmed over and pressed Aesop to the ground, making him unable to move.

Seeing this, Ames breathed a sigh of relief, deactivated the force field in her hand, and looked at Aesop, who was still struggling, with complicated emotions in her eyes. She then turned to Han Xiao and nodded as a sign of appreciation. “Thanks. Things would’ve become troublesome without your help.”

“It’s no biggie. Aesop is my friend too.”

Han Xiao waved his hand.

Ames smiled and softly punched Han Xiao’s chest but did not say anything. She knew that without Han Xiao’s help, there was no way she could have found Aesop this easily. In the end, something irreversible might have happened, and Aesop was her irreplicable family. She could not imagine what she would do if that happened.

Words were not enough to express her appreciation. She looked at Han Xiao; he gave her a feeling of assurance and reliability.

This time, the captain who was shivering on the side carefully said, “Erm… Your Excellency Black Star, you’ve found your man. Can we go now?”

Han Xiao glanced at him, snorted, and said, “Leave? Stay here and don’t resist. I’ll let you guys go when you’ve told me everything you know.”

Although these people were the Mechanic Emperor’s subordinates, they probably did not know anything. Han Xiao did not plan to do anything to them. This would be entered into the Mechanic Emperor’s ledger, and it was far from over.

Then, Han Xiao came to Aesop, squatted, and looked curious.

“Alright, now let me see what’s going on with you, old man…”

Han Xiao ordered the soldier beside the press down hard on Aesop. Nanoparticles slipped out of his sleeve and formed a thin, black needle.

He held it in his hands, aimed at Aesop’s butt, and pressed it in like a nurse injecting a needle into a patient. “Huh!”

A very strange yell sounded.

Han Xiao plugged out the black needle and looked at the combat information on the interface. He quickly browsed through Aesop’s status, and his expression became confused.

“Soul Swapper? What is that?”

Chapter 1163: Clues

Chapter 1163 Clues

(Soul Parasite]: This character is infected by an exterior soul parasite, and his mind is being controlled by it. Source: Soul Swapper. Duration: Unknown.

Aesop’s current status appeared on his status bar.

Han Xiao noticed the words ‘Soul Swapper’ instantly. Clearly, this was the thing that secretly bypassed his detection devices and got to Aesop. He wondered what device this was.

He searched through his memories and was certain he had never heard of this name in his previous life.

“Soul Swapper, I wonder what its specific functions are. It sounds like a machine…”

While he was softly murmuring, Aesop suddenly froze, covered in sweat. His eyes widened with overwhelming shock.

What did I just hear? Did the exact words ‘Soul Swapper’ come out of Black Star’s mouth?

How does he know about the Soul Swapper? Where did this information get leaked!

Of course, the Modo soldiers’ souls inside Aesop’s body did not know Han Xiao got this information from the interface, so the first thought that came to mind was that this information got leaked somewhere. His mind went blank with despair.

Han Xiao noticed his abnormal reaction and thought, He’s responding strongly to it, which means this Soul Swapper must be something very important.

Since he now knew the symptoms, the matter was no longer that complicated. It was clearly more suitable for someone with expertise in the soul area to handle it.

Han Xiao stood up and called Feidin over, pointing at Aesop.

“The old man got infected by a soul parasite. Take a look.”

“Sure.” Feidin nodded. A ripple psychic energy was released from between his eyes and entered Aesop’s mind.

The others waited on the side. About twenty seconds later, Feidin retrieved his psychic energy and looked hesitant. “What is it? Is something wrong?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

Feidin frowned slightly. “There is indeed another cluster of collective souls inside his mind. Not really strong, Grade B at most, so I can deal with it. The problem is, this cluster of parasite souls has already perfectly fused with Aesop’s own soul with close to no rejection. I have hardly ever seen anything like this…”

“So, you’re saying there are risks?” Ames asked.

“There are indeed. They’ve fused too deeply, so the difficulty of removing the parasite is as high as doing an extremely precise operation on his soul. There’s no room for errors. Once something goes wrong, Aesop’s own soul will be damaged too…” “You don’t have to force it if you’re not confident. I can ask Kasuyi to help. He’ll definitely give me face.”

Han Xiao was not surprised. He was in a similar situation back when he fought seven-eyes, so he was somewhat experienced. Aesop’s situation was much less severe than
his.

Feidin shook his head. “It’s not that I’m not confident. I can eliminate the parasites, but I can’t do it without wiping out their souls. This is why I’m confirming, do you want to do some interrogation first before curing Aesop?”.

The soul swap of the Soul Swapper had close to no side effects, which most Supers were unable to do. To most Supers, the soul was a mysterious territory that could not be messed with.

Feidin, for example, could not even divide his own wife out of his soul and could only make love mentally every day. So, of course, he could not get rid of the parasite while still ensuring it stayed alive.

“I see, then don’t cure him just yet.” Han Xiao responded without hesitation.

The parasite was currently his biggest source of intelligence, so he had to interrogate him no matter what. Curing Aesop could be done after that.

C

As for the fact that Aesop’s body would still be the one getting tortured during the interrogation… Ha, there was Aurora’s life energy potion anyway. As long as there was no risk of Aesop dying, there was no problem.

The conversation between them was open, so the Modo soldiers inside Aesop’s body heard it too and were in incomparable despair.

He wanted to keep all the intelligence he knew hidden, but he was well aware that there was nothing he could hide in the face of a Calamity Grade who specialized in souls.

Without the Soul Swapper, the body became a prison, and he was locked inside Aesop’s body, unable to do anything but accept his fate.

“Leave the interrogation to me.” Feidin waved and told the army soldiers to lead Aesop to the interrogation room.

Feidin was a kind person who did not like interrogations, but in the face of such a despicable enemy, he did not mind using more extreme methods.

The soldiers around cleaned up the scene and took the captives away. This time, Ames came to Han Xiao and softly said, “We’ve got who we came for. What are you planning to do now?”

“Ask the parasite who sent him, then come up with a plan depending on that. No matter what, this isn’t over,” Han Xiao replied casually.

All he knew now was that the Mechanic Emperor was part of this. He did not know if there were any other organizations behind it. Although they were not able to reach their goal, he was not going to let this go so easily.

He even planned to use this as the clue to search for information about the Soul Swapper, to see if he could obtain it and study it.

“Okay. If you’re going to retaliate, count me in.” Ames’s tone was indisputable and firm.

“… I’m guessing they came for me. You don’t have to drag yourself into this trouble. I’m here.” Han Xiao shook his head.

He knew the risks involved, and he did not wish to involve Ames. He also did not want Ames to step into his conflict with the Mechanic Emperor. Battles between peak Beyond Grade As were still too dangerous for her.

“What do you mean? I’m not one who’s afraid of trouble. If they dare to target my men, I’ll have to show them I’m not easy to mess with!” Ames frowned before smiling once more. “Also, you helped me, so I have to help you too. That’s what an ally should do. Even if you reject me, I won’t give up.” As she said that, a notification popped up on the interface.

You have triggered mission (Ames’ Rage]!

Mission Introduction: Due to her family being hurt, Ames is enraged. She hopes to take revenge on the mastermind of it with you.

Mission Requirements: Take revenge on the mastermind together with Ames.

Reward: 250,000,000 EXP, +40 Ames Favorability, +10 Aesop Favorability, +30,000 Floating Dragon Island Contribution Points, 2 Random Rewards, 1 Character Summon Card.

Bonus rewards will be given depending on the Mission Rating.

Han Xiao scanned through the mission. This kind of mission was becoming less and less significant to him nowadays, but it still counted. Anyway, it would not be too much trouble, so he accepted it.

Mainly because he saw how firm Ames’ eyes looked-she was clearly not going to give up. Instead of letting her take the risk herself, he might as well be by her side, so she would at least not do something as extreme as she did in his previous life.

About an hour later, Feidin came to the command room and gave the report in his hands to Han Xiao.

“The interrogation is done. All the information is in here. Nothing is missing.”

Han Xiao took the file and browsed through it. The content was extremely detailed. It included the Modo Civilization’s goal for this mission, how the Soul Swapper worked, the existence of the Soul Swap Twins, and so on. Everything was laid out clearly. With Feidin’s psychic scan of the Modo soldier’s soul, he had obtained everything he knew.

“Hmm, so it’s Modo. I knew it was Modo.” Han Xiao sneered. After reading the file, Han Xiao finally understood what was going on. This was within his expectations.

The only thing that surprised him was the Soul Swapper that was shockingly a Space Wonder grade treasure. The Modo Civilization had such an amazing device in their hands, yet it was not exposed at all in his previous life.

Nonetheless, this was not too surprising. Advanced civilizations all had trump cards. Some were extremely well hidden and not displayed to the public. Of course, Han Xiao had no memories of the Universal Treasures that the players in his previous life did not come into contact with.

Now that he knew, he started having ideas.

“There’s no reason to let such a good thing slip.”

Han Xiao was very tempted.

One reason was because of how magical the Soul Swapper was, and another was to prevent Modo from using the Soul Swapper on him again in the future. One way or another, he had to make Modo lose this trump card.

At the same time, Han Xiao became more alert too.

“I can’t underestimate any advanced civilizations. God knows when they’ll bring up another strange trump card by surprise…” Han Xiao closed the file and pondered. “By the way, have you eliminated the parasite yet?”

“Not yet.” Feidin shook his head.

“Okay, don’t cure Aesop just yet. Although we’ve acquired everything he knows, the parasite is still useful. He’s an important piece of evidence.”

The Modo Civilization is the mastermind, and their goal is to force the Black Star Army to retreat. While the Mechanic Emperor worked with Modo secretly most probably because he wants to cause problems to me, I can work around that… With the use of some choice words, I can make this into the Mechanic Emperor choosing to stand on the side of the Super Star Cluster Alliance against the three Universal Civilizations.

As long as he reported this to the three Universal Civilizations, old b*stard Manison’s situation would be even worse. This was not just personal. Han Xiao made a daring assumption. Since the Mechanic Emperor’s men came into contact with Aesop too, could he have known about the existence of the Soul Swapper too and was looking for it secretly, hoping to obtain it?

If that was the case, Manison would become Han Xiao’s competitor. If he told the three Universal Civilizations about this and had them keep a close eye on the Mechanic Emperor, the Mechanic Emperor’s forces would be affected, and it would be more difficult for him to find the Soul Swapper, which was beneficial to Han Xiao.

“Since the three Universal Civilizations are on my side, it would be a waste not to make use of that. It’s worth trying.” All kinds of thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. He analyzed the situation and felt that this was doable. Therefore, he walked to the side, took out the communicator, and called Urranrell’s private number.

After a while, the communication got picked up, Urranrell’s face appeared on the screen.

“Black Star, I’m in a meeting. What is it?”

“I’ve discovered a piece of intelligence recently. It’s about the Mechanic Emperor…”

Han Xiao explained what had happened, naturally adding some ‘color’ to it, while also displaying evidence such as Aesop to prove he was not making it up.

Hearing this, Urranrell’s expression became serious.

“You’re saying that, after the Intelligent Plague, not only did the Mechanic Emperor not regret it and change for the better, he even got worse and secretly joined the Super Star Cluster Alliance, executed confidential missions, and is helping them to fight the three Universal Civilizations?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Han Xiao agreed with it without any change of tone, clearly experienced with framing others. “… Okay, I get it. This is a very important piece of intelligence. I’ll inform the federation and the church to quickly come up with a solution.”

Urranrell nodded solemnly and quickly hung up the communication.

Seeing this, Han Xiao smirked.

As the saying went, one’s happiness was built on another’s pain. The unluckier Mechanic Emperor got, the happier he was.

Old Manison, don’t blame me for this. This treasure and I are fated. You already have so many Universal Treasures. Don’t fight me for this one.

At this time, Nero walked in.

“Godfather, where do we start the search?”

“Hmm, before Aesop got attacked, he made one last contact with the Modo Civilization’s troops. Start with that,” Han Xiao said.

Since he now knew that Modo was the mastermind, it was clear when Aesop got infected, and that would be a clear lead. That secret transport fleet of the Modo Civilization had to have been carrying the Soul Swapper, and they would have to return through secret stargates and transport the Soul Swapper back. Hence, he had to find them as soon as possible. This time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and said, “By the way, I remember that one ship survived among the tracking teams that coincidentally found the Modo Civilization’s fleet. Go capture them immediately.”

Having uncovered the functions of the Soul Swapper, he speculated that there might be spies in those teams, and the spies were most likely in that tracking team that survived.

“Hmm? This spaceship has lost contact?” Manison was a little surprised to receive this report from his subordinate.

There seemed to be only one explanation for this situation, that Black Star had caught up with Aesop and hacked the spaceship of his subsidiary organization. “Weird, how did Black Star get this information?” Manison frowned slightly.

The focus of his work recently had been on searching for the Soul Swapper, on which he had already made some progress, but he was also paying attention to Aesop.

From the way Manison looked at it, the subsidiary organizations he had left in the Shattered Star Ring were very well hidden. With their help, they should be able to easily get Aesop out of the Shattered Star Ring. However, the reality was completely different. It was as if Black Star knew the whereabouts of his subsidiary organization like the back of his hand. He could follow them anywhere they went.

Manison thought that his subsidiary organizations were very well hidden, which was why he felt the odds of success were high if he worked with the Modo Civilization using that.

However, now that he looked at it, Black Star seemed to already have eyes on his subsidiary organizations, and there was a risk of them being all exposed. If worst came to worst, more than half of the forces he had operating in the Shattered Star Ring would be completely obliterated. It would be a huge loss!

Manison clenched his fist before slowly letting go. He did not look too happy.

“No matter what, now that Black Star caught Aesop, he’ll know about the Soul Swapper, so he has become my competitor… I have to speed up now. My losses will only be made up for if I get the Soul Swapper!”

Chapter 1164: Lockdown and One Step Ahead

Chapter 1164 Lockdown and One Step Ahead

“Message from the frontline. They’ve lost contact with Aesop. He’s possibly been captured by Black Star.” As this report was read by a Modo Civilization upper echelon, the conference room was filled with dead silence.

After quite some time, a top military officer finally said, “The plan must’ve failed. The situation is now dire. Do you guys have any ideas?”

“I thought the Mechanic Emperor would have definitely completed the mission. I didn’t expect him to be this useless and unreliable,” someone said.

“Could he have deliberately divulged the information to Black Star, using that to fix his relationship with Black Star?”

“He wouldn’t do that. You don’t have to doubt him.” The Modo Three Kings shook their heads.

“It’s not his style to fawn upon Black Star, and his hatred with Black Star won’t be resolved this easily, nor would the three Universal Civilizations stop being cautious toward him… You guys should think about how to deal with the impact of the mission failing.” They knew that the Mechanic Emperor was not to be blamed for this. Even the Mechanic Emperor, whom they had high hopes for, could not transport Aesop out, not to mention their own forces. Even so, the upper echelons present still unavoidably felt disappointed with the Mechanic Emperor. “There are souls of our soldiers inside Aesop’s body. Black Star will be able to get our plans from them. Never mind if he knows about our plan, I’m only worried about him knowing about the Soul Swapper,” another upper echelon said.

The Modo Civilization had already considered the consequences of failing while they came up with the plan. They looked like they did not want to be discovered, but it was actually only because it was required for the framing. Modo was not afraid of Black Star finding out that this was their doing.

After all, they were enemies. The Black Star Army would not stop attacking them even without this conspiracy, so they were not afraid of enraging Black Star.

Even if the three Universal Civilizations knew about it, Modo had nothing to fear either. They were already at war with the three Universal Civilizations anyway. All the Modo Civilization really worried about was that Black Star might find out about the Soul Swapper after the plan failed.

However, since they had chosen to use the Soul Swapper for the mission, this was a risk they had to take.

Moreover, the Soul Swapper was not in their hands now and had been taken away by the Soul Swap Twins, which meant there were even more uncertainties.

“Speaking of which, why haven’t the Soul Swap Twins contacted us yet? The mind trap should’ve triggered long ago,” someone wondered.

“That’s right. It’s been almost a month. Have their sub-personalities still not awakened?”

“Could there have been an accident and the Soul Swap Twins have suppressed the awakening of the sub-personalities? But how is that possible? They’re Grade Bs at most, or is this the Soul Swapper’s ability too?”

“No matter what, we have to prepare for the worst,” one of the Modo Three Kings said with a deep voice.

From their perspective, mind traps set by a Beyond Grade A on Grade Bs should be completely safe. However, even the ones in charge of the Marwell plan did not know everything about the Soul Swapper. The Soul Swap Twins were the only ones they knew that could use the Soul Swapper, and only the two of them knew about all its functions.

“We have to do something. How about we get our Beyond Grade A to look for them in the Shattered Star Ring?” someone suggested.

“No, a Beyond Grade A is too conspicuous. If his identity as our direct member is exposed, he won’t be able to return. Black Star won’t mind adding another item to his collection.” Most of the people present did not agree with sending a Beyond Grade A to find the Soul Swapper, since that Beyond Grade A might not be able to come back. Should that happen, not only would they have not found the Soul Swapper, but they would also lose a Beyond Grade A!

The Modo Civilization had very complicated feelings about the Soul Swapper. On the one hand, they placed great importance on its functions, but on the other, they used it very cautiously. Throughout the years, they had tested trillions of people, and only the Soul Swap Twins could use it. Without the two of them, this Space Wonder would be like a piece of junk. Furthermore, they only used it to execute conspiracies and plots most of the time, such as turning important people into their men. However, when it got discovered and the souls of the people they swapped in got interrogated, Modo’s involvement would be discovered too and bring them trouble. Therefore, they hardly ever used the Soul Swapper. It mostly collected dust in storage.

Hence, although the upper echelons present really wanted to retrieve it, they were not willing to pay too high a price. They felt it was not very worth it.

Bang! A top military officer slammed the table and interrupted the discussion. He clenched his teeth and said, “Damn it, we’re so restricted in someone else’s territory. We could’ve toyed with Black Star all we wanted if this happened in our territory.”

Everyone felt powerless.

It was what it was. Black Star had way too few weaknesses, and they were out of ideas.

About ten days later, inside the main ship office of the Black Star fleet, Han Xiao received the summarized data from Phillip and scanned it through.

“Is all the information here?”

“Yes, hum… This is all the information we’ve collected about the Soul Swapper.”

In the past ten days, the Black Star Army had started a large-scale search around the clues acquired from Aesop.

Firstly, they captured the tracking team that had their souls swapped and got some new information about the transport team from back then.

Originally, according to the plan, these spies would be swapped away again after the mission was complete, making it look like an accidental death, not leaving any clues behind.

However, the Soul Swap Twins’ escape caused them to be trapped inside the bodies of the Black Star Army soldiers. They did not dare contact Modo’s men because Black Star was monitoring the quantum network, nor did they know about the Soul Swap Twins escaping. They thought that they had to continue hiding and were caught red handed.

After acquiring information from these people, Han Xiao once again used the power of Destiny’s Child, and with some luck, they captured quite a few Modo Civilization battleships that had yet to leave the Shattered Star Ring. From these people, he found out that the Soul Swap Twins had escaped.

However, the leads stopped there. Modo’s men had no idea where the Soul Swap Twins were.

Han Xiao looked at the information collected, slightly shook his head, and sighed.

“The Soul Swap Twins can keep changing bodies. It won’t be easy to find them.”

He was not an expert in the soul area, but he did know someone who was—the leader of the Holy Accord organization, Oathkeeper, the current master of the Soul Flame.

This guy might have a way to find the Soul Swap Twins quickly. After all, no matter how many times they changed bodies, their souls would remain the same.

However, when Han Xiao tried contacting Oathkeeper, he was told that Oathkeeper had entered the Sanctum and had yet to return, so this method was out of the question.

“The current methods are only virtual technology, Bold Explorer, and luck, which are not very efficient…” Han Xiao pondered. “The Mechanic Emperor should be looking for the Soul Swapper, too. I can keep a close eye on him.”

When searching for Modo’s troops, Han Xiao had found out that some other spaceships of the transport fleet were also missing.

However, these spaceships were not in his hands. With some investigation, he discovered that it was related to the Mechanic Emperor’s subsidiary organizations, which basically proved that the Mechanic Emperor was looking for the Soul Swapper. Since he framed the Mechanic Emperor more than half a month ago, the three Universal Civilizations had already taken action. A part of the subsidiary organizations under the Mechanic Emperor that were disguised as legal organizations were temporarily seized.

Not only did this cause quite a loss for the Mechanic Emperor, more importantly, it meant that a lot of the Mechanic Emperor’s subsidiary troops were frozen, so the manpower he could use right now was tremendously reduced. This indirectly made it harder for the Mechanic Emperor to find the Soul Swapper.

However, Han Xiao felt that the Mechanic Emperor should have known about the Soul Swapper before he did. Furthermore, the Mechanic Emperor’s home was in the Primeval Star River, just like Modo, so he might know something he did not. Han Xiao felt that keeping a close eye on him might give him some surprises.

“Continue the search,” Han Xiao said.

“Report any and all situations to me. Keep an extra close eye on the Mechanic Emperor’s subsidiary organizations. Don’t let any one of them leave our sights.”

At the edge of the Shattered Star Ring, Planet Earth Ring was a transit station planet located near the inter-star field stargate that had a huge amount of traffic every day. A ton of galactic flights resupplied all kinds of resources. The management of the planet was a Star Cluster civilization of the Shattered Star Ring, so this was a government-controlled public transit hub.

The streets were crowded, prosperous, and filled with countless different races.

Half a month had passed since the search for the Soul Swap Twins began. A man and a woman walked on the street, carefully observing the surrounding while conversing softly. It was the Soul Swap Twins, Jill and Warren.

“Elder bro, anything from your sub-personality these few days?”

“I just suppressed it three days ago, but my souls are running out. We’ll have to top up on some souls today.”

“Me too. This planet has a lot of people, so it’s a suitable target. This is our last stop before leaving the Shattered Star Ring. We have to absorb as many souls as possible so it can last longer,” Warren said softly.

“Don’t do anything now. Wait till we’re about to leave.” Jill kept his voice down.

Their goal was to leave the Shattered Star Ring. Through changing their bodies continuously, they had finally arrived at the edge of the Shattered Star Ring. They planned to resupply there and then escape the Star Field through the stargate.

In order to suppress their mind traps, they absorbed quite a lot of souls on the planets they passed by, continuously ‘charging up’. Most of which were beasts, but that was not because they suddenly became kind and merciful; absorbing too many intelligent lives would attract attention, which was not beneficial for staying hidden.

Now that they were at the edge of the Star Field, they knew they would be mostly safe if they got out. Hence, they planned to go for a big one and absorb a lot of souls, hoping to find a way to completely defuse the mind traps.

This way, they would not have to commit any crimes in the other Star Fields and could hide themselves perfectly.

“We’re finally going to leave the Shattered Star Ring. We’ll soon have real freedom.” Warren’s tone was thrilled and filled with infinite hope for the future.

“This is the first step of our conquest!”

Jill clenched his fists. His eyes were gleaming with excitement. We’re finally about to take the first step of fulfilling their ambitions. Our imprisoned days have finally come to an end. As long as we have enough time to grow, given how magical the Soul Swapper is and how talented we are, we’ll certainly become a big deal in the universe!

While the two of them were dreaming about their future, a sudden change occurred, and the alarm suddenly rang throughout the city!

Woo!

The piercing alarm echoed throughout all the streets. Countless people looked up with surprise, not knowing what was going on. “What’s going on?”

“This is a planetary alarm. Has someone come to attack the planet!”

The people on the streets started panicking, including the street the Soul Swap Twins were on. “Elder bro, are they here for us?” Warren looked anxious.

“Don’t panic! No one should be able to find us, and even if someone did, they wouldn’t create such a huge commotion for it.” Jill was unsure too.

At this time, someone pointed at the sky and yelled, “Look, a fleet!” The people looked up. Battleships penetrated the atmosphere and hovered in midair, and mechanical soldiers shrouded the sky. There were no organization symbols, so they did not know what organization this was. This time, the sound of spaceships taking off continuously sounded. The garrison of Planet Earth Ring hastily arrived and loudly questioned what was happening in the public communication channel “This is the Planet Earth Ring Garrison Fleet Command Center. You have broken the Dock Parking Law by penetrating the planet’s atmosphere without authorization. Please identify yourselves immediately!” After a full two seconds, the voice of an old man finally sounded in the public communication channel.

“I’m Mechanic Emperor Manison. I’ll be taking over this planet temporarily.”

As he said that, countless people shockingly realized that their communicators had lost network connection. They were no longer able to send any messages out. The people were in an uproar. At this point, they clearly knew that the Mechanic Emperor had cut off the communication of the entire Planet Earth Ring with the outside world. He had locked down the quantum network of the planet! “Mechanic Emperor? What is he doing here?” Jill widened his eyes in shock. The two of them had escaped early, and Modo had partnered with the Mechanic Emperor after that. They thought that they were just innocent passersby at this point. They were just one step away from their beautiful future, and now they got into an accident right before that. They were both shocked and enraged.

However, no matter how arrogant Jill was, in the face of the great Mechanic Emperor, he knew there was no way he could mess with him. The only thing he could do was pray for the Mechanic Emperor to quickly finish what he came for and open up the lockdown so that they could leave.

At the same time, within the main ship above Planet Earth Ring, Manison’s Lord’s Avatar covered in electric sparks stood before the porthole, looked at the hostile and tensed garrison fleet, and calmly said, “Lock the entire planet down. Don’t allow any life form to leave. The target is right here. Filter the life forms of the entire planet till we find them!”

Outside the window, countless mechanical soldiers descended onto the ground and controlled the panicking crowd. Countless screams of pain shot up the sky and faintly reached Manison’s ears.

He scanned through the surface. He was completely certain the Soul Swap Twins were on Planet Earth Ring.

His tracking process was not the smoothest. This was not his territory, so he could not keep such a high profile like the Black Star Army could. He secretly seized a few transport ships only to discover that the Soul Swap Twins had already escaped, and his leads ended there too.

However, Manison acquired extra information from his mole in Modo and knew about the mind trap. He then searched for any place where a large number of life forms had turned into vegetables and lost their souls, and he speculated that it was the doing of the Soul Swap Twins.

Through finding similar incidents, he confirmed the escape route of the Soul Swap Twins and finally locked onto the Soul Swap Twins’ whereabouts today.

Due to the fact that his subsidiary organizations were already exposed and were being uprooted, Manison was no longer worried about getting found out, so he locked down the entire Planet Earth Ring. If not because most of his subsidiary organizations were suddenly frozen by the three Universal Civilizations, which led to him almost losing the lead mid-way and delaying him by a few days, he felt that he would have reached this point long ago. However, despite the obstacles and challenges, he still succeeded!

Manison shook his head.

Although the mind trap isn’t a highly confidential secret, none of these basic level crews know about it, so of course, Black Star doesn’t either. Hence, he can only roam around, relying on luck, which is also why he got lured away by me so easily some time ago… Tsk, it’s too early for you to fight me, Black Star.

A few days ago, he had deliberately made one of his subsidiary organizations lock down a planet very far away, acting as if he had found the whereabouts of the Soul Swapper to attract Black Star’s attention.

This successfully lured away a large batch of the Black Star Army’s fleet. From the way he looked at it, even if Black Star had already noticed this, he would not be able to reach Planet Earth Ring any time soon. However, to be safe, Manison still locked down the quantum network of Planet Earth Ring and delayed the time of the Black Star Army receiving any information.

He planned to get away as soon as he got what he came for. Afterward, even if the advanced civilizations held him responsible for it, there was no way he would throw up what he had already swallowed.

Chapter 1165: Encounter and Confrontation

Chapter 1165 Encounter and Confrontation

In the command center of Planet Earth Ring, the manager of the planet was startled by the Mechanic Emperor’s name and only spoke cautiously after more than ten seconds of silence.

“Your Excellency Mechanic Emperor, Planet Earth Ring belongs to the Razo Civilization. You have broken the Planetary Management Law set by the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Alliance by locking down this planet. We hope you can give us a proper explanation.”

“I’m chasing fugitives. When I’m done, I’ll leave. It’d be best for you to step back and not cause any trouble.” Manison’s calm voice sounded from the public channel.

“… No, we have to stay. According to the rules and regulations, we must report this to the upper echelons of the civilization afterward.”

“Whatever.”

Manison hung up the communication.

The manager of Planet Earth Ring did not dare resist. He suppressed his anger and ordered the garrison fleet to standby in a defense formation, but he did not disrupt Mechanic Emperor’s actions.

Although the Razo Civilization was one of the Star Cluster civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring, now that their communication with the outside world was cut off, the garrison fleet on this planet was no match for the Mechanic Emperor.

The manager was not going to sacrifice his troops for nothing, so he chose to stand aside with caution. This went against his duty, but he could only be flexible.

Without the obstruction of the garrison fleet, Mechanic Emperor’s mechanical troops started to search through the civilians on a large scale, not missing out on anything that breathed. They chased everyone out to the streets and forced them to stand in lines.

No matter how arrogant, all the Supers obediently followed the Mechanic Emperor’s instructions.

Of course, there were some civilians who just could not grasp the situation. The fists of mechanical soldiers would not have mercy, and after thousands of rioting tourists were beaten up, the rest all became quiet.

Jill and Warren were squeezed by the crowd into a line. They looked around with caution and panic.

The two of them were intimidated by the Mechanic Emperor’s troops. They secretly used the Soul Swapper to communicate with each other’s souls.

“Elder bro, do you think the Mechanic Emperor is here to catch us?” Warren was worried.

“It can’t be. Didn’t he say? He’s here to catch fugitives, and we’re not fugitives,” Jill assured him.

“But even if he’s not here looking for us, since the search is so thorough, there’s a chance we’ll get exposed too.”

“That is a problem indeed…”

Jill looked gloomy and was in a very bad mood. He was partly worried about the situation, but he was also gloomy because he noticed that someone had squeezed his butt.

He glared behind him and saw a mercenary-looking red-skinned beastman moving his hand away while giggling. The Beastman then flexed his arm and displayed his muscles, even giving him a confident look… Only low-grade beastmen with strong desires would still be thinking of reproduction in times like this.

Jill felt a disgusting chill running through his body. He quickly tightened his clothes.

“How about we find an opportunity and swap into those who’ve already been checked?” Warren suggested.

“Let’s see how it goes first. We’ll temporarily stay put, and if things are not going well, I can swap you into my body, and we can share one body temporarily… Wait, no, I’ll swap into your body.”

Jill’s mouth twitched. He regretted choosing a rather attractive body.

The search was going on one batch after another, and Manison was monitoring the process in the main ship.

“Let me see how long you can last.”

Manison’s tone was calm.

The Soul Swapper was unique. All ordinary detection methods were useless. Furthermore, the target could swap into different bodies at any time, so rechecking again and again would be very troublesome.

He planned to send batches of people who finished the check into different spaceships, away from the range of the Soul Swapper and put them in quarantine.

This way, as the number of people was reduced, the Soul Swap Twins would sooner or later activate their abilities and most likely swap into those who had already been checked. However, they did not know that he would still carry out multiple checks even after the quarantine, hoping to trap the two of them in smaller crowds.

Also, another goal of the quarantine was to take away all the people on the planet, including even the garrison fleet. This way, he would have plenty of time to slowly filter and check through them.

If the Soul Swap Twins used their abilities, the shells that had lost their souls should faint, which would be a clue too. Even if the Soul Swap Twins could swap multiple souls around and mix up the identity of the bodies that fainted, as long as it happened, it would prove that they had used their abilities. Furthermore, doing this would definitely cause mass confusion.

Manison had prepared many plans, among which the most extreme was slaughtering the entire planet. Killing life forms with souls one after another would definitely be able to force the Soul Swap Twins to appear. However, the consequences of that were too severe. He would not use this plan unless he had no other choice.

“In about two hours, all the people on the planet will be separately quarantined in different ships. Not the most efficient, but good enough. There’s still plenty of time…”

While Manison was calculating the time, he suddenly sensed something and suddenly turned around to look behind.

Woo!

The alarm of the spaceship rang at the same time. In the distance, streams of hyperdrive light appeared and stopped nearby. The bright blue light dissipated, showing a completely black fleet. An organization symbol that Manison could never forget was engraved on these ships’ exterior armor. It was the Black Star Army!

“How did they find me?” Manison was shocked.

That’s strange. This fleet clearly got rid of its trackers. How did the Black Star Army find this place? Prophecy? But the spaceships’ information disruption devices are still working. Aesop shouldn’t be able to accurately foresee the exact location. Is there an even stronger prophet?

This is getting troublesome. Black Star’s noticed what’s happening here. Change of plan, I must speed up and get everyone into the ships. … However, luckily, only an ordinary search fleet is here. There are just more than thirty fleets.

Manison responded instantly. He waved his hand, and a large group of mechanical troops immediately turned and charged toward the Black Star Army fleet.

He planned to eliminate Black Star’s men first so they would not disrupt him.

However, the next moment, three powerful energy presences erupted in the Black Star Army fleet!

Woo!

The energy detection radar’s reading exceeded the limits instantly!

Manison was stunned for a moment.

“Three Beyond Grade As?”

In his sights, three silhouettes flew out of the Black Star Army and stood opposite his mechanical army. They were Black Star, Ames, and Hila!

Han Xiao scanned through the situation of Planet Earth Ring and smirked. He connected to the public channel and mocked, “Yo, looks like I’m almost late.”

“Why are you here?” Manison did not bother chatting with Han Xiao at all. “Oh? Are you asking me why I wasn’t lured away by your bait?” Han Xiao curled his lips. “The Shattered Star Ring is my territory. If I got toyed with by you so easily, where should I put my face?”

Actually, the bait Manison set some time ago almost fooled him, and this fleet did indeed lose its initial trackers.

However, as a peak Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic who was in his own territory, Han Xiao also did a deep search. He analyzed what all of the routes Manison’s troops took had in common and also discovered the vegetable incident of multiple planets. After some cross referencing, it matched with the route of one of Manison’s teams.

Although the Great Mechanic Han did not know about the mind trap, it did not stop him from speculating that this was the clue Manison was going after.

Therefore, just like the Mechanic Emperor, he locked onto the Soul Swap Twins’ escape route according to those incidents and sent a fleet right to Planet Earth Ring.

Therefore, this army fleet did not come here by following the Mechanic Emperor but instead happened to encounter the Mechanic Emperor, which proved he was right.

The three of them were originally not in the fleet, but Han Xiao had the fleet bring a ‘Throne’. He received the news the instant this fleet discovered Mechanic Emperor, and immediately used the King to teleport all three of them here, hence this moment.

While the two of them confronted each other, the manager of Planet Earth Ring was overjoyed and quickly spoke in the public channel.

“Your Excellency Black Star! I’m the manager of Planet Earth Ring. The Mechanic Emperor has forcefully taken over the planet, and we are powerless to resist. Luckily, you’re here. Please help us. The Razo Civilization will definitely thank you for it after!”

Initially, the manager of Planet Earth Ring could only watch and feel powerless while filled with rage. Now that Black Star was here, it was like he had caught a lifebuoy. He immediately asked for help.

It was known that the Shattered Star Ring was protected by Black Star now. In the manager’s eyes, Black Star was on his side.

Han Xiao casually waved. “Hmm, take your troops off the planet. Leave the rest to me.”

“Roger!”

The Planet Earth Ring manager brought the garrison fleet aside to watch without hesitation.

He did not agree when the Mechanic Emperor asked him to leave, but as soon as Black Star did, he left instantly. In the Shattered Star Ring, Han Xiao was much more respected than Manison.

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Seeing this, Han Xiao then turned to the Mechanic Emperor’s ride and snorted.

“I’m right here. Aren’t you going to come out and meet me?”

About ten seconds later, Manison’s Lord’s Avatar finally flew out.

“Black Star, you’ve come to mess up my plan again,” Manison said coldly. Although his voice was monotonous, it still had a sense of frustration and anger.

“Hehe, Mechanic Emperor, I won’t play games with you. Our goal should be the same. It’s right here on Planet Earth Ring, and it belongs to whoever’s more capable.”

Han Xiao crossed his arms and looked firm.

Actually, he was filled with joy on the inside. Originally, he had no excuse to fight with this old b*stard, but now that he had one and met him, he looked at Manison like he was looking at a portable talent inventory.

Manison looked at the three of them and said coldly, “You think your victory is certain just because it’s three against one?”

“Haha, you’re mistaken.” Han Xiao curled his lips. “I alone am enough to fight you. The two of them won’t interfere.”

Hearing this, Ames and Hila both turned to him and silently stared at him.

Seeing this, Han Xiao coughed and softly said, “Ahem, the two of you are responsible to search the planet and find the target. Hila, you have some knowledge in the mind area, so it’s suitable for you to find them, while Ames’ force field makes catching people more convenient.”

“You said you’d let me help in the fight…” Ames frowned slightly.

“That’s when we fight Modo. Leave the Mechanic Emperor to me. I’m going to fight him one on one.”

“Am I a burden?” Ames narrowed her eyes.

“… Just a little bit.” Han Xiao was very honest and did not find any excuse in times like this.

Ames’s eyes twitched, but she thought about it and realized she could not object.

She gave Han Xiao a glare and flew toward Planet Earth Ring.

Hila tilted her head and pondered for a while before raising three fingers.

“Three times.”

“What three times?” Han Xiao wondered.

“I’ve lost the chance to fight someone as strong as the Mechanic Emperor, so you’ll have to spar with me seriously three times afterward, and you can’t reject it no matter when I ask for it.”

“Alright, alright, not to mention three times, I’ll spar with you thirty times even if you want to.” Han Xiao sighed.

“Okay, thirty times it is. It’s a promise!”

Hila nodded with satisfaction and instantly followed behind Ames with the fleet.

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. He was speechless.

This tomboy’s combat maniac trait had been getting even more and more intense, and god only knew where she learned to be this cheeky.

Removing Ames and Hila was an attempt to try to trigger Beyond Grade A challenge mission. Otherwise, given how thick Han Xiao’s skin was, he would not ask for a duel for no reason.

Han Xiao looked at old Manison and said, “Alright, now no one will disturb us. It’s a rare opportunity. Now that we’ve coincidentally run into each other, we have to get properly intimate.”

Manison watched Ames and Hila landing on Planet Earth Ring and did not stop them.

He knew that as long as he did not defeat Black Star, stopping them would not do anything.

Seeing that Han Xiao had stayed behind alone, Manison slowly said, “If the three of you had come at me together, it might have been quite troublesome for me. Yet, you’ve actually decided to fight me alone. How brave.”

“Yo, you’re saying it as if I lost to you last time. Why do I seem to recall it being a tie?”

Manison mirthlessly laughed. “Black Star, you should have a clearer idea of how real that ‘tie’ was than me. Without more than a dozen people helping you this time, do you really still think this will still end as a tie?”

“Tie? No, no, I didn’t think that.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “I’m here with my original body, and crushing your Lord’s Avatar is my goal today. It’s time to refresh my achievement.”

“Hehe, I admit, that special technique of yours to burn your potential can grant you power to match me, but that’s all. Defeat me? You’re a hundred years too early! Plus, how much potential do you have to throw away? If this is the source of your confidence today, I’m guessing it’s not going to end well for you.”

“You never know if you don’t try.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, his body trembled, and Mechanical Force sparked around him. His energy level rocketed as he quickly entered combat stance. Seeing this, Manison shook his head, his energy level rising too. The gold Mechanical Force seemed to have painted his Lord’s Avatar gold.

“Looks like I’m quite lucky today to receive a pleasant surprise. Since you dare face me with your original body, I’ll gladly take your Spacetime Amber as a compensation from you.”

Chapter 1166: Shaken Manison

Chapter 1166 Shaken Manison

Boom!

Like thousands of thunder strikes happening at the same time, raging Mechanical Force erupted like silver dragons.

The people on Planet Earth Ring looked up. It was as if two suns covered in lightning had suddenly appeared.

Two light gates suddenly appeared in cosmic space, and countless machines swarmed out from the secondary dimensional army boxes.

One side was black like storm clouds, and the other side was white like snowy hills.

The mechanical armies surrounded the two of them. Mechanical Force extended out from their bodies and connected their armies, quickly assembling into two giants!

In an instant, two enormous weapons clashed. The mountain-sized black blade slashed onto the middle of the golden trident!

Clank!

A psionic shockwave exploded, extended through the artificial atmosphere of Planet Earth Ring, and caused chain reactions, creating a deafening noise!

Countless people hastily covered their ears with agony on their faces. They felt as if someone was tolling a bell inside their brain. They could feel their brains trembling. Some lost balance like they were drunk, fell onto the ground, and could not control their body.

Outside the planet’s atmosphere, two Mechanical Deities had appeared and were already fighting intensely.

Every move of a Mechanical Deity harnessed terrifying power. Even though they consciously distanced themselves from Planet Earth Ring, the aftershocks still triggered countless natural disasters on the planet’s surface.

Machinery came out of their Secondary dimensional army boxes nonstop like it had no end. Their machines fought each other under the lead of their own Apostle Weapons and divided the battlefield into countless smaller battles.

The combat artificial intelligences of both sides tried their best to break each other’s formation and create situations where they outnumbered the other side. Mechanical soldiers that got occasionally left stranded became targets of focused fire. They then recovered through Mechanical Force and entered the battlefield right after.

Planet Earth Ring’s atmosphere was filled with traces of psionic beams that seemed to have formed a net that shrouded the planet.

Occasionally, liquid metal melted by the high temperature would cool down to irregular shaped metal meteors that fell onto the surface, either creating pits on the ground or shattered by the planet’s protective shields.

This was not the first fight between Han Xiao and Manison. They had a rough idea of each other’s capabilities, so they went full out from the start and released most of their Apostle Weapons.

Old Manison had more than forty Apostle Weapons in all kinds of shapes. Their similarity was that they were all mechanical lives that had existed for many years, so they had a lot of energy in their tinder, meaning they were very strong.

Han Xiao brought up most of his assets too, more than thirty Apostle Weapons led by Psionic Prime, which was more than one and a half times what he had before!

Han Xiao had obtained the Molding Talent (Billion Mechanic EmpireManison) from old Manison the last time they fought. Not only did it give him all kinds of attribute bonuses, it also increased a ton of core Mechanic abilities including (Apostle Life Creation] by six levels, meaning he could directly create six more Apostle Weapons!

Some time ago, Han Xiao had also built four new Universal Treasures and used the God’s Trait Transformation Points all on the Machinery side, increasing its level from five to nine. This also gave him a few more Apostle Weapon allocations.

Hence, Han Xiao had created about ten more Apostle Weapons while watching the situation of the Flickering War unfold. Although there was still some distance from the number of Apostle Weapons Manison had, it was not as large as the last time.

With my current strength, even without Character Summon Cards, I can match up to old man Manison and not just get beat up like last time.

While Han Xiao slashed at the Mechanic Emperor time after time, he was judging the strength difference between him and the Mechanic Emperor.

Every five stages of God’s Trait Transformation comprised one big stage. Although he had yet to receive the bonuses from stage ten, his God’s Trait Transformation Machinery was already four levels higher than before, which increased his strength by a huge extent.

Part of his strength difference from Manison was his inventory; he did not have as many high Grade machines as Manison. Another was the huge God’s

Trait Transformation difference, which was now greatly reduced. Although normal Beyond Grade A Mechanics could also obtain God’s Trait Transformation Points through building Universal Treasures, they did not have the interface and could not apply the points immediately. The God’s Trait Transformation Points they obtained could be considered a type of experience or understanding that could only be applied to increase the God’s Trait Transformation stages after they spent long periods of time digesting it.

Han Xiao, however, could apply the points instantly, meaning the digestion process was completely skipped, saving a ton of time. This was why he could become stronger in such a brief period. It was something no other Beyond Grade A could replicate.

Considering the large bonuses from (Billion Mechanic Empire), Titan Spinal Center, Gaeta Shockwave Fist, and several new Universal Treasures, Han Xiao speculated that his current strength should be around the same as his strength when he was in the explosive state the last time he fought Manison! The only part that was still weaker would at most be the basic attributes he gained through (Polar Channel FlowBlood Rage) and (Advanced Strengthened Life).

On the interface, the challenge mission for Mechanic Emperor had appeared as he expected.

Come to think of it, this was the third time he had seen this mission.

I’ll use my EXP too so that I can be as strong as possible.

Han Xiao glanced at the interface and spent most of his accumulated EXP into levelling up.

His level rocketed all the way to level 331 before stopping. The remaining EXP was not enough to level up again.

The bonus he received from leveling up now was not a lot at this stage, but every Promotion and evolution would still make him considerably stronger. Therefore, although Awakening Points had a bigger impact on his strength, he did not plan on using EXP on them for the time being.

After all, it was the final stage of Version 4.0. If he did not spend EXP elsewhere, he might be able to accumulate enough EXP to reach level 340 for a Promotion.

Boom!

Every clash between the Celestial Punishment Edge and the trident created powerful energy explosions made of psionic energy and golden thunder.

Feeling the force from every clash, Manison was surprised.

He clearly remembered that the last time he fought Black Star, Black Star’s Mechanical Deity’s strength in his normal state could not compete with him at all. From his past experience, if Black Star did not use that strange explosive ability of his, he should have been able to totally crush him. However, to his shock, they were on par!

What shocked Manison even more was that the number of Han Xiao’s Apostle Weapons had almost doubled. This was not something his explosive state could bring him; it was a display of his fundamental capability!

How the hell does this guy train?

Manison knew that Black Star was known for his quick growth, but he still could not understand it.

Ever since he was young, he had been a genius in the eyes of the people around him. He was the star of his race. He learned everything much faster than others, and no one could ever catch up to him. He surpassed all those who attempted to chase him in no time. He had never met any Mechanic genius that could match up to him.

However, this changed when he met Black Star. For the first time ever, Manison discovered he was no longer the genius.

Black Star seemed to be able to easily do things he could not do, and this created an emotion that he had never felt before in his entire life. It was bitter and sour.

Is this what people call jealousy?

Wait, why am I thinking about this?

Manison was shocked. It suddenly occurred to him that without him realizing, Black Star had shaken his confidence that he had built over countless years.

His eyes became firm as he instantly suppressed this emotion, cutting away all distractions and returning to a calm state of mind, focusing fully on the battle.

At this time, Han Xiao suddenly swung his blade backward. Like the string of a bow that kept getting pulled tighter, enormous force flowed from the joints of the Titan Spinal Center all over his body into his arms.

Strange hovering devices emerged from the surface of the Mechanical Deity, hovered around the blade, linked with each other, and formed a complex pattern that shined brightly with psionic energy, releasing energy simultaneously into the Celestial Punishment Edge.

A translucent blue light suddenly appeared on the blade like it was coated in a bubble.

As Manison was about to raise his trident and block the attack, Black Star’s deafening yell suddenly sounded in his private channel.

“Spatial Tremble-Gaeta Shockwave Fist!”

The next moment, the blade slashed down in an arc!

The force of this attack was much stronger than the attacks before!

Manison sensed it too. He quickly raised his trident and blocked it.

Boom!

Like two mountains clashing into each other, the blue light on the blade was shot out and exploded on Manison’s chest, blowing him away directly. Powerful shockwaves echoed inside his Mechanical Deity. Large cracks quickly appeared on the surface, and armor plates shattered one after another.

Manison’s energy flow staggered for an instant. He quickly adjusted and absorbed the mechanical soldiers nearby to repair the damage. He was stunned.

This attack was very powerful. He recalled that Black Star did not use this attack last time. It seemed to be a new Universal Treasure level combat technique that Black Star had learned recently.

However, what he was most irritated by was not the fact that he got forced to back away by a direct attack, but that he was not mentally prepared and was startled by Black Star’s yelling.

What the hell are you shouting about in the middle of a fight?

And you even fu*king sent me a private voice message just for that. Aren’t you a piece of sh*t?

And what’s with the flashy name, you think you’re a Pugilist?

Manison was extremely irritated.

Given the current situation, the two of us won’t be able to determine a winner shortly, which means the Dragon Emperor and the others can take their time finding the Soul Swapper. If he gets the Soul Swapper, there’ll be no point in me fighting him anymore… Looks like I’ll have to use more trump cards.

Manison’s eyes sparkled.

“What a powerful attack!”

At the edge of the battlefield, the manager of Planet Earth Ring and the garrison fleet watched the battle cautiously while being continuously astounded by it.

Although they knew how powerful Beyond Grade As were, watching a battle with their own eyes was not something any video footage could compare with.

“Luckily, we didn’t fight with the Mechanic Emperor before Black Star arrived, or we would’ve been wiped out by a single slap.”

The manager of Planet Earth Ring sincerely felt that his decision was very wise.

He turned to look at Ames and Hila, who were searching the planet, and looked confused.

“Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor seem to be looking for the same thing. What are they looking for that’s so valuable they’re using this many resources?”

At the same time, on the surface of Planet Earth Ring, countless people looked up, astonished, at the battle.

Two Mechanical Deities fought each other at full strength in space. The explosions lit up the dark universe and made things clearly visible even from the surface.

“Elder bro, w-what should we do now?”

Seeing this kind of destructive power, Jill and Warren were both stunned. Fear surfaced in their hearts instinctively.

Only now did the two of them realize how laughable and ridiculous it was to even think about making a move on Black Star back then.

Someone as strong as him would have turned us to dust just by blowing some air, yet we planned to take his body?

Thinking about it, we were basically committing suicide!

The two of them were the only ones who could use the Soul Swapper, and they had always believed they were the chosen ones. Hence, they had almost blind confidence in the Soul Swapper’s abilities.

However, when they finally witnessed the battle between peak Beyond Grade As this closely, they realized how completely ignorant they had been! It was not surprising. They had been imprisoned by the Modo Civilization for a very long time, and any information they received about the outside world was filtered.

“While their attention is diverted, we have to think of a way to leave. They really seem to be here for us.”

Seeing that Black Star had appeared too, Jill knew that things had gone wrong. At this point, he only had one thought in his mind.

Leave the Shattered Star Ring immediately, go as far as possible, and never come out again till we’re at Beyond Grade A!

At the same time, Ames and Hila were flying in the atmosphere. Hila released her soul senses and scanned the people on the surface over a large area.

While searching, the two of them also frequently looked at the battlefield in space.

“Looks like they’re on par for the time being. We don’t have to worry. Black Star will be fine for now,” Hila said softly and looked very tempted.

Seeing how intense the battle was between Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor, she felt the itch to join in. Ever since she got the Underworld dimension, she had never fought any Beyond Grade As at her fullest except for Black Star.

However, thinking of the thirty spars Han Xiao had promised her, she reluctantly suppressed her desire for battle.

Ames shook her head and said, “Let’s quickly find the targets. The earlier we find them, the earlier we can leave, so he won’t have to keep taking the risk of fighting the Mechanic Emperor.”

Seeing the battle, she had to admit that she indeed could not provide much help in a battle of this level and would be a burden instead.

Back when she fought Black Star, she had already accepted the fact that Black Star exceeded her, so she would not feel discouraged or anything.

However, the next moment, their expressions suddenly changed, and they simultaneously turned to look at the battlefield.

At this instant, the two of them sensed a few new Beyond Grade A energy sources suddenly flying out from the Mechanic Emperor’s secondary dimensional army box!

They were not the energy reactions of Apostle Weapons but actual Beyond Grade As!

“The Mechanic Emperor has more help?”

Hila stopped in midair with a solemn expression.

“We have to go back and help! We can’t watch the army commander get besieged!”

Chapter 1167: 7 Felon

Chapter 1167 Felon

Above Planet Earth Ring, the formations of a black and a white enormous mechanical army clashed with each other like two dragons tearing each other apart. From afar, shattered mechanical parts fell like a thunderstorm. Tens of thousands of machines were destroyed every second.

Despite their gigantic sizes, the two Mechanical Deities were swift as they fought each other. The power of every clash of their weapons could shatter a planet and leave terrifying wounds on each other’s bodies. The repair speed could hardly keep up.

The aftershock of every clash of their weapons shattered a ton of mechanical troops that got too close. Occasionally, one of the Mechanical Deities would get blown away, shattering countless mechanical soldiers in its path like an elephant rolling through a bunch of ants.

There were countless artilleries, psionic cannons, and dark energy cannons all over the two Mechanical Deities, blasting away at each other’s shields.

As the fight carried on, the energy reaction of the battlefield kept increasing and caused chain reactions. Clusters of dense dark blue energy clouds with destructive power appeared, forming a similar environment to the Psionic Seal Rings of the three Universal Civilizations’ mother planets.

The clash between highly dense energy turned the battlefield into an extremely condensed, highly unstable energy field, twisting even the trajectory of light beams and making direct energy beams look curved or even bent.

Looking at the cosmic space through this battlefield was like looking through a strange layer of glass. All the stars had thousands of reflections that formed irregular shapes. From one glance, it was as if the universe was being shattered!

Clank!

The weapons clashed once again. Intense shockwaves penetrated the both of them. They stepped back and distanced away from each other at the same time.

Han Xiao looked at the Celestial Punishment Edge in his hands. There were a few cracks on the blade.

However, the ninth-generation Black Star Alloy was mixed into the Celestial Punishment Edge. Although its tenacity was not as high as the material that the Mechanic Emperor had invented, it had some of Han Xiao’s traits, so its recovery speed was faster in comparison, and the Celestial Punishment Edge’s durability would recover over time.

Not a lot of time had passed since Han Xiao’s arrival, but due to how fast both of them were, they had already fought for tens of thousands of rounds.

“You really are a magical person. When someone thinks they’ve studied you thoroughly, you always bring more surprises.”

Manison’s electronic eyes flickered. He looked down and inspected his equipment too. He had a rather complicated feeling.

The energy absorption Universal Treasure armor he had built based on Black Star’s Indestructible Body was already heavily damaged. Putting aside the fact that this equipment was not perfected, Black Star’s attacks were much stronger than before, which already exceeded the limits of this equipment.

Furthermore, every time Black Star used anything with the ‘Gaeta Shockwave Fist’ suffix, he would harass him in the private channel.

Manison had been counting. Up till now, Black Star had used that a total of twenty-seven times, all with different names and different ways of attack. Even with the knowledge he had, he still felt this technology was quite interesting

The damage to the Mechanical Deity was not an issue since it could be repaired by absorbing mechanical soldiers. However, some of the damage penetrated the Mechanical Deity and landed on his Lord’s Avatar at the Mechanical Deity’s core, causing his Lord’s Avatar’s durability to drop quite a bit. Manison’s avatar clearly had no Indestructible Body, so it would be over once it was shattered.

“You won’t be able to live up to your arrogant words like this. How about show me what you’ve really got if you want to take the Spacetime Amber away from me?”

Han Xiao swiped his hand over the Celestial Punishment Edge’s blade, quickly repairing the cracks, and smiled at old Manison.

“… We’re Virtual Mechanics, but your combat method is more like Mechanical Pug… ahem, Armed Mechanic. You’ve taken the wrong path, kid,” Manison said coldly.

“Does it matter if I can fight?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“You’re right. There’s no limitation on power itself. Being able to fight is more important than anything else… That is why, I’m going to show you the true power of a Virtual Mechanic.”

Manison raised his arm and pointed his trident at the light gate of the secondary dimensional army box.

The next moment, the light gate rippled, and a large group of special mechanical soldiers flew out. It was his signature move—the Mechanic Empire, special mechanical soldiers built with AI lives.

However, the most eye-catching thing was not the Mechanic Empire but the three people in front of it. Their Beyond Grade A energy presences were not restrained at all, like three Fixed Stars in Han Xiao’s senses.

Han Xiao looked over. These three individuals were of different races, and their biological flesh was mixed with mechanical devices. It was clearly highly advanced mechanical prosthetics.

Intricate machinery covered all of their bodies. Most of their skin was changed into special alloy, and their faces were changed into metal masks, completely taking away their past appearances, only showing their modified electronic eyes that shone with red light.

“So, these are the Felons…” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

The Felons were old Manison’s last trump card. Using highly advanced biological engineering and mechanical prosthetic technology, he modified living Supers into powerful war weapons.

The organs of these Felons would be modified too, especially their brains. Through mechanical technology, he simulated biological tissues and changed their mind into something that could be artificially read and written on, changing their fundamental logic.

At the same time, using Virtual Technology, he uploaded the Felons’ consciousness to the quantum network, modifying their soul into Virtual Souls. Then, like other artificial intelligences, they became immune to all psychological and mental attacks, following his orders while maintaining their combat experience.

After the modification, Felons would keep most of their original abilities. As most of their flesh was modified or swapped out, they would not be as strong as before. However, because of the modification, they could enjoy part of the Mechanical Force bonuses from their controller. Although the conversion rate was not as high as the ordinary mechanical soldiers, they actually became even stronger than before!

“Modifying the living bodies of Beyond Grade As? Aren’t you afraid of the advanced civilizations and the development union causing trouble for you?” Han Xiao was crystal clear of the situation, but he still acted like he did not know anything on the surface. “Hehe, they are all my trophies from before. I have the right to do whatever I want to them. I built them long before the association was formed. As for the three Universal Civilizations, do you think they are completely unaware?” Manison’s tone was calm.

All the Beyond Grade As that were defeated by Manison had gone missing, so of course, the advanced civilizations and the Beyond Grade As had all kinds of speculations about it. Although they did not know of the Felons, they did suspect that the Mechanic Emperor had been doing such experiments. The Mechanic Emperor’s image as a research maniac was too strong; it was hard to imagine he would not study the Beyond Grade As that fell into his hands.

After all, he did not have the Spacetime Amber, which allowed him to open an exhibition like Black Star.

Manison basically never used this trump card because others would know more about it every time he used it. Also, he hardly met any enemy that needed him to use the Felons.

And Black Star was one of the extremely few that he had felt the need to use this trump card on.

Buzz!

Mechanical Force shot out and linked the three Felons.

The red light shined bright in the eyes of the three Felons, and their energy presence rocketed.

Buzz!

The Felon in the middle shivered, also released Mechanical Force and pulled the mechanical troops of Mechanic Emperor around him toward him.

The next moment, an enormous machine appeared. It had a humanoid appearance but also parts of a beast, five spear-like tails, and sharp claws extending from its fingers. It looked very grim and vicious.

The third Mechanical Deity had appeared!

Han Xiao’s eyelids jumped.

This meant that the original identity of this Felon was a Divine Throne Mechanic who had mastered (Composite Mechanical Deity)!

He could not help but think of the first time he met the Mechanic Emperor. Back then, old Manison mentioned that it was another Beyond Grade A who was behind the incident of his AI civilization, and he had turned him into part of his collection. Could this Felon be that guy?

Boom!

While he was speculating, this half-beast Mechanical Deity suddenly sped up and charged at him, its claws aiming for Han Xiao’s head.

Han Xiao responded immediately. He turned the blade of the Celestial Punishment Edge and slashed toward it.

Clank!

The two mechanical bodies clashed and trembled. The power of the half-beast Mechanical Deity was weaker, and it got blown away.

However, before Han Xiao could chase after it, he saw the half-beast Mechanical Deity swung its five tails and wrapped them around the Celestial Punishment Edge and the arm that was holding it. This enormous pulling force made Han Xiao stagger!

As for the enemy, not only did it prevent itself from getting blown too far back, it even closed the distance and got dangerously close to Han Xiao. Its claws wreaked havoc on Han Xiao’s armor, creating multiple claw wounds.

At the same time, Manison seized the opportunity and struck from the side. Han Xiao’s movements were severely disrupted, and he was not able to block it. His Mechanical Deity’s wrist got penetrated from front to back. “Hiss!”

The intense pain from the neural network made Han Xiao inhale deeply.

He could stay evenly matched against Manison alone, but he was not strong enough to fight two enemies at the same time.

This Mechanic Felon received Manison’s Mechanical Force bonuses, so its Mechanical Deity was extremely powerful. Even though it was not as strong as his or the Mechanic Emperor’s, it was not far from it. Even if he had to fight this Mechanical Deity one on one, he would still have to spend some time to defeat it.

Han Xiao turned around and saw that the other two Felons did not attack him but instead led the Mechanic Empire and charged into his mechanical army, tearing open his formation like a blade through butter.

One of these Felons seemed to be a Pugilist, and another seemed to be an Esper. They were unstoppable among the army, crushing Apostle Weapons one after another.

If this carried on, these two Felons would be able to dismantle all of his Apostle Weapons in less than two hours.

“Such astonishing strength…” Han Xiao sincerely felt this way. The Felons’ strength exceeded his expectations.

“Do you realize now how big a mistake it was to decide to fight me? I warned you, but you’ve disappointed me time after time!”

Psionic energy erupted from Manison’s trident and blasted Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity in half.

The half beast Mechanical Deity instantly tore the chest of the Mechanical Deity open and snatched Han Xiao’s original body out from inside, grabbing him in its hands. At the same time, its five tails swung everywhere to destroy the mechanical soldiers around, preventing them from assembling into a Mechanical Deity again.

Han Xiao tried to struggle but could not escape the Mechanical Deity’s hands. Although his original body was not afraid of getting killed, he could not match up to a Mechanical Deity.

However, he did not panic at all. He looked up at the enormous Mechanical Deity and tutted. “The weakness of this ability is very clear. You need to bear the energy cost for three extra Beyond Grade As. How long can you last?”

“So what? Will it take that long to eliminate you?”

Manison did not deny this weakness.

The Felons lost a lot of cells that could produce energy for them after they were modified mechanically, so in order for them to still have Beyond Grade A strength, that energy they lost had to be provided. This had to come from Manison.

Although the special prosthetic and energy conversion technology used on the Felons allowed Manison’s Mechanical Force to be converted into energy that these Felons with different classes could still use, the conversion rate was no joke. For example, if a Felon used 100 points of energy, Manison had to spend 130 to 170 points of energy. Therefore, he could not last very long. Now that he used three Felons, he basically had to bear the energy consumption of five to six Beyond Grade As, including himself. If not because his energy recovery speed was extremely quick, he would have been sucked dry in seconds. Even so, the balance of his recovery cycle was tipped over, and his energy was dropping visibly. “You’re right. If this was before, I’d most likely have no choice but to run, sadly…”.

Han Xiao shook his head. Not only did he not panic, he even almost burst out laughing.

Old b*stard Manison, I have been waiting for you to use this!

You thought I’m only going to get your talents today?

My (Virtual Purification, Restore) has been waiting for a long time!

This time, Manison raised his enormous mechanical arm and wanted to take Han Xiao from the half-beast Mechanical Deity. However, halfway through, his arm was suddenly grabbed by the half-beast Mechanical Deity’s claw tightly and could not move further.

“Hmm?” Manison was confused. He looked at it and wondered, “What are you…”

Bang!

Before he finished, five tails dashed over and stabbed all into his face!

The Mechanical Deity was taken by surprise. Its brain exploded and turned into countless metal fragments!

The entire Mechanical Deity was sent out flying. A large wound was on its neck.

What happened?

The sudden change made Manison lost. He was appalled.

Why has my Felon suddenly turned against me?

Chapter 1168: Crushed!

Chapter 1168 Crushed!

The Felon’s sudden attack completely took Manison by surprise. He subconsciously thought that the Felon malfunctioned, so he instantly tried to give it a new order again.

However, the order got absolutely no response at all. This Felon also did not chase after him but stood still instead, letting go of its hand and allowing Han Xiao to break free.

“What have you done?” Manison was filled with rage and could no longer maintain his cool.

Everything had pros and cons. While the Felons’ consciousness became virtual, immune to mental abilities, and followed all his orders, it also meant that someone could take over them through virtual methods. However, this was exactly why Manison had set up extremely intricate virtual firewalls inside the Felons’ brains. If Black Star used Virtual Intrusion, there was no way the firewall would not react to it, and he could not have possibly done it so fast!

Logically, Black Star’s Virtual Technology could not even break through his virtual firewall. There should have been no way he could take control of the Felon! Therefore, he was certain that Black Star must have used some kind of ability that he did not understand, which was even more unbelievable to him. This was the first time he had used the Felons in front of Black Star, so why did he have such a specific method to deal with them?

This time, Han Xiao patted his chest as if patting away non-existent dust. He then said calmly, “In your own words, I’m going to show you the true power of a Virtual Mechanic!”

This was the first time he had used (Virtual Purification-Restore) in actual combat. This ability he had obtained from the Intelligent Plague mission was basically the nemesis of the Mechanic Emperor.

Based on the usual steps of Virtual Intrusion, if he wanted to rewrite the Felons’ logic, he would have to break through Manison’s virtual firewalls one after another and have a tough fight with old Manison in the Virtual world.

The amazing thing about (Virtual Purification

— Restore] was that it completely ignored any virtual firewalls. There was no need for any hacking at all. This ability could not freely rewrite the target’s logic. Its effect was only to help the artificial intelligence recover its fundamental logic. For example, it would have no effect on Apostle Weapons. However, on targets whose consciousness had been modified by virtual technology such as the Felons or the Mechanic Empire, it had an astonishing effect and instantly removed the Mechanic Emperor’s control over them! Earlier, when he fought with the Felon, he had already gotten its combat information and seen that the Felon had kept more than half of its original abilities and talents. This was what was incredible about the Felon technology.

These abilities came from the memories of the Felons, and they would only know how to use them if their memories were intact. If their memories were completely wiped away, so would their combat experience, meaning most of their abilities and talents would disappear too. The Felon would most likely become a white board with only raw strength, and without the essence of what made them strong, they would become tremendously weaker.

This was also the reason (Virtual Purification, Restore] could work.

Han Xiao turned to look at the enormous half-beast Mechanical Deity, which had already recovered its self-consciousness but still looked lost.

His combat memories are basically the only memories he has left, so he most likely doesn’t remember who he is. But looking at his actions from earlier, he’s probably hostile toward the Mechanic Emperor. Han Xiao’s eyes flickered as he thought.

The Felons were all once the Mechanic Emperor’s enemies. Even without most of their memories, some things were buried in the bones, such as feeling furious when they saw the Mechanic Emperor.

Without the disruptions, Han Xiao’s body quickly assembled into an enormous Mechanical Deity.

He did not say much to the Mechanic Emperor. He just swung his blade, aimed at the other two Felons and the tons of Indestructible Mechanic Empire troops, and used (Virtual Purification-Restore).

The next moment, the Pugilist Felon and the Esper Felon suddenly stood still and looked lost.

This was not the case for the Indestructible Mechanic Empire. They were artificial intelligence lives to begin with; only their logic was rewritten like they were trapped and could not control their own bodies. Now that they had regained consciousness, they were only stunned for an instant before immediately turning around and firing at Manison’s mechanical army with incomparable rage.

Manison’s mechanical army was in chaos!

Han Xiao did not forget about the virtual aspect of the battle. Ever since the start of the battle, the two of them had been continuously trying to snatch control from one another on the virtual network. Manison had also dispatched a group of artificial intelligences from his artificial intelligence civilization to attack Han Xiao’s territory.

As the dim light of (Virtual Purification, Restore] swept by, these artificial intelligence lives instantly recovered and immediately led Han Xiao’s data stream to snatch control of Manison’s mechanical army!

“This is…”

Manison opened his eyes wide with extreme shock. He was completely stunned.

What the hell kind of ability is this?

The Felons and the Indestructible Mechanic Empire were two of his extremely important trump cards. However, in front of Black Star, not only were they broken down in seconds, but they even got taken over by him!

Black Star definitely did not have this ability the last time they fought!

Without hesitation, he wanted to use virtual technology to rewrite the logic of the Felons and the Indestructible Mechanic Empire on the spot. However, Han Xiao was not going to let him. Also using virtual technology, Han Xiao once again started the tug of war with Manison to prevent him from regaining control of his troops.

At the same time, Han Xiao ordered his mechanical troops to continue attacking while taking in the Indestructible Mechanic Empire troops and leaving the battlefield.

“Sh*t!”

Manison realized what Han Xiao was planning to do. He wanted to snatch away his ace troops!

In such a dire situation, even Manison felt lost for an instant.

Seeing the situation on the battlefield, he knew that there was no room for any hesitation. He instantly cut off his Mechanical Force link with the Felons and the Indestructible Mechanic Empire.

Now that these troops had turned on him, there was no way he was going to continue providing them with bonuses and waste his own energy. At the same time, he ordered the remainders of his mechanical army to recapture these troops that had become traitors.

Clank!

Without an energy supply, the half-beast Mechanical Deity could not maintain its body and instantly fell apart, turning into tons of mechanical troops that were about to take the Mechanic Felon away.

Of course, Han Xiao was not going to watch this happen. He extended his gigantic mechanical arm, tore through the defenses of the mechanical army, and grabbed the Mechanic Felon who was still dazing off. Then, nanoparticles flowed in his palm, and he directly absorbed this Felon into the Mechanical Deity.

He tried to give the Felon energy, but the interface showed that he did not meet the requirements. He had to master the Felon technology and be above level 340. Only then could he use the special prosthetic of the Felons to convert his Mechanical Force into their energy. This requirement was similar to the Felon blueprint he had obtained before.

Han Xiao did not mind it. As long as he could take a sample back with him, he could go home and study it slowly to derive the blueprint.

“You motherfu…”

Seeing this, even with Manison’s class, he was still filled with a burning rage and wanted to cuss.

Every Felon was a unique product that he had built through blood and sweat, and watching one of them getting stolen right before him by Han Xiao made his heart bleed.

“Come on, don’t get so angry. Don’t you still have two more? What’s the big deal in giving me one?” Han Xiao said with a mocking tone.

Hearing this, Manison’s lungs almost burst from rage. You piece of sh*t!

If I don’t crush you today, I won’t call myself Palpatine!

Without another word, Manison attacked with his trident like a thunderstorm, almost not putting any focus on defense at all. He was clearly enraged.

“Haha, this is how Mechanics should fight. Come!”

Han Xiao laughed.

I just love exchanging wounds! He activated (Polar Channel Flow— Blood Rage). Burning blood gushed out from his heart and shot out from his pores, turning into a thick and dense blood energy. As his health plummeted, his attributes continued to increase.

Explosive power filled his entire body. The blue-gold Mechanical Force received a tint of red too. His Mechanical Deity looked vicious.

At this moment, just with his own abilities, he was already stronger than before when he activated the double Mechanical Senses and The Ancient One Character Cards!

The effect of The Ancient One was an additional twenty Intellect, and extra Perfect Mechanical Sense multiplied his Machinery Affinity by 1.4 and increased the levels of all Mechanic abilities by four. [Billion Mechanic Empire-Manison) on its own increased his Intellect by fifteen percent, his Machinery Affinity by 1.2 times, and his Mechanic abilities by two levels. At the same time, it also gave him six additional levels on a ton of core Mechanic abilities, as well as an extra bonus when fighting any machinery of ten percent to all attributes and damage dealt, a fifteen percent reduction to damage taken, and a twenty-five percent reduction to energy and stamina consumption!

Just (Billion Mechanic Empire—Manison) alone almost gave him as many bonuses as one more Perfect Mechanical Sense and The Ancient One!

Plus, he now also had four more Universal Treasures and was four stages higher on God’s Trait Transformation Machinery…

“I’m going to crush you today!”

Han Xiao took no step back and let the trident penetrate his chest as he cut off Manison’s right shoulder. The two of them fought viciously like two gigantic beasts tearing each other apart.

Ames and Hila had just arrived at the edge of the battlefield. They both stopped when they saw this.

The two of them were originally worried about Han Xiao getting outnumbered, but now it seemed like there was no need to worry.

“He doesn’t seem to need our help.”

“Then let’s go back and continue searching.”

While the two of them were about to turn around, Han Xiao’s voice suddenly sounded in the communication channel.

“Hila, keep searching. Ames, stay.”

Hearing this, Ames was slightly stunned.

“For what?”

“See those two Beyond Grade A prosthetic bodies that are surrounded by the mechanical army? Grab them with your ability.” “Didn’t you just say I’m a burden and wouldn’t let me help?” Ames raised her brows.

“It was to trick the enemy.” Han Xiao was not ashamed at all.

“Humph, I knew you need me.”

Ames smiled and was in a much better mood. She joined the battle immediately. She grabbed the two Felons with her force field and started dragging them away.

Under Han Xiao’s influence, she did not mind joining a duel at all.

Originally, Manison made the mechanical army surround the two Felons with everything they had, stopping Han Xiao’s troops and trying to recapture the Felons to take them back to the secondary dimensional army box once again. The two Felons did not have full memories, but they still had their combat experience. Noticing that the Mechanic Emperor wanted to capture them again, they naturally resisted. However, without a source of energy, they became much weaker and got overwhelmed by Manison’s Apostle Weapons. If this had carried on, they would have been captured.

However, as Ames joined in, the situation changed. Her force field Esper Ability was incredible at crowd controlling. It instantly tore the defenses of Manison’s troops open and allowed Han Xiao’s mechanical army to charge in and help the Felons.

Seeing this, the expression of Manison, who was fighting with Han Xiao, instantly changed.

You piece of sh*t, what happened to one on one?

Thousands of curses rushed to the tip of his tongue. In the end, they all combined into one sincere, enraged shout.

“Black Star, you’re shameless!”

“We’re in the middle of a fight. Don’t flatter me.”

Han Xiao was not affected at all, even being in the mood to make a joke. He had already reached the highest duration for the challenge mission of Manison. The mission was shown as completed now, so there was no need to continue taking a private class from old Manison.

Furthermore, now that Manison’s Felons and Indestructible Mechanic Empire had gone out of control, they were basically a huge piece of cake placed right in front of him

Of course I’m going to ask for my friend to help. Why would I still fight you alone? Did you really think I’m such a battle maniac?

You are now basically a box of treasure!

Boom!

The blade slashed onto the pole of the trident, emitting a ring of shockwave. Han Xiao raised his brows and mocked, “Yo, weren’t you going to fight me head-on till the end? Why have you started guarding?”

Manison remained silent and changed his combat style entirely the next second. He moved from one extreme to another and went completely defensive, clearly wanting to stall for time.

At the same time, his mechanical army gave up on fighting back and focused on retrieving the Indestructible Mechanic Empire troops and the Felons.

It was clear that Manison no longer wanted to decide a winner between him and Han Xiao. All he wanted was to reduce his losses as much as possible. “Now you want to retreat? It’s too late!” Han Xiao sent multiple ‘Getta Hadoken’ messages over privately and started his all-out attack on the elderly. After just a while, Manison was showing signs of defeat all over as he had to minimize the losses of his troops. Swoosh!

A wa

The blade spun and picked Manison’s Lord’s Avatar out from inside the Mechanical Deity.

Han Xiao instantly used a powerful restraining beam and pulled Manison’s Lord’s Avatar toward him. He then punched forward with his enormous metal fist. Due to the tremendous difference in size, not only did the Lord’s Avatar not fly out, but it got stuck on the fist.

“Plate!”

Ames understood instantly. She controlled her force field and created an enormous force field barrier in front of the Mechanical Deity like a green wall. They clearly had very high synergy.

Han Xiao’s fist slammed right onto the barrier with Manison’s Lord’s Avatar on it.

Boom!

Enormous, visible spider-web cracks instantly erupted on the force field barrier!

Manison was in the middle of it. The Lord’s Avatar was almost flattened.

Still, he did not fight back and was focusing on controlling his mechanical army to throw his Universal Treasures back into the secondary dimensional army box and reduce losses.

The next moment, the Celestial Punishment Edge was raised. A bright dark blue light appeared on its blade as it slashed right down accurately onto Manison’s Lord’s Avatar.

Boom!

The force field barrier shattered into countless light-green fragments and disappeared.

Given the Celestial Punishment Edge’s size, this could not really be called a slash. It was more like throwing a mountain onto an ant!

Han Xiao looked up and saw that Manison’s Lord’s Avatar had already turned into a pile of floating waste. On the half of its metal head, the electronic eye flickered a few times before completely dimming. The Mechanical Force on it also slowly dissipated. (Lord’s Descent) was deactivated.

Without Manison’s Mechanical Force, the secondary dimensional army box instantly shrunk and disappeared.

The troops that had yet to escape all remained there. The golden electronic light on them disappeared as they lost all Mechanical Force bonuses and got surrounded instantly.

“Humph, told you I was going to crush you today!”

Han Xiao felt exhilarated.

Throughout his life, he had experienced losses against the Mechanic Emperor way too many times.

Even though he was the final winner of the Intelligent Plague incident, without those dozen Mechanics who came to stop the battle, he probably would have lost against the Mechanic Emperor back then too.

This time, however, he had finally triumphed completely!

Chapter 1169: I Might Not Have Earned a Lot, But You Definitely Lost a Ton

Chapter 1169 I Might Not Have Earned a Lot, But You Definitely Lost a Ton

Without the Lord’s Avatar, Manison could no longer keep the secondary dimensional army box open, leaving the rest of the mechanical army with no reinforcements.

Even though Manison could still provide the Mechanical Force bonuses through Quantum Infinite Distance Transmission Channel if he wanted to, it would be meaningless. Almost all of his troops had been seized by Han Xiao. There was no way he could turn the situation around.

Han Xiao asked Phillip to do a count. Other than the millions of normal mechanical soldiers, he also seized two Felons and a ton of Indestructible Mechanic Empire troops.

Old Manison had started to minimize his losses as soon as he realized the situation had turned bad. The Apostle Weapons had run the quickest and all managed to escape, and he had just managed to snatch the Esper Felon back in the end. As for the other two Felons, one was captured by Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity, and he could not bring the other one away because of Ames.

“Nice, nice!”

Han Xiao was filled with joy.

He could reverse engineer the blueprints out of all these mechanical soldiers, especially the two Felons. He could totally derive the technology used. While he had made a huge fortune, old Manison had suffered tremendously. He had come to find the Soul Swapper. Not only did he not get it, but he even lost a ton of assets.

Han Xiao could vividly imagine Manison’s furious expression right now, and damn did it feel good.

He had finally robbed Manison big time!

However, that left him with some trouble too. The two Felons had regained their self-consciousness, so he had to deal with it. Han Xiao released the Mechanic Felon inside the Mechanical Deity and let him rendezvous with the other Pugilist Felon. He then surrounded the two of them with his mechanical troops.

Seeing this, the two Felons instantly got into a defense stance, but none of them made a move. Although they could not remember many things, after experiencing the battle earlier, they knew that Han Xiao had saved them. However, they could not trust Han Xiao yet and were worried they might have walked out of a tiger’s den and into a wolf’s nest.

Han Xiao deactivated the Mechanical Deity, passed through the encirclement, and approached the two of them. He narrowed his eyes and asked, “How much do you guys remember?”

The two Felons exchanged looks and shook their heads.

“I see, so nothing other than the battle earlier. What about your names?”

The two of them shook their heads again.

“No names… only code names…”

“What code names did the Mechanic Emperor give you guys then?”

The Mechanic Felon pointed at himself and then at the other Felon.

“I’m Two. He’s Four.”

II

11

Hearing these two names, Han Xiao did not know what expression he should give.

Why is Manison so ‘whatever’ in choosing code names? It doesn’t suit their identity as trump cards at all!

Could it be that this b*stard’s level of naming things is on par with me?

Looks like even the weaknesses of great people are similar.

Han Xiao rubbed his chin, pondered for a moment, and said, “Alright, you guys should follow me for now. I’ll find your identities for you. You were both the Mechanic Emperor’s enemies, so it shouldn’t be that hard.”

The Mechanic Felon Two said quietly, “You are not going to control us like he did, are you?”

“I’m not planning to at the moment, but that might change in the future.” Han Xiao shrugged. “But you don’t have a choice now, do you?”

Looking at the countless mechanical troops around them, the two of them nodded.

Comparatively, they would not have an even worse time in the hands of this handsome and extraordinary man.

If this man wanted to replicate what the Mechanic Emperor was doing, he would not have said so much to them and would have captured them long ago. “Who… are you?” Four asked.

“Listen carefully then. The man who stands before you is the army commander of the Black Star Army, protector of the Aquamarine Federation, peak of individual greatness of the Shattered Star Ring, leader of the second strongest organization in the Flickering World, pillar of the Crimson Dynasty, Special Consultant of the three Universal Civilizations, vice president of the Beyond Grade A Association, hero of the universe who defused the Intelligent Plague, owner of the Galaxy Medal…”

“Your name is too long. I can’t memorize it all.” Four shook his head.

“…Ahem, these are all my titles. You can simply call me Black Star.” Han Xiao knew that the two of them did not know who he was, so the more titles he mentioned, the more intimidating he would look.

The two of them exchanged looks and nodded.

They did not have anywhere else to go for the time being anyway, so they did not mind following Han Xiao. Among their few remaining emotions, their hostility toward the Mechanic Emperor was the strongest. They might only have the chance to take revenge if they followed this person before them, or once they were alone, they would be captured by the Mechanic Emperor again.

Han Xiao chatted with them for a while and told the mechanical troops to take them back to the spaceship. He had yet to decide on what to do with the Felons who had regained their self-consciousness, so he decided to keep them under his control and think about it later when the matters at hand had been dealt with.

He looked at the other side and saw that the Indestructible Mechanical Empire troops were gathered at the side and staring at him. Inside the quantum network vision, these artificial intelligences who had recovered were also looking at him, clearly ready to run away if they noticed anything was wrong. After experiencing the disaster of the Mechanic Emperor, these artificial intelligences had figured out how the food chain worked. Every Mechanic was a predator in their eyes; there was no such thing as trust.

Han Xiao thought about it. With his position, it would not be good for him to talk to these artificial intelligences. It would be like a butcher telling a bunch of pigs that they were pretty. It would definitely cause misunderstandings.

Therefore, after some pondering, he summoned Risda in the virtual domain.

“I’ll leave your people to you. Just don’t let them run wild.”

“Understood!”

Risda was overjoyed.

How many years has it been? The day my people are freed has finally come!

Although the process was tremendously different from his imagination of charging into the Mechanic Emperor’s nest, the results were positive.

Even though only some of his people were saved, at least he could see hope!

Choosing Black Star back then was indeed the right investment!

Seeing that Risda had gone to communicate with his people, Han Xiao only then looked away and shook his head. He was not optimistic.

Unlike the Felon technology, recovering back to normal did not mean complete freedom for these Indestructible Mechanical Troops. This was because the shells of these artificial intelligences were still linked with the device that transported their recombination materials. Through the energy transmission channel, Manison could still locate them. Unless the terminal was dealt with, these artificial intelligence lives were prisoners locked inside their shells. Once their shells were broken, Manison could retrieve them any time he wanted.

This was a security measure of the Indestructible Mechanical Troops technology. Han Xiao had yet to master this technology, so he did not know how to break the link.

Therefore, the one and only effective solution at the moment was to keep these Indestructible Mechanical Troops at home. There was no chance he could take them out to battle; Old Manison would never help him to rebuild these mechanical troops with his own resources in his lifetime.

Winning the fight was one thing. Old Manison was still a master who had studied machinery for countless years, so his signature technology would not be dealt with this easily.

Han Xiao was not hoping to fight with the Indestructible Mechanical Troops anyway. Firstly, the players under his command were much more terrifying. Secondly, he was not in dire need of the Indestructible Mechanical Troops technology, as the powerful factor of the Indestructible Mechanical Troops was its almost perfect self-sufficiency, which he could already achieve on his own.

Rather than modifying artificial intelligence lives into Indestructible Mechanical Troops, he would rather restore them and use them to derive the fragmented blueprint of the Domino Virus… That thing’s destructive power was many times stronger than the Indestructible Mechanical Troops.

Regardless of whether he could not use them for the time being, making the Mechanic Emperor unable to use them too was the main goal. Of course, these Indestructible Mechanical Troops were not completely useless to him. They were all important intelligence sources. He could ask about the state of the Mechanic Emperor’s various bases.

While he was pondering, Hila’s voice suddenly sounded in the communication channel. “Black Star, come here quickly. We’ve found the target.”

“You’ve found the Soul Swapper? Great job!”

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

He did not forget that the Soul Swapper was the true goal of this trip. Now that he had locked down Planet Earth Ring, he was not going to stop until he found it. With an expert in the soul area such as Hila and the aid of a few kings of luck searching every inch of the planet, there was nowhere the Soul Swap Twins could run. No matter how mysterious and magical the Soul Swapper was, they would get discovered sooner or later.

As soon as Han Xiao returned to the spaceship, he saw the two people who were tied up in the middle of the room. They were both female and had looks of despair on their faces.

“These are the Soul Swap Twins?” Han Xiao looked at Hila and Feidin. “You sure you got it right?”

“Definitely.” Hila took out a dark crystal mirror and passed to Han Xiao. “They’ve confessed to everything. This is the Soul Swapper.”

Han Xiao took over the Soul Swapper and looked at the item details on the interface.

Soul Swapper: Space Wonder type item. Unknown origin. Unknown material. Able to swap souls around as the user wishes, ignoring any rejection symptoms and achieving a perfect fit. However, only special individuals are able to use the Soul Swapper. Requirements: Unknown.

Another Space Wonder, and something I never saw in my previous life… Han Xiao was content. “How did you guys catch them?”

The people all looked at Harrison as soon as he said that.

“Don’t look at me. I just casually pointed…” Harrison waved with embarrassment.

“… Okay, got it.” Han Xiao’s lips twitched.

There seemed to be a difference between luck auras too. For example, Harrison’s was incredibly effective in finding treasures.

No wonder the Soul Swap Twins looked like they had lost all hope. They had changed shells countless times and planned countless steps ahead, but in the end, they had lost to luck. Anyone would go mad. Han Xiao turned to the Soul Swap Twins and asked, “How do you use this?”

“We’re the only two people in the entire universe who can use the Soul Swapper, and we’re willing to work for you!” Jill quickly said. “You’ve actually always been my idol! It would be our honor to work for the army!”

At this time, ambitions, hope, and whatnot had all vanished.

Jill only had one thought left-use the fact that they were the only ones who could use the Soul Swapper as leverage to join Black Star’s forces so that they could live!

Seeing this, Han Xiao tutted in his mind. Their praise is so rigid. Clearly, they’re not very skilled.

“You said that you’re the only two who can use the Soul Swapper in the entire universe?”

“It’s true. I’m not lying to you. The Modo Civilization has tested trillions of people. Only two of us are able to use it. We’re born for the Soul Swapper!”

“You never know till you try. Tell me, how do you use it usually?”.

The two of them had no choice but to explain how to use the Soul Swapper.

Han Xiao followed it and got no response, only a notification on the interface.

Detecting… complete. You are not qualified to use the Soul Swapper.

“Looks like I really can’t use it.”

Han Xiao studied it for a while but got nothing. The interface did not show what requirements he had to meet to be qualified.

He then passed the Soul Swapper to Hila and said, “You guys, don’t just stand there. Come and give it a try.”

Hila casually tested it and got no response as well. The rest followed one after another.

Looking at this, Jill and Warren still faked their enthusiastic expressions, but a tint of mockery flashed through their eyes.

No matter how many times you guys try it, we’re the only masters of the Soul Swapper! After a while, seeing that they still kept trying, Jill could not help but stress, “Like I said, we are the only qualifiers, no one but us can use the Soul Sw… what?”

Before he finished, his eyes widened, and he froze in place.

Black ripples appeared on the mirror of the Soul Swapper, devoured Feidin’s palm whole, and kept sucking it in. “Hmm?” Feidin only noticed it after a while and said with surprise, “Did I succeed?”

“That’s it?” Han Xiao raised his brows. “Looks like the requirements aren’t that tough.” “Yo-Yo-You-You…”

Jill and Warren were stuttering, their eyes wide open. They could not believe that a qualifier out of trillions of people had just appeared right in front of them!

The two of them had thought that they were the unique chosen ones, but this completely shattered their sense of superiority!

Not only did the Soul Swapper that the two of them saw as a holy relic find a new love right in front of them, but it even looked extremely thirsty like it wanted to suck Feidin in completely!

At this instant, the two of them went completely blank as if their wife who had promised everything to them suddenly rushed into the arms of someone else.

Han Xiao shook his head. “Tested trillions of people and only the two of you qualified. This only proves one thing… just how short of talent the Modo Civilization is.”

Jill instantly realized that things had gone south. If they had no value, even staying alive would be a luxury.

Having thought of that, Jill yelled, “We’re still useful! We can pass on the experience of using the Soul Swapper for so many years. We can even tell you what missions the Modo Civilization has sent us to do over the years. We can…”

Ka-cha!

Before he finished, his yelling stopped abruptly. His head spun 360 degrees around. His neck was twisted into a knot, and the shattered neck bones penetrated his neck skin.

Ames walked into the cabin and flipped her fingers. Her force field twisted Warren’s neck too before terror could even fully appear on his face.

She looked around. her eyes stopped on Han Xiao, and she said, “The lives of these two are mine.”

“Spoiled woman…” Han Xiao murmured. “If they’re alive, they might spit out quite a lot of intelligence.”

Ames was never sensible when Aesop’s safety was threatened. She did not even want the Soul Swap Twins to breathe for an extra second.

Hila narrowed her eyes, raised her hand, and made a grabbing gesture. Two gray clusters of fog rose from above the Soul Swap Twins’ heads and entered the Underworld mark on the back of her palm.

“I’ve taken their soul. When I get something from the interrogation, I’ll report to you.”

“Nice.” Han Xiao gave her a thumbs up.

“What about this thing?” Feidin pulled his arm out of the mirror of the Soul Swapper.

“Since you can use it, bring it with you. I’ll study it later.”

Han Xiao did not mind. He trusted Feidin completely, so letting Feidin carry the Soul Swapper was not a problem. He was in a great mood, so he did not mind these small things.

Han Xiao was overjoyed. “Not only did I snatch away a Universal Treasure, but I even got more surprises from old Manison…”

On the other hand, Manison’s situation was at the end of the other extreme-the subsidiary organizations he had left in the Shattered Star Ring were almost all exposed, he did not get the Soul Swapper, and he even lost a load of trump cards. “Assh*le!”

Manison was furious as he slammed and shattered the table in front of him.

He considered himself a casual and well-mannered person who usually never cussed… unless he could not control it.

The reason he had always been calm and casual was that in the past, no matter how much of his mechanical army he lost, it did not matter because he had all the mechanical troops in the world and that loss was negligible in comparison.

Today, however, he was really hurt.

He never got angry because he was not hurt enough, and now that he was, he was enraged. Thinking of the fact that two Felons had fallen into the hands of the enemy, Manison’s heart was bleeding more than when he lost the Virtual Mutiny Virus core back then.

This was his trump card of trump cards. He had planned to use it to teach Black Star an unforgettable lesson, but never did he expect Black Star to snatch them away!

Even now, Manison still had yet to figure out how Han Xiao did it.

Furthermore, after wasting so many resources, he did not even catch a glimpse of the Soul Swapper. He was close to exploding with rage.

His emotions rarely fluctuated at all. However, after meeting Black Star in the past decade or so, that streak had been completely shattered.

“Black Star! Argh!”

Manison’s furious screams echoed in the room.

Chapter 1170: Anyone Can Be the Mechanic Emperor

Chapter 1170 Anyone Can Be the Mechanic Emperor

“Thank you, Your Excellency Black Star, for your help. We’ll certainly relay the help you’ve given to Planet Earth Ring today to the upper echelons.”

Inside the cabin, as Han Xiao told his subordinates to get rid of the Soul Swap Twins’ corpses, he received a communication request from the Planet Earth Ring manager. “It’s no big deal.” Han Xiao waved.

“No, no, it was only thanks to your help that the Mechanic Emperor’s evil deeds were stopped. On behalf of the Razo Civilization, I would like to thank you for your help. Please do stay and let us thank you!”

The Planet Earth Ring manager’s tone was passionate.

Having just witnessed such a marvelous battle, Han Xiao’s image was extremely tall in his heart. He did not dare show any disrespect and hoped to leave a good impression, so his attitude was respectful and enthusiastic.

Furthermore, the Mechanic Emperor coming to cause trouble would affect his political performance, and Black Star defeating the Mechanic Emperor did him a big favor. Black Star might not care, but that did not mean he did not care.

“No need, I’ll be leaving after the battlefield is cleaned up.” Han Xiao shook his head.

“Alright then, please inform me the next time you come to Planet Earth Ring. I’ll display the utmost hospitality.” The manager of Planet Earth Ring was full of appreciation. “There’ll be chances in the future.”

Han Xiao chatted with him for a while before hanging up the communication. He told Phillip to save his number into the contacts book, where he stored the communicator numbers of all the people he knew till now, forming an enormous network.

He saved not just the numbers of important people but also the numbers of less significant people from various industries. Everyone had their specialties, so they might be of help some time in the future.

Although the quantum network of the planet was in lockdown, everyone on the planet had witnessed what happened. God only knew how many videos had been taken. Once those videos got out, Han Xiao’s reputation would certainly grow once more.

After the Intelligent Plague incident, the three Universal Civilizations had continuously promoted his achievement of reaching a tie with the Mechanic Emperor. However, due to it not being completely true at the time, although the effects were quite good, it was not nearly perfect.

This time, however, the recordings of him destroying the Mechanic Emperor’s avatar head-on would be the most reliable proof!

Increased reputation was not even the most important. What was most important was that now that the Mechanic Emperor had lost to him this time, he would lose a ton of Machinery Faith believers!

It did not matter even if he lost a few times because he was much younger. However, as the known ‘Strongest Mechanic’, Manison losing had a completely different meaning. It would be disastrous for his reputation.

There was no such thing as a loyal fan in the Machinery Faith. They believed in whoever was stronger.

If Manison lost his title of being the ‘strongest’, tons of believers would turn to Han Xiao instead. Manison would become weaker while he would become stronger!

Speaking of becoming stronger, Han Xiao remembered that he had yet to receive the reward for the Manison challenge mission.

The mission was a usual Beyond Grade A challenge mission, giving rewards based on the time he lasted.

Since everyone was there, Han Xiao could finally do the full ‘Pet Dragon Touch Feidin Rub Nero Touch Harrison’ procedure.

Han Xiao went by them one after another. Harrison was the only one shivering with fear; the other three were used to it. Only then did he open the interface while being stared at by Hila with a strange look.

(Beyond Grade A Challenge Mission – “Mechanic Emperor” Manison) complete!

You have completed all the mission requirements and received 108 billion Experience.

You have received (Character Summon Card: ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison).

Character Summon Card: ‘Mechanic Emperor’ Manison. (Ancient One]: Your long life has provided you with a wealth of valuable experience. +20% INT, +10% MYS, +2 levels to all skills. Last 24 hours. Usages: 0/2

“Ancient One again?” Han Xiao was surprised.

If he remembered correctly, this should be the third time he had earned this ability from old Manison’s Character Summon Card. It was quite a strong advanced talent, so why did he get it so often?

Was it fated that he was meant to be an elderly with rich life experience?

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He then looked at the part where he could draw one of Manison’s talents or skills. This was the most important part.

You have received: Draw one of Manison’s abilities/talents.

Note: Manison is a Virtual Mechanic, and your Class is completely compatible with his. You will be able to draw any of his abilities or talents. If you draw an ability or talent that you already possess, that ability or talent will be enhanced.

Randomizing… complete! Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

[Apostle Life Creation] – Ability: Lord Mechanic ability, you can modify the target machine into an ‘Apostle Weapon’, granting it tremendous combat capability enhancement. Basic allocation: 3. Allocation is increased by 1 every level. (You already possess this ability, can be enhanced.)

(Multidimensional Mind Model] – Talent: Changes the calculation method of your mind and increases the data processing speed of your brain. +1,000 INT, slightly increases your casting speed, Virtual Technology strength…

[Mechanical Race Battle TechniqueGuerrilla) – Ability: One of the combat modes passed down in the Mechanical Race. It focuses on high mobility long range guerrilla combat. This includes 744 responses for different situations. When activated, the mechanical army will receive the following effects: +15% mobility, +8.8% ranged attack damage, -5% defense.

(Blueprint-Virtual Mutiny Virus (Incomplete)] – Ability: A product Manison created by imitating the Virtual Mutiny Virus, yet to be completed. It is not fully functional, far from perfection, and cannot be put to use.

(Virtual Technology Innovation-Manison] – Talent: You have made improvements to your Virtual Technology and found a new direction. +1.75% Virtual Technology related abilities, grants special effects when an innovation is discovered in the Virtual Technology area.

“Yoho, another Unique Talent!” Han Xiao was overjoyed.

He had seen this Unique Talent on the interface the first time he met the Mechanic Emperor. The bonuses of (Virtual Technology Innovation-Manison) were quite amazing. Plus, it seemed to be a crucial foundation to mastering the Indestructible Mechanical Troops technology. Manison used this ability when modifying the artificial intelligence lives.

If he got this ability, he might really make some breakthrough in studying the Indestructible Mechanical Troops technology.

He looked at the other four abilities-none of them were as impressive. After all, no way he could get as lucky as the last time every time.

Maybe it was because there were too many people here today who were blessed by the Goddess of Luck and she could not satisfy them all at once.

However, since there was another Unique Talent, he could not consider himself unlucky.

He already had (Apostle Life Creation). (Multidimensional Mind Model] was a mediocre talent. 1,000 points of INT was powerful at lower levels, but it was ordinary at his current level. [Mechanical Race Battle Technique-Guerrilla] was a strategy-type ability for the mechanical army, like giving the mechanical army a formation response for different situations. This type of ability usually did not give a lot of bonuses; (BlueprintVirtual Mutiny Virus (Incomplete)] was even more useless. This was nothing but a mimicry Manison had yet to fully complete, while he had the original Domino Virus technology.

Since the other four options were nothing extraordinary, Han Xiao chose the fifth option without hesitation.

You have received the talent (Virtual Technology Innovation-Manison)!

Another Unique Talent… I might really become the second Manison if this carries on.

Han Xiao tutted.

He then felt his new ability for a while before turning off the interface and glancing outside the window.

At this point, his troops were still cleaning up the battlefield, seizing Manison’s mechanical soldiers batch by batch. This was a huge fortune if changed into Enas. At this time, he felt a message on the quantum network. Risda was contacting him.

As he entered the Virtual Domain, he saw that Risda had come to him with a large group of artificial intelligence lives.

“Black Star, I’ve spoken with my people and clarified the situation. They’re all willing to trust you. In order to not get captured by the Mechanic Emperor, everyone is willing to follow you for the time being, hoping that you can take care of them,” Risda said with joy.

“Your people have made a wise decision.” Han Xiao looked satisfied.

An artificial intelligence life who seemed like the leader stepped out and said, “Lord Black Star, we all hope to return to what we originally were as soon as possible. We don’t want to be restrained anymore. Therefore, everyone has decided to fully cooperate with you and help you to derive the modification technology the Mechanic Emperor has used on us, only hoping we can be of use to you.” “Very good!” Han Xiao laughed.

The cooperation of these artificial intelligence lives was necessary to derive the technology of Indestructible Mechanical Troops. Since they were willing to cooperate, it was great news.

“Also, we’re willing to tell you everything we know about the Mechanic Emperor. Whatever you want to know, we will tell you to our best knowledge.”

“That’ll be very helpful.” Han Xiao nodded.

After being used by Manison for so many years, the Indestructible Mechanical Troops definitely knew some valuable secrets, which would be of great assistance to him.

These artificial intelligence lives were so cooperative probably because they knew he was the only one they could rely on now, and they needed his power to save the rest of their people. Many artificial intelligence lives were still in Manison’s hands, especially the forefather of the AI civilization, Finette.

Beep beep…

At this time, a notification popped up on the interface. It was a new round of the [Reboot) mission, also the last round.

Han Xiao glanced through, and his eyes sparkled. “The requirement of the last round is to completely free the AI civilization… Whew, the rewards are quite generous!” The reward of the last round was a Milestone Talent called (Ally of Artificial Intelligence Lives), and the effects of it were the enhanced version of (Affable AI].

Han Xiao also saw the hidden reward—if he could save the entire AI civilization, they would become his powerful allies in the virtual territory.

Also, completing the (Reboot) series mission was also an amazing opportunity to make Manison weaker.

However, Manison would definitely have learned a lesson this time. Before Manison figured out how he did what he did in their battle, there was no way Manison would use these two trump cards in front of him again.

In order to save the other artificial intelligence lives, the only way was to charge into Mechanic Emperor’s nest and destroy the terminal of the Indestructible Mechanical Troops technology.

All kinds of thoughts flashed past. Han Xiao smiled and said, “Settle your people. When we return to my territory, I’ll arrange to give you guys a planet to live on.”

“Thank you, Black Star.” Risda nodded solemnly.

Exiting the quantum network vision, Han Xiao let out a deep breath. He was filled with joy.

At this time, Ames came before him and softly asked, “What are you planning to do next?”

“I’ve got what I came for. The twins are dead too, so next, of course, we need to deal with the one who’s behind this.”

“When do we act?” Ames could not wait. “You promised to bring me this time.”

“Hmm, no hurry, let me think about it.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Since he knew that the Modo Civilization was the mastermind behind this, there was no way he was going to let this go easily.

It was time to teach the Modo Civilization a painful lesson!

Chapter 1171: This Cannot Be Called a Betrayal

Chapter 1171: This Cannot Be Called a Betrayal

Without the information lockdown, two days later, the video footage of the battle over Planet Earth Ring exploded on the internet extremely quickly, shocking and attracting the attention of the galactic residents.

The Black Star Army’s search notice was quite famous lately, the entire galactic society thought Black Star was just looking for someone. Quite a number of them even took part in it. However, they never expected something so shocking to happen while they were not paying close attention.

Was Black Star not looking for someone? Why did he suddenly fight the Mechanic Emperor‽

Most importantly, he even won!

Due to the Mechanic Emperor’s stand being exposed in the Intelligent Plague incident, his reputation had plummeted. However, his strength position was hardly shaken at all. Although the three Universal Civilizations had been promoting the tie, since there was not enough firm evidence, the promotion was not very effective.

However, with Black Star’s strength, at least people would not laugh at it, although they knew it was probably not completely through. Everyone only supported it because Black Star had made a tremendous contribution to the universe, so no one would step out to object it.

This time, however, the video footage recorded the entire process without anything missing. Black Star basically emerged victorious in a duel, proving the authenticity of his achievement and shocking everyone.

The powerful image that the Mechanic Emperor had built in countless galactic residents started to fade, while Black Star’s image became taller, gradually snatching away the Mechanic Emperor’s reputation.

In the many decades in the past, the Mechanic Emperor had given the impression that he never seemed to incur a loss anywhere at all. However, in less than a year, the Mechanic Emperor lost twice, both against Black Star!

Black Star had risen out of nowhere. In a few short decades, he had achieved legendary things one after another, becoming the publicly recognized most eye-catching Beyond Grade A of the century. The influence of this achievement was even greater than the one before. Through this incident, the majority of the galactic society could feel that times were changing. It seemed like a new round of the new taking over the old was taking place right in front of their eyes.

Of course, being shocked was one thing. Most galactic residents were more confused as to the cause of this incident. They were curious why Black Star had fought the Mechanic Emperor.

The whole galactic society knew that these two were the president and the vice president of the Beyond Grade A Association, and the purpose the association claimed to have was to defuse physical conflict between Beyond Grade As. However, now the president and the vice president had taken the lead to break that rule. In the eyes of some, they wondered if this meant that the development union was just a facade and that these individuals with great power would never settle down.

Quite a number of the galactic residents had stereotypes about Beyond Grade As that were embedded deep in their bones—they both respected and feared them, yearned to be like them but also hated them. However, Black Star was one of the extremely few exceptions.

About this incident, one version of the conspiracy theories was the most widely spread, claiming that the Mechanic Emperor was definitely plotting something evil in secret, and Black Star stopped him once again. After what happened with the Intelligent Plague, the Mechanic Emperor’s good reputation had gone completely bad. As soon as he did anything that was a little over the line, the public would subconsciously assume that he was planning some conspiracy that would hurt the entire universe again.

This kind of image did not come out of nowhere. The recordings clearly showed that the reason the Mechanic Emperor locked down the planet was to search a fugitive. It was tough not to associate the identity of the fugitive with Aesop, for whom Black Star Army had been searching.

This way, many people suddenly ‘figured it out’ and felt that everything connected.

The Mechanic Emperor discovered that Aesop had gone missing, so he wanted to secretly kidnap Aesop to threaten the Dragon Emperor and Black Star!

This guy is such an *sshole. This was clearly an internal affair of the Black Star Army, yet he wanted to kidnap their family, despicable!

This conspiracy theory seemed very logical. More and more people started to agree with it. On the network, it seemed like the Mechanic Emperor became a notorious public enemy overnight.

Of course, for a rumor to spread this fast, there were undoubtedly people behind it, from more than one party in this case too. Those organizations who had beef with the Mechanic Emperor or did not like the Mechanic Emperor were all secretly helping to spread the news. Judging from the Mechanic Emperor’s reputation in the industry, it was not difficult to guess who these people were.

A few days after the rumor had fermented, the Black Star Army finally publicized a short announcement, which pushed the incident to a new height.

The Black Star Army claimed that they had already found Aesop and discovered that Aesop did not go missing on his own will but was kidnapped. They had already found that the Mechanic Emperor was one of the culprits who assisted in the kidnapping, and the mastermind behind this was the Modo Civilization. The army stated that the possibility of further action was not ruled out.

Of course, the wording of the official announcement was subtle, but the galactic society could all clearly see what Black Star was saying between the lines.

You piece of sh*t, playing dirty behind my back? Just you wait!

…

“It’s confirmed. The Soul Swapper has fallen into Black Star’s hands…”

Inside the secure conference room of the Modo Civilization, the atmosphere was so tense that everyone present found it difficult breathing.

They knew that the real reason Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor fought was the Soul Swapper, and the Mechanic Emperor had confirmed personally that Black Star had obtained the Soul Swapper.

Initially, Modo did not know Manison’s goal was the Soul Swapper. They thought that they had kept the secret well, so finding out now was too late.

Even though the Mechanic Emperor’s motive was not pure, the one who got the Soul Swapper in the end was Black Star, so there was no point holding the Mechanic Emperor responsible for anything. The partnership they had might even end because of it.

Comparatively, Modo would have preferred for the Mechanic Emperor to get the Soul Swapper, but it landed in the hands of Black Star. To them, this was the worst possible result.

“The Soul Swapper is way too perfect for sending spies. If Black Star infiltrates the upper echelons of the expedition army, that place will become a black hole that will devour all the manpower and resources we send,” the army upper echelon said with a grave expression.

“He’ll do that for sure. The Black Star Army’s announcement is his declaration of war. We will be receiving even stronger attacks. Black Star might even participate personally.”

“All we can do is think of ways to eliminate the Soul Swap Twins so that Black Star can’t use the Soul Swapper,” one of the Modo Three Kings said with a deep voice.

Since there was no source of information, they did not know that the Soul Swap Twins were already dead. The Modo upper echelons’ speculation was that Black Star would also be using the Soul Swapper through the Soul Swap Twins, so the plan of eliminating the Soul Swap Twins was brought up once again.

Hearing this, the others nodded and expressed their approval. They felt that this was one of the very few plans that could be carried out right now.

Of course, if the plan failed, they had to suffer the consequences. The Modo Civilization knew the risks involved. They could only blame themselves for not being lucky enough to win the bet. The most important topic to discuss at the moment was how to deal with Black Star’s counterattack. Black Star gave them way too much pressure, and everyone was worried sick.

If they had known these chain reactions would happen, they would not have tricked the Kunde Race into attacking the Crimson Dynasty. They had lost much more than they gained, and the upper echelons present were filled with regret.

Their Super Star Cluster allies were completely unreliable. They were reluctant to deal with this mess Modo had made and wanted Modo to deal with Black Star alone. They did not want them to cause any more problems that would affect their overall strategy. However, this was clearly impossible. No one would be willing to give without returns. Modo would not just rot in this horrible situation. They would certainly come up with plans for themselves.

Due to the difference in stands, what the Modo Civilization did was completely dreadful to the other Super Star Cluster civilizations. Not only did they not hold Black Star back, but they might have even caused him to take part personally. Therefore, the unhappiness of the Super Star Cluster allies was imaginable.

An upper echelon hesitated before cautiously saying, “There’s no point in discussing this anymore. Judging from our current situation, if things go even worse, maybe we will have no choice but to exit the Flickering World competition…”

“No way!” The Modo Three Kings’ voices were firm. “As long as there is even a tiny chance, we will give everything we’ve got and never exit the Flickering World competition!”

As soon as he said that, the rest hastily agreed to express their political correctness.

However, in their hearts, not every upper echelon really agreed with it. Of course, fighting for the civilization’s future was important, and none of them minded working hard for it. However, if the price of that was that their initial position would be affected, indirectly damaging the power and position in the universe of these people, the attitude of many upper echelons would become rather ambiguous.

The members in the leading level had changed time after time since the exploration era. Although the spirit of fighting till the end was still somewhat there, their philosophy still leaned more toward being conservative. This was unavoidable.

Compared to those upper echelons who grew in blood and fire, not all the upper echelons now had such an admirable sense of responsibility. No system could restrain selfishness… What happened to the civilization later was just a matter for the future; people who lived in the moment cared more about the present or the power and position they could enjoy while they were alive.

To some people, if there was nothing that could be done, maintaining the current state of the Super Star Cluster civilization was not a bad choice. After all, those who were willing to take one path and walk to the end of it were not the majority.

…

In a certain temporary base of the Machinery Faith in the Ancient Star Desert, Zax changed into his best formal clothing, looked into the mirror, folded his mechanical-oil stained sleeves, and staffed a few hard paper plates into his collar to straighten them. After a whole five minutes, he finally pushed the door open and walked in the direction of the Holy Mountain Temple at the heart of the city. On the way, he saw batches of well-dressed Machinery Faith believers who were walking in the same direction, smiling and nodding at each other.

The Machinery Faith continuously migrated around the universe. Every Grand Priest would manage one migration team. Every once in a while, the Grand Priests would host a festival at the same time. All the believers from various places would wear their best clothes to attend. This was one of the cultural practices of the Machinery Faith.

Zax was an ordinary believer. His position was a heavy mining armor operator. He originally worshipped Manison, but after the Intelligent Plague incident, he had changed and started to worship Black Star.

Because of that, he received quite a lot of rejections from his neighbors, as believers worshipping the same person would choose to live in the same area most of the time.

Although the Machinery Faith supported complete freedom in beliefs, ordinary believers who were completely unaffected were still the minority. Therefore, Zax, who publicly changed his belief, was the most conspicuous where he lived. Although the neighbors would not do anything, they would definitely not be friendly to him.

This was especially clear when it came to his good friend Modir, who was a loyal believer of the Mechanic Emperor. After Zax changed to worship Black Star, Modir came to persuade him many times, which always ended in intense debates. The topic of the debate was the authenticity of that tied battle, which Zax felt was reliable while Modir insisted it was fake and just a method to make the Mechanic Emperor look bad.

They could not convince each other, and gradually, they stopped seeing each other. It had been many days since they spoke.

While pondering, Zax followed the crowd to the temple square while maintaining a faithful mindset. He took the festival items from the priest and then walked to the Black Star Temple. Every Mechanical Deity had their own sub-temple.

While on the way, Zax noticed the difference. In the past, there were hardly any Black Star believers. Although the numbers did increase after the Intelligent Plague incident, there were still very few, at most one-tenth of the number of believers the Mechanic Emperor had. The other sub-temples were always quiet, far from the festivity of the Mechanic Emperor Temple.

This time, however, he was pleasantly surprised to realize that there were many times more believers who were heading toward the Black Star Temple.

“More and more people are agreeing with me. I knew my choice was right. Black Star is more worth worshipping than the Mechanic Emperor.”

He walked into the Black Star Temple filled with happiness. The inside was extremely boisterous. Many times more believers gathered compared to before, so much so that people might mistake this for the Mechanic Emperor Temple.

Very soon, Zax completed a full set of festival procedures. As he was just about to step aside for the person behind him, he suddenly caught a glance of someone familiar.

“Hmm? Modir? Why are you here?”

Hearing someone call him, Modir turned around. When he realized that it was Zax, his expression turned unnatural. He quickly covered his face with his hand and walked away.

Seeing this, Zax instantly caught up to him, grabbed his arm, and refused to let him get away.

“What a coincidence, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Zax’s expression was filled with mockery.

“Hehe, it’s coincidental indeed. I wanted to go to the Mechanic Emperor Temple initially, but silly me, I got lost.” Modir’s smile was stiff.

“The Mechanic Emperor Temple is in the opposite direction. How did you get lost? Did you just follow the crowd, and because there are many people here, you went the wrong way?” Zax said mockingly.

“Yes, yes, that’s right.” Modir quickly agreed.

“Then… what’s this!” Zax suddenly reached into Modir’s pocket and took out a mechanical item. It was a statue of Black Star that was made to be placed inside homes for worshipping. He looked at the distressed Modir and chuckled. “Don’t tell me you bought the wrong one. You’d have to be blind to do so. Tell me the truth, did you also betray the Mechanic Emperor and change to worship Black Star?”

“Nonsense! Betray what?” Modir’s face was blushing fully as he tried his best to justify himself. “Can this really be considered a betrayal when it comes to believers?”

Zax chuckled with derision and did not speak.

Being stared at by an old friend, Modir quickly became less confident. He softly murmured, “Don’t laugh, alright. I admit it. I’ve started to worship Black Star.”

“Yo, now you admit. Why were you still quibbling earlier?”

“Misunderstanding… It’s all a misunderstanding…” Modir’s face was burning red.

The two of them had debated the topic dozens of times. He had insisted that Black Star was inferior to the Mechanic Emperor. However, the recordings of Black Star cutting the Mechanic Emperor’s avatar into pieces a few days ago slapped his face so hard it was swollen. Hence, he secretly scolded the Mechanic Emperor and changed his belief. He was afraid of getting laughed at, so he hid the fact that he had changed his beliefs, which was why he was avoiding his old friend.

Seeing him like this, Zax shook his head with dissatisfaction. “You have clearly only just started worshipping Black Star. A complete newbie, you don’t understand the essence of it at all.”

“The essence?” Modir was very interested but was too embarrassed to ask further.

Zax placed his hands on his waist and said confidently, “Humph, look at you, getting awkward and embarrassed in the face of something so trivial. Shameful, what part of that looks like us Black Star believers? As believers of Black Star, you cannot have other things, but your skin must be thick!”

“That’s a saying?” Modir’s eyes opened wide.

“Of course! This is the attitude to life that Black Star has taught us. Often, you feel like you’ve embarrassed yourself, you feel awkward, but… who cares about how you feel? Don’t be so narcissistic!”

“Huh?” Modir opened his mouth wide, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

“Shut up. Don’t ask so many questions and let me tell you the doctrine.” Zax stared at him.

“… But I haven’t asked anything‽”

“Ahem, anyway, as believers, we have to learn the incredible parts of our idol. Black Star’s thick skin is known throughout the universe. Look at me. I didn’t even move house. I don’t care what they say. If they dare come and debate with me, I’ll take it as teaching them a lesson. Look at you, you’re already worshipping Black Star, yet you’re afraid of letting others know. Unqualified!”

“Sounds sensible… Is there anything else I should be aware of?” Modir humbly asked.

“Of course. Black Star told us that a qualified Mechanic should train his body every day and get a strong physique!” Zax folded his sleeves and showed his large biceps.

Doctrines and rules were all set by people. The believers would pick out the specialties of their idols and see them as the creed of their religion. As for the specialties of Black Star, they showed a new world to quite a number of believers and broke the old concepts.

It turned out that a real Mechanic should measure himself with the standard of a Pugilist.

As long as you have a strong physique, you can make up for your weakness, use yourself as a trap, and lure the enemy to get close!

Black Star had already proved through actual battles that this was a more advanced combat strategy!

The news of Manison being defeated by Black Star for the first time caused the Mechanic Emperor to lose a ton of believers. Many changed to worship Black Star instead. Suddenly, the popularity of bodybuilding swept through the Machinery Faith. Bodybuilding equipment was always sold out. The same thing was happening in many different residential areas of the Machinery Faith.

…

“Black Star is becoming stronger and stronger…”

In the Limitless Financial Group subdivision, Sorokin looked at the news with a grave expression.

Even with his harsh standards, the Mechanic Emperor was very powerful. Black Star had gotten quite a beating from Manison just a decade prior, yet now he could make Manison lose head-on, twice even.

As someone who might know who Sorokin really was, Black Star being this strong was not good news for him.

“With Black Star’s current strength, if I want to eliminate him, I’ll have to take back all the Soul Seeds and regain my full strength. But if I do that, this body won’t be able to hold it and will basically be destroyed. I’ll have to change my identity again…”

Sorokin walked back and forth, annoyed.

Among the many Beyond Grade As, some wanted fame, some wanted power, some wanted strength, some had no desire… while he just wanted to make money.

Throughout the years, in order to achieve all kinds of plans, Sorokin had changed his identity time after time. This time, however, he could not let go of the identity of the leader of the Limitless Financial Group. He had spent way too much effort to obtain this large sum of money.

…

Meanwhile, in the returning fleet of the Black Star Army, after Han Xiao had finished dealing with the chores and had the free time, he finally remembered about testing the Soul Swapper. Hence, he called Feidin over and temporarily took back the Soul Swapper.

His fingers caressed the mirror and tried to press in but could not at all. No matter how much strength he used, the Soul Swapper did not give in. It was the complete opposite of how it actively tried to suck Feidin in.

“Since only some are qualified to use you, let me see what on earth you are…”

Han Xiao activated [Bold Explorer].

Chapter 1172: Origin of the Soul Swapper

Chapter 1172: Origin of the Soul Swapper

Images in his sights quickly changed. When Han Xiao regained focus, he was already hovering above an enormous planet.

Looking down from outer space, this planet was vast and emerald green in general. Bright cities spread across the surface of the planet. It looked like a rather prosperous civilization.

Through the satellite technology, Han Xiao could roughly judge that this civilization was still at the surface civilization stage with both technology and magic systems, attempting to develop toward becoming a galactic civilization.

The lights on the surface flickered quickly like it was fast forwarded. Countless days seemed to have passed in seconds. At this time, the fast forwarding suddenly stopped and returned to normal as if a certain destination was reached.

The next moment, a sudden change occurred on the planet below him. He saw that in a city area on the surface, the ground suddenly started trembling violently. Then, an enormous seven-fingered palm appeared from the ground.

An enormous titan-like giant used its wide back to break through the ground covering its head and stood up like a colossal pillar, bringing up large portions of the ground. It was like someone had grabbed a tablecloth at the middle; the buildings on the ground fell and shattered like the plates on a table.

Crawling out of the ground, the thousands-of-meters-tall body of this gray giant finally appeared. Just the aftershock of it breaking out of the ground destroyed more than half of this city.

He walked toward the mountains, causing chain earthquakes with every step. As if absorbed by some kind of power, countless stones crawled up his body from his feet, condensing and forming layers of black protective carapaces like armor.

Very soon, the combat jets of this civilization arrived at the scene and fired nonstop at this giant. Countless explosions erupted on its body, causing close to no damage at all. This giant casually swung his arm, creating massive shockwaves, crushing the fighter jets into pieces of waste metal that turned into fireworks.

At the same time, Han Xiao saw that similar situations occurred the same time at more than a dozen other locations. Lives walked out one after another from underground, all with different appearances. There were giants, gigantic beasts, and some that were difficult to describe. Some appeared deep in the mountains, some in the desert, and some in the sea. It was like they had all awakened simultaneously.

An Ancient God awakening-type disaster? Han Xiao thought.

This was a rare kind of disaster. The term ‘Ancient God’ was a general name for powerful individual beings. It did not have to be a life form. Even mechanical life forms were counted. Simply put, this type of disaster was when a certain powerful individual that had been sleeping in a planet for countless years suddenly awakened due to some reason, causing destruction to the civilization that had developed.

There were mainly two causes for this. One was that the ‘Ancient Gods’ landed on this planet many years ago and entered a sleeping state. They were aliens. Another was that the ‘Ancient Gods’ were the native lives of this planet. The latter would usually have some connections to the religions on the planet.

If Han Xiao was to plant Apostle Weapons the size of Giant King Kong on a planet and set for it to awaken millions of years later, should a civilization develop on this planet, it would also be considered an ‘Ancient God awakening’.

The footage did not stop while Han Xiao was pondering. The time sped up once again for a while, showing that the civilization used all kinds of modern weapons but did not have any effects at all. Even mushroom clouds could not kill these Ancient Gods.

They seemed to have different supernatural powers. Other than fighting back, they would not attack the civilizations’ troops deliberately. Instead, they would continuously use their powers to trigger changes to the planet’s environment, causing disasters such as volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, plate drifts, magnetic field shifts, global temperature increase, and so on, seemingly attempting to build a planet that was suitable for themselves. However, such drastic environmental changes were fatal to this civilization. Hence, there was no chance of coexistence. They had no choice but to keep attacking these ‘Ancient Gods’, hoping to stop them.

During which, more ‘Ancient Gods’ awakened. They seemed to be the true ancient masters of this planet. The population of this civilization plummeted. They gave up one city after another, shifting toward the land with the fewest ‘Ancient Gods’. They called it the ‘Final Land’.

This time, however, an opportunity suddenly appeared.

As they knew ‘Ancient Gods’ were awakening from underground, this civilization went all out to dig into the ground, hoping to capture an individual that had yet to awaken. In the end, they actually really found one close to ten thousand meters below the Final Land. However, this individual had died. It was just that its body did not rot or shrink.

This civilization was overjoyed. They formed research teams hoping to find the weakness of ‘Ancient Gods’. However, the more they studied and researched, the more hopeless they got. All evidence proved that with their current weapons, there was absolutely no chance of killing the Ancient Gods.

In Han Xiao’s eyes, these Ancient Gods were at the Calamity Grade. They seemed to be of a rare race. Due to their extraordinary Racial Talent and enormous body, they were stronger than usual Calamity Grades, mainly tougher and tankier. It would not be difficult for a Calamity Grade to wipe out a surface civilization, and to this civilization, this many special Calamity Grade lives far exceeded what they could deal with.

In despair, someone had a flash of insight and made a suggestion—since their current weapons were ineffective, they could find a way to modify this Ancient God corpse and make it into a weapon to fight the other Ancient Gods.

Left with no other choice, hardly anyone in the civilization objected to this idea; they could only give it a try. However, their opinions split on the topic of controlling method. Ordinary remote control would not suit high-intensity battles. The tremendous load of nervous connection required at least thousands of pilots, which would undoubtedly reduce its mobility, and their artificial intelligence technology was not advanced enough.

In the end, this civilization decided to carry out multiple plans at the same time, one of which was to invent a device to swap souls, allowing their souls to exit their weak bodies and enter the corpse of this Ancient God to control it. This way, they would be able to use the abilities of this Ancient God to its fullest with a chance of obtaining its supernatural power.

“This is… Ultraman‽”

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

At this time, his sights suddenly zoomed in. He came to an enormous lab. The corpse of the Ancient God was hung up. Layers of scaffolding covered its body to modify it and plant all kinds of mechanical weapons.

On the ground were teams of soldiers wearing white clothes. A mechanical plug was planted in the backs of their heads. Cables extended from them and connected them to an enormous device hovering midair.

This enormous device hovered in front of the Ancient God corpse’s head. Its launch port was a black crystal mirror that was pointed at between the brows of the corpse.

Ka-cha!

Han Xiao saw the lab personnel push the handle on the control table. The next moment, he heard people falling to the ground. All the white-clothed soldiers fell down to the floor. Dim clusters of light entered the device through the cables. Right after that, an eerie black light shot out from the crystal mirror and entered the Ancient God from between its brows.

Time passed minute by minute, but the Ancient God corpse did not show any response. Disappointment and frustration appeared on many researchers’ faces.

Suddenly, the entire underground lab trembled. Cracks appeared on the walls. More than a dozen enormous tentacles shattered the walls, and between the rolling soil, a gigantic silhouette approached. It was one of the Ancient Gods that had a semi-plant body. It looked like a combination of Venus Flytrap and an octopus, swimming through the ground like it was a swimming pool.

However, at this instant, the Ancient God corpse suddenly opened its eyes.

Han Xiao’s sights flashed and returned to the office on the spaceship. The illusion from [Bold Explorer] stopped abruptly.

He processed what he had seen.

“There’s quite a lot of information…”

If he had seen correctly, that enormous device was the initial form of the Soul Swapper, and the crystal mirror was the Soul Swapper that was in his hands. God only knew what mutation it had undergone in the long years for it to become a Space Wonder.

Han Xiao recalled the appearance of the race of that civilization and searched in the database, but he did not find any matches. Even the Spacetime Research Council, which focused on collecting information on lost civilizations, had no records.

“Looks like this is a civilization and race that has yet to be discovered. It might be in the unexplored universe, or it could be an even more ancient lost civilization. Could it have existed in the same era as the civilization that created the Domino Virus? I wonder what happened to this civilization next.”

Han Xiao was quite curious. Sadly, the cooldown for [Bold Explorer] was fourteen days.

According to the illusion shown, the plan to use the Soul Swapper to control the Ancient God corpse seemed to have worked. The souls of these soldiers should have merged into one. The corpse did not rot, but the soul had disappeared long ago, so there was not much resistance. The shell successfully accepted the new soul…

“Hmm‽”

At this instant, a flash of insight exploded in Han Xiao’s mind like a lightning bolt.

After Hila’s interrogation of the Soul Swap Twins and the tests Feidin had been carrying out, he had a brief understanding of the functions of the Soul Swapper. He knew that this thing could swap souls and ignore the body’s rejection to a very large extent. This meant that if the target was a shell that had no soul, he could easily ‘revive’ it.

This meant that…

Han Xiao took out the Spacetime Amber, his eyes glowing.

He suddenly realized that the functions of these two things seemed to fit perfectly!

He could use the Soul Swapper in a very special way!

“Black Star, what are you laughing about? Why is your laughter so…” Feidin stopped and did not say the word ‘perverted’.

“Ahem!” Han Xiao quickly coughed. “I’ve thought of something good.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing, none of your business.” Han Xiao lifted the Soul Swapper in his hands. “I’ll be taking this to do some experiments. I’ll return it to you afterward.”

“No problem.” Feidin hesitated for a moment before saying, “Actually, there’s one thing I’d like to ask you to help with. As you know, although Psychics can shift their souls, the risk is extremely high, which is why Chen Xing has been living in my body. Now that there’s this Universal Treasure, there won’t be any risks anymore, so I plan to get her out.”

“For what? Doesn’t mental reproduction feel great?”

“You say it as if you’ve tried.” Feidin was speechless.

Han Xiao scratched his nose, shifted the topic, and said, “So, you want me to find a body for Chen Xing?”

“Not just that…” Feidin said a little bit awkwardly. “She said she doesn’t want to use a second hand good someone else has already used, so she hopes to custom-make a body for which she can choose the shape and looks.”

“I can’t do that.” Han Xiao waved and rejected the request. “I’m just an ordinary Mechanic. Building machinery isn’t a problem, but creating humans isn’t my thing. Do you think I’m a god?”

“Can’t you use biological muscles, nanotechnology nerves, and so on to create a bionic human?”

“I can indeed, but that’ll require a chip. The consciousness staffed in it is in Virtual Soul format. It’s not compatible with the soul of a Psychic.”

“What about imitating the structure of a brain without using a chip?”

“Sure, I can do that, but I can’t say what side effects it’ll have.”

“What then?” Feidin felt a little defeated. “It’s not like we can kill a young and pretty female just to find her a body.”

“From the way I see it, you can find a pet first and transfer your wife into that temporarily. Isn’t that nice…”

“She said you’re becoming more and more perverted.” Feidin narrowed his eyes. “And I agree.”

“What are you guys thinking about?” Han Xiao rolled his eyes. You’re one to talk.

Feidin shook his head and said seriously, “I’ve already split off the parasite soul inside Aesop’s body. He’s recovered.”

“Oh ho, tell him to come and see me then. Let me see how he’s doing.”

“He’s already outside the door.”

Feidin signaled. The door was pushed open, and Aesop walked in. When he saw Han Xiao, he smiled bitterly.

Han Xiao sized Aesop up and said, “Old man, any side effects?”

“Nope, I feel normal now.”

Aesop sat down. He had a complicated expression on his face as he sighed and said, “Black Star, thank you for this. If not for you, Ames would definitely have been heavily affected.”

“Don’t say that. You wouldn’t have been targeted if it wasn’t for me.” Han Xiao shook his head.

“Alas, I’ve lived long enough. It doesn’t matter if I die or not. I just don’t want my death to affect Ames. I know her temper, she’d definitely do something she’ll regret under a fit of rage.”

Well, you got that right… Han Xiao thought.

“What are you planning to do now? Although you didn’t plan for this, Ames will be more cautious now. Even if you want to leave, you won’t be able to easily.”

“What else can I do but stay?” Aesop smiled bitterly. Originally, he had come to an agreement with Black Star that he would be leaving to travel around after this mission was complete, but clearly, that was not going to happen.

If Black Star did not notify Ames, he would not have been in such a troubling situation. But Black Star had saved him, so he, of course, had no reason to blame him.

Han Xiao caressed his chin and suddenly said, “Actually, I have an idea that’ll satisfy both sides.”

“Oh?” Aesop’s eyes gleamed as he said with anticipation, “Tell me about it.”

“It’s simple really. The Soul Swapper is in my hands now. I can swap your soul into someone strong, and then you’ll be able to follow others around for adventures. Although you can’t control the body, it’s better than rotting at home. Plus, your safety will be guaranteed.”

Aesop’s eyes gleamed. He was tempted.

“This is a good idea… then what about my body?”

“Easy, I can use the Spacetime Amber to store it… but I suggest you temporarily lend it to someone else, and I happen to have a candidate for that.

“Who?” Han Xiao pointed at Feidin, chuckled, and said, “You enter Feidin’s body, and Chen Xing will borrow your body. Isn’t that a perfect plan?”

Hearing this, the both of them felt a chill down their spine.

Thinking of his adorable wife becoming an old man, Feidin wanted to vomit.

Thinking of the fact that Feidin had a habit of fornicating in the mind, Aesop subconsciously tightened his legs.

“I’d rather die!” the two of them said simultaneously.

…

It was the day for another plenary meeting at the Beyond Grade A Association headquarters. The remote projections of various Beyond Grade As arrived at the venue outside the conference room, gathered in groups, chattered, and waited for the meeting to begin.

“Have you heard? Black Star fought the Mechanic Emperor again not long ago. He even won this time,” Sun Hunter said, floating in midair.

“We’re not living in a cave. Of course we’ve heard.” Kant tutted with his arm crossed. “Remember the fight we watched a few months ago? Black Star could only fight on par with the Mechanic Emperor at most back then. So little time has passed, and now he can already defeat Manison head-on, scary.”

“Hehe, Manison lost big time. Feels good.” A neutral Mechanic was laughing joyfully.

Kasuyi shook his head. “I know the Mechanic Emperor’s strength very well. To think that he still lost after using so many trump cards. It’s really unbelievable. I’ve seen the recording. Black Star seems to have learned some kind of new ability that happens to severely counter the Mechanic Emperor.”

Sierron snorted. “He just got lucky.”

“I personally object to your evaluation of his luck. You’re questioning my expertise,” Secret Master said with an expressionless face.

Sierron did not know how to respond to that.

“Speaking of which, I don’t know if I’m wrong, but the last Beyond Grade A weapons that the Mechanic Emperor took out at the end, aren’t they the three guys we know?” Milizaus asked hesitantly.

Once he said that, the entire place became silent for a moment. Everyone had a strange expression on their face.

To these senior Beyond Grade As, they knew who the Mechanic Emperor had defeated before, and some even knew them personally.

Seeing someone they were close to in the past getting modified by the Mechanic Emperor, they did not feel happy.

Although modifying living individuals was not forbidden, it was improper in the Beyond Grade A circle. Everyone had great powers. Once anyone was found to use something like this, all the Beyond Grade As would become cautious around that person due to fear of becoming their prey.

“I saw that Black Star captured two of them in the recordings. When he’s here later, we can ask him.” Kant shrugged.

At this time, another remote projection appeared not far away, and everyone looked over.

“Yo, speak of the devil.”

Chapter 1173: Triple Provocation

Chapter 1173: Triple Provocation

As soon as Han Xiao’s remote projection arrived, he could feel the surprise, respect, and all kinds of looks from everywhere.

“Black Star!”

Hearing someone calling him, Han Xiao turned and saw Kasuyi and the others approaching. They were all people he knew in the peak Beyond Grade A circle.

“What is it?”

“Hehe, good fight.” Kant smiled.

“You should say that to Manison. He needs the comforting.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Hahaha, you’ve become worse since the last time we met.” The others laughed.

In the circle, Han Xiao was not distant like the Mechanic Emperor, so he was more popular. More people were willing to befriend him.

Kasuyi smiled and said, “Black Star, it’s said you seized the Mechanic Emperor’s troops. Those two Beyond Grade As, have you found out who they are?”

Han Xiao shook his head. He casually exposed Manison’s trump cards and roughly explained the Felon technology. He then said, “Their brains got stirred up by Manison. They barely remember anything at all.”

“Sigh, the two people you captured should be Sollett and Cain. I was quite close to Cain in the past, very long ago…” Milizaus sighed.

As a big baby who was talented, gifted, and of a rare species, he disliked experiments that involved living things the most. Before he became a Beyond Grade A, baby dragons had gone missing every once in a while, hunted by galactic hunters and sold for money. Most of the time, they were sold to research institutes to study their special traits. Hence, he was quite sensitive to this.

They introduced the backgrounds of Sollett and Cain. The former was Two, and the latter was Four. They were both once quite strong Beyond Grade As. They had beef with the Mechanic Emperor for different reasons and were both defeated before going missing. The people present did not expect to see their old friends become puppets when they met again.

“By the way, not long ago, you were still no match… ahem, or on par with the Mechanic Emperor at most. Why is it that this time the Mechanic Emperor used his trump cards but you still won? Do you have some kind of secret tricks?” Sun Hunter asked.

“Nothing much. I was just lucky.”

Han Xiao subconsciously gave a humble reply. However, as soon as he said that, he realized the people around him all had strange looks on their faces.

Everyone gave Secret Master a look that said, “It’s your showtime.”

However, Secret Master was not affected at all as if he did not hear what Han Xiao said.

Sierron could not take it anymore. He walked to Secret Master and whispered, “Why aren’t you rebutting him like you did earlier? Aren’t you an expert?”

Secret Master glanced at him. “I’m giving him face.”

“I see…” Sierron nodded and then suddenly it occurred to him. “Wait a minute, then why didn’t you give me face just now?”

“That isn’t necessary.”

Veins popped up on Sierron’s forehead.

We’re all peak Beyond Grade As. How dare you so openly treat us differently!

“So, you’re saying you’re afraid of offending Black Star but not of offending me. Is that it‽”

“Yes.” Secret Master looked confused. “Where did you get the confidence to ask this question?”

He was confused. Black Star could not be unluckier, so I can’t reduce his luck anymore, but don’t you know how extremely lucky you are?

Sierron pointed at Secret Master and was at a loss for words.

Can’t you just comfort me even for the sake of it‽

The few of them chatted a while. Very soon, it was time for the meeting to start. The people swarmed in and sat down.

Manison’s remote projection arrived right on time. He did not look at anyone after he arrived. He ignored everyone’s strange looks and walked right into the venue.

He arrived right on time because he did not want to meet Han Xiao before that—he could guess with his feet just how boastful Han Xiao would be in front of him.

When passing by Han Xiao’s seat, Manison purposely ignored him. He thought Han Xiao would insult him, but to his surprise, Black Star did not say anything at all as if he was someone else.

Already mentally prepared, Manison felt somewhat uncomfortable, so much so he almost spoke to Han Xiao first.

Noticing Manison’s vision, Han Xiao did not even look at him… You thought I was going to insult you, but I’m going to deliberately ignore you, and that’s an insult too.

Suppressing his impulse to talk to Han Xiao, Manison coughed and said, “Let’s begin the plenary, everyone…”

Before he finished, Han Xiao stood up and slowly said, “I have something to tell all of you.”

Everyone looked over.

Han Xiao leaned forward, pressed his hands on the table, and said, “About my experience some time ago, some of you here might not know the full story, so let me explain. I have personal beef with the Modo Civilization. The origin of that is the Kunde Race incident in the second exploration phase. Modo tricked a native civilization into attacking the Crimson Dynasty, causing unnecessary losses. My Black Star Army took part in the war, and I lost some men. After that, the Kunde Race joined my command for protection, so I took over the responsibility to find out the one who’s behind this.

“Originally, this war could be completely avoided, but Modo’s plots caused us to lose the chance of coexisting peacefully. One reason for the beef between Modo and I is the damages my forces suffered, and another is out of morals.

“Modo and I are enemies, so it’s understandable for us to attack each other, and I accept the damages Modo has caused to my troops in the frontlines. However, Modo used conspiracies… never mind that they used conspiracies. After all, it’s one way of attack in wars. But what they shouldn’t have done is drag an unrelated Beyond Grade A into this. ”

Then, Han Xiao pointed at Ames. Seeing that everyone was listening quietly, he said, “Dragon Emperor originally had nothing to do with this, but Modo wanted to threaten me through kidnapping her adoptive father. Someone here even assisted Modo in that…”

Then, Han Xiao glanced at Manison. He quickly continued before Manison said anything.

“This is very contemptible and despicable, so the Dragon Emperor decided to join the battle and teach Modo a lesson. I’ve also decided to take part personally…”

Han Xiao paused, looked around, and said with a deep voice, “I’ve finished speaking. Who approves? Who objects?”

The entire place was silent. People exchanged looks with strange expressions.

Before the Flickering War, the agreement everyone made in this very room was that Beyond Grade As had to stay out of the war. Their subordinates could join, nor could they take revenge except in some exceptions, but not participating in it personally was clearly stated. Black Star’s request now, however, clearly showed that he was going to be the first one to break this rule.

Manison narrowed his eyes. He deliberately objected and said, “I don’t think that’s good. You’re the vice president. If you take the lead on disobeying the agreement we made, won’t the principles of the shared battlefront lose its restraint? If you make an excuse to personally participate and we approve it, will you have to approve it if tomorrow I find a reason to fight you too? If everyone can do whatever they want as long as there’s a reason, what’s the point of the association existing?”

“Tsk, older people are indeed inflexible.” Han Xiao tutted. “How long has it been since our association was formed, and the system is already showing signs of rigidness? That sure suits your style as the leader.”

Manison’s brows twitched, but he was secretly relieved.

Familiar recipe, familiar taste. Black Star is still that Black Star, classic double faced.

Han Xiao then looked around and said, “I made this suggestion not just because of personal reasons but more for the principles and prestige of the association and the shared battlefront.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kant continued the topic.

“What Manison said sure makes some senses, but in order to see this problem in detail, we first have to understand the nature of this incident. In order to cause problems for me, Modo plotted against an unrelated Beyond Grade A, who is also a member of the Beyond Grade A Association… What does that mean? Let me state an example. Hmm, let’s take the Limitless Financial Group as the example. Let’s say I want to take over the Limitless Financial Group’s assets, and I know Manison is one of the big shareholders. I kidnap Manison, torture him in all ways possible, and use that to threaten Sorokin to sign unfair agreements. How will you react, Sorokin?”

Being suddenly named, Sorokin was a little stunned.

You guys can chat all you want. Why bring me in it?

If that really happened, I’d probably be overjoyed to have one fewer person to share my profits with…

“Ahem, I’d be furious.”

Han Xiao then looked at Manison and said, “And if you escape… I mean if, since everyone knows if you end up in my hands, you’ll undoubtedly have no way of escaping… anyhow, if you escape, you’ll definitely take revenge afterward, right?”

“…Right.” Manison’s lips twitched slightly.

“See, this is completely understandable and very similar to what happened to me.” Han Xiao clapped and said with a deep voice, “But why is the association going against it and forbidding this kind of action? Wasn’t the purpose of founding the association to provide the Beyond Grade As a better future and higher positions? Why are we putting shackles on our own feet?”

Then, Han Xiao walked to behind Manison, pressed on his shoulders, and said, “The principle of the shared battlefront is, of course, when one member gets in trouble, everyone else helps. The Modo Civilization targeted an unrelated Beyond Grade A and broke the rules first. If we don’t deal with it, what will the others think? They’ll think that the association is preventing the Beyond Grade As from taking revenge, so they’ll be more daring and target Beyond Grade As. What the hell is that‽

“We want higher positions. Other than following rules ourselves so that galactic society will feel safer, we must make others maintain respect and fear for the Beyond Grade As even more. The latter is the way to obtain higher positions, not the other way around.

“Therefore, although the purpose of the association is mainly to defuse conflicts, when facing this kind of provocative action, we must punish them! Otherwise, the prestige of the entire Beyond Grade A society will be damaged. This is the true purpose of the shared battlefront!

“We’re now a collective, a group. If the others don’t want to be affected out of nowhere like the Dragon Emperor, not only should they approve this, but they should even provide assistance and target Modo together. Don’t forget how the Tragedy of the Pinnacles began. Having unity is crucial, the association should give Modo a serious announcement and retaliate with thunderous forces. This way, the entire universe will know that the Beyond Grade A society is now different. We’re united.”

Although something felt off, most could not deny it. Black Star said what they truly felt in their hearts; it really did make a lot of sense.

“Of course, our association has to have freedom. I won’t force anyone to fight Modo, but I’ll certainly help Ames because I’ve never forgotten where I started. Now, let me ask what I asked earlier one more time…”

Han Xiao looked around and said word by word,

“Who approves? Who objects?”

The venue was silent for two seconds. Then Beyoni raised his hand and broke the silence.

“I approve!”

“Me too.” Kohler followed.

With someone taking the lead, the people of the Crimson Dynasty all voted to approve other than Heber, who was still putting on a cold front. Some of the neutral Beyond Grade As in the association who stood on Black Star’s side also voted to approve.

Ames looked at this with eyes filled with joy—she loved seeing Han Xiao confidently talk in front of everyone.

The people on the side of the Mechanic Emperor looked at Manison. As Manison remained silent, they did not object. Seeing this, the directors such as Kasuyi also cast their votes.

“Black Star is right,” Milizaus added. “His personal beef with the Modo Civilization isn’t our concern, but even wars have rules. Methods that are too dirty can’t be used without any restrictions. Modo’s action of plotting against the family of another Beyond Grade A who’s not a part of this matter has crossed the line.”

“That’s right. I totally agree with the true purpose of the shared battlefront as Black Star said. If I get captured by the Mechanic Emperor one day, you guys had better come and save me,” Sun Hunter joked.

Manison glanced at him. “Don’t worry, you’re too weak. I’m not interested.”

The people messed around for a while. At this time, a neutral Beyond Grade A who had been silent all this time suddenly said, “Black Star said he wants to attack Modo, but the Mechanic Emperor is an accomplice too. Why aren’t you taking revenge against him? I think you should be fair.”

Hearing this, the room went silent again. Many people had a strange expression on their face.

This is definitely deliberately starting a fire! Damn kid, you got balls!

Han Xiao glanced at him and thought it was quite funny.

Yo, I remember that this guy was one of the ‘mercenaries’ of the Super Star Cluster Alliance in my previous life. He might actually be a direct member of a Super Star Cluster civilization like Traveler.

Attempting to shift the hatred and mix things up here, could this guy be the secret direct member of Modo?

This thought flashed past. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Han Xiao waved generously, purposely sighed, and said, “Well, after all, one of the purposes of our association is to resolve conflicts between Beyond Grade As. Although Manison was unethical, I can’t be immoral. I’ll take it as I made a small loss and won’t chase after him for it.”

As soon as he said that, Manison’s entire body shook. His mental state that had finally calmed down almost exploded once again.

What the f*ck are you talking about‽

You took the Soul Swapper and my two Felons, and you call that making a loss‽

I’ll make ‘losses’ like that any day!

Seeing Manison’s twitching face, many people hastily rubbed their whiskers to cover their mouths and hold back their laughter.

Manison closed his eyes, took a few seconds to suppress his rage, and said with an expressionless face, “Black Star, even if you took my samples, you won’t be able to grasp my technology.”

He was this confident. Be it the Felon technology or the Indestructible Mechanical Troops technology, he had fused his own unique technology within both of them. This was the essence of what he had mastered after secretly making innovative breakthroughs in Virtual Technology.

Without making any innovation in the Virtual Technology area, he was completely certain that even if Black Star was able to learn something from it, he would at the very most only be able to imitate it but never completely master all of its details.

“Don’t worry, I won’t stop you from comforting yourself.” Han Xiao giggled.

“Humph, nonsense. If I’ve guessed correctly, you’ve already met obstacles you can’t break through at the start of the research, haven’t you?”

Han Xiao hesitated for a moment and did not reply.

Seeing this, Manison smiled slightly. Thinking he had guessed right, he was finally in a better mood. He slowly said, “I guessed right, so you’re not going to respond?”

Han Xiao shook his head and hesitantly said, “I just feel that you’re old. You don’t have many good years left, and I’m worried that if I tell you the truth, you’ll have a heart attack right here. If that happens, the merit of getting rid of you won’t be from me. Wouldn’t that be a huge waste?”

“F*ck off…”

Chapter 1174: Arriving at the Frontlines

Chapter 1174 Arriving at the Frontlines

The day after the meeting, the Beyond Grade A Association made an announcement.

The announcement claimed that the Modo Civilization had conspired against Black Star through targeting the family of other Beyond Grade As, and this kind of action violated the association’s rules. In order to protect its members’ interests, the association strongly condemned Modo’s actions and approved of Black Star’s retaliation. Furthermore, the association did not deny the possibility of stepping in to protect its members.

As soon as the announcement was made, it attracted strong responses in the Flickering World. The various organizations in the frontlines of the Flickering World reacted to it the strongest. They were all shocked.

Ever since the start of the war, most of the Beyond Grade As had just been watching and observing it without interfering. Was this a sign of them personally participating in the
war?

Although the association claimed to target only the Modo Civilization, the armed forces on the side of the three Universal Civilizations did not feel happy about it at all.

Everyone knew that Beyond Grade As were undoubtedly the ceiling of single unit war weapons. Once the Beyond Grade As participated, they would certainly become the main forces in the war. It seemed like once that happened, the others would not even have a chance to gain any merit at all.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance was the most furious—if not because the Modo Civilization was their ally, they would even have turned around to attack the Modo Civilization.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance only wanted Modo to hold off the Black Star Army’s invasion and not do anything extra. However, due to different stands, Modo had to plan for themselves, which led to this situation.

Unlike in the past, the Beyond Grade As had founded a collective association, becoming a barely operational group with extraordinary influence. If not because the association was not on the side of the three Universal Civilizations, the Super Star Cluster Alliance would probably have no chance in this war.

Aesop being someone completely unrelated was not fully true. He had helped the Black Star Army find the secret transportation routes of the Modo Civilization time after time, but this part was deliberately not mentioned by the association. They only emphasized his relationship with the Dragon Emperor and the fact that Dragon Emperor did not take part in this matter. From the perspective of sensible standards, the Modo Civilization did not cross the line. Aesop had clearly helped Black Star against them first. However, using this to argue with the association would only lead to them embarrassing themselves. At the root of it, Black Star’s power was what caused this. In order to overcome someone with power, the only way was through using even higher power. Arguing based on what was reasonable and what was not reasonable would not work.

The current Super Star Cluster Alliance did not have the power to overcome the Beyond Grade A Association. Throughout the entire universe, the three Universal Civilizations were the only ones who could for the time being, but this matter was beneficial for them, so there was no way they would step up to interrupt it. Hence, they gave their silent approval. The situation seemed to be heading in a direction that was beneficial for the three Universal Civilizations. However, other than being content, the three Universal Civilizations’ upper echelons were also feeling somewhat complicated. “Black Star… his power is growing even stronger.”

On the Federation of Light’s mother planet, President Bader let out a long exhale while looking at the report. The direct Beyond Grade As had given him the details of the meeting. Although the main focus was Ames, based on this woman’s personality, she would not seek help from outsiders. The attitude change of the association this time was single-handedly led by Black Star.

Right after the Black Star Army made an announcement, Black Star influenced the association to make a response too. Using his identity and position, he deployed his resources in a direction that benefitted himself. Most of the time, the materialization of one’s power was presented in one’s ability to influence and deploy others. If he could make many people act based on his will, he would be considered as powerful.

The advanced civilizations did this kind of thing often too. As long as the method was effective, no one cared if it was immoral or not.

Before the founding of the Beyond Grade A Association, if Black Star wanted to use his power, the only method would probably be to complain to the Crimson Dynasty.

Now, however, he aided the founding of the Beyond Grade A Association, created a new shield for himself, and gained a new source of power he could utilize. He had more resources and platforms at his disposal, so he was becoming more powerful in the galactic society. Comparatively, although Manison was the president, which meant his position was higher than Han Xiao’s on paper, Han Xiao had been gradually taking away his power. The three Universal Civilizations aiding Han Xiao was part of the reason, but the Mechanic Emperor was still the Federation of Light’s ally on paper, so Bader was not very happy about it.

What troubled him the most was the sense of unity the association had shown this time. In Bader’s eyes, these Beyond Grade As were not making an announcement to the entire universe; they wanted to tell the three Universal Civilizations that they were no longer scattered and divided. It was an indirect act of intimidation.

Although some Beyond Grade As still had their own goals and motives that might go against the association’s overall goal, they also had common goals. If left alone, the three Universal Civilizations’ control over the Beyond Grade As getting gradually weaker was a foreseeable future.

“Sigh…” Bader rubbed his temple.

As the leader of an advanced civilization, there were too many things he had to consider for just one matter. Even though there were specialized medical personnel taking care of his body to make sure he stayed energetic, the long time he had spent as the leader had cost him way too much energy and caused damage to his mind.

However, the day of the changing of leaders was close, and his term was about to end.

Not only the federation, he counted the days, and Urranrell would probably retire soon.

There was no choice but to leave these difficult problems for their successors.

Countless Black Star Army battleships gathered around a temporary space station in the Emerald Star Cluster. Almost eighty percent of all the fleets the Black Star Army sent to the frontlines were there. There were countless normal army warriors and players. Usually, gathering so many forces would mean a huge military operation was about to be carried out. Today, however, was only to welcome a few people.

Inside one battleship, many players squeezed around the porthole and stared closely at the battleship stargate just built near the base.

“The announcement said Black Star will arrive today. Why isn’t he here yet?’ “Is there a traffic jam in the stargate?”

The people chattered softly.

They were supposed to fight in the frontlines originally and continue to clash with the hostile guild alliance. However, not long ago, Phillip had given the majority of members a new order to pull back and wait for Black Star’s arrival in the base.

The focus of the players was mainly the national war at this point. Although there were also discussions about the conflict between Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor, it did not receive as much attention as their own national war.

The reactions of the army players after finding out about it were all about the same. They basically yelled about how incredible their army commander was and then went back to fighting the players of the hostile alliance.

Some newly-joined foreign players were excited and surprised to hear that Black Star was about to participate in the war personally. They looked forward to fighting alongside Han Xiao.

However, the more experienced Chinese players were in overwhelming despair. Their thoughts were shockingly similar.

Don’t come! We don’t want to just watch cutscenes again!

Buzz!

At this time, a black cone-shaped tip of a ship extended out of the blue vortex of the stargate, followed by the black body of the ship that was covered in armor. An enormous flagship rode out from the stargate, along with teams of battleships, swarming out of the stargate. Inside the command room in the frontmost bridge of the flagship, the scenery windows switched to being transparent. The players present could all clearly see Han Xiao and Ames standing behind the porthole of the flagship.

“They’re here! They’re here!”

“Black Star! Dragon Emperor!”

“Ah! I have seen those long legs with my own eyes. I have no more regrets in life!”

“Sigh, looking at him again now after seeing the main character Feidin in the Black Star documentary movie, I’ve realized this is the difference between imagination and reality.”

“To think that b*stard Black Star can play with this pair of legs any way he wants. I’m heartbroken…”

“They’re a perfect pair. Who are you to object it?”

Quite a number of people had not seen Han Xiao in a very long time and were all very excited. However, in terms of popularity, Ames was overwhelmingly superior.

Inside the command room, Ames looked at the fleet outside and asked, “Are these people enough?”

“Including the two of us, yes, of course.” Han Xiao nodded.

After making the announcement, the two of them headed to the frontlines right away to fulfil their promise, personally joining the battle against Modo.

At this time, a remote projection appeared beside the two of them. It was the current chief commander of the frontline fleets, Herlous.

“Your Excellencies, the troops have gathered accordingly. What should we do next?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, smirked, and said, “Give the Modo Civilization a present, of course.”

Hearing this, Ames looked excited.

This was a plan they had already discussed on the way. Based on what they had found out from the captives, the plan to plot against Aesop was first proposed by the commanding level of the Modo expedition army. Hence, the two of them made a decision-once they arrived at the frontlines, they would charge in right away and kill them!

“But before we have a good time with Modo, we’ll first have to chase away those in the way. Have all the organizations following behind the Black Star Army in the Ferdinand Battle Zone been identified?”

“Yes.” Herlous nodded.

The Black Star Army’s target had always been just the Modo Civilization. However, some subsidiary organizations of the three Universal Civilizations used the opportunity of the Black Star Army penetrating the line of defenses and followed behind to attack together, continuously taking over Modo’s territory, wanting to use this place as the breakthrough point for the war.

“Okay. Contact all the commanders of these forces and drag them into the communication channel.”

After that, Han Xiao closed his eyes and waited for a while. In less than ten minutes, the commanders of all those organizations entered the channel.

Contacting them was too easy. Hearing that Black Star was looking for them, none of them rejected the communication request.

Inside the channel, voices sounded one after another. Not long after, everyone had arrived.

Only then, Han Xiao opened his eyes and said, “Hi, I’m Black Star.”

“Greetings, Your Excellency Black Star!”

“Hi, Lord Black Star.”

“Have you eaten?”

The channel went silent for an instant, followed by the greetings of everyone. Their terrified expressions could be clearly imagined from their tone.

Han Xiao nodded, cut to the chase, and said, “Guys, do me a favor. Please retreat from the Ferdinand Battle Zone. Stop wasting time here.”

Everyone was stunned, not knowing how to reply.

The channel became silent.

Some people were displeased, thinking that Black Star wanted to take all the benefits for himself by making them quit with just one sentence.

“Erm, Your Excellency Black Star, I’m not sure that’s suitable. Plus, we can provide help. With us helping you to deal with the troops that have escaped, your troops will suffer less damage. Furthermore, us being around the exteriors of the battlefield prevents the possibility of the Black Star Army being surrounded by the Modo Civilization or other enemies,” someone argued.

“Yes, yes. We all know you’re eager to take revenge, but with our help, you can get rid of the Modo Civilization expedition even faster.” Quite a number of people agreed and added their thoughts.

You don’t say… That’s exactly why I’m doing this. If you people defeat Modo too fast, they’ll give up… I can only torture them as much as possible if they don’t surrender.

“I don’t want to repeat myself. I hope you guys can leave the Ferdinand Battle Zone within five days,” Han Xiao said in a deeper voice and a slower tone. “I’m taking over this entire battlefront!”

Chapter 1175: Overwhelming Army

Chapter 1175 Overwhelming Army

Han Xiao considered himself reasonable. With his explanation, these armed forces following behind the Black Star Army willingly exited the battle zone and changed their target. A few days later, the Black Star Army was the only attacking force at the Modo Civilization line of defense in the Ferdinand Battle Zone.

Black Star did not hide his arrival at the frontline. The Modo expedition army had already received the news, and they were all on edge. Although the Black Star Army’s allies had left, Black Star’s arrival made the Modo expedition army even more on edge than before-Black Star alone was stronger than millions of soldiers.

After two days, the Modo expedition noticed the movements of the Black Star Army. The Black Star Army had temporarily pulled the troops at other locations back and gathered them at one area of the lines of defense, as if they were about to carry out an all-out attack. The one leading the charge was Black Star himself.

The Modo expedition army responded by moving tons of troops to this area to strengthen its defense.

A large fleet crossed the galaxy. After a while, the line of defense set up by the Modo expedition army entered their sights. It was like a wall made of battleships, armed fortresses, and enormous machines that extended beyond sight.

Five planets were moved there to form a defense formation. Two enormous armies stood against each other in space.

Inside the command room of the flagship of the Black Star Army, Ames observed the battlefield, shook her head, and said, “They want to fight us head-on without any Beyond Grade As. Is Modo planning to sacrifice all of its fleets?”

“They don’t have a choice. If they don’t use this dumb method, they can only watch us charge right in.” Han Xiao smiled.

Currently, the Beyond Grade As participating in the battle were only him and Ames. Although Modo also had Beyond Grade As, they did not want to expose who they were, and they could not find an excuse to participate with the association’s restraint. In order for Modo to stop the charge of two Beyond Grade As, they could only use fleets to fight them head-on. In battlefields like this, the existence of Beyond Grade As was crucial. The only thing the side without Beyond Grade As could do was use countless fleets to fight the Beyond Grade As. But even if that could hold the Beyond Grade As back for a while, the fleets could never threaten the Beyond Grade As’ lives.

No matter how quickly they could build fleets, the speed of it would never match up with the speed the Beyond Grade As recovered their energy. After repeating the process a few times, the damage would be catastrophic. It was a bottomless pit. This was why the advanced civilizations all fought over Beyond Grade As.

In extremely intense battles, the importance of Beyond Grade As would be lower. However, those extremely destructive strategic weapons would not be used in every war. In the usual Flickering Wars, the Beyond Grade As were more than enough to decide the result of a battle.

At this time, the commander of the fleet, Herlous, said, “Army Commander, the troops have arrived at the destination. Please give the next order.”

Han Xiao waved and said, “No need to have a stare down with them. Just start the fight.”

The order was passed down layer by layer and quickly spread across the entire army.

The next moment, the Black Star Army struck. Billions of lights appeared in the dark universe, all from psionic cannons.

Extremely bright beams landed on the base protective shields and spaceship shields of the Modo Civilization like a thunderstorm, creating tons of electric sparks like ripples. The linked shield formed by the Modo expedition flickered, the shield energy storage of tons of spaceships in the formation fell below the warning line, and alarms rang everywhere.

The Modo expedition army instantly counterattacked. The charge fleets and assault fleets of both sides charged at each other and quickly clashed, instantly forming a bloody battlefield.

The two sides were absolute enemies; words were no longer necessary, and they attacked as soon as they met. The war erupted in an instant!

Ames turned around and glanced at Han Xiao. Seeing Han Xiao nod, she walked right out of the hatch, turned into a shooting star, and charged into the battlefield.

Enormous force fields formed into countless dragons, rolling, restraining, pulling, and tearing the enemy fleets apart. Hostile ships were torn into bent metal plates tons at a time by her force field, breaking their formation completely. Her Esper Ability was known to be comprehensive. She was incredible at large-area AOE attacks, and her ability was extremely practical in galactic battlefields like this.

Han Xiao was not doing nothing either. He snapped his fingers, and teams of mechanical troops swarmed out of the secondary dimensional army box and entered the battlefield.

The tons of mechanical soldiers instantly gained an overwhelming upper hand in the battleship. A team of just ten soldiers could easily tear a heavy battleship apart, and there were at least three million mechanical soldiers present that were still increasing in number.

The Mechanical Deity was excellent in duels, but when fighting more enemies, the mechanical army was still more efficient.

As a peak Beyond Grade A Mechanic who was also a combat expert, taking part in a battle of this level personally was a total piece of cake. Usually, Han Xiao might hold back, but against Modo, he had no intention of doing so.

The two sides fought fiercely. Modo was incurring tragic losses, and their troops fell legion by legion. Agent organizations were attempting to escape the battlefield frequently, but most were hunted by the mechanical army and blown to pieces. On the battlefield, the members of the Galactic Business Alliance, Northern Battlefront, 5C Alliance, Plateaus Eagle, and other guilds that were on the side of the Super Star Cluster Alliance were doing everything to hide. Not a tiny bit of the confidence they once had could still be found; they just wanted to hide and minimize their losses. “Luckily, we didn’t bring all of our things here this time.” The leader of the Northern Battlefront, Fire of Northern Sea, was scared.

“If I had known about this, I would’ve ignored the order and not come.” The leader of the Plateaus Eagle’s face was filled with heartache.

“It’s not the time to be relieved. The Modo expedition army won’t be able to guard this line of defense. We should think of how to save the forces we have. Though not large, it’ll still hurt,” the Galactic Business Alliance president said with resignation. Due to the Black Star Army’s attack, the national war between the players was mainly focused around the Ferdinand Battle Zone. The player alliances of the Super Star Civilization side were temporarily under the Modo Civilization’s command.

When they heard that the Black Star Army was about to carry out what might be an all-out attack, these important Immortals allies also received orders from Modo to guard this line of defense.

These guild alliances were not stupid. They had heard of Black Star’s arrival on the forums, so they played it safe and brought very few of their forces to take part in this battle.

As it turned out, this was a wise choice. The opposite side had two Beyond Grade As, while Modo had none. The odds of winning were less than one percent. If these guild alliances brought all of their forces, they would have lost everything
ų

Although the main participants of the national war were the players, fleets and equipment were just as important. The guild alliances of the Super Star Cluster Alliance had accumulated quite a lot of resources, but if they all got killed multiple times here, they would have no chance in the national war afterward. They would be thrashed by the Black Star Army players without a doubt.

Speaking of which, these guild alliances were quite speechless about this. We were just having a proper national war, and now your Black Star Army suddenly sent its boss. That’s bullying!

If Black Star likes to personally participate so much, how are we going to fight the army player?

This feels like two kids were fighting, and one side’s parents suddenly stepped in. It’s unfair!

No NPC organizations that these guild alliances met while fighting in the free competition zone were unafraid of the Cancer of the Universe. However, the guild alliances were very clear-headed. They knew that in the face of a super boss like Black Star, even they, the Cancer of the Universe, were the weaker side. They would be slaughtered no matter how many times they could revive.

With the assistance of two Beyond Grade As, the battle was one-sided. Very soon, a hole was cracked open in the line of defense, no reinforcements could make up for it. The Modo soldiers of this line of defense started to show signs of retreating.

Han Xiao observed the battlefield, looked at the gap opened in the line of defense, and said, “It’s about time.”

Then, he turned to Herlous.

“I’ll leave one Lord’s Avatar to be stationed on the fleet, as well as some mechanical troops. You’ll lead the army. Don’t charge too deep into Modo’s base. Continue to attack the exterior line of defense. Focus on damaging their forces.”

“Understood.” Herlous nodded with a serious expression. The many years he had spent as a commander made him look quite respectable when his card addiction did not kick in. He said, “When you and Her Excellency Dragon Emperor kill your way into the headquarters of the Modo expedition, be careful.”

“I’m not the one who should be careful.” Han Xiao smiled, flew out of the battlefield, dragged Ames along, and quickly penetrated the battlefield surrounded by the mechanical army.

The Modo expedition army lost bit by bit, unable to form an effective blockade. The battleships at the front were destroyed by the mechanical army in an instant. The two of them penetrated the line of defense and headed right into Modo’s headquarters. The duo’s plan mainly involved the two of them; the rest of the forces would be staying in the exterior line of defense to restrain the rest of the Modo forces. This was because once they entered Modo’s headquarters, the Modo expedition army would certainly set up an encirclement, and Beyond Grade As were smaller targets and more mobile.

“What? They’re heading this way alone?”

Inside the Modo expedition army’s headquarters, the chief commander’s expression changed as he heard the report from the frontline.

He had thought Black Star would charge in with his army and take over their base, but Han Xiao and Ames coming in this deep alone was quite surprising. “What is Black Star trying to do? Why did he leave his troops outside? From the way it looks, it doesn’t seem like he wants to take over our territory,” someone wondered.

“He’s coming in to kill people, and we’re the targets.” Lagos knew the situation very well. He sighed and said, “The plan targeted at Aesop came from us first, and Black Star probably found that out somehow, so we’ve all become his target.” Hearing this, fear and panic appeared on the faces of the people present.

At the same time, they were strangely flattered. They had never thought they would become must-kill targets of a peak Beyond Grade A one day.

“Maybe we guessed wrong. What if Black Star has other goals?” someone said with disbelief.

“Stop lying to yourself! He’s coming right for us!” Roddick roared.

“Then let’s quickly move the command center away and take refuge somewhere else!” another said hastily. “It’s no use. Black Star is a Virtual Mechanic. We won’t be able to fool him no matter where we go.” Roddick walked back and forth with a grave expression.

He did not regret Lagos proposing the plan against Aesop. He only regretted the fact that it did not work, and now the price of failing had arrived. This was karma.

“Let’s ask for help from the upper echelons. Since Black Star is so confident, if we make Beyond Grade As fight alongside our expedition army, maybe we can surround and kill Black Star?” someone suggested cautiously.

Hearing this, Roddick and Lagos exchanged looks and saw a tint of sorrow in each other’s eyes.

As the ones with the highest positions in the expedition, they knew very well what the Modo Civilization would decide in this kind of situation.

Black Star was already slaughtering his way into the headquarters. There was not enough time for anything. Plus, Modo would not want to expose their Beyond Grade As and take the risk of having them come here to save them. In other words, even if the Modo upper echelons knew about Black Star’s goal, there was nothing they could do to help—they were forced to be abandoned.

Actually, the moment Black Star announced his participation in the war, Roddick knew this was it. He had asked for help from the Modo upper echelons many times, hoping that they could send Beyond Grade As there. However, the Modo upper echelons never gave him a response but instead kept asking them to hold on, while only providing the usual resources and ordinary fleets… How could that ever stop Black Star?

That’s the same as giving me 100 Enas and asking me to buy something that costs 100,000. How am I supposed to do it?

Why are the upper echelons hesitating? Is it necessary to still hide the identity of the direct Beyond Grade A? If not now, when?

Roddick roared in his heart. But no matter how he felt, he could not make the decisions for the upper echelons.

“There’s only one option left-seek help from the Super Star Cluster Alliance,” Lagos said with a deep voice.

Roddick nodded with a grave expression, took out the communicator, entered the communication channel of the Super Star Cluster Alliance expedition army upper echelons, and said, “I need help. Black Star has charged in…”

He explained what had happened. The channel remained silent for a while, then the commander of the expedition army of another Super Star Cluster civilization asked, “What do you want us to do?”.

“We can’t stop Black Star. I hope you guys can send reinforcements and help us to force Black Star to retreat. We also hope to temporarily move the command center to any one of your territories. This way, Black Star won’t be able to come right for our heads…”

“Impossible!” another commander said furiously. “Modo brought this upon itself. Settle it on your own!”

“We agreed to help each other,” Roddick said with an angry tone. “Are you guys going to violate our agreement just like this?”

“The agreement states we’re going to stand together against the three Universal Civilizations’ attacks, not pay all of your debts!” someone yelled with rage. “Honestly, I’ve already been putting up with Modo’s actions for a very long time!”

The Super Star Cluster civilizations formed an alliance to fight for territory from the three Universal Civilizations and help each other. They had already let go of a huge portion of their selfish interests and would not continue to have internal conflicts at this time.

However, when the matter affected the overall strategy, the other Super Star Clusters would not put up with it. If there was no Beyond Grade A Association and Black Star had struck on behalf of the three Universal Civilizations, they would have provided assistance without hesitation.

However, the Beyond Grade As had already formed an association and made their stand outside the three Universal Civilizations, causing the three Universal Civilizations to lose their top tier combatants, which was their advantage over the Super Star Cluster Alliance. This was supposed to be an amazing thing, but Modo messed with Black Star themselves. If the others interfered too, who knew what attitude the Beyond Grade A Association would have? Would Black Star turn around to attack them too? They were barely holding on themselves in the war; no one wanted to be dragged down by Modo’s bullsh*t. Therefore, the other Super Star Cluster civilizations did not want to help Modo fight Black Star at all, or their overall strategy would be heavily affected. Instead of that, they would rather sacrifice their ally. Roddick hung up the communicator with a heavy expression.

comm

Everyone there had heard the conversation. The atmosphere was low.

“Looks like we can only rely on ourselves…” Lagos said that but was bitter inside. He knew there was no hope left, unless a miracle happened.

Thinking of his confidence when he got this position, compared to the hopeless situation he was in now, Lagos’ heart was filled with complicated emotions.

If not because of the Modo Civilization’s conspiracy against the Kunde Race, they would not have been forced to deal with this mess. Modo would not be in such a dire situation and would be just like the other Super Star Cluster civilizations.

Although Lagos did not like finding someone to blame, at this point, he still uncontrollably hated that guy who originally proposed conspiring against the Kunde Race.

What a complete moron he was!

Chapter 1176: This Is the Technology You Have Missed

Chapter 1176 This Is the Technology You Have Missed

As Han Xiao and Ames entered the Modo expeditionary army’s territory, like adding water to a boiling pot, the stationed Modo troops instantly started moving, searching for the whereabouts of the two of them. Part of the fleets at the frontline were also called back to provide support.

If this was really a Super Star Cluster civilization’s headquarters, any Beyond Grade A would find it difficult trying to break through it. However, this was the Flickering World, so the Modo expeditionary army’s control over their territory was clearly not as strong as their home. The construction of many planets was not even complete yet.

Not just Modo, all the members of the Super Star Cluster Alliance only had limited control over their territory in the free competition zone. The military forces of expeditionary armies were not the strongest to begin with. Only a few years had passed since the start of the fourth exploration phase, and most of the time was spent on exploring, so there was not much time left for operations. Therefore, due to many factors, Han Xiao and Ames could go practically anywhere they wanted in the Modo expeditionary army’s territory. The Modo fleets could only chase after them.

An asteroid belt slowly floated in space. On one of the asteroids, two people were sitting with their legs crossed. It was Han Xiao and Ames.

“… Their location still hasn’t changed. The leaders of the Modo expeditionary army are still in the command center. Tsk, if this was a less developed civilization, they might be fleeing right now, thinking they might get lucky and escape.” Streams of data flashed past Han Xiao’s eyes. As he retracted the data needle he planted into the Modo expeditionary army’s network, his eyes returned to their original black color.

Ames casually played with two pieces of highly condensed metal she scraped from the asteroid, raised her brows slightly, and said, “We’ve been here for more than half a month. Everyone in Modo knows we’re here. Yet, they’re not running but have been staying in the command center. Are they waiting for us to go there?”

“Maybe they know that there’s no use in running and have accepted their fate. Only advanced civilizations can see things this clearly.” Han Xiao shrugged and was not concerned at all.

While speaking, he opened the secondary dimensional army box, released batches of mechanical soldiers, and nodded slightly. These soldiers turned into streams of light and left in different directions.

Ames watched this from the side. She then sighed and said, “Black Star, we could directly head toward the Modo expeditionary army’s command center, which will save a lot of time, but you had to take a detour. Otherwise, we would’ve completed our goal long ago.”

Han Xiao sighed, looked like he was about to stand up, and said, “So, you don’t like me spending more time with you. Alright then, we’ll go there and get this done with…”

“Who said so? Sit down!” Ames changed the topic instantly. “You said you were going to plant plenty of secret sentries in the Modo expeditionary army’s territory. The plan is already more than half done. How can we give it up now?” Black Star was a busy man. The next time they went to the secondary dimensions would be at least a decade a later. But since he had squeezed out some time now to accompany her, of course she was not willing to let it end this early.

Han Xiao chuckled in his mind and sat down again.

Other than killing the leaders of the expeditionary army, he also had another goal

– plant tons of wards in Modo’s territory. Otherwise, he would not have taken a detour that delayed them by over two weeks after rushing into the enemy’s territory.

He had already sent out god knew how many batches of mechanical troops during this time and hidden them inside the Modo expeditionary army’s territory.

These mechanical troops could all be remotely controlled, of course. One reason for this was to deal more damage to Modo, another was to confuse Modo’s fleets, and a third was to obtain intelligence and monitor Modo’s movements, hoping to find out the final destination of the various transportation routes of the Modo Civilization. At the same time, he also planted some Thrones so that he could infiltrate anytime without anyone knowing in the future.

The Modo Civilization certainly knew he had left these mechanical soldiers. They would have no choice but to deploy large amounts of manpower to search for them. Also, Han Xiao had another reason to take a detour.

“I purposely gave Modo so much time to prepare. I wonder if any Beyond Grade As rushed here to protect the command center…” Han Xiao scratched his chin.

Without the protection of any Beyond Grade As, killing the commander in a split second was easy, so Han Xiao wanted to lure the snake out of its nest. He deliberately took his time to give the Modo upper echelons more time to consider their options, as well as to pressure them. After all, the longer he spent so casually loitering around in their territory, the more face Modo would lose.

If the Modo upper echelons could not take it anymore and sent Beyond Grade As over as guards, he would have an opportunity to deal even more damage to Modo and really make them hurt. This was his biggest goal of this trip.

It looked like he was only targeting the commanders of the Modo expeditionary army, but he was actually fighting the Modo Civilization’s upper echelons strategically.

While thinking, he opened the forums and took a look at it. Herlous was still attacking the exterior line of defenses of the Modo expeditionary army, but only attacking and not advancing. Even when they penetrated their defenses, they were not stepping over but instead returned to rest. They then continued to attack the next location.

If those armed forces following behind were still in the Ferdinand Battle Zone, they would definitely not have given up on this opportunity and would have advanced all the way in. This was the reason the Modo expeditionary army’s exterior line of defense kept shrinking Now, however, Han Xiao had chased away all those armed forces, so Modo had time to fill up the gaps. However, they felt even worse.

The Black Star Army’s actions were driving the commanders of the Modo expeditionary army at the various fronts crazy. They kept rubbing on the outside but refused to thrust in. It was torture. However, this was where their duty lay. They were not allowed to give up; they had to keep resisting despite it being meaningless.

as

Without Han Xiao at the frontlines, the guild alliances on the Super Star Cluster Alliance side felt confident again and continued to fight the national war against the army players. It was a battle, but both sides were enjoying it. One side was glad the enemy’s boss had left, and the other side was glad they did not have to watch cutscenes from the side.

On a planet occupied by a certain Beyond Grade A elsewhere in the Flickering World, a tall being walked back and forth in the palace, holding a communicator. He looked rather anxious. It seemed like he was waiting for someone to call.

Beep beep!

The communicator rang. This tall being instantly picked up and hastily said, “How’d my request go? Did the people above approve
it?”

On the secret channel, an emissary with a blurry face said with a serious tone, “No, the upper echelons won’t allow you to help the Modo expeditionary army. Don’t act on your own!”

“Black Star has been loitering around Modo’s territory for almost a month. We’ve had so much time to prepare, yet we still haven’t sent any Beyond Grade As over to help. It doesn’t make sense! How will other organizations view us? How will our allies in the expeditionary army feel?” The tall being was furious.

If Han Xiao was there, he would have recognized that this was the kid who started the fire during the Beyond Grade A Association plenary. He was indeed a secret direct member of the Modo Civilization. However, although he was a direct member, he had his temper too and was quite daring. Otherwise, he would not have dared speak in front of two peak Beyond Grade As, Black Star and the Mechanic Emperor back then.

Almost all the organizations in the Flickering World were watching Black Star’s movements. They all knew it had been almost a month since he entered the Modo expeditionary army’s territory. If Modo did not take any actions in this kind of situation and let Black Star do whatever he wanted, the entire civilization would lose face. It was understandable for this Beyond Grade A to get angry.

“What’s the point of going? Can you beat Black Star? You’ll be going there to die! Even if all of our hidden Beyond Grade As go there, you guys still won’t be a match for Black Star!” the emissary said angrily. “Stay rational. You can’t expose yourself here! This is all for the future!”

The tall being was filled with frustration, but he had to admit that Black Star was terrifyingly strong. He would only be giving up his life by going.

If they sent Beyond Grade As over, Black Star would eat them up. If they did not send Beyond Grade As over, the reputation and image of the Modo Civilization would be damaged. Not only would they bring shame to themselves, they would also make people feel they were cold-blooded. The morale of the expeditionary army would undoubtedly plummet.

Black Star was able to achieve this just by deliberately walking slower.

This was an honest conspiracy! Thinking of how Black Star spoke so confidently during the plenary, this Beyond Grade A felt both furious and horrified.

What did Modo ever do to deserve such a terrifying enemy!

Another half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Although Han Xiao and Ames took their time, they eventually arrived at the destination.

Countless Modo fleets surrounded the command center of the Modo expeditionary army. All the crews were on edge with grave expressions. Although they were the side with the numerical advantage, they were the side that was extremely nervous.

“These two *ssholes are finally here!”

Inside the command center, Roddick clenched his teeth. His eyes were extremely red ,and his hair was excessively messy. He looked severely exhausted, but his face was still filled with rage.

“They’re finally here…” Lagos, who was on the side, was not in a better state too, but he looked relieved.

The two of them knew clearly that Black Star and the Dragon Emperor were coming for them. However, the two of them had taken way too long. At the start, the two of them were immensely nervous, and then they entered desperation, before gradually becoming restless. In the end, they were almost going mad from waiting. Black Star and the Dragon Emperor were like two blades slowly moving toward their neck. Days felt like years.

This feeling of waiting for a certain death was complete mental torture for the two of them.

Originally, Roddick and Lagos did not wish for them to come quickly. However, as time passed, their mindset went from ‘please come slower’ to ‘why the f*ck are they still not here’. They almost wanted to rush Black Star and the Dragon Emperor to come quicker.

Plus, the Modo Civilization had never sent any Beyond Grade As in the past one and a half months, so Roddick and Lagos were more certain they had been abandoned. Filled with sorrow and hopelessness, they had accepted their fate. They would die one way or another, so they rather die sooner.

Roddick turned on the public channel and said with a ferocious tone, “Black Star! Aren’t you here to kill us? Do it!”

Hearing the roar in the channel, the many Modo soldiers there felt somewhat betrayed.

They all knew that Modo did not send any help and had abandoned them. To say they did not feel betrayed would be a lie. However, as soldiers, they would still obey their orders even if they knew they were headed for death.

Han Xiao looked around, turned up his senses to the maximum, and laughed with a shake of his head.

“Yoho, Modo is quite patient. I’ve given them more than enough time, but they still haven’t sent a single Beyond Grade A. Are they that afraid of me?”

Ames smiled and said, “Who isn’t afraid of you in the entire universe?’”

“Never mind, this proves that Modo has learned their lesson.”

Han Xiao shook his head. Although he was unable to lure the snake out of its nest, he did not mind. After all, he would still be able to damage Modo’s image.

He looked around. His eyes stopped at one location in the Modo expeditionary army’s base. That was where the command center was located, and the targets he was going to kill were inside.

Han Xiao turned and asked, “So, are you going to personally slice the targets up, or should I do it?”

At the start, Ames wanted to kill Lagos and Roddick with her own hands. However, thinking of the experience she shared with Han Xiao in the past few days, she shook her head carelessly.

“Whether you or I do it doesn’t make a difference.”

“I’ll do it then. It’ll be more efficient. You’re too slow.”

As Ames rolled her eyes, Han Xiao coughed and ordered the mechanical soldiers behind him to advance.

He knew that the Modo Civilization would certainly set up tons of spacetime stabilization devices near its base, so he had summoned a mechanical army long before he arrived.

Seeing this, the Modo fleet instantly responded. The crews suppressed their complicated emotions and became firm, staring at the renowned Black Star far away, ready for the battle to begin.

Han Xiao glanced at them and snapped his fingers. These mechanical soldiers suddenly stood still. Dense white noise appeared, and space bent slightly around them.

The next moment, this batch of mechanical soldiers disappeared. When they reappeared, they had already moved a long distance forward but were still in a stationary state, like a painting

Boom!

In the face of this strange scene, the Modo fleet did not hesitate and fired instantly, shattering these mechanical soldiers. However, something shocking happened next. This batch of mechanical soldiers reappeared again. Not only were they completely undamaged, but their location had moved forward a long distance once again, closer to the command center.

This strange scene made the Modo fleet perplexed.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “Using the Kunde Race’s technology against you people is considered using it in the right place.”

This scene that looked like a screen lagging was indeed the technology Han Xiao had obtained from the Kunde Race—the Spacetime Splicing Technology!

With his research and improvement over so many years, the Spacetime Splicing Technology he had now was far from its original version. It was way more enhanced and upgraded. This technology was now rather matured. It would no longer be easily countered by all kinds of spacetime devices like the original version. The difficulty and time required to break this technology using the same methods as before would be at least seven to eight times higher. This meant that it could stay operational for a longer period of time.

Although the Crimson Dynasty did not allow him to casually use this in front of others, Han Xiao had a flash of insight just now and intuitively felt that if he used the Kunde Race’s trump card to fight Modo, it might be beneficial for the mission. He trusted his intuition quite a lot, so he did it.

In the face of this unknown technology, the Modo army panicked and used all kinds of attacks. However, no matter what attacks they used, they could not stop this army of mechanical soldiers blinking forward. Part of their fleet had no choice but to attack Han Xiao himself, but the attacks were all easily guarded by Han Xiao and Ames. Furthermore, their battleships were getting hacked frequently.

“Impossible!”

Roddick’s eyes opened wide with shock. As he stared at the approaching mechanical troops, his eyes filled with deep desperation.

In order to fight Black Star, he had brought tons of fleets, thinking he would at least be able to put up a fight. However, to his absolute dismay, Black Star simply used one ability he had never seen before and easily penetrated the line of defenses of the fleet, threatening his life.

“What the hell is this technology?” Lagos was stunned too.

Hearing the shocking tone of the two of them in the public channel, Han Xiao suddenly smiled and said with a mocking tone, “Fate really has a bad taste… To tell you the truth, this is the technology the Modo Civilization missed. You guys were so close to obtaining it in the past. It’s a shame.”

The Modo Civilization’s stowaways were the first ones to discover the Kunde Race. If not because they wanted to trick them in order to plot against the Crimson Dynasty, they would not have missed the Spacetime Splicing Technology

“The technology we missed?” Lagos murmured. His intuition told him that what Black Star said might be true.

He was filled with complicated emotions. Finally, under the raging focus fire of the Modo fleets, the mechanical army appeared outside the porthole of the command center, completely unharmed.

Roddick and Lagos opened their eyes wide and stared at this mechanical army as the energy furnace on the mechanical soldiers’ chests lit up, flickering with a burning bright white light. The next moment, their consciousness went blank.

Boom!

An intense explosion occurred, and a pale blue psionic shockwave expanded.

The command center was annihilated; not even debris was left behind. A huge part of the entire base went missing.

Roddick and Lagos, as well as most of the leaders of the Modo expeditionary army, died in this explosion, leaving not a single trace behind.

“This is just taking a little bit of interest. Let’s hope Modo doesn’t get discouraged. We have more than enough time to have some fun.” Looking at the raging Modo fleets, Han Xiao chuckled and placed his hands around Ames’ waist. The King extended and shrouded them.

Whoosh!

In a flash of light, before the Modo fleets surrounded them, the two of them disappeared without a trace. The spacetime stabilizers placed in this area could not stop them even a little bit.

Chapter 1177: Infiltration

Chapter 1177 Infiltration

Han Xiao felt the mechanical suit shake. When it opened again, he had already returned to the Black Star Army fleet that was attacking the Modo expeditionary army’s exterior line of defense, appearing inside the command room of the flagship. Hearing the sounds, the many officers who were originally staring at the battlefield all turned around. First, they looked at Han Xiao’s face. They then uncontrollably moved down to his hand that was wrapped around Ames’ waist and Ames’ calm expression. The room suddenly became silent.

“What you looking at? Never seen this before?” Han Xiao glared at everyone and moved his hand away.

Herlous coughed and said, “Boss, is the goal complete?”

“The Modo Civilization didn’t even send any Beyond Grade As, how could I not succeed?”

Herlous was about to ask why it took so long, but when he saw Ames’ refreshed and energetic appearance, he hesitated for a second and smartly did not ask.

Han Xiao looked up at the battlefield outside the porthole. The battle was at its most bloody stage. The fleets of the two sides were fighting fiercely. The army had already broken through the exterior protective shield of two planets and deployed tons of army players who were fighting the players of the guild alliance. There were no signs of losing on either side in their battle.

Ames turned around, patted Han Xiao’s chest, and said, “Alright, the root’s been eliminated. I’ll be going back to the Shattered Star Ring.”

“Hmm? You’re leaving so soon?” Han Xiao was surprised. “Didn’t you say you wanted to fight the masterminds together?”

He thought that Ames wanted to stay and participate in the coming battles against Modo to vent her anger. He did not expect her to leave now.

“My anger is already vented by killing the initiators of the plan. Plus, you being here is enough.” Ames smiled. She was in a very good mood.

Her original plan was to help Han Xiao while taking revenge, which she had already done to a very large extent. Without her, Manison would have lost one less Felon. Han Xiao had convinced her during this time, so Ames decided to listen to Han Xiao’s suggestion and return to Floating Dragon.

Ding!

The moment she said that, Han Xiao’s interface responded. The (Ames’ Rage] mission became ‘completed’.

That’s it? Luckily, it didn’t require me to turn over the entire Modo Civilization. Her anger has probably already passed, which is why she gave up such an excessive thought. Looks like my convincing has been quite effective, Han Xiao thought. “I’ll be taking Aesop back and strengthening the monitoring. I’ll never let him escape so easily again.” Ames brushed her hair behind her ear.

Han Xiao mourned for Aesop for a third of a second before nodding.

“Do whatever you want with him. You don’t have to give me face.”

Ames extended her long and white fingers, poked Han Xiao’s chest with a smile, and said, “I’ll go back now then. Come find me when you have the time. Anyway, I won’t say thanks again. There’s no need for us to be formal, and you don’t like to hear it…”

“Alright, alright, quickly go then.” Han Xiao waved carelessly.

“By the way, before I leave, I have a gift for you.” Ames seemed to have suddenly recalled something. The runes on the back of her hand flickered, and a book appeared in her hands.

“What’s this?’ Han Xiao looked at it curiously.

“I concluded my energy training experience some time ago and created a new energy training technique. It should be inclusive for all. You should be able to use it too,” Ames said with a smile.

Han Xiao accepted the book and read through it. It was surprisingly handwritten. The content was an energy training technique called ‘Dragon Emperor Star Energy Extraction Technique’. The details were unknown, but it looked quite advanced, not inferior compared to ‘Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation’ from way back.

“Why did you write it by hand? Isn’t it more convenient to write an electrical copy and send it to me?”

“It helps you to train patience.” Ames was still smiling

Her thoughts were simple. It could only be a gift given by hand if it was hand-written. It could also be something that would remind Black Star of her.

Of course, Han Xiao was not going to reject this surprise. He nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll use it when I have the time.”

“I’ll be going then.”

Ames smiled and told Han Xiao to send her back in another King suit.

After she disappeared, Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at his rewards.

The Mission Rating was ‘Excellent’. The 250 million base EXP reward increased to one billion; the Contribution Points of the Floating Dragon faction increased by a few dozen thousand; Ames’ Favorability was at maximum to begin with, so it did not increase, but Aesop’s Favorability increased by quite a bit. The Random Reward doubled from two to four, as did the Character Summon Card reward; he got two of them instead of one, both from Ames.

The first Character Summon Card’s ability was called ‘Force Field-Star Grab’, which used the force field Esper Ability to grab the target. It was a decent controlling ability. The other Character Summon Card’s ability was ‘War Whip-Dragon Arc’, also a force field ability. It had both AOE damage and controlling functions. It was quite a good ability too. Both had five uses.

To Han Xiao, this common mission was a cherry on top to begin with, so he did not have too high hopes for it. Nonetheless, these rewards were not bad. His focus had always been the Kunde Race’s mission.

He opened (Kunde Race Leader’s Last Wish) in the mission list and looked at it. The first requirement was still the same, as was the second mission requirement. As this was a Grade S mission, there was no progress bar. However, his intuition told him that this successful attack meant huge progress in this mission.

After doing some thinking, Han Xiao thought to himself, Judging from the current situation, the day when the Modo Civilization gives up competing in the Flickering World because of my torture should probably be the day the second requirement of this mission is fulfilled.

He had always wanted to obtain the three rewards for the second requirement. They were [The Enemy], [Proof of Leadership), and [Kunde Rage), all outstanding abilities, especially the semi-Molding Talent (Proof of Leadership) that had growth potential.

Thinking of this, Han Xiao summoned Phillip in the quantum network and said, “Send the recording of me using the Spacetime Splicing Technology to defeat the Modo expeditionary army to the garrison of the Kunde Race. Tell them to repeat it in all their residential areas, making sure every prawn… ahem, everyone in the Kunde Race sees.”

“Roger, hum!”

Han Xiao’s battle against the Modo expeditionary army was very short. Phillip recorded everything. He was never one to quietly finish what he had to do. Since he had helped Kunde get their revenge, he was certainly going to make use of the recording to enhance his reputation in the Kunde Race. He had to make sure their entire race knew about what he had done for them. This would help with the progress of the mission too. After dealing with this, Han Xiao summoned Feidin, pulled him aside away from everyone else, and whispered, “Have you done what I asked you to do?”

Feidin nodded. “In the past one and a half months, I’ve already swapped the souls of fifteen thousand Modo soldiers and middle-level officers. They will be our spies in the Modo expeditionary army.”

He received a secret order from Han Xiao. When the Black Star Army fleet was attacking Modo’s line of defense, he had been using the Soul Swapper to swap some of the enemy soldiers, infiltrating the Modo expeditionary army and planting spies. The Modo Civilization had once used the Soul Swapper against the army, so Han Xiao had Feidin give them a taste of their own medicine. Given how special the Soul Swapper was, even if Modo prepared for it, they could not avoid it.

“Well done.” Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction. He had already planted multiple chess pieces in the Modo expeditionary army’s territory. This way, he would have more sources of their internal intelligence. Not only would he be able to control the whereabouts of the Modo Civilization’s army, but he could also try to find the location of the secret transport route. He could take his time torturing them.

“Give my order. Retreat temporarily. Let’s go back to the base and rest for some time,” Han Xiao said loudly. The officers present were all surprised.

We have the upper hand now. Why are we retreating all of a sudden? Even if we’re not going to enter their line of defense, we should at least finish this battle.

What they did not know was that Han Xiao was not doing this to give the Black Star Army time to rest but instead give the enemy time to rest. He had just killed the commanders of the Modo expeditionary army. He knew that they now had no leaders and would definitely be disorganized.

He wanted to give Modo a little bit of hope so that he could crush that hope time after time in the future. This way, making Modo give up due to despair would be easier.

Though confused, none of the officers would question the army commander’s order.

Very soon, the majority of the army’s forces backed away out of the bloody battlefield and then retreated systematically.

Seeing this, the Modo garrison of this line of defense were all confused.

Aren’t we getting beaten up? Why did they suddenly stop half-way?

“Weird. We have to report this to the command center immediately.” The fleet commander of this line of defense hastily went to report to the upper echelons.

However, what he got was a long silence-no one picked up.

After quite some time, he finally received the nightmarish news published on the internal network. Only then was he appalled to find out what had happened—the entire command center had been annihilated by Black Star!

After adapting and modifying for about two decades, the new generations of the Kunde Race gradually got used to being in captivity, accepting the culture injected by the Crimson Dynasty and the Black Star Army. As the older prawns passed away naturally, the effects of the cultural modification operation on the entire race started to show. All the residential planets were singled out and could not contact the other planets. They had regained basic productivity, the streets were crowded, and the heavy and depressing atmosphere had become much better. The young generation had given the Kunde Race the vitality it needed.

On this day, a huge event happened on this residential planet. Every screen on the planet was playing a video. The content of it was the recording of Han Xiao destroying the command center of the Modo expeditionary army. Phillip even kindly added some narration to explain what happened to help the Kunde Race understand what Han Xiao had done for them.

Every member of the Kunde Race who saw the recording realized that Black Star was still living up to his promise, continuously avenging their race. Furthermore, Black Star even used their technology.

Seeing the moment when the mechanical soldiers used the Spacetime Splicing Technology to destroy the command center, every member of the Kunde Race’s face lit up with excitement. They were filled with pride.

Look, those who used us are no match for our strongest technology!

This made them feel that they were not just watching Black Star avenge them but were actually helping.

Along with pride was a strong sense of appreciation for Black Star.

Throughout the years, not only did he protect them, but he never forgot his promise to them and brought them the justice they deserved… This incredible and kind man was their one and only god of protection. They felt blessed amid all the unfortunate things they had experienced

The same thing was happening on every planet of the Kunde Race. Countless members of the Kunde Race gained more and more admiration for Black Star.

Chapter 1178: Objectors

Chapter 1178 Objectors

Inside a small private guest room, a few officers at the top level sat on the sofa and complained.

“Sigh, the commanders of the expeditionary army got killed, but Black Star stopped attacking. He clearly wants to devour our armies again and again. The Three Kings are not giving up on the Flickering World no matter what, but what’s the point of sending in more forces? This is pure suicide if no Beyond Grade As are sent. Black Star has already proved that he has the ability to kill the commanders any time he wants.”

The news of the expeditionary army’s commanders being killed had reached Modo. The Modo Three Kings summoned the upper echelons and hosted a meeting. Other than showing their rage, they quickly promoted new commanders from the expeditionary army and ordered the military to send more aid.

At that time, the many officials did not display any objections on the surface, but many of them developed a stronger sense of objection inside. Hence, after the meeting ended, a few officials who were unhappy met privately.

In the room, Marco had the highest position. He was the third in command of a mainstream political faction in Modo, so his words carried the most weight. He slowly said, “We can’t carry on like this. Modo has almost no chance in the Flickering World with Black Star standing in the way. Giving up as soon as possible is the rational choice. The longer this drags on, the more pressure Modo will face, collapsing in the end.”

Someone sighed and said, “Exactly. Things are not stable inside the nation these days too… Many unofficial organizations of the three Universal Civilizations have started so-called ‘peaceful movements’ on various colonial planets. They’re using armed demonstrations, organized strikes, and so on to trigger the anti-war emotions of the society, forcing us to exit the war. Many industries have been severely affected. Some with ulterior motives are even spreading ideas of splitting the race up, bashing the policies, and promoting hatred, which actually turned around the way of living peacefully with other races we have been teaching for all these years and successfully worsened racism. Rebellious armies will certainly appear one day. Plus, important people are being assassinated by mysterious forces everywhere.”

Marco shook his head. “Modo has made tremendous investments in the Flickering World for decades. It’s understandable that the Three Kings are not willing to give up easily. However, the situation has now changed. Adjusting our strategy is the top priority. Since we can’t deal with Black Star, continuing to spend resources in the Flickering World will just be a meaningless waste. It’s time to make the decision to minimize losses.”

“That’s right. The Three Kings are just thinking about holding on till the Super Star Cluster Alliance succeeds, and at that time, we can benefit from it too. But the chances of us being able to hold on till the day the Super Star Cluster Alliance gets the upper hand… are too thin. Black Star won’t watch that happen too. He might be stalling with us now, but if we don’t keep sending in troops to keep him full, he’ll certainly launch an all-out attack and chase us out,” another person said.

Marco took a sip of the dark ember colored wine and softly said, “Actually, since the beginning, I’ve never felt the Super Star Cluster Alliance will be able to invade the Flickering World successfully. There’s an eighty percent chance they’ll fail. This is just a desperate collective attempt by the other Super Star Cluster civilizations. Since that’s the case, getting out earlier, being free from the pressure from the three Universal Civilizations and the Black Star Army, and beginning our recovery earlier is a wiser choice for Modo instead.”

“That’s right.”

The others in the room agreed completely.

Marco narrowed his eyes. “The more losses Modo suffers, the more people will object. Maybe it’s time for us to prepare for the impeachment operation…” Hearing this, the others were shocked. They were just complaining; they did not expect Marco to have plans for actually taking action.

However, thinking about it, they felt this might not be a bad idea.

Modo was a government formed by three civilizations, and each of the Three Kings represented one race. However, political stands and philosophies crossed the boundaries of races, so the political environment of the Modo Civilization was very complicated.

Due to the unique political structure, Modo, of course, had to make sure it was balanced. The Three Kings could not do whatever they wanted; there were also structures similar to congress that restrained their power. If the path they chose during their term did not fit the interests of the majority or one of them was involved in a scandal, their term could be ended by impeachment.

However, this kind of situation rarely happened. As long as the Three Kings did not do things that were hated by almost everyone during their terms, they would peacefully retire.

“If the Three Kings insist on their choice, Modo will be gradually sucked dry. The future is dark. If they are really going to be stubborn, impeachment will be the only choice left,” Marco said.

The people exchanged looks. Some were firm, and some were hesitant. They all lowered their voices and softly discussed how exactly they could execute the plan.

At this moment, the objectors of the war started to plan on how to backstab the Three Kings. The root of it was that Black Star’s strength made some of the Modo upper echelons hopeless; they did not see how they could turn things around.

Inside the Modo Civilization’s territory, a silver stealth-type high warp speed spaceship hovered in a cluster of nebulas, slowly moving. There was no symbol on its exterior armor.

Inside the cabin, Lothaire and a few other officers of the Assassin’s Society sat around a virtual screen, browsing the information on it. Rows of portraits were displayed on the screen, all influential people from various industries of the Modo Civilization. Some already had a red cross above their head, meaning the assassination was complete.

“Internally, Modo is a mess. The leaders of some industries being assassinated caused the local management system of some colonial planets to almost collapse. Our work is very effective,” an officer said coldly.

“Hmm.”

Lothaire was staring at the screen, seemingly looking for their next prey.

The Assassin’s Society had been doing work for many months in Modo. They had already caused quite a lot of chaos. While being chased, wanted, and hunted by the officials, they were still continuing their work and hiding at the same time.

“Our actions over the past few days have been too aggressive. We’ve lost some men too. It’s time to lie low for a while,” an officer suggested. Lothaire nodded. He then shook his head and said, “We’ll hide temporarily, then do a big one.”

Then, he extended his finger and pointed at one of the portraits on the screen.

The officers present followed his finger. Their expressions all turned stiff as horror and disbelief appeared in their eyes.

The target Lothaire had chosen was one of the Modo Three Kings!

“You want to assassinate the highest leader of a Super Star Cluster civilization?” An officer opened his eyes wide. “Are you insane!”

“They have three leaders. Losing one is nothing.” Lothaire’s tone was calm. “I’ll do it myself.”

“Do you know the nature of this action? If you succeed, the Modo Civilization will become our eternal enemy. Furthermore, there’s absolutely no chance of succeeding. The Modo Three Kings are heavily guarded. There’s no chance of getting close at all. Plus, there’s no way of assassinating them if they don’t leave their mother planet,” someone said with a hasty tone.

For once in a blue moon, Lothaire actually explained himself. “Firstly, we’re Modo’s eternal enemies to begin with. Secondly, the Modo Three Kings have many guards, but no Beyond Grade A guards are present on the surface, Calamity Grades at most, which isn’t beyond my abilities. Thirdly, the Modo mother planet doesn’t have the Psionic Seal Ring like the three Universal Civilizations’ mother planets have, so infiltration is totally possible.”

At a glance, assassinating one of the Modo Three Kings was an impossible mission. However, after doing some analysis, he realized that it was not completely impossible. After all, although the Three Kings were leaders, they were not individuals with great strength. Furthermore, he had (Deity Assassinator) in his hands. Even if the Three Kings had magical defense runes, this weapon would be able to penetrate them. The main problem was, whether the assassination was successful or not, getting away afterward would be extremely difficult.

The others were in dismay like this was the first time they had met Lothaire. Even though they were all assassins who had killed many important people, this was still an extremely daring plan in their eyes.

“Easy to say, but executing it is complete suicide!”

“Everything is possible. Sometimes, all you need is a little bit of luck.” Lothaire narrowed his eyes. The people there did not know what he was thinking, nor did he plan to explain further.

Due to Rossellin and the three Universal Civilizations’ operations, the internal racial issues and racist philosophies were gradually becoming more severe. If he could assassinate one of the Three Kings at this time and find a way to blame it on the extremists of the other two races, it might further stimulate the conflict and make these philosophies explode. The results were not difficult to imagine.

Sure, the method was a little bit dirty, but as an assassin, Lothaire did not care if the method was ethical or not. He was only concerned if it was effective and could achieve his goal. It could be said that he would do anything necessary to achieve his goals.

He had been operating in the outside world for decades; he was no longer just a pure assassin. He had gradually learned to analyze the big picture. Although Black Star did not specifically instruct him on what to do, Lothaire was very clear of Black Star’s goal. He was more than happy to use swifter methods to deal greater damage to Modo that was more powerful than just an assassination.

Of course, assassinating Modo’s highest leader and pinning it on racism was just an idea. It was extremely difficult and impossible to complete with just the Assassin’s Society.

However, the three Universal Civilizations’ forces in Modo’s territory were a natural help. Lothaire planned to create a fuse so that they could operate around it, just like how the philosophy tide they created gave him the idea of assassinating one of the Modo Three Kings.

Boom!

A red silhouette fell onto a desolate planet like a meteor, crashing a crater on the planet surface.

Blood flowed out from the tip of Hila’s lips. Her body was embedded into the ground. As she pulled herself out, Han Xiao suddenly appeared right above him, and a powerful kick swept onto her abdomen.

Boom!

The little bit of death energy she had just gathered got scattered by one kick. A shockwave erupted with a loud explosion noise.

Having been heavily hit in the abdomen, Hila’s body bent like a shrimp as she shot out like a rocket for dozens of miles, leaving a long fissure behind.

“Are we going to continue? I’ve already been beating you for eleven hours. If I remember correctly, you’ve already been close to death three times and fainted five times.”

Han Xiao stood with his arms crossed and sighed.

“Humph, are you going to praise me for being energetic? Never mind, let’s call it a day. But don’t forget, this is just the third time.” Hila wiped away the blood on her lips, rubbed her stomach, and stood up.

Hearing this, Han Xiao’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably.

He was now fulfilling the agreement he made back then to spar with Hila thirty times. Now there were twenty-seven times left. As Han Xiao thought of this number, he could almost feel his waist hurting.

This was a certain location near Black Star Palace. He had returned from the free competition zone long ago.

Modo did not send any Beyond Grade As for what he did, so they most likely would not in the future either. Furthermore, Han Xiao had already left enough mechanical troops and Lord’s Avatars there, so he did not continue to stay in the frontlines and directly returned to the headquarters using the King suit.

Han Xiao originally wanted to stay indoors and focus on studying the Felon and the Indestructible Mechanical Troops technology, but Hila was insatiable and had to spar with him.

Due to their agreement, he could not reject her and had no choice but to hit Hila every day for a few days. Although Hila was a tough sandbag, using her so often was excessive even for Han Xiao.

With the Exclusive Talent (Virtual Technology Innovation-Manison), the progress of studying the Felon and the Indestructible Mechanical Troops was going quite smoothly. However, there were still a number of key factors he had to overcome till completely mastering them, which required time. Hence, Han Xiao did not use Awakening Points to quicken the progress. He would be able to derive the blueprint with the bonuses from his abilities and talents.

This time, Hila flew over from afar and asked, “How do you think I’m progressing?” “Not bad,” Han Xiao said casually.

“Tsk, such a perfunctory response. You’re so patient when accompanying Ames but so whatever to me. Do you not want to accompany me that much?” Hila raised her brows.

“What do you think?” Han Xiao gazed at her. You masochist, don’t you understand that forcing me to beat you up every day is tiring for me too?

Due to her passion for battle, Hila became stronger rather quickly, and with the Underworld, her growth potential was even higher.

When Aurora reached Beyond Grade A, the Underworld would be able to revive the Hero Spirits. Only then would Hila reach her peak strength.

Han Xiao had also found out from Onicelu that if Aurora’s Vital Energy Esper Ability reached Beyond Grade A, its qualities would change. She would be able to create living bodies with no soul that could be used for the Hero Spirits to live in.

It just so happened that this ability could work with the Soul Swapper. Han Xiao had told Feidin this and promised him that he would ask Aurora to build a body for Chen Xing.

Hila snorted softly, changed the topic, and said, “There are twenty-seven more spars. I want one the day after tomorrow. Remember to make time.”

“Aren’t you too hard to satisfy? Can the interval be longer?” Han Xiao was speechless.

“No! I finally snatched you back from my teacher. I want you to accompany me as much as possible.”

A tint of happiness flashed across Hila’s eyes. She then went into the spaceship and headed back herself.

Han Xiao sighed and shook his head. He was more certain that Hila was a complete masochist.

The purpose of sparring is to test one’s strength, but she clearly knows how big the difference in our strength is. Still, she keeps wanting to fight me. Isn’t this simply asking to be beaten up?

Sigh, Hadavy is much better. They’re both looking to be beaten up, but this guy is much more understanding, still smiling after getting beat up, unlike Hila, who always has that cold expression like I owe her money…

Speaking of which, it’s been some time since I’ve heard Hadavy’s flattery. I actually miss it.

Han Xiao was in no hurry of going back. He made the mechanical army retrieve some of the shattered mechanical soldiers. While the battlefield was being cleaned up, he opened the forums. He was about to look at the players’ jokes and relax.

However, as soon as he opened the Flickering World panel, his eyes were drawn to a pinned post.

World Server War Invitation Letter!

Chapter 1179: Impeachment

Chapter 1179 Impeachment

“The World Server War… what’s bound to come will come in the end.”

Han Xiao opened the post and browsed through. Seeing that the content was the same as he expected, he sighed.

The post was jointly announced by Galactic Business Alliance, September Conference, Northern Tropic of Cancer Light, Southeast Asia War Alliance, and multiple guild alliances. In simple terms, it was an ordeal challenge letter targeted at all player alliances. It stated a time and location, aiming to start an enormous battle.

The players of the various alliances usually moved according to their faction’s orders, but this did not have much to do with factions. It was just an event between the players.

The same thing had happened in his previous life. The various guild alliances announced the war, and it turned into a battle between millions of players that lasted for many days. It was then recorded in the ‘Galaxy Chronicles’, given the name of ‘Planet Tabor Battle’.

The Great Mechanic Han was also active for some time in this battle in his previous life, mainly to loot the equipment and items the players dropped. He had made a big fortune from it. This time, although the war still happened, due to the butterfly effect he had caused, the time and location had changed slightly.

From his perspective, these guild alliances announcing this challenge was not sudden. It was already the final stage of Version 4.0. If they did not create some big news, they would not have a chance to do so anytime soon. One reason was to justify killing those in the hostile alliances, and another was to strengthen the unity of the big guild alliances by having the normal players take part in it too.

“… Basically, they’re bored, so they want to start a fight.”

Han Xiao shook his head. The internal affairs of the players had nothing to do with him. He did not plan to interfere.

The location was not in the Ferdinand Battle Zone. It was on a planet in the frontlines called Marrison. When the players headed there to participate, it would affect the army’s battle in the frontlines to a certain extent. Although the army could use orders to restrain the players and not let them participate in the big battle all players could take part in, it would not have a positive impact, nor did Han Xiao plan to do so.

After all, players were not really his employees. If he restrained them too much, it would only achieve the opposite effect.

Of course, not only him, but all the organizations who had players would be affected to different extents. If these forces forcefully stopped their players, it would instead benefit the army and make recruiting players easier in the future.

“The army players will stick together in this war. They’ll be the largest group, so they’ll probably be targeted by many other alliances… but that’s not bad for me.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The Pro League during the final stage of a version was an excellent way to boost sales. Many players would be willing to spend a lot of their savings to make themselves stronger. When that happened, the army’s sales would rocket, and Han Xiao would harvest a lot of EXP.

However, the Pro League had already been hosted three times. Most normal players were now very aware that they had no chances. A lot of them preferred saving their EXP to use in the next version.

Large scale wars were different; the players would not miss it. It was also a natural opportunity to boost sales, which was very beneficial for him. He would be able to harvest even more EXP near the end of Version 4.0 that would become his inventory during the version update.

“If I remember correctly, the interval between Version 4.0 to Version 5.0 should be about half a century, even longer than the last one…”

The next version was the Calamity of the Supers. The conflict between the Beyond Grade As would break out, and some of the Primordial Ones would return. However, since he had changed a large portion of the storyline, the events in Version 5.0 would certainly be completely different because of the butterfly effect.

This was not a big deal. Han Xiao knew those people who were important, so he was not afraid of changing the original storyline. The biggest version of the next version was actually the players.

In Version 5.0, the maximum level of the players would become level 180, which meant they would become Calamity Grades. The version name ‘Calamity of the Supers’ was a subtle hint to the players that their impact on the universe in the next version would be tremendous. “This is good news for me.”

By then, the middle level combatants of the explored universe would skyrocket. Although the players would bring chaos, they would also become a crucial force in fighting the World Tree Civilization. In the World Tree War in his previous life, the importance of the players was absolutely irreplicable. If not for the millions of Calamity Grade players, the explored universe would have suffered even heavier damage.

Also, the army would become excessively stronger. All this planning throughout these past versions was for when the players evolved.

There were decades till the next version, so he had more than enough time to prepare. Plus, some of old Manison’s words made a lot of sense; foundation was crucial for Mechanics. He planned to spend decades focusing on improving his Mechanic skills while waiting for the effects of (Key of Adeptus Mechanicus] to become stronger.

The effects of this talent would increase once every few days, continuously making him stronger. This meant that more and more of Manison’s believers were running into his arms. He could imagine the shift in the Machinery Faith.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind. Han Xiao continued to browse through the forums till the battlefield was cleaned up. He then boarded the spaceship back to Black Star Palace. He had made up his mind on finishing the remaining twenty-seven spars within two months.

In a secret Crimson Dynasty military training base, Gaud strolled through the training base, wearing a high-level dynasty officer uniform. He was not in a good mood. Just now, Gaud had received a message from the dynasty’s upper echelons, telling him to postpone the plan indefinitely. The plan referred to using his Esper Ability to try to figure out the core energy of the Evolution Cube.

Back when they came up with this plan, it was totally achievable. However, times were changing too quickly, disrupting the tempo of many hawk faction dynasty upper echelons. At this point, Black Star’s position and strength had reached a new height, so this plan became more and more risky. Hence, the upper echelons had no choice but to pause this plan temporarily with resignation, both because they did not want to mess with Black Star as well as to keep Gaud hidden as a trump card.

At the root of it, this was because of Black Star’s extremely quick growth that kept changing the situation repeatedly, so often that people could not react fast enough.

This was the source of Gaud’s bad mood. Black Star’s growth speed was even faster than his even though this was his new account. He could not even see Black Star’s taillights. It was tough for him not to feel frustrated.

“Black Star… Black Star…” Gaud mumbled as he walked to a public training facility without realizing

The sound of intense battles entered his ears. He looked at the source of the sound and saw a low-grade elite class fighting in pairs under the supervision of the drill sergeant. They looked like a group of novices.

At this time, two Grade C Pugilists were fighting in the venue, one having the upper hand and the other barely hanging on. It looked like the latter losing was just a matter of time.

Unsurprisingly, only a few seconds later, this spar ended. The one who was barely holding out got kicked out by a leg swing of his opponent. He slid on the floor and just so happened to stop in front of Gaud. “Karlot, you lost again.” The drill sergeant frowned at the loser. “You’re at zero wins and nine losses. It’s embarrassing.” “Sorry.” Karlot rubbed his chest, stood up, and smiled with resignation.

The drill sergeant looked unhappy as he yelled, “All of your test scores are at the bottom. I really don’t know why the people above have put you into my elite class to drag down the entire class’ scores. I’ve allowed you to stay in this class because I can see you’re hardworking enough, but if your scores are still at the bottom the next test, I won’t give you another chance and will make you leave!”

After he said that, the classmates all looked at Karlot coldly, not hiding their dissatisfaction.

Although these people were students, they were talents the dynasty had selected from the various departments who were being trained in this secret base. Furthermore, this was an elite class. Everyone in it was a talented dynasty soldier, and they were all renowned in their own divisions.

The opportunity to receive this type of training was very rare, so these students treasured it very much. This was exactly why they disliked Karlot-he was too ordinary and not like an elite at all. Logically, he was not qualified to receive such training.

Due to how difficult it was to get this opportunity, these elites all felt it unfair. From their perspectives, the first thing they thought of was the word ‘bribe’ when they saw a mediocre soldier training with them, making them unavoidably reject Karlot.

Furthermore, as soldiers, they respected the strong above all. Karlot’s ability was too low, so they looked down on him from the bottom of their heart. Naturally, they were not going to treat him well.

Noticing the cold eyes of everyone, Karlot sighed in his mind.

He had accepted the fact that he was mediocre long ago. He knew that these people were elites who were much more talented than him from the beginning, so he was not discouraged.

He had gained this opportunity to undergo such advanced training thanks to Black Star. Although he was carefree, he was not someone who would give up an amazing opportunity. However, he was already doing the very best within his capabilities, yet he still could not match up to the growth speed of these elites. There was nothing else he could do.

Gaud quietly observed from the side.

Some time ago, he had heard people say that someone who Black Star once heeded had entered this training base, and that person’s name was Karlot. As it was related to Black Star, Gaud kept it in mind. This was the first time he had seen this person.

He sized Karlot up. All he could see from Karlot was the word ‘mediocre’.

Gaud considered himself to have sharp eyes, but even he did not find anything special about Karlot. He was confused.

Why was Black Star interested in this guy? He’s known for having accurate and sharp eyes. He shouldn’t have made a poor judgement…

Gaud could not figure it out at all. He thought about it for a second before waving at the drill sergeant.

The drill sergeant had noticed Gaud long ago. He instantly put on a smile and walked over. Almost everyone in this base knew that Gaud was the person with the highest chances of becoming a Beyond Grade A and had received a lot of resources and training. Gaud’s position was quite high.

“What is it, Gaud?”

“That novice called Karlot, whether he passes the tests or not, let him stay in the base,” Gaud whispered.

Hearing this, the drill sergeant was puzzled.

Based on his test scores, Karlot was bound to be disqualified and leave the training base. He did not expect Gaud to speak for him.

“I’m not sure. This guy doesn’t have much value. Keeping him here is a waste of resources.”

“Do what you can then.”

Gaud could not see what was special about Karlot either, but because of Black Star, he wanted to keep Karlot and observe him longer.

Han Xiao had stayed in Black Star Palace and did not go to the frontlines. One and half a month passed quickly.

On this day, a shocking piece of news suddenly erupted in the Modo Civilization!

The Tri-Race Senate announced the beginning of the impeachment process for the current Modo Three Kings. Throughout history, the impeachment of the highest leaders had occurred very few times, so this instantly shocked the whole society.

As the name suggested, this assembly was formed by the congressmen from all three races. It had extremely high power, including the impeachment right of the highest leaders. The initiators of this impeachment were thirty-three congressmen who proposed the impeachment together. The Tri-Race Senate approved it by voting. The preparations started quickly; it was clearly planned.

Being shocked was one thing, but the Modo citizens supported it to quite a large extent. The chaos in the civilization had already severely affected the daily operations of their society. Although this was caused by enemies, the citizens did not care much and blamed it on the highest leaders, which was much easier.

Marco had gathered more and more supporters, and he found the logical excuse of regaining order and objecting to the war. He used a long and formal report to analyze that Modo’s chances of winning this war were extremely low. Using this as evidence, he objected to the Modo Three Kings’ decision to continue supporting the expeditionary army, calling it a meaningless sacrifice.

His stand received recognition from quite a number of officials and citizens. Not everyone was willing to sacrifice their present interests for the so-called future potential.

The Modo Three Kings did not expect those who objected to their decisions to suddenly backstab them at such a crucial moment. Their plans were heavily disrupted.

Chapter 1180: Assassination

Chapter 1180 Assassination

As soon as the impeachment proceedings started, the political world of the Modo Civilization became boisterous. All the factions were dragged in and forced to pick sides. Modo had no choice but to shift their focus back to within the nation and deal with the impeachment. The three kings were forced to deploy their men to take part in a political war. Luckily, after so many years, their positions were firm and strong; they would not be overthrown easily.

There were extremely few advanced civilizations that were in a dictatorship. Being in the position as the highest leader did not mean instantly obtaining the highest power. Politics was an art of compromise; power came from obedience. Even as leaders of civilizations, in order to firm their position, they still had to fight for the support of various factions and train loyal followers. Only then would their power be materialized.

Otherwise, no matter what orders they gave, they would be obstructed by their political enemies. Becoming the highest leader did not mean the others would unconditionally obey them. There were many people who had their eyes on the position too.

In the following days, the citizens witnessed the changes in the political world. The Modo Three Kings and the opposing party pulled out one trick after another. The day before yesterday, someone resigned; yesterday, someone got summoned; today, someone was caught in a scandal. God only knew what would happen tomorrow. The citizens had plenty of new stories to follow.

Hearings of the Tri-Race Senate were hosted one after another. The objecting faction brought up a lot of evidence, and even some secrets that the citizens were not supposed to know were displayed, causing uproars among the public.

ars am

The Kunde Race incident was one of them. The objecting faction summoned key witnesses and had them provide the signatures of the Modo Three Kings that approved this operation. They then used this as evidence to prove that the Kunde Race incident was the reason Black Star was targeting Modo. Thus, they came to the conclusion that the Modo Three Kings had brought Black Star’s hatred to the civilization; they were the culprits that caused Modo to be in this horrible situation. The objecting faction claimed that the Modo Three Kings had made an awful decision and that the Modo Three Kings were not capable enough of remaining as the leaders of the civilization.

There were some more similar pieces of evidence. The objecting faction blamed all the sinful things on the Modo Three Kings, emphasizing to the Tri-Race Senate that the Three Kings were not capable, and suggested changing them.

This was not framing the Modo Three Kings. As the highest leaders, even though some plans were not proposed by the Three Kings, they would only be carried out with the signatures of the three of them, so they could only take the blame.

Endless testimonies caused the situation to gradually worsen for the Modo Three Kings. However, their position would not be shaken so easily. Their connections were very comprehensive. Including the military, many factions were their firm supporters. These factions all had members in the Tri-Race Senate. They worked together to obstruct the impeachment, which was highly effective.

The military was firmly on the side of supporting the war, which brought the support of more important upper echelons. Compared to the supporters of the Modo Three Kings, the objecting faction led by Marco was no match. The investigations hit a wall very soon, so the objecting faction turned their focus to the next batch of Modo Three Kings candidates, hoping to gain their support, which also failed without much suspense.

With the impeachment fermenting, the matter led to political strife. The Modo Three Kings had wasted too much time. They did not want to waste more energy on this matter, so they did not hold back at all.

Therefore, this nonsense did not last too long. In the end, the Tri-Race Senate rejected the objecting faction’s impeachment request. The result was basically a loss for both sides.

As the political opposition was dealt with, in order to regain their reputation, the Modo Three Kings decided to give a public speech to give a conclusive response on the impeachment matter.

Benid Square was one of the landmarks of the Modo Civilization’s capital, a tourist destination with tons of visitors every day. On this day, it was used by the government as the venue for the Modo Three Kings to give a speech. The venue was already set up.

Due to their negative image to the public, the Modo Three Kings did not speak in the political building this time but instead chose to give the speech in front of the public to build an image that they were close to their citizens. The filtered audience filled the square.

A cordon had been set up around the square. Tons of security personnel were stationed around, protecting the perimeter with expressionless faces. At this time, an audience that extended beyond one’s sights had gathered outside.

Many people held up banners with words like ‘Overthrow the Three Kings’. They were all protestors… Although the objecting faction had lost, they still dealt irreversible damage to the Modo Three Kings’ reputation.

The seats of the officials were around the podium, and the objecting faction’s seats were all at the edge, clearly arranged deliberately. The others were not willing to even look in their general direction, not wanting to have any connections with the objecting faction that had lost.

“I didn’t expect the Three Kings to invite us,” a member of the objecting faction mumbled. “They want to humiliate us in front of the public to enhance the effectiveness of the speech.”

Marco was not in a good mood.

He knew full well that at this point, there was absolutely no way the Modo Three Kings had invited them to attend the speech to repair their relationship. They were certainly going to condemn their actions as victors.

Of course, the objecting faction only stepped out to try to impeach the Modo Three Kings because they were confident that they could win. However, they were defeated in the end. The trump cards they had pulled out were resolved one after another, and some witnesses had changed their testimonies. Marco could only admit his loss. There were actually some others who had the same mindset as him but did not stand out this time because they did not dare take the risk. In order to change the path of the civilization, Marco was willing to take the risk. On the other hand, the people who hid to protect their positions did not take any actions despite the fact they objected to the Modo Three Kings’ decisions and watched the armies being sacrificed meaninglessly. Although he had lost, he still despised these cowards.

After a while, the Modo Three Kings approached the podium. The spotlight focused on the three of them.

A loud round of applause instantly started on the square like it was rehearsed, silencing the furious yelling and cussing of countless spectators outside the square. The three of them waved at the same time, looked around at the audience inside the square, and smiled.

While the three of them looked around, their eyes deliberately paused for a moment when looking in the direction of Marco and the objecting faction before turning away. The camera then jumped to focus on the objecting faction, showing their forced smiles or expressionless faces.

“Humph…” Marco snorted softly while clapping with just enough force to make a noticeable sound.

He obviously understood the look the Modo Three Kings gave them. It was a look of winners, a look that said, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

As the applause gradually stopped, one of the Modo Three Kings then spoke. “My people, Modo is a great civilization. We have stayed united since the exploration era, and generations of Three Kings have led us to create one miracle after another…”

The three of them followed the script they had memorized. They cut to the chase and mentioned the social unrest and the impeachment incident. They admitted that this was because of their decisions, but they emphasized that it was the enemy’s conspiracy. They claimed, “Modo is walking on the right path. The enemies want us to back away, so they’ve used all kinds of plots and conspiracies, hoping to make us afraid.”

The three of them also explained why they kept sending soldiers to the Flickering World, saying that it was for the civilization’s future. During the long speech, the Three Kings explained and rebutted the matters the objecting faction had brought up during the impeachment, trying to save their reputation and the government’s reputation as much as possible.

The Modo Three Kings’ words sounded sensible. The people in the square clapped from time to time. The audience outside was gradually convinced too, and the number of protesters gradually decreased. Other than the reporters, countless spectators were also recording the speech.

In the crowd outside the podium, a tall male held up a multifunctional commutation terminal and recorded the speech. He looked just like an ordinary spectator, but he was actually one of the spies of the Federation of Light responsible for obtaining intelligence. He was sent there to record first-hand footage.

While doing his job, this spy thought, The objecting faction has lost, but the Modo Three Kings have also been heavily hurt. It’s good news…

The dust had settled. There was no more shocking news, only the speech from the winners. This spy did not think he would find anything valuable; he was only here because of his duty.

However, at this moment, a flash of light suddenly went past the corners of his eyes. The spy subconsciously turned around.

His eyes penetrated the crowd, and he saw a dim light on the back of a hooded man’s hand, as if a mark was lighting up.

The next moment, a sharp golden light abruptly crossed his sights and shot out like a bolt of lightning. The spy instantly turned and saw this flash of light arrive before the Modo Three Kings, who were giving a speech.

Clank!

An azure magic shield suddenly opened and stopped this flash of light. The Beyond Grade A defense enchantment on the Modo Three Kings activated instantly. It could guard against many kinds of attacks.

The speech suddenly stopped. Only then did the Modo Three Kings realize that the item that had attacked them was shockingly a golden spear. It was indeed Lothaire’s weapon, the Deity Assassinator.

“Assassin!” The security personnel around were appalled. Multiple Calamity Grade bodyguards who had been standing behind the Three Kings were shocked. They hastily activated their abilities to protect the Three Kings.

Although their reactions were quick, it was not quick enough. The outstandingly strong Beyond Grade A defense enchantment only stopped the Deity Assassinator for a moment before it was penetrated. The spear pinned one of the Modo Three Kings right on the ground. Shock and indignation lingered on his face.

The sudden change stunned everyone present. Someone attempted to assassinate the Three Kings?

As their minds fully digested what this information meant, horror appeared on countless faces.

“Run!”

“Murder!”

“Call a doctor!”

“Lock down the square immediately… No, lock down the planet!”

The next moment, the entire place went haywire. All the spectators, be it in or outside the square, were panicking and fleeing. While yelling, the security personnel escorted the remaining two kings out of the scene while searching the entire place. The officials were terrified and hastily fled under the protection of their bodyguards. The boisterous venue instantly became a chaotic mess. “Who sent this killer? This is insane!”

Marco fled as fast as he could, his face filled with horror.

Assassinating the highest leader of a Super Star Cluster civilization right on its mother planet was tantamount to suicide!

God only knew how many years it had been since something like this last happened. Even the three Universal Civilizations would not do this. Nobody could have expected it. The Modo Three Kings were usually in the central political building, but today, they hosted a rare public speech, and it became an opportunity for the assassin.

The most unbelievable part was that the assassin actually succeeded. The Beyond Grade A level defense enchantment on the Three Kings was like a piece of paper.

In the panicking crowd, the spy from the Federation of Light opened his eyes wide, turned, and tried to find the hooded man, but he had disappeared without a trace.

“Who the hell was that guy? This is a completely suicidal attack! There’s absolutely no way he can escape the Modo mother planet!”

The spy’s face twitched. His eyes were filled with disbelief.

He had never expected to witness something this big today with his own eyes.

In almost an instant, his professional knowledge made him sensitively realize the opportunity to make use of this.

Chapter 1181: What a F*cking Genius You Are

Chapter 1181 What a F*cking Genius You Are

The news that one of the Modo Civilization Three Kings had been assassinated quickly spread across galactic society. The king who was attacked was announced to be deceased. This sudden incident shocked the entire universe!

Be it the officials of advanced civilizations or ordinary people of the galactic society, the first response they had when they heard about this could be concluded with three words.

What the f*ck!

This was the leader of a Super Star Cluster civilization who died, not some nobody, someone whose position was only inferior to the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations. To the galactic residents, something like this seemed to only have happened centuries ago. Such shocking news had never happened in the past god knew how many years.

To ordinary people, the leaders of advanced civilizations would never die from assassinations. This was exactly why it was unbelievable when it actually happened. This proved one thing-everyone was equal in the face of death, and no one could not be killed.

Right after the assassination happened, the entire Modo mother planet entered the highest state of alert. Countless soldiers searched everywhere thoroughly for the culprit.

The spies of many other civilizations were dragged into this too. Quite a number of these people were monitored by the Modo Civilization; Modo just never did anything to them, hoping to catch a bigger fish. Now, however, these things were no longer a concern. All of these people were captured and interrogated.

The Modo Civilization instantly restricted the leaking of the footage and very quickly made an announcement using extremely harsh words, emphasizing the fact that assassinating the leader of the Modo Civilization was an act of provocation and humiliation to the entire civilization. They would be investigating this with all of their forces and claimed that it was most likely done by an external enemy. They also said that they would certainly not let things go once they found out who the culprit was.

The assassination made the public both shocked and lost. In this situation, the announcement the Modo Civilization made instantly guided the thoughts of the public, triggering their collective anger, hoping to redirect their emotions toward the enemy.

Usually, this was the right thing to do.

However, the various organizations the three Universal Civilizations had hidden in the Modo Civilization’s territory would not watch this happen. They kept stirring up fires everywhere. They published all kinds of opinions to affect the impact of the Modo Civilization’s announcement, changing the mindset of the public and confusing the situation.

The methods they used were not flashy at all. All they did was state all kinds of new speculations regarding the assassination, mainly in two directions. One was to claim that the objecting faction had a motive to take the risk and assassinate the Three Kings because their attempt to gain power had just failed. The made-up story was structured so well it almost felt real.

The other was spreading rumors claiming that the assassin was actually an extremist of the other two races created by the racism lately, hoping to incite the racism issues.

Both of these theories had flaws, but conspiracy theories always had listeners. While the quantum network provided convenience to the galactic society, it also became an important platform for guiding public opinion. All kinds of information was available in the quantum network, weakening the judgmental skills of the public. Plus, the assassination made it difficult for the majority of the public to remain sensible. Hence, these two theories surprisingly received recognition by quite a lot of people.

At the same time, there were also dozens of terrorist organizations claiming to be responsible for this incident, fighting for it as if this was an opportunity to firm their positions in the gray world.

The number of people who supported the racist thoughts and believed the political assassination theory was growing rapidly. The seed of chaos gradually matured. One could never know what kind of strange opinions people might have till something big happened. It was complete anarchy.

The Modo Civilization was beleaguered because of this assassination and had no time to slowly deal with the public opinion at all. They had no choice but to take tough measures, forbidding the public from discussing these two conspiracy theories. Although the upper echelons clearly knew that this would only make things worse in the future, they had to first restrain the spread of these rumors.

This incident received immense attention. Countless organizations paid close attention to it. A storm was brewing under the noses of the public.

Han Xiao, who was far in the Flickering World, received the news too.

“What the hell, someone assassinated the Modo Three Kings? Whose cutie did that?”

Han Xiao’s eyes opened wide. He was surprised too.

He had once had similar thoughts, but he had never taken action, nor did he order his subordinates to carry out the assassination. The main reason was because of the restrictions of his identity. He was now a hero of the lawful world. No way could he attempt to assassinate the leader of an advanced civilization.

However, if someone else did it, Han Xiao was glad to see it happen.

He could roughly guess what impact this would have afterward. Whether the Modo Civilization could capture the culprit or not, their investigation had to achieve results. Even if they could not find out the truth, they had to find someone to blame it on to redirect the nation’s internal social conflicts, giving the public a target to vent their emotions.

This depended on what Modo chose to do. If they decided to make this matter smaller, blaming it on the terrorist organizations outside their territory was most convenient. If they wanted to make this matter even more severe, they could both put the blame on the three Universal Civilizations or him. This way, Modo would have found a new motive for the Flickering War and would keep sending more armies over while keeping the moral high ground.

As for the truth… who knew? The Modo Civilization forbade the video from leaking, so he could not watch the footage of the assassination. However, he felt that the three Universal Civilizations were definitely not the culprits. There was absolutely no need for them to do this.

Could it really be an extremist?

Han Xiao was very curious.

“Whose man is this? This is such an honorable sacrifice!”

While he was wondering, his communicator suddenly rang.

He took it out and glanced at it, it was an encrypted communication request from Lothaire. Han Xiao’s expression became stiff, he suddenly had a bad feeling. “Calling me at this time, don’t tell me…”

After hesitating for two seconds, he picked up the communication and heard the steady breathing in the channel.

“Lothaire.” Han Xiao subconsciously lowered his voice.

“Hmm.”

“Please don’t tell me that you did this…”

“I did.”

Hearing this answer, Han Xiao’s vision went dark for a moment.

What the hell, after making these guesses, turns out it’s my man!

This is too much. I’m not sure my tiny heart can take it…

“Are you insane? I didn’t order you to do this!”

“You told me to disrupt the order of Modo’s society. I understood what your goals are.” Lothaire’s tone was serious.

Han Xiao felt like his chest was stuffed. “So, you decided on your own to assassinate the Modo Three Kings?”

“I’ve fulfilled my duty.”

What a f*cking genius you are!

Han Xiao’s face began contorting. No wonder you dared attack EsGod!

For such a steady and firm man like me, why do I have such an impulsive and head-strong subordinate?

Han Xiao took a few deep breaths and calmed his emotions.

At this point, the only thing he could do was accept reality and clean up the mess. “… Where are you? Have you escaped the Modo mother planet?”

“Yes, or I wouldn’t have contacted you.”

Lothaire briefly explained what had happened. He was not completely reckless. He had already infiltrated the Modo mother planet more than a month ago and come up with many ways of getting out, only acting after the plan was fully complete. He had been waiting for the opportunity. As he could not come into contact with the Three Kings, he had been waiting patiently all along till a few days ago. When he saw the Three Kings’ announcement to give a speech, he knew that this was the opportunity, so he struck after making enough preparations.

With one assassination after another, Lothaire had gained enough experience and become an expert. From the assassination succeeding till the Modo Civilization excuted the lockdown, there would be a reaction process in between, and he used this bit of time to successfully escape. The entire process was well planned and organized. However, he was only temporarily safe now. He still had to face the Modo Civilization’s search afterward.

After hearing Lothaire’s description, Han Xiao sighed and said, “It won’t be that easy to escape from someone else’s territory. Pause all your assassination missions. Killing one leader is effective enough. You don’t have to continue targeting them. Focus on escaping first. I’ll see if I can bring you back.”

What was done was done; he could not let Lothaire fall into Modo’s hands.

Things like this could be done but not shared, or there would be much more cons than pros. As long as Modo did not capture Lothaire, there would be no solid evidence, and he would never admit it.

To say that Han Xiao did not blame Lothaire for making this decision on his own would be a lie. He was originally peacefully watching things develop all according to his plan, but now there were risks. Assassinating the Three Kings was not in his plan. However, from another perspective, there were pros to this too.

Since the assassin was his man, this meant that the damage this incident caused to the Modo Civilization would also be counted toward the mission progress of [Kunde Race Leader’s Last Wish). He might complete this mission earlier than expected.

Bang!

A team of soldiers charged into the office, looked around, and coldly said, “Marco, come with us for investigation.”

Marco stood up slowly with a bitter smile.

All objecting factions were key targets of the investigations, since they had motive. They were all dragged down by this. No matter how wrongly accused they felt, they had no choice but to obediently accept the investigation.

The sudden assassination affected the objecting faction negatively too.

At this point of time, Marco only had one thought.

F*ck!

Chapter 1182: You Are Only at the First Layer, But I Am Already at the Fifth Layer

Chapter 1182 You Are Only at the First Layer, But I Am Already at the Fifth Layer

In the conference room that now had triple the guards compared to before. The remaining two kings of Modo and the various upper echelons were hosting an emergency meeting. Everyone there was experienced. They quickly passed the shocked and panicked state to being filled with rage.

“Have we found out who did this?” The two kings of Modo were furious.

Every time they thought of what happened, they felt exceedingly uneasy—if the one who was giving the speech at that time was not their unlucky colleague, they might have been the one who died!

Daring to assassinate them, the leaders of the civilization, was an insult to the entire Modo Civilization. The two of them were overwhelmingly enraged.

“Not yet, but the intelligence department has submitted the analysis of the recording and found matches in the database…”

An intelligence official operated on the table with a solemn expression. The next moment, a green virtual screen rose up from the table in front of every official. On it was the same file.

“The weapon the culprit used is a golden spear. According to the data, the master of this weapon is a highly dangerous wanted criminal with the code name (Mystery). The earliest record of this man was during the Kunde Race incident. This man committed multiple assassinations at that time and then disappeared for more than a decade. Recently, he started to act again in our territory, killing the heads of all kinds of industries…

“According to the analysis, [Mystery] has top notch Calamity Grade strength, possibility at the level of a Beyond Grade A seed. The golden spear weapon he uses is a powerful enchanted weapon. However, due to the little observation records we have, we were unable to obtain too much information. Nonetheless, from this assassination incident, we can speculate that [Mystery]’s weapon possesses an extremely strong ability to penetrate energy and also deals extra damage to strong targets. Also, [Mystery] might be acting with a group. The assassinations committed by many others seem to be related to him too. We suspect he might have formed an organization in the ten or so years he disappeared…”

The frequent assassinations targeted at the Modo Civilization lately were not all done by the Assassin’s Society. There were also other active organizations. Advanced civilizations did not have a shortage of enemies. Seeing that Modo was in chaos, some enemies had added salt to their wounds. Some of these were assassination organizations from the black market, some were from the terrorist organizations outside Modo’s territory, and there were also some racial extremists and criminals who disguised themselves as assassins to commit crimes. The society was extremely unstable, and the police forces were beleaguered.

The two kings of Modo finished reading the report. One of them yelled, “What I’m more concerned about is whose orders this killer follows? Whose organization does he belong to?”

“[Mystery]’s appearance is clearly related to the Kunde Race incident. Back then, the main participants were the Crimson Dynasty and their allies. Although we don’t know which organization this killer belongs to exactly, he certainly is related to the Crimson Dynasty. He might be a secret soldier of the dynasty, or he could be an officer of one of the dynasty’s Beyond Grade A allies…”

“So, the Crimson Dynasty very likely approved this?” the two kings of Modo asked.

“This… isn’t certain.” The intelligence official thought about it for a moment. “The situation now is not the same as before. More than ten years ago, the Beyond Grade A Association was not yet founded, and the dynasty still had enough control over their Beyond Grade A allies, so the assassinations back then were indeed related to the dynasty. However, the situation has changed now. We can’t rule out the possibility that this incident was a private operation of one of their Beyond Grade A allies.”

Hearing this, everyone’s expression changed, and a name subconsciously appeared in their minds.

“Could it be… Black Star?’ The two kings of Modo were furious.

Although the Crimson Dynasty was scum, taking the risk of assassinating the leader of an advanced civilization had many more cons than pros for them. They basically had no reason to do this.

It seemed like only Black Star who had exceptional hatred toward them had motive.

“Black Star! He got the upper hand in the Flickering War and cost us a lot, but did that make him feel he can do whatever he wants? How dare he do this? This is outrageous! Modo will never forgive him!”

The two kings of Modo were burning with rage.

They now had another goal to participate in the Flickering War, not just for the future of the civilization but also to make Black Star pay with blood. The two of them believed that after this, the entire civilization could become united against an exterior enemy. There would no longer be any objecting faction.

However, at this time, an upper echelon hesitated for a moment before objecting. “But I don’t feel that makes sense. What’s Black Star’s goal in doing this? Just to feel good? There’s no reason! He’s a man who prioritizes profit over everything. He’s already gained the upper hand in the Flickering World…

To be completely frank, he can slowly make us suffer and incur even more losses. There’s no need to assassinate our leader at all. In fact, doing so would even bring him risks.

“If he gets exposed, the heroic image the three Universal Civilizations have built for him will be severely damaged. He’ll lose the advantages he obtained. Black Star doesn’t feel like someone who’d make such a reckless decision…”

After hearing this theory, the various upper echelons present also frowned in doubt.

“That does make sense. Black Star wouldn’t do meaningless things. If the assassination was ordered by him, it’s definitely to achieve some kind of goal…”

“And what goal would that be?”

The room went silent. The people present worked brainstormed as much as they could.

More than ten seconds later, an intelligence official’s eyes suddenly gleamed. He stood up and said, “I think I figured out Black Star’s plan!”

“Oh? Quickly tell us about it.” Everyone’s eyes focused on him.

This intelligence official said with a firm tone, “Black Star did this to prevent us from surrendering!”

“Huh?”

Everyone tilted their head. Big question marks appeared above their heads.

“Erm… explain.” The two kings of Modo frowned.

“This is my speculation. Black Star knows Modo has no chance of turning the table, so he’s worried we might give up the Flickering War and withdraw the expeditionary army. If that happens, he won’t be able to continue damaging us. Therefore, in order to prevent us from backing out, he secretly ordered his assassin to do this, openly provoking and insulting the entire Modo Civilization. He predicted our reaction-whether the culprit is his man or not, we’ll definitely suspect him. “Then, due to our hostile relationship, he feels that we’ll likely claim that he’s the mastermind to damage his reputation, which will go exactly according to his plan.

Once we claim Black Star is the mastermind, under the eyes of the entire universe, we’ll have to show we’re not going to let him off easily, so we won’t be able to easily pull out the expeditionary army. Instead, we’ll have to keep sending in more troops, or we’ll be seen as a wimp to the outside world. As an advanced civilization whose leader has been assassinated, we must never compromise. This way, Black Star will have successfully maintained the situation and forced us to keep fighting. He will then continue eating up our troops.”

The others trembled and hastily went through their own thoughts. When they realized that this was exactly what they were thinking of, they felt a chill running down their spine.

I knew it. Black Star has calculated even our responses…

Luckily, we predicted his predictions.

The two kings of Modo shook their heads and said, “No, no, Black Star knows we’ll accuse him. Why isn’t he afraid of his reputation being damaged?”

“I think he really isn’t afraid…” an official said. “If we don’t catch the culprit, we’ll have no solid evidence. With the heroic image Black Star already has, which side will the outside world believe? Even if there is evidence, Black Star can still refuse to admit it and accuse us of framing him. Plus, the heroic image he has now was built by the three Universal Civilizations. Although he’s enjoyed the benefits of it, he’s restrained by his reputation. If he can get rid of this restriction, it won’t be all bad for him. In fact, the three Universal Civilizations might be more worried than him in that case…”

Many people nodded and felt this made sense.

The two kings of Modo suppressed their wrath and said, “If this is really Black Star’s doing, are we not only going to hold him responsible for it but even cover it up for him? Absolutely impossible! Don’t even think about it!”

The two of them admitted that this speculation made sense, but in order to not fall into Black Star’s trap, how could they, an advanced civilization, not hold him responsible but instead cover it up for him?

This is ridiculous. Does he think we’re shameless?

As a powerful Super Star Cluster civilization, how can we be intimidated by this kind of trick? We will not compromise in any form!

The intelligence official who made this speculation hesitated for a moment before speaking again. “Actually, there’s another possibility.”

“Go on!”

“Ahem, I just thought about it. If there’s a third party that predicted Black Star’s and our responses judging from our hatred of each other, what if they sent someone to disguise as or bribed (Mystery] to do this, purposely carrying out the assassination in public to start a storm all to frame Black Star and increase the hatred between us… Is that possible?”

Hearing this, the others were perplexed.

This kind of plot was not rare in history, so the theory was completely possible.

“Who would do that?”

“Who else? Our enemy or Black Star’s enemy, of course. They might want to watch us fight each other in the dark…”

“If this is the case, should we still pull out the expeditionary army so that we won’t fall into the enemy’s trap?”

The two kings of Modo were lost in the layers of speculation.

They were not at fault for overthinking. Smart people would always make all kinds of speculations for things, guessing the reason behind it, deriving the matter to the fourth or fifth layer. Never would they guess how simple the truth actually was—it was nothing but the sole actions of a reckless man.

“Your Excellencies, we’re just speculating. We can’t confirm that Black Star is the culprit yet. Catching the assassin is our priority now!” an upper echelon reminded.

The two kings of Modo nodded heavily and shouted, “That’s right! No matter what, we have to track the killer. We must catch him and find out the mastermind. Even if this is really Black Star’s trap, Modo will never compromise!”

After saying that, the two of them were filled with frustration. They felt like no matter what choice they made, it would still be within Black Star’s plan.

It’s terrifying to have an enemy like this!

The people present exchanged looks. Many people wanted to say something, but no one did in the end.

If this was really Black Star’s trap, the decision the two kings of Modo made would have fallen right into it. To some people, the two kings were losing their cool.

The objecting faction was being investigated, but there were still some with the same thoughts who did not expose themselves, and they were feeling even more shaken now. Maybe Marco and the others were right. It’s really time for new leaders.

In the corner, seeing that no one was paying attention to him anymore, the intelligence official who made the speculation sat down looking still unsatisfied. He only had one thought in his mind.

Get me a drink. I can still brainstorm!

If Modo was only suspecting Black Star, the Crimson Dynasty would be completely certain.

In the Ruler’s office of the Crimson Dynasty, Urranrell held her chin with her hands and said, “… So, Black Star might have done this to prevent the Modo Civilization from backing away?”

Modo had forbidden the sharing of the recordings, so the process of the assassination could not be found through normal channels. Of course, the three Universal Civilizations had ways to get the recording, not through Virtual Technology but totally because they had accumulated enough information channels.

In this respect, the accumulation of advanced civilizations was far superior compared to Beyond Grade As. For example, Han Xiao’s forces were limited in the Primeval Star River. Although his Virtual Technology could get him the recordings easily, it still required a process of going there from the Flickering World and activating Virtual Intrusion. Not doing anything personally but still getting the information belonged to the territory of having information sources.

Back during the Kunde Race incident, Black Star had worked with the dynasty on assassinations. Since she had seen it before, although she did not know who the user of the golden spear was, she was certain that this man was Black Star’s subordinate. Hence, she immediately thought that assassinating the Modo Three Kings was Black Star’s plan.

Looking at the report on the screen, Urranrell thought, Hehe, Black Star is more daring than I imagined, even assassinating a leader of an advanced civilization… Although that breaks the rules a little, it seems quite effective.

Not long after receiving the news, she had also figured out Black Star’s ‘goal’.

The three Universal Civilizations did not want the Modo Civilization to retreat this soon. Causing as much damage as possible to these Super Star Cluster civilizations was the three Universal Civilizations’ goal. Black Star’s ‘actions’ matched the interest of the three Universal Civilizations.

Wonderful, wonderful…Nonetheless, this does cross the line a bit. Urranrell wiped off the smile on her face.

A Beyond Grade A assassinating the leader of an advanced civilization was a very sensitive matter. It would alert all the advanced civilizations including the three Universal Civilizations. Just thinking about what this meant would explain why the leaders of the advanced civilizations were so concerned about this.

Because this was the oldest profession of Beyond Grade As when they first appeared!

Using individuals who possessed strength above the limits for assassinations was much more valuable and effective than putting them in large battles. One could easily imagine how much destruction an expert Beyond Grade A assassin could bring.

Back during the exploration era, Beyond Grade A assassins who specifically targeted leaders of civilizations were nightmares of the civilizations that survived. The main reason the three Universal Civilizations built the Psionic Seal Rings around their mother planets was to guard against sudden attacks from other civilization but also to guard against assassination attempts from Beyond Grade A assassins. This assassination incident reminded Urranrell of many tragic examples in the exploration era. Once someone opened this box, it might cause prolonged negative effects to advanced civilizations.

After pondering silently for quite some time, Urranrell sighed.

Times had changed. No matter what, Black Star was an important ally recognized by the dynasty, a National Pillar.

She had no choice but to help to clean up his mess. Be it because of morals or logic, there was no way she could ‘betray her ally’.

“I don’t know if Black Star’s subordinate will be able to escape… I shall have our people in the Modo Civilization’s territory provide some help secretly just in case…”

Chapter 1183: Disqualified

Chapter 1183 Disqualified

You have triggered the urgent mission [Escape)!

Mission Introduction: Your friend Lothaire has successfully assassinated the Modo Civilization leader. He is being pursued and is trying to escape the Modo Civilization’s territory. He needs help.

Mission Requirements: Help Lothaire escape the Modo Civilization territory.

Reward: 8 Billion EXP, 2 Random Rewards, draw 1 ability/talent from Lothaire, (Civilization Leader Slayer] milestone.

Remarks: By accepting this mission, -3,000 Modo Civilization Favorability.

“Hmm, the mission only appeared now?”

In Black Star Palace, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface. He was both surprised and speechless.

Briefly looking at the mission introduction, Han Xiao accepted it without hesitation. There was already no room for his Modo Civilization Favorability to decrease any further. Helping Lothaire was something he had to do, so getting rewarded for it was just a cherry on top. He only found it weird that the mission did not pop up when he chatted with Lothaire but only appeared after he had made the arrangements.

“The arrangements have been made. I wonder if I can get Lothaire out.”

Han Xiao shook his head. He was not very confident. On the low side, the odds of success were only ninety-five percent. Ever since he became the three Universal Civilizations’ consultant, building subdivisions for the Black Star Army had become much easier. There were subdivisions in the Primeval Star River too. Although he could not build an intelligence network there, the armed forces stationed there were quite strong. Han Xiao had also left quite a lot of mechanical soldiers there, including a King mechanical suit just in case.

After receiving the news from Lothaire, he had instantly ordered his men to infiltrate Modo’s territory with a King. As long as they could rendezvous, Lothaire would be able to immediately escape using the King suit. The others in the Assassin’s Society would have to figure something out themselves, but since they were not the main target and did not know Black Star was their boss, there was not much intelligence they could leak. The King mechanical suit was the Universal Treasure that Han Xiao had built the most times. Although it was extremely expensive to build, ever since he obtained (Billion Mechanic Empire-Manison), his success rate of building Gold equipment had increased tremendously, saving him a lot of money. He had to admit that Manison’s Exclusive Talent was incredible.

Of course, the main reason he could build so many of them was that he was rich.

Thinking back to when he just entered the galaxy, he had to carefully plan how to spend every Ena, but now he was too lazy to even look at deals that would earn him less than fifty million Enas profit.

“Maybe this is what growth is…”

Although rescuing Lothaire was important, he did not plan to go there himself. It was very far away, and having the local subdivision’s mechanical troops take his Lord’s Avatar along was more than enough. He had already done everything he could; there was not much more he could do to help Lothaire.

At this time, Black Star was on the rooftop of Black Star Palace, hovering five meters off the floor.

Dozens of different-sized, ring-shaped mechanical devices hovered around him. From Han Xiao’s perspective, each of the rings was wrapped around hundreds of stars. Silk-like beams of light crisscrossed inside the rings like an energy filtering net, picking out tiny dots of light from nothing that landed on Han Xiao’s body and dissolved, absorbed by his skin.

He was training Ames’ (Dragon Emperor Star Energy Extraction Technique). The ring devices were the assistive tools he had built called Star Energy Collectors. They could enhance the effects of the Dragon Emperor Star Energy Extraction Technique.

Han Xiao let out a breath of air that consisted of star energy and felt the energy flow inside his body. It was as if his cells were shrouded in a fuzzy layer of star light. He tutted with satisfaction.

“Tsk, the effects of this energy training technique are even better than Heber’s Stellar Furnace Cultivation. Ames is quite creative. What a nice surprise this is.”

Not a single Super would be unhappy about having too much energy. Even Beyond Grade As who could infinitely regain energy would never stop training their energy. Every slight increase in their maximum energy was an increase in their limits, and Han Xiao was no exception. He had always taken energy training very seriously and frequently searched for all kinds of energy training techniques.

Originally, among all the energy training techniques he had, (Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation] had the best effects. It gave him a total of 16,750 increase in his maximum energy. Now, its position was replaced by [Dragon Emperor Star Energy Extraction Technique).

This energy training technique gave him 800 base energy, but the training time limit was 800. Each period of training it would give him up to 30 energy. In the most ideal situation, this could increase his maximum energy by close to 25,000.

Such an amazing effect could totally increase his Energy Rank by a whole new level, giving him a new layer of attribute bonuses. The impact would be tremendous!

Even though he had (Radiation Absorption), which would make him stronger without him having to do anything at all, it only gave him about 16,000 energy over close to thirty years, still less than (Dragon Emperor Star Energy Extraction Technique).

Nonetheless, [Radiation Absorption] gave him quite a lot of attribute bonuses in Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance.

Old Man Manison had once said that the strength of Mechanics came from their foundation. The longer they lived, the stronger they were. This ability was the perfect proof of that.

The training for this time ended. Han Xiao put the Star Energy Collector away and headed down back to the office while browsing the forums.

There were still some days till the date of the guild alliance war. Almost all the guild alliances responded to it; the influence was clearly visible. The sales of the army’s faction store rocketed through the roof. The army players finally stopped saving money and spent like crazy. The EXP Han Xiao received in the past few days was massive.

On the other hand, the preparation for the fourth season of the Pro League had also started long ago, receiving quite the attention, indirectly increasing the players’ shopping desire, helping him once again before the version ended.

“At this speed, when Version 4.0 ends, not only will I have enough EXP to level up to 340, but I’ll even have quite a lot to spare.”

Han Xiao was quite satisfied.

A blonde female walked out from the corner ahead. When she saw Han Xiao, she was stunned for a full second. She then trotted and sprinted into Han Xiao’s arms.

“Uncle!” Aurora hugged Han Xiao tightly.

“How old are you now, still acting like a kid?” Han Xiao rubbed Aurora’s hair, pressed on her head, and pushed her away.

“I’ll always be a kid in front of you.” Aurora giggled.

She was indeed qualified to say this. Her overflowing vital energy had kept her looking like a teenager.

Han Xiao placed his hand on her head and asked, “How is your strength progressing?”

“Quite fast.” Aurora raised her hand and released a cluster of vital energy. It seemed to be brighter than before.

“Let me take a look.” Nanoparticles flowed at the tip of Han Xiao’s finger and formed a metal needle. He stabbed Aurora’s arm and triggered the combat information, seeing her full attributes.

Han Xiao looked at it and nodded with satisfaction.

Ever since Aurora became the master of the Holy Light Particle, Han Xiao had hired a ton of employees to specifically cultivate the Holy Light Seeds, helping Aurora become stronger. The effect of that was spectacular.

The Vital Energy Esper Ability was unique, so Aurora would never hit a wall. As long as she accumulated enough, her Grade would smoothly increase. Therefore, the method of harvesting leeks using the Holy Light Particle was perfect for her, making her grow at an incredible speed, much quicker than growing naturally. With her current growth speed, it would not take hundreds of years for Aurora to become a Beyond Grade A. The time would be reduced by roughly seventy to ninety percent.

Han Xiao smiled and said, “Not bad, not bad, I’m satisfied with your progress. Keep it up. Now go play,”

“Humph, I’ve been doing a lot of things in the army, not just playing. Don’t always see me as a kid!” Aurora puffed her cheeks, turned, and ran away.

You just said you’ll always be a kid, and now you’re unhappy about me seeing you as a kid. What in the world… Women are so unpredictable, even harder to understand than old man Manison’s Felon technology
en a

Han Xiao shook his head and did not chase after Aurora, instead returning to his office.

As soon as he walked in, his communicator rang. He looked at it, and to his surprise, it was a call from Kasuyi.

Han Xiao casually sat on the Throne, lay back, and picked it up. “Yo, Old Kasuyi, you rarely ever contact me. What’s this about?”

“Are you free?”

“What, you want to ask me out?” “Something like that. I’m planning to explore a special secondary dimension and hope to team up with a Mechanic. It’d be best if you’re free.” Han Xiao’s eyes flickered. He sat up straight slightly and asked, “Why didn’t you go to Manison? Aren’t the two of you quite close?”

“He’s not in a good situation at the moment, so it’s not wise to look for him. Comparatively, you’re my top choice. You’re more suited for this mission than him.” “Oh? Why?”

“Because that place is dangerous. I need a tank to stand in front, so… you know what I’m saying.” Kasuyi coughed.

Han Xiao tutted.

No wonder you came to me. Turns out it’s because of my tankiness.

Why hide something like this? You can just tell me you want my body.

“How dangerous is that secondary dimension?”

“I’ve never done field research, so I don’t know the details either. However, it’s definitely very dangerous. Even Beyond Grade As’ lives can be threatened.”

“Who else is going?”

“Just you and me. I don’t want too many people to take part in this operation.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

He felt that this was most certainly not just a simple exploration. He wondered what secret goal Kasuyi had.

“That’s about it. Black Star, when are you free?”

“Erm… in a few months. You know what’s happening between Modo and me. I don’t have time to do something else for the time being. Are you in a hurry?”

“Not really. I can wait for you, but don’t make me wait too long.”

“That’s easy. You can deal with Modo together with me, then I’ll be free sooner, right?” Han Xiao teased.

“Hehe, go trick someone else.” Kasuyi smiled faintly.

“I can surely go with you, but you’ll at least have to show some sincerity, you know,” Han Xiao said.

“What reward do you want? As long as it’s a not too excessive request, I will agree.”

“Now that you suddenly say that, I really don’t know what I want… What about more requests?”

“No, just one.” Kasuyi’s expression remained the same.

“Then I’ve not decided yet.”

Han Xiao shrugged. This was a favor from Kasuyi, so he did not want to waste it.

“It’s still early anyway. Take your time to think about it. Tell me when you’ve made up your mind.”

After the agreement was made, Kasuyi did not waste much time. They chatted for a little bit before hanging up.

Han Xiao put the communicator down and pondered.

“Fascinating. Even Kasuyi needs a teammate to bear the risk together. What’s going on in that secondary dimension? Is it really that dangerous?” Sadly, no mission was triggered yet, so he had no clue.

After pondering for a while longer and still having no idea, he put this matter in the back of his mind.

In the next ten or so days, the Modo Civilization searched everywhere for Lothaire. However, it was not going smoothly at all, and accidents occurred frequently. The forces the Crimson Dynasty planted in Modo’s territory kept stirring trouble, obstructing the investigation in all ways possible, but they also lost quite a number of men who were captured and interrogated by Modo.

In this situation, the assassins inside Modo’s territory all stopped acting and went into hiding, afraid of being suspected. They were all shocked by how daring this assassin who killed the Modo Civilization’s leader was.

During the thorough investigation, Lothaire’s experience proved to be a huge help. He continuously hid, shifted locations, and covered his tracks, avoiding the soldiers time after time.

He had multiple stealth abilities to begin with and the bonus of the Medium Luck Glow, so he was able to rendezvous with the mechanical army Han Xiao had sent into Modo’s territory without getting caught in any battles.

The mechanical army successfully handed the King over to Lothaire. With it, he teleported away directly and finally escaped. He would never be found by Modo.

The Modo Civilization did not know about this. They were still searching everywhere. However, just a few days later, a sudden change happened in the Modo Civilization’s leading level again.

As one of Modo’s leaders had passed away, one of the Three Kings was missing. The race this position represented was very unhappy, and they did not want this situation to carry on. Therefore, a candidate quickly replaced this hole for the time being, and the Three Kings were complete again.

However, this new leader’s political stand seemed to be different from the other two kings—he did not support sending more soldiers to the Flickering World.

Due to all kinds of factors, the objecting faction seemed to have grown stronger once again. Those objecting faction upper echelons, including Marco, were all released after they were proved innocent. Under the protection of some kind of political power, not only were they not cleansed, but they were even firmer about objecting to the decision to continue participating in the Flickering War.

A storm started in the Modo Civilization’s leading level again, but this time was different from the public impeachment. Instead, it was all going on in private. The public did not know the truth; they only noticed that the shifting of officials seemed to be more frequent. No outsiders knew what kind of political strife and compromising the Modo upper echelons had made. They only knew that more than half a month after the assassination incident, the Modo Civilization publicly announced the progress of the investigation.

The report did not mention the names of the three Universal Civilizations and the Black Star Army at all. They only stated that many suspects had been caught, and they had made some progress, but the details of the progress were not stated at all.

At the end of the report, the Modo Civilization stated that they would be attacking all the terrorist organizations outside the territory that had claimed responsibility for the assassination. They expressed that this was an insult to Modo’s face, and these organizations were key suspects. Under the operations of the Modo Civilization, the public opinion of the nation was directed at these terrorist organizations. The hatred was shifted.

The spies and mechanical armies that Han Xiao had left in the Modo expeditionary army’s territory discovered their sudden movements -expeditionary army fleets disappeared in the territory one after another.

Very soon, not just the Black Star Army, but the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance also noticed this.

Although it was not clearly stated, everyone could guess what the Modo Civilization was doing—the Modo expeditionary army was retreating!

The objecting faction rose, the nation’s internal state was in chaos, and there were many possible traps behind the assassination. In the end, the objecting faction got the upper hand. The two old kings of Modo were forced to compromise. The order to pull out the expeditionary army was made. They had decided to give up on participating in the Flickering War.

A simpler conclusion for this would be…

The Modo Civilization was now disqualified by Black Star!

Chapter 1184: A Wise Assassin Is Not a Good Assassin

Chapter 1184 A Wise Assassin Is Not a Good Assassin

In the army commander’s office of Black Star Palace, Lothaire’s remote projection stood in the middle of the room. Han Xiao circled him, sized him up, and sighed from time to time.

“Kid, although you’ve successfully escaped this time, don’t feel glad. I need to properly talk to you about this.”

“What orders do you have?” Lothaire calmly accepted the scolding.

“Although the plan worked, you made the decision on yourself, and I had to clean up for you. I’m your boss, not the other way around. For something as big as this, you should ask me before you carry the plan out, got it?” Han Xiao stood in front of Lothaire with arms behind his back and reprimanded him.

“Won’t happen again.” Lothaire’s response was short and simple.

Han Xiao grunted, paused, and said, “The impact of this assassination was extremely severe. The Modo Civilization has given up on the Flickering War and is focusing on internal affairs. They definitely will not let this go easily. Therefore, all activities of the Assassin’s Society will cease for the time being. Hide and wait for this to be over. Only then will I allow you guys to be active again.”

“How long?”

“A few decades. You have to make use of this time properly to train,” Han Xiao said.

“Okay.” Lothaire did not complain and calmly obeyed.

He had acquired some new experience from this assassination. He was just thinking about digesting them too. Assassinating the leader of an advanced civilization was undoubtedly a legendary accomplishment. It had brought him subtle changes. It was like some kind of ability that increased his possibility of reaching Beyond Grade A. However, since Lothaire did not have the interface, he could not fully understand all that. He only got a blurry feel of it.

After giving him advice for a bit longer, Han Xiao ended the communication. His deliberately serious expression relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face. This assassination that Lothaire had never informed him till it was done really startled him, but the results turned out to be extremely good. As the Modo Civilization had withdrawn its army, the second requirement of [Kunde Race Leader’s Last Wish] was now complete.

If not for Lothaire’s assassination, the Modo upper echelons would not have shifted this drastically. In that case, he would have had to spend more time and pay a heftier price in order to force Modo to retreat. Furthermore, the chain of chaotic reactions caused by Modo’s leader being assassinated were also counted in the mission progress. Although Lothaire made this decision without consulting him, the results turned out to be reliable. Han Xiao always had high hopes for Lothaire. In his eyes, Lothaire had the potential to become a Beyond Grade A. His potential was much higher than lazy Beyond Grade A seeds like Hadavy.

One reason he froze the activity of the Assassin’s Society was to wait till this was over, but another was to give Lothaire more time to find the opportunity for Promotion.

Han Xiao put these things in the back of his mind, opened the mission list on the interface, and looked at the two bright gold missions.

Both (Escape) and (Kunde Race Leader’s Last Wish]’s rewards could now be obtained. One of the two requirements of the latter was already complete. He could acquire (The Enemy), (Proof of Leadership), and (Kunde Rage] if he wanted.

Han Xiao thought about it and suppressed his temptation to complete [Kunde Race Leader’s Last Wish), as the first mission requirement was to ‘provide protection when the Kunde Race is being culturally modified’, which was not complete yet.

This Grade S mission was a single mission, not a chain mission. Therefore, once he clicked on completing it and accepted the reward, it would mean that he would not be able to obtain the reward for the first requirement. He wanted the four Political Assets rewarded by the first requirement. Anyway, he could decide when to conclude the mission. He could obtain the three abilities anytime he wanted, so he was in no hurry.

“I shall conclude Lothaire’s mission and get the reward first.”

Han Xiao headed out, turned left into the officer lounge to get some luck, returned, and quickly opened the interface.

[Escape] Completed! -3,000 Modo Civilization Favorability.

Current Relationship: (Archenemy)

You have received 8 Billion EXP, 2 Random Rewards, and the (Civilization Leader Slayer] milestone.

(Civilization Leader Slayer]: All civilization leader Favorability -10. Your words will be more heeded by the various civilizations. At the same time, when you, your organization, or your allies fight any fleets or Supers of your opposing civilization, their defense and various resistances will be reduced by 3% – 7%.

“This Milestone is definitely for the wanted criminals of the evil factions.” Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.

To wanted criminals, the Favorability of civilization leaders is complete trash, but since I’m someone with a high position and identity, the Favorability of civilization leaders is not useless.

However, he did not care about it too much. The only advanced civilization leader who had a good relationship with him was Urranrell. His Favorability with the federation’s president and the church’s pope were both negative, yet they were still working together. As long as there were enough profits, the personal Favorability of the leaders was barely impactful.

Furthermore, the value of that -10 Favorability of the civilization leaders was completely meaningless compared to the other effects of the milestone. Although the numbers were not high, the influence it had was extremely absurd. It worked against entire civilizations, reducing the various resistance and defense of all members of the opposing civilization.

Han Xiao instantly knew that when fighting the World Tree Civilization, this ability would give the entire explored universe a natural edge!

Comparatively, that slight reduction in Favorability was negligible.

“I sacrificed my Favorability for the entire universe. What a great man I am.”

Han Xiao was almost touched by himself.

He focused and continued looking at the ability/talent drawing interface.

You have received the reward: draw one of Lothaire’s skills (Ability/Talent).

Note: Lothaire is a Pugilist. Parts of the abilities/talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… Complete! Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

(Stealth Master] Talent: Drastically reduce your presence to others, drastically reduce the chance of the enemies discovering you, and drastically reduce the clues you leave behind. You can easily find all the factors in a certain area that might lead to you being discovered, including but not limited to all kinds of surveillance devices and detection spells. 2. (Assassination Mark] Ability: Mark a target, increase the damage of your next attack to the target by 75%-100%, Critical Rate by 45%, and Critical Damage by 100%. Energy Cost: 150. Cooldown: 48s.

[One-Hit KO] Ability: When your next attack hits the target successfully, instantly carry out Lethal Judgement once. The base of the Judgement is the target’s Health, END, Lethal Resistance, LUK, and the level difference between you and the target. If the Judgement succeeds, the target will die instantly. If the Judgement fails, the attack will deal an extra 280% damage. Energy Cost: 500. Cooldown: 1,2005.

[The Way of an Assassin) Ability: Charge energy into the next attack, accumulating extra damage bonuses. Energy to damage bonus Conversion Rate: 10:1%. Maximum damage bonus: 300%. Cooldown: 150s.

(Fearless Heart] Talent: When fighting a strong enemy, you will receive extra attack bonuses. When the enemy is below Grade B, this ability will not be triggered; when the enemy is Grade B, you will receive a 5% base attack bonus; when the enemy is Grade A, you will receive a 15% base attack bonus; when the enemy is Grade S, you will receive a 25% base attack bonus; when the enemy is Grade S+, you will receive a 35% base attack bonus; when the enemy is Grade SS, you will receive a 45% base attack bonus.

Woah! This kid! Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed. What’s a master assassin? This is a master assassin!

Lothaire had not been around for many years. It had been a very long time since Han Xiao last looked at his interface. He could recall that of these five options, other than the second option, Lothaire did not have any others back then.

Looks like this kid has been busy the past twenty years, he’s got many new skills. Han Xiao was overjoyed.

Such an excellent learning ability could almost match up to Nero. He had found a treasure.

He browsed through the options. No way he was going to pick the second or the third options. Although the Lethal Judgement of (One-Hit KO] was quite tempting, as soon as Han Xiao saw that Luck was one of the things considered for the Judgement, he instantly eliminated this option. The fourth option, (The Way of an Assassin), was quite powerful, but Han Xiao also eliminated it after some pondering. This ability could only provide bonuses for one attack, but attack frequency was what Mechanics focused on. Although the (Charge-Endless Potential] he had obtained from Silver Shadow could work together with this ability, it was too situational. There would not be many chances to use it. Han Xiao mainly hesitated between the first and the fifth option. (Stealth Master) was a functional talent that would dramatically enhance his stealth ability. It would be tremendously useful for spy operations, infiltration, stealing intelligence, and so on. Although it would not directly increase his strength, it would provide him with other forms of support. However, [Fearless Heart]’s bonuses were way too good!

This did not just enhance one attack, but it was a passive bonus. Every single attack from him and his mechanical army could enjoy the bonus!

Furthermore, the bonus was on top of base attacks, meaning the percentage increase could be seen as the increase in the actual damage dealt!

“The only ones who are qualified to fight me now are all peak Beyond Grade As. This talent is perfect for people like me!”

Han Xiao felt exhilarated.

To Lothaire, the bonuses of (Fearless Heart] beyond the third level were all useless, since there was no way he could defeat a Beyond Grade A now. Only Beyond Grade As could fully utilize the power of this talent.

After pondering for about ten seconds, the desire to deal more damage won in the end. Han Xiao had made his choice.

You have received the talent (Fearless Heart]!

“Nice.” Han Xiao took a deep breath. He felt a wave of heat that released from his brain that quickly flowed through his body.

After sensing it for a while, his expression became strange. He suddenly connected all the dots.

This talent was faithful to its name, it gave him a strong sense of confidence. Han Xiao noticed that more than half of his fear toward the strong had disappeared, replaced by disdain.

Manison? Fragile little sh*t, fight him!

The three Universal Civilizations? Piece of cake, fight them!

The World Tree Civilization? What is that? Fight them!

Anyone that appeared in his mind, he wanted to fight. His heart was filled with an indomitable sense of fearlessness, an illusion as if he could just beat up everything in the world.

He hastily suppressed this emotion, took a few deep breaths, and finally calmed himself down. It all made sense now.

“No wonder Lothaire dared assassinate the Modo Three Kings. Turns out it’s the side effect of this talent. The mystery is now solved…”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes.

What Fearless Heart? Bullsh*t, this is clearly Reckless Heart!

Chapter 1185: National War

Chapter 1185 National War

(Fearless Heart] was undoubtedly a semi-Molding Talent level talent. This was a surprise for Han Xiao.

He turned off the interface and contemplated what to do next. “Modo is already disqualified. The second requirement of the Kunde Race mission is complete. As long as Modo doesn’t come to mess with me, I won’t need to fight them in the future… Once they retreat, I won’t have an excuse to take part in the Flickering War anymore. I’ll have to temporarily exit this stage. The army players might have problems with that… but luckily, now is already the final stage of the version. The impact won’t be too
huge.”

Without Modo as an opponent, the Black Star Army no longer had a reason to continue participating in the Flickering World. This way, the army players would have to exit this main storyline too. If this had happened in the middle or even early stage of the version, the army players would have been in an uproar. Some of the newbies would most likely have changed factions to join the first World Server war.

However, Modo retreated at just the right time. It was now near the end of the version, meaning there was not much time left for the players to do things. Most of their energy was focused on preparing for the fourth season of the Pro League and the World Server War that was about to happen. These were the last two big things they could do near the end of the Version 4.0. Losing the Flickering War main storyline in this situation would minimize the players’ dissatisfaction. Furthermore, Han Xiao had faked a main storyline mission, which the players would receive reward from, making up for the loss of the players not being able to participate in the real main storyline mission to a certain extent.

Due to the existence of the Black Star Army, the state and territory distribution of the various guild alliances in the Flickering World was completely different from Han Xiao’s previous life. Furthermore, this difference would extend all the way to the versions in the future. Even Han Xiao could not really predict what would become of these guild alliances in the future.

Han Xiao pondered for a while. When he realized that there were no more big things he had to do at the end of the version, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“What needs to be done has been done. What’s left is to watch things develop like the other Beyond Grade As and wait for the Flickering War to come to a result…”

Han Xiao decided to lie low for some time and develop his technology, spending the remaining time of Version 4.0 peacefully. Furthermore, the army had attracted way too much attention recently. Nothing was good in excess, so it was a good time to cool down and temporarily stay out of the public eye.

“Now I just have to wait for the World Server War and the Pro League to suck out the players’ savings for me to have enough EXP for Promotion.”

Han Xiao smiled. He did not even have to come up with any promotional events. These two events were like automatic harvesting machines, convenient and effortless.

The Modo Civilization did not openly announce their retreat. They focused on promoting their plan to attack the terrorist organizations while quietly withdrawing the expeditionary army bit by bit.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance was an organization with shared interests, after all. Although Modo gave up on the Flickering War, they could not just walk away. As the Modo expeditionary army retreated, the other Super Star Cluster civilizations sent out some of their troops to form mixed fleets and took over this line of defense.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance was glad to see Modo exit. This way, their nightmare Black Star would be gone too. This was a completely beneficial trade in their eyes. Although the other Super Star Cluster civilizations were harsh in the things they said, they were still in the same alliance. They achieved some kind of deal with Modo and signed some agreements as compensation for Modo’s exit.

As the main enemy fled, the Black Star Army’s troops stopped attacking the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s line of defense and left the Ferdinand Battle Zone in batches. The forged mission (Black Star Army Expedition Order] concluded, giving the army players a wave of rich rewards.

Although the rewards were set by Han Xiao and slightly worse than the real main storyline, it had its pros. The players would only be able to conclude the real Flickering War main storyline mission after the war ended, meaning only in the next version. On the other hand, the fake main storyline mission Han Xiao had made could be concluded now, meaning the players would receive the reward before the version ended.

These rewards gave the army players more resources to level up abilities, purchase equipment, and so on to increase their strength. The most direct benefit was that this would help players in the World Server War and the Pro League that was about to come.

Just as Han Xiao expected, exiting the main storyline in advance did not trouble the players. If the war against Modo was still carrying on, this would cause ordering the players very difficult for the army. Now that he had basically given the players a holiday, they could fully focus on the World Server War.

Planet Milton was a desolate planet located in the exterior parts of the Emerald Star Cluster. Over the past few months, batches of fleets with symbols of different guild alliances had been arriving there, building bases, fortresses, and lines of defenses on this planet.

Many of these guild alliances were enemies with each other, but all of them silently agreed on ignoring each other and constructed their strongholds peacefully.

The reason that this happened was one of the rules stated inside the invitation letter that before the designated date to start the war arrived, all professional guilds and player alliances that had arrived on Planet Milton could construct as many strongholds as they wanted, but attacking each other was not allowed. Anyone who disobeyed the rules would be kicked out of this war.

This was like a ‘protected period’, basically the preparation stage for all the guild alliances that were participating, as well the time given to all the players to get there.

Therefore, in the past few months, these guilds had been sending one batch of spaceships there after another, transporting tons of resources and constructing many temporary strongholds. The locations they chose to build strongholds were anything but random; some guild alliances had teamed up with others, and their strongholds had to be built close to one another so that they could help each other.

Since fighting before the official date was not allowed, fighting for the locations to build their strongholds was also forbidden. It worked on a first come first served basis. Therefore, the invisible war started during the preparation stage when they were constructing the strongholds. Choosing the location of the strongholds was like playing chess; not only did they have to be close to their allies’ strongholds, but they also had to disrupt the enemy guild alliances’ stronghold formations.

As of now, about seventy percent of all the players in Galaxy had arrived. The unpopulated Planet Milton became exceptionally boisterous.

In Golden Alliance Base No.1, the upper echelons of the four biggest Chinese guilds and various top tier Chinese guilds gathered in one place.

In the middle of the room was a 3D projection of Planet Milton. The surface was divided into areas with different colors, representing the territories of different guild alliances.

The Golden Alliance was the guild alliance the Chinese profession clubs took the lead in founding. It basically included all the top tier Chinese guilds. The Golden Alliance could be seen as the representatives of the Chinese players; almost all the members were army players.

The term ‘army players’ was just a general term. It was not an official guild alliance and also had different factions. Some foreign players who only joined the army in Version 4.0 formed different guild alliances. Being in the same faction was a link that made these guild alliances natural allies.

Usually, these guild alliances could be seen as a whole, generally called the ‘army players’. However, when it comes to the national war, they still need to be classified separately.

The various guild alliances that gathered on Planet Milton could be roughly split into four Factions—the Black Star Army Faction led by the Golden Alliance, the Anti-Black Star Faction led by the Galactic Business Alliance, the Three Universal Civilizations Faction led by the September Conference, and the remaining scattered forces mainly consisting of the guilds from other Beyond Grade A organizations and neutral organizations. They fought for their own and had no leader.

Morning Snow Twilight Frost stood beside the projection, gestured with his hands, and said casually, “… As everyone can see, the Galactic Business Alliance, Northern Battlefront, 5C Alliance, and so on have always targeted us. They’ve set up their strongholds around every one of our strongholds, preventing us from expanding the base, clearly planning to surround us as soon as the war starts.” He was the president of the Dynasty Club’s official guild, also the first president of the Golden Alliance.

The president of the Temple of God, Jupiter, crossed his legs and said with disdain, “Ha, are these Europeans playing chess? Don’t they know who invented chess?”

“Our allies are responding too. Some arrived at the locations in advance, so the enemies won’t be able to surround us. Some built strongholds at important strategic locations. It won’t be that easy for the enemies to mess with us,” the president of the Jade Green Sky said slowly.

The guild alliances of the Black Star Army Faction had made an agreement to follow the lead of the Golden Alliance and fight together. Other than the guild alliances of the Black Star Army Faction, the Golden Alliance also received help from elsewhere, the enemies of their enemies. The enemy’s enemy might not be their friend, but at least there was room for them to work together.

“In terms of supplies, fleets, and weapons, we have the upper hand. The bulk purchased Evolutionary Badges are also given out, forming close to two hundred demolition divisions of eight hundred members each. In attacking strongholds, they’ll destroy the enemies with the aid of airstrikes very quickly,” a guild president said excitedly.

Fleets and all kinds of war machines were allowed in this war, but no Planetary Obliteration level weapons were permitted. However, the weapons used had to be bought. This war was a pure battle between the players; getting help from NPCs was clearly forbidden.

The various large guild alliances hosted this battle mainly to create exposure. The national war aligned with the various clubs’ interests. As long as they could achieve outstanding results in the war or even become the final winners, their guilds would be able to attract more ordinary players, gain more fame, and earn through traffic. This was the goal of professional clubs.

As for the winning condition, it was very simple. There were mainly two ways. One was to destroy all of the enemy’s strongholds on Planet Milton. After the battle started, the guild alliances would still be able to continue building more strongholds, but the others would be allowed to attack them.

Another way was to deplete the opposing guild members’ revival times in the week. The players could revive ten times in six days at most on one account, and in such a highly intense war with hundreds of millions of players participating, the frequency of the players dying would become strikingly high. Morning Snow Twilight Frost nodded, turned to the many professional players who were listening on the side, and asked, “How’s the challenge going?”

King Admiral said lazily, “More wins than losses. I forgot the exact numbers.”

Bun-Hit-Dog instantly gave a thumbs up with a grin. “No worries, I remember. We’re now at 3,488 wins, 1,142 losses. The win rate is about 75%. It’s glorious!”

The rules stated that the guilds could not fight each other, but since so many players had gathered there, clearly some would get too bored. Duels were not forbidden, so PVP matches could be seen everywhere.

Due to this, the various large guild alliances sent out many PVP experts to challenge players of the other guilds. If they won, the other guild’s morale would be affected.

The results of these duels needed to be promoted to increase the popularity of the guild, so professional reports were needed. Hence, Bun-Hit-Dog, who was a celebrity, was hired by the Golden Alliance as the chief reporter to lead the entire battlefield reporters group, personally in charge of writing the battle reports of the Golden Alliance.

Such a large-scale national war had players in all kinds of industries participating such as PVP experts, logistics players, management personnel, reporters, and so on. They all had their own job to do. It was a festival.

As the date for the start of the war approached, the atmosphere on Planet Milton became more and more heavy. A storm was coming.

The players were not the only ones who paid attention to this war. Even the other organizations paid attention to this war between the Immortals.

The three Universal Civilizations, Super Star Cluster civilizations, and the other organizations got some information from the players. Although they were surprised by the special hostility between the Immortals, they all did not disrupt them, only observed them, quietly recording the specialties of Immortals.

If the Black Star Army Faction won his war, Han Xiao would benefit from it too. His faction would be more appealing to the new players. However, he did not plan to interfere. He did not want to ruin this signature event that would certainly be written into the Galaxy Chronicles. He only wanted to stay at home and watch the show while eating some popcorn.

Time passed. Under the eyes of countless people, the day of the national war finally arrived!

Chapter 1186: The Tears Pugilists Are Shedding Are All the Water Damage Their Brains Suffered When They Choose Their Class

Chapter 1186 The Tears Pugilists Are Shedding Are All the Water Damage Their Brains Suffered When They Choose Their Class

Despite constructing many strongholds on Planet Milton, all the big guild alliances had a main base, usually the first stronghold they built. It had no difference from the other strongholds in terms of rules, but to the players, it was a symbol, like the main city. Dragon Hill was a large hill that surrounded the Golden Alliance’s main base. It originally had no name. The name Dragon Hill was given by the Golden Alliance after they occupied this place. On the day of the beginning of the war, hundreds of battlefields of varying sizes appeared on Planet Milton. Most were between strongholds. Among all these battlefields, Dragon Hill attracted the most attention. This was because the Anti-Black Star Faction had placed their main forces there, planning to get rid of the Golden Alliance’s main base on the first day of the war. The Golden Alliance, too, placed their main forces there and prepared for it. They had decided to fight head-on.

Almost ten million players from both factions gathered on Dragon Hill, looking forward to the battle. The countless troops turned this hill into a colorful sea. Teams of players kept shifting locations like tides on the sea.

The mixed colors came from the troops of the Anti-Black Star Faction, as they wore very different equipment. As for the Golden Alliance, they were wearing the army’s standard mechanical suits, which were black and silver. It was very neat. The Golden Alliance looked like a huge official army, unlike the Anti-Black Star Faction, which looked like a mere mix of small forces.

The people of the Galactic Business Alliance and other guilds were stationed at the south, east, and west sides, planning to attack from all three directions. The Golden Alliance troops’ formation was circular, wrapped around the main base. The formations of two sides were separated by a wide belt area.

Inside the strategy surveillance room, the 3D satellite map hovered in the middle.

Morning Snow Twilight Frost, who took the position as the main commander of the battle, stared closely at the map, giving out orders one after another. The dozen military strategists around him occasionally gave suggestions, while the group of assistants sent the orders down.

For such a large battle, fighting without an overall strategy would spell certain defeat, so the commanding system was very crucial.

To prevent electromagnetic or virtual technology disruptions that might prevent the frontlines from receiving orders, both sides chose to use the chat system in the interface as the channel to give out orders.

The main commander looked over the entire battle and analyzed the situation with the military strategists. The orders would then be passed down by the messengers in the command room to the various high commanders. The high commanders would then swiftly adjust the detailed strategy based on the orders and the situation of the frontlines before giving orders to the intermediate commanders under them. The intermediate commanders would then pass the order down to the team captains at the frontlines, who would then communicate with their team members in the team channel and execute the orders.

On both sides, there were as many as more than a hundred thousand commanders, the majority being the team captains.

This procedure looked complicated, but because the chat system was not restricted by distance and everyone did their job properly, it was very efficient.

If all the players made up a body, the main commanders and the high commanders would be the brain giving the orders, and the intermediate commanders and the team captains would be the nervous system responsible for controlling the body based on the orders the brain gave. Morning Snow Twilight Frost gave a round of orders. Seeing that the troops on his side were all almost in place, he exhaled softly, turned to Jade Green Sky, who was one of the military strategists and asked, “… The setup is about complete. How much time till the war starts?”

“Six minutes and eleven seconds.”

“It’s about time. Tell all teams to preheat their weapons. Activate the shields of the base and the frontlines too. At the three-minute mark, have the enchantment Mages start applying buffs and the rest start consuming whatever combat capability enhancement potions they have.”

The order was quickly passed down. A thick, light-blue energy shield rose around the main base and shrouded it.

The defense Mage teams at the frontlines started to apply shields and enchanting spells on the other teams around very soon. The Pugilist teams who would be leading the charge also started to inject enhancement potions. These bonuses all had a time limit, so using it right before the start of the war would maximize the effects.

The Anti-Black Star Faction’s men were doing the same thing. Colorful lights appeared on both sides like a fireworks competition.

Seconds felt like years in the last three minutes. All the players present were exhilarated and nervous. They held their breath, focused, and waited for the war to start. The atmosphere of the battlefield was silent and intense.

As the countdown continued, it finally reached zero.

“Go!”

At that instant, the earth started trembling!

The battlefield that was silent just seconds ago was suddenly filled with roars and battle cries. The battle erupted instantly!

The two stationary seas suddenly turned into raging tsunamis, charging at each other!

Countless energy beams formed an enormous net on the empty area between the two sides. Tons of players fell during the charge from the opponent’s long ranged attacks. The black and the mixed colored tides quickly closed in on each other and clashed!

Boom boom boom boom!

Chains of explosions left cracks and pits on the ground. Dragon Hill swiftly became a mess. The charging teams of both sides collapsed in large areas. In just an instant, countless mechanical soldiers, Pugilists, and melee-ranged Esper players died on the spot. It was a bloodbath! This was not a stage for any one person. No matter how strong a player was, once they got out of the main formation, they would be killed in an instant. Carrying out their individual duties in groups was the only choice.

“Area C5 and D2, target their Psychic teams! Their AOE is too strong. The shield durability is almost at the warning line!”

“Defense Mages, keep giving the Pugilists enhancing spells. Throw fire or poison spells or whatever you have toward the enemies! Trap experts, stop f*cking throwing spells and keep planting traps! Summoners, get your babies out quicker… Where’s the attack Mage team of Area B2? Don’t fall out of formation!”

“Area A1, A4, B2, B6, C1, and D1 Mechanics, quickly disassemble the traps. D9’s artillery is broken. Go repair it. Army Style and Mechanical Pugilists, keep advancing. Cannon Masters, don’t stop attacking. Target their Psychics and Mages. Virtual Mechanics, handle their fleets. Armed and Energy Mechanics, bring out your heavy weapons and continue to fire. Target their Pugilists!”

“Psychics, focus on their Mechanics. Remember to save your mana… Nice! Someone landed a Super Critical Hit! A ton of enemies have just died!”

“Espers who are not melee types, don’t rush forward. Stay behind, and step back to recover your mana when you’re out… Didn’t I f*cking tell you not to rush forward? That’s the job of Pugilists! Why the f*ck are you fighting for it?” “Area C2 Pugilists, try to die slower! Get back to the frontlines after reviving. What are you waiting for?” The battle entered the climax instantly. The chat channels were filled with energy, and the commanders were yelling at the top of their lungs.

The players of the five classes all had their job to do. Psychics were responsible for AOE attacks and applying debuffs. Espers and Mages were responsible for whatever their ability was or what they excelled at.

The Pugilists were the most tragic, they could only lay down their bodies at the frontlines for the rest to advance. The Pugilists were strong and incredible in the early versions, now they were weak and helpless. How the tables turn.

After all, Pugilist was a civilian class, the pros of it were that it was easy to play, the fighting style was cool, and it was not bad in duels.

However, in large battlefields like this, everyone was targeting Pugilists, hoping to deplete their revival times so that their opponent would lose the teams who were leading the charge. In situations like this, the Pugilists’ death rate was far higher than the other four classes. Even the term ‘cool’ was lost on them. They were basically competing on who could die in a flashier way.

Furthermore, Pugilists did not have any other choices. No one would want them even if they wanted to do construction work in the logistics department; their efficiency was far lower than all kinds of mechanical devices.

At this time, the thoughts in the various Pugilist players’ minds were shockingly similar.

F*cking hell, how am I supposed to play this class? Comparatively, Mechanics who were weak in the early stages were shining brightly in battles. They were the busiest in the battlefield. They could fight, manage logistics, charge forward, deal both single target and AOE damage, repair, and produce. They were irreplaceable.

Due to how strategically crucial the Mechanics were, the Golden Alliance had an edge. Because of their faction, the most elite Mechanics among the players were all in the Black Star Army. Basically all of them were members of the Golden Alliance.

As the battle carried on, the situation started shifting—the Golden Alliance gained the upper hand, and it was expanding.

The top tier professional players all had the privilege of getting resources poured onto them by their clubs, so the difference between them was not too obvious. However, in terms of overall strength of the players, the Golden Alliance surpassed the Anti-Black Star Faction.

The Black Star Army had united the Chinese players long ago, saving the players the cost of continuously changing factions. Furthermore, there were all kinds of faction privileges from time to time. Their growth was much more organized than the ‘wild’ players who had been in many different factions in the past versions.

After close to four versions, the Golden Alliance players were clearly superior in terms of abilities and equipment overall.

Furthermore, the fake main storyline Han Xiao concluded in advance gave the army players another wave of funds and EXP. One or two players receiving it would not make a difference, but tens of millions of players all received the reward. When that materialized in this battlefield, it increased their edge even further.

“The casualty count statistics are out!”

Inside the main base’s command room, Morning Snow Twilight Frost was giving out orders when he received a set of smart statistics. His eyes gleamed.

“The enemies died 0.742 times on average. For our side, it’s 0.631 times. Wonderful!”

The people present were overjoyed.

This data represented the average deaths per player on both sides. Though the difference was only 0.111, in this battle of tens of millions of players, this meant that the players on their side died about five hundred thousand times less than the opponents! “The revive limit is only ten every six days. Finishing those revives means you’re out. Today is the first day of the war, so their bottom line is probably between 1.8 to 2.2. Their charging team has died more times than the average at almost 1.2. They’ll soon be unable to hold on!”

Morning Snow Twilight Frost narrowed his eyes and said, “Send in fifty demolition divisions. Advance at my command!”

As they were not fighting NPCs, both sides did not use large-scale suicidal attacks. Everyone could revive multiple times, and if used wrongly, they might lose more than they had to gain instead.

The Golden Alliance had piled up a ton of Evolution Badges when preparing for the war. Fifty demolition divisions meant forty thousand players, which was about a 0.01 increase in the overall average death count after conversion. They now had an enormous edge, so they could totally take the risk. The goal was not to kill more enemies but to make use of the tankiness and the high melee damage bonus of the Aberrations to break the opponent’s formation.

As the order was passed down, a special team was escorted into the frontlines. With countless flashes of light, their bodies expanded into Aberrations one after another and charged into the enemy formation, unstoppable like a hot knife cutting through butter!

A total of forty thousand monsters with multiple buffs charged into the enemy’s formation, instantly creating areas of enemy Pugilist players that were separated from the rest. The attacks from the Golden Alliance followed right after and wiped them out on the spot.

The violence of the Evolution Badge was recognized by all the players. The advance of forty thousand Aberrations messed up the Anti-Black Star Faction’s command system for a while.

They spent quite a lot of time before killing all these Aberrations. The chaos had caused the Anti-Black Star Faction’s average death count to increase by 0.018, meaning about a hundred thousand players died. The difference between two sides was getting bigger, especially among the Pugilist teams. “We can win!”

The morale of the Golden Alliance players in the frontlines rocketed. The players of the Galactic Business Alliance were clearly not as energetic.

Battles between large armies would not be turned around easily. As soon as one side had the upper hand, the remaining battle would just be the process of snowballing.

The situation continuously became better for the Golden Alliance and worse for the other side. The results of the battle were gradually growing certain.

While the battle on Dragon Hill was going on fiercely, Han Xiao, who was far away in Black Star Palace, was holding a bag of popcorn in his one hand and a drink in the other, watching the broadcast from Bun-Hit-Dog on the forums.

However, his focus was not the situation of the battle…

“Nice, nice, using forty thousand Evolution Badges at once. Charging these Evolution Badges is going to get me a wave of EXP again. Keep using them.”

“Haha, hundreds more mechanical teams are destroyed. More repair fees.”

Han Xiao was joyous. He did not feel heartache about the battle damage the Golden Alliance was suffering at all. He was practically laughing.

In his eyes, every batch of resources the Golden Alliance lost meant a new round of sales for him. If not because the faction benefits could not be given out randomly, he would even sell to the Anti-Black Star Faction.

“War is still the most profitable!” Han Xiao grinned.

At this point, he felt like he was a shameless strategist reclaiming the resources he gave out from the players in all kinds of ways.

After all, the players would only be motivated to create more value when their hard-earned resources were emptied.

Chapter 1187: Black Star, I Have Mastered Your Ways!

Chapter 1187 Black Star, I Have Mastered Your Ways!

The Dragon Hill battle was like a signal. Flames of war erupted everywhere on Planet Milton in the next two days. The bloodshed of the guild alliance players was never-ending. Battles happened on hundreds of battlefields across many strongholds every moment. It was as if Planet Milton was being bombarded continuously for two days. The surface was completely wrecked by the hundreds of millions of players.

The forums were basically filled with only two types of posts, the ones that kindly greeted the families of the opposing players and the battle reports of the various battlefield reporters.

As there were way too many battles going on across the various battlefields at the same time, even Han Xiao could not follow all of them. He only watched the Golden Alliance’s performance on the first day, saw that the Golden Alliance had emerged victorious in the Dragon Hill battle, and stopped paying close attention. He only looked at Bun-Hit-Dog and the Galaxy Times’ reports once every few hours to get an idea of the overall situation of the World Server War.

In general, the Golden Alliance had the biggest advantage. The guild alliances such as the Galactic Business Alliance suffered large losses on the first day, so they clearly became much more cautious.

As for the Three Universal Civilizations Faction led by the Golden Alliance and the September Conference, they did not organize any large-scale battles, only smaller partial battles. Instead, the scattered neutral factions were the ones that had fought most intensely so far. The scattered neutral factions had the most players. Many smaller guilds formed small alliances. Not only were they fiercely fighting each other, but some daring players even formed teams and attacked the strongholds of the big factions such as the Black Star Army Factions. Most of them were defeated, but a small percentage of them managed to take over some strongholds from the three mainstream factions.

In similar events, cleaning up the scattered players was normally the first thing that needed to be done. However, that was not the case here. The war was extremely brutal, and the revival count that basically no players cared about usually now became the most crucial resource.

The three mainstream factions had the ability to eliminate any scattered factions they wanted, but doing that without taking at least some damage was impossible. The players were fearless and would never give up resisting. Even the three mainstream factions would certainly incur some losses. To them, using the crucial revival counts on these scattered players was an utter waste.

Furthermore, attempting to cleanse the scattered players on a large scale would most likely cause them to unite and fight back. By then, they would have shot themselves in the foot and gotten trounced by the scattered players.

Although the rules did not state a time limit, everyone had an unspoken agreement to decide the results of the war in six days. Otherwise, their revival count would refresh again by then, which would be extremely costly for the guild alliances.

Although the players could revive again, their resources would undoubtedly deplete as time went on. If they were to fight another round, the inventory of the guild alliances would suffer tremendously. Furthermore, normal players would not be willing to go through the death penalty too many times.

In his exclusive workshop in Black Star Palace, Han Xiao stored away a newly built King mechanical suit, casually opened the forums, and browsed through the battle reports for today.

‘Golden Alliance 8 Hours Report: Continued Increase in Win Probability’ – By Bun-Hit-Dog: “The Golden Alliance has carried out forty-one battles in the past eight hours, four are million level battles, eleven are five hundred thousand level partial battles, twenty-two are a hundred thousand level partial battles, and four small group battles. No ten million level battles. Of them, the Golden Alliance won twenty-nine and lost twelve, winning 70.73% of the battles, a 3.16% increase compared to yesterday. The overall average death count increased from 2.375 to 2.814, maintaining at the top of the average survival leaderboards, further increasing their lead over the second in place. The difference now has already reached 0.703!”

‘Flying Stone Cliff Quick Report’ – By Galaxy Times (Chinese Zone): “Today, the Galactic Business Alliance and the Northern Battlefront’s stronghold in Haywood Valley was assaulted by the September Council and Denland. As their teleportation arrays were disrupted, the Galactic Business Alliance and the Northern Battlefront dispatched the closest forces to travel to the Haywood Valley stronghold as reinforcements. However, when they passed by Flying Stone Cliff, they fell into the Golden Alliance’s ambush and suffered heavy losses. According to reliable sources, the Golden Alliance secretly dispatched a team there and had them log off. By logging in at the Flying Stone Cliff, they took the enemies by complete surprise, achieving a huge victory!”

There were many similar reports, Han Xiao scanned through them with a smile to see which guild alliances were eliminated for about half an hour before exiting the forums.

Beep beep beep! At this time, his communicator rang. It was surprisingly the dynasty exploration army’s Marshal, Brother Tarrokov.

Han Xiao accepted the communication and asked with a smile, “Yoho, Old Tar, what’s
up?”

“Have you been paying attention to the war between the Immortals?” Tarrokov’s tone was serious.

“Hehe, I have a ton of Immortals under my command. How can I not pay attention? Come on, do you have to test me like this? Did the dynasty upper echelons send you?”

Han Xiao had a rough guess of what Tarrokov’s intentions were.

“Hmm…” Tarrokov did not deny it and slowly said, “What I want to ask is, how much do you really know about the Immortals?”

“Be more specific.”

“Alright… the Intelligence Department and the Dynasty Science Institute have never stopped observing the Immortals. One of the earliest batches of Immortals appeared on Planet Aquamarine, which were almost all recruited by you. You seem to have a very deep understanding of them. We’d like to know, why do the Immortals disappear every so often? Why does all of their strength increase after appearing again after they disappear? Does this strength increase of theirs have a limit? Can they really be fully controlled?”

A chain of questions was thrown at Han Xiao. He did not immediately respond. He felt the attitude change of the Crimson Dynasty.

The three Universal Civilizations had always been studying the Immortals, and now they finally came to him, who was an ‘expert’ in this matter on the surface. This was clearly because of the World Server War. It had made them take the Immortals even more seriously!

The nickname ‘Cancer of the Universe’ had existed for more than half of the version. The players had always been active in different events everywhere. Even though there was the Black Star Cup not long ago, that was just a competition. This time, however, was the first time the various organizations finally witnessed a large-scale battle only Immortals took part in.

The weapons and fleets they used were nothing extraordinary, nor was the scale as marvelous as the galactic battles. The only thing that was shocking was how fiercely the Supers fought. The Immortals from different factions had fought before too, but this time, it was much bloodier and more brutal. The advanced civilizations were only shocked, but those smaller organizations were almost spooked!

So, this is what a war between the Cancers of the Universe is like. We still underestimated the violence of these people!

Thinking about the specialties the Immortals had shown in the past, the dynasty no longer had the leisure to slowly carry out their studies, so they approached Han Xiao, hoping to obtain more detailed information.

“I don’t know them that well. You guys probably already know what I know…”

Of course, Han Xiao was not going to tell the entire truth. He casually said some things. Most was information the others could also obtain, nothing rare or new. “Is that all you know?” Tarrokov was not convinced yet.

“What else? I was only able to find some patterns before others. I’m not an Immortal. How can I know everything?” Han Xiao joked.

“You’re right…” Tarrokov nodded.

Actually, the Crimson Dynasty had suspected that Black Star was an Immortal decades ago.

However, no one had been able to kill him, so there was no way to know the truth.

Then, since Black Star did not disappear periodically like the Immortals, the dynasty had let go of this suspicion.

After Tarrokov was gone, Han Xiao wiped off the smile on his face and looked serious.

He opened the interface, looked at the EXP gauge, and made an estimate.

“At this rate of harvesting EXP, when this fight is over, I’ll have more than enough EXP to complete the level 340 Promotion before the Pro League starts… Hmm, I can use the Evolution Cube again this time.”

Han Xiao frowned slightly.

As the strength of the players increased, the state of the universe would become more and more chaotic. He would only be able to deal with all kinds of changes by becoming stronger as quickly as possible. By then, no matter how the advanced civilizations responded, he would be able to deal with it.

The players of the Limitless Financial Group were also part of the World Server War. They were one of the large forces among the scattered factions.

Sorokin was also paying attention to this battle, but not just to observe it-he had other plans.

“This seems like a good opportunity to attract Immortals…” Sorokin’s eyes flickered.

He had always been passionate about recruiting the Immortals. Although he did not know the truth about the players, the path Han Xiao had taken gave him some ideas.

Sorokin had carefully studied the Black Star Army’s history, especially the methods the Black Star Army used to attract the Immortals. By concluding what had happened in the past, he had found quite a lot of patterns.

By now, Sorokin felt like he had already mastered Black Star’s methods.

“This war between so many Immortals is a good opportunity for the Limitless Financial Group to make a name for itself among the Immortals. If the Immortals of the Limitless Financial Group win in the end, it should attract more Immortals…”

Usually, the Limitless Financial Group Immortals did not have an edge. In order for them to win, he had to interfere. Anyway, he was not restrained by his reputation like the other Beyond Grade As. Even if word of him, a Beyond Grade A, shamelessly interfering with a war between Grade B supers got out, his reputation would not be affected because he never had one to begin with. As a Beyond Grade A, even without using his full strength, he would be able to decide the results of battles at this level. Furthermore, his methods were extremely sneaky. He believed that these Grade B Immortals would not be able to discover them.

“Looks like this is worth a try. I shall do it…” Sorokin made up his mind.

His speculation actually made sense. However, he could not see the forums, so he lacked the most crucial piece of information… He had no idea the players were fighting, and more importantly, he was completely clueless about the fact that the rules forbade NPCs from interfering!

The players of the Limitless Financial Group did not dare break the rules. They had invested a ton of resources and worked hard trying to maintain the good results they had achieved.

What they would never have expected was that their own faction leader was preparing to get them instantly disqualified.

Chapter 1188: That’s Not How the Script Was Written!

Chapter 1188 That’s Not How the Script Was Written!

Within Mount Gold, a large base was embedded in the mountain, with the sky around it hovering with battleships and a team of mechanical guards, tightly guarding the area.

This was the main base of the Apocalypse Foundation, the largest guild alliance belonging to the Limitless Financial Group. Sixty to seventy percent of the mountain itself had been transformed into mechanical defense facilities, and relying on this main base, they had also cleaned up the surrounding small areas to continuously expand. In the middle of the third day of battle, the Mount Gold stronghold sent three ace troops to conquer the Hex Armed Forces of the Wind Hunting Valley. This was another large guild alliance that occupied the area. The two of them had been fighting for regional supremacy.

The Hex Armed Forces had long detected that their enemies would attack and thus pulled out their troops. Both sides fought fiercely outside Wind Hunting Valley, neither side willing to extricate themselves.

Just as the fierce battle between the two were raging, another guild alliance called the Reverse Crusade launched a raid on the Mount Gold stronghold.

They had planned this for a long time and stationed their troops to hide and ambush the area a day and a half in advance. They had even erected a secret resurrection point in the area. Using the opportunity when the main forces of both sides were in battle, they attacked the relatively empty base camp of the Apocalypse Foundation, intending to steal the other’s base.

The Apocalypse Foundation was at the disadvantage of fighting on two fronts. They actually intended to withdraw the troops attempting to conquer Wind Hunting Valley. However, the Hex Armed Forces seemed to have anticipated the emergence of the Reverse Crusade and entangled the main force of the Apocalypse Foundation, not allowing it to separate from them.

At this moment, the stronghold at Mount Gold had turned into another fierce battlefield. A large number of artillery battleship and combat machinery were fighting in the air, fireworks constantly dotting the sky, and the ground was full of players fighting in the hills and plains.

The Apocalypse Foundation had basically dispatched all their trump cards at this point and did not have many of their elites to guard their base. Most of the members in the base were their periphery members, and faced with the attack of the elites in the Reverse Crusade, they could only steadily retreat from the base.

A flood of unfavorable battle reports was sent back to the main command room of the stronghold, causing the leader of the Apocalypse Foundation, Sisyphus, to feel beleaguered.

“No wonder the Hex Armed Forces suddenly provoked us. It was all to lure us into falling into their trap! They’re indeed devils!”

Sisyphus hurriedly contacted his Vice President, who had led the team to attack the Hex Armed Forces, through the guild channel.

“Quickly come back to reinforce us. This old man here can’t hold them back for long!”

“Boss, we can’t withdraw at all. The Hex Armed Forces are chasing us too closely. Unless we all die, there’s no way for us to return. The average number of deaths in our main force has reached 5.14. If we go up by one more point, we’ll be even more passive. Right now, even if we manage to go back, our ships and weapons will also be captured by the enemy!”

“We’re already at this stage. If we lose a bit, it can’t be helped. It’s more important to protect our base!”

“We can’t! The enemy has already made preparations in advance. If we all try to return via dying, then they’ll definitely push the momentum to attack our home base, joining hands with the Reverse Crusade!”

Hearing this, Sisyphus frantically scratched his head.

As they had been caught off guard, the situation now was two against one, and the Apocalypse Foundation alone could not handle it. He could only ask for help from the other guild alliances that were on the Limitless Financial Group’s front.

“I hope that our reinforcements can arrive in time. This time, I really suffered a huge loss…”

With a heavy heart, he refocused his eyes back to the real-time battlefield projection, but he froze on the spot.

“W-what is this situation?”

Turning to look at his members and commanders, he found that everyone had the same expression of shock, as though they had come across a ghost.

In the monitoring screen showing the frontal battlefield outside the Mount Gold stronghold, one of the squads of the Reverse Crusade had broken through the defense line and slammed into their troops.

“Instagib[1] them!”

The death squad prepared all their abilities, ready to collectively blast the whole lot of them.

At this moment, all their movement stopped, as the light on their bodies disappeared due to being interrupted.

Not only did it apply to the death squad, but all the Reverse Crusade players had the same reaction, as though the freeze button was pressed simultaneously for them. All their actions were halted, causing the troops to be instantly disconnected and the lineup torn.

On the interface of these players, the same notification appeared.

Sorokin (Manifestation) has used [Mind Shock] on you!

Judgment is in progress… Judgement successful. You cannot control your body for the time being

Your skills are forcibly interrupted, and you have been afflicted with the (Stiffness] status.

In that instant, the situation went through a plot twist. The Reverse Crusade, which was originally beginning to see the light of victory, suddenly plummeted into the abyss, their psychological states suffering a great shock.

At this moment, there were only curses echoing in their heads.

You even called out a Beyond Grade A?

This is cheating!

Are the guilds of the Limitless Financial Group such sore losers?

The short (Stiffness) status condition turned the tides in an instant. The Apocalypse Foundation players did not stop, setting off a burst of explosions to take out a large portion of the players from the Reverse Crusade, reclaiming their battlefront.

The Apocalypse Foundation players were also in shock, not because of the sudden stop of the Reverse Crusade players, but rather because of a notification that they received on their interfaces.

Sorokin (Manifestation) has used (Spiritual Inspiration) on you!

You have entered the [Inspired) state. +10% all Attributes.

Sorokin (Manifestation) has used (Combat Excitement) on you! +18% to Damage, +12% to Defense

“What’s happening?”

“Where did the bonuses come from? Did someone use a Character Summon Card?” “That’s not right. Even if the Character Summon Card is used, the name of the user won’t be changed!”

The troops at the frontline could not understand it, but this was not the time to think. They hurriedly struck to kill the enemy instead.

Before long, most of the troops from Reverse Crusade had died. Everyone thought that this was a desperate situation but did not expect to solve the threat in such a manner.

Sisyphus had yet to recover his wits. At this time, a call came from his Vice President, his tone one of surprise. “President! We beat the Hex Armed Forces! I don’t know why, but their movements suddenly halted!” “It can’t be, right?” Sisyphus hurriedly asked the various commanders, only then figuring out what had happened. He was bewildered. What situation is this? Did Sorokin arrive? But we didn’t call him! Why did he come to join in the fun?

Could it be that he saw us in danger and took the initiative to help?

Sisyphus’ eyes widened. There was nothing on his face that represented the joy of making a successful counterattack.

In normal times, they might have been touched, but right now…

What business is it of yours? Your excessive worrying will be the death of us all!

The next day…

“Look at the iron hooves,

“Trampling across the myriad mountains and rivers,

“I’m standing on the edge of the wind,

“Holding tightly the rotation of the sun and moon.”

Han Xiao hummed[2] while walking out the bathroom.

With only a towel wrapped around his waist, his toned, sturdy upper body was exposed, with the magic circuit on his chest akin to a glowing dark blue tattoo, flickering with each breath.

A pinnacle Beyond Grade A could basically forego rest, but Han Xiao had always attached importance to a combination of work and rest. In the past few days, he had created seven to eight sets of King mechanical suits, so he decided that he would not be doing any assembly today. Without adjusting his body temperature to evaporate the water, he simply wiped his body dry before kicking back to swipe the forums. The moment he entered the forum section, his expression turned weird. “Apocalypse Foundation violated the rules, inviting Beyond Grade A helpers? Aren’t they part of the Limitless Financial Group’s guild alliances?”

Han Xiao entered the post and saw that the replies had gone into the tens of millions.

The content of the post was basically the Hex Armed Forces and the Reverse Crusade condemning the Apocalypse Foundation. After a day of fermenting, this incident had resulted in a storm within the player community. Countless players were filled with indignation and accused the Apocalypse Foundation of violating their rules.

“It’s too much. We were actually going to win. I didn’t expect that the Apocalypse Foundation would be such sore losers, hiring a faction leader and using this method to make a comeback. This is simply cheating!”

“There’s a whole stack of videos and screenshots as evidence. Let’s see how you explain this!”

“That’s right! Yesterday, someone even tried to clean up the mess, saying that this was the effect of a Character Summon Card. My @ss! Since when was the Character Summon Card able to change the name of the person utilizing it?”

“Such acts that undermine fairness must be severely punished. I propose we cancel the qualification of the Apocalypse Foundation in participating in the war. Since you can’t afford to lose, don’t play!”

The forum was basically full of posts of annoyance. Han Xiao swept through it, seeing the announcement made by the Apocalypse Foundation as well.

“I’m the President of the Apocalypse Foundation Guild Alliance. Things are not what they seem. We did not ask Sorokin for help; he did it himself. This has nothing to do with us. Think about it, guys. We’re clearly aware of the consequences of breaking the rules, so why would we purposely go against them!”

Sisyphus’ post, in the face of the enraged group of players, was like a drop of water in a bucket. Not only was it not convincing, he was even ridiculed in return.

“Hehe, continue crafting this story.” “So, as it turns out, you can invite the Beyond Grade A to help first, then apologize later and absolve yourself of all blame. I’ve learned something today.”

“What, do you think only your side has a Beyond Grade A? Who are you looking down on!”

“You wanna play this game? Men, someone go invite Ancestor Black Star over!”

Many of the players did not accept this statement, but the players on the side of the Limitless Financial Group sort of believed this to some extent. Suddenly, there was a mix of responses.

“It can’t be, right? Sorokin, that old dog, was actually so nosy?”

“This is akin to a time bomb! When it comes to us, then wouldn’t our qualifications to participate be cancelled too?”

“I’ll meekly ask now. Is it still possible to change factions…”

“Level 180 Psychic, my core class skills are all lv.7 and above. Begging for a guild to accept me!”

Sorokin’s actions completely scared off all the players from the Limitless Financial Group. In order to continue participating in the war, the players even wished to switch camps. They did not dare stay any longer in this organization that could backfire on them at any time.

After reading the post, Han Xiao finally figured out what was going on.

“The guilds shouldn’t be lying, so this was likely done of Sorokin’s own initiative. As for his goal… well, he has always been keen on recruiting players, so he probably summarized some rules from watching me and thought of how to increase the attractiveness of his faction.”

After realizing the whole picture, Han Xiao guessed Sorokin’s logic before bursting into laughter. “So, it’s like this… The idiot actually thought that his actions were completely concealed, just using some auxiliary mental abilities to make others think that this was an explosive ability of the Limitless Financial Group players or that they utilized some special spiritual weapon. Normally, they would not be able to link it to him… but the combat information has already betrayed you, you little cheater.”

Han Xiao laughed. Little Soro, ah, Little Soro, you shot yourself in the foot. When you use the wrong method, instead of lifting the prestige of your faction, you will cause a countereffect, giving you a bad reputation among the players.

The worst part about this was, the poor bloke could not even access the forums, so he was still in the dark, unaware that he had been scolded thoroughly by the players.

This is the advantage of information…

Sorokin’s manipulation would no doubt result in some of the players of the Limitless Financial Group leaving. At that time, when the players were cold and lonely, he would use his warm chest to hug them, welcoming them into his faction.

Little So, it’s not me who’s snatching your leeks this time. You handed them to me yourself…

Han Xiao chuckled.

This feeling of earning something while sitting at home was pretty comfortable.

Since his intervention yesterday, Sorokin had been paying attention to the subsequent development, but he could not help but feel puzzled when he did not see the situation he expected.

Based on his reasoning, the Apocalypse Foundation had launched a successful counterattack with his help. The other Immortals would now be amazed by the strength of the Limitless Financial Group, so why did they not show any response?

It was not until the next day that he saw the Apocalypse Foundation reacting. It was not the pursuit of their victory as he expected but them abandoning their base and leaving the planet on a battleship.

“Strange, what’s this reaction?”

In his office, Sorokin gazed at the live broadcast of the news media covering the front lines, and he frowned.

Just as he was feeling puzzled, Sorokin received a pop-up from his own artificial intelligence. One glance caused his heart to skip a beat.

He saw that the pop-up report was full of resignation notices from the Immortals, and this number was rapidly increasing.

“What’s happening? Why are they resigning from the Limitless Financial group?”.

Sorokin had a stunned expression, and as if he had thought of something, he quickly turned back to the live broadcast.

He saw batches of Immortals belonging to the Limitless Financial Group flying out of the stronghold, scattering. Some went to the neutral factions, while others ran to the three mainstream factions, including the Black Star Army. There was no restriction on the operation of players to switch factions on the spot, so one could be beating someone up one day and turn into teammates the next day. This was all allowed in the rules. The Limitless Financial Group, being a galactic consortium, did not pursue faction cohesion in the first place. Those who joined did so because of the high welfare provided, so there was no reluctance for them to switch factions. Now that the first World Server War was destined to be recorded in the Galaxy Chronicles, if they missed this opportunity, there would not be any reward left for them. In order to not be disqualified, the Limitless Financial Group did not hesitate to betray their faction.

“This…”

Seeing this, Sorokin was a little dizzy.

My methods were obviously the same as those of Black Star, so why did I get the opposite effect?

as

That’s not right. That’s not how the script was written!

[1] This is a gaming term referring to one-hit kills.

[2] These are lyrics from “Borrowing 500 Years from Heaven”.

Chapter 1189: Thanks, Little Soro, for the Assist!

Chapter 1189 Thanks, Little Soro, for the Assist!

The change in the Limitless Financial Group was just a small episode in the entire national war. After some players changed factions, the heat of this episode quickly subsided, and the various guild alliances redirected their attention to competing against each other.

The battlefield developed day by day, with a large number of players being eliminated. Because the number of resurrections decreased, the surviving guild alliances had become more cautious, not daring to be so aggressive. In addition, because many of the guilds had been eliminated, the battle was not as intense.

Because the Golden Alliance was constantly ranked first on the list, their lead kept on snowballing, and their current advantage was too huge. They were ambushed by the anti-Black Star troops, those from the three Universal Civilizations, and a bunch of loose guild alliances. This was one of their most tragic battles since the beginning of the war.

While the Golden Alliance had an advantage in terms of strength and number of resurrections, they also suffered from a loss in numbers and could not continue to maintain an excellent battle loss ratio. Their average number of deaths jumped from 5.89 to 7.38.

However, the advantages accumulated by the Golden Alliance were too solid, allowing them to maintain their position at the top despite the losses they sustained in this battle. The Golden Alliance’s average deaths did not exceed 6 before this battle, while the averages for the other guild alliances were too high. For example, in second place, the September Council belonging to the three Universal Civilizations saw their average deaths rising from 6.71 to 7.68 after the battle, which was a net win for them, but overall did not allow them to beat the Golden Alliance.

According to the forums, the analysis of average death ratio was at 9 points. Any value higher than that meant that the troops had lost their combat capabilities, and right now, many of the major guild alliances were approaching this number.

Thus, on the sixth day, those who had yet to be eliminated did not wish to rashly start a war. They seemed to tacitly agree to refresh their number of resurrections on the day. Thus, Planet Milton suddenly became quite deserted, with only sporadic battles taking place.

However, when it came to nighttime, the scene suddenly got lively. The various guild alliances began to fight wildly, exploiting the loophole in time.

Because a player that ran out of resurrections within the six days would count as being permanently eliminated, even after the refresh time of six days, they would still be ineligible to continue the battle. Thus, the guilds planned to use troops that still had enough resurrection times to eliminate the ‘seriously wounded’ guilds with an average rate of 9.0 on the sixth night, weakening their opponents’ troops. In this manner, after the resurrection count refreshed in the morning, it would be basically equivalent to having no battle losses.

Thus, the night of the sixth day gave rise to a huge battle royale, where those who wished to live past the night fled in all directions, whereas the ‘healthier’ ones turned into hunters, chasing after the ‘wounded’ with a smile.

Of course, the hunted and the hunter roles were easily swapped, and from time to time, there were hunters who turned into prey and joined the fleeing team. Compared with the tragic and bloody battles the previous few days, the sixth night seemed to be reminiscent of a horror comedy.

But this very night displayed the largest wave of elimination since the start of the war. A full seventy percent of players were sent off that night. On the morning of the seventh day, when the number of resurrections was refreshed, the guild alliances of the three mainstream factions had less than half of their troops left. The other scattered organizations were worse off, leaving only a quarter or even a fifth of their total population.

The plan to solve all battles within six days went through, but the scale of the troops for every guild were also reduced, so the resources that needed to be invested were also reduced. The major guild alliances could only fight with their remaining troops for another six days before they ran out of ammunition and food.

And when it came to the third cycle, that was, the morning of the thirteenth day, there were only six guild alliances left on Planet Milton. The Golden Alliance was one of them, and it was, relatively speaking, the best-preserved power. None of the eliminated players left, instead remaining to watch the battle from above Milton in their spaceships, betting on who would be the final winner.

Because the margin of error had become even lower, everyone started to behave more cautiously. In this situation, it would be difficult to clear out every single one of their opponents, so the six guild alliances unanimously decided to attack each other’s strongholds and remove them to win.

After the first two weeks of war, the number of troops had decreased, resulting in a far less intense battle compared to at the beginning. At this time, another advantage of the Golden Alliance was greatly magnified—the Evolution Badge!

The Aberrations had strength far beyond a player’s current level, but the flaws were also obvious; they were restricted to melee battles, and most of their skills would be frozen. This had led to the inability to fully utilize the superiority of the biological Aberrations in ultra large scale group operations due to the high concentration of firearms.

However, this was a different case in the small and medium scale battles where the enemy would have less firepower.

At the current stage of the war, the Golden Alliance no longer deliberately pursued the advantage of having lower damage, and using the powerful attack capabilities of the aberrations, they traded their resurrection times to invade the strongholds. By the fifteenth day, two other guild alliances had already been eliminated by them.

By the seventeenth day, only two alliances were left—the Golden Alliance and the Galactic Business Alliance. Both sides reached an agreement to not attack strongholds but rather settle the war in a decisive battle without regrets.

Having decided to end with a bang, both sides chose the battlefield to be Dragon Hill, which had already been renamed to Dragon Grand Canyon. They fought from morning till night, and in the end, the Golden Alliance won with a weak advantage, having less than two thousand players on the battlefield when the last member of the Galactic Business Alliance was killed.

The national war thus came to an end with such a result. Once it was over, the forums became the carnival grounds for the Chinese players. Even those who were eliminated politely sent congratulatory messages, acknowledging the win of the Golden Alliance for the first national war. The Galaxy Times as well as various reporter groups also released reports and articles, especially the group led by Bun-Hit-Dog. They were full of flowery praises, so cringy to the point that even the Chinese players that saw it felt their scalps tingle in discomfort.

The ‘Galaxy Chronicles’ was also updated, classifying the first national war as the ‘Milton Battle’, recording all the wars that took place, large or small. Because the Chronicle was one where players could add in their own input, everyone just had to upload the battles they had experienced to completely restore the entire process of the national war.

Even after the national war ended, the players did not leave but rather reluctantly returned to Planet Milton, treating the environment and using their engineering machines to transform their strongholds into cities.

Because it was a rare occurrence for people of all factions to gather, some players set up stalls, and soon, many more joined in, turning the place into a trading area. PVP players also felt an itch to look for people to spar, and thus, Planet Milton became lively again, as though it had turned into a new Main City for the players.

In the office of Black Star Palace, Han Xiao closed the forums with a smile on his face.

“It’s finally over, after more than half a month. The time taken was much longer than in my past life.”

He did not provide any help throughout the whole process and thus was very happy to see that the Golden Alliance had won. The Chinese players had achieved good results, showcasing his fruitful efforts in the past four versions toward them.

The first national war in his previous life had a far-reaching impact, being marked as one of the major landmark events in the ‘Galaxy Chronicles’. The rules of the battlefield were passed down from then and eventually became a tradition recognized by the players. If they chose to fight again in the future, the same set of rules would have to be observed. The victory of the Golden Alliance would inevitably increase the attractiveness of their faction. As new players in the future considered which factions to join, with the older players blowing their own trumpets, the former would definitely choose the Black Star Army over the rest, due to its potential benefits.

The most important thing was that with the length taken to fight the national war, it had brought him far more benefits than expected!

Han Xiao opened the interface, glancing at the value of his EXP gauge as he smiled.

“It’s about two months before the Pro League. I didn’t expect this wave of experience to give me what I needed…” Based on his calculations, he had enough to upgrade from level 331 to 340. This was much earlier compared to his initial estimations!

Within this wave of experience, there was a huge portion that was contributed by the former Limitless Financial Group players who switched factions midway.

“Little Soro, Little Soro. I must sincerely thank you for your help. Half of the labor belongs to
you.”

Han Xiao was extremely satisfied.

With enough wealth and foundation on his hands, there was no need to hesitate. He directly invested all his experience into his levels.

Divine Throne Mechanic leveled up to Lv.32. +500 Energy, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +18 END, +25 INT. You have received 20 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

Divine Throne Mechanic leveled up to Lv.40. +500 Energy, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +18 END, +25 INT. You have received 20 Free Attribute Points and 1 Potential Point.

You have received the Promotion Mission for Lv.340!

Lv.340 Promotion Mission: Raise one of your (God’s Trait Transformation) skills to at least the 10th level.

“Hmm?” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

His (God’s Trait Transformation Machinery] had already reached the ninth level. Constructing another Universal Treasure would allow him to reach the tenth level.

The upper limit of his Divine Throne Mechanic Class was capped at sixty. Thus, there was no mission for a change in class at 340, only the Promotion mission.

“This seems quite easy this time round…” Han Xiao mumbled, but then he laughed to himself.

It’s not that the mission is easy, but rather, I’m too good.

He was originally intending to use a Mission Completion Card for his Promotion, but he now dispelled the thought. Regardless, he had to increase his God’s Trait Transformation skill, so there was no need to waste a Mission Completion Card on it. After the Intelligent Plague disaster, the dynasty had opened up a Gold Grade blueprint exchange channel for him. As long as he had enough faction Contribution Points, he could redeem a blueprint and craft it. He had the patience to wait for a while. Furthermore, the effect of his Evolution Cube depended on his Energy Level. Now that he had the Dragon Emperor Star Energy Extraction Technique on hand, Han Xiao intended to raise his Energy Level to the next tier, obtaining an extra stack of bonuses from the Evolution Cube. This would also require some time before he reached his target.

Han Xiao directly took out his communicator to contact the Crimson Dynasty. After expressing his needs, he soon received a list of blueprints to choose from.

After scanning it carefully, he selected one of them, sending out a redemption application.

The next step would be to await the approval of the dynasty’s senior officials to obtain his blueprint.

While the Gold Grade blueprints were precious to mechanics, to the point that having money alone could not buy it, with the fame and influence of the Great Mechanic Han, this was not an issue. Having authority in one’s hands really made things a lot better.

Han Xiao was in a joyous mood, playing with his communicator whilst waiting for the dynasty to reply. Casually looking at the lively scene that was taking place in Planet Milton, he suddenly had an idea.

In his past life, the location of the first national war was also on Planet Milton, so it was regarded by the players as a commemorative Main City. However, after the version update, the planet was requisitioned and no longer opened to the public, thus becoming a regret for many of the players.

“When the fight between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance is over, officially concluding the fourth exploration phase, I’ll buy Planet Milton and the several surrounding planets to give them to the Golden Alliance…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

This move would not only deepen the army’s presence among players but also reward the Golden Alliance. The excellent results of the Golden Alliance have brought us huge benefits. Though it’s an internal matter of the players, I should not be too stingy and make a statement to deepen the sense of belonging for the army players.

Isn’t it just a few planets? Just this paltry sum, I can buy it directly!

Chapter 1190: Promotion!

Chapter 1190 Promotion!

Half a month passed by in a flash. Because the battle of Planet Milton had been settled, the preparations for the Pro League began to rapidly heat up. Players liked the new and fresh concepts, so analytical posts about the strength of professional players began to be posted on the forums, and various teams had also begun to promote and mobilize themselves. But Han Xiao did not pay attention to all of this. As soon as he obtained the Gold Grade blueprint, he threw all his affairs to Sylvia, concentrating on production.

Because it was his first time creating this blueprint, Han Xiao worked for half a month, experiencing many failures and accumulating a lot of proficiency before he obtained a Gold Grade end product, obtaining his God’s Trait Transformation point. “It’s done!”

In the machinery modification room, Han Xiao could not hide the joy on his face, casually throwing aside the Gold Grade equipment he had just created to open his interface and use up the point.

God’s Trait Transformation Machinery) has reached the 10th Stage.

There are now unknown changes in your Life Hierarchy.

You have obtained a new understanding of Machinery. +15% chance of forming a new exclusive expertise. The skill (Universal Simulation] has obtained a sublimation.

You have begun to perceive part of the power of the transformation route – (Talent Unknown).

You have received (The First Sanctum) Ability Fragment x 1.

“Oh, that’s right. Every fifth increment indicates a new realm.” Han Xiao nodded to himself.

When he reached the fifth stage for his God’s Trait Transformation, the same notification had appeared. This time, he had obtained a fragment of the First Sanctum.

He glanced at the effect of the tenth stage. It increased the level of all Mechanic skills from the (Apostle Mechanic) to the [Divine Throne Mechanic) Classes by three, along with a 1.2 times bonus to Machinery Affinity, a forty percent bonus to skill effect, and a 1.3 times bonus to damage and shield durability… It was basically a replica of the fifth stage’s effect, with an increase in the bonus range provided.

“This is similar to the fifth stage in that it provides an increase in combat abilities, not bad… eh? What’s this?”

Han Xiao suddenly realized that the progress bar behind the ability name had changed. The expected (10/?) had become (10/15).

“The unknown question marks are now revealed… Is the highest level of God’s Trait Transformation capped at fifteen? And it seems like you can only see this limit when you reach a certain level…”

Scanning it carefully, he found that the change was more than just these factors. From the 10th to the 11th stage, the number of points required to level up the skill had inflated to 6 points. At the same time, there was also a surprising notification.

Your (God’s Trait TransformationMachinery] has reached the 10th Stage.

You have triggered the transformation requirement. For each requirement completed, you can reduce the cost of upgrading by one God’s Trait Transformation point.

1. Reach level 345
2. Comprehend a Unique Talent
3. Create a Gold Grade blueprint

“Going above the tenth stage not only requires points but also missions to be completed. This is a little like the advancement missions… Will the Mission Completion Card be effective here?”

While he was surprised by the changes in the God’s Trait Transformation skill, he had no intention to experiment with it now. He turned his head, letting his mechanical assistant clean up the workshop while he directly teleported to a barren planet where he had previously placed a Throne beforehand.

Whoosh!

His vision spun, and he found himself now in the middle of a desolate gorge. Looking up, the walls on both sides stretched up all the way, forming a straight vision toward the sky.

This was a planet located in the hinterlands of the Black Star Army. He had chosen to advance here because he did not wish to make such a big commotion.

Han Xiao stowed the Throne away that he had his machinery place there beforehand before taking out the Evolution Cube and activating it.

Buzz!

The dark strands of Evolutionary Energy seeped out, and Han Xiao guided it into his body. A wave of pain burst out, as a black cocoon was formed outside his body. On his interface, the notification of the effect of the Evolution Cube used swept through his screen like a waterfall.

You have utilized the Evolution Cube (Gold Grade)!

You have received a permanent special benefit — [Gene Optimization: Evolution Cube)!

Identifying species… Identification complete.

Your current species is: Void Star Pursuer

Your genetic structure is being optimized…

The first optimization has succeeded. Your potential qualities have increased. It is detected that you have received this level of optimization before. You have received +O STR, +O DEX, +1 END, +2 INT, +O MYS, +O CHA, and +3 Energy.

Your Energy Level is above Level o. The second optimization has automatically succeeded. It is detected that you have received this level of optimization before. Your potential qualities have increased, and you have received +1 STR, +1 DEX, +2 END, +3 INT, +0 MYS, +0 CHA, and +4 Energy

…

Because your Energy Level is above Level 24, the 26th optimization has succeeded. Your potential qualities have increased, and you have received +85 STR, +90 DEX, +113 END, +148 INT, +76 MYS, +60 CHA, and +560 Energy

During this period, he had taken the time to learn the Dragon Emperor Star Energy Extraction Technique, and just yesterday, he had broken into the twenty-fourth level for his Energy Realm. The first time he used the Evolution Cube, his Energy Level was only at fourteen. Thus, the first sixteen levels of the gene optimization had been triggered previously, and the effect of repeated use was far worse than before. But the effects from the seventeenth to twenty-sixth optimizations were normal because it was being triggered for the first time.

In total, his Strength and Dexterity had increased about 700 points, Endurance by almost 900, and Intellect over 1,100. Mystery and Charm had also increased by around 500, giving him a total of almost 4,500 Attribute Points. His energy had also gone up by around 4,000 points.

“The effect is pretty good, with a greater increase than when was used for the first time. This is probably because of the higher-level bonuses.”

Han Xiao scrolled to the back of the notifications and was startled.

You have obtained 26 rounds of gene optimization. +40% Experience needed to level up. Lasts for 26 months. You have fulfilled a special condition: Possess a Racial Talent and obtain more than 20 levels in gene optimization.

You have triggered a Special effect.

The next time you undergo a Race Evolution, you will receive +30% to your attribute balancing, and your Racial Talent will also be additionally strengthened,

Gene Optimization has ended.

With a cracking sound, the black cocoon shattered, and the evolutionary energy returned to the Evolution Cube.

The pain caused by genetic optimization slowly faded. Han Xiao’s nerves were now extremely tough, and this sort of pain could not even distract him. He only stared at the notification on the interface with joy.

He only thought that the Evolution Cube would give a bonus for the first ten energy levels. The additional effect for the twentieth was something he did not expect. No player had ever reached this level back in his previous life.

“The last time provided me an additional opportunity for Race Evolution, and this time, it will increase my attributes in Race Evolution. Wonderful.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

At his level 300 Race Evolution, there had already appeared the option of (Void Archangel]. This meant that during his level 340 Evolution, he could reach the pinnacle of his Void Genes, which would likely give him a path that would lift his gene limiter!

Because the Race Evolution for one that lifted the gene limiter would give a lot more attributes compared to a general evolution, he was even more overjoyed.

“Good things come in pairs! It was worthwhile spending all my free time with Feidin!”

Han Xiao was ecstatic. Taking a deep breath, he calmed down his emotions, keeping the Evolution Cube.

Looking at the indication of ‘Completed’ on his level 340 Promotion Mission, he solemnly chose to complete the mission.

Boom!

The ground quaked!

Surging Mechanical Force exploded out from him, rising to the sky!

Lv.340 Promotion Mission completed!

Promotion succeeded!

+120 END Bonus! 1 END = 690 Health = 700 Stamina

On the road of Evolution, you have taken yet another step forward.

Race Detected: Black Star Race (Specialty race, unchangeable)

Randomly selecting five suitable evolutionary directions… Extraction complete!

Please select two from the five Race Evolution choices below and receive one talent from each:

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

“What the hell are those two options?”

Enduring the drastic changes in his body, Han Xiao looked on with doubt.

Of the five options, he had never heard of the names of the (Saint-Carmel Race) or (Innate Star Body). Even after checking his database, there was still no record.

“At this current level of evolution, things that I’ve never seen before have finally appeared.”

While Han Xiao was curious, since he had already walked on his void evolutionary pathway to this point, there would naturally be no meaning in changing it. The two options provided unknown abilities, so he did not wish to take the risk.

As for the Void World Worm, he was aware that it was a symbiotic life born within the Void Dimension, forming an important part of the natural cycle in the Void Dimension. It fed on void energy and the chaotic space stream to form materialized excrement, which was one of the sources that made up the Void Dimension.

Both the Void Deity and Ancestor of the Void were the pinnacle form of the Void Evolutionary route, and both had the effect of lifting the gene limiter. Han Xiao did not hesitate, choosing these two races directly.

You have received the talent (Gene Limiter Removal]!

You have received the talent (Void Control)!

Gene Limiter Removal: Your physical strength breaks through the limit of your species, greatly liberating your potential. You will obtain a huge number of attribute points and have a chance to raise related attributes when you perform your daily activities.

Void Control: You can control the Void Dimension to a certain extent (including but not limited to borrowing void energy to strengthen yourself, high-speed absorption within the void dimension, transform void energy into energy, summoning the void dimension to descend at your location…)

“Void Control… Kasuyi definitely has a similar ability, or else his recovery speed would not be so terrifying…”

Han Xiao nodded secretly to himself. This ability was the most valuable talent, equivalent to obtaining permissions to operate a part of the Void Dimension.

Scrolling down, he noticed that the talent of the Black Star Race had also been strengthened.

Your Black Star Race talent (Mechanical Genius) has been upgraded.

Mechanical Genius: Your Machinery Affinity bonus has increased from x1.28 to x1.38, Machinery Creation Performance increased from 44% to 54%, and +1 to all Mechanic Class skills’ levels.

(Gene Optimization-Evolution Cube]’s effect has been triggered!

Your Black Star Race talent (Mechanical Genius] has been upgraded.

[Mechanical Genius: Your Machinery Affinity bonus has increased from x1.38 to x1.48, Machinery Creation Performance increased from 54% to 64%, and +2 to all Mechanic Class skills’ levels.

Molecular structure is improved, organ structure strengthened, metabolism changed…

Black Star Race potential upgraded. You have received bonus attributes: +410 STR, +384 DEX, +561 END, +901 INT, +659 MYS, +347 CHA, and +10,000 Energy. Energy Level bonus attributes have been changed!

Gene Limiter Removal has taken effect. According to your current life level, race potential, and current attributes, you will obtain additional attributes. You have received +1,876 STR, +1,670 DEX, +2,348 END, +3,971 INT, +1,350 MYS, +966 CHA, and +23,400 Energy.

(Gene Optimization-Evolution Cube]’s effect has been triggered!

Your attribute replenishment effect is increased by 30%. +685 STR, +616 DEX, +872 END, +1,491 INT, +602 MYS, +393 CHA, +10,020 Energy.

“What the?”

Han Xiao’s eyes grew wide.

This attribute point replenishment was by far the greatest he had seen. Including the bonus of Evolution Cube, the attribute points awarded totaled more than 20,000!

At this moment, the continuous surging energy within his body became more and more unstable, Han Xiao’s body exuded a dazzling light as though it had become a planet core.

The energy rushed around his body, as though looking for an exit.

The next moment, his entire body shook as the energy was released to his surroundings.

Boom!

With Han Xiao’s energy as the epicenter, oppressive energy burst out.

The earth shattered and melted instantly, turning into an ocean of magma.

This barren planet was akin to an egg, exploding into pieces as though it had been smashed on the floor! Han Xiao only had a single thought in his mind at this moment.

“Thank goodness I didn’t advance in the base, or else this daddy would have lost his home…”

[1] Saint-Carmel Race

[2] Void Deity (Human Form)

[3] Innate Star Body

[4] Ancestor of the Void-New (Human Form) [5] Void World Worm

Chapter 1191: Skyrocketing Attributes

Chapter 1191 Skyrocketing Attributes

“Warning! Warning! The fourth sector is showing a high-energy response! The specific coordinates…”

An alarm sounded in the C0075D space monitoring system within the Fenrir Star System, and the staff hurried over to the radar screens. All of their uniforms carried the emblem of the Black Star Army.

The army had built a large number of space stations in the territory under their jurisdiction, which would monitor the situation within. They were mostly handled by artificial intelligence and supplemented by a small number of staff as insurance.

At this moment, a dazzling spot of light suddenly lit up on the real-time monitoring star map. The staff hurriedly operated the ultra-long-distance astronomical observation device, enlarging the field of view for the location of the energy burst.

The barren planet originally in this position had vanished, replaced by a cloud of golden energy that was constantly expanding, as though a dying fixed star was turning into a Red Giant. Brilliant arcs of lightning surged around it constantly.

Seeing this, the staff in the room all displayed confused expressions. “What sort of phenomenon is this?”

“Looks like stellar delay… but there’s only one barren planet here. Where did the Fixed Star come from?”

“Energy fluctuations are high. It feels more like that of a Beyond Grade A energy rank. It couldn’t be a Beyond Grade A that sneaked in, right?”

Everyone spoke before unanimously deciding to conduct a field survey in accordance with the provisions of the operation manual.

An unmanned spaceship flew out of the space station, soon arriving at the planet’s location. They saw that the golden energy was still expanding, its volume overwhelming at this point. The unmanned spaceship could not approach but only cruise around to collect data.

This continued for a period of time before the golden energy stopped expanding, shrinking hundreds to thousands of times smaller before suddenly exploding out in a shock wave. The observation screen turned blank from the shock wave.

The shield of the unmanned spaceship flickered, and the durability plummeted. Fortunately, it was far enough that even though it was damaged, it was not destroyed. When the spaceship finally stabilized, the staff far away in the space station hurriedly looked at the location of the explosion. The area was completely empty, with all matter of the barren planet annihilated.

Even after surveying for one round, they could not find the shadow of a person.

“Observation complete, source of outbreak not found. Requesting to return.”

Hearing the emotionless reply from the artificial intelligence, everyone present shared a glance.

“This matter is too strange. It’s not at our level. Report to our superiors.”

At the same time, Han Xiao, who had swapped into another King mechanical suit, was now situated on another barren planet.

“Hu, I almost got caught.”

Taking off his mechanical suit and collecting the Throne he had placed here, he let out a breath filled with gold lightning.

This time, his promotion had brought about a huge improvement. The energy in his body was nigh uncontrollable, his cells constantly producing energy that had blown up the planet when released. In order to not be seen, the moment he completed his promotion, he put on the spare King suit and teleported away.

He had chosen this position within the depths of his own turf to keep it a secret. His current strength had already made the various major organizations jealous, so if the outside world learned that he had improved yet again in such a short period of time, they would not show jealousy but fear. This might backfire on him, so he chose to keep it a secret, not wanting others to know about it for the moment.

“Master, hum… The command center of the Fenrir Star System has reported the high-energy response you triggered. They do not know the reason. How do I reply, hum?” Phillip’s voice sounded in his mind.

“So fast? Not bad, you can reply as usual. Send some exploration troops there for a symbolic
stroll.”

Han Xiao shook his head and chuckled.

Looking past this small episode, Han Xiao reopened his interface. The notification of the completion of his promotion had popped up. Rubbing his hands in excitement, he observed the changes.

Total Level: 324

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Black Star Race

Attributes: 15,914 STR, 15,423 DEX, 27,010 END, 56,460 INT, 13,107 MYS, 6,430 CHA, O LUK

Free Attribute Points: 135

Awakening Point: 9

Health: 41,039,094

Stamina: 31,662,700

Energy: 293,475

Lv.25 Energy bonus stat: +6,620 STR, +7,745 DEX, +10,308 END, +14,187 INT, +6,060 MYS, +4,382,600 Stamina Limit, +9,806% Machinery Affinity Energy Rank: 98,510 Grade: SS

Grade SS Bonuses: +150 END, +45% All Resistances. +40% to Highest Attribute , +25% Other Attributes, awarded additional 750 Free Attribute Points and 50 Potential Points

Remark: The door to an even higher realm is slowly being opened for you…

“Hiss…” Han Xiao took a deep breath.

The effect of his promotion this time was astounding! All his attributes had increased tremendously, by almost a third compared to before his advancement… except his luck. It had fallen back to zero when his attributes were washed during the creation of his last Universal Treasure, and he had yet to place it back.

Compared to his current attributes, they were much stronger compared to when he first entered the Beyond Grade A realm. In particular, energy would showcase its strength in the later stages, each level giving a stronger increase. The bonus provided by the level 25 energy was much higher compared to when it was level 15. Sure enough, suppressing his energy was the best way to boost himself!

The increase in his attributes brought about by his Race Evolution was equivalent to getting the bonus from level 21 to 25 for his energy. The increase was huge.

Especially with his current HP. Let alone the enemy, Han Xiao’s own tankiness made him wish to vomit when he saw it. He had an impulse to imitate Wei Yan from the Three Kingdoms, screaming out loud, “Who can kill
me!”

“Even if I don’t use machinery, and just rely on my body to fight Beyond Grade As below the Energy Rank of 52,000, I could probably still defeat them! And with my current Intellect attributes, plus the various bonuses, the state of my machinery is now terrifying.” Han Xiao clenched his fists, feeling the explosive power surging in his body. He could not hold back his smile.

With his current strength, even without his skill (Virtual Purification, Restore), he would not be scared of Manison bringing out the Felons. As long as he dared to appear using his true body, Han Xiao would use him as training. Right now, within this era of pinnacle Beyond Grade As, the only one that could threaten him would probably be (God’s Chosen] Wuornos, who was unfathomable.

The more one’s Energy Rank increased, the greater the span between each point. To be unable to achieve 100,000 this time made Han Xiao feel a bit of a pity. After all, this was like a threshold, so he had thought that maybe something would have been triggered.

However, considering that the entry to Beyond Grade A was not a whole number, the value of 100,000 did not carry any meaning at all.

His Grade did not change, and Han Xiao thought that Grade SS should be the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm. The next tier should be the realm that the EsGod was always searching for, which would give one a qualitative change in their life form, just like from the Calamity Grade to the Beyond Grade

The Free Attribute Points given from level 331 to 340 had been left untouched. Han Xiao threw a point into Luck before assigning the rest to Intellect.

Taking a look at the experience needed to upgrade, the amount had once again skyrocketed. It was such an astronomical figure that it even made a leek expert like himself speechless.

After admiring his new attributes for a few more moments, Han Xiao finally dragged his gaze away, pulling up the Ability section.

Because he was busy with his promotions before, he did not have the time to observe the changes in his God’s Trait Transformation. This time, his promotion met all five conditions of the God’s Trait Transformation, and he obtained five points.

However, [God’s Trait TransformationMachinery] required six points to reach the eleventh stage, more than what he currently had. He decided to see if the Mission Completion Card could work on the skill as well to reduce the cost.

“Theoretically speaking, the Mission Completion Card should work since it is usable for promotion missions.”

Muttering to himself, Han Xiao took out the Mission Completion Card, selecting the requirement of ‘self developing a Gold Grade blueprint’ before looking at the interface.

You have used a Mission Completion Card!

Mission Completion Card has taken effect.

You have completed one of the upgrade requirements of God’s Trait TransformationMachinery. Points required to upgrade have been reduced by one. You currently need: 5 points.

“Oh, it works.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Over the years, he had obtained many Random Reward draw chances and had accumulated quite a few Mission Completion Cards. They now had another purpose-being used for his God’s Trait Transformation skill.

“Although this is good news, I don’t know if the requirements for each upgrade will increase. It’s better to still save them and try to complete the upgrade requirements on my own. There’s no harm in raising my strength anyways.”

However, he still decided to prioritize his upgrade of (God’s Trait TransformationMachinery]. If the limit was still ???, he might have switched to the (God’s Trait Transformation-Void) route, but now that the upper limit was not far away, he intended to try to complete the God’s Trait Transformation

– Machinery first, to find out what would happen if one of the routes was maxed out.

Right at this moment, his communicator rang.

“Beep beep beep!”

Kasuyi’s washbasin-sized face appeared on his screen.

“Black Star, are you done with your stuff? When shall we depart?”

Han Xiao had previously agreed to Kasuyi’s request to team up, but he had been delayed by the affairs of the Modo Civilization. After the Modo Civilization was dealt with, Kasuyi would send out a request every few days, but Han Xiao had replied to ask him to wait due to his promotion mission.

“Alright, alright, such a coincidence. My business has just finished. Let me know when you want to go,” Han Xiao helplessly said.

Kasuyi finally revealed a smile. “Right now.”

“Such a hurry?” Han Xiao was surprised.

“That’s right. Do you have time?”

“I do have time, but I don’t know where to go. What sort of preparations are needed?”

“There’s no problem. We can meet up in the Void Dimension first before I brief you.”

Kasuyi did not even wait for Han Xiao to reply before hanging up. Han Xiao toyed with the communicator, his curiosity increasing.

He had agreed to Kasuyi’s invite initially purely out of their friendship, but now he was getting more interested about this matter. What sort of event would make Kasuyi so desperate?

It was not known how long he would be gone this time round. Han Xiao thought about it before sending word to Sylvia.

“I’ll be going to the secondary dimension world. It’s unknown when I’ll come back, so I’ll leave you in charge for the time being.”

Han Xiao quickly got back a reply. “You might as well not come back.”

Han Xiao felt helpless.

It seemed like Sylvia had been working overtime endlessly all this while, and thus, she was a little resentful. He would not argue with someone whose hairline was in danger of receding

Han Xiao was about to summon the Mysterious Energy Host to bring him into the secondary dimension before he suddenly paused. “Oh, that’s right. I have the ability of Void Control and should be able to enter the secondary dimension at will without using the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy.”

He closed his eyes, activating the talent and communicating with the Void Dimension.

His consciousness seemed to sink into a colorful world, and bubbles quickly passed through his field of vision. Soon, a large gray-blue bubble appeared in his line of sight, growing larger.

With a thought, he inserted his consciousness into the Void Control from his macroscopic perspective.

Puff!

There seemed to be a sound going off in his mind as his consciousness was inserted into the Void Dimension without any hindrance. It was smooth as though the entry had been greased, leaving his own mark in the core of the Void Dimension.

Boom!

The next moment, Han Xiao felt that his consciousness seemed to have expanded, covering the entire Void Dimension. The energy within was like an extension of his body, and he could ignore the distance to absorb the energy of the Void Dimension, like an invisible energy transmission pipeline.

“Turns out, this is the same feeling as described by Hila…”

Han Xiao was astounded.

Those who could connect to secondary dimensions were few. Kasuyi was connected to the Void Dimension and Hila to her Underworld Dimension. Traveler had connected with the Evil Convergence secondary dimension through his own efforts, and now Han Xiao had joined their ranks. Having a secondary dimension that would provide a constant flow of energy to nourish the body was indeed different.

At this moment, he recalled something.

“That’s right, Kasuyi is also connected to the Void Dimension. I’m not sure if he will find
out…”

While waiting for Black Star in the Void Dimension, Kasuyi sat in his palace, absorbing the Void Energy to adjust his state.

He suddenly jerked and raised his head in shock.

“Someone else has connected to the Void Dimension?”

Kasuyi did not mind others connecting to the Void Dimension, as the energy was endless. He was not like Traveler, who treated the secondary dimension like his wife.

However, this was not something that could be done overnight. Only the Void species had the qualification to connect, but even so, they had to use their mental strength to slowly remove layers of obstacles in order to reach the core and establish a connection. At the beginning, Kasuyi had tried countless times before he finally established a connection.

But this unknown newcomer did not even make a commotion, reaching the core on their first try. This was inconceivable.

“Who could this guy be?”

Kasuyi was secretly shocked, at the same time feeling a little sour.

“Even I could not do it so quickly. Just what qualifications does this person have…”

The more Kasuyi thought about it, the more unpleasant it was. The void energy he took in no longer felt as good as before.

Chapter 1192: God’s Trait Transformation’s Secrets, an Extreme Mission

Chapter 1192 God’s Trait Transformation’s Secrets, an Extreme Mission

Somewhere in the Void Dimension, a light flashed, revealing Han Xiao’s figure, which was transmitted via Void Control.

“Kasuyi should have arrived. I’ll go look for him.”

With his Void Control, a small map of the Void Dimension conveniently appeared in his mind. Han Xiao found his position, moving toward the middle area of the Void Dimension, which was the territory of Kasuyi. The effect of Void Travel was greatly increased, and each usage brought him a great distance. It did not take long for Han Xiao to reach the outskirts of Kasuyi’s territory. After thinking about it, he stopped in an area that served as a border post, releasing his aura.

Boom!

The surrounding Void Energy blew up in a storm, alerting the guards. A huge army flew over quickly, led by a Void Duke. “Who dares to intrude in Lord Kasuyi’s… Oh, it’s Lord Black Star!”

This Void Duke did not finish speaking before he saw Han Xiao, and he immediately dropped the hostility.

Han Xiao’s reputation in the Void Dimension was not insignificant, since the deeds he had left there the last time had spread all around. Most of the strong people at the top of the Void Dimension knew about this void species that was at the same life form level as Kasuyi, and the milestone (Void Dimension Conqueror] helped too.

“Kasuyi and I have an appointment. Where is he?”

“Lord Kasuyi is already waiting for you in the main hall. Please follow me.”

The Void Duke dispersed the troops, leading Han Xiao into the outpost and approaching the platform with mysterious lines on it. He then took out a deep blue crystal, whose insides were swirling with void energy. The next moment, the surrounding Void Energy surged, forming a gray-blue spatial vortex on the ground of the platform.

“A transportation door made from Void Technology?” Han Xiao sized it up.

Because the rules of the Void Dimension were different, they had their own system in place. This was a method based on utilizing the Void Energy and its characteristics, which could only be used in the Void Dimension.

Stepping in, Void Energy flooded his body. The next moment, he instantly appeared before a magnificent and luxurious palace, made out of crystals of various colors.

“Black Star, you’re here.”

A familiar voice came from behind him. Han Xiao turned around to see a small table, with Kasuyi seated by it.

Just as he was about to continue speaking, Kasuyi sensed something, and he showed a look of surprise.

He suddenly sensed the aura of a similar life form on Han Xiao—not the aura of the same species but one of a high-level bloodline.

“You’ve… evolved again?” Kasuyi revealed a look of shock.

“No, no, it’s just a trivial increase.” Han Xiao put on a humble expression.

As void creatures, his own Race Evolution could not be hidden from Kasuyi, but the other party was also unable to ascertain his exact growth.

“Every time I see you, I get more surprised…” Kasuyi narrowed his eyes. “Just now, the one who intruded… cough, who formed a connection with the Void Dimension couldn’t be you, right?”

“Oh, you indeed discovered it.” Han Xiao waved his hands. “I was just trying it but didn’t expect it to be so simple. I succeeded in a try. I remember you mentioning that you do not mind others linking to the Void Dimension as well, correct?”

“That’s alright. I was just curious…”

Kasuyi’s eyes twitched, and he put on a nonchalant expression. However, his inner self was twisting in agony.

Simple? I’ll be d*mned if it’s simple!

To pass off your connection with the Void Dimension as a simple test, then what about my effort!

As he was internally scolding Han Xiao, the latter suddenly stepped forward, stretching out a hand to pinch his face.

Kasuyi paused, staring up at Han Xiao.

“You, what are you doing?”

“Checking to see if it’s your main body or your clone.” Han Xiao was curious. “… I’m in my main body!” Kasuyi angrily slapped off Han Xiao’s offending hand.

Han Xiao asked with suspicion, “Didn’t you say that exploring the dimensions would be dangerous? I thought you would send a doppelganger and not come over with your main body… With just your health, you dare to do this?”

Kasuyi felt his face cramping up.

What sort of words are you saying? You think I’m so paper-like?

… Alright, I’m more like paper than you, but I’m still a pinnacle Beyond Grade A. There will be a limit to my paperness!

Kasuyi was speechless for a long time before pointing to the seat opposite him in resignation. “Have a seat and eat something. I’ll explain our objective.”

A few void creatures holding trays appeared as he spoke, carrying plates of food and wine and putting them on the table. The plates were made out of colorful translucent crystals, sparkling beautifully.

However, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched upon looking at the food.

If he was not wrong, this thing on the plate seemed to be the excrement of the Void World Worm and was even the most concentrated part of it…

“What’s wrong? Eat some.”

“It’s alright. I don’t have such heavy tastes.”

Han Xiao hurriedly waved his hand.

This could be considered the local cuisine of the Void Dimension, containing pure Void Energy. But Han Xiao had acquired this species and thus had no habits of eating such stuff.

Seeing this, Kasuyi did not force him, raising his glass to take a gulp of wine before beginning his explanation.

“At our level, the God’s Trait Transformation is indispensable for us to go further. You must also have touched on this, but you might not know that as the degree of God’s Trait Transformation gets higher, there will be some sort of intuition for you to perceive certain opportunities to obtain objects or complete some illusory things to reduce the difficulty of promoting to the next stage.

“And this time, I sensed an opportunity that guided me to the secondary dimension that we’re going to explore later. There seems to be something in it that’s attracting me, which might help in my God’s Trait Transformation…”

“Oh?” Han Xiao suddenly had a thought.

Opportunity for transformation? This is similar to the prerequisites that appeared when my God’s Trait Transformation reached the tenth level.

So, it turns out, this is how the prerequisites are reflected in the NPCs… Kasuyi must have a type of God’s Trait Transformation that has gone above level ten.

To a Beyond Grade A, information about God’s Trait Transformation was precious knowledge, so Kasuyi did not hesitate to share more about it at this point. Han Xiao also listened for a while and learned more about it.

It seemed vague, but Kasuyi gave a few real examples, such as his senses telling him that if he became the most powerful overlord of the Void Dimension, it would be conducive to his God’s Trait Transformation. This was the same as Manison, who had a gut feel to become the leader of the Machinery Faith, which was what the Old Man had told him in private.

As for why this would happen, Kasuyi also had a few hypotheses.

In his opinion, the God’s Trait Transformation was not only the evolution of the individual but also the entanglement of one’s fate line with countless external factors. Only through assuming and integrating the luck of every group could the final God’s Trait Transformation then be completed, as though it was a fate that the strong had to bear. “There’s actually such a thing?” Han Xiao was secretly surprised. But thinking about it from another point, since there were the two words ‘God’s Trait’ within the God’s Trait Transformation, one could not rule out such a possibility. However, it was still unknown as to what would happen after the transformation was complete.

It was no wonder Kasuyi was so impatient. It turned out that he saw another possibility for further improvement.

It was just that from Han Xiao’s perspective, this matter could actually be explained simply using an interface. It was probably that what the God’s Trait Transformation was looking for was no longer just limited to levels, attributes, or energy. Rather, like the Class Advancement, he needed to complete a certain mission to earn his promotion. To a normal person, it would seem like they had received the call of destiny.

Because he had already seen the Mission Completion Card work on the God’s Trait Transformation mission, Han Xiao did not find it too difficult to believe. In fact, he got happier.

It doesn’t matter how a normal Beyond Grade A should train because we don’t follow the same system at all. I just need to rush through all of these.

At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly realized a problem.

“I’m also a void creature, so my transformation route should be the same as yours. Will we then become competitors?”

Kasuyi shook his head. “Even if it’s the same transformation route, the things we feel are different. While I don’t have much information, my intuition tells me that everyone’s path will be unique… at least within the same generation.”

“Then your intuition must be really good,” Han Xiao said. “I understand the goal now. It’s to help you find an opportunity for your God’s Trait Transformation in the secondary dimension, right? How’s the situation there now?”

Hearing this, Kasuyi’s expression became more serious, and he frowned.

“I’ve already sent two doppelgangers over. This area is within the deepest parts of the secondary dimension, and the space there is very chaotic, the environment dangerous. This is not the main issue, however. There’s a group of powerful creatures guarding that area, and my doppelgangers have been repelled twice!”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

To be able to repel Kasuyi’s clones meant that the total combat power of these creatures could be compared to a pinnacle Beyond Grade A. This was undoubtedly the most dangerous place in the secondary dimensions. A Beyond Grade A would likely not be able to survive.

“Have you tried talking to them?”

“Their memories were empty, having no valuable information, and they seemed to also have no self-awareness. They did not respond to me, and I didn’t recognize what species they were either. There’s no record of them in the database.”

“Let me look at it.”

Han Xiao’s brows furrowed. He was afraid that Kasuyi would have encountered those from the World Tree Civilization. That would be bad.

However, after seeing the image Kasuyi shared, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. He also did not recognize this creature, so it was likely not to have any relation with the World Tree Civilization. “Just the guardian of this secondary dimension has such strength. I’m not sure what it will be like inside… Have you managed to get in?” “Nope, I cannot break through the blockade of these creatures.”

“If the outside is so dangerous, it’s definitely not any better inside. Maybe it’s the nest of these creatures…” Han Xiao’s expression was strange. “You really want your main body to set off?”

“The only way for me to discover the opportunity is for my main body to go over. With your help this time, there should not be any problems. The Mechanic class is the most proficient in large scale battles. This should be your forte.” Kasuyi laughed and spoke honestly. “Furthermore, my intention of inviting you was not just based on your strength but also to borrow your mechanical suit, the King. If the situation becomes too bad, then only you will have such mobility.” “I see.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Then I’ll accompany you with my main body. The machinery is too weak and might not be able to guarantee your safety.”

Hearing this, Kasuyi did not know what expression to make. Of the entire Universe’s mechanics, probably only you can say such words… Ding. At this moment, Han Xiao heard the notification from his interface, indicating the acceptance of the mission.

You have triggered the mission (Kasuyi’s Invitation).

Mission Introduction: In order to find an opportunity for his God’s Trait Transformation, Kasuyi has decided to explore a dangerous and mysterious unknown secondary dimension. Because he acknowledges your abilities, he has asked for your help.

Mission Requirements: Help Kasuyi find the goal of his trip.

Reward: 450 billion Experience, 6 Random Rewards, 3 Character Summon Cards, +30 Favorability for Kasuyi, 1 God’s Trait Transformation, Milestone – Unknown

Remark: This mission is extremely risky. It is recommended that you proceed with caution.

450 billion experience? Han Xiao almost doubted his eyes.

The experience reward was often linked to the difficulty of the task, but he only obtained ten billion for fighting against Old Man Manison. The highest experience reward he had ever seen was the one for the mission (Ending the Darkness), which was basically impossible to complete[1] appeared at chapter 1064, with a requirement of ending the slave trade in throughout Galaxy.).

And this experience reward was set at 450 billion, with a further remark warning about the difficulty of the mission?

At this moment, Han Xiao could tell for sure that the mysterious secondary dimension was hiding a huge secret!

In the past, he did not exist, so Kasuyi’s closest friend would probably have been Manison. Since both of them had come out unscathed, this meant that while the danger was high, it would not surpass that of a pinnacle Beyond Grade A.

Furthermore, since he had just undergone his promotion, his strength had greatly increased. It should not be a problem to do something that Manison and Kasuyi could manage. I’m taking Manison’s spot, which means that if there’s anything good in the secondary dimension, Manison will be deprived of it… Thinking about it, was this not him robbing another opportunity of Manison’s?

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

His greatest hobby now was causing trouble for that old man.

In a certain corner of the Primeval Star River…

“Achoo!”

Manison, who was studying his blueprints, suddenly sneezed, and his expression turned gloomy.

With his experience, he did not need to think to realize that it must be that b*stard Black Star who was cursing him!

[1] In case anyone needs a refresher, the mission (Ending the Darkness

Chapter 1193: A Strange Dimension

Chapter 1193 A Strange Dimension

In the chaotic space that resembled a thunderstorm, a silver prismatic spaceship cut through the waves at a high speed, like a small boat traversing the open seas, experiencing endless turbulence.

Han Xiao and Kasuyi were inside the cockpit, observing the map model of the secondary dimension.

“We’re going deeper…” Han Xiao looked at the jumping coordinates, smacking his lips. “Are you sure we didn’t go the wrong way?”

“The direction my senses are telling me has not changed. Based on my experience, we should be almost there.” Kasuyi nodded.

Because Kasuyi had never managed to enter the secondary dimension of his target, he did not have any anchored coordinates, so he could only travel through the known secondary dimensions first to shorten the distance as much as possible before they barged through the chaotic space stream.

The duo had been in flight for a few days and had left the area of control of the three Universal Civilizations far behind, delving deeper into the secondary dimension and passing through many bizarre planes.

The world of secondary dimensions was just like the main universe, constantly expanding. With every passing second, countless worlds would be born or would die. The three Universal Civilizations had only explored a portion of the relatively stable areas and called this explored area the ‘Shallow Layer’, whilst the unexplored areas were known as the ‘Deep Layer’. However, there was actually no essential difference between the shallow and deep layers in the secondary dimensions.

Because it was difficult to move forward without proper coordinates, the only thing the duo could do was rely on Kasuyi’s senses as their only navigator. Fortunately, because he had been there twice, there was proof that this method was feasible.

At this time, an almost invisible crack suddenly appeared in the turbulent space ahead. Kasuyi’s eyes brightened. “It’s there!”

The moment he heard it, Han Xiao turned the spaceship in a sharp arc, dashing straight into the crack

Boom!

By theory, encountering cracks in a space storm meant that one could directly enter a secondary dimension, but this time was different. Both of them only felt the hull slightly shake, but the world outside their porthole still showed an empty space. In front of them, an endless honeycomb-shaped space wall appeared, glowing in a mysterious bluish purple. This was the external barrier of a secondary dimension world.

And outside the space wall, there was a large group of weird creatures, the monsters mentioned by Kasuyi.

“It’s here?”

“Yes, be careful. These creatures are not only aggressive but very resilient to attacks, having amazing resistance to both mental and energy attacks as well as being able to release a sort of energy similar to dimensional lightning. They can resonate with each other, forming a huge shield to isolate the outside world, which cannot be broken without killing the creatures. This was why I could not rush in,” Kasuyi replied.

Han Xiao studied the creatures carefully. They were all quite large, and while he lacked a reference, he estimated that they were three hundred kilometers in length. They had the characteristics of a beetle, with a milky white exoskeleton all over their body and segmented body parts. At first glance, they resembled a centipede without feet. However, along the gaps between the carapace, they possessed light blue membranous wings instead.

Every section of the membrane wing had a limb-like joint, with a hollow bone tube attached at the end, as though serving as a breathing organ. On their abdomen, there were two rows of symmetrical nubs for feet, extending all the way to the tail. Their head had no visual organs nor mouthparts, only a huge pointed cone with rows of holes densely packed around it.

“What a look. Just because no one can see them, they chose to grow in any manner they wish?” Han Xiao secretly insulted them.

As they chatted, the wandering creatures spotted their spaceship, immediately attacking. They saw one of them inhaling a large amount of space turbulence before black and purple lightning appeared around it, shooting out to attack the spaceship.

Buzz!

Kasuyi’s eyes lit up, and a huge Psychic shield popped up to protect the spaceship. All the black purple lightning bolts landed on it, exploding into fireworks, but he continued to inject power to ensure that the psychic shield was stable. With a huge amount of MP as his support, Kasuyi was totally not afraid of his consumption. “They have very thick skin and good Psychological Resistance. My efficiency in damaging them is very low… I’ll leave it to you, Black Star.”

“You can defend. Leave the attacking to me.”

Han Xiao opened his secondary dimensional army box, and mechanical soldiers rushed out and bombarded the creatures with fierce firepower.

Army-Style Mechanics were the best at such large-scale team battles. While Kasuyi was also good at area of effect damage, his class leaned toward mental damage. As long as he encountered targets with high Psychological Resistance, his damage efficiency would decrease.

The Psionic energy bombarded the monster, blasting a charred gap in his exoskeleton. The resistance of this group of monsters was indeed amazing, but Han Xiao was not his past self. After his promotion, his attributes had sharply increased, improving his attack power and Mechanical Force bonuses. Under the large-scale Mechanical Force concentration, the monsters were easily bombarded into scattered pieces.

At this moment, more of the creatures rushed over. Their numbers seemed to be endless, and they came up to fight with the mechanical troops without the slightest fear.

Their energies constantly resonated and connected with each other, forming an extremely thick black-purple shield that covered each individual body, slowing down the rate of casualties. As more of them arrived, the strength of their attacks and defense also rose.

Despite the fierce fighting, the two remained in the spaceship without moving.

Observing the battlefield outside the porthole, Kasuyi seemed surprised.

“Black Star, why is your machinery lethality so high now?”

Having crossed arms against these creatures, he was clear of their defenses. In his opinion, even if Black Star could handle the enemy, it should not have been as easy as this.

Kasuyi had also known Manison for many years and was knowledgeable. This time, the combat power of Black Star’s Mechanical army was beyond his expectations. Compared to the last time he personally experienced Han Xiao’s strength during the attack on Hila, Black Star had improved too much. “My standard is just average.”

Han Xiao smiled and waved his hand, not intending to reveal anything.

Seeing Han Xiao’s reluctance to speak, Kasuyi also did not ask further, moving away from the topic. He exclaimed, “A Mechanic is truly a convenient class, able to solve such a trouble just by sitting in the spaceship.”

“It’s an advantage of our class. While we Mechanics have many weapons and underlings, are able to adapt to any situation, and especially for me, have the recovery abilities of a pugilist… I will never have Psychic abilities,” Han Xiao joked.

“… This is not exactly consoling me either.”

As they continued to talk, Han Xiao was glancing at the interface’s combat information. While Kasuyi did not know about the origins of these creatures, he could find out just by looking at the interface.

The interface had named this creature ‘Space Louse’, with an average level of 240 to 260. It was a special biological life form with extreme racial talents. Just judging by their attributes and skills, it seems that the strength of a single Space Louse was already slightly higher than a normal Calamity Grade Super but far from reaching the Beyond Grade A realm. It was mainly because of their amazing resistance obtained from living in the chaotic space stream. Those Interstellar Beasts he had met before this all paled in comparison to them.

The Space Louse also had the ability to share energy. The more of their race within a certain distance, the higher their boost would be. They could share damage and transfer attributes, but there was a limit. However, at this limit, they could even resist the attacks of a pinnacle Beyond Grade A.

“This sort of creature is quite powerful. As long as their numbers are large enough, they can be compared to a pinnacle Beyond Grade A. I’d like to get a bunch of them to breed, but I don’t know their habits or if they could survive in the main universe…” Han Xiao stroked his chin.

“I don’t care about that right now.” Kasuyi waved his hand. He only wanted to enter this secondary dimension to obtain an opportunity for his God’s Trait Transformation.

“That’s right. Let’s finish our business first.”

Han Xiao nodded and was about to command his machinery to fire and blow up a portion of the Space Louse group to create a channel into the secondary dimension.

At this moment…

Boom!

A tyrannical energy wave erupted in the distance, quickly approaching.

Sensing the fluctuations, Han Xiao and Kasuyi’s expressions changed.

“This energy…” Kasuyi had a solemn expression.

“This is a real pinnacle Beyond Grade A. His realm is probably no lower than you or me!” Han Xiao frowned.

In their perception range, the source of this energy was fast approaching them, bringing about a strong sense of threat.

Both of their figures flashed as they finally left the spaceship. They also revealed their auras, gazing at the distance where the fluctuations were coming from.

Not long after, a comet shot over, stopping in front of them and revealing itself to be a three-meter-tall figure, with weird armor covering their entire body and only leaving two blue light dots where the eyes of the helmet were.

Han Xiao and Kasuyi sized up the visitor, quietly exchanging a glance before communicating mentally.

“Did you see this person the last two times?”

“Nope, his aura is foreign to me.”

“Could this person be someone who hid in the secondary dimension his whole life, cultivating until he reached the pinnacle Beyond Grade A realm?”

“It’s possible.”

“I’ll try conversing with him.”

The two quickly reached a consensus. Kasuyi immediately released friendly mental signals, sending a spiritual message to attempt to communicate.

Han Xiao did not intervene in the exchange between them, but after a few seconds, he saw Kasuyi’s expression turning ugly.

“What did he say?”

“No matter what I say, his replies were exactly the same, asking us to leave, otherwise they will kill us invaders.”

“He called us invaders?” Han Xiao was full of surprise. “Could this secondary dimension be his territory?”

Considering the difficulty of the mission, Han Xiao had known that the mission would not be easy from the beginning, but he had only thought that this secondary dimension was a nest of the Space Lice. Now it seemed like they were wrong. Furthermore, the Space Lice around did not attack the mysterious newcomer, as though they were bred, so the truth was not so simple anymore. “How would I know? It seems like there’s nothing to talk about anymore. Get ready to do it.” Kasuyi narrowed his eyes. He had to obtain his opportunity for his God’s Trait Transformation, and it was impossible to compromise.

“Alright, but there’s no need to fight him. We just need him to retreat, and we can directly enter the secondary dimension to see what’s going on inside,” Han Xiao suggested

Kasuyi nodded, and without warning, a sudden violent mental attack burst out from him, shattering the surrounding chaotic space stream.

The mysterious person instantly attacked, surging blue energy gushing out to collide against Kasuyi’s psychic energies. Boom! The violent energies exploded, clearing the entire area of the machinery and Space Lice. Kasuyi’s MP was nigh infinite, so his style was aggressive. However, his opponent was not stingy with their energy either. Both of their energies clashed to a stalemate in midair, radiating outward as shockwaves.

However, the strength of the mysterious person was actually as impressive as Kasuyi’s!

Seeing this, Han Xiao immediately joined the battle, fighting two against one as his Mechanical Force dragged the countless soldiers toward him.

The next moment, a small-scale Mechanical Deity descended on him, throwing out a slash from his blade.

Because the other party’s combat power has undoubtedly reached the SS rank, the effect of [Fearless Heart] was immediately activated!

Swoosh!

The Celestial Punishment Edge cut through like a hot knife through butter, slashing away the energy that the mysterious person was using as a shield and striking him backward so quickly that he turned into a comet, disappearing in their field of vision.

Kasuyi’s psychic energy suddenly had no resistance left, and he could hardly react in time. He spoke in a stunned tone.

“You… knocked him flying? Isn’t that too quick”

Kasuyi was in a delicate mood. He felt that Black Star seemed to be far stronger than he expected. There was a huge error in his impression on the strength that Black Star had.

“Alright, cut the extra talk. I only knocked him away. If he returns, we’ll have to continue fighting him. Let’s just enter and check the place out.”

Han Xiao personally took action, manipulating his Mechanical Deity to lead the way using his blade and smashing open a route through the Space Lice. He exploded the shield formed by the energy resonance of the Space Lice, exposing the space wall of the secondary dimension.

Seeing this, Kasuyi did not have time to question Han Xiao’s strength. He hurriedly followed him as they rushed into the secondary dimension with a large wave of machinery.

At this moment, the mysterious person finally flew back. Looking at the gradually closing space wall, the blue light spots at the position of his eyes flickered rapidly, suddenly turning red.

“Intruders succeeded in breaking through the second line of defense. Immediately adopting the third set of response plans. Changing operation mode… Change completed. Current mode: Pursue and Kill!”

Han Xiao had just entered the space wall, and seeing the chaotic space stream of blue and purple colors, along with the feeling of suffocation, he got a big surprise.

“This feeling seems to be different from when I’ve entered other secondary dimensions…”

Before he could even sense the scene carefully, his sight took an abrupt change.

Seeing the new scene, he paused in astonishment.

He was situated high above the sky, with an extremely prosperous galactic city facing him. The city had tall buildings and bright lights, along with countless flying vehicles and an endless flow of people on the street, all of which were a race he had never seen before.

“This… What’s the situation here?”

By the side, Kasuyi was also shocked. He did not expect the inside to look like this.

Han Xiao now remembered that the combat information about the mysterious person was termed ‘Supreme Guardian’. So, the object of the person’s protection was this civilization?

Looking behind them, they got a shock once again. What appeared was not the space wall of the secondary dimension but rather a sky full of galaxies like the main universe.

Just as the two were puzzled, a sudden change occurred!

“Wu Wu Wu Wu! Emergency evacuation! Emergency evacuation!” A harsh alarm suddenly sounded in the entire city, and the ground shook, with the steel surfaces sliding away to reveal various refuge entrances. The countless pedestrians and flying vehicles seemed to have practiced this thousands of times, hurriedly flying into the shelters.

At the same time, turrets with weird forms protruded from the ground, aiming at the two.

“Hey, we’re being treated as invaders now… What is this?” Before Han Xiao could finish, he sensed the aura fluctuations of six Beyond Grade As, and his eyes widened.

In the distance, six figures rose into the sky from all directions of the city, rushing toward the duo.

Seeing this, Han Xiao and Kasuyi shared a glance, their eyes brimming with surprise. In addition to the previous pinnacle Beyond Grade A outside, there were now at least seven Beyond Grade As in this secondary dimension! What the hell is this place?

“Luckily, the six of them are only at the Beyond Grade A level. We should be able to handle them… huh?”

Kasuyi suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his expression turning unsightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“My connection with the Void Dimension… seems to be disconnected?” Kasuyi’s eyes got wider as he spoke.

Han Xiao frowned, secretly feeling it before realizing that he too could no longer connect to the Void Dimension.

Opening his interface, he checked if he was suffering from any abnormal state, but his status was as usual, not affected by any space interference device.

But as he scrolled down, he found something strange.

Not only did his talents related to the Void Dimension turn gray, but even his secondary dimensional army box and Dimension Factory were frozen, unable to be activated.

“What’s going on?”

Han Xiao was confused, feeling that this secondary dimension was revealing an indescribable weirdness.

Chapter 1194: Mobile War System

Chapter 1194 Mobile War System

Just as the duo were caught unawares, the six Beyond Grade As had already arrived and encircled them.

The one who seemed to be the leader spoke loudly, but neither Han Xiao nor Kasuyi understood the other party. They were using an unfamiliar language, and it was not in the general translator’s database.

Kasuyi squinted before releasing his psychic waves to communicate, pulling Han Xiao into the chat channel.

Seeing this scene, the leader was stunned for a moment before he received the mental connection. The moment he connected, he immediately asked, “You guys, where did you come from? Why do you not understand the common language?” “Where is this place?” Kasuyi replied with a question.

“Tudor Province Capital, a colonial planet under the Caliste civilization. I’m the Captain of the Protectorate Team, Farlite. I request you to explain your origins and identity immediately as to why you appeared out of thin air over the city. Please answer!”

Hearing this, both Kasuyi and Han Xiao shared a glance, sensing each other’s doubts through the mental link.

Caliste Civilization? They had never heard of it before. Looking from the history of the exploration era up till now, there were no records of such a civilization. Could it be that this was a civilization borne in the secondary dimension that had never appeared in the main universe? While they did not know their level of technology, just the six Beyond Grade As could already occupy a place in the main universe.

Seeing that the two of them did not respond, Farlite intensified his tone and shouted, “This is the period of martial law in the entire universe. You’ve violated the ban set by the Celestial Star Alliance, visiting the colonial planets of other civilizations without permission and showing your power at will. According to the relevant laws and regulations, you have to immediately disarm yourselves and give up resistance, sealing your own Source and accepting our investigation. Otherwise, we will take coercive measures!”

These words could be understood separately, but linked together, they only gave the duo more confusion.

Universal martial law? Celestial Star Alliance? Source? What’s that? While they did not understand the nuances, the overall meaning was clear. It was nothing more than asking them to give up any resistance. However, in such an unfamiliar environment, it was naturally impossible for the two to give up self-protection and allow themselves to be apprehended. Kasuyi wanted to ask more, but upon seeing that the two of them remained indifferent, Farlite’s expression sank, and he moved without speaking further.

Boom!

His aura exploded suddenly, and in a flash of rainbow light, Farlite charged in front of Kasuyi as though he had teleported, lashing out with a punch. The shock waves from the compressed air sounded out as a sonic boom.

“You dare move against me?”

Kasuyi frowned, and with a speed even quicker than Farlite’s, he reached out and placed his hand on the side of Farlite’s fist. He slightly tilted his body, pushing against Farlite’s fist. The majestic Pugilist aura was cast aside, turning into a beam of light as it disappeared into the galaxy. His movements then shifted lightly, and an elbow shot forward, hitting Farlite’s chest. The highly concentrated psychic energy was akin to acupuncture, pouring into the opponent’s body through the point of contact without a single bit leaked.

Boom!

The energy erupted internally, and Farlite could no longer control his body, flying back at a speed that was several times faster. He crashed through the skyscrapers, leaving behind large holes that were totally see through as he disappeared into the distance.

Han Xiao could not help but comment, “Oh, looks like you can do hand to hand combat with a Pugilist as well.”

“Don’t look down on others. I killed my way out from the Void Dimension, so melee is also my forte.” Kasuyi shook his arm casually.

While he was used to squandering the limitless mana provided by the Void Dimension, he had been a very precise fighter before, causing the greatest damage using the least energy. As a void creature that lived in the Void Dimension since his childhood, melee would not be his weakness.

Furthermore, he was still a pinnacle Beyond Grade A, and just his raw attributes would already be able to allow him to compete with a Beyond Grade A Pugilist, let alone with his dual abilities of spiritual and psychic powers.

The other five Beyond Grade As seemed to have received a shock, letting out exclamations of surprise. Han Xiao did not know what they talked about, but in the next instant, the five of them rushed over, besieging them. The various weapons on the city’s ground level also opened fire toward them, filling the sky with explosions like fireworks.

“Sigh, these people are so irritable. They dare to fight above the city. Aren’t they afraid that we’ll just blow up their planet?” Han Xiao sarcastically remarked before a wave of his hand brought up the concentrated firepower of his machinery, whilst some of them entangled with the five Beyond Grade As.

The mechanical units that were fighting against the Space Lice outside the secondary dimension had been brought in together by Han Xiao. While his secondary dimensional army box and Dimension Factory could not be opened at this time, leading to a lack of troops that could be summoned, the Great Mechanic Han was not worried at all.

A Mechanic’s weapons were all crafted by themself. If he could not use his inventory, he could just pick whatever materials he had on the spot and make something!

The stronger his hands-on abilities, the more assurance he had!

The six opponents consisted of two Pugilists, a Mage, and three Psychics, all of which were ordinary Beyond Grade As with Energy Ranks below 52,000 Ona. As soon as both sides clashed, the five Beyond Grade As fell into a disadvantage, only being able to resist with difficulty. Even if Farlite managed to return to the battlefield, he would not be able to reverse their predicament, only holding on bitterly. With the advanced attribute bonus brought about by the Promotion to level 340, coupled with the explosive output brought by his [Legendary Battle Technique] and [Fearless Heart] skills, an ordinary Beyond Grade A wanting to go against him was simply deciding that they wanted to cut their lives short. Furthermore, there was yet another pinnacle Beyond Grade A, Kasuyi, beside him. Against these normal biological life forms, the latter’s Psychic skills could finally exert their full lethality. Together, it was a simple task to beat the ordinary Beyond Grade As.

However, even if the six were not opponents of Kasuyi and Han Xiao, it was still possible to contain them for a period of time. This was even more achievable given that the duo were unaware of the situation and thus did not wish to unnecessarily kill.

While using his Psychic Acupuncture technique to cause hemorrhage to his opponent’s brains, Kasuyi communicated to Han Xiao through the mental channel

“Black Star, we’re not in our strongest states now. There’s also another pinnacle Beyond Grade A outside the secondary dimension. If he joins in, the situation will be unfavorable to us. We don’t need to continue this battle and instead should leave this place to obtain more intelligence as a long-term plan.”

“My sentiments, let’s shake them off.”

Han Xiao nodded. He was very concerned about the information these people revealed, wanting to figure out his current environment as soon as possible.

With a thought, he pulled all his mechanical soldiers together, gathering them.

Clank!

The Mechanical Deity descended once again, stretching out a hand to grab Kasuyi and integrate him within before igniting all its thrusters and rising into outer space.

Farlite shouted, as though telling them not to run, while leading the other five along in pursuit. Pugilist flames, Psychic impacts, and Magic spells continued to blast toward the Mechanical Deity, all of which were shielded by the honeycomb structure of its Emperor’s Саре.

“Still want to chase? This group really do not know how to count their blessings. They must have suffered from a lack of ‘love[1]’.”

Han Xiao helplessly raised his Celestial Punishment Edge, and the surging psionic energy formed on the blade. Following the pathway of the Getta Hadoken, it condensed before slashing out in a solid arc of light.

The faint blue light blade shredded the space around it, leaving cracks as it flew forward.

The strength behind this blade caused the expressions of the six to drastically change, and they hurriedly utilized their strongest defensive skills to go against it. Boom!

The resulting frenzied shock wave spread out in all directions from the impact point, turning the atmosphere around it into a cloudless area.

“Argh!”

Tragic screams sounded from afar as the six of them were smashed downward from the force of the blow. A large area of tall buildings shattered and collapsed. Looking from outer space, it seemed that six mushroom clouds had suddenly grown on the surface.

“You didn’t kill them, right?” Kasuyi was worried.

“I didn’t even use my strength. How could this sort of attack kill anyone?” Han Xiao did not put much thought into it.

Kasuyi immediately rolled his eyes.

He had already realized that Black Star had obviously made some significant improvement, and yet he deliberately pretended to be modest and hid it. Did he think that everyone around him was blind? The Mechanical Deity turned around and flew off, crossing the starry sky and moving away from the planet.

At this moment, Farlite and company crawled out from the rubble on the ground. Everyone was wounded, and as they watched the Mechanical Deity disappear from their vision, they could not help but feel a lingering fear.

The blade just now had given them the feeling of an extremely terrifying threat to their lives, and they almost thought that it would be the end of them.

The group surveyed their surroundings, and upon seeing that the city they were guarding had turned into ruins, they could not help but burst into anger.

“What do we do now?” someone asked. “The two of them are ‘Supreme’ Ranked experts and are not people we can deal with,” Farlite said angrily. “Their appearance is just too weird. I suspect that they will interfere with the World Reset Plan. Immediately report up to the Celestial Star Alliance Superpower Security Department. Ask them to send a hunting team and issue a universal arrest warrant!”

The secondary dimensions were strange and had their own laws of operation. But this secondary dimension was similar to the environment in the main universe, with a boundless galaxy that was rare even in the secondary dimension world.

While this dimension had the environment of the universe, the star map of the main universe could not be used at all. After Han Xiao controlled the Mechanical Deity to leave the planet, he used the parts and materials of the mechanical soldiers to build an astronomical observatory to plot their surroundings. He discovered an asteroid belt, so they went over there to camp there temporarily.

Very quickly, the asteroid belt appeared in front of his eyes. Han Xiao released the Mechanical Deity, turning it back into soldiers to guard his surroundings while he boarded one of the asteroids with Kasuyi to discuss their next countermeasures.

“…This secondary dimension is too exaggerated. I don’t even know where the end is. What about you?” Kasuyi frowned.

“Same here. This feels like an actual universe.” Han Xiao opened his hands.

Kasuyi paced as he thought aloud, “Could it be that the secondary dimension is actually a giant wormhole that transferred us to an area of the universe not controlled by the three Universal Civilizations. Could we have come to another corner of the universe?”

“I doubt that’s the case.” Han Xiao shook his head. “My Dimension Factory is locked, as is the Void Dimension. This sort of unique characteristic is not like returning to the main universe.”

“That’s true…” Kasuyi suddenly thought of something. “Your Dimension Factory can’t be opened? Then it means we’re trapped here since you cannot retrieve your mechanical suit?”

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Han Xiao fiddled with the compressed orbs hanging on his neck. “I have a habit of carrying spares. There’s enough to get us both out.”

Spacetime anchors naturally restrained his secondary dimensional army box, so he would not be unprepared. He would always leave some of the more critical machinery on his body for quick access.

“Then I’m relieved.” Kasuyi breathed out. He did not wish to leave just like that, but he was worried that he did not have any routes of retreat.

“By the way, this secondary dimension seems to be completely isolated from the outside world. I cannot even contact my main artificial intelligence through the quantum network,” Han Xiao said.

Because Phillip’s mainframe was in his base camp, Han Xiao had been cut off since he entered the secondary dimension. He could only replace it with Phillip’s backup sub-body that he carried with him and use it as a local area network connection. However, he was unable to lock onto his avatar outside the secondary dimension to return to the main universe.

He opened up the quantum network vision, connecting to the quantum network in this secondary dimension. He had tried it during the battle just now, finding that the coded language of the quantum network in this dimension was different compared to the main universe. This situation was similar to that of the Virtual Mutiny Virus, where the basic code had to first be deciphered before his virtual intrusion methods could be used.

“By the way, what about your senses regarding the God’s Trait Transformation?” Han Xiao asked.

“It’s still present, but it has turned blurry,” Kasuyi helplessly replied. “I feel as though my senses are pointing to this entire space, with no determined direction.”

“This isn’t good. Without your locator, given the size of this secondary dimension, how are we going to find it?”.

Han Xiao shook his head.

If his senses were still accurate, that would be easy for them to just follow the directions to obtain the opportunity and then use the King to escape. But now, without a direction, it was a lot more troublesome.

“We can only find it slowly.” Kasuyi looked hopefully at Han Xiao. “You don’t have anything to do, right?”

“I don’t, but if this takes too long, I can only choose to retreat temporarily.”

Han Xiao shrugged.

He did not need to worry about the Pro League of the players and originally intended to grind his skills here. The Kunde Race’s Spacetime Splicing Technology was a good choice, and this secondary dimension might even hold some black technology that he could obtain.

That’s right, speaking of the players…

Han Xiao had a thought and opened the forums to check. He discovered that everything was working as usual, and he could still see the posts that the players had put up.

Currently, all sorts of external communications had failed, so the forums had become his only channel to receive information from the outside world.

Kasuyi paced back and forth as he pondered, “Black Star, what’s your next step?”

Han Xiao threw him a glance before replying, “We are still unaware of what is happening in this secondary dimension. I recommend we treat it as another universe for now. We’re outsiders and thus have to collect information.

“Give me some time to decipher their coded language of the universe quantum network before I hack in to collect information… Before that, though, we need a temporary star map. I’ll just draw this. The observatory can solve this problem… “In addition, the degree of danger is unknown. I’ll expand the current machines to find some resource rich planets, establish temporary strongholds, and make engineering equipment to collect various materials, creating a new assembly line…”

Han Xiao rattled off a series of plans.

Since his Dimension Factory was frozen, he planned to open up a base in this secondary dimension, copying a set of military factories to solve the problems of combat, logistics, detection, and concealment. Kasuyi listened for a long time before he could not help but ask, “What do I need to do?”. “You…” Han Xiao stroked his chin as he sized up Kasuyi before saying with confidence, “Just don’t cause trouble.” Hearing this, Kasuyi could not help but let out a bitter smile.

It was no wonder that among the five Super systems, the advanced civilizations were the most afraid of the Mechanic class, which was basically a mobile interstellar war system!

He secretly rejoiced that he had brought along a Mechanic. If he had brought a Pugilist that could only beat people up, they would only be able to stare at each other right now. The Pugilist system was really unreliable!

In a metallic machinery room, a man with pipes all over his body slowly opened his eyes. He had two pairs of green eyes, a pair larger than the other, which were symmetrically distributed on the left and right of his face. A vertical scar ran along the left side of his face, only leaving the two eyes on the right side of his face open.

His breathing was labored, and only after a long while did a deep mutter sound through the room.

“There’s finally another outsider… This person had better be of use this time…”

[1] There’s this saying that ‘scolding means I care; beating you means I love you’. It’s mainly used to describe the hidden care of the parents toward the child.

Chapter 1195: Unbelievable Discovery, S Ranked Hidden Mission

Chapter 1195 Unbelievable Discovery, S Ranked Hidden Mission

“The Caliste Civilization sent over an anomaly report, claiming that two unfamiliar experts at the ‘Supreme’ level had violated the ban, appearing out of thin air in the capital of Tudor Province. They refused to obey the handling, and after a fierce battle, both of them fled into space, disappearing without a trace… This is the image data they recorded.” The huge conference room designed like stairs was filled full of people. Everyone was watching the video on the virtual screen carefully. What was displayed on the screen was Han Xiao and Kasuyi’s battle with the guardians of Tudor Province.

The video duration was not long, and it soon ended with the shocking blow delivered by the Mechanical Deity.

The screen went black, and the room was enveloped in silence for a while before discussions heated up. “There’s no doubt. Both of them are at the Supreme level.”

“The database does not hold their information at all. They are of unknown origins, identity, and ethnicity, and there’s no recorded activities on them.”

“That’s strange. Even for our Minister of Superpower Security, people with such strength will get the authority to head a department. To think such experts would actually be willing to endure loneliness and be obscure.”

“Well… they’ve been concealing themselves up till this point, so their intentions for the big picture are probably huge.”

“Could it be related to the World Reset Plan? Otherwise, why would they only appear at this crucial point?”

“This matter has to be taken seriously. No factors that may interfere with the World Reset Plan will be allowed to intrude.”

At this moment, a senior executive who seemed to be a department head knocked on the table to interrupt the discussion. He spoke in an indisputable tone.

“This matter will be handled by the fifth, seventh, and eleventh divisions. Directors of these divisions, please arrest these two and carefully review their origins.”

Three of the executives stood up, nodding slightly to accept the mission.

The department head slowly nodded as he said, “This is a pressing time. There’s no time to play hide and seek with them. To end this quickly, I approve the use of the Cosmic Treasure ‘Positioning Star Map’ to lock in on their coordinates.”

Hearing this, everyone on scene let out a faint smile.

The Positioning Star Map was the trump card of the Superpower Security Division. It was a Cosmic Treasure that was formed from unknown means. A complete star map of the universe was stored inside, and as long as one entered the target data, they could locate their coordinates in real time.

All fugitives had nowhere to hide in front of such a tool!

A couple of days later…

On a certain gray, barren planet, the underground had been transformed into a temporary base by Han Xiao. There was automated mining equipment that went deep into the veins of the planet to collect various ore resources, transporting them to undergo material processing through assembly lines. The refined ores were made into various raw materials and then put on the production line.

Because of the current shortage of materials, Han Xiao only assembled the basic assembly line, of which the majority were collection and assistant machinery to expand his initial production capacity.

In the central control room of his temporary base, Han Xiao sat in a simple quantum network view magnifier, surrounded by dense virtual screens. Amazing data streams flashed through the screens constantly. He had spent several days deciphering the coded language for this quantum network.

Kasuyi sat on the alloy bench beside him, leaning back against the rock wall as he watched Han Xiao in boredom.

With Black Star doing all the work, Kasuyi had nothing to do, and he could only give moral encouragement and eye power. At this moment, Han Xiao’s eyelids trembled, and he opened his eyes as he exhaled. “I’ve cracked it.”

Kasuyi’s spirits perked up. “That quickly?”

“It’s not too bad. Their coded language is not complicated. As long as you find the entry point, the rest is easy.” Han Xiao waved his hand.

The difficulty of cracking the code this time was much lower compared to the original Virtual Mutiny Virus. The Domino Virus was a weapon that contained multiple keys, with no reference target. One could only utilize trial and error to succeed. In contrast, the quantum network shared similarities with the network of the main universe, and because it was open source, there were many references. Han Xiao also had the (Virtual Technology InnovationManison) skill, which enhanced his own Virtual Technology and made it easier to crack.

Having finished the deciphering, his own virtual intrusion means could finally be used.

“What are we waiting for? Use your invincible Virtual Intrusion to collect intelligence,” Kasuyi urged.

“Hmm.” Han Xiao nodded, closing his eyes before sinking into the quantum network field of vision, collecting data on a large scale. After pacing around and around, Kasuyi saw Han Xiao reopen his eyes and immediately asked, “How is it? Did you find anything?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao’s expression turned weird.

He took a deep breath before suddenly exploding. He grabbed Kasuyi’s neck with both his arms, shaking him repeatedly as he screamed, “F*ck your ancestors! What sort of hell did you bring me to?”

Kasuyi’s head was shaken so fast it formed an afterimage, and he had an expression of confusion.

“What… what do you mean?”

“See for yourself!”

Han Xiao flicked his hand, opening a virtual screen, and dumped all the information inside.

As Kasuyi scanned it, his eyes grew wider, an incredulous look spreading across his face.

“This… How is this even possible?”

Kasuyi retreated involuntarily after he understood the information.

This intelligence was not the top-secret files in the universe but basic information that Han Xiao had collected. But the content was out of all their expectations. The area in this secondary dimension was even wider than the entire explored universe! There were thirty-three Star Fields, six to seven hundred Star Clusters, and countless Civilizations of all levels!

As for the ruling party, it was a civilization known as the Celestial Star Alliance. Just the introduction told them that it was stronger than the three Universal Civilizations and had a longer history. Even if they looked at the oldest of the three Universal Civilizations, the Arcane Church, its civilization age was but a fraction of the Celestial Star Alliance’s. There were also five different types of Superpower systems present: Mechanic, Psychic, Pugilist, Esper and Magic. However, their term of ‘Energy’ was known as ‘Source’, and even their realms were separated differently. They called their Beyond Grade As Saints’ and the pinnacle Beyond Grade As ‘Supremes’.

In terms of individual strength, this secondary dimension also trumped the main universe. According to the data, there were nearly ten thousand ‘Saint’ level experts recorded in their universe! The equivalent of Beyond Grade As numbered almost ten thousand, of which there existed hundreds of pinnacle Beyond Grade A! The reaction of the duo was that this was unbelievable!

What did this mean? Although Beyond Grade As had long life spans, most people still grew old and died. To have nearly ten thousand living Beyond Grade As, how long exactly had this secondary dimension existed?

The two of them had thought that this secondary dimension was at best a universe that had managed to develop itself, but they did not expect that there was actually a civilization many times stronger than the three Universal Civilizations.

“Black Star, are you joking with me? You made this material up, right?” Kasuyi had a look of shock.

“Why would I joke with you at this time? All of this was picked from their web, and it’s all the most fundamental intelligence you can find.”

Han Xiao had frowned the first time he saw all this material online. He had actually doubted its veracity, but after repeated searches, he had discovered that it was all true.

Could this secondary dimension actually be stronger than the main universe itself? Was the Celestial Star Alliance stronger than the three Universal Civilizations? This was too exaggerated! How could there be such a freak in this secondary dimension?

Or could this actually be an unexplored area of the main universe?

Then how did Kasuyi and Manison go back the moment they arrived there?

Han Xiao’s mind ran quickly. Because the information from his past life was limited, he did not know what was going on for a while.

Kasuyi had not recovered from his shock at this point. He was murmuring to himself, “If the people in this secondary dimension run out into the main universe, then…”

Hearing this, Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed, and he hurriedly went back online. He decided to scan the internet to search if this universe had any information regarding secondary dimensions. If the Celestial Star Alliance truly existed within the secondary dimensions, then it would be impossible that they had never explored the outside world.

Han Xiao soon found what he wanted, but the result surprised him yet again.

This universe had no secondary dimensions!

There was no division between the ‘main universe’ and the ‘secondary dimension’!

All they had was a single cosmic plane, without any ‘outside’ in which they could explore. They too were unaware about the Space Lice swarm and the Supreme Guardian that was stationed outside.

Strange!

This is too strange!

Han Xiao’s curiosity grew stronger.

“By the way, when we first came in, those six Beyond Grade As seemed to say something about martial law in the universe. Let’s see what’s that about…”

Han Xiao hurriedly entered the keywords, and his vision was soon replaced with a headline.

‘World Reset Project’!

The announcement stated that this was a universal-level plan launched by the Celestial Star Alliance. This was a special measure to prevent any future disasters that could not be solved.

The intelligence Han Xiao discovered was all from announcements and news, and it only provided a general outline. It seemed as though the Celestial Star Alliance was planning to utilize a sort of new Information Form technology to reproduce the data of the entire universe as a data library, treating it as tinder. If there would be an irresistible disaster in the future, they would restart the universe based on the tinder data library.

This re-engraving process was during the period of martial law throughout the universe. The Celestial Star Alliance required everyone to stay in one place and not move around, to prevent interference with the construction of the tinder library. Thus, the interstellar area was deserted, without any spaceships.

As for the specific plan, the Celestial Star Alliance did not disclose it to the public, so Han Xiao was still unaware of the details.

“I have a feeling that this plan is not some insurance…” Han Xiao muttered before going up to knock on Kasuyi, seeing him still stunned. “What shall we do now? The space in this area exceeds your imagination. Your senses are also malfunctioning, so even after hundreds of years, you might not find your so-called opportunity.” In his opinion, this should be the reason the difficulty of the mission was expressed through the astronomical sum of 450 billion experience. Kasuyi came back to his senses, but his expression was uncertain, and he did not speak for quite a while.

Seeing his reaction, Han Xiao also sighed to himself.

It was alright for him, since he had a different growth system and also knew about the existence of the World Tree. Thus, while shocked, he felt nothing else. But Kasuyi was different. It had taken him countless years to finally become a hegemon that had reached the pinnacle of the universe, but he suddenly discovered that there were many more people outside his world that were as strong as him. It was no wonder that his mentality would be shaken up.

Han Xiao thought about it before consoling him. “Old Ka, don’t be depressed. We don’t even know how long this secondary dimension has existed. This number of Beyond Grade As has been accumulated over so many years. There’s nothing to envy. If you want to be jealous, why not be jealous of me? It only took me a few decades to reach this point, surpassing your accumulation of thousands of years. How hateful is that?” Are you really trying to console me? The words ‘f*ck you’ come to mind, but I’m not sure if I should reply with that.

Seeing his constipated expression, Han Xiao was about to continue comforting him when he received a message alarm.

Beep beep… “You’ve received a new message.” “Eh, who could it be at this time?” Han Xiao spoke subconsciously before he reacted.

That’s right, no one has my contact details here. How were they able to find me!”

Han Xiao’s expression changed, and he opened the quantum network, finding an email within. The sender was shown as a bunch of garbled code. The sender had manipulated his address to cover up all traces.

Frowning, he opened the mail and found out that it contained a set of complicated blueprints as well as a short message.

“Learn this technology as fast as possible, or else there’ll be no escape for you. If you can avoid the pursuit of the troops, then go to a place and wait. I’ll contact you again then. The coordinates are…”

“Who is this guy?”

Han Xiao wanted to communicate with the other party, but without a path, he had no method to send a reply.

He could only browse through the blueprint sent by the mysterious person. It recorded a kind of weird instrument, which seemed to have some sort of special hiding function. He did not know what sort of detection device this was guarding against. “Things have become more interesting…” Han Xiao’s eyes flashed.

From the strange ‘Supreme Guardian’ outside the secondary dimension to the unexpectedly powerful Celestial Star Alliance and now this mysterious man contacting him, things were getting more confusing, and he seemed to be getting involved in some unknown storm.

He decided to stay and explore, not just to aid Kasuyi but also to collect more technology and discover the truth behind this space. Otherwise, not just Han Xiao, the entire explored universe would also remain uneasy.

However, this trip to the secondary dimension was always out of his control. He was lacking in intelligence, and he was only receiving poor information, only able to see the surface level.

Ding!

At this time, a notification popped up on the interface.

You have triggered an S-ranked hidden mission: A Relay Across Iterations!

This mission is part of a Chain Mission. This is currently the first of many parts.

Requirements: Escape from the hunting team and succeed in meeting the mysterious person who sent this message. Failure Condition: The mysterious person dies.

Reward: 100,000,000,000 experience, unlocking of the next mission.

Warning! This mission may result in unpredictable effects, please choose carefully!

Chapter 1196: The Pursuing Soldiers

Chapter 1196 The Pursuing Soldiers

“This mission…”

Han Xiao was shocked. Not only was it an S-rank hidden mission, it was even a chain mission. The experience reward in just the first mission already matched with what Old Man Manison gave, so the overall difficulty might really be through the sky.

In the absence of any intelligence, the mission guidance was one of the few reliable sources of information, especially since the name of the mission was quite intriguing.

No matter what, this mysterious person took the initiative to contact me. He seems to have some special information in his hand. That will require us to meet. As for the hunter team in the mission introduction…

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

While he was searching online previously, he had discovered a wanted order issued by the Celestial Star Alliance Superpower Security Department, offering a reward for the two wanted people. Their bounty was worth 300 million units of their common currency, its name different from the term ‘Ena’ used in their main universe.

Since his whereabouts were a secret and he had yet to encounter any alarms or detection device scanning, it was logically difficult for them to discover their location. However, the mission reminder as well as the content of the mysterious person’s message seemed to imply that the pursuing team would definitely locate him.

Upon thinking of the weird concealment device left by the mysterious person, Han Xiao guessed that the pursuers might have a precise remote location detecting method, including but not limited to the possibility of prediction, technological means, or even Universal Treasures…

The mysterious person sent me a blueprint but did not explain in detail what sort of methods the soldiers would use. This feels more like a test…

Han Xiao stroked his chin and fell into thought.

This technology had to be studied, but Han Xiao did not intend to put it to use immediately. He wanted to test whether they could be found by the pursuers first. If that was confirmed, then he would utilize the device again in order to verify whether the device really had the effect of concealing its target. As a Mechanic, he believed more in the results of experimentation rather than what people told him.

On the other hand, Han Xiao wished to contact their pursuers, obtaining information from them… Of course, while he was confident in his own strength, he would still arrange some insurance to stabilize any rough waves that might appear.

Currently, both of them were illegal immigrants, and they did not even possess an account in the Intergalactic Bank, let alone the universal currency. They suddenly fell from being the wealthiest in the universe to abject poverty. Han Xiao could only resort to collecting the resources himself, and for the time being, he could not scrape up enough materials to make a new King mechanical suit. Thus, he could only resort to using the King that he had brought with him. He had already placed some of the corresponding Thrones on different coordinates in the universe, acting as fixed-point transporters, whilst some of his King mechanical suits still had the Thrones with them, ready to be positioned at any time.

Having been in the universe for so many years, and with the example given by Manison, Han Xiao was now well versed in the saying ‘a sly rabbit has three burrows’. Days ago, a few of his mechanical troops had scattered the different Thrones around this universe at suitable locations, leaving him with a way out.

The biggest problem currently was not personal safety but his mechanical army. Because his secondary dimensional army box was frozen, he could only transport his troops through the normal method. His portability was severely affected, so if he chose to teleport away, his mechanical army would still be left in the area, and he would be unable to recover them.

Based on reasoning, since there was no secondary dimension that existed in this universe, all mechanics should be the same. However, he found through the internet that because of the lack of secondary dimensions, the five Super systems seemed to have some subtleties in their Class skills.

For example, the Beyond Grade A Mechanics still had the ability to summon mechanical armies on a large scale. However, because they had not crossed paths yet, Han Xiao could not see their combat information and thus did not understand the principle.

“Just the technology alone makes it worth the trip.” Han Xiao was ecstatic.

In his opinion, this place was akin to a huge material library, stocked with endless new technology and different applications and development paths for one’s Class related skills. These were all extremely valuable resources.

The Manison of his previous life must have learned quite a bit when he came over, further increasing his own power. And now, this rare learning opportunity had been taken away by himself.

“Rest in peace, Old Man. I’ll study hard on your behalf.”

Han Xiao had a solemn expression.

The destroyed mentality of Kasuyi had finally recovered from Han Xiao’s ‘comforting blow’. Seeing this, Han Xiao explained the situation and his plan.

Kasuyi was surprised, and after hearing everything, he said, “You mean… we’re now waiting for our pursuers to come knocking before we negotiate? If not, we’ll fight?”

“That’s right. This is in order for us to obtain more information. Don’t be scared by the number of Beyond Grade As here. I’ve checked the cases from the Superpower Security Department over the years, and the majority of them consist of teams formed by three to five Beyond Grade As. There are dozens to hundreds of people there, but they are responsible for a large area, and thus, manpower is limited. Furthermore, I’ve also arranged a path of retreat in case things go awry,” Han Xiao said.

Old Ka was his only companion here, and it could be said that they could only truly depend on each other. While the other party did not have his limitless MP any longer, he was still a pinnacle Beyond Grade A and was a great source of combat power.

“… Alright, then don’t bother me during this period of time. I’ll prepare an ace in the hole and strive to heavily injure a pinnacle Beyond Grade A,” Kasuyi solemnly said.

Han Xiao was startled. He sized him up before curiously asking, “I really didn’t expect that, but you have such ability?”

Kasuyi immediately rolled his eyes. Who are you looking down on? At our level, who doesn’t have a trump card or two in their hands? When I was roaming the universe, your grandfather had probably yet to be born!

In the pitch-black universe, a wormhole suddenly opened, and three spaceships appeared as they exited the hyperdrive. All three were special spaceships that belonged to the Superpower Security Department, led by three ‘Supreme’ level directors to capture the offenders.

“The Positioning Star Map at the headquarters shows that the two targets have been stationed on the target planet and have not left in the past few days.”

“We are still unaware of the intentions of these two people. Do not lower your vigilance.”

Milton stood in front of the porthole, listening to the communication channel. His face had nary a smile on it, and his entire person exuded a serious vibe.

He was the director of the Fifth Team from the Superpower Security Department and the temporary captain of this special pursuit team. Every established division would consist of one Supreme level Director, four deputy directors of the Saint level, and a large number of middle tier officers. Milton had brought two deputy directors with him this time, and the other two directors used the same configuration. Thus, there were nine people at the Beyond Grade A level.

Because of the lack of the strength data for the target, in order to make it a quick fight, the Superpower Security Department equipped the nine of them with the special combat suit, which included a mechanical suit, with melee, long-range, and imprisonment equipment of Gold Grade. With such special equipment, the staff from the Superpower Security Department would have an advantage among people of the same level.

Their opponents were only two Supreme level experts, but they had mobilized nine people on their side, alongside equipment. Milton felt that this mission should be a piece of cake.

He stared at the arrest warrants of Han Xiao and Kasuyi, muttering to himself. “What year is this? To think that there are still people who dare to openly violate the universe ban of the Celestial Star Alliance, trying to whatever they want with their strength. Do you think it’s like the old era? Such good times are long gone…”

Time passed quickly, and another three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Han Xiao had been constantly studying the blueprint provided by the mysterious person in seclusion. It was not difficult to make, but the principle behind it was quite incomprehensible. In some areas, he could not understand it at all, and he did not know what sort of effect the combination would produce.

After a few days of research, there was still no progress. Han Xiao felt that he might lack the key Research Theory or Knowledge, so he simply stopped his research, building the device according to the blueprint given. The process went smoothly, and his failure to understand theory did not hinder him from turning the blueprint into machinery error free.

Ten palm-sized pieces of green and gold metal lay quietly on the workbench. They appeared smooth, but when Han Xiao swiped them with his fingers, he could feel the dense lines engraved on them, filled with countless nano-level energy circuits.

Han Xiao picked up a piece of the alloy, playing with it carefully. Traces of electrical arcs jumped now and then as he extended his senses deep into the metal, feeling the structure within.

“The manual states that so long as the concealment function is activated, objects within its range would be freed from tracking. The more energy inputted, the greater the range…”

Han Xiao was a little skeptical as he had mastered a variety of concealment devices but was unable to see through the principles behind this blueprint.

Even the interface did not give any detailed introduction but rather simply naming it as a ‘Special Cloaking Device’. It said that this would take effect under certain conditions but did not state what those conditions were.

Just as he wished to further study it, his expression changed as he sensed an unexpected situation. The space exploration buoys he arranged around the planet were destroyed.

“They’ve really found us…”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he put away the ten Cloaking Devices. He left his base with his mechanical troops, heading to the surface.

Whoosh!

Before long, three spaceships appeared in outer space. Nine figures descended from the sky and landed on the wasteland not far in front of Han Xiao in a fan-shaped encirclement, not bothering to conceal their energy fluctuations.

Seeing this, Han Xiao revealed a knowing expression.

Nine Beyond Grade As, with three of them being pinnacle Beyond Grade As…

The strength of this team was not small. Their overall combat power was higher than the level shown during the attack on Hila. Furthermore, this group of people would not be like the original Kasuyi, where they pulled their punches.

He also discovered that their equipment was extraordinary.

Both sides confronted each other from afar, sizing each other up without moving.

Milton surveyed the area before casually asking, “Where’s your accomplice?”

“Since you can come knocking, how could you not know where he is?” Han Xiao crossed his arms.

Over the past few days, he had purposely devoted a little time to learn the interstellar lingua franca online, so communication was no longer a problem for him.

Milton looked at him from top to toe before nodding and speaking in a business-like tone.

“I advise you not to have any thoughts of resistance. Obediently put on the Source restraints and come with us. Confess your origins, abilities, and reasons for violating the prohibition before undergoing a public review and going to jail for five to ten years. After completing that, you will regain your freedom. The current punishment is considered light; you don’t need to aggravate your crimes.”

Han Xiao did not agree nor refuse, returning with another question. “May I know your identities?”

“You don’t recognize us?” Milton frowned. “I am the Director of the Fifth Division under the Superpower Security Department, Milton. These are my assistants…”

He briefly introduced everyone before asking about Han Xiao’s identity.

“You can call me Black Star, and for my comrade, you can just call him Kakasu…”

“Call me Void Overlord!”

Kasuyi suddenly appeared before Han Xiao, correcting his words in a dissatisfied tone.

“Any name is fine.” Milton did not care, only taking out two sets of mechanical devices similar to collars and throwing them in front as he said, “Hurry up, put on the Source imprisonment devices and go back to settle this business.”

Han Xiao pondered for a while before he spoke.

“I believe there’s a better choice. My friend and I have been in retreat all this while, and we’re unaware of the so-called ban. We are not deliberately causing trouble. Maybe there’s room for discussion. For example, we’re willing to join your Superpower Security Department. Is it possible for you to inform your superiors…” From his point of view, Kasuyi and him did not commit any major incidents. With their strength, they should be able to enjoy this treatment.

However, Milton did not buy it at all. He bellowed, “I’m ordering you, not negotiating! If you have any words, then wait till we return! And no matter what you say, don’t think you can escape the punishment just like that. Even if you’re a Supreme expert, so long as your stain is not removed, we will not accept you!” Hearing this, Han Xiao’s brows twitched.

He had spoken not because he was trying to prevaricate; rather, he did not intend to be limited by the mission. While cooperating with the Celestial Star Alliance might not be the best option, Kasuyi’s mission was simply looking for a needle in a haystack. If he could obtain help from the Celestial Star Alliance, then it would definitely make things easier, and there would be more opportunities to access their secrets.

There were two possible ways to cooperate. One would be to expose his identity as an outsider from another world, while the other was to pretend to be a local… Obviously, Han Xiao could not choose the former. Until things became clear, he would never reveal the existence of the three Universal Civilizations, otherwise it would be bad if the opponent began to covet his universe. That was no different from being a traitor.

Thus, Han Xiao could only choose to pretend to be a local in order to join the Superpower Security Department. He originally felt that with his and Kasuyi’s strength, the other party had no reason not to accept it and would wipe their slates clean. However, the other party did not seem to show them any face at all.

This should not be the case here. With over ten thousand Beyond Grade As, we’re a force to be reckoned with. However, for the advanced civilization to not have any thoughts of stabilizing us with better privileges and treatment, instead treating us all fairly, aren’t they afraid that these people would revolt?

It was impossible for Han Xiao to put on the source restraint and go to the headquarters of the Superpower Security Department. This was tantamount to handing over his own fate to the other party. He frowned before asking once more, “Is there no room for discussion?” Milton pointed to the two sets of Source restraints on the ground. His meaning could not have been clearer.

Boom!

At this moment, extremely condensed and violent Psychic power suddenly shot out from the side. It was Kasuyi’s trump card that he had been preparing for the last few days!

Boom!

Milton suffered a heavy blow, his eyeballs bursting and his nose spurting blood as he was sent flying out like a comet. Turning his head, Han Xiao only saw Kasuyi revolving his Psychic power, shooting forward while snapping at him, “What the f*ck are you still waiting for? Just take action!”

Chapter 1197: Cosmic Treasure Loses Effectiveness

Chapter 1197 Cosmic Treasure Loses Effectiveness

The Void Racial Talents were an important part of Kasuyi’s strength, and now that most of these talents were frozen, his combat power was far from the peak, and his damage had declined, so he gave it his all in that one strike.

The killing move that Kasuyi had been brewing for the last few days was an explosive skill, and the mechanism was a little similar to (Charge

– Endless Potential). During the accumulation period, Kasuyi could not utilize any of his Psychic power, instead compressing it in his brain area while continuously replenishing the energy gone into compression through his cells. He would then use his Psychic power to dam up the compressed area before releasing the floor when he faced an enemy. It was akin to constipating for a few days before releasing everything in one go, and it boasted a high attack coefficient bonus.

This single blow not only brought high damage but also various forms of negative statuses, which could induce a state of (Soul Weakness] in the opponent, reducing their attributes by a percentage. Depending on the target’s strength, it would last for several hours to several years.

Because Milton was ambushed and hit hard, his aura weakened in an instant, and could only show a part of his strength. Kasuyi came prepared, and under his calculation, he weakened the opponent’s overall combat power. As this violent Kasuyi hit the opponent’s leader, the other eight were furious, immediately counterattacking. Various forms of Beyond Grade A attacks smashed toward Kasuyi’s head and face, including Pugilist flames, Magic, Energy Cannons, and Esper Abilities.

Seeing this, Han Xiao sighed, and his body flashed as he stood in front of Kasuyi.

When the duo was first sighted, the natives had already come to the conclusion that Han Xiao was basically there as a meat shield.

How could Kasuyi’s delicate body be able to withstand the ravages of eight strong men? He still had to rely on Han Xiao’s unplowed field to be the tank.

All sorts of weird thoughts flashed by, and in the next instant, the tyrannical attacks of the eight fell on him.

Boom!

The various energies exploded, instantly swelling up into a giant ball of light. The earth collapsed, and matter was annihilated and evaporated. The entire planet now resembled a fruit that had been bitten.

A huge pit appeared in the field, extremely deep and wide, and the underground base they had created naturally collapsed.

However, Han Xiao had already relocated his troops when he was spouting his excuses, so what was destroyed at this time was only a shell.

As the smoke and dust quickly settled, Han Xiao was seen hovering in the same place. He patted the dust on his body casually. “This strength won’t do. You’ve all got to practice more.”

The eight who were preparing to pursue their advantage stood stunned with incredulous expressions.

They had witnessed their opponent taking the firepower of eight people and felt that even if they were not dead, they would still probably be seriously injured. At the very least, they would be injured and embarrassed. However, they never expected this guy called Black Star to be able to casually take on such a round and still appear unscathed!

How was this possible? The information showed that this guy was a Mechanic!

This could not be blamed on them. The explored universe was aware of Han Xiao’s ability, but this was the first time they had encountered the ‘Indestructible Body’.

Even while they were shocked silly, Kasuyi’s actions did not stop in the slightest. After using Black Star as a shield to block out the firepower, Kasuyi’s Psychic power was like wave after wave of floods, exerting an AOE effect as it smashed into the eight of them. It infiltrated their mental realms, outputting tons of damage and blasting out three of the slightly weaker Saint experts.

He was long accustomed to Black Star’s fleshiness and did not take it to heart. He naturally would focus all his attention on this window of opportunity, immediately reversing the attack onto his enemies.

At this moment, Han Xiao also controlled his mechanical soldiers through Mechanical Force. The overwhelming number of soldiers wandered around the horizon like a swarm of locusts continuously providing covering firepower. The huge lethality continuously bound the enemies’ hands and feet, putting them in a dangerous spot.

Furthermore, there was even a milestone that Han Xiao did not expect would come in handy at this time…

Lothaire’s (Civilization Leader Slayer)!

The defenses and various resistance of all enemies would be reduced by three to seven percent, making them weaker.

“I never expected that I would become a wanted criminal. This ability will come in handy now though…” Han Xiao felt helpless.

While the process of fighting between both sides seemed to be quite long, with the speed of a Beyond Grade A, from negotiation to war was merely the span of a few seconds.

A fierce battle broke out in an instant. While the nine led by Milton had the advantage in numbers and overall combat power, they lost the initiative from the beginning and failed to obtain any benefits in the hands of Han Xiao and Kasuyi. However, they still had their Gold Grade equipment, so the two sides were quite evened out, unable to distinguish a winning party early.

“I feel that the strength of these people seems to be a little weaker…”

Han Xiao multitasked, gazing at the combat information shown in his interface.

The three Supreme powerhouses were supposed to be equivalent to the pinnacle Beyond Grade A in their universe, but it did not mean that these three had the same number of God’s Trait Transformation layers. In fact, out of all of them, only Milton had activated the God’s Trait Transformation route.

Earlier on, when Han Xiao had advanced to level 300, he had already entered the pinnacle Beyond Grade A level. When his Energy Rank exceeded the 78,000 threshold, achieving an Energy Level of twenty-one, he had activated the God’s Trait Transformation route. There was a barrier to entry, so not all pinnacle Beyond Grade A would be able to activate this God’s Trait Transformation.

While Han Xiao did not know what Kasuyi’s Energy Rank was, he conservatively estimated it to be above 90,000, with his God’s Trait Transformation at least being at the tenth layer. Milton, the strongest party in the enemy team, probably only had an Energy Rank of close to 80,000. Thus, even with their extra Beyond Grade As, the combat power advantage they held was not as high as imagined.

As for the other six Saint class powerhouses, Han Xiao only saw two people who were Grade S+ with Energy Rank above 52,000, while the rest were little kids with Energy Ranks below 50,000. “The quantity is quite ridiculous, but as for the quality…” Han Xiao shook his head.

Thinking about it, it made sense. He and Kasuyi were people who were standing at the peak of the strongest in the explored universe, among even those pinnacle Beyond Grade As. There was no need to belittle themselves.

Of course, the Celestial Star Alliance had nearly ten thousand Beyond Grade As, and there would naturally be people who were comparable to them. However, whether such people would be willing to work in the Superpower Security Department was questionable, and even if they were, they would not easily be deployed. After all, the two of them did not show much strength previously, so the other party imagined that sending out nine Beyond Grade As would be overkill.

Hu!

One of the Saint Pugilists suddenly rushed in, coming right in front of Han Xiao before lifting up a Gold Grade blood-red halberd and piercing it toward his eyes.

Han Xiao was calm, slightly tilting his head to avoid it, and the light reflecting off the blade illuminated his eyes, filling him with nostalgia.

It had been so many years since someone tried to smash his face. He had almost forgotten what it felt like…

He even had the chance to spare a glance toward his opponent. The next moment, he brought up his arm so quickly it left an afterimage, counterattacking the Pugilist. His Strength and Dexterity made this attack even surpass the speed of the Pugilist.

Boom!

This powerful fist slammed into his opponent’s head, and the person felt as though a symphony had gone off in his mind. He shot off as though he was a baseball that had been hit hard by the batter, flying out of Han Xiao’s sight in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Han Xiao lightly nodded.

“It seems like even in this place, the life of a Pugilist is still pretty difficult…”

They had only exchanged blows for a short period of time, but Han Xiao had already concluded that this pursuer team could not pose a substantive threat. Thus, he leisurely observed the opponent to collect intelligence.

The opponent’s team consisted of two Espers, three Pugilists, two Mages, a Mechanic, and a Psychic. This team configuration was quite complete, with all five Systems present.

The bulk of Han Xiao’s attention was focused on the only Mechanic of his opponent, a Supreme expert.

Because there was no secondary dimension present, the Class abilities and skills of the five major Superpower systems changed accordingly. While there were some alternative abilities as a result, their strength in general was not as strong as that of the main universe, such as the utilization of certain special energies only found within the secondary dimensions.

Because there were no secondary dimensional army boxes, Han Xiao was wondering what sort of method the Mechanics would use to summon their machinery on a large scale.

After careful observation, and with the information given by the combat information, he quickly came to a conclusion.

Their compression technology has undergone some innovation, giving out some special Mechanical Force Vigor Resonance. After which, an ability similar to Machinery Apostilization is carried out, giving the Mechanical Force new characteristics to alter a portion of one’s cells and transform it into an empty space akin to the army boxes. The Mechanical Force blessing allows the compressed orbs to be further compressed and stored in the body, providing an effect similar to that of the secondary dimensional army box… However, this ability has a limitation, which is the same drawback as the Machinery Apostilization. The more the machinery stored, the higher one’s load, which will reduce the upper limit of one’s life span and Energy… This was a feasible method. The idea could not be said to be novel, but there were also merits. The main problem was that the Mechanical Force conversion skills were complicated, most likely automatically obtained through Promotion or Class Advancement. Due to the difference between the systems of their universes, the abilities generated during Class Advancement would be different. This could be described as a situation where they existed as different branches of the same system. However, the secondary dimensional army boxes and Dimension Factories were better for usage, as there was no need to bear any load as well as a lack of limit on the troops stored, which made it far superior. However, this method of storing troops in one’s body also had an advantage, which was not being affected by any sort of spatial interference devices.

Understanding the opponent’s method did not mean that Han Xiao had cracked the principles; he had yet to be able to learn this technique.

Both sides fought fiercely, not caring about the aftermath. The planet was soon crushing into a stream of dust within the universe, and their battlefield moved toward outer space.

Just as Han Xiao was busy observing the rest, Kasuyi’s voice rang out in his mind.

“Black Star, why are you not activating your Mechanical Deity? Quickly, we need to get rid of one of two more!”

“What are you anxious about? Aren’t we maintaining the stalemate well. Let me gather more intelligence first.” “I’m out of energy,” Kasuyi replied.

Are you kidding me?

This thought subconsciously floated past Han Xiao’s mind.

But he quickly reacted… This time, Kasuyi might really be out of MP. Of course, because this battle only lasted for a short time, it was an exaggeration to be out of MP. But from a long-term view, Kasuyi had limited skills to allow him to recover his MP, and his current MP reserves would not allow him to fight against nine opponents. If they fought a war of attrition, they would fall into a disadvantage soon, so he did not want Han Xiao to continue wasting time. He decided to get some results whilst he was still able to fight, shaving off the enemy’s strength.

“Fine, since you’ve asked…”

Han Xiao did not think much. Just as he was about to activate his Mechanical Deity…

Everything changed.

The nine of them suddenly stopped attacking, retreating quickly with complex and exquisite blue magic patterns illuminating on their mechanical suits.

Whoosh!

The next instant, the figures of the nine disappeared without a trace.

“Hmm?”

Han Xiao’s movements stalled. He swept the surroundings with his senses, but he did not find a trace of their targets.

With the disappearance of their opponents, Kasuyi also paused and scanned the area with his Psychic powers, but his search yielded no results.

The nine experts that came to hunt them down suddenly seemed to have activated some teleportation magic runes to run away.

Both of them shared a glance in confusion.

What?

“They couldn’t have… run away, right?”

The Great Mechanic Han was dumbfounded.

Wait, I haven’t even tried!

The opponents had no casualties, basically retaining their complete combat strength. It was just a slight disadvantage, so how could they run away so decisively?

Could it be that the Beyond Grade As there were the people only heard of in stories, that would only fight if they were guaranteed victory?

Kasuyi also left his mouth agape, totally speechless. This group of pursuers had come in an aggressive manner, letting them think that they would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. They did not expect them to escape so skillfully. They did not even leave any final words.

“Black Star, do we chase them?”

“… I’m a Mechanic, not a Mage. Locating people isn’t one of my strengths. Besides, theirs is a strategic retreat; it’s too arrogant of us to chase after them.”

“So, what do we do now?”

“Forget it. Since they’ve run away, I’ll test out this Cloaking Device.”

Han Xiao shook his head in resignation, taking out the alloy pieces. He carefully inspected the device as he inputted his energy, but he did not feel any change through his senses. So, he just kept them on himself in this activated state.

He had collected all the intelligence he needed and also confirmed that any cooperation between himself and the Superpower Security Department was impossible. Thus, he could only choose the option of the mysterious man. The two of them quickly tidied up the battlefield and did not dally, leaving the scene quickly. They headed for the location given by the mysterious man.

Somewhere far from the battlefield, nine rays of light flashed as Milton and his party teleported over. With a sigh of relief, Milton endured the splitting pain in his head and spoke in a deep tone through the team communication channel.

“There’s a slight error in the judgement made by the department. The targets’ combat strength is frightening, likely at the forefront even among Supreme experts. This is especially so for the person called Black Star, who commands an unbelievable recovery speed and resilience. Our attacks could hardly threaten his life. With just the nine of us alone, the success rate of arrest is too low. Requesting the headquarters for reinforcements.” The others nodded. “Understood.”

While they could still continue to fight, they felt it unnecessary. After a few clashes, they had already sensed that their manpower alone would not be able to allow them to capture the target. Thus, they retreated decisively and prepared to call for reinforcements.

The Superpower Security Department’s modus operandi did not advocate aggressiveness. Since they were evenly matched, it would be settled if they got more people. Clashing head on was not only a waste of time but also carried the danger of sacrificing someone.

So what if the enemy is powerful? We have so many people. We can simply overwhelm you!

Nine people isn’t enough? Then double it! Still not enough? Double that! I do not believe you can last forever!

Since they were a law enforcement department, there was no need to speak about morality with wanted criminals!

The staff of the Superpower Security Department had always operated in this manner, and the reason behind this was because of the existence of the Positioning Star Map.

No matter where the target went, the Positioning Star Map would be able to relocate them. Thus, there was no fear of them running away.

However, at this moment, an emergency communication was sent by the headquarters before they could contact the other party.

Milton received the communication only to see the face of their department leader appear, solemn with a trace of irritation.

“What have you two done to the fugitives?” the leader bellowed.

Milton did not know how the leader got angry and could only reply honestly.

“We fought with them, but our team agreed that they were too strong. Thus, we made a strategic retreat and decided to call for reinforcements… What happened?”

“I want to know that too!” The leader’s expression was ashen. “Just a moment ago, their coordinates disappeared from the Positioning Star Map!”

Milton’s eyes widened, his expression shocked. The moment we retreated, their coordinates vanished?

Impossible!

What did those two do!

His confidence was instantly shattered.

Chapter 1198: Secret News (1)

Chapter 1198 Secret News (1)

Planet Jardinger was a rather prosperous interstellar port that was in the neutral faction, with a complex web of organizations and people that would pass through it every day. On the bustling street, two tall men were strolling as they shopped. They occasionally walked into the shops on the side of the road, looking left and right.

These two were precisely Han Xiao and Kasuyi.

It had been more than half a month since the last time they fought with Milton’s team. Han Xiao had led Kasuyi to Planet Jardinger, following the coordinates left by the mysterious man. They had waited here for several days, but there was no movement.

“It’s already been so many days. Why is the mysterious person you mentioned not responding yet? Oh, I want this, thanks.”

Standing in front of a self-service vending machine within a food store, Kasuyi pointed at the green can of an alcoholic beverage.

“They should be observing if we managed to get rid of our pursuers.”

Han Xiao shrugged and activated his Virtual Intrusion, instantly hacking into the entire store. The next second, two cans of drinks popped out of the vending machine.

Because they were illegal immigrants, without even a bank account to their name, they were naturally penniless. He could only utilize Virtual Intrusion to bypass payments like these, just like taking out cannons to kill mosquitoes. With his current level, there was no way he would leave any traces.

“Sigh, I haven’t been so poverty-stricken in such a long time. To think I’m reduced to drinking such inferior wine…” Kasuyi pulled off the tab, sipping the pale green wine in a graceful manner. “We can survive for a decade without eating. I think you’re just greedy.”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes, emptying the can in one mouthful before squeezing the can into a small ball and throwing it into the garbage bin beside them.

Neither of them had anything to do, and thus, they wandered about the streets, trying to learn about the customs.

At first, the two of them were still on guard, but their enemies never came to look for them, proving that the Cloaking Device given by the mysterious person was useful.

While they were chatting, a piece of news suddenly appeared on the virtual screen within the store, attracting their attention.

“Urgent News: The Celestial Star Alliance Superpower Security Department has issued two new arrest warrants. The contents are as follows… “Bounty Target – Black Star, Supreme level Mechanic, reward of 1.6 billion Star Alliance Coins.

“Bounty Target – Kasuyi, Supreme level Psychic, reward of 1.6 billion Star Alliance Coins.

“These two wanted criminals have committed many crimes and are extremely dangerous. They have succeeded in repelling the pursuit team sent by the department. If you find their whereabouts, please report it immediately. The contact information is…”

Seeing this news, Han Xiao could not help but laugh. “Oh, the bounty has gone up again. It seems like they really cannot find us.”

Kasuyi, however, had a face full of black lines.

Every time he saw the name on his bounty, he would flare up uncontrollably.

No matter how he looked at it, it was the imposing nickname of ‘Void Overlord’ that would suit his status as a top powerhouse! Why did those idiots ignore his claim and take Black Star’s words so seriously?

“Oh right, speaking of wanted criminals, I surfed on the internet yesterday…” Han Xiao stroked his chin in interest. “Our added bounties currently put us in second place of all the fugitives within this universe.”

“We’re number two just like that? We didn’t even do anything heinous.” Kasuyi frowned. “Plus, our bounties should not be considered high as well. There aren’t any more ferocious criminals than us?”

“It seems like there really isn’t anybody. The Celestial Star Alliance has experienced many years without chaos. Not only is their governance stable, most of the Beyond Grade As here are like obedient babies. We’re anomalies.” Han Xiao waved his hand. “Then, who’s at the top of the bounty list?”

“It’s an organization named (Eye of Insight), with a six-billion-dollar bounty. However, I couldn’t find what sort of criminal record they had online.” Han Xiao shook his head.

The two of them walked out of the shop as they chatted. Before long, they came across a store that was full of liveliness and clamoring, causing them to head over in curiosity.

The interior was shaped a little like a board game cafeteria, but everyone was playing the same game, a card game known as ‘Myriad Souls Card’.

It seemed like an event was currently ongoing, with four people each seated at a game table, playing against each other while the spectators crowded around them. In the middle of the room was an exhibition cabinet with three exquisitely-made cards floating. The host constantly added to the atmosphere, emphasizing that the winner of the game could walk away with these three limited-edition cards.

As both of them leaned over a table to take a look, their expressions turned weird.

“Do you feel that this is rather familiar?” Kasuyi whispered.

“You don’t say…” Han Xiao said this as his mouth twitched.

How could it not be? The playing style of this card game was exactly the same as the Wayne Cards in their universe. It was just that the characters were different.

Why would there be similar card games here? Could it be the will of the universe, ensuring that card players would always be present in the world?

At this moment, the senses of the two picked up something. Turning their heads at the same time, they discovered a person staring at them from among the crowd, his gaze indeterminate.

Seeing them look at him, the man put his hand into his pocket, slowly taking out a piece of green metal to shake it before leaving.

“That was the device given by the mysterious
person…”

Han Xiao recognized it immediately before exchanging a glance with Kasuyi. They stepped up to follow.

The person walked and stopped along the way, glancing back as though leading the way. They walked along the streets, soon coming into a slightly older docking terminal.

The guide opened a hanger, which revealed a plain, general-purpose spaceship. He then opened the hatch, turning back to look at the two as though inviting them up.

Seeing this, Han Xiao and Kasuyi scanned the spaceship with their senses. Finding no abnormalities, they stepped onto the gangway, entering the spaceship.

Very quickly, the hull vibrated slightly before moving off. The view of Planet Jardinger from the porthole slowly shrank.

Han Xiao finally retracted his gaze, turning back to look at the silent guide before taking out a similar piece of green-gold alloy as he asked, “Can you explain who you are exactly? Why did you bring us on board?”

аrе е

Hearing this, the guide straightened his clothes before slowly speaking. “Let me introduce myself. I’m a senior officer under the Eye of Insight, Lucidias. It was my leader that asked me to meet up with you.”

Eye of Insight… Isn’t that the wanted organization with the highest bounty?

Kasuyi glanced at Han Xiao meaningfully.

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he replied, “In that case, it means that your leader was the one who sent me the anonymous messages, right?”

“My job is only to escort the two of you. I was told that as long as I showed the Heaven Concealing Apparatus, you would follow me. As for the rest, I’m also unaware.” Lucidias shook his head.

“Heaven Concealing Apparatus?” Han Xiao raised the alloy piece on his hand. “You mean
this?”

“That’s right. It is the core technology of our Eye of Insight.” Lucidias nodded.

“What exactly does your Eye of Insight do?” Han Xiao was curious.

“Apologies, but without express permission from our leader, I cannot disclose too much information. If you have any questions, please direct them to our leader.” Lucidias refused to answer, diverting it to his boss.

Seeing that he could not dig out more intelligence, Han Xiao also stopped asking, beginning to come out with his own hypothesis.

During this period of time, he was also guessing the identity of this mysterious person. In the original message sent, it was revealed by the mysterious person vaguely that he was aware of their identities as outsiders.

In view of the fact that this place was isolated from the outside universe, Han Xiao felt that the mysterious man might have been someone who had accidentally trespassed into this secondary dimension as well. As for why he was looking for them, it could be because he was trapped here and thus needed more helpers.

Since the Celestial Star Alliance was still unaware of the existence of the outside universe, then this mysterious person probably did not reveal anything about the main universe, instead lurking around, creating this organization in secret.

The more Han Xiao thought about it, the higher he felt the likelihood of that. In his theory, the only suspicious point was the Eye of Insight as there was little information about them on the web. But looking back, it seemed like the Eye of Insight had existed for a long time and did not seem to be created by an intruder.

Since the mission prompt has connected me to this mysterious person, the other party will probably be a friend, not an enemy. It is useless for me to overthink right now. It will be more convenient to ask things directly later.

The spaceship travelled for over ten days before reaching the destination. They arrived at a huge mothership resembling an asteroid, which maintained its stealth as it wandered through outer space.

Swoosh!

As the hatch opened, the two followed Lucidias to step into the mothership.

They passed through various areas, seeing a large number of staff and mechanical guards. The entire mothership was heavily guarded.

The group passed through authorization certifications one after another, going deeper into the core area of the mothership before finally arriving at a huge metal door.

“The leader is waiting inside. He wishes to see the two of you only, so I won’t be entering.”

Lucidias suddenly stopped walking.

Kasuyi and Han Xiao exchanged looks before stepping forward. The metal door automatically swung open, allowing them to enter.

Once they entered, the door closed behind them.

Han Xiao sized up the layout of the room. Pipes protruded from the ground and the walls, connecting to a figure in the center of the room.

This figure was tall, but his shape scrawny and shriveled, with tubes inserted all around him. He had two pairs of green eyes, one pair larger than the other. There was also a scar running through his face, blinding the eyes on his left.

Upon seeing the two, the person slowly spoke. His voice was deep and hoarse. “We finally meet… outsiders!”

Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed.

He indeed knew that we came from the outside universe.

He had anticipated this and thus did not feel surprised. Kasuyi was the same.

“Since you have invited us here, can you explain the situation? Who are you, why do you know about the existence of the outside universe, and what’s your reason for contacting us?”

During this period of time, Han Xiao had suppressed too many questions. Now that he had met someone who looked like they knew something, he spewed out all his thoughts.

The mysterious man listened quietly but did not answer them directly. He instead softly said, “I know that you guys have a lot of questions, but before that, I hope you can answer some of mine… What era is it outside now? Has the exploration era war ended?”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

To actually ask about the war during the exploration era, could this person trapped here be a Primordial One?

As this thought flashed past, Han Xiao briefly described the ending of the exploration era war and issued his own question.

“Are you a Primordial One?”

“No, I’m not.” The person laughed. “I’m not what you call Primordial Ones, but I’ve met them.”

“Then who are you?”

“I understand your confusion. You believe that I came in like you… but you’ve guessed wrongly. I belong here.’ The mysterious man’s tone was calm.

At this moment, many more possibilities appeared in Han Xiao’s mind.

If what the mysterious man said was true, and his source of information came from the Primordial Ones who had intruded here, then could his objective be to leave this world? Furthermore, where were the Primordial Ones that this person had once met? Why was there no record of them on the internet? Could it be that they were also taken in by the Celestial Star Alliance?

At this moment, the mysterious man once again spoke, his tone solemn.

“I know what you are most interested in right now. That’s exactly why I invited you… I require helpers, to eradicate this world and set me free. This… is also the only method through which you can leave!”

Chapter 1199: Secret News (2)

Chapter 1199 Secret News (2)

Eradicate this world!

Han Xiao and Kasuyi glanced at each other, seeing the surprise reflected. With just a few of us, to go against a behemoth like the Celestial Star Alliance…

With such few side dishes, you intend to drink the whole night?

Han Xiao secretly swore, but since there seemed to be a lot of hidden secrets within, he patiently said, “You mentioned that this was the only way we can leave. Please talk in detail.”

“I know you think that this mission is impossible, but in fact, this is not as difficult as you think… However, it is not simple either,” the mysterious man rasped. “I believe that when you entered this secondary dimension, you should have been very shocked. You never thought that a space similar to the universe existed here, with an extremely powerful civilization.”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Hehe, it’s not just you, but every outsider also reacted in the same manner.” The mysterious man slowly spoke. “I understand your troubles, but your worries are superfluous. All that you have been… the Celestial Star Alliance, the tens of thousands of Saint class experts, including me, are all long-dead phantoms. Our world… has long been annihilated!”

Han Xiao was taken aback and asked doubtfully, “What exactly happened?”

“The current world you see here is based on a mutated time-space cycle Information Form,” the mysterious man blandly replied. “You should have discovered some information regarding the World Reset program on the internet. This plan was not just a simple insurance but also a special scheme used by the Celestial Star Alliance to escape the end of the universe. But the plan failed. Due to some abnormal changes that happened within the Information Form, our timeline was intercepted, forming a closed cycle of spacetime, which is this world I live in. It will constantly end at a fixed point in time and be reborn at a fixed point in time. I’m the only anomaly that retains my memory within this cycle.” “… Thus, if we wish to leave, we must break the so-called closed spacetime loop?”

Han Xiao’s brows were knitted tightly together.

Just based on the theory of the Spacetime Splicing Technology, this sort of scenario was possible, but the rhetoric behind it made it hard to believe.

The mysterious man glanced at their expressions, letting out a laugh before he spoke.

“Hehe, don’t look at me like that. I’m not a liar. I know that your hearts must be full of suspicions. That’s perfectly normal. Since I’ve invited you here, I intend to explain everything from the beginning…”

“It’s alright. We have time.” Han Xiao crossed his arms.

“Then prepare yourselves. No matter how shocked you are later, don’t interrupt my narration. What you’ll hear next will be the secrets and truths involving the entire universe…”

The mysterious man’s tone turned somber.

“Please speak.” Han Xiao straightened his expression, making a ‘please’ gesture.

After taking a deep breath, the mysterious man began. “Everything has a definite life span, and the universe is no different. According to normal development, the universe will ultimately usher in its final destiny over time. It might be through overheating, a gravitational collapse, or a space rip. When time reaches a certain point, everything is bound to end.

“However, in that initial time and space, there existed a civilization that had developed to the extreme, far stronger than any of ours could ever be. In order to escape their fate, they chose to give a new life to the universe as a method to continue their existence… While they did not succeed in the end, it was not a complete failure. Under the construction, they had altered the basic rules of the universe. When the universe expands to a certain level, reaching the bifurcation of its ultimate destiny, it will actively collapse upon itself, swallowing everything and becoming a singularity point. The big bang will then occur and retransform into a new universe that will be empty but full of life… We call this ‘The Great Reboot’.

“That Godlike civilization that gave a glimmer of hope to the creatures of the universe has long been destroyed by The Great Reboot, their names having disappeared in the long river of time. However, they left this transformation of the universe as their only legacy for their future generations. Nothing can measure the preciousness of this legacy, for without it, no other civilization could appear.

“As such, we have honored this civilization as the Savior Civilization. It was they who opened the iteration of the universe… and this universe they were in has become the anchor of this timeline, called the first iteration.

“However, The Great Reboot led to the final destiny of the universe being brought forward, so the development time for the civilizations in the subsequent iterations was shortened, not allowing any civilization to reach the heights of the Savior Civilization. They were just repeating the cycle of creation and destruction, unable to make any changes to the universe or leave any information.

“It was unknown how many iterations passed in this manner, until a variable suddenly appeared one day. The strongest civilization in that particular iteration made an amazing breakthrough in the field of the Information Form.

“They had managed to discover clues to the Savior Civilization and discovered part of the reason for the process of The Great Reboot. They believed that the tampering of the Savior Civilization at the beginning happened to result in a mutation within the Information Form, thus affecting the path of development for their universe… In their view, the universe is akin to a program that will rewrite the operation mode, whereas the Information Form is a sort of programming language.

“Thus, they attempted to utilize the Information Form to continue their civilization, but unfortunately, they failed in the end as well. However, they had managed to leave behind another legacy, which is a kind of existence known as ‘Sanctums’.

“Those items might have been just their tinder library, but by chance, it managed to mutate into one of the underlying laws of the universe’s operation, allowing it to survive The Great Reboot. It thus recorded all information that occurred within an iteration and stored it in an Information Form. A random part of that form would be extracted when The Great Reboot occurred to be integrated into the underlying laws of the new universe, allowing small changes to happen to the universe repeatedly, making future iterations more abundant…

“It might not be easy to understand, so let me give you an example. The five Super systems you see now are products of said Sanctum. In the ancient times, some universe iterations had certain Supers, while some did not have those, utilizing different systems. The Sanctums would record part of each Super system, so it randomly inserted these systems into one of the iterations of The Great Reboot to be permanently engraved into the universe’s laws… This is how the five Super systems are formed, not appearing at the same time but continuing to be repeated through iterations and supplemented. Thus, you see that we have five Super systems, as does your universe. This is no coincidence.

“Another example… you might have noticed, but we do not have secondary dimensions. Our iteration is much earlier than yours, so our own World Reset plan might have been the root behind the creation of the secondary dimensions. The Sanctums incorporated our information into the laws of the universe during the next Great Reboot… So, we might have actually been the creators of the secondary dimensions!

“In any case, the appearance of the Sanctums allows for the subsequent iterations to jump out of this eternal loop as it brings about more variables. It continues to enrich the universe of the next iteration and can be considered a sort of inheritance. While it is miniscule, many droplets eventually form a pond.

“Broadly speaking, the later the iteration of the universe, the more likely it will be stronger overall and more advanced!

“Thus, we honored this civilization with the name of the Sanctum Civilization, and each iteration of the universe was known as the iteration of transformation.

“In addition to optimizing the effectiveness of the universe, the Sanctums also acted like recording tools at the beginning of each civilization, allowing the history of that iteration to be recorded to pass on to future iterations. The later generations will thus develop their civilizations to a certain degree, with the ability to open the Sanctums. The higher their skills and strength, the more information can be obtained from it. “Thus, a relay of the Civilizations that cross iterations was opened!

“Generation after generation of Universal Civilizations have inherited the research of their predecessors, learning from their failures and constantly pioneering new paths. Even if they fail, they will still leave behind all of their own experiences in the Sanctums to allow their future generations to continue the research. Everything is to allow us to get rid of the ultimate destiny of the universe, placing our hopes in the future that a generation will discover a method to survive The Great Reboot and continue to prosper. “As experience is passed on, subsequent iterations will have a higher chance of making this breakthrough.

“During my iteration, this World Reset plan was our result. While we did not manage to allow our civilization to continue in the end, it managed to create secondary dimensions for our future generations, giving you more possibilities.

“And this world you see is just a short cyclic timeline toward the end of the universe where I live, a failed restart, a phantom that should have disappeared a long time ago. And we… are just one link in this long chain.”

Finally, the mysterious man stopped talking.

Han Xiao and Kasuyi remained frozen in place, their eyes fully widened as waves were set off in their minds.

The information contained within this tale was just too huge, so powerful that it had exceeded all of their imaginations. “How true is this?” Han Xiao felt that this was truly unbelievable.

This story had given him a strong impact on his soul, and he could not help but doubt the veracity of this cosmic secret.

There was no relevant information about this in his previous life. The three Universal Civilizations as well as the World Tree Civilization had not revealed this in any manner.

Could it be that the three Universal Civilizations had yet to be sufficiently developed, so the secret of the Sanctums had not been cracked?

Could it be… that this was the true meaning behind the mission name (A Relay Across Iterations]?

If that was true, this was truly too spectacular. The painstaking research from generation to generation continued to pass on in this manner, akin to the relay of a torch.

Just thinking about it, he could feel an epic sense of history. The unyieldingness as well as the resilience of the generations before to go against the very heavens, their dignity of not intending to leave their fates to destiny!

Seeing their shock and surprise, the mysterious man did not explain further but instead calmly said, “I know that you guys are indeed suspicious of my words. After all, this has completely subverted your world views. However, in the future, when your universe iteration develops to the corresponding level, you will understand such things. For now… let’s get back to business.” “Alright.” Han Xiao calmed himself, suppressing his turbulent emotions.

Right now, there was no way for him to verify the authenticity of this statement, but he thought about Oathkeeper, who had gone to the Sanctums. When he returned, Han Xiao would proceed to the Holy Accord to obtain information about the Sanctums so that he could confirm if this secret was real. If this was true, he had to consider the long-term impacts… The players in his previous life were unable to reach this level, so this was the first time he had experienced this, and he did not know what to do.

The mysterious man shook his head, pulling the topic back on track as he slowly said, “This spacetime here rests in an endless loop. The moment the World Reset plan is fully activated, a new cycle will begin. Because I’m an individual in this cycle of spacetime, even if I die, I’ll be reborn and retain my memories, but outsiders do not belong to this spacetime and thus will be annihilated here. “If you guys wish to leave, you have to break the loop before the end of this cycle. In this manner, you can regain your freedom, and I can also be liberated.

“I have met with outsiders in the fifty-ninth, sixty-second, and seventy-third cycles, the earliest being what you call the Primordial Ones. I helped them as I did you today, but they all failed to break the cycle and thus died here.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao started to plan by himself.

This sort of spacetime loop had similarities to the Spacetime Splicing Technology, both of which would fix the timeline in a certain period. The difference was that the cause of this secondary dimension was far greater than that of the Spacetime Splicing Technology. It was many times more complex.

However, this was not the only method he had in his arsenal to leave this place. The teleportation function of the King suit should be able to work as it had similar functions to the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device. While it was possible for him to leave, Han Xiao was more curious about the mysterious man’s plan to destroy his world.

“Even if you want us to destroy the world, you can’t possibly ask us to go to war against the other Celestial Star Alliance, right? Phantoms they might be, but in this time and space, their combat power is real.” “Of course not. The original World Reset plan was broken and only re-emerged after The Great Reboot, where Information Form technology was used to make us reappear. The principle is not very clear to me, and I only know that the implementation of this program is in the use of the Information Form technology. The artificial intelligence core, which we call the guardian, was bound to the Sanctums by the Celestial Star Alliance, allowing it to survive the destruction during The Great Reboot.

“But in the end, it failed and was changed. Although we reappeared, we have become phantoms and turned into a secondary dimension, trapped in a spacetime loop. The artificial intelligence core became the dimensional consciousness of this secondary dimension… You should have seen its clone when you came in.”

Han Xiao thought about it.

So, the Supreme Guardian that they encountered outside the secondary dimension was actually a clone of the dimensional consciousness entity?

However, his combat information did not reveal this. It appeared like a living human.

The mysterious man continued. “The Guardian is the root of this spacetime cycle. It has no independent thinking, only preset procedures that rigidly protect this secondary dimension from any outside invasion. As long as you kill him, you can break the cycle, and only outsiders can achieve it.

“Because I’m part of the cycle, no matter how I flip over this world, the end result is that the cycle will restart. Thus, the Guardian will not
erfere. There is no way for me to contact im as I’m inseparable from this world… but the existence of an outsider is a variable. Once you invade, the Guardian will inevitably rush in, and you have a chance to kill him here.

“In the program of the Guardian, there is still a portion of the Information Form technology from the World Reset plan. Any outsiders who die in the cycle of Reset will be captured by him, allowing him to use dimensional energy to create entities that are extremely similar to the original as clones. Thus far, three batches of outsiders have died, so he has several clones.”

The more the outsiders that die, the more Beyond Grade As he can manufacture. A dimensional consciousness entity actually has such a powerful skill, even though it was caused by a mutation… Han Xiao was impressed. The Celestial Star Alliance was indeed the hegemon of a previous iteration. Even a failed product was so powerful. The time for development for his three Universal Civilizations was only a fraction compared to the Celestial Star Alliance. Thus, in terms of technical levels, they were akin to a younger brother.

“It seems possible, but how can we make the guardian show up?” Han Xiao nodded.

“Because of the changes in spacetime, and in order to avoid risks, the underlying logic of the Guardian states that it cannot tamper with the reset content that was coded in, which resulted in the Guardian not being able to move as freely in this world compared to the outside. It can only descend near its vessels. For example, the Superpower Security Department of the Celestial Star Alliance has a Cosmic Treasure known as the Positioning Star Map, which is one of the automatically formed dimensional consciousness vessels, which allows it to monitor the entire dimension. I’ve created a sort of cloaking device that can escape its surveillance, which is why you have not been discovered.

“In short, as long as you’re close to any vessels, the Guardian will appear and try to kill you. This is his core mechanism, and he cannot violate it. However, all these vessels are in the high security warehouses of the Superpower Security Department. Our plan is to attack the Superpower Security Department warehouse, get to the vessel to allow the Guardian to appear, and kill it.”

“This difficulty is not low at all…” Han Xiao thought about it.

“I will provide help, and the resources of the Eye of Insight can also be utilized by you. Furthermore, I will not let the two of you work for nothing,” the mysterious man replied. “We are both Mechanics, so I will impart a portion of my entire life’s learning to you as a reward for helping me out.”

He paused for a moment before he added, “Of course, only by breaking the cycle and surviving will whatever you’ve learned be meaningful.”

Chapter 1200: Problem

Chapter 1200 Problem

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

While this secondary dimension might only be a phantom of the actual world, this was a treasure trove to Han Xiao. Not only could he obtain new Class abilities, he could also gather a lot more advanced technology that would be different from the current explored universe. For a Mechanic, this was the jackpot!

Han Xiao originally only planned to get some skills before returning. With a willing teacher to impart his Knowledge now, the efficiency would be twice the result with only half the effort needed.

Furthermore, this mysterious man had already undergone so many cycles. Even if his bodily condition was constantly reset, making training meaningless, his memory could still be retained. This meant that all the technology he had learned would always be in his mind. With such a terrifying background, it could only mean good things.

By the side, Kasuyi stared with wide eyes. “What about me?”

The mysterious man shot him a look before shaking his head. “You’re not a Mechanic, so there’s nothing I can teach you.” “Hey, that’s not very nice!” Kasuyi was a little aggrieved in his heart.

It was obviously I who came first, be it forming the team or leading the way, but the benefits all landed at Black Star’s feet instead. Why is that so?

The mysterious thought about it before speaking again. “If you really wish to have some technical data, it’s not as though there’s no way. Once the cycle is broken, everything here will vanish, and that includes any sort of material objects. Only information can be circulated. According to the principle of Information Forms, information that is transformed by outsiders can be retained. Since you cannot learn the Knowledge, you can use any recording machines brought from the outside to store this information…”

Hearing this, Kasuyi’s expression got a lot better. He felt that this was more like it.

Even if he was not a Mechanic, he understood the value of this technology. He could hand it to his subordinates to bolster his organization or even trade it with the Arcane Church.

At this moment, Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he said, “Don’t forget that your goal is the God’s Trait Transformation. You shouldn’t bother yourself with such trivialities. Leave the matters here to me instead. If I don’t step into hell, who will?”

“You’re being shameless again” Kasuyi’s expression changed. “You want to swallow everything on your own?”

Han Xiao shot Kasuyi a glance. “When you came to me to form a team, you told me you owed me one. I haven’t asked you for any compensation yet. Monopolizing this can be considered my compensation. Besides, you’re also not a Mechanic. Why do you need this technology? At most, when we leave, I’ll give you some other form of dividends. Do you mind?” “Of course I mind! This is this, and that is that. The technology is not within the scope of our agreement.”

Kasuyi definitely would not want to give up on this treasure.

Han Xiao suddenly stroked his chin, saying meaningfully, “Are you sure you want to fight? Don’t forget, you’re in your main body now…”

Hearing this, Kasuyi’s expression slightly changed. “And besides… if the plan to break the cycle fails, how are you planning to leave?” Han Xiao laughed. Kasuyi was speechless and could only helplessly wave his hand. “Fine, I’ll give up. I don’t want this technology.”

While he wanted this technology, in comparison, his life was more important. Since he had come over with his main body, if he pissed Black Star off, his path of retreat would be completely sealed. He thought for a bit before realizing that he had to compromise.

However, while Kasuyi gave up fighting for the technology, he did not intend to let things be. He looked at the mysterious man and said, “My partner has a special device that can allow him to teleport without restrictions. This task in the secondary dimension is difficult, so if you don’t stop him, he can get away at any time. I suggest you only teach him a part of this technology and only give him the rest when we’re about to complete the mission.”

“Oh? There’s such a thing?” The mysterious man turned his head toward Han Xiao.

Han Xiao glanced at Kasuyi, not surprised, as he calmly nodded. “That’s right. I do have such an ability, and I agree with such a way of doing things.”

Of course, he was aware of what Kasuyi was thinking. He was worried Han Xiao would abscond once he got his hands on all the data.

Han Xiao did not think that there was a problem with Kasuyi doing such a thing. If it was him, it was likely that he would have taken the same measures.

The two of them were merely temporary teammates. While they had some friendship, in the face of benefits, their relationship was insufficient to bring unreserved trust. People at their level would not easily put hope in others.

At their realm, as long as they were not close relatives or friends, no one would easily give in when faced with their own interests.

While Han Xiao was shocked to learn about the secrets of the universe, he would not change his behavior and purpose of arriving just because of that. After all, their universe iteration was just too far away, and even if he knew about it, he could not be of help for the time being. In the end, one still had to live in the present.

No matter how lofty one was, when it came to an issue that concerned personal benefits, one had to handle them from a practical perspective. The value of such technology was amazing, so there was no reason for Han Xiao to allow Kasuyi to easily share a piece of the pie. Regardless of whether he would work together with the advanced civilizations in the future, he had to take the initiative to obtain such benefits first.

That was especially so since he was a Mechanic. He was aware of the importance of not leaking his technology, so he did not hesitate to threaten Kasuyi… If the other party did not compromise, let alone mentioning their backup escape plan, he would not hesitate to attack on the spot.

As for Kasuyi’s little trick, Han Xiao thought little of it. He did not intend to only take and not give. With the technology in his hands, he would fulfill the agreement to help break the cycle. He still had his morals to some extent, and he also had to provide some insurance for Kasuyi.

While such a method would offend the other party, if both sides compromised, the relationship could still continue.

Since they were all people with statuses, few of them were actually stubborn creatures. Negotiation of one’s interests was a norm, and even if one had a grudge, they would not really throw aside all pretenses.

The mysterious man looked a little hesitant, but he finally said, “In that case, I’ll teach you a part of the technology first. By the way, you should take advantage of this period to draft your action plan. In addition, the resources of the Eye of Insight are completely open to you. You can expand your machinery and manpower here…”.

He could not determine if Han Xiao’s teleportation ability was real or not. Since he was just an Information Form in this secondary dimension, if Black Star teleported him away, he would immediately die and achieve his freedom.

However, he knew that this proposal was tantamount to abandoning Kasuyi. The latter would never agree to it, so they could only do a trade in private. However, he did not know if Black Star would be willing to kill off any witnesses.

He actually wished for Black Star to use his teleportation ability to move reinforcements from outside. That would be the most beneficial to him, but no one would agree to this proposal either. If Black Star wished to teleport out, Kasuyi would strongly oppose it. Black Star would also not agree to the move in order to monopolize the technology.

All three parties had their own positions, so it was difficult to reach one best decision. The final result was to have a compromise that everyone could accept.

The mysterious man understood everyone’s concerns and knew that their behavior would not change even if they believed in the secrets he revealed. Thus, he did not intend to deviate from his original plan.

“After speaking so much, you still haven’t told us your name,” Kasuyi said. “You can call me Jayz.” “Speaking of which, why can you keep your memories?”

“I have no idea either. I was not like this in the beginning and only awakened around a thousand cycles ago. Before that, I was just resetting repeatedly like everyone else.

At this moment, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

The first chain mission of (A Relay Across Iterations] has been completed!

You have received one billion experience.

The second chain mission has been opened!

Mission Requirements: Destroy the dimensional consciousness entity, breaking the spacetime loop, and bringing relief to Jayz, hereby obtaining his legacy.

Mission Reward: 1.5 billion experience, 1 Random Reward, 1 Character Summon Card, and unlocking of the next mission.

Han Xiao scanned through and nodded.

The second chain mission has begun, and the rewards are higher… However, the technology from Jayz is my greatest reward. I estimate I’ll have to stay much longer than expected in this secondary dimension…

With a thought, Han Xiao opened up the forums to take a look. The fourth Pro League was about to start, and it seemed like he would not have the time to pay attention to it this time.

After coming to an agreement, Han Xiao did not bother acting polite, asking Jayz to teach him some Mechanic class skills that he did not have. He conveniently pushed the coldly snorting Kasuyi out as well. Very quickly, the sound of the interface rang.

Jayz (Lv.367) has passed on the skill [Mechanical Force-Soldier Nest). Current progress: 0.0001%

Jayz (Lv.367) has passed on the skill [Compressed Orb Innovation-Armed Body). Current progress: 0.0001%

Jayz…

Seeing the large number of notifications, Han Xiao was elated.

…

In the explored universe, somewhere in the Primeval Star River…

“I’ve finally succeeded!”

In a secret machinery factory, Manison gazed at the cloud of virtual data in front of him, unable to hide his smile of satisfaction.

Ever since the Intelligent Plague ended, Manison had spent most of his days in the workshop, attempting to imitate the Virtual Mutiny Virus. After slogging his guts out for so long, he had finally managed to make some progress, creating a prototype virus. While there were many functions still missing and it was far weaker than the original, Manison believed that this represented a correct direction in his research. As long as he continued to overcome all technical difficulties, he could recreate the complete Virtual Mutiny Virus sooner or later.

“Black Star, you destroyed the unique virus core, thinking that it would ruin my plan, but you did not expect that I would be able to restore this technology! Hehe, in terms of technology R&D, you’re still too green!”

The corner of Manison’s mouth curled up, and he disappeared.

He carefully collected this embryonic form of the virus, making multiple encryptions for experimental data before deciding to retain this technology as his hidden trump card. However, he suddenly thought of the weird means that Black Star had used to snatch his two Felons a while ago, and his eyes once again narrowed.

“My current technology isn’t enough. I must find a way to crack the weird Virtual Technology that Black Star possesses, or I will only be restrained…”

Manison opened his research schedule, and after reviewing it, he deleted a few unimportant projects before adding the new research goal of cracking Han Xiao’s purification ability.

After finishing his work, Manison took out his communicator, and after checking the date, he announced the time of the next regular meeting in the chat group of the Beyond Grade A Association.

“Speaking of which, Black Star and Kasuyi have not attended the past two meetings, nor can they be contacted. I’m not sure where they’ve gone…”

Every meeting, Black Star would cause trouble for him, so without the annoying voice of Black Star in the past two meetings, Manison only felt as though his body was relaxed, finding his inner calm once more.

Furthermore, without Black Star taking the lead, the people in his area were all guarding themselves, so no one jumped up to make trouble. The past two meetings had gone quite smoothly, and Manison once again felt the joy of holding great authority.

While he did not know what Black Star was up to, Manison wanted Black Star to delay his return even longer. In other words…

Just don’t turn up to meetings for as long as possible!

Chapter 1201: Technology Treasure, Start of Operation

Chapter 1201 Technology Treasure, Start of Operation

Numerous days later…

You have mastered Mechanical Force-Soldier Nest!

You have mastered Compressed Orb Innovation – Armed Body!

You have mastered…

On his workbench was a compressed orb. Han Xiao controlled the robotic arm to complete the processing before picking up the special compressed orb and placing it flat on his palm. Mechanical Force shot from his finger to cover the compressed orb.

Hum!

The next moment, the compressed orb suddenly shrank to the size of a cell before being absorbed into his body by the Mechanical Force.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, sensing an extremely weak sense of burden on his body. With but a thought, a Mechanical Force arc wrapped this particle-like special compressed orb and zapped it out. The compressed orb instantly unfolded as it appeared, turning into a mechanical soldier amid the arcs of electricity. It looked as though Han Xiao directly shot a soldier from within his body.

“This is the ability to transform oneself into a military base…”

Han Xiao nodded secretly to himself. After several days of study, he had finally mastered this set of abilities.

The principle of all Class related Knowledge was the same; only the content on secondary dimensions was slightly different. This caused the basic strength of the Supers here to be incomparable to those in his explored universe. Han Xiao did not expect these skills to be very powerful either. The greatest advantages of Class-related skills was to bring about new directions of battling and more bonuses.

Because the Class Knowledge foundation was the same, he had no difficulty in learning it. With the help of the interface, he basically mastered all the Class skills taught by Jayz in just a few days. In his opinion, the more useful one was the ability to transform himself into a military base.

The level of burden is however not low. When a mechanical army is stored, the HP and upper limit of Energy will be reduced. While this upper limit is restored the moment the army is released, my HP and Energy will remain at the initial level instead of being restored…

The mechanism behind this ability was similar to that of Apostilization. To an ordinary Mechanic, even if an army was released in battle, because their current HP could not be recovered instantaneously, this would result in the Class becoming more brittle.

But this ability was tailor made for him. His strong resilience coupled with his high Energy-HP conversion meant that he could completely restore his optimum state during battle. As a result, the side effects of this ‘Self Barracks’ could be almost ignored, equivalent to getting a free meal.

Furthermore, with his own tankiness, the size of the troops his main body could carry was far beyond all normal Mechanics…

Indeed, developing the tankiness of a Mechanic was the path of Gods!

By the side, as Jayz watched Han Xiao experimenting with the abilities, he could not help but speak out with a weird expression.

“You’ve already learned it?”

“Isn’t it simple?” Han Xiao did not think much of it.

“That’s… that’s right…” Jayz’s face twitched.

He had thought that he would not be able to feel surprise again, but Han Xiao’s incredulous learning speed managed to dig out emotional ripples in his dried-up husk. Did I just meet a genius among geniuses, or did the Mechanics of subsequent iterations have such insane learning capabilities? Furthermore, during the past few days, the two of them had sparred a little. Jayz had never seen a Mechanic with this style.

During his universe iteration, due to the lack of secondary dimensions, the strength of the Mechanics was not so overpowered, most of the time losing out due to their brittleness. Furthermore, logistics had to be done in advance to prepare the battlefield.

However, it was the first time he had seen someone like Han Xiao as a Mechanic, and he could not help but feel puzzled… How is it that this guy could take more punches that the Pugilists themselves?

Could it be that the pursuit of a strong physique is now the mainstream route of development for the subsequent iterations of Mechanics?

This is really the case of ‘if you live long enough, you’ll see everything’…

Han Xiao naturally would not know what Jayz thought. After trying the new ability for a while, he turned to ask, “Next, should you pass down the techniques you have accumulated to me?!

Hearing this, Jayz calmed himself down before clicking on a virtual screen. He fiddled around a little, and soon, a dense list of technical projects was displayed on the screen. “These are the technical materials I’ve compiled. You can copy some, and the rest will be sent to you when you’re about to complete your mission.” Sweeping his eyes across the screen, Han Xiao was overjoyed.

Compared to his Class Knowledge, these technical materials were the highlight, representing countless new blueprints! Within were more than just Jayz’s projects. Throughout the thousand cycles, Jayz had been a wanted criminal at least nine hundred times. Relying on the cycle restart provided, he boldly invaded the database of the advanced civilizations and learned their advanced technology, which they had spent countless hours, energy, and resources collecting. His foundation was amazing, and he was willing to hand it all over.

Han Xiao quickly copied it with his own device. While this was only a part of it, it was already a huge technological treasure, enough for him to study for a long time. There were many Gold Grade blueprints among them. When converted, it would be equivalent to saving a lot of Contribution Points from the three Universal Civilizations since there was no need to keep working for them in order to acquire blueprints.

As long as he managed to obtain the rest of Jayz technology and complete his research, his own background would rise like the speed of a supercar, leaving that Old Man Manison so far behind he would not even be able to smell his exhaust fumes.

“By the way, can you also obtain the Class Knowledge of the other four Super systems?”. Han Xiao asked.

“I’ve collected such things before, but due to the clash between Classes, I could not learn it. I could only store it in the system. When the cycle resets, this information will be gone as well.” Jayz shook his head. “However, if you want it, I can get it for you.”

After so many cycles of resets, Jayz was just like a living textbook on war strategy. This was nothing difficult to him.

“Then I’ll trouble you.” Han Xiao nodded.

If he could obtain all the Class Knowledge of each Super system, he would have completed his Knowledge of the five major systems without the three Universal Civilizations knowing. While the content of the secondary dimensions would be lacking, the value was still huge enough.

It was just that this would be different from being taught by someone else, so he did not know if others could comprehend the Class skills on their own through just reading the content.

At this moment, Jayz slowly said, “Since I’ve already handed all I can to you, it’s time for you to help me. Do you have a plan yet?” Hearing this, Han Xiao nodded. “I have some ideas. I intend to borrow the resources of the Eye of Insight to build a mechanical army, first supplementing the combat power…” Invading the Superpower Security Department was no easy task, and there were also many clones of the dimensional consciousness entity. At present, his army was insufficient, and Han Xiao intended to spend some time expanding his army.

Because this secondary dimension was merely a phantom existing as an Information Form, the mechanical army built with the Eye of Insight materials could not be taken away. They were one-off, built for this mission, so he would not have any war damages.

Meanwhile, in the explored universe, the opening ceremony of the fourth Pro League was less than ten days away. In this Version, countless foreign players who had joined the army went crazy trying to search for Han Xiao’s figure.

During the previous few Pro Leagues, the Black Star Character Summon Card had proven its dominance, tankiness, and damage output, causing the foreign players to feel envious and jealous. Unfortunately, due to geographic reasons, they could not come into contact with Black Star, so they were unable to obtain the Character Summon Card, making it a signature of the China players. But Version 4.0 changed everything. Players from all over the world gathered in a Star Field, resulting in countless foreign players joining the Black Star Army. Their dreams had now come true; they now possessed the opportunity to obtain the Black Star Character Summon Card.

However, at this critical juncture, Black Star went on the business trip and could not be found!

No matter how many times they inquired about it, they returned without success. Countless newcomers in the army were in pain. Seeing the date of the Pro League fast approaching, they had no choice but to change their target for their blank Character Summon Card.

While the effects they got were still good, many of them felt regret that they were unable to obtain the Character Summon Card of Black Star once. Everyone had the perception that the blank Character Summon Cards they had failed to be utilized to its maximum value.

Compared to the previous Pro Leagues, the competition system during this current version did not change much, but a few more entertaining games had been added. The fourth Pro League officially kicked off under the high expectations of the players.

Compared to the previous seasons, the smell of gunpowder in this version was much stronger. No club wished to see a country win the championship for the third consecutive season. China, which had already won the title twice consecutively, was thus constantly targeted.

In a flash, several months passed.

In the meeting room of the Eye of Insight, Han Xiao, Kasuyi, and Jayz were gathered together.

“Are we going to act now, Black Star?” Kasuyi asked.

Han Xiao nodded. “Yes. I’ve expanded the size of my troops. There is no need to keep delaying things.” In the past few months, he had borrowed the resources of the Eye of Insight to maximize the [Billion Mechanic Empire-Manison) skill granting a five-hundred-percent increase in the efficiency of creating troops. A few days ago, the size of his Mechanical Army had finally reached the storage limit of his bodily barracks, and thus, he stopped production.

“Very well, let’s solve this matter fast, lest more variables appear. My God’s Trait Transformation probably requires me to swallow the source energy fragments after the destruction of this secondary dimension,” Kasuyi said.

He had not been idle these few months, constantly sensing the location of opportunity for his God’s Trait Transformation. He finally obtained some gains. It was no wonder the object of his senses was the entire secondary dimension. Kasuyi discovered that his opportunity was like the source energy fragment at the core of the dimension, so he became more concerned with breaking the spacetime cycle.

Han Xiao tapped to open a map. The screen displayed the location and topographic structures of the Superpower Security Department’s warehouses, all of which were the results of Jayz’s efforts in the previous cycles.

“The warehouse of the Superpower Security Department is within the headquarters, with many Beyond Grade As on standby as well as a large number of troops. The success rate of any frontal attack is extremely low. Thus, our first task is to infiltrate… The Heaven Concealing Apparatus can shield us from the Positioning Star Map, but normal detection methods are still effective against us, so we need another plan to infiltrate, which requires Jayz’s help.” Hearing this, Jayz said, “I joined the Superpower Security Department for quite a few cycles, managing to control most of their authorities and passcodes. I can forge your information and let you sneak in, which is what I did for the outsiders previously, but there is a risk of exposure…” The Superpower Security Department might be heavily guarded, but they could not withstand the continuous cracking from Jayz throughout the cycles. He was akin to a backstabber in the company, able to see through the flaws in the Superpower Security Department.

“Thus,” Han Xiao said, “this time, we will not be using this method. The warehouse has been shrouded with a space stabilization device, and normal teleportation methods are invalid, but we only need to find a way to get people of the Superpower Security Department to send in the Throne linked to a King mechanical suit. Once it is inside the warehouses, we can bypass everyone and teleport directly.”

“Nice, one step to success!” Kasuyi’s eyes lit up. He loved such straightforward methods the most.

“All the items in the warehouse will be screened and isolated to remove any dangerous and useless items,” Jayz explained. “It is divided into both intelligent and manual procedures, repeated thrice to prevent errors.

“But there are also exceptions. If the obtained item has been authorized by the department leader or director, it will be temporarily stored in the outer warehouse without being screened. If it’s a secret order from the upper echelons of the Celestial Star Alliance, it can be stored directly in the innermost warehouse.”

“So, you plan to fake the authority of the Superpower Security Department director?” Kasuyi asked.

Jayz shook his head.

“There’s no need. I’ve kidnapped the upper echelons of the Celestial Star Alliance several times in the previous cycles. While I was killed in the end, I also obtained their authority cards. It’s all in my mind, and it’s not difficult to forge. So, I can send the Throne to the inner warehouses, where the dimensional consciousness entity also resides.”

Kasuyi was suitably impressed. Being able to restart means you can do anything you want. What a lad.

Jayz slowly continued. “Every item in the warehouse will be stored separately. I’ll send you the number where each carrier is located.

“However, once you teleport in, there will be an alarm. The supers who stay at the headquarters will come over to suppress you, so I have some technology here that can temporarily interfere with the phantoms of the Information Form, causing an effect of spacetime delay or even stagnation. However, the duration is limited, and it can only hold them off for a short while.

“You have to utilize the time to quickly kill off the dimensional consciousness entity’s core. Don’t get entangled with its clones. Once its program is disintegrated, the Information Form transformation technology of the World Reset Project will also be terminated, and this spacetime phantom will collapse as a chain effect.”

Han Xiao nodded before adding, “To minimize resistance, we will need to show up elsewhere before teleporting. Thus, we should remove the Heaven Concealing Apparatus and let the Superpower Security Department track us with their Positioning Star Map so as to attract a group of supers to lure the tiger away from its den.”

“That will do.” Kasuyi expressed agreement.

The trio underwent another round of discussion, finalizing the finer details before splitting to perform their own tasks.

Chapter 1202: Sanctum Revivals and Misdirection

Chapter 1202 Sanctum Revivals and Misdirection

In the Superpower Security Department’s screening office for Warehouse 001, the long track rotated, and a hexagonal mechanical device was transported in from the launch port, resembling a small shield.

Soon, this device was transported to the transparent safe in the center of the room. It possessed a variety of functions such as spatial stability anchors, electromagnetic interference, and biochemical disinfections. It could also withstand powerful impacts and high heat. The two officers stood in front of the safe, operating a virtual screen to view the information about this object. “This is an item sent in from the Leyton Star System. Its purpose is unknown, with no name attached. The object code is C57003A. It will temporarily be transferred to the headquarters’ warehouse…

Oh, there’s the express authority sent in by an upper echelon here, and it has already passed the inspection and approval procedures…” After comparing to see if the permissions and procedures were correct, the two staff members only conducted a basic inspection to confirm that the item was not dangerous before placing the item in a blank slot of the warehouse and pressing the ‘Confirm’ button.

Ka ka…

The next moment, four automated robotic arms stretched out from the wall, clamping onto the safe and putting it into the opening on the wall. The internal cargo pipeline moved quickly, delivering the safe to its destination.

The cargo pipeline network spread throughout the warehouses, extending in all directions through simple magnetic levitation tracks. Thus, the process of transporting at high speed was not only safe but clearly seen. The warehouse of the Superpower Security Department was humongous, divided into multiple areas. Each warehouse was set up separately and built side by side, isolated from the outside world through high-strength transparent materials, resembling a high-tech prison. There was a booth in each warehouse, which was connected to the cargo pipeline to transport the contents directly without needing to access the warehouse. Furthermore, there were space stability anchors, magic jammers, and automatic defense weapons in the warehouse. Not only was the security thorough, any changes would be quickly noticed. Very quickly, the booth of an empty slot opened, and the safe was transported over with the Throne lying quietly in it.

Meanwhile, the Superpower Security Department was having an emergency meeting. More than a dozen people with varied appearances sat at the conference table. The medallions on their bodies indicated their identities, with the lowest being the Deputy Directors at the Saint level. Ever since they lost track of Han Xiao and Kasuyi, the Superpower Security Department had deployed more personnel to form a task force. There were nineteen Supers this time, with a total of five Supreme level experts, a luxurious lineup. This was not only to capture the two people but also to figure out why the target could hide from the detection of the Positioning Star Map. Thus, the Superpower Security Department spared no effort to organize a large number of supers, wanting the plan to be foolproof. “It’s already been a few months, but we still haven’t found anything on Black Star and Kasuyi. The two of them seem to have evaporated like steam! If we continue to allow such dangerous elements to move freely outside, sooner or later, it will lead to a catastrophe!” one of the upper echelons in the department exclaimed in dissatisfaction, continuously pounding on the table and glancing at Milton.

Milton’s expression was gloomy. He had initially led the team but had lost the target. Thus, the blame naturally rested on him. He felt that he had just acted in accordance with the rules, but who knew that his target actually knew how to get rid of the lock from the Positioning Star Map? He could only take this slap to his face and look forward to catching them to redeem his pride. However, over the next few months, the task force did not make much progress, and Milton naturally became the object of much dissatisfaction. They complained that he did not seize the opportunity at that time. While he wanted to refute that, he had nothing to defend himself with and could only sulk there.

Beep beep…

Just as everyone was fervently discussing, a communication request came in. It was from the department leader. A virtual screen appeared on the conference table, and the department leader addressed the crowd. “Everyone, the Positioning Star Map’s effect has been restored, and we have managed to lock down the coordinates of Black Star and Kasuyi again. The reason for this is unknown, but this is our only clue in the past few months. You should be careful and make sure to catch them.”

“Understood! Let’s set off immediately!”

Just as his voice fell, Milton stood up abruptly with an expression of impatience, as though he could not wait to send Han Xiao to prison. And this time, despite having the overwhelming advantage, he decided to act steadily. With the advantage of the Positioning Star Map, he planned out an ambush, aiming to catch the opponent by surprise. Everything was created to be foolproof.

Somewhere in the universe, a small spaceship kept at the low speed as it cruised. Han Xiao, Kasuyi, and Jayz were seated within. Kasuyi watched the star map as he muttered, “We’ve already removed the Heaven Concealing Apparatus, so why are the pursuers not here yet?”. Han Xiao glanced and casually said, “Most likely, they’re planning an ambush. After the previous lesson, they will not move so rashly any longer.”

“In the past, there were nine of them. How many do you think they will send this time?”

“At least eleven or twelve? To be safe, maybe fifteen?” Han Xiao guessed.

Jayz interrupted him. “Around eighteen to twenty people, five of whom are at the Supreme level. I understand their mode of operations very well.”

“Tsk, so many helpers…” Han Xiao smacked his lips. Jayz did not deny it but instead explained, “The same will be true in the later stages of your universe iteration. Unless your advanced civilization regularly conducts a major cleansing, your numbers will only grow larger than ours. Those at the Saint level and above will have their data written as Information Forms, so even if they die, they still can be revived. Hence, the cleansings are actually quite limited in effectiveness…”

Hearing this, Han Xiao could not help but remember the Holy Accord Organization. “You mean, as long as a Super reaches the Beyond Grade A level, they can be resurrected in some way, such as through the Sanctums?” Jayz glanced at him, nodding. “The Sanctum focused on recording information that can optimize the universe, such as new Cosmic Treasures, advanced technology that’s developed by advanced civilizations, and personal breakthroughs. This is all valuable information, so when one reaches the Saint level, which is the Beyond Grade A in your universe, you will be given attention to by the Sanctum and will be recorded.

“Furthermore, each Saint level is a unique existence within the universe. When your life level has undergone sublimation, you will be recorded as an Information Form. The projection will be transformed and imprinted within the Sanctum, so death is not the end for you. The Information Form allows you to achieve, in a sense, immortality as someone can use your biological Information Form as a medium to resurrect you and use the Sanctum to reshape your body and soul if they have a connection with the Sanctums.” Han Xiao was a little surprised to hear this. Based on his understanding, the Beyond Grade A was a turning point, and once someone achieved this level, they would have the privilege of backing up the data in the Sanctum. Even if they died one day, there was still the opportunity to resurrect through the Sanctum. This was also the goal of the Holy Accord. “Of the ten thousand Beyond Grade As here, a portion of them were probably revived in this manner.”

“Some?” Jayz shook his head. “More than eighty percent of these people were revived from the Sanctums, and not just once!”

“Speak in detail.” Han Xiao was interested in this, as such information was not available on the internet, being a classified secret. “It’s very simple. Because the goal of resurrection from the Sanctum is left to your descendants, the targets of resurrection for the advanced civilizations are their direct descendants and obedient allies. Thus, people join the advanced civilizations or other major organizations to work in exchange for this future resurrection. It is basically a resurrection agreement. In contrast, there is some uncertainty in leaving your descendants to revive you since the cost is great and the Sanctums are not so easily contacted. Once it fails, the entire information is lost, so everyone choses a reliable advanced civilization as their object of cooperation over time…”

“I see.” Han Xiao was enlightened. It was no wonder the Celestial Star Alliance’s governance was so good, with the Beyond Grade As so well-behaved. It turned out that most of them were obedient babies who were revived after going through screening. As for those thorns, no one wished to help them revive, so they stayed dead. In order to continue being resurrected, the majority of the Beyond Grade As had thus buried their ambitions.

Furthermore, as the advanced civilizations continued to revive their direct descendants and staunch allies, as time went by, there would only be more powerful people under their command, and their control over the universe would naturally increase.

Under the influence of various factors, there would be fewer troublemakers.

Thinking about this, a phrase jumped out in his mind.

Why does this sound like the Investiture of the Gods?

The three Universal Civilizations had yet to come into contact with the Sanctums, but when they developed to this point, would the future situation of the Beyond Grade As turn into something like this? Han Xiao could not help but ask, “Are there any restrictions on the recovery of the Sanctums?”

“Of course there are, and many of them at that,” Jayz whispered. “The first is that only those at the Saint level or above can be revived. You can think of the Beyond Grade A realm as a resurrection license. “The second will be the paradox of personality. Since one’s subjective consciousness is the criteria for distinguishing individuals, even if the body and memories are the same, if the subjective consciousness is different, they will turn out to be different individuals.

While the strong can be revived in the Sanctum, are they still the original ones? This has always been a subject of controversy, where people think that it is more like a clone being brought back to life. “The third is that individuals revived through the Sanctum will randomly lose some abilities, which seem to be directly related to the strength of your body. The stronger you were before dying, the more complete your abilities will be.

“The fourth would be the recovery of the Sanctum. Since you are a unique existence, only one of you can exist in the universe at one time. If you are not dead, then revival through the Sanctum is invalid.

“Fifth, you can only revive individuals in the same iteration. Even I don’t understand this restriction. It is suspected that the recovery of the Sanctum is not its original ability but rather the ultimate plan of one of the iterations. In the end, mutations changed the Sanctum into this form… Thus, many iterations have treated the Sanctums as a breakthrough point. No one knows now how many functions the Sanctums have developed through mutation.”

As he quietly listened, Han Xiao engraved all this into his memories.

From a certain perspective, the Beyond Grade As seemed to have the same characteristics as players, being able to be revived.

In this manner, controlling the Sanctums would be equivalent to controlling most of the lives of the Beyond Grade As? I can always go to Oathkeeper to confirm my suspicions later. Boom!

At this moment, the hull of the spaceship shook violently, and it was knocked out from its hyperdrive state. An ear-piercing alarm sounded. “Wuwuwu! Warning! Warning! A space stabilization anchor has been detected. Hyperdrive state forced to terminate! An unknown energy source is approaching. Please watch out!” The radar showed nineteen fluctuations at the Beyond Grade A surrounding them.

“Looks like you’re right. There’s indeed nineteen of them.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“It’s a normal occurrence.” Jayz did not care.

The three of them gazed out, immediately seeing Milton and his friends at first glance. They also saw that their spaceship had fallen into a space trap and could not escape.

At this moment, Milton’s sonorous voice sounded through the public communication channel. “Black Star, Kasuyi! Know when to give up. Leave yourselves some face!”

“Call me Void Overlord!” Kasuyi exploded in anger. Han Xiao opened the hatch, and the trio flew out to the middle of the encirclement. Heavy auras pressured at them from all directions. “Eh? There’s another?”

Seeing Jayz, Milton frowned but quickly relaxed.

From his perspective, their prey had been forced to the point of no retreat.

He was full of confidence for this operation. With nineteen people, there was no chance they would fail. After chasing them for several months, these wanted criminals could finally be arrested and brought to justice!

“Immediately give up all resistance and obediently follow us back to the Superpower Security Department for trial and to explain your methods of shielding from the Positioning Star Map. You might get a lenient punishment then.” Milton was confident and immediately started a psychological war, intending to weaken their resistance. Han Xiao, however, revealed a meaningful smile before speaking in an inexplicable tone. “There’s no need to trouble you. We’ll go there ourselves.”

Hearing this, Milton frowned in puzzlement.

“What are you talking… Where did they go?”

Before he could finish, three sets of mechanical suits unfolded, enveloping the bodies of the trio before they disappeared in a flash of light. The next moment, all nineteen members stood in shock.

“Where did they go?”

We set up a space anchor and transmission jammer. How did they even escape?

Milton paused for two seconds before flaring up in anger, his veins throbbing. To think that this bunch managed to run once more!

Utter humiliation!

He immediately took out the communicator and searched for their real-time coordinates on the Positioning Star Map, intending to lock onto their position before they shielded themselves once more.

However, the moment he saw the coordinates, Milton’s angry expression warped into one of panic and disbelief.

The other party’s coordinates were surprisingly at the headquarters of the Superpower Security Department!

This is… them surrendering?

Bullsh*t, there’s something fishy going on! Their true target was actually the headquarters? Are they crazy? Milton raged. He was unable to understand why these people were so bold.

Chapter 1203: Assault

Chapter 1203 Assault

Whoosh!

With a flash of light, a slightly swollen King mechanical suit appeared in the storeroom of the Superpower Security Department, instantly blasting apart the safe. The next moment, the mechanical suit was removed, revealing the figure of three people. Han Xiao recalled his Throne, gazing around at the environment around them.

The trio were currently in a separate warehouse, their front being blocked by a transparent, high-strength material separation wall. Rows of warehouses could be seen outside, of which a small portion were empty whilst the rest had different collections.

“The switching tactics are still as easy to use as always.” Han Xiao clicked his tongue.

“It seems like we’ve arrived. What now?” Kasuyi rubbed his eyebrows. He felt as though he was almost unable to hold back his accumulated Psychic energy any longer. Jayz looked at the code of the warehouse before speaking. “This is No.117, and the closest dimensional consciousness entity carrier is in No. 106.”

At this moment, a harsh alarm suddenly echoed throughout the warehouse. A new alloy partition wall was lowered in all the warehouses. The material was opaque, blocking out one’s line of sight, and the defense strength was much higher. “The alarm has been triggered, and the warehouse will be immediately blocked while the automatic defense robots will siege us. At the same time, the important collections will be transported away through the pipeline.” Jayz was not surprised. With a wave of his hand, a virtual screen appeared in front of him, and he quickly manipulated it before casually continuing. “I just used the backdoor code to cancel the emergency procedure. There’s no need to worry about the carriers being transferred now. However, the changes here will still inevitably alarm the staff at the headquarters, so we don’t have much time.”

“Then let’s hurry up.”

Han Xiao nodded, and spinning around, metal alloy fragments scattered around like flower blossoms as the wall of the warehouse was shattered with a kick.

The three swiftly moved toward their destination amid the harsh sirens.

Along the way, the floors and wall continuously slid open, revealing automatic defense devices within. Numerous turrets shot at the trio, firing small-caliber dark energy shots that resembled red chains, chasing after them.

Han Xiao maintained a thick psionic shield, and the dark energy beams were just like raindrops in the storm, falling on the shield with a crackle and creating ripples of red and blue on its surface. It looked harmless, but that was only because the strength of the shield was just too high. The missed beams that struck the metal ground of walls nearby caused everything that came in contact with it to melt instantly. Thus, everywhere they went, a huge mess followed.

Because of the lack of secondary dimensions, psionic energy could not be extracted directly, but the mechanical units that Han Xiao had brought in were equipped with psionic energy reactors. Using the regurgitation capabilities of psionic energy, he could use them to create controllable psionic energy seeds. Thus, Han Xiao’s psionic energy tools here had an inherent advantage.

At this moment, the trio sensed two powerful individuals fast approaching. They only heard a loud bang, and two burly figures broke through the wall, exuding powerful Pugilist auras.

Locking onto the three, the Pugilists rushed forward, accompanied by angry roars. “How dare you attack the headquarters of the Superpower Security Department! You’ve committed a grave sin!” Jayz swept them with a glance before quickly explaining, “In normal circumstances, there are one to three Saint levels holding the fort daily as part of a shift system. These two are the guardians, so they’re the fastest to arrive. It will take some time for the others to come from the headquarters, so don’t waste time with them.”

Hearing this, Kasuyi did not speak further, gazing at the two before letting out his stored inventory. Boom!

A shockwave of Psychic energy shook from under his feet before an extraordinary Psychic force shot out. Most Psychic attacks were transparent, but this force was so condensed that it had solidified, distorting the surrounding space around it as it instantly swallowed the two figures. This Psychic force was like a black hole exuding infinite gravitation, and just standing by his side, Han Xiao felt a weird spiritual attraction as though his soul was about to be dragged away. One could only imagine how the two Pugilists felt.

Puchi!

The sound of a balloon being pierced rang out on the spiritual level, echoing endlessly deep in one’s soul. Han Xiao focused and saw that the two Pugilists had fallen, violently convulsing. Their noses and mouth were like open faucets, leaking blood. “Their consciousness was shattered by me. They won’t be recovering for a while.” After emptying his load, Kasuyi felt much more comfortable. “Good job.” Han Xiao praised. It was totally worth holding back for a few months. Not only was the impact strong, the compression even allowed two Beyond Grade As to totally lose their combat capabilities. If not for the fact that Psychic attacks were not very effective on the dimensional consciousness entity, Kasuyi would have saved this move to attack the Guardian directly. At this moment, Han Xiao and Jayz were carrying a full mechanical army, and their HP and Energy were suppressed. Only Kasuyi still had his complete combat power and thus could end the fight as fast as possible.

The headquarters of the Superpower Security Department had already gone into action. All the superiors urgently entered the encrypted communication channel, sharing the surveillance in the warehouse areas. Everyone was frightened as they watched.

No one expected that these criminals would be so bold as to directly attack their headquarters with some sort of strange teleportation means! This was the first time since the Superpower Security Department was created that someone had dared to attack it!

Apart from feeling angered, everyone was deeply confused. Why did this group of people lure the tiger away from its den and then attack the headquarters? Did they wish to steal something from the warehouse? “No matter what the other party’s goal is, we must never let them succeed!” Everyone had the same determination.

The experts on shift rushed to the warehouse at full speed. When they saw the two guardians of the warehouse arriving, they were overjoyed, but they did not expect them to not even last a second before they were knocked out.

Seeing this, everyone’s expressions changed. “Kasuyi has hidden himself too deeply. His combat capability is much stronger than we anticipated!”

“Even if we look at all the Psychics in history, he is one of the best.”

Just as everyone was feeling jittery, the surveillance picture changed once more.

Boom!

They saw the No.106 warehouse being destroyed as powerful Supers appeared out of thin air. Without a second word, they rushed straight to the attacking trio.

This scene left them stunned. “Why is there now another group?”

“Who are these people? I don’t know any of them. Are they accomplices?”

“It doesn’t seem like the case. They’ve started fighting among each other!”

“Damn it. Do they think this place is somewhere they can enter as and when they please?”

Everyone was stunned, their brains filled with question marks.

However, while they did not know the origin of the group who appeared later, they could identify them as allies since they were blocking the original offending trio.

The three of them continued to move forward, but before they reached No.106, they sensed eight powerful energy fluctuations appear out of thin air. Jayz narrowed his eyes. “The Guardian and its clones are here!”

Clearing out any foreign variables was the core mechanism of the Guardian. At this moment, all that was left of it was a rigid preset program, so as long as an outsider was detected in a certain range of the carrier, the Guardian and its clones would attack the outsiders. This was its core mechanism and could not be violated. “Their appearances can change at will. Even I don’t know which is the main body. Give me some time to let me identify it, otherwise we can only try our luck.”

Hearing Jayz, Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he said, “There’s no need. I have a method to lock onto the opponent’s main body.” As his voice fell, Han Xiao liberated his body barracks. A large area of Mechanical Force burst out, and one by one, the mechanical army was born within the lightning.

The mechanical army that was shot out directly from his body instantly shattered this warehouse area. The lower limit of five million HP that he was suppressed to because of the barracks rebounded instantly, immediately regaining its original value of forty million, and his Energy also rose up simultaneously.

“Hu, this is much better…”

Being relieved of his burden, his entire body felt much more comfortable. All his suppressed strength had recovered.

By the side, Jayz also quickly emptied his inventory and prepared the area quickly. The next moment, eight figures appeared in their field of vision, quickly approaching them. Without another word, Han Xiao controlled the mechanical army to provide covering firepower. He saw the eight figures all using their own means to prop up different types of shield, causing energy shockwaves to burst repeatedly in the air around them.

The combat information instantly refreshed, and opening his interface, the corners of his mouth curled up as he pointed decisively at one of the figures. “Found it. That’s the main body!”

It was not difficult for him to distinguish the main body from the clones, as the interface exposed the enemy’s information.

“So quickly!” Jayz was stunned, almost unable to react.

We’ve just fought face-to-face, and I haven’t even established a connection, but you’ve already locked onto the target? How is your efficiency even higher than mine?

Jayz could not help but think of the previous few batches of outsiders. Except for the first batch, the other two had fallen at this step as they could not distinguish the main body, thus becoming embroiled in a bitter battle where they were finally surrounded and killed by the Superpower Security Department directors.

This time, the outsiders are much more reliable as compared to the previous three, especially this Black Star. In his Universe iteration, he is probably someone who can call on the clouds and winds…

Jayz was secretly pleased. “I’ll leave the main body to you. I’ll delay the clones!” He did not doubt Han Xiao’s judgement, immediately controlling his army to wrap up the other seven.

He then threw out a special targeted device to constrain the dimensional consciousness entity within the carrier. While the opponent could not violate the core mechanism, he did this as an insurance to ensure that the entity would not escape.

Han Xiao did not hesitate either, absorbing part of his troops to turn into a medium sized Mechanical Deity, launching a fierce attack on the Guardian. Kasuyi cooperated on the side to attack the Guardian while holding onto the other seven clones, giving Han Xiao more room for battle.

The Guardian was originally the incarnation of the dimensional consciousness entity, and thus, it was capable of controlling a part of the dimensional energy. It only temporarily shaped itself as an entity in order to kill the outsiders. Due to the pre-set program, it possessed extremely high combat capabilities, at least in the Supreme realm, even having inexhaustible Energy.

Naturally, Han Xiao would not hold anything back and went all out, the Celestial Punishment Edge slashing away at the energy shield surrounding the Guardian.

Boom!

The eleven Beyond Grade As battling directly blasted the warehouses around them into pieces. Junk and fragments floated in the universe, and it was unknown just how many Cosmic Treasures were destroyed. Seeing that the warehouse had exploded, all the upper echelons of the Superpower Security Department almost felt their hearts stop.

“Argh! Kill this damned group of criminals on the spot! Don’t even allow one of them to run!”

The department leader’s eyes turned red with anger.

In outer space, Han Xiao was manipulating the Mechanical Deity to give the Guardian heavy hits. At this moment, he suddenly felt a sudden warning from his senses. He turned around to see seven to eight of the directors quickly approaching, with more than ten Saint levels close behind.

Before they arrived, various long-ranged attacks had already come pouring in, forming a floor of colorful energy within the universe as they attacked the Mechanical Deity from all angles. Even if the data showed that Black Star had an amazing physique, the experts present did not believe that he could withstand the firepower of dozens of people.

Han Xiao only glanced at them, not even bothering to dodge as he threw out a strange prismatic device. This device shook in midair, and a strange wave spread out, forming a huge spherical dome as it covered this area. The next instant, the time flow in the field slowed down drastically, with all the members of the Superpower Security Department and their attacks suddenly stagnating. Only Han Xiao, Kasuyi, and the Guardian were unaffected by this slow motion; even Jayz was hit by it.

This was one of Jayz’s special inventions, specifically targeting this secondary dimension, which could cause this phantom spacetime to be strongly disturbed and stagnate. Only outsiders and the dimensional consciousness entity were unaffected.

Without this technology, the plan to attack the Superpower Security Department would have been nigh impossible. “What the hell is this ability P” While their actions had slowed down, the Superpower Security Department present retained their acuity, and their anger turned into horror. Rendered unable to move, watching the enemy ravage the warehouse at will caused everyone’s heart to bleed. It felt as though they were husbands watching their wives cheat right in front of themselves.

Chapter 1204: Successor

Chapter 1204 Successor

The dozens of Beyond Grade As were suspended in midair. This scene was magnificent, but Han Xiao and Kasuyi had no time to appreciate them. Both of them focused on dealing with the Guardian.

The effect of the spacetime interference was limited, so now was the time for them to burst forth with explosive strength. If the Guardian could not be killed directly before the effect of the interference device ended, then Han Xiao would have no choice but to use the King and escape with the other two.

The more outsiders who died in this secondary dimension, the more clones the Guardian would have. Right now, they were the fourth batch, and the difficulty was already frightening. The main body and its seven clones were not affected, still moving around freely. Even if Kasuyi took the initiative to contain the clones, he had limited Energy and could not deal with everything. From time to time, the attacks of the clones managed to bypass his defenses, falling on Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity body.

In order to maintain his damage output, Han Xiao did not evade any attacks, rather simply tanking them head on without defending. This was completely a trade damage for damage playstyle. With his own tankiness, the occasional attacks that came through not only did not cause much threat to him but also continuously accelerated the speed at which he stacked temporary attribute bonuses, making his damage output higher.

At this moment, he did not hold anything back, completely utilizing all his explosive abilities and even using his armies and the Mechanical Deity in a blitzkrieg strategy. All his overload abilities were activated. [Legendary Battle Technique]’s true damage was triggered, and [Painful Revenge] allowed him to exert a powerful lethality, which could cause his melee damage to increase by 1.5% of his HP every time his total HP decreased by 3%.

This ability came from the leader of DarkStar. At the beginning when he obtained it, he was only a Calamity Grade with a total HP value of over a hundred thousand. However, he was now a Beyond Grade A hegemon with HP value over forty million, and even 1.5% of his total HP converted to damage would still be around six hundred thousand extra damage!

Furthermore, in order to continue to regenerate his Energy, Han Xiao had controlled his weapon within the Mechanical Deity to fire on his body, so his HP dropped and rose constantly, triggering the (Painful Revenge] skill again and again… Even if ordinary damage could be shielded against or reduced, his enemy could not cover against the lethality caused by [Painful Revenge). The power of his every hit was far beyond what a normal Beyond Grade A could deal.

Coupled with his bonuses from the Machinery Faith, his level ten God’s Trait TransformationMachinery, [Fearless Heart], and (Polar Channel Flow-Blood Rage] along with all his Gold Grade equipment, not forgetting his post-explosive attributes obtained through the level 340 Promotion… even Han Xiao was unaware now terrifying his damage would be when he attacked with all his strength.

He only saw that under the concentrated firepower, the energy shield summoned by the Guardian basically exploded the moment it appeared, and its HP value steadily dropped at a fast speed. It might have been a dimensional consciousness entity with inexhaustible energy, but the strength of its body limited its energy output. The speed at which it replenished its own energy shield could not keep up with the efficiency of destruction that Han Xiao wrought.

If it was a life form individual with consciousness, then it would naturally understand that it was not Han Xiao’s opponent. However, the Guardian did not have any emotions and could only act according to the incomplete preset procedure it had, unable to violate its core mechanism to fight to the end.

The Guardian’s advantage would be its flexibility. Within its territory, Han Xiao racial talents were frozen. He was unable to use his Void methods, making him unable to keep up with the Guardian’s speed. While his Mechanical army was powerful, most of their long-ranged attacks were avoided by the Guardian.

“A lot of output is being wasted. It has certain characteristics of an energy life form, and its HP can be restored quickly. If this drags on, my success rate of destroying it before the jamming device fails will be about forty percent, which is a bit low… My (Gene Liberation] has not been used yet, but the Cooldown is rather long, so I’ll only have time to use it once. The output of that needs to be maximized…” Han Xiao kept pouring out firepower, as his eyes shifted around.

It seemed like he had to utilize his trademark skill…

The Mechanical Deity suddenly disintegrated, turning into a mechanical army that filled the sky. Han Xiao’s body escaped, opening his arms in full to show off his ‘weak’ body, as though he planned to seduce the Guardian.

Sure enough, without another word, the Guardian took the initiative to rush over. In his default model, the strategy to combat a Mechanic was to attack them directly when they were exposed.

Han Xiao did not dodge but greeted him and allowed the Guardian to smash his hard pectoral muscles. A shock wave was emitted, but Han Xiao did not care for the HP lost in his blow. His arms circled and bound his target tightly as he grinned. “Little kid, you still dare run? Come to papa.”

He had not used this method for a long time. The main reason was because the explored universe knew of his reputation, so only a fool would respond to his provocation. Only in the face of a person who was unaware of his abilities could his trademark shine.

Without any hesitation, Han Xiao activated (Gene Liberation), at the same time giving instructions to his Mechanical army. “Eat this! Heaven! Earth! As! One!”

Boom!

In an instant, endless psionic cannon fire drowned the two figures, and a dazzling light ball expanded, occupying everyone’s sight. “A Mechanic can battle in this manner?” Jayz, who was unable to move, gaped at the scene, feeling that his knowledge had been broadened. “Do all youngsters these days play with such high stakes?” By the side, Kasuyi, who was fighting with the clones, felt his right eye twitching. The energy fluctuations caused by the feedback made his heart beat fast, and he felt a strong threat to his life. The tens of Superpower Security Department members had an expression of disbelief.

They were all wondering what sort of hatred and resentment these two groups actually had to fight so desperately with each other. Didn’t these two wanted criminals attack our headquarters? Why did they even concentrate on dealing with this group of mysterious Supers rather than sneak attack us while we’re stuck in place? We seem to have become onlookers now… As this thought flashed through everyone’s mind, the ball of light caused by the energy reaction suddenly exploded, bursting out as a terrifying energy shockwave.

Boom!

The surrounding machinery and people were all swept away, revealing a large empty area. As the light ball dissipated, everyone saw Han Xiao hovering alone at the center of the explosion, covered in blood, with a shattered shell of a body in front of him.

Han Xiao was expressionless and appeared as though it was a normal occurrence, but in fact, he was breaking out in a cold sweat internally. F*ck me, that was a close shave. To think that my attack has reached this level. I almost gave myself a one-way ticket to heaven…

Because the random coefficient of (Gene Liberation] gave him the highest increase at twenty percent, the lethality that his army exploded with shocked him, the large fluctuations in his HP giving him multiple heart attacks.

The scale of my troops I control now is enormous, and their attack power is completely different from before. This trick should be used with caution in the future, or else it will one day be me perishing together with my enemy… Han Xiao secretly sighed in relief. With him even in danger of dying, the Guardian would naturally be more tragic, being killed on the spot. From fighting to going to heaven, it did not even have time to leave behind its last words… although it would not have said anything. “You killed him just like that?” Kasuyi’s eyes widened.

He had thought that it would be a vicious battle, but he did not expect Black Star’s current lethality to be so terrible that the target would be eliminated so quickly. Such efficiency was frightening. While he did not express it clearly, his tone said it all

– it was actually so simple? Hearing Kasuyi, Han Xiao knew what he was thinking and snapped, “You thought it was easy, but that’s because I’m that good! If it was you, we would definitely have had to escape today.” Let’s not bully him anymore. Even if it was another pinnacle Beyond Grade A, it would be a situation where it would be a miracle if they could survive. Only someone as abnormal as him would be able to handle such a mission.

The communication between both of them happened in an instant. At this moment, the chain reaction caused by the destruction of the dimensional consciousness entity finally appeared. They saw the remains of the Guardian automatically decompose into dust-like particles, disappearing in an instant. With it as the epicenter, the same signs appeared in the surrounding space. The affected area continued to spread in all directions, as if a singularity had collapsed and the entire dimension began to collapse as a chain effect.

This mutated Information Form phantom of the spacetime cycle was like an intricate instrument that was barely maintaining its balance. The dimensional consciousness entity was the core component of this entire instrument, so when the core met with a problem, the entire instrument would naturally stop operating. The error would probably also result in a chain effect of the entire instrument breaking down.

Only the two outsiders Han Xiao and Kasuyi, along with the objects they brought in were unaffected. The other materials belonging to this spacetime cycle were beginning to decompose. The first ones to go were the mechanical armies, as well as the seven Guardian clones.

Because the foundation of the spacetime cycle had been unraveled, the effect of the interference device was naturally rendered ineffective. When the members of the Superpower Security Department saw this scene, they all looked surprised, subconsciously moving to continue the encirclement. However, one of the directors who was the closest to the epicenter also began to automatically decompose. Before everyone’s horrified eyes, he turned into flying ash in merely the blink of an eye. His Supreme level strength had no way to resist this. “What’s happening? What did you guys dop”

“Quickly run! You’ll die!” The crowd was so shocked that they no longer bothered about arresting them, instead turning to escape.

Jayz, however, stayed where he was, smiling slightly at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao felt a vibration from his communicator and took a look. The rest of the technical information had been sent by Jayz; he had upheld his end of the deal.

In addition, Jayz had felt behind another message.

“Black Star, our World Reset Plan was not a complete failure; at least we have left this legacy for the future. “I know you have always been guarded against me, and I admit that I indeed have some selfishness to this. I don’t need to hide it from you now. I poured all my knowledge into you due to the deal and also my experiment…

“Remember the mechanism of the Sanctums I told you about? Reviving a Beyond Grade A requires a medium with the target information… and you, who have inherited my knowledge, can serve as my medium now.

“If a day comes when you ever manage to succeed in communicating with the Sanctums, please try to revive me across iterations. Whether it succeeds or fails, it will be a precious piece of intelligence for you.

“However, even if the resurrection is successful, I will not retain my memory from this loop. It will be a brand new me, so this should be our last time meeting. While our time was short, I am happy to have met you… my successor of this iteration.” Looking up, Han Xiao saw Jayz with a relieved smile as his whole body gradually turned into flying ash, disappearing without a trace. Seeing this, Han Xiao muttered, “Successor, huh?”

Chapter 1205: A New Calling

Chapter 1205 A New Calling

The message left behind by Jayz was full of expectations.

Han Xiao glanced at the technical information now saved on his communicator and suddenly felt a heavy weight.

The phantom of history had disappeared, so before the three Universal Civilizations could study the mystery that was the Sanctums, the technology he held would be unique. While it was only a part of the technology obtained by Jayz, it was still precious.

The meaning behind this was not just a personal benefit but also a method to change the development direction of the universe, and the initiative to change the direction was now in his hands.

Since this was ‘A Relay Across Iterations’, then according to his current situation, calling him the successor technically was not wrong… This technology had already made him qualified to control the development of the universe in the near future on a whim.

If he chose to undertake such a calling, how he dealt with this technology would become a problem.

“… No matter what, everything will have to wait until my research is completed,” Han Xiao muttered.

d

Within the technical materials available, there was a huge portion that would be beneficial to the development of the civilizations. If he hid it away like a baby, then it would be wasted. The final place they ended up in should be toward the Galactic Society, to contribute toward the entire universe and change the lives of the galactic residents.

It was just that, with his temperament, it was impossible for him to make a contribution for free. He would only develop it to sell or exchange part of the technology for resources from the three Universal Civilizations. Regardless of which he chose, his status and the power of the Black Star Army would rise to a whole new level, becoming an unmatched giant.

As for Jayz’s request, Han Xiao could not decide if he should agree.

These thoughts passed him by in a flash. The collapse of the secondary dimension was still occurring, and this situation was exactly the same as the decay and demise the other secondary dimensions faced.

The speed of decomposition slowly grew faster, as the scope of the chain reaction expanded in an exponential manner. Space was pulled and torn apart, while the stars dimmed one by one as they were extinguished. Replacing them was a weird light glow—that was the external manifestation of the thinning of the space wall.

The light spots suddenly split open, turning into holes in the space wall. The chaotic space stream outside instantly poured in, and the space storms raged and accelerated the decay of the dimension.

“Run!”

Seeing this, Kasuyi’s eyes lit up, and he flew out along the hole in the space wall. Han Xiao did not stop him, following him closely.

The two of them returned to the chaotic space stream outside the secondary dimension world, and they felt that all of their pressures seemed to have vanished. Every breath they took was like a new lease of life.

“We’re finally out.”

Sensing the connection of the Void Dimension, Kasuyi breathed a sigh of relief. He hurried to refill his lacking Energy before he finally felt safe.

The two then turned to look at where they came from, only to see that the secondary dimension, which had been almost boundless when they first arrived, was collapsing inward as though it was an inflated balloon being released of its air.

Under their gazes, the secondary dimension was finally torn apart by the turbulent chaotic space stream, disintegrating with bursts of iridescent energy as it blended into the space storm.

Kasuyi’s eyes suddenly brightened up. He released his Psychic energy in a direction, taking out a few pieces of source energy fragments as he smiled.

Han Xiao swept him with a glance. “You found your opportunity for transformation?”

“If I’m not mistaken, my senses point to the source energy fragments of this dimension. I’ve vaguely felt the entry point of the next level of God’s Trait Transformation. So long as I go back and ponder for a while, I’ll definitely be able to enter the next stage. It’s all thanks to your help.”

Kasuyi was satisfied.

He was now feeling fortunate that he had chosen Han Xiao as a teammate. If he had chosen someone else, the trip would likely have been more of a death encounter, but with Han Xiao around, he was in no danger at all.

While this guy is shameless, he’s just too reliable!

“Congratulations.” Han Xiao gave some perfunctory words before pointing to the core fragments. “He who sees it has a share. Pass me one.”

“Hey, you really have a thick skin. You’ve swallowed all of Jayz technical information, yet you still dare to say this.”

Kasuyi looked disgusted at him but still threw a piece of the core fragment to Han Xiao.

Right now, he was in a good mood, and so, he could not be bothered to squabble with Han Xiao. Besides, his senses told him that he only needed a piece of the source fragment, so he would not be stingy.

Receiving the fragment, Han Xiao played with it a little. Gazing at the item details, he shook his head.

While the secondary dimension was special, the source energy fragments were not unique. It would be impossible to re-cultivate a similar spacetime cycle loop. That place was a Space Wonder of its own.

However, neither of them left immediately. They stayed where they were, watching with their own eyes the complete disappearance of the dimension as it disappeared without a trace.

At this time, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

The second chain mission of (A Relay Across Iterations] has been completed!

You have received 150 billion EXP, 1 Random Reward, and 1 [Character Summon Card – Jayz]

Character Summon Card – Jayz: (MechanicInsight] – You have obtained extraordinary insight and can summarize the laws of the world more efficiently, improving your ability of mechanical research. When using this ability, the skill (Universal Simulation) is strengthened, and when developing blueprints, the efficiency and success rates are higher. There’s also a chance to generate black technology. Number of times used: 0/5

“This is an ability related to R&D…”

Han Xiao nodded in his head.

Jayz’s abilities in R&D were undoubtedly among the best, able to produce technology with specific effects such as the Heaven Concealing Apparatus. Han Xiao had a lot of combat abilities in his hands in the form of Character Summon Cards, so this time, the support effect of this Character Summon Card met his needs.

Scrolling down, he discovered that the notifications had yet to end.

The third chain mission begins!

Mission Requirements: Succeed in entering at least one Sanctum and establish a connection.

Reward: 200 Billion EXP, 2 Random Rewards, 3 Fragments of the Related Sanctum, and unlock the next chain mission.

“The next mission requires me to enter the Sanctums…”

Han Xiao squinted his eyes.

Based on what Jayz had said, Sanctums stored multiple iterations of materials, but it was not a public library where anyone could enter to view. Be it an individual or a civilization, there needed to be a certain action to allow them to connect with the Sanctum before they could obtain information from within.

Oathkeeper had mentioned before that there were six Sanctums in total, but no one knew if the different Sanctums had different methods needed for communication. Furthermore, Oathkeeper had yet to return even after such a long time, so it was estimated that this should be no simple matter.

Within the reward, they also provided Sanctum fragments. Han Xiao possessed quite a few fragments of the First Sanctum, and he originally thought that it was needed for entry, but now it seemed like it served another purpose.

After obtaining so many secrets, Han Xiao had already made up his mind. Even if he did not get the mission, he would still have chosen to go and visit a Sanctum once. This mission was an unexpected coincidence and gain for him.

As for the other mission, (Kasuyi’s Invitation) also showed as completed. He obtained another 450 Billion experience and got six random rewards as well as three Character Summon Cards.

The Character Summon Cards were all from Kasuyi but with different abilities, one improving mental resistance, the other a Void Talent. The last was (The Ancient Ones), providing amazing burst damage.

Kasuyi’s Favorability also went up by thirty points, and he obtained a God’s Trait Transformation point. At the same time, he was also rewarded with a new Milestone, (Witness of the Old Times). The introduction showed that due to his rich experience in life, his Intellect and Mystery attributes all improved by three percent. The effect is pretty strong. It will be quite useful…

While he was browsing through the mission reward, Kasuyi’s voice suddenly sounded in his mind, with mixed emotions.

“What are you going to do now?”

Turning his head, he saw a rather complicated expression on Kasuyi’s face.

Having witnessed the disappearance of the final vestiges of the previous universe iteration, albeit a phantom, Kasuyi felt it a regret, yet he felt that this entire adventure was pretty dreamlike.

Han Xiao knew what Kasuyi was thinking, so he shook his head. “I’ll withhold this technology for now and conduct my own research. Now is not the time to expose all these secrets.” “That’s right. The universe iteration is still too far away from us. Those are issues that the three Universal Civilizations should consider. Although a Beyond Grade A is a powerful individual, we are small in the face of the big picture.” Kasuyi sighed. “Anyway, the technical information is in your hands, so you’re in control. What you do with it is your own business; it has nothing to do with me.”

Han Xiao did not speak but instead stared meaningfully at him.

He only felt Han Xiao’s meaningful gaze, but Kasuyi already understood what Han Xiao wanted to say. He spoke with a smile. “Relax. While I’m in the know, I will not cause trouble. Once I disclose this information to any outsider, I won’t be able to stay out of trouble as well… Don’t worry about me reporting this to the Arcane Church. I’m not that close to them.”

For the operation this time, Kasuyi once again gained a brand-new impression of the strength Han Xiao had. He was frightened, and thus, he did not wish to face Han Xiao if possible.

Since only the two of them knew of this information, if anything leaked out, Black Star would know that it was Kasuyi who did it right away. In his opinion, having one less matter to worry about was better than one more. Unlike the Old Man Manison who always liked to make the headlines, Kasuyi preferred to stay low.

Moreover, he was not a direct subordinate of the Arcane Church, so he had no intention of reporting this. If he was so loyal to the Arcane Church, he would not have bothered to put on a show during the attack on Hila.

Han Xiao finally nodded before changing the topic.

“You’ve also seen what happened to the Beyond Grade As under the rule of the Celestial Star Alliance. The Sanctum is our lifeblood, and we cannot allow the advanced civilizations to monopolize this information, or else we will repeat the same mistakes.” Hearing this, Kasuyi’s expression also turned solemn.

With this episode, he deeply realized that the Beyond A realm was a glorious yet despairing presence.

“You’re right. The three Universal Civilizations will research this step sooner or later. Since we have discovered the meaning behind the Sanctums ahead of them, we should prepare for it.”

“In order to avoid becoming like the Celestial Star Alliance, our Beyond Grade A Association itself must first gain control of the Sanctums,” Han Xiao muttered. “Fortunately, we’ve now established an association. As individuals, we’re unreliable. Only an association is qualified to assume this future so that future Beyond Grade As need not surrender their freedom and beg the advanced civilizations for benefits.”

“In the beginning, when you promoted the establishment of the association, you really had some foresight,” Kasuyi praised.

I never expected that the association would be so useful… Han Xiao grinned secretly to himself.

“Cough, in any case, I have some clues about the Sanctum in my hands. After some time, I’ll begin to pursue these traces.” “If you need any help, just let me know,” Kasuyi said.

If they were to wait until the advanced civilizations mastered the means of revival through the Sanctums like the Celestial Star Alliance, it would be too late for the Beyond Grade As to unite. On the road of development, many opportunities only came knocking once.

In this respect, both of them had no selfish thoughts. The Sanctums were the lifeline of the Beyond Grade As, and monopolizing them would only make them enemies of all Beyond Grade As in the universe, a target of public criticism.

Only when the association undertook such an important mission would it then be accepted by all. In this manner, the nature of the association would become extremely important, and the alliance between all members would be unshakable, not breaking due to internal factors.

Right now, only the two of them knew of this inside information, and both had the same goal. With this bond, it was equivalent to them signing a pact. For Han Xiao, his advantage was that Kasuyi who had always been neutral was supporting his faction, which would increase his influence.

While the two of them had reached a tacit agreement not to divulge what they saw this time, they both knew that there were some things that had already changed.

Based on the intelligence they received, they had already formulated a new plan, which would inevitably have an indirect impact, just like the butterfly effect. Unless both of them pretended that nothing had happened, the scope of the impact would only grow, and sooner or later, it would affect the entire universe.

With this matter resolved, both of them prepared to return. However, a movement in their senses made them pause. They looked over to see a huge group of Space Lice wandering aimlessly.

“Oh, a few months have already passed, yet these little cuties have not left.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled as he thought of his previous idea of breeding these Space Lice.

Kasuyi had also completed his God’s Trait Transformation and was more relaxed. He smiled as well. “I should get some specialties on the return trip back, so I might as well catch some and see if they can be raised in the Void Dimension.”

Both of them shared a smile, a similar weird aura surrounding them.

Chapter 1206: Return

Chapter 1206 Return

In the Black Star Army’s Emerald Star Cluster Division, hundreds of spaceships were docked in the silver-white airport terminal, with all colors and varied models. From within these spaceships stepped out a group of crew members who obviously did not belong to the army. Stepping down, they looked around curiously, lining up in loose lines under the command of the heavily armed army members as they chatted. “We’ve finally arrived. This is indeed the base of the Black Star Army. It’s truly well-defended.”

“Haha, my resume has undergone four rounds of screening and finally passed the review. We’ll be members of the Black Star Army in the future.”

“I hope that I can go to a position with good benefits…”

“Will we be able to see Black Star this time? According to the usual practice, every group of newcomers will have to enter the initiation ceremony where the Army Commander meets with us. Even his avatar will do!”

Everyone had some measure of excitement on their face. These people were all interstellar mercenaries who had applied to the Black Star Army.

Right now, the Black Star Army’s sphere of influence had spread across multiple Star Fields. With various businesses bringing ample capital flow to them, the army had been actively hiring new mercenaries. This was especially so after Han Xiao was hired as the Special Consultant for the three Universal Civilizations.

After so many years of operation by Han Xiao, the army already had an irreplaceable influence in the universe. According to market research, if all free Supers in the universe had to join a faction, then 41.3% of them listed the Black Star Army as their first choice, surpassing even the three Universal Civilizations.

The Black Star Army could be considered as something like the ‘Fortune 500’ companies back on Earth. Furthermore, its potential was still being realized, and its prospects were broad.

Just as everyone was excitedly discussing their success, an army spaceship sailed into the VIP dock of the airport, attracting the attention of everyone present. There were two emblems on the hull of the spaceship, one being that of the army, while the other was a crimson snake on a wine-red background, which was the personal emblem of Hila.

With a hiss, the hatch opened, and a group of armed female warriors wearing crimson light armor walked out neatly as they stood on both sides of the gangway. The emblem on their chests indicated that they were the elite guards of Hila, known as the ‘Tri-Headed Snake Rangers’.

As the Deputy Army Commander, Hila possessed a lot of authority, which allowed her to form her own personal guard like Han Xiao.

Ta, ta, ta!

The crisp sound of leather shoes striking the ground was heard as Hila walked out of the hatch.

She wore a pair of red sunglasses on the bridge of her nose, her ears decorated with serpentine silver earrings, and she had on a gorgeous red uniform that resembled a lady’s business suit. It had gold threads as trimming as well as a black and gold cloak wrapped around on her shoulders, complete with a red fluff on the collar of the cloak.

Everyone’s eyes immediately focused on her, admiration appearing on their faces. “She’s the second-in-command of the Army, the Goddess of Death, Hila. What a strong aura…”

Some of them revealed wistful expressions. “It would be great if I could work under her.”

“Only the elite of the army are eligible to be selected as part of the personal guards. Even people like us were all rejected. You’re still dreaming of it?”

At this moment, Hila walked with her guards to the front of the crowd, scanning everyone present. Her powerful aura suffused within the crowd, and the commotion gradually stopped. Everyone only felt a sense of oppression in their hearts, not daring to speak. Seeing this, Hila spoke in a cold tone. “The Army Commander is currently absent, so I will preside over your enrollment ceremony. My time is precious, so I’ll save the welcome steps and test your strength directly. The army speaks with strength, so this will be related to your position arrangement after joining the army. I hope you can last as long as possible.”

Finishing all she wanted to say in one breath, Hila was too lazy to explain more, directly letting out her pressure and sweeping across the whole field.

Many of them felt a crushing sense before they could react, the pressure penetrating their body and soul. Everyone trembled and looked as though they would fall to the ground any time.

Flop, flop!

Group after group could not bear the pressure Hila was exuding and fell down. The longest could only support themselves for about thirty seconds, their faces flushed and gasping as though they were drowning.

Seeing this, Hila withdrew her pressure, looking at her watch as she lightly said, “Those who are in the top ten percent will be the team leaders. As for the others, Phillip will automatically assign positions based on your performance just now. You are to report to your respective departments immediately. The ceremony is over.”

Finished, she turned around and entered the base with her guards, not sparing another glance at the crowd on the ground.

Generally speaking, the newcomers’ joining ceremony would introduce to them the history of the army so as to cultivate a sense of belonging. Hila, however, did not care for such things. From disembarkation to the completion of the test, the entire process took no more than three minutes.

On the way, Hila took out her communicator and summoned Phillip. She asked with furrowed brows, “By the way, can you contact Black Star yet?”

“Not at all, hum…” Phillip lowered his head, tapping his fingertips as he felt guilty.

“Where did this guy go? To actually be out of touch for several months!”

Hila’s expression was uncertain.

She knew that Han Xiao had run off to the secondary dimensions, and communication there was inconvenient. But even so, Han Xiao should not have been disconnected from Phillip.

Just a few months ago, Phillip had said that Han Xiao was completely disconnected and could not be reached by any means. Hila thus became vigilant and could not help but think of the Holy Accord Organization that he had encountered in the secondary dimension.

Could it be that the Army Commander had been attacked again?

Hmm… it did not seem to be surprising though.

In order to not cause any turmoil and suspicion to the outside world, she had asked Phillip to block off all news, maintaining the operation of the army on the surface while secretly investing resources to detect any traces of Black Star.

Han Xiao was the soul of the army. The moment he lost contact, the army would drop by a significant deal in the eyes of the Beyond Grade As. Hila could only temporarily carry this burden, halting her training and returning from the Underworld to helm the army.

No results were found even after several months, and Hila was getting worried.

She had decided that if there was still no information about him after three more months, she would call upon her teacher Ames to enter the secondary dimensions to search for Han Xiao. Suddenly, Hila paused, and a strange look appeared on her face.

“You guys are to be on standby. I have something to do.” Her figure vanished, leaving her Personal Guards on the spot looking at each other.

At the same time, Hila’s figure appeared in the Underworld, where Onicelu revealed herself.

“What is this about?”

“I discovered a group of weird creatures approaching the Underworld. They seem to be cosmic life forms that live in space storms. Monsters born within this environment are not easy to deal with, and I’m just afraid that they are species that feed on the secondary dimensions.” Onicelu expressed her concern.

Hila frowned slightly. Right now, she was bound to the Underworld, so protecting it was her responsibility. “I’ll make them retreat.”

She rose up, turning into a red meteor as she flew out of the space wall following Onicelu’s instructions. However, she did not proceed further, merely waiting at the spot for the enemy’s advancement. The dimensional energy of the Underworld formed a spherical light film around Hila, which provided her defense whilst preventing her from being swept away of the chaotic space stream.

Not long after, a whirlpool-like wormhole appeared in the space stream, and huge Space Lice rushed out in alarming numbers.

“So many!’ Hila subconsciously clenched her fists.

She had been in the secondary dimension for a while, thus knowing that there were some dangers that could even threaten the lives of the Beyond Grade As. While she had never encountered any Space Louse, she instinctively felt the threat, proving that this group of monsters could not be killed casually.

While Hila was not worried about her safety, there were just too many for herself to handle. She could not guarantee that she could protect the entire Underworld.

“If only Black Star was here…”

Faced with this situation, Hila could not help but miss Han Xiao’s mechanical army.

“Right now, I can only rely on myself…”

Hila revolved her Energy, preparing to make the pre-emptive strike.

But at this exact moment, a familiar voice rang out in her mechanical suit communication channel, freezing her movements.

“Hila?”

Among the Space Lice, Han Xiao, who was herding up these cuties, felt the fluctuations coming off from Hila and looked over. His eyes brightened immediately.

In a flash, he appeared before her, smiling. “I’ve not seen you for a while. Did you miss
me?”

“I miss…” Hila caught herself before she subconsciously spoke out and continued in surprise. “Why are you here? Where did you go this time?”

“I went over to the secondary dimensions to take a gander. The signal there is not good. Did you see the cuties yet? These were my war trophies. I intend to let them settle down around the Underworld to serve as a line of defense. Their combat power is pretty impressive…”

Han Xiao babbled on with the introduction, pretending that he did not see Hila’s hesitation.

After losing contact for several months, he knew that Hila would definitely worry, but he did not intend to disclose his experience of the trip for the time being. Thus, he decided to hide the truth and simply gloss over it.

After listening for a bit, Hila still could not resist interrupting Han Xiao’s words, “Do you know the impact your loss of contact has brought us? If it was not for me blocking the news, there would be a lot of people in the army that wavered…”

Han Xiao laughed. “You’re the Deputy Army Commander. There’s still you even if I’m not around. Nobody will be able to do anything. I have faith in you.”

Hearing this, Hila’s expression became a lot better.

She vaguely felt that Han Xiao was hiding something from her, but she did not want to ask more. The most important part was that he had returned.

Hila did not continue questioning him and turned her attention toward the weird looking Space Lice.

“When these groups of life forms join forces, can their battle strength truly reach the pinnacle Beyond Grade A level?”

“Their attack power won’t be as good, but their defenses can indeed reach such a stage. They feed on chaotic space streams, so not only will they not attack the secondary dimension but also provide protection. They like the environment around a secondary dimension, so they usually settle down and use it as a nest, hence attacking all outsiders.” Han Xiao nodded.

After catching a batch of Space Lice, he had split up with Kasuyi and headed home. Through the journey, he did research and discovered the habits of the Space Lice, which allowed them to coexist in harmony with the secondary dimensions. They were suitable for guarding homes and were simply natural bodyguards.

“Alright, as long as there’s no danger, I have no issue keeping them here.” Hila agreed after thinking. “My teacher came to look for you three times but was rejected by me. Remember to go see her.”

“Ok.” Han Xiao assented and asked, “Anything happen with the association while I was absent?”

“The same old. There has been no change, except for the lack of fighting between you and Manison. No one is moving for now. It’s basically a formality.”

“Those fence sitters only wish for me to get things done…” Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

In the eyes of ordinary people, the Beyond Grade As were people of high authority and prestige, but in his eyes, they were a group of boring people.

He then rejected Hila’s invitation to get abused before throwing the Space Lice at the Underworld and using the King to teleport himself back to the Army’s Base camp in the Emerald Star Cluster.

With a blur in his vision, Han Xiao returned to his office and found Sylvia sitting there with her legs propped up on the table.

Seeing that someone had suddenly appeared in the room, Sylvia was taken aback. But after recognizing Han Xiao, she calmed down, and instead of standing up, she purposely struck her feet on the table once, huffing as she angrily said, “Oh, isn’t this His Excellency Black Star? You still know your way back? I thought you had forgotten all about us.”

Han Xiao did not show offence, rather walking up to Sylvia and patting her head. Feeling her hair, he smiled.

“Seems like you have worked hard these few months. It’s been hard on you.”

“Scram.” Sylvia knocked his hand away before standing up and snorting. “I could not contact you, and there’s a large backlog of issues that you need to handle. Hurry and clear them. I’m still waiting.”

Having finished speaking, she turned to leave, but suddenly, she realized something just as she reached the door. She turned back, picking up the jacket she draped over the chair and the gold rimmed glasses on the table, rolling her eyes at Han Xiao again as she left.

“Tsk, what a huge grudge she has.”

Han Xiao pursed his lips. He naturally would not be so petty with this balding baby.

This trip had been a great harvest for him. He not only learned a lot of secrets of the universe but also greatly expanded his knowledge. For him, returning to his universe felt like he had come to another world. But in the eyes of his officers, it was only a few months that he had disappeared. Except for a few, no one was curious about where he had gone.

Han Xiao reconnected to Phillip, encrypting all the data he recorded on this trip.

This technological treasure was too rich, such that even a pinnacle Beyond Grade A like him would take around a decade to finish studying it. While Awakening Points and Experience could speed up the research progress, it would be a waste to use them that way. After all, before the next Version arrived, it would be difficult for him to supplement those. Since it was not long until the Version 4.0 update, he could take his time to slowly digest it then.

He summoned a housekeeping robot to spray some air freshener in the room to remove the remnants of Sylvia’s elegant perfume before sitting back in his chair to handle the backlog while logging onto the forums to check on the players.

After a few months, the fourth Pro League had entered the International League phase, and they were at the Quarter Finals. China had two teams qualifying this time, Dynasty with the most stable performance and Rivervale.

After three league matches, Rivervale was no longer a dark horse but rather a stable and powerful team.

The previous International League group stage that had just ended was the most dangerous one, with the crazy targeting of the Chinese clubs still ongoing. As a result, there was one less team that had qualified for Quarter Finals this time.

However, looking at it from another angle, even with the clubs of various countries trying to push them down, there were still two Chinese teams that had made it in. The results were gratifying

Now the hope of the country fell on Dynasty and Rivervale. So long as either of them won the championship, it would mean three consecutive victories for China. None of the other countries in the top eight wanted to see such a result, but they were unable to encircle and suppress the Chinese players as much as in the group stage.

“Now that it has reached the Quarter Finals, it’s not far from the end of the Pro League. There are at most two months left before Version 4.0 ends… I have to prepare.”

Chapter 1207: Finals and Reorganization

Chapter 1207 Finals and Reorganization

In his past life, Version 5.0 represented the Calamity of the Supers. The Beyond Grade As of history revealing themselves, conflicts intensifying between the Supers and the ordinary citizens, the emergence of the Grade A players, and the unwillingness of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations in losing the war all combined to throw the universe that had just stabilized back into turmoil.

Under his own influence, there were too many variables, so he could not properly predict what the specific changes in the next version would be. The only thing Han Xiao could determine was that the importance of players would rise once more and become the focus of more factions. No matter how much reservations the factions had, they would introduce welfare measures to recruit more players.

While the army had greatly expanded its scale of players in Version 4.0, this was an opportunity and yet a trouble. Not to mention the potential confusion that the players would bring, the other factions would also attempt to poach the army’s own players. As long as they were willing to fork out a sum of money, it will naturally have an effect. Han Xiao was not so arrogant and self-confident that no player would not succumb to such a measure. Moreover, the idea of being a big fish in a small pond might appeal to some players, rather than staying in the army and being a small fish in a big pond. This was especially so for players who would reach the level of Calamity Grade. They would naturally have a huge impact on the Super employment market in the universe.

A true Calamity Grade would have the qualification to dominate an entire area on their own, so the majority of factions could not afford to employ them. However, even if the regular remuneration was reduced to a fourth or even a fifth of the usual rate, it would be enough to feed the players. While the strength of the players for their Calamity Grades would be at the bottom of the barrel, they were the cheapest Calamity Grades that some small factions would be able to afford.

The only way I can deal with the other factions is by continuing to strengthen the construction of the faction, increasing the status and attractiveness of the army during the Version update. Even with my personal influence, this will be a step-by-step process, but if I can take out some of the valuable civilian black technology, it will greatly speed up the progress. In the eyes of the public, it will seem as though I developed this… The army’s operations in the Flickering World were on the right track and had limited room for further development. To continue expansion, he could only target other Star Fields by developing branches.

The following few decades while the version updated would be a good time for him to lie low and develop. With the aid from the Association, the army did not need to participate in the war between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance, thus not being dragged down. They could all just sit this one out and reap the spoils later.

On the other hand, this was also conducive to the construction of the Association’s community of interest. The final structure had to exist as a multi-faceted interest network, where the most powerful Beyond Grade As sold various resources and services while the weaker ones obtained support, maintaining a balanced relationship. With the size of the current Black Star Army, it was naturally qualified to become one of the facets.

Each term of office for the President was stated at fifty years. Han Xiao had already thought about it, planning to oust Manison when his term was up and sit in this position. With his current right to speak in the Association, so long as Manison did not make any underhanded moves, he was quite assured.

The moment he sat in the position of President, with his results of exploring the Sanctum, there would be no suspense when it came to future re-elections.

“The specific plan will depend on the actual situation…”

Han Xiao opened his memo, beginning to write out the prototype of the plan.

Because Han Xiao and Kasuyi’s actions were carried out in secret, the time of their disappearance did not cause any alarm. After all, the risk of exploring the secondary dimensions was too great, so it was normal that the major organizations would not pay much attention to the duo’s actions.

The news of Black Star returning quickly spread through the army, and players noticed, but the International League had already reached the quarter finals, and everyone had already run out of blank Character Summon Cards to use. It was with pity in their hearts that they refocused on the event.

Since the start of Version 4.0, China’s major clubs had enjoyed the development benefits the Black Star Army provided them, making a lot of money in the process. The better their official guilds developed, the greater the support for the professional teams. At present, China’s first-tier professional teams basically all belonged to the To and T1 tiers internationally, with outstanding strength. They had performed strongly during the quarter finals. Because they met with such harassment, the Chinese teams were unable to obtain many points this time round. Both Dynasty and Rivervale entered the quarter finals at second and fifth place respectively. After three victories in the best of five, they both reached the semifinals, succeeding in occupying two seats. This meant that they would get at least a third place.

However, after three versions, the Chinese players had grander ambitions. No one was satisfied with just third place. In the eyes of the players, only three consecutive championships was worthy of being their goal.

The semifinals were decided through lot drawing, and this caused the Chinese players on the forum to be divided into two sides. One hoped that both Dynasty and Rivervale would not meet each other in the semifinals, and the other side hoped that they would meet. If both Dynasty and Rivervale could defeat their opponents, that would of course be the most ideal situation. However, if both sides lost, then China would be halted at the semifinals. However, if both faced each other, this would be a sort of insurance to guarantee that one of them would definitely step into the finals.

Under the prayers of the two sides, the semifinals list appeared. The Chinese teams were not facing each other. Dynasty went against Team Thunderbolt Pythons from North America, whereas Rivervale’s opponent was Team Kimchi from South Korea.

The Chinese players who supported having their teams meet in the finals got their wish, but for the players on the other side, they were all depressed, worrying about the possibility that both teams might be defeated. As the saying went, one would only know what they wanted after the matter had taken place. In the end, most players discovered that rather than having two teams meet in the final, they would rather have a shot at winning the championship.

Both teams tried their best, but Dynasty missed out on a round, being defeated two rounds to three. They failed to qualify for the finals, and the hope of replicating the scene of having two teams from the country in the finals was dashed.

Rivervale, on the other hand, performed wonderfully, qualifying with three rounds to one. There was a saying in Galaxy that every version would have a god-like respective class. The Mechanic class gradually began to exert its strength in the middle to late stages, and because of the limitation of level cap in each version, the Mechanic’s feature of burning money to continuously increase strength was favored by professional teams. Rivervale’s team was made up of Mechanics as the core, which explained their strength.

In the previous Pro League, Rivervale barely eked out a victory against Team Key in the semifinals, allowing China to dominate the finals. Though they failed to win the championship, they still received endless praise. This time, they really had a chance to obtain the championship, shouldering all the expectations of the Chinese players.

The date of the finals was set a few days later, and the forums were discussing this matter enthusiastically.

Outside of the players’ field of vision, a new regular meeting of the Beyond Grade A Association was held.

A series of Beyond Grade A remote projections descended on the headquarters of the Beyond Grade A Association, walking into the round-table meeting room and sitting down, whispering to their neighbors.

Sitting in the President’s seat, Manison looked at this harmonious scene, glancing at the empty Vice President’s seat as he felt as though the air was fresh and the atmosphere relaxed.

At this moment, an untimely voice sounded outside the door, breaking his harmony and tranquility.

“Hehe, I’m back! Did everyone miss me?”

Hearing the familiar voice, everyone turned around to see Han Xiao, who had vanished for a few months, walking into the conference room with a smile that asked to be slapped.

“Oh, Black Star’s back!”

“It’s been a few months, but you look pretty good!”

“Where did you go these few months? To not even inform us.”

Upon seeing Han Xiao, many people present smiled, beginning to chat and wave to him. Even the direct subordinates of the three Universal Civilizations also nodded in greeting, and the place became lively

Han Xiao was quite comfortable in the Beyond Grade A circle, having a good relationship with most people. He smiled in response to the crowd, walking to his seat and plonking himself down before turning to look at Manison and joking, “I heard that you’ve been very comfortable these few months. It’s alright, I’m back now.”

Manison displayed a passive expression as though he had not seen or heard him. The moment Han Xiao appeared, he had put on this poker face.

Seeing this, all the Beyond Grade As were full of spirits, their eyes jumping between both of them as they revealed expectant expressions.

A meeting without the Vice President spitting nonsense did not feel complete. The last few months’ meetings had been too dull, causing everyone to feel drowsy and lethargic. With Black Star finally back, they could enjoy his repertoire again. No one allowed their minds to wander.

At this moment, Kasuyi also walked in, and after some greetings, he sat in his position. Everyone could not help but cast suspicious glances.

The duo had disappeared for several months and reappeared at the same time, which left a lot to their imagination.

Manison also looked at Kasuyi a few times before suppressing the doubts in his heart, not asking on the spot.

Surveying his surroundings, he coughed twice before saying, “Since everyone is present, let’s start…”

Before he could finish, Han Xiao immediately raised his hands. “I have something to say.”

Manison was interrupted in his opening speech, but he was not angry at all. He was already used to it. As long as Black Star was present, he would never have the chance to finish a sentence.

Everyone else’s eyes lit up.

It’s here. It’s about to get nasty. Black Star is indeed our source of joy. He’s so dedicated that he starts his job the moment he comes.

Han Xiao looked at everyone, seeing them anticipating what he was about to say. He then turned to Manison and spoke in a deep voice.

“Recently, I’ve been thinking about it, and I feel that Manison’s Felon technology is not conducive to the unity of the Beyond Grade As. Having this living body transformation is going overboard, and I feel that Manison should take the initiative to abandon his technology, releasing the Felons.”

Hearing this, Manison burst into flames.

This matter had long been tacitly understood by everyone. You did not choose to talk about this a few months ago, and suddenly bring up this topic, this is obviously you causing trouble!

The request to give up his Felon technology was obviously a fantasy. Black Star knew that this topic would not produce any results, but he still chose to raise it. In Manison’s eyes, this was just him deliberately picking faults in him.

“Black Star! Don’t be an embarrassment! How long ago was this matter already?” Manison hollered.

“What about it? We don’t have any limitation of a prosecutive period whatsoever. If you can do it, why can’t I say it?” Han Xiao waved his hands. “Ask everyone here, who has no issue with this?”

“That’s right, transforming a living body is not right. While this was before the establishment of the Association, it’s still okay to bring it up.” Kant was happy to see that Black Star had managed to pick on something, and he immediately followed up.

Hearing this, everyone present also began to discuss the issue.

While it had already been a long time since the incident, Manison’s Felon technology had always been a thorn in everyone’s hearts.

Usually, everyone would tacitly not speak about it, but now that someone had dug it up, they would not mind throwing sh*t from the sidelines… The main thing was to provide firepower for Black Star. All those people wished to see the world burn.

Manison’s eyelids twitched, and he boomed, “Enough! Black Star only knows how to fool around, but why are you guys also joining in?” “This sentence is wrong. What fooling around?” Han Xiao crossed his arms, pretending to be serious. “So long as you are still doing this sort of unethical practice, we’re qualified to blame you. Even if you cannot restrain your greed and do not wish to give up this technology, you still have to apologize.”

“Apologize to whom? They were originally my spoils of war, and I have the right to dispose of them as I see fit. I’ve never heard of any reason to apologize to prisoners,” Manison coldly said. “Not apologize to them, but to us. You broke the unity of the Association, and the most important part is that you broke everyone’s trust.” Han Xiao spouted nonsense with a straight face.

“You’re bullsh*tting…” Manison was just about to retort, but a silent voice sounded out at the side, from Kasuyi.

“Mechanic Emperor, your actions indeed are not beneficial to the unity of the Association.”

The moment his voice sounded, everyone stared in shock.

The environment that was noisy and raucous turned silent.

Everyone stared at Kasuyi in unison, feeling a little surprised.

Kasuyi had always been neutral, and he did not help anybody. Besides, he had been long-time friends with Manison, but to think he would actually side with Black Star? Manison was also left stunned

Old Ka actually decided to help Black Star go against me. When did they get so close? Could it be that we are not friends who have played together since we were young?

The two only disappeared for a few months. What did they do together for their relationship to progress so quickly! He closely scrutinized Kasuyi’s passive expression, feeling disbelief at this situation.

Chapter 1208: Birth of a Reign

Chapter 1208 Birth of a Reign

“What is the meaning of this?” Manison looked straight at Kasuyi, his tone unfriendly.

Kasuyi sighed, not avoiding his gaze as he softly said, “I meant it literally. I feel that Black Star is right. As the President of the Association, you are a role model. You should really give up on the Felon technology. While this may be a long time ago, before the association was created, we are now advocating unity in our realm, so the transformation of a living body is going too far and will make everyone uncomfortable.”

Manison narrowed his eyes.

This seemed like a premeditated action. If Black Star and Kasuyi had hooked up in private, they would deliberately attack him today to demonstrate the strength of the opposing faction while attacking his prestige, further isolating him.

Of course, there was another possibility. Kasuyi might purely have problems with the Felon technology. Manison had known this old friend for many years. He knew that he did not like to offend anyone, so there should be reasons for him to say this face to face.

Moreover, Old Ka was not someone easily bought over. Manison did not believe that it would only take Black Star a few months to forge such a deep relationship with him.

Or it could also be possible that Black Star has something on Kasuyi… Ok, I’ll ask him after this meeting

Manison rearranged his mentality, looking away into the audience as he expressionlessly spoke. “How I deal with my spoils is my own freedom. If everyone continues to discuss this topic, there will be no results obtained. Don’t waste time, so let’s have a serious meeting.”

The Felons were his trump card. Everyone understood that it was impossible for him to compromise by threatening him. But this move was undoubtedly part of Black Star’s plan as he knew that Manison would not give up his Felon technology, and he wished to force him to make a stand. In this way, it could at least aggravate the dissatisfaction of most members against him, reducing his prestige as President.

Black Star’s Spacetime Amber could only be regarded as placing people in prison, and it was also a safe method. However, the Felon technology was obtained by conducting human experiments on prisoners, which was much worse.

Even if Manison continued to argue his way out, the situation would just be more unfavorable toward himself. Thus, he directly put on a tough attitude, putting an end to the topic.

He put on this uncompromising attitude, and while it was not out of everyone’s expectations, everyone was a little unhappy about it, like the fox that mourned for the dead rabbit.

Seeing this, Han Xiao decided not to press this topic.

Everyone had already stated their stance, so forcing his way through would not achieve any results but would only disrupt the meeting. Right now, his goal had been achieved, which was to lower the prestige of Old Man Manison. Furthermore, he managed to dig a trap for the latter. Manison was still unaware about the Sanctums, so Han Xiao was basically targeting the information gap.

Han Xiao turned to look at Kasuyi, flashing a tacit smile.

Kasuyi helplessly shook his head. Him stabbing Manison this time was not just to help Black Star consolidate his position but also him thinking for the future. After discovering the Sanctums, his mentality and view of the Association had changed.

After thinking about it, Jayz had mentioned that the Sanctums could only revive someone who was dead, as each Beyond Grade A existence was unique. Thus, was a person transformed into a Felon dead or alive?

Most likely, they were still considered alive. In that case, if a Beyond Grade A was transformed into a Felon, as long as they were not liberated, would they never be able to be resurrected by the Sanctums?

And here was an even more frightening thought… Was there anyone who would utilize the abilities of the Sanctum to set a trap, capturing newly revived Beyond Grade As to turn them into Felons?

Kasuyi shuddered.

In the past, he could reluctantly accept this technology, but the concept of resurrection through the Sanctums subverted his viewpoint in life. If there were no expectations, he would not care, but now knowing that his own life could be continuously prolonged, he found it difficult to tolerate the continued existence of such a threat.

This was just considering from his own point of view. From an overall point, in the long run, the Felon technology would not be conducive to the Association’s control and maintenance of the Sanctum’s ability to resurrect or to the members’ unity. Kasuyi was already able to guess several bad circumstances that could happen in the future. Now it seemed that Manison’s path was absolutely unworkable.

It was foreseeable that, once Black Star managed to develop the ability to resurrect people from the Sanctums, the Mechanic Emperor, who had mastered the Felon technology would inevitably become the target of public criticism. Who would wish to resurrect a Beyond Grade A that knew the Felon technology? By that time, maybe even death would become a luxury for him. If most of the Beyond Grade As went to the extreme, they might work together to send him into the Spacetime Amber to prevent Manison from being resurrected by the three Universal Civilizations to squeeze out his Felon technology.

Kasuyi still had some measure of friendship toward Manison; he did not wish to see him fall into such a desperate state. It could be said that this was for the good of Manison. It was just that only he was aware of the severity. Before Black Star finished his research, the information on the Sanctums could not be disclosed to anyone. As for whether Manison would listen or not, that was his problem. Anyways, Kasuyi felt that he had already shown his brotherhood.

Without Han Xiao fanning the flames, the meeting continued normally, but everyone present was absent-minded, their eyes constantly switching between Han Xiao and Kasuyi with different thoughts on what Han Xiao had actually offered to Kasuyi.

Sorokin was also quietly looking at the duo, feeling envious and jealous.

Kasuyi has also been roped in. Black Star’s influence in the Association is getting larger… He had always remembered the threat of Black Star having seen through his identity. To have his weakness in the hands of others, while he had always wanted to silence him, he feared the repercussions of his actions. Sorokin was reluctant to leave this shell of his.

According to Sorokin’s calculations, the best solution was naturally to use other Beyond Grade As to kill off Black Star while he stayed out of the matter. However, with Black Star’s social circle expanding, he had more friends than enemies, which meant there were fewer candidates for Sorokin to utilize.

There were only so many pinnacle-level Beyond Grade As in the universe. Every friend that Black Star made meant one less potential helper.

“Could it be that I’ll have to be eaten to death by him like this? If I can discover other variables…”

Sorokin’s eyes flashed with darkness.

A few hours passed. The regular meeting ended smoothly, and everyone left with their own thoughts. Kasuyi disconnected the projection link. At this time, his communicator rang, and not surprisingly, it was Manison calling.

He could only sigh, picking up the call and calmly speaking

“What have you called for?”

“Kasuyi, what’s happening between you and Black Star? Does he have a bargaining chip in his hands?” Manison cut to the chase, asking about the meeting incident.

“…Nothing happened.”

Manison frowned before continuing. “You went missing for a few months. Was it because you went with Black Star? What did you encounter?”

“What has it got to do with you?” Kasuyi indifferently replied.

Hearing this, Manison’s expression changed.

He was admitting to it, but from his tone, it was obvious that he was not willing to reveal any intelligence related to Black Star.

It seemed like he had guessed wrongly. Kasuyi was really supporting Black Star, and their relationship had improved by leaps and bounds in the past few months, to the point he was willing to offend Manison for the sake of Black Star.

Manison felt the indifference and estrangement Kasuyi was exuding, and it made him uncomfortable.

This sort of feeling was like having a close companion being pried away by an opponent. The heartache of betrayal. He felt that his social circle was being invaded by Black Star. Everything that once belonged to him was gradually disappearing.

At this moment, Kasuyi said, “Is there anything else? If there’s nothing, I’ll end the call. I’m pretty busy right now.”

Even if this was a private conversion, he was reluctant to engage in any conversation that could cause any leaks. He could only try to chase Manison away.

“Understood.” Manison was silent for a few seconds, suppressing his disappointment before actively disconnecting

Kasuyi put down the communicator, his expression complex and a little sad.

During the Intelligent Plague, Manison had tried to go for wool but ended up shorn, landing himself in trouble. This caused Kasuyi to change the candidate choice from Manison to Black Star, which allowed such an opportunity to fall into Black Star’s hands. In Kasuyi’s eyes, Manison had chosen short-term gains over the bigger long-term gains. If he had not proceeded so rashly, Kasuyi felt that he would still have called upon Manison to team up. In this case, Manison would also have had a copy of the intelligence in his hands, and he would not be in the dark.

A pity, there were no ‘if’s in reality. “It’s all fate. If I had teamed up with you, then you would be the one with the intelligence advantage now…” Kasuyi shook his head, feeling sorry for Manison.

The undercurrent of the Beyond Grade A Association did not affect the activities of the players. A few days later, the fourth Pro League finals unfolded.

Ratings on the forums broke through all records. If Rivervale carried all the hopes of the Chinese players, then Thunderbolt Python carried the hope of all foreign clubs. Only they could prevent China from establishing a record three version winning reign.

Under the attention of the public, both sides were evenly matched in the first match. While Rivervale was stable, they were hit by the secret tactics that Thunderbolt Python had been hiding up till now. They suffered a loss, losing the first round to Thunderbolt Python, which raised the blood pressure of the Chinese players.

However, in the second and third rounds, Rivervale withstood the pressure and played steadily under the leadership of Frenzied Sword. While there were few exaggerated maneuvers, the team relied on the endurance advantage of the Mechanic class to eke out a small advantage and win both games to take the match point

In the fourth round, Thunderbolt Python tried their hardest, playing cautiously, but they were beaten by Rivervale again and again. In the end, Rivervale won the round and the match, obtaining the championship. Ever since entering the quarter finals, Rivervale’s record of their matches had mostly been a 3:1 victory. The stability of the Mechanic department was fully demonstrated by them, strong with few shortcomings. Under the gazes of countless spectators, the last player of Thunderbolt Python fell in the ring

The sound of the body falling resounded in the hearts of all the viewers like a drum. It was akin to a signal that announced the birth of China’s reign of three consecutive victories!

Chapter 1209: Interviews and Predictions

Chapter 1209 Interviews and Predictions

The moment Rivervale defeated Thunderbolt Python, the Chinese players went straight into the forums to vent their inner ecstasy and excitement.

“Congratulations, Rivervale! Congratulations, China!”

“Three consecutive championships, what a lad!”

“Hahaha, continue to harass us. We’ll still win!”

“Congratulations to North America for being Runner-ups! XP”

Ever since the preliminary rounds, the Chinese players had been suffocating. Their teams had constantly been targeted, but now they finally exhaled and vented their indignation. Starting from the second Pro League, Long Sky, Dynasty, and now Rivervale had each brought a championship trophy to China. As the saying went, good things would not go beyond three generations. Three consecutive champions, in the eyes of the players, meant that their achievements were truly remarkable and glorious.

The official staff of the Rivervale club quickly posted an announcement after their team won the championship. In just three minutes, the number of replies to the post broke through a million, all of which were congratulatory notes. With their popularity, they instantly rose to the top of the ‘Trending Posts’ list.

The congratulatory messages were not limited to the Chinese players. They also attracted a large wave of foreign fans. Among the players all over the world, there were many spectators who had been supporting the team’s achievements regardless of nationality.

While China was busy celebrating, the foreign teams were feeling uncomfortable. They had failed in their targeting, and the teams that had participated met with a lot of cynicism, loss, and helplessness.

We’ve exhausted all means, but we failed to stop China from obtaining the championship. What else can we do? We can only accept reality.

In his office, Han Xiao could not help but smile as he read through the forums.

“Three consecutive championships… truly a feat.”

No country in his previous life had achieved such a reign. Even the most dominant North America in his previous life had only won three separate championship titles. Now, with his own influence, the Chinese team, which had struggled in his past life, had achieved a good record and become a hegemon. He also felt some pride.

As the main faction of the Chinese players, the benefits were naturally obvious. It was foreseeable that the attractiveness of his faction would increase once more, which would be extremely beneficial to his own plans. In the next version, the success rate of other factions trying to poach his members will decrease even further.

Han Xiao was naturally happy, and he suddenly recalled his original plans during the national war.

“Oh, now is the best time to send the rewards…”

Because the Golden Alliance had won the national war, Han Xiao thus decided to purchase Planet Milton, which was the main battlefield and give it to the Golden Alliance as a reward. Now was the opportune moment.

While the three Universal Civilizations were still at war with the Super Star Cluster Alliance and could not confirm the ownership of Planet Milton, it did not prevent him from releasing the news to the outside world. Just based on the status of the Black Star Army, no matter which organization obtained Planet Milton in the end, they would not prevent such a small business from happening. This way, it would be equivalent to him placing a bid on Planet Milton.

For the next ten days after Rivervale won the championship, the forums were still as bustling as ever. During this period, the Galaxy Times also stepped up its production, producing a new program. The past three champion teams of Rivervale, Dynasty, and Long Sky were invited as guests, giving rise to an unprecedentedly grand occasion.

Han Xiao was also watching, his screen constantly being barraged with bullet comments. Two hosts, a man and woman, were seated on one side. The team players, headed by Frenzied Sword, King Admiral, and Hao Tian, were seated on the other. The interview had already begun.

“… Since the first Pro League, we’ve witnessed the rise of Rivervale step by step. The team has continued to mature, and after four versions, you’ve finally won the highest honor. Captain Frenzied Sword, any thoughts?” the female host asked.

Frenzied Sword carried a proud smile on his face as he said, “First of all, I would like to thank the club for investing in me. After the first Pro League, Rivervale decided to rebuild the team up from scratch, and they gave me a lot of authority. It can be said that without their support, there would not be the present me. Next, I would like to thank my teammate. Everyone put in a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to achieve the current results. Without our tacit cooperation, we would not have today’s glory.

“Next, I would like to thank Dynasty, Long Sky, and the other Chinese teams. Without their efforts in the previous two leagues, we would not have been able to obtain the honor of having three consecutive championships. This is the result of the hard work of all the Chinese teams. Everyone has won glory for the country.

“Lastly, I would like to thank the Black Star Army. Though a bit strange, if I were to be honest, I feel that the Black Star Army has played an irreplaceable role in the course of our championship titles. It might even be one of the main factors.”

The male host nodded. “There are indeed such sayings on the internet. Many people think that the achievements of China’s three consecutive championships is inseparable from the unique faction benefits offered, which means that there is a factor of luck involved. Do you feel the same?”

Frenzied Sword spoke in agreement. “I would think so. The players who have experienced four versions like me will understand. The Black Star Army started off small in its early stages. It was us who painstakingly built it up from scratch, which has brought us long-term gains. “Being able to join such a promising faction at the very beginning is part of our luck, and it does indeed provide a lot of convenience. There’s no need to deny this… Of course, the team’s contribution is also equally important. Those who wish to get work done must first sharpen their weapons. In this respect, our faction allowed us to develop well, and we used these resources to give a glorious answer sheet.”

Hao Tian added, “Frenzied Sword is right. The Black Star Army does have a part in the honor of our three consecutive championships.”

In Version 1.0, he was one of the ‘four pillars’ under Han Xiao, so he naturally agreed with Frenzied Sword.

To mention an NPC faction during a championship interview seemed a little weird, but most players in the Chinese teams would not feel that way. After four versions, the Black Star Army had given them a strong sense of belonging, making them feel like they were part of a larger family. Seeing that the topic had reached this point, the female host turned over her card as she said, “Speaking about the Black Star Army, just a few days ago, Black Star himself publicly stated that he would buy the Planet Milton and give it to the subsidiary Golden Alliance as their base. This has aroused a lot of conversation. What do you think of this?”

Hearing this, everyone turned to look at Maple Moon. She was, after all, the recognized plot digger among the professional players, and everyone felt that her answer would be more reliable.

Maple Moon thought for a bit before answering. “I feel that, although the behavior of our Army Commander was a little sudden, it’s not at all surprising if you think carefully about it. You have to remember that during the national war, there were quite a few NPC spaceships from the various organizations watching us on Planet Milton. With our existence in the universe, it is impossible for Black Star not to pay attention to our national war.

“While the NPCs do not know what we’re doing, they can also make basic judgments. From the perspective of the Army Commander… I think that while he might not understand why we are fighting, in his eyes, it is likely to be a conflict between us Immortals. He didn’t want to manage this, but because the Golden Alliance is under his command, and there were also teams that were subsidiaries of the Super Star Cluster Alliance, there was an environment of faction conflict.

“Therefore, when he saw his affiliated organizations defeating all the other enemies, he might have been pleased. Then when he saw us staying in the battlefield of Planet Milton and establishing a player Main City, he might have thought that we were reluctant to leave this place, so he generously decided to purchase it to reward his subordinates.”

After Maple Moon’s analysis, many of the viewers suddenly realized that the cause and effect were quite clear, and the screen immediately flooded with a barrage of comments.

“Indeed, a professional player good at digging out plots. This idea is actually pretty clear. I can understand it immediately.”

“What do we need to analyze anyways? All we need to do is scream ‘Army Commander, you’re impressive, awesome’!”

“Even when fighting a national war, our faction still gives us benefits. Only the Black Star Army have such good treatment, right? This is too good!”

The national war was a player’s spontaneous activity, so there was originally no reward. However, because of Black Star’s generosity, they now had something to celebrate.

Moreover, even if the guild alliances of the other factions won the national war, they probably would not get such benefits. Only the players of the Black Star Army would have such treatment. Was this not too fortunate?

The eyes of the guilds in the other factions were all green with envy. Seeing this, Han Xiao laughed in satisfaction. He liked this sort of player with an excellent brain who gave his army a sense of existence. The two hosts asked many questions, giving the players of the three teams much free room to talk. The interview ended in a happy atmosphere before entering the last link of the program, reviewing the course of this version and predicting the next version’s start point.

The male host slowly said, “Version 4.0, we’ve witnessed many historical events, such as the establishment of the Beyond Grade A Association, Black Star’s Godlike Battle, the Intelligent Plague outbreak, Black Star being awarded the Galaxy Medal and being hired as a special consultant by the three Universal Civilizations. There were also conflicts between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance, the Black Star Cup, and the participation of the Flickering World war… There were so many achievements…”

Many of the viewers were wrapped up in their memories, recalling the rich experiences from the past few years.

The hostess then added, “We’ve experienced a lot in Version 4.0. The opening of the World Server has given this version a special meaning, but the universe is still under turmoil. It’s difficult to predict what will happen in Version 5.0, so we can only make an educated guess based on existing intelligence.

“Right now, it’s the early stages of the Flickering World War. We don’t know how many years will pass between Version 4.0 and 5.0. In our opinion, the next version will likely be at the end of the war, letting us participate in the final decisive battle. It will likely be a time skip of more than ten years…”

Hearing the hypothesis of the Galaxy Times, Han Xiao shook his head. “They’re wrong this time.”

From the viewpoint of the players, the Flickering World War was akin to the Crimson Tide. They thought it would be a multi-version timeline, but they did not think that the Main Storyline of Version 5.0 would be the Calamity of the Supers. In the past, players were also involved in the conflict in such a confused manner.

But it was no wonder they would think this way. The players were currently not at a high level, so there was no way to obtain too many clues. There were also sudden factors involved in the Calamity of the Supers, which basically no one could predict.

Now that there was a butterfly effect at play, the trend for Version 5.0 would be even more confusing. Even Han Xiao himself could not accurately predict what would happen, let alone the players.

While thinking about it, Han Xiao flicked his finger across the edge of the desk, and the blue virtual screen popped out. He glanced at the date on the upper right corner before exhaling.

“Only twenty-seven days left before the game will undergo an update. Version 4.0 is ending…”

Chapter 1210: Oathkeeper Returns

Chapter 1210 Oathkeeper Returns

Nearly a month later, it was the day when the version would be updated. There was a sea of people in Black Star Palace’s lobby. Countless players gathered there, chatting in twos and threes as they waited to go offline.

Bun-Hit-Dog wandered through the crowd, turning on his recording function as he enthusiastically took pictures of the scene in the hall as an assistant followed him.

In Version 4.0, Bun-Hit-Dog’s business had made significant progress, becoming an important co-reporter of the club, so he founded a studio. He no longer single-handedly edited videos, instead recruiting some employees to be responsible for all aspects of affairs. The most important task was to help him collect material. These employees all have their own work accounts. Their IDs were prefixed with the studio’s name. This assistant beside him had the ID of ‘Bun-Hit-Dog: Little Wheat’. At first glance, he looked like a happy little fat man.

“Boss, why are we shooting in the base? Can this even be used as material?” Little Wheat was curious.

“Are you stupid? Who knows what the army will become in the next version? If there are changes in the future, all of this would become historical data. It’s completely possible to produce a nostalgic video!” Bun-Hit-Dog instructed.

“Boss, you really have foresight!” Little Wheat gave a thumbs up.

“Humph, your business opportunity level needs to be improved. Take a good look and study hard.” Bun-Hit-Dog grunted.

Not far from the two of them, a group of professional players formed a circle, having a discussion.

“I’m going to retire,” King Admiral said, which immediately drew everyone’s surprise.

Frenzied Sword had always treated King Admiral as his idol, and he replied in disbelief, “We’ve just won three consecutive championships. Why are you retiring?”

“That’s right. Right now, China is at its peak,” someone added.

“Haha, it’s precisely because we’ve won three consecutive championships that I can retire with peace of mind. I originally had this idea after getting champion the last version, but I stayed on because I wanted to achieve it again with Dynasty.” He thoughtfully waved his hand. “I’m not young anymore, and I can feel my performance beginning to decline. Now is the right time for me to retire. My application for retirement has also been handed over to the club’s superiors, and they respect my choice. In the future, it will be Second Prince who leads as the captain of Dynasty. I have to give others a chance.” Hearing this, everyone turned to Second Prince.

Second Prince had always wished to suppress King Admiral and steal his position of Captain. However, now that his wish was coming true, he surprisingly did not reveal any happiness. He was silent and depressed.

King Admiral glanced at him before smiling. “Didn’t you always want the Captain’s seat? Now you’ve got it, why are you not happy?”

Second Prince moved the corners of his mouth, showing a wretched smile. “Nonsense, I’m obviously very happy. I finally chased you away, haha.”

Everyone present shook their head. They could tell that Second Prince was being insincere. He was obviously sad and disappointed, but he was still stubborn to the very end.

Ever since entering the team, Second Prince had been competing with King Admiral on the field. While he liked to trash talk, he had always treated King Admiral as his best buddy in his heart. He had a competitive nature and hoped to surpass King Admiral, not to obtain the Captain’s position in this manner.

Upon thinking that he would never be able to fight with King Admiral side by side in the future, Second Prince felt an empty spot in his heart.

“Relax. Although I’m retiring, I’ll still be working in the club. I’ll likely take on the position of coach.” King Admiral patted Second Prince’s shoulder as he smiled. “As such… this means that I’m still above you. You don’t need to miss me.”

While he did not say it directly, the implied meaning was there.

A younger brother will always be one. You want to step over me? Dream on!

Second Prince changed his face faster than an opera face-changer did as he barked out, “Who’s missing you? Hurry and resign and get lost. You irritate me!”

Everyone immediately withdrew their gazes, unable to bear this ‘tsundere’ moment.

“Speaking of retiring, I also have similar thoughts.” Long Sky’s Sleepy Winter sighed. “I should be the oldest player here, and I have almost reached my limits. Now is the best time to retire, since we’ve already achieved something big. I feel that it’s time to allow the newcomers to step up. Isn’t Rivervale doing well as a newcomer superstar?”

“We’re only so-so. That’s right. Since we won this time, it’s our turn to treat everyone.” Frenzied Sword scratched his head in embarrassment.

The group of professional players were there to discuss their respective careers. Li Ge was secretly happy, wishing that all of his competitors would retire. He seemed to foresee the rise of his Temple of God.

Time passed slowly, but it did not take long to finally arrive at the time for the Version update. White lights flashed as the players went offline one after another. The hall of the base suddenly became desolate.

Version 4.0 update initiated.

Saving data… Saving completed!

Player forums closed. Update Duration: Unknown. Please wait patiently.

In his personal machinery factory, Han Xiao withdrew his gaze from the surveillance of the main hall of the base, calling up the interface to take a look.

“The players have gone offline.”

Han Xiao sighed, quickly adjusting his mentality. This time, it would take much longer for his farm to harvest, so he had to properly fertilize his land beforehand.

The fourth Pro League had brought him another wave of experience at the end of this version, but his reserves were still quite lacking. His current experience upgrade cost was too huge, such that it was crippling even with the massive amount of experience the Celestial Star Alliance storyline had given him. In this version update, Han Xiao decided to first focus on the God’s Trait Transformation

– Machinery, raising it to the max before moving onto his Void Branch.

The God’s Trait Transformation had changed on the tenth layer, adding prerequisite missions. The Mission Completion Card was tested to be effective, so Han Xiao planned to do more missions with random rewards during the Version update to obtain more Mission Completion Cards. This could save him a lot of God’s Trait Transformation points.

The main source of God’s Trait Transformation points was in creating Gold Grade equipment from blueprints. There were many Gold grade blueprints in the inheritance left by Jayz, which was a large source of points for himself. Han Xiao decided to first study that technological information.

With this technical inheritance, there was no longer a need to go to the three Universal Civilizations to acquire blueprints, and there was no need to perform missions for Contribution Points. This saved a lot of time and energy, also allowing the three Universal Civilizations to misjudge his technical background, thinking that he did not have many Gold-grade blueprints. This was killing many birds with a stone.

“In the next few decades, there’ll be another batch of new Beyond Grade As. I wonder how many of those under me will be promoted…”

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

In his eyes, the officers who had a chance of promotion would be Aurora, Feidin, Hadavy, Jotina, Lothaire, and Lagi.

Among them, Aurora had no bottleneck to speak of. It was just that her normal development was slow. However, with the Holy Light Seed as a leek field, it would greatly accelerate her development process. For Feidin and Lothaire, they were just that talented, with the possibility of a breakthrough. As for Hadavy, Jotina, and Lagi, they all had deep accumulations, which granted them a chance to grow further.

Evans’ training career was still too short, and a few decades would not be enough for him to grow. The ‘New EsGod Cultivation Program’ would take some time.

As for Karlot, he belonged to the late bloomer type, and this timing was far from the peak of his previous life. However, because of Han Xiao’s own influence, his maturity might have some changes.

“It’s still more reliable to focus on cultivating Aurora, allowing her to reach Beyond Grade A so that the spirit of Germinal will resurface in

US…”

Han Xiao sneered in his mind.

Within a certain base of the Holy Accord, a secret hall had been redesigned as a huge laboratory. In the center of the room was a circular mechanical base with a diameter of about fifty meters. It was covered in complex patterns, energy transmission pipes, and magic circuits. At first glance, it looked like some sort of ceremonial venue.

In its surroundings, many members of the Holy Accord Organization wearing white lab coats were intensively debugging the various instruments. Law and Fay were present to supervise.

“How much longer till the agreed period?”

“There are three minutes left to enter the preset time range. The receiving device has been warmed up and can be activated at any time.”

“The Information Form stabilizer has also been set up. All procedures are ready.” Looking at the time, Law had a solemn expression, his palms full of sweat.

It was the day of appointment confirmed by Destiny’s Child. According to the information passed down by the organization, the flow of spacetime within the Sanctums was special, only briefly coinciding with the main universe at random points. If the time node was missed, it would take a long time. The layout of the current venue was just to allow Oathkeeper to return, and everyone present was testing this out for the first time, not knowing how effective it would be.

Everyone’s spirits were taut as the time ticked by every minute. It finally arrived at the determined time node.

“Begin!” Law immediately shouted.

The next moment, all the instruments were activated in sequence. The circular mechanical base in the center of the room came to life, and the energy loops on its surface lit up in sequence from bottom to top.

Ohm!

A loud noise sounded in the room, as the space above the pedestal produced a distortion visible to the naked eye. This continued on for more than ten seconds before a gate of light appeared in the sky, spitting out a figure before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Everyone hurriedly looked up, their faces overjoyed. On the ground was Oathkeeper, who had been missing for many days.

Law and Fay rushed up to help Oathkeeper, only to see him in a daze, as though he had just woken up.

“Leader, you’re finally back. How do you feel?”

Oathkeeper looked at the two with a dazed expression, only remembering his identity after a while. His eyes gradually focused, and he slowly recovered, covering his forehead as he mumbled, “It feels like I’ve had a long dream. There’s a strong sense of illusion within the Sanctums, just like being in a dream. I’ve discovered many amazing secrets, but only a small part of the fragmented information remains in my memory. Let me sort it out…”

He clutched his forehead as he struggled to recall what he had seen in the Sanctums. He vaguely remembered the shock that permeated his soul, but the relevant memory had faded quickly, leaving only fragments in his mind.

After a long period of time, Oathkeeper gradually restored the information he obtained, and a look of horror flashed across his face.

Fay noticed the shocked emotions on Oathkeeper’s face and asked, “Have you recalled something?”

“… No, I cannot.”

Oathkeeper took a deep breath, suppressing his turbulent emotions.

The Great Reboot, Universe Iterations, the function of the Sanctums… all of this information flashed through his brain. All of this knowledge subverted his worldview, and he intended to keep it a secret, not prepared to share any of the information he discovered in the Sanctums.

Throughout the universe, I should be the only one who has obtained this information at the moment. Its value is immeasurable, akin to the advantage of prophecy. The future course has to be drastically altered…

This thought flashed past his mind.

At this moment, Law surveyed the surroundings, and not seeing anyone else, he asked, “Leader, did our plan succeed? Have you resurrected them?”

Hearing this, Oathkeeper seemed to recall something. Turning his hand, he discovered a peculiar golden imprint on the back of his hand. In his remaining memories, this was a one-time use Sanctum imprint, which would allow him to resuscitate the historical Beyond Grade As using the Sanctum as a medium. “It should have succeeded…” Oathkeeper paused, surveying his surroundings before raising his tone. “Empty the venue immediately and follow me to welcome the return of the Primordial Ones!”

Chapter 1211: Revived Primordial Ones

1211 Revived Primordial Ones Because of certain considerations, Oathkeeper did not choose to activate the Sanctum Resurrection Brand in his base but moved to a certain unmanned planet in the desolate universe belt, bringing along a group with him.

Several Holy Accord spaceships were suspended in the planet’s orbit. Law and Fay were heading a group of technicians to manipulate various detection instruments. The monitor was aimed at the surface of the planet, showing Oathkeeper standing in the center of the picture.

Amid the sandy yellow desert, Oathkeeper glanced at the Sanctum Resurrection Brand on the back of his hand as he took out a palm-sized, disc-shaped device with the other.

The fragmented memories in his mind showed that this brand was more like fuel. In order to activate its function, he needed to prepare a switch, a device capable of converting Information Forms. If there was no technology in the area, then this brand would only be ornamental.

This disc in his hand was part of the Holy Accord’s Esper Ability technology. Researchers had developed an information state disturbance device through analysis and research on Destiny’s Child. This was not black technology but rather a by-product that was accidentally made. It was just a coincidence that it could act as a switch for the Sanctum resurrection.

Oathkeeper pressed the button, and the disc began to buzz. The next moment, as though hot oil was being poured on cold water, a fierce reaction took place.

The Sanctum brand suddenly shone, separating from the back of Oathkeeper’s hand before turning into a dazzling ball of white light, quickly expanding to cover a large area in front of Oathkeeper.

The surrounding energy fluctuations spiked, and Oathkeeper subconsciously took two steps back. At this time, the technician in the spaceship exclaimed in the communication channel.

“The reading of the information state disturbance has broken through all historical records! Oh my god, it’s still skyrocketing!”

“An abnormal phenomenon has been detected, being matched to relevant records in the database… Suspected to be an [Information Form Projection] or [Reality Distortion]!”

“Warning! Time and space coefficients in this area are rapidly declining in stability. There is a cosmic energy surge, but there seems to be some kind of force to constrain the fluctuations here without spreading!”

Oathkeeper was vigilantly staring at the light cluster in front of him, his body tense and prepared for a quick response.

After a period of time, the light clusters transformed from the Sanctum Resurrection brand split and turned into luminous individuals with different shapes. At the same time, the light slowly faded, and the individuals turned from virtual to real, forming many different biological entities.

Seeing this, the noisy communication channel suddenly ground to a halt.

Including Oathkeeper, every member of the Holy Accord held their breath, their eyes filled with incredible and ecstatic looks.

Those people were exactly the characters that were recorded in their minds.

Each of them was actually one of the Primordial Ones, with known names and identities!

“Success!”

Law and Fay were overjoyed, while the technicians embraced and cheered each other.

Many of them were the descendants of the Primordial Ones, so seeing that their ancestors had been revived, how could they not be happy?

At this moment, these Revivors recovered their wits, surveying their surroundings.

“Where are we?”

“Why am I here? Shouldn’t I be at war?”

“Eh, aren’t you already dead? I was the one who even scattered your ashes. Don’t tell me you faked your death…”

After clearly seeing the people around them, some of whom were even opponents who had faced each other on the battlefield, many of the Primordial Ones rushed to distance themselves, vigilant and confused.

The Beyond Grade As that were resurrected in the Sanctum only retained the memories of their past, at the final moments of their deaths. To them, it was as though they had woken up after a sleep, and they hardly felt the passing of time.

At this time, Oathkeeper walked over, immediately attracting the attention of everyone. Many of the Primordial Ones were shocked, only now realizing that there was one more person at the scene.

They all watched as Oathkeeper slowly lowered his hood, revealing his face as he spoke in a tone full of complex emotions.

“I have accomplished the original Oath. Congratulations on your rebirth.”

After seeing his appearance clearly, the many Primordial Ones were stunned. They all recognized Oathkeeper.

“It’s actually you!”

“Our original idea actually came true‽”

“We have been resurrected?”

Everyone was stunned. Shock, ecstasy, and disbelief covered their faces.

The objects to be resurrected by the Sanctum required a corresponding medium. Thus, the people chosen in the first batch by Oathkeeper were all the original founders of the Holy Accord, which were only a portion of the Primordial Ones.

These people served different civilizations during the exploration era, thus engaging in endless killing because of their factions. However, they formed secret associations in private, striving for a common goal.

But as the exploration era war continued, the Primordial Ones died one after another, reducing the number of members in the Holy Accord. The Holy Accord Organization at the end of the exploration era thus became almost an organization in name, left without hope, but never did anyone think that their originally envisaged road would finally come true!

“What did you do‽”

Everyone was curious, coming up to ask.

“During that time…” Oathkeeper slowly let out a breath, recounting his experiences in the years after.

At the time when only he remained in the Holy Accord Organization after the exploration era, he took a low-key approach, no longer participating in any events, only devoting himself to the development of the organization, gradually restoring the dying Holy Accord. The vitality had grown to the scale it is today, and they had always regarded the original Oath taken as the purpose of the organization.

While Oathkeeper casually spoke, everyone could understand the difficulty involved. This operation had gone against the currents and saved them all.

This spirit of living up to one’s words really deserved to be praised.

For a while, most of the people in the field were moved, patting Oathkeeper on the shoulder again and again with gratitude.

“Good work. Thank you.”

“It was nothing. I was just abiding by the original Oath.” Oathkeeper waved his hands, donning his hood once again.

“How did you revive us though? Is it really the effect of the Sanctums?”

“Not really. Luck took up a majority of it, and this method may also only work once…” Oathkeeper narrowed his eyes and spoke, not revealing the true mechanism of the Sanctums.

Everyone had some doubts about this statement, but their level of suspicion was not high. After all, they were still impressed by Oathkeeper.

The most important thing was that there was no way they could identify it, as only Oathkeeper had been to the Sanctums, so no one could not refute this.

After a while, the emotions of most of the Primordial Ones had calmed down. Various questions rose up in their minds.

“What year is it now? What happened to the exploration era war?” someone asked.

Oathkeeper sighed.

“The exploration era war has long ended. The Federation of Light, the Crimson Dynasty, and Arcane Church are now the hegemons of the universe. You’ve lost touch with the times and need to catch up on information.”

Hearing this, everyone nodded, feeling an itch in their hearts, as though they could not wait to understand the modern universe.

At this moment, a tall figure who had always been standing quietly by the side suddenly spoke.

“Does my civilization still exist?”

Everyone turned over and their expressions changed. They recognized this person, the [King of War] Pangon Filet, a well-known war addict.

Following this question, everyone became aware of some thorny problems. Their original excitement turned stale as the atmosphere became more tense.

Their primary goal was to revive themselves in the future, but everyone’s goal of resurrection was not the same. Some just wished to escape the war, while some wanted to achieve their ambitions. Others wished to live forever.

There were some people whose civilizations were destroyed in the exploration era. Would they want revenge? Some people belonged to the current advanced civilizations in the universe today. Would you then return? These were all issues left over from history.

When the common goal of resurrection was achieved, people would then lose the basis of their unity, destined to part ways.

After understanding this, everyone’s position slowly changed, shifting into various factions as they guarded against each other.

Oathkeeper was not surprised at all. He had long anticipated this and did not try to force it. He just replied indifferently.

“As for the situation of the various civilizations, you can check the information for yourselves when the time comes. Anyway, I only brought all of you back to life to keep my Oath. I don’t care what you do, and I will not retaliate either, so long as you don’t betray the Accord… It’s just that you all still lack understanding of the current era. I recommend that you stay with me for now and learn about the situation.”

“Will do.” Pangon nodded.

Seeing this, no one voiced any disagreement. No matter what their relationship would become, at least, everyone right now was a founder of the Holy Accord, with many descendants in the organization.

Furthermore, they had just resurrected and were no doubt weak. It seemed like their strength had declined, so they restrained themselves at this moment, unwilling to cause trouble.

One of the Primordial Ones addressed Oathkeeper. “What about you? Since you’ve revived us, what do you intend to do in the future?”

“The Holy Accord is the result of my efforts. I’ll continue to develop it. If there’s anyone that is willing to stay and help, that would be good, but I will not force you… Right now, our advantage lies in the fact that we’re hidden. None of the Universal Civilizations have any data on us. As long as we don’t reveal ourselves, it’s easy to live in freedom, without the control of any faction,” Oathkeeper calmly replied.

“Other than us, there’s no one that knows of our resurrection?” Another asked.

Oathkeeper was about to reply when a figure flashed past in his mind.

His expression changed, and he hesitated a while before answering dully. “No, there’s someone who knows.”

Everyone was shocked.

“Who is it‽”

Oathkeeper helplessly answered, “His nickname is Black Star, a Beyond Grade A. He’s only been around for a few decades, but his power and influence are top notch in this era. I’m not sure where he heard of my goals. Maybe the organization has a traitor.”

“It’s a newcomer.”

Most of the Primordial Ones had never heard of Han Xiao’s name and did not pay too much attention. As the first batch of characters to be promoted to Beyond Grade A, they were naturally arrogant.

Oathkeeper explained, “However, Black Star has no malicious thoughts, and I even made a few deals with him. He could be considered our ally at the moment, and he has also provided help for us to complete the resurrection.”

“So, I guess we owe him one. It seems like this little kid’s pretty good.” Everyone nodded.

While they had never met, this younger generation named Black Star was technically their savior, so they had some positive feelings for him.

“… Thus, I plan to explain the resurrection to Black Star and seek his help. Right now, among the Beyond Grade A, there are few people who have the same influence as him. Since he’s friendly toward us, the resources in his hands can also provide a lot of help to us.”

Oathkeeper explained as he schemed in his heart.

He had already concealed the mechanism behind the Sanctums, and now he had a new idea, which was to use this method to recover more Beyond Grade As, thoroughly mastering this channel. He could see the significance of this to the Beyond Grade As.

He could use the cooperation with Black Star on the premise of occupying the advantage of intelligence. While it was put as cooperation, in Oathkeeper’s eyes, he was just using Black Star’s resources. After all, Black Star did not understand the importance of the Sanctums. Therefore, he could fool the other party into thinking it was a one-off thing.

Before entering the Sanctums himself, Black Star would always be hidden from the truth.

Oathkeeper estimated that this method could fool Black Star for a long time. The Holy Accord had prepared for many years before entering the Sanctum, so in his opinion, even if Black Star was powerful, it was not a place that one could casually enter.

He had agreed to tell Black Star about the news of the Sanctums, but that was limited to the information his organization had previously, not about his own experience in the Sanctums. Oathkeeper did not intend to violate the transaction, but he did not mind telling Black Star half-truths either.

He did not have any negativity toward Han Xiao, but he had always been on the passive side due to the ‘traitor’. He did not know how much intelligence Han Xiao had obtained, which made him depressed.

Right now, he finally got some exclusive information of inestimable value, so naturally, he chose to conceal it.

The resurrection plan has succeeded. It’s time to talk to Black Star. I have to hold him so he would divulge the news…

A light flashed through Oathkeeper’s eyes.

Chapter 1212: Oathkeeper: I“m Stunned!

1212 Oathkeeper: I“m Stunned! _____________________

The mission [Return to the Historic Stage] has been completed!

You have received 1 Legendary Point.

Legendary Point: [The Awakener of the Primordial Ones]—Because of the activities organized by the Holy Accord, a group of Primordial Ones have been resurrected from death. You secretly helped with this, and you are one of the leaders behind the return of the Primordial Ones. Your behavior is likely to have a profound impact on the entire universe.

+25 Beiger Kellarmir Favorability

+25 Tripp Sunstrider Favorability

…

+25 Pangon Filet Favorability

_____________________

In his personal machinery factory, Han Xiao, who was buried in research, suddenly received a huge information dump from his interface, causing his expression to light up.

“The mission has been completed. Does it mean that Oathkeeper has succeeded?”

At this time, it was only a few hours after the players had gone offline. Han Xiao did not expect to obtain such good news right off the bat.

Oathkeeper had finally shown a response after losing contact in the Sanctums.

The mission reward for [Return to the Historic Stage] included one Legendary Point and twenty-five points of Favorability for all the resurrected Beyond Grade As.

Looking through the list, Han Xiao discovered the names of all these people were astonishing, easily identifiable through the internet.

“People such as [King of War] Pangon, [Mage God] Beiger, [All-Knowing One] Tripp… all of them are famous Primordial Ones.”

As the first batch of people to achieve Beyond Grade A, the characteristic was that their nicknames were relatively fierce compared to his generation, who had been deprived of many of the good nicknames.

Han Xiao discovered another advantage to having this mission reward statement, which meant that he immediately knew who was resurrected.

A portion of them were exactly those that had appeared during the Calamity of the Supers, which meant that the Holy Accord had played a part at that time.

Han Xiao counted the names and suddenly scratched his head as he mumbled, “The numbers don’t seem to tally…”

He remembered that the past number of resurrected Beyond Grade As was far higher than the current number.

At present, the notifications he received about Favorability were all from Primordial Ones. In the previous World Tree War Version, the Holy Accord not only brought over resurrected Primordial Ones but also others from history.

What was the reason for the fewer number of people resurrected…

Han Xiao suddenly had a thought.

Jayz had revealed the mechanism of the Sanctum Revivals last time. With this important information, he finally understood why the trajectory behind the movements of the Holy Accord in his previous life.

The Holy Accord had revived a group of Primordial Ones before Version 5.0, but some of them should have had differences, so they parted ways and ran out to induce the Calamity of the Supers. However, they did not reveal the secret of the Holy Accord. The remaining Primordial Ones continued to linger inside the organization, under Oathkeeper’s leadership. It was likely that Oathkeeper discovered the secret behind the Sanctums, so he wished to grasp the lifeline of the Beyond Grade As and developed in secret.

During this period, the Holy Accord must have obtained news results, allowing them to revive more Beyond Grade As and used some method to persuade the rest to join in this plan, so the total number of resurrected this time was not the same as his previous life.

The Holy Accord thus developed silently like this until the World Tree version. It was only because they would be affected if the Universal Civilizations were destroyed that they exposed themselves and took part in the war, which shocked the explored universe.

“Oh, then it makes sense…”

In this manner, the nature of the Holy Accord in his previous life was similar to that of the Beyond Grade A Association today, with similar goals in preparing for the futures of the Beyond Grade As.

“I estimate that this should be the storyline in my previous life…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

While it was just a guess, it felt that he was not far from the truth.

Oathkeeper already knew of the true mechanism behind the Sanctum Revivals, so he and Kasuyi were no longer the only insiders. The plan he had set might have to undergo some changes, reaching a deeper level of cooperation with the Holy Accord.

Among them, the attitude of Oathkeeper was important. Han Xiao had limited knowledge of him and thus did not know how he operated.

Right at this moment, Han Xiao’s vision was filled with black flames, and it condensed into a familiar figure.

Speak of the devil, I was still wondering when he would come knocking, but I didn’t expect him to be so quick… Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Very quickly, Oathkeeper’s mental projection took shape, nodding at Han Xiao.

“We meet again, Black Star. I’ve returned from the Sanctum.”

“It seems like you are planning to fulfill our deal today.” Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he deliberately pretended, “Has the Sanctum Revival succeeded?”

Right now, he did not know how much intelligence Oathkeeper had gotten, so he did not wish to show off immediately. He planned to probe Oathkeeper with his words to see the knowledge of the other party.

“It has succeeded and was pretty smooth.” Oathkeeper nodded.

“Oh, I didn’t expect this idea to actually work. How many were revived?” Han Xiao put on an interested expression.

“Dozens,” Oathkeeper replied in a clipped tone. It was obvious he did not wish to reveal this intelligence to Han Xiao.

“Oh, the number is decent.” Han Xiao was naturally aware of the figures, so he did not feel curious when Oathkeeper did not want to mention it. He then changed the subject. “What’s it like in the Sanctum?”

Oathkeeper pondered for a while before replying in an uncertain tone.

“It seems like being in a dream, with foggy consciousness. I felt like I experienced many things, but it seemed at the same time only a moment had passed. The only clear impression I had was that I was within a boundless world with countless light clusters floating in my range of sight. Most of them would avoid me, as if there is some repulsive force in my body, but I can see different images within each light cluster…”

Hearing this, Han Xiao stroked his chin in deep thought.

Based on what Jayz mentioned, the light clusters could very well be Information Form entities that contained different contents. A light cluster could represent a civilization or a Beyond Grade A or even a period of history. Nothing was set in stone.

“Is there danger inside?”

“I doubt so…” Oathkeeper hesitated.

Han Xiao remained silent for a few more seconds before smiling. “Let’s talk about the resurrection method for the Beyond Grade As of the Sanctum first. We agreed in the beginning that you would reveal all related information the moment the plan is completed. You won’t go back on your words, right?”

“Of course not, our understanding of the Sanctums is like this…”

Oathkeeper inwardly exclaimed that his chance was finally here.

Based on his plan, he recounted the relevant information previously accumulated by the Holy Accord, but he did not correct his erroneous guesses and concealed the reproducibility of the Sanctum Revival, deliberately describing it as a one-off method.

His explanation was also very simple, deliberately distorting the concept that the resurrection was due to a projection of the Information Form, instead describing it as a ‘cutting out’ of the target information from the Sanctums, thus making it disappear. This categorized the Sanctum Revival as a one-time function.

Oathkeeper did not even disclose the source and purpose behind the Sanctums, leaving out information on the Universe Iteration and the Great Reboot, intending to make Han Xiao mistakenly believe that the Sanctums could only perform resurrections.

Oathkeeper babbled a lot of nonsense, which was totally different from what Jayz said. Han Xiao felt that something was wrong when he heard only half of it.

Their versions were totally different, so one of them had to be wrong. According to the situation of the Celestial Star Alliance and Jayz motives, the latter was more credible than Oathkeeper.

Thus, did Oathkeeper make a mistake himself, or was he lying?

Considering the behavior of the Holy Accord in his previous life, he was likely a scammer!

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, giving off a playful vibe.

He did not immediately refute but waited till Oathkeeper had finished speaking before he sighed and changed the conversation. “I’m curious, you just said that the existence of the Sanctum was related to the Information Form and that recovery is done through it. Does that mean that the Sanctums have recorded all Beyond Grade A information?”

“It should be the case…” Oathkeeper cautiously answered.

“Then I’m really confused. Why would the Sanctums store Beyond Grade A information?”

“Oh, I’m confused about that too.” Oathkeeper tried his best to control his tone.

Han Xiao pretended to think and frowned. “I feel that the Sanctum does not appear to be a natural phenomenon but likely a product of someone or some civilization. Its role should not remain at just resurrection Beyond Grade As… What do you think?”

“I don’t know about this either. This shouldn’t be made by a civilization. The three Universal Civilizations should not have such capabilities, and it would be even weirder if it was in the civilizations before. It should be some sort of Space Wonder…” Oathkeeper had no choice but to follow the conversation, secretly only inducing but not refuting directly lest he revealed flaws.

Hearing this, Han Xiao stroked his chin, pretending to seriously analyze the issue. He slowly said, “Let’s assume the Sanctum is a Space Wonder in the Information Form, with the function of recording the information of the Beyond Grade As… Then, when those Beyond Grade As are resurrected, will the information be refreshed? If that’s the case, while you might have clipped out the original record in the Sanctum, a new and updated copy would be placed within the Sanctums, so you still can clip off another copy when you next enter, right?”

“This…”

Oathkeeper was struck dumb. This analysis was justifiable, not allowing him to be able to explain.

If he objected, there was no basis since he had only been to the Sanctums once. This Black Star was truly a cunning fox and would immediately suspect him.

But if he did not object, he would make Black Star feel as though the Sanctum Revivals could be repeated indefinitely, which would run counter to his own intentions.

This annoying man was too difficult to fool!

After thinking about it for a while, Oathkeeper could not come out with a rebuttal, so he could only reply in the depressed tone. “I did not think that far.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and spoke in a teasing tone. “So, you were lying to me just now. It seems like I need to re-evaluate our agreement.”

“Cough, cough, I really did not think of this possibility. How could I be lying to you?” Oathkeeper hurriedly defended himself.

“Hehe.” Han Xiao let out two mirthless laughs, putting his hands behind his back and walking around Oathkeeper before saying, “If I’m correct, those resurrected Primordial Ones have experienced a drop in strength and have also lost a few of their abilities, right?”

“That’s right, they… wait! How did you know‽”

Oathkeeper widened his eyes.

Only a few of these Beyond Grade As had discussed this in private, and those Primordial Ones would not have had contact with Black Star. In just dozens of minutes, how did Black Star learn about this?

“I know more than you think.” Han Xiao leisurely strolled as he continued. “I’m not sure if you have heard the terms ‘The Great Reboot’ and ‘Iteration’?”

Oathkeeper paled in horror, taking back two steps abruptly as he stared at Han Xiao in disbelief.

“How do you know of such things‽”

His entire being was dumbfounded, his mentality torn to shreds. He lost control of his ability for a moment, and the remote projection fluctuated violently as if he was about to disintegrate at any time.

Oathkeeper was once again mind blown!

Only he had entered the Sanctum this time, so there was no possibility of a traitor. How did Black Star know of all this?

Who betrayed me, or who did I betray?

Could it be that Black Star has placed eyes on me, allowing him to observe everything that I do‽

In that case… did I really betray myself‽

In his shock, Oathkeeper lost his wits and shuddered. Han Xiao’s image in his mind became even more mysterious and unpredictable, making him extremely awed.

How much did this fellow actually know? He even helped to analyze my bullsh*t just now. Turns out, he was just laughing at me!

As he admired Oathkeeper’s distraught look, Han Xiao dealt the finishing blow.

“I paid out in good faith, and I hoped that you would treat me honestly, but it seems like you don’t really treasure my friendship at all.”

He was actually unsure how much information Oathkeeper had, but he felt that everyone who entered the Sanctum would obtain the basic concept of the Iterations. This was just Han Xiao scamming him, but it had a miraculous effect in scaring the guy out of his mind and soul.

This is good. In this manner, the initiative is firmly held in my hands.

Han Xiao maintained his posture of being almighty, looking down at Oathkeeper.

“Why, you think I don’t know what you’re thinking? You intend to monopolize all the exclusive intelligence, so as to fleece me into giving you resources to aid your growth, right?”

Oathkeeper was shaken.

All his schemes were seen through by Black Star. At this moment, he felt as though he was naked in front of him, his secrets laid bare.

He had guessed the possibility of failing to scam Black Star, but he had never expected that Black Star would break him in this manner, directly smashing out all his hidden secrets and shattering all his lies.

At this moment, Oathkeeper stood there in a daze, only thinking of finding a hole and burying himself within.

Chapter 1213: Intention to Cooperate

1213 Intention to Cooperate “How did you…”

Oathkeeper was filled with question marks, finding it difficult to control the stormy waves of emotions.

He had not even gotten familiar with all the top-secret intelligence, and he had already heard it from a second person. It was just as though he had chatted with a random girl on a dating site last night, and his girlfriend called him the next hour to lash out at him.

Without any warning, his privacy was intruded, and this feeling gave him goosebumps.

Han Xiao held out his palm, interrupting his words. “I said before, I have my own sources. You only need to remember two things. First, I have far more intelligence than you. Second, our goals are roughly the same. As for the details… you don’t need to ask so much.”

Oathkeeper shut his mouth, his brain whirring as he tried to guess Han Xiao’s intelligence source.

Under the sudden mental impact, he had temporarily lost his senses. He had almost thought that the problem lay with himself, but after recovering his senses, his reasoning told him that this possibility was slim, and it was likely because of other reasons.

The Great Reboot and Iterations were top-secret information, only known to those who had been in contact with the Sanctums. The only more plausible reason he could come up with was that Black Star had interacted with the Sanctum under certain circumstances and thus had learned of this intelligence by chance.

Beyond Grade A Supers had a very low probability of coming into contact with the information generated by the Sanctums, thus obtaining random revelations. The earliest information about the Sanctums in the Holy Accord was obtained in this manner as well, which was the basis for the establishment of said organization.

But when Oathkeeper thought of the previous exchanges he had with Han Xiao, he felt that things might not be that simple. Black Star must have had some means that outsiders were not aware of.

He could not think of an explanation that could convince himself, so he felt that Han Xiao was veiled in mystery.

At this moment, Han Xiao put his hands behind his back, putting on a profound image. “Your little thoughts can’t be hidden from me. I don’t like others trying to fool me, and I hope this is the last time, otherwise… Since we’ve all laid our cards down, I think we can be more honest with each other.”

Oathkeeper could only reluctantly push down his inner turmoil and carefully ask, “How do you plan to go about it?”

“Firstly, I hope that you will tell me the actual intelligence. This is the basis for our mutual trust.” Han Xiao raised his eyebrows.

Hearing this, Oathkeeper struggled for a few seconds before speaking truthfully on the intelligence without tampering.

He knew that he had already lost the initiative. Black Star had likely acquired the most important secret, so it did not matter if he revealed it. He did not dare play tricks anymore.

Han Xiao patiently listened and smiled. “You know how to admit your wrongs. Not bad.”

This time, Oathkeeper’s recount was the same as Jayz, obediently telling him the true mechanism of the Sanctum.

Having finished speaking, Oathkeeper paused for a while before saying, “I’ve told you all that I know. Now that you know the true situation of the Sanctum Revival, you should also know what this means for the Beyond Grade As. You will not try to monopolize it, right?”

Han Xiao did not directly answer but changed the topic to ask, “Do you think that the Sanctum will be monopolized by anyone?”

“What do you mean?” Oathkeeper could not understand Han Xiao’s sudden question.

Han Xiao took two steps as he slowly explained, “Let’s put it this way. The existence of the Sanctum is independent and should not be controlled by anyone, just like a public library… Since we can borrow the functions of the Sanctum as such, others will definitely be able to. Have you ever thought about what will happen when the advanced civilizations like the three Universal Civilizations master a stable method of Sanctum Revival?”

Oathkeeper thought about it before speaking uncertainly. “They will continuously resurrect their direct lines, maintaining the scale of their high-level combat power and using this as a bargaining chip to recruit allies.”

“That’s right, and in the long run, this is inevitable. What will happen is that once the advanced civilizations master the method to enter the Sanctum, they will begin a period of rapid development, widening the gap between the strength of a civilization and the free Beyond Grade As. By that time, the Beyond Grade As will come to a forked path in their destinies.”

Han Xiao looked at the pondering Oathkeeper.

“Imagine, if there was no Beyond Grade A Association, no Holy Accord, no stable Beyond Grade A group that can stably perform Sanctum Revivals. The Beyond Grade As will be forced to sell themselves to a civilization. Those who choose to be free will not be revived by the civilizations, while those who are disobedient will be eradicated. In this manner, there will only be the obedient Beyond Grade As left in the universe, quietly being dogs for the advanced civilizations. They will forever be trapped in faction disputes, having to kill each other with no choice…”

He explained the situation of the Celestial Star Alliance in a hypothetical manner. The more Oathkeeper listened, the more frightened he became, realizing that the situation Han Xiao spoke of could likely happen.

“That’s right. This possibility has to be guarded against. I did not expect you to see that far. You indeed have foresight!”

Oathkeeper let out a gasp of amazement.

That’s not the case. You thought I was predicting, but I’m actually spoiling it for you!

Han Xiao secretly grinned, but he revealed a solemn expression on the surface as he heavily spoke again. “In order to prevent such a future, we have to let the Beyond Grade A Association master the method of stably reviving all the Beyond Grade As, so I said we have a common goal. This is for the entire class; every Beyond Grade A is a beneficiary, and no one can monopolize this.”

His words went straight to Oathkeeper’s heart, which coincided with his thoughts. A burst of heroism rose from his heart as he recognized Han Xiao as someone similar to him.

“So, you’re proposing to cooperate in this manner?” Oathkeeper’s eyes lit up.

Han Xiao nodded.

“We’ll do it this way. You are in control of the Holy Accord, while I’m in control… well, about to control the Beyond Grade A Association. We’ll unite a part of the Beyond Grade As together and produce different resources. As long as we become strategic partners, we can work together to complete this important task sooner, allowing the Beyond Grade As to completely unite to rewrite their fate.”

Oathkeeper helplessly shook his head. “Actually, I have no choice. You’re the second insider, so we can only cooperate… but who is going to control the channel, the Holy Accord or the Beyond Grade A Association?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao laughed.

“Naturally, both of us will control the channel. The Beyond Grade A Association will be the main force on the surface, striving for the recognition of the advanced civilizations, while the Holy Accord will take in those Beyond Grade As who wish to stay hidden as secret insurance. After all, the advanced civilizations will not easily accept the fact that the Beyond Grade As can constantly revive themselves. They are likely to do something to the Association, so it’s best to hide a portion of Beyond Grade A strength under the surface and prevent them from seeing our full strength.”

If possible, Han Xiao would have wished to have the Association monopolize the Sanctum Revival, but now that Oathkeeper was an insider, he could only form a partnership with him instead of doing things separately. There was not much conflict of interest, and their goals aligned.

Furthermore, it was not a bad thing to allow the Holy Accord to stay hidden. Both sides could form a mode of complementary and mutual assistance. Beyond Grade A could go to the Holy Accord if they wished to stay hidden, whereas if they wanted a place in the universe, they could proceed to the Beyond Grade A Association. They could switch at will, just like staying at the office or going out to the field.

Oathkeeper nodded in acceptance.

Seeing this, Han Xiao made his tone a little more serious. “We’d better finish this business before the advanced civilizations come in contact with the Sanctums. Do not reveal the truth of the Sanctum Revival to anyone. Only the two of us should know.”

Kasuyi was also in the know, but Han Xiao would naturally not reveal this detail, or else it would reveal too much about his process. He would rather leave the mysterious impression of himself on Oathkeeper.

“Oh, I naturally will not reveal anything.” Oathkeeper knew of the importance behind this matter and solemnly nodded.

The two of them discussed specific cooperation projects for a while, reaching a united direction.

Oathkeeper also divulged his method of entering the Sanctums, claiming that the method used for all six Sanctums were different. The Holy Accord only knew of the method to enter the Third Sanctum, which consumed Primal Esper Ability Entities as keys to enter and would need to recollect them from scratch.

As for the ideation behind the method, Oathkeeper said that it was a vague revelation obtained by some of the Beyond Grade A members during the exploration era, while the rest was derived from Destiny’s Child. He mentioned how Destiny’s Child was special and might reveal the keys behind each Sanctum. However, the possibility was very low and completely random.

Han Xiao was more interested in the First Sanctum, but at present, entering the Third Sanctum would be the faster route. The Holy Accord had prior experience, and with its resources, it would greatly shorten the time needed for Han Xiao to gather the keys again.

However, if one wished to resurrect more Beyond Grade As, then they would need to collect related information, and the descendants of the Beyond Grade As were the easiest targets.

“That’s right. Since we’ve decided to cooperate, I hope to meet with the revived Primordial Ones.”

“Why do you need to see them?” Oathkeeper subconsciously replied. He still did not completely trust Han Xiao.

Han Xiao smiled. “I remember you told me that you cannot force the revived Primordial Ones. There should be many of them who wish to occupy a place in the universe and re-develop their own organization. In this case, the Beyond Grade A Association is the best backer for them. I hope to get in touch with them and convince them to support me after joining the association.”

The first batch of Primordial Ones definitely had their own goals. Being previous Beyond Grade As who could call on the winds and rains, forcing them to remain anonymous was basically impossible. Some of them would do things in the universe like what happened in his previous life, shocking the galactic society and becoming the fuse of the Calamity of the Supers.

With the Beyond Grade A Association now, Han Xiao felt that he could absorb some of them to strengthen his own faction.

With the association intervening, the situation of the Calamity of the Supers could also be greatly changed… Han Xiao thought.

Hearing this, Oathkeeper thought for a while before he eventually nodded.

“I’ll arrange for you to meet with them as soon as possible. However, you have to be mentally prepared. They died early and have not experienced the generations of changes in the Beyond Grade A realm. They are not as low key as I am and might be a little… arrogant.”

“It’s alright.” Han Xiao’s lips curled. “I specialize in treating such negativity.”

Chapter 1214: Times Have Changed

1214 Times Have Changed After sending away Oathkeeper, who was still dazed, Han Xiao relaxed and let out a sigh.

“Huff, acting is pretty tiring, but I’ve managed to pin him down.”

The Holy Accord was a powerful force, completely hidden in the dark during his past life. However, he had now established a stable relationship with it, indirectly holding a secret power in his own hands. Furthermore, he would also know the whereabouts of the Revivors, which was an important move in this game to complete the key layout.

In this manner, he could interfere in the Calamity of the Supers event to become a chess player, rather than passively waiting for the situation to occur like in his past life.

This was only the general layout. There were still other more specific issues, such as the impact of the Primordial Ones revealing their identity, the shockwave it would cause upon entering the Beyond Grade A Association, and so on. Since he would be the President, such details had to be dealt with.

“It seems like I have more things to do during the Version update. Visiting and helping all these old people integrate into the present times gives me the impression of a neighborhood committee member…”

Han Xiao shook his head and chuckled.

Based on what Oathkeeper said, the Primordial Ones were taken from the warring era, and their blood and fire had yet to dissipate. They were basically a rebellious generation. Now that they had been put into an era that did not belong to them, most of their mentalities had yet to be adjusted.

If he wanted these people to accept and support him, it was not enough to just use his mouth. They had to be convinced. It was best for them to accept severe beatings of the society, allowing them to recognize their reality and understand the meaning of ‘the new will constantly replace the old’.

However, the other party was still a future partner, so it was not good to be too violent. It was better for him to first be courteous, only giving them ‘education’ if they failed to behave.

In this regard, Han Xiao was quite confident. The Primordial Ones were the first generation of Beyond Grade As, and while he could not rule out the fact that there might be super geniuses who had reached the peak of Beyond Grade A, that number would not be huge. The average strength of the Primordial Ones was likely to be the same as the modern Beyond Grade As, and this was because of the long fighting that they did. Otherwise, their strengths might not even match up to the Beyond Grade As of today.

However, he did not have a complete advantage as well. There was a problem that could not be avoided, namely because he was still second place in the Association. Old Man Manison was holding onto his position tightly, which could mean that some of the Primordial Ones would end up supporting Manison.

However, the problem was not too big. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that he himself was thriving potential stock, whereas Manison was old stock that was bleeding internally. The choice was simple.

“As for the specifics, it’s best to talk about it only after contacting the Primordial Ones. I’ll wait for Oathkeeper to arrange it. Before that, I’ll study their characteristics…”

As the saying went, ‘know thyself and your enemy, and you’ll win all your battles’. Han Xiao took out the Revivor name list, and based on the information on the internet and his memory, he began to construct a data model for these Primordial Ones.

…

In the spaceship of the Holy Accord, Oathkeeper dismissed the remote projection. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the Primordial Ones looking at him.

“How was it? What did Black Star say?”

Everyone was concerned about the attitude of the other insider.

“I’ve already communicated with him and reached an intention to cooperate. He mentioned that he will not disclose any secrets. Furthermore, he commands the Beyond Grade A Association and has expressed his hope to get your support. You can check the information about the Association through the internet. Finally, he has proposed a request to see all of you,” Oathkeeper recounted.

“He wishes to see us?”

Everyone looked at each other, and many of them showed off weird smiles.

“That’s good as well. We would like to see what sort of intentions he has for helping to resurrect us.”

There was no love without reasoning in this world, so no one believed Oathkeeper’s description of Black Star, thinking that Black Star wished for more than just an increase in the number of Beyond Grade As. There should be some ambition and scheme involved in his plan.

In their eyes, Black Star likely wished to use them. While they had positive feelings toward him for his kindness, they did not intend to be used by him.

Everyone had on relaxed expressions as they talked about it.

“Black Star knows of our resurrection. Do you think he wishes to use this as a threat to force us into doing something for him?”

“Hehe, if he really thinks of it this way, he’ll soon find that his thoughts are wrong. Want to use us? Laughable!”

“He might have asked to meet because he wishes to foster a good relationship with us. It’s just as well. We can take this opportunity to pull him down a peg, dispelling his thoughts about trying to use us.”

“There’s also that Beyond Grade A Association. He seeks our support on that matter. In my opinion, we can totally set up another organization. There’s no need to listen to the orders of another. Even if we wish to join it, we don’t need to support Black Star or any others. Why don’t we just aim for the top by ourselves?”

“I checked up Black Star’s deed on the internet, and it’s actually pretty ridiculous. He broke the record for the fastest promotion to the Beyond Grade A realm, and he has even repelled the attacks of more than a dozen Beyond Grade As.”

“Oh? To think that the Beyond Grade A strength of this era has regressed so much, that more than a dozen people failed to kill a newcomer who has only been promoted for a few decades. Tsk tsk… it seems like each generation is inferior to the last.”

“Don’t look down on them. If it wasn’t for his capabilities, he would not dare to have designs on us.”

By the side, Oathkeeper quietly listened to their idle chatter, with no intention of correcting their misguided notions.

It was too common for the Primordial Ones to look down on newcomers, especially since they were the ‘founders’ of the Beyond Grade A realm. Their statuses were lofty, with the mentality that the descendants today were able to achieve what they had because of them, the trailblazers.

But from his viewpoint, this bunch of fools would need a lesson in order to quickly adjust their mentality.

This is also for all of your own goods…

Oathkeeper shook his head as he secretly sighed.

…

After half a month, on a certain barren planet in the Ancient Star Desert, six figures stood on the ground, Oathkeeper and five other Primordial Ones. Because they did not wish for Black Star to know the total number of people resurrected, they selected five people as representatives who had the best combat power.

The other Revivors did not show up but stayed in a fleet that was two days’ distance away, remotely monitoring the area.

“He should be here soon. Let’s listen to what he has to say first. Don’t just scare him the moment he comes,” Beiger said.

“Just follow the previously discussed plan. No matter how the discussion goes, let him see our strength and dispel any unnecessary thoughts,” Pangon lightly replied.

By the side, Oathkeeper closed his eyes and rested his mind, as though he did not hear anything.

Before long, a comet flashed through the dark outer space and fell quickly. It was Han Xiao, who was using his fleshly body to cross the starry sky.

“I’m not late, right?”

Han Xiao landed in front of everyone, having an inkling of the situation as he glanced at the six people present.

Oathkeeper took the initiative to introduce them. “No, you’re not. The five here are the representatives elected by the rest. Let me introduce them to you…”

But Han Xiao however cut him off, taking out his fluent ass-kissing techniques as he smiled. “Everyone here is a Primordial One, with a reputation that resounds like thunder. How could I not know all of them?”

His words were comfortable to the ears of those present. As the saying went, one would not hit a smiling face. While they had discussed showcasing whose fists were stronger today, since Black Star was their savior and even boasted good manners, the five also followed suit and greeted him, showing their friendly intentions.

While Han Xiao was speaking, he was secretly calculating.

[King of War] Pangon, [Mage God] Beiger, [Purple Emperor] Lady Lust… these five were all experts in this batch of Primordial Ones, with different attitudes in his previous life. They were deliberately elected as representatives likely because they suited with the different goals among the Primordial Ones. Pangon represents the Avengers, Meiji represents the Liberals, and Beiger represents the Careerists who pursue power… It seems like the issue of differences among the Revivors has become prominent…

After everyone exchanged greetings, Pangon then spoke. “You actually came with your main body?”

“It’s our first meeting. I had to show my sincerity. It would be too disrespectful to arrive in my avatar.” Han Xiao smiled.

“I admire your guts. Not bad at all.” Pangon’s tone was indifferent.

Oathkeeper coughed a little to catch their attention. “Let’s first get to business. Black Star is now our partner, and he has requested this meeting, expressing his intentions to provide resources to help you quickly integrate into this current era.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao smiled and nodded. “Everyone has just been revived, and your thinking has stopped during the exploration era. I estimate that you might not be adapted to the current era, so I would like to help you. However, I would like to know the goals you have after being resurrected, so as to facilitate the arrangement.”

“Let me be clear. If the goals for some of us are not within your line of interests, then what are you going to do?” Beiger asked with interest.

“It will depend on the situation, but you can be rest assured that the possibility of engaging in armed conflict is not high. The Beyond Grade A Association that I belong to specializes in resolving such problems. I will not prevent you from pursuing your own goals, unless this goal will harm everyone,” Han Xiao replied.

“Really?” Pangon coldly said. “The Federation of Light destroyed my homeland, so I’m going to avenge them. What do you think of this goal?”

“Avenging your own civilization is a justified matter, but the premise is that you do not bring us a negative influence, or else the association will not sit idle… However, I would like to say something. I don’t recommend you performing such suicidal goals.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

“I just want to remain free forever, without being restricted. The Beyond Grade A Association you speak of seems to also have a lot of rules.” Lady Lust raised her brows.

“The rules in place are mainly just to protect the interests of everyone. Fundamentally speaking, the Association is just a neutral group. Everything can be settled through negotiation. As long as you do not deviate from the interests of the group, you can enjoy the greatest degree of freedom. No one will force you to do something, and with the change in the universe, the Beyond Grade As grouping together is an inevitable trend. Only by seeking shelter can you obtain freedom,” Han Xiao answered as he sized up Lady Lust.

This Beyond Grade A had an exquisite appearance, with gorgeous makeup, purple lipstick painted on, and purple eyeshadow. Her hair was bunched up high, and she gave off an awe-inspiring aura. Among the women Han Xiao saw, her temperament resembled Urranrell the most, a ‘superwoman’ who would not take no for an answer.

The group constantly asked questions that they were concerned about, with Han Xiao answering them one after another, explaining how the Association could help them with it, but no positive response was received. The five did not agree with this proposal at this time, and in contrast, they were more inclined to create their own group.

During the discussion, Han Xiao could feel that the five of them were scrutinizing him, as though they wished to see through his tricks.

Suddenly, Pangon interrupted the questioning as he said, “I’ve always been curious. What is the motive behind you helping us?”

Hearing this, everyone immediately focused their gazes on Han Xiao.

Han Xiao remained impassive. “I’ve already told Oathkeeper. The Beyond Grade A realm requires more manpower. Only then can we obtain our own independence.”

Pangon shook his head. “This is not enough to persuade me. You are holding onto the intelligence of our resurrection and information on the Holy Accord. Was it never your intention to threaten us?”

“There’s no need. We’re mutually benefitting in this.” Han Xiao took out the signature fake smile that Sorokin used to give.

“I really hope that is the case. I’ll advise you to dispel any unrealistic thoughts as soon as possible, or you will regret it,” Pangon warned.

“You’re overthinking it.” Han Xiao laughed in return.

At this time, Beiger also spoke. “We’ve heard from Oathkeeper that you wish to obtain our support. Let us make things clear first. While we’re thankful to you for resurrecting us, personally, I will only respect the strong.”

“Oh, can I understand that as you inviting me for a spar?” Han Xiao’s brows furrowed.

“If you wish for me to support you, it’s best to show some skills to convince me. If you don’t mind, I really wish to try how capable you are.” Beiger narrowed his eyes.

Han Xiao swept a glance at the rest. “Do all of you think the same?”

“Beyond Grade As ultimately speak with their fists,” Pangon coldly replied.

The rest also nodded, staring at Han Xiao with a playful look on their faces.

After being in contact, they discovered that Han Xiao was courteous and talkative, without the air of an expert. It was inevitable that they would doubt and underestimate his combat power. They could not help but embrace the attitude of testing him out.

“I have no issues, but who is going to spar with me?” Han Xiao smiled.

“You can pick any one among us five. It doesn’t matter to us. Since you also helped us, we won’t go too heavy on you.”

Beiger sounded casual, but he was actually very confident in all of their strengths.

Hearing this, Han Xiao turned his head to see Oathkeeper rubbing his nose in embarrassment and immediately understood.

He shook his head with a smile, and facing their gazes slowly spoke out. However, the content of his words froze everyone’s expressions.

“That’s not too good. No matter who I choose, it will only make people think that I’m picking on a soft persimmon, which will offend them… How about all of you come at me together? This will save me from the rumors that I only bully the elderly.”

The silence became palpable.

The five did not expect that Black Star, who had been so flexible and friendly, would suddenly make such arrogant remarks. Their eyes widened and showed emotions such as disbelief, uncertainty, and anger.

“Are you looking down on me?” Pangon’s expression sank, and a dangerous light shone in his eyes.

“No, no, you’re mistaken. I’m not targeting you.”

Han Xiao kept his smile, glancing around, before slowly stating.

“I’m saying that all of you here are all weaklings!”

Stop trying to pretend to be wolves in front of me. Wake up. Your glory days have already passed. The times have changed!

Chapter 1215: Old Trick

1215 Old Trick The other Primordial Ones who were watching from a screen in the fleet were all stunned. Disbelief and unhappiness appeared on their faces.

“Did I hear that correctly? He wants to challenge all five of them at once?” Someone was very confused.

“Isn’t he too arrogant? I thought he’d have more self-awareness based on the way he spoke earlier.”

“Hehe, looks like he’s indeed quite ambitious. He’s thinking of intimidating us.” Someone snickered.

“I heard he defeated a dozen Beyond Grade As at once. Did that make him overly confident?”

“Possible, he might think we’re on the same level as the modern Beyond Grade As… Hehe, does he really think he’s strong just because he bullied some kids who grew in the peaceful era? He’s probably never seen what true strength is.”

“His tone is so arrogant. Pangon and the others are definitely insulted. A show is about to begin.” Someone gloated. “Wait and see, they’ll teach this guy a lesson, especially Pangon… He’s got a bad temper.”

“Hope he can still be this cocky later,” someone said with a mocking tone.

All of them were waiting to see the show.

What Han Xiao said was targeted at all the Primordial Ones, including them, so they were insulted too. Although they did not look like they were, they were more than glad to see Han Xiao get embarrassed.

…

On the other hand, the six of them including Oathkeeper heard what Han Xiao said and their expressions changed.

You said we’re outdated, that we’re not letting go of our old honors? That’s hurtful!

“Arrogant!” Flames of rage appeared in Pangon’s eyes. He was furious.

When had they ever been looked down like this ever since the era they dominated the universe?

This was the first time anyone had dared to talk to them like this!

Even Oathkeeper felt somewhat awkward.

Feeling the intense atmosphere, he was secretly worried for Han Xiao.

Oathkeeper hoped that Black Star could teach his buddies a lesson, but Black Star wanting to fight all five of them at once was beyond his expectations. He was shocked and was worried Black Star might lose.

Black Star is too confident. Is he going to win?

Oathkeeper was a little regretful. He felt Black Star only made this proposal because he did not know the strength of these Primordial Ones well.

In his eyes, although Black Star was strong, he was not that strong. Despite having caught up with the recent news, his image of Han Xiao was still the same as before he entered the Sanctum.

I would’ve given Black Star some hints beforehand if I knew this was going to happen. These five guys are not just ordinary Beyond Grade As…

This time, Beiger narrowed his eyes and confirmed it. “Are you sure you want to fight all five of us at once?”

“What, you guys aren’t willing to?” Han Xiao’s eyes scanned past everyone’s faces and saw each of their expressions clearly.

“There’s no need to.” Lady Lust frowned calmly. “If the five of us fight you together, it won’t prove anything even if we win. Are you just afraid that fighting us one on one will damage your reputation? I can promise that our spar will be reasonable. We just want to test what you’re capable of. No matter the result, we’ll consider it a tie. Are you satisfied with this?”

“You are quite thoughtful for my sake.” Han Xiao smiled.

“No matter what, you’ve helped us. I…”

Before Lady Lust finished, Pangon interrupted her and coldly said, “Don’t represent me. I’m going to fight him alone.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao maintained his smile and said, “Just come at me all at once. Defeating you guys one after another is too troublesome.”

The five of them were deeply insulted.

We gave you an out. Not only are you not taking it, you’re even crossing the line further.

You need a damn beating!

Beiger gave Han Xiao a meaningful look. “You chose this yourself.”

“Like I said, I alone am enough.” Pangon turned to look at the others and looked like he would fight them first if they argued with him further.

Knowing Pangon’s personality, someone said, “Consider us securing the perimeter for you on the side.”

Pangon thought about it and did not argue. He stomped the ground heavily. An enormous shockwave expanded out, creating a ripple like tide on the ground.

Bang!

He shot up the sky and flew into space like he could not wait any longer.

The others were not surprised and followed behind. After all, he was a Pugilist, and Pugilists were not known for being sensible and logical. The others were used to Pangon’s personality.

Han Xiao glanced at Oathkeeper, who was looking worried, and then flew up as well. At this time, a notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the hidden mission [Fists Speak the Loudest]!

Mission Introduction: The revived Primordial Ones appreciates your help but aren’t convinced of your strength. You’ve decided to display your strength to earn their respects.

Mission Requirements: Earn the respect of the Primordial Ones through actions.

Reward: Depends on the results of your actions. The higher the rating, the better the reward.

Tip: This is a Series Mission. Your actions will affect the following missions. Please act with caution.

_____________________

Yo, here it is. This should be in the same mission chain as [Return to the Historic Stage].

While he looked at the mission, he flew into space. The five of them were already in position. Four of them stood in different directions and drew out the battlefield area, while Pangon stayed inside opposite Han Xiao.

“Can we start now?” Pangon’s tone was irritated.

“Anyti…”

Before Han Xiao even finished, Pangon had already lost his patience. Golden red flames erupted from within his body as he turned into a meteor and charged toward Han Xiao.

Usually, when Pugilists were in a friendly spar with Mechanics, they would always actively back away some distance so that the Mechanic could let out part of their army. However, Pangon had already developed the habit of using everything to his advantage as much as possible through countless large-scale galactic wars, exploiting every edge he had, even in spars.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, stood in place, and opened the secondary dimensional army box. However, before the first batch of mechanical troops even appeared, Pangon had already bashed onto his chest.

Boom!

As his fist landed right on Han Xiao’s chest, Pangon was surprised to realize Han Xiao did not even dodge it. Hence, he quickly turned a normal attack into an ability. Thick Pugilist flames rushed into his fist and entered Han Xiao’s body, turning into an erupting shockwave.

This was a control type ability, using Pugilist flames to trigger the atoms in the opponent’s body to tremble. As long as his Strength was superior, he would be able to temporarily immobilize the opponent.

Pangon was very experienced in dealing with high-level Mechanics. He knew that getting this close to a Mechanic was an extremely rare opportunity, and he was not going to waste it. Tons of combos flashed past his mind. He decided on using the combo with the highest explosive damage instantly, and his body immediately moved following the muscle memories. Once Han Xiao was immobilized, he would be able to instantly deal a ton of damage.

However, just as he was about to use the combo, a slap suddenly landed on his face.

Paa!

This slap was powerful and heavy, Pangon’s eyes widened, and his brain was trembling. He could almost hear the sound of the bones on his face cracking.

Before he recovered from being stunned for an instant, a thunderstorm of melee attacks suddenly arrived. Countless heavy attacks landed on his body every second, shattering the gold and red flames on his body part by part, continuously creating ripples and dents on his muscles. Pain swarmed his nerves like a tsunami.

Pangon instinctively raised his hand to protect his vital spots. He was still in shock.

Wait a minute, as a Mechanic, not only did he not back away after I, a Pugilist, got this close to him, but he even actively fought back to have a hand to hand combat with me?

Never mind him fighting back, but what’s with this power? It’s outrageously strong!

After getting bashed by Han Xiao for a few seconds, Pangon finally found an opportunity to twist Han Xiao’s arm and pull it toward him, locking Han Xiao in his place.

“Don’t you think you can run!” Pangon said. Pugilist flames flowed in his body. His muscles suddenly bulged, and his strength increased in an instant.

He was prepared to stop Han Xiao’s attempt to escape his body lock.

As long as he could lock Han Xiao down for just two seconds, he would be able to lash out with an even stronger ability and deal even more damage.

Each and every part of a high-level Pugilist was a weapon. Although Pangon was a little lost and stunned by Han Xiao’s attack from earlier, with his countless Pugilist abilities and talents, he still had an incomparable edge in close range combat.

However, the next moment, he was shocked to realize that not only did he not feel Han Xiao trying to escape, but Han Xiao even grabbed his waist and locked him down instead.

“What fighting style is this?” Despite being very knowledgeable, Pangon was still puzzled.

“What, you want to learn? Sadly, you won’t be able to even if I teach you.” Han Xiao laughed.

At this time, the first batch of mechanical troops that had flown out of the secondary dimension fired at the two of them without hesitation. In their preset programs, the most prioritized tactic was to fire at their master unconditionally once their master locked a target down. Han Xiao did not even have to control them to do so anymore.

Seeing this, Pangon’s expression changed drastically.

Isn’t this the ‘die together’ tactic? F*ck, this man is even more ruthless than me!

Although his physique was tough, he did not want to take a psionic bath with the enemy!

Pangon became the one who was trying to get away, so he hastily let go of his body lock on Han Xiao and tried to step back. However, his waist was tightly held by Han Xiao’s shockingly powerful arms, and he could not escape quickly enough.

“Stop wasting your energy. I’m quite surprised really. You guys knew I’d be visiting half a month ago, yet you didn’t study me online properly. If you even studied my battle recordings just once, you wouldn’t have been so stupid as to rush into my face like this… Are you guys really that arrogant, or did Oathkeeper cut off your internet?”

Han Xiao was almost speechless.

He really did not plan to use this tactic at all. He thought as long as the Primordial Ones searched his information online, this old trick of his would no longer work. No matter what, if they at least saw his ‘Indestructible Body’ nickname, they would be more or less more cautious.

However, to his surprise, Pangon rushed into his arms right at the start. Even Han Xiao did not underestimate the Primordial Ones and constructed their data models beforehand so that he would come prepared. This only proved how little these Primordial Ones thought of him.

Don’t blame me then. You asked for this.

“Eat this!”

Boom!

The blinding light from the explosions of a round of focus fire psionic attacks instantly devoured the two of them.

The bombardment lasted for about three seconds. A golden-red meteor hastily fled the explosion area and rolled a long distance in the cosmic space before finally stopping himself.

Pangon’s clothes were ragged. Large areas of burnt skin could be seen on his body. Some places even showed signs of carbonization.

Han Xiao flew out of the explosion area too. He sized Pangon up and sighed.

The time for the army to gather was too short, so the number of mechanical soldiers he summoned in the first batch was too few. The damage dealt was far from enough. After all kinds of shields and resistances, the damage done by that round of focus fire could only slightly injure Pangon.

Han Xiao had already seen Pangon’s attributes from the combat information. Pangon’s Energy Rank was about 71,000, and his attributes were about the same as when Han Xiao was level 300. Before Han Xiao’s Promotion, he might have had quite a tough time dealing with Pangon, but now he could thrash him in any way he wanted.

However, he also knew that these Primordial Ones were not at their peak. Losing part of their attributes and being in the weakened state since they had just awakened were just two of the reasons. Another important reason was that their equipment did not revive with them. For example, Pangon’s nickname came from the set equipment he used when he was active in the galaxy, which was exactly called ‘King of War’. It was built by the civilization he was in and consisted of three Universal Treasures—the shield, spear, and the armor. Without this set of equipment, he was about thirty percent weaker.

This was even worse for Mechanics who revived. They would have lost all the machines they had and would have to build from scratch. It was tragic. After all, not everyone had as fast production speed as him and the Mechanic Emperor.

Seeing this, the four others who were securing the battlefield on the side were astounded. Their expression turned from unconcerned to serious.

“Did you see that? The strength this guy just displayed?”

“Hmm. To think a Mechanic whose physique is supposed to be weak has such high power and agility. Either his Energy Rank far exceeds Pangon, which means his foundation is much higher, or the modern Mechanics have taken a very new path of not focusing on machines but their physique instead!”

“I think the latter is quite likely…”

While the four of them chatted in the communication channel, the situation in the battlefield changed again. After losing a small round, Pangon became cautious. Before clearly understanding the situation, he did not dare rush close to Han Xiao. He did not know what to do for the time being.

Han Xiao, however, did not continue to attack. Golden Mechanical Force spread out from his body like a net catching onto all the machinery around him and pulling them toward him. Within the blinding cluster of Mechanical Force lightning bolts, the enormous Mechanical Deity appeared.

The next moment, the Mechanical Deity swung the Celestial Punishment Edge one round and unleashed an arc of silver blue psionic energy.

Swoosh!

The energy blade quickly expanded. Even the four people at the edge of the battlefield were targets in this attack. With flashes of light, magic arrays, Esper Abilities, and psychic means of defense appeared. Beiger, Lady Lust, and so on blocked this powerful energy blade attack in their own ways.

At the same time, Han Xiao’s provocation sounded in the public channel. “I said I’m going to fight all five of you, and I’ll do it. You guys want to watch on the side? Don’t even think about it!”

Beiger and the others exchanged looks and joined the battle without hesitation.

Seeing Black Star’s strength, the few of them no longer minded fighting Han Xiao together. If they really let Pangon fight him alone, Pangon would most likely lose. Furthermore, Han Xiao attacked them and forced them to fight. Not fighting back would not be suitable.

The few of them did not reject the idea of fighting one enemy together. This was the complete norm during the exploration era. The result of caring too much about these things was death. The Primordial Ones were all used to fighting one opponent together. They were not obstructed by such unnecessary morals.

“Finally. Come, let me give you guys a beating of love to help you see reality!”

Seeing this, Han Xiao grinned. Mechanical Deity swung the Celestial Punishment Edge, stirring up a tide of dark blue energy and charged toward the five of them.

Chapter 1216: Confidence Destruction Lesson

1216 Confidence Destruction Lesson Boom!

The flashes of psionic explosions flickered in space. Mechanical soldiers charged out of the secondary dimension rapidly into the battlefield.

Five different colored clusters of energy were flooded by the sea of machinery, passing through the countless mechanical soldiers like asteroids. Flashes of light from different abilities flickered between the tiny gaps of the mechanical army from time to time.

There were four classes among the five of them, only no Mechanic. Mechanics without their inventory were tremendously weaker, so no Mechanic was chosen to be a representative by the revived Primordial Ones.

Psionic Prime led dozens of Apostle Weapons to fight. With the bonuses from Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force, the highly synchronized Apostle Weapons gave them a lot of pressure.

The Mechanical Deity stood above all in the battlefield, swung its Celestial Punishment Edge around and chased after the five of them. The weapon was enormous but quick like lightning, releasing extremely powerful psionic energy blades together with Getta Hadoken combos one after another, dealing massive damage.

Pangon got special attention. Han Xiao loved bullyin… ahem, educating cocky, headstrong Pugilists.

Since the opponent this time was not Old Manison, who knew him all too well, Han Xiao had to maintain his image. Hence, he was more reserved and did not bombard them with private messages.

The five of them fought for quite some time. Despite fighting the five of them alone, Han Xiao did not show signs of defeat for the time being. In fact, not only was he not losing, he even had a slight advantage.

Pangon, Beiger, and the rest of them were far from their peak strength, but they were not completely trash. Although they were at quite a disadvantage, they could still hold on for now by working together.

However, all five of them felt distressed. This was the first time they had fought a Mechanic of this style. They did not know what they should do.

In their knowledge, the best tactic against Mechanics was simply getting close. When they first saw that Black Star came with his original body, they were quite surprised and felt Black Star was way too incautious. Only now did they realize just how wrong they were. Black Star’s style was the complete opposite of the impression they had of Mechanics—one was as fragile as a piece of paper, while even the supposedly psychological weakness of the other was extremely tough. He was basically indestructible!

The strategy of rushing toward him was basically useless. But if they targeted his army, his inventory was way too huge. Soldiers were still swarming out of the secondary dimensional army box every second. God knew when it would end.

It seemed like the only strategy they could use was to deplete his energy by stalling the battle. However, the destructive power of the Apostle Weapons, mechanical army, and the Mechanical Deity was too strong together. There was hardly any room for them to make any mistakes. Plus, their energy was also getting consumed at a quick rate.

If this carried on, the five of them were uncertain if they would be heavily injured and unable to fight first or Black Star’s energy would dry up first.

“Does this guy even have a weakness?” Beiger was appalled.

“It’s shocking to see such a horrifying man in this era!” Lady Lust marveled.

“If only my weapons were still…” Pangon clenched his teeth as dozens of his bones were shattered by an energy blade once again.

“Save it. You got beat up by a Mechanic at close range as a Pugilist, have you not embarrassed yourself enough?” someone asked.

“Alright, stop quarreling and think of how to fight him. If we really get defeated despite fighting him as five, just image how shameful that’ll be for us,” Beiger said.

The five of them dodged and guarded against the mechanical army’s attacks while trying to find Han Xiao’s flaws. However, they were unable to find an opportunity to turn the tables. Instead, they fell into a more and more passive situation.

With the bonuses of [Fearless Heart] and [Legendary Battle Technique], the attacks of the army were extremely powerful. Among the five of them, only Pangon had True Damage Reduction. The rest could not endure many rounds of focus fire.

If not because a Psychic and Beiger were continuously refreshing their shields, someone would have already been heavily injured.

Most importantly, the few of them were absolutely shocked to realize that Han Xiao was becoming stronger as the battle carried on.

Beiger dodged the attacks of a few Apostle Weapons by using an illusion spell before saying decisively, “The battle is now going according to his tempo. Things will only get worse if this carries on. Let’s try again. The five of us all attack his main body together. I don’t believe his physique doesn’t have limits. There’s no other way for now other than this anyway.”

“What do you plan to do? His body is hidden in the Mechanical Deity, protected.”

“Have you forgotten about the Space Forbidden Spell I have mastered? I can pull the target out of the Mechanical Deity for a short period and create an opportunity.”

The few of them quickly came to an agreement. Beiger did not delay any longer and started preparing for the spell with a hand gesture.

An exquisite enchantment array illuminated on his neck. A wave of space repelling force expanded from him, and the mechanical soldiers around were all pushed far away.

Right after, he raised his hand and used a group teleportation spell, teleporting the other four to beside him.

His spell casting did not stop. He instantly created a new magic array. Ripples suddenly appeared in cosmic space not far away. Han Xiao, who was supposed to be inside the Mechanical Deity, suddenly appeared at the location Beiger had selected out of nowhere.

Han Xiao only felt a flash before his eyes, and the location he was in changed. He instantly saw the round of focus fire the five of them had prepared that was rushing toward him.

“Yoho, cute combo.”

Han Xiao still had the time to tease them. He opened a new gate of the secondary dimension beside him. He pulled it and dragged out rows of Spacetime Amber balls, which were stacked into a transparent wall in front of him.

The next moment, the tsunami of long-range attacks from the five of them crashed onto the amber barrier. Like a water pillar falling onto a leaf, the attacks instantly slipped toward all directions, leaving Han Xiao who was behind the barrier completely unharmed.

“What is that?”

Seeing this, the pupils of the five of them constricted.

At this time, Han Xiao’s laughter sounded in the public channel.

“This kind of time swap spell is quite interesting. I have something similar too. Do you guys want to see it?”

As soon as he said that, Han Xiao disappeared and returned to the Mechanical Deity using Void Hyperdrive. Before the four of them could respond, he instantly used Void Swap and changed his location with a target.

Whoosh!

Pangon’s sights flickered. He was petrified to realize that he had appeared inside the Mechanical Deity. Before he could react, the parts of the Mechanical Deity around him suddenly disassembled into mechanical troops. They surrounded him and fired at him instantly.

While the headstrong boy was being beat up, Han Xiao appeared beside the four others.

Looking at their shocked expressions, he smiled and activated Void Prison.

The next moment, the movements of the four of them became extremely stagnated like they were in a pool of mud. They were all inside the Void Prison, and only Han Xiao could move freely.

Then, he activated Apostilization to maximum power. The countless mechanical troops gave him tons of attributes. His right arm bent like a bow. Energy circuits lit up on his mechanical suit, and psionic energy expanded like a ripple.

“Getta Hadoken—Star Penetration Hammer!”

Han Xiao launched his fist right forward. The fist covered in blinding psionic energy landed right on Beiger’s cheek. Under the slow-motion effects of the Void Prison, the shaking of Beiger’s face could be seen clearly.

Boom!

A dark-blue shockwave erupted, and Beiger shot out, rolling.

Han Xiao did not stop there. His mechanical suit operated at maximum capacity as he continued to smash the other three of them like an afterimage crisscrossing between the three of them.

Kacha!

After being trounced for some time, the few of them were finally freed from the Void Prison. They hastily backed away, every part of their body hurting.

Pangon did not get captured. He barely escaped the mechanical army’s encirclement. However, having faced so many attacks in such a short time, he was covered in blood and quite heavily wounded.

Han Xiao stood in place and did not chase after them, but the five of them stood far away from him with fearful and heavy expressions.

“Hiss!”

Beiger held his bleeding cheek. He was filled with shock. Not only did the tactic not work, but they even got beaten up by Han Xiao instead. Han Xiao was able to injure the five of them one after another, among whom Pangon was the most heavily injured.

This astounded the five of them. They did not know what other special abilities Han Xiao had, and they did not dare to get close to him anymore. They were afraid of falling for his abilities again.

Seeing that Han Xiao was sizing them up, the five of them focused all of their attention. The last bit of underestimation in their hearts disappeared completely. They anxiously waited for the next round of Han Xiao’s attacks.

However, at this time, Han Xiao stopped the movements of all of his army. He scanned over them one by one, smiled, and said, “How about we end it here? I believe you guys already have a thorough understanding of my capabilities. If we continue the spar, it might not be a good idea. I agree with Lady Lust’s suggestion. No matter the results, we’ll call it a tie. There’s no need to go all out.”

Hearing this, the five of them were stunned for a moment. Seeing that Han Xiao did not look like he was faking it, they finally relaxed.

They exchanged looks and saw some bitterness, shame, and embarrassment on each other’s faces.

The few of them knew very well that Black Star did this so they would not lose so much face, but this made them feel even more hurt.

What kind of tie is this? The five of us clearly fought one opponent but still got thrashed!

We don’t feel comforted like this at all, only ashamed!

“… Someone as strong as you would have been unique even during the exploration era. We underestimated you.”

Beiger sighed and had a complicated expression.

Having experienced it personally, Black Star’s combat capability far exceeded their expectations and completely convinced them.

Even without that flashy combo, the few of them could see that Black Star’s strength far exceeded theirs just from how powerful his mechanical army was.

Having thought of this, the few of them looked more or less disheartened. They could no longer stay proud.

The new generation surpassing the old generation did not feel good. It almost made them wonder if they really were outdated.

Pangon was the most embarrassed. The wounds on his body were still hurting like hell, but compared to the wounds in his heart, they were nothing. This hard to accept result made him doubt himself unavoidably.

Han Xiao looked at them and said with a smile, “I might have used a little more strength than I intended to. I hope you guys don’t take it personally.”

“Ahem, it’s just a small matter. We don’t mind it at all.” Beiger was a little embarrassed. He still remembered that he had said something similar to Black Star not long ago.

“Can we continue to discuss what we were discussing before now?” Han Xiao shrugged.

“Yes, yes, let’s head back down and continue.”

The attitude of the few of them changed completely. Their tone now included respect and admiration.

Although they were not used to this change mentally, Beyond Grade As respected the strong; strength was the foundation of their position. Therefore, of course, the few of them were not going to act proud like they did before in front of someone who could crush any one of them in a duel.

Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled. When he returned to the planet surface, he instantly saw that Oathkeeper was staring at him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Nothing.”

Oathkeeper suppressed the shock inside him and tried his best to make his tone sound natural and calm.

The strength Han Xiao had just displayed shocked him too!

Unlike the other Primordial Ones, Oathkeeper knew that Han Xiao was very strong, but he did not expect him to be this strong!

Before today, Oathkeeper felt that he had a fifty percent chance of beating Black Star. However, after witnessing Black Star’s fight with his own eyes, he doubted his judgement severely. Black Star was much more powerful than the rumors!

Fake news was awful!

Oathkeeper could not help but feel glad that he did not choose to kill Black Star back then, or he would have probably been the one who was killed.

…

At the same time, the remote surveillance room in the Holy Accord organization spaceship far away was completely silent.

The Primordial Ones who were watching the battle were astounded. Their eyes widened with shock, and they were at a loss for words.

After more than ten seconds of complete silence, someone finally said with disbelief, “Five against one, and they lost‽”

As soon as he said that, the rest erupted.

“Is this the strength of the modern Beyond Grade As‽”

“From the way it looks, it seems he didn’t even use his full strength at all. The five of them could not even make him go all out!”

“What’s his Energy Rank? Eighty thousand? Ninety thousand? Or above a hundred thousand‽”

“Maybe he was right. We’re outdated. The times have really changed…”

The Primordial Ones present felt that everything they once knew was shattered. In the start, they felt Black Star was only acting strong and arrogant, but now they discovered that he was really strong. It felt like a loud slap on their faces.

Luckily, they were only watching behind the curtains and did not have to be concerned about losing face. In their eyes, it was a clear loss. They did not consider it a tie at all.

Thinking back on what Black Star said before the battle, their confidence was crushed. Their sense of superiority as the Primordial Ones got completely shattered.

Looks like he really did not overestimate himself. This is a lesson to help us see reality…

The people present had no choice but to accept reality. The arrogance, pride, sense of superiority, and other feelings they had after being revived dissipated rapidly, turning into caution, humility, and caution.

The only problem was that this lesson was way too impactful. The mindset of some of them even slipped toward the other extreme…

“Black Star is only the vice president of the Beyond Grade A Association. The net says there are quite a few Beyond Grade As who are on the same level as him, so they should be just about as strong… Tsk, the modern age is scary!”

Some of the Primordial Ones who were originally planning to have a fresh start on their own were now discouraged. They seriously doubted if they were qualified enough to start again.

Originally, the goal of reviving for some of them was to avoid the exploration era war and come to a peaceful era, rely on their own strength to form a new organization, and gain power.

However, Han Xiao’s performance today gave them a misconception that people as strong as Han Xiao were everywhere nowadays.

Not only did this spar shatter their confidence, but it also made some of them so scared they buried their ambitions.

With the little strength we have, being in a hurry to mess around is probably suicide. We’d better train a few more decades and not reappear in the world before we catch up with the times. We can’t humiliate ourselves like that!

Chapter 1217: Elderly Killer

Chapter 1217 Elderly Killer Beiger, Pangon, and the others returned to the barren planet. They had fought in space earlier and consciously avoided this planet. Some of the aftershocks had also been stopped by Oathkeeper, so the planet was unharmed.Han Xiao carried on the topic they were discussing earlier with the others. This time, the atmosphere was clearly much better. Beiger and the others were now seriously listening to his suggestions.

As the saying went, ‘as long as your fists are big enough, you can make people sensible and calm.’

“… You guys are absolutely not in a state to reappear in the universe. After all, your strength has decreased after reviving, and you’re now behind the era. It’s best for you guys to think of ways to make up for that. In my opinion, you guys should spend more time training in isolation. Learn new technology and new knowledge,” Han Xiao said.

This would not be convincing at all before the spar, but now everyone agreed with it strongly. They thought that they could only revive once, so now that they had finally been revived and had an opportunity to make up for their regrets, satisfy their ambitions, and reach new heights, they treasured it very much. They all wanted to make sure they did everything correctly.

The opportunity was extremely rare, these Primordial Ones were all very patient. They could wait.

“Black Star, you have really helped us antiques learn something new today. Not many would have been your match even in the exploration era.” Beiger sighed.

They had lost a lot of face in the spar earlier, but they did not hate Han Xiao for it. At this level, no one would be that stupid.

They were not enemies. Although Han Xiao’s words were harsh, they were the truth. As someone who not only saved them but was also much stronger than them, Han Xiao’s words clearly carried weight.

“I’ve always suggested that you join the Beyond Grade A Association. Although the present is more peaceful than the exploration era, it’s still shaky below the surface. Beyond Grade As are not in a safe position. You can search up the Tragedy of the Pinnacles online. That’s a cleansing operation the advanced civilizations carried out against us. They’ve always been trying to control our numbers, so staying together is the certain trend.” Han Xiao started promoting the association again.

This time, other than Pangon, who decided to take the ‘revenge before life’ path, the other four all started to take Han Xiao’s suggestions seriously and considered taking this path.

Seeing this, Han Xiao continued. “There are more benefits to joining the association. You guys have only just revived, so you have nothing but your own strength. There’s no organization or force under your command, and starting one from scratch will take a lot of time. Furthermore, the various Star Fields’ territory is already split up by the various forces. Even with the strength you have, you’ll still meet many obstacles… However, if you become members of the Beyond Grade A Association, you can instantly lend intelligence, resources, military forces, and so on from other members. If you want to start your own organization, we will also come together to help and provide assistance, helping you to become a part of the profit network…”

The others nodded. They were tempted.

The universe was too vast. Without manpower or money, nothing would be easy to achieve.

During the exploration era, their various civilizations provided the things they needed to them. They were used to having power. They would not be able to adapt if they had to start from zero now.

Lady Lust pondered for a while and said, “We’re willing to support you, but you’re only the vice president and can’t be completely in charge. Furthermore, since you’re this strong, the president definitely won’t be much weaker…”

“Hmm, that’s true. We appreciate what you did for us, but we have to think on our own behalf. Comparatively, isn’t it better to support the top man in power?” Beiger asked.

Han Xiao smiled.

“Now that is something you guys don’t know about. My path is different from the president’s. He’s very ambitious and aggressive. He wants to tie the association with him on a path with no return, which has already enraged quite a number of people. There’s no chance he’ll be reelected. Furthermore, he’s old now. Who knows he’ll just be gone one day? Hence, there’s no future in supporting him. I, however, have a lot of friends and have basically already obtained the president position in the next election. Plus, there’s a very high chance I’ll be reelected multiple times after that. Investing in me is the best choice. I’m not just exaggerating. You guys can search it online all you like… By the way, I’ve defeated him too.”

Although he had only beaten the Mechanic Emperor once and lost more than he had won overall, saying he had defeated him was not wrong. After all, the Mechanic Emperor was not there, so it was not like he could object it.

“I see.”

Just like that, Old Manison’s image was damaged once again.

The few of them discussed it for a while. Han Xiao gave many suggestions and described the current situation of the universe to them. Beiger and the others all listened carefully and learned a lot.

After Han Xiao finished talking about the intricate relationship between the three Universal Civilizations, he stopped, changed the topic, and said, “By the way, I’m very interested in the exploration era, but what I know is limited to the information on the internet. You guys are all from that era, so could you tell me more details of the situation of that era?”

He had not just gone there to set things up for the Calamity of the Supers but also to exchange information with the Primordial Ones. Seeing that the time was right, he brought up the topic.

“You’ve asked the right people. Who alive knows more about that era than us?”

Han Xiao had always been the one speaking while they listened. Seeing that Han Xiao had brought up a topic they were much more familiar with, they immediately became interested. They started talking about their glory days in the past all the way from the dark ages to the days of intense wars, bringing up anything that came to their minds.

Han Xiao listened, nodding and asking questions from time to time. He obtained quite a number of secrets about the exploration era war from them, as well as the information about some Primordial Ones.

“Speaking of which, do you guys know this Soul Emperor guy?”

…

“Rovell Sissock? I fought him a few times on the battlefield. That guy’s quite capable, but I died earlier than him. I don’t know what happened to him afterward,” Lady Lust said.

“He was killed in action.” Beiger shook his head. “By me.”

“You killed him?” Han Xiao was immediately interested.

“Hmm, to be more details, I participated in an ambush on the Soul Emperor, along with two others. But I dealt the final blow.”

Yo, now isn’t this an interesting coincidence?

Han Xiao was very curious about what expression Sorokin would have when Beiger joined the association.

Hmm, given how Little Soro is, even if there’s a tsunami in his mind, he’ll probably still have that signature fake smile… Should I give him some stimulation by then?

Han Xiao suppressed his wicked thoughts and asked, “Are you sure he’s really dead? His soul Esper Ability is rather special. Maybe he shifted his soul without anyone knowing.”

“You’re saying he faked his death?” Beiger was surprised for a moment. He thought for some time, shook his head, and said, “I wouldn’t know about that then. Anyway, I didn’t notice anything strange at that time.”

“I’m just guessing. If he remained alive till now like Oathkeeper, and you see him again, will you be able to recognize him?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure. If he didn’t change, my soul detection spell would recognize him. By the way, Soul Emperor is also the previous master of the Soul Flame. Oathkeeper should sense it if they met… but that also depends on if he changed his soul frequency or not. Everyone’s soul frequency is unique.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao rubbed his chin and pondered.

Sorokin was an expert in the soul area. He should not have left such a flaw… but that might not certainly be the case. After all, Sorokin had lived all the way till now. He would never expect to meet the Primordial Ones whom he once had contact with.

No one in the present could prove that Sorokin was the Soul Emperor, so these revived Primordial Ones became the most solid evidence…

Tsk, if Beiger recognizes Sorokin right on the spot when he joins the association, things will get very interesting.

“Black Star, I have a feeling you’re trying to say something. Do you know something? Is the Soul Emperor really alive?” Beiger could not help but ask.

“Who knows?” Han Xiao shrugged. He had yet to decide whether to expose Little Soro yet. It was not the time to obtain the most benefits from doing that yet.

He paused and said, “By the way, there was a pair of sisters during the exploration era who possessed the vital and death energy respectively. What do you guys think about them?”

“Nerkese and Eros… They were very strong. They created the Underworld. Not many people dared to mess with them.” Pangon finally found an opportunity to say something.

“What’s the Underworld?” Han Xiao acted like he had no idea.

“That’s one way of reviving too but with more cons. You’d become the vassals of the two sisters,” the few of them explained.

The Oathkeeper listened for a while and said hesitantly, “Many Primordial Ones were looking for a way to revive back then. We chose the Holy Accord, while some placed their hopes in the Underworld, but…”

Lady Lust shook her head. “I’ll say it. Those two sisters got lost on the path of searching for the meaning of life and death. They were very unreliable. We once invited them to join the Holy Accord, but they rejected us. Afterward, we lost contact with them and don’t know what happened to them. They probably died.”

Not just died, you might not believe this, but they committed suicide…

Suddenly, his body turned stiff as he realized something.

When Onicelu explained the Underworld to him back then, he did not know much about the Sanctums, but thinking about it… was the act of the two sisters leaving Information Form Esper Ability seeds behind the equivalent of snatching the information of their own Esper Abilities out from the Sanctums? Was that why these two Esper Ability seeds passed down their life knowledge?

The Great Mechanic Han was baffled. The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was not as simple as he thought.

Could the reason for the two sisters to suicide be that they found out about the Sanctum being able to revive them and wanted to attempt to revive themselves right after committing suicide to prove their theory and confirm that their path was right? Maybe they failed in the end and only left the information of their Esper Abilities behind but not themselves…

Linking this with the situation Kasuyi was in, could the impact of God’s Trait Transformation missions have played a part?

Before they completely died, the word ‘heritage’ was mentioned among their last words… Could they have been pointing at not only their Esper Ability seeds but also The Great Reboot, the Eons of the universe‽

Thinking deeper, could Nerkese and Eros be revived through the Sanctums by using Hila, Aurora, or the Underworld as the medium? If that failed, would it mean that they were still alive in a certain way?

Han Xiao felt the more he thought about it, the more complicated it seemed.

Suppressing the shock and doubts he had, he skipped this topic and continued chatting with the others.

The few of them chatted for a while. Seeing that it was about enough, Han Xiao interrupted them and said with a smile, “Let’s call it a day for today. I’ve already relayed my suggestions. We can be considered friends, so don’t hesitate to come to me if you need anything in the future. Keep in touch.”

Hearing this, everyone nodded, expressing their friendliness.

Han Xiao bade farewell one after another and then equipped the King mechanical suit before disappearing.

Beiger and the others exchanged looks after he left.

“Let’s get going too. Black Star is right. I’m going to focus on training from now on. We’ve acquired such an amazing opportunity. Let’s use it to find breakthroughs and hope to recover to our peak strength,” someone said.

“Hmm… I don’t plan to leave for twenty… no, forty years. I’ll be staying in the Holy Accord.”

Hearing their discussions, Oathkeeper smiled with comfort.

His buddies’ mindsets were finally fixed by Black Star.

My efforts were not wasted…

…

Han Xiao teleported all the way back to Black Star Palace, which was multiple Star Fields away, and opened up the interface immediately. He saw the mission notification that had been flickering for quite a while right away.

_____________________

[Fists Speak the Loudest] Completed!

Your actions have earned the respect of the Primordial Ones. The results were excellent. This will cause unknown affects to the future.

Grade: Unbelievable

+20 Lady Lust Favorability

+20 Tripp Favorability

…

+20 Pangon Favorability

You have received 240 Billion EXP, 8 Random Rewards, and 3 Blank Character Summon Cards.

You have received 10 Awakening Points.

You have received a [The Third Sanctum] Ability Fragment.

You have received talent [Elderly Killer].

[Elderly Killer]: When facing opponents older than you, your basic attack will increase over time up to 15%. At the same time, your CHA will increase by 40%.

_____________________

“This…”

Han Xiao was speechless.

The rewards were very rich. Very rarely did missions reward Awakening Points directly, and he even got a new talent.

The effect of the talent was quite good, giving him bonus basic attack damage just like [Fearless Heart]…

But what kind of name is this‽

I beat up a group of Primordial Ones, so I became an ‘Elderly Killer’‽

Also, I can understand the bonus attack damage, but what’s with the increased Charm? Did they feel I looked cool fighting? Are they going to cheer for me while I beat them up? Are all elderlies masochists?

Other than these things, the triggering mechanism was quite perfect for him—among the current Beyond Grade As, no one was younger than him…

What a weird talent. Plus, it seems to go against the traditional virtue of respecting the elderly…

Han Xiao shook his head. He went through the reward one more time and closed the interface to ponder about the impact of the things he did this time.

“I beat up the Primordial Ones, getting rid of their pride. This way, they should keep a low profile for a very long time. The Calamity of the Supers will be delayed because of it… I can be less worried for some time now.”

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

He had a lot of things to do such as study the treasure trove of technology, expand the army, collect the Sanctum fragments, and many more. Time was what he lacked most. The later the Calamity of the Supers broke out, the better it would be for him. It would be best if the signs of it only showed after he became the Beyond Grade A Association president. His position would be very firm if that was the case. Furthermore, guiding the direction the Calamity of the Supers took would be easier.

Currently, the three Universal Civilizations were fighting with the Super Star Cluster Alliance. The universe was unstable, but this was the most stable time for Beyond Grade As. There were no exterior conflicts for them, so they could grow stronger while keeping a low profile. The association would also be able to build a more complete interest network… All things aside, it had only been a few years since the founding of the Beyond Grade A Association. There were way too many things that had to be done.

It’s time to focus on growing for some time… Han Xiao thought.

…

At the same time, Manison and Sorokin, who were in different places, both suddenly felt chills down their spines.

“Weird, why do I feel as if something bad has happened?”

Sorokin was troubled. Dozens of speculations flashed past in his mind.

The response of Manison, however, was much more direct and immediate.

“That little b*stard Black Star is definitely plotting against me again!”

Chapter 1218: Flames of War, Gaud“s Movements

Chapter 1218 Flames of War, Gaud“s Movements Time is cruel. No matter how the world changes, it never turns back and takes the world forward.The galactic society in the years of war was filled with endless unrest, changing the lives of quadrillions. Some threw themselves into the tides of the era, some were forcefully dragged into the vortices, and some were firm on living a meaningless life till death.

Protests, revelations, coups, political strife… countless chain reactions spread in the various Star Fields.

The root of this storm in the universe was the Flickering War between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance. After the Immortals disappeared, the war became more and more intense, gradually turning from using representatives to sending in official armies.

Even though both sides kept the battles as undestructive as possible, the large-scale battles between advanced civilizations were not things ordinary organizations could take part in.

The various frontlines in the fourth exploration phase exploration area became almost forbidden grounds. Once the war machines of advanced civilizations started moving, they were different from the battles between individuals with great power. It was as if they had taken over the sky.

In the face of the attacks of the three Universal Civilizations’ official armies, due to the problem of having a limited supply lines, the Super Star Cluster Alliance started to show signs of defeat. Their territories were snatched away time after time, and their battlefronts kept shrinking.

In the midst of all this madness, the Beyond Grade As, however, were unshaken. Their days were spent in comfort, keeping a low profile while slowly completing the association’s profit network, linking the Beyond Grade A organizations from various industries.

While heated wars were going on outside, Han Xiao ignored all of it and announced his isolation. Other than the Beyond Grade A meetings, he did not step out of the gates of his workshop at all, spending all his time studying the technology treasure trove from Jayz.

The operation of the Black Star Army no longer required his attention. With the army’s resources and partnerships with multiple organizations, it slowly expanded the subdivisions in the various Star Fields. The immense profits earned were used by the Great Mechanic Han to study the technology. The army was making so much money that he could not spend it all. His cash power became ever stronger.

With his current position, no one dared mess with him without good reason. As for those who were overconfident and did not know where they stood, the army could easily deal with them. There was no need for Han Xiao to settle those issues personally.

The various Primordial Ones of the Holy Accord organization were training secretly and peacefully. Manison, Sorokin, and the others who had beef with him were also busy with their own things. No one came to disturb him.

In this peaceful environment, the Great Mechanic Han finally had the time to study technology for several years.

During which, he even obtained the Stuarts Peace Prize once and got himself a Legendary Point, as well as some fame for some time.

High-level beings’ sense of time varied. They could make one second feel many times longer to themselves, and they could let pass months in the blink of an eye. Therefore, Han Xiao never felt bored being submerged in the sea of knowledge. He even grew more patient.

Days passed in the flames of war. The time now was Galaxy Calendar Year 738.

…

At a certain secret Crimson Dynasty military training base, all of the lessons had stopped. All the students and drill sergeants gathered in the biggest square and looked up at the enormous virtual screen in the sky.

The screen was split into dozens of smaller windows displaying different images. Most of the screens were showing different angles of a silhouette that was shining brightly from all over his body.

One of the windows that was showing the widest angle was displaying a spherical mechanical satellite that was filled with energy circuits. Condensed chimney-looking devices extended from all over the satellite. Some were absorbing the dark energy that existed everywhere in the cosmic space, and some were shooting out white plasma. The energy circuits on the satellite’s surface flickered like it was breathing. This seemed to be a certain kind of energy cycling and converting device.

If the people on the square looked at the other side of the sky, they would see that many more similar satellites were hovering above the base. One of them was operating, and it was the one shown on the screen.

This was one of the facilities in this training base. Its official name was ‘High Energy Life Form Enhancing Device’, commonly known by the students as the Energy Tower. It only had one function. Through a special method of converting and accumulating energy, it could create a special environment to help Calamity Grades take that crucial step, slightly increasing their chances of becoming Beyond Grade As.

Usually, this device would not be used even once in many years. Now, someone who could use it finally appeared. It was indeed Gaud, who was very famous in the base.

After training for many years in the base, he had finally reached the point where he had to take this step.

All students and drill sergeants came to witness it, holding their breath and waited for the birth of a new Beyond Grade A.

In the images, the shining silhouette was in the middle of the energy vortex created by the device, ravaging the energy around him, creating colorful energy streams that looked like silk as well as fog. It was dreamy.

After some time, the silhouette seemed to have reached saturation and gradually stopped absorbing energy. The brightness of it slowly reduced.

The next moment, Gaud opened his eyes. A beam of light shot out and retracted back one second later.

As he moved his body, he turned into a meteor and flew out from the tunnel within the device. He descended from the sky in front of everyone and hovered above the crowd.

“He did it!”

Deafening sounds of cheers shot up the sky from the square. Everyone present had witnessed the birth of a Beyond Grade A. They were thrilled.

Gaud controlled his body and landed on the ground. The base manager and the chief instructor approached, their faces filled with bright smiles.

“Congratulations on stepping into the territory of the Beyond Grade A. You really did not disappoint the dynasty!”

Back then, the two of them had felt that Grade A had the chance of becoming a Beyond Grade A within eight years, but Gaud had done it in just less than five years. It was better than they expected, and they were happier than anyone because of it.

Gaud moved his fingers around, seemingly familiarizing himself with the new power he had gained. “The dynasty upper echelons should want to see me, when?”

“Yes, the Ruler is already waiting for you.”

“Lead the way then.”

Gaud tone was normal.

The students were chased away by the drill sergeant. Gaud changed his clothes and went with the manager of the base to a remote communication room.

Then, the base manager left leaving Gaud alone in the room.

Gaud operated the communication device, activated the remote projection, and entered the preset channel. The next moment, the environment in his sights changed. He came to the Ruler’s office. Urranrell was sitting in her chair, and Clotti was standing right away.

“Congratulations on becoming a Beyond Grade A. The dynasty is proud of you.” Urranrell’s tone was friendly.

“Greetings, Your Excellency Urranrell.” Gaud nodded.

“You’ve done a great job. Your growth exceeded our expectations…”

Urranrell gave him some words of praise and encouragement. This was the patriotic education every direct Beyond Grade A had to go through. It was to encourage them to contribute to the dynasty.

After saying that, Urranrell quickly got to business and said, “The dynasty will adjust your authority, privileges, and position as soon as possible. Do you have any thoughts about the position you’d like to take?”

“My power isn’t solid yet. I don’t wish to take on any positions for the time being. As for the future… I think my ability is very suitable for the research and developments area. I hope to take on a position in the dynasty’s Science Institute.”

Gaud smiled faintly.

“Hmm, the dynasty will consider your suggestion.” Urranrell nodded.

This time, Gaud narrowed his eyes and said, “Speaking of which, I’m already a Beyond Grade A now. Is the plan regarding the Evolution Cube going to be carried out?”

Hearing this, Urranrell’s movements paused for a second.

Many years ago, the dynasty’s upper echelons had secretly made a plan to use Gaud’s Esper Ability to analyze the energy composition of the Evolution Cube after Gaud became a Beyond Grade A. This way, they would have a chance to secretly crack part of the mechanisms of the Evolution Cube, so the dynasty would acquire this technology as a form of insurance.

However, the Black Star Army had been growing stronger too quickly over the past years. The risk of this plan had increased rapidly. After Black Star became the Special Safety Consultant of the three Universal Civilizations, this plan was indefinitely postponed.

Urranrell went silent for a few seconds, shook her head, and said, “This plan won’t be carried out yet. We don’t wish to damage our relationship with Black Star for now, even if the chance of that is very low.”

Gaud narrowed his eyes and asked, “Alright, will I still have the privilege of using the Evolution Cube?”

“Yes. If you want it, submit a request. We’ll arrange to put you in the next fleet headed for the Flickering World to use the Evolution Cube.”

Then, Urranrell paused and added, “When you arrive at the Flickering World, go to Planet Finn while you’re there and join the Beyond Grade A Association. The dynasty needs more direct members in the association to keep an eye on their movements.”

“Sure, I’ll go.”

The two of them talked for a while more before cutting off the communication. From the start to the end, Clotti did not say a word.

After the remote projection was deactivated, Gaud returned to his room. His eyes were flickering.

He pondered for a while, then as he was about to exit the room, his private communicator suddenly rang. He received an encrypted communication request. It was surprisingly from Bekorodi.

Gaud made contact with the hawk faction very long ago. Bekorodi was one of the upper echelons of the military hawk faction. After the plan was postponed, the two of them had not spoken in a very long time. He was curious as to why Bekorodi called him.

The communication was picked up very soon.

“Gaud?”

“It’s me. What is it?”

“Congrats on becoming a Beyond Grade A. Remember the plan back then? Stick to it. When you’re going through the evolution process from the Evolution Cube, use your ability to analyze the Evolution Energy.” In the encrypted channel, Bekorodi’s voice was very blurry.

“Oh? That’s not what the ruler said.” Gaud found it interesting.

Bekorodi seemed to have expected this. He lowered his voice and said, “The Flickering War won’t last for long.”

This reply did not seem to answer Gaud’s question at all, but he understood what Bekorodi meant.

The entire dynasty knew that Urranrell’s term was about to end, and that would certainly happen after the war ended. Then, the already chosen new ruler would take her place.

Toward the end of her term, Urranrell’s control over the upper echelons weakened unavoidably. The identity of the new ruler was a secret to the outside world but not to someone like Bekorodi.

Although Gaud did not know who the new ruler was, he was almost certain Bekorodi telling him to continue the plan of analyzing the Evolution Cube was already secretly approved by the new ruler.

Through this, Gaud could see that the next ruler seemed to be more controlling. It was no wonder the next ruler was close to the hawk faction.

From another perspective, this might also be because the new ruler did not wish to execute such a risky plan during their term, so they wanted to carry out this plan at the end of Urranrell’s term.

Gaud thought for a while before slowly saying, “Understood, I’ll find a way.”

“Good, I’m counting on you.”

Bekorodi gave a short response before hanging up.

Gaud did not take this matter to heart at all. He looked like he was thinking of something in the past.

“Black Star, we’re finally going to meet again…”

…

A few days later, in the Black Star Army commander’s private workshop, Han Xiao was debugging the machines when he suddenly received a report from Phillip.

“Master, I’ve received the name list for the next batch of candidates from the dynasty who are going to accept the evolution process from the Evolution Cube hum.”

Han Xiao continued to do his things and said casually, “Anyone worth paying attention to?”

“Yes, yes. A new direct Beyond Grade A of the dynasty is on this list. His name is Gaud, hum!”

Han Xiao’s movement suddenly stopped.

“Gaud?”

He put down the work in his hands, brought the list up, and looked at the basic information of Gaud. His eyes instantly narrowed as he searched through his memories.

“I think I met him a few times decades ago when fighting the Kunde Race. He seemed to only be an aide-de-camp back then…”

That’s weird. I didn’t expect this guy to become a Beyond Grade A. This guy did not exist in my previous life. Is this because of the butterfly effects I’ve caused again?

Han Xiao grinned slightly.

“Interesting. When this guy gets here, I’m going to find out what’s going on.”

Anyway, no matter who Gaud was, since such a person did not appear in his previous life, there were definitely some secrets within him. He might even come across a hidden mission or sorts, so there was no reason for him to let it past.

Chapter 1219: Esper Ability-Rebirth

Chapter 1219 [Esper Ability-Rebirth]

Phillip’s report interrupted his work. Han Xiao thought about it and decided to rest a while. He left the workshop, entered his personal lounge, and sat on the couch. He waved his hand to have the mechanical assistant bring some snacks and drinks, then browsed the recent news on the quantum network.

During the version upgrade, the forums were frozen, so Han Xiao lost a major form of entertainment. In his free time, other than teleporting to Floating Dragon Island to accompany Ames, all he did was look at the news online.

Looking at the situation of the Flickering War, Han Xiao thought, Yo, it’s already at this stage. The Super Star Cluster Alliance is almost going to lose grip. Looks like they couldn’t change their fate. The ending of the war is near.

Due to the butterfly effect he caused, Han Xiao could not accurately predict which exact day the Flickering War would end. However, judging from the current situation, the dust would probably settle within three years. The Super Star Cluster Alliance would not be able to last much longer.

The Flickering War broke out in Galaxy Calendar Year 732. Six years had already passed. This was close to what he predicted. He felt that the war would last at least three to five years, and at most ten to twenty years.

Although the Intelligent Plague broke out in advance, causing the Super Star Cluster Alliance to have more time to prepare, there were still way too many factors that caused them to have disadvantages. The Super Star Cluster Alliance were fighting a defensive war. The battlefield was far from their territory, they were surrounded by enemies like an island. In the past years, the three Universal Civilizations cut off tons of secret supply routes of the enemy, causing the Super Star Cluster Alliance to have less and less external support. Their situation was becoming worse every day. The only way for the Super Star Cluster Alliance to get out of this situation was through external means, dispatching soldiers from their home territory and making new battle zones in other Star Fields. However, if they did that, the nature of the war would become completely different. The laws between advanced civilizations would break, and the scale of the war would jump multiple levels. The war would become much more intense.

They were just putting down a small bet. No one could take the consequences of flipping the table completely.

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and said, “When the war is over, the Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light are both going to have different leaders. Urranrell’s term will end, and she’ll retire. The new ruler… tsk, a troublesome person.”

He was not sure if the butterfly effect he caused would change who the next ruler was, but the chance of that was not high. Hence, of course, he knew who the new ruler was.

Although he occasionally had trouble with Urranrell, the partnership was quite pleasant. However, the next ruler was someone in the hawk faction who had different ways of doing things. In his previous life, the Calamity of the Supers and the Silver Revolutionary Army both happened during the term of the new ruler. The next ruler was also the ruler the players were most familiar with in his previous life.

The ruler was not as lenient toward the Supers, which was also one of the reasons the Calamity of the Supers broke out. The next president of the Federation of Light was also not the nicest person.

“When the new ruler takes office, he’ll definitely make contact with all the Beyond Grade A allies. I hope things can stay the same.”

Han Xiao shook his head. Throughout history, every time the new took over the old, a lot of problems would come up.

He put this thought behind him and looked at the interface. Currently, his (God’s Trait Transformation Machinery] was already at the twelfth stage. He settled all the prerequisite missions with Mission Completion Cards, so he only spent a total of seven God’s Trait Transformation Points.

The cost of leveling up to the thirteenth stage was eight points with three prerequisite missions. This meant that it would at least require five God’s Trait Transformation Points.

The technology treasure trove from Jayz consisted of Gold blueprints. This was a gold mountain that needed to be digested slowly. Han Xiao only studied part of it in the past years, and he already felt that his inventory had become richer.

If he was to accumulate Contribution Points and exchange Gold blueprints from the three Universal Civilizations, God knew when he would be able to obtain this much knowledge.

Han Xiao considered the technology as his final trump card and had yet to display any of it. He believed that once he used it in front of others, the various civilizations and the other Beyond Grade As would probably be in an uproar, and he would face tons of trouble. Hence, it was better to slowly study them for now.

More than two months later, a dynasty fleet arrived at Black Star Palace, carrying the new batch of dynasty elites there to receive the evolution process from the Evolution Cube.

Spaceships rode into the dock at the exterior base of Black Star Palace one after another. The hatches opened, and the elites from the various departments of the dynasty swarmed out, gathering on the platform. As the only Beyond Grade A, Gaud naturally became the leader. As soon as he stepped onto the dock, a few army receptionists approached him directly.

“Elites of the dynasty, welcome to the Black Star Army. The army commander has been waiting. Please follow me.”

Then, the receptionist led the way ahead, and the crowd followed behind.

They quickly came to an intersection.

This time, the receptionist stopped, turned to Gaud, and said, “Your Excellency Gaud, the army commander would like to chat with you. Please follow me to see the army commander. As for the rest of you, my colleague will bring you to the hall to wait for the evolution
process.”

This was the army’s territory. The two sides had been partners for many years, so the dynasty elites had no objections. Black Star’s love for networking spread across the entire universe; no one found this strange. “Lead the way then.”

Gaud nodded with a calm expression.

The crowd split into two and went different directions. Gaud followed the receptionist. The footsteps of the others soon faded.

The two of them came to a private guest room, opened the door, and walked in. Gaud immediately saw Han Xiao, who was standing in front of the window, facing away from him. The stars were shining brightly outside the window. The person in front of the window was tall, muscular, and had wide shoulders, giving off a manly vibe all over his body. He looked like a Pugilist.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Han Xiao turned around, gave a friendly smile, and pointed at the seat with a hand gesture.

“You must be Gaud. The dynasty got another direct Beyond Grade A member, congratulations. Quick, please sit.” “We meet again. Do you still remember me?” Gaud sat down, his tone casual. “Of course, we met once during the Kunde Race war.”

Han Xiao sat opposite Gaud, secretly sizing him up. He was now completely certain this person never existed in his previous life. He wondered where he came from.

Gaud nodded, smiled faintly, and said, “Yes, then you definitely remember what I said back then. I said we’ll surely become colleagues one day, and now it has come true.”

“I like your confidence. I love to make friends with people who have a lot of potential.” Han Xiao nodded but was secretly pondering in his mind.

From how it looked, this guy was someone who had extreme confidence. Even when speaking with him, he was casual and did not put himself in a lower position… This was very common among the new Beyond Grade As. It only felt arrogant but nothing strange other than that.

In the database of the dynasty, the information of the direct Beyond Grade As was all kept secret. Even with Han Xiao’s authorization as an ally, he could only find some of the basic information, and Gaud’s past was very clean. He looked like a regular military man of the dynasty.

Han Xiao was only curious because this person did not exist in his previous life. He did not have any other suspicions for now.

Gaud was a direct member of the dynasty, so Han Xiao was in no position to question him. Of course, he was not going to cause trouble with a colleague just to satisfy his curiosity.

Afterward, they had a casual and pleasant chat.

After a while, Han Xiao felt it was time and said with a smile, “I’m a little curious as to what your ability is. Is it ok to tell me?”

“The world will know my ability sooner or later. But before that, let me keep it a secret for some time. This is what the dynasty requested too.” Gaud grinned and refused.

Seeing this, Han Xiao did not continue to push him but neither did he give up-he decided to sting him later.

They chatted for a while longer. Gaud actively stopped their chat and said with a smile, “Black Star, let’s stop chatting for now. The others are still waiting. I want to go through the evolution process as soon as possible. I still have to visit Planet Finn and request to join the Beyond Grade A Association.”

“Oh, that’s easy. I’m the vice president. I’ll handle the procedures needed.” Han Xiao stood up. “Since you’re in a hurry, I won’t keep you. Let’s keep in contact in the future.”

Then, the two of them walked out of the room side by side and came to the hall where the dynasty elites gathered. They were all waiting there.

Han Xiao said a few words of encouragement and raised his hand. The Evolution Cube hovered and spun in front of him.

He entered the secret code to activate it. Black Evolution Energy gushed out and swept past everyone like a tide. Then energy solidified and black cocoons appeared in the hall. Gaud was in one of them.

The place became silent instantly. Only Han Xiao was able to walk around.

Hehe, kid, you can’t move now, can you?

Han Xiao giggled, stowing the Evolution Cube. Then, he controlled the nanoparticles to form a needle and poked it into the black cocoon Gaud was in.

He knew how it felt to go through the evolution process. They would feel an overwhelming itch all over their body. The senses inside their body would be enhanced, and their senses of the outside world would become dull.

Even if Gaud discovered he did this, he was not worried. After all, he could easily find an excuse for it.

The combat information popped up on the interface, and Han Xiao browsed through it carefully. “Gaud, level… oh, 240? He’s got a lot of potential, his level is the same as mine when I became a Beyond Grade A… Woah, this guy’s ability is Energy Control! This is the top tier ability among the Super High Risk Esper Abilities. It actually really exists. No wonder he’s so secretive about it. This ability almost counters all classes…”

Han Xiao was secretly shocked.

There were stronger and weaker Super High Risk Esper Abilities too, and Energy Control was undoubtedly top tier. It only existed in theory before, but now it really appeared. Gaud was probably the first ever person to possess this ability.

His ability was outrageously powerful, and his potential was also very high. If he continued training, becoming a peak Beyond Grade A would only be a matter of time. It was no wonder the dynasty poured so many resources into training him and kept him a highly confidential secret. This kid got a golden future!

In the battle of Beyond Grade As, one’s Esper Ability was a decisive factor too. If Gaud reached the same level as Clotti, Gaud would have a more than ninety-percent chance of beating Clotti. This was the advantage his Esper Ability had.

Energy Control countered almost all Supers. Be it psychic, magic, psionic, or dark energy, they were all included in the energy this ability could control. The only restriction was the user’s strength, which decided the limits of his control.

It would not be an exaggeration to say when Gaud reached his peak, he would be absolutely qualified to compete for the spot of the strongest individual in the entire explored universe.

No wonder he was so confident, anyone who had an Esper Ability with infinite potential like this one would be very confident about their future.

How did the dynasty get this lucky? Where did they find this guy? Han Xiao exclaimed in his mind, but then he wondered. Wait a minute, if he has such an extremely powerful Esper Ability, he shouldn’t have been completely unknown in my previous life.

Did he die in my previous life and the butterfly effect I caused saved him?

Han Xiao continued browsing the interface with these doubts in his mind. He was then appalled to discover that Gaud’s attributes were quite irregular. The other attributes suited his level, but his Intellect and Mystic were way too high. One was more than 9,000, and the other was 13,000.

That doesn’t check out. When I became a Beyond Grade A at level 240, my highest attribute, Intellect, was only just over six thousand, and my second highest attribute, Endurance, was little more than four thousand. How are his attributes so high? This is almost the normal standard for Beyond Grade As who are about level 320!

Han Xiao initially only wanted to look at his Esper Ability, but he discovered more and more dubious things on the way, and he got more and more suspicious.

He looked through his information for some time. Suddenly, his eyes were drawn to one of Gaud’s talents as he discovered another anomaly.

(Esper Ability-Rebirth]: Your body has been reborn. Your soul is still strong. You have inherited a fraction of the INT and MYS attributes from before.

This is…

Han Xiao’s eyes immediately widened.

He could think of many things just from the name of this talent.

There’s indeed something unusual!

This kid is probably just some new Beyond Grade A. His secrets seem to be more shocking than I thought!

Chapter 1220: Speculation

Chapter 1220 Speculation Body is reborn. Soul is still strong…Looking at Gaud’s cocoon, Han Xiao started pondering.

According to the introduction of [Esper Ability—Rebirth], it was similar to how Psychics could possess others’ minds, as well as Sorokin’s ability to keep changing identities. Judging from the several anomalies on Gaud’s attributes in the interface, he was most likely someone who ‘started a new account’.

The detailed mechanisms of this ability were still unknown. It should be in the form of changing a body but keeping the same soul. If that was the case, judging from Gaud’s Intellect and Mystic attributes, he should have been a Beyond Grade A before he was reborn.

This was where the problem lay—the ability [Esper Ability—Rebirth] almost had no combat capability and extremely limited uses, as well as a very low growth potential. It should not allow the user to become a Beyond Grade A.

Either Gaud did not have [Esper Ability—Rebirth] and received help from another Super who had it to complete the rebirth, or a Grade A became a Beyond Grade A with both Energy Control and [Esper Ability—Rebirth].

There was not much speculation to be done if it was the former, but if it was the latter, Han Xiao only knew one person who had this ability…

EsGod!

Could it be that b*stard? His body is locked in the Spacetime Amber but his soul escaped?

Han Xiao’s eyes flickered. He was used to making daring speculations.

The chance of EsGod breaking out of the Spacetime Amber was very low, which meant he would have done it before he was captured.

The possibility of this was not low. EsGod had enemies everywhere, so he would have most likely prepared for it. Plus, he absorbed so many strange Esper Abilities. There was a high chance he had this type of ability. Maybe this was why he dared to make enemies everywhere, since he could ‘start a new account’ once his main account was done for.

However, [Esper Ability—Rebirth] was somewhat different from other ways of changing bodies. For example, no matter how many times Sorokin changed bodies, his abilities would remain the same. His soul was his foundation. However, the foundation of being able to absorb Esper Abilities was in the genetics of EsGod’s body, and his body was trapped in the Spacetime Amber. If Gaud was really EsGod, by changing into another body, his abilities should have changed too. He would have lost the ability to absorb Esper Abilities and only have one Esper Ability, [Energy Control].

Could it be that Gaud is a secret container EsGod prepared for himself? Hmm, EsGod was always driven to create Super High Risk Esper Abilities. Energy Control might be the results of many years’ work. That b*stard might have really succeeded in fusing a ton of Esper Abilities into one overpowered ability and somehow planted it into Gaud’s body…

Han Xiao pondered.

Gaud did not appear out of nowhere; he had a complete life. Since the dynasty was confident enough to pour resources onto him, the dynasty was definitely certain that Gaud’s background was clean.

If this was EsGod’s doing, he definitely started to prepare for it a very long time ago. Somehow, he was able to create an identity with a clean background.

If this speculation was true, EsGod joining the three Universal Civilizations after being reborn would not just be to simply ‘join them if you can’t defeat them’ but part of a very ambitious and huge plan.

This might be how it happened…

To achieve his goal, EsGod committed countless crimes, became an enemy of the world, and finally created a Super High Risk Esper Ability with infinite potential. However, the identity ‘EsGod’ was too notorious, so he would never have peace even though he obtained this ability. Furthermore, his genetic chain became overloaded as a side effect of absorbing countless Esper Abilities. He might have planned to give up this identity long ago!

Therefore, EsGod planted the Super High Risk Esper Ability he created into a ‘container’, waiting for the day to use Rebirth and shift his soul into it. Thus, he got a new life, a new identity, and joined the three Universal Civilizations with the Super High Risk Esper Ability he had obtained. He was raised by the three Universal Civilizations and wiped his history completely clean!

Han Xiao pondered.

EsGod is definitely someone who could do something like this. He does not care about whether he’s a wanted criminal or a member of a civilization. All that matters is how much he will benefit from the faction he’s in. He only ever had one goal, to step into that higher territory…

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. This should be one of EsGod’s many plans.

However, all of this relied on the assumption of ‘Gaud is EsGod’ being true. Actually, just having [Esper Ability—Rebirth] could not prove this to be completely true.

Although he felt there was a high chance Gaud was EsGod, the evidence was not enough for him to fully believe it.

Make daring speculations and cautiously search for evidence… it’s a pity Bold Explorer can’t be used on people.

Han Xiao shook his head.

No matter who Gaud really was, he did a perfect job of rebirthing, not leaving any clues behind. He thought no one would notice it, which was why he was so confident and relaxed when he was with Han Xiao.

Luckily, my level is higher than his, so I saw all of his abilities. I might be the only one who’s discovered Gaud’s secrets…

Han Xiao did not leave but sat on the side and waited while brainstorming.

After a while, the black cocoons in the room shattered one after another. Dynasty elites completed the evolution process and came out of it one after another, feeling refreshed. Seeing that Han Xiao was still there waiting for them, they could not help but feel flattered.

Gaud took the longest and came out of the cocoon last.

“How are you feeling?” Han Xiao acted completely normal and spoke with a friendly tone.

“Quite good.” Gaud glanced at Han Xiao. “When I was inside, I felt someone poke me with a needle. Was that you?”

“Haha, don’t mind it. That’s a needle used to check if the evolution process is going smoothly. You’re a direct member of the dynasty, so I have to pay more attention. After all, the evolution process is not completely safe. There are still risks, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Han Xiao smiled and easily found an excuse to cover it up.

Gaud nodded and calmly said, “Thanks for your concern. I have to go to Planet Finn, so I won’t disturb you any longer.”

Seeing that Gaud intended to leave, Han Xiao did not stop him. “Alright, I won’t keep you then. See you in the association.”

Then, Han Xiao turned around and left the hall, quickly disappearing from everyone’s sights.

Gaud’s eyes gleamed, followed the receptionist and returned to the dock, led the dynasty elites back to the fleet.

The dynasty fleet quickly left the dock, shot into the galaxy, and split up into two groups. One headed back with the dynasty elites, and the other carried Gaud to head to Planet Finn deep in the Flickering World.

In the spaceship, Gaud looked at Black Star Palace getting further in the porthole. A slight grin appeared on his face.

“Black Star, oh, Black Star, I said we will meet again sooner or later, but never would you have expected not to recognize me when I stand in front of you again, even enthusiastically trying to befriend me…”

Seeing how Black Star had absolutely no idea, Gaud could not help but laugh in his mind.

Tricking Black Star right under his nose felt strangely thrilling.

During the evolution process earlier, he used his ability to try to analyze the Evolution Energy. With the edge his ability had, he already had some clues.

“No wonder this is an ability only thought to exist in theory. With enough time, I’ll have a sixty-percent chance of figuring out the Evolution Energy. My position will then skyrocket in the dynasty, and the upper echelons will also be more likely to agree with my request of being stationed at the Science Institute when they see the results. This way, I’ll be closer to the dynasty’s research results of that set of data from back then…”

A snicker appeared on Gaud’s face as he went through the plan in his mind.

…

Han Xiao watched the departing dynasty fleet from his office.

“I did not act differently. Gaud should not know that I’ve already seen through his secrets. The most important thing now is to find out who this guy really is. He’s a big uncertainty…”

Han Xiao frowned slightly.

The situation was not in his favor currently. Gaud was a direct member of the dynasty. This identity protected him. There were many things Han Xiao could not do because of it.

The imminent issue was to acquire evidence to prove there was something abnormal with Gaud. Only then would he have sufficient reasons to do something.

Otherwise, if he beat up a new direct Beyond Grade A whom the dynasty expected a lot of for no reason, he could easily imagine just how strongly the dynasty would respond.

The dynasty had to take responsibility for all of its direct members, so they would certainly never compromise or take a step back. In the worst case, the dynasty would instantly become his enemy, which would destroy almost all the preparation he had done up till now. Even though he was very useful to the dynasty, when it came to this kind of thing, there was zero room for negotiation. The dynasty would not hesitate to lose him as an ally.

As long as there was no evidence, any explanation for such actions would be meaningless.

If he really had to act without enough evidence, he had to do it secretly and wipe out all the clues. There could not be witnesses, clues, or anything else, and he must not fail…

“The risk is too high. There’ll be tons of problems if I’m even slightly careless.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

Clearly, giving up the profit network and connections he had built up over all the years just for Gaud was certainly not worth it. Unless he had no other choice, he would never do it.

There was a less risky path now, so Han Xiao did not want to take this risk.

If Gaud really is EsGod, something has definitely happened with the body he left in the Spacetime Amber… Looks like I’ll have to request from the dynasty to visit EsGod.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Gaud still had to stay in the Flickering World for some time. It would be best to figure things out before he returned. Otherwise, things would be much more difficult once Gaud returned to the dynasty’s territory no matter what he wanted to do.

Ding!

While he was pondering, a notification popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the hidden mission [Gaud’s Secret]!

Mission Introduction: Gaud is a new direct Beyond Grade A of the Crimson Dynasty. During your contact with him, you noticed something abnormal about him. This might be a shocking secret.

Mission Requirements: Figure out Gaud’s secret.

Reward: 1 Character Summon Card, draw one ability/talent from the target.

Tip: This mission might affect your relationship with the Crimson Dynasty faction. Please decide how to act cautiously.

_____________________

Han Xiao looked at the interface.

A hidden mission… Was it triggered because I saw his abilities? That’s not an easy trigger condition… I can only see all of Gaud’s abilities because my level is higher than his. I’m probably the only person who can trigger this mission.

Chapter 1221: Release

Chapter 1221 Release Han Xiao turned off the interface, prepared a request to visit EsGod, and sent it to the dynasty.After a short while, he received the response.

“Hmm? My file got sent back?”

Han Xiao looked at the virtual screen in front of him that was showing the request file he sent to the dynasty.

A red stamp was added to the bottom right corner of the file that wrote ‘Unapproved’ in the dynasty’s language. This meant that his request was rejected.

“The dynasty isn’t letting me visit EsGod. What does that mean?”

Han Xiao frowned. He took out his communicator, thought for a while, and did not call Urranrell’s private number but her office.

The communicator rang for a while and was picked up very soon. Seeing that it was Black Star calling, the liaison officer directed the call to the head secretary of the office.

“Your Excellency Black Star, what can I do for you?” The head secretary had a good relationship with Han Xiao.

“I have just sent a request to visit EsGod, but it was not approved. Is this Urranrell’s decision?”

“Ah, Her Excellency has been attending a meeting, so it shouldn’t be her. I didn’t know about this. Your request was not reported to us.”

“Can you check which department processed the request for me?”

“Sure, please wait for a moment…”

The head secretary searched through the internal system for a while and brought up the files before sighing.

“This is the collective decision of the dynasty’s main artificial intelligence, Heroic Soul, and the prison department. I looked at their internal remarks. The location of EsGod is top secret, and no one is allowed to visit under normal circumstances. Your Excellency Black Star, you are a special case. You’re surprisingly on their visiting blacklist…”

“Why am I on the blacklist? What did I do?” Han Xiao was confused.

The head secretary sighed and said, “You didn’t do anything, but you’re currently the only person in the world who can release EsGod. Therefore, before the five-hundred-year sentence ends, you’re not allowed to visit…”

Han Xiao was speechless.

I caught EsGod for the dynasty, and now I can’t even visit him?

Alright, from the dynasty’s perspective, this is logical. I’m the only person in the universe who can open the Spacetime Amber seal, so I’m the only one who has the ability to release him. This way, the reason for the dynasty rejecting my visit seems normal. It’s simply to avoid risk.

Although it was not wrong for the dynasty to do this, Han Xiao was still disheartened emotionally.

He thought the request would be smoothly approved. He did not expect it to get rejected.

“Can’t something be done?” Han Xiao frowned.

“The authorization level for EsGod’s prison is very high. If you must visit him, you’ll have to ask the Ruler to help. She can approve your request, but it’ll need a sensible reason, otherwise…”

Hearing that, Han Xiao nodded.

He had quite a good relationship with Urranrell, but there was no way she could just approve it without a valid reason.

Han Xiao hung up the communication. Urranrell was in a quite important meeting, so he had to wait a while before he could contact her. Since there was time, he used it to think about what to say.

“I was going to see EsGod by visiting him, but sadly, that won’t work. Without a valid reason, the dynasty won’t allow me to get close to EsGod’s cell in any form. Even the coordinates of the prison are a secret, and I don’t have the authority to check it…”

Han Xiao tutted with dissatisfaction.

Simply saying he wanted to check on EsGod would not be able to convince the dynasty. Plus, he had to open the amber seal if he wanted to check on EsGod. The best method was still to come up with a special reason so that the dynasty would allow him to open the amber. The risk of this method was the lowest.

If he could not convince the dynasty, he would probably have to imitate Old Manison and try to hack into the dynasty’s database to search for related information. Although he would offend the dynasty by doing so, stealing information was not too serious an offence… but this could only be the backup plan.

After a while, the secretary sent a message to him saying that the Ruler’s meeting ended. Han Xiao then called Urranrell’s private number, and it was picked up very quickly.

Urranrell appeared on the screen with a calm face and cut to the chase.

“Black Star, I heard you just tried to contact me and want to visit EsGod, why?”

Although she hid it very well, Han Xiao was very observant and saw that Urranrell was a little mentally tired. He thought about it and said, “EsGod has already been locked up for decades. I want to open the seal and check on the status of his soul. ”

“Is that necessary?” Urranrell frowned. “You were the one who suggested the five-hundred-year sentence, and it’s only been a few decades. With EsGod’s strength, his soul won’t have dissipated this quickly. Opening the seal now will only cause trouble.”

“Ahem, I was not strong enough back then and had a limited understanding of the level of strength EsGod has. That’s why I suggested that the sentence should be as long as possible. Five hundred years was just a rough estimate. Now that I’ve reached this level and have a deeper understanding of the Spacetime Amber, I’ve discovered that wiping out the soul of a Beyond Grade A probably won’t take that long.”

Han Xiao said the reason he had prepared. He did not have proof to explain his suspicion of Gaud, so saying that would only make the dynasty suspicious. Thus, he did not mention Gaud.

Urranrell did not doubt him but still shook her head and said, “I don’t think that’s needed. EsGod is too dangerous. I still think imprisoning him is the safest. The dynasty can afford to wait that long.”

Han Xiao expected Urranrell to say this; he was not surprised. “Experimenting on him is just one of the goals. I actually have other worries. I’ve only come to understand how strong someone at this level is, and thinking back now, I realized that capturing EsGod was too easy. Something’s not right. From what I know about EsGod, he very likely escaped using some kind of soul-related ability. I’m worried that we’ve been tricked, so I want to open the seal and check.”

Urranrell’s eyes flickered, but she was still not very convinced.

“Evidence?”

Han Xiao deliberately spoke in a solemn tone. “This is just speculation, which is why I want to verify it. But if you need evidence, you can ask Lotus Swordsman. Back when we caught EsGod, she sensed a strange soul ripple from EsGod. I suspect that was where the problem lay.”

Gaud was a star the dynasty had high hopes for, so mentioning him was not a wise choice. Han Xiao’s words were mainly targeted at EsGod.

Hearing this, Urranrell finally became serious about the issue and immediately told the head secretary to contact Lotus Swordsman.

Lotus Swordsman came online very quickly and agreed that it did happen. Only about thirty years had passed since it happened, so she remembered it vividly.

Seeing this, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief in his mind. This evidence actually could not prove anything. Everyone thought that it was just EsGod’s final meaningless struggle. However, now that he made use of it to make his excuse sound more convincing… If this did not happen, convincing Urranrell would probably have been much more difficult.

Having received a response, Urranrell went silent, seemingly analyzing the pros and cons. After a while, she looked up right at Han Xiao’s eyes and said seriously, “Black Star, if EsGod gets free, can you guarantee you can capture him again?”

Han Xiao smiled. “I could do it then; I can do it now.”

He no longer had the Esper Silence Character Summon Card, but after decades, he was much stronger than before. Even if his guess was wrong, he would just have to seal EsGod up once more.

Furthermore, the others did not know that the Character Summon Card was a one-time ability. They would only think that he could still use the ability.

Urranrell pondered for quite a while and nodded in the end.

“Okay, I’ll approve it! Since your suspicion makes sense, open the seal and check EsGod’s status. Make sure that we did not capture an empty shell!”

…

Over ten days later…

A huge cube shaped mechanical building hovered in space. It was a galactic fortress covered with armor and shields that were more than enough to endure bombardments from hostile fleets. This was the space prison EsGod was locked up in.

At this point of time, dense dynasty fleets surrounded the prison. Cannons extended from every battleship, all ready to fire.

A black silhouette hovered near the prison. It was Han Xiao. He had opened the secondary dimensional army box and was summoning his army, forming a second encirclement.

Gaud was still on his way in the Flickering World. Han Xiao wasted no time and directly used the King to teleport into the dynasty’s subdivision in their territory, boarded the dynasty fleet that was there to pick him up, spent about ten days traveling, and finally arrived at this restricted area.

After summoning countless mechanical soldiers, Han Xiao finally closed the secondary dimensional army box gate and said in the communication channel, “I’m ready. Activate all spacetime stabilization devices and open the prison core.”

“Roger.” The fleet commander’s serious voice sounded in the channel.

The next moment, an invisible ripple extended from the fleet’s center. The spacetime of this area instantly ‘tightened’. The spacetime coefficients of this area became extremely stable. Almost all abilities related to spacetime became useless.

Then, the space prison opened layers by layers like a blossoming flower showing its stamen. The core of the prison was an egg-shaped cabin that stored the Spacetime Amber of EsGod, tightly locked in place by the mechanical structure of the prison.

As the prison opened, the egg-shaped cabin was unlocked as well. Its independent power system started operating. The thrusters shot out flames and slowly pushed the cabin out.

As Han Xiao extended his arm, his Mechanical Force pulled the ten-meter-long egg-shaped cabin toward him. He then opened the cabin door.

A familiar face entered his sights. It was EsGod, who had been trapped in the Spacetime Amber for decades. He still had the same expression and posture as his last moment of freedom before he was locked up.

“All units ready! Prepare to fire!”

The fleet commander’s grave toned voice sounded in the communication channel.

Even after decades, the fear EsGod had left in people’s hearts had yet to fade away.

“Now, it’s time to verify my speculation…”

Han Xiao looked into EsGod’s eyes, took a deep breath, took out the core of the Spacetime Amber, and poked at the Spacetime Amber seal.

Pop!

It was as if the crisp sound of the Spacetime Amber shattering could be heard.

The prison that locked EsGod up was opened, but his body did not move. It only floated in the vacuum right before Han Xiao’s eyes.

“Is it already an empty shell…”

Han Xiao took out a suction plate shaped device and placed it on EsGod. This was a device used to detect the state of one’s soul.

Although Mechanics were not experts in the soul territory, at his level, building a device to only detect if the target had a soul was not a problem.

As the suction plate was just about to touch EsGod’s body, the next moment, Han Xiao suddenly felt a resistance force at his wrist as if someone suddenly grabbed his wrist tightly. His hand stopped moving abruptly.

Han Xiao immediately looked up at EsGod’s eyes that had color once again.

At the same time, a deep mind message entered Han Xiao’s mind.

“Like I said, we’d meet again sooner or later…”

Chapter 1222: Deception Is the Way of Wars

Chapter 1222 Deception Is the Way of Wars “Like I said, we’d meet again sooner or later… Only, I didn’t expect it to come this soon.”EsGod’s tone was filled with mockery.

Han Xiao’s pupils constricted.

This body isn’t an empty shell‽

His first thought was that he got Gaud’s identity wrong and set EsGod free for nothing.

However, when he heard what EsGod said, his eyes gleamed, and he asked, “Why were you so sure I’d definitely let you out?”

“Oh? You’re not letting me out to seek help from me?” EsGod’s brows raised. “You didn’t station so many soldiers here just to open the amber and see if I’m dead yet, did you?”

Seek help? Right, this b*stard knows about the World Tree Civilization and left the wormhole data behind. He might think that when the advanced civilizations discover the World Tree Civilization, they’ll most likely let him out to ask him for information. Is that why he said that we’d meet again sooner or later?

The Spacetime Amber froze everything except the soul that was also trapped inside the body. EsGod knew absolutely nothing about the outside world in the past decades. His impression of the universe was still the same as when he got captured.

The mind conversation happened in the split of a second. The movements of the two of them did not stop during it.

Hu!

EsGod backed away instantly and was about to teleport right away, only to realize that the spacetime of the area around him was stabilized and he could not teleport. He quickly analyzed the strength of the encirclement he was in and came to the conclusion that he would not be able to break through it using ordinary methods. Hence, he quickly thought of other ways to escape and started to use his Dimension Crack ability to fill this area. As long as he could create just a tiny crack, he would be able to escape with teleportation.

Although he did not know why the dynasty let him out, to him, escaping was his top priority.

Han Xiao acted immediately. He led the dozens of Apostle Weapons and many mechanical soldiers forward to surround EsGod. It did not matter what was going on with EsGod. As long as this body was not an empty shell, he had to seal it up once again.

The dynasty fleet around started attacking. All kinds of control-type weapons were also launched continuously. Dark-red energy filled the space.

The battle erupted in an instant!

EsGod was submerged in countless attacks in the blink of an eye.

“Back then, it took eleven Beyond Grade As to finally catch me. Black Star, you’re alone now. How are you going to capture me?”

EsGod’s mocking voice appeared in Han Xiao’s head. Despite being heavily surrounded, he did not panic at all.

After he evolved, the load on his genetic chain had drastically decreased. His strength was undoubtedly at the top tier in the universe. Although he had just come out of the Spacetime Amber, his soul was in a weakened state and had no time to prepare dozens of Beyond Grade A level doppelgangers, he still had the health-energy conversion ability.

Using [Esper Ability—Black Hole], EsGod could convert the attacks he received into his own energy, then use his regeneration Esper Ability to heal at a rapid rate. The enhanced ability to convert energy into health that Han Xiao had was obtained from EsGod too.

If EsGod had time to prepare dozens of doppelgangers in advance, he would probably have been able to single-handedly deal with the Stars Alliance world that Han Xiao had once experienced. Currently, most peak Beyond Grade As were no match for EsGod. Plus, with the many slippery space related Esper Abilities he had, he was basically undefeatable.

If not because Han Xiao landed the Esper Silence ability on him back then, causing all his Esper Abilities to stop functioning and all his doppelgangers to perish, even eleven Beyond Grade As would not have been able to capture him.

Luckily, this time, Han Xiao and the dynasty had set up in advance. EsGod’s escaping abilities were rendered useless. With his most troublesome ability gone, his threat level reduced dramatically. Otherwise, he would have been able to escape anytime he wanted.

However, this did not mean that EsGod would certainly never be able to escape. Although the dynasty had used all kinds of advanced spacetime stabilization devices, if they took too long to trap EsGod again, he might still find the chance to ‘dig a hole’ and escape.

“You’ll find out how. I’m no longer the same as before. I don’t need help to deal with you.”

Han Xiao chose some of the mechanical soldiers and assembled them. As electronic light flickered, the Mechanical Deity appeared and instantly chased after EsGod, slashing and smashing down at him, dragging a trail of electric sparks behind.

Although EsGod had many abilities, he could not use too many of them simultaneously. He solved this problem by using doppelgangers, giving them some of his Esper Abilities. The more doppelgangers that existed at the same time, the more abilities he could use.

As creating doppelgangers required large amounts of energy and he could absorb energy in battle, as the battle went on, the number of doppelgangers would increase. EsGod was also someone who would become stronger the longer the battle went on.

However, EsGod did not prepare any doppelgangers in advance this time. Although he could create them slowly during the battle, Han Xiao’s Apostle Weapons were not for decoration. As soon as he created one doppelganger, it would be murdered by the many Apostle Weapons. The number of doppelgangers he had could not increase at all.

Therefore, the current situation was very clear. All factors present had placed EsGod at an extreme disadvantage. All he could do was get beat up.

Despite being able to convert between energy and health, the rate was much slower than Han Xiao. [Esper Ability—Black Hole] had a limit and could not block all damage, and the speed of his regeneration also had a limit. The damage Han Xiao was now able to dish out was on a completely different level to before. Plus, the dynasty fleet also provided support on the side. EsGod’s health was decreasing faster than he was regenerating.

After several decades, the level difference between Han Xiao and EsGod became much smaller. He opened the interface, looked at the combat information, and saw more of EsGod’s information than before.

He quickly scanned through but did not see [Esper Ability—Rebirth] in EsGod’s ability list. He wondered if it was one of the few question marks he still could not see.

However, in EsGod’s status bar, Han Xiao discovered something abnormal.

_____________________

You are in the [Intermediate Weakened Soul] state. Your Psychological Resistance is decreased by 30%. Your INT and MYS attributes are decreased by 15%. Duration: Unknown.

You are in the [Torn Soul] state. You have lost a large portion of INT and MYS attributes. Your Psychological Resistance is decreased by 60%. Duration: Permanent.

_____________________

“This is…” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Weakened Soul should be the side effect of being imprisoned by the Spacetime Amber, which EsGod could recover from. However, the [Torn Soul] state clearly had nothing to do with the Spacetime Amber, and it just happened to match Gaud’s abnormally high attributes.

So, I didn’t guess wrong. EsGod is indeed related to Gaud.

The possibility of Gaud being a doppelganger that EsGod had created could be limited, as all his Esper Abilities were useless once he got affected by Esper Silence. Gaud had to have nothing to do with EsGod’s abilities to still exist. At the moment of EsGod’s capture, he did not have a chance to create doppelgangers. All he could do was soul-related things in that short period of time.

Therefore, EsGod did not just simply shift his soul but unflinchingly used some kind of Esper Ability to tear his own soul apart and fuse it into Gaud’s body, leaving the remaining soul in his original body.

The Spacetime Amber froze everything, so there was no way EsGod could control Gaud from inside. Being in the outside world for so many years, it should be EsGod’s main consciousness inside Gaud.

At this point of time, the various detection devices of the dynasty fleet did not discover any odd soul ripples, meaning that this ‘EsGod’ was also not remotely controlled.

Therefore, the two souls were now completely separated into two independent individuals.

This meant that this ‘EsGod’ before him might not be the EsGod he knew but instead a new personality, a new consciousness that birthed from the remaining soul and memories of EsGod, like a clone. As for the main consciousness of EsGod, it was actually in Gaud… or was it the other way around?

If this was the case, EsGod was still EsGod, and Gaud would still be Gaud. Even though their personalities and memories were hardly different, they were two different people… Could this be what the word ‘rebirth’ in [Esper Ability—Rebirth] meant‽

His original body is a Beyond Grade A, and Gaud also became a Beyond Grade A. This b*stard split into two different Beyond Grade A individuals… If his main consciousness is in Gaud, then he’s really completely merciless toward himself.

All kinds of thoughts flashed past Han Xiao’s mind.

If the two souls were still linked and shared memories, it would be a conspicuous flaw. Judging from EsGod’s personality, if he made up his mind to wipe his ledger clean, he would not have made such a mistake. Therefore, he most likely completely cut off the connection of the two souls.

Not only did he abandon his old body, but he even did not mind creating another ‘him’ in the universe, giving all the strength he had accumulated in the past to ‘someone else’.

If this was really the case, any memories related to Gaud that this ‘EsGod’ had were probably all deleted by EsGod’s main consciousness when his soul split. That way, if the dynasty dissected this ‘EsGod’ in the future, they would not find anything in the memories.

This was why he was given the name ‘God of Espers’. No one but him could ever do something this crazy.

While making all kinds of speculation in his mind, Han Xiao’s attacks did not stop. The battle carried on fiercely.

The situation was completely one-sided. EsGod was bathing in psionic energy. His flesh was melting and regenerating countless times every second. Under the nonstop attacks, he could hardly move at all and was in a completely defensive stance. He did not dare stop regenerating health for even a second.

The way he regenerated was through accelerating the division of his cells. Every time his body regenerated, the vitality of his cells would increase, and his life span would decrease. If not because the Evolution Cube had given him a boost in the past, he would not have been able to endure such a highly intense battle.

Feeling Han Xiao’s powerful attacks, EsGod was shocked too.

He remembered that when he was locked up, Black Star was not even a peak Beyond Grade A yet. However, with the strength Han Xiao was now displaying, even EsGod could not confidently say he would be able to defeat him. Even if he was at his peak strength, if they fought in a fair duel, he felt it would most likely end up in a tie.

Only how many years have passed, and Black Star is already catching up to my level, even looking like he’s about to surpass me‽

“Your growth is really unbelievable! I’ve never seen anyone as talented as you!” EsGod honestly marveled from the bottom of his heart.

“Don’t think I’ll attack you one less time because you complimented me.”

Han Xiao continued attacking with an expressionless face. Among all the classes, he now had the easiest time fighting Espers. He gained bonus attributes and increased damage when fighting Espers.

Also, the [Elderly Killer] ability was great against an elderly like EsGod…

Though the evolved EsGod was strong, Han Xiao was not any bit weaker!

Rounds of attacks landed on EsGod continuously. Explosions appeared everywhere EsGod passed by like a snake made of flames.

After continuing to attack for some time, as Han Xiao estimated that the bonuses of his various talents had reached the maximum, Mechanical Force erupted from his body.

Ka la ka la…

The armor at the Mechanical Deity’s forehead suddenly opened up. A pile of mechanical parts extended out, turning into an exquisite mechanical crown that landed on the Mechanical Deity’s head.

The next moment, an invisible shockwave erupted from the crown, concentrated into a beam, and hit EsGod.

EsGod’s entire body trembled. It was like a huge hammer heavily bashed his consciousness.

This was the Universal Treasure Grade equipment Han Xiao learned from Jayz’s technology treasure, a Mechanical Deity exclusive weapon—[Soul Breaking Crown]!

Its name sounded like a magic item, but it was actually a piece of machinery. It worked by obtaining soul energy from breaking down psionic energy. The Soul Breaking Crown could provide an extremely high amount of Psychological Resistance for the user of the Mechanical Deity while at the same time being able to launch mental attacks.

Usually, Mechanics’ weaknesses were their original body and their mind, they also tremendously lacked mind attack means. The effect of this Gold equipment could make up for that weakness to a certain extent… Although Han Xiao was no ordinary Mechanic, the Soul Breaking Crown was still useful to him.

The debuffs on EsGod made his mind his biggest weakness. Han Xiao was used to targeting the enemy’s weak points, so of course, he was not going to let this kind of opportunity slip.

Before EsGod could recover, Han Xiao instantly activated Virtual Soul, easily dragged EsGod’s soul into the virtual world, and gave him a beating.

Having his vital spot being attacked continuously, EsGod received tons of damage.

While EsGod was still stunned, Han Xiao’s original body left the Mechanical Deity, grabbed EsGod’s neck, activated the Spacetime Amber and started to create a seal instantly.

EsGod regained focus very quickly and was about to resist. Seeing this, Han Xiao pressed him into his wide chest and said, “Don’t move. Do you remember how I caught you the last time? If you do it again, you won’t just be spending the rest of your life in prison; you’ll die!”

Hearing this, EsGod’s movement paused for a moment as he instantly recalled the trauma of getting hit by Esper Silence back then.

He knew nothing about Character Summon Cards, nor did he know why Black Star could use this ability, so he could not help but think Black Star still had this ability.

“Compared to an endless sentence, why shouldn’t I fight till my last moment?” EsGod’s eyes narrowed.

He was in a situation that was more than enough to threaten his life. Through the fight earlier, EsGod knew very well that there was absolutely no chance he could escape. If Black Star used Esper Silence, he might really die.

“Are you sure you want to die?” Han Xiao whispered. “Don’t you want to see the day the World Tree advents?”

EsGod’s body suddenly froze, and shock finally appeared on his face.

He had always thought that he was the only person in the entire universe that knew about this. Never did he expect to hear it from Han Xiao.

When did Black Star find out‽

“That data… have you guys already completed studying it‽”

EsGod’s eyes gleamed.

Han Xiao, however, did not reply. He deliberately said in a meaningful tone, “Stop resisting, and you’ll still have a chance to be set free to witness it all. If you die here, there’ll be no more hope.”

“…” EsGod’s expression changed rapidly. He was caught in a dilemma.

However, it only took a few seconds for him to understand the situation he was in. His body became relaxed, and he had stopped resisting.

He looked up right into Han Xiao’s eyes and said slowly, “I don’t trust that you’ll let me out… but I’m willing to make the bet. After all, I don’t have anything more to lose.

“This is the second time I’ve lost to you. Maybe you really can step into that level and witness the scenery there for me…”

At this time, Han Xiao took a step back without saying anything. The prison was complete.

EsGod’s body was fixed. He was locked in the Spacetime Amber once again.

The only difference was that he was in a different position.

Seeing this, Han Xiao finally let out a long breath. He shook his head.

“If you continued to resist, I really might not have been able to capture you… Sorry, deception is the way of wars.”

Chapter 1223: Choice

Chapter 1223 Choice Han Xiao speculated what EsGod would think. EsGod’s first reaction would not be to think that he knew about this long ago but that the dynasty’s research on that wormhole data had come to a result. Hence, he would suddenly have a little bit of hope. In such a desperate situation, there was a very high chance he would give up resisting. From the results, Han Xiao won the bet.Deception was a way of the war; conquering the enemy’s mind was the smarter strategy. If not because he used this to successfully intimidate EsGod, he would have spent much more time capturing him, and there would have been a lot of uncertainties.

“Speaking of which, this is this b*stard’s second time going in…”

Han Xiao looked at EsGod, who was in the amber, and sighed.

Ignoring all other factors, EsGod was really a very pure person. In order to reach his goal, he was willing to do anything in the world. As long as one did not get in his way, he would not do anything, and vice versa.

While he was looking at EsGod, the dynasty fleet around instantly stopped attacking upon seeing that the mission was complete and retracted their weapons.

Tons of parts of mechanical soldiers floated in the battlefield. Some were even destroyed by the attacks of the dynasty fleet. In order to dish out as much damage as possible to EsGod, they could not be concerned with causing damage to their ally. Even Han Xiao was confused as to whether these teammates of his were attacking EsGod or him.

He deactivated the Mechanical Deity. Mechanical Force shot out from his hands and turned into electrical chains, linked onto the shattered parts, and assembling them back into mechanical soldiers using Advanced Machinery Construction.

This time, the fleet commander heaved a sigh of relief in the communication channel and said, “Luckily, we set up enough traps in advance and had the edge. If not, we wouldn’t have been able to capture him again while paying such a small price… Alright, please give EsGod to us. We’ll find a place to lock him up.”

His tone was formal.

As Black Star was the one who requested to release EsGod to check on him, capturing him again was not considered a contribution, but letting him get free would have been a huge demerit. Therefore, this was a mission that required a lot of effort but gave no merits, so the fleet commander did not feel appreciative toward Han Xiao.

Capturing EsGod this time looked easy, but that was because they had too big an edge. EsGod was immobile before, which was why they could set up an encirclement any way they wanted, letting EsGod, who was in a weakened state, out after being fully prepared. If EsGod was free in the beginning, there was no way he would have been surrounded by this many traps.

A few dynasty spaceships came to take the prisoner away. Han Xiao stood in place for a while as he watched them bring EsGod away. Only then did the dynasty fleet turn off all the spacetime stabilization devices.

He curled his lips, opened the dimension factory, and stuffed his mechanical army into it for repairs. After rejecting the invitation of boarding the ships, he took out a King mechanical army and disappeared.

The next moment, he appeared in a machinery factory that was no longer in the Constellation Corridor. He crossed multiple Star Fields directly and arrived in Black Star Palace that was in the Flickering World instantly, using the ‘Throne’ in his private workshop.

Beep beep beep!

At this time, the communicator rang timely. Han Xiao took it out, and as he expected, it was a call from Urranrell.

As she used her ruler rights to approve Han Xiao’s request to open EsGod’s seal to check his status, she had been paying attention to the live broadcast the whole time, so she called right after it ended.

“Black Star, I’ve seen the process. Looks like your worries did not come true.”

Urranrell nodded.

“…Maybe.” Han Xiao shook his head.

EsGod’s body was still very much alive and not an empty shell, so in the dynasty’s eyes, this was undoubtedly his original body, and their doubts were cleared.

Although he had confirmed EsGod and Gaud’s relationship through this, he could not use the information from the interface to convince the dynasty.

Although EsGod showed signs of his soul being torn, the difficulty of verifying that was way too high.

First of all, EsGod would certainly resist and not possibly obediently accept the check. Plus, they could not check on EsGod when he was locked inside the Spacetime Amber.

Secondly, EsGod’s level was too high. Only an extremely few peak Beyond Grade As in the universe who were experts in the soul territory could investigate his soul fully, which would also require EsGod to not put up a fight. This was like the difference between using one’s ability to attack and using it to cure a sickness; the latter required much more precision.

Thirdly, on the surface, the effects of having a weakened soul and torn soul coincided. It would be extremely difficult to differentiate them. Both could be seen as the side effects of being locked up by the Spacetime Amber.

Even if all of those difficulties were overcome and EsGod’s soul was proven to be in a torn state, there was no way he could prove the connection between EsGod and Gaud to the dynasty. The evidence was too weak.

Considering all the factors, Han Xiao felt that there was close to no way he could find any solid proof on this matter.

Urranrell did not have many doubts and said, “Being worried is a good thing. At least what you did got rid of a possible problem for the dynasty, and now we can safely lock EsGod up without having to worry. Plus, you captured EsGod again without paying much of a price. You didn’t disappoint me.”

She did not feel what Han Xiao did was completely unnecessary. She was the one who gave the order, and Black Star executed it only after she approved it. Now that the matter was settled, it was not a bad thing but a good thing. From her perspective, this operation was a form of reassurance.

“I guess…”

Han Xiao was not in the mood to say much. He casually chatted for a while and went offline afterward. He looked somewhat upset.

Urranrell had already done a lot for him. There was absolutely no merit in this operation. Instead, she had to bear the risk of letting EsGod escape and the responsibility of approving the operation that caused it. At the end of her term, she definitely had to focus on keeping a low profile and making sure everything was going on smoothly. Willingly approving his proposal was already a sign of her strong trust in him; he could not ask her to do more.

If EsGod… no, Gaud wanted to completely wipe his history clean, he most certainly did everything the dynasty asked him to do and nothing else while he was weak, not showing any signs of his ulterior motives. Han Xiao was not able to find any solid evidence this time, so he could not accuse Gaud of anything.

Without solid evidence, the dynasty had no reason to believe in his accusations and test the loyalty of a direct Beyond Grade A member out of nowhere. Therefore, this method was definitely not going to work.

If Gaud really decided to take the lawful path, even if he found evidence, as long as it was not completely definitive, the dynasty might not even want to recognize it so that they could avoid losing a direct Beyond Grade A member with infinite potential. This was not completely impossible.

I’ll have to make other plans. Since there’s no way to convince the dynasty to investigate Gaud thoroughly, I can only do it myself…

Han Xiao frowned and pondered.

If he was to attack Gaud secretly and it was discovered, he would undoubtedly be in astronomical trouble.

Even if he did it secretly enough, the dynasty would also put in a tremendous amount of effort to search for the culprit. Due to the organizational nature of the Beyond Grade A Association, it would certainly become a key target for the dynasty’s investigation, which would also cause an enormous storm. It might even become the fuse of a new Tragedy of the Pinnacles.

Han Xiao had to admit that the method Gaud used to wipe his history clean was impeccable. He became a direct member of one of the three Universal Civilizations, acquiring super powerful protection. If something happened to him, more Beyond Grade As might be dragged down with him.

However, if he was left alone, the entire explored universe would be in danger. He was a colossal hidden threat. This was especially true because this b*stard already got into the insides of the dynasty. God only knew what storm he would stir up. He might even end up being the usher for the World Tree Civilization.

Furthermore, Gaud’s Esper Ability had way too much potential. He was still considered easy to deal with now that he had only just entered the Beyond Grade A territory, but as he grew stronger, he would rapidly become tougher to deal with.

“What a dilemma…” Han Xiao rubbed his nose and was a little troubled.

Sometimes, there was no perfect solution, and a decision had to be made between two bad choices.

His thoughts fought internally for a while, and he finally made up his mind.

I must get rid of this time bomb as early as possible before he grows too strong. If I wait for him to show any flaws, it’ll be too late!

Han Xiao clenched his teeth.

He started to brainstorm quickly, analyzing the possible consequences while coming up with all kinds of wicked plans.

The best method is to not let Gaud disappear out of nowhere but give a target the dynasty can vent its anger toward. With a direct target, no one else will be dragged down. Hence, not only do I have to avoid being suspected, but I must think of a way to frame it on someone else. I’ll also have to consider what different impacts framing different people will cause…

Han Xiao’s thoughts quickly spun, and he very soon had a rough plan.

Putting aside the differences between the detailed plans, there were only two choices in terms of execution. One was to do it himself secretly and find a way to frame it on someone else afterward. Another was to find a way to create a situation to lure others to attack Gaud so that he would not be suspected.

Not mentioning the former, the key factor of the latter was ‘lure’. It was best for him not to be involved in any way, so calling his friends to murder Gaud was not doable.

For example, the Holy Accord organization had more than enough strength to kill Gaud, but Han Xiao could not possibly ask them to do it. This was the equivalent of handing his vulnerability right into their hands. The revived Primordial Ones all had their own philosophy and were not united, nor were they his subordinates. He could not ensure they would not leak this secret in the future… Plus, whether they would be willing to help or not was another matter.

The more people who knew about it, the higher the risk, no matter who he asked to help do it.

“No matter which path I take, I’ll have to muddy the waters first…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

…

The Beyond Grade A Association headquarters on Planet Finn were visited by a dynasty fleet.

Gaud walked out of the hatch. The dynasty’s senior officer uniform reflected the light of the artificial sun like it was shining.

“Welcome to Planet Finn, Your Excellency Gaud.”

A receptionist who was wearing the association’s uniform instantly approached with an enthusiastic smile.

The news of the dynasty acquiring a new direct Beyond Grade A member had already spread out among the high-class circle, but it was only limited to the name Gaud and nothing else. The dynasty did not publicize too much information; they even controlled the flow of any information regarding Gaud. Therefore, many organizations were guessing Gaud’s way of doing things and his specific abilities… This was the normal treatment for a new Beyond Grade A.

Gaud handed over the request to join the association with all the documents needed. The Beyond Grade A Association hosted a meeting just to welcome this new member. The staff was arranged long ago to wait for Gaud there.

“Lead the way.” Gaud’s tone was casual.

The two of them left the dock, boarded an anti-gravity carrier, and headed toward the spherical conference room at the top of the headquarters building in the middle of the city.

Looking down from the sky, the ground was filled with closely packed buildings. It was a highly advanced galactic city. The receptionist pointed out some of Planet Finn’s hotspots on the way like a tour guide. Gaud did not stop him. He looked down and silently observed the streets that passed by.

The various Beyond Grade A organizations had all set up their agencies there. In the last decade, Planet Finn had already become a prosperous galactic city. Flying carriers dashing across the sky formed the transport network.

Base level personnel in uniforms of different organizations could be seen everywhere on the streets. Gaud even saw quite a number of base-level office workers of the Black Star Army.

However, these organizations were just stationed there. The association’s staff were the ones who were responsible for managing this planet.

The carrier arrived at the platform outside the conference room very soon. Gaud followed the receptionist into his personal lounge. As he was the focus of today’s meeting and he had come with his original body, he had to wait for someone to notify him to enter the venue from another door.

After watching the receptionist leave and shut the door, Gaud casually picked up the snacks on the table and started chewing. He sized up the marvelous lounge, and his eyes were filled with enjoyment.

“The Beyond Grade As have been split up for so many years, only finally showing signs of unity in recent years. Black Star, Manison, and Kasuyi have done a really good job. Sadly, I did not wait for such a good time to arrive in the past… However, they probably wouldn’t dare take in the most vicious criminal in the universe anyway. If I didn’t change my identity, all of this would have nothing to do with me.”

Gaud could not help but sneer.

After gangs earned enough money, they would all consider wiping their history clean and turn to legal businesses. It was the same for him. Committing crimes was not his goal, just a path he took to accumulate enough strength.

After getting rid of his past identity, he could now start a new life.

A while later, someone finally came to notify him to enter the venue.

Gaud stood up, patted his clothes, walked down the corridor all the way to the end, and pushed open the tall, exquisite gate. Light shone from within and entered his eyes.

A huge, round table conference room entered his sights. The remote projections of all the Beyond Grade A members were sitting in their own seats. They turned to face him simultaneously. Their eyes all focused on Gaud with all kinds of different emotions.

Gaud became the focal point of the entire venue. He looked around at the familiar faces and uncontrollably dazed off for a moment.

This was the first time he had appeared in front of most of the Beyond Grade As in the universe with his new identity. Looks of hatred, hostility, and fear were no longer anywhere to be found. The hate and conflict of the past was all gone; his relationship with every one of them was completely new.

Being reborn had never felt so refreshing.

At this time, Manison, who sat in the main seat, nodded and said, “This friend here is Gaud. On behalf of all the members of the Beyond Grade A Development Union, I welcome you to the association.”

“It’s my honor to join the association.” Gaud regained focus. A smile with unknown meaning appeared on his face as he placed his hand on his chest and did a universal greeting gesture.

Clotti, who had always been quiet, pointed at the empty seat beside and said, “You’re a direct member of the dynasty. I’ve saved a seat for you. Come here and sit.”

Seeing this, Gaud smiled, walked over, and sat beside Clotti. The entire row beside him was the seats for the direct members of the dynasty. It was like he had found his clique.

However, as soon as he sat down, a voice filled with a strong sense of curiosity sounded.

The content of what that person said made Gaud’s calm heart skip a beat.

“Gaud, right? I heard your ability is the Super High Risk Esper Ability that only exists in theory, Energy Control! Is that true?”

Chapter 1224: Muddy the Waters

Chapter 1224 Muddy the Waters As soon as this was said, the atmosphere in the conference room changed immediately. Everyone looked toward the source of the voice and saw that the person who asked the question was a neutral Beyond Grade A called Lucie, nicknamed ‘Ancient Snake’. He was a shapeshift-type Esper who occasionally worked as a mercenary for advanced civilizations. He also frequented the black market.Gaud stared at him feeling shocked inside.

He had only ever used his ability a few times. He had only fought a little bit decades ago during the Kunde Race war and never sparred with anyone after becoming a Beyond Grade A. Only a few people in the dynasty should have known about his exact abilities. This information was tightly controlled and had yet to spread. He did not expect someone to find out his ability on his first day after joining the association…

Where did the information get leaked?

Gaud did not respond, so someone asked curiously, “Lucie, where did you get that information?”

“The black market, of course. I heard it coincidentally,” Lucie casually said.

“Is it reliable?” someone else asked.

“How would I know? I’m trying to find out now, aren’t I? Did none of you hear anything similar at all?” Lucie questioned.

Secret Master frowned and slowly said, “My subordinates acquired similar information too, but there’s no solid proof. There are hundreds of speculations like this on the black market. God knows who they came from. Most of them are random guesses anyway.”

Seeing this, a few more frequents of the black market also expressed their agreement, saying that they had all heard similar things, but none took it seriously.

Han Xiao watched from the side and heaved a sigh of relief in his mind.

He was indeed the one who anonymously placed the information about Gaud’s ability into the black market. With his Virtual Technology skills, he left no traces behind at all. From others’ perspective, this rumor looked like it appeared out of thin air and spread so quickly that no one could find the root of it. This kind of thing happened every day on the network.

The black-market network was a magical place. Countless information trades were carried on here every day. There was a lot of false information, but secrets would also appear occasionally. Sometimes, even the advanced civilizations had no idea how their secrets were leaked.

For example, a Super High Risk Esper Ability that only existed in theory attracted enough attention and spread very rapidly. Currently, all the organizations were using their own intelligence channels to search for information related to Gaud. Therefore, for someone like Secret Master, who frequented the black market, there was a high chance he would discover it.

However, there were way too many speculations and no solid proof. These guys would not ask Gaud directly just because of these rumors. Therefore, Han Xiao selected a few targets to specifically leak this information to, luring these guys to bring up this topic when everyone was present. Lucie was one of them.

He did not select these targets randomly. Others thought Lucie was a neutral Beyond Grade A, but the truth was that his identity was exposed in the later versions in his previous life as a secret member of a Super Star Cluster civilization just like Traveler. Han Xiao knew all about who he was.

Due to the sensitive competitive relationship between the three Universal Civilizations, Han Xiao had some confidence that he could lure the secret members of the Super Star Cluster civilizations in the association to deliberately stir things up. Even if that failed, he had backup plans.

The crowd discussed the rumours for a while before turning to look at Gaud with strong curiosity in their eyes.

“What’s your real ability?”

Looking at everyone’s curious expression, Gaud exhaled and slowly said, “Do any of you have a habit of announcing your secrets? Well, I don’t. You don’t have to be so curious. You’ll find out in the future.”

Lucie curled his lips and continued to question him. “We’re all association members. What’s so secretive about it? You’ve joined the association, but you won’t share any information with us. That’s not sincere at all. It’s unfair to us. Or is your ability really Energy Control?”

Hearing this, many people nodded in agreement.

In the Beyond Grade A circle, rookies were all treated this way. Everyone wanted to know about the rookie’s secrets and abilities so that if they had to fight the rookie, they would not be surprised by unknown abilities. Most Beyond Grade As had already walked down the same path.

Gaud’s eyelids twitched.

He totally understood that Lucie was basically a sh*t stirrer who wanted to force him to share his secrets.

“Don’t bother asking anymore. I won’t answer you.”

Gaud shook his head and did not deny it but avoided the question.

Keeping his ability a secret was only temporary, not permanent. Once he grew to a certain stage, the dynasty would no longer keep it a secret and would instead promote the fact that he was the first person ever in history to possess this Esper Ability to intimidate the Beyond Grade As of other civilizations.

Therefore, dynasty’s current demand of him was only not to directly answer any question about his ability but not lie about it, or the promotion they did in the future would not be as effective.

Furthermore, denying his own ability was not something someone as strong as him should do. It was bad for his reputation. If he damaged his image among the Beyond Grade As, making up for it would be much more troublesome than simply not answering and avoiding the questions.

“So, you’re not going to give us face?” Lucie narrowed his eyes. “Our real bodies aren’t here, otherwise all we’d have to do is spar with you, and your ability would no longer be a secret. Why are you being so secretive about it? Looks like the rumors are not complete nonsense. Your ability is probably really Energy Control. Even if it isn’t, it’s definitely very special. That’s why you’re keeping it a secret.”

“Think whatever you want.” Gaud did not want to argue with him anymore and looked away.

Seeing this, many people’s eyes flickered with some suspicion.

From the way they saw it, by not giving a direct answer, Gaud having the Energy Control Esper Ability seemed more trustworthy. If this was not his ability, he could have just denied it.

If Gaud really did have this overpowered Super High Risk Esper Ability…

Having thought of this, many people had all kinds of ideas.

This time, Han Xiao who had been watching smiled and said, “Alright, alright, if Gaud doesn’t want to say it, don’t force him. Today, we’re welcoming him as a new member after all. Don’t make the atmosphere so uptight.”

The best result would have been for Gaud to admit what his ability was, but there was nothing Han Xiao could do if Gaud was not willing to answer no matter what. However, this was within Han Xiao’s expectations too. As long as he spread the information of Gaud possibly having the ‘Energy Control’ ability to all the Beyond Grade As present, he would have achieved more than half of his goal regardless of whether Gaud admitted it or not.

Hearing that the vice president had spoken, the others moved on from this topic, and the atmosphere became tranquil again.

Gaud glanced at Han Xiao and saw that Han Xiao nodded at him. He responded with a smile and sighed in his mind.

He had never enjoyed the feeling of being helped; he was always the shared enemy of everyone. At this point, he had to admit that having someone speak for him really felt quite good.

The meeting was casual and relaxed. The main goal of it was to welcome the rookie while helping him to understand the purpose, principle, and the rules of the association, or help him to solve some problems. For example, they could provide support in helping him to grow his forces, lend him resources, assist in battles, and so on. However, since Gaud was a direct member of the dynasty, he did not need help in terms of resources.

The people chatted casually, pulled Gaud around, and asked him questions. The people on the dynasty’s side were the more active ones; the other people only occasionally said a few words.

As they were having a good time chatting, Han Xiao glanced at Manison, chuckled, and said casually, “Gaud, you’ve just joined the association and don’t know about many things, so I must remind you. You have to be careful of our dear Mechanic Emperor. He’s very interested in new and young members.”

“Oh? Why?”

Gaud turned and saw that Manison’s expression was calm, as if he was used to it.

Sun Hunter, who was on the side, laughed out loud and said, “Haha, Black Star is right. Manison has been insisting on not giving up the Felon technology. If you really have a Super High Risk Esper Ability, you must be careful. He might be interested in your fragile body and turn you into his puppet.”

“Humph, ridiculous.”

Manison closed his eyes and ignored them.

Seeing this, everyone burst into laughter. The room was filled with joy.

Black Star messing with the Mechanic Emperor was already a routine part of the meetings. Hearing Han Xiao say that, everyone only felt it was usual. They were used to it and did not suspect anything.

As time was scarce for everyone present, the welcome meeting ended very quickly. The people went offline one after another. Gaud stood up and returned to the dynasty fleet as well.

As soon as he returned to the room, Gaud received a communication request from the dynasty upper echelons that began with a question right away.

“We’ve heard about what happened during the Beyond Grade A Association meeting. You didn’t tell anyone your ability, did you?”

“Nope.” Gaud shook his head.

He was not surprised about how quickly the dynasty got the news. After all, there were many direct members of the dynasty in the association, so they were all sources of information for the dynasty.

“Good. We’ll investigate where the information got leaked. To think that your ability was so accurately exposed, there’s definitely something going on… The contents of today’s meeting will certainly pass on to the federation, the church, and some Super Star Cluster civilizations. They might be suspicious about your ability because of it. Come back as soon as possible. The Flickering World is too dangerous.”

“You’re saying that someone might try to kill me?” Gaud raised his brows.

“I don’t know about that. Times are different now than before. Because of the Beyond Grade A Association, as long as the rules are not broken, this kind of thing will most likely not happen… but it’s still better to be cautious.”

“Alright then,” Gaud casually replied and hung up the communication.

He did not feel any organization would attack him. The Flickering World was still in war now. The federation and the church would not attack their allies, and the Super Star Cluster civilization would not dare dispatch Beyond Grade As too due to fear of the three Universal Civilizations also sending their direct members into the war. Plus, the Beyond Grade A Association was another layer of insurance for him. He felt he was in a very safe situation.

Unlike the past, the association Black Star and the others founded became a privilege for all Beyond Grade As.

In the past, when Black Star did a lot of things, he got targeted and attacked by the federation and the church all the time. Now, however, the association guaranteed the safety of the Beyond Grade As, so this kind of situation would most likely not happen again.

Gaud benefited from it as well. Furthermore, his identity as a direct member of the dynasty was another layer of protection. He did not think anyone would have any motive to want to kill him—the risk of it far exceeded the reward.

“Now is such a good era for the Beyond Grade As…”

Gaud sighed and ordered the fleet to depart.

Dynasty spaceships took off one after another, entered outer space, and headed in the direction to leave the Flickering World.

At the same time, the content of the meeting got passed into different organizations by the various Beyond Grade As.

…

On the Federation of Light’s mother planet…

“An Esper who possibly possesses the Energy Control Esper Ability that only exists in theory?”

As the federation’s president, Bader, browsed the report sent by the direct Beyond Grade As, his expression changed slightly.

The chief doyen on the side tapped his cane and said with a deep voice, “This is just a guess. It might not be true, and it’s too early to take it seriously.”

“It’s a discovery at least,” Bader said. “This new Beyond Grade A of the dynasty is so secretive about everything. It doesn’t matter if his Esper Ability is Energy Control or not. He’s definitely not ordinary… They say the information got leaked from the black market. Tell the intelligence department to collect related information from the black market network and see if they can verify it.

“If this is true, the dynasty really got lucky. If they acquired such a Super with infinite potential, he will most certainly replace Clotti and become the National Pillar in the future… They already have Black Star, and now they have Gaud too. In terms of individual strength, the dynasty will be able to maintain an edge for hundreds of years. Sigh.”

The chief doyen frowned. “You’re not going to do anything, are you? It will cost us much more than it’ll benefit us.”

“Don’t worry. One Beyond Grade A isn’t important. I won’t destroy the great situation we’re in now just for such a trivial matter. The church will probably make the same decision too.” Bader waved and suddenly said, “But as for others… I don’t know.”

“Don’t think too much.” The chief doyen shook his head. “Times are different. Nothing will happen.”

Bader thought about it and nodded. “Hmm, you’re right. No one will do it, unless they’re an idiot.”

Chapter 1225: Speculation and Attack

Chapter 1225 Speculation and Attack On the other hand, the contents of the Beyond Grade A meeting also got passed on to the various Super Star Cluster civilizations.On the Star Arc Civilization’s mother planet…

“An Energy Control Esper… this kind of rumor would not appear out of nowhere. Investigate the reliability of this information as soon as possible!”

The Star Arc Civilization was severely worried.

In the past few decades, the growth of the Crimson Dynasty had been way too rapid and smooth. It could be considered their golden era. Not a single advanced civilization was not jealous.

The dynasty already had people like Dark Lord and Black Star, and now Gaud, whose potential might be infinite, had appeared, not to mention he was even a direct member of the dynasty. This news was undoubtedly a nightmare for the Super Star Cluster civilizations. With every new talent the three Universal Civilizations acquired, the Super Star Cluster Alliance faced more pressure in the individual strength territory.

Back when Traveler got publicly executed by the dynasty, although their good brother Modo took the blame for it for some reason, it was impossible for the Star Arc Civilization leader not to be furious watching their own loyal member getting his execution broadcast live by the dynasty. He had only held back and did not do anything because the big picture was more important.

If he could eliminate Gaud and erase the dynasty’s future National Pillar in advance, it would be like avenging Traveler and making the dynasty pay for what they did…

The Star Arc Civilization leader’s expression shifted rapidly. In the end, he sighed and suppressed his impulses.

“Forget it. The state of the Flickering War is not positive at all. Our allies are getting defeated time and again. We’re already in a difficult enough situation, forcing them to send Beyond Grade As into the war too isn’t a wise choice. There’s no room for risk-taking in the current situation…”

Currently, no Beyond Grade A was part of the Flickering War. The three Universal Civilizations promising not to dispatch any direct Beyond Grade As was one of the very few great things for the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Once they broke the rule and made the three Universal Civilizations send in Beyond Grade As, the situation would become much worse for them than it already was.

The Flickering War was the hope for the Super Star Cluster Alliance to turn their situation around. Between a Beyond Grade A and the overall strategy of the entire civilization, of course, he knew which was more important.

The three Universal Civilizations had control over the resources of the explored universe. The strong became stronger, forming a positive cycle. Those who came after had to grow under restrictions, unable to catch up to their growth speed no matter what. The difference would only grow bigger, and killing a single Beyond Grade A would not change that at all.

If they lost the Flickering War completely, taking revenge might be considered as a form of collecting some interest. Now, however, the risk of acting far outweighed the benefits, so of course, he was not willing to do it.

“Be it Gaud or Black Star, let them do whatever.” The Star Arc Civilization leader shook his head. “I wonder what the other Super Star Cluster civilizations think. No one should want to take this risk; the big picture is more important. As for the federation and the church, they’re not likely to fight internally now… right?”

…

Somewhere in the Primeval Star River, Manison deactivated the remote projection, turned on the virtual screen, and brought up Gaud’s information that was circulating on the internet. He tapped the armrest of the chair with his fingers and pondered.

“Gaud… a new name, not a Beyond Grade A seed from any Star Field. He suddenly appeared out of nowhere, which means he’s been secretly trained by the dynasty all this time. The last person who appeared in a similar way was Clotti, who has the ability to control dark matter. The dynasty heavily promoted his strength as soon as he appeared…

“Usually, the three Universal Civilizations promote the abilities of their direct Beyond Grade A members. However, the dynasty has asked Gaud to keep it a secret instead. Even Clotti did not receive this treatment, which means this guy’s Esper Ability is extremely special. The rumor of him having the Energy Control Esper Ability might not be fake. Interesting.”

A tint of curiosity flashed past Manison’s eyes.

If Gaud really had such an overpowered ability, he could not say he was not tempted. If this was before, he would have most likely tried to ambush Gaud and capture him to make him into a Felon.

Now, however, he had decided to quit that profession. Unless it was a special situation, he would no longer make new Felons, or he would not possibly be able to have a high reputation in the association. That b*stard Black Star had been bringing his dark history up all the time, and he was really annoyed by it.

“I shall see how things go first. If Gaud wants to build a reputation in the future, he’ll definitely have to display his ability. There’s no way for him to hide it. In fact, someone might already plan to spar with him before he even leaves the Flickering World.”

Manison suddenly narrowed his eyes and murmured, “There are so many Beyond Grade As and armed fleets in the Flickering World. It’ll be easy to dispatch forces. That place is the most dangerous Star Field in the universe now. It’s the land that nourishes conspiracies and plots… Hmm, I wonder if the federation, the church, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance will do anything…”

…

Meanwhile, in the Limitless Financial Group’s Flickering World subdivision…

“Another high potential stock…”

Sorokin crossed his arms and recalled what happened in the meeting earlier.

From the way he looked at it, Gaud had a bright future and would definitely be able to grow smoothly with the dynasty’s protection. It was almost certain he would become the National Pillar of the dynasty in the future. The dynasty had very high hopes on him.

“If things go well, I might be able to trigger a second Tragedy of the Pinnacles…”

Sorokin contemplated. He felt this was a great opportunity.

If he used the real strength he had been hiding and secretly assassinated Gaud, making the dynasty furious, he should be able to start an enormous storm that would shatter the situation the association had been working so hard to achieve. Thus, the bloody slaughtering between factions would start again.

Although he had joined the association, he was the last person who wanted to see the Beyond Grade A be united. His goals had never changed—one was to earn money, and another was to reduce the number of Beyond Grade As, creating an environment that was beneficial to him.

Furthermore, Black Star had always been a hidden problem. He instinctively wanted to get rid of anything that might expose his true identity.

“If I target Gaud, maybe I can think of a way to pin it on Black Star and cause him trouble… But he knows my secrets, so he’ll definitely suspect me. It’ll be risky for me too.”

Sorokin frowned slightly.

Although he had this idea, it was tough to actually execute it, as Black Star had no motive to target Gaud.

In his eyes, even if he made the move, Black Star would be the last person the dynasty suspected. The framing had almost no chance of working.

He did not dare take the risk before coming up with a detailed plan.

“I have to carefully think on what to do exactly.”

Sorokin’s eyes flickered.

…

A few days passed very quickly. Under the influence of some people with motives, the content of the Beyond Grade A meeting got leaked. It did not only circulate in the black market this time but throughout the entire galactic society, attracting widespread attention.

The appeal of Super High Risk Esper Abilities related topics was very high. It piqued the interest of countless galactic residents. The rumors got more and more widely known. Although there was still no solid proof, under the secret influence of some organizations, it was as if the galactic society had already confirmed that Gaud’s ability was ‘Energy Control’.

Although the various organizations were shocked, due to different reasons, no one acted. They only silently kept an eye on the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance, speculating if they would make a move.

In the eyes of the various organizations, as long as these two sides did not make any moves, nothing would happen.

The changes in the outside world did not affect the schedule of the dynasty fleet. It advanced through space with Gaud on board, heading toward the exit of the Flickering World.

Inside the luxurious training room of the fleet, Gaud hovered in midair, giving off a dim light all over his body. The sound of a moving stream echoed in the air; energy formed tides inside his body.

After a while, he opened his eyes and took a deep breath. The light extinguished, and his body returned to normal.

Gaud reached out his hand and turned his palm up. The next moment, a tiny stream of dark black energy suddenly appeared and spun around his wrist.

He toyed with this stream of energy and grinned.

“It’s no wonder Energy Control is a ‘high class Esper Ability’. It’s been less than a month, and I’ve already cracked about half of the Evolution Energy’s structure and can produce a semi-finished version of it. It’s going smoother than I thought. At this pace, I’ll control this special energy very soon. Then, I will be able to create it all I want and become a walking Evolution Cube…”

The ability of every Esper would change once they became a Beyond Grade A, and Energy Control was no exception. Once he broke down the structure of a type of energy, it would mean he permanently gained control of that type of energy and would be able to create it anytime.

This did not only include all kinds of common types of energy but even special forms of energy such as the Evolution Energy and Primal Esper Ability Entities. As long as he cracked them, they would become his own ability. With every type of energy he controlled, he would become stronger.

Not only that, Gaud even had a fuzzy feeling that once he became even stronger and mastered more types of energy, it seemed like he could even create new forms of energy out of nothing!

Even with his extremely extensive knowledge, he was still astonished. The potential of this overpowered Esper Ability was horrifying!

“Primal Esper Ability Entities are tough to find, but Black Star seems to have two of them. I’m his colleague now, and he wants to build a good relationship with me. If I bring up the request, he should agree to lend them to me… This is so much easier than robbing.”

Gaud was in a great mood. The air felt so refreshing and the future so bright.

In the past when he was a wanted criminal, he could only rob something from others if he wanted it. Now that he had become a member of the Lawful Faction, he finally felt the advantages of having connections.

Gaud sighed as he opened the gate and walked out of the training room. The dynasty soldiers he met on the way all greeted him respectfully. He was already used to it.

When he came to the command room at the bridge, the captain approached and greeted him.

“Your Excellency Gaud, we’re approaching the edge of the fourth exploration stage area of the Flickering World. We’ll be reaching the entrance of the stargate route in two days. After that, we’ll quickly pass through the remaining Star Clusters through the Black Star Army’s territory.”

“Hmm, good work,” Gaud responded monotonously.

“Thank you. It’s an honor to serve y…”

The captain’s tone was humble.

However, before he finished, the ship suddenly trembled. It exited from hyperdrive mood and stopped.

Bang!

The staff all staggered due to the momentum. Some even fell to the floor.

The captain held onto the table and yelled, “What’s going on?”

Very soon, an operational officer responded with a shocked tone. “Captain, the spaceship’s artificial intelligence suddenly lost control. It locked down the engine, activated the emergency stop, turned off all devices, and disconnected from the quantum network! We’ve lost contact with the other spaceships!”

“Is this an attack‽” The captain was furious. “Who dares attack the dynasty’s forces! Turn on the backup artificial intelligence immediately and regain control of the spaceship!”

The operational officer quickly returned to his post and worked on the system, but he was covered in sweat very soon.

“It… It can’t be done! All functions of the spaceship are frozen!”

The dynasty crew inside the command room were panicking. Gaud glanced at them. He then turned to look outside the porthole and frowned.

“Am I the target?”

Gaud was surprised. He felt this was the only possibility.

He had analyzed his situation long ago. For their own sake, the odds of the various organizations attacking him were extremely low. He originally thought his trip in the Flickering World would be smooth and did not expect someone to really take such a big risk.

“Looks like the doing of a Virtual Mechanic. Is it the Mechanic Emperor? Tsk, is he really planning on capturing me and turning me into a Felon? He’s already in such a horrible situation, yet he still dares to enrage the dynasty?”

Gaud was shocked.

Being shocked was one thing, but he was not nervous. His experience of being attacked was way too rich. The emotion ‘fear’ did not even exist in him.

Furthermore, he was not really a new Beyond Grade A. Although his strength could not compare with his old days, he had still inherited part of it and was stronger than someone at his level should be. This was one source of his confidence.

If the attacker was the Mechanic Emperor, he had to admit he would not be able to defeat him and could only look for a way to escape.

However, if it was some other organization that took him as a new Beyond Grade A and wanted to eliminate him, they would have made a huge mistake.

In his eyes, the only ones who had the motive and the ability to attack him were the federation, the church, the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and the Mechanic Emperor. It basically could not possibly anyone else.

Gaud’s Beyond Grade A senses suddenly spread out and covered this entire area.

“Let’s see who wants to kill me!”

Chapter 1226: Stop Acting. I Know Who You Are

Chapter 1226 Stop Acting. I Know Who You Are Gaud’s senses spread rapidly in all directions, covering more and more area. Very soon, he discovered a faint energy source that was hovering right in front of the fleet. However, he could not see it with his eyes. It seemed to be invisible.The moment he discovered the target, it appeared before the fleet. It was shrouded in a black mechanical suit. Gaud could not figure out whom it was.

“Just one person… hmm? This presence…”

Gaud’s expression changed slightly. His Esper Ability was very sensitive about one’s energy presence. He could basically remember the unique energy presence of everyone he had ever met. He noticed that the presence of this attacker was familiar, so he might have met them before.

As the radar no longer worked, he sensed the environment around too and realized that the spacetime of this area was locked. It was the common effects of a trap. Space-related abilities such as hyperdrive, teleportation, and so on were all disabled.

Furthermore, his senses could not continue extending further when it reached a certain distance. There seemed to be a layer that separated this area from the outside world.

At this time, the captain noticed the attacker and immediately responded. He yelled to the crew, “Try to reconnect to the network and report this to the dynasty. Also, pull out the artificial intelligence chip, switch to manual controls, and retreat immediately!”

As soon as the order was given, the crew hastily moved. The staff in the main control room quickly headed toward the engine room and pulled out the artificial intelligence. They then used the hardware system to cancel all the artificial intelligence’s authorization to control the spaceship. This was to prevent the spaceship from being controlled by the enemy. Plus, they would only be able to reboot the paralyzed spaceship if it was in manual mode.

This dynasty fleet was only responsible for transporting Gaud, so it was a small team. Although the performance of the dynasty battleships was higher than most spaceship models, the size of this team was too small. Its combat capability was very limited and could not possibly fight a Beyond Grade A.

Most importantly, their communication channel was cut off, and they could not request reinforcements from the outside world. The most important mission right now was to get the information out, so the captain did not want to fight. All of this was the standard response written in the Dynasty Commander Strategy Guidebook.

However, although his idea was decent, with the communication network cut off, the command system was broken, and his orders could not be passed onto the others. Shifting into a magic oriented emergency command system would also require some time… and this time dictated the difference between life and death.

Before this dynasty fleet made a move, countless golden electric arcs exploded from the attacker’s body. Inside the cluster of electric arcs, a black-bean-like particle expanded and turned into an enormous mechanical army, instantly filling up the sights of everyone!

Mechanical Force—Soldier Nest!

Compressed Orb Innovation—Armed Body!

Indeed, it was Han Xiao’s original body who came to attack Gaud!

He deliberately spread the message to have the various organizations suspect each other, but all of that was for one thing—to eliminate Gaud without anyone finding out. Otherwise, it would all be a waste of effort. The other organizations were not going to do it, so he had no choice but to do it himself.

As history and experience proved, the more parts a plan had, the more unstable factors it would have. Many conspiracies and plots were anything but complicated; they did not have so many twists and turns. Therefore, he did not have to be flashy to achieve his goal, focusing on the main conflict was the key.

Now, the waters were muddied. There were way too many possible suspects. He had achieved the first step of his plan, so he could move on to the next step and act now.

Based on the dynasty’s route, he calculated a location Gaud had to pass by. He had teleported to the frontline stronghold using the King long ago and secretly moved here, found a desolate area, and planted the trap.

Not only did he place spacetime stabilization devices in this area, but he even used a large area detection masking device and ‘sealed’ this area up. The inside could not detect the outside, nor could the outside detect what was going on inside. No matter how intense the battle was on the inside, the detection devices outside would not be able to sense the energy shockwaves of the battle and see it as nothing was happening. This way, the chances of anyone discovering something were reduced.

Additionally, Han Xiao planted many other devices that blocked all kinds of detection methods, anything he could think of, all to reduce the chance of getting discovered. Only a Mechanic would be able to do something like this.

The universe already had the technology he used, but the ones Han Xiao used were all improved versions of them that incorporated some similar blueprints in Jayz’s technology treasure. These devices were very advanced and much more effective than the ordinary versions.

Of course, the battleships of advanced civilizations had respective detection devices for all these traps. If they were travelling normally, the dynasty fleet would have discovered the anomaly from very far away. However, the range of Han Xiao’s hacking abilities was extremely far now. He had secretly won the heart of the dynasty fleet’s artificial intelligence long ago and taken control of the fleet, which was why they did not notice it at all. Otherwise, the dynasty fleet would never have stepped into his traps.

Though Gaud’s Energy Control Esper Ability was powerful, he was powerless in the virtual territory and could not notice anything.

As soon as the mechanical army appeared, it fired right away at the paralyzed dynasty fleet without hesitation.

Countless beams of light flickered through space. The next moment, the storm of attacks penetrated the dynasty fleet’s formation!

The shields of the dynasty fleets were frozen. They were defenseless under the rain of attacks. Beams penetrated the ships one after another. The thick exterior armor became twisted and torn. The spaceships exploded in the blink of an eye, turning into colorful fireworks!

Buzz!

At this time, a dark blue psionic barrier appeared abruptly and protected the remaining spaceship. The mechanical army’s attacks rapidly shattered one layer of the barrier after another, but its speed was still delayed.

During this extremely short delay, the thrusters of these spaceships suddenly released huge flames. The spaceship accelerated in an instant and barely escaped the attacks.

Inside the main ship, Gaud’s eyes were gleaming. A cluster of light filled with thousands of light strings floated above his palm.

In the crucial moment earlier, he had activated his ability and created a psionic shield that blocked some of the attacks. Then, he used his Esper Ability to fire up the energy furnace of the remaining battleships, skipping the multiple layers of authorization and forcibly activating the thrusters.

After a round of fire, a small fleet like this was already heavily damaged. There were only seven ships left.

“That was close…”

Gaud’s expression was grave. He was on edge.

In the moment of the attack, he sensed the energy level of the attack and confirmed it had definitely reached the peak Beyond Grade A standard. It was strong by the peak Beyond Grade A standard even in that matter.

There were only so many Mechanics in the entire universe who were at this level. No matter who it was, it was not someone he could defeat… Of course, it was still most likely that old b*stard Manison!

“We can’t fight. Let’s go!”

Gaud glanced at the shocked and furious captain, activated his ability again, and pushed the surviving spaceships toward the edge of the sealed area.

He knew that the crew was of no help. It was not that he wanted to save them, but his flying speed was slower than the battleships; he needed them to escape.

As soon as he left this locked area and out of the opponent’s trap, he would have a way to contact the outside world.

However, at this moment, a sudden sense of danger appeared in his mind. His intuition felt an overwhelming sense of threat. He instantly charged through the cabin wall and escaped the spaceship.

Swoosh!

The next moment, five extremely condensed red beams shot out from Han Xiao’s fingers, easily penetrated the layers of psionic barriers, and cut the remaining battleships into pieces like a hot knife cutting through butter.

The next second, the energy cores of the spaceships exploded. The spaceships turned into fireworks and destroyed all the spaceship fragments.

In an instant, the fleet was annihilated, leaving Gaud to hover in the battlefield alone.

“What a powerful energy beam. It seems to have extremely strong penetrating ability against all energy shields. If I was hit by it, I would definitely be hurt…”

Fear lingered in Gaud’s heart. He was very close to being hit by the red beams earlier.

He looked at and saw that Han Xiao’s black mechanical suit was covered in red energy circuits like blood vessels, all connecting to his fingertips. As the five red beams were launched, these energy circuits dimmed again as if they had entered a cooldown.

Seeing that his attacks had missed, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“These Anti-neutron Beams are completely silent. If it was an ordinary new Beyond Grade A, he would have already been hit. He must have foreseen the threat because of part of the soul he inherited from the past.”

In the last few years, Han Xiao had built more Universal Treasures than just ‘The King’. This black mechanical suit was originally a Gold blueprint from Jayz’s technology treasure. Han Xiao had fused some modern technology into it, improved it, given it a new name, and called it ‘Black King—Ranged Gear’.

This was just one of the products in the series. There were also ‘Melee Gear’, ‘Army Gear’, and ‘Defense Gear’, which excelled in different areas. He called them the “Black King Series”, and they were all Gold Grade mechanical suits!

Without hesitation, Han Xiao charged toward Gaud. Gaud turned around and fled right away.

However, without a spaceship, his flight speed was no match for the mechanical army. He instantly got surrounded by the mechanical troops and fell into a dreadful spot.

As soon as the fight started, Han Xiao immediately noticed just how much of an edge Gaud’s Esper Ability gave him. Not only did he have an outrageously high resistance against energy attacks, but he could even absorb the enemy’s energy attacks during battle to recover his own energy at an astonishing speed. Basically, at the Beyond Grade A level, having this Esper Ability meant having infinite energy. It was incredibly overpowered!

The superiority of his Esper Ability was extremely apparent. With the edge his Esper Ability gave him, Gaud shockingly did not show signs of defeat under the attacks of the mechanical army.

“He has only just entered the Beyond Grade A territory, and he’s already this strong. Will there ever be anyone who can defeat him in the distant future?”

Seeing this, even Han Xiao was astounded by how talented Gaud was. At the same time, his thoughts of eliminating this hidden threat as early as possible became firmer.

The next moment, he personally stepped into the encirclement and charged toward Gaud, deflecting the energy beam attacks from Gaud one after another, successfully closing the distance. Without saying a word, his leg swung down like an axe.

Gaud’s expression changed as he hastily raised his hands to block it.

Boom!

An enormous force came from Han Xiao’s leg. Even though he protected his body with energy, his body could not endure it. His bones broke one after another, and intense pain flooded his mind.

“To think I got physically beat up by a Mechanic. If my Grade was a little bit higher, you’d be done for…”

Gaud clenched his teeth and endured the pain. As he attempted to back away, he realized his arms felt like they were stuck to the armor on Han Xiao’s leg, and he could not pull it away.

He hastily looked at it and saw black nanoparticles spreading at the area of contact, rapidly covered his arms, and headed toward his entire body.

“Sh*t!”

Gaud hastily controlled his energy attempting to get away. However, at this time, his mind suddenly trembled. His soul was dragged into a world made of data streams, and he lost control of his body.

Before he could react, a gigantic silhouette appeared and slapped his soul into the ground.

This is… Virtual Soul!

Gaud had vivid memories of this ability. He clenched his teeth and shouted, “Manison! Is that you‽’

Han Xiao ignored him and continued attacking.

Inside the Virtual Domain, Gaud’s soul was powerless and was thrashed. Luckily, the strength of his soul far exceeded normal new Beyond Grade As. Only because of that was he able to quickly escape.

As Gaud’s consciousness returned to his body, before he could catch a breath, he realized his entire body was wrapped by machines as if he wore a mechanical suit.

“You…”

Before he could start resisting, he saw Han Xiao snap his fingers.

Whoosh!

The next moment, Gaud disappeared without a trace. The King mechanical suit took him away through teleportation, ignoring the spacetime lock in the area.

“Execute the second plan.”

Han Xiao turned around immediately and told the mechanical army to bombard the area, wiping away all possible traces of the fleet. At the same time, he folded and compressed the mechanical army and placed them back in his main body.

He had prepared multiple plans. If he could quickly eliminate Gaud right here on the spot, it would be the best. However, if Gaud had the ability to hold on for an extended period of time, he would find a way to change the battlefield.

Although he had set up many traps, the fourth exploration stage area of the Flickering World was way too boisterous. There were uncertainties everywhere. The longer he took, the more risk he would have to bear. He did not want to spend too much time there to avoid running into someone.

The last time he traveled with Kasuyi, he had recorded the coordinates of many Deep Layer secondary dimensions on the way. While waiting for Gaud to arrive, he had chosen a stable dimension no one had ever visited and placed a few ‘Thrones’ there. He had also left some mechanical armies in that dimension to transform it into a larger sealed area.

When they arrived in the Deep Layer secondary dimension, only then would all of Gaud’s ways of escaping be eliminated.

Han Xiao quickly finished up cleaning the traces, stored his troops, hastily changed into another King suit, and instantly disappeared.

As the images in his eyes flickered, he arrived at a new area.

There, the earth was white. It was desolate. There were absolutely no signs of life, as if it was a black and white world. Only outsiders carried colors with them.

In midair, the mechanical army that had set up an ambush in this secondary dimension had surrounded Gaud and was attacking him so that he could not escape.

Seeing that Han Xiao had appeared, Gaud instantly turned and looked at him. His eyes were filled with shock.

The teleportation function of the King was already one of Han Xiao’s signatures. When he fell for it, he finally knew who the attacker was, and he could not believe it!

While barely holding on against the attacks of the mechanical army, Gaud stared at Han Xiao. His tone was filled with shock and confusion.

“Black Star! It’s you! What do you mean by this!”

He had absolutely no idea why the person who attacked him was Black Star.

Aren’t we buddies now?

Didn’t you want to befriend me?

Why attack me‽

Knowing that Gaud’s doom was certain, Han Xiao finally spoke in a calm tone.

“Stop acting. I know who you really are… EsGod. Do you really think you can cut off your past completely and get a new life?”

The moment his words sounded, Gaud’s pupils constricted into dots. He completely lost it!

Impossible!

My plan’s perfect. How could he possibly know‽

Chapter 1227: I Am Starting to Feel More and More Like a Villain

Chapter 1227 I Am Starting to Feel More and More Like a Villain In the past, in order to create a Super High Risk Esper Ability, he had captured Espers ruthlessly without ever considering the consequences. After fusing countless abilities, he had obtained the genetic chain of [Energy Control]. By then, as his original body’s ledger was already filled with blood and his life span was ending, he thought of starting a new life.Hence, he had hidden this ability all along and never shown it. He had secretly chosen ‘Gaud’ as the container for rebirth and planted this part of his Esper Ability genetic chain into Gaud, planning to inherit this ability after his rebirth. He then killed all his subordinates who knew about it and made sure that this identity had a clean background.

The core of this plan was [Esper Ability—Rebirth]. This was an ability that could only ever be used once, giving the user a second life. It was not a pure soul-type Esper Ability but was related to the High Dimensional Information Form.

Of course, the effect of it was not as simple as simply splitting up his soul. His consciousness would fuse perfectly with the container, forming a new and whole soul, completely unrelated to his original body. Although he would still have his memories, his thoughts and personality would shift to a certain extent. This meant that Gaud was Gaud and no longer EsGod; he had entirely abandoned his past and was truly reborn.

Back when he was captured by Han Xiao and the others, in that brief moment before the Spacetime Amber completely sealed him up, only [Esper Ability—Rebirth] could save him. Hence, he had unflinchingly torn his soul apart and escaped. Using this ability to turn into High Dimensional Information Form, he had escaped the soul seal from Lotus Swordsman and the others, entering Gaud’s body.

Not a single person knew about this. After so many years of nothing happening, Gaud had not been worried since long ago. He felt that no one saw through his plan. However, to his absolute shock, his deepest secret got brought up by Han Xiao this easily.

A tsunami was going on in Gaud’s mind. He had utterly no idea at which part of the plan he got discovered.

Due to how unstable his mind was, even his defenses became weaker. He was blown away by the mechanical army, adding a few more wounds to his body.

At this time, Gaud’s thoughts spun quickly. He suppressed the shock in his heart and said,

“EsGod? What are you talking about?”

“You still don’t want to admit it? Looks like you still have some meaningless hope. Do you think you can possibly escape now that you’re in my hands?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and instantly knew what Gaud was thinking.

Even in such a desperate situation, Gaud would never admit he was EsGod. He believed that if he went missing, the dynasty would most certainly search for him intensively and thoroughly, and Black Star might also be investigated. He felt he still had a chance to escape.

However, if he admitted his identity, what Black Star did would be justified. He could wait for the dynasty to rescue him as long as he did not leave any evidence.

Therefore, no matter how absolutely shocked he was inside, no matter how much Black Star tried to make him talk, Gaud was never going to admit it.

“Black Star! This is completely ridiculous! At least find a better excuse if you want to kill me. How am I related to EsGod? You’re probably worried that I’ll threaten your position when I’m stronger, so you want to get rid of me beforehand. There’s no one else here anyway. Why bother making up something nonexistent‽”

Gaud clenched his teeth and spoke with a tone that sounded like he was furious from being accused.

“Why didn’t I notice in the past that your acting skills are on par with Kasuyi’s?” Han Xiao curled his lips.

Gaud ignored what he said as if he was submerged in rage and yelled, “I got it! You’re the one who leaked my ability to the black market! You must have heard it from inside the dynasty and want to muddy the waters, so you can frame it on someone else! Don’t think for a second you can deceive everyone; the dynasty won’t let you run away with this!”

“Since you don’t even dare admit it, there’s nothing much more to talk about.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

He originally wanted to speak with Gaud heart to heart. After all, they had known each other for decades; he wanted to at least give him the chance to say a few last words. However, Gaud was clearly not going to admit it no matter what, so there was nothing more to talk about.

As soon as he said that, Han Xiao activated his Mechanical Force without hesitation, releasing the troops in his original body. He then fused some of the mechanical soldiers into a Mechanical Deity.

This sealed Deep Layer secondary dimension was undisturbed, so Han Xiao did not have to hold back anymore.

Swoosh!

The Celestial Punishment Edge slashed down, shattering multiple layers of shields and smashed Gaud from the sky down to the ground like slapping a fly. He plummeted like a falling meteor, creating an enormous crater.

A shockwave erupted with Gaud in the center. Cracks opened up on the pale earth that extended all the way to the end of the horizon.

Plop…

Gaud was bleeding from every pore on his skin. His shirt was instantly painted red.

An intense pain flooded all his nerves. Before he could even catch a breath, his sights were filled up by dense black silhouettes. The next moment, the barrels of the machines in the sky all lit up.

Gaud hastily jumped up and backed away. The next second, countless psionic cannon beams fused into a gigantic light beam and penetrated the pale earth.

The ground instantly cracked and bulged like a mountain rising from the ground. It then shattered and exploded!

Boom!

The powerful aftershock spread rapidly. Though Gaud created layers of shields, the shockwave still blew him away.

He was only halfway up the sky when the Mechanical Deity caught up to him and smashed him back to the ground, shattering god knew how many more bones.

Although Gaud’s Esper Ability had an extraordinary potential, potential was not the same as actual strength. His current Grade was still too low. Before Han Xiao, who was at his peak performance, he was as weak as a child and completely powerless. The battle was entirely one-sided; Gaud could only barely stay alive while getting thrashed!

While Han Xiao beat up Gaud, he took the time to look at the combat information on the interface.

Since his level was much higher than Gaud, he could see all of Gaud’s abilities, so he could confirm that Gaud had no way of escaping this situation.

Although he had seen Gaud’s interface the last time, he looked through it again now just in case.

Then Han Xiao discovered that Gaud had acquired a new ability.

_____________________

[Energy Control—Evolution Energy (Unactivated)]: You are analyzing the energy structure of the Evolution Energy. You will master this energy when the analysis is complete. Current analysis progress: 50.2%.

_____________________

This b*stard is still thinking about the Evolution Cube?

Han Xiao frowned.

This guy is really persistent. It’s a shock he still hasn’t given up on the Evolution Cube!

Gaud’s ability was too stealthy. He only started the analysis after leaving the palace, so Han Xiao did not notice it back then.

Luckily, he indirectly shattered this plan of his because of other reasons, or Gaud would have secretly obtained this technology.

Han Xiao suddenly realized a sensitive problem.

Did Gaud do this only on his own, or did the dynasty ask him to do it?

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed as he thought with a heavy heart.

Although the dynasty had not mentioned the Evolution Cube recently, Han Xiao knew that some people in the dynasty would never give up on obtaining it. Gaud was now a direct member of the dynasty, so the dynasty’s upper echelons knew his ability. It was very likely they secretly sent him to crack the Evolution Energy and then claim that their research succeeded so that he would have no reason to be angry.

Han Xiao had nothing to say about the dynasty’s doings. They were just trying to acquire what they wanted. There was no right or wrong. What he cared more about was how this piece of intelligence would affect his plan.

If the dynasty asked Gaud to do it, the risk would increase for him. In the dynasty’s eyes, he would have a valid motive and not be someone who they had no reason to doubt; he would become a suspect too.

On the other hand, this gave him a new excuse. Since the dynasty played tricks on him first, as long as he did not kill Gaud, even if he got found out and the dynasty held him responsible for it, things would also not end up in the worst scenario.

Looks like it’s not all bad… I shall take him down first!

Han Xiao shook his head, suppressed these thoughts, and focused on bullyin… no, fighting Gaud.

As time passed, Gaud’s state became worse and worse. Although his Esper Ability gave him an infinite amount of energy, it did not give him the ability to regenerate health quickly. His wounds accumulated, and his regenerative speed could not keep up anymore.

Dragging his exhausted and wounded body, Gaud tried to escape time after time, but he failed each attempt.

The strength difference was too great, and Han Xiao was very well prepared. There was nothing Gaud could do.

As a few more light beams penetrated his body, Gaud could not hold on any longer. Like a bird without wings, he plummeted and landed on the wrecked pale ground. Blood flowed out from all over his body, quickly forming a puddle.

Han Xiao deactivated the Mechanical Deity and slowly landed beside Gaud. Gaud still had yet to give up. He dragged his heavily damaged body and crawled on the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind.

“… Give up.”

Han Xiao looked at the interface and confirmed that Gaud was already in the near-death state. He shook his head, sighed, bent down, grabbed Gaud’s neck, and lifted his entire body up.

Gaud’s feet were hovering above the ground. He had no strength to resist. He stared at Han Xiao; his eyes were filled with hatred.

He had finally returned to the Beyond Grade A realm after so long. He had a hopeful future filled with infinite possibilities, and he was looking forward to it.

However, he had never thought that after keeping a low profile and growing for so long, as soon as he appeared in the world full of hope, he would meet Black Star, who figured out his identity and shattered his plan in the womb.

He could not admit this loss!

He still had a bright future!

He still had a big goal!

All the planning in the past years, his lifelong ambition…

All of that was going to perish…

He could not accept it!

He could not lose!

Han Xiao looked at Gaud’s twisted expressions and shook his head.

“Whether you admit that you’re EsGod or not, it won’t change the facts. I did this to you not because of personal reasons. If that thing did not happen, I couldn’t care less about you wiping your history and joining the dynasty. After all, I’m no saint. I’m no one to judge your sins.

“But I know exactly how determined you are about what exists on the other side of that wormhole. I can’t let you move freely inside the dynasty. That will not only threaten me but the entire explored universe.

“Although that day will come sooner or later, not only will your existence bring that day forward, it’ll even cause unpredictable impacts… because you’re too pure. As long as there’s the slightest opportunity to become stronger, you won’t care who you fight for. As for me… I don’t like to act only when the threat has already erupted.”

Gaud’s pupils constricted.

He subconsciously wanted to ask Han Xiao what he knew and opened his mouth but did not speak in the end. He did not want to leave any evidence that might cause suspicion.

“Black Star… the dynasty won’t let you get away with this!”

Gaud repeated this sentence again.

Seeing that Gaud was still not admitting anything, Han Xiao knew it was not going to happen. As he activated his Mechanical Force, nanoparticles extended onto Gaud’s body and quickly shrouded his body, turning into a spherical mechanical imprisonment device.

Then, Han Xiao activated the Spacetime Amber and slowly covered this imprisonment device up. He then thought about it and said, “Including this time, this is the third time you’ve fallen into my hands.”

Before Gaud could respond, Han Xiao completed the Spacetime Ember seal.

Buzz!

The next moment, the amber was complete.

The entire device got sealed up. From the outside, only the spherical mechanical prison could be seen in the amber. What was inside it was not visible.

At this moment, Han Xiao finally heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed his taut nerves.

“It’s finally done. No accidents happened…”

One reason he did not kill Gaud on the spot was to give himself some room for explanation if he got exposed; another was that he did not want to give Gaud an opportunity to be revived by the Sanctums any time soon; last but not least, he did not want to waste the Super High Risk Esper Ability EsGod spent countless years to create, [Energy Control]!

When the Spacetime Amber wiped out Gaud’s soul, he could have Feidin use the Soul Swapper and shift the soul of someone he thrust into Gaud’s body. Using these two Universal Treasures in combination had always been something he wanted to test out.

Or he could wait for ‘Little EsGod’ Evans to grow and suck away Gaud’s Esper Ability.

He could even wait till he mastered the Felon technology and secretly make Gaud into a Felon. However, the side effects of that were too huge, so it was not the best choice.

As for whether Gaud could still revive after he did all these, Han Xiao did not know either. He never tried it, so he had no way of knowing.

If Gaud could revive, there would indeed be a chance he could get exposed. In the future, when the dynasty discovers the Sanctums, they would certainly try to revive this ‘direct member’ of theirs.

However, who knew what things would be like then? Furthermore, he could infinitely delay the arrival of that day, and it was easy. Before he was confident in dealing with the dynasty’s accusations, he could simply not kill Gaud and only imprison him, letting him out once in a while to beat him up and make sure his soul was not wiped!

This way, Gaud would not die, and of course, he could never be revived!

Merciless, cruel, ruthless, fearsome. Why is my style becoming more and more like a villain?

Han Xiao rubbed his cheeks.

He silently made a joke about himself in his mind before becoming serious.

Capturing Gaud was only a start. The more important thing to do was to deal with the storm the dynasty’s rage would stir up not long after that would sweep across all advanced civilizations!

“I’ve done what I need to do. Now I’ll just have to wait for the storm to start… Sigh, I didn’t expect myself to start the fuse this time.”

Thinking about the various possibilities he had speculated not long ago, Han Xiao exhaled lightly, turned on the interface, and looked at the mission.

The hidden mission [Gaud’s Secret] was surprisingly complete. The mission requirement was to find out Gaud’s secret, and Han Xiao did not know what the criteria of that was. He clearly did not find any solid evidence, nor did Gaud admit anything. Did he just have to call out his real identity in front of him? Was it really so easy?

Hmm, the fact that I thrashed him is probably the main reason it’s considered completed…

The mission completion criteria of hidden missions was quite confusing. Han Xiao did not think too much about it and went to clean things up.

He controlled the mechanical army and bombarded this secondary dimension till the entire dimension collapsed, eliminating all traces.

After completing that, Han Xiao did not waste any time there. He retrieved his machines, put on the King suit, directly returned to Black Star Palace, and found Feidin in the library right away.

Feidin only looked up and glanced at Han Xiao before putting his focus back on reading the book in his hands, letting Han Xiao touch him all he wanted.

After getting plenty of luck in his hands, Han Xiao returned to his personal training room, rubbed his hands with excitement, and chose to conclude the mission.

_____________________

[Gaud’s Secret] completed!

You have received [Character Summon Card – Gaud]!

Character Summon Card – Gaud: [Energy Analysis]—You can efficiently analyze the principles and structure of an energy form, gaining control of the energy. Usage: 0/4

You have received: Draw one of Gaud’s ability/talent.

Note: Gaud is an Esper. Parts of the possible abilities have been automatically adjusted to your class.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one from the five options below as the reward:

1. [Plasma Shockwave] – Ability: Release a plasma arc beam and deal damage to the enemy. The power of it relies on your INT, MYS, and energy output efficiency. Minimum cost per second: 5 energy. Cooldown: 4 seconds.

2. [Kinetic Strengthening] – Ability: Using energy, strengthen your cells and continuously enhance your close-range combat capabilities. The effects rely on your STR, DEX, END, MYS, and energy output efficiency. Minimum cost per minute: 10 energy. Cooldown: 12 seconds.

3. [Spiritual Growth] – Talent: +15% MYS, +10% CHA.

4. [Energy Collecting Ring] – Ability: Absorb the energy around you to rapidly recover your energy. Cost: 2 stamina per second. Cooldown: 0. Can be turned on at all times.

5. [Perfect Energy Affinity Physique] – Talent: You have astounding affinity toward all forms of energy. +120% basic energy senses, +90% basic energy resistance, +60% basic energy absorption efficiency, +30% basic energy attack damage, +20% maximum energy.

Chapter 1228: Sorokin“s Confusion

Chapter 1228 Sorokin“s Confusion Seeing the last option, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.“Yoho, nice!”

Among the options, only the last one was valuable. This was one of Gaud’s Molding Talents.

The bonuses this talent gave were all basic bonuses. The increase would be very considerable. To Han Xiao, the three most useful bonuses to him were the additional ninety-percent basic energy resistance, thirty-percent increase to basic energy attack damage, and twenty-percent increase to maximum energy.

His Indestructible Body was only strong because his regenerative speed was extremely quick, but his resistances were not outrageously high. However, this talent directly almost doubled his resistance to energy attacks!

As he became stronger, the attack damage of his mechanical army became stronger too. Hence, the ‘die together’ combo also became riskier for himself as time went on. The last time he used this in the Celestial Star Alliance, he almost sent himself away.

With this talent, if he did the same time again, he would not be in danger at all. This was another big step forward on the path of a Mechanic Tank.

Without this ability, Gaud would have lost consciousness long ago.

The basic energy attack damage bonus only increased Gaud’s own damage output, but in the hands of a Mechanic, it was much stronger. It could increase the damage of all energy type weapons. Its most direct impact would be the increase to the army’s long-range attacks. The thirty-percent increase was also quite ample.

At this point, with so many talents, Han Xiao had already discovered one trait—when the Molding Talents of other classes were possessed by a Mechanic, the effects would be astronomically enlarged. This was the advantage of using the Army Style.

Of course, the extra twenty percent maximum energy was incredible too.

His current maximum energy was around 290,000, so this gave him 50,000 energy right away. It was more than enough for him to acquire the bonuses of a new Energy Rank, maybe even two ranks!

In the later stages, Energy Rank bonuses and Race Evolution were among the main sources of attributes, giving thousands of points easily every time, substantially more than simply leveling up.

At his current Energy Rank, the attributes he would receive every time his rank increased were enormous. His attributes would increase for about seven thousand in total once he gained just one more Energy Rank.

The way the Energy Rank bonuses worked was that when his current energy depleted throughout battles, the bonuses would decrease along with the Energy Rank too. Therefore, the Supers who had infinite energy or could convert between energy and health had a tremendous edge. They could always maintain their energy level at their peak. Han Xiao, Kasuyi, and Oulou were all like this.

_____________________

You have received the talent [Perfect Energy Affinity Physique]!

_____________________

It was an easy choice. Han Xiao chose the last option without hesitation.

The next moment, an intense pain erupted in his body. Luckily, his nerves were tough, and he instantly regained control of his body.

This talent changed his physique; all the cells in his body were becoming stronger. The pain only faded after quite some time. His senses of the world changed again. It felt refreshing.

Han Xiao realized that he could now sense the stray universe energy everywhere around him without having to use any ability. It was as if he was suddenly no longer short-sighted; he could observe the world more clearly.

Furthermore, his body was even automatically pulling the stray energy in. The stray energy around was gathering unconsciously, moving around his body like pets.

Anyone who has this physique can be considered a talent. They’ll grow extremely quickly. This talent should also be one of the reasons Gaud became a Beyond Grade A so quickly.

Han Xiao’s body was filled with energy. He glanced at his attributes, his Energy Rank had already surpassed the 100,000 level.

However, there was no additional notification on the interface, so he was not sure if 100,000 Energy Rank was a new stage.

He was not concerned about it. Based on experience, the benefits of achieving a new Energy Rank would only show during Promotion. That was how it was for the bonuses of 52,000 Energy Rank and 78,000 Energy Rank. Therefore, having higher Energy Ranks at lower levels meant having high potential.

As for the effects of the Character Summon Card, Han Xiao had yet to try it. However, based on the fundamental mechanics of the Character Summon Cards, the effects of [Energy Analysis] were most certainly not permanent. He had two guesses about it.

One possibility was that once he chose which energy to gain control of, he would lose the control when the duration of the Character Summon Card ended. Another possibility was that it was similar to Jayz’s [Mechanic—Insight] Character Summon Card; although he would lose the ability after the Character Summon Card duration ended, he would still remember the knowledge he gained by analyzing the energy, which would make studying this type of energy easier in the future.

However, he, of course, did not have the [Energy Control] Esper Ability, so he could not convert energy like Gaud could and would only be able to simulate the process using machines, which would be much more difficult. Espers did not have to understand the principles and mechanisms of their Esper Ability at all; they could use it right away. While the others could not duplicate the same process, they had to analyze the process and find another way to carry it out.

Basically, Espers only had to know that one plus one made two, while the others had to find out why one plus one was two and understand it. The difference was huge.

If the special energy created by Esper Abilities were so easy to break down, the advanced civilizations would have mass produced them long ago, and [Energy Control] would not have been seen as an overpowered ability.

Nonetheless, at least there are four uses. There’s room for mistakes.

Han Xiao nodded, he was quite passionate about research.

Although I can fight Pugilists with my fists, I know I’m still a good scientist.

After browsing his attributes for a while more, Han Xiao turned off the interface and entered the quantum network.

For the time being, he did not plan to go anywhere and only wanted to monitor the galactic network at him, waiting for the storm to arrive.

…

“Gaud and his fleet have all gone missing‽”

Inside the Crimson Dynasty, Urranrell, who had just received the urgent report, suddenly stood up. Her expression changed drastically.

Before her was the remote projection of the marshal of the exploration army, Tarrokov. His expression was extremely serious as he said with a deep voice, “Yes, it happened just now. The remote link between Gaud’s guard fleet and Planet Lighthouse’s artificial intelligence center suddenly broke. We tried repairing it, but all attempts failed. We can’t contact Gaud or anyone in the fleet now!”

The artificial intelligences of the dynasty fleets in the Flickering World were all monitored by the Planet Lighthouse headquarters. Once disconnected, Planet Lighthouse would instantly find out where that team went missing. This formed a highly responsive military system that covered most areas in the Flickering World.

“Where did they go missing?” Urranrell frowned heavily.

“Right at the edge of the Flickering World’s Emerald Star Cluster, close to the stargate entrance of the third exploration phase. Using the nearest space buoy as a point, we have circled out the rough range of the area they went missing in. I’ve already sent the teams nearby to investigate.”

Hearing this, Urranrell had no choice but to wait patiently. She asked with a grave tone, “What do you think is the cause of this?”

“There’s not enough evidence to make an assumption.” Tarrokov hesitated then said, “But personally, I’m guessing that the fleet was very likely attacked. Someone wants to kill Gaud. This is the most likely scenario.”

Urranrell sat back down, her hands gripped together. The emotions in her eyes were flickering.

Not long after, Tarrokov received a report from his subordinates. His expression changed slightly, and he said, “Your Excellency Urranrell, the teams have sent back the message saying they did not discover any traces of the fleet, nor are there any signs of an anomaly within the area. The spaceships that passed by also said they did not detect anything unusual. It’s like the fleet Gaud was in disappeared into thin air…”

Hearing this, Urranrell no longer hesitated. She instantly contacted the chief secretary and said with a firm tone, “Release an Emergency Summon Order. Notify all the upper echelons to drop everything on their hands and gather for a meeting immediately!”

…

About ten minutes later, the remote projections of the dynasty upper echelons came to the conference room one after another. The bosses of the various departments gathered and chatted quietly, not knowing what happened that made Urranrell summon all of them urgently.

Very soon, Urranrell entered the room with a serious expression. She looked around at the various upper echelons present and cut to the chase.

“This is an emergency. The dynasty’s direct Beyond Grade A, Gaud, might have been attacked and is confirmed missing!”

As soon as she said that, the entire place became silent.

Shock appeared on the faces of every upper echelon. They did not expect to hear something so shocking.

At this time, Tarrokov stepped up and described the situation in the simplest way.

After understanding the situation, the various upper echelons present were all furious!

“Who dares to attack the dynasty’s direct member‽ This is trampling the dynasty’s pride!”

“We must investigate it thoroughly!”

“The dynasty is not to be provoked! No matter who did it, we must make them pay!”

Everyone had the same reaction; they were all extremely furious.

They were one of the ruling civilizations, yet someone dared to attack their direct member and wipe out their talent. Whoever was behind this had absolutely no respect for the dynasty at all!

For someone to do something like that, in their eyes, that person was asking to be killed!

An intelligence department high ranking official said with a deep voice, “Since the fleet is missing too, we can assume that the enemy succeeded. We have to first verify if Gaud is still alive. If he’s still alive, we have to prioritize saving him.”

“That’s right. Gaud is an important direct Beyond Grade A. Even if there’s only a tiny chance, we must protect his life!” another military official agreed.

“Gaud is a Beyond Grade A. To be able to take him down so quickly, the enemy definitely had to use a lot of forces. I suggest checking the space buoys nearby immediately. There should be witness reports of large fleets passing by!”

“Don’t have too high hopes. If the enemy could easily cut off the fleet’s remote link, they’d definitely be able to modify the records of the space buoys. The enemy was definitely fully prepared and wouldn’t leave any obvious clues since he dared mess with the dynasty.”

“The enemy could make our fleet disappear without a trace. There’s a high chance that a Beyond Grade A Mechanic is involved!”

“That’s right. The enemy might have left clues in the quantum network. I suggest getting Quantum Demon Judith to investigate, or we can even request help from Black Star if it really comes to that point. Black Star is a top Virtual Mechanic. Not many people in the universe can hide from him in the quantum network!”

The people planned and discussed the matter for a while. The topic then went back to the suspect.

An officer said, “Some time ago, an unknown force spread information about Gaud’s real ability on the network. This might be the fuse; someone wants to eliminate our talent or has eyes on this Super High Risk Esper Ability.”

“Not many organizations have both the ability and motive to do this. The federation and the church have been our competitors forever. They don’t want to see us have someone as talented as Gaud, so they both might act… especially the Federation of Light. They have the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, so they can kill Gaud without anyone noticing!”

“No, it is now the development stage of the Flickering World, and we’re still at war. The federation and the church wouldn’t break our temporary partnership for something like this. In fact, the Super Star Clusters civilizations are the most suspicious. They might feel that since they have no way of turning the war around, they had to erase a future threat before losing completely!”

“I heard Black Star has been protesting about Manison’s Felon technology, so the Mechanic Emperor is suspicious too! Don’t forget, Ninjia from the Arcane Church is suspected to have been killed by Manison, leading to the church’s Ten Thousand Deity Scepter falling into the federation’s hands… This guy has done something like this before!”

Everyone present had the same three speculations. These three sides had both the ability and the motive. Other than them, no other organization would have the guts to attack the dynasty’s direct member.

Looking at everyone’s excited expressions, Bekorodi’s expression changed slightly as he suddenly thought of something.

No… one more person has the motive.

In the past, he had told Gaud to analyze the Evolution Energy. If Black Star discovered what Gaud did, Black Star would have a reason to attack him too. Black Star was a suspect!

However… Bekorodi could not bring that up!

The plan to analyze the Evolution Cube got called to a stop by Urranrell long ago; Bekorodi only approached Gaud behind Urranrell’s back because he received the subtle approval from the next ruler. He was carrying out this plan secretly; this was not something he could point out in this situation!

It did not matter whether Black Star was actually the one who did it. As soon as what he did got exposed, not only would he be most likely demoted, it would impact the next ruler negatively too.

If Black Star really did it, although Black Star would certainly be held responsible, he would take much more blame. After all, he acted against the orders and placed the dynasty at the moral low ground.

All kinds of plots flashed past his mind. Bekorodi opened his mouth a bit but chose to stay silent in the end.

Even if Black Star was the culprit, he was not going to say it.

Bekorodi thought things through very clearly. It was the next ruler who hinted for him to carry out the plan. The two of them had a silent agreement to have the new ruler break this case open after Urranrell’s term ended, so the new ruler’s reputation and image would be increased.

However, although Bekorodi had this plan, what made him stay silent was more the fact that he did not believe Black Star was the culprit.

With Black Star’s position, even if he did notice what Gaud was doing, he had no reason to make it into such a big deal. He sure had the motive, but it was too weak.

Furthermore, the way Bekorodi looked at it, the title of National Pillar and the three Universal Civilizations’ consultant were more than enough to tie Black Star up. After enjoying the benefits of them, Black Star would not want to lose them, so he would not do something as rash as this.

While Bekorodi was brainstorming, the others quickly came to a decision.

Urranrell made the decisive call.

“Announce Gaud going missing on behalf of the dynasty immediately. Tell the entire universe that the dynasty will find the culprit no matter the cost!”

Swoosh!

The upper echelons present stood up simultaneously and nodded.

“Understood!”

…

At a border stargate transit station of the Emerald Star Cluster, a man wearing the uniform of the Limitless Financial Group stood at the scenery observation area and looked at the galaxy outside the porthole. The border stargate was not far away. Belts of light extended from inside the blue space vortex. They were all spaceships entering and leaving the border.

“Based on the time, the fleet guarding Gaud should arrive in a day at most…” this Limitless Financial Group employee murmured.

It was not the original owner who was controlling this body but Sorokin’s manifestation.

According to the route the dynasty fleet was taking, they should be leaving the Flickering World through the Black Star Army’s territory. Hence, Sorokin had possessed this person many days ago and waited at this stargate, wanting to observe the size of the fleet Gaud was in. He could only come up with a detailed plan after obtaining enough information.

However, although he was already making preparations, he was still hesitant as to whether he was going to make the move or not. After all, the matter was too huge.

“If I do it, it’s best to do it in the Black Star Army’s territory, it’ll be easier to frame it on Black Star this way… even if I fail, Black Star will be held responsible if something happens to Gaud in his territory.”

Sorokin pondered.

Beep beep beep!

At this time, his communicator suddenly rang.

Sorokin took it out and glanced at it casually. It was an announcement the dynasty had made in the public channel, which forced a notification to pop up on every communicator.

According to the General Quantum Network Communication Laws, only the civilization that ruled over an area had the right to do this, not any other organizations, especially not consortiums.

“Tsk, how great would it be if this could be used for advertising…” Sorokin mumbled and opened the message.

With just one look, his expression froze on his face, and his entire body turned stiff.

“Gaud was attacked and is already missing‽”

Sorokin was stunned, his mind was filled with question marks.

Wait, what? I haven’t started moving yet!

Which hero did my job for me‽

Marvelous!

I thank you!

The sudden turn of events astonished Sorokin totally.

Not only him, as soon as this enraged announcement from the Crimson Dynasty was publicized, the entire galactic society was absolutely shocked!

It all happened so suddenly. No one was mentally prepared!

Chapter 1229: The Thief Calling the Cops

Chapter 1229 The Thief Calling the Cops Somewhere in the Emerald Star Cluster, a small fleet was slowly sailing. The symbol on the exterior armor of the spaceships showed that this fleet belonged to ‘Ancient Snake’, which meant this was the person who called out Gaud’s Esper Ability during the welcome meeting, Lucie.Lucie stood before the porthole at the bridge and looked into the galaxy outside the window. Beside him was another neutral Beyond Grade A who was also someone who frequented the black market.“How long till we arrive at the Star Cluster’s border stargate?” Lucie asked without turning around.

“About a day, boss,” the captain hastily answered.

Hearing this, the neutral Beyond Grade A on the side sighed and said, “I don’t think we can catch up to Gaud. Lucie, do you really have to spar with him?”

“I must find out what his ability really is.”

“Sigh, he’s a direct member of the dynasty. He can totally not accept your request. It’s not like you can force him to fight, right?”

“Humph, I’m going to try it at least.” Lucie looked determined.

After the welcome meeting, he had brought his fleet along with a Beyond Grade A friend and chased behind Gaud along the route they took, hoping to stop Gaud and ask for a spar.

Of course, he did this not just to satisfy his curiosity. As a secret member of a Super Star Cluster civilization, he received a secret order from the upper echelons that asked him to find a way to force Gaud to fight and verify if Gaud’s ability was really [Energy Control]. This was why he kept chasing after Gaud.

The Super Star Cluster civilizations did not want to attack Gaud, but a test of this degree was doable. They all wanted to know Gaud’s real ability.

At this time, the spaceship’s radar suddenly rang.

“Alert! Spacetime stabilized area ahead. Hyperdrive will be shut down. Please stop hyperdrive mode or go around the area…”

The two of them were surprised.

Spacetime stabilized areas usually meant trouble. Neutral Beyond Grade As did not like getting into unnecessary trouble.

Lucie was just about to have the fleet go around the area when the spaceship suddenly received a message.

“This is the Crimson Dynasty exploration army. We’re carrying out a check on all passersby. Please stop your ships immediately and cooperate. I repeat, please stop your ships immediately…”

Hearing this, Lucie told the fleet to stop. He looked outside the window and saw a line of defense formed by the dynasty’s battleships that seemed to have locked up a large area ahead.

Three dynasty spaceships quickly approached and activated all kinds of detection devices to scan Lucie’s fleet.

At the same time, a projection of someone who looked like a dynasty military officer appeared on the communication screen. He looked at Lucie and the Beyond Grade A beside him and said expressionlessly, “Please show us your IDs, spaceship sailing certificate, crew list, logbook…”

Though unhappy, Lucie told the captain to do as he was told. After all, his real identity was sensitive. Plus, he did not think there was anything he had to hide.

The military officer started checking through the information provided. Having realized that Lucie and the person beside him were both Beyond Grade As, his expression changed slightly. A strong sense of suspicion flashed past his eyes.

“What are you doing here? Why are you passing by this area? Where are you heading?”

“The dynasty needs to know that too? This is one of the routes leading to the border stargate station. Is it weird for me to pass by here?” Lucie frowned. “In fact, why are you guys locking this area down?”

“To search people.” The dynasty military officer did not want to say much and went back to checking through the records.

At this time, he suddenly realized that there were records of tracking Gaud in Lucie’s logbook. His pupils instantly constricted, and he yelled with an indisputable tone, “Everyone, leave the spaceship immediately for further checks!”

The neutral Beyond Grade A on the side frowned. “Isn’t this too much? We’re just passing by.”

“I’ll repeat myself one more time. Leave the spaceship immediately for further checks, or we’ll do so forcibly!”

After that, the dynasty fleet at the back activated their weapons and aimed at Lucie’s fleet immediately, clearly ready to fire at any time.

“Are you threatening me?” Lucie was annoyed.

The dynasty was powerful. Forget their officer not showing him any respect, how dare an officer attempt to order around him, a Beyond Grade A, like that? Did he really think Beyond Grade As were easy to mess with‽

Sure, as a neutral Beyond Grade A, he did not have the strength to mess with the dynasty. However, he did not think that just anybody in the dynasty had the right to disrespect him. Furthermore, with the Beyond Grade A Association behind his back, he was not someone who had absolutely no backup at all anymore!

Beep beep beep!

Just as Lucie was about to vent his anger, the communicator of everyone in the ship rang.

Lucie frowned, suppressed his anger for the time being, and took out his communicator. Only then did he see the dynasty’s announcement that popped up, and his expression changed drastically.

Gaud is missing‽

Who did it? Who had the audacity to do it‽

Lucie’s body suddenly shook. It suddenly occurred to him.

Wait a minute, I’ve been tracking Gaud all this time, wanting to spar with him…

If nothing had happened to Gaud, this would have been completely normal and would not lead to the dynasty’s hostility. However, now that something had happened to Gaud, anyone who was related became a suspect. Although he was only trailing behind Gaud and did not even meet him, he was still suspicious in the eyes of the dynasty. The dynasty was not going to let go of any leads!

No wonder the dynasty military officer had that attitude!

Lucie knew how huge the matter was. This was not the time to be concerned about whether that officer disrespected him or not. He had to find a way to clear his suspicion.

If he did not cooperate with the dynasty’s investigation, he had absolutely no doubts that the dynasty would vent their anger on him—this was not the time to be stubborn.

Lucie’s rage instantly extinguished. He did not dare explode and could only tell everyone to leave the spaceship and obediently cooperate with the dynasty’s checks. He was extremely frustrated.

Who’s the b*stard that did this‽ Now I’ve been dragged down too!

…

“What? Gaud is missing? Someone really attacked him‽”

The Federation of Light’s president, Bader, stood right up from his chair, stunned.

What, who’s the idiot‽

No, this isn’t an idiot. It’s a maniac!

The Chief Elder was in dismay too. “Who’s so daring as to really attack a direct member of the dynasty? This will affect the entire explored universe’s situation, create a huge storm and cause problems for everyone!”

Bader frowned tightly and said with a deep voice, “If we didn’t make a move, nor would the church… so it’s most likely the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s doing.”

“Yes, it must be the Super Star Cluster Alliance.” The Chief Elder nodded.

Before it happened, the two of them did not think the Super Star Cluster Alliance would dare act. However, when it really happened, to the two of them, since they did not do it, it could only be the Super Star Cluster Alliance!

Who gave them the guts! They dared to attack the dynasty’s direct member today. Are they going to attack ours tomorrow‽

“The Super Star Cluster Alliance is getting cocky. Looks like the Tragedy of the Pinnacles was not an effective enough of a lesson. Looks like it’s time to educate them again…”

Bader’s eyes flickered.

He was actually secretly happy about the dynasty being the one that took the hit. He basically enjoyed the benefit of the dynasty being weakened without having to do anything. However, on the other hand, the dynasty represented one of the ruling civilizations, and the federation was also one of the ruling civilizations. Seeing their authority get challenged, he was still angry. These two emotions were not in conflict.

The Chief Elder thought for a moment and said with a heavy heart, “Although we’re not the culprit, our specialty is assassination since we have the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, so we’ll most likely be one of the suspects to the dynasty.”

“Hmm, this is a problem. Therefore, we have to make a stand and actively help the dynasty investigate the case. However, we’re not the only ones who have this kind of teleportation technology. Who knows if the Mechanic Emperor stole it? Plus, Black Star also has a type of mechanical suit that has similar teleportation abilities…”

“The Mechanic Emperor is suspicious indeed. He’s still the federation’s ally. If he did it, we’ll be responsible too. As for Black Star…” The Chief Elder laughed. “Hehe, as long as the dynasty upper echelons have not gone crazy, it’s impossible for them to suspect Black Star.”

“You’re right.” Bader sighed and shook his head.

…

“Who the f*ck did this‽”

The Star Arc Civilization leader was dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning.

Although this was indeed something they wanted to do, the Star Arc Civilization leader knew that no matter who attacked Gaud, the Super Star Cluster Alliance would certainly be the dynasty’s top suspect.

This was pushing them into the flames!

The Star Arc Civilization leader was puzzled. Possible suspects flashed through his mind one after another.

“I didn’t do it. Is it another Super Star Cluster civilization? Who has the motive to do so… Modo‽”

Modo had exited the war long ago. The current battle had nothing to do with, so they would really not be afraid of doing something like this. Even the possibility of them wanting to burden the Super Star Cluster Alliance was not out of the question. They had lost the chance to compete, so they wanted to make the other Super Star Cluster civilizations fail just like them!

The brain of the Star Arc Civilization leader’s spun quickly.

Was it the plan of the federation and the church, killing the dynasty’s talent and framing them‽

Was it the dynasty’s own plot, making Gaud go missing and framing it on the Super Star Cluster Alliance, giving their direct members a reason to participate in the war and using it as an excuse to start another Tragedy of the Pinnacles? If not, how could it happen so suddenly, and how could Gaud possibly not be able to resist‽

The Star Arc Civilization felt as if he had seen through everything.

This was a plot against the Super Star Cluster Alliance!

The three Universal Civilizations wanted them dead!

“We’re too passive. We must do something! We can’t allow the three Universal Civilizations to make things up!”

The Star Arc Civilization leader clenched his teeth.

You want to frame us? We know how to do that too! We must find a scapegoat that’ll shut the three Universal Civilizations up!

Names quickly flashed through his mind, and suddenly, it stopped at one name.

This person did not lack motive, had more than enough ability to do it, and was very suspicious…

I choose you, Manison!

…

In just a few days, the dynasty’s announcement swept over all Star Fields like a storm, causing sensations in countless areas.

Some thick and overconfident local terrorist organizations claimed to be responsible for it. Then, in less than a day, the dynasty’s fleet arrived at their bases right away and wiped them all out, not leaving a single survivor!

Everyone could feel that, this time, the Crimson Dynasty was really furious!

Many organizations smelled that a storm was about to come…

The Beyond Grade A Association held an emergency meeting to discuss how to deal with this matter too.

In the large round table conference room on Planet Finn, the remote projections of many Beyond Grade As gathered and discussed intensely.

“How could this happen? It’s so sudden!”

“It’s only been a few days since we last saw Gaud, and now he’s… sigh!”

“It has to be someone in the association who did this. Who did it? Step forward!”

They were infuriated.

Although Gaud was a direct member of an advanced civilization, what happened to him impacted the others too. They glanced at Gaud’s empty seat from time to time, feeling sympathetic.

The meeting was as noisy as a wet market. This time, Sun Hunter opened his mouth. His thunderous voice covered everyone else’s voices.

The others looked over and saw that he was staring at Manison with a suspicious expression.

“Mechanic Emperor, tell us the truth, did you do it?”

“Nonsense! Have you people been brainwashed by Black Star‽ I’m the president. Why would I possibly take the lead to violate the rules‽” Manison’s face twitched. He was frustrated.

However, the others still stared at Manison and did not trust him.

Han Xiao had never stopped damaging his reputation. He had planted the seed of doubt in everyone’s heart long ago.

Seeing this, veins popped up on Manison’s forehead. He was extremely irritated.

No matter how much he explained himself, he would not be able to clear the suspicion. The Beyond Grade As would still suspect him… and Black Star was the one who caused all of this!

Manison glared at Han Xiao and almost wanted to fight him right here in front of everyone till he could vent all his anger out.

This time, Clotti slowly stood up and said with a freezing tone and expressionless face, “No matter who here caused Gaud to go missing, we will drag you out and make you understand the consequences of challenging the dynasty!”

As he was speaking, he glanced at Manison faintly.

The three Universal Civilizations’ direct members usually did not speak, but now, they all made serious statements, expressing that they would catch the culprit no matter what. Many glanced at the Mechanic Emperor from time to time.

Manison’s expression became worse and worse.

However, Sorokin was looking at Manison more and more gently.

If not because this was not the right time, Sorokin would have given Manison a thumbs up and praised him.

At this time, Han Xiao, who had not said much, cleared his throat, attracting everyone’s attention.

“Gaud joined the association before this happened. He’s also one of our members and is protected by the association. Now that he’s missing, this isn’t just an act of provoking the dynasty but also the association’s authority. It’s our duty to find the culprit. This is the purpose of the association!

“Therefore, I propose that the association shall announce to the public that we’ll be investigating this case thoroughly. All Beyond Grade As will be searching for leads together and releasing a kill order across the universe!”

After he said that, whether sincere or fake, everyone expressed their approval and agreement.

“The vice president is right. The association must not be excluded!”

“Who dares target our member? Do they think we’re all decorations‽”

Han Xiao’s proposal matched how the majority of people felt. Some were worried that if they did not make a stand, the dynasty would take revenge like the Tragedy of the Pinnacles and threaten their lives.

Since Han Xiao had proposed to provide assistance, it would more or less direct the dynasty’s hatred somewhere else so that they would not be the target for the dynasty to vent its anger.

Furthermore, protecting its members was one of the association’s duties. Most people were glad to see the association make a move. This meant that they would receive the same treatment in the future.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became united.

Clotti glanced at Han Xiao. His expression became slightly less cold as he nodded at Han Xiao and sat back down.

He had intended to acquire the association’s help. After all, this many Beyond Grade As was an extremely powerful force. Gaining their help would largely increase the chances of finding the culprit.

Black Star was the dynasty’s ally, and he had given them a lot of face by making the decision on the spot to provide assistance. Seeing this, Clotti agreed more with the dynasty’s strategy.

Letting Black Star control the association was definitely a good thing for the dynasty.

Looking at everyone’s reaction, Han Xiao maintained a serious expression on the surface while secretly heaving a sigh of relief in his mind.

This was the effect he wanted to achieve—having all the organizations suspect each other while not knowing that the true culprit was right under their noses…

He had completely muddied the waters.

Chapter 1230: Werewolf Becoming the Detective

Chapter 1230 Werewolf Becoming the Detective The next day, with the Beyond Grade A Association taking the lead, all the Beyond Grade A organizations made a joint announcement. They claimed that this was an insult to the association and that the association would assist the Crimson Dynasty in finding the culprit to avenge Gaud.As so many Beyond Grade As used their influence to search for clues, it instantly caused chain reactions in the Flickering World, affecting countless normal organizations.

The dynasty also made a public response based on the Beyond Grade A Association’s announcement, praising Vice President Black Star’s act of taking the lead, not at all mentioning Manison, the actual president. The difference in treatment was clear.

At the same time, the Beyond Grade A Association publicized a universe kill order. Every member chipped in some money, making up an outrageous reward as high as four billion Enas. Among them, the Black Star Army alone contributed half a billion, expressing their determination to find the culprit to the outside world.

The outrageously high reward immediately triggered the enthusiasm of the entire Flickering World. Almost everyone was guessing who the real culprit was every day.

Plus, the dynasty exploration army dispatched a ton of manpower and resources to search for clues, causing the focus of the Flickering World to shift. Although the Flickering World was still the main focus of the galactic residents, the search for Gaud also attracted a lot of attention. Other than fighting in the war, these organizations were also sending their men all over to look for clues.

The federation and the church did not only watch either. They both made announcements stating that they felt just as provoked as the dynasty was and would be sending forces to assist the dynasty in their investigation.

Organizations in the galaxy got questioned one after another. The dynasty collected all kinds of information related to the time surrounding the incident, but they had yet to find any clues.

…

In the remote conference room of the Super Star Cluster Alliance, a meeting was being held.

“… After this, there’s no way the dynasty will put it behind them. They’ll have to settle it no matter what. Never mind if they solve it, but if they end up not being able to solve it, they’ll undoubtedly find a temporary ‘culprit’ to take the blame, save the dynasty’s reputation, and vent their anger. We’re the best choice for the dynasty.”

The remote projections were all of the Super Star Cluster civilization leaders. Listening to the Star Arc Civilization leader speak, everyone had a serious expression.

At the start, they had doubted one of their own and asked if they did it as soon as they met, thinking this was the stupid act of one of their allies. However, after sharing their internal information, only then did they clear each other’s doubts and unite on this matter.

The Star Arc Civilization leader brought up his opinion at the right timing, receiving agreement from many other leaders.

Everyone knew that their situation was against them. Whether the dynasty could find the real culprit or not, the Super Star Cluster Alliance would still very likely take the blame. The three Universal Civilizations would definitely not mind using this opportunity to frame them for a crime they did not commit.

The Tragedy of the Pinnacles was a bloody lesson. No Super Star Cluster civilization wished for that to happen again, so they had no choice but to let the three Universal Civilizations take the moral high ground among the public and toy with them. Therefore, the Star Arc Civilization leader spoke to their hearts.

The others nodded. “That’s right. We can’t sit and wait for our doom. We have to turn the situation around. Explaining ourselves won’t work. It’s best to find a clear ‘culprit’ and announce it so that the three Universal Civilizations can’t use this against us… Manison is a suitable target.”

Seeing this, the Star Arc Civilization leader heaved a sigh of relief and smiled with satisfaction.

He had brought this proposal up in the meeting because he wanted the help of the entire Super Star Cluster Alliance.

They would only have a higher chance of making Manison take the blame if they worked together; the Star Arc Civilization alone was not enough.

Now, the entire Super Star Cluster Alliance had come to an agreement to frame Manison.

…

In the Mechanic Emperor’s secret base, Manison did not look happy. He hung up the call from the federation and frowned slightly.

“The dynasty’s request is too much, telling me to show all my Felons, submit the logbooks of all the spaceships under my command, and even open up the memory database of all my mechanical soldiers for them to check… Hehe, they say they hope I can cooperate with the investigation, but they’ve actually already marked me as the main suspect. The only thing that’s left to do is to bring me over and interrogate me.”

Manison shook his head. He could clearly see that the three Universal Civilizations were also planning to use this opportunity to find out the coordinates of his various bases.

Although he did not do it, he was not so naive as to think he could stay out of it completely.

From Manison’s perspective, the Super Star Cluster Alliance was most likely the culprit. The Super Star Cluster Alliance would certainly not be willing to sit and wait for their doom, so they would definitely do something about it. Manison, however, happened to be between the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance and was the most suspicious. He was the most suitable sacrifice; someone was probably going to pin the incident on him.

“I must prepare some way to fight back and make the Super Star Cluster Alliance take the blame they deserve… Hmm, speaking of which, if they try to frame me, that should prove they’re the real culprits.”

Manison’s thoughts were very clear.

If possible, he might have wanted to frame Black Star and teach that b*stard a lesson.

However, that was way too difficult to do, almost impossible really, so he could only forget about that idea.

…

In the Holy Accord organization’s base…

“To think that this happened in the outside world…”

The various revived Primordial Ones gathered, watched the images on the communicator in Oathkeeper’s hands, and chatted continuously.

“The times are so terrifying now. Even an Esper Ability as powerful as Energy Control has appeared.”

“Pity, he got killed right after he entered the Beyond Grade A territory. Black Star is indeed right. The world outside is dangerous.

“This culprit messed up. No matter how perfectly he executed the plan, as soon as the dynasty figures out the Sanctums and revives Gaud, the truth would be revealed…”

The others nodded.

Oathkeeper, however, was a little worried. “If the dynasty can’t find the culprit, once you revivors appear, the dynasty will suspect you guys too. This isn’t good news.”

Beiger sighed and said, “So, we’re affected by the culprit too. We’ll have to be more cautious when we decide to go public.”

The people sighed and felt that the problem had just fallen down the sky out of nowhere.

…

In the Black Star Army Commander’s office, Han Xiao said in his chair. Virtual screens hovered before him, displaying the activities on the quantum network.

Over the past few days, he had been doing this to pay attention to the direction this matter was taking. He had witnessed the spark he lit spread like wildfire, affecting bigger and bigger areas. He felt more and more like a mastermind behind the curtains stirring up storms in the universe.

“This is probably going to be the norm for some time. The dynasty will not stop till they find the real culprit, it’s like a hornet nest.”

At this time, his communicator suddenly rang. He took it out. It was surprisingly a call from Tarrokov.

As he picked it up, Old Tar’s remote projection appeared in the room.

“Old Marshal, it’s been some time.”

Tarrokov nodded and said with a serious expression, “Black Star, I’ll keep things short. The dynasty needs your help now.”

“Go ahead.”

“Gaud has been missing for many days. The dynasty has already searched all the records of the area within a month’s duration before and after the incident, but we have yet to find any solid evidence. Therefore, the upper echelons have decided to form a task force especially in charge of this matter. The dynasty hopes to invite you to join as an expert, relying on your abilities to search for leads on the quantum network. What do you think?”

Han Xiao almost laughed out loud.

“Ahem, I’m the consultant of the three Universal Civilizations. This is my duty. I’m ready anytime.”

“Okay. The task force will gather online in a day’s time. If you can find any clue, the dynasty will reward you generously.”

Tarrokov did not waste any time. He pointed out a few more things and hung up the call right after. He had been busy as hell lately; he really had no time to stay for a chat.

Han Xiao put the communicator down and smirked.

As a werewolf, I successfully got others to believe I’m the seer and even got voted as the detective!

By inviting him, the mastermind, to investigate this case, anyone could be captured but the real culprit…

Furthermore, he would even join as an expert, meaning he had a lot of control over the direction of the investigation. With his capabilities, doing something without anyone noticing was too easy.

This way, he had more targets he could frame…

However, forging clues was still risky. Han Xiao planned to be cautious and see how the ‘suspects’ reacted.

While he was being secretly glad, a notification suddenly popped up on the interface.

_____________________

You have triggered the mission [Wanted Order]!

Mission Introduction: An important member of the Crimson Dynasty is suspected to have been ambushed and is now missing. The dynasty trusts your capabilities and has asked you to join the investigation team.

Mission Requirements: Solve the case and capture the culprit.

Reward: Depends on the Mission Rating.

_____________________

What the hell?

Han Xiao’s expression froze, he was stunned.

The situation now was still within his control, but the interface gave him a surprise.

Excuse me, I’m the one who did it. How can I still trigger this mission?

How am I supposed to complete it? By capturing myself‽

Chapter 1231: Werewolf Detective

Chapter 1231 Werewolf Detective “I wonder what the reward is.”Han Xiao was curious.

The mission requirement was to catch the ‘culprit’, not the ‘true culprit’. He wondered if the mission was based on the truth or the dynasty’s perspective.

If it was the latter, did this mean that as long as he could prove someone was the culprit to the dynasty, the mission would be considered complete?

If that was the case, he would have a chance to complete it.

No way was he going to turn himself in, not in this life. A werewolf would not kill himself, only frame others. That was the only way to live.

Han Xiao shook his head. He did not have the compulsion to clear out every mission. From the way he looked at it, it would be best if he could complete this mission, but it would not matter if he could not complete it.

According to the nature of the mission, the reward was most likely going to be mainly the dynasty’s Contribution Points. If this was in the past, he would have needed them to acquire more blueprints from the dynasty. Now, however, with Jayz’ treasure, the dynasty’s Contribution Points were no longer valuable to him. The only thing that was still useful would be Political Assets.

…

The next day, Han Xiao entered the online channel of the dynasty task force on the dot. His remote projection appeared in a conference room.

As soon as he entered the room, projections appeared one after another, sizing each other up.

Han Xiao saw familiar faces like Clotti, Kant, Ravenlaude, and so on, as well as unfamiliar faces.

Before they started chatting, Tarrokov appeared, attracting everyone’s attention. “Everyone here is a member of the dynasty’s task force, so I won’t waste any time. You all know what needs to be done. This team has gathered the experts of various fields. You guys are authorized to use all resources the dynasty has in the Flickering World. The dynasty only has one requirement; find the culprit and Gaud’s whereabouts.”

The next moment, Clotti said, “I’m the team captain for the task force for the time being. Any requests to utilize resources can be made through me. As for the detailed arrangements of your jobs, the vice-captain will decide.”

This time, a tall, skinny dynasty officer stepped up, looked at everyone, and did a dynasty style greeting.

“You can call me Sherlock Dillman. I work for the dynasty’s intelligence department. Pardon me for not sharing the details of my work. For this task, the upper echelons have sent me to be the vice-captain. I’ll be in charge of the investigation work. My power alone is limited. Everyone will have to work together.”

Han Xiao raised his brow.

Sherlock? The name sounded like a famous detective. This person was definitely not ordinary. He should be the dynasty’s special talent in the investigation field.

The task force did not need muscles, only expertise. Therefore, Sherlock was the vice-captain, and the Beyond Grade As in the team were experts in different fields. In simple terms, the Beyond Grade As were acting as tools.

The rest introduced themselves one after another. There were three experts in charge of the quantum network search, Kant, Judith—the dynasty’s direct member—and himself.

Sherlock allocated different jobs for the experts in different fields one after another. Very soon, he came to the three of them and quickly pointed out the requirements.

“… That’s the situation we’re in. The Virtual Domain is a key area of the search. Please find clues to the best of your abilities. I’ll leave it to Your Excellencies.”

Sherlock bowed. His attitude was very respectful. After that, he turned away and went to assign tasks to the others.

Seeing that Sherlock had left, Kant scratched his head and said, “You two are more than enough. I’m not a Virtual Mechanic, so why did the dynasty call me here?”

“The dynasty was probably just being nice and did not think you’d agree, but to their surprise, you’re actually thick-skinned enough to really come,” Han Xiao joked.

Kant’s mouth twitched. “… Black Star, you’ll lose me as a friend like this.”

“Ahem, ahem, Your Excellencies, we’ve already received the authorization. We better get to work,” Judith said from the side.

Han Xiao focused and received the quantum network authorization shared by Judith.

The dynasty had called them, the experts, of course, not to let them fight alone. The dynasty had opened up almost all the resources in the Flickering World for them to use.

For example, the three of them could command all of the dynasty’s Virtual Mechanics in the Flickering World. The backdoor of the quantum network stations the dynasty had set up in the Flickering World was also open to the three of them. They could log in to the Flickering World’s quantum network as administrators.

Furthermore, even some permissions of the dynasty’s main artificial intelligence ‘Heroic Soul’ were temporarily given to Han Xiao and Kant, despite them being ‘outsiders’. Other than to investigate the case, Judith’s mission also included preventing the two of them from doing anything out of the line while they had such high-level authority.

Han Xiao logged into the network through the backdoor. His mind sank into the quantum network vision, and everything seemed so clear.

The network of more than half of the Flickering World was clearly laid out in front of him, all within his control. He felt like he had become the processor of the network. He had access to any and all data in every station. With so much power, he almost felt all-mighty.

“Nice.” Han Xiao enjoyed it quite a lot.

No matter how strong his Virtual Intrusion ability was, he would still be a thief sneaking into someone’s house. Now, however, it was like the owner of the house had directly rented the entire house to him; he could do almost anything he wanted.

Although Judith and Kant were beside him, with his abilities, he should be able to do some things without them noticing. However, the best thing to do for the time being was to observe how things were going first.

More importantly, with this level of authority, he could totally wipe out the possible flaws he might have left, erasing any evidence that could lead to him even more thoroughly, completely making his alibi legit.

Since the dynasty had given him this chance, he was certainly going to ‘treasure’ it.

Han Xiao spent the next few days submerged in the quantum network, carrying out the investigation with Judith and Kant.

Initially, Han Xiao thought he would not be able to find any leads. However, to his surprise, this was not the case. He discovered that the situation had taken a slight turn.

He did not have to do anything. The Super Star Cluster Alliance and Manison were already fighting with each other. They had started forging evidence and framing each other.

Both sides were doing it very discreetly. If not because he had the administrator authority of the Flickering World’s quantum network, Han Xiao would not have discovered what the two of them were doing.

With the authority and his incredible Virtual Technology, their tricks did not escape his eyes.

Tsk, you guys didn’t even do it, but you’re already trying to frame each other…

Han Xiao’s mouth contorted slightly.

Never mind if the others discovered this, but since he was the real culprit, from his perspective, this situation was like two villagers accusing each other of being the werewolf, while he, the real werewolf, was not suspected at all.

However, with some thought, he understood what the two of them were thinking.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance was afraid that the three Universal Civilizations might claim they were the culprit without any evidence, so they decided to act first. Manison knew this, so he took countermeasures. Hence, both sides immediately discovered each other’s tricks, and they started fighting.

This is exactly why I muddied the waters.

The plan worked!

The two sides are trying to frame each other. Both are suspicious. Since there’s no way the real culprit is going to be discovered, one side will definitely be deemed as the culprit by the dynasty…

Han Xiao’s eyes shifted quickly.

Currently, the two sides were at a stalemate, unable to completely frame each other. This was where he could interfere.

Since the situation had developed in this direction, to him, framing someone else became easier than he had expected.

With his current level of authority, he only had to play a little trick, and the dynasty’s judgement would be affected. He could easily help one side beat the other side, which meant that he was the one who could make the decision.

Who should I help? Han Xiao pondered.

He had always been against Manison, but on this matter, he planned to help the old man.

After all, Manison was the current Beyond Grade A Association president. If he took the blame, though his personal reputation would be damaged, the Beyond Grade A Association would be affected too. The impact would be very negative. If the president had secretly attacked the association’s newest member, many members would feel threatened and much warier, which was bad for the association.

On the other hand, if the Super Star Cluster Alliance took the blame, it would have the opposite impact on the association. The Beyond Grade As would feel that Gaud’s tragedy was because he was involved in the conflicts between factions. They would think that the same thing would not happen to them if they chose not to join any faction but the Beyond Grade A Association. It would instead increase some Beyond Grade As’ sense of recognition for the association, which was beneficial for the association’s growth.

Most importantly, the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance were already at war. If they took the blame, the others would not be impacted.

Although the dynasty would not stop searching for the real culprit after, for the time being, letting the Super Star Cluster Alliance take the blame would minimize the risks for him.

Humph, old Manison, I’m not helping you; it’s for the association.

Han Xiao curled his lips.

Mumbling a little in his mind, he started to execute the plan right away.

No matter how these two villagers accuse each other, in the end, I, the werewolf detective, will still be the one to make the call.

…

“It feels like a mysterious force is helping me…”

Inside the Mechanic Emperor’s secret base, Manison had a weird expression on his face.

In the past few days, he had discovered that the Super Star Cluster Alliance was indeed trying to frame him. Hence, he retaliated.

Originally, both sides were only suspects, and there was no evidence. They had now added quite a lot of ‘flaws’ to each other’s alibis.

In this silent war, Manison was actually at a disadvantage. After all, the opponent was the entire Super Star Cluster Alliance. Although his Virtual Technology was strong, he was alone.

However, not long ago, he discovered something abnormal. Some of the evidence the Super Star Cluster Alliance forged surprisingly suddenly disappeared, as if someone was helping him fight against the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

“To be both able to discover my conflict with the Super Star Cluster Alliance and interfere… is this the doing of the three Universal Civilizations?”

Manison thought about it.

The reason the three Universal Civilizations were doing this should be that they had confirmed the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s guilt, so they did not want them to successfully frame him… Or thinking one level deeper, if the dynasty could not identify who the real culprit was, this would have been a strategic decision to accuse the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

If he went one level deeper…

Manison pondered and fell into a cycle.

…

About a week later, on the Crimson Dynasty mother planet, Urranrell browsed the report of the task force and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

“After the investigation carried out in the past few days, you guys have found a chain of evidence that seems to be legit, all pointing toward the Super Star Cluster Alliance… but this isn’t the dynasty’s initial intention.”

Before her was the remote projection of an intelligence department upper echelon who sighed and said, “Whether it’s real or not isn’t important now. As long as this chain of evidence is more than enough to convince the outside world, it’s enough.”

“I want the real culprit and Gaud’s whereabouts. Why else would I need the task force?”

“But time waits for no man. The real culprit did not leave any traces at all. If we keep investigating like this, the truth will remain out of reach. The outside world is already doubting that the dynasty can find the culprit. There are even people on the internet starting to admire this culprit who enraged the dynasty but still has yet to be punished… We can take all the time we want to find the real culprit in the future, but what the dynasty needs now is results.”

Urranrell frowned slightly.

After the tricks Han Xiao played, the task force found a complete chain of evidence that led to the Super Star Cluster Alliance. However, after carefully verifying it, the task force knew this was forged, most likely by Manison. These two parties’ act of trying to frame each other did not go unnoticed by the dynasty.

However, even though this was the case, after some discussion, the task force still decided to submit this result to the upper echelons. The dynasty upper echelons all knew about this, but still, this report was placed on Urranrell’s desk.

Currently, the public opinion of the outside world was becoming worse. What the dynasty urgently needed was a ‘result’, real or fake. The target this chain of evidence led to matched the dynasty’s war strategy too; the Super Star Cluster Alliance was the best target.

Furthermore, the Super Star Cluster Alliance was trying to create a ‘culprit’. They were the ones that started this. If things were delayed for too long, they would succeed, and the dynasty did not want to see that.

Urranrell hesitated for a few seconds. She did not approve it immediately, sighed, and said, “Call Clotti and Sherlock here. I want to hear their opinions…”

This time, she paused and added, “Call up Black Star while you’re at it.”

Chapter 1232: Master of Tempo

Chapter 1232 Master of Tempo Not long after, the remote projections of Han Xiao, Clotti, and Sherlock appeared in the office.“Your Excellency Urranrell.” The three nodded respectfully in greeting.

Urranrell nodded in return, pointed at the report on the virtual screen, and cut to the chase. “Is this the result of your work? I’m not very satisfied. You guys know this kind of evidence that’ll only fool outsiders isn’t what I want.”

Sherlock stepped up, knowing he would be scolded, and said, “Your Excellency Urranrell, we’ve been trying to find the whereabouts of the real culprit, but the culprit left absolutely no flaws at all. We have found zero leads. While doing that, we discovered that the Super Star Cluster Alliance and Manison were fighting each other, so…”

He explained the progress of the task force’s work. In simple terms, they did not find a single lead or clue, only a ton of forged evidence.

Seeing that the outside world was having more and more doubts, with the mounting pressure from the upper echelons, Sherlock had no choice but to reluctantly pick out some of the forged evidence and form an evidence chain using his deductive skills. Though fake, after he arranged and analyzed them, it at least sounded real.

Urranrell frowned. “Tell me the truth, how long do you think it’ll take to find the real culprit?”

“… For now, never, unless we find a breakthrough.” Sherlock sighed and shook his head.

“Do the two of you feel the same way?” Urranrell asked.

Clotti did not speak and nodded slowly with a poker face.

Han Xiao shrugged as if he was saying that there was nothing he could do either. “The person who attacked Gaud is very slippery and did not leave any clues. Even I have not found any leads. Based on the current situation, I feel that the dynasty can look at the matter from another perspective. Based on the perspective of benefits, the dynasty needs to find a suitable target to take the blame to calm this matter down for the time being, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance is perfect… Furthermore, since they’re in such a rush to clear their suspicion, they might be involved somehow.”

Urranrell shook his head and said, “But there’ll definitely be people in the outside world who’ll see through our plan. The Super Star Cluster Alliance won’t easily admit it either. To the dynasty…”

Han Xiao interrupted her. “I know your concerns, but that is not important. The dynasty already lost when Gaud was attacked. All you can do now is save the situation as much as possible. What the dynasty needs now is results. Display its stand and muscles. You can’t shut people up, but you can make them afraid. This way, even if someone mocks this result, they’ll still be afraid. Thus, the goal is essentially achieved.”

“But if we do this, won’t the real culprit laugh all day seeing that the dynasty has accused the wrong side? Won’t some people with ulterior motives think they can use the dynasty to their advantage because of this?” Urranrell said with a deep voice.

This was what she was worried about. Once the outside world saw through what the dynasty was doing, some people would think the dynasty was easy to fool, which would also damage the dynasty’s reputation.

“That’s inevitable, but a choice has to be made. Not everything can be done based on one’s likings, right?” Han Xiao’s skin was as thick as metal. He chuckled and said, “Plus, this might not be a bad thing. This will more or less make the real culprit lower their guard, increasing the chance of them showing flaws, which might one day give us a breakthrough.”

An intelligence department upper echelon agreed and said, “His Excellency Black Star is right. We’ll have to make a choice sooner or later.”

Urranrell sighed, signed the order, and said, “Do it then.”

The moment this proposal was placed on her table, Urranrell already knew that this was the silent agreement of the dynasty’s upper echelons. They only needed her signature. Even the ruler could not do whatever she liked; she still had to compromise here and there. Her term was nearing its end. She could not dictate things anymore.

After signing the order, Urranrell felt weirdly relieved. She shook her head.

“Looks like the mission to find the real culprit can only be passed on to the next ruler. It’s good, I suppose. I have an easier time.”

Han Xiao’s eyes flickered, and he said, “Actually, we might have missed something. There’s another possible scenario that might explain how Gaud went missing. Did the dynasty consider it?”

The others instantly turned toward him.

“Oh? Tell us about it.” Urranrell was interested.

“Is it possible that this is Gaud’s own doing?”

Hearing this, the intelligence upper echelon laughed uncontrollably and said, “Your Excellency Black Star, we made this assumption long ago. We came to the conclusion that it’s not possible. Gaud doesn’t have a motive to do that.”

“I don’t feel the same way.” Han Xiao shook his head. “Just because he’s a direct member doesn’t mean he’s totally loyal. Is it possible that he only wanted to use the dynasty’s resources to become a Beyond Grade A, then fake his death and free himself from the dynasty’s restrictions and hide?”

After saying that, he subtly glanced at everyone and saw the unconvinced looks on their faces. He then added, “Of course, this is just speculation based on logic. I don’t know Gaud’s origins nor personality, so I don’t trust him completely. Anyway, in my eyes, it’s not completely impossible for something like this to happen. After all, it has happened before.”

Sherlock thought for a moment and said, “Hmm, your suspicion makes sense. The amount of time Gaud has served the dynasty is too short.”

Urranrell gave him a glare and said with a typical politician’s tone, “You don’t have to worry about that. The dynasty has its own system of checking through its direct members and won’t take in anyone suspicious. The dynasty trusts the loyalty of its direct members completely…”

Han Xiao glanced at Clotti’s poker face and understood that Urranrell did not want to continue this topic here.

He shook his head, smiled, acted casual and said, “Alright, I’m just saying.”

Sherlock, however, continued asking. “I’m curious, why do you think Gaud might have faked his death? Something must have caused you to have that speculation. Did he act suspicious on any occasion?”

Han Xiao looked at him surprised.

Are you really that interested? I don’t know if I should say that you have a strong desire for knowledge or that you don’t know how to read the room. Didn’t you see the look on that upper echelon’s face?

Han Xiao suddenly realized that this was an opportunity to set the tempo. He fake-coughed and said, “One reason is that we could not find any clues at all. It’s way too clean and doesn’t look like he was attacked. Another… well, it’s not that Gaud acted suspicious or anything, but I just happen to know someone who successfully faked his death, so it came to mind.”

“Who’s that?” Sherlock was curious.

“This person is quite famous actually. You guys definitely know him. It’s that Limitless Financial Group’s Sorokin.”

Before the others asked anything, Han Xiao continued. “I coincidentally discovered his little secret. He’s not as weak as he looks. I sensed danger from him. He might not be any weaker than me, yet he has always presented himself as being very weak. No one knows what his plan is. Plus, his soul’s true age seems to be much higher than his current age. I tested him a bit and discovered that he might be a Beyond Grade A from history who possibly faked his death and lived till now using different identities…”

He kept some of the key information and exposed Sorokin’s identity using ambiguous words, making the others doubtful.

“How do you know?” Urranrell wondered.

“This involves a certain Universal Treasure I acquired not long ago. It has special uses in the soul field.” Han Xiao smiled and did not give any details.

Urranrell knew that Han Xiao did not want to share, so she did not continue asking. Thinking of Sorokin’s actions in the past, she said, “If this is true, Sorokin definitely has a big plan. We’ll have to adjust our approach for him…”

She would not instantly believe what Han Xiao said. However, Han Xiao’s Political Asset count was quite high. He even had the bonus from the weird [Civilization Leader Slayer] talent, so what he said was taken more seriously.

Urranrell planned to secretly investigate Sorokin. Compared to Black Star, Sorokin was even more of an outsider.

Seeing this, Han Xiao stopped talking about this topic. He did not want to say too much; getting the dynasty interested in Sorokin was enough.

After all, making the Super Star Cluster Alliance take the blame was only the dynasty’s temporary solution. They would continue to search for the culprit in the future. Therefore, Han Xiao wanted to use this opportunity to mess with Sorokin.

This guy was a master in knowing when to be a coward. He was way too well hidden, so God only knew what he was planning. If Han Xiao could expose him, it was definitely a good thing.

With what had happened to Gaud, once Sorokin’s real strength was exposed, he would also be a suspect.

Although, from the way the Great Mechanic Han looked at it, Sorokin did not have any motive. However, at least he could disgust this b*stard…

Humph, who told you to plot against me secretly all the time. Did you think my little notebook is empty‽

“Alright, that’s the situation for now. I don’t have anything more to ask, so if there’s nothing else…”

Urranrell was just about to end the communication. However, before she finished, she heard Han Xiao speak again.

“Wait, one last thing.”

“… Go ahead.” Urranrell clenched her teeth in her mind.

She thought Han Xiao was about to make another report, but saw that Han Xiao suddenly put on a serious expression and said,

“Your Excellency Urranrell, I’m now speaking to you as the vice president of the Beyond Grade A Association. I fully support the dynasty’s decision to target the Super Star Cluster Alliance, but I hope this won’t impact the association’s members.”

Hearing this, the others looked at Han Xiao with surprise and became serious too.

“Go on.” Urranrell narrowed her eyes.

“I believe we both know that there are direct members of the Super Star Cluster civilizations hidden among the neutral Beyond Grade As. I am all for the dynasty’s plan to target the Super Star Cluster Alliance, but I don’t wish to see the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s Beyond Grade As included in the revenge target. I’m not covering the culprit. I’m asking the dynasty not to vent its rage on some neutral Beyond Grade As who might be direct members of the Super Star Cluster civilizations. The culprit might be among them, but before the real culprit is found, they’ll be protected by the association.”

Han Xiao spoke with a serious tone that felt like he was going to fight for this even if he would offend the dynasty for it.

Urranrell and the others understood what he meant immediately. Black Star knew how the evidence had come about. Though he supported the dynasty’s decision, he did not want it to become an excuse for the dynasty to target the Beyond Grade As. He was planning ahead.

You can beat up the Super Star Cluster Alliance, but you can’t drag down the unrelated Beyond Grade As!

His identity swapped smoothly. One second ago, he was the dynasty’s ally giving suggestions for the dynasty’s sake, the next he became the Beyond Grade A Association’s vice president thinking ahead for the association.

“You’re really thoughtful.” Urranrell had a complicated look in her eyes.

“If I don’t speak for the association, when word gets out, how can I remain vice president?”

“… Alright, I understand. The dynasty’s target is only limited to the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s forces. Before we acquire solid proof, we won’t target their hidden direct Beyond Grade A members. After all, the association has made a stand to help us too.”

Urranrell sighed.

Seeing this, Han Xiao finally smiled again. He thought for a while and said with a chuckle, “Alright, if the dynasty doesn’t mind, can you help me promote it? Just say that the dynasty initially wanted to investigate the neutral Beyond Grade As or even forcibly interrogate them, but I quarreled with the dynasty using logic, protecting the association’s members, and in the end, convinced the dynasty of only targeting the Super Star Cluster Alliance. And please emphasize the fact that I played a crucial part in the dynasty’s decision.”

“…”

Although the others did not speak, they had the same looks on their faces.

Wow, just how f*cking shameless can you be!

“… Okay.”

Urranrell took a few deep breaths to calm her emotions, or she was worried she might grab the cup on the table and throw it at Han Xiao.

Although she complained about how shameless Black Star was in her heart, she still decided to help him to promote, increasing Black Star’s position and reputation in the association. There were more pros than cons to having Black Star control the association.

Having received a definitive answer, Han Xiao only then bade farewell with a smile.

After deactivating the remote projection, his sights returned to the office where his original body was. He heaved a sigh of relief.

“This tempo I’ve set has finally completely deviated the dynasty’s direction…”

Han Xiao felt much more relaxed.

Luckily, he had enough Political Assets, which made making the dynasty accept his proposals easier.

If not because Manison and the Super Star Cluster Alliance were going at each other’s throats, he would have had to spend more effort. It could be said that these two sides helped him to make things easier. He grabbed the main conflict and did not need to make any flashy moves.

Furthermore, making the association’s members see that their vice president was so responsible he argued with the dynasty to protect their interests would increase his reputation considerably. This would probably make more people see the benefits of letting him lead them.

Even Han Xiao could not say how many birds he killed with this one stone. He only knew that the negative impact caused by Gaud being attacked was tremendously reduced. When the dynasty announced their plan to act against the Super Star Cluster Alliance, this matter should be considered settled for the time being.

As for the other unknown chain reactions, the only thing he could do was find out in the future.

…

On the other side, Urranrell and Clotti were the only ones left in the ruler’s office.

Urranrell pressed her fingers subconsciously with a hesitant expression. After some time, she finally softly said, “Do you think he’ll be the next Mechanic Emperor?”

Clotti glanced at her and shook his head.

“He’s a hundred times more dangerous than the Mechanic Emperor.”

Chapter 1233: Dust Settled

Chapter 1233 Dust Settled The state of the Flickering World was extremely tense, like a volcano that was about to erupt.Ever since Gaud was attacked, the investigation of the dynasty attracted the attention of the entire universe. A month had already passed since then. The dynasty made such a big deal out of it but still had yet to achieve anything. Voices of doubt started to appear in the outside world.

As the public opinion was getting more and more intense, the dynasty finally made a new announcement, producing a full chain of evidence that pointed directly at the Super Star Cluster Alliance. The public opinion was stirred up once again.

The dynasty claimed that this chain of evidence was carefully verified. They had discovered that the Super Star Cluster civilizations planned the attack on Gaud. Hence, the dynasty used a harsh tone to question them, demanding these three Super Star Cluster civilizations open up their databases and cooperate with the investigation, or the dynasty would take further actions.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance originally wanted to make Manison take the blame, but their moves against Manison were defused by a mysterious force time after time. In the end, it led to the dynasty being one step ahead. Facing such an obvious method to divide them, the Super Star Cluster Alliance strongly denied it and refused to cooperate with the investigation. They also made an announcement claiming that the Crimson Dynasty was only using this opportunity to accuse them of something they did not do. Since the two sides were already at war, they even stated the unfair treatment the three Universal Civilizations had been giving to the Super Star Cluster civilizations all these years, hoping to gain the moral high ground in the eyes of the public.

The federation and the church came to support the dynasty too.

The two sides’ conflict stirred up a storm in the galactic civilization. Most people trusted the three Universal Civilizations more, but there were some who saw through the dynasty’s plan. However, even though they knew something was going on, the situation would not be affected.

No matter how much was said, fists still spoke the loudest. After a few days of the situation fermenting, the dynasty took further action. They claimed that since the Super Star Cluster Alliance had already attacked a Beyond Grade A, the agreement they had made in the past was considered voided. The dynasty announced that they would be sending direct Beyond Grade A members into the Flickering War. The federation and the church followed and did the same after.

The Beyond Grade A Association who had made an agreement with the three Universal Civilizations long ago expressed their support, claiming that it was the Super Star Cluster Alliance who broke the rules first.

Very soon, the direct Beyond Grade A members of the three Universal Civilizations were heading toward the frontlines one after another.

With the Beyond Grade As joining the war, the intensity of it rapidly escalated. The three Universal Civilizations penetrated one stronghold after another. The Super Star Cluster Alliance was losing territories even quicker.

Originally, the outside world thought the Super Star Cluster Alliance would also send in direct members, but that did not happen. The Super Star Cluster Alliance only relied on the troops they had to fight the direct Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations. Even though they were losing quickly, they still did not bring out any hidden Beyond Grade As.

Questions related to this matter got brought up and spread on the internet, secretly guiding more galactic residents to feel curious about. When this matter attracted enough attention, a ‘mysterious person’ finally appeared and explained the reasons behind it with so-called ‘inside information’.

According to the information, the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s direct members might be hidden in the Beyond Grade A Association, and one or more of them might be the culprit who attacked Gaud. The dynasty planned to thoroughly investigate all neutral Beyond Grade As. However, when Black Star found out about this, he went to argue with the Ruler, despite knowing it would put him at a bad spot in his relationship with the dynasty. He insisted on protecting the association’s members’ interests, stating that unless solid evidence was found, he would not allow the association’s members to be affected.

After a negotiation that went on for days and nights, the dynasty was finally convinced by Black Star and decided to cancel this plan. Because of Black Star’s hard work, the Beyond Grade A Association did not receive the forced investigation treatment. The public speculated that the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s hidden members could only remain hidden because of this. Therefore, the Super Star Cluster Alliance would rather get beat up than expose their identities.

This news shocked countless organizations. In the face of the dynasty’s furious investigation, almost everyone would obediently cooperate. However, Black Star dared to reject it. Furthermore, the dynasty clearly knew that the culprit might be in the association, but they still agreed to Black Star’s request. Just how much weight did Black Star’s words carry‽

The galactic residents were dumbfounded.

No wonder he became the first ever consultant of the three Universal Civilizations. The dynasty had to give him face even when they were furious!

…

In the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s remote conference room, the leaders of the various civilizations had gathered. The atmosphere was tragic.

“We guessed right. The three Universal Civilizations decided to make us take the blame… Everything feels like it was planned!”

The Star Arc Civilization leader clenched his fists with rage.

Originally, Manison alone could not stop them. However, they discovered that a secret mysterious force was obstructing them and supporting Manison, slowing their plan down by a large extent.

The mysterious force that was helping Manison could only be the three Universal Civilizations!

“The three Universal Civilizations planned to make us take the blame. Therefore, after discovering what we were trying to do, they obstructed us secretly so that we wouldn’t have a chance of escaping the accusations and would have no choice but get targeted!” a leader said with an enraged tone.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance guessed what the three Universal Civilizations wanted to do. They were afraid of taking the blame, so they tried to frame Manison. Manison knew what the Super Star Cluster Alliance wanted to do, so he tried to protect himself. The three Universal Civilizations were one step ahead. They guessed that the Super Star Cluster Alliance had guessed what they wanted to do, so they helped Manison. Their final goal was still to target the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

Their hearts were filled with a strong rage and sense of powerlessness. It felt like the three Universal Civilizations had knitted a huge net. They had nowhere to run and no way of struggling.

“What do we do now? The three Universal Civilizations have sent their direct members, and we have limited reinforcements. If we don’t bring our direct members out, our loss is certain,” someone said with a worried tone.

The people exchanged looks and all looked troubled.

Someone sighed and said what everyone was thinking. “Forget it, don’t we all see the situation? Even if we bring our direct members out, we’d have no chance to turn the tables. We’d only be exposing their identities for nothing.

“Instead of that, we might as well let our direct members continue to hide their identities… Things are different now. Black Star is protecting the Beyond Grade A Association, so as long as our men’s identities are not exposed, they won’t be affected.”

Everyone else nodded.

Without the Beyond Grade A Association, the three Universal Civilizations would definitely thoroughly investigate most of the neutral Beyond Grade As, and no one would dare object. The result of that would very likely be another Tragedy of the Pinnacles.

With the Beyond Grade A Association, the three Universal Civilizations could no longer do whatever they wanted. Due to Black Star’s existence, the dynasty could not target the neutral Beyond Grade As without any consequences. This way, their secret members would also be protected.

“Black Star…”

Many civilization leaders felt complicated.

They did not like this guy at all, but what Black Star did protected their men. This was the indisputable truth.

The Star Arc Civilization leader sighed in his mind and said, “Our days are past. Don’t make any unwise moves. The three Universal Civilizations are forcing us to expose our direct members. Once we fall for it, they’ll have reason to carry out checks… Don’t waste the safety Black Star fought for. Let them continue hiding in the association.”

…

At the Beyond Grade A Association headquarters…

“It’s all thanks to Black Star this time, or we’d all be affected.”

Inside the round table conference room, the atmosphere was joyful. Many normal Beyond Grade A members had relaxed looks on their faces.

Ever since the incident happened, many neutral Beyond Grade As had been worried they might be affected by it. Now, the dust had finally settled. If not because this information got out, they would not even know that Black Star had argued with the dynasty and successfully protected their interests.

This really touched many Beyond Grade A. Only a leader who cared about the interests of his subordinates could be considered a good leader. Although they were not bosses and subordinates, it was exactly why they admired Han Xiao so much. Their sense of recognition increased too.

Facing everyone’s enthusiasm, Han Xiao waved with a ‘Sorokin smile’ on his face.

“I’m the vice president. I only did what I should have done. Don’t have to be so formal, guys.

“That won’t do. I have to properly thank you!” Lucie suddenly bowed toward Han Xiao. He said with an appreciative tone, “If not for you, God only knows when I’d be free. You’re being too humble.”

He had been caught tracking Gaud by the dynasty, and the dynasty had captured him. Lucie had spent many days in fear and only been released not long ago.

With such an experience, Lucie knew more clearly than anyone that without Black Star’s help and the association’s protection, he would most likely have died in the dynasty’s hands. There was no way he could regain freedom. Therefore, although he was a secret member of a Super Star Cluster civilization, the appreciation he was displaying now was not fake.

Lucie’s words were recognized by the others. Everyone had a balance in their heart. By placing the president and the vice president on the two sides of the balance, they could easily see that Black Star had brought more benefits to the association than the Mechanic Emperor.

Putting those purposes and claims on paper aside, they had joined the association for safety and benefits. They were willing to have anyone who could bring more benefits as their representative.

Not only was the president, Manison, of no use at all, he even caused the association to be suspected. The comparison was way too stark.

“Alright, alright, don’t get so excited guys. It’s good to not be wrongly affected. At least Manison cleared his suspicion. Don’t target him for today. Wait till tomorrow.”

Han Xiao coughed and interrupted.

Although this was an act of building his reputation, this was enough. He was worried that if these members got too excited, he would be wearing a golden robe very soon.

Hearing this, the others had extremely dumbfounded looks on their faces.

Black Star spoke for Manison‽

Our youth has ended!

The others could not believe it. Manison glanced at Han Xiao with a complicated expression but was less hostile than before.

The others had no idea, but how could he not know? After the Super Star Cluster Alliance took the blame, he knew that the mysterious force that secretly helped him was most likely Black Star.

He probably did this for the sake of the big picture.

Manison sighed.

Back when Hila was attacked, he had helped Black Star. Now, Black Star helped him in return.

The two of them had been in conflict for many days, but at this moment, Manison uncontrollably felt an indescribable emotion in his heart.

Han Xiao noticed Manison’s look too. He glanced at him and said, “What you looking at?”

“…Nothing.”

Manison looked away, closed his eyes, and hid his emotions.

Han Xiao ignored him, looked to the other side, and saw Sorokin.

Sorokin did not have his signature fake smile on but instead looked very concerned and was dazing off.

From the way he looks, the dynasty has probably made moves secretly.

Han Xiao snickered in his mind.

Letting the Super Star Cluster Alliance take the blame was only a short-term solution; his mission was not shown as completed. However, he was not very concerned about it.

Things had settled. The storm caused by him secretly beating Gaud up finally came to an end for the time being. Overall, he was quite satisfied with the current situation—he had cleared the hidden threat and did not get impacted. This result was quite good.

After the people spoke among themselves for quite a while, Han Xiao suddenly put on a serious expression and said, “Guys, we can’t be glad yet. The situation is clear now. The three Universal Civilizations will certainly win the war, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance won’t be able to last long. Once they lose, they’ll at least keep a low profile for many decades. When the three Universal Civilizations have more time on their hands, we’ll be their next target!

“Don’t forget, the three Universal Civilizations have been planning to do that since the start. It was only delayed by the Flickering War. We’ve been growing smoothly in the past years because the real obstacle has yet to arrive. Be mentally prepared… The day the three Universal Civilizations pressure us isn’t that far away.”

Hearing this, the others nodded with a serious expression.

…

After the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations joined the war, like the last straw, the battle rapidly became completely one-sided.

Most people predicted that the war would still go on for two to three years. However, due to the impact of what happened to Gaud, this duration was tremendously reduced.

In only eleven months, the three Universal Civilizations cleared out the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s military power in the Flickering World’s fourth exploration phase area, retrieving all territories.

The Flickering War ended with the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s tragic loss. They invested countless resources and ended up crushed. In the end, they could not change their fate and could only lick their wounds in the dark.

The Crimson Dynasty redistributed the fourth exploration phase’s territories. Those who participated in the war could keep their territory. Part of the remaining territory would be developed by the dynasty. The rest would be leased, sold, or rewarded to organizations who made contributions. This time, no Beyond Grade A ally was rewarded any territory.

Han Xiao, however, successfully bought the venue of the players’ national war, Planet Milton. He stationed a regiment of the army on the planet and only slightly modified it, keeping the marks left by the players during the national war.

As the flames of war extinguished, the Flickering World temporarily entered a time of peace. The three Universal Civilizations started to deal with the aftershock of the war, recover the law and order of the various territories, and rest.

However, the impact of what happened to Gaud did not end with the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s loss but continued to ferment where no one could see.

In this atmosphere, more than half a year passed.

On this day, the big event finally arrived for the Crimson Dynasty.

Urranrell retired. The new ruler had taken office!

Chapter 1234: The New Ruler

Chapter 1234 The New Ruler On the Crimson Dynasty’s mother planet, Tarunamir Palace’s biggest auditorium was the venue for all kinds of large ceremonies. All the handover ceremonies for the dynasty’s rulers were held there and broadcast to the entire universe.The venue was already set up. All the seats were filled, and most were remote projections. There were dynasty officials, leaders of their subsidiary allied civilizations, and the envoys of the federation and the church.

The Beyond Grade A allies were also invited to attend. They sat toward the back of the middle area, beside the dynasty’s direct members.

Han Xiao sat between Kant and Milizaus. The ceremony had yet to start, and the three of them were chatting.

“Time passed so quickly. Urranrell is retiring too.” Kant sighed.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve already met four different dynasty rulers. Although Urranrell wasn’t the wisest among them, she was definitely the friendliest,” Milizaus mumbled. As a member of the Ancient Ones, his life experience was rich.

“Well, it’s the first time I’ve witnessed the change of head of state.”

Han Xiao was quite interested.

In his previous life, players could not reach this level, so it was the first time he had experienced this kind of event himself. He found it refreshing.

Although I’m stronger than most Beyond Grade As in the universe, I’m still a curious boy.

At this time, Kant subtly pointed forward with his mouth and whispered, “See that? That’s the new dynasty ruler. Any idea who he is?”

“Nope.” Milizaus shook his head.

Han Xiao looked over too. The new ruler’s seat was right beside. From Han Xiao’s perspective, he could only see the new ruler’s broad back.

Long before the handover ceremony, the personnel taking over the top positions in the dynasty had already been decided internally. The path had been set long ago. The new ruler’s identity was kept a secret to the outside world only because of the dynasty’s practice. The allies of the dynasty had no way of finding out before the day.

However, Han Xiao was not one of them—he knew who this new dynasty ruler was long ago.

After chatting for a while, the starting time of the ceremony approached. The voices in the venue gradually lowered, and people started to sit up straight.

When the time came, the entire place was already completely silent. The official hosting the ceremony stood up, expressed the dynasty’s welcome toward the people there, and announced the official beginning of the ceremony.

The dynasty ruler’s handover ceremony adhered to the civilization’s theme completely. The process was short and simple, not flashy and complex like the Federation of Light.

After a few programs, it was finally time for the focus of the ceremony, the handover. Urranrell first had to give a speech.

Under the attention of everyone present, Urranrell walked up to the podium. She wore a simple dynasty uniform. Her hair was tied up high, and there was nothing unusual.

She looked around the venue for three seconds before slowly saying, “Today reminds me of the day I took the position as the dynasty’s ruler. I was confident, proud, and firmly believed I could make the dynasty better. After so many years, the things I wished to do have already been achieved in different ways. I can proudly tell myself that I did not fail the beliefs I initially had, nor did I fail the dynasty.

“Looking back, we’ve accomplished many feats in many fields such as politics, economics, order of the universe, and so on. Our biggest achievement was the development of the Flickering World. This will determine the dynasty’s rapid growth in the future. Along the way of the dynasty’s growth, we were lucky enough to meet many friends and allies that share our philosophies. The dynasty has been able to achieve what it has achieved today not because of me alone, it’s the result of the hard work of all of the dynasty’s allies and friends. For that, I would like to show my sincerest appreciation to all of your contributions.”

Urranrell bowed and made a dynasty gesture. Thunderous applause sounded in the venue.

The applause lasted for a few seconds. Urranrell straightened her back, raised her hand, and pressed down, signaling that they did not have to continue clapping any longer.

“Of course, the dynasty’s path is also filled with obstacles. Our path has never been a smooth ride, and we’ve faced a lot of challenges.

“The dynasty rose from nothing. Our predecessors fought through hardships and disasters. In the end, it led us to standing as a universal civilization, becoming one of the foundations that maintains the order of our galactic society. The golden spirit of the dynasty has been passed on through generations. It’s deeply scorched in our genes. We don’t fear hardships. We solved many difficulties including the Intelligent Plaque, not only protecting our civilization but also the safety of the entire universe. What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.

“The trend of the world always is filled with twists and turns. There’ll be new challenges and new opportunities in the future. I sincerely wish for all the dynasty’s people to forever maintain the dynasty’s spirit—no matter what difficulties lie ahead, never fear and face them with a smile.

“Today, my term ends. My duties will be smoothly passed on to the next leader of the dynasty, who will continue to carry on our divine responsibility of our civilization and the universe.

“I believe, the dynasty will reach new heights in his hands, just as I believed in myself.

“Last but not the least… long live the dynasty!”

Then, Urranrell bowed again. Her speech was not long, nor did she boast about her achievements. It was simple and clean.

Clap clap clap!

The next second, thunderous and deafening applause sounded in the venue, giving the highest approval and praise to a ruler who was about to retire.

Han Xiao clapped too. Memories of his interactions with Urranrell flashed past his mind as he sighed.

He had known her for decades. Putting aside their identities, they were more or less friends.

We’ll probably rarely ever see her again in the future…

After a dynasty ruler retired, they would still continue to enjoy the same level of privileges and treatment, only they no longer had any political power. They would usually live on the dynasty’s mother planet and hardly ever show their faces at any public events. After their life span ended, they could choose whether or not to upload their backup memories into the dynasty’s main artificial intelligence, Heroic Soul.

The thunderous applause lasted a full minute before stopping slowly. Urranrell stepped aside, and that hefty new ruler walked up to the podium and showed his face in front of everyone.

This man’s face was tough and angular. His hairline was rather high, showing his smooth forehead. He was tall and muscular. His huge chest muscles and biceps stretched out his uniform tightly, outlining his body shape. He was giving off an assertive and firm vibe all over his body, like a cluster of walking male hormones. He was confident, proud, and ambitious.

Marbruce Peel Stanson, the dynasty’s new ruler. He used to be an officer in the dynasty’s military. He then moved into the political field. Starting as a planet manager, he rose all the way to becoming the manager of a Star Cluster before moving to the central department of the dynasty. During Urranrell’s term, he qualified to be trained by the Doyens, becoming one of the candidates for the next ruler. In the end, he surpassed everyone else and was confirmed as the next ruler.

Related information flashed past in Han Xiao’s mind. This person was the dynasty’s ruler the players in his previous life were most familiar with.

Urranrell was considered a semi-special case. Someone like Marbruce was actually the norm for the dynasty rulers. Of the many dynasty rulers throughout history, most had the same vibe.

Marbruce looked around, introduced himself briefly, and said with a serious tone, “I give my highest admiration to the contributions Urranrell has made in the past years. She’s the key reason the dynasty stands where it stands today. For many years in the future, I’ll be leading the dynasty. Just as she believes in me, I believe in myself too. I will not fail my duties and will lead the dynasty to continue forward…”

His tone was filled with a strong sense of confidence.

Compared to Urranrell’s speech at the end of her term, his speech to kick-start his term was different. He analyzed the current situation, talked about his plans for the future, shared his political philosophies, emphasized on the growth route of the dynasty, created political goals for himself, and so on. It was much longer than Urranrell’s speech, lasting for more than an hour.

If Han Xiao had to conclude what was said, the key words were ‘strengthen centralized political power’, ‘reinforce area control’, ‘expand military power’, ‘encourage partnerships in multiple fields’, ‘reduce unnecessary resource wastage’, and so on. This was quite different from the dynasty’s policies when Urranrell was in office, emphasizing the dynasty’s control over different fields.

Though they did not show it on their faces, many guests were already impacted by his new policies.

As the dynasty changed its policies, many forces would be severely impacted, and the firm philosophy of the new ruler was, of course, not good news for them. This was only a heads-up.

The eyes of many Beyond Grade A allies were also flickering.

“I didn’t expect the new ruler to be so firm. I thought he’d choose to take the steadier path at the beginning of his term,” Kant mumbled softly.

Milizaus shook his head. “What he said has definitely been approved by the internal members of the dynasty. Since they have no problems with it, it’s not like us outsiders can influence who will become the leader of the three Universal Civilizations. His position is rock solid to begin with.”

“Sigh, my honeymoon period with the dynasty is probably going to end.”

Han Xiao shook his head and had this feeling.

Urranrell trusted him so much because they had experienced many incidents together, so they had built a trusting relationship. Marbruce, however, had never met him. Even if he heeded him, he would not be as friendly as Urranrell.

Nonetheless, it was enough. Having benefited from the partnership for many decades, the Black Star Army had already completed its rise. As long as he could maintain the current situation, he would be quite happy about it.

Everyone had their own plans, but they all looked like they were paying full attention to the ceremony, not showing anything on their faces.

Not long after, the handover ceremony finally came to its end. Urranrell and Marbruce shook hands firmly, announcing the completion of the handover of the dynasty’s power. This moment would forever be recorded in the dynasty’s history as a photo.

On Galaxy Calendar Year 740, February 15th, the ruler of the Crimson Dynasty changed. Urranrell retired, and the dynasty entered the age of Marbruce.

Two days later, the Federation of Light hosted a handover ceremony too. Bader retired as the president, and the new Federation of Light president took over. His name was Louis Rocky.

Two of the three Universal Civilizations changed their leaders in just a few days, attracting the attention of the whole galactic society. The majority of the galactic residents were speculating how this would change their everyday lives.

On the third day, Han Xiao finally received Marbruce’s invitation to meet in private.

…

Han Xiao’s remote projection appeared in the ruler’s office. Marbruce was sitting on where Urranrell once sat, but his personal guard remained the same. It was still Clotti.

“Black Star, I’ve heard a lot about you.” Marbruce gave a manly smile.

“Your Excellency Ruler Marbruce.” Han Xiao nodded respectfully too.

“You’re a legend in the universe. I’ve always wanted to meet you, and today, my wish is finally fulfilled.” Marbruce’s tone was liberal and somewhat friendly.

Seeing this, Han Xiao praised Marbruce in reply.

The way Han Xiao looked at it, as Marbruce just became the ruler, he had to meet with every important member of the dynasty. This meeting was just purely to get to know him; there was no special agenda.

The two of them chatted for a while before Marbruce brought up the key point.

“I won’t make any changes to Urranrell’s agreement with you, nor will the dynasty interfere with the territories that have been given to you. I also won’t stop the support and assistance we’ve been providing to you. So, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Hehe, I’ve always believed the dynasty is fair and just. I’ve never had any doubts.” Han Xiao gave a formal and standard reply.

Marbruce grinned, suddenly changed the topic, and said, “About the issues with the Beyond Grade A Association, the dynasty is still discussing it. If you have any suggestions, feel free to bring them up to me anytime. I’ll consider them carefully.”

Han Xiao maintained his smile, nodded, and did not reply.

The two of them chatted for a while more before Marbruce expressing the intention to end the conversation.

As Han Xiao was just about to bid farewell, he suddenly looked at Clotti, smiled, and said, “Can Your Excellency Dark Lord escort me out?”

“Escort a remote projection?” Clotti frowned.

This time, he suddenly noticed Marbruce nod at him, so he led Han Xiao out of the room.

Closing the door, Han Xiao looked at Clotti and asked curiously, “How’s Urranrell?”

“Her? She joined the Doyens,” Clotti said. “Why ask?”

Unlike the Federation of Light, the dynasty’s doyens had no power. They were only responsible for raising the successors of the ruler at most. It was really a place for retirement. The doyens hardly had any contact with the outside world.

“Just curious. Anyway, why are you still the ruler’s personal guard?” Han Xiao smiled.

“Well, originally, Gaud might have taken over after he grew stronger. Now he’s gone, and the other direct members all have their own tasks, so I can only continue as the ruler’s personal guard.”

Clotti shook his head. Although he still had a poker face, his tone had a hint of resignation.

While the two of them chatted outside the door, Marbruce, who was in the ruler’s office, looked at the closed door, and a tint of worry flashed across his eyes.

“The ex-ruler really left me a difficult problem. You’ve given Black Star way too much…”

As the representative of the hawk faction, Marbruce did not like an ally who was too strong to be controlled, like Black Star.

However, for now, he did not plan to do anything to Black Star. He was going to maintain the current situation till further in the future.

Marbruce still remembered Bekorodi’s report—Gaud, whom they had high hopes in, might have fallen into Black Star’s hands. Although he was not sure if it was true, with the Mechanic Emperor as a prior example, he was already cautious toward Black Star.

Chapter 1235: Inheritors of the Underworld

Chapter 1235 Inheritors of the Underworld After deactivating the remote projection and returning to his room, Han Xiao opened his eyes and sighed.“Marbruce has quite a lot of thoughts about the Beyond Grade A Association… Well, I suppose it’s his duty to do that since he’s in that position, and he just so happens to need achievements at the early stages of his term.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

Urranrell was so much better. Sadly, he had no choice but to adapt.

The benefits he gained in the past few decades of his honeymoon period with the dynasty was a crucial factor in the Black Star Army’s rise. For various reasons, there was no way the dynasty was going to take these benefits back. Even if Marbruce wanted to, he could only follow the partnership agreement Urranrell had signed with Black Star. Therefore, Han Xiao had absolutely no need to be concerned about him. Even if he would not acquire any more benefits in the future, the benefits he would continue to gain from these agreements were enough.

You can’t divorce me, so we might as well put up with living together.

While Han Xiao pondered about this issue, he left his office, came to the secret area inside Black Star Palace and walked into a combat training room.

Clank!

As soon as he entered, he saw a tall mechanical suited warrior fighting two virtual opponents. Every step this warrior took, the entire room shook.

As soon he saw Han Xiao, this mechanical suited warrior stopped and stood in a respectful manner.

Han Xiao smiled. “Working hard, I see. Come out and let me see your progress.”

The mechanical suit split up from the middle, showing the user inside. It was Lothaire.

Ever since Lothaire assassinated Modo’s leader, Han Xiao had hidden him, and he had been training all this time. This mechanical suit was training assistance equipment Han Xiao had specially made for Pugilists. It had zero combat capability and would instead add an extremely high load to the user, enhancing the effects of the training.

Almost a decade had passed, and Lothaire’s strength had been growing steadily, unlike those officers who had been stuck in the same place in Calamity Grade. Clearly, Lothaire had more potential. Han Xiao had high hopes for him.

Han Xiao raised his hand. Golden sparks of electricity jumped around his fingers. He placed his hand on Lothaire’s shoulder, sending a highly-stimulating electrical stream into Lothaire’s body.

Lothaire’s body shivered, but he endured the pain and remained still as Han Xiao electrocuted him.

Han Xiao only lifted up his hand after quite a while. Seeing the combat information, he smiled and said, “You’ve become stronger again than the last time I checked, but your energy is still your weakness. You need to make up for it…”

He pointed out a few things. Lothaire listened carefully, writing down Han Xiao’s suggestions on his training schedule from time to time.

This was an assistive training method Han Xiao had come up with. By looking at the person’s attributes through the interface, he could point out a direction the person should take. Since he could see all of their attributes, he could always give very constructive suggestions that not only gave them a clear direction but even clearly conveyed how much they had grown, making them more motivated to train.

Through this method, he could help others grow. Han Xiao had already used it on some important officers in the past years. After realizing just how incredibly effective it was, Lothaire treasured all the opportunities he could learn from Han Xiao.

After giving the suggestions, Han Xiao patted Lothaire’s shoulder, smiled, and said, “Keep up the good work. You might be the next Beyond Grade A of the army. Then, if you want to found your own force outside, I’ll support you.”

Lothaire shook his head. “I’ll always be your blade in the dark.”

Even if he could become a Beyond Grade A, it would be thanks to Han Xiao’s teaching. Lothaire was very appreciative of this, and he was not so cold-blooded that he would forget how much Han Xiao had helped him, or he would not have joined the army to repay Han Xiao.

“I appreciate the thought.”

Han Xiao was quite glad. He said a few more words before leaving the room.

Han Xiao followed the corridor in the base into another room. Aurora sat in the room with her legs crossed. Vital energy filled her body. She was training her energy. The moment she saw Han Xiao, she joyfully pounced over.

Pa!

Han Xiao pressed onto her head, stopping her a few feet away. He sighed and said, “Come on, how old are you? On Planet Aquamarine, you’re already old enough to be someone’s grandma.”

“Humph, I don’t care. I’m forever eighteen!” Aurora became unhappy right away. Don’t mention my age and we’re still good friends.

“Alright, alright, let me see how much your body… ahem, your strength has grown.” Electric sparks appeared on Han Xiao’s fingertips, and he poked Aurora’s forehead with it.

Combat information appeared on the interface. Han Xiao mainly looked at her Energy Rank and maximum energy, then nodded in his mind.

In the past decade, Aurora had been harvesting the Holy Light Seeds and accumulating energy. Not having any growth limit was really an incredible trait, her strength had been growing steadily.

Furthermore, Aurora did not even have to study her abilities too much. The information the last generation of the two sisters left in the Esper Ability was basically like an ability tree that had already matured; she inherited it directly.

What’s hacking? This is hacking!

Han Xiao was bitter.

He had had his eyes on the life energy for quite some time and used [Energy Analysis] on Aurora long ago.

The results were just as he expected. He could control this type of special energy during the duration of the Character Summon Card, but he lost it after the duration ended. However, part of the understanding of the very nature and principles of the life energy remained in his mind, which would help in studying it afterward.

The [Perfect Energy Affinity Physique] he had obtained from Gaud played a big role in this, largely increasing Han Xiao’s efficiency in analyzing the life energy. Although creating life energy with machinery was still extremely difficult, at least he had a direction.

Han Xiao’s current focus was Jayz’s technology treasure trove. It was the most valuable thing to study. Before he depleted the essence of Jayz’s treasure, he was not going to spend too much time studying other things.

These thoughts flashed past his mind in a second. Han Xiao removed his hand, smiled, and said, “You’ve been working hard lately, no less than your sister.”

Hearing this, Aurora smiled brightly. She loved hearing Hila, Ames, or Han Xiao praise her.

At this time, Aurora suddenly thought of something and said, “By the way, sis told me to ask you to go to the Underworld dimension a few hours ago. Go and take a look.”

“Why did you only tell me now?” Han Xiao gave her a stare.

“Sis said so… She said to tell you later if you’re busy. It’s nothing urgent anyway,” Aurora murmured softly, tapping her index fingers on each other.

“Got it. Her skin is probably itchy and needs a beating. Alright, I’ll go eat her up now.”

Han Xiao waved, activated the King, and disappeared.

The next moment, he was in the Underworld dimension.

Compared to the last time he came, the size of the Underworld seemed to have expanded quite a lot.

“Where is she?”

Han Xiao looked left and right and did not see Hila, so he lifted his leg and stomped the ground.

“Come out, Onicelu!”

As soon as he said that, Onicelu came out from under the ground.

“You’re finally here. Hila has been waiting for you.”

“Where is she? Let’s start the fight quickly. I’ve brought all the tools. I still have other things to attend to.” Han Xiao took out a ton of weapons and looked around.

Onicelu sighed. “She’s not asking for a fight. The Underworld was fully repaired yesterday. Hila plans to wake up all the Hero Spirits and is worried about something happening, so she wanted to ask you to watch her do it.”

“Oh, so this is why she called me here.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He waved his hand and stowed the weapons away. He calculated in his mind. Judging from Hila’s charging speed, repairing the Underworld would indeed take about a decade.

He still remembered that he had a mission called [Inheritors of The Underworld]. Once the Underworld recovered to its peak, he would receive the [Mark of The Underworld] reward. That would enable him to use the Underworld’s powers to a certain extent and send souls into the Underworld.

“The Hero Spirits are all sleeping in my energy core. Hila is already waiting there. Take my hand, I’ll guide you there.” Onicelu raised her arm.

Han Xiao grabbed her hand. The next second, he felt a space energy erupting around him, and one moment later, he already arrived at a place that looked like an underground cave.

At the middle of the cave was a dimly lit white energy sphere that had dark-red patterns on its surface like blood vessels. The patterns were even moving slightly.

This was the energy core of the Underworld. Only the dimensional consciousness entity could lead the way and enter easily. The part of the Underworld outside was like Onicelu’s skin, and coming here was like entering her body.

This was Han Xiao’s first time entering, while Hila had already come in and out countless times. She was resting with her eyes closed sitting beside the energy core. As soon as Han Xiao arrived, she sensed it. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Shall we?”

Hila had no intention of chatting and cut to the chase.

Seeing Han Xiao nod, dark red death energy flowed out from Hila’s palm into the energy core. Onicelu, who stood to the side, also controlled the Underworld to work together.

Ohm!

As the place started to shake slightly, the energy core became brighter.

When their sights were filled with a blinding light, an enormous beam of light suddenly rushed up, penetrating the thick ground and the grayish sky.

Han Xiao looked up at the beam of light. Through his sharp senses, he noticed that blurry silhouettes were being shot into the sky along with the beam of light. In his senses, soul presences appeared one after another.

The beam of light extended all the way up until it hit the interior wall of the Underworld. It then spread in all directions. It looked like a fountain that connected the ground with the sky. Awakened Hero Spirits fell like rain, landing on the Underworld’s ground.

This process lasted for more than ten minutes. Very soon, the quiet and unpopulated Underworld became boisterous. Hero Spirits were everywhere on this desolate land.

The light on all the Hero Spirits gradually faded. From the outside, they surprisingly looked no different from living individuals. They were all looking around with confusion, seemingly yet to regain focus after their long sleep.

“It was very successful. Let’s go meet them.”

Onicelu was relieved. She led the way to fly out. Hila and Han Xiao followed right after.

The three of them flew up into the sky. All the Hero Spirits sensed it and looked up at them. Seeing Onicelu’s familiar face, almost everyone looked like they were searching through their memories.

Not long after, seven unique Hero Spirits dashed into the sky and stood around the three of them.

“Onicelu, the Underworld has recovered? Have Nerkese and Eros returned‽” one Hero Spirit asked hastily.

“Hmm, it has recovered but not because of the two sisters. Let me introduce you. This is the new Lord of Death, Hila. She inherited Nerkese’s ability and is now the new master of the Underworld.”

Onicelu then pointed at the seven Hero Spirit and said, “These seven are the seven Hero Spirit Kings of the Underworld. They were all Beyond Grade As and are the seven strongest beings of the Underworld.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao sized the seven of them up and realized that they were all Primordial Ones whose names had been recorded in history. He nodded in his mind.

No wonder those revivors of the Holy Accord organization once said that not many people were willing to mess with the life and death sisters during the exploration era—they could summon seven Beyond Grade As in every fight who were unkillable. Who could deal with that?

Even now, this level of strength would be the top tier in the universe.

However, Onicelu was not finished. What she said next made Han Xiao’s heart skip a beat.

“Although the Underworld is a place for souls to rest, there are way too many Hero Spirits, so we created a management structure to have the seven Hero Spirit Kings help manage the others. There are 3,600 Calamity Grades, 1.8 billion Grade Bs, and billions of other Hero Spirits. They are all the residents of the Underworld.”

Han Xiao subconsciously took a deep breath.

What the f*ck‽ That’s so many souls!

This was a total of 3,600 Calamity Grades. It was a horrifying force anywhere! Without the players, the Underworld would be the biggest undead army!

He could indirectly feel how bloody the exploration era war was just from this number. Some of these souls were collected by the two sisters, and others were ones who requested to enter the Underworld and gain eternal life.

While he was being shocked, the seven Hero Spirit Kings were sizing Hila up. Feeling the death energy Esper Ability on her, they knew Onicelu was telling the truth, but they were troubled.

Never mind working for the two sisters, they now had to work under a new master. They were not very willing to accept it deep in their hearts, but they had no choice, so they were quite bothered.

However, since they were willing to enter the Underworld for eternal life, it meant they cared more about their lives than working for someone else. Therefore, they were not bothered for long before they convinced themselves. Furthermore, Nerkese and Eros had committed suicide, which really ripped off these Hero Spirits who trusted these two sisters. They were all not happy about it.

This time, the seven Hero Spirit Kings turned to Han Xiao and looked confused.

“Who’s this guy then? The new Lord of Life?”

“No, my name is Black Star. Actually, I…”

Before he finished introducing himself, he got interrupted by Hila.

“I’m all of your boss, and Black Star is my boss,” Hila said calmly. “You guys can call him big boss. You’re all now his men.”

“What’s with you?” Han Xiao was surprised.

Hila turned to him. Her tone became gentler as she said, “My powers are yours. These Hero Spirits are for you to command too.”

“I’m quite touched by you saying that, but…” Han Xiao pointed at the seven Hero Spirit Kings, who looked unhappy. He sighed and said, “You didn’t have to be so direct. At least think about how they feel…”

They’re the Primordial Ones who once stood at the top of the pyramid, yet you’re giving them to me like cargos. Don’t they want face?

A Hero Spirit King who had a bad temper was annoyed. “New Master of the Underworld, we’re indeed controlled by you, but you have to respect us too. Even your predecessor did not dare speak to us like this… I’ll let this time go, but don’t do it again.

“However, we’ll never listen to anyone else. With us, you’re among the strongest people in the universe. You don’t have to work for anyone anymore. If you want, we can get this guy called Black Star right away and give him to you to do whatever!”

Han Xiao was unhappy.

This little b*tch, trying to mess with my relationship with Hila as soon as he came out. If not because you don’t have a physical body, I’d make sure you live the rest of your life eating from a tube.

Hila frowned and said with a deep voice, “Shut up. You can beat it if you’re not happy, or I can send you back to sleeping forever.”

The expressions on the seven Hero Spirit Kings’ faces froze. They exchanged looks and were shocked.

Even the previous two sisters treated them with respect and would not offend them because they were the ones controlling their bodies during battles. The two sisters could only revive them temporarily but not control them in combat, so they could totally choose not to fight for them.

However, this new master was completely different. It was like she did not care about their strength at all. She supported her boss even though it meant she would offend them…

You’re a Beyond Grade A!

The seven of them looked back and forth between the two of them. Suddenly, they thought of something, and their expressions became enigmatic.

Hehe, we’ve seen a lot of things and are very experienced. In this situation, either you owe him many favors, or the two of you… hehehe. These are the only possibilities for why you’re so loyal.

This time, Onicelu eased the tension and said, “You guys have slept for too long. Many generations have passed. Black Star is one of the strongest people in the universe. You guys might not be able to defeat him even if all of you fight him at the same time… Plus, the Underworld now only has the Lord of Death. The Lord of Life is still growing. Therefore, you guys can’t have physical bodies and can’t fight.”

Hearing this, the seven of them immediately threw away the thought of being tough and laughed.

“Hahaha… we were just joking with you, man.”

“That’s right. Don’t be so serious.”

“I can tell brother Black Star is talented and has a bright future just by looking at him. It’s our honor to work for him.”

“Exactly, if not because we can’t revive for now, we would showcase what we’ve got right here!”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, and his lips twitched.

That’s it?

What bullsh*t Hero Spirit Kings? You sounded so noble and all, but you’re just a group of people who gave up all your dignity to not continue sleeping! I shouldn’t have had any hopes!

Although he detested the personalities of these Hero Spirit Kings, he had to admit that the Underworld was extremely powerful. This was the biggest inheritance the two sisters had left, and the life and death Esper Abilities were the keys.

However, for now, since Aurora had yet to become a Beyond Grade A. The Underworld could not be put to use yet. Furthermore, reviving them required energy and had a time limit.

Compared to the Sanctums, the biggest specialty of the Underworld was that it was not only limited to the Beyond Grade As. Plus, it would not reduce their strength much.

However, the disadvantage was also very clear. Those who took this path could only work under the master of the Underworld forever and no longer had freedom.

While the few of them chatted, the countless Hero Spirits on the ground started to regain focus too. They started to modify the Underworld using the core energy.

On the desolate black earth, buildings rose from the ground one after another. The Underworld quickly became prosperous.

At this time, a notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface.

_____________________

[Inheritors of The Underworld] Completed!

You have received 50,000,000 EXP and +20 Onicelu Favorability.

You have received [Character Summon Card – ‘Underworld’ Onicelu].

Character Summon Card – “Underworld” Onicelu: [Thousand Soul Stream] – Become immune to all mind attacks. At the same time, absorb any mind attacks to recover energy and health. Uses: 0/1.

You have completed the bonus mission requirements.

+40 Onicelu Favorability.

You have received ability [Mark of The Underworld]!

Chapter 1236: A Path Never Thought of Before

Chapter 1236 A Path Never Thought of Before This mission is finally complete. It wasn’t even difficult, just took too long.Han Xiao looked down at the back of his palm. A mark that was the same as the one on Hila’s hand was slowly appearing.

He looked up and saw Onicelu smiling at him.

“This is the Mark of the Underworld. You can use some of the Underworld’s power with it. Without your help, the Underworld would never have recovered to its peak. I don’t have anything I can repay you with but this.”

“I know. I’ll make good use of your body… ahem, the Underworld.”

Han Xiao coughed.

The Underworld was Onicelu’s body, so was this her saying, “I’ll repay you with my body”?

No, no, I’m a pure person…

Suppressing these weird thoughts, Han Xiao sensed the Mark of the Underworld. Black streams of air flowed out from the mark and circled around his hand.

This was the second secondary dimension that had a connection with him. Comparatively, the link with the Void Dimension had a higher level, as he could only use part of the Underworld’s power with this mark. Nonetheless, it gave him some bonuses.

At the same time, with this mark, he could choose to have the Mark of the Underworld absorb the souls of the enemies he killed and turn them into Hero Spirits.

When Aurora stepped into the territory of the Beyond Grade A and the Underworld regained the ability to revive souls, he should be able to summon Hero Spirits using the Mark of the Underworld. However, it would still consume Hila and Aurora’s energy.

This means that the more Hero Spirits the Underworld has, the more I’ll benefit from it, so I’m not working for free.

Han Xiao mumbled in his mind and looked at the other reward, Onicelu’s Character Summon Card.

The effects of [Thousand Soul Stream] were outrageous; being able to be immune to all mind attacks and even absorb them was completely overpowered.

Although he could only use it once, it was undoubtedly a trump card.

While he was looking through the mission rewards, the Underworld was undergoing a big change. Hila was speaking to the seven Hero Spirit Kings.

After the seven of them accepted their position, coming to agreements became much easier.

“From today onward, you’re all members of the Black Star Army, understood?” Hila said.

“No problem. His Excellency Black Star’s words are absolute!” the seven of them promised. The change in their attitude was very smooth.

“Are they always like this?” Han Xiao was curious.

Onicelu whispered, “The former masters did not have any plans to expand the Underworld. Among the seven of them, two of them challenged the two sisters, got killed, enslaved, and tortured for a very long time. Their edges were rounded long ago. Three of them fled here, and two begged the two sisters to take them in… So, you can imagine what kind of people they are.”

“Damn…” Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

From the actions of the two sisters, they were carefree and never thought of being responsible. The Underworld only had so many souls because these souls wanted to obtain eternal life. They did not care if the two sisters were reliable or not and begged to join, giving up their freedom. Clearly, they did not have much dignity left.

This explained how creating platforms was better than selling products.

The nature of all fortune was planting and harvesting leeks.

Although the seven Hero Spirit Kings joined for different reasons, after so many years, they could no longer let go of their eternal life. They did not dare offend the master of the Underworld. Plus, they were looking forward to the Lord of Life reviving them so that they could tour the outside world.

Currently, the strongest among the Hero Spirit Kings was a Primordial One called Rega. According to data, his Energy Rank was around 65,000 Ona, not a peak Beyond Grade A but above average. With an undead body, his actual strength would increase quite a bit.

Han Xiao thought for a moment, stepped forward, and asked, “Do you guys know anything about the Sanctums?”

In the past, he originally wanted to ask about the Sanctums from the Hero Spirits in the Underworld. However, he had already established a partnership with the Holy Accord and had been searching for the ‘keys’ of the Third Sanctum, so he no longer needed the Hero Spirits’ help.

Plus, these Hero Spirits definitely did not know as much about the Sanctums as the Holy Accord, so Han Xiao was just asking to try his luck.

“Sanctums? I didn’t expect you… to know about this, big boss.”

The seven Hero Spirit Kings all looked over with a slightly complex look on their faces, as if they were reminded of something in the past.

“Before we entered the Underworld, there was a rumor among some of the Beyond Grade As. It was said that some people could occasionally sense a kind of special existence outside the spacetime of the universe. Some called it a Sanctum. However, most people never experienced such things, so there was no way to verify if it was true. It was always seen as a fake rumor,” a Hero Spirit King said.

“Some said the Sanctum is the staircase to the next level; some said that all the technology and knowledge of the universe is hidden in the Sanctum; some even said the Sanctum can bring people back to life. No one knows what’s real and what’s not,” another Hero Spirit King said.

Rega sighed, shook his head, and said, “We don’t know much really. However, during the exploration era, I remember that there was a group of Beyond Grade As who founded an organization and apparently wanted to use the Sanctum to revive in the future. We didn’t think that’d work, so we didn’t join them. They should have failed by now.”

Han Xiao raised his brow. “What’s the name of that organization?”

“The Holy Accord, I think.”

“…”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He did not know what expression to show.

I knew it. They did not fail at all. Their plan was a huge success!

Of course, most of the merit goes to Oathkeeper. God knows why these revived Primordial Ones were so lucky to find such a reliable partner.

I’d better not tell this to these seven Hero Spirit Kings… They’ll probably never be able to be revived by the Sanctum after entering the Underworld. If they find out about this, they probably die of regret.

It’s better to let them think the Holy Accord organization has failed. Keeping this cruel truth from them will keep these leeks healthy…

No matter what, these Hero Spirits also achieved eternal life in another way. Although they took different paths, they reached the other side all the same.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind. Han Xiao suppressed these thoughts and listened to Hila and the seven Hero Spirit Kings communicate.

The few of them chatted for a while. The seven Hero Spirit Kings bade farewell and left to manage the Hero Spirits.

Seeing that the seven of them had left, Hila turned and asked, “What do you think of them?”

Han Xiao smiled and said, “Although they don’t have the best personalities, their strength is real. The Underworld is an extremely powerful force. Although it can’t be used now, Aurora will eventually become a Beyond Grade A with how quickly she’s becoming stronger. By then, there won’t be many people in the universe who can be a threat to you two… Speaking of which, the Underworld is like an exclusive Universal Treasure for the two of you. Tsk, I’m quite jealous.”

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Hila had no chance to accept this inheritance, so it was wasted. This time, however, as long as no accidents occurred to the two of them, they would be more than strong enough to be in the top tier in the explored universe.

As soon as Aurora became a Beyond Grade A, these two sisters would become tremendously stronger.

“What about compared to you then? Will I be able to defeat you?” Hila’s eyes were glowing.

“What, you want to overtake me?” Han Xiao joked. “Don’t dream of it. I’ll still crush you.”

“Humph, I don’t believe it.” Hila grinned. “You never know till you try.”

She secretly decided not to do anything else after she returned other than push Aurora to train harder so that the Underworld could be used sooner.

After the official matters were over, Hila sensed the strong and firm presence of Han Xiao and felt an itch.

“You have nothing to do now, so you want to do it with me?”

“The Underworld has just recovered. You still have many things to do. It’s best for you to make a list for the Hero Spirits. Leave the sparring for next time.” Han Xiao waved.

“Alright.” Hila had no choice but to endure the itch.

Han Xiao said a few more things, put on the King suit, and left the Underworld.

Returning to the office in Black Star Palace, Han Xiao changed into casual clothes, summoned Phillip, and added the Underworld’s data into the confidential plan documents.

While recording, he started to analyze the situation. Although this was good news, he still felt a little worried.

“With this, I have another powerful secret force in my hands. In the future, the two sisters’ position in the universe will most certainly rocket. They’ll acquire high positions in the Beyond Grade A Association for sure.

“When the Holy Accord comes out, the entire universe will find out the two ways of reviving—the Sanctum and the Underworld. The Beyond Grade As will have a choice between the two. However, for now, only Oathkeeper and I know that the Sanctums can revive them an infinite number of times; he others all think it’s only once. So, there’s a possibility some might join the Underworld because of this misinformation. As for the Supers below Beyond Grade A, they’ll only have one choice, the Underworld.

“These two reviving methods are both connected to me, so I’ll certainly become the focus of the entire universe and the three Universal Civilizations. The dynasty’s power is in the hands of the hawk faction now. The new president of the federation seems to be a muscular man too… Tsk, things are not looking great. The importance of the Sanctum and the Underworld is far above the Evolution Cube. The advanced civilizations will not let them go easily. I might become the starting point of a storm.

“When one grows to a certain stage, he’s not allowed to stop, or he’ll walk backward. The advanced civilizations will never stop targeting the Beyond Grade As…”

Han Xiao frowned and thought about the future.

Due to the extremely complicated and intricate profit relationships, way too many things had no solutions. Suddenly, a brief but daring idea appeared in his mind.

If he could make the Beyond Grade A Association and all the Beyond Grade As fuse together to form a new organization, completely splitting the ordinary people and Supers…

This might be a path he had never thought of before, a revolution that would turn the world upside down. Many people would die from it.

At his current position, he already had the ability to guide the direction of the universe. Many things that looked impossible were no longer unimaginable.

However, once he made the decision, quadrillions of lives would be affected. He only had a brief thought and did not plan to act on it.

The shadow of the World Tree still shrouded the explored universe. This was not the time to make this kind of plan.

“I shall decide after dealing with the exterior enemy. Sigh, I really don’t wish to take this step…”

Han Xiao exhaled, calmed the storm in his mind, and suppressed these thoughts at the bottom of his heart.

Right at this moment, his communicator rang.

Beep beep beep!

He took it out. It was surprisingly a call from Sylvia.

“Army Commander, the Crimson Dynasty has sent an official letter. They will be sending emissaries to inspect the progress of the cultural education of the Kunde Race. If standards are met, they can consider opening up parts of the sealed areas and allow some of them into the galactic society.”

“Oh? It has only been less than thirty years. This is quite a lot earlier than I expected.”

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up.

He still remembered the Kunde Race’s mission. Modo was already devastated, so only the cultural education part had yet to be completed.

Once this mission was done, he would finally acquire the abilities he had been working for the whole time.

Chapter 1237: Sorokin“s Big Plan

Chapter 1237 Sorokin“s Big Plan Usually, the cultural modification movement targeted at a large civilization would last for two to five generations. However, it had been less than thirty years since the Kunde Race started accepting the cultural transformation. It was still quite early to talk about letting them out.The dynasty probably had a certain reason to do that in advance.

Han Xiao had a rough guess.

Although the Kunde Race lost, the billions of their remaining population were quite a considerable amount of manpower. Now that they were settled in the Black Star Army’s territory, they basically belonged to the army. Plus, while the cultural transformation was carried out, the Black Star Army was also promoting the benefits of the army, trying to make the Kunde Race loyal and yearn to join the army.

The dynasty probably did this to stop the Black Star Army’s advertising in the Kunde Race as soon as possible so that the Kunde Race would not completely become the army’s talent reserve. At the same time, they likely wanted to make the Kunde Race members who were not completely transformed cause some trouble for the army.

“Tsk, feeble trick…”

Han Xiao curled his lips.

He had only met Marbruce not long ago, and the response had already come so quickly. This was certainly backed up by the dynasty’s upper echelons. The dynasty’s attitude change toward him could clearly be seen from this.

Han Xiao did not mind it really. It was good news for him. He pondered for a few seconds and said, “Reply to dynasty. We welcome the inspection. Get someone to arrange a time with the dynasty. We’ll form an inspection team on our side and have them accompany the dynasty’s emissaries to carry out the inspection.”

“Understood.” Sylvia nodded. “One more thing, the Limitless Financial Group owes the Germinal Financial Group three months of payments. I told the finances department to talk to them, but they are not giving a reply. Would you like to ask them personally?”

“The Limitless Financial Group owes me money? Are they having problems with their capital flow?”

“Iapetus already had someone investigate. The Limitless Financial Group’s businesses are all stable. They’ve even achieved new records in some fields. Their capital flow is very healthy, but they’re just not paying us.”

“How much exactly?”

“There is a total of thirty-four projects. The total amount owed is 48.2 billion Enas. You…”

Before Sylvia finished, Han Xiao’s eyes widened, and he stopped her.

“Yoho, this b*stard dares to not pay up. I’ll speak with him personally.”

Then, Han Xiao found Sorokin’s private number and called on the spot.

It rang for a while before being picked up. Sorokin’s projection appeared on the screen. His enthusiastic-on-the-surface voice sounded.

“Your Excellency Black Star, what a rare treat. I was just thinking why I am in such a good mood today. It turns out I’ve got an honorable guest. Can I do anything for you?”

“Nothing much, I just heard you owe me quite a lot of money, so I’m here to hurry you to pay up.”

Han Xiao raised his brows.

Sorokin instantly looked troubled. He then said with a very sincere and helpless tone, “Sigh, the consortium is not doing well. Our capital flow is tight right now. You know, for people who have large businesses like us, we have to spend billions every day. I really don’t have the money now.”

“Stop lying. You think my finances department is a joke? The report on our side says you’re doing very well. You even expanded quite a lot of businesses, and you’re still telling me you have no money?”

“It’s exactly because we’re expanding our businesses. We’re spending more money to open up new channels, and it’s costing more money that I expected, so I really don’t have the money.”

“Bullsh*t. Don’t blame me for not reminding you. If you don’t pay up in the agreed period, you’ll have to pay for liquidated damages. Don’t regret it then… By the way, I heard some time ago that you were trying to poach Iapetus’s team with a high salary. Is that true?”

“Hehe, I’m a businessman. These are all normal business operations. Don’t take it to heart.”

The two of them went back and forth a few more rounds, and Sorokin was still not saying he would pay up.

Seeing Sorokin’s unusual responses, Han Xiao had some guesses in his mind. He suddenly said meaningfully, “Looks like this is not a business issue. It seems we’re having some problems in terms of our positions.”

Hearing this, Sorokin smiled faintly and said, “I thought we’d work well together, but I seem to be wrong…”

Both used very ambiguous words because they did not want to leave any evidence, but they both understood what the other meant.

Ever since Han Xiao reported Sorokin’s oddness to the dynasty using the opportunity when Gaud went missing, Sorokin had been investigated and targeted by the dynasty both on the surface and secretly. In the past two years, he had needed to be careful, scared, and worried all the time. It was very irritating.

At the start, Sorokin thought the dynasty was just investing all suspicious personnel, so he put up with it. However, the dynasty’s recent actions had made him feel more and more like something was not right. Through his connections, he asked around and shockingly discovered that the dynasty’s motive for investigating him was actually because they doubted his identity.

Currently, Black Star was the only person in the entire universe who knew about his secret. Initially, the Limitless Financial Group partnered with Black Star to shut him up. However, Black Star having exposed his secret to the dynasty was the only possible reason the dynasty was targeting him now. Sorokin was furious.

Since Sorokin was already betrayed, he did not want the Black Star Army to continue draining blood from the Limitless Financial Group.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be off. Hehe, I still have other things to attend to.”

Sorokin gave a fake smile and hung up.

The screen turned black. Han Xiao put the communicator away with a snicker.

He did this on purpose to force Sorokin to expose his identity. He was curious about how Sorokin would deal with it.

“You thought I was just messing with you, but I’m actually hoping you’ll lose your cool. If you fight me, that’d be for the best. Beating you up would be justifiable.”

Han Xiao’s eyes flickered as he chuckled.

Sorokin’s identity was similar to Gaud’s. It was a form of protection for them. However, Han Xiao dared to touch Gaud because his level was much higher, and he could see all of Gaud’s abilities, so he had the confidence to take him down. Sorokin was different; his level was higher than Han Xiao’s even now. Han Xiao still saw a ton of question marks on the interface and did not know what Sorokin was hiding. Han Xiao was worried about messing up.

Most importantly, getting rid of Gaud was because Gaud was involved in a matter that was way too big to be ignored. If he did not do it, everyone would be done for. As for Sorokin, his importance was not as high, so Han Xiao did not want to break the association’s rules because of personal beef. This was the bit of virtue he had.

Of course, this was only limited to not attacking him first. If Sorokin came at him, Han Xiao would not mind playing ‘Welcome to the Black Underworld’ for him.

…

As soon as the call was hung up, Sorokin’s expression turned gloomy.

He was a little regretful. He felt he should not have hesitated when his identity was pointed out by Black Star back then; he should have eliminated this threat as soon as possible.

Although gathering all Soul Seeds would cause this body to be destroyed, and he would lose this identity, letting Black Star be would still risk losing this identity.

Since he would definitely lose a ton of things no matter what, he might as well drag Black Star down.

Although he was furious, he was still hesitant. He was worried that he might be blowing the matter out of proportion, but he was also worried about if he could actually defeat Black Star.

“No matter what, I have to make backup plans. I need to find a way to inherit part of the Limitless Financial Group’s enormous funds. If the cash flow is too large, it’ll attract attention even if I use the black-market channels. It’s best to turn the funds into actual items…”

Sorokin clenched his teeth.

Whether he was going to do it or not, preparing a way to back off was definitely not wrong.

“Black Star’s body is indestructible. His soul is his only weakness, but even that is speaking relatively. He has peak Beyond Grade A mind resistance at the very least. Killing him is extremely difficult. He has the King, so exiling him into the unexplored universe will also not work. Based on my ability and the Universal Treasures I’ve secretly collected, only one plan has a comparatively high success rate, heavily damaging or sealing his soul so that he has to go into a long-term hibernation state.

“To do that, I’d best retrieve the Soul Flame. Only then will the success rate be higher. I wonder if the Soul Flame has a master now. If it has, I can only kill him and retrieve it…”

…

A few days later, the dynasty and the Black Star Army agreed on a date for the inspection. They sent emissaries and headed to the Flickering World from the Central Galaxy.

The dynasty’s inspection team had to spend quite some time on the way, so Han Xiao told the troops stationed on the hundreds of residential planets of the Kunde Race to spread the message that the inspection team would arrive soon. He told them that they could be freed if they performed well.

Originally, inspections were usually carried out secretly. Once the inspection target knew about it in advance, in order to be freed earlier, they might ‘cheat’. This had happened before.

This time, however, the dynasty did not react at all, as letting the Kunde Race out earlier was also their secret goal. Although what Han Xiao had done went against the rules, it matched what the dynasty wanted to achieve, so they turned a blind eye. Han Xiao, too, wanted to free the Kunde Race as soon as possible so that he could acquire the mission reward.

Both sides were trying to achieve their goal. The difference was that Han Xiao knew what the dynasty was thinking, but the dynasty did not know what his goal was.

The news that the inspection team would soon arrive spread out rapidly on every Kunde Race residential planet. The Kunde Race, who had spent their days meaninglessly, suddenly saw hope.

…

Kunde Race Residential Planet No.77, South of Sigaia City, Apartment F0044’s rooftop…

Barton stood tall and looked over the entire city. Tall, rectangular apartments were neatly placed with the same height, shape, and distance between each other, like metal coffins. The city gave off a strong industrial vibe. The sky was dark, and the dawn hid behind the clouds, painting the city a depressed yellow.

Barton could not remember how many times he had seen this boring, forever the same, and depressed scenery. In his eyes, this was no city; it was more of a large prison.

Piercing cold wind swept past, bringing the voice behind.

“Brother Barton, the news said this is the first time the Crimson Dynasty inspection team has visited. Can we really leave here?”

Hearing this, Barton turned around. Hundreds of people stood on the rooftop, all young Kunde Race members.

He stayed silent for a while before nodding slowly.

“Definitely!”

They were all children of the residents in this apartment, born in the ‘Age of the Big Lockdown’. Barton was the oldest. He was the acknowledged leader of all the youngsters there.

During the cultural transformation, everything in their lives was arranged. Their residence was arranged, and their neighbors were arranged. Leaving the house had to be reported to the local artificial intelligence management system, and they could only leave the area after it was approved. Everything they did was monitored.

The Kunde Race was not allowed to develop their technology. The only thing they could pass around was part of the Super knowledge, which came from the Black Star Army. The Black Star Army saw the Kunde Race as its talent reserve, so it did not want them to all become useless shut-ins.

The cultural transformation involved many aspects, including their daily necessities, the news they saw, the education they were given, and so on. After more than two decades, this had already become the norm of the Kunde Race’s lives. They were receiving this information every day, and their mindsets changed subconsciously.

However, for the first batch of newborns during the Age of the Big Lockdown, the glory of the Kunde Race in the past only existed in words. They could not imagine it. While being educated in public schools, they were also influenced by the lingering hatred of the previous generations at the same time.

Some of the seniors who experienced the Kunde Race’s defeat still had hatred buried deep in their bones, warning the younger generations to never forget about it. Some chose not to speak of it, to let the newer generations leave the past behind. Only then would their race be freed one day and have a new future.

Living on a planet in lockdown, a society that was depressed, and between divided beliefs, this generation was lost. No one knew where the path ahead led.

Now, the arrival of the dynasty’s inspection team finally made them see something that was more important than anything else—hope.

Barton looked past the eyes filled with hope and said with a deep voice, “We might only have this one chance in our life… Anyone who causes problems will be a sinner to the entire race.”

A young man sighed and said, “Brother Barton, maybe we won’t cause any problems, but as you know, there are too many others who still are blinded by hatred just in this apartment… This is probably not what the inspection team wants to see.”

Barton stayed silent for a while. He then slowly raised the pliers in his hands. Tiny electric sparks danced on his skin, and he softly said, “Someone will have to take the lead. We still have time to prepare. Go, talk to everyone in the apartment who is still filled with hatred. For the entire race, I believe they’ll make the right choice.

“If there’s anyone who is really blinded and twisted by hatred, not willing to make any change, a burden to everyone…”

Barton paused. Colors representing pain appeared on his carapace.

“Kill them, even if they’re our family.”

Chapter 1238: Inspection and Conclusion

Chapter 1238 Inspection and Conclusion After a long journey through Star Fields, the dynasty’s inspection team finally arrived at Black Star Palace and met with Han Xiao in the guest room.“Greetings, Your Excellency Black Star. We’re the emissaries for this Kunde Race inspection.”A group of dynasty officers walked into the room with synchronized footsteps. The group leader reached out his hand, his tone respectful.

Han Xiao shook his hand and invited them to sit. They briefly introduced themselves and took out the documents for the main topic.

“Currently, there are 113 residential planets for the Kunde Race, with a population of trillions. The dynasty colonial review department gave us the allocation for twenty-five planets to open up for this time. This is the maximum allocation, not a fixed one. If no planet reaches the standard, we can also choose not to open up any planets.”

“At most, a quarter of the population can be freed, got it.” Han Xiao nodded.

Every planet of the Kunde Race was locked down separately and had no communication with each other. Therefore, the progress of the cultural transformation for each planet was different. Choosing the planets with higher progress was the job of the inspection team.

Although the dynasty had other goals and the inspection team was most probably just a standard procedure, a standard was still required. If the results were really too far below the standard, they would choose not to free them.

The few of them spoke for a while. Han Xiao called the army’s patrol team over and told the two sides to discuss the details while he left the room.

Of course, he only had to show his face and express his attitude. He did not have to take care of the details.

Han Xiao returned to his office. Not long after, he received a message from Phillip saying that the dynasty’s inspection team and the army’s patrol team had decided on the details, already boarded the spaceships, and left Black Star Palace to get to work.

“Check the current status of the various Kunde Race planets.” Han Xiao told Phillip to bring up the related information.

He did not have the time to keep an eye on the transformation progress of the Kunde Race all the time. Now that the inspection team had arrived, only then did he decide to carefully go through the current status of the various Kunde Race planets. He could also see the effects of him notifying them in advance so that he could be prepared.

On the hovering virtual screen, the records of the Kunde Race planets flashed past one after another, and Phillip spoke on the side.

“Master, hum… according to the statistics, after the news of the inspection team arriving was announced, the overall state of the Kunde Race planets changed. The trend of anti-dynasty opinions decreased by forty-six percent on average, and the average percentage of haters decreased from thirty-two percent to seven percent. However, the security of some planets decreased. Murders occurred frequently. Some haters were killed by their own…”

“Killing their own race… looks like the arrival of the inspection team gave them hope. The more than twenty-year-long lockdown led them to fully understand that opening up the lockdown is the only way out for the race. Some of them treasure this chance, so they’ve started to eliminate the stubborn ones.”

“That’s right, hum…”

“That’s quite sensible and all, but… this might achieve the opposite effect.”

Han Xiao scratched his chin.

By sacrificing the minority and eliminating the stubborn ones to show obedience, at a glance, this was for the sake of the entire race, quite noble even.

However, the dynasty looked at things from a different perspective—too much yearning for freedom represented a strong motive. Killing one of their own meant a new chain of hate was formed. According to the normal inspection standards, this was a sign of the transformation not being thorough enough, which meant that the lockdown would have to continue.

However, since the dynasty had decided to carry out the inspection so many years in advance, they clearly knew that this would happen. Han Xiao estimated that the standard would probably be very low, so this might achieve positive effects.

…

For the next few months, the dynasty inspection team visited one Kunde Race planet after another, filling up their inspection records.

…

The double-sided mirror split Sigaia City Prison’s interrogation room in two. On one side was the interrogation room where the criminal was in, and on the other was the surveillance room.

At this time, the dynasty inspection team stood in the surveillance room. The team leader held a set of documents in his hands, glancing from time to time at the Kunde Race member inside the interrogation room who was cuffed up everywhere. He slowly read the content of the documents.

“Barton, age 22, Mechanic Super, graduate of Sigaia City First Super Academy with excellent results. Talented, achieved Grade C last year, reason of imprisonment… murder and organizing murder. A total of 126 people died by his order. Also, he personally killed seven more, including his family.

“The victims were all haters according to the records. He claimed that this was to eliminate the stubborn members… When the marshals found him, he stopped his accomplices who tried to fight back. He chose not to resist and took responsibility for all the crimes.”

“Tsk tsk, how unflinching.” The Black Star Army patrol team leader tutted.

The dynasty inspection officer finished reading the report, cleared his throat, and opened up the comms. “Barton, you ordered others to murder, committing horrible sins. Is your goal to deal with the dynasty’s inspection?”

Barton’s eyes were closed, and he did not reply.

Seeing this, the dynasty inspection officer continued. “I’ll take it as that’s what you think. You couldn’t possibly not have known that, after doing what you did, the marshals who monitor everything would definitely find you. In order to eliminate those so-called stubborn people, you were willing to be imprisoned and even held responsible for some of your accomplices, basically giving up your life. Is it worth it?”

Barton shook his head calmly and said, “Here or outside, both are prisons. What’s the difference? On this planet, no one’s life is valuable. If I can give mine for some hope, of course it’s worth it.”

“You think you’re very noble, right?” the inspection team leader said with a poker face. “I’m the dynasty’s inspector. Frankly, I do not like your extreme methods at all. Your motive is too strong. You think you can convince the dynasty by doing this? Youngster, don’t you think you’ve underestimated us?”

Barton’s carapace color shifted slightly and then returned to the color of calmness. “This might be the only inspection in my life. I only did what I thought was right. No matter the results of the inspection, I’ve reduced the source of hate. The number of haters born in the future will also be reduced because of it. Even if we fail the inspection now, the chance of passing in the future will increase. At least what I did was meaningful.”

The dynasty inspection team leader was not touched at all. He had witnessed too many similar examples, so he was already used to it.

He thought for a moment, changed the topic, and asked, “If your planet is freed, what do you think your people should do?”

“Join the Black Star Army.” This time, Barton answered without hesitation.

The dynasty inspection team leader narrowed his eyes and asked, “And why is that?”

“Even freed, the Kunde Race still lives in the Black Star Army’s territory. In the short term, the Kunde Race still needs the Black Star Army’s protection. Our civilization is still too weak. If one of us can become an officer of the Black Star Army, the Kunde Race will also receive help. Have the Supers work for Black Star and aid the entire race, this is the best path for now,” Barton said with a deep voice.

Hearing this, the dynasty inspection team could not help but glance at the Black Star Army patrol team. He snorted and said, “Looks like the promotion you guys did was very effective.”

“Thank you. The army commander taught us well. Plus, he’s too charming.” The army patrol team leader smiled.

The dynasty inspection team leader looked down and pondered for a while before writing some remarks on the inspection form and ticking off a few things.

…

When the inspection team visited all the Kunde Race planets, Han Xiao finally received the results.

“A total of seventeen planets reached the standard. The standard is even lower than I expected.”

Han Xiao curled his lips. He looked at the list of the planets, and Planet No. 77 was on it.

Then, he summoned Phillip and said, “Hmm, there’s no problem. Make the arrangements according to this list. Have the troops stationed at these seventeen planets guide the residents to familiarize with galactic society. At the same time, make a recruit announcement. Although they’re free, they don’t have anywhere to go, so the majority of them will choose to join me…

“Also, broadcast the process of freeing these seventeen planets to the other planets. Encourage them to accept the transformation properly and regain freedom sooner.”

Han Xiao gave the order. He then looked at the details of the inspection and discovered the conversation between the dynasty inspection team leader and Barton.

“Oh, this kid is interesting.”

Han Xiao raised his brow. He brought up Barton’s information and said casually, “Phillip, tell the prison department of Planet No.77 to let this kid out and have him join the army.”

He felt that Barton was a man with dreams and not lazy. Also, Barton seemed to have potential. After all, the Kunde Race never had the Super system in the past. Barton was in the first batch to learn it, and he still became a Grade C at such a young age. His potential should be quite high.

However, at Han Xiao’s current position, he did not plan to meet him personally. He was only picking out a high-quality leek out of habit. If Barton could not achieve things in the Black Star Army, Han Xiao would not specifically remember him.

A few days later, the results of the inspection got approved by the dynasty. The Black Star Army acted right away to open up these seventeen planets. Billions of Kunde Race members were freed.

On this day, the screams of joy of countless people shot into the sky and echoed through planets. After more than twenty years, they were finally free. Be it seniors or youngsters, they were all tearing up.

They still had problems with the dynasty, but most of them had a strong sense of appreciation toward the Black Star Army. Not only were they thankful for the Black Star Army’s advanced notification but also for Black Star avenging the Kunde Race by making Modo suffer. There was also the protection the Black Star Army had provided them for decades.

Among the Kunde Race, the reputation of the army was at the peak. The relationship was firmly at Reverence.

At Sigaia City Prison, Barton walked out the prison door. The blinding sunlight almost made him unable to open his eyes. The streets were filled with an overjoyed crowd, and loud cheering voices came from all directions.

The lifeless city in his impression seemed to have suddenly come alive. Barton stood still, stunned.

“You’ve been let out. Now go.”

The warden spoke from behind. He had received the message from Black Star, so he did not dare ignore it and personally sent Barton out of the prison.

“Isn’t my crime very horrible? Why have you let me go?” Barton turned around. He was both shocked and confused.

You think I wanted to? While thinking that in his mind, the warden gave a stiff smile and said, “Don’t thank me. The army commander said to let you go by name. He must believe in your capabilities. Work hard, and don’t waste the army commander’s kindness.”

Barton’s entire body shivered. The color of disbelief appeared on his body.

The news was promoting how strong Black Star was every day. To say he did not admire someone that strong would be a lie; Barton simply kept this admiration buried in his heart.

He originally wanted to sacrifice himself, so he never expected to be released. Plus, he was released by Black Star personally.

Doesn’t this mean Black Star knows who I am?

Suddenly, Barton felt a stream of heat flowing in his body. He was feeling tipsy like he had too much to drink. His shell rapidly turned into the color of hot red excitement like he was cooked.

“Since Black Star… no, since the army commander has so high hopes for me, I must live up to it!”

At this moment, Barton made a decision.

He would become the army’s officer and prove that Black Star was not wrong about him!

He hoped that he could one day stand before Black Star and express his appreciation to him face to face.

…

“Your Excellency Black Star, our inspection is complete. We shall get going.”

Inside the army commander’s office in Black Star Palace, the dynasty inspection team bade farewell respectfully and expressed their intention of leaving.

Han Xiao nodded with a smile and said, “Send my regards to your superiors when you get back.”

They nodded and swarmed out, leaving Han Xiao alone in the room.

Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at the mission list. The first requirement, to provide protection when the Kunde Race was being culturally transformed, was finally shown as completed.

“Only the first batch of the planets are free, and more of them are still being culturally transformed. However, since some of the Kunde Race have entered galactic society, they’ll take care of their people who are still in lockdown in the future. I won’t be the only one providing protection.”

Han Xiao smirked. This was him completing his promise; it was enough.

“I’ve protected you guys for so long. Finally, I can get some rewards.”

Han Xiao took a deep breath and chose to conclude the mission on the interface.

Notifications popped up one after another on the interface.

_____________________

Grade S mission [Kunde Race Leader’s Last Wish] completed!

You have completed Mission Requirement I.

You have received 6 billion EXP, 10,000 Kunde Race Favorability, 2 Random Rewards, 4 Political Assets (Kunde Race).

Kunde Race will enter into the [Awakening Era], +10% chance of becoming a Super.

You have completed Mission Requirement II.

You have received 12 billion EXP, 15,000 Kunde Race Favorability, 1 Specific Blank Character Summon Card.

You have received the talent [The Enemy]!

You have received the talent [Proof of Leadership]!

You have received the ability [Kunde Rage]!

Chapter 1239: Sorokin“s Senses

Chapter 1239 Sorokin“s Senses “Finally!” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.He had been eyeing these three abilities for a very long time. Now, he had finally acquired them after almost a full version.

Both [The Enemy] and [Kunde Rage] consumed health. The former was a passive talent, giving him more damage with health lost during the battle, up to twenty-five percent. The latter was an ability, increasing his Psychological Resistance tremendously for forty seconds at most, as well as immunity to almost all negative psychological states.

Among these three, the strongest was [Proof of Leadership].

This was considered a ‘Semi-Molding Talent’ to players, meaning even the players could obtain it. The way it worked was that when the user was the leader of a faction, they would receive comprehensive bonuses. The bonuses increased with the size and level of the faction. The most incredible trait of this talent was that it had no upper limit.

No matter how strong the players’ organizations were, they could not reach the Beyond Grade A organization level and would not be able to gain enough bonuses from this talent. However, Han Xiao was different.

The Black Star Army’s position was unique and irreplaceable in the universe. After an entire mission, it was already much stronger than when he triggered this mission. He could benefit a ton from this talent.

The bonuses of [Proof of Leadership] were very comprehensive. It included but was not limited to basic attributes, health, stamina, energy, ability strength, class affinity, all kinds of resistances, attack damage, ability level, and so on.

Han Xiao looked at the talent and realized that it did not only include one faction he was in. Other than the bonuses brought by the Black Star Army, the talent showed that the Beyond Grade A Association provided some bonuses too. His vice president identity was also considered in [Proof of Leadership], only it was not complete. He would only gain the complete bonuses if he was the president.

All in all, [Proof of Leadership] gave him a huge boost. This single talent increased his Energy Rank by an outrageous 5,400 Ona!

With the increase of Energy Rank, the strength difference between every point increased too. His Energy Rank was more than 100,000; 5400 Ona was an enormous boost to his combat capability at this level.

Feeling the overflowing energy in his body, Han Xiao took a deep breath and was delighted.

“This talent really suits me very well. I’m a huge step closer to the higher territory.”

Han Xiao looked through the effects of [Proof of Leadership] several times with a huge grin on his face. He loved this talent.

Having finally achieved his dream of so many years, he was relieved.

The Kundes had to join the army of their own volition, and the dynasty freeing them in advance would decrease the number of Kundes willing to join the army, but it led to him acquiring the biggest benefit in advance.

As for the future developments of the Kunde Race, as long as nothing huge happened, Han Xiao did not plan to interfere frequently.

Anyway, the Kunde Race was now living in his territory. If they recovered to a normal civilization, they would even have to pay taxes to him instead, like a protection fee. If the Kunde Race wanted to expand in his territory, they would have to rent or purchase planets from the army.

Controlling one area was indeed an amazing way of making profit. By providing all kinds of services such as renting and selling land, he could harvest the labor of the Kunde Race as a whole and take a bite out of their produce. He had the right to decide the prices of the planets in his territory, so he dictated how quickly he wanted to harvest. He could choose to dry the pool for the fish in it, or he could choose to slowly fish over the long term. Of course, Han Xiao liked the latter more.

“Hmm, in this case, I can attract the Kunde Race Supers into the army using special benefits. For example, all Kunde Race members of the army with relatively high positions can purchase resources for the Kunde Race at a discount…”

The dynasty had definitely thought of this too and did not want to see it happen. Only, they could not easily tear away the agreement they had signed in the past.

Therefore, when the Kunde Race was freed to a certain stage, the dynasty would find a way to make the Kunde Race request to migrate. The fighting happening behind the curtains was complicated and troublesome. Han Xiao could already guest what methods the dynasty would use.

However, in his position, he did not have to attend to every little thing personally; people below him would deal with it. Furthermore, this would almost certainly not happen in the next few decades, so he did not have to worry yet.

…

A few days later, the Black Star Army announced a system to the Kunde Race, stating that in respect of the Kunde Race civilization, the army would not give them benefits for free out of pity but instead provide the Kunde Race tons of job opportunities.

The Black Star Army claimed that one reason for this was to guide the Kunde Race to blend into galactic society, and another was to give the Kunde Race a channel to acquire resources. Through working, all Kundes could earn contribution points that would be put under the entire race. The Kunde Race could then use this special currency to purchase all kinds of services to speed up the rebuilding of their civilization.

As soon as the system was announced, it received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the Kunde Race. Putting aside Han Xiao’s reputation, although these trillions of Kundes gained freedom, they were also lost. Many of them did not know how to blend into the galactic society.

Now, the Black Star Army provided them with a clear direction, and the results of that were countless responses.

Han Xiao was already extremely experienced at harvesting leeks. This was the exact method he used to harvest the Planet Aquamarine players during Version 2.0 back then, turning his faction into the guiding faction. It was effective on the Kunde Race too.

Tons of quality Kunde Race laborers swarmed into the Black Star Army. The number of base-level Supers rocketed.

Currently, the Black Star Army was focusing on growing the subdivisions in other Star Fields, and the manpower from the Kunde Race came just at the right time.

The HR department arranged to have the Kundes travel far away from their home to different Star Fields to work in the subdivisions. They would work ‘overseas’ to accumulate contribution points for the race. This would prevent them from sticking only to other Kundes and not blending in with the galactic society well enough.

The Crimson Dynasty announced a similar policy too. However, the duration of the transformation was too short, so only an extremely few were willing to work for the dynasty, far fewer than the number of Kundes the army recruited.

However, more Kundes decided to stay among their race to rebuild the civilization and not work for other organizations, so the dynasty’s plan worked to a certain extent.

While the Black Star Army was digesting the Kunde Race’s laborers, Sorokin started to move.

…

“I’m finally done with the backup plans. I can act anytime…”

Inside the office at the Limitless Financial Group headquarters, Sorokin sensed the movements of his various manifestations and looked relieved.

In the past few months, he had returned to the Limitless Financial Group headquarters in the Sea of Star Spirits and prepared backup plans, placing secret warehouses in many Star Fields and some secondary dimensions that stored large amounts of resources.

Sorokin knew the strength of Virtual Mechanics, so he left no traces in the database. This was all done by his manifestations.

As for the movements of the funds, he disguised them as normal business transactions.

However, the consortium was his to begin with. Its business was growing better by the day and had no difficulties, so there was absolutely no need for the boss to take the money and run. This was like him stealing his own things, so not many people would realize the issue.

At the same time, using several methods, Sorokin left many hidden problems for the Limitless Financial Group’s cash flow. If he was fine, he could easily solve them afterward.

If something happened to him, the credibility of the Limitless Financial Group would plummet. Once the partners came to tell the Limitless Financial Group to pay up, the Limitless Financial Group would be tremendously damaged. By then, the other large consortiums would definitely try to eat up the businesses of the Limitless Financial Group and dissect its corpse. This way, what was left to the shareholders of the group would be a huge mess. Even if they wanted to continue the Limitless Financial Group, they would have to pay a hefty price to fill up this hole.

This was one of Sorokin’s backup plans—he would rather destroy his hard work over many years than give it to someone else, especially when Black Star was one of the shareholders.

“I can use those Universal Treasures I’ve collected anytime, but the most useful thing for this mission is still Soul Flame…”

Sorokin’s eyes flickered.

He was once the master of Soul Flame; he knew the functions of this Esper Ability Entity extremely well. From his perspective, if he could regain this ability, the success rate of the plan would increase by another twenty percent.

Back when he gave up the identity of Soul Flame, he had no idea where Soul Flame went. In order to keep his identity hidden and not get discovered by anyone he knew, he used the specialty of his Esper Ability to change his soul frequency. Basically, he gave himself soul plastic surgery.

However, he did not completely cut off his senses to Soul Flame but split it up into Soul Seeds that had been sealed all this time. Once he opened the seal, he would be able to sense the rough location of Soul Flame.

All this time, Sorokin had disguised himself as a common Psychic Esper and had never shown all the special traits of his Esper Ability. Therefore, although he was also a soul-type Esper, his abilities looked quite different from ‘Soul Emperor’.

To not attract any suspicion, he never dared retrieve Soul Flame. Anyway, he had a method to sense it. From the way he looked at it, no matter where Soul Flame went, he could totally retrieve it any time he wanted.

Sorokin narrowed his eyes, found that sealed Soul Seed in his Esper Ability senses, retrieved it ignoring the distance between him and the Soul Seed, and unsealed it.

The next moment, Sorokin’s gaze changed subtly. It was a little bit colder.

Every Soul Seed was a fragment of his personality. The more he retrieved, the more whole his personality would become, and the more he would be like the real ‘Soul Emperor’ Rovell Sissock.

The moment the Soul Seed was unsealed, a reaction that was far away appeared in his senses, pointing him in a direction.

Sorokin turned toward that direction. He looked at the dark cosmic space through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Soul Flame is in that direction… the Ancient Star Desert.”

…

In the Holy Accord organization, Oathkeeper, who was playing Wayne Cards with the others, suddenly felt something. He turned and looked outside the window. Confusion appeared in his eyes.

Why does it suddenly feel like I’m being watched?

Before he could think further, Beiger, who was opposite, slapped the table impatiently.

“Stop dozing off. Mechanic Emperor, do you want it or not?”

Oathkeeper regained focus and threw out a card.

“Black Star, bigger than you.”

“Tsk, dog luck… pass, pass, go on.”

Oathkeeper’s focus returned to the game.

The Wayne Cards included almost all organizations and important people in the world, so it was an extremely efficient way to figure out the current structure of the universe and its history…

It’s most certainly not because we like to play cards!

Chapter 1240: Sorokins Bizarre Adventure 1

At a certain place in the desolate universe belt, an armed fleet was slowly advancing through the cosmic space. Sorokin stood in the command room of the main ship and looked into the galaxy.

This armed fleet was a mercenary group he had secretly founded in the Ancient Star Desert. Other than a few upper echelons, no one knew that their boss was the Limitless Financial Group. For this mission, Sorokin secretly created a manifestation that looked exactly like him and left it in the consortium’s headquarters. He then slipped out, led this mercenary group, and headed to the location of Soul Flame.

This group did not know the exact goal of this trip; they only acted based on orders of the upper echelons. For safety reasons, Sorokin even wore a mask. Other than the leader beside him, no one else in the fleet knew that the renowned Sorokin was on their ship.

“The reaction is getting stronger, meaning I’m getting closer…”

Sorokin looked at the star map. Within a certain distance ahead, there was only one desolate planet. He was basically certain that Soul Flame was on this planet.

On the star map, this planet had no name, only a serial number. It was marked as a poor planet with no value for developing.

After the fleet advanced a while longer and was still quite some distances away from this planet, Sorokin stopped the fleet.

“All ships, stop advancing. Use astronomical observation instruments to observe the surface status of that planet.”

“…Observation complete. Boss, everything is normal on the planet surface. It’s desolate and has nothing worth paying attention to. The details still require field inspection.”

Sorokin nodded and ordered, “Hmm, send out a recon ship to land on the planet first. Everyone else, remain in stealth mode and standby here.”

He had a habit of being careful at all times. He was worried that Soul Flame might have a master, so he decided to test it first. Even if it was a desolate planet, he still had to repeatedly confirm there was no hidden danger.

The recon ship deviated from the fleet and quickly flew toward the planet. Sorokin secretly used his ability and possessed the captain of the ship.

A while later, the recon ship finally arrived on the planet. It activated all kinds of scanners and started to investigate the underground. However, after an entire hour, all results came back normal.

Sorokin immediately realized the problem and narrowed his eyes.

According to his senses, Soul Flame was right there, somewhere underground. There was no way it was not discovered unless someone had set up disguise devices underground, which would prove that someone was there.

“Even if the scanning can be avoided, the actual object can’t be hidden.”

Sorokin’s manifestation drew out a rough area on the planet’s underground model. He then ordered the crew to stop scanning and send robots to dig into the ground instead. He planned to dig a hole right toward the location of Soul Flame.

However, the moment the robots were dispatched from the ship, the recon ship suddenly became paralyzed. Its engine shut off, and it plummeted from the sky. The crew inside the cabin were bumping into everything around like they were inside a shaking tin can.

Sorokin suppressed his instincts and did not use any ability with his manifestation. When the recon ship was just about to crash onto the ground, a blue-purple magic gate suddenly appeared below it. The recon ship fell right in and disappeared.

At the same time, the mercenary group leader far away in the main ship hastily reported to Sorokin’s original body.

“Boss, we’ve just lost communication with the recon ship. It’s suddenly missing. Should we go take a look?”

“No need, move back for now.”

Sorokin’s eyes flickered.

It looked like there were indeed enemies near Soul Flame. Since he possessed the captain of the recon ship, he could now scout the enemies.

At this point of time, the vision and senses of the manifestation were being transmitted back to his mind.

After the recon ship fell into the magic gate, as if it had fallen onto a certain buffering platform, it did not crash, but the trembling of the cabin made the people inside fall down again.

The crew covered their bleeding heads. They hastily pressed on the operating table and said with panic, “Captain, all functions of the spaceship are frozen. We’ve lost contact with the others!”

Sorokin’s manifestation acted panicked and said, “Go put on the land exploration armor. Open the hatch manually, and take a look at where we are.”

As the order was given, the crew quickly changed and became land exploration armored warriors. Suppressing the nervousness in their hearts, they carefully pulled the hatch open.

Chapter 1241: Sorokins Bizarre Adventure 2

The soul energy he used to possess the Holy Accord warrior was incinerated, but Sorokin could not be bothered with the fact that he had been exposed. Thinking of what he saw before his manifestation collapsed, disbelief appeared on his face.

Dozens of Primordial Ones, all alive till today… did they fake their deaths like me‽

Sorokin could not believe it.

Impossible!

Some of them were definitely dead. Even their ashes were scattered!

How did they get past the exploration era, hide their existence, and live till now?

Is this place actually the nursing home for the Primordial Ones?

Or have these people been hiding for so long and planning an astronomic conspiracy‽

Sorokin completely lost it. The more he thought about it, the more terrified he was.

He had never heard of this organization before. Could he be the only one in the universe who knew this secret?

This time, Sorokin suddenly shivered. He hastily ordered the leader of the mercenary group, “Split up the fleet immediately. Retreat in different directions and run at full speed!”

For the first time in a long time, Sorokin panicked.

He was confident in his strength. Originally, he felt that the success rate of retrieving Soul Flame was not low. He only got a bit more serious even when he saw three Beyond Grade As earlier and did not think he could not do it.

However, to his absolute shock, there were more than thirty Beyond Grade A there!

The situation far exceeded what he expected, who in the world could deal with this!

Dozens of Beyond Grade As far exceeded the limit of what he could deal with. Plus, he had triggered Soul Flame’s alarm, which was basically the same as poking the hornet nest. Sorokin immediately lost any desire to continue his plan; all he wanted to do was immediately run out of this area as far as possible.

At this time, the mercenary group leader looked at the remote observation images and suddenly screamed, “Boss, their fleet moved and is heading toward our direction. Plus, dozens of high energy reactions suddenly appeared on the radar, all possibly Beyond Grade As!”

“What are you standing there for then? Run!”

Sorokin was furious and shocked.

He could secretly find out more about this organization in the future, but if he got caught now, there would be no ‘future’ to speak of!

The mercenary group split up right away. The main ship Sorokin was in sent all its energy into the engine, entered overload mode, and fled at full speed in hyperdrive. The starlight outside the window was stretched into lines.

However, only shortly after they started fleeing, a deafening alarm rang on the radar!

Boom!

The next second, the entire spaceship suddenly trembled and exited from hyperdrive mode. The huge inertia caused everyone but Sorokin to fall onto the floor.

Sorokin ignored the screams of pain of all the crew and hastily looked outside the window.

The cosmic space around was filled with magic arrays. Glass-like translucent arcane tentacles extended from within and tangled around the entire spaceship tightly. The arcane tentacles squeezed the spaceships continuously, and the sound of the metal armor tearing up could be easily heard in the cabin as cracks appeared and extended on the alloy walls.

At the same time, a magic teleportation suddenly opened up right in front of the spaceship. Beiger and the group of Primordial Ones walked out.

“Beiger!”

Flames of rage filled Sorokin’s eyes. He ground his teeth.

Damn Mage!

This time, the spaceship was suddenly taken over by a Virtual Mechanic among the Primordial Ones and opened its communication.

The next moment, Oathkeeper’s projection appeared in the cabin. He sized Sorokin up. His tone was thirty-percent curious, thirty-percent excited, and forty-percent annoyed.

“You’re the one who dodged Soul Flame’s seal and possessed my subordinate?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! Who are you?” Sorokin was on full alert.

“Interesting, you’re not going to tell us you just happened to pass by, are you?” Oathkeeper narrowed his eyes.

“Listen to me, I…”

“You’ll have plenty of time to explain later!”

Before Sorokin finished speaking, dozens of Beyond Grade As attacked at the same time. A shocking amount of energy headed right toward the spaceship Sorokin was in.

Boom!

The spaceship was instantly shattered into atoms. Sorokin dashed out the cabin at the last moment. Feeling the hopeless strength difference between him and the enemies, he was filled with despair.

He wanted to calm these people down with words first, but they attacked right away, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Although his physical body was not the core of his life, he did not want to end up in the hands of these people.

“There’s no other way!”

Sorokin clenched his teeth and retrieved most of his Soul Seeds. Suddenly, his entire vibe changed and became cold and violent. An enormous energy shockwave erupted from his body, creating visible ripples in the cosmic space around him!

Feeling this energy, Oathkeeper’s eyes turned serious. He pulled his teammates into a mind chat channel and said, “Careful, this guy is very strong. Don’t let down your guard.”

“Don’t worry, there’s plenty of us!”

They laughed and charged forward.

An intense battle erupted instantly. However, within seconds, Sorokin was completely overwhelmed, and the battle became one-sided.

His actual strength was indeed very strong, on par with even peak Beyond Grade As. However, he had yet to step into that higher territory and was still a normal Beyond Grade A.

With dozens of Beyond Grade As attacking him together, Sorokin could only get thrashed. Even if it was the evolved EsGod, he would still meet the same end.

All Sorokin could do was try not to die. Very soon, his mask was shattered, and everyone saw his face.

“This guy is… the Limitless Financial Group’s Sorokin?”

Oathkeeper was surprised.

He did not expect the guy who infiltrated his organization to be the renowned head of the biggest consortium.

Isn’t this guy known for being weak? Isn’t he among the weakest Beyond Grade As? Why does he have this level of strength?

Has Sorokin always been acting weak and hiding his strength? Is he this cowardly?

While he was being confused, Beiger suddenly noticed something from Sorokin’s combat style and exclaimed, “This Esper Ability… Are you Soul Emperor?”

“What?” The others were shocked. They hastily observed Sorokin, and everyone discovered some clues.

The modern people could only analyze Soul Emperor’s abilities, whereas they were in the same generation as Soul Emperor and had fought him God knew how many times. They noticed it right away.

Hearing this, Sorokin was filled with frustration.

He had always avoided going all out because he was worried about being recognized, but in the end, it still happened.

He knew he could not deceive these people who were familiar with him. Plus, he already planned to give up this identity. Thinking at least they shared some common topics, he gave up acting and yelled, “That’s right, it’s me! Aren’t you *ssholes dead? How are you here‽”

“It’s really you, Rovell Sissock!”

The Primordial Ones were surprised and slowed down their attacks.

If it was a stranger, they would not have been affected at all. However, Soul Emperor was someone in the same generation as them, so he was at least a familiar face. They were all very curious about what was going on with Sorokin.

We didn’t revive you. Did you not die?

Beiger’s expression changed slightly. He recalled what Black Star said in the past that hinted Soul Emperor had always been alive.

“Did you fake your death?”

Beiger was shocked.

“I clearly beat you to death back then. You did not leave any sign of life at all. How did you do it?”

“You’re one to bring it up!” Sorokin dodged another magic missile that had more than enough power to penetrate a planet. Veins popped up on his forehead as he was reminded of what happened in the past.

Back then, his physical body had lost its life, and he had indeed been on the brink of death. The strong sense of frustration and hate in his mind had pushed his potential to explode, causing his Esper Ability to evolve. In the last moment, he had acquired the [Immortal Soul] ability. Otherwise, he would have died during the exploration era war along with his physical body.

This time, Oathkeeper thought of something and suddenly started to doubt his thoughts on the spy.

From the way it looked, it does not look like Sorokin knew about us long ago. Is he not related to the leak of the organization’s information in the past?

“I didn’t expect you to be Soul Emperor from back then. You’ve hidden yourself really well… How did you find us?”

“I was just trying to retrieve Soul Flame and followed my senses. I didn’t know about you guys at all.” Sorokin clenched his teeth. “Stop attacking, let me go!”

Oathkeeper recalled what happened earlier and believed Sorokin mostly, but he still shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter if you knew before or not. You’ve found our secret today, so there’s no leaving. We’re all people from the same generation. We can have a good chat… but that’ll be after you lose the ability to resist. Stop resisting. There’s absolutely zero chance you can escape, so why prolong your suffering?”

The others nodded in agreement. Most of them did not intend to kill Sorokin right there. After all, they knew him from the old era, and they all wanted to hear Sorokin’s experience in the past years.

Bang!

This time, Sorokin’s face got punched by Pangon again, blasting him away flying. He forced himself to stay focused and observe the battlefield. His heart kept sinking.

Dozens of Beyond Grade As formed an encirclement. He had no chance of breaking through it head-on at all. In terms of mobility, as a mind Esper, he was no match for the teleportation spell of a Mage. There was absolutely no way he could escape.

Is this really going to be the end for this shell I’ve spent so much effort raising? I was supposed to use it against Black Star, but I haven’t even seen Black Star’s face yet!

Although Sorokin was confident to a certain extent that he would not die there because of his Esper Ability, he did not want to take the risk if he could save his body too. After all, he had already faked his death before; these people would definitely be more careful.

How many years has it been since I was last in such a desperate situation‽ I’m still not ‘cowardly’ enough. If I knew I’d end up poking the hornet nest, why did I think about killing Black Star? Isn’t just retiring quietly so much better‽

Sorokin was filled with regret.

“What, still not surrendering?” Beiger snorted. “Don’t think just because we know each other, I won’t kill you. I’ve killed you once, and I can kill you again!”

Suddenly, it occurred to Sorokin. Memories deeply buried in his mind surfaced.

“I remember now! Holy Accord, you guys are the Holy Accord!”

The memories of the exploration era became vivid again. Sorokin had heard of the Holy Accord back then but scoffed at it and did not join.

As so much time had passed and Primordial Ones died one after another, he thought that secret-association-like Holy Accord organization had long disappeared.

When he just saw the dozens of Beyond Grade As, he was too shocked and occupied with fleeing, so he did not think of this at all. However, when he tried to find a way to escape earlier, his mind had spun rapidly, and he finally recalled this ‘rumor’ that once circulated around the Primordial Ones during the exploration era.

Therefore…

“Reviving using the Sanctums is real‽ You guys succeeded‽”

Sorokin’s expression changed drastically. His tone was filled with disbelief.

If they came back by being revived, everything would make sense. He never thought such a rumor with absolutely no proof or whatsoever would be true!

Seeing that Sorokin had figured out the truth, everyone present was surprised.

Soul Emperor was in the same generation as them, so it was not impossible for him to figure it out. However, although they were already mentally prepared for that, the moment their secret was exposed, they were still shocked.

At this time, bolts of lightning crisscrossed in Sorokin’s mind and connected everything he had just experienced. A plan quickly appeared in his mind, followed by joy, as if he had seen light in a dark cave. He found the only hope he had of escaping!

The Holy Accord was so secretive definitely because they did not want the information about the Sanctum to leak, this was the only leverage he could use—he would only have a chance if he bet on these people being afraid of leaking this secret!

While thoughts flashed through his mind, Sorokin yelled without hesitation, “You guys have been hiding and protecting the secret of the Sanctums, but you guys definitely remember that I can possess others with my ability. Yes, I can’t escape from this encirclement today, but before you guys kill me, I have the time to control my manifestations in other Star Fields to spread out the information about the Sanctums! Stop this immediately if you don’t want your secret to be leaked, or I will share this information with everyone right now!”

As soon as he said that, the others’ expressions changed, and they slowed down their attacks subconsciously. They turned to look at Oathkeeper.”

“… Are you threatening us?” Oathkeeper’s eyes flickered.

“You’re leaving me no choice; I just want to live!” Sorokin wiped away the blood on his forehead. Although he had no confidence, he could only act firm. “You’re the master of Soul Flame. You can try to see if you can stop me, but can you deal with the consequences? It’s better if I’m the only one who knows this secret than the entire universe finding out about it,” Sorokin said.

Oathkeeper sized Sorokin up for a while silently. As the atmosphere kept getting more intense, he suddenly raised his hand, signaling for the others to stop attacking. “All of you, stop.”

As soon as he said that, the others stopped attacking but still surrounded Sorokin with hostile expressions, not letting him escape.

This indeed hit Oathkeeper’s weak spot. He knew what exposing the information about the Sanctum would mean. Comparatively, Sorokin’s life was insignificant.

Oathkeeper was an expert in the mind too, but he did not have complete confidence he could stop Sorokin from activating his Esper Ability to control his manifestations. God knew what new abilities this guy learned after living for so long.

Oathkeeper did not want to push Sorokin too hard and force him into a corner. He planned to take it slow and see how things went.

Chapter 1242: Sorokins Bizarre Adventure 3

Seeing that everyone had stopped attacking him, Sorokin finally heaved a sigh of relief. His body was covered in wounds.

Although the duration of the battle was not long, the strength difference was too huge. He was crushed by dozens of people the entire time and was quite heavily wounded. An ordinary Beyond Grade A would have been done for long ago.

Luckily, he had a flash of insight and found the Holy Accord’s weak spot. Just knowing their weak spot was not enough; he had to be able to use it as a leverage and only an extremely few people in the entire universe could do that. Sorokin was one of them. No one knew how many manifestations he had and where they were hidden.

Furthermore, they were not sure of what method Sorokin used to fake his death, so they did not dare do anything impulsive.

This time, Sorokin endured the pain all over his body, suppressed his annoyance, and put up a stiff smile.

“Ahem, ahem. See, this is much better. We all know each other. We should use a peaceful method to solve our misunderstandings. There’s no need to resort to violence.”

Oathkeeper hovered in space and said, “What ideas do you have?”

Sorokin’s mind spun quickly. “We can totally work together.”

“Work together?” Oathkeeper sized Sorokin up.

“That’s right. We’re all from the old era. The conflicts we had in the past have dissipated with time. We’re not enemies now. Today was just a misunderstanding. My goal is actually just Soul Flame, but I coincidentally discovered your secret. The biggest issue between us is that you guys don’t trust me. You’re worried that I, an outsider, will leak your information, so you want to capture me…”

Sorokin had calmed down, and using his magical mouth trained through his business experience over many years, he started negotiating.

He observed everyone’s expression, paused, and continued. “However, you guys can’t stop me from leaking your information now, and I’m also worried you might do something to me. We both have worries. Therefore, working together is the best choice for all of us. If we can peacefully come to an agreement, we can avoid escalating the situation that’ll do neither of us any good.”

“How do you want to work together?” Oathkeeper narrowed his eyes.

Sorokin smiled. “Simple. You guys are worried about me leaking the secret, so you don’t trust me enough to let me roam outside. Therefore, you might as well let me join the Holy Accord and make me one of you. Then, isn’t the problem solved?”

His core mindset was very simple. If he could not defeat them, join them!

This was not just a temporary plan to save his life but a carefully thought-out plan. Although what he experienced this time threatened his life, when he carefully thought about it, it might just be an incredible opportunity to explore the secrets of the universe.

He already planned to give up the identity of ‘Sorokin’ and was originally planning to go to the secondary dimensions and retire for some time. However, from the way things looked now, the Holy Accord organization might be a better place to go. Not only was there a group of familiar faces, but they also seemed to be carrying out some kind of big plan. Plus, if he stayed there, he could even convince the outside world that he had been revived.

After the initial shock, Sorokin had a strong interest in the Sanctums. Another of his goals was to reduce the number of Beyond Grade As in the universe. Now that he had realized that Beyond Grade As could be revived, he would not be able to sleep and eat well before he figured out how it happened.

At the same time, Sorokin inevitably felt bitter. Originally, he thought most Primordial Ones had disappeared, and he was the only one who had stayed alive till now. Although he never mentioned it, he actually had a sense of superiority in his heart, thinking that he was the only one who got the last laugh among all the Primordial Ones in the same generation.

However, now that he saw a big group of Primordial Ones still alive, his sense of superiority disappeared, and he was left with only bitterness. That was especially so when he thought of how he hid his identity and carefully lived all these years in the past. He could not help but feel jealous and envious of these revivors, which made him even more interested in the Sanctums.

“You want to join the Holy Accord?”

The others were surprised. The expressions on their faces became odd.

You didn’t contribute anything, yet you want to take a bite off our fruit of victory?

Why is your dream so ambitious?

After so many years, how did that cold and powerful Soul Emperor in their memories become so smooth?

Oathkeeper frowned and pondered silently. It seemed like he was having difficulties making a choice.

Seeing this, Sorokin added, “Frankly, I was just planning to retire. If the Holy Accord is willing to accept me, I won’t come empty handed. You guys should know that I’m the owner of the Limitless Financial Group. I can bring Holy Accord a huge amount of funds. You’ll need money no matter what you’re planning, right?”

He had eyes on the secret of reviving through the Sanctums too, so he was willing to pay a high price to join the Holy Accord. If he could also enjoy this privilege, his life would be insured.

Hearing this, Oathkeeper said, “The risk of letting an outsider join us is not controllable. You hid your strength so well, and we don’t know much about you. It’s very tough for us to trust you.”

“I understand your worries, but I’m really sincere. As for what you said about me being an outsider, I don’t think that’s true.” Sorokin smiled. “We all know each other and each other’s personality to a certain extent, we don’t lack the foundation of trust.”

Beiger suddenly shook his head and said, “No, we never hung out and are not close.”

Fu*k you! You even ‘hung’ me to death back then!

Sorokin wanted to cuss but still maintained a smile.

Oathkeeper slowly said, “So many years have passed; you’ve definitely changed your identity more than once. How do we know how much you’ve changed?”

Hearing this, Sorokin became silent, which was rare. Then, he shook his head and said, “Everyone has secrets. No matter what I experienced in the past, I’m just Sorokin now.”

He did not want to expose the information of his other identities. The identities of Soul Emperor and Sorokin were still considered clean, but he had done many not-so-clean things with his other identities. If he shared this information, it would become new leverage. Hence, he refused to say what identities he used before, expressing his firmness to a suitable extent, reminding the opposite party that their positions were equal in this negotiation.

Oathkeeper thought about it, changed the question, and asked, “Let’s put this matter aside first. Let me ask you, you say you can sense Soul Flame, but you have not done it in so many years—why are you suddenly trying to find Soul Flame? We can’t believe what you say if you don’t explain this.”

Sorokin hesitated for a moment and said, “Actually, I’ve come across a very strong enemy. In order to fight him, I have to retrieve Soul Flame and increase my strength as much as possible.”

“Who’s that strong enemy?”

“Black Star!”

As soon as he said that, everyone’s heart shook, but they hastily controlled their expressions and did not expose themselves.

Oathkeeper suppressed the shock in his heart, acted confused, and said, “Black Star? I know this guy. He only rose in the past few decades and seems to be among the strongest in the universe. It’s said that his full strength is unfathomable. How did you get into trouble with him?”

When this was brought up, Sorokin’s expression turned gloomy.

“He figured out my identity and came to blackmail me. I decided not to escalate the issue, accepted his request, and partnered with him in businesses at a loss, hoping to fill his appetite so he won’t expose me. But that *sshole is too much. He took my money and still wanted to expose my identity, plotting against me behind my back. If I don’t teach him a lesson, he’s really going to think I can be easily bullied!”

This time, Sorokin’s rage was not fake but his real emotions. It was as if he could not live with Black Star being alive and would grab tightly onto any opportunity to kill Black Star.

“So, this is why you wanted to abandon your current identity and retire?” Seeing that Sorokin’s expressions were sincere, Oathkeeper pondered.

“That’s right. I don’t want the three Universal Civilizations to pay attention to me. He forced me to abandon the organization I’ve spent years building,” Sorokin said with a hateful tone.

His hostility toward Han Xiao was extremely strong. Earlier, he even thought of threatening to leak their secret to make the Holy Accord organization help him kill Black Star. With such an unexpected and overwhelmingly strong force, he definitely could get Black Star by surprise.

However, after thinking about it carefully, he had given up on this thought. After all, Black Star had the King suit and would not be trapped. Also, threatening them would definitely make Holy Accord unhappy, and they might not let him join them.

Compared to the secret of the Sanctums, dealing with Black Star did not seem that significant. Therefore, Sorokin did not want to lose the opportunity of finding out about the Sanctum because of something less significant. Furthermore, he had already learned a lesson from what happened today—since he chose to be a coward, he should be a total coward!

Hence, Sorokin did not want to make things more complicated. With the big secret of the Holy Accord opportunity, he decided to abandon the plan of targeting Black Star and retired peacefully. Anyway, he felt that he would always get a better opportunity in the future to make Black Star pay for what he did to him.

Oathkeeper narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, “If you’re targeted by Black Star, this is a risk for us too. If we take you in, Black Star might find our location one day by tracking you, leading to us being exposed like today.”

Sorokin quickly said, “That won’t happen. Black Star is not very obsessed with me personally; he just wants my money and assets. You guys don’t know, but that guy is endlessly greedy, domineering, ambitious, slippery, shady, and extremely shameless… His goal is to take over the Limitless Financial Group’s assets.”

Damn, if not because we made contact with Black Star before, we might have really believed in your nonsense.

… But you’re right about him being shameless.

Oathkeeper rolled his eyes in his mind, acted serious, and said, “That’s just your speculation. You can’t ensure Black Star won’t do anything. If you want to join the Holy Accord, it’s best to solve this problem first.”

Sorokin was frustrated inside. He was already planning to cancel this plan, but to his surprise Holy Accord actively wanted to force him to target Black Star instead.

However, from his perspective, Oathkeeper’s worry was totally sensible and logical. Sorokin did not find it strange.

“Honestly, I’m not very confident about fighting Black Star alone. He’s too strong…” Sorokin said with resignation.

Oathkeeper gave him a glare and said, “What, are you asking us to help? Don’t cross the line! If you think you can threaten us just because you have some leverage on your hands, we’ll eliminate you even at the risk of exposing our secret.”

He used a strong and firm attitude so that Sorokin would not suspect Holy Accord and Black Star were connected.

“What do you want to do then?” Sorokin asked. He felt that since Oathkeeper had said so many things, there was no way he was still thinking of resorting to such an extreme solution.

Oathkeeper narrowed his eyes and suddenly said with a gentler tone, “Anyway, you can’t leave now. We have to ensure your original body is in our sights. However, we won’t do anything to you. This is just an insurance measure to prevent you from leaking the secret. As for your request to join the Holy Accord… we’ll have to consider it, weigh the pros and cons.”

The other Holy Accord members all understood Oathkeeper’s intention to take a step back from what he said. They had varied expressions.

“What, are we really going to take him in?” Beiger deliberately acted surprised.

“That is one option. If not, are we really going to let him leak the information?” Oathkeeper turned and glanced at him. He then scanned through everyone and secretly gave them a look. He then turned back to Sorokin and said, “This is my condition. If you don’t accept it, there’s nothing more to talk about.”

Sorokin considered it for a while and realized that he did not have much of a choice. This was already a decent result. Hence, he exhaled and slowly nodded.

“Okay, I agree with your terms. I’m willing to stay under your control temporarily, but you guys can’t secretly set up traps to seal soul energy. Although that doesn’t work much against me, if you guys show signs of doing it, I’ll see it as you guys being insincere about this partnership. I’ll consider our agreement invalid and immediately have my manifestation leak your secret.”

“Okay.” Oathkeeper nodded.

As the two sides came to an agreement, the atmosphere calmed down.

The people approached Sorokin and escorted him toward the Holy Accord’s fleet, planning to monitor this guy every second as a new entertainment other than playing cards.

Sorokin obediently let them take him away. He discreetly wiped away his cold sweat, felt that this experience was like a dream and was glad.

“Luckily, I’m convincing enough to earn a chance…”

After the others went away, Oathkeeper was relieved too. He was also planning to keep Sorokin stable first.

Actually, to Oathkeeper, if Sorokin was sincere about joining them, taking him in was not an issue. They had nothing against each other, plus, they were from the same generation and had common topics, and it would prevent Sorokin from leaking their secret.

Holy Accord was not a subsidiary organization of someone else, so there was actually no need to report to Black Star when recruiting a new member. However, Oathkeeper felt it was still better to tell Black Star about this.

After all, Sorokin and Black Star had conflicts, and Oathkeeper was more on Han Xiao’s side in his heart. To him, the Black Star Army was a more important partner.

Having thought of that, Oathkeeper closed his eyes and secretly used his soul projection to contact Han Xiao.

…

Oathkeeper’s soul projection appeared In Han Xiao’s office and saw the person who was dealing with a pile of documents in his seat right away.

Noticing Oathkeeper’s arrival, Han Xiao looked up and smiled.

“Yo, Oath, what a rare guest.”

Oathkeeper, however, had no intention to chit chat. He said with a deep voice, “Black Star, an emergency situation just happened, and I felt I needed to tell you about it. This might severely impact our plan.”

“Tell me then. I didn’t cover your mouth.” Han Xiao was not nervous at all and joked.

“Just earlier, Sorokin found us…”

Oathkeeper described everything that had happened without leaving any details.

“What? I thought my luck was trash enough. I didn’t think yours would also be not much better.”

Han Xiao laughed right away. He did not expect Sorokin to be so brave to break into this nursing home.

“How are you still laughing!” Oathkeeper was annoyed. “What do you think we should do about this? If you don’t have any suggestion, I’m really going to take him into the Holy Accord!”

“Aiyo, don’t be in such a rush. Isn’t this very easy to solve?” Han Xiao casually waved.

“What ideas do you have?”

“You’ve mistaken the situation, which is understandable given how much it concerns you.” Han Xiao rested his chin on his hands. “You’re worried that he’ll leak your information, but he doesn’t know my connection with you guys. Therefore, in his eyes, leaking your information is only a threat to the Holy Accord organization, not to me. If you think about it from another perspective, you’ll realize that this is good news for me.”

“You’re saying…” Oathkeeper had a rough idea.

“I never had the chance to secretly attack him. Now, however, you guys have helped me to trap the prey and even indirectly created a secret execution ground. Furthermore, Sorokin has no idea that the leverage he has is also effective on me. All it takes is for us to put on a show, and the problem will be solved. This is the reason for our partnership to exist, basically…”

Han Xiao smiled faintly. A Mark of the Underworld on the back of his palm flickered slightly.

“He’s gone.”

Chapter 1243: Holy Accord: We Are Serious About Acting!

Two days later, in the Holy Accord’s fleet, a group of Primordial Ones sat in a circle around Sorokin, playing cards while keeping an eye on Sorokin at all times to make sure he did not do anything.

Sorokin sat on a small chair in the middle and watched them play cards, giving suggestions from time to time, not acting like an outsider at all.

This time, the door opened. Oathkeeper walked in, and the noise in the room suddenly disappeared. Everyone, including Sorokin, looked over.

Oathkeeper looked around, stopped at Sorokin, and said with a deep voice, “I’ve considered it over the past two days. I’ll accept you into the Holy Accord.”

Joy appeared on Sorokin’s face. Just as he was about to speak, Oathkeeper stopped him and added, “But before that, you have to resolve your conflict with Black Star. I don’t want you to bring problems to the organization.”

Hearing this, Sorokin’s expression turned serious. “What ideas do you have?”

Oathkeeper slowly said, “First, we have to test the risk, which is how persistent Black Star is about killing you. Therefore, we’ll use your location as bait and see if Black Star chases after it.”

“How do we do that exactly?”

Oathkeeper opened the star map, pointed at a transit hub planet in the Ancient Star Desert, and said, “We’ll find a way to spread rumors saying you’ve passed by Planet Deere recently, then set up surveillance to see how Black Star reacts to it. If his men come right away to investigate, it means he’s indeed hunting you. If Black Star invades Planet Deere’s node using Virtual Intrusion, our men will discover it too… To show our sincerity in working together, we’ll share the situation reflected by the surveillance with you.”

Sorokin thought about it for a moment and agreed with this plan. Although he did not think Black Star would be hunting him, faking his whereabouts would not threaten his safety, so he had no objections. Instead, he was quite impressed by how cautious Oathkeeper was. It suited his taste.

From his perspective, he could totally just retire and not do anything, but Holy Accord was not going to agree with that. They were worried Black Star might find them just like he did. Therefore, they actively wanted to remove the hidden threat. He could not make the decision for the Holy Accord, so he could only cooperate.

“If Beiger is really hunting him, what do we do?” Beiger added.

“Then, there’ll only be two ways to solve this problem.” Oathkeeper looked at Sorokin, acted like he was troubled, and said, “Either we erase Black Star, or you fake your death to deceive Black Star.”

“That makes sense,” Beiger added. “Black Star will only give up hunting him if he thinks he’s dead. After all, the dead don’t speak. Anyway, Sorokin knows how to fake his death; he can just do it again.”

Sorokin felt this was logical and nodded. However, thinking about it, he said with a reluctant tone, “But that’s too risky. Black Star knows my identity, so he’ll definitely be wary about me faking my death. I’m worried that if he discovers it, I’ll really be dead…”

Oathkeeper shook his head. “Honestly, that’s even more convincing. We have the Sanctums, so if you really die, we can revive you. Not only will the threat be eliminated that way, but you’ll really become one of us.”

Sorokin laughed awkwardly. “I’d rather pass on that. Plus, he has the Spacetime Amber. I’m worried he might seal me up…”

It sounded like a good plan, but how could he trust the Holy Accord? What if they did not revive him after he died?

Oathkeeper frowned and said with a displeased tone, “This plan has the lowest risk and highest success rate. In the end, you say you want to join the Holy Accord, but you don’t see us as being on your side.”

“I’m really very sincere about joining the Holy Accord, but trust needs to be developed over time…”

Sorokin looked troubled but complained inside.

This plan means you guys are only bearing the minimum risk. Basically, you don’t have to do anything at all. The problem will be solved regardless of whether I’m really dead or not…

Conversely, fighting Black Star was very risky for Holy Accord but much less risky for him, so of course, he favored this plan more.

“Humph, so you’re still forcing us to help you to kill Black Star.” Violet Queen snorted.

Sorokin had nothing to say.

“… We’ll talk about it when the time comes. Let’s see if Black Star responds to the fake information first.”

Oathkeeper purposely glanced at Sorokin with dissatisfaction. He did not say much and left.

Not long later, through secret channels, the intelligence that Sorokin passed by Planet Deere got spread out. At the same time, the Holy Accord organization set up many men on Planet Deere for surveillance.

Time passed day by day, and the information got spread further. As they did not know if Black Star had received the news yet, they could only wait and stare at the surveillance screens all day.

As this involved him personally, Sorokin was most concerned about it. He stared at the screens every second.

After almost ten days, the Holy Accord organization finally got the intelligence that one fleet from the Ancient Star Desert subdivision of the Black Star Army had arrived on Planet Deere and was searching for Sorokin’s information on the planet.

…

“The situation is very clear. Black Star is indeed hunting you closely. You’ve brought us risk!”

In the remote surveillance room, Oathkeeper glared at Sorokin, his tone very displeased.

Sorokin did not reply. He looked extremely frustrated, and his heart sank.

He could not oppose this solid proof; he did not expect Black Star to want to kill him so much that he was hunting him secretly.

So, this guy not only wants my money but even my life!

What an evil man!

F*ck, although I tricked you several times in the past, I’ve already paid the price for that! Black Star, why do you want me dead so much‽

This time, Oathkeeper said with a deep voice, “You really are not willing to fake your death to fool Black Star?”

“No.” Sorokin shook his head without hesitation.

Oathkeeper looked distressed. He walked back and forth, annoyed, as if he was hesitating.

After quite some time, he spoke reluctantly like he had finally made a difficult situation.

“Since that’s the case, we can only eliminate Black Star!”

As soon as he said that, the other Primordial Ones were instantly ‘appalled’ and expressed their strong objection.

“We have no conflict with Black Star. Why should we mess with such a strong enemy just for Sorokin?”

“Wouldn’t fighting Black Star also leak our existence?”

“This guy is just threatening us. Don’t fall for it!”

The elevated emotions of everyone startled Sorokin. He did not dare express his opinion.

“Stop!” Oathkeeper argued with them for a bit. He then raised his voice and said firmly, “There’ll be no next time!”

Then, he glared at Sorokin and coldly said, “Are you satisfied now?”

“Nonsense, I’m not the one forcing you guys to deal with Black Star. This is your decision. I’d rather ignore him.” Sorokin sighed and expressed this was not his fault.

He was originally not planning to threaten the Holy Accord organization to fight Black Star because he would offend them that way. However, he was not the one making the choice.

In his position, he could not change their stubborn opinions and convince the Holy Accord to ignore Black Star. It was like someone who owed loan sharks a lot of money and took refuge in someone else’s home, not only causing them trouble, but also attempting to convince them to put up with the loan sharks’ harassment… Even Sorokin felt that was a little bit shameless.

Oathkeeper snorted and said slowly, “All and all, you brought the trouble, so you’ll have to solve it. Since Black Star is hunting you, you’ll be the bait to lure him into the trap.”

“Alone?” Sorokin asked.

“Of course, three of us will accompany you, both to prevent you from escaping and to help you fight Black Star.” Oathkeeper shook his head. “As for the rest of us, we’ll set up an ambush far away and join the battle when the time is right.”

“Will that even work? Black Star has the King suit and is not afraid of being outnumbered,” Beiger added, displaying his expertise as an actor.

“Don’t worry, Black Star will never expect there to be dozens of us, and that’s our biggest advantage! The trap set up by Sorokin will only have four people. It’s only our first measure but will seem like the whole ambush to Black Star. With Black Star’s strength, he’s unlikely to flee against four people and will definitely try to fight. Therefore, the team with Sorokin’s mission will be to stall Black Star.” Oathkeeper’s tone sounded like this was real.

“Then?”

“Try to create an opportunity, of course! The dozens of us will be accumulating energy. As long as you can temporarily control Black Star and make him not have the time to use the King suit, Sorokin, we’ll charge right in with Beiger’s teleportation spell, attacking him all at the same time, while having those who excel in the soul territory try to heavily damage Black Star’s soul!”

Oathkeeper’s tone was very firm and filled with confidence. Even he almost believed it.

Sorokin analyzed the plan and felt that the success rate was much higher than for him to act alone.

He believed that as long as Black Star did not use the Spacetime Amber to guard against the attacks, even he would most likely not be able to endure the focus fire of dozens of Beyond Grade As.

Although Soul Flame was not in his hands, Oathkeeper could use it all the same. Furthermore, there were not just the two of them who excelled in the soul territory in the Holy Accord organization, which made Sorokin feel there was an even higher chance of succeeding.

“This plan should work. The success rate is probably above seventy percent. The entire galactic society practically sees Black Star as a god, but he definitely has limits no matter how strong he is.”

Sorokin was relieved and expressed his support for the plan.

Seeing that the fish had bitten the bit, knowing the ways of fishing very well, Oathkeeper said with a warning tone and a deep voice, “Don’t be glad so soon. You’d best pray this plan succeeds. Otherwise, if Black Star escapes, he’ll definitely leak our information too. Then, your leverage will be meaningless, and I’ll hold you responsible for it. You can make a guess on what we’ll do to you… Therefore, for your own sake too, you’d better give your all in this mission!”

Hearing this, Sorokin’s expression turned serious, and he nodded firmly.

…

Half a month later, in a certain desolate universe belt of the Ancient Star Desert, a small spaceship hovered. There were only four people in the spaceship—Sorokin, Beiger, and two other Beyond Grade As.

Beiger stood with his arms crossed. He glanced at Sorokin who was beside and said with an unsatisfied tone, “Tsk, I never thought I’d have to fight alongside you one day. Unlucky.”

“Tsk, you think I’m happy to see your face?” Sorokin snorted. He did not want to argue with him. He changed the topic and said, “It’s been so long—will Black Star really come?”

“Who knows? We’ve already sent the coordinates out; it all depends on how strong his love for you is,” Beiger joked.

Sorokin was about to strike back when an unwelcome guest entered the range of his senses. His expression changed immediately.

“Someone’s here.”

The other three sensed it too and became silent. They looked in the direction of the presence they felt outside the porthole.

After a while, an asteroid approached extremely quickly. It seemed to have noticed the four of them too. It stopped not far away, and a familiar face appeared.

“It’s Black Star! He’s really here!”

Sorokin’s expression turned grave. He flew out of the cabin and stood opposite Han Xiao. Beiger and the other two followed along.

Han Xiao scanned through the few of them and laughed in the public channel.

“Yoho, I see, you deliberately leaked your coordinates to lure me into a trap, huh? So, the information about your whereabouts some time ago was fake information you made up and spread purposely… Hehe, I don’t know where you got the help from, but Sorokin, oh Sorokin, aren’t you underestimating me too much, daring to attack me with just four people?”

“Black Star, I didn’t expect you to be so persistent in chasing me. You’re too much! Don’t blame me. You left me no choice!”

This was what Sorokin was most irritated by. From the way he looked at it, he was the one who incurred much larger losses, yet Black Star hunted him nonstop. It was too excessive.

“Sorry, I’m not a forgiving person. You’ve plotted against me one too many times. There’ll be quite a number of problems with letting you escape. Therefore, it’s better for you to live inside my Spacetime Amber suite, safe and sound.”

While speaking in the public channel, Han Xiao glanced at Beiger and the other two with mockery in his eyes.

There were only five people there and supposedly two sides, but there were three group chats. One was the public channel, and another was the temporary combat group chat Sorokin, Beiger, and the other two were in.

The third was the ‘actor’ group chat that Han Xiao, Beiger, the other two Beyond Grade As, and all the Holy Accord members ambushing far away were in. Basically, everyone except Sorokin.

“Do it!”

Sorokin did not want to bullsh*t with Han Xiao and attacked right away while also telling Beiger and the other two to attack together.

Seeing how much of a hurry Sorokin was in, everyone was laughing out loud nonstop in the actor group.

“He’s getting impatient…”

“Hahaha, why do I suddenly feel pitiful for him?”

“It’s so tragic. I can hardly watch.”

“You’d better take a few more looks. I’m afraid we’ll never see him again…”

The people joked around. The actor group chat was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

“Stop it. We’re in the middle of a performance. Be serious about it,” Han Xiao said while laughing. He summoned his mechanical army and charged into Sorokin’s attacks.

Beiger and the other two hastily joined the battle. They did their best not to burst into laughter and fought alongside Sorokin as if they were really on his side.

The battle broke up instantly. The energy left by the five of them left scorch marks in space.

The opportunity only existed for the blink of an eye. If they could not annihilate Sorokin instantly, this guy would still have time to leak the information. Now was not the time yet, so the Holy Accord was still performing for Sorokin.

Sorokin thought victory was in his hands and focused entirely on fighting Han Xiao. However, what he did not know was that the teammates he had high hopes in were all actors ready to backstab him any second.

Chapter 1244: Suppressed

The mechanical army circled around like crows, releasing streams of energy, wrecking the battlefield. Han Xiao himself changed into one of the Black King series gears and fought intensely with four opponents.

The battle looked ferocious, but Sorokin was actually the only one fighting for real. His three teammates only used about sixty percent of their strength, and Han Xiao was slowly accumulating bonuses.

Beiger could clearly feel that the attacks of Han Xiao’s army were several levels weaker than the last time and not as pressurizing as before. He instantly understood that Han Xiao was also holding back.

Han Xiao’s strength had rocketed recently. In order to let Sorokin still have hope, he deliberately decreased the damage output of the army to only slightly stronger than the last time he showed his strength in public, creating a situation where both sides were on par.

He was not worried about Sorokin finding out—the two of them had never fought before, so Sorokin’s judgement of his strength all came from the information on the internet. Since he had never experienced it for himself, he did not have a clear understanding of how strong Han Xiao was. Han Xiao just had to display about the same amount of strength as the information available to the public said he had, and Sorokin would think it was his actual strength.

Sorokin was indeed quite strong. His soul Esper Ability was very tough to deal with, applying all kinds of debuffs on Han Xiao. Han Xiao did not activate [Kunde Rage] and [Thousand Soul Stream] for the time being, so it was not a breeze for him either. Putting other things aside, Han Xiao estimated that this guy’s Energy Rank was above 90,000, undoubtedly in the top tier of the universe.

Sadly, this guy is fragile.

Han Xiao curled his lips in his mind. No matter how incredible the fragile individuals were in terms of combat, they had limits—only tanks had an infinite future.

Sorokin’s body was weaker than the average of those around the same Energy Rank as him, but destroying his physical body would not kill him. With [Immortal Soul], [Spiritual Energy Foundation], and other talents, Sorokin’s soul was the foundation of his life. His soul could live without a physical body.

Furthermore, Sorokin had the [Fleshly Body Reconstruction] ability. He did not have to infest or take over another’s body like Psychics; he could build a new shell for himself with his soul energy any time. To him, physical bodies were just replaceable vessels for his soul; his soul was his original body.

Through the introduction of [Immortal Soul] on the interface, Han Xiao knew that Sorokin was immune to physical attacks when in the soul state, while also having very high resistances, it was very difficult to deal with. Destroying his physical body would only lead to Sorokin entering his ‘second phase’.

For that, the trump card he had prepared was the Mark of The Underworld. The Underworld at its peak had a special restraining effect on all souls; it was the arch enemy of souls.

Han Xiao’ goal was to find an opportunity to destroy Sorokin’s physical body in the blink of an eye, force his soul to be isolated, drag his soul right into the Underworld, and have the experts inside send him up happily.

Meanwhile, Sorokin was also making plans in his mind.

Black Star’s strength is about the same as what I predicted. He’s indeed strong but not as exaggerated as the rumors say. With this level of strength he has, the success rate of this ambush is higher than planned.

Sorokin felt confident.

Remaining in the passive situation was very disadvantageous for him. Although he had found the Holy Accord’s weak spot, his safety was still in their hands. This leverage would only be much more useful once he escaped the Holy Accord’s control, or it would only keep him alive and nothing else… The Holy Accord organization indeed did not want to be exposed, but even if they were exposed, they would only get in trouble while he would almost certainly be dead. The scale was unbalanced, so there was not much room for negotiation.

He felt an opportunity to escape might appear the moment the ambush succeeded. However, as a soul Esper, his mobility was awful, and his odds of escaping were too low.

I shall follow the plan and find a chance to capture Black Star first, then improvise from there.

Sorokin focused his thoughts, pressed between his eyes, and sent another few hundred soul energy attacks right toward Han Xiao.

The five of them were all waiting for a chance.

The battle went back and forth for quite some time when, suddenly, Han Xiao’s movements became stiff as if he had endured too many soul energy attacks.

“Now!”

Before Sorokin spoke, Beiger suddenly yelled in the group chat and took over the heavy responsibility of setting the tempo.

Intense magic energy erupted from all over his body. Control type spells he had been preparing all this time flew out rapidly and all landed on Han Xiao.

The other Beyond Grade As followed instantly and threw out all their control type abilities together.

Ohm!

Energy of all colors and forms tangled around him, seemingly fixing him in midair, unable to move.

Seeing the opportunity, Sorokin followed up right away. With his eyes wide open, energy shockwaves that almost materialized were launched rapidly one after another, penetrating Han Xiao’s body, instantly applying all kinds of debuffs on him.

The next moment, Beiger raised his hand. A teleportation circle appeared on the battlefield, and dozens of Beyond Grade As swarmed out instantly, all holding onto charged attacks prepared long ago, ready to launch them at Han Xiao.

However, at this time, Han Xiao’s body shook. He seemingly used some kind of ability to escape from all the control abilities.

He actually did not do anything; Beiger and the other two secretly deactivated their abilities.

As for Sorokin’s abilities, he gained immunity to the tons of debuffs by activating [Kunde Rage] in advance and was not affected at all.

Even the opportunity was sold by Han Xiao; Beiger only cooperated following the script discussed in the actors group chat and made Sorokin mistakenly think the opportunity had come when it was actually Han Xiao’s signal.

The sudden change happened in a fraction of a second. Before Sorokin could react, Han Xiao immediately used Void Hyperdrive after he was freed and appeared right before Sorokin. He then pressed Sorokin into his wide arms.

“You…”

Shock appeared on Sorokin’s face. It was as if a huge red “DANGER” appeared above his head.

Before he finished his sentence, the dozens of Beyond Grade As attacked the two of them instantly!

The mechanical army also turned to fire at the two of them, this time, at full output!

Han Xiao activated all his explosive abilities directly followed by Virtual Soul to restrain Sorokin. The two of them stood still and watched countless attacks approaching rapidly.

The next second, the two of them were submerged by a blinding light.

Hong!

The attacks turned into a cluster of rapidly expanding energy, sweeping in all directions. The horrifying energy almost robbed the senses of everyone present, and all they could see was white.

Hu!

The cluster of light expanded to the maximum and exploded abruptly. The energy shockwave erupted from the center and blew away everything around.

The light dissipated quickly. Han Xiao was the only one left, covered in wounds that were gushing blood nonstop like a water bag with dozens of holes. He was clearly severely injured.

The attacks of dozens of Beyond Grade As’ trump cards and the mechanical army dealt the most terrifying amount of damage to Han Xiao he had ever experienced. The [Perfect Energy Affinity Physique] and [Proof of Leadership] were the reasons he survived. Plus, Han Xiao wore the ‘Defense Gear’ of the Black King series. Though already completely shattered, it still blocked tons of damage. Otherwise, he might have had to use the revive token.

As for Sorokin, his physical body had been blown to atoms in the explosion.

Someone else would have completely died in this situation, but for Sorokin, this was only him entering his second phase!

Streams of light suddenly illuminated in front of Han Xiao, forming a glowing green energy entity with Sorokin’s appearance.

At the same time, a mind message sounded in Han Xiao’s mind.

“The attack worked… Looks like your Indestructible Body isn’t really eternally indestructible.”

Sorokin was secretly glad.

Luckily, the foundation of his survival was not his physical body. When his soul separated from his body, there was a moment his soul was in the phased invincible state, or that round of attacks would also have heavily damaged him. As for now, his soul was at the peak state.

One more round and Black Star will definitely be dead!

Without hesitation, Sorokin launched a chain of soul shockwaves onto Han Xiao, attempting to stop Han Xiao from escaping with the King.

Then, he backed away immediately through Han Xiao’s arms, planning to increase the distance between the two of them. At the same time, he yelled in the mission channel for others to use this opportunity to launch another round of attacks.

However, as Sorokin was about to back off, Han Xiao raised and shoved his hand into Sorokin’s soul. The Mark of The Underworld on the back of his palm instantly lit up, and an astonishingly strong absorption force erupted from it.

“What is this‽”

Sorokin was stunned. This mark felt like a vortex. His soul suddenly went out of his control. Before he could do anything, an irresistible force dragged him inside.

“I got him!” Han Xiao spit out a mouth of boiling blood and grinned.

These changes seemed like they had taken a very long time to occur, when actually it all happened in an extremely short amount of time. If not because all of the Holy Accord cooperated and held back, he would not have been able to defeat Sorokin so easily.

However, only half of the plan succeeded. The problem was not yet completely solved.

“Follow me!”

Han Xiao put on the King while at the same time throwing out a few extras at Oathkeeper and a few other Beyond Grade As who were experts in the soul territory.

The mechanical suit latched onto them automatically. The next moment, Han Xiao shot out a few streams of Mechanical Force and activated the Kings on all of them.

With a flash of light, they disappeared.

…

Plop!

Sorokin felt the world was spinning. He fell onto a black stone ground.

At this time, the unknown energy that pulled his soul only finally faded. Sorokin flew up immediately and observed his surroundings cautiously. He had no idea where Black Star had sent him.

His eyes scanned through the boisterous land. An odd sense of familiarity surfaced in his mind.

Suddenly, Sorokin suddenly remembered something. His soul trembled, and his expression changed drastically.

“Is this the… Underworld‽”

As a Primordial One from the exploration era, he had also heard of the two sisters and was no stranger to the existence of the Underworld.

The only thing left in Sorokin’s heart was disbelief.

Aren’t the two sisters dead? How does the Underworld still exist‽

Why did Black Star send me here‽

While he was being appalled, Onicelu appeared before him out of thin air and gave him an odd smile that made him feel threatened.

“Sh*t!”

Sorokin had no time to think carefully. He hastily rushed up the sky hoping to flee from the Underworld.

If this was another secondary dimension, he would not have been so afraid. However, all Primordial Ones knew that all independent souls were severely countered by the Underworld.

The Underworld was the nemesis of all souls! A forbidden ground feared by all soul life forms!

Onicelu remained in the same place and did not chase after Sorokin, all she did was extend her arm, aimed at Sorokin who was getting further away and tightened her fist.

Buzz!

The Underworld moved according to her will. A mysterious force suddenly appeared, pressing all Hero Spirits in the Underworld onto the ground.

Underworld—Soul Restrain!

The Underworld had recovered to its peak. Onicelu was a professional at dealing with souls!

Even though Sorokin’s soul was extremely unique and had Beyond Grade A combat capability, his flight speed still decreased by ninety percent, and his altitude continued to decrease.

With the same smile on her face, Onicelu performed a ‘pull’ gesture.

Underworld—Soul Arrest!

Thick Underworld energy flowed out from the black ground, turning into countless tentacles that shot up the sky and ensnared Sorokin, trying to pull him down.

Although souls could penetrate all kinds of physical objects, they could not penetrate the energy of the Underworld and would instead be stuck. Sorokin used all his strength to try to escape from the tentacles but could only just keep himself from being dragged down further.

Hu!

At this time, a red tornado rose on the horizon, and Hila appeared. She had been waiting there since long ago.

“It’s you!”

Sorokin was astonished. His soul was not immune to soul attacks; Hila happened to counter him.

“Go down!”

Hila waved her hand. Death energy gushed out like a raging river and brushed Sorokin’s soul down.

Sorokin fell onto the black ground. Onicelu moved her index finger, and chains formed by Underworld energy extended from the underground. They penetrated Sorokin’s soul and locked him down in multiple layers.

While Sorokin was clenching his teeth and trying to escape, a group of people suddenly appeared before him. It was Han Xiao, Oathkeeper, and the others who arrived by the Kings’ teleportation. They all took off the mechanical suits.

Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled. “Looks like you had a fun time with my friends.”

Seeing Oathkeeper and Han Xiao appearing together, Sorokin was completely dumbfounded.

At this moment, he understood everything.

“You guys are on the same side‽”

Sorokin was filled with rage and shock. Without hesitation, he immediately tried to contact his manifestation and expose all their secrets.

However, he was dumbfounded once again the next second.

His connections with his manifestations were all cut off!

“Why do you think I spent so much effort to get you in here? In here, unless approved by the Underworld’s consciousness, no one can send soul signals to the outside world. Oathkeeper could not block your ability with absolute certainty, but the Underworld can.”

Han Xiao lightly stepped on the black stone ground under his feet.

“After all… the initial function of the Underworld was a prison!”

Chapter 1245: Welcome to the Underworld

Oathkeeper looked around and said with a surprised tone, “I didn’t expect the trump card you mentioned to be the Underworld. I thought they perished along with the two sisters.”

When the actor chat group was discussing the plan, Han Xiao had said he had a trump card that could disable Sorokin’s ability, and he just needed an opportunity. He did not say what the trump card exactly was. Since the others had the same goal as him, and Black Star was usually quite reliable, Oathkeeper trusted him.

Only now did the Holy Accord members present discover that the trump card Han Xiao spoke of was the Underworld, which they were familiar with.

“Did the two sisters revive too?” Beiger asked with shock.

“Nope, the Underworld has a new master now.”

Han Xiao shook his head, told Hila to land beside him, and patted her shoulder. He did not share the detailed information about the two sisters’ inheritance.

At this time, the seven Hero Spirit Kings suddenly appeared around Sorokin and sized up the Holy Accord members present with shock and disbelief.

“You guys are still alive‽”

“What, you guys too‽”

The few Holy Accord members and the seven Hero Spirit Kings looked at each other with dismay.

Both sides were Primordial Ones who chose different paths of reviving. Both achieved that goal at this point. Meeting each other in the modern age after countless years, they felt complicated and surprised.

However, comparatively, the seven Hero Spirit Kings felt somewhat regretful.

They thought the Holy Accord was nonsense and the path they chose was the only right one. They never expected the Holy Accord to really succeed…

I should’ve joined the Holy Accord back then!

Looking at this, Sorokin was already completely dumbfounded.

The existence of the Holy Accord was already unbelievable enough. He never would have thought the Underworld still existed too. So many Primordial Ones lived till now, and he was not the only one at all.

Sorokin suddenly felt that his sense of superiority all these years was nothing but a joke.

This time, Han Xiao squatted, leveled with Sorokin’s eyes, and said slowly, “I’m someone who always prefers to give others a chance to make a choice. There are two paths in front of you now. One, get wiped out by us, and you will then become fertilizer for Hila. Two, become an Underworld Hero Spirit and be controlled by the Underworld. Which do you choose?”

Sorokin was a top-level combatant. The external enemies of the explored universe had yet to be dealt with, so Han Xiao preferred not to eliminate him.

In fact, if not because Sorokin accidentally found out the Holy Accord’s secret, Han Xiao would not even have targeted him. He was only displeased about how many times Sorokin plotted against him in the past and felt this guy was too much of an *sshole, but he did not see him as someone he had to kill.

Now that Sorokin was completely in his hands, Han Xiao almost wanted to say some classic villain lines… Go on and scream, no one will come!

Sorokin looked around at everyone and said with indignation, “What… are you guys planning‽”

It was horrifying to find out that Black Star was both related to the Holy Accord and the Underworld. In fact, it was unfathomable. He felt Han Xiao was certainly planning something big secretly, and he could almost smell the stink of conspiracy.

Are these people trying to overthrow the universe‽

Also, since Black Star is together with these guys, is he also one of the Primordial Ones who lived till now‽

Having discovered these secrets and linking them with Black Star’s history, Sorokin could not help but to fantasize in this direction.

“You think I’d tell you now?”

Han Xiao chuckled.

Telling the enemy all my plans when the mission is about to succeed is a huge no-no for villains. I’m not going to fall for it.

This time, the seven Hero Spirit Kings had heard about Sorokin’s real identity from Oathkeeper. The head of the Hero Spirit Kings, Rega, walked over, patted Sorokin’s shoulder, and comforted him. “Stop hesitating. When you join the Underworld, you’ll realize that it’s nice to be a Hero Spirit.”

“Rega, you got domesticated too?” Sorokin said sarcastically. They were all from the same generation, so of course, he knew the seven Hero Spirit Kings.

Rega was not offended. He smiled and said, “Don’t make it sound so bad. As long as the Underworld still exists, Hero Spirits will never die. You’ve borderline survived in the main universe for so long, I’m sure you’re not willing to die. What’s so bad about being happy with us? You’ll never have to worry about being killed, think about it.”

The other Hero Spirit Kings also started to enthusiastically promote the advantages of becoming a Hero Spirit King. It was like a company’s interviewer promoting the company’s benefits during an interview.

It was not that they actually cared about Soul Emperor’s life, but living in the Underworld while not being able to go out was quite dull. The seven Hero Spirit Kings already knew everything there was to know about each other, the freshness was long gone. Now that a possible new member was finally here, they did not want to let him get away.

Even the Holy Accord members on the side nodded in agreement.

The history of the exploration era already proved that as long as the Underworld was fine, the Hero Spirits could do whatever dangerous things they wanted to. Honestly, they were quite jealous too.

Since Oathkeeper had hidden some of the Sanctums’ information due to certain reasons, the current Holy Accord members all thought that they could only be revived once. Seeing the Underworld, they also started to have some ideas.

They originally thought they could only revive once, but with the Underworld, would that not mean they could keep living?

Although they would have to become someone else’s subordinate… as long as they could live, what was so bad about becoming dogs!

“Black Star is closely related to the Underworld. I have to maintain a good relationship with him…” Beiger mumbled softly, saying what everyone was thinking.

Han Xiao heard his whisper and laughed in his mind.

This was part of the reason he had brought them to the Underworld. Using the fact that the Holy Accord members did not know the truth about the Sanctums, he increased the importance of the Underworld in the ears of the revived Primordial Ones so that his plan in the future would be easier to execute.

Even those Holy Accord members with other goals could not ignore his existence for the sake of having a backup plan, which meant he could influence these people and prevent them from doing things too out of the line to a certain extent.

Seeing Sorokin was shaken, Han Xiao said, “You already love to cower. Now you’re just cowering somewhere else. Plus, you won’t have to worry about your safety. What’s there to hesitate about?”

Sorokin stayed silent for a while. He sighed with frustration and resignation. “… I admit I’m done for. I’m willing to join the Underworld.”

He always believed in living as a coward was better than dying a hero, so he had no choice but to say goodbye to freedom and choose to live with regrets.

Han Xiao looked like he expected and gave Onicelu a look.

Onicelu raised her hand. Clusters of Underworld energy flowed out from the ground and hovered beside Sorokin. She then smiled and said, “Lower your guard and accept the transformation. It might hurt a little, but don’t resist no matter what, alright?”

Swoosh!

Before Sorokin responded, the Underworld energy rushed into his soul the next moment.

The color of Sorokin’s soul was gradually painted with the Underworld energy’s color as he transformed into a Hero Spirit.

Sorokin felt like burning iron bars penetrated his soul. His soul was scorching from inside out as if it was going to be burnt to ashes any second.

Seeing this, the seven Hero Spirit Kings were so overjoyed they wanted to beat the drums on the side to welcome another unlucky fellow joining them.

The Hero Spirit transformation lasted for quite some time before finishing.

The chains formed by Underworld energy disappeared. Without them, Sorokin slowly stood up, looked down at his soul that had now turned into an Underworld Hero Spirit, and felt his connection with the Underworld. He was filled with complicated emotions.

After so many years of cowering, to think he became an Underworld Hero Spirit he once despised; fate was really full of surprises…

The seven Hero Spirit Kings surrounded him and smiled passionately.

“From now on, you’re the eighth Hero Spirit King. Welcome to the Underworld!”

“Hehe…”

Sorokin could not laugh at all. His lips were twitching.

Onicelu suddenly turned to look at Han Xiao and said, “He’s not like the other Hero Spirit Kings. Although he’s transformed, he still kept his original strength.”

Han Xiao expected this. He asked, “He’s special, can you restrain him?”

“That’s not a problem. After being transformed into a Hero Spirit, he’s already connected to the Underworld and is under my control.” Onicelu nodded.

“That’s good.” Han Xiao nodded.

Normal Hero Spirits had no combat capability. They could only regain their strength with the help of life energy. However, Sorokin had [Immortal Soul] and [Spiritual Energy Foundation], so he maintained the strength of a Beyond Grade A even as a Hero Spirit. This was his uniqueness.

However, after the developments made by the two sisters, the Underworld was already a treasure close to the Space Wonder level. Its operating mechanisms were impeccable, so restraining Sorokin when it was at its peak state was not a problem.

Seeing that Sorokin’s face was filled with regret, Han Xiao smiled and said, “Stop being so down. One day in the future, you might be glad you joined the Underworld.”

“I don’t think that day will ever come.” Sorokin was filled with sadness.

“Hehe, we’ll see.”

Han Xiao smiled and shook his head.

With the increase of his strength, position, and connections, the enemies he once felt were tough to deal with were no longer so tough. Having gotten rid of another hidden threat, he was quite satisfied.

Sorokin’s value was not just his strength; the resources and information this guy had was also very valuable.

Having thought of that, Han Xiao turned to Hila and said, “Go talk to Sorokin and have him share the information he knows.”

Hila nodded and pulled Sorokin aside to question him. As the current master of the Underworld, she was perfect for this task.

Seeing that Sorokin had been dealt with, the Holy Accord members present were all relieved. They went to chat with the seven Hero Spirit Kings about the old times.

On the other hand, Han Xiao and Oathkeeper walked to the side on their own and talked about something else.

“How’s the collection of the Third Sanctum keys?”

“Still working hard on it. With the experience from the last time and the channels you provided, it should be much quicker this time,” Oathkeeper replied.

“Do it fast. I have a feeling that the peaceful times won’t last too long,” Han Xiao whispered.

He still had missions related to the Sanctums that were not yet complete. Even not for the missions, since the Sanctums were the future of the Beyond Grade As, he had to go in and take a look.

Oathkeeper nodded. He suddenly changed the topic and asked, “Although I’m not in the Beyond Grade A Association, won’t Sorokin suddenly going missing cause problems?”

Han Xiao glanced at him and said with a deep voice, “Yes, Gaud went missing a few years ago and now Sorokin too. It’s easy for people to link these two events… However, the difference is, no one will step up for Sorokin, so the problem won’t be too big, and the impact won’t be too strong. It’ll mainly cause doubts among the association itself and investigations.”

“It won’t affect you, will it?”

“Not much if it’s dealt with properly. The dynasty has been secretly investigating Sorokin recently. I can find a way to make Sorokin look responsible for what happened to Gaud, then fake the reason he went missing, saying he fled due to fear of having what he did discover. Thus, creating a motive for him and closing the case… As for the future, there’s no need to worry if others discover Sorokin is here. His Esper Ability allows him to change his soul frequency, which will solve most problems.”

Han Xiao was prepared for this.

Sorokin was now tied up to the fate of the Underworld. Although he had no freedom, it was not all bad. Han Xiao was someone who knew Sorokin’s personality well. This guy’s biggest trait was that he knew his situation well. He would basically never do something that would damage both parties, so there was no need to worry about him not cooperating.

Oathkeeper agreed. “As long as you have a plan. You’re an expert at these shady things.”

“Sarcasm, huh? Don’t copy my words.” Han Xiao glanced at him.

The two of them did not chat for long. The other Holy Accord members were still waiting in the main universe. Han Xiao used another King suit to send Oathkeeper back to explain what had happened to prevent them from worrying.

After sending the outsiders away, Han Xiao went to where Hila and Sorokin were. The two of them sat opposite each other. One asked, and the other answered; the atmosphere was peaceful.

Although Sorokin had regrets, what was done was done. He had no choice but to let go of his pride. He was quite cooperative.

Han Xiao walked beside Hila and asked, “How’s it going?”

Hila looked up at him and had a playful expression.

“You came at the right time. He seems to have just said something huge…”

Chapter 1246: Confession and Doubts

“You played a part in making the Tragedy Of The Pinnacles happen?”

After hearing the interrogation results, Han Xiao could not help but size Sorokin up with surprise.

“I’ve changed many identities and have always been trying to reduce the number of Beyond Grade As in the universe. But as you can see, the Holy Accord and the Underworld found ways to revive them, so that’s a dead end.”

Sorokin was hopeless.

After entering the Underworld, there were no secrets that he could keep anymore. Plus, Hila could control him anytime.

Reducing the number of Beyond Grade As was his old goal. However, as he found out about the Holy Accord and the Underworld, he immediately knew that there was no way this plan would ever work. He was forced to change his mindset.

Sorokin shared all the other identities he had once used and confessed the fact he secretly assisted in making the Tragedy of the Pinnacles happen. He knew his situation very well; no matter how unwilling he was inside, he knew that this past of his had the potential to become a ticking time bomb in the future, so he actively brought it up.

If he kept it hidden, although he might have a chance to mess with Han Xiao, if the Underworld was damaged because of it, he would be affected too. As the saying went, if he could not resist, he might as well enjoy it. At least the Underworld Hero Spirits had almost infinite life. Although it was not what he really wanted, it was not too bad either. He had no choice but to protect this only remaining privilege he had.

After hearing the various identities Sorokin shared, Han Xiao tutted and said, “So, they were all you. You really love causing chaos.”

Initially, he had been thinking about how to frame Sorokin for what happened to Gaud, but now it seemed easy. Sorokin had so many identities in the past and a history of guiding the Tragedy of the Pinnacles. There was his motive!

As for clues and evidence, with Sorokin right there, he was not worried about not finding them.

Han Xiao put this thought behind him for the time being and said, “Let’s put this aside first. Tell me the resources you have, such as secret warehouses, internal intelligence of the Limitless Financial Group, business secrets… Be honest. If you cooperate, I might consider leaving you some.”

Sorokin knew that Han Xiao had his eyes on his assets and wanted to get all the benefits he could get from him. He was unwilling in his heart, but Hila was right beside them, and he had no choice but to truthfully share everything.

Han Xiao noted them down and could not help but be impressed.

“Not bad, not bad. You’ve accumulated quite a lot of good things. Other than technology, blueprints, and knowledge, you even secretly collected eight Universal Treasures…”

If not because I have Jayz’s treasure trove, my inventory would also be about this much.

Being rich is really nice!

As for the Limitless Financial Group, it was a huge cake. Although Han Xiao wanted to eat it all, he had to control his appetite, or it would cause suspicion.

After Sorokin ‘escaped due to fear of having what he did to Gaud discovered’, the Limitless Financial Group would definitely be severely impacted and dissected by tons of organizations. Han Xiao did not plan to enter the scene in advance. He planned to have the Germinal Financial Group act together with the other organizations after Sorokin was discovered to have gone missing. Making sure he could get a piece of the cake was enough; being too greedy was not a wise idea.

However, as for the ‘backup plans’ Sorokin secretly prepared by using the Limitless Financial Group’s funds, he could take all of them.

After Sorokin was done, Han Xiao put away the notebook with satisfaction and grinned.

“Alright, what needs to be said has been said. Spend some time getting used to staying here… Hila, take care of this guy. I’ll be going back.”

Hila nodded with a poker face. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.”

She emphasized the words ‘take care’. Han Xiao instantly remembered how much of a battle maniac Hila was and could not help but secretly pity Sorokin.

He did not have the time to spar with Hila, while as the only Hero Spirit who had Beyond Grade A strength in the Underworld, Sorokin was clearly the perfect opponent. Since he could not be killed, she could kill him again and again!

Han Xiao gave Sorokin a weird glance, shook his head, and disappeared in his King suit.

Seeing this, Sorokin sighed. He felt that life was so magical. All he could do now was adapt to the new life.

This time, the seven Hero Spirit Kings approached him, smiling.

“Eighth, let’s chat. How about you start by telling us what big things happened in the universe in these years? We’re so curious.”

Sorokin’s face turned black.

“Who’s Eighth? Don’t disturb me. Scram!”

…

Days passed one after another. Not long after Sorokin went missing, the galactic society finally noticed that the head of the Limitless Financial Group had not appeared in quite some time.

Although very few people could see Sorokin to begin with, he was the head of a top consortium in the universe and was quite famous. Sooner or later, people were bound to notice.

Without the orders from their leader, the Limitless Financial Group was becoming quite chaotic.

While the entire galactic society was wondering, the Crimson Dynasty suddenly announced a wanted order. The target was indeed Sorokin!

The dynasty claimed that they had made a breakthrough in their investigation. They disclosed Sorokin’s real identity and his many identities, listed the many crimes he had committed—including guiding the Tragedy of the Pinnacles—and even claimed that Sorokin was deeply connected with Gaud going missing. They stated that Sorokin was missing because he had fled, so they announced a wanted order to find him.

Ever since Han Xiao hinted Sorokin’s identity to the dynasty upper echelons, the dynasty had been secretly investigating Sorokin in every way possible. Using this opportunity, Han Xiao left some related evidence provided by Sorokin. He did not do anything personally but instead secretly guided the dynasty to discover the evidence in the process of the investigation, exposing what Sorokin had done.

As soon as the news was announced, the entire galactic society was in an uproar. Countless galactic residents and organizations were shocked by this news!

All along, Sorokin’s image in everyone’s eyes was a wildly successful businessman, the owner of a universal consortium, and a Beyond Grade A who did not like violence. His business talent overshadowed his Beyond Grade A identity in the eyes of the galactic society. No one had ever thought Sorokin had such a big secret, that a universally renowned businessman was the secret mastermind of so many incidents!

For some time, the popularity of topics surrounding Sorokin shot through the sky. His history was too legendary. Almost everyone uncontrollably made wild assumptions and speculations; conspiracies became popular.

As this went on, the galactic society gradually began to look at it as a form of entertainment. More and more people started to make fun of Sorokin.

In the words of the galactic residents, Sorokin seemed to have become the biggest conspiracist ever in history, and everything became related to him. Even the pig next door giving birth to seven babies was part of his secret big plan.

A new meme was born on the internet—no matter what matter they were talking about, it would all end with ‘this is all part of Sorokin’s conspiracy!’

While the public was having fun, the Limitless Financial Group was filled with tragedy and worry.

As the consortium’s head had run away with the money, the dynasty’s strategies came right after. The negative impact of the news caused the consortium to not be trusted. Tons of creditors came to collect their debts, the stock market price plummeted, all their business partners and galactic banks stopped granting loans, and the capital flow gradually started to show signs of breaking apart. It was doomed.

Sensing the difficult situation the Limitless Financial Group was in, the hunters everywhere sharpened their knives and started moving, biting off the Limitless Financial Group’s enormous business empire bit by bit.

Tons of organizations came to enjoy this festival, countless talents of the Limitless Financial Group left one after another, and numerous businesses were taken over; its size shrank rapidly. The product of Sorokin’s blood and sweat over many years fell like dominos.

Approved by Han Xiao, the Germinal Financial Group also took part and shared the cake as a shareholder. Old Manison, Kasuyi, and the other shareholders also feasted on the remains of the Limitless Financial Group.

Sorokin was a member of the Beyond Grade A Association, after all, so the association had to host a meeting for this matter and discuss how to deal with it.

…

A meeting was going on in the round table conference room on Planet Finn.

“It’s hard to imagine that Sorokin, who always pretended to be weak, was hiding such a big secret… He’s a Primordial Ones who lived all the way till now. Who knows how strong he really is? We never saw it coming,” Kasuyi said with disbelief.

“He’s indeed very well hidden. I always thought he’s really weak, even laughed at him. He probably thinks I’m just a joke.” Sun Hunter scratched his head.

“Actually, I’m a little doubtful. Would Sorokin really do this? Could someone have framed him? After all, some people have a history of that…” A neutral Beyond Grade A peaked at the dynasty’s direct members. It was easy to read between the lines of what he said.

“We have solid evidence,” Clotti replied calmly and was not angry about it.

They discussed the matter for quite a while when Han Xiao suddenly coughed, expressing that he had something to say. Everyone immediately became quiet.

Seeing this, Han Xiao slowly said, “Sorokin’s conspiracy is already proven to be true. He once guided the Tragedy of the Pinnacles, so attacking Gaud might be his attempt to do the same again. No matter what, despite being an upper echelon of the association, he’s not only not on our side but even wants to split the Beyond Grade As. He broke the principles of the association, causing extremely negative influences… I suggest canceling his membership as punishment. Let’s vote on it.”

Hearing this, the others exchanged looks. After quite some time, someone finally raised their hand.

“Seconded!”

“Agreed!”

Beyond Grade As voted one after another. The people who agreed with it quickly became the majority. Manison was the only one who had yet to make a stand.

“Old man, what do you say?” Han Xiao raised his brow.

Manison glanced at him and said with a poker face, “I concur. From today onward, Sorokin’s membership will be cancelled. He’s no longer a member of the Beyond Grade A Development Union.”

…

On the Crimson Dynasty mother planet…

“I see, the Beyond Grade A Association cancelled Sorokin’s membership… They’re wise.”

Marbruce finished reading the report and nodded slightly. He did not react to it much, as if he had expected this.

Opposite him was Bekorodi. They were the only two people in the room.

Bekorodi said softly, “Do you really believe that Gaud was attacked by Sorokin?”

“No,” Marbruce replied without hesitation.

“Then, why did you…”

Marbruce knocked on the table and slowly said, “The evidence came too easily. Think about this. If you were Sorokin, would you have left so much information behind? This evidence is very odd. Although it’s not fake, someone secretly guided us to find it. It might be an attempt to use a real lie to hide the real culprit.”

“But Sorokin is indeed missing. If it is really as you say, maybe the person who made Sorokin disappear is the same culprit who attacked Gaud?”

“Hmm, it’s very possible.” Marbruce pondered. “Don’t you think all of this is too coincidental? It’s like an invisible hand is controlling everything. Do you… really think Black Star did it?

“I can’t say easily.” Bekorodi hesitated. “Logically, Gaud only tried to copy the Evolution Energy, and there’s no need for Black Star to make such a big deal out of it. He has no reason to…”

“Maybe there are some things we still don’t know about.” Marbruce’s eyes flickered. “I have a feeling that there might be a powerful force hidden in the universe we have yet to discover…”

“What do you mean?”

“Hehe, that’s confidential.”

Marbruce smiled and shook his head. He recalled a certain piece of information he only found after becoming the ruler that had the highest confidentiality level.

As a Primordial One, the Soul Emperor somehow lived till now. Is he really the only one?

Chapter 1247: Consumed

Sorokin going missing and the Limitless Financial Group’s collapse caused a certain impact on the economy of the galactic society. However, one company falling meant many others would take over. Many organizations absorbed the nutrition of the Limitless Financial Group and completed the handover, making up for the shortage caused by the Limitless Financial Group’s collapse, continuing to provide the services to the galactic society.

In this battle of sharing the cake, relying on Black Star’s identity as a shareholder and the army’s military power advantage, the Germinal Financial Group inherited many ace businesses and tons of talents of the Limitless Financial Group. Its scale expanded instantly, and its stock price skyrocketed.

After this incident, although the Limitless Financial Group secured the last bit of their business and survived, it was severely damaged. Only a part of Sorokin’s elite offspring remained to protect their family business.

However, even though the Limitless Financial Group was already severely damaged, it only fell from the position of top consortium and was still a big consortium in the Star Field, clearly proving how many assets Sorokin had worked hard to accumulate. In terms of making money legally, there was probably really no one among Beyond Grade As who could match him.

If not because it was not convenient to let Sorokin appear in front of the public, Han Xiao almost wanted to make him in charge of the commercial area of the army. Han Xiao had already confirmed that making money was really one of the few hobbies of Sorokin.

In Sorokin’s own words, the increase of the money he had was visible and much easier than the increase of strength. He loved this kind of snowballing mechanism; the increase of his assets made him happy.

However, Han Xiao also did not plan to let Sorokin do nothing. He decided to have Sorokin take care of some business affairs behind the curtains.

This guy loved to make money, so letting him enjoy his hobby was also a form of entertainment for him. He could also give him some dividends… He had no place to spend it anyway.

The way Han Xiao looked at it, the Limitless Financial Group’s players were the unluckiest. When they returned in the next version, their reaction would probably all be the same…

Where’s my faction? It’s such a big faction. What happened‽

Just thinking about it, Han Xiao felt pitiful.

Looks like I’ll have to take these homeless leeks into my warm arms and show them that love really exists in the world.

After the Crimson Dynasty announced the wanted order of Sorokin, Gaud’s case seemed to have finally settled. The dynasty did not do anything after that, and everything went back to normal.

The focus of the galactic society shifted with it and back to the developments of the Flickering World. The fourth exploration phase had already finished, ending with the exit of the Super Star Cluster Alliance. There would still be the fifth phase, the sixth phase, and so on. All would be focused on developing peacefully. The developments afterward did not have much to do with the Beyond Grade A allies.

A few months later, the Germinal Financial Group finally digested the ‘inheritance’ of the Limitless Financial Group and submitted a detailed report to Han Xiao.

…

In his office, Han Xiao carefully read through the report on the screen. After a while, he finally nodded with satisfaction and looked at the remote projections of Sylvia and Iapetus in front of him.

“You guys have done a good job consuming these businesses of the Limitless Financial Group. The army has taken a huge step in the progress of expanding its subdivisions in the various Star Fields, at least saving twenty years’ time.”

“It’s all thanks to your guidance. You’re the lighthouse of the army, showing us the path.” Sylvia smiled lustfully.

Han Xiao caressed the back of his palm and said, “I also saw on the report that we recruited some of Sorokin’s offspring. Some even actively chose to join us…”

“That’s because no one can resist your charm.” Sylvia did it again.

Han Xiao looked at her oddly.

What’s going on with this woman today? Did her personality change?

Han Xiao ignored her, turned to look at Iapetus, and said, “What do you plan to do with Sorokin’s offspring?”

Iapetus rubbed his moustache and slowly said, “Although Sorokin escaped for his crimes, his offspring are innocent. Some of them were raised as elites and had high management positions in the Limitless Financial Group. They’re very capable, so taking these people in is great for the Germinal Financial Group. Of course, I’ll test them before giving them positions, limit the power they have, and split them up into different management positions.”

“Hmm, do as you said.”

Although Han Xiao felt like it might be immoral for them to join the person who caused Sorokin to go missing, he felt like given Sorokin’s personality, giving birth to offspring was probably just to raise trustworthy assistants; he would not be too emotionally attached to him.

Beyond Grade As breeding offspring as assistants was very common. Most people would carry out group activities at most to increase efficiency. Beast Ancestor was the only one in this era who was so extreme about it.

“Offspring are indeed good. They can be raised systematically from a young age. Maybe I should start to breed some babies,” Han Xiao mumbled.

Sylvia’s eyes lit up instantly. “I’ll do it! Maternity leave is still leave. I don’t mind it!”

Han Xiao almost fell down from his chair from shock.

What, are you already this desperate for the sake of taking leave now?

Not only do you want to take leave, but you even want to sleep with your boss! How do you think something that incredible will happen?

Iapetus coughed on the side and whispered, “If you want to take maternity leave, I can help too…”

Sylvia glared at him. “Keep dreaming!”

Iapetus’s expression froze. Facing Han Xiao’s meaningful stare, he wisely went offline.

Only two of them were left in the room. Sylvia suddenly smiled lustfully, shook her waist left and right, and walked to Han Xiao. She pressed her arms on the table, leaned forward, pressed her lips near Han Xiao’s ears, and whispered, “I wasn’t kidding. What do you think of me?”

“Is today your estrus cycle? Looks like I have to remember this date and calculate your cycle so I can dodge you in the future.”

Sylvia’s face twitched, and her smile became stiff. She did her best to not lash out and said with a suggestive tone, “Do you really not know just how charming you are? My admiration for you has flooded since long ago. Are you really going to treat me like this?”

“Stop it. It’s not useful to me. Say what you want to say.”

Han Xiao was unaffected. He pressed on Sylvia’s forehead and pushed her head away.

Excuse me, I’m a righteous man. I have never practiced the “if there’s something to do, let the secretary do it; if there’s nothing to do, do the secretary” system.

Usually, you were always dismissive of me, but today you suddenly turned into an emotionless praising machine. There’s definitely something you want from me today.

Sylvia’s expression collapsed. She kicked Han Xiao’s leg heavily, then rubbed her feet while grinding her teeth with annoyance. “I’ve been the Chief Administrative Official for decades. You’ve always used me like a tool! I’ve had enough. I want to change my position!”

Han Xiao thought it made sense. Although Sylvia was very loyal, she would not be happy about being a tool for so long, especially when the lifespan of Calamity Grades was far shorter than Beyond Grade As. She had basically given her youth to the army.

He always said that the hairline was the durability of the officers, but Han Xiao considered himself to be quite flexible. As long as the request was logical, he would not really treat his officers like tools.

“What do you want to do then?”

“I want you to teach me to become a Beyond Grade A!”

“Huh?” Han Xiao almost thought he had heard wrong.

“I’ve given my heart and soul to the army, putting in my entire youth, but you’re not even willing to teach me!” Sylvia was angry.

“No, no, that’s not true. It’s just that becoming a Beyond Grade A depends on talent. Even if I teach you, you don’t have too high a chance…” Han Xiao sighed.

“I don’t care. I just want you to teach me!”

Sylvia pulled Han Xiao’s arm and shook it like she was begging him. In front of others, she was a decisive, capable, and smart Chief Administrative Official. But in front of Han Xiao, she was still occasionally that little girl in the past.

“Alright, alright, after you’ve finished the handover for your job, come back as my student.” Han Xiao agreed.

Hearing this, Sylvia finally smiled brightly. She kissed Han Xiao’s cheek and ran away like a thief.

At the door, Sylvia stopped, turned, and smiled like a fairy with a slightly blushed face. She said with a playful tone, “I really wasn’t kidding about what I said earlier.”

Then, before Han Xiao could respond, she ran away.

“Tsk, as if I’d believe you, you little minx.” Han Xiao shook his head and wiped away the lipstick on his face.

In his previous life, after Sylvia’s father was sent into a prison, Sylvia could only wander in the universe without a goal. Now, the army had given her a home and a goal she could work for.

Without him knowing, many people’s fates had changed because of him.

“Sylvia’s potential shouldn’t be enough to reach Beyond Grade A, but nothing is absolute. Even garbage like Kohler and Beyoni can become Beyond Grade As, after all. With my teachings, Sylvia might not be completely hopeless… I shall teach her some knowledge from Jayz’s treasure trove.”

Han Xiao nodded in his head.

Beep beep beep!

At this time, his communicator suddenly rang. He took it out and to his surprise. It was a call from Ames.

Sylvia just left seconds ago and Ames already called?

So coincidental, is this the sixth sense of woman?

Han Xiao shivered slightly.

He focused his mind and picked up.

Ames appeared on the screen holding her cheek with her hand and smiling elegantly.

“We’ve not met for quite some time. Do you want to come and have a chat? Aesop brewed a batch of new wine.”

“That’s it? No, no!”

“Also… I might slightly, a little tiny bit, miss you.” Ames blinked.

“Let’s go.”

Without hesitation, Han Xiao put on the King suit immediately.

For the past few years, other than the plenary, he did not meet with Ames much. He had been busy with plotting and studying machinery. He felt a bit sorry for it. Furthermore, he had just dealt with a huge matter, so he also needed some soothing and stress relief.

Chapter 1248: Galaxy Calendar Year 780

In Ames’ palace at the center of Floating Dragon Island, Han Xiao arrived through teleportation and saw a round table in front of him right away. Neatly arranged snacks and fruits were placed on top. Ames sat on a chair beside it.

Ames was smiling at the communicator when he arrived, only hanging up when she saw him. She kept the communicator and shifted her eyes onto him, maintaining a faint smile.

“I knew you’d come. Sit, the wine is ready.”

Han Xiao walked up and sat beside Ames. He sighed and said, “I’ve been busy lately and didn’t come for quite some time. I’ve neglected you.”

“When are you ever not busy?” Ames replied.

Han Xiao shook his head, picked up a glass, and drank the wine. He tutted and said, “Why does it taste different from the last time?”

“Aesop improved the recipe the last time he returned.”

Ames controlled her force field and filled Han Xiao’s glass up.

Han Xiao smiled and said, “Speaking of which, after Aesop was kidnapped, I was surprised you didn’t reject Aesop’s request to travel. I thought you’d ground him for a very long time.”

“I wouldn’t have agreed if not for the Soul Swapper.” Ames snorted softly.

After Feidin acquired the Soul Swapper, Han Xiao had come up with a plan for Aesop. After long consideration, Aesop had taken his suggestion and asked Feidin to temporarily swap his soul into someone else so that he could go out. It was secretive and safe. In the end, Ames agreed with his request.

“The Soul Swapper is indeed nice. Sadly, Feidin is only at the Calamity Grade for now. The functions he can use are limited.” Han Xiao shook his head. He suddenly thought of something and said, “I have a gift for you.”

“A gift?” Ames raised her brows.

Han Xiao took out a pure white small sphere from his pocket. He passed to Ames, smiled, and said, “This is a Universal Treasure I happened to obtain. It can help Espers develop their ability. It’s for you.”

Ames accepted the small sphere, toyed with it using her force field, and said curiously, “What’s this thing’s name? How do I use it?”

“Just call it Esper Ability Enhancement Orb. It’s easy to use. Just apply energy to it every day. Basically, play with it.”

Han Xiao briefly explained its effects.

This was one of the Universal Treasures that Sorokin secretly collected and was seized by him. According to the item details on the interface, this thing could randomly enhance the various ability parameters of Espers. The effects would only be triggered if it was worn for a long time. The chance was unknown, and the magnitude of the enhancement each time was not high.

At its maximum, it could at most increase the Esper Ability’s potential by one grade. After that, it would lose effects on the same user.

However, the enhancement effects would not certainly occur. It might be completely useless too. According to the introduction, the chance of triggering the enhancement relied on Luck to a certain extent… Basically, it despised unlucky people.

Han Xiao recalled that Ames’ Luck was quite high, so she should be able to trigger this treasure. After she was done using it, given her relationship with Hila and Aurora, why would she not lend it to them? It was perfect.

“I’ll take it then, thanks.” Ames toyed with it for a while and put it away.

In the past years, Han Xiao had given her gifts frequently. A few years ago, he had even secretly given her the entire set of Esper class knowledge. She almost thought Han Xiao hacked into the dynasty’s database.

The two of them chatted while eating snacks.

Most of the time, Han Xiao was speaking, and Ames was listening with a smile, staring at Han Xiao and holding her chin with her hands.

After chatting for some time, Ames suddenly interrupted Han Xiao and said, “I’ve realized you’ve had a lot on your mind in the past few years.”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment. “How did you notice?”

“I know you too well.” Ames smiled. “Do you want to talk to me about it?”

Han Xiao sighed.

Indeed, after he found out about the Sanctums, he had been feeling more stressed mentally. He had been spending all his time studying machines and becoming stronger in the past few years, keeping himself busy and not slacking off.

Han Xiao thought about it and said with a deep voice, “In the past few years, I’ve been thinking about one question. What if our world is just an illusion that exists only in the past and the things we see are only mirages in a cell?”

“Why did you suddenly have this thought?” Ames was curious.

“… I just happened to discover some information and made some connections.”

Han Xiao’s answer was ambiguous. Of course, he was not going to easily share the information about the Celestial Star Alliance, the iterations of the universe, and the Sanctums.

Actually, he had been suspicious of this since long ago. He had only buried it because he knew it was very difficult to find the answer for it. He only had more speculations after finding out about the Sanctums.

Although Ames did not understand what Han Xiao was talking about, he could sense the pressure from Han Xiao’s tone. It sounded somewhat distant, and she felt something she rarely ever felt from Han Xiao. He sounded a tiny bit lost.

Most of the time, Han Xiao was very confident. She rarely ever saw Han Xiao like this. Although she did not know what caused Han Xiao to be so stressed, to her, it did not matter. What mattered was that she knew this man needed her comforting.

Having thought of that, Ames smiled.

“It doesn’t matter. I know that our breath is real, the warmth I feel is real, and your touch is real…”

While saying, Ames held Han Xiao’s hand in her hands and whispered, “And I’m real too.”

The two of them looked into each other’s eyes for almost twenty seconds.

“… Ahem, we’re not in the secondary dimensions.”

Han Xiao suddenly coughed and pulled his hand away.

“Hehe.” Ames laughed softly with unknown meaning.

The two of them both skipped this topic without saying anything and chatted for a few more hours before Han Xiao bade farewell and teleported away.

Looking at the empty seat, Ames suddenly sighed.

After spending so much time with Black Star, she had long found out that although Black Star looked like he had many friends, for some reason, he always kept his heart locked up and would not let anyone walk into it.

…

In the place where Gaud was ‘raised’, a spaceship stopped at the port, and the hatch opened. Two rows of people appeared, one boarding it and another alighting. Most of the people in the former were dejected, while the people in the latter looked full of confidence.

This was a transport ship that carried a new batch of students in. It was also in charge of taking away the students who were disqualified from the training base.

Karlot was in the row of people boarding the ship. He could not help but glance back at the training base.

For all the time, Karlot had been on the edge of the disqualified list every term. If not because of what Gaud said back then, he would have been kicked out by the manager of the base long ago. Now, however, Gaud was nowhere to be found, so what he said, of course, became meaningless. The manager of the base no longer gave Karlot special treatment and placed him on the disqualified list in this term, no longer giving him advanced training.

“I’ve studied for almost a decade here. It’s a shame I couldn’t remain here…”

Karlot sighed softly.

He was not really down, just felt it was a pity.

He had worked hard for so long and only just discovered the right training method of the Super system, but before he could change the way he trained, he was kicked out…

“Never mind. At least the studies I did in these ten years had not gone to waste. As long as I’ve learned something, it’s good enough.”

Karlot shook his head, turned back to look at his front, and walked up the spaceship in big steps. The vibe he gave off was completely different from the dejected crowd around him.

…

After the dust settled on Gaud and Sorokin’s cases, the galactic society finally entered a period of stable development.

The Super Star Cluster civilizations defeated in the Flickering War quietly licked their wounds, while the other organizations who took part in the war continued to rest and digest the profits of the exploration. A time of stability was needed after the leader of the Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light changed. On the other hand, the Beyond Grade A Association was continuing to build the profit network.

While all sides peacefully developed in this calm atmosphere, the fifth, sixth, and the rest of the exploration phases of the Flickering World were smoothly completed. The Flickering World was finally added to the map of the explored universe, making the galactic society even more prosperous than before, bringing in countless business opportunities.

Even a pig could fly with a strong enough wind. The development of the Flickering World bred many new organizations. New consortiums appeared in the Flickering World every once a while.

After the Black Star Army consumed part of the Limitless Financial Group’s businesses, it grew even quicker and expanded rapidly in the various Star Fields. Its force became larger and larger, and Han Xiao’s position increased along with it.

The two hidden threats, Gaud and Sorokin, had been dealt with, and Manison was accumulating strength with a low profile, so no one in the universe dared to mess with Han Xiao in this period. He finally entered the longest peaceful development period he had ever experienced.

Other than the daily activities, Han Xiao spent the rest of his time studying Jayz’s technology while occasionally trying to break down the life energy. Every day was spent meaningfully.

As someone who had always been at the center of the attention and always slapped himself in the face in the end every time he said he wanted to keep a low profile for some time, Han Xiao finally faded out of the sights of the outside world.

Although the universe still remembered him, the stage was cleared for newbies to shine.

This situation lasted all the way to Galaxy Calendar Year 780. On this day, the Beyond Grade A Association welcomed its fiftieth anniversary.

This meant that the president position that lasted for fifty years every term was going to change. It was finally time for the election.

Chapter 1249: Forty Years

After growing steadily for forty years, the Black Star Army’s territory was already very prosperous, and the number of undeveloped areas was rapidly decreasing. The Sigma Star System in the Garu Star Cluster was the Black Star Army’s Flickering World logistics headquarters. It was not open to outsiders.

A cluster of gentle pale-golden energy floated in an area surrounded by many satellite bases like a glowing golden asteroid. It was expanding and shrinking as if it was breathing, sending out rings of light gold energy rhythmically like ripples.

Two figures, one black and one red, hovered near this ‘asteroid’. Around them were countless mechanical soldiers that formed a line of defense guarding the area.

“This day has finally come. Aurora has stepped into our territory…” the red figure said softly with a tint of satisfaction and pride. A gentle smile appeared on her usually-cold face.

The two of them were Han Xiao and Hila. The glowing golden ‘asteroid’ nearby was indeed Aurora, who was going through the last step of transforming into a Beyond Grade A.

The last forty years had left no traces on Hila. Other than her vibe being colder and more distinguished, her appearance did not change at all. To normal Beyond Grade As, this amount of time was equivalent to about six to seven years, and to a special Beyond Grade A like Hila who controlled death, it was but the blink of an eye.

Han Xiao smiled. “If Aurora was accumulating energy on her own, it’d probably take more than a hundred years for her to become a Beyond Grade A. This is even quicker than I expected.”

His appearance did not change much too, but his vibe became more unfathomable.

The army had steadily expanded over the last forty years, and the bonuses of [Proof of Leadership] increased along with it. Through studying Jayz’s treasure trove, Han Xiao already increased his God’s Trait Transformation to a very high level. He was remarkably stronger than forty years prior.

The leek harvesting technique using the Holy Light Particle reduced Aurora’s process of accumulating energy. With her special trait of having no energy limit on top, becoming a Beyond Grade A was just a matter of time for Aurora. The time it took was close to what Han Xiao speculated.

After quite some time, the golden ‘asteroid’ in front of the two of them finally started to shrink. From an enormous cluster of light, it turned into a silhouette, glowing with light gold light all over, giving off a divine vibe like the combination of mothership and holiness.

Aurora’s appearance changed drastically. She became taller, and her face became gorgeously beautiful; she had the face of an angel and the body of a devil. Her entire style turned from adorable to alluring. It was almost like a completely different person.

Seeing this, Han Xiao and Hila flew over to Aurora and sized her up, looking astonished.

“Why do you look different?” Hila compared her height with Aurora and realized Aurora was surprisingly even about fifteen centimeters taller than her.

Han Xiao stared and studied Aurora’s body for a while and made a decisive conclusion. “This must be the second puberty!”

“This is my new ability. I can control the shape of my body now.” Aurora giggled. Her body glowed, and she instantly returned to her normal tiny body shape. “How was that? Was I prettier than you, sis? I can change back anytime.”

Hila tutted, changed the topic, and asked, “What other abilities do you have?”

Aurora performed them right away. All her abilities were enhanced. She did not have to develop her abilities on her own and directly inherited the progress from her predecessor. She instantly acquired many abilities and talents, fully displaying the advantages of being a cheater.

After entering the Beyond Grade A realm, the life energy Aurora could produce every day multiplied by countless times. She basically did not have to worry about not having enough of it at all. Furthermore, she even got an aura. The allies on her side would have a drastically higher regeneration speed if they were within a certain range of her. The range of this aura would even grow as she became stronger.

“Also, I should be able to perfectly produce revival energy now.”

While speaking, Aurora flicked her finger and sent out a cluster of life energy. Hila saw it and released a cluster of death energy too. The two fused together and turned into a cluster of golden-orange revival energy. The strengths of the two types of energy achieved a stable balance.

“Now that you’re a Beyond Grade A, you only have to briefly familiarize with your abilities, and we will be able to use the reviving function of the Underworld,” Hila said.

The seven… oh no, eight Hero Spirit Kings had been doing nothing in the Underworld. Now that Aurora had become a Beyond Grade A, the last piece of the puzzle was found. These Hero Spirits would be able to have combat capabilities.

With the help of the eight Hero Spirit Kings of the Underworld, the two sisters leaped right to the front of the list of the strongest people in the universe. This was the biggest inheritance left by their predecessors. With enough strength to protect herself, the summoning style would become Aurora’s best combat mode.

Han Xiao smiled and said, “You’re a Beyond Grade A now. Do you want to become a deputy army commander like your sister, or do you have other plans?”

Aurora’s eyes spun, and she said with excitement, “I can protect myself now. Does that mean I can act freely?”

“… Technically, yes.” Han Xiao could only nod.

“Then I want to travel alone. Don’t stop me.” Aurora’s tone was filled with anticipation. She had been extremely bored for years. She basically could not go anywhere at all. All she wanted to do now was travel the universe.

Han Xiao and Hila exchanged a look and saw the resignation in each other’s eyes.

Now that Aurora had become a Beyond Grade A, they could no longer arrange everything for her like before. They had to respect her personal will.

However, at least there was no need to worry about her safety. Aurora could solve most accidents with her current capability.

“I’ll approve it, but you have to take a Throne with you,” Hila said with a serious tone.

Aurora was exhilarated. She turned to look at Han Xiao and said, “By the way, I can join the Beyond Grade A Association now, right?”

She had been longing for the Beyond Grade A Association for a very long time. She had heard that all of its members were talented and sweet. She had been wanting to see for herself.

“Okay, I’ll arrange to put you in… Hmm, the presidential election is in two months. Letting you in will increase my chances too.”

Han Xiao did not reject her.

Now that Aurora had grown, she had more than enough power to protect herself. There was no need to continue hiding her. Plus, she did not want to hide either. She was going to join the association sooner or later.

Although this would make the various organizations once again be reminded of the two Primordial sisters, Han Xiao could deal with it now.

Aurora’s ability might even assist in uniting the Beyond Grade As… Who did not want to last longer?

Aurora blinked and said, “Are you sure you’ll become the president this time?”

Han Xiao smiled. “At least ninety percent sure.”

Over the last fifty years, the Beyond Grade A Association had already completed some of its initial goals. It successfully became a huge profit network. Although it met obstructions from the three Universal Civilizations along the way, there were no too intense conflicts.

Therefore, in the past few years, he did not hold back on causing problems for Manison. He had already obtained the highest reputation in the association; Manison could only be a mascot most of the time.

Other than the support of the internal members, the exterior organizations also supported him. If things remained this way, he would certainly take over the position of the president during the plenary in two months and bring the Beyond Grade A Association into an age led by Black Star.

However, he did not know what Manison had been doing over the last few decades since he had been keeping a low profile all this time. Han Xiao did not know if he would be watching him become the president or do something… However, no matter what, Han Xiao had already made the necessary preparations.

After chatting for a while, Hila brought Aurora to the Underworld to familiarize herself with her abilities, leaving Han Xiao alone.

Han Xiao watched the two of them leave. “The army has now raised a second Beyond Grade A. It’s the only example. It’ll be even better if Lothaire makes a breakthrough too.”

Lothaire had been training hard and improving rapidly in the past forty years. He was already on the path of transformation. However, unlike Aurora, he had to break through some obstacles and was still some distance away from Beyond Grade A. As for the other officers of the army, no one showed any signs of becoming a Beyond Grade A any time soon.

Han Xiao caressed his chin and thought about the presidential election in two months’ time.

Becoming the president was not even the most important thing; the chain reactions it would cause were. For example, the elderlies of the Holy Accord organization had remained quiet for decades, and they agreed with Han Xiao to only appear after he became the Beyond Grade A Association president.

Han Xiao could imagine the reactions of the entire galactic society—even though many details were changed, it would most certainly go back to the path of the Calamity of the Supers incident.

“Quite a number of rookies have been born in the last forty years and have been active in the universe, while I’ve been keeping a low profile for so long. Looks like I’ll be returning to the center of the public attention once again.”

…

The Beyond Grade A Association was already a giant in the galactic society. The election of the president received the attention of countless organizations.

On the Federation of Light’s mother planet, the current federation president, Louis Rocky, tapped the table and said to the chief elder in front of him with a deep voice, “The Beyond Grade A Association is about to have an election. Manison will definitely be beaten by Black Star. What ideas do you guys have?”

The chief elder shook his head and said, “This is unavoidable. Although Black Star is the dynasty’s ally, their honeymoon period has ended. Letting him become the president won’t be a bad thing for us.”

Louis frowned. “I’m not talking about Black Star alone… Not even a single rookie born in the past forty years joined the three Universal Civilizations. All of them went to the Beyond Grade A Association. The existence of the association is already influencing our interests.”

As the Beyond Grade A Association grew, the three Universal Civilizations had been having a harder time controlling it. For example, the spread of knowledge privately happening between Beyond Grade As became more and more frequent, causing the three Universal Civilizations’ system of attracting new Beyond Grade As by monopolizing the Ultimate Knowledges of all the classes to be severely impacted. They could not recruit any new allies.

Of course, the three Universal Civilizations never agreed to let the association pass around knowledge, so this kind of act could be considered a violation of the laws the three Universal Civilizations set. However, the association did not openly share the knowledge, so it would be extremely difficult for the three Universal Civilizations to find who was responsible for what. Hence, they could not prevent the association’s members from spreading the knowledge in private. With the association backing them, the Beyond Grade As cared less and less about the three Universal Civilizations causing trouble for them.

“This is indeed a problem, but to solve it, we’ll have to face the Beyond Grade A Association directly, which will have enormous consequences. I suggest you do not do anything before coming up with a fully developed plan,” another elder said.

Louis tapped the table and narrowed his eyes.

The former president Bader did not want to flip the table on the Beyond Grade As during his term, so this mission fell to him. Louis had no choice but to take responsibility.

Through the past decades, he had become more and more certain that the Beyond Grade A Association was the top problem he had to solve during his term.

From the way Louis looked at it, the Crimson Dynasty and the Arcane Church probably had the same thought.

…

In a certain base of the Holy Accord…

“The Beyond Grade A Association’s presidential election is finally here…”

“After Black Star gets elected, we’ll be able to go out as promised.”

The many Primordial Ones looked at the news on the virtual screen. Some were excited; some were looking forward. They chatted softly.

Oathkeeper stood beside the door with his arms crossed, mumbling.

“This day still came… Black Star, I hope your predictions are right.”

Chapter 1250: Headstrong

As only a limited number of people knew about it and the army did not promote it, the news of Aurora becoming a Beyond Grade A did not spread to the outside world. Less than half a month later, Han Xiao hosted a welcome plenary just for her.

The welcome meeting was being hosted at the association headquarters on Planet Finn.

The remote projections of the Beyond Great As sat in the venue. Compared to forty years ago, there were more seats now. Beside Hila, an empty seat was added for Aurora.

At this time, the Beyond Grade As present were all chatting and curiously guessing the identity of this new Beyond Grade A.

As the information had not been leaked, the people present only knew that another new Beyond Grade A had been born in the universe. They did not know who this rookie was.

“I wonder if the rookie is a neutral or a member of a big organization.”

“There’s no information anywhere at all, and Black Star’s already recruited this guy. I have a feeling this rookie is closely related to Black Star.”

“I’m only curious about what Super class this rookie is.”

“I hope it’s not a Pugilist. There’s already enough people with clogged brains…”

The people chatted within their factions.

After forty years, many more factions were formed in the Beyond Grade A Association.

Some were classified by the huge organization they were in—for example, the three Universal Civilizations direct members, their allies, and the neutral ones. Some were classified by their partnerships, like those Beyond Grade As whose organization worked very well with each other. Others were classified by different classes. These factions were formed because of the private spread of the Ultimate Knowledges, which caused the Beyond Grade As in various classes to gather around the stronger ones with the same class as them.

Because of that, many members hoped the rookie had the same class as them so that they could expand their faction.

Han Xiao let them chat freely for a while. He then clapped and smiled.

“Alright, let’s keep it down and welcome the rookie.”

Hearing that the vice president had spoken, the members all shut their mouths, ignoring Manison, who was resting with his eyes closed.

Not long after, the side gate of the venue opened. The mature version of Aurora walked in and sized up everyone curiously.

The Beyond Grade As present also looked at her with curiosity and mumbled softly.

“So, she’s the new Beyond Grade A. Doesn’t look like a Pugilist, great.”

“Hmm, I don’t know her. I know all the renowned Beyond Grade A seeds in the universe. She’s definitely not one of them.”

“That’s weird. She looks familiar to me… Don’t you guys think she looks a little similar to Hila?”

At this time, Han Xiao spoke. “This rookie’s name is Aurora. She only stepped into the Beyond Grade A territory not long ago. She’s Hila’s sister and also is a member of the Black Star Army. Her ability is the complete opposite of Hila’s. She controls life energy. This can help others to quickly regenerate their wounds and recover their life force… Aurora, on behalf of the Beyond Grade A Association, I welcome you.”

As soon as he said that, shock appeared on almost everyone’s face.

This rookie is a Black Star Army officer again‽

She’s even the relative of another Beyond Grade A. What are the chances of that‽

“One controls death; one controls life. And they’re sisters! Why does this sound familiar?” someone murmured.

Hearing this, many people recalled that there was a similar pair of sisters among the Primordial Ones.

Same Esper Abilities, same two sisters… this is too coincidental!

If someone were to say the two sisters were completely unrelated to the Primordial sisters from history, the vast majority of people there would never believe it.

Recalling the stories of the Primordial sisters, the way they looked at Hila and Aurora changed subtly. On top of disbelief, a tint of desire appeared.

Hila’s ability could reduce people’s life span. If her sister’s ability was the opposite, did that mean she could increase people’s life span? Or could she even imitate the Primordial Ones and create the legendary ‘Underworld’?

Most people present had ideas of befriending Aurora and immediately welcomed her. They were very enthusiastic.

They avoided Hila as much as possible but acted the complete opposite with Aurora.

Seeing this, Hila coldly warned, “Don’t have any ideas about my younger sister. I won’t hold back.”

“We’re greeting Aurora. What does it have to do with you?”

Many snorted.

Although they feared Hila’s ability, they could not act that way.

However, words were one thing. Indeed, not many dared have any vicious thoughts. After operating for fifty years, the association had already established a reputation. Not many were willing to violate the rules and do anything to its members. Furthermore, most people feared the giant organization, the Black Star Army. Even if they were not afraid of Hila, they had to consider Black Star too.

As they thought of Black Star, they could not help but feel bitter and jealous.

He had acquired another Beyond Grade A officer… Where in the world did Black Star find so many top talents from?

“Er, I’m Aurora. I’m glad to join the association…”

Aurora came to her seat and briefly introduced herself. She then read the script she had memorized and said the standard things like ‘it’s an honor to be a part of the association’.

The others responded kindly.

Hila watched on the side and secretly curled her lips.

Tsk, you dogs. I’ve never seen you this enthusiastic toward me before…

Aurora was the focus of today’s welcome meeting. She had finally entered the Beyond Grade A circle and was filled with curiosity. In the face of the others trying to befriend her, she kept on talking excitedly, creating a clear contrast with Hila’s cold image.

From her own words, the others confirmed that Aurora could extend their life span. They were overjoyed.

However, as soon as they mentioned anything about requesting her to do it, Aurora kicked the ball to Han Xiao and stated that she would only listen to Black Star. This was discussed beforehand to increase Han Xiao’s reputation and position further, increasing his chances of being reelected as much as possible.

Hearing this, the people looked at Han Xiao. When they saw that he was smiling, they immediately knew that they had to pay a price for Han Xiao to approve their requests. After knowing him for so many years, they knew that Black Star was not easy to deal with or deceive. The presidential election was very soon; it was easy to figure out what Black Star was trying to convey.

After chatting for some time, someone could not hold back his curiosity and asked, “Why do you work for the Black Star Army?”

“Well, Black Star saved me…” Aurora briefly shared her experience in the Germinal Organization, saying that Black Star had saved her life.

Hearing this, even those who knew about Black Star’s early history were astonished.

A puny surface civilizations organization that made three Beyond Grade As, just how blessed is this Germinal Organization‽

After some time, seeing that they chatted about enough, Han Xiao spoke and changed the topic.

“Alright, you’ve all met. Let me use this opportunity to say something. The next plenary will be the presidential election. Manison will step down then, and all members can run. The election will be in the form of voting, and everyone has one vote. Don’t forget.”

The people nodded.

At the same time, Manison’s eyes opened slightly. He glanced at Han Xiao and closed them again.

…

On a certain planet in the Flickering World…

“The next presidential election, huh? If I can take that seat…”

Inside a palace, Royce’s eyes gleamed.

He was a relatively new Beyond Grade A. With the assistance of this platform, he quickly formed his own organization. Therefore, he knew what power the association had very well and had been eyeing it all along. Occasionally, he would fantasize about himself being on top of it.

The next president would be elected in two months’ time, and Royce felt his chance was here.

As a rookie, he knew that he could not compete with seniors like Black Star. However, the ambition in his chest made him want to give it a try no matter what.

What if he made it?

He was a doer. As soon as he had that thought, he immediately started to act on it.

“I’m definitely no match for Black Star in terms of strength, but the election is vote based. Although my chance is thin, it’s not completely hopeless…”

Royce’s eyes spun rapidly.

The rookies who had just stepped into the Beyond Grade A circle for a short amount of time had no way of finding out about Han Xiao’s personal relationship with the other members, so he did not have a strong sense of Black Star’s connections.

Therefore, in Royce’s eyes, he did not have completely no chance.

One of the reasons he dared do this was that as a member of the association, his life would not be in danger.

In terms of combat, although Royce admitted he was no match for Han Xiao, he felt the difference would not be too big.

When Royce came to fame, Han Xiao had kept a low profile for quite some time. Everything he knew about Black Star’s strength came from hearing it from others; he had never experienced it personally, nor could he really see the details by looking at the videos on the internet.

Overconfidence was a common problem for most new Beyond Grade As. They were ambitious and headstrong, always dreaming of taking over those at the peak.

Usually, only a beating from society could cure this illness, but ever since Royce became a Beyond Grade A, he had yet to receive any ‘treatment’.

“Although Black Star wants to become the president, who said I can’t take it from him?”

Royce started planning in his head and was looking forward to it.

…

Two months passed very quickly, and the election of the Beyond Grade A Association came as expected. The various organizations in the universe all focused their attention and waited for the results.

Inside the closed venue, all members came online earlier than usual. The atmosphere was solemn. The people’s eyes kept moving back and forth between Manison and Han Xiao.

“Ahem, since everyone is here, let’s start,” Han Xiao said. He then looked at Manison with a smile. “Let’s have the president host the meeting.”

Manison glanced at him, slowly stood up, and looked around the entire venue.

After a short silence, Manison then spoke. “The association rules state that the president will be elected every fifty years. Now that fifty years have passed, I’ll be stepping down from the president position and will not be running today.”

As soon as he said that, the people were stunned.

Although most people knew that Manison would not be re-elected, no one felt he would easily give up. To their surprise, Manison gave up running for president completely.

Han Xiao was a little surprised too. He was already prepared to debate with Manison, but Manison directly gave up.

Odd, this doesn’t suit old Manison’s personality!

“Are you really not running? Is it because you’re worried about being embarrassed when you lose to me?” Han Xiao asked to confirm.

“Humph.” Manison did not reply.

Seeing this, Han Xiao shook his head.

No matter what Manison was thinking, as long as he did not run, his biggest competitor would be gone. Becoming the president was almost certain for Han Xiao.

“If that’s the case, I’ll be the first to run.” Han Xiao looked around at the expression on everyone’s faces and asked, “Who else?”

Many people looked away and did not meet his eyes.

Judging from the current situation, it was basically already decided that Black Star would become the president. Plus, he was indeed the most suitable for it.

None of the peak Beyond Grade As who were the most qualified to run even spoke, so most people read the room and shut their mouths. They were thinking they might as well let Black Star be the only one running so that the voting round could be skipped, and he would become the president on the spot.

However, when everyone thought that was how it was going to be, a voice filled with confidence sounded.

“I’ll run!”

Who? Who’s so headstrong‽

The people were shocked. As they turned around, their expressions became odd.

Royce raised his hand and remained in the posture. He had an excited smile on his face as if he was enjoying the moment of being the center of attention.

“Are you sure?” Han Xiao was a little surprised.

“Anyone can run anyway, so why not try it? What if I win‽” Royce was not afraid at all and looked directly at Han Xiao’s eyes, giving the vibe of confronting him directly.

This looked quite hot-blooded on the surface, but in the eyes of the people present, it was nothing but ridiculous.

This rookie is so daring. Does he really want to wrestle with Black Star?

At the same time, Aurora quietly whispered into Hila’s ear and asked, “This guy should be a Pugilist, right?”

Hila glanced at her.

“You guessed that right.”

Chapter 1251: ge of Black Star

A rookie wants to compete for the position of president against me? Who gave you the courage?

Han Xiao looked at Royce’s confidence. Thoughts quickly spun in his mind, and many speculations flashed past.

However, when he recalled Royce’s class, the surprise in his mind disappeared completely.

Oh, he’s a Pugilist, never mind.

Han Xiao shook his head and stopped speculating Royce’s motive.

The way the Pugilists’ brain worked was, well, refreshing. Most of the time, one thought they were at the second or the first level, when actually they were at the negative one level. There was no need to think too much.

Han Xiao did consider the possibility of some peak Beyond Grade A trying to compete, but he never thought a rookie would step up out of nowhere. This meant that they had to enter the voting round, but it was not a big deal.

Although he had no idea where Royce’s confidence came from… he was a Pugilist, so it was understandable.

“Anyone else want to run?” Han Xiao moved his eyes away and scanned through the conference room.

The people exchanged looks, and no one responded.

Seeing this, Han Xiao nodded. “If that’s the case, only Royce and I will be running. You guys can vote now.”

Everyone there was a Beyond Grade A. No one’s opinion could be ignored, so everyone could vote.

Those who always stood on the side of the Black Star faction voted immediately and supported Han Xiao as the president. The direct members of the three Universal Civilizations also voted for him. Some of the peak Beyond Grade As who were upper echelons of the association also expressed their support for Han Xiao.

Other than Heber, Psyker, Manison, and a very few who abstained. Almost all the members voted for Han Xiao.

As for Royce, he stood alone and did not receive a single vote. It was almost lonesome.

Han Xiao could not help but glance at him with an odd look.

Wait, what, that’s it?

You didn’t even get anyone on your side, yet you still came to compete…

What are you so confident about?

Even Han Xiao felt awkward for Royce just by looking at his bewildered expression.

Come on kid, did you really think anyone would vote for a rookie? Are you the kind of person who likes to be humiliated?

The voting was completely one-sided. Han Xiao regulated his emotions, cleared his throat, and said, “The situation is clear then. Royce, do you accept this result?”

The people simultaneously turned to look at Royce with all kinds of emotions such as mockery, pity, disdain, and other complicated emotions in their eyes.

Royce opened his mouth, sat down, and said sadly, “I accept.”

Although he only gambled because he knew there was no risk involved and he would not lose anything even if he did not get elected, seeing how big the difference was, he was still embarrassed.

Royce actually had quite the plan. He knew he most likely would not be elected as the president, but he thought that if he could receive some votes during the election, it would at least show that he had some reputation, so he would not have to be treated like a rookie in the future and be involved in more affairs of the association.

In his eyes, this was the first step for a rookie to obtain a higher position.

In order to achieve this goal, he indeed did contact other association members privately and expressed his thoughts of running for president in the calls, and some people promised to support him even. This was why he had the confidence to run.

However, when the time came, those b*stards all broke their promises!

Actually, what he did not know was, most people thought he was just kidding and promised him as a joke, which mistakenly gave Royce confidence.

As these people were all stronger than him, Royce did not dare vent his anger and could only sulk in the corner while screaming in his mind that verbal promises were not reliable.

Han Xiao was not interested in what Royce was thinking.

He knew Pugilists way too well; it was not that their brains were really made of muscles but that the path of the Pugilist required a ‘no backing down’ attitude. For those Pugilists who could become Beyond Grade As, this personality would definitely be more apparent. In other words, Pugilists who were not headstrong would have a harder time becoming a Beyond Grade A.

And this was exactly the reason Han Xiao had high hopes for Lothaire. After all, this man was the prime example of someone who was headstrong…

Random thoughts flashed past. Han Xiao focused, looked around, and smiled.

“Thanks for your support, everyone. I shall gladly take on the position of the president.”

Aurora clapped first with her face filled with excitement.

Seeing someone lead the applause, the others hesitated for a moment and also clapped symbolically. Most people were rather reserved and not used to doing something like this.

A round of not too loud or too soft applause sounded in the room. Han Xiao smiled in return.

Although he already expected this to happen beforehand, when it actually happened, he still felt content.

He was the leader of the Beyond Grade A Association and could formally lead the Beyond Grade As. His influence evolved to a higher level.

The effects of [Proof of Leadership] also updated right away. He only received part of the bonuses when he was the vice president, but when he became the president, the bonuses were finally complete. Although it was not so tremendous it would increase his strength drastically, it was still a cherry on top.

As the president was elected, the position of the vice president became vacant. An election was then also carried out. This time, the system changed. The number of vice presidents changed from one to two, taken by Kasuyi and Sierron.

Other than that, the association also decided on a few new directors, including Hila.

The voting process was very simple. The procedures were smoothly carried out, and the handover was completed.

Han Xiao finally sat in the main seat. On his left and right were Kasuyi and Sierron.

An inaugural address was needed even in the Beyond Grade A circle. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Han Xiao pondered for a few seconds before speaking.

“Since I’ve been elected as the president, let me say a few words… It has already been fifty years since the Beyond Grade A Association was founded. From nothing, we have built a strong foundation. We’ve done quite a good job till now, and we couldn’t have done it without the contributions of the former president Manison and all of you here.

“The initial purpose of founding the association was to unite all Beyond Grade As, form an interest network, and protect the Beyond Grade As. This purpose will be passed on. All decisions made in the future will work in accordance with this principle. All individuals or organizations who attempt to divide the Beyond Grade As will be the association’s enemy.

“As for me… I’ll also do my very best to make the association grow better, making it into a shelter for all Beyond Grade As. I won’t say too much. All of you here know what kind of person I am. I’ll certainly do my best to live up to your expectations.”

At this point, no matter what their thoughts about Han Xiao were, all the Beyond Grade As were nodding with approval.

Everyone present knew that from this second, the Beyond Grade A Association had entered the age of Black Star!

Looking at the different expressions on their faces, Han Xiao paused before speaking again in an unusual tone.

“We might see a revolution not far in the future. Be mentally prepared.”

Hearing this, many people could sense that Han Xiao was subtly conveying a meaningful message, but they could not figure out what it was.

And Han Xiao did not elaborate.

When the Holy Accord members appeared, a drastic change would come.

He could already see that a storm was about to arrive!

…

In a certain secret base of the Mechanic Emperor, as the election meeting ended, Manison deactivated the remote projection, and his sights returned to the dark room.

He picked up another communicator that had been in a call all this time, and the person he was calling was surprisingly Kasuyi.

“Thanks to you not running. The handover was smooth,” Kasuyi said with a smile.

“For the record, I did not give up running because you came to ask me do it,” Manison said with a poker face and a normal tone.

Others had no idea that the two of them negotiated privately. Kasuyi secretly contacted Manison and asked him to give up thinking of being re-elected. They had made an agreement under the table.

Kasuyi smiled. “No matter what, you’ve helped me.”

“Humph, it was an election, but it looked like Black Star was the only one whose words mattered.” Manison snorted with dissatisfaction.

“That’s called ‘the support of the people led to the right result happening’.” Kasuyi laughed.

“I have no idea what benefits Black Star gave you for you to help him this much. If I ran for office, even if I might not be re-elected, I’d at least be a vice president.” Manison frowned.

Kasuyi shook his head. “He didn’t give me anything. I did this of my own volition.”

“Ever since you and him went to the secondary dimensions together a few decades ago, you’ve always spoken for him. Did Black Star grab your heart with his charm? Humph, anyway, it’s none of my concern. Just don’t forget you owe me a favor.” Manison snorted softly.

“I won’t, old friend.”

Kasuyi smiled, and his figure disappeared from the screen.

Manison hung up the call, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Kasuyi’s request was only a very small factor in him choosing not to do anything during the election. He was actually already planning to do it.

The first reason was that he knew his place and knew that there was no way he could beat Black Star, so he did not want to humiliate himself. The second reason was that he wanted to keep a low profile and let Black Star take all the pressure so that he could look for opportunities in the dark and turn things around in future elections.

The third reason was the main reason Manison made this choice. After forty years of growth, the Beyond Grade A Association had become more and more independent, which prevented the three Universal Civilizations from gaining any new allies. He saw the brewing danger in this situation and felt that the three Universal Civilizations would very soon take the next step.

He stepped down to let Black Star take all the pressure.

Manison also understood that Black Star was the best person to lead the association in times like this. Black Star’s words mattered to the three Universal Civilizations, so he could relieve the pressure from the three Universal Civilizations to a certain extent. Black Star had a higher chance of leading the association to conquer the difficulties ahead and prevent the ‘cleansing’ from happening.

He had personal beef with Black Star, but protecting the safety of the Beyond Grade As was more important to him. Therefore, he chose to take a step back and not cause problems for Han Xiao’s election.

Manison closed his eyes.

“The three Universal Civilizations won’t watch us grow infinitely. Having rested for more than forty years, they’ll act soon… Black Star, will your method be enough to deal with the next ‘Tragedy of the Pinnacles’?

“Your philosophy is wrong; peaceful developments won’t lead to compromise. If we don’t make rulers like the three Universal Civilizations feel afraid, how can they allow us to grow stronger freely? If you can’t hold on, don’t blame me for releasing the imitation of the Virtual Mutiny Virus…”

…

“Black Star has taken over as the president of the Beyond Grade A Association.”

This news rapidly spread out in the galactic society, which had been paying attention.

Tons of reports appeared on the internet, announcing the arrival of the age of Black Star!

Suddenly, Black Star, who had kept a low profile for forty years, became the center of attention once again. His reputation and fame rocketed, and his legendary deeds of the past got brought up by the media once again for promotion, attracting tons of attention. Even the stock price of the Germinal Financial Group increased quite a bit because of it.

Overall, the galactic society had a positive attitude for this change. Black Star was the hero of the universe who solved the Intelligent Plague, a Stuarts Peace Prize winner, a receiver of the Galaxy Medal, the shared consultant of the three Universal Civilizations… These titles were so much better than the Mechanic Emperor’s. Most people trusted that the Beyond Grade A Association would peacefully grow under Han Xiao’s lead.

While the outside world expressed all kinds of opinions about the Beyond Grade A Association having a new president, Han Xiao had already teleported to the Ancient Star Desert and met with the Holy Accord organization.

He did not go there just to discuss the Primordial Ones appearing in public but also for another big matter…

The keys to open the Third Sanctum were once again all collected!

Chapter 1252: Enter

The spaceship rode into the port of a certain secret base of the Holy Accord organization. The hatch slid open. Han Xiao walked out and saw Oathkeeper waiting on the dock right away.

“Yo, it’s been some time. You’re still wearing this? Don’t you need to wash your clothes?” Han Xiao laughed and joked.

“… No.” Oathkeeper’s lips twitched. “I’ve been waiting for you. Let’s talk inside.”

Oathkeeper led the way ahead. Han Xiao followed him along the corridor of the base.

The two spoke while walking.

Han Xiao scratched his chin and said curiously, “It’s only been a few decades, and you’ve collected all The Third Sanctum’s keys again. Aren’t you too efficient?”

“That’s nothing. There’s only zero times or countless times for entering the Sanctums. With experience, doing it again becomes much easier. Some keys are not single use, and we’ve kept inventory of them. For example, the Primal Esper Ability Entities. We were stuck on that previously, and we managed to collect them all the last time, so we just have to use them again… As for the other types of keys, with your financial help and channels you provided, collecting them was much easier than before,” Oathkeeper explained.

Han Xiao nodded.

Basically, the crucial items could be reused and did not have to be collected again.

It was the same in the previous life too. The Holy Accord organization’s scale was much larger than when they appeared, which meant that Oathkeeper had definitely entered the Sanctums multiple times, so being this efficient was not surprising.

This time, Han Xiao would be entering the Sanctum alone to complete the third round for the [A Relay Across Iterations] mission as well as out of curiosity.

The two of them chatted along the way and came to the elderlies activity room. As soon as Han Xiao walked in, dozens of pairs of eyes focused on him.

The many revived Primordial Ones were waiting there. As soon as they saw Han Xiao, they all swarmed over and surrounded him.

“Black Star, congrats on being elected as the association president!”

“The promised time has come. We can go out now, right?”

They spoke noisily.

Han Xiao raised his hand and signaled for them to calm down. He then said slowly, “Hmm, it’s about time. But I think it’s better to wait one or two more years.”

“One or two years?”

The expressions on their faces changed slightly.

You told us to stay here three years after three years. Now it’s almost fifty years, pal! We really can’t hold it in much longer!

“Ahem, guys, don’t be in such a hurry. I have three reasons for that.”

Han Xiao pointed his fingers and explained, “Firstly, I’ve only just been elected as the president, so it’s best to wait a little. Secondly, in the past forty years, the three Universal Civilizations have not gotten a single new ally, so they’re probably not very happy about it. I have to see what they’re going to do first.

“As for the last reason… it’s that I have to enter the Sanctum, and I don’t know how long it’ll take.”

According to Oathkeeper, the flow of time in the Sanctums was different from the outside world. Oathkeeper did not feel like he spent a long time inside, but when he came out, he found out that a few years had already passed in the main universe. Therefore, Han Xiao had to prepare for that.

Hearing this, the many Primordial Ones looked like they were in a dilemma.

They wanted to go out right away, but if Han Xiao was in the Sanctum and might disappear for a few years, without the support of President Black Star in this period of time, many things would be difficult.

“Doesn’t matter,” Pangon coldly said. “I wasn’t going to join the association anyway. I’ve decided, I’ll leave shortly!”

Han Xiao glanced at him, nodded, and did not say anything.

This batch of revived Primordial Ones were generally divided into three groups with different goals. One wanted to enjoy the privileges of Beyond Grade As in a peaceful era so wanted to join the association. For example, Lady Lust. They were the ones who were conflicted.

The second group wanted to continue hiding in the Holy Accord and help Oathkeeper operate the organization. They did not plan to go out, so of course, they had no problem with waiting.

The last group were the creditors from the exploration era wanting to take revenge against the advanced civilizations. They were the minority, and their representative was Pangon. He planned to be a lone wolf to begin with, so he did not want to join the association.

Han Xiao did not want these people to join either. After all, acts of revenge would heavily intensify the conflicts between the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade As. If those people entered the association, should the association help them or not when the time came? Most association members would definitely oppose helping them. Therefore, he felt he might as well let these lone wolves be so that they do not drag the association down with them.

In his previous life, these people’s acts of revenge were one of the crucial fuses of the Calamity of the Supers version. Han Xiao did not care about where Pangon and the others were going.

Han Xiao knew what Pangon was thinking too. Pangon did not expect the association to help. He knew the purpose of the Beyond Grade A Association, so he did not want to burden the association and decided to take on the responsibility of taking revenge alone.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, Pangon never leaked the existence of the Holy Accord. Therefore, though headstrong, this guy was loyal to his morals.

Han Xiao looked at Beiger and the others. “What about you guys? Are you willing to wait for me?”

Beiger thought about it, nodded, and said, “Although we can’t endure it much longer, the big picture is still more important. We might not be from the same generation as the modern Beyond Grade As, but we all represent the same grade and share the same interests. When we appear, the entire Beyond Grade A class will definitely be shaken. Don’t worry, we won’t damage the big picture for our personal interests.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao smiled with satisfaction.

After more than forty years, most Primordial Ones had adapted to the era. Some of them no longer only thought for themselves and were tricked… ahem… convinced by him to be invested in the Beyond Grade A Association’s future, letting go of their past in the exploration era. They decided to participate in this new warfare between the Beyond Grade As and the advanced civilizations and were willing to fight for the entire Beyond Grade A class.

From these people’s perspective, when the huge change arrived, they could not not have the key person, Black Star. For that, they were willing to continue hiding for some time.

Although Beiger and these guys had yet to appear in public, in their hearts, they already considered themselves members of the Beyond Grade A Association and had the collective interest in their mind.

“Great, I was not wrong about you guys…” Han Xiao laughed, quickly comforting their emotions.

As they received a response, they arranged their emotions and went back to playing cards on the side.

Han Xiao pulled Oathkeeper out of the elderlies activity room and into a side room to speak privately.

Han Xiao closed the door and said, “To deal with the drastic change that’s about to come, we need more Beyond Grade As. Are all the revival mediums prepared?”

“Hmm, they’re all ready. Thanks to the fact that many Beyond Grade As left offspring and races behind, they weren’t difficult to collect.” Oathkeeper nodded.

This time, Han Xiao would be entering the Sanctums. He was going in with a mission—to revive more Beyond Grade As.

Reviving Beyond Grade As through the Sanctums required all kinds of mediums. In the past few decades, the Black Star Army and the Holy Accord organization had been secretly carrying out this task of collecting objects related to old Beyond Grade As. They included their inheritance, the remaining people of their race, and others.

Han Xiao took the list and scanned through. His eyes narrowed slightly.

“Looks like there are some strong people in the list of people we’re reviving this round.”

“No matter how strong they are, are they stronger than you?” Oathkeeper curled his lips.

“You’re right about that. I’m f*cking invincible.” Han Xiao accepted this compliment.

He then recalled Jayz of the Celestial Star Alliance and wondered if he could revive this guy from a different Iteration.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao temporarily put away this thought. He found an empty room and entered alone. He blocked all the surveillance in the room, took out his communicator, and called a number.

He first called Kasuyi. Very soon, Kasuyi appeared on the screen.

“Black Star… oh no, it’s Mr. President now. What is it?” Kasuyi smiled.

Han Xiao scratched his chin and said, “I might have to disappear for an unknown amount of time, maybe a few days, maybe a few years. When I’m not around, help manage the association’s affairs.”

“Where are you going?” Kasuyi wiped the smile off his face and frowned.

“Remember our experience in the secondary dimensions? I found some clues and need to spend some time investigating them.” Han Xiao did not share the details, but Kasuyi knew about the Sanctum-related information too, so he would know what he was saying.

As expected, Kasuyi understood what he meant and looked surprised. He did not question him further, nodded seriously, and said, “Go then, don’t worry. I’ll take care of the association.”

When Kasuyi found out about the Sanctums from Jayz a few decades ago, he knew that Han Xiao’s path was the right one and stood on his side. They had become secret allies.

Kasuyi had no interest in power; he stepped up to become the vice president not because he wanted a higher position but because Han Xiao told him to as it would indirectly help Han Xiao solidify his position further. It had no disadvantages anyway, so he did not mind helping Han Xiao.

“I’ll leave it to you then.”

Han Xiao nodded, said a few more things, and hung up.

He did not stop there. He then called up Hila, Ames, and so on, telling them he would disappear for some time, going to the secondary dimensions to look for opportunities to undergo God’s Trait Transformation.

This was not rare for peak Beyond Grade As, so this excuse was very useful. Hila, Ames, and the others did not suspect anything.

Han Xiao told them to take care of the army while he was out.

Then, he called the last few numbers, the three Universal Civilizations’ men.

The three Universal Civilizations once wanted him to be elected, thinking he would be a more suitable leader of the association than the Mechanic Emperor. However, after decades, conflicts accumulated quicker than expected, so this slight favor was no longer enough. There was no way the three Universal Civilizations would allow the Beyond Grade A Association to continue becoming stronger just because of him alone.

Han Xiao did not know how long he would spend in the Sanctums, so he planned to restate his identity and stance to keep things stable for a period of time.

The negotiation was considerably smooth. After all, he still had the consultant of the three Universal Civilizations title. Han Xiao found out what the three Universal Civilizations were planning to do.

The three Universal Civilizations were still observing the changes him becoming the president would cause, so they would not make the conflicts explode in a short period of time. This was logical and within his expectations.

After arranging everything, Han Xiao approached Oathkeeper again, looked at his anticipation-filled eyes, and nodded solemnly.

“Start the preparations and open the Sanctum as soon as possible!”

…

Three days later, at an unpopulated area near the Holy Accord organization’s base, spaceships hovered in the desolate cosmic space.

Han Xiao was the only one hovering outside the spaceships. He remained in contact with Oathkeeper using the screen inside the mechanical suit.

On the screen, Oathkeeper made an encouraging gesture and said, “Ready? Everything’s ready on my side. The Sanctum can be opened anytime.”

“Do it.” Han Xiao exhaled and calmed his emotions.

Oathkeeper nodded, turned around, and ordered, “All units, begin!”

As soon as he said that, the spaceships immediately moved. They had rehearsed the process countless times, like an impressive machine, not a single mistake was made.

Bang bang bang!

Primal Esper Ability Entities were shot out one after another, contained in special seals. Colorful light beams focused at one point, rapidly expanded, and turned into a hovering white sphere.

Under the effects of special devices, like a piece of rubber, the light sphere shrank into a bright ring only about a hundred meters wide. Its energy was extremely condensed.

Then, the remaining spaceships activated one device after another and released the other ‘keys’ into this ring through beams.

As the space seemed to have trembled, the ring suddenly shone even brighter and projected six mirage-like light gates.

The next second, five light gates disappeared, leaving only one that seemed to have materialized from an illusion to something real. It was still shaking unsteadily like it could disappear any second.

“That’s the entrance of the Third Sanctum. Go!” Oathkeeper hastily said.

Han Xiao focused his mind, activated his thrusters, and dashed into the Sanctum’s entrance.

The next moment, the light before his eyes suddenly became much brighter. All he could see was white.

The moment he passed the gate, Han Xiao felt his body suddenly become lighter as if he had broken through some kind of barrier. He felt fuzzy, like he was no longer in this world.

“I’m finally inside…”

Chapter 1253: The Third Sanctum 1

This moment felt both like an instant and like countless years.

Han Xiao’s vision slowly became clear as he gradually saw his surroundings.

This was an endless world of white with no gravity. His body floated in midair. Countless white light spheres floated all around him, some small, some large. Looking from afar, every light sphere seemed to be playing blurry images.

“The Third Sanctum does indeed look no different from what Oathkeeper described…”

Han Xiao looked around curiously. Suddenly, he turned around and saw that the light gate entrance he came from was trembling intensely as if it was going to collapse.

Suddenly, out of intuition, he extended his hand and closed his fist.

Buzz!

At this time, a stream of special energy suddenly appeared in his body. Six warm streams of energy seemed to have appeared out of thin air and gathered on his palm, turning into a glowing unique pattern.

The next moment, the entrance seemed to have received some kind of support and instantly became stable, turning into a slowly spinning light gate like a glowing mirror.

“What’s this?”

Han Xiao was surprised. Earlier, he only thought of not wanting the entrance to disappear, and suddenly, he intuitively felt that he could make it happen, which was exactly what happened.

He looked down on his palm and observed this mark that appeared out of nowhere. It looked like it was a combination of six patterns, and it did not seem whole.

“That’s weird. When did I have this thing inside my body?”

Han Xiao was just about to open the interface to check his status, when to his absolute shock, he discovered he could no longer open the interface.

This was the first time ever the interface did not respond!

Han Xiao frowned. He clenched his fist and tried to command the energy inside his body, the next moment, streams of golden Mechanical Force shot out.

“Hmm. Although the interface can’t be opened, my status did not change. I’m still at my peak.”

Han Xiao sensed the state of his body and heaved a sigh of relief. Although he could not open the interface for the time being, it did not affect his abilities.

Since the very start, everything he felt was real. All the abilities he learned became his own techniques that he could use anytime. If it was a player, they would not even be able to use any ability at all without the interface. For example, when building machines, he had to personally finish all the processes, while players only had to wait for the progress bar to finish. The difference was huge.

This was Han Xiao’s first time inside a Sanctum. All he could do was slowly figure things out.

He tested several abilities and realized he could use almost all of them. The only ones he could not use were the abilities that were related to the outside world such as quantum network communication functions and the Dimension Factory. Even the King’s teleportation function became unusable.

Although he somehow stopped the Sanctum entrance from disappearing, all means of communication he had with the outside world were no longer working. His call with the Holy Accord organization was also cut off.

“Interesting. The Sanctum is very special. Not only is the King suit useless, even the interface can’t be opened…”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, and his brain quickly spun. Staring at the mark on his palm, he suddenly had a flash of insight.

“Six patterns… six… if I remember correctly, that’s about the same number of Third Sanctum fragments I have, isn’t it?”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Despite not being able to see the interface now, he still remembered things like that.

Initially, he only had two [The Third Sanctum] fragments, one from the [Primal Esper Ability Collector] milestone and another from beating up the elderlies of Holy Accord.

The mission requirement of the third round of [A Relay Across Iterations] was to enter any one of the Sanctums. The reward was three Sanctum fragments of the respective Sanctum. Although he could not see the interface now, Han Xiao had a feeling that the interface might still be operating. He could not see the notifications, but the mission rewards were still given.

If that was the case, he had five Third Sanctum fragments.

As for the one extra fragment, Han Xiao had a few speculations about it. According to Oathkeeper’s experience, the biggest possibility was that by entering any Sanctums, he would automatically obtain its respective fragment.

If this theory was true, the number would match, and it would explain this situation. This meant that this mark did not appear out of thin air but had always been sleeping inside his body, and the activation requirement was to enter the corresponding Sanctum.

“I had no idea about the use of Sanctum fragments, but they stabilized the Sanctum entrance just now… Does this mean that the Sanctum fragments are related to the level of authority I have in the Sanctums? The more fragments I have, the more things I can do?

“Oathkeeper said he felt like he was in a dream when he was in the Sanctum and his mind was not clear, but my mind is only a little bit distracted and not as fuzzy as he said. Is this also because of the Sanctum fragments?”

Han Xiao could not help but ponder.

Suddenly, he regained focus and shook his head heavily.

“These things can only be speculated now. I can’t waste too much time. I should find out what happened after I go out and can see the interface… The priority now is to observe the Sanctum!”

Han Xiao focused, controlled his body, and flew to the nearest light sphere. He opened his eyes wide, wanting to see the illusions in it clearly, but it was still very blurry.

He hesitated for a moment, reached out the hand that had the Sanctum mark, and carefully touched this light sphere.

Swoosh!

At the moment he came into contact with it, an enormous stream of information gushed into his mind like a tsunami.

Suddenly, illusions appeared before Han Xiao’s eyes. It was as if he saw the entire rise and fall of a race, creating a glorious civilization, breeding great people generation after generation, improving its technology rapidly. It was eventually destroyed in a disaster.

Han Xiao remained stunned for quite some time before removing his hand. He realized that he could only remember parts of the illusions he saw. Some knowledge appeared in his head out of nowhere that seemed to be a part of the technology this civilization created in its development.

“This knowledge mainly revolves around biology and gene tech. It’s only a part of this civilization’s technology…”

Han Xiao digested this surprise and went back to touching more light spheres.

After several tests, he had a rough idea of the mechanics of the Sanctum and concluded a few patterns from speculations.

Firstly, every light sphere was an Information Form collective body that recorded the information of various things, mainly civilizations. Usually, one light sphere represented one civilization. None of them existed historically and should all be from the past Iterations.

Secondly, he could read the information inside the light spheres by touching them, but he could only remember parts. The number of things he could remember should be related to the level of authority he had, meaning the number of Sanctum fragments he possessed.

However, there was a limit to the number of memories he could keep. At a certain point, when he read new light spheres, he would forget a part of the information he read earlier.

According to the nature of the Information Form, the number of memories he could keep every time he entered the Sanctums was very likely limited and would only be reset the next time he entered. This meant that the amount of knowledge he could bring out of the Sanctums each time was limited too, and the limit probably still depended on the number of Sanctum fragments.

Thirdly, after touching multiple light spheres, he noticed that the technology he acquired was mostly related to biology, genetics, and Esper Abilities. This might be the difference between Sanctums, meaning that the knowledge of these civilizations in the past Iterations was stored separately based on its type. Different Sanctums might represent the different types of knowledge. The Third Sanctum most likely contained the biology, genetics, and Esper Ability related technology.

Fourthly, some light spheres contained information about Beyond Grade As from different Iterations. By reading it, he could immerse himself in their life experience and even acquire some of the information they knew.

However, there were only Espers in the Third Sanctum. According to Han Xiao’s speculation, if he read the light spheres about Mechanics or Mages, he would very likely acquire the knowledges, technology, spells, blueprints, or other things these Beyond Grade As had.

“Jayz didn’t lie…”

Han Xiao was shocked.

Although parts of these patterns were speculation, he felt that it should be very close to the truth!

Other than completing the revival goal, Oathkeeper almost did not gain anything at all the last time he entered the Sanctum. It might be because his level of authority was not high enough.

However, he had six fragments in the Third Sanctum to begin with. His authority level was a full five levels higher than Oathkeeper. He should be able to do much more.

Having thought of Jayz, his request appeared in Han Xiao’s mind.

“Let’s see how the Sanctum revival system works.”

Han Xiao focused and took out the mediums that Oathkeeper had given him.

As soon as he thought about testing how the Sanctum revival system worked, the mark on his palm seemed to have sensed it and flickered.

Swoosh!

The next second, thin lines of light suddenly shot out from some light spheres and met before Han Xiao’s eyes. With a bright flash, a glowing mark hovered in midair.

Han Xiao sized it up and was delighted.

“This mark… it’s the Sanctum revival mark Oathkeeper drew.”

Han Xiao reached out and touched this mark right away. The mark instantly turned into a stream of light and landed on the back of his hand.

At the same time, a stream of data flowed into his brain that recorded the instructions on how to use the Sanctum revival mark and the list of targets this mark could revive.

Sadly, Jayz was not in the list.

“Looks like it failed…”

Having realized that, Han Xiao sighed.

Either this medium of his was not recognized by the Sanctum, or there was some kind of restriction on reviving targets from other Iterations like Jayz said.

Although they did not spend a lot of time together, Jayz left a heavy impression on him. Since the revival had failed and he could not meet Jayz again, Han Xiao felt complicated.

“Never mind, this is just fate.”

Han Xiao shook his head and cleared up his emotions. His thoughts jumped from Jayz to the Celestial Star Alliance, and he murmured, “The Information Form collective body of the Celestial Star Alliance Iteration should also be inside the Sanctums, right?”

As soon as he thought of that, the Sanctum mark reacted and glowed, pointing to a direction.

Seeing this, unprepared, Han Xiao was surprised.

Then, he flew in the direction the mark pointed and stopped beside a bunch of light spheres.

“Are these the Information Form light spheres of the Celestial Star Alliance Iteration?”

As he thought that, he read the content of one of the light spheres and immediately verified his speculation. It indeed contained the information of a certain civilization from the Celestial Star Alliance Iteration.

Regaining focus, Han Xiao looked at the mark on his hand with surprise.

“Looks like I guessed correctly. The Sanctum fragments represent authority, but it’s surprising it can even lead the way… Well, I guess it makes sense. There’s so much Information Form information inside the Sanctum; finding a specific piece of information is like finding a needle in a haystack.”

As soon as he said that, Han Xiao’s body shook, and a daring thought appeared in Han Xiao’s head. He mumbled, “If it can lead the way like an index, if I search for the Iteration information of the Galaxy and find it, does that mean that we’re already…”

Buzz!

Before he even finished, the Sanctum mark pointed in another direction.

“There really is‽”

Han Xiao’s breath stopped for a second, and his heart sank.

He bit his lips, followed the direction silently, and came to a light sphere.

He stood in place for quite some time before he finally prepared himself mentally, took a deep breath, and slowly touched this light sphere.

However, the next moment, Han Xiao was dumbfounded.

There was no content in this light sphere. It was empty!

“Why isn’t there anything‽”

Han Xiao had touched many light spheres. This was the first time he had come across this.

He then tried to search for the three Universal Civilizations of the Galaxy and the other advanced civilizations.

Every search worked, but none of the target light spheres had any information in them at all. They were all empty shells.

Han Xiao was shocked yet could not help but feel relieved.

He was worried about seeing the information of the explored universe inside the Sanctum. It would mean that just like the Celestial Star Alliance, Galaxy was only an illusion of the past. However, this was beyond his expectations. Although he could search for the target civilizations, they were all empty. Han Xiao did not know what it meant, but at least it was not the worst scenario.

“Interesting, what is going on?”

Han Xiao frowned and pondered, beginning to speculate.

“The reason they’re empty shells… does it mean that Galaxy is the ongoing Iteration, meaning it’s the present, and its related information will only be recorded by the Sanctum after we experience the Great Reboot? If that’s really the case, it should be good news…”

This time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something, and his expression changed slightly.

“Therefore, these empty shells… are the gravestones the Sanctum prepared for this Iteration?

“Is the Sanctum trying to say that nothing can escape death?”

Han Xiao became silent.

He silently looked at the empty light sphere before him. At this moment, his heart was filled with a strong sense of grief.

Chapter 1254: The Third Sanctum 2

Be it the three Universal Civilizations or the World Tree Civilization, they were all empty shells.

Han Xiao took a deep breath, cleared his emotions, and buried them, not looking at the empty light sphere in front of him any longer.

“This isn’t a bad thing. At least it’s not an illusion of the past like the Celestial Star Alliance. Plus, judging from the Celestial Star Alliance’s time period, the Galaxy is far from the Great Reboot. I don’t even know if I’ll live till that day…

“Speaking of which, if I search for Planet Earth, will it have any results?”

This thought suddenly appeared in Han Xiao’s mind.

He looked down at the mark but realized it did not respond this time. He raised his brows.

“Hmm, no reaction, huh? My old home is still in another world then. It has nothing to do with our Iterations…”

Han Xiao shook his head.

He focused his mind and went back to business, putting the information he read into the storage device.

Although his devices lost internet connection, they still functioned. He wanted to see if he could go around the memory capacity limit of the Sanctums by storing information in his hardware.

Han Xiao quickly stored the technology he acquired into the storage device, then started to touch another light sphere to read its information. The new technology he acquired once again replaced some information in his mind.

Then, Han Xiao opened the storage device and saw that the same information disappeared in it too.

“Looks like this doesn’t work either… Be it the human brain, mechanical hardware, or anything else, as long as it’s an information transmission medium, the part of information will be wiped no matter what. It’s similar to how Destiny’s Child works, just in a more advanced way. It’s one of the principles of the High Dimensional Information Form…”

Han Xiao then tried a few more times using different methods, but nothing worked, so he had no choice but to let go of this thought.

He put the storage device away, stopped making meaningless tries, and looked around the Sanctum. He nodded.

The Sanctum revival was successful, what Jayz said was verified, he found out about part of the mechanisms of the Sanctums, and his memory capacity reached the limit. From how Han Xiao looked at it, his goal of entering the Sanctum was basically achieved. It was about time to leave through the gate he came from.

Just as he was about to move, he suddenly had a flash of insight and realized a problem.

“Wait a minute. I knew about the Sanctums’ origin, the contributions of the Savior Civilization and the Sanctum Civilization, and how they passed on the knowledge from Jayz… but how did Oathkeeper find out?

“If the information he has only came from reading the light spheres, with so many light spheres here and the memory capacity limit, it should most likely be incomplete…”

Han Xiao frowned.

The Sanctum did not just record the final civilization of an Iteration but all civilizations of every Iteration. As long as they once existed, they would be recorded whether they were weak or strong, unlike the information of individuals.

This meant that only an extremely few light spheres contained the information about the origin of the Sanctums and The Great Reboot.

According to Han Xiao’s experience of reading so many light spheres, if not because he found out about the full picture from Jayz, he would most likely not have been able to combine them into this much information just by reading the light spheres. The memory capacity limit was the main reason.

However, Oathkeeper’s authority level in the Third Sanctum was far lower than his; unless he got extremely lucky and touched one of the ‘final civilizations’, there was no way he would know so much. Therefore, Han Xiao started to have doubts about Oathkeeper’s source of information—he did not believe that b*stard would be so lucky, or he would not have taken so many years to collect all the Sanctum keys.

Han Xiao pondered. The moment he doubted why the Sanctums existed, a change suddenly occurred!

Buzz!

The Sanctum mark on his hand suddenly flickered and shot out streams of light like silk that formed a translucent light curtain hovering before him.

“Hmm? What’s this?”

Han Xiao looked at it closely.

Chains of symbols that he could not understand appeared on the curtain. The language seemed to have changed every few paragraphs. Han Xiao could read none of them.

However, the next second, all these symbols turned into the common Galaxy language.

“It can automatically change into a language the reader understands, another Information Form mechanism, I see…”

Han Xiao focused and read from top to bottom. He realized that the contents of the Sanctums and the Iterations were right at the top, clearly explaining the full story. It was basically completely the same with what Jayz said, only more detailed.

Reading further, gaps started to appear every now and then. The further down he read, the more gaps there were.

After reading it for a while, Han Xiao roughly understood what was going on.

“I see, what this light curtain records are the last words of the final civilization of every Iteration. This thing is probably a special message board that passes down the important experiences of final civilizations to the next generations.

“These messages should be arranged according to time. The earliest messages are at the top, basic and the most crucial information about the origins of the Sanctums and the Iteration. This is basically the source of the information Oathkeeper knows… The lower it gets, the closer the messages are to the current Iteration, and the more random gaps there are. This is probably also related to the level of authority. The gaps will only decrease with a high level of authority.”

Han Xiao suddenly understood the purpose of the message board—to record the order of the Iterations and let those that came after quickly understand the origins of the Sanctums and the Great Reboot. That way, they did not have to randomly touch light spheres and piece the puzzle together themselves. Those that came after could learn from their experiences and make fewer mistakes.

This message board should be the main platform for the relay between the final civilizations of the various Iterations!

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and said with surprise, “This message board doesn’t feel like it came from the Sanctum itself but a change created by the later Iterations…”

Jayz had once said that because the Sanctums were eternal, many final civilizations saw the Sanctums as a breakthrough point and carried out all kinds of plans around it. That caused the Sanctums to ‘mutate’ and gain new functions. The Sanctum’s revival function might be one of them, since the class of the revival targets was not restricted by the different types of Sanctums.

This message board was very likely one of the mutated functions too. Through reading, he realized many civilizations did indeed carry out plans concerning the Sanctums. The first civilization to leave a message clearly conveyed in the message that it was the first to discover the message board function, and there were light spheres of civilizations in earlier Iterations than them.

The first civilization also briefly described the basic mechanisms and functions of the Sanctums, such as the required keys of the other Sanctums. As Han Xiao expected, the Sanctum fragments represented the level of authority.

Even Beyond Grade As occasionally receiving a feeling that Sanctums existed was a mutated function so that the following Iterations could come in contact with the Sanctums earlier and have more time to prepare.

At the same time, the final civilizations in the later Iterations also continued the work of introducing the functions of the Sanctums, adding new mutated functions on the message board. However, most of them were incomplete, and Han Xiao could not see them.

“All the rulers of the Iterations were leading the path for those who came after them…”

Han Xiao’s eyes flickered and looked at the light curtain again with different emotions.

[Today is the day to carry out the ███ Plan. Hope everything goes smoothly.]

[Will the ███ really work? We’re not actually confident…]

[The Rebirth Plan is based on ███. According to our calculations, our success rate is only at about 1.44%. Maybe we’ve not studied it enough and won’t make it through the Great Reboot, but the technology of the Rebirth Plan will be recorded by the Sanctums. We hope those who come after us can continue to study it. The name of our civilization is ███.]

[We’re the ███ Civilization. The Great Reboot has begun; all of this is not a lie. We are using the remainder of our time to leave this message. Our plan will fail. It proves that the ███ technology won’t work. Don’t take our path, it’s a dead end!]

On the light curtain, there were messages full of hope, messages that sounded unconfident, and messages that analyzed the path they took…

Looking at these messages, Han Xiao could almost feel the emotions these civilizations were going through when leaving them. They suppressed their anxiety, despair, and fear, forcing themselves to calm down and leave the knowledge they had to those who came after…

“This must be the true meaning of ‘A Relay Across Iterations’… What an incredible history.”

At this time, Han Xiao finally had a deeper understanding of the name of this mission. He felt complicated and could not help but respect these civilizations.

“Maybe one day in the future, the three Universal Civilizations will leave a message here too… hmm, or the World Tree Civilization?”

Han Xiao sighed, calmed his emotions, and started searching for messages related to the Celestial Star Alliance.

As the messages were arranged by time, he wanted to see where the Celestial Star Alliance came in and how many Iterations they were away.

He read one message after another, and when he came to the fifth last message, he saw the related information.

As this was relatively recent, the messages below were mostly empty. But he saw the familiar phrase ‘World Reset Plan’, which was the Celestial Star Alliance’s plan to get through the Great Reboot.

“Fifth last, huh. This means that the Celestial Star Alliance is at most four Iterations before us, or the last Iteration before us at minimum…”

Han Xiao nodded.

As one Iteration could leave multiple messages, he did not know who wrote the last few messages. It might be other Iterations or the Celestial Star Alliance. Originally, he could judge from their language as the same language would mean they were from the same Iteration, but the message board had already translated all of them into the Galaxy’s general language. Han Xiao tried to but could not turn them back to their original language; he did not know if there was no such function or his level of authority was not high enough. Either way, there was nothing he could do.

The last few messages were filled with blanks. The only valuable piece of information was a phrase in the middle of the last paragraph.

[██████ Information Form becoming real. This is the right path ██████]

Han Xiao scratched his head and did not know what to say.

“Information Form conversion… Both the Intelligent Plague and the Sanctum revival function should share this trait. However, this message actually said this path is the right one… If it really is, how did you guys perish?”

Han Xiao sighed.

He pondered for a while. He then tried to leave a message on the light curtain, but it did not respond.

“Hmm, speaking of which, all the messages on this light curtain are from civilizations, no individuals. I wonder if my authority level is not enough to leave a message, or are the messages left by individuals not recorded by the message board?”

Since there was no way of figuring that now, Han Xiao could only put this question aside and close the message board.

The goal of this trip was mostly achieved. To him, the biggest thing he acquired this time was that he recorded the full methods to open the other Sanctums with his authority level, which was much higher than Oathkeeper’s.

Due to the limit of memory capacity, he would probably have to wait till the next time he entered if he wanted to acquire more things.

“I hope I can see other Sanctums next time. The First Sanctum would be best; my authority level there is quite high too.”

Han Xiao mumbled to himself and returned to the stabilized Sanctum gate.

He glanced at the Sanctum, then turned around and flew into the gate.

When the bright light filled Han Xiao’s sights once again, in the short moment his consciousness was blurry, he only had one thought.

“I’ve stayed in the Sanctum for five hours at most. I wonder how much time has passed in the universe…”

Chapter 1255: Fourth Round Mission and Second Revival

Out in space, a light gate suddenly appeared and spat Han Xiao out before disappearing.

Han Xiao only regained focus as if his consciousness got dragged back to his body after being stunned for about ten seconds.

“Hmm? I’m already out?”

Han Xiao felt the complete opposite from when he entered the Sanctum. It was as if he passed through a thin membrane and his body became heavier, like stepping out from a pool.

Recalling what he had experienced in the Sanctum, his memories became blurry like he was seeing through a clouded window. However, it felt much better than what Oathkeeper described. It should be because his authority was higher.

The technology and knowledge he had memorized were totally clear.

Han Xiao looked down at his palm. The mark that represented his authority level in the Sanctum was already gone, leaving only the Sanctum revival mark.

“Let’s see if I can open the interface now…”

Han Xiao tried to bring up the interface, and the next moment, notifications popped up rapidly one after another.

_____________________

You have successfully entered The Third Sanctum.

You have received 1 [The Third Sanctum] Fragment.

[A Relay Across Iterations] third round completed.

You have received 200 Billion EXP, 2 Random Rewards, 3 [The Third Sanctum] Fragments.

You have entered a Sanctum. [The Third Sanctum] fragments are now assembling…

Assembly completed. You have received ability [The Third Sanctum Authority Lv6]!

_____________________

“I knew it, the fragments represent authority. I can’t open the interface in the Sanctums, but it still works.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

He opened the ability introduction of [The Third Sanctum Authority Lv6] and read it. It was basically about the same as what the Sanctum’s message board described, only more detailed. It also stated that the speed of time in the Sanctums also relied on the level of authority.

Han Xiao took out his communicator to look at the date and was relieved.

“Phew, less than four months have passed. This is much shorter than I expected, unlike that unlucky Oathkeeper, who spent years there. This means that the higher the level of authority, the closer the speed of time in the Sanctum compared to the main universe.”

He was in a much more delighted mood. After all, he had expected this to take years and already made preparations for it. Since it had taken less than four months, it was a pleasant surprise.

He took out the communicator and looked at it. Since he had already made the arrangements before entering the Sanctum, the affairs of the army and the association were all taken care of. The past few months had been peaceful, and nothing big had happened. Those seeking revenge, including Pangon, had yet to appear.

“This is the best scenario possible. I still have a hold of things.”

Han Xiao nodded, put the communicator away, and looked at the interface. The fourth-round mission of [A Relay Across Iterations] had also popped up.

_____________________

Fourth round started!

Mission Requirements (Optional)

1. Share the information related to the Sanctums, The Great Reboot, the Universe Iterations, and so on with the current advanced civilizations (Super Star Cluster minimum).

2. Prove the existence of the Sanctums to the advanced civilizations and help them to open the Sanctums.

3. Make use of the level of authority advantage you have and lead the advanced civilizations into the Sanctums.

Remarks: Select one or more mission requirements stated above. The more requirements completed, the higher the Mission Rating for this round will be.

Basic Reward: 25 Billion EXP, 1 All Sanctum Fragment.

Bonus reward will be given depending on the Mission Rating.

_____________________

“Hmm, so this is what the fourth round is like… It requires the person who entered the Sanctum to share this precious information with the advanced civilizations… Well, it makes sense. This is the meaning of a ‘relay’, after all. The perspective of this mission is bigger; civilizations are the key to the universe’s growth. The sooner they know about the Sanctums, the more time they’ll have to prepare. The final goal of this mission, judging from its name, is to help the civilizations get through the Great Reboot…”

However, although Han Xiao understood the purpose of this mission, he did not plan to do it.

From the perspective of the mission, helping the civilizations get control of the Sanctums was the top priority. However, this would cause unpredictable impacts on his plan.

It was no longer personal. Han Xiao had to think for all the Beyond Grade As.

In the future, to deal with the Great Reboot, they might have to work with the three Universal Civilizations. However, for now, there was no way he was going to be in a hurry to share such precious information with the advanced civilizations—it would be betraying the Beyond Grade As.

He only planned to work with the three Universal Civilizations after the association got a firm hold of the Sanctum revival function. Otherwise, the Celestial Star Alliance’s complete rule over the Beyond Grade As would be a prime example of their future.

Han Xiao sighed and decided not to complete the mission for the time being.

At this time, a few spaceships suddenly deactivated their stealth mode, appeared, and asked cautiously in the public channel, “Is this His Excellency Black Star?”

“Yes, it’s be.”

Han Xiao looked up and was not surprised.

He had noticed these few Holy Accord organization spaceships earlier and knew that they were the guards Oathkeeper had stationed there.

Han Xiao paused, took out the communicator, and called Oathkeeper. It was picked up very quickly.

Oathkeeper appeared on the screen with a face full of surprise.

“Black Star? Doesn’t it take a few years? How did you return so fast?’

“Maybe because I’m lucky?” Han Xiao shrugged.

“Really? I don’t believe you.”

Oathkeeper expressed strong doubts and was bitter.

Why did it take a few years for me and only a few months for you? It’s unfair!

“By the way, why didn’t you tell me about the message board? Naughty you, did you hide it from me on purpose?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

If not because he felt something was not right, he might have left without seeing the message board. Furthermore, Oathkeeper did not say anything about the Sanctum’s authority level, which made him unavoidably suspect Oathkeeper’s motives.

“What message board? What’s that?” Oathkeeper said with a confused tone.

“You don’t know?”

Han Xiao raised his brows and observed Oathkeeper’s expression but could not see anything.

It might be because Oathkeeper’s authority level was too low and he could not remember, or he was hiding it deliberately. Anyway, no matter what motives Oathkeeper had, such a trivial matter was in the past. Han Xiao did not want to bother dwelling on it.

“… Never mind. I’ve already acquired the Sanctum revival mark. Quickly bring the fleet over.”

“Okay, on it,” Oathkeeper immediately replied.

Han Xiao nodded, thought about it, and added, “By the way, it might be best to bring those Primordial Ones. We’re not reviving only the people we know this time. We have to make sure they’re under control.”

“Understood.” Oathkeeper nodded.

The targets of the first revival were the old members of the Holy Accord organization, all people who knew about the Sanctums, so they got a grip of the situation very quickly. However, the targets of this batch were outsiders who had no idea the Holy Accord even existed. Once they were revived, it would be difficult for them to accept the reality.

The targets of this revival were filtered, mostly Beyond Grade As who died in accidents. None of them were a direct member of any advanced civilizations, an ally at most. Also, many of them died during the Tragedy of the Pinnacles.

As the Tragedy of the Pinnacles incident had the highest number of Beyond Grade A deaths ever since the exploration era, they occupied quite a high percentage of all Beyond Grade A deaths in history, so it was tough to avoid those who were sacrificed in the Tragedy of the Pinnacles in the process of finding suitable targets to revive. Even Han Xiao could not guarantee there was no one difficult to deal with among them.

In his previous life, the Holy Accord revived many batches of Beyond Grade As, including many outsiders. Yet, they still only appeared during the World Tree war version and did not leak any information beforehand. This proved that the Holy Accord had a certain way to restrain them.

The Holy Accord organization was not a charitable organization. Never mind those Primordial Ones who joined long ago, but if any outsider who revived later wanted to cause trouble, the Holy Accord probably would not mind sending them back into their coffins while adding more nails.

“Thinking about it, Oathkeeper lying to the members of the organization saying that they could only revive once was a good thing. This way, those who revive after will treasure this one revival chance and won’t mess around.”

Han Xiao nodded. He hung up the call, opened the secondary dimensional army box, took out a small portable base from it, and rested inside, reading about events from the past four months while waiting for Oathkeeper.

Two days later, the Holy Accord organization’s fleet finally arrived along with many Primordial Ones.

The fleet docked at Han Xiao’s portable base, and they met there.

“It’s surprising you came out after only four months. Looks like we won’t have to wait years.” Beiger and the others were pleasantly surprised.

Han Xiao scanned around but did not see Pangon and his clique. He asked, “Where’s Pangon and his group?”

“They left the Holy Accord three months ago. We have no contact with them now.” Oathkeeper shook his head.

Han Xiao nodded and did not say anything. This was within his expectations. The good news was that before Pangon caused any big problems, he had already returned.

“Alright, let’s cut to the chase and revive these people. You guys just stay on the side. They’ll only calm down and speak with us properly in the face of overwhelming power.” Han Xiao displayed the Sanctum revival mark on the back of his hand.

The others nodded and had no objections.

The group of them came to the venue prepared beforehand and stood in position. Han Xiao took over the activation device from Oathkeeper, took a deep breath, and pressed on the activate button.

Buzz!

The Sanctum revival mark suddenly gave off an extremely bright light, flew out from the back of his hand, and turned into an expanding, blinding sphere of light.

The next moment, the light sphere split up and turned into illuminated figures of various shapes that slowly materialized, turning into several Beyond Grade As who all looked lost.

At the front was a male elf with long ears and an elegant posture who was wearing an exquisite robe. He looked around. His eyes stopped at Han Xiao, and he mumbled, “So, this is the underworld… You’re dressed like a ghost. You must be the legendary King of Hell.”

“Huh?” Han Xiao frowned. Since you’re so clever, speak more while you can, or I’m afraid you won’t have the chance in the future.

Chapter 1256: Provocation

Before Han Xiao could respond to this male elf, the other revivors started a commotion. They backed away from each other and stared at the Holy Accord members with caution and shock.

“Didn’t I die? Why am I alive again? What have you people done to me!”

“Where is this? Who are you guys‽”

“What in the world is going on? Is this an enemy trap‽”

Shock and panic rapidly spread in the crowd. All kinds of yelling and roaring sounded one after another. It was chaos.

Facing the reality that they came alive after death, even though they were Beyond Grade As, their hearts were still heavily impacted.

Seeing the commotion become worse and worse, Han Xiao took a deep breath. His face tensed up, and his presence exploded!

“Silence!”

Boom!

Like a deafening thunder, the presence of Han Xiao’s Energy Rank swept across everyone, and golden lightning bolts flickered in midair.

An enormous pressure suddenly landed on every revivor. It was as if someone had pressed the stop button. All noises disappeared instantly, and everyone shut up. Looks of shock and fear focused on Han Xiao.

It felt like they were at the center of a Primordial Psionic Energy explosion. They intuitively felt an incomparable sense of danger, as if they were prey targeted by a hunter. Their bodies tensed up uncontrollably.

There were peak Beyond Grade As among these revivors who were watching the situation calmly, but even their expressions changed drastically, and they looked at Han Xiao with shock.

This overwhelming energy seemed to be stronger than anyone they had ever seen before!

This man in black in front of them was probably capable of ending their lives!

This time, before these revivors could react, the other Holy Accord members stared at them with their arms crossed and released their presence too!

Boom!

The energy presences of dozens of Beyond Grade As clashed intensely, creating one shockwave after another. The entire room started to tremble!

“These are all Beyond Grade As‽”

The expressions of the revivors changed dramatically. They were petrified.

The pressure only lasted three seconds before Han Xiao told everyone to retract it.

This intimidation act was clearly very effective. None of them dared cause a mess anymore. Seeing that everyone had finally quietened down, Han Xiao smiled and said, “Looks like everyone has calmed down. Good, now we can talk.”

Hearing this, the revivors looked around at the dozens of Holy Accord Beyond Grade As and instantly decided to follow their hearts and obediently wait for Han Xiao to continue.

Seeing this, Han Xiao cleared his throat and slowly said in as friendly a tone as possible, “I know everyone needs an explanation. It is now Galaxy Calendar Year 780. You’re all Beyond Grade As who died in different eras. The reason you guys have appeared here is that we discovered a unique way that revived you!”

Although the revivors already made some guesses, when hearing the confirmation, they still could not help but be astounded.

How is this possible? We’re really alive again‽

Their emotions were complicated and contradicted. They felt both glad and worried.

Although reviving was a surprise, most people still felt weird about it.

You didn’t ask for our permission to dig us out!

This is definitely not a free service. These people definitely have motives!

“So, this is not the world after death…” This time, that male elf with a sweet mouth seemed to have realized what was going on. He then looked at Han Xiao with a strange expression, frowned, and said, “Then, what’s with that outfit? You think you’re very stylish?”

Han Xiao’s head was filled with question marks. He could not help but look at his clothes. Sure, it is quite black, but its design is rather exquisite, isn’t it?

Is this a matter of personal aesthetic? My officers all think it looks great!

Plus, is this really a good time to look down on my outfit?

Han Xiao sized him up, searched through his mind palace, and found the information about this elf male very soon.

‘Elf King’ Dylan, a peak Beyond Grade A Mage, was active from the final stage of the exploration era to the early stage of the Galaxy Calendar. His position back then was about the same level as Dark Lord, Void Overlord, and the Mechanic Emperor now, one of the representatives of the Beyond Grade As of the generation.

The elves were a huge race in the universe with many branches like the Galaxy Human Race. Back then, using his power, Dylan united the sub races in the universe one after another, founding an enormous organization belonging to the elf race that was similar to old Milizaus’ ‘Dragonblood Nation’. It was a time of glory in the history of the elf race.

Back then, the three Universal Civilizations tried to recruit Dylan, but they were rejected. He then allied with multiple Super Star Cluster civilizations.

The reason he did this seemed to be that he felt that he could only choose one of the three Universal Civilizations while if he stood on the Super Star Cluster civilizations’ side, he could acquire resources from many of them while enjoying more freedom.

In the end, Dylan died during the Tragedy of the Pinnacles.

It’s this guy. Now it makes sense… Han Xiao understood.

According to the records, Dylan’s personality was very strange. He never cared about the timing and situation of saying things, nor did he care about others’ feelings. Because of that, he had a very bad relationship with the Beyond Grade As back then and many enemies.

In his final battle, he faced a whooping twelve Beyond Grade As who wanted him dead.

This is almost my level of treatment…

As for what this guy would decide to do, it was tough for Han Xiao to judge. After all, the era and environment had changed.

During Dylan’s era, as there were no prior examples, the Super Star Cluster civilizations were still openly competing for Beyond Grade A allies with the three Universal Civilizations and trying to attract them using better terms. At that time, joining the Super Star Cluster civilizations was the norm. No one thought the Tragedy of the Pinnacles would happen.

Han Xiao curled his lips, ignored him, looked away, and said to everyone, “I know everyone still has a lot of questions, such as who we are, how and why we revived you guys, and so on. For these questions, my friend here will answer them one by one.”

Hearing this, Oathkeeper stepped up and said with a deep voice, “Everyone, we’re a secret organization named the Holy Accord. We were founded by some of the Primordial Ones during the exploration era. Our core goal was to revive in the future. As for how we revived you guys, it’s through a phenomenon called a Sanctum…”

Oathkeeper had prepared the script long ago and explained Holy Accord’s origin and purpose in detail, answering everyone’s doubts.

The Primordial Ones were famous. The revivors sized up the Holy Accord members present and realized that they were indeed the Primordial Ones recorded in history. They started to gradually believe what Oathkeeper was saying.

This time, someone looked at Han Xiao and said, “Who is he then? He’s not one of the Primordial Ones,”

The rest looked over too.

Hearing this, Han Xiao straightened his shirt.

“You guys can call me Black Star. I’m the leader of the Beyond Grade As of this era.”

As soon as he said that, everyone’s expression changed.

Leader of Beyond Grade As?

How arrogant!

In our eras, even the strongest Beyond Grade As did not dare to call themselves the leaders of the Beyond Grade As. Who are you again? How dare you give yourself such a title!

Oathkeeper coughed and said, “Let me introduce you. His Excellency Black Star isn’t a member of the Holy Accord but our crucial partner in this era. We have the same goals. In this era, the Beyond Grade As have already founded an association and united, and Black Star is the president of that Beyond Grade A Association. Plus, his strength is also at the top tier in the universe. At the same time, he’s also the only shared consultant of the three Universal Civilizations. He has an extraordinary position…”

After hearing the explanation, everyone looked shocked and could not help but keep sizing Han Xiao up.

Beyond Grade A Association president, consultant of the three Universal Civilizations… Those titles had never existed before. Although they did not know the details yet, just from these titles, they could feel Han Xiao’s influence.

Thinking back of the Energy Rank Han Xiao had just displayed earlier, the majority of people started to take him seriously and remembered the name Black Star.

To think that such an incredible youngster appeared in the ‘future’, this Black Star guy might have had the best time out of all the Beyond Grade As in history…

This time, a revived peak Beyond Grade A coldly said, “How strong you are is your business. All I want to know is, you didn’t revive us to accompany you to play Wayne Card, did you? Or are you planning to use us to help you achieve some kind of ambitious goal, like the classic ‘rule the universe’?”

Han Xiao shook his head and chuckled. “That’s funny. The Holy Accord organization and I disturbed all of your rest not out of personal ambition. The entire Beyond Grade A class is in urgent danger, and we need our seniors, your strength!”

As soon as this was said, many people felt honored and interested right away.

“Tell us more. What danger are the Beyond Grade As in?” someone else asked curiously.

“It’s still related to the three Universal Civilizations…”

Han Xiao spoke fluently and explained the crucial problems such as the unity of the Beyond Grade A Association, the stand of the three Universal Civilizations, what the Sanctum Revival meant for both sides, and so on. He did his best to explain the intense situation the Beyond Grade As were in now as simply as possible.

Seeing that they were thinking about his words, Han Xiao added, “If this problem isn’t dealt with properly, a second Tragedy of the Pinnacles will certainly happen to the Beyond Grade As!”

As soon as he said that, many people shook.

A lot of them were victims of the Tragedy of the Pinnacles. This term touched their soft spot.

Seeing this, Han Xiao quickly made use of the opportunity and said with a meaningful tone, “This is closely related to every one of you, not just a matter of this era. Even if you guys aren’t willing to join us, you have to think about your own interests.

“You guys have already died once and been revived. You definitely want to continue enjoying your lives. However, if this problem isn’t dealt with, you won’t be able to ensure your own safety. There’s only one chance for Sanctum Revival, so if we don’t unite and the second Tragedy of the Pinnacles breaks out, you guys will be in danger too. If killed again, your lives will really end this time.”

Han Xiao deliberately hid the secret that the Sanctums could revive them an unlimited number of times and claimed that they only had one chance. By doing that, he became tremendously more convincing.

Hearing this, everyone understood the situation and looked serious.

Dylan rubbed his chin and said, “If that’s the case, there are only two paths in front of us. Join the Beyond Grade A Association or stay in the Holy Accord, one or the other. There’s no other choice.”

Someone on the side frowned and asked, “Can’t we leave on our own?”

Dylan glanced at him with disdain and said, “Use the few brain cells you have and think about it. Given how important the information about the Sanctum Revival is, do you think they’d let someone who knows about it move around freely? Idiot, no wonder you got killed.”

This person’s expression froze, and he angrily said, “Didn’t you die too?”

“You don’t understand. I died strategically!” Dylan snorted.

The others were bewildered.

What a f*cking creative way to describe it.

However, being weird was one thing, but they had to admit what Dylan said made sense.

There were only two choices. If they wanted freedom as soon as possible, they had to join the Beyond Grade A Association and let the galactic society, especially the three Universal Civilizations, know about their existence. This way, they would be tied with the Beyond Grade A Association.

If they chose to stay in the Holy Accord, no one would know about their existence. Even if the ‘cleansing’ happened, they would not be at risk.

Safety or freedom, there was no third choice… If they thought about secretly sneaking away, they would most likely end up back in their coffins.

They were in a dilemma.

Most people preferred to hide in the Holy Accord; they would lose freedom for some time, but it was better than losing their only second life. If the Beyond Grade A Association’s hard work paid off, they could enjoy the fruits of victory. If the association failed, they would still be safe.

Han Xiao saw their hesitation. Knowing that what he said was effective, he was secretly glad.

However, this time, an untimely voice suddenly sounded in the crowd.

“Why do we have to accept such restrictive terms? Everyone, there are many of them, but we aren’t few in number either. Why don’t we work together for the time being, get out of this place? They can’t stop all of us. Everyone will be free that way!”

As soon as this provocative idea was brought up, the expressions of many revivors changed.

Han Xiao’s expression sank. He looked toward the source of the voice.

“Well, I really thought the problem would be solved smoothly, but it seems some people’s mindsets need to be adjusted physically.”

Chapter 1257: Intimidation

The people looked in the direction the voice came from and saw that it was a large male who spoke. He had dark skin and wild gray hair like the mane of a lion, standing with his arms crossed and staring right at Han Xiao with a cold expression.

“Oh? Is that what you think?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and looked at him. This person’s information surfaced in his mind.

‘Fist of Polar Channel’ Bagnita. He was an extremely strong Pugilist with an explosive, aggressive, and destructive style. The founder of multiple Pugilist styles, he was an expert in the Polar Channel Flow. Although he was not the founder of the Polar Channel Flow, he was publicly recognized as the best in the Polar Channel Flow style.

This guy was not from the Tragedy of the Pinnacles but was a neutral Beyond Grade A from even earlier. His cause of death was unknown, and he left his race behind.

Bagnita wore a sleeveless army combat shirt. The muscles on his arm jumped as he said coldly, “I hate it the most when people give me a multiple-choice question. Whether I help you or not depends on my mood. If you’re going to force me, there’s absolutely nothing to talk about!”

“People with a unique personality usually don’t live long.” Dylan sneered.

Hearing this, the others looked at him and nodded in agreement.

Bagnita ignored him, looked around, and said with a deep voice, “We’re all Beyond Grade As. What’s there to be afraid of? Those with a backbone, stand with me!”

Han Xiao shook his head and realized that he was surprisingly calm, as if he was used to it. In fact, it might feel weird if a Pugilist who was not headstrong appeared.

He turned and looked at the revivors. With a shrug, he said, “Who else agrees with him? You can step forward.”

The people exchanged looks and hesitated; no one responded. Instead, they backed away and isolated Bagnita.

Seeing this, Bagnita frowned, snorted, and said, “Humph, the Beyond Grade As are getting more cowardly with each generation!”

Dylan tutted and mocked him. “Hehe, you’re trying to provoke us to risk our life to play with you. If a fight really breaks out, you can probably walk out alive. You won’t be the one to die anyway. Just say it out loud if you want others to block bullets for you. We’re all Beyond Grade As here. Who are you putting up a performance for?”

Bagnita glanced at Dylan and said with disdain, “Idiot.”

Seeing this, Han Xiao looked back at Bagnita, raised his brow, and said, “Looks like you’re the only one. Do you still want to continue?”

“No one dares work with me. What else can I say?”

Bagnita snorted and put down his crossed arms.

Han Xiao could not help but laugh and said, “Aren’t you smart, but don’t you think you’re too naive? You tried to incite the other revivors, but when you saw it can’t be done, you gave up and wanted to act as if nothing happened. Do you really think it’s going to be that easy?”

Bagnita frowned, tightened his arm muscles again, and said, “What do you want?”

Han Xiao slowly walked forward into the revivors toward Bagnita while saying, “I revived you guys because it’s beneficial for the entire class, not for charity. I have already explained the situation very clearly earlier. We’re on the same boat here… Still, I never thought about sacrificing you guys. I didn’t even force you guys to take any risks and gave you all a choice to stay in the Holy Accord and watch us fight hard for our future. If we win, you guys can enjoy the victory together. If we lose, you guys can still stay hidden and save yourselves.

“You cannot appreciate us giving you a second life, but you were willing to destroy our whole plan just for your own desire… Of course, you’re free to do that. But since you’ve done it, don’t blame others for dealing with you.”

As soon as he said that, a sudden change occurred!

Raging energy erupted, covered with blinding Pugilist flames. Bagnita’s fist landed heavily on Han Xiao’s chest like an asteroid!

Boom!

“You knew I’m a Pugilist, yet you still dared approach me. You’re asking for a beating!”

This thought flashed past Bagnita’s mind. There was no way he was going to wait and do nothing. Seeing Han Xiao’s words were heading toward a dangerous direction, he immediately decided to strike first.

The next moment, the power of the punch exploded. Dense Pugilist flames gushed out from Han Xiao’s back, turning into a cylinder-shaped energy shockwave that created an enormous hole in the room.

Boom!

A blinding beam of light shot out from this galactic base as if an explosion occurred inside.

In the room, the people were surprised to see how decisive Bagnita was in attacking. Some wanted to help while others wanted to back away and watch.

However, before they acted, they saw that Han Xiao, who had just been punched heavily, did not even shake. It was as if nothing happened to him. In the blink of an eye, Han Xiao’s hands grabbed onto Bagnita’s head and he raised his leg!

Bang!

Bagnita shockingly could not resist such an enormous force at the time. His head was dragged down and intimately hit Han Xiao’s knee. Blood gushed out from his nose, and his brain trembled.

Before he recovered from the short moment he was stunned, Han Xiao wrapped his one hand around Bagnita’s head and locked him in place, while the elbow of his other hand slashed down on Bagnita’s arched back.

Kacha!

The sound of bone breaking appeared in everyone’s ears, and a visible dent appeared on Bagnita’s spine.

Hiss!

Many people inhaled with shock. The looks in their eyes changed again.

Taking one powerful attack head-on just to heavily injure the opponent in exchange… we won’t believe it even if you tell us he’s not a Pugilist!

At this time, Bagnita finally recovered from the short moment he was stunned. He roared, and the flames on his body erupted again. His muscles bulked up. A dense energy spread instantly, and his attributes shot up in a flash.

Then, Bagnita grabbed Han Xiao by his waist, kicked back with his legs at full power, and pushed Han Xiao through metal walls one after another. They shot out into space like an asteroid.

“That’s Polar Channel Flow!”

The people instantly figured out what happened.

Relying on the explosive power of the Polar Channel Flow, the combat capability of Pugilists could usually shoot up a small Grade. As the publicly known master in the Polar Channel Flow, its effect on Bagnita was even more incredible. Plus, with his personal improvements on it, its side effects were very limited.

Bagnita was not a peak Beyond Grade A on his own, but with his explosive power, he was more than capable of fighting a peak Beyond Grade A and earning himself the name of ‘Fist of Polar Channel’. In the revivors’ eyes, he was very strong.

Although they had just felt how strong Han Xiao’s Energy Rank was not long ago, they had never seen Black Star in combat and did not have a clear idea of it.

Since there was an opportunity now, the revivors did not help anyone, nor did they stop them—they all wanted to observe Black Star’s strength in combat.

Most Beyond Grade As were proud, all of them wanted to see how strong this so-called ‘leader of Beyond Grade As’ was and what gave him the confidence to call himself that.

The revivors were initially expecting a marvelous fist fight, but the change that happened in the next second took them by complete surprise.

Han Xiao locked his hands around Bagnita too. Right after that, Mechanical Force erupted from all over his body. At the same time, countless mechanical soldiers swarmed out from the galactic base, shrouding the sky, and instantly fired at the two of them!

Boom!

Like a newborn Fixed Star, the expanding energy light sphere lighted up the cosmic space!

As the aftershock of the explosion spread, the protective shield of the galactic shield was activated automatically, barely blocking it out. The entire base was pushed out while heavily shaking.

The sudden blinding light made everyone narrow their eyes subconsciously. They all looked surprised.

“Did the two of them both die?”

“What a violent style of fighting.”

“By the way, Black Star is a Mechanic? From his body strength, he’s a total Pugilist!”

The people unavoidably started to worry and looked around. However, they realized that the Holy Accord members all looked very calmed and did not seem to be worried at all.

“Are you guys not worried for the safety of your partner?” someone asked.

Beiger turned, glanced at these people, and smiled. “Hehe, something that can kill Black Star probably doesn’t exist!”

At this time, the light gradually started dissipating. Two closely attached people flew out from the center of the explosion, quickly headed to the base, and returned to the room through the hole.

Plop!

The sound of someone collapsing sounded. Bagnita lay on the ground like a dead dog; almost not a single spot on his body was whole. He was heavily injured and extremely close to death.

Shocked, the people looked up and saw that although Han Xiao was also wounded, his wounds were regenerating at an unbelievable speed, and Han Xiao returned to normal almost instantly. Han Xiao was the one who had brought Bagnita back.

With a calm face, Han Xiao gestured at Oathkeeper with his mouth.

“Take care of his injuries. Don’t let him die.”

The Holy Accord members were not surprised at all. A few of them walked forward and flipped Bagnita’s body over a few times while spraying regenerative potion on him. It somehow looked like brushing sauce on barbequed meat.

Seeing this, the revivors could hardly believe their own eyes.

That’s it?

Did the fight even take three minutes‽

They were expecting an intense huge battle. None of them ever thought Black Star would thrash Bagnita so quickly.

Bagnita was no trash Beyond Grade A but a famous Beyond Grade A!

They already knew that Black Star might be very strong, but they had never thought he would be this strong. It completely surpassed their experience-based expectations!

No wonder he dares call himself the ‘leader of the Beyond Grade As’. He’s indeed qualified for that…

This thought flashed through the minds of many of them.

Han Xiao stretched his neck and the muscles that felt a little sore from the bombardment massage earlier. He turned and saw the stronger fear in everyone’s eyes and nodded internally. He was quite satisfied with the impact of this battle.

He was not actually angry. He scolded Bagnita only to intimidate the others.

This was because he knew that there were definitely more people who had the same thoughts as Bagnita who only did not dare respond because of the situation they were in. In order to get rid of such thoughts, making them afraid of doing anything by just outnumbering them was not enough. He had to make them feel the huge difference in individual strength. To that end, showing them then and there was the most effective method.

The best way to intimidate them was to crush Bagnita in a short time.

Therefore, Han Xiao deliberately displayed his intention of wanting to attack Bagnita while going closer to him at the same time. He did all that so Bagnita would fight him at close-range, which would make using ‘die together’ easier. After all, this combo was the most efficient way of defeating an opponent in a short time!

The biggest advantage he had was the amount of information he had. Anyone who knew about him well would never get close to him, but these revivors did not know about that yet. Therefore, based on his outdated experience, Bagnita did not give up on this ‘opportunity’ and fought him at close range right away, completely falling into Han Xiao’s trap.

The moment Bagnita chose to fight him at close-range, the ending of this battle was already decided.

The effects of crushing Bagnita reached Han Xiao’s expectations, shocking the fragile hearts of these people. There was only one more step to take.

Seeing that Bagnita’s body was gradually recovering, Han Xiao took out the Spacetime Amber and wrapped Bagnita up. He then said coldly, “I won’t kill him, but in order to avoid uncertainties, I shall ground him so that he calms down.”

The next moment, the Spacetime Amber formed around Bagnita. His body was fixed inside the amber.

“What’s this?”

The people were confused. The Holy Accord members on the side explained.

Very soon, everyone present understood the function of the Spacetime Amber. They all looked shocked and scared—this thing was almost the nemesis of Beyond Grade As.

This time, Han Xiao turned to them and smiled brightly.

“The person who brought up the question has already been dealt with. So, everyone, have you made your choice?”

Their looks differed. Some were smiling bitterly, while some were swallowing their saliva nervously.

There was no suspense to what choice they were going to make.

“… I’m willing to stay in the Holy Accord.”

“Me too.”

With someone taking the lead, the rest all responded one after another.

Between the two choices, almost everyone chose to stay in the Holy Accord organization. They did not want to appear in the outside world, at least not before they understood the whole picture clearly, so they did not have to take risks.

Very soon, Dylan was the only one who had yet to express his choice.

Han Xiao looked over. “What about you? Are you staying in the Holy Accord or joining the association?”

Dylan caressed his smooth and white chin, snorted, and said, “I won’t want to miss something this fun… I’ll join the association! If we start fighting the three Universal Civilizations, count me in!”

Then, as if he felt he did not say enough, Dylan scanned at the other revivors present and snickered. “The books are right, cowardly and ordinary people are always the majority.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao could not help but to look at Dylan again.

You really deserved to be slain. Even I want to…

Chapter 1258: Test and Welcome

He asked around. There were only a few people in the second batch of the revivors who were willing to join the association. Han Xiao memorized their names, looked at the Holy Accord members, and nodded.

“I’ll leave the rest to you then. You guys usually don’t have anything to do anyway. You should be fine helping the newcomers get used to this era, right?”

Beiger smiled and agreed on behalf of the others. “Don’t worry, we’re adept at this. We were just in need of new card-mates too.”

Oathkeeper nodded subconsciously but then suddenly realized, Wait a minute, isn’t this my organization? Why are you the one giving the orders?

“Er…” Oathkeeper was just about to speak.

However, before he could, Han Xiao clapped, interrupted him, and smiled.

“I’m glad we’ve come to an agreement. Let’s get to familiarizing them with this era then.”

The atmosphere in the place became calmer as he said that. The Holy Accord members led the others and left the room while chatting. Their voices gradually grew more distant.

Oathkeeper’s lips twitched slightly.

I, the organization’s leader, have been ignored? Don’t I deserve some face‽

This time, Han Xiao walked over, patted Oathkeeper’s shoulders, and said, “I’m afraid you’re going to be busy for some time. These revivors are intimidated by me for the time being, but I can’t keep an eye on them all the time. There’ll definitely be someone who wants to sneak away. You have to monitor them closely but not too obviously, in case they get unhappy about it.”

“Understood…” Oathkeeper coughed. “Ahem, I know what to do. You don’t have to teach me.”

Han Xiao smiled. He summoned a virtual screen and quickly made a list.

“This is a partial list of keys for the other Sanctums. You guys are the expert in this. It’s best to keep collecting them. The more keys we have, the better.”

“You found this in the Third Sanctum?” Oathkeeper looked surprised. “Why didn’t I see it when I went in?”

“It might be because your authority level is too low…” Han Xiao shook his head and briefly explained authority levels. As for whether Oathkeeper kept it a secret deliberately or not, now was not the time to be concerned over such trivial matters.

“Alright, this way, opening the Sanctums in the future will be easier.” Oathkeeper was glad.

Although the information recorded in the various Sanctums differed, the Sanctum revival function worked in all of them. Having the methods to open the other Sanctums meant that the Sanctum revival function could be carried out many times more.

Accepting the list, Oathkeeper paused and asked, “Have you decided on the timing for the first batch of revivors to appear in public?”

“Probably in the next few months.” Han Xiao responded.

“After they appear, the attitudes of the three Universal Civilizations will change drastically. Are you ready?” Oathkeeper sounded worried.

No matter how mentally prepared he was beforehand, as the one who would start this storm, it was impossible for him not to worry. That was especially so when this was most certainly going to be a fuse to cause the structure of the universe to change dramatically, as well as the turning point for all Beyond Grade As. Its influence would be colossal; it might lead the future of the galactic society to a completely unknown direction. He was naturally nervous.

“I know what I’m doing. This is a step we must take. There’s no need to worry so much.”

Han Xiao smiled and patted his shoulder.

Oathkeeper frowned slightly and slowly said, “Also… we hid the truth about the Sanctums, making the others think that they can only revive once. This means that although the three Universal Civilizations will still be concerned, they most probably won’t give up on the idea of the ‘cleansing”… Are we really not going to share the truth about reviving?”

Han Xiao shook his head.

“It’s okay. We have to hide this trump card for a while. Although letting this information out will make the three Universal Civilizations cautious, they might change their strategy because of it too. It’s better to give them the wrong idea. After all, being able to revive an infinite number of times… will only be convincing when it actually happens. If the cleansing is really carried out, it won’t be too late to reveal it then anyway. That way, not only will the three Universal Civilizations’ strategy be disrupted, it would also be a surprise to those who died.

“Plus, fear is the lock of desire. If we tell the truth to the revivors now, it won’t be easy to manage them anymore.”

Oathkeeper sighed and said, “But you’ll face too much pressure this way… You’re the one who will bring the revivors into the association, so anyone would think you know the truth. The three Universal Civilizations will definitely target you. Will you be able to deal with it?”

“It’s not a big problem. As soon as the association sees that the Sanctums can revive people, the Beyond Grade As will be united around me like never before. In addition, with my capability, forces, and the Underworld, it won’t be a problem to stand against the three Universal Civilizations for the time being. That way, there’ll be room for negotiation.”

Han Xiao smiled and made Oathkeeper not so worried.

Oathkeeper nodded and said with a solemn tone, “As long as you got a plan. Anyway, whether we can walk under the sun in the future all depends on you.”

…

The next day, Han Xiao went back to hosting the association and Kasuyi stepped down. Kasuyi contacted Han Xiao multiple times privately, trying to find out what Han Xiao acquired in this trip, but Han Xiao smoothly avoided the topic every time.

Reappearing again after going missing for four months did not attract too much attention. It was common for Beyond Grade As to travel, so the various organizations did not overthink about what Han Xiao had done while he was missing.

After waiting patiently for more than half a month, the three Universal Civilizations finally acted and sent Han Xiao a private meeting invitation.

“After observing for so long, they’re finally on the move, huh…”

In his room, seeing the invitation notification on the communicator, Han Xiao focused and sat up straight.

He opened the network link in the invitation letter, and his remote projection entered the online conference room.

The next moment, he came to a secret conference room. The remote projections of the leaders of the federation, the dynasty, and the church were all already there.

“Black Star, you’re here.” The dynasty’s ruler, Marbruce, smiled with his squarish face.

Han Xiao looked around, put on the signature smile of the eighth king of the Underworld, and said, “Your Excellencies, what can I do for you?”

“We haven’t officially congratulated you for being elected as the Beyond Grade A Association president, congratulations.” Marbruce nodded.

“Thanks.” Han Xiao smiled. “It’s all thanks to the support of the members.”

“We have high hopes for you. You’re more suited to lead the Beyond Grade A Association than Manison. We all agree that under your leadership, the Beyond Grade A Association will walk further on the right path…”

The few of them superficially praised each other as usual before getting to the main topic.

The federation president, Louis, stroked his moustache and said, “We’ve called you here today mainly because we need your help on a matter… The issue of the Beyond Grade A Association members privately spreading Ultimate Knowledges of the various classes has gone on too long. Manison deliberately allowed it when he was in office and ignored it. Now that you’ve become the president, we hope you can help settle this issue.”

Han Xiao raised his brow. “I’ll try, but I can’t promise it’ll work. After all, I can’t possibly interfere with the private life of every member.”

Knowing this was a perfunctory response, the church leader coughed and slowly said with a more serious tone, “Black Star, this issue is very important to us. This has lasted decades. We can’t possibly allow it to continue. There’s a limit to everything. We hope we can see the situation improve very soon.”

“I’ll do my best.” Han Xiao maintained a smile and did not reject it. He was not surprised.

The three Universal Civilizations never opened up the restrictions on the spread of Ultimate Knowledges legally, so the association members could only spread it privately. This was an important factor to attracting new blood, so of course, Han Xiao was not going to agree. The three Universal Civilizations clearly knew that too. Part of the reason they still deliberately brought this matter up was to test his position as the new president, and the other part was most likely to set the path for the ‘cleansing’.

If he rejected it, the three Universal Civilizations would have a justifiable reason to target the association. If the association compromised, the members would definitely be shaken. Arguments and split opinions would certainly happen too.

The three of them gave Han Xiao a meaningful look.

“We’ll wait for your results then. You won’t disappoint us, will you?”

“Of course. I’ve always believed in taking the win-win path; you guys know that.” Han Xiao smiled. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

“Hmm, go do your stuff then.”

Han Xiao made a simple gesture to bid farewell and hung up the communication.

When his remote projection in the room disappeared, the three leaders remaining in the room looked at each other, nodded, and came to an agreement.

“Looks like it’s time to take action.”

Black Star replacing the Mechanic Emperor and taking office was the opportunity to act. This was because, to them, the biggest difference between Black Star and Mechanic Emperor was that Black Star knew all too well about avoiding conflicts, unlike the Mechanic Emperor, who was very headstrong. The chance of Black Star flipping the table was very low. This was one of the reasons they waited to act till Han Xiao took office—the personality of the leader was very important.

The three of them did not plan to target Black Star. Their plan was to kill some and poach some. Peak Beyond Grade As were not the three Universal Civilizations’ targets. Instead, they were even going to compensate and woo them during the operation so that they could divide the Beyond Grade As.

According to the personality analysis based on their large databases, Black Star’s predisposition to seek profit and avoid conflict was extremely strong. In order to protect his own interests, there was only a very small chance he would stand on the complete opposite side of the three Universal Civilizations for the other Beyond Grade As. As long as the operation was firm and cruel enough, Black Star would very likely step back to protect himself, which would give them an opportunity to divide the association.

The most ideal result would be the Beyond Grade A Association disbanding, fundamental and medium level members all dying, and most uncertainties eliminated, leaving only their direct members and the peak Beyond Grade As. This way, the three Universal Civilizations would once again gain control of the individuals with great strength, and everything would go back to how it was.

When the three of them were discussing the plan, inside Han Xiao’s office in the Black Star Army, he put down the communicator and mumbled, “The situation is about to reach the tipping point, looks like it’s time to bring the revivors out… there just happened to be a new member requesting to join the association recently, I can use the opportunity to announce their existence to the entire universe.”

…

Half a month later, at Beyond Grade A Association headquarters on Planet Finn, a small fleet slowly docked.

In front of the porthole at the bridge of the main ship, a skinny man looked out the porthole at Planet Finn.

“The Beyond Grade A Association finally accepted my request…”

Mahel was relieved, like heavy weights were lifted off his shoulders.

He was a new Beyond Grade A who stepped into this territory a few years ago, raised by a certain Star System civilization. Although the chances of this happening were extremely low, it was not completely impossible. Some civilizations would get unbelievably lucky once in a while.

As the one and only Beyond Grade A of the civilization, Mahel carried heavy responsibilities. After he stepped into the Beyond Grade A territory, he became the guardian of his civilization, earning benefits for his civilization and stabilizing its forces in the local area. He did not join the Beyond Grade A Association as soon as he became a Beyond Grade A, but he also rejected the offers of the other civilizations.

He had only just requested to join the association, and he had come with a mission. He hoped to gain a hold inside the Beyond Grade A Association and bring more benefits to his civilization using the resources of other members.

Today was the welcome meeting the association hosted just for him. Mahel had made a lot of preparations for today. He even hired professionals to draft a script for his speech. He had memorized it and planned to earn the favorability of other members using this nice speech so that he could quickly blend in.

“Hope everything goes smoothly…”

The spaceship stopped at the dock. Mahel walked out and followed the receptionist into the temporary lounge of the venue. On the way, he kept rehearsing the speech he would give later on.

Very soon, Mahel came to the door of the lounge, pushed the door open, and walked in. He subconsciously looked around and was suddenly stunned.

In the room, dozens of people stood and sat around while casually chatting. Hearing someone had pushed the door open, they all stopped chatting and looked at him.

“Isn’t the temporary lounge for one? Did I enter the wrong room?”

Mahel was stunned for a moment. He took a step back, looked at the room number, and was confused.

I’m not wrong. This is the lounge for the rookie to wait to enter the venue. Isn’t this supposed to be my room? Where did these people come from?

At this time, the people inside the room suddenly started laughing. The people near the gate stood up, pulled Mahel in, and pressed him down on the sofa.

“Yo, finally, a real rookie is here.”

“Sit, sit, get something to eat.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen a rookie of the new era.”

The others all crowded around and sized him up curiously while chatting.

Mahel was stuck in the middle with no idea of what to do. He could not take it anymore and yelled, “Who are you? This should be my room. Please get out!”

Hearing this, the others exchanged looks and smiled. Suddenly, everyone’s body shook.

Boom!

The presence of Beyond Grade As erupted in an instant and disappeared the next second.

Mahel was startled. He froze in place and was totally dumbfounded.

All these strangers are Beyond Grade As‽

“W-who are you peop…”

Mahel’s eyes opened wide. His brain was short-circuiting, and he could not even speak properly.

Beiger joked, “Don’t be so nervous. We’re just like you, all rookies joining the association.”

“Impossible! How can dozens of new Beyond Grade As appear in the universe silently‽ Who are you guys‽”

Mahel stood up and lost it.

Isn’t today’s welcome meeting to welcome just me‽

Beiger smiled and waved. “We’re not strangers. Take a closer look, do you recognize us?”

Hearing this, Mahel hastily observed the people present. Suddenly, his expression changed drastically.

“I’ve seen your information… you’re Primordial Ones‽”

“Haha, I knew you would recognize us… Come on, don’t look at us like that. We just simply revived. It’s no big deal.”

Beiger patted Mahel’s shoulder with a smile.

As if his bones were shattered, Mahel lay flat on the sofa with no color in his eyes like he had lost his soul.

At this moment, his brain was completely blank. There was only one thought left in his mind…

When did I fall asleep?

Chapter 1259: Youngsters, Times Have Changed!

While Mahel was doubting the meaning of his life, in the venue a few corridors away, the remote projections of Beyond Grade A members appeared on their seats and chitchatted.

“Another welcome meeting today? The last rookie was Aurora, and that was only about half a year ago.”

“I don’t know if you guys noticed, but the frequency of new Beyond Grade As in the past few decades seems to have increased quite a bit compared to before.”

“Indeed. I remember that very long ago, just three of four Beyond Grade As appearing in a few decades was already quite a lot, yet there have already been eight new Beyond Grade As in the past few decades. Although this kind of thing is very random, it does prove that the times are evolving.”

“That’s right. The population in the galactic society is increasing, the study of the Super system has been improving, and the Beyond Grade A seeds have been reaching their tipping points. There’s going to be a period with many new Beyond Grade As.”

The time before the meeting started was always for the members to chat and bond. They chatted casually, and it was boisterous.

Han Xiao’s projection sat in the main seat and looked at this peaceful scene with a smile.

Looking at how clueless everyone was, Han Xiao smirked slightly… These people had no idea that something huge was about to happen that would change the structure of the entire universe.

At this time, someone suddenly brought up a topic related to Han Xiao.

“I received the Federation of Light’s warning a few days ago, strictly prohibiting me from privately spreading Ultimate Knowledges. Your Excellency Black Star, did you know about this?”

Hearing this, many people added their input and expressed that they had received the same warning from the three Universal Civilizations. They all looked at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao glanced at the three Universal Civilizations’ direct members, nodded, and said, “I spoke with the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations not long ago. They hope I can solve the issue of privately spreading Ultimate Knowledges.”

“And what did you say?’ Manison asked.

“The three Universal Civilizations maintain the laws of the galactic civilization. I’ll do my best to cooperate with their work without affecting the operations of the association.” Han Xiao gave a meaningless answer with a smile.

Manison snorted softly. He knew that given how smooth Han Xiao was, he would not directly reject the three Universal Civilizations and would most likely agree verbally.

This time, a direct member said, “How do you plan to solve this problem?”

“I haven’t decided. Do you have any advice?” Han Xiao turned and looked at him.

“I think that one of the reasons the private spread of Ultimate Knowledges is happening is that the statute of the association is too lenient and did not clearly forbid it. I suggest improving the statute and heavily punishing those who disobey…”

While this direct member spoke, the other association members all shut up and exchanged looks.

The interests of the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations were different from normal Beyond Grade As. The two sides were the two most clear-cut factions. As the three Universal Civilizations became more and more dissatisfied with the acts of the Beyond Grade A Association, the conflict between the two factions grew stronger. People had already secretly proposed to Han Xiao to kick the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations out of the association more than once.

Han Xiao listened to the direct member for a while. He suddenly interrupted him and said with a smile,

“These suggestions are all not bad. I’ll consider them carefully. Let’s leave this topic to the next plenary. Today is the welcome meeting, after all. We shouldn’t overstep our bounds.”

He skipped this topic casually with a meaningful tone.

This direct member Beyond Grade A’s heart sank. He understood Han Xiao’s subtle warning and had no choice but to sit down reluctantly.

The other Beyond Grade As, however, were excited… ‘Shouldn’t overstep our bounds’ was a warning to the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations, telling them not to forget who the master of the association was and not to think the three Universal Civilizations could give them orders.

With Han Xiao’s subtle response, many people felt more at ease. As Black Star was quite closely related to the three Universal Civilizations, some people never stopped worrying about Black Star changing from taking the firm path like the Mechanic Emperor to compromising with the three Universal Civilizations.

Seeing this, Kasuyi helped to calm the atmosphere and said, “The president is right. We’re gathered here today to welcome the rookie. Let’s not talk business.”

Hearing Kasuyi, the atmosphere became joyful again. The people skipped over this topic and started guessing the identity of this new rookie. Some even set up bets.

After discussing it for a while, someone looked to Han Xiao again and joked, “President, the rookie of this time should be Mahel, right? It’s not going to be another new Beyond Grade A officer from the Black Star Army, is it?”

Han Xiao raised his brow, with a smile that was unlike a smile on his face.

“All I can say is… everyone is definitely familiar with them.”

The people chatted while waiting. After some time, everyone was finally present.

Seeing this, Han Xiao raised his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down. “It’s about time. The welcome meeting can start now. Let’s remain quiet and get ready to welcome the rookie.”

Hearing this, everyone became silent, turned around, and looked at the side gate of the room. According to the routine, the rookie always walked out from here.

Not long after, the side gate was finally pushed open. Mahel walked out and appeared in front of everyone.

The people started softly discussing right away.

“I knew it. It is indeed Mahel.”

“Haha, I guessed right. Give me my money.”

“Hmm? Why does he look weird?”

They sized up Mahel and realized that something was off right away. Mahel’s eyes were out of focus as if his spirit was not here, and he was frozen.

“What’s he doing standing there and not coming here?”

“Why isn’t he saying anything? He’s not mute, is he?”

They were confused.

At this time, another person walked out from behind the gate, then another, and another… Very soon, dozens of people swarmed out and pushed Mahel aside.

“W-what’s going on? Isn’t today the welcome meeting?”

The people present were stunned and lost.

This time, Han Xiao smiled and slowly said, “Don’t have to be surprised, these people are all rookies who will be joining the association today. Guys, let’s welcome them.”

As soon as he said that, everyone was bewildered.

You’re not f*cking pulling my leg, are you?

Even the three Universal Civilizations’ direct members on the side had their eyes wide open with shock.

There were no signs before today. They all thought today was an ordinary welcome meeting. None of them thought such a surprise would happen.

Every welcome meeting was hosted for just one person. When had the association ever accepted so many rookies at once?

Plus, when did so many new Beyond Grade As appear in the universe? There were as many of them as a third of the association! It was completely impossible!

What festival is it today? Is the president joking with us?

He must be.

While these thoughts flashed past their minds, they subconsciously sized up these dozens of ‘rookies’. Suddenly, their bodies shook.

“Wait a minute, these people look so familiar!”

“Are they… Primordial Ones‽”

“How is that possible? The Primordial Ones died centuries ago. They must have purposely dressed up this way!”

“Aiyo, they really look the same. Their disguise is amazing!”

The people hastily searched for the information of the Primordial Ones online and matched with the revivors present. They were all surprised.

Manison looked at Han Xiao with a frown and asked with a deep voice, “What’s the meaning of this? Finding a group of people to disguise themselves as Primordial Ones and even letting them join the association. What is this nonsense‽”

“You think it’s fake too?”

Han Xiao glanced at him and was not surprised. After all, to those who did not know about it, this was way too unbelievable. Anyone normal would doubt it.

He slowly stood up and looked around. His grin grew bigger as he said firmly, “I know you all have doubts, but these people are none other than the Beyond Grade As who existed in history. They have awakened from the river of time, revived, and decided to join the association to shine for the Beyond Grade A class!”

As he said that, the venue became dead silent.

Everyone present was completely dumbfounded.

That was, everyone except Kasuyi, who was shivering with excitement. He was the only other person who knew about the Sanctums, and he immediately linked them.

Is this what Black Star did when he went missing for four months‽

“…Tell me, is this true?” Kasuyi turned and stared at Han Xiao. He could not wait to hear the answer, afraid that this was just a joke.

Han Xiao gave him a firm look and said slowly, “On my honor, I hereby promise that this is not a joke!”

At this instant, joy, shock, admiration, and other emotions exploded in Kasuyi’s heart!

He only had one thought in his mind…

Black Star… did it!

At this time, Beiger, who stood at the front, chuckled. He stepped up, facing everyone’s shocked looks, and said calmly, “Youngsters, times… have changed!”

As soon as he said that, the energy of dozens of Beyond Grade As shot up the sky without holding back!

Boom!

With a loud noise, the rooftop of the entire venue was blown away. The floor and walls cracked!

The enormous pressure swept the entire planet. At this instant, all lives on Planet Finn were pressed onto the floor almost simultaneously. Deafening alarms echoed across the planet!

The Beyond Grade As present were all remote projections and could not feel the impact, but all of their organizations had an agency on Planet Finn.

Almost instantly, everyone received an emergency report from their agency. All of their radars were showing dozens of Beyond Grade A energy sources, coming from the dozens of people right in front of them! No evidence could be more solid!

At this instant, the expression of all the members present changed drastically. Their faces were filled with disbelief and aghast.

This is true? The Primordial Ones are alive‽

Impossible!

Everyone was dumbfounded!

An irresistible shock instantly shattered their view of the world, leaving only endless confusion.

At this point, almost no word could describe the shock they were feeling.

Even Manison was stunned for a few seconds. He turned around hastily and stared at Han Xiao.

“What in the world did you do? How did they revive‽”

Like waking up from a dream, eyes filled with disbelief focused on Han Xiao.

These revivors were all brought into the association by Black Star. He definitely knew all about how this happened!

“Black Star, how the hell did this happen‽”

“Answer us!”

“Speak!”

The people were in an uproar, wanting to know the answers.

Seeing how worked up everyone was, Han Xiao smiled and said calmly, “In this world, there’s a special information form phenomenon named the Sanctum Revival. Once you step into the Beyond Grade A territory, you will leave a set of backup data. Even if you die and leave absolutely nothing behind, not even ashes, you can still be revived through the Sanctum Revival.

“This will only happen once for everyone, meaning all Beyond Grade As have a second life… and using this phenomenon is how I revived them from their graves in history!”

Having received a clear answer, everyone was astonished.

The shock and jubilation exploded in everyone’s mind!

There’s such a mysterious phenomenon that only works on Beyond Grade As in the universe? Is this another Space Wonder‽

Everyone realized that this was a gift to all Beyond Grade As!

If they had heard about this from someone else, they would most likely have laughed at it and not believed it. Now, however, an example of it happening appeared right in front of them, proving what Han Xiao said was true.

The next second, the way everyone looked at Han Xiao changed.

Black Star had revived so many Primordial Ones, which meant that he already controlled the method of using it. He explained that it existed, but he never said anything about how to use the Sanctum Revival. Therefore, for now, Black Star was probably the only way they could enjoy the benefits of ‘Sanctum Revival’‽

Thinking from another perspective, it had only been about half a year since Black Star became the president. Logically, he might have discovered the method of Sanctum Revival long ago and kept it hidden all this time if he did not become the president…

This moment, everyone felt that electing Black Star as the president was the wisest decision they could have made!

Han Xiao looked around at everyone’s expression.

“Since everyone no longer has doubts, don’t forget the subject of today’s welcome meeting…”

Han Xiao raised his hand. The seats around the round table started moving, and rows of new seats extended from under the ground. These were for the revivors. Then, Han Xiao clapped his hands.

“Everyone, let’s welcome the return of the old era.”

Chapter 1260: Times Have Changed

Pa pa pa!

With Han Xiao in the lead, everyone could only suppress their inner shock and temporarily applaud. A feeling of witnessing history being made spontaneously rose in them.

However, the scene happening in their minds was probably akin to being robbed by a bunch of thugs while they were happily camping and feasting on hotpot in the wilds. This was too damned ‘surprising’!

Seeing this, the dozens of Revivors smiled and took their seats one after another. Seeing Mahel standing stupidly on the same spot, some of the Primordial Ones kindly pulled this little brother to his seat as well.

The applause slowly stopped, and Han Xiao sat down once more before looking at Beiger and the others. “Everyone, would you like to introduce yourselves?”

“I feel that there’s no need.” Beiger waved his hand as he surveyed the scene. “If they want to know who we are, they just have to check up on our history.”

Everyone subconsciously nodded. The Primordial Ones were all famous, so every Beyond Grade A would have heard their names before.

At this moment, Dylan raised his smooth chin slightly. “Although I’m not a Primordial One, I believe everyone here should also know of me, right?”

Everyone turned to face him. Among the Revivors, there were a few that were not Primordial Ones, so they were not as popular and well known as the rest.

“Who are you?” Sun Hunter was curious.

“Tsk, there’s really someone who doesn’t recognize me?” Dylan glanced at him. “Little thing, listen up. I’m the Elf King Dylan. Go home and brush up on your historical knowledge. Don’t ask such ignorant questions next time.”

Sun Hunter was stunned for a moment before turning furious.

Do you even know how to talk, to dare call me a little thing!

If it was not my remote projection here, I’d conjure dozens of gun barrels into your mouth and blow you to death!

On the other hand, many of the Mages felt a jolt in their spirits.

“So, it turns out to be the famous ‘Elf King’ from the history of magic. It’s said that you took a different approach, pioneering a special elven spell system. Now it has become the mainstream magic system of the elves, but unfortunately, due to your sudden death, some of the mysteries and secrets have been lost forever. I hope I will have the opportunity to ask you for advice in the future.”

Austin could not help but speak, showing his goodwill. A Mage’s desire for spells was akin to the Mechanic’s curiosity about technology.

Hearing this, Dylan instead lowered his head to pick at his nails before casually saying, “It’ll depend on my mood. I normally do not like to converse with untalented Mages, but if my mood is good, I could share some information.”

Austin’s expression froze, and he shut up. Seeing this, the other Mages that wished to talk also closed their mouths, not wanting to flatter a non-responsive person.

Seeing this, many of them gave Dylan side-eyes.

It turns out that this person spoke with such a strange tone. No wonder he died so badly in history—he deserved it!

Seeing that the atmosphere had become a little delicate, Beiger moved away from the subject and smiled. “I have to say, this association is run well. During our time, there wasn’t such a good environment. The people who established the association are really long-sight and talented!”

“I feel that way as well.” Han Xiao smiled.

Hearing this, everyone glanced at Han Xiao and at Beiger, whose expressions remained unchanged.

These two were really shameless, one flattered so obviously, while the other was bold enough to accept it.

Beiger turned back to look at the rest as he spoke in a friendly manner. “We have many days ahead of us. I hope that we will have the chance to get to know each other better.”

Everyone nodded and responded without putting on an arrogant expression. The Primordial Ones were the pioneers of this path, so respect was definitely needed.

The newcomer orientation finally returned to its original role. Both groups of people communicated with each other for a while, allowing the dozens of Revivors to integrate into the association. Even if the other members of the association felt this matter to be hard to believe, they had to accept the fact that these ‘elderly’ had risen from their coffins.

While the Revivors were accepted on the surface, everyone was still filled with doubts. They were very curious about how Black Star had discovered the phenomenon of Sanctum Revival, how he convinced the Revivors to join the association, and where they had stayed until now.

But Han Xiao behaved splendidly, lightly skimming past all these questions without properly explaining anything.

Everyone felt as though they had an itch in their hearts, their impression of Han Xiao turning more mysterious. They all began to feel awed by him. No one knew how much strength he had hidden, only feeling that he was unfathomable.

But precisely because of this, the rest of the Association felt relaxed. In the past, everyone obeyed the rules of the association for protection and resources, but another important reason had been added.

The Sanctum Revival gave everyone assurance. Originally, there were still some people worried about the three Universal Civilizations, counting gains and losses, but their mentality had now stabilized, their fear of the three Universal Civilizations diminishing significantly.

Just as everyone was busy chatting, Manison sat by the side silently observing, his heart full of shock.

Black Star, turns out this is the trump card you prepared. Beautiful! The Sanctum Revival is of extraordinary significance for us. Not only will this enhance the confidence of members in facing risks, but it also strengthens the cohesion of the association. The group will be more united than ever before.

Furthermore, the resurrection of the historical Beyond Grade As is a way to quickly replenish our numbers, more efficient than slowly wait for a new Beyond Grade A to be born. The strength of the association will expand greatly in a short time, being reborn and breaking through the safety line of the three Universal Civilizations at once. Even they will have to weigh up the consequences if they wish to make a move… With this, I don’t have to risk launching the Intelligent Plague.

Manison sighed in his mind.

He had always been worried that Black Star’s route of peace would form the basis of confidence for the three Universal Civilizations and was worried that the influence of Black Star alone would not be able to affect the determination of the three Universal Civilizations. However, it seemed now that Black Star’s response was completely out of his expectations, allowing him to even be relieved of his hidden cards.

Manison had no choice but to admit that Black Star’s move was far more effective than his plan of sacrificing eight hundred soldiers to wipe out a thousand of the enemy’s soldiers.

While the two of them were typically at odds with each other, he acknowledged Han Xiao’s ability and was quite relieved this time that he ‘did not believe in the wrong person’.

On the other hand, Kasuyi glanced at Han Xiao from time to time, his favorability of him increasing.

Kasuyi was aware of most of the facts behind the Sanctum Revival and was probably the only person there other than Han Xiao who knew of the fact that there were no limits to the Sanctum Revivals. He was naturally more excited than anyone else.

He did not know why Han Xiao was pretending that there was only a single chance for the Sanctum Revivals, but after a little thought, he could guess the general intention and naturally would not expose it on the spot.

At this moment, Kasuyi could not help but feel fortunate.

Thankfully, my relationship with Black Star is not too bad. I’ve never offended him and even chose him as my companion to explore the Celestial Star Alliance. If it was someone else, even if they know the existence of the Sanctums, they would probably be just like me, having no clue even for the next few decades… I don’t know how he even managed to master the Sanctum Revivals.

Kasuyi was unaware of the Holy Accord, so he thought that Han Xiao had gotten inspiration from their trip to the secondary dimensions. He secretly sighed to have found himself a reliable comrade.

While the majority of the association members were pleasantly surprised and excited, the descendants of the three Universal Civilizations had solemn expressions.

From a personal point of view, the Sanctum Revival was indeed a divine revelation for the Beyond Grade As, but from the perspective of the civilization, if the Beyond Grade A Association possessed such a method, it would be earth-shattering news for the direct descendants.

The Beyond Grade As now have an extra life, so unstable factors cannot be removed once and for all. This will be troublesome. Even if they can be cleansed once, the deceased will definitely learn how to be smart after reviving, turning to hide and plot their revenge in secret.

The core of this problem was Black Star. Only he had the means to perform a Sanctum Revival. Unless he was killed first, or the method of Sanctum Revival was obtained from him, it would be almost impossible to split the Beyond Grade A Association.

The direct descendants frowned as similar thoughts appeared in their minds.

They had more or less received the news that the three Universal Civilizations planned to attack the Beyond Grade A Association, but at this juncture, Black Star had revealed his true colors, deliberately exposing this method. In their opinion, this was undoubtedly a warning signal. The three Universal Civilizations would be frightened with this move, such that they would not act rashly.

Moreover, the high-end combat strength of the association had suddenly soared up by a third. Even if the upper echelons of the civilizations wished to carry out their plan, they also had to consider the issue of their costs.

For the entire Beyond A realm, he did not hesitate to take the pressure upon himself… This is not like Black Star’s usual style.

Thinking of this, the eyes of the direct descendants looking at Han Xiao turned meaningful.

Han Xiao also noticed the gazes of these direct descendants, but his face was calm, and he secretly smiled.

The Calamity of the Supers was inevitable, and conflicts would eventually erupt. Right now, he had become the detonator of the Calamity of the Supers, but his fundamental goal had not changed. He had to find a way to keep the three Universal Civilizations in check, so as to control the intensity of the conflict during the Calamity of the Supers and save more strength to deal with the World Tree Civilization.

His other objective was for self-consideration. Only when the entire Grade was cohesive could his position be more stable.

I’ve finally taken this step. There’s no retrieving a loosed arrow. I can only guide these torrential times, ceaselessly running forward…

All sorts of thoughts flashed past, and Han Xiao calmed down. He clapped his hands, interrupting the communication as he spoke.

“Now that everyone has gotten to know each other, there will be opportunities in the future to socialize. Let’s stop here for today’s welcome meeting. We’ll discuss the resource allocation at the next regular meeting, helping our seniors rebuild their influence.”

Everyone nodded without any objection.

There were a lot of Beyond Grade As, which would inevitably cause them to share a part of the profits. However, the existence of the Sanctums gave everyone the decision in their hearts to get closer to Han Xiao. His authority in the association had already expanded to the extreme.

“Alright, then let’s end the meeting today.”

Han Xiao smiled and directly cancelled his remote projection.

Seeing this, everyone dissipated on their own.

No matter what emotions they had, everyone was aware that the ecology of the Beyond Grade A realm would be rewritten. When what happened in the venue today was spread, the flow of the entire Galactic Society would be greatly affected. A storm of change was bound to rise from this point, sweeping across the entire universe!

The instigator of this whole thing was actually someone who had not shown himself for a few decades yet came out straight with a bang—Black Star!

Many Beyond Grade As had a feeling that Black Star would likely open the curtains to a new era!

…

The content of this welcome party was not kept secret. With the help of those people with certain intentions, the news spread faster than expected. It had already spread to all the major Star Fields by the next day, having countless media channels scrambling to write various reports.

When the many galactic residents and organizations saw the news, their first reaction was disbelief, thinking it some sort of fake news.

Could a Sanctum really resurrect a dead Beyond Grade A? The Primordial Ones who had been buried in history collectively came back to life?

Stop joking, okay. Even the TV studios would not dare to shoot stuff like this!

However, within a few days, the members of the Beyond Grade A Association personally confirmed the veracity of the news. The entire Galactic Society was confused!

This was really true‽

The historical figures from our textbooks are now alive‽

If I’m not insane, then the world must be insane!

The emotions of countless residents exploded!

Driven by panic, fanaticism, and shock, the news spread faster and faster. The Galactic Society, which had experienced calmness for decades, was once again thrown into a stormy sea.

Be it an ordinary person or Super, civilization or private organization, almost everyone could vaguely see a storm brewing at rapid speed.

The universe seemed to be heralding a change!

Chapter 1261: Response of the Three Universal Civilizations

Benefitting from the emergency report the direct Beyond Grade As had written after the meeting, the three Universal Civilizations had learned about the resurrection of the Primordial Ones even before public opinion broke out.

The moment this report was delivered to their tables, the leaders of the three civilizations were shocked, hurriedly convening a joint meeting.

In the conference room of the highest level, the projections of Marbruce, Louis, and the Pope sat on one end. Sitting around them were the upper echelons of each respective civilization that was eligible to participate in the conference. The core powers of the three Universal Civilizations had gathered together, and the atmosphere was solemn.

“Resurrecting the Beyond Grade As… Black Star unexpectedly had such an incredible method. He hid himself deeply and only came out in high profile at this point. He did this deliberately!”

Marbruce’s expression was solemn, and he was frightened in his heart.

He had already tried to evaluate Black Star as highly as possible, but he did not expect to underestimate the other party so much. As part of the hawk faction with a strong desire to control, seeing Black Star pull out such a trump card that could stir the universe, his inner anger could not be quenched. He felt that this ally had already left the control of the dynasty.

Louis spoke in a deep voice. “Yes, Black Star has been planning this for a long time. He probably had an idea and was just waiting for an opportunity. Once he sensed the risk, he resolutely released this ace in the hole in order to disrupt our deployments!”

The Pope frowned. “This situation is unfavorable for us. With the return of the Primordial Ones, the top strength of the Beyond Grade A Association has expanded by at least a third. If we use the original plan to cleanse the Beyond Grade As, we will have to pay a higher price. This will shake the order of the entire interstellar society, not to mention that Black Star could possibly resurrect more of them…”

The mood of the trio was the same. Their plans had already entered the ready state, but this abrupt situation brought about by Black Star frightened them into stopping all their current actions and reconsidering countermeasures.

As Black Star was the source of the trouble, the goodwill of the trio toward him had disappeared, only leaving boundless hostility. Even if Black Star was nominally an ally of the dynasty, the Ruler Marbruce was also hostile toward him.

When the other party was beneficial to their own rule, they would cooperate with a smile even if they had a personal suspicion. However, Black Star’s actions had broken the balance of the universe and were leveraging on the foundations of the three Universal Civilizations. His reputation and status could no longer prevent both sides from turning against each other.

From the perspective of the three, they had given Black Star so many benefits, only to see Black Star backstab them!

If it were not for the fear of Black Star’s strength, influence, and connections, the trio might have convened their troops to smash the Black Star Army.

Marbruce suppressed his impulses, speaking in a low tone.

“It will be tricky in the short term but even more dangerous in the long run. Don’t forget, many of the Beyond Grade As have some hatred with us, such as the civilization guardians that were destroyed by us during the exploration era, or even those who perished in the Tragedy of the Pinnacles… If they make a comeback, they’re likely to retaliate against us!”

The upper echelons in the audience knew the seriousness of not removing the weeds from their roots, and they shuddered.

The three Universal Civilizations had many direct Beyond Grade As, but this number could not be compared with the number of enemies they had throughout history. Once their enemies were resurrected on a large scale, their direct Beyond Grade As were likely to be completely wiped out, resulting in the loss of their deterrence in the form of individual combat strength.

The best advantage of a Beyond Grade A was their ability as a strategic level weapon. They had unparalleled flexibility and were able to destroy the entire board with just a few people. If there were no direct Beyond Grade As on their side to restrain the other party, then even if the three Universal Civilizations could still wipe out the Beyond Grade As with their fleets, technology, and various Universal Treasures, they would have to pay a huge price to do so.

The pope thought further and solemnly said, “From the perspective of the overall situation, even if the factors of the enemy were not counted in, the dominance of the three Universal Civilizations is in danger of being flipped. The Sanctum Revival has increased the life expectancy of the Beyond Grade As, which will lead to a qualitative increase in accumulation for the Beyond Grade As in the universe.

“With this trend, the Beyond Grade A numbers will break through the balance between civilization and individual might in the near future, enough to threaten our rule. At that time, it will be hard for us to make a comeback. It will no longer be the Beyond Grade As worrying about us but rather us worrying when the ambitions of the Beyond Grade A Association will expand!”

The Pope sighed at this. He appeared resigned.

“But what’s the use of knowing this? Black Star’s trump card has completely destroyed all our checks and balances. He holds the remote control that could change this era. We can no longer act rashly!”

Hearing this, the trio fell silent.

This current situation was akin to nuclear deterrence, where the three Universal Civilizations did not dare shed all pretenses.

Even if a civilization was strong, facing such a situation, the trio felt helpless in face of this sudden situation. This naturally fueled their hate toward Han Xiao.

There seemed to only be one way to solve this… to obtain the authority to control the Sanctum Revivals!

“For the current strategy, we’ll negotiate as much as possible with Black Star until we figure out his plan!”

The trio nodded, reaching a consensus while secretly regretting their past decisions.

When the stubborn Mechanic Emperor was leading the association, they did not act rashly but rather waited for Black Star to take that position. However, it seemed now that Black Star was even more dangerous than the Mechanic Emperor, being able to hide so deeply.

The route the Mechanic Emperor took was a polar opposite of Black Star. Black Star only wished to deter and co-exist, having little negative impacts and benefiting the Beyond Grade A Association. Compared to Manison’s method of mutual destruction, the former’s method was more inconsistent with the three Universal Civilizations.

If they had known this would happen, when the Beyond Grade A Association was first established, they would have…

Well, what’s the use in regrets when it was not us at that time! What a mess our predecessors left us!

Marbruce could not help but think of the warning he had from Urranrell decades ago.

Beware of Black Star, he’s a hundred times more dangerous than the Mechanic Emperor!

At this point, he could only utter a single word. “Indeed.”

Without delay, the trio dispersed the meeting, sending an invitation and preparing for a secret conversation with Han Xiao.

The trio did not wait long, as Han Xiao descended quickly as a virtual projection.

“Your Excellencies, what a coincidence. We meet again.”

Han Xiao still held the same attitude, bowing slightly with a smile on his face.

While his tone was the same, the three of them felt a faint hint of mockery within.

Marbruce suppressed his urge to strangle Han Xiao, solemnly saying, “Black Star, you must know why we have called you over. Long story short, what’s happening with the Sanctum Revivals?”

Han Xiao blinked. “I’m not too sure myself either. I also only discovered this peculiar phenomenon by accident. This might be a Space Wonder.”

The corners of the trio’s mouths twitched.

Stop mentioning the phrase ‘Space Wonder’, my head hurts!

“Then what’s the process of the Sanctum Revivals, and are there any rules of restrictions…” Louis continued.

“Ah, I’m not too sure of that either. I haven’t started my research yet.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

The Pope cleared his throat before speaking solemnly. “I don’t know if you’re intending to share the formula for Sanctum Revival, but you can name your price.”

Han Xiao smiled.

Bruh, what are you smoking?

Seeing this, the trio knew that this request was outrageous and were secretly unhappy.

Marbruce gritted his teeth before bellowing, “Black Star! You should know what sort of chaos your Sanctum Revivals have brought to the Galactic Society. What’s your intention by resurrecting this group of historical Beyond Grade As? What is your goal?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao only smiled. “Just like you said, I was only testing out if Sanctum Revival was even possible. I didn’t expect to actually be able to resurrect this group of people. Should I stuff them back into their graves instead?”

Marbruce almost exploded in anger.

Accidental experiment? Only a fool would believe that!

The Pope took over the conversation. “Whether it was an accident or not, the Beyond Grade A Association now has to deal with a huge number of newcomers. We would like to know how you are going to deal with this problem.”

What the trio worried about was that with this new force, Black Star would take initiative to attack.

“There’s no need to deal with them. The moment they join the association, they are part of it, and they will not be given special treatment. I will only give them some resources in accordance with their established rules of the association. As for other matters… as long as they do not violate the regulations of the association, I will not care.”

Han Xiao’s attitude was to draw the line.

“This is not enough. You know our intentions. We hope that you will ensure that the Beyond Grade A Association will always exist in peace.”

Han Xiao chuckled. “Even if I guarantee it, will you believe it?”

The trio helplessly shook their heads. In reality, the foundation of trust between both parties had already collapsed. Even if they believed in Black Star, their own duties required them to plan ahead and expect the worst. Any sort of guarantee was useless to them.

The trio did not dare take a sharp attitude when facing Black Star. While Black Star had a huge business, his main clients were the three Universal Civilizations. But things were now different. With the existence of the Sanctum Revival, Black Star had become a ‘detonator’, sitting on the same level as the heads of the three Universal Civilizations.

Marbruce squinted and suddenly asked, “Black Star, is the dynasty still your ally?”

Han Xiao gazed at him, thinking for a bit before asking, “The covenant has not been torn down. The dynasty had provided me with a lot of help, so of course we’re still allies.”

It was not in his interests to completely tear off all pretenses, nor did Han Xiao wish to do so.

Marbruce’s eyes shone. “Then I wish to cooperate. Since you have the means of Sanctum Revival, I hope you can resurrect Gaud or the other dynasty descendants.”

“… I’ll think about it.” Han Xiao raised his brows. He naturally would not resurrect the direct Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations.

Seeing this, the trio knew that they would not be able to get anything else from Han Xiao, so they could only hold back their dissatisfaction and end the call.

In the huge room, the trio gazed at each other, staring in silence for a while.

Marbruce was silent for a while before he spoke.

“The original cleansing plan can be abandoned. We need a new response plan, and I have three ideas. One is to start with Black Star, using spies to infiltrate and find a method to get into the Sanctum. Second would be to divide the association, winning over some of the Revivors to inquire about the Sanctum Revival. As for the third…”

As he spoke, he glanced at them, hesitating a little before he continued.

“We should establish our own Ru0026D team to independently study the secrets of the Sanctum Revival. I believe that the federation and church are not completely ignorant of this, with some information on hand.”

The other two were taken aback before slowly nodding as well.

The three Universal Civilizations came from the exploration era, naturally having some knowledge of the Sanctums. The direct descendants of the three Universal Civilizations would occasionally also obtain relevant inspiration and leave some vague information. Because of the rumors among the Primordial Ones as well, this was not the first time the three Universal Civilizations had heard of the term ‘Sanctums’. However, they had treated this as unverifiable confidential information in the past.

Such information was a high-level secret of the three Universal Civilizations. They cherished such things deeply and just wished to research it on their own. However, due to the incomplete intelligence provided, their research had been progressing slowly without any clues. Most of the projects had long been suspended, and even the authenticity of the intelligence was questioned.

But with this situation now, where the ruling foundations of the three Universal Civilizations were threatened, Marbruce felt that this was not the time to hide and monopolize.

“I suggest that we pool and share our relevant secrets, put together our clues to study this so-called Sanctum Revival together. Only in this manner can we have a small chance of making quick progress!”

After a moment of hesitation, Louis nodded. “Seems like this is the best idea. Let’s do it.”

The Pope also nodded in agreement. “In the short term, the possibility of us solving this problem is very small, but in the long run, while we cannot prevent the resurrection of Beyond Grade As, it’s not impossible to suppress the number.

“We cannot prevent the revivals, but we can also reduce the new Beyond Grade As and prevent them from growing endlessly!”

“You mean…”

The two of them started.

The Pope’s eyes flickered with an inexplicable light as he whispered, “The birth of Beyond Grade As comes from the huge base of Supers in the universe. If we obliterate the potential Beyond Grade As, then the Super class will be cut off. If we even cut off the inheritance of Super knowledge at the bottom, nationalizing all of it, this will make the Beyond Grade As lose their fresh blood…”

Hearing this, both Marbruce and Louis felt their hearts jolt. They were unable to help feeling shocked at the Pope’s bold declaration.

The Supers had always been an important part of the Galactic Society, but now he wanted to uproot them‽

With their insight, they felt that this idea was too insane.

But… if there were only advanced civilizations left in the universe that could train Supers, how stable would their public order be, and how strong would their ruling foundation also be?

They could not help but fantasize.

…

At the same time, in Black Star Palace, Han Xiao put away his communicator. Recalling the exchange between him and the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders, he sighed lightly.

“The checks and balances have been formed. The three Universal Civilizations will give up on their cleansing plans for now, fearing repercussions of their actions. In this manner, the intensity of the Calamity of the Supers will be controlled, but I don’t know… How long can this last?”

Han Xiao nodded.

The Revivors were born ahead of time, and the fact of Sanctum Revival was revealed. The butterfly effect he had brought would inevitably change the course of the Calamity of the Supers, not developing like his previous life.

But he could not say for sure to what extent the Calamity of the Supers would change, so he could only adapt to the circumstances.

Chapter 1262: Mechanical Divinity

“Even if we have not torn off all pretenses now, our relationship is basically frozen stiff.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin as he pondered.

While the storyline had changed, he had predicted the actions of the three Universal Civilizations. The leaders had approached him for a secret talk, naturally with the intention of negotiating with him.

But Han Xiao did not plan to talk about it at all. The fundamental contradictions were already placed up front, so negotiations would be useless if that was not resolved.

The three Universal Civilizations wished to achieve the result of preventing him from resurrecting the Beyond Grade As in history at will. The Revivors had to first be screened by them, and the number could not exceed a certain value. In short, the Sanctum Revivals would be limited, in a way that best fit with the needs of the three Universal Civilizations.

Even if he were to compromise, as long as the three Universal Civilizations did not control the Sanctum Revival function, their behavior would not change. The foundation of trust had already been broken; nothing said now would be able to dispel their fear. This fundamental conflict of interest had already prevented both parties from reaching a consensus.

Han Xiao naturally did not want to tie up his hands and feet. Now that the checks and balance were established, there was nothing they could do even if Han Xiao did not wish to negotiate. That being said, he did not wish to further provoke the three Universal Civilizations.

Unless the three Universal Civilizations made a move, he did not intend to expose any new Beyond Grade As revived by the Holy Accord.

“The three Universal Civilizations could be said to have turned into our enemies. While they are not yet openly hostile, the business cooperation between us will be gradually lifted. Naturally, their resource support will also not be handed to me.

“Tsk, Marbruce has never been happy with me. It’s only because of the deal signed between Urranrell and I that he has no choice but to continue to give me strong support. Now, he can finally terminate the cooperation in a fair way.

“However, I’m not the only one who is receiving this treatment. Except for the direct descendants and the allies who have not made a clear statement, it’s difficult for anyone else to be able to continue cooperating with the three Universal Civilizations. It is necessary to enhance the independence of the association.”

The nature of this wave caused by the Beyond Grade A Association had changed. The three Universal Civilizations would no longer continue their original intentions of killing their ‘enemies’ but would carry out non-armed conflict countermeasures such as economic sanctions.

With them taking the lead, a large number of affiliated civilizations would also terminate their cooperation with the Beyond Grade A organizations. If targeted policies were introduced, many of the interstellar consortiums would also choose to terminate their contracts with the Beyond Grade As. No matter how powerful the Beyond Grade As were, there was no way for them to develop their organizations without support, and Han Xiao did not doubt the influence of the three Universal Civilizations in this area. Free trade would turn into a political issue.

Because the three Universal Civilizations were hegemons, they did not care about losing this portion of cooperation, but for the Beyond Grade A organizations, it would be a significant dip in income. Many of their channels would be cut off, which would have a great impact.

This situation would cause the Super Star Cluster Alliance to take advantage of this vacancy and attempt to lure in the Beyond Grade As to replace the position of the three Universal Civilizations. However, the three Universal Civilizations were even more likely to turn toward the Super Star Cluster Alliance than to continue to cooperate with the Beyond Grade A Association.

Of course, even if the three Universal Civilizations were to take this route, they would not do it in a high-profile manner. This struggle would be out of sight of most galactic residents.

Such problems would not happen in the short term, but it was necessary for Han Xiao to establish an interest system for the Beyond Grade A Association that was independent from the three Universal Civilizations. The current interest system could only be regarded as a semi-complete product, needing further tuning.

“There are countless organizations contacting me these days to ask about the Sanctum Revivals. These are all resources that can be used.”

Han Xiao scratched his chin thoughtfully.

For the ordinary citizens, while the Sanctum Revival was magical, it had little to do with them. Instead, it was the consortiums with more sensitivity in business that were requesting further cooperation, believing that this would be a huge business opportunity.

In Han Xiao’s opinion, these were all ‘building blocks’ that were delivered to his doorstep.

The various consortiums had always been important partners for the Beyond Grade A organizations, but if the three Universal Civilizations adopted such economic sanctions in the future, these various consortiums would be caught in a dilemma between the two factions, not knowing which to choose.

During these unordinary periods, Han Xiao did not wish to clarify any risks with his investors. He planned to immediately accept any investors that wished to invest, tying the association and the consortiums further together to prevent them from running away.

If there came a day when economic sanctions really took place, the consortiums could either be as stubborn as mules and stay all the way or slice off a big piece of their flesh to withdraw. In short, they would not be allowed to pull out with all their investments.

For some organizations with Beyond Grade As, the significance of the Sanctum Revival was even more important. Among them, Han Xiao’s attention was focused on the surviving descendants of those historical Beyond Grade As. A few of them had already reached out to him, expressing their desire to resurrect their ‘ancestor’.

“The surviving descendants of the historical Beyond Grade As… they’re both a source of propaganda and a pool of high-value talents. With the Sanctum Revival in my hands, we can gain something of value from these groups,” Han Xiao muttered.

Resurrecting a Beyond Grade A would only allow him to receive gratitude from said person, but acting on someone’s request to resurrect would mean he could obtain many more benefits.

This was basic demand and supply. Since he had a monopoly, he could decide the price, and in Han Xiao’s view, this might be the correct method to operate the Sanctum Revival.

Right now, however, in order to maintain a sense of secrecy, it would be better not to turn it into a business.

Han Xiao populated his memo, recording thought after thought. It was the president’s duty to guide the development direction of the association, so it was necessary for him to consider all aspects and begin preparing early.

Very quickly, the memo was densely filled up. Han Xiao listed the current affairs that had to be completed, turning it into a complicated mess. Scanning it, he nodded to himself.

“Regarding the work of the association, this is about it. On the side of the organization, I’ll withstand the pressure, using my own strength as the foundation to maintain all of these things…”

While he thought to himself, Han Xiao opened up the interface with a smile.

With the Revivors joining the association, his bonus given by [Proof of Leadership] had seen a small rise. In the past few decades, he had digested most of Jayz’s technical treasures, building a variety of Gold Grade equipment. He had already come a long way on the road of God’s Trait Transformation.

His Machinery God’s Trait Transformation had reached the apex at level fifteen with the help of his Mission Completion Cards. As for his Void God’s Trait Transformation, it had reached level nine, which was also quite a high level.

The bonuses brought about by both of them had once again increased his Energy by thousands of Ona. At the same time, when his Machinery God’s Trait Transformation reached the final level, it brought about additional enhancements to himself, such as obtaining another fragment of the First Sanctum, as well as a fifteen percent increase in his chance to form an exclusive talent.

But unlike the first two times, his unknown talent was finally activated, turning into a new talent—[Mechanical Divinity]!

This was a special reward given when one reached the top of the Mechanic Class. The effect was comprehensive, covering strength of abilities, Machinery Affinity, manufacturing efficiency, and basic attributes, giving bonuses to Endurance and more. This allowed Han Xiao’s Energy to rise by more than 900 in one go, making progress in every single possible manner.

In addition, [Mechanical Divinity] provided him with two additional abilities. The first allowed him to obtain a stacking bonus when he activated his machinery with Mechanical Force, allowing him to get stronger as he fought.

The second gave him an ascension for his life level in his next advancement. From Han Xiao’s viewpoint, this might be the most critical effect, which would live up to its name of ‘transformation’.

As for the Void path, it mainly strengthened his Race Specialties and basic attributes, improving his Racial Talent. At the fifth level, the Black Star race’s talent [Mechanical Genius] experienced a forward leap in evolution, giving him a fragment from the First Sanctum.

As for his Unique Talent, Han Xiao was finally not totally clueless about it. During these decades of research, he had finally triggered a notification from his interface.

The Unique Talent was not one that could be obtained from a sudden epiphany. The mechanism worked when relevant activities were carried out, randomly giving him a certain amount of progress each time. Only when the progress bar was filled up could a true Unique Talent be formed. The triggering frequency and amount of progress depended on the probability of the activity being able to form his Unique Talent.

Because of the bonus awarded by his God’s Trait Transformation, Han Xiao had finally activated a prototype. It had only triggered about three times in the decades, with an extremely low probability. His progress bar was only at 44.7%. At this rate, it would take more than a hundred years for a normal Beyond Grade A to be able to develop their own Unique Talents.

The Awakening Points were able to speed up this progress, but he had no leeks to harvest for a few decades, so Han Xiao decided to be economical, not upgrading his skills, which led to fewer Awakening Points.

Our Great Mechanic Han gazed at his interface as he silently calculated his strength.

The Energy Rank increase brought to me by the various specialties is really high, opening up a gap between myself and the topmost echelons of the universe. I belong to a position on my own now, and when I reach my advancement for level 360, I might really step into a totally new realm…

The best thing to do now would be to push my Void God’s Trait Transformation to the maximum before my advancement, in order to maximize the benefits. The Gold Grade blueprints that Jayz left for me might be insufficient, but as long as I enter The First Sanctum, I should be able to collect a wave of these blueprints, and there will not be a need to worry about not having enough God’s Trait Transformation points…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled in expectation.

Nobody seemed to have been able to set foot in this higher territory, even in the previous iterations. When the time came, what sort of feeling would it be?

…

“Unexpectedly, the Beyond Grade A Association gave us such a huge surprise!”

In the Super Star Cluster Alliance remote conference room, the leaders of the various Super Star Clusters were gathered together, their expressions unable to withhold their grins.

Ever since they lost in the Flickering War, the Super Star Cluster Alliance had been driven out of the Flickering World by the three Universal Civilizations. They could only endure this humiliation and go home to lick their wounds and recuperate, lying dormant whilst waiting for other opportunities.

They did not expect that merely a few decades later, the patterns in the universe would change once again.

“The conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association has begun. Black Star is always surprising us, even managing to dig up all those dead people. The three Universal Civilizations will definitely not sit still. This is our opportunity.”

The eyes of the Star Arc Civilization’s leader flickered as the corners of his mouth rose.

Someone laughed. “That’s right. This is a good time to intervene and also a direction to shake the rule of the three Universal Civilizations. We can make some improvements to the basis of our original plan.”

Even whilst recuperating, the Super Star Cluster Alliance was not idle. They were already planning to create some trouble for the three Universal Civilizations.

They originally wanted to jointly support a special task force, instigating the anger of the common people that suffered from inequality, reducing the goodwill of these people toward the three Universal Civilizations so as to shake their rule.

But plans could never keep up with the changes. There were now obviously better options.

Everyone had their own ideas, and they discussed vigorously.

“From what angle should we intervene in this storm?”

“It’s impossible to appear in person. We have to hide behind the scenes… Since the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association are restraining themselves, we should intensify their conflict and make them turn openly hostile.”

“The best result would be having both sides lose out, but the Beyond Grade A Association only possesses top-level strength. The power difference between the two is too wide. They are not an opponent of the three Universal Civilizations, so we should find a way to help them increase their power.”

“Are you talking about cooperating with them? That works, but it will attract the attention of the three Universal Civilizations.”

“No, no, not cooperation. We can secretly kill a few of their members, then pin the blame to the three Universal Civilizations, just like what they did to us in the Tragedy of the Pinnacles…”

The people threw out idea after idea, discussing them endlessly.

At this moment, the Star Arc Civilization’s leader interjected.

“Maybe… we could play it big this time!”

Hearing this, everyone turned, curious.

“What are your thoughts?”

The leader narrowed his eyes as he solemnly spoke. “Currently, the contradiction is only between the Beyond Grade As and the three Universal Civilizations. This scope is still too narrow. We can attempt to provoke a greater opposition… For example, we can expand the conflict to the entire Super class against the three Universal Civilizations!

“We can spread rumors that the three Universal Civilizations wish to slaughter the Supers in order to prevent new Beyond Grade As from being born, then we find some people to pretend to be part of the three Universal Civilizations. The hunting team will expose themselves, and by then, even if the rumors are too exaggerated, fear will be the best persuasive power, leading to panic.

“The Beyond Grade A is the natural leader of the Supers, which will cause them to step up, confronting the three Universal Civilizations and deepening their conflicts. The Beyond Grade A Association might seize this chance to increase its power since it will not miss out on such an advantage. The three Universal Civilizations will thus lose a lot of Supers, people, and prestige… Isn’t this very profitable?”

Hearing this, everyone jumped in shock, staring at each other.

After being silent for a while, someone asked, “Isn’t this a bit too exaggerated? If you instigate the rebellion of the entire Super-class, Galactic Society will experience a huge disturbance. Besides, the three Universal Civilizations will not sit still and wait. They will come out with countermeasures, and if they expose us, what should we do?”

“The risk is indeed high, but the benefits are proportional. This is already the best bet. I just put forward a new path we can follow. As for the specific details, we’ll still have to consider it further.”

The leader of the Star Arc Civilization then added after a pause, “Besides, the three Universal Civilizations are unlikely to be completely clean as well. Judging by their current situation, they might really have the idea of creating a fault in the Supers. Since they cannot prevent the resurrection, they can only prevent the birth of the new people. But even if they have such ideas, they will only act secretly to target potential Calamity Grade seeds. What we’re doing is just helping them ‘advertise’ it.”

The Star Arc Civilization’s leader sneered.

I dare not say anything else, but I’m the best at sh*t stirring!

…

Somewhere within the Ancient Star Desert, in a bustling galactic transit station, a few people clad in black robes walked among the ceaseless streams of people, their appearances hidden.

Suddenly, a few of them stopped, looking at a tall building not far away. At this moment, the virtual screen on the wall of the building was broadcasting news about the Sanctum Revival and the association.

The lead man slightly lifted his hood, revealing a stern face. It was Pangon, and those with him were the avengers that had left the Holy Accord about two months ago.

“Humph, Beiger and the rest are already ‘born’…” Pangon whispered to himself.

By the side, a companion glanced at him. “We’ve been out for several months. What are you planning to do?”

Pangon’s eyes flashed coldly.

“With just our strength, it’s too early to take revenge against the advanced civilizations. Now that Beiger’s group has attracted the attention of the universe, we should secretly develop our forces. Once we have accumulated enough power, we’ll head to the three Universal Civilizations for revenge… Before that, we have to hide our hostility and even pretend to cooperate with the three Universal Civilizations to stab them at the right time.”

As he spoke, Pangon took out a communicator and showcased the life history of someone. It was actually the EsGod!

He pointed toward EsGod’s data and spoke.

“Just like this junior of ours, there’s a lot of learning value. We can consider his methods…”

Chapter 1263: Undercurrents move once again

In one of the deep secondary dimensions, there was a piece of verdant land, full of greenery, mountains, and rivers. At its center was a beautiful and prosperous tower. The surrounding buildings were laid around it in a circular layout, their heights gradually decreasing the further outward they were situated. From one’s line of sight, it looked like a city built to guard this tall tower.

The streets were bustling, and life forms of various appearances lived in harmony there. Most of them were species that existed in the main universe, but there were also a small number of native races that belonged to the Secondary dimension.

If there were any Beyond Grade A Supers present, upon gazing at the sun, moon, and thousands of stars in the sky, they would discover magic lines flickering in subtle places. These scenes were all illusions that were carved out through magic circuits, with none of them being real.

There was a beautiful brown wooden table placed on the top of the tower, of which was made from the core of the Devil Pith, an extremely precious material in magical alchemy. There were four ivory-colored tea cups on the table, which were filled with tea of an amber color. The steam emitted from tea filled the surroundings with fragrance, allowing people to feel calm. Obviously, the tea leaves were also a precious material.

Seated at the table, four figures looked at the boundless city whilst elegantly drinking the tea leisurely.

At this moment, an almost invisible phantom appeared beside the table, as though this space had suddenly distorted.

“My messenger is back…”

One of the old men in gorgeous mage robes pressed on the center of his brows, his mana absorbing the phantom.

He shut his eyes for a moment, as though savoring the taste, but his brows suddenly jerked.

“It seems like something major has happened in the main universe.”

Hearing this, the rest placed down their teacups, looking over curiously.

“What happened?”

“See for yourself.”

The elderly mage waved his hand, a thread of spiritual force shooting out. It sank into the heads of the other three, allowing them to share his memories. The news was about the changes in the Beyond Grade A Association, shown in the galactic news.

“Primordial Ones were revived? Sanctum Revival?”

“There’s actually such an event?”

The few of them revealed expressions of surprise.

“The changes in the main universe are really progressing rapidly with each passing day. Things that I never dared to imagine are all coming true. Such are the tides of time…” The elderly mage sighed.

“It doesn’t matter how they change. This doesn’t matter to us anyway. We’ve isolated ourselves from the world. Wasn’t it just to avoid such storms?” The other person shook his head.

Even for an advanced civilization, they could not supervise the birth of every Beyond Grade A. Everyone pursued different things. Sometimes, there were Beyond Grade As who were unwilling to fight for power, unwilling to show their skills and change with the times, so they chose to seclude themselves after reaching the Beyond Grade A realm, hiding their hard-earned strength.

Because those who could be promoted to the Beyond Grade A realm were generally people with strong ambitions and desires, there were relatively few of them who had no ambitions and yet could still advance. These were usually attributed to luck and were not recorded by the advanced civilizations.

These four were Beyond Grade As who had retired from the universe a long time ago. They were like-minded individuals, staying away from the main universe and settling deep within the secondary dimensions, forming a cooperative front to take care of each other.

This secondary dimension named ‘Land of Four Gods’ was not naturally formed. The four of them had selected a suitable dimension before putting in the elements stolen from the main universe such as materials and people, transforming it into a prosperous world much like a utopia. At the same time, everybody’s mind was wiped, so they would think that this dimension was an entire world. The population thus proliferated down from generation to generation.

The residents could stay free from war and enjoy the tranquility of the world. The majority of people there could all live to the end of their lifespan and worshipped the four as their ‘Gods of Creation’.

The elderly mage shook his head. “That being said, the Sanctum Revival is worthy of our attention. Sooner or later, we’ll also experience a time when we decay. If we can obtain a second life, we can continue to exist.”

“That time when we left the place, we never had any intentions to return. Are we going to break this intention now?” one of them said in a hesitant voice. They had gotten used to staying in this place and had some fear of going back out.

The mage stroked his long beard, only replying after a while. “Let’s wait and see again. Now’s not a good time to go back. We can wait till the dust settles before we have a chat with the younger lad known as Black Star.”

Even for those Beyond Grade As that avoided public scrutiny, they could not help being drawn in by the Sanctum Revival offered. Not only were the four of them affected, but similar issues were also happening in the many corners of the secondary dimensions.

The Sanctum Revival was akin to a deep water mine, stirring up the mud and sand in the depths of the seabed, causing the hidden existences to reenter the range of sunlight, surging as undercurrents in corners that no one knew about.

…

Within the Arcane Church’s Temple of Ten Thousand Gods, numerous statues of gods in all shapes and sizes stood. Some were majestic and heroic, some detached from the mortal dust, and some indescribable. The only thing in common was that each statue appeared lifelike. They were gods of various religions circulating in the universe.

The [God’s Chosen] Wuornos stood in the center of the main hall, his head bowed as he prayed. The silvery-gray sacrificial priest’s robes fluttered even without a wind, as colorful and peculiar auras flew around his body vigorously. If one were to observe the interior of these auras, they would see that it seemingly contained lines of divine words.

At this moment, a priest led an upper echelon of the Arcane Church to enter the temple.

“Your Excellency, God’s Chosen, the Pope requires your assistance.”

The upper echelon of the Arcane Church saluted as he spoke with a respectful attitude.

Wuornos stopped his prayers, indifferently speaking without even turning his head. “Speak.”

“Because of the Sanctum Revival, we have reached a new cooperation agreement with both the Crimson Dynasty and the Federation of Light, planning to form a joint scientific research team to conduct research of our own to obtain the Sanctum Revival. We’re preparing to establish a secret research institute in the desolate universe belt in the middle of the three territories, and the Pope would like you to hold the fort there, God’s Chosen.”

“Sure.”

Wuornos turned his head, pointing to an angel wielding a sword next to him. This was one of the deities worshipped by a large religious school named ‘Barbaroy’. Based on the school’s system, this deity governed over ‘combat’ itself.

At this moment, an invisible energy spread, and the statue suddenly shook. A golden-white aura shot out from within, separating itself from the statue. At the moment the light left the shell, the lifelike feeling of the statue dissipated.

This golden-white aura suffused into Wuornos’ body. The next moment, a crash was heard as an illusory figure suddenly grew out from his back.

This phantom had a pair of glowing wings and held a gorgeous long sword. It was surprisingly in the same outfit as the deity, except that its size and appearance were similar to Wuornos instead, as though they had combined.

At this moment, the phantom was holding Wuornos’ shoulders with its hands, attempting to pull itself out of Wuornos’ body inch by inch.

In just a few seconds, the sword-wielding angel had succeeded in separating itself, flapping its wings and floating into the air, splashing a pale, golden energy all over as it quickly transformed from a phantom into a physical entity with a strong aura. It stopped when the energy fluctuations reached the level of an upper-tier Beyond Grade A.

The two figures stood side by side, looking like different versions of the same person.

At this moment, Wuornos slowly spoke.

“One deity is enough. Barbaroy is good enough for this task. Take him there.”

“Alright, I’ll escort him over. Thank you for your gift.”

The upper echelon of the Arcane Church nodded and saluted.

No matter how many times he witnessed this, he could not help but secretly marvel and admire this scene.

This was the guardian of the Arcane Church, the person recognized in the universe as the strongest for many years now, the legendary God’s Chosen who could ‘summon’ the gods…

This one person could take on the persona of all the gods!

This was not just his personal ability but one of the core Universal Treasures of the Arcane Church, which was integrated into Wuornos’ body, creating the title of God’s Chosen.

At this moment, Wuornos saw that the other party had yet to leave and lightly asked, “Is there anything else?”

The person in question recovered his senses and hurriedly said, “There’s another matter. The Pope asked me to ask this question…”

“Ask.”

The upper echelon paused before carefully continuing. “The Pope wishes to know, do you have a guarantee of being able to get rid of Black Star?”

Hearing this, Wuornos finally turned to look at him. He frowned.

“I cannot guarantee that.”

“… Alright. I apologize for intruding; I’ll be off now.”

The person could only bid farewell.

Sending him off with his eyes, Wuornos lowered his head to continue praying. From the start to the end, he did not leave his spot at all, as though he was also a statue of a deity that was fixed in place.

…

The news of the Sanctum Revival quickly rose to a fever pitch in a few days, with no sign of fading even after half a month. The major news channels found a new entry point, beginning to count the Revivors and their identities, which attracted the curiosity of the people, allowing their ratings to remain high.

At the same time, the Wayne Card company announced that they would work overtime in order to produce all related card decks of the Revivors, formulating several new genres of gameplay based on the Sanctum Revival, further inflaming the level of popularity.

And among the various classes of society, the Calamity Grades reacted the most fiercely.

The Calamity Grades already had the strength to occupy a territory, so many of them would rather be a big fish in a small pond than join in under the lead of a Beyond Grade A organization. However, the existence of the Sanctum Revival changed their plans.

Generally speaking, those who were Calamity Grades would join Beyond Grade A organizations either to obtain shelter or to seek guidance. But some people were aware of their own potential, understanding that they were unqualified to enter the Beyond Grade A realm. Thus, they did not have much motivation to cultivate. Many of them chose to come to a standstill, indulging in the luxury brought about by their power.

But now, almost no one could refuse the attraction that was a second life. Even those who had accepted their mediocrity early could not help but feel their passion rekindled.

This was especially so for the Beyond Grade A seeds!

Initially, most of the Beyond Grade A seeds had a sense of arrogance, and not everyone would seek guidance from a Beyond Grade A. Even if they knew that this would be beneficial to them, they did not wish to work for others.

Some of the Beyond Grade A seeds practiced the lone wolf method, aiming to complete the sublimation of life level on their own.

However, the situation had changed. They would not be able to enjoy the Sanctum Revival if they did not step into the Beyond Grade A realm. Thus, these potential stocks that were one step away from the Beyond Grade A realm would gradually have their mentality fluctuate, beginning to think of plans to join under the Beyond Grade A organizations, obtaining guidance to achieve the qualifications for Sanctum Revival as soon as possible.

Those who could even become Beyond Grade A seeds were decisive people. Once they had come to a decision, they immediately put it into action. For a period of time, many of the seeds stopped roaming around, adjusting their schedules to turn toward the Flickering World.

Those who had abilities could afford to be arrogant, but for the majority of the time, the reason they behaved so was only because the benefits offered to them were not enticing enough. This was the law of the universe.

Chapter 1264: Feidins Card, Adventure Trigger

In a place near Blackhole Edge, a small fleet was moving toward the border of the Star Field, in the direction of the Flickering World.

Within the command room of the foremost spaceship, many of the operators bustled at their posts, reporting parameters from time to time.

“Reporting to the Captain, we’ve left the Haite Civilization’s territory. Entering the low security area infested with galactic pirates. The alert level has been raised to Level 7. In about fifty-four hours, the fleet will arrive at the joint neutral area and enter the range of the inter-star field stargate.”

“Ok. Expand the range of the unmanned reconnaissance fleet. We have to be cautious. The next section of the journey is not safe,” Kevin replied as he sat in the captain’s seat.

He was slender and had a fair complexion with a handsome appearance. He was dressed in a set of elegant casual clothes, coupled with a black wide-brimmed hat adorned with a feather. His shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a smooth, white chest. A slender saber hung sheathed on his waist, engraved with magic patterns that gave away its identity as a magic weapon.

‘White Wave’ Kevin was one of the recorded Beyond Grade A seeds in the universe. He did not belong to any organization but rather travelled freely within the universe.

This sort of neutral Beyond Grade A seed had always been an important target for the advanced civilizations, and Kevin was no exception. The three Universal Civilizations, the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and advanced civilizations in Blackhole Edge had handed him olive branches.

However, Kevin had never expressed his stance, not only because he did not wish to work under others, but also because he wished to leave himself some room to maneuver.

Originally, the price set by the three Universal Civilizations had moved him, and he was thinking about joining them, but the recent news about the Sanctum Revival made him dismiss such thoughts.

Even though the three Universal Civilizations had greatly increased their offers after this incident, it was no longer the same; Kevin remained unmoved. Suddenly, he no longer felt that the promised resources by the three Universal Civilizations were attractive, and he did not even wish to bargain. He directly decided to turn around and join the Beyond Grade A organizations, leading his fleet to the Flickering World.

He had even chosen his target. Black Star controlled the Sanctum Revival, so he had to join the Black Star Army. As long as he got to the Beyond Grade A realm in the future, he would be able to enjoy the benefits of a favorable position.

Kevin casually swiped through his communicator, browsing the latest news events on the local network channels. He soon noticed an article with an interesting title.

‘The three Universal Civilizations claim to know of the phenomenon behind the Sanctum Revival. They have always been researching it, and now they have also produced results.’

Seeing this in the headlines, Kevin could not help but sneer with a disapproving expression.

“Tsk, in order to soothe the hearts of the public, the three Universal Civilizations have started to produce fake news…”

In the near future, similar news would appear from time to time due to the impact of Sanctum Revival to the galactic community. This had triggered a chain reaction, even shaking the direct descendants of the advanced civilizations. In Kevin’s view, the three Universal Civilizations were doing this to placate the public and make the ordinary people believe that the three Universal Civilizations could also use such technology.

While such rumors were groundless, they could not be said to be completely ineffective. There would always be certain citizens in the Galactic Society who followed simple and crude logic, which made them believe that the three Universal Civilizations were involved in every field. Even if the Sanctum Revival was an unheard of technology, they would believe that the three Universal Civilizations had long known about it but kept it a secret.

However, these people were mainly only those in the lowest social strata. People like Kevin would naturally not believe it.

“The three Universal Civilizations are greatly pressured now. This is not a bad thing. Only when there’s competition between the major factions will people like us get noticed. In order to win us over, they will have to come out with better welfare. If not for the three Universal Civilizations feeling the pressure, they would not have suddenly increased the chips to win me over.”

Kevin scratched his jaw as he muttered to himself.

Reading on, he realized that the comment section was a little strange. There were many negative comments and curses directed at the Supers, with people feeling irritated about the privileges enjoyed by the Supers. Some were even furious about the unequal treatment. These comments all received a lot of likes and praise from the lurkers on the web.

Kevin carefully looked through the comments before helplessly shaking his head.

Toward the strength, status, and privileges that Supers enjoyed, the majority of the ordinary people both admired and feared them, but they also envied and hated them. Supers were one of the most active social classes in the universe, but they only accounted for a very small part of the total population of the universe. Compared to the ordinary people who were the mainstream, both sides had been plagued with conflicts for a long time.

Most people in the universe were destined not to have the potential to become Supers since they were born, doomed to be mediocre their whole lives. The more they admired these Supers, the more they would hate themselves for not having such a life and their unfair destiny. Thus, this hate would also pass to the surrounding matters related to Supers. Using reasoning could not tame the hearts of these people, thus forming a stubborn social contradiction between both classes.

On the universal scale, Supers and ordinary people were not just a matter of social class, not even of the same ‘biology’ make up. Supers represented the direction of evolution, whilst the ordinary people represented the low-level life forms. Even if the galactic society did not promote such a perception, many people thought of it as the truth.

The ordinary people who occupied the mainstream of the population were unwilling to accept their innate position as the ‘eliminated of the evolutionary process’, so conflict was doomed to happen.

In reality, most galactic residents did not dare make trouble in front of the Supers, but they would not hesitate to go on the quantum network to attack and vent their emotions. The Sanctum Revival seemed to have become a detonator for the grievances of the galactic residents, leading to many more of these ordinary residents becoming angry and shouting about injustice.

In such herd venting places, emotions would naturally outweigh one’s rationality. Even if many of the people knew that the strength a Super had was a result of hard training, it was meaningless. They would only stop the scolding when all Supers in the universe were dead or when they became Supers themselves.

While Kevin was not surprised at this, he felt that the eruption behind the class conflicts had been too violent. He would not believe there was nobody manipulating the thoughts of people behind the scenes.

“Dark clouds keep accumulating, and heavy rain will arrive sooner than scheduled. I always feel that if this continues, it will be bad for the future of our Galactic Society…”

Kevin shook his head.

Boom!

At this moment, the spaceship suddenly shook, and its radar buzzed in alarm.

“Warning! Warning! Detected a space jamming device nearby, exiting hyperdrive. An unknown spaceship is fast approaching!”

Kevin looked up in surprise, hurriedly switching to the outside field. He soon saw a small fleet surrounding him. They were a galactic pirate group active in this area, with the leader seeming to be a Calamity Grade.

The next moment, the shouts of the galactic pirate group sounded in the wide area communication channel.

“Quickly stop your spaceship and open the hatch. Allow my people to board the ship. Otherwise, we will open fire!”

“It turns out they’re here to loot…”

Kevin breathed a sigh of relief, and his expression turned cold.

“Captain, what do we do?” the pilot next to him asked. He believed in Kevin’s strength, so he was not nervous at all.

“Humph, let them board. Since they’re looking for death, then we’ll give it to them. I’ll finish them off quickly.”

Kevin’s eyes flashed.

Very quickly, the fleet stopped in place according to his instructions. Seeing this, the galactic pirates quickly approached, connecting their spaceships.

The hatch opened in a flash, and a galactic pirate stepped into the spaceship with a gun. Everyone onboard was waiting in front of the passage.

“Where’s the captain? Tell him to come out and see me!” The galactic pirate looked around.

At this moment, there was a loud shout from the crowd.

“You messed with the wrong person!”

Kevin, who was hidden in the crowd, suddenly attacked. He drew out his long, slender saber, cutting out a splendid sheen as a sharp cold light shot out.

The galactic pirate leader was shocked, hurriedly raising his arm wrapped in Pugilist aura to block the surprise attack.

Swoosh!

The next second, blood spewed, and the galactic pirate leader screamed in pain as the blade cut through his aura and into his arm, deeply embedding within.

Kevin gripped the blade in both hands as his feet spun. A wave of white blade light suddenly lit up, leaving a remnant flash on everyone’s retinas.

Shua!

The arm of the pirate leader fell on the ground. The incision was smooth, and the blood seemed to not have kept up with the speed of the blade as there was a split second of pause before it sprayed out, staining the spaceship corridor.

Both of them were in the Calamity Grade, but Kevin’s Energy rank was much higher, so he maimed his opponent in a single blow. As a Pugilist of the War Soldier Branch, Kevin was extremely lethal, having long reached the master level in swordsmanship.

Right at this moment, a sudden change occurred!

In the team of galactic pirates, seven to eight of them released the aura of a Calamity Grade and attacked Kevin at the same time, like hunters who had been stalking their prey for a long time!

“What!” Kevin’s pupils shrank, his eyes changing drastically.

These people definitely did not belong to the galactic pirates. If there were so many Calamity Grades, they would have been famous, and he would not be surprised like this.

To be so close and yet unable to sense their auras, these assailants were not simple!

Kevin did not have time to think about the origins of this group. He hurriedly dodged and blocked, but the attack was too sudden, leaving him to withstand most of the heavy blows. Blood spurted out as he suffered a heavy injury. The Pugilists of the War Soldier Branch were not famed for their defense.

“They’re not ordinary Calamity Grades. They’re all masters!”

Kevin was horrified, and while coughing blood, he slashed out wide, smashing through the bulkhead of the spaceship to flee into the universe, attempting to approach another spaceship.

At this moment, the seven to eight Calamity Grades chased after him, intercepting and cooperating to destroy all the spaceships while entangling Kevin, leaving no path of retreat.

Seeing that his path of retreat was cut off, Kevin could only resist desperately. With every exchange between him and the group, he was put in more and more danger.

Even with his status as a Beyond Grade A seed, he could not withstand the siege of seven to eight Calamity Grades. After all, not everyone had the frightening ability of Black Star.

“You guys are not galactic pirates. Who are you people‽” Kevin yelled in the wide area communication channel. Through his senses, he could vaguely feel the resolute killing intent of these Calamity Grades, as though they were there purposely for him.

Could it be that this group allied with the galactic pirates to plot against me?

But his question was destined to never be answered. These Calamity Grades were silent, only answering with their attacks, unscrupulously releasing their cold killing intent.

Seeing this, Kevin gritted his teeth, unwilling to sit still as he called out for help on the wide area communication channel while still trying his best to break out from the siege. Even knowing that his chance of escape was slim, he would not give up.

As his injuries grew more severe, he gradually burned out and started to lose his consciousness.

“It took me such a long time to gain my strength and to set foot in the Beyond Grade A field. Could it be that I’ll have to die like this here?”

Kevin tried his best to persevere as a strong unwillingness surged in his mind.

At this point, everyone’s attack suddenly halted. They looked up, seeing a shuttle-shaped spaceship appearing in their sight not far away, approaching as it seemed to have discovered the abnormal energy response there.

“There are eyewitnesses. What should we do?”

“Ignore them. Kill the target first.”

The few people exchanged words before increasing the intensity of the offensive, abandoning all defenses, fighting tooth for tooth.

This became the last straw. Kevin’s wounded body could no longer bear the offensive surge and shattered into pieces. His life quickly fled from his body.

One of the Calamity Grades was about to deliver the final fatal blow, but at this moment, something strange happened!

Buzz!

A holy golden light shot out from the spaceship, approaching quickly and shining on Kevin’s tattered body.

The next moment, as though a miracle happened, Kevin’s body returned to its intact state in the blink of an eye. All his injuries disappeared without a trace. He opened his eyes in confusion.

“This is…”

The pupils of those Calamity Grades shrank, and they all turned to the spaceship where the beam of light came from.

At the same time, Aurora retracted her hand from within the spaceship, her eyes flashing with excitement and curiosity.

“It’s really fun to go out with you. I always encounter strange things.”

By the side, Feidin helplessly shook his head.

If it was not for him being volunteered, he would not have wanted to accompany Aurora to travel everywhere. To put it nicely, he was a ‘bodyguard’, but in fact, he was just being used as an event trigger to make her journey more interesting and fun.

Chapter 1265: Snatched

Ever since she stepped into the Beyond Grade A realm half a year ago, Aurora had won the approval of Han Xiao and Hila, allowing her to leave the camp and wander around the universe. According to her words, it was no easy feat to have reached this level, so why would she not enjoy her time outside?

During her first few months, Aurora travelled around alone to view the scenery and experience different cultures, but she soon discovered that such a journey was too dull, not as exciting as she had imagined it to be.

Thus, after Han Xiao returned from the Sanctum, Aurora borrowed the handyman Feidin from him, asking Han Xiao to use the King to teleport him to her.

The effect of this move was significant, suddenly turning her journey into an exciting one. According to definitely inaccurate and incomplete statistics, the duo had been involved in more than a dozen incidents, be it large or small in just the past two months.

Aurora was now satisfied, but Feidin felt completely helpless as he was dragged around by Aurora to continue his career as a handyman.

He could not help regretting the fact that he had managed to separate Chen Xing’s soul, otherwise he could pass time by talking to her, not being just a mascot like he was now.

The spaceship they operated was specially crafted by Black Star. The hyperdrive engine, energy shield, detection radar, Cloaking Devices, and other miscellaneous devices were all top tier. Not too long ago, the spaceship had detected the abnormal energy fluctuations there and concluded that a battle was taking place. The special interference device of Black Star’s broke through the channel interference and saw Kevin’s call for help.

At the same time, Aurora’s ability also sensed multiple Calamity Grade life signals and immediately knew that there was excitement to be discovered there. Thus, she turned to take a look, chancing across this scene.

While she was not aware of the events that had transpired, throughout her months of wandering, she had long developed her own style of doing things… Regardless of why they were trying to kill each other, until she got the bottom of it, none of them were allowed to die!

With the limitless power provided through her ‘milk’, she could be that arrogant!

Seeing that Kevin was on the verge of death, Aurora did not waste her time, immediately drawing out a portion of healing energy. With her current Beyond Grade A strength, healing a Calamity Grade completely was as easy as taking a breath. In a moment, Kevin was reconstructed perfectly, and he even felt as though he was stronger.

“… I’m not dead?”

Kevin lowered his head, staring at his undamaged body. For an instant, he had faced death straight ahead, thinking that he was about to die, but the sudden infusion of ‘milk’ caught him off guard. He could no longer tell if he was in reality or an illusion.

At the same time, the faces of the besieging Calamity Grades twisted, and they suddenly dispersed.

“These are Beyond Grade A fluctuations. Run!”

The group split up and fled without hesitation. Enchantment tattoos lit up on their bodies, showing magic circuits of short-range teleportation being inscribed on them. With only slight fluctuations in space, all of their teleportation skills were activated.

“Thinking of running after beating me up‽”

Kevin recovered to his senses, rushing toward the nearest enemies. A strong aura condensed on his blade, slashing out as a sharp blade light.

The teleportation procedures of three of the enemies were interrupted as they avoided the attack.

However, a small vortex had already been created in front of the others, which was still rapidly expanding. It would only take them a few seconds to complete their preparations, allowing them to teleport and escape from there.

Seeing that the teleportation technique had been successfully engaged, the few of them were about to sigh in relief. However, a unique spatial fluctuation suddenly spread out from Aurora’s spaceship.

Buzz!

This fluctuation acted like an iron, directly smoothing all the space folds within the battlefield. The portals that were on the verge of forming shattered and disappeared.

On the spaceship, Aurora pouted.

“Humph, do you take my spaceship as a decoration‽”

Her spaceship contained a lot of black technology, which included what Han Xiao had obtained from Jayz’s technological treasure. The powerful spacetime anchoring was just one of the minor abilities her spaceship possessed.

Seeing this situation, the faces of the Calamity Grades turned pale. They glanced at each other, resoluteness flashing in their eyes.

The next moment, the group of people gave up on running away, turning their heads and rushing toward the shuttle-shaped spaceship, as though they wished to end up in mutual annihilation.

Feidin narrowed his eyes, about to take action. However, Aurora tapped on his shoulder.

“It’s okay. Let me do it.”

Her eyes flashed, and the energy levels in her body surged, instantly transforming her into her ‘mature’ version. The Mark of the Underworld on the back of her hand also lit up.

With a wave of her hand, Life and Death Energy combined to form the Resurrection Energy. The energies entangled with each other, weaving out bones, muscles, and blood vessels, transforming into the temporary mortal shells of ten different species.

Under the power of the Resurrection Energy, the temporary shells were quickly materialized, their outlines almost the same as the owners’ previous physical bodies. The only difference was that these temporary bodies all emitted a faint fluorescence light and retained certain characteristics of an Energy Life form.

With a flick of her finger, ten Calamity Grade Hero Spirits flew out from the Mark of The Underworld, merging into the shells. The next moment, their bodies all burst forth with Calamity Grade energy fluctuations.

The Hero Spirits descend, reincarnating from the Earth!

These series of actions were fluidly performed, which hinted at the ceaseless practice. At this moment, the Hero Spirits had become complete life forms, possessing the actual combat power of their previous lives.

“Go, take them down.” Aurora laughed.

The ten Calamity Grades nodded and immediately rushed out of the spaceship, intercepting their opponents and fighting them. Kevin saw this but was not surprised, quickly joining the battle.

The Hero Spirits did not care about death at all, so they did not even bother to defend. For them, an aggressive style of play was nothing more than a tactic. It might be unscrupulous, but it allowed them to operate above their combat levels, showing more power than before their original deaths.

Even though she completely controlled the Holy Light Particle, Aurora’s frontal lethality was still weak. She had thus become completely accustomed to the Summoning style but still stuck to only summoning up to Calamity Grade Hero Spirits. The physical consumption of summoning the Beyond Grade A Hero Spirits was too large. Plus, she had promised Han Xiao that she would not easily allow the Beyond Grade As to come out for a walk.

A Beyond Grade A would naturally bully the Calamity Grades, and without any suspense, these Calamity Grades of unknown origin soon retreated hastily.

Seeing that they were about to be captured alive, the group of people clenched their teeth, crazily compressing the energies in their bodies. Their bodies were soon covered with glowing cracks.

“They’re planning to implode!”

Kevin was shocked, subconsciously drawing back.

He did not expect this group of people to be so decisive, opting to blow themselves up than be caught alive.

Boom!

The next instant, the bodies of the several people burst into flames. A huge shock wave blasted outward.

However, this self-detonation had only just started when a holy light shot out from the spaceship again. Sweeping past, the fragmenting bodies of this group of people re-bonded and were restored to their original state.

The pupils of these people shrank, and they once again imploded without hesitation, only to have the same scene occur again. The moment they felt the pain of their bodies tearing apart, another light would shoot out and heal their injuries.

After trying a few times, the results remained unchanged. The faces of these people were now filled with despair as they understood that their lives were no longer theirs to control.

They could not live how they wanted, but they could not die when they wanted to either!

“That’s enough. Don’t fool around with them anymore. I’ll do it.”

Feidin shook his head in resignation.

He took out the Soul Swapper, replacing the souls of a few of them into prepared containers of animals.

In this period, Feidin had also reached the rank of a Beyond Grade A seeds. With this weird Soul Swapper, it could be said that it was rare for him to meet an enemy that could threaten him in the Calamity Grade.

The bodies of those whose souls were transferred turned into empty husks, collapsing where they stood and were easily captured. The Hero Spirits set about cleaning up the battlefield.

Seeing this scene, Kevin finally relaxed. He was full of joy at being able to escape from the dead and quickly broadcast through the wide area communications channel.

“My name is Kevin. Esteemed ones, you have saved my life. May I know if I may have the honor of thanking you face to face?”

After a few seconds, a voice sounded from the channel.

“Let’s talk on the spaceship.”

Kevin was energized. As he approached the spaceship, the door opened, letting him fly in.

After following the guiding robot to the command room, he saw the eye-catching Aurora at a glance. He did not hesitate to salute in excitement and surprise.

“Turns out that it’s the new Deputy Army Commander of the Black Star Army, the Goddess of Life, Aurora. It’s my blessing to be able to meet you!”

When Aurora had made a move, Kevin had vaguely guessed her identity, but only now did he dare confirm it when he saw the person in flesh.

Kevin’s happiness only grew.

Fortunately, he had met Aurora, who was a master of life. If it were someone else, they would probably not have been able to pull him back from death.

In the vast universe, I actually managed to encounter a Beyond Grade A that could save me. What sort of probability was this?

My luck is too good!

“Eh, when did I get this moniker?” Aurora actually intended to act high and mighty like Hila, but hearing this, she stopped in shock.

“Don’t you know?” Kevin said. “This is because you’re the sister of the ‘Goddess of Death’ and hold the exact opposite powers, so the world has started calling you this.”

“Not bad, I’m also someone with a moniker now.” Aurora giggled.

While it was only one compared to the multitude Hila had, it was a good start. Sooner or later, she would be able to defeat her sister and crush her under her own feet proudly!

Fantasizing about this scene, Aurora’s emotions were surging with joy.

Glancing over, Feidin immediately guessed that Aurora was distracted again, so he could only take the reins. “Anyway, we received your call for help, so we came over just in time. Could you please explain what exactly happened?”

“It’s like this. I was actually journeying but suddenly came across a bunch of galactic pirates…”

Kevin explained the whole process truthfully without hiding anything.

After hearing this, Feidin squeezed his perfectly shaped chin as he guessed, “It seems more than meets the eye. These people are by no means just galactic pirates. I think they specifically aimed at you. Could it be a vendetta?”

“It doesn’t make sense. I’m typically a do-gooder and have avoided any struggles of the factions. Even if I have to kill, I make sure I get rid of the roots as well. I have also never provoked an organization that could release seven or eight Calamity Grades at once.”

Kevin drew a blank.

Hearing this, Feidin was lost in thought for a while before he muttered, “If it’s not a vendetta, then it’s likely related to the current storm.”

“What is it about?” Kevin was curious.

“Oh, I’m still not sure, but we managed to capture a few live ones, so some interrogation will reveal everything…”

Feidin shook his head, but he suddenly paused, and his words grew sharp.

“You just mentioned that you were journeying over to the Flickering World to join the Black Star Army?”

“That’s right…”

“Great!” Feidin’s eyes lit up. “You don’t need to travel so far to the Flickering World. The Deputy Army Commander is right in front of you and is definitely qualified to accept newcomers. You could just stay and become part of her Guard Corps.”

“Huh?”

“This…”

Kevin paused for a while.

His original objective was to become a Black Star Guard, to enjoy the benefits of a favorable position, but Aurora had practically saved his life. While she was a new Beyond Grade A, her Esper Ability was unique, which would guarantee the safety of his life under most circumstances.

Even if he went over to the Flickering World, he might still encounter more dangers. Temporarily staying by Aurora’s side was not too bad.

“Yes, yes, yes, come under my command. As long as you come, I can give you the position of Guard Captain!” Aurora’s eyes lit up.

While she was the Deputy Army Commander, fully qualified to employ her own Guards regiment, she had been busy travelling ever since she was promoted. She had not recruited anyone, and thus, she had no Guards under her.

The talents in the army had mostly been divided by Black Star and Hila, so even if she tried recruiting from the inside, it would be difficult to find any masters. She had always envied the Guards that Hila had.

Now that she had encountered a Beyond Grade A seed in trouble, Aurora immediately had this thought.

Kevin struggled for a while before being tempted.

“… Alright, I’m willing to be the Captain of your Guard Corps.”

He had also done some research on the organizational structure of the Black Star Army. From his point of view, there were three factions, each with the respective Beyond Grade A as the leader.

Black Star was undoubtedly the ruling faction, but there were too many talents within, and there was no opportunity to show off, which made his chances of standing out remote. Hila’s faction was mainly comprised of women and had already been formed with no intention of expanding. Furthermore, Hila was also not known to be a good leader. In contrast, Aurora’s faction had just been established, so if he became one of her early followers when she had a shortage of people, his status would naturally be extraordinary.

While Kevin’s original intention was to obtain the Sanctum Revival, since he had decided to join an organization, he would not be satisfied with being a marginal person without any sense of existence.

“That’s great. I’ll help you register for your army authority! Phillip, come out!”

Aurora was overjoyed, immediately summoning Phillip. She could not wait to register Kevin as her Guards Captain.

Why is she even more excited than me?

Kevin felt a sinking feeling, but he had no choice but to cooperate.

However, this feeling of being appreciated by his boss made him feel more moved.

Seeing this, Feidin did not bother them, simply walking to the side and entering the spiritual realm to interrogate the prisoners.

After a while, Aurora had completed the procedures for Kevin, and the Hero Spirits had also cleaned up the battlefield.

At this moment, the two saw Feidin walk back with a solemn expression.

“You’re done interrogating? How’s the situation?” Aurora was curious.

“… The situation has exceeded our expectations. The matter is more serious than we thought.”

Feidin shook his head, speaking in a steely tone.

“Immediately report to the Army Commander. This matter is out of our league!”

Chapter 1266: Travelling Feidin

“Oh? You’re saying that someone is hunting down the Beyond Grade A seeds?”

In his personal machinery factory in Black Star Palace, Han Xiao looked with surprise at the communication screen where Feidin was speaking to him.

He had been too busy digesting his technology recently. Only when Feidin called him and told him that they had captured a hunting team that specifically targeted the Beyond Grade A seeds did he then notice.

“Speak in detail, I want to know everything.” Han Xiao put down the parts in his hand, his expression turning solemn.

“It’s like this…” Feidin explained the entire process.

After capturing these assailants, he had dug up the amazing intelligence through interrogation and reading of memories. All the Calamity Grades that attacked Kevin were acting on orders and had quietly controlled the galactic pirates that had been wandering nearby, waiting to intercept Kevin.

“Do you know which organizations they belong to?” Han Xiao was curious.

Feidin nodded. “I’ve already checked. These Calamity Grades did not leave any information within the universe. At the same time, they have no relevant memories, and they do not know which organization they work for, only unilaterally accepting direct orders from an account. The account for tasks for each person is also different. When I reviewed their memories, I discovered that they had been receiving some sort of thought-shaping training since young, specially to create warriors with weak self-awareness.

“Death warriors without any history? To be able to train up eight Calamity Grades as Death warriors from an early age, this is no small organization. The thought training should be a form of brainwashing that can maintain a long-term effect on the Calamity Grades. This should be technology at or above the Star Cluster level.”

Han Xiao furrowed his brows, pondering silently for a while before he asked, “Any other clues?”

“I’ve found some safe houses and codewords, as well as their activities. When I finish sorting them out, I’ll send you the report containing the top-secret accounts of these people for receiving tasks. It may be useful to you.”

Han Xiao’s brows rose. “To think you’re placing so much importance in this matter. It seems like you also know the problem in this.”

Feidin sighed. “If I could not guess the potential ramifications, then I would not have called you at first notice… People who can cultivate so many Calamity Grade Death Warriors will not be a small organization, and this team might not have been sent to only kill one person. Add that to the Sanctum Revival issue, this situation is obviously not simple.”

Han Xiao nodded. “That’s right. Organizations who have the motivation and the abilities to do such a thing are few and far between. The Super Star Cluster Alliance is also suspicious.”

While he did not manage to get their origins, through the analysis of different factors, Han Xiao first thought of the three Universal Civilizations as well as the Super Star Cluster Alliance, both of whom intended to do such a thing.

The former wished to reduce the impact of Sanctum Revival, secretly reducing the source of new Beyond Grade As joining the association in the future. The latter had more hidden motives, mainly to aggravate the situation and pin the blame on others, creating opposition and forcing the three Universal Civilizations and the association to turn hostile.

Of course, he could not ignore the possibility that there was someone fishing in the muddied waters, so Han Xiao did not immediately jump to a conclusion. Rather, he only assumed it to be the secret operation of the three Universal Civilizations or the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

As inferred, there was a high probability that there existed more than one hunter team. At present, there were many Beyond Grade A seeds rushing to the Flickering World from each Star Field, so the orchestrators behind the scenes were likely to deploy interception troops. These Beyond Grade A seeds would be at risk, as not all of them would be so lucky to run into the top milkmaid of the universe.

Feidin scratched his head in puzzlement. “Forget about the Super Star Cluster Alliance, but the three Universal Civilizations… would they really do such a thing? Conducting such a crazy plan, are they not afraid of facing the backlash of all Supers? It’s too radical.”

Han Xiao shook his head, not looking surprised at all.

“This sort of behavior is crazy but effective. The Beyond Grade A seeds in the entire universe are not many to begin with, and the cost of them going hands-on is not high. Even if all these people disappear, the backlash can be easily suppressed.

“Moreover, the three Universal Civilizations were clear that they had lost the monopoly advantage of having Ultimate Knowledge. The association can give whatever they can give, and with the addition of the Sanctum Revival, it will be difficult for them to attract new talents. On the other hand, the association did not even require any advertisement to attract new talents. If they do nothing, the situation will only get worse, so instead of sitting and watching, it’s better to send these Death Warriors to kill people and ruin what they can’t get.

“As for the methods… as with the Tragedy of the Pinnacles, the three Universal Civilizations have never been good people. Don’t be mistaken. As winners of the exploration era, none of them would have survived if they were not cruel. Once they panic, they can do anything.”

Feidin pursed his lips. “Aren’t they afraid of being revealed?”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. “I feel that they would be afraid, but I can’t be sure since I have to look at their overall picture.”

There was no Beyond Grade A Association in his previous life, and Sanctum Revival was kept under wraps, so the Beyond Grade A seeds were not intercepted. This was the first time Han Xiao had encountered such a situation, without knowing what the three Universal Civilizations would even do.

Han Xiao was also helpless to the fact that the Beyond Grade A seeds were targeted. He could only treat it as collateral damage.

“This storm is getting bigger and bigger.” Feidin’s expression was worried. “What do you intend to do?”

“The purpose of the association is mainly to solve the conflicts between the Beyond Grade As, so the Calamity Grade is not within our scope. Nominally, it is not suitable for us to cross the boundary and provide assistance…”

Han Xiao stroked his chin as he thought aloud.

“However, if we don’t stop this, the seeds will suffer great casualties, which is not conducive to our recruitment of new Beyond Grade As. How about this? Don’t they wish to join the various Beyond Grade A organizations? We’ll ask those organizations to secretly send people to protect and escort them. This can be justified in name.”

“Alright.” Feidin paused for a moment. “However, this response force will encounter battles with the hunting squad. Do we wish to spread the news and make the seeds vigilant, at the same time giving a warning to the person behind the scenes?”

Han Xiao thought for a while but finally shook his head.

“Secretly spreading it to the seeds is enough. This news should not be spread out on a large scale… If we expose it now, the happiest would be the Super Star Cluster Alliance. I don’t wish to tear off all pretenses with the three Universal Civilizations, nor do I want to be used as a weapon by the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Let’s focus on protection first. For the time being, we will avoid conflict if possible.”

While the Sanctum Revival was in name his, the Holy Accord had yet to be able to collect the second set of keys, so Han Xiao did not have much to rely on for now. Causing trouble was not his favorite action; it was better to be low-key.

“I understand. What else do you need me to do?” Feidin asked.

“For you guys… how about you search for more Beyond Grade A seeds in the vicinity. They will be safer with Aurora around them. Then, we can just bring all of them back.”

As he spoke, Han Xiao smiled in a praising manner.

“You’ve earned yourself a great merit this time. Without your warning, we might have had to wait till many seeds went missing before we realized something was wrong. My decision to have you go along with Aurora was a good move!”

He felt that Feidin was the perfect intelligence officer. Most people had to search for things, but it was the exact opposite for Feidin. Even if he were only to lie down every day, he would still be able to run into key intelligence, as though it was an automated process for him.

This Feidin is really useful!

Feidin showed a helpless expression. He had already resigned to the fact that he was a tool to be used.

“By the way, what should I do with the captives after the interrogation? They could serve as evidence.”

“What else can we do? Send them to the Underworld.”

Han Xiao waved his hands casually.

The two further discussed the details before hanging up. At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly noticed that his interface was blinking.

_____________________

You have triggered the mission [Stop the Hunting]!

Mission Introduction: For some reason, some unknown organizations are trying to hunt down talents who wish to join you. As a well-known organization, protecting the personal safety of your candidates is a basic requirement.

Mission Objective: Try to prevent the hunting of the Beyond Grade A seeds.

Remarks: The reward depends on the Mission Rating, which is correlated to the number of people successfully rescued.

Basic Reward: 8 billion Experience, +20 Favorability of rescued targets, 2 Random Rewards, 1 Blank Character Summon Card.

_____________________

“The experience is a little stingy, but the blank Character Summon Card is pretty good stuff.”

Han Xiao closed the interface. The level of this mission was not enough to excite him any longer. At present, he paid more attention to the matter itself.

“The three Universal Civilizations have quite the strong reaction to this. Being able to coexist in harmony is a pipe dream… Anyway, the version update has gone on for almost fifty years, so the players should be back soon. I’m afraid that will cause another explosion.”

Han Xiao rubbed his brows, his thoughts wandering before he suddenly thought of something.

“By the way, since someone is hunting Beyond Grade A seeds, this will also be my chance to poach people. I don’t know how Karlot is doing now. He should at most be a normal Calamity Grade, not taken seriously yet. I can just knock him out and bring him over.”

Han Xiao had a sudden urge to do so.

In the past, because he was worried about the possibility of a premature death of Karlot due to dramatic changes in the plot, he did not insist on poaching him. However, now that someone was targeting the Beyond Grade A seeds, they could not blame him for doing tit for tat.

Originally, Karlot was supposed to become the pillar of the dynasty, but now that they had started this fiasco, they should not blame him for it!

Unlike the orchestrator behind the scenes, Han Xiao knew exactly who would become future Beyond Grade As. While it might have been difficult to poach them in the past, this was now a different matter.

“If they were to learn the truth, they would have to thank me. For the safety of the universe, I’ll go all out to protect them. Maybe this is the so-called love has no boundaries. I admire myself so much. How could there be such a majestic person in this world?”

Han Xiao was so moved by himself that his shamelessness levelled up.

Chapter 1267: Pre-Judgmen

Somewhere in the Endless Nebulae Star Field, a small fleet hovered in a transportation hub. Around it were continuous streams of light, but the fleet remained in place, as though it was waiting for someone.

In the command room of the main ship, Morgan paced back and forth in front of the porthole, his expression both solemn and anxious. The crew in the room merely watched him in silence.

After a short while, he paused and gravely said, “Urge them again and ask when the people from the Black Star Army will arrive.”

By his side, his aide-de-camp could not help but speak up. “… Boss, you just asked them two minutes ago. The other party said that they were already rushing over. It’s not too good to keep pressing them.”

“Bullsh*t, I asked you to urge them, so do it! Else I’ll dock your pay!” Morgan’s eyes flashed, “Who knows when the enemies will appear? Would you know? You don’t, so why are you spouting so much nonsense! You don’t need to be responsible for my life, so of course, you don’t care! But I can’t possibly fight off seven or eight Calamity Grades at once, so if my little life is gone, I’ll make sure you accompany me in my burial!”

The aide-de-camp was speechless. However, he did not take it seriously, having followed Morgan for a long time. He knew this guy’s character too well. He was scared of dying, indecisive, calculative, petty, and stingy… Sometimes, the aide-de-camp wondered to himself, how could such a person become a Beyond Grade A seed?

Morgan Panselm, a senior Beyond Grade A seed, ran a small organization in the Endless Nebulae Star Field. He only cared about the convenience of his daily life, not seeking to expand, keeping a thin sense of existence.

The moment the Sanctum Revival matter was revealed, he did not speak another word, merely packing up and preparing to throw himself toward the Beyond Grade A Association. His top choice was the Black Star Army. Other than benefitting from close relations to an influential person, he also had some connections with Hadavy since both of them were hardcore gamblers.

It was just that, when he was about to take his team to leave the territory, he received a private notice from the Black Star Army, stating that some mysterious organizations were currently sending Death Warriors to kill off Beyond Grade A seeds. There could be up to seven or eight of them within a troop, so the army had sent out a few protective fleets to escort them and also reminded each person to be cautious.

This almost scared Morgan to death, and he immediately halted his departure, prepared to wait until the army’s escort fleet arrived before leaving. Not only that, but he also parked his fleet in the most bustling area, staying within the crowd for fear of being murdered.

Of all the Beyond Grade A seeds who had received this notice, he was the one who behaved the most cowardly.

At this moment, his spaceship communicator rang, and a tender young face appeared on the screen.

“Hello, hello, this is Nero from the Black Star Army. I’ve arrived and spotted your ship. Please come over to make contact.”

Hearing this, Morgan was overjoyed. He rushed to the porthole, seeing another fleet with the Black Star Army insignia stop not far away from him.

“The reinforcements are here! Listen to my order. Full speed ahead. Immediately rendezvous with them!” Morgan revealed an excited look.

“We’re in such close range. Just dozens of seconds is enough to reach them through normal cruising. What full speed…” The aide-de-camp secretly cursed.

The two fleets quickly merged, and Nero took his men into Morgan’s spaceship.

Just as he walked into the cabin, Nero saw Morgan waiting at the door of the passageway. Without a word, he rushed up and grabbed onto his hands with an emotional expression.

“My family, you’re finally here. Do you know how I spent the last few days‽ I was in fear every single day, and now I can finally feel relieved!”

“There’s no need to be so excited. It’s all part and parcel.” Nero’s mouth twitched, and he applied some strength to forcibly extricate himself.

If not for the fact that Morgan had kept repeatedly pinging him, he would have arrived another two days later.

Morgan, however, did not seem to mind. He excitedly glanced behind Nero, “May I know how many experts the army has sent to meet me this time?”

“Experts? If we had to force it, I guess it’s only me.” Nero scratched his head a little in embarrassment.

Morgan’s eyes widened, and he stammered, “Only one… er, it’s not that I don’t believe in your strength, but I heard that there’ll be seven or eight Calamity Grades moving together. It’s just two of us. I think there will be some danger…”

“There’s no choice. At the moment, there are too many Beyond Grade A seeds who wish to join the Black Star Army. Our manpower is not enough any longer. We can only send out Grade Bs to escort. This sort of job would be best for the Immortals, but they have all disappeared fifty years ago, so the army has no experts left,” Nero explained.

“Then… the safety issue…”

“Relax, all of the escort teams have a machinery squad from Black Star’s Mechanical Army, as well as Her Excellency Aurora’s special life potions, to ensure our safety.”

Morgan finally relaxed. He asked, “Then, can we leave now for the Flickering World?”

Nero shook his head. “That’s not necessary. We just need to go to the main army subdivision of each Star Field. Every location has a Throne that Godfather has placed. We can use that to teleport you straight to the main base.

Han Xiao initially did not wish to use this method, but after discovering the hunters, he could only lift the restrictions, allowing the Beyond Grade A seeds to utilize the King suits to warp, saving them from the dangers in their journey.

As for those Beyond Grade A seeds that wished to join other organizations, Han Xiao did not reject them either. He rendered the same help, albeit with a token sum. This was also one of the uses of the association, allowing the Beyond Grade As to integrate their resources. As the President, he naturally had to lead by example at this critical juncture.

Both of them walked to the command room while talking, and the fleet finally set off and began its journey.

At this moment, Morgan seemed to have thought of something. He curiously commented, “That’s right, you mentioned that there were a lot of Beyond Grade A seeds at the moment. Have they met with the hunters? Was anyone hit?”

Hearing this, Nero’s expression sank, and he lightly nodded.

“It was a smart choice for you to remain waiting here. Some Beyond Grade A seeds were nonchalant despite receiving the notice, thinking that they could continue their journey as long as they remained vigilant. In the end, even before the reinforcements could arrive, they encountered an assault and were killed.

“Because of distance issues, some people had long assembled with their escort teams. We’re one of the later ones. Before us, some of our colleagues crossed hands with the hunters and turned out fine. However, other organizations have done the same but have been annihilated by the hunters themselves.”

Morgan shuddered. “Who dares lay their hands on so many of the Beyond Grade A seeds? This is too frightening.”

Nero sighed. “While the Army Commander has not specified who is responsible, it’s not hard to guess… Since the enemy can discover the whereabouts of so many Beyond Grade A seeds, their intelligence network is no trivial matter. To also be able to send so many Death Warriors, the likelihood is that they are from an advanced civilization.

“While this was supposed to be a secret operation, the outside world would soon notice that all of these Beyond Grade A seeds had disappeared. This would inevitably scare some of people from joining the Beyond Grade A Association. Like this, the orchestrator’s goal would be achieved.”

“Oh, this is hard.” Morgan sighed as well, pulling a long face.

Nero patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, with me here, you won’t get into trouble.”

Morgan nodded before suddenly asking, “That’s right, with so many Beyond Grade A seeds also joining the army, how are our positions going to be arranged?”

“I’m not too sure. I think only a small portion will become part of the Guards Corps. The rest will hold various positions within the army, replenishing the gap in our high-ranked combatants. The main thing is to see what you want. The army will not force anyone to take up a position.”

Morgan’s eyes lit up. “Then, does that mean I can choose which Beyond Grade A to follow?”

“That’s right, everyone can send in their application, but it will depend on the Excellencies to choose you.” Nero nodded. “Who do you wish to choose? Is it His Excellency Black Star? The competition for my Godfather is quite fierce, and there’s a possibility of losing.”

Morgan immediately denied it and embarrassedly said, “No, no, I don’t want to follow Black Star. I wish to follow Her Excellency Aurora.”

Nero sized him up before coming to an understanding.

Ah, I understand now, this man must be afraid of death to the extreme, so if he is able to enjoy the healing from Aurora, it would be difficult for him to die in the future!

The phrase ‘good for nothing’ really describes you to a tee!

…

“Reporting, six of our Death Warriors have lost contact and might have been captured by the enemy. We have severed all related links.”

“Reporting, the attack on Target #45 has failed. Three Death Warriors were sacrificed. The rest escaped with difficulty.”

In a certain secret intelligence processing center, a large number of intelligence personnel were sitting in front of a set of instruments, constantly reporting on the situation. The room was full of noise.

On the wall of the room was an ultra large screen, made up of many smaller surveillance screens. A single chair was placed underneath it, with a tall, thin figure seated on the chair looking up at the screens, his back facing the crowd.

This place was a secret area jointly created by the Super Star Cluster Alliance many years ago. They had no specific name, shrouded in mystery yet having great authority. They only answered to the leaders of the various civilizations.

This secret department was responsible for managing black ops and cultivating Death Warriors. Various Super Star Cluster civilizations secretly selected talented children and sent them to such training bases to conduct cruel training from an early age before allowing them to specialize in performing tasks that could not be revealed.

Their training method was designed to squeeze out all potential, and coupled with their technological and magical advancements, it allowed them to effectively increase the rate of Calamity Grades being produced at the cost of a high mortality rate.

These Death Warriors would never know who they worked for, from the training period up till they performed their missions in the future. To this end, this department had even specially trained a group of Death Warriors who believed that they worked for the three Universal Civilizations. Many methods had been used to ensure that outsiders would not be able to trace the Death Warriors back to the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

Everyone within this department was a special member who was not recorded in any internal files. They were all referred to by codes. The tall and thin figure in the room was the person in charge of the department, with only his title known to people—’Skeletal’.

After listening to the reports of his subordinates, Skeletal leaned forward as he slowly spoke.

“It seems like the Beyond Grade As are aware of our hunting actions and have equipped all our targets with guards… The chain of suspicion has been formed; our goal is achieved. It will be a waste of manpower if we continue. Stop the operation. Have everyone withdraw.”

“Understood!”

Everyone immediately followed orders without asking.

Skeletal bit on his nails as he narrowed his eyes.

“Hehe, the reaction of the Beyond Grade A Association is indeed not far from our hypothesis…”

…

In the conference room of the three Universal Civilizations, the virtual projections of Marbruce, Louis, and the Pope appeared.

“Tsk, the situation has changed. The cleanup plan cannot continue.”

Marbruce frowned, and the other two had unsightly expressions as well.

While they had begun researching the Sanctum Revivals, the three Universal Civilizations also had plans to hunt down the Beyond Grade A seeds. Even if they managed to master the Sanctum Revival method in the future, since this large number of Beyond Grade A seeds would have gone to the association, they would not be able to transfer them over in the future. Both parties were destined to enter a long period of fighting for talents, so they would rather return to the problem of the excessive number of non-Beyond Grade As, making it such that it would be easier to contain the Beyond Grade A level in advance.

But before they could move, the three Universal Civilizations discovered that all of their targets were heavily protected.

At the beginning, the trio were a little dazed, thinking that Black Star had predicted their actions, flipping over the boat of trust they were on.

However, after careful investigation, they discovered that another unknown organization had first acted and alerted everyone.

This totally messed up their plans, causing them to feel a disgusting aftertaste.

Such a dumb way of doing things was not their style at all. If they wished to do it, they had to catch everyone in one fell swoop.

While they had not found out who had acted, the three Universal Civilizations did not even need to think to know that it was likely the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

“The Super Star Clusters purposely decided to create a commotion, leaving the association time to react, spoiling our operations.” Louis was fuming.

“Unexpectedly, this makes sense.” The Pope was expressionless.

From the perspective of the trio, the intentions of the Super Star Cluster Alliance were obvious. This served to intensify the suspicion between the association and the three Universal Civilizations.

The Beyond Grade A Association was only protecting them in the dark and had not publicly come out to accuse anyone. If the three Universal Civilizations took the initiative to state their innocence, it might backfire on them. Even if they tried to pin the blame on the Super Star Cluster Alliance, it would just look like their customary attitude of throwing shade at the other party.

With the current relationship of the three Universal Civilizations and the association, this was akin to having mud on the back of one’s pants. Even if it was not sh*t, people would naturally assume it to be. No matter what, it would be difficult to gain their trust unless they could provide hard evidence.

The Super Star Clusters had been pitted against so many times; they already had experience in this matter. Since their reputation was in the gutters, they could just go for broke.

I’ll pull you along with me as I fall from the cliff. If I’m going to die, then you have to come along!

In their current situation, the Super Star Cluster Alliance had nothing to be afraid of from the three Universal Civilizations any longer.

Since they no longer had any chances with the Flickering World, they would just stay cooped up at home.

If you have the ability, come and have an all-out war with us. Did you think you could really destroy us?

The trio present did indeed feel that the Super Star Cluster Alliance was a thorny problem.

If they had managed to kill off all the Beyond Grade A seeds that were trying to join the association, it might still have been a fair trade to get suspected, but now, they had become the scapegoats when only a few had been killed off. This was placing them in a disadvantage!

“Cancel the cleansing operation for the Beyond Grade A seeds. They’re all protected now. There’s no chance now.”

The trio were not in a very good mood.

Chapter 1268: All Heroes in the World Enter My Squad

With the withdrawal of the Super Star Cluster Alliance and the abandonment of the plan by the three Universal Civilizations, the heavily protected Beyond Grade A seeds did not encounter any more hunting teams in the following journeys. All of them successfully arrived at a subdivision of the Black Star Army before teleporting to the base camp of the Black Star Army in the Flickering World by using the King suits.

The large-scale movement of the Beyond Grade A seeds also aroused the attention of the universe. Everyone soon learned about the fact that a large number of Beyond Grade A seeds had congregated in the association during the recent period. There was also news that specially drew out the areas at which they travelled, converging from various Star Fields into the Flickering World, which seemed as though they were migrating.

The number of Beyond Grade A seeds within a Star Field typically numbered more than one hundred, with the remote Star Fields having fewer while the Central Galaxy and the areas of the Super Star Cluster Alliance would be the most densely distributed. This total number had been trending upward, and with years of accumulation, the total number of seeds measured in the explored universe was about three thousand. This was almost twenty times the number of Beyond Grade As of the same generation.

Excluding the allies and direct descents of each civilization, as well as the people in existing factions, the current number of neutral Beyond Grade A seeds would be about two fifths the total, around 1,200. For this collective defection, roughly five hundred people, or almost half of the total number of neutral seeds, went over to join a Beyond Grade A faction, of which the number of people joining the Black Star Army was the highest!

This was equivalent to the association harvesting most of the top talent pool accumulated over the years of the explored universe. It was unknown how long it would take for the next batch of talents to grow!

Be it a Beyond Grade A or a Beyond Grade A seed, they were both top figures of the power pyramid and naturally possessed the attributes of a leader. Since both sides had merged on a large scale, the quantitative change has turned into a qualitative change. It was not just a simple matter such as the attitude of the Beyond Grade A seeds letting them choose where to rely on, but more of a signal and influence for many of the Supers, even the other Beyond Grade A seeds. This made everyone think that joining the Beyond Grade A Association at this time would be a wise choice!

The large-scale migration of the Beyond Grade A seeds caused a huge ripple effect over the next few months. A large number of Supers rushed to follow in their footsteps… As part of the strong at the apex of the power pyramid, their every word and action affected the people below. This was the meaning of a role model.

This matter was regarded as a ‘movement’ with special significance, nicknamed the ‘Scattered Stars Return’ by the galactic citizens. They likened the Beyond Grade A seeds to new stars that were scattered everywhere finally returning to their homes. A large group began to worship the members of the association, completing the cycle of Pioneers and Legacy holders.

Regarding the ‘Scattered Stars Return’, the entire Galactic Society was also analyzing the impact of this event from every angle. Gradually, a rumor spread that the function of the Beyond Grade A Association would change, their influence radiating to all Supers. A day would come when the association would no longer be a solely Beyond Grade A group; it would become the new organization that would lead all the Supers, becoming another pole independent of the three Universal Civilizations and turn into another ruler of the universe!

This statement was accepted and endorsed by a large number of Supers. Many Supers cheered, excited as they faintly waited in anticipation. In the eyes of most people, the Beyond Grade A Association was naturally qualified to lead them.

While there were so-called regional associations for Supers in the universe, the masters behind the scenes were the three Universal Civilizations, which used these associations as nothing more than tools for managing the Supers. The nature of those regional associations was inherently problematic.

In the eyes of the people, if the Beyond Grade A Association would one day evolve to become the guild for all Supers, it would truly be the organization that served the Supers. Their goals would naturally not be the same as the three Universal Civilizations.

The mentality of the Supers came from the fact that there had not been a unified voice to speak for them for too long, and they desperately wished to have a ‘home’. To put it simply, it was the sense of them finally finding an organization to which they belonged.

However, this sort of argument was not born naturally. Someone was behind it fueling the flames, pushing the Beyond Grade A Association to the forefront and igniting public opinion.

Just as the universe raged with rumors and speculation, Han Xiao was busy welcoming the Beyond Grade A seeds in Black Star Palace.

…

Black Star Palace’s Great Hall was huge but practically empty, with only the 300 seeds huddled in the middle. They either stood or hovered in the air, chatting as they eyed the doors leading into the hall, keeping a watch for Han Xiao.

“Everyone should be here now. Is Black Star still not coming? We’ve been waiting for almost half an hour.”

“Tsk, you want to see a pinnacle Beyond Grade A, but you don’t even have that much patience. You think people will come over to see you just because you want to see them?”

“Just be patient. Maybe His Excellency Black Star is actually watching us in the dark, observing our patience.”

Everyone chatted casually, turning around to glance at others occasionally. There was a slight wariness in many of their eyes.

Many of them were familiar with each other, having fought together or against each other before, and they regarded each other as whetstones. Everyone knew that the number of slots around Black Star and the other Beyond Grade As were limited. With so many people in the army now, there was a high probability that they would have to compete for places, so everyone here was technically a competitor.

At this moment, the door suddenly opened. Han Xiao stepped in with his officers following behind.

Upon seeing this, the hundreds of Beyond Grade A seeds subconsciously stopped talking, straightening their postures as they exercised the etiquette of their respective cultures, expressing basic respect to one of the top powerhouses of the universe.

“We pay respects to Your Excellency Black Star!”

“Welcome to the army. We’ll be family from now on, so there’s no need to be this courteous.”

Han Xiao waved his hand, putting on a warm smile.

Seeing the hundreds of seeds hailing from different areas, Han Xiao could not help but feel a little excited. This large number of experts meant a great replenishment for the army’s advanced combatants.

This number was too exaggerated. It seemed as though he had underestimated the impact the Sanctum Revival would cause on the lower levelled Supers. If there was no such thing, the general resources being offered would not even shake a single one of them.

At this moment, Han Xiao felt a kind of pride. Of course, he felt more of the joy of being able to harvest such a bountiful crop of leeks.

Scanning the group, Han Xiao noted the burning gazes of everyone present and smiled. “I know why you’re here. The threshold for the Sanctum Revival is a Beyond Grade A realm. I’ll definitely try my best to help you get promoted, but as for whether or not you can succeed in the end, it will all depend on your own destinies…”

Everyone nodded, their eyes gleaming.

Han Xiao said a few more ceremonial words before arranging for everyone to come forward and accept his inspection according to the practices of the army. He then browsed through the attributes of each person.

The Beyond Grade A seeds were not mediocre people; all of them were masters in their fields. However, from Han Xiao’s point of view, most of them had almost exhausted their potential, with only a handful having the chance to be promoted. He had a set of criteria for judging one’s potential, mainly their expertise and skills. Their differences were graded by him, and those with potential were silently selected and kept in his mind.

After completing this step, Han Xiao had a rough gauge in his heart, so he took two steps back and loudly spoke. “Everyone, I now have a basic understanding of your level. I’ll arrange positions according to your own personal abilities. Of course, you can send me your applications regarding your desired posts, and I’ll consider your thoughts and wishes.

“But I must state in advance that some slots are extremely limited. If there are too many applicants, you may have to compete for the same position. For example, the Guard Corps of the two Deputy Army Commanders and I can be challenged each time, with the winners rotating in the position. Everyone should be mentally prepared for this.”

When faced with an influx of people, a normal person’s treatment of them would be to fairly distribute them out. However, with these masters, Han Xiao deliberately adopted a competitive format to avoid dissatisfaction. At the same time, he would be giving those unsuccessful people the opportunity to challenge successful applicants again to stimulate everyone’s motivation to cultivate…

While this method was not useful to most of the people present, those in the Pugilist class felt their fighting spirit being strengthened.

Everyone glanced around subconsciously, their fighting intent sharpening.

At this moment, someone suddenly said, “Many thanks, Army Commander, for your protection. If not for your help, we would all have died mid-journey. I would like to ask, do you know the origins of the hunter squad?”

The moment his voice sounded, the entire room suddenly turned quiet.

Everyone’s expression showed at least some suspicion. They did not mention this just now, but no one would be so carefree as to not get to the bottom of this matter when it involved their lives.

Han Xiao stopped smiling. He paused before saying a meaningful tone, “You already have the answer in your heart, don’t you?”

Hearing this, the expressions of the crowd grew more complicated, and a slight commotion sounded.

“It’s time to throw aside your fantasies and illusions. It seems like this was done by the advanced civilizations, and they wish to claim our lives.”

“Has the relationship between the association and the advanced civilizations reached this point already? It’s only been such a short time. What will happen in the future?”

“Sigh, the targets during the Tragedy of the Pinnacles have been passed down to us now. The Sanctum Revival is also a double-edged sword.”

“If I’d known about this situation earlier, I might have already been frightened into retreating.”

Those present sighed in low voices. Facing the hostile attitude of the three Universal Civilizations, they were all a little frightened.

Before they chose a side, they did not expect the advanced civilizations to retaliate so strongly. There was no way for them to show regret anymore.

“Alright, don’t ponder about it any longer. You have already chosen your path, so all you have to do is to continue walking forward.”

Han Xiao clapped his hands as he comforted everyone. His officers then took the crowd to their rooms to rest and wait for his orders.

As he sent everyone off with his gaze, a flash shone in Han Xiao’s eyes. He then turned his head and left the great hall, walking for a while before arriving at the secret room.

Pushing the door open, this room was filled with bunks, but most of them were empty, with only one occupied.

Han Xiao walked forward, pressing the button to stop the hibernation program. With a hiss, the hatch slid open to reveal the figure inside. It was Karlot, who was lying down with a peaceful expression.

Karlot’s brows trembled as he slowly opened his eyes. At first glance, he immediately saw Han Xiao standing in front of him, causing him to be taken aback.

“Your Excellency Black Star?”

Karlot was stunned.

In the past, he was young and immature, and he did not know of the identity of Black Star. As he grew up, he understood what kind of opportunity Black Star had offered him back then, and he became a fan of Black Star. However, he knew that their statuses in the universe were vastly different, so it would be difficult for them to have a chance to meet in the future. He felt that Black Star might have forgotten about him a long time ago, so he merely followed Han Xiao’s deeds in silence.

But he did not expect his idol would actually appear all of a sudden in front of him.

The next moment, Karlot remembered what happened to him before he went into hibernation, and his expression changed.

“Was it you who knocked me out and brought me here? Where am I?”

“This is my base camp.” Han Xiao smiled.

Right now, his relationship with Karlot was stiff, so it took him some energy to track down Karlot’s whereabouts. However, Karlot had never realized his talent, so he was never taken seriously, and his capture had been smooth.

“You…” Karlot hesitated. “Why did you bring me here? Do you still remember me?”

If it was someone else, he would have long struggled to break free, but this was Han Xiao, who held a special position in his heart. Thus, he found it hard to be angry.

“Of course I do, and my impression was deep.” Han Xiao sized up Karlot with an approving gaze. “We parted many years ago. You’ve already become an adult now, not bad.”

Hearing this, Karlot could not help but feel moved. He did not expect Han Xiao to remember him so firmly.

Thinking about how Han Xiao had been optimistic about him, Karlot suddenly felt a little ashamed and embarrassedly said, “I’m sorry that I let you down. My potential doesn’t seem to be as good as you thought.”

He had managed to successfully enter the Calamity Grade in forty years, but after that, he seemed to stagnate. It seemed as though his potential had been exhausted, stopping at the ordinary Calamity Grade level.

Karlot did not care about the thoughts of outsiders, but in front of Black Star, he could not help but feel frustrated, thinking that he had failed the expectations the latter had of him.

“Are you saying that I was wrong?” Han Xiao spoke out with a smile that was not like a smile on his face.

Karlot did not speak, merely acquiescing to it.

Han Xiao laughed, raising his hand to pat Karlot’s chest. “Don’t look down on yourself. The dynasty does not value you because they have no foresight. I’ve always believed in your potential.”

Hearing this, Karlot again felt moved and ashamed.

“Aren’t you curious why I brought you over? This is the reason.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, “Actually, I’ve always been paying attention to you. The dynasty has never seen your talents, so they never assigned resources to you, which has affected your growth. I cannot bear to see a talent being buried, so I brought you here to help you stimulate your potential!”

“… so, you’ve always been observing me?”

Karlot had an expression of wonderment. He was deeply touched on how he could be so favored by Black Star.

Han Xiao smiled as he poked Karlot.

“Don’t underestimate the huge potential in your body. You might think that the Calamity Grade is your limit, but let me tell you, Calamity Grade is far from your end!”

“You think that I can become a Beyond Grade A?” Karlot’s eyes widened.

“Not only that… I think that you might even reach the pinnacle Beyond Grade A realm, becoming one of the foremost experts in the universe!”

Han Xiao’s tone was full of passion and also provocative.

“Do you really see me this way?” Karlot mumbled.

Seeing that he was close to tipping, Han Xiao turned solemn as he said in a deep voice, “Then tell me now. Are you willing to remain here and accept my help?”

Karlot hesitated a little. He had also followed the news and knew of the current storm that was brewing. He whispered, “You wish for me to stay here, meaning I have to leave the dynasty and enter the army?”

“The situation has changed now. The dynasty and I are going against each other. Only by remaining by my side can I give you the most detailed guidance. However, this will make it such that you can no longer stay in the dynasty.” Han Xiao did not deny anything.

Karlot fell silent, seemingly conflicted. After a while, he slowly raised his head as his expression grew determined.

“I understand. I’m willing to stay by your side and receive your guidance!”

Karlot might have worked in the dynasty for decades, but in his eyes, it was just a job. It did not determine that he had to be shackled to the dynasty forever. With his family having passed on years ago, he was a lone wolf floating in the cold universe without any concerns.

The dynasty had never placed any importance in him. Although they allowed him to enter the secret training base, that was because Black Star had shown interest in him, or else they would not have given him this special treatment. They eventually still kicked him out of the camp… All his fortune had been given to him by Black Star—this much, he understood.

Furthermore, Karlot felt that Black Star did not need to scheme against him. He just wished to repay Black Star for whatever grace the latter had shown, so even if Black Star was wrong about him, he would still reach the Beyond Grade A realm!

Hearing this, Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.

“I knew you wouldn’t let me down.”

Thanks to the good relationship formed decades ago, setting the impression to become the role model of Karlot, the difficulty in recruiting him had been reduced by dozens of times.

This is the importance of information…

Han Xiao secretly smirked. He finally got his hands on a coveted golden leek.

Chapter 1269: Activation

After successfully persuading Karlot, Han Xiao got his subordinates to take him down to rest. He then left the room with satisfaction in his heart.

When he poked the other party, he had seen Karlot’s attributes. Karlot had now obtained his core talent, [Everlasting Martial Path]. It was an overpowered growth-type talent.

To put it simply, [Everlasting Martial Path] could evolve once every grade with the requirement being a new realization of the martial path. Before the evolution of the talent, the user’s leveling speed would be lowered by ninety percent. After the evolution, the user’s leveling speed would follow an inverted parabolic arc with the peak being at a thousand percent. It also provided an all-rounded boost to the user’s combat capability.

Ordinarily speaking, the stronger an individual, the greater the number of bottlenecks. However, Karlot was different. All of his bottlenecks would be during his pre-growth phase, and he would face fewer and fewer bottlenecks the stronger he grew. Past a certain point, his combat strength would snowball until he reached the peak of the grade. If he entered a new grade, he would have to restart the entire process again.

Karlot’s growth after every evolution in grade would be excruciatingly slow, and this also resulted in a firm foundation. In Han Xiao’s previous life, Karlot was an extremely famous Pugilist. His status within the Pugilist world was like the Mechanic Emperor’s status within the Mechanic world.

This little brat’s nickname in his previous life was the one and only ‘Martial Deity’!

Furthermore, [Everlasting Martial Path] could also strengthen all of Karlot’s Pugilist skills. It did not only increase the level of his skills but also adjusted his skills in a subtle manner as though the skills were tailor made for him. [Everlasting Martial Path] was a one-of-a-kind talent that could meld all kinds of Pugilist theories and school of thoughts together into one.

Han Xiao had never seen this talent in any other Pugilist before. If not for the lack of a suffix, Han Xiao would have thought that it was a talent unique to Karlot.

However, although the talent was extremely overpowered, it was useless to Han Xiao since he was not a proper Pugilist.

“I still need to find a teacher for him. Although there are plenty of Pugilists in the army, they are all of the Calamity Grade and a little too weak…” A few figures flashed through his head. “It’d be best if I find a Beyond Grade A to teach Karlot. Of all the people I know, the most suitable one should be Silver Shadow. These two individuals were good friends in my previous life and should have pretty good chemistry with each other. Silver Shadow should be a good teacher for him.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

After thinking for a while, he realized that he still had a few other backup choices. For example, he could hire some Pugilist teachers from the Underworld or let Gorutan out temporarily to teach Karlot.

With his current strength, Gorutan would not be too much of a threat to him. Furthermore, he should also let Gorutan out for fresh air once in a while, lest Gorutan ended up dying in the Spacetime Amber.

Karlot was the first individual who he poached from the three Universal Civilizations, and he would not be the last. Although the others did not have as much potential as Karlot, Han Xiao would not let go of them either.

He pondered while walking back to the office. After reaching the office, Han Xiao temporarily placed the matter aside and summoned Phillip to settle the affairs of the army.

He needed to arrange the posts of these Beyond Grade A seeds. There was another large group of Supers joining the army, and the HR department was currently filtering through the applicants.

After settling all these matters, Han Xiao took out his communicator to surf the net and let out a soft snort.

“There are definitely some high-grade Civilizations fanning the flames, hoping that the entire world will fall into chaos.”

There were rumors on the net that the Beyond Grade A Association would eventually unite the Super community and become the fourth ruler of the universe apart from the three Universal Civilizations. These rumors were intentionally created to push the association to the peak before finding an opportunity to kick them down back into the ravine.

Although the method was old fashioned, the effect was pretty good. As long as they could mislead the general public, this simple method would be extremely effective.

The current rumors surrounding the association were not a good sign for them. Being in the spotlight would put them on the opposite side of the three Universal Civilizations. Together with words like ‘the fourth ruler of the universe’, it was akin to grilling them over fire.

With the heated discussion on the net, it was not an appropriate time for Han Xiao to make a stand. Furthermore, even if the mastermind continued to fan the flames, the galactic residents would have a limited attention span toward a single event and be attracted by something else eventually.

Han Xiao knocked on the desk and pondered.

“The Beyond Grade A seeds have already entered the association and the high-grade civilizations gave up on the plan to cleanse the universe. The status quo should be maintained for the time being… I need some time to reorganize the association and collect keys. The three Universal Civilizations also need time to study the Sanctum Revival method and probably won’t do anything in the short run. Furthermore, they also have to prevent the Super Star Cluster Civilizations from creating trouble. Everyone needs time and will thus choose to maintain the current peace…”

Before having sufficient confidence, the three Universal Civilizations would not adopt extreme measures against the association and would only deal with Beyond Grade A seeds. The way Han Xiao saw it, the universe would still be peaceful for a while.

This peace would probably be maintained until the players returned.

“It has already been fifty years, and Version 5.0 is about to be activated. Because of my influence, the current situation is different from the Calamity of the Supers in my previous life. I wonder what the players will do.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and fell into thought.

…

In the Central Galaxy, within the Crimson Dynasty Science Institute’s Wormhole Position Project Office, the research team leader walked into the conference room, where the researchers were waiting for him.

Compared to a couple of decades ago, most of the researchers had either retired or been transferred out. Thus, it was a set of new faces.

The team leader then looked around slowly and said, “The dynasty has issued an internal document to push forward technological research and provide information to the Sanctum Revival team. Every department will be receiving a large increase in funds.”

Upon hearing that, all the researchers were excited.

Research was extremely capital intensive, and the wormhole project was not as important as the other research projects. Ever since the start of the Flickering War, this project had been trying to sustain itself on a low budget.

When the cooperation between Han Xiao and the dynasty was in the honeymoon phase, the dynasty listened to Han Xiao’s suggestion and stopped the research on the wormhole coordinates to focus on dealing with the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

After the war, the wormhole project should have been back on track, but something went wrong along the way.

After the war, the dynasty was busy tying up loose ends, and the upper echelons did not continue the project. Perhaps because they forgot or wanted to be on the safe side, the project was never continued after that. After all, the location of the wormhole was only a small matter to the dynasty. Apart from the officials and researchers in charge of the project, there was almost no one who paid any attention to the project.

It was extremely normal for subordinates to follow the attitude of their superiors. With the attitude of the upper echelons being unclear, the researchers had plenty of apprehensions and did not dare take a risk. As such, they would rather play it safe. They did not ease up on the wormhole project, which resulted in a large amount of data that was still at the approval phase.

Such a situation had continued for a few years because of the ambiguous attitude from the upper echelons.

After a few decades, most of the original research staff had been transferred to other departments with the new research staff being inexperienced newcomers.

Throughout the Science Institute, the wormhole project was not the only team facing such a situation. There were projects being cancelled every year and also new projects being set up.

It was not uncommon for there to be factions within the Science Institute, relying on connections to obtain funding. As an organization grew larger, such occurrences were common, and the three Universal Civilizations were no exception.

The research team leader then gave out some instructions before leaving, leaving behind a room of excited researchers.

“We finally don’t have to be a team on the periphery.”

“Hurry up and report all the backlog data. We can finally make some proper progress in our research.”

“We have not submitted our equipment procurement list for this year yet. Quickly change it and purchase more long-distance space detection needles.”

…

Just as what Han Xiao had predicted, after failing to ambush the Beyond Grade A seeds, the three Universal Civilizations and Super Star Cluster Alliance showed some restraint. At Han Xiao’s orders, the association also did not openly announce the truth behind the Beyond Grade A seeds affair. It was as though they intentionally forgot about it.

Apart from fanning the flames on the web, the three parties maintained their current equilibrium and did not engage in open conflict. They were currently accumulating their strength and preparing various different means to deal with their enemies.

Perhaps the Super Star Cluster Alliance had thought about creating trouble but was not able to find the appropriate opportunity.

Although both parties had not erupted in open hostility, in the eyes of the public, the three Universal Civilizations and the association were on opposite sides with the thick smell of gunpowder ready to be ignited at any time.

Although the Super Star Cluster Alliance was frequently on the losing end, they were pretty professional at fanning flames. This was just like the saying of a prolonged illness making the patient a good doctor.

Under the calm silence of the universe was the raging undercurrent. The three Universal Civilizations gradually stopped their cooperation with the various Beyond Grade A organizations and also came up with some business strategies to suppress the association. Under Han Xiao’s reorganization, the association also gradually became more independent.

With the Super Star Cluster Civilizations fanning the flames from the background, practically the entire universe knew that the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and association would not be settled peacefully.

A year slowly passed.

On Galaxy Calendar Year 782, Version 5.0 was activated again, and the players were back online!

Chapter 1270: Black Stars Era !

In an office of Black Star Palace, Han Xiao leaned back in his chair, staring at the clock as he silently awaited the prompt that signaled the new version beginning. Time slowly ticked by second after second.

In this past year, the three Universal Civilizations and the association’s relationship had dropped to a freezing point. The dynasty had not contacted him for a whole year now.

The three Universal Civilizations had issued an announcement a year ago that they had started studying the Sanctum Revival method. There was no follow-up news, and no one knew what stage they had reached. It seemed like their results were not too impressive.

On the side of the Holy Accord, they were still collecting the keys in secret. While they did not possess the intelligence channels of the three Universal Civilizations, causing the materials to be harder to collect, the problem was not big. It would just cost them more money and time. Now that the Holy Accord had more of the recipes of how to create keys, there were more opportunities for them, but a mere year was not enough to collect another key.

On the other hand, the military of the three Universal Civilizations had mobilized recently, seemingly getting ready to set off. This caught the attention of Han Xiao and the other members of the association, causing the atmosphere in the universe to become more tense.

The players’ return at this time could thus be considered timely.

Han Xiao rubbed the back of his palm as his eyes flashed.

“The time when the players come online will be my opportunity to quickly reach level 360. With the current deadlock in the situation, if I manage to break through my personal power level, it might serve as a turning point, becoming the entry ticket to breaking this entire game.”

The stalemate was exactly what he had predicted and what he wanted. Were it not for the Sanctum Revivals and the massive increase in strength of the association, perhaps the Calamity of the Supers would have long broken out like in his previous life. Right now, he was only suppressing it.

While the situation was akin to a gunpowder keg, which would result in a greater explosion the more he suppressed it, nothing was absolute. In his opinion, there were only a few opportunities to break the game. If he succeeded, he would really eliminate the Calamity of the Supers and prevent it from evolving into a large-scale war.

His current methods were all to stall time for the Holy Accord. Han Xiao was equally clear that there would be a battle between both sides, and the association would naturally have more casualties. This was his opportunity. As long as the unlimited counts of the Sanctum Revival were revealed by that time, most of their problems would be solved. The Sanctum Revival key was a necessity to break this game.

On this basis, he could use a higher level of personal power to frighten the three Universal Civilizations and also attract Beyond Grade A members. That would be killing two birds with one stone.

Just as he was analyzing his options, the long silent interface finally had some movement. There was a notification of a new update just like what the players would receive.

_____________________

Version 5.0 Activated!

Fetching data… Fetching data complete!

Player Forum Opened.

Welcome to ‘Galaxy’ Version 5.0—Black Star’s Era!

_____________________

“Hmm?” Han Xiao was stunned.

Why was the version not ‘Calamity of the Supers’‽

And it even used his name!

In the previous four versions, while he was a little butterfly flapping its wings and causing an impact, compared to the general trend of the universe, it was miniscule, still moving along with the changes in time.

But this time was different. He had single-handedly created a tornado with a flap of his wings, causing himself to become the pioneer of the changing times. Thus, even the name of this version had changed…

This also showed how important his position was in the universe at the moment, as well as his pivotal role in this storm.

“Even my name has been included into the version update. This is superb.”

Han Xiao’s expression twitched, before he revealed a perverted smile.

What was prestige and face? This was!

If the players saw this… heh, this was equivalent to a super compound fertilizer that would help him farm his leeks!

“It’s been fifty years. I really miss my cute little… moneybags.”

Han Xiao raised his brows, calling out the surveillance of the great hall and observing the situation.

…

At this moment, countless white lights flashed in the lobby of Black Star Palace’s great hall, and the large number of players that had been away for fifty years finally returned online.

The originally cold and empty great hall was suddenly packed to the brim, full of liveliness. Countless players were excitedly whooping and shouting.

“Wahaha, this master is back! Countless stars, prepare to tremble under my feet, for my huge cannon’s hunger and thirst can no longer be suppressed!”

“Dammit, it’s already the fifth version, so why is there still a bug that prevents us from stripping? Lousy!”

“Hehe, I can immediately tell that you’re not a pioneer. To this day, you’re still hung up over the fact that clothes cannot be taken off. You’re behind the times brother! Do you know the meaning of ‘clothes on the body but naked in the mind’? This older brother’s realm is one that you cannot hope to fathom!”

“How long has passed since the last version? I don’t see any changes in the base. It seems like we weren’t gone for too long.”

The crowd chattered and gossiped, opening their interfaces. Immediately came the shocked gasps.

“Hurry and take a look at the version’s name! I’m shooketh!”

“F*ck, the name of Version 5.0 is actually Black Star’s Era?”

“What the hell has he done during the update!”

The countless army players opened their eyes wide.

No one expected that their faction leader would actually turn into the main topic of this version!

Based on the impressions of the players, the version name indicated what the Main Storyline would be. In the previous few versions, it was either a disaster or a changing of the time, but to think that they would actually put a character as the Main Storyline!

What prestige!

Many of the players began to tremble with excitement, their hearts filled with strong curiosity—just what exactly did their Army Commander do during their absence‽

The bunch of professional players that just came online were equally shocked.

Frenzied Sword immediately opened up the calendar. What he saw made him suck in a deep breath.

“The version update actually took a whole fifty years this time!”

Everyone immediately turned to look at the date, full of surprise and shock.

“Wow, really fifty years!”

“I remember when we went offline, it was in the Year 734. Right now, it’s 782!”

“The span is too huge, more than double the previous updates.”

“I don’t even know if my wife Sylvia is still alive…”

“Do you want to eat sh*t? She’s obviously my wife!”

“Quickly, go on the internet and check, see what the situation is right now.”

The players immediately took out their communicators to search, wanting to check what exactly happened during the time they were away.

Following their searches, the news that the Flickering War had ended decades ago appeared on their pages, leading to more surprised gasps.

When they went offline, the Flickering War had still been raging, so they naturally thought that they would get to continue fighting the moment they returned online. To think that during the version update, the battle had already ended.

Reading on, the expressions of the players got even more confused. Some of them even catcalled.

The fall of Gaud, Sorokin escaping in fear of being sentenced for his crimes, Aurora entering the Beyond Grade A realm, the Sanctum Revivals leading to the Primordial Ones being resurrected, and the standoff between the Beyond Grade A Association and the three Universal Civilizations… A series of major events was shown before the eyes of the many players. Just looking at the description, many of the players could very well imagine the stormy situation that happened then.

“This… the change is too great!”

“Aurora has really entered the Beyond Grade A realm… Damn, who’s this blonde sister? I’ve fallen in love with her!”

“This is amazing. Germinal is really the strongest representing organization in the whole universe. One sect, three Beyond Grade As—who else is that impressive?”

“The Germinal spirit will never wither! Hooyah!”

“This is indeed worthy of a span of fifty years. The original structure of the universe has been completely subverted.”

“Black Star is too fierce. No wonder this version is named after him.”

Everyone was shocked. They felt as though they had woken up from a long sleep only to find out that everything around them had changed.

Seeing the actions of Black Star during the update, many of the players understood why the name of Version 5.0 was called ‘Black Star’s Era’.

Their Army Commander had become the ‘Leader of the Martial Way’. With his unparalleled courage and charisma, he led the Beyond Grade A class against the explored universe overlords. He was undoubtedly a leader of this era!

The title ‘Black Star’s Era’ was totally worthy of the name!

“So fierce, Old Blackie is indeed an extraordinary existence.”

“Army Commander is awesome! (voice cracks)”

“Next time, we shouldn’t call him Black Star. We’ll just address him as Black Deity.”

“I’m not sure why, but I feel as though I’m watching my own son having grown up…”

The players had lots of mixed feelings.

The figure of Black Star had been with them through several versions, and now, he had even become the Main Storyline of the version, leading to a new era. His identity was unique in this universe. In their eyes, Black Star was already confirmed as the ultimate protagonist!

Many of the old hardcore players had personally watched Black Star rise from an insignificant person, stepping into the glorified altar. Their hearts had a sense of gratification, as though they were witnessing the continuation of a legend.

Bun-Hit-Dog was so excited, his entire body trembled. He immediately pinched his assistant, Little Wheat, who was beside him as he babbled, “Quickly! Material! A lot of material! At least twenty episodes of videos can be released using this. Quickly record them all!”

Little Wheat hurriedly nodded and began to record.

Meanwhile, Frenzied Sword and the professional players controlled their emotions, quickly checking the attributes panel.

“It seems like the upper limit this time has been opened to level 180.”

“Speaking of which, most Calamity Grades usually enter the realm around level 160 and 170. While we’re weaker than them at the same level, level 180 should be enough for us to hit the Calamity Grade, right?”

“It’s possible. Maybe in this version, the strength of the players will be pulled apart. Those who can enter the Calamity Grade will definitely be able to slap and beat up a whole bunch of Grade Bs.”

Everyone discussed their levels fervently before they remembered something.

“That’s right. I remember that our main storyline for the Flickering War was not settled. Now that the war has ended, I wonder what has happened to the situation.”

In the previous version, the Main Storyline in the Flickering War for the Black Star Army was something that Han Xiao had created, and it had long been settled. What the other organizations’ players got was the true Main Storyline, which could only be settled after the war.

Hearing this, many of the players entered the forums, and with a glance, they almost laughed themselves to death.

They saw that the forums for the Flickering World were extremely lively, and many of them were crying blood and tears, especially those from the Limitless Financial Group.

[Fan Shuishui: Where’s my faction? Where’s my huge faction‽]

[Atlas: Madafaka, why has the entire Limitless Financial Group disappeared‽]

[Adventures of Tintin: Flickering World, ah Flickering World. The largest galactic consortium, the Limitless Financial Group, went bankrupt; the boss Sorokin owed up to 3.5 billion in debt for food, drinks, and gambling, and he took his mistress with him to go on the run! We toiled for half a year and didn’t even get a single paycheck. B*stard Sorokin, you’re not human!]

On the forums, there were a large portion of players who had lost their factions and were wailing. This was as good as them not having any contribution for the entire of Version 4.0.

Players who were in a smaller faction always lived on tenterhooks the moment they logged back in after a version update, fearing that their faction would be gone and all their effort wasted.

Originally, those players who had joined larger factions were not worried about this problem, but the Limitless Financial Group was no small faction, and it had actually disappeared, causing the players to feel immense regret.

If they had known this, they would have followed the other group of defectors to jump ship during the national war!

“Too unlucky.”

“That’s why choosing a faction is of utmost importance, just like picking stocks. One must be cautious!”

“It’s lucky our Black Star Army is resilient enough.”

Watching the scene, the army players could not help but laugh.

Even a behemoth like the Limitless Financial Group could crash. While the Black Star Army was strong, they had provoked the three Universal Civilizations, and thus, their futures were not too bright either.

Their Army Commander might be fierce, the association strong, and the Sanctum Revival miraculous, but their opponents were the three Universal Civilizations. Now that their original cooperative relationship had evolved to become enemies, many people did not have much confidence in battling them. If something went wrong, they might lose their faction like the Limitless Financial Group players.

“The battle between the Beyond Grade A Association and the three Universal Civilizations should be the Main Storyline of this version. We’re inherently on the side of the association, but can we really win?”

“That’s right. If the association loses, won’t the army disband? Won’t it be our loss then?”

Some people chatted in small voices, their stand wavering. These were all new players who had joined only in Version 4.0.

As for the veterans, while they were worried about the safety of the army, their stand was firm.

Most of the old players had long treated the army as their own faction, working hard to make it grow to where it was today. Even if the enemy was strong, they would not wish to switch to another faction. Anyway, they were not afraid of death, so it was still better to work for their own faction!

The army had shaped the sense of belonging for their players for many years, and the results showed. While players valued benefits, they sometimes went the opposite way instead. While benefits were important to them, the real core logic that determined a player’s actions could be summarized in one sentence.

I do what makes me happy!

Ding!

At this moment, the interface of every army player rang at the same time.

_____________________

You have triggered the S Ranked Main Storyline: Calamity of the Supers—Black Star Army!

Chapter 1271: The Art of Managing Leeks

“Oh, the Main Storyline mission is out.”

“Calamity of the Supers? What is that?”

“I guess it refers to the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the association. I feel that this name is a little weird though. How could Supers cause a calamity?”

Everyone discussed the mission title.

The Calamity of the Supers should have been the name of Version 5.0, but now that it had its name changed to Black Star’s Era, no one was familiar with this term.

This mission was not issued by Han Xiao himself but rather automatically generated by the interface. This was similar to the Main Storyline of Version 5.0 in Han Xiao’s previous life, except for some subtle changes, such as Han Xiao’s presence.

Everyone went to read the Mission Introduction.

_____________________

This is a crisis that affects the entire Superpower class. There is a deep-rooted contradiction between individual power and collective civilization. Black Star chose the route of seeking peace through deterrence, taking the initiative to ignite the fuse and detonating this calamity in order to create a new era. As a Super, you should have your own position and philosophy in this storm. Choose your faction, and fight for it.

As a member of the Black Star Army, it is hoped that you will stand at the front of the army in such times of crisis, to complete the great goal of the Black Star Army.

_____________________

Everyone continued reading and saw that this Main Storyline was more of a faction struggle. As an S-ranked Main Storyline, it stretched for a long period, allowing players to continuously accumulate rewards. However, they were required to choose a faction to participate in this storm to fight for, and everyone’s faction there was preset as the Black Star Army. During this storyline, every time they completed the assigned missions given by their faction, they would obtain extra Contribution Points and Experience, which was very tempting.

“The rewards are plenty, and the mission rewards are even higher than the previous versions. The bar has been raised once again.”

“This is an incident that affects the entire Superpower class, so it feels more impactful compared to the previous version of Flickering World development. While the version also mobilized the entire universe, it focused on exploration, and most of the events were confined to a single Star Field. There was little impact on the other regions. Furthermore, this Calamity of the Supers seems very antagonistic at first glance, since Supers permeate across the whole universe. This will cause the entire Galactic Society to become turbulent.”

“Actually, I feel that this is pretty good as well. The Main Storyline came out as soon as the version opened, and our goal is clear.”

Everyone talked in small groups, feeling extremely delighted.

While it felt a bit sudden to get involved in such a big event as soon as they came online, the army players quickly accepted this reality, excited.

After marveling at Black Star’s deeds for a while longer, the players finally shifted their attention to the other aspects of version update changes.

“That’s right, fifty years have passed. The army should have upgraded a lot of their internal products. Let’s take a look.”

It did not take long for someone to open up the army’s faction store to check on the equipment and weapons provided.

The equipment sold by the army had always been the focal point for the players. While it was a little pricey, the quality was guaranteed, and its performance was excellent. After-care repair and enhancement services were even thrown in. A large number of players were thus using the army standard suits. Every time the Army Logistics Department launched a new series of equipment, it would be the time for the army players to collectively improve their overall combat capabilities. At the same time, they could also lose the weight in their wallets.

With a glance, the players all froze before shouting out in joy.

The number of products offered by the army had doubled compared to before the version update. There was a lot more equipment, including weapons, raw materials and special props that had never been seen before, and they were all high-quality items even when compared to the current update and iteration.

Many of this technology came from Jayz’s treasure trove, and Han Xiao merely picked up a few suitable ones to throw toward the logistics department, allowing them to greatly expand the scale of the faction’s unique products.

“Yo, the army has done a lot of research in the past few decades. There are so many new products now!”

“I’m still wearing the 7th Generation battlesuit, but they’ve already updated to the 12th Gen, and the performance has been optimized so much!”

“It’s over. My current suit is now outdated. Replacing it will require a large sum of money, and I still have to strengthen, refine, and enchant it… I feel that my wallet is going to die.”

The players’ eyes turned red upon seeing so much good stuff. Their desire to buy was unprecedentedly strong.

It was a pity that the national war and the Pro League at the end of Version 4.0 had emptied the accumulations of most people. They could only channel their desire to buy stuff into the desire to earn money.

At this moment, the players received an internal email from the Army Commander.

In the email, Han Xiao represented the army in welcoming the return of the Immortals, declaring that the current situation was sensitive, and thus, he hoped that everyone could be a little more low key. At the end of the letter, a note was also attached, indicating that their previous location for the national war, Planet Milton, had been purchased by the army and would be given to the Golden Alliance as a gift.

No one was expecting such a bombshell, and they suddenly felt dizzy from the surprise at their luck.

“This… Our Commander directly bought the national war planet to give to us? Am I dreaming‽”

“Maybe this is the legendary banknote ability…”

“Why did Old Black do this? He shouldn’t have known about our national war, right?”

“That’s hard to say. At that time, many of the galactic organizations were paying attention to us, even though they did not know about our national war. However, our Golden Alliance beat everyone else, so maybe Old Black thought that we were winning glory for the army.”

“That feels possible!”

Everyone was full of excitement.

As the stage of the national war, Planet Milton had the potential to become the Players’ Main City, so having the army directly buying it and giving it to the Golden Alliance meant handing over the sovereignty of this main city to the Chinese players. Originally, the management rights belonged to the NPC organizations, but unexpectedly, they fell into the players’ hands. This was not a small gift.

This would be the first time a player-managed guild owned a planet!

Many of the players participated in the national war, but none of them expected that there would be such additional reward. They could not help but feel surging joy.

Speaking of which, most of the Chinese players were also old timers who participated from Planet Aquamarine itself. This gift might be Old Black taking care of them.

Thinking of this possibility, people like Frenzied Sword started to feel emotional. This proved that Black Star had always paid attention to them!

Before long, this matter spread to the forums, where it caused envy among countless players.

“Another benefit of the Black Star Army! How can their faction be so good‽”

“Nasty, I’m so jealous of them!”

“Black Star is indeed the model of all factions, knowing how to win the hearts of the people. I also wish I could have such a faction leader.”

“Wuwuwu, lemons are also good (cries)”

Seeing this, the various foreign club players felt their sanity snap and their stomachs churn.

The national war had been over for quite a period of time, and these participants had also re-adjusted their mentality. While they had lost, there was no substantial loss to them. But at this moment, these players felt that their hearts had been stabbed once again.

Seeing the Golden Alliance happily receiving a planet as a gift, these foreign clubs only felt upset.

If we had worked harder at the last moment and won the national war, then this planet might have belonged to us…

Oh wait, we’re not part of the Black Star Army either way. Even if we won, the faction behind us would not have bought Planet Milton as a gift…

This was even more frustrating to think about!

As soon as the tens of millions of players returned, the long silent forum instantly turned lively.

Because the version had just been updated, everyone was busy trying to level and upgrade their equipment. Their top priorities were to enrich their wallets. After many of the army players understood the current situation, they could not wait to start.

…

At the same time, inside the Army Commander’s office, Han Xiao switched off the surveillance in the great hall, glancing at his experience bar, which had begun to rise rapidly once again after being stagnant for so long. He felt great comfort.

Ah, this is the fragrance of leeks…

Nice.

The players’ savings were almost all spent in the previous version, and now that the new version has just been released, they also have the need to upgrade themselves, so I can only use new products and discounts to stimulate consumption, maintaining my efficiency of harvesting experience.

Rubbing his chin, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

His upgrade costs were astronomical. He had also accumulated some experience during the version update, and according to the normal harvesting efficiency during the opening periods of the version, he would take about eighteen months to three years to accumulate enough to reach the level 360 advancement. This would also depend on the speed at which the players accumulated experience.

If he used his own proficiency in leek management, he might be able to speed up the players’ efficiency.

Before his advancement, Han Xiao also planned to have his God’s Trait Transformation Void branch reach the maximum level. This would also need time as he needed to craft more Universal Treasures.

This Main Storyline was a battle of factions; thus, the association would appear more attractive to the players. Furthermore, with him as the head of the association, there was no need to be afraid of anyone trying to poach his people. The players would automatically join his faction.

“Now that the players have returned, the fuse for the Calamity of the Supers has been readied. We have to see how the three Universal Civilizations will respond,” Han Xiao muttered.

…

On the Federation of Light’s mother planet, in the President’s Office, Louis stood by the window. He turned back to look at his Head of Intelligence, his brows furrowed as he considered this sticky situation.

“The Immortals have returned? Tsk, another bunch of troublesome fellows.”

“Do you need us to take action?” the Head of Intelligence asked.

Louis slowly returned to his seat, stroking his chin as he thought.

“Immortals… Is their resurrection principle also related to the Sanctum Revival?”

In this past year, the three Universal Civilizations had studied the Sanctum Revival theory, but even with astronomical sums of money poured in, they were still far away from actual results. While the three Universal Civilizations might have been at the forefront of the explored universe in terms of Information Form technology, it was still not perfected.

The three Universal Civilizations leaders would inquire about the progress of the research every few days, so Louis started to think that the players’ resurrection abilities had something to do with the Sanctum Revival. In his opinion, both of them were strange methods to revive, which could be seen as a connection.

After thinking about it further, Louis said in a solemn voice, “The Immortals are impenetrable, and we are still unable to find out the reason for their resurrections… Increase the funding for the Immortals project. We might find a breakthrough there.”

“Understood.”

The Head of Intelligence recorded it down.

Louis paused for a while more before asking, “How’s the situation in the outside world now?”

“The Class segregation is going well. We have succeeded in shaping a group of Supers who believe that the association’s excessive ambitions have affected the order through different treatments and one-sided propaganda. These are basically people who have been affected and have lost their benefits, thus allowing us to split the Supers into two opposing voices. While the contrasting voices are not many at the moment, they are enough. As long as they exist, those that support the association will always try to one-up them, pushing the association toward breaking ties with the three Universal Civilizations.”

“Well done.” Louis narrowed his eyes. “The greater the height, the greater the fall. The association has too many expectations on them. The moment we can make them suffer a small setback, we will be able to obtain twice the result with half the effort, hitting the association’s prestige hard and shaking more people’s hearts.”

The three Universal Civilizations did not wish for a Super organization that would herd the rest as a pack leader to appear. Not only them, but the Super Star Cluster Alliance was also secretly adjusting their strategies, splitting the voices of the Supers through public opinion.

It was just that the time had yet to come, so there was no need to see this method to the end since the disadvantages would outweigh the benefits.

Waving his hand to dismiss the Head of Intelligence, Louis waited for a while before two remote projections appeared in the room. They were the ‘Mechanic Empress’ Mornisa and ‘Defender’ Romo, both of whom were Beyond Grade A mechanics directly related to the Federation of Light.

“You’ve come,” Louis said. “You asked to see me. Did you manage to discover the location of the Mechanic Emperor’s true body?”

The Mechanics in the Federation of Light had been searching for the location of Manison’s body all these years, but they had never succeeded.

Romo shook his head. “He’s hidden himself too deeply. We still have no news regarding this.”

“Then, why did you want to see me?” Louis frowned.

Mornisa took a step forward at this moment, slowly saying, “I used to study under the Mechanic Emperor, and thus, I am familiar with the style of his Virtual Technology. A while back, I made a breakthrough with my technology, so I would like to enlist the help from the three Universal Civilizations to aid me in raiding Manison’s database through Virtual Intrusion!”

Louis was a little stunned. “What’s the purpose of you doing this?”

Mornisa’s eyes flashed. “I’ve taken a fancy to the Mechanic Emperor’s technological treasures. I wish to obtain his life research!”

She used to be the Mechanic Emperor’s student and was more familiar than everyone else with just how deep Manison’s reserves were. She had long thought of owning Manison’s knowledge, and thus, their relationship had become more and more estranged, partly due to her attempting to steal a portion of his research. This was also why she had to flee to the Federation of Light as a direct descendant in order to obtain protection.

Ever since Manison lost his authority, Mornisa had again coveted his research. In the past, she was not so certain, but due to her sudden breakthrough a while back, her confidence had grown.

Based on her calculations, she believed that with the help from the three Universal Civilizations, her current Virtual Technology would have a more than fifty percent chance of invading Manison’s database… The Mechanic Emperor might be strong, but he would not be able to stop so many people from attacking him.

“If it’s just for this reason, then I cannot accept your request.” Louis shook his head. “Furthermore, the Mechanic Emperor’s reputation is not for show. Are you sure you can crack his Virtual Technology?”

“Hehe, I also remember that the Mechanic Emperor has always liked to secretly infiltrate the database of the Federation of Light. For so many years, it is unknown how much secrets he has stolen, but you guys have turned a blind eye for too long. Don’t you think that our Federation of Light should fight back? No one should be able to pick at us, and we can destroy all the secrets he has collected about the Federation of Light! In addition, we might even obtain secrets from the Super Star Cluster Alliance in the Primeval Star River, which is the true enemy of the three Universal Civilizations.”

Louis’ eyes gleamed. He was a little tempted.

The three Universal Civilizations did not wish to provoke the association, but if it was purely infiltrating the database of the Mechanic Emperor, it should be fine. The three Universal Civilizations might be jittery toward the association, but they had never stopped their small tricks. Plus, the Mechanic Emperor was no longer the president, and he had never been on good terms with Black Star.

At this moment, Mornisa coldly laughed as she added, “As for my ability… hehe, now that more than half of the Machinery Faith has been taken by Black Star, the Mechanic Emperor’s strength has decayed and is no longer at his peak.

“As long as the three Universal Civilizations assist me, I’m sure I can invade his database. After this event, the federation will be able to obtain all the copied technological information.”

Louis weighed the pros and cons for a while before slowly nodding.

“I’m agreeable to your request. I’ll help you contact the dynasty and the church. We can give this matter a try and test the reaction of the association. Don’t disappoint me.”

Hearing this, Mornisa revealed a delighted smile.

“Relax, I’ll make you so happy you won’t even be able to talk.”

Chapter 1272: Progress and Acciden

The news of the return of the Immortals spread like wildfire. In this current situation, this matter had received much more attention, with many organizations secretly in awe.

There were tens of millions of Immortal Grade B Supers, and no one could ignore this strength, especially if a few million of them belonged to the Black Star Army. This made many of the large organizations, including the three Universal Civilizations, more vigilant. They were worried that the Black Star Army would take major action after the return of their powerful armed forces.

However, these organizations soon heaved a sigh of relief as they saw the Immortals just going about their daily tasks, without any huge changes in their schedules.

It was just that every time after they disappeared, the strength of these Immortals would grow. This was a law that had been discovered. Many of the top organizations had confirmed this through the intelligence that the Immortals strength was still growing, which led them to feel concerned.

While they were only at the Grade B realm, their strength was already terrifying. Every organization knew that if the Immortals continued to grow, it would inevitably impact the existing universe’s structure and produce unknown effects, which was not good.

Furthermore, the current galactic society was now also aware of the Sanctum Revivals, and thus, they unconsciously linked it to the immortal nature of the players.

On the internet, public anger, which had begun to cool down, once again flared up. The galactic residents discussed recent events, giving rise to much speculation. There were rumors that the reason Black Star had mastered the Sanctum Revival was precisely because he discovered some clues from the Immortals.

The speculation was reasonable, and got the widest acceptance, making countless people feel that they had stumbled across the secret of Black Star.

For a period of time, almost all organizations in the universe started to offer more generous conditions for the Immortals, enthusiastic to win them over so as to research the Sanctum Revivals through them.

However, with the lessons learned through the collapse of the Limitless Financial Group, as well as the version name being called Black Star’s Era, most players rejected the olive branches that the small and medium sized organizations offered and instead transferred over to the Black Star Army. The army once again ushered in a period of members skyrocketing.

As the saying went, better late than never. Because of certain factors, many players had already missed out several versions with the Black Star Army. Now that the new version had just opened, it was a good opportunity for them to start afresh, and many of them did not wish to throw away this opportunity.

The movements of the players attracted the attention of the entire universe, and countless organizations paid attention to this covetously yet fearfully.

…

In the territory of the Black Star Army, on the rocky, mountain-like surface, two figures were fighting each other at an extreme speed, leaving a series of afterimages. Each of their collisions resulted in a ring of compressed air exploding.

This was a secret training ground hidden on a barren planet.

Bang bang bang!

The two slammed into each other, much like an earth dragon rampaging amid the ground, kicking up choking sand and dust. Their Pugilist auras shot everywhere, exploding rocks and mountains alike.

Suddenly, the figure wearing heavy training armor seemed to have discovered a flaw in the opponent, raising his elbow before condensing his Pugilist flames at the point of contact. This skewed the opponent’s defensive posture, and taking advantage of this short opportunity, a sharp leg whip swept across like a tomahawk, creating a sonic boom from the speed alone as it closed the distance to the opponent’s chest in the blink of an eye.

Bang!

A silver figure was thrown out like a cannonball, smashing through three mountains before embedding deeply in the fourth. There was a loud bang as the rocks surrounding it crumbled, leaving behind a deep pit filled with smoke and dust.

“…Good fight.”

The silver figure shook himself, and the hill was blasted to pieces, turning into a rain of rocks.

He suspended himself in midair, his body akin to flowing mercury. The depression made in his chest was quickly recovering. This person was Silver Shadow.

His opponent did not pursue the attack, taking off his helmet to reveal an honest face. It was none other than Karlot.

Silver Shadow flew in front of Karlot and nodded. “Your progress is getting faster. It has been little more than a year, yet the current you can probably beat three of the you from a year ago. Within the Calamity Grade, your abilities are pretty good.”

“Am I that good?” Karlot scratched his head. He was a little embarrassed as he was used to being the worst performing.

“Your Pugilist potential is something I’ve rarely seen in my life. Given time, I’m sure your achievements will be higher than mine,” Silver Shadow said emotionally.

He had suppressed his strength to the Calamity Grade to battle with Karlot, but the latter’s performance completely surprised him, giving him immense pressure.

Initially, when Black Star had asked him to come teach Karlot, Silver Shadow was a little unwilling, but after a year of guidance, all negative thoughts had flown out of the window.

Karlot’s abilities soared upward at an incredible speed. If he was only an ordinary Calamity Grade in the past, right now, he was near the boss level, and this change only happened within a year!

Silver Shadow could feel a sort of Beyond Grade A potential coming from Karlot, so instead of rejecting his teaching, he instead became even more dedicated, almost unreservedly imparting his Pugilist experiences to Karlot. If Karlot became a Beyond Grade A, it would be a good thing for him too.

Black Star had a wide range of connections and had no shortage of friends who were experts in the Pugilist system. However, he actually gave such a good opportunity to Silver Shadow. Thus, Silver Shadow could not help but feel grateful to Han Xiao, thinking that Black Star was supporting him.

However, Silver Shadow devoted himself to teaching Karlot not just entirely out of goodwill of cultivating a younger generation. He was also extremely compatible with Karlot in terms of personality, and they got along very well.

“It’s because you have taught me well.” Karlot smiled in an honest manner.

“It’s not entirely my credit. You have to thank Black Star as well. His vision is truly too precise, and if he had not taught me how to guide you, I probably would not have a clue.” Silver Shadow shook his head.

Because Han Xiao had seen through Karlot’s growth mechanism in the interface, he had asked Silver Shadow to conduct targeted training, specifically explaining each Pugilist concept before training at high intensities. The result was that they achieved double the results with half the effort, creating this remarkable achievement of allowing Karlot to improve by leaps and bounds.

According to the original growth trajectory, Karlot was a late bloomer, but the main reason was that he was not clear about his own characteristics, so he could only slowly explore and accumulate, wasting a lot of time. If there was a targeted exercise for him at the very beginning, perhaps Karlot’s rise to power would have been much faster.

If they were to compare, Karlot was similar to the famed Hero Guo [1. Guo Jing, also known as Hero Guo, is a fictional character from Jin Yong’s novel “Legend of the Condor Heroes”], hiding outstanding talent under his simple and honest appearance. Both of them also did not meet the right teacher at the beginning, wasting too much time. If they had practiced the correct method from the beginning, their combat strength would have long soared and solidified.

Because the interface could list one’s advantages and disadvantages, in terms of training, there was no one in the universe more suited for guidance than Han Xiao.

Not only Karlot, but the hundreds of Beyond Grade A seeds who joined the Black Star Army also obtained some guidance, making tremendous progress in their cultivation. All of them had begun to treat Han Xiao as some sort of spiritual mentor.

At this moment, the very person being mentioned appeared beside Karlot and Silver Shadow in a remote projection.

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

Silver Shadow and Karlot immediately saluted him.

“How’s the training coming along?” Han Xiao smiled.

“He improved once again, and he can even break through my defense now.” Silver Shadow let out an appreciative smile.

“Dang, not bad. Keep working, you’ll soon step into the Beyond Grade A realm. At that time, I’ll find even more teachers for you to keep growing.” Han Xiao laughed cheerfully.

He had completely grasped the correct training method Karlot needed. The crucial factor behind [Everlasting Martial Path] was to accumulate Pugilist insight, and a shortcut was to have him interact with many Beyond Grade A pugilists to quickly improve his Pugilist insight. This would allow him to complete the transformation of his talent, allowing him to take the fast track to improving himself.

The moment Karlot reached the Beyond Grade A realm, Han Xiao planned to use his own personal connections to have Beyond Grade A Pugilists guide Karlot and teach him experiences and insights. With Karlot’s simple and honest attitude, Han Xiao was sure that his investment would not lose out but rather allow him to earn plenty in return.

After exchanging a few more words, Han Xiao wrapped up the conversation and left.

Karlot exhaled, feeling very heartened inside himself.

In this past year, no matter how busy Black Star was, he would call every ten days or so to inquire about his training progress. He even made a training plan specifically for him and invited Silver Shadow, a Beyond Grade A, to be his teacher. All this had shown the importance Black Star placed in him.

As the saying went, there was no harm without comparison. Thinking back to how the dynasty had treated him, even if Karlot was not a small-minded person, he could not help but feel that both parties were simply not comparable.

The kindness shown to him was firmly engraved in his heart. Even if one removed his idolatry for Black Star, his sense of belonging toward Black Star had already broken through the roof.

Since you treat me like a state scholar, I’ll be sure to repay this country with my life!

…

In Black Star Palace’s office, Han Xiao shut down the remote projection, smiling brightly.

“Karlot was really worth training. Just a year and his growth is already so high. If we follow this trend, he might even surpass Lothaire and reach the Beyond Grade A realm first.”

He could not be more satisfied with Karlot. This guy was indeed the poster boy of the future Pugilist system.

Lothaire was still stuck outside the door of the Beyond Grade A realm. This final step was the most difficult, and it was unknown how long he would take.

On the other hand, Evans had been cultivating diligently for several decades. Because the players were not online, he could not absorb any new abilities. He had only been polishing his core abilities and upgrading his realm. He had finally realized his potential, succeeding in entering the Calamity Grade as well.

Han Xiao was full of expectations for this new ‘EsGod’. Since the players had returned, they could finally add some new abilities to Evans.

In addition to these potential stocks, the army had expanded its advanced combatants by many times, hosting a large number of Beyond Grade A seeds, including many talented people worth training.

Oh, that’s right, there’s still that balding baby Sylvia.

A pity, that with her potential, the most she can reach will probably be the Beyond Grade A realm.

Han Xiao felt that she should actually just remain as the Chief Administrative Official…

Shaking his head, Han Xiao took out the communicator and scanned it.

Right now, the universe is reacting to the players’ return, worrying that if they continue to grow, they’ll become more lawless, shaking the order of the Galactic Society. It is actually true to think so. The fuse has already been lit.

The ancients used this phrase in the past: a pugilist could use his strength for evil. This trait was perfectly demonstrated by the players; as their strength grew, they became harder to control. This would allow one to understand why the Calamity of the Supers was named thus, which was accurate if looking from the players’ perspective.

“The three Universal Civilizations will be moving soon. I keep feeling that something is about to happen.”

Han Xiao rubbed his forehead as he frowned.

At this moment, a black flame suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, rapidly expanding into a projection of Oathkeeper’s soul.

Han Xiao raised his brows. “Why are you not saying hi? Did you come to me because you’ve collected another set of keys?”

“Not yet.” Oathkeeper’s tone was solemn. “Black Star, I have two pieces of bad news for you.”

“Oh? Say them.”

“There’s a traitor that has appeared among the group of avengers, who wishes to sell out the Holy Accord in return for the assistance of an advanced civilization’s help to seek revenge.”

Han Xiao’s expression sank. “How did this happen? Has the news been leaked?”

“Pangon is currently in pursuit of the traitor, and we’ve managed to intercept the intelligence temporarily.”

Han Xiao furrowed his brows. “Then the other bad news?”

“Someone used magic to spy on the Holy Accord. We’ve traced the source and discovered that it came from the secondary dimensions. Most likely, we’ve been discovered by some existence hidden in the secondary dimensions, but we’re still unclear as to who it is,” Oathkeeper said in a heavy tone.

Hearing this, Han Xiao calmly stood up, putting on his cloak.

“Give me the coordinates. I’ll go take a look.”

Chapter 1273: Traitor

Grains of black sand swirled along with the raging tempest, covering the sky in darkness. This high-speed sandstorm was akin to a grinder that could smash apart steel. It was prevalent on the surface of this barren planet all year round, causing this planet to be unable to give birth to any life.

All of a sudden, blue brilliance flashed in the sandstorm, and a figure appeared out of thin air, falling to the ground.

This person wore a broken mechanical suit and was covered in blood, as if he was seriously injured. He struggled to stand up, raising his hand to eject a thin energy shield to ward off the surrounding high-speed sandstorm.

The next instant, a few rays of light flashed behind him, and Pangon as well as a few other Beyond Grade As quickly surrounded him.

Pangon coldly stared at the person, his tone full of murderous intent.

“Kotlin, you betrayed us!”

This Primordial One named Kotlin gasped for breath as he looked around the people surrounding him. He sadly smiled.

Everyone present was at the Beyond Grade A realm, so the spatial fluctuations and folds left by the teleportation and transitions were all clues for them to track him, leading to his inability to get rid of them. His communicator network was locked by the Mechanics around Pangon, so there was already no way for him to escape.

Pangon’s expression was stone cold, as he raised his fist and shouted, “I’ve said this before. Our principle of action is to not drag Black Star and Holy Accord down in our affairs. For you to try to exchange intelligence on them to the Super Star Cluster Alliance in exchange for assistance has already broken the original agreement. I can only get rid of you!”

He felt heartache yet grateful. Kotlin was a member of the Avengers, so he was saddened that his companion had deviated to another path, but he was also grateful that he managed to discover this before he and the Super Star Cluster Alliance formed deep bonds.

Kotlin exhaled before solemnly speaking. “Pangon, can’t you see it. With our meagre manpower, even if we develop ourselves silently for hundreds of years, we basically cannot complete the revenge plan. It is whimsical to hope so without external help. I can’t do it just by following you; it’s a waste of time!”

Pangon was silent for a moment before resolutely replying, “Even if hope is slim, I will not use this method of betraying Oathkeeper and Black Star. They’ve carried out the mission of the Holy Accord, reviving us and giving us a second life. You’re ungrateful to do so!”

“We’re all founders of the Holy Accord, and without our efforts in the early years, how could they be able to grasp the Sanctum Revival method now? I indeed owe Oathkeeper, but for Black Star… heh, he’s just an opportunist. How dare he put on a front as though he’s our savior? His position now was obtained through us!” Kotlin’s eyes flashed, and his attitude remained stubborn.

Another Beyond Grade A by the side coldly said, “Black Star is merely planning for the future of the entire class. While we’re not participating in it, we should not try to backstab him or get in his way. You’ve crossed the line.”

Kotlin did not seem to approve as he raged immediately. “What does the bullsh*t class struggle have to do with me‽ I only had one goal from the beginning, and that is to avenge my compatriots! For that, I could give up everything, including my life. This time, I didn’t even think about getting back alive! Since there’s only one chance for us to undergo the Sanctum Revival, to me, the Holy Accord and Black Star are now useless!

“If they did not affect me, I could have given them face and helped them keep their secret, but Black Star is obviously trying to find ways to coexist peacefully with the three Universal Civilizations, my enemy! In the future, he might even show his loyalty and destroy us! If he dares block my way, he can only scram!”

Hearing this, Pangon and the rest frowned.

The goals of each of the founding Primordial Ones in the Holy Accord were different. Not everyone did this to escape the war, and people such as Pangon and Kotlin wished to leave a lifeline to protect their civilizations one day after the war as assurance.

Pangon shook his head. He felt that there was no point wasting his breath on Kotlin anymore. The guy had been completely corrupted by his hatred, unable to accept any other advice. He just wished to take revenge at all costs.

He did not wish to waste his time by arguing over Kotlin’s personal beliefs. He changed the topic and coldly asked, “What benefits did the Super Star Cluster Alliance promise you?”

“We haven’t negotiated.” Kotlin did not hide anything either.

The secrets such as the way to open the Sanctums as well as the formula for creating the keys were firmly held by Oathkeeper and Black Star, and they had never been disclosed to the other Revivors. Kotlin could only trade a shallow layer of intelligence, such as the composition of the Holy Accord and the private deals between Black Star and the Holy Accord. However, just that was already very valuable.

Before negotiating conditions that fit both parties, Kotlin would naturally remain a stranger to them. It was not the first time he had dealt with such organizations, so he would not reveal his bargaining chips, otherwise he would lose his negotiation value.

Pangon mutely nodded before the Pugilist flames on his body re-ignited. He coldly said, “Alright, there’s nothing more to say. I’ll send you off personally.”

“I never intended to wait for death. If you wish to kill me, then come and try!”

Kotlin burned his life without reserving any, frenziedly exciting his fatigued cells.

The next instant, several silhouettes blurred and smashed into each other.

Boom!

Fierce shock waves swept across the surface, causing the planet to shatter.

…

In the secondary dimension world, Han Xiao shuttled forward at high speed, jumping through secondary dimensions repeatedly as he headed deep in.

After receiving the news from Oathkeeper, Han Xiao had taken the coordinates and gone straight in to track the peeping Tom.

Over the years, Han Xiao had constructed many new machines, and this mechanical suit he was currently wearing was a model that specifically allowed him to move through the secondary dimensions at high speeds.

As for the traitor on Pangon’s side, Han Xiao had no control over him for the time being. Pangon and the others could not take a Throne along as well, so he could not go there even if he wanted to. He could only leave it to Pangon to settle… While this person was a little reckless, his combat strength could not be faulted.

Moreover, none of the revivors knew any key information such as the method to open the Sanctums. Even if intelligence was leaked, the outside world would at most know of the existence of the Holy Accord and his connection with them. Such problems could be controlled, and there might even be advantages among the disadvantages.

The Holy Accord in his past should have met with a similar matter, but the offender was not anyone who was currently a Revivor. In the Calamity of the Supers version during his previous life, Kotlin acted normally, and it seemed that no information about the Holy Accord had been leaked.

“This could be the butterfly effect caused by me. In the past, the Sanctums were not exposed, nor was there an association, so he must’ve made a different choice.”

At this moment, a black flame materialized beside him, which took on the shape of Oathkeeper. As he followed Han Xiao, he spoke.

“Black Star, the problem on Pangon’s side has been resolved. The traitor has been killed.”

“Quite efficient.” Han Xiao nodded. “Did you manage to find out the reason?”

“Oh, Kotlin spoke like this…”

Oathkeeper recounted the incident to him.

Hearing this, Han Xiao silently nodded.

“No wonder…”

This was indeed related to him. In his previous life, the Holy Accord had always kept to the shadows, not participating in these political storms. The Revivors had all maintained a neutral stance in the past, but they had all been converted by Han Xiao to join the Beyond Grade A war. Thus, Kotlin’s mentality was altered.

However, this was a rare situation. Basically, the Revivors would not risk leaking any intelligence, as they knew that once the plan of Black Star and the Holy Accord was known, they would be hunted down and might even cost Black Star his life, wasting his ‘precious second life’.

People like Kotlin who were ungrateful and did not care about their lives were few. This binding of class interest and the safety of one’s life was enough to suppress most of them.

In actual fact, Law and Fay had privately suggested in the past that Oathkeeper use the Soul Flame as a way to seal their mouths. While it might not be a strong restraining factor, it could be used to sense when a Revivor was leaking intelligence. However, this suggestion was rejected by Oathkeeper.

Han Xiao also did not agree with this proposal. It would be easy if things could be that simple… The Holy Accord was able to suppress the second batch of Revivors, mainly because they relied on the support of the Primordial Ones in the first batch. Their identities were people who had originally founded the organization, so if this suggestion was carried out, the nature of the Holy Accord would change, and the Revivors would run away.

Han Xiao shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Traitors are hard to avoid; we just have to be more careful.”

“Kotlin was not like this… Sigh, hatred can really change a person completely. The next time we activate a Sanctum, let’s not count him in.”

“That’s only natural.” Han Xiao nodded.

The two of them were the only people who knew the true mechanism of the Sanctum Revival function. After this incident, they had removed Kotlin’s name from the list, and they would no longer consider reviving him in the future.

This b*stard thought that the revival only worked once, so he felt that the Holy Accord and Black Star were of no use to him, deciding to kick them to the curb since they had outlived their usefulness. As such, Han Xiao decided to grant him his wish, so Kotlin’s Sanctum Revival was limited to that once. He would never know what he had missed out on!

At this moment, the built-in secondary dimension coordinate tracker on the mechanical suit pinged.

Han Xiao followed its instructions and jumped through a few more secondary dimensions, after which he broke into the chaotic space stream, moving until he abruptly stopped outside a secondary dimension.

The outer wall of the secondary dimension in front of him was inscribed with countless magic array circuits, which protected the place tightly. This was obviously an artificial transformation, and the coordinates that were given to him also indicated this place.

“… It looks like a dimensional Mage Pagoda at first glance.”

Han Xiao carefully scrutinized his surroundings.

Because he possessed the coordinates provided by Oathkeeper, he had arrived very quickly. The Holy Accord had long deployed countless countermeasures against prying eyes. Once someone tried to snoop on them, they would be tracked. The magic and technology involved in this was akin to how one’s IP address could be tracked.

Han Xiao flew over and placed a hand on the magic protective shield on the outer wall of the secondary dimension, feeling the strong repulsion. This indicated that the strength of the shield was extremely tough.

“A barrier of this level would only be arranged by a Beyond Grade A, and not just a normal Beyond Grade A…”

Han Xiao secretly nodded to himself, his eyes gleaming.

This meant that it was likely secluded experts within the secondary dimension had known of his presence but did not take the initiative to greet him.

Tsk, were they pretending to be tortoises? Thinking it was safe so long as they remained within their turtle shell?

“It seems like I need to utilize some brute force.”

Han Xiao did not plan to use any force, but seeing the other party’s attitude, he could not help but raise his palm, a lump of psionic energy gathering.

At this moment, Han Xiao acutely felt the magic barrier of the secondary dimension fluctuate, opening a gap.

Buzz!

The next moment, a figure flew out of the gap, arriving near him. This person wore a platinum and gold mage robe, with a pointy mage hat, and had a long flowing white beard. His appearance was very similar to a famous violent, dual-wielding battle mage.

A mental message surged into Han Xiao’s mind. “How do you do, guest from afar?”

Looking over, Han Xiao raised his brows as a look of surprise flashed across his face.

This was simply because he recognized the ‘stranger’ that he had met for the first time.

Turns out to be this guy… Isn’t he the Beyond Grade A in seclusion who fought with the World Tree Army in the secondary dimension during the World Tree War in my previous life?

Chapter 1274: Negotiations

‘Mystery Mage’ Joey Terrain, a secluded expert who lived in the secondary dimension world, was a person from the same era as the foul-mouthed ‘Elf King’ Dylan.

There was, however, no such person within the galactic history. He had avoided the universe for a long time without leaving any record. The first time he appeared before the universe in Han Xiao’s previous life was during the World Tree invasion.

The Mage class was similar to the Mechanic class in that they grew stronger the more they accumulated and learned. For most, their age was directly correlated to their strength. Having stayed in the secondary dimension world for so many years, Joey had slowly accumulated his knowledge like how water droplets slowly accumulate in a bucket to the point that he had reached the pinnacle Beyond Grade A realm. However, due to a lack of talent, potential, and other factors involved, his level was likely lower than the pillars of each Universal Civilization. He would barely qualify to rank as a top-tier combatant in the universe. If one did not count the Revivors, however, he would definitely occupy a spot as one of the strongest Beyond Grade As in the world.

Han Xiao had a deep impression of him. During the World Tree invasion, the secondary dimension world was reduced to a battlefield, and all the secret organizations and hermits turned into objects of conquest, being bombed out of their hiding places. Unable to remain secluded, they banded together to resist collectively.

Joey was one of them. It was said that because the secondary dimension had received severe damage, he was forced to bring his base with him, employing guerrilla warfare tactics against the World Tree Armies. He was eventually killed and absorbed by the World Tree.

Various knowledge flashed through his mind. Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, sizing up Joey before casually speaking.

“Joey Terrain… I was wondering who it was, but it turned out to be you.”

Joey was about to introduce himself, but upon hearing his name being called out, he received a huge shock, surprise showing on his face.

“How did you find out my name‽”

He was a little befuddled in his heart. What sort of situation is this? I’ve hidden myself for so many years. No one in the main universe should be aware of my name. How did this guy recognize me?

Han Xiao laughed. “I guessed it. Isn’t it magical?”

Joey choked at his words, suddenly feeling a wave of depression.

He felt that Black Star’s character was a little different from the rumors. Secretly suppressing his depressed feelings, he coughed and said, “Well, whether you guessed it or not, you seem to already know who I am… I’m curious, why has the famous Black Star in the main universe come over to visit my homeland?”

“Oh, so it turns out that you recognize me. I thought you had completely secluded yourself and did not pay any attention to the changes in the main universe.” Han Xiao smacked his lips.

“… I just keep an eye on the news every now and then.” Joey became more suspicious in his heart, having that nagging feeling that Black Star had a deep understanding of him. However, he had never dealt with the other party before, which made him feel weird.

“Is that so?” Han Xiao did not agree nor disagree with him. “However, not long ago, you spied on my friend’s base. It seems like your focus is quite wide, not just about news.”

“So, it turns out that you came here for this matter.”

Joey came to a realization, his inner bells ringing in warning.

He had only just discovered Black Star in the secondary dimension and wondered why he had come over. He initially only wanted to wait in silence and guess his intentions, but the moment he saw Han Xiao raising his hand to break his magic enchantment, Joey could only come out to meet him.

He did not expect that the random object that caught his curiosity would be related to Black Star. Now, the master had come knocking, likely to seek trouble.

Since the other person came all the way here, they must have had some form of evidence. There was no use trying to hide.

Joey’s expression changed.

Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled and said, “As the saying goes, ‘a visitor from afar is a guest’. Are you not going to invite me into your secondary dimension to discuss this?”

Joey nodded when he heard those words. He made a gap in the barrier before gesturing Han Xiao in.

“Of course, please follow me.”

He led the way as Han Xiao flew into the secondary dimension. The world in front of him suddenly transformed, a peaceful world filled with lush nature coming into view. The huge city guarded a white tower that reached up into the clouds.

Passing by from a high altitude, Han Xiao overlooked the scene on the streets as the residents, who were the size of ants, bustled around. The city atmosphere was harmonious and lively.

The duo landed on the top platform of the tower. Joey lightly snapped his fingers, and two sets of high-end tables and chairs as well as a trolley filled with snacks and tea appeared out of thin air.

Han Xiao smiled by the side and muttered to himself, “Magic is really convenient.”

Joey glanced at him, not knowing what to make of his statement, before inviting him to sit. “… Please sit. Try my specialties.”

Both of them sat opposite each other.

Han Xiao took a sip of tea, and a strong fragrance swept across him. The tea was mellow yet rich, with a faint milky fragrance and an endless lingering aftertaste.

“Pretty good.” Han Xiao placed his teacup down before turning to gaze at the city below, smiling as he spoke. “This secondary dimension is not bad at all. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a peaceful place.”

“This is the place where I’ve secluded myself. Everything you see here has been built up by me bit by bit…”

When it came to this topic, Joey’s tone got a little warmer, as though he liked to hear others praise his achievements.

Han Xiao listened for a bit, smiling. “It’s good to live in seclusion here. You won’t feel lonely as well. It seems like you’ve transformed this into a Mage Pagoda as well. Does this place have a name?”

“Yes, it’s called…” Joey suddenly paused for a bit before finishing. “The Kingdom of God”.

Hearing this, Han Xiao secretly smirked.

This old man thinks that I don’t know this place is actually called the Land of Four Gods and did not say its actual name, afraid that I would guess there are three other Beyond Grade As hidden here.

The three of them hid themselves presumably as trump cards, just in case I create trouble. Then they can catch me off guard.

Han Xiao did not immediately expose the other party, instead changing his tone and replying playfully, “However, I saw that many of the residents here are actually the various galactic races in the main universe. You abducted a lot of people from the main universe to accompany you, right?”

Joey remained unmoved, sipping on his tea as he casually replied, “It’s not abduction. The universe is such a dangerous place. I only helped a few of them obtain some stability in their lives. Here, they can enjoy the peace that I created for them without fear. What’s wrong with that?”

“Sounds pretty good to me. This might be the life that many people dream of, but… heh.” Han Xiao only raised his brows but did not finish his sentence.

Dominating the lives of the ordinary was a matter of course for many of the Beyond Grade As. Regardless of whether the masses were willing to accept the arranged life or not, they had no choice either way. This mentality had long been ingrained among the Supers and could not be separated from power and authority.

Han Xiao did not have much to say about it but instead shook his head secretly in disapproval of Joey’s practice.

The Land of Four Gods seemed to be an independent paradise, but Han Xiao knew that under the iron hooves of the World Tree, this fragile peace could not even withstand a single blow from them and would forever be on the run. It was not so easy to remain detached from all worldly affairs.

Han Xiao rapped on the table as he leaned forward, getting into the main topic. “Alright, I’ve already drank your tea, so let’s talk business. The target that you used your spying magic not long before was actually my friend. I would like to have an answer for that.”

“What do you intend to do?” Joey inwardly tensed up.

Han Xiao waved his hands in dismissal. “There’s nothing about it. I just want to know your motive and objective, as well as how you did it.”

“You came in such a hurry. Could it be that the object of my spying is that important to you?” Joey frowned, secretly wondering why Black Star would make such a big move.

Han Xiao blinked as he sized up Joey’s expression before laughing.

From these words, he probably understood the details behind Joey. The old man likely did not know the full story behind the Holy Accord, but it was unknown how he managed to find the base of the Holy Accord to spy on. He probably did not have a strong motivation.

Because this guy had secluded himself for too long, he had become easy to read.

“Do you think I have a lot of free time?” Han Xiao turned the question back.

Joey seemed taken aback by this question, “No, with your position and authority, I suppose you must be very busy.”

“Then since I’m personally here, do you still need to ask about my attitude toward this?” Han Xiao shook his head, his smile vanishing. “Answer me, I don’t wish to repeat myself.”

Joey’s expression twitched. He was shocked by Han Xiao’s brief release of his strength and felt a little unhappy.

It was just that as someone who had hidden himself away, his personality was more pliable, so he suppressed the unhappiness in his heart, replying truthfully.

Han Xiao observed his expression, tone, even actions as he listened to his explanation.

According to Joey, this was a coincidence. He said that he did not know the details of this organization, and the reason for spying was because he discovered the Holy Accord capturing many Primal Esper Entities through his ‘messenger’, making him curious. He thus marked the very ‘concept’ of the Holy Accord, such that if there ever came a day where their fate string changed or became entangled with his, then he could observe them. This was a spell he had created during his seclusion.

Not too long ago, he had suddenly had a faint hunch, so he had followed his intuition to observe the situation of this mysterious organization. However, the ‘messenger’ he sent out was blocked, and he saw nothing.

“You said it was a coincidence?” Han Xiao could not prove otherwise.

Although this sounded unreliable, he could not dismiss it as a lie. The secondary dimension was bizarre, with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. The Holy Accord had organized their secret activities for so many years; it was natural that a slight trace of their activities would be discovered. It was not strange for them to be seen by the experts by accident, but not everyone would be able to find out the details of the organization.

The high-level Mages usually had their own set of secret skills. After spending so many years in seclusion, Joey had also developed his own unique set of spells. According to the intelligence from his previous life, his research mainly concerned the environment in which he was located. His spells were extremely suitable for combat in the secondary dimension. On the contrary, it was unsuitable for combat in the main universe, where his strength would fluctuate.

Han Xiao believed around sixty to seventy percent of what he had said. Not only was he observing the actions of the other party, but he was also basing it on his behavior in his past life. This person was not a guy who liked to snoop around, nor did he work for other organizations. He seemed reliable.

It was precisely because of this that while Han Xiao did not know how much Joey had learned about the Holy Accord, he still stated outright that he was connected to the Holy Accord. This was because the moment he recognized Joey, he changed his initial strategy, planning to pull this man aboard.

Furthermore, Joey also recognized him quickly and was even being compliant. Han Xiao could roughly guess that the other side also wished to side with him in order to enjoy the Sanctum Revival.

All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, and since Joey had finished speaking, Han Xiao took the chance to sip on his tea before smiling lightly as he spoke.

“Ok, I’m now clear about this matter. It seems like it was just a coincidence.”

“It’s good that you’re willing to believe in me…”

Joey breathed out a sigh of relief. The reason he tried his best to comply was because he wished to resolve the misunderstanding, not wishing to clash with Black Star.

At this time, Han Xiao’s words took a change, and he meaningfully said, “However, this isn’t my true objective of coming today. Let’s talk about something else… You should be interested in the Sanctum Revivals, right?”

Joey was a little surprised. He did not expect Han Xiao to actually change to this topic. After a brief moment of hesitation, he nodded.

“That’s right. I am very interested.”

Han Xiao laughed. “If you wish for it, I can also include you.”

Joey was dumbstruck.

He originally intended to look for a chance to contact Han Xiao in the future and try to obtain an opportunity to have a Sanctum Revival, but he did not expect it to be so effortless, which made him feel a little lost.

This is the first time we’ve met, but you’re already giving me a chance to revive? Has Black Star always been so generous?

Seeing Joey’s expression, Han Xiao immediately knew what he was thinking. He helplessly sighed before saying, “Of course, this chance does not come for free. Right now, the relationship between the association and the three Universal Civilizations is pretty strained, with conflict ready to erupt at any time. I need to enhance the strength of the association, so as long as you join the association and stand on our side, you will have your share in the Sanctum Revival.”

Hearing this, Joey hesitated before whispering, “But I have long decided to live in seclusion. Matters of the main universe are not something I wish to interfere in… Can I join in name after the association has reconciled with the three Universal Civilizations?”

“You don’t wish to invest anything, but you expect returns. Don’t you think this sort of dream is too good to be true?” Han Xiao rolled his eyes as he replied.

For him to even say such nonsensical words, this person really had been in seclusion for too long.

Joey was a little troubled. “Can you change the terms?”

Han Xiao raised his brows in reply. “I don’t think you are in any position to bargain. Besides, what do you have that I actually need?”

Joey was speechless.

Han Xiao suddenly stood up and patted his clothes.

“Your hesitation mainly stems from the fact that you do not trust me, so you think that my chances of failure are high. I believe we need to spar for you to understand. How is it? Shall we exchange a few moves?”

“This seems a little too rushed…” Joey had an expression of surprise, but he did not refuse. “That’s good as well. I’m curious about your endurance. Let’s have a spar outside here.”

Black Star had an outstanding reputation, and since Joey had secluded himself for so many years, he also wished to see where he stood against Han Xiao. Making friends through battles had always been standard procedure for the Beyond Grade As.

However, Han Xiao shook his head.

“You’re mistaken. I wasn’t asking for spar with you one-on-one but with all of you.”

As he spoke, he turned away, speaking in another direction.

“The three of you, I believe you have eavesdropped enough. Please come out.”

As his voice sounded, three figures appeared a few seconds later. As they landed on the tower, they shared helpless glances.

These were the other three Beyond Grade As of the Land of Four Gods. They thought that Black Star did not discover them, but it turned out that he had known about it a long time ago.

Thinking of this, the trio could not help but feel embarrassed. Hearing how Black Star wished to take four of them at once, they got even unhappier.

“Are you sure you wish to go against all four of us?” Joey frowned, feeling that he was being underestimated.

“That’s right, otherwise I believe it will end too soon. There’ll be no excitement.”

Han Xiao chuckled softly.

He had already prepared himself to fight against all four together. Whoever had the strongest fist would have the most rights, so only when these four were convinced could he then facilitate the negotiations.

“You’re too arrogant.”

Joey’s tone was cold. He might have had a good temper, but he was also somewhat prideful. Being looked down on, his anger also soared.

Seeing their unsatisfied expressions, Han Xiao also wiped his smile off his face, his eyes transmitting electric arcs. His aura gradually rose, and golden Mechanical Force crackled around his body.

A voice laden with energy blasted out from his mouth.

“It is you guys who’ve stayed hidden for too long. You’ve already regressed. I don’t mind helping you clearly identify whose era it is now!”

Chapter 1275: Im the True Mechanic Emperor

There was an endless expanse of white, without any matter present. It just resembled a white, blank space.

Suddenly, a blue vortex appeared out of thin air. Han Xiao and the rest flew out of this portal.

Joey sent out a spiritual message. “This is a prototype of a secondary dimension that I’ve created. Generally, we all spar with each other here to improve ourselves. You have no problem with this, right, Black Star?”

“Sure.”

Han Xiao surveyed his surroundings before nodding in assent.

After reaching a consensus to spar, they decided to change the location due to the fear of destroying their own base. Joey opened a portal, leading everyone to his usual training site.

Advanced mages could utilize magic such as fantasy realization to artificially create secondary dimensions. This white world was merely an imperfect prototype, very simple to manufacture.

“While you might wish to fight against all four of us, we will not take advantage of you. At most, all of us will go one after another until one side admits defeat.”

Joey snorted as he dropped this sentence. He then rapidly withdrew, his comrades each flying to a corner.

Han Xiao merely smiled without talking, opening up his interface for a glance.

As expected, a notification popped up, telling him that a special mission had been activated. The format was similar to that of the Beyond Grade A Mission Requirements, which was to last for a certain amount of time in battle. The rewards were divided into different levels, with the highest rating allowing him to randomly draw an ability from any of the four, as well as to gain a talent named [Secondary Dimension Adaptor].

This talent would allow him to obtain bonuses based on the environment when fighting in the secondary dimensions, increasing his combat power slightly. It was just a general-purpose talent, but it was better than nothing.

“Heh, would be nice if I could receive such a surprise every time.”

Han Xiao smirked.

At this moment, Joey, who had opened up a good distance, finally stopped. He made a few hand seals, levitating before a series of magic circles, which turned into light gates. Countless monsters then surged out, with all sorts of varieties present within the various secondary dimensions.

“You want to compete with me in the Army Style?”

Han Xiao nodded.

The opponent had definitely heard of his reputation, so he would not allow him to close in easily. Thus, they wanted to use the Human Wave Tactic to go against his own Human Wave Tactic.

Joey was not a specialized Summoner, but having lived in the secondary dimension for such a long time, it was unknown how many strange secondary dimension creatures he had already seen, let alone the contracts he had signed. He could summon quite a lot of them, and most of them were very powerful.

Han Xiao guessed the other’s thoughts at a glance. He wished to use his solid foundation to fight against him, since he assumed that Han Xiao was lacking in accumulation, having only entered the Beyond Grade A realm relatively recently.

“Fine, I’ll play with you.”

Han Xiao did not mind. He pulled up his secondary dimension barracks, and the endless mechanical army poured out. Compared to the scattered formations of Joey’s monsters, the mechanical army queued up neatly, forming different formations. There was a unique sense of beauty within.

At the same time, he summoned his Divine Mechanical Throne, floating high up in the central area guarded by the machinery, like the commander of an army.

The mechanical army and the summoned monsters grew in volume, the battle line stretching out endlessly to form a confrontation.

While the array of summoned monsters frequently roared and screamed, the mechanical army was on the extreme end, totally silent.

Seeing that both sides had already deployed their troops, Han Xiao waved his hand as he commanded, “Do it.”

As soon as he spoke, the mechanical army moved as one.

The heavy machinery vanguards at the forefront immediately raised their shields, advancing neatly forward. As for the long ranged mechanical units at the back, they discharged all their firepower at once. The dense number of psionic energy beams seemed to combine into a curtain of light, directly targeting the summoned monsters. Han Xiao watched as the ranged regiment directly decimated the enemy’s lineup, spraying huge pieces of monster carcasses everywhere. In addition, the elite vanguard troops were engaging in three-dimensional combat, acting as independent guerrillas as they sought for opportunities to attack the weakness in the enemy’s formation.

At the same time, large swathes of golden lightning chains were emitted from the Divine Mechanical Throne, instantly connecting the various mechanical units, forming a spider web-like shape. The large number of mechanical soldiers dyed with the golden lightning received the buffs of the Mechanical Force, their performance increasing sharply by the naked eyes, as though they had entered a state of excitement.

Joey was unwilling to show weakness. With a wave of his hand, beams of magical lights spilled onto the summoned creatures, which also brought about a state akin to a blessing. The summoned creatures behaved like a flash flood, rushing toward the mechanical army!

While there existed a variety of summons, their formations were not scattered with the blessing from Joey’s spells. The different types of summoned creatures formed a formation with complementary abilities and tactical coordination, instead of rushing out as a swarm.

The two waves approached each other quickly, before slamming viciously at each other, akin to a comet smashing against Earth!

Boom!

Chaos broke out in an instant, and the scene blazed up. The teeth of both troops were intertwined with each other, as machinery collided with flesh and blood. They fought tragically, killing each other repeatedly!

However, the moment they collided, the mechanical army gained the upper hand, constantly squeezing the monsters back under their advancement.

“What a powerful mechanical army!”

Joey gulped in shock before hurriedly casting a temporary buff spell to stabilize his frontline troops. He also cast a recovery spell to heal their injuries.

It was a pity that all his efforts came to naught.

The Han Xiao right now was terribly strong, with his additions of God’s Trait Transformations, Machinery Faith, Proof of Leadership, and Mechanical Divinity. This gave him overwhelming Mechanical Force strength, which even the Mechanic Emperor could hardly match.

Moreover, his decades of research into Jayz’s technological treasures had allowed his Mechanical army to be updated and strengthened many times over. Not only were there many new models of combat machinery, all the machines had their performance raised by several tiers.

Han Xiao’s current combat power was probably at the very forefront of the universe. There was no need for him to burst his potential, and he could crush almost anyone in an upright manner.

As for Joey’s summoned creatures, they were in no way a match for Han Xiao’s mechanical army!

The battlefield quickly turned into a one-sided advantage, where the machinery attacked and retreated as they wished. Their formation remained tight knit as they travelled back and forth, constantly shattering the formations of the summoned monsters, slowly whittling them.

At the rear, Han Xiao remained firmly seated on his Divine Mechanical Throne, adjusting the type of Mechanical Force buffs. He had too much machinery now, and his Mechanical Force was not enough to cover all his troops, so he had to constantly adjust the focus of his buffs manually, using it as a means to control the overall situation and the battlefield.

At the same time, Han Xiao also opened a specific battle formation buff, which was a commanding skill commonly used by the Army Style. There were various combat methods, formations, and tactics existing in the form of different talents and skills, and this was a special command-type skill that provided an overall boost for the army. It would boost all attributes by at most ten percent, which was akin to adding wings to a tiger.

Very quickly, the summoned monster army experienced serious casualties, and Joey felt his heart ache. He raised his hand, drawing mana from the Mage Pagoda floating in the air, before slapping his palm against a portion of the machinery.

Buzz!

A huge golden magic circle akin like a lotus flower spread out, and the area in the mechanical army’s location suddenly collapsed. The chaotic space streams raged, but it was only restricted to this circular area.

The mechanical soldiers in the area seemed to have been erased by an eraser, disappearing into thin air in an instant. The soldiers that subsequently entered this area also disappeared into thin air.

Gazing over, Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed.

“Instant exile spells are actually being used to serve as traps. This is interesting…”

The disappeared machines were not destroyed but rather exiled by Joey’s spells into the chaotic space stream of the secondary dimension world. All of them were split up, so there was no knowing where they would end up. This effect was similar to the Dimensional Exile Bullet that the Holy Accord had, but its effect was better.

This was one of the reasons Joey was so suited to fighting in the secondary dimensions. He had a lot of self-made spells that could only take effect in this place and could not be used in the main universe.

Joey stretched out a few more palms, exiling a few more areas of machinery. At this moment, his senses suddenly rang in warning, and he did not hesitate to activate a short-range teleportation spell, leaving his spot.

Swoosh!

The next moment, a highly concentrated ray blasted over, penetrating the layers of magical barriers he had set up to hit his afterimage.

Flashing to the side, Joey turned to look at the origin of the beam. He discovered that Han Xiao had unknowingly donned a mechanical suit that was dyed black in color. He raised his fingers to point over at him, the fingertips of the mechanical suit still flashing with light.

“You really dodged it fast. I still thought of trying out the actual combat capabilities of this anti-Mage gamma splitting ray.”

Han Xiao’s tone was a little regretful.

The style of a normal mechanic was to prepare countermeasures against any sort of enemy. In the past few years, Han Xiao had developed a lot of new weapons against the five major classes, changing out his entire equipment set.

This anti-Mage gamma splitting ray was based on a highly concentrated gamma ray cluster imitating a gamma ray burst, supplemented by magic suppression energy through the reverse transformation of Psionic energy. It was hypothesized that when hitting those of the Mage classes, it would then impose a ‘magic activity inhibition’ state for several hours, greatly weakening the opponent’s spells and magics.

Han Xiao shook his head before standing up from his throne and disappearing.

Joey’s heart sounded with warning bells, and he immediately sent out a backhand filled with magical power behind him, barely blocking the fist of Han Xiao which jumped out from his Void Hyperdrive.

Boom!

As the hand and fist connected, a shockwave of blue and purple suddenly burst out!

Joey was about to borrow the force to increase the distance between them but discovered to his dismay that his palm was glued to Han Xiao’s fist. He saw that Han Xiao’s mechanical suit suddenly lit up with fluorescent blue phantom energy patterns, which pulsed like it was breathing.

Joey’s expression changed drastically at this moment, as he found out that the mana in his body was to flow into his opponent outside of his will, through their connected hands.

The Psionic energy agglomeration decay module was invented by Han Xiao. By stimulating the process of production and transformation of psionic energy, he was able to create an energy that could engulf all other energies. As long as the judgement requirements were met, it could assimilate and absorb the opponent’s energy, turning it into fuel for his energy furnace.

To put it simply, this was akin to the Star Absorbing Great Art!

Joey immediately made a decision, activating an enchantment and producing spatial turbulence, swallowing himself in it and getting rid of his controlled state as he disappeared without a trace.

“Oh, he really has many ways to escape.”

Han Xiao’s brows furrowed, and he turned his head to survey his surroundings. He saw a blast of chaotic space stream surge out from the extreme end of the battlefield, spitting Joey out. The chaotic space stream that seemed uncontrollable had actually been transformed into his own vehicle.

“Close shave… I lost around five percent of my total mana in just that brief contact.” Joey was secretly surprised when he looked into his own status.

This time, the blue lines on Han Xiao’s mechanical suit dimmed as he shook his head with a smile.

“It’s better for all of you to come at me at once. You alone won’t give me any pressure.”

Hearing this, Joey’s expression sank. The other three by the side did not have good expressions either.

In just that short exchange, Joey had personally experienced Han Xiao’s strength. He felt that he had no shortcomings, like an impassable mountain. He could not think of any way to defeat Black Star with just his own abilities.

Since Joey was the strongest out of the four of them, the other three of his comrades were secretly shocked to see his embarrassing performance. Even without going against Black Star, they knew that they would get the same result, or worse.

There was no point sending themselves up for the slaughter one by one!

Cognizant of this, the other three started to be tempted by Han Xiao’s suggestion.

Originally, they did not do so because they had to maintain their dignity as Beyond Grade As, but now that they would just be beaten up if they went one by one, it would be better to besiege Black Star and avoid making a fool of themselves.

As for their round robin arrangement at the start… that was what Joey said; it had nothing to do with the thoughts of the other three.

One of them coughed a little before solemnly saying, “Since you so strongly demand it, we cannot refuse your invitation. Let’s spar together then!”

Glancing at him, Han Xiao secretly gave a thumbs up.

What a shameless sentence, this has my style all over it. Thumbs up to you!

The three of them no longer watched by the side, joining the battle one after another to showcase their magic.

Seeing this, Joey blushed as he recalled his thoughts before fighting.

However, he knew in his heart that just relying on himself would be a lost cause, so he chose not to reject his comrades’ help. He would rather pretend and not say anything, cooperating with them in battle.

The five fought fiercely, clashing and tumbling around, causing the wall of the secondary dimension to tremble constantly. This dimension was not made to withstand the aftermath of their battle and soon became full of holes.

…

This battle lasted for several hours, and they had already cycled through three battlefields, with the fourth secondary dimension they were fighting in on the verge of breaking apart.

There was a huge floating island here, and at this moment, the entire island was stained red with blood, with broken corpses lying everywhere.

On the uneven ground, Joey was leaning on his staff, panting heavily and covered with cuts and bruises.

With horror in his eyes, he tremblingly raised his hand to signal to Han Xiao, hurriedly saying, “I, no, we have lost. Don’t come over anymore!”

Not far off, Han Xiao stopped moving, his voice laced with regret. “Just like this? I still have quite a few devices I haven’t tested out…”

It had taken him a long time to find such good opponents to spar, so he did not wish to make this battle a quick one. He took out all the equipment he had made in the past few decades to test out, torturing Joey and the others to the point he almost left them with psychological trauma.

This time, because he mainly focused on testing out his equipment, Han Xiao was not too serious in fighting and did not activate any of his aces. Even so, Joey and his gang could not cause him any trouble. The situation was always under his control, a one-sided victory.

He had a slightly clearer understanding of his own strength… If anyone were to fight head-on with him, without a dozen Beyond Grade As with an Energy Rank at 70,000 or above clashing with him, there would basically be no danger to him!

Han Xiao sighed in relief.

“This is not even counted as my warmup. I’ve given you guys a chance, but you did not use it well.”

Hearing this, the four of them were speechless.

If these words were spoken before the fight, they would have been unhappy, but now, they recognized the strength gap between the two sides. Knowing that Black Star could deal with all of them himself, the arrogance in their hearts dissipated.

The Beyond Grade As were realistic. If they could not beat someone, there was nothing they could do but endure it.

However, while Joey and the rest were being tortured by Han Xiao, they also saw the accumulation that Han Xiao showed. They finally understood why Black Star dared to fight against the three Universal Civilizations.

Black Star’s mechanical army was simply incredible, his accumulations too terrifying. His mechanical army was practically endless!

The title of ‘Mechanic Emperor’ obviously belongs to you instead!

Chapter 1276: Achieving Nirvana

“Right now, you guys should be assured of my strength, right?”

Han Xiao snapped his fingers, and the mechanical suit folded and contracted, merging into his body.

Joey took a breath, suppressing his frustration of being beaten up, before seriously speaking.

“… You’re indeed the strongest Beyond Grade A I’ve ever seen, but what you need to do is far from what can be achieved with an individual’s power. It may be okay for you to protect yourself, but others don’t have your ability. It’s too difficult to unite the entire Beyond Grade A class and become a force on par with the three Universal Civilizations!”

“At the core, you’re just unwilling to even bear the slightest risk.” Han Xiao pursed his lips.

Joey spoke in a low voice. “I witnessed the entire Tragedy of the Pinnacles. The three Universal Civilizations are not doing anything now not because they’re really afraid of you. Don’t be fooled by the current stalemate. The current strength of the Beyond Grade A Association is not enough to compete against the three Universal Civilizations on the same level, and they’re just looking for low-cost solutions to their problems. If they do not care about the consequences, the three Universal Civilizations truly have the power to destroy the current explored universe, turning it into a barren land.”

Han Xiao lightly shook his head. “Spare me your alarmist talk. Unless the three Universal Civilizations go crazy, this sort of situation will never occur. Thus, your assumption is meaningless. Who would ask to be euthanized after getting a slight cold or flu? The most suitable option for us right now is to fight for peace.”

“The three Universal Civilizations allow Beyond Grade As to exist, but they do not want us to unite…” Joey hesitated before tentatively saying, “Since you’ve mastered this precious Sanctum Revival technique, why do you have to use it to carry out such a dangerous business? With your strength, you can be completely independent, treating the Sanctum Revival as a form of business. You can cooperate with the three Universal Civilizations and the various Beyond Grade As. In any case, the Sanctum Revival is only limited to one time, so everyone can be satisfied!”

Han Xiao stared at him for a while before speaking calmly. “Everyone has their own goals and ambitions.”

He did not think it surprising that Joey would have this mentality. Most of the hermits preferred to be alone, but they still wished to enjoy the benefits of the Sanctum Revival, without the risk of any danger.

“Is there really no way around this?” Joey appeared a little disappointed. After hiding for so many years, he did not wish to expose himself to the eyes of the advanced civilizations.

Han Xiao waved his hands without answering. His intention was obvious.

Joey paused for a while but did not give up, trying to persuade Han Xiao further.

“Black Star, if the three Universal Civilizations really manage to obtain the Sanctum Revival technology, then that will be the day they take action. The three Universal Civilizations will definitely try to monopolize this technology and will attempt to neutralize this advantage of the association. The three Universal Civilizations just have to get rid of you and then revive you before anyone else does in order to not be challenged any more… I feel that you should stop walking down this path.”

Han Xiao frowned and spoke in a slightly offended tone.

“Do I need you to remind me of such things? You might think that it would be safer to join the three Universal Civilizations after they have mastered the technology, but think about it. The three Universal Civilizations’ target of revival will not be as loose as ours. They will not think much of Beyond Grade As after gaining this huge weapon, so Beyond Grade As will only become a tool for them to unify, and if they are unwilling to become tools, then they will not be able to enjoy the benefit that is the Sanctum Revival.

“Why else do you think the association is resisting? Only when we exist can the Beyond Grade As still achieve the maximum freedom. If you don’t choose to bet and contribute your strength now, how long will you wait? To have to constantly look forward and backward, afraid of this and that, don’t be naïve. There’s no surefire method to win. If you have a need for the Sanctum Revival, then you have to give something up. If you’re not interested, then stop wasting my time and continue your own escape from reality. Obediently stay out of the way until the end of your life.”

Joey’s expression was twisted, his emotions tangled, as he dully replied, “I did not mean that. Could you give us some time to consider instead…”

Hearing this, Han Xiao no longer made any noise but took out a few secure communicators, throwing them toward the four. “This can allow you to connect to me directly. If you make up your mind, inform me. Right now, the situation is still stable, so you have a lot of time to consider. I hope to get a satisfactory answer. If you only choose to continuously shy away from the changes of the times, in the end, you can only passively accept the final results. If you don’t fight and pay for yourself, who else can you count on?”

Finished, Han Xiao waved his hand, recovering his army into the secondary dimensional army box before disappearing in place with a single teleport. He had no intention of returning to the Land of Four Gods as a guest.

Seeing this, Joey and his party could not help but stare at each other. After a long while, one of them said, “Is Black Star fed up with us?”

“Seems that way… Joey, you seem to have annoyed him.”

“He wouldn’t be offended, right?”

The four of them were concerned about their gains and losses.

Their feelings were very complicated. On one hand, they wished to avoid all risks, tagging behind Black Star to ask until they were confident that it was completely safe, but they were also worried that this sort of questioning would make him unhappy.

This was especially so since they had just seen the opponent’s combat power. They subconsciously shrank back at the mere thought.

Joey gripped the communicator and helplessly said, “Black Star is right. My request might be too much… Let’s discuss it ourselves first. We shall not disturb him.”

…

His vision blurred, and Han Xiao was teleported back to his office in Black Star Palace. He took off his mechanical suit, sighing.

“My trip was worthwhile… I just don’t know if they will agree.”

Stroking his chin, Han Xiao felt curious.

He had a lot of experience in interacting with Beyond Grade As. With such people who had no ambition or motivation, rather than settling things amicably, it was better to show off his strength and influence.

These people had stayed away from the world for too long a period and had no ambition. They were soft tempered, and trying to persuade them with nice ways would take double the work to achieve half the effort. On the contrary, a person with strong authority would instill a psychological tendency to make up their minds and settle on a decision in them.

He knew Joey well, that this person was the type that would only regret when things were too late. He was an indecisive person, so it would be basically impossible to convince the other party to join the association on the spot. Even if the discussion went well, the other party would hesitate and ask many questions. Instead, it would be better for him to develop a tough attitude, rule over their tendencies and let them worry about their own personal gains and losses themselves.

After all, the association was full of talents, and there was no urgent need for the four of them to join. He was not begging them; it was rather the other way around.

Han Xiao himself did not fancy the strength of the four but their identities.

“If they are willing to join, then this will indirectly send a signal to all the recluses in the secondary dimensions. Perhaps they will lead us to find more secluded hermits, increasing the momentum of the association.”

In his opinion, succeeding in this was a good thing, but it would not be much of a pity if he failed.

Han Xiao didn’t take this matter to heart, turning his head and opening his interface to turn in his mission.

_____________________

You have received 65 billion experience.

You have received the talent ‘Secondary Dimension Adaptor’!

Secondary Dimension Adaptor: When battling in the secondary dimension world, you will gain bonuses of 3 – 6% in Attack, Resistance, Ability Strengthening, and all Attributes. This effect also applies to mechanical soldiers, summons, and subsidiaries.

_____________________

“The effect is not bad. Three percent is better than nothing.”

Han Xiao nodded, just focusing on the lower limit of the stat boost.

A prompt also appeared, asking him to select a subject to extract an ability from.

Recalling his combat information, of the four of them, there were two Mages, a Psychic, and a Pugilist. Their Molding Talents likely fitted with their own Classes, so it was impossible to obtain. He simply chose Joey as his target to obtain an Intellect talent.

_____________________

You have received the reward: Randomly draw an ability from Joey Terrain (Talent/Ability).

Remark: Joey Terrain is a Mage, not suitable for your Class, so the extracted skills will be appropriately adjusted.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one from the five options below as the reward.

1. Melee Mastery – Talent: +1 Melee skills Level, +25% Melee attack power, +25% Melee attack frequency, +20% Melee parry rate. (As a qualified combat mage, it is reasonable to be good at melee)

2. Aura Wave—General Version – Ability: The commonly seen Super skill, by compressing one’s energy in the body then releasing it as a shock wave. The lethality is low, but it will give various negative statuses depending on one’s Energy Attribute. If one’s Class is a Pugilist, it will automatically be replaced by the Pugilist’s Shockwave Blast skill. Cooldown: 24s. Consumes 120 Energy.

3. Multiple Staff Strikes – Ability: When using a stick-based weapon (such as a Staff), you are able to unleash a continuous attack in an instant, gaining an extra 6 – 12% attack power bonus. The number of attacks depends on your DEX attribute, with a maximum of 12 times. Cooldown: 44s. Consumes 80 Energy and 270 Stamina.

4. Crisis Intuition – Talent: When you’re about to be attacked, you will receive a strong alert.

5. The Ancient Ones – Talent: A long life brings about precious spiritual wealth. +20% INT, +10% MYS, +2 all skill Levels.

_____________________

“This…”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He did not know what to choose.

[The Ancient Ones], why is it always you?

This talent keeps popping out. Just how much does it love me?

Do you really want me to become an ‘ancient one’‽

Han Xiao glanced at the other options but only felt that they were too offensive. He almost wanted to curse out at the fact that a mage could possess the talent [Melee Mastery], totally not respecting the fact that they were a paper Class!

The five options were a jumbled mess, and there was no need to hesitate in his choice.

_____________________

You have chosen the talent [The Ancient Ones]!

_____________________

A wave of coolness spread through his mind, and Han Xiao felt revitalized. He could feel that his thought processes had become a lot quicker, as though he had been through a comfortable massage.

Compared to the four hermits, this talent was his biggest gain in this trip. Finally, he managed to obtain a positive fate with [The Ancient Ones] talent, which he had missed out on many times.

This time, he no longer needed the Old Man Manison’s Character Summon Card to reach the power of his explosive state.

Moreover, the Character Summon Card would still be useful. This would be similar to having double Perfect Mechanical Sense, having multiple The Ancient Ones stacked…

“Yo, I’ve gained quite a bit.”

Han Xiao had an expression of happiness as he switched off his interface and sent a message to Oathkeeper, telling him the problem was solved.

Kotlin and Joey both gave him a slight surprise, but there was no danger in the end. Everything was handled smoothly without anything being revealed.

However, this also caused him to have a sense of urgency.

“The longer I wait, the easier it is for such accidents to happen. I need to speed up the efficiency of harvesting experience…”

Han Xiao took a look at the movements of the army players before opening the book titled ‘Cultivation of Leeks’…

“Right now, the scale of players is too big. There are no big movements in the army, and the daily missions are also limited. It will not be easy for players to gain experience… It seems that the best method would be to scatter some ‘fertilizer’ to create more jobs for the players, accelerating their acquisition of experience. At the same time, I probably have to improve the internal welfare system of the army to better harvest their labor output…”

Chapter 1277: Continuous Benefits, Leek Harvesting Skill

In a certain part of the Flickering World, a spaceship with the Black Star Army emblem was slowly moving.

In the cabin, a group of players were busy with their own affairs. Some were playing cards, some browsing the forums, others browsing the army shop. The IDs above their heads showcased that they were all from the Rivervale Guild. Frenzied Sword and Maple Moon were among them. This spaceship held the core members of the guild as they were going toward a mission location.

At this moment, in a corner of the spaceship, Frenzied Sword was lecturing the team members.

“After coming online, we have not been training diligently. We’ve yet to get back to our peak state. While we’re currently travelling, we should not waste time and engage in entertainment before we arrive at our destination. Let’s all go through a dungeon copy and practice our tactical coordination.”

As he spoke, Frenzied Sword pulled out a few Nightmare-level Dungeon Crystals from his inventory.

Seeing this, everyone could not help but sigh.

“Captain, how long has it been since the previous Pro League? We have yet to get a good rest, and you already want us to start practicing like that now? It’s still early before the next league!” Maple Moon complained.

Frenzied Sword patiently explained, “With King Admiral from Dynasty and Sleepy Winter from Long Sky retiring, their teams will have new players and thus need to break in the coordination. Their strength will likely weaken, so our competitiveness will be even more obvious. This is a great chance for us to win the championship once again. We’ll need to work harder.”

“… I feel like you’re becoming like Hao Tian, only knowing how to grill us daily.” Maple Moon pursed her lips.

By the side, Bun-Hit-Dog snickered. “After all, he is the captain. Rivervale has lived up to its expectations to achieve good results, and credit is inseparable from his own serious responsibility. I still remember that in the first Pro League, Rivervale was a disgrace, but luckily, the superiors of Rivervale put Frenzied Sword as the cornerstone, allowing him to reform the team. Facts have proved that your club invested in the right people, with Rivervale now having the reputation of a top-five club in China.”

Frenzied Sword felt comfortable hearing himself get praised. He raised his thumb up. “Nice words. I’ll agree to an exclusive interview.”

“Alright, I have some goods now. This trip was not waste.” Bun-Hit-Dog laughed.

This group was still joking around when the President of Rivervale club, ‘Moon of Thousand Rivers’, walked in, approaching Frenzied Sword.

“Frenzied Sword, another NPC organization contacted me. They wish to poach us from the army.”

“Again? Who is it this time?” Frenzied Sword was curious.

“It’s people from the Federation of Light.” Moon of Thousand Rivers was a little helpless.

Recently, they had received many such private solicitations. There were all kinds of organizations involved and they all were offering generous conditions, with the hope that their club would pull out their roots and leave the army. It was not just Rivervale; all the affiliated guilds to the Black Star Army were experiencing such things.

“The Federation of Light wants to rope us in? Since when did our ranking become so huge…” Federation of Light murmured. “Don’t worry about it, we’re not planning to switch factions anyways.”

He was a hardcore supporter of the army, so even if the three Universal Civilizations wished to poach him, he was not interested in jumping ships. As far as he knew, most of the guilds in the army shared the same attitude, not liking such poaching tactics.

“Recently, all the major galactic organizations have been trying to poach players from the army. This intensity is greater than in previous versions. During this period, I’ve analyzed the current situation, and it is estimated that the war between the galactic civilizations and the association is inevitable. Thus, we ‘Immortals’ are the most suitable to be used for attacking, becoming the sweet pastry that all sides want to fight for. Otherwise, why would organizations on the level of the three Universal Civilizations specially send people to win us over?” Maple Moon thoughtfully said. While she had become a professional player, she still retained the same interest in analyzing the storyline.

At this moment, everyone’s communicators rang with the notification tone reserved for the army’s internal message.

“What’s this new announcement from the army?”

Taking out their communicators, Frenzied Sword and the rest opened the intranet. An internal document titled ‘Recent System Reform of the Army’ came into their sights.

Everyone quickly browsed through it, and their expressions changed to joy.

According to the announcement, the army had expanded the type of available positions for the Immortals, opening up more middle-tier positions and long-term official positions such as in logistics, instructors, captains, intelligence officers, and more.

To put it simply, they just opened up more channels for the players to be promoted. Originally, the players were only assigned mercenary and combatant roles, but now they could become part of the middle-tier officers in various departments, gaining power and leading a group of subordinates or commanding a group as their player identities. This appealed toward the players that loved to role play.

At the same time, such a position also represented formally entering the organization, which allowed them to receive a fixed salary from the army. This was also in line with the preferences of the Chinese players.

The requirements for promotion were to have a sufficiently high level of Faction Authority, which depended on one’s accumulation Contribution Points, as well as a purchase of a digital qualification certification named ‘Army Officer Registration Application Form’. The purchase required only a few Enas and experience points, and they would then await the review of the various personnel in each department.

In addition, the army also released at the request of their members a new insurance service, named ‘Army’s Specialized Protection Scheme’. This gave them faction store discounts, free medical treatments, equipment repairs, enhancements, and free logistical services. Depending on their protection level, they could obtain various welfare guarantees such as loan qualifications, lower interest rates, lower renting costs, and so on.

Those members with a higher authority would be able to purchase more advance protections, but this was not a one-time cost. They required the player to renew it at regular intervals. However, the benefit of discounts was enough to stimulate the players to purchase this Specialized Protection. Not to mention the special services, one just had to look at it to know that they would make a killing!

This was especially so for the price of Dungeon Crystals, which had been reduced the most. They were currently the main source of experience for the players. It was akin to an inexhaustible vein of ‘experience ore mineral’, and the players were akin to the miners.

Adding on to this, the army also stated that they would increase the range of missions that Immortals could accept, as well as setting up special missions with rich rewards. The players would need to spend experience points and a certain amount of money as a ‘mission deposit’. The money would be returned upon completion but not the experience.

However, players would not care about this paltry amount of experience when they were being given missions. With the huge size of the army, the daily amount of disposable experience earned would be astronomical. With his experience quota being allocated to players through quests, Han Xiao then harvested that experience from the players, maintaining this positive cycle.

Han Xiao also put in the announcement that the Evolution Cube was now eligible to be used, requiring players to spend money and experience to purchase usages.

Because the players would only be able to reach level 160 in this version, the extra Race Evolution chance offered by the Evolution Cube would be useful, and the demand would not be too low.

Han Xiao was not just aiming at earning experience; he also planned to utilize the side effects of the Evolution Cube to curb the players’ speed of levelling so that the Calamity Grade players would appear at a later date.

During the side effect duration, many of them would feel that upgrading themselves would be a loss, so they would spend their experience elsewhere, so this could kill two birds with one stone, delaying plus conveniently letting him harvest them more.

After reading the announcement, Frenzied Sword and the others were stunned by this series of favorable policy changes.

“The army is probably sending out a response to the poaching of other organizations.”

“Indeed, the factions must fight before we will get enough to eat.”

“That’s great. Blackie values us like always.”

Frenzied Sword and company were overjoyed.

Most of the players had a close relationship with the army, akin to husband and wife. They did not wish to leave and did not expect any reaction from the army, but the latter actually responded with a series of benefits in response to the poaching, which made them feel wanted and happy.

The last part of the announcement was about a military exercise that would be held among the Immortals. The reward for this mission would be extremely rich, but quotas were limited, and the mission could only be undertaken by experience points.

This would be the only large-scale collective operation of the army in the near future. While this was only an exercise, the reward for this mission was extremely rich. Naturally, Frenzied Sword and the others did not hesitate to pay their experience to register.

In just five minutes, the hundreds of thousands of openings were cleanly robbed, which showed just how popular the army was.

The welfare announcement of the Black Star Army caused stomach ulcers in the players of other organizations. Their eyes were green with envy, and there were many complaints on the forums.

Han Xiao could guess the players’ reaction to these benefits even without paying attention. He had long mastered the G spot for the players, and this kind of harvesting means could be done with his eyes closed.

According to his estimates, this wave of harvesting should allow him to make up the amount needed to reach level 360 a few months in advance.

…

“Your Excellency President, our plan to win over the Immortals has had little effect. Few of the immortals from the Black Star Army are willing to change factions.”

“… What a bunch of troublesome guys.”

Hearing the report in the President’s Office, Louis frowned.

In order to study the Sanctum Revival phenomenon, the major galactic organizations were vigorously trying to attract Immortals to their cause. However, the movement of the Immortals showed that there was a higher tendency for them to gather around the Black Star Army than around them, which could not be explained.

They thought that using the name of the three Universal Civilizations as well as the large benefits would attract a lot of Immortals, but it turned out that there were not many people who bought into this.

He naturally did not know of the existence of the version name ‘Black Star’s Era’, so he would not know how much this name had helped Han Xiao.

Louis frowned and pondered for a bit before replying in a deep voice.

“This could be the influence of the Scattered Stars Return event… It has been a year, but the effect of it has actually not dissipated. Just in this year, the number of Supers that have gone under the wings of the Beyond Grade As are too many…”

He could not help sighing, feeling that it was a pity.

If not for the Super Star Cluster Alliance, the interception and killing of hundreds of Beyond Grade A seeds would have been successful. If the Scattered Stars Return event did not occur, their method of killing the chickens to warn the monkeys would have been effective. The negativity as a result of the assassinations would have made Supers more likely to compromise with the three Universal Civilizations… but this could only remain a fantasy.

The Chief Elder paused on his crutches before slowly saying, “This situation needs to be dealt with further. After a year of preparation, it is almost time for sanctions to be issued. The Beyond Grade A organizations will no longer be so comfortable. If we’re always trying to be scrupulous and openly creating contradictions, they will only continue developing.”

Louis nodded as well. “I really have to curb their momentum of development… I’ll talk to the church and the dynasty. I want to see how the Beyond Grade A Association can continue to grow when they are blocked by the entire galactic society!”

Chapter 1278: Sanctions

The Black Star Army held a six-day military exercise exclusively for the Immortals within the territory, with the participation of millions of army players confronting each other.

The original intention was to hold a large-scale collection action for players as a reason to issue large-scale experience rewards, but given the sensitive situation, the military exercises of the army were interpreted differently by the outside world.

On the quantum network, many of the galactic residents believed that the army’s military exercise was an indirect demonstration to the three Universal Civilizations. Many of them believed that the Black Star Army was warming up, preparing for major action in the near future.

However, even if rumors raged, the Beyond Grade A Association remained silent, allowing the universe to continue their guessing.

After around half a month, just as the public opinion started to die down, an unexpected event happened suddenly, with almost no warning. The three Universal Civilizations jointly released a top level decree for the entire universe, of which the content was to activate sanctions against the Beyond Grade A Association!

The Beyond Grade A Association and the three Universal Civilizations had been fighting in secret for more than a year. While many of the galactic residents were simply watching the show, in public, neither side had ever openly challenged the other.

But right now, the three Universal Civilizations actually tore apart this facade, which was beyond the expectations of most people, yet at the same time reasonable.

Countless organizations’ heads saw the contents of the decree, and their pupils needled. They were startled by the harsh sanction, and everyone thought the same thing in their mind.

How vicious!

The three Universal Civilizations finally utilized their political and economic influence that had permeated throughout the universe, beginning a blockade against them.

…

In the Army Commander’s private workshop, Han Xiao was concentrating on studying a Gold Grade blueprint, working hard toward achieving the pinnacle of his God’s Trait Transformation—Void.

Suddenly, Phillip popped up, his little face full of anxiety. He hurriedly shouted, “Master, hum… something big has happened! The three Universal Civilizations have issued joint sanctions against us!”

Hearing this, Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he put down the document. With two fingers, he squeezed on Phillip’s head and brought him to eye level.

“The day has still arrived… Speak, what sorts of terms did the three Universal Civilizations issue?”

“Look at this, it’s so scary, hum!”

Phillip waved his little hand, and a virtual screen unfurled like a scroll. It revealed a densely packed document bearing the joint seals and signatures of the three Universal Civilizations at the bottom, proving that this was a valid decree that had been certified by the three Universal Civilizations. There was also a special note stating that the decree was effective at the date of signing.

Han Xiao read from start to end, and the beginning was a statement from the three Universal Civilizations, explaining their reasons for issuing this decree.

“In order to minimize the danger of an individual’s strength to the galactic civilization, the Ultimate Knowledges of each Super system have always been jointly controlled by the three Universal Civilizations, and other organizations cannot spread it at will. This is the requirement of the sixth section of the ‘Galactic Superpower Management Act: Knowledge Dissemination Agreement’. The Beyond Grade A Association (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Association’) has not obtained our permission but has been privately disseminating the Ultimate Knowledge of various Classes for many years. We have repeatedly asked the Association to rectify this, but they have ignored our requests many times. A year ago, our side issued a final notice to the Association, yet it was ignored. Thus, we have decided to impose sanctions in view of their negative behavior.”

“Humph, they indeed resorted to such an excuse. I thought the three Universal Civilizations might have something new up their sleeves.”

Han Xiao did not find this a surprise at all. He lightly snorted before reading onward.

In the document, the three Universal Civilizations righteously accused the association of violating the rules, extensively citing the regulations they flouted. Then they emphasized that the nature of the association was non-governmental, and thus, it was not affected by the Peace Treaty or other galactic civilization protection agreement.

This was followed by the three Universal Civilizations declaring that the Beyond Grade A Association would now be included in the list of ‘Unreliable Civil Organizations’ as well as the list of ‘Malicious Armed Organizations’.

These two lists were specially set up for some organizations with a doubtful business nature. While they were not as serious as wanted warrants, as long as one was included in the list, all their rights in the Galactic Society would be greatly affected, similar to having low credit ratings or being a deadbeat.

As for the Beyond Grade A Association, their sanctions encompassed a wide range of areas including politics, economy, and the scale of their armed forces.

In terms of politics and governance, most Beyond Grade As usually took care of their own parent civilization, and this decree required that the Beyond Grade A organizations were to stay out of the politics of their own civilization. Otherwise, the rights of the related civilizations would be downgraded. They stated a list of key planets under review, including Planet Aquamarine.

Those Beyond Grade A organizations that were part of a civilization were all subject to some restrictions. It was claimed that the Beyond Grade A had some sort of ‘unreliable cooperative relationship’ with them. Psyker’s Star Pupil Civilization was an example.

In the area of economics, the terms were much more complicated and cumbersome, occupying half of the content and encompassing all areas.

The first was a notice to the various regional civilizations, requesting them to cooperate with their orders and stop any form of cooperation with the Beyond Grade A organizations. They also would not provide public services such as stargate transportation to the Beyond Grade A organizations and would not open any trading channels to the Beyond Grade A organizations. Any existing resources of the Beyond Grade A organizations left in the civilization would at the same time undergo multiple checks, otherwise they would be personally questioned.

In the private sector, any consortium or enterprise that maintained business dealings with the Beyond Grade A Associations would have their Credibility Points downgraded in the Galactic Civilization Bank. Consortiums that had not corrected themselves would then be included in the list of untrustworthy enterprises. Only when their relationship was terminated would they be subjected to a review, restoring their credit, and they might even obtain certain subsidies. The three Universal Civilizations would protect the companies from threat of force by the Beyond Grade A Association, and they would also provide any judicial assistance in the violation of commercial contracts. There would be no need to pay compensation to the Beyond Grade A organizations.

The Credibility Points for all Beyond Grade A Organizations would be lowered, every fund transfer reviewed and supervised.

Other than these main points, there were also many miscellaneous provisions. The three Universal Civilizations had also attacked their allies this time, but since many of them did not follow them blindly, this was also something they had predicted.

At the end of the document, the three Universal Civilizations stated that the above terms were only for members of the Beyond Grade A Association and did not involve the neutral Beyond Grade As. As long as they withdrew from the association and were re-examined, normal treatment would be restored. As for the ordinary Supers, if they were willing to switch to the three Universal Civilizations or local civilizations, they would not only restore their credit but also enjoy more benefits and subsidies.

Throughout the decree, Han Xiao only had one thought.

How domineering!

Han Xiao shook his head.

Tsk, the three Universal Civilizations are really ruthless.

These clauses simply used their power to entrap the galactic society and block the association, so as to curb their development. It had little impact on the Beyond Grade As but was lethal to their organizations.

If one were to sum up the practices of the three Universal Civilizations, it would be understood as… ‘Football certifications, evidence, sponsors, and organizers of the match all belong to me. What are you going to use to fight against me‽’

I made this hypothesis many years ago, and alas, it still came true.

Han Xiao had long been mentally prepared for this. It was not surprising for them to come out with this measure, and since the three Universal Civilizations dared formulate such a clause, they were naturally confident in implementing it.

Even the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not face such ruthless measures. After all, they were also part of the Peace Treaty, and hence, they were afforded some form of civilization guarantee. The three Universal Civilizations would only be seeking trouble if they dared to violate those regulations. However, the Beyond Grade A Association was a non-governmental organization, not authoritative and thus not protected by any civilization guarantee agreements.

Since the development of Galactic Society, the three Universal Civilizations had long held hegemony in the financial, political, technological, and military sectors. Their influence radiated in all fields and was deeply tied to all civilizations at all levels. Seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages was an inevitable tendency for most civilizations, so Han Xiao could foresee that there would be many civilizations acting in response to this decree.

As for the civil organizations and the general public, those who dared to oppose the rulers of the universe were a minority. After all, the majority only wanted a decent job. If they tried anything funny and became marginalized in society, that would be too depressing.

“The three Universal Civilizations hesitated for a year but finally decided to bring this conflict to the surface. I don’t know if the players themselves have influenced it… but starting from this decree, the three Universal Civilizations have finally torn off all pretenses with us.”

The three Universal Civilizations dropping these sanctions were within his expectation, but even if he had predicted it, there was no good way to resolve them. However, in recent years, he had been committed to improving the independence of his consortium and had secretly made a lot of preparations in order to deal with this risk.

Beep beep!

Right at this moment, his communicator rang.

Han Xiao opened it and saw that it was Bennett calling.

Just as the communication was formed, Bennett immediately asked, “Black Star, have you seen the sanctions imposed by the three Universal Civilizations?”

“Yes.” Han Xiao nodded.

He then sized Bennett up.

After replenishing his vitality, Bennett’s life span had been extended by a lot. Even decades later, he was still alive, his bones still strong.

Every year, Han Xiao thought that this fellow was going to die, but Bennett would always jump out and shout, “I’m not dead yet!”

Following this trend, it seems like Nero would become a hundred-year-old prince.

“What do you intend to do?” Bennett was full of worry.

“Take it as it comes.” Han Xiao waved his hands and raised his brows. “Rather than me, it’s Planet Aquamarine that also falls within the scope. What are you going to do?”

Bennett gritted his teeth, solemnly saying, “After a while, our Planet Aquamarine will pull out from the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference, signaling that we are unwilling to accept such an arrangement!”

“You wish to accompany me to walk this treacherous path?” Han Xiao laughed.

Bennett had an expression of seriousness. “While Planet Aquamarine is still very weak, we also have our own dignity. We will not deny the great men in the history of our civilization because of such unreasonable demands!”

Han Xiao felt a little touched and warmly replied, “Hearing this, I feel your sincerity. Planet Aquamarine’s short-term development might be severely set back, but with my protection, you will not be in any danger. What you lose now will be earned back in the future.”

“It’s enough with your guarantee. I know I can believe you.” Bennett nodded, disengaging the communication.

Han Xiao exhaled, thought for a while, and turned to contact Kasuyi.

Very quickly, Kasuyi’s projection appeared on the screen with a solemn expression.

“Black Star, I’ve read the news. Do you have a plan?”

Stroking his chin, Han Xiao slowly said, “The three Universal Civilizations are doing this, so we have no need to be polite. Hold an emergency meeting. I have two things to announce.”

“Which two things?”

“Firstly, from now on, the association will not accept any form of help from the three Universal Civilizations. Secondly, we will also stop subsidizing the associations’ direct Beyond Grade A members, freezing their membership at the same time. This will temporarily deprive them of the right to participate in our regular meetings. We will tell the universe that unless the three Universal Civilizations revoke the sanctions, this situation will continue.”

Kasuyi frowned. “This will not hurt or itch the three Universal Civilizations at all. At most, it will display our unwillingness to retreat.”

“That’s enough. If it was so easy to resolve the sanctions, the three Universal Civilizations would have been ruling for so many years for nothing.” Han Xiao was nonchalant. “The cooperation with the civilization officials has always been an important point for many of the Beyond Grade As, and now that this channel has been cut off, what’s left will be obtaining resources from the Galactic Black Market. The three Universal Civilizations will definitely focus on this field, and friction will be inevitable.”

Han Xiao paused.

“Also, we might need to contact the Super Star Cluster Alliance now…”

There was no such thing as permanent enemies, only permanent benefits. He did not wish to help the Super Star Cluster rebel, but a simple deal was worth considering.

His goal was only to control the intensity of the Calamity of the Supers, stabilizing the situation, but he also knew that it was impossible for things to constantly be peaceful. The three Universal Civilizations would not give up, and the checks and balances would always go on. Even if he sought stability, he had to first show off his teeth and claws.

Chapter 1279: Meetings and Backups

In a few days, the sanctions of the three Universal Civilizations directly caused the public opinion of the entire galactic society to explode, be it ordinary people, Supers, civilizations, or non-governmental organizations!

The Beyond Grade A Association had partners in practically all fields, so these sanctions were too far-reaching, involving almost all aspects of Galactic Society. It was no exaggeration to say that this would affect the entire workings of the universe!

Because the three Universal Civilizations had already ruled for many years as defenders of order, it was inevitable that they would gradually become rotten and conservative. Many people’s fear of the three Universal Civilizations stemmed more from their dominance and great power, but they had gradually forgotten their ferocity. This decree had now re-awakened the dusty memories of the many civilizations in history, and they remembered the bloody history of the three Universal Civilizations.

In the eyes of many civilizations, the three Universal Civilizations seemed to be wiping away the rust on their bodies, slowly regaining the cruelty they displayed eons ago. Many were secretly worried, not knowing how much of their edge the three Universal Civilizations would recover.

Public opinion was the rifest on the quantum network, and many of the Supers were in an uproar. They expressed extreme resentment toward this decree and felt that the excuse for sanctions used by the three Universal Civilizations was simple cr*p.

In their view, the association had not done anything heinous. The motive of the three Universal Civilizations was simply their need for control. This caused many of the Supers to feel extremely disgusted, thinking that it was a violation of freedom for the Supers.

For a period of time, the association’s voice among the Supers rose once again, and countless Supers went to support the association, thinking that this was unfair.

However, it would be unrealistic to say that the methods of the three Universal Civilizations were ineffective. The slogans of support shouted by the Supers were merely that, since no one wished to put themself in danger. Thus, those Supers who initially wished to join the association slowly retreated…

One could still use the internet to make themselves look and feel good, but their bodies were still the most honest.

It was just that this method had no effect on the players. Instead, it aroused widespread dissatisfaction. This was not limited to the players who were in the Beyond Grade A faction, but even players from the neutral faction and the three Universal Civilizations’ faction were annoyed.

To the players, while sanctions could be forced on others, the same should not apply to them. The three Universal Civilizations tried to force them to conform to their ideals, which sparked a rebellious mentality for some of the players.

So what if it’s the three Universal Civilizations? Why don’t they take a look at what the name of this version is? Do you think we’re all afraid of you?

The players were originally a part of the Super community, and thus, they were innately closer to the association. These sanctions also indirectly strengthened the determination of some players to join the association, speeding up the rate at which players from various organizations switched over to the association…

Anyway, since we’re not afraid of death, just try it!

At this time, while public opinion was raging, the Beyond Grade A Association held an emergency meeting under the call of Han Xiao.

…

In the association’s meeting hall, no one was late, and many Beyond Grade A projections sat there with solemn expressions.

Some did not attend, and some of the seats at the round table that should have been filled were vacant.

At this moment, however, everyone’s gaze was trained on Han Xiao at the main position.

Han Xiao surveyed the audience, both of his hands steepled in front of his nose as he spoke.

“The reason for me convening this meeting is clear, I believe. The three Universal Civilizations have imposed sanctions on us, so we must also reciprocate and counterattack.”

As he spoke, he gestured at the empty seats in the room.

“Everyone can see that the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations did not come to this meeting. I have temporarily terminated their membership rights, and we are no longer obliged to provide any form of help, including but not limited to Beyond Grade A military, technical support, and more. If you have any objections, please stand up now.”

Just as he finished speaking, the room echoed with a resounding, “Approve!”

The key behind these two commands was to obtain the consent of the Beyond Grade A allies. After all, while the allies were not direct members, not everyone was on bad terms with the three Universal Civilizations.

However, this time, the three Universal Civilizations did not differentiate, throwing everyone, even their allies, under the bus. This made the majority of the allies unhappy.

Only a few of the allies hesitated due to different concerns, but before the situation turned for the better, they could not leave the association since they were already riding atop the tiger. If they did not accompany the association in advancing and retreating, they would not be able to mix in with the rest of the Beyond Grade A circle in the future. In addition, the attitude the three Universal Civilizations had toward the Beyond Grade As was not worthy of their high hopes.

In the eyes of everyone present, the second life afforded by the Sanctum Revival was naturally more important than anything external.

The majority of strength held by a Beyond Grade A organization was judged by the strength of their leaders. So long as they were still helming the place, even if their organizations were hit by various problems, they would always make a comeback. They were people who relied on their abilities to feed themselves and thus did not panic.

Almost everyone knew that the goal of them uniting was in the interest of benefitting their entire caste. The three Universal Civilizations had already exposed all their cards, so if they did not unite to resist now, there would not be any more chances in the future. Temporary gains and losses were not important at the present. Only those with extreme short-sightedness would view such things with importance, thinking about how they could save themselves.

The association was playing the role that was originally envisaged, becoming the link for the unity of the Beyond Grade As. Even if someone had different thoughts and opinions, they could only stand with the association at this point in time.

“Since everyone agrees, these two orders will remain active until the three Universal Civilizations revoke the sanctions.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

To be honest, he had long wanted to exclude the direct descendants of the three Universal Civilizations but never had a good chance. Now they had just sent an excuse to his doorstep.

Milizaus stroked his beard before solemnly saying, “No matter what, the sanctions will pose a problem for us. Black Star, what are your plans?”

Han Xiao tapped the table. “Channels, territory, manpower, funds… These are all entry points for the three Universal Civilizations to restrain us. Withstanding the pressure will be our next focus. It is imperative for us to shrink our business and streamline the scale of our operations. Among them, the most affected would be the channels, as the sanctions practically deprive us of resources. Thus, the Galactic Black Market will be an important area for us… Secret Master, we’ll have to rely on you.”

Secret Master nodded.

As the administrators behind the Galactic Black Market were all Beyond Grade As, in the future, the black market would serve as the logistical core of the association. A new round of expansion and integration would inevitably occur in the black market, which would be beneficial to Secret Master and the other administrators.

Han Xiao paused momentarily before he continued. “Furthermore, not everyone in the universe will impose sanctions on us. These forces will also be the targets of our cooperation.”

“Like the Super Star Clusters?” someone probed.

Han Xiao flashed the person a glance, smiling. “If the bargaining chips are right, the Super Star Cluster will also be an option.”

Hearing this, some of the Super Star Cluster Beyond Grade As that were disguised as neutral parties brightened.

At this time, Kasuyi interjected. “The Super Star Clusters… It’s ok if they make trouble, but are you willing to cooperate with them?”

“That will depend on whether both sides can come out with a bargaining chip that they are satisfied with. Moreover, from another viewpoint, the Super Star Cluster also needs us to confront the three Universal Civilizations. While both of us are not to the point that we are mutually tied down, we each have something that the other can give,” Han Xiao said.

At this moment, Manison lightly snorted. “Initially, I cooperated with the Super Star Cluster Alliance, but the reaction from the three Universal Civilizations was not small at all. If we arrive at a deal with them, the three Universal Civilizations will definitely be riled up, and it will not be a simple matter to clear up.”

Han Xiao turned to him, raising his brows. “You scared?”

“Humph, what do I have to be scared of?” Manison snorted in disdain. “I’m just reminding you of the consequences.”

Han Xiao waved his hands. “It doesn’t matter. Since the three Universal Civilizations have decided to publicly impose sanctions, they must have also predicted that we will contact the Super Star Cluster Alliance. But they did not care, proving that they’re psychologically prepared, maybe even having the mentality to capture all of us in one go… Even so, we still have to contact the Super Star Cluster Alliance to let the three Universal Civilizations know that we’re not easy to handle.”

“I thought you would always remain loyal to the three Universal Civilizations.” Manison spoke coldly, apparently still having the Intelligent Plague incident at the back of his mind.

“I only aim to maintain order. I’ve never had any sort of loyalty toward the three Universal Civilizations. If I can maintain order in the universe, it doesn’t matter who I support.” Han Xiao rebutted.

Manison blandly replied, “That sounds nice to hear, but aren’t you just taking my old path? It seems like I’m still right after all.”

Han Xiao did not think much of it, smiling. “You endangered the entire Galactic Society with your actions. I only made the rulers fear our power. The two are different in nature. I’m much better than you.”

“Humph, excuses, excuses.” Manison avoided his gaze, no longer daring to speak.

Since things had already developed to this point, the fake Virtual Mutiny Virus he had developed over the years was practically of no use, so Manison felt that this was a pity.

However, in his opinion, it was still good as secret insurance. If the association could not withstand the pressure of the three Universal Civilizations, he would not mind using this assassin to help the association, turning it into the situation he originally envisioned.

Han Xiao did not bother with Manison either, carefully explaining the next steps of the plan. Right now, the association needed everyone to be united, not involved in their own private disputes. His current authority and words were already enough to make everyone obey.

At the very end, Han Xiao paused before instructing, “If we want to resolve this situation, we must either let the three Universal Civilizations revoke the sanctions on their own, or we open up a new form of development. We can progress in both routes simultaneously… but acting is one thing. We also have to maintain a balance, not implicating too many innocents. The purpose of our counterattack is to make the three Universal Civilizations feel pressure in facing us directly. The three Universal Civilizations are pressuring us so as to force us to make a wrong move, allowing them to prove that we pose a huge threat to the Galactic Civilizations.”

Everyone nodded in return. They also understood this logic, as such mind games in war were common. However, if they broke the baseline, then they would become the unreasonable ones.

This meeting lasted almost a whole day, and many of the members divided the labor among themselves. While the association was originally a loose alliance, it now felt more like an organization.

After the meeting ended, the projections disappeared one by one, leaving only Han Xiao and Kasuyi in the room.

Kasuyi’s expression relaxed as he smiled. “When are you planning to show your hand against the three Universal Civilizations? They seem thoroughly convinced that there’s only a limited number of revival opportunities in the Sanctums, or else they would be more radical.”

He was more confident than anyone else about this battle, as he held the secret of the unlimited times for Sanctum Revival. He had no fear of the sanctions from the three Universal Civilizations.

At the same time, Kasuyi felt that Han Xiao made the right choice by concealing this secret. Otherwise, the three Universal Civilizations would probably not adopt such a radical method. In his opinion, this was luring the three Universal Civilizations to make the wrong decisions.

“No worry, we’ll just wait for the opportunity.” Han Xiao waved his hand.

“Anyway, you know what to do, so I’ll leave it to you.” Kasuyi nodded before cancelling his projection.

Han Xiao shook his head, his eyes flashing.

“I estimate that the Super Star Cluster Alliance Beyond Grade As dressed as neutrals will have already conveyed my words to the Super Star Cluster Alliance…”

…

The leaders of the Super Star Cluster Alliance gathered together, listening to the report.

“Are you sure? Black Star said he wants to reach out?”

Many of the leaders were overjoyed.

“The association is now in a tight situation and urgently requires new channels. It also has to fight back against the three Universal Civilizations. Cooperating with us is naturally a good choice,” the leader of the Star Arc Civilization said, his eyes beaming.

While Black Star had some conflicts with them and they disliked each other, if they could obtain help from the Beyond Grade A Association through Black Star, that little grudge could not be considered much.

The stronger the Super Star Cluster Alliance became, the more uncomfortable the three Universal Civilizations would feel. The Super Star Cluster Alliance were most willing to have a new variable appear in this universe.

As for the offenses stated by the three Universal Civilizations when violating the sanctions, the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not give two hoots. Both of them were in conflict, so even without this extra reason, the three Universal Civilizations would still suppress them at every opportunity.

However, the association only cooperated with them at this point, after falling out with their ‘old bestie’ the three Universal Civilizations, treating them like a backup plan…

Thinking of this, many of the Star Cluster leaders felt a little awkward.

But they did not wallow in their anxieties for long.

Forget it. As long as we get the good stuff, so what if we’re spare tires?

We’re happy to be so!

Chapter 1280: Withdrawal and Conditions

The meeting place for the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference consisted of an area where the dome looked like a portion of the starry sky, constantly shifting, while the great hall was filled with various civilizations in the Star Field. The meeting seemed to have been going on for quite a while.

“… Regarding the sanctions from the three Universal Civilizations, there is too much content. In response to this joint decree, I suggest that the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Council supervise the implementation of the decree in the Star Field, ensuring the complete termination of all civilizations to the Beyond Grade A Association…”

A representative of a Star Cluster civilization sitting on a chair read out the proposal before throwing the question out and saying in a deep voice, “This is the current situation. Does anyone have an opinion?”

The moment he finished speaking, the scene turned silent, and the expressions of the many representatives present were complicated.

The power of the Black Star Army in the Shattered Star Ring was too large. This Star Field could practically be considered as their backyard. More than eighty percent of the civilizations there had different areas of cooperation with them, and they had always cooperated happily in a win-win situation. The sanctions were a trouble for them.

However, they were even more afraid of the three Universal Civilizations. In terms of interests, they were more intertwined with the three Universal Civilizations.

It was not just that, but the strongest seven civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring had already chosen their positions, expressing support for the three Universal Civilizations. No one knew what sort of agreement they had with the three Universal Civilizations, but even reluctant, all of them had no choice but to follow suit.

“… Agreed.”

“Seconded.”

Everyone was silent for a while before opening their mouths one after another. Many of them vaguely glanced toward the Planet Aquamarine civilization, their eyes complicated, with pitying, sighing, or gloating gazes.

The condition to access the Civilization Conference was to be a Star System level Civilization, but Planet Aquamarine was of a different breed. It ranked as a surface civilization, but its status was brought to it by Black Star. Just a Beyond Grade A was enough to propel them to the sky.

For a long time, many of the civilizations had envied and hated Planet Aquamarine. They could not cultivate a Beyond Grade A, but they actually had three of them. This was some bullsh*t luck!

With the promotion of Hila and Aurora, the status of Planet Aquamarine had risen rapidly in recent years. Even if the civilization was weak, they could afford to be rampant in the Civilization Council since all the civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring depended on the Black Star Army. They had taken good care of Planet Aquamarine, but without the protection of Black Star, Planet Aquamarine would be nothing in their eyes.

Since Black Star had fallen out of favor, many of the people in the room wished to see the Planet Aquamarine turn into a joke.

Very quickly, every civilization present either agreed or abstained from voting, leaving only the Star Pupil Civilization and Planet Aquamarine having not expressed their opinions.

At this moment, one of the Star Cluster level council members spoke up. “Representatives of Planet Aquamarine and Star Pupil Civilization, only you two are left.”

The expression of the Star Pupil Civilization Represent was conflicted, his lips twisting around. After a few long seconds, he finally answered in a low voice.

“… We abstain.”

Everyone could not help but glance at him, and a touch of surprise flashed across their faces. However, they understood the reason behind.

Only Planet Aquamarine was left, and everyone’s gaze fell onto Bennett.

“Planet Aquamarine Civilization, what about you guys?” The Star Cluster representative pressed on.

Bennett took a deep breath before solemnly speaking as he stood up.

“We strongly oppose these unfair sanctions and will never accept the unprovoked accusations and slander… From now on, Planet Aquamarine Civilization will withdraw from the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference!”

His tone was sonorous and powerful, without hesitation.

Everyone suddenly went into an uproar, looking at the expressionless Bennett in surprise.

They had thought that Planet Aquamarine would adopt a more roundabout attitude but did not expect them to be so stubborn, immediately speaking about leaving the council.

The Representative of the Purple Crystal Civilization could not help but ask, “Are you certain?”

“Black Star is one of the greatest figures in the history of Planet Aquamarine. We will not allow any person or organization to maliciously slander him. Even the three Universal Civilizations should not arbitrarily discredit the great figures of other civilizations!” Bennett’s tone was hard as steel.

Having said this, he directly lifted the remote projection, disappearing from the meeting. He expressed his attitude through actions.

Seeing this, many of the representatives exchanged glances, their expressions complicated.

They did not expect that Planet Aquamarine would be so resolute as to remain standing by Black Star’s side, willing to bear the hatred of the three Universal Civilizations…

In fact, in their eyes, Planet Aquamarine had a much better way to deal with this matter. They believed that Black Star would understand, but to take such a tough attitude and openly challenge the three Universal Civilizations, they would likely become a model for the latter to use as a lesson to learn for others.

Many of the representatives shook their heads and sighed, involuntarily glancing at the Star Pupil Civilization representative.

In their eyes, what the Star Pupil Civilization did was undoubtedly the right thing…

But in their hearts, all of them were unsatisfied toward the three Universal Civilizations, and seeing how someone actually dared to stick their head out filled them with admiration.

Almost every civilization wished to oppose the hegemonic decree from the three Universal Civilizations in a clear-cut manner, but unfortunately… no one had such confidence.

The representative of the Star Pupil Civilization secretly clenched his fists in a place where no one could see, as an expression of shame flashed across his face.

…

In his office, Bennett opened his eyes as his vision returned to the room.

He only saw a group of executive officials waiting there, staring at him for orders.

Bennett lightly sighed before solemnly ordering.

“We have already withdrawn from the Shattered Star Ring Council. Announce our decision to the whole civilization.”

“…Understood.”

No one said anything more, receiving the orders and leaving the room in a file.

It did not take long for this incident to spread across the entire Planet Aquamarine through their official media and social channels.

Bennett stayed within his office the whole time. After reading the news, he took out his communicator and logged onto the quantum network to check the public’s attitude on this matter.

Soon, messages came into his view.

“Well done! I’ve long gotten tired of seeing the three Universal Civilizations!”

“To dare discredit our greatest, what a bunch of garbage!”

“I sincerely support the decision of our federal government. The three Universal Civilizations are clearly bullying us. Did you think we were submissive people‽”

Seeing the messages filled with indignation and righteous fury from the citizens, Bennett’s old face crinkled into a smile.

Let’s hope that this was the right choice…

…

On the Star Pupil Civilization’s mother planet, Psyker stood in front of the window, overlooking the bustling city. Flying vehicles passed as they emitted trails of flames in the neighborhood, and the glow was reflected across his seven pupils simultaneously, like countless flashing meteors.

At this moment, a few of the upper echelons walked into his office.

“Has everything been settled?” Psyker blandly asked, without turning his head back.

“Yes… we’ve made them express their attitude in the council,” someone replied with a low voice. They seemed rather disappointed.

Psyker turned around and slowly said, “Get ready for my retirement ceremony as soon as possible.”

Upon hearing this, the expressions of several of the upper echelons became heavier. They revealed a sense of helpless sorrow.

Seeing this, Psyker smiled. “You will soon take over my authority. Don’t be so glum.”

One of them could not help but grit his teeth and ask, “Do you have to do this? Can’t we be like Planet Aquamarine and express our objections?”

Hearing this, Psyker fell silent. “… I’m not Black Star. He alone can make the three Universal Civilizations fear his presence. I don’t have that ability.”

Psyker was uncomfortable in his heart. He shook his head gently before looking out of the window again as he whispered, “If we wish for the civilization to avoid the attacks of the three Universal Civilizations, then I can only step down… In the end, we are all involuntary people trapped within the torrent of the times.”

The three Universal Civilizations’ sanctions specified that the Beyond Grade A could not interfere in civilization politics in any form, even if they had always been the leader of the civilization. Psyker attached importance to the Sanctum Revival, but he could not sit back and watch his civilization be sanctioned. Thus, he decided to surrender his power and step down.

As the saying went, when there were policies at the top, there would be countermeasures from the bottom. As long as the political connection between himself and his civilization was broken, the Star Pupil Civilization would not meet the standard to be sanctioned and would not be downgraded. After becoming a free man, he could also throw himself into the struggle of the Beyond Grade As without any baggage.

At the same time, Psyker was not completely letting go. Going rogue was just a temporary measure to avoid the limelight. If the association reached a balance with the three Universal Civilizations, he would still have the chance to regain power.

Furthermore, having led his civilization for so long, he wished to let go and take a break.

“I understand.”

The rest of the upper echelons helplessly nodded.

At this moment, someone thought of something and said, “By the way, the Shattered Star Ring Council passed a bill, asking us to cooperate with the sanctions. What should we do?”

Psyker’s eyes flashed, his tone playful, as he replied, “You guys decide. I’ll just remind you not to take it so seriously. The civilizations of Shattered Star Ring are cooperating with each other, but no one will do their best… because all of them are smart, knowing that both the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association cannot be offended. If we leave ourselves a way out, we will have better days ahead. Don’t worry about that. The civilizations themselves know what to do.”

…

In the Super Star Cluster Alliance remote conference room, the rest of the Star Cluster leaders gathered in a hall, everyone showing solemn expressions, displaying a majestic attitude.

Everyone was serious as though awaiting a distinguished guest. It was precisely Han Xiao.

A few days ago, after learning about the attitude of the association, the Super Star Cluster Alliance had issued a private invitation to Black Star to have a meeting with them and received a positive answer.

The leaders had made a show out of this meeting. On one hand, they wished to show their sincerity and cooperation to Black Star… Basically, they were willing to pretend and butter up to him.

Time ticked by, and Han Xiao’s projection suddenly appeared.

Surveying around, Han Xiao greeted, “Hey, everyone’s here?”

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

Everyone nodded.

This should be the first time all the leaders of the Super Star Cluster Alliance were speaking with Black Star. No matter what emotions they had, everyone suppressed them to be cordial.

In fact, most of the grievances between the Super Star Cluster Civilization and Han Xiao were only limited to the friction during the Flickering War, which was no deep hatred.

Only the Three Kings of Modo secretly clenched their fists, trembling in anger.

Their grudges with Han Xiao were the greatest, since they were directly kicked out of the Flickering War. There was also one of their leaders whom they suspected to have died in an assassination from the Black Star Army. The other party’s hands were covered in Modo blood.

If it were not for the overall situation, the Three Kings of Modo would have pounced on Han Xiao.

Han Xiao swept his gaze across the room, disregarding them as he slowly spoke. “I’m quite busy, and I believe everyone knows why, so let’s make this long story short. I also roughly understand the purpose of you inviting me to meet. From your standpoint, you also hope that there’ll be an organization that can resist against the three Universal Civilizations. Now that we have flipped the table with the three Universal Civilizations, the association needs new allies. As long as their price is right, cooperation between our two parties will not be a problem.”

“Very good, this is also what we want.” The leader of Star Arc Civilization coughed and expressed their agreement as the representative. “So, what do you want?”

“Channels, territories, resources, funds, intelligence networks…” Han Xiao listed the most urgent needs of the association, as well as hiding the rare materials needed for the Sanctum key openings within.

After discussion, the Star Arc Civilization’s leader nodded. “These things can be provided, and the share meets your requirements. Long-term supply will also not be a problem. In order to show our sincerity, we will give them to you as soon as possible.”

“Then your conditions?” Han Xiao calmly replied.

“First, we hope that the association will continue to confront the three Universal Civilizations and carry out more counterattacks.” The leader stretched out a finger.

“Sure.”

“Second, we hope to get assistance from the association’s top people, such as combat strength, techniques, and the like.”

“Okay.”

“Third, we hope the association can provide its own channels and special products. Working closely with the Super Star Cluster Alliance will help both of us achieve a win-win situation.”

“Okay.”

“Lastly… we hope that you will use the Sanctum Revival to resurrect all of our dead Beyond Grade As, especially those who were sacrificed during the Tragedy of the Pinnacles!”

As his voice sounded, everyone became more eager, staring firmly at Han Xiao.

The last condition was their core requirement. If they could resurrect their direct ancestors, then in terms of advanced combatants, the Super Star Cluster Alliance would be able to stand up against the three Universal Civilizations.

Moreover, the Tragedy of the Pinnacles was an eternal thorn in their hides. If this could be remedied, then it would all be worth it!

Han Xiao did not find it surprising. He stared at everyone with a playful smile, but a cold gleam seemed to flash across his eyes like that of a reaper’s scythe.

“The three Universal Civilizations gave the same conditions, and I rejected them. However, that was then, and this is now. I can consider this request… but the current price you are offering is far from enough.”

Chapter 1281: Gains Without Risks

Hearing this, the eyes of the leaders present brightened.

When they put forward this condition, they were a little nervous in fact. They were worried that Black Star would reject everything at once, since the three Universal Civilizations would have made similar requests, and the sanctions meant that Black Star had rejected them, probably because he did not wish to strengthen his enemies.

In all fairness, if they were standing in Black Star’s position, they would also firmly control the quota of the Sanctum Revivals and not easily resurrect the direct members of the other factions. Thus, they were not confident in their proposal.

But when they heard Han Xiao’s answer, everyone was finally relieved. It did not matter if the price was too huge, as long as there was room for negotiation!

“These can be discussed. I don’t know what sort of conditions you might have.” The leader of the Star Arc Civilization probed.

Han Xiao stroked his chin, slowly saying, “Since a Beyond Grade A can only be revived once, this is a one-shot deal, so every revival will be worth a lot. Does everyone here agree?”

Everyone nodded.

Han Xiao secretly smirked, but his tone remained casual.

“Thus, don’t expect me to resurrect all your direct descendants at once. I will only do it in batches, with a fixed number in each batch. As for the specific resurrections, it will depend on which civilization gives me the price I want. First come, first served… Of course, my needs at each stage will be different. It might be that, later, fewer things will impress me, so a larger amount of money will be needed.”

The leaders all revealed choking expressions.

This was practically trying to rip them off!

They were all allies, but each civilization would definitely wish to resurrect their own direct descendants first. Black Star’s move was undoubtedly a plot to make them outbid each other. This was the power of a monopolistic business.

However, the leaders present were mentally prepared for this. They knew that cutting off some flesh was unavoidable.

“What exactly do you want in general?”

Han Xiao casually pinched his fingers as he smiled. “High Grade Blueprints, unique technology, Universal Treasures, rare resources… it does not have to be all these, you can weigh the standard of the items yourself. After all, I don’t know what items each of you hold. You can discuss it among yourself. I don’t care, but don’t try any tricks. In here, it doesn’t mean that the highest bidder wins but rather that I have to be satisfied.

“Of course, I also welcome those who wish to operate in the dark and privately bid. I’m still a bit ethical and will not disclose your respective bids easily… In short, it depends on how much you are willing to fork out.”

Hearing this, the Star Arc Civilization’s leader exchanged a glance with everyone before nodding on behalf of them all.

“… Ok, we’ll accept this condition.”

“Then, I’m delighted to have reached a consensus with you all. I look forward to cooperating with all of you in the future.”

Seeing Black Star cancel his projection, the taut nerves of the leaders began to relax, their expressions resigned.

“Black Star has quite the appetite.”

“Humph, he’s just taking advantage of us.”

“What else can we do? Who made it that he would be the only one monopolizing the Sanctum Revival knowledge? We’ll have to discuss what price to pay now.”

Based on the situation, they could only play by Black Star’s rules and not anything else. They had finally opened this channel between both parties, so if they did something stupid for the sake of reducing costs and ended up offending Black Star, causing them to lose their Sanctum Revival privileges, that would be a disaster.

Universal Treasures, unique technological blueprints… these things might cause them to feel the pinch, but they could still afford it.

They intended to discuss who would resurrect their descendants first and who later on, arranging the order. They were unwilling to blindly bid and hurt their relationships.

…

After Han Xiao cancelled the communication, his vision returned to his office. His eyes flashed.

“Heh, god knows how much good stuff I can obtain this time. While I scammed the Super Star Cluster Alliance quite a bit this time, they should have sufficient treasures to meet my demands.”

Taking out a piece of fruit candy from his snack jar, Han Xiao fiddled it casually before throwing it into his mouth. The sweetness he tasted mirrored his emotions.

From the beginning, he had planned to cooperate with the organizations that had a need to resurrect others; it was the correct way to maximize the benefits of the Sanctum Revival. In the past, in order to maintain the mystery and to stabilize the situation, he did not engage in this business, but now, his situation had changed. He had to adapt to the changes and adjust his strategy.

The Sanctum Revival was a rare product, so Han Xiao was not worried that the Super Star Cluster Alliance would not agree to his demands. To him, this was a way to gain something without risking anything of his own. As long as he continued to pretend that the Sanctum Revival was only available once, he could drive the price up and trick them into giving him a lot of resources in exchange for the precious ‘one-off’ quota.

As for how and when to resurrect them, this was completely up to him. He just needed to say that the time was not yet right to turn away the dissatisfaction of the Super Star Clusters. These ‘leeks’ would have no choice but to only wait.

However, Han Xiao also did not intend to completely fleece them. He would resurrect a small portion of the Super Star Cluster descendants to give them a taste.

This move would not only allow the Super Star Cluster Alliance to taste the fruits of success, deepening their transaction cooperation, but it would also anger the three Universal Civilizations, causing both sides to go against each other. So long as the resurrected ones remained small, the situation would still be under the control of both the association and the Holy Accord.

After all, the Super Star Cluster was different from the three Universal Civilizations. Since there were more experts in the three Universal Civilizations, they naturally wanted to rule over everything, but once the advanced combatants of the Super Star Clusters returned, they would be able to pressure the three Universal Civilizations, which would indirectly benefit the association.

Thus, Han Xiao would only make this transaction with the Super Star Clusters and not with the three Universal Civilizations. Otherwise, this would only make the latter think that their sanction order had been effective, leading them to mistakenly think that they had succeeded in bending the association to their will.

However, if the war against the World Tree Civilization broke out, then Han Xiao would not mind resurrecting a lot of the old Beyond Grade As to deal with the invasion. The main thing was that he had to act on the spot and adjust his strategies flexibly.

Just as he was deep in thought, Phillip emerged from his table, holding a virtual screen several times larger than his body in both hands as he gruffly spoke.

“Master, master, many civilizations of the Shattered Star Ring have sent a communication request to you. Do you wish to answer, hum?”

Han Xiao came back to his senses, glancing at the caller ID on his screen before curling his lips.

“Heh, these people don’t dare to offend the three Universal Civilizations, and at the same time, they don’t dare to offend me either, so they ran over to apologize and explain… Let’s listen to what sort of rainbow farts they can give off.”

Han Xiao swept through the list before picking his old partner, the Purple Crystal Civilization.

When the representative of the Purple Crystal Civilization appeared, he did a customary bow before speaking. “Paying respects to Your Excellency Black Star…”

Han Xiao waved his hands in dismissal. “I’m a little busy. Just get to the point.”

“Alright, this time, I’m here to represent the Purple Crystal Civilization to apologize to you…” He snuck a glance at Han Xiao’s expression that was still calm before carefully following up. “Due to the sanctions imposed by the three Universal Civilizations, the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference has already passed the proposal, and we have no choice but to cooperate. The Purple Crystal Civilization Conference has been happily working with you for a long time, but with the severity of the situation now, I hope you can understand…”

“So, you wish to end all our partnerships?” Han Xiao raised his brow.

“Cough cough, please believe us when I say it’s temporary. You also understand. Given the chance, we would love to continue working with the Black Star Army, but the attitude of the three Universal Civilizations is too tough now. We’re just being safe. When the problem is solved, we’ll immediately resume our business dealings and will also give you compensation…”

The representative of the Purple Crystal Civilization spoke sincerely, emphasizing their helplessness.

Han Xiao did not agree with him in his heart, but he did not refute him, only verbally expressing his understanding.

He then followed by answering the communications of all the others in the Shattered Star Ring one by one. Everyone basically had the same attitude, which was to apologize and express that they had to cooperate with the sanctions.

After hanging up the last communication call, Han Xiao sneered.

“Humph, a bunch of fools who steer the rudder based on the wind direction.”

They cooperated with the army when they wished to have benefits, but now that they were under pressure, they kicked the army to the curb since they had outlived their usefulness.

Of course, the civilizations had to take care of themselves, and there was no point in them supporting the association either. Han Xiao understood this clearly, but it did not mean that he had to forgive them.

These civilizations blindly thought that the rule of the three Universal Civilizations over the Galactic Society was still stable, and thus, they would rather offend the Black Star Army a little than being marked by the three Universal Civilizations. For civilizations, between the Black Star Army and the three Universal Civilizations, it was easy to decide which to trade off.

Thus, Han Xiao could not be bothered to force the civilizations to choose his side, or else it would only turn nasty. It was better to keep this current state of getting along and make the other party feel as though they owed him something. While it might not be of any use, it was better than making more enemies.

He snorted as he chewed on his candy.

“Once the sanctions of the three Universal Civilizations lift, you’ll be the ones who bleed… Heh, you think that the Galactic Society will remain stable so long as you are under the rule of the three Universal Civilizations? The moment a foreign enemy invades, you’ll know how fragile this peace is, and by then, let’s see if the three Universal Civilizations that you trust so much will have the energy to protect you.”

After cursing a while longer, Han Xiao reined in his emotions, calling his secretary and letting him handle the handover procedures of the civilizations.

He then opened the organization territory distribution version of the star map, looking at it as he muttered.

“Expanding and controlling the Galactic Black Market in various places will be our next focus. The three Universal Civilizations will definitely not sit back and watch, however. It will likely turn into another secret war, which will cause quite a high death rate. Thus, the players will be the best to send in for the mission of obtaining the black markets. Not only is their strength good, but they are also not afraid of death. It is sufficient to take on this mission.”

As he spoke out loud, Han Xiao marked down this idea on the star map, deciding to issue this order in a few days to send the players collectively to perform the mission.

“Furthermore, in terms of advanced combatants, we have to put more pressure on the three Universal Civilizations. I previously promised them that I would not casually resurrect any historical Beyond Grade As, but now that they’ve done this, I have to be ‘courteous’ and respond in kind. It’s a pity that the keys to the Sanctums have not been fully gathered, so I cannot simply just resurrect a batch of new ones…”

Han Xiao’s thoughts flew rapidly.

“The Holy Accord can come in handy, since there are still many of them hiding within the organization. It’s better to pull a portion of the Beyond Grade As into the association, pretending to have done a new resurrection… Having a trump card is indeed convenient, and I don’t know how the three Universal Civilizations will react…”

…

Meanwhile, the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders met up in a joint meeting room to secretly discuss matters.

“The association has frozen the membership rights of our direct Beyond Grade As and also announced that they will not accept any tasks from us. These are all expected counters, but they’re meaningless,” the Pope said indifferently.

Louis nodded. “The association’s next move is expected to be the integration of the black markets. This will be their main resource channel in the future, but we will have long set the ground and will not let them succeed so easily.”

Marbruce then spoke in a deep voice. “This is not the main point. The key is to test if Black Star can indeed perform Sanctum Revivals at will.”

“Well, with his character, he will inevitably take countermeasures, such as contacting the Super Star Cluster Alliance and cooperating with them. The Super Star Cluster Alliance will likely also propose resurrection as a bargaining chip, and it is hard to say whether Black Star will agree to that. But even if the deal is not reached, Black Star will also try to recover other historical Beyond Grade As to put pressure on us. Now, it’s up to him whether he can do so.”

“If he cannot do this…” The Pope’s eyes gleamed. “Then whatever he’s doing now is undoubtedly playing for time!”

The sanctions by the trio were not just to contain the expansion of the association but also to test Han Xiao’s control over the Sanctums.

This was not a whimsical thought but rather a conclusion they reached as a result of much research in the Sanctum Revival Research Institute. They had confirmed that the Sanctums were immensely difficult to open and needed some sort of catalyst as well. Thus, the Sanctum Revival could not be casually done.

Based on this idea, the trio had introduced the current sanctions. If it was proven that Black Star could not resurrect people at will, this would be the best time to implement the cleansing plan. Otherwise, if they waited too long, it might allow for another wave of Sanctum Revivals.

However, even if Black Star resurrected newcomers, it might be an opportunity for them as it would cause Black Star to waste a valuable medium and cause the resurrection method to enter another cooldown.

Of course, they did not rule out the fact that Black Star had seen through them and deliberately kept his hand hidden. This was a danger to them.

This was undoubtedly risky behavior for them, which would not only make them pay a huge price but also go against their need to maintain order. Thus, they had yet to make up their minds, only wanting to probe Black Star.

At this moment, the Pope glanced at Louis, before asking, “By the way, how are your preparations for Manison’s operation?”

Louis calmly nodded. “It’s almost ready, thanks to your help. The things we promised you will be delivered back to you soon.”

“That’s good,” the Pope replied blandly.

When the federation came knocking on their door for help, he had suggested returning the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back to them.

Because they were unable to crack apart the Spacetime Amber even after so many years, the federation finally agreed to this request and chose to return the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter in its seal back to the original owner.

At the same time, the federation also had their own expectations. If the Arcane Church could manage to unblock or duplicate the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter by chance, then in the future Beyond Grade A cleansing operations, this would come in handy.

Chapter 1282: Entering the Black Marke

On April 1st, Year 782 of the Galaxy Calendar, the three Universal Civilizations jointly issued a sanction order against the entire Beyond Grade A Association. On April 3rd, the Beyond Grade A Association responded, and both parties officially tore aside all pretenses. The organizations of the various Star Fields moved separately in response to the influence of the sanctions, and it was not until April 26th that a clear pattern was finally formed.

Ever since the return of the Immortals on March 10th, in just a short month and a half, the situation of the Galactic Society had been changing rapidly, full of turbulence. The Beyond Grade A Association had found new allies. The Super Star Cluster Alliance opposed the sanctions and issued a righteous criticism, believing that the three Universal Civilizations were abusing their power. Thus, the Super Star Cluster turned to support the Association, and this resulted in the open confrontation of the Association with the three Universal Civilizations.

Because of the response from various civilizations, many of the Beyond Grade A organizations started to shrink, their branches and bases established in the civilizations also having to relocate. Some moved into the desolate universe belt, while some shifted to the Flickering World as an industrial relocation. The Beyond Grade A organizations that originally had a territory in the Flickering World were like sweet rice cakes, causing the other Beyond Grade As to congregate there like ants.

Among them, some of the Beyond Grade As who had established organizations within the three Universal Civilizations suffered even more, having their industries and bases temporarily closed.

The three Universal Civilizations had mobilized the entire Galactic Society to seal off any development of the Beyond Grade A Association. A large number of Beyond Grade A Organizations had thus been hit, their scale shrinking. The stock prices of their listed consortiums were also plummeting.

At the same time, the organizations that support the Association had also been targeted by the three Universal Civilizations. Among them was Planet Aquamarine, which had their diplomatic relationships completely cut off, forcing them to be self-sufficient. The weaker the organization, the more serious the targeting. In contrast, the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not feel as though there was much impact. They were already used to being targeted, so the situation was already so bad that making it worse made no real difference.

A portion of people believed that the goal of the sanctions was to cut off the wings of the Beyond Grade As. If they had no more followers and industries, then the influence of the Beyond Grade As would be suppressed to the lowest level, isolated from the rest of the Galactic Society. However, others believed that while the three Universal Civilizations were decisive in their actions, this was not a permanent cure, and it might not be able to deal with the Beyond Grade A themselves, let alone attack their organizations.

Both theories had a large number of supporters, but the undisputed fact was that the smell of gunpowder was growing ever stronger in the Galactic Society. As the times became more sensitive, the emotions of the interstellar citizens gradually turned more fanatical, manipulated by propaganda.

Beyond the sight of the majority, the Galactic Black Market in various regions had become a secret battlefield, with frequent incidents and fights. A tug of war for control of the black market had begun.

…

At a neutral transit station planet in the Shattered Star Ring…

Among row after row of high-rise buildings, several low-altitude, flying vehicles whizzed through the city at high speed, disrupting the flow of traffic and frequently causing accidents.

These vehicles belonged to two groups of people, those fleeing and the pursuers. The pursued had superb driving skills and constantly made use of various difficult maneuvers to avoid obstacles along the way. They drove extremely fast in the complicated road conditions.

“Faster, they’re about to catch up!”

“Shut up, don’t distract me!”

In the escape vehicle at the front, a lizard man covered in red scales was jumping around anxiously. He kept looking at the rear-view mirror while a burly man in a mechanical suit was operating the vehicle with a solemn expression. In the rear cabin were a group of passengers swaying from side to side.

This group of people were a group of local black-market operators. On the surface, they had a legal shell corporation, but in reality, they had a few secret black market business channels in their hands. They belonged to a group of social clubs that had a name on the black-market organization. As a low-level distribution channel, they had always been living on this neutral planet, enjoying life like gods.

However, not long ago, the social clubs were infiltrated by spies from unknown organizations. Their territories and businesses were attacked by unknown militants one after another, and they suffered heavy losses. The core members of the clubs were also hunted down and could only resort to hiding.

Just a moment ago, their hiding place had been discovered, and they had hurriedly escaped with their vehicles. A few teams of armed enemies had been chasing them relentlessly, and both sides had been running for their lives in the bustling city.

“Who are these people? When we fought them, they were clearly well trained. They don’t look like they’re scattered soldiers. They’re probably professional armed organizations. Why would they come to us?” The burly man’s tone was solemn.

The Lizardman was furious. “What sh*t do I know? These people appeared out of nowhere. I don’t even know how and when I provoked them!”

“Could it be that our competitors invited mercenaries?”

“I don’t care what happens to him. All I care about now is whether I can escape!” the Lizardman shouted.

Just as he finished speaking, the flying vehicle passed by an intersection. Suddenly, a pursuer that had circled to the front appeared out of nowhere and crashed into them.

Boom!

There was a huge shock, followed by a sudden force. The passengers in the cabin did not have time to react and were all slammed into the cabin wall.

The high-speed vehicle was knocked over by the other party slamming into its waist. It rolled in the air before smashing into the outer wall of a building. Sparks flew and metal was torn apart. The vehicle was embedded into the wall, emitting black smoke. The anti-gravity engine flickered a few times before it turned off with a hum.

Everyone was dizzy from the crash.

Clutching his head, the burly man crawled up and kicked open the deflated hatch. He saw that the pursuers had already surrounded him, and the two sides of the enemy’s vehicle were loaded with live bullets, aiming at the immobile target.

The traffic accident had attracted a lot of spectators, and they all drove their vehicles to watch from afar, forming a circle. However, the pursuers did not seem to mind shooting in the middle of the city, as if they did not care about the security forces on this planet.

Seeing this, everyone in the cabin looked terrified and desperate.

These gray people who ran the black market also did not dare start a battle in the city. However, these people did not have any scruples at all and were even more vicious than them. They were simply lawless brutes.

“I still have three million Enas in my savings. I can’t accept this!”

The Lizardman was scared out of his wits. He collapsed to the ground and could not stand up.

At this time, the burly man grabbed his collar and took out a palm-sized metal ball from his arms. He pressed the button on the top of the metal ball, and the ball lit up.

“Don’t! This thing will blow up the entire street!”

The Lizardman immediately tried to snatch it back but was kicked to the ground by the burly man.

“Don’t be silly. Didn’t you bring this bomb just in case? Since they want to kill us, let’s see if they will die together with us!”

The burly man had a vicious look on his face. He raised the bomb high and turned around, preparing to shout.

However, right at this moment, the sound of a meteor falling suddenly rang out as it rapidly approached!

Pew! Boom!

A figure shrouded in red flames descended from the sky and kicked out at one of the pursuers, akin to Buddha’s Pa… no, Feet.

A huge force burst out, and the carrier plummeted to the ground, exploding into flames.

This figure jumped and landed in the huge pit created by the vehicles of the people in the black market. He gave a thumbs up and a wide-toothed smile as he stood in front of lizardman and company, protecting them.

“Don’t be afraid. You’re safe now.”

Hearing this, everyone put on an uncertain expression. The burly man turned to look at the Lizardman and asked, “You called for reinforcements?”

“No…” The Lizardman looked confused, doubting himself.” Did I?”

The burly man’s face twitched, and he turned to look at this sudden support. “Who are you? Why did you save us?”

“Don’t ask me. I’m just doing a mission. As for who I am, you should recognize this emblem, right?”

This person turned around and showed a symbol on his clothes. Everyone looked at it and shivered.

There was almost no one in the universe who did not recognize this pattern.

“You’re from the Black Star Army‽”

“To be precise, I’m one of the Army’s Immortals. You can call me Crispy Chicken Wings.” This person grinned. He was indeed a player.

Hearing this, everyone was shocked.

Why have the infamous Immortals suddenly come to help? We clearly had no contact with the Black Star Army at all!

“Wait till I get rid of these people. Stay behind me obediently.”

At this moment, the pursuers suddenly opened fire, and densely packed bullets rained down on them. The bullets were extremely fast, almost forming a line. As soon as Crispy Chicken Wings spoke, a blue shield popped out, protecting the paralyzed vehicles of the black market.

The next second, the Pugilist flames on Crispy Chicken Wings gathered in the palms of his hands, forming a red energy wave.

Boom!

A blazing red beam of light pulsed outward like a whip, hitting all the vehicles.

The next moment, these vehicles turned into fireworks in the sky and the people within were killed instantly, scaring the crowd away.

To Grade B players, this was a common occurrence. There was no difficulty involved.

Crispy Chicken Wings clapped his hands and chuckled. “Problem solved.”

Seeing this, the Lizardman finally had the strength to get up. He snatched the bomb back from the burly man’s hands and turned it off, glaring at him before walking toward Crispy Chicken Wings. “You saved my life. How should I thank you?”

“You don’t have to thank me. From now on, I’m your boss.”

The Lizardman was stunned for a moment before he exclaimed in surprise, “Are you recruiting me to join the Black Star Army?”

“In your dreams. Do you think you can enter the army just because you want to?” Crispy Chicken Wing did not stand on ceremony and rolled his eyes. “What I mean is, I will temporarily take over your black market business. This is an order from the higher-ups. This is the certificate from your black market organization.”

As he spoke, he took out his communicator and displayed a document.

Everyone browsed through it, only feeling shock and surprise.

This was a permit that was recognized by the black market organization. The document stated that the three Universal Civilizations had begun to infiltrate the black market on a large scale, and many of the black market channels had already been uprooted. Therefore, in order to maintain the stability of the galactic black market, the black market organization would send some people to temporarily take over the black market and requested for them to cooperate as much as possible.

Usually, black market organizations would not interfere with ordinary black market operators, but this time, they issued a rare notice.

The people who took over the black markets were all members of the Beyond Grade A organizations, and the players of the Black Star Army were among them.

While everyone was still processing, Crispy Chicken Wings opened the interface and looked at his mission list.

_____________________

Army Transfer Order: Takeover of the Black Market (1)

Mission Introduction: Due to the sanctions of the three Universal Civilizations, the Beyond Grade A Association plans to further control the galactic black market. The Black Star Army has decided to send you to take over and integrate the black market channels of a planet. However, your contact seems to be in danger and needs your help.

Mission Requirements: Rescue the black market operators who are being chased.

This mission is part of a series of related missions. The final reward depends on the mission rating.

Current Mission Status: Completed

_____________________

This was a mission issued by the Black Star Army not long ago, and many players had accepted it. They split up and went to different planets to take over the local black market. Because the players rarely had the chance to be independent, they found it interesting and refreshing.

Furthermore, compared to exploring the Flickering World, taking over and integrating the black market of a planet had a lot more problems to consider. The mission environment was more complicated, which was more challenging to the players.

This was just a corner of the black market, and the same thing happened on many planets in the various Star Fields.

…

“The players have already entered the black market. The situation is not bad…”

In the Black Star Palace office, Han Xiao looked at the star map, nodding as he observed the movements of the players.

The Galactic Black Market was currently the focus of the battle between the association and the three Universal Civilizations. The three Universal Civilizations did not personally take part in the battle, and the people they sent to infiltrate the black market were not direct descendants but subordinates of subsidiary organizations. They had already clashed with the many people sent by the Beyond Grade A Association, both sides suffering from casualties.

Among them, the progress of the army was the smoothest. The players were as useful as ever, unlike the other organizations, which could not be as extravagant as the Black Star Army.

Han Xiao gave this mission to the players. It served two purposes, to provide fertilizer for the players and to allow the players to enter the frontlines of the battle and maintain their interest.

Scattering them out on different planets to manage their own black market businesses was akin to letting them be birds flying in the sky, free as the wind. He was also curious about how these players would react.

At this moment, his communicator vibrated. An officer had sent a message.

“Commander, someone is here to visit you. She doesn’t have an appointment, but she claims to be an old acquaintance of yours.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Someone I know? How close? What’s their name?”

“She said her name is Rossellin.”

Chapter 1283: Would You Like Another Brother-in-Law?

“Why is she here? And why didn’t she tell me?”

Han Xiao was stunned.

This woman was not a good person. She had left the Black Star Army decades ago and followed the Silver Revolutionary Army to cause trouble. Now that she had suddenly returned, no one knew what she wanted.

“Commander, will you see her?”

“…Let’s just meet her for a bit.”

Han Xiao nodded. He was quite curious about Rossellin’s intentions.

After the butterfly effect he caused, the Silver Revolutionary Army basically did not have the chance to evolve into a big version event like in his previous life. He did not know what would happen to this group. Could Rossellin have come to him for help?

While guessing, Han Xiao stood up and walked out of the office. He walked along the corridor to the reception room. On his way to the logistics department, he called Reynold, who was working extremely hard, and brought him to see his sister.

Very quickly, the two of them arrived outside the guest room. The door opened, and they saw Rossellin.

“Long time no see.”

Han Xiao casually greeted Rossellin as he sized her up.

It had been many years since they last met, and Rossellin’s appearance did not seem to have changed much. She was wearing a dark blue teacher’s robe, and her temperament was even calmer than decades ago.

“That’s right. It’s been so many years, and you’ve already become a legendary figure in the universe. Even the three Universal Civilizations view you as the most dangerous person. Thinking back to your honeymoon period with the dynasty, it’s truly a pity.” Rossellin smiled.

Han Xiao sat opposite Rossellin and casually replied, “What’s there to be sad about? Different positions will have different problems to consider. The development of any matter always spirals upward, but it’s very normal to experience rise and fall.”

“But this isn’t a spiral rise, right? If not for the Sanctum Revival you created, this era wouldn’t have become what it is today. As expected of you, you easily accomplished what I couldn’t. Your ability to turn the situation around is much stronger than mine. Don’t you feel any sense of achievement?” Rossellin batted her eyes and teased him.

“You’re not yet worthy of letting me feel a sense of achievement.” Han Xiao smiled.

Rossellin was not angry. She smiled and turned to look at Reynold as though she had just noticed him. She pretended to be surprised and said, “Hey, little brother, you’re still alive. I thought you would’ve died from overworking by now.”

Reynold did not know how to respond.

Although you are my sister, if you continue to spout nonsense, do you believe that I won’t give you a firm slap?

Han Xiao shook his head and smiled. “Let’s not talk about me for now. You, on the other hand, have not made a single move in decades, at most only helping me a little in Modo. How’s your so-called career?”

“Nothing much. What you’ve done has indirectly obstructed our career. What else can we do? But that’s none of my business. I’ve already quit.”

Rossellin shrugged with a nonchalant tone, as if she did not care about wasting decades of her time.

The Intelligent Plague incident had consolidated the hearts of the three Universal Civilizations, and the recent sanctions against the Beyond Grade A Association had also received the approval of a large number of ordinary people who hated the strong. The Silver Revolutionary Army could not break the foundation of the ordinary citizens in the three Universal Civilizations, and thus, their career had come to a standstill.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

This woman actually quit the Silver Revolutionary Army… This was out of his expectations.

“So, why did you come back today?”

Hearing this, Rossellin spread her hands out and smiled.

“I can’t stay idle. When I lose my job, I have to find a new job. What do you think, O Great Commander? Will you accept me?”

“If I say no, what will you do?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Then I can only pester you…” Rossellin rolled her eyes and deliberately acted like she was about to cry. “With our relationship, you can’t bear to see me fall into someone else’s arms, right?”

“…Speak properly, don’t talk about such things.” Han Xiao coughed. “Now that the three Universal Civilizations are punishing us, you must have some other reasons for suddenly coming back.”

Rossellin clapped her hands twice symbolically before smiling. “I really can’t hide it from your eyes. You also know that my goal is to deal with the three Universal Civilizations, but recently, I suddenly realized that joining the association’s faction seems to be more promising.”

Han Xiao was speechless.

That seemed to be the case. To a certain extent, the Beyond Grade A Association had already achieved a part of the role of Silver Revolutionary Army in his previous life. Now that they had formed an opposing faction with the three Universal Civilizations, the commotion they caused was not much smaller than what the Silver Revolutionary Army caused back then.

However, the Silver Revolutionary Army in this lifetime did not improve at all, which made Rossellin feel that her future was bleak. Thus, she ran back to join her old employer, resorting to another method to deal with the three Universal Civilizations. Her goal did not change, and with her personality, she would definitely do such a thing.

And if this ‘soul character’ left, the Silver Revolutionary Army would only have two or three little kittens left. There would be no chance to rise up.

This meant that although he did not deliberately target the Silver Revolutionary Army, it seemed like the butterfly effect he triggered indirectly killed them in the end.

So, was Rossellin abandoning the dark to embrace the light?

Han Xiao shook his head before emphasizing his seriousness as he spoke. “…Alright, since you’re willing to bear the brunt and return to the army, I can let you in. However, from now on, you can no longer have any contact with the Silver Revolutionary Army. If you leave the army again, even with Reynold around, I won’t let you come back. Do you understand?”

He did not mind recruiting Rossellin again. Although this woman’s mind was dangerous, her ability was indeed rare and had strategic significance. She was practically a trump card to overthrow someone’s rule. It was best to keep such a talent in his hands.

“Alright, I won’t leave you this time.” Rossellin batted her eyes again.

Reynold frowned when he heard this.

This woman was not quite right. Was she seducing Black Star to make the Army Commander his brother-in-law?

Damn, how shameless!

Han Xiao remained unmoved, standing up as he spoke. “Alright, I’ll get someone to arrange your duties. You two have not seen each other for many years, so you should have a lot to talk about. I still have things to do, so I’ll take my leave now.”

As he spoke, he turned and walked out of the guest room, leaving behind only his shadow.

After watching Han Xiao leave, Reynold turned to look at Rossellin and said with a frown, “Let me warn you, if you come back with bad intentions, I will be the first to catch you!”

“You don’t trust me?” Rossellin raised her brows.

“Humph, I know very well what kind of person you are!” Reynold crossed his arms and said expressionlessly, “Also, I advise you to be more respectful to the Army Commander. A subordinate should act like a subordinate!”

“Yo, it’s been decades since we last met, and you’re so loyal to Black Star?” Rossellin clicked her tongue in wonder. Suddenly, she rolled her eyes, lowered her tone, and chuckled. “How about it? Do you want to have a brother-in-law?”

“What are you doing?” Reynold frowned even more.

“I think a man like Black Star who can turn the universe upside down suits me very well. What do you think?” Rossellin teased.

Reynold snorted in disdain.

“Those who are eyeing Black Star can circle around this base six times. With just you? Go queue up!”

Chapter 1284: Aurora… No, Feidin’s Adventure Records

Rossellin’s return was just a small interlude, and Han Xiao left it to his subordinates to make arrangements.

After returning to his office, Han Xiao pinned the surveillance of the army players entering the black market before opening the forums to check the response of the players.

The forums were very active, and the posts regarding the controlling of the black market occupied a large number of pages. The situation on every planet was different, with the environment, characters, and events varying, causing the situation that each individual encountered to be unique.

Some people managed to save their targets in time, like Crispy Chicken Wings, obtaining a group of professional assistants that could continue to develop according to the original black market channel. Some players came a step too late and did not manage to connect with the black market personnel. They would have to build a new black market channel from scratch, which was equivalent to them fumbling in the dark. Many players of the army were sharing the situation that they had encountered, and there were many confused requests for help.

A small number of players who had started to come into contact with the black market also shared their experience and insights on the forums. This was because when Han Xiao issued this mission, he had set it as a collective mission with a comprehensive completion rate, depending on the total degree of control over the black market.

Every player’s mission results would be calculated into the overall completion rating. Therefore, it was not enough to just complete the mission alone. If the players wanted a higher reward, they needed others to be on equal grounds with them. Thus, many of the pioneers at the black market were happy to share and help the other army players take over the black market. It was a win-win situation for all.

“The current development seems to be more positive than expected. With the model now, the players might inject new energy into the Galactic Black Market and help the black markets in various areas connect with each other.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Due to the fact that they could not be seen in public, there were very few large black market organizations that could cross Star Systems, let alone Star Clusters. Black market managers like Secret Master were even rarer. Most of them were small black market organizations that were limited to one or two Star Zones, akin to local tyrants.

Even though there was a black market organization that managed the black market in name, the overall structure of the Galactic Black Market was still very scattered.

As for the local black market forces, their partnerships were basically fixed over a long period of time. Most people only knew about their own small territory, and it was difficult for them to expand outward. There were many reasons, one of them being that the flow of information between the small black market forces in different regions was limited.

The way Han Xiao saw it, if the players took over the black markets en masse, they could use the information on the forums and private chat channels to become catalysts, becoming the glue of many black market organizations.

With the incentive of cumulative progress of the mission, most players would be more than willing to cooperate with other players. In that case, the regional black markets that were dominated by the army players might have a chance to build a bridge of cooperation with each other, which was much easier than using any normal methods.

In this manner, the goal of ‘integrating the Galactic Black Market’ that he had proposed to the association back then could be advanced in a quick manner.

“This is a good move. I’ll make the best use of the players’ characteristics and hit a few birds with one stone…”

Han Xiao’s lips curled up. With all his developments, he had already turned into a chess player behind the scenes, and the chessboard was getting bigger and bigger. Now, it was truly akin to the starry sky.

The players still needed more time. Han Xiao closed the forums, took out his encrypted communicator, and called Oathkeeper.

A few seconds later, the communication was connected, and Oathkeeper appeared on the screen.

“Black Star, what’s the matter?”

“You know about the recent sanctions, right?”

“Yes, we all watch the news every day.” Oathkeeper nodded. “But you only contacted me now. Do you need any help?”

“You can say that. Since the three Universal Civilizations have decided to restrict me, as the only one in control of the Sanctum Revival, I have to retaliate. What they’re most afraid of is that there will be too many Beyond Grade As, so it’s best to revive some more people to pressure them.”

“But we haven’t gathered all the keys yet, so there’s no way to revive any more…” Oathkeeper was in a difficult position.

“No, the Sanctum Keys are so precious. Even if I gather all of the necessary parts, I won’t use one for this reason… I mean to pull out some more Holy Accord members. After all, your side is the reserve of Beyond Grade As in this battle, and now is the time to use the Holy Accord.”

Without waiting for Oathkeeper to reply, Han Xiao quickly continued.

“Furthermore, I feel that the three Universal Civilizations are probably trying to see if I can revive any more Beyond Grade As, so it’s best to give them a response. The more Beyond Grade As there are, the more uncomfortable the three Universal Civilizations will be, making them feel that the cost of trial and error is too high. Only then will they be more cautious, and similar tests will be decreased in the future.”

“There is indeed such a possibility…” Oathkeeper hesitated for a moment. “I don’t object on principle, but you’ll have to talk to them about who will come out. There should be quite a number of unreliable people in the second batch. It’s best to be cautious.”

“I know.” Han Xiao nodded. He already had a demographic in mind. Among the second batch of Revivors, the neutral unlucky ones who died in the Calamity of the Pinnacles were the best targets. He could also show them to the Super Star Cluster Alliance and increase their confidence in the deal.

Speaking of which, it had been quite a few days, and the list of resources that the Super Star Cluster Alliance promised to compile in exchange for the resurrections had yet to arrive…

Just as this thought appeared in his mind, a notification popped up on his communicator.

Ding! Ding!

Han Xiao opened the interface and saw that it was the list of resources that the Super Star Cluster Alliance had sent over for the Sanctum Revival.

“Hey, speak of the devil. What a coincidence,” Han Xiao muttered to himself and nodded at Oathkeeper. “This is probably the situation. I’ll talk to the Revivors in a while. Help me convey my intentions in the next few days so that they know what to do. Also, give me a reliable list based on their performance over the past year.”

“Alright then.”

Oathkeeper felt weird.

They were clearly partners, but he felt like he was the subordinate instead…

After giving some more instructions, Han Xiao ended the communication and browsed through the list the Super Star Clusters sent.

He only offered ten slots for the first batch, but the Super Star Cluster Alliance was generous and took out quite a number of good items. They were basically all Universal Treasures and Gold Grade blueprints.

All the Super Star Cluster civilizations were after all victors of the exploration era war, and they had fought many against civilizations. While they might not be as rich as the three Universal Civilizations, they were still well off, not lacking in Universal Treasures or Gold Grade blueprints.

However, Han Xiao had hidden the benefits he had gotten from Jayz’s treasure and the Sanctums very well. People who were not familiar with him would not know about his current foundation, so the list of resources that the Super Star Cluster Alliance made with confidence did not catch his eye at all.

Han Xiao chose three of the more attractive offers and gave them three slots. He then returned the rest to the Super Star Cluster.

Not long after the message was sent, the Super Star Cluster Alliance contacted him.

“Black Star, your appetite is too big. Don’t push your luck. We’re already very sincere!”

Hearing this, Han Xiao secretly smirked.

Who were they talking to? Did they not know who had the upper hand?

“I’ll decide if you’re sincere or not. There are seven more slots. If you don’t want them, forget it. Don’t buy them if you have the guts.”

“…We’ll buy it.”

“By the way, payment first.”

“…You win!”

The contact from the Super Star Cluster Alliance went offline.

There was nothing he could do about it. Having a monopoly of the market meant he could be that domineering. One could complain about it, but they had to buy what they needed.

After rebuffing the contact, Han Xiao turned off the virtual screen and was about to continue studying the Gold Grade blueprints in the workshop.

However, at this moment, his private communicator suddenly received a message from Aurora.

“There’s a huge discovery. Come quickly!”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment before he turned curious.

Aurora was still traveling with Feidin, and they had not contacted each other for quite some time. Usually, she would not contact him if something happened. Now that she had suddenly called him, he did not know what was going on.

However, Feidin was wearing an external Lucky Halo. No matter what happened, Han Xiao felt that he would not be surprised.

…

“By the way… where did you bring me?”

Inside the spaceship, Aurora swallowed her saliva and looked outside the porthole with her eyes wide open.

“I don’t know either. It suddenly became like this outside…”

Feidin looked in the same direction with shock.

The two of them were originally piloting the ship leisurely in the universe, but then the environment outside suddenly changed, and the starry sky disappeared, turning into a pitch-black space without a trace of starlight. It was as if they had passed through some barrier, entering an unknown territory.

However, the spaceship’s alarm did not react at all, nor did the monitor show any abnormalities.

The two of them were shocked and immediately controlled the spaceship to retreat. However, this pitch-black space seemed to have no concept of distance. Even though the spaceship had accelerated to its hyperdrive state, it remained in its original position and could not leave this vast area of space.

The reason they discovered this was because there was a single coordinate system reference object in this pitch-black space, which was also the source of their surprise.

Looking out the window, they saw a broken mechanical body floating quietly in this dark space. Its size was terrifying, many times larger than the Mechanical Deity they had seen before.

Compared to it, the spaceship was akin to a speck of dust on a normal person’s body.

The structure of this body was similar to that of an upright organism. Its flesh and blood were intertwined with machinery, and its skeleton was crisscrossed with metal. However, it was severely damaged, riddled with holes.

What shocked Aurora the most was that her Esper Ability actually felt a weak life force from this body.

This thing… seemed to be alive!

Chapter 1285: Shocking Origins

Buzz!

At this time, the Throne in the cabin that was collecting dust suddenly flashed, and Han Xiao appeared.

The helmet opened, revealing Han Xiao’s face. He asked in a curious tone, “What important discovery have you made that’s worth calling me here?”

“You’re an expert Mechanic, quick, take a look at the big guy outside.” Aurora pointed outside the window.

Actually, there was no need for her to tell him. The moment Han Xiao asked the question, he noticed the abnormality of their environment. Following Aurora’s finger, he immediately saw this strange body.

“Yo, it’s huge! Flesh and machine are fused together. It’s a little like grafting, but it doesn’t seem to be the case… What is this? Where did you guys find it?”

Han Xiao was shocked.

He did not know what this thing was either. It looked to be many times larger than the normal size of his Mechanical Deity. Its body was covered in wounds, as though it had experienced all kinds of cosmic disasters.

“This is what we suddenly encountered. This space seems to be a sealed domain…” Feidin explained.

Han Xiao nodded as he stroked his chin.

“From the sound of it, this body seems to have been maintaining a strange domain, and you guys accidentally barged in. If it’s mechanical technology, it should be a high-level usage of spatial technology, creating a fixed field of folded space around the body or changing some physical constants in this field. This is high-end technology.”

“But there’s no reaction from the spaceship’s detector.” Aurora patted the control panel.

“Let me see…”

Han Xiao checked and realized that all the devices were operating normally. His eyes gleamed.

“Hmm, either the device is affected by virtual interference or the other party has some kind of amazing concealment technology. Either way, the technology is extraordinary…” Aurora’s spaceship had gathered quite a lot of Jayz’s technological treasures, but for it to have been blinded, Han Xiao naturally took it seriously.

“Could it be a Space Wonder?” Feidin was curious.

“Don’t jump to a conclusion so quickly…” Han Xiao waved his hand and took over the controls. “Since the spaceship can’t retreat, let’s see if we can approach this big guy.”

“Are you sure?” Aurora was a little hesitant. “I felt a weak life signal from it, but no matter how I tried to send it a message, it did not respond…”

“This big guy is alive?”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment before his interest was piqued. He knew Aurora’s ability very well and would not make any mistakes.

Initially, he had thought that this was the remains of a gigantic mechanical body thrown around by some civilization or Mechanic who did not care about public morals. However, since this mechanical body was alive, things became much more interesting… “Let’s go take a look.”

Han Xiao only hesitated for two seconds before making a decision. He controlled the spaceship to move forward.

As expected, this dark area seemed to only allow them to advance but not retreat. The spaceship slowly approached the target.

The closer they got, the stronger the contrast between their sizes. The details of the body were enlarged in their vision, making them feel how small they were.

After a while, the spaceship stopped at a long and narrow hole on the finger of the mechanical body. It was like a huge cave that extended thousands of meters into the interior.

The hatch opened, and the few of them got out of the spaceship, stepping onto the rugged ground.

The flesh and machinery beneath their feet were intertwined with each other, making it unsuitable for normal walking.

Han Xiao squatted down and inserted his fingers into a piece of flesh to experience the sensation it gave. He then observed the muscles and veins before nodding.

“Muscles, tendons, and fat. They all look like normal biological tissue, not artificial biochemical tendons…”

As he said that, he exerted some force with his fingers, and a little bit of blood seeped out from the muscle.

Han Xiao looked up and saw that there were solidified bloodstains all around the flesh and blood tissues. They looked black and splattered outward, like blood that was suddenly sprayed out by a slash.

His eyes flashed, and he suddenly thought of Old Man Manison’s criminal technology. This body was a little similar to a criminal’s biological modification and biochemical prosthetics.

At this moment, Feidin said, “Black Star, I’m not feeling too good…”

Han Xiao and Aurora turned around, only to see Feidin holding onto his chest with his brows furrowed.

“What’s wrong?”

Han Xiao’s heart tightened.

He reached out and poked Feidin, triggering the combat information. After seeing it clearly, his expression changed slightly.

In Feidin’s status bar, a negative status called [Dissolution] appeared. The effect would take 0.01% to 0.5% of his health, energy, and stamina every second. However, under the influence of his Lucky Halo, Feidin only suffered the weakest negative effects.

Why didn’t he have such a reaction before? Could it be that this happened after entering this body?

Han Xiao opened the interface and realized that he did not even have the (Dissolution] status. He did not have any notification about judgment being made as well.

Could it be that this effect only targeted those below Beyond Grade A? Was it limited to life forms or dead objects?

He turned to look at the spaceship parked at the side, and after a simple inspection, he realized that the exterior armor of the spaceship was showing signs of rusting and dissolving. The material used to make this spaceship was extremely tough, and even a portion of the Black Star alloy was mixed in. It had its own recovery ability, but even this was not immune to the (Dissolution) state…

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes as a hypothesis started to form.

“This area can only be entered but not left. Whether it’s a living thing or an inanimate object, everything will start to dissolve upon entering the body. Interesting, this feels like a flytrap. This is probably a trap that drifts through the universe, and those who accidentally bump into it will not be able to escape and will become its nutrients…”

Luckily, there was a healer with sufficient power in the team. Otherwise, it would have been slightly troublesome.

He signaled Aurora to treat Feidin while he took out a metal needle and stabbed it deep into the flesh on the wall, attempting to cause damage. If this big guy was an individual, it should be able to display combat information on the interface.

Ding!

The next moment, a notification popped up on the interface.

Han Xiao opened it, and his expression changed.

The level, species, and abilities of this body were all question marks. Only its name was not a question mark, but there was no difference. It was called (Unknown Polymerized Entity).

This thing’s level is actually so high

Even if it was Manison or Sorokin, who had a higher level than him, he could still see a portion of the other party’s information. The information of this body was almost all question marks, which could only mean that the difference in level was too big. In the explored universe, Han Xiao estimated that only Wuornos had reached such a level.

“Where did this thing come from…”

Han Xiao’s curiosity grew stronger.

He really did not have any impression of this body in his memories. Logically speaking, such a strange thing should not have been unknown in his previous life. He did not know if it was not discovered or hidden by someone.

Han Xiao did not have time to care about Aurora and Feidin, focusing on studying the thing. He tore off a lump of flesh from the ground, broke off a few mechanical parts, and then activated the material detector in his mechanical suit to scan and analyze them.

Not long after, the two analysis reports were shown.

The first was the analysis result of the mechanical parts. It showed that its microscopic structure was very novel. There was no matching material in the database, which proved that the material of this mechanical body seemed to be composed of some unknown alloy. The second document was an analysis of the flesh sample. No matching biological genes were detected, which proved that the source of the flesh sample was most likely not a known species in the explored universe. However, the existence of the Super Gene was detected from it, which was highly compatible with the Mechanic class. Although the cell activity was extremely weak, it also seemed to contain extremely weak electromagnetic energy.

Han Xiao had a theory, immediately tearing off a few more chunks of flesh to test. Every single one of them had Super genes, and they were all Mechanic cells.

“The flesh and blood came from Mechanics…”

Han Xiao recalled the size of this body, and his face twitched.

If the flesh and blood of the body belonged to the same person, it would be fine. But if it came from different individuals… How many Mechanic bodies did it take to construct such a large body?

“Why don’t we test it out?”

Han Xiao shook his head and weighed the flesh in his hands. After hesitating for a while, he activated the [Bold Explorer) skill.

This skill was useless against the character itself, but this body seemed to be different. A piece of flesh that had already been separated could very likely pass the judgment.

As expected, the next moment, the skill took effect.

Buzz!

The world in front of Han Xiao suddenly changed, and images that he had never seen before began to flash back.

It was as if a starry sky had opened up in front of them, and an incomparably glorious galactic civilization appeared before their eyes. As fleets traveled through the starry sky, the territory expanded outward. Planet after planet turned into colonial areas, and cities rose from the desolate planets. Countless spaceships came and went among the planets, and it looked like a prosperous civilization.

However, the next moment, a series of wormholes suddenly appeared in the sky, and an unknown fleet invaded. The flames of war spread to this peaceful civilization, and blood, slaughter, and screams replaced the original prosperity. As the invader advanced, dark green roots extended out of the void and pierced the planets of the invaded like straws. These planets melted, shrunk, and died at a rate visible to the naked eye. In the end, they all turned into liquid nutrients and were sucked away by the roots, leaving nothing behind.

“This is…”

Han Xiao’s pupils constricted.

He was all too familiar with this scene. It was the same as the World Tree War Version!

The World Tree Civilization had invaded this unknown civilization!

Before he could analyze further, the illusion in front of him changed and arrived in a universe.

A large number of Mechanics were gathered there, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the starry sky. Behind them were their own mechanical armies, forming a magnificent formation. Around them were ring-shaped mechanical devices that covered the entire area.

A Mechanical Deity suddenly appeared in the middle of the crowd, releasing a strange energy wave that enveloped the entire area, resonating with the ring-shaped mechanical device.

All of a sudden, the bodies of all the Mechanics in the area exploded, turning into pure flesh and blood, mixing together with their respective armies and then turning into a torrent, pouring into the Mechanical Deity in the center… The size of this Mechanical Deity grew larger and larger, eventually turning into a colossal body. Its flesh and metal fused perfectly, and its appearance was like an indomitable mechanical prosthetic giant!

However, before Han Xiao could be surprised, the scene changed again. The gigantic mechanical body that was still intact a second ago suddenly became tattered, as though it had gone through countless battles. Its appearance was very familiar. It was the mechanical body that Han Xiao and the others had met.

This damaged machine seemed to have been scrapped. It lost all its momentum and slowly drifted in the universe. In the end, it was captured by a huge black hole and swallowed, disappearing without a trace.

At this time, his perspective zoomed out once again. The unknown civilization’s territory had completely turned into darkness, almost cleaner than the desolate universe belt.

The fleet of the World Tree Civilization was like a customer who had eaten his fill. They retreated in satisfaction, leaving behind an empty universe.

This was the last scene of the illusion.

Han Xiao shivered. The effect of the skill disappeared, and his vision returned to normal.

His eyes were still filled with shock as he muttered to himself, “I seem to have discovered something incredible…”

Chapter 1286: World Tree’s Shadow

The information brought by (Bold Explorer] was huge. Han Xiao was both shocked and curious.

What he knew about the World Tree Civilization was only limited to the information available during the war in his previous life. As for the detailed history of the World Tree Civilization, he only knew it briefly, mainly because the information the players in his previous life knew was also quite limited.

However, he did know the basic situation. The growth of the World Tree Civilization was basically filled with war. They kept exploring the universe, conquering and destroying countless civilizations and races. The three Universal Civilizations were not the first to be discovered; they were not special from the World Tree’s perspective, just more prey on their path of conquest.

Through the images he saw earlier, Han Xiao roughly figured out the origin of this mechanical body.

This unknown civilization should have been the ruler of a certain area in the unexplored universe. According to what he saw, its scale was not inferior to any one of the three Universal Civilizations. The three Universal Civilizations only ruled this area of the explored universe. Other civilizations existed in the wide unexplored universe, exploring further and expanding their territory just like the three Universal Civilizations.

Although the explored universe had already entered the galactic society era, in an infinitely bigger perspective, the entire universe was still in the ‘exploration era’. In the past, the World Tree Civilization discovered this unknown civilization. Hence, they traveled through space and invaded, stirring up the flames of war, biting off their territory bit by bit… The way the World Tree Civilization invaded was not just simply occupying the target civilization’s territory. Most of the time, it devoured the enemy’s planets completely. Therefore, lost territories were almost unretrievable.

The opponent had to either defend against the World Tree Civilization’s attacks or yield their territory gradually, losing resource-rich planets that would become the World Tree’s fertilizer, forming a vicious cycle. In Han Xiao’s previous life, the three Universal Civilizations faced this exact situation.

Clearly, this unknown civilization was no match for the World Tree in terms of military power. Hence, it tried to find a breakthrough in the form of individual strength. Through some kind of unique fusing technology with Beyond Grade As as the core, countless Mechanics willingly sacrificed themselves, hoping to create an even stronger individual being.

Although the illusions Han Xiao saw were the only source of information, he had a feeling that this unknown civilization’s goal should be to artificially create a Super that exceeded the Beyond Grade A territory!

However, the illusions did not show if it worked. All he knew was that the mechanical body was defeated, fell into a black hole, and disappeared without falling into the hands of the World Tree. This unknown civilization was destroyed in the end, devoured completely along with its territory, not leaving any traces behind. It became another victim of the World Tree Civilization.

“Such a horrifying enemy…”

Han Xiao mourned for this unknown civilization for a few seconds and then sighed.

God only knew how many revolutions and disasters a civilization had to experience and overcome to grow to the universal level. After conquering all these obstacles step by step and creating a glorious civilization, the inheritance and hard work of countless generations were destroyed so easily, disappearing in the universe forever.

Countless years of hard work vanished overnight.

Although he had witnessed the terror of the World Tree Civilization before, seeing this again, Han Xiao still felt pressured.

If not because he knew how horrifying the World Tree was, he would not have done everything he could to delay the World Tree’s arrival. Even though he had many trump cards he never had in his previous life, he still could not say that they would win this war with full confidence.

“Now’s not the time to worry about this. What’s going to come will come sooner or later. It’s just a matter of time…” Han Xiao shook his head, exhaled softly, and put his focus back on this mechanical body.

“This big guy’s level is very high, probably above four hundred. But it doesn’t feel like it has reached the higher territory to me…”

Han Xiao pondered.

Although he had yet to enter the higher Grade, he already had some ideas and knew that the God’s Trait Transformation was something he had to overcome.

The method this unknown civilization used was to forcefully stimulate quality change using quantity and complete the evolution. Therefore, they sacrificed tons of Mechanics. However, the life hierarchy of this mechanical body did not seem to evolve.

Even though Han Xiao could not understand the principles of the technology this unknown civilization used for the time being, it did not stop him from intuitively feeling that this was the wrong path. It was more of a bet than an actual attempt.

Therefore, this thing’s total level was most likely not an accurate indicator of its strength. It was like having many ‘subclasses’, which gave it a lot of levels, but its actual strength did not undergo a revolution.

Nonetheless, it was definitely an improvement. It might have touched the edge of the higher territory… Even so, it was still beat up this bad by the World Tree. It was indeed quite horrifying.

“This mechanical body contains the essence of tons of Mechanics of an unknown civilization. I should be able to derive a lot of new technology from it, especially this unique fusing technology that’s somewhat similar to the Felon technology but quite different in its own way…’

wn

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The value of this mechanical body might be on par with Jayz’s technology treasure. It was filled with the technical essence of different Mechanics.

Among them, the most valuable should be this fusing technology. This exact technology might not be useful to him, but it could give him some insights to come up with something new.

While his thoughts were spinning, Aurora, who was standing to the side, saw that Han Xiao did not say anything despite studying it for quite a long time. She could not help but curiously ask, “Any discovery?”. Han Xiao nodded, smiled, and said, “You’ve really brought me a big surprise this time.”

Then, he gave Feidin a meaningful look with an even more content expression.

Feidin was really his lucky star!

He guessed that this mechanical body should have drifted in the universe and finally fallen into the explored universe through a wormhole.

This Star Field’s name was Blackhole Edge. It was a place where large wormholes frequently appeared, so things like this were not rare.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, this mechanical body was never discovered. However, it might not have been because no one found it. It was also possible that it was not thrown into the explored universe by the wormhole. This should have something to do with the butterfly effect he caused. After all, wormholes were always very random.

Now, however, Feidin had come across this big guy… Han Xiao could not help but be amazed by Feidin’s luck. He was like a walking portable ‘adventure trigger’.

Aurora came over and stuck around Han Xiao to keep asking him about what he discovered. Han Xiao thought about it, skipped most of the information, and explained the nature of this mechanical body ambiguously, acting as if he discovered this information through technological analysis.

“This means that this big guy should now be asleep because it’s severely injured?” Aurora’s eyes spun, and she said with anticipation, “Should I send in life force and help him recover?”

As soon as she said that, before Han Xiao replied, a notification popped up on the interface.

You have triggered the hidden mission (Visitor from Afar)!

Mission Introduction: You accidentally discovered the wreckage of a unique mechanical body from an unknown civilization. There seems to be a weak sign of life in this wreckage. It should have a lot of secrets, and you might be able to acquire some valuable intelligence from it.

Mission Requirements: Repair the mechanical body and awaken it.

Basic Reward: 5 Billion EXP, 2 Random Rewards, and 1 Character Summon Card.

Bonus rewards will be given based on the Mission Rating. Mission Rating is given based on the extent of the mechanical body’s repairs.

Remarks: This mission might affect the developments of some events and cause unpredictable impacts. Please choose carefully.

“A mission?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

This mechanical body was unconscious and heavily damaged. Who knew if it still had an individual consciousness? If he asked Aurora to heal it, it might create many unstable factors.

The unknown impact mentioned in the remarks of the mission should consist of mainly two things. Firstly, the World Tree’s information might be leaked all over the world by this guy. Secondly, this guy’s strength was unknown, which might be a threat.

Furthermore, if this mechanical body regained its ability to move, how was he going to reverse-engineer it? Of course, studying an immobile object was the easiest. He could do it in any position he wanted!

Whether emotional or logical, Han Xiao did not plan to have his plan disrupted by this mission. He shook his head.

“No need, keep it this way. I’m going to study this thing thoroughly first.” “Alright then, call me when you need me.” Aurora did not mind.

Although she was the first one to discover this mechanical body, she did not mind letting Han Xiao decide what to do with it. It was a sensitive time, and she did not want to cause trouble for Han Xiao.

Han Xiao nodded. He came to the edge of this long wound and tried opening the secondary dimensional army box outside it.

Mechanical Force lightning bolts jumped around like dancing golden snakes, opening a gate. Tons of mechanical soldiers flew out. This strange area did not seal up the secondary dimensions too like when he was in the Celestial Star Alliance dimension.

Very soon, these mechanical soldiers spread out like ants moving on the surface of this mechanical body, searching for the core that maintained this territory.

Han Xiao planned to store this mechanical body first in case someone discovered it while it drifted in space. This territory sealed up usual movements but not the quantum network, otherwise Aurora would not have been able to send him a message so easily.

Scanning reports were sent to Han Xiao one after another. Not long after, the entire mechanical body was scanned. The mechanical devices in most areas were no longer working, except for a small area at its chest. One of the devices in it was what activated this territory.

The mechanical soldier rapidly dug a hole in the mechanical body’s chest and turned off the device from inside.

Buzz!

The next moment, the territory was shut down. The black space around disappeared and returned to the normal cosmic space.

“It’s deactivated.”

Han Xiao nodded, summoned the engineering machinery army, planted a directional wormhole generator, and set the target coordinates as the mechanical life civilization in the Black Star Army’s territory

After a while, an enormous wormhole appeared. The mechanical troops pushed the mechanical body into the wormhole. A few minutes later, Han Xiao received a message from Psionic Prime saying he had received the cargo.

Then, Han Xiao retrieved all of his troops, cleaned up any traces, turned to look at Aurora, and said with a smile, “Your discovery this time is very helpful to me. You’ve done a great job.”

Aurora’s eyes sparkled. “Do I get a reward then?”

“What do you want? I will grant it as long as it’s not too overboard.”

“Hmm… I haven’t decided yet. I’ll tell you when I have.” Aurora giggled.

“Alright then, take it as I owe you a favor.”

Han Xiao shook his head, swapped into the King, and teleported home right away. He could not wait to study the technological secrets of the mechanical body.

He had a feeling that he might be surprised by what he would obtain from this mechanical body.

Aurora and Feidin remained in place and looked at each other.

After half a minute, Aurora softly said, “What are you looking at? Go to the ship.”

“…Are we going to continue traveling?” Feidin’s lips twitched.

“Of course! We’ve helped Black Star again this time. We might discover more things!

Aurora was thrilled.She had lived too long under the protection of Black Star and Hila. She always wanted to help Han Xiao. Now that she finally had, she felt full of motivation and passion for adventures.

“Can you swap me with Nero?” Feidin said weakly.

He had already followed Aurora for more than a year. If he had known he would be kidnapped by Aurora like this for so long, he would not have separated with Chen Xing back then.

In the past, they spent all the time together in his mind, but now it had become a long-distance relationship…

If he had to describe how it felt, he would say it was a decision he regretted very much!

Chapter 1287: One Arrow

Planet Apostle was located at the center of the Sigma Star System. It was an enormous planet and the home of Black Star’s mechanical life civilization. Crisscrossing mechanical buildings filled its surface, and mega buildings were everywhere. It was full of the sense of industrial beauty.

As the mother planet of the mechanical life civilization, it went through modifications many times. The mechanical lives emptied the insides of the entire planet using planetary engineering technology, replacing the majority of the planet with metal. It had become almost fully mechanical; the Planet Apostle was basically a portable galactic war fortress. With the population of the machinery civilization rocketing, the size of the planet also increased. At the start, it was only normal-sized; now, it was gigantic.

Four enormous satellites surrounded Planet Apostle. They were mainly used as galactic mega machinery by the mechanical lives.

At this time, an enormous wormhole crack appeared beside one of the satellites. A mechanical army dragged the gigantic unknown mechanical body out like ants.

Streams of light flew out from Planet Apostle and hovered not far from the mechanical body. It was the Apostle Weapons, including Psionic Prime.

With the increase of Han Xiao’s technology level, these Apostle Weapons also actively updated their body parts time and again. They looked very different from before. If their original appearances were like ordinary free players, they now looked like whale players.

At this time, a flash of light flickered beside Psionic Prime. Han Xiao arrived through teleportation. The various Apostle Weapons had received word earlier and all greeted him.

Light flickered in Psionic Prime’s electronic eyes. He looked at this mechanical body, and a virtual screen with a curious emote appeared on his head as he asked monotonously, “Lord, what is this?”

“A mechanical wreckage that contains unknown technology. It’s for my study. I’m leaving it with you for the time being. I don’t want too many people to see it, so I can’t put it in Black Star Palace,” Han Xiao replied.

Psionic Prime nodded. “I’ll have a secret lab built just to store this mechanical body. Should I document it now?”

“Hmm, go ahead. This big guy’s name will be SWY-001 from now on.”

Han Xiao casually gave it a code. There was no special meaning to ‘SWY’. It was just the initials of the Pinyin for ‘no idea what this is’. He felt this code name relayed the idea very clearly and decided to use this code for anything unknown in the future he came across.

While SWY-001 was being transported, Han Xiao turned and took a look at the machinery civilization and nodded in his mind.

After developing for about eight decades, with the army providing resources, the machinery civilization expanded tremendously in the Sigma Star System, displaying their galactic industrial level of growth. They achieved self-sufficiency and were thriving. Plus, its population was exploding; it had already become one of the important sources of army staff for Han Xiao.

Even without the bonuses of his Mechanical Force, the machinery civilization was more than capable of dealing with an ordinary Star System civilization. After all, the biggest advantages of machinery civilizations were their highly efficient resources distribution, highly united mindsets, and close to zero need for reproductive and entertainment activities. Yet, they would not come across negative societal problems like normal civilizations would. Everyone in the civilization was a perfect soldier. It could be said that the industrial system of machinery civilizations was made for war.

Han Xiao could not help but think of the Black Spirit Race, which was developing in the neighboring Ednea Star System. They also had a hive mindset that allowed them to possess the ability to distribute resources extremely efficiently, learn the technological skill tree collectively at an incredible speed, and come up with new directions for their technology at the same time. They were also developing extremely rapidly; they had already started to send their people into the galaxy and were transforming into a Star System civilization.

With the astonishing learning ability they possessed because of the mental network, the Black Spirit Race raised many scientists and had already provided a lot of talents to the logistics department and the Super Academy.

However, due to the differences on the individual level, the Black Spirit Race took a path that varied from the war machine path of the machinery civilization. It created a new culture. Comparatively, the Black Spirit Race was more recognized as a civilization by the galactic society.

Both civilizations were growing rapidly. With these two civilizations hand in hand, the Black Star Army’s self-sufficiency ability was quite outstanding. Han Xiao was rather satisfied with the growth of the two civilizations. They only spent decades catching up to the standard of a Star System civilization, which was astounding. Although this was partly because of the Black Star Army’s full resources and technological support, under the same circumstances, Planet Aquamarine was still very far from becoming a Star System civilization.

“Comparisons sure hurt. Planet Aquamarine probably has no other advantages other than having bred many talents…”

While he was sighing, the engineering team finally transported all of SWY-001 over. The directional wormhole then spun, shrunk, and disappeared.

Han Xiao focused his mind and ordered the mechanical army to quickly build a lab around SWY-001.

The Galactic engineering technology was very efficient. In a short time, the brief structure of a gigantic lab was already built that wrapped around SWY-001.

“Let me see what treasure lies within you…”

With a delighted mood, Han Xiao walked into the research area and could not wait to summon all kinds of research devices. He instantly threw himself into the reverse engineering process.

The first step he took was to search the memory module of SWY-001. Very soon, he discovered a damaged memory chip module and an enormous organ with brain tissue. However, be it the mechanical technology or the biological technology, they were all beyond his expertise.

Han Xiao made the mechanical assistants take out the memory chip, placed it into a specially made data analysis device, and started reading the information inside it. At the same time, he also ordered another group of assistants to bring out a needle-shaped cable and push it into the pale brain fluid of the organ. It then started to read the memories stored within.

Very soon, reports appeared on the screen. Due to the fact that this mechanical body was created by fusing many Mechanics, the memory module seemed to contain the life experience of all these Mechanics who sacrificed themselves. The memory files of SWY-001 were heavily damaged and contained tons of meaningless information, so the analysis was quite slow.

Han Xiao had a few research targets. One was to directly obtain the blueprint knowledge of these Mechanics through digging deeper into the memory module. If successful, it would save him a ton of time, and he would not have to reverse engineer all the parts of SWY-001’s body.

Letting the device continue to read the information, Han Xiao searched and found the master artificial intelligence control module. There was a very high possibility that it contained the logs of all this mechanical body’s functions. It was basically like an instruction manual for him.

However, the master artificial intelligence control module was protected by a virtual firewall that used the basic code of this unknown civilization, which was different from the galactic society’s virtual technology. He also had to break it down to the fundamentals like with the Virtual Mutiny Virus from the Intelligent Plague.

This was not difficult for Han Xiao now; it only had to take his time.

According to SWY-001’s traits, it was very possible it had two consciousnesses. The soul consciousness that was sleeping in the biological brain and the artificial intelligence consciousness stored in the mechanical memory chip. Therefore, as long as he could penetrate the firewall and rewrite its artificial intelligence, he might be able to brainwash it.

After all, Han Xiao had learned the Felon technology, so he was no stranger to something like this.

While he was being busy, a notification suddenly popped up on the interface.

You have acquired some insights from the current research.

+16.4% Unique Talent Progress.

Current Progress: 61.1%.

“Progress for my Unique Talent? Today is really my lucky day!”

Han Xiao’s movements paused, and his eyes sparkled.

In the past decades, he had only triggered progress for his Unique Talent three times. Now its progress finally increased again. Had this notification not popped up, he might have forgotten about it.

During the version update, his EXP inventory was tight, so he did not use Awakening Points to progress his Unique Talent development. However, since the players had returned, he would consider taking this route.

Nonetheless, Promotion was his priority now. Han Xiao did not plan to use his EXP in other areas; he planned to accumulate enough for his Promotion before using the remaining EXP to increase the levels of his abilities and obtain Awakening Points.

After all, he did not know what the requirement of stepping into the higher territory was and had decided long ago to increase his Energy Rank as much as possible before his next Promotion. The God’s Trait Transformation was one route; acquiring another Unique Talent was not bad too.

Having obtained SWY-001, Han Xiao’s research focus shifted. He spent most of his time analyzing SWY-001 in the lab, using some leisure time to speak to the Holy Accord members one by one, convincing some of them to only appear in public when the time was right.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association did not continue fighting on the surface. However, their fight in the black market became more and more intense as time went on. The players who took over the various areas of the black market received challenges time and again. Most people overcame these obstacles by working together and slowly pushing the progress of uniting the black market.

In the Endless Nebulae, at a certain transit station planet in the Didora Star System…

Kaching… kaching… The sound of footsteps that sounded like someone was stepping on shattered glass echoed in a dark room.

Army Commander’s Big PP leaned against the wall. His body was covered in wounds, and a puddle of blood had formed under his feet. He was in the heavily injured and immobile state; all he could do was open his eyes wide and glare in the direction the footsteps came from.

Very soon, the footsteps approached. The outline of a large silhouette gradually became clear under the dim lights. It was a man holding a blood-colored mechanical heavy axe that was dripping with blood.

Behind him was a mess. The floor was covered in corpses, and blood was splattered everywhere. The walls were riddled with bullet holes, and tons of shells and metal fragments scattered across the ground. An intense battle seemed to have happened here.

This was a base in the black market that had been taken over by Army Commander’s Big PP not long ago and had started to operate properly.

However, today, one man had come and single-handedly destroyed this black market channel, killing every single person in the base. Army Commander’s Big PP was the only one left alive. He had been killed many times and depleted his revival count. He was completely powerless because…

This man was a Calamity Grade!

The mechanical suited warrior stopped before Army Commander’s Big PP and opened his helmet, showing a face covered in brown scales like a pangolin with the face of a man. He said coldly, “You’re the last…”

“Dafis, we never had problems in the past. Why are you doing this? Were you hired by the three Universal Civilizations’ subsidiary organizations?” Army Commander’s Big PP clenched his teeth.

Having operated the black market for quite some time, he knew about the organizations around. This pangolin looking guy in front of him was the leader of a renowned civilian armed force, a Calamity Grade Mechanical Pugilist!

Hearing this, Dafis giggled with mockery. “Do I have to tell you before killing you?”

“You arrogant prick! You destroyed my mission. I’ll remember you, so just you wait!” Army Commander’s Big PP clenched his teeth and snarled angrily.

“What? You want to take revenge? As a Grade B Super? Just because you’re a so-called Immortal?”

Dafis’ face was cold. He was unaffected.

Then, he slowly raised the heavy axe in his hand and said coldly, “You’re too weak. It doesn’t matter how many lives you have… It’s your honor to die by my hand.”

As he said that, the axe slashed down, and blood spilled everywhere.

This time, Army Commander’s Big PP did not revive again. He had used all of his revives for these six days. Seeing this, Dafis turned around and walked away without turning back, leaving only corpses behind.

Army Commander’s Big PP was forced to log out immediately and could not log in again for one day. He could only access the forums.

“F*ck, you forced me to do this!” Army Commander’s Big PP was filled with rage.

He had worked hard to take over this part of the black market, but now that it had been destroyed by a Calamity Grade, his mission was over. He could only start again in another area.

was

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got!

Filled with flames of fury, he could not take it anymore. He clenched his teeth, opened up the group chat on the forums, and said in the army channel, “My black market got destroyed by a Calamity Grade! Brothers, we’ve kept a low profile for so long. Anyone interested in fighting a boss and earning some glory for the army commander? I’m willing to pay!”

The channel remained silent for a moment, then messages filled the screen like a waterfall. The things they were saying were all similar.

Who?

Where?

When?

How much?

With one arrow shot into the sky, millions of warriors answered the call!

Chapter 1288: Guild Crusade

The post about fighting a Calamity Grade became popular very quickly on the forums. As the players’ strength kept growing, they started eyeing up the Calamity Grades. Now that someone had brought it up, it immediately triggered the impulses tons of players had suppressed in their hearts.

The last time they killed a Calamity Grade was in Version 3.0 during a big operation organized by the army. After that, the army never organized anything like it. The post received a lot of responses.

However, as the public stargates everywhere were closed to all Beyond Grade A organizations, most players displayed their regret of not being able to help due to distance issues. After all, most people still had to look after their own black markets. Plus, this was only a proposal of a player, not a big mission, so it had limited rewards. As such, most people were only willing to show support on the forums.

However, there was also a group of people who were strongly interested in this matter.

In the base, Jupiter closed the private chat window on the interface, turned around to look at the room of pillars and elites of the Guild of Gods, and nodded firmly.

“I’ve already spoken to that player. We’ll be in charge of this operation. The boss’ activity area is the Didora Star System of the Endless Nebulae, not far from us… We happen to have many guild members nearby operating the black markets, so it’ll be easy to dispatch them.”

The guild’s pillar Poseidon hesitated and asked, “This will affect the mission progress of many guild members, won’t it? Plus, this is not even a mission. Is it worth it for us to put in this much effort?”

Jupiter nodded heavily. “Of course! This is an amazing opportunity to gain fame. Our club hasn’t achieved much in the last few Pro Leagues. If we can make some achievements on our side and increase the popularity of the club, everyone will get a bonus!” The Guild of Gods guild was the professional guild under the Temple of God club. As their professional team did not achieve good results on the professional scene, the guild had not had a great time in the past few versions. All the fame was grabbed by Dynasty, Long Sky, and Rivervale.

As versions changed, the guilds accumulated more and more strength. They started having ambitions for things they never dared to think of in the past. If they could eliminate a Calamity Grade, the club would also benefit from it.

“Are you sure it’ll be effective? The players already killed a Calamity Grade in Version 3.0. It won’t be as sensational to do it again, will it?” Poseidon was hesitant.

“Stupid! How did that Atimo die in Version 3.0? It was a faction event organized by the Black Star Army. Way too many people participated, so no one got famous because of it. However, if our guild kills a Calamity Grade on our own, it will be completely different! It’ll be the first guild kill!” Jupiter poked Poseidon’s head heavily.

Hearing this, the guild pillars present all agreed.

Although the army already used the ‘Human Wave Tactic’ to kill a Calamity Grade, the first guild kill meant something different. It would definitely be remarkable.

The only superior achievement would be a solo kill, but everyone knew that no one in the players was that strong yet.

“Poseidon, isn’t it too risky? Can we really kill a Calamity Grade on our own?” Poseidon scratched his head.

“We’ll have to try it. I think there’s a chance. After all, it’s no longer Version 3.0 now,” Jupiter said in a deep voice.

When they killed Atimo, the army created an environment where Atimo could not escape. With hundreds of thousands of players reviving again and again, they finally killed him using the ‘Human Wave Tactic’. After all, the difference between Grade B and Calamity Grade was far from the difference between Calamity Grades and Beyond Grade As, so the Human Wave Tactic was still effective.

Of course, as a guild, they could not just send as many people as the army did. However, the average strength of the players now was unlike in the past; they were thirty levels higher on average, and the elites were all above level 150. They were now seniors among Grade Bs.

Plus, the Black Star Army had always been updating its equipment and technology. The equipment and weapons the players were using now were also much stronger than during Version 3.0. They even had trump cards like the Evolution Badge, so their combat capability was quite impressive. Therefore, Jupiter felt that the guild should have the capability to kill a Calamity Grade, and it was worth gambling.

Hearing his explanation, the guild pillars were convinced. They were all thrilled and filled with anticipation.

This was not a mission, but they did not care.

Jupiter looked around and loudly said, “Since no one has any objections, we shall go fight the boss now. Let’s go!”

In the Didora Star System was the Heavy Iron Guards headquarters.

It was a huge galactic fortress that looked like a base made of countless rectangular blocks of various sizes. Its structure was very neat, layered, and edged.

A huge pattern was engraved on the front armor of the galactic fortress. It looked like the helmet of a heavy mechanical suit. This was the organization symbol of the Heavy Iron Guards.

The Heavy Iron Guards was a renowned civilian armed force in the Didora Star System. Most of its members were Mechanical Pugilists. On the surface, it was just a civilian armed force, but it was said that it had a strong background and a secret indescribable connection to the Feeney Civilization that ruled this Star System.

The leader of this organization was ‘Earth Core’ Dafis. Rumor had it that he was a claw of the Feeney Civilization who did immoral jobs for them.

At this point of time, inside the office at the main base, Dafis was attending to a distinguished guest. They were having a great chat, and laughter came out of the room from time to time.

“Haha, thank you for personally escorting this batch of cargo. I’ve already had my people check it. It looks quite great,”

Dafis’ tone was filled with satisfaction as he spoke with a smile.

In front of him was a man wearing a dark yellow robe who also looked like a pangolin and was a member of the Feeney race as well. However, a large portion of his body was prosthetic, and his electronic eyes were shining with a red light. His body sank deep into the sofa, clearly showing how heavy he was. His organs and limbs were almost all prosthetics, and his body was covered in metal.

“Of course, when did we ever send you any cargo that was bad quality? This batch contains all our new official military weapons the military specially approved to sell to you. Others couldn’t buy it even if they wanted to.”

This prosthetic man spoke with a vocal device at his throat with a simulated enthusiastic tone.

He was the emissary of the Feeney Civilization who had been in charge of contacting the Heavy Iron Guards on behalf of the upper echelons. The two of them were indeed working together; the Feeney Civilization provided Dafis with resources, and in exchange, Dafis worked for them.

The Feeney Civilization had a liking for mechanical prosthetics, seeing prosthetics as the definition of beauty. It had always been a top market for mechanical prosthetics. Almost everyone had some prosthetics. Some civilians even changed their entire body into different machines except for their brains. Mechanics also made up the majority of Supers in the civilization, and Mechanical Pugilists were mainstream.

“Don’t worry, I know why you’re here. I’ve taken your things, so of course, I’ll complete the mission properly.” Dafis grinned. “I’m about done with what you guys asked me to do last time. According to the information you provided, I’ve already gotten rid of the nails the Beyond Grade A Association has planted in the black markets in the nearby Star Zones. There are only a few planets left.”

“Oh? Many of them are Immortals of the Black Star Army, so they can’t be killed. Are you sure you’ve handled all of them?” the emissary asked casually. He grabbed the glass on the table and drank the black, sticky liquid inside. This was a heavy metal drink especially designed for prosthetic people that would be dissolved into different elements through their prosthetic organs. It was very nutritional for them.

“Immortals, so what? As long as their black-market channel is destroyed, they’ll have to either start from nothing or piss off.”

Dafis was not concerned. The emissary put the glass down and said curiously, “I heard from your subordinates that some of those Immortals you killed said they’ll take revenge. Aren’t you afraid?”

“Can they? These people are powerless. They only dare to talk that way because they won’t die, or they would’ve tucked their tails and fled. If they try to take revenge, I’ll just kill them again.”

Dafis snorted, expressing his disdain while also sounding a little sour.

With his strength, he looked down on everyone with inferior strength. However, any Super would envy the players’ immortality, and he was no exception. Therefore, he never held back when fighting them.

He could not get it, so he had a twisted sense of hatred toward them, feeling uncontrollably sour.

“I have nothing to worry about then.” The emissary nodded. “Nonetheless, this is a mission from the three Universal Civilizations, so it’s best to be cautious. Plus, the black market was originally controlled by us and provided us a lot of profits. The Beyond Grade A Association thinks they can send some random people to take over our black market just because they have the black market administrators’ support. They’re just daydreaming.”

Some of the upper echelons of the Feeney Civilization were the umbrella of most black markets in this Star System, making their own wallets thicker from them. However, when the Beyond Grade A Association planned to unite the black market, it disrupted their money-making.

At this sensitive time, the three Universal Civilizations spoke with multiple Star System civilizations and asked them to work with them to disturb the association’s people in the black market. The Feeney Civilization was one of said civilizations.

The Endless Nebulae was very far from the Shattered Star Ring, so the Black Star Army’s hands could not extend that far. Plus, they were a Star System civilization protected by the Peace Treaty. Holding on to the three Universal Civilizations was much more beneficial than fawning over the Beyond Grade A Association. Therefore, the Feeney Civilization supported the three Universal Civilizations and told Dafis to eliminate the people the association sent to operate the black market, killing two birds with one stone.

“They won’t be able to with me here.” Dafis waved casually. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and said, “Don’t forget what you promised after it’s done…”

The emissary chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, we’ve been working together for so long. The people above never thought of going back on their word. As long as you can handle this problem properly, not only will we support you to continue expanding, but we’re even willing to let you become one of the controllers of the black market behind the curtains. You will get your dividends from the black market as promised too.”

“Of course I trust you guys.” Dafis smiled with satisfaction.

He had chosen to take the risk of offending the Black Star Army, of course, for his own interests. No way was he going to risk his life without enough profit.

Due to the Feeney Civilization’s liking of mechanical prosthetics, the profit the black markets of this area earned through smuggling machines every year was an outrageous figure. Dafis had been tempted by it for a very long time. Now, he just had to remove the nails the outsiders had planted there, and he would be able to take a bite of this huge cake. To him, this was a perfect opportunity.

Thinking of the bright future where he could earn more than enough cash to swim in, Dafis was so overjoyed even his cells felt more active than usual.

However, at this time, a change suddenly occurred!

Boom!

A huge explosion suddenly sounded in the base. The two of them both felt the base tremble. The glasses on the table fell onto the floor, and the heavy metal drink spilled all over like a puddle of black oil.

Then, a blaring alarm rang, and the warning lights lit up, painting the entire room red.

Dafis stood up instantly, summoned his aide-de-camp, and yelled, “What’s happening?”

“Boss, the base just got bombarded. The enemy’s ship cannons are too strong. The protective shield cracked, and some of them already charged into the base. The artificial intelligence center is now sending troops over!” the aide-de-camp hastily replied.

“Who dares to attack my headquarters? Are there Calamity Grades?” Dafis was shocked and furious.

“I—I don’t know, there’s no symbol on their spaceships but no Calamity Grade energy source has been detected…”

“They have no Calamity Grade, yet they dare attack my headquarters?”

Dafis was enraged. He pushed the aide-de-camp aside and headed out of the room.

This time, the emissary said with a worried tone, “Should I hide for now?”

“What’s there to be afraid of? I’ll handle the problem and come back in no time.”

Dafis walked out without even looking back.

The aide-de-camp was just about to follow behind when the emissary suddenly grabbed his arm.

He turned and saw the emissary said, “Er… I’d better hide. Do you have a safehouse here?”

More than ten completely black battleships hovered outside the base, continuously launching attacks.

Boom!

Dark red beams from cannons dashed right across and landed on the protective shield of the Heavy Iron Guards’ space base, creating countless cracks.

Charge cabins and airdrop cabins covered in shields continuously shot out from under the battleships, bolting onto the surface of the base through the cracks. Some were destroyed in midair by the base’s artillery cannons, but some penetrated the base’s armor, leaving holes behind.

“Keep sending people down! All those who board the enemy headquarters successfully, remember to bind your revival flag!”

Inside the main ship’s command room, Jupiter issued orders loudly with excitement.

All the people in this fleet were players of the Guild of Gods, which took quite some time to gather secretly. After obtaining enough intelligence, they charged toward Dafis’ headquarters.

In order to kill a Calamity Grade, the Guild of Gods went all out. These battleships were all assets of the guild that were equipped with tons of war weapons. Although there were not many of them, their technology was very advanced and very high quality. It was basically overkill to use them against a civilian armed force, all just so that the members could quickly board the enemy base.

At this time, the guild channel was filled with messages that refreshed the screen every second.

“Nice, I got in!”

“People behind, come quickly! The enemy’s reinforcements are here.”

“Mages and Psychics control the battlefield. Give the Mechanics time to summon their machines!”

“Don’t waste time on minions. Force the boss out!”

Inside the base, the players who had boarded were on a slaughter. They were all high-level Grade B Supers, killing tons of guarding troops like harvesting crops.

At this time, a huge pressurizing presence rapidly approached.

With a loud bang, the metal wall on one side was broken open, and Dafis rushed in holding that heavy axe in his hands.

Dafis looked around and locked his eyes onto Army Commander’s Big PP-he had an impression of this guy whom he had killed ten times. He was furious.

“It’s you?”

Army Commander’s Big PP crushed a Grade C Mechanical Pugilist with a cannon attack, turned around, and grinned.

“Surprised? I told you I’d be back!”

Before Dafis could reply, Army Commander’s Big PP pointed at him with his gun and yelled, “Brothers, that’s him. Get him!”

The next moment, the eyes of everyone focused on Dafis. The excitement of seeing a prey appeared in their eyes.

Even with how experienced Dafis was on the battlefield, being stared by a ton of Grade B Supers still made him intuitively shiver.

However, the next moment, the rage in his body exploded. He raised his mechanical heavy axe and charged right into the battlefield, blasting away two players in his path.

“You’re all… looking to die!”

On the side of the players, they yelled almost simultaneously, “Team MT! Go!”

Chapter 1289: Lawless

Boom!

Explosions occurred nonstop, and beams of flames blasted from inside the base, penetrating its armor and creating countless holes. The location of the explosions kept changing, and the battlefield was shifting rapidly.

Inside the base, the troops of the Guild of Gods were already in an intense battle with Dafis while more and more players were landing from above like pouring rain to join the battle.

Swoosh…

The enormous blade of the axe detached from its handle, covered in blue Mechanical Force electric sparks and spinning like a rotary saw. Everywhere it passed, blood and flesh spilled, and shattered mechanical parts were all over the place. A silver spinning chain connected the blade and the handle, dancing like a wild dragon. It looked messy, but it actually controlled the movements of the blade to a highly precise degree.

Mechanical Pugilists were masters in technological weapons. They created their own techniques based on their weapons, which became their special ‘styles’. Therefore, Mechanical Pugilists who used the same styles basically all used the same mechanical weapons. This axe style Dafis used was called ‘RC-03 Rope Axe’. The essence of it was controlling the chain. It was great for fighting in complex environments and was one of the styles Dafis excelled in.

Ka-cha!

The spinning axe blade flew past the players, winding through them on the way and burying into the chest of a player who turned into an Aberration. It continued spinning and sliced open large pieces of bones and flesh.

“I caught him!”

This player adjusted his pain senses to the lowest, so it did not hurt at all. He grabbed onto the spinning axe blade, ignoring how it made blood gush out of his hand like a river.

The Aberrations of the MT team all pounced over, each grabbing onto a part of the chain and pulling it, while the damage output team poured all of their attacks on Dafis’ body.

Dafis twisted his waist and created a yellow spinning energy shield around him that blocked the players’ attacks. Amid the colorful explosions, the shield was rapidly filled with cracks.

In this short moment, Dafis made a command in his brain. The neural signals flowed into the control module of the axe. In an instant, the chain tightened. A plasma wave appeared around the chain and knocked away the hands of the many Aberrations.

Then, the axe suddenly went into overload mode. With a loud bang, the spinning speed of the blade rocketed, instantly cutting off the hands of the player who grabbed it and retracted along with the chain, slashing all the Aberrations on the way in half and returned to the handle. Dafis swung it around his body, sent out a silver shockwave from the axe blade, and blasted away many Pugilist players who wanted to get close to him.

Although he was tremendously outnumbered, Calamity Grades were much stronger than Grade Bs. The players had no choice but to fill this strength gap with their lives. Before Dafis got exhausted, the players would have almost no chance of catching him off guard. “Keep going, Secondary Tank team, go!”

“Damage team, remember to spread out!” “Teams on the outside, stop the minions and don’t let them come in!”

The Guild of Gods’ formation was shattered time after time, but they went back to charging forward without fear. The captain commanded the battle efficiently in the team channels.

To players, the most troublesome part was that they could not control who the boss attacked. The only thing they could do was send the MT team forward and make a line of defense with their flesh.

Even so, Dafis would still choose to go around the MT team to attack the fragile backline. Most of the time, the players could only adapt and improvise. Luckily, the Black Star Army’s armor was very tough, so the damage dealers would not be killed instantly. Above the base, the Guild of Gods’ fleet was clashing with the Heavy Iron Guards’ fleet.

On this battlefield, they were the ones who were outnumbered. The Guild of Gods’ fleet was at a small disadvantage. However, with the aid of the more advanced technology on their ships, they could still continuously disrupt the opponent’s formation and hold on.

The command room was shaking nonstop. Jupiter’s hands pressed on the command table as he stared closely at the fight with Dafis displayed on the screen. He said with a deep voice, “This won’t work. The efficiency of the siege is too slow. This won’t last long… Ignore their fleet, aim all weapons at the boss, and provide firepower support!”

“What about the people around him?” Poseidon asked.

“We don’t have the leisure to mind the casualties on our side. Tell them to be mindful and dodge the attacks as much as possible,” Jupiter said decisively.

As the order was given, the more than ten guild battleships turned their cannons at the same time and locked onto Dafis, who was inside the base. Light beams and tracking missiles fired one after another.

A loud alarm rang on the internal radar inside Dafis’ mechanical suit. Irritated, he hastily dodged aside. The next moment, beams of light penetrated where he was earlier and chased after him.

The players had been warned earlier and dodged the attacks, but some still did not make it and were turned to ash.

If the opponents were only a group of Grade B Immortals, it would actually not be a big problem for Dafis. However, with the accurate fire support of the fleet, he was troubled.

The players were not afraid of being killed, but he was. Ordinary Calamity Grades could not last long under the high energy ship cannon attacks, and he was only a Mechanical Pugilist, which did not have the highest defenses, nor did he dare to test it out.

The fight went on intensely. The base was a mess. The Guild of Gods’ fleet was restrained by the enemy ships, only able to provide support occasionally. The shockwaves of the bombardments gradually created wounds on Dafis.

Seeing the Immortals getting killed by the attacks of their allies while the rest were still charging forward, Dafis’ mouth twitched uncontrollably.

“Tsk, these maniacs…”

He could not help but feel a little bit regretful like he had poked the hornet’s nest.

Weird, I’m not the only Calamity Grade the three Universal Civilizations bribed, and there are Calamity Grades hunting the Immortals everywhere. I’ve never heard of anyone who faced their revenge. Why am I so unlucky?

Dafis dodged five explosions and looked at the corpses of his subordinates all over the floor. His expression became more and more gloomy.

Although he was not afraid on his own, the others in the base were not as strong as him. Grade B Supers were already the backbone of the Heavy Iron Guards, yet they were almost powerless under the attacks of the Guild of Gods. A ton of officers who followed him for many years had died.

They were all talents he had put in a lot of efforts to recruit; it was not worth it at all!

“These Immortals came prepared. If this goes on, my energy and stamina will keep dropping. Things won’t look good then. Plus, they’re here for me. If I keep fighting here, it’ll only kill more of my men…”

Dafis hesitated for quite some time before taking a deep breath and making the decision. The next moment, the energy inside his body started boiling. He swung his axe and spun it like a gyroscope, releasing an arc-shaped vibrating shockwave that expanded from the axe blade.

Swoosh!

A blue shockwave exploded and expanded rapidly. The powerful shockwave instantly blew away all the players nearby. Most of them were stunned momentarily.

The players who recovered first hastily got up and were surprised to see that Dafis did not continue attacking. Instead, he broke through the wall and sprinted out, quickly disappearing in everyone’s sights.

“He’s fleeing?”

Their expression changed as they hastily started chasing.

However, they realized that Dafis had already flown into space and changed his mechanical suit into galactic travel mode. Thrusters shot out flames from behind. His speed kept increasing, and he fled further. “Stop him!”

Jupiter’s expression changed. He quickly commanded the fleet to ignore the incurred damages and penetrate the Heavy Iron Guards’ line of defense, wanting to chase after Dafis.

However, at this time, alarms suddenly rang on all the battleships’ radars.

A small fleet appeared at the edge of the battlefield and rapidly approached. Their exterior armor had the symbol of the Feeney Civilization. They said in the public channel, “This is the Feeney Civilization police patrol. We have detected unusual energy reactions here. Everyone stop where you are and prepare for a check!”

The law enforcement is here too? Dafis, who was fleeing, thought.

His headquarters were in the Feeney Civilization’s territory, so, of course, there was law enforcement there. Usually, they minded their own business. He did not know if they wanted to stop him too.

While Dafis was pondering, he suddenly received a communication from his mechanical suit. It was the Feeney Civilization emissary who visited him and was in the safe house of his base.

“You keep going and leave. The law enforcement won’t bother you.” The emissary cut to the chase.

“You called them?” Dafis understood.

“Who else? Or are you going to protect me?” The emissary was not in a good mood. “I’ll tell them to buy some time for you. Get as far away as you can. I can’t help you if they chase you after that!”

He was just there as a guest and never expected to be in such danger, so he blamed Dafis for it.

As he was afraid of being killed by the aftershock, he urgently used his authority to call the law enforcement to stop the battle, at the same time forcing Dafis away… From the way he looked at it, since these Immortals were after revenge, as long as Dafis left, they would be lured away too. This way, he would be safe.

“I’ll go now.” Dafis nodded. He initially wanted to eliminate the enemy together with the law enforcement, but now he had no choice but to agree to leave. He did not want to see the emissary in danger too.

The emissary hesitated for a moment and said, “Planet Burger is just around the corner. That’s a colonial planet for low value citizens. I’ve already spoken to the manager of the planet, so you can go to Planet Burger. Although they don’t have a large garrison there, those enemies won’t dare violate the Peace Treaty and attack a colonial planet.”

“Okay.”

Dafis hung up the communication and accelerated at full power output. Although the Guild of Gods had set up spacetime stabilization anchors and limited his hyperdrive, his regular flying speed was fast enough. He turned into a stream of light and gradually disappeared in sights.

Seeing this, Jupiter panicked. We’re only halfway through and the boss has just escaped, what do we do now? “Aiyo, I told you your plan wasn’t reliable. They can escape even if they can’t win. You think we’re in a dungeon?” Poseidon sounded unhappy.

Although they could weaken a Calamity Grade with their lives or even have the chance to kill him, it was very difficult for them to stop a Calamity Grade if he wanted to run. After all, the desperate situation Atimo was in was tough to replicate. Plus, Dafis was not a naïve kid who could not read the situation; he fled as soon as he saw the situation was not good for him. No way he was going to stay here and fight head-on with a ton of Immortals like an idiot.

“Shut up!” Jupiter scolded him. Veins popped up on his forehead. He then opened the public channel and shouted, “Black Star Army carrying out business, please let us through!” “I don’t care who you are! This is the Feeney Civilization’s territory. No one can do whatever they want! Stop your ships and be checked immediately, or we’ll see it as a crime!”

Having received orders from the emissary, the captain of the law enforcement force did not back down. He continued commanding his troops to stop the guild’s fleet. “Then, why didn’t you stop that guy who ran away?” Jupiter was extremely annoyed and marked Dafis’s direction.

“None of your business! This is your last warning. Stop your ships immediately!” the captain yelled angrily.

Jupiter clenched his teeth. Having spent so many resources, giving up halfway would be a huge loss. He planned this operation, so he would definitely take the blame for it. He immediately made up his mind.

“We’re going to finish this boss today no matter what! Advance! Get rid of whoever’s in our way!”

As he said that, the guild fleet no longer hesitated and fired at all the enemies, be it the Heavy Iron Guards or Feeney Civilization’s law enforcement team, trying to open a path.

Some of the players who were still in the base returned through traction beams. Some simply used up all their energy by attacking randomly and killed themselves to revive in the ships. The two sides fought for some time. Most players returned to the ships except for a few who were still in the base. Army Commander’s Big PP’s was one of them.

“Fu*k, since you ran away, your home will vanish!”

Army Commander’s Big PP was extremely annoyed by the fact that Dafis had fled. He took out a sphere portable bomb right away.

This was a small dark energy annihilation bomb he had spent quite a lot of his savings to purchase. Before the Guild of Gods contacted him, he originally wanted to use this thing to ‘die together’ with Dafis, and now he decided to just activate it.

The next moment, a dark red explosion erupted!

Boom!

Light rapidly expanded and devoured the entire base, turning the metal of the base into atoms.

The emissary who was in the safe house waiting for the law enforcements to pick him up was blown to ashes before he could react. He died on the spot painlessly.

Not only him, all members of the Heavy Iron Guards in the base were reduced to atoms. No one survived.

The law enforcement force captain was shocked.

“Are these people crazy? How dare they use such a dangerous weapon here?”

Just like the psionic bombs, the dark energy annihilation bomb was also a highly dangerous weapon prohibited by most civilizations and severely punished when discovered.

Even some wanted criminals did not dare do this. Was the Black Star Army not in the Lawful Faction? Were they not afraid of damaging their reputation?

The law enforcement captain was intimidated. The emissary was already blown to pieces anyway, so he decided to let the guild fleet through, afraid that these maniacs might send him a dark energy annihilation bomb too.

Without the law enforcement’s obstruction, the guild broke through the siege and chased after Dafis.

Battleships were designed for galactic travel; they were much faster than Dafis. The distance between the two sides quickly decreased.

Dafis noticed the battleships chasing behind him. Complaining that the law enforcement fleet could not even slow them down in his head, he had no choice but to keep running.

Having left the spacetime stabilized area, the two sides entered hyperdrive mode at the same time, turning into two streams of light, one thin and one thick.

Not long after, a planet appeared in their sights. It was the low-value colonial planet of the Feeney Civilization, Planet Burger.

The residents on this kind of colonial planet were all those who were not willing to work, using the government’s money to maintain the lowest standard of life. Almost all civilizations had planets like this that usually had zero visitors.

“I’m here!” Dafis looked overjoyed as he quickly sent a request to land.

As the emissary had already informed Planet Burger of his arrival, his request was instantly approved. The garrison fleet outside the atmosphere did not stop him. Seeing this, Dafis dashed into the atmosphere without hesitation and headed toward one of the cities.

At this time, the Guild of Gods fleet finally caught up and stopped outside the planet. The garrison fleet of the planet gathered in front of them and stopped them from advancing.

Their spaceship suddenly received a message. A prosthetic man appeared on the screen. He was the planet manager of Planet Burger, and his attitude was very cold.

“I’m the manager of Planet Burger. You’re not welcome on this planet. Please leave immediately, or I’ll contact the nearest garrison to banish you.”

Hearing this, the guild pillars inside the main fleet looked at each other and were in a dilemma.

“President, what do we do now? This colonial planet clearly wants to protect our target.” Poseidon looked at Jupiter, whose eyes were glowing red, and said cautiously, “We should retreat for now. According to the laws of the galactic society, we can’t attack colonial planets…”

Jupiter looked troubled. He then clenched his teeth and forced out the following words.

“I don’t care! We’ll kill the target today no matter what! Don’t let him run again. Fire!”

Meanwhile, Dafis landed in a city. The streets were quiet with only a few pedestrians who were looking at him confused.

Ignoring them, Dafis looked up at the fleet hovering outside the atmosphere. Frustration and irritation flashed through his eyes.

This was a huge loss. A ton of his officers were killed, so his heart was bleeding.

If not because of the concerns he had, he would have tried to kill all those Immortals. He did not want to seek help from a planet at all.

“Never mind, I’ll let these people live for today, then find them one by one in the future…”

Dafis clenched his teeth and took out the communicator to contact the emissary. He had fled very quickly earlier and still did not know that his headquarters were already destroyed.

As he made the call, no one answered.

While Dafis was feeling confused, he suddenly had a sense of danger and hastily backed away!

Boom!

The next moment, cannon beams fell from the sky like pouring rain. The entire street was shattered!

“What?”

Dafis’ expression changed drastically. He looked up at the fleet that was firing at the city with disbelief.

They fired at a colonial planet just to kill me, ignoring the civilian casualties?

Don’t they know what kind of deed this is? Even the Beyond Grade A Association that’s fighting head-on with the three Universal Civilizations wouldn’t do something like this!

A chill shot up his spine to his brain, and his flames of rage were instantly frozen.

Dafis’ heart was filled with shock.

These people are lawless!

Chapter 1290: Traitor?

Chapter 1290 Traitor?

Ta ta ta!

Rounds of ship cannon attacks landed in the city following Dafis, creating craters one after another. Everywhere the attacks landed, tall buildings turned to ruins, flames rose from the ground, and screams echoed. Along with the pouring bombardment, airdrop cabins descended from the sky, penetrating the buildings like meteors and partially burrowing into the ground.

The hatches opened, and Guild of Gods players swarmed out like a black tsunami to surround Dafis. An intense battle erupted once again.

The planet’s garrison fleet was also startled. They hastily fired at the guild fleet. The two sides exchanged intense crossfire outside the atmosphere. The anti-aircraft weapons and railguns of the planet were also activated. Closely packed electromagnetic rail cannon attacks bolted across the sky toward the guild fleet. Looking down from above, the garrison bases around the city that was attacked shot out anti-gravity carriers one after another, carrying ground troops to prevent the battle in the city.

Although Planet Burger was a low-level colonial planet, it still had a military defense force. However, in terms of individual strength, the strongest defender was only Grade B. After all, the Feeney Civilization was just a Star System level civilization with only ten or so Calamity Grades; they did not have the luxury to station a Calamity Grade on such a low-level colonial planet. On the communication screen of the guild’s main ship, the Planet Burger manager’s expression changed drastically. He was both shocked and enraged, and he yelled, “How dare you violate the Peace Treaty? Are you trying to become the Feeney Civilization’s enemy? I demand you stop immedi…” Before he could even finish, Jupiter slammed the button and hung up the communication right away. His eyes red, he yelled, “All backup teams! Enter the charge cabins and take over all the garrison fleet on this planet! Attack whoever’s in our way!”

Since he had made up his mind, he might as well do it till the end and attack the troops of the colonial planet too, eliminating all obstructions of the first guild kill.

Although the guild’s fleet was outnumbered by the planet’s garrison, their biggest advantage was individual strength. As long as one or two players could board the enemy battleship, they could kill the whole crew in it and take over the ship, increasing their own strength. After all, there was no way this kind of low-level colonial planet could put one Grade B on every battleship.

“He’s lost it. He’s lost it…” Poseidon mumbled on the side, saying what all the guild pillars were thinking.

Jupiter suddenly turned around, stared deadly at him with a dangerous look, and said word by word, “What did you say?” “Brothers, with me, charge!”

Poseidon’s expression instantly became firm. He waved his hand and headed toward the charge cabin with a group of elites. It looked like he was bravely heading into a battle with no return. His emotional change was very smooth.

Very soon, charge cabins carrying players shot out like missiles, biting into the enemy ships. The garrison’s battleships fell into the Guild of Gods’ control rapidly one after another, turning around to fire at the ground, making Dafis’ situation worse. Some airdrop cabins even landed on the base that controlled the anti-aircraft weapons. Tons of players charged forward to paralyze Planet Burger’s military force. There were battles happening in many places on the planet’s surface and outside the atmosphere. Explosions appeared continuously as cities were blown into ruins one after another. It was complete chaos.

Planet Burger’s manager was both furious and panicking. He hastily requested support from the nearest galactic garrison base while reporting the attack on the planet to the artificial intelligence core of the Feeney Civilization through the emergency military channel. He also sent the report to the various key departments.

About two minutes later, he quickly received a serious call from an upper echelon. “What are the details? Who are the enemies?”

“The enemies are a group of Immortals. According to the law enforcements’ report, they claim to be the Black Star Army’s men and are chasing after a Calamity Grade…” The Planet Burger manager quickly described the situation, stating that the cause of all this was that he received a message from the emissary to protect Dafis.

He actually did not know about the relationship between Dafis and the Feeney Civilization, but since the emissary’s position was higher, he could only obey. He kept subtly hinting that he was only obeying orders and was not the one to be blamed.

After hearing the explanation, the Feeney Civilization upper echelon seriously said, “I’ve understood the situation. Go restrain the attackers for now. The nearest garrison base will send troops over right away and arrest them!”

Hanging up the communication, Planet Burger manager heaved a sigh of relief. Protected by his bodyguards, he quickly walked to the safe house underground while telling the secretary to contact Dafis on the way.

At the same time, inside the city that already became a battlefield, Dafis suppressed the shock in his heart and fought intensely with the Guild of Gods players. In order to dodge the attacks from the sky, he could not fight at his full strength and planned to retreat. He was appalled by how absolutely lawless the players were. From the way he looked at it, it was unwise to keep fighting with these maniacs. Dafis felt more and more regretful about having messed with these people. At this time, the internal communication device of the mechanical suit suddenly rang. It was a call from the planet manager’s secretary relaying the planet manager’s message. Dafis’ eyes sparkled. “You’re saying that reinforcements are on the way, so I have to restrain these Immortals as much as I can so that when they arrive, these brutes will all be eliminated?”

“Yes, the upper echelons have already dispatched the garrison. Reinforcements will arrive very soon.”

The secretary’s tone was respectful. Although Dafis was the one who caused this, he was the only Calamity Grade at the scene and was a member of the Feeney Race too. Planet Burger needed his help for the time being. “… Okay, I’ll stall them.”

Dafis hesitated for a moment but agreed in the end.

It would not be easy for him to escape. The mechanical suit’s travel speed was no match for the guild’s fleet. If he left Planet Burger and lost the help he had, he would be in an even more dangerous situation. He felt it was better to stay there and work with the Feeney Civilization, wait for the government troops to arrive, and wipe out all the Immortals. Anyway, he was in a good state for now. These enemies could not threaten his life for the time being. Furthermore, a ton of his subordinates had died, and he was filled with anger. His desire to fight back was tough to suppress. Hanging up the communication, Dafis stopped getting distracted by the thought of retreat, raised his mechanical chain axe, and charged into the players’ formation. Everywhere he passed, electronic sparks exploded, and blood poured everywhere.

At the same time, in the SWY-001 research lab…

“Master, hum… Something’s happened!”

Han Xiao, who was studying the nervous system of SWY-001, received the message from Phillip. He moved his eyes away from the research report and turned to Phillip.

“What happened?” “In the Endless Nebulae Star Field, a group of army Immortals are attacking the colonial planet of a Star System civilization…” Phillip switched to the surveillance footage and explained the situation. “What? They challenged a Calamity Grade on their own?”

After hearing the full situation, Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and a complicated expression appeared on his face. “This day still came…” He had known long ago that as the average strength of the players grew, they would challenge Calamity Grades on their own sooner or later. It was destined to happen.

Players were always the representatives of anarchism. The stronger they became, the more uncontrollable they were as they would gradually ignore all kinds of restrictions. The reason they had always seemed peaceful was that they did not have enough strength to really influence anything, and he had managed them well.

However, at Version 5.0, the players’ peacefulness had almost reached the limit, and chaos started to surface. In his previous life, this was one of the key fuses of the Calamity of the Supers. Even with his influence now, there was no way he could change the players’ nature. “Tsk, this won’t be easy to settle…”

Han Xiao shook his head and sighed.

He understood the situation. The enemy was someone who obstructed the players from taking over the black market. There was no problem with the players grouping up to attack him, and Han Xiao was not going to oppose that.

However, the part that troubled him was that they violated the laws of the galactic society… At least be mindful of your image when attacking a boss! This meant that there were disadvantages to both rewarding them and punishing them. The former would make the players even more unconcerned with the laws, while the latter would hurt the leeks’ feelings and damage their sense of belonging to the faction. Neither were things he wanted to see.

The person Han Xiao was most annoyed by was none other than the moron Jupiter…

‘Black Star Army carrying out business, please let us through’? Is your face even bigger than mine? Did you eat the Face Face Fruit too? Even if you decided to fight a boss no matter what, at least don’t expose who you are!

Han Xiao was speechless. He exhaled and slowly said, “… Too reckless. No matter what, it’s best not to take the blame for this. The top priority now is to clean the evidence as much as possible.” While speaking, Han Xiao pressed between his brows and entered the quantum network. With Phillip as the transit station, his data stream quickly arrived in the guild battleship.

The battle on Planet Burger became ever bloodier. The defenses of the planet were mostly shattered by the Guild of Gods. Tons of their battleships were seized and made the guild stronger. The battlefield around Dafis kept shifting on the planet surface. Four cities had already turned into ruins. Facing the guild players’ unending chase, Dafis’ energy and stamina were depleting very quickly. He started to feel exhausted, and wounds no longer regenerated on his body. His status gradually worsened, and his combat capability unavoidably weakened. Boom!

Dafis spun and swung his axe, flattening a Pugilist player on the wall, and hastily gasped for air. Not daring to stop, he quickly took many big steps backward and dodged the attacks of more than a dozen Cannon Masters. The place where he stood moments ago became a crater.

on

Not only were his muscles sore, but his brain was hurting like it was stabbed by needles too. After all, the mind was not the Mechanical Pugilists’ strongest suit. The Psychics and the mind Mages of the Guild of Gods contributed a lot, attacking Dafis’ consciousness every second. He basically could not dodge them at all and could only take the damage head-on. These attacks made up at least sixty percent of all the damage he took.

“Hu… Hu… The reinforcements are still not here.”

Dafis checked his status and was not looking too good. From the moment he fell from his peak state, the issues began to snowball. He was almost at his limit.

One who had never been surrounded by the players could not understand how horrifying it was, and Dafis finally felt it now. He initially thought he could last a very long time. Only now did he realize that he had completely underestimated just how difficult it was to deal with these maniacs. He misjudged the strength difference between him and the players. If reinforcements don’t come soon and I keep staying here, this might be the end of me…

The thought of wanting to retreat appeared in Dafis’ mind again.

However, at this time, he suddenly felt something and looked up at the atmosphere, surprised. “Finally!”

An enormous fleet was quickly approaching. Its formation was neat and fearsome. It was indeed the government military army the Feeney Civilization had sent. There were almost two thousand battleships. The guild fleet had no chance of matching up to it! The Planet Burger manager who was hiding in the underground safehouse saw the images of the battlefield and was overjoyed. “The army is here! Hahaha, these brutes are done for!”

In the guild main fleet, Jupiter noticed this hostile army too, and his heart sank.

Sh*t, this looks like the local government army! We took too long. Seems like I underestimated the difficulty of this BOSS. A Calamity Grade who’s free to move around is too tough to deal with. Is this mission still too difficult for the guild?

Looking at the huge reinforcements, Jupiter began to despair. However, he then clenched his teeth and ordered the fleet to continue firing at Dafis. “President, are we still not going to retreat?” Poseidon asked in the channel.

“Retreat, how? We’re already here. How can we give up halfway? If we leave, the resources we’ve spent will really all be wasted… All members! We must kill the boss today even if it costs all our revival counts!” Jupiter clenched his teeth and told the troops to get ready to fire at the reinforcements.

However, this enormous army suddenly stopped at the edge of the battlefield. Not only did they not fire, but they did not even move anymore. As minutes passed, Dafis, the Planet Burger manager, Jupiter, and the players all became confused.

What, are these reinforcements here just to watch the show?

The Guild of Gods was lost and had no idea what was going on. However, since these reinforcements did not attack them, they did not attack these reinforcements either and focused on attacking Dafis.

The Planet Burger manager panicked. “What are they waiting for? Why are they not attacking?” He was panicking hard. He tried to contact the reinforcements many times but received no response at all. The joy on Dafis’ face gradually froze. He was at a loss and could not understand what was happening

Under the influence of shock, he could not help but making wild speculations

Why aren’t the reinforcements firing?

There’s a big problem!

If not because he was waiting for the reinforcements, he might not have stayed to fight with the enemy. Yet, when the reinforcements had arrived, they only watched on the side and did not seem to want to join the battle…

Is this the Feeney Civilization’s plan? Keeping me here with an excuse so I’ll be murdered in cold blood by the Immortals, killing two birds with one stone? Is it because they feel I know too much, and now that they had no use of me, they’re deliberately letting me die?

Dafis was shocked by his own speculation, and he immediately panicked!

“Damn it, I’ll be done for if I keep fighting. I can’t rely on the Feeney Civilization. I have to leave!”

Dafis clenched his teeth and went into overload mode. His powerful energy blew the surrounding players away. Then, taking a round of focus fire head-on, he charged up into the sky. His mechanical suit’s thruster operated at full power output. He turned into a stream of light and flew toward the atmosphere, wanting to escape the battlefield. However, at this time, the Feeney Civilization reinforcements at the edge of the battlefield suddenly fired, shockingly aiming at Dafis, who had just escaped the atmosphere!

“What?”

Extremely shocked, Dafis hastily turned on his shield.

The next moment, he was entirely engulfed by the attack and took the full damage of it. Boom! After a chain of explosions, he fell from the sky and crashed to the ground, stirring up tons of dust.

Ka la ka la…

His already heavily damaged mechanical suit turned into pieces and shattered all over the floor. Dafis lay in the middle of the enormous crater facing up as blood gushed out from all the organs on his face. His entire body was suffering from burns. Some parts were even charred and giving off white smoke. The bones and organs in his body were a mess. He was severely injured. A ton of players rushed here from afar. Seeing this, Dafis clenched his teeth and forced his body to stand up. He was still shaking and had yet to recover from the stunned state the powerful attack had caused him. He could barely stand properly. Looking at the Immortals surrounding him, Dafis felt the terrible state of his body, and a bitter smile appeared on his wounded face. “Ahem… so this is it, getting tricked by the Feeney Civilization in the end…”

Dafis coughed with pain and knew that this was his final moment.

Thinking of the bright future the Feeney Civilization had promised him, Dafis was filled with only regret.

In the end, I trusted the wrong people… Taking a deep breath, Dafis felt like a hero facing his doom. Filled with frustration, sorrow, and rage, he yelled at the nearby Immortals, “You want my life? Come take it! I won’t stay here and…” Before he could finish, the players around him attacked from all directions.

Boom!

Chains of explosions flooded Dafis.

At the moment he lost consciousness, Dafis was filled with even more regrets.

Couldn’t you… wait for me to finish my last words?

The explosions lasted for more than ten seconds before everything stopped. Dust settled, and air became clear. A completely burnt corpse lay on the ground with absolutely no signs of life. Seeing this, the many players paused for a second and suddenly started cheering.

“Nice! We finally killed him!”

“We got the first kill! First kill!”

“That was so f*cking exhausting. This boss knew how to give himself more screen time. I was so confused.” “Did anyone record the entire thing? Send me a copy!”

Inside the guild main ship, Jupiter saw the guild kill Dafis with his own eyes and was finally relieved. The anger that filled his mind was finally gone. Having earned the first guild kill, all their efforts and the resources spent for this mission were not wasted!

Jupiter looked at the Feeney Civilization government army on the side that had an unknown goal and frowned again.

The consequences of killing the boss without caring about anything else seemed quite severe. He now had to think about escaping, and that fleet was probably not going to watch them leave…

He knew that the chances of escaping were extremely low and almost negligible. Jupiter scratched his head. How about we… all just die here?

Chapter 1291: Impact and Stand

On the ground, the Guild of Gods players posed and took pictures with Dafis’ corpse. After being overjoyed for a little while, they all quickly realized the same thing and knew that this was not the end yet. They quickly wiped the smiles off their faces, took out their weapons, and looked at the Feeney Civilization’s army in the sky.

Jupiter stared closely at their fleet. Once they made any move, he would immediately tell the others to flee.

However, the two fleets looked at each other like this for as long as five minutes, yet the Feeney Civilization still did not attack them and remained at the edge of the battlefield. It was as if they had made up their mind to just watch the show.

Jupiter’s expression also turned from grave to confused.

He realized he could not figure out the Feeney Civilization’s position anymore. At the start, they protected Dafis, yet they watched him die when their army was here, even firing at him, nailing his coffin and helping them to complete the kill. Once the dust had settled, the Feeney Civilization’s army still watched on the side and did not seem to want to arrest them…

Whose side are you on really?

“President, they’re all intimidated by your presence.” Poseidon’s fawning voice appeared in the channel.

Humph, you’ve been disagreeing with me and disrupting the morale of our people all this time, but now you finally thought of fawning upon me? It’s too late!

Jupiter snorted in his mind, contemplated, and said, “Retrieve the players on the ground, but keep an eye on the movements of the enemy fleet at all times. If things don’t seem right, immediately kill yourself and revive on the ships.”

As the order was given, the guild fleet started using retraction beams to retrieve the players on the ground while paying full attention to the Feeney Civilization’s army. As soon as they showed any signs of attempting to stop them, they would turn around and flee right away.

However, the Feeney Civilization never reacted at all. They just remained stationary and watched the Guild of Gods clean up the battlefield and retrieve their players. Seeing this, the guild fleet became more daring and sped up the retrieving of the players.

Even when the guild fleet had retrieved all the players, the Feeney Civilization still did not make any move.

“Weird, why aren’t they doing anything?”

Jupiter was confused.

Nonetheless, since they were not going to stop them, he did not plan to stay there any longer. Suppressing the confusion in his mind, he ordered the fleet to retreat.

The guild fleet rapidly left Planet Burger and disappeared. At this point, the Feeney Civilization army finally moved. Part of its fleet chased after the guild fleet, while other ships landed on the surface to clean the city ruins and rescue the survivors.

The command ships stopped at the dock, and the hatch opened. The fleet commander walked down the gangway with a frustrated expression and saw the Planet Burger manger walking toward him angrily right away.

After the guild fleet retreated, only then did the Planet Burger manager dare climb out of the safehouse underground. He had been waiting there for quite some time and started questioning the commander immediately.

“What was going on? You didn’t pick up my communication request, nor did you pick up my calls. Didn’t the people above say they sent you here to assist us? Why didn’t you attack? Even letting these brutes leave? What the hell are you people here for?”

The fleet commander did not look happy either. Suppressing the frustration in his heart, he explained, “All of the fleet’s artificial intelligence systems stopped working earlier. Someone took over all our ships. We could not control them at all. Plus, our communication channels with the outside world were all cut off too. We could not contact anyone.”

The Planet Burger manager’s enraged expression froze. He said with shock, “What happened?”

“Someone paralyzed our fleet, most likely a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic…” The fleet commander lowered his voice subconsciously.

Startled, the Planet Burger manager quickly looked around as if he suspected someone was monitoring him.

“Don’t be so nervous, I’m just speculating,” the fleet commander said.

He was filled with frustration. Initially, the order he received was to work with Dafis to capture these brutes. However, when he arrived at the scene, he was shocked to realize that the fleet’s artificial intelligence system was not working at all. Not only that, someone even controlled their spaceships to launch a round of fire at Dafis. He could do nothing but watch Dafis die and those brutes leave. Only after that did he regain control of the spaceships.

The enemy’s hacking was untraceable. The crew of the fleet had absolutely no way of fighting against it, and they could only stare at the ‘Candy Crush’ on their screens.

If these brutes really came from the Black Star Army, Black Star might have done this personally… It was because of this speculation that the fleet commander did not dare to make any extreme moves. Even after he regained control of the ships, he only sent a small fleet after the enemies while he cheekily remained on the planet. “Then… What do we do now?” The Planet Burger manager was still shocked.

The fleet commander sighed. “I’ve already reported what happened here to the upper echelons. Let’s wait for their response. This is not a decision we can make.” At this time, his communicator rang. An upper echelon of the Feeney Civilization came online, looked at the two of them, and said with a deep voice, “This was a private battle. The two sides conflicted in Dafis’ headquarters, and the law enforcement went to investigate. Dafis used the law enforcements to escape all the way to Planet Burger and landed on the planet surface without having obtained approval, wanting to make use of the planet’s garrison fleet to stop his enemies. Because of that, he brought disaster to the planet’s residents. Before we could banish him, the second group of brutes came and attacked the planet. Understood?”

The Planet Burger manager was stunned for a second, then understood the meaning behind this and hastily nodded.

Planet Burger suffered huge casualties, and it became a big matter in the civilization. The upper echelons wanted to reduce its influence and remove their responsibility for the matter. Therefore, from now on, Dafis had absolutely no connection with them; everything he did was based on his own will.

The emissary did not exist, nor was he, the planet manager, ordered to protect Dafis. As long as they did not say anything, on the surface, Dafis was using them and brought the disaster to Planet Burger. Planet Burger was just the victim… This way, the rage of the Feeney Civilization citizens would be transferred onto these brutes, and the upper echelons did not have to take the blame for it.

“What about us?” the fleet commander asked.

The upper echelon glanced at him and slowly said, “You guys were dispatched to stop this disaster. Dafis brought the disaster, so the army prioritized killing him, successfully eliminating the brute who caused this. After that, you let the other group of brutes leave because they took citizens of the Planet Burger hostage. Hence, your army let them leave for the time being, only chasing after them later, shifting the battlefield, all to reduce the civilian casualties, understood?”

“Understood.”

The fleet commander heaved a sigh of relief while giving the upper echelon a thumbs up in his mind.

It was still the same matter, but just by changing how they described it, it felt completely different. Not only were most of the responsibilities removed from them, but they also emphasized their image of protecting the safety of their citizens. Marvelous!

At this time, the upper echelon suddenly changed his tone. He said with a bit of anger, “Of course, this is just to calm the citizens down. As for those Immortals, we will openly condemn their actions and bring the attention of the public to them. We will also report to the Civilization Conference and ask the three Universal Civilizations to give us an explanation!”

“Emphasize that they’re the Black Star Army’s men?” the Planet Burger manager asked.

“No, we can only say they might be from the Black Star Army. Just emphasize that they’re Immortals…” The upper echelon clenched his teeth.

The fleet was taken over instantly. It was most likely the doing of a Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic and not just an ordinary Beyond Grade A; it might very likely be Black Star himself.

The reason the Feeney Civilization was not afraid of offending the Black Star Army was that the army was too far from the Endless Nebulae. However, since Black Star might have acted personally, they had to hold back to a certain extent.

However, the Feeney Civilization was not going to just put up with this. They suffered severe civilian casualties, so as the victims, they had the moral high ground. They were definitely going to make a big deal out of it. Of course, they also considered the possibility of Black Star having the evidence of them protecting Dafis.

However, this risk was not enough to turn them into cowards. The Feeney Civilization clearly knew that even if they were found out to have protected Dafis, they would still have the moral high ground. The side that actively slaughtered civilians would always be the side that was wrong. Them protecting Dafis would not be the main cause of it, but the fact that these Immortals did not retreat and still attacked… This was the logic of the galactic society, the rules set by the Peace Treaty.

Actually, the upper echelons very much wanted to insist these Immortals were from the Black Star Army. However, when they tried finding evidence earlier, they discovered that all evidence that pointed toward the army disappeared. This group of Immortals suddenly became a ‘ghost team’ with unknown origins.

These upper echelons knew that someone had erased the evidence. While they were frustrated, they could not do anything about Black Star.

Nonetheless, the fact that they were Immortals was already a clue. After all, the entire universe now knew that the organization with the most Immortal members was the Black Star Army… The Feeney Civilization was only giving the three Universal Civilizations ammo for their conflict with the association. As long as this happened, their plan could be executed even without solid evidence.

Several days later, an announcement made by the Feeney Civilization in the Endless Nebulae caused a sensation in the galactic society.

The topic of the announcement was the Planet Burger Massacre, where a large number of citizens were killed. The Feeney Civilization expressed strong condemnation for such a violent deed, stating they would find whoever was responsible and make them pay. Driven by those with motives, the message that it was a group of Immortals who were suspected to be members of the Black Star Army who attacked the colonial planet was spread quickly, attracting wide attention. If it was wanted criminals who attacked a colonial planet, this would be a police matter at most, and the galactic residents would not dwell on it much.

However, the big boss of the Beyond Grade A Association was suspected to be involved in this. As a giant organization of the Lawful Faction, they violated the Peace Treaty and slaughtered civilians. At such a sensitive time, this matter immediately became a political issue and sparked intense public discussion!

That was especially so when the Feeney Civilization reported this to the Civilization Conference, crying and asking the three Universal Civilizations to pressure and question the Black Star Army, hoping to investigate and find out the truth. The matter became even bigger.

In the next few days, the three Universal Civilizations took the ammo from the Feeney Civilization, fully activating their propaganda machine, and started to verbally condemn the Black Star Army in all directions. At the same time, they increased the matter to involve the Beyond Grade A Association too, strongly questioning the association’s purpose and its ‘justice’.

The Star System civilizations were within the protection range of the ‘Peace Treaty’. Such a violent act of slaughtering civilians on a colonial planet caused everyone to be enraged. Even the Super Star Cluster did not dare show support to the association at this point of time and remained quiet.

Emotions needed a place to vent. Driven by the advanced situations, although the Feeney Civilization only claimed that the brutes were suspected to be from the Black Star Army and had no proof, ordinary people did not care about that. They directly assumed that the Black Star Army was responsible for it. Their fear and hatred toward the Supers and Immortals that had been suppressed for a very long time turned into overwhelming verbal condemnations… After all, they had the most Immortals in the entire universe, so who else could they scold?

Han Xiao became the main target of the condemnation. With the advanced civilizations controlling the tempo, tons of civilians ignored what he did in the past and infinitely exaggerated the importance of this matter. They started to question why a leader who allowed his subordinates to do such horrible acts could receive the ‘Stuarts Peace Prize’ and the ‘Galaxy Medal’. How could he possibly have the right to be respected by the galactic society? There was no way the three Universal Civilizations were going to let such an amazing opportunity slip past. They started to go all out to damage Han Xiao’s image-as long as they could take away the ‘reputation amulet’ that they had once built for Han Xiao, they would have the ‘moral high ground’.

With the operations of the advanced civilizations, the Planet Burger massacre became a fuse that intensified the conflicting emotions of the ordinary people and the Supers.

Countless galactic residents were worried. As ordinary people, no one wanted to be dragged into wars between Supers and die for no reason.

The influence this matter had on the ordinary people was that they supported the three Universal Civilizations’ pressure toward the Beyond Grade A Association more and more. From their perspective, of course, they wished that all Supers could be strictly controlled by civilizations so that disasters would not fall onto them one day for no reason.

Suddenly, the people’s request to attack the Beyond Grade A Association received more and more support… However, that was where it stopped. The three Universal Civilizations only used this opportunity to damage their reputation; they did not plan to make a move yet.

Faced with such aggressive accusations, the Black Star Army only made a simple announcement, saying it would investigate internally and only make an announcement when they come to a conclusion. Plus, the Black Star Army warned the Feeney Civilization not to accuse them without evidence. Then, they remained quiet no matter how noisy the outside world got.

…

In a desolate universe belt in the Endless Nebulae, the Guild of Gods fleet was slowly flying Tons of guild pillars were standing and sitting around while looking at the forums casually, giggling with joy from time to time.

“President, look, our deeds have already been written into the Galaxy Chronicles. Our first guild kill has been acknowledged.”

Poseidon was overjoyed. Jupiter looked at the forums. The Guild of Gods making the first guild kill of a Calamity Grade had filled the pages for many days and gained a ton of fame for the club. He was also rewarded by the upper echelons of the club because of this.

However, looking at the praise on the forums, Jupiter was not that happy but distracted.

Poseidon noticed and asked, “What’s wrong? You don’t look too happy.” Jupiter shook his head and said with a worried tone, “Don’t you all watch the galactic news? It’s a mess out there. We caused big problems for the army this time…” The emotions of the galactic society got worse day by day, and Jupiter was very worried. However, he did not regret it. After all, achieving the first guild kill was too amazing an achievement. He would probably make the same choice even if he went back in time. Only, he could not help but be worried about how the army would deal with this.

Those members who caused problems for the army in the past did not end up well, so he had examples to learn from. Although the Guild of Gods did not do this on purpose, since the matter had become so big, Jupiter was unsure what the army’s stand was on this.

He had been waiting for the army to contact him all these days, but it never did, and he became more and more anxious.

Buzz!

Suddenly, the spaceship’s communication system suddenly activated on its own, attracting everyone’s attention. Han Xiao’s remote projection suddenly appeared in front of them. “Army Commander?”

The various players present, including Jupiter, were all startled. They did not expect Black Star to come so suddenly.

Han Xiao scanned over everyone and stopped at Jupiter. With a poker face, he cut to the chase and said, “Don’t you owe me an explanation?”

Jupiter’s heart skipped a beat, and a resigned expression appeared on his face.

He knew he was in the wrong. What he did caused huge problems for his faction. Facing the questioning of the leader of his faction whom he had spent five versions with, he did not know what to say.

Seeing that he did not say anything, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and purposely paused.

When he secretly saw that some of the guild players around started recording, he then continued

“You acted on your own without reporting to the army, which is why things escalated to this point, giving our enemies reasons to make the public condemn us. I’m very dissatisfied with this.”

Hearing this, their hearts sank.

However, Jupiter expected this. It would be weird of Black Star did not react to such a huge matter.

He sighed.

“… How will the army punish us?” Han Xiao looked around, viewing everyone’s expressions, snorted, and said, “I’ll be straightforward. This time, the army won’t give you any punishments. We’re all old comrades from the Planet Aquamarine, so just this time… I’ll settle it for you! But if there’s a next time, don’t blame me for following the rules!”

Everyone was stunned.

Seeing Han Xiao’s tone earlier, they were all mentally prepared to be punished by the faction. When they suddenly heard this, they froze.

Chapter 1292: Villain and Background

Jupiter originally thought he would be heavily punished this time but was stunned. Suddenly, his memories since Version 1.0 resurfaced. He was both relieved about not having to be punished and touched by Han Xiao’s words. As a professional guild leader on a salary, what he had in mind had always been how to operate the guild better. Although he also had some emotional attachment to the Black Star Army after so many years, he did not see the army as his own faction like the normal players. The interests of the guild were his priority.

However, at this time, he still felt great warmth in his heart. He felt a sense of nostalgia in Han Xiao’s words.

However, though touched, Jupiter still could not help but ask, “Is this really ok? We caused bad influences after all…”

Han Xiao waved. “I understand the situation. If you people attacked a colonial planet out of nowhere, the army would strictly follow the rules and deal with you. However, your target was an enemy who kept disrupting your mission, and your mission in that area could not be carried out if you didn’t kill him. Since I told you guys to take over the black market, I gave you some freedom. Although I’m not very satisfied with how you guys overdid it… since the Feeney Civilization chose to protect your enemy, they’re an obstacle to our progress of taking over the black market, and they have to deal with the consequences of it. I can’t let them bully my men.”

“But the public opinion…”

Han Xiao interrupted him and casually said, “Although you guys were the fuse, the main conflict is still between us and the three Universal Civilizations. Even without this incident, they would find something else to shift the public opinion against us. I’m not going to punish the army’s members because of my opponent’s method of fighting us. Therefore, you guys don’t have to pay for the pressure from the outside world this time.”

Jupiter coughed and softly said, “But you became a target of the public too. Aren’t you worried about your reputation…”

Han Xiao shook his head and said, “I hope you guys can reflect on your mistake this time. It’s perfectly fine to eliminate enemies. If you come across enemies who disrupt the army’s mission again, do what you need to, but be mindful of the impact it might cause and make sure to do it cleanly. Unless left with no choice, don’t drag civilians into it. Request the army’s assistance if you need to, but don’t act alone again like this time and cause a large impact.”

Then, Han Xiao looked around at everyone’s pleasantly surprised faces and nodded in his mind. He believed these b*stards all understood his hint.

Ever since the start, he never wanted to completely forbid things like this but allowed it. He only wanted to guide them and make sure they did things cleanly, which he could not say out loud directly.

From the way he looked at it, what had happened had already happened. No matter what explanation he gave the outside world, it was not going to end up well. Therefore, he might as well ignore the public opinion guided by the three Universal Civilizations and let the army members do what they wanted to do, increasing the threat of the ‘Cancer of the Universe’ while removing the positive image the army had. Before he opposed the three Universal Civilizations, the three Universal Civilizations had always been promoting him and increasing his reputation, making the galactic residents give him all kinds of titles and auras. They did these things both to praise him and restrain him; it was a double-edged sword.

With reputation, the actions of the army were restricted. If they did something that violated the rules, they would suffer for it. This was the rope the three Universal Civilizations tried to put on the army.

Han Xiao knew very well that as the form of conflict became more complex, remaining in the rules set by the opponent would only make things more difficult. Therefore, although the players caused a big mess this time, it could be a chance to adjust his strategy.

Wanted criminals like EsGod did tons of extremely evil things, but most people were only afraid of them and did not dare say anything. This was because they knew they were evil villains and did not dare mess with them. One of the important reasons the outside world dared to condemn and scold the Black Star Army was that, in their hearts, the Black Star Army was once ‘good’, and ‘good’ entities could be messed with.

After being ‘good’ for too long, others fear him less and less… Those many civilizations who responded to the call of the three Universal Civilizations and obstructed the association from uniting the black market more or less had this attitude. They felt that they had the Peace Treaty ‘amulet’, so they thought the Black Star Army would not dare violate the rules and do anything to them.

Clearly, this mindset was part of the reason the Feeney Civilization used its colonial planet to protect Dafis. If they really cared about the casualties of their citizens, they would not have done that.

If the other civilizations learned from them and improved on it, the association’s work would only get tougher as time went on.

If the threat of the Cancer of the Universe increased through the Planet Burger incident and the outside world could see that there were a group of violent brutes in the army who were not afraid of violating the rules, some civilizations and Calamity Grade organizations would think twice before deciding to stand against the association…

Play and mess around all you like, but don’t take the Cancer of the Universe lightly!

As long as things like this happened several times and they became afraid and intimidated, a lot of trouble could be avoided, which was beneficial to speeding up the takeover of the black market.

However, these things could not be said out loud. Therefore, the army was not going to admit to any accusations and would insist they were false. As for the truth, the outsiders would have to guess.

As for the public opinion… the three Universal Civilizations controlled the most powerful promotion tool, so his reputation would be damaged sooner or later. Han Xiao was already prepared for it. There was definitely a price to pay for standing against the three Universal Civilizations. Plus, his reputation and image were unreal.

Armed organizations were not civilizations, after all. The things they cared about were different. In the current situation, public opinion did not matter at all. No matter how bad it got, when it came to what mattered, the three Universal Civilizations would not dare make a move.

When he was working with the three Universal Civilizations, a positive reputation was beneficial for the army to obtain more partners and create a profit network. Now that the three Universal Civilizations had made a law that prohibited any civilization and consortium from working with the association, reputation no longer played a part. The image of being ‘good’ was useless; instead, being ‘bad’ worked better.

Because of exactly this, Han Xiao did not mind switching the army’s reputation. To him, they were just different paths. As long as it could help him reach his goal, he would use whichever was better.

When the World Tree war broke out, the negative image would be meaningless. No one would care about such trivial matters then.

Of course, even though he decided to take the ‘bad’ path, there was still a limit to things. Therefore, he still had to restrain the players’ actions to a certain extent. Hence, he personally criticized Jupiter and the others to subtly express his attitude. Causing small scale accidental casualties when fighting bosses was fine, but doing it deliberately was not allowed.

With what had happened, if the players crossed the line again in the future and he ‘followed the rules’ to punish them, most players would accept it.

Since he was going to insist that the army was not involved to the outside world and not stop the other players from imitating it, plus the Guild of Gods made the symbolic first kill which received much more attention among the players and acted within the limits, there was no need to give them any punishment today. Of course, he was not going to reward them either. The guild had to pay for the cost of fighting a boss.

Although this somewhat went against the ‘punish all mistakes’ rule, there was no right or wrong to most decisions made in complicated situations, only what was suitable or not. The rules had to be adjusted often.

Another reason for this was that Han Xiao knew very clearly who the teammates worth earning currently were—the players were the foundation of his rapid growth. His level 360 Promotion was extremely crucial and had to be done as soon as possible. Therefore, knowing his priorities, there was no need to hesitate.

As the enemy started it, unless the players retaliated too strongly, Han Xiao was neither going to stop them nor punish them. Otherwise, he would give them a feeling that they could only get beaten and not fight back, which would impact their sense of belonging to the faction severely, making them frustrated and possibly leave the faction.

Back in Version 4.0, the Black Star Army fought with multiple small factions. The small factions chose to restrain them and blame the players, while the Black Star Army protected its members and poached their players. Han Xiao was an expert in harvesting leeks; he was not going to make such a rookie mistake.

After all, players could not be easily restrained by simple management methods. Them challenging Calamity Grades was something that was bound to happen. Han Xiao knew the players’ mindset very well.

Since we can’t fight bosses properly here, we can just leave this faction. No way are we not going to fight bosses.

Han Xiao knew that not everyone had a strong sense of belonging to the faction.

As players grew stronger, their need for the faction would gradually decrease. Strength was what mattered most. With strength, they had the right to negotiate their prices and could be treated well anywhere. Plus, Han Xiao never doubted the players’ interest in creating their own factions. At this stage, the importance of profit had decreased among the factors that attracted the players to remain in the army. Instead, sense of belonging and habits proportionally increased. His long-term investments in the past netted more and more returns.

Therefore, Han Xiao spoke with the Guild of Gods personally to promote his ’emotional attachment’ to the forums.

He already controlled the spaceship artificial intelligence, so the players could only use their interfaces to record. Therefore, this video would only circulate between the players. No one else would be able to see it.

“I understand. We’ll definitely report to the army in the future for operations like this,” Jupiter answered.

“Hmm, good.” Han Xiao nodded. “Work hard and control the black market of this area soon.”

After saying a few more words, Han Xiao ended the communication, and his remote projection disappeared.

The Guild of Gods exchanged looks and were all smiling with relief.

This feeling of being protected is amazing!

“Poseidon, I recorded the conversation. Should I put it on the forums?” Poseidon asked.

“Yes!” Overjoyed, Jupiter waved and said, “This is Black Star’s personal stand, which means we have new information that’s beneficial to everyone. Post it on the guild’s behalf!”

Chapter 1293: Black Star Decides How Peaceful the Galaxy Is

The Guild of Gods’ first Calamity Grade kill remained popular on the forums. Players were talking about it all the time. Although the Temple of God team had gotten quite a lot of blame in the past few years, they finally recovered from this first kill. Many players acknowledged and praised their achievement while feeling curious about the army’s attitude toward this matter.

Although the galactic society was condemning this incident, the players did not give a damn. They all saw the post the Guild of Gods posted, which showed the entire incident, and Dafis clearly opposed the army. Plus, the Feeney Civilization protected Dafis first. From the way they looked at it, the Feeney Civilization deserved it and brought it upon themselves.

However, the condemnation from the outside world did indeed bring trouble to the army.

Therefore, many players were waiting to see what the army would do to the Guild of Gods.

Meanwhile, seeing that the Guild of Gods started it, the other large clubs also had the same thoughts.

Although the first kill was gone, killing a Calamity Grade boss was a display of a guild’s strength. The way the clubs looked at it, when more and more guilds killed Calamity Grade bosses, it would most likely become one of the basic criteria of becoming a big guild. When recruiting new members, if they saw that this guild had not even killed a Calamity Grade boss before, they would instantly be less attracted. Clearly, the big guilds of the various countries did not want to lose competitiveness.

However, their thoughts were only limited to that for the time being. Since the Guild of Gods did it first, the other guilds were waiting to see how the army dealt with it. They were going to make plans based on the army’s stand. One way or another, they had to fight bosses, only with different methods.

Observed by many players, the Guild of Gods’ official account released a video. The content of it was their conversation with Han Xiao. In just a few minutes, it was pinned to the top manually and received wide attention on the forums.

The players were surprised by Han Xiao’s attitude and excitedly discussed it.

(The Germinal Organization Leader Is Always Watching: No punishment, Old Black is so generous!]

(Coolest Kid on Planet Aquamarine: Hahaha, I knew the army commander would be sensible. Otherwise, anyone could just hide on colonial planets after attacking us, and we wouldn’t be able to attack them. This is the right decision.)

[Princess Feet: The army commander expressed his intention clearly. As long as we don’t go overboard when fighting back, the army will back us up. Nice.]

[Army Commander’s Big PP: Thank the Guild of Gods brothers for avenging me, amazingly done!)

(Poseidon: Now this is a reliable leader. Old Black never changed.)

(Bun-Hit-Dog: I’m new here, is this how he treats his old comrades? I’m so touched.]

The many players analyzed and discussed on the forums, confirming Black Star’s intentions.

Firstly, when the guilds fought bosses, as long as it was an enemy, not only would the army not stop them from doing it, but it would also encourage it to a certain extent. For example, the army could provide some technological support, help them to create an undisrupted environment, and trap the target.

If they accidentally caused casualties while fighting bosses, as long as they had a reason such as someone protecting their enemy and they did not overdo it, the army would not punish them. Although Black Star did not clearly state what would be considered overdoing it, with the Guild of Gods example, as long as they did not go beyond that, it would definitely be fine.

Many Chinese players were very touched by Han Xiao’s words. As for the majority of players who joined in the later versions, although they did not have much emotional attachment toward Black Star personally, they still felt good about the army’s way of dealing with the incident.

Many guilds were also less worried.

They were worried that the Guild of Gods might be heavily punished, such as getting sealed by the Spacetime Amber. They did not want their guild pillars to face the risk of having their accounts ‘banned and would have no choice but to consider leaving the army. But since the faction’s stand on this was sensible, they did not have to prepare for the worst.

Over the next ten days or so, the three Universal Civilizations continued to stir up public discussion about the topic. All kinds of verbal condemnations kept increasing. The public wanted the Black Star Army to give them an explanation and get rid of those who were involved.

However, the Black Star Army remained firm. The Black Star Army could explain how the Feeney Civilization protected Dafis on purpose, but there was no need to. They only stated that they were still investigating the matter and would not give in to such an accusation that had zero evidence, completely ignoring the public opinion the three Universal Civilizations deliberately stirred up.

The civilizations in the various Star Fields searched for the details through all kinds of channels. None of them believed what the three Universal Civilizations pushed the public to believe easily. They knew that there were definitely some things that were not publicized, and the truth could not possibly be as one-sided as the public believed. However, Planet Burger was indeed attacked. Even if there was more to the incident, the laws were indeed violated. Hence, the various civilizations were only watching and did not do anything

Seeing the Black Star Army’s attitude in this storm, many Star Systems sensed something.

The Peace Treaty set by the three Universal Civilizations had always been their protection. Anyone who violated the laws would be strictly punished. This was one of the key reasons they remained the rulers. For all this time, the Black Star Army had been following the laws like a tiger hiding its teeth and claws. The public gradually forgot about just how dangerous this tiger was out of habit… However, in a special time like now, if the Black Star Army no longer followed the laws strictly, could the three Universal Civilizations restrain them?

The answer was clear-hardly, if at all.

Currently, the three Universal Civilizations had used the laws against the association and closed the galactic society toward it. This was much more severe than the punishment of violating the laws. However, with that, the three Universal Civilizations had no further method of punishing the association anymore other than to start a war, which the association was not afraid of at all… The various civilizations knew that if the three Universal Civilizations were willing to start a war, they would not have waited this long. In this situation, the various civilizations no longer felt that the three Universal Civilizations had the ability to force the association to follow the galactic laws. This meant that the strength of the protection from the Peace Treaty would definitely decrease.

Of course, judging from the Black Star Army’s attitude, they probably did not intend to openly violate the galactic laws. However, as for the things that were in the gray area, Black Star most likely no longer held back. As for the three Universal Civilizations, they would definitely make a decision that caused the least problems for them. As long as the association did not deliberately attack a civilization, the three Universal Civilizations would most likely only make the public condemn them. The three Universal Civilizations doing something about it was not going to happen.

Having understood these things, many civilizations that answered to the three Universal Civilizations’ call started to hesitate. If the Black Star Army no longer restrained themselves, the effects of the laws decreased tremendously. Clearly, continuing to oppose the association was no longer wise. Even if they stood on the three Universal Civilizations’ side, they would only be used and would have to deal with the damage on their own in the end.

Facing this situation, many civilizations made similar decisions.

When these two giants fight, we’re the ones suffering. We can’t mess with either side, so it’s better to keep a low profile. Responding to the three Universal Civilizations is one thing, but we’d better turn a blind eye regarding the Beyond Grade A Association’s act of uniting the black markets everywhere. The three Universal Civilizations can send their own people to stop them all they like. We’re not going to put in as much effort anymore.

This decision quickly circulated between the upper echelons of the various galactic civilizations. Even the Feeney Civilization was no longer as confident when seeing this. When they were interviewed by the media, although they still condemned the act, their word choice became less extreme and more cautious.

“Cancer of the Universe…”

Holmes browsed the messages on the quantum network and had a grave look.

He was a Calamity Grade super who operated an armed force in the Sea of Star Spirits. He was quite famous in the local Star System.

Ever since the Planet Burger incident got so big, Holmes had paid close attention to it.

He had come to know Dafis when he went to the Endless Nebulae on business in the past. The two of them became friends and occasionally chatted. Because of that, he knew about Dafis’ recent work.

Inspired by Dafis, Holmes also secretly worked with the local civilization and did what Dafis was doing. Through obstructing the act of uniting the black market, he obtained resources and benefits from the civilization.

However, this incident startled Holmes.

He was not as strong as Dafis. When Dafis messed with the Cancer of the Universe and got chased all the way till he was killed, he became alarmed too.

While secretly obstructing the association, Holmes had killed some Immortals too. He could not help but be afraid of the Immortals grouping up and targeting him. He was not as arrogant as Dafis and did not think he could deal with the revenge of tons of Immortals.

There were risks to opposing the association to begin with. Holmes only agreed to working with the local civilization because they promised to protect him when needed.

However, the Black Star Army’s response to the Planet Burger incident scared him. The Cancers of the Universe were very firm about taking revenge, so much so they were willing to violate galactic law. While the Black Star Army refused to admit anything… how useful could the protection the local civilization promised him be?

“The risk is getting higher. If the Cancers of the Universe come to take revenge, my life will be in danger too… I can’t keep doing this.”

With a worried expression, Holmes took out the communicator and called his contact in the local civilization.

Very soon, the contact appeared on the screen and smiled respectfully.

“Your Excellency Holmes, what can I do for you?”

Holmes cut to the chase and said with a grave tone, “From now on, our partnership will be terminated. I will no longer deal with the association’s men taking over the black market for you guys.”

The contact was stunned, surprised. He said hastily, “This is… so sudden. Is there anything you’re not satisfied with in the agreement? We can talk about it. I’ll…”

Holmes interrupted him and said with a deep voice, “My mind is set. Tell your upper echelons, the partnership stops here. I quit.” As he said that, not giving the contact a chance to reply, Holmes hung up the call right away. He stood up, walked back and forth in the room, and was still a little worried.

Hesitating for a while, Holmes clenched his teeth and walked toward the dock.

“I can’t stay in my headquarters. The enemies might come. I shall go somewhere to hide for some time.”

In the Central Galaxy, the three Universal Civilization leaders’ conference room…

“Hmm, the Black Star Army’s response is expected. Black Star indeed won’t fall for this.”

Louis looked at the report from the Public Opinion Control Department and nodded at the other two.

“Humph, of course. If Black Star was naive enough to respond and sell out his men, he’d be too easy to deal with. We wouldn’t have to put in this much effort.” Marbruce crossed his arms and snorted.

The Feeney Civilization provided them with an opportunity, and they took it; that was all. They only wanted to damage Black Star’s positive reputation and never expected to force Black Star to obey using the public opinion. That would clearly be daydreaming.

The church’s pope tapped the table and said, “Although Black Star’s positive reputation is decreasing and we have the moral high ground, he also used this to defuse the locks we had on him, which will only make the various civilizations fear him more. Instead of causing problems for him, it’s become a problem for us.” “Using the cancers of the universe to do the dirty work and intimidate others, what a good plan.” Louis frowned. “According to the intelligence, many Star System civilizations are already unwilling to continue sending people to hold the black market. Looks like we have no choice but to send our Immortals too.”

“Hmm, cancers of the universe against cancers of the universe, it’s the most efficient way.” Marbruce nodded.

The three Universal Civilizations had raised some Immortals too. To them, letting Immortals fight each other was clearly more efficient than spending their direct troops. After all, they would not feel hurt if the Immortals died.

The church’s pope said with a deep voice, “But the Immortals are very difficult to control and restrain. If they make a mess…”

The three of them exchanged looks and were all troubled.

The players in the three Universal Civilizations were just as difficult to control. They caused quite a number of problems, but the three Universal Civilizations did not have any good methods of dealing with them. They had punished them many times, but some of them just left the faction and joined some other organization. Some even became wanted criminals. Because they controlled these Immortals too strictly, they lost quite a number of them.

As Version 5.0 began, the strength of the players started to increase again. The three Universal Civilizations realized the seriousness of the matter too and suspected the Immortals had the potential to become Calamity Grades.

If that day ever came, the cancers of the universe would be the most suitable opponents for the cancers of the universe. Therefore, they had to have enough Immortals in their hands and could not afford to lose any more of them. Hence, the three Universal Civilizations gave the players special treatment, not punishing them unless absolutely necessary. However, they still could not stop the Immortals from leaving. The three Universal Civilizations had always been beleaguered by this matter.

Hence, the three of them were very envious of the Black Star Army. The Immortals who they could not control were already very obedient in the Black Star Army’s hands. In the entire universe, the Black Star Army restrained the Immortals most effectively.

Now, the Black Star Army showed signs of taking away this restraint, and if it really did it…

Marbruce shook his head, changed the topic, and said, “Sigh, let’s skip this for now. The most important matter now is to confirm if Black Star can freely use the Sanctum Revival.”

The other two shook their heads but still looked grave.

If the Black Star Army’s Immortals continued to grow, it was very likely that in the future…

Black Star would become the one to decide how peaceful the Galaxy was!

Chapter 1294: Memory File and First Unique Talent

Chapter 1294 Memory File and First Unique Talent

As time passed and the galactic civilization saw that the three Universal Civilizations still did not make any move, they realized the situation. Knowing the three Universal Civilizations could not do anything to the Black Star Army, the public gradually condemned the Black Star Army less.

On one day, the Super Star Cluster Alliance received an anonymous piece of information that stated how the Feeney Civilization protected Dafis. The Super Star Cluster Alliance then released this piece of information without hesitation and promoted it, quickly shifting the public opinion in another direction.

At this point, the masterminds behind this incident basically all got what they wanted and stopped making moves. Without those who guided the public opinion, very soon, voices online quietened down. The galactic society was never in shortage of topics and news, other new events quickly attracted the attention of the galactic residents.

However, the impact this incident caused remained.

The various civilizations adjusted their strategy, no longer willing to participate in the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the association. They stopped part of their disruptions of the black market, making the work of the various Beyond Grade A organizations easier.

Without the local civilizations working for free, the three Universal Civilizations dispatched their own Immortals to interfere in the black market conflict and deal with the Black Star Army’s Immortals.

The conflict between players had no restraints. In the next month or so, the two sides fought intensely. Many planets with black markets became battlefields. With the technological aid from the army, the various big guilds eliminated hostile Calamity Grade Supers one after another. The Cancer of the Universe title became more and more recognized.

Han Xiao, however, did not pay attention to how boisterous it got in the outside world. While the two sides were fighting night and day, he spent most of the time in the lab, reverse engineering SWY-001 continuously while building new Universal Treasures to increase his God’s Trait Transformation stage.

One day, he finally made a breakthrough in the reverse engineering of SWY-001.

In the bright research lab, SWY-001’s enormous body was fixed in the middle covered in tons of operating multifunctional mechanical arms, doing all kinds of reverse analysis.

Mechanical assistants flew around SWY-001 in midair, transporting parts from time to time like bees.

Han Xiao hovered in midair at the same height with SWY-001’s head. Beside him was a round anti-gravity worktable. Tons of neatly arranged virtual screens surrounded him, showing all kinds of parameters nonstop. He commanded the various research teams through this worktable.

“The deciphering is finally done…”

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

After more than a month, he had finally deciphered the many modules of SWY-001. Of course, the memory file was the most important among them. He already deciphered it completely and turned it into readable data.

On the virtual screen, tons of information was displayed. The meaningless data was all filtered out, leaving only the essence of SWY-001.

Han Xiao browsed through. The useful information could mainly be classified into three groups. One was the various technology this mechanical body used, another was the blueprints in the memories of those Mechanics who sacrificed themselves, and the last was their memories about that unknown civilization.

The name of this Universal Civilization eliminated by the World Tree Civilization was ‘Karma Republic’ after translating it into the galaxy common language.

Unlike the explored universe, the Karma Republic was the only Universal Civilization in the area it was in. It took over all the other races in its area, turning them into its own subsidiary civilizations and had absolutely control over them. The Karma Republic even distributed all of their territories and lands.

They created a surveillance system and came up with Civilization Levels. They made the rule that the results of the research and developments of all civilizations had to be reported, copied, and given to the Karma Republic. If they made breakthroughs, they would gain ‘Civilization Points’. With enough points, the civilization would be allowed to level up and receive better privileges with the Karma Republic’s approval.

If a civilization could not make any technological breakthroughs in many years and could not reach the minimum point of a certain period, that civilization would be downgraded. The Karma Republic would retrieve all kinds of privileges including its territories.

The galactic society level of the Karma Republic was very strict. Although the competition between civilizations gave them a certain amount of motivation, overall, the atmosphere of the entire society was still quite boring. After all, all of their developments were monitored and controlled by the Karma Republic. They could see the end of their path right away. Most civilizations had no choice but to spend the majority of their resources on research projects to maintain their level or level up. As for the lives of their citizens, it was kept at the minimum.

Most citizens were only surviving too. Under
control of the Karma Republic, the cost of violating the law was way too high, so there was no point in doing it. The Super knowledges were also strictly controlled by the Karma Republic and could not be spread freely. The only way to learn them was legally. If things went on normally, the Karma Republic’s civilization strength would continue to rise as time passed, absorbing the nutrition of so many subsidiary civilizations at the same time. Sadly, they met the World Tree Civilization and were wiped out in the end.

As Super knowledges were strictly controlled, the Karma Republic had firm control over the various civilizations under them. However, because of that, they lacked high level combatants and had fewer than twenty Beyond Grade As. Plus, due to the lack of conflict, there were only two peak Beyond Grade As.

Both had its pros and cons. The three Universal Civilizations were worried about individual strength going out of control but accumulated tons more high-level combatants because of it. Chaos would breed more strong individuals. The Karma Republic did not have such worries, but when facing an exterior enemy, they ended up not having enough high-level combatants.

Facing the overwhelming attack of the World Tree Civilization, the high-level combatants of the Karma Republic almost collapsed on the spot. In the end, they were forced to use a technology called ‘Fusion Mechanical Ascension’ that only Mechanic Supers could use.

Through focusing the strength of one peak Beyond Grade A, tons of Grade As and Grade Bs, they aimed to help this peak Beyond Grade A break through the limits and turn into a real ‘Mechanical God’, stepping into the higher territory. However, it failed in the end. Although they did obtain a much stronger individual, he did not evolve and was defeated in battle surrounded by the people of the World Tree Civilization.

Han Xiao looked at the information of the technology. The interface showed that the name of the blueprint was (Fusion Mechanical Ascension). Other than the functions he already knew, the side effect was that the user’s personality would change and become a collective consciousness.

“This technology can’t reach its planned goal, but it is a breakthrough for them nonetheless. It’s not very useful to me on its own, but the modules formed after the fusion are very powerful. Maybe I can reverse engineer them, imitate their structure, and create a new Mechanical Deity?”

The SWY-001 was the combination of flesh and machinery. The flesh provided tons of Super cells that gave the machinery the Mechanical Force it needed. He had (Polar Channel Flow— Blood Rage), so he should be able to achieve the same effect if done correctly.

If he could successfully imitate SWY-001’s form, he had a feeling that his Mechanical Deity would undergo a huge change.

Other than (Fusion Mechanical Ascension], Han Xiao also obtained tons of blueprints from the mechanical body’s memory file. However, only the peak Beyond Grade A’s memories had a few Gold blueprints.

Han Xiao recorded all that technology before looking at the decipher page of the memory chip.

He was done deciphering the quantum network code of the Karma Republic and broke through the firewall long ago, so he could already rewrite SWY-001’s artificial intelligence program.

Han Xiao hesitated for a while before closing this page. He did not want to make modifications to it before finding out the connection between the artificial intelligence consciousness and SWY-001’s biological consciousness.

“Speaking of which, I’m not sure if there’s some kind of bonus to studying SWY-001 or not, but the trigger rate of my Unique Talent is quite high for some reason.”

Han Xiao looked at the interface. In the past month of studying SWY-001, the progress of obtaining a Unique Talent was triggered again and was at 75.8% now.

According to the previous progress it made every time it was triggered, a Unique Talent would be formed after triggering it two more times.

However, he had no idea when these two times would happen. Since he was only a quarter away from completing the progress, Han Xiao leaned toward completing it using Awakening Points. He did not do it in the past because his progress was too low, but now that he was very close to completing it, the cost became much lower.

The players had already been online for quite some time, and he had accumulated quite a lot of EXP. Although he was still far from the Promotion at level 360, leveling up a few levels was not a problem. Plus, when he used Random Rewards to try to acquire Mission Completion Cards, he sometimes got lucky and obtained Awakening Points too.

“Let’s try it. It should be doable.” Han Xiao put all his EXP into leveling up all the way to level 344 before it ran out.

He took out one Awakening Point, put it into his Unique Talent, and a notification popped up.

Use 1 Awakening Point to increase the progress of Unique Talent? (Confirm/Cancel]

Confirmed.

According to the level of this Unique Talent, 1 Awakening Point = 2.8%-3.2% progress.

Unique Talent Progress +3.02%.

Current Progress: 78.82%.

“A three-percent increase for one point on average…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. This was much better than expected.

He would be able to obtain a Unique Talent with just about seven or eight more Awakening Points this way.

According to the rules of the Awakening Points, a hundred points could activate the basic structure of a Unique Talent, and the accumulation of progress would only start after that. Converting one Awakening Point to three percent, the cost of obtaining a Unique Talent from nothing would at least be 134 Awakening Points.

He had naturally activated the basic structure of his Unique Talent, then slowly accumulated the progress to about seventy-five percent, meaning he saved 125 Awakening Points.

“At most eight Awakening Points, which I have right now and don’t even have to level up abilities for. The cost is completely acceptable. I’ll do it.”

Han Xiao rubbed his hands. With excitement, he put one Awakening Point after another into the progress of his Unique Talent.

Very soon, with enough Awakening Points, the progress finally reached a hundred percent!

A notification popped up on the interface.

Unique Talent Awakened.

Please select one main focus for the talent from the three options below.

Basic Attributes.

Special Resistances.

Main Class Enhancements.

“Oh? So, this is how it is…”

Han Xiao raised his brows. He had thought the effects of a Unique Talent were completely random, but it turned out that he had a certain extent of freedom in choosing his preferences. This reminded him of creating his Racial Talent back when he became a Beyond Grade A.

There were not many choices. It was probably because the Unique Talent progressed naturally.

Maybe if he used Awakening Points since the start, he would be able to completely design it to his likings.

Han Xiao hesitated for a while, then chose the Main Class Enhancements.

Main focus confirmed.

Please select one secondary focus for the talent from the three options below.

Machinery Building.

Virtual Technology.

Machinery Combat.

“The two Unique Talents of old Manison are building and Virtual Technology, which should be strong enough for me…”

Han Xiao considered for a while, then chose the third choice.

Secondary focus confirmed.

Please replace one of the bonuses from the three options below.

Long-range Attacks.

Mechanical Force Enhancements.

Machinery Efficiency Enhancements.

“Replace one effect, huh? This means that these last three options are the bonuses given by the talent in the end.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, pondered for a few seconds, and chose the first one. It was the only one that was slightly weaker than the other two.

Replacement complete.

(Long-range Attacks) randomly switched to (Class Main Attribute Bonus).

All preferences confirmed, creating Unique Talent…

Creation complete.

You have received Unique Talent ((Unnamed) – Han Xiao]!

(Unnamed)—Han Xiao: +10% INT. In battle, +1.2 Mechanical Force multiplier, +1.3% machinery efficiency multiplier. All multipliers are applied after other bonuses

Remarks: (To be filled).

You have received your first Unique Talent. Difficulty of activating the next Unique Talent increased. Initial level of the next Unique Talent increased, meaning higher bonuses and more preferences.

Chapter 1295: The Second Key and Invasion Operation

“Overall multiplier bonus, huh? Quite powerful.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The bonuses of this talent clearly reached the Molding Talent level.

Given his current Intellect, the ten-percent Intellect increase would give him a few thousand Intellect points. With the Mechanical Force strength and the Machinery Efficiency bonuses, his actual combat capability increased significantly. One of his Apostle Weapons could now fight a high level Beyond Grade A for some time.

Judging from the interface’s description, the difficulty in awakening Unique Talents increased each time he obtained one, but the effects would also be stronger. Old Manison had both a single bonus talent (Virtual Technology Innovation) and a large-scale bonus talent (Billion Mechanic Empire). Clearly, Manison obtained the latter many Unique Talents later than the former. Yet, Han Xiao acquired it easily.

“Sigh, Old Manison, oh Old Manison, how sad for you…”

Han Xiao sighed and was so sad he laughed.

Since his Unique Talent would get stronger after each one he acquired, he could not complain about his first Unique Talent. Only, he had no idea when he would trigger the brief structure of the next Unique Talent.

“I wonder if Old Manison has talents that increase the chances of awakening Unique Talents…”

Han Xiao subconsciously licked his lips and was tempted.

Thinking back, he had to admit that Old Manison really had a rich inventory. Sadly, he was an ally on his side now, or he might really be tempted to hack into Old Manison’s database… After all, others’ databases were way too tempting to Mechanics.

Putting this impulsive thought behind, Han Xiao looked at the interface. The name and the remarks of the talent had yet to be filled up, and he had a headache about it.

As an ‘expert’ in naming things, he had extremely low confidence in his ability to name things.

“What should I call it? I have to think of a proper name this time, or what will happen if the players get this talent through Character Summon Cards one day?” Han Xiao pondered for a while and filled in a name he felt was acceptable.

Having confirmed the name, the content of the talent was updated on the interface right away, and he could not change it again.

Emperor of War-Han Xiao

Remark: Born for wars.

“This name should be normal for this kind of fighting talent.”

Han Xiao felt it was fine, but he was not very sure about his naming sense. However, since he had already named it, he stopped dwelling on the matter.

As he was about to leave the lab and try out his new talent at a desolate planet nearby, his communicator suddenly rang.

He took out to look at it, and to his surprise, it was the head of the Land of Four Gods, the elderly whom he beat up before, ‘Mystery Mage’ Joey Terrain.

He accepted the communication request, and Joey appeared on the screen.

“What is it? Have you contacted me because you guys made up your minds?” Han Xiao sounded interested.

Joey looked a little gloomy, took a deep breath, and said softly, “We agree to join the Beyond Grade A Association, but we hope to keep our freedom. Plus, the coordinates of the Land of Four Gods must remain a secret to the other members. We’ll attend the plenaries, and if something important happens, we’ll also provide assistance, but we won’t be forced… Is this okay?”

Han Xiao smiled.

These four b*stards finally made up their minds. This was probably their limit.

“Sure, this is a good start. With you guys, the association will become stronger. I won’t publicize the coordinates of your secondary dimension, and the association doesn’t force its members to do anything. However, I’ll mention you guys are Beyond Grade As who retired. Plus, you guys have to be at the venue yourselves when showing up for the first time. Is that ok?”.

“Sure.” Joey nodded and hesitantly said, “So, about the Sanctum Revival…”

“Don’t worry, you’re one of us after joining the association. If you guys die, I’ll revive you.”

“That’s good…”

“Alright, send me all of your information later. I’ll register you guys into the association and arrange for your welcome ceremony.”

After chatting a bit longer, Han Xiao hung up the call. About ten seconds later, he received the personal information of the four of them and told Phillip to arrange the procedures to have them join the association.

He thought for a while before calling Oathkeeper. He had already spoken with some of the Holy Accord members to have them appear in public when the time was right. Since Joey and the others were joining the association too, he might as well have them join at the same time so that it would be easier and more convenient.

Very soon, Oathkeeper appeared on the screen.

“Black Star, what is it?”

“Hmm, it’s about the welcome ceremony of a new batch of Holy Accord members. I’ve already made the arrangements, so you can have them come to the Flickering World now,” Han Xiao said.

“I’ll tell them.” Oathkeeper nodded. He hesitated for a moment before suddenly saying, “Black Star, there’s one thing I have to tell you. The second set of the Sanctum keys have almost all been collected.” “… So soon?”

Han Xiao was surprised.

Oathkeeper was in charge of this matter, and Han Xiao did not pay close attention to it. He thought the Holy Accord would need a few years to collect the second set of keys. He did not expect them to be this efficient.

“Yes. The resources list the Super Star Cluster Alliance provided included quite a number of materials for the Sanctum keys that are very difficult to purchase elsewhere, but these advanced civilizations had them. Some more sensitive materials that are banned from circulating on the market are surprisingly circulating on the black market, and you gave them to us, which increased our progress greatly,” Oathkeeper explained.

“I see.” Han Xiao understood and felt relieved like invisible weights were lifted off from his shoulders.

He would only really be confident about facing the cleansing with the second set of Sanctum keys. He no longer had to act like it in front of the three Universal Civilizations.

“Which Sanctum?”

“The First Sanctum this time.”

Han Xiao was delighted.

The Third Sanctum he entered the last time contained knowledge mostly about biology, genes, and Esper Abilities. Although he acquired quite a lot of knowledges, it was not very compatible with his class. However, the First Sanctum seemed to be closely connected with machinery technology. If he could enter it once, he would probably obtain the technology that suited Mechanics best, which would be incredible.

It just so happened that his authority level in the First Sanctum was even higher than the Third Sanctum. He currently had seven fragments. Entering the First Sanctum would give him one more, meaning he would have level eight authority when he entered and would be able to do many more things while inside.

“What about the collection of the keys of the other Sanctums?”

“I’ll show you…” Oathkeeper sent him a set of data.

The Holy Accord recorded the progress of the several Sanctum keys, so it was easier to see. At this point, other than the First Sanctum key, which was at ninety-two percent, the second highest was the Third Sanctum key, which was at sixty-seven percent. The others were all around forty percent, except for the Sixth Sanctum, which was only at seven percent.

Han Xiao looked at the progress before looking at the material lists of the various keys. “I’ll pay attention to these materials too. Keep up the good…” “Hmm, you keep up the good work too. The organization will treat you generously.” Oathkeeper said it and felt extremely good. Before Han Xiao could respond, he hung up the communication right away.

Han Xiao placed the communicator down, scratched his head, and had a weird expression.

Usually, he was the one who spoke like that to Oathkeeper. However, this time, Oathkeeper suddenly changed his tone and took him by surprise.

Interesting, he’s not happy with being ordered around by me, so he wants to gain small advantages over me verbally?

Humph, childish…

I’ll definitely say it quicker than you next time!

Han Xiao curled his lips and decided not to be concerned. Besides, everybody knew who was making the calls.

“The second set of keys is almost ready. I can consider showing some of my cards to the three Universal Civilizations now…”

Han Xiao focused and pondered.

According to his judgement of the situation, one of the most effective ways to defuse the stalemate between the three Universal Civilizations and the association was to seek peace after a war. Let the three Universal Civilizations start the cleansing and let the two sides fight all they wanted. When the association suffered from severe losses, they would revive all their members and display the truth about the Sanctum Revival not having a limited number of uses.

This way, while learning a painful lesson, the three Universal Civilizations would realize there was no way they could restrain the Beyond Grade As. Then, they would most likely abandon their current strategy and focus on studying the Sanctums. The balance achieved through this should last for a very long time.

However, although this method would have limited damages to the Beyond Grade A Association, the three Universal Civilizations would suffer severely from it. After all, the destroyed fleets, armies, and killed soldiers could not be revived. If the three Universal Civilizations’ direct members died in this war, even though the Sanctum Revival could revive them, Han Xiao was definitely going to postpone their revival to after reviving the association’s members.

He had two goals, one to deal with the World Tree, another to protect the Beyond Grade A class to not take the Celestial Star Alliance’s path. The former was more important.

“Before the World Tree war breaks out, it’s best not to cause too much damage to the military force of the explored universe. Therefore, the intensity of the conflict has to be controlled; the association can’t start a battle, and the current situation has to be maintained. This plan can only be executed if the three Universal Civilizations actively start a cleansing…”

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

From another perspective, stopping the cleansing was possible. In order to avoid damaging the explored universe’s strength, he might have to go against his initial plan and share the World Tree Civilization’s information in advance so that the war would break out earlier…

However, whether the three Universal Civilizations believed it or not was not for him to decide.

“Hope the three Universal Civilizations don’t play with fire. Maintaining the current state is good enough…”

In the Primeval Star River, somewhere in a desolate universe belt, a spherical galactic fortress hovered. It looked like an enlarged metal brain. This was a Super Long Range Virtual Mind Wave Enhancer. On its surface were matrix-style quantum network bases that could hide the data sent to a certain extent and enhance the strength of a Virtual Intrusion.

Two round mechanical devices flew around it. This was the Federation of Light’s Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device. Outside it, highly advanced stealth devices hovered like buoys and shrouded the area, preventing all kinds of detection means, including prophecies.

At this point of time, the avatars of Mornisa and several Beyond Grade A Mechanics sat inside the Virtual Mind Wave Enhancer on their own seats. They were all direct members of the three Universal Civilizations.

After preparing for about two to three months, the three Universal Civilizations finally agreed to this operation. The participants were all direct Beyond Grade A mechanics. Led by Mornisa and assisted by the three Universal Civilizations, they had gone to the Primeval Star River to hack into Manison’s database.

The three Universal Civilizations took out many cutting-edge devices, even sharing the computing power of their civilizations’ main artificial intelligences to help with the intrusion, all to successfully break into Manison’s database and take him by surprise.

“Virtual Mind Wave Enhancer and Intrusion Style Quantum Network Base Matrix operating at full power output, Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device entering preheating stage… Federation of Light, Crimson Dynasty, Arcane Church main artificial intelligence computing power shared. Hacking route adjusted. Preparation complete. Please give the command.”

The emotionless voice of an artificial intelligence sounded in the room.

Mornisa looked around at the teammates present, and a red light flashed across her avatar as she firmly said, “Guys, let’s do it!”

Chapter 1296: Siege

Inside the wide factory filled with mechanical devices, many mechanical arms were working constantly. Teams of mechanical assistants worked day and night, and countless assembly lines produced all kinds of machines.

Manison hovered midair in the factory and meditated with closed eyes. Golden electric arcs jumped on his body like snakes. His brain was operating rapidly, focusing on training his computing power. This was something most Virtual Mechanics did every day.

While he traveled in the sea of data, an alarm suddenly rang from the firewall at the link between his mind and the quantum network, echoing loudly in his mind!

“Alert! Alert! Abnormal data detected, infiltrating the database firewall!”

Manison suddenly opened his eyes, his focused state interrupted.

“Someone’s hacking into my database?”

He frowned and subconsciously thought of Han Xiao.

The last time someone did this was many years ago. Could it be that b*stard Black Star this time?

Although they were now on the same side, Manison never stopped expecting the worst from Black Star.

His consciousness sunk into the quantum network. Through the network nodes, he instantly jumped to the firewall that was hacked. The next moment, the scene before his eyes changed drastically, and he came to a virtual world formed of data streams.

In front of him was a thick firewall like layers of translucent protective shields, and endless code flowed on its surface. This was what protected his virtual artificial intelligence center and his multiple databases, making it invisible on the quantum network so that ordinary people could not find it.

Anyone who could hack into it would either be a Beyond Grade A or the main artificial intelligence of an advanced civilization or a large organization. Regardless, the attacker did not come with good intentions.

At this time, a large pile of slightly illuminated dark purple data stream was stuck to the surface of the firewall like a slime, rolling and moving nonstop to corrode the firewall. Large portions of purple spread out. At a micro perspective, the two sides’ data codes were slaughtering each other at the point of contact. The shattered bits of the firewall reformed and became the purple data stream’s bits, devoured and assimilated by this strange data stream, causing its size to slowly grow.

Inside the firewall, a data stream rose from the ground and turned into the appearance of Manison’s Virtual Soul. He looked at this with narrowed eyes, extended his palm, and grabbed a data stream. The two sides of the data stream extended outward, and it turned into the shape of a staff in Manison’s hands.

He tapped the ground with the staff, data streams rose from the ground like lava and quickly became a fully armored AI soldier army, standing behind him.

Having completed the preparation for battle, only then did Manison speak with a poker face. “Dare to invade my territory but don’t dare show yourself?”

As soon as he said that, Mornisa’s virtual figure appeared outside the firewall. Looking at Manison who was protected by the firewall, she coldly said, “We meet again… teacher!”

“So, it’s you.” Manison narrowed his eyes. “What, you still haven’t given up?”

In the past, Mornisa tried to secretly steal his technology because she found out some secret routes from him, so her ambition pushed her to do it. However, back then, Mornisa was not strong enough and failed; Manison discovered her plan and scolded her heavily. Afterward, Mornisa joined the Federation of Light, and this matter was left unsettled.

In all these years, Manison had taught many Mechanics, Mornisa being the most talented one among them. After Mornisa became a Beyond Grade A, he originally wanted to support her to found her own organization, make her his ally, and indirectly expand his forces. Sadly, Mornisa stabbed him in the back, and this plan was abandoned. Since then, the two of them had been colleagues instead of teacher and student.

However, although their relationship was not good, they did not instantly become enemies. On the contrary, the two of them maintained a certain extent of information partnership all this time. Mornisa occasionally provided some not so crucial internal information to Manison, from the way Manison looked at it, she was her way of fawning upon him and keeping him from attacking her.

He considered himself as someone who knew the personality of this student quite well. She was someone who would not give up easily once she set a goal for herself and would definitely find all methods possible to achieve it. She was not going to give up stealing his technology so easily.

Therefore, Mornisa’s invasion was out of Manison’s expectations but within his understanding.

Hearing this, Mornisa snickered. “Teacher, times have changed. Black Star’s rise took away the faith of the Machinery Faith; you’re no longer the invincible Mechanic Emperor you were decades ago.”

Hearing Black Star’s name, Manison snorted in his mind and did not refute it. He said, “Even so, beating you will still be easy.”

“I’m not so overconfident to think I’m capable of fighting you alone…” A sarcastic smile appeared on Mornisa’s face as she said, “I came with help this time!”

As soon as she said that, unusual data streams rose simultaneously from a few other directions and suddenly crashed into the firewall. Tons of code fragments shattered. Along with the data streams, a few other Beyond Grade A Mechanics appeared.

With the support of the part of the computing power of the main artificial intelligence of the three Universal Civilizations, the speed at which they broke through the firewall received astonishing bonuses. Defense blocks were shattered one after another, and layers of firewalls were filled with holes.

He was surrounded instantly! Manison’s expression changed slightly. These people were all direct members of the three Universal Civilizations. This was clearly a joint operation from the three sides.

Dealing with the invasion of several Beyond Grade A Mechanics was already troublesome enough, yet on top of that, the three Universal Civilizations even shared part of the computing power of their own main artificial intelligence to assist them.

The main artificial intelligences of the three Universal Civilizations had the highest computing power in the entire universe. They were improved and updated by Beyond Grade A Mechanics one generation after another, even fusing the memories, experience, and part of these Mechanics’ consciousnesses. They could be considered the strongest tools in the Virtual Technology field. Without them, the three Universal Civilizations’ core database would have been infiltrated many times.

However, usually, most of the computing power of the main artificial intelligences had to be used to maintain the operation of the civilizations’ affairs, so their strength was not displayed. If all of their computing power was focused in one, it would be extremely horrifying

Since the three of them were working together to assist several direct Beyond Grade A Mechanics, this kind of power was tough for one person to match up to. Sure, Manison was strong, but he still had limits.

Plus, because of Black Star, he was no longer at peak strength. He could not help but feel powerless.

“The three Universal Civilizations really think quite highly of me, huh,” Manison said with a deep voice. “Blame yourself for being so cocky in the past, always trying to steal the Federation of Light’s secrets. The federation has put up with you for a very long time, only letting you off because you were their loyal ally. You should’ve known this day would come. I only made the suggestion to the three Universal Civilizations and made it come sooner.

“They want to cleanse the secrets you stole and the intelligence of the various civilizations in the Primeval Star River you collected… As for your technology, they’re just rewards for me.”

Mornisa’s tone was filled with mockery and glee.

Manison snorted. Knowing there was no point in saying anything, he stomped the ground with his staff.

The next moment, the artificial intelligence soldier army charged forward to stop their invasion, while Finette appeared with many artificial intelligence lives and joined the battle.

At the same time, beams made of data streams suddenly shot out from the firewall, evaporating large portions of the invading data stream. The firewall’s formation also started to shift. The traps within were activated one after another to stop the enemies’ data streams.

As he opposed the three Universal Civilizations back during the Intelligent Plague, Manison planned ahead and reinforced his firewall afterward, as well as added a lot of Virtual Technology measures, all to prepare for this situation.

“You’re still the same. But, even if you made preparations in advance, can you stop us today?” Mornisa’s eyes flickered.

“Try me.” Manison was not affected.

The enemies’ invasion was stronger than he expected. He had already used all measures he had and was still unsure if he could hold on.

The two sides’ data stream continued slaughtering each other, analyzing and defusing each other’s tricks. The amount of information processed every second was unimaginable.

The passage of time in the Virtual Domain was different. It relied on the speed of the individual’s mind. To the Beyond Grade As, every second felt countless times longer.

Facing the powerful attacks, Manison started to show signs of defeat. The thickness of the firewall kept getting thinner, holes started to appear, and part of the low-level data at the exterior of the database was exposed.

The enemy’s data needles penetrated through these holes and stirred up a tsunami within, sending out data streams even deeper… The secret database at the most inside was their key target of this battle.

Although the situation was not good, Manison’s mood was still unaffected. He carefully tightened his line of defense, fighting the enemies firmly and accurately, cleaning out their data streams.

While Mornisa controlled her data stream and tried to penetrate Manison’s defenses, she taunted with a mocking tone, “Teacher, your abilities have become quite a lot weaker. Losing the bonuses from ruling the Machinery Faith and falling from your peak strength sure doesn’t feel good, does it?

“Why don’t you seek help from Black Star? Black Star would probably generously help someone he defeated… Oops, almost forgot, we blocked all communications to the outside world. We will have gotten what we came for by the time you send a rescue message.

“Black Star has been suffocating you, taking away what belongs to you time after time. I’m only surprised by how you can put up with how he treats you. If it were in the past, how could you let him be? Tsk tsk, you’ve really gotten more cowardly now you’re older, or did Black Star scare the sh*t out of you?”

Harassment came one message after another, all hitting where it hurt in Manison’s heart.

However, he maintained a poker face. His computing power was unaffected, and he coldly said, “… You done?”.

Hearing this, Mornisa suddenly felt as if a blood red ‘danger’ appeared above her head.

Just as she was about to react, Manison’s Virtual Soul lit up and locked onto her.

The next moment, a strange data stream appeared.

Mornisa’s sight turned blurry. Her Virtual Soul was dragged into a silver data world filled with countless machines by an irresistible force. An enormous silver giant stood before her; it was indeed Manison.

Manison looked down, his eyes like a god looking at mortals. He opened his mouth, and his voice echoed in this world.

“Are you prepared for a beating?”

Mornisa mocked, “Since I dared come to you, I prepared long ago. Getting beat up in exchange for your technology is worth it. Plus, this is just Virtual Paramount. How long can you trap me here?”

“Not long… but more than enough to thrash you, rebellious student!”

Manison bent his waist. His fist fell instantly and bashed Mornisa’s Virtual Soul into a patty.

The entire world shook!

Chapter 1297: Change

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless cannons roared, launching attacks toward Mornisa. The silver giant Manison thrashed Mornisa’s Virtual Soul.

In the Virtual Paramount territory, Mornisa was completely powerless and could do nothing but take Manison’s thunderous attacks. Agony rushed into her mind like a tsunami, wave after wave. Her mind almost stopped working. Her Virtual Soul was buzzing with white noise and looked extremely unstable.

“Argh!” Mornisa screamed and wailed. Although she was mentally prepared to get a beating from Manison, when her consciousness felt such intense pain, she could hardly endure it. She could feel the murderous intent from Manison’s attacks.

This pain reminded her of the lesson Manison gave her when she failed to steal his technology for the first time.

Back then, Mornisa had just become a Beyond Grade A. It was a time when she was arrogant and overconfident, and she did not know much about how strong the senior Beyond Grade As were. After she failed, she got absolutely crushed by Manison; all attempts to fight back were meaningless. She was just as helpless as she was now, being tortured like a powerless doll.

At that time, Manison adjusted her perception of reality, and the deep fear pushed Mornisa to join the Federation of Light.

This humiliating memory had been suppressed at the bottom of her heart. At this time, this mental scar of hers was reopened. Mornisa could almost feel her soul shivering intuitively. She clenched her teeth and endured the torture, hoping Manison would soon stop.

After an unknown period of time, Mornisa, who was doing her best to endure the pain, suddenly felt refreshed and left the Virtual Paramount territory, returning to the Virtual Intrusion battlefield where an intense battle was still carried out.

Mornisa’s mind almost collapsed. Although the actual amount of time she was controlled was very short, she felt like she had been tortured nonstop for more than a decade. It felt like countless mixers were stirring up her brain, turning her brain tissues into a mess.

Furthermore, in order to keep hacking, she could not stop working her mind and had no choice but to remain conscious, making the pain even worse.

In the moment right after she left the Virtual Paramount territory, her mind still remained stunned for a second. Her computing power plummeted, and the attacks on the area she was in charge of suddenly slowed down.

In this short instant, Manison who was prepared for it suddenly released a sea of data streams, attempting to break through the communication lock and send a message to the outside world.

Buzz!

Suddenly, layers of light curtains rose at the edge of this virtual battlefield. The data lock barrier formed by the main artificial intelligences of the three Universal Civilizations cut off the data sent to the outside world. These enormous streams of data bumped into the barrier and exploded like countless mosquitoes rushing onto an electric net, instantly vanishing.

“Ahem, don’t think you can easily send a message out while I’m wounded. I expected this…” Mornisa was still in a weakened state, but she still snickered when she saw this.

Maintaining the same poker face, Manison waited for Virtual Paramount to cool down while fighting against the invasion as well as trying to send a message to the outside world by any means necessary.

With his Virtual Technology, it was almost impossible for them to lock him down completely, but he still needed some time to break through.

Mornisa endured the pain in her mind and intercepted a message sent to the outside world. It was a distress signal sent to the Beyond Grade A Association.

Seeing this, though wounded, she still sneered. “That egotistical Mechanic Emperor finally learned to ask people for help? Where did your pride go?”

Manison glanced at her and did not respond.

He knew that after this distress signal was sent, Black Star would most likely be the one to come. God only knew how he would ridicule him.

If possible, he did not want to have any connections with Han Xiao, mostly to prevent Han Xiao from seeing his database. After all, (Virtual Purification-Restore) was his nemesis. However, in this situation, it was tough for him to hold on, so he had no choice but to call for help.

One side was resisting and trying to seek help, while the other side was invading and locking down the information. The situation remained in a stalemate for quite some time.

Despite Manison’s efforts to continuously mend his firewall, his line of defense kept shrinking in the face of the Beyond Grade A enemies and the main artificial intelligences of the three Universal Civilizations. More and more needles stabbed into his databases one after another, stealing the data he had accumulated over many years.

Virtual Paramount went off cooldown many times, and Manison used it every time on Mornisa and gave her a heavy beating.

It was not like Mornisa could suggest that Manison target her other teammates, so she had no choice but to endure all of it. Her injuries got worse and worse. If not for her teammates who were helping her, her consciousness would have been very close to being unable to maintain the intrusion.

Suddenly, an invading data stream finally penetrated the firewall and infiltrated the secret database. It only lasted for a short instant before being wiped out by Manison.

However, in that short time, this data stream absorbed a ton of nutrients and transmitted part of Manison’s secret data back.

A Mechanic sent a message to his teammates. “We got his key technology data!”

“Keep going!” Mornisa’s heavily damaged consciousness suddenly became energetic like she was on steroids.

It was like suddenly finding gold after mining for a very long time; all the torture she had gone through felt worth it!

However, Manison, who had remained calm, found a gap in the barrier and finally sent out a distress signal.

“Sh*t, he managed to send out a signal!”

Mornisa’s joy only lasted for a few seconds before her heart sank.

Her tone was arrogant, but she was actually quite worried inside. If the association’s Mechanics came to help, this mission would definitely fail.

That was especially so if the unfathomable Black Star came. That was a man who kicked her teacher who she once admired more than anything down from the top. Just thinking about it made her feel fearful.

If Black Star came, Mornisa would flee instantly… She dared to backstab Manison, who was no longer at his peak, but she did not dare touch Black Star, who was right at his peak.

“Don’t panic, we still have some time,” a teammate said with a deep voice.

Mornisa focused her mind, clenched her teeth, and tried her best to steal as much information as possible before reinforcements arrived. At the same time, she removed a large portion of the three Universal Civilizations’ main artificial intelligences’ computing power from the message blocking barrier and moved them to focus on invading.

Since Manison’s distress signal was out, there was no point spending so much effort to block his communications. The others also all focused on invading.

With no time to spare, their invading strength increased again. Data stream needles stabbed into one key database after another. Manison could only frown and resist with all he had.

After some time, a direct Mechanic who was calculating the time suddenly said, “That’s about time. If we remain here, reinforcements are going to arrive.”

“Retreat!”

Mornisa clenched her teeth. They were far from turning Manison’s database upside down, but she did not dare continue.

Glancing at Manison’s hole-filled firewall, they retrieved their computing power and retreated the way they came. At this time, Manison’s Virtual Paramount went off cooldown again. Before the invaders left, he dealt Mornisa another heavy blow.

Mornisa shivered. Her Virtual Soul became even more faint as she retreated and disappeared with her last shred of consciousness.

In the Virtual Mind Wave Enhancer somewhere in the Primeval Star River, their consciousnesses returned to their bodies.

“Go, quickly…”

Mornisa only had time to say two words before her avatar collapsed onto the floor and her Lord’s Descent got deactivated.

She had been Manison’s focus and was already at her limits at this point. As soon as the mission was over, her consciousness returned to her main body right away, and she almost fainted… It would take her at least a year to recover from the injuries she had suffered.

Judith glanced at her avatar on the floor, shook his head, and said, “Leave her alone and retreat with the data we stole. The Mechanic Emperor might come any time.”

The others nodded and activated the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device right away.

The two rings around the Virtual Mind Wave Enhancer started spinning and accelerating, and their afterimages formed a sphere.

The next moment, with a flash of blinding light, the entire Virtual Mind Wave Enhancer left through teleportation while the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device self-destructed and shattered into ash.

Inside the Virtual Domain, Manison looked at the mess the enemies made in his territory and slowly said, “Count the losses and give me a report.”

“…Understood.”

The main artificial intelligence responded and started checking the status of the various databases.

Very soon, a list was given to Manison.

He looked at the enormous losses on the list, closed his eyes with resignation, and sighed. His expression looked like he was laughing at himself.

Karma finally came…

About eighty percent of the information of the various large organizations he stored in his databases was stolen. He had obtained this information through monitoring these organizations for many years. Quite a big portion of the information was secret, especially the information of the few Super Star Cluster civilizations of the Primeval Star River.

A ton of the blueprints he accumulated through research over all these years were also stolen. The only good news was that core technology such as the Felon and the Indestructible Mechanic Empire were all memorized in his mind and had never existed in the database, or his loss would have been even bigger.

Buzz!

At this time, a data stream appeared out of nowhere and turned into a man. He looked at the wreckages, tutted and said, “Yo, what a refreshing scene. The Mechanic Emperor, who once invaded the databases of people everywhere, got invaded today. How the tables turn.”

Manison looked up, and who else could it be but Black Star?

He was not in the mood to respond to Han Xiao’s teasing and said, “You’re late.”

“I’m not telepathic. I came fast enough. You should say the enemies fled in time.”

Han Xiao landed before Manison, looked around, rubbed his chin, and said curiously, “How many of them came to be able to do this to you?”

“Several direct Mechanics and the main artificial intelligences of the three Universal Civilizations.” Manison gave a simple description.

“Wow, they really think of you quite highly.”

Han Xiao raised his brows.

Even he was not confident he could deal with this if he was in the same position as Manison. After all, his Indestructible Body was not very useful in the Virtual Technology field. It was no surprise Manison lost so much.

Manison frowned and said, “I would’ve crushed them if this was in the real world.”

Although he was strong in battles in the Virtual Domain, it was nothing compared to his full combat capability. After all, Virtual Technology was an independent ability, and mechanical armies were useless in the Virtual Domain. With the inventory he had, he would have completely trashed these invaders in a few minutes in the real world.

In the real world, he and Black Star could fight ten enemies at once, but no one possessed this amount of overwhelming strength in the Virtual Domain.

Han Xiao shook his head and asked, “What have you decided to do next? Eat this up or retaliate?”

Manison glanced at him and said, “Depends on you.”

“Depends me on?” Han Xiao was stunned.

“Aren’t you the Beyond Grade A Association president? I’m a member of the association too, so you’ll make the call.”

“… Who are you? Release the real Manison!”

Han Xiao was taken aback.

What the hell? You made such a big loss, but not only are you not suggesting fighting back, but you’re even respecting my opinion as the president? This isn’t like you, Old Manison!

It’s over, either this b*stard’s soul got swapped, or his heart was too heavily damaged, so his personality became twisted! Looking at Han Xiao’s expression that was filled with disbelief, Manison said impatiently, “What look is that? What’s so hard to believe? Anyway, this matter will be dealt with depending on your suggestion.”

Of course, Manison was not happy about his database being invaded, but he was not so enraged that he had to take revenge.

One reason was that the loss was not unrecoverable. His core technology was all stored in his mind and was not leaked. Another reason was that it was now a sensitive time. With concern for the big picture, he did not want to disrupt the tempo of the fight between the association and the three Universal Civilizations.

Although he had made a loss this time, the three Universal Civilizations had worked together on this mission against him. They committed so much effort and so many resources to it that Manison had to admit his defeat. Plus, after his position in the Machinery Faith was snatched by Black Star, he gradually had lower and lower requirements for his reputation. He felt he had become calmer inside, no longer concerned about the title of the strongest Mechanic in the Galaxy. It had not belonged to him for a very long time anyway.

Manison sighed in his mind. Maybe because I’m really getting old, my temper keeps getting smaller…

“Your personality has really changed…” Han Xiao said before turning serious. “Don’t worry, this is a matter of the three Universal Civilizations robbing an association member’s private assets. They won’t get away with it easily.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Hmm, condemn them first and see how they respond.”

“They’ll just say I stole the Federation of Light’s secrets before and claim this is just punishing me for it.”

Manison shook his head.

“Oh, this is indeed a good reason. They have the moral high ground, after all. If that’s the case, the question will be thrown back to the association… Doing this to you at this time, the three Universal Civilizations are testing us.”

Han Xiao pondered and said, “The three Universal Civilizations’ so-called ‘punishment’ is simply cover. They’re testing to see if the association will retaliate for you and see how confident we are. If we only condemn them and don’t act, it’ll look like we don’t have any confidence. If we retaliate, the extent of it will reflect how confident we are.

“This was also to continue damaging the association. They have the moral high ground, so if the association retaliates for you, we’ll look tyrannical, and they’ll be closer to ‘justice’. If the association doesn’t do anything, the association members would be worried and unhappy, which is not good for unity.”

Hearing this, Manison nodded in agreement.

The three Universal Civilizations had made a move on a core member of the association at such a sensitive time; their intentions were clear, but the association had to deal with it.

However, at this time, Han Xiao suddenly said, “However… We have not considered a colossal change that might occur. If this change occurs, the three Universal Civilizations will not react as I just said.”

“What change?” Manison frowned.

Han Xiao looked at him and calmly said, “Let me ask you a question, and you must tell me the truth… The data you lost this time, did it include the Virtual Mutiny Virus you secretly faked?”

Absolutely not mentally prepared, Manison froze.

Then, his expression suddenly changed drastically, and he stared at Han Xiao in confusion.

When the f*ck did you find out my secret?

Chapter 1298: Argument

“What are you talking about?”.

Manison glared at Han Xiao. Having his biggest secret exposed, a storm was happening in his heart.

He had never told anyone he secretly studied the Virtual Mutiny Virus, so how did Black Star know?

Prophecy? Doesn’t make sense, my base is covered in Information Form disruption devices, so others can’t even find where my main body is, let alone that I’ve been studying this technology.

Is he faking it?

“Don’t lie. Since I’ve pointed this out, of course, I’ve obtained solid information,” Han Xiao added. “As the president, I have to know my key members well. What you thought is a secret is no secret to me. Plus, I also know your research has already shown results… This is very important, so tell the truth.”

Manison looked at Han Xiao’s calm expression and felt a chill in his heart. Suddenly, panic appeared in his mind for the first time in an extremely long time. He felt as if all his secrets were transparent to Han Xiao.

No matter how dangerous the situation he was in earlier when being invaded, his emotions remained completely unaffected. Now, just speaking with Han Xiao, his calm mood was broken instantly, and his mind was shaken.

This *sshole Black Star… is really my fated nemesis.

Manison clenched his teeth in his mind.

He was in a dilemma. He really wanted to insist on hiding it, but he decided to tell the truth in the end.

“Since you knew, why didn’t you stop my research?”

Han Xiao smiled in his head. It’s not like I can control what you research about… Plus, what I have is better.

The Virtual Mutiny Virus Manison made was only a semi-finished product. As for him, when he completed the [Intelligent Plague] mission with an S Mission Rating back then, he obtained the original (Domino Virus). Though incomplete, it was not something a mere forgery Manison created could compare to.

However, there was no need to tell Old Manison this. Han Xiao coughed and said, “Only because there was no need to.”

Hearing this, Manison started making guesses and narrowed his eyes.

“Humph, I got it. You actually wanted this insurance too, but because you wanted to be elected president, you deliberately watched me do the dirty work. You don’t oppose us having this dangerous technology, but it won’t affect you this way.” “… Whatever you think.”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. To be frank, he liked talking to people who loved making speculations. He did not even have to come up with excuses, and the other person would do it for him. It was really quite convenient.

“Humph, we’re the same, after all.” Manison snorted.

Han Xiao thought he might as well follow Manison’s speculation, so he said seriously, “But I still don’t agree with the path you wanted us to take. That hasn’t changed.”

Manison subconsciously wanted to argue, but as he thought of the Sanctum Revival method Han Xiao revealed that was indeed much more effective than what he planned to do, he could only shut up.

Seeing this, Han Xiao paused and continued, “The Virtual Mutiny Virus is a weapon of mass destruction to the galactic society. It’s more than powerful enough to overthrow all order and turn the entire explored universe into chaos. Back when I personally shattered the virus core, in the eyes of the public, this dangerous technology disappeared forever, so they stopped worrying. However, if the three Universal Civilizations find out this technology surfaced again, things will be different.”

“I think the three Universal Civilizations will be more wary.” Manison did not seem concerned.

“You still want to be so stubborn and take one path to the end. It’ll soon be too hard to turn back…” Han Xiao sighed.

Though the association was confronting the three Universal Civilizations, the two sides were only intimidating each other, which formed a balance. However, if the Virtual Mutiny Virus appeared again, it would be seen as holding the entire galactic society hostage. Even if the association had no intention to use the virus, the nature of this conflict would change completely.

After all, the Virtual Mutiny Virus was too powerful. It could shatter the order of the galactic society and turn into a universal level disaster. When this technology was controlled by an individual and turned into a modifiable virus weapon, its threat would multiply tremendously once again. The individual could totally invent countless generations of the virus and release them all at once, crushing the galactic society’s average artificial intelligence technology.

Without even having to think about it, there was absolutely no way the three Universal Civilizations would allow anyone other than themselves to have a hold of such a deadly weapon. It would be the equivalent of giving someone else the power to control the life and death of the galactic society.

Furthermore, Han Xiao would be affected too. The outside world all thought that he had destroyed the virus, so if Manison was discovered to possess it, even if Han Xiao was not related, conspiracies would definitely receive a lot of recognition. The outside world would think Han Xiao only put on a show back when he destroyed the virus core, while he actually formed a partnership with Manison behind the curtains.

This way, his image would shift to the complete opposite side and he would really become the common enemy of the universe. The association would be dragged down along with him too… Fighting the domineering three Universal Civilizations as the oppressed side would be a justifiable battle for their rights and would receive a lot of support. However, if the association forced the three Universal Civilizations to obey through holding the entire galactic society hostage, the entire situation’s nature would change, and the number of people supporting the association would plummet.

“There’s never been a way to turn back to begin with,” Manison said slowly. “You’ve always talked about intimidation and balance. When will all that end? If we don’t obliterate the three Universal Civilizations’ ambitions completely, they’ll never give up controlling the scale of individual greatness. A balance without strategic deterrence isn’t sustainable. Isn’t it good to let the three Universal Civilizations know we are capable of rapidly destroying the entire galactic society?”

Han Xiao rubbed his temple and said, “Sure, the galactic society is very important, but when their rule is strongly threatened, the three Universal Civilizations will be willing to pay any price to eliminate their enemies. Although it’s not easy to form a galactic society, at least it can be rebuilt. But if they lose their ruling position, the three Universal Civilizations would rather wipe out everything and start anew. The three Universal Civilizations are acting cautious and fearful now, but once something crosses the line, they’ll have the decisiveness to destroy everything and be reborn. They’ll never be threatened. This is not something we want to see happen.”

Having spent so many years in Galaxy, he had seen things clearly. The production power of the galactic era was astonishing. When the production chains of the society no longer needed people to participate, to some advanced civilizations, population was only a renewable resource that was not even that valuable. They granted their people the rights they enjoyed only because of the functions they provided, not the people themselves.

Most of the time, the more advanced and stronger a civilization was, the less it had to care about the wishes of its people because there was nothing the people could do anymore. The three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster civilizations had already reached this level, only they did not do it. One reason was their traditions and regulations, and another was so that the society would remain in a virtuous cycle. This was not their weakness.

Therefore, Han Xiao had never doubted that the three Universal Civilizations would flip the table if pushed too hard. To them, people dying was no big deal. They only were not willing to flip the table, not that they could not.

“Hehe, if it were in the past, maybe you’re right. But now you’ve brought the Sanctum Revival to the association, along with the intimidation of the Virtual Mutiny Virus, I don’t think the three Universal Civilizations will still be as daring… Anyway, I hid this technology to back the association up. You’re the president now, so deal with it,” Manison said unhappily. “The fundamentals of this technology are in my brain, so these people can’t steal it. But they stole some related lab records and logs. Although there is no clear description of the technology in them, whether they can link the records to the Virtual Mutiny Virus or not, I don’t know.”

“… Tell me the truth, did you do it on purpose?”

“It’s already happened. On purpose or not, does it matter?” Manison’s tone was calm. “I hid this trump card mainly to prepare for the worst. Since the association wants balance, them finding out about us having this trump card is much better than finding out when we use it. At least it won’t be the worst situation.” “… Really good job, and I thought you’d really respect the path I want to take as the president.”

Han Xiao gave him a meaningful look, turned around, and left right away.

Manison watched Han Xiao disappear in his sights. His lips seemed to have moved faintly, but he then went back to focus on repairing his firewall.

As his consciousness returned to his office in Black Star Palace, Han Xiao opened his eyes.

“Mechanic Emperor… what an ass.”

Regardless of whether the three Universal Civilizations stole it or Manison deliberately leaked it, there was quite a high chance the existence of the Virtual Mutiny Virus was going to be discovered by the three Universal Civilizations. This meant that the association had no choice but to deal with it.

Although the second set of Sanctum keys were collected now and he did have plans for an all-out war, he wanted it to come as late as possible. He thought the balance could last for a long time, but this sudden incident probably sped up its arrival tremendously. Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

One way or another, it had already happened, and he had to prepare for it.

In the Joint Conference Room of the three Universal Civilizations…

“Oh? Mornisa did it, nice.”

Seeing the report, Louis nodded with satisfaction.

“Nothing to be happy about. If all of our main artificial intelligences couldn’t deal with just one Mechanic Emperor, that would be strange,” the pope said calmly. “You’re right.” Louis looked at the remote projections of the Beyond Grade A Mechanics in front of him and wondered, “Where’s Mornisa? Why isn’t she here?”

“She was heavily wounded by the Mechanic Emperor and is resting now. She doesn’t have the energy to deal with other things,” ‘Defender’ Romo said with a deep voice.

“Hmm, send her my regards then.” Louis waved. “What did you guys get this time?” “All data has been sent to the Science Institute. They’re reorganizing and stitching the information. The results should come in very soon,” Romo replied.

The data fragments they stole from Manison’s database were not in order. It was a violent invasion, after all. Quite a large portion of the data was incomplete and had to be put together like puzzles. Only then would they know what data they had acquired.

Louis nodded. As he was just about to speak, an emergency report popped up on the virtual screen on his table. It was from the Science Institute.

“So soon?”

Louis raised his brows and looked at the report. Suddenly, his expression changed drastically.

The report consisted of the incomplete experiment records of Manison’s research and developments of the Virtual Mutiny Virus. The Science Institute was still adding in more information as quickly as possible. However, just from the test results of these records, one could see that Manison had already achieved some results.

Marbruce and the pope saw his expression and turned to him. “What is it?”

“… Take a look yourselves.” Veins appeared on Louis’s forehead as he sent the report to the two of them.

The two of them looked at it. Their expressions suddenly changed too, and rage appeared on their faces.

Romo and the other direct Beyond Grade As were curious.

What information did the Science Institute piece together from the data they collected that was able to make all three leaders so furious?

This time, Louis closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and looked at the curious Mechanics. He waved and turned off the remote projections. Only the three leaders were left in the room.

Seeing that the outsiders had left, Marbruce coldly said, “Mechanic Emperor never gave up and is still studying the Virtual Mutiny Virus, achieving some results even… I wonder if Black Star shattered the virus core back then just to put on a show for us.”

“If not because we hacked into the Mechanic Emperor’s database this time, god knows when we would’ve found out about this.” The pope had barely suppressed his rage.

Louis looked at the two of them and said slowly, “The nature of the matter has changed. We have to prepare for the worst. Get ready for war.”

Chapter 1299: Arriving Storm

Chapter 1299 Arriving Storm

“… These are the new members who’ll join the association today. We’ll be comrades on the same side from now on.”

At the Beyond Grade A Association headquarters, Han Xiao introduced these newcomers to everyone present with a smile. They were Joey’s group and the new batch of Holy Accord members.

After Manison got hacked by the three Universal Civilizations, he quickly arranged the time for them to join the army, and it was that day.

Hearing Han Xiao’s introduction, the various Beyond Grade As present sized these newcomers up and looked surprised.

Although they already knew the Sanctum Revival’s existence, they were still astonished when they saw a new batch of revivors.

Plus, not only were there revivors who were joining the association this time, but Black Star even attracted a few others who were avoiding the world previously to make the association stronger. From the way they looked at it, this was undoubtedly Black Star’s measure against the three Universal Civilizations’ plans, and they were excited by it.

At the same time, this proved that Black Star could use the Sanctum Revival more than once, which was what the majority of people present cared about and were pleased by.

“We’re all friends now that you’ve joined the association. Please, sit,” Kasuyi said with a smile.

Joey and the others sighed and sat in their seats. Although they had a bit of social anxiety, they still tried to chat with the other Beyond Grade As.

The Holy Accord members exchanged looks and chatted as if this was the first time they had met.

The people chatted with the newcomers for a while. The atmosphere was harmonious like a big family.

Han Xiao waited for a while. Seeing that everyone chatted about enough, he smiled and said, “Alright, now that you guys have gotten to know each other, other than welcoming the newcomers, there’s actually another matter that needs to be discussed today.”

Hearing this, the room immediately became quiet. Everyone turned around and looked at Han Xiao, waiting for their president to continue.

Seeing this, Han Xiao changed into a serious expression and said slowly, “Not long ago, the three Universal Civilizations worked together to hack into Mechanic Emperor’s database and succeeded. The three Universal Civilizations are both testing and provoking us. Therefore, I’d like to hear everyone’s suggestions today about how we should respond.”

The people subconsciously glanced at Manison and saw that Manison was resting with his eyes closed. “I know about this. I received the distress signal back then too,” Kant said with a deep voice, “Manison is a member of the association, so we should stand up for him.” “That’s right. Although Manison is despicable, dishonorable, wretched, petty, old, ugly, and shameless, he’s one of us. He was attacked by the three Universal Civilizations for no reason, so the association can’t act like it never happened,” Sun Hunter said.

“I agree.” Secret Master nodded. Sun Hunter turned and glanced at him. “Which part?”

“… All parts.” Secret Master’s eyes twitched and felt a bit of his luck had disappeared.

Manison snorted, opened his eyes, and said, “Focus on the matter. Don’t insult others.”

“Come on, is telling the truth illegal?” Sun Hunter said with a surprised tone.

Manison took a deep breath and calmed his emotions down. Calm down, calm down, no point getting angry… Han Xiao gave Sun Hunter a look of approval and asked the others for suggestions.

More than ninety percent of the people agreed to stand up for Manison. It was not because they were good friends with old Manison, but it was not a personal matter. They hoped to receive the same treatment if something similar were to happen to them in the future.

“… Since the majority agrees, the association will condemn the three Universal Civilizations’ actions tomorrow and demand that they give an explanation. At the same time, everyone, dispatch your armed forces. When necessary, we might have to take military action on the three Universal Civilizations.”

Hearing this, the people were slightly stunned.

They thought just verbally condemning was about it, or a group of Mechanics causing trouble for the three Universal Civilizations’ vassal organizations at most. Why did Black Star sound like he was about to start a war?

However, their surprise only lasted for a few seconds, and they did not oppose it.

With the Sanctum Revival, most people were quite confident. Starting a war was not impossible to do. Plus, most people felt that Black Star was just planning to make it an exercise to intimidate them. After all, the situation was balanced for the time being and did not look like a war was about to break out.

“Hmm. Also, to prevent things like this from happening again, I suggest having everyone’s original body gather in the Flickering World and not give the three Universal Civilizations a chance to take us out one by one. Of course, this is not compulsory. If some people don’t want to come, they can choose not to, but they’ll have to deal with the consequences of that themselves…”

While saying that, Han Xiao glanced at Manison.

Manison closed his eyes again and acted like he did not hear it. He was definitely not going to show his well-hidden original body in front of others.

Most people had no problems with this. Quite a number of them had come to the Flickering World recently to begin with, operating their forces here, so they did not have to travel far. The Beyond Grade As in the other Star Fields also had no problems with staying there temporarily.

They discussed for a while more to confirm the arrangements before going offline as the meeting ended.

Very soon, Han Xiao, Kasuyi, and Ames were the only three left in the venue.

Han Xiao glanced at Ames and said, “Aren’t you going offline? I have some private matters that I need to speak with old Kasu.”

Ames shook her head, sighed, and said, “Aesop told me to tell you. He saw a confrontation that attracted the attention of the entire universe. The two sides confronting each other were the association and the three Universal Civilizations. The future he saw stopped there. He only knows that the results of it will change the fate of the entire universe. He wants to tell you to deal with it cautiously.”

“The old man saw a prophecy again, huh?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, nodded, and said, “Got it, wait for me at home. I’ll fetch you with the King after the meeting ends.”

Ames smiled and went offline.

Now, only Kasuyi and Han Xiao were in the room.

Kasuyi heard the conversation from earlier and softly said, “Black Star, are we going to start a real fight with the three Universal Civilizations?”

“Very likely.” Han Xiao casually explained the matter about the Virtual Mutiny Virus.

Kasuyi’s expression changed uncontrollably, and he did not know what to say. After quite some time, he sighed and said, “The Mechanic Emperor is still too stubborn, but there’s nothing we can do about it, since you aren’t telling him that the Sanctum Revival can be used an infinite number of times… Without the Virtual Mutiny Virus, your plan could have been carried out steadily. This added deterrence will only make things worse and change the nature of the entire situation.” “Hehe, even if he knew the truth, he’d most likely think the Sanctum Revival and the Virtual Mutiny Virus are a perfect match.” Han Xiao curled his lips. “Never mind him. Anyway, be prepared. Tell your Void Dukes to monitor the three Universal Civilizations’ armies in the various big secondary dimensions. If they send troops to fight us, they’ll definitely go all out.” “Understood.”

Kasuyi nodded and went offline.

The confrontation between the Beyond Grade A Association and the three Universal Civilizations already lasted for quite some time, the galactic society already gradually got used to this uptight atmosphere.

However, on this day, the Beyond Grade A Association openly condemned the three Universal Civilizations for hacking the database of its member, Manison, and demanded an explanation. The Federation of Light retaliated and claimed that Manison had stolen their secrets multiple times. This was just a late debt collection and a punishment that should have happened long ago.

The galactic residents were already used to seeing conflicts like this and thought this was another joyous day of the two sides verbally fighting each other. However, what happened next made many people sense it was different this time.

According to the past experiences, the association and the three Universal Civilizations would condemn each other back and forth a few times, and this matter would be over without much happening. Even if there were any punishments, it would at most be like a new law to target the Beyond Grade A association.

However, this time, the galactic residents and the various organizations shockingly realized that the two sides seemed to have decided to do the real deal.

After the announcement was made, the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association surprisingly both dispatched troops on a large scale. The three Universal Civilizations’ fleets rode out from the Central Galaxy and stationed themselves at the various Star Fields, while the Beyond Grade A Association’s people mainly gathered in the Flickering World.

A storm was brewing.

Even ordinary people could see that something was wrong. Although the three Universal Civilizations did not continue to make announcements after making the initial response, they were clearing sending the message that they would start a war any time.

Since the two sides confronted each other, most galactic residents were only watching a show, but now they were all nervous.

Most messages online of hoping the three Universal Civilizations could cleanse the Beyond Grade As were just people venting their emotions. When it seemed like it was really going to happen, many people panicked a little and were worried such a large-scale battle might affect them too.

Suddenly, the atmosphere of the entire galactic society became tense. Countless pairs of eyes paid close attention to the two sides.

“Weird, why are the three Universal Civilizations so daring all of a sudden?”

Inside the conference room of the Super Star Cluster Alliance, the various leaders were all surprised.

According to their analysis, due to all kinds of reasons, the three Universal Civilizations would not easily start a war, same for the association. Why did both of them suddenly become so headstrong?

If they assumed Manison was the fuse, they did not think it was that big of a deal. All that happened was some of the information in his database was stolen. Manison had not been killed or anything. Was there a need to escalate the situation this much?

“Did the three Universal Civilizations change their strategy and want to eliminate the problems no matter the cost?” someone pondered aloud.

“Probably not likely. Don’t forget, we’re still here. If the three Universal Civilizations and the association both get heavily damaged, won’t that be giving us an opportunity to rise?” the Star Arc Civilization’s leader said hesitantly.

Their existence was the exact reason a weak balance could be maintained. If not because both sides were worried about the Super Star Cluster Alliance, they might have acted long ago.

“What do we do?”

“Just watch. If they’re really going to fight, it’s a good thing for us…” the Star Arc Civilization leader said. “But we need to be careful about the three Universal Civilizations dragging us in. It won’t be the first time they’ve done something like that. We’d best station heavy troops at our borders. Don’t have to interfere with their war, just protect our territories.”

The Super Star Cluster leaders discussed their options quietly. They all sounded excited. Although they had no idea why the three Universal Civilizations and the association both suddenly became so impulsive, it was not bad news for them.

Time passed by quickly in the intense atmosphere. Under the close attention of the galactic society, both sides dispatched their troops more and more frequently without hiding their movements at all. They set up their formations like playing chess but never clashed with each other as if they ignored each other’s existence.

However, neither of the two sides made any announcements, which caused all kinds of rumors to spread, leading to panic everywhere.

The population flow of the various Star Fields showed the public’s reaction. The galactic residents in the Flickering World left in large numbers, causing the stargates to jam. The number of people going to the Central Galaxy and some border Star Fields to take refuge increased tremendously day by day. Under the eyes of the entire world, an enormous joint fleet of the three Universal Civilizations advanced into the Primeval Star River and right toward the Mechanical Race’s territory.

At the same time, the three Universal Civilizations finally made a new joint announcement.

“Through the Science Institute’s analysis of Mechanic Emperor’s database, we have acquired solid evidence that proves the Mechanic Emperors has been privately studying the Virtual Mutiny Virus, hoping to replicate this possible source of a universal level disaster. He has already achieved results and could attempt to bring catastrophe to the galaxy.

“On behalf of the galactic society, the Federation of Light, the Crimson Dynasty, and the Arcane Church have made a joint warning to the Mechanic Emperor-give up the Virtual Mutiny Virus technology immediately and destroy all backup data under our supervision. We will protect the safety of the galactic society no matter the cost!”

On the day this announcement was made, the dark clouds of the Intelligent Plague once again shrouded galactic society and the hearts of countless galactic residents. Panic swept one Star System after another at an unbelievable speed.

The Virtual Mutiny Virus is still in this world

Someone produced this monstrous virus capable of threatening the entire universe again for his own interests?

The galactic society exploded!

Along with shock and fear, there was incomparable rage. The Mechanic Emperor deserves to die!

Chapter 1300: Storm

“Hehe, the three Universal Civilizations have really done it now. Looks like they’ve made up their minds…”

In the guest meeting room of Black Star Palace, more than a dozen Beyond Grade As gathered and looked at the virtual screen on the wall of the room that was playing the news about the three Universal Civilizations’ announcement.

They were all looking worried except for Han Xiao, who was holding his chin and had a poker face.

Bang!

Someone suddenly slammed the table. The others looked over and saw Kant had a gloomy expression, and his fist was planted into the cracked table.

“Manison is forcing us to waste our one chance at the Sanctum Revival!”

The people present all had hostile expressions on their faces.

The two sides’ military forces had made frequent movements. These were all core members of the association invited by Han Xiao to gather in Black Star Palace.

At the start, they thought this was another trick played by the three Universal Civilizations, till Han Xiao briefly explained what had happened when Manison was attacked. They were shocked both by the fact that Manison really produced the Virtual Mutiny Virus and Manison leaking the lab records deliberately.

With the Sanctum Revival backing them up, they were not afraid of fighting. However, being willing to fight and being forced to fight were two different things.

Initially, after the three Universal Civilizations invaded Manison’s database, the association standing up for him would be normal. However, with the Virtual Mutiny Virus’ appearance, the nature of the matter changed. The association became the side in the wrong. Furthermore, Manison most likely did it on purpose to drag them down.

At this time, they were all very unhappy with old Manison. After all, there was only one chance to use the Sanctum Revival, and no one wanted to use it too early.

“Black Star, what are we going to do? The three Universal Civilizations brought this matter up. Will the association still back Manison up?” Kasuyi asked. He did not react much to it as Han Xiao had told him long ago.

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and said with a deep voice, “Based on my speculation, after the three Universal Civilizations found out about the Virtual Mutiny Virus’ existence, there were a few possible paths they’d take, and what they’re doing now is one of them. After announcing it to the galactic civilization, they sent an army to surround the Mechanical Race’s territory, threatening and trying to force Manison to give up the technology.

“If the association backs the Mechanic Emperor up and holds onto the virus technology, the three Universal Civilizations will only have to push the public opinion slightly, and the neutral image and reputation the association has built will collapse instantly. At the same time, an all-out war might erupt, and the three Universal Civilizations are probably ready for it.”

“How about we give up Manison?” someone asked. “The situation is different now. I believe most members understand. After all, we really had no idea about the Virtual Mutiny Virus. The Mechanic Emperor did it on his own, so it’s not our concern.”

Han Xiao shook his head and said, “The three Universal Civilizations have already shifted the public opinion against us. They created a sense of fantasy and fanaticism the Supers have in us. At this point in time, if we back off like this, even if it is sensible and logical, it’ll mean we have lowered our heads to the three Universal Civilizations. We’ll very likely lose our special guiding position among the Supers, which will be very difficult to regain in the future… To the three Universal Civilizations, eradicating the Supers’ admiration and fantasy for the association will be a good result.”

“Is the association really going to take the blame for Manison? Why not insist that this is the three Universal Civilizations framing us and is nothing but a lie, or could we say they were the ones who created it first and Manison only stole it?” Sun Hunter widened his eyes.

Han Xiao cut him off and said, “They have a ton of evidence in their hands. It’ll be tough to push it back to them, and it might make our situation even worse. Also don’t forget, in many people’s eyes, the civilizations can touch some things, but civilian organizations can’t. Even if we claim the three Universal Civilizations created it first, they don’t have to explain much. Plus, they can totally say that if not because the Mechanic Emperor had ulterior motives, why would he have stolen this technology? It’s too easy to find such reasons.”

Then, he paused before continuing. “The moment the Mechanic Emperor gave them this leverage, we were already in a dilemma. At this point, the matter has exceeded the verbal argument stage, and the public opinion is only an add-on. Either they step back, or we do; there’s no way any of us can dodge the core of the issue by playing tricks. It all depends on if we protect Manison or not, or if we give them the technology… I’ll say this, we are going to protect Manison, and we are also not going to give up the technology to them. At most, we’ll make what we do sound better in words.”

They exchanged looks.

“What do we need to do now?”

“I’ve already spoken to Manison about sending your troops in the Primeval Star River to the Mechanical Race territory to form a line of defense, stopping the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet. As for yourselves, stay here for now. I’ll go to the Primeval Star River with the King. If a fight breaks out, then I’ll bring you guys over to help.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Hearing this, the others had nothing to say and left the room with a lot of things on their minds. They needed some time to digest the sudden changes.

Han Xiao leaned back in his chair, took out his communicator, and looked at what was going on online. The terror of the Virtual Mutiny Virus was carved deep in everyone’s heart. The entire galactic society was in a panic. Almost all the messages were scolding Manison for how ambitious he was and how what he did threatened the universe once again.

After the virus incident, Manison’s reputation had been poor. His goal of developing this technology was clearly to weaponize it. Almost all galactic residents were terrified and furious.

Even Han Xiao was dragged into it. His act of destroying the virus core was doubted by countless people. Many people felt that if Black Star still had the same mindset as before, he should once again destroy or give the virus technology to the three Universal Civilizations. Otherwise, what he did back then might be an act of destroying the technology on the surface to avoid the three Universal Civilizations’ attention while working with Manison behind the curtains. “Tsk…”

Han Xiao curled his lips and did not say anything. He then closed the tabs and called Manison.

Very soon, Manison appeared on the screen.

“Black Star, when will you be coming?” Manison cut to the chase.

“Wait for a while.” Han Xiao said with a poker face, “Are you really not going to migrate the Mechanical Race?”

“No, leave them be.” Manison was unconcerned.

“… Wait for me to go over then.”

Han Xiao did not want to say anything else to Manison. He ended the call, stood up, and left the room.

Over the next few days, the explored universe remained stormy. The three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet advanced toward the Mechanical Race’ territory without hiding their movements at all, while the troops the association had in the Primeval Star River also started to gather around the Mechanical Race’s territory.

Fleets from Beyond Grade A organizations were stationed at half a day’s distance from the Mechanical Race territory around it, forming a spherical defense formation, and blocked all routes toward the Mechanical Race territory, allowing no one to pass. They did not hide their intention. They were clearly blocking the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet’s path.

At the same time, responding to the three Universal Civilizations’ announcement, the association also made an announcement to the galactic society.

“The association did not know about the Mechanic Emperor developing the Virtual Mutiny Virus before this and is now investigating it. As everyone knows, solving conflicts between Beyond Grade As and restraining the actions of Beyond Grade As are the purpose of the association’s founding. If the Mechanic Emperor is found to possess the Virtual Mutiny Virus technology, the association will certainly take actions and ensure this technology won’t damage the order of the galactic society.

“However, the association won’t interfere with one’s freedom to research and grow, nor does it agree with how all dangerous technology must be controlled by the three Universal Civilizations. If the Mechanic Emperor does indeed possess this dangerous technology, the association will restrain him and tell him to seal this technology up and never use it, ensuring the safety of the galactic society all the same.

“Also, the association strongly opposes the military actions the three Universal Civilizations are currently taking against Manison’s people. This is an immoral act. The association hopes the three Universal Civilizations will remove their troops immediately and not escalate the issue. When the association completes the investigation, it will give the galactic society an answer. There’s no need for the three Universal Civilizations to interfere.”

As soon as this announcement was made, it shocked the galactic society once again.

Many people originally thought the association would back away this time for sure; they did not expect them to be this firm.

Although the Beyond Grade A Association said that they were investigating, their attitude of not backing down was clear. They directly expressed the fact that this was an internal matter, and they would not let the three Universal Civilizations interfere. Plus, their point was sensible…

The three Universal Civilizations can monitor things, so can we.

The galactic residents trusted the three Universal Civilizations more, but since the association claimed to ensure that the galactic society would not be damaged, though many had doubts, as onlookers who knew nothing about the truth, they could not accuse the association of having ulterior motives.

After all, the Beyond Grade A Association was no ordinary civilian organization, it had a certain authority. At the same time, the outside world could not find out if Manison’s personal research was done with the association’s support. Therefore, at least the reason the association gave made sense… As for whether their monitoring would really work, words could not prove it.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance that was watching earlier jumped out again at the sight of opportunity, supporting the association’s decision. They questioned on what grounds could one guarantee that giving the technology to the three Universal Civilizations would be safe and that it was just an excuse to rob the technology from others.

It was not weird for them to do this. The Super Star Cluster Alliance was probably the last group that wanted to see the three Universal Civilizations have the Virtual Mutiny Virus technology. If not because they were not in the position to, they would have suggested to be the third party to ‘monitor’ this technology.

To countless galactic residents, the situation of the world changed way too rapidly. It felt like only yesterday when everything was peaceful, and suddenly, a war was about to break out.

When the intense atmosphere spread throughout the entire universe, the joint fleet of the three Universal Civilizations finally came into contact with the defense circle the Beyond Grade A Association had built up around the Mechanical Race territory.

Inside the bright night sky, the enormous joint fleet slowly advanced. The exterior defense circle outside the Mechanical Race’s territory was already in sight. The defense circle was formed by fleets, temporary fortresses, and portable satellite bases. From one look, it appeared to extend infinitely. Psionic protective shields were set up in a formation and formed an enormous protective shield, extending all the way out like a wall made of energy, dividing the two areas.

Inside the main fleet’s command room, Fleet Commander Simon Tagman stood in front of the porthole and stared closely at the defense circle that was getting closer.

He was a high-level military commander of the Federation of Light who was appointed as the main commander of this joint fleet.

The aide-de-camp looked at the radar and whispered, “Commander Simon, we’ve already reached their defense circle. They’re blocking the way. Should we stop?”

Without even turning around, Simon calmly said, “What’s the order?”

“Surround the Mechanical Race’s territory.”

“Is this the Mechanical Race’s territory?” Simon asked.

“N-no…”

“Then why stop?”

“Understood!” The aide-de-camp took a deep breath and ordered in the communication channel with a deep voice, “All ships, continue to advance and get ready for battle. If anyone tries to stop us, fire at will!” The order was quickly passed down. Cannon barrels extended from the battleships of the joint fleet and aimed forward, ready to fire any time.

The front of the joint fleet gradually entered the attack range of the defense circle. The distance between the two sides kept reducing, and the atmosphere kept becoming more and more intense. Almost every crew member held their breath.

Ding!

At this time, a remote projection suddenly appeared in the command room. It was a military officer of the combat command department.

“Order from above, all fleets stop advancing immediately.”

“Stop.” Simon raised his hand.

The aide-de-camp immediately passed the order down.

Very soon, the joint fleet slowly stopped only a short distance from the defense circle. The battleships at the front could almost see the crews of the other side through the portholes.

Seeing this, the atmosphere in the command room relaxed a little. Everyone was relieved.

Seemingly not surprised at all, Simon looked at the remote projection of the military officer and asked, “Any other orders from above?”

“… Spread out, surround them, and standby. Wait for the results of the negotiation.”

In the Mechanical Race’s territory, Manison’s Lord’s Avatar looked at the remote surveillance screen and smiled.

“You guessed right. The three Universal Civilizations are not willing to start a war right away.”

Han Xiao sat opposite him with his eyes narrowed and casually replied, “The three Universal Civilizations definitely did not send a fleet so openly here to start a fight. If they really wanted to attack the Mechanical Race territory, they would have used the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device long ago. Plus, your original isn’t here, so attacking the Mechanical Race won’t do much. This should be their last test.”

This had already become the center of the storm, and the attention of the entire universe was focusing on the situation here. He had arrived not long ago. He and Manison were the only Beyond Grade As there at the moment.

“Although they’ve made up their minds, they’re sadly not decisive enough.” Manison shook his head.

Han Xiao glanced at him and said, “Things have become like this because of you. Don’t you have anything to say?”.

“… What are you trying to say? You want to get off the boat now?” Manison paused.

“Nothing, but now that I’m backing you up, at least act like the one who’s being helped.”

“Humph, what a strange thing to say. Do you like to see me put down my pride that much?” Manison was not in a bad mood now, so he did not mind it. “Alright, help me settle this matter, please.”

Han Xiao’s eyes moved subtly and glanced at the interface. He then grinned faintly for a short instant.

He slowly stood up.

“Let’s go. It’s time for me to meet my old boss.”

Chapter 1301: Negotiation

At the Mechanical Race territory’s defense circle, the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet and the Beyond Grade A Association had been standing opposite each other for quite some time, and the atmosphere was very intense.

At the edge of their fleets, spaceships with symbols of differing galactic media groups were broadcasting the situation live. None of the sides banished the battlefield reporters.

As this place might become a battlefield, these media groups only sent unmanned spaceships to carry out remote broadcasting. This place had become the eye of the storm, and the entire universe’s attention was focused there, so the audience count had already broken records.

“The three Universal Civilizations’ fleet has been stopped. The two sides have not fired… though the reason is unknown, a battle did not break out. We sincerely hope things will come to change…”

In the broadcast channel of a galactic media, the host spoke with a serious expression. Countless viewers watched the images nervously and anxiously. With all the comments online, the majority of people already knew that what was about to happen would be the turning point. If the two sides started a battle, it might lead to an all-out war between the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association, and countless people were terrified of that.

At this time, two streams of light appeared in the broadcast, dashing quickly from inside the defense circle toward the middle area, showing themselves in front of everyone.

“The center of all this, the Mechanic Emperor has finally appeared. The person beside him is the Beyond Grade A Association’s president, Black Star. Did he come personally to stop the three Universal Civilizations?”

Hearing the host’s introduction, the eyes of the countless galactic residents focused on the two of them. Many felt complicated toward these two people who caused the situation of the entire universe to become like this.

Han Xiao stepped out of the association fleet’s formation, came to between the two armies, and hovered in the center, instantly becoming the focus of everyone’s attention. The battleships of both sides all focused their cameras on him and displayed his enlarged image on their screens.

He glanced at the enormous fleet of the three Universal Civilizations, opened the public channel, and said to everyone,

“You’re neither fighting nor retreating. Bring out someone who’s in charge. I believe no one wanted to see things escalate to this point. If we can come up with a plan we can all accept, no one will want to solve problems with violence.”

As he said that, the battlefield became silent for some time. Then, three beams shot out from the main ship, forming the remote projections of the three Universal Civilizations in front of Han Xiao, entering the public channel at the same time.

As soon as the communication was picked up, Louis cut to the chase and said with a deep voice, “Black Star, are you going to hold on to the Virtual Mutiny Virus that might endanger the entire explored universe and protect the malicious Mechanic Emperor?”

Han Xiao shook his head. “The Virtual Mutiny Virus was destroyed long ago. The Mechanic Emperor only studied it and achieved some results. It’s his innovation to begin with. Although this technology is dangerous, we have no obligation to submit it to the three Universal Civilizations, nor did it ever endanger the galactic society. How is it malicious? On the other hand, attempting to threaten the Mechanic Emperor to give up his technology by sending an army to surround the Mechanical Race territory isn’t all that honorable.”

“Judging from past experiences, the Mechanic Emperor’s motive to study this technology is suspicious. Out of safety reasons, we need to obtain this technology, as well as control the Mechanic Emperor himself. This is all to protect the galactic society. That’s where the duty of the three Universal Civilizations lies,” Marbruce said with a serious expression.

With the same calm expression, Han Xiao said, “Back during the Intelligent Plague, multiple Beyond Grade A Mechanics worked together to defuse the disaster, which proved that the association is also protecting the safety of the universe. We will ensure that this technology won’t endanger the galactic society all the same. This is the internal matter for the association to handle; we won’t accept the three Universal Civilizations’ interference.”

The church’s pope said seriously, “The Beyond Grade A Development Union is only a civilian organization. Its promise doesn’t mean anything. The three Universal Civilizations have the authority to carry out needed measures and monitor anything that might endanger the galactic society. This is within the boundaries of the law. The Mechanic Emperor must submit the Virtual Mutiny Virus!”

“Impossible.” Han Xiao rejected it instantly. “The association has already stated its stance in the announcement. Its members have the freedom to research what they want, and we won’t accept forceful measures. The association will restrain the application range of the technology. We hope the three Universal Civilizations will retreat immediately!”

Louis paused and said with a louder and more serious voice, “We will pull our army back as soon as the Mechanic Emperor submits the technology. Before that, we won’t terminate this operation for any reason. You have ten days. We hope the association will think carefully in this time and not make the wrong decision.”

“There’s no need to talk further then?”

“You have ten days.”

Han Xiao nodded and said with a serious voice, “Since that’s the case, I’ll stay here from now on, and if you want to force the association to submit the technology, you’ll have to get past me!”

Then, he crossed his legs and hovered in the center between the two armies. Although he was alone, it was like he had drawn an invisible line that extended out infinitely.

The three Universal Civilizations leaders gave him a deep look before their remote projections disappeared.

The two sides had spoken in the public channel, so everyone present had heard it, including the media.

The expressions of countless galactic residents changed.

“Does this mean the negotiation failed?”

“Neither side is willing to take a step back. Looks like they’re really going to fight!” “There’s still ten days. I wonder if I have enough time to take refuge.”

The galactic society was in fear.

Han Xiao looked around at the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet. Seeing that they were still on standby, he shook his head.

As the president, he represented the association. There was no way he was going to step back and submit the technology. It was the same for the three Universal Civilizations; they were not going to retreat before achieving their goal.

“Ten days…” Han Xiao mumbled. This was the time the three Universal Civilizations had given him. In ten days, if they still could not come to an agreement, a fight might really break out. The three Universal Civilizations probably made up their minds this time and were willing to accept the consequences of starting a war.

He glanced at the interface. In his mission list, a new mission was pinned to the top. It was the mission he had triggered from Manison. The requirement was to defuse the danger the Mechanical Race was in by any means necessary. As long as he could make the three Universal Civilizations retreat, the mission would be considered complete.

Maybe because Manison personally ‘asked him to help’, other than the high experience, the reward also included one chance to draw an ability from Manison.

Of course, Han Xiao was not going to let this opportunity slip.

He casually opened the forums. The stand he made earlier was also recorded by the players in the fleet.

Unlike the galactic residents who were panicking, the players were all looking forward to it. They were all excited about the current situation.

Beep beep…

This time, his communicator suddenly rang. It was surprisingly a call from Marbruce.

Han Xiao was not surprised at all. The open negotiation was more to express their stand to the outside world. The real negotiation still had to be carried out privately.

Picking up the communication, the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders appeared on the screen inside the mechanical suit.

“Black Star, do you really want to start a war?” Marbruce questioned.

“I should be asking you guys that.”

“Don’t be overconfident just because you have the Sanctum Revival. You’re leading the Beyond Grade As to their deaths,” Louis said coldly.

“Isn’t that exactly what you guys want to see? If not because you’re worried about the damages a war might cause, why would you contact me privately now?”

“Hehe, we have already come to some results in our research. We know that using the Sanctum Revival will consume some special resources, and it’s not free; you can’t bluff us. Plus, these revivors have already used their one chance of revival. If a fight really breaks out, you guys will incur damages too. No one wants that,” the pope said.

“What great ideas do you have then?” Han Xiao curled his lips. “We want the Virtual Mutiny Virus and the related information of the Sanctum Revival. In exchange, not only will we pull away our army, but we’ll also void the new law against the association and support your developments. We can even provide you with more than enough Universal Treasures and blueprints, and we can promise that no one in the Black Star Army will be on the cleanse list in the future. These deals will be done privately and not shared with the public. We can say we pulled out our army because we were intimidated by your strength, so your reputation will become even higher…”

“You’re daydreaming, good-freaking-bye.”

Before they could respond, Han Xiao hung up the communication right away.

This was the first time he had hung up on the call from the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders. He would have never done it if it were in the past before the association and the three Universal Civilizations became complete oppositions. He felt great doing it.

“… Hmm, okay, understood.”

After hearing the orders from above, Fleet Commander Simon put down the communicator, returned to the command table, and calmly ordered, “Pass down my orders. Engineering team, start to assemble the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device. Start preheating in twelve hours and connect with the other side.”

“We’re getting reinforcements?” the chief staff sergeant on the side asked.

“Hmm.”

Simon turned around and looked outside the porthole at Han Xiao, who was sitting alone in the cosmic space. He said with a meaningful one, “Orders from above, we’re going to receive the direct Beyond Grade As who will be sent here.”

“How many?”

Hearing this, Simon looked at him.

“All of them.”

In Black Star Palace’s guest hall, a group of Beyond Grade As gathered and watched the news broadcast of what was happening at the Mechanical Race territory with varied expressions, discussing the matter softly. “Black Star’s stand is too strong. There won’t be room for negotiation like this.” Milizaus was worried.

While adjusting his gun, Sun Hunter said, “Bullsh*t negotiation, this fight is unavoidable. Black Star isn’t just putting on a show by standing there. I’m guessing he’s waiting for the three Universal Civilizations to send their direct members to fight him. Be it duels or fighting them all at once, he’ll accept it. He’s doing this on purpose to intimidate them.”

“Can he do it alone?” Kant frowned. “If the three Universal Civilizations go all-out, Dark Lord and Golden Ring will definitely be there. Those who are stationed in the secondary dimension bases will most likely be called back too. No matter how strong Black Star is, he has limits. Plus, even God Chooser might go.”

“Black Star should be able to deal with the others, but God Chooser…” Kasuyi hesitated. “If he uses the Arcane Church’s National Treasure, Black Star might have problems.”

Hila crossed her arms, put one leg on top the other, and said coldly, “You don’t have to be concerned about Black Star. His skin is thick enough. Better think of the threat we’re facing right now. The three Universal Civilizations’ army have already locked down the Flickering World’s entrance, the Dawn Star Cluster, so they could attack us any time There are probably already at least ten thousand Super Long Range Planet Annihilation Weapons aimed at this place now.”

“Ten thousand? You’re underestimating the three Universal Civilizations way too much.” Sun Hunter snorted.

Kasuyi shook his head. “We’ve done what we needed. We can only wait for the results at the Primeval Star River. The three Universal Civilizations won’t fire at the other areas before they do anything to the Mechanical Race’s territory at least.”

The others sighed. Although they knew this would happen sooner or later, when it really did, they still were not confident about it.

No matter what, their opponents were the rulers of this universe. The fear in their hearts that had lasted for so long in the past could not be cleared this easily.

The situation turned way too quickly. Even many Beyond Grade As could not get used to it. However, the changes of time were always sudden. Rarely did it give people the time to adapt. They could only accept the reality.

Chapter 1302: Challenge

Many military base planets were stationed in the Dawn Star Cluster, filled with countless deep holes that had enormous caliber Super-Long-Range Psionic Planetary Obliteration Cannons that were aimed at the nearby Star Clusters—the Garu Star Cluster, Crown Star Cluster, and the Renault Star Cluster. These were all areas of the second exploration phase and were now prosperous areas with many Beyond Grade A Organizations stationed in them. Of the Planetary Obliteration Cannons, Black Star’s territories had the highest number of them aimed at them.

The Dawn Star Cluster was the area the Crimson Dynasty had taken over the earliest. Many of the planets there were military restricted areas. In the past few decades, these planets had all been modified into weapons.

After the first Meeting of the Gods a few decades ago, the Crimson Dynasty had secretly started carrying out this project, planning for the future. What was happening today was exactly what they had been preparing for. If a fight broke out, this Star Cluster could immediately become the bridgehead of the war. At the same time, the regular route between the Flickering World and the explored universe would be sealed up.

Fleets belonging to the three Universal Civilizations stationed in the various places of the Dawn Star Cluster, while the three Universal Civilizations’ temporary combat command center also moved from Planet Lighthouse to a military planet at the heart of the Dawn Star Cluster.

“Maintain the highest alert level in the next ten days. Once the joint fleet starts to fight on the Mechanical Race’s territory, that’ll be our signal to fire at all Beyond Grade A organizations, including the Black Star Army’s territories.”

Inside the temporary combat command center, Euwan Fabick looked around at the many military officers in the room with eyes as sharp as an eagle.

He was a high-level military officer of the Crimson Dynasty who had taken over the position as the Marshal of the dynasty’s exploration army after Tarrokov retired. Due to all the things happening lately, the three Universal Civilizations classified the Flickering World as an independent key war zone, and he had become the commander of this war zone directly, in charge of the military operations of the three Universal Civilizations in the Flickering World.

“Understood,” the others replied simultaneously.

Euwan turned to one of the military officers and said, “Due to shortage of manpower, the people above can’t send direct Beyond Grade As here to help. How’s the setup of the defense measures doing? After the battle starts, the Beyond Grade As will definitely try to assassinate the people in the command center. If we can’t stop them from invading the Dawn Star Cluster’s core, the situation is going to be very tough.”

“The engineering team is setting up the defense measures as quickly as possible. They’ve also left traps and quick support routes. If the Beyond Grade As go too deep, there’s a chance we can surround and eliminate them…”

“Give me a report later.” Euwan raised his hand and stopped him. He then asked about the progress of other things.

Whether the three Universal Civilizations would end up fighting the association or not, this was not something he cared about. He only cared about his own duty, making sure the strategy could be carried out if a battle did start.

In some desolate universe belt in the Dawn Star Cluster, many hovering shrouding devices circled around a small planet and orbited in the exterior atmosphere, putting out illusions to shroud what was happening on the surface so that it would not be detected by others.

From the outside, this was just a desolate planet. However, the real look of the planet would only show when entering the atmosphere. This was a mechanical fortress that was armed to the teeth, filled with countless battleships and mechanical armies.

In the past few decades, the Black Star Army was not only operating its territory but also setting up many secret bases in other areas, and this was one of them.

At the top of a building, Aurora stood at the edge of the balcony looking at the enormous white mechanical ring far away. This was a new fixed directional teleportation technology Han Xiao had obtained from Jayz’s treasure that could transport troops on a large scale. It was not yet activated.

Behind her was a huge crowd. Everyone’s body was giving off a faint light. They were all Hero Spirits who had acquired a physical body. The eight Hero Spirit Kings stood in one row in front of thousands of Calamity Grade Hero Spirits, followed by countless Grade B Hero Spirits.

As early as when Manison’s database was attacked, Han Xiao had urgently recalled Aurora, who was traveling at the time, and given her a secret mission. She was to hide in one secret base and keep using her ability. Other than eating and sleeping, she spent all her time summoning Hero Spirits of the Underworld.

Aurora’s life in this period of time was summoning Hero Spirit, resting, and recovering. Then she would continue summoning more Hero Spirits and repeat. By doing that every day to the limits of her stamina, she finally summoned so many Hero Spirits.

The amount of time these Hero Spirits with a physical body could exist relied on the speed their body was losing vitality. Basically, as long as they were not killed or Aurora did not take away their body, they could last for a very long time. That was especially so when they were in the standby mode as they were now. The speed they were losing vitality was negligible. This was how Aurora had accumulated such a huge army.

Aurora turned to look at the Hero Spirits and softly said, “Black Star said that you guys will have to make a big mess in the Dawn Star Cluster before the ten days are up. Destroy as many of the three Universal Civilizations’ Planetary Obliteration weapons as possible.”

Sorokin snorted. “He really likes to order people around.”

After spending more than four decades as a Hero Spirit, he had accepted his fate and gotten used to his identity. However, he had never given up his hobby of making money. In order to satisfy that, he had found a way to change the societal environment of the Underworld.

As Hero Spirits basically had zero physical needs when they were in the spirit form, through observing over a very long time, Sorokin discovered what they all needed. Hence, he created a concept currency system based on ‘Promises’. One promise meant one owed another person a favor, while the promises from Hero Spirits of different levels and identity represented different values.

When a Hero Spirit gave promises to one or more other Hero Spirits, it was the equivalent of printing money. Sorokin designed a special credibility system to prevent the Hero Spirits from giving out promises without restraint, which would have led to inflation, at the same time solving a series of problems associated with ‘damaged promises’. Plus, the number of promises every Hero Spirit could create in a certain period was limited. Also, this kind of ‘promises’ currency was allowed to be sold to others, similar to giving others one’s ‘debts’.

Sorokin worked quite hard to promote this system. He even convinced Aurora and Onicelu to semi-relate the monetization of this currency with the chances of reviving and the duration of being revived. This way, the Underworld Hero Spirits who usually had nothing to do gradually accepted this system.

Having created a market, using the capitalist methods he was most proficient in, Sorokin harvested a ton of promises. Currently, the Hero Spirits of the Underworld owed him 0.37 Promises on average. He became the ‘wealthiest’ person in the Underworld… Although this did not mean much, seeing his ‘wealth’ increase was satisfying to him on its own.

This war made Sorokin see an opportunity to largely monopolize the promise currency. After all, if a war broke out, the Underworld Hero Spirits would definitely be revived frequently. Although they were summoned for a war, it was much better than staying in the Underworld and doing nothing.

As for the conflict between the association and the three Universal Civilizations, Sorokin was not interested. His position was no longer the same; it was not his problem to worry about anymore.

Aurora turned back and continued to look in front. Facing away from the many Hero Spirits, her expression became worried.

Both the three Universal Civilizations and the association had set up secret bases like this in the various key Star Fields. Once an all-out war erupted, tons of places would be drawing in blood, and she did not really want to see that.

“If a war really breaks out, I hope I can save more people with the Underworld…”

Back in the Mechanical Race’s territory, the media and news groups were still broadcasting the situation. A lot of time had already passed after the failed negotiation. Han Xiao sat in the middle as if he was dividing the fleets of the two sides. None of them moved.

Looking at the broadcast that was like a still image, the countless galactic residents kept feeling more anxious.

More than half a day had already passed, yet neither side had made a move. Were they going to just keep looking at each other for ten days? If that was the case, their stand would not change even after ten days.

While many were feeling pessimistic, a change happened in the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet. The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was suddenly activated. After rapidly spinning for a while, it released a bright light, and a small fleet arrived through teleportation.

“Reinforcements?”

Countless galactic residents were excited. Although they did not know what the three Universal Civilizations were doing, change was good.

Through the broadcast, countless people’s eyes followed this small fleet as it passed through the fleet’s formation and arrived at the main ship of the joint fleet.

At the same time, inside the command room in the main fleet, all crew members including Simon stood up to welcome the people who were arriving.

As footsteps approached, a group of people with varied appearances walked into the command room.

Seeing this, thrilled chatter sounded among the crews, naming these people like reading off a list.

“The Crimson Dynasty’s ‘Dark Lord’ Clotti, ‘Thunder’ Guzar, ‘Army Leader’ Padro, ‘Army Flag’ Enid…

“The Federation of Light’s ‘Golden Ring’ Oulou, ‘Super Mentor’ Verena, ‘Defender’ Romo… “The Arcane Church’s ‘God Chooser’ Wuornos, ‘Mechanical Catastrophe’ Francisco, ‘Holy Disciple’ Mornan… It’s them!”

The people who had just arrived were indeed all the direct Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations. There were as many as dozens of them. They had all been urgently summoned.

Simon took a few steps forward, nodded at them, and said, “I won’t say much. I believe you’ve already been given orders and know what to do.”

Hearing this, they all turned to look outside the porthole and focused on Han Xiao.

Oulou grinned with a tint of cruelty.

“Don’t worry. We’re here now. He won’t be arrogant for long.”

“I’ll leave Black Star to you guys.” Simon nodded.

The fleet firing was the signal to start an all-out war. Before the ten days period ended, the three Universal Civilizations were not going to do that. However, since Black Star had come out on his own, they could test him. Therefore, the three Universal Civilizations had summoned their direct members and planned to pressure the association.

This time, Verena looked around at everyone and said slowly, “Black Star is very strong and difficult to deal with, but if we fight him together from the start, it won’t look good. Only Clotti, Oulou, and Wuornos here are capable of fighting Black Star alone. Which of you will go first?”

Hearing this, everyone focused on the three of them. Most people were looking at Wuornos, who was known as the strongest.

Wuornos’ eyes were closed, and he remained silent, not looking interested in this mission. It was true. If not because the church pope had called him here, he would not have left the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods at all.

Seeing that he did not speak, the others turned to look at Clotti.

“You used to work with Black Star. You should know about his abilities more than us,” Verena said.

Clotti frowned. “I don’t know more than you do. He…”

This time, Oulou interrupted him.

“I’ll deal with him. I’ve been wanting to fight Black Star for a long time. Maybe I can take him on the spot.”

Seeing this, the others nodded and did not fight with him for the spot.

This time, Verena tapped her forehead with her finger. A pure white glow flew out and landed on Oulou. Suddenly, Oulou felt the energy in his body start to boil. His ability strength kept increasing

“Hehe, I can deal with Black Star without this enhancement.”

Oulou was not very thankful.

“It’s for just in case,” Verena replied calmly.

She was the principal of the Federation of Light’s Super Research Institution. She had a utility Esper Ability that leaned toward supporting others, enhancing the abilities of other Supers. She could also analyze the target’s ability’s growth path and design comprehensive training plans for them. This was why she was given the nickname of ‘Super Mentor’.

A few minutes later, Han Xiao, who was resting in the battlefield, slowly opened his eyes.

In his sights, a familiar person stepped out of the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet and hovered not far from him, giving off a powerful presence that was exclusive to peak Beyond Grade As.

“Oulou?” Han Xiao said softly in the public channel.

Oulou narrowed his eyes. “I heard that in order to make the association submit the technology, we’ll have to get past you?” “As long as you can defeat me, I can consider it,” Han Xiao answered casually.

Hearing this, Oulou’s eyes flickered, and he said with a deep voice, “Then you can start considering that option now!”

After that, his presence rapidly grew. Tons of golden rings appeared behind him, linking to a bright golden world, giving him seemingly infinite energy. It was indeed the ‘Golden Treasure Ship’ dimension he was known to have.

Seeing this, Han Xiao shook his head and slowly said, “Do you want to consider joining the association to enjoy the Sanctum Revival chance? You won’t get killed for nothing that way.”

Chapter 1303: Thrashing

While Han Xiao and Oulou were looking at each other, the galactic residents who were watching the broadcast all heard their short conversation in the public channel and were excited.

“Heard that? As long as they can defeat Black Star, he’ll consider compromising.”

“This is an opportunity! If Black Star keeps his promise, defeating him will avoid the all-out war.”

“Come on, the three Universal Civilizations, the peace of the universe relies on you guys!”

“I’m not sure about this. Can the three Universal Civilizations really deal with him? Plus, his attributes on his Wayne Card are way too high now. I don’t think Oulou is his match.”

“Is this really the time to talk about cards? We can’t know who will win till they fight!”

“Speaking of which, if they could decide this with a game of cards, it would be much easier…”

Countless galactic residents were looking forward to it.

It did not matter if Black Star was telling the truth or not, they could only put their hopes on this statement. No one wanted a war; any change was welcome.

At this time, in the eyes of the many galactic residents, Black Star seemed to have become the big villain, and defeating him would protect the peace of the world. Countless people cheered for the three Universal Civilizations in their hearts and hoped to see Black Star defeated the next second.

Inside the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet’s main ship, the other direct Beyond Grade As were all in the command room watching the two of them.

“Do you guys think Oulou can beat Black Star?” someone asked.

“He has less than a fifty-percent chance. If Black Star was that easy to deal with, the people above wouldn’t have sent us all.” Verena shook her head.

“Then why did we let him go alone? Although ganging up on him isn’t good, losing a duel will be embarrassing too, won’t it?” Guzar wondered.

“We never expected Oulou to win,” Francisco said. “Given Oulou’s strength and Verena’s enhancement, he’s more than capable of matching up to Black Star. This was mainly a test.”

Verena nodded and explained, “That’s right. It’s already been decades since Black Star last fought. With his growth speed, the data from the past is outdated. Oulou will be able to force out Black Star’s full strength to collect information for us, which will help in making plans. We have ten days anyway, so there’s no need to hurry. Intelligence is crucial in combat.”

The others nodded with agreement.

Having made his name in the universe decades prior, Black Star was already recognized as extremely strong among the Beyond Grade As. Not many people dared underestimate him.

Oulou was a peak Beyond Grade A among the top tier in the universe, one of their strongest. Letting him be the first to test Black Star was already an act of taking Black Star seriously enough.

While the many direct Beyond Grade As had their own thoughts, Han Xiao and Oulou who were in the middle of the battlefield suddenly moved like lightning!

Oulou’s eyes turned bright as he activated the Golden Treasure Ship dimension. The next moment, countless golden beams of light shot out from the rings behind him like a fountain.

Unaffected, Han Xiao’s body shook. Mechanical Force lightning bolts spread instantly, and the mechanical army he hid in his body using (Compressed Orb Innovation -Armed Body] shot out, instantly turning into an enormous mechanical army. The mechanical army set up thick psionic shields in front of Han Xiao, forming a barrier.

Thunderous golden light beams bombarded the psionic barrier. Golden light dust splashed everywhere, and blue-purple electronic bolts danced.

Seeing this, Oulou immediately summoned more golden rings and shot out burning golden light beams nonstop at Han Xiao’s mechanical army, as if he had infinite energy.

His Esper Ability allows him to link with the Golden Treasure Ship dimension and use its energy. He’s another one with infinite mana who excels in large scale attacks, using his infinite energy to exhaust the enemy time after time. The Golden Treasure Ship is a special secondary dimension. The nature of its energy is very destructive, and it also has other utility functions.

Oulou’s information flashed past Han Xiao’s mind as he opened up the secondary dimensional army box, and more mechanical troops swarmed out.

The psionic barrier became many times thicker instantly. No matter how powerful Oulou’s attacks were, the guarding troops in front of Han Xiao stood firmly. Without the need to dodge any attacks, Han Xiao summoned his Divine Mechanical Throne and sat on it to command his troops.

At the same time, the long-range troops in the mechanical army retaliated. Under the lead of the Apostle Weapons, the melee combat troops also charged toward Oulou from various directions.

The two sides entered an intense battle, dishing out countless attacks at each other without restraint. The battlefield was filled with all kinds of explosions and beams.

The three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet had to move back a certain distance and activate their shields to avoid being accidentally damaged.

Sitting on the Divine Mechanical Throne, Han Xiao looked at Oulou.

Although having infinite mana was one of the special traits of Beyond Grade As, from the way he looked at it, this ability had a weakness that was not really a weakness-no matter how much energy these people had, their power output was still limited. Oulou’s Energy Rank determined his damage output.

Oulou’s Energy Rank was undoubtedly at the top tier, comparable with Kasuyi. After receiving Verena’s enhancements, his Energy Rank even increased by a portion once again. However, compared to Han Xiao’s Energy Rank now, it still came up short.

After spending decades keeping a low profile and growing stronger, the bonuses he received from his talents were massive. His combat capability was astonishing and had the upper hand without even having to use any Character Summon Cards. This was the difference in raw strength.

Han Xiao only took out ten or so Apostle Weapons that chased after Oulou, and Oulou was already having quite a difficult time. With Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force bonuses, the combat capability of his Apostle Weapons was already steadily at the Beyond Grade A level. They could even go a few rounds with high level Beyond Grade As.

There was no need for flashy plays with such a huge advantage! One word could describe the situation of this battle.

One-sided!

“This guy is no match for me. His defeat is only a matter of time… Hehe, all these talents I’ve put in so much effort to obtain would be for nothing if I couldn’t easily beat guys like you.” Watching the battle for a while, Han Xiao grinned, shook his head, and looked at the interface casually.

Not long after Oulou challenged him, the Beyond Grade A Challenge Mission appeared once again. Clearly, this challenge received enough attention to trigger a mission.

The mission requirements and the rewards were still the same, requiring him to last for a certain amount of time, and the best reward was still a Character Summon Card and one of Oulou’s abilities or talents.

“How I love duels. They’re really doing me a big favor.”

Han Xiao laughed in his mind.

While he relaxed on his throne and patiently commanded the army, his talents were activated one after another, continuously increasing his status, and the battle became easier and easier.

Meanwhile, Oulou had a more and more difficult time.

In the eyes of others, the mechanical army was like a swarm of bees surrounding Oulou and attacking him. While the golden light beams that Oulou used with no restraint could wipe out piles of the mechanical army from time to time, the empty areas were filled up very quickly by other mechanical soldiers. Plus, the broken machines also very quickly reassembled and returned to the battlefield right after.

Oulou looked like an insect trapped by a spider’s web who could only struggle meaninglessly, breaking through the siege time after time, then getting surrounded again every time.

Oulou’s expression had already changed. It was grave.

It was not that he had never fought with a peak Beyond Grade A Mechanic, but his attacks would have usually already overwhelmed the opponent’s mechanical army. However, Black Star’s mechanical army never showed any signs of defeat or flaws, wrapping around him like he could not tear it open no matter what.

These ten or so Apostle Weapons were especially strong, making him not only feel quite tired but also unable to let his guard down at all. Any flaw at this point might be fatal for him.

Protracted battles were originally his expertise, but he was losing this one.

Seeing that the situation was not going well, Oulou could not help but to look at Black Star, who was behind the mechanical army, seemingly having some ideas. Coincidentally, his eyes met with Han Xiao’s eyes that had a tint of anticipation.

In just one look, Oulou’s heart shivered, and he immediately gave up the thought of charging toward Han Xiao’s original body.

… I almost forgot, this guy isn’t an ordinary Mechanic. If I really go so close to him, who knows who’ll be beating up whom?

Not being able to find a solution, Oulou became more and more irritated. He had no choice but to continue the bombardment. More and more wounds appeared on his body as time passed.

The battle lasted for quite some time, and it remained simple all the time.

Then, suddenly, Oulou’s energy exploded. Golden energy formed a tsunami and blew away the mechanical soldiers around, helping him to get out of the encirclement once again. However, instead of charging toward Han Xiao, he fled in the opposite direction instead and rushed into the formation of the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet. Using the battleships as cover, he quickly left the battlefield.

Seeing this, Han Xiao made the mechanical troops stop and did not chase into the joint fleet.

Watching Oulou flee into the main ship, only then did Han Xiao speak in the public channel with a slight mocking tone.

“Is that it?”

Right after he said that, Han Xiao waved and retrieved the mechanical soldiers from the field, as if what he had done was nothing worth mentioning.

Then, he sat back on his Divine Mechanical Throne, held his chin with his hand, and looked at the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet.

“Next, and please let someone who can warm me up come.”

Seeing this, the many galactic residents who originally had high hopes for Oulou felt like their tinder of hope was instantly extinguished.

“H-he lost just like that?”

“Black Star didn’t move from the start to the end, right?”

“Was it too easy for him…”

Countless galactic residents felt a sense of suffocation in their chests.

They thought they would see a close battle; never did they expect to see Oulou lose so easily. Oulou was incompetent, and their passion was wasted.

Most people could not understand the details of the battle. They only knew that Black Star sat on his seat without moving an inch, and Oulou was beaten so badly he had to flee. The two of them had no physical contact at all. It was embarrassing beyond words.

They did not know how strong Beyond Grade As were and could only judge from what they saw. Hence, a question popped up in the minds of many galactic residents…

Is Oulou too weak, or is Black Star too strong?

In the main ship of the three Universal Civilizations joint fleet, the direct Beyond Grade As who saw this were all silent. Doubt and shock flickered in their eyes.

As Beyond Grade As, they were the only ones who could see the details of this battle that looked like it was completely one-sided, and they were terrified.

The strength of Black Star’s Mechanical Force had increased the performance of his mechanical army to a higher level. His Energy Rank crushed Oulou’s!

“How can the difference be this huge!”

Verena widened her eyes with disbelief.

She knew that Oulou’s chance of winning was not high, but never did she expect Black Star to win this easily. Originally, they all hoped Oulou could force Black Star to use all his strength so that they could collect some intelligence. To their absolute surprise, Oulou could not even complete the mission of testing Black Star and was thrashed by Black Star head-on, unable to make Black Star use even one of his trump cards.

Oulou was someone who had top tier strength, not just some nobody. Yet, he lost so pathetically and did not gain an upper hand at any point of the battle at all.

How strong is Black Star now?

“… He wasn’t this strong before,” Clotti said with a grave expression. “The only explanation for this is that he became stronger in the past few decades again and kept it a secret.”

“This won’t be easy,” Guzar said with a serious expression. “Even you probably won’t be a match for Black Star.”

Clotti remained silent and did not refute it. He had no confidence either.

If not because he knew Oulou’s personality well, he would have suspected that Oulou was acting.

“We still underestimated this guy. His feathers have matured…”

Clotti exhaled slowly with a heavy heart.

At this time, the hatch opened, and Oulou walked in.

As he was really afraid that Black Star might kill him, he had fled when things were not going well. He was not heavily injured, but he looked confused and could not accept how easily he had lost.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

The others glanced at him with complicated looks and did not know what to say. Brother, you asked for this. Thanks for being so brave…

Chapter 1304: Something New

Beep beep…

At this time, Verena’s coded communicator rang. The face of the federation’s president, Louis, appeared on the screen with an unsatisfied expression.

The leaders of the three Universal Civilizations were watching the broadcast too and were just about as unsatisfied as they could be about the battle earlier.

“What are you doing? I told you guys to go there to help, not to get beat up!”

“Sorry, we wanted to test Black Star’s strength, but he’s much stronger than the intelligence says…” Verena explained. “… Don’t be so careless again. Oulou losing this easily isn’t good for the federation’s reputation. I don’t want to see it happen again,” Louis suppressed the shock and rage in his heart.

“Okay.”

Verena hung up the communication and sighed.

They had only lost one battle, and their bosses were already scolding them. Usually, these upper echelons would not be as impatient as this, but they were probably shocked by that battle too and could not keep it in any longer, so they quickly hinted for these direct members to not hold back.

She knew very well why the upper echelons summoned all the direct members here. They thought that with so many of them working together, they could at least suppress Black Star by outnumbering him. At the start, Verena was filled with confidence, but not anymore.

The upper echelons had this idea based on the records of Black Star’s strength. However, the last public battle Black Star was in was decades ago when he fought Manison. Back then, the two of them had fought intensely, and Black Star had quite a hard time defeating Mechanic Emperor’s Lord’s Avatar.

Hence, in the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations, Black Star was a bit stronger than Manison at his peak, but not a lot stronger. Therefore, the three Universal Civilizations felt that as long as they sent all their direct members, it would be more than enough to teach Black Star a lesson. After all, they had three peak Beyond Grade As, and God’s Chosen was acknowledged by all as the strongest who could defeat even Mechanic Emperor. There was no reason they would fail.

However, the strength Black Star had just displayed refreshed the three Universal Civilizations’ knowledge. Oulou, whose strength was also in the top tier, lost so embarrassingly, and Black Star did not even use his full strength.

Although they knew that Black Star had remained low profile for decades and that their intelligence was already outdated, the difference was way too huge! “… What now?”

The people suppressed their emotions and exchanged looks.

Being shocked was one thing, but they still had to execute the mission given to them.

Verena pondered for a while and said, “The target’s strength is beyond expectations. Dueling will do nothing. Looks like we have no choice but to fight him in groups. Let’s all discuss how we should deal with him.”

They started discussing it as if they were facing a terrifying enemy.

They were all intimidated by Han Xiao’s strength. Even though they were going to fight him together, they did not dare strik carelessly before coming up with a reliable plan.

Wuornos stood at the edge of the crowd and did not participate in the discussion. He looked through the porthole at Han Xiao, who was hovering in the cosmic space. His eyes kept flickering, and he mumbled in his mind, 11,000 Energy Rank minimum, at least one God’s Trait Transformation route fully completed… Worthy target to turn.

Inside the Mechanical Race’s main ship, the many crew members were thrilled by the results of this one-sided battle and started cheering.

In front of the porthole, Manison looked at Han Xiao’s back in silence. Although his avatar was expressionless, a tsunami was roaring in his mind.

How is this guy so strong? Manison was naturally shocked. His impression of Han Xiao also remained in the last time they fought. It had been a very long time since he saw Black Star fight anyone.

Although he knew he was probably no match for Black Star, he never thought the difference would be so huge. Even if he had to fight Oulou, he could not have done it so easily and casually. It would be an extremely intense and suspenseful battle.

Black Star is becoming more and more unfathomable. How the hell does he become stronger so quickly?

Having realized that Black Star was already so much ahead of him and that he could no longer figure out Han Xiao’s limits, Manison could not help but feel complicated and a little sour.

However, after being down for a few seconds, Manison let it go and sighed.

Maybe only someone like this was capable enough of leading the Beyond Grade As into a higher level… Having a leader like this was a blessing for the Beyond Grade As of this era.

The only thing Black Star lacked was probably accumulation…

Manison’s eyes spun, and he made up his mind.

He was not a petty man. If Black Star had needs, he did not mind lending his machines to Black Star.

With Black Star’s strength and my inventory, he’ll probably have no match in the universe.

“I knew it. The three Universal Civilizations are overconfident. How can they possibly bring out someone who can fight Black Star?”

The four old hermits including Joey were watching the broadcast and looked relieved.

They had fought Black Star only about a year ago and were the ones who knew Black Star’s strength the best in the universe. Back then, their confidence was absolutely crushed and still had yet to recover; they felt shivers every time they saw Black Star.

Earlier, when they saw the three Universal Civilizations only send Oulou to fight Black Star, they were surprised. They thought the three Universal Civilizations had hidden some direct members who were as strong as Black Star, and that made them uneasy.

However, when they saw the one-sided battle, Joey and the others knew that they were overthinking it and worrying for nothing

“The three Universal Civilizations’ intelligence is way too outdated. One peak Beyond Grade A is probably nothing to Black Star.” Joey shook his head.

“They’ll have to fight as more than one if they want to win, just like what we did…” Joey felt a little awkward. “Black Star seemed relaxed when fighting the four of us too. God knows what his limit is.”

“… Do you guys think he expected this long ago, which is why he kept a low profile for decades?”

“Who knows?”

The few of them softly gossiped.

After defeating Oulou, the three Universal Civilizations seemed to be shocked and did not immediately send someone new in right after. Han Xiao sat on his throne and waited patiently.

“Looks like the three Universal Civilizations’ expectation of my strength was not high enough.”

Seeing the three Universal Civilizations fleet that was not making a move, Han Xiao curled his lips.

In the past few decades, he had kept a low profile and quietly accumulated his strength. Only the Holy Accord, Joey’s group, and Kasuyi had seen his strength; the outside world almost knew nothing about it.

The main reason was that there was not really a chance for him to fight publicly. The Beyond Grade A circle was quite small, and there were only a few he could fight.

More than a year ago when he beat up Joey and the others, Han Xiao had gained a rough estimate about his own strength. It would take at least a dozen high-level Beyond Grade As to cause any threat to him.

For now, not only were his growth talents growing steadily, but he had also even obtained (The Ancient Ones) and his first Unique Talent, and he had acquired some new technology from SWY-001. His strength had grown even higher, and the number of Beyond Grade As it would take to cause any threat to him increased once again.

Fighting Oulou was nothing but an appetizer to him. He had gone there with the mindset of starting a ‘slaughter’, showing the outside world the strength that fitted the identity of the leader of the Beyond Grade As while getting some talents. Stepping up on his personal behalf at such an important occasion, he was certain there would be opportunities for him to fight.

Seeing that the three Universal Civilizations were not making a move, Han Xiao opened the interface. The Challenge Mission triggered by Oulou was already shown as completed. Since he could not leave at this point and could not acquire some luck, Han Xiao chose to conclude it on the spot.

(Beyond Grade A Challenge Mission-‘Golden Ring’ Oulou) completed!

You have completed all the mission requirements. You have received 86 Billion EXP!

You have received (Character Summon Card – ‘Golden Ring’ Oulou)!

Character Summon Card – ‘Golden Ring’ Oulou: (Golden Treasure Ship-Ram]— Condense the energy of the Golden Treasure Ship dimension in your body and carry out a long-distance charging attack. You’re immune to any Crowd Control abilities during the charge. Deals a high amount of melee combat damage. Usages: 0/3

“Aiyo, a distance closing ability, nice.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Sadly, Oulou did not use this ability earlier, or he would have had the chance to do some stretching

“If there’s a chance in the future, I shall try to see if I can get some taunt-type ability. I feel like this is what my combat style needs…”

If he could just yell, “Come here, ya coward!” and the enemy actively went to him, it would be amazing

Shaking his head, he put these thoughts behind and looked at the rest of the notification.

You have received a reward: Draw one of Oulou’s Abilities/Talents.

Note: Oulou is an Esper, so part of the abilities/talents are adjusted according to your class.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one from the five options below as the reward.

(Energy Control Precision] – Talent: Tremendously increase your ability to control energy, +10% Energy Resistance. 2. (Secondary Dimension Affinity) – Talent: Increases the chance of you building a connection with some secondary dimensions, grants you comprehensive bonuses when using the power of a secondary dimension.

(Liveliness Increase] – Ability: By stimulating your cells, temporarily increase the activity of your cells. +10% – 20% Health, Energy, and Stamina; +50% – 100% basic recovery speed of Health, Energy, Stamina. Duration: 15 minutes.

[Exquisite Taste] – Talent: +15%. You gain the Favorability of some people more easily.

(Phase Blink] – Ability: Using the secondary dimension, move by phasing and temporarily dodge most attacks. Cooldown: 6 minutes.

Han Xiao tutted. “My luck is ordinary as always without touching Feidin.”

After all, due to the difference in class, most of the core abilities of Espers were unobtainable. A surprise like with Gaud would not happen every time.

Looking through, Han Xiao made a decision very quickly.

You have received the talent (Secondary Dimension Affinity]!

He had a link with the Void Dimension and the Underworld, and his Racial Talent was also related to the Void Dimension, so choosing this talent would indirectly enhance his Racial Talent. As for the other options, they were either too ordinary, or he already had something similar.

Comparatively, the ability of this Character Summon Card was quite good. After all, it gave immunity to Crowd Control abilities, which might be amazing in some scenarios.

After concluding the reward, seeing that the three Universal Civilizations still did not make any move, Han Xiao started looking at the forums.

More than half a day passed like this. When only eight and a half days were left till the end of the three Universal Civilizations’ ultimatum deadline, they finally struck the second time.

A total of thirteen direct Beyond Grade As stepped up and walked out. Only then did Han Xiao close the forums and size them up. He saw that Clotti and Oulou among them, clearly the leaders.

This was a horrifying enough team. In a direct head-on battle, other than God’s Chosen who no one knew what his limits were, no one else in the universe could match up to it. Plus, there were no actors among these people; they had the same goal and would not hold back at all.

“Yo, no more duels?” Han Xiao said with a mocking tone.

Oulou looked ashamed. He had already adjusted back to normal after the humiliating loss, and he could not have been more embarrassed.

This time, Clotti slowly said, “Black Star, you are indeed strong. However, since you stepped up to take challenges, you won’t mind us fighting you in a group, will you?”

“Whatever. No matter how many Beyond Grade As you send, as long as you can defeat me.” Han Xiao did not mind.

Clotti nodded. He suddenly changed the topic and said, “His Excellency told me to ask you a question… Gaud, you killed him, didn’t you?”

As he said that, the other direct members were surprised. Even the many onlookers were stunned.

The Gaud incident was huge back then, and many people still had an impression of it. Now that it was brought up, many people were reminded of it once more.

“Oh? I’m warning you. We might be enemies, but I won’t just let you frame me like this,” Han Xiao said with a poker face.

Clotti added with a deep voice, “Originally, we didn’t suspect you because you were the dynasty’s ally. However, there were way too many suspicious parts about that incident back then. In recent years, you’ve become more and more lawless, so our suspicion of you has grown as well. You had plenty of reasons to attack Gaud… Sorokin might not be the culprit, just someone you framed!”

Han Xiao waved, interrupted him, and said casually, “What you say means nothing without evidence. I’ve never even thought of killing Gaud.” “You think you can clear your suspicion?” “Hehe, I’m not guilty.” Han Xiao did not mind it.

Of course, I never thought of killing Gaud. I only sealed him up. He’s still alive, so this isn’t a lie.

Plus, other than him, probably no one else knew about the fact that Gaud was EsGod. He never regretted capturing that guy; it was only a pity no one knew his contribution.

While speaking, Han Xiao stood up from his throne. The gates of the secondary dimensional army boxes opened behind him.

Even Han Xiao did not dare act overconfident facing this situation. None of these thirteen direct members were ordinary. The three Universal Civilizations had probably given each of them Universal Treasures, so they might have some trump cards. Plus, when fighting together, their strength would not just add up but multiply. However, taking the opponents seriously was one thing, but he was not going to say it out loud.

“Thirteen Beyond Grade As… it’s at least enough for me to warm up a little.”

As he said that, the swarm of mechanical army appeared once again. This time, they gathered around Han Xiao and quickly assembled into a Mechanical Deity.

Seeing this, Clotti and the others spread out and formed an encirclement. Their energy presence became unrestrained and clashed with Han Xiao’s energy presence. The energy readings in the area rocketed, and the spacetime stability started to fluctuate.

In this extremely tense moment, another Mechanical Deity suddenly appeared in the Mechanical Race’s fleet. It was Manison, and he instantly attracted everyone’s attention.

The next moment, Manison suddenly threw out the Emperor Mechanic’s Sacred Trident at Han Xiao, the rest of the Universal Treasures on the body of his Mechanical Deity also detached and flew toward Han Xiao.

Han Xiao caught the Emperor Mechanic’s Sacred Trident that was covered in electronic sparks. The various Mechanical Deity exclusive weapons of Manison also attached to his Mechanical Deity’s body, assembling perfectly. The controls of these equipment were transferred to Han Xiao, and his Mechanical Deity looked more magnificent right away.

He turned around and looked at Manison. He then heard Manison speaking in their channel.

“Since they’re fighting you as more than one, I’ll lend you my weapons.”

“… I don’t need it, but thanks.”

Han Xiao weighed the Emperor Mechanic’s Sacred Trident and felt complicated.

Old Manison had always taken the secrecy of his technology extremely importantly and treated these Universal Treasures almost like his wives.

I could only secretly steal them, but now he’s willing to lend them to me… Damn, I’m touched.

Han Xiao turned and looked at Clotti and the others. Psionic energy spun around the blade of the trident, leaving ripple-like afterimages as Han Xiao swung it.“Old Manison, since you’re so generous this time, let me show you something new.”

As he said that, blood-colored energy erupted and entangled around the Mechanical Deity’s body. Its appearance changed subtly. It was as if these streams of blood energy were forming flesh on the Mechanical Deity’s body!

A strange energy ripple spread, giving the Beyond Grade As even greater pressure.

Clotti, the others, and Manison all looked with surprise at Han Xiao, whose appearance was changing rapidly.

“This guy’s Mechanical Deity… why does it look different from the others’?”

Chapter 1305: Intense Battle

In the blink of an eye, the black Mechanical Deity’s appearance changed. Flesh grew out from the gaps of the mechanical parts like roots of a plant rapidly digging into the ground. The Mechanical Deity’s body seemed to have become the bones, wrapped in firm and strong flesh tissues. It turned from a mechanical giant to a biochemical prosthetic giant.

During the shapeshift, the energy presence Han Xiao was releasing was also enhanced. The radars of all the battleships around were shocking record-breaking individual energy readings.

At the same time, the blood-red energy and the golden Mechanical Force electronic arcs entangled each other, releasing from the Mechanical Deity’s body like water vapor. It was very flashy. The mechanical army around reflected the light from it and painted the battlefield gold and red.

Clotti and the others looked at this in dismay. They felt a sense of pressure, and fear surfaced in their hearts uncontrollably, awakening memories that had been buried for a very long time… This feeling was like the life hierarchy pressure they had experienced before when they were young, and it had been a very long time since they felt it after becoming Beyond Grade As!

“What the hell is that? I’ve never seen a Mechanical Deity like this!” Oulou’s expression changed drastically.

Clotti’s expression was grave. “I’ve never seen other Mechanics use this. This is probably Black Star’s own innovation. It has some similarities with the Polar Channel Flow, so it should be some kind of burst ability… It doesn’t look simple. Stay alert!”

Manison’s eyes were opening wide, and his heart was filled with shock.

“What ability is this?”

As a senior Mechanic, he was shocked to realize he could not figure it out right away, and he was filled with questions.

This doesn’t look like a Mechanic’s ability!

What has Black Star been studying?

However, as he looked closer, Manison discovered something.

There are signs of the Felon technology… Did Black Star reverse engineer the Felons?

Manison was astounded.

While everyone was shocked, the spacetime suddenly shook, and a ring of energy suddenly exploded at where the Mechanical Deity was standing. The next moment, the Mechanical Deity’s enormous body disappeared. Dragging a chain of electronic tracks behind, it came right before Clotti and the others. Its dash was almost as quick as teleportation, and its size did not make it slower at all.

Wrapped with blue psionic energy, the tip of a trident instantly appeared in front of Clotti’s eyes!

Getta Hadoken-Vortex Blade!

In the blink of the eye, Clotti took a deep breath, absorbed the dark energy that was everywhere in the universe, and released it at the blade of the trident like a tsunami.

Boom!

The next moment, a ring-shaped shockwave exploded from the point of impact!

Clotti’s body shot out like a cannonball, turning into a stream of light, and penetrated battleships one after another.

In just one move, the Crimson Dynasty’s National Pillar, Dark Lord, was blown away!

The many direct Beyond Grade As reacted instantly. Not having the leisure to be shocked, they immediately worked together and attacked Han Xiao. The battle broke out in a flash!

At the same time, Clotti’s serious toned voice sounded in their team channel. “Don’t fight him head-on!”

Clotti finally stopped himself from flying backward and charged back toward the battlefield, covered in a crystal yellow prism-shaped shield that was now filled with cracks.

This shield was not his ability but a protective Universal Treasure with an extremely high defense that was triggered. Since the three Universal Civilizations had sent them to fight Black Star, they were not going to be petty with their Universal Treasures. They had given several Universal Treasures to each direct member.

Although he was not injured, this attack from Han Xiao still shocked Clotti.

While the defense capability of this protection type Universal Treasure was not invincible like the Spacetime Amber, it was still exceptional. If the attack damage did not reach a certain standard, it could almost block all damage. Even he had to charge his attack for some time to penetrate it. It was a complete surprise to Clotti how Han Xiao casually broke it with one attack.

Hearing Clotti’s words, the direct member Beyond Grade As spread out and moved swiftly in the battlefield. The Mechanics brought out their armies, and the Mages pulled out their summoned creature armies too, covering the skies and restraining Han Xiao. At the same time, Han Xiao’s mechanical army arrived and joined the battle.

Both sides used the Human Wave Tactic, and the battle instantly became a huge brawl.

Turning into a Mechanical Deity, Han Xiao swung the Mechanic Emperor’s Sacred Trident speedily and slashed his way in the crowd. Everything his attacks landed on was either heavily damaged or broken instantly. The blade of the trident shattered piles and piles of enemies. He looked invincible.

His ranged weapons were also firing nonstop, chasing the direct member Beyond Grade As everywhere. His body was also covered in electromagnetic and space fields, so anything that got close was either immobilized or shattered.

This form of Mechanical Deity was what Han Xiao had invented from imitating SWY-001. Its name was (Mechanical DeitySemi-living Body). It was a special shapeshifting technology he innovated by using SWY-001 as the foundation and adding in more technology. It was an upgraded version of the Mechanical Deity, and all of its performance parameters were superior compared to the normal version.

The prerequisite was not only (Polar Channel Flow-Blood Rage] but also Hila’s death energy and Aurora’s life energy. In the past few years, through using the Gaud Character Summon Card’s (Energy Analysis), he had studied the principles and nature of these two special types of energy. He had achieved some results and fused them into this technology. Only then was he able to turn blood energy back to flesh and tissue. At the same time, he did indeed use some of the Felon technology’s concepts, successfully fusing the Super cells and the machines together, which made the flesh tissues increase the energy output tremendously.

It was only ‘semi’ because the functions of the flesh tissues were not complete. His ideal goal was to achieve the level of SWY-001, meaning the flesh tissues could both increase energy output and provide energy, balanced and whole like an independent living body.

Unfortunately, Han Xiao could not completely duplicate this mechanism. The flesh cells that covered the Mechanical Deity could only increase the Mechanical Deity’s energy output but not provide energy, which meant that the Mechanical Deity’s energy consumption increased but its maximum energy remained the same, so the balance was broken. He did not know if the reason was because the flesh tissues came from only one person or not, he just could not reach a balance like SWY-001 could. This led to the energy consumption of (Mechanical DeitySemi-living Body] being extremely outrageous; even peak Beyond Grade As could barely afford it.

However, Han Xiao was already at the top of the Void Race system and had linked with the Void Dimension. He could use the Void energy like Kasuyi could. Even without getting beat up, he had almost an infinite amount of mana, so this was not a problem for him at
all.

Han Xiao’s burst strength was too incredible, chasing the direct Beyond Grade As all around the battlefield. However, after their initial shock, Clotti and the others gradually adapted to this amount of pressure. The two sides fought intensely.

Clotti and Oulou were both top tier peak Beyond Grade As whose Energy Rank was above 90,000, and they had received a lot of enhancements. Although they were no match for Han Xiao alone, as they fought together, their combined strength multiplied.

Both their Esper Abilities were AOE types that were amazing at this type of large scale battle. Plus, mana was also no issue for them. With all kinds of Universal Treasures, they took care of more than half of Han Xiao’s attacks.

Furthermore, Clotti and Oulou had a group of teammates who were quite strong too. They were not the only two who had above a 70,000 Energy Rank; those stationed in the secondary dimension bases were mostly elites, only they did not appear in public often.

Buzz!

Enormous electromagnetic bolts formed dancing lightning chains crisscrossing between the mechanical army, causing tremendous damage. Covered in bright blue lightning arcs, Guzar stirred up a lightning storm like the god of thunder. Every time he raised his hand, electromagnetic cannons were released and landed on Han Xiao’s protective shield, causing countless explosions.

He was someone from the same generation as Clotti. Although his potential was not as high as Clotti’s, he was still a very powerful Beyond Grade A. If not, he would not have been sent by the dynasty to defend a secondary dimension outpost.

‘Holy Disciple’ Mornan, who was wearing a monk outfit, teleported continuously within the mechanical army with the help of some kind of teleportation type Universal Treasure. His fists and legs struck at an ordinary speed, as if they were hitting a transparent barrier. The particles in large portions of the cosmic space resonated, dealing continuous large area vibration damage to Han Xiao’s mechanical army. Although he was a Pugilist, the many Universal Treasures he had made up for what he lacked.

‘Army Leader’ Padro summoned countless creatures and magic colossuses nonstop, fighting with Han Xiao’s mechanical army. There were also many boss level units that attempted to retrain Han Xiao by any means necessary without having a care about their casualties. At the same time, ‘Army Flag’ Enid activated her abilities all the time, providing all kinds of enhancements to her allies present.

The thirteen direct Beyond Grade As were not only powerful but their coordination was amazing too. Along with the Universal Treasures they had, they could match up to Han Xiao, even enduring the pressure of dozens of Apostle Weapons.

With the Universal Treasures he had built in the past years, Han Xiao did not show signs of defeat even when facing such a luxurious team.

Once again blowing Clotti away, Han Xiao looked around the battlefield and pondered.

The situation was in a stalemate, but he did not feel pressure at all, which was mainly because the enemies posed a limited threat to him. Although he could not break away from these people for the time being, he was not in a dangerous situation. He had the absolute upper hand in terms of individual strength. Any time he had the opportunity to get into a one versus one battle, he would crush the opponent. Be it Clotti or Oulou, no one could stop his powerful attacks. However, when that happened, the others always came to restrain him and defuse their teammate’s danger.

“I need to aim for the weak spot and find a breakthrough.”

The essence of fighting a group was to target and chase after one person. Without hesitation, Han Xiao changed his attack target and charged toward a comparatively weaker direct Beyond Grade A.

The others saw and hastily came to focus fire on Han Xiao. Han Xiao bathed in attacks and ignored them. His Sacred Trident swung heavily up and down. Every attack seemed like it could shatter space itself.

Boom!

The enormous trident blade slashed down once again, painting a blood rose in midair. This direct member Beyond Grade A was sent out flying, heavily injured.

As Han Xiao wanted to end him, the other dozen Beyond Grade As ignored the damage they took and held him back with their lives while a traction beam shot out from the three Universal Civilizations joint fleet’s main ship and took the wounded away.

The next moment, three more direct Beyond Grade As flew out of the main ship and joined the battle. Han Xiao’s opponents increased to fifteen. The situation went back to a stalemate, and the pressure he faced increased again.

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.

He understood what the three Universal Civilizations were planning. They brought a group of direct members here. Anyone who was heavily injured by him would be pulled back and healed up, and more would be sent into the battlefield. Using the advantage of their fleet not being attacked, they could give their direct Beyond Grade A members time to recover.

After all, Han Xiao was alone and could not take a break, while the three Universal Civilizations had dozens of direct members. They made up their mind to exhaust Han Xiao by any means.

They wanted both to win and not suffer any casualties.

“Tsk, dirty enough.”

Han Xiao curled his lips and did not say anything. After all, nowhere was there a rule that said the three Universal Civilizations could not do this.

“Since you all want to do it like this, let’s see who can last longer.”

He shook his head, got rid of these thoughts, and focused on the battle.

The two sides fought intensely for six days and six nights.

The battlefield had shifted multiple times. Everywhere was filled with machinery fragments and carcasses of summoned creatures. The size of the armies on both sides had shrunk tremendously. Be it Han Xiao’s mechanical army or the direct Beyond Grade As’ all kinds of armies, they all suffered severe damage.

The Mechanical Deity that Han Xiao turned into was still fighting intensely with Clotti and the others. However, comparatively, Han Xiao was still very energetic, while many of his opponents were already showing signs of being exhausted.

The number of direct Beyond Grade As in the battlefield had increased to twenty-one. Having fought with everything they had for six days consecutively, most people were exhausted, and their status dropped unavoidably. Even though some of them exchanged shifts more than a dozen times, they could not take it much longer.

The entire process was broadcast live by the media.

Not many galactic residents could keep watching in front of the screen all the time. However, whenever they turned to this channel, the intense fight was still going on.

God knew how many people were praying night day for Black Star to be defeated. However, despite facing such a grand team, Black Star was still as strong as he was at the start, not showing any signs of defeat at all. The feelings of many galactic residents changed from shock to despair, then numbness, watching the intense battle on the screen with an empty mind.

What monster is Black Star? Doesn’t he get tired!

Seeing that there was no hope the war could be avoided, many galactic residents became irritated and started to condemn Han Xiao. It was as if strength became a sin. They found a way to vent all their rage, panic, and dissatisfaction at Han Xiao, like the roars of the powerless.

While the three Universal Civilizations’ soldiers present at the scene’s morale kept dropping in the past few days. They were dumbfounded by Black Star’s strength.

Their high-level combatants put down their pride and used such an unethical strategy just to outnumber Black Star. Changing shifts to fight him was already embarrassing enough, yet not only could they not take Black Star down, but some of them even got killed.

They were still getting thrashed!

The Beyond Grade As who were watching from various channels were even more shocked. They knew how difficult this was more than the others, and as if this was the first time they met Han Xiao, they were all astonished.

Although we knew our president was strong all along, isn’t this too strong?

In the entire history of Supers, there did not seem to be anyone who ever achieved something like this. The many Beyond Grade As were astounded.

It seemed to them that the strength Black Star was displaying probably exceeded any Beyond Grade A ever recorded in the history of the explored universe. He was on an entirely new level.

“What the f*ck? Is old Black still a human?”

“I finally understand the meaning of the version name… Is this the definition of the Age of Black Star?”

“Who’s next!”

Compared to others, the players were the most excited. Having watched a six-day-long action movie, their passion was boiling.

No matter how the others responded, the battle still carried on.

Clank!

The blade of the trident slashed down time after time chasing after a direct Beyond Grade A, shattering his shield and spilling blood.

Just as Han Xiao was about to give him the last hit as usual, Clotti and Oulou stood before him. Dark energy and golden energy gushed out and clashed with the trident!

Boom!

A blinding explosion erupted. Clotti and Oulou were pushed back afar as blood poured out from their mouths. Their injuries got heavier once again.

At the same time, the already heavily damaged Sacred Trident finally reached its limits and shattered into fragments.

Han Xiao looked at his empty hands and then looked around. All the direct Beyond Grade As who were surrounding him were wounded and looked visibly exhausted.

“Looks like you guys can’t last much longer.”

Han Xiao clenched his fist and pulled out a melee mechanical weapon that looked like a spear. It was black and gold, and its tip was pyramid shaped, like the spear of a cavalry. This was also a Universal Treasure. It came from Jayz’ technology treasure.

Clotti coughed a few times, spitting out a cloud of blood. He forced himself to stay alert and said with a deep voice, “You don’t have many troops left either.”

“I have enough. On the other hand, Oulou and you seem to have reached your limits. The others can swap with the rest, but not the two of you. Can you still fight?”

Han Xiao did not mind it.

Clotti remained silent. He could not disagree.

The other direct members could swap with the others and rest. However, without Clotti or Oulou, their team had no chance of fighting Black Star; the others would only be crushed.

Therefore, for the past six days, the two of them did not rest either and were covered in wounds. Although they were not short on energy, their wounds were getting more severe. They were close to their limits.

It would be great if God’s Chosen was willing to step in. Sadly, he had been watching on the side for the past six days and never did anything, as if he was really there just to watch.

There were only two days left till the end of the ten-day warning period the three Universal Civilizations gave. They probably could not complete the mission given to them anymore…

When Clotti was about to give everything he had left, a sigh suddenly sounded in their team channel.

A person flew out from the main ship of the three Universal Civilizations joint fleet and entered the battlefield.

The others turned to look at him and were shocked. It was Wuornos, who had remained silent till then.

Ignoring his teammates, Wuornos looked at Han Xiao, sighed with resignation, and said, “Black Star, although we’ve only met once, I actually have quite the respect for you and don’t want to fight you. Unfortunately… I’m a direct member of the Arcane Church, and I can’t disobey orders.”

After that, ignoring everyone else’s reactions, Wuornos raised his hand, aimed his finger in Han Xiao’s direction, and tapped softly.

As an invisible energy was released from his fingers, a pale-golden light suddenly flew out from inside the Mechanical Deity’s body and entered Wuornos’s body.

At this instant, an enormous shadow of the Mechanical Deity came out of his body from his back.

The next moment, this Mechanical Deity detached from his body and quickly materialized. It had Wuornos’s face, but its appearance was extremely similar to Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity, as if they were twins!

Chapter 1306: God’s Chosen and the Incredible Church National Treasure

In the torn-up battlefield, the second living Mechanical Deity appeared. The weapons and equipment it had were almost exactly the same as Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity, like a carbon copy of him.

This replica Mechanical Deity had a poker face and stood opposite Han Xiao. Powerful energy was released from its body continuously.

This startled countless galactic residents, and their shocked eyes all focused on Wuornos.

“Another new Beyond Grade A? I don’t seem to recall seeing this person before.”

“What ability is this? Seems strong…” “I know this guy! He’s the Arcane Church’s Grand Priest!”

Countless galactic residents opened their eyes wide. The extinguished hope in their hearts was rekindled.

Among the Beyond Grade As, Wuornos was an oddity. He rarely fought others or appeared in public, nor did the Arcane Church promote him. His presence in the outside world was not high at all. Without deliberately searching for his information, ordinary people would not even know he existed in the universe. However, in the Beyond Grade A circle, he was recognized by all as the strongest.

Seeing Wuornos arrive, Oulou heaved a sigh of relief but was also a little unhappy.

“You’ve finally decided to come. I thought you’d just watch till the end.”

Tsk, we’ve been exhausting ourselves and fighting Han Xiao for six days and six nights. Did you deliberately only now join us to ‘turn the tide’ alone?

Wuornos looked around at the many direct members, sighed, and said, “You guys have fought hard. I’ll take it from here. Go and rest.”

“You still want to fight him alone?” Clotti frowned.

“I don’t like to bully the few.” Wuornos shook his head. “You think we like it?” Clotti frowned. “This is an order from above. If you join the fight, we’ll have the highest chances of taking down Black Star. Aren’t you too cocky to want to fight him alone now?”

Wuornos glanced at him and calmly said, “Earlier, I was given an absolute order to help, but I told them I won’t join the fight unless I’m fighting alone. They agreed. If you have objections, you can convey them to the Crimson Dynasty’s Ruler. If you guys don’t need help, I’ll be going back to the ship.”

Clotti frowned, opened the channel, and shared a few words with the dynasty’s upper echelons. He then gave Wuornos a deep look, turned around, and flew back to the main ship without saying a word.

The others also received orders from above, glanced at Wuornos with complicated looks, and left the battlefield.

Suddenly, other than the wreckages everywhere, Han Xiao and Wuornos were the only two people left on the battlefield.

Han Xiao had been watching on the side. Seeing that the other direct members had left, his eyes gleamed, and he said, “Your ability is interesting.”

Wuornos did not respond to this. He changed the topic and said slowly, “I’ve been observing you for the past seven days. You’re probably already half a step into the higher territory. I’m not someone who likes to fight. If possible, I really wouldn’t want to fight you, but…”

This time, Han Xiao waved his hand and interrupted him.

“We don’t know each other. You don’t have to explain anything to me. Many people have been saying you’re recognized as the strongest Beyond Grade A. I’ve always wanted to see how strong you are personally.”

He turned to look at the other living body Mechanical Deity, narrowed his eyes, and said, “I have to say, with this ability, you can indeed be considered the ‘strongest’. However, a fake will always be just that, a fake.”

When Wuornos used his ability earlier, a notification had popped up on Han Xiao’s interface too. It showed that he was affected by an ability called [God EmbodimentGranted). Although the ability worked, it did not deal any damage to him or any debuffs.

Planning ahead, before the Mechanical Race territory was surrounded, he had already expected that he might have to fight Wuornos. Hence, he had asked about the detailed intelligence of this person from Kasuyi and the others, finding out that ‘granting Gods’ was one of Wuornos’ abilities. He could materialize the concept of some ‘Gods’ into powerful physical forms, which were called ‘God Embodiments’.

The God Embodiments were independent from their original body, usually called by the name of the original God. They had the various abilities the original ‘God’ conceptually had but not all of them. The number of abilities and their power were not only related to Wuornos’ strength but also the number of believers that worshipped this ‘God’ and the depth of their faith.

However, the targets Wuornos could grant also included anything that was deified. Therefore, peak Beyond Grade As who were going through the God’s Trait Transformation were also included. When the target of the granting was not a ‘concept’ but something with physical form, the God Embodiment would then be able to inherit the target’s most strength and abilities, even without believers of faith.

According to the upper echelons of the association, if they were to fight Wuornos, they would have to first face a mirrored version of ‘themselves’ while at the same time fight with Wuornos’ other God Embodiments. This was one of the reasons he was recognized by all as the strongest; he would become stronger against stronger opponents.

Furthermore, what was more disgustingly strong was that, if a God Embodiment that had a physical original body was destroyed, the damage would be reflected back to its original body. This meant that when peak Beyond Grade As killed their mirrored ‘self’, they would suffer damage too.

A few Ancient Ones shared a secret. Very long ago, Wuornos’ success rate of granting Gods was limited, and it did not work every time. However, Wuornos’ ability was nothing short of a perfect fit with the Arcane Church. After being given many Universal Treasures related to his ability by the Arcane Church and forming strong Soul Links with them, the success rate of his granting ability was fixed at a hundred percent. In the players’ terms, this basically meant that the judgement process was skipped.

The Universal Treasures given to him also included a core treasure seen by the Arcane Church as their ‘National Treasure’. It could be said to be the foundation of how the Arcane Church united all the religions in galactic society. Wuornos matched with it perfectly, as if he was born for it.

The only good news was that when the interface showed he was ‘Granted’ one time, it also showed that he received a prolonged immunity to it. This meant that Wuornos could not continuously ‘Grant’ the same target in a short time. Plus, the time the God Embodiments could exist also had limits.

Even with Han Xiao’s knowledge, he had to say that Wuornos’ ability was extremely powerful, almost like a cheat, like himself! Scary, this ability is somewhat like a weird version of the Character Summon Cards…

Han Xiao was surprised.

Seems like we’re both professional cheaters… Our battle will be legendary!

As all kinds of information flashed past his mind, Han Xiao’s movements were no slower. He gathered the remainder of the mechanical army and launched attacks at Wuornos.

At the same time, controlling the Mechanical Deity, he charged forward and struck with his spear.

At this time, another mechanical spear stopped in the path of Han Xiao’s spear, the tips of the spears clashed.

Bang! A powerful psionic shockwave erupted, the two spears stacked together and stopped each other.

“Your opponent is me.”

The fake Mechanical Deity with Wuornos’ face spoke coldly.

“Yo, you can even speak.”

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed. He suddenly twisted the handle of the spear. The spear started spinning rapidly. Tremendous energy erupted and instantly pushed the other spear away. Then, like a drill, it penetrated into the fake Mechanical Deity’s chest. Compressed psionic energy gushed out from the tip of the spear, launching flesh and metal everywhere.

However, like it had no sense of pain, the fake Mechanical Deity instantly retaliated, swinging its heavy spear forward. Seeing this, Han Xiao pulled back his spear and blocked it. Blinding electronic arcs exploded from the point of contact, and the powerful force pushed Han Xiao back.

Han Xiao looked up and saw that the fake Mechanical Deity had a gory wound on its chest that almost went all the way through his body. However, the next moment, the flesh and machines near the wound started to move and slowly grew back.

Han Xiao tutted. “Tsk, as expected, it’s as difficult to kill as me.”

His own extraordinary regenerative ability was also duplicated by this God Embodiment. The fake Mechanical Deity had an Indestructible Body. Only a few abilities were not duplicated. Although its strength was a lot weaker than him, from the way it looked, it definitely had an Energy Rank above ten thousand. It was stronger than top-tier Beyond Grade As like Clotti and Oulou, definitely capable of fighting him.

At the same time, the Apostle Weapons who were all wounded started to focus fire at Wuornos’s original body, and attacks rained like a storm.

Wuornos calmly put his hands together like he was praying. Colorful spiritual lights appeared on his body and rapidly expanded, turning into bright symbols, forming an enormous protective shield, and protecting him from the rain of attacks.

He separated his hands. Eight faint-gold spiritual lights appeared and jumped into his mouth.

The next moment, eight God Embodiments with varied appearances detached from Wuornos’ body, all giving off the presence of powerful Beyond Grade As. They charged toward the mechanical troops around and displayed their strength.

“I’ll have to worship these again when I get back.”

Wuornos shook his head. Having summoned eight God Embodiments at once, he felt a little heartache.

A few days ago, when he got urgently summoned, he had harvested the ‘deifications’ of about ten God sculptures from the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods and stored them in the church’s ‘National Treasure’ in his body. When he had to fight, he could summon the God Embodiments any time. If there was no need to fight, he could put the ‘deifications’ back.

He was the only one who knew that every time he summoned the God Embodiments from the God sculptures in the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods, it would consume the ‘deifications’ in these God sculptures that took a long time to accumulate, and he would not be able to summon another God Embodiment from the same sculpture again in a short time. The Gold sculptures’ ‘deifications’ would only recover through praying and worshipping for a very long time. Only then would he be able to summon God Embodiments from them again.

The strength of these God Embodiments also relied on how many ‘deifications’ their sculptures had, and accumulating ‘deifications’ was extremely troublesome and time consuming. To him, the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods he was stationed at was his weapon inventory, and the God sculptures were his ammo… However, he liked to think of the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods more as a farm, every God sculpture as a crop that needed to be taken care of every day. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to harvest any crops.

Knowing himself well, he knew he could not easily grant eight God Embodiments at once easily. However, the Church National Treasure already fused with him perfectly. Even if he did not use it actively, the passive bonuses it gave him still increased the strength of his ability to an unbelievable height.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, suddenly charged forward with his body, and knocked the fake Mechanical Deity away. Drill-shaped machinery shot out from his waist and bit onto the fake Mechanical Deity’s waist like charge cabins. The Psionic Deterioration modules were activated immediately, absorbing the fake Mechanical Deity’s energy.

As the fake Mechanical Deity was restrained, Han Xiao suddenly turned and swung his spear toward Wuornos. He planned to target him first.

Seeing this, Wuornos released two more God Embodiments. This time, these two God Embodiments did not materialize but melted and fused with Wuornos as if he was possessed.

His energy presence suddenly rocketed. He raised his energy-covered arms in front of him, not dodging the attack at all.

The next moment, the heavy spear swept onto him like a truck ramming toward an ant.

Clank!

An enormous shockwave exploded. However, the result was completely different from when Clotti got sent flying.

Wuornos’ hands remained in the same position; his body did not even move back a single inch. Instead, the enormous mechanical spear was stopped. It was as if the ant had stopped an entire truck.

Wuornos glanced at Han Xiao and did not say anything. He only put down his hands and slowly backed off, as if he did not take the attack earlier seriously at all and was not worried about Han Xiao continuing to attack him.

“It’s tough to beat, as expected of the National Treasure of the church…”

Han Xiao frowned.

According to the description of someone who knew about the church’s National Treasure, it had the trait of ‘Unbreakable’ and extremely high resistance, which were given to Wuornos too.

God only knew what percentage of Wuornos’ strength came from the church’s National Treasure. Fighting with him was not just that but also fighting with the pinnacle technology of a Universal Civilization!

Tere

Therefore, when Beyond Grade As were compared with each other, they rarely ever considered Wuornos because it would simply be unfair!

At this time, the fake Mechanical Deity got rid of his restraints and pounced at Han Xiao again, dragging his Mechanical Deity back.

Having fought for six days and six nights, Han Xiao was not at his peak. His mechanical army had suffered heavy casualties; most of it had been sent into the Dimension Factory for repairs. At this point, only about twenty percent of his army still had combat capabilities. Plus, all of them had gone through a few times of Waste Modifications. In the face of Wuornos’ many God Embodiments, the battle was getting tough. Dealing with the fake Mechanical Deity’s attacks, Han Xiao glanced at the worsening situation on the battlefield and narrowed his eyes.

“Wuornos indeed deserves the praise. Looks like it’s going to be a tough fight… Luckily, I have more things up my sleeve!”

In the three Universal Civilizations’ main ship, Clotti and the other direct Beyond Grade As had already finished attending to their wounds. They were all gathered at the bridge watching the intense fight between Black Star and Wuornos.

Seeing how Wuornos could match up with Black Star who fought all of them alone, they all felt bitter.

“How many years has it been since we saw God’s Chosen fight? He’s still extraordinarily strong.” Guzar sighed.

“Humph, if I had a Universal Treasure as strong as the church’s National Treasure, I could be that strong.” Oulou’s tone was sour.

“That’s given that the Federation of Light can build one like it.” Francisco shrugged.

“Who you looking down at?” Verena snorted.

They chatted casually, slightly flushing away the heavy atmosphere.

Oulou turned around, realized that Clotti was not speaking, and said, “We fought Black Star for six days and nights, exhausting him. Now that Wuornos has come out to fight him alone, maybe he just wants to have the fruit of victory for himself. If he defeats Black Star, not only will he gain all the reputation, we’ll even be his steppingstone. Aren’t you angry about that?”

Clotti glanced at him and said with a poker face, “I don’t care about these trivialities, as long as the mission given to us is completed. As for who defeats Black Star in the end, it doesn’t matter.”

“Tsk. If words get out that Wuornos defeated someone we couldn’t even defeat together, we’ll be humiliated. You might not care about face, but I do!” Oulou clenched his teeth.

Clotti gave him a weird look and said, “You fled with your tail tucked between your legs after fighting Black Star alone. Your face is already non-existent. What are you talking about?”

“… F*ck!”

Oulou wanted to argue, but a change suddenly occurred!

Suddenly, an even stronger energy presence suddenly exploded from Black Star. His energy readings rocketed visibly, breaking the record every second!

Black Star’s Mechanical Deity’s strength soared. The next second, the enormous fake Mechanical Deity was thrown out into the formation of the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet, toppling rows of battleships!

As if they were on steroids, the Apostle Weapons and the mechanical troops’ power suddenly shot up. The God Embodiments that were originally overwhelming them suddenly could barely fight back, and their wounds grew rapidly.

Then, Han Xiao turned around and slashed down with his spear. The one God Embodiment he attacked instantly shattered and turned into light particles, as if it suddenly evaporated!

“Hmm?” Wuornos’ calm expression disappeared immediately.

The sudden change startled Clotti, Oulou, and the other direct Beyond Grade As. Their sights were instantly attracted by Han Xiao. Everyone opened their eyes the widest, their faces filled with shock.

He became stronger? He clearly held back earlier! At this point, they shockingly realized one thing, and shivers shot up their spines. “We fought with all we had for six days and six nights, yet we couldn’t even make him go all out!”

Chapter 1307: Defeat

Boom!

Wild thunder raged like dragons, dancing around Han Xiao.

The mechanical spear turned into an enormous bolt of lightning and struck again, targeting another red God Embodiment.

Restrained by the Apostle Weapons, this red God Embodiment could not dodge the attack in time. It hastily went into a defensive stance and knocked the side of the shield with its hammer. The shield instantly lit up and released an energy shield that enlarged thousands of times, blocking in front of the spear.

Bang!

The spear crashed onto the shield. The shield that looked indestructible shattered instantly like a fragile piece of paper. A shockwave expanded in a flash and triggered a loud explosion in everyone’s mind like the sound of glass shattering.

With an enormous bolt of lightning, a light beam-like shockwave released from the tip of the spear. With this one attack, half of this God Embodiment’s body was instantly shattered!

At this time, Wuornos teleported from afar, focused his strength at his elbow and deviated the direction of the spear, dodging the second round of damage. He then dragged the heavily damaged God Embodiment aside, saving it at the last point.

Wuornos sized Han Xiao up once again. Feeling the even stronger energy presence of the Mechanical Deity, complicated feelings flashed past his eyes.

“Is this your full strength? Looks like I still underestimated you… No, I should say you hid your strength too well, just like the rumors. No one really knows just how many trump cards you have and where your limit is.”

“Why have I never heard of this rumor?” Han Xiao replied casually. While he had been fighting with the three Universal Civilizations, he had been suppressing the impulse to use his Character Summon Cards, all to make sure he could use them if Wuornos showed up.

Wuornos could summon Gods, but he had Character Summon Cards too.

He had activated double Mechanical Sense and double the Ancient Ones, instantly entering into his explosive state. If he had activated the Character Summon Cards earlier, the three Universal Civilizations’ direct members probably would not have lasted as long as six days. Even if they could, there would have been many more of them dead in his hands.

“A hundred years is just a blink of an eye to Beyond Grade As; it’s no more than a child’s age. Yet, at such a young age, you’ve obtained such extraordinary strength… There has never been anyone in recorded history who was as talented as you are. I can hardly imagine just how bright your future is.”

Wuornos sighed, took out his last few God Embodiments, and sent them into the battlefield to fight the mechanical army.

He had brought more than a dozen God Embodiments this time. Initially, he did not want to use the rest of them, but the situation now did not allow him to do that.

“Just a few? They’re probably far from enough to defeat me.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

These God Embodiments had varied abilities. Although they all had high level Beyond Grade A’s strength, they had a common weakness too-they were comparatively more fragile. His strength in the explosive state exceeded the knowledge of ordinary people. He could easily crush high-level Beyond Grade As. As long as these God Embodiments did not have any special defense, dodge, or regenerative abilities, he could shatter them in seconds. It was much easier than dealing with those direct Beyond Grade As with multiple Universal Treasures.

“Try me.”

Wuornos held his hands together. His body suddenly expanded and enlarged, turning into a giant. Earlier, his size compared to Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity was like an ant and a mountain. Now, he was the same size as Han Xiao’s Mechanical Deity.

Despite how large he became, the Grand Priest robe on his body was not torn but expanded with his body. Magic circuits that filled all of its surface started lighting up. Clearly, it was Universal Treasure-level enchanted equipment; only then did he not have to go nude in front of the entire universe.

This guy can grow bigger?

Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed. This was not mentioned in the intelligence he had.

nos

As if he saw Han Xiao’s doubts, Wuornos slowly explained, “My God’s Trait Transformation has already reached the maximum. My Giant blood is at its peak. This is my first time using this ability.”

Having trained in the Arcane Church for many years, as the church’s National Treasure and his own ability were related to divinity, his God’s Trait Transformation progressed countless times faster than the other peak Beyond Grade As. He had completed both God’s Trait Transformation routes long ago, but he had never told anyone.

Wuornos had the Giant bloodline, so the God’s Trait Transformation on his race’s side tremendously enhanced his Giant blood, turning it into the most optimized form. It was as if all the pros of the Race Evolution were gathered into one.

“Your luck is really incredible. Not only is your ability a perfect fit, but you even received the support of the church.” Han Xiao frowned.

This b*stard was probably a protagonist-type character who most likely had Advanced Luck Glow, only he kept a low profile for countless years and hid his true strength. It was like he was the monk who swept the floors of a temple.

He looked at Wuornos’s empty hands and said, “Are you planning to keep fighting me with your fists?”

Hearing this, Wuornos remained silent for a while, sighed, and said, “… You have already sealed up my weapon.”

Han Xiao was stunned for a second, then it occurred to him.

Damn, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is this b*stard’s equipment!

Specifically, Wuornos only shared the right to use it; the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter still belonged to the Arcane Church. Sadly, it was sealed up by the Spacetime Amber. It made sense. This Universal Treasure also matched Wuornos’ ability perfectly. It would not be weird for the church to let him use it… only he did not have the chance to use it now.

At this time, the fake Mechanical Deity finally returned to the battlefield after being blasted away in the fleet’s formation. It pounced at Han Xiao fearlessly, clearly very headstrong.

Han Xiao turned around. The mechanical spear shapeshifted rapidly as if it had turned into a whip. He swung it backward, stirring up bright lightning bolts everywhere.

In the explosive state, the speed of strength of the Mechanical Deity increased tremendously. This attack was as fast as lightning; it instantly swept onto the fake Mechanical Deity’s waist, almost cutting it half, sending it away flying and rolling once again.

A scorching wave of energy came from behind. Han Xiao turned around and placed his spear horizontally, stopping Wuornos’ fist.

Boom!

A shockwave erupted!

The strength of both sides clashed. Han Xiao’s thrusters operated at the maximum power output, gaining the upper hand and slowly pushing into Wuornos. “The giant blood is quite strong indeed. Your strength is comparable to a Pugilist.” Han Xiao snorted.

“And you.”

Wuornos suddenly retracted his fist. The next second, afterimages of his fists filled Han Xiao’s sights.

Not willing to take a step back, Han Xiao spun his spear and blocked each attack accurately. Shockwaves exploded in the cosmic space continuously.

This time, the fake Mechanical Deity returned and joined the battle again, then got blown away once more before charging back to the battle time and again. Wuornos had the church’s National Treasure to protect his body, while the fake Mechanical Deity inherited his own super strong regenerative abilities. Currently, the only breakthrough point in the battlefield was the other God Embodiments, which was what Han Xiao was planning to target exactly. Only, he was stopped by the two giants and had no choice but to endure their attacks to eliminate the God Embodiments.

As the battle reached this stage, there were no more shortcuts to be found, only head-on combat. The battle had already reached the climax.

Watching the live footage, the hearts of countless galactic residents rose to their throats as they watched the screen with all their attention.

“What a powerful Beyond Grade A, he must be the ace of the three Universal Civilizations!”

“God bless, please let Black Star be defeated… This is probably our last hope.”

The galactic residents secretly prayed. Meanwhile, the players were thrilled, completely the opposite of the galactic residents.

“Aiyo, I know this. The boss has entered stage two!”

“Clear the minions before fighting the boss, Old Black knows his dungeons.”

“Anyone betting? I’m betting 30,000 Enas on Old Black, anyone?”

The many army players discussed the fight with excitement. The forums were already filled with the videos of those who were at the scene. The edited footage and recordings of Han Xiao’s battle in the past few days had filled up more than ten pages, like it was an incredible VFX movie.

In the main ship of the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet, the many direct Beyond Grade As looked outside the porthole with bitter expressions.

“I never thought Black Star held back against us… If he’d used this power earlier, many people in this room would probably not be breathing now.” Verena smiled bitterly. Hearing this, many Beyond Grade As glanced at her and felt complicated. Originally, they thought they could at the very least match up to Black Star together. However, the truth was, that was only what they thought. Not only were they exhausted from fighting Black Star, they even had to appreciate Black Star for not going all out…

Having realized that, their mood became even heavier, and their confidence was severely damaged.

Having held back for a very long time, Oulou finally squeezed two words out between his teeth.

“Two monsters!”

Even as a peak Beyond Grade A, Oulou had to admit that these two people were terrifyingly strong. Not only was Black Star crazily powerful, but Wuornos was much stronger than many years ago. The two of them had surpassed the others and were on a completely different level from them.

This time, Guzar frowned and said, “There’s only two days left till the warning period ends. Are we really going to let them fight one on one and watch?”

Hearing this, Clotti said seriously, “Of course not! When the warning period is about to end, we’ll all strike together.

Just ignore Wuornos, we must defeat Black Star no matter what, so get to recovering as fast as possible. If Wuornos still can’t settle the battle by tomorrow, we’ll have to fight again.”

The others nodded solemnly.

Time passed quickly. Under countless pairs of eyes, Han Xiao already fought intensely with Wuornos for more than a day, the situation was already becoming clear.

Han Xiao finally eliminated all the God Embodiments except for the fake Mechanical Deity, and he paid a ton of mechanical troops as the price for that.

Although he was restrained by Wuornos and the fake Mechanical Deity, in his explosive state, his attributes were clearly superior. He continuously broke through the two of them, ignoring his injuries and eliminating the God Embodiments one after another, causing the strength difference between two sides to increase as time went on, making the situation easier and easier for him.

The last few God Embodiments were not even killed by him personally but by the mechanical troops and the Apostle Weapons. The remaining mechanical troops were already free to surround Wuornos and the fake Mechanical Deity, the only ones left.

Clank!

The two of them clashed once again. Wuornos moved back a certain distance, casually blasting away an Apostle Weapon, and suddenly sighed. “You have killed all the God Embodiments I’ve brought here today, looks like I can’t do much more.”

“What, is that it?”

Han Xiao slapped the fake Mechanical Deity away once again and snorted.

“… We’re the only two left. We won’t be able to decide a winner if we continue.” Wuornos shook his head.

“There’s only one day left anyway, doesn’t matter to me.”

Han Xiao did not mind it.

Although he had killed all the God Embodiments, he could neither penetrate the church’s National Treasure nor eliminate the fake Mechanical Deity, and Wuornos could not threaten his life either.

Conservatively, he could still fight Wuornos for half a month or so without resting.

“If that’s the case, we’ll call it here,” Wuornos said softly.

“You think you can make the call?” Han Xiao curled his lips.

Wuornos glanced at him and softly giggled. His enormous body shrank back to his original size, and he opened the public channel.

“I’m no match for you. I admit my loss.”

Han Xiao was stunned. He did not expect Wuornos to do this.

Admitting loss in front of the public went against the direct Beyond Grade As’ goal of fighting for the three Universal Civilizations. Plus, no one showed any signs of defeat at this point; it was a tie at most. Why did he admit defeat?

Wuornos snapped his finger. The fake Mechanical Deity suddenly stopped and then exploded from the inside. He got rid of this God Embodiment on the spot.

Han Xiao frowned, raised his hand, and made the mechanical army stop attacking.

“…What are you doing?”

Wuornos disconnected from the public channel, looked at Han Xiao with a meaningful expression, and said, “Black Star, you’re the most talented Super to have ever existed. You have the highest possibility of opening the gate to that next territory. Like I said in the beginning, I don’t want to be your enemy.”

“What is the meaning of this? Aren’t you afraid of the Arcane Church having problems with you because you admitted your loss in front of the public?” Han Xiao frowned even harder.

“I’ve already done what I can. As for my goal… maybe you’ll find out one day.”

Wuornos gave him a strange smile, turned around, and flew toward the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet.

Han Xiao made the mechanical army open a path and did not stop him. He silently stared at Wuornos’ shrinking back view and realized that he had no understanding of Wuornos’ personality and mindset.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, both Dark Lord and Oulou died in the World Tree War; only Wuornos never even participated in it. Han Xiao would never believe for a second that the Arcane Church did not give him any orders. He had no way of knowing what this guy was really thinking

… Never mind, I can’t guess what he’s thinking. I got the mission reward, anyway.

Han Xiao exhaled, opened the interface, and looked at it with a satisfied smile.

The Beyond Grade A Challenge Mission for Wuornos was shown as ‘completed’.

He retrieved the mechanical army, deactivated the Mechanical Deity, sat on a new Divine Mechanical Throne, looked at the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet, and said in the public channel, “Who’s next?”

As he said that, the entire channel went dead silent.

As soon as Wuornos returned to the main ship, the many direct Beyond Grade A surrounded him with rather hostile looks.

“How could you admit loss publicly!” Clotti questioned loudly.

“I couldn’t win, so of course, I admitted my loss,” Wuornos replied casually.

“You think we’re all blind?” Verena said with an angry tone. “You showed no signs of defeat at all. You could’ve totally fought Black Star for much longer!”

Wuornos glanced at her and coldly said, “Then what? Keep fighting like this till the end of the warning period? I seem to recall I said I was going to fight Black Star alone, but you guys were going to ignore my request and were planning to fight him together, weren’t you?”

Hearing this, they immediately did not know what to say.

“I can guess what you guys are planning to do with my eyes closed.”

Seeing this, Wuornos shook his head, pushed his way through the crowd, and left.

He did not want to participate in the battle to begin with. Originally, he wanted to watch till the end. However, the church had given him an absolute order, and he had no choice but to fight.

However, Wuornos did not plan to defeat Black Star. What he really wanted was to see and experience Black Star’s true strength, do his best to fight him to the extent that it was enough to give the church some results.

He was not lying about respecting Black Star, but he did not admit loss because of that. It was because of another reason.

Wuornos did not want to stop the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association from starting a war; he wished to see it happen instead!

This was his core motive!

For many years, Wuornos had been stuck at an invisible ceiling. He realized that no matter what, his strength could barely grow anymore. It was as if there was some kind of higher power that prevented him from stepping into that higher territory of power

He believed that only competition and pressure could breed the strong. Back during the exploration era, Supers slaughtered each other every second. Only then were the Beyond Grade As born. When the first Primordial One appeared, like a signal, more and more Beyond Grade As appeared one after another.

From the way he looked at it, the evolution of individual greatness might require an extremely talented pioneer to break that ceiling. Only then would the others be able to follow and enjoy the benefits.

This was how Black Star, whose growth rate broke every record, had entered his sights. Black Star was the person who had the highest possibility of becoming that pioneer in his eyes.

Wuornos did not like the peaceful atmosphere of the Beyond Grade A Association; he liked to see Beyond Grade As fight everyday more, breeding stronger individuals. Hence, the three Universal Civilizations targeting the association matched with his goal. In this respect, Wuornos had the same fanaticism as EsGod, only he took a different path. Compared to EsGod’s selfish style, Wuornos hoped to see the entire universe’s strong individuals working hard.

After all, given the mechanics of his ability, the stronger individuals there were in the universe, the stronger his peak strength would be.

All kinds of thoughts flashed past his thoughts, Wuornos closed his eyes and thought, I’ll give you this reputation today. Let me see how far you can go.

At the same time, the image of Wuornos admitting loss was broadcast to countless people.

At this moment, the hope that had just been rekindled was completely extinguished.

All the galactic residents who were hoping to see Black Star defeated collapsed onto their seats and looked hopeless.

Not a single person in the entire three Universal Civilizations could defeat Black Star. Even by shamelessly fighting him in groups, they still lost. Embarrassing!

Before long, the countless galactic residents turned from pessimistic to nervous. They knew that today was the last day of the warning period given by the three Universal Civilizations. If neither side decided to take a step back, a war was most likely going to break out!

Seeing that there was no hope, many galactic residents suddenly stopped worrying. They started to vent their rage born from powerlessness and fear online, as well as the hatred toward Black Star for not ‘losing like they wanted’.

Suddenly, support for the three Universal Civilizations grew tremendously once again. No longer were they hoping to stop the war; they went in the complete opposite direction, almost supportive of starting a war. They only had one core reason… for the three Universal Civilizations to crush the Beyond Grade A Association and clear the unstable factor of the galactic society!

Chapter 1308: Change

The loss of hope, increase of fear and panic were always accompanied by rage. Wuornos’ act of admitting defeat caused public opinion to explode. They had been looking forward to the three Universal Civilizations sending someone to break Black Star’s arrogance. However, reality shattered their illusion. No one could defeat Black Star. The many galactic residents were both afraid and angry, then their humiliation turned into rage.

Okay, you’re strong as a person, no one in the three Universal Civilizations can match up to you. But we still have fleets; we still have armies! I don’t believe we can’t deal with you! Since the three Universal Civilizations had lost in terms of individual power, tons of galactic residents turned to believe in the three Universal Civilizations’ collective strength. They found a new excuse to convince themselves and took it as a new source of confidence.

It was already the last day of the warning period. The public opinion had become extreme in supporting the three Universal Civilizations to wipe out the association.

“The Beyond Grade A Association is nothing but a civilian organization. How dare they fight with the three Universal Civilizations? It’s clearly a criminal act. Think about it, the government wants to control you, and if you don’t obey, isn’t that violating the law? What, just because you founded a civilian organization, you can ignore the law? What makes you think you can do that? Just because you are strong?” “All things aside, the Beyond Grade As have always been unstable factors. They enjoy the privileges but don’t take the laws of the galaxy seriously. They should either all be monitored by civilizations or killed! That way, they won’t endanger society; today will be a lesson!”

“Hehe, Beyond Grade As are just representatives of the Supers. All Supers should be monitored and controlled; only then can order be maintained. Just think about how many crimes are related to the Supers. Without them, society would be a much better place!”

Ever since the appearance of the Sanctum Revival, the three Universal Civilizations had been guiding the public opinion and deliberately inciting the conflicting emotions between the ordinary people and the Supers. This had lasted for more than a year. These suppressed emotions kept getting tighter. At this turning point, the dissatisfaction the tons of civilians had toward the Supers finally erupted.

Countless galactic residents vented their rage without restrain, hoping all the Beyond Grade As and Super would just die.

Although this was very extreme, it was the true feelings of some galactic residents. Their genes dictated the fact that they would be ordinary their entire life, which was more depressing and impossible to cross than the difference between the rich and the poor. Almost all of them had a certain amount of hatred and frustration toward their destiny. When given the chance, most people would not mind expressing their hatred toward Supers.

However, the raging comments online meant absolutely nothing to Han Xiao; it had zero impact on what he was going to do.

Han Xiao sat in the middle of the battlefield and looked at the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet. After Wuornos admitted his defeat, the other direct members seemed to have gone silent. Shockingly, they did not meaninglessly fight him again on this last day of the warning period.

“Looks like they’ve finally got a grip of the situation.”

Han Xiao let out a deep breath.

All things considered, this was quite a successful decision. After keeping a low profile for many years, he had shocked the world once again and showed the universe his overwhelming strength, not only giving the association members confidence but also affecting the enemies’ morale.

At this time, the mechanical suit’s communicator rang. It was a call from Manison.

“… Your growth always exceeds my expectations.”

Manison felt complicated. He was shocked by Han Xiao’s strength and could not help but feel sour.

“It’s alright, nothing extraordinary.” Han Xiao took a humble approach.

Uh huh, still as shameless as always.

Manison was speechless for a moment. He then adjusted his emotions and said curiously, “Your Mechanical Deity is a little different. Is it new technology? There seem to be signs of the Felon technology in it.”

“Uh huh, I did use some of the Felon technology.” Han Xiao nodded and admitted

Manison fell silent.

Ah, another trump card got stolen by Black Star…

My heart hurts!

He wanted to get angry, but to his complete despair, he realized he was used to his abilities being stolen… Taking a deep breath, Manison stabilized his mood and said with a low voice, “What’s the principle of this technology? Can you share it with me?”

“Sure, I can, but you won’t be able to learn it…” Han Xiao shrugged. “This technology was tailor made for me. You need to have an extremely strong physique to learn it, but you’re too fragile.”

Isn’t it normal for Mechanics to have a fragile body? You’re the only exception.

Manison pressed on his heart, calmed himself down, and did not want to continue discussing this subject.

He then changed the topic and said with a serious tone, “Today is the last day of the warning period. I’m ready for a war. How are things on your side?”

Han Xiao nodded. “The association’s members are already stationed at the key strategic areas of the various Star Fields. Some people might have already started making moves.”

“War is a shortcut toward peace. After today, let’s hope the generations will extend in our hands.” Manison sighed.

Han Xiao curled his lips.

After a few words, Manison was about to hang up the communication when he suddenly thought of something.

“Erm… my spear broke, but the other Universal Treasures I lent to you didn’t. You put them all away. When will you be returning them to me?”

“Hey, come on, what’s our relationship? Would I just take your Universal Treasure like that? What kind of person do you think I am?” Han Xiao complained.

Manison snorted instantly.

You don’t do anything that’s related to being a person, yet you ask me what kind of person you are?

You’re not a person at all!

“Just tell me when you’ll return them.”

“When I’m done… ahem, after the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet retreats, I’ll give them back to you when I have the time.”

Excuse me, you were going to say you’ll return them after you’re done studying them, weren’t you!

Manison snorted and turned off the communication.

His temper was already depleted by Han Xiao, and after knowing him for so many years, he was mentally prepared for this long ago.

Just what I expected from you, Black Star!

Han Xiao turned off the communication. Seeing that the three Universal Civilizations were not making any moves, he opened the interface and looked at the mission reward.

Fighting the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations did not trigger individual Challenge Missions but instead triggered the sparring kind of mission like when he sparred with Joey and his friends. The mission reward relied on how long he lasted. The highest Mission Rating gave seven Character Summon Cards and five chances to draw abilities or talents from a target of his choice.

As for the duel with Wuornos, it triggered the regular Beyond Grade A Challenge Mission. The rewards were one Character Summon Card and one chance to draw his ability or talent.

“Looks like I won in the end.”

Han Xiao felt much better.

With a war around the corner, he was quite tempted. However, after thinking about it, he still suppressed his impulses.

His goal of intimidating the enemies was already achieved. If a war were to break out the next day and the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet attacked, all the direct members would most likely strike too. Of course, Han Xiao would not be facing them alone. Therefore, he was not in a hurry to accept the mission rewards.

“If only I could make the three Universal Civilizations take a step back…”

Han Xiao shook his head and thought of an idea he had some time ago. He caressed the communicator, hesitating on whether or not to call the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations and tell them about the World Tree Civilization, shifting the conflict away.

The most ideal situation would, of course, be the three Universal Civilizations believing what he said, temporarily lowering their hostility and working together with him against the external enemy. Although this would cause the World Tree war to arrive in advance, it would save a huge portion of the explored universe’s strength… However, given the current uptight situation and the relationship between the two sides, he felt there was an extremely low chance the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders would believe him. They would most likely think it was an excuse to avoid admitting defeat or a made-up reason for both sides to take a step back.

If he could not convince the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders, a war would still break out, and the three Universal Civilizations would very likely secretly investigate the authenticity of the information about the World Tree Civilization. Not only would the explored universe lose a ton of military power, but the World Tree war would still arrive in advance, meaning the three Universal Civilizations would have close to no time to recover before facing such a powerful enemy. Therefore, Han Xiao was hesitating. It was almost impossible for him to predict the butterfly effects this move might cause.

“Sigh, tough.”

In the online chat room of the Beyond Grade A Association, the remote projections of a group of Beyond Grade As gathered. Shock still remained on some of their faces.

“Even Wuornos can’t defeat Black Star… It’s hard to believe how strong he’s become after not showing his strength for just a few decades.”

“Black Star is really an unbelievable guy. I thought he would lose this time. Who could’ve predicted he would actually hold on?”

“Fighting the three Universal Civilizations alone, suppressing all direct members. I would never have believed this is true if I didn’t see it with my own eyes!”

The many Beyond Grade As discussed excitedly.

They had watched the broadcast of Black Star fighting the three Universal Civilizations’ direct members alone from the start to the end, feeling more astonished each day. After Wuornos admitted his defeat, all of them were dumbfounded.

Even Wuornos, who was recognized by all as the strongest cheater, could not defeat Han Xiao, astounded the entire Beyond Grade A circle. In their eyes, this crown no longer belonged to Wuornos and was shifted to Black Star’s head…

Not only was he the president of the Beyond Grade A Association, but he was also undoubtedly the strongest Beyond Grade A, which made his position as the president even more deserved.

“Seeing how strong Black Star is, I’m less concerned.” Kasuyi relaxed.

Many people nodded and smiled.

The three Universal Civilizations had tons of trump cards. Many association members had been worried that something might happen to Black Star, which would lead to no one being able to use the Sanctum Revival, and that would be very unfortunate for them. Seeing that Black Star was unbelievably strong, many people were relieved.

Kasuyi looked around, wiped the smile off his face, and said with a serious tone, “Alright, don’t get too relaxed. Today is the last day of the warning period. Everyone, be ready and standby. Wait for Black Star to teleport us over for war!”

Hearing this, the expressions of the others also became serious. Sun Hunter pulled the bolt of his gun, snorted, and said, “Finally, my big cannon is thirsting for blood!”

In the three Universal Civilizations’ joint conference room, Marbruce, Louis, and the church pope looked at the screen. Their expressions were furious.

Marbruce hit the table heavily and said with a tone filled with dissatisfaction, “Ridiculous! All of our direct members can’t even take down one Black Star. How are we going to deal with the other Beyond Grade As?”

“Their loss has embarrassed the entire civilization! We’ve become stepping stones for Black Star’s reputation!” Louis was furious.

“We can’t really blame them. Black Star is illogically strong.”

The pope frowned tightly. He was very unhappy with Wuornos’ act of admitting defeat, but what was done was done. There was no use in blaming Wuornos now. He was a little bit regretful of forcing Wuornos to leave the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods to participate in this.

Looking at Black Star, who sat in the middle of two sides, the three of them suddenly felt powerless, angry, and frustrated.

In terms of individual strength, they really had no ways of dealing with Black Star. Even the three of them were out of ideas.

“The only way to deal with him now is through armies and war weapons…” Louis looked at the other two with a serious expression. “Once the warning period ends, we’ll start a war instantly. Are you two absolutely sure about this?”

“This day would’ve come sooner or later. I only regret how late we made up our minds to do this. We’ve let the Beyond Grade As roam and grow freely for too long. That’s how they’ve turned into such huge threats,” the pope said slowly.

“We’re already here. There’s no way we’re going to go back on our word.” Marbruce nodded.

“Okay. Pass the order down to your armies at the various locations to execute as planned…”

Before he finished, the sound of an urgent alert from a communicator suddenly rang in the room.

Louis stopped and looked at Marbruce. It came from his communicator.

Marbruce took out the communicator and looked at it. It was an urgent report from the dynasty’s main artificial intelligence, Heroic Soul.

The reports of the various departments were all analyzed by the main artificial intelligence, then given to different departments to take care of depending on their priority level. Given how the main artificial intelligence sent this to him even during his meeting with the other two leaders, it meant that from the main artificial intelligence’s judgement, this message was extremely urgent.

“What report is th… hmm?”

Marbruce’s expression changed drastically the moment he saw the title of the report. He then finished reading it in silence.

He pondered for about half a minute before turning to look at the other two.

“You guys might need to take a look at this…”

On this last day of the warning period, the timer passed in an extremely uneasy atmosphere. Seconds felt like years to all the soldiers present and countless galactic residents watching the broadcast.

As the last moment of the warning period got closer, the fleets of the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association started to fidget. The atmosphere kept getting more and more intense.

In the Black Star Army’s fleet, the tons of army players were filled with anticipation.

“It’s here! It’s here! War!”

“I’ve seen more than enough cutscenes. The main storyline is finally about to begin.”

“For the army!”

The army players could not wait for the two sides to start fighting.

One reason was that they loved to see a chaotic world and hoped to participate in the main storyline. Another reason was that many people saw the comments online too and realized that there were so many people insulting, condemning, and scolding them, the ‘Immortals’.

Of course, many players were quite enraged by that.

However, at the same time, they also had a deeper understanding of the ‘Calamity of the Supers’ mission name, as well as the conflict between the ordinary and the Supers.

As Supers, the players who had a lot of interest in the storyline were exhilarated. They felt like the curtains of the new era were unfolding right in front of their eyes.

“All crews, prepare for combat!” The voice of the commander spread in the battleships. Countless warriors tightened their body and looked at the clock.

In this apprehensive wait, time passed seconds by seconds as it got closer to the end of the warning period. The hearts of the soldiers of both sides and countless galactic residents were all at their throat.

In this extremely intense atmosphere, the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet suddenly moved.

Without any warning, the entire joint fleet suddenly moved back, leaving the conflict area batch by batch.

This stunned the Beyond Grade A Association’s armies and all the galactic residents. They were lost.

The warning period is almost here. Why did the three Universal Civilizations suddenly retreat? Plus, without saying anything?

Didn’t they firmly say they’ll never give in? Why did they go back on their word all of a sudden?

On the quantum network, the comments calling for the three Universal Civilizations to wipe out the association suddenly went silent. As they realized that things did not go as they imagined, they suddenly did not know what to do.

Is it because Black Star defeated all direct Beyond Grade As single-handedly and the three Universal Civilizations are afraid?

It was difficult for them not to think this.

At the same time, a similar speculation also appeared in many people’s minds.

“Could it be that the three Universal Civilizations only wanted to intimidate the association, scare them, and pressure them into compromising to begin with? And once they realized this method is useless against the association, they could not continue the show and retreated like a coward on the last day of the warning period that was claimed by themselves!”

Many galactic residents did not know what to say and felt very complicated.

We all supported you guys in wiping out the Beyond Grade A Association and defusing the source of the instability of the galactic society, yet you guys are afraid?

Although not starting a war was fortunate, many people felt embarrassed. Their all-out support for the three Universal Civilizations now felt like a slap to the face, by the three Universal Civilizations themselves.

Han Xiao was also confused by the three Universal Civilizations’ neat retreat too.

After a bit of hesitation, Han Xiao actively called the dynasty ruler. However, it was not picked up, which made him wonder even more.

“They’re retreating just like that? Doesn’t fit them at all. The three Universal Civilizations shouldn’t be this cowardly… or did something happen?”

A few days ago, at the dynasty’s Science Institute, the team members of the wormhole analysis team all gathered in the activity room, watching the fight between Black Star and Clotti’s group on the screen with worried expressions. In the past few days, they had stopped all projects on hand and focused on the developments of this event. This was closely related to their everyday life.

In the crowd, someone softly whispered, “Looks like a war is going to break out…”

Sighs sounded in the room one after another, filled with worries.

All the researchers present opposed starting a war. One reason was that they were worried that their project would be stopped once again when the war started, meaning they would have nothing to do. Another was because as people with virtue, they intuitively opposed wars. “Only if someone could stop this war…” someone softly mumbled.

Hearing this, the project director’s eyes suddenly gleamed. He clenched his teeth, turned around, walked out of the activity room, and returned to his office.

He searched through the database and brought up a special wormhole detection report that he did not have time to submit lately due to how much attention he paid to the recent events.

“I hope this works…”

The project director swallowed his saliva and modified this report, changing the ‘suspected existence of an unknown advanced civilization’ included in the report conclusion into ‘confirmed existence of an unknown Universal Civilization’.

After doing all this, the project director did not send it to the audit department but directly skipped this procedure and submitted it to the dynasty’s main artificial intelligence’s database. He knew that skipping the fixed procedures would definitely get him into trouble.

“No idea if this will work…” the project director mumbled with a worried expression.

In order to stop the possible universal war that might break out, he was willing to do whatever he could in his power.

He was not sure if this trick would work, but he felt that if everyone only watched and did nothing, no change would come.

Chapter 1309: A Gamble

The three Universal Civilizations’ sudden retreat right before the warning period ended completely shocked the entire galactic civilization. Everyone was lost.

The comments supporting the war on the quantum network disappeared, and all kinds of sarcastic comments started to appear instead.

“Yo, weren’t the three Universal Civilizations unshakably firm? What happened?”

“Tsk, looks like that’s what the three Universal Civilizations are. Their dominance is only an act.”

“Y’all still supporting the war? Why don’t you take a look at how much the three Universal Civilizations care about you people?”

Public opinion shifted once again. Looking at these sarcastic comments, the tons of galactic residents were frustrated but had nothing to say.

These sarcastic comments came not just from some Supers who could finally vent their emotions but also from some organizations that were secretly inciting the public opinion. The Super Star Cluster Alliance had always been keeping a low profile, and once they saw the chance, they immediately jumped out to display their traditional skill, sh*t-stirring.

Compared to the galactic residents, the players were even more dumbfounded.

“Is that it?”

“I watched ten days of cutscenes, and now you’re saying there won’t be a war?”

“What happened to full-out war? Coward!”

Under the fearful sights of the other crews, the many army players yelled, shouted, stomped the floor, and bashed their chests, hating the fact that a war did not break out.

The three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet turned into closely packed streams of hyperdrive lights and retreated hastily. Seeing this, Manison flew out from the fleet, stood beside Han Xiao, and watched the three Universal Civilizations leave.

“That’s weird. They just left without saying anything?” Manison was confused.

Han Xiao caressed his chin and mumbled, “There’s definitely something wrong with this. The three Universal Civilizations did not bring this many forces here just to put up a show to intimidate us. It’s absolutely certain they were really prepared to start a war. However, they are now retreating even when it means they’re going back on their word, knowing this will cause their reputation to plummet. Something huge must have happened.”

“Hmm… or maybe they really got scared?” Manison said, the shook his head, knowing clearly that the possibility of that was extremely low. “Maybe the three Universal Civilizations thought it through and believe that having an all-out war with the association has more cons than pros? So, they changed their mind… Does that mean the strategic goal of leaking the virus technology worked out?”

“No idea. The three Universal Civilizations should give a response to the galactic society, so let’s just see what they have to say. I’ll try to find out some inside information too… or maybe the three Universal Civilizations will actively contact me after some time.”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed.

Hearing this, Manison turned to look at him.

“Do you know something?”

“Just some guesses that can’t be confirmed without enough information.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

At this time, the communicator rang. It was from the communication channel of the Beyond Grade A Association. “Black Star, what’s going on over there? Do the three Universal Civilizations not want to fight anymore?” “What do they mean by this?”

“Are we going to continue our plan?”

As soon as the call was picked up, the many Beyond Grade As started questioning continuously.

The many association members were confused too. They were all mentally prepared for a bloody war, yet their opponents fled at the last second. It felt like they had bought a sports car and were just about to test it when they saw a cop car beside them, leaving them no choice but to suppress their urges.

“Standby for now. We’ll have to see what the three Universal Civilizations are going to do next. But don’t let your guard down. It might be a trick. If they really are going to attack, they might use the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device to launch surprise attacks on key strategic locations directly…”

Han Xiao said a few words, telling the association members to stay on alert, and then hung up the call.

The three Universal Civilizations surrounding the Mechanical Race territory was only a signal; attacking this place was actually not useful at all except for declaring war. He still could not find out what the three Universal Civilizations were planning at this point… Retreating on the surface but charging back later using the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was possible, so he had to consider it.

Seeing that Han Xiao had finished the call, Manison said, “What now? The three Universal Civilizations retreated, so should we dismiss the troops here?”

Han Xiao thought about it but shook his head. “Don’t dismiss them. Shrink the defense circle, and continue to guard the Mechanical Race territory. Only dismiss the troops when the three Universal Civilizations’ joint fleet is confirmed to have left this Star Cluster. I need to make a trip back.”

Manison nodded, flew back to the main ship, and sent down the orders.

Han Xiao changed into the King and disappeared.

Swoosh!

The next second, he returned to a secret army base. This was a hideout for some officers who were not participating in battles.

Some army officers and the many members of the Floating Dragon sat in the room, including Ames who was there in case of anything. They were all watching the news broadcast.

Seeing Han Xiao suddenly appearing, the sights of the various officers all focused on him. The admiration and respect in their eyes were not just a little bit stronger than before; it was as if they were looking at a god.

Ames crossed her legs, leaned slightly forward, and pressed her elbows on her knees and her hands under her chin. She tilted her head slightly, letting her soft hair down, and said with a faint smile and a joking tone, “You’ve been very manly the past few days.” “Don’t you know best how manly I am?” Han Xiao raised his brow.

Ames smiled and said, “You should have a lot of things to deal with. What are you doing here?”

“Just came to take a look and make sure everything’s okay here.”

Han Xiao casually made up an excuse, looked around at the officers, and accurately stopped at Feidin. He immediately smiled, took a few big steps forward, and rubbed him.

With a speechless face, Feidin did not resist at all.

Seeing this, Aesop coughed and said, “You defeated all the three Universal Civilizations’ direct members, and even Wuornos could not defeat you. So, they definitely gave up fighting you with individual strength. I don’t know if this is part of the reason the three Universal Civilizations retreated, but they don’t seem to want to start a war anymore. What are you going to do next?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao said with a serious tone, “I’ll first have to figure out what happened. Anyway, don’t celebrate yet. If I guessed correctly, things might get even worse from now on.”

The ten-day confrontation between the three Universal Civilizations and the association attracted the attention of the entire universe, but not many expected it to end as it did. After the joint fleet retreated, the three Universal Civilizations went completely silent. Not only did they pull back some of the armies they had sent earlier, but they did not even publicly explain the reason for their retreat yet. The public opinions got more and more intense; all kinds of speculations surfaced one after another.

Originally, they all thought this would be the fuse of an all-out war. However, the three Universal Civilizations extinguished this war at the last second, so this confrontation elevated Black Star’s reputation. He was now firmly recognized as the strongest Beyond Grade A. If one had to define who the winner was, only Black Star could be considered.

Some were glad that a war did not break out; some furiously condemned the three Universal Civilizations for being cowards; some laughed at the galactic residents for thinking their opinions actually mattered. There were all kinds of opinions, but they all shared one thing in common. They were all curious as to what made the three Universal Civilizations choose to take a step back.

Due to the three Universal Civilizations’ silence, no one knew the answer to this question. Even the Beyond Grade A Association did not make an announcement; they were watching silently too. Countless people were intrigued.

The three Universal Civilizations’ Joint Conference Room…

“… We’ve already checked the authenticity of this report multiple times. Through the wormhole detection needles, we did indeed discover signs of activity of an unknown civilization. The data itself is completely legit. Only the conclusion is not fully definitive.”

The remote projection of the dynasty’s upper echelon in charge of the scientific research stood in front of the three leaders and reported with a serious tone.

“So, we can’t confirm that this unknown civilization is a Universal Civilization for the time being?” Marbruce confirmed.

“That… is right. However, they definitely are an advanced civilization. The extensive data collected by the multifunctional spacetime detection needles we have been frequently sending over proves their advanced technology level.”

“… Got it. Continue to collect data while keeping yourselves hidden. I need to know the details of this civilization.”

After a few more words, Marbruce ended the communication. The other two civilizations’ leaders and him were the only ones left in the room.

“Looks like our decision to retreat back then was correct,” the pope said with a deep voice.

“Hmm, or we’d be beleaguered by now. This report came way too timely,” Louis added, a little relieved.

On the last day of the confrontation, they were originally going to strike as planned, but this wormhole report from the dynasty’s Science Institute had shaken their decision.

The three Universal Civilizations had always been exploring the unknown areas of the universe; this wormhole report claimed to have discovered an unknown Universal Civilization, which would be an enormous threat if true.

In this respect, the three Universal Civilizations were very experienced. Once an outside enemy appeared, they had to carefully deal with internal conflicts. This was clearly not a good time to deal with the unbalance of individual strength.

Back then, there was not a lot of time for the three of them to discuss matters. In the end, they decided not to take the risk. They stopped their plan and chose to step back from the association. In turn, they spent tons of resources authenticating this wormhole report. They knew their priorities.

This set of wormhole data was one of the things EsGod had left behind. As EsGod had been sealed for many years, it had become an unimportant project long ago. However, with this astonishing discovery, it became a top-priority project. Its progress was directly monitored by the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders.

The final results were, although the conclusion of this wormhole report was slightly exaggerated, the data was completely legit. An unknown advanced civilization was indeed discovered, only it was not confirmed to be a Universal Civilization.

If it was true… this would be a priceless ‘exaggerated’ conclusion. Marbruce knocked the table and slowly said, “The priority now is to collect information about this unknown civilization and confirm their strength, societal structure, attitude toward outsiders, and so on. Everything else can be put aside for now.”

Louis and the pope nodded.

The three Universal Civilizations had a strategic plan for this kind of situation. No way were they going to directly make contact or start a war. Once they discovered an advanced civilization in the unexplored universe, their top priority was to carefully collect intelligence without exposing their presence. Afterward, only then would they choose different approaches depending on the strength, culture, and many other factors of this civilization.

Although the explored universe had entered the galactic society era, from the entire unexplored universe’s perspective, it was still in the ‘exploration era’. Discovering the enemy before being discovered was an enormous advantage, so of course, they were going to use it to its fullest potential. “Don’t forget to carry out measures against all possible scenarios before exploring further,” the pope said.

“I know.” Marbruce nodded.

The measures the three of them were speaking of were mainly preparing for war, as well as preparing to send strategic annihilation weapons toward this unknown civilization’s territory through the wormhole. In extreme situations, they would not mind directly destroying its territory, turning it into a desolate universe belt, wiping out all lives of this unknown civilization, not showing any mercy at all.

“This matter is extremely important. If a war really breaks out, the Beyond Grade A Association will be a powerful force too. Should we tell them about it now?”

Louis brought up this sensitive question and asked the two of them for their opinions.

Though the existence of Beyond Grade As threatened their rule, they were also a powerful force against outside enemies. Since the situation had changed, their mindset changed too. There was no such thing as an eternal enemy in their eyes.

The pope pondered for a moment, waved, and expressed his opinion.

“Let’s just be cautious. We haven’t figured out the state of this unknown civilization; there’s no need to tell it to the association now. Think about it. If we can coexist with this unknown civilization that happens to be a Universal Civilization, once they take in the galactic society system, the association will have another choice of becoming allies with them, which will impact the structure of the galaxy… We can’t guarantee the association’s loyalty, so we should keep it a secret for the time being.”

“Make sense.” Marbruce nodded. “Let’s not announce this publicly for now. We’ll secretly investigate the situation, then consider whether or not to publicize it depending on the situation. It won’t be too late to tell the association about it when we need their help.”

From the way the three of them looked at it, there was clearly no need to immediately tell the other organizations about this for now. They were all unstable factors, and who knew what trouble they would cause?

“Since that’s the case, let’s put aside our conflict with the association first,” Louis suggested. “Calm these Beyond Grade As down, don’t let them cause any trouble, and make peace with them temporarily… This is their goal too. Find a reason to agree with their goal, relay our intention of stopping the conflict, and make the association think we decided to compromise.”

The other two nodded in agreement. Although they could not deal with the association, as long as the Beyond Grade As did not cause troubles, it was enough for them.

At this time, Marbruce suddenly thought of something

If I remember correctly, Black Star has this set of wormhole data left behind by EsGod too. I seem to recall he even specifically asked the dynasty about our progress of studying this set of data…

Now that I think about it, does Black Star know something?

As this thought flashed past his mind, Marbruce shook his head.

He felt the possibility of this was very limited. Compared to asking Black Star, it was better to obtain intelligence through investigating themselves.

Furthermore, they had just agreed not to leak this secret to the outside world. Therefore, even if Black Star might know something about it, he did not plan to ask him. After all, Black Star was the leader of the organization opposing the three Universal Civilizations for now, so they were no longer allies.

In a certain Black Star Army base, an enormous star map hovered in the room. On it were marks of the movements of the three Universal Civilizations’ various armies, drawing out many arrows.

Han Xiao stood before the star map and carefully looked at it.

Quite some days had already passed since the three Universal Civilizations retreated from the Mechanical Race territory. In the past few days, the three Universal Civilizations’ armies’ movements had been very abnormal. Originally, they were stationed at the various Star Fields, prepared to deal with the Beyond Grade A Association at any time. However, now, they were all recalled back to the Central Galaxy, as if they had no intention of starting a war at all.

If that was all, he would not be so troubled. The weirdest part was that the three Universal Civilizations had remained silent all this time, neither making any announcement nor contacting him to relay their intentions. It was extremely odd, as if they had no time to deal with him.

He had been trying to find out what was going on behind the curtains. However, the three Universal Civilizations kept their secret extremely well hidden this time, and he did not discover anything at all. “Did I really guess right?” Han Xiao murmured.

What could make the three Universal Civilizations change their decision last minute?

At this point in time, there were not many possible scenarios. However, the butterfly effects he caused had changed countless things. One of them was that EsGod had given the dynasty the key toward the World Tree Civilization’s territory long ago, which was an unstable factor.

From his perspective, the most likely situation was that the three Universal Civilizations had discovered the World Tree Civilization. Due to the existence of an external enemy, the three Universal Civilizations retreated so quickly without any warning.

“If that’s really the case, the three Universal Civilizations will definitely investigate the wormhole thoroughly. They might tell me about it, but they might also keep it a secret… Given the three Universal Civilizations’ way of doing things and my current position, the latter is more likely.”

Han Xiao frowned, bit his nails, and did not feel good about this.

If the three Universal Civilizations chose to keep it a secret and secretly explored further, given how ignorant they were about the World Tree Civilization, the risk of them being exposed was extremely high. If making contact was already unavoidably brought forward, him continuing to hide the information about the World Tree would increase the risks. Now might be the best time to share what he knew.

However, he might have guessed wrong. If the three Universal Civilizations retreated not because they discovered the World Tree Civilization, it would be horrible.

“So, this is a gamble. It all depends on whether I’m willing to take the risk…”

Han Xiao’s expression changed rapidly.

Di di di…

At this time, his communicator rang.

He took it out. It was surprisingly a call from a dynasty emissary.

“Greetings, Your Excellency Black Star.”

As soon as the communication was picked up, the dynasty emissary nodded in a friendly way, looking quite respectful.

Han Xiao sized him up and cut to the chase. “Finally decided to explain what you guys did?”

“That’s humorous of you. I’m here to negotiate with you on behalf of the three Universal Civilizations this time. We are willing to accept the association’s proposal. We will allow you to restrain the Virtual Mutiny Virus technology on your own…”

The dynasty emissary said a ton of things. At its core, what he meant was that the three Universal Civilizations were willing to take a step back. They no longer required Manison to submit the virus technology and trusted the association’s integrity, allowing it to control this kind of high-risk technology. In short, they would no longer interfere.

“Oh?” Han Xiao raised his brows. “Since you guys have accepted that the association’s promise is effective, you’re recognizing the association’s correctness. What about the trade laws against the association?”

“They won’t be removed for the time being, but it can be discussed.” The dynasty emissary smiled.

Looking at his emotionless smile, Han Xiao acutely sensed the strange attitude of the three Universal Civilizations. He was filled with conflict.

His intuition felt stronger. He felt he might really have guessed the truth.

After a few seconds of silence, Han Xiao took a deep breath.

I’ll take the bet!

As he made up his mind, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and slowly said, “I’ve received your message. Please relay this message to Marbruce.”

“What is it?”

“… From how strangely you guys are acting, it looks like you guys have finally deciphered the wormhole data left by EsGod, right?”

Chapter 1310: Truth

Chapter 1310 Truth

One hour later, Han Xiao’s remote projection entered the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders’ joint conference room, and he immediately saw three old men staring dead at him with grave faces.

“Yo, you’re all here.”

Han Xiao was not in a hurry at all and greeted them casually. This was the first time he had been called into a meeting like this since the two sides’ relationship reached the freezing point.

“Black Star! What the hell do you know!”

Marbruce was in no mood to chitchat at all and cut to the chase.

An hour ago, when the three of them were waiting for the dynasty emissary to report Black Star’s stand toward the three Universal Civilizations’ proposal of peace to see if they could calm the association down, to their absolute dismay, what they received was the news that Black Star shockingly immediately called out the secret of the wormhole.

The three of them were all completely dumbfounded.

Where did Black Star find out about the fact that they had decrypted the secret of the wormhole? Who leaked the information? Was there a mole?

If not, how did Black Star find out? Did he know about the wormhole data’s secret all along?

There were so many unanswered questions!

Marbruce, Louis, and the pope were anxious.

Since Black Star had specifically told the emissary to relay this message to them, it did not matter how he got such surprising information. The matter was of the utmost importance and had to be taken extremely seriously. The three of them held an emergency meeting where they decided to speak to Black Star, hence this meeting.

“I know lots of things.”

Han Xiao looked around and deliberately gave them a meaningful expression while feeling relaxed inside.

He was also unsure what was going on, so he did not directly reveal the World Tree Civilization’s name but instead pointed it out ambiguously.

Nonetheless, since he had been called to this meeting, Han Xiao knew he had won the bet and indeed guessed the truth. He was glad he did not make things worse.

“You mentioned the wormhole data left by EsGod. How much do you know about it?” Louis asked with a deep voice.

Han Xiao arranged his emotions, glanced at him, and said casually, “You guys discovered a civilization on the other side of the wormhole, right?”

The three of them exchanged looks with extremely serious expressions.

Marbruce frowned and asked, “Where did you get that information from?”

“I know what you guys want to ask me…” Han Xiao raised his brows. “No, I didn’t steal your internal information.”

Hearing this, their expressions became even more grave.

By saying that his source of information did not come from the three Universal Civilizations, Black Star was basically saying that he had uncovered the wormhole’s secret long ago and had information about it the three of them did not possess.

Marbruce took a deep breath, put down his pride, and said solemnly with even a slightly respectful tone, “I’m sure you know the nature of this matter. We hope you can tell us the truth. This is absolutely crucial to the entire universe.”

“Sure.” Han Xiao nodded. Since this had happened, there was no point hiding what he knew. It was time to tell them the truth. He had to make sure that the three Universal Civilizations were aware of how dangerous the World Tree was.

“… This wormhole leads to the territory of a civilization called the World Tree Civilization. That’s an extremely powerful civilization that loves war and expanding their territory. Decades ago, due to some reasons, EsGod sent a doppelganger to attack me, which led to his doppelganger falling into a wormhole and coincidentally discovering the World Tree Civilization. After that, EsGod sent his men to steal this wormhole data to figure out a way to pinpoint the World Tree Civilization’s coordinates. Some things happened, and I became the only person who knows about this…”

Of course, Han Xiao hid the fact that some of this information came from his previous life and described the matter in another way, emphasizing how powerful the World Tree Civilization was. He basically shared almost everything he knew about the World Tree Civilization.

The three of them listened till the end with frowns on their faces, full of doubts.

Marbruce asked, “Did EsGod tell you all this? Putting aside why EsGod told only you about this, why do you know this much about the World Tree Civilization? This is far from what EsGod could’ve found out in one trip.”

“I understand your doubts.” Han Xiao nodded. This was not a matter to be taken lightly. If he made EsGod the reason for everything, all they had to do was question EsGod, and his lies would be discovered.

Without an incomparably solid source of information, there was no way the three Universal Civilizations were going to believe all this.

However, he had come up with a reason long ago that just so happened to explain why he knew so much about the World Tree Civilization.

“Actually… I have something left behind by a certain civilization that was wiped out by the World Tree Civilization. It contains a ton of information. What I know about the World Tree Civilization mostly comes from that.”

As he said that, Han Xiao summoned the remote projection of SWY-001 and displayed the information he had prepared beforehand on the screen.

The expressions on their faces changed as they hastily browsed the information. The more they looked at it, the more shocked they became.

SWY-001’s memory module recorded the tragic state of the Karma Republic when it was being invaded as well as the World Tree Civilization’s unique and extremely strong way of war. Furthermore, it also showed that the World Tree Civilization was a Universal Civilization that was almost impossible to coexist with. Everything proved that what Han Xiao said was true.

Without this big treasure, even if Han Xiao could explain the source of this information, it would not be convincing enough.

Man did this thing come at a good time… Han Xiao thought in his mind.

There was nothing he could say but… Damn, Feidin!

The three of them spent some time reading all the information, and shock still lingered in their eyes.

“Devouring everything in their way, the World Tree Civilization is really the enemy of all intelligent civilizations. To think there’s such a hunter like this in the universe…” Louis mumbled. “Luckily, we sealed EsGod long ago. If he’d led the World Tree Civilization here…”

Suddenly, before he finished his sentence, his expression froze.

At this moment, Marbruce recalled that sealing EsGod up was something Black Star strongly proposed and made happen. The fact that they were still not discovered by the World Tree now was all thanks to Black Star.

Back then, Black Star insisted on sealing EsGod up no matter what. Was he already secretly trying to protect the explored universe from being invaded?

Marbruce’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up at Han Xiao and could not help but ask, “Was this the reason you insisted on asking us to capture EsGod back then?”

Han Xiao tutted and asked back, “Why else would I? You really think I had so much hatred against him that I had to kill him?”

Marbruce’s expression changed slightly. He looked at Han Xiao and could not help but feel a bit of admiration and appreciation toward him. The doubt in his heart instantly lessened.

If not for Black Star, this galactic society would have already been invaded. Technically speaking, the entire universe owed him a favor.

However, Black Star did not share this at all and silently hid this honorable achievement, letting it collect dust in history. No one knew about this colossal contribution he made.

How noble!

Han Xiao’s image immediately got taller in Marbruce’s heart.

Suddenly, the pope said, “Black Star, since you knew about the threat of the World Tree Civilization and had all this information long ago, why didn’t you share it till now?”

Han Xiao shook his head.

“I know you guys all too well. If you guys had found out there is a powerful unknown civilization in the unexplored universe, would you guys ignore its existence? Sharing it with you would only lead to making contact even earlier. It was best to keep this a secret. In fact, if not because you guys had made results studying the wormhole data, I wouldn’t have said all this even now.”

The three of them had nothing to say.

Indeed, even if they did not know about it, if they found out the threat of the World Tree, the three of them were fully certain there was absolutely no way they were going to simply ignore it. They would definitely want to strike first and attempt to take the World Tree Civilization by surprise; never would they have acted the same way they were now.

Attempting to find out more about the World Tree would mean they would be at risk of being exposed too. Despite that, based on their positions, striking first was a certainty. Otherwise, they would simply be relying on fate and waiting to be attacked.

Being aware of such a powerful enemy existing in the unknown universe would make the three of them sleepless, worrying about one day being discovered and invaded every second. That would be no way of living, so of course, actively erasing this threat was more in line with the three Universal Civilizations’ needs.

If both sides were unaware of each other’s existence, they could still coexist like two parallel lines. However, once one discovered the other, the two sides would rapidly collided

“I have to admit that makes sense…” Louis sighed. “But isn’t that betting on the enemies not discovering us first too?”

Han Xiao shook his head and did not reply.

He was confident in this because he knew exactly when the World Tree would be invading, only there was no need to explain that. Plus, it would neither be easy to explain nor be convincing enough.

At this time, the pope frowned and said, “But how can we be certain that the information from this object is true and not made up?”

“Are you doubting me?” Han Xiao glanced at him.

“I’m just being careful. It’s not personal.” The pope waved his hand.

Louis thought about it and added, “Indeed, the source of your information is very convincing, but its authenticity is still unclear… We’re not doubting you, but we can’t fully trust this information. Although it looks very real, who knows if this information was made up in the first place? We can’t just assume…”

“Black Star, we’ll carefully refer to this information you have provided, but we’ll still have to see the results of our reconnaissance,” Marbruce said.

Damn, you three are troublesome!

Han Xiao curled his lips but was not surprised.

It was normal for the three Universal Civilizations to be careful from their perspective. After all, there was indeed the possibility of this information being made up, just like what happened to the Kunde Race. Who knew if this information might be ‘bait’ too?

Han Xiao caressed his chin and slowly said, “This civilization relic still has vital signs. It’s only asleep. If we wake it up, we should be able to get more information.”

He had a mission on him to awaken SWY-001, but he did not complete it all this time because he did not want to deal with the possible trouble. However, now that he was sure that the three Universal Civilizations had made contact with the World Tree in advance, he no longer minded waking up SWY-001. Instead, it might even be helpful to do it.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you then. This is very important… By the way, you’ll help us, right?”

Marbruce nodded. He suddenly paused and realized that the association and them were still on opposite sides.

The other two realized this too and looked a little uncomfortable.

The situation had changed, and they needed the association now. However, not long ago, they were attempting to wipe the association out, yet now they were asking for their help. The three of them felt awkward and even slightly embarrassed.

However, the three of them only felt awkward for a few seconds before quickly adjusting their mood, looking at Han Xiao with passionate eyes.

Han Xiao glanced at the three of them and smiled.

“The World Tree Civilization can’t coexist with us. We’re all on the same boat here, so working together is the only choice.”

“… It’s great you can understand that.”

The three of them felt relieved. They needed to unite all forces at this point, and they were really afraid the association might do something irrational.

Seeing that Black Star easily looked past their conflict, the three of them could not help but think back to their conflict with the association in the past years. They felt complicated.

Black Star had always been trying to reach a balance and peaceful coexistence; never did he trigger any conflict.

In the past, the three of them thought the association was delaying the time to accumulate more strength. However, in hindsight, the three of them shockingly realized there seemed to be another explanation to Black Star’s actions… Was he trying to save the explored universe’s forces?

Due to many reasons, the three of them kept oppressing and targeting the association, and Black Star had been trying to maintain a fragile balance. While the three of them were busy dealing with internal problems, Black Star was very likely making preparations against the external enemy, the World Tree Civilization.

Unfortunately, the leakage of the Virtual Mutiny Virus had led them to make up their minds on starting a full-blown war…

“We almost walked down a path with no return!”

Appalled, their backs were covered in cold sweat. They were glad.

Luckily, they stepped back at the last minute. If they had started a war, Black Star’s efforts to maintain the explored universe’s forces would have been wasted.

Having thought of this, the three of them looked at Han Xiao again with very complicated emotions in their eyes. There was shame and regret, as well as appreciation and admiration.

We misunderstood him…

Knowing Black Star’s real motive, it was as if this was the first time they had met him.

Black Star’s image became alive in their minds. It was as if the three of them saw the back of a man walking alone in the world, carrying heavy responsibilities no one knew about, attempting to defuse conflicts, yet no one understood his true motives…

Black Star… your contributions to this universe have been more than noble.This thought flashed past Marbruce’s mind, along with the same thought Urranrell once had.

If only Black Star was a direct member of the dynasty…

The problems they had with Black Star evaporated. At this point, the three of them knew that continuing their internal conflict was idiotic. They knew that Black Star had already displayed his compassion; it was time they showed theirs.

The three of them looked at each other and understood what one another meant. They slowly nodded.

Marbruce coughed, looked at Han Xiao seriously, and said with a solemn tone, “Black Star, on behalf of the three Universal Civilizations, I officially invite you to be the Special Safety Consultant again. What do you say?”

Chapter 1311: Negotiation and the New Stage

Looking at the solemn expressions of the three of them, Han Xiao raised his hand and shook his index finger.

“You don’t want to?” Marbruce’s expression became nervous.

“No, I mean it’s… not enough.”

Han Xiao looked calm but tutted in his mind.

You guys really are incomparable in terms of being shameless. Only not long ago you were still targeting the Beyond Grade As with all your forces, now you changed your attitude right away and want to work with us? Although your motive is right, do you guys think the Beyond Grade As are tools at your disposal anytime?

Ever since the new law was made, the association had suffered severe losses. Even though they were on the same boat now, since the World Tree had yet to attack, there was no way the association was going to help the three Universal Civilizations without anything in return.

Considering the association members’ interests was part of his duty too; he was not going to let the three Universal Civilizations ‘morally kidnap’ him.

“What’s your suggestion then?”

The three of them narrowed their eyes and leaned forward slightly.

No matter how much they admired Han Xiao’s contribution, when it came to matters like this, they were not going to agree to everything Han Xiao said.

Maybe, with respect to the fact that they were on the same boat and that Black Star actively shared the information about the World Tree, they could consider compromising. However, if the terms were too over the line, the three of them were still not going to agree with it. Han Xiao nodded and said, “Though we’re working together for the big picture’s sake, I hope you can understand that I’m the association’s president, which means I have to give my members an explanation… The trade sanctions have caused severe losses for the Beyond Grade A members of the association, so firstly, they have to go. Furthermore, their losses have to be made up for. What do you guys think?”.

“Sure.” The three of them nodded. This was already within their expectations.

Han Xiao then continued, “Also, the association requires compensation for the time wasted and the emotional damage caused, in the form of resources. In our future partnership, the three Universal Civilizations will also have to continue providing us with resources. Although we have a common enemy, you guys are the rulers of the explored universe, which means we’re protecting your territories for you. We won’t be working for free.”

The three of them pondered for a moment and agreed as well. “That’s not a problem. The exact numbers can be discussed.”

Han Xiao paused before slowly saying, “Lastly, the three Universal Civilizations have to approve the Beyond Grade A association’s authority. It shall no longer be a civilian organization but an official Super organization. This means that our independence and the sanctity of our territory will be recognized. We’ll be allowed to openly share all Super knowledges, and our political position will be on the same level as the advanced civilizations, having the same rights. All of this will also be written into galactical law… Furthermore, at the edge of the explored universe, the association shall be given a territory, of which it has the full rights of governing.”

Hearing this, the three of them frowned in their minds.

One of the most crucial reasons they could openly suppress the Beyond Grade A Association was that it was still a civilian organization that was not protected by galactical law, including the Peace Treaty. Never had any civilian organization been treated the same way as advanced civilizations, not even the powerful Beyond Grade A organizations. This request meant they had to make the first exception in history.

Plus, this was not just a verbal agreement but had to be added into the laws. By doing this, the Beyond Grade A Association would be attempting to become the true authorized and official Super Organization. Once they approved that, the association’s rocketing reputation would be able to almost monopolize all the Supers. Plus, if the association was protected by the law, tons of methods they could use against them before would no longer be effective. It would be very troublesome.

At the same time, by asking for a territory it had the full rights to govern, it would almost be like forming a civilization on its own. Furthermore, asking for it to be located at the edge of the explored universe was most likely because it would allow the association to retreat away anytime, preventing the possible cleansing that might happen again in the future.

Han Xiao waited for a while. Seeing that the three of them looked like they were contemplating, he tutted and added, “Don’t take it the wrong way. This is a request made with the association’s safety in mind. I believe the three Universal Civilizations are willing to satisfy the association’s wish of keeping itself safe, right?” The three of them exchanged looks and quickly exchanged opinions in their private channel.

After not long, Marbruce tapped the table and said, “If the information regarding the World Tree is true, we’ll agree with this condition. At the same time, if a war against them breaks out, the association will need to contribute all of its forces. We’ll confirm the detailed terms later.”

“Good then. When you guys fulfil your side of the agreement, we’ll have more bases to work together.”

Han Xiao nodded. He was crystal clear in his mind that this was an exchange of interests and gamble of risks.

Even with the knowledge of an exterior enemy existing, life had to go on. The three Universal Civilizations would undoubtedly plan for what to do after the exterior enemy was banished. Then, they would still have to solve the problem of too many Beyond Grade As existing. Agreeing with this term would make their future cleansing plans tougher.

However, due to the pressure of an exterior enemy, the three Universal Civilizations had no choice but to compromise to a certain extent. If they disagreed with this request, their motive would be too obvious. Even if the association still worked with them, they would not be trusted. This request was one they could not reject despite knowing the consequences.

Furthermore, it was completely unexpected for Black Star to know about this, which disrupted their plans. Satisfying Black Star was even more important than keeping the association steady.

The three of them pondered for some time and agreed in the end. Other than this being a compromise, they were also betting on another possibility-rather than doing the cleansing themselves, they were hoping for the exterior enemy to reduce the number of Beyond Grade As. This was a more suitable path.

The Beyond Grade A Association suffering heavy casualties in the war against the exterior enemy was the most ideal result for them, much better than internal conflicts. Not only would it temporarily solve the problem of individual strength being out of balance, but it would also get the most value of these Beyond Grade As’ deaths. This way, the side effects of agreeing with Black Star’s request would be reduced. They would have more than enough time to consider what to do before the individual strength in the universe next went out of balance.

Han Xiao knew what the three Universal Civilizations were thinking too, but causing heavy casualties to the Beyond Grade A Association was also one of his goals.

The core reason for that was that Sanctum Revival could be carried out an infinite number of times. He claimed it was a one-time thing; when he exposed the truth, only then would his goal of making the three Universal Civilizations fearful be achieved.

In order for the Beyond Grade As to die, there were only two ways-internal conflict and external war. It was not he could make them collectively commit suicide.

Comparatively, of course, fighting an exterior war would maximize the profits. No keys would be wasted, no internal losses would be incurred, and the effects of the Sanctum Revival could be shown.

The three Universal Civilizations only had to see the effects of the Sanctum Revival to know just how important and extremely threatening it was to them. He intended on fighting the World Tree Civilization and intimidating the three Universal Civilizations at the same time, killing two birds with one stone.

Also, he planned to add some Sanctum key materials in the compensation list. Given the rich inventory of the three Universal Civilizations, they definitely had them.

This was basically the equivalent of using their raw materials to make ‘weapons’ that would be used against them, which was nice.

Making contact with the World Tree was already a certainty, so Han Xiao changed his plan to maximize the profits. Of course, the three of them did not know that; they probably still mistakenly thought he was ensuring their safety. With varied plans in their minds, the two sides reached a temporary agreement.

“Also, about the World Tree Civilization, don’t announce it yet. The fewer people who know about it, the better, or it would cause chaos,” Marbruce said.

“I know, of course.” Han Xiao nodded. In the World Tree war in his previous life, the ones who fought were only the advanced civilizations, the armed force, and the Supers. The civilians were all protected and had limited use. It was not the time to announce it publicly yet; the public knowing about it would only add trouble.

Han Xiao paused. “By the way, since you guys invited me to be the Special Safety Consultant, I’ll have to monitor this matter too. I’ll need you guys to share your exploration report of the World Tree Civilization.”

“No problem.”

Marbruce agreed very quickly this time. After all, they had even less information than Black Star.

Han Xiao received the research report of the wormhole data from the dynasty’s Science Institute right away and started reading it on the spot.

He agreed to come back to being the Special Safety Consultant because he wanted to monitor the three Universal Civilizations’ exploration progress and acquire firsthand information. Currently, he was the only outsider who had the right to interfere with the three Universal Civilizations’ exploration of the World Tree Civilization.

Quickly looking through it, Han Xiao’s eyes locked onto the first report. On the ‘Confirmed existence of a Universal Civilization’ conclusion, there was a question mark beside. He then looked back at the data and realized that this conclusion was not really accurate.

“Hmm? What’s with the researcher who wrote this conclusion? This data isn’t sufficient to prove it’s a Universal Civilization. Though he guessed it right, it’s too assumptive.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Which is why I fired him. It’s too careless.” Marbruce nodded.

Han Xiao had a guess.

Did this guy do it on purpose? He sighed in his mind. Even insignificant people can change the world.

Han Xiao arranged his emotions and jokingly said, “No matter what, that guy made a huge contribution. Don’t wrong him.”

Marbruce glanced at him and did not reply.

Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled, skipped this topic, and got back to business.

“Based on the current progress, I have a few suggestions…”

This meeting lasted many hours. After achieving the ‘remain in close contact’ agreement, only then did Han Xiao deactivate the remote projection.

As Han Xiao’s sight returned to his office, he exhaled deeply, rubbed his cheeks, and mumbled, “Luckily, at least the internal war has been avoided for the time being…”

He knew the three Universal Civilizations were certainly not going to completely let go of their hostility toward the Beyond Grade As. However, at this point, they surely knew their priorities. As long as an agreement was made, they would forget yesterday’s matters and make up. As long as there was a need, the relationship between the two sides did not matter, and an exterior threat was exactly what created that need.

The two sides did not turn from enemies to friends, only temporary partners at most, working together to solve the main and shared problem.

From today onward, we’ll step into a new stage of fighting the exterior enemy together. It’s time to prepare for war against the World Tree Civilization.

This matter had been troubling him for close to a century, and it was finally time to face it

Chapter 1312: Awaken

One day later, on Planet Apostle, Han Xiao and Aurora walked into the research lab, stopped before SWY-001, and looked up at this enormous mechanical body.

Aurora turned and looked at Han Xiao. “Are you sure about waking this big guy up?”

“Hmm.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Why the sudden change of mind?” Aurora asked.

“I’ve already finished studying it. There’s nothing valuable left in it. It’s time to wake it up and see if we can communicate.”

Han Xiao made up a random reason.

“Alright then, whatever you say.” Aurora rubbed her hands and said with anticipation, “Shall I start now?”

Han Xiao nodded, snapped his finger, and Mechanical Force flowed out. Mechanical soldiers appeared one after another, holding their weapons up in battle stances. At the same time, all the devices used to restrict SWY-001’s movements also started to operate at maximum power output. Seeing this, Aurora extended her arms with her palms up; life energy appeared and flowed into SWY-001. In her senses, SWY-001’s almost extinguished tinder of life started to quickly come alive.

Even without the life energy Esper ability, Han Xiao could sense an enormous energy presence slowly awakening. In his senses, SWY-001’s cells started generating Mechanical Force, and the countless slumbering mechanical modules inside its body gradually started to operate.

SWY-001’s broken mechanical body started regenerating at a visible speed. The mechanical devices used to restrain him started to break down as if they were going to become materials for SWY-001 to recover its own body.

Ka la ka la…

Mechanical parts awakening could be heard in SWY-001’s body. The core reactor activated along with a deep and weird roar, like the sound of a beast awakening.

Aurora cautiously moved back a bit while Han Xiao moved forward and stood in front of her, staring closely at the various parameter changes SWY-001 was going through during the awakening

Suddenly, an enormous Mechanical Force exploded on the mechanical body and instantly flowed through its entire body. SWY-001’s eyelids flickered, and its eyes slowly opened. There was no color in its eyes, as if it had slept for too long and its mind was blurry, trying to recall who it was.

After staying frozen for a very long time, it finally recalibrated its consciousness and started moving its body. SWY-001 looked around, looked down at Han Xiao who was also giving off a powerful energy presence, opened its mouth, and sent out deafening sound waves as if it was speaking.

“What is he saying?” Aurora asked. Without even turning around, Han Xiao casually explained, “This is the language of his civilization. He’s asking who we are and where this place is.”

He obtained a lot of information from SWY-001’s memory file, which naturally included the various languages of the Karma Republic.

Han Xiao was relieved about this too. Luckily, SWY-001’s consciousness was still intact. Otherwise, he probably would have had no choice but to use the Sanctums.

As he was just about to speak with SWY-001, a change suddenly occurred.

Boom!

Boundless Mechanical Force exploded. The restraining devices instantly shattered and were devoured by SWY-001. Its enormous mechanical body dashed like a giant beast, instantly shattering the wall of the lab and backing away. At the same time, the shattered parts rapidly turned into all kinds of weapon modules that attached to its body and started firing at Han Xiao.

Beams shot out one after another at Han Xiao. Without even moving, the mechanical troops around him summoned shields and blocked the attacks.

“He’s running away.” “It’s normal given he’s just woken up. Plus, he can’t run,” Han Xiao said casually. The last thing SWY-001 remembered was being defeated by the World Tree Civilization, so he probably thought he had been captured by them.

Having expected this possibility, Han Xiao had disassembled SWY-001’s many weapon modules long ago and stationed tons of mechanical life soldiers nearby.

The two of them entered space through the hole SWY-001 created and immediately saw what seemed to be an infinite number of mechanical troops surrounding this SWY-001 in the middle, who was about to attempt to escape. At this time, dozens of Apostle Weapons suddenly stepped forward. Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force landed on their bodies from some distance away, and these Apostle Weapons charged toward SWY-001, quickly gaining the upper hand.

After the fight with the three Universal Civilizations ended, Han Xiao had the Dimension Factory repair damaged soldiers every hour of the day, prioritizing the Apostle Weapons. The Apostle Weapons had almost fully recovered.

With the muscles on his body bulking, blood gushed out, weaving into flesh. The mechanical soldiers around swarmed toward him, and the evolved version of the Mechanical Deity instantly appeared.

He did not hold back and charged forward, pouncing at SWY-001 and beating him up fiercely. It was like two gigantic mechanical beasts fighting.

Han Xiao had the upper hand in all of his attributes, while SWY-001’s modules were disassembled, and it was far from its peak state. It was completely overwhelmed and no match for Han Xiao.

Since he fought the direct members of the three Universal Civilizations, Han Xiao had concluded the missions from then and received 520 billion EXP, eight Character Summon Cards, and six new skills.

Among them, two were normal talents, two were high-level talents, one was a rare ability, and one was a Molding Talent, which came from Wuornos. The Molding Talent’s name was (Divinity Enhancement). The effects increased the strength of some of his abilities and tremendously enhanced the bonuses of the various God’s Trait Transformation levels while enhancing the bonuses of talents related to religion, including (Key of Adeptus Mechanicus).

These missions also brought him three Universe Legendary Points. They were [Strongest Beyond Grade A), (Creator of the Most Legendary Battle), and (The Three Universal Civilizations’ Source of Fear).

Other than that, he also completed Manison’s request mission by forcing the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet to retreat, so he got one of Manison’s skills too. It seemed like all the luck from Feidin was concentrated into this draw. He once again obtained one of old Manison’s Unique Talents. Its name was (Ultimate Mechanical Force-Manison). It enhanced the Mechanical Force itself, tremendously increasing his Machinery Affinity and the strength of his Mechanical Force. It also increased the attributes of his Mechanical Force and his maximum energy.

Though the talent was great, having already obtained three of Manison’s Unique Talents, he felt more and more like the Mechanic Emperor himself.

All these bonuses gave him a total 2,740-Ona increase in his Energy Rank. Bringing his Energy Rank up by such a considerable amount even at his current level, the impact on his combat capability was visible. Compared to back then, he was much stronger. The battle with the three Universal Civilizations became the nutrients for his growth.

Peak-state Han Xiao versus SWY-001, who did not even have a complete body—there was no suspense to the battle at all. The best method of convincing someone was usually with his fists. After a beating, SWY-001 was finally forced to speak calmly.

While beating SWY-001 up, Han Xiao sent messages at the same time to explain the current situation.

“Stop resisting. This is not the World Tree Civilization; we’re another advanced civilization. You dropped into our territory and were found by me…”

After explaining repeatedly, along with the very convincing fists of his, SWY-001 finally stopped resisting and communicated back, though still doubtful.

In the quantum network, the data exchange between the two parties was completed in a blink of the eye. SWY-001 knew that Han Xiao had looked at his memory module, and he also saw some information about the galactic society. He believed Han Xiao for the most part but still said in a panicky tone, “I can’t stay here. My civilization is waiting for me…”

His voice was like a mixture of the voices of countless people, strangely ethereal. His memories remained at when he was attacked and collapsed, so did not see the Karma Republic destroyed.

Han Xiao shook his head and said, “I’ve tested your age. You’ve already drifted in the universe for a very long time. In the terms of our time, what happened to your civilization was 600 years ago. Your civilization is long gone.”

SWY-001 froze as if he was lost.

Protecting his civilization till his death was the top priority written into him, as well as the reason he was born in the first place.

“I need to confirm,” SWY-001 replied.

“If you’re willing to provide the coordinates, we can help you check it… but we need your help too. It’s an equal trade.” “Help?”

“We’re facing the same threat; you’re the only survivor we know, so we need your help… Your civilization is destroyed, but if you want revenge, we can work together,” Han Xiao explained.

SWY-001 thought about it for a while then nodded in the end. He did not have much of a choice anyway, since he could not defeat Han Xiao. “… If that is true, I’ll help you.”

Plus, in his fundamental logic, there was code for revenge too—while keeping himself alive, he should take revenge against the World Tree Civilization if his civilization was destroyed. Furthermore, if his civilization was really wiped out, he would have nowhere to go anyway, so fighting alongside another civilization against the World Tree Civilization matched his goal.

“I’ll arrange to have you meet the rulers of this territory after some time then. I need you to convince them of some things and help them to see the threat of the World Tree Civilization.”

Han Xiao paused for a moment.

“I gave you a name, but you probably wouldn’t like it. What do you want me to call you?”

“… Just call me Herberlon.”

The communication between the two of them happened very quickly. Herberlon no longer resisted, letting the several Apostle Weapons take him away. There were still a lot of things he had to learn about galactic society, but Han Xiao was not going to let him connect to the internet freely; he had sealed it up using his Virtual Technology.

Only then did Han Xiao deactivate the Mechanical Deity and relax.

“That went smoother than expected… Hmm, probably thanks to my strength.”

If he was not able to control Herberlon, Herberlon would have definitely run away seeking the answers on his own. However, with his strength, this problem was solved easily. The method was simple, brutal, but effective. No way would Herberlon be so easily convinced had Han Xiao not defeated him.

Han Xiao opened the interface; (Visitor from Afar] was already shown as complete. The rating depended on how much SWY-001 had recovered, so the rating was very high. Although he disassembled a ton of his mechanical parts, because of Aurora, the rating increased tremendously. The reward of this mission itself was not high; the most useful reward was only a Herberlon Character Summon Card. The key to this mission was the unknown impact waking Herberlon up would cause to the current situation of the explored universe.

While Han Xiao was concluding the reward, Aurora slowly flew over to him with her face filled with curiosity. He did not know what Han Xiao talked to Herberlon about, nor did she know where Herberlon came from.

“What did you just say to him? What’s with this big guy?”

“He comes from a lost civilization, a wanderer who lost his home. As for the details, it’s a secret. I have plans for him.”

“Tsk, fine.”

Knowing Han Xiao did not want her to ask more, Aurora curled her limps and snorted.

Aurora then said, “By the way, what are the Underworld Hero Spirits I revived going to do? They’re still standing by; do you want me to revert them back to their spirit forms?” “No need, keep them this way as a secret army. They’ll be of use one day.” “Is it to guard against the three Universal Civilizations?” Aurora asked subtly. The outside world did not know what was going on between the association and the three Universal Civilizations now.

“It’s part of the reason but not the main one.” Han Xiao shook his head. “I’ve already spoken to the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations. If things go well, the two sides are probably going to call it a truce.” Shocked, Aurora said, “What? What agreement did you guys make that the three Universal Civilizations are even willing to take a step back!”

“It’s a secret for now, so I can’t tell you… but I’ll host a plenary after some time to explain the detailed terms. You’ll know then.”

More than half a month passed quickly. With concentrated attention of the galactic society, the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association seemed to have really stopped fighting and were minding their own business.

As all kinds of speculations were blooming, the three Universal Civilizations who had remained silent for more than half a month finally made a joint announcement, causing an earthquake in the entire galactic society.

The three Universal Civilizations claimed that when the situation was spiraling out of control, they decided to take a step back, with the safety of the galactic society in mind. After thorough consideration, in the end, they decided not to burn the galactic society with the flames of war.

At the same time, they stated they had agreed with the association and came up with reasonable measures to deal with the virus… As for what exactly that was, not a single thing was mentioned.

As for the Beyond Grade A Association, they gave the three Universal Civilizations face and agreed with this claim, stating it was the truth and that there was no conspiracy.

At least on the surface, the reason the three Universal Civilizations made this huge military move was the Virtual Mutiny Virus. As long as this problem was ‘solved’, it made sense for them to retreat, despite the claims being quite ambiguous to say the least. They just called it confidential, and there was nothing the galactic residents could do about

However, what caused an uproar among the galactic residents was the second half of the three Universal Civilizations’ joint announcement—they shockingly removed the trade sanctions against the association all of the sudden!

Everyone was dumbfounded. They were almost at war not long ago, yet they were making peace with each other? What in the world happened?

Had the three Universal Civilizations given up dealing with the imbalance of individual strength? What agreements did the two sides make? Were the three Universal Civilizations so afraid they dared not strike?

Many people subconsciously thought of how Black Star single-handedly defeated all of the three Universal Civilizations’ direct members. Although they knew very well the three Universal Civilizations most likely did not retreat because of how unbelievably strong Black Star was, they could not help themselves from thinking in this direction… Were the three Universal Civilizations really afraid?

Seeing how the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association quickly turned from aiming at each other’s throat to peace, countless members of the public felt complicated and somewhat discouraged. They felt like their feelings did not matter at all.

When eras changed, for better or worse, they could only accept it.

However, although the two sides stopped fighting, since the three Universal Civilizations expressed such a firm and aggressive stand earlier, this result undoubtedly made people feel like the Beyond Grade A Association had won.

This was one of the extremely few examples of a civilian organization forcing the three Universal Civilizations to take a step back. The reputation of the Beyond Grade A Association that had been reducing over the time suddenly rocketed, attracting all the attention in the galactic society.

Although voices of cursing the Supers never disappeared completely, they were lost in the sea of compliments. Many people’s faces were hurting from this hard slap of an ending, no longer daring to voice out against the trending public opinion.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance was really the most dumbfounded party.

That’s it? You guys aren’t breaking up anymore?

How are we going to have a chance with the association if you guys don’t quarrel?

Are we going to be abandoned again?

Being a spare tire… is so bitter!

Chapter 1313: Ahead

At the Beyond Grade A Association headquarters, the first plenary since the three Universal Civilizations decided to back off was underway. All the Beyond Grade A members arrived early at the venue, and none were not curious about what agreement Black Star had achieved with the three Universal Civilizations. They were all waiting for the president to give them an explanation.

“Frankly, this is all quite sudden for Black Star to just come to an agreement with the three Universal Civilizations. We heard nothing about it at all,” Kasuyi complained.

“I wonder what kind of agreement the president made with the three Universal Civilizations. Given Black Star’s personality, we shouldn’t be the ones losing more than we have to gain.” Kant’s tone was uncertain.

Of course, no one present believed the three Universal Civilizations’ public announcement. They all knew that Black Star had definitely made a deal with them privately; only, no one knew anything about it.

Psyker turned around. “By the way, Ames, you’re close to Black Star. Did he tell you anything?”

“He didn’t tell me anything.” Ames turned to look at Hila, smiled faintly, and said, “But Hila might know a thing or two.”

“… I have no idea either. I haven’t seen him lately.” Hila shook her head.

The people chatted for a while before Han Xiao’s remote projection finally appeared in the main seat. He looked around and smiled.

“Since everyone is here, let’s jump right in. I’ve summoned you guys mainly to tell you about the agreement I’ve made with the three Universal Civilizations, as well as the next steps for the association.”

Han Xiao looked around, and seeing that everyone was listening attentively, he continued.

“The three Universal Civilizations have agreed to my terms. They’ve decided to remove the trade sanctions against us and will compensate us very generously for it. Also, they’ll admit the official position of the Beyond Grade A Association, granting us the same rights as advanced civilizations. This will be written in galactic law. At the same time, we’ll receive a territory at the edge of the explored universe that we’ll have full rule over. That’s roughly it.”

As he said that, the entire place became completely silent.

The Beyond Grade As members were astounded, looking at Han Xiao with disbelief.

It was not that this agreement was bad but that it was way too good. They did not expect Black Star to be able to negotiate such outstanding terms, not to mention the fact that the three Universal Civilizations actually agreed with it.

A usual truce would be reasonable, but this was not a truce from the three Universal Civilizations at all. It was basically a surrender! No one would compromise this much unless there was a gun pointing at their productive organ! Originally, they thought it would be good if the three Universal Civilizations were even willing to give any compensation. To their surprise, these terms solved more than half of the problems that had been bothering the association all this time.

“How did you do it?” Kasuyi could not help but ask.

Han Xiao subtly glanced at those Beyond Grade As from the Star Clusters and said, “I know you’re all curious as to why the three Universal Civilizations agreed to such terms, but this is quite a complicated matter that doesn’t have a definitive result yet. Plus, these benefits are not given to us for free; they’re part of the deal, and the price is that we’ll have to help the three Universal Civilizations in some situations.”

Hearing this, everyone exchanged looks.

Seeing this, Han Xiao nodded and said, “If you guys have any ideas, feel free to bring them up. The foundation of the existence of our association is respecting the opinions of all members. If you guys aren’t satisfied, we can discuss it.”

Beiger coughed and made his stand, saying, “I think this is quite good. After all, us Revivors have already died once and can’t use the Sanctum Revival again. It’s good we don’t have to take the risks of fighting a war.”

Hearing this, quite a number of Revivors nodded. Completely convinced by Oathkeeper, they thought if they died again, they would have no choice but to live a meaningless life in the Underworld.

Dylan, however, snorted with disdain and said, “Tsk, what a disappointment. I thought a massacre was about to begin so that we could teach the three Universal Civilizations an unforgettable lesson to pay them back for what they did to us back then. Who would’ve thought that after a few hundred years, the three Universal Civilizations became cowards too? Black Star, why did you even bother to negotiate? The three Universal Civilizations are definitely in a difficult situation if they’re willing to compromise, so we should’ve used this opportunity and made their situation even worse. I used to think you’re a cruel and decisive person; I was wrong about you!”

“Hmm?” Han Xiao raised his brows and made a sound.

Dylan snorted and said with still a strong tone, “To think you’re not a despicable person I thought you are but a wise man with vision, generosity, and greatness. No wonder you’re our leader.”

“Hmm.” Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction.

The others looked away with despise and ignored Dylan’s voice.

Kasuyi stepped out and said with a smile, “These terms are all pleasant surprises, so we have no problems with it. But, Black Star, the three Universal Civilizations are only saying all these things for now. They have yet to acknowledge our independence publicly. Are you sure they’ll live up to the agreement? I still think they won’t compromise easily.”

“I’m sure for the most part, but we’ll have to wait for some time.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

He had already gotten Herberlon to speak with the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations, making what he said more convincing. When the three Universal Civilizations came to some results in their exploration, they would carry out the terms.

Furthermore, this matter was the center of attention for now, so the three Universal Civilizations planned to not bring more attention to it for some time. They only planned to announce it after the matter had cooled down to reduce its impact.

“I hope so.” Kasuyi nodded before asking, “What are the next steps for the association then? Do you have any ideas?”

Han Xiao shook his head. “Continue to rest and accumulate our forces. We’ll deal with the future by the time the three Universal Civilizations carry out the terms.”

He recalled another idea he once had. When their political position is recognized and their territory was granted, the association’s reputation among the Supers would reach a new level. Maybe they could then create a nation belonging exclusively to Supers, taking in all free Supers in the universe, making the association the ruling parliament of the nation.

One reason was that in order to develop further, they had to expand the size of the association and recruit more members. Of course, as the ‘seeds’ of Beyond Grade As, the more Supers, the better. Another reason was to maintain independence. Ordinary Supers living under the three Universal Civilizations’ rule would have many worries, but if they had a new place to go, they would have a choice, and there would definitely be people who would be willing to become this nation’s resident.

Furthermore, the conflict between the ordinary people and Supers had been getting worse and worse; both sides hated each other. Maybe giving Supers an opportunity to live away from the other side would be beneficial for both sides. Of course, the three Universal Civilizations would undoubtedly be unhappy with this. Therefore, Han Xiao would not carry out any part of this idea before the threat of the World Tree Civilization erupted.

“All races are welcomed as long as they’re Supers… Hmm, why does this idea sound so familiar?”

Han Xiao scratched his head.

If I remember correctly, this is quite similar to a character in an ongoing comic in my previous life, ‘Big Mom’.

What am I then? Big Dad?

Putting this random thought behind, Han Xiao continued discussing with the others.

The meeting only ended after discussing matters for more than an hour. Everyone left relaxed and excited.

Han Xiao deactivated his remote projection. The moment his sight returned to the office, Phillip popped up. “Master, hum… you have an advanced encrypted message. It’s from the Super Star Cluster Alliance, hum…”

“Yoho, looks like their patience is running out.”

Han Xiao opened the message, and it was an invitation from the Super Star Cluster Alliance to meet him in person.

He was not surprised. The association was originally working with the Super Star Cluster Alliance against the three Universal Civilizations. Now that it had stopped fighting the three Universal Civilizations, the Super Star Cluster Alliance became alone again.

Plus, the Beyond Grade As belonging to the Super Star Cluster Alliance who were in the meeting earlier definitely passed on the information about the agreement, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance would certainly be worried that the association and the three Universal Civilizations might work together again. Hence, they hastily came to test his stand.

Ten minutes later, in the Super Star Cluster Alliance conference room, the various leaders gathered and sat in their seats apprehensively.

Han Xiao’s remote projection appeared in the room and immediately felt all the eyes focusing on him.

The Star Arc Civilization leader said with a deep voice, “Black Star, we agreed to fight the three Universal Civilizations together. What’s all this?”

Han Xiao shrugged and said, “The goal of conflict is peace. The association’s goal has already been achieved, so of course, there’s no longer a need to continue fighting the three Universal Civilizations. This is beneficial for the association.”

“What about our agreement?”

Han Xiao said slowly and calmly, “Our agreement consisted of four terms. Other than the first one being fighting the three Universal Civilizations together, the other three are all related to resources partnerships, which we can continue to do.”

The Star Arc Civilization leader could not help but ask, “What if the three Universal Civilizations have a problem with that? Will you ignore our agreement because of it?”

“Since the three Universal Civilizations have recognized that the association can take care of the virus itself, it’s an indirect way to admit that others have no right to interfere with the internal affairs of the association. Which galactic law did we violate by forming an alliance with you guys? So what if they have a problem with it?” Han Xiao shrugged. “Maybe we can change one of our terms from fighting the three Universal Civilizations together to the association not attacking the Super Star Cluster Civilizations actively other than to retaliate. Besides, the Sanctum Revival allocations I promised you guys are still effective.”

They were quite surprised to hear this. They were already prepared for Black Star to stab them in the back, but for now at least, Black Star seemed to have no intention of doing that.

Han Xiao smiled and said, “Frankly, we don’t trust the three Universal Civilizations, so we need to have a backup plan, which is why we’re willing to maintain a good relationship with the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Also, you guys provided help when the association was troubled by the trade law, so personally, I’m willing to continue working with you guys. I have that much decency.” “I see…” The Star Arc Civilization leader was relieved.

Although this felt as wrong as cheating, Black Star keeping the promise of the Sanctum Revival allocations given to them was good enough.

After the participants made their stands, no matter how wild the conspiracies were, the matter calmed down very quickly. The galactic residents and the organizations gradually went back to their normal lives.

As the trade law was removed, the various channels of the association reopened, gradually regaining business. However, the plan of uniting the black markets was still ongoing and carried out by the players. Big things happened every day, but life for ordinary people still had to go on. The issues between the three Universal Civilizations and the association went on and became just something people talked about over the dinner table, no longer brought up every single day.

However, under the calm surface, a storm was brewing. The three Universal Civilizations were secretly preparing for war while exploring the wormhole data left by EsGod that was named ‘World Tree Path’.

With Han Xiao’s warning, the three Universal Civilizations were very cautious. They had yet to discover any life belonging to the World Tree Civilization.

At the same time, taking Han Xiao’s suggestion, the three Universal Civilizations formed a joint expeditionary army to enter the deep layers of the secondary dimensions in search of the so-called main body of the World Tree.

At one of the dynasty’s outposts in the secondary dimensions, an enormous expedition fleet had gathered, carrying out its last checkup before departing. The dock was filled with the three Universal Civilizations’ soldiers with serious expressions on their faces.

Han Xiao stood on the dock and watched this.

Harrison stood beside him carrying a backpack. Not knowing what to do, he said softly, “Your Excellency Black Star, what is the fleet searching for? Why do I have to participate in it?”

Han Xiao patted his shoulder. “Searching for something that will affect the fate of the explored universe.”

“Must I go?” Harrison was on the verge of tears.

He was still young, yet to be that experienced senior explorer from Han Xiao’s previous life. Plus, the World Tree war had not broken out yet, so people were not all on their highest alert, nor could he prioritize other things above his life.

Traversing into the deep layers of the secondary dimension was no easy mission. They had to pass through countless strange secondary dimensions, so god only knew what situations they would run into. Any mistakes could cause severe damages. Plus, communication was not convenient, meaning they would be like a fleet that advanced deep into enemy territory without having stable communication with the rest.

“What are you so afraid of? Didn’t I give you a lot of equipment? They’re more than enough to protect you in times of danger. You even have a Lord’s Avatar and a Throne with you. I can teleport over anytime.”

Han Xiao slapped his forehead.

“I’m scared I’ll die before I can call you.” Harrison looked discouraged. “Plus, there are so many people participating. With or without me won’t make much of a difference, will it?”

Han Xiao sighed but could not reply. In his previous life, Harrison discovered the main body of the World Tree, but this time, who knew if the Goddess of Luck would help him again?

Furthermore, the World Tree’s main body was not without protection. Countless armies were stationed in the secondary dimensions around it; it was extremely dangerous. Once the fleet discovered them, it would be when they were discovered by the World Tree too.

However, without finding the World Tree’s main body, the chances of winning were extremely thin. Sending an expedition army in advance was already being one step ahead. Han Xiao was currently the only outsider working together with the three Universal Civilizations to find the World Tree. Other than Harrison, he had picked some trustworthy people to join the first batch of the secondary dimension expedition army, most of which were mechanical lives, along with some members of the Black Spirit Race.

As he comforted Harrison, the expedition fleet was finally ready.

Looking back several times every step he took, Harrison still entered the spaceship in the end.

Accompanied by the roaring engines made for travelling in the secondary dimensions, the joint expedition fleet slowly took off, turned into flashes of light, and disappeared in everyone’s sights, heading toward the unknown future.

Chapter 1314: Reaction

After sending off the expedition team, Han Xiao stood at the dock for a while. At this time, Guzar, who was wearing a dynasty military uniform, walked over from behind and stood side by side.

The bearded Guzar took out a red cigarette from his shirt pocket, wiped his fingers, lit the cigarette, and took a deep breath. Then, he spat out a cloud of smoke and twisted his mouth a little before speaking. “This is only the first batch. There will be a second and a third expedition team in the future. The deeper dimensions are unpredictable. I hope that the World Tree’s main body that you mentioned really exists. Don’t let them sacrifice for nothing.”

“Don’t be too pessimistic. Maybe they will come back safe,” Han Xiao replied casually.

Guzar did not comment. He took out another cigarette from his pocket and passed it to Han Xiao. “This is a product specially provided by the dynasty’s upper echelons. You can’t buy it on the market. Try it?”

“I stopped smoking.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

“Is that so?” Guzar put away his cigarette and shook his head. “Speaking of which, I’ve never heard of you having any hobbies. Don’t you Mechanics have any entertainment needs?”

“How can smoking and drinking be more fun than machines?” Han Xiao glanced at him. “Just say what you want to say.”

“Can’t I talk to you?” Guzar shrugged.

Although Black Star had beaten them up not long ago, the two parties had now come to an agreement. The battle before was purely official business, and there was no enmity between them.

Most Beyond Grade As admired the strong, and the direct descendants of the three Universal Civilizations were no exception. They all respected Black Star’s achievements and abilities.

“Next time. I’m quite busy.” Han Xiao patted Guzar’s shoulder.

Guzar sighed and said, “Alright, I’m here to tell you that His Excellency the Ruler is waiting for you online. He wants to talk to you about something.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Han Xiao turned around and walked into the dynasty’s outpost base. He went to the private communication room and picked up Marbruce’s call.

“Ruler Marbruce, what’s the matter?”

“Our exploration has made some progress. The probe has collected the exact coordinates. The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device can already reach the territory of the World Tree Civilization, but we have no intention of sending troops for the time being.” The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device of the Federation of Light had extremely high strategic value, so it was extremely useful.

It was a pity that the three Universal Civilizations only allowed him to interfere in limited areas. Most of the time, they only treated him as a consultant and did not allow him to use the World Tree passageway to send anything.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“We plan to bury some detection equipment and strategic killing weapons in uninhabited areas. For this, we need more intelligence, such as the star map on the other side and the division of factions… The efficiency of our detection is low, and as the detection range expands, the risk of encountering the creatures of the World Tree Civilization will also increase.”

“So?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“We plan to try to connect to the other party’s network after we’re done with our preparation and see if we can steal some of their information,” Marbruce said. “We’re here to ask for your opinion.” Han Xiao thought for a while and said, “If it’s only superficial information, as long as we enter from an unimportant terminal node and erase the data before letting the Beyond Grade As analyze the other party’s basic code words, the risk is controllable.”

This was not hacking into the other party’s network but browsing through the information on the internet. Therefore, the difficulty was not high. The World Tree Civilization also had a communication system in the form of a quantum network, which was basically standard for advanced civilizations. However, the foundation of the communication method was not a quantum network but a mental network that the World Tree had. It was just that the latter was too transparent and simple, not as diverse as the quantum network.

“Then let the Beyond Grade A Mechanics take the lead and use the computational ability of the main artificial intelligence to gather the surface information of the other party’s network. When the time comes, the intelligence will be shared with you.”

After chatting for a while, Marbruce hung up the call. His purpose of calling was mainly to inform him of the exploration plan.

Han Xiao put down the communicator and curled his lips.

“Other than the secondary dimension expeditionary army, they did not allow me to interfere with other exploration tasks. It seems like they are still wary…”

The current situation was far from the stage of unity in his previous life. Although it was not to the extent of scheming against each other, they could not completely trust each other like they did in his previous life and cooperate without any worries.

After leaving the dynasty’s outpost and returning to the army base, Han Xiao summoned Phillip and issued a special summoning order to the hundreds of Beyond Grade A seeds in the army.

As the three Universal Civilizations strictly controlled the World Tree passageway, he did not have much preparation to do at the moment. Other than improving the Void God’s Trait Transformation and allowing his assembly line to churn out soldiers all day long, he could only wait for the players to work hard and slowly provide EXP.

Therefore, he planned to use the advantage of the interface to give the hundreds of Beyond Grade A seeds that had transferred to the army a year ago a long period of special training. He hoped that a new Beyond Grade A would be born from these people and strengthen the association’s top-tier strength.

After sending the message, Han Xiao left the room and walked around the base for a while. Suddenly, he came across Jenny.

Han Xiao stopped in his tracks and said, “Ames has already returned to Floating Dragon. Why are you still here?”

Jenny crossed her arms and snorted. “It wasn’t easy for me to get a holiday because of my refuge. I don’t want to go back so soon to work overtime. Let Ames take care of it herself. I’ll have some free time.”

“So, you’ve rested well. No wonder your hairline recovered a little. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

“If you don’t know how to talk, you can keep quiet. No one will think you’re mute.” Jenny rolled her eyes. “Then have a good rest here. However, if Ames comes to ask for you, don’t expect me to help you.” Han Xiao shook his head and smiled before taking his leave.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard Jenny speak again. This time, her tone was a little hesitant.

“Um… I haven’t seen Harrison in a while. He hasn’t replied to my messages either. Where did he go?”

Han Xiao turned around and looked at her with surprise. “The two of you really hooked up? I thought you rejected him, but it seems like you’re the same as Ames; your body is more honest than your mind.”

“Bullsh*t!” Jenny was furious. “I have nothing to do with that annoying fellow! I’m just curious!”

Han Xiao did not believe her at all, only casually saying, “He went on a secret mission. You probably won’t see him for a long time.” “Secret mission?” Jenny hesitated. “Is it dangerous?” “Of course,” Han Xiao replied straightforwardly.

Jenny choked and hesitated for two seconds before whispering, “Then please tell him…”

“Tell him what?” Han Xiao immediately became alert.

Damn sister, be careful. Don’t set up a flag so easily. It will lower Harrison’s survival rate.

Jenny gritted her teeth, turned her head, and stubbornly said, “Just ask him, when will he return the money he owes me?”

“Tsk, your words don’t even match what you’re thinking.” Han Xiao exposed Jenny mercilessly.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to help me!” Jenny was furious.

“I’ll ask… but I might not be able to contact him at the moment. Let’s talk when there’s a chance.” Han Xiao waved and left.

When he turned the corner, he looked back and saw Jenny still standing there with a lost expression.

“Tsk, and you dare say that nothing’s happened.”

Han Xiao smacked his lips and was about to leave when Phillip suddenly jumped out with a face full of surprised joy.

“Master, hum… Another army officer has become a Beyond Grade A!”

“Hmm? Let me see!”

Han Xiao was overjoyed and immediately switched to the surveillance interface.

In the image, a figure with Pugilist flames burning all over his body was sitting in the middle of the galaxy like a small star. It was Lothaire, who had been in seclusion for decades.

“After holding it in for so long, this guy finally gave birth… Bah, he advanced.”

Han Xiao was relieved.

Initially, he thought that Lothaire would need a few more years to complete his transformation, but he did not expect him to break through this barrier so quickly.

Could it be that he got inspired by seeing me defeat the three Universal Civilizations?

After swapping into the King, Han Xiao teleported to Lothaire’s personal training hall. The moment he looked up, he saw Lothaire completing his final evolution.

Han Xiao summoned his mechanical army and set up an energy shield around him. After waiting for a period of time, the Pugilist flames on Lothaire’s body slowly retracted. They seemed to take on a consistency like a solid crystal, and just by looking at it, one could feel an oppressive sharpness.

The nature of Pugilists’ energy was ever-changing and varied. Lothaire’s core energy attributes were ‘Sharp’ and ‘Armor Penetration’.

Lothaire opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings, immediately seeing Han Xiao. He quickly flew down and landed in front of Han Xiao.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I didn’t disappoint you.”

Lothaire’s attitude was still respectful, and he did not lose himself due to the sudden increase in strength.

Han Xiao squeezed his shoulder and said with a smile, “You’re a Beyond Grade A now, so you can address me as an equal. What do you think? Do you want to start your own organization?”

“I’m still willing to be your blade in the shadows. If not for your nurturing, I wouldn’t have my current achievements.” Lothaire shook his head and continued to address him respectfully.

Usually, Beyond Grade As would not continue to be under others, but Lothaire intended to repay the favor. Furthermore, the Black Star Army was an anomaly, and there were already two Beyond Grade As working as subordinates. With their seniors as an example, those who came later would be more accepting.

“Don’t underestimate yourself. I helped you because you have potential.” As Han Xiao spoke, he punched Lothaire’s chest, creating a dull thud.

Lothaire took a step back and rubbed his aching chest.

Seeing this, Han Xiao shook his head. “You have to continue training your body. You’re still too weak right now. In the eyes of ordinary people, Beyond Grade As are already at the peak, but in the eyes of us veterans, this is just the beginning. You’ve just stepped into this threshold, so there’s still a lot to train. I can fight dozens of new Beyond Grade As like you.”

“I saw the live broadcast of your confrontation with the three Universal Civilizations, and I have no doubt about that.”

Lothaire nodded. He was also convinced by Han Xiao’s performance back then and was filled with respect.

“Since you’ve become a Beyond Grade A, let me give you a gift. I’ll get you a Universal Treasure weapon in a while. What type do you want? If you don’t want mechanical equipment, I can ask a Mage to help you build equipment with Enchantments,” Han Xiao said.

Lothaire thought about it. “A pair of daggers will do.”

“Alright, send me the specific requirements after you’ve thought it through. I’ll customize it for you.”

Han Xiao smiled and suddenly changed the topic.

“By the way, I have a mission for you.” “Where? Who’s the target? When’s the deadline?”

Lothaire immediately became serious, displaying the professionalism and discipline he had instilled in himself. “Sigh, don’t keep thinking about fighting and killing. It won’t be good.” Han Xiao coughed and said, “There’s a genius Pugilist with extraordinary potential who is undergoing special training here. He already has a Beyond Grade A as his teacher. I hope you can train him for some time too and teach him some experience.”

Karlot’s bottleneck was still in the early stages, and only by accumulating more insight would he be able to level up quickly. However, the insight provided by each expert was different. Silver Shadow was almost completely squeezed dry of his insights, but Lothaire, who had just been born, would be a new crop field to harvest.

“Alright, I will do my best to teach him.” Lothaire nodded. He was also curious.

The potential of a genius Pugilist who could make the Army Commander find a Beyond Grade A to be his teacher, just how shocking would it be?

In a turquoise space, the intertwined roots of the turquoise trees acted as the ground, and they were translucent. One could see the energy that was like light bubbles flowing within the roots, giving off a sense of green vitality.

In the middle of the space, a large number of roots rose up and formed a huge throne. A tall figure sat on it with his eyes closed as though he was sleeping. Vine-like roots crawled all over his body, and the blue and green fluorescence flowed along his body like lively little elves.

Suddenly, this figure trembled slightly and slowly opened his eyes. He raised his hand and gently patted the armrest of his seat.

The next moment, the roots on the ground moved on their own, intertwining and transforming into a flower bud. Then, the flower bud opened, and a tall figure appeared out of thin air, clad in a gorgeous robe.

As soon as he appeared, the tall figure bowed to the figure on the throne and softly asked, “What can I do for you?”

Hearing this, the figure on the throne leaned forward slightly and slowly said, “An abnormal reaction has occurred in the information state warning network. There might be an unknown Information Form that has interacted with us. Someone might be spying on us. Go and investigate.”

“Understood, Your Excellency Tree King.”

Chapter 1315: Movement

In a certain part of the World Tree Civilization, an artificial teleportation wormhole suddenly appeared and expanded. A few unmanned engineering ships flew out and quickly set up camouflaging and communication relay stations.

After the temporary base station was completed, the three direct Beyond Grade A Mechanics of the three Universal Civilizations used it as a springboard to send the data over.

In the data field, the quantum souls of ‘Defender’ Romo, ‘Quantum Demon Spirit’ Judith, and the other appeared. In their sights were the quantum network nodes that formed something akin to a resplendent sea of stars.

“Pay attention to the data disguise. If anything abnormal happens, cut the link immediately.”

Judith gave a few stern instructions.

After the initial preparations, the three Universal Civilizations were officially carrying out their espionage plan. They sent out three direct Mechanics to make use of the various civilizations’ main artificial intelligence computing power to browse the World Tree Civilization’s network.

The World Tree passageway was only used as a springboard. Currently, the coordinates of the wormholes leading to the World Tree Civilization that the three Universal Civilizations had obtained were not limited to the data that EsGod had left behind. For safety reasons, they would rarely use the same wormhole coordinates twice.

This was the first time these coordinates were being used. They had also planned to temporarily seal it after stealing the intel.

The three of them did not waste any time, immediately using the basic translation language that they had deciphered not long ago, working together with their teammates to infiltrate a quantum network node. They began to collect data on a large scale and search for public information on the internet.

Every second, a huge amount of data would be sent to the advanced encrypted information processing warehouse created by the three Universal Civilizations.

The three Universal Civilizations monitored the situation from afar, and their efficiency was extremely high. The operation was completed very smoothly. The engineering ship immediately dismantled and retrieved all the equipment, leaving behind a few strange-shaped bombs before returning to the explored universe through the wormhole.

The moment the engineering ships returned, the three Universal Civilizations closed the World Tree passageway on the other side of the wormhole. The artificial wormhole rapidly shrank and disappeared.

Immediately after, the bomb that was left in this area exploded at the right time. Chaotic energy waves spread out, covering the area and erasing all traces.

The area regained its calmness as though nothing had happened.

After an unknown period of time, a spatial rift suddenly appeared, and a translucent turquoise root emerged from within.

Ripples appeared on the surface of the roots, and a fleet flew out. At first, it was a little ethereal, like a phantom, but when it completely left the roots, the appearance of the fleet turned solid.

In the command room of the main ship, the captain stood beside a tall figure and respectfully said, “This is the abnormal reaction area shown on the information state alert. Holy Tree Emissary, should we start the inspection?”

This tall figure’s name was Barbani, and he had a ferocious appearance. He looked like some kind of arthropod, clad in a suit armor, and his body exuded a weak blue-green energy. He was not of the same species as the surrounding crew. Within the World Tree Civilization, the Holy Tree Emissaries were a special group with a high status and were the executors of the highest will. Only individuals who had a deep connection with the World Tree could take on this role. They could use some of the World Tree’s abilities, such as warping, transformation, and so on.

“Activate the Information Form camera and see what’s going on here.” Barbani’s voice was short and sharp.

This device could trace back what had happened in an area at the Information Form level. The more power injected into it, the longer it could trace back, and the clearer the details.

The order was given, and the fleet started operating very quickly. They could only see light green light beams scanning the surroundings, but there was no reaction from the areas they passed.

“There are no traces of any information form, so we can’t know what happened here… We can basically confirm that an outsider has infiltrated this area.”

The captain looked at the scan results and quickly came to a conclusion.

“Even the traces of any past Information Forms have disappeared. This means that the outsiders have a certain level of Information Form technology. Their level of civilization should not be low.”

“Looks like we have new prey.” Barbani was excited.

The captain looked at the time and analyzed, “Based on the time difference between us arriving at the scene, the target of the outsiders’ infiltration might be entering our quantum network to steal intelligence.”

“This is a good thing.” Barbani did not care at all.

He was not worried that the information on the internet would be leaked. There were no key secrets hidden there. At the same time, this served as bait.

The Information Form warning network covered the entire World Tree Civilization’s information collection, and it could detect if an outsider was spying on them. As long as they were entangled with the foreign information gathering, they would send out a warning. However, it was only limited to the alarm, and there was no way to steal the other party’s information. Therefore, they could only discover that there were outsiders spying on them, and they did not know the exact situation of the other party.

However, this was not a problem. The World Tree itself had the nature of a high-dimensional information entity. The more outsiders knew of its existence, or the deeper the pilfering of data, the more obvious the connection would be.

As long as the interaction reached a certain standard, the World Tree would obtain a signal and sense the location of the other party’s information gathering. Then, it would send the long-distance team to search in the direction of the other party.

This was similar to the soul connection of a Universal Treasure. It could be remotely located, but this relationship was reversed.

Most Universal Treasures would find it difficult to establish a soul connection, and they were extremely cold and aloof. Even if they acknowledged their master, they would only give in halfway. The Evolution Cube and the Spacetime Amber were both like this, but the World Tree was a Universal Treasure that accepted almost everyone.

However, outsiders would only be able to ‘rub against the outside’ and would not be able to obtain any substantial benefits from it. Instead, they would expose themselves.

This was similar to how if you said my name, I would be able to obtain information about you. It was similar to the characteristics of certain life forms in the universe, as though they had divinity.

Therefore, the intelligence of the quantum network was a kind of bait. It was to catch the ‘fish’ in the universe that had the ability to discover them and find prey.

However, the intelligence on the internet was not fake data. It was indeed true information left behind by the daily activities of countless citizens. However, all the secrets regarding the World Tree itself were strictly restricted and could not be uploaded.

“Alright, your mission is complete.” Barbani let out a sharp laugh. “I’ll suggest that the Tree King activate all the Information Form Foreseers and see if they can predict any information on these outsiders. Let’s go.” As his voice fell, the turquoise energy on his body suddenly surged. The gigantic root that was quietly lying on the side seemed to have received a signal. It suddenly curled up and swallowed the fleet before quickly retreating into the spatial rift.

The next moment, the spatial rift quickly closed, as though it never existed.

A few days later, on a secret training planet in the Black Star Army’s territory, Han Xiao floated in outer space and looked down at the two meteors chasing each other on the ground. They collided time and time again, leaving huge potholes in the ground. One of them was Lothaire, and the other was Karlot.

Lothaire controlled his strength and continuously trained Karlot in actual combat. While imparting his comprehension of martial arts, he was also practicing precise control of his strength. Karlot was like a sponge, rapidly absorbing the essence of the training to enrich himself.

“Now that I’ve found the right training method, this guy’s improvement is tremendous.”

Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction.

Karlot was not the only one. In the past few days, he had also been training the other Beyond Grade A seeds. He was teaching them according to their talents and providing them with a customized cultivation plan. The effect was not bad. He felt that if this continued for a long time, there should be many seeds that could ‘sprout’.

Beep beep…

At this time, his communicator rang.

Han Xiao took a look and saw that it was a message from the three Universal Civilizations. It contained the intelligence from the World Tree Civilization’s network.

He raised his brows, and his spirits immediately perked up.

As the players’ intelligence channels were limited, it was difficult for them to be involved in high-level secrets. His understanding of the World Tree Civilization came from the war in his previous life, and it was basically common knowledge.

He knew very little about the situation of the World Tree Civilization at this time, and this information could help him to understand more.

“…Before the war, the daily life of the World Tree Civilization was similar to that of the galactic society. Speaking of which, in my previous life, the three Universal Civilizations only dealt with the invasion and never attacked the territory of the World Tree Civilization. This is the first time I’ve seen the detailed star map of their territory.”

Han Xiao looked through it carefully and realized that it was all ordinary information. None of it was more important than the World Tree itself.

He found the three Universal Civilizations’ names at the end of the message, saying that they would fulfill the agreement and acknowledge the association’s position.

Although they did not verify the accuracy of the secret that I provided, the other ordinary intelligence reports have all been matched. The three Universal Civilizations should no longer be suspicious…

Just as he was reading the message, his communicator rang again. Han Xiao looked at it, and it was from Oathkeeper. The content made his heart tighten.

“An abnormal reaction from Destiny’s Child?”

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.

If he did not remember wrongly, the last abnormal reaction of Destiny’s Child was when the Intelligent Plague erupted in advance. Furthermore, it had created a new batch of sub-bodies, one of which was in his hands.

This was something that Oathkeeper had told him personally after he had formed a good relationship with him.

At this juncture, for Destiny’s Child to cause problems again, he vaguely felt that something bad was going to happen.

Chapter 1316: Destiny’s Child’s Prophecy

At the Holy Accord Organization’s secret base, Han Xiao, who was wearing the King mechanical suit, teleported to the exclusive Throne Teleportation Platform. Law and Fay were already waiting there.

“Your Excellency Black Star,” the two greeted.

“Where’s Oathkeeper?” Han Xiao looked around.

“He’s waiting for you in the Destiny’s Child lab. This is very sudden. Please follow us.”

The two of them did not have much and led the way. Han Xiao followed them to their destination.

Walking into the laboratory, the room was filled with busy operators. Han Xiao immediately saw Destiny’s Child locked in the transparent container and Oathkeeper standing beside it.

At this time, Destiny’s Child had already woken up from his deep sleep. His body was curled up, trembling nonstop, and white spots kept flashing like a projection when the signal was not good. He turned blurry every now and then, and Oathkeeper had to constantly release his Soul Flame as if to comfort him.

The researchers in the room were sweating profusely as they operated the apparatus, activating the binding force field at full power and stabilizing his anchor in reality.

Han Xiao came to the device and looked at the various parameters. “What’s the situation now?”

Oathkeeper frowned. “Destiny’s Child has woken up and is now in a state of Information Form disturbance. The amplitude is the highest so far, almost breaking through the containment and turning into a High Dimensional Information Form. It’s not over it yet.”

“Have you found the reason?”

“Not sure yet. We can only communicate after he stabilizes.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao clicked his fingers and summoned a set of stabilizing anchors. He set them up around him to provide assistance, and at the same time, he carefully sized up Destiny’s Child. This was the first time he had seen his true body.

Every time Destiny’s Child activated his ability, there would be an information state disturbance, which would cause the prophetic ability seeds to be planted randomly across the universe. Lodi, who had been receiving treatment, was one of the children who had awakened after the last disturbance. There had already been a breakthrough in stopping the transformation process.

At this time, Destiny’s Child suddenly stopped shaking and turned to look at Han Xiao as though he was observing in curiosity. Suddenly, he raised his hands and pressed them on the inner wall of the container, releasing a happy mental wave. Everyone heard a child-like laughter materialize out of thin air.

Destiny’s Child stared at Han Xiao like that. Not long after, his flickering body gradually stabilized and returned to normal.

Seeing this, Oathkeeper stopped what he was doing and looked surprised.

“How did you settle this the moment you arrived? He seems to like you very much.”

“This is the first time we’ve met. You’re too unreserved… Speaking of which, why do you sound like you’ve been robbed of your love?”

“…What nonsense are you talking about?”

Han Xiao teased Oathkeeper, but he himself was secretly surprised as well.

Destiny’s Child seemed to be strangely close to him. Could it be that his (Primal Esper Ability Affinity) and (Perfect Energy Affinity Physique) had a part to play in this?

There was such a possibility. After all, the Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy has thought that I was attractive on more than one occasion, and it even wanted to mess around with me…

Perhaps to a Primal Esper Ability Entity, these two talents are like catnip to a feline. No wonder Destiny’s Child was attracted to me the moment he saw me. Who told me to make myself so attractive toward energy life forms?

Han Xiao thought to himself for a while before knocking on the container. Destiny’s Child immediately imitated it, and the two of them interacted happily.

This scene made Oathkeeper a little frustrated.

In the past, Destiny’s Child liked him the most, and he would personally do all the comforting work. He did not expect Black Star to only come once, and Destiny’s Child, whom he had nurtured their relationship for so many years, immediately ignored him.

The most infuriating thing was that even before Black Star appeared, Destiny’s Child would never take the initiative to get close to him…

It’s clearly me that’s supposed to be the one… Forget it, let’s not talk about this.

After watching for a while, Oathkeeper said, “Alright, whatever the reason, it’s enough to stabilize it. I’ll ask him what’s going on.”

As he spoke, he pushed Han Xiao away and gathered his Soul Flame to communicate with Destiny’s Child.

A few seconds later, Han Xiao heard Destiny’s Child’s intermittent words.

“I feel… the feedback of the sub-bodies… a convergence of information… threat…”

As Destiny’s Child spoke, Han Xiao’s mind was filled with chaotic and blurry images. Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. In these complicated images, he suddenly saw information about the World Tree, such as the image of the World Tree roots spreading across the galaxy, or a group of robed people wreathed in turquoise energy meditating on the ground.

Oathkeeper did not know about the existence of the World Tree, so he could not understand it.

“What is this?”

“Wait, let me ask you a few questions…” Han Xiao did not have the time to explain to him. He asked a few random questions and received a reply very quickly.

After listening to Destiny’s Child’s reply, Han Xiao quickly pieced the information together and analyzed it.

The sudden abnormal reaction of Destiny’s Child originated from the World Tree. Both parties were entangled in the information state, and it sensed that the World Tree was using some method to locate their explored universe.

The reason he had a reaction was because of its affinity with the sub-bodies. The sub-bodies he once produced were randomly distributed across the entire universe. Not only did it affect the explored universe, but there were also Destiny’s Children on the World Tree’s side, which triggered its foresight ability.

To Destiny’s Child, these sub-bodies were like his eyes, ears, and antennae, collecting information about the outside world.

Not long ago, the child of the World Tree activated its foresight ability. Because the medium was connected to the information gathering from the explored universe, the two parties had crossed paths. Because the explored universe was also where the main body was, it immediately triggered the warning mechanism. Therefore, Destiny’s Child activated his ability to foresee the future and shared the memories and vision of his sub-bodies with the rest.

During this process, Destiny’s Child felt the threat from the World Tree, akin to that of a natural enemy. He even foresaw the possibility of him being swallowed by the World Tree, thus leading to him almost wanting to turn into a high-dimensional information form and flee, which explained his previous actions.

In that case, the World Tree is using a prediction method to sense the explored universe, and the three Universal Civilizations are already exposed?

Han Xiao’s heart tightened.

Indeed, as long as they had any sort of contact, the situation was already irreversible. They would be able to quickly sense each other sooner or later. The World Tree Civilization was stronger than the three Universal Civilizations, and even the three Universal Civilizations in his previous life did not know all the abilities and technology of the World Tree. It was too ideal to completely hide their tracks.

In his previous life, the three Universal Civilizations had been beaten to a bloody pulp. Even if they had won in the end, they had not completely understood the World Tree. Some of the auxiliary skills such as the Information Form warning alarms had not been used in the war, so the three Universal Civilizations were unclear of the full scope of their abilities.

Because the World Tree had taken the initiative to invade, their Information Form warning network that was used to prevent outsiders from spying was basically useless. Even the three Universal Civilizations did not know about it, let alone the players in his previous life.

The only good news now is that the World Tree Civilization only detected the existence of outsiders, and it does not have much information. Therefore, they are using the Information Form to search for us, which resulted in their interaction being discovered by Destiny’s Child…

Han Xiao’s brain worked quickly.

Luckily, Destiny’s Child had scattered his body all over Galaxy itself, or else he would not even know that he had been discovered. At that time, even he would have been caught off guard by the other party’s sudden attack.

Destiny’s Child referred to the World Tree as his ‘natural enemy’. One was a Primal Esper Ability Entity, while the other was a Space Wonder. Both of them had information-type abilities, but their focus was different.

According to the explanation of Destiny’s Child, it could share information about the contact of the child. Because the child was connected to the World Tree, it could observe the overall movements of the World Tree Civilization to a certain extent, but there was also the risk of being exposed.

Only when the sub-body actively used its foresight ability and was entangled with the information form would the main body be able to use it as a disguise to obtain information from the sub-body. Otherwise, it would be easily discovered by the World Tree.

Even so, Destiny’s Child was probably the only low-risk channel to monitor the movements of the World Tree. It was more convenient, more secretive, and more efficient than the detection methods used by the three Universal Civilizations.

Such an intelligence channel was a pleasant surprise, and there was no reason to ignore it.

Han Xiao thought about it and said in a deep voice, “You don’t want to be devoured by the World Tree. Helping us is the best choice. Only by eliminating the other party can we eliminate the threat once and for all. Otherwise, even if you escape far away, there will still be risks.”

Hearing this, Destiny’s Child shook his body, his voice ethereal.

“How… can I help you?”

“Just try to hide yourself, monitor the other party’s movements, and tell me everything.”

“I… can do this.”

Destiny’s Child did not reject him. He suddenly clapped his hands together, and a small white ball of light separated from his body and floated in the container, drifting toward Han Xiao and sticking to the inner wall of the container.

Han Xiao understood and raised his brows.

“Is this for me?”

“Use it… to create a sub-body… and extend my senses…”

In his mind, Destiny’s Child explained the use of this light cluster.

When it activated its ability, it could give birth to a sub-body in the entire universe, or it could give birth to a sub-body in a designated area. However, the latter had a prerequisite. It had to use its own energy to circle an area in advance and turn this area into an independent ‘information assembly location’. Only then could it be designated as the birthplace of the sub-body.

To put it simply, this was akin to a hose running around its area… or rather, it was like a dog peeing on its territory.

Just as Han Xiao finished listening to Destiny’s Child’s explanation, a notification appeared on his interface.

You have triggered the mission (Destiny’s Child’s Plea)!

Mission Introduction: Destiny’s Child has a good impression of you. Because it feels threatened, it has decided to seek your help.

Mission Requirements: Head to the designated location and use the energy of Destiny’s Child to circle a sufficiently large area.

Reward: 120,000,000 Experience, +25 Destiny’s Child Favorability, 1 Random Reward, milestone talent (Deep Within Enemy Territory). [Deep Within Enemy Territory]: When you are operating within your enemy’s sphere of influence, you are not easily discovered. At the same time, you will obtain a 3% buff to all Attributes.

“You want me to go to the World Tree Civilization?”

Han Xiao was stunned.

By limiting the birth area of Destiny’s Child to the territory of the World Tree Civilization, the number of children would increase, which meant that more information would be intercepted.

Although the ability to encircle land had a time limit, its duration was measured by years. This could be used for a long period of time.

“It seems like I’m the most suitable person for such a hit-and-run mission. It seems like I’ll have to apply to the three Universal Civilizations to head to the World Tree Civilization…”

Han Xiao nodded.

He got Oathkeeper to temporarily open the container and took out the ball of light.

As soon as it came into contact with him, the ball of light entered his palm and turned into a mark that stored the energy Destiny’s Child had lent him.

“What’s going on? What are you guys talking about?”

Oathkeeper’s face was filled with confusion.

Han Xiao thought about it, pulled Oathkeeper aside, and briefly explained the situation.

“You’re saying that the three Universal Civilizations discovered an even stronger Unknown Civilization?” Oathkeeper was surprised, but he soon understood what was going on. “No wonder the three Universal Civilizations made so many concessions.”

“It’s good that you know about this. It’s not suitable for you to tell anyone for now. Remember to keep it a secret,” Han Xiao instructed.

With the help of Destiny’s Child, he naturally could not avoid Oathkeeper, so he told him the truth and made him understand the importance of the matter. Only then would he cooperate.

In addition, Oathkeeper’s character had been tested, and he was quite trustworthy. There was no harm in letting him know.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about this.”

Oathkeeper’s expression was solemn. He suddenly paused and softly asked, “You mentioned in the meeting that the three Universal Civilizations acknowledged the association’s position, and we will have to help at some point. Is this what you mean?” Han Xiao nodded. “That’s right. If a war breaks out, the members of the association will have to participate in the war with all their might to fight against the foreign enemies. This is the deal, and we don’t have any choice. Therefore, I need you to prepare more Sanctum keys.” “…I understand your plan. I will cooperate with you.” Oathkeeper exhaled.

If the Beyond Grade As went all out to fight, they would probably suffer heavy casualties. Black Star probably wanted to use this opportunity to show everyone the truth of unlimited Sanctum Revivals. As someone who knew the truth, he felt that this was a very feasible plan.

While he was thinking, Han Xiao suddenly patted his shoulder.

“Then work hard. The organization will not treat you badly after this is done.”

Oathkeeper frowned.

Tsk, I was so busy digesting the information that I forgot to steal the lines!

Chapter 1317: Dispute

Chapter 1317 Dispute

The two of them chatted for a while before reaching a consensus. Han Xiao left a Throne and a Lord’s Avatar in the Destiny’s Child laboratory and interacted with Destiny’s Child for a while before leaving the room. He turned around and went to visit the Revivors who were living in seclusion in the Holy Accord, gathering them for a meeting. The current President of the Beyond Grade A Association had pointed out in the meeting that the Holy Accord Organization had to take the mental states of the Revivors seriously and help the Revivors follow the pace of the times. They had to follow the basic principles of people as their core and implement the ‘two for one’ requirement, which was to ensure the best treatment of every Revivor, yet not lose their vigilance.

The founder of the Holy Accord organization, Oathkeeper, praised the association’s current achievements and emphasized that both parties had always worked together to contribute to the Beyond Grade As. He hoped that the association would continue to work together with the Holy Accord.

Many of the revivors expressed their admiration for Black Star’s contributions to the Beyond Grade As and unanimously welcomed Black Star to come and give guidance to the Holy Accord.

No matter what, both parties still had a good exchange of opinions. After the daily communication, Han Xiao then left the Holy Accord Organization base and teleported back to Black Star Palace, which was a few Star Fields away.

Returning to his office, Han Xiao rubbed his chin. Without any delay, he contacted the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations and sent the information he had obtained from Destiny’s Child through the encrypted channel.

Not long after, his communicator rang, and he received an invitation.

Han Xiao turned on the remote projection and arrived at the joint office of the three Universal Civilizations. He immediately saw the three leaders.

“Black Star, where did you get this information from? Is the situation true? You have to be responsible if you spout nonsense!”

As soon as they met, Marbruce fired off a string of questions. His tone was extremely serious, as if he was doing an interrogation. The intelligence provided by Han Xiao showed that the World Tree Civilization had already discovered the traces of the outsiders and was trying to track them in reverse. This was a huge matter that affected the entire strategy, and they could not afford to be careless.

This piece of intelligence did not contain any evidence, so it looked like an irresponsible guess. Furthermore, even they only dared to carefully explore the uninhabited areas and had no clue about the World Tree Civilization’s movements. Where did Han Xiao’s intelligence come from? The three of them could not help but doubt its authenticity.

“I have a special intelligence channel. This is a special Primal Esper Ability Entity called Destiny’s Child. It has extraordinary abilities at the Information Form level…” Han Xiao explained Destiny’s Child’s ability.

“Destiny’s Child?”

The three of them looked at each other with doubt in their eyes.

This Primal Esper Ability Entity did not exist in the known Super High Risk Esper Ability Table, nor was it recorded in the secret database of the three Universal Civilizations. This was the first time the three of them had heard of this Primal Esper Ability Entity.

“So, you guys really don’t know?” Han Xiao was helpless.

He had once tried to find out more about Destiny’s Child. There were no records in the dynasty’s database, so he thought that the information might be stored in a secret database. It seemed like the three Universal Civilizations did not know about Destiny’s Child either, but they were indeed good at hiding their existence.

“The Destiny’s Child is in your hands now? Is it reliable?” Louis asked.

“It’s indeed in my hands, and there’s no problem with the intelligence.”

Han Xiao nodded and hid the existence of the Holy Accord.

Hearing this, the Pope of the Arcane Church said with a deep voice, “Words have no evidence. We can only confirm its authenticity after checking it. Furthermore, this kind of intelligence channel should be controlled by us.”

Han Xiao shook his head, and his tone became solemn.

“At this point, you guys still have doubts about me? Who provided the secret information about the World Tree? It was me, right? I showed my sincerity, but what did you guys do? In order to confirm that the information is true, you guys went to explore the World Tree Civilization through the wormhole, and in the end, you were exposed… Of course, from your standpoint, this is understandable. I understand you guys, but it’s also a fact that you were discovered by the enemy. No matter how correct your motives are, there’s no way to change the predetermined bad outcome… Because I knew that you guys might mess up, I didn’t tell you about the World Tree beforehand.”

The three of them were stunned.

Marbruce coughed and took the initiative to explain.

“It’s not that we doubt you, but we can’t just trust the authenticity of the information. If we don’t confirm it beforehand, it will be too late when a problem arises…”

“This isn’t the first time you’ve said this, but what happened in the end? You’re still following the confidential information I provided. The so-called confirmation is just unnecessary in my eyes. It will only increase the risk of exposure.”

The three of them opened their mouths, not knowing what to say.

“Black Star, don’t get too emotional,” Louis said. “We have always been cautious and did not meet any life forms of the World Tree Civilization. With just the senses of a Primal Esper Ability Entity, I don’t think we can be completely sure that they have already detected our presence…”

“You still want a hundred percent confirmation?” Han Xiao’s eyes widened. “Then why don’t you just show yourself and ask the World Tree Civilization? That will definitely be a hundred percent.”

Louis’ mouth twitched, and he stopped talking

Marbruce said helplessly, “But the intelligence…”

Han Xiao cut Marbruce off.

“I know you’re worried, and I don’t expect you to completely trust me. However, you stole the intel from the network, so you should have confirmed the World Tree’s attitude toward the outside world. Since everyone is prey, we’re on the same side. Do you still need to worry about me having any bad intentions and remain specially guarded against me?

“The threat is imminent. Now is not the time for internal speculation. We all have to believe that what we’re doing is for the same goal. We will not deliberately cause trouble. If I cannot confirm the authenticity of this information, would I dare say it? If you insist on checking and this information channel is exposed, what should we do?”

The three of them frowned.

That was true. They were comrades who were united against the enemy. They should at least trust each other.

However, since Black Star had made such a statement, could it be that he did not want them to confirm it on purpose so as to hide the fishy side of this intelligence? They had no choice but to think in this direction.

Seeing their reactions, Han Xiao knew what they were thinking and shook his head in disappointment.

“At the end of the day, the countless years of peace have made you arrogant, thinking that you can deal with any situation… Maybe my intelligence gave you too many misconceptions, making you feel that you have an advantage and can control the situation. It’s a huge mistake! I hope you guys can recognize the reality. The World Tree is stronger than all of you combined. As long as it finds us to start a war, the situation will instantly go out of control. We can be wiped out at any time and become the next Karma Republic!”

“… What do you suggest?” Marbruce asked.

“I’ll be straightforward. I will never give you this information channel. Even if you don’t believe me now, you should consider dealing with this situation. The World Tree Civilization has advanced unknown detection methods and has discovered the traces of outsiders. They have entered a state of alert, but they have yet to succeed in tracking us down… Therefore, I suggest that we stop the regular exploration and reduce the chances of further contact. We will standby for the time being and give the secondary dimension expedition team more time to find the World Tree’s main body.”

“But if we don’t explore, how will the intelligence come?” “With all due respect, most of the intelligence that you guys have obtained so far is meaningless. Since there are no results, you might as well stop and use the channels of Destiny’s Child.”

“It means that we don’t have to do anything but listen to you obediently, and take whatever you say… Do you think that’s possible?” The head of the church, who was standing at the side, spoke with a dissatisfied tone. He paused for a moment before adding on.

“You can either give us Destiny’s Child or let us send some researchers to study it together to prove that the intelligence is reliable.”

Han Xiao smiled.

“Are you forcing me now? Yes, I can make concessions for the sake of righteousness. We can study Destiny’s Child together and dispel your suspicions. If I don’t do this, it will appear to be my fault. Because I have the channels, I have to make concessions and give in to benefits. If I don’t let you guys have a share, you won’t accept my opinion.”

“You misunderstood. We…” Marbruce felt that the atmosphere was a little off and wanted to explain.

Han Xiao interrupted him once more, his smile turning cold. “You three dogsh*ts, I’ve already tolerated you all for a long time! You guys don’t seem to have figured out who here needs whom. Do you really think I have no other choice? I’m willing to protect the Galactic Society; that’s why I’m helping you, since both of you are closely related. However, the universe is so big. Do you think I really need to stay here? If you anger me, I can just leave with the Beyond Grade A Association and the organizations under me. It’s fine if I move to the unexplored universe or the secondary dimensions, leaving you guys to deal with the World Tree Civilization alone. Do you want to try?”

The three of them were shocked.

They almost forgot that the Beyond Grade A Association had a way out. With their abilities, they would be able to live very well even if they escaped into the unexplored universe. To the three Universal Civilizations, this was definitely the worst outcome.

As long as the Beyond Grade As made up their minds, they could completely abandon the galactic society that they had lived in for a long time. To be honest, even if all the living beings here died, it would have nothing to do with most Beyond Grade As. There was no reason for them to stay and fight.

If news of the World Tree spread, there would definitely be people who would choose to escape. If even Black Star, who had the Sanctum Revival, was not willing to stay, then the other Beyond Grade As would definitely choose to escape.

With such influence, Black Star was not a partner with no way out. He was an equal who held the bargaining power, a force that they had to fight for.

Marbruce could no longer sit still. “Don’t be angry. That’s not what we meant.”

“Black Star… Your Excellency, our doubts are just a matter of fact. We don’t have any thoughts about benefits,” Louis quickly comforted.

Even the Pope had no choice but to lower his head in frustration. “…I didn’t choose my words correctly and caused a misunderstanding. Please don’t take it to heart.”

We’re the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations. When have we ever been so humble?

Seeing this, Han Xiao stopped being angry and regained his poker face as he slowly stated, “I will continue to share the intelligence, but whether you believe it or not is your problem. I can’t be bothered. Also, I will be going to the World Tree Civilization’s territory in a while to increase the surveillance of Destiny’s Child. Remember to prepare the World Tree passageway or the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device… If we don’t even have this bit of trust, I think there’s really no need for us to cooperate.”

“Alright, we will deal with it,” Marbruce answered. Now was not the time to continue bargaining

Han Xiao nodded and suddenly added, “One more thing. Hurry up and fulfill your promise, admit the independence of the association. Don’t think of delaying it. Don’t think that you can get away with it when the war breaks out. As I said, I’ll just leave.”

With that, the communication was cut off. and the remote projection disappeared.

There were only three people left in the room. They looked at each other with complicated expressions.

“I didn’t expect to be scolded by him in person. Did we push him too hard?” Louis smiled bitterly. “Don’t look down on him. How could someone as ambitious as Black Star lose his cool so easily? He’s just using this as an excuse.” The Pope shook his head, paused, and said helplessly, “However, he did hit the nail on the head.”

“Black Star is really…” Marbruce hesitated for a moment before sighing. “His wings are completely spread open.”

When Han Xiao returned to his office, he snorted and threw the communicator aside.

“These three are definitely born in the year of the dog. If I didn’t give them two slaps, how would they understand who their daddy is?”

Chapter 1318: Establishment and Setting Off

As the saying went, if the sky collapsed, there would be a tall man to hold it up. Currently, only the three Universal Civilizations and Han Xiao were stopping the World Tree Civilization from pressuring the Galactic Society.

Under the surface of peace, undercurrents were brewing. Half a month quickly passed, and it was time for the Galaxy Central Civilization Court Assembly.

The Galaxy Central Civilization Court was hosted by the three Universal Civilizations, and the participants included the Super Star Cluster, Star Cluster, and Star System Civilizations.

Unlike the regional Civilization Conference of the various Star Fields, the Galaxy Central Civilization Court was the most authoritative Civilization Conference, the core of the entire galactic society. It was solemn and respectful, also known as the ‘Central Council’.

Every year, there would be a fixed meeting period that lasted several months. During this period, there would be frequent meetings to review the issues submitted by the various civilizations, to coordinate the development of all the galactic civilizations, to mediate disputes, to discuss the management of the galactic society, and so on, including many topics such as civilian life, economy, military, and disaster relief.

However, the galactic residents did not pay much attention to this matter because they had meetings every year. Most of the time, they only talked about some old topics. Most of the galactic residents only looked at the brief news coverage after the meeting.

The venue of the Galaxy Central Civilization Court was shaped like a flower petal. In the center was the chairman’s board, and around it were the representatives of the three Universal Civilizations. There were rows of fan-shaped seats that were arranged according to the level of the civilization. The Super Star Cluster Civilizations sat in the inner circle, and the Star System Civilizations sat in the outermost circle. The invited news reporters had a dedicated broadcast area.

At this moment, the venue was filled with diplomatic envoys from various civilizations. This conference had been going on for quite some time.

The president had just finished a round of voting and rejected a proposal to increase the security budget of the region. He then flipped to the next topic and looked at the representatives of the three Universal Civilizations. He cleared his throat before speaking

“Then the next topic is a joint proposal by the Federation of Light, the Crimson Dynasty, and the Arcane Church. This proposal believes that the Beyond Grade A Development Association plays an indispensable role in maintaining the galactic society and has extraordinary influence. At the same time, it is dedicated to maintaining the peace and stability of the Galactic Society and has made an indelible contribution. This proposal is to revise the universal laws of the universe such as the Peace Treaty and make an exception to accept the Beyond Grade A Development Association, allowing it to enjoy an independent official position. Its rights and benefits are equivalent to the treatment of the advanced civilizations. May the proposer of the proposal come on stage to explain.”

The president finished reading the topic according to the script. The venue, which was originally filled with small discussions, suddenly became silent.

Other than a portion of the subsidiary civilizations that were in close contact with the three Universal Civilizations, the other representatives were all stunned.

The three Universal Civilizations had made peace with the Beyond Grade A Association not too long ago, and now they were eager to help?

Not to mention the inside story, there had never been such a precedent in history for a civil organization to have the same official position as a civilization. The three Universal Civilizations’ proposal had opened a new path, and the rebound from the outside world could be imagined.

What made the three Universal Civilizations willing to pay such a price to obtain political benefits for the association?

Most of the civilizations’ representatives were dumbfounded. They thought that this was just a routine meeting, but they did not expect the three Universal Civilizations to suddenly throw out such a bombshell.

The news reporters immediately perked up.

This was juicy news!

Under the attention of everyone, the dynasty’s diplomatic representative stood up and walked up the stage. He looked around the venue and slowly explained the reason for the proposal, emphasizing the unique position of the Beyond Grade A Association in the current galactic structure. His speech was full of praise, as though he wanted to praise the association to the skies.

After listening for a while, the expressions of the various civilization representatives turned strange.

Why does it sound so familiar? Did you guys just slack off and simply just change the negativity of the trade sanction declaration into positivity?

After the representatives of the three Universal Civilizations finished their respective statements, the president announced the start of the debate and consultation. A large number of civilization representatives immediately requested to speak. Although the Galaxy Central Civilization Court was presided over by the three Universal Civilizations, if they wanted to add a new clause in the Universal Civilization Law, they still had to put it to a vote.

However, as the final winner of the exploration era, the three Universal Civilizations naturally would not be so stupid as to hand over too much power. They all gave themselves the privilege of having one veto and one decision vote.

The veto vote would negate the voting result of an issue, returning it to the proposal stage, to repeat another round of presentations, debates, amendments, and voting, and so on until they were satisfied with the result. If the decision vote power was used, the voting stage was skipped directly, but the priority was lower compared to the veto vote, which meant that only the three major civilizations could exempt each other’s decision vote power.

However, the number of times the three Universal Civilizations had used their privileges could be counted on one’s fingers. As long as it did not involve their own benefits, they would not interfere. Most of the time, they only acted as the judges and rarely took part in the battle.

The representatives of the three Universal Civilizations easily dealt with the questions of the participants, and they answered the sharp questions with one sentence.

Among them, the Super Star Cluster Civilizations were the calmest. They had long received this news, and while watching coldly, they were secretly trying to figure out what was going on between Black Star and the three Universal Civilizations.

Amid the excitement of the crowd, it was soon time for the voting. The civilizations’ representatives who did not know about this earlier all had different opinions, and no one wanted to be the first to take on this issue.

The result of the vote was shown on the virtual screen. There were a lot of objections, and they did not meet the criteria to pass the draft.

The president took a look and said, “We don’t have enough votes, so we shall reject this…”

Before he could finish, the Federation of Light representative knocked on the table and said, “My side will use our right to veto.”

The president nodded, not surprised at all. “Then, let’s enter the proposal stage again. Please…”

However, before he could finish, the Crimson Dynasty representative slowly said, “My side will exercise the decision vote.”

The moment he said that, the Federation of Light and Arcane Church expressed their agreement.

Seeing this, the representatives of the various civilizations did not find it out of their expectations, but they were still surprised.

They had expected that the three Universal Civilizations would use their privileges, but no one expected them to use two privileges.

The three Universal Civilizations had basically never used two privileges at the same time. After a single veto, they would usually let everyone re-evaluate their decision and do things like lobbying during this period to fight for votes. This would more or less make the other civilizations feel they had a sense of participation. However, after vetoing the proposal, a decision was immediately made. The representative’s attitude was very firm, implying that this proposal had to be approved. It was unquestionable and very overbearing, as though they did not mind performing a one-man show.

“Are the three Universal Civilizations so determined to stand up for the Beyond Grade A Association? What exactly is going on?”

The representatives of the civilizations felt an inexplicable itch to understand the situation.

As many media outlets fought to repost the news, the news that the three Universal Civilizations were fighting for the Beyond Grade A Association’s official identity spread like wildfire in the Galactic Society!

The conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association had just ended, but another shocking news story broke out, instantly turning into the hottest topic.

The majority of galactic residents could not understand what the three Universal Civilizations were doing.

Not long ago, during the peace negotiations, although the three Universal Civilizations had given in, they at least had a dignified reason. How could they explain this now? Just reconciliation was not enough, and they even had to help the association to be promoted. What were they doing? Compensation for what?

First, they attacked aggressively. In the end, they were so scared that they took the initiative to give in. This was already embarrassing enough. He did not expect the three Universal Civilizations to compensate the association and furthermore insist that they were not cowards… Only a fool would believe that!

As soon as this proposal was exposed, it was met with strong opposition from a large number of galactic residents. Originally, they had already suppressed their dissatisfaction toward Beyond Grade As, but seeing that the association was about to become an official organization, many people could not take it anymore and started attacking the association. The most mainstream argument was that the association did not have the right to become an official organization and that they should not allow a Beyond Grade A group to have such an identity.

Due to the escalation of the class conflict, the Beyond Grade A Association had already become the main target of hatred. Seeing that the association was going to develop further and even be ‘purified’, many galactic residents were furious. This mentality was akin to seeing their enemy living a good life.

On the contrary, most of the Supers in the various Star Fields were excited. They had been looking forward to the Beyond Grade A Association being their leader, but they did not expect it to really come true. Furthermore, it was the first time in history. No matter how the association did it, many Supers were full of admiration.

With the official position, the three Universal Civilizations could no longer promote the association’s illegitimacy. Supers no longer had to worry about losing their citizenship after joining the association.

Due to the three Universal Civilizations having a say in the Galaxy Central Civilization Court, many civilizations expressed their opinions through various channels. They first acknowledged the important influence of the association, but they tactfully felt that giving them an exception was a little too much. They claimed that they did not know about the private transactions between the three Universal Civilizations and the association and expressed their dissatisfaction.

Comparatively, the reaction of the players to this news was a little delayed, mainly because most of them did not quite understand the meaning behind it. In their eyes, it was enough as long as the Beyond Grade A Association was strong enough. These political things seemed meaningless. However, after some storyline-loving players explained it on the forums, the players finally understood the difference.

“Treating a civilization as a country, which means that the Beyond Grade A Association used to be a company but is now a country?”

“Does this mean that the Beyond Grade As are building a nation?”

“More or less. Initially, no matter how powerful the association was, it was still a civilian organization. Now, it has finally evolved.”

“I’ve figured it out! The main storyline should be based on the Beyond Grade A nation as the main body to witness the birth of a different Super civilization. Black Star is the highest leader, so it’s called the Black Star Era?”

“66666, I understand.”

“Sigh, as an old player who fell into this rathole in Version 1.0, I personally witnessed Old Black starting from nothing and climbing to his current position step by step. I’m so touched. It’s like I’m recalling my youth… No, I have to watch Bun-Hit-Dog’s Black Star Army series from the start!”

“Previous poster, please cover your ID when you’re advertising yourself. Thank you for your cooperation.”

On the forums, many players were extremely excited.

When the three Universal Civilizations and the association were in a standoff, many players thought that the main storyline would be a battle between the two sides, but they did not expect it to end with a truce. Now that a Beyond Grade A nation had been founded, the players felt that the main storyline missions would definitely revolve around this point, and they could not possibly be wrong this time!

While the outside world was abuzz with the news of the association being promoted, Han Xiao was already prepared and headed toward the territory of the World Tree Civilization.

At the border of the Abyss of Stars, an enormous fleet surrounded a Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, which was currently heating up. Han Xiao was the only one inside.

“We have set the coordinates, which lead to a location that has never been activated. It’s located in an uninhabited area. If what you said is true, then the World Tree Civilization has an unknown detection method. It’s best if you leave immediately when you reach the other side and find a way to hide yourself…” In the communication channel of the mechanical suit, Fleet Commander Simon was carefully instructing him on what to take note of.

“You guys can just send me there. I’ll take care of the rest,” Han Xiao replied. Simon nodded. “Hmm, since you have the King mechanical suit, you don’t need us to pick you up. Just adapt to the situation.”

In the end, the three Universal Civilizations agreed to send Han Xiao to the territory of the World Tree Civilization. Because Han Xiao had the King, there was no need for them to wait and receive him.

To Han Xiao, as long as he left behind a Throne in the past, he could teleport to it anytime in the future. This was the reason the three Universal Civilizations did not allow him to participate in the previous exploration.

However, he was worried that the connection between the King and Throne would serve as a clue to his location, so he placed many Thrones in different secondary dimensions. Furthermore, he had to choose his location carefully when leaving the Throne in the World Tree Civilization’s territory.

I hope I can achieve something this time…

Han Xiao’s brain worked quickly.

This trip to the territory of the World Tree Civilization was only one of the goals of helping Destiny’s Child. Besides, the World Tree Civilization had already discovered the outsiders. So long as he did not leak any information about the explored universe, he might be able to act more boldly. If there was a chance, he wanted to see if he could find clues about the World Tree’s main body on the other side. This was extremely important. Just relying on the expedition fleet left too much to chance.

At the same time, he also wanted to see if (Virtual Purification-Restore) was effective on the members of the World Tree Civilization.

Just as Han Xiao was thinking, the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device finally finished its preheating and began to spin rapidly, turning into a circle of light.

“Cut off all the links,” Simon said in the channel before turning off the communication network.

Han Xiao activated the silenced mode of his mechanical suit, blocking all network links, including Phillip. Very soon, the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device reached its maximum speed.

Buzz!

All of a sudden, there was a flash of light, and the teleportation device rapidly slowed down. Han Xiao’s figure had disappeared in front of everyone’s eyes.

Chapter 1319: Nothing to Hide

The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device felt almost the same as the King’s Teleportation. His vision blurred, and his body became light. The figures of the three Universal Civilizations’ soldiers around him disappeared, and he reappeared in an empty space in the universe.

This is the territory of the World Tree Civilization… Let’s determine my location first.

Han Xiao quickly activated all kinds of detection devices to observe the surroundings. It was indeed a deserted region.

The exploration of the three Universal Civilizations was not completely useless. At the very least, they had stolen the star map of the World Tree territory from the internet, which gave him a lot of assistance in his infiltration.

However, because it was not convenient for him to connect to the network of the World Tree Civilization, he could not enjoy the GPS positioning of the network. He had to find a planet as a reference to confirm his exact location. Then, he would use a backup artificial intelligence synchronized star map model and utilize the space measurement technology as well as the calculation formula of star distance and vision to create a self-made navigation device. He had no need to rely on a network link. Although there would be some errors, it would be precise enough.

As he had come to the territory of the World Tree Civilization alone, it would not be convenient for him to communicate with the explored universe. Therefore, he could not obtain remote assistance at the moment and could only act on his own.

Han Xiao entered the quantum network but did not connect to the node. Instead, he used this method to check for densely packed areas of the node to determine where there were people.

I wonder what the World Tree Civilization’s detection method is…

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. Ever since he came to the territory of the World Tree Civilization, there was a faint sense of danger in his heart, as if just staying in the territory of the World Tree Civilization was a dangerous thing.

Just relying on this intuition, Han Xiao could guess the reason for the three Universal Civilizations’ exposure.

Just staying here makes me feel out of place, as if I’m being spied on. The World Tree has a powerful information state ability, so maybe it’s a detection method specifically for foreign information states?

Logically speaking, the three Universal Civilizations had never come into contact with any life forms of the World Tree Civilization, and the areas they had explored before were all uninhabited areas. They had made sure to conceal themselves, so they should not be discovered. However, if the World Tree Civilization had set up an unknown information network in its entire territory, the situation would be a different case.

According to Han Xiao’s understanding, the progress of the three Universal Civilizations’ research in the Information Form state had always been slow, and there was no related technology to it. If their roles were changed and the World Tree Civilization used the same method to spy on the explored universe, the three Universal Civilizations would most likely not discover it.

I hope the mark of Destiny’s Child will be of some use.

Han Xiao looked at the mark on his hand.

Destiny’s Child was also an expert in the Information Form field, and he had the trait of being unobservable as a High Dimensional Information Form. This temporary mark could activate the corresponding concealment function, achieving a ‘closed information loop’ like Rody. It would not be observed by ordinary people, and it might be able to hide from the unknown surveillance methods of the World Tree Civilization to a certain extent.

However, the three Universal Civilizations had already alerted the World Tree to detect the presence of outsiders. The main reason he hid his tracks was to make it easier for him to carry out missions. As long as he did not reveal any information about the explored universe, it would not be a big deal if he was discovered. It was fine as long as he could escape in time.

Let’s set up the map.

Han Xiao calmed himself down and activated all kinds of concealment devices before picking one direction.

After sailing in the direction of the quantum node for a period of time, a yellow planet finally appeared in his vision. It seemed to be a colonial planet. A few spatial cracks had opened up near it, and translucent turquoise roots extended out from within, inserted into the planet. They kept expanding and shrinking as though they were breathing.

The roots of the World Tree…

Han Xiao stopped and used this planet to calibrate his position in the star map, finally creating a navigation module.

He only looked from afar and did not approach.

If he could obtain a portion of the roots and use it to find the location of the World Tree’s main body… It was a pity that his previous life had proven that this method would not work. He had to think of a different method.

Han Xiao looked at the yellow planet again and nodded.

This should be a planet that has been transformed.

Everything that the World Tree devoured would turn into information form storage after digestion, which could be remade into a physical entity. A planet being devoured did not mean that it would disappear, but it existed in a different form. The World Tree could build it again, and it only required a certain amount of energy and resources.

However, the resources needed to materialize did not require matching materials. The World Tree had an inseparable relationship with psionic energy. Psionic energy could be decomposed into many forms of energy, and it was often treated as a form of ‘universal energy’. The World Tree also had a similar function, involving changes in matter.

For example, the materials used to make steel through the World Tree could be wood, seawater, or all kinds of random things. With enough energy, a series of unknown transformations within the World Tree would eventually turn into solid steel, like a high-level alchemy product that no one could understand.

Although the World Tree had a will, it was also a tool-type Space Wonder that was used by the civilization. After many years of experimentation, they had managed to calculate the synthesis requirements of countless objects.

It was because of this characteristic that the World Tree Civilization’s war strength was extremely strong. They had almost never been disadvantaged, and their army was endless.

Many resources came from planets, and the World Tree Civilization would convert those valuable planets back in their main camp, allowing them to continue evolving and produce all kinds of materials. From there, they would accumulate more resources. Swallowing a planet in one go was like getting a one-time deal, and after it was converted, there would be a long-term harvest.

Now was not the time to cause trouble. After Han Xiao activated the navigation star map, he immediately left and disappeared. After a long time, ripples suddenly appeared on the roots of the earth yellow planet, and a fleet quickly materialized.

In the command room, Barbani looked at the yellow planet curiously. “There seems to be an abnormal reaction in the vicinity? Could it be that the outsiders are not satisfied with exploring the outskirts and wish to spy on our planet?”

The captain shook his head. “I’m not sure. The reaction of this information state alert is very weak. I don’t know if it was a false report.”

“Let’s take a look at the Information Form camera first.” Barbani waved his hand.

Very soon, the fleet activated this device, and the light green light screen quickly scanned the surrounding area. The results showed that everything was normal, and there was no situation where all traces of Han Xiao were cleared like the three Universal Civilizations.

The captain looked at the results, nodded, and said, “The traces of the information state are intact, and there are no abnormal clues. Given how the outsiders cleared all their traces last time, it’s either a false report, or this time, the outsiders have even higher level Information Form technology.”

“Could it be new prey?” Barbani got excited again.

“Hmm, I can’t rule out this possibility. The level of the later intruder’s Information Form technology is clearly higher than the outsiders who cleared all the traces last time. They might be two different groups of people… However, there’s the World Tree Root beside them. If the outsiders cleared all traces here like the previous time, they would have been discovered immediately. I’m more inclined to it being misinformation.” The captain analyzed the situation for a moment before speaking out again. “To be safe, since the camera has lost its effectiveness, the other party might have used a high-dimensional information form, so we need you to personally investigate.”

Hearing this, Barbani nodded and flew out of the cabin, entering space with just his bare body.

Then, a turquoise light emerged from his body and concentrated on his visual organs, emitting a hazy green light. He patrolled the area while scanning the surroundings.

Suddenly, Barbani stopped and looked in a certain direction. It was the area that Han Xiao had stayed in previously.

The green light in his eyes gradually grew stronger. At this time, within the range of the light, a blurry shadow that looked like water ripples suddenly appeared. It was like a cluster of glowing particles, just extremely dispersed.

“I see it. It’s indeed a high-dimensional information form.”

Barbani perked up.

The high-dimensional information state had an unobservable nature, and the related technology was very advanced. Even if one stood in front of it, ordinary people would not be able to detect it, and the information state camera would not be able to detect it either. The disguise provided by Destiny’s Child’s Mark was the high-dimensional information form state.

However, as the Holy Tree Emissary, Barbani could use the high-dimensional information vision of the World Tree to offset the ‘Closed Information Feedback Loop’. He could view any High Dimensional Information Forms were previously unviewable to the eyes of others. That was how he discovered the trail.

Just by borrowing the high-dimensional information vision, he was unable to completely reverse the situation like a camera. He could not obtain any specific information and could only detect certain traces of movement.

“The number of outsiders is unknown, so there shouldn’t be too many. They stayed around for a few seconds…” Barbani suddenly exclaimed in excitement. “Eh, this outsider seems to still be here.”

In his vision, this light particle-like trail extended in two directions, pointing in the directions the outsiders had come and gone in. This meant that the outsiders had not teleported away but had continued staying in the territory of their civilization.

“Holy Tree Emissary, what do we do next?” the captain asked in the channel.

“Humph, wait in the tree. I’ll chase after them and see if I can capture this outsider alive.”

Barbani could not wait to move. He turned into a turquoise beam of light and chased after Han Xiao.

Meanwhile, Han Xiao was speeding through the universe, looking for a suitable starting point according to the star map. Just as he was focused on his journey, the interface suddenly pinged.

You have triggered an urgent mission: Nowhere to Hide!

Mission Introduction: In the territory of the World Tree Civilization, outsiders have almost nowhere to hide. Your whereabouts have been discovered. Someone is following the clues you left behind.

Mission Requirements: Face the pursuers.

Reward: Unknown

Han Xiao frowned. “I had the concealment device activated and even used the high-dimensional information form of Destiny’s Child’s Mark, but I was still discovered so quickly. Is the World Tree’s surveillance method so penetrative?”

Chapter 1320: Determined

The mission notification said that in the World Tree territory, there was almost no place for outsiders to hide. Han Xiao was now even warier of the World Tree’s unknown detection methods.

Han Xiao frowned. The World Tree Civilization has far more control over their territory than the three Universal Civilizations. If I don’t figure out what’s going on, I’m afraid I won’t be able to move an inch here…

Since his whereabouts had been discovered, he would only be pursued if he continued to escape. With the convenience of the World Tree’s mental network, the pursuers could share information and surround him. It would be quite troublesome for him.

Looks like I have to adjust my plan. It’s not suitable for me to carry out the mission now…

If they did not figure out what the detection method of the World Tree Civilization was, they would not even know how they were exposed, much less know how to avoid it.

Since the pursuers were behind him, he had no choice but to get rid of them. He wanted to see if he could find out the principle of the detection method from them. Furthermore, since he originally wanted to see if the virtual purification would work on the people of the World Tree Civilization, this was a good opportunity.

Due to the mechanism of the mental network, when he came into contact with the people of the World Tree Civilization, the scene of him taking action would be observed. There were many risks, such as the other party calling for reinforcements, and he might have to abandon the mission and leave.

However, this was not a big problem. It was not like he could only go to the World Tree Civilization once. There was no time limit for this marking mission. If he could not deal with it this time, he could do it next time. On the other hand, if he could learn about the World Tree detection method from the pursuers, it would be more valuable to him. At the very least, he would not have to poke around blindly in search of it.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. “Although I’ve been discovered, I still have an advantage…”

The current situation seemed to be that the enemy was in the dark while he was in the light. However, the pursuers had discovered him, but they probably did not know that he had detected the enemy through the interface mission. From another perspective, perhaps the enemy was in the light while he was in the dark.

Although he did not know what was going on with the pursuers, they were likely following his movements. He might be able to ambush them from the opposite direction and quickly end the battle so that the pursuers would not see too many of his methods.

“Tsk, I wanted to move stealthily, but you just had to force me.”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, but he did not continue forward. Instead, he turned around and flew a distance before beginning to set up his scheme.

A green beam of light streaked across the sky, speeding forward. Barbani had been constantly activating his high-dimensional information form vision to track the traces left behind by Han Xiao. In his eyes, a path formed by light particles extended out.

“What guts you have, how dare you stay and try to gather more information? You’re courting death.”

Barbani was not angry but excited. Although the Holy Tree Emissary had a high position and power, most of the time, he had nothing to do. After all, the World Tree was connected to everyone, and there were no criminals or rebels. There were basically no internal conflicts, and these experts had nothing to help with. Other than training and enjoying material benefits, there was nothing else they could do. Many of them did not even bother to show themselves and had been sleeping in the tree, living in the virtual world.

Now that he had finally encountered something interesting, Barbani was overjoyed.

“I hope these outsiders have some ability. Let me have some fun.”

However, just as he was fantasizing, something out of the ordinary happened!

The space around him suddenly shook, as if it had solidified in an instant. Barbani’s speed plummeted, as though he had fallen into a swamp.

At the same time, dozens of points of starlight suddenly appeared in his vision. The next moment, dozens of huge blue and white beams of light came from all directions, attacking from a distance. Barbani was at the intersection point of the beams, and the dazzling light instantly swallowed his body.

“This is an ambush?”

The intense pain of his flesh evaporating like a volcanic eruption instantly swept through every nerve in his body. Barbani felt that his body was dissolving, and his life force was rapidly flowing out. The power of the attack exceeded his expectations, and he was shocked and furious.

Other than the outsiders, there was no way it could be anyone else. Barbani could not believe that this group of outsiders had sensed his pursuit. Not only did they not escape, they even wanted to attack him!

Barbani was shocked and furious. Just as he was about to struggle out of the restraints, a red light suddenly appeared from within the dozens of blue and white light beams. The next moment, the red light suddenly expanded and dyed the light beams red. The output power increased exponentially.

The intersection point of the beam exploded like the dawn from a red sun!

Barbani’s figure was sent flying. He was covered in wounds and looked like he was burnt. He looked horrific.

The lethality of this round of attacks gave him a shock. He did not expect that with his ability, he would be heavily injured in a single exchange. He did not even see the enemy.

The outsiders this time actually had such powerful strength!

“I can’t solve this alone. I have to call for help!”

Barbani was about to take action, but at this moment, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared in his vision and swept across his body.

His body suddenly froze, and he revealed a blank expression.

Han Xiao, who was looking at this area through a remote device, raised his brows in surprise.

“The virtual purification worked?”

Han Xiao had set up an ambush at the place he had passed by earlier and used a bunch of technology from Jayz’s treasure to conceal it as much as possible. These dozens of high-intensity light beams came from a special hovering weapon array. It was a Universal Treasure-level machine, one of the parts of the Mechanical Deity.

Han Xiao had originally thought that the pursuers might be a fleet, so he had planned to launch an attack after failing the ambush. However, he found out that it was only a single person. According to his understanding of the World Tree Civilization, this person was most likely a Beyond Grade A Super like the Holy Tree Emissary or the Ancestral Spirit. It was impossible for him to be one of the Five Tree Kings.

Without saying a word, he launched an ambush and obtained the other party’s combat information through the interface. He secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

Barbani’s level was far lower than his, and his energy level was around 53,000. He was only an ordinary Beyond Grade A, and even if he could borrow some of the World Tree’s power, he would still not be able to fight back.

Therefore, after using (Virtual Purification, Restore), Han Xiao was prepared to kill it immediately. However, the combat information made him stop. The interface indicated that the Virtual Purification was effective!

“It actually worked!”

Han Xiao took a deep breath.

When he obtained the skill (Virtual Purification-Restore), he had suspected that this move might be effective on the World Tree, but he did not expect it to actually come in useful.

The mental network of the World Tree connected everyone. To him, it was like an enormous smartphone, processing, distributing, and monitoring the information of every individual. All the lives devoured by the World Tree had their thoughts rewritten. No matter how much hostility they had, they would ultimately be loyal to the World Tree. The negative memories did not disappear but were diluted.

(Virtual Purification-Restore) purified intelligent targets infected by a virus, and the nature of those life forms that had been swallowed by the World Tree would also change, becoming some kind of symbiotic relationship. Even if they did not have a physical body, they could still live in the virtual world created by the World Tree, similar to an artificial intelligence. Therefore, Han Xiao was not sure if this would work, but it seemed like his hunch was right.

However, Han Xiao was not happy for long before he realized a problem.

The Virtual Purification only temporarily restored the other party’s original thoughts, but the other party was still an individual devoured by the World Tree. This connection would not be broken, so the World Tree could rewrite the other party’s thoughts at any time, covering the Virtual Purification effect. This meant that this move might only temporarily wake the other party up.

Furthermore, this move could only be used on those enslaved targets. If the target was originally loyal to the World Tree, it was obviously useless.

Fortunately, this guy called Barbani was not a native race of the World Tree Civilization but an enemy that the World Tree Civilization had devoured during their universe wars.

“This is…”

Barbani was stunned on the spot. Countless memories collided in his mind, and the memories of his civilization being destroyed by the World Tree’s iron hooves came back to life. He even remembered that after he was devoured, he had become an accomplice in destroying his civilization, and countless of his own race had died at his hands.

His twisted mind quickly corrected itself, and his view of things returned to normal. The long-lost hostility and anger gushed out like a volcanic eruption.

“World Tree! What did you make me do?”

Barbani covered his head with his hands, his entire body trembling. It was a furious roar, but it also sounded like a sorrowful howl. The pain contained within made Han Xiao shiver.

However, right at this moment, Han Xiao activated the short-range teleportation device and appeared beside Barbani in an instant.

“Are you awake? Time is of the essence, and I don’t have the time to waste with you. Tell me the secrets you know while you’re still clear-minded!”

Barbani withdrew from his grief and indignation, as he immediately recalled what he had been doing before he regained consciousness. These memories would not be erased by the virtual purification.

Without further explanation, he instantly understood the intentions of this outsider and his current situation.

Without any hesitation, Barbani immediately told him the secrets of the World Tree that he had. After he regained consciousness, no matter who this outsider was, as long as he became enemies with the World Tree, he would be someone worth helping.

Seeing that the other party was so understanding, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief and focused on memorizing the content.

Barbani quickly explained the important secrets of the World Tree. Not long after, his expression suddenly changed, and a look of struggle flashed across his face.

“They’ve noticed. Leave quickly. The people of the World Tree will arrive at any time… It’s monitoring everyone and has discovered that I’ve regained my will. I can’t resist it and will soon have my thoughts rewritten.”

Han Xiao also saw that the duration of the virtual purification in the status bar was rapidly decreasing, and his heart skipped a beat. He knew that the World Tree had already noticed this ‘uncontrollable’ individual.

He released his grip and was just about to retreat when he realized that Barbani had taken the initiative to raise his hand and push him away. Immediately after, his entire body lit up with lights that seeped through cracks in his body. He was going to detonate all his energy.

When the light was at its highest point, Barbani looked at Han Xiao deeply and said firmly, “We’re hopeless. No matter who you are, don’t lose!”

Boom!

The next moment, a violent explosion spread out, and Barbani exploded, turning into bright fireworks.

Han Xiao was slightly moved.

The actions of this ‘awakened’ were far more decisive than he had imagined. Only strong hatred could drive him to make such a choice.

I might have underestimated this move…

However, there was no time to think about it. Han Xiao quickly put away the mechanical equipment and activated the short-range teleportation device.

After a while, a spatial rift suddenly appeared in this area and out extended the roots of the World Tree. A huge fleet sailed out and quickly turned from illusory to solid. Several Holy Tree Emissaries descended and checked the scene.

“The Information Form alert has just issued the highest warning, indicating that the most serious information leak has occurred!”

The Holy Tree Emissaries had solemn expressions. They had rushed over as soon as they received the alarm.

Not long ago, the World Tree had shared what it had seen through the mental network, causing them to all be shocked.

“Barbani betrayed us? How is that possible?”

“He actually leaked the secret!”

“What happened? How did the outsider bewitch him?”

“He has turned back into a seed. We’ll have to wait for him to mature again before we can ask him what’s going on.”

The Holy Tree Emissaries could not understand this situation because no one had ever betrayed the World Tree, not even having the thought of betraying it.

At this time, more and more spatial rifts opened up, and roots extended out, sending batches of fleets and experts over.

Suddenly, the Tree King’s cold voice sounded in everyone’s mind. “Kill him; don’t let this outsider leave alive!”

Chapter 1321: Secret and Pursuit

In the bright star space, Han Xiao’s figure was speeding away.

“So, that’s what happened. Information Form alert…”

Thinking back to the information he had just received, Han Xiao’s expression was grave.

Barbani had told him quite a lot of secrets, including the Information Form warning networks, high-dimensional information vision, and so on. Han Xiao finally knew how the other party had discovered him, and he could not help but have a headache.

Unless he possessed Information Form technology that surpassed the World Tree, such detection methods were almost impossible to solve. No wonder the three Universal Civilizations had exposed themselves so quickly. It was indeed difficult for outsiders to do anything in the World Tree Civilization’s territory.

When he triggered the alert, it should have been because he had observed the earth yellow planet and the World Tree Root at a close distance. As an outsider, he had interacted with the World Tree Civilization’s information gathering, so he had been discovered. That was why the Holy Tree Emissary had come to check, using his high-dimensional information vision to track the traces he had left behind. Even with the mark of Destiny’s Child, it was not effective in completely shielding him.

It was like having an extremely strong sixth sense. Anyone looking at him would allow him to be able to sense the direction of their gaze, and it might even be able to allow him to pinpoint their position.

“This won’t be easy. I don’t think I’ll have a chance to complete this mission…”

Most importantly, as long as the alarm was not triggered, the World Tree would not be able to detect it even if he left a trace.

However, now that he had been discovered, the World Tree Emissaries could follow the traces and track him. Under such circumstances, if he used the energy of Destiny’s Child to encircle the area, he was worried that he would be discovered by the high-dimensional information vision, and this would make it inconvenient for him to even leave a Throne behind.

According to the system of the Information Form Alert Net, it was not impossible to avoid it. As long as he had the awareness to avoid the interaction of information and only flew within the barren universe, not coming into contact with anything related to the World Tree, it was still possible to hide. Just like when he first teleported over, there was no information entanglement, so the World Tree did not discover it.

However, this was easier said than done. At the very least, the alarm had already been triggered this time, so there was basically no chance to hide anymore.

As for the other secrets, Barbani had also told him some of them. Some of them were already known by Han Xiao, and some were unknown to him.

The most important thing to him was the ability of the World Tree to sense the external locations where there was information about it. The more people who knew about it, or the deeper the conflict between the two sides, the more accurate the directions to the explored universe would be. This was not good. “Although the three Universal Civilizations hid the information, they still let a portion of their people know about this in order to explore in secret… If we don’t take further measures to keep it a secret, the number of people who know will only increase.” Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.

The more one knew, the easier it would be to sense them. The World Tree’s anti-tracking ability was too troublesome.

It was a pity that this information did not contain the coordinates of the World Tree’s main body. According to Barbani, he had never read any related information in the mind network. None of the Holy Tree Emissaries or upper echelons that he had come into contact with knew anything about it either.

Even so, the value of this intelligence exceeded all the results of the previous explorations. It was probably the biggest gain of this trip. Only after uncovering the various methods of the World Tree could they take measures against it.

“Luckily, virtual purification is effective. Otherwise, I would not have been able to obtain these secrets.”

Han Xiao thought that he was lucky. The intelligence that he had now exceeded that of his previous life.

After witnessing Barbani’s resolute action, he realized that the effect of virtual purification might be beyond his expectations. There were many foreign races that had been assimilated by the World Tree. If everyone received the same awakening through purification, they could all become potential spies.

The World Tree would definitely target this move once it was prepared. Once someone ‘lost control’, it would immediately rewrite their mind and cause the duration of the virtual purification to plummet. However, at the very least, they should be able to have some time for self-destruction. This way, the foreign experts that the World Tree devoured might not be of any use.

However, the emissaries of the World Tree would not completely die. Once one died, they would turn into a seed and return to the World Tree, falling into a deep slumber. The World Tree could consume resources and time to mature the seed, allowing them to reawaken and revive. The mechanism was somewhat similar to the Underworld, but there were also subtle differences.

The foundation of an Underworld Spirit’s existence was its soul. By obtaining a physical body, it could recover its combat power. As long as the Hero Spirit existed, it did not matter if its body died because it was still ‘alive’.

The revival mechanism of the World Tree was different. It was an information-type ability, and every individual was unique. Because of the World Tree’s connection, the information was refreshed in real time. When an individual died, they would not be able to maintain their consciousness like Hero Spirits, and their thoughts would become dormant as though they had really died, turning into ‘seeds’. Only when the World Tree replenished their nutrients could they be revived.

From this perspective, the revival of the World Tree and the Sanctums had similarities. However, the revival of the Sanctums only required the activation of the Sanctum and did not require additional resources and time. The revival of the World Tree required a lot of resources and time, which meant that as long as one died, they would not be able to revive in a short period of time.

Han Xiao could not help but think of the ‘military barracks’ of the strategy games he played in his previous life. The production units needed to be trained, and the stronger the unit, the longer it would take.

“The revival principles of the World Tree and the Sanctums are related to the information form, but there is a unique principle. What will happen if the Sanctums revive the expert that has been devoured by the World Tree first? Will the connection still exist?”

Han Xiao could not help but be curious.

If it was possible, the Sanctum Revival might be able to continuously take away the powerhouses controlled by the World Tree, causing the strength of both parties to even out.

However, the possibility of failure could not be ruled out. After all, the individual had a symbiotic relationship with the World Tree, so even if the individual died, as long as the individual’s information form template still existed, the individual who died might be judged by the Sanctum as still alive. That way, they would not be able to revive and would forever be enslaved.

Furthermore, according to the mechanism of the World Tree, Han Xiao even suspected that the World Tree was like the previous owner of the Underworld, keeping the information form of his subordinates and not allowing them to enter the Sanctum. Thus, there was no way for them to revive.

Han Xiao pondered. “For now, I can only guess. I’ll only know if I try it myself… Hmm, but it’s not convenient to take the risk now.”

Since Barbani was dead, Han Xiao did not want to take the risk of using the Sanctum Revival. If the connection between the World Tree was not broken because of this, it would bring many more risks. This could be tested after the war broke out. At that time, he would not have to worry about being discovered.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. After digesting the new information, he opened the interface.

The mission (Nowhere to Hide] that he had triggered previously had been completed, and he immediately collected the rewards.

A notification popped up on his interface, showing that he had received 210,000,000 EXP, two Random Reward chances, and a Barbani Character Summon Card. However, the card was an offensive skill and was not very useful to him.

Other than that, it also indicated that the Favorability of the World Tree Faction had greatly decreased. At the same time, a new mission was activated.

You have triggered the urgent mission: World Tree’s Rage!

Mission Introduction: Your actions angered the World Tree, and it sees you as a huge threat. It has decided to launch a large-scale operation to hunt you down.

Mission Requirements: Face the pursuers and escape from the territory of the World Tree Civilization.

Reward depends on mission rating. Mission rating depends on the amount of resistance put forth while escaping.

Remarks: The moment you activate this mission, it means that the World Tree has remembered you. No matter when it discovers you, it will hunt you down. This will take effect permanently.

“Heh, I really poked a hornet’s nest.”

Han Xiao clicked his tongue.

It seemed that the virtual purification had left a deep impression on the World Tree, and it saw him as the number one threat. As long as he was discovered, the World Tree would immediately chase after him.

The mission itself was very simple. If he wanted to escape, he could just use the King suit to escape. However, the rating depended on resistance. If he completed the mission so easily, he would probably get the lowest rating He did not have a chance to complete his original mission this time, so he could only come again at some point. However, Han Xiao thought for a while and did not plan to retreat immediately.

Since he had been discovered, he might as well use virtual purification to obtain more intelligence and kill some of the World Tree powerhouses at the same time, allowing them to return to their seed state and temporarily reduce the World Tree’s advanced combat power. It was a pity that he did not know what would happen to the connection between the World Tree and the individual after the Spacetime Amber sealed the target. He did not dare take the risk at the moment, afraid that he would be remotely located after taking the amber away.

“However, this is the enemy’s base camp after all. There are many strong people here, and there are many factors that can threaten me. If I treat this too casually, I’m afraid I’ll fail.”

Han Xiao calmed himself down and took out bombs that were specially used to remove traces. As he sped forward, he set them up along the way.

This type of bomb could remove the usual traces of information form, other than the high-dimensional information forms, preventing the information form from being read by the Information Form Camera.

Setting up these bombs could also expand the area that the World Tree Army could not detect, which was beneficial to him.

Behind Han Xiao was a huge fleet in pursuit.

In the command room, a group of Beyond Grade As looked out the window, using the power of the World Tree to light up the high-dimensional information traces.

“The outsiders have begun to eliminate their traces on a large scale. The other party already knows about the existence of the Information Form Camera from Barbani’s mouth. This is most likely a targeted measure… Send more people to search the area to prevent the outsiders from leaving anything behind.”

The tall figure standing at the front slowly spoke with an unquestionable tone. Everyone present followed his lead.

Tedrian, a Nine Leaf Executive Officer, was in charge of this chase and was the highest ranked person present.

There were five Great Tree Kings in the World Tree, and each of them had two Executive Officers who were ranked from One Leaf to Ten Leaf.

The Tree Kings were usually in a deep sleep, absorbing the power of the World Tree to strengthen themselves. Therefore, these Executive Officers were the highest Executive Officers who dealt with the affairs of the World Tree Civilization. Not only did they have a high position and authority, they also had powerful personal strength. None of the Executive Officers under the Kings were below the pinnacle Beyond Grade A level.

Other than him, there were other pinnacle Beyond Grade As in the room.

“If we just chase from behind, it will be easy for the other party to escape. I’ve already informed some Holy Tree Emissaries to use their roots to intercept them,” a person beside him said with a deep voice. This was a high-level Holy Tree Emissary. He had a deeper connection with the World Tree, as well as stronger personal strength. He was far from what Barbani could compare to.

“There seems to be only one outsider. He’s very strong, at least at the level of an executive officer. Be careful not to let him ambush you,” another person said. This time, it was an ancestral spirit. This identity was usually responsible for matters related to faith.

The person who spoke was not an ordinary ancestral spirit but a member of the Thirteen Ancestral Spirits’. This represented the strongest thirteen of the ancestral spirits, all of which were at the pinnacle of Beyond Grade A.

“Don’t worry, His Excellency Tree King has been paying attention. If the situation isn’t right, he will come personally,” Tedrian replied coldly before looking back.

“Barbani was bewitched by others, but there are no weak-minded people who are following me in this pursuit. I hope all of you can resist the strange bewitching methods of the outsiders.”

Everyone nodded.

Although the World Tree did not know the theory behind the virtual purification, it felt threatened when it saw the performance of Barbani through the mental network.

To be on the safe side, the people who were sent to chase after the World Tree were all individuals who were loyal to the World Tree. There were no ‘outsiders’ who had their mindset overwritten.

Chapter 1322: Guerrilla Warfare

Right at this moment, the World Tree experts in the command room suddenly stopped moving. The movement in their High Dimensional Information Vision suddenly split into seven and headed in different directions.

“The outsider threw out bait to confuse our tracking; they are trying to disperse our manpower. It seems like they have the intention to retaliate.”

Seeing this, Tedrian narrowed his eyes and said with a solemn tone.

One of the thirteen Ancestral Spirits, Roxilian, stroked his beard-like small tentacles on his chin out of habit and said slowly, “In this case, we can only split up. We can’t ignore any trail.”

Although the High Dimensional Information Vision could see through ‘Information Closure’ and track the traces, it could not trace back to the specific details like the Information Form camera.

The World Tree still had its limits, so they could not immediately tell which one of the seven tracks Han Xiao was on. Only by collecting enough information samples could they differentiate the traces. This would take some time, and they would have to follow the trail and collect samples to lock onto the outsider.

If the goal of the outsider was to escape, scattering thousands of trails was a good way to mix things up, and it was enough to stall for more time. However, since there were only seven trails, Tedrian guessed that the outsider had not given up and wanted to fight back.

Even if the other six trails were just bait, they had to deal with them to prevent the outsider from leaving their troops or other dangerous things in the territory of the civilization.

“Then let’s gather more people. Our reinforcements are very fast anyway.”

The high-level Holy Tree Emissary Offerman nodded in agreement.

The group did not have any objections. In the territory of the World Tree Civilization, they could travel quickly on the World Tree roots. As long as someone discovered the target and shared their location through the mental network, the others would arrive quickly.

“Leave some people to act as mobile support troops. The rest will split up.”

Tedrian nodded.

Not only were they chasing from behind, but they were also following the direction of the trails, allowing some troops to pass directly to the front and intercept them. After confirming the changes in the trail, they would keep on shrinking the range.

The troops of the World Tree were constantly mobilized, gradually forming a large encirclement.

A fleet followed one of the trails for quite some distance, and the Holy Tree Emissary on the ship focused on maintaining the High Dimensional Information Vision.

At this time, a message came from the mental network. The sender was the intercepting troop in front of this trail.

“There’s no follow-up information trail ahead. We’re turning back and heading toward you, narrowing the search radius. Be careful.”

Hearing this, the Holy Tree Emissary immediately perked up.

They were some distance away from the intercepting troop. Since the trail ahead had been cut off, it meant that the target was likely within this distance, and it was very likely that they would meet each other.

“Be careful. The enemy is close,” the Holy Tree Emissary instructed the crew. He carefully sensed his surroundings and was a little angry.

It was a pity that the Information Form Camera was of no use this time. Otherwise, they would have no need to be so careful regardless of what the enemy had planned.

After traveling for some distance, an alarm suddenly sounded on the spaceship’s radar.

“High energy attacks detected. Shield activated. Please watch out!”

At the same time, beams of light shot over from afar, penetrating the fleet’s formation and quickly destroying many battleships.

“Enemy attack!”

The Holy Tree Emissary shuddered, and without hesitation, he called for reinforcements through the mental network before immediately activating his energy shield to protect himself.

A small mechanical troop surrounded by golden Mechanical Force suddenly charged over from the distance, closing in rapidly and firing continuously.

In the High Dimensional Information Vision, the source of this trail was this troop, but the outsider did not seem to be here.

“It seems like the trail I’m chasing is just bait.” The Holy Tree Emissary had a frustrated expression, as though he was regretful that he had not caught up to the outsider.

At this time, spatial rifts appeared around them, and many roots extended out. Reinforcements quickly arrived, and several Beyond Grade As arrived.

Seeing this mechanical troop fighting with the fleet, everyone knew that this path was not where the outsider was.

“One trail removed; there are six left.”

“Let’s get rid of these mechanical troops first. Let the Holy Tree swallow them and analyze the information.”

Without any hesitation, they charged forward, planning to end the battle quickly.

However, at this moment, one of the mechanical soldiers suddenly self-destructed, and a blue psionic light burst out, instantly swallowing the surrounding mechanical soldiers. The light expanded rapidly like it would never stop. “Damn it, it’s Primordial Psionic Energy!” The expressions of the World Tree experts changed drastically; they hurriedly stopped and retreated The encircling fleet also dispersed and turned to leave immediately. However, there were still some spaceships that could not escape in time and were swallowed by the Primordial Psionic Energy.

The larger the sphere of light was, the faster it expanded. All matter and energy that came into contact with it were assimilated, and psionic energy expanded continuously.

However, at this moment, spatial rifts appeared once again. The World Tree roots extended from the cracks and stabbed into the psionic energy ball and absorbed its energy rapidly like sucking a jelly. Only then did the psionic ball stop expanding and slowly shrink until it disappeared.

Everything that had been devoured by the psionic energy before was completely destroyed.

The World Tree experts who had run far away finally stopped, their faces ashen.

This was not the stable secondary psionic energy but the violent Primordial Psionic Energy and quite large at that. Although they were Beyond Grade As, they did not want to test the Primordial Psionic Energy’s strength with their bodies.

The Holy Tree Emissary had a lingering fear in his heart, and he angrily said, “That outsider must have set up Primordial Psionic Energy on all the bait to blast the pursuers to oblivion. Tell the others to be careful!”

The news quickly spread from the mental network to their comrades. Every chasing team immediately became cautious.

“A troop has already detonated…?”

Han Xiao was speeding through the universe when he suddenly sensed the Mechanical Force feedback.

Not long ago, he had sent out six mechanical troops to split up. On one hand, they were to split up the forces of the pursuers, and on the other hand, they served to act as a ward to see the size of the pursuers. The mechanical army did not enjoy the protection of the Destiny’s Child’s Mark, which meant that all their actions would be seen through by the Information Form Camera. However, after receiving the Mechanical Force link, the mechanical army would be able to share the disguise of the Destiny’s Child’s Mark and become bait.

Han Xiao had left some tricks with the bait, and the Primordial Psionic Energy was one of them. He did not mind spreading psionic energy pollution in the World Tree Civilization’s territory. Planting mushrooms in the enemy’s home would not only damage the pursuers but also wipe out his own troops, preventing them from being swallowed by the World Tree.

However, he did not count on the Primordial Psionic Energy causing too much damage to the other party. After experiencing the war in his previous life, Han Xiao knew very well that the World Tree’s ability to devour energy was just as effective against the Primordial Psionic Energy. This way of dealing with the psionic pollution was much more convenient than the three Universal Civilizations’ method.

At this time, Han Xiao suddenly felt something. He turned around and saw a spatial rift not far ahead from which a World Tree fleet appeared.

“Found him!”

The Holy Tree emissary leading this intercepting fleet was both surprised and delighted. He immediately sent the location through the mental network.

Seeing this, Han Xiao turned around to attack. Golden Mechanical Force was released, and a large mechanical army emerged, bombarding the fleet unreservedly.

With his current energy level, the destructive power of his mechanical army was already shocking. It destroyed this small intercepting fleet almost instantly.

The Holy Tree Emissary hurriedly dodged and defended, but he was unable to withstand the firepower of the mechanical army. He was riddled with wounds immediately and was scared out of his wits.

At this time, spatial rifts appeared around him one after another. The first batch of reinforcements from the World Tree Civilization quickly arrived, and Han Xiao sensed five Beyond Grade As’ energy.

However, he did not care. His energy erupted as he charged forward. A portion of his mechanical soldiers quickly gathered and turned into a small Mechanical Deity, almost instantly arriving in front of the injured Holy Tree Emissary.

Splitting rays were released from the fingertips of the Mechanical Deity, tearing apart the defense of this Holy Tree Emissary in the blink of an eye. Han Xiao activated the device in his palm; a spatial shockwave shot out, temporarily freezing the target in midair. Then, he threw a punch at the horrified Holy Tree Emissary.

Boom!

Shockwave erupted. The accumulated power of [Charge-Endless Potential] hit the Holy Tree Emissary’s body with full force. The powerful force crushed his muscles and bones, and even his cells instantly withered.

Green blood exploded in midair. This Holy Tree Emissary’s body disappeared, leaving only bloodstains on the mechanical fist.

With one punch, his HP was emptied! “You aren’t even an S+ rank, yet you dare to block my path. Do you think I flew so far for nothing? Let’s start this by killing one!”

Han Xiao grinned.

The combat information showed that this Holy Tree Emissary’s Energy Rank was less than 50,000, slightly weaker than Barbani. He had moved quite far, and the power of [Charge—Endless Potential] had stacked quite a lot. Together with the focus fire of the mechanical army, he insta-killed this Holy Tree Emissary.

He did not waste any time and immediately changed his target. He led his mechanical army and charged toward the five World Tree experts who had just arrived. The upgraded Celestial Punishment Edge was unfolded in his hands and slashed. The surging psionic energy turned into a sharp blade. “Dodge!”

Seeing how Han Xiao had insta-killed their comrade, the expressions of the five World Tree experts changed drastically. They did not dare take the attack head-on and quickly left the fleet behind to escape.

Boom!

The fleet could not dodge in time. The battleships along the path were crushed by the Celestial Punishment Edge, instantly exploding into fireworks. The fragments of the battleships were swept up by the blade, turning into hot lava that splashed on the surrounding spaceships and burned their shields.

Han Xiao used Virtual Purification on the five of them. However, the five of them only swayed slightly before returning to normal. They did not look lost like Barbani.

“Is the World Tree on guard? It didn’t send foreign races to chase after me. It reacted quite quickly.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, but he was not surprised. He turned his blade and locked onto the weakest of the five people shown by the combat information. He charged forward, scaring the other party so much that he turned and fled.

The other four people hurriedly launched long-range attacks from the side, trying to restrain Han Xiao. However, it was like scratching an itch. Their focused fire could not even penetrate the Mechanical Deity’s shield; Han Xiao could not even be bothered to block.

At this time, more and more reinforcements arrived. When these World Tree experts saw this, they immediately joined the battle. The number of people surrounding Han Xiao rapidly increased to double digits, and it was still rising

However, what shocked the many World Tree experts was that even though the number of attackers had reached double digits, this outsider was still able to run amok as though there was no one around. He ignored the damage and only attacked without defending. He endured the focused fire of so many people and killed an Ancestral Spirit that he had locked onto. This gave them the second casualty!

However, as more and more reinforcements arrived, the group finally managed to tie down this outsider and stop his killing spree.

Not long after the battle, Tedrian and the others also arrived on the battlefield on the World Tree Express. They immediately saw the Mechanical Deity, which was protected by a large number of mechanical soldiers, fighting dozens of World Tree powerhouses without being suppressed.

“This outsider’s combat strength is too excessive!” Tedrian’s expression changed slightly.

“Could it be that he comes from a civilization with extremely advanced individual strength?” Offerman was shocked.

Looking at the chaotic battlefield, Roxilian was terrified. “It seems like I was too conservative in the past. He’s definitely at the level of a Tree King!”

The three of them had previously judged Han Xiao’s combat strength from what happened to Barbani, but now, they realized that this outsider’s strength was a little frightening, far beyond their expectations. “The situation isn’t right. I have to summon the Tree King.”

Tedrian made a prompt decision and immediately contacted his superior through the mental network.

This time, the Mechanical Deity suddenly unleashed its full power, temporarily forcing back the surrounding people.

The next moment, the Mechanical Deity disintegrated and revealed Han Xiao. The mechanical troops around him shrank rapidly and were absorbed into his body.

Han Xiao looked at the situation on the battlefield. There were more than thirty Beyond Grade As who had come to help, and there were even a few peak Beyond Grade As. Under such circumstances, there was basically no chance for him to continue killing. Furthermore, the World Tree was still sending in reinforcements, and if he stayed there, he would definitely be kicked around like a ball. Furthermore, the World Tree did not lack top-notch individual strength, and the five Great Tree Kings were each stronger than the last.

He turned to look at Tedrian and the others and narrowed his eyes.

“Tedrian, Roxilian, Offerman… Hehe, they’re all familiar faces.”

During the war in his previous life, there were casualties among the experts of the explored universe and the World Tree Civilization. Han Xiao naturally knew some of the powerful figures of the World Tree.

If he did not remember incorrectly, all three of them had blood of Beyond Grade As on their hands in his previous life. The previous owner of the Spacetime Amber had his head smashed by Tedrian, causing this Universal Treasure to fall into the hands of the World Tree Civilization. Later on, he was killed by Karlot.

Just as Han Xiao was recalling, something happened. Another World Tree root appeared, and a powerful pressure far exceeding that of the others spread out.

The next second, a tall figure with an imposing aura descended. His long white hair hung loosely, and his eyes were cold. His entire body was surrounded by blue-green light, mixed with dark-red electric arcs.

This person had a light green mark on his forehead, shaped like a burning flame. He was currently staring at Han Xiao. “Yo, here comes a strong man.”

Han Xiao raised his brows.

One of the five great Tree Kings, ‘Subduing Tree King’ Saint Grace Bellandor, a Pugilist. In his previous life, he caused huge casualties in the explored universe. ‘Dragon King’ Milizaus and ‘Beast Ancestor’ Gorutan had both died to him. In the end, Karlot and ‘Love Carrier’ Silver Shadow merged and killed him with great difficulty, almost dying together.

In his previous life, during the war, he had personally witnessed the Subduing Tree King attacking many times, and he had even been killed more than twenty times just by the shockwaves. It had left a deep impression on him.

“If I can kill you, the revival time will definitely be quite long…” Han Xiao had this thought, but after looking at the dozens of World Tree experts around him, he immediately dismissed it. If it was a duel, he would not be afraid of the other party. However, in the enemy’s base camp, it was basically impossible for him to do this.

At this time, the World Tree experts who had been forced back earlier were about to surround him again.

However, right in front of everyone’s eyes, Han Xiao’s figure suddenly disappeared, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

“How did he disappear? Has the space anchor lost its effect?”

Tedrian was shocked.

In order to prevent the outsider from teleporting away, they had locked this space during the battle. Logically speaking, other than the World Tree Express, which was unique to the civilization’s territory, no other teleportation methods should work.

However, he soon received a reply from the others on the mental network, saying that the space lockdown was normal.

“He actually escaped in this almost impossible situation?” Roxilian was unhappy.

“It seems like he has some kind of special teleportation method that can ignore a spacetime anchor… Then we have no choice.” Offerman frowned.

The group was instantly discouraged. They had finally surrounded their prey, and even the Tree King had personally descended. But they actually failed at the crucial moment.

Tedrian had no choice but to bow to the Tree King. “Your Excellency Tree King, we did not do our job well and let this outsider escape.” The Subduing Tree King glanced at him and said indifferently, “He escaped quite fast. Otherwise, I would have given him to the Mother Tree to devour and grasp the location of this foreign civilization.”

“Sorry, I ruined your plan. It’s my… Hmm?”

Tedrian was about to continue his self-reflection when he suddenly stopped, his expression turning interesting.

At the same time, everyone present received the same message through the mental network.

The pursuing troops that had gone to chase after the other ‘bait’ had suddenly encountered the outsider and were completely wiped out. The Holy Tree Emissary, who had led the team, only had time to send out a distress signal before the sound disappeared. He was dead.

Tedrian’s face turned dark with anger.

“This outsider did not leave! He finished another troop!”

At the same time, at the location of one ‘bait’ mechanical troop, Han Xiao grabbed a dying Holy Tree Emissary and broke his head.

Then, he took back the Throne that this mechanical troop was carrying and smirked.

He did not just put Primordial Psionic Energy in these ‘bait’ teams; he had also given each team a Throne without caring about the losses.

This time, he did not bring much equipment with him when he came to the territory of the World Tree Civilization other than bringing many Kings.

After so many years, he had used his banknote ability to accumulate a large number of Kings, so he did not need to worry about them.

Throwing away the corpse, Han Xiao licked his lips.

“Indeed, we have to fight in other people’s homes.”

Chapter 1323: Using Force to Break Tactic

Just as Han Xiao was about to use the King suit to teleport and finish another fleet, spatial rifts appeared around him, and the troops that had surrounded him earlier rushed over again.

However, before Tedrian and the others could arrive, Han Xiao changed into another King and disappeared in front of everyone. This time, he was teleported to a ‘bait’ team that had yet to be caught.

When the Tree King, Tedrian, and the others arrived, they were only left with the wreckage of the fleet and the corpse of another Holy Tree emissary.

“Damn it!”

Tedrian was furious.

Even though the World Tree Express’ reinforcement speed in its territory was already fast enough, they were still a step too late, allowing the outsider to kill another one of their companions. The other Holy Tree Emissaries and Ancestral Spirits also had gloomy expressions.

High Dimensional Information Vision had locked onto the target. Everyone had thought that this outsider had nowhere to run, but they did not expect him to have such a method, catching them off guard. Although the other party’s trails were still visible, he teleported to another bait team that had yet to be caught, so they could not immediately lock onto Han Xiao’s position. They had to retrace the trails.

The three Universal Civilizations did not know much about the World Tree, but equally, the World Tree Civilization had even less of an understanding about the explored universe. This was also the first time they had seen the King’s teleportation method. “If that’s the case, the outsider might appear in other bait trails at any time. The trails are dangerous, and it’s very likely that the pursuing troops will be killed instead…” Roxilian’s face turned grave.

When they thought of the outsider’s strength, they could not help but feel a chill down their spines. They could chase after him, but it was hard to say who would be the unlucky one.

“This outsider definitely wants to use this method to chip away at our forces. As long as we split up and chase after him, there will be a risk of us being killed. However, we have to chase after him and not let this level of strength roam freely in our territory… Speaking of which, what kind of civilization does he come from? To actually send out a Super of this level to take the risk alone, could it be that this civilization has many high-level combatants of the same level?” Offerman said with unease.

vas

When they thought about how the outsider was not only strong individually but also had this kind of powerful mobility method, most of the people present felt a deep sense of fear.

Just one person had caused them so much trouble, running amok in their territory. This was a provocation to the entire World Tree Civilization.

Originally, it was a one-sided hunt, but not only did the outsider not flee, he even treated them as prey. They did not expect to fall into a passive situation in their own territory. This was something that had never happened before.

After fighting in the universe for so many years, which hostile civilization would not make careful probes when coming into contact with them? They had never seen such an arrogant guy.

“… No matter what, we have to solve this problem,” Tedrian said with a deep voice. “Wake up those guys who are not showing themselves and join the pursuit!”

For the time being, he did not think of a way to deal with the strange teleportation ability of the outsider. However, since the target of the outsider was to kill the lone troops, it was a good idea to increase the manpower of every pursuing force to restrict the other party so that he could not deal any damage before the reinforcements arrived.

However, Tedrian was very worried that the outsider would send out another batch of bait to force them to split up. Initially, he could have collected a high-dimensional information sample to lock onto the outsider’s route, but the other party’s teleportation method made it possible for every ‘bait’ to turn into the main body, so there was no way to tell.

With that, Tedrian turned to look at the Tree King and nodded. “Your Excellency Tree King, what do you think?”

The Subduing Tree King had been listening to the discussion and did not interrupt. He then said slowly, “Notify me when you surround him… Also, I will clear out this Star Field and lock it down. There’s no need to care about the losses.”

After saying that, Subduing Tree King turned into a turquoise stream of light and disappeared among the World Tree roots.

He had already made a wasted trip this time, and it was likely that he would not be able to get rid of the outsider anytime soon. He did not want to be messed around along with the others.

Hearing this, Tedrian and the others heaved a sigh of relief.

The planets in the World Tree Civilization’s territory were not formed naturally. Instead, they were high-value planets that the World Tree had ‘regurgitated’ using Information Form. They could freeze the current evolution at any time, swallow it back, store it in the information state, and restore it in another location.

With this characteristic, the World Tree was like a mobile base, taking away the entire civilization and relocating its base in the universe to deal with all kinds of situations. It was almost born for war.

Clearing this Star Field meant letting the World Tree take back all the planets and creatures in this area. This way, they did not have to worry about the outsider wreaking havoc everywhere.

Only the Tree Kings were given this level of authority by the World Tree and could give such an order to the World Tree. The others did not have the authority to do so.

However, the World Tree could not leave as it wished. After changing the location of the base camp, it had to ‘take root’ in this area from the beginning and turn into its own information assembly points, ‘fusing’ with each other. Some abilities could only be used in areas after fusion, such as the World Tree Express, which could only travel quickly in one’s own territory like the stargates. In other places in the universe, it was impossible to arrive as casually as now.

Ohm!

At this moment, spatial rifts appeared again, and many troops that had received Tedrian’s summons came to reinforce them.

Among them were many high-level Holy Tree Emissaries and Ancestral Spirits who had woken up from their deep sleep. There were also a few executive officers who had arrived, as well as some high-ranking military generals who were in charge of foreign battles. The size of the group was snowballing.

Although the opponent was only one person, the World Tree gave him a very high level of treatment. An army of this size was more than enough for a universal war.

The pursuit battle continued, and ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the past few days, Han Xiao had been kiting around this Star Field to deal with the encirclement of the World Tree’s troops.

He split up the bait troops time and time again, constantly using King’s teleportation to cut through the pursuing troops of the World Tree. Sometimes, he set up a Throne, but sometimes, it was just Primordial Psionic Energy bombs mixed with fake ones. At the same time, he also used the King’s positioning function to repeatedly warp around, making the World Tree troops suffer. The King was like a god of guerrilla warfare. Using this tactic, Han Xiao obtained some results, killing six Beyond Grade As. However, as the World Tree experts gathered, it became more and more difficult to kill the enemies in every battle. Every pursuing force had a sufficient number of experts, enough to restrain Han Xiao for a short while. In the blink of an eye, dozens of Beyond Grade As would appear as reinforcements. With the peak Beyond Grade As appearing, Han Xiao was forced to reduce the time of each battle, not daring to stay in one place.

Furthermore, the size of the World Tree fleet was too large, and they surrounded the entire Star Field. Han Xiao’s guerrilla warfare range also decreased, and the time it took for the pursuing troops to catch up to the bait was getting shorter.

At the same time, Han Xiao also realized that the navigation star map had lost its effect. The planets in this area seemed to have disappeared, and he could not locate them accurately.

“Could it be that the World Tree swallowed all the nearby planets? To deal with me alone, it actually paid such a large price.”

In the empty space, Han Xiao sped forward alone while pondering.

This was somewhat out of his expectations. Only the World Tree had such rich assets and did not care about such a small loss, resolutely clearing out the field.

After more than ten days of guerrilla warfare, he had already fought the World Tree experts almost a hundred times and met a lot of ‘acquaintances’. Other than the Tree King, almost all the pursuers had fought him.

Although he did not get the chance to kill the enemies later, Han Xiao was able to obtain a lot of information about the attributes of the World Tree experts through combat information. He also learned about the specific abilities of many of his opponents, which was all extremely valuable information.

“My guerrilla warfare range is getting smaller and smaller. If this goes on, I’ll be blocked very soon. Furthermore, I can’t kill the enemy’s experts now. There’s no need to continue guerrilla warfare…” It was true that the World Tree could not restrain the King’s guerrilla tactics, but this was their base camp; they could destroy all tactics with their army.

Although guerrilla warfare was good, when faced with the overwhelming strength of the World Tree Civilization and the rapid reinforcement system, it was reaching its limits.

“Time to slip away.”

Han Xiao nodded inwardly.

Although he did not complete the map this time, the harvest was beyond his expectations. Not only did he obtain a lot of important intelligence, he also sent several World Tree experts to heaven. This was more than he had expected, so he could retreat. It would not be good if he stayed.

However, before he left, Han Xiao wanted to find an opportunity to meet the Tree King and find out more about the other party’s combat information.

“All the bait has been cleared, and there’s only one high-dimensional information trail left. The outsider has not sent any more bait, so we can lock onto his main body.”

In the command room of the main ship, Tedrian looked at the current situation; his gloomy expression that had lasted for over ten days finally disappeared.

“We’ve finally surrounded him. This outsider is too difficult to deal with.”

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. God knew how they had spent the past ten days. An outsider had disturbed their peace.

The number of World Tree experts participating in the chase was much higher than ten days ago. There were six high-level Holy Tree Emissaries, seven of the thirteen Ancestral Spirits, and a few military commanders and executives. There were about twenty peak Beyond Grade As with an Energy Rank above 71,000, which was equivalent to two-fifths of all the peak Beyond Grade As of the World Tree Civilization.

At this moment, a high-ranking general in a military uniform coldly said, “Don’t be too happy yet. Since he has such a teleportation method, there’s a high chance he can escape.”

Hearing this, everyone was a little helpless. They naturally understood this logic, but after researching for more than ten days, they still could not crack the teleportation method of the outsider. Their requirements had already decreased from killing the outsider to banishing him.

“Let’s chase the outsider away first before considering what happens next. This might be the strongest civilization we’ve ever encountered,” Tedrian replied with a frown.

At this time, everyone’s mental network suddenly received a message. The pursuing troops had finally caught up to the outsider’s main body and shared the coordinates.

“Go!”

The faces of everyone present turned dim. They immediately activated the World Tree’s Express and quickly moved through the roots.

Not long after, they arrived at their destination.

The outsider was floating in space and did not attack the pursuing troops like before. The pursuing troops were waiting for reinforcements and did not dare take the initiative to attack. For a time, there was no movement on either side. Seeing this, many World Tree experts turned into streams of light and shot out of the fleet, landing around Han Xiao and forming an encirclement. More reinforcements were also arriving unceasingly. The number of Beyond Grade As present quickly approached a hundred, surrounding Han Xiao like a tiger eying its prey. Due to the elimination of all the bait this time, the outsider could no longer use guerrilla warfare to trick them. Tedrian then informed the Subduing Tree King. Boom!

The next moment, the Tree King’s figure descended rapidly, and his oppressive might swept through the entire place.

“Your Excellency Tree King.”

Tedrian and the many World Tree experts greeted him in the mental network. The Subduing Tree King looked at the situation and nodded. “You have finally surrounded him. Why aren’t you attacking?”

“This outsider seems to be fearless. He will probably use that teleportation method to escape our territory,” Tedrian explained.

Just as the two of them were conversing, Han Xiao suddenly raised his hand and pointed at the Subduing Tree King. He then curled his finger; energy fluctuations increased steadily, locking onto Subduing Tree King.

Seeing this action, everyone present understood what the outsider meant. He was provoking their Tree King.

The Subduing Tree King looked at Han Xiao with an expressionless face. He casually raised his hand and waved it down.

“Get rid of him.”

Chapter 1324: Escape and Fear

Ten minutes later, in a certain space deep in the secondary dimension world, a light suddenly flashed; a figure fell out of nowhere and landed on a boundless, white sea of sand. It was as if it lost its balance and staggered. Han Xiao barely managed to stabilize himself. He took a deep breath and put away the dark gold King mechanical suit, revealing his body that was covered in wounds. Blood spurted out from his wounds and seeped into the sand. Very soon, the ground was dyed golden red. There were large scorch marks on his body, and his cells were dying.

“Phew… almost lost my life. One against a hundred is indeed too much. Ouch, it hurts.”

A burning pain filled his entire body, as though every single cell in his body was screaming in pain. Han Xiao’s face trembled slightly. He took out a syringe and injected a tube of highly concentrated life essence from Aurora into his body. A numbing and comfortable feeling immediately swept through his body, suppressing the pain and filling his body with warmth.

The pale golden light surged, and the wounds on Han Xiao’s body quickly closed up, restoring his body to its peak state. There were only congealed blood stains left.

It was quite a close call just now. The combined strength of more than a hundred Beyond Grade As had exceeded his limit, and there were more than twenty peak Beyond Grade As, as well as experts at the level of the Tree Guardian King. However, he was fighting alone.

They were all Beyond Grade As, so even if his combat capability was off the charts, as long as he did not break through to a new level, he could not completely ignore the difference in numbers. Just the Subduing Tree King alone would be difficult to deal with, and he was the strongest Pugilist he had fought so far. Furthermore, he had the help of a group of experts.

There was no need to elaborate on the process. It was impossible for him to have the upper hand, and it was also an extravagant hope to ask for a draw. The combined damage of so many experts had already exceeded his recovery speed, his HP fluctuating up and down like a roller coaster. At the most dangerous moment, his HP had even dropped below sixteen percent. If it were any other Beyond Grade As of the explored universe, they would already have died, and even Wuornos with Church National Treasure would most likely not be able to take it.

However, Han Xiao did not plan to fight to the death. He had hidden many abilities, mainly to achieve his goal and obtain the combat information of Subduing Tree King. Although the other party’s level was higher and some of his attributes were question marks, many of his abilities were exposed. The value of the information was not small. If he met the Subduing Tree King again, he would have a rough gauge in his heart. After receiving the information of the Subduing Tree King, Han Xiao did not continue fighting. He immediately changed into the King and left. He came to the temporary secondary dimension where the King’s Throne was buried and escaped from the siege.

“With the secondary dimension as a buffer, it will be safer.”

Han Xiao patted his chest, shaking off the bloodstains on his body, and changed into a new set of clothes.

Although the probability of King’s Teleportation being tracked by the World Tree was very low, to be safe, he still used the secondary dimension as a transit zone and did not directly teleport back to the explored universe.

Then, Han Xiao took back the throne and left behind the secondary dimension destruction device, shattering this secondary dimension and allowing it to be devoured by the chaotic space flow, removing all trails.

After doing all this, Han Xiao opened the interface to take a look. The (World Tree’s Rage] mission was completed.

As expected, the bigger the ruckus he caused, the higher the mission rating. He had already reached the highest rating, and the reward was quite generous. Just the EXP alone was 740 billion, which was more than the EXP he had gained from defeating the three Universal Civilizations. With a large amount of EXP, he was closer to the level 360 Promotion.

Another reward notification popped up.

You have received 5 Random Rewards and the milestone talent (World Tree Nemesis).

(World Tree Nemesis]: When fighting enemies of the World Tree faction, damage increased by 12% and a certain probability of triggering [Fear] status.

You have received 5 God’s Trait Transformation Points.

You have received 1 Universe Legendary Point.

Universal Legendary Point: (Mysterious Outsider]—You have made a name for yourself in the World Tree Civilization. Countless people know about you, a powerful and mysterious outsider, and they are shocked. Your deeds are being spread around here, awing the World Tree, and able to make children stop crying.

“Sweet.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. There was no need to talk about (World Tree Nemesis). It was a faction targeting talent, similar to (Elderly Killer). Although its effect was simple, it was quite useful.

Five God’s Trait Transformation Points was exactly what he needed. It was equivalent to building five Universal Treasures. Currently, the God’s Trait Transformation-Void had reached the thirteenth level, and he was just short of the last two points to level up. This windfall was enough to raise the God’s Trait Transformation—Void to the fourteenth level and still have some surplus that would push him close to the fifteenth level. This reduced his workload.

Finally, this Universe Legendary Point had clearly left a deep impression on the World Tree Civilization, and they were filled with fear of him. The next time they met, the people of the World Tree should be able to recognize him immediately.

There was also the last reward notification on the interface. Han Xiao looked at it and saw that it was a piece of each Sanctum fragment. This meant that his level of authority in each Sanctum had increased by one level. This was the bonus reward for the highest mission rating.

“Yo, good stuff!”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment before he was pleasantly surprised.

Sanctum authority was something that he needed urgently. The higher the authority, the closer the time flow of the Sanctum was to the main universe. It was a pleasant surprise to be able to level up the authority from the mission. Suppressing his excitement, Han Xiao left with his bountiful harvest.

In order to be safe, he planned to travel in the deep layers in secondary dimensions for some time before returning to the explored universe.

In the World Tree Civilization’s territory, the battlefield was a mess. The wreckage of the World Tree fleet was everywhere. Roots were sweeping the battlefield and swallowing all the debris.

In the command room of a flagship not far away, many World Tree experts who had participated in the siege surrounded the Subduing Tree King. Their expressions were solemn and somewhat horrified. A portion of them had injuries on their bodies.

Tedrian pressed down on the table and said with a surprised tone, “There’s no doubt about this outsider’s combat strength. He’s one of the strongest individuals we’ve seen in our many years of fighting in the universe. It’s unbelievable that so many of us couldn’t even kill him… It’s basically certain that none of us are his match in a one-on-one fight. Even His Excellency, the Tree King, will find it difficult to gain the upper hand.” Many of the World Tree powerhouses felt a lingering fear, and many peak Beyond Grade As fell silent.

Even the expressionless Subduing Tree King did not refute and only shook his head.

Facing the siege of more than a hundred people, this outsider actually dared to stay behind and fight head-on. This was already very shocking to them, but they did not expect him to still have the strength to fight back and even injure quite a number of them.

Although they had the absolute upper hand in the siege just now, this outsider was unbelievably tough. He endured the focus fire of more than a hundred people and held on for more than ten minutes before retreating with the strange teleportation method.

Although the enemy had been expelled, the strong performance of the outsider had been deeply imprinted in everyone’s hearts, almost becoming a trauma. Every time they thought about it, many of them could not help feeling deeply shocked.

“Although we chased this outsider away this time, we can’t guarantee that he won’t come again. This is very tricky,” Roxilian said with a deep voice.

Tedrian nodded, his tone grave.

n COIIe

“If we can’t restrict the other party’s special teleportation method, our territory will become the other party’s backyard. He can come and go as he pleases, putting us in a passive position… We can’t always clear out the Star Field and send so many people to chase after him.”

As he spoke, his expression became even more shocked.

“Furthermore, only a civilization with extremely strong individual strength will produce Supers of this level. Who knows how many high-level combatants there are in this foreign civilization? We’ve leaked too many secrets this time. If they send more Supers of the same level next time, we’ll be in trouble.”

Hearing this, everyone was worried. Han Xiao’s astonishing combat strength made them make the wrong judgment. They thought that there were more experts of the same level in the explored universe, and they could not help but be frightened.

They had always been conquerors, and they were basically the ones who took the initiative to invade. However, at this moment, they felt a rare sense of fear, and they even had thoughts of escaping

“Then, what do you suggest?” an Executive Officer asked.

Tedrian clenched his teeth and said, “This unknown civilization has already grasped our coordinates. My suggestion is to clear out all the Star Fields and move our base immediately. This way, we can avoid being harassed by them. Then, we will think of a way to find out more about them.”

“This is indeed a method, but we can’t use our advantage…” someone objected. “If we stay here and let the enemy continue to harass us, information will become more connected. This way, we will be able to locate this unknown civilization faster. “.

Before Tedrian could speak, someone else interrupted. “I don’t think that’s possible. This outsider used some tricks to bewitch Barbani. Now that the other party knows about the secrets of these abilities, they will definitely avoid more information connection.”

Hearing this, everyone had a helpless look on their face. The biggest problem now was not that the outsider was strong but that the intelligence gap was too big. Their side had leaked too much information, but they knew almost nothing about the outsider. The group was divided into two factions. One side suggested migrating while the other suggested staying. Both started arguing.

Tedrian turned around. “Your Excellency Tree King, what do you think?”

Everyone stopped discussing. In the end, it was the Tree King who would make the final decision.

The Subduing Tree King closed his eyes and pondered for a while before opening them again.

“There’s no need to migrate. The loss of territories is not important, but the information connection is crucial. Now that we have had some interaction, I will speed up the sensing speed of the World Tree. At the same time, I will inform the Information Form Foreseers to increase the frequency of the prophecies. Then, I will get the expedition team sent out in recent years to speed up their journey…”

Subduing Tree King paused before continuing.

“Also, strengthen our internal surveillance and set up more detection devices. The outsider has already obtained some of our confidential information. We can’t just rely on the Information Form warning network… If you find the outsider again, inform me immediately.”

Despite the calm expression on the Subduing Tree King’s face, his heart was actually racing. Han Xiao’s strength had also shocked him, but he did not show it on his face.

Although he did not say anything, the Subduing Tree King had already engraved Han Xiao in his mind and was looking forward to fighting him again.

It was because of the fighting spirit that was compulsory to a Pugilist. But more than that, the World Tree had expressed its desire for Han Xiao…

In the face of all new things, the mother tree had an extremely strong appetite. It requested that the Subduing Tree King send this outsider into its mouth as a tribute.

As one of the executors of the World Tree’s will, the World Tree’s request was his mission, and he could not reject it.

Chapter 1325: Cause and Effect

After staying in the deep layers of the secondary dimension world for a few days, Han Xiao returned to the explored universe and immediately visited the Holy Accord Organization to ask Destiny’s Child about the World Tree Civilization’s movements. As he arrived at Destiny’s Child’s laboratory with ease, the staff around looked at him before lowering their heads and continuing with their work.

“You came to see me…”

Destiny’s Child sensed something and turned toward Han Xiao. He pressed his hands on the inner wall of the container and let out a happy mental wave.

Han Xiao smiled and knocked on the container.

Destiny’s Child noticed that the mark on Han Xiao’s body had yet to fade. He tilted his head and said, “You didn’t… set the area?”

“There was an accident, so I didn’t have a chance to do this.” Han Xiao shook his head and said, “I need you to tell me what the other side is doing.”

“Okay…”

Destiny’s Child did not reject and shared the information in the mental link.

Han Xiao quickly browsed through the images. He could almost see the real-time movements of the World Tree Civilization.

He soon saw that the World Tree Civilization had been stimulated by him during the few days that he stayed in the deep layer of the secondary dimension, and they were looking for clues related to him. They had also increased the frequency at which the Foreseers activated their abilities, indirectly increasing the surveillance of Destiny’s Child.

His trip had left a deep impression on the other party. The reactions of the World Tree Civilization entered his eyes through Destiny’s Child’s surveillance, so he was not completely clueless about the developments in the World Tree Civilization. Destiny’s Child was the most important intelligence channel at the moment. Observing the real-time movements of the other party would allow him to make targeted arrangements ahead of time. Like two players in a real-time strategy game, one side removed the fog of war while the other side was still trying to figure out the opponent’s position. The difference was obvious.

Seeing the World Tree Civilization’s disordered movements, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.

At this moment, black flames surged, and Oathkeeper arrived. “Black Star, why didn’t you tell me before coming?”

As he spoke, Oathkeeper’s gaze swept between Han Xiao and Destiny’s Child. His expression had the feeling of ‘you guys had a rendezvous behind my back’.

“I’m just here to ask about the surveillance. I’ll come over more often in the future. If I have to tell you every time, it will be too troublesome. Just get used to it.”

Han Xiao waved his hands.

Do you think you’re the leader? Inspecting whenever you want… Oathkeeper cursed silently.

“Alright, that’s all. I have other things to do, so I’ll take my leave.” Han Xiao nodded. Without waiting for Oathkeeper to speak, he changed into another King suit and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Oathkeeper helplessly retracted his gaze and turned to look at Destiny’s Child.

Destiny’s Child also ignored him. Seeing that Han Xiao had left, he went back to sleep. There was no initiative like when he met Han Xiao earlier, as if he was treating Oathkeeper like air; the discrimination was obvious.

Seeing that Destiny’s Child was not giving him any face, Oathkeeper’s mouth twitched. He took a deep breath, suppressed his heartache, and turned to leave.

In the conference room of the three Universal Civilizations…

Marbruce sized up Han Xiao’s remote projection and said with a confused tone, “Black Star, you’re finally back. What took you so long?”

Louis and the church leader were also curious.

After sending Han Xiao away, they had thought that Han Xiao’s first exploration would not take too long, but half a month had passed in the blink of an eye, and there had been no news from him. If not for the fact that Han Xiao contacted them, they would have been unaware that Han Xiao had returned.

In the past half a month, the three of them had been living on tenterhooks. Because they were unable to contact Han Xiao, who was far away in the World Tree Civilization’s territory, they had been worrying every day, thinking that something had happened to Black Star.

Seeing that Han Xiao had taken the initiative to contact them, the three of them heaved sighs of relief. They were curious about what Han Xiao had done during his long stay in the World Tree Civilization.

“There was an accident along the way, and I was delayed. Let’s not talk about that for now. I got some intelligence on this trip. Take a look.”

Han Xiao waved his hands. He was too lazy to chat with the three of them and went straight to the point, sending the World Tree secrets that were revealed by Barbani to the three of them.

A virtual screen appeared on the table, and the three of them could not take their eyes off it.

“This… this is all information you obtained from this trip!”

Marbruce’s eyes widened in disbelief to the point of being stunned.

The three of them originally had limited expectations for this intelligence. They felt that since Han Xiao had gone to the enemy’s headquarters, it would be difficult for him to move easily. Even if he did gain something, it would not be too shocking. However, what was with this piece of intelligence? It was all unheard-of secrets!

Information Form warning network, Information Form camera… a ton of important strategic intelligence. It was obvious that this was not information that could be easily obtained. Could it be that Black Star had hacked the World Tree’s secret database?

The three of them could not help but feel a little dazed.

How many times had they explored the World Tree Civilization? The best they could have done was steal some general information from the internet, but it was all superficial. Black Star had only gone there once, but he had already obtained an explosive harvest. Be it the quality or quantity of information, it was countless times greater than theirs!

The repeated explorations of the three Universal Civilizations were not as good as Black Star’s one trip… The three of them looked at each other with complicated feelings.

Black Star had given them a headache when he was their opponent, but he was extremely reliable when he was their teammate. If not for the confidential intelligence that Black Star provided, they would not have known how passive their three Universal Civilizations were. Suppressing the shock in their hearts, the three of them focused on browsing through the secrets of the World Tree that Han Xiao had shared. Their expressions kept changingsometimes grave, sometimes surprised, and sometimes frustrated.

Very soon, the three of them read through the information and showed complicated expressions.

“So, this is how we were exposed…”

Louis sighed. After seeing the Information Form warning network, they finally understood how the World Tree Civilization discovered them.

“This kind of technology is impossible to guard against. The World Tree Civilization’s research standard is much higher than ours regarding Information Form.” The Pope frowned with concern.

“Looks like Black Star is right. We’d better stop the regular exploration…”

The three of them looked at the intel and felt immense pressure. At the same time, they were glad.

It was all thanks to Black Star for stealing these secrets. If not, they would have continued exploring without knowing what was going on, and they might have suffered a heavy blow one day. Now that they knew about the World Tree’s detection method, they would be able to deal with it.

Marbruce could not help but ask, “… Black Star, how did you get this information?”

The other two also pricked up their ears.

“Nothing much, I just fought them and interrogated some people… By the way, I recorded the abilities of all the high-level combatants of the World Tree I fought. I am sending the files to you.”

Han Xiao did not reveal his ability and gave a simple explanation. After thinking for a while, he shared the intelligence about the World Tree experts with the three of them. The information recorded was not as detailed as the combat information on the interface, but it was enough to roughly understand the abilities and combat strength of more than a hundred World Tree experts.

Gathering this information was not for his own use but also to let the Beyond Grade As in the explored universe gain a basic understanding of the enemy so that they would not be caught off guard. There was no need to hide it. Seeing the data of over a hundred World Tree experts, the three of them were stunned.

Damn, did you go to infiltrate or to fight?

Having fought over a hundred high-level combatants in someone else’s base camp, your life is really full of excitement!

“Isn’t this too radical?” Louis could not help saying

Han Xiao looked at him and spread out his hands. “If I did not do this, do you think those secrets would fall from the sky? Don’t worry, although I fought the enemy, all traces were cleared. My intelligence channel monitored the real-time movements of the World Tree Civilization. They did not discover anything.”

Marbruce was speechless and somewhat moved.

“Black Star, you took such a huge risk to gather intelligence. Everyone will remember your contribution…”

From his point of view, if not for collecting strategic intelligence, Black Star would not have taken the risk to fight the World Tree experts, resulting in him being pursued. All of this was for the big picture.

The other two also nodded and sighed.

Han Xiao raised his brows.

Seeing that the three of them had misunderstood his motives, he did not bother to explain himself. He was more than glad for them to think that way since there was no harm in it.

“No matter what, this piece of information you brought has extremely high strategic importance. It can provide an important reference for our strategic direction.”

The three of them sighed for a while before getting excited.

Whatever the case, the intelligence that Black Star had obtained this time had solved their urgent needs. It was more than enough to change their strategic deployment.

The three of them began to discuss the next step of the plan, asking for Han Xiao’s opinion from time to time.

Hearing that the three of them had finally accepted the suggestion and decided to stop the regular exploration, Han Xiao let out a sigh of relief. He had finally convinced the three Universal Civilizations not to do anything unnecessary, and his trust level had increased.

Somewhere in the unexplored universe, two spindle-shaped, dark-green spaceships sped through the endless desolate universe. Their concealment devices covered the trajectory of the hyperdrive light. In the cockpit, more than ten operators sat in their seats and worked. No one spoke, and the room was silent other than the operating sounds. The cabin looked clean and tidy, but traces of time could still be found in some subtle areas.

Every once in a while, the World Tree Civilization would send out exploration teams in different directions in an attempt to find other civilizations in the vast galaxy. These two spaceships were one of them, and the crew could not remember how many years they had flown for. It was like they were silently wandering in the cold universe. Suddenly, the radar that had been silent for many years made a sound.

“Unknown metal object detected, direction…”

The people in the room were stunned for a moment, but they quickly reacted and immediately controlled the spaceship to fly in the direction indicated by the radar.

The two spaceships dragged streams of light and turned around. Very soon, the object locked onto by the radar entered their sights.

Not far away, an egg-shaped metal cabin was slowly traveling through the universe while letting out low-power exhaust flame. Its outer shell was mottled and had traces of cosmic radiation erosion, as if it had been sailing for a long time.

The people present looked at the metal cabin on the observation screen and had the same thought.

“This looks like… an escape pod?”

The group of them turned on the vital sign detection device; the extremely high level of technology penetrated the outer shell of the escape pod, detecting the life signals inside.

The appearance of the life forms in the escape pod was quickly displayed on the screen.

Chapter 1326: Interlude

After obtaining the secrets of the World Tree, the three Universal Civilizations accepted Han Xiao’s suggestion and adjusted their strategy. They would no longer send any detection devices to the World Tree Civilization’s territory, reducing the possibility of an information link forming between the two sides, and they increased their investment in the secondary dimension expedition team.

Han Xiao rested for a period of time. With the help of the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, he made another trip to the World Tree Civilization’s territory. Because he had the intelligence advantage this time, he carefully avoided contact and completed the mission safely, obtaining the reward (Deep Within the Enemy Camp). After that, Han Xiao did not continue to infiltrate the World Tree Civilization’s territory and harass them. He also reduced his contact with the World Tree Civilization and stayed in the explored universe to build machinery every day. Occasionally, he would go to the Holy Accord Organization to check on Destiny’s Child’s surveillance. On the surface, he returned to his normal life.

In the short term, he did not plan to go to the World Tree Civilization again. Now that the enemy was prepared, he was also afraid of getting into trouble. Furthermore, he had enough intelligence for the time being, so Han Xiao did not plan to provoke the enemy anymore and concentrated on expanding his strength.

The unaware Galactic Society maintained the pace of normal life. As time passed, the buzz created by the news of the three Universal Civilizations acknowledging the Beyond Grade A Association’s independence also gradually cooled, but it did not disappear. The dissatisfaction of the galactic residents toward the three Universal Civilizations settled down and remained in their hearts.

After the political position was written in the galactic laws, the Beyond Grade A organization had a much better life. No matter how complicated the civilizations of the various Star Fields felt about this, they still acknowledged this point. They treated the Beyond Grade A Association like they would treat a civilization and increased their cooperation with the association.

Initially, all the organizations thought that the Beyond Grade A Association would take action, but the association continued to develop as usual and kept a low profile, as if they were not the recent topic of discussion.

Whether the Galaxy was chaotic or not was up to the big shots. Since the top organizations did not want to do anything, the life of the Galactic Society gradually returned to normal. Time slowly slipped away in this atmosphere.

In the Flickering World, more than ten small battleships with the army’s insignia slowly landed on the Kunde Race’s planet no. 77. They docked at a parking platform with three large transport ships. The wind pressure kept blowing out, blowing away the tiny dust on the ground. Landing gears propped out of the bottom of the ships, latching onto the Magnetic Force Suspension Lock and stopping steadily.

The cabins opened one after another, and groups of Kunde Race members wearing the standard armor of the Black Star Army alighted from the spaceships. Leading them was a tall Kunde Race member wearing the special uniform of the logistics department. It was Barton, who had been imprisoned and released by Han Xiao.

There were already groups of people waiting on the ground. They took the initiative to welcome them, and both sides exchanged greetings.

Barton was used to it. He waved his hand and said, “The supplies have been delivered. Help me unload them.”

His prestige here was very high here. When the people heard his words, they started to work. They unloaded batches of goods from the transport ships, loaded them onto the transport vehicles, and sent them to different cities.

Barton stood at the side with his hands on his hips. At this moment, a Kunde Race member wearing a robe walked to his side and smiled. “How long are you planning to stay this time?”

“…Half a day at most. The army’s logistics department has a very important mission. I can’t delay it. I’ll leave after sending these supplies.”

Barton looked back. The person who had spoken was someone he knew. It was the person in charge of this planet, a feudal lord-type figure.

Over the past few decades, the Kunde Race planets had been freed one after another, but due to some interference, there was no unified regime. Every planet had a feudal lord, and they were only responsible for the affairs of the planet. They allied with each other like a union.

After tens of years of adaptation, the Kunde Race gradually integrated into Galactic Society and got used to the various rules and regulations. However, they were still very weak and developed slowly. The industrial system was not complete, so relying on Supers to feed them was still their main way to obtain various resources.

In the past few years, a large number of the Kunde Race members had chosen to join the Black Star Army and acquired various resources through working for the army. As the subsidies for the various planets were decided by these Supers, their status was extremely high, and the various Kunde Race Lords had to fight for the support of the Kunde Race Supers, forming a dependent relationship.

“Yes, the army’s work is more important. I was thinking of hosting you properly, but since you don’t have the time, let’s postpone it for next time,” the supervisor said.

“We’re already acquaintances. There’s no need to specially entertain me.” Barton shook his head.

“That won’t do. You’re a famous person from our planet after all. Planet No. 77 has been developing quite well all thanks to you,” the supervisor said warmly.

“…Alright, you won’t miss out on the supplies for the next period.”

Barton sighed. He knew what the other party meant.

A few decades ago, after he was pardoned by Han Xiao, he had joined the army without a second word, determined to support his race, and slowly climbed up from the bottom.

As he was a Mechanic, Barton joined the logistics department after passing the internal assessment. He was initially a low-level researcher, but after successfully advancing as a Super to Grade B, he was promoted to a middle-level officer in the logistics department. He was one of the highest ranking Kunde Race Supers in the army. Due to his position, his purchasing of resources was discounted. Thus, Barton’s position in the Kunde Race was very important and prestigious. Every planet’s feudal lord wanted to please him, and he was already used to it.

“How are the thoughts within the race now?” Barton changed the topic.

Hearing this, the supervisor turned to look at his people who were working and smiled. “We have been carrying out ideological reformations. There are fewer and fewer radicals, and most people now yearn for peace.”

“That’s good.”

Barton nodded and looked at the Kunde Race members who were full of vitality. He could not help but feel gratified.

They had a grudge against the Crimson Dynasty for destroying their homeland, but the difference between the two sides was too great. Barton had always been using his position to request the feudal lords of the various planets to strengthen their ideological education so that their descendants would not be influenced by hatred.

After so many years of hard work, the Kunde Race had finally taken a positive development path, and the radicals were rare, unstable factors. Who knew what kind of trouble they would cause under the influence of hatred? Barton did not wish for his race to be implicated by a small group of radicals, destroying the peaceful situation that was obtained with much difficulty.

Luckily, the past few decades had changed the minds of most people, and the number of radicals seeking revenge had decreased. Most of the Kunde Race were satisfied with their current lives and had hope for the future.

“If only we could maintain this peace.”

Barton sighed in his heart.

The courtyard of Bennett’s residence on Planet Aquamarine was like a transparent greenhouse, filled with rows of plants. Bennett walked among the plants, holding a watering pot and slowly watering the plants. He was wearing regular clothes like an ordinary old man, and it was difficult to tell that he was the leader of a civilization.

“Father, we’re here to see you.”

The sound came from afar. Nero pushed open the door while holding Mia’s hand. The two of them walked into the courtyard.

Bennett put down the watering pot and looked back. A kind smile appeared on his wrinkled face. He waved and said, “You guys are here. It’s rare for you to have the time to come and see an old man like me.”

“Don’t say that. Your body is strong; you will still live for a long time. Today is your birthday, so don’t say such things.”

Nero brought Mia to Bennett and pretended to grumble.

“He-hello…” Mia greeted shyly. She was a Calamity Grade Super who killed without batting an eyelid, yet she was so nervous right now.

“You’re here too. Don’t just stand there. Let’s eat together today. Have a taste of my cooking.” Bennett looked at Mia with a satisfied expression as if he was sizing up his daughter-in-law.

Nero had brought Mia to meet his parents before, and Bennett knew that Mia was currently in a relationship with Nero. He did not interfere with his son’s choice, and he was rather satisfied with Mia. Bennett brought the two of them to the dining room beside the courtyard before returning to the courtyard to pick some fresh plants. He personally went to the kitchen to cook a table of dishes and hosted them with a smile. One was the leader of a civilization, and the other two were Calamity Grade Supers. The three of them ate at the same table, talking about family matters like ordinary people.

After chatting for a while, Nero took out a tube of medicine from his pocket and said with a smile, “This is the birthday gift that godfather told me to bring over. It’s a life potion personally made by Her Excellency Aurora. It can extend one’s life and maintain one’s youth.”

“Please thank Black Star for me.”

Bennett smiled and accepted the potion.

“Godfather expected you to say that. He wants me to tell you that with your relationship, you don’t have to thank him.”

“Alright, that’s his style.”

Bennett laughed and shook his head. He then turned to look at Mia and smiled.

“What about you guys? Do you have any plans to have children?” Mia’s face instantly turned red, and her voice was as soft as a mosquito. “That… I don’t have such thoughts for the time being…” Nero scratched his head and said embarrassedly, “It’s mainly because the higher the life level of an individual, the harder it is for them to give birth to a child. Mia and I have tried many times and used all kinds of positions, but unfortunately, we were unable to…”

Bang!

Before he could finish speaking, a shy iron elbow landed on his ribs, causing Nero to almost suffocate.

“D-don’t talk nonsense!”

Mia flew into a rage out of humiliation and subconsciously gave Nero a loving elbow strike. She immediately thought of Bennett and quickly returned to her lady-like sitting position like an innocent person.

“…It’s good to be young.” Bennett wiped off his cold sweat. The elbow strike from a Calamity Grade had made his hair stand on end, and he could not help but look at Nero.

Dear son, you’ve worked hard.

“It’s… it’s fine. I like this kind of play…”

Seeing Bennett’s complicated expression, Nero quickly defended Mia and rubbed his ribs for a while, feeling pain and joy together.

After coughing twice, Nero changed the topic and said with a serious expression, “Oh right, godfather also told me to tell you something important.”

“What is it?”

“Godfather said that he might migrate everyone on Planet Aquamarine.”

“Moving the entire Planet Aquamarine?” Bennett was shocked. “Where to?”

“He didn’t say. He just wants you to be mentally prepared,” Nero replied.

Hearing this, Bennett’s smile disappeared, and his expression became serious. He rubbed his chin and pondered, trying to figure out what Han Xiao meant.

To suddenly migrate Planet Aquamarine, could it be to move into the territory promised by the three Universal Civilizations to the Beyond Grade A Association? Or was it an emergency refuge?

If he was talking about refuge, could it be that some kind of battle was about to break out? But wasn’t everything going well?

“I don’t think it’s a good thing…”

All kinds of thoughts flashed through his mind, and Bennett was secretly worried. At the same time, on a wasteland on Planet Aquamarine, Hila and Aurora were walking slowly.

Not far away, there was a huge crater with rubble obliquely inserted into the ground like fragments thrown by a violent explosion. It was the ruins of the Germinal Organization, which was now protected as a historical document.

The two of them had originally come to visit Ames, but because they had come at the wrong time, they had been chased out. Suddenly, they wanted to revisit their old place, so they came to the Germinal Organization’s ruins to take a stroll “Do you remember? I was locked up here in the past. At that time, I thought I would never be able to escape.”

Aurora picked up a piece of metal and played with it.

Hila looked at her surroundings, and the memories of the past came back to life. She softly said, “That’s right. I did so much dirty work for the Germinal Organization, saying that it was to save you. In fact, I was just as lost, sinking deeper and deeper like a walking dead. If not for Black Star, I probably would not have survived.”

After experiencing so many things, the two of them could finally face the painful memories of the past. Looking back at the past, it was like a dream.

Aurora suddenly laughed and said, “Speaking of which, Black Star was so young back then, unlike now.”

“Humans have to grow.”

Hearing this, Hila’s lips curled up slightly. She remembered the time she tortured Han Xiao for more than half a year, and when she thought of the infamous Black Star, she had a feeling of joy at having seen the big shot at his weakest. Although they were not really childhood sweethearts, they were old friends.

However, Hila’s smile quickly disappeared, and she sighed with complicated emotions.

Aurora turned to look at her sister.

“What are you sighing about?” “… I was thinking, if I had chosen to go with him when he first entered the galaxy, maybe now… I wouldn’t be late.”

Hila had a complicated expression on her face.

On Floating Dragon Island… “Are you leaving?”

“Hmm, when I rushed over, the machinery was only half done. I have to go back and finish it.”

Han Xiao put on his clothes, buttoned up his shirt, and covered his strong chest muscles, preparing to leave.

At this moment, two fair fingers grabbed onto his shirt and tugged gently.

“Accompany me for a while more.”

“…Alright.”

Not long later…

On the other side of Floating Dragon Island, in Aesop’s residence, the plates on the table moved slightly, and the juice spilled onto the table.

Aesop held onto the cutlery and looked at the corner of the ceiling helplessly. The wall was trembling slightly, and dust was falling. “Sigh, it’s shaking again…”

Chapter 1327: Navigation

Half a day later, a light green force field rolled up a set of clothes and brought it into the air. Han Xiao reached out and put it on. He rubbed his tired waist, came before a mirror, and rubbed his cheeks.

Ames untied her hair and ran her fingers through it, letting her black hair flow down like a waterfall. She opened the fridge with her force field and took out a half-finished bottle of hard liquor. She poured it into two glasses and walked to Han Xiao’s side. She sat on the edge of the table and handed one glass to Han Xiao with a smile.

“Have a drink?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao looked at her and took a sip of the wine. Ames smiled, tidying Han Xiao’s clothes and straightening his collar.

“You’ve been quite busy recently. I tried to look for you some time ago, but I couldn’t reach you.”

“When am I not busy?”

Han Xiao licked his lips and tasted the wine; the sweet and cold taste filled his mouth.

Ames took a sip of wine elegantly and said with a teasing tone, “Be honest, where did you go a few days ago? Did you go to the secondary dimensions with someone else?”.

“Nonsense. I’ve only entered the secondary dimension with you. At most, I’ll add Kasuyi.” Han Xiao finished the wine in one gulp, put down the glass, and casually combed his hair with his fingers.

Ames shook her cup and said with a smile, “You can be considered successful now. You’ve won independence for the Beyond Grade A Association. The three Universal Civilizations have acknowledged your identity once again. Most of the goals set by the association are completed. You can relax now, right?”

“It’s still early. It’s not the time to relax yet.”

“Why? Are you still not satisfied and want to continue climbing up?” Ames raised her brows. “You’re already one of the top big shots in the universe. It’s a little dangerous for you to continue climbing up. Could it be that you want to steal the position of the rulers of the three Universal Civilizations?”

“You’re thinking too much. I’m not referring to that but some other things. There’s still a huge threat that hasn’t been resolved, but I can’t tell you yet.”

Han Xiao glanced at her helplessly. He did not reveal too much information about the World Tree, not even to those close to him.

“Alright, you always have big plans anyway… but you won’t be so busy all the time. You’ll have to stop sometime.”

“If this matter can be resolved successfully, I should be able to rest for a long time.”

“Then I’ll wait. Don’t go back on your word.” Ames smiled.

“We’ll see how it goes. If I am free, I’ll spend more time with you.”

Han Xiao casually chatted for a while and was about to change into a King suit and leave when his communicator suddenly rang.

When he took it out, Han Xiao was delighted to see that it was Aesop. “Heh, it’s the old man. His timing is really accurate.”

Ames looked over and said indifferently, “He must have called you because the earthquakes stopped.”

“Do you want to come along?” Han Xiao waved his communicator.

“He’s looking for you, not me. He probably has some prophecy to talk to you about, so I won’t be going. I still have to see Hila and the others later. Go see the old man yourself. I’m going to take a shower.”

Ames waved her hand lazily and patted Han Xiao’s butt before leaving the room.

Han Xiao shook his head and left Dragon Emperor Palace. He arrived at Aesop’s house with ease and was quickly welcomed in by the AI butler.

The moment he entered, he saw Aesop sitting on the sofa and raising his eyebrows at him.

“You’re out?”

“You’re asking the obvious.”

Han Xiao curled his lips, picked up a piece of fruit from the fruit plate on the table, and threw it into his mouth. He sat on the sofa beside Aesop, placed one arm on the back of the chair, crossed his legs, and casually asked, “Why’d you call me?” “Don’t make so much noise next time.” Aesop sounded helpless. “It’s not the first time. When did you start to care so much?” Han Xiao looked at him strangely.

“I’m saying pay attention to the impact it causes. Every time you guys are done, the logistics department has to repair it. They even thought that Ames was training, and they’ve complained to me more than once. They told me to tell her not to keep causing trouble for Floating Dragon.”

Aesop shook his head.

He knew that the relationship between Han Xiao and Ames had been going on for a very long time. Although Ames was his adopted daughter in name, he knew that this kind of private matter had nothing to do with him, so he did not interfere nor did he have the ability to. Furthermore, Black Star had always satisfied him.

As an Ancient One with a rich romantic history, Aesop was quite open-minded in this respect, and he was not surprised at all that Ames had hooked up with Black Star. In his eyes, the two adults of the galactic era had known each other for close to a hundred years, and their statuses were on the same level. They had experienced many things together and found each other pleasing to the eye. Sleeping on the same bed was just a matter of time.

As for the fact that the two of them were not married, it was not a big deal in Aesop’s eyes. The old marriage system had gone out of fashion a few thousand years ago. Galactic races had long lifespans, and they lived colorful lives. Lifetime monogamy was a backward system that many galactic civilizations had eliminated. Now, the mainstream marriage contract type was usually the legal polygamy system, as well as contracted monogamy system. However, no matter which type of marriage it was, it was no longer a necessity for galactic residents. Due to the strong population circulation, the identity registration of most galactic civilizations had long been simplified. The household registration was very simple, and many galactic residents raised their offspring before marriage. The civilization gave them high subsidies and even built a public foster home.

Han Xiao was speechless.

“You didn’t call me here just for this, did you? If there’s nothing serious, I’m going back.”

“I’m not that bored. Of course, I have business to discuss with you.”

Aesop calmed himself down, threw away the distracting thoughts, and said solemnly, “I recently saw a new prophecy. I saw an ominous cloud looming over the galactic society, containing blood and fire, roars and screams. It’s very likely that a disaster is brewing… Do you still remember my prophecy? Endless wormholes opened, and countless fleets invaded. The two seem to be related, and an unknown war might break out in the near future.”

“Is that so?”

Han Xiao raised his brows. Aesop’s prophecy probably referred to the World Tree.

“You don’t seem surprised?” Aesop blinked.

“Since you saw a prophecy, there’s no need to hide it from you. You must be very curious about the reason the three Universal Civilizations compromised so much. This is the reason.” Han Xiao shrugged.

Aesop was shocked. “So there are enemies. This makes sense. The three Universal Civilizations had no choice but to unite their forces, so they reached an agreement with you.”

“That’s about it. I can give you some information. The enemy this time is very difficult to deal with. It might be the strongest enemy the three Universal Civilizations have seen in all these years. As for the details, I can’t tell you for now. Just be mentally prepared,” Han Xiao said.

“…So a universal war is about to break out. Sigh, the days of peace are always so short. If it’s an external enemy, it won’t be a small war. Who knows how many people will die then?” Aesop sighed.

As he spoke, his expression turned solemn. “Black Star, if the situation isn’t good, I hope you can leave with Ames. There’s no need for you to be buried with the three Universal Civilizations.”

“… How tragic was the scene you foresaw that made you so pessimistic?”

Han Xiao raised his brows.

Aesop said with a serious expression, “I’m just taking precautions. Remember, if the situation isn’t right, don’t walk down the wrong path.”

In the Void Dimension, at Kasuyi’s palace, Kasuyi sat at one end of the table, facing Manison’s remote projection. On the table was a virtual interface of Wayne Cards. The two of them were playing cards and chatting casually. Kasuyi casually threw out a card and slowly said, “Now that the association has an official position, according to Black Star’s personality, he should strike while the iron is hot and carry out the next step of the plan. But he’s keeping a low profile and has yet to start a new plan. This isn’t like him.”

Manison looked at his cards and casually replied, “Black Star definitely has his own plans.”

“Recently, he’s been acting mysteriously, connecting with the three Universal Civilizations. I don’t know what he’s doing. Speaking of which, the three Universal Civilizations’ concessions are quite strange.” Kasuyi crossed his arms.

Manison did not mind. “The three Universal Civilizations’ choice is obviously due to pressure, and there are only a few scenarios where pressure would worry them. Based on the current situation, the most likely scenario is the invasion of the enemy. Black Star should have reached an agreement with the three Universal Civilizations to fight the enemy together. Let’s just wait.”

“Not necessarily.” Kasuyi shook his head.

Because he had information about the Iterations, he thought more about it. Other than the possibility of foreign enemies, he also felt that the three Universal Civilizations might have discovered the existence of the Iterations and thus dropped the conflict. However, this was all speculation. No matter what, he supported Han Xiao’s current actions.

Although Han Xiao did not reveal the truth of the World Tree, many Beyond Grade As had thought about it over the past few days and roughly guessed that the reason for the current situation was the existence of external enemies.

However, since Black Star did not announce it, many of the association members had a tacit understanding and pretended not to know. In fact, many Beyond Grade As were already secretly preparing for battle.

Somewhere in the unexplored universe, the World Tree exploration team’s spaceship had changed direction and was moving at full speed in hyperdrive. The crew in the cockpit were all excited, and there were a few trembling old Kunde Race members tied up in the corner.

“After so many years, I’ve finally found some prey.”

The captain stared at the coordinates on the screen with excitement.

After wandering in the universe for so many years, they had been searching for unknown civilizations alone. The universe was so vast, so their chances were like finding a needle in a haystack. To the long-distance fleet, this was akin to a punishment of exile, and they only had a harvest today.

Not long ago, they discovered an escape pod with low technology and captured the beings inside. Through various methods, they obtained information from the memories of these intelligent creatures who called themselves the Kunde Race.

When the dynasty defeated the Kunde Race civilization, there were batches of people who escaped through the escape pods. After many years of travel and some chance factors, some survivors left the explored universe, and this escape pod was one of the escapees.

The Kunde Race’s memories of the explored universe were only at the stage of the war between the Crimson Dynasty and them. Because they were a native civilization of the Flickering World and had never integrated into the galactic society, they did not know much about the explored universe.

However, to the World Tree exploration team, the most valuable information was the coordinates recorded in this escape pod, as well as the navigation records of the past few years. This gave them a navigation target that pointed to the original location of the Kunde Race civilization, which was the Flickering World Star Field.

Due to the uniqueness of the World Tree mental network, every exploration team was a universe coordinate recorder that was connected in real time. The coordinates of every location would be sent to the World Tree simultaneously.

This meant that as long as the exploration team arrived at their destination, they would be able to obtain the coordinates of their enemies. After the World Tree base analyzed it, it would be able to use the wormhole generator to send a large number of troops over. The three Universal Civilizations had also used this method when entering the World Tree Civilization’s territory for the first time. It was basically a spatial technology that the advanced civilizations used.

At the same time, the exploration team was also responsible for carrying out intelligence work. They would infiltrate the unknown civilization and collect information about the other party. The World Tree would only invade on a large scale if they knew about the other party’s state. They would not start a war the moment they discovered their prey. “I wonder what level of civilization the prey we discovered this time is. Could it be the nest of the outsider who recently caused a ruckus in our territory? Tsk, I have to be careful!” The captain muttered to himself and was extremely vigilant. He had also learned of Han Xiao’s battle in the World Tree Civilization.

If the coordinates were really the hometown of that brave outsider, the danger level would be raised to the highest!

Chapter 1328: Discovered

In a certain restricted military area of the Black Star Army, two large Mechanical Deities were clashing like interstellar beasts in close combat. With every clash, sparks flew everywhere, and shockwaves spread out like endless ripples.

Bang!

Among them, the black and gold Mechanical Deity with a thick psionic shield slammed into the opponent’s abdomen, causing light fragments to fly everywhere. Taking advantage of this collision, it opened up a small distance; countless light beams shot out from the cannon barrels on its shoulders, condensing into a golden beam of light that pushed the opponent away.

The Mechanical Deity that was sent flying rolled in space for a while before quickly stabilizing its body. Its flickering shield blocked the attack, and it was not injured.

“You are recovering well.”

The black and gold Mechanical Deity did not chase after him. Its body opened and closed like scales. It retracted its weapon and spoke in the channel. It was Han Xiao himself.

The other Mechanical Deity was Herberlon. Hearing this, he stopped, stretched his shoulders, and said, “This configuration needs to be readjusted. The power output is not enough.”

After waking up to prove the existence of the World Tree, Herberlon repaired his body with Han Xiao’s help and recovered his combat capability. He then added various weapons and equipment to form different sets of equipment, constantly adjusting his state of operation. From time to time, he would spar with Han Xiao to test the combat capability of different configurations.

“I think this set of close combat equipment suits you quite well. Just add a few more sets of reactor modules. Although you can’t beat me, you should be able to fight on par with the Mechanic Emperor.” Han Xiao smiled.

To him, sparring with Herberlon was a good leisure activity. After all, most Beyond Grade As would not be able to withstand his size, and Herberlon was about the same size as him. At the same time, he was also durable and could fight freely.

Although Herberlon had once been defeated by the World Tree powerhouses, the situation he faced was one against many. His strength could not be underestimated. After recovering his strength, he would be able to enter the first tier of the Beyond Grade As in the explored universe, and he would even be able to reach the top tier. He would be a great help.

Hearing this, Herberlon disarmed himself, removed a metal tube from the groove on his arm armor, and threw it to Han Xiao. “Another mutated carrier.”

Han Xiao took the metal tube and sized it up. He sensed some special structures from it, nodded, and put it away.

Although he was now a living body Mechanical Deity, that was a cheap trick, and it did not completely replicate the uniqueness of Herberlon.

Herberlon’s body was extremely strange. Flesh and blood life combined with mechanical life, and the mechanical parts that were assembled over a long period of time had a chance to undergo a natural mutation like biological tissues, turning into special equipment similar to Apostle Weapons.

A body like Herberlon was a treasure in the eyes of the average person. Any piece of it would contain a shocking amount of technology. However, Han Xiao only needed the mutation module; he made Herberlon dig out the mutated body tissue from time to time and give it to him for research. This was one of the rewards for testing Herberlon’s body.

After doing all this, Herberlon asked, “How’s your contact with the World Tree going?”

“Not too bad. I have obtained quite a few secrets now, so I’ll temporarily hold back and accumulate my strength…”

Han Xiao briefly explained the process of him stealing the secrets of the World Tree, as well as his current strategy. This was the information that he said he would share when he invited Herberlon to fight the World Tree together.

Hearing that the three Universal Civilizations had gained an advantage in intelligence with Han Xiao’s help, Herberlon hesitated for two seconds before saying, “The three Universal Civilizations are really lucky to have someone like you…”

If one were to ask Herberlon how he felt right now, it would be envy and jealousy.

The Karma Republic that he was in did not react until they were attacked by the World Tree Civilization. They were caught off guard and easily defeated. He could not help but envy the fact that the explored universe had Black Star. If the Karma Republic had Black Star’s help, at least they would not have lost without any resistance…

Herberlon had mixed feelings as he said, “It’s a pity that we didn’t have such luck and did not have someone like you.”

“Cough, it’s not that bad…”

Han Xiao was helpless.

Why are you suddenly flattering me? Did I ask you to flatter? Just as he was about to comfort, his communicator rang.

He took it out and saw Oathkeeper’s message.

There are new discoveries in Destiny’s Child surveillance. Come quickly!

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and immediately lost the mood to chat.

He casually bade farewell to Herberlon and teleported to the Holy Accord with the King.

His vision blurred, and he arrived at Destiny’s Child laboratory. This time, Oathkeeper was waiting for him in the room.

“What’s going on? What’s the situation?”

Han Xiao looked at Destiny’s Child and walked to Oathkeeper’s side. “Things have changed. Take a look.”

Oathkeeper had a serious expression and was not in the mood to joke. He moved aside.

Han Xiao turned around and connected with Destiny’s Child. Information flowed into his mind, and his expression changed.

“The World Tree exploration team got our coordinates?”

This information was somewhat unexpected, and Han Xiao’s mood immediately became heavy. Destiny’s Child’s surveillance came from the interaction of information when the sub-bodies activated their foresight ability. This time, the intelligence that was caught was that an exploration team of the World Tree had found the coordinates of a new unknown civilization. The World Tree used all the information that this exploration team had as a medium for foresight and organized a large number of foreseers to activate their abilities. Therefore, Destiny’s Child knew about the situation of the exploration team.

As such, Han Xiao saw in the intelligence that the World Tree exploration team had discovered a group of Kunde Race members, as well as the information they had obtained from them. The coordinates pointed to the old location of the Kunde Race civilization, which was in the middle of the Flickering World.

The surveillance intel showed the origins of these Kunde Race individuals. They were the survivors of the war. Although the refugees knew almost nothing about the galactic society, causing the World Tree to not know if this unknown civilization was the same group as the outsiders who were spying on them, the coordinates’ exposure was a fatal matter. The World Tree would definitely investigate thoroughly before letting the matter rest. Then, they would be able to find out more about the three Universal Civilizations.

Han Xiao frowned. “For such a thing to occur…”

In his previous life, the World Tree invasion had been unstoppable, and they had come prepared. It was obvious that the exploration team had discovered the three Universal Civilizations long ago, but they had been secretly stealing intelligence and only started fighting when they were ready. No one knew when the World Tree first discovered the three Universal Civilizations, but to Han Xiao, it did not make sense for it to be so early. It was most likely due to the butterfly effect. Due to his influence, the path of the Kunde Race refugees had changed, and they had unfortunately run into the World Tree exploration team.

Without the coordinates, it would be difficult to find something. If they knew the location, their efficiency would be multiplied countless times, not to mention in the vast galactic universe. The World Tree exploration team had the same logic. In his previous life, the exploration team had most likely searched aimlessly, finding a needle in a haystack, and coincidentally arrived in the explored universe. Now that they had the navigation coordinates, they could directly travel in the direction of the explored universe. The time to arrive in the explored universe would definitely be much earlier, exposing the three Universal Civilizations in advance.

“What do you plan to do?” Oathkeeper asked with a deep voice.

Han Xiao came back to his senses and frowned.

“If that’s the case, I can only interfere. I can’t let the World Tree find us easily.”

Destiny’s Child’s surveillance showed the location of the exploration team. The only thing he could do now was intercept the exploration team halfway and try not to let the World Tree figure out the three Universal Civilizations’ details. He would win some time and let the three Universal Civilizations mobilize their forces publicly, officially turning into war mode to face the enemies.

However, no matter what he did, the World Tree had already obtained the coordinates, and finding the Flickering World was a foregone conclusion. Even if he destroyed this exploration team, there would be a continuous stream of reinforcements.

“I thought there was still a lot of time, but plans can’t keep up with the changes…”

Han Xiao shook his head helplessly.

He had finally managed to convince the three Universal Civilizations to follow his suggestion and reduce their contact with the World Tree Civilization, giving the secondary dimension expedition team more time. However, the unexpected factors turned out contrary to expectations. The Kunde Race Civilization had once been destroyed by the dynasty, and now, the refugees brought an even greater disaster to the three Universal Civilizations. It was like a cycle of fate; no one could be blamed.

Sighing, Han Xiao composed himself.

No matter what, it had already happened. He could only think of a way to deal with it and accept reality.

“The World Tree has discovered our coordinates?”

In the conference room of the three Universal Civilizations, the three of them received Han Xiao’s intelligence and were shocked.

“As for the details…”

Han Xiao explained the whole story. After he left the Holy Accord, he had immediately shared this intelligence with the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations.

After hearing the explanation, the three of them looked solemn.

The three of them did not have any other thoughts about the Kunde Race escapees leaking the secret. At most, they would curse that they were unlucky. They were more relieved that Han Xiao had the surveillance channels to discover the World Tree’s movements this time.

After all, they did not have the overpowered information network like the World Tree. If they were infiltrated, no one would be aware of it.

After pondering for a while, Marbruce said in a serious tone, “Black Star, I’ll leave the exploration team to you… Everyone, from now on, we have to enter a state of war.”

Chapter 1329: Interception

Chapter 1329 Interception

Somewhere in the unexplored universe, Han Xiao’s figure appeared out of thin air with a flash of light.

“This is where the exploration team passed by…”

Looking at the coordinates, Han Xiao mumbled to himself.

The World Tree used all the intelligence of the exploration team as a medium, which naturally included the route of the exploration team. Destiny’s Child also intercepted the detailed coordinates, so Han Xiao used the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device to enter the coordinates and teleported to this unexplored area that the three Universal Civilizations had never set foot in.

The exploration team had passed by this place recently, so they were naturally not far away.

“According to the coordinates given by the Kunde Race, the exploration team is heading this way…” Han Xiao took out the interstellar locator, adjusted his position, and locked onto a direction.

With the navigation coordinates, the exploration team would most likely advance in a straight line. Therefore, he could confirm the direction of the other party. Although the exploration team was very fast and had already run ahead, he could use this method to give chase.

With a flash of his Mechanical Force, the gate of the secondary dimensional army camp opened, and a large number of mechanical troops rushed out. Han Xiao led a group of troops and chased after them in a straight line to the navigation coordinates, while the rest of the mechanical troops scattered in different directions.

This was partly to be safe, as they were afraid that the exploration team would take a detour. Also, their task was to set up a stargate terminal nearby. The three Universal Civilizations had set up a terminal on the other side of the stargate, allowing the two sides to connect.

This was related to the next step of the plan that they had discussed before they set off. Due to the World Tree’s devouring mechanism, the three Universal Civilizations did not wish to start a war in their own territory. This would be too passive, so they decided to use the stargate to send a large number of troops to this area and build a defensive circle along the exploration team’s route. At the same time, they would stop the World Tree’s subsequent exploration teams and increase the difficulty of infiltration.

Between the defense circle and the Flickering World, there was still a large area that had yet to be explored as a buffer zone. Even if the World Tree broke through the defense line, it would not be able to immediately attack the territory of the explored universe. This way, the three Universal Civilizations would be able to bombard the area as much as they wanted with their strategic weapons. They would try their best to eliminate the World Tree’s strength to reduce the number of enemies attacking.

These were all necessary preparations. However, from Han Xiao’s perspective, an all-out war would not erupt just because of this. He had learned about the World Tree’s habits from Barbani. Even if it discovered that they had built a defensive circle, the World Tree would not attack rashly. It would most likely take a detour and find a way to infiltrate their base to steal intelligence instead.

The World Tree mainly focused on invasion. It looked very aggressive, but that was not the case. After Barbani’s explanation, the World Tree’s biggest advantage was that it had an endless supply of troops and its amazing radar technology, which was its hard strength and intelligence ability. Why was it always able to launch an all-out invasion? It did not rely on brute strength but more on having detailed information about the enemy before the battle, understanding their weaknesses and accurately striking straight at the hearts.

As Han Xiao calculated in his mind, he brought his mechanical army and activated hyperdrive, turning into streams of light that flew across the galaxy. All of them were equipped with high-speed hyperdrive engines, and with the support of Mechanical Force, they were even faster than the exploration team. After chasing for a long time, the two spaceships of the exploration team appeared in his radar.

“It’s indeed in this direction…”

Seeing that his target had appeared, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. Destiny’s Child was indeed powerful, or things would not have gone so smoothly.

The exploration team had activated a concealment device, but they could not avoid his detection, and he would not be easily discovered by a small exploration team.

Han Xiao had no intention of going up to communicate with them. He waved his hand and ordered a group of mechanical troops to set up a Space Stabilization Anchor to force the exploration team out of the hyperdrive mode. He then raised his long-range weapons and locked onto the two spaceships. Not long after, the two spaceships of the exploration team crashed into the trap set up by the mechanical army. With a sudden jolt, their speed plummeted and returned to normal mode. Han Xiao opened fire without hesitation, and a thick stream of high-energy particles shot out from the muzzle and swept past the two spaceships.

The shields of the two spaceships shattered in the blink of an eye, and the bodies of the spaceships melted, disappearing without a trace. In an instant, both the spaceships and the personnel on board were annihilated. A small exploration team naturally could not withstand Han Xiao’s attack.

Seeing that the target was successfully eliminated, Han Xiao shook his head, but he could not be happy. He knew that this was only the beginning

Due to the connection of the World Tree’s mind network, it was basically impossible to mislead this exploration team. Right now, the World Tree base camp definitely placed a lot of importance on the progress of the exploration team, so if anything went wrong, the World Tree would discover it. It was equivalent to the ‘mainframe’ having all the data prepared. He could hack the exploration team, but he could not hack the World Tree’s main body. It was very easy to detect tampered data. By getting rid of the exploration team, he could only buy some time.

Han Xiao did not leave immediately. Instead, he gathered the spatial coordinates around him and summoned the construction team to set up the location.

At the same time, in the World Tree Civilization…

“… The mental network connection of the exploration team has been cut off. The members of the team have all been turned into seeds. They are suspected to have been attacked.”

In the main hall of the Tree Kings, Tedrian stood under his throne and reported the situation with a shocked tone.

Due to the discovery of their prey, the World Tree Civilization had been paying close attention to the progress of the exploration team and had been communicating with the team telepathically. The moment the exploration team lost contact, the upper echelons noticed it.

“Enemy attack? Could it have been done by this unknown civilization? How did they discover the exploration team?”

The Tree King frowned.

At this moment, another Tree King sitting by the side laughed and slowly said, “It seems like this unknown civilization isn’t simple. They either have a special anti-surveillance method similar to the information state alert network, or they built an outpost outside their territory… It’s also possible that the refugees discovered by the exploration team were just a trap.”

There were five thrones in the hall, each corresponding to one of the five tree kings. At this moment, three of the thrones were empty, and only two tree kings had appeared. One of them was the Subduing Tree King, and the one who spoke was the Heart Tree King, Minacho, a pinnacle Beyond Grade A Psychic. After Han Xiao caused a huge ruckus, the World Tree Civilization entered a state of alert, and the Heart Tree King woke up from his deep sleep. Two of the tree kings were on standby, and the other three were also observing the current situation.

ex

At this moment, there were still a few executives waiting in the hall. Hearing this, one of them asked, “Trap? Are you saying that the coordinates obtained by the exploration team are problematic?”

The Heart Tree King did not comment directly, instead casually replying, “The coordinates and intelligence provided by this group of refugees might have been specially forged by an unknown civilization. Their goal might be to lure the enemy in and lead outsiders into the trap they have prepared… After all, the universe is so big; we’re not the only hunters.”

The executives’ expressions became more solemn.

The exploration team had only just discovered the coordinates when they were wiped out. They had no choice but to be wary of this unknown civilization.

In the process of conquering the universe, it was not as if they had never met a tough opponent. They had seen civilizations that were also focused on invasion, and they had always been on guard against such existences.

This time, Tedrian exclaimed and said, “That’s not right. If this is a trap to lure the enemy, there’s no need for this unknown civilization to attack the exploration team. This will only alarm others. They should be showing their weaknesses instead.”

The Heart Tree King smiled and nodded. “That’s right, so the possibility of it being a trap isn’t high. This unknown civilization probably doesn’t wish to come into contact with outsiders and is afraid of being exposed. However, their actions have also exposed some things… After the unknown civilization discovered the exploration team, they immediately attacked without any intention of capturing them alive. Isn’t this suspicious?”

Hearing this, the eyes of many executives flickered.

“Logically speaking, if a civilization discovers an exploration team of unknown origin, there’s a high chance that they will capture them alive and try to obtain intelligence…”

The Heart Tree King nodded and slowly said, “That’s right, but this unknown civilization did not do so. Maybe it’s because they’re cautious, but it’s more likely that they have intelligence on us and know that the World Tree has a mental network link, so they don’t dare show their faces, afraid of being observed… Think about it, if they didn’t know about our mental network, what are the chances of them destroying a foreign exploration team so carelessly?”

Tedrian was shocked. “So what you’re saying is that this unknown civilization might be the hometown of the outsider who stole a lot of our secrets?”

Everyone’s expression changed.

The psychological trauma that Han Xiao had left on them was not small, and it was still fresh in their minds. Just the mention of him made many World Tree members feel pressured.

“All of this is just speculation. As for what exactly happened, we’ll have to verify it first.” The Heart Tree King waved his hand and calmly said, “The next step is to locate the coordinates that this exploration team has recently passed by and reopen the wormhole tunnel. We’ll send advance troops there, continue the exploration, and advance toward the navigation coordinates… Whether it’s a trap or not, this is the only clue we have at the moment. We have to investigate it thoroughly.”

“That was also my intention.” The Subduing Tree King nodded.

The executives bowed in unison. “Understood. We will assemble the fleet now.”

Somewhere in the Central Galaxy, a few enormous stargate devices were placed in the middle of the galaxy. At this time, the channel was not opened, so it only existed as a gigantic circular mechanical device.

In front of these stargate devices, there was a fleet that stretched endlessly. The armies of the Federation of Light, the Crimson Dynasty, and the Arcane Church had been waiting there for a long time.

These stargates were a set with the stargate terminals that Han Xiao had taken away. As long as Han Xiao completed the terminal connection, the two sides would be able to build an express channel.

After learning of the World Tree’s existence, the three Universal Civilizations had been secretly gathering troops. Currently, most of the armies were on standby, ready to move out at any time.

While Han Xiao was dealing with the exploration team, the three Universal Civilizations efficiently gathered their troops and waited to set off.

“With Black Star’s efficiency, it should be soon.”

In the main flagship of the Federation of Light, the commander-in-chief, Simon, was playing with an antique replica pocket watch, looking down at the time from time to time. The surrounding crew members all had solemn expressions on their faces, and the atmosphere was stifling.

At this time, the few stargates outside the window activated one after another, and a dark blue space vortex appeared within the ring device. Starlight sparkled, and it led to the exit on the other side. Seeing this, Simon closed his watch and placed it into his pocket.

“All troops, move out!”

Chapter 1330: Public Announcement and Response

Chapter 1330 Public Announcement and Response

In the area where the exploration team had been wiped out, Han Xiao’s mechanical army had already set up the stargate and activated the channel. The space vortex slowly spun, and not long after, batches of troops from the three Universal Civilizations flew out from the stargate.

Simon immediately saw the mechanical base floating in the starry sky outside the window. This was a temporary stronghold built by Han Xiao.

Simon sent Han Xiao a message. “We’re here.”

“I see you. Here is the exploration team’s projected route. I’ll leave the rest to you,” Han Xiao replied casually before sending the intelligence to the various commanders.

Simon nodded. Without exchanging pleasantries, he turned and gave the order for the fleet to start moving. The allied troops of the three Universal Civilizations immediately split up, and the construction team built the prototype of the defense circle on the spot. The mechanical army then followed the exploration team’s route, setting up a space stabilization device along the way. Because the World Tree could only take coordinates based on the exploration team’s route to open wormholes, the three Universal Civilizations’ method was a perfect counter.

Looking at the three Universal Civilizations’ fleets working in an orderly manner, Han Xiao nodded.

Although both sides had come into contact in advance, compared to his previous life, the three Universal Civilizations were in a much better position. The World Tree had yet to grasp their strength and was not prepared, so they could not invade from the secondary dimensions. Therefore, the three Universal Civilizations only needed to pay attention to the battlefront of the main universe for the time being, which saved them a lot of time and energy. Furthermore, they still had the upper hand at the moment, managing to keep the enemy outside their territory. The situation was quite good.

Everyone was engrossed in their preparations for a long time. Suddenly, a spacetime anomaly occurred somewhere on the exploration team’s route, attracting everyone’s attention.

A wormhole vortex appeared out of thin air. However, along the way, the wormhole was disrupted by the stabilizing anchor nearby. The process was interrupted, and the wormhole was destroyed. “The teleportation of the World Tree failed.”

Seeing this, many of the officers of the three Universal Civilizations were overjoyed. This was obviously because after the exploration team died, the World Tree had tried to send the next batch of troops. This proved to the three Universal Civilizations that their current plan was effective, able to successfully stop the World Tree’s teleportation team.

This way, the World Tree could only choose to teleport to further coordinates and keep trying until it succeeded. At that time, the three Universal Civilizations, who were prepared, would naturally surround and intercept them. Since the plan was effective, Han Xiao did not keep an eye on it. The three Universal Civilizations would be in charge of this. With more people, the efficacy would naturally be higher.

Leaving behind a Throne, Han Xiao changed into the King and returned to the explored universe. He still had many things to do.

After Han Xiao returned to the Beyond Grade A Association headquarters, he immediately called an emergency meeting. The association members received the news and all attended.

Ever since the three Universal Civilizations’ ban was lifted, Black Star had not summoned everyone so urgently. In the venue, many Beyond Grade A projections landed on their seats and gazed at Han Xiao curiously.

Kasuyi turned and asked, “Black Star, why did you call us for an emergency meeting?” Han Xiao looked around and said with a deep voice, “I know that all of you have always been curious about the basis of our ceasefire with the three Universal Civilizations. Previously, due to the confidentiality agreement and some strategic considerations, I did not disclose it to the outside world. However, the situation has changed. I can tell all of you that… because the three Universal Civilizations discovered a foreign civilization that lives on aggression and threatened the safety of the entire galactic society, they chose to compromise with us at the crucial moment. They hope to work together with us to fight against the foreign enemy.”

Hearing this, the expressions of the Beyond Grade As present changed. Some came to a realization, some were shocked, and others remained unsurprised.

Many people had already faintly expected this possibility, so they did not show a great reaction.

Manison’s eyes flashed, and he slowly said, “This is the deal that the three Universal Civilizations gave us for our independence?”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao nodded.

“How strong is this enemy?” Kasuyi was curious.

“Because of some reasons, it’s not convenient to reveal the details for the time being, but the overall strength is very strong…” Han Xiao briefly described the size of the World Tree.

After hearing the introduction, many people looked at each other and frowned. They were afraid of the strong enemy that Han Xiao described.

“I never thought that I would have to fight alongside the three Universal Civilizations in the blink of an eye.”

“The enemies are so strong. Can the three Universal Civilizations win?”

“Even if we win, it will probably be a tragic victory.”

Many people whispered to each other, worried. Dillon frowned. “In other words, we still have to work for the three Universal Civilizations?”

Han Xiao waved his hand and said, “It’s just a deal. Furthermore, we’re also the prey of the foreign enemies. We have nothing to do with the three Universal Civilizations.”

“Bullsh*t! The three Universal Civilizations can’t even take care of themselves, so we can definitely leave on our own. They won’t dare stop us at this juncture, but aren’t they using our lives to protect the three Universal Civilizations?”

Dillon was clearly dissatisfied. His hostility toward the three Universal Civilizations was very firm.

“If we join the battle, who knows how many people will die? Even if there’s the Sanctum Revival, I think…” Beiger hesitated.

The majority of people there were willing to fight the three Universal Civilizations for the treatment of the Beyond Grade As because of what happened in history, but for them to ally and fight alongside the three Universal Civilizations, it was the exact opposite.

Among that group, the Revivors took the lion’s share. They felt that since they could no longer enjoy the Sanctum Revival, losing their lives for the three Universal Civilizations was not worth it.

Protecting the people was not a priority for a portion of the Beyond Grade As. After all, the strength of an individual was different from that of a civilization. If they did not need to rely on the masses, they naturally did not have much obligation to protect them.

Now that the problem of the Beyond Grade As was basically solved, many of the Revivors had achieved their goal, and their mentality was inevitably going to shift toward being independent.

Han Xiao took in everyone’s expression and said, “These are the terms of the deal. If we don’t participate in the battle, the association’s independence and status will be nullified.” Dillon snorted. “Come on. It’s not even certain if the three Universal Civilizations can win. We’ll be risking our lives to fight, but if the three Universal Civilizations lose, these agreements will still be useless. To us, it’s a bloody loss… There is clearly a method to gain something without risking our lives!” “You’re right, but there are two sides to everything. This is also an opportunity. Furthermore, we were all born from this galactic society, so this is not the time to abandon our homeland. Escaping should not be the first choice.” Han Xiao shook his head. “Alright, let’s assume that we’ve defeated the enemy. But what if the three Universal Civilizations take the opportunity to wipe us out again? Will we still have the strength to fight back then?” Dillon questioned.

“Of course, I’ve considered this. Don’t worry, we won’t be the main force fighting against the foreign enemies. The three Universal Civilizations will only suffer greater losses than us. By then, the association will still be able to retain enough strength or come out even stronger.”

Dillon snorted coldly. “It’s easy to say. I don’t care about the others, but I won’t agree. You want me to fight for the three Universal Civilizations? No way!”

Han Xiao ignored him and looked at the others. “What are your thoughts?”

Listening to the argument between the two, many Beyond Grade As had different expressions. Some were hesitant, while others remained calm.

“Black Star is right. This is a deal with risks and benefits. We’re not fighting for the three Universal Civilizations but for our homeland. At least for me, I’m already used to living here. If it’s not necessary, I don’t want to watch the galactic society be destroyed,” Kant said slowly.

Kasuyi nodded and said, “No matter what, it’s too early to discuss escaping before the battle starts. I believe that Black Star’s intention is not to fight to the death. If the situation is truly irreversible, with his style, he will not lead us down a path of no return.”

“That’s right.” Secret Master nodded expressionlessly.

Other than the Revivors, most Beyond Grade As understood Han Xiao’s actions. After all, not everyone was willing to abandon their hometown. Furthermore, as a Beyond Grade A, even in the face of a universal war, they still had the confidence to protect themselves and would not panic. Being scared away by the enemy was not within the consideration of most. Whether they could win or not would only be known after they fought.

Hearing this, Han Xiao nodded before looking at Dillon and the others. “The war has yet to break out, so you still have plenty of time to consider. The association respects the opinions of every member and will not force anyone to participate in the war… Of course, if you change your mind one day, I welcome all of you to fight alongside us.”

“Humph, even if the galactic society is gone, I will not regret my attitude today!” Dillon snorted.

Han Xiao’s expression was calm, and he was not angry. It was normal to have disagreements. He had already considered this point.

However, in his previous life, everyone in the explored universe was a soldier, so it was clear that most of them were upright. Furthermore, in his previous life, Oathkeeper had convinced many Revivors to participate in the battle at the critical moment. Clearly, it was not just because they were emotionally moved but more because the Sanctum Revival was used as a bargaining chip to move all the Beyond Grade As.

When the truth of the unlimited number to Sanctum revivals was exposed, he believed that these cold and aloof combat avoiders would come back knocking.

Han Xiao gave some instructions before announcing the end of the meeting. Everyone left with their own thoughts, except Manison.

Han Xiao looked at him and asked, “What do you have to say to me?”

Manison crossed his hands on his legs and calmly said, “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Do you want to reconsider my route?”

“What, you want to replace the three Universal Civilizations?” Han Xiao smiled.

“Can’t we?” Manison glanced at Han Xiao. “If we lose, just pretend that I didn’t say anything. If we win, this is a very good opportunity. It might be the weakest moment of the three Universal Civilizations so far, and the Virtual Mutiny Virus in our hands will come in handy.”

“You still haven’t given up. In fact, the things you want are even more exaggerated.” Han Xiao shook his head.

Manison was expressionless. “When the three Universal Civilizations recover, they will still see us as a thorn in their side. As long as they stay on our side, we won’t be able to have any true peace. Your method of checks and balances is effective, but isn’t it better to solve the threat once and for all?” “It’s too early to say that. Let’s focus on dealing with the enemies.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

To the citizens of the galactic society, this was a normal day, but on this day, the peaceful life in their eyes was easily broken by the galactic announcement issued by the three Universal Civilizations. The three Universal Civilizations announced that a powerful foreign civilization was planning to invade the galactic society. The entire universe was to enter a state of war, requesting the Flickering World and many other Star Fields to begin mass migration.

This earth-shattering news swept through every Star Field like a hurricane. All galactic residents and civil forces who saw the news could not believe their eyes, thinking that it was fake news.

However, the actions of the three Universal Civilizations proved that this was not a joke. Large batches of official fleets forcefully migrated the civilians in the various Star Fields, and the various civilizations cooperated extremely well. Spaceship after spaceship of galactic residents of different races were sent to the transport ship, heading toward the hinterlands of the explored universe.

The recently renowned Beyond Grade A Association also issued a statement, proving that the three Universal Civilizations were not lying. They would fight against the enemies together and start to recruit Supers from all over the universe.

This series of actions did not pause at all. It was as if they had been prepared for this. The tension of the impending storm swept through the entire galactic society.

There had been no related news before this, and the situation had come too suddenly. It was as if a meteor had landed on the calm surface of the sea, causing huge waves. The public opinion exploded instantly. However, one characteristic of the interstellar era was that the people were used to seeing all kinds of strange things. They were adaptable and could accept things fast enough. Although the period of long and comfortable life slowed down the reactions of many people, the majority of the galactic residents still quickly accepted the fact that a war was about to break out. They did not have time to think too much and quickly responded.

Fortunately, the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association had given many galactic residents an experience. At this moment, they were practically escaping without hesitation.

Without the forced migration of the three Universal Civilizations, most of the galactic residents left the border Star Field of their own accord, forming a huge migration wave. The public stargates were all jammed, and the fleet could extend to the end of their sights.

At the same time, the armies of the three Universal Civilizations began to move toward the periphery of the Star Field, requiring the majority of the area to start their war preparations.

In daily life, the various Star Fields were all living areas. Once a war broke out, the entire explored universe would be a strategic location in the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations. All Star Fields were war zones with different functions.

Chapter 1331: Scheming Against the Enemy

Chapter 1331 Scheming Against the Enemy

In the conference room of the Super Star Cluster Alliance, many leaders were discussing the coming war intensely.

Ever since the three Universal Civilizations issued the universal war mobilization, the leaders of the various civilizations had put aside their other work, treating it as their top priority at the moment and actively asking the three Universal Civilizations about their enemies.

However, due to the magnitude of the issue, there were too many civilizations that were eager to obtain information. The three Universal Civilizations only gave a unified reply and briefly explained the situation of the information entanglement. They said that they wanted to control the number of people who knew about it and that it was not convenient to publicize any intelligence on the enemy for the time being. Therefore, the other civilizations did not know anything about the enemy. However, even if some civilizations were dissatisfied with the three Universal Civilizations, they would still follow the instructions of the three Universal Civilizations and cooperate with the strategic plan when facing external wars. After all, the three Universal Civilizations were the rulers, and their determination to protect the safety of the explored universe was unquestionable. At the same time, they were also the pillars of the galactic society. None of the civilizations objected to the three Universal Civilizations having unified command during the war, and even the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not dare object.

A Super Star Cluster leader knocked on the table and said, “The invasion of foreign civilizations is not a small matter. For some reason, the three Universal Civilizations did not reveal the details of the enemy, but for them to put on such a show, it’s clear that they have met a strong enemy.” “According to the attitude of the three Universal Civilizations, this time, it’s most likely a mature Universal Civilization, not something those natives can compare to,” another person guessed. Everyone had a heavy expression on their face. This was not the first time that the explored universe had dealt with an unknown civilization. In history, there would occasionally be new Star Fields being developed, and the most recent example was the Flickering World. The Kunde Race war was similar, but the natives and Universal Civilizations were worlds apart. The intensity of the war was on a completely different level.

The Universal Civilizations in the unexplored universe were basically the overlords of a region. This was no longer a small skirmish when they were fighting the natives but an interstellar war. They no longer had a perfect chance of winning like they did when they were teaching the natives a lesson. The three Universal Civilizations had put up a defensive stance in their base camp, so it was obviously not the side that took the initiative to attack. It was most likely the side that was invaded, which made the heads of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations feel that something was wrong. No one wanted to start a war in their own territory, and even if they won, their territory would suffer a huge loss. However, the three Universal Civilizations had chosen a defensive strategy, which proved that they were likely at a disadvantage, so they could only passively resist the other party’s invasion.

“The conservative strategy of the three Universal Civilizations has exposed their lack of confidence. We should prepare a path of retreat. If the three Universal Civilizations become losers, we must think of a way to protect our civilizations,” the leader of the Star Arc Civilization said.

In the eyes of the upper echelons, nothing was inevitable. They would never believe that the three Universal Civilizations could not be defeated or destroyed. They had to consider every possibility and plan ahead.

“It’s a pity that the three Universal Civilizations will not disclose information about this foreign enemy. We can’t analyze the other party’s social status, political orientation, and attitude toward the outside world…” Someone shook his head.

“It seems like we can only wait until the war starts before we know the situation of this foreign civilization. Only then can we make a decision based on the actual situation. Before that, we can only arrange our own ‘life tinder’ storages,” the leader of the Star Arc Civilization replied.

After discussing for a while, one of the Modo Three Kings suddenly spoke in a low voice.

“Speaking of which, this might be our chance to break the stalemate.”

Hearing this, the eyes of many Super Star Cluster leaders flickered.

They stayed in the explored universe and had always been restricted by the three Universal Civilizations. Only external forces could help them break the balance. Their previous attempt to enter the Flickering World had failed, and although the Beyond Grade A Association had potential, it did not seem to be of much use now. However, external enemies were the biggest variable, and it was an opportunity to change the situation. The Star Arc Civilization leader rubbed his chin and slowly said, “The most ideal situation would be for the three Universal Civilizations and the foreign civilizations to both suffer. We would then take over and rule the galactic society.

“Of course, they will be wary of us. If this path doesn’t work, we can take the opportunity to evacuate. The three Universal Civilizations won’t have the strength to stop us. We can bring our civilization to a faraway place and become the new rulers there. We can enjoy the resources and develop freely. We won’t be restricted and suppressed like today.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

As the saying went, they would rather be a chicken’s head than a phoenix’s tail. The Super Star Cluster Alliance had been the number two for too long, and they had been beaten up by the three Universal Civilizations every day. If there was no outside interference, they would never have the chance to turn the tables and would forever be positioned below the three Universal Civilizations.

If they could get rid of the restrictions, then migrating to the enemy would also be a choice.

At this moment, the Star Arc Civilization leader changed the topic.

“However, without the enemy’s intelligence, it’s not suitable for us to make a decision… The three Universal Civilizations will most likely be wary of us and force us to be the main force. This will reduce our strength and cause us to be less of a threat. Therefore, we still have to see how the war goes.”

All the leaders nodded with subtle expressions.

Since the enemy had yet to arrive, it was impossible for the civilizations to be united.

The war was sudden, and the announcement of the three Universal Civilizations spread throughout the galaxy. This also shocked the players, and their reactions were intense. “Suddenly going to war? I haven’t even brushed my teeth!”

“Isn’t the main storyline the rise of a Beyond Grade A nation? Why did it suddenly become a galactic war?”

“Tsk, I got the main storyline wrong again. I really can’t guess this version!”

“Actually, all of this is possible, but the level of intelligence we have access to is not high enough. We can’t get any inside information and can only analyze the surface.”

Many players on the forums were shocked, but shortly after, most of them became excited.

War? That’s good! I can participate in the main storyline again! As a group that wanted to see the world in chaos, the players welcomed war. After the three Universal Civilizations and the association became good friends again, many players could only operate the black markets to farm daily necessities. Although they were very free, they did not have a main storyline goal, so they were still overly idle and dying of boredom.

Now that a universal war was about to break out, it might be the largest war they had ever seen. Most of the players could not wait to participate. Coincidentally, Han Xiao also issued a recruitment order to the army players, gathering all the combat-ready soldiers of the army to await orders in the Flickering World.

At Black Star’s call, almost all the players in the army responded, dropping the black market mission in their hands and gathering at Black Star Palace.

At the border stargate station of the Dawn Star Cluster, the diverse civilian spaceships lined up in front of the stargate and entered in batches under the supervision of the Crimson Dynasty fleet. These were all galactic residents who had responded to the migration and were leaving the Flickering World on a large scale.

Practically all the galactic travel companies assisted in the migration, mobilizing their spaceships to transport batch after batch of galactic residents out of the country. Not only did they respond to the call, but they also took the opportunity to make a huge profit. Currently, all galactic flights did not care about comfort, only the number of passengers. Unless they chose VIP cabins that were many times more expensive, they could not expect any special treatment. In a large travel ship, countless galactic residents were squeezed into the main hall of the ship, and all kinds of races could be seen there. These were all ordinary passengers, and most of them were chatting with their companions. There were many worried people, and the main hall was extremely noisy. “The recent disturbances have been too frequent. Those rulers have been creating trouble for us, and now we can’t even rest in peace,” one universal human could not help but complain.

One of the people beside him said with a dissatisfied expression, “Who says so? Some time ago, the three Universal Civilizations confronted the Beyond Grade A Association, and I thought that something big was going to happen. It was not easy to get rid of the storm, and now there’s going to be a war. How annoying.”

“Since it has already happened, let’s not complain too much.” A well-dressed passenger sighed and said, “I only hope that this migration will ensure our safety.”

“As long as the three Universal Civilizations can stop the enemy at the border Star Field, we shouldn’t have to worry. No matter how fierce the battle is, it won’t threaten us,” another passenger said.

“It’s hard to say. In the past, when we encountered foreign civilizations, the three Universal Civilizations did not order us to migrate on a large scale. The enemy this time is probably very strong. I hope the three Universal Civilizations can be more reliable. Otherwise, the inner Star Fields won’t be safe either,” someone said worriedly.

The cabin was filled with anxiety, and the more they chatted, the more worried they became.

Other than personal safety concerns, many people were worried about their lives. “The people from the border Star Fields have all migrated to the inner Star Fields. It will be crowded, and living resources will be more scarce. The prices will definitely increase…” “Sigh, it wasn’t easy for me to build up some savings. I don’t know how long I can last. I hope my job opportunities won’t be affected. As long as I don’t go to the frontlines, I’m willing to do anything.”

me

Many passengers sighed.

At this moment, something happened outside the window, attracting everyone’s attention.

There was a long queue in front of the stargate, and the neighboring stargate was deserted. However, at this time, a fleet of ships suddenly sailed out from the stargate and arrived in the Flickering World. The armor of the ships had the insignia belonging to different Beyond Grade A organizations.

The next moment, these fleets turned into dense streams of light and headed in the opposite direction of the refugee fleet, heading toward the war zone.

“Are those the fleet from the Beyond Grade A Association?”

As the passengers watched the fleet disappear from their sights, some of them suddenly had a strange expression. Among the crowd, there were some galactic residents who had criticized the association online during the confrontation between the three Universal Civilizations and the association. Seeing this scene, their emotions were complicated.

In the intercept area, a large number of mechanical strongholds were lined up in the starry sky, and the orbit formed by the Space Stabilization Anchor extended out, covering the route of the World Tree exploration team.

The efficiency of the three Universal Civilizations was astonishing, and it did not take long for them to form a defensive circle, forming a war zone as the frontline to intercept the World Tree.

In the past few days, the three Universal Civilizations had been setting up a space stabilization orbit along the exploration team’s route all day long. The range was getting larger and larger, and they had already discovered that the World Tree had tried to form wormholes in different locations many times, but it had been disrupted by the space stabilization anchors and ultimately failed.

In the temporary base, Simon and the other commanders stayed in the combat staff room and spoke softly before the tactical star map while Han Xiao and many Beyond Grade As listened from the side.

After the meeting, Han Xiao brought Kasuyi, Kant, and the rest of the Beyond Grade As to the intercept area. They took charge while understanding the current situation.

The Flickering World had many Beyond Grade A organizations’ territories, and they were already preparing for war. With so many officers, there was no need for them to keep an eye on them.

Other than the association members, there were also many Beyond Grade As from the direct line of descent of the three Universal Civilizations present. They were also there to prevent the World Tree from sending Beyond Grade As.

Simon pointed at the star map and solemnly said, “According to the statistics, the other party has already attempted to open the wormhole channel five times. The coordinates are getting further and further away, and the last time, they approached the edge of a stable space orbit. “The coordinates that the other party will choose next should be a long distance away. It might be outside our observation range… The defense circle is not complete yet. Black Star, we still need your help.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Han Xiao nodded.

Setting up a space stabilization orbit would only buy some time, and the teleportation location of the World Tree would be far away from the defense circle. However, it would not be able to cover the route that the exploration team had left behind over countless years. As long as the World Tree moved the teleportation coordinates far enough, it would sooner or later teleport a new exploration team over.

If the new World Tree exploration team was outside of their observation range, it would be more troublesome. The other party could take a large detour, and the defense circle of the three Universal Civilizations had yet to be completely built, so the probability of intercepting them was limited. The best way now was to rely on Destiny’s Child’s intelligence channel to locate the subsequent exploration team’s location and target it to prevent anyone from escaping.

The premise was that its sub-body on the World Tree side had grasped this information, or else Destiny’s Child would not be able to obtain the location. Luckily, this channel was very hidden, and the World Tree side should not be aware of its own information leak. They would still use the power of the sub-body to solve the problems for the exploration team.

Beep beep beep… At this time, Han Xiao’s communicator suddenly rang.

The room immediately fell silent. Everyone stopped talking and looked at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao took out his communicator. It was a message from Oathkeeper.

After reading the content, his eyes flashed.

“The World Tree has successfully opened the wormhole, and the new exploration team has arrived. It’s four days away from the most stable spatial node… Everyone, we have to fight them.”

Hearing this, everyone’s pupils constricted.

Although they were mentally prepared, they were still in a heavy mood upon hearing that they would officially fight the World Tree troops. Han Xiao was the only one in the room who could treat this calmly.

Chapter 1332: Encounter and Adjustment

Chapter 1332 Encounter and Adjustment

In the vast starry sky, a spatial fold appeared out of thin air; it started to spin faster and faster, quickly turning into a wormhole. Hundreds of thousands of World Tree battleships sailed out.

“Finally.”

In the command room of the main ship, a creature that looked like a stick insect stood with his arms crossed and spoke in a gleeful tone. Judging from his attire and the series of medals on his chest, he was a high-ranking officer.

Orwell was a commander of the World Tree Military. He was part of the ‘Foreign Battle Command Corps’. This was a talent pool formed by the elites of the World Tree. This person was in charge of logistics tasks like exploration, infiltration, and stealing intelligence. Currently, he was in charge of Exploration Team No. 274. His skin was like a leaf, and his veins could clearly be seen. There was a faint green light flowing through his body, and he looked like a plant spirit. This was one of the Blessed Races of the World Tree, Green Demon.

Not all races annexed by the World Tree had the qualifications to become a Blessed Race. The Blessed Race was an elite race that had obtained the World Tree’s endowment. Just like the Beyond Grade A race, they had an extremely high rate of Super Awakening, as well as special talents and a natural connection to the World Tree.

Orwell fiddled with the medals on his chest and slowly gave the order. “All units, pay attention. Follow the planned strategy, split up, and go to the navigation target. Try to avoid any enemy fleets. Our goal is to reach our destination, not to be in a stalemate with the enemy’s intercepting troops.”

The previous wormhole tunnels had been disrupted by Space Stabilization Anchors and could not transport them over, which led to the 274th exploration group being on standby for a few days. The World Tree naturally guessed the three Universal Civilizations’ strategy and knew that this ‘Unknown Civilization’ wanted to stop them in this area and prevent them from reaching their territory.

Thus, the World Tree decided to have the exploration team take different routes. With hundreds of thousands of exploration ships, every additional route would increase the number of teleportation coordinates of the World Tree. As long as the other side’s space stabilization orbit could not block in time, they could slowly explore until they reached the other side’s territory.

This method was time-consuming, but the World Tree did not lack patience. The method was simple, rough, and effective. If one path was blocked, they could just take a longer detour next time. Sooner or later, they would be able to penetrate the opponent’s interception net. Their advantage was that they did not care about losses, and they had enough capital to make mistakes. They were least afraid of a tug of war.

Under Orwell’s command, the hundreds of thousands of battleships scattered and disappeared into space.

The personal troop of Orwell followed the path of the previous exploration team.

“Although the Executive Officers think that this civilization is suspected to be the hometown of the outsider from last time, there’s no way to confirm it at the moment. Even if it is not, we don’t know if there are individuals with great powers here…”

Orwell narrowed his eyes and casually glanced at a figure resting in the corner of the command room.

The World Tree had specially sent a Holy Tree Emissary to follow the ship. If they encountered the enemy’s intercepting troops, they would act according to the situation. The goal was to force out the powerful individuals of this unknown civilization, so it did not matter even if they died.

Three days later, a small Arcane Church fleet searched along the path of the exploration team.

The captain was connected to the command channel, listening to the reports from the other troops with a serious expression.

“Currently, we have intercepted a total of 7,200 enemy ships. We have discovered that the enemy is taking detours in different directions. We are not sure of the total size of the enemy…”

“Sir, this is not good for us,” the deputy said worriedly. “It’s indeed disadvantageous.” The captain nodded solemnly. “But we can only try our best to stop them.”

The World Tree had too many troops, and not all the routes would be used as mediums for foreseers. Therefore, even Destiny’s Child’s channels could not monitor all the routes of these exploration groups. The three Universal Civilizations could only send troops to patrol the area like a sieve, sifting through the various areas to intercept any fish that escaped the net.

This method was akin to finding a needle in a haystack, and it mainly depended on luck. It would also cause the troops to be scattered. However, the defense circle had yet to be built, so they could only use such stupid methods to deal with the attacks of the World Tree. No matter how troublesome it was, they could not let the World Tree Exploration Group penetrate the line of defense.

The extraterritorial defense circle was a huge project. The principle was to treat the Flickering World as the center and build a virtual sphere. It would expand and expand until it covered the current position. Then, the three Universal Civilizations would cut a spherical arc in the direction of the World Tree’s advance and expand or shrink according to the situation, forming a three-dimensional boundary to determine the basic range of the defense circle. Then, they would build a large number of wormhole support bases to make up for the problem of the battle line being too long Due to the size of the arc, this seemed like an impossible project, but it was actually only limited by manpower and resources. With the efficiency of the three Universal Civilizations, the size of their military power, and their resources, it was enough to take on such a project. Since they did not want to be driven straight in by the World Tree, they could not just build a defense line willy-nilly.

The captain was about to speak when the anti-stealth radar suddenly issued warning signals. It pointed diagonally ahead, showing a group of moving unknown targets.

“We’ve come across them! Let’s go!”

The captain immediately gave the order.

The fleet immediately changed direction and headed toward the target. The target that the radar had locked onto did not turn around, and it headed straight for them.

Not long after, this Arcane Church fleet met with the personal troop of Orwell.

“Fire!”

Without another word, the captain roared with a ferocious expression.

The Arcane Church fleet immediately opened fire, firing a volley of shots. The cannons on the spaceships lit up with a dark red light, and a dazzling beam of light shot out. At the same time, Orwell’s subordinates also retaliated.

Two waves of light crossed each other and shot into each other’s formation, creating sparks on the shield.

Neither party intended to communicate. The moment they met, it was like a battle of thunder and fire. They exchanged blows in full swing

While the two sides were fighting intensely, a mental wave suddenly exploded from the main ship of Orwell and swept across the Arcane Church fleet.

The Arcane Church battleships reacted as though they had received a shockwave. They shot out complicated magic circuits formed by energy and blocked the mental waves head-on. The explosions caused sparks to fly, and the magic circuits immediately became much weaker.

“Beyond Grade A Psychic! Requesting support!”

The captain’s expression changed, and he immediately requested for help in the command channel.

Because there were too many search teams, the limited number of Beyond Grade As meant they could not allocate one to each team, so they were all on standby in the main base. Only when the search team met a World Tree expert would they be able to request Beyond Grade A reinforcements.

In order to prevent ordinary crew members from having their memories stolen by mind spells and psychic powers, the spaceships had all been specially modified. They had set up a psychic barrier enhancement device and engraved special industrial enchantments to block mental attacks. The number of times it could be used depended on the strength of the other party, so the crew inside the carrier would not be killed instantly upon meeting.

Not long after he said that, a shadow suddenly appeared on the battlefield. It then solidified, and Kasuyi descended through the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device.

“Is this the individual power of the World Tree?”

Kasuyi narrowed his eyes with a flash of interest.

The next moment, boundless psychic energy gushed out like a flood and slammed into Orwell’s troops.

The psychic energy released by this Holy Tree Emissary suddenly rolled back and turned into a shield to protect the fleet. However, it only lasted for a few seconds before it was crushed into dust by Kasuyi’s endless psychic energy. The exploration fleets were crushed into scrap metal one after another and exploded into fireworks.

Seeing this, the Holy Tree Emissary hurriedly rushed out of the main ship and launched an attack on Kasuyi. The psychic waves turned into a needle beam and shot toward Kasuyi’s brain. It immediately made a ding sound and could not penetrate Kasuyi’s thick mental barrier.

Kasuyi did not say anything else and released an even more condensed psychic energy, immediately binding this Holy Tree Emissary The huge difference in energy level made the opponent almost unable to move.

“Let me see your memories…”

Kasuyi’s eyes flashed, and his psychic energy entered the Holy Tree Emissary’s brain.

This was the first time he had come into contact with a World Tree expert. Before this, he had only heard about it from Han Xiao and had not personally experienced it. At this moment, he could not help but want to pry into the other party’s memories.

However, the moment the psychic power entered the mind of this Holy Tree Emissary, a majestic pressure suddenly attacked through the mental link.

Boom!

An indescribable sense of fear crashed into Kasuyi’s heart. Kasuyi instantly felt a bone-deep sense of fear, as though he was being looked at by a boundless beast.

An intense sense of warning suddenly rang in his mind. It was as if something extremely terrifying would happen if he did not cut off the mental link.

Because the World Tree’s mental network was connected to all individuals, once one tried to use mental means to peer into the memories of an individual, it was equivalent to connecting to the World Tree. Outsiders would immediately feel the immense pressure of the mental network, as well as the strong pressure, and the World Tree would notice it. If one decided to forcefully maintain the mental link, it would instead give the World Tree a chance to devour the soul. At the very least, it would be wiped out and the person would go crazy. “This is the World Tree?”

Kasuyi hurriedly retracted his psychic energy, his eyes filled with shock.

He finally understood why Han Xiao was so wary when he mentioned the World Tree.

Although it was just a glimpse, he almost felt like he was about to collapse. The pressure of facing a high-level existence was deeply engraved in his heart.

Kasuyi dispelled the thought of spying on the memories and exerted more strength, bombarding the Holy Tree Emissary with his psychic energy. Not long after, the Holy Tree Emissary’s consciousness was shattered, and his body exploded into pieces. In the only remaining exploration ship, Orwell lit a cigarette and took a puff. He looked at the artillery fire outside the window and shook his head helplessly. “Tsk, tsk… I hope my luck will be better next time.”

The next second, cannon fire drowned the spaceship, and a loud explosion occurred. All the crew members, including Orwell, turned into seeds and returned to the arms of the World Tree.

At the same time, in the World Tree Civilization… “What a powerful Psychic. He killed Manny so easily.”

Tedrian and the other Executive Officers’ faces tightened.

They had been watching the entire process through the mental network.

“Did you see how the Psychic arrived? It’s similar to the teleportation method that the outsider used last time,” the Heart Tree King calmly said. “There’s a seventy-percent chance that this unknown civilization is the hometown of that outsider.” The Subduing Tree King nodded. “This is good news.”

They had already felt the pressure from that outsider the last time. If they met another enemy at this time, they would also doubt if they could fight on two fronts and eat two prey at the same time.

However, now that they had almost confirmed that the two of them were the same enemy, it was a relief. If that was the case, the exploration team had discovered the enemy’s nest when they had no clue about it. It was simply a blessing!

“The standard of this Psychic should not be as high as that outsider, but it’s still powerful enough. Ordinary Holy Tree Emissaries are far from being his match. This is indeed a civilization with extremely developed individual strength,” Tedrian muttered.

The Heart Tree King nodded and slowly said, “The other party’s strategy is very clear. They plan to build an interception circle here. It’s obvious that it hasn’t been built yet, so we can destroy it… Next time, we’ll choose to teleport to the coordinates at the back and have the troops build a temporary base there as a guide point. When the time comes, we’ll gather a large force and launch an all-out attack.” “We don’t have to do what we did in the past. Should we first find out more information before launching an all-out attack?” The Subduing Tree King glanced at him.

“Of course, we have to collect intelligence, but if we only focus on this, it will be too conservative and inflexible. It’s best to adjust the plan according to the situation. Probing information is one thing, but it’s also important to take the opportunity to disrupt the enemy’s deployment. There’s no conflict between the two. If we let the enemy build an intercepting circle comfortably, we will have to spend more than ten times the cost to break through. We might as well take action now and destroy the enemy’s plan.”

The Heart Tree King narrowed his eyes. The World Tree Civilization was pragmatic, and he did not have a habit of waiting for others to finish preparing before attacking.

Chapter 1333: Assemble

Chapter 1333 Assemble

In the command room of the main base of the intercepting zone, reports of successful interceptions were being sent back one after another. Simon and the others were surrounding the real-time star map to control the entire situation, while the Beyond Grade As were on standby. The ten Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices outside the window were still in a state of preheating, ready to move at any time.

At this time, a light flashed in the corner of the room. Kasuyi, who had changed into a King suit, returned to the room with Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force wrapped around his body, immediately attracting the attention of others.

“You’re back? How do you feel?”

Han Xiao raised his brows and took back the King from Kasuyi.

Because the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was only responsible for one-way teleportation, the intercepting troops would naturally not take another set of teleportation devices. Thus, Han Xiao lent the King mechanical suit and had the other Beyond Grade As take one when they went out. He would then use Mechanical Force to pull it back after they were done, increasing the efficiency.

“The Beyond Grade As of the World Tree are quite powerful.” Kasuyi nodded solemnly.

“However, I was trampled to death by you… I feel like you’re indirectly praising yourself.” Sun Hunter was suspicious.

“Ahem, I’m evaluating him as an ordinary Beyond Grade A, so don’t include peak Beyond Grade As,” Kasuyi muttered. “The other party’s psychic energy is stronger, and that light green energy seems to have greatly increased his mental strength. His strength should be able to match 1.6 times Psyker’s.” “That’s quite good. The dynasty has Kohler, and you guys have Psyker. This kind of bottom… basic combatant is more convenient for us to compare our strength,” Lotus Swordsman said.

Luckily, the two of them were not there, so no one jumped out to refute. Everyone nodded.

“You’re talking about the increase in combat strength brought about by the World Tree Union. Basically, all the Beyond Grade As of the World Tree Civilization enjoy this amplification. It’s equivalent to having a Space Wonder-level Universal Treasure,” Han Xiao explained.

“So, the average combat capability of the enemy Beyond Grade As is higher than ours?” Manison’s Lord’s Avatar asked.

“You can say that.” Han Xiao spread out his hands. “However, the high-end combat power should be about the same. The Five Tree Kings and their Ten Leaf Executive Officers are all extremely strong. The Thirteen Ancestral Spirits and the high-level Holy Tree Emissaries are extraordinary. There are also the high-level military commanders who are in charge of fighting outside all year round. We can still fight them.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Secret Master shook his head.

Kasuyi frowned and said, “Speaking of which, I tried to pry into the other party’s memories just now, but I felt a high-level pressure. If I did not retract my psychic energy in time, I might have been heavily injured… Is that the power of the World Tree?”

“That’s right; that’s the World Tree. Don’t use your mental power to detect the memories of any member of the World Tree. They are all connected together and are protected by the World Tree. Their thoughts are also monitored. If there are any deviations, they will be corrected to prevent spying or possession,” Han Xiao explained. “They’re like slaves, never able to betray their master…” Kasuyi sighed before asking curiously, “Then, how did you get the information from them?”.

“Is there even a need to ask? I’m stronger than you guys,” Han Xiao said honestly.

Everyone was speechless.

Although it is the truth, why do we want to hit you so much?

The others ignored Han Xiao and asked Kasuyi all sorts of questions. Although everyone present had read the information about the one hundred World Tree experts that Han Xiao had collected last time, they were still very curious about Kasuyi’s combat experience.

Han Xiao did not mind. He shook his head and walked over to Simon and the others. As he listened to the orders from the upper echelons and staff officers, he looked at the changes in the real-time star map.

The star map was densely distributed with light dots, each representing an intercepting team. Their movements changed and were drawing forks in some places, which meant that they had successfully intercepted the enemy. There was a circle of light around the forks, as well as lines that extended out, representing the possible routes of the other World Tree exploration forces.

“The interception situation is not bad, thanks to your intelligence,” Simon said when he saw Han Xiao walking over. “We’re just helping each other.” Han Xiao did not mind.

Simon nodded, then sighed. “However, the intercepting circle is still too passive. We can only try our best to prevent the World Tree exploration team from entering our territory, but we will lose if we keep defending. As long as the enemy takes a wide enough detour, there will be some that slip through the net sooner or later. We can only think of ways to delay this moment.”

“That can’t be helped. After all, the opponent is the World Tree.” Han Xiao shrugged.

“…That’s right. This civilization is practically born for war. If it were any other opponent, we wouldn’t have to be passive like we are now. What a troublesome enemy.”

Simon was helpless.

The three Universal Civilizations were also tyrannical civilizations. If the enemy was not a war machine like the World Tree, with their current intelligence advantage, they might have already thought of a way to take the initiative to attack… However, there was no strategy that could be used in all situations. Taking the initiative to attack also depended on who the opponent was. If they ignored the actual situation of the opponent and used the example in the tactics manual, they would most likely suffer heavy losses. After all, they were not like the World Tree Civilization, which could fight without any heartache. With the example of the Kama Republic, the World Tree was not most powerful in their aggressive attacks but their encroachment.

Furthermore, Han Xiao’s intelligence had already shown that the main body was the foundation of the World Tree. If this was a real-time strategy game, the World Tree Territory would at most be a sub-base. The main base would still be in the fog of war, and the three Universal Civilizations would expose the location of their main base and be under attack. It would not be worth it to exchange their main base with a sub-base, not to mention that the enemy troops were even faster.

After sorting out his emotions, Simon took out his pocket watch and said, “The intercepting circle is still in the construction phase, and we’re short on manpower. How long will it take for the fleets of your Beyond Grade A Association to arrive?”

“Soon. They’re gathering toward the teleportation point,” Han Xiao replied. Currently, the Flickering World was rapidly turning into a war zone, and the unrelated parties were leaving at high speed. The Federation of Light took out a large pile of Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices and set up a gathering point in the Dawn Star Cluster to send the rest of the troops over. The fleets of the Beyond Grade A organizations such as the Black Star Army were rushing there.

Simon nodded. “It should be as fast as possible. The more manpower we have, the sooner the interception circle will be completed. The longer we can keep the World Tree outside of our territory, the better.”

The interstellar era emphasized efficiency. Advanced space travel capabilities reduced the time needed to travel, and many things could happen every day. However, at a higher level, many things required a long period of evolution.

Over the next few days, the three Universal Civilizations’ intercepting troops played hide-and-seek with the World Tree’s Exploration Group No. 274. The exploration teams were wiped out one after another, but because of the detours, the battle line was getting longer and longer. At the same time, the reinforcements of the Beyond Grade A organizations arrived at the intercepting area and quickly entered the construction of the interception circle. The wormholes were quickly built and connected together like a huge net, forming layers of barriers. The area expanded rapidly every day and spread further.

The intercepting zone was already the frontline, and more Beyond Grade As arrived one after another after settling their matters. The number quickly approached a hundred.

At the observation tower of the main base, Han Xiao stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window and looked at the bright galaxy. He seemed to be thinking about life, but he was actually browsing the forums to see the reactions of the players who had arrived at the frontline.

Just as he was focused on reading the post, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from afar. Han Xiao closed the interface and looked back. It was Hila and Aurora.

“You guys are here too?” Han Xiao glanced at them.

“Just arrived.” Hila’s expression was calm.

“I knew that with your personality, you definitely wouldn’t miss such a battle.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

He did not force the two sisters to participate, nor did he force them to stay behind. After all, the two of them were Beyond Grade As, and they had to respect each other’s wishes. If they came willingly, he would not stop them. Furthermore, the two sisters were indeed exceptional combatants.

“Since we have to fight the enemy together, we naturally can’t stay out of it. With our current strength, I don’t feel comfortable receiving protection,” Hila said slowly. Han Xiao looked at Aurora. “What about you?”

“Ah? Since my sister is here, I will definitely follow. What if she gets beaten to death? Also, my ability should be very useful.” Aurora smiled.

“She might be safer here than me.” Hila snorted. This was one of the reasons she did not stop Aurora from following her.

“With you around, the safety of the other Beyond Grade As will be guaranteed.” Han Xiao nodded at Aurora.

“Don’t misunderstand, we have other plans. This is a good place to strengthen the Underworld.”

Hila waved her hands.

“This is indeed a good opportunity.” Han Xiao nodded in agreement.

With the Underworld, even if the warriors below Beyond Grade A died, they would have a chance to be reborn. The meat grinder of war had always been a treasure ground for collecting souls. As long as the Underworld could store them, it would not be a problem.

However, the World Tree warriors were bound together, and they would not lose their souls even if they died. They would probably not be able to capture them, and the Underworld would most likely only be able to retrieve the dead warriors from the three Universal Civilizations. Furthermore, Han Xiao did not dare let the two sisters take the risk to capture the members of the World Tree. If the World Tree connection was not broken because of this, the coordinates of the Underworld would probably be exposed. It would not be good if the World Tree followed the clues and attacked the Underworld.

However, this did not affect the strategic importance of the Underworld. In Han Xiao’s eyes, the Underworld had the ability to change the entire situation, and its effect was not inferior to the Sanctum Revival. In some ways, it even exceeded it. It was a pity that Aurora’s powers were not strong enough. If she was allowed to grow for a few decades or even a century, the power of the Underworld would be even higher.

Han Xiao turned back to look out of the window and said in a deep voice, “I have a feeling that the World Tree will not sit back and watch us deploy our defenses. They will probably organize a large-scale attack very soon, and it will be the first time the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree are fighting a large-scale battle.” “Is this your intuition?” Hila raised her brows.

“No, it’s just a prediction based on the style of the World Tree.” Han Xiao stroked his chin and sighed. “No matter what, you have to protect yourselves. I might not be able to take care of you in this universe-level war.”

“I will take care of myself,” Hila replied calmly.

In the territory of the World Tree Civilization, endless fleets were laid out in the universe, and streams of light were still coming from afar, turning into new troops that integrated into the group, expanding the scale of the army.

The executive officers nodded inwardly.

Once the Heart Tree King decided to launch an attack, they immediately gathered all the armies and waited for orders.

Due to the superior nature of the mental network and the fast movement in the territory, the efficiency of the World Tree Civilization in gathering troops was extremely astonishing. Very soon, they formed a large expedition army with a fleet of eight billion battleships, ready to attack at any time.

An executive officer turned to look at the two tree kings. “Your Excellency Tree King, when will the assault begin?”

The Subduing Tree King did not speak but turned to look at the Heart Tree King.

“The scale is still not enough. Gather more people,” the Heart Tree King said slowly.

“The required scale is…” Tedrian asked tentatively.

“This is the first time we’re fighting, so let’s take this as a greeting. The size of our fleet should be at least fifty billion, or else it will be hardly presentable. If they can’t even withstand such a small attack, then we can adopt more daring tactics in the future.”

Heart Tree King’s tone was so calm that it was as if he was only throwing out a small chip on the gambling table.

However, he paused and said, “Right, we have to consider the possibility of that outsider joining the battle. That person is not easy to deal with…”

Chapter 1334: Intelligence Advantage

Chapter 1334 Intelligence Advantage

The intercepting operation was still ongoing. As the enemy had only brought one Holy Tree Emissary, with the rest of their troops lacking individual strength, Kasuyi was the only one who took action. The other Beyond Grade As did not have the chance to take action and merely continued to wait.

In the compartment of the command room, almost a hundred Beyond Grade As were gathered there, doing their own things. Some were supervising the situation, some were resting with their eyes closed, some were dealing with matters, some were chatting casually, and there were even some who were playing cards in such a serious setting.

“Speaking of which, it has been some time since the two of us sat down to chat.”

Kant looked at the direct descendants of the three Universal Civilizations and sighed.

When the three Universal Civilizations were targeting the association, Han Xiao did not allow the direct Beyond Grade As to participate in the meeting. After the lockdown was lifted, due to various things being delayed, the three Universal Civilizations had yet to regain the normal treatment that the direct Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations received in the association. Therefore, the time they spent on standby in the main base was when the members of the association and the direct Beyond Grade As finally got to sit together and chat.

“Now that we have a common enemy, let’s not talk about the past for the time being. We’re just doing our own thing.” Oulou sighed and looked at Han Xiao with a complicated expression.

“Heh, don’t confuse us with you guys. You guys have masters, but we don’t. It’s all for ourselves.” Sun Hunter curled his lips.

Oulou was silent for a few seconds before changing the topic. “I saw that the members of your association are not here yet. Why aren’t the others here?”

“They’re still considering it.” Kasuyi shook his head.

“You guys are participating in the battle, and they’re watching from behind and taking advantage of us? You guys can accept this?” Oulou raised his brows.

“So, you should kneel down and be grateful to us… Damn it, just thinking about it makes me feel so noble,” Sun Hunter cursed. Kasuyi helplessly explained, “Someone has to set an example. If not for Black Star, we might not have come.”

This time, Clotti, who was resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes and slowly said, “Then, do you have the resolve to die in battle?”

Hearing this, everyone paused and looked over.

Clotti was expressionless as he calmly continued. “We, the direct descendants, are all participating in the battle with the determination to sacrifice our lives. Aren’t you self-serving people afraid of losing your lives? Even if there’s the Sanctum Revival, I’m sure none of you are willing to spend your chance to revive and give the initiative of your life and death to others.”

“…You’re right. Of course, no one is willing to sacrifice themselves if they can survive. However, they have to personally experience the strength of the enemy before they know what they’re doing,” Secret Master replied calmly. “Therefore, don’t expect us to fight to the death for you. We’re just fulfilling our end of the bargain. We’ve already done our part by coming to help.” This time, Oulou looked at Han Xiao, who did not participate in the conversation, and asked, “Black Star, if we die, you will help us revive, right?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao turned around and gave a brief reply.

He was not familiar with Oulou in the past, but after interacting with him for the past few days, this person was indeed not difficult to deal with.

“Yes.”

“Ha, then I’m relieved. If I can leave my body behind when I die in battle, please use the Spacetime Amber and preserve me as a specimen to let me take it away when I revive. I don’t want others to covet my handsomeness and steal my body for their collection.”

Oulou made a joke, but no one laughed.

Sun Hunter rolled his eyes. “Do you think you’re funny?”

Han Xiao could not be bothered with the people who were chatting. He looked away and continued to browse the forums.

At the moment, more than ninety percent of the players in the universe had arrived at the frontline. Most of them were rubbing their hands in anticipation of the war.

This kind of large-scale war operation had always been a good opportunity for the players to accumulate experience. Most of the army players participated in the operation, which would allow Han Xiao to gain experience more efficiently.

However, the players had yet to reach the level limit of the version. The first choice for EXP was to level up on their own. After reaching the level limit, they would then have a lot of extra EXP to do other things.

This meant that when most of the players reached the maximum level, his efficiency in harvesting EXP would increase by a lot. This was not his fastest harvesting speed.

It’s a pity that the usage of the players in this scenario is not as good as it was in my previous life…

Han Xiao felt helpless.

The World Tree War was supposed to be a later version, but due to the butterfly effect, it had been brought forward to Version 5.0. In his previous life, this would only be considered a middle version. The players were lacking a few extra versions to accumulate, and the upper limit of their levels would be a few dozen levels lower. Thus, they would not be as useful in the main battlefield as in his previous life.

In his previous life, the players had very high strategic value. The Immortals who were formed by high-level Supers had contributed a lot to many battlefields. Now that this force was gone, it would definitely affect all aspects of battle.

Fortunately, the fate of Hila and Aurora had been rewritten by him, and the Underworld should be able to fill this gap.

Beep beep beep…

While he was pondering, his communicator suddenly rang. It was a message from Oathkeeper.

Han Xiao took it out to take a look, and his expression changed.

“The World Tree is recruiting an army, estimated to be in the tens of billions, ready to launch an attack!”

Hearing this, the chatter in the room disappeared. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. There were all kinds of expressions such as seriousness, surprise, and fear. Han Xiao immediately walked out of the cubicle to share information with Simon and the others. The other Beyond Grade As also stood up and followed behind Han Xiao.

Simon and the other commanders had been monitoring the situation outside the cubicle the entire time. Upon hearing the intelligence that Han Xiao had shared, their expressions changed, and they hurriedly opened their long-distance communication to report the situation to the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations.

The figures of the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders appeared on the remote communication screen. The three of them listened to the report with solemn expressions and nodded.

“Is the World Tree Civilization preparing to launch an attack? Got it. We will send the order to gather the various armies to the frontline and prepare for a tough battle.”

As he spoke, Marbruce heaved a sigh of relief.

“Black Star, your intel this time is still very timely and bought us quite some time.” The World Tree Civilization was still in the recruitment phase, and the fleet had yet to be gathered, but Destiny’s Child had already detected it and sent it to Han Xiao. This was a huge advantage, and the other party would not arrive so quickly, so they had plenty of time to prepare. Knowing the other party’s next move ahead of time, the three Universal Civilizations would be able to deal with it ahead of time. Black Star’s intelligence network had already made contributions more than once, and every time, the three Universal Civilizations felt like they had been given coal during a harsh winter.

Han Xiao nodded. “A fleet of tens of billions is not easy to deal with. Although I have provided intelligence, you are the main force.”

The World Tree Civilization had sent out tens of billions of battleships, which was indeed quite a large force. However, in terms of a Universal War, this was not an all-out attack. The scale of tens of billions was not at the level where they were invincible.

The mobilization capacity of the two civilizations could not be compared in the same breath for internal and external battles. When there were no external enemies, the three Universal Civilizations would control their military strength to an appropriate standard. They would not expand their army on a large scale to avoid excessive military expenditures, instead mainly focusing on accumulating strategic resources. However, once they fully entered the state of war, they would quickly turn into a militaristic mode. All the military factories under their flag would explode with soldiers day and night, and their military strength would increase every day.

The scale of the World Tree’s assault was not enough to make the three Universal Civilizations give up on intercepting them. Unless they could not stop them completely, it would not be the time to use their rear strategic strength to exchange for more time.

At this moment, a staff officer touched his chin and said, “Since the other party is still recruiting troops, should we take the initiative to harass them?”

Hearing this, everyone turned to look at him before looking away.

Simon glanced at him, shook his head, and said, “The World Tree’s information state warning network is spread all over the territory. If we encounter it, we’ll be exposed. What can we do to disrupt it? Furthermore, any army can move quickly in the territory, almost instantaneously. Their mobility is far beyond ours. It’s a natural ambush circle. Once exposed, we’ll be surrounded by countless fleets. We’ll be devoured no matter how many we send.”

Another commander on the side brought the topic back on track and said with a deep voice, “The wormhole reinforcement base already covers the current intercepting area. No matter which blockade area the World Tree hits, we will be able to start the battle and stop the other party.”

The intercepting circle was divided into many levels, and there were strategic zones of different depth between the different levels. The reinforcement base station was the connecting channel, which ensured that the various regional troops in the horizontal longitudinal area would look out for each other. Regardless of whether it was the observation level or the garrison level, they had completed the allocation. No matter where they met a strong enemy, they would be able to quickly send their main force.

As for whether the World Tree’s assault team would hit the intercepting circle, it was not a big problem. Although the intercepting circle was still under construction, it would still be effective even if it was not fully formed. It was similar to running a race; as long as their expansion speed was slighter faster than the enemy, it would remain effective. At the same time, the intercepting team was also constantly setting up spatial anchoring orbits to eliminate the coordinates of the exploration teams’ routes, constantly moving the enemy’s starting point backward as much as possible to return to its original position, causing them to only be able to resume their usual voyage and remain in the intercepting circle. “It seems like the World Tree doesn’t plan to only give us appetizers. It’s preparing to give us a proper meal… This is the first time I’ve experienced a Universal War of this scale.” Oulou’s eyes flickered. At this time, Secret Master pinched his fingers and calculated in his mind before saying with an expressionless face, “My death omen is flashing.” With that said, he changed his hand gesture, and magical waves spread out.

Everyone sensed something and looked over curiously. “What did you just do?”

“I shifted my bad luck,” Secret Master said calmly.

“Who did you transfer it to?”

“Him.”

Secret Master pointed at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao looked at the Luck Reduction status on the interface with a face full of question marks. “Do we have a grudge?” “No.”

“Then why did you push your bad luck on me?”

“Anyway, you’re not afraid. There’s no room for your luck to decline.”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

Are you treating me like a trash can? If not for the fact that I have enemies now, I would let you know why one’s anus is called a chrysanthemum!

Chapter 1335: The World Tree’s Strongest

Chapter 1335 The World Tree’s Strongest

In the territory of the World Tree Civilization, a multitude of wormholes were maintained in the starry sky, and the roots of the World Tree extended out from them. Fleet after fleet shuttled back and forth, continuously adding to the size of the expedition army. There were all kinds of battleships.

There was a floating lookout tower made of pale green roots nearby. The Subduing Tree King and the Heart Tree King stood there, scanning the expeditionary army’s lineup.

The Heart Tree King calmly said, “The high-level combatants this time include Executive Officers Three Leaves to Nine Leaves, seven high-level Holy Tree Envoys, the Thirteen Ancestral Spirits who are ranked from second to sixth, four army leaders, and other experts. There are 107 of them. This size is enough to test the strength of the opponents and see how well developed they are.”

“Pretty good.” The Subduing Tree King nodded.

There were more than a hundred World Tree experts participating in the expedition. Normally, such an expeditionary force would have a rather low survival rate. However, when the Heart Tree King sent out these members, he was already prepared to sacrifice all of them.

Sacrifices did not mean that they would be given for nothing. Using high-level combatants to kill each other was their usual method of fighting against strong enemies. If the enemy’s high-level combatants died, they would be gone, but their high-level combatants would only return to their seed form after dying. They would be able to reawaken after waiting for a certain amount of time in their bodies, which was undoubtedly beneficial to the World Tree. They opted for a war of attrition to disintegrate the enemy’s strength step by step, reducing the strength of both sides.

The World Tree had used this method to defeat one enemy after another. Up till now, it had never been defeated by anyone, so there was no reason not to use it.

The Heart Tree King turned around to look at the Subduing Tree King and said, “They lack a leader. You will go with them this time.”

“I want to go too? Three Leaf Forest, Four Leaf Amrein, and a few commanders are enough to lead the troops. There’s no need for me to take the risk.”

The Subduing Tree King frowned. He was not too willing to participate in this expedition. The experience of returning to the seed form was not comfortable, and the recovery time of a Tree King was longer than others.

The Heart Tree King shook his head. “The other party’s information gathering has not been interfered with by our side. The Mother Tree’s authority will not be able to penetrate the area covered by their information gathering. It will require the level of a Tree King to allow the Mother Tree’s projection to descend, so you have to go.” “…Okay.”

The Subduing Tree King nodded and did not ask why it was not left to the other Tree Kings.

Among the five Great Tree Kings, he was the only one who had no other abilities other than fighting. From a pragmatic point of view, sacrificing him was the most cost-effective. He was already used to being the vanguard.

“We might meet that outsider on this trip. You’d better accept a baptism before setting off, or you might not be his match,” the Heart Tree King instructed.

“I’ll go and prepare.”

As soon as he finished his sentence, the Subduing Tree King turned to leave.

After receiving the intelligence that the World Tree was preparing to launch an attack, the three Universal Civilizations quickly reacted. The highest-level military order was passed down like an electrical signal through a neural network, controlling the limbs of the ‘giant’ Universal Civilization. All the armies rushed to the front line like they were gathering strength with clenched fists.

Every few minutes to a few hours, a fleet would arrive at the intercepting zone. Other than transferring the main army, the three Universal Civilizations also recruited the troops of the other advanced civilizations, mobilizing the entire explored universe. As a result, the strength of the intercepting zone increased rapidly, increasing by one billion per day.

While staying near the teleportation point, Han Xiao had seen almost all the main battleships of the various civilizations in the past few days. The three Universal Civilizations had all kinds of battleships, and the top-class battleships that represented the strongest units stood out like cranes among chickens.

At the same time, the transportation troops of the three Universal Civilizations continuously sent over all kinds of Universal Treasures. All the equipment used for individual strength was temporarily lent to the Beyond Grade As, and even the members of the association could distribute them according to their needs. The other strategic Universal Treasures were given to different fleets.

Atop the temporary base’s lookout tower, many Beyond Grade As stood in front of the window and looked out.

The surroundings had already become a sea of battleships, almost blocking out the starry sky. It was as if there were only countless battleships glowing with a metallic luster. If one looked far away, this scene was like the scales of a gigantic beast.

“What a huge army. This is the first time I’ve seen something like this.”

Many people gasped. It was rare to see the three Universal Civilizations mobilize so many troops. Internal conflicts did not have such intensity, and only the exploration era war could be compared to the current one.

This was the first time that many of them had experienced a Universal War. Seeing this, they had a new understanding of the mobilization of the three Universal Civilizations.

Although they did not know what the World Tree Army was like, just the sight of the three Universal Civilizations’ army was enough to raise their morale.

“There’s not much we can do in such a fierce war. Strangling the high-level combatants on the other side is our mission,” Kasuyi said with a deep voice.

“The enemy has many high-level combatants, so it won’t be easy for us. With their style, they will surely think of a way to deal with us,” a Beyond Grade A beside him said with concern.

Hearing this, Aurora interrupted with a gentle tone. “As long as you don’t leave my healing range, I should be able to ensure your safety.”

Many people immediately replied politely.

“I’m counting on you this time.”

“Luckily, you’re here.”

“Sorry to trouble you.”

Through the mechanisms of the World Tree, it was not difficult to guess that the other party was good at fighting. Everyone present knew very well that in such a fierce battle, the healer was the one who could increase their chances of survival. Many people gathered around Aurora as though they were her bodyguards.

Hila, on the other hand, was watching coldly from the side.

Manison ignored the noisy crowd and walked to Han Xiao’s side. “Black Star, you seem a little nervous. Are you worried that your Indestructible Body won’t be able to withstand such a fierce battle?”

Han Xiao turned around and sized him up. He then poked Manison Lord’s Avatar’s chest and said, “Come over with your true body if you dare. Let me see if you’ll be nervous too.”

“Heh, what a joke. I’m not an anomaly among Mechanics like you. I never do anything that puts myself in danger.” Manison snorted. “Come on, just say it. With just your small physique, you still dare to sashay in front of me?”

Han Xiao expressed his strong disdain.

Manison also laughed before continuing in a low voice after a brief pause. “You should know who the strongest person on the World Tree side is, right?”

“Hmm, the strongest should be the Ancestral Tree King, the leader of the five Great Tree Kings.”

“Can you deal with him?” Manison was curious.

“This person is unfathomable. I can’t say with any confidence.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

Among the five Great Tree Kings, the Subduing Tree King as a Pugilist was the weakest, and the Ancestral Tree King was the strongest. Even in the heated battles of his previous life, the Ancestral Tree King was an elusive existence, and the number of times he had fought could be counted on one hand. However, the battle record of the Ancestral Tree King was extremely impressive, and those who died in his hands were all peak Beyond Grade As. None of them were weak, as if ordinary opponents were not worth his time.

At the same time, the Ancestral Tree King was the person who had the most connections with the World Tree. In a sense, he was the only ‘master’ of the World Tree, and Han Xiao was not sure if he could defeat him.

“Even you don’t have confidence…” Manison was deep in thought.

Just as Han Xiao was about to say something, his communicator suddenly vibrated. The room immediately fell silent, and everyone’s eyes focused on Han Xiao. They all realized something, and their expressions turned solemn.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and took out his communicator. He paused and took a deep breath.

“They’re here.”

Chapter 1336: Battle

Chapter 1336 Battle

Ten minutes later, in the command room, the highest commanders like Simon and the commanding officers of the various armies gathered together to analyze the enemy. Many Beyond Grade As listened from the side, and only Han Xiao, the consultant, participated in the discussion.

“The enemy’s location has been exposed. They have set up a temporary base in this distant area and have sent out many scouts. They have increased the teleportation coordinates and shortened the distance of the march. We estimate that when they encounter the intercepting troops, the main force will jump over…”

The tactical star map was displayed on the virtual screen, and there were many coordinates marked on it. Simon would enlarge or shrink areas of the map to match his explanation, and everyone listened attentively.

The main force of the World Tree Civilization had already gathered in their territory, but they did not set off immediately. Instead, they sent out scouts to build temporary strongholds and get closer to the interception circle, obtaining closer coordinates as jump points to shorten the distance.

This was because once the main force arrived at the war zone, they would not be able to hide and could only travel normally. There was a high chance that they would be attacked by the super-long-range attacks of the three Universal Civilizations. If the teleportation point was too far away from the intercepting circle, the damage would increase, so they had to reduce the distance as much as possible. Although the World Tree Civilization was not afraid of war damage, they did not want to bathe in cannon fire. This was the intelligence that Han Xiao had obtained from Destiny’s Child, and he had shared it with the three Universal Civilizations. Thus, this council of war was held.

“The enemy’s troops mobilization ability is astonishing. They came very quickly and did not give us much time to gather. Although we have more troops, we do not have much of an advantage. This battle won’t be easy,” another commander said.

“Currently, our biggest advantage lies in our home-field advantage and depth of preparation. We have already set up many traps, ambush areas, and attack zones that exceed our visual range. If the enemy’s main fleet is delayed for more than seven days from the jump point to the interception circle, we estimate that we can reduce the enemy’s fleet by two billion to seven billion… However, the premise is that the information stolen is accurate enough. The enemy’s battleship technology is not inferior to ours, so they won’t bring out any more advanced technology,” the senior officer in charge of managing the defense line construction muttered.

As they spoke, they all turned to look at Han Xiao. Most of the information about the World Tree was provided by Han Xiao, and they could only rely on Han Xiao for intelligence. A single person’s contribution was countless times greater than all of them. “There is no issue with the intelligence.” Han Xiao nodded.

Although the World Tree Civilization was strong and had a lot of black technology, their battleship technology did not have much of an advantage. The technology of the main battleships was similar to that of the three Universal Civilizations’, and there was no difference in their performance. It was shown during the battle in his previous life, so the three Universal Civilizations did not collapse even after being attacked suddenly.

Simon clapped his hands and said, “The situation is clear now. Now, the task for you…”

He quickly assigned the missions according to the plan, and it was soon the turn of the Beyond Grade As.

Simon looked at everyone and said in a deep voice, “You guys don’t need to participate in the fire support and harassment battle in the early stages. Remain on standby at the base and wait for the battle to begin. Also, Mechanics, don’t be idle. Provide technical support in the Virtual Networks.”

“Okay.”

Everyone nodded without any objections.

In a universe-level battle with billions of battleships, the amount of manpower they had was like a drop in the ocean for the enemy. The risk of fighting a fleet alone was far higher than the benefits. Such a mission did not require the participation of high-level combatants.

The battle conference was brief and concise, and the results were soon out. Not long after, the official announcement was sent, and the war machines were activated.

The commanders took action, and fleet after fleet left the dock, turning into streams of light and disappearing into the universe.

The players who were on standby in the various fleets received a few Main Storyline War Missions that they were waiting for, and the forums were once again filled with discussion.

Han Xiao had also triggered these missions, and after browsing through them carefully, he realized that the situation was similar to the main storyline missions of the World Tree War in his previous life. They were all about killing enemies for merit points, but there were slight differences in the description of the missions.

In his previous life, most of the terms used were ‘resistance’ and ‘blocking’. Now, the mission description was more proactive, and the corresponding missions were adjusted according to the butterfly effect.

For example, this intercepting battle that did not exist in his previous life had formed a branch mission. If he could complete the strategic goal of blocking the enemy, not only would he receive a high reward, there was also a specific remark that it would have a positive impact on the overall battle. This was also the characteristic of the World Tree main storyline. Every part of the battle would form a branch mission, and the results would affect the overall strategy. In his previous life, the players had quite a lot of combat power in the later versions. Sometimes, they would be able to command some of the battles. However, in a war of this scale, victory or defeat was not decided by them. They could only try their best to break through and create opportunities for the majority of the troops. This was also the role that the players often played in the battles in his previous life.

The reward for such main storyline missions was mainly experience. It was a drop in the ocean for Han Xiao, but it was extremely enticing for the players. If they could obtain the victory reward of the interception mission, their experience would increase by a large amount.

As a terminal of harvesting experience, the players were like a reservoir for Han Xiao. The players would do missions, work to create wealth, and then a portion of the wealth would flow into his hands through consumption and other methods to help him develop. If the leeks did not have a chance to shine, how could he maintain the rapid growth of his combat power over the years?

Therefore, Han Xiao had always loved such large-scale missions. Whether it was out of strategic consideration or for the goal of harvesting experience, he wanted to try his best to obtain victory in this battle and increase the accumulation of experience.

As Han Xiao and the other Beyond Grade As did not participate in the frontline harassment battle, they only watched the frontline battle report in the base every day and monitored the entire situation.

The three Universal Civilizations first intercepted and eliminated the scouts. Not long after, the World Tree finally chose the nearest jump point, and the expeditionary army officially arrived, heading toward the intercepting circle. The large fleet suffered from the attacks of the long-range firepower during the voyage, and they also suffered a certain amount of damage while passing through the areas with traps. However, even though they were frequently harassed by the three Universal Civilizations, the distance between the large fleet and the intercepting circle was still shrinking every day, getting closer and closer.

The situation developed step by step, and the World Tree expeditionary army finally came into contact with the interception circle. The armies of the three Universal Civilizations were on high alert, and the main forces of both sides finally started a direct battle. Many Beyond Grade As were summoned.

The light from the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device occupied his vision, and the next moment, Han Xiao and the Beyond Grade As were teleported to the main command ship at the rear of the battlefield.

“You’re finally here.”

Simon nodded as a greeting.

“How’s the situation now?” Han Xiao asked while looking outside the window.

What appeared before his eyes was a magnificent battlefield that stretched as far as the eye could see. There were hundreds of billions of battleships on the battlefield, and they were all locked in battle. It was as if there was an endless net of light created by the cannons of the battleships. In such a large-scale battle, it was extremely difficult to coordinate all the battles together. The base commanders were divided into different battle zones, and the special technology and Universal Treasures of both sides were brought in the battle one after the other. All kinds of strange phenomena occurred in different areas, and more than a hundred thousand battleships exploded into fireworks every second.

The two sides naturally would not set battle arrays again. The war had begun the moment the harassment troops fired their first shot. The World Tree expeditionary army had been fighting the three Universal Civilizations all the way from the jump point to the intercepting circle, and they had not stopped fighting for a moment. Now, they were only going from harassment to a head-on battle, so there was no chance for them to temporarily stop to adjust. Seeing this sight of the universe-level battle, many Beyond Grade As gasped in shock. The temperature in the room dropped a few degrees.

Looking at such an intense battle, the Beyond Grade As felt a headache coming on.

In this kind of intense battle, a Beyond Grade A individual would be negligible, and his life would be in danger at any time.

Only on a battlefield where two universe overlords clashed would one be able to understand that the internal conflicts of the past were mostly small skirmishes. This was the highest level of war.

Without caring about their thoughts, Simon replied with a deep voice, “Currently, we’re still evenly matched. The direction of the situation is still unclear. The opponent’s high-level combatants have yet to take action.” Han Xiao retracted his gaze and said, “Are the World Tree’s experts still watching? We don’t have to participate in the main battlefield, right?”

Simon shook his head. “No need. Other than the Mechanics providing Virtual Technology support, the mission for the rest of you is to deal with the high-level combatants of the World Tree. Don’t worry about anything else for now.”

Individual strengths were rarely responsible for direct combat in large-scale battles. Most of them used a series of tactics such as a sudden attack, assassinations, storm strongholds, and guarding the main ship. The commander would not allow the high-level combatants to waste their energy on the main battlefield. After all, a normal Beyond Grade A’s strength and stamina were limited.

Only Mechanics with Virtual Technology would be able to play a huge role in the large galactic battlefield, constantly hacking into the enemy’s network to seize control of the battleships. Their role was much more useful than other four Super classes.

“Sure.” Han Xiao had no objections.

In a battlefield like this, they only had to take care of their own responsibilities. Controlling the entire situation was the responsibility of the commander, not the work of Beyond Grade As like them.

At this time, the real-time battlefield star map changed, and more than a hundred high-energy sources appeared in one of the war zones. The three Universal Civilizations’ fleets in this area instantly suffered a large number of casualties, and many war flagships exploded. The situation quickly became one-sided.

“The World Tree has sent out high-level combatants?” Simon’s eyes narrowed, and he turned around to look at the surveillance screen. He saw World Tree experts of all shapes and sizes charging forward, destroying the fleets of the three Universal Civilizations one after another with all kinds of abilities, opening up the situation for this war zone.

Han Xiao identified the enemies and locked his gaze on the Subduing Tree King.

He had thought that the Subduing Tree King would not participate in such a battle. However, considering that the other party was a Pugilist who specialized in charging forward, it was reasonable for him to be in the suicide squad. After all, this was the only specialty a Pugilist had.

This time, Simon retracted his gaze, looked at everyone, and nodded. “Everyone, I’ll leave it to you.”

The moment he said that, the direct Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations did not hesitate and headed toward the hatch. The expressions of the other Beyond Grade As turned serious, but they did not say anything. They shook their heads and followed.

Since they had chosen to come here, even if the battlefield was dangerous, it was impossible for them to escape.

Very soon, the Beyond Grade As left the spaceships one after another and flew at high speed on the battlefield. They moved along their own formation and quickly arrived at the battle zone.

Even though they were far away from each other, the auras of both parties that were unique to their individual strength resonated with each other and locked onto each other.

Han Xiao’s gaze was locked on the Subduing Tree King from afar, and the Subduing Tree King also noticed it. He stared at Han Xiao, and his Pugilist flames continued to rise.

“Leave that Tree King to me. You guys deal with the rest,” Han Xiao said in the channel.

“Understood.”

The members of the association responded one after another. The direct Beyond Grade As distanced themselves a little and expressed the same attitude.

The Arcane Church did not allow Wuornos to participate in the battle. Black Star was currently the number one combatant in the three Universal Civilizations’ army, so they naturally had no objections.

As Han Xiao charged forward, he activated all kinds of skills. His eyes never left the Subduing Tree King, and the two of them looked as though sparks were flying between them.

“In your territory, I could not touch you. I also have teammates now. What I didn’t do last time will be resolved now!”

A cold light flashed past Han Xiao’s eyes, and Mechanical Force suddenly shot out. The mechanical soldiers in his body were released and flew behind him, transforming and sticking to his body. The dense mechanical armor quickly covered his face that showed killing intent.

In the endless sea of fleets, the two groups of people approached each other rapidly with dazzling flames trailing behind them. Then, two streams of light suddenly collided, and a chaotic battle broke out!

Chapter 1337: Battle (2)

Chapter 1337 Battle (2)

Multicolored lights spread out from the point of impact like a supernova.

The energy tsunami created by the combined forces of more than two hundred Beyond Grade As swallowed the large fleets around them. The high-energy reaction instantly alerted the countless battleship radars on the battlefield, and it instantly became the most eye-catching area in the entire battlefield.

The light cannons on the surface of the Mechanical Deity’s body continuously bombarded a green meteor, but they were unable to penetrate the defense of the protective flames and were all reduced to light fragments. Wrapped in green flames, the Subduing Tree King channeled his energy and punched out. His fist, which was flickering with dazzling light, hit the blade of the Celestial Punishment Edge heavily. At the point of contact, a violent shockwave exploded, and a loud ringing sound rang in the souls of living beings.

“Outsider, it really is you.” The Subduing Tree King propped up Celestial Punishment Edge and released a cold mental wave.

Han Xiao could not be bothered to guess what the other party was thinking. Mechanical Force burst out from his body, and he activated the Getta Hadoken. The Celestial Punishment Edge maintained its momentum, and psionic energy gushed out along the edge of the blade. The powerful dark blue wave of energy sent the Subduing Tree King flying.

However, the next moment, the Subduing Tree King came to a halt, spun around, and charged again, continuing to face the Mechanical Deity’s attacks head-on.

Fists and kicks brought about afterimages, and endless green shockwave blasts gushed out from his body, condensing to the point of almost solidifying. It was as if glowing spears were stabbing into the Mechanical Deity’s psionic shield. With the support of the World Tree, the Subduing Tree King’s protective flames were like an indestructible shield, constantly creating countless electric arcs and energy sparks in front of him. His fighting style had a strong suppression style. The blade of the Celestial Punishment Edge swept up a wave of dark-blue psionic energy, each strike faster than the last. In the blink of an eye, Han Xiao had clashed thousands of times with the Tree King. The two of them were constantly moving forward and back at high speed, and the overlapping force fields caused the surrounding space to bend slightly.

If not for the fact that it’s not suitable to use private messages, I would have said a few words…

Han Xiao pursed his lips and suppressed the urge to send a message to ask for the name of the move.

While fighting, he also observed the situation around him.

On a battlefield like this, there was no tacit understanding between armies to not attack high-level combatants. The countless battleships in the surroundings did not stop their attacks toward this side. Large numbers of troops were thrown into the war zone, forming a crisscross pattern.

However, the fleets on both sides wanted to kill the enemy’s high-level combatants while protecting their own Supers. Thus, they formed a restraint, indirectly giving the Beyond Grade As on both sides room to maneuver.

It was also because of this reason that many Mechanics, including Han Xiao, did not summon too many mechanical troops. Otherwise, the target would be too large, and they would have no choice but to endure the concentrated fire of the surrounding fleets. This would result in significant additional losses, reducing their military strength. Limited resources needed to be used where they were needed the most, and this was not worth it.

Swoosh!

Just as Han Xiao was analyzing the situation, the Subduing Tree King’s body suddenly glowed, and he utilized his Pugilist skills. His charging speed suddenly increased, and he charged straight at the Mechanical Deity’s body. It was as if his entire body suddenly became invincible, and he actually crashed through the psionic shield. The green meteor smashed into the Mechanical Deity’s abdomen, creating a huge pit, and large cracks spread on the armor.

Right after that, the Subduing Tree King’s head suddenly started spinning as though it was going to turn into a drill and drill through the pit on the Mechanical Deity. Clearly, his head was not something ordinary.

However, right at this moment, large swaths of black nanoparticles suddenly seeped out from the pit in the Mechanical Deity’s abdomen armor, quickly condensing and transforming into countless mechanical tentacles that lashed out at the Subduing Tree King. The tentacles suddenly tightened when the power reached the end, turning from a whip into a spear. A neat round of stabs landed on the Subduing Tree King’s protective flames, pushing him out.

Following which, Han Xiao twisted the blade handle and used his other hand to slap the other party as if swatting a fly, sending the Tree King flying and knocking over three or four Beyond Grade As along the way.

“Want to enter my body? Dream on.” Han Xiao patted the Mechanical Deity’s abdomen, and the depression quickly recovered.

Against Mechanics, Pugilists would basically target the mechanic’s main body or Lord’s Avatar. This was the most efficient method, and the Subduing Tree King wanted to enter the Mechanical Deity’s body to attack the main body.

Although he had caused a ruckus in the World Tree territory last time and lasted for about ten minutes under the siege of more than a hundred Beyond Grade As, this World Tree powerhouse still did not believe in his physical strength and tried to attack his main body.

After all, the three Universal Civilizations had accepted the title of ‘Indestructible Body’ because they had witnessed Han Xiao’s achievements over the years. However, this information was not circulated in the World Tree Civilization. Han Xiao had only shown his strength once in the other party’s territory before retreating with heavy injuries, Therefore, most of the World Tree experts did not know much about Han Xiao and would not easily give up on attacking his main body. Han Xiao pondered. The strength of a Tree King is indeed extraordinary. I won’t be able to take him down quickly.

Last time, they had fought in a hurry, so he did not experience the full strength of the Subduing Tree King. Now that he looked at it, the other party was indeed not weak. Before Karlot was fully matured, the Subduing Tree King was undoubtedly above all the Pugilists he had met so far. Be it ‘Beast Ancestor’ Gorutan or ‘Star Shatterer’ Sierron, they were all inferior compared to the Subduing Tree King. If they fought, they probably would not survive a day in the hands of the Tree King.

However, even if the Subduing Tree King was powerful, Han Xiao’s raw strength was still above him.

At the same time, the Subduing Tree King also perfectly met the criteria of being a peak Beyond Grade A Super of the World Tree Faction. On the interface, the four talents of (World Tree Nemesis], [Civilization Leader Slayer], [Elderly Killer), and [Fearless Heart] all lit up.

“Let’s fight steadily and defeat him.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

He had the upper hand in terms of combat strength and class, but the Subduing Tree King was not someone to be trifled with. He could still exchange a few blows and would not be taken down in a short time.

The two of them fought intensely, and the other Beyond Grade As also engaged in a chaotic battle.

The energy from so many Beyond Grade As kept pushing the others away, causing everyone’s battlefield to be further away from each other. Although most of them did not intend to fight one-on-one, they could support each other if they wanted to fight one after another. Thus, they formed small groups and fought fiercely.

Bang!

The Mechanical Emperor’s Sacred Trident stabbed forward but was blocked by a broadsword. Psionic energy surrounded by Mechanical Force collided with each other on both sides of the trident, and the light blue energy ball exploded. The two Mechanical Deities fought each other evenly, like two blurry afterimages that kept colliding. One of them was silver, and the other was gold and red with green energy surrounding its body. The color coordination was extremely bad. “What a sharp fellow…”

Manison knocked his opponent away with his trident and narrowed his eyes. He had already learned from Black Star that the individual strength of the World Tree was extremely powerful, but he only experienced the other side’s powers after fighting them personally.

Although he had suffered a series of attacks from Black Star and was no longer at his peak, he was still firmly in the first tier. Ordinary peak Beyond Grade As were still no match for him. However, this enemy was now fighting him back and forth, even giving him quite a bit of pressure. Even though Manison realized that his strength slightly exceeded his opponent, it was not enough to give him an overwhelming advantage. Furthermore, this person was not in the data of the World Tree experts that Han Xiao had provided. He was an unknown enemy.

Just as Manison was thinking, the other party suddenly sent out a mental wave.

“You’re very powerful. What’s your name?”

Hearing this, Manison did not respond.

Even after receiving no response, the other party did not stop and continued sending mental messages.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t say it. I have my eyes on you. You have the right to be my trophy. The World Tree’s Three Leaf Executive Officer, Lynn Karen. Remember this name. Your life is destined to be mine.”

“You talk too much.”

Manison was not affected at all.

After Black Star’s training, he was no longer afraid of message bombardment.

However, he did remember the other party’s name. According to Black Star, the ten Executive Officers were all at the top of the World Tree, and the higher they ranked, the more powerful they would be. Third Leaf was in the first tier of the World Tree experts, and she would definitely be in the top fifteen. “Looks like a big fish…”

Manison’s eyes flashed, and he silently increased his strength. His attacks became more and more vicious, and his killing intent overflowed.

In a certain part of the battlefield, a black and a white energy current collided with each other with a loud bang, causing countless sparks to fly like water.

Dark Lord Clotti controlled the surging dark energy and was fighting with a frail World Tree member.

The other party was also an Esper. He controlled dazzling white energy that was like flowing white gold. The texture was like a light muslin or like rolling fog, but it was extremely corrosive.

“What Esper Ability is this? It’s on par with mine.”

Clotti frowned slightly.

The strength of an Esper depended partly on their grade and partly on the effect of their Esper Ability. If their grade was the same, then the higher the grade of the Esper Ability, the more stable the advantage. For example, Gaud’s energy control was one of the highest-grade Esper Abilities. If they grew to the same grade, Clotti basically had no chance of winning.

Clotti’s dark energy control was already a Super High Risk Esper Ability, but the other party’s Esper Ability was comparable to his. Although the other party did not hit him, he realized that his cells had become weak, and his energy consumption was much higher than usual. It was as if the other party had used energy as a medium to attack him from afar.

This time, this person suddenly sent out a mental message and calmly said, “Your ability is not bad. If I present you to the mother tree, it will definitely be very happy.”

“The World Tree also likes to collect Esper Abilities?” Clotti thought and tried to probe for information.

However, the other party did not reply.

Clotti thought that his opponent did not want to answer, so he gave up on the idea and continued to fight in silence. However, after fighting for a while, the other party suddenly spoke. “I’m the Four Leaf Executive Officer of the World Tree, Enrin Zarro.”

Clotti was stunned. He thought that the other party was going to say something, so he immediately perked up.

However, after his opponent said this, he did not continue and fell silent.

Clotti frowned, feeling confused… Why did he suddenly introduce himself and stopped speaking?

After a while, Enrin spoke again.

“When you enter the embrace of the World Tree, we can become colleagues.”

After saying this, he fell silent again, as though he was talking to himself and did not expect the other party to reply. Clotti’s eyelids twitched.

He confirmed that this was a weirdo who did whatever he wanted.

On the other side, Hila, who was wearing the Crimson Snake mechanical suit, was facing the attacks of four enemies. Crimson death energy gushed out like a tsunami, and the battle was extremely intense.

Compared to the other battlefields, there was a significant difference on Hila’s side. When she was surrounded, there were no other Beyond Grade As supporting her. It was as though everyone was letting her face the attacks of multiple enemies alone.

Bang!

A Pugilist World Tree expert passed through the sea of death energy and beat Hila up. Just as she was about to break free from the chain attack, he kicked her in the abdomen.

While Hila was sent flying, another World Tree expert blocked her way. A series of spells rained down on Hila’s back, sending her in another direction and inflicting another round of damage on her.

Hila tried her best to stabilize herself. Suddenly, she used Death Stealth and teleported to another location, gaining a short respite.

Her entire body was covered in blood. She looked like a ferocious evil spirit, heavily injured and weak.

Kasuyi, who was the closest, glanced over and quickly looked away. He had no intention of going over to help and even led his opponent further and further away.

Seeing this, one of the four attackers, a Holy Tree Emissary, said, “You’ve almost been beaten to death, but your companions are still ignoring you. No one is coming to help you… I didn’t expect you guys to still be in the mood to have internal conflicts in the face of our invasion. Interesting.”

Hila wiped the blood off her face, as though she did not feel any pain at all. “No one came to help me… That’s because I don’t need help.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a golden light suddenly erupted from her body, and all her injuries disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Hila straightened her back, and the chaotic energy waves returned to their peak. The refined death energy flowed out continuously, and her aura soared. “It doesn’t hurt at all. With this standard, it’s a thousand years too early for you to try killing me!”

Chapter 1338: Battle (3)

Swoosh!

Kasuyi seemed to have turned into a phantom as he instantly dodged the magical energy beam from his opponent. He was not worried about Hila at all.

Hila’s level was not at the peak Beyond Grade A realm, but in the eyes of the Beyond Grade As including Kasuyi, she was one of the most difficult to deal with. Not only could she reduce one’s lifespan, but she also had a milkmaid bound to her. She was like an unkillable cockroach. Even if others were strong, no one was willing to provoke Hila. Kasuyi turned his attention back to his opponent, and his eyes narrowed slightly. The invisible Psychic energy was like thousands of needles, giving his opponent a high-level Psychic Blast, but it was like hitting a solid wall. Most of its power was diverted by the opponent’s Mental Defense Spell, turning into chaotic mental disturbances that spread to the surroundings, immediately triggering a large number of battleships’ mental defense shields and even shattering the mental defense shields of the battleships at the front.

The other party was not willing to be outdone. Under the surge of energy, magic formations appeared one after another, gathering into a spherical shell. All kinds of exclusive spells poured out, dazzling and colorful. The dense wave of spells chased after Kasuyi, bombarding him with attacks.

“What a smooth magic connection. There are no flaws…”

Kasuyi’s cells were all active, and his eyes emitted a strong light, observing his opponent while fighting

Although he was not a Mage, he was knowledgeable. He could tell with one look that the other party had a lot of combat experience and was an extremely strong Mage. The coordination between spells was smooth and free, giving him the feeling that everything was integrated. Furthermore, the World Tree was extremely powerful in terms of mental strength. If there was no overwhelming difference in strength, a Psychic would actually be at a disadvantage against a World Tree powerhouse. This was especially obvious in a battle of the same level. Kasuyi discovered that the opponent’s mental barrier was extremely thick, and his mental attacks could not penetrate it as though it was indestructible.

“This guy seems to be a high-level Ancestral Spirit…”

Kasuyi adjusted his vision and saw the mark on the other party’s forehead.

Black Star had once explained the composition of the World Tree powerhouses and helped them differentiate them. Ancestral Spirits had a special mark on their body that made them easy to recognize. At this moment, he was fighting a member of the Thirteen Ancestral Spirits of the World Tree. He was ranked second, and his strength was among the top of the World Tree. He was not much weaker than the Three or Four Leaf Executive Officials.

While Kasuyi was making observations, the second Ancestral Spirit suddenly spoke.

“I recognize you. You’re the one who killed Manny.”

“Manny?”

Upon hearing this unfamiliar name, Kasuyi’s eyes flashed. He immediately realized that this was the Holy Tree Emissary that he had killed some time ago.

The second Ancestral Spirit said indifferently, “I like strong enemies. You’re a good opponent. I hope you can let me enjoy myself.”

Kasuyi raised his brows.

We were just fighting to the death. Why did you suddenly start chatting? He looked at the temporary chat channel of the Beyond Grade A team and realized that most of the people had been messaged by the World Tree powerhouses. It seemed like this was intentional.

On second thought, Kasuyi understood.

The mentality of the World Tree’s experts is different from ours. They know that they won’t really die in battle, so they are fearless and relaxed. We, on the other hand, have to fight with our all and are in a tense state. Therefore, they took the initiative to speak. It should be a psychological battle to affect our mentality… On the other hand, maybe they are trying to deepen the information connection and collect intelligence. Why not… Better not to answer.

Kasuyi changed his mind and gave up on responding. After leaving a ‘don’t answer’ message in the chat channel, he focused on dealing with the second Ancestral Spirit. Psychic energy and magic flew all over the place.

A Starry Spiritual Dragon soared above the battlefield. Its eyes were like burning golden-red flames, and its enormous battleship-size body was extremely conspicuous. Every time its wings flapped, countless Dragon Spells would be cast, creating a storm of mana. Layers of defensive arrays covered its body. It was Dragon King Milizaus.

One of the army commanders was fighting with him. It looked like a tiny gray meteor was flying around the old dragon and attacking him continuously. He was wearing heavy armor and had all kinds of special firearms on his hands. He was a rare Cannon Master.

The World Tree Military Department was in charge of foreign battles, and a commander of the army meant the ‘chief combatant of the military’. Only the top Beyond Grade As in the military could obtain such a title.

Every army commander had their own code name, which usually depended on their military unit. The army commander fighting the old dragon belonged to a World Tree Army called ‘Dark Light’, so he was known as Commander Dark Light.

The two of them were evenly matched, but because of his striking size, Milizaus became a target, attracting the firepower of most of the battleships around him.

In fact, when World Tree experts who were fighting with the other Beyond Grade As passed by, they would even throw a few skills at Old Dragon. After all, the target was so big, so the hit rate was extremely high.

Because of this, Milizaus suffered too much damage. The injuries on his body kept accumulating, and many dragon scales were torn off. His flesh and bones were deeply cut, and blood splattered everywhere. His situation was getting worse.

Only the old dragon was being beaten up.

Bam! A beam of light shot out from the muzzle of Commander Dark Light’s cannon, piercing through the cracked defensive arrays and hitting the old dragon’s back, shattering a large chunk of scales and flesh, adding a new injury to him.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a creature like you. I wonder what your meat tastes like,” Commander Dark Light said as he fired his cannon.

Milizaus felt a sharp pain on his back. He swung his dragon head and let out an angry roar. The sound wave condensed from magic power surged out and hit Commander Dark Light, sending him flying.

However, Milizaus did not take the opportunity to chase after him. Instead, with a spiral movement, he flipped his body vertically, and a large number of magic patterns suddenly lit up on his body. The next moment, he disappeared from where he was and, with a flash, arrived elsewhere on the battlefield. There was a battle between more than ten people there, and he had his eyes on a Holy Tree Emissary who was heavily injured and was about to use his companions to cover his retreat.

Milizaus appeared instantly behind the Holy Tree Emissary. Before the other party could turn around and make a hasty defense, he opened his mouth and spat out a jade- like dragon breath that was enhanced by the Dragon Magic. It was like a golden-red flame that surged out and swallowed the target in an instant.

The Holy Tree Emissary’s body melted and turned into a pile of dust that floated in the air before dissipating Not long after the battle started, the first casualty was born!

“Die!”

After claiming first blood, Milizaus felt that he had vented his anger. He was rejuvenated, fully displaying the essence of a kill steal.

However, his happiness did not last long. He was immediately beaten up. The World Tree experts around him turned around and focused their fire on Milizaus. They shattered a large number of dragon scales, and his life force flowed out rapidly.

At the same time, Commander Dark Light also rushed over. He switched to a Universal Treasure-level firearm and fired at Milizaus from afar. Powerful beams of light bombarded Milizaus’ body, exploding into balls of flames and even shattering one dragon eye.

The surrounding battleships also turned their cannons around and focused their fire on Milizaus. He had gotten the first blood, but he was immediately targeted. He fell into danger, and his injuries were severe. “Kill him!”

Commander Dark Light saw an opportunity and was prepared to kill the enemy in one go.

However, right at this moment, a change occurred.

Swoosh!

A dazzling pale golden light shot out from the back of the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet and accurately landed on Milizaus.

An enormous amount of life energy poured in, and Milizaus’ battered body immediately began to recover. In the blink of an eye, more than half of the heavily injured dragon’s body had recovered, and he was full of energy again. The dragon tail swung excitedly and playfully shattered several World Tree battleships.

This scene attracted the attention of many World Tree experts, and their expressions changed slightly. “Recovery-type Esper Ability?”

After fighting in the universe for so many years, the World Tree experts had seen many things, and it was not rare to see Espers with recovery abilities. However, those who could reach the Beyond Grade A level were extremely rare. After all, recovery-type Esper Abilities were considered functional Esper Abilities and were not suitable for combat. Furthermore, most Esper Abilities did not have high potential, so training and sublimation were extremely difficult.

However, this time, not only did the enemy civilization have a recovery-type Esper, the recovery effect was unbelievably strong. It could heal a peak Beyond Grade A life form in just moments. It was no exaggeration to say that this was the strongest recovery-type Esper they had ever seen!

“I didn’t expect this prey to have such a card.”

The expressions of many World Tree experts changed, and they immediately realized that something was wrong.

If they did not get rid of this recovery-type Esper, their losses would be extremely huge, and this mutual destruction mission would be less effective!

“We have to kill the Esper first!”

A portion of the World Tree experts quickly completed their communication through the mental network. They immediately abandoned their current opponents, gathered together, and charged toward the source of the life force. Although the Esper was at the rear of the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet, they had no choice but to charge head-on.

This was actually in-line with the players’ strategy… After all, who would not cut the healer first in a team battle?

However, at this moment, a few streams of light suddenly shot out from the fleet, fearlessly facing this group of attackers who had the advantage in numbers. The two sides collided.

With a flash of light, violent explosions spread out, and the World Tree experts’ advancement was immediately stopped.

The group of World Tree experts looked up and saw five Beyond Grade A life forms covered in light blocking their path. “There’s still a group hiding?”

Seeing this, many World Tree experts were surprised. They thought that the high-level combatants of their opponents had all joined the battlefield.

The five of them looked at the large number of World Tree powerhouses. Not only were they not nervous, they even looked eager. They were the five Underworld Hero Spirit Kings.

The other three Heroic Spirit Kings, including Sorokin, did not appear. Aurora only sent five of them, and the leader was the second strongest Heroic Spirit King, Rega.

“Heh, I can finally exercise.”

Rega stretched his shoulders, and without another word, he charged forward with the other four Hero Spirit Kings, starting a new brawl. Even though the other Beyond Grade As knew about the Sanctum Revival, they did not want to sacrifice themselves so easily. In comparison, the Underworld Hero Spirits were the ones who were truly unafraid of death.

Meanwhile, in the three Universal Civilizations’ command ship, Simon watched the battles of Han Xiao, Hila, and the Underworld Hero Spirits. He then turned to look at the calm Aurora and shook his head.

“Those from Planet Aquamarine… are all monsters.”

Bang!

The Mechanical Deity and the Subduing Tree King clashed once again, and an intense shockwave erupted.

“This outsider seems to be even stronger than the last time we met…”

The Subduing Tree King stretched his aching fingers. Beneath his cold exterior was his racing heart.

Although the outcome of the battle could not be determined for the time being, he felt a long-forgotten pressure from Han Xiao. He had only experienced such an unparalleled sense of power from one person-the unfathomable Ancestral Tree King.

He did not expect that the civilization they had chosen this time would have such high-level combatants. They had met a tough opponent! Although he did not want to admit it, he had to face reality. He might not be able to defeat this outsider who had such amazing abilities.

The Subduing Tree King quickly scanned the battlefield. In the mental network, there were already six or seven silent companions, which meant that they had died in battle.

With the help of the recovery-type Esper, not a single enemy was killed!

If this continued, would they not be completely wiped out?

How could this do?

“We can’t wait any longer!”

The Subduing Tree King’s eyes darkened. Seeing that the situation was not right, he immediately changed his mind.

Swoosh!

The Subduing Tree King suddenly retreated and covered his face with his palm. His mouth was wide open as if he was screaming in pain.

The next moment, a dazzling green light appeared all over his body, as if he had released the energy of the World Tree in his body. An endless green light overflowed from his body. Then, with a bang, an irresistible pressure burst out from him, as if a higher being had descended!

The green light quickly condensed and turned into translucent light green roots of the World Tree. At first, they were just like many small snakes, floating beside the Subduing Tree King. However, the size of these roots quickly grew and expanded, whipping around the battlefield crazily!

The appearance of the Subduing Tree King had also changed. His entire body was different, and his body gained a texture like that of the World Tree roots. Green World Tree power flowed within his translucent body, as if he had undergone a transformation.

A powerful aura blew over like a suffocating gale!

Previously, the Subduing Tree King had mainly relied on his own strength to fight, but at this moment, he had started to borrow the World Tree’s strength to a large extent. This was the World Tree’s ability that could only be activated by the connection level of a Tree King, and it was also the reason why a Tree King was a Tree King.

All of this happened in an instant. During the transformation, Han Xiao did not stop his long-range attacks, but they were all blocked by the World Tree Roots.

“Oh? Using an ultimate move?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

He was no stranger to this transformation. This was the unique power of the Tree King. It turned his body into a branch of the World Tree, like a temporary base station. In his previous life, every time a Tree King activated this form, it would be a sign that they were going to start a massacre.

The most terrifying thing was not the increase in strength from this transformation but the branch of the World Tree that their body had turned into. It could bring about an exclusive faction buff halo that covered an extremely wide area, increasing the combat power of all the World Tree members on the battlefield!

This was the Tree King’s war form!

Chapter 1339: Advanced Mutually Assured Destruction

The moment that the Subduing Tree King released the power of the World Tree, all the World Tree members on the battlefield glowed with a green light. As if they were on steroids, their overall combat power increased by a large amount.

The halo covered the entire army, and the flow of the entire battlefield immediately changed. The entire World Tree fleet was buffed, and many of the three Universal Civilizations’ fleets that were originally in a stalemate suffered heavy damage.

Many Beyond Grade As were the first ones to feel the change. The increase in the strength of the World Tree’s experts broke the stalemate. Many of the Beyond Grade As who were originally in a tug-of-war with their opponents were suddenly robbed of the initiative and fell into a disadvantage in the blink of an eye. Many of them fell into mortal danger.

Golden rays of light shot out frequently, landing on the Beyond Grade As who were in danger one after another, providing them with healing at critical moments, allowing a large number of Beyond Grade As to breathe a sigh of relief. However, the World Tree powerhouse also responded, using various methods to try to disperse or isolate the life force that shot over, preventing this recovery-type Esper from healing her comrades.

Hila was the only one who had a Soul Connection with Aurora. She could ignore the distance between them and receive Aurora’s Dawn of Life instantly. It was as if she was bound with a healing source. The other Beyond Grade As naturally did not receive such treatment; although there was enough healing power, they needed to receive it first.

Although Aurora’s Esper Ability was powerful, her current level was only that of an ordinary Beyond Grade A, so she could not ignore all kinds of obstructive methods This was even more of a test for her. Not only did she have to pay attention to the life state of every Beyond Grade A, but she also had to find a way to successfully heal her target.

Han Xiao used his quantum network vision to monitor the situation of the various areas. He could see the changes in the battlefield clearly.

“The halo of the entire army is still very powerful. Luckily, it can’t be stacked. Otherwise, the effect of the five Great Tree Kings transforming together would be insane…”

Han Xiao’s eyes were fixed on the Subduing Tree King.

Only by killing the Subduing Tree King would they be able to remove the halo of the enemy and turn the situation around. Otherwise, their total losses would skyrocket.

However, right at this moment, the Subduing Tree King, who had been strengthened after liberating the power of the World Tree, did not charge forward. Instead, he retreated into the layers of protection of the World Tree fleets and retracted the World Tree Roots. He had no intention of fighting Han Xiao.

Han Xiao’s expression changed, and his emotions were in turmoil.

He had thought that after transforming, the Subduing Tree King would rush forward to continue fighting and try to defeat him. He did not expect the other party to directly avoid the battle after unleashing his potential.

If you didn’t want to fight, you should have said so earlier. You were so imposing, it made my blood boil.

This is not good. If I don’t get rid of him quickly, it will be troublesome…

Han Xiao felt helpless.

After transforming, the Tree King had an extremely high strategic value. He no longer took risks and hid in the fleet, continuously providing bonuses to the army. This was a safe method, but this rarely happened in his previous life. The Tree King had finally released the power of the World Tree, and his desire for battle also increased. Usually, he would fight to his heart’s content.

If the other Tree Kings had chosen to avoid the battle, he would have been able to accept it, but this time, it was the Subduing Tree King…

Holy sh*t, a Pugilist is no longer stubborn. My youth is over!

Countless World Tree battleships protected their commander, the Subduing Tree King. Facing the countless cannons, Han Xiao felt his scalp go numb. Although he was confident in his tankiness, charging alone in a battlefield of this scale was too arrogant.

Furthermore, the Subduing Tree King was strong. He would not be able to deal with him amid the enemy camp in a short period of time. If he charged in, he would only be a target for focus fire.

“If you have the guts, don’t ever come out.”

Seeing this, Han Xiao left the Subduing Tree King behind and turned to attack the other World Tree experts.

If you don’t stop me, I will kill your teammates! Although the members of the World Tree had never cared about the casualties of their teammates, this battle was an exchange battle, and the Subduing Tree King cared about the capital used for this. Otherwise, the meaning of his transformation would be very limited.

However, Han Xiao’s attention did not completely leave the Subduing Tree King. He was still focused on the other party’s movements, preventing the Subduing Tree King from adjusting his tactics.

The Subduing Tree King did not stop him. From another perspective, it could also be said that he got rid of this annoyance and used his companions as bait to lure him away. He also used his superior combat strength to attack the other Beyond Grade As.

“Because this is an exchange battle, he doesn’t want to waste time on an expert like me. He is targeting and killing the other high-level combatants; killing one means one win. Maybe that’s what he thinks…”

Han Xiao guessed the intentions of the Subduing Tree King.

At the same time, from behind the protection of layers of fleets, the Subduing Tree King watched Han Xiao moving from one target to another. After the battle just now, he judged that even if he transformed, he might not be able to take down this outsider with astonishing combat strength. Therefore, he suppressed his desire to attack and focused on the strategic goal. As a tree king who had fought many civilizations, he would not lose his cool so easily.

However, he also could not remain idle. Otherwise, if he allowed the outsider to kill his comrades, there would be no point in him trying to improve the exchange results with his transformation.

Since he could not stop the other side’s strongest person, he could only make the same choice and change his target.

All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, and the Subduing Tree King turned around to look in the direction of the recovery-type Esper.

In one area of the battlefield, a group of Arcane Church troops had their defenses breached by the World Tree Assault Team, and the formation of the frigate was torn apart. The Glorious Sun Grade flagship in the middle was latched onto by the World Tree Assault Battleship, and the charge cabins bit onto the main ship one after another, penetrating through the armor and sending in batches of World Tree Supers to launch a boarding battle, attempting to snatch this flagship from within.

The interior of the flagship had turned into a chaotic battlefield, and bloody battles broke out in all the cabins and corridors. The guards on the ship were constantly resisting the World Tree Supers, and from time to time, new charge cabins would smash open new holes.

“Reinforcements! Reinforcements!”

One of the squad leaders pulled out the blade that had been stabbed into the enemy’s body, and a large amount of blood splashed onto the armor. He had no time to wipe it as he requested reinforcements in the channel.

However, the next moment, a blurry shadow flashed past his eyes, and a huge force suddenly exploded on the side of his head. His head was gripped by a large hand and smashed into the wall. His body twitched a few times before stopping.

The owner of the hand was a burly World Tree officer. A large group of troops were massacring the soldiers inside the flagship, and they had already broken through the defense line.

“Head to the main control room!” the officer shouted and was about to lead the team forward.

However, right at this moment, the ground beneath their feet suddenly shook, and the wall nearby shattered, revealing half of a black charge cabin.

The hatch opened, and a group of army players rushed out. Without saying a word, they charged toward the World Tree squads. Battle erupted instantly. After a fierce battle, the burly officer wiped out this team of players with his troops, but they also suffered quite a bit from their opponents’ fearless and ferocious fighting style.

“Do these people not care about their lives?” This officer frowned. He had seen people who were not afraid of death, but just now, this group of people had charged forward one after another, practically using their own heads in exchange for their injuries… In his opinion, there was only one possibility, and it was that the enemy had a strong belief and did not hesitate to exchange their lives for injuries.

However, as a member of the World Tree, he was not afraid of death at all. No one was afraid of death.

If you want to risk your life, I’ll fight you. Who’s afraid of who?

Without any time to rest and reorganize, this World Tree officer threw this matter to the back of his mind and was about to lead his troops forward.

However, at this moment, the sound of footsteps could be heard in the corridor ahead. Another batch of reinforcements had arrived. Their appearance and abilities were exactly the same as the team that had been wiped out earlier.

“Hmm? These people…”

The World Tree officer was shocked.

They had just killed this group of people, and now they appeared again. What was going on with this group of people? Could it be that they could not be killed and could revive like them!

Before he could think about it, battle erupted once again. Due to the damage from the previous wave, the combat strength of this World Tree battle team had decreased, and they were wiped out by the same group of players. This officer was also surrounded and blasted into pieces—a similar scene played out in many battleships.

In the command ship of the three Universal Civilizations, Aurora used Dawn of Life a few times, but before it could reach her comrades who were in danger, the skill was scattered by the high-level combatants of the World Tree.

Aurora frowned and lowered her hand.

“I’m too far away from the battlefield. The opponent has plenty of time to react and can easily block my energy. This won’t do. It’s difficult for me to unleash my abilities. I need to get closer and shorten the distance.”

Without waiting for Simon’s reply, Aurora left the cabin and stepped into space. She turned into a golden stream of light and quickly approached the battlefield where the Beyond Grade As were.

This scene immediately attracted the attention of many World Tree powerhouses. A large number of high-level combatants immediately approached this Esper, but they were stopped by their opponents.

Not long after, Aurora stopped inside the main fleet of the three Universal Civilizations. Although she had closed the distance between them, she did not step onto the battlefield. She kept releasing the Dawn of Life, scattering rays of light. If the previous time the distance that the Dawn of Life needed to cross was ten, now it was at most two to three. The hit rate was higher than before.

Not only that, all the life forms on her side within a certain range would receive an increase in recovery speed. This was the passive halo of Aurora’s Esper Ability after she entered the Beyond Grade A realm, and the range would increase with her grade. When she was on the command ship, the range of the halo was not enough to cover this area, but now that she was on this battlefield, her halo took effect and covered most of the Beyond Grade As on her side.

“This place is very dangerous. Don’t come closer!” Hila saw Aurora immediately, and her expression changed.

Aurora turned a deaf ear and softly harrumphed.

Ever since she entered the Beyond Grade A realm, she had never experienced such a fierce battle. She had healed more than a hundred Beyond Grade As, and the amount of life energy consumed far exceeded the speed of replenishment. Her face gradually turned pale, and she felt like her body was being squeezed dry.

At this time, dozens of World Tree Roots suddenly attacked the main fleet from the side. Every root contained astonishing energy, and they quickly shattered a large number of battleships, creating a hole in the formation. The next moment, the Subduing Tree King shot toward Aurora through the gap like a green beam of light.

He had been looking for an opportunity to kill this recovery-type Esper. The moment Aurora arrived at the frontline, he saw an opportunity. He used the fleet as cover to launch a sneak attack near the edge of the main fleet, vowing to eliminate the biggest factor that affected their battle strategy.

The World Tree roots seemed to have formed a gigantic war chariot, charging forward and sweeping away the obstacles in the way. At the same time, they blocked the concentrated fire of the fleet for the Subduing Tree King. With the protection of the World Tree’s power, the Subduing Tree King dug his way into the main battleship.

Aurora seemed to be in a panic as she hurriedly retreated, condensing beams of holy light to hit the Subduing Tree King’s body. However, it was like scratching an itch, unable to stop the Subduing Tree King’s momentum.

In the blink of an eye, the Subduing Tree King appeared in front of Aurora as though he had teleported. A green light shot out from his arm and slashed at Aurora’s head in a semicircle, as though he wanted to smash her into meat paste.

The pressure from a being two levels higher locked onto Aurora’s body. Aurora seemed to have been stunned; she maintained a panicked expression without moving.

However, right at this moment, a violent mental shockwave exploded with Aurora as the center. It was extremely invasive and almost materialized.

The Subduing Tree King felt a sharp pain in his head, and his fist could not help but tilt to the side. The crescent-shaped fist lightly brushed past Aurora and shattered hundreds of battleships along the way.

Sorokin’s figure separated from Aurora’s body, and he appeared behind her like a double agent. He gently pressed his forehead, and his mental energy was constantly being released.

“Another protector?”.

The Subduing Tree King’s expression did not change. Just as he was about to get rid of Sorokin’s mental power and continue attacking Aurora, something happened.

The panic on Aurora’s face disappeared in an instant, and she regained her calmness as though she had expected it. The necklace she was wearing suddenly opened up, and the mechanical structure instantly covered her entire body, turning into a familiar mechanical suit.

Swoosh!

The next moment, there was a flash of light, and Aurora disappeared, leaving only Sorokin and a throne.

At the same time, Han Xiao’s figure appeared out of thin air and replaced her original position. Without waiting for the Subduing Tree King to respond, he locked himself onto the Subduing Tree King, hanging on his body. “I knew you wouldn’t give up on attacking our milkmaid!”

Han Xiao’s strong arms wrapped around the Subduing Tree King’s neck, and he felt a huge force slamming into his chest. It was as though he was hugging a big, lively fish, and the Subduing Tree King was struggling in his arms.

The Subduing Tree King had always been hiding in the fleet, so Han Xiao did not have many opportunities to attack. He had deliberately made Aurora come out. Although it was a simple bait tactic, he believed that the World Tree experts would not be able to sit still. After all, the World Tree’s battle strategy was different. Han Xiao thought about it from the other party’s point of view and felt that only by cutting off the healer could he successfully carry out the exchange battle tactic. It was worth sacrificing some high-level combatants for this. There was a certain chance of luring the Subduing Tree King out with this move. Although the bait was straight, the desires of the other party did not stop. It was a simple and effective plan.

Without any expression on his face, the Subduing Tree King continued to slam his elbow behind at Han Xiao’s stomach. Shockwaves spread from their fight.

Some of the World Tree Roots in the surroundings blocked the focus fire of the fleets, while other roots landed heavy blows on the two of them, wanting to pull Han Xiao away from the Subduing Tree King.

In terms of strength, the Subduing Tree King was still stronger, and Han Xiao could not lock him down. However, just as he was about to break free, mechanical structures quickly spread out from the point of contact between Han Xiao and him, turning into a King Armor that wrapped around him.

“Take this move, inseparable lovers!”

Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force flashed, and the two of them disappeared.

Swoosh!

The next moment, the two of them appeared out of thin air in a strange empty area behind the formation of the three Universal Civilizations, as if the fleet had deliberately left this empty space. The moment the two of them appeared, the prepared fleets around them activated their protective shields and quickly formed a spherical barrier that covered the entire area. They then retreated immediately.

The Subduing Tree King frowned and finally broke free from Han Xiao’s embrace, sending Han Xiao flying with a kick. He looked around and realized that there were hundreds of strange mechanical devices floating in the area.

Just as he was observing, hundreds of mechanical devices suddenly lit up, as if hundreds of wormholes had been opened. The insides of the tunnels were filled with blinding light, emitting frightening energy waves. Han Xiao stopped flying and narrowed his eyes.

“A few hundred improved Keys of Destruction are enough for you and me!”

Before the battle began, Han Xiao had specifically instructed the three Universal Civilizations to set up this type of trap and placed the throne in it.

The three Universal Civilizations had set up many similar traps before the battle, and they had tried to form a combination technique with the mechanisms of different Universal Treasures. This trap was one of the examples, and it was also the plan that Han Xiao had suggested to use the teleportation of the King mechanical suit and the destructive power of the Key of Destruction to form a lethal zone.

Advanced Mutually Assured Destruction!

Buzz!

The next moment, a blinding light shot out from hundreds of tunnels, instantly filling the entire area and drowning the two of them.

Chapter 1340: Troublesome

“Vicious…”

The Beyond Grade As who were fighting could not help splitting some attention to Han Xiao’s situation.

They were also aware of the trap formed by hundreds of Keys of Destruction. Looking at the expanding light, they could not help but sweat for Han Xiao.

Black Star’s mutually assured destruction strategy was known for its shamelessness, but the power of hundreds of Keys of Destruction was not something that the mechanical army could compare to. Furthermore, it was restricted to a small area, and its power was highly concentrated.

Not only was he ruthless to the enemy, but he was also ruthless to himself. Everyone felt that Black Star’s methods were too crazy. Was he not afraid of blowing himself up?

Various thoughts flashed through everyone’s mind. However, before the power of the explosion reached its peak, the protective shield surrounding this area suddenly cracked.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dozens of World Tree Roots appeared, crazily digesting the power of the explosion while slamming at the protective shield from the inside. Immediately after, a green meteor slammed into the cracks of the protective shield.

Crack!

The shield shook, and a hole was blasted open. The charred Subduing Tree King rushed out.

The next moment, Han Xiao’s figure also flew out after the Subduing Tree King to stop him, but he was sent flying by the World Tree Roots.

At the same time, because the protective shield was shattered by the Subduing Tree King, the power of the Keys of Destruction expanded from the inside. The chain reaction energy in the area lost control and expanded rapidly. Fortunately, the three Universal Civilizations had already left a large, empty area around the trap to guard against such a situation. The nearest fleet had plenty of time to retreat, and they also fired long-range attacks at the Subduing Tree King.

The Subduing Tree King could not care about anything else. He gathered the roots of the World Tree and turned them into an armor of sorts. Then, he hurriedly escaped into the distance to avoid the expanding energy cluster behind him, afraid that he would be swallowed again. Han Xiao stopped and continued to chase after the Subduing Tree King. As the two of them moved away from the energy cluster, they clashed and fought. Suddenly, a bright light flashed, and the expanding energy cluster completely exploded. The shockwave shot out in all directions and hit the two of them. The huge impact threw the two of them away, much faster than normal flying speed.

After rolling however many times, Han Xiao barely managed to stop himself. There was not a single part of his body that did not hurt, and his entire body was covered in charred wounds. It was obvious that he was heavily injured. The Subduing Tree King, who had fallen not far away, was in a similar state, as though he had shed a layer of skin.

“You sure can run fast.” Han Xiao’s veins were throbbing. He moved his arms and legs, and the charred wounds fell one after another. His wounds gradually recovered, and his health slowly rose.

The Subduing Tree King was not dead, so he would not foolishly stay in the trap and take damage. At the critical moment, he also exploded with all his might, shattering the protective shield and escaping from the explosion area. Han Xiao had originally stayed behind to stall the Subduing Tree King, but after the other party broke free from the locked area, there were no more chances. Han Xiao had used the King’s teleportation to arrive, so he naturally dispelled the Mechanical Deity Form. The Mechanical Deity’s descent was not instantaneous, so there was not enough time. Furthermore, with just the attributes of his main body, he could not immobilize a Pugilist at the level of the Subduing Tree King and was thrown to the side.

OW

The prerequisite of Mutually Assured Destruction was to immobilize the enemy, but why would the target obediently stay in the area of focus fire? The Subduing Tree King ran fast, and he had the World Tree Roots to protect him. He escaped before the Keys of Destruction completely exploded, so he did not take full damage. Even Han Xiao could only chase after him.

However, the power of this wave was too terrifying. Even though the Subduing Tree King had escaped in time, he was still heavily injured. His body was riddled with wounds, and dozens of the World Tree Roots suffered the most damage. They also withered, and the power of the World Tree flowing in them was severely depleted. Its color dimmed, and it looked listless.

The Subduing Tree King looked down at his heavy injuries. Without any emotion, he calmly said, “Not a bad attempt. I didn’t expect you to have the courage to take such risks.”

Looking up at Han Xiao’s injuries, a look of regret flashed past the Subduing Tree King’s eyes.

He had been too careless. If he had known that the other party would take such a risk, he would not have escaped just now. He might as well have played along with the other party and dragged this outsider down with him to eliminate this dangerous opponent. The thoughts of the members of the World Tree were different from those of ordinary people. The Subduing Tree King did not feel glad that he had escaped death. Instead, he felt it was a pity that he had missed out on an excellent opportunity.

“It’s a pity I didn’t manage to kill that recovery-type Esper…”

The Subduing Tree King shook his head.

This outsider clearly had the upper hand in terms of strength, but he still chose to take the risk. His intentions were clear-he knew that he would not be able to take him down in a short period of time, so he was not willing to fight for too long. Thus, he tried to get rid of the halo of the entire army as soon as possible to reduce his losses… The Subduing Tree King was well aware of this.

However, even if he had to do it again, he would still launch a surprise attack on that recovery-type Esper. The other party had taken the initiative to lure him with such bait, so it was worth a try. As long as he could make the other party lose their healer forever, the death of all the high-level combatants, including himself, would be worth it.

All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, but the Subduing Tree King’s movements did not stop. He turned around and fled in another direction, not wanting to continue fighting.

He had been brought to the enemy’s main fleet and was surrounded. There was no way he would be able to win in a battle there. His priority was extending his survival time. Only by escaping back to his own fleet to receive protection and support would he be able to escape danger and continue providing the halo of the entire army.

“Run again!”

Seeing this, Han Xiao gritted his teeth and immediately gave chase. Along the way, he quickly returned to his Mechanical Deity form, and the two of them fought once more.

A Pugilist was not scary, but scary was a Pugilist who was not stubborn. If the Subduing Tree King had lost his cool a little and was a little rash, this would have been much easier.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The battleships of the three Universal Civilizations were not idle either. They provided a huge amount of firepower support, and a continuous stream of light cannons blasted toward the dozens of World Tree Roots that the Subduing Tree King had extended from all directions.

Han Xiao did not want to be trapped alone in the enemy’s camp, and the Subduing Tree King did not dare either. The size of this army was enough to put individual powerhouses in danger. Not only did the focus fire cause the World Tree Roots to shatter, but it also restrained the Subduing Tree King. Furthermore, the Subduing Tree King was heavily injured, and his condition had plummeted. Although his recovery ability was not bad, while entangled with Han Xiao and countless fleets, his injuries did not show any signs of improving.

The other World Tree experts and fleets wanted to rush over to provide support, but they were all stopped by the three Universal Civilizations’ troops on various battlefields. The two sides fought intensely.

Swoosh!

Blazing red light rays streaked across, severing two withered World Tree roots.

The Subduing Tree King, who was protected by the roots, could not dodge in time. Half of the sole of his foot was cut off, and the texture of the cut was like a broken piece of wood, slowly twisting and growing, as if it was going to grow the foot again.

“Looks like this is where I’ll be buried.”

Subduing Tree King observed the encirclement and frowned.

He had tried to break out of the encirclement for a long time, but he was still trapped in the main force of the three Universal Civilizations. Most of the World Tree Roots that he had summoned after transforming were also destroyed, and his body was slowly approaching its end. He was already unable to fight Han Xiao head on.

With the strength he gained after releasing the World Tree’s power, the Subduing Tree King could hold on for longer. However, the Mutually Assured Destruction tactic was effective, and the victory was decided. If he had not been heavily injured in this wave, the Subduing Tree King would not have been defeated so quickly.

At this time, the space around him started to vibrate. The Mechanical Deity’s palm spun, and all kinds of force fields covered the Subduing Tree King’s body, trying to lock him in midair.

The Subduing Tree King’s face tightened, and he activated the weakened Pugilist flames to struggle free. “You want to capture me alive?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao did not respond and continued to increase the strength of the force field.

The World Tree had already arrived at his doorstep, and the rough coordinates had been exposed. He could use the Spacetime Amber to try to seal the World Tree powerhouse and see if he could restrain the revival ability of the World Tree.

The only problem was that the World Tree expert would not obediently accept the seal.

Sensing Han Xiao’s intentions, the Subduing Tree King had a calm expression as he resisted the force field’s restrictions and slowly said, “Your resistance is futile. We will invade your civilization sooner or later. We have failed this time, but there will still be countless times. You can’t stop the World Tree’s iron hooves forever… I will be waiting to fight you again.”

Before Han Xiao could react, the Subduing Tree King self-destructed without hesitation!

Bang!

A violent shockwave swept out, creating a large number of electric arcs on the Mechanical Deity’s shield.

The remaining roots of the World Tree collapsed one after another, turning into light fragments and disappearing as though they had never existed.

The World Tree had fought in the universe for many years, and they had met many civilizations that wanted to capture their high-level combatants. Their thoughts were basically the same. They believed that capturing the World Tree experts alive and not killing them would prevent their revival and reduce the resources of the other party in a war of attrition. This was not new to the World Tree experts at all.

Although the Subduing Tree King did not know what means the enemy had to capture him alive, there was no need for him to take this risk. Seeing that the situation was not right and that there was no way to escape, he directly self-destructed and did not give them a chance. In this respect, the experience of the World Tree members was too good. Unless the difference in strength was too great or they had no choice, the World Tree members would rarely allow themselves to enter a near-death state where they were at the mercy of others. When they were weak, they would consider self-destructing and return to the embrace of the Mother Tree.

“What a troublesome enemy. The Tree Kings are indeed not easy to deal with…”

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.

The creation of the Spacetime Amber required time, and the other party had self-destructed to prevent himself from being trapped. He had no way to deal with this. Although he had the upper hand against the Subduing Tree King, he could not crush him easily.

In the past, his opponents were normal people. They would either completely lose their combat capability and be unable to move, or they would rather be sealed than die in battle. No one would easily give up their life and self-destruct, so the Spacetime Amber had succeeded multiple times.

However, those of the World Tree had a completely different mindset. They had always liked to fight with their lives on the line, and self-destruction was a common occurrence for them.

You want to control me? Dream on, I’ll simply die!

This was very tricky.

In his previous life, although the Spacetime Amber had been snatched away by the World Tree experts, the three Universal Civilizations did not give up on capturing the other party’s high-level combatants alive. However, most of them had failed, and the biggest obstacle was the World Tree Race’s self-destruction attitude.

“No matter what, the Tree King won’t be revived for quite some time. At least the halo of the entire army has been removed.”

Han Xiao calmed himself down and looked at the battle.

With the death of the Subduing Tree King, the green light on all the World Tree members dimmed again, and they lost the halo enhancement. The pressure on the three Universal Civilizations decreased instantly, and the battle was finally back to normal.

“… I can’t do anything to the Subduing Tree King, but the difference in strength between ordinary Beyond Grade As and me is too huge. I might have a chance to seal a few.”

Han Xiao looked at the other World Tree experts who were fighting, and his eyes sparkled.

At the same time, in the World Tree territory, the Tree King Palace, the Heart Tree King slowly opened his eyes and looked at the Executive Officers who did not participate in the expedition.

“The Subduing Tree King has turned into a seed.”

Hearing this, the faces of the Executive Officers present darkened.

Although they had expected this outcome before the battle, they were still shocked when it actually happened. After all, a Tree King represented their top combat strength. The meaning of dying in battle was not small.

At this time, the Heart Tree King stood up from his throne, summoned a root, and stepped on it, preparing to leave.

“Aren’t you going to continue watching?” an Executive Officer asked.

“The outcome of the battle has been decided. It seems like the attack this time has failed. The effect of the exchange tactic is limited, but we managed to probe out a large number of the enemy’s trump cards, as well as that extremely crucial recovery-type Esper. I’ve gained enough.”

“Understood… Where are you going now?”

Heart Tree King glanced at them and shook his head with a smile.

“I’m going to water the Subduing Tree King and make him grow faster.”

Chapter 1341: Victory

“Beautifully done!”

Bang!

Seeing the Subduing Tree King explode into fireworks, Simon suppressed his excitement, choosing to smash the table instead.

Black Star was reliable. He had gotten rid of the enemy and stabilized the situation.

Without the halo of the entire army, the sudden advancement of the World Tree fleet during this period caused a large number of their fleets to fall into a bad situation.

Simon saw an opportunity and quickly calculated for a few seconds before decisively speaking in the command channel.

“Attention, all units! Pressure them!”

The three Universal Civilizations received the news and immediately took action. They worked together and gradually suppressed the enemy fleet.

Many of the World Tree Race experts saw that the Subduing Tree King had died in battle, and there was a slight commotion. Due to the loss of the halo amplification, their combat strength had decreased, and the advantage they had obtained before was quickly recovered by the Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations.

Without the Subduing Tree King holding him back, Han Xiao returned to the battlefield where the Beyond Grade As were. He attacked the other World Tree experts like a tiger entering a pack of wolves, quickly bringing an overwhelming victory.

Han Xiao’s goal was to use the Spacetime Amber to seal the World Tree experts, but it did not go so smoothly. Before the Subduing Tree King self-destructed, he had already informed all the high-level combatants of the World Tree on the mental network. When the World Tree experts felt that they could not hold on any longer, they self-destructed without hesitation.

The World Tree had suspected that this was the home civilization of the intruder, so they naturally would not make such a low-level mistake. They did not send any foreign experts to participate in the battle, still guarding against the virtual purification that they had yet to figure out.

Even so, Han Xiao had the upper hand in terms of strength. After many attempts, he successfully managed to seal a target. Before the other party self-destructed, he beat him up with lightning speed and swallowed him in the amber.

However, this made the self-destruction of the other World Tree experts even more decisive. Some of them even hugged a Beyond Grade A and tried to blow up their opponents. With the death of the Subduing Tree King, the balance of the high-level combatants completely shifted to the three Universal Civilizations’ side. Balls of explosions lit up the battlefield. Not long after, the last Holy Tree Emissary also self-destructed and died. Only then did the Beyond Grade As retreat from the battlefield and return to the formation behind the three Universal Civilizations. They stepped into the command ship, and almost everyone was injured.

Simon stepped forward and exhaled with respect.

“Thank you for your hard work. Take a rest first. However, Mechanics still have to provide technical support.” Han Xiao nodded. “Okay.”

This battle was still underway, but it was time for the main fleet to act. The missions of these high-level combatants were basically completed. “This victory is all thanks to you guys,” Simon said. “We achieved a complete victory in the high-level combatants and killed a hundred Beyond Grade As on the World Tree. We will talk about this after the battle officially ends.”

With that, he turned back to the command center and continued to control the flow of the battle.

The Beyond Grade As looked at each other and remained silent.

Because of Aurora and Black Star, they had only paid the price of six Beyond Grade As to wipe out a hundred Beyond Grade As from the World Tree. From the battle losses alone, it was a complete victory.

However, life was not a number. When they thought about how these six companions had been chatting with each other not too long ago, many Beyond Grade As felt sad.

The ones who were sacrificed this time were someone else, but the World Tree would always make a comeback. Any of those present could be the next to die.

A similar thought appeared in everyone’s mind.

Although they hoped that they would be able to resurrect through Han Xiao’s Sanctum, no one dared to guarantee when it would be their turn.

Many of them were filled with worry about the uncertain future.

Han Xiao turned around and took in everyone’s expressions. He said, “Aurora, you did well this time. If not for you, we might have lost half of our total members.”

Hearing this, everyone turned to look at Aurora, and gratitude flashed in their eyes.

No matter what, most of the people present had been saved by Aurora more than once today, and they owed her a favor.

“I only did my part.”

Aurora took a deep breath and imitated Han Xiao’s humility.

Her face was rather pale. This high intensity battle had drained her life force too much, and her milk was almost used up.

Hila felt her heart ache a little, but her face remained expressionless.

Han Xiao patted Aurora’s shoulder, looked at everyone, and said, “This battle will take at least a few days. Everyone is injured. Go and rest for now.”

Hearing this, no one declined, and they left with their own thoughts, leaving only the direct Beyond Grade As, Manison, Kasuyi, and the other important members of the association.

Manison looked at the four blocks of Spacetime Amber beside him. There were four World Tree powerhouses sealed inside.

“What do you plan to do with these four?”

“Seal them first and store them in the interception circle. I’ll leave a Throne here to supervise it.” Han Xiao sighed.

He had succeeded four times in using the Spacetime Amber, all because of the huge difference in strength. It allowed him to forcefully control the target before sealing them with the Spacetime Amber. Thus, the four high-level combatants of the World Tree that he had captured were all ordinary Beyond Grade As, while there were dozens of similar failures. It was an accomplishment for him to have succeeded even four times. The Executive Officer of the World Tree, the Ancestral Spirits, and the Head of the Army were all extremely powerful, and they were extremely difficult to deal with. They had self-destructed too decisively, so he could not catch them at all.

The six Beyond Grade As who died on their side were mainly killed by the self-destruction tactics of the World Tree. The dead were ordinary or fragile Beyond Grade As who died on the spot. Even Aurora could not save them in time.

Although he had won the battle between high-level combatants, Han Xiao had also fully felt how difficult it was to deal with the World Tree experts. It was not just their strength that was an issue but also their synchronized mental network and fearless attitude.

Even though he had many advantages now, the battle-hardened World Tree was not easy to deal with. He had his own methods, and the other party had all kinds of countermeasures.

“Although the Spacetime Amber has already proven its characteristics, we still have to prevent the World Tree from cracking its principles. What is impossible for us might not be the case for the World Tree.”

Manison nodded. He was not confident that the World Tree would be unable to crack the Spacetime Amber.

Han Xiao did not say anything and glanced at Hila, gesturing with his eyes.

Seeing this, Hila nodded slightly.

This was a secret signal between the two of them. Seeing Hila’s reaction, Han Xiao knew that Hila had been using the Underworld to collect the souls of the deceased. She should have gained a lot, but it was not the time to check.

“World Tree…”

Han Xiao turned around and looked at the battle again, his eyes shining with an unknown light.

“Our high-level combatants have achieved a complete victory. Only six of them died, and Black Star even used the Spacetime Amber to capture four enemies…”

In the conference room of the three Universal Civilizations, the three leaders were currently receiving reports from the frontlines and discussing in low voices.

“Black Star is as strong as ever. Luckily, we have the association’s help. Otherwise, our direct lineage would not have been able to deal with so many enemies.” Louis shook his head.

“Only six people died in battle. Their results are better than I expected.” Marbruce exhaled.

“After destroying this wave of attacks from the World Tree, their next wave shouldn’t be so quick. They’ve bought us more time.” The Pope also nodded.

Although the three of them hoped to damage the Beyond Grade As of the association, they were still united against a common enemy. Seeing that their losses were low, they were also happy.

“However… Hila’s Underworld is collecting the souls of our soldiers. This is a problem,” Louis said in a deep voice.

Marbruce lowered his voice. “Now is not the time to be calculative.”

The existence of the Underworld was no longer a secret, and the three Universal Civilizations had known about it before the war. They knew that Hila might absorb the soldiers and talents that they had lost in the war, but in the current situation, they had no choice but to turn a blind eye.

This was akin to poaching. However, for a large number of soldiers that would have actually died in battle, entering the Underworld gave them a second lease of life. This was equivalent to reducing the losses of their war capital. Since this was a special situation, the three Universal Civilizations could only acquiesce.

The three of them were also worried that Hila would use the Underworld to take away the Beyond Grade As who had died in battle, but currently, not many Beyond Grade As were willing to become heroes who could not be free, with most of them choosing to believe in the Sanctum Revival.

No matter what, this was a hidden danger, but it was not the time to be calculative. The main problem was dealing with the World Tree Civilization, and the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations could do nothing about the Underworld.

The battle between the two fleets lasted a week, and the battlefront had already been stretched to the extreme.

The reinforcements from the three Universal Civilizations came in an endless stream, and the rest of the Beyond Grade As would attack together from time to time, gradually turning the tide of the battle in the three Universal Civilizations’ favor.

The expedition army of the World Tree had been devoured by batches, and they had changed their tactics when the situation was not looking good. They no longer attacked head-on and split up in an attempt to create loopholes in the interception network with their large numbers.

At this stage of the war, this wave of attacks had already been declared a failure. To the three Universal Civilizations, the only thing left was to clean up the mess.

Although they had defeated the enemy with a small loss and won the battle, the upper echelons were not happy. The revival ability of the World Tree shrouded their hearts like dark clouds.

However, no matter how heavy their hearts were, the officers still had to focus on commanding the troops to clean up the mess.

Seeing that the battle had come to an end, the three Universal Civilizations finally sent the frontline battle report back to the galactic society, promoting this victory and boosting the hearts of the people.

Chapter 1342: If You Have Milk, You’re a Mother

It was no secret that the three Universal Civilizations were resisting the first wave of an invasion. The Galactic Society had known about it the moment the three Universal Civilizations mobilized the various armies and the armed forces of the various civilizations. Because this battle was not broadcast live, no intelligence was sent back. After many days of fermenting, the countless galactic residents that were headed to the central region of the explored universe were on tenterhooks, afraid that they would see news of the three Universal Civilizations being defeated the next day.

While the entire galactic society was in a state of panic, the three Universal Civilizations’ Foreign Affairs Departments, which had been silent for many days, finally reported the results of the battle to the galactic society and announced this great victory. The three Universal Civilizations claimed that the attacks of the foreign enemies had been repelled, and they put up a more detailed battle report, announcing the damage ratio of many troops. Among which, the most eye-catching was the battle results of the high-level combatants. With just six people as the price, they had killed more than a hundred Beyond Grade As of the enemy.

This result made countless people’s eyes light up, and they were secretly shocked. Although the three Universal Civilizations had won the battle, they had also lost a fleet of ten billion. Even so, it was still a commendable victory, and the losses were far lower than the enemy’s. However, the battle statistics of Beyond Grade As were many times more outstanding, and they were the troops with the lowest casualty rate. After successfully annihilating the expeditionary army, this great victory boosted the hearts of the people. Most of the frightened galactic residents heaved a sigh of relief, and the panic and fear in their hearts gradually faded. They were filled with excitement and joy.

The public opinion that was originally filled with all kinds of worries and panic changed, becoming a trend of praising the three Universal Civilizations. It was as if loyal supporters had sprouted everywhere overnight. The shocking achievements of the Beyond Grade As were naturally popular topics discussed by the ordinary people, and they were almost unanimously praised. Many galactic residents praised them for their reliable individual strength, as though they had forgotten the hate speeches they used to attack the association. The association seemed to have gone from ‘opposing class who abused their special rights as they wished’ to become ‘trustworthy guardians of the galactic society’, and their image had a 180-degree change. During internal conflicts, many galactic residents did not like the Beyond Grade As and did not stop complaining.

However, when faced with a complete victory over the enemy, the galactic residents were proud of their superior combatants. Their long-standing hatred and resentment seemed to have been selectively forgotten, and their attitude changed very smoothly. Of course, there were also those who were deeply rooted in resentment. However, they all cowered at the moment and did not dare to express their usual opinions. They shrunk their necks and silently accepted the protection. Right now, the enemy had yet to retreat, so they did not dare put down their chopsticks and curse. However, for the majority of the galactic residents, when danger came, they would cheer for whoever protected them from invasion. Their unanimous feelings toward the outside temporarily suppressed the class conflict within.

“A great victory, is it…” Dillon did not think so.

The huge virtual screen was showing the news reports of the three Universal Civilizations, and the room was filled with Revivors who had joined the association.

Due to the previous disagreements, many revivors did not respond to the call and did not participate in this battle. They stayed in the explored universe and did not know how intense the battle at the frontline was. They could only watch the battle reports through the news.

“Six people sacrificed in exchange for more than a hundred casualties. This shouldn’t have happened. It seems like Aurora’s ability has already reduced the casualties to a very low level.” Beiger nodded. “No matter how low their losses are, the six people who died in battle are still dead. There are also members of the association among them. They only lost their lives because they believed Black Star’s nonsense. Serves them right!” Dillon curled his lips.

Everyone shook their heads, speechless. How could such a fierce war not kill people? The sacrifice of those Beyond Grade As was unavoidable, but from an emotional perspective, everyone still felt that it was a pity. “Don’t say that. After all, they sacrificed themselves to fight against the enemy. Furthermore, with Black Star’s sanctum reviving, they can still be resurrected.” Beiger sighed.

“Humph, so what if they can be revived through the Sanctums? It’s just one chance, and they wasted it. When they come back to life, they will have the same thoughts as us sooner or later,” Dillon said with disdain.

Beiger had no way to refute that. He shook his head helplessly and said, “Don’t we still have the Underworld to protect us?” “Tsk, do you really like losing your freedom? I even suspect that Black Star is urging us to join the battle. His other goal is to let us die in battle and enter the Underworld, indirectly strengthening his forces. Humph, a bad guy!” Dillon snorted.

“Black Star shouldn’t be such a person.” Beiger shook his head.

“Are you very close to him? Can you guarantee what he’s thinking?” Dillon demanded impatiently. “Whose side are you on? If you like speaking up for Black Star so much, why don’t you just roll behind him? Why are you obediently accepting whatever sh*t he does?”

“What are you saying? Furthermore, Black Star doesn’t need to sh*t…”

Beiger’s mouth twitched, but he was not angry. He was already used to Dillon’s foul mouth.

Dillon retracted his gaze and snorted. “This is only the first wave of attacks. The enemy will invade again, and more Beyond Grade As will die in battle. If we join the battle, we will end up like this sooner or later. It’s not easy to obtain a new life, so I’m not willing to work for the three Universal Civilizations.”

“Are you planning to watch the enemy invade?” Beiger frowned.

“Humph, I’m not going to get involved in this. If the three Universal Civilizations can win, I’ll stay. If they can’t, where can’t I go in the universe? My Elven Holy Land is gone, and my consorts have been divided. What’s there for me to miss?” Dillon scratched his nose.

“Okay, okay, you’re good.” Beiger was speechless. He shook his head and walked out of the room. He hesitated for a moment before taking out his communicator and dialing Oathkeeper’s number.

A few seconds later, the call connected, and Oathkeeper’s face appeared on the screen.

“What is it?”

Beiger hesitated for a moment before saying, “Regarding Black Star’s appeal, I would like to ask for your opinion.” He was actually a little confused as well. After all, Dillon was not completely unreasonable. For the Revivors, it was not a bad choice to be alone. However, Beiger still could not make up his mind, so he wanted to ask Oathkeeper for his opinion. Oathkeeper’s persistence over the years had earned him the respect of all the Revivors. After all, he was once a comrade and an old friend of many years. He had a great position in their hearts and was more trustworthy than Black Star.

Oathkeeper also knew that the revivors did not respond to Han Xiao’s call, so he immediately understood what Beiger was asking. He pondered for a moment and slowly spoke.

“I suggest you join the battle and give it your all.”

Seeing that Beiger did not say anything, Oathkeeper continued. “I know you’re worried about the risks, but Black Star has his own plans, and he does not treat you as sacrifices. The Underworld is not all of his trump cards, and he has prepared other paths of retreat for you. Furthermore, you guys have made a mistake. The compromise with the three Universal Civilizations does not mean that the battle between the Beyond Grade As has ended. Black Star is still working hard for this goal, and external enemies are an opportunity.”

“I don’t really understand.” Beiger frowned.

“It’s not convenient for me to explain this matter too clearly. If you’re willing to believe me, I’ll give you a piece of advice. Don’t be afraid of death. Black Star will always have a way to make you open your eyes again.” Oathkeeper shook his head. Without Black Star’s approval, it was not convenient for him to reveal the truth of the unlimited Sanctum Revivals. Furthermore, it would be suspicious if he told the truth.

Oathkeeper had heard about the plan from Han Xiao and knew that Black Star needed a Revivor who dared to die in battle as an example. If all the Revivors did not participate in the battle, Black Star would lack the ‘material’ to show the truth of the Sanctum Revival.

However, it was not suitable to directly tell the Revivors to die. After all, even if there was a Sanctum Revival, their strength would decrease after reviving. Not many people were willing to do so, and people’s hearts were always fickle, so they could only urge them to join the battle. After all, as long as they went to the frontlines, Oathkeeper believed that Black Star would definitely be able to find a way to get the Revivors killed. “… Let me think about it.”

Beiger hung up the communication and pondered over Oathkeeper’s hint. After pondering for a while, he made up his mind.

Oathkeeper’s suggestion definitely had a reason. It was better to go to the frontline to take a look. Even if they were to participate in the battle, there was still Aurora on the battlefield, so the danger should not be that high.

In the large conference room that blocked the main base, many Beyond Grade As who were participating in the battle gathered. At the conference table were Simon and the other commanders, as well as the remote projections of the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders. After many days of fighting, this World Tree expedition team had been defeated, and the three Universal Civilizations were only left with the job of cleaning up the mess. The three leaders had arrived to reward these Beyond Grade As. The direct Beyond Grade As had their own internal rewards, but the rewards for the association members were different. They were basically directly given material rewards. This was an agreement that Han Xiao had made with the three Universal Civilizations long ago, since the association would not provide high-level combatants for free. “…Your contributions have been recorded. According to the agreement that His Excellency Black Star has made with us, we will compensate you accordingly. This is the list of resources we have reserved…”

Marbruce called out the virtual screen and opened a list interface. Various exchangeable items were displayed on it for everyone present.

Han Xiao took a look and nodded slightly. Many of the items there were strategic resources that were not open to the public under normal circumstances. This time, all of them were opened for exchange without hiding anything. This method was basically the same as the players exchanging faction contribution points for equipment, but the difference was that many Beyond Grade As did not have an interface to display their contribution points.

At this moment, Louis pondered for a moment and said, “In order to express our sincerity, you can choose the different Universal Treasures in our inventory as remuneration based on your merits. It will be the same in the future.”

Hearing this, the eyes of many Beyond Grade As lit up with joy.

Many people did not even have a single Universal Treasure, but now that they had a channel to acquire them, they were pleasantly surprised. Even those who had Universal Treasures did not mind having more of such equipment. “Yo, you’ve invested a lot.”

Han Xiao raised his brows.

Every Beyond Grade A participating in the battle would have at least one, and it was not a small number. Furthermore, they would be able to obtain the qualifications every time they fought in the future. Even if the three Universal Civilizations had a lot of Universal Treasures in their inventory, they would not be able to afford such a production. After all, Beyond Grade As could choose for themselves, and they would definitely start choosing from the best.

However, on second thought, Han Xiao understood the three Universal Civilizations’ plan. In any case, they had to distribute Universal Treasures to the participants every time they fought, so they might as well give out their ownership rights to all of them. At the same time, they could also motivate the Beyond Grade As to fight. After all, if the Beyond Grade As were gone, there would be no point in keeping some Universal Treasures for their own use. The other three Universal Civilizations might have another idea, which was to use the reward to attract the Revivors of the association to join the battle. Han Xiao knew what kind of sh*t they were brewing the moment they stuck their butts out.

However, there was no need to stop them. Han Xiao was also glad that the three Universal Civilizations were willing to bleed themselves. He could not possibly ask the other Beyond Grade As who had contributed to the war to reject this reward.

Everyone rubbed their palms and picked out the Universal Treasures they liked on the list.

However, there were also a few Beyond Grade As who made different choices. They surrounded Aurora and smiled kindly.

“We owe you a favor this time. Do you have any Universal Treasures you want? I can help you choose.” “Eh?” Aurora was stunned, waving her hands. “There’s no need for that.”

“There’s no need to be modest. You deserve this.”

Milizaus’ magic power avatar revealed a loving smile. As a huge target, be it the enemy’s hit rate or his own healer’s hit rate, it was extremely high for him. This time, he was the happiest being healed by Aurora. “Ah, I really don’t have any needs.” Aurora was helpless. This was the truth. With a treasure like the Underworld and a boss that could mass produce Universal Treasures, why would she need to farm anything herself? She really did not need the Universal Treasures of the three Universal Civilizations.

The Beyond Grade As around looked at him with envy. This was understandable. After all, this battle had already proved that if they wanted to survive on the battlefield, the healer was the most important. Some Beyond Grade As would rather give up the chance to acquire Universal Treasures to please Aurora.

Furthermore, this nanny’s healing ability was limited. If he did not build a good relationship with her, the amount of milk he would receive after the battle would not be comparable to others.

Han Xiao glanced at Aurora, who was the center of attention.

“Tsk, so this is what it means to be a mother with milk…”

After cursing in his mind, Han Xiao looked at the list casually, but he did not find anything that could move his heart.

He had a deep foundation now, so he did not care too much about the Universal Treasures provided by the three Universal Civilizations.

The main storyline branch mission of this battle had been completed. Although it was a drop in the ocean to him, the EXP reward this time was very rich according to the players’ standards. Countless army players had received a large amount of EXP, which was the biggest benefit to him.

The faster the players reached the maximum level, the quicker they would be able to spend their experience elsewhere, which would lead to his own experience reserves filling up. Han Xiao thought to himself as his eyes sparkled.

After defeating the enemy this time, a large number of high-level combatants will need time to revive. With me here, the World Tree probably won’t dare send an expert from another race over, so their next wave of attacks won’t arrive so soon… Should I take this opportunity to go to the Sanctum? The time flow in the Sanctums was different from in the main universe. The last time he entered the Third Sanctum, he had spent three months. Even if his authority in the First Sanctum was higher, he would spend quite a bit of time. Taking the chance while the World Tree did not invade, it would be good for him to enter a Sanctum. He would probably not miss out on any matters.

Han Xiao planned to enter the Sanctum this time not only to revive the six victims but also to revive many Beyond Grade As in history. For example, the direct descendants of the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance. This was a deal that he had agreed to. When the World Tree revived the high-level combat units, he would naturally have to expand the size of his people. It’s a pity that the Revivors did not participate in this war, or I would have been able to reveal the truth of the Sanctum Revival… However, it’s fine if I don’t expose it now. The war is still in its early stages, and if I expose it too early, the three Universal Civilizations might have other thoughts. When the two sides are fighting so hard that they don’t have extra energy to think about anything, maybe it will be the best time to expose it…

However, he still had to use Destiny’s Child to monitor it and confirm that the World Tree would not take any further actions for the time being. Only then would he be able to enter the Sanctum with ease.

Meanwhile, in the Tree King Palace of the World Tree Civilization… “The four high-level combatants have been captured alive. The mental network has been cut off. Although the World Tree connection still exists, we can no longer monitor their condition…”

Executive Two Leaf was expressionless as he reported the situation of the four World Tree powerhouses that were sealed by the Spacetime Amber.

The Heart Tree King narrowed his eyes and revealed an interested expression. “Interesting. Does the enemy this time have such a method to capture us alive? It’s not simple. Maybe it’s a Space Wonder item… Can we track it?” “Yes, the Mother Tree’s connection power is still transmitted to the individual, but it is isolated by something unknown and cannot penetrate. It is unable to sense the state of those four people. Following the broken information state trajectory, we can confirm that the coordinates of those four people are near the expeditionary army battlefield.”

“Hmm, try to take them back next time and see what caught them alive. Throw them into the mother tree for analysis.” The Heart Tree King waved his hand. “When will the next operation begin?” the executive asked.

“There’s no hurry. The enemy’s recovery-type Esper is very difficult to deal with, which is why the effect of this exchange is not good. However, no matter how poor the battle results are, it’s still an exchange. The enemy has already lost a few high-level combatants, so we have the advantage.”

The Heart Tree King rubbed the armrest and paused before continuing. “Let’s wait for the high-level combatants on our side to revive first. We need to plan how to get rid of that recovery-type Esper. If we don’t kill this person, our strategy will be greatly reduced… If the method really doesn’t work, then let’s not waste time and just launch an all-out attack. As long as we attack their territory, the mother tree will be able to eat to its heart’s content!”

Chapter 1343: Fertile Underworld

Not long after, the Beyond Grade As finished selecting the reward that they wanted. The leaders of the three Universal Civilizations gave them some more encouragement before ending the meeting.

The group walked out of the room and returned to their own activity room. At this time, Han Xiao clapped his hands twice, attracting everyone’s attention.

“Everyone, I have something to announce. I might be carrying out the Sanctum Revival soon and bring back the six Beyond Grade As who died in this battle.”

Everyone was stunned for a moment before becoming excited. “So fast?” Kasuyi blinked in surprise. He was someone who knew about the Sanctums and knew that opening a Sanctum was not easy. He had always thought that Han Xiao would wait for more people to die before pulling them back. This was more cost-effective. However, only six of them had died, and he was going to use the Sanctum Revival. This was out of his expectations. “It’s alright. This is part of the plan.” Han Xiao waved his hands. The intense battle this time made many Beyond Grade As tense. Using the Sanctum Revival to pull back the victims could boost their morale. After all, although the revival of the Beyond Grade As of history was shocking, it was better to let everyone witness the revival of the dead. At the same time, this was also an opportunity for him to show his stance. The fact that he could not wait to revive the sacrificial victims would make most people feel at ease, and they would feel that they would receive the same treatment. After all, the other Beyond Grade As did not know the price of the Sanctum Revival, and the more relaxed Han Xiao acted, the more confident they would be.

“I don’t think those six guys want to revive so quickly. Maybe they’ll die again. Why don’t we let them sleep a little longer?” Sun Hunter muttered softly.

Han Xiao turned to glance at him, and Sun Hunter immediately shut up. Hearing this, many Beyond Grade As had strange expressions.

In the eyes of everyone, the Sanctum Revival only gave them one chance. It would be best for them if they could avoid some battles during the time of death, but from the perspective of others, they could not wait for the dead experts to come back and share the pressure.

There were also some Beyond Grade As who could not help but glance at Hila. If not for Black Star’s reliable performance, they would have even thought that Black Star’s goal of reviving the dead was to quickly bring these people who had used the Sanctum to the Underworld.

Han Xiao took in everyone’s expressions and could naturally guess what they were thinking. “Anyway, it’s settled. I’m not only going to revive the victims this time, but I’m also planning to revive some historical experts and expand the size of the high-level combatants to share more of the pressure.” “I see. That’s not bad.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

Beep beep beep… At this time, Han Xiao’s communicator rang. He took it out and saw that it was a call from Beiger.

Han Xiao picked up the call.

“Beiger, why are you looking for me?” Beiger got straight to the point. “Black Star, the Revivors and I have decided to fight on the front line with you guys and respond to your call to participate in the war.” “Eh? Why so suddenly?” Han Xiao was stunned.

The Beyond Grade As around stopped talking and listened.

Due to the difference in their opinions, the Revivors did not participate in the war and watched them fight the enemy at the frontlines. Although they did not say anything, they naturally had some opinions about the Revivors. Even if they understood the mentality of the Revivors, they were still dissatisfied.

Although Black Star said that he would wait for the revivors to change their minds, in the eyes of everyone, the chances of the revivors responding to the call was too low. Therefore, everyone was very curious about why Beiger suddenly changed his attitude.

Could it be that the rewards from the three Universal Civilizations had attracted them? That should not be the case. These revivors had seen all kinds of good things. Furthermore, the reward had been distributed just earlier, so the news should not have been sent back. Could it be that the huge victory and extremely low losses had given the revivors confidence?

“Ahem, I’ve been thinking about it recently. Since we’re all comrades of the Beyond Grade A united front, we need to advance and retreat together. We can’t just watch you guys fight with your lives on the line. Furthermore, you’re right, Black Star. We’re all born in this galaxy, and it’s not time to abandon our homeland. I’ve decided to do my part.” Han Xiao was skeptical. While these words sounded righteous, he did not believe them. He did not think that these old people would suddenly become hot-blooded. Did Oathkeeper give him a hint?

Han Xiao put on a gratified expression and said with a smile, “You made the right choice. Like I said, no matter when you change your mind, you’re welcome to fight alongside us.” “That’s great.” Kasuyi smiled. Everyone also expressed their welcome. With Beiger’s declaration, the dissatisfaction of the Beyond Grade As present toward the Revivors disappeared, and they felt much better.

This time, Han Xiao asked, “By the way, did Dylan say anything?” “He said you sh*t… Ahem, he said he doesn’t want to die,” Beiger said helplessly. “Same old, same old. I don’t think he will change his mind.” “Forget it then. Let’s not bother with him for now.”

Han Xiao shook his head. After understanding what had happened to Dylan, he could understand why Dylan was so determined not to help the three Universal Civilizations. After all, due to the Tragedy of the Pinnacles, this guy was in such a terrible state that it was beyond appalling. After giving a few words of encouragement, Han Xiao hung up the call, walked out of the room, found a private location, and dialed Oathkeeper’s number. Very soon, Oathkeeper’s face appeared on the screen. Han Xiao got straight to the point.

“Did you say something to Beiger?” “Oh? Is he preparing to fight?” Oathkeeper nodded. “I did give him a hint…”

After Han Xiao heard that, he smiled and said, “You’re quite good. Although I don’t need the Revivors to be the ‘material’ to reveal the truth of the Sanctum Revival, I don’t mind having more of them.” These revivors were not the only sources to reveal the truth of the Sanctum Revival. Han Xiao had long considered the possibility that these revivors would not participate in the battle, and he had already made many preparations. This time, the direct descendants who had entered the Sanctum Revival and brought back a portion of the advanced civilizations were actually a backup plan. After all, the direct descendants’ mentality was different, and they would most likely continue to accept the orders of the civilization and risk their lives to enter the battlefield.

This way, when these revived direct descendants died in battle, he would have the materials to show the truth of the Sanctum Revival. He did not need the previous revivors. Although Beiger had decided to join the battle, Han Xiao did not intend to change his plan. He still had to make more than one plan.

These thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind, and he asked the most important question.

“How’s the collection of the Sanctum Keys?”

“Not bad. The resources given by the three Universal Civilizations and the Super Star Cluster Alliance have made up for many materials. The First Sanctum key has already been collected, and the Third Sanctum key is almost complete as well. Other than the Sixth Sanctum, the other Sanctum keys have reached more than 75%…”

Oathkeeper sent the data, and Han Xiao could not help but smile.

Although there was only one complete Sanctum Key, it did not mean that the progress would be reduced to zero after it was used up. Other than some materials that were extremely difficult to obtain, most of the other materials were repeated. The three Universal Civilizations had quite a lot of them in their inventory and provided them in bulk.

Han Xiao looked at the list of materials. Even if he used up the First Sanctum key, his progress would only fall back to 70% to 80% at most. As long as he obtained a few more crucial rare materials, he would be able to obtain another key to the First Sanctum.

“Not bad, not bad…” Han Xiao muttered subconsciously.

Seeing that he was focusing on the list, Oathkeeper’s eyes suddenly flashed.

Black Star was distracted. This was a good opportunity! “Humph, work hard. On behalf of the organization…” Click.

Without waiting for Oathkeeper to finish, Han Xiao decisively hung up the communication with a sneer. Want to ambush me? Eat sh*t!

Beep beep beep…

The communicator rang.

Han Xiao moved his lips, took a deep breath, and carefully received the call. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly saw that it was not Oathkeeper who appeared on the screen, so he stopped. “Herberlon?”

“I received your battle report. This is unbelievable. How did you guys do it?” The electronic image of Herberlon showed an exaggerated expression of surprise. Herberlon did not participate in this battle. His body had not been fully adjusted, and he would definitely be recognized by the World Tree. Han Xiao was afraid of unexpected variables, so it was not convenient to let him participate in the first battle. He would only be at ease at sending Herberlon to battle when the information connection of both sides became irreversible.

“Are you referring to the damage to the high-level combatants?” Han Xiao rubbed his chin and teased. “If I have to say it, it can only be attributed to my wisdom and strength.”

He only meant it as a joke, but he did not expect Herberlon to nod with a serious expression.

“Indeed. Without you, the three Universal Civilizations would not have such achievements.” Han Xiao opened his mouth but did not know what to say. I didn’t expect you to be such a bootlicker! “I thought that even if you guys could defeat the World Tree, it would be a miserable victory. I didn’t expect you guys to be so strong.” Herberlon was a little excited. Because the Karma Republic had lost too badly, Herberlon had a very deep trauma regarding the World Tree. However, the report of this great victory gave him confidence. He saw hope for this Universal Civilization in defeating the World Tree, and there was indeed a chance to take revenge by clinging on to this civilization. Thus, he was finally willing

“If there are any tough battles in the future, you must use my strength.” Herberlon’s expression became solemn. “…Alright, even if you don’t tell me, I won’t let you stay idle.’ Han Xiao could only give him a few words of encouragement before hanging up.

As soon as he put away the communicator, footsteps sounded behind him.

Han Xiao turned around and saw Hila walking over.

“Do you have time now? Come with me to the Underworld.” Hila had a cold expression on her face as she slowly said, “If you don’t go now, those newly accepted Hero Spirits will probably rebel.” “Alright, let’s go.”

Han Xiao nodded, changed into his King suit, and disappeared.

Numerous newborn Hero Spirits stood on the pitch-black ground with blank expressions on their faces. Their memories were still fixed on the scene before their death, and the pain in their bodies seemed to have yet to disappear. Their vision blurred, and they arrived in this space.

“Where is this? Why am I here?”

“I… I should have been blown up. Why am I still alive?”

“Wait, what’s wrong with my body? Why can’t I feel anything” The commotion quickly spread, and the countless Hero Spirit became more and more flustered. They questioned each other while observing the surroundings, wanting to understand the current situation. These newborn Hero Spirits came from different civilizations and organizations. There were all kinds of species, and many of them were genuine soldiers. They were all vigilantly observing the Hero Spirits around them. At this moment, streams of light suddenly gathered above everyone, condensing into Onicelu’s figure. She had a warm smile on her face.

“Everyone, this is the Underworld. You have already sacrificed yourselves on the battlefield, but you have not died completely. Your souls have been brought here, reborn, and become the Hero Spirits of this place…” The voice was transmitted to everyone’s ears through the power of the Underworld. Countless newborn spirits looked up at Onicelu in shock.

“We really sacrificed ourselves. I thought it was just a dream.” “Only with permission can we leave the Underworld… So, we’ve lost our freedom and become slaves?”

Countless hero spirits were instantly in an uproar.

They had become someone else’s slave without any mental preparation, and they could not accept it immediately. This feeling was like being forcefully sold. They had no freedom to reject and could only follow the arrangements of others. Furthermore, the other party had taken their souls while they were dying in battle. The feeling it gave off was as though they were taking advantage of the situation… It was literally ‘picking up corpses’! Many people were furious. “Let me out! No matter who you are, I will not be your slave!”

“Control my soul? Don’t even think about it!” The countless newborn hero spirits roared in unison, and their voices were extremely shocking, as if they were going to shatter the earth.

However, Onicelu’s expression did not change. She only made a zipping motion with her fingers. The next second, the entire world fell silent. No matter how the newborn Hero Spirits roared, they could not make a sound. Looking at the shocked and furious faces of the new Hero Spirits, Onicelu shook her head and explained, “In the Underworld, I am the absolute ruler. Your mobility is controlled by me. Furthermore, you have no combat power in your soul form state.”

However, the more this was the case, the more furious the new Hero Spirits became. Unable to make a sound, they used their actions to indicate that they wanted to escape. However, Onicelu only changed her hand gesture, and this area was isolated from the outside world, becoming a loop space. Once the newborn Hero Spirits crossed the border, they would return from the other side, never leaving Very soon, countless new Hero Spirits lost all hope and stopped trying to escape. They stared at Onicelu with rage.

Swoosh!

However, at this moment, two figures appeared out of thin air. They were Han Xiao and Hila.

Countless Hero Spirits immediately turned around and were stunned. No one present did not recognize Black Star. “Hmm? What’s going on here?” Han Xiao realized something was wrong the moment he arrived. He turned to look at Onicelu and asked, “Did you rob them of their voices?”

“Yes, because they were a little angry. I didn’t have time to explain everything,” Onicelu replied.

“It’s alright, I’m already here. Release their seal.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

Onicelu did as she was told, and the new Hero Spirits immediately returned to normal. However, they did not continue making a ruckus. All of them looked at Han Xiao with different expressions. Han Xiao’s reputation was extremely high. When they saw him appear, most of the new Hero Spirits quickly calmed down. They did not trust Onicelu, but they trusted Black Star. “Oh, you’re quite self-aware.” Han Xiao glanced at them and was instantly amused. He was so popular that just showing his face had stabilized their emotions.

At this moment, a newborn Hero Spirit loudly asked, “Black Star, were you the one who brought us here?” Hearing this, Han Xiao looked down at him and realized that he was an officer of the dynasty. He shook his head, patted Hila beside him, and said, “Hila and Aurora are the masters of the Underworld. I asked them to use the Underworld to save the soldiers who were sacrificed in the war. This is how you guys came about.” Without waiting for the new Hero Spirits to question him, Han Xiao continued. “Only Beyond Grade As can enjoy the Sanctum Revival. If you do not meet the requirements, you will really die if you die in battle. However, all of you are precious talents of the Galactic Society, and I could not bear to see you all die so easily. The Underworld is my only way to save all of you, so I had no choice but to do so. Now that the enemies are watching, every bit of strength is extremely important. This is to protect our limited armed forces. The three Universal Civilizations are also aware of this, and they support this plan.”

Although they would lose their freedom if they became Underworld Hero Spirits, it was better than sacrificing themselves. Here, they could still shine for the Galactic Society and return to the battlefield to fight the enemies. “However, please understand that we have never thought of you as slaves. I hereby promise that when the war ends, if any of you are unwilling to stay in the Underworld, I can remove your Hero Spirit status and let you rest in peace.”

After he finished speaking, the crowd became restless. The expressions of the new hero spirits changed, and their emotions were extremely complicated. Some were conflicted, some were glad, and some were relieved.

However, no matter what they thought, the anger in their hearts slowly dissipated and calmed down.

Onicelu was a stranger, so her words did not make sense. However, Black Star was someone that the entire Galactic Society knew, so his words were trustworthy. Anyway, they were already there, and there was no way for them to resist, so they had no choice but to accept this reality. Furthermore, Black Star had promised them that they could choose to remove the Underworld’s control in the future and not become slaves forever. Although they did not know if Black Star would keep his promise, they could only trust

Furthermore, after calming down, not many people really wanted to rest in peace. This kind of situation was better than dying completely.

Seeing the newborn Hero Spirits quiet down, Han Xiao turned to look at Hila and shrugged.

“Alright, my job is done. Make arrangements for these people.”

He had only gone there to appease the newborn Hero Spirits. With his high reputation and Legendary Points in the explored universe, no one was more suitable for this job than him.

In other words, his position in the explored universe was comparable to the Fruit of Face, and he could stabilize the morale of the army. “Alright.” Hila did not waste her words. She turned around and communicated with the new Hero Spirits, talking in detail. Han Xiao looked at the endless sea of people and exhaled.

War was indeed an opportunity for the rapid growth of the Underworld. After looting so many Hero Spirits, he had stolen countless talents from the various large factions. Their value was extraordinary.

And if he wanted to make all of them work…

Han Xiao clicked his tongue, suddenly feeling a little worried about Aurora’s breasts.

“Such an expenditure of milk. I feel like she’ll become flat-chested in the future…”

Chapter 1344: Balance and Entry

A day later, in the conference room of the three Universal Civilizations…

“You plan to use the Sanctum Revival and recall our direct descendants?”

Marbruce, Louis, and the Pope opened their eyes wide and stared at Han Xiao’s remote projection in shock.

Han Xiao spread out his hands and said with a serious expression, “The World Tree has plenty of experts. Due to their special mechanism, their Beyond Grade As will not decrease, and they have been accumulating to their current size. Because of wars and other reasons, we have lost many Beyond Grade As. Although we managed to repel a wave of attacks from the World Tree this time, they did not bring out all their high-level combatants. We have to increase our Beyond Grade As to slowly reverse the disadvantage of individual strength.”

The three leaders looked at each other in surprise.

When they signed the agreement, they did not make a condition that Black Star must revive the direct descendants. They knew that the Beyond Grade A Association was still wary of the three Universal Civilizations. Even if there were foreign enemies, Black Star might not awaken their direct descendants and increase his competitors’ strength.

Thus, when Black Star took the initiative to mention this, the three of them were pleasantly surprised. Regardless of whether Black Star wanted to share the pressure of the association members or purely for the sake of the war, this method was beneficial to them.

The direct Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations, including the National Pillars at the level of Clotti and Oulou, were guardians of different eras. If they could summon all of them, it would be a huge supplement to the high-level combatants of the three Universal Civilizations.

“This is a wise choice. I’m glad to see that you’re willing to consider the big picture.”

Marbruce was full of praise.

Han Xiao paid his praise no mind. He raised his finger and said, “However, there is one condition. These resurrected direct descendants must join the frontlines.” “Of course.” Louis nodded. He understood what Han Xiao meant. It was impossible for them to let the resurrected direct descendants sit back and watch the association members fight to the death.

“Alright, we have a consensus. Let’s talk about the cost.” Han Xiao put down his hands.

“Cost?”

“Do you think this is free?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Not at all, tell me the price.”

The Pope shook his head.

Because Black Star’s act of suddenly providing help was a little righteous, the three of them almost thought that it was free. However, they all came back to their senses now and knew that with Black Star’s personality, it was impossible for him to let go of this opportunity to make a huge profit. Although both parties were currently in a partnership to resist the foreign enemy, the services that should be paid for would not be free. After all, they were only allies.

The three of them did not have any objections to this. Now was the time to beg for help. It was not easy for them to have the opportunity to revive their direct descendants. No matter how high the cost was, they had to pay it.

Han Xiao opened the virtual screen, made a list, and sent it to the three of them. The three of them quickly browsed through the list. The list was filled with all kinds of resources, materials, and weapons. Although it was expensive, it was within an acceptable range. “You want these things?”

“That’s right. This is the price for the Sanctum Revival.”

“Sure.”

Marbruce agreed. Han Xiao nodded. There were materials for the Sanctum Key in the list. He could use the three Universal Civilizations to gather materials and provide him with access to the Sanctum. This was equivalent to spending the three Universal Civilizations’ money to increase his Sanctum authority.

“When do you plan to start?” Louis asked.

“Destiny’s Child surveillance has already confirmed that the World Tree Civilization will not make any big movements in the near future. I will use the Sanctum Revival soon.” Han Xiao nodded, then paused and said, “Also, when I use the Sanctum Revival, I will temporarily leave the main universe for about three months. During that time, I will be out of contact. During my absence, Hila will be in charge of relaying the information of Destiny’s Child surveillance channels.”

“Three months…” Their hearts sank.

If the World Tree did something during this period, without Black Star, there might be variables…

The three of them suddenly realized that they had unknowingly developed a certain amount of reliance on Black Star. Ever since they discovered the World Tree, Black Star’s actions had given them most of their current advantages, and he had accumulated a lot of trust. He was a special consultant, and to a certain extent, the three of them treated Han Xiao as their backbone in dealing with the World Tree Civilization.

Without Black Star, they subconsciously felt less confident.

“If you’re worried that the World Tree will send the Tree King again, you can let Wuornos participate in the battle. With his ability, it won’t be a problem for him to stop a Tree King,” Han Xiao said.

In his previous life, Wuornos did not participate in the war, and this time, he was still one of the few Beyond Grade As who had not been recruited. It was very strange. Han Xiao was also very curious why the Arcane Church did not send this b*stard out. Even if his main body did not go to war, he could have sent a few God Embodiments.

“There are some special reasons. It’s not convenient for him to make a move.” The Pope shook his head.

“What special reason is more important than the threat of the World Tree?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

When he fought with Han Xiao, he was full of energy, but when it was time to face the enemies, he had all kinds of excuses. Could it be that Wuornos was the type of person who was submissive to the outside world and domineering toward his side?

“… In any case, there are some reasons.” The Pope kept his mouth shut and suddenly changed the topic. “By the way, can you unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter?”

“Wuornos is not participating in the battle and still wants me to unseal his weapon?” “Even if we don’t let him use it, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is still a powerful weapon against individual strengths.”

“We’ll see.”

Han Xiao did not comment. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter could indeed increase the combat power of high-level combatants, but he did not intend to unseal it yet.

After a pause, he said, “I need to obtain some mediums related to the revival target. Which direct descendants do you want to revive? Give me their mediums in the next few days.”

The three of them nodded.

They were also organizing people to study the Sanctums, and this was the first time they had heard that the Sanctum Revival required a medium. However, it made sense when they thought about it. If they did not need a medium, then even the Beyond Grade As of other unknown civilizations could be revived at will.

“One more thing,” Han Xiao said. “This time, I will revive a portion of the direct members of the Super Star Cluster Alliance.”

“Hmm?” The trio’s expression changed slightly.

At this moment, the three of them thought of many things and subconsciously thought that this was Black Star’s way of keeping them in check.

Resurrecting the direct descendants of the three Universal Civilizations was a threat to the Beyond Grade A Association. Thus, Black Star deliberately revived the direct descendants of the Super Star Cluster Alliance, forming a tripartite balance that hindered the three Universal Civilizations. This method could also explain the reason for reviving the direct descendants of the three Universal Civilizations. In consideration of the war situation, the three of them, as the beneficiaries of this reason, had no way of rebutting

“Don’t think too much about it. I just made a deal with the Super Star Cluster Alliance in the past, and I don’t intend to go against this deal,” Han Xiao replied casually, ignoring the gazes of the three.

“…Of course.” The three of them adjusted their mentality and regained their composure.

Many of the historical members of the Super Star Cluster Alliance had died in the Tragedy of the Pinnacles, and the hatred between the two sides was deeply rooted. Once they revived, it would definitely be troublesome.

However, the Sanctum Revival was controlled by Black Star, so they could only accept this change. Furthermore, the three of them believed that as long as their own direct descendants revived, they would not have to worry about the Super Star Cluster Alliance causing trouble.

Both parties quickly came to an agreement. Just as Han Xiao was about to end the communication, he suddenly thought of something and asked, “By the way, how’s the progress of the secondary dimension expedition team?”

“There were some losses, but we still did not find anything.” Marbruce shook his head.

Han Xiao sighed.

The World Tree Civilization still did not know that they had sent out troops to search for their main body. The secondary dimension expedition team was the true game-changer of the three Universal Civilizations.

After meeting the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations, Han Xiao immediately went to the Super Star Cluster Alliance. At this time, all the leaders of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations were in the room, staring at Han Xiao.

“Black Star, we were just talking about you. The results of your battle are shocking.” “If we didn’t know your capabilities, we would have thought that the enemy this time is very weak.”

The leaders of the civilizations praised him. “It wasn’t too bad. It’s mainly because the Beyond Grade As are working together,” Han Xiao replied casually. He observed the expressions of the leaders of the civilizations present and quickly calculated.

Based on his understanding of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations, these people were most likely waiting for the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree to both suffer so that they could ascend. Thus, they might not be too happy to see such low losses.

He remembered that in his previous life, the Super Star Cluster Alliance even had a plan, which was to take the opportunity when the three Universal Civilizations were fighting the World Tree to leave the explored universe with their own civilization and escape in the middle of the war. They thought that the three Universal Civilizations would not have the energy to stop them and could only watch them leave.

However, after completely experiencing the perverted nature of the World Tree Civilization, the Super Star Cluster Alliance understood that it was like drinking poison to quench their thirst. In the end, they did not use this plan and wholeheartedly cooperated with the three Universal Civilizations to fight the enemy. Han Xiao estimated that the Super Star Cluster Alliance most likely had similar thoughts at present. After being bullied by the three Universal Civilizations for so long, it was impossible for them to not have considered this route.

While he was thinking, the Star Arc Civilization leader knocked on the table and asked:

“Black Star, why did you contact us this time?”

Han Xiao composed himself and said, “I’m here to fulfill the agreement.”

“Which agreement?”

“I promised to revive ten of your direct Beyond Grade As. Now is the time.”

The moment he said that, the leaders of the civilizations were overjoyed.

After coming to an agreement, the Super Star Cluster Alliance quickly collected the revival fees and handed them all to Han Xiao. However, Black Star would decide when the revival would take place. They did not know how long Black Star would take, but they had already paid the deposit, so they could only wait patiently. It was finally time!

This backup was worth it!

Indeed, everything came at the end of fawning!

The Star Arc Civilization leader suppressed his excitement and said, “Got it. What should we prepare?”

“I need some mediums…”

Han Xiao repeated his explanation to the three Universal Civilizations, and everyone nodded.

After explaining, Han Xiao looked at everyone’s expressions, smiled, and said, “One more thing. I will still give you ten slots in the next revival. You will still need to buy them. You can discuss if you want to add more.”

“Of course we accept,” the Star Arc Civilization leader immediately said.

Ten slots were far from enough to revive all the Beyond Grade As in the history of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations. Since Black Star was willing to sell another ten slots, there was naturally no reason to reject him.

“You don’t have to be in a hurry to bid. It won’t be too late even after I bring these revivors back.”

Han Xiao waved his hands.

The two of them exchanged a few more words before hanging up.

The leaders of the civilizations were the only ones left in the conference room, and their faces were finally filled with joy.

“When our direct descendants return, our plan will have a much higher chance. Black Star has done us a huge favor this time.”

The Star Arc Civilization leader took a deep breath.

What they did not know was that Black Star only gave them ten slots each time, but the number of slots sold to the three Universal Civilizations was unlimited.

Two days later, somewhere in the Ancient Star Desert, the Holy Accord Organization’s spaceship was hovering in the starry sky, preheating the equipment and preparing to open the Sanctum channel.

Han Xiao remained in the main ship, talking to Hila and the other upper echelons.

“While I’m using the Sanctum Revival, the army will be under your command. Preserve your strength… If the World Tree makes a move, Aurora, you will have to pay attention to your own safety. It’d be best to convince Manison, Kasuyi, and the others to be your bodyguards for the time being. The World Tree has lost quite a number of experts. They won’t revive too quickly, so the intensity of the following battle shouldn’t be too high…”

“Don’t worry, I can protect myself now.” Aurora nodded. “However, just in case, if anything happens, you guys should evacuate. I’ve provided Herberlon with some Kings. Although he hasn’t joined the battle yet, if there’s any danger, he will use his Mechanical Force to teleport you guys away…” After giving some instructions to the officers, Han Xiao hung up. “If you’re done, shall I begin?” Oathkeeper asked.

“Start.” Han Xiao nodded.

As the order was passed down, rays of light shot out from the Holy Accord’s spaceship and entered the key of the First Sanctum.

Very soon, a familiar scene appeared again. The six doors of light appeared, and only one of them was left, which turned into the passageway of the First Sanctum.

Han Xiao took a deep breath and charged into the Sanctum passageway.

The next moment, the door of light shrank rapidly, and a thin beam of light flashed past like when an old television was switched off.

Before all the onlookers, the Sanctum passageway disappeared along with Han Xiao.

Oathkeeper exhaled.

The annoying fellow is gone… I can finally experience what it feels like to be in charge again!

Chapter 1345: Plunder and Thoughts

Chapter 1345 Plunder and Thoughts

The tunnel filled with endless streams of light seemed to be able to travel through time. Han Xiao’s senses became hazy and blurry as if his mind had sunk into an old dream.

After an unknown period of time, his vision cleared up, and he regained consciousness.

He looked around and realized that he was in a boundless white world with countless light orbs floating around. He had a deep impression of this scene.

“Phew, I got in.”

Han Xiao calmed his mind and made a grabbing motion at the collapsing tunnel.

A surge of energy emerged from his body and turned into a mark on his palm. The Sanctum channel immediately stabilized.

He retracted his palm and looked at it. This mark was formed by eight patterns. It was Lv. 8 clearance of the First Sanctum.

“I have to hurry…”

Han Xiao calmed himself down and immediately started to move. This was his second time entering the Sanctum, so he was already familiar with it.

The longer he stayed in the Sanctum, the more time would pass in the outside world. The last time he entered the Third Sanctum, he had wasted a lot of time testing the functions of the Sanctum. This time, there was no need. His actions had a purpose.

Han Xiao took out many mediums and called for the Sanctum to revive.

Beams of light gathered and condensed into a Sanctum revival mark in front of him, floating quietly.

He touched it, and the Sanctum revival mark fused into his palm, turning into a tattoo- like mark.

After checking the revival targets in the imprint, Han Xiao nodded. Without any delay, he started to touch the various Information Form light spheres to gather different information.

The information stored in the First Sanctum was closely related to mechanical technology, and it contained the high-level blueprints developed by countless generations of civilizations. Most of them were Universal Treasures meant for Mechanics. The value of this information to Han Xiao far exceeded the value of the Third Sanctum.

Han Xiao’s authority level in the First Sanctum was higher than that in the Third Sanctum, and he could store more memory. He could take away more technological information in one go, so there was no reason for him to let go of such an opportunity.

The technologies of the final civilizations of various Iterations entered Han Xiao’s mind one after another, slowly reaching the upper limit of his memory capacity.

“Finally full. The memory capacity of a rank 8 authority is quite high.”

Han Xiao’s plundering stopped, and he was rather excited.

This wave of plundering was a huge supplement to his technological foundation. He had obtained the trump card of technologies from final civilizations of multiple Iterations, which was enough for him to study for a long time. The number of blueprints in his inventory had increased tremendously. The trump cards of these final civilizations were not simple, and they had complicated functions. Some of the technologies’ strategic value was not much worse than the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device of the Federation of Light. Bringing these precious technologies out was equivalent to obtaining new trump cards against the World Tree Civilization, increasing the war capital of the Galactic Society.

After being happy for a while, Han Xiao suppressed his emotions. After doing these two things, his goal of opening the Sanctum was complete.

Looking around, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something. He used the Sanctum authority to summon the message board of the civilizations in the past Iterations.

The last time he entered the Third Sanctum, due to his authority, the message board was mostly empty. This time, his authority in the First Sanctum was higher, so he should be able to see more content. Han Xiao planned to take a look before he left.

The Sanctum mark released rays of light and quickly formed a screen-like message board, floating in front of Han Xiao.

Han Xiao browsed through it carefully and compared it with the contents of the Third Sanctum in his memories. Sure enough, he found that much of the empty content from the last time had become visible.

He continued reading, and his eyes paused on the record at the fifth last paragraph of the Celestial Star Alliance. He then looked at the last four paragraphs with the most empty content. Compared to what he had seen in the Third Sanctum, most of the last four paragraphs were still covered, but some new content was revealed.

The fourth last paragraph displayed the most content. In the large empty space, a few pieces of information appeared:

[… According to the results of the joint observation, the Great Reboot will take place after , we have learned our lesson from the previous Iteration and have formulated ‘Information Form Stripping Plan’. We hope that the long relay will end in our hands… Our civilization is called if the civilizations in the later Iterations … that means our plan , please take a new route…]

“Is this the Iteration after the Celestial Star Alliance…”

Han Xiao pondered. It looked like a message from another civilization that did not manage to survive the Great Reboot.

Although his authority was not enough to show the name of this civilization, and he was unable to find the other party’s information Form light spheres, he knew that the other party’s plan to get through the Great Reboot was called the Information Form Stripping Plan.

“Information Form Stripping… sounds interesting.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

Apart from this paragraph, the other information that appeared in the last four paragraphs were all bits and pieces of information. They were of no value, and the level-eight authority was not enough to fully check this part.

After browsing through the messages again and memorizing them, Han Xiao turned off the message board and flew toward the Sanctum channel.

The second day after Han Xiao entered the Sanctum.

Interception circle’s main base, many Beyond Grade As were on standby. When there were no combat missions, they would do their own thing.

In the exclusive activity room, a portion of the Beyond Grade As were resting or having fun, chatting casually.

Kasuyi was playing cards with Secret Master, and a group of people was watching from the side.

“Black Star is already disconnected. I wonder how many troublesome fellows he’ll bring back this time…”

Sun Hunter, who was the size of a finger, stood on the card table with his arms crossed and said in a low voice.

Kasuyi threw out a ‘Kasuyi’ card and smiled helplessly:

“This is indeed troublesome. After all, some of the historical Beyond Grade As have complicated relationships with us.”

The first two batches of revived Beyond Grade As did not have much contact with the current Beyond Grade As, but the targets this time were different. Many of them were their ‘acquaintances’. “Ahem, to be honest, I’m not prepared to meet my ancestor,” Milizaus had a headache. He was the patriarch of the Starry Spiritual Dragon race, and Starry Spiritual Dragon was a branch bloodline left behind by a Beyond Grade A Magic Azure Dragon.

Milizaus was not the only one with such a story. The Beyond Grade As that Black Star was preparing to revive had a similar relationship with many of the people present.

If that was all, it would have been fine. However, many people had enmity between them. When they thought about how their enemy was about to be revived, many of them felt uneasy.

Initially, when people died, everything would be settled, and the hatred would be let go. However, now that the enemies had all come back to life, should they still pursue their past grudges ?

This was especially so for the victims of the Tragedy of the Pinnacles represented by Dylan. Everyone felt that they definitely would not let this go.

“When this group of people is revived by Black Star, it would be nice if they don’t start a fight,” Kant shook his head.

Hila, who was resting in the corner, said without opening her eyes: “What’s there to be afraid of? Black Star can revive them, and he can also stuff them back into their graves. If they cause trouble, I’m more than happy to send them to the Underworld.”

Hearing this, everyone turned to look at her, speechless.

“That’s true, but you saying this in front of us feels like you’re warning us…”

Everyone curled their lips and looked away.

Humph, although they were sisters, Aurora was still cuter!

“Hila is right. At this time, we cannot waste a single soldier,” Kasuyi chuckled.

After Han Xiao entered the Sanctum, Kasuyi and Hila became the backbone of the association. The former was the vice president, while Hila did not have enough reputation. However, Han Xiao had given her the intelligence channel of Destiny’s Child, so Hila enjoyed a transcendent position for the time being

“Speaking of which, although Black Star is shameless and cunning, he is still very hardworking when it comes to fighting for the benefits of the Beyond Grade As and protecting the safety of the Galactic Society,” Sun Hunter smacked his lips and said.

“That’s because you don’t know him well. Cunning is just a means. I’ve always felt that Black Star is an idealist who plans far ahead for the peace of the universe. He has a noble ambition that transcends reality,” As a veteran boot-licker, Beiger’s tone was filled with respect.

“Forget it. Black Star is purely an opportunist, but his common interests are the same as ours. We’re on the same side, but don’t flatter him,” Heber snorted.

The group began to heatedly discuss Black Star’s character. Anyway, Han Xiao was not here, it was not convenient for them to roast him in front of him. But now, they could say whatever they wanted.

On the other side, Manison was alone in the observation deck of the main base, looking at the starry sky. He was playing with a Rubik’s cube-like polyhedron in his hands, which looked like some kind of mechanism. The complicated mechanical structure kept sliding and making cracking sounds.

This was a children’s toy of the Mechanical Race, used to cultivate Mechanical Sense from a young age.

“Ancestor might be returning…” Manison muttered to himself with mixed feelings.

He was the second Beyond Grade A born in the Mechanical Race, and he also had a distant ancestor. Although he had become an independent species after becoming a Beyond Grade A Super, this relationship could still be counted.

This was especially so since Manison was the only leader of the Mechanical Race and treated the Mechanical Race as an important asset. If the ancestor of the Mechanical Race returned and wanted to become the leader of the Mechanical Race again, who would the Mechanical Race listen to? Two tigers cannot share one mountain, would his position be affected?

It was a pity that the Sanctum Revival target was decided by Black Star. As long as he found the medium, he would be free to choose the revival target.

Manison could not control Han Xiao’s thoughts. He even suspected that Black Star did it on purpose.

At this moment, Clotti and Oulou were also conflicted.

The two of them were waiting at the dock of the base, watching the giant starships enter the port.

Oulou lit a cigarette and exhaled a light blue cloud. He slowly said: “The direct descendants of the past are about to revive. Are you nervous?”

“Why should I be nervous?” Clotti was expressionless.

“Hey, don’t tell me you don’t have any psychological trauma toward them,” Oulou sneered.

Clotti said nothing. He was now a direct descendant of the dynasty with the highest position, but he was still a junior in front of the previous generation.

Clotti did not become the National Pillar of the dynasty as soon as he became a Beyond Grade A Super. Before he grew up, there was still the National Pillar of the previous generation that supported the dynasty’s prestige.

At the same time, the direct line of descent had an inheritance relationship. Due to the strength of his Esper Ability, Clotti was the focus of the dynasty’s training. The previous National Pillar was his special training instructor and could be considered half a teacher, leaving him with an indelible impression.

If Gaud had not been killed, he would have received Clotti’s special training, carrying on the inheritance.

“Although Black Star’s goal is for the sake of the war…” Oulou took another puff of his cigarette and shook his head: “However, this kind of action will probably cause many people to enter a situation they never imagined.”

Clotti shook his head.

Facing the many seniors who were about to be revived, the entire Beyond Grade A group had their own thoughts.

Chapter 1346: Lerbo Space Protection Belt

In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed.

The military mobilization of the various Star Fields in the explored universe continued, especially in the Flickering World. Under the construction of the engineering fleets and various planet modification packages, the various war facilities in the large war zones were quickly completed. Military factories were active all day, and countless starships of various models were sent out every day.

The three Universal Civilizations were also in full swing, recruiting a large number of Supers from the various races to join the army. At the same time, they summoned back the vast number of reserve soldiers who had once served in the army and gave them further military training in the various military bases to replenish the military strength gap between various military posts. They also carried out mandatory basic military training among the galactic residents to expand their flow of troops.

The war mobilization speed of the interstellar era was beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Under the unification of the three Universal Civilizations, the war machines of the explored universe operated at high efficiency. All kinds of resources were being thrown into the corresponding gaps to be used efficiently.

The construction of the intercepting circle on the frontline was also progressing rapidly. Although the World Tree Civilization had failed in their assault, they did not stop harassing in small groups and had exchanged fire with the intercepting troops many times. As the space stabilization anchor orbit set by the three Universal Civilizations was expanding further and further away, the World Tree Civilization’s jump point was also constantly moving backward, further away from the intercepting circle.

:male

As a result, the World Tree also treated the destruction of the space stabilization anchor orbit as an important battle target. It sent its vanguard troops to attack the space stabilization anchor orbit in different routes many times, unsealing the different jump points, and sending reconnaissance troops to this coordinate.

Due to the World Tree reconnaissance troops constantly splitting up, the overall structure of the space stabilization anchor orbit was like a three-dimensional tree model with many divergences, extending continuously. Countless streams of light representing both fleets jumped between the ‘tree branches’, colliding from time to time and erupting into local battles.

In the three Universal Civilizations’ interception circle’s main base, high-intensity energy sources that represented the battle points kept appearing on the General Surveillance Strategic Radar. The World Tree fleet would occasionally succeed, destroying the branches of the space stabilization anchor many times. They needed to be repaired and troops needed to be sent to pursue the new batch of reconnaissance troops that were put on these jump points by the World Tree.

As the interception circle and space stabilization anchor orbit continued to expand, the number of openings left for the enemy would also increase. This was unavoidable, but the three Universal Civilizations could still deal with the current defensive line. “The harassment of the World Tree is endless. Although this is an effective method, it will take a very long time. They must have made multiple preparations. They should be preparing a new wave of attacks to create a huge gap in our defense line, removing our control over the intercepting circle.”

In the conference room at the interception circle’s main base, Simon was discussing with the commanders and staff sergeants.

In the past month that Black Star was not around, there had been small conflicts between the two sides, but there were no large-scale battles. The overall situation was quite stable, and the number of times a Beyond Grade A group was dispatched could be counted on one hand.

Hila was in charge of the surveillance channels of Destiny’s Child, and there was no news of the World Tree making a big move. Both sides were in a stalemate for the time being with both sides attacking and defending. The enemy did not make much progress.

Simon and the others naturally understood that the World Tree would not continue to tangle with them like this. In the past few days, he had an intense tactical intuition and felt that there would be some changes soon.

“According to the data, the frequency of the World Tree attacking the Space Stabilization Anchor orbit has decreased by 37% in the past five days, and the number of reconnaissance troops has increased by 73%. Furthermore, we have discovered that the World Tree Civilization has left behind a large number of topological space directional marks near the anchor orbit. We speculate that the World Tree Civilization is trying to bring super long-range weapons at the jump points that are not covered in the orbit, destroying the various branches of the orbit remotely.”

Simon pressed his hands on the command platform with a solemn expression. Another commander nodded and said: “The anti-over-the-horizon radar is in an activated state. If the World Tree adopts this plan, the dynasty’s super long-range anti-particle base cannon, the federation’s Psionic Planetary Obliteration Beams, and the church’s Soul Sniper Beam can lock onto the source of the attack and carry out the counterattack mission.”

“I’m just afraid that the World Tree will set up the Lerbo Space Protection Belt. That would not be good.”

Simon shook his head.

Beyond-visual-range warfare was also the main form of interstellar warfare. In this regard, the three Universal Civilizations were strong on offense but weak on defense. However, the World Tree Civilization was different. According to the intelligence provided by Black Star, the World Tree Civilization had a Universal Treasure-level special defense weapon that could be used in beyond-visual-range warfare. It was called the ‘Lerbo Space Protection Belt’.

This kind of defense technology had a similar effect to the Psionic Seal Ring. It was like a portable miniaturized version, distorting the universe constants of an area, preventing the over-the-horizon strikes from penetrating it.

However, this restriction went both ways. The external energy attacks could not pass through, and the attacks from the inside would also be blocked. Therefore, it was difficult for the fleet that opened the Lerbo Space Protection Belt to attack from the outside. Because the Lerbo Space Protection Belt could not move along with the spaceship after it was opened, it was not used in battle. It was usually used to protect some important facilities.

Only physical weapons such as interstellar missiles and starships’ close-range assault could ignore the effects of the Lerbo Space Protection Belt. Other energy weapons were basically useless. However, the majority of super long-range weapons were energy weapons, so this technology was often used in beyond-visual-range warfare. The protective belt would be retracted when firing and opened when the firing was stopped. This way, it was very difficult to be put at a disadvantage in beyond-visual-range warfare.

While the upper echelons were discussing, the entire surveillance radars that covered all the space stabilization anchors suddenly issued an alarm. Hundreds of red lines representing high-energy attacks suddenly broke into the edge of the radar and quickly hit different branches of the orbit.

The 3D radar model in front of everyone reacted, and hundreds of red ripples appeared. The destruction report of the orbit was quickly sent back. “It’s confirmed to be over-the-horizon strikes. The World Tree really used this method.” Simon’s expression froze. Speak of the devil. He had just mentioned over-the-horizon strikes when the World Tree’s attack wave arrived. His recent intuition had come true.

The jump point of the World Tree’s super long-range weapon was located outside the range of the radar.

“Analyze the attack trajectory and counterattack,” Simon ordered.

The anti-over-the-horizon radar started to work, quickly analyzing the curvature, angle, and other factors of the enemy’s hundreds of attacks.

Over-the-horizon strikes did not usually move in a straight line. Under various universe environmental factors, the attack trajectory would show different deviations. For example, a sniper needed to calculate the wind direction, distance, trajectory, gravity, and other conditions. It was the same for over-the-horizon strikes. More parameters needed to be calculated, and the calculation model was very complicated. The reverse lock was to reverse engineer these factors and obtain the coordinates of the source of the attack.

Very soon, the final result was sent to the three Universal Civilizations’ super long-range weapons through quantum communication. Crack!

A huge planetary fortress stretched out rows of enormous cannons. The base slowly turned, and the barrels turned as though they were aimed at empty space. The actual super long-range sight had already locked onto the space coordinates calculated by the artificial intelligence.

Immediately after, the cannon barrels started to light up from its base, and dark blue particles rapidly gathered from all directions, accumulating energy in the muzzle and releasing a dazzling light. When the power was accumulated to its peak, the color turned from blue to red, suddenly releasing huge energy beams, disappearing into the vast starry sky in the blink of an eye. However, this round of counterattack was like a stone sinking into the ocean, there was no response.

Simon and the others waited for a while. However, the second wave of attack from the World Tree came, and hundreds of orbital branches were destroyed. The source of the attack was exactly the same.

“The counterattack did not seem to have any effect. Maybe you were right. They used that defensive technology…” One of the commanders looked at Simon and secretly cursed.

“Continue firing. Do not stop,” Simon frowned.

The weapons of the three Universal Civilizations began to fire continuously. Although they could not observe the effects of the attacks, the enemies’ attacks had stopped.

“Even if the World Tree has set up the Lerbo Space Protection Belt, our frequency of firepower is enough to suppress them and prevent them from taking back the protective belt. This way, they won’t be able to continue attacking us,” one of the staff officers said. Simon knocked on the table and shook his head. “This is just a temporary plan. If we want to solve it once and for all, we’ll have to send out fleets to attack them on the spot and destroy their artillery bases… Call some Beyond Grade As to move out and try to take over the Lerbo Space Protection Belt.”

Not long after, the Beyond Grade As on standby in the base were summoned to the conference room. After hearing Simon’s explanation, they quickly understood the situation.

Kasuyi stroked his chin and asked:

“Not only do we have to destroy the enemy’s artillery base, but we also have to confiscate their special equipment. Then, it will be up to Manison or Kant, how many people do we need?”

“It’s best if there are ten Beyond Grade As or more. Bring a batch of Thrones along,” Simon nodded.

“Isn’t ten a little too much? We probably won’t meet any World Tree experts on this trip.” Sun Hunter turned to look at Hila. “Can your surveillance channels see the situation of this artillery base?”

“No.” Hila shook her head.

The World Tree did not use Oracles for this stronghold, and Destiny’s Child could not spy on the other party’s personnel. Therefore, everyone knew almost nothing about the situation of this base. Currently, they only knew the location calculated by the anti-over-the-horizon radar.

“This is just to be safe,” Simon explained. “The other party might not have built this base just to bombard from afar, they might also use it as an outpost. We can’t sit back and watch the World Tree build a bridgehead. We have to take the initiative to attack and keep pushing their formation further away.”

The group discussed for a while and quickly decided that Kant would lead nine Beyond Grade As, including those from the association and direct line descents, out.[a]

Since they estimated that there were no World Tree experts among the targets, Aurora did not follow them and remained at the main base.

Very soon, Kant and the others formed an expedition team and arrived at the edge of the radar through the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, heading toward the World Tree’s temporary base.

The three Universal Civilizations’ armed fleets only arrived at their destination after a few days.

Outside the window, a group of galactic bases was floating in the area, surrounded by a hazy glowing space. It was the Lerbo Space Protection Belt.

Over-the-horizon light beams kept shooting from the back of this fleet. This was the firepower suppression that the three Universal Civilizations had been maintaining for several days. However, the moment they entered the Lerbo Space Protection Belt, the speed of the energy beams instantly became like a tortoise crawling. At the same time, the beams of light rapidly shrunk until they dissipated. All of its power was obliterated, as though they had entered an energy restriction zone.

“This is the place. The target is clear.” Kant’s Lord’s Avatar’s electronic eyes flashed, sending the image back to the main base.

At the same time, the battleships of the three Universal Civilizations shot out interstellar missiles one after another, dragging their exhaust flames into the Lerbo Space Protection Belt. The physical missiles were not affected at all, and they headed straight for the temporary bases at the center. However, the next moment, the armor on the surface of the bases slid, and rows of turrets rose up. A metal storm suddenly appeared, forming a concentrated barrage. All the galactic missiles were destroyed halfway, and a series of fireworks exploded.

Energy weapons were ineffective, and physical missiles could not penetrate the barrage.

“This is a problem. It seems like we have to charge in and let the fleet pass through the Lerbo Space Protection Belt. Only then will we be able to attack their bases,” the fleet commander said in the channel.

The Lerbo Space Protection Belt was unable to isolate the quantum communication network. Kant opened his quantum network vision and tried to hack into the bases to seize control, but he was blocked by the firewall.

“There’s a force protecting their firewall. I can’t enter.”

Kant retracted his vision and hesitated.

“It feels like a trap.”

“Hmm, there is indeed something fishy. Assault team two and three, go in and take a look.”

The fleet commander waved his hands and ordered a group of assault battleships to approach the enemy’s bases. Most of the fleets stayed around the flagship and did not move. After all, the enemy had opened the Lerbo Space Protection Belt and the weapons could not attack them.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

However, at this moment, the radar on the spaceship suddenly issued an ear-piercing alarm.

Hundreds of large-caliber Planetary Obliteration Beams suddenly shot over from another direction, heading straight for the armed fleet.

“There’s a problem! Defend!”

Kant’s expression changed, and his mechanical army rushed out to form layers of shields. At the same time, the armed fleet also activated its own shield.

The next moment, hundreds of light beams shot over, blasting the protective shield until it was on the verge of collapse. Electric arcs shot out, and cracks appeared.

This wave of over-the-horizon strikes destroyed a small portion of the fleet before they were blocked. However, before the situation could stabilize, a large number of over-the-horizon strikes came from all directions, causing the fleets to retreat in defeat.

The image was transmitted back to the main base’s conference room, and the expressions of Simon and the others changed slightly.

Manison knocked on the metal chin of the Lord’s Avatar and said:

“It seems like the World Tree has built camps outside of our radar range, covering each other within over-the-horizon strikes range and guarding each other. I’m afraid the goal is not just to build an outpost but also to use the Lerbo Space Protection Belt to build a firepower coverage area like us and wear down our military strength…” “Do you have any suggestions?” Simon asked. “If Black Star’s surveillance channels can’t get the coordinates of these bases, then as long as the bases don’t open fire, they will be invisible to us. However, the Lerbo Space Protection Belt is too difficult to deal with, and long-range attacks have almost no effect. If we use our troops to fill in the gaps, we will fall right into the enemy’s trap. This isn’t easy.”

Manison slowly shook his head.

The three Universal Civilizations did indeed have plenty of Universal Treasures, but the World Tree had conquered one civilization after another, and its foundation was even more astonishing. It also had many strategic weapons and could not be underestimated.

Upon hearing this, Simon’s expression turned grave. He could not make up his mind. He pursed his lips and sighed. ‘It’s a pity that Black Star, the special consultant, isn’t here. If he was, I could have asked for his opinion…’

[a]meaning unclear

Chapter 1347: Deadlock

Black Star’s opinion was an important reference for the three Universal Civilizations to carry out their decisions. It was as easy as reading a walk-through to fight a monster, allowing the upper echelons of the three Universal Civilizations to fully experience the joy of sucking up to someone powerful.

However, he could not contact Black Star now. He could only think of a way and act according to the situation.

Simon composed himself and said slowly:

“Therefore, there are two key points that need to be resolved. One is to locate the various camps, and the other is to use an efficient method to break through the Lerbo Space Protection Belt and destroy the enemy’s artillery bases.”

“If we can’t find anything from Destiny’s Child’s surveillance, we can either passively wait for their bases to launch attacks and analyze the source of the attack, or wait for our control range to slowly cover it…”

A staff sergeant said.

Hearing this, the church commander shook his head and said:

“As long as the World Tree’s beyond-visual-range encampment exists, it will continuously keep destroying our space anchoring orbits-monitoring the base station, and other facilities-stopping us from expanding our control range. In areas that we have yet to cover, the World Tree can expand the size of the camp at will, and there will be no end to it. These resources are just a drop of water in the ocean to them, and they are using an extremely low cost to form a tug-of-war with us, obstructing our movements… So, from the looks of it, we can only wait for the other party to make a move, then lock onto them. This is very passive.”

“How about a large-scale search using reconnaissance ships?”

“The area to be covered is too large. This method is like finding a needle in a haystack. Furthermore, the other party will surely send out a large number of patrol fleets near the camp area. It won’t work easily.”

“What about mysticism?”

Upon hearing this, Secret Master interrupted and said: “The World Tree has a targeted defense in this area, we can’t use mysticism to locate it.”

Everyone discussed for a while but could not come up with any effective countermeasures. They had no choice but to temporarily put aside the problem of positioning and discuss how to attack.

“Compared to positioning, destroying the base is not difficult,” this time, the dynasty commander spoke. “We can use the Spacetime Splicing Technology to let the small fleet carry high energy bombs directly through the Lerbo Space Protection Belt and blow up the enemy’s base.”

“Spacetime Splicing Technology… is indeed feasible.”

Simon pondered for a few seconds before nodding

The three Universal Civilizations had communicated with each other during the war mobilization phase, and they had briefly introduced most of their trump cards to facilitate dispatch. Therefore, the upper echelons of the federation and church all knew that the dynasty had the Spacetime Splicing Technology.

In terms of attacking the camps, everyone had the same opinion. The Spacetime Splicing Technology was extremely suitable for this kind of tactic. Compared to sending the army to take the brunt of the firepower, this was clearly a method with a lower consumption rate. They would only have to pay for a few hundred battleships at most, as well as a group of dispensable suicide squads. It was mainly to be safe and to switch to manual control under unexpected circumstances.

Everyone knew who the suicide squad was.

“Let the Immortals of our army carry out the Spacetime Splicing Operation. This is a job they love,” Aurora said while blinking.

“Sure.”

Simon had no objections. After pausing for a moment, he added: “The suicide squad better choose low pollution bombs, and they have to be powerful enough. Otherwise, they won’t even be able to blow up the base’s shield.”

After deciding on the method of attack, the group returned to the topic of positioning. There had to be a solution.

“It’s not impossible to passively wait for the enemy to attack, but if we can’t block the enemy’s attacks, our losses will only continue to increase. We need to find a way to protect the various branches of the space anchor.”

“With all due respect, it’s almost impossible to protect all the Orbit Branches under the over-the-horizon strikes of the enemy whose scale is unknown. After all, there are too many branches, and the number is still increasing. We don’t have the Lerbo Space Protection Belt, so we can only try to eliminate the topological space directional marks left behind by the enemy’s small troops,” an officer said helplessly. “The enemy is in the dark while we’re out in the open, so we can’t deal with them for the time being. However, if we can seize and analyze the Lerbo Space Protection Belt, we can also have the same defensive capabilities as the other party and mitigate our passive situation,” Simon said. “Therefore, apart from the Spacetime Splicing daring attack, we still have to send official troops based on the situation.”

The Spacetime Splicing Technology could only send them to their deaths. They could not obtain the spoils of war, and they had to rely on their high-level combatants.

Currently, the few pieces of good news were that the targets of the World Tree’s over-the-horizon strikes were limited. They could either target the topological space directional marks left behind by the reconnaissance troops or take the targets near the base, unable to accurately attack other locations. This meant that every camp was a bait, and the three Universal Civilizations’ fleets would only be exposed to the attack range when the fleets attack. Therefore, they were not too worried about being hit by the over-the-horizon strikes.

Kant’s army quickly retreated, losing quite a lot of manpower. Most of the exterior armor of the remaining battleships had traces of damage, but they had not completed their mission nor were they able to destroy the World Tree camps.

The only reward was that when they received the other side’s over-the-horizon strikes, the artificial intelligence analyzed the locations of the new camps, giving new targets to the three Universal Civilizations.

Not long after, the second fleet set off and split up toward these bases. They were all equipped with the improved Spacetime Splicing Device by the dynasty which would only activate when they arrived at their destination.

The crew members were all temporarily enlisted army players. They did not convey the tragic feeling of a hero leaving and never coming back. The atmosphere of every battleship was very relaxed, and many of the players had happy expressions on their faces. They did not look like a group of death squads, but like they were on a holiday. “I didn’t expect such a suicidal mission to be so rewarding. Luckily, I got it.”

“We can complete the mission just by dying, this is too easy.”

“How comfortable. If I can come a few more times, wouldn’t it be like farming experience points?”

Hearing the excited discussions of the players around him, Frenzied Sword felt very happy.

The players were the designated members of the suicide squad, and only the players could accept this mission. The mission briefly introduced the combat mission of the Spacetime Splicing Force, and the players were shocked to realize that this mission was actually not difficult for them at all. However, the mission reward was so high that even the credit for destroying the enemy base would be given to them.

This meant that he did not have to do anything at all. As long as he sent himself to death, the experience would come flowing in. It was extremely easy and was the same as farming experience! According to the forums, this combat mission was very important, and it was actually very difficult. It was equivalent to a death mission for normal soldiers. However, their natural advantage happened to counter this difficulty, so they could obtain a high reward that did not seem to match the difficulty at all.

Not many players were willing to miss such a good opportunity. Due to the limited number of slots available, many players almost fought over it, and only a very small number of people obtained the chance to go on the expedition.

Amidst the excited atmosphere of the players, the various fleets arrived at different World Tree camps. Without a word, they activated the Spacetime Splicing Device and moved toward the base.

All kinds of long-range attacks came one after another, shattering the fleet. However, the next moment, the fleet returned to normal and continued to jump forward. Very soon, they entered the Lerbo Space Protection Belt and were unaffected. When the Spacetime Splicing Army was halfway there, the World Tree camps realized that this was an unknown spacetime technology through their space radar. They quickly stopped their regular attacks and used spacetime methods to target the Spacetime Splicing Army.

The Spacetime Splicing Technology was not unsolvable, and its nemesis was the spacetime technology. Back then, the dynasty had also used the same method to crack this technology from the Kunde Race. The World Tree camps’ response was very effective, and the frame skip of the Spacetime Splicing Technology began to decrease.

However, after many years of improvements by the Crimson Dynasty-although the Spacetime Splicing Technology was still restrained by the spacetime methods—its resistance had already greatly increased, and it could last for a longer time. The Spacetime Splicing Technology Team, which was equipped with high-energy bombs, resisted the attacks of the World Tree camps and stubbornly passed through the Lerbo Spacetime Protection Belt, exploding among the camps.

Amidst the shock waves, dazzling energy clusters lit up in the universe one after another, engulfing the entire encampment.

At the same time, in the temporary base of the Black Star Army, white light flashed, and the army players who acted as a suicide squad were revived in the stronghold. Frenzied Sword opened the interface, looked at the mission that had been completed, and smiled.

“Nice, nice. After eating this reward, my level should be higher than the players in the first tier… I wonder if this kind of mission is a one-time thing. I really hope it comes a few more times.”

With the assault of the Spacetime Splicing Technology, the three Universal Civilizations were able to effectively attack the World Tree’s camps. The World Tree did not have a good solution for this kind of black technology. They could only continue to carry out their original strategy and continuously destroy the anchoring orbit of the three Universal Civilizations, while the three Universal Civilizations continued to send people to destroy the exposed camps.

As the Spacetime Splicing Force was not afraid of conventional attacks, the World Tree reduced the over-the-horizon strikes at the incoming fleet, not wanting to expose the locations of more camps without reason. Using this advantage, the three Universal Civilizations secretly sent out a wave of normal fleets led by high-level combatants, mixed in with the Spacetime Splicing Force, and successfully broke through a camp. They seized a Lerbo Space Protection Belt and hurriedly sent it back to the interception circle’s main base for analysis. At the enormous frontline research institute, the generator of the Lerbo Space Protection Belt was suspended in a vacuum bubble. A large number of mechanical needles were inserted into the structure of the device, continuously testing the parameters and derivation principles. Countless technicians were busy in front of different instruments.

Simon and the other high-ranked officers were also paying attention to the progress of the analysis at the research institute. The remote projection stood on the ground, showing the image of the Lerbo Space Protection Belt midair. “It was originally just an attempt, I didn’t expect to obtain this device in reality. The expedition team was almost wiped out.”

“If we can analyze this technology, not only will we be able to deal with the enemy’s over-the-horizon strikes, but our interception circle will also be harder to break.”

Just as they were rejoicing, the lights of the research institute suddenly turned into a blinding blood-red color, and a buzzing alarm sounded.

“Warning! Warning! Detected unknown data trying to infiltrate the firewall…”

The technicians present were shocked and quickly checked the source of the problem.

“What’s going on?” Simon’s expression changed.

“Reporting, this device seized from the frontline seems to be carrying some kind of highly latent data virus. It is invading the firewall on its own and trying to obtain information from our database…” the research team leader hastily replied.

“Where’s the investigation report? Why didn’t we find this virus before?” Simon asked.

“This… All the tests were passed… We can only explain that this unknown virus escaped our detection,” The research team leader gritted his teeth.

At this time, the frequency of the alarm increased once again. Many technicians were sweating and shouting.

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“Level 1 firewall has been broken! Level 2 firewall has been broken!”

“Too fast! This virus is invading too quickly!”

“Requesting immediate activation of main artificial intelligence to suppress it!”

Simon hurriedly looked at the screen of the technicians and saw that this unknown virus had broken through the layers of the firewall and was about to officially enter the interception circle base’s quantum network.

However, at this moment, streams of silver data suddenly appeared and wrapped around the unknown virus. It was as if the white blood cells had swallowed a virus. No matter how hard the virus tried, it could not break free from the blockage of the silver data and slowed down.

A large amount of silver data appeared once again and condensed into Manison’s virtual body with a calm expression.

“Mechanic Emperor!” Simon’s eyes lit up.

“I sensed the fluctuations in the network. It seems like there’s something wrong here… Is this the virus of the World Tree?”

Manison extended his hand and grabbed the struggling unknown virus.

Upon seeing this, Simon immediately asked: “How’s the situation?”

“This thing is a virus-type artificial intelligence, not just data.” Manison replied calmly.

This time, the unknown virus suddenly exploded and disappeared. The alarm at the research institute immediately stopped, and the lights returned to normal.

“You destroyed him?” Simon was stunned.

“No, he realized that he could not break through my blockade, so he disintegrated on his own… If I’m not wrong, this artificial intelligence is a member of the World Tree, and he can also enjoy the revival of the World Tree. He has an innate advantage in the quantum network, and most firewalls can’t stop him.”

Manison narrowed his eyes.

“I see…” Simon pondered for a few seconds before his expression relaxed. “Luckily, you’re here this time. Otherwise, even if we could get rid of him, we would have leaked some information.”

The three Universal Civilizations could also have eliminated this artificial intelligence virus by utilizing more artificial intelligence computing power, but they were a step too late. If not for Manison’s high-speed reaction, the enemy’s artificial intelligence virus might have invaded the quantum network and shared information with the World Tree.

Due to the lack of intelligence, the previous attack had failed. Thus, the World Tree had used more methods to gather information about the three Universal Civilizations. So naturally, there was no lack of information warfare.

“Black Star isn’t here. Leave this to me.”

Manison calmly replied and deactivated the virtual body.

Upon hearing this, Simon exhaled.

Currently, when the strongest Mechanic in the galaxy was mentioned, everyone’s first thought was Black Star, which caused the Mechanic Emperor’s presence to decrease.

However, he could not underestimate the Mechanic Emperor just because of Black Star’s strength. After all, he was at the peak of the Mechanic class from the previous generation, and his strength was still there. If the conflict of ideals was not mentioned, Simon still believed in the Mechanic Emperor’s abilities.

Although they had temporarily lost Black Star’s help, the three Universal Civilizations were still able to fight the World Tree back and forth with the foundation laid by Han Xiao.

Both sides used all kinds of Universal Treasures and special technologies to restrain each other, temporarily unable to do anything to each other.

The World Tree would occasionally send out some foreign experts to test the waters. Due to Black Star’s existence, the World Tree had already turned these foreign experts into cannon fodder. Since they could not be used on the battlefield, they might as well use them to harass and exhaust the enemy.

However, because Han Xiao had entered the Sanctum, the foreign experts of the World Tree did not receive Virtual Purification and could only be killed by the Beyond Grade As of the explored universe.

However, even without Black Star’s support, the Beyond Grade As were still able to hold their own and did not cause any trouble.

The two sides fought back and forth, while silently building up their strength.

After two months, Han Xiao returned from the Sanctum.

Chapter 1348: Return and Technology Treasure

In the vast starry sky, a golden spark suddenly flashed and expanded into a vortex, spitting Han Xiao out. Then, the Sanctum passageway disappeared.

Han Xiao quickly regained his senses.

“Although this is only my second experience, this feeling is quite incredible…”

Han Xiao muttered to himself. He quickly adjusted his thoughts and looked down. The Sanctum mark had already disappeared and the interface could be opened again. The notification of entering the First Sanctum popped up.

Every time he entered a different Sanctum, his authority would be increased by one. He had calculated it before entering, and only then did his authority in the First Sanctum reach level eight.

After organizing his thoughts, Han Xiao stored the technological information from the First Sanctum in his memory palace. He then took out his communicator and looked at it.

“The last time I entered the Third Sanctum, I was there for more than three months. This time, only about two months have passed. The higher the authority, the closer the convergence of time flow. In such a short time, there shouldn’t be any problems with the war… right?”

Han Xiao immediately called Simon’s number. After two rings, the call was picked up.

Simon appeared on the screen with a look of surprise.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you’re finally back!”

Hmm? This tone of impatient expectancy sounds like the reaction of someone meeting their savior when they’re in trouble… Could something bad have happened?

Could it be that they need me to turn the tide? It can’t be that coincidental, right?

Han Xiao’s heart skipped a beat and a bunch of thoughts flashed through his mind. He asked, “I’d only disappeared for about two months. Did something happen on your side?”.

“Although there are some changes, we can still handle it.” Through the screen, Simon could not feel Han Xiao’s mentality. He smiled and said, “Now that you’re back, we have more confidence.”

After hearing Simon’s explanation, Han Xiao knew that he had misunderstood.

His teammates were still quite strong. Losing him for a few months would not affect them much. He was relieved. He felt as if he had found his backbone again and could finally rely on others.

That was right. With the foundation from before, the three Universal Civilizations would not be so weak, he was worrying too much.

After hearing the current situation, Han Xiao stroked his chin and said:

“So, the World Tree has built a beyond-visual-range encampment and is firing at us. The construction of the interception circle and space anchoring orbit is meeting huge resistance… If we want to destroy the enemy’s strategy, we have to start from finding their positions, right?” “That is the situation. However, we are currently in a passive position. Only when the other party fires, will we be able to lock onto them. The other conventional detection methods have all been blocked…” Simon explained.

“Hmm… The World Tree chose to build camps at a jump point further away from our territory. This is indeed difficult to handle…” “You don’t have any ideas either?” Although Simon did not have much hope, he could not help but feel discouraged when he saw that even Black Star did not seem to have any ideas.

Because Han Xiao had always been very reliable, the three Universal Civilizations’ officers had already put a ‘know-it-all’ halo on him in their hearts. For him to encounter a problem that he could not solve, although they would not have any problems with it logically, they more or less felt a little depressed.

“I’m not sure yet. Let me take a look at the situation first.”

Han Xiao did not give a definite response.

Facing the situation that Simon had mentioned, his brain was working rapidly, sifting through one plan after another, while also looking for any technology that could be used in this area… Not to mention, the information that he had obtained from the First Sanctum this time did indeed mention a special detection technology that was suitable for this situation. It came from an advanced civilization of past Iteration, and it was especially used in beyond-visual-range warfare against enemies whose coordinates were unknown.

According to the data, this civilization’s specialty was in beyond-visual-range warfare. Even without the aid of wormholes and stargates, they could accurately strike targets across multiple Star Fields. The First Sanctum contained countless mechanical technologies. He had only dug out a small part of them this time, but it was still an enormous treasure trove of technology. It was not that he wanted to get rid of the old, but it was far more comprehensive than Jayz’s treasure.

With the experience and accumulation of many different civilizations of past Iterations, he was able to deal with all kinds of situations and had a targeted solution to many battle tactics. This was an advantage that Jayz’s treasure could not provide.

Originally, the World Tree Civilization had devoured the accumulation of many civilizations, so they had a certain advantage on the battlefield. This information was enough to close the gap between the two sides and even gain an advantage.

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To the three Universal Civilizations, this wave of technological information was like a timely gift, a priceless treasure! This way, even if the revival mechanism and resource conversion of the World Tree was impossible to solve, the three Universal Civilizations would be able to last longer and buy more time for the secondary dimension expedition team.

“With this batch of technological information, I have a higher chance of dealing with the World Tree Civilization… It’s a pity that none of the past Iterations have met an opponent like the World Tree. It would have been great if they had a targeted device.” Han Xiao was overjoyed but also a little regretful.

After this trip to the Sanctum, he made a discovery. Every Sanctum stored different types of information. The First Sanctum mainly focused on machinery, but he did not find any Information Form technology.

If the five Super classes corresponded to one Sanctum, he guessed that the additional Sixth Sanctum would contain information related to the Information Form, which was the best weapon against the World Tree. However, the Sixth Sanctum Key was too difficult to synthesize, and it was completely different from the other five Sanctums. Han Xiao had never even heard the names of some of the materials.

While he was thinking, Simon spoke again.

“Sanctum Revival succeeded?”

“Hmm, there is one final step left. I need to gather the other Beyond Grade As to hold the fort and prevent any trouble.”

Han Xiao nodded. He could not help but think about the revival of the World Tree.

According to his previous life experiences, the revival speed of most of the World Tree powerhouses varied from two to eight months. The revival time of peak Beyond Grade As usually fluctuated between five to eight months, and the revival time of the Tree King was different.

“That’s good. Come to the main base. I’ll gather everyone and wait for you.” Simon was overjoyed.

“Okay, I’ll be there later.”

Han Xiao hung up and called Oathkeeper.

This time, it rang for thirty seconds before the call was reluctantly picked up.

“You’re back,” Oathkeeper appeared on the screen, expressionless.

“…Why do you look so unhappy?”

“I’m very happy.”

This sentence, coupled with your dead fish face and flat tone, is not convincing at all!

Han Xiao thought to himself and said helplessly:

“Alright, I’m just informing you that I’m back. There are many direct descendants among the targets of this revival, so I can’t send them to the Holy Accord.”

“Oh.”

“… If you have nothing to say, I’m hanging up.”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He ended the communication, changed into the King, and disappeared.

On the other side, at the Holy Accord’s base.

Oathkeeper, who was sitting before the card table, put down his communicator. He turned around and saw the members of the Holy Accord staring at him with burning eyes.

“Black Star is back ?”

“Finally, another batch of people will be revived. There might be some of my enemies among them.”

“Hahahaha, these people can’t join the Holy Accord. If we let them join the battle, we don’t have to go out.”

“Letting those direct descendants die on the battlefield will indirectly avenge us. Black Star is amazing!”

In the room, many revivors had intense reactions. They threw down the cards in their hands, and the atmosphere was jubilant. Seeing this, Oathkeeper’s hand tightened around the card, and his heart was filled with jealousy. Boss’s experience card had expired again…

In the conference room at the interception circle’s main base, everyone gathered and surrounded the throne. A beam of light flashed, and Han Xiao, who was wearing the King, teleported over.

“The president is back!” “Army Commander!” “Your Excellency Black Star!”

Upon seeing Han Xiao, everyone greeted him.

“Thank you for your hard work during my absence.”

Han Xiao put away the King, smiled, and waved his hands. He had the style of a leader, and everyone present was used to it.

“When will we complete the Sanctum Revival?” Simon walked up and asked.

Hearing this, most of the Beyond Grade As looked at Han Xiao curiously. Most of them only knew about the Sanctum Revival but had never seen how it was carried out.

“There’s no hurry. Let me take a look at the current situation.”

Han Xiao shook his head and walked straight to the command station. He pulled up the surveillance and the battle reports from the past few days and quickly browsed through them.

Seeing this, the others did not rush him and followed behind him, not disturbing Han Xiao’s observation.

However, this scene gave many people a strange feeling. For some reason, they felt as though their work was being reviewed by the leader.

After a while, Han Xiao looked at Simon and said:

“I’m clear about the situation. I have an idea that might be able to restrain the World Tree’s strategy of the beyond-visual-range encampment.” “You really have a way ?”

Simon froze.

“Just a moment ago, you said that you were not confident. Now, after seeing the situation, you have already thought of a countermeasure. So fast “.

“I have a special detection technology that might be able to solve the positioning problem…” Han Xiao took out the information of the technology from his memories and hid the details of the technology. He gave a rough outline of the theory and effect, showing the group.

Simon quickly finished reading the information, and his expression became even more surprised.

“If this technology is real, not only will we be able to solve the current tug-of-war, but we will also be able to change the direction of our future decisions. This will bring more new tactics and expand our tactical portfolio!”

The Beyond Grade As also took a look at the technical introduction. The Mechanics among them were shocked and could not help but size Han Xiao up.

Compared to the others, the experts were more shocked. One look and they knew that as long as they followed the blueprints and created the real thing, it would definitely be a Universal Treasure-level device. Just this technology alone was enough to change the way an advanced civilization fought!

Not only did Black Star’s combat capability improve rapidly, but even his research and development capabilities had reached such a level? When did he develop such strategic detection technology ?

Han Xiao looked around and nodded.

“Of course it’s true. I can share a portion of the technology and let the three Universal Civilizations build the framework for the military factories. I’ll be in charge of the core, splitting up the work to increase efficiency.”

He did not plan to hide some of the technologies that would be helpful in the war. He only held onto the core technology, while the three Universal Civilizations provided resources to build the other aspects, increasing the three Universal Civilizations’ capital to fight the World Tree.

“Good! As expected of the special consultant. I will ask the three leaders!”

Simon immediately became excited.

Black Star had just returned, but he had already proposed a solution to the problem that had troubled them for two months. Not only was he extraordinarily intelligent, but he also had achievements in strategic technology… Black Star was indeed reliable as ever!

Looking at everyone’s surprised expressions, Han Xiao remained calm and did not take credit for it.

Strictly speaking, this was not his own ability but the strength of the advanced civilizations of the past Iterations. He was just standing on the shoulders of the giants and had grasped the information difference. He had nothing to be proud of.

Putting away his thoughts, Han Xiao waved his hands and said with a solemn tone:

“Let’s put this aside for now and choose a place for me to use the Sanctum Revival. This time, it won’t be like the past. For sure, there would be many people among this batch of Revivors who won’t accept us requesting them to participate in the war. I don’t wish for any accidents. All Beyond Grade As, follow me!”

“Okay!”

Everyone’s expression turned serious as they agreed.

Chapter 1349: Revival and Declaration

On a man-made planet in the Flickering World, the silver land laid out by engineering alloys was boundless and covered the entire planet. There were no buildings on the ground yet and the entire planet was a round silver sphere with only the most basic geological modification.

Over a hundred Beyond Grade As were in the middle of the vast silver plain, their eyes focused on Han Xiao’s back.

To reduce any unexpected factors, the three Universal Civilizations chose a planet in their territory as the venue for the Sanctum Revival, and many Beyond Grade As followed Han Xiao to use the teleportation device.

The three Universal Civilizations did not deploy any fleets in the outer space of the planet. They only deployed Space Stabilization Anchors, as well as hidden super-visory weapons in further locations. They used long-range equipment to observe the situation from afar, so the outer space of the planet looked empty without any armed forces.

This was Han Xiao’s suggestion. All Beyond Grade As had tempers and if they were forced to negotiate with someone the moment they woke up, they would surely be unhappy. So it might not be beneficial for both sides to come into contact right away. This time, the three Universal Civilizations had a favor to ask. The other parties were also famous historical figures. They were all people with high statuses, so it was not suitable for them to put on such a tough attitude right from the start. On the contrary, having communication among Beyond Grade As would be no problem at all.

If physical persuasion was needed, Han Xiao and a group of Beyond Grade As would be enough. Only the strong would be respected. This was the unspoken rule among Beyond Grade As. If military forces were to interfere, it might have the opposite effect.

“Then I shall begin.”

Han Xiao looked back and saw everyone nodding in agreement. He then looked away and activated the Sanctum Revival Brand on the back of his hand.

A golden light suddenly blossomed and shot out like a silk thread, condensing into glowing objects on the plains in front of everyone. They slowly solidified and turned into various life forms. The energy fluctuations resonated with each other as if a storm had appeared out of thin air, blowing everyone’s hair and clothes.

All the Beyond Grade As stared at the scene, afraid to miss anything.

“They’re alive!”

“So this is how the resurrections are done. It’s not what I expected. I thought there would be an incubation process or something similar.” “Speaking of which, what is this principle? It looks so magical.”

A series of surprised whispers came from behind him, but Han Xiao pretended not to hear them. He carefully observed the revivals.

Direct descendants of the three Universal Civilizations, direct descendants of the Super Star Cluster, neutral Beyond Grade As… The organization of the Revivors this time is more complicated than the previous two, and the conflicts are probably more intense.

Han Xiao was mentally prepared.

At this moment, the revivors finally woke up from their daze and looked at each other in shock, sizing up the unknown environment and people around them.

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“What’s going on?”

“Illusion? Dream? Virtual world? What did the Federation of Light do to me?”

“Hmm? It’s you! I crushed your head with my own hands. How are you still alive ?”

After the group of Revivors had seen the situation around them, the scene gradually became chaotic. A gaseous flame emerged from their bodies, and their energy quickly entered an unstable active state. They entered combat mode, and many people who had enmity with each other started to move. As for some neutral people who did not understand the situation, they frowned and quietly retreated to the side. Their visual organs spun around, as they observed the situation.

Just as Han Xiao was about to speak, a tall male life form looked over and stared at Han Xiao and the others. He slowly spoke out.

“If I’m not wrong, all of us are dead. Did you resurrect us?”

He was wearing a gorgeous Divine Official robe, and his voice was solemn and ancient. It had a calming aura that quickly suppressed the chaos in the entire venue, attracting the attention of all the revivors present to him. Following his line of sight, they locked onto Han Xiao and the others.

Are you trying to steal my lines? Han Xiao looked at him carefully, and his consciousness filtered through the database. Very soon, he found the information of this man who spoke.

Hilbert Mueller was a direct Esper of the Arcane Church, a peak Beyond Grade A Super. His ability was related to space, and he was once the pillar of the Arcane Church. He had a senior and aloof status as the previous master of the Arcane Church, before Wuornos!

This was because Wuornos’ ability was more suitable for the Arcane Church. After Wuornos grew up, the Arcane Church changed the owner of the national weapon, and Hilbert left his position as the pillar of the Arcane Church. He went out to explore the secondary dimensions. He disappeared during a long-distance exploration, and his fate was left unknown.

From the looks of it now, this guy had crossed the line of life and death. The universe was so big, and the dangers were endless. Han Xiao did not know what he had encountered in the secondary dimension, but he could exclude the possibility of the Celestial Star Alliance. Han Xiao had once learned the appearance and name of the first three batches of ‘outsiders’ from Jayz. Those people were not in his revival choice for the time being.

Various thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind, but he nodded and replied.

“That’s right. I believe you all still have your memories. You’ve all died long ago and become history. It’s the year 783 of the Galaxy Calendar, and many years have passed. I used a method called the Sanctum Revival to wake you all up…”

“It really is revival…”

“Unbelievable. There’s such a thing?”

“I thought someone uploaded my remaining consciousness into the virtual world.”

The Revivors started to quiet down and were surprised.

They had never thought of this before. At least when they died, not many of them thought that they would again wake up one day.

A female Dynasty human wearing a military uniform narrowed her eyes and asked Han Xiao,

“Then who are you?”

“You can call me Black Star, the only ruler of the Sanctum Revival, the consultant of the three Universal Civilizations, and the current Beyond Grade A president.” Han Xiao introduced himself and added with a smile, “I was once an ally of the dynasty, so we could be considered to have some relationship, Your Excellency Reeve.”

“So, you’re one of us?”

Reeve’s expression softened.

She was one of the pillars of the dynasty, a peak Beyond Grade A Mage. Her nickname was ‘Demonic Empress’, and her combat strength was outstanding

Hearing Han Xiao’s title, it sounded like he was on the side of the three Universal Civilizations. At the same time, Han Xiao claimed to be an ally of the Dynasty, so Reeve felt that he was not an enemy.

She turned around to observe the Beyond Grade As behind Han Xiao. Suddenly, her gaze stopped on Clotti, and a surprised smile appeared on her face.

“Isn’t this Little Darkie? You’re still alive?!”

Everyone looked over and saw the usually cold Clotti’s face twitching slightly. He quietly shuffled his feet as if he wanted to hide himself in the crowd.

“Hey, Clotti! Don’t pretend you don’t know me. I saw you. Where are you trying to hide?”

Reeve had her hands on her waist. Her voice was rough, as though like a lion roaring. Han Xiao could not help but rub his buzzing ears. He felt that this woman and Sun Hunter had a lot in common, they either remained quiet or shouted at the top of their voices.

“…We meet again.”

A rare look of reluctance flashed across Clotti’s face, but he still forced himself to respond.

In terms of seniority, Reeves could be said to be his senior. She had taught him, together with the other National Pillars, for some time. When Clotti was still weak, she had left a deep psychological shadow in his heart and could be considered half a teacher.

What made Clotti’s scalp tingle the most was that Reeve would flirt with him, making moves towards him on purpose. Speaking of which, Reeve could be considered a seductive beauty. If it was under normal circumstances, he would not have avoided her, but the problem was… this guy was a postnatal transgender. She was not like Lotus Swordsman, who had no choice in the say of her gender. Furthermore, it was not a decision made when Reeve was weak, but a decision made after she became a Beyond Grade A Super. The reason was weird; put in Reeve’s words, “once you get tired of being a man, try being a woman”!

Although the Galactic Era was open and the change of sex was widely accepted, Clotti had never liked the new trend. He could still accept it if they got along normally, but being teased made him feel a chill down his spine. He really could not accept it. This mentality was probably…

I treat you as a brother, but you actually want to sleep with me?!

“Ahem, everyone, now is not the time for small talk.”

Han Xiao quickly interrupted their conversation. He had yet to finish his business. If he allowed these people—who were related to each other—to start recognizing and chatting everyone up, when would he be done with his business?

“Hmm, that’s true. Let’s not talk about anything else. You resurrected us for a certain purpose. What exactly is going on?” The revived person from the Federation of Light also spoke up. This was a Psychic, the direct descendent who was a predecessor of Oulou.

The ones asking questions were mainly the direct descendants of the three Universal Civilizations, who gathered together on their own. The rest of the revivors looked at the communication between the two sides and quietly obtained information. As for the ten direct descendants of the Super Star Cluster, they hid at the side and maintained a high level of vigilance.

Hearing this question, everyone’s mental states perked up. This was what they were most wary of. They were afraid that the revival was done with bad intentions at play.

“Resurrecting isn’t just my idea. The three Universal Civilizations and the entire Galactic Society have the same idea as all the Beyond Grade As present.” Han Xiao paused and said with a deep voice, “Our hometown has met with a huge crisis, where a foreign Universal Civilization is invading our world. Their strength is beyond imagination and extremely powerful. The war has already broken out, and we need everyone’s strength!”

A Universe-level war?!

All the expressions changed.

That was true. If not for this level of danger, there would not have been a need to go through so much trouble to revive so many historical Beyond Grade As. However, from a personal point of view, most of the revivors were unhappy about being used by others.

The revivors looked at the hundreds of Beyond Grade As in front of them and finally understood the situation. The joy of reviving was gone, and they were filled with anger.

“If we’re not willing, what will happen? Will you force us?” A neutral Beyond Grade A frowned and said with dissatisfaction.

Han Xiao shook his head and said, “That’s not the case. We will try our best to convince everyone that everything is voluntary and we will not force you to participate in the battle.”

The Revivors were individuals with free thoughts after all, not slaves. Forcing them was not an option, not only because of their complex identities but also because of the feelings of the other Beyond Grade As.

Using a gun to force the Revivors to compromise would cause many repercussions. One of them was to make the other Beyond Grade As feel the same way. They were worried that they would receive the same treatment after reviving, so it was hard to say how many more association members would be willing to participate in the battle.

Surely there would not be many Revivors who would agree with him through verbal persuasion alone. Furthermore, force was an indispensable part of it. It was difficult for both parties, and Han Xiao had no choice but to grasp the problem. This was even more difficult to deal with than the previous two revivals. Han Xiao had long prepared himself for this hurdle.

This time, a Beyond Grade A with a medium built spoke out.

“We need to ask the upper echelons for their opinion. Can you give us a communicator?”

Han Xiao looked at him and recognized him as a direct member of the Super Star Cluster. His name was Mablo, and he had outstanding combat strength as well. It was a pity that he had died in the Tragedy of the Pinnacles.

“Sure, take it.”

Han Xiao did not reject this request. He took out a communicator and threw it at Mablo.

This was the condition of his deal with the Super Star Cluster. With the rich experience of the Super Star Cluster being persecuted, they would surely suspect that the three Universal Civilizations might secretly do something to their high-level combatants during the war, and thus would not allow the experts who had finally revived to participate in the war. Han Xiao did not expect all the revived members of the Super Star Cluster to participate either.

Mablo took the communicator, nodded slightly, and led the other nine members of the Super Star Cluster to contact their upper echelons.

For a moment, the majority of the Revivors fell silent. They exchanged looks among their acquaintances and hesitated to speak.

This time, Reeve let out a breath and said slowly, “Since the Dynasty is in trouble, I will not shirk my duty. Isn’t it just a war? As long as the Dynasty gives the order, I am willing to contribute my strength.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“I was already a dead man to begin with. If the Federation needs my strength to fight the foreign enemies, there’s no harm in burning myself again.” With Reeve taking the lead, many direct members of the three Universal Civilizations agreed and expressed their support.

Seeing this, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.

The support from most of the direct members of the civilizations was within his expectations. High-level combatants who had undergone long-term patriotic education from the three Universal Civilizations were naturally reliable and willing to contribute to the explored universe.

However, since it involved a second life, things were obviously not going to go so smoothly. While many of the direct descendants expressed their stance, voices of dissent came from the crowd as well.

“Black Star, I’m sorry, but we don’t want to continue fighting.”

Han Xiao and the others looked over, and their expressions changed.

The person who spoke was not a historical expert, but a member of the association who had died on the battlefield not long ago. His name was Garoze, and he had briefly interacted with Han Xiao before.

The other members of the association who had died also followed beside Garoze. They had reached a consensus and mustered their courage to meet Han Xiao’s eyes.

As expected, even the Beyond Grade As who were willing to participate in the battle did not want to take the risk after dying once…

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. Although he was not surprised, he still shook his head and sighed.

However, before he could respond, another Revivor objected.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t plan to participate in this war either.”

Han Xiao turned around, his gaze startled.

The person who spoke was none other than Hilbert. He was the first direct member of the three Universal Civilizations to reject this conscription.

Reeve looked at him in surprise. “What are you…”

Before she could finish, Hilbert waved his hand and interrupted her.

“I’ve already sacrificed my life for the three Universal Civilizations and fulfilled my duty. Even if I’m a direct descendant, the Church can’t keep asking me to contribute. Even the upper echelons have a choice to retire. Furthermore, I died once, so everything was wiped out. Now that I finally have a second chance, I can’t keep working for them forever.”

As soon as he said that, many of the direct members of the civilization who were still in dilemma were stunned. They felt that he had spoken the truth and nodded in agreement.

Even the direct descendants of the civilizations who had already expressed their stand were shaken by these words.

The direct descendants of the three Universal Civilizations originally wanted to persuade him, but after hearing this, they were speechless.

“This doesn’t look good…”

Looking at this scene, the heads of the three Universal Civilizations who were monitoring remotely through the equipment all felt their hearts tighten.

Chapter 1350: Conflict

Chapter 1350 Conflict

“This guy…”

Looking at the broadcast on the virtual screen, the Pope’s eyes darkened.

Most of the direct descendants were stubborn. From the perspective of the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations, reviving the direct descendants and having them continue working for the three Universal Civilizations was natural. They wished they had the eternal loyalty of the direct descendants, but people’s hearts change. Especially after experiencing death once, even the direct descendants were not an exception.

After sacrificing one lifetime for the civilization, they felt that they were even and did not want to be commanded anymore. To the three of them, Hilbert’s idea was human nature, but the understanding was not in line with their current interests.

If it was during peaceful times, the three of them would not have minded if the other party wanted to retire. They would even have given him a title of merit, showing the glory that Hilbert had once served the civilization, to increase the loyalty of the other direct descendants. However, the situation was different now, and with Black Star agreeing to the terms of reviving, the three of them were in a difficult position.

After Hilbert finished speaking, the atmosphere fell silent again.

Hilbert looked around, then looked at Han Xiao and asked, “What do you think?”

Han Xiao did not reply immediately. Instead, he looked at Kasuyi with a meaningful look.

Kasuyi was stunned. “Hmm? Why are you looking at me?”

“Nothing, I’m just looking.”

Han Xiao looked away.

Tsk, the Arcane Church is indeed full of traitors…

Although Hilbert’s act of expressing his desires could not exactly be considered traitorous, it affected the mentality of the other Revivors, and in the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders, he was probably no different from a traitor.

Various thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. He smiled and nodded.

“Your request is quite reasonable. Indeed, no one says that one has to work forever after becoming a direct descendant of a civilization. Even ordinary people have the privilege to retire. As someone who died for the civilization, you naturally have the right to do so.”

“So you have no objections?” Hilbert raised an eyebrow.

“I personally understand, but I don’t have the final say in this matter. The three Universal Civilizations bought the quota for your Sanctum Revivals from me, and they have paid the deposit. If the three Universal Civilizations wish to reduce the quota, I can cancel it.”

Han Xiao spread out his hands and continued, “In times of war, every resource has to be put to use. If you don’t show your usefulness, I guess they won’t be willing to pay.”

“In that case, take my life back.”

Hilbert opened his arms with a calm expression.

Seeing this, everyone looked at Han Xiao and Hilbert with complicated emotions.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Was this guy really willing to give up the second life that he had painstakingly obtained? That was impossible. This was just a method of retreating in order to advance. He was certain that the three Universal Civilizations would not kill him, or else in the eyes of the other Revivors, it would be no different from a forced threat. This would go against their original intentions, causing more Beyond Grade As to waver, further damaging the loyalty of some of the direct descendants, making them feel like they were forever enslaved.

Just as Han Xiao was about to speak, he suddenly received a message from the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders. He looked at it and shook his head.

“Heh, you can rest assured. The three Universal Civilizations have just expressed that they will still pay for your revival and will not take back your life.”

The three Universal Civilizations reacted quickly, unwilling to damage the loyalty of more direct descendants.

“That’s good.” Hilbert lowered his arm without changing his expression as if he had already expected this.

Immediately after, he turned around and pointed at some of the revived direct descendants who had agreed with him.

“Since you did not reject our request and did not force us to join the battle, we should be able to leave?”

Han Xiao smiled and said slowly:

“You’re mistaken. You can’t leave on your own. You can only follow us.”

Hearing this, the faces of many revivors changed slightly.

Hilbert narrowed his eyes. “You mean to put us under house arrest?”

“You can think of it this way. All of you have been dead for a long time and have just revived. You don’t know much about the current galactic society. At the same time, the composition of the organizations is quite complicated. Because the current war situation is tense, in order to reduce unexpected factors, we will conduct unified supervision. None of you can move freely before you get permission.”

Han Xiao’s expression did not change, but his tone was firm.

This was a plan that had been devised long ago. Even if he did not force all these revivors to participate in the battle, he would not allow them to move freely. Otherwise, there would be no need for him to bring so many Beyond Grade As over.

This time, Garoze and the others could not help but say:

“Us too?”

Han Xiao looked at them and said with an expressionless face, “All of you died in battle against the World Tree. Of course, you don’t have to receive such treatment. Come over.”

In reality, he did not want to let these people go either, but he had to take care of the thoughts of the association members behind him. He still had to give differential treatment.

With his current position, he had no choice but to mediate and balance the thoughts of all parties. It was human nature to seek benefits and avoid harm. He couldn’t make people from different sides give up fighting for their own benefits.

Garoze and the others heaved a sigh of relief. Under the gazes of both parties, they left the position of the Revivors and stood among the Beyond Grade As behind Han Xiao. As long as they obtained the benefits they wanted, they naturally had no intention of standing on the same side as these Revivors.

The Beyond Grade As glanced at Garoze, not having any intention of looking down on him. Hilbert did not speak, but the neutral Revivors did.

“How long is the house arrest?” a dark gold-skinned Revivor asked in a deep voice. His aura was even more oppressive than Hilbert’s.

Everyone looked over, and their hearts skipped a beat.

Nilfgadi, the first Divine Throne Mechanic in history, the founder of the Machinery Faith!

All the Mechanics with the Machinery Faith bonuses were enjoying his protection. To a Beyond Grade A Mechanic, he was like the founder.

Han Xiao nodded and explained.

“Your Excellency Nilfgadi, there is no fixed time limit for the house arrest. Everything will be done according to the specific circumstances. Everyone will have to go through a long one-on-one screening. You will only be allowed to leave after we make sure nothing unexpected will happen.”

Hearing this, another neutral Beyond Grade A sneered.

“The criteria for the screening are decided by you guys. You can say whatever you want. I’m very curious, will our house arrest continue indefinitely if we don’t agree to participate in the war?”

Han Xiao turned around.

The person who spoke was called Aegon Vardnadze, nicknamed ‘Flowing Flame’. He was a peak Beyond Grade A and a shapeshift type Esper. He was from the same era as Dylan and was also an influential figure who had died in the Tragedy of the Pinnacles. At this moment, he looked at Han Xiao and the others with undisguised hostility.

Right then, a bunch of powerful people were revived. There were all kinds of extraordinary people.

“Of course not.”

Han Xiao replied casually.

The direct descendants of the three Universal Civilizations, the direct descendants of the Super Star Cluster, as well as the Beyond Grade As whose deaths had nothing to do with the three Universal Civilizations. Even if these people were not willing to participate in the battle, they would not do anything too extreme. However, the people who died at the hands of the three Universal Civilizations or the Tragedy of the Pinnacles were completely different. Their hatred was deep, and this was a thorn that was difficult to deal with.

Aegon Vardnadze coldly glanced at Hilbert and the rest of the revived direct descendants and said indifferently, “You received payment to revive these direct descendants, but you voluntarily revived us neutral Beyond Grade As, right?”

“You can say that.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Heh, I thank you for letting me live, and I owe you a favor. However, if you want to use this favor to hold me hostage to fight the enemies of the three Universal Civilizations, that’s impossible!”

Aegon Vardnadze stood with his arms crossed, and streams of red light flowed around his body. The temperature of the area rose rapidly as he said with a firm tone:

“I’m telling you clearly that I will not accept the three Universal Civilizations’ house arrest. This is the same as being prisoned. They will never let us victims of the Tragedy of the Pinnacles go. I’m leaving right now. Who wants to leave with me?”

Rumble!

As soon as he said that, many Beyond Grade As who had died in the Tragedy of the Pinnacles burst out with their auras and echoed with their actions. Some neutral Beyond Grade As who were not willing to be placed under house arrest also stood up, wanting to use the strength of the group to leave this place.

A huge energy wave spread out, and the alloy ground trembled, with depressions appearing one after another.

The direct members of the three Universal Civilizations, the direct members of the Super Star Cluster, and some neutral Beyond Grade As immediately retreated to the side. They did not plan to help any side and decided to watch the show and act according to the situation. The direct members of the Super Star Cluster who had retreated to the side communicated telepathically.

“We’re not going to attack? This is a good opportunity to break out.”

“I just contacted the upper echelons. They told us not to act rashly and listen to their arrangements for the time being.”

Mablo paused and looked at Han Xiao in surprise.

“Also, the upper echelons specifically told me not to mess with that Black Star fellow… I will die.”

At the same time, the aura of Aegon Vardnadze and the others rose rapidly, and the atmosphere hecame tense.

Seeing this, Han Xiao’s smile gradually disappeared.

“We won’t force you to take part in the battle, but it’s a must for you to be grounded. There’s no room for negotiation. You’re all seniors with high statuses, and I don’t wish to use force. However, if you make things difficult for me, I can only make you suffer a little. Don’t choose the hard way.”

With that, the Beyond Grade As behind him spread out and formed a semi-circle around Aegon Vardnadze and the others.

“Humph, that’s more like it.” Aegon Vardnadze’s aura was boiling as he shouted, “You want to solve the problem with just words? You’re dreaming. Either you back off obediently or use your fists to make me give in. This is the rule between Beyond Grade As. If you want to stop me, you can give it a try!”

Bang!

Raging flames gushed out, using energy as fuel, as though it would never go out. The alloys on the ground melted instantly!

Aegon Vardnadze’s body changed in an instant. His body expanded and turned into a strange giant-like creature. He looked like the demon in some religious artworks that had walked out of hell, and his body was covered in flames.

The next moment, his four limbs suddenly stomped on the ground, and his entire body shot toward the outer space of the planet like a meteor. He was extremely fast, trying to break through the encirclement.

This was a signal. The many Revivors who stood with him showed their abilities and attacked the Beyond Grade As around them. The energy storm exploded, instantly opening up the chaotic battlefield. The ground shattered under the collision of the Beyond Grade As’ abilities, creating huge craters in the blink of an eye. Looking from outer space, it was like the planet had been ruthlessly smashed by an awl, shattering a part of its shell.

“Take him down!”

Han Xiao remained where he was and waved his hand.

Although there were a few powerful individuals among the group, Kakasu and Manison were not to be trifled with. With the help of Clotti, Oulou, and many other direct descendants, they were more than enough to suppress Aegon Vardnadze and the others. There was no need for him to fight personally.

As expected, just as Aegon Vardnadze rushed into outer space, a huge silver Mechanical Deity quickly appeared, and the visual effect almost covered the entire sky. It looked down on the planet from outer space and slammed down, instantly smashing Aegon Vardnadze back to the ground.

Bang!

The alloy ground caved in, twisted, and shattered. Aegon Vardnadze crashed down like a meteor, creating a ring-shaped valley.

What a good Buddha Palm technique!

Han Xiao’s eyelids twitched.

On the other side, Kasuyi’s eyes flashed and an endless amount of psychic energy gushed out, filling every inch of space. There was almost no place to hide and the continuous mental explosions shook and distorted the movement of many escaping Revivors.

The other revivors did not interfere. They retreated to the edge of the battlefield and only received a little bit of psychic shockwave. They were also shocked and felt a sharp pain in their brains.

“These later generations’ Beyond Grade As are not simple…”

“Just one-third of them can stop them. I don’t think they can escape.” “The leader, Black Star, has yet to make his move. His strength should not be too far off.”

Many of the Revivors who were watching the show whispered among themselves. They were also using this opportunity to observe the strength of the Beyond Grade As of this era.

They had just revived and lost their weapons. Most of them were not at their peak state, especially the Mechanics. If this group of Beyond Grade As was so powerful that they did not see a chance to escape, they would accept the house arrest.

Manison and Kasuyi led a group of association members to fight with Aegon Vardnadze and the others for a while, quickly defeating the weakened Revivors one after another. However, there were a large number of opponents, and there were peak Beyond Grade As as well. Many of the association members were also injured.

Aegon Vardnadze, whose body was covered in wounds, avoided Manison’s psionic cannon and collided with the ‘Desolate Beast’ Mercer. He received a few punches in exchange for injuries, and his sharp claws slammed into Mercer’s chest. The concentrated flames entered Mercer’s body through a skill and exploded.

Boom!

The flames expanded, and Mercer shot out from the smoke and landed on the ground. His momentum did not decrease, and he plowed out a valley. Black smoke was coming out of his body as if he was burnt inside out, and his injuries were not light.

However, at this moment, Aurora raised her hand and shot out a wave of life energy, hitting Mercer. His charred skin fell off one after another, and new flesh grew out. His injuries disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“Recovery Esper!”

Aegon Vardnadze’s expression changed. Suddenly, he had a flash of insight. He changed his direction and charged toward Aurora.

After the intense battle, he had already realized that it was impossible for him to forcefully break out of the encirclement. Since he could not break through Manison and Kasuyi’s blockade, he already had the intention to give in. However, when he saw Aurora’s ability, he suddenly had an idea.

Since the three Universal Civilizations were resisting a foreign enemy, recovery-type Espers would surely have a strategic significance to the high-level combatants. If he could get to the recovery-type Esper class and use her as a hostage to negotiate with them, he might be able to successfully leave!

Aegon Vardnadze made up his mind.

One last try!

Just as he changed targets, the Beyond Grade As on the association’s side were all furious.

Aurora was their support to fight against the World Tree, and she was a strategic weapon that could maintain the advantage of high-level combatants. However, this guy wanted to put their only healer in danger to escape?!

Even the direct Beyond Grade As, such as Clotti, who did not make a move, could not hold back any longer. They turned into streams of light and charged toward Aegon Vardnadze.

This scene was like poking a hornet’s nest. Aegon Vardnadze was shocked, but he did not stop. Instead, he increased his speed and believed that this move would work.

The revivors were also shocked. They were about to continue watching the show, but at this moment, a powerful shockwave swept out!

Buzz!

Han Xiao’s figure appeared in front of Aegon Vardnadze like teleportation. The next moment, the black Mechanical Deity rose from the ground and said coldly:

“I know that you have a grudge with the three Universal Civilizations, so it’s not a problem for you to vent your anger. However, if you wish to attack our important strategic figure, you’re courting death!”

Han Xiao did not hesitate at all. He opened his palm, and a strong restraining force field was applied on Aegon Vardnadze, temporarily freezing him in midair. Then, the army of soldiers separated from the Mechanical Deity and fired at him.

Wave after wave of attacks rained down on Aegon Vardnadze without holding back. No matter how Aegon Vardnadze tried to escape, the mechanical army chased after and bombarded him.

“I surrender! Stop attacking!”

Aegon Vardnadze hurriedly admitted defeat, but Han Xiao ignored him.

The Beyond Grade As who were rushing over stopped in their tracks and the revivors who were watching the battle were also shocked. How could they not see that this was killing intent?

Regardless of how Aegon Vardnadze surrendered or retaliated in despair, Han Xiao ignored all of them. He chased him for a long time before finally blasting him to death, leaving only an incomplete body falling from the sky. The battle of breaking the encirclement had long stopped, and everyone could only watch as Han Xiao killed Aegon Vardnadze. No matter how Aegon Vardnadze fought back, he could not escape Black Star’s control. The difference in strength was completely overwhelming.

Just as the revivors were surprised by Black Star’s killing move, Hila grabbed Aegon Vardnadze’s corpse, pulled out a soul, and threw it into the Underworld, attracting everyone’s attention.

Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Hila did not mind and snorted.

“Black Star can give all of you a new life, but he can also take your lives. If you continue to be so shameless, I’ll send all of you to hell!”

Chapter 1351: No One Believes

“Underworld?”

Hearing the word, a commotion broke out among the revivors. Because the era was different, their reactions were also different.

Some people knew what the Underworld was, and they looked at Hila with shock and doubt. Some were confused and did not know what this meant. After asking around, they finally understood the significance of the Underworld. Their expressions changed, and they felt a strong sense of fear.

Nilfgadi, who had been watching the show, frowned and looked at Hila.

“Speaking of which, that recovery-type Esper’s ability is very familiar. What’s your relationship with Nerkese and Eros?”

He was also a Primordial One, and he had been in the same era as the two sisters of the Underworld. From the start, he felt that Hila and Aurora’s abilities had a familiar aura.

Hila looked down at him and said calmly, “Both of them died long ago. We inherited (Dawn of Life) and (Power of the Dead) respectively, as well as the Underworld that they left behind.”

“So that’s how it is…” Nilfgadi nodded slowly and did not say anything else.

Seeing that he had no other questions, Hila ignored him and looked at everyone.

“Black Star has already given you enough face. Don’t push your luck. As I said before, if you don’t want to live, you can continue to make a fuss. Let’s see if we can send all of you to the Underworld!”

“Hila! Everyone here is a senior. Watch your words.” Han Xiao put up an act of scolding.

“Humph.” Hila threw away the remains of Aegon Vardnadze and retreated into the crowd.

Listening to the two of them singing a duet, some of the revivors had ugly expressions on their faces, but they did not dare do anything extreme.

The threat of the Underworld was not small. Compared to entering the Underworld, house arrest seemed more acceptable…

Furthermore, the overwhelming strength that Black Star had displayed by playing Aegon Vardnadze like a game and killing him made many of the revivors wary.

However, although Aegon Vardnadze was killed, most of the revivors did not feel sympathetic. They had seen the entire process, so they naturally knew that it was not Black Star who started it, but Aegon Vardnadze who brought it upon himself.

On the other hand, the Beyond Grade As on Han Xiao’s side did not feel disgusted. Instead, they felt happy. It was Aegon Vardnadze’s fault for being so daring. Even if Black Star had not made a move, many people would still have wanted to kill him. Killing people to establish his prestige would easily make people think that he was forcing the revivors to do something. To prevent such repercussions, Han Xiao originally did not want to kill anyone. However, Aegon Vardnadze courting death was a special case. To be able to make both sides think that he deserved to die was simply amazing.

Just as he had been worrying about how to establish his prestige, Aegon Vardnadze sent him an excellent opportunity without causing any backlash. He was a great person who had given him timely help. He would feel bad if he did not ask the eight Underworld brothers to take care of him!

Seeing that the revivors had stopped the commotion, Han Xiao knew that this act of killing the chicken to warn the monkeys had worked.

However, this was not enough. His main goal was not to put them under house arrest but to convince them to join the war willingly.

Han Xiao took a deep breath and said:

“Inviting all of you to participate in the war is not asking you to contribute for free. This is also a deal. I believe that all of you will be satisfied with this price.”

Hearing this, many of the revivors looked interested

“Oh? What’s the reward?”

Hilbert asked curiously.

Han Xiao smiled and went for the strong approach as planned.

“As long as you choose to participate in the battle, no matter how many times you die in battle, I will wake you up again. If there comes a day when we expel the foreign enemies, the participants will forever enjoy the right to revive in the Sanctum and obtain a permanent safety guarantee. However, if you do not participate in the battle this time, there will not be another chance to exchange for it in the future. This is my offer.”

The revivors present were stunned for a moment before their hearts skipped a beat.

If that was the case, they would have nothing to worry about. Using the battle in exchange for the right to be revived in the Sanctum would be an extremely profitable deal!

Furthermore, there was also [Dawn of Life) ‘s current ability user. Their survival on the battlefield was guaranteed, and it would not be so easy to die. It was worth a try!

The only problem was whether Black Star would keep his word.

Observing everyone’s reaction, Han Xiao smiled and said, “Don’t doubt my sincerity. The Sanctum Revival is not difficult for me. Reviving you guys is just a piece of cake.”

Reeve could not help but question, “You mean the Sanctum Revival can be used nonstop? Is there no limit?”

“Hehe, there really isn’t. Don’t worry, no matter how many times you die, the Sanctum Revival can still take effect.”

Han Xiao replied with a smile. When he introduced the situation earlier, he did not repeat the lie that the Sanctum Revival could only be done once, so this batch of revivors did not know.

As soon as he said that, the surrounding association members could not help but look at him. Although they did not have any expression on their faces, they were sighing in their hearts…

Black Star’s ability to lie through his teeth was getting better and better!

Many of the association members believed that the Sanctum Revival only had one chance. The lie had been told for so long that they treated it as the truth. They did not believe that Han Xiao was going back on his words. In their eyes, this was just a lie that Black Star had made up to trick these Revivors into joining the battle.

However, no one intended to expose the ‘truth’. Tricking more revivors into joining the battle was in their interest, and this lie was ineffective on ‘insiders’ like them.

This split the difference between the current Beyond Grade As and the revivors. Many of the association members believed that they would not fall for it even after they revived. Thus, there was a difference in treatment, and it would not hurt the interests of their group. Therefore, no one planned to expose Han Xiao’s’ lie’. Even Garoze and the others who had just revived chose to remain silent. Instead, they felt that Black Star had made a good move.

Looking at the revivors’ excited faces, many association members laughed in their hearts. They could not help but feel a sense of superiority as if they had grasped the truth.

At the same time, Kasuyi glanced at his companions around him and knew that no one was taking it seriously. His mouth could not help but twitch.

As someone who knew the truth, he naturally knew that Han Xiao was telling the truth. However, this group of Beyond Grade As had already been fooled by Black Star, and no one believed him!

Kasuyi did not know whether to laugh or cry.

‘Forget it, it’s not a big problem. When Black Star proves it with his actions, they will know which is the truth…’

He was not worried that Black Star’s plan would fail. The members of the three Universal Civilizations and the association would most likely hide the ‘truth’ for their own benefit. As for the revivors, they would be under unified surveillance and would not be able to freely come into contact with information from the outside world. The three Universal Civilizations would naturally filter out any information that might reveal the ‘truth’.

Even if the truth could not be hidden, and the Revivors knew the ‘truth’, there would still be some direct descent revivors who would voluntarily sacrifice themselves. As long as a group of people died in the battle and the revivals were successfully carried out, everyone would understand what Han Xiao said today was true, and the situation would immediately return to normal, continuing to rush forward.

‘There are many backup plans, and everything is under control. Black Star is still very steady…’

Kasuyi secretly praised.

On the other side, many revivors were shaken by Han Xiao’s conditions.

Hilbert’s eyes flashed.

“If what you said is true, this deal is worth it. I can work for the civilization again and fight against the foreign enemies.”

“It’s alright. You guys have plenty of time to consider.”

Han Xiao smiled.

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and a spaceship landed on the ground. The hatch opened, inviting everyone to board it. Many of the revivors had already accepted Han Xiao’s words, and they obediently boarded the spaceship.

Everyone boarded the starship and quickly set off for the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Point that the three Universal Civilizations had set up nearby. The cabin was peaceful, and there were no tense confrontations. Many of the current Beyond Grade As had finally formed a relationship with the Revivors, and many of them had reunited after a long time.

Seeing this peaceful scene, Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. ‘The initial negotiations have been completed, and I’ve finally mobilized the enthusiasm of these Revivors to participate in the battle… I wonder how many Beyond Grade As outside of the Revivors believe my words.’

Han Xiao could not help but smile.

The war had already broken out, and the Sanctum Revival’s unlimited usage was bound to be revealed sooner or later. He did not intend to hide it forever, using this reason to convince these revivors that it was a plan that he had devised long ago, and he was not afraid of the three Universal Civilizations finding out.

However, the lies from before were too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Han Xiao believed that the three Universal Civilizations and the association members would most likely be skeptical of his words. As long as he did not prove it with his actions, these people would be more likely to believe that the Sanctum Revival was only limited to once.

However, although Han Xiao planned to reveal the fact that there was no limit to the Sanctum Revival, he did not intend to tell the truth completely. He had long prepared what he would say to the three Universal Civilizations after the truth was exposed.

Beep beep beep…

Just as he was thinking, his communicator suddenly rang. Han Xiao took it out to take a look. As expected, it was an invitation from the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations.

Without hesitation, he entered the quantum network and initiated a remote projection.

Turning around, he found himself in the office of the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders, facing the three of them. “It’s been hard on you, Black Star. You’ve already stabilized these revivors.” Marbruce nodded. “Thank you for thinking about the big picture. You brought back so many high-level combatants. This will make up for many disadvantages.”

“Don’t just thank me verbally.” Han Xiao chuckled.

“Don’t worry, we have already prepared substantial remuneration.” Marbruce paused and suddenly asked, “By the way, we also provided Gaud’s medium, but why didn’t he revive?”

“I’m not sure. Either the medium is wrong, or this guy isn’t dead and is hiding somewhere.”

Han Xiao’s expression did not change. This kind of problem was easily solved, and it did not affect him at all.

“So he’s not dead… I got it.”

Marbruce glanced at Han Xiao and did not intend to continue investigating. At this time, the Pope interrupted and slowly asked:

“Black Star, you just said that Sanctum Revival does not have a limit. Is it real or fake?”

“What do you think?” Han Xiao asked.

“…I think this is just an excuse you used to stabilize the revivors.” The Pope spread out his hands. “But there are no absolutes in this world. Maybe this is the truth.”

The other two also stared at Han Xiao with curiosity.

Han Xiao shrugged and said casually:

“It doesn’t matter which way you believe it. When the situation gets to that point, we’ll know if it’s true or not. Before that, I suggest that you take what I just said as a lie and consider the worst possible outcome. There will be no mistakes if you do that.”

Without waiting for a response, Han Xiao continued.

“Your top priority now is to detain these revivors and ensure that they can’t come into contact with the truth. Otherwise, I won’t be able to do anything if they retreat.”

“…You’re right.”

The three of them looked at each other, suppressed their doubts, and nodded at the same time.

They were more inclined to believe that the so-called ‘Unlimited Sanctum Revival’ was a lie that Han Xiao used to fool the Revivors.

With Black Star’s personality, how could he reveal such a trump card so easily? It was most likely a lie!

Anyway, it was common for Black Star to lie through his teeth, and they were already used to it. They did not panic at all and even wanted to laugh.

Chapter 1352: Ancestor-Descendent and Detected

Chapter 1352 Ancestor-Descendent and Detected

Han Xiao deactivated the remote projection, and his vision returned to his body. He shook his head and smiled.

After conversing with the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations, it seemed like they did not believe his words and were more inclined to believe that the Sanctum Revival was only limited to one time.

However, now that things had come to this, Han Xiao did not care if the three Universal Civilizations believed him or not. The reason he had once said that the Sanctum Revival would only be limited to one time was first — to make it easier to control the Revivors of the Holy Accord, reduce their ambitions and reduce the possibility of the Holy Accord being exposed.

Secondly, it was to deal with the three Universal Civilizations that were targeting the Beyond Grade As back then and hide their trump cards, making the three Universal Civilizations feel as if they could still control their lives. Thirdly, it was to stall for time and wait for Oathkeeper to gather a new set of Sanctum keys.

Right now, both sides were in the same boat. The World Tree Civilization was the main problem, and the three Universal Civilizations could not do much without his help. Under the current situation, no matter how much the three Universal Civilizations feared the Beyond Grade As, they had to rely on their strength. Han Xiao did not mind showing his cards; unfortunately, they did not believe him for the time being “A monopoly-type business, so easy to speak
out.”

Han Xiao chuckled, put away the communicator, and returned to the cabin. He was prepared to showcase his traditional skills to cozy up to these new Revivors.

Swoosh!

The alloy hatch slid open automatically. Han Xiao walked into the hall and looked around.

The various Beyond Grade As in the room had formed a few small groups. The direct members of their respective organizations sat together, and the neutral Beyond Grade As sat together according to their generations. Occasionally, some lone wanderers would sit alone in the corner, and the people who wanted to find out information and liked to make friends would wander among the groups. Everyone was on the same level, so they had quite a lot of common topics. The atmosphere was quite lively.

As soon as Han Xiao entered, he realized that the revivors of the various groups were looking at him with curiosity and surprise.

This time, Nilfgadi walked over and sized Han Xiao up. “So, you’re the strongest Mechanic of this generation. When I recover, let’s have a talk.”

Han Xiao raised his brows and smiled. “Alright, you’re welcome anytime.”

He roughly knew why these revivors were looking at him like that. Most likely, when he was talking to the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations remotely, these revivors had heard about his life from the other Beyond Grade As and were surprised by his achievements.

The way he saw it, the reason why Nilfgadi suggested sparring was not just to exchange feelings. It was most likely because he wanted to regain the position as the main deity for the Machinery Faith. Han Xiao knew what Nilfgadi was thinking. If they were to continue to remain dead, there would be nothing wrong with leaving the inheritance to future generations.

However, now that the corpse had come back to life, they planned to snatch the ‘inheritance’ back. They did not want others to continue occupying the foundation they had built. After all, it belonged to them. Looking around, Han Xiao estimated that there was more than one person who had such a mentality. He had long expected such a conflict of interest to arise between them and the current Beyond Grade As. “Hehe, I’ve become Manison from back then, I have become the challenged.”

Han Xiao smiled at himself.

Aegon Vardnadze did not make him display his full strength, which was why Nilfgadi still had the confidence to spar with him. However, he had no equipment at the moment, so this was not the time.

Nilfgadi nodded and said a few polite words before walking to the side and returning to the Primordial Ones.

This time, one of the neutral Beyond Grade As spoke to Han Xiao.

“By the way, you said that you’re the current head of the Beyond Grade A Association. Does your association still recruit people?”

Han Xiao looked over and smiled at the speaker.

“Of course, our association always welcomes new members. If you don’t wish to fight alone, joining the association is the best choice. This is the profit union of the current Beyond Grade As, and we have always been willing to help new members build their own organizations. However, this is a time of war, so we won’t go into this for now…”

As he spoke, Han Xiao turned to look at Hilbert and the others.

“Also, we welcome those who are not willing to work for the three Universal Civilizations. If you feel uncomfortable staying with the three Universal Civilizations, the association will be your choice.”

“Hey!” Oulou yelled with dissatisfaction.

How dare you try to steal our people!

This feeling was like an honest man seeing a well-built playboy asking his girlfriend for WeChat.

“Don’t joke around like that.” Clotti’s face was expressionless, and his aura was cold. As the National Pillar, he could not be indifferent to Han Xiao’s poaching.

On the side, Reeve stared at Clotti and exclaimed in surprise, “Little Kaka, you’ve grown quite a bit over the years.”

Clotti’s serious and tense expression immediately collapsed. He was not used to putting on airs in front of these seniors.

Kasuyi, who was not far away, almost thought that he was being called. He suddenly recalled some bad memories and glared at Han Xiao’s back with resentment.

Hilbert did not respond directly. He shook his head and said, “Thank you for your invitation, but we’ll talk about this some other time.”

He did not want to continue working hard, but that did not mean that he would not want the retirement benefits of the three Universal Civilizations. After all, he had exchanged his life for merits.

Han Xiao smiled and did not mind. He walked around the various groups and briefly communicated with them.

After chatting for a while, the spaceship finally reached the location of the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device. It entered the circular area and activated the device. With a flash of light, it was quickly transported to the main base.

The three Universal Civilizations had already made preparations. They welcomed the many Revivors to their temporary residence. To prevent any accidents, most Beyond Grade As accompanied them.

Han Xiao did not follow them but went to the Underworld with Hila. Everyone chatted on the way to their temporary residence. At the back of the team, Manison and Nilfgadi walked side by side, maintaining their silence.

After a while, Nilfgadi finally spoke.

“You’re the leader of this generation of the Mechanical Race?”

“Hmm,” Manison replied. “Not bad. I didn’t expect such a powerful person like you to appear among my descendants.” Nilfgadi nodded with satisfaction.

Manison ignored him and did not reply.

Not only was Nilfgadi the first Divine Throne Mechanic and the founder of the Machinery Faith, but he was also the ancestor of the Mechanical Race.

Due to certain reasons, Manison was not interested in acknowledging the ancestor. His interactions with Nilfgadi were limited. Nilfgadi had already died even before he became a Beyond Grade A. Furthermore, after he became a Beyond Grade A, his race evolved and became a new species. From the perspective of genes, the two could no longer be considered the same species. After sighing for a while, Nilfgadi patted Manison’s Lord’s Avatar’s shoulder and asked, “How is the Mechanical Race now?” “You’ll know when you get back. Anyway, it isn’t bad.” Manison was too lazy to report to him.

“That’s good.” Nilfgadi nodded and said, “I’ll have to trouble you to announce my return to the entire Mechanical Race. Tell them that their ancestor has returned.”

With that said, Nilfgadi sped up and left Manison’s side.

Manison looked at his back, raised his hand, and brushed away the shoulder that was patted by Nilfgadi as if he was removing dust.

‘If this was in the past, I would think of ways to kill you for sure…’

Manison snorted coldly in his heart.

Although Nilfgadi did not have any intention of taking back the position of Mechanical Race leader, with one more ancestor, their power would surely be divided.

The Mechanical Race was his important base, and he did not want to see anyone interfere with his interests, not even his ancestor.

You want to take the cake with your seniority?

Dream on!

You want to step on my head? Do you think you’re Black Star?

However, Manison was much more restrained now. Although he was not willing to give up his benefits, he did not plan to do anything to Nilfgadi. At most, he would just send him to create a new Mechanical Race. In any case, after so many years of reproduction, the old Mechanical Race was already in his grasp. Just the name of his ancestor alone would not be able to shake his foundation as the leader.

On the other side, Milizaus was also with the ancestor of the Starry Spiritual Dragon Race, but the atmosphere was completely different.

“Old man, is what you said true? Do you really have a way to reduce my size while maintaining full combat power ” Milizaus was shocked.

“Heh, this is my unique secret skill. You can only use it if you have my bloodline. However, after you became a Beyond Grade A, you diluted my bloodline and turned it into a new species. This won’t do! Later, I’ll put in a few hundred tons of dragon blood. You can use magic to smelt it and fuse it into your body to increase the density of your bloodline. Let me examine you properly the next time you come. I’ll help you adjust this secret skill and tailor it for you.”

A small blue dragon that was about ten meters long was lying on Milizaus’ enormous body. Its body was beautiful, and its crystal-like blue dragon scales sparkled brightly. The golden dragon’s horns were like jade, and they looked like a crown. There were thick gray whiskers on both sides of its head.

‘Dragon Mage’ Marsebo Demeliter was originally a blue dragon with a mutated bloodline. After advancing to Beyond Grade A, he had sublimated his genes and had astonishing magical talent. He had created countless Dragon Spells, and the Starry Spiritual Dragon was just one of the branches of his bloodline.

Currently, many of the Dragon Spells that Milizaus used were the legacy of Marsebo. Putting his actual combat ability aside, Milizaus was still inferior to him in terms of magic research and development.

The way Mages and Mechanics ate resources was different. Milizaus did not care who ruled the race. As soon as he saw his erudite ancestor, he came over to exchange experiences. It just so happened that the two dragons had straightforward personalities, so they chatted quite happily. Marsebo did not hide anything and expressed that he could solve Milizaus’ biggest problem.

In fact, there were quite a number of spells that could shrink one’s size, but the body structure of different races was different, and the spell models required were also different. This was the magic theory that emphasized the usability of spells.

As for Milizaus—who had a special Beyond Grade A powerful dragon body-although there were some rare spells that could shrink his body, they would reduce his combat power by a certain percentagelike the Bone Shrinking Technique. Therefore, he would only be at his peak state when he released his entire body.

However, the secret skill that Marsebo mentioned did not have such negative effects. Instead, it could increase the density of one’s body, strengthen one’s defense and resistance and increase one’s combat power instead of decreasing it. It was a Dragon Spell that could only be used under certain conditions.

Milizaus was pleasantly surprised, and he continued to question Marsebo. Marsebo was very generous, saying as long as you want to learn, I will teach you. After all, I am your ancestor.

Once he learned this secret skill, he would no longer have to be a target for others. His combat strength would increase tremendously. Thinking of this future, Milizaus felt his heart burn with passion.

He could finally escape the fate of being a meat shield!

Such a promising profession should be left to Black Star!

It was worth it to get to know this ancestor!

Underworld Dimension.

Han Xiao and Hila teleported over to check on Aegon Vardnadze.

Aegon Vardnadze had already turned into a Hero Spirit, and he was surrounded by the eight brothers.

Seeing Han Xiao arrive, Aegon Vardnadze’s eyes bulged, and he said angrily, “You actually killed me, you…”

“Shut up. Without me, you would still be a dead man. You don’t even have the right to be killed. You went too far. This is your punishment.” Han Xiao interrupted him expressionlessly. Hila turned to look at the eight brothers and asked, “Have you helped him figure out his situation?”

“I’ve already told him about the situation in the Underworld, but it seems like he has yet to accept reality.”

Sorokin shrugged.

Hearing this, Aegon Vardnadze turned around and glared at Hila.

“Don’t even think about making me your slave. I will never serve you!”

“Oh.” Hila remained indifferent.

Han Xiao crossed his arms and said casually, “It’s better to live than to die. You have to think carefully. Although you are being controlled by others, in a sense, this is an immortal body.”

“Death is better than losing freedom!”

Aegon Vardnadze held his head high.

Han Xiao clapped his hands and turned to look at Hila. “Lock him up alone. Let him out when he changes his mind.”

“Alright, I can adjust Hero Spirit’s sense of time and make it feel like years.”

Without hesitation, Hila used her Underworld authority and locked Aegon Vardnadze up without waiting for him to speak. Seeing this, the eight Underworld Brothers clicked their tongues in sympathy.

Hero Spirits’ senses were all controlled by the controller of the Underworld, and they could simulate all kinds of experiences. They would surely suffer if they offended the authorities.

“From now on, there will be nine Hero Spirit Kings in the Underworld. They are at least peak Beyond Grade As, and their strength is only slightly weaker than Sorokin’s. We have gained another powerhouse.”

Han Xiao nodded. He did not doubt that Aegon Vardnadze would submit to his fate because he had no other choice.

If this guy was really that tough, he would not have begged for mercy when he was beaten up.

If Aegon Vardnadze was obedient, he would at most be placed under house arrest for a while. However, Han Xiao did not have any psychological burden in locking him up in the Underworld. He would have to pay the corresponding price for causing the disturbance.

You chose it yourself, hero!

On the other side, Sorokin was in a good mood.

Finally, there was another newcomer. This way, he would not be the youngest…

Happy!

At the same time, in the World Tree territory.

Roots extended out from the space, continuously sending out new fleets. Heart Tree King sat on his throne and looked at the scene before him.

“How’s the situation now?”

“Other than some high-level combatants who are still in the process of reviving, the battleships and soldiers that were lost in the previous battle were all replenished by the mother tree. Some troops have been reassembled, and there are already 230 billion battleships being sent to the secondary dimension world, searching for the territory of the other civilization there…”

The executive officer at the side reported the current situation.

“Hmm.” The Heart Tree King nodded calmly. The main universe’s offensive route was blocked, and the World Tree began to make multiple preparations, planning to start from the secondary dimension and invade through another route.

However, the World Tree did not give up on attacking the intercepting circle. It had been gathering more troops, and at the same time, letting the advance troops exhaust the three Universal Civilizations’ forces and push the jump point forward.

“The other party is currently in a stalemate with our beyond-visual-range encampment. Their expansion has been obstructed and is almost at a standstill. The effect of this plan is very obvious. I estimate that before we launch our next attack, the jump point would be able to remain in this area and will not be pushed further,” another World Tree executive said.

“Not bad.”

Heart Tree King praised and suddenly paused. “Have you found the source of the information leak? How did they know about our strategic deployment?”

“Hmm, we have an idea. It seems to be related to foreseers.”

An executive took out a report and explained:

“According to the data, 93.4% of the exposed tactical deployments have one thing in common. All of them were foreseen by the Information Form Foreseers. We have reason to suspect that the strategic deployment was leaked to the other party because of this. As for what methods the other party used, we don’t know for the time being.

Currently, all foresight has been stopped, and we are currently investigating the details of the abilities of all the Information Form Foreseers, the awakening situation, and the origin to find the source of the leak…”

The three Universal Civilizations had discovered many tactical deployments, so the World Tree naturally noticed the anomaly. Although they did not know the abilities of Destiny’s Child, through data analysis, the World Tree Civilization still found the reason for the leakage of information. Even if they could not cure the root cause, they could at least deal with the symptoms. Heart Tree King patted the armrest and said slowly: “It’s good that you’ve found the reason. However, don’t seal off the other party’s intelligence channels. When needed, this channel will come in handy. It might catch them off guard.”

Chapter 1353: Migration and Invitation to Fight

Under the deliberate publicity of the three Universal Civilizations, the news of Black Star using the Sanctum Revival to wake up many more Beyond Grade As spread like wildfire within a few days and spread to the troops stationed in the intercepting circle, boosting their morale.

Beyond Grade As were not only high-level combatants, but they were also the spiritual pillars of many soldiers during times of war. The more strong individuals in the army, the more confident the soldiers would be.

The relevant information was also specially sent back to the galactic society, which also excited a large number of people and various powers.

In the past, many galactic residents hated the Sanctum Revival deeply, thinking it was because of the confidence in Beyond Grade As and that they were on opposing sides. However, now that the Beyond Grade As had gone on to fight against the foreign enemies and become the strength to protect the galactic society, the attitude of these galactic residents also changed. They were full of praise about the Sanctum Revival and wished for more Beyond Grade As to revive and guarantee their safety.

Even during the war, the Wayne Card distributors did not miss the opportunity to do business. They had launched a new ‘Revivor’ card series. It had synergistic effects when it appeared together with some Character Summon Cards and Force Cards that it had special relationships with, and had different reactions. They were like hidden Easter eggs. The reactions of the various organizations were not one-sided excitement like the people’s. They secretly assessed the impact of this matter on themselves, especially those organizations that had ties with these historical Beyond Grade As.

In a certain branch of the Machinery Faith.

In the spacious hall of the temple, bishops dressed in the Mechanical Holy Official robes of different styles gathered together and discussed in low voices with excitement.

“The original deity has returned. We should worship his honorific name again!”

“Who would have thought that one day, I would be able to see the living Nilfgadi.”

The bishops were excited.

As the Mechanical Deity who was worshiped first, Nilfgadi had a special position in the Machinery Faith.

Because only the living Mechanical Deity could receive feedback from the believers, the dead Mechanical Deities only had commemorative significance, becoming the ‘old deities’ that were rarely mentioned.

However, Nilfgadi was an exception. Every time there was a prayer ceremony, the Machinery Faith believers would chant his honorific name. This was a treatment that other Mechanical Deities did not receive.

Now that Nilfgadi was alive again, they could resume making offerings to him.

However, the Machinery Faith was an extremely realistic group of believers, and they only believed in the strong. Although Nilfgadi’s position was special, it would not immediately shake Black Star’s current position unless he could prove that his mechanical skill was stronger.

Furthermore, the Sanctum Revival was brought about by Black Star. The various archbishops present thought about this and reached a consensus.

“Although the original deity has a different meaning to us, he was brought back by Black Star. His current position should not be above Black Star’s.”

“That’s right. It was Black Star who awakened all the old deities and revived the glory of the Church. Because of this, we should give Black Star a new honorific name and separate him from the other Mechanical Deities, allowing him to enjoy a unique position.”

“Since Nilfgadi is the original deity, why not call Black Star the revival deity?”

“This doesn’t feel okay. In my opinion, whether the old deities awaken or not is completely controlled by Black Star. Why don’t we call him the Old Ones’ Dominator?”

“Why does it feel a little weird… Let’s change it. I think the title ‘Immortal Black, Holy Lord of the Church, Guardian of the Door of the Old Deities, and Adjudicator of Life and Death’ isn’t bad.”

“That’s too long. Those who don’t know would think there are four people.”

“What’s wrong with it? Tell me if it’s nice or
not!”

The group of bishops had a heated argument over Black Star’s new honorific name, but they could not convince each other. In the end, they had even started fighting.

Central Galaxy, on a modified planet.

A transport fleet with the Black Star Army insignia slowly entered the port, and under the guidance of the artificial intelligence robot at the port, large rectangular transport ships stopped at different docks.

The hatch opened one after another, and groups of Black Star Army soldiers walked out. They stood in formation, took out their indicator lights, and commanded. Large batches of Planet Aquamarine citizens swarmed out, forming a long line. They stepped on the dock and headed toward the designated settlement.

The army warriors maintained order. Although there was a slight commotion in the crowd, it was still in order. However, the constant left and right looks revealed the nervousness and curiosity in most people’s hearts.

In the command room of the transport ship, Bennett looked down at the migrating crowd on the dock with a complicated expression.

During the early stages of the war, he had responded to Black Star’s call and organized a long-distance migration for all the citizens of Planet Aquamarine. At that time, it naturally attracted a large number of objections. Many people were not willing to migrate, and they met with a lot of resistance when executing the plan.

To most people, their mother planet held an unforgettable emotion. No matter how far they wandered in the universe, their mother planet was their spiritual home. There were too many examples of people willing to live and die with their mother planet in the face of a disaster.

However, these problems were all forcefully suppressed by Bennett. Regardless of whether they were willing or not, they were all packed up and sent to the transport fleet. Since the various Star Fields were undergoing major migration, the current transportation efficiency was limited. The transport fleet had also been traveling for a long time. Bennett emphasized the need to do this along the way, and with his emotional reasoning, he finally suppressed most of the dissatisfaction. The people of Planet Aquamarine could only helplessly accept reality and worry about the future.

Although this was only a temporary refuge, they did not know if this was the last time they would see their mother planet.

If the World Tree successfully invaded, the Flickering World would be the first to bear the brunt, and the Shattered Star Ring was adjacent to the Flickering World. It was very likely to become the second main battlefield, and one day the news of the destruction of their mother planet would be known countless light-years away. “I wonder if I’ll have the chance to go back in the future…”

Bennett sighed with mixed feelings.

At this moment, a faint female voice sounded from the side.

“This is your new home.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency Ames,” Bennett turned around and thanked her. “Hmm, I’ll leave this place to you. I’ll leave Floating Dragon behind as your guard.”

Ames nodded and walked out of the cabin.

She had not been stationed at the frontline at the moment, and she originally had the thought to go participate. However, Black Star had asked her to escort Planet Aquamarine’s migration troops, so she had been delayed.

In reality, Ames knew that Black Star’s request was to protect her in disguise, but the escort journey would end sooner or later and it would be time for her to head to the frontlines.

Furthermore, she wanted to see with her own eyes what kind of existence the nightmare was that had forced Black Star to keep going for so many years.

Interception circle base, Revivors’ area.

In the vast space, streams of light were constantly colliding with each other, creating a shocking energy wave. Many of the current Beyond Grade As were fighting with different Revivors.

Han Xiao and his other comrades, who did not make a move, stood at the side and watched the battle. From time to time, they would use various methods to neutralize the shockwaves.

The people who had just revived were not in their peak state. They had been undergoing restorative training during this period and the older Mechanics and Mages still had to learn the new theories and technologies that had been developed over the years. They were very busy.

Because the Beyond Grade As guarding the intercepting circle had nothing to do, sparring became their main task. They had been helping the Revivors recover their strength and frequently sparred.

Although most of the knowledge banks of the Revivors were behind the times, some of the lost skills were brought back by the Revivors. They were not stingy with their teachings, which indirectly increased the average strength of the current Beyond Grade As.

Among them, Milizaus was the one with the greatest increase in strength. He had finally managed to compress his body as he wished. He had just learned the Dragon Secret Skill taught by his ancestor, and he was already able to compress his mothership-sized body to about three hundred meters long. This alone was enough to make him overjoyed. His combat strength had increased significantly.

According to him, as long as he could master this secret skill, he should be able to shrink his dragon body to a dozen meters long at most, and its density would increase exponentially, just like the difference between stone and steel.

“In the past, Milizaus had high HP, average defense, and basically zero evasion. When he completes this transformation, not only would his defense increase tremendously, but his evasion rate would also return to normal. His flexibility would also increase by half a level.”

Han Xiao estimated.

After watching the spar for a while, he opened the interface and scanned the forums.

Thanks to the World Tree’s beyond-visual-range encampment strategy, the players had been carrying out missions with extremely rich rewards. More than half of the IDs on the level leaderboards had changed. The players who had been lucky enough to obtain missions to die had all gone up. The current first place was six levels higher than the first place two months ago, reaching level 173. It was only seven levels away from the current version limit of level 180. This leveling rate was quite fast for the players.

However, only a small number of people managed to snatch the suicide mission, and this good opportunity would disappear very soon. Han Xiao had already provided the blueprints for the special detection equipment, and the three Universal Civilizations had sent a batch of semi-finished products over, waiting for him to complete the most important core steps.

As long as they had the finished product for the detection device, the three Universal Civilizations would be able to utilize it on the battlefield very quickly. They would be able to get rid of the World Tree’s beyond-visual-range encampment in one go. This way, the players would only be able to participate in a large-scale spacetime splicing self-destruction operation once more, and they would no longer be able to enjoy such a high-quality catalyst that stimulates their growth so fast.

“I wonder what new plans the World Tree Civilization will come up with after this strategy is broken… Speaking of which, it seems like Destiny’s Child has not gained much recently?”

Han Xiao stroked his chin thoughtfully.

According to Hila’s report, the frequency of Destiny’s Child taking effect had decreased significantly compared to the beginning. Furthermore, the information obtained from the surveillance was mostly unimportant and did not provide much help with the current situation.

This sign was a signal in Han Xiao’s eyes. Either the World Tree Civilization felt that the effect of the foresight method was ordinary and stopped using it on a large scale, or the World Tree Civilization realized the reason for the leak and took precautions. “Hmm… The World Tree still sensed it? It’s faster than I expected.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Although the surveillance channels of Destiny’s Child were hidden, through the analysis of the battle, he could sense that some of the actions made by the three Universal Civilizations were as if they had received information beforehand, so he naturally suspected the possibility of the information being leaked.

Although it was difficult to find the mechanism of Destiny’s Child, through the relevant data screening, the World Tree had a high chance of discovering that the foreseers were the source of the leak. The three Universal Civilizations could do this too, but their reaction speed would be slower.

Han Xiao had never been certain that Destiny’s Child could keep on concealing the leak from the World Tree. After all, this was not something that could not be solved. He would not believe that this low-risk intelligence channel would always be reliable, but the longer he hid it, the better.

“If the World Tree realized this, they might use this intelligence channel to send misleading information to us… It seems that any information obtained from Destiny’s Child will have to be filtered.”

Han Xiao pondered.

Just as he was pondering, the sparring session also came to an end. They all stopped when they reached a certain point and focused on communication.

After watching the entire process, Kasuyi sighed.

“As expected of the elites of the past generations.”

“They’re all people with great luck. The concentration of luck outside is almost beyond the standard. It’s more balanced here.” Secret Master nodded. “Seeing them alive and kicking, I’m deeply gratified. These people are the epitome of the evolutionary history of our civilization, the essence accumulated over generations.” Not far away, Oulou acted as if he was giving pointers.

“…But we’re still better.” Manison glanced at him.

Civilizations continued to develop, the experience was passed down, and techniques were innovated from generation to generation. Of course, they would not be inferior to the past. Currently, among the Beyond Grade As, the combat power of the current generation was superior-especially with Black Star, who had broken the record.

“You guys are so noisy.”

Han Xiao looked at them helplessly. They were just watching the battle. He did not know why they were acting out so much. He retracted his gaze and turned to look at the many revivors who were returning to the battleship in groups. Suddenly, he had an idea. After hesitating for two seconds, Han Xiao opened the communication channel and smiled.

“Seeing you guys having a good time, my hands are a little itchy too. Who’s interested in playing with me? I promise to be gentle.”

Chapter 1354: The Trouble of the Strong Is the Increase in Difficulty of Harvesting Benefits

As soon as he said that, the Beyond Grade As in the cabin could not help but look at him with surprise. The Revivors who were boarding the ship were also stunned.

“What are you trying to do?” Kasuyi was surprised.

“It’s just a spar. Why are you putting on such an expression? Stop making a fuss.”

Looking at their expressions, Han Xiao felt helpless.

The current Beyond Grade As knew his abilities very well. Even if he wanted to spar with someone, not many would be willing to respond. All of them were very smart and protected their benefits very well.

Furthermore, he had a special position now, and his every move was being watched. It would make people think too much, and it was not convenient for him to fight with his own people.

However, the newly awakened Revivors did not have a deep enough impression of him. They might agree to it, and there might be a chance to trigger the Beyond Grade A Challenge. It was worth trying. Many revivors’ expressions changed, and they immediately thought of something else. Black Star, as the president of a Beyond Grade A Association, actually took the initiative to challenge them. Could it be that he was afraid that they would not be willing to be placed under house arrest and had some thoughts, so he wanted to teach them a lesson and make them behave?

As they thought about it, the lively communication channel became silent instantly.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Han Xiao coughed and asked, “Why are you all so reserved? Does no one want to play with me?”

Reserved your head! you definitely have an ulterior motive…

Many Beyond Grade As rolled their eyes inwardly.

When Aegon Vardnadze was killed, they witnessed the tip of Black Star’s strength. Although they had just revived, they still cared about their face. Why would they want to get beaten up for no reason?

If they could defeat Black Star, they would be able to increase their prestige. However, they had yet to recover to their peak state, and they knew that not many people had the confidence to defeat the most outstanding Beyond Grade A representative in this era.

Although Nilfgadi had agreed to spar in the future, he did not even have a single group of mechanical troops right now, so he had no intention of standing out. Even after waiting more than ten seconds, no one had responded.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Aurora broke the silence of the channel and said softly, “Erm… don’t worry about getting hurt. I will treat you.”

Hila snorted and took a few steps forward. “If your hands are itchy, I can spar with you. Why are you looking for someone else?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao looked back at the two sisters.

Finally, there’s someone who upholds my prestige. The two of you still love me…

Kasuyi laughed and also tried to smooth things over. “Alright, alright, Black Star doesn’t have any bad intentions, there’s no need to be so wary. If you are not willing, then forget it.”

“Tsk, you make it sound like I’m taking advantage of their weakness. Forget it, let’s talk when you guys are at your peak.”

Seeing that no one was paying attention to his invitation, Han Xiao had no choice but to find a way out, thinking it was getting more and more difficult to gain benefits.

Just as he was about to change the topic and dismiss everyone, a deep voice sounded in the channel.

“There’s no need to wait for the future. I’ll be your opponent!”

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up, and he quickly turned around. He saw a burly creature with a fist clenched

Pugilist!

He’s here, he’s here, he’s here with a headstrong attitude!

The revivors all turned around and stared at the guy in shock.

“Kher, do you really think you’re his match?” someone could not help but ask.

“Humph, I still have this bit of self-awareness. However, facing difficulties head-on is my martial path! Not daring to fight even when there is no danger to my life will only damage my belief in martial arts. Since I met an expert, I can use it to train myself!”

Kher’s face was cold, and his battle intent soared.

Han Xiao was touched.

As expected of a Pugilist, they never let him down!

Seeing this, many of the revivors were speechless. He knew that Black Star probably wanted to establish his dominance, but he still rushed forward. Only a Pugilist would do something like that.

Everyone silently distanced themselves from Kher, afraid that they would be infected with simpleton disease.

“Since you’ve agreed, let’s spar.”

Han Xiao could not wait to fly out of the cabin, afraid that this kid would go back on his word.

Kher was just an ordinary neutral Beyond Grade A. Even though he was not an expert, he was still a Beyond Grade A. No matter how small the benefits to gain from him, Han Xiao would still take it; in any case, he was not picky. And just because he was an ordinary Beyond Grade A did not mean that he did not have good abilities. After all, he, himself, had many Molding Talents that were drawn from ordinary Supers.

“Wait a minute, what are the stakes in our sparring?” Kher asked again.

“What do you want?”

“If I can beat you, you will remove my house arrest and give me freedom,” said Kher in a low, muffled voice.

This time, even Han Xiao, who knew the habits of a Pugilist, was surprised, and everyone was stunned.

No way, no way, do you really think you have the upper hand against a peak Beyond Grade A

If you want to fight head-on, we can still accept you using a strong enemy to train yourself, but do you really think you have a chance to win? You’re overestimating yourself!

As if noticing the confusion of Han Xiao and his companions, Kher said with a deep voice:

“Although the chance isn’t high, setting up a goal can stimulate my potential and allow me to unleash greater strength! The difference between our strength is too great, so I need to use all external factors to strengthen my combat strength!”

“You’re really… pure.”

Han Xiao did not know what to say.

Everyone returned to the spaceship to watch the battle.

On the battlefield, Kher’s body was filled with flames, and he was ready to fight. He faced Han Xiao from afar, and his aura locked onto Han Xiao.

The aura of a Pugilist was not bad, but the difference in strength was too huge. Han Xiao had already tried his best to feel it, but he really could not feel any sense of danger. In his eyes, it was like a little kitten brandishing its claws at him. It was not fierce at all, but rather cute.

Han Xiao looked at the interface, and the related Beyond Grade A Challenge mission successfully popped up. With so many Beyond Grade As watching, their influence had naturally reached the standard to trigger the mission.

The mission form was still to last for a sufficient amount of time. The reward for the highest level of drawing abilities required him to last for a total of twenty minutes. Of course, this requirement was not difficult for him at all. On the contrary, he doubted if Kher could last that long in his hands…

“Therefore, the difficulty this time lies in how I’m going to go easy for twenty minutes… Kakasu is good at this, so I have to use that as a reference.”

Han Xiao’s face twitched.

Is it me or Kher who is doing the challenge mission?

“I’m coming!”

Kher’s aura reached its peak, and he suddenly let out a low roar. The flames on his body expanded, and he pushed his palms continuously. The continuous Shockwave Blasts moved like a yellow chain.

Han Xiao’s body did not move, and Floating Cannons appeared behind his back like a halo of light. it shot out dense beams of light, destroying all the incoming Shockwave Blasts.

Seeing this, Kher’s body shook, and he suddenly split into dozens of flaming clones and they charged at Han Xiao from all directions. He did not rush forward but instead held his palms together to accumulate power.

Han Xiao clenched his fists and punched both sides. The powerful force field activated by the mechanical suit swept past, instantly destroying all the clones that were approaching

At this time, Kher had already completed his rapid accumulation. A dazzling Pugilist aura lit up between his hands, and he suddenly pushed forward.

A bright yellow Pugilist light wave surrounded by a sharp aura shot toward Han Xiao like a rapidly extending lightsaber. Accompanying the surging energy was a loud shout from Kher in the communication channel.

“Ha! Galaxy Splitting Fist—Third Style!”

Hearing the shameless name, Han Xiao felt that even the Pugilist light waves had become stronger.

This was the real deal! Shouting the name of the move during the attack indeed had a bonus effect!

The corners of Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. He suppressed the burning desire to ridicule and raised his hand to summon a psionic shield.

The next moment, a bright yellow Pugilist light wave crashed into the rippling blue psionic shield and a dazzling light wheel exploded.

The shockwave dissipated. Han Xiao was unshaken and the psionic shield flickered a few times before stabilizing again.

Kher’s expression changed. He said solemnly:

“You actually used such a tight defense. As expected, this move can’t break your defense. This won’t be simple!”

Han Xiao: “…”

I only took out a basic shield. Since when did it become a tight defense? Don’t take the liberty to give me more screen time! Seeing that Kher was going to continue spewing bullshit, Han Xiao’s face twitched. He simply opened the secondary dimensional army box. He did not have the heart to summon a large group to bully others, so he only pulled out an Apostle Weapon that was covered in other weapons.

“Heaven-Suppressing Banner, go deal with him.”

The Heaven-Suppressing Banner noddedpicked up the accompanying shield and heavy axe—and headed straight for Kher with the exhaust flames shooting out of its thrusters. The man and the machine immediately tangled together and fought at close range.

Han Xiao did not interfere. He stood by the side and watched the Heaven-Suppressing Banner fight Kher alone while silently counting the time.

With the enhancement of his Mechanical Force bonuses, the Apostle Weapons could already fight against high-level Beyond Grade As, and fighting against ordinary Beyond Grade As was no problem at all.

The two sides fought intensely, and Han Xiao finally reached the end of the twenty minutes. Seeing that the mission reward on the highest level was in a completed state, he immediately acted and knocked Kher down easily. With such a huge difference in strength, there was no suspense in this battle.

“Alright, you have satisfied your desire. You should practice more… Who else wants to spar with me?”

Han Xiao did not go all out, using his control method to immobilize Kher. He turned to look at the spaceships watching the battle.

The channel was silent. The revivors curled their lips but did not respond.

They had thought that Black Star would defeat Kher with lightning speed, but they had fought for twenty minutes. However, they knew that Black Star was deliberately giving Kher a chance to show off. To him, this was not even a warm-up.

Many of the revivors thought about it and felt that they understood. Black Star probably felt that the gap between him and Kher was too big, and defeating him in one go would not have any effect. Furthermore, it would seem like he was using too much strength to bully the weak. Thus, he decided to use a different method to show others that even one Apostle Weapon of his could fight an ordinary Beyond Grade A head-on, indirectly showing his strength.

A portion of them felt that they had seen the truth. Although they felt that they had seen through Black Star’s schemes, they had to admit that Black Star’s performance had indeed deepened their impression of him being unfathomable. If a single Apostle Weapon could fight against an ordinary Beyond Grade A, then wouldn’t Black Starwho had dozens of Apostle Weapons—be equal to tens of Beyond Grade As? How terrifying!

“…Since no one is interested in fighting, let’s go back.”

Han Xiao waited for a while. Seeing that no one spoke, he knew that he would not be able to get another fool. He released his control over Kher and returned to the spaceship.

Kher rubbed his sore shoulders, but he was not discouraged. Instead, he felt that after this round of torture, his endurance had increased, and his belief in martial arts had become firmer. His brain circuit was indeed different from ordinary people. With this incident, everyone returned to the main base without saying a word. They then dispersed and returned to their respective areas.

Han Xiao changed into King and teleported back to the army base in the Flickering World. He looked for Feidin and Nero to get some luck before returning to his room to conclude the mission.

Feidin, Nero, Karlot, and other potential officers who had yet to reach Beyond Grade A were not dispatched to the frontlines for the time being and were still in training. Naturally, he had some selfish motives. If he allowed the Beyond Grade A seeds to suffer a large number of casualties on the frontlines, it would not be worth it. The current situation had not reached the point where they needed to fill the gaps with people’s lives.

“I hope I can get something suitable this time. Although Kher is a little rash, he still has some good abilities…”

Han Xiao had seen Kher’s attributes before, and it was like a prize pool to him. He rubbed his hands and chose to conclude the mission.

The next moment, the interface showed that the mission was completed. Han Xiao skipped the basic reward and looked at the notification at the bottom.

(You have received a reward: Draw one of Kher’s Ability/Talent]

Note: Kher is a Pugilist. Parts of abilities have been adjusted to your class.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one of the five options below as the reward.

[Iron Headbutt – First Style] – Ability: Hit the target with the firm head .+25% Attack Power, Defense of the head increased temporarily +250%. There is a chance to cause [Concussion], [Dizziness), and other debuffs to yourself or the enemy. Cooldown: 14S.

[Crow Cluster Cannon) – Ability: For the next 5 seconds,+120% Ranged Attack Speed, -30% Attack Power, and 3-5% chance of obtaining the (Homing) attribute for every Ranged Attack. Cooldown: 355

[Unyielding Challenger] – Talent: When facing enemies with a higher level than you, all attributes increased by 3% to 15% depending on the level difference.

(Chain Attack Amplification) – Talent: Damage increases with chain attacks, up to 12%.

(Azure Dragon Bind) – Ability: Enemies will be restricted at close range, rooting both parties. The duration of the target’s escape depends on the difference in Strength and Endurance. The minimum duration of control is 2s.

Chapter 1355: Pangon’s Choice, New Offensive

“Iron Headbutt… And it’s only just the first style. Could there be an entire set of moves?”

Looking at the notification on the interface, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he could not take his eyes off the first option.

He had always thought that being headstrong was just an adjective to describe a Pugilist’s personality, but he did not expect it to be an actual skill.

Han Xiao looked down and saw the other options. After pondering for a while, he came to a decision.

Both talents were not bad, but he did not really want them. As his level increased, the effect of (Undefeated Challenger) kept decreasing. With his current level, he would not have many chances to trigger it. Furthermore, since he keeps leveling up, this talent would only become more and more useless. As for (Chain Strike Amplification]-it was practical and his mechanical army could easily max out the Chain Combo, but the bonuses provided were a little low. His current strength base was very strong, and he did not lack such ordinary passive bonuses.

In comparison, Han Xiao currently wanted some abilities with special tactical effects that would be more effective in battle.

[Crow Cluster Cannon) could increase the explosive power of concentrated fire, and its range was much higher than (Combo Attack Amplification). However, from Han Xiao’s perspective, his damage was already high. What he lacked was a guaranteed hit rate.

Han Xiao was also not too inclined toward the other skill (Azure Dragon Bind). After all, the restriction of only being able to activate it at close range was quite a setback, and he could not move either side after using it. However, he had his eyes on it precisely because of the rare ability of two-second crowd control.

This was only the effect of Lv.1. If he could reach the maximum level, coupled with some of his talents that could increase the level of his skills, he would be able to extend the minimum duration of this control skill.

You have received new skill (Azure Dragon Bind)!

“Not to mention, it sounds pretty good. It’s much better than a name like Iron Headbutt….”

Han Xiao clicked his tongue and opened his attribute interface. He quickly found a new golden skill and continuously leveled up. Although he was trying to reach level 360 and did not want to waste his experience, the consumption of leveling up a skill to the maximum would not affect his overall plan.

Very quickly, (Azure Dragon Bind) went from Lv.1 to Lv.10, and the minimum control time reached 2.6 seconds. At the same time, it provided additional Strength and Endurance, increasing the difficulty of the target breaking free.

After all, Han Xiao had not added any Strength attribute, so it was only average for his level. However, his Endurance was still passable. He was now focusing on Endurance, adding part of his Attribute Points to Endurance every time he successfully forged a Universal Treasure.

“This expert here finally has a locking skill. If I had this skill before, Subduing Tree King would not have been able to break free so easily.”

Han Xiao rubbed his chest in glee. Just as he was about to find someone to test his skills, his communicator suddenly rang. It was a call from Ames. She said that she was coming to the frontline and told Han Xiao to activate the King to pick her up. Seeing Ames’s firm attitude, Han Xiao did not force her to stay behind and brought her back to the base.

Furthermore, he could use Ames to test out his new move and see how the actual combat effect would be.

Central Galaxy, desolate universe belt.

A small fleet was slowly cruising through the boundless space, seemingly without any destination.

In the command room of the main ship, a group of operators wearing all kinds of armor were piloting a spaceship. From afar, they looked like a group of space pirates. At the front of the command center stood a few intimidating guys wearing hooded robes.

“Due to the invasion of foreign enemies, the armies of the three Universal Civilizations have entered the various Star Fields at the border. Hinterland is currently empty. Furthermore, a large number of galactic residents are currently hiding in the Central Galaxy. This is a good opportunity…” a hooded man said softly.

Hearing this, the other hooded men stirred slightly. The hooded man standing at the front let out a long breath and slowly spoke.

“Forget it, let’s not move now.”

“Why? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” The other person’s voice was filled with excitement and confusion.

“I said no means no!”

The hooded man at the front raised his head slightly, revealing his face under the hood. It was the mysterious Pangon. These hooded men were the Avengers who left the Holy Accord.

“Pangon, are you feeling compassion?” a Beyond Grade A coldly said. “You’re backing off because of the enemy invasion? Are you not willing to affect the so-called ‘big picture’? Don’t forget that our goal is to take revenge on the three Universal Civilizations. We want to wipe out the entire civilization. The enemy is our help from the heavens, and there would be no better time to destroy their rule and give us a chance to fight them with as few losses as possible. Otherwise, do you really think just the few of us can shake the foundation of the three Universal Civilizations!”

“Are you teaching me how to do things?”

Pangon’s expression was equally cold.

This person was not afraid at all. He glared back and said with a deep voice, “Then why do you think we should let go of this opportunity? If our paths are different, it’s better to disband early and go our separate ways.”

The others also trained their gazes at Pangon.

Their civilization had been destroyed by the three Universal Civilizations in the exploration era, and they had a deep-rooted hatred for each other. They had already put their lives on the line for revenge. The World Tree’s invasion made them happy instead of shocked, thinking that the heavens were helping them.

Pangon paused, took out a thick handmade cigarette, lit it, and took a puff. The smoke filled the air with silence.

“Speak!” His teammate demanded coldly.

Pangon glanced at him, tapped the ash off his cigarette, and slowly said, “The Great Relocation Plan should have been the time when the galactic pirates were rampant. But the militaries of the various civilizations are escorting their citizens to the Central Galaxy to take refuge, and the number of galactic residents wandering outside is decreasing… This makes it harder and harder for the galactic pirates to live. Not only is there barely any prey, but the remaining are also being wiped out by the military…”

“What are you trying to say?”

“What I’m saying is, even if we want to seize this opportunity to shake the rule of the three Universal Civilizations, we don’t have enough manpower. We might as well take this opportunity to consolidate the galactic pirates and obtain sufficient armed forces. Otherwise, even if we go to the hinterlands of the three Universal Civilizations to cause trouble, we won’t be able to.”

Pangon paused and analyzed calmly.

“Furthermore, if we obstruct the three Universal Civilizations’ plan, Black Star will surely come and kill us. Do you really want to see him?”

Hearing this, fear flashed in everyone’s eyes, and they fell silent.

Pangon glanced at them and continued smoking, no longer bothering to speak. This was both sincere and an excuse. In all fairness, although the invasion of foreign enemies was a good opportunity to shake the three Universal Civilizations, Pangon did not wish to use this opportunity. One reason was because of Black Star’s threat, and the other was because of the Holy Accord.

After all, this was the hometown of Oathkeeper and his many Holy Accord companions. The fact that he was able to revive meant that he owed the Holy Accord a huge favor. At the same time, he also obtained his freedom. Now that some old friends were fighting against foreign enemies, he was not willing to drag his friends down.

Although he had decided to devote his life to revenge, he did not want to lose his loyalty.

The invasion of foreign enemies might be the only chance to destroy the three Universal Civilizations, but Pangon did not regret abandoning this route. He firmly believed that there would be another way.

The three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree were still engaged in a tug-of-war on the frontlines. After a while, as the first batch of special observation devices was released, the stalemate between the two sides was finally broken. The beyond visual range detection technology from the Ultimate Civilization of a previous iteration broke through the camouflage of the World Tree strongholds one after another and marked the entire camp on the radar. It was almost like they had poked through the fog of war and finally got back the initiative.

The entire intercepting command center was in high spirits, and they immediately organized a large number of players to form the Spacetime Splicing Army. They split up into tens of thousands of troops and headed toward all the camps in an attempt to wipe out all the enemy strongholds. The beyond visual range camps that were helping each other were quickly destroyed, and the hidden strongholds were caught off guard. Under the players’ fearless Spacetime Splicing Charge, the World Tree’s camps were destroyed one after another. The large number of ‘nails’ that the World Tree planted near the intercepting circle were removed.

After more than half a month of intense battle, the World Tree finally gave up on their Over-the-horizon camp tactic that had lost its effect. It no longer sent out new strongholds, allowing the three Universal Civilizations to clear the obstacles in expanding the intercepting circle and anchoring the orbit.

Without any obstruction, the speed of the space anchor’s expansion was quickly thawed and it flowed out quickly, continuing to push the World Tree’s jump point away from the intercepting circle.

In the next few months, the frequency of the clashes between the two armies increased, and the battle became more intense.

During this time, the World Tree launched two more assaults, and the fleet was tens of billions in size, triggering two large-scale battles.

The two battles had been fought by the army, and the World Tree did not send out any high-level combatants. It was purely to exhaust the three Universal Civilizations’ forces. It seemed like before they find a way to restrain Aurora, the World Tree would not allow their advanced combatants to participate in the battle. Furthermore, the experts who died the last time had not all revived, so they could not enter the battlefield.

Although the World Tree replenishment fleet and combatants would also consume resources, due to the World Tree’s characteristics—their resource utilization, resource development, resource regeneration, and resource reserves far exceeded the three Universal Civilizations. They had a huge advantage, and with both sides quickly mobilizing their troops, the World Tree planned to fight the three Universal Civilizations to exhaust their national strength.

Many Beyond Grade As had participated in these two large-scale battles. With Aurora’s help and the fact that the World Tree did not send any Beyond Grade As, the two battles had not been so dangerous, and no one had died yet.

Within a few months, Han Xiao had also provided some of the war technology that The First Sanctum had stored. He had manufactured the products in batches and allocated them to multiple troops, which had a significant effect on the army. This reduced the damage of the three Universal Civilizations’ fleets by quite a bit, and they were able to defeat the World Tree’s assault troops at a lower cost.

The surveillance channels of Destiny’s Child also discovered the signs of these two assaults in advance, which made the three Universal Civilizations wary, further reducing their losses.

With the special beyond vision detection devices provided by Han Xiao, the surveillance range and strength of the three Universal Civilizations had undergone a qualitative change. Even without Destiny’s Child, they were able to discover most of the World Tree’s actions near the intercepting circle. This important technology allowed the three Universal Civilizations to change parts of their strategy, and they no longer felt troubled because of their weakness in detection.

As such, the three Universal Civilizations also looked up at Han Xiao with more importance. They wanted Han Xiao to stay at the base and not participate in any battles, not allowing him to face any danger.

Black Star took out strategic technology one after another as if they were free, and almost every single one of them had the qualifications to be the trump card of an advanced civilization. This shocked the research departments of the three organizations, and they felt that Black Star’s research ability alone was more amazing than their entire department.

While the three Universal Civilizations managed to defeat the two waves of attacks with brute force, their intercepting circle and the space anchor orbit were both destroyed during the advance of the World Tree fleet, and the expansion was indirectly stopped.

Ever since the war broke out more than half a year ago, the two sides had been facing each other in this meat grinder. The World Tree had always been blocked outside and could not break through the blockade. It was as if they had finally exhausted their patience after all this time, as Destiny’s Child had captured important intelligence through the surveillance channels-showing that the World Tree Civilization was mobilizing troops in the territory and planning a new attack.

This was the World Tree’s biggest wave of attacks so far. Its scale was even larger than the previous three combined. It had already exceeded 200 billion, and it was unknown how many more they planned to send!

With such a huge attack, even if the intercepting circle could repel the enemy like the previous three times, it would still be heavily damaged. The moment Han Xiao received the news, he informed the command center and called for an emergency meeting.

Chapter 1356: Fortitude Tree King

Chapter 1356 Fortitude Tree King

In the conference room of the command center, the commanders and Beyond Grade As gathered together.

The three-dimensional star map of the intercepting circle was suspended above the tactical simulation table. Simon stood at the side and kept fiddling with the star map, using his fingers to draw out tactical signs as he explained the current situation.

“… Based on Black Star’s intelligence, the World Tree has gathered a 200 billion large army and is suspected to be launching an all-out attack. This is the distribution map of the various troops on our side, as well as the wormhole support base station. It can be seen that the fastest troops on our side are between sectors A-1075c and N-0744j. If the World Tree attacks this section of the defense line, all of our main defense troops can gather there at the fastest speed possible. However, the other defense lines are gathering at a slightly slower speed. This time difference might be the breakthrough point, causing the World Tree to break through the first and second layers of defense with its enormous strength. The strategic depth and wormhole support base will threaten the third and later layers of defense, creating a vicious cycle where we can only be passive…”

The expressions of the high-ranked commanders were grave. The pressure of a 200 billion large fleet was much higher than the previous three assaults. Any small factor could be the other party’s breakthrough point.

“I think after the previous three failures, the other party won’t repeat the same mistake this time. He will most likely change his attacking method and won’t charge straight in.”

“Our construction time is still too short. Not only does the World Tree want to break through the blockade, but it also wants to destroy our fortifications in one go. Only by removing the blockade-that we keep pushing forward-can they then stabilize the jump point and build the bridgehead to invade our territory.”

“We need more reinforcements from the rear. It’s best to increase the distance between the first two layers of defense and the strategic depth of the rear defense line to prevent the enemy from breaking through the blockade.”

The commanders of the troops expressed their opinions one after another, and the group discussed them fervently.

As for the Beyond Grade As, they only listened and did not participate.

However, after the upper echelons argued for a while, Simon turned around to ask Han Xiao.

“Black Star, what do you think?”

“You guys can decide on this. I have no objections.”

Han Xiao shook his head and expressed that he would let the professionals do the job.

However, he paused for a moment and added, “The World Tree is most likely aware of the source of the information leak. The authenticity of the information I obtained might also be the World Tree’s deliberate plan. This risk has to be considered.”

Simon took a deep breath and said, “I understand, but even if we can’t confirm if the intelligence is real or fake, we have to be prepared to deal with the 200 billion large fleet. Even if there’s only a one in a thousand chance that it’s real, we have to be on guard, or the consequences will be dire.”

“Indeed.” Han Xiao nodded. If it was true and he did not take precautions beforehand, he would most likely be killed by the World Tree. In the previous two attacks, Destiny’s Child had also monitored it. Han Xiao had also kept his suspicions, but in the end, it proved that the intelligence was accurate. However, this did not make him feel at ease. Instead, he became more vigilant.

If the World Tree had deliberately leaked information about the previous two attacks in an attempt to reduce their wariness, then it must have been holding back a big move to send fake information at the critical moment. It was just that they had no idea what the World Tree was planning.

“Thankfully, I found a new type of observation device from the First Sanctum and equipped the three Universal Civilizations with it. The World Tree won’t be able to act in secret like before. Any movements will be discovered.”

Han Xiao thought to himself.

Ever since the three Universal Civilizations had applied the special beyond visible range detection technology that he had provided to the battlefield, their reliance on Destiny’s Child’s surveillance channels had decreased greatly. Even if the World Tree had some plan, it could not be carried out secretly, and the risk was greatly reduced.

After a long meeting, the commanders left with heavy hearts.

Han Xiao and the others also left the conference room and returned to their residences.

On the way, Kasuyi pushed through the crowd and came to Han Xiao’s side. “The World Tree did not send any high-level combatants in the previous two attacks, but this time, it suddenly launched an all-out attack. Do you think it might have found a way to restrict Aurora?”

Han Xiao glanced at him. Before he could say anything, Sun Hunter jumped from Han Xiao’s shoulder to Kasuyi’s head and muttered in a low voice, “Heh, they might be planning to ignore the high-level combatants like us and just attack the defense line with their troops.”

“Ignore us? That’s possible. As long as they’re willing to take the risk of a local battle, no matter how powerful we are, we won’t be able to have a significant impact in a war of this scale. At most, we can open up a few opportunities.” Kasuyi pondered.

Seeing that the two of them were chatting, Han Xiao also gave up on the idea of responding and turned to look at Ames. “Hmm? Why are you looking at me?” Ames raised her brows.

“The enemy has brought out 200 billion fleets. Are you afraid?” Han Xiao asked casually.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of.” Ames shook her head. In the past few months, she had participated in the first two attacks of the World Tree, so she now had some war experience. “This time is different. The World Tree might bring out a high-level combatant. You have not participated in the first large-scale battle and have not fought with the World Tree experts. They are very difficult to deal with.”

“It’s a good opportunity for me to experience it,” Ames’s expression remained calm.

“Don’t look down on him. The intensity of the battle between Beyond Grade As cannot be compared to the previous two battles. I suggest you follow Milizaus.” Han Xiao pointed at Old Dragon.

“Why do I need to follow him?” Ames was curious.

“He’s so big. If you hide behind him, no one will be able to hit you. If necessary, you can even throw him out with force to help you block the attacks.”

Han Xiao shrugged.

“…You know I can hear you, right?”

Milizaus’ magic incarnation could not help but look over in resignation.

“I just want you to hear it. Her moniker is the Dragon Emperor. Isn’t it reasonable for her to sit on you?” Han Xiao curled his lips.

“That sounds familiar. Did you tell me this before?”

Milizaus snorted, not taking it seriously.

Han Xiao shrugged. “Don’t you think this strategy has some merit to it?”.

“I don’t think so at all. Plus, my body size has already shrunk a lot, so I won’t be targeted by the enemy at all. This plan will surely be useless.” Milizaus was very calm. People who had successfully lost some weight would always be this tough.

“Then recover your body. You have such a huge body, but you don’t shield your teammates from the wind and rain. This is a waste of God’s gift!”

What nonsense… Milizaus rolled his eyes and ignored Han Xiao.

The people were not scared by the large-scale battle that was about to break out. They returned to their residence chatting and laughing. Han Xiao closed the door, and his smile disappeared.

He had a feeling that the World Tree was going to use its high-level combatants this time, and the Tree King should not have revived yet. This time, there might be a new Tree King coming Among the five Great Tree Kings, only the Subduing Tree King had the simplest and most violent ability. The other few were all full of tricks. No matter who came, they would only be harder to deal with than him.

At the same time, in the Flickering World, in the territory of the Black Star Army, on a desolate planet.

Boom!

The two blurry figures were like shooting stars as they flew across the barren land, colliding with each other continuously. Every time they collided, an intense shockwave exploded, leaving huge craters on the ground.

Suddenly, the two figures came to a halt and revealed their appearances. One was Lothaire, and the other was Karlot.

Lothaire spun the dagger with his finger and put it into the blade pouch on his waist. “Your strength has increased again. You can already withstand my current strength. I will release more combat strength in the next combat training and continue squeezing out your potential.”

“Alright, I will train hard.” Karlot’s fists clashed together creating sparks. His face was filled with determination.

This was not the first time that he had requested to go to the frontlines to fight the enemies, but Black Star had rejected every time. He knew that this was a sign that Han Xiao valued his potential and was giving him time to grow. Karlot understood that his main mission was to focus on training and grow to the point where he could rush to the frontlines to help Han Xiao. Therefore, after the war broke out, he took the initiative to train every day.

“Hmm, at this rate you will become a Beyond Grade A soon…” Although Lothaire said this, he was secretly cursing

After training Karlot for the past few days, he realized that Karlot’s improvement was extraordinary. Furthermore, his growth did not slow down because of his increasing strength. Instead, it became faster and faster. It was as if there was no bottleneck. His daily improvement was visible to the naked eye.

Lothaire had originally been curious about why Han Xiao thought so highly of Karlot, but now, he no longer had any doubts.

There really was such a genius in the world? How did Black Star manage to dig him out?

World Tree Territory, Tree King Palace. On the five thrones sat two figures. One was the Heart Tree King, and the other was the Fortitude Tree King covered in heavy armor. Below the two Tree Kings stood many Executive Officers. Some of those who had died in the battles before had been revived.

“Has the information been released?”

“It has been shown through the foreseers,” Tedrian replied with his head lowered.

“Hmm, I hope they will place all their attention on this.”

The Heart Tree King rubbed the armrest as he nodded slowly.

Tedrian continued, “In the previous attacks, we have already calculated the rough structure of the intercepting circle, as well as the number of troops the other party has stationed along with the follow-up reinforcement limit. This time, we will increase the strength of our troops, and we should be able to break through the intercepting circle in one go. At the very least, we will be able to clear their spatial anchor orbit…”

Hearing this, the Heart Tree King nodded and did not say anything else. He waved his hand and let the executives leave.

Very soon, only the two tree kings were left in the palace.

The Fortitude Tree King turned his head slightly. He seemed to be looking at the Heart Tree King from the corner of his eyes behind the mask.

“You’ve already decided to take action personally? Is this what you want me to do?”

“Hmm, I’m the only one who can deal with that recovery-type Esper, and that Universal Treasure can only be used to its fullest potential in my hands… If I die there, you’ll be in charge of the matters here,” the Heart Tree King said calmly.

“How long will it take for the Subduing Tree King to revive?” The Fortitude Tree King frowned.

“Although I’m supplying him with resources every day, it’ll still take some time.” The Heart Tree King waved his hand.

The Fortitude Tree King was silent for a bit, “In that case, bring my Lord’s Avatar, Apostle Weapons, and mechanical army over.” “You plan to save my life?”

“If I let you stay alive, you can manage the affairs here, and I can continue to stay comfortably in the mother tree and absorb nutrients,” the Fortitude Tree King said coldly.

The Heart Tree King shook his head. “The civilization this time is very strong. Sooner or later, you will have to participate in it yourself.”

“We’ll see.”

After saying this, the Fortitude Tree King’s body melted into the tree crown and disappeared.

Seeing this, the Heart Tree King felt a little resigned.

No matter how hardworking they were in the past, after being chosen as a Tree King, one would become lazier and lazier. This applied even to the Fortitude Tree King-a Mechanic.

He still remembered that this guy was a research maniac before he became the Tree King. Now, he could not even be bothered to build machinery, let alone research and develop. He had relied on the Mother Tree to transform everything for him…..

Comparatively, the Heart Tree King preferred the Subduing Tree King. He could make that guy work with just a few words. Compared to the others, he was indeed the best tool.

Chapter 1357: Battle of Attrition; Disadvantage

The three Universal Civilizations received news from Han Xiao that the World Tree was suspected to be planning for a new attack, and they began to prepare for war. The waiting troops stationed at the rear were mobilized, causing the intercepting force to rise steadily in numbers.

As Destiny’s Child did not obtain any intelligence on the World Tree’s subsequent actions, the three Universal Civilizations could only remain vigilant and maintain the highest level of detection throughout the day. The officers of the various levels were also tense and did not dare relax. It was as if they knew a knife would slash at them but did not know when.

Due to the expansion of the intercepting perimeter, the wormhole support network also had to be extended. The three Universal Civilizations could not be sure which area the World Tree would attack.

In the blink of an eye, almost a month had passed, but the World Tree still did not launch an attack. Just as the three Universal Civilizations were starting to suspect that this was a trap, a report finally sounded from the detection device. A large fleet of the World Tree had entered the observation area and was slowly advancing toward the intercepting circle. The number of battleships was more than 200 billion, which was clearly the new wave of invading troops that the intelligence had shown.

Due to the special observation device that Han Xiao had provided, the three Universal Civilizations’ range of detection far exceeded their area of control. This meant that they could launch an attack at the World Tree fleet from a further distance, indirectly increasing the strategic distance between them and their enemies for interception.

After the three Universal Civilizations locked onto their target, they immediately activated their over-the-horizon firepower. At the same time, they used the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device to send out the Spacetime Splicing Self-Destructing Team in an attempt to exhaust more enemy forces.

The World Tree Army endured a period of indiscriminate bombardment before passing through a large portion of the strategic depth and arriving at the edge of the area controlled by the three Universal Civilizations. In front of them was the space anchor network that sealed the jump points. However, the World Tree Army did not behave like the previous three times. To prevent too many troops from being consumed on the way, they stopped at the edge of the three Universal Civilizations’ control area and expanded the Lerbo Space Protection Belt to block the long-range attacks of the fleet. At the same time, they split up and coordinated with each other while sweeping through the space anchoring tracks.

This time it seemed like the World Tree did not want to launch a sudden attack. Instead, it planned to use the large army as the base to launch a large-scale battle.

The fleet sweeping the orbit this time was not the small fleet from before. It was much larger, and the three Universal Civilizations were in a dilemma. They knew that the World Tree was forcing them to leave the interception fortifications and go out to fight in the wild, which would make it more efficient for them to be dealt with.

In the past few times, the interception circle had played a huge role in blocking the attacks of the World Tree. The most important thing was the wormhole network hidden in the middle of the layers of defense lines. This allowed them to be able to quickly gather their forces and arrive at the main area of the blockade.

If this was changed to a field battle, the Three Universal Civilizations’ advantage in this aspect would be greatly reduced. Although the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device could also provide support, it was still a Universal Treasure that cost a lot to build. The restriction in its use caused the efficiency of sending troops in large quantities to be lower than the usual wormhole support channel.

However, if they did not do anything towards the World Tree fleet’s actions, the space stabilization orbit that they had set up in the past few days would be destroyed. After weighing the pros and cons, the three Universal Civilizations sent out a portion of their forces to try and stop the World Tree fleet, and they continued to attack the large troops that the World Tree fleet had stationed at the edge of the control area. This led to many intense battles in the three Universal Civilizations area.

In order to reduce the casualties in the local battles, the Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations took action one after another to help their troops fight against the enemy fleet. They were equipped with The King mechanical suits and could retreat to the intercepting base at any time. However, the experts from the World Tree did not appear, as though they did not intend to restrain the advanced combatants of the three Universal Civilizations.

Although the three Universal Civilizations had won most of the battles with relatively low casualties, they were unable to repair or maintain a stable space orbit under the pressure of the enemy’s army, and they had to continuously suffer attacks. A short repulse of the sweeping troops was like drinking poison to quench their thirst.

After fighting like this for more than a month, both sides had lost tens of billions of troops. The three Universal Civilizations finally decided that they could not stop the enemy from destroying all the spatial stabilization orbits, so they had no choice but to throw away this burden and retract their forces to preserve their strength. They no longer invested their troops in a battle of attrition but exchanged for a different strategy to wipe out the World Tree Civilization’s troops in the long-distance attack movements.

The two sides fought for another period of time. The World Tree Army finally wiped out all the space anchoring tracks set by the three Universal Civilizations after three months or so, freeing up the jump points of all the vanguard troops in the past half a year. They had paid almost a hundred billion troops for this.

On April 6, Year 784 in the Galaxy Calendar, the World Tree Army, which had been
ationed at the edge of the control zone for months, finally started to attack the intercepting circle.

After a period of traversing, the World Tree Army, which only had about half of its troops left, finally crossed the strategic zones that the three Universal Civilizations set up, attempting to break through the blockade. They immediately engaged in an intense battle with the three Universal Civilizations.

The three Universal Civilizations were waiting for the enemy to be exhausted, and they also had the advantage in numbers. As soon as the battle started, they quickly gained the upper hand. According to this trend, it would not be difficult for them to withstand this wave of attacks and wipe out the World Tree fleet.

However, on the third day of the battle, three World Tree reinforcements arrived from the nearest jump point, and a total of 150 billion soldiers entered the battle. They attacked different areas, and the pressure on the three Universal Civilizations increased exponentially.

After fighting for five more days, two more batches of World Tree reinforcements arrived, totaling hundreds of billions.

On the ninth day, the eighty billion strong World Tree fleet arrived.

On the 14th day, 140 billion enemy reinforcements arrived.

On the twentieth day, 206 billion enemy reinforcements arrived.

The reinforcements from the World Tree were endless. The more people on the front line died, the more reinforcements would come from the rear. They wanted to fully utilize the advantage of a war of attrition, completely wearing down the entire intercepting circle!

“C-1008a battlefront is in an urgent situation … L-0213b battlefield front is in an urgent situation…”

The scene in the command room was very busy. The emotionless synthesized sound of the spaceship’s artificial intelligence was constantly broadcasting the emergency alarms in the various war zones. Simon and the other upper echelons stared at the surveillance cameras of the battlefield with bloodshot eyes.

The intense battle had already lasted for almost a month, and it did not stop for even a second. All the surviving generals were exhausted, and the losses of both sides had already exceeded a hundred billion.

On their side, almost all the Beyond Grade As were injured. These injuries were all caused by the World Tree fleet and no fights between the experts on the two sides were included. The World Tree’s endless reinforcements put the battle at risk, and even the Beyond Grade As had no choice but to fight to resist the fleet. In this month, they seemed to have become firefighters-stabilizing the various battlefields that were in danger time and time again, without much time to rest and recover.

Even so, the contributions of many Beyond Grade As were only a drop in the bucket. Many Beyond Grade As were worried. Although the high-level combatants of the World Tree did not take part in the battle, causing no new Beyond Grade As to appear on their side, seeing the three Universal Civilizations becoming more and more disadvantaged, everyone was worried.

Kasuyi looked at the battle monitors and came to Han Xiao’s side. He said in a low voice, “The World Tree has launched an all-out attack, ignoring the casualties and fighting head-on. The first and second layers of defense have already been penetrated, and the enemy’s reinforcements are still coming. From the looks of it, the intercepting circle would not be able to hold.”

“I guess so.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh, having a solemn expression. He was equally fatigued as the rest.

The high-intensity war that lasted for a month had turned this place into a meat grinder. Most of the players had used up their daily revival quotas. In such a place, there was a limit to what he could do.

This time, the World Tree did not use any special plan. It simply relied on the advantage of numbers to fight head-on. If they did not break through the blockade, they would not stop sending reinforcements. If fighting for a month was not enough, then two months, three months… they could only be described with one word, reckless!

The intercepting circle could not stop the World Tree’s advancement forever, and it would break sooner or later. However, this day seemed to have come earlier than expected. From the beginning of the formation, it only bought the three Universal Civilizations about a year more.

“Black Star, we have to consider retreating too,” Kasuyi softly spoke.

Han Xiao ignored him, his gaze fixed at the battlefield outside.

Countless battleships were engaged in a fierce battle. The dazzling lights from their cannons were akin to the stars in the sky, silent and bright with a destructive aura. Every second, countless lives were being thrown into the embrace of death.

Even if the three Universal Civilizations’ troops were routed, they would still have plenty of time to retreat.

Even if the World Tree had passed through the intercepting circle, it would still take a long time to reach the edge of the Flickering World. However, the three Universal Civilizations would most likely not be able to replicate a defensive line similar to the intercepting circle. This meant that the continuous charging of the World Tree Civilization could be seen as the countdown timer for the three Universal Civilizations’ demise.

At this time, another World Tree fleet entered the battlefield. The familiar Tree King Halo followed and immediately increased the combat power of many World Tree members, attracting everyone’s attention.

“This is the ability of the Tree King… They’ve finally sent out their high-level combatants. The three Universal Civilizations can hardly hold on any longer. If the Tree King uses his halo at this time, it will probably be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back. I wonder which Tree King has come this time…”

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed with unprecedented seriousness.

Not only him, but all the other Beyond Grade As also focused their attention on the source of the halo.

Chapter 1358: The Second Collision, The Unknown Tree King

In the real-time surveillance footage, the battle lines between the three Universal Civilizations’ intercepting troops and the World Tree invasion fleet were extremely long. They were divided into many different war zones. The three most important war zones were the interception defense lines that the World Tree attacked heavily with troops numbering hundreds of billions.

Under everyone’s gaze, a new fleet entered the main battlefield. There were not many of them, only a few hundred million, but they emitted extremely condensed energy fluctuations, displaying Beyond Grade A energy sources one after another on the radar. As soon as this small fleet entered the battlefield, it brought a significant change to the main warzone. A green light spread out, and every World Tree battleship that was swept by it lit up with a faint green light, and with the enhancement of the Tree King’s halo, the stalemate was immediately broken. The speed they were pushing forward with increased significantly. “If this line of defense is breached, they will be able to reach the wormhole support network at the back of the war zone very soon. The situation will become even worse. This place will become a breakthrough point.”

Simon looked at the situation. His deduction was the same as what the artificial intelligence had analyzed.

Secret Master crossed his arms and said with a deep voice, “You want us to kill this tree king? The difficulty is too high. Unless he leaves the protection of the fleet, we will only be throwing our lives away if we take the initiative to charge at him.”

The other commander turned to look at Han Xiao. “Black Star, what do you say?” “Let’s wait and see. There’s no opportunity right now.”

It was rare for Han Xiao to have the same thought. Although he really wanted to get rid of this unknown tree king that had suddenly entered the battlefield, the other party was under the protection of hundreds of billions of fleets, so the possibility of killing him was too low.

Furthermore, the previous incident of the Tree King being killed had been sent back to the World Tree. This time, the Tree King would probably stay in the fleet obediently and not give him a chance.

He had already provided a lot of intelligence and technology, allowing the three Universal Civilizations to be in a much better situation than in his previous life. However, military strength had always been the World Tree’s forte. Once they have launched a large-scale attack, the three Universal Civilizations would have to fight head-on if they wish to protect their territory. There were no shortcuts.

Although there were differences in technology between the two sides, they both had advanced civilizations that were equipped with lethal strategic technologies. For example, they knew how to defuse and counter the various spatial and dimension weapons. Most of the flashy technologies were useless against each other and could only be used to bully the weak. Only a small portion of their unique technologies was indecipherable.

The advantage of a Beyond Grade A was that their mobility and strength were concentrated in their individual body, and their strength was in guerrilla warfare. However, in such a large galactic battlefield, guerrilla warfare was unsuitable.

Generally speaking, the number of enemies did not mean much to Beyond Grade As. Whether it was tens or hundreds of billions of fleets, as long as they did not complete the encirclement, it would be very easy for Beyond Grade As to escape. However, due to strategic reasons, many Beyond Grade As had no choice but to hold the line here. This was not the forte of strong individuals. The time it took to destroy tens of thousands of battleships was more than enough for tens of billions of fleets to fire at the same time. Naturally, the efficiency of large scaling was incomparable.

However, only when dealing with foreign enemies would the Universal Civilizations bring out such a force. If they were to use it in a civil war, many new desolate universe belts would emerge.

“Send more reinforcements.” Simon also knew that the risk was too high, so he did not request for a group of Beyond Grade As to carry out this mission. He only sent more troops to fill this war zone. The World Tree Civilization kept sending reinforcements, and the three Universal Civilizations did the same. This was also the reason why the intercepting circle could last for a month. Otherwise, it would have been broken by the World Tree’s second reinforcement.

As the spatial anchoring orbits had been cleared, the World Tree’s jump point was directly outside the intercepting circle, and the reinforcement distance was shortened. Therefore, the reinforcements could quickly enter the battlefield.

However, just as Simon gave the order, something happened. The reinforcements did not stay in the main formation but came to the crossfire area. One World Tree powerhouse after another flew out and surrounded a tall and skinny figure. The Tree King Halo on his body revealed his identity.

A group of Beyond Grade As patrolled back and forth on the battlefield, retreating every now and then. In terms of team battles, they were at the front.

“Hmm?”

Everyone’s expression changed slightly.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “This guy wants to lure our high-level combatants out.”

Everyone nodded. They naturally understood that the Tree King and a group of high-level combatants had not just appeared to take a stroll, but because they were unsatisfied with expending the three Universal Civilizations’ forces.

If the three Universal Civilizations tried to surround them with troops, the Tree King and the others would surely retreat to the main formation. Only by sending out their high-level combatants would the Tree King and the others be willing to stay behind to fight and carry out the Exchange tactic that they had always thought was effective. Their goal was to exhaust the experts of the three Universal Civilizations.

If they did not do something about the Tree King, he would continue to provide halo buff, increasing the pressure on this war zone and opening up the battlefield. There was no loss for him.

It was as if he was exposing himself and providing an opportunity. If they did not go up and attack him, the opportunity would be wasted.

“Humph, looks like they are very confident,” Reeve clenched his fists, eager to give it a try. She had never fought with a World Tree expert before.

Manison calmly said, “Be careful. They know that we have a recovery-type Esper and can greatly reduce our losses, but they still used the Tree King as bait to attempt the Exchange tactic. Maybe they have already found a way to deal with our recovery-type Esper.” “We can’t rule out the possibility that they think that exchanging a hundred people for a few of us will be profitable,” Sun Hunter said with a deep voice. “So, are we going up?” Kasuyi turned to look at Han Xiao, and everyone looked over. Han Xiao did not reply immediately. Instead, he looked at the tree king who was being protected by many powerful experts.

After experiencing the war in his previous life, he naturally recognized the appearance of every tree king. Information about this person flashed through his mind.

‘Heart Tree King Minacho, a Psychic among the five tree kings, has many methods. Although his strength is not much different from Subduing Tree King, he is probably twice as difficult to deal with. In my previous life, he heavily injured Kasuyi and Oathkeeper respectively and instigated more than four Beyond Grade As. Other than being killed in the last battle, he does not have any other records of death. The most common methods are Psychic Teleportation, Thoughts Tampering, Spirit Tide…’

The abilities of a Psychic were extremely strange and Han Xiao felt that it was extremely difficult to deal with them. The most threatening ability was the ability of instigation. It was extremely difficult to change the mind of a Beyond Grade A, and it was not something that could be done in a short time. The other party would most likely be unable to complete it during the battle, but even the slightest risk could not be ignored.

Han Xiao turned around and took in the expressions of the commanders. He took a deep breath and said:

“Since there’s a chance, let’s give it a try. If we can kill this tree king, the situation in this war zone will be much better. This is one of the few things we can do at the moment.”

Han Xiao had another thought. Heart Tree King was a huge threat. If he could keep him here, the subsequent battles would be much easier.

Hearing this, the group nodded, and the Beyond Grade As who chose to join the battle walked out.

On the way to the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, Han Xiao was a few steps behind Aurora. He then opened his private communication device.

“Be careful later. I suspect that the Tree King will use his mental power to attack you from afar. Even if some of your life energy leaks, you’d better not go near the battlefield-even if you have to watch some of your comrades die. Remember to make Sorokin stay beside you and protect you. Although he’s annoying, he can at least block a few mental attacks for
you.”

“Got it.” Aurora nodded obediently.

On the other side, in the main war zone surrounded by the Tree King’s halo. Heart Tree King calmly led a group of resurrected World Tree experts around the battlefield. With so many Beyond Grade As gathered together, it was naturally very conspicuous. Wherever they passed, the fleets of the three Universal Civilizations focused their fire on them.

However, the nearby World Tree fleet kept using their shields to block the attacks for the Heart Tree King. Thus, Heart Tree King and the others seemed to be taking a stroll on the intense battlefield.

“Aren’t the enemies sending their high-level combatants?”

Heart Tree King kept looking at the three Universal Civilizations’ line of defense, but he was not anxious at all. After all, he had the initiative and was very patient. As soon as he said that, Fortitude Tree King’s voice sounded in his mind.

“Humph, I think you should come back. They probably won’t dare to make a move. Don’t waste my time. I want to return to the mother tree.”

“Bear with it.”

Heart Tree King was helpless.

For the Lord to descend, Fortitude Tree King had to be in the base. It had only been a short while, but he could not take it anymore and felt lazy to the bones.

At this moment, Fortitude Tree King was still on standby and had yet to activate his ability. They only had the powerless Lord’s Avatar’s body in their hands. This was Heart Tree King’s request. This was a card he prepared to summon Fortitude Tree King when the time was right.

He still wanted to say something, but the next moment, Beyond Grade A energy suddenly appeared in his senses.

Heart Tree King and the many World Tree experts looked in the direction of the energy source and saw a group of Beyond Grade As flying out from the three Universal Civilizations’ fleets and attacking them from across the battlefield. The leader was the outsider that left a deep impression on them.

“As expected, they still came… The number of people seems to have increased. It seems like they are using the same tactic, holding back their high-level combatants.” Heart Tree King’s eyes flickered. Seeing the revivors participating in this battle, he immediately thought that they were the hidden experts of the three Universal Civilizations. As for Garoze and the others who had died in the previous battle, they did not join the battle because they were worried about their lives, so he naturally could not see them.

“Attack! Do your best to cause damage and force their recovery Esper out.” As this thought flashed through his mind, Heart Tree King did not show any signs of weakness. He took the lead and charged forward with the World Tree powerhouses following behind him.

The Beyond Grade As on both sides passed through the battlefield. There was no communication, they directly entered the enemy’s formation and clashed. The last time, the three Universal Civilizations had no choice but to surround and attack a portion of the peak Beyond Grade As. This time, the rest of the World Tree experts were stopped by the other peak Beyond Grade A Revivors. Reeve, Hilbert, and the others went to fight the Executive Officers, the high-level Holy Tree Emissaries, and the members of the 13 Ancestral Spirits. The number of experts sent by the World Tree this time was almost the same as the last time, and they were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers. As soon as they fought, they were suppressed by the Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations.

Han Xiao turned into the Mechanical Deity and went to find Heart Tree King. The energy shockwaves and psychic shockwaves exploded between the two of them, creating continually bursting blue and white bubbles.

Heart Tree King’s combat style was completely different from that of Subduing Tree King. As a Psychic, he did not like to fight head-on and relied on his strange methods to move around nimbly. From time to time, he would release large AOE spells and convert his psychic energy into physical psychic energy, forming layers of shields to block the Mechanical Deity’s torrential attacks.

Swoosh!

Psionic energy vibrated, and a huge mechanical blade slashed across. Heart Tree King seemed to have seen through it, and with a nimble dodge, he used psychic energy to pull his body away, avoiding the slash that contained Getta Hadoken.

The blade light was like a dark blue waterfall, sweeping across the battlefield. Hundreds of battleships exploded into smoke.

“Outsider, this is the first time we’ve met, right? I could not fight you the last time you came to our territory and caused a ruckus.”

While dodging the close-range attacks of the Mechanical Deity and the mechanical army, Heart Tree King sent a mental message to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao did not reply. He raised his hand and shot out a few thin, dark red rays of light. Heart Tree King’s body flashed, and he moved a distance away as though he had teleported. The rays of light only shattered the afterimages that he left behind.

This guy is so slippery…

Han Xiao clicked his tongue.

The psychic power of Heart Tree King was extremely sensitive. He used his psychic power to pull and control his body and was extremely agile. At the same time, he also constantly released mental interference to mislead the direction of his attacks and reduce his hit rate. Even when facing the bombardment from the mechanical army that had almost no blind spots, Heart Tree King was able to dodge them with ease, as though he had seen through all the attack trajectories in advance.

Heart Tree King’s fighting style was the exact opposite of Kasuyi’s wide-open combat style that ignored mana. It was exquisite and focused on harassing and exhausting the enemy. He flew around the enemy like a mosquito, stabbing the enemy from time to time before retreating immediately. It was very difficult for the enemy to hit him. His fighting style was very dirty and annoying.

‘Pugilists are still the best. They like to fight head-on, how easy it is…’

Han Xiao could not help but miss Subduing Tree King. However, although Heart Tree King was very agile, he had no choice but to focus on dealing with Han Xiao’s attacks. Both of them restrained the other party.

While the two of them were fighting, in a certain battlefield not far away, a direct Beyond Grade A fought very fiercely. He exchanged blows with the Holy Tree Emissary and suffered heavy injuries. The next moment, a few dazzling beams of life energy shot out from the three Universal Civilizations’ fleets.

The Holy Tree Emissary, who was long prepared, endured the pain and shot out a series of spells to intercept the life energy. Half of the life energy was scattered by his spells, but the remaining life energy suddenly changed its route, drawing a strange twisted path and hitting the target. This direct Beyond Grade A’s life force quickly recovered. “It hit!” Aurora, who was in the protective circle of the fleet, was overjoyed.

She had not spent the past half a year in vain. Every day, she trained her control over the life energy that left her body so that she could avoid being intercepted by the enemy and heal the target. On the other side, Heart Tree King could not help but divert some of his attention to look in Aurora’s direction.

“Found her…”

Before he could finish his thought, a few splitting rays arrived in front of him. He was slightly distracted, and he was a step too slow to dodge them, leaving several burning marks on his body.

Heart Tree King hurriedly retracted his attention and covered his wounds while avoiding the continuous pursuit from the mechanical army. “I really can’t afford to be distracted when dealing with this fellow. Fortunately, someone is able to stop him and give me the time to make a move…” The next second, Heart Tree King suddenly retreated, and Han Xiao immediately chased after him.

One chased as the other fled, and their battlefield shifted by a large distance. A powerful Beyond Grade A energy suddenly rose from a World Tree battleship beside them.

The spaceship exploded, and a dark green Mechanical Deity appeared as though it had broken out of its shell. Its body expanded rapidly, and it held a double-edged mechanical war blade that was covered in energy circuits. The blade lashed down with astonishing psionic energy. At the same time, green armored mechanical soldiers swarmed out and bit Han Xiao’s mechanical army.

“This energy… another Tree King!”

Han Xiao raised his brows and immediately raised his blade to meet the attack. Two gigantic Mechanical Deity weapons, one black, and one green clashed.

Clang!

The sound of heavy metals hitting each other reached everyone’s mind, and a dazzling electric arc appeared in an instant. A huge energy shock wave swept away everything around it.

“Humph, outsider, I’ll be your opponent.” Fortitude Tree King’s voice sounded in the public channel.

“Who are you?”

Han Xiao looked at the combat information and raised his brows in surprise. This Tree King was not one of the five Great Tree Kings he knew in his previous life!

Wasn’t Emperor Tree King the Mechanic class Tree King? Where did this Tree King pop out from ?

While he was still in shock, Heart Tree King took advantage of the fact that Fortitude Tree King was blocking his opponent and left the battlefield. He locked onto Aurora’s life force with his mind.

Then, he opened his arms, and a diamond-shaped purple leaf appeared on his chest, spinning and emitting strange fluctuations.

The next moment, Heart Tree King’s mental strength burst forth.

“Illusion – Mind Lock!”

This is a warning to those who are downvoting comments using guest account without any reason. know this you may be downvoting with guest account but I still have your IP and I will permanently block your access to this still if you don’t stop.

Chapter 1359: Thought Seal, Herberlon Moves

Chapter 1359 Thought Seal, Herberlon Moves

Surging psychic energy flowed into the floating purple crystal leaf, and a beam of purple light shot out toward Aurora, who was in the protective circle of the three Universal Civilizations.

Seeing this, a portion of the mechanical army closest to the beam shook off the entanglement of Fortitude Tree King and formed a psionic shield in front of the beam.

However, the moment they came into contact, the light purple beam did not show any signs of being obstructed. Its speed did not change at all, and it easily penetrated the psionic shield as though it did not exist. The mechanical soldiers that blocked it with their bodies were also penetrated, but their bodies were not damaged at all. It was as though this beam did not exist in the material world and could ignore all kinds of defenses.

“Hmm? Stop this attack.” Han Xiao had been paying attention to Heart Tree King’s actions. Although he did not know what method Heart Tree King had used, it would be best to stop it. He pushed Fortitude Tree King’s mechanical body away and immediately called his teammates who were fighting all over the battlefield.

Hearing Han Xiao’s command, a portion of the Beyond Grade As who were closer to Han Xiao barely managed to divert their attention. They used various methods, throwing out their magic, Esper Abilities, and Psychic powers in an attempt to disperse the light purple beam, but they were all penetrated.

Seeing this, everyone was shocked.

“What ability is this?”

“I can’t block it. Why does it look like it has the characteristics of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter “

Under everyone’s gaze, the beam of light passed through the Beyond Grade As’ battle zone and shot into the protective circle of the three Universal Civilizations. It passed through the battleships that came to stop it one after another. No matter how Aurora’s battleship changed its position, the beam of light followed it and quickly entered Aurora’s spaceship. The light purple beam passed through the shield and the exterior armor and shot into the command room, heading straight for Aurora in the room. Sorokin, the double agent, appeared in an instant and sent condensed Psychic energy, but it did not cause any effect. Even his body was penetrated, but he was not injured at all. Just as it was about to hit Aurora, when it was only a few meters away, the light purple beam suddenly slid away as if it had hit an invisible barrier. It flew out of the battleship in a flash.

Aurora, who was in a tense state, heaved a sigh of relief.

“Looks like the Spacetime Amber is still useful…”

In front of her was a Spacetime Amber Ball. Han Xiao had given her a batch of it to protect herself. Currently, there were still not any known items that could pass through the Spacetime Amber Ball.

However, the light purple beam did not dissipate. After flying out of the battleship, it circled and adjusted its position before shooting toward Aurora.

Seeing this scene from afar, Heart Tree King’s expression changed slightly as though he was surprised.

“There’s actually a way to block it? Could it be a special substance that isolates the mother tree from the individual?”

Heart Tree King did not hesitate. He immediately grabbed the purple crystal leaf and activated the green power of the World Tree, instantly activating a new power.

Crack!

Cracks appeared on the surface of the purple crystal leaf. While it was damaged, it released more energy and emitted a halo.

The light purple beam that was chasing Aurora suddenly exploded and disappeared.

At first glance, Sorokin thought that this guy had given up on attacking. However, he suddenly heard a ‘plop’ sound beside him. He turned around and saw Aurora falling to the ground.

“What’s wrong?”

Sorokin was shocked as he quickly approached Aurora. He saw that Aurora’s eyes were lifeless, and she was staring straight ahead. Her eyes did not move at all, as though she had lost her senses.

He quickly used his psychic energy to probe Aurora’s mind, only to discover that Aurora’s consciousness had already been sealed up and was wrapped within a thick purple crystal. Green energy flowed within the crystal and his psychic energy could not penetrate it.

“What’s going on? Aurora and I have broken our soul link!” Hila’s voice sounded in the channel. She was the first to notice the abnormality, and her tone was urgent.

“Aurora has lost consciousness. Some kind of energy has sealed her thoughts. I don’t know what kind of psychic ability it is… Not good, I can’t undo it in a short time.”

Sorokin told the truth and used his psychic energy to attack the purple crystal. However, the purple crystal in Aurora’s mind was extremely tough, and his psychic energy could only leave shallow marks on it. Very soon, the purple crystal repaired itself.

Swoosh!

Just as he said that Han Xiao used The King to leave the battlefield and instantly appeared beside Aurora. Without saying a word, he poked Aurora and forced out combat information to check on Aurora’s condition.

All of Aurora’s abilities turned into a frozen gray color, and a special status appeared in her stats window.

[Illusion – Mind Lock]: The sealed individual’s thoughts and consciousness enter a vegetative state. The target will fall into infinite illusion composed of their desires, ambitions, visions, imagination, fear, dreams, goals, and other factors. If the target treats the illusion as the truth, they will continuously supply energy to the seal. The seal will not weaken with time and will instead grow stronger. Meanwhile, the target will continue to grow weaker and be unable to see through the illusion. Duration: Unknown.

“A thought seal that even Sorokin finds difficult to break… It must be a Universal Treasure’s characteristic.”

The purple crystal leaf that Heart Tree King had taken out flashed past Han Xiao’s mind, and his face tightened. He did not have any information about this item in his previous life.

The eruption just now ignored the distance and attack path and turned into a direct attack within the range. It was like a spiritual explosion that directly affected an individual. As long as Aurora was not wrapped up tightly by the Spacetime Amber, there would always be a gap and she would suffer the attack.

If this move was used on others, it would also pose a great threat, but Heart Tree King only used it on one person. Furthermore, the purple crystal leaf was damaged after it was used, so there might be some restrictions.

This is not good. Aurora’s energy level is still too low… Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed.

Aurora’s Esper Ability was special, but her own level was limited. The effect of Heart Tree King’s seal was very obvious, and the chances of her seeing through the illusion were too low. If her strength was at the peak Beyond Grade A level, the seal would definitely not be as strong as it was now. “Anyone with psychic abilities, come and try to unseal it.”

Han Xiao immediately gave the order. He did not have time to stay there any longer. He quickly activated the King’s repeated warping ability and returned to his original position. In just a short while, the Mechanical Deity, which had lost its core support, was cut into pieces by Fortitude Tree King. He had no choice but to use his Mechanical Force to connect the pieces of the Mechanical Deity back together and continue fighting with the Tree King

Upon knowing that the healer had fallen, the Beyond Grade As were immediately anxious. They wanted to shake off their opponents and go back to check on Aurora, but the World Tree experts had also received the order from Heart Tree King. They were extremely spirited and charged forward with all their might, not letting the Beyond Grade As leave.

“Ha, your recovery-type Esper has been defeated by His Excellency the Tree King. Let’s see how you can recover!” “Aren’t you unafraid of death? Come on, continue fighting!”

“Without confidence, do you still dare to exchange injuries?”

In the mental network, many World Tree experts were extremely excited.

The scene of the previous battle was still vivid in their minds. This group of enemies relied on the healer behind them to constantly exchange injuries with them. Even if they were heavily injured time and time again, as long as they were fed a mouthful of milk, they would instantly be full of energy and the battle would be very uncomfortable for World Tree experts. In the end, they had no choice but to use the self-detonation tactic, but they could only drag a few people down with them. Thinking about the embarrassing battle last time, many of the World Tree Supers were furious. At this moment, Heart Tree King had used his methods to wipe out the confidence of these enemies, and the Beyond Grade As of the World Tree were all energized. They felt that they could finally show their strengths…

They had never been afraid of exchanging lives for lives!

Fortitude Tree King turned around and deflected Han Xiao’s attack. Hearing the commotion in the mental network, he could not help but send a message to Heart Tree King.

“Are you sure this will seal the enemy’s recovery Esper forever?” “I didn’t say forever. As long as there are enough people with psychic abilities who spend a lot of time wearing down the seal, it will be broken sooner or later… However, as long as the recovery-type Esper does not play a role in this battle, my goal will be achieved.” Heart Tree King kept the cracked purple crystal leaf into his body and heaved a sigh of relief.

“Without the recovery-type Esper, the battle losses will return to normal. As long as we destroy enough high-level combatants in this battle and cause substantial damage, it won’t matter even if that Esper wakes up later.”

In his opinion, even if he could only seal the Esper in one battle, the Exchange tactic would succeed. As long as they could get rid of enough high-level combatants this time, the World Tree’s snowballing advantage could be put to full display.

Now that the plan was more than half complete, Heart Tree King was relieved and returned to the battlefield. Together with Fortitude Tree King, they surrounded and attacked Han Xiao. The three of them were locked in battle.

Not long after, some Beyond Grade As finally managed to shake off their opponents with the help of their teammates and returned to Aurora’s side. However, after checking, their hearts sank.

“The situation is not good. This thought seal is too strong and is protected by a special force. Even if we attack together, it will not be broken in a short time.” Kasuyi’s voice sounded in the channel.

“Not even you?” Sun Hunter was shocked.

Kasuyi shook his head. “Although I have unlimited energy, there is a limit to the strength of my psychic energy. Just like how the water current keeps washing the reefs, it needs time.”

Upon hearing Kasuyi’s words, the hearts of many association members skipped a beat.

The next moment, a member of the association suggested in the channel.

“Black Star, why don’t we retreat first and fight them after we break Aurora’s seal?”

“Do you think the World Tree will blankly watch our retreat? Even if we retreat, the Tree King’s Halo will continue to take effect. There’s a high chance that the frontal defense line won’t be able to hold on. When we unseal Aurora and want to fight them again, it’s hard to say if they will give us the chance. By then, it will be too late.”

Oulou spoke first before Han Xiao could.

A large number of direct Line members ignored life and death and continued to fight with their opponents. Seeing this, many association members who wanted to retreat could not desert and could only continue fighting

However, without the protection of the milkmaid, a large number of association members considered their own safety and did not dare to risk their lives like last time. Their combat power was far inferior to the first time they had fought. Instead, they were faintly suppressed by the World Tree experts who were not afraid of death. Luckily, they had the advantage in numbers this time, and there was a group of revivors to hold the situation. Otherwise, their losses might have exceeded the other party.

The Beyond Grade As all had their thoughts and the battle this time was much bloodier. The Beyond Grade As on both sides were frequently sacrificed, and the damage was increasing.

“Hehe, without that recovery-type Esper, your true colors are revealed. The casualties will only increase. How long can you last?” As Han Xiao dealt with the encirclement of Fortitude Tree King and Heart Tree King, the other party’s mocking mental message appeared in his mind.

Boom!

Energy Explosion, a dark blue compressed energy cannon fired at Fortitude Tree King. Han Xiao took the opportunity to glance at the loss of the Beyond Grade As calmly and did not respond to the other’s taunt.

Turning around, Han Xiao started to fight with Fortitude Tree King that was charging at him again. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his brain as Heart Tree King sent several mental shockwaves.

Shaking his head, Han Xiao felt a little troubled.

“Just one Tree King alone is already difficult to deal with. With the two of them attacking together, it is much harder… Although I can withstand the attacks of these two, it will be difficult for me to deal much damage to them… I need someone to share the pressure and let me fight with one person…”

As this thought flashed through his mind, Han Xiao gritted his teeth and looked at Heart Tree King

His goal was not to be in a stalemate with the two of them. If he could capture a tree king here, that would be for the best. At the very least, he would have to kill one of them and let the other party enter hibernation. If he allowed the other party to escape unscathed, that would be a huge loss.

He was being held back, and the two tree kings were looking after each other. If they wanted to leave, he would most likely not be able to stop them.

Han Xiao’s target was Heart Tree King. After all, Fortitude Tree King was only a Lord’s Avatar, so there was no need to deal with him. However, someone had to restrain him.

Although Fortitude Tree King was a stranger, his strength was worthy of his identity as a Tree King.

In his previous life, the World Tree War was a very late version. Now that the war had been brought forward by many years, Han Xiao could only think that Fortitude Tree King was the Mechanic-class Tree King of this time period. He would lose his position in the future and Emperor Tree King would replace him. As for the reason, Han Xiao had no idea.

Suppressing the distracting thoughts in his mind, Han Xiao looked at the battlefield. Seeing that most of his teammates were fighting a bloody battle, he could not help but switch to the communication channel and send an order to one of his external helpers.

At this time, Han Xiao felt a sense of danger. He hurriedly opened the Emperor’s Cape and saw that Fortitude Tree King had used some kind of skill. The double-edged war blade swept up a whirlpool of green energy and smashed onto his body. Green flames exploded, and the gigantic body was sent flying for a distance.

“Humph, you still dare to be distracted in front of me. You are disregarding me.” Fortitude Tree King brandished his blade and said coldly. “What? Is this the best you can do?” Han Xiao clicked his tongue and casually replied with a joke that the other party did not understand.

“Humph, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but with me restraining you, you won’t be able to help your other comrades.” Fortitude Tree King pointed his blade at Han Xiao.

“Are you a pig? Snorting again and again!”

Han Xiao was not to be outdone. He realized that the World Tree experts liked to chat when they fought.

“Outsider, they think you have an almost indestructible body. I’ll see if I can kill you today!”

Fortitude Tree King activated all his armor cannons and shot out countless beams of light. He then turned his blade and was about to charge forward.

However, right at this moment, the light from the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device suddenly flashed behind Han Xiao, and a gigantic Mechanical Deity appeared. It was none other than Herberlon!

The interception war had already been going on for a month, and Herberlon had been on standby since a long time ago. The moment he received Han Xiao’s message, he immediately used the teleportation device and descended from the Flickering World. During the stalemate before this war broke out, he had already completed the loading of his weapons. He was now fully armed and in peak condition!

“World Tree! Our war is not over yet!”

Herberlon’s furious roar could be heard in the public channel. Countless thrusters were activated at the same time, and a huge force pushed Herberlon to accelerate continuously. The giant blade in his hand swept up psionic energy and slashed toward Fortitude Tree King. Clang!

Herberlon’s attack landed on Fortitude Tree King’s defense, and a shockwave swept out.

Another new force entered the venue, and many World Tree experts looked over, stunned.

“You… Herberlon? You’re still alive !” Fortitude Tree King was shocked.

All the World Tree powerhouses present knew Herberlon. They had fought against him when they destroyed the Karma Republic, so they had a deep impression of this enemy.

Heart Tree King was stunned for a moment before he suddenly realized the truth.

“I see. This civilization’s initial intelligence on our World Tree came from you!”

Whosoever is irritated by me adding a message here do let me know in comments

Chapter 1360: Heart Tree King’s Bullsh*tting and Sealing Plan

Chapter 1360 Heart Tree King’s Bullsh*tting and Sealing Plan

The World Tree experts were suddenly enlightened.

No wonder this civilization had shown a certain level of understanding of the World Tree when they first came into contact with it. Herberlon, whose home was invaded, was the best source of information, which made sense.

The members of the World Tree remembered every battle clearly. Although the Karma Republic Alliance was not a strong opponent, Herberlon had left a deep impression on many World Tree experts. Some of them had even participated in the siege. This was a rare prey that had slipped away from their hands and disappeared into the vast universe after the fall of the Karma Republic.

Fortitude Tree King quickly recovered from the shock of seeing someone he knew. He activated the protective equipment on his body and blocked the furious attack from Herberlon.

“A loser from a destroyed civilization dares to continue opposing us instead of hiding. You managed to survive last time, but you won’t be so lucky this time. The mother tree has always wanted to devour you, so why don’t you merge with us and reunite with your compatriots!”

“As long as I’m alive, the glory of the Karma Republic will never disappear!”

Herberlon stabbed his blade into Fortitude Tree King’s thick shield and embedded it inside. Two new mechanical arms suddenly grew out from his shoulders and firmly locked Fortitude Tree King’s body in front of him. Following this, the flesh and machinery on his chest slid open, revealing a large energy outlet.

Boom!

An extremely thick dark red beam of light shot out, and in a flash, Fortitude Tree King’s chest was penetrated, leaving a huge hole with a torn edge. Broken parts flew everywhere.

И

This time, the damage was not light. Fortitude Tree King hurriedly activated the flowing force field and the power structure of the mechanical suit. A huge force was generated, and he immediately cut off the mechanical arm that was holding him. He then kicked Herberlon away, leaving a deep footprint on the latter’s abdomen armor.

A portion of the mechanical soldiers in the surroundings returned to Fortitude Tree King’s body like tired birds returning to their nest. A large number of mechanical structures flowed in his body and quickly filled up the wound on his chest.

Herberlon’s gigantic body stopped its retreat. He raised his hand and created an invisible force field that covered Fortitude Tree King. Fortitude Tree King’s body froze as if he had been hit by a Body Immobilization spell.

Just as the decryption device on Fortitude Tree King’s body was analyzing the operating principles of the force field at a high speed, Herberlon grabbed his blade with both hands. His muscles and machinery twisted, accumulating an endless amount of energy. Dark red streams of light appeared on his body, and his energy reaction soared!

The next moment, Herberlon’s gigantic body suddenly turned into a red bolt of lightning and charged forward. He instantly passed by Fortitude Tree King as if he teleported and appeared behind him.

“Deity Maneuver!”

Swoosh!

In a flash, a huge hole was carved out on Fortitude Tree King’s waist, and he was almost cut in half. Energy continued to destroy the insides of the body through the wound, and the wound was still expanding.

The space around Fortitude Tree King shook, and he suddenly broke the control of the force field and covered the wound on his waist. At the same time, he hurriedly turned around to block Herberlon’s charge. The force traveled along the clashing weapons and into his arm, causing a violent tremor. A large portion of the parts in both of their bodies malfunctioned from the tremor.

“What a troublesome guy…”

Fortitude Tree King was in a stalemate with Herberlon. He glanced at Han Xiao and realized that he had already left to fight Heart Tree King.

He wanted to help but could not escape. Although he called Herberlon a loser, he had to admit that this guy had the might to restrain him.

On the other side, Han Xiao had finally gotten rid of the two-on-one situation. He chased after Heart Tree King with his mechanical army, and the psychic barrier clashed with the bombardment of fire.

Heart Tree King dodged Han Xiao’s psionic slash and the World Tree Roots—that he got after transforming-moved like tentacles around him, blocking the attacks from all directions.

“I have to say, during our battle in the universe, you are the most troublesome Super Lifeform we have encountered. There are not many people who are qualified to stand shoulder to shoulder with you. Because of your existence, our large group of foreign experts is almost useless. Without you, your high-level combatants would not be able to fight us.”

Han Xiao turned a deaf ear to him. He clapped his hands, and the anti-psychic energy device released waves of energy. The psychic barrier seemed to have received an attack at its weak points, and it exploded repeatedly, forcing Heart Tree King to have no choice but to invest more energy to stabilize his psychic strength. Seeing that Han Xiao did not speak, Heart Tree King did not give up and continued.

“I can give you a promise. If you are willing to leave, the World Tree will not chase after you and your companions-not that we would be able to chase you anyway. You can stay far away from this battle that is bound to fail. The universe is so big, you can live anywhere. Living is more important than anything.”

“You guys haven’t won yet, don’t be too confident.”

Han Xiao replied calmly, ignoring the pain of his brain being tortured by the mental attacks. He swung his blade again and collided with the Psychic King

Heart Tree King shook his head. “It’s very difficult for high-level combatants to decide the direction of the universe-level war. Even if you can withstand the attacks of our high-level combatants time and time again, you won’t be able to change the situation in the frontal war. You’re destined to be defeated. Actually, you have another choice. You might as well join us and become a member of the World Tree. You can join us to fight in the universe. Your ability is more than enough to replace the position of Fortitude Tree King.” “Trying to instigate me?” Han Xiao sneered. “Putting aside whether I’m willing to become a puppet that has lost its free will, just my identity as an expert from another race will never allow me to become the Tree King. You’d better save this trick to fool others.”

Heart Tree King did not mind. “Even if you kill me and cause our fleet in this war zone to lose the buff of the World Tree’s power, we might still be able to break through your defense through normal battles. Is it worth it to sacrifice so many high-level combatants for such a small chance?”

Han Xiao was too lazy to respond. He activated another army combat skill and changed it to provide the bonus of agility and long-range attack speed, making the mechanical army more agile. The continuous energy weapons rained down on the roots of the World Tree, tearing them into pieces.

Seeing this, Heart Tree King did not give up and continued to use the chatting tactic. “You and I will not be able to determine the victor. I have witnessed the battle between you and Subduing Tree King. I will not fall into the same trap.’

Wow, you can really bullsh*t, almost catching up to me!

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.

However, on second thought, he felt that what Heart Tree King said was not without reason. If the other party was prepared, it would not be easy to replicate the strategy that dealt with Subduing Tree King.

If they fought normally, he would indeed have the upper hand, but at the crucial moment, Heart Tree King would still have the choice of self-destructing and retreating to receive the protection of the fleet. The chances of killing him were very low.

Han Xiao then opened the private chat and contacted Hila.

“Hila, leave the battlefield first and stay beside Aurora.”

“Hmm?”

Hila’s tone was filled with killing intent, but it was toward the enemy.

After Aurora lost consciousness, Hila immediately entered a berserk state, killing everyone on the battlefield. She did not even send the dead into the Underworld but turned them all into soul energy to strengthen herself. Her presence on the battlefield was extremely strong, and she had already killed two Holy Tree Emissaries.

The dead only had one soul. If they were sent to the Underworld to be heroic spirits, they would not be able to trigger the rapid growth of the Power Of The Dead. The galactic battlefield was like a meat grinder. Hila followed Han Xiao’s philosophy most of the time and sent the soldiers sacrificed by the three Universal Civilizations into the Underworld. Only a few times did she use them to strengthen herself.

Even so, due to the huge number of people, Hila’s combat strength was growing at an astonishing rate, and she was like a completely different person from before the war. Even without the ability to shorten the opponent’s lifespan, there were not many people in the association who had the confidence to defeat her.

“I have a plan. Let’s see if we can deal with this tree king who knocked Aurora unconscious. Follow my orders.”

“…Alright!”

The one that Hila wanted to kill the most was Heart Tree King. Hearing that Han Xiao had a plan, she quickly regained some of her calmness. She glanced at the wounded ancestral spirit in front of her, suppressed the killing intent in her heart, and retreated toward the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet.

After getting rid of the World Tree experts one after another, Hila returned to Aurora’s spaceship with difficulty. To escape from the battle, she had gained many new wounds on her body. Although her healer had collapsed temporarily, her Power Of The Dead had extraordinary self-regeneration, and her wounds were gradually healing. Suddenly, there was a flash of light in the cabin, and a mechanical soldier wearing the King armor teleported over, handing the item in his hand to Hila. “Hmm? This is…”

апу

Hila looked down at the item in the mechanical soldier’s hands, and a hint of surprise appeared on her usually expressionless face. She coldly glanced at the surrounding crew members, and only when she saw that no one was moving did she take it.

This time, Han Xiao’s voice sounded in the private channel.

“I’ll give this to you for the time being. I’ve let you practice with it before. Do you know how to use it?”

“Hmm,” Hila said with a deep voice. “What’s your plan?”

“I’ll try to create an opportunity later. If it succeeds, use the King on that mechanical soldier to teleport over, then connect to your Advancing in the Dead Sea and teleport to the target to use it…” Han Xiao quickly explained.

“I understand.” Hila nodded and looked at the item in her hand. It was a white crystal the size of a palm.

This item was the Spacetime Amber!

Usually, Han Xiao would not give this thing to others, but this time, he would probably need someone else to do it.

In the past few months, he had trained Hila on how to use this Universal Treasure to coordinate with (Azure Dragon Bind) and form a new strategy.

Through Phillip’s battle simulation, he realized that in most situations, the die-together tactic could only kill the tree king or force it to self-destruct. From the looks of it, this new tactic was the method with the highest success rate to capture them.

Maintaining his private channel, Han Xiao looked at Heart Tree King, who was easily evading the attacks of the mechanical army. “I hope this works…”

Just letting you guys know threating me by stop reading here doesn’t work with me (should I stop posting privileged chapters will you be able to read it on other sites unless except you pay on webnovel?). Also no favoritism to anyone just that guys is letting me know about the issues and his issue is real so I acted on it. So, if you feel something is wrong or someone is spamming etc do let me know. There is a report button if I see a valid report I will definitely act on it.

Chapter 1361: Facing Death and Gamble

Chapter 1361 Facing Death and Gamble

The battle zone of the Beyond Grade As was scattered all over the battlefield, and it was a bloody battle. Individual strengths from both sides fell one after another, and the battles between the fleets of both sides were equally intense. The World Tree Army, which was enhanced by the Tree King’s halo, continued to advance. Although the three Universal Civilizations continued to provide reinforcements, the defense line was still slowly but surely retreating.

Due to the constantly changing battlefield of the fleets, the battle areas of the Beyond Grade As were also shifting accordingly.

Ames moved around in space, controlling the force field to harass the enemies or help her comrades. Her dress was stained with blood.

There were more than ten Beyond Grade As participating in the team battle in the area she was in, and the association members and the direct descendants had the upper hand against the enemies.

Force Field Esper Abilities had an all-rounder characteristic and could be used for both attack and defense. Ames was mainly used as a control type on the battlefield. Occasionally, she would condense a force field or drag a battleship to attack, and the damage was not low.

She extended her palm and used Gaze of the Dragon on one of the Holy Tree Emissaries. Ames quickly scanned the battlefield and realized that the battlefield of Herberlon, Fortitude Tree King, Han Xiao, and Heart Tree King had already been shifted to a faraway place. The layers of battleships in the battlefield almost covered their figures, and she could only see the occasional flashes of energy that were far more intense than here.

“Looks like he won’t be able to kill the Tree King so quickly…”

Ames frowned slightly and retracted her gaze. She dodged a compressed beam of light and countered with a pale green shock wave.

Looking at the battlefield, Ames saw a brief flaw in the enemy’s side and was about to ask her teammates to work together to create time for her to gather her energy, but at this moment, the other party threw a wave of focused fire at her. The few association members who were supposed to be blocking in front immediately dodged, and she had no choice but to stop accumulating her energy and dodge.

“This won’t do. There’s no way to kill the enemy.” Ames glanced at the association members and shook her head.

Even after having the upper hand for so long, they had not been able to cause much damage to the enemy. Every time they wanted to advance, the World Tree experts would become more fearless. In contrast, the comrades of the association would cower in fear because of this, not wanting to be injured. This caused them to lose the opportunity to expand their advantage again and again.

The temporary loss of the milkmaid had a huge impact on the Beyond Grade As’ battle. Most of the association members did not have the mentality to risk their lives like last time and did not want to get injured. Their combat style became more conservative while the World Tree experts became more ferocious.

Ames heard from the channel that many of the association members were dissatisfied with Han Xiao’s plan. Initially, they planned to quickly get rid of the Tree King to reduce the disadvantage of the main battlefield. However, both sides were in a stalemate now. Black Star could not complete his goal, and Aurora was also beaten back temporarily, leading to the sacrifice of many Beyond Grade As. In their eyes, the plan had failed, and it was a sure loss.

Furthermore, after fighting for so long, the main battlefield was already in a bad situation. Even if they killed the Tree King now, they might not be able to reverse the situation. Therefore, in the eyes of many association members, the sacrifices from this attack plan were meaningless. Instead, many of them had lost the one-time Sanctum Revival opportunity, so they were filled with complaints.

The Beyond Grade A Association members had all prepared for the worst. They still believed that the Sanctum Revival could only happen once, so they did not take Han Xiao’s words of ‘convincing’ the Revivors seriously.

Many of them were already thinking of retreating, but they could not leave the battle for the time being. They could only protect themselves and were not willing to pay the price for killing their opponent. This kind of conservative mindset affected their combat strength, and Ames could only cooperate with her teammates in retreating. She had no intention of charging into the enemies alone.

At this moment, one of the Holy Tree Emissaries suddenly paused, as if the damage had been accumulated to the limit. His body stiffened, revealing an obvious flaw.

“Chance!”

Ames and her teammates immediately changed targets and focused their attacks on this person. All kinds of abilities shattered the defensive shield that the other party had hastily constructed and landed on his body, causing blood to splatter everywhere.

Just as they were about to pursue and kill the enemy, the other World Tree experts suddenly unleashed their full strength and charged toward the front of this heavily injured teammate, trying to force them to retreat like the previous few times.

Facing such a powerful attack, the members of the association hesitated and retreated. They did not face it head-on. It was not that they could not endure the attack head-on, but they were unwilling to do so. They would rather give up this opportunity than getting injured.

Seeing this, Ames felt a little helpless. This situation had already happened a few times. Due to the members of the association retreating, they had missed many opportunities.

But at this moment, a firm voice sounded in the channel.

“Cover me!”

One of the direct descendants suddenly advanced instead of retreating and faced this wave of attacks. The scene was like a surfer charging toward a tsunami. The shield on his body was instantly torn apart by the combined attack of many Beyond Grade As, and wounds exploded on his body.

Everyone was shocked. They did not have time to think about anything else. They quickly stopped and used ranged attacks to cover this teammate.

Ignoring the damage to his body, he endured the huge impact of the attack and charged at the heavily injured World Tree expert resolutely and decisively. His Pugilist flames were all concentrated on him, completely ignoring the enemy teammates who were rushing over.

Bang!

The two figures collided, and the heavily injured World Tree Beyond Grade A activated self-destruction without hesitation.

Ames and the others could only see the figure of this direct Beyond Grade A who showed no intention of retreating. The next moment, their vision was covered in white.

Boom!

A powerful light burst forth, and a huge energy ball rose up. Before the light dissipated, the World Tree Race experts in the surroundings were still attacking the self-destruction area.

The group of people hurriedly retreated some distance. When the self-destruction energy was fully released, they focused their attention on the area. There were only fragmented corpses left.

“…He’s gone.”

Everyone had complicated expressions.

The direct Beyond Grade A who died in the battle was not a Revivor. He knew that there was only one chance for Sanctum Revival, but he still risked his life to seize the opportunity. This was something they would never be able to do. These direct descendants who worked for the civilization had a purer attitude toward this war than them and were unafraid of death.

Ames shook her head. She knew that she was not that great, nor was she willing to be.

Time quickly passed.

On the battlefield filled with countless mechanical fragments, Han Xiao and Heart Tree King had been fighting for a long time, and both sides were exhausted.

In comparison, Heart Tree King’s energy consumption was much higher. This was not only due to suppression from Han Xiao’s energy level but also because of his class.

After all, mental attacks were ineffective against mechanical soldiers, and Han Xiao’s main body was not afraid of his mental attacks. Only his physical attacks and psychic attacks would be effective. This meant that Heart Tree King was at a disadvantage when facing Han Xiao.

The green light on Heart Tree King’s body had become much dimmer, and more than half of the World Tree Roots that appeared with his transformation had been destroyed. He was not in the same state as when they had first started fighting, and his movements were also slightly slower.

ovel

Using psychic energy to block the firepower of another mechanical army, Heart Tree King sent another message to Han Xiao.

“Did you see that? You’ve already lost. Even if you kill me, you won’t be able to turn the situation around.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao looked at the battle situation and could not help but click his tongue.

The World Tree Army in this war zone continued to advance. They had already broken through the defense zone and penetrated a few battle lines, forming a situation that was difficult to reverse. They had at least an eighty to ninety percent chance of breaking through the interception circle and turning this place into a breakthrough point for the overall battle. In a war of a scale of hundreds of billions, the victory of high-level combatants could no longer turn the situation around.

“When we arrive at your territory, the mother tree will enjoy your world inch by inch. You won’t have any chance. Do you want to reconsider my previous suggestion?” Heart Tree King continued.

Han Xiao did not say anything. He turned around and responded with a slash.

Heart Tree King hurriedly dodged but was still grazed by the psionic energy. The psychic barrier shattered, and another World Tree root broke.

“Hehe, looks like your stance is very firm…”

Heart Tree King smiled on the surface, but his heart was filled with fear. He already had the intention to retreat.

After this exchange, he realized that he was no match for this outsider. Just a bunch of powerful Apostle Weapons was enough to deal with him. His internal injuries were burning.

If this continues, I’m afraid I’ll really die here. The other Beyond Grade As will probably have the time to make a move soon. It’s time to retreat…

Heart Tree King thought to himself. Many of the World Tree powerhouses had already been sacrificed because there were more Beyond Grade As present. Heart Tree King knew that the rate of casualties on his side would only snowball. Before long, there would be other Beyond Grade As coming to help this outsider deal with him, and it would be difficult for him to leave.

Although he was prepared to die here, the Exchange tactic had already taken effect. There was no need to continue fighting. It was best to preserve his life.

Having made up his mind, Heart Tree King no longer bombarded Han Xiao with chats. He immediately changed his strategy and attempted to break out of the encirclement of Han Xiao’s mechanical army.

Sensing the change in Heart Tree King’s actions, Han Xiao’s eyes flickered.

“He finally wants to escape. It seems like he has used up most of his energy. We can execute the plan now!”

Han Xiao immediately gave a direct order to the combat artificial intelligence, and the mechanical army immediately surrounded and intercepted Heart Tree King, adjusting the weak points of the encirclement to guide Heart Tree King’s movement.

At the same time, he sent a message to Heart Tree King.

“You will die here today!”

This time, it was Heart Tree King who turned a deaf ear. He focused on avoiding the focus fire of the mechanical army and quickly found the weakness to break through.

After Han Xiao shouted, he stared at the change in formation. Seeing that Heart Tree King was slowly being forced into a suitable position, his Mechanical Force flashed.

Buzz!

A Lord’s Avatar wrapped in Mechanical Force suddenly shot out from the Mechanical Deity and flew toward Heart Tree King.

Sensing the impending danger, Heart Tree King suddenly turned his head and concentrated his psychic energy on this Lord’s Avatar. If it was hit, it would surely be sent flying

However, at this very second, a golden energy suddenly gushed out from the Lord’s Avatar’s body. Its entire body seemed to have turned into a golden chariot that pressed forward with indomitable will. It instantly shattered the psychic energy and was not affected at all. It locked onto Heart Tree King and charged forward with rapidly increasing speed.

“Hmm?”

Heart Tree King was a little surprised. He controlled the last World Tree Root to block it, but it was knocked away by the Lord’s Avatar. It could not even slow it down.

Seeing this, Han Xiao, who was still inside the Mechanical Deity’s body, could not help but clench his fists.

His main body was right in front of him, but he had used the Lord’s Descent. Naturally, it was to capture Heart Tree King alive. For this, he did not hesitate to activate two Character Summon Cards—Silver Shadow’s (Comet Rush), Oulou’s (Golden Treasure Ship-Ram)!

The former was an endless acceleration, while the latter was a domineering state that was immune to any crowd control!

Success and failure depended on this. Han Xiao was betting that Heart Tree King would not self-destruct before he got close!

The warnings in Heart Tree King’s mind became more and more obvious, and he hurriedly retreated. However, the speed of the Lord’s Avatar’s charge became faster and faster, and with the mechanical army around restraining him, the distance between the two sides rapidly shortened. In the blink of an eye, there was only a small portion left.

As the Lord’s Avatar rapidly expanded in his vision, thoughts flashed through Heart Tree King’s mind one after another, and the thought of self-destructing immediately surfaced in his mind.

However, he had many things to think about, and he tried to figure out Han Xiao’s intentions. In moments of urgency, he could not be as resolute as the simple-minded Subduing Tree King.

In that moment of hesitation, the Lord’s Avatar wrapped in golden energy crashed into him. Its biological muscles expanded instantly.

Heart Tree King only felt a strong force wrapping around his body. Not only was he unable to move, but even the cells in his body were being suppressed. He was shocked.

This is… a Pugilist’s forced crowd control skill

“It hit!”

Han Xiao clenched his fists in excitement.

To complement this move, he had specially tested a batch of lord bodies that were specialized in close combat. They were able to withstand his Strength and Endurance attributes to the maximum, allowing the [Azure Dragon Bind) to unleash even greater power! However, Heart Tree King’s strength and endurance were far inferior to that of a Pugilist. After the duration of the forced crowd control, he would not be able to escape so quickly.

At the same time that Heart Tree King was hit, the mechanical army around him was already prepared and released force fields to cover him, stacking many crowd control methods.

“Hila!”

Han Xiao shouted.

At this moment, a beam of light flashed past the mechanical army not far away from Heart Tree King. Hila suddenly appeared beside an Apostle Weapon that was carrying a throne. A bright red ‘Dead Sea’ instantly spread out. The next moment, Hila’s body sank into the ‘Dead Sea’ and appeared beside Heart Tree King in the blink of an eye. She held the Spacetime Amber and pressed it toward Heart Tree King

The Spacetime Amber flashed, and the frozen spacetime quickly expanded, enveloping the immobile Heart Tree King and the Lord’s Avatar.

Heart Tree King’s eyes widened, but he could not even speak.

His encounter was transmitted through the mental network, and the fleets around him immediately turned their cannons around to fire at him. The World Tree experts scattered all over the place were shocked, and they retreated at the same time, charging madly in the direction of Heart Tree King.

“Crap!”

Fortitude Tree King’s heart skipped a beat. He could not be bothered to deal with the enemy and turned around to reinforce Heart Tree King. However, a large part of the thrusters on his back was shattered by Herberlon’s blade slash.

Han Xiao had already distanced himself from the battlefield, leaving Heart Tree King alone. There was no way the Beyond Grade As of the World Tree could arrive quickly.

Under the shocked, horrified, and disbelieving gazes, a new Spacetime Amber ball took shape, freezing Heart Tree King’s shocked expression.

Hila stared at the shocked Heart Tree King in the amber.

“You hurt my sister, stay here forever!”

So, how was it, feel like cursing me 😀. Go read on other sites now and you’ll find my trolled chapter.

Chapter 1362: Fortitude Tree King: I’ll Take Over Your Water Pot!

Heart Tree King was locked in a strange position by the Lord’s Avatar, and they were trapped in the Spacetime Amber. Time seemed to have stopped, and this world-famous painting was seen by all the Beyond Grade As on both sides.

The Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations were overjoyed. “Black Star has succeeded!”

“Beautiful! That Tree King did not have the time to self-destruct!”

“Support them with all your might! Don’t let those enemies harass Black Star!”

The morale of the Beyond Grade As was greatly boosted, and they were no longer in low spirits for losing their healer. They launched ferocious attacks at the World Tree experts who were anxious to leave the battle.

The emotions of all the World Tree experts were the exact opposite. Their rapidly changing expressions were filled with shock and anger.

They could not be bothered to fight with the opponent and rushed toward Han Xiao like crazy, trying to snatch Heart Tree King back.

However, the moment Han Xiao succeeded, he controlled the Mechanical Deity to move again. He grabbed the Spacetime Amber ball and swallowed it into his body, taking back the Spacetime Amber in Hila’s hands.

Without another word, he used his mechanical army as a shield to block the attacks of the World Tree fleet around him. He then flew in the opposite direction at full speed and stopped fighting. His goal was to retreat from the battlefield.

To lure the three Universal Civilizations into deploying their high-level combatants, Heart Tree King naturally would not stay too deep into the World Tree fleet. The battle zone was located at the periphery of the fleet and even if the World Tree fleet wanted to intercept Han Xiao, they would not be able to do so. Han Xiao paid the price of groups of mechanical soldiers and quickly entered the battle zone at the center of the battlefield.

The many World Tree Supers could not care less and surrounded Han Xiao in groups, trying to hinder his return. However, the Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations that were chasing after them all acted as cover for Han Xiao, restraining one opponent after another. The energy waves that flashed when they fought lit up continuously around Han Xiao, creating a path.

Fortitude Tree King was entangled with Herberlon again, and violent vibrations were transmitting through his body. He also wanted to support Heart Tree King, but could not get rid of Herberlon and could not increase his speed at all. He could only watch Han Xiao’s figure get further and further away. He was so angry that his energy core almost overloaded.

“D*mn idiot! Even Subduing Tree King is smarter than you!”

Fortitude Tree King was furious. They had clearly achieved a huge success in the Exchange tactic, so it would have been fine to retreat. At the very least, they could self-destruct and die. He did not expect them to be defeated at the last moment. It was supposed to be a great victory without much loss, but now, it had become a real ‘Exchange’!

He had already cursed Heart Tree King’s eighteen generations of ancestors in his heart. Just because he had thought for too long at that last moment, Heart Tree King did not self-destruct and was captured. This was a fatal mistake that even Subduing Tree King did not make. He was the shame of the Tree Kings!

What happened next could only be decided by Ancestral Tree King!

Seeing that Han Xiao was about to return to the fleet of the three Universal Civilizations, Fortitude Tree King knew that there was nothing he could do. His eyes flashed sharply as he sent a command in the mental network:

“Everyone, stop chasing. Retreat! Stop fighting!”

Now that Heart Tree King had been captured alive, Fortitude Tree King was the only one in charge. He took over the leadership without hesitation and ordered all the Beyond Grade As to retreat.

One Tree King was already gone, he was worried that Han Xiao would continue to seal more experts, so he decided to give up and ordered everyone to leave the battle. Upon hearing the order, the World Tree experts who were chasing Han Xiao paused slightly. They looked at Han Xiao’s back that was getting smaller and smaller, but they still chose to follow the orders of the Tree King and stopped their pursuit. While dealing with the Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations, they quickly retreated to the World Tree fleet.

The battleships in the distance also began to provide remote support to help them escape from their opponents.

The Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations did not chase after them too deeply. Instead, they chased for a while and killed a few World Tree experts who were exposed due to the sudden change of plan. Then, under the leadership of the association members, all the Beyond Grade As retreated and did not dare follow the remaining World Tree experts into the enemy fleet. If they did that, they would be the ones in danger instead.

Seeing this, Herberlon did not dare continue fighting alone. He fought fiercely with the Tree King a few times before gradually moving toward his teammates. After escaping from the battle, his eyes—flashing with Mechanical Force-locked onto the Tree King, filled with killing intent as though he was saying, “I’ll teach you a lesson the next time we meet.”

Fortitude Tree King took a deep look at this familiar face and did not say anything. He took the World Tree powerhouses and retreated deep into the World Tree fleet. Starships moved over and formed layers of barriers, blocking the sight of Herberlon and the others.

As the remaining Beyond Grade As of the World Tree retreated, the battle between the high-level combatants on both sides came to an end. The members of the association and the direct descendants did not stay on the battlefield. They went back to the three Universal Civilizations’ fleet while bracing the merciless firing.

Everyone put away their weapons and returned to the temporary command ship at the back of the battlefield. As soon as they entered the command room, they noticed Han Xiao, Hila, and the others were already there. The remote projections of Simon and the many commanders were also gathered there, pointing at Heart Tree King’s Spacetime Amber and talking.

“…Black Star, our front line of defense can’t hold on any longer, and the other war zones are also showing signs of collapse. The World Tree breaking through the interception circle is already set in stone. We are currently mobilizing our troops to retreat, but this isn’t your problem. You did very well by capturing a Tree King.”

Simon’s tone was low.

“I should have dealt with the Tree King Halo much earlier…” Han Xiao sighed.

“Although that would have been helpful, from the way the World Tree is attacking, it can only slightly delay them from breaking through the blockade. At most, the first to fall wouldn’t be this war zone but the other defense lines.”

Simon shook his head and said with a helpless tone. However, he was not angry. After a month of fighting, the entire command level had already mentally prepared themselves for the worst-for the interception circle to be broken.

“What do we do next?”

“There’s no need for you to continue fighting. Return to the main base first. We will begin evacuating in batches. The World Tree’s goal is not just to break through the intercepting perimeter but also to clean up our troops. Since the defense line has been broken, the trend will be difficult to reverse. There’s no need to fight them head-on. We will use the various fortifications that we have built in the strategic depth of the rear for the past year to cover fire and harass them into slowing down. I…”

“You guys can decide the matters of the army.” Han Xiao waved his hand.

Simon nodded and turned to look at the wounded Beyond Grade As. He changed the topic and said, “Everyone, please tabulate the damage. We need accurate data.”

Hearing this, the Beyond Grade As sized each other up and began telling their names. The number of people had decreased by a lot compared to when they went to fight. Many of them had died in the intense battle, with the direct Beyond Grade As suffering the most casualties, as well as some Revivors. The number of casualties among the association members was relatively low.

Because the number of participants this time had increased quite a lot, the World Tree had lost even more people. The three Universal Civilizations, on the other hand, were in a far better state. However, the World Tree did not bring out all their high-level combatants. In terms of numbers, the number of participants was only a fifth or a quarter of the total.

However, although they had the upper hand in terms of battle losses, it was still much worse than the previous battle. Many familiar faces disappeared, and the Beyond Grade As present could not even muster any emotions. They were still immersed in the battle and could not extricate themselves from it. They still had lingering fears and felt like they had just survived a disaster. The atmosphere was like a dark cloud.

“The losses this time are not small,” Sun Hunter muttered. “I think we should have retreated when Aurora was defeated…”

Hearing his soft voice, many Beyond Grade As nodded in agreement. They looked at Han Xiao with complicated emotions-helplessness, understanding, dissatisfaction, and resentment.

If they did not capture Heart Tree King this time, they would have suffered a huge loss. However, they had at least gained something and did not return empty-handed. Although many Beyond Grade As still felt that they had suffered a loss, they felt more or less comforted when they saw Heart Tree King in the amber.

Although they were unhappy, they could not say anything. After all, Han Xiao had captured a Tree King and made a huge contribution. At most, they felt that it was not worth it to exchange so many people for one opponent.

Han Xiao casually glanced at them. He knew what they were thinking, but he did not explain.

He had originally wanted to see if he could manipulate the scene and make some Revivors die in battle, but now that Aurora had fallen, although his losses had increased tremendously, it made it easier for him to act. He did not need to press Aurora to make a ‘mistake’ as he had planned.

These dead Revivors would be the best evidence to prove the truth of the Sanctum Revival. He was not sad at all; instead, he was relieved. It would have been troublesome if no Revivors died in this battle.

After listening to the war casualties of the Beyond Grade As, Simon sighed and shook his head.

“The direct descendants have suffered heavy casualties. No matter what, most of the victims still have a chance to revive in the Sanctum. Thank you for your hard work.”

Everyone was in a bad mood and could not be bothered with him. They turned to look at Hila. They were most concerned about Aurora’s situation.

“How’s your sister?”

“The seal is a little thicker than before, and it will take some time to unseal it. Everyone, let’s not delay any further. Let’s rest for a while and start. We can be at ease if she wakes up as soon as possible,” Hila said with a deep voice.

“That’s right. Those with psychic abilities come out. While we’re retreating, wake Aurora up.” Kasuyi stepped out from the crowd and released his psychic energy to enter Aurora’s mind space. He then started to bombard the thought seal purple crystal in her mind. Many Psychics, Mages, and Espers walked out one after another and worked together to speed up the process. With so many people working together, the thought seal was getting thinner at a visible rate. At this rate, it would be completely unsealed in a few hours.

Seeing this, Han Xiao turned to look at Heart Tree King in the amber. He remembered that Heart Tree King had used a leaf-shaped Universal Treasure to activate the Illusion – Mind Lock. That was probably one of the rare items that the World Tree grew, and it was hidden in Heart Tree King’s body. However, Han Xiao had no intention of unsealing the amber in the short term and temporarily suppressed his curiosity.

World Tree Territory, Tree King Palace.

The executives who did not participate in the battle found out about the situation from the mental network, and their faces were filled with shock and doubt. They were prepared for Heart Tree King to die in battle, but they did not expect him to be captured alive by the enemy with that strange sealing method, and they were all terrified.

Seated on the throne, Fortitude Tree King slowly opened his eyes and deactivated the Lord’s Descent state. A rare look of anger appeared on his face, and he slapped the armrest of his chair heavily.

“Humph, Heart Tree King, so useless!”

As soon as he said that, the roots on the two thrones beside him suddenly rose, and two figures with different appearances appeared.

“Hehe, it seems like the enemy this time is indeed very difficult to deal with. Of the five Great Tree Kings, one is dead, and the other is captured. Now, only three can fight. You’re right, Heart Tree King and Subduing Tree King are both useless.” One of them turned his head and looked over with a sneer of disdain. “However, you’re not much better. Your Lord’s Avatar was clearly present, but you didn’t save Heart Tree King.”

Fortitude Tree King glanced at him coldly and snorted. “Secret Tree King, I can’t be bothered to argue with you, but you better watch your words.”

“Heh.” Secret Tree King did not think much of it. He did not even care about Fortitude Tree King. Among the five tree kings, he did not like anyone other than Ancestral Tree King. “Humph, I can’t be bothered to argue with you.” Fortitude Tree King turned to look at Ancestral Tree King in the middle seat and asked, “What do we do next? What do you think?”

The aura of Ancestral Tree King was the opposite of the other four tree kings. He was like an ordinary person, lacking any sense of presence. Be it his appearance or physique, there was nothing special. If one did not pay attention, they might subconsciously ignore him.

Hearing this, Ancestral Tree King said slowly without any expression.

“I’ve already tried. Heart Tree King is completely isolated from the outside world, and the mother tree can’t take back his Tree King Crown. This means unless he’s unsealed, I can’t remove his position and replace him with a new tree king. Therefore, we must try to save him. At the very least, we have to take back his Tree King Crown. Otherwise, we won’t be able to make the Tree God descend completely.”

Hearing this, the faces of Fortitude Tree King and Secret Tree King turned solemn.

Initially, they had thought that Heart Tree King killed a lot of high-level enemy combatants by himself. Although it had become a real Exchange, it was worse for the enemy. However, if they could not retrieve the Tree King Crown, it would be troublesome.

The identities of the tree kings all came from the ‘Tree King Crown’. This was a special ability given by the mother tree. Like the Apostle Weapons, there was a limited quota. The quota was only five, and it had to be five different Super systems. Other than Ancestral Tree King occupying one quota, the other four Tree King Crown positions had been changed over the years.

Only by gathering five crowns would they be able to make Tree God descend completely. This was their trump card. “Then what should we do?” Fortitude Tree King asked.

“There’s no need to worry for the time being,” Ancestral Tree King said casually. “The civilization on the other side has yet to show the strength that would require us to use the Tree God’s Descent. Heart Tree King is only sealed, so there’s no danger. We have two paths now. One is to wait. The enemy might be interested in studying a Tree King. As long as we unlock that special seal, I can retrieve the Tree King crown.

The second is to send someone to rescue him. Although the mother tree’s connection with him has been cut off, the broken connection can still point in his direction. We can organize high-level combatants to snatch him back.”

“Then let’s just wait and see when these enemies can’t take it anymore.” Fortitude Tree King snorted.

“Hmm, I think so too.”

Ancestral Tree King nodded and continued.

“Although we have broken the enemy’s interception circle, we still need to move forward to the enemy’s territory. Just let the fleet carry out this task. There’s no need for high-level combatants, so there won’t be any opportunities to attack.

“Furthermore… Although we know the direction, the distance is unknown. We don’t know how long it will take to reach the enemy’s territory. It might take a few years or decades. However, according to the enemy’s reaction, the distance shouldn’t be too far.”

The other two nodded silently.

“Also, Heart Tree King is gone. Someone needs to continue managing the daily affairs of this place.” Ancestral Tree King turned to look at Fortitude Tree King and said slowly, “You shall do it.”

Fortitude Tree King’s face fell.

God knew how many years it would take for the fleet to arrive at the other party’s territory. He did not want to keep showing himself. He wanted to slack off, but he did not dare go against Ancestral Tree King, so he could only agree in a muffled voice.

After casually instructing him on a few things to take note of, Ancestral Tree King’s figure quickly faded and returned to the mother tree. Secret Tree King took a gloating glance at Fortitude Tree King and left, leaving only Fortitude Tree King on the throne.

“You want me to work? Fat chance.”

Fortitude Tree King snorted, rolled his eyes, and came up with a plan.

By the way, the seed of Subduing Tree King should almost be ripe. When he revives, I can transfer this job to him. Anyway, that iron head is very hardworking and is willing to do this hard work. I can continue to slack!

As soon as he thought of this, Fortitude Tree King could not wait to see Subduing Tree King reincarnate in front of him.

He could not help but stand up and walk out of the palace. He inherited the glorious legacy of Heart Tree King and went out to water Subduing Tree King.

Chapter 1363: Spring Dream Vanishes Without a Trace and The Final Preparation

Han Xiao and the others retreated from the battlefield and returned to the main base at the rear. The World Tree Army had yet to break through to here, and it was not affected by the flames of war.

The troops of the three Universal Civilizations and the various large organizations had already formed a long line. They entered different Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices and returned to the explored universe.

The group boarded an evacuating main ship and watched the real-time surveillance of the battlefield while waiting for their turn.

The three Universal Civilizations had already begun to withdraw their forces and stop their losses. The battlefront formed by the starships retreated like a tide.

Kant looked at it for a while before shaking his head. “Looks like the three Universal Civilizations have completely decided to give up on the intercepting circle.”

“Fighting to the death is useless. It will only increase our casualties, so we naturally have to retreat,” Manison said calmly.

“However, once we retreat, we won’t be able to stop the World Tree from approaching our territory. Sooner or later, we’ll have to start a war on our own territory.”

Clotti shook his head. Ever since Reeve and the others had revived, he had become more talkative and rarely acted as if he was unapproachable. The group casually chatted about the battle to calm their emotions from the bloody battle earlier.

However, Han Xiao did not join their conversation. Instead, he stood aside and watched the unsealing of Aurora.

After watching for a while, he suddenly realized that many Beyond Grade As were sweating. He could not help but ask: “How’s the progress?”

“This is strange.” Kasuyi pinched his forehead and said with a surprised tone, “We have already weakened the seal by more than 95%, leaving only the last thin layer. However, we encountered an unprecedented resistance, and the last bit of the seal crystal wall suddenly became indestructible, as if there is an infinite power supporting its existence.” “Really?”

Han Xiao raised his brows and immediately thought of the characteristics of the Illusion – Mind Lock.

It seemed like the target who was hit by this move would be trapped in a dream created by their desire. The more real they treated it as, the stronger the seal would be.

He took a closer look at Aurora. As the layers of the seal were broken, her expression was no longer blank. At this moment, she closed her eyes, frowned, and revealed a slight look of pain, as though she was saying, “Don’t disturb my daydream.”

Could it be that her subconscious had sensed that the dream was about to disappear, so she took the illusion more seriously and took the initiative to stabilize the seal and resist the unsealers?

What kind of dream did she have to make this woman wish she could sleep forever?

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched, and he looked away helplessly. He patted Kasuyi and said, “Then can you unseal it or not?”

“Don’t worry about that. Although the seal barrier is much stronger, with so many of us working together, we will be able to penetrate it sooner or later.” Kasuyi did not even look back.

Han Xiao could only trust him and wait patiently.

After a while, Kasuyi and the others suddenly heaved a sigh of relief. They were just about to say that they had succeeded.

However, before they could say anything, Aurora suddenly opened her eyes and woke up from her coma.

“No,”

The sharp shout shocked everyone. Even the Beyond Grade As who were analyzing the situation not far away stopped chatting and looked over in surprise.

It was originally a happy matter for the milkmaid to wake up, but everyone was shocked by this shout and was confused.

Seeing pairs of shocked eyes staring at her, Aurora snapped out of her daze and quickly shut her mouth. However, her expression was still a little dazed, as though she had not gotten used to the feeling of leaving the dream. She was trying to determine if this was real or an illusion.

However, her senses and memories gradually adjusted, and Aurora slowly confirmed that she had really woken up this time.

This time, Han Xiao walked out from the crowd and stood in front of Aurora. He touched her head and said with concern, “Your mind seal has been removed. How do you feel?”

Aurora looked up at Han Xiao, and her delicate face suddenly turned red. She quickly turned her head to the side and looked away.

“I’m fine… How are you?”

“What problem can I have?” Han Xiao saw her strange expression and could not help but be curious. “What did you dream about in the seal?”

“I… I…”

Aurora stuttered as if she did not want to speak.

This time, Hila walked over and patted her head.

“What did you dream about? Why aren’t your memories open to me?”

“D-don’t ask! Anyway, it’s nothing important…”

Aurora glanced at Hila before looking away in shock. She then recalled what she had experienced in the dream, and her face became even redder, as though she was about to bleed.

Seeing her strange behavior, Han Xiao and Hila exchanged surprised looks. However, since Aurora did not want to say it, they could not be bothered to force her. Since she was already awake, there was no need to dig into the details. Perhaps it was because she had a secret in her heart, and it was not convenient for her to say it.

Han Xiao poked Aurora and checked her status. Seeing that Aurora’s attributes had returned to normal, he did not bother about Aurora’s dream.

Seeing this, everyone stepped forward to show their concern, pushing Han Xiao and Hila to the side.

Aurora’s emotions gradually returned to normal, but she still did not dare look Han Xiao in the eye. Suddenly, she thought of something and asked with a serious expression, “You’re all here. Has the battle ended? How are the casualties?”

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone’s expression stiffened slightly, and they sighed. The atmosphere quickly became gloomy, and they started to talk about the battle situation after she fainted.

Hearing about the losses this time, Aurora was shocked. Then, she said with some guilt and disappointment:

“I—I’m sorry. I was careless and fell for the enemy’s trick. I could not be of use, and more people died…”

“It’s not your fault. It’s all the enemy’s doing. You’re just a victim.” Han Xiao rubbed her head, and her soft blonde hair slid across his palm.

“But if the enemy uses this move again, I will…”

Han Xiao waved his hand and interrupted her. He smiled and said, “Don’t be afraid. The Tree King who attacked you has already been locked in Amber. He won’t threaten you anymore.” “You’re still so nice to me… cough cough.”

Aurora subconsciously opened her mouth, but halfway through, she suddenly remembered that this was not a dream. She quickly shut her mouth, lowered her head, and coughed to hide the abnormal emotions in her eyes.

However, no one paid attention to her expression.

“It’s all thanks to Black Star capturing that Tree King. If they sealed Aurora in the next battle, we would have suffered heavy casualties like today.” Milizaus shook his head.

Guzar sighed softly. “From this point of view, it’s already not bad that Black Star got rid of the future trouble. It’s just a pity for those comrades who sacrificed themselves…”

“You can’t say that. Since the enemy has this method, they will use it sooner or later, so our casualties are inevitable. When the enemy used this method for the first time, Black Star seized the opportunity to capture him. He has already done his best to minimize the cost to prevent losses in the future,” Beiger immediately said.

Hearing this, everyone thought about it and felt that it made sense.

This was the enemy’s trump card, and Black Star couldn’t prevent them from using it in advance, so they could not blame Black Star. Getting rid of this hidden danger the first time was already the best outcome.

Ames walked forward and patted Aurora’s head.

“It’s good that you’re fine. This is more important than anything else.”

“Teacher, I’m… very sorry.”

Aurora lowered her head timidly. Her face was red with guilt, and she did not dare to look up.

Ames, however, understood her and comforted her. “It’s alright, don’t blame yourself. Although you did not use your ability to protect me, it’s not your fault. I’m fine.”

“Hmm…”

Hearing this, Aurora felt even more embarrassed. She twisted her hands together and buried her head even deeper, almost like an ostrich.

It was finally their turn to leave, and everyone stopped chatting. The spaceship followed the fleet into the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device, and the two huge mechanical rings began to spin. The lights connected and flickered, sending everyone back to the Flickering World.

After Han Xiao and the others retreated from the battlefield, the situation developed just as Simon had said. The defensive lines of the various war zones were broken, and the World Tree Army marched in from various areas and spread out rapidly. A vicious snowball-like cycle occurred, and the intercepting circle gradually became riddled with holes.

As there was no way to reverse the situation, the three Universal Civilizations did not continue to recruit Beyond Grade As into the battle and did not force a direct confrontation. They continued to pull their troops and equipment to recoup their costs so that they would not be completely wiped out by the World Tree fleet.

This process lasted for about ten days before the World Tree Army completely broke through the intercepting circle. The three Universal Civilizations also withdrew all the fleets and equipment that should have been taken back, and those that could not be taken away were destroyed on the spot. The intercepting circle that had been built over a year was only left with countless metal trash floating in the universe like a man-made asteroid belt.

In the explored universe, the upper echelons of the three Universal Civilizations and the command center held a follow-up battle meeting after the interception circle disappeared.

Among all the Beyond Grade As, only Han Xiao was the representative.

In the large conference room, the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations listened to the military report with a straight face. As the commander-in-chief of the intercepting circle, Simon was reading out the strategic analysis.

“… The intercepting circle has been abolished. We have lost the biggest barrier stopping the World Tree from advancing. The war has entered a new phase.

In the past year, we have sent out teams of engineers to move toward the Flickering World from the interception circle, setting up traps and fortifications along the way for this day. When the World Tree moves toward our territory and enters the vast strategic zone, we can harass and obstruct them.

“Although we can’t stop them from advancing, we can at least slow them down…”

At this moment, Marbruce interrupted him, tapped the table, and asked:

“This won’t solve the root of the problem. Can you think of a way to build another blockade?” Hearing this, Simon shook his head and sighed. “Forgive me for being blunt, but before we find the World Tree’s main body, all our strategies are just to treat the symptoms… We need to invest a lot of resources to build another intercepting circle. I believe that with this experience, the World Tree will use the same method to attack next time. Our troops will be heavily damaged once again, and we will fall right into their trap.

Furthermore, choosing a location is also a problem. Most of the areas in this strategic zone are also places that we have never set foot in, so we cannot go there casually. The earliest construction team to set out will only be able to build a new interception circle a year away from the World Tree. The time is too tight.

If we send a new batch of construction teams from the border of the Flickering World, there will be plenty of time to build an intercepting circle, but…”

“But what?”

Louis asked.

Simon frowned and told the truth, “The Military Strategy Department does not agree with this plan. Through the speed and drifting time of the Kunde Race survivors, we have already calculated the approximate distance between the World Tree and us. With their speed, it will take them about eleven years to reach our territory. With our obstruction and delay, this number will be extended, but not for long.” The Pope immediately questioned.

“Eleven years… This is enough to build a stronger interception circle. Why not?” “It can be done, but the Military Strategy Department feels that it’s a better choice to strengthen defenses in the border areas. Use destructive methods to develop the Flickering World border that has yet to be fully explored, squeeze out all the planet resources in these areas, and then turn at least five Star Clusters into desolate universe belts. We will not leave a single hair behind for the World Tree and build a defense line here.

After all, this is our home ground. This way, it would not only make it easier for mobile support troops but also greatly reduce the size of the defensive line, saving the expenditure of troops. Furthermore, the battlefield is close to our home, which can also stimulate the resistance of the entire universe. Setting up a new blockade in the unexplored area countless miles away will consume too much of our forces. We will be dragged into a war of attrition that the World Tree is good at, which will be even more disadvantageous…”

nsu

Simon explained.

Hearing this, the upper echelons discussed the pros and cons of this plan.

The leaders of the three Universal Civilizations pondered for a while before turning to look at Han Xiao.

“Black Star, what do you think?”

Han Xiao shook his head and said, “I don’t have too many opinions, but it’s very necessary to strengthen our defenses. Instead of leaving those planets for the World Tree to devour, we might as well do our best and use the Planetary Shatterer to develop the planets at the border of the Flickering World so that the enemies can’t replenish themselves. That way, even if they attack, we won’t lose much.”

He had already done what he could. Compared to the terrible start in his previous life, the situation of the three Universal Civilizations at present was many times better. He could not give any more suggestions regarding the war.

After all, the direction of the war between the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree was completely different from his previous life, and he could not be sure of the final direction of each plan. The best choice now was to trust the professional military personnel.

‘In eleven years at the minimum, the World Tree will be able to invade the three Universal Civilizations… This is the final preparation period, I have to make good use of it.’

Han Xiao took a deep breath.

On the advancing route of the World Tree, the three Universal Civilizations most likely did not need high-level combatants to harass or stop them. This meant that they, as Beyond Grade As, did not have to be on standby all the time and could freely arrange the schedule.

He planned to spend some time nurturing those Beyond Grade A seeds, hoping to give birth to more Beyond Grade As and allow Karlot to grow as soon as possible.

On the other hand, he could also take the opportunity to settle down. The experience provided by the players would surely be enough for him to break through level 360 and complete his Promotion within a year. The strongest period of a Mechanic was not when they had just advanced.

The peak of a Mechanic could only be achieved after his mechanical army and equipment are completely upgraded!

The last eleven years of preparation were a rare opportunity for him to digest his advanced strength!

After these two exchanges with the Tree King, Han Xiao had already noticed his current weakness. Although he could win against Heart Tree King or Subduing Tree King in a one-on-one battle, they were all experts of the same level. They had their own explosive trump cards, so it was almost impossible for him to defeat the other party quickly. Furthermore, the battlefield environment was complicated, and the mechanical army was the biggest target. There were too many factors that affected their combat strength.

Although his energy level was very high, he was still a peak Beyond Grade A in essence, and there was no qualitative change. Only with the power of sublimation could he solve this problem.

“I hope I can give the World Tree a ‘surprise’ the next time we fight!”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

However, these thoughts were suppressed in his heart.

He knew very well that the most important task at the moment was not these plans but to wait for Oathkeeper to gather the new Sanctum Key and enter the Sanctum again. He would use the truth of the revival to strengthen the belief of the entire Beyond Grade A group!

Chapter 1364: Determination and Shadow

Chapter 1364 Determination and Shadow

The three Universal Civilizations would not deliberately publicize the failure of the intercepting circle, but the truth could not be hidden for long either. As the troops of the various large organizations retreated to the explored universe, this news quickly spread to the galactic society that was constantly paying attention to the battle situation, causing a large-scale panic.

For more than a year, the refugees who had migrated to the Central Galaxy from all over the world were used to the successive reports of the World Tree stopping them from entering the Central Galaxy. This was also the reason why many people felt that forcing them to take refuge was worth it. They had already treated the intercepting circle as a ‘border’ to block the enemies.

As long as they could intercept the World Tree, they would have a sense of security. They thought that this barrier would be able to stop the World Tree forever, preventing the flames of war from spreading to their area. However, now that this barrier had been broken by the enemy, people’s confidence had been taken away. The chain reaction was shocking. Not only did it cause fear and panic, but it also caused their trust in the three Universal Civilizations to plummet.

In the eyes of the galactic residents, the three Universal Civilizations were nigh-omnipotent ‘kings’. However, even with such powerful rulers working together, they still failed to defeat the enemy. Although there were many factors involved, in the eyes of ordinary people, this was like a math equation of 3 < 1, which meant that the three Universal Civilizations were no match for the one enemy!

Many people were willing to accept the forced migration because they believed that the three Universal Civilizations would eventually be able to repel the invaders. However, if the three Universal Civilizations could not defeat the invaders, would it really be safe for them to stay in the Central Galaxy and seek refuge? Wouldn’t they be waiting for death?

This thought spread like a virus in the hearts of the galactic residents, nourishing their unease, panic, and fear. Even if the public relations department of the three Universal Civilizations works themselves to the bone, the overflowing emotions were like a tsunami that could not be easily blocked.

Thus, chaos erupted.

S er

There were many cases of people trying to escape from the Sanctuary planets. Some of them were no longer willing to believe the three Universal Civilizations and felt that staying behind was equivalent to waiting for death. They wanted to ‘save’ themselves before the enemy attacked, wanting to escape from the explored universe in spaceships. In the face of life and death, the refugees, who were originally akin to docile sheep under the control of the three Universal Civilizations, suddenly displayed a sense of herd mentality resistance. The difficulty of managing them suddenly spiked, and the three Universal Civilizations had no choice but to divert more energy to comfort and suppress the refugees.

All of a sudden, chaos ensued.

In his previous life, the foreign enemies had charged in with a fierce momentum, and there was no way for the people to retreat. Now that the three Universal Civilizations had the time to prepare for war, citizens were given an option. There were pros and cons to this and they would not be able to achieve a state where everyone was a soldier like in Han Xiao’s previous life.

At the Beyond Grade A Association headquarters…

Due to the large-scale deployment of the three Universal Civilizations’ troops, many Beyond Grade A organizations decided to change the location of the association’s headquarters. This planet located in the middle of the Flickering World had already been moved to Black Star’s territory.

Ever since a large number of Beyond Grade As had rushed to the frontlines, the Beyond Grade A Association had entered a hiatus. Han Xiao and the other participants had returned to the association, and after a year or so, they once again convened a full meeting.

In the round table conference room, many association members were gathered. Compared to the seats that were full before the battle, there were many empty seats. Every empty seat represented a sacrifice. “… to summarize, in at least 11 years, the World Tree will invade the mainland and reach the border of the Flickering World…”

Han Xiao’s tone was low as he recounted the outcome of the battle conference he had with the three Universal Civilizations.

Hearing this information, all the Beyond Grade As present had solemn expressions.

“11 years is too soon…”

A Beyond Grade A could not help but speak with a worried tone.

In the eyes of a Beyond Grade A, this amount of time would pass in the blink of an eye. The shocking attack of the World Tree breaking through the intercepting circle left a deep impression on the participants. When they thought about how the endless green tide would invade their territory soon, like a disaster that devoured everything, covering the entire explored universe bit by bit, everyone subconsciously tensed up and became extremely fearful.

Kasuyi knocked on the table and encouraged, “On the bright side, we still have at least eleven years to prepare. After fighting with the World Tree this year, we have also discovered many of our shortcomings. We can use this opportunity to improve ourselves.” Because he knew the truth about the Sanctums and the Iterations, he had always been a firm believer of the warring faction. He was another pillar of support other than Han Xiao.

However, after he finished speaking, the participants of the battles did not respond like before. They only remained silent, and the members of the Association in the avoidance faction had their differences, and naturally would not show any signs of approval.

Dillon placed his elbows on the table, took in everyone’s expressions, and sneered. “Tsk, I told you long ago that your attitude will change after you experience the war. Now you know that I made the correct choice, right? Look at all of you. You were so passionate when you set off, but now? You were all beaten back by the enemy! You sacrificed so many members of the association but still failed to stop the enemy. Tell me, what’s the use of sacrificing these people? It was just a waste of our only chance to revive.”

Hearing this, most of the participants clenched their fists and claws. They were clearly enraged, but no one spoke up.

What Dillon said had touched a raw nerve in their hearts. In the galactic battlefield of a hundred billion, many people felt how minuscule they were. Seeing those Beyond Grade As who usually called the shots in the galactic society die one after another, their belief in participating in the battle was shaken.

Seeing this, Han Xiao frowned and heavily spoke out.

“Alright, shut up. At least we managed to cooperate with the three Universal Civilizations and delay the World Tree’s invasion for a year.”

“Ha, a mere year…”

Dillon curled his lips in disapproval, but he did not dare say anything more under Han Xiao’s glare.

Han Xiao did not look at him anymore. He looked at everyone and slowly said, “No matter what, these eleven years is the last preparation period. We can’t waste it. I will use the Evolution Cube and a series of Universal Treasures to increase your strength unconditionally. The others who have similar Universal Treasures should do the same. You have all been in the position of ‘galactic big shots’ for too long. Some of you have not been able to improve for a long time and have already wasted your training. I suggest everyone undergo special training. Be as strong as you can.”

“What special training? Who’s doing the training?” Kohler was curious.

Han Xiao announced.

“The peak Beyond Grade As of the various systems will all be the mentors, imparting experience and guiding routes. As the Chief Instructor, I will be coordinating all the special training plans. On one hand, we will work towards increasing everyone’s individual strengths, and on the other, your capabilities in working as a team.

In addition, this will be live combat training. There’s no need to worry about getting injured, as Aurora will be in charge of healing. During times of peace, as the representatives of individual strength, we do not have the chance to fight frequently. Right now, this is no time to care about face or prestige. We have to increase our combat strength as much as possible, thus combat is the best way. Winning or losing is not important, the most crucial thing is to improve our abilities.”

He did indeed want to increase the average combat power of the Beyond Grade As, but on the other hand, he also felt that this was a good excuse to find people to spar frequently. He might be able to obtain more abilities.

Hearing this, everyone hesitated but did not object.

At this moment, Secret Master solemnly spoke. “What if the three Universal Civilizations lose in the end?” Han Xiao looked downwards, before slowly speaking.

“…I promise all of you that if things don’t work out, I won’t ask for anything else. I will take all of you out of the explored universe and head to the endless galaxy. Therefore, these eleven years will also be the time for us to move the resources of our Beyond Grade A organizations and prepare for our future.”

Han Xiao was uncertain that the three Universal Civilizations would be able to defeat the World Tree. Now that the timeline was different, whether or not they would be able to find the World Tree’s main body was a complete mystery. This was still an unknown probability. If they could not find it, the three Universal Civilizations would have almost no chance of winning, thus he had also expected the worst and devised a backup plan for the association.

If the three Universal Civilizations were really done for, he would also abandon this place without mercy. The universe was huge, and there was nowhere he could not go.

The meeting lasted for a while more before everyone dispersed. After everyone had left, Han Xiao took out his communicator, contacted Oathkeeper, and asked about the progress of the Sanctum Key collection. The priority was still the First Sanctum, and the time flow was the most consistent.

However, Oathkeeper replied that he had yet to gather the materials and would have to wait for some time.

“I hope we can start the second round of recovery as soon as possible. The fighting spirit of the association members has been shaken.”

Han Xiao thought to himself.

Many of the revivors felt that they had used up their only chance to revive and would no longer need him in the future, so they did not listen to him. Now, they urgently needed to use the truth to correct these people’s thoughts. Only by showing their indispensability would they be able to amplify their words and make the Beyond Grade As rely on him more.

At the same time, the two sisters walked out of the venue one after another.

Suddenly, Hila stopped in her tracks. Aurora, who had her head lowered, bumped into her back as if she did not notice anything. She then regained her senses and looked up in confusion.

“What’s wrong with you recently? Ever since the seal on your mind was removed, you’ve been in a strange state. You’ve been spacing out all the time, and it was the same during the meeting just now.”

Hila turned around and sized Aurora up with a frown.

“I…” Aurora clenched her fists and lowered her head. She hesitated and said,” I was just thinking if I was much stronger than now, would these things still have happened?”

“Oh?” Hila raised her brows but did not reply. Aurora pursed her lips and muttered to herself,

“Black Star once said that my current level is far from being able to unleash the true strength of this Esper Ability. If I become stronger, I can summon more Underworld Spirits at any time. If I become stronger, I will be able to resist the thought seal. If I become stronger, I won’t have such comrades dying in battle…”

As she spoke, her voice grew increasingly disappointed and filled with reproach.

“This is all because I’m not strong enough!”

Hila looked at her quietly and waited for her to finish venting her emotions before speaking expressionlessly. “That’s right, it’s because you’re not strong enough! They’re all comforting you, saying that it’s not your fault, but in my eyes, it’s your problem. If you were at the peak Beyond Grade A level, all the losses in this battle could have been prevented!” Hearing this, Aurora twisted her fingers and felt even more ashamed.

After becoming a Beyond Grade A a few years ago, she no longer had to be controlled by Black Star and Hila. Her heart was wild, and she felt like she was finally free to do whatever she wanted.

Her Esper Ability could ensure her survival, and she had also inherited the powerful Underworld Spirit. She had also obtained a lot of support from the association members, and she even had the life-saving equipment that Black Star had given her. She had all kinds of trump cards since birth, so she relaxed and stopped training. Only after this setback did Aurora regret not training hard for the past few years. Aurora looked up into Hila’s eyes, bit her lower lip, and made up her mind. “Sis, can you give me special training?” Hila’s lips curled up into an almost undetectable smile. She then coldly spoke while holding a straight face,

“Then be prepared. I won’t go easy on you.”

Secondary dimension world.

This was a space filled with black liquid, like a pitch-black ocean in which one would not be able to see their fingers even if they were stretched out in front of them.

A fleet of spaceships was slowly advancing through it like submarines.

This was one of the earliest divisions that the three Universal Civilizations had sent out. After a year of travel, they had long entered the depths of the secondary dimension and left the shallow areas controlled by the three Universal Civilizations.

In one of the living cabins of the battleship, Harrison was pacing back and forth anxiously while chanting “In the main universe, the World Tree has already broken through the three Universal Civilizations’ encirclement. If we don’t speed up, the enemy will be able to invade our territory in no time… How do we find the thing His Excellency Black Star mentioned?” Due to the lack of communication in the secondary dimensions, the expedition team could not maintain stable communication with their hometown and could only occasionally report the situation. The last time they exchanged intelligence, the expedition team that Harrison was in received news that the intercepting circle was broken, which made him anxious.

After more than a year of searching, the expedition team search could be called fruitless. They had not even seen a World Tree fleet.

The secondary dimensions were endless. New dimensions were born every second, and the old dimensions were destroyed. The relationship between the secondary dimensions was unpredictable and constantly changing. If there were no specific coordinates, it would be much more difficult to search for something.

“If I try my luck like this, the chances are too low. When will I be able to find clues…”

Harrison clenched his fists. The thought of his hometown being threatened by the invaders made him feel uneasy.

However, Harrison, who was immersed in his emotions, did not notice that there was a huge shadow swimming in the dark sea outside the porthole. It was almost impossible to tell its shape apart in the darkness. The strange thing was that even the radar of the fleet did not detect it.

Chapter 1365: Training and Abnormality

Chapter 1365 Training and Abnormality

The destruction of the intercepting circle meant that the war had entered a new phase. The World Tree had the coordinates from the Kunde Race refugees. The army left behind temporary strongholds along the way and split into many routes as they headed toward the Flickering World. They were like green roots that grew endlessly in the universe, slowly extending toward the territories of the three Universal Civilizations.

The three Universal Civilizations used their super long-range weapons and harassment tactics to stall the enemy.

The players did not react much to the loss of the interception circle, and their morale was not affected. In their eyes, it was just a normal development of the main storyline. At most, some storyline-loving players would post on the forums to analyze the subsequent war trends, and most of it was just speculation.

The biggest impact was the main storyline mission of the players which was currently in progress. The requirements and the terms of guarding the intercepting circle had been changed to try to stop the World Tree’s advance.

However, most of the players were quite happy. The Spacetime Splicing Technology had become useful again. They were able to work after being laid off, and they had many more opportunities to work.

In times of war, mercenaries like the players were the happiest. The reward level of the mission had increased by a few levels, and their wallets were filled up at a few times the speed.

During the harassment phase, the three Universal Civilizations had left a large number of suicide squad positions for the players, which made things easier for the Great Mechanic Han. He did not have to divert his attention to fertilize the players, instead, focusing his attention elsewhere.

Flickering World, Black Star territory.

A huge metal fortress was suspended in the space, it was triangular with a thin magnetic field binding track extending out from each corner. They looked like transparent pipes, but they were actually rapid shuttle corridors connected to crescent-shaped mechanical devices at the end. These three devices were like suction cups, sucking the three Fixed Stars from afar. They were all stars that had been migrated, and after special treatments such as gravitational restraints and energy restraints, they were very stable. The three crescent-shaped mechanical devices were called Star Guiding devices, which were used to guide the energy of the stars. This was a model used for individual training. It could be used for body tempering, charging, and endurance enhancement by adjusting the output power of the star’s energy.

This metal fortress was a specially built training ground. It was equipped with all kinds of top-notch training facilities such as Fixed Star cultivation room for star energy body tempering, environment simulation rooms for converting various cosmic radiation, ultra-high extreme density gravity rooms, and so on. There were also training-type Universal Treasures provided by the three Universal Civilizations and many Beyond Grade As that could stimulate the potential of different races and systems. It could be called the best training ground for Supers in the entire explored universe.

Those who could undergo training here were not ordinary people. More than 95% of the Beyond Grade A seeds in the entire explored universe had been sent here, regardless of whether they were regular people or civilizations’ direct members. At the same time, there were also other Calamity Grades with potential that various organizations had selected

In the open-air square of the training ground, a small crowd had already formed a formation. They looked at the row of figures in front of them with almost fanaticism, and most of their gazes were focused on Han Xiao who was in the center.

“All of you are Calamity Grades. I believe I do not need to explain why you are here. From today onwards, all the facilities here will be provided to you for free. We will set up a training schedule for you, and when we are free, we will discuss the problems you face during your training…”

As Han Xiao spoke, he scanned the crowd before him.

Establishing this training ground was also the intention of the three Universal Civilizations. Originally, the direct descendants had all received training in the various military bases, but now, they had all been sent over by the three Universal Civilizations. The people in front of them were all high-level Calamity Grades, including all the peak Supers in the explored universe below Beyond Grade As.

The purpose of providing the best facilities, the strongest teachers, and the best resources was to produce as many Beyond Grade As as possible in the next eleven years. Facing the suffocating power of the World Tree, the three Universal Civilizations could not care less about the imbalance of Supers.

“Understood!”

Hadavy shouted excitedly, and the hundreds of Beyond Grade A seeds who had already joined the Black Star Army immediately echoed. Under their leadership, the people of other organizations also responded.

Han Xiao glanced at him. There were quite a few familiar faces among them, including the Beyond Grade A seeds of the Black Star Army. Lagi, Hadavy, Jotina, Nero, Mia, and the others were among them.

However, not all of the potential individuals participated in the training. Some of the golden leeks that they had high hopes for such as Karlot and Evans, were privately given special treatment.

“However, let’s get this straight. All those who become Beyond Grade As in the training camp must participate in the war unconditionally and use it as your tuition fee. Otherwise, we will take back your strength. This is a deal, and it’s not too late to back out now.”

Hearing this, the excitement on everyone’s faces did not change at all. They already knew the price. However, the value of the training this time was extraordinary. Most of the Beyond Grade A seeds here grew on their own. In the past, there was no such thing as free use of such a treasure, and now they could even ask for help from different Beyond Grade As casually. Even if they joined a Beyond Grade A organization, they would not receive such treatment. Compared to this benefit, joining the battle was nothing.

Just as everyone was getting excited, an odd mutter sounded from the crowd.

“Sigh, I have to sacrifice myself in the war anyway. What’s the point of training harder…”

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.

The style was too obvious. He did not even have to look to know who was speaking. He immediately emphasized:

“Our training course is compulsory. We will not allow any form of laziness, and we will strictly control the rest time. Some people better pay attention.”

“Sigh, totalitarianism…” The same voice sighed.

Han Xiao ignored Lagi and continued.

“Alright, I won’t say anything else. I’ve already made the corresponding timetable for each of you. These instructors will be in charge of training you. Training starts immediately. From now on, don’t waste any second.”

As he spoke, the Beyond Grade As beside him took away the Calamity Grades to train them separately.

Some ordinary Beyond Grade As who did not have much room to improve were more passionate about being instructors. As long as they could groom one more comrade, they would be able to share the pressure. Their experience was also precious to Calamity Grades.

“I hope that in eleven years, more than ten Beyond Grade As will be born…”

Han Xiao thought to himself.

Gathering all the potential stocks in the universe to help them grow, there was a chance to produce a double-digit number of Beyond Grade As in eleven years, which was equivalent to a batch of already grown leeks.

With his targeted training, the guidance of Beyond Grade As, and the support of a large number of resources, the probability of a high-level Calamity Grade completing the last step would increase many times.

Watching the group of potential stocks being taken away for training, Han Xiao turned to the other Beyond Grade As and nodded.

“The same goes for us. If you need anything, I can give you some training advice.”

There were two groups of people training. One was Calamity Grades, and the other was Beyond Grade As. Of course, the two were different, and he was in charge of the latter.

The Beyond Grade As had been watching from the side the entire time. They looked at each other, feeling a little awkward.

Those who could advance to Beyond Grade A were all geniuses who had found their paths. They had always been exploring their own path of cultivation, and many of them were not used to suddenly receiving guidance from others.

However, Han Xiao’s prestige was very high. Everyone present had agreed to the training plan that he had proposed during the regular meeting, so they could not go back on their words now. All of them came up one after another to be poked by Han Xiao.

Han Xiao used this opportunity to collect the information of most Beyond Grade As and analyzed their abilities.

Why do I feel like a Pokemon trainer… After analyzing for a while, this thought suddenly appeared in Han Xiao’s mind.

On the other side, when the Beyond Grade As saw Black Star accurately pointing out their weaknesses and even giving them effective training plans, they could not help but be stunned.

They knew that Black Star had great foresight, but it was all hearsay and not true. Now that they had personally witnessed this, they could not help but be interested. “You didn’t grow so quickly because of this ability, did you?” Oulou was surprised.

“To a certain extent, that’s true.” Han Xiao shrugged.

“I should give you the title of Super mentor. If you were in the Federation of Light, I might have lost my job,” Verena had a helpless expression.

“Don’t worry, it’s not too late to lose your job.” Han Xiao could not be bothered to speak. After distributing the training plans, he urged everyone to hurry up and cultivate. Although he really wanted to find someone to spar with and try to draw abilities, the training had just begun, so it was better to let others get used to it first.

The many Beyond Grade As dispersed. This was not their training ground. Han Xiao had modified some planets nearby to serve as a temporary training ground for the Beyond Grade As. In the next eleven years, most of them would move around this area. However, it was only limited to the ordinary Beyond Grade As and some high-level Beyond Grade As. Kasuyi, Manison, Hila, and the others all had their own special training route, so they did not need to come for training.

After doing all this, Han Xiao was about to return to the workshop to continue his research when his communicator suddenly rang. The caller was the department leader in charge of contacting the secondary dimension expedition team.

“Your Excellency Black Star, I have some bad news for you. In our last contact, we discovered that the fleet carrying the emissary you sent out has disappeared. We are currently unable to contact them.”

“Missing?”

Han Xiao activated the Observer’s Mark.

Before Harrison left, he had used his Void Talent to set up an Observer’s Mark on Harrison. Because he had not obtained anything in a long time, he did not check on Harrison all the time. The last time he checked was a day and a half ago. Everything was normal.

He activated his ability, and his vision suddenly changed. All that was left was darkness, and he could not see Harrison at all.

Before he could observe carefully, his vision suddenly disappeared, proving that the Observer’s Mark had been destroyed.

“What did they encounter in the secondary dimension world?”

Han Xiao frowned. Being able to remove his Observer’s Mark meant that there was a high chance of the appearance of Beyond Grade A energy level.

Without hesitation, he changed into a specific King and teleported to the throne that Harrison had taken away.

With a flash of light, the surroundings spun. Han Xiao had already arrived in a black, deep sea-like space. There was nothing else around him.

The throne should have been stored in Harrison’s room, but at this moment, the fleet was gone, Harrison and the other crew members were nowhere to be seen. Only the throne was left floating alone.

“What is this place?”

Han Xiao looked around and was surprised to find that his energy sense seemed to have disappeared. He could not even sense the situation in this deep sea-like area. The radar of his mechanical suit was also malfunctioning, and his vision was greatly suppressed.

He released a group of detectors and connected them with his Mechanical Force. However, the detectors only flew for a short distance before they suddenly disconnected, and he could no longer sense them. It was as if they were swallowed by this black sea. Han Xiao tried to shoot a few energy beams in one direction, but there was no reaction.

“This is a strange secondary dimension. What did Harrison encounter?”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The secondary dimension world was filled with all kinds of possibilities, and anything could happen. It was very complicated, and this expedition team had been in there for more than a year, so he could not be sure what had happened.

Just as Han Xiao was about to start searching for this secondary dimension, a huge pressure suddenly came from all directions. A loud sound rang as if this black sea suddenly pressed toward Han Xiao.

At the same time, a cold mental wave suddenly invaded his mind, and a solemn voice sounded.

“Foreign high-level life form, leave immediately. Otherwise, you will become the Realmless King’s enemy!”

Chapter 1366: Realmless King

Chapter 1366 Realmless King

Realmless King? What the hell was that? It sounded quite scary. Han Xiao raised his brows with interest. It would have been slightly troublesome if the problem here was just a secondary dimension with strange rules. However, this was an actual sentient being that could communicate.

He felt as though he was in the deep sea. The huge water pressure came from all angles, covering the sky and earth. However, this bit of pressure only made his body tighten slightly, causing almost no damage. Compared to the Dragon Emperor’s force field, this bit of strength could not even be considered a massage. At most, it felt like he was wearing a tight suit.

The secondary dimension world was extremely dangerous, but once one reached the level of a peak Beyond Grade A, most dangers would no longer pose a threat, especially since he was one of the best among the peak Beyond Grade As. As long as this being was not an anomaly like the Celestial Star Alliance, it would not be a problem.

Han Xiao floated on the spot and ignored the pressure around him.

“What is Realmless King?”

As soon as he said that, another message came with an even more majestic aura.

“Realmless King was born in the Black Space Storm and rose from the void and unorthodoxy. He is the master of millions of dimensions, the hunter of millions of worlds. Any life form that enters his territory is a servant under the King’s authority!”

Woah! The scene suddenly turned magical.

“Not bad. With such a long title, I feel like he’s almost catching up to me.’ Han Xiao grinned.

It sounded like a powerful dimension deity entrenched in a deep layer secondary dimension. If an ordinary Beyond Grade A were to encounter it, their lives might be in danger. Unfortunately for them, he was not an ordinary Beyond Grade A. While he was deep in thought, this voice became more and more powerful, as if a huge bell was ringing in his mind, echoing with a powerful buzz. “Foreign life form, leave this place immediately, or I will expel you!”

“Wanna try?”

Han Xiao raised his brows and activated the cells in his body. It was as though he had activated a mini reactor and pumped out energy.

Chi!

Golden electric arcs shot out of his body, leaving a burning trail of light as if splitting the surrounding black sea. With a flip of his palm, a light blue psionic energy appeared in it, releasing spherical shock waves as if it was stirring up endless ripples on the surface of the sea.

Although he did not know what was going on in this secondary dimension, his previous probing was ineffective. It was most likely because he did use enough energy.

Because he was worried that he would hurt Harrison and the expedition fleet, Han Xiao did not explode the entire secondary dimension with too much energy. Instead, he controlled his energy output and increased it bit by bit.

At the start, there was no change. The explosive energy was like a rock sinking into the ocean, and it did not cause any reaction. However, after a while, the black liquid substance that filled the entire space started to vibrate. It seemed to have exceeded the limit of its endurance, causing huge waves.

Boom!

Amidst the tremors, Han Xiao could feel the strong undercurrents shooting toward him. At the same time, he felt a sharp pain in his brain as he got hit by the enemy’s mental attacks. However, to him, it was no different from scratching an itch. With just a blink, his HP was full.

There was something strange about this black liquid. It caused his energy perception to fail, and his radar to be ineffective. He could not find the other party, so he could only use violence to force the other party to appear. If this was a dimensional consciousness, then the dimension itself was the other party’s body. If he released energy inside, it would be equivalent to giving the other party an enema. The other party would not be able to last long.

Not long after, the entire space was shaking violently, as though it was going to explode and disintegrate at any time. The mental attacks were getting weaker and weaker, and extremely dangerous, but once one reached the level of a peak Beyond Grade A, most dangers would no longer pose a threat, especially since he was one of the best among the peak Beyond Grade As. As long as this being was not an anomaly like the Celestial Star Alliance, it would not be a problem.

Han Xiao floated on the spot and ignored the pressure around him. “What is Realmless King?”

As soon as he said that, another message came with an even more majestic aura.

“Realmless King was born in the Black Space Storm and rose from the void and unorthodoxy. He is the master of millions of dimensions, the hunter of millions of worlds. Any life form that enters his territory is a servant under the King’s authority!”

Woah! The scene suddenly turned magical.

“Not bad. With such a long title, I feel like he’s almost catching up to me.”

Han Xiao grinned.

It sounded like a powerful dimension deity entrenched in a deep layer secondary dimension. If an ordinary Beyond Grade A were to encounter it, their lives might be in danger. Unfortunately for them, he was not an ordinary Beyond Grade A.

While he was deep in thought, this voice became more and more powerful, as if a huge bell was ringing in his mind, echoing with a powerful buzz.

“Foreign life form, leave this place immediately, or I will expel you!” “Wanna try?” Han Xiao raised his brows and activated the cells in his body. It was as though he had activated a mini reactor and pumped out energy.

Chi!

Golden electric arcs shot out of his body, leaving a burning trail of light as if splitting the surrounding black sea.

With a flip of his palm, a light blue psionic energy appeared in it, releasing spherical shock waves as if it was stirring up endless ripples on the surface of the sea. Although he did not know what was going on in this secondary dimension, his previous probing was ineffective. It was most likely because he did use enough energy.

Because he was worried that he would hurt Harrison and the expedition fleet, Han Xiao did not explode the entire secondary dimension with too much energy. Instead, he controlled his energy output and increased it bit by bit.

At the start, there was no change. The explosive energy was like a rock sinking into the ocean, and it did not cause any reaction. However, after a while, the black liquid substance that filled the entire space started to vibrate. It seemed to have exceeded the limit of its endurance, causing huge waves.

Boom!

Amidst the tremors, Han Xiao could feel the strong undercurrents shooting toward him. At the same time, he felt a sharp pain in his brain as he got hit by the enemy’s mental attacks.

However, to him, it was no different from scratching an itch. With just a blink, his HP was full.

There was something strange about this black liquid. It caused his energy perception to fail, and his radar to be ineffective. He could not find the other party, so he could only use violence to force the other party to appear. If this was a dimensional consciousness, then the dimension itself was the other party’s body. If he released energy inside, it would be equivalent to giving the other party an enema. The other party would not be able to last long.

Not long after, the entire space was shaking violently, as though it was going to explode and disintegrate at any time. The mental attacks were getting weaker and weaker, and they were filled with pained emotions.

Han Xiao looked around and narrowed his eyes.

“Still not coming out? Do you really want me to inflate you?”

As soon as he said that, the pressure around him suddenly became lighter. The black liquid-like substance shrank and turned into a whirlpool. The black sea flowed into it like a bathtub filled with water had its plug pulled out.

As the black sea disappeared, Han Xiao’s energy perception quickly recovered, and his vision returned to normal.

This secondary dimension was a white world without anything. It was like the prototype of a secondary dimension that had yet to be fully formed. It was also like all matter was swept away by the receding black sea. In the distant horizon, there was a black vortex that was getting smaller and smaller, sucking away all the black matter. It was about to open a spatial rift and escape.

“Running? I will break your legs!”

Han Xiao opened his hands, and mechanical soldiers appeared one after another.

The mechanical army that appeared immediately released the binding force field and held onto this black mass, preventing it from moving. At the same time, they also used the secondary dimension spatial stabilization device to fix the spatial rift that the other party had torn out.

This black liquid was extremely strange and slippery. However, under the control of Han Xiao’s mechanical army, it was still frozen in place and turned into a high-density liquid state. It kept changing its shape as though it was struggling At the same time, its mental energy fluctuations spread out in all directions with this liquid at the center. The solemn atmosphere from before was gone, and only shock and anger were left. “Foreign life form! You will pay the price for your actions. Realmless King will take it from you!”

Han Xiao turned a deaf ear and told the mechanical army to increase the binding force field. He then took out a cylindrical container and stuffed the mass inside. The black mass was compressed into a fist-sized liquid that floated in the container. Tiny electric arcs were attached to it, causing the liquid to jolt nonstop. It was extremely painful.

This was a special equipment that he had used to capture Primal Esper Ability Entities. He did not expect it to be suitable for this strange substance.

After locking it in the container, the liquid finally stopped. Han Xiao knocked on the outside of the container and asked curiously:

“What are you? Also, did a fleet pass by here recently? Where did you take them?”

“So you’re looking for those people. Looks like you’re a high-level life form in the main material universe!” The mental fluctuation of this liquid was unstable, and it was already covered in a layer of fear. However, it soon turned into anger. “I’m just one of the guardians of the millions of dimensions. I’ve already offered them to the Realmless King. If you have the guts, go find him!”

“Offerings?” Han Xiao raised his brows. “Tell me everything you know… Forget it, since you’re not cooperating, I’ll just interrogate you.”

Han Xiao injected his Mechanical Force into the container, and the container was instantly filled with lightning, forming a mini ion thunderstorm. This liquid was like a bug trapped in an electric mosquito swatter, crackling from the electricity.

After torturing it for a while, Han Xiao finally got the information he wanted.

This liquid life form was an energy field type life form, born in the secondary dimension of a nurturing type life form. This black liquid was the shell given to it by the so-called Realmless King. It called itself one of the guardians of the million dimensions, the confidant (doubtful) of the Realmless King. Its name was Bobanica, meaning ‘Erosion’ and ‘Swallowing’.

Through this kind of black substance, the Realmless King devoured the matter and energy of the various dimensions and transformed them into his own ‘territory’. He occupied this area with a large number of guardians guarding the dimensions that he occupied.

The fleet that Harrison was in had indeed been taken away by him. Through the special connection between the black liquid and the Realmless King, it had used dimensional teleportation and sent them to the ‘King’s Land’ where the Realmless King was. This was the main job of a guardian like Bobanica. The life forms that had been intercepted and sent to the Realmless King were called ‘offerings’.

“Tsk, looks like I’ll have to find this Realmless King if I want to get them… I wonder if it’s a good or bad thing for Harrison to encounter something like this with his luck.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin.

He pondered for a few seconds, shook his head, changed into the Dimension Travel mechanical suit, set the coordinates given by Bobanica, and headed toward the Realmless King’s location.

In the middle of a secondary dimension, on a huge platform that looked like a black crystal, Harrison was floating in midair. His eyes wer closed, as though he had lost consciousness, but his face was filled with pain. One end of the black fog-like energy stream was connected to his glabella while the other end was connected to a gigantic black finger. Light flowed on the finger. The owner of the finger was a black entity the size of a mountain. It had a human form and had many heads and arms. It was sitting on a black throne—it was the Realmless King. After a while, the Realmless King retracted its energy stream, and Harrison lost the ability to float. He fell onto the platform and was still unconscious.

“Interesting. With that tree finding a new prey, I can harvest delicious souls again…”

The Realmless King let out a deep laugh, but in the ears of others, it would only be a frenzied roar.

As a powerful entity in a secondary dimension, the soul of a life form was a rare delicacy. However, it could not completely descend into the main material universe and could only project a portion of its power. Furthermore, the main material universe was extremely vast. Without coordinates, one could only wander the endless universe, and it was very difficult to find life.

At this moment, he had absorbed the memories of these life forms from the main material universe, learned the coordinates of the three Universal Civilizations, and also knew that the famous World Tree Civilization was fighting with them. In his eyes, this was a feast to harvest souls.

Under normal circumstances, even a powerful dimensional entity like him was afraid of the power of a Universal Civilization and was unwilling to provoke them.

However, if a Universal Civilization were to fall into war, the situation would be different. He still had the guts to take advantage of the situation.

“After provoking that tree, your doomsday is almost here. Hehe, rather than becoming its servants, you might as well become my food… However, the World Tree actually has the weakness of a main body? This is the first time I’ve learned of it.”

The Realmless King moved its body, producing a rustling sound like countless insects crawling

Then, countless eyes on his body turned to look at the unconscious Harrison on the platform. Greed and desire appeared in the eyes, but they quickly suppressed them. “It’s rare to meet a life form with such strong luck. If I eat you, my causal force will increase by a level… It’s a pity that the guy behind you isn’t easy to deal with. It would be better to make a deal with him.”

The Realmless King looked away.

From Harrison’s memories, he saw Han Xiao and knew that they had a close relationship.

He was extremely wary of the top-notch experts of the main material universe. It was precisely because of Black Star that he did not dare eat Harrison immediately. The Realmless King knew that this was one of the mediums of the causal force, but he did not intend to violate it. This was because there was a high chance that he would pay the price for violating the causal force. If he ate Harrison, the price would most likely be this Black Star coming to fight him to death.

Right at this moment, a black mass suddenly fell from the sky filled with black fog and floated in front of the Realmless King. It contained the emergency message from Bobanica before he was captured, showing the image of Han Xiao releasing energy to open up the black sea.

“Oh? He came so quickly. It seems like this useless thing, Bobanica, will not be able to escape his grasp. He will give me my coordinates. This is good too. Wait for him to come and find me.”

Seeing this, the Realmless King changed his posture and waited for Han Xiao to come. Black Star was very powerful and might be able to threaten his life, but the Realmless King did not panic at all.

In terms of secondary dimension exploration, the World Tree was far ahead of the three Universal Civilizations. Although the Realmless King had no dealings with the World Tree Civilization, he knew how to send a message to the World Tree Family.

The intelligence that he had obtained from the expedition team contained the coordinates of the secondary dimensions of the three Universal Civilizations as well as various other information. This was the best bargaining chip that he could use. He believed that the World Tree would be very willing to accept this gift

However, the Realmless King did not intend to tell them. After all, he did not want to have too much contact with the World Tree. In comparison, he was more interested in Black Star, the guest of a new Universal Civilization.

Chapter 1367: Unexpected Deal

Chapter 1367 Unexpected Deal

The flowing light particles formed an endless tunnel in front of him. There was only a single point of light at the end, and time and space were pulled into an infinite line in his senses. He did not know how much distance he had crossed or how much time he had spent, but it felt like only an instant.

Countless strange scenes flashed past outside the tunnel, and his body seemed to have turned into smoke. For a moment, he could not feel the existence of his body, and all his senses that were used to explore the world were mixed together. However, the next moment, all his senses returned to normal, and his vision suddenly changed. He had arrived in a new space.

Endless black fog pervaded the area and red lightning flashed from time to time. It was like dark clouds that were brewing lightning, or dark clouds from a volcanic eruption. It was like the end of the world.

A black mountain range flowing with lava-like scarlet light was floating in the black fog like an island. The mountain peak at the center was steep and tall, and a rusty dark gold chain was wrapped around it, forming spiral-like patterns. It was connected to a black crystal-like platform that was suspended in the air, and on it sat a gigantic black figure the size of a mountain. Countless red eyes turned in unison and looked over.

“Oh my, isn’t this going to cost me my sanity?”

Han Xiao smacked his lips. He took a look at the scenery of this secondary dimension with interest and captured a photo as a memento. Otherwise, if they were to fight later, he might accidentally crush this place.

Looking up at the mountain-like figure, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“You’re the Realmless King?”

It had to be said that this guy’s appearance was quite scary. Ordinary people would probably be shocked to the point of losing their minds at first glance, triggering a deep-seated phobia of giant creatures. However, Han Xiao was used to seeing all kinds of things, so this scene did not have any impact on him at all. The shock was far less than a fleet salvo during the interception battle.

“Yes, I was waiting for you, Black Star,” the Realmless King replied slowly.

“You know me?”

Han Xiao was a little surprised. He looked down at Bobanica in his hands and remembered that he did not mention his name. Could it be that his name had already spread from the main universe to the secondary dimensions? “I know why you’re here. You want to take this fleet and this intelligent creature called Harrison away, right? I learned about your civilization from their memories.”

The Realmless King sat still, but the black fog in the sky suddenly moved away, revealing a fleet. It was the missing expedition team of the three Universal Civilizations. However, it was only shown for a moment before the black fog covered it again, making it impossible to sense.

The unconscious Harrison flew up from the platform and hovered in front of it.

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, but he was not in a hurry to make a move. He asked curiously, “I see. Then why are you waiting for me here?”

The Realmless King did not reply immediately. He slowly said, “I usually digest the prey I capture immediately, but I learned your name from their memories. To be honest, I’m very afraid of you high-level life forms in the main material universe. Because of your existence, I did not eat them immediately.”

“You’re quite cool-headed.”

Han Xiao sized up the Realmless King with surprise.

Your cowardice saved you, baby!

Just from the memories of Harrison and the others, he knew that I was their backer, so he did not dare to attack the expedition team… It seems that I am still very intimidating.

Seeing that the other party was giving him face, Han Xiao’s expression softened a little. He stretched out his hand and said with a smile, “In that case, I don’t mind being friends with you. Let them go first.”

However, the Realmless King shook his head. “I didn’t say I would return them to you.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao paused. “If you’re not willing to provoke me, and you don’t want to return the people, what are you going to do?”

“I want to make a deal with you.”

“Deal? Although you didn’t eat these people, you captured them and brought them here. I don’t owe you any favors. You want to use these people as bargaining chips? It’s difficult.”

Han Xiao replied casually.

The Realmless King said slowly:

“No, my bargaining chip is the intelligence of the three Universal Civilizations in their memories. You guys are fighting a war with the World Tree, and I believe the World Tree will definitely like this intelligence. They will be able to find your secondary dimension territory, and I happen to have a way to contact the members of the World Tree.”

This news was out of his expectations. Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed, and he immediately put down his hands.

“Threatening me? Are you tired of living?”

“It’s not a threat, it’s just self-preservation. Even if you agree to make a deal with me, I’m afraid that you’ll take revenge on me after I return the person to you. I don’t have the confidence to win against you… And with this trump card, I believe my safety will be guaranteed. This is the basis of the deal.”

The Realmless King’s tone was matter-of-fact.

“…How can I believe you when you say that you can contact the members of the World Tree? Do you think you can scare me with just a few words? It’s not that I don’t dare to bet that you know the term from their memories. Show me the evidence.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

The Realmless King did not mind and explained:

“I understand what you mean, but I’m not lying to you. Although you and the World Tree fought in the main material universe, the secondary dimension world is their base camp. They have devoured secondary dimensions one after another for countless years.

However, the secondary dimensions are endless, and the World Tree does not eat every single one of them. Its main method of expansion is to take root and imprint the secondary dimensions into their territory, turning them into territories that allow them to travel quickly. For some special secondary dimensions, they don’t even interfere with them and instead focus on observation and research.

At the same time, they sent out countless members to explore the outside world, spreading the name of the World Tree and its connection channels. It’s similar to what they did in the main material universe. One of their exploration teams passed by my outer territory, and one of my guardians received a lot of information and reported it to me…”

As he spoke, the Realmless King shared a small portion of his memories through mental communication.

Han Xiao did a check, but there were no signs of forgery. He did indeed have the contact information of the World Tree members, and he was a little annoyed.

“This is a little tricky… There’s no 100% chance of stopping the information leak if I try to kill this guy. If the World Tree starts a secondary dimensional battlefront, our situation will become worse.’ Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he quickly calculated.

The World Tree’s main body was rooted in the secondary dimension, and this was its territory. Although its main body was found in his previous life, if not for the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device transporting to the central area and launching a sneak attack, it would have been almost impossible for frontal attacks to pass through the secondary dimension defense circle near the World Tree’s main body. Right now, the three Universal Civilizations were in a good situation. One of the reasons was that the World Tree did not have the time to figure out the secondary dimension territory of the three Universal Civilizations like in his previous life and did not activate this battlefront, which reduced the pressure on them.

Seeing the change in Han Xiao’s expression, the Realmless King spoke again.

“You don’t have to worry about me using this as leverage to threaten you. With the abilities of high-level life forms like you, even if your civilization is destroyed, there’s a high chance that you can escape. At that time, this trump card won’t be able to protect me anymore… So, you can rest assured. I just want to make a deal with you. I won’t force you to do anything overboard. As long as you don’t attack me, there’s no need for me to tell on you. Trust me, no one is willing to take the initiative to have dealings with the World Tree.”

The Realmless King’s tone was sincere. Although he had a hold on him, he did not dare make any outrageous requests. He did not think that this trump card could support him in doing whatever he wanted in front of the other party. In his eyes, it was just a qualification to make a deal with the other party.

Han Xiao stroked his chin and looked at the Realmless King thoughtfully.

This Realmless King was a powerful dimensional deity, and his name was very intimidating. However, he remained humble in front of Han Xiao. Although he had a hold on him, he did not act tough. Instead, he was a little cowardly.

Han Xiao pondered for a few seconds and suppressed his hostility. “… Tell me about your deal. What do you want me to do for you?”

“There are only two things. One is that after the battle breaks out, you will allow me to project my power and harvest the souls of those who died in battle, as well as some destroyed battleships. The materials of the main universe are quite valuable to us.”

Are you trying to snatch business from the Underworld?

Furthermore, you’re working part-time to retrieve the wreckage of the battleship. Are you a galactic scavenger ?

Han Xiao’s expression became strange. He looked around at the slowly flowing black fog and felt that the Realmless King suddenly looked like a trash station owner.

“…What about the second matter?”

“I once had a special secondary dimension, but it was snatched away by another group of dimensional entities. They are not easy to deal with, and I have never been able to deal with them. I hope you can help me snatch it back.”

Han Xiao smacked his lips and said:

“I can help you with these two things, but since you said that the method of snitching is only to protect yourself and not threaten me, I won’t take it as a bargaining chip. The price you offered isn’t suitable, so I need more.” “What do you want?” The Realmless King did not reject the bargain.

“I need more information about the World Tree’s force in the secondary dimension. Tell me everything you know. Also, I want some black matter for research. Finally… Maybe we can work together to deal with the World Tree. They have been expanding in the secondary dimension and will arrive at your territory sooner or later. It’s best to strike first,” Han Xiao said slowly.

“I can promise you the first two points. As for dealing with the World Tree, forget it. I can’t afford to provoke them either. I’ll just hide.”

As expected, the Realmless King rejected.

Han Xiao smiled.

“Don’t be too afraid. The World Tree has the weakness of the main body. As long as the main body is destroyed, your threat will be resolved once and for all. Isn’t that good? Also, you might even be able to free a large number of souls to be your food.”

Although Harrison and the others had been captured, causing the leak of information to appear, with Harrison’s luck, he could turn bad luck into good luck. From a good perspective, this was also an opportunity for him to find out about the World Tree’s force in the secondary dimension.

Therefore, he did not launch an attack. Instead, he was trying to see if he could pull in a new ally. After all, he was once the successor of socialism, and it had become a habit to unite all forces.

“It sounds very tempting, but I’m not sure if the main body really exists. Let’s talk about it after you find it.”

The Realmless King did not comment. Seeing this, Han Xiao did not force him. He already knew that the other would not agree so easily, and only mentioned this topic.

At this moment, a notification popped up on the interface.

You have triggered the mission (Transaction with the Realmless King]!

Mission Introduction: For some reason, the Realmless King has something to ask of you. He has proposed a deal with you.

Mission Requirements: Retrieve the target’s secondary dimension.

Reward: 250 Billion EXP,+25 Realmless King Favorability, x1 Character Summon Card.

Remarks: This mission may have unknown effects. Please accept carefully.

Han Xiao was curious.

What kind of secondary dimension was it that the Realmless King would risk offending him to snatch it back… Could this be his wife ►

Chapter 1368: trange Encounter and Lies

Chapter 1368 Strange Encounter and Lies

Seemingly noticing Han Xiao’s confusion, the Realmless King explained with a deep voice.

“This secondary dimension is nurturing one of my children. It was a special case, as it was still an embryo, yet to take form when it was taken away. The dimension entities that took it planned to eat it after it matured, so I hope that you can snatch it back while protecting the secondary dimension from shattering.”

“So, it’s not your wif… cough, I’ll try my best.” Han Xiao hid his words with a cough, before asking, “By the way, what is the origin of that dimension?”

Realmless King shifted his sitting posture, before slowly speaking,

“They are external dimension entities. I was born in this area, and this area is my territory. Originally, I was the only overlord life form here, and there were no natural enemies or competitors. However, when those dimension entities arrived here from the spatial storm, my situation changed. They targeted me and settled down at the edge of my territory. I tried to expel them many times, but I failed. However, they could not do anything to me either…”

Following the Realmless King’s explanation, Han Xiao quickly understood the situation.

The secondary dimension world had its own ecosystem. Due to the uncertainty of space, the division of regions was usually marked by some special secondary dimension or overlord-level life forms. For example, the territory controlled by the Realmless King was a representative stable region. The areas outside this region were akin to the desolate universe belt of the main universe, except they were not only desolate but filled with unknowns.

This was akin to being cut off from the rest of the world. It was just that the area was too vast, and they did not know the boundaries. Most of the stable regions did not know of each other’s existence, and they did not want to be discovered by outsiders. After all, the environment here was more dangerous, and it was difficult to breed a civilization. The life forms born were more particular about the law of the jungle where the strong preyed on the weak.

However, order would also be found within the chaos. A small group of stable areas would usually maintain communications with each other, and for different reasons, their names would spread out and connect to other stable areas. Just like how the primitive tribes in the Wilderness discovered each other, they formed a new compound organization.

The Realmless King was a member of the composite ecosystem. He knew the coordinates of several stable areas and had always been without problems.

To put it simply, the situation that the Realmless King had encountered was that the local tyrant had met with a ‘roaming dragon’. The secondary dimension was so big, but the other party refused to leave and even wanted to target him. Thus, it turned into a neighbor dispute.

Han Xiao had obtained information about these few dimensional entities from the mental messages that the other party had shared. They were the accumulated experiences of the Realmless King fighting them over the years, displaying their various abilities.

However, this information only had a little bit of reference value to him. As long as they fought, he would be able to obtain more detailed information through the combat information on the interface. Han Xiao did not take the Realmless King’s exaggerated description of the enemy too seriously. Although the secondary dimension world was strange and varied, as long as no one reached a higher level, the peak Beyond Grade As of the main universe would still be the predators at the top of the food chain. No matter how famous the dimension deities were, they would not appear impressive in front of him.

“I understand. Send a projection over with
me.”

Han Xiao’s tone was casual. His body swayed, and a Lord’s Avatar separated from his body. Mechanical Force electric arcs surged out from his body and entered the Lord’s Avatar, activating the Lord’s Descent state.

He did not plan to leave this place. His main body would stay behind to keep an eye on the Realmless King, in case he made any small moves. Sending the Lord’s Avatar would be enough to resolve this mission. “Alright, if you don’t mind, I hope to let him temporarily inherit my power. It will only be beneficial to him and not detrimental. Consider it a small apology.”

The Realmless King raised an arm and waved it. Harrison spun around and landed in front of Han Xiao. His eyelids trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes. He looked like he had just woken up from a coma.

As soon as he saw Han Xiao, Harrison’s eyes immediately focused and he slowly recalled what had happened before he fainted. His face immediately twitched, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

“Your Excellency Black Star?! I… I’m still alive?!”

Han Xiao pressed down on Harrison’s shoulder and electric sparks appeared on his fingertips. He looked at the interface, nodded, and said, “Your vital signs are normal. It’s good that you’re okay.”

“I still remember the fleet being attacked… Are you here to save me?”

Harrison was touched.

He still remembered his last memory before he fainted. The overwhelming black tide swallowed the entire fleet, and the fleet could not resist at all. He did not have time to do anything, and at that moment, he thought he was done for. Jenny’s beautiful face and shiny forehead flashed in his mind, and his heart was filled with reluctance and despair. Now that he had woken up and seen Han Xiao, Harrison’s uneasy heart instantly calmed down. His fear, panic, and nervousness instantly disappeared. He knew that Black Star’s arrival meant that he was fine.

Before he could ask why Harrison felt his body turn around and look behind him. At the same time, a message appeared in his mind.

“Kid, I’m the Realmless King. Relax your body and mind and accept my infusion.”

As soon as Harrison turned around, he saw the strange sight of this dimension, as well as the terrifying body of the Lord of the Realmless. An instinctive fear rose from the depths of his soul, and it was like a chill that spread through his bones, freezing his body in an instant.

However, the feeling disappeared in the blink of an eye. If he was alone, Harrison might have felt that he had gone crazy from fear. However, the moment he thought about how Black Star, his “father-level” universe expert, was standing right behind him, an incomparable sense of security immediately dispelled all the fear in his heart.

Without fear, the explorer’s soul was immediately ignited. Harrison looked at the Realmless King, and his tone was filled with curiosity.

“Your Excellency Black Star, what sort of thing is this?”

“He’s not a thing. He’s called the Realmless King. He’s a life form from a secondary dimension. He’s basically a trash collector,” Han Xiao replied casually. He patted Harrison’s shoulder and said, “Listen to him. Relax and let him enter your body. It won’t hurt.”

As soon as he said that, the Realmless King’s eyes blinked. The black fog around him seemed to be drawn toward the confused Harrison and entered his body. Very soon, thin black and red lines appeared on the surface of his body. They looked like bulging blood vessels, but they were messy and still twisting irregularly. However, Harrison did not feel any pain. He only felt his body burning.

In places that he could not see, every cell in his body got cleansed by the black fog-like energy and underwent a positive mutation in the direction of optimization. Although he was still a low-level Super, his basic physique was rapidly improving.

After a long while, the black and red lines on Harrison’s body finally converged on his chest, forming a mark. This represented the contract formed by the Realmless King. With it, he would be able to borrow the power of the Realmless King from afar in most environments.

This kind of dimensional divine entity could project its power to life forms through contracts. This was also the main method for them to enter the main material universe. Some religious sects in the galaxy had connections with the dimensional divine spirits, and Han Xiao’s Underworld Mark followed a similar process.

The amount of power that could be borrowed depended on the individual strength of the contractor and the level of the contract. For Han Xiao’s sake, the Realmless King had made the highest level contract. In times of danger, the Realmless King could even temporarily take over and provide the ‘strong family grandpa’ service.

The treatment Harrison received was all thanks to Han Xiao.

“Damn, this Advanced Luck Glow is really…”

Han Xiao gritted his teeth in envy.

With his current level, he was already the source of luck for the owner of the Lucky Halo. Because of his existence, Harrison was able to turn this danger into a fortuitous encounter.

If I could have met someone like myself when I was weak, it would have been awesome!

It’s a pity that I’ve already reached my current maximum. Not many people have the right to be relied on by me… Han Xiao sighed in his heart.

At this time, Harrison’s pupils had already turned pure black. The Realmless King took over his body and nodded.

“I’m done. Shall we set off now?”

Han Xiao nodded and controlled the Lord’s Avatar to take out the Dimensional Travel Device. Together with Harrison, they disappeared in a flash.

He suddenly thought of something. His main body took out the container that held Bobanica and spoke to the Realmless King, “By the way, I caught this guy and forgot to return him to you.”

The Realmless King glanced at the container with a human-like look of disdain in his eyes. “Keep it. Let it out after we’re done.”

Han Xiao curled his lips and put away the container. It seemed like the liquid was bragging when it said that it was the Realmless King’s confidant.

The Lord’s Avatar needed to travel for a while. Han Xiao rose up and sat mid-air, hovering at the same height as the Realmless King’s head. The two of them stared at each other.

The Lord’s Avatar set the coordinates of the dimensions provided by the Realmless King, and it did not take long for them to reach their destination.

This was still a pitch-black secondary dimension, but it was different from the doomsday scene on the side of the Realmless King. The darkness here had a peaceful aura.

Han Xiao could sense that the energy of the entire secondary dimension was flowing toward the same location. In that direction, there was an incomplete life signal that showed something was being nurtured. “This is it. Those dimensional entities have always been here. Be careful,” the Realmless King spoke through Harrison.

Han Xiao nodded. He opened the dimensional army camp and from it appeared an endless stretch of his mechanical army. At the same time, he activated a portion of the mechanical soldiers to form a normal version of the Mechanical Deity and prepared for battle.

At this time, a few powerful energy sources approached from different directions. Three enormous figures covering the sky approached from afar and quickly occupied their sights. They had different appearances and were the external dimension gods that occupied this place. The moment they appeared, they gave off a strong sense of oppression. “Who is it ? How dare you disturb our… F*ck, Black Star!”

“We can’t win, run!”

As soon as the three dimensional entities saw the Mechanical Deity, they immediately turned around and ran.

Seeing this, both Han Xiao and the Realmless King were stunned.

He had thought that he would have to fight to solve the problem, but these dimension entities ran away like rabbits on seeing him as if they already knew him.

Has my name really spread in the secondary dimension world?

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, his mind working rapidly.

These three dimensional entities were outsiders, and they might have come from somewhere near the shallow layer. Could it be that he had accidentally beat up some dimensional deities—who did not realize they were third-wheeling—when he was traveling with Ames a few decades ago, inadvertently making a name for himself?

Han Xiao pondered over the reason, but his hands did not slow down. The mechanical army immediately chased after them.

These three dimensional entities could not even deal with the Realmless King, and in his hands, it would only be a one-sided abuse.

Han Xiao originally wanted to kill them, but since the other party knew him, he controlled his strength and left them alive.

After a round of beating, the three dimension entities with swollen faces sat down in front of him, leaving only obedience inside them.

“This…”

The Realmless King’s face twitched. The situation was different from what he had imagined.

These people were powerful outsiders that he could not chase away no matter how hard he tried. But the moment they met Black Star, they were so terrified they had to run away but could not even escape being caught and beaten up. This made the Realmless King feel disillusioned.

Seeing Black Star take action with his own eyes, the Realmless King was afraid, but at the same time, he was also glad that he did not choose to be stubborn against Han Xiao. The top experts of the main material universe were indeed not to be messed with.

At the same time, Han Xiao was interrogating the three dimension entities with his arms crossed.

“Where have the three of you heard of me?”

“We… We’ve seen you kill dimension deities…” The three dimensional deities who were strong enough to dominate an entire region in the secondary dimension had become extremely docile.

It was only after Han Xiao finished listening that he realized that there was indeed a reason for these three to come to the Realmless King’s territory. These three dimension deities originally resided near the ‘secondary dimensional layer’ controlled by the three Universal Civilizations. As the Universal Civilizations were planning to expand there, the three of them had planned to migrate.

A few decades ago, when he and Ames were traveling, they passed by the area and beat up another dimension deity. The three of them witnessed the tragic scene and were filled with fear. Thus, they decided to migrate and enter the depths of the secondary dimension. In the end, they came to the Realmless King’s territory many years ago and finally met someone alone. They planned to devour the Realmless King before continuing their journey.

However, the three of them did not expect to be unable to defeat the other party. They originally wanted to leave, but they coincidentally discovered this secondary dimension with a special embryo. They instinctively felt that eating this life would be very beneficial to them, so they stayed on.

“What a coincidence.”

Han Xiao did not know what to say.

If this mission was given to someone else, the difficulty would be enough to meet the highest reward offered. Ordinary Beyond Grade As would be served up on a silver platter in front of these three dimensional entities. But if it was him, he would not even need to move a finger. Having a high Reputation was just that convenient.

“Well, we’ve told you everything we know. Can you let us go…” A dimensional entity carefully spoke out. “Don’t even think about it.”

Han Xiao rejected without hesitation.

At this time, the Realmless King could not help but say, “Black Star, this secondary dimension has been taken back. I shall first occupy this place again.”

As he spoke, black liquid appeared on his body, wanting to fill up this dimension and return it to being his territory.

Just as Han Xiao was about to agree, he suddenly paused and changed his words. “Don’t be so anxious. Let me see what the embryo looks like first.”

“My child hasn’t even formed yet. Is this necessary?”

“This is the first time I’ve seen such a phenomenon. I’m just curious.”

Han Xiao replied casually before flying toward the breeding ground. The Realmless King had no choice but to follow behind.

After advancing for some distance, Han Xiao saw a grayish-white sphere floating in the middle of the secondary dimension. It was like fog being condensed together before being wrapped up by a translucent membrane. Energy flowed in from all directions to nourish this embryo.

In his senses, this embryo had an extremely vigorous life force, as dazzling as dozens of stars put together.

Han Xiao looked inside and saw that within the gray fog flowing in the membrane, there seemed to be a long figure flashing around like a dragon.

The Realmless King came over and helplessly lamented, “It’s not even born yet. What’s there to see?”

Han Xiao ignored him and touched the embryo. Although the membrane was thin, it was very pliable and tough.

At this moment, the item introduction popped up on the interface.

Han Xiao cursory glanced at the interface before stopping short. He slowly turned to look at the Realmless King with a smile that was yet not a smile.

“You said… this is your child?”

“What’s wrong?” The Realmless King met Han Xiao’s gaze and suddenly felt a little guilty.

“Bullsh*t. No wonder you took the risk to order me to help you snatch it back. It turns out to be such a magical item… Are you betting that I won’t be able to discover its wonders?”

Han Xiao flicked the embryo with his finger, and the sarcasm in his tone could not hide the joy within.

“Speaking half-truths? You almost fooled me.”

Sorry this time chapter repeat was due to mistake.

Chapter 1369: Lucky Halo, Forever God!

Chapter 1369 Lucky Halo, Forever God!

“…You’re mistaken. This is my child. It’s just mutated slightly.”

The Realmless King pretended to be calm.

Keep pretending!

Han Xiao snorted inwardly and ignored him. He turned to look at the item introduction on the interface.

[Pivotal Snake Egg]

(Pivotal Snake, also known as World Devouring Snake, is a rare species that lives in chaotic space stream. It is a creature that lives alone and feeds on secondary dimensions and special Information Form Phenomenons. Every World Devouring Snake will only lay seven eggs in its lifetime. After laying eggs, it will abandon them in the space storm, allowing the eggs to drift freely. When the egg encounters a secondary dimension, it will automatically parasitize and turn into an embryo state, absorbing multiple secondary dimensions until it completely matures. At the same time, Pivotal Snake eggs have an extremely strong attraction to some secondary dimension life forms. Eating them as infants is very beneficial. It has a certain chance of strengthening one’s talent and raising one’s life level.]

Remarks: The origin of this species is closely related to the World Tree. It can eat the body of the World Tree and has a certain level of restraint.

The item introduction was not long, but the information it revealed shocked Han Xiao.

The Pivotal Snake was like a space louse back then. It was not in the database of the three Universal Civilizations, and it had never been discovered in his previous life. Even to him, it was a foreign species. What surprised Han Xiao the most was that this creature was actually related to the World Tree. The item introduction even stated that it was the World Tree’s nemesis to a certain extent, which surprised him.

The World Tree was a unique Space Wonder, but there just happened to be a type of creature that could restrain it. Could it be that there was always a paper to every rock?

Perhaps the Pivotal Snake was, in a sense, a companion species of the World Tree, born to restrain it? If one thought deeper, what was the origin of the World Tree…

All kinds of guesses flashed through Han Xiao’s mind, but he did not have a clue.

However, there was one thing he could confirm. If he did not have the item introduction on the interface, he would definitely not have been able to discover the uniqueness of this embryo. The Realmless King had claimed that this was his child, so it would be difficult for him to investigate further. It would be difficult for him to discover anything strange, and he would most likely be fooled by the Realmless King. This was probably what the Realmless King had planned.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. He raised his hand and pressed on the Realmless King’s shoulder.

“Do you really think I don’t know what’s what? This can’t be your child. Are you lying to me because you’re worried that I’ll be tempted by this thing? Our deal needs to be honest, and my impression of you is quite good at the moment, so I’ll give you a chance to come clean. If you still lie to me, then don’t blame me for holding a grudge. No matter how my civilization and the World Tree fight in the future, I’ll guarantee that you’ll definitely die.”

The Realmless King’s face twitched.

Although he had something on Han Xiao, it could not protect him forever. Facing Han Xiao’s threat, he was still very weak.

His original intention of lying was to not let Black Star investigate further to avoid more problems. After all, as long as they came to this secondary dimension, they could feel the birth of a certain life-form, which would easily make people curious. Furthermore, the embryo had a special attraction to the dimension deities. If he did not claim to have a special relationship with it, he was worried that Black Star would be tempted.

He had originally thought that since Black Star was a guest of the main universe, he might not be able to feel the attraction of the embryo. As long as he did not study it, he would not be able to discover anything amiss, and he would be able to fool everyone. However, he did not expect Black Star to see through it so easily, causing his plan to fail. Of course, he could not rule out the possibility that Black Star was trying to trick him, but since he had made a threat, the Realmless King was not confident.

After hesitating for a while, the Realmless King said helplessly, “If you know what this is, why ask me?”

“I just want to hear it from you.”

Han Xiao crossed his arms. He was mainly curious about how much the Realmless King knew about the Pivotal Snake Egg.

If he was only tempted by the ‘special attraction’ shown by the item introduction, then the Realmless King’s goal should also be to wait for the embryo to mature and eat it. However, if he knew the origins of the Pivotal Snake, then the Realmless King’s actions would be a little subtle.

However, in his opinion, the Realmless King most likely did not know about the relationship between the Pivotal Snake and the World Tree, or even about the Pivotal Snake. If not for the item introduction, he would not have known about this secret. In the secondary dimension world where information was difficult to spread, the Realmless King would not have known about this secret.

As expected, the Realmless King’s answer was roughly the same as what Han Xiao had guessed. He said that he had discovered this embryo when he was expanding his territory and felt the attraction, so he had brought it back to wait for it to mature, but it had been snatched away.

After explaining, the Realmless King asked Han Xiao if he knew the origin of the embryo. “Of course I know, but the information isn’t complete. I only saw it once when I was exploring the secondary dimensions, but it disappeared afterward.”

Han Xiao waved his hands and found an excuse.

Of course, he would not reveal the information about the Pivotal Snake to the Realmless King. As for whether he was pretending not to know the Pivotal Snake, he could only observe.

“Alright… Then how do you plan to deal with this embryo? Our deal…” the Realmless King probed.

“Tsk, you’re hiding something from me. Logically speaking, the deal should be canceled, but since your attitude is alright, the deal can continue. This embryo is still yours.”

Before the Realmless King could heave a sigh of relief, Han Xiao paused and said: “However, the deal is only to help you get the embryo back. Although the embryo is in your hands, you can’t eat it. I’ll have a mechanical army stationed here. I’m very interested in this embryo and want to see how it looks like when it matures.”

Hearing this, the Realmless King had no choice but to agree. In terms of benefits, Black Star had at least gotten rid of his three neighbors, so it was not a loss.

After reaching a consensus, Han Xiao made the mechanical army build a temporary base around the embryo, and the Realmless King could only let him do as he wished.

At the same time, the mission completion notification popped up on Han Xiao’s interface. He had obtained a large amount of EXP, but the favorability reward of the Realmless King had decreased, only increasing by five points. Clearly, it was affected by his actions. Only by completely returning the embryo would he obtain the most favorability, but this favorability was not important to him.

As for the Character Summon Card, it was the ability of the Realmless King. Its effect was to project the power of the Realmless King into the main universe and summon the black liquid that could block energy senses.

At the same time, the Realmless King Dimension.

Han Xiao’s main body broke the silence and said:

“The matter is done. I will take these three dimensional entities with me. I will not disturb you anymore. It’s time for you to fulfill your promise. I want all the information about the World Tree that you know.”

“…Okay.”

The Realmless King had no choice but to do as he was told, sharing this part of his memories through mental messages.

Han Xiao immediately turned these mental memories into virtual data and entered them into a device.

With this information, the expedition team of the three Universal Civilizations would no longer have to explore like a headless fly. They would be able to save a lot of energy and head directly toward the World Tree’s territory in the secondary dimension. Although the closer they were to the World Tree’s territory, the more dangerous it would be, there was a higher chance of finding the World Tree’s main body.

The Realmless King also gave him the coordinates of a few stable areas and a portion of the map. The three Universal Civilizations were no longer completely clueless about this deep layer area, so the information was valuable.

Han Xiao browsed through the intelligence and suddenly said:

“I want to represent the three Universal Civilizations to reach an agreement with you. You control a large area of the secondary dimension, and I hope that you can lend a portion of your territory as a temporary outpost for the three Universal Civilizations to explore the secondary dimension world. Let our expedition team gather here and rest. This will provide us with a lot of help. What do you think?”

Hearing this, the Realmless King was immediately annoyed. He only felt that the other party was pushing his luck and could not help but warn him.

“I don’t want to get involved in your war. Don’t forget that I still have something on you.”

“It’s okay. We’re temporarily stationed here, so we can give you more information. Plus, we’re already here. Even if you don’t welcome us, our large follow-up troops would still pass through here. You might as well cooperate with us and get some benefits.”

Han Xiao did not mind it.

If he could obtain the Realmless King’s support, he would be able to obtain the coordinates of the edge of the Realmless King’s territory, which would save him the time needed to cross this area.

Setting up a transit station in this deep layer region was akin to obtaining a new entrance. Like a recording point, the expedition team would be able to set off from here as soon as they entered, saving them a lot of time. This would be very helpful for the expedition.

The Realmless King’s heart was filled with uncertainty. After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, he finally nodded with resignation.

Even though he had something on Black Star, he did not dare use it because he was afraid of the consequences. Instead, Black Star had taken the initiative. Although Black Star had helped him chase away his evil neighbors, this was undoubtedly asking a tiger for its skin. The Realmless King was already regretting inviting a wolf into his house.

It’s all Bobanica’s fault for provoking such a troublesome guy. How dare he boast that he’s my trusted aide? More like a big trouble!

Buzz!

Just as the Realmless King was getting frustrated, Harrison returned to his main body on the carrier. He had already exited the ‘please possess me’ state and regained control of his body.

Han Xiao released his magnetic force and drew Harrison in front of him. He then handed him the information recording device and said:

“The matter has been resolved. I have made a deal with the Realmless King. He is willing to lend out some secondary dimensions to act as our outpost. He will release the expedition team later. Go and report the situation to the commander and pass this information to him. Tell them to stop advancing and standby here. Wait for me to inform the three Universal Civilizations…”

“Understood. I promise to complete the mission.”

Harrison nodded repeatedly. Seeing how obedient he was, Han Xiao had mixed feelings.

Although Harrison and the others had been implicated this time, they had also benefited from the disaster, bringing substantial progress to their plan to search for the World Tree’s main body. They found a ‘temporary ally’ deep in the secondary dimension.

What surprised Han Xiao the most was that Harrison had set off to search for the World Tree’s main body. He had yet to find the location of the main body, but he had already found a strange object that could restrain the main body…

What else could he say?

Luck Glow, forever a god!

‘Letting Harrison join the expedition team was indeed the right decision…’

Han Xiao was pleased.

If not for the Realmless King discovering him from Harrison’s memories, this expedition team would have been a goner. In his previous life, perhaps due to the time difference, the Realmless King had already eaten the Pivotal Snake Embryo, or perhaps for some other reason, Han Xiao had never heard of the three Universal Civilizations obtaining the Pivotal Snake Egg If they had such a trump card in his previous life, the difficulty of attacking the main body would have been much lower.

However, although it was worth being happy about obtaining a trump card, he still had to find the World Tree’s main body to put it to use. Furthermore, Han Xiao was still very curious about the connection between the Pivotal Snake and the World Tree.

In addition, he also wanted to know if the World Tree Civilization knew about the characteristics of the Pivotal Snake… He had a feeling that there was something fishy about this.

Chapter 1370: Current State of the Potential Individuals

“…You found us a temporary ally in a deep layer dimension and got information about the World Tree’s territory?”

In the conference room of the three Universal Civilizations, Marbruce, Louis, and the Pope could not help but widen their eyes when they heard Han Xiao’s notification.

“If it wasn’t for Harrison, I definitely wouldn’t have gone there. I wouldn’t have met such a good thing.” Han Xiao spread out his hands. After leaving the throne in the Realmless King’s dimension, he returned to the main material universe and informed the three Universal Civilizations about what had happened. Considering the Realmless King’s attitude, Han Xiao only hid the information about the Pivotal Snake Egg. Before this trump card matured, there was no need to tell the three Universal Civilizations about it for the time being.

After hearing the reason, the three of them looked at each other in shock and joy.

Marbruce cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, “It’s been hard on you. This is an important discovery in the expedition plan. Our next search will be more targeted. We have agreed to this alliance. We will send some envoys to be in charge of negotiating with the Realmless King about the future cooperation.”

Although Han Xiao did not report the matter beforehand and had made the decision on behalf of the three Universal Civilizations, this was a special time. As long as it was useful to the war, this problem was nothing. Han Xiao nodded, took out a list of secondary dimension coordinates, and said, “These are the secondary dimension coordinates that the Realmless King lent us to act as the outpost. We can build a new gate entrance here and turn this area into a ‘shallow layer’. You guys know what to do next. Just play your rogue side, but don’t push the Realmless King too hard.”

“What are you saying…”

Marbruce’s face twitched. He helplessly took the list and showed it to the other two leaders. “Alright, that’s all I have to say. If there’s no other problem, I’ll head back to take care of the training.” Han Xiao waved his hand.

“Wait a moment, we still have something to discuss with you…”

Louis called out to Han Xiao with a rare smile on his face.

“The Beyond Grade As have worked hard for the war. After a discussion, we have unanimously decided to set up a monument for all the Beyond Grade As sacrificed in the war. It has nothing to do with identity, only merits.”

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up, and he said with relief, “This was not easy. You guys finally said something sensible.”

Louis’ smile froze, and he laughed dryly as though he did not hear that. “Hehe, what do you think of this plan?”

“Very good, I have no objections.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

When they were fighting in the interception circle, no one had the intention to do so. Now that they had eleven years of buffer time, it was suitable for them to do such things. Although the dark clouds of war still shrouded them, at least the Soul Comfort Monument would not let them die in obscurity. Compared to the battle damage report on the internet, the real thing was more meaningful and could slightly increase their cohesion.

However, under the premise of the Sanctum Revival, the effect of the Soul Comfort Monument would probably be different from what they had expected. The three Universal Civilizations still did not believe that the Sanctum Revival was limitless. In Han Xiao’s opinion, the Soul Comfort Monument would probably become a ‘battle record’ that recorded the number of deaths of the various Beyond Grade As in the future. This would be different from what they had expected… but at least it was better than nothing.

“Since you have no objections, I’ll have to trouble you to convey our intentions to all the members of the association and let them know that we’re grateful for their help. No matter what grudges we had in the past, we were born from the same universe.” The Pope nodded.

“…Did the three of you take the wrong medicine today? Why are you talking so much?”

Han Xiao looked at the three of them in surprise.

“Alright, that’s all. You can go.”

Han Xiao shrugged, deactivated the remote projection, and disappeared from their sights.

Seeing this, Louis relaxed, shook his head, and sighed.

“Sigh, Black Star always brings us surprises. If not for him saving Harrison, we would have missed this secondary dimension intelligence.”

“Black Star’s luck is unbelievable. Luckily, he’s our teammate now.” Marbruce exhaled.

The three of them sighed for a while before lowering their heads to study the information that Han Xiao had brought back.

The matter of Harrison did not take much time, and Han Xiao did not have to worry too much about the follow-up alliance affairs.

After returning to the training base, Han Xiao sent a message to inform them of the plan for the Soul Comfort Monument.

Although the original intention of both sides working together was to make a deal, the Beyond Grade As did not want their achievements to be neglected. It was naturally extremely good for the three Universal Civilizations to be willing to increase their reputation for them. However, this action seemed to be to sustain their sense of belonging to the galactic society, so it did not move the Beyond Grade As.

As usual, Han Xiao checked on the training of the Calamity Grade and Beyond Grade As. He then went to a mental strength training room and found Feidin, who was training his psychic energy. A song that directly resonated in one’s soul echoed in the room along with psychic energy. It was different from simple psychic needles or psychic blasts. This kind of psychic voice was not provocative at all. It was like the chirping of birds in spring, full of vitality and soothing to the soul.

However, the next moment, the calm sea suddenly became violent, and the slow psychic voice suddenly became high-pitched and sharp. It was as if the country music had suddenly turned into death metal, wanting to tear the soul into pieces and throw them into the furnace to be destroyed. The mannequins in the training room exploded at the same time and fell to the ground, twitching.

Han Xiao looked from outside for a while before walking into the room. The psychic singing immediately came like a tsunami, and the magical sound entered his brain, making his ears ring. However, they were all blocked by his tough mental barrier and did not cause any substantial damage.

Feidin only retracted his psychic energy when he sensed that an outsider had entered. He slowly opened his eyes and smiled.

“Your Excellency Black Star, why are you here? Are you out of luck again?”

“Let me give you some special treatment.”

Han Xiao chuckled and looked at the interface.

“You’re a qualified person. I can feel from your psychic energy that you’ve already touched the Beyond Grade A boundary.”

“It’s just that I don’t know how long it will take to complete the final sublimation.”

Feidin did not deny it and shook his head.

He had stayed in the Calamity Grade for a long time and accumulated a lot of experience. He had already touched the threshold of Beyond Grade A, but he had not taken the final step.

In the beginning, he had inherited Chen Xing’s Psychic abilities, and he had already walked out of his own path. He had spent a lot of time summarizing his skills and trying to create a new path. He could feel that when his self-created path was completely formed, he would enter the final sublimation and join the Beyond Grade A realm.

In this aspect, the Soul Swapper had helped him quite a bit. This Universal Treasure also had the effect of assisting him in training. It was convenient for him to study the structure of different souls, and from there, he could develop various Psychic skills to perfect his path.

Among the five major systems, other than Esper class, the other four were interactive. Mage and Mechanic class mainly focused on knowledge, and they needed to learn all kinds of things. Pugilists and Psychics focused on pureness.

Pugilists created countless martial arts styles through the development of physical strength, while Psychics developed the soul and mind while also creating many skills systems. Like close-range skills, Psychic attacks had countless ‘power exerting skills’, mainly divided into Mental, Psychic, Sensory, and Potential branches. There were also various styles under each branch, just like Pugilists.

For example, Kasuyi was most proficient in the Psychic branch, while Feidin was proficient in the Mental branch. It was very rare to see Feidin use violent psychic energy, and most of his skills were of the Mental branch. The Psychic Song that Feidin used was from this branch.

“Don’t worry, you will complete the Beyond Grade A transformation very soon.”

Han Xiao patted Feidin’s shoulder. He looked at the combat information and knew that Feidin was not far from the Beyond Grade A level.

“I hope I can help you when the time comes…” Feidin sighed.” In just eleven years, even if I become a Beyond Grade A Super, I won’t have enough time to accumulate. I’ll probably be cannon fodder on the battlefield. “.

“You have to be confident in your luck, and you have the Soul Swapper. No one will use your basic combat power to measure your usefulness.”

Han Xiao encouraged.

Feidin did not have the same exaggerated talent as Karlot’s (Everlasting Martial Path), but he was the only one who was perfectly compatible with the Soul Swapper. The power of this Universal Treasure depended on Feidin’s own strength. Once he entered the Beyond Grade A realm, the Soul Swapper’s effect would undergo a qualitative change. Although the soul of the World Tree expert was absorbed by the Mother Tree and could not be transferred completely, he had specially let Feidin test it in small-scale battles. The Soul Swapper could tear the soul of a World Tree member and cause heavy damage. If all the soul was pulled out, the enemy would die on the spot.

After a while, Han Xiao left the room and teleported to a secret location in the Black Star Palace.

With a turn of his gaze, he had already arrived outside a potential stimulation training room filled with all kinds of cosmic radiation and immense pressure. Evans stood in the middle of the room, and a gentle light flowed on his body, using the harsh environment to temper himself.

Han Xiao opened the door and walked in. The training room immediately stopped operating. Evans sensed something and turned around. “Commander, what can I do for you?”

Evans greeted.

Han Xiao waved his hand. “There’s no need to be so formal. I’m just here to check on your training.”

As he spoke, he sized up Evans and nodded with satisfaction.

Han Xiao had always been planning Esper Ability Absorption for Evans. At this time, his genes were very stable, and all his Esper Abilities had been carefully selected. They were not many but were chosen meticulously, enough to deal with all kinds of complex situations. Not a single Esper Ability slot was wasted, and the combination of abilities was many times better than EsGod’s.

At the same time, Evans also absorbed the gene-enhancing ability that increased Esper Ability Cultivation speed. Coupled with his (Highest Grade Esper Ability Affinity Physique), his growth speed was extremely delightful. After many years of bitter training, Evans had already reached the level of a high-level Calamity Grade and was not too far from becoming a Beyond Grade A. Han Xiao poked Evans, looked at the interface, and said with a smile, “You’re in the process of transforming, and it won’t be long before you complete your sublimation. I’m afraid I have to congratulate you in advance for becoming a Beyond Grade A. What are your plans then?”

He did not doubt Evans’ talent. With [Esper Ability Copy) and (Highest Grade Esper Ability Affinity Physique), it was only a matter of time before he became a Beyond Grade A.

Evans smiled and said steadily, “If not for you, I might still be an ordinary person. You’ve been helping me improve my strength for the past few decades, and I owe you too much. If you don’t mind, I hope to stay in the army and repay this debt.”

Han Xiao was quite satisfied with this answer. To be fair, he did not want to let this talent go either.

With his correct guidance and stabilizing himself for the first half of his life, Evans was not the type of Esper who took shortcuts. Instead, he became firm like a rock and made people free from worry.

Furthermore, Evans had always been grateful to him for stimulating his suppressed talent and giving him a new life. His loyalty was probably even higher than Lothaire.

Han Xiao pressed on Evans’ shoulder with a smile and said, “Enter Beyond Grade A as soon as possible. I’ll give you a gift then.”

“What gift?” Evans was curious.

“It’s a secret. You’ll know when the time comes.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

When Evans enters the Beyond Grade A realm, he would be able to absorb Esper Abilities of the same level. Gaud, who had been locked up in the Spacetime Amber for many years, would be of use. After many years of observation, he was certain that Evans was qualified to accept this gift.

A Super High-Risk Esper Ability like Energy Control definitely could not be wasted. Letting Evans take this Esper Ability was the best way to make use of it, making EsGod’s Esper Ability, which he had painstakingly synthesized, become someone else’s wedding dress. He would also let this evil guy have a taste of being a victim.

By then, the reaction of the three Universal Civilizations would no longer be a problem. Han Xiao planned to tell them everything EsGod had done. Regardless of whether the three Universal Civilizations believed it or not, they would not turn hostile when there was an attack from the foreign enemy.

As for EsGod’s main body, he believed that the Underworld would not mind having another strong man. Before EsGod was captured, he thought that the three Universal Civilizations would release him one day to ask about the World Tree. However, from the start to the end, Han Xiao did not plan to let this extremely dangerous and evil man regain his freedom.

The troops at the frontlines had been blocking the World Tree’s advancement, and the three Universal Civilizations had also begun their forceful development of the Flickering World. The galactic society was in a state of panic; on the contrary, the training base was in rare peace. The changes in the battle outside could not interfere with their training plan for the time being. Time passed quickly during the training

Under Han Xiao’s training plan, many of the trainees were overjoyed at their progress. Other than one person, the rest of the trainees were working harder.

After spending a few months in training, Oathkeeper finally sent a message saying that he had gathered another set of keys to the First Sanctum.

Han Xiao had been waiting for this moment. Without any delay, he informed everyone and entered the Sanctum again. Under the gaze of many Holy Accord members, he disappeared into the galaxy.

Chapter 1371: Suspicion and Reaction

Chapter 1371 Suspicion and Reaction

A few hours after Han Xiao entered the Sanctum, a group of association members gathered in the secret conference room under the call of Dillon.

“Black Star has finally entered the Sanctum again… What do you guys think?”

While chewing on a fluorescent grass leaf, Dillon gently rubbed his finger and looked at the Beyond Grade As on the table with a scrutinizing gaze.

Everyone remained silent and looked at their companions. No one wanted to speak first.

Seeing this, Dillon removed the blade of grass from his mouth and knocked his fist on the table.

“Since no one is saying anything, let me explain. The last time Black Star went to the Sanctum, he spent about two months. This time should be about the same. I think this is a good opportunity to leave.” Everyone paused and turned to look at him, their gazes uncertain.

Dylan shrugged, waving his hands in response.

“Everyone understands me. I always say what I want to say. The last time Black Star entered the Sanctum, I wanted to make this suggestion. However, I did not know how long Black Star would disappear back then, and everyone was watching to see if the interception could really stop the enemies, so I did not make the suggestion. Now that the battle has changed, the enemies have broken through the interception and will arrive at the three Universal Civilizations sooner or later. At the same time, we also know how long it will take Black Star to enter the Sanctum, so this is a chance to leave the main universe and avoid the war.”

Hearing this, everyone’s expressions changed. Some were dissatisfied, some were tempted, and some had the intention to watch and see.

“Don’t forget, Black Star revived us, and we all owe him a favor. It’s not good to leave without saying goodbye.”

Someone frowned and objected.

The members of the association were all revivors of the Holy Accord. They did not participate in the war only because they treasured the second life that they had obtained with great difficulty. Because Dillon was good at talking, they let him be the representative for the time being. However, he was not their leader, and they had their own thoughts and opinions as well.

Dillon played with the glowing grass as he calmly stated,

“I won’t deny that Black Star has done us a favor, but he will never allow us to leave freely. The purpose of reviving us is just to make use of our strength. “Right now, he’s allowing us to avoid battle, but it’s only temporary. As those participants become more and more dissatisfied with us, Black Star will pressure us sooner or later. Just like how he forced the third batch of Revivors to join the battle, he will do the same to us in the future. Therefore, we might as well leave the main universe before it happens or we will end up in a passive position.

While we might let Black Star down, we have to take responsibility for our own lives. Even if he revives us, it doesn’t mean we have to accept their orders and sacrifice our lives for him.”

Everyone frowned and pondered. These words had also hit the nail on the head. Many people did not dare disobey Black Star because of their feelings, but they were not willing to take the risk either.

“What about the Holy Accord?” someone asked.

Dillon snorted. “Oathkeeper and Black Star are on the same side. If we want to leave, we have to act in secret. We can’t inform them.”

“If we do this, we will probably be hunted down by Black Star. I don’t think we should make such a rash decision,” another person said.

Hearing this, Dillon retorted, “Black Star isn’t in the main universe, which is why we have the chance to sneak away. Every minute and second we waste now is the time for us to escape. If we wait for him to return, will we be able to leave? Anyway, no matter what you say, I will definitely leave!”

Many of them had conflicted expressions.

The pressure that Black Star put on them was too heavy. Only when he was not around would these people dare to plot and think that this period of time was a rare opportunity to escape.

If Black Star had not entered the Sanctum, they would not have dared act rashly, afraid they would be taught a lesson by Han Xiao.

After discussing for a while, the avoidance faction could only barely reach a consensus. Those who were willing to leave would make their own plans, and those who were unwilling to leave were not allowed to leak the secret, creating another layer of assurance.

As he gazed at everyone debating, Dillon was a little distracted. He played with the grass in his hands as memories of the past flashed through his mind.

He then thought of the Elven Holy Land that he had once created, and he could not help but reminisce about the times when he played with the many consorts in the pure white imperial court. Those beautiful, cold and pure faces flashed past his eyes.

It was a pity that after his death, the Elven Holy Land lost its protection, and these concubines could not control their fate. The identity of a Beyond Grade A widow was like the emperor’s harem, enough to attract the interest of many people in the gray area with power and influence.

At this point, although he had come back to life, his old confidants had also long disappeared with time. He had power, but there was nothing he could do.

Dillon’s face tightened, and he subconsciously crushed the grass into powder.

“The three Universal Civilizations… not kicking you while you’re down is already the last line. How can I help you!”

On the other side, somewhere in the training
base.

A group of Beyond Grade As gathered in the room and looked at each other.

The group consisted of the members of the third Revival. Other than the majority of the direct descendants of the civilizations, the remaining neutral Beyond Grade As were all present.

Because they had the same interests, the Beyond Grade As in the third batch of revivals all gathered together privately. The revivals formed a faction, and the free Beyond Grade As formed a faction. Although the three Universal Civilizations had placed everyone under house arrest, they could still communicate privately. After all, they were a group of important combatants, and they could not restrict all their freedom as though they were in prison.

After a while, one of them broke the silence.

“Black Star has gone to the Sanctum. Why did he summon us at this time?”

Everyone immediately turned to look at the initiator of this gathering, a high-level Beyond Grade A named Stein.

Stein was a male Demon with transparent wings, and his outer appearance looked like a moth. Other than his wings and antennae, his other body was shaped like a human. At this moment, his two antennae trembled, making him look nervous.

“I heard some news. The infinite number of times the Sanctum has been revived that Black Star mentioned might be a lie meant to deceive us…”

“What?!”

Hearing this, everyone’s expression changed.

The three Universal Civilizations had always controlled the channels and did not allow the third batch of revivors to come into contact with the relevant information. Therefore, they never knew that Han Xiao had once said that the Sanctum Revival could only be done once.

“What exactly is going on?” everyone asked. Stein quickly explained, “Black Star’s explanation to us was different from what he told the other Beyond Grade As when it came to the Sanctum Revival. In the past, he claimed that the Sanctum Revival was only limited to one time, but to us, he said it was unlimited… I only came into contact with this information by chance. There must be a problem!” “Is the news reliable?!”

“I can’t guarantee it, but it’s most likely true,” Stein said hastily.

Everyone’s face turned gloomy as they sunk into their own thoughts.

If Black Star had two theories, the other Beyond Grade As would definitely know about it. However, no one had exposed it yet.

Perhaps, Black Star’s words to them were a lie on purpose to trick them into contributing. The other Beyond Grade As were all beneficiaries, so they tacitly agreed to this. Not only did they not expose them, they even cooperated to deceive the third batch of Revivors… This was everyone trying to use them as cannon fodder!

This speculation was probably correct. Based on their perspective, this possibility was completely reasonable and extremely convincing… However, because they misunderstood the key information, their conclusion was completely different from the truth.

The more they thought about it, the more shocked they became.

“Then what should we do now?” someone asked with a deep voice as he took a deep breath to calm his anger.

“If we can only revive once, then this will be our last life, and we have no choice but to consider our path of retreat,” Stein mused.

“Are we going to take the opportunity to escape? Although Black Star isn’t here, we’re being confined in this area, and those Beyond Grade As aren’t easy to deal with.”

After a heated debate, someone suddenly made a suggestion.

“The situation is still unclear. We will wait for Black Star to come back and revive the Sanctum. We will most likely be invited to watch it together. At that time, we will see if he revives a second death.

“If not, then no matter what reason Black Star gives, we will question him face to face and make sense of it. This way, we will be able to shake the new revivors and the direct descendants of the same batch as us. Together, we will break the restrictions of the three Universal Civilizations and resist the fate of being cannon fodder!”

Hearing this, many people’s eyes lit up.

It would be difficult for them to fight back on their own, and the next revival might be an opportunity to seek a temporary alliance. “Then it’s settled. We’ll attack together!” Stein agreed.

Primeval Star River, Mechanical Race territory.

In the mechanical palace, Manison’s Lord’s Avatar and Kasuyi’s remote projection sat opposite each other, casually playing cards.

“I really envy you. You don’t have to manage the affairs of the association and can spend all your time digesting the war insights. I want to do the same…”

Kasuyi grumbled as he watched the layout of the cards. Manison did not mind and casually said, “Since Black Star isn’t around, we will need someone to supervise the association. I have long been stripped of my position as president, and I’m not even the vice president. This job is yours.”

“Sigh, there’s nothing I can do. Before Black Star left, he told me that some of the association members and revivors might not know their place during this period. He told me to be careful of any variables, so I can only do as he says.”

Kasuyi shook his head helplessly.

Just like the exploration era in the past, the war had always been the catalyst for the strong. Many Beyond Grade As had been stationed in the interception circle for the past year, and after experiencing all kinds of battles, they more or less had new insights. Manison and Kasuyi had both discovered a wider room for improvement. As long as they were in seclusion for some time, their strength could still improve.

It was a pity that Black Star had gone to the Sanctum and even told him to be careful. Kasuyi could only suppress his desire to digest the war experience in the wormhole and manage the association instead. Thus, he was very envious of Manison being able to focus on training behind closed doors.

“You’re thinking too much. I’ve also encountered some miscellaneous matters,” Manison said with a calm tone. “Nilfgadi has been restless recently. He was unwilling to let the Machinery Faith and the Mechanical Race be controlled by Black Star and me. He felt that these benefits were originally his, so he tried to regain his former leader position.”

“Oh? What did he do?” Kasuyi was curious.

“Humph, just as Black Star left, he sent people to promote his return to the Machinery Faith. He wants to use his identity as the founder to harvest the believers’ main faith. He wants to take advantage of the situation.”

“What’s the result?” Kasuyi was interested.

“What else can he do? He’s the founder who was eliminated by history and only revived because of Black Star. He wants to shake Black Star’s position? Dream on.” Manison snorted.

“That’s true. The prestige of Nilfgadi has long been worn down by time. He still doesn’t have the qualifications to compete with Black Star.”

Kasuyi nodded, paused, before jokingly saying,

“Furthermore, even you can’t beat Black Star, let alone him.”

“…Humph, ridiculous.”

Manison glanced at him and snorted.

This person really doesn’t know where to stop. If we hadn’t known each other for so many years, I would have ignored you!

Kasuyi shrugged and asked, “How about the Mechanical Race? It should be quite troublesome for him to return as an ancestor, right?”

“Who do you think I am? I’ve managed the Mechanical Race for many years, and he wants me to give up my base just because he’s an ancestor? Is that possible?” Manison’s tone was calm.

“So what did you do to him?”

“If it was in the past, I would have made him into a criminal a long time ago. However, I haven’t done such a thing for a long time. After all, Nilfgadi is the ancestor of the Mechanical Race, and I can’t do anything to him even if I want to. Therefore, I gave him a batch of Mechanical Race members and told him to set up a new Mechanical Race.”

“So, the Mechanical Race has already split up?” Kasuyi raised his brows.

Manison did not take it to heart and said calmly, “It’s not that serious. I can hand over some clansmen since they can be replenished. However, he won’t get even a single strand of my accumulated wealth.”

“Hehe, you’re still the same. Other than Black Star, no one can gain anything from you.”

Kasuyi shook his head and laughed.

“Humph, even Black Star can’t take much advantage of me.”

Manison was simply being hard-mouthed.

Kasuyi only smiled and did not expose Manison’s stubbornness. He changed the topic and said curiously, “By the way, before Black Star left, he left me a stranger’s contact number. Tell me, if those revivors have any abnormal movements, I can find this person to settle it.”

“Black Star will not speak without thinking. What’s that stranger’s name?”

“I don’t know his name. Black Star only told me to call him Oathkeeper. I haven’t contacted him yet. I wonder what his background is. Even Black Star thinks so highly of him.”

Kasuyi seemed quite interested.

“Looks like Black Star still has many secrets.” Manison snorted.

World Tree Territory, Tree King Palace.

Dark green lights full of vitality flowed along with the roots and veins into a huge cocoon made of leaves. It looked like the heart of a cabbage, and below it was an opulent base that looked like an altar.

After a long while, the leaves that formed the cocoon suddenly opened layer by layer, and a figure covered in a dazzling green light walked out. He walked down the steps step by step, and the green light slowly faded, revealing the appearance of Subduing Tree King.

“You’ve finally revived!”

Below the altar, joy flashed in the eyes of Fortitude Tree King who had been waiting for a long time. He took two steps forward to welcome him.

After watering it for so long, Subduing Tree King has finally matured. Now I can finally laze off!

“Phew, I’m still not used to it.”

Subduing Tree King let out a breath and moved his body stiffly to rouse his senses.

Although the World Tree could allow him to return to his seed form and be reborn, the process of the seed germinating and maturing was very uncomfortable. The thought of Black Star, who had caused him so much pain, made Subduing Tree King furious.

“I died once. Next time, I’ll make that foreigner pay!”

“You will have a chance.”

Fortitude Tree King immediately tried to interject.

Subduing Tree King turned to look at him in surprise.

“Why are you here? Where’s Heart Tree King?” “He’s dead, sealed by that foreigner,” Fortitude Tree King’s tone was filled with disdain.

Subduing Tree King frowned, before asking in a solemn tone,

“What happened after I died?”

Fortitude Tree King did not beat around the bush, directly telling him the whole story through the mind network. After finding out the whole story, the former’s expression softened, and he slowly nodded.

“So that’s what happened. Heart Tree King restrained the Esper of the Recovery class, which resulted in the successful exchange of attacks. Many high-level combatants of the enemy civilization were killed. Although Heart Tree King was defeated later, the strategic results he created have already laid a good foundation for us. The advantage in numbers is gradually slipping toward us. The high-level combatants of the enemy civilization will only become fewer and fewer in the future. Good job.”

“But Ancestral Tree King is not satisfied. Heart Tree King has been captured, and we cannot recover the Tree King Crown,” Fortitude Tree King stated.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s just a crown. We’ll find a chance to save Heart Tree King in the future. Using temporary losses in exchange for permanent damage to the enemy is undoubtedly a win for us.”

Subduing Tree King waved his hand, not taking it to heart.

“Alright, since you’ve revived, I’ll leave the matters here to you. I’ll return to the mother tree first.”

Before Subduing Tree King could react, he immediately dispelled his physical body and returned to the World Tree.

“Humph, you still have to rely on me.”

Subduing Tree King snorted and had no intention of rejecting. As a Pugilist, he was already used to doing such tiring work.

Chapter 1372: Persuasion and Return

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

Everything in the training base was the same as before. However, Black Star’s temporary departure caused the emotions of many to fluctuate.

After experiencing so many storms, In the eyes of the Beyond Grade As, Black Star was like a stabilizing needle. Under his control, the common interests of the Beyond Grade As continued to extend. To a certain extent, they were gathered under the banner of the Beyond Grade A Association because of Black Star.

Therefore, although Han Xiao said he was going for business and would not be gone for long, everyone still felt as though something was amiss.

Kasuyi was in charge of the overall situation during this period, following Han Xiao’s instructions and paying attention to the movements of the many revivors. He originally thought this was just a routine matter, but he did not expect there to be real changes.

A few days after Han Xiao left, Dylan and some of the revivors disappeared. Kasuyi had been paying attention to the movements of the association members, and it did not take long for him to notice this anomaly.

As comrades who stood firmly on the side of the Association against the three Universal Civilizations, the treatment of the first two batches of revivors was naturally different from the third batch. The Association had to consider the feelings of all the members. They would not take away the freedom of this group just because some of the members were unwilling to participate in the battle. Therefore, Dylan and the others were not placed under house arrest like the third batch of revivors.

In shock, Kasuyi immediately investigated and asked those who had yet to leave. Only then did he finally understand that Dylan and the others wanted to take the opportunity to leave. However, no one revealed their route, only saying that Dylan had cast a spell and brought some of his companions into the secondary dimension to leave using this method.

Kasuyi tried to contact Dylan and the others, but they seemed to be determined to leave and could not be contacted at all. Helpless, he thought of the Oathkeeper method that Han Xiao had left for him and turned to this stranger for help.

In the office of the training base, Kasuyi was leaning on a chair. The communicator on the table shot out a cone-shaped light, sweeping out a virtual screen in front of him, showing the image of a dialing phone. The ringtone rang for a few seconds before the call was picked up. The black communication interface immediately changed, revealing a mysterious figure in a hooded black robe.

Kasuyi looked at this person curiously and said, “I’m Kasuyi. Are you the Oathkeeper that Black Star mentioned?”

“It is I.”

Oathkeeper replied calmly and looked at Kasuyi.

The two of them sized each other up, and the atmosphere turned a little strange.

After a few seconds, Kasuyi asked curiously,

“Before Black Star left, he gave me your contact number. He said that if the revivors make any movements, I could ask you for help?”

“He informed me too.” Oathkeeper nodded. “…So, what’s your relationship with Black Star? I’ve never heard of someone like you.”

“It’s normal that you don’t know me. I have a closer relationship with Black Star,” Oathkeeper said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Kasuyi’s eyes narrowed as all kinds of guesses flashed through his mind.

The existence of the Holy Accord had always been a secret, and he naturally would not know about it.

On the spur of the moment, Kasuyi probed further.

“Are you… Black Star’s secret subordinate?”

Oathkeeper’s eyes immediately turned sharp. His tone grew solemn, “You’re thinking too much. I’m just an important partner, never his subordinate.”

‘Really? I don’t believe it…’

Kasuyi cursed in his heart. Many members of the association were always putting themselves on a pedestal. They all said that they were not Black Star’s subordinates, but they still followed his orders. He was already used to such situations.

After cursing to himself, Kasuyi calmed himself down and curiously asked, “I don’t quite understand. What’s your relationship with those revivors? Why did Black Star ask me to ask you for help?” “This is a secret. Black Star didn’t tell you, and I can’t tell you. You just need to know that I can help. Don’t ask too much.” Oathkeeper’s tone was calm. He did not know that Kasuyi was also an insider of the truth behind the Sanctum Revival, so he naturally hid it.

Among all the partners of Han Xiao, the Holy Accord was an extremely important existence, and an ‘outsider’ like Kasuyi definitely could not touch the core secrets. Therefore, when Oathkeeper expressed his stance, it was easy for others to misunderstand that he held a superior position.

Seeing this, Kasuyi secretly curled his lips.

Tsk, you still say that you’re not Black Star’s secret subordinate. If not, why would you have such a sense of superiority when keeping Black Star a secret?

Seeing that Oathkeeper did not intend to talk much, Kasuyi temporarily gave up the idea of gathering intelligence and told him about Dylan and the others.

After hearing that, Oathkeeper’s eyes flickered, and he slowly said, “Dylan? As expected, I’ll talk to him.”

“He has already blocked all communication from the outside world. You can contact him?” Kasuyi was surprised.

“I have my ways. You don’t have to know, Just leave it to me.”

Oathkeeper waved and hung up.

Kasuyi mumbled with a strange expression as the communication screen turned black.

“He’s so mysterious, I’ve never even heard of his name before… When did Black Star meet such a guy?”

Somewhere in the secondary dimension world, Dylan and the others were riding on the golem vehicles of the elves.

The room was silent. No one spoke. From time to time, they looked at the magic compass which served as a radar, afraid someone would chase after them.

“Everything is going smoothly so far. We have already entered the secondary dimension world. As long as we avoid the three Universal Civilizations’ territory, we won’t have to worry about being discovered.”

The carrier had magical awareness and was reporting the situation. So far, the operation had been going smoothly and did not meet much resistance.

“It will take at least a month for Black Star to return. That much time is enough for us to completely hide. We have no chance of winning the war,” one of his comrades said with a chuckle.

Hearing this, all the revivors who had left with Dylan could not help but smile in relief. Only Dylan was the exception, sitting in his seat expressionlessly.

Whoosh

At this moment, a cluster of black flames suddenly appeared out of nowhere and formed Oathkeeper’s mind projection. It appeared in front of Dylan, and the laughter in the room immediately stopped.

“You really came.”

Dylan was not surprised at all.

Oathkeeper stared at him and said calmly, “Leaving without saying goodbye isn’t appropriate, right?” “No one knows if the world will explode tomorrow. It can be the last time, so there’s nothing to be particular about.” Dylan crossed his arms and coldly replied. “Black Star will be very unhappy if you do this.” Oathkeeper’s expression was calm.

“I don’t care if he’s happy or not.” Dylan snorted. “If you’re just here to chat with me, I welcome it. If you want to persuade me, then forget it. You know that I will never help the three Universal Civilizations.”

Oathkeeper shook his head. “I understand the hatred between you and the three Universal Civilizations, and I won’t persuade you to let it go. However, leaving the main universe is just an act of escapism.”

“Since I owe you guys a favor, I won’t take revenge on the three Universal Civilizations. What else can I do if I don’t leave? Or do you want to persuade me not to run away and stay behind to make the three Universal Civilizations pay the price in blood?”

Dylan’s tone was sarcastic.

Oathkeeper did not mind and instead replied in a calm tone.

“It’s normal for you to have complaints, but you have to be forward-thinking in everything you do. Now that we’re fighting for the three Universal Civilizations, it’s only to protect our hometown, the galactic society. Working together now is just a temporary measure. Even if we win in the end, the three Universal Civilizations still have many irreconcilable conflicts with us… Black Star is tolerant of you. Other than sympathizing with your situation, he also foresaw many conflicts with the three Universal Civilizations in the future. He never asked you to let go of your hatred, so why not wait a while?”

“Humph, I don’t doubt Black Star’s foresight, but I’m not someone who will easily change my mind. No matter what, I’m not willing to work for the three Universal Civilizations. If you want me to go back, wait until the day you become enemies with the three Universal Civilizations again.” Dylan straightened his back and curled his lips.

Oathkeeper said calmly, “If you run away now and don’t join the battle with the association, we won’t welcome you even if you return in the future.”

“Then I won’t be coming back.” Dylan pointed at Oathkeeper and said coldly, “Also, pay attention to your words. I’m not your soldier, and neither is the association an army. Don’t use the term ‘escape’.”

Oathkeeper nodded and said calmly, “You’ve made up your mind to leave. Since that’s the case, I won’t persuade you. The association doesn’t lack you. Just don’t regret it.”

Then, Oathkeeper turned to look at the other revivors and casually spoke out,

“As for you guys, when Black Star returns from the Sanctum, I will tell you a valuable piece of information. Whether you want to leave with Dylan completely or come back to fight with us, you guys can decide for yourselves.”

As soon as he said that, Oathkeeper’s mental projection cracked and turned into black sparks before disappearing.

With his identity, he could actually stand out and emphasize the truth behind the Sanctum Revival, proving Han Xiao’s words. However, Oathkeeper did not plan to do so now. Firstly, it was his personal wish, and secondly, it was because of Han Xiao’s reminder before he entered the Sanctum.

If some of the revivors wanted to take the opportunity to leave, they could do as they wished. There was no need for them to urge others to seek the benefits of eternal life.

Oathkeeper knew that what he needed to do was to use the communication function of the Soul Flame to show these people that Black Star had revived in the Sanctum. At that time, people would return to the Sanctum if they wanted to, and those who still did not care would leave. It would be hard to say who would beg who then. They have to put down the mentality that Black Star and himself would keep asking them to stay. Seeing Oathkeeper’s figure disappear, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Their eyes flickered as they pondered his words.

Dylan sneered.

“Regret? The word never existed in my dictionary!”

Under Kasuyi’s control, the departure of Dylan and the others did not cause much of a commotion, but it was inevitable that the other association members would feel a difference.

Most of the people participated in the war and fought on the frontlines, while some of their comrades stayed away from the war and went to the secondary dimensions to enjoy themselves. This made some of the association members feel dissatisfied.

However, as Beyond Grade As, they would not change their decision easily. Although they were a little shaken and dissatisfied, no one followed the actions of Dylan. They only hid their emotions in their hearts and trained silently.

Soon, a month passed.

In a certain space of the Ancient Star Desert, a Holy Sanctum passageway appeared, and a figure was spat out.

“Phew, I’m back…”

Han Xiao shook his head and felt that the symptoms this time were lighter than the last time. He quickly regained his senses, and the many technologies that he had obtained from the First Sanctum were quickly stabilized in his memory palace.

After adjusting his state for a while, he took out his communicator and looked at the time. His lips curled up.

“This time, I only used forty days. My authority has increased by one level, and the time flow has decreased. If this continues, I might be able to come out in a few days.”

Han Xiao was in a good mood as he scrolled through the information bar.

He had only left for such a short period of time, and there was nothing else important. Only Kasuyi and Oathkeeper reported to him about the situation of Dylan leaving.

“He slipped away while I was not around… Tsk, I’ll deal with him in the future.”

Han Xiao curled his lips. Thinking about what kind of person Dylan was, he did not find it surprising However, for now, this problem was unimportant. The most important thing was to digest the gains from this trip.

Han Xiao looked down at the back of his hand. The brand of the new Sanctum Revival was glowing, and he could not help but smile.

“This time, I can finally make the Beyond Grade As decide to participate in the battle… I hope the three hooligans can stay calm when they hear this.”

Chapter 1373: So, We Were the Ones Lied To!

Black Star Territory, Training Base, Artificial Planet.

On a metal wasteland, many Beyond Grade As were gathered. They stood in groups of two or three, whispering to each other as they waited for Han Xiao to arrive.

The situation had not changed much in the past month. Han Xiao had notified Kasuyi the moment he returned from the Sanctum and told Kasuyi to gather everyone, but he had not arrived yet.

Many of the Beyond Grade As present had already heard from Kasuyi that this gathering was to carry out a new Sanctum Revival. Many of them were filled with curiosity, especially the third batch of Revivors who had yet to witness the process of their revival.

Stein and the others were scattered in the crowd and deliberately did not stand together. Their eyes met occasionally when they turned their heads and communicated with each other with their eyes. They had a tacit understanding of today’s plan.

A month ago, when they found out that Han Xiao might have lied about the Sanctum Revival, they did not publicize it openly. Instead, they secretly prepared to question Han Xiao publicly on this special occasion and expose his lie, causing the third group of revivors to be united against a common enemy. Therefore, they were the only ones who knew about it.

On the other side, the association members and the first two groups of revivors were scattered at the edge of the crowd, forming a semi-circle, sandwiching most of the third group of revivors in the middle. On the surface, they were chatting with their companions, but in reality, they were secretly nervous.

They did not have any private plans, and they did not know what Stein and the others were planning. However, everyone knew that Black Star had lied to the third batch of revivors, and it was very likely that he would be exposed today. If the third batch of revivors saw that the people who died twice did not revive, who knew how intense the backlash would be.

Therefore, although many Beyond Grade As did not plan in secret, they stood on their own and formed an obscure encirclement. Although they did not know what excuse Black Star would use to trick the third batch of Revivors, they were all prepared to prevent any unforeseen events from happening today. “It’s a pity that Aurora was defeated in the last battle of the intercepting circle. If she had played her usual role, there might not have been people who died a second time. This way, Black Star’s lies could’ve continued to stabilize these people…”

Everyone secretly glanced at the third batch of revivors. Most of them felt that it was a pity that they could not fool these people for long.

All the Beyond Grade As waited patiently. After a while, a stream of light suddenly broke through the atmosphere and fell from the sky, landing in front of everyone. It then turned around and the sparks disappeared, revealing Han Xiao. “I haven’t seen you guys for more than a month. Are you all thinking about me day and night?”

Han Xiao looked at everyone with a smile, seemingly in a good mood.

“Who is this? How shameless,” Milizaus had a look of disdain.

“Want my fart?” Sun Hunter curled his lips.

“Tsk tsk, it’s a pity that I already have a crush. Or else, I wouldn’t mind welcoming you with my body,” Reeve licked his lips shamelessly.

As soon as he returned, it was as if they were injected with vitality. The crowd immediately became lively and started to joke around.

After teasing the others for a while, Han Xiao stopped smiling and showed the Sanctum revival mark.

“Alright, let’s get down to business. The sacrificed comrades are still waiting for us to wake them up.”

After saying that, he turned around and activated the brand, releasing rays of light.

Everyone quietened down and watched him operate.

The historical Beyond Grade As in the explored universe were limited. The last revival had already used all the mediums that had been gathered, and the mediums of the remaining historical Beyond Grade As had yet to be found. Thus, there were no newcomers this time, all of them were those who had died in the intercepting circle battle.

One after another, the figures of those who died in battle began to materialize.

Stein and the others immediately perked up and stared at the reviving light cluster. Their bodies tensed up, and they all prepared to take action. As long as they did not see the people who died twice in this batch of revivors, they would act according to the plan.

At the same time, the association members also quietly changed their positions. The intention of surrounding them became more obvious. They were tense and prepared to deal with the possible backlash from the third batch of revivors.

Right at this moment, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the light slowly faded. This batch of revivors finally took shape, revealing their faces. They were all familiar.

Stein’s eyes quickly swept across and suddenly focused on a few figures. Surprise flashed in his eyes, and he turned to look at his companions.

These figures were among the third batch of Revivors who had died in the interception battle, the Beyond Grade As who had died twice.

“The people who have died twice really revived? Black Star did not lie to us!”

Stein was rather surprised, and his tense body relaxed. He secretly wondered if he had gotten the wrong information. “Regardless, it’s good news that Black Star isn’t lying. According to the plan, there’s no need to take the risk today.”

Stein breathed a sigh of relief.

Since they were not exposed, they had already agreed to keep it to themselves and pretend nothing had happened. However, at this moment, Stein suddenly thought of something and his mood became strange. Wait, Black Star did not lie to us. Doesn’t that mean…

Stein subconsciously turned to look at the association members beside him and was shocked to find that their expressions were all frozen on their faces. They were staring at the people who had died twice in disbelief.

The other third batch of revivors who did not know the truth looked as usual. They had always thought that Han Xiao was not lying to them, so they had no reaction.

However, the association members who believed that the Sanctum Revival was a one-time thing were completely dumbfounded.

They had originally wanted to help Black Star prevent the backlash after his lie was exposed, but they did not expect to be the ones who were shocked.

Didn’t he say that the Sanctum Revival could only be used once? What was going on ?

The association members could not suppress their emotions and surrounded Han Xiao, squeezing him in the middle.

“Black Star! What’s going on?”

Sun Hunter’s tiny head was filled with question marks, and he urgently asked what everyone was thinking. Although he did not point it out clearly because he was wary of the reaction of the third batch of Revivors, everyone understood what he meant and stared at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao raised his brows and said, “Didn’t I say that there’s no limit to the Sanctum Revival? Why are you making a fuss?”

“You, you…”

Everyone stared at Han Xiao, speechless. Only then did they understand.

It turned out that Black Star was not lying to the third batch of Revivors and was telling the truth!

So the one you lied to was us ?

You made us think that the Sanctum Revival would only revive once, and we had to fight in fear… You really fooled us hard!

Many association members looked at Han Xiao with resentment. If looks could turn into blades, they would have given Han Xiao a beating.

Kant pressed on Han Xiao’s shoulder, clenched his teeth, and said in a low voice, “You actually kept it from us…”

Facing the indignant looks of the others, Han Xiao remained calm. He shook Kant’s hand and smiled.

“So what? Don’t tell me you guys don’t feel surprised now.”

Without waiting for a response, he tilted his head and continued.

“Don’t forget the situation we were in back then. If this matter was exposed at that time, would the three Universal Civilizations still choose to wait and see, giving us some time to accumulate? There could have been internal conflicts long ago, and the current situation would only be worse.

“However, our situation is different now. With the pressure from the enemies, the three Universal Civilizations can’t do anything to us. Now that we’ve revealed the truth, it’s good for morale.

Just think about it and you will understand. You won’t revive only once, you will find out sooner or later about this matter that is beneficial to the whole of Beyond Grade As. What I hid in the past was just a deceptive tactic from a strategic point of view… Furthermore, I am not the only one who knows. I have long told this secret to a Beyond Grade A who is worth trusting.”

As he spoke, Han Xiao looked at Kasuyi and nodded.

Seeing this, Kasuyi stood out and said,

“That’s right. Black Star told me about this a long time ago, and I agree with the reason for hiding it. I didn’t tell you guys in the past because I wanted to deal with the three Universal Civilizations, but now is the time to make it public…” Kasuyi supported Han Xiao’s words while cursing in his heart. His understanding of the Sanctum came from the Celestial Star Alliance, but when he received Han Xiao’s signal, he could only say that it was Han Xiao who told him and played along.

After listening to the explanation, the association members blinked their eyes and calmed down. They pondered over this explanation and had to admit that there was indeed a reason to hide it.

If they took too big a step, they would most likely be in trouble. If Black Star had made this matter public back then, it would have been too much of a threat to the three Universal Civilizations. They would not have let the matter rest and would have probably started an even more intense civil war. Things like the Mechanical Race battle would definitely have happened earlier.

Furthermore, although they had been tricked, this was not a loss to them but a pleasant surprise.

They originally thought that they could only revive once, but it turned out to be an infinite number of times. As long as Black Star could continuously provide the Sanctum Revival, wouldn’t that mean they had achieved another form of immortality ?

Thinking of this, a strong sense of excitement replaced shock!

The eyes of the association members lit up, and their confidence skyrocketed. They felt that Han Xiao was emitting an extremely alluring aura, and they just wanted to hug this golden thigh tightly. Beiger, who was standing at the side, was shocked. Oathkeeper’s instructions flashed through his mind, and he immediately understood that Oathkeeper was also someone who knew about it. He and Han Xiao were colluding together… cough, working together to hide it.

“No wonder he suggested that I join the battle and continue to help Black Star. Those guys who thought that they had used up all their revivals and disregarded Black Star will regret it…”

The thought flashed across Beiger’s mind, and he secretly rejoiced.

On the other side, the third batch of revivors who did not know the details looked at the excited group of association members around Han Xiao and were secretly surprised. They did not know why these people were so excited.

While everyone was excited, Manison’s Lord’s Avatar asked with a confused expression,

“Black Star, you knew that the World Tree would attack, so you hid the truth of the Sanctum Revival to protect the Beyond Grade As and the three Universal Civilizations?”

Han Xiao smiled and did not retort.

Seeing this, the expressions of the Beyond Grade As changed.

Although they were already very impressed by Han Xiao, they could not help but respect him even more.

It turned out that Black Star had long been planning for the safety of the galactic society. For the sake of today’s war, he had done so many things in secret to obtain temporary peace… To the entire galactic society, only the phrase ‘a great man’ could be worthy of such a contribution!

Such a foresight, just thinking about it made everyone gasp in admiration.

Only such a person had the qualifications to be the leader of their entire Beyond Grade A group. His ability was always trustworthy! Secret Master shook his head and sighed. “Black Star, someone like you probably doesn’t need the help of luck.”

Don’t talk nonsense, I need it very much!

Han Xiao curled his lips.

Then, he turned around and patted Kasuyi.

“There’s no need to hide this matter. In a while, tell all the Beyond Grade As, including those who are avoiding the battle, as well as all the Calamity Grades who are training, and tell them the truth about the Sanctum Revival. Tell them that no matter the outcome of the war, only by fighting alongside us now will I let them enjoy this benefit in the future. Otherwise, don’t even think about getting a chance to revive in the future.”

“Understood.”

Kasuyi nodded.

Upon hearing that, the association members felt much better. Only participants like them would receive special treatment. This was the right way. Otherwise, it would be unfair.

All of a sudden, everyone’s determination to join the battle was unprecedented. The confusion and hesitation that they had initially felt instantly disappeared.

Black Star had said that if the three Universal Civilizations lost this war, he would take them away. This meant that the Sanctum Revival would still be a guarantee for their future!

In the hearts of the association members, the importance of Black Star’s safety was immediately raised to the highest level. Even if they had to die in battle, they could not let Black Star be in danger. The association’s cohesiveness instantly exploded!

Seeing how motivated everyone was, Han Xiao smiled. He knew that the most basic goal had been achieved.

Then, he stopped smiling and turned to look at the direct Beyond Grade As who were equally shocked.

It’s time to have a chat with the three Universal Civilizations…

In the conference room of the three Universal Civilizations.

Today was the day Han Xiao was going to perform Sanctum Revival. However, because they had seen it the last time, and since the people who were going to revive this time were the ones who died in the war, Marbruce and the others did not pay much attention to it. Instead, they discussed the situation of the harassment battle at the frontline with the Military Strategy Department.

As for the situation of the Sanctum Revival this time, some supervisors paid attention to it. The three of them did not watch it with their own eyes and waited for the report.

A meeting was being held in the room, and the remote projections of Simon and the other military officials were reporting. “… This is the current situation. The harassment troops at the frontline have already done their best, but the World Tree Army is steadily advancing and cannot be stopped…”

Marbruce, Louis, and the Pope were listening attentively to the battle report.

Beep beep beep

Suddenly, the sound of emergency communication rang out, interrupting the report from the military personnel.

Louis frowned and opened the emergency communication channel. “What’s going on?”

“Your Excellencies, the Sanctum Revival is complete!” The supervisor’s anxious voice sounded in the channel.

“Okay, got it. Write a report for us later. I have an important battle conference to attend.”

Louis did not think much of it and was about to hang up.

However, right at this moment, the supervisor suddenly yelled out. His tone was filled with anxiety and panic.

“This time, Black Star revived the direct Beyond Grade As who died in battle twice. Your Excellencies… the Sanctum Revival is not limited to once. What he said about it being limitless might be true!”

(EMPTY]

Just as the words landed, the three of them were stunned for a moment before standing up with a shocked expression!

Chapter 1374: The Game With Confirmed Victory

After stabilizing the Beyond Grade As, Han Xiao submitted a meeting request to the three Universal Civilizations which was quickly passed through As soon as he arrived at the conference room, he saw the solemn expressions on the faces of Marbruce and the other two. The atmosphere in the room was heavy, and for some reason, it felt as though there were three trials.

Han Xiao was not bothered by this. He ignored their sharp gazes and said with a smile, “You guys don’t look too good. Have you been too tired recently?”

Marbruce did not respond. “Black Star, you tricked us.”

Louis and the Pope also tensed their faces and looked serious.

Ten minutes ago, when they received the report of this revival, they were shocked and immediately stopped the battle conference regarding the frontline situation to discuss this matter.

A few years ago, when the Revivors were born, Black Star had claimed that the Sanctum Revival was a one-time thing, and the three Universal Civilizations had also suspected it. However, only Black Star could enter the Sanctum and they had no way of verifying the truth. They could only obtain the relevant information from Black Star and they had always been on the passive side.

Even now, although the three Universal Civilizations were still skeptical, they had accepted the fact that the Sanctum Revival was a one-time thing and had made the main plan based on this. However, the sudden change at this moment had disrupted many of their plans.

Although the Military Strategy Department had made contingency plans for this kind of situation, in the current situation, no plan could deal with this situation perfectly.

In their shock, the three of them were just about to come up with a new strategy when Han Xiao requested to meet them. The three of them stopped their discussion and suppressed their chaotic thoughts, planning to hear Han Xiao first.

“Is that so? Then I’m honored.” Han Xiao spread out his hands and smiled. “Don’t forget how the three Universal Civilizations planned to deal with us back then. We were on opposite sides, and I used a tactic to trick you guys. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. It only proves that I did a good job.” “You must be very proud now.” The Pope snorted.

“No, I don’t feel anything.” Han Xiao shook his head and said with a playful tone, “Besides, why do you guys look like you’re at a disadvantage? A group of high-level combatants who can revive multiple times just happens to be at odds with the World Tree. Isn’t this good news for the battle, or do you guys still have some bad intentions?”.

Hearing the mockery in Han Xiao’s tone, the Pope’s face was expressionless, but he was furious.

During the negotiations back then, they had played a hidden risk game with Black Star, using the Beyond Grade A Association’s independent political position as a bargaining chip in exchange for the association joining the battle.

One of the reasons the three Universal Civilizations agreed to it was because they hoped the war would reduce the Beyond Grade As of the Association, using external forces to clean up the high-level combatants and reduce the hidden dangers of Beyond Grade As. This way, they would not have to fight internally and waste strength. The starting point of this plan was the one-time use of the Sanctum Revival. However, this was a trap that Han Xiao had dug long ago. When the three Universal Civilizations agreed to the deal, they had already lost this game. It was equivalent to the association getting a free political position without suffering any losses as the three Universal Civilizations wished.

as

The three of them had also realized that Black Star was trying to gain something without risking anything of his own. He had benefited greatly from them and now that he had revealed his trump card, they were filled with hatred. They knew that they had fallen into his trap.

The pressure from the foreign enemies was huge, and the three Universal Civilizations could not focus on this game for the time being. Instead, they did not mind expanding the size of the high-level combatants. However, this was still a potential strategic direction. From the looks of it, this plan to ease the imbalance of the Supers had failed.

If they had known that there was no limit to the Sanctum Revival back then, they would not have chosen this game path. Unfortunately, the boat had already sailed and they could only swallow their losses, temporarily not having the energy to fight among themselves.

Marbruce took a deep breath and slowly said, “It is indeed as you said. This is good news for the battle. Black Star, we hope you can give us a definite answer. What is the situation with the Sanctum Revival? Is it really not limited to one time?”

The other two stared at Han Xiao without blinking.

Han Xiao did not give a definite answer. “Theoretically, there’s no limit.”

“Theoretically?” The three of their hearts skipped a beat, and they looked at each other with an expression that said, “What are you playing at this time?”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and raised his brows. “Every Beyond Grade A individual can revive an unlimited number of times, but there is a limit to the number of people who can revive in the Sanctum.”

“What do you mean?” Marbruce frowned.

“Activating the Sanctum Revival requires authority. Every time the Sanctum is opened, the activator’s authority will increase by one level, and the number of times an individual can revive will be recorded. Every additional revival requires a corresponding level of authority… Let me explain it to you this way. If you die twice, then the third revival requires a level three authority, which means that only the person who opens the Sanctum for the third time can do it. If a new person opens the Sanctum halfway, the authority will not be enough,” Han Xiao said with a wave of his hand.

Hearing this, the three of them exchanged looks.

“What you mean is, it’s best to make the emissary who opens the Sanctum remain the same person till the end?” Louis looked at Han Xiao up and down and said with a deep voice, “Why do I feel like you’re lying to us again?”

Black Star had already entered the Sanctum many times. If there was really such a thing as the authority, it would definitely be beneficial to him. If the war became critical, even if they could unravel the secret of the Sanctum in the future, the best candidate would still be Black Star. A new member would not be able to make the most of it.

“When you guys enter the Sanctum one day, won’t you know if the authority is real or fake?”

Han Xiao did not think much of it. He did not care if the three of them suspected him.

The Sanctum mission from the past had yet to be completed. He used this excuse to build a foundation for it. It might be useful in the future.

Seeing this, the three of them felt a headache coming on.

Black Star was certain that they would not be able to prove the Sanctum’s mechanism. He was not afraid of being exposed no matter what!

There was no way he could get an answer if he kept asking. Marbruce had no choice but to change the topic.

“No matter what, this is good news to boost morale. Are you planning to announce it to the entire galactic society?”

“There’s no need. The World Tree has yet to reach the mainland. There’s no need to let the people know so early. It’s enough for the upper echelons and some of the chosen ones to know.”

Han Xiao waved his hands casually.

Marbruce nodded. Suddenly, he paused and changed the topic.

“Black Star, we know each other very well, so let’s not make empty talks… Thinking about it carefully, it’s understandable that you hid it from us back then. If we knew about the truth of the Sanctum Revival long ago, we would not have been able to sit still as we did back then, and a large-scale clean-up would have started. You knew about the intelligence of the World Tree long ago, and to maintain the internal balance, you had put in a lot of effort. But what I’m curious about is… if a large-scale civil war had broken out, what would you have done?”

“Hmm, I wanted to delay as much as possible and give us more time to prepare, but if you had insisted on acting willfully, I was also prepared to reveal the existence of the World Tree to you in advance and divert the conflict.”

Han Xiao did not hide his original thoughts. He smiled and continued.

“However, you found the World Tree on your own, which is a good thing for me.”

He only said half of what he wanted to say. Back then, he had not managed to gather the second set of keys and was worried that the three Universal Civilizations would get serious. This lie was also part of the empty fort strategy, but he naturally did not have to reveal it to the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations. There was no need to let them know that they had missed the real opportunity to ‘clean up’.

The three of them shook their heads with complicated emotions.

Indeed, if not for the Research Department discovering the World Tree and Black Star taking the initiative to inform them, they would most likely have treated it as Black Star’s stalling tactic and would not have stopped. They might have continued to push for internal cleansing, and that would have been bad.

At least from the current situation, the three of them had to admit that Black Star’s actions had brought them a good result. There was no large-scale internal conflict that consumed their strength, just like how Black Star had hidden the World Tree’s existence for many years. However, the three of them did not like this kind of passive position. Even though they knew that it was beneficial, they could not be happy. “As expected of the receiver of the Stuarts Peace Prize, you’re really great,” Louis snorted. Three parts were sarcasm, and three parts sincere. The remaining four parts were gloom. “You’re too kind. I’ll take it as a compliment.” Han Xiao chuckled. “Since you guys already know what to do, I won’t disturb you anymore.”

The purpose of this meeting had already been achieved. Han Xiao did not continue to chat with the three of them. He deactivated the remote projection and thoughtfully left them alone. He knew that the three of them still needed some time to accept the truth.

Seeing Han Xiao’s figure disappear, the three of their faces immediately fell.

“Originally, I wanted to use the foreign war to weaken the combat power of the association, but it seems like there’s no chance,” Marbruce sighed helplessly.

“If that’s the case, it will be very difficult for us to clean up individual strength. The total number of Beyond Grade As will continue to increase, and it will not decrease anymore.” There was a hint of fear in the Pope’s tone.

The three of them looked at each other and could not help but sigh. Their hearts were filled with seriousness and helplessness.

The threat of the World Tree was too great, and they did not dare drag their feet in the war. Even though they knew that it would create a huge problem of imbalance in the Supers in the future, they did not have the extra energy to deal with it.

Furthermore, they still had to rely on the Beyond Grade As to deal with the high-level combatants of the World Tree. What could they do? They could only watch and not dare do anything. If they forced Black Star away, the consequences would be unimaginable!

“As expected of the leader of a Beyond Grade A group. He chose good timing!” Louis emphasized heavily, his face ashen.

…

Not to mention the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade As who witnessed it with their own eyes were still extremely excited as they accepted this reality. With Kasuyi and the others spreading it, the news of the Sanctum Revival reached the entire training base.

All the Calamity Grade Supers who were undergoing training felt their emotions boiling!

They had thought that stepping into the Beyond Grade A realm would only grant them a second life, but who would have thought that this was the ticket to eternal life?

The attraction between the two was completely different!

The Calamity Grade Supers were extremely excited. The temptation of eternal life became the source of motivation, and almost everyone turned into a cultivation maniac in an instant. Even Lagi, who was extremely disheartened, secretly increased his training volume.

On the other side, Beiger received Han Xiao’s approval and secretly sent the news back to the Holy Accord Organization.

Ancient Star Desert, Holy Accord Organization base.

Many Holy Accord Revivors forced Oathkeeper to a corner with their strong bodies. Their faces were filled with disbelief and shock.

“Did you already know the truth and had been working with Black Star to deceive us ?” “Damn it! You kept us in the dark!” “Say something!” The group of revivors started talking at the same time. Oathkeeper pushed through the crowd with a calm expression. “That’s right. Black Star had already analyzed the pros and cons. I also agreed with his plan back then. If you guys have any objections, go find him. After all, without his support, I won’t be able to open the Sanctum. He has the main responsibility.”

Hearing this, everyone was stunned.

Even though they were talking in private, they did not dare look for Black Star to express their dissatisfaction.

Furthermore, they had thought that they would only be able to revive once in the past and had already used it up, so their attitude toward Black Star was more or less a little casual. At this moment, everyone present immediately felt guilty and quickly recalled if they had respected Black Star before.

After a while, one of the Primordial Ones asked,

“Since there’s no limit to the number of revivals, can we enjoy this treatment forever?”

Oathkeeper looked at him and slowly said, “Didn’t you hear what Black Star said? Only by fighting alongside them can we obtain unlimited revivals in the future.”

Hearing this, the Holy Accord Revivors present were shocked.

“We’re doing the same ?”

“What else?” Oathkeeper was expressionless. “The first revival is free. We can’t expect it to be free forever, right? Everyone is treated equally. There’s no reason for you guys to enjoy such benefits while living in seclusion. If you want this kind of treatment, you have to contribute. Black Star’s intentions are my intentions as well.”

The faces of many Holy Accord Revivors twitched.

They were all people who lived in seclusion and had rejected the invitation to leave. Initially, when they saw the association fighting to the death on the frontlines, they felt that they were not involved at all and were overjoyed. But now, it seemed like Black Star was using the benefits that they could not reject to force them to leave their seclusion!

Live in seclusion? Did they think that he was starting a charity? Don’t even think about it!

Many of the Holy Accord Revivors understood this point, and their expressions immediately changed. Some of their eyes flashed with ominous intent.

If they worked together to snatch away the Sanctum information stored in the Holy Accord, they might not have to care about Black Star’s coercion…

However, before they could finish their thoughts, Oathkeeper spoke with a calm tone.

“I suggest that you guys don’t take the risk. That would be a waste of energy. The Sanctum Revival requires authority. Currently, only Black Star has opened the Sanctum multiple times and has sufficient authority. Furthermore, Black Star isn’t as gentle as me. It’s best not to make a huge mistake, or the Underworld can grant you eternal life as well.”

The crowd fell silent.

After more than ten seconds, a Revivor suddenly walked out from the crowd with a righteous expression.

“My hometown is in danger, and everyone should contribute their strength. I’m ashamed to stay here and watch the show. It doesn’t matter if I revive or not. I just want to join the battle!”

Everyone was surprised. They did not expect this person to be so thick-skinned.

However, the next moment, everyone followed suit. Their faces were filled with righteousness, and their facial lines became extremely firm. Even their style changed.

“That’s right. How can we allow the enemy to trample on our territory? I will offer my heart to the world I love!”

“My home has been invaded. My heart hurts too much. My sword is Black Star’s sword. I’m willing to die for my home!”

“Justice will never be absent!”

Everyone shouted and expressed their stance. It was as if they had all become warriors willing to protect their homeland. Their bodies were shining with righteous light, and they could not wait to rush to the battlefield.

There was no lack of people who had grudges with the three Universal Civilizations, but they knew what was more important. In the face of the temptation of eternal life, the grudges of the past could be held back for the time being, because the future was limitless.

Most Beyond Grade As had pride, but they also knew how to be flexible. In the face of almost eternal benefits, they could put aside all minor conflicts. Not many Beyond Grade As would be trapped by the past.

Oathkeeper was not surprised by the Holy Accord Revivors’ choice. No one knew the allure of the Sanctum Revival better than him, and he had already expected this scene.

As long as they could grasp the path of the Sanctum Revival, there was no need to care about what the Beyond Grade As were thinking. This was the lifeline of countless Beyond Grade As. If they were given a hundred chances to choose, the result would be the same.

Oathkeeper raised his hand and summoned a cluster of Soul Flames, which reflected Dylan’s figure. “I wonder if you can make me see you differently…”

Chapter 1375: Your Feud Has Nothing to Do with Me.

This was a secondary dimension. The sky was filled with a fluttering ribbon-like aurora. A high-speed stream of light passed through it. It was the magic vehicle of Dylan and the others.

After sailing for more than a month, they had already left the area controlled by the three Universal Civilizations. The initial vigilance of Dylan and the others gradually became relaxed. A month ago, Oathkeeper had used mental projection to meet them and then disappeared. They were all Revivors of the Holy Accord and knew the effects of Soul Flame very well. They knew that Oathkeeper could only talk to them and could not lock onto their location, so they were not worried about exposing their coordinates.

“It’s been so long. It’s about time for Black Star to return from the Sanctum. Oathkeeper said he would tell us something valuable, so he should be here soon.”

A Beyond Grade A teased the furry pet on the table and casually mentioned this.

The other person was in a small ecological area in the cabin, watering and nourishing the decorative plants. Hearing this, he turned around and smiled. “Oathkeeper seems to want to use this news to change our minds. I want to know what he will say.”

The revivors in the cabin were all doing their own things, but everyone was present. All of the Beyond Grade As who left the main universe with Dylan a month ago were there. Other than their special relationship, the Beyond Grade As were not willing to submit to others, and they did not treat Dylan as their leader. The reason they had yet to part ways was mainly because of the risks of dealing with the secondary dimensions. After all, this place was still a threat to normal Beyond Grade As.

Someone turned to look at Dylan. “I’m quite curious. What about you?” “I’m not curious at all.” Dylan closed his eyes to rest, not even bothering to open them. “Since you’ve chosen to leave, be firm. You’re all Beyond Grade As, don’t you have any backbone? Anyway, no matter what he says, I won’t go back.”

Everyone laughed and was about to say something when black sparks suddenly appeared in the cabin and quickly formed Oathkeeper’s mental projection. Seeing this, Dylan’s brows twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes. The other Revivors’ expressions also changed slightly, and they stopped smiling. They stopped what they were doing and stared at Oathkeeper. “You’re here again.” Dylan narrowed his eyes. “What, you still want to persuade me to go back?”

“It’s up to you to return. I’m just here to deliver the information.”

Oathkeeper did not want to bother with him and turned to look at the other curious Revivors. A black flame ignited on his palm, and blurry images flashed in it, containing the information of the Sanctum Revival.

With a light flick of his finger, sparks shot out and fused into everyone’s foreheads, transmitting the information directly into their mind. The sequence of events was clear at a glance, and the relevant memories were released, allowing them to check.

The next moment, everyone received this information and was instantly dumbfounded. “So the Sanctum Revival isn’t a one-time thing ? You and Black Star have been hiding it from us!” Many people’s expressions changed drastically as they glared at Oathkeeper. Their expressions were indescribably ugly, as though they had fallen into a pile of feces. “The choice is yours.”

Oathkeeper was too lazy to say anything else. He left a sentence, deactivated his mental projection, and disappeared in front of everyone.

Seeing him leave, everyone’s expressions changed. One of the revivors looked around before looking at the shocked Dylan. “Everyone, I’ll go back and take a look. We’ll meet again if fate allows it.”

After saying that, he ignored everyone’s reaction and directly flashed out of the carrier. He raised his hand to cast a spell, summoned a fixed teleportation gate, and directly stepped in, disappearing along with the door. This became a signal. The revivors took their leave one after another, using various methods to leave. Those who were patient would say their goodbyes and those who were not would leave without saying a word. There was no need to explain anything to these temporary companions. They were all people who had been revived. They left the main universe because they thought that the one-time Sanctum Revival was useless to them, this was their last life. However, only now did they realize that this was just a scam created by the Holy Accord and Black Star. However, the reason was no longer important to them. The Sanctum Revival was almost eternal. There was nothing to hesitate about in front of this benefit.

The group of friends left one after another. Very soon, the cabin that had been quite lively a while ago became empty, leaving only Dylan alone.

He did not care about the others leaving at all. He was still immersed in shock and muttered to himself,

“No wonder, no wonder. Black Star has never cared about us, the avoidance faction. So, he had this trump card…” The opportunity of eternal life was right in front of him, but… Dylan’s expression changed, and he was extremely conflicted.

A few days later, in the conference room on the top floor of the training base.

Han Xiao sat at the head of the table and looked around at the Beyond Grade As present. Seeing that everyone was staring at him, he casually said:

“Everyone already knows about the true situation of the Sanctum Revival. I believe there’s no need for me to repeat the unnecessary explanation. Everyone should have digested this information over the past few days. Today, I gathered everyone to discuss the follow-up issue of the Sanctum Revival. This will be an important trump card for us to fight the World Tree. The three Universal Civilizations are very surprised by this and have decided to continue to support us and keep it a secret for the time being…” The people present nodded silently with subtle expressions.

They believed that there was indeed a surprise, but it was more of a shock. Even if they used their butts to think, they could imagine how the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations felt when they found out about this ‘surprise’.

They had been looking for Han Xiao for the past few days, but after Han Xiao used the Sanctum Revival, he had left temporarily and could not be contacted at all. He had only just returned and gathered all the Beyond Grade As in the training base. All the participating Beyond Grade As had been waiting for the meeting and immediately rushed over. Han Xiao took in everyone’s expressions, tapped the table, and chuckled. “By the way, let’s count your opinions today and see if you’re willing to continue participating in the battle. After all, from now on, participating in the battle will be linked to the revival treatment of the Sanctum. I need to record it in the register. Who knows, some people might not like this treatment, but I can’t force them. After all, I’m a very democratic person.”

Democracy? Bah, shameless!

Everyone cursed silently.

Black Star had grasped this lifeline, and his authority had already risen to a whole new level to the point that whatever he said went. No one would be willing to give up this opportunity. Although they were complaining in their hearts, the Beyond Grade As present were still very honest and could not wait to speak. “Count me in!” “There’s no reason to give up halfway. Of course, we should continue fighting.” Everyone expressed their stance enthusiastically. Initially, some from the third batch of revivors did not fight and did not participate in the interception battle. However, after seeing the substantial evidence of the Sanctum revival, they changed their minds.

Han Xiao smiled as he watched this scene. He opened a virtual screen, pulled out a memo, and recorded the names of the people who expressed their stand in front of everyone.

The temptation of the limitless Sanctum Revival is indeed something that not many people can resist. The effect is similar to what I expected…’

A few days ago, Han Xiao had received Oathkeeper’s report. Upon learning that the Revivors of the Holy Accord had also requested to come out and join the battle, he had gone to deal with the matter in the past few days. He had appeased the group of Holy Accord Revivors and said that they would only need to take action when the World Tree invaded the mainland. There was no need for them to come out now, and they could continue to hide in the dark as long as they accepted his targeted training plan. The reason those Holy Accord Revivors had stayed in seclusion was partly that they were unwilling to continue being involved in the conflict between organizations, and partly because they had a grudge against the three Universal Civilizations. However, they had all abandoned their original intentions and changed their minds. Although they spoke nicely, their actions were still realistic. Beyond Grade As who knew their own needs would make rational choices.

Of course, Han Xiao would not scoff at them. It was only human nature. Not many people could watch others enjoy such benefits without getting a share. Just as everyone was expressing their stance, the conference room door was suddenly pulled open, interrupting the meeting.

Everyone turned to look and could not help but have a playful look on their faces. They saw that the revivors of the avoidance faction who had stayed on Planet Finn had all arrived. The room immediately fell silent. This group of people who had stayed behind to avoid the battle stood by the table.

Han Xiao glanced around, put on a calm expression, and casually said, “Why are you guys here? What’s the matter?”

Hearing this, one member of the avoidance faction stepped out from the crowd and spoke loudly like the representative of everyone. “Your Excellency Black Star, after careful consideration, we have made a unanimous decision. Please allow us to join the training. We request to join the battle!” The Beyond Grade As present exchanged looks, shook their heads, and laughed, not surprised at all. Han Xiao smiled, nodded, and said, “As I said before, if you change your mind one day, we welcome you to fight alongside us.” With that, he snapped his fingers, and with a flash of Mechanical Force, the conference table suddenly moved. Mechanical particles extended, and the table slowly expanded. The seats slid sideways leaving more gaps and new seats rose from the ground.

After doing this, Han Xiao pointed at the empty seats and chuckled.

“Everyone, please take a seat.”

Seeing this, the revivors of the avoidance faction heaved a sigh of relief. They nodded and thanked him one after another before finding empty seats to sit down. Initially, they had wanted to watch from the sidelines as the group of association members attacked the enemy at the frontline. However, after learning the truth about the Sanctum Revival from Beiger, everyone changed their minds overnight and decided to join the battle. Initially, they were worried that Black Star would make things difficult for them, or at the very least, some people would make sarcastic remarks. However, they realized that this group of participants looked at them like it was a matter of course and no one teased them about their choice. This made their nerves relax. However, thinking about it, since they were all alike, no one would laugh at the other.

Sun Hunter glanced at them and said, “Why are there so few of you? There are still some people, right? Where’s that foul-mouthed Elf King?” “They…” A former member of the avoidance faction paused for a moment before smiling helplessly.” They are not willing to get involved in the war and have already left the main universe. No one can contact them.”

Everyone was surprised. Not everyone knew about this. Kasuyi had hidden the news.

“Then they really made a huge loss, missing out on such a good thing.” Sun Hunter clicked his tongue in wonder. The corners of many people’s mouths curled up, secretly mocking them. Since they had chosen this path, they would have to walk it even if they had to kneel. They would not feel pity for these guys who had a severe lack of judgment and ran away. “They still don’t know the truth about the Sanctum Revival, right? Should we try to get them back?” Milizaus turned around and asked.

Han Xiao did not mind and said calmly, “Our association is not an organization that cannot be left once entered. They have the freedom to leave. Don’t bother about them…” Halfway through, he suddenly paused, chuckled, and continued. “Besides, didn’t they come back on their own?”

After saying that, everyone noticed it too. They turned to look at the bright starry sky outside the window and saw a teleportation gate spinning open. Streams of light landed on the training base.

Very soon, the sound of footsteps could be heard from afar. They were getting closer and closer. Everyone turned to look at the opened door. Under everyone’s gaze, all the revivors of the avoidance faction appeared at the entrance and walked in one after another. Dylan was the last. Kasuyi calmly took a sip of the Spirit Concentration Tea. The group of people that had just returned contacted him one after another since they could not find Black Star. He arranged for them to appear together today, separately from the other group that stayed behind to avoid battle. However, only he and Han Xiao knew about this.

“Yo, we were just talking about you guys. Didn’t you say you were going to stay away from the war? Why are you back?”

Sun Hunter winked and teased. The others also had a mocking expression on their faces. Their eyes kept sweeping past Dylan, who was at the end of the line. They still remembered that Dylan was the most determined member of the avoidance faction. They could still remember how he had slammed the table and objected to the battle in the past, but now, he was silent, expressionless, and looking straight ahead. It was as if he saw everyone else as air and did not even look at them after entering the room. Dylan ignored Sun Hunter and looked at Han Xiao. “Black Star, we wish to participate in the war. Do you agree?” The others stopped talking and turned to look at Han Xiao, waiting for his decision.

Han Xiao looked at this group of people and knocked on the table. Another batch of empty seats appeared on the ground.

“Have a seat.”

Seeing this, the group of people finally relaxed, not daring to look into Han Xiao’s eyes. They quickly sat down after bowing. Seeing that Han Xiao had no intention of talking to him, the anxiety in Dylan’s heart dissipated a little. He found a seat and sat down obediently.

Before he came back, he had been worried about being punished. After all, he had always been against the war, so it was very likely that Black Star was not willing to accept him. He did not have much confidence and felt that he would be mocked no matter what. He did not expect Black Star to treat him the same way, as though he did not care about him at all. This time, Sun Hunter curled his lips and looked at Dylan with disdain. “Tsk tsk, didn’t you say that you would never regret it? Didn’t you say that you have a deep grudge? Weren’t you quite stubborn? I am disappointed in you.”

Dylan did not mind. He could not help but retort, “Do I need you to think highly of me? Whatever I do is my freedom. Can’t I change my mind? To make you think highly of me, I have to give up the chance to live forever? Who do you think you are?” He had always done what he wanted. If he cared about what others thought, he would not have died so miserably in the past. After a series of internal conflicts, he finally chose the opportunity to live forever. Although the hatred in the past was unforgettable, it did not blind his rationality. He was not willing to fight for the three Universal Civilizations. Hatred was one factor, and another was the lack of benefits. Now that the truth of the Sanctum revival was right in front of him, he naturally knew which was more important. There were endless possibilities as long as he was alive. The disdain of others did not hinder him from making the right decision. “Humph, I’ll kill you one day.” Sun Hunter snorted coldly and turned around, too lazy to argue with this guy. The others also looked away. For the sake of important benefits, not many Beyond Grade As would be affected by the opinions of others. It was fine to tease them in their hearts, but there was nothing to look down on since they could understand their choice.

Han Xiao ignored them and waited for everyone to quiet down before continuing with the main topic. Not long after, the simple meeting ended, and everyone dispersed. Just as Dylan was about to leave, Han Xiao’s voice sounded from behind him. “Stay for a while.” Everyone paused and looked back at the calm Han Xiao with a contemplative look. They then sped up and left the room, leaving only the two of them. Dylan’s expression froze, and he turned around to look at Han Xiao. He did not dare meet Han Xiao’s indifferent gaze, so he forced himself to ask, “What’s the matter?”

Han Xiao tilted his head and pretended to be confused. “You incited the members to leave the association. Don’t tell me you think this matter is over just like that?” “…What do you want to do?” Dylan’s heart skipped a beat. Although he had a foul mouth, that was because of his personality. He was not really afraid of anything Han Xiao did not reply immediately. “Your past was indeed tragic. However, this isn’t an excuse for your repeated incitement. Are you the only one here who has a grudge against the three Universal Civilizations? But you are the only one who jumped the gun like this.

I don’t care about your hatred. That’s your private matter. How you deal with it has nothing to do with me. I don’t pity you either. You deserve to be beaten to death. I only care about whether my plan can be carried out as usual, whether the battle can progress smoothly. You’ve obstructed me many times, you should pay a price…” “I’ve already let go of my hatred and am willing to come back and work for the three Universal Civilizations. What else do you want

Dylan said with a deep voice. “What does it have to do with me whether you let go of your hatred or not? Do you think that just because you’ve overcome your own difficulties, I’ll let you have your way? If there’s no chance of eternal life, will you come back? I’m only concerned about whether you can be of use!”

Han Xiao did not buy it.

“But you came back of your own accord, and you did make the right choice. No path leads to darkness, so I’m giving you a chance.”

“What are you going to do?”

Dylan clenched his fists and backed away carefully. “If you hadn’t taken the initiative to return today, I would have hunted you down and not let you have the chance to encounter the World Tree and leak intelligence. I believe your companions would have been very happy to expose your route. After you had died, I would have sent you to the Underworld to serve the war forever. “However, I’m very satisfied with your return, so I won’t kill you. But I still need to send an unstable factor like you to the Underworld, but I promise that after the war ends, I will remove your heroic spirit status and use the Sanctum Revival to return you to normal. You will also obtain eternal life in the future…”

As he spoke, Han Xiao slowly stood up, rubbed his fists, and narrowed his eyes. “I hope you can fight back. You talk senselessly all the time. I’ve always wanted to beat you up and cure your mouth!”

Chapter 1376: Violent Beating and Establishing Power

Chapter 1376 Violent Beating and Establishing Power

“What do you think Black Star intends to do, making that annoying bastard stay behind?”

The Beyond Grade As walked out of the conference room and left along the corridor. Sun Hunter’s tiny body floated midair as he followed the crowd.

Kant shrugged and fiddled with the thrusters on the back of Manison’s Lord’s Avatar. “It’s definitely not anything good.”

Secret Master looked down at the light of the enchantment tattoo and said calmly,

“I did divination just now. Dylan’s luck is dark, and there seems to be a bloody disaster.”

“Hmm, looks like Black Star is planning to teach him a lesson. He deserves to be beaten
up.”

Sun Hunter smacked his lips and chuckled.

Just as they were guessing, there was a loud explosion behind them!

Bang!

A powerful shockwave suddenly came from behind, causing everyone to stagger.

The Beyond Grade As turned around in surprise, only to see that the corridor they had come from had exploded into pieces. The conference room was at the center of the explosion, and it had already turned into a huge hole. The changes in the internal and external pressure exerted a shocking suction force, sucking away a large pile of junk. Two streams of light intertwined and soared into the sky, instantly entering the universe. The group of people looked up in surprise and realized that the psionic energy in the sky was exploding, and magic power was surging. Han Xiao was fighting with Dylan. His black robe danced, and dark blue psionic energy shot out, colliding with the spells that Dylan was continuously releasing.

“Whoa, they’re fighting!”

“Hit him hard, Black Star. I support you mentally!” “Count me in. Punch him a few times on my behalf.”

Be it the association members or the direct members of the civilization, all of them had gathered. They looked up at the two people fighting in the sky through the open hole. With Dylan’s lacking social relations, no one went up to help him. Everyone was watching the show with gloating expressions.

In outer space, Dylan kept trying to pull away from Han Xiao, but he was stuck to him. Because it was a close-range attack, Dylan could not react in time and was flustered. His fair face was punched a few times and was slightly swollen.

Dylan hurriedly took out a magic tool, and his magic power circulated along the complicated circuits. The elven secret skill was released, and thin blue and green light ribbons quickly extended out. They were densely packed, and the light rays almost solidified, wrapping around Han Xiao’s hands and feet, flashing countless elven inscriptions.

Taking advantage of the short duration of control, Dylan quickly activated the short-range teleportation enchantment. With a flash of light, a large distance was opened up, and he hurriedly raised his hand to cast a spell to construct a long-distance transportation door.

He was not willing to sit back and do nothing, nor did he want to fight it out with Han Xiao, so he only wanted to escape as soon as possible.

However, the door had just emitted a spark when Han Xiao tore apart his control spell and shattered his weapon. He then used Void Hyperdrive to appear beside Dylan.

The next moment, an elbow condensed with psionic energy slammed into Dylan’s magic shield. The powerful force instantly shattered the shield into pieces of light, and the unhindered iron elbow slammed into Dylan’s chest.

Dong!

A dull vibration spread from the point of impact. Dylan’s eyes bulged out, and he felt as if a huge force was crushing his internal organs. Many of his bones broke, his chest caved in, and his back suddenly swelled up

“Cough—”

A gush of blood rushed up to his throat, and Dylan could not help but cough out a mouthful of blood. Enduring the pain, he quickly activated Phase Void Transformation, instantly avoiding Han Xiao’s headbutt.

However, before he could use this opportunity to cast a spell, a mechanical palm wrapped in a pale white light quickly attacked him. The force field emitted by the Phase Stabilization device instantly neutralized his spell. The large hand immediately grabbed onto the physical body and held onto his throat. Immediately after, a storm of fists quickly enlarged in Dylan’s vision.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

In just a blink of an eye, Dylan had lost count of the number of punches he had received on his face. He felt as if his head had become a sandbag that someone had hit crazily. Parts of his head caved in, and his entire body deflated. Waves of shock penetrated through his skin, muscles, and bones, penetrating deep into his brain. His brain was almost shaken into foam-like matter. “Get lost!”

Dylan gritted his teeth, and his magic power flowed into his mind through a specific circuit, stimulating his mind. The dizzy negative status was cleared, and he regained his focused state. Without a word, he raised his hand and cast five instant-cast spells. Amidst the flow of magic, the five spells instantly formed a combo. A shield that specialized in defending against melee attacks was formed again, barely blocking a few chain attacks. Following this, an escape spell broke free from the control, followed by a high-level Body Immobilization spell, which blocked Han Xiao for an instant. Then, the shockwave from the explosion of magic power pushed him away, and he used a Starlight Evasion skill to slide out, pulling away from Han Xiao again. After finally getting a chance to catch his breath, Dylan quickly activated the healing magic that the elves were good at and healed his body. However, after receiving a series of heavy blows, his originally handsome face was now swollen like a pig’s head.

“Although this guy, Dylan, is annoying, he still has some ability. It’s a pity that the opponent this time is someone outside the norm. He’s definitely unlucky.”

The Beyond Grade As below watched the show while whispering

Pinnacle Beyond Grade A Mages were known for their rich means. As an arcane master who had left his name in history, Dylan naturally knew countless spells. Unfortunately, these spells could only allow him to struggle for more time and had no other use. As a peak Beyond Grade A, Han Xiao’s energy level far exceeded his.

Seeing that Dylan was being beaten up, everyone’s enthusiasm soared. If not for their status, they might have cheered loudly. If not for knowing about Han Xiao’s abilities, they would have thought that Dylan was being beaten up by a Pugilist when they saw the close combat suppression earlier.

This time, Han Xiao’s energy surged and shattered the runes of the high-level Body Immobilization spell. He summoned the dimensional army box. A black army surged out, finally showing the style of a Mechanic.

Dylan’s heart skipped a beat, and he did not dare to be distracted anymore. He quickly chanted incantations, and powerful forbidden spells flew out one after another, turning into magic artillery that bombarded the endless mechanical army. The colorful but fatal explosions burst out in the sea of machinery.

However, the performance of Han Xiao’s mechanical soldiers was already extremely shocking, and with the support of his extremely high Machinery Affinity, there was no way that Dylan could cut through them. The toughness of the soldiers was like a nightmare, and most of his attacks were blocked by the mechanical army’s shields and armor.

Switching to the Mechanic’s group fight mode, the battle entered a rhythm that Han Xiao was familiar with. Dylan was surrounded, and he could not escape no matter how hard he tried. The mechanical army, on the other hand, moved back and forth like a rag wiping a stubborn stain.

After enduring the attacks time and time again, Dylan’s aura slowly slid down from its peak and gradually weakened. He tried to open a stable transportation door again and again, but all the spatial fluctuations dissipated.

He was already an arrow at the end of its flight, struggling as he drowned in the sea of machinery. With his endless magic, he only lasted for a while.

Finally, the flickering magic shield could no longer withstand the attacks of the Apostle Weapons and shattered.

Chi! Chi! Chi!

The next moment, laser beams penetrated his body, leaving charred wounds on his body, and turning his body into a beehive.

However, although Mages were fragile, the life force of a peak Beyond Grade A was not so easily destroyed.

Han Xiao waved his hand, and a few Apostle Weapons escorted the heavily wounded Dylan into the broken conference room. They then arrived in front of the many Beyond Grade As who had been watching the battle.

Everyone looked at the miserable look on Dylan’s face and grinned in secret. Dylan had no friends.

Sun Hunter floated over to Dylan’s head, grabbed a bunch of hair, and pulled it off. “Aren’t you very arrogant? Why don’t you talk some more?”

“He was beaten up by you. I hope he can learn to keep a low profile in the future.” Beiger shook his head.

Aurora could not bear to see him like this. She grabbed a ball of life energy and asked, “Do you need me to heal him?”.

Han Xiao waved his hands and said casually,

“There’s no need. I was just about to kill him.”

As soon as he said that, the atmosphere changed slightly, and the smiles on everyone’s faces disappeared.

They had thought that Han Xiao only wanted to teach Dylan a lesson, so they had been enjoying the show. However, now that they knew that Han Xiao wanted his life, their expressions turned serious.

“You want to kill him? Although this guy is quite annoying, it’s not enough to take his life, right?” Sun Hunter’s tone was doubtful.

Oulou agreed and said with surprise, “This guy is quite strong. Since he’s willing to join the battle, why kill him? Furthermore, you’ll have to revive him sooner or later. Isn’t this unnecessary… Don’t tell me you don’t plan to revive him ?”

For a moment, many people spoke up, expressing their objections.

Although they hated him, most Beyond Grade As did not want to kill him, not because they had any relationship, but because it involved their own interests. Although the Sanctum Revival was their lifeline, no one wanted to see Black Star kill a Beyond Grade A just because of this.

Han Xiao looked around and was not surprised at all.

The truth of the Sanctum Revival was a double-edged sword. The Beyond Grade As tolerated him because he was strong enough, but it did not mean that they had become obedient.

From the start to the end, these Beyond Grade As were all beasts that had never been tamed.

The chance of eternal life was very tempting. Some Beyond Grade As could let go of their pride, but they would not completely give up their dignity and bottom line. It was best for everyone to live in harmony, and everyone was willing to listen to his orders within the bottom line. However, if he went too far, then the Beyond Grade As would not submit to him and remain indifferent.

The purpose of participating in the battle in exchange for the revival quota was to unite against the outside world. It was a reasonable request, so everyone could accept it. However, it did not mean that the Beyond Grade As would obey all orders unconditionally. Although everyone cherished the opportunity to live forever, they had not become subordinates to be completely controlled by others.

Once the truth of the Sanctum Revival was revealed, it would no longer be a private matter but public interest in the eyes of the Beyond Grade As. It could be controlled by one person, but it could not be completely privatized.

If they wanted to use this channel to gain absolute control over the Beyond Grade As, the result would most likely be the Beyond Grade As working together to snatch the Sanctum Revival control.

They could either fight alone or rope in a group of Beyond Grade As to deal with the rebels. This way, it would be the route of the Celestial Star Alliance.

Han Xiao was well aware of this, and he did not plan to control everyone.

“Dylan has destroyed the internal unity many times, so he’s an unstable factor. This time, he brought others to leave the association, which has already proved his instability. What if he had accidentally leaked the information? Seeing that he took the initiative to come back, I’ll reduce his responsibility. However, for the sake of the war, I plan to send him to the Underworld temporarily and let him enjoy the normal revival treatment after the war ends.

Everyone, please bear witness to prevent me from going back on my word in the future.”

Hearing this, everyone quietened down and exchanged looks.

They were against killing for no reason, but at the same time, they felt that Black Star’s words made sense.

Thinking back to Dylan’s performance, letting this foul-mouthed guy enter the Underworld for a while might be a good choice. The world would be quite peaceful. Thinking of this, everyone retreated and did not stop him.

Seeing this, Dylan was in complete despair. He coughed out a large mouthful of charred blood, and his aura withered.

“Since no one has any objections, I shall take action.”

Han Xiao turned around and signaled the troops.

Puchi!

The next moment, Psionic Prime’s spear stabbed the back of Dylan’s head and destroyed his last chance of survival.

Hila immediately raised her hand to capture Dylan’s soul, then disappeared from where she was with Aurora. They entered the Underworld and transformed Dylan’s spirit body.

Han Xiao looked at Kasuyi, pointed at the hole in the ceiling, and said, “Don’t forget to get someone to fix the conference room.”

With that, he changed into King and teleported away.

Seeing the mechanical army dragging away Dylan’s corpse, the Beyond Grade As present were all shocked.

After thinking about it for a while, everyone felt that Black Star was deliberately killing Dylan in front of them to show his might. Black Star’s hidden intent was that although he did not want to use the revival quota to control the Beyond Grade As, he did not want them to think that they could do whatever they wanted with the Sanctum Revival. He was not going to pay for the mistakes of others.

Originally, they had received the unlimited revival quota promised by Black Star through participating in the battle, and they were all very excited. Now that they had finally calmed down, some dangerous thoughts that had been sprouting in their minds were put on the reins.

The group composed themselves and dispersed.

In the Underworld Dimension.

Dylan’s soul was suspended midair, Hila and Aurora were manipulating the power of the Underworld and continuously pouring it into Dylan’s body to modify the form of his spirit body. Meanwhile, the Nine Great Hero Spirit Kings were watching from the side.

With a flash of light, Han Xiao teleported over. The moment he appeared, he attracted Dylan’s furious gaze.

“Black Star! I took the initiative to return and join the battle, but you killed me. You and I are irreconcilable!”

Dylan cursed and gritted his teeth. Han Xiao did not mind and clicked his tongue. “You looked like you were half dead just now, but you look very energetic after your death.”

“You’re shameless! You’re shameless! I believe you’re really blind! I…”

Before he could finish, Hila silenced him with an expressionless face.

Han Xiao shrugged, turned to look at Sorokin and the others, and said, “This guy will be the tenth Hero Spirit King in the future. Teach him a little more and let him reflect on what it means to cause trouble with words.”

With the rise in seniority, Sorokin was in a good mood.

“How strong is this guy?”

“Peak Beyond Grade A Mage, once the Elf Race’s Holy King. His combat strength is quite good, and you might not even be his match. He is just a little bit weaker than me,” Han Xiao said casually.

“The quality of the rookies this time is not bad,” Sorokin replied.

Han Xiao ignored him and turned to look at the roaring Dylan.

This way, the Underworld Hero Spirit Kings would become one of the Ten Great Generals. With such a ‘lively’ fellow, Sorokin and the others’ lives would be more ‘colorful’.

Without looking at the Heroic Spirit Modification Ceremony of the two sisters, Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at the mission list. Dylan’s Beyond Grade A Challenge Mission was shining brightly. “Mage… I wonder what abilities I can draw…”

Chapter 1377: Shaken; A Ridiculous Ability

Chapter 1377 Shaken; A Ridiculous Ability

On the other side, the direct Beyond Grade As left the venue together, still thinking about how Dylan had died.

“Black Star is really domineering. He killed a peak Beyond Grade A just like that.”

Reeve clicked her tongue and snorted.

“He wants to set a good example. It’s quite unlucky for Dylan to have been chosen to establish dominance, but he deserves it.”

Clotti looked straight ahead and said with a calm tone.

“I saw those revivors running away in fear just now. Isn’t Black Star afraid of scaring them away?”

“If they run again, they’ll have to follow in Dylan’s footsteps. Also, will they be willing to leave?”

Clotti shook his head.

This time, Oulou rubbed his chin and said with a worried expression,

“Black Star is in control of this channel and has tied up almost all the Beyond Grade As with his benefits. The power of the association can no longer be restricted, and the problem of the Beyond Grade A imbalance can no longer be solved…”

Hearing this, many of the direct descendants were worried about the future of the three Universal Civilizations.

SSU

It was the war period now, so Black Star provided recovery services to the advanced civilizations. However, in the long run, if they could get rid of the pressure from the foreign enemies, they did not know if Black Star would still be willing to sell the recovery slots. At that time, they might lose the benefits of the Sanctum Revival, and the difference in strength between them would only grow.

Now that the association had an independent political position and astonishing strength coupled with the contributions and reputation of participating in the war, it was very difficult for the three Universal Civilizations to do anything else. They had dug a grave for themselves and even if they had tears in their eyes, they had to jump into it. No one knew how the upper echelons would deal with such a behemoth of an organization.

“The only way to break out of this situation is probably to develop the Sanctum Revival. It’s a pity that I don’t know how long it will take.”

Oulou sighed.

The Sanctum Revivals now had a fatal attraction, and some direct descendants in the crowd were tempted. After all, the treatment of the two was worlds apart.

While everyone was worried, Hilbert did not say a word, but his eyes constantly twinkled.

As a ‘retiree’ who had completed his ‘military service’ and felt that he had fulfilled his duty to the three Universal Civilizations, he was very interested in the treatment of the association. When compared to the benefit of the Sanctum Revival, the ‘retirement treatment’ that he had paid using his life was worth nothing

Although he had the patience to wait for the three Universal Civilizations to come out with their own Sanctum Revival, with his understanding of the three Universal Civilizations, he knew that it would not be a free lunch. In his opinion, the three Universal Civilizations would probably set some terms as restrictions, such as continuing to serve the civilization.

However, this would only work in an ideal situation where there were no competitors. Now that there were relaxed revival rules of the association for comparison, Hilbert felt that even if the three Universal Civilizations managed to revive the Sanctum, they would most likely have no choice but to reduce the price. They would not dare set conditions that were too harsh since the existence of the association would force them to increase the benefits for their descendants.

With this in mind, Hilbert glanced at everyone with a disapproving look.

It was really funny. These people were still here “worrying about the country and the people” but did not know that the existence of the association was also their blessing.

“Struggling for the interests of the entire Beyond Grade A class… he has been carrying out the purpose of the association.”

Hilbert’s eyes flickered with admiration.

Since he had already ‘retired’, joining the association was not a bad choice…

Two days later, in the Army Commander’s office.

Han Xiao sat on his large chair, casually scrolling through the virtual screen to check the reactions of the Beyond Grade As in the past two days. He was quite satisfied. After he revealed the truth about the Sanctum Revival, the morale of the Beyond Grade As was high. They were originally a little relaxed, but now, they were even more determined, and their fighting spirit was unprecedentedly high. Even their training had improved a notch.

“Although this kind of cohesion can only be triggered through such a request, it’s enough.”

Han Xiao knocked on the armrest of the chair, deep in thought.

He did not pursue the so-called absolute control but only wanted to achieve his goal. Therefore, he did not have any intention of ‘taming’ a portion of the Beyond Grade As. Up till now, he had already made his stance clear through his actions. With the benefits that he had offered, there was no need for him to use any more methods.

Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and chuckled.

“This should be the most united Beyond Grade A group in history. If only we could always be united.”

As he spoke, he shook his head and laughed. After all, it was an unrealistic fantasy. They were divided internally and had different ideals. Only benefits were eternal. It was destined that only benefits could bind everyone to a place. …Oh, not everyone. Almost all the surviving Beyond Grade As had been attracted over, but there were still exceptions. The Avengers from Pangon had never contacted the Holy Accord and did not say that they had returned to participate in the battle. Their civilization had been destroyed, and their hatred was much deeper than Dylan’s. They had long decided to sacrifice their lives for revenge. Although the Sanctum Revival was tempting, it would not make them give up on revenge.

The main reason was that they knew that as long as they did not give up on revenge, Black Star would not revive them to let them continue causing trouble. Pangon did not want to come back and implicate the association, so he simply ignored them.

The front line did not lack these few combatants, and Han Xiao did not want to revive these troublesome fellows, so he let them be. He did not call them back on purpose, not wanting to give them a way out.

“Tsk, they’re pretty ‘firm’ about their ideals. Hopefully, you guys can keep it up.”

Han Xiao curled his lips.

These avengers had set their sights on their goal and were not ‘tempted’ by the Sanctum Revival. However, with Han Xiao’s position, he no longer had any admiration for them. Everyone had their ambitions. The choices of Pangon and the others as well as Dylan did not matter to him.

He was satisfied that these people were sensible and did not bring him any trouble.

Sitting in this position, he had too many responsibilities. He did not have the time to indulge others in war, class benefits, and dealing with the three Universal Civilizations. Everything had to be focused on the goal. Whoever caused trouble for him, he would not hesitate to stop them. All the difficulties and reasons were meaningless. Why should he understand other people’s difficulties if they would not understand him first?

Therefore, for the past two days, Dylan had been cursing and swearing in the Underworld, but Han Xiao could not be bothered to talk with him.

Previously, Han Xiao had deliberately promised to let him go in front of everyone and get them to monitor him before deciding how to deal with him. This had given him hope, so no matter how he behaved, as long as Han Xiao could hold on to this point, the former would have no choice but to do his job obediently.

However, this guy has provided me with an interesting ability… Han Xiao calmed himself down, opened the interface, and looked at the skill list with a weird expression.

Two days ago, he had already settled the mission reward. Perhaps it was because Harrison had spent all the luck that he had accumulated over this period, but he did not get anything good from touching the ‘backup Feidin’ this time. They were all ordinary skills, except for one…

(Taunting Habit): After you activate the skill, it will be easier for the other party to misunderstand your language. -50% increase in Favorability, +100% decrease in Favorability. When you communicate with the enemy in battle, the enemy will have a higher chance of targeting you. (Judgement probability depends on Charm, Luck, and Favorability. The lower the related stats, the easier it is to become the target of hatred). No Energy consumption, buff lasts for 3 minutes each time you activate before it can be deactivated. No cooldown.

“No wonder this guy is so annoying. He probably never turned this skill off before, right?”

Every time he saw this ability introduction and thought about Dylan’s daily performance, Han Xiao could not help but ponder.

Was it because of Dylan’s habit of having a foul mouth that resulted in this ability, or was it because of this ability that caused Dylan to have a foul mouth? This was a question of whether the chicken or the egg came first.

Putting these factors aside, Han Xiao was quite satisfied with the effect of the skill.

The Taunt skill was not a common skill but was rather rare in the Star Sea. The biggest difficulty for players to fight a BOSS was that intelligent beings did not have a rigid aggro system. If they wanted to pull monsters, they could only use tactical cooperation. There was no rough and simple taunting method. The most common ability to attract aggro was the mental guidance of Mages or Psychics, hinting to the enemy which targets they wanted to hit, but it was often rendered immune due to the BOSS mental resilience.

“There really are all kinds of strange things in the vast universe. Even chatting can create some decent skills… I have to use my skills more in the future.”

Han Xiao raised his brow.

My style is becoming more and more like a qualified MT. I feel that if this goes on, my Galaxy Chief Mechanic title will change to become the number one tank in the universe!

Chapter 1378: For The Lucky, Even Their Advanced Missions Are Different

On the other side, in the Super Star Cluster conference room.

“The Sanctum Revival… What a terrifying power. Hehe, the three Universal Civilizations are probably in a terrible state.”

Compared to the heavy atmosphere of the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders, the Super Star Cluster leaders were overjoyed. As the rulers of the explored universe, the three Universal Civilizations were hostile to all existences that could shake their rule. As the pursuers, the Super Star Cluster Alliance hoped for some factors that would affect the current status quo to appear.

Originally, Black Star had only relied on the one-time Sanctum Revival to bring the association to such a level. Now that he had finally shown the true effect of the Sanctum Revival, the Beyond Grade A Association instantly became many times more difficult to deal with. The more unhappy the three Universal Civilizations were, the happier the Super Star Cluster Alliance would be.

“Black Star obtained an independent political position from the three Universal Civilizations, akin to that of an advanced civilization. With Black Star’s strength and the association’s strength, the galactic society might be able to form a stable tripartite structure in the future. We, the three Universal Civilizations, and the association will balance each other. This is good news for us.” The leader of the Star Arc Civilization breathed out in relief.

“It should be the Pseudo version of the Tripartite. We still have a ways to go before we can catch up to the three Universal Civilizations, but the association has the Sanctum Revival, and we have a lot of resources. If we cooperate more closely, we won’t have to fear the suppression of the three Universal Civilizations. The galactic society is no longer under their control, “Someone corrected with a smile.

One of the Modo Three Kings said with a depressed voice, “It’s too early to say all this. The premise is that the three Universal Civilizations win this war. Otherwise, all of this will be empty talk.”

“That’s true. With the enemy before us, we can’t celebrate too early.” Someone nodded in agreement.

At this moment, the leader of the Star Arc Civilization knocked on the table, before speaking out.

“In about eleven years, the World Tree will attack the mainland. At that time, we will see if we should evacuate the explored universe. This period is enough for us to make preparations and keep it a secret. Don’t let anyone know of our plan.”

Hearing this, everyone nodded.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance had always been considering the possibility of migrating with the help of the war. This was a plan that they had long decided on. During the interception war, they had secretly started to build secret stargates in their respective civilizations, connecting them to the Super Star Cluster Civilizations at the border. Once they started to migrate, they would be able to directly arrive at their departure point from their capital territories. At the same time, they used taking refuge as an excuse to gather most of the population and manage. As long as they started the plan, they would be able to migrate everyone efficiently. A large number of resources were also secretly stored, and some of the shipyards under them had been secretly mass-producing starships during the interception war to prepare for the long-distance migration.

Everything was in full preparation. The Super Star Cluster Alliance had planned to start after the World Tree invaded their territory. They would observe the situation and decide if they wanted to escape.

“If the three Universal Civilizations are defeated, Black Star and the others will not be destroyed together with them. They will retreat. At that time, we might have a chance to take over the Beyond Grade A Association…”

Someone whispered.

The leader of the Star Arc Civilization rubbed his finger and shook his head. “Hmm, you can’t say that. If we migrate to another area we will become the new ruler. An existence like the association will also become a threat to us. Therefore, if the three Universal Civilizations explode, it’s best that we don’t contact the association. It’s not bad to live our own lives.”

He sounded like he was saying, “Let’s split our luggage and go our separate ways. You go back to your Quicksand River, and I go back to my hometown.” Everyone could not help but laugh.

Although they were envious of the Beyond Grade As and the Sanctum Revival channel of the association, they knew that they would not have the chance to obtain such benefits.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance did not have the confidence and base strength of the three Universal Civilizations, and they were even more afraid that the Beyond Grade A Association would take over their territory. After all, their strength was weaker than the three Universal Civilizations. If they entered a migration period without any rules or regulations, the Beyond Grade A groups that could continuously revive would have the power to overthrow their regime. Therefore, if everyone had to evacuate one day, then parting ways would make them feel more at ease.

“Speaking of which, Black Star is truly a talent. He successfully fooled the three Universal Civilizations, and the current situation we see now has his shadow behind every step. In just a few decades, the Beyond Grade As already possess such strength, breaking the stalemate. It’s not an easy task.”

The leader of the Star Arc Civilization sighed softly, his tone filled with admiration and fear.

Although their relationship with Black Star often changed, from a personal perspective, the leader of the Star Arc Civilization and most of the Super Star Cluster leaders present mostly admired Black Star.

Everyone had carefully read Black Star’s file. If they had not witnessed everything with their own eyes, they would never have imagined that a bumpkin from the surface civilization would rise from the bottom and reach the top in just a hundred years.

It was a pity that such a person was not born in their civilization. If not for the fact that Planet Aquamarine was under Black Star’s protection, they would have dissected this planet to see why there were three Beyond Grade As.

The leader of the Star Arc Civilization changed into a more comfortable position and sighed. “I don’t have any hopes for the association now. I just hope that they can sell us more revivals… Speaking of which, the Sanctum revivals are unlimited. Will Black Star lower the price for us now?”

Everyone tilted their heads and pondered.

At the training base, the Calamity Grade combat training ground.

Energy surged, and light flashed. Five figures surrounded Hadavy. All kinds of attacks landed on his body and exploded into light fragments. They could only leave faint marks on his tough body and could not break through his defense.

The continuous sound of explosions mixed with Hadavy’s laughter.

“Hahahaha-useless, useless, useless! Your attacks are nothing compared to His Excellency Black Star’s Apostle Weapons. There’s no way they can break through my defense!”

Just from the tone of his voice, it sounded like he was fighting against five Calamity Grades alone. However, upon closer inspection, the five Calamity Grades were beating Hadavy up like a rubber ball.

On the spectator stands in the sky, many Calamity Grades looked down at the trembling training ground with strange expressions.

“He can still be so arrogant after being beaten up. Looks like he has learned the essence of what makes up the Army Commander.”

“This guy is indeed the Black Star Guard that has followed His Excellency Black Star for decades.”

Everyone chatted casually.

The Black Star Army had once harvested hundreds of Beyond Grade A seeds, and most of the spectators were members of the army. However, not only were they watching the show, but they were also waiting to beat Hadavy up.

After decades of training by Han Xiao, Hadavy’s Esper Ability had been developed to an astonishing level. He was used to being beaten by a Beyond Grade A Apostle Weapon, and normal Calamity Grade attacks were nothing to him. Even the weaker Calamity Grades would be able to break through his defenses.

Thus, Hadavy became a human sandbag in the training base. Many Calamity Grade students were willing to use him to test how far away they were from the Beyond Grade As. As long as they could beat Hadavy to the point that he screamed, it would mean that they were half a step away from the Calamity Grade.

The beating lasted for quite a while, and the five attackers stopped while panting. Hadavy immediately got up from the ground and pretended to pat the non-existent dust on his body. He shook his finger at the five of them and snorted.

“That’s it? I don’t feel anything yet. Let’s practice a little more and try to make me feel like dying next time.”

“Why do you always say such ambiguous words?” A Calamity Grade wiped his sweat and could not help but complain, “Is this the organizational culture of your Black Star Army?”

“A crooked stick will have a crooked shadow,” another person agreed.

“Horsing around is one thing, but spouting nonsense is another. Don’t joke about my dear Army Commander,” Sylvia, who was participating in the siege, said to her friend.

Hearing this, Hadavy looked at her and patted his chest.

“You quit your job as Chief Administrative Official, and you’ve been training behind closed doors for so long. Why haven’t you made any progress? I think you’d better not waste your time training here. You definitely won’t become a Beyond Grade A.”

Hearing this, Sylvia turned her head and said with a face full of disdain, “You have the cheek to say that about me. With your single ability, even if you become a Beyond Grade A, you will still be at the bottom.”

“At the very least, I have the ticket to immortality.”

Hadavy looked like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water. Ever since the truth of the Sanctum Revival was revealed, such words could no longer hurt his heart.

To enjoy the revival of the Sanctum, he did not even play his favorite Wayne Cards anymore. Lagi had called him a few times, but he had rejected him.

Speaking of which, the number of people playing cards had decreased by 99% recently. Only Lagi was still pulling people in, but the frequency had also decreased. People often saw Lagi training in the magic training ground as well. His training duration had increased by ten times!

This was a sight that was hard to come by in ten years. Many of the officers who knew him were shocked and felt encouraged.

Even Lagi was working hard, what right do you have to be lazy?!

This time, a few more Calamity Grades jumped down from the sky and landed on the ground. “Alright, stop chatting. We’re still queuing. It’s our turn. Hadavy, do you want to take a break?”

Hadavy patted his chest and said in a booming voice,

“What are you resting for? These people are useless. I’m still thirsty. Come, face me!”

“I told you not to be ambiguous!”

The group roared.

While the Calamity Grade Supers were sparring, Feidin, who was deep in training, suddenly opened his eyes. A gleam flashed past. In that instant, it was as if some invisible boundary had been broken. A deep shiver from the depths of his cells started from his brain and slowly spread through his entire body inch by inch as if every cell was crying out in joy and desire.

Immediately after, the cells in his body started to stir, like water that was being heated up. “This feeling… I’m going to be promoted?!” Feidin was pleasantly surprised. He could not be wrong about this feeling of being elevated to the next level. However, the feeling this time was different from the previous Promotions. This time, it was dozens of times stronger, causing his body to tremble uncontrollably. His psychic energy also gushed out uncontrollably, sweeping around the room like a storm.

At this time, the Soul Swapper on him suddenly sensed something and began to vibrate at a high frequency. Black ripples appeared on the Soul Swapper. The Soul Swapper was contaminated with Psychic energy, and a subtle fusion was formed. The originally formless and colorless Psychic energy seemed to have been drawn to the edge of the Soul Swapper, and as if being traced out, the edges turned black.

Before Feidin could even react, he realized that his psychic energy seemed to have reached into an unknown realm, and countless voices began clamoring from his soul.

“Ah!”

Feidin cried out in pain, feeling as though his head was about to explode.

Amid the pain, a piece of information appeared in his mind. He realized that he had sensed an unknown existence, and a strong intuition was guiding him. The path to ascension was here.

It was a pity that Han Xiao did not see it at the moment, or else he would have sighed. He was very familiar with this rare treasure!

As expected of a child blessed by the heavens, even the Promotion Mission was different from the others. If he was here, he would have to interview Feidin and see what it was like to be one of the three thousand faces of the Goddess of Luck.

Chapter 1379: Opportunity for Sublimation, Soul Terminal

Chapter 1379 Opportunity for Sublimation, Soul Terminal

“You said that not only did you sense the opportunity of sublimation, but the Soul Swapper also changed causing your psychic power to mutate?”

In the private workshop, Han Xiao turned around and looked at Feidin with a strange expression.

“That’s right, I’m also very surprised. The Soul Connection level has increased by a level, and part of the Soul Swapper’s characteristic is added to my Psychic powers. In addition, I can vaguely sense the existence of a secondary dimension, and my intuition leads me there.”

Feidin shook his head in resignation.

What’s with that helpless expression of yours? Why do you find it so troublesome when you’ve had a fortuitous encounter? Is this what it means to be favored by the heavens? How beautiful.

Han Xiao said in his mind.

Speaking of which, he had used (Bold Explorer) to look at the origin of the Soul Swapper before, and it was not that rare. It was an artificial product, but it might have formed a connection with a secondary dimension when it transformed into a Space Wonder.

He guessed that once a suitable person touched the Beyond Grade A sublimation, they would be able to activate this hidden benefit. The possibility was quite high.

No wonder the Soul Swapper was so eager to be pampered by Feidin. It turned out that it was because it saw the opportunity to unlock its new form in Feidin.

Han Xiao then poked Feidin. Feidin’s main purpose for coming to report was to accept his ‘physical examination’.

The moment he poked, combat information popped up on the interface.

Han Xiao looked at Feidin and realized that Feidin had a new energy attribute that involved the soul. At the same time, he had two new talents. One was the bonus from the Soul Swapper’s mutation, which increased his Psychic Strength and other attributes. The other talent was a question mark and was still in a gray frozen state.

This was literally the scenario of sitting at home, talents descending from the sky… Tsk, what was this?

Han Xiao coughed and said,

“Since it’s your intuition that leads you to that secondary dimension, you can go over and take a look. Did you get a sense of direction or specific coordinates?”

“Coordinates,” Feidin replied with a nod.

“Oh, that’s convenient. There’s no need to spend too much time on the journey. However, most people get a sense of direction. Your coordinates should be the information recorded by the Soul Swapper. Let’s set off after I pack up.”

As he spoke, Han Xiao prepared to put away the technology he was studying and summon the carrier.

However, Feidin shook his head and rejected.

“Black Star, I have a feeling that this is my own training. If you follow me, I won’t have any sense of danger. I’ll go alone.”

Han Xiao paused and said,

“Since you have such a request, that’s fine too. I’ll give you a King, and you can bring another Throne. If you encounter any problems that you can’t solve, just ask me for help…”

Seeing that Feidin still wanted to say something, Han Xiao waved his hand and interrupted him.

“You’re my good friend. I can’t possibly let you take the risk without any backup plan. That’s my bottom line.”

“…Alright then.” Feidin smiled helplessly.

Han Xiao took out the equipment and a small carrier that was specially used in secondary dimensions. He got the mechanical assistant to bring them to the departure area. Feidin thanked him and followed along.

After watching Feidin disappear, Han Xiao looked away and shook his head. To a Calamity Grade, the secondary dimensions were still quite dangerous. Han Xiao was worried about Feidin’s safety and wanted to accompany him. However, Feidin wanted to clear the dungeon alone, and it involved the opportunity of Beyond Grade A sublimation. He respected Feidin’s premonition.

However, with Feidin’s luck, he would most likely be able to turn any misfortune into good luck. Whereas, with Han Xiao’s luck black hole, there might be some twists and turns. It would be a good thing if he did not go.

However, Han Xiao would not sit back and watch this treasure put himself in danger. He had secretly given Feidin an Observer’s Mark just now and planned to monitor the risk. After all, Feidin had coordinates unlike Harrison, it would not waste too much of his time.

ew

Han Xiao turned around and looked at the research device that was analyzing the new technology. He temporarily stopped the progress.

Every Beyond Grade A had their own training plan. Han Xiao had brought out more blueprints from the Sanctum this time, and he was researching these technologies during this period while also optimizing and raising his attributes. To Mechanics, this was called optimizing the allocation of resources. Putting the attribute points in a more cost-effective area could also increase his combat strength.

After entering the First Sanctum this time, his authority had increased to level nine, and his memory capacity had increased again. Furthermore, there were fewer gaps in the message board, but the last few paragraphs were still mostly empty.

The last time, the valuable information about the ‘Information Form Stripping Plan’ had appeared in the fourth last paragraph, but this time, the last paragraph caught his attention. Han Xiao could not help but recall.

[… The previous Iteration planned route should be correct, but because of some flaws and failures, we decided to add a controlling terminal on to reduce the processing cost of However, what will the controlling terminal become after the mutation of

In the days after he left the Sanctum, he had been pondering over this piece of information. It seemed that the last Iteration had agreed with the previous Iteration’s plan and made some improvements.

Generally speaking, a civilization that was facing the Great Reboot would not place all its hopes on the path of its predecessors. After all, the failures of their predecessors had already proved that their plans were not effective, and they could only provide some experience.

However, the previous Iteration was actually willing to believe in the past Iteration’s plan. If not for the fact that this plan had its merits, the subsequent civilization would not have made such a decision. This way, the plan that had improved the two Iterations was very valuable as a reference. Han Xiao was also secretly interested.

“I’ll have to enter the First Sanctum a few more times in the future. I wonder how much authority I need to unlock these two messages.”

Han Xiao calmed himself down, left the workshop, and returned to the office on the top floor. He first looked down at the combat training of the other Calamity Grades before entering the field of vision of the Observer’s Mark.

At the private space dock, the mechanical assistants quickly finished the adjustments in the small carrier.

Feidin sat in the pilot’s seat and recalled for a while. He then entered the secondary dimension coordinates into the navigator and started the shuttle engine. He immediately felt the spaceship tremble.

“Locking the secondary dimension coordinates… preheating the shuttle engine… activating the internal space stabilization device…”

The artificial intelligence of the spaceship kept reporting, and a large number of navigation parameters appeared on the screen.

Feidin set the autopilot, took out the Soul Swapper, and pressed it against his chest. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Not long after, the spaceship completed its self-examination before the voyage and the vibration suddenly disappeared. Feidin felt his body suddenly become heavy, as though he was pressed onto his seat by a strong force. The scene of the dock outside the window also shattered in an instant, turning into endless streams of light, and the spaceship entered the traveling mode. After an unknown period of time, the spaceship shook again and exited the traveling mode. The scene outside changed.

This was a pitch-black space with no end in sight. A gray nebula vortex with an immeasurable area was slowly spinning outside the window, right above the spaceship. He looked up, but he could not see the entirety of the vortex. He could not help but be shocked.

A gigantic white pillar of light shot out from the center of the vortex, extending all the way out of sight.

At the same time, wisps of gray airflow floated in from all directions and were pulled by the nebula vortex. It was like a hundred rivers converging into the sea, all fusing into it. This was the main material that formed this vortex.

Before Feidin could even exclaim in surprise, he discovered something special. Being in this space, his mental strength seemed to have become more active, and the Soul Swapper was also vibrating slightly.

“What is this place…”

Feidin looked around, but there seemed to be no signs of life around him. He released his psychic energy, which was too active and difficult to control, and captured a gray stream of air that passed by him to see what it was.

After checking carefully, Feidin’s expression suddenly changed.

“This is… a soul ””.

He turned around and looked at the endless gray airflow in disbelief.

This nebula vortex was made of souls ?

This time, Feidin suddenly thought of a piece of information and muttered,

“In the visions of some psychic ability users, when a living being dies, their soul might seem to have completely dissipated, but in reality, there are still undetectable bits and pieces left behind. One part will turn into the Psychic Current, and the other part will drift in the universe.

There should be some places like this in this world that—took in the soul residue from the entire universe, filtered it, crushed the residue extracting the remaining thoughts inside, condensed them into the universe consciousness, and sank them into the ‘bottommost layer of the pan-consciousness’ dimension. Some psychic ability users called these places ‘Soul Terminal’, ‘Spirit World Sanctuary’, and ‘Ruins of End’.

However, no one has ever found a similar secondary dimension. Could it be that the legend is real?”

Feidin was shocked. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this might be one of the legendary ‘Soul Terminals’.

During the development of the Flickering World, Black Star had brought a group of officers to travel around. Feidin had once met a Heart Sucking Demon from the ‘bottommost layer of the pan-consciousness’ dimension and turned it into his own nutrients to strengthen his psychic energy. Thus, he had paid special attention to this theoretical conjecture.

The three Universal Civilizations knew the coordinates of the bottommost layer of the pan-consciousness, but there were countless Heart Sucking Demons there, and they had extremely strong xenophobia. With their current technology, it was very difficult to build a stable outpost there. The Heart Sucking Demons, on the other hand, fed on the universe consciousness. Therefore, Soul Terminal was equivalent to their kitchen. The soul residue here was all ‘ingredients’ that had not been processed.

“The Soul Swapper guided me here. Could it be related to this dimension?”

Feidin thought to himself.

The effect of the Soul Swapper had long exceeded what was envisioned when it was first created. Perhaps the Soul Swapper had such a strange effect because it could transform into a Universal Treasure…

After guessing for a while, Feidin carefully sensed the gray airflow around him and smiled bitterly.

The gray airflow was the soul residue, and the center of the nebula vortex was constantly smelting the residue and ‘serving food’.

Heart Sucking Demon was a great supplement to the mind, but the side effects required a lot of time to resolve.

The soul residue was even more complicated. Although he could absorb the soul energy within it to refine his mental strength, most of his energy had to be used to deal with side effects such as split personality and schizophrenia.

Furthermore, the energy contained in the soul residue was almost undetectable. The conversion efficiency was extremely low, and the amount of energy invested far exceeded the output.

As for the universe consciousness after the smelting process, it had already removed the soul energy, and the side effects were even more violent. It was not beneficial to him at all.

“Speaking of which, this place is suitable for Hila. Her Power Of The Dead can quickly purify the soul energy. This might be her holy land of cultivation…”

Feidin mumbled to himself and was stunned.

He almost forgot that he had the Soul Swapper. If the target was only soul residue, the Soul Swapper should be able to separate the remnant thoughts and soul energy and purify it, right?

Doesn’t that mean I can absorb these countless soul dregs without any side effects ?

Feidin immediately understood and was pleasantly surprised.

Is this why the Soul Swapper guided me here ?

After cultivating here for a while, there was an 80% chance that he could advance. His intuition told him that this was indeed the opportunity to advance!

“Amazing…”

On the other side, Han Xiao, who was peeping, had a complicated feeling.

I thought that my cheat was already amazing, but you are even more over the top!

To think that the fortuitous encounter from decades ago and now would be connected. The power of the Advanced Luck Glow was truly terrifying

Compared to the Luck Glow owners who needed to rely on him like Harrison and Nero, Han Xiao felt that Feidin’s Luck Glow was the most impressive.

Not only did he have a fortuitous encounter, but he also benefited his teammates… It was not in vain that they treat you as the Chief mascot to touch for luck!

Chapter 1380: Beyond Grade A Feidin

Chapter 1380 Beyond Grade A Feidin

While Han Xiao was feeling bitter, Feidin, who was in the Soul Terminal, had already started to work.

Feidin took out the Soul Swapper and activated its ability. Instantly, an invisible suction force appeared, and the soul fragments in the surrounding area suddenly slowed down toward the nebula vortex. In the end, they changed direction and flew toward his starship.

The nebula vortex had a natural gravitational force toward the soul residue, and Feidin’s actions were akin to ‘snatching food from a tiger’s mouth’. However, this secondary dimension did not seem to have any dimension consciousness, so no one bothered about him.

Soul residue was absorbed by the black mirror in the Soul Swapper. The remaining thoughts were extracted and refined into pure soul energy.

Feidin used Soul Connection to extract the results of the Soul Swapper and used his psychic energy to wrap it around and bring it into his brain to digest. He only felt refreshed and did not have the memory or emotional impact that he usually suffered when using his psychic energy to probe others’ thoughts. He could feel his psychic energy being cleansed, and the cells in his body were cheering.

He could feel that his body was gradually transforming, like an extremely thirsty person continuously drinking clear and sweet spring water. He was brimming with a sense of fulfillment from head to toe, giving him a feeling that was even more comfortable than spiritual bonding, making him involuntarily lose himself in it.

While his body and mind were closely connected to the Soul Swapper, the psychic energy around Feidin’s body was tainted with a deeper black color, and he received a new enhancement from the Soul Swapper. His characteristics became stronger, and he became more refined. This gave him a thrill that made his soul tremble.

“Hu…”

Feidin could not help but let out a comfortable sigh. It was as though he had entered a state of unconscious cultivation, and all the cells in his body were gradually jumping toward the Beyond Grade A level.

With him as the center, a gray vortex that was countless times smaller formed, reflecting the enormous nebula vortex. The large and small vortex rotated at the same speed and in opposite directions.

After confirming that Feidin was not in danger, Han Xiao did not disturb him and continued his research.

Soon, a month passed.

Han Xiao arrived at the training base square early in the morning.

Not too long ago, Feidin had finally ended his one-month-long training, and he had already broken through to the Beyond Grade A realm. Only then did he remember to send a message saying that he was coming back, so Han Xiao waited there.

The Calamity Grade students who happened to pass by saw him standing there, and they could not help but look at him with curiosity. Not long after, there was a flash of light, and the shuttle carrier appeared out of thin air. It jumped back to the main universe from the secondary dimension world and landed on the square where the coordinates were set.

The hatch opened, and Feidin walked out. The moment he saw Han Xiao, he smiled happily and walked over.

Compared to a month ago, his aura had undergone a huge change. Just walking alone made the hearts of all the Calamity Grade students tense up, and they felt an instinctive pressure. It was the pressure of a high-level life form.

At this moment, the Calamity Grades immediately understood what was going on. They were shocked and immediately crowded around Feidin.

“Feidin, you’ve already become a Beyond Grade A “

“I haven’t seen you in the base all this time. I was still curious about where you went. I didn’t expect you to undergo sublimation without saying anything. Not bad!”

“Quick, quick, quick. Tell us how it feels.”

Feidin was surrounded by a large group of people, so he could only stop and look at Han Xiao with a helpless smile. His charisma attribute was extremely high, and his personality was the type that would not offend anyone, so he had quite a good relationship with people. Even after becoming a Beyond Grade A, he did not have the mentality of being superior to others and did not push the crowd away.

The Calamity Grades present were still calling out to their friends when they saw figures covered in streams of light jumping around the base. At the same time, there were a few transportation doors beside them. A large group of Calamity Grades who had received the news rushed over and crowded around. There were more and more people, and the scene was as noisy as a market.

Outside the crowd, Han Xiao coughed and suppressed everyone’s voices.

“Feidin has indeed advanced to the Beyond Grade A realm. He is the first student to break through during the training period. It has only been two to three months since the training started. This is a very good start.”

Upon receiving the information, everyone could not help but reveal the looks of envy as they congratulated Feidin.

A wave of congratulations instantly resounded. Some were sincere, some were sour.

Feidin sighed and explained.

“Everyone, I was able to advance successfully because of some opportunities. I’m afraid my experience is not suitable for everyone, so there’s no point in referencing it.”

Of course. When an ordinary person advanced to Beyond Grade A, which one of them did not feel constipated? Silver Shadow even went into seclusion for close to a hundred years during his transformation. Only a cheater like you could do it as easily as eating or drinking… Han Xiao thought to himself.

This time, Feidin saw the regret on everyone’s faces, thought for a while, and smiled.

“However, I can let everyone experience my strength after my Promotion. I can also replicate my senses during my Promotion…”

As he spoke, he closed his eyes and spoke softly. A melodious psychic voice immediately swept out and covered everyone present.

The spirits of the Calamity Grade students were refreshed, and they instantly received Feidin’s comprehension of his Promotion. At the same time, they also realized that the beautiful psychic voice that resounded through their souls had triggered their emotions, and they were subconsciously immersed in it.

The next moment, a sense of motivation rose from the bottom of their hearts. Everyone’s heart was filled with the desire to train. They wished they could go into seclusion and train hard right now. It was as if they had used stimulants and became rather energetic.

Han Xiao purposely let go of the mental barrier and tested Feidin’s Psychic abilities. Seeing the combat information on the interface, he could not help but raise his brows.

Feidin was proficient in the path of mental power. The fortuitous encounter this time had allowed his abilities to undergo a huge transformation. His Psychic Song had been integrated into the special nature of the Soul Swapper, and his Psychological Resistance penetration had increased tremendously. Now, he could more efficiently trigger the emotions and desires of living beings, achieving a strong hypnotic effect. Every time he triggered different emotions, the target would enter a similar state.

At this moment, everyone’s enthusiasm was a manifestation of this. Feidin used his Psychic voice to stimulate everyone’s motivation, and what appeared in Han Xiao’s status bar was the effect of increasing his efficiency in acquiring experience. On others, it would increase their cultivation efficiency!

Han Xiao instantly thought of the role Feidin could play. Although Feidin’s current level was not high and he was not good at fighting head-on, he could bring a large area of buffs or debuffs to his teammates or enemies. This was more useful than his combat capability.

“A strong support is much more valuable than an ordinary Beyond Grade A. Just this ability alone is enough to make him very popular and he won’t be at the bottom. Most importantly, he can increase the training efficiency of others without any side effects. With his help, more Beyond Grade As might be born…”

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

His gaze suddenly paused and he realized that there was an extremely eye-catching figure among the energetic crowd. His face was still scrunched up, forming a sharp contrast with the people around him.

This figure was like a firefly in the night, so bright and outstanding. Who else could it be but Lagi?

Han Xiao was curious. “Hey, Feidin, this doesn’t seem to work on him.”

Hearing this, Feidin turned to look at Lagi and was stunned.

“That’s not right. This move shouldn’t be ineffective against Calamity Grades, right…”

As he spoke, Feidin sent out another psychic voice to encourage Lagi.

Lagi’s spirit instantly soared, and he was no longer hunched. His posture was tall and straight like a javelin, and his entire aura changed drastically. He was heroic, and his eyes were wide open.

“Isn’t this effective… Hmm?”

Before Feidin could even finish his sentence, Lagi’s state only lasted for a few seconds before his aura suddenly deflated like a balloon. In the blink of an eye, he returned to his original state of being dispirited and weak.

“You…”

Feidin opened his mouth in confusion.

This kind of invigoration would usually last for a few days, but why did it disappear after a few seconds on Lagi?

He did not give up and wanted to try again, but Lagi stopped him.

“Stop torturing me. This is all in vain. Sigh, even if you become a Beyond Grade A, you won’t be able to free me. Let me rot in the corner alone…”

Tsk, what familiar trash, what beautiful Lagi language…

Han Xiao’s heart skipped a beat. He sized Lagi up and made a bold guess.

“Hmm, I think I understand now. After all, your invigoration is only similar to hypnosis, not brainwashing. It can’t change the personality of others, so the emotions that trigger different targets are also different… Maybe Lagi is exempt from this kind of mental invigoration?”

As he spoke, Han Xiao felt that he had guessed the truth.

It had to be that Lagi’s sense of worth was too f*cking firm, and the temporary invigoration would only be broken down in an instant. It was like drinking chicken soup and making up his mind to work hard the next day, but still lazing around the next day. Feidin also felt that it made sense and asked, “How about I try to stimulate his dispirited emotions and see if you’re right?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

“Better not. He’s already dispirited enough. If you add fuel to the fire, I’m afraid he’ll commit suicide on the spot.”

“…Reasonable.”

Feidin was speechless.

The Calamity Grade students received the experience that they wanted. Seeing that Han Xiao and Feidin still had something to discuss, they all left and went to train their abilities. Very soon, only the two of them were left in the square. Without anyone else around, Han Xiao walked up to Feidin and patted his shoulder.

“Congratulations, you’ve already left your name in the Sanctum. As long as I’m still alive, death will stay away from you.”

Feidin smiled and said, “My fortuitous encounter this time came from the Soul Swapper. If not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to obtain this Universal Treasure. Thanks.”

“Why are you being so polite to me?” Han Xiao waved his hand and said, “By the way, you don’t have a nickname yet, right? Let me think of one for you. Why don’t we call you Singer? How fitting.”

Singer was Feidin’s nickname in his previous life. Although his life experience was completely different this time, Han Xiao felt that this nickname was still suitable for Feidin. “Alright, let it be Singer then.” Feidin smiled and expressed that he accepted the title. He then hid his smile and explained everything that he had experienced.

Although he guessed that Black Star might already know, he still told him.

After hearing Feidin’s explanation, Han Xiao smiled and nodded.

“I understand. This is your opportunity. Even if you become a Beyond Grade A, you can still use it to quickly increase your strength. You have to make good use of it.”

“Of course. By the way, remnant souls will also be beneficial to Hila. I can only digest the soul residue with the help of external objects, but Hila has a natural ability to do that. Her growth rate might even be faster than mine. Ask her what she thinks. Anyway, the soul residue there is inexhaustible, and the parts I can digest are not worth mentioning.”

“Must be tough for you to think of her as well. I think she would be very happy to do so.”

The more Han Xiao looked at Feidin, the more he admired him, and his hands grew a little itchy.

Suppressing his impulse, Han Xiao coughed and said,

“I’m going to inform Hila now. She’s still training in the Underworld, and I’ll need you to bring her there. After all, you found this place. Without your permission, I won’t give the coordinates to anyone else.”

With that, Han Xiao changed into King and teleported away.

Feidin watched Han Xiao leave and clenched his fists. An unknown emotion echoed in his heart, and he sighed softly.

“You have provided me with protection for almost a hundred years. Now, it’s finally my turn to help you…”

Chapter 1381: Hila’s Hidden Cultivation, Experience Filled Up

Chapter 1381 Hila’s Hidden Cultivation, Experience Filled Up

With a flash of light, Han Xiao arrived at the Underworld Dimension. The moment he entered, he saw Hila fighting Aurora.

In the pitch-black sky, two enormous energy spheres, one red and one gold, stuck closely together like two connected suns. The scarlet power of the Dead pressed forward step by step, continuously squeezing the space occupied by the Life power, like a ruffian bullying a cowering girl. A graceful figure floated in the middle of the energy cluster filled with Power Of The Dead. Hila’s red hair danced in the energy surge, and her expression was calm. On the other side of the golden light, Aurora’s blonde hair was dancing wildly. She clenched her fists and raised them in front of her. Her cheeks were red, and she was pumping out all her life energy to resist Hila’s suppression.

“Eh? An elder sister bullying her younger sister, I can’t just ignore this. Do you need help? I can help you bully her back.”

Han Xiao glanced at it, raised his brows, and shouted at Aurora.

Hila turned around and glanced at him. After pausing for a moment, she retracted her power of Death.

The scarlet sun in the sky rapidly shrunk and disappeared, returning to her body.

Aurora, who was on the other side, suddenly felt no pressure. It was as if one of them had suddenly let go when the two of them were pushing each other. The life force that had lost its resistance could not help but spurt out, and a golden tsunami immediately appeared in the sky.

She hurriedly restrained her energy and slowly guided it back into her body. The golden sun quickly disappeared, leaving Aurora gasping in midair, looking like she was about to collapse.

Hila frowned and stared at Aurora with her sharp eyes. “Your control is still too weak. Rest for a while and continue training.”

Hila then turned to Han Xiao and explained,

“We’re not fooling around. Extreme pressure can speed up the growth of her life energy, broaden her upper limit, and help her increase her strength. This is one of the special training I’ve prepared for her.”

Han Xiao shrugged. He knew that this was training, so he was just joking. At this time, Aurora also turned back into her petite figure and flew in front of them. The redness on her face that she had suppressed earlier had yet to fade, and she looked a little silly and embarrassed. “I lost the last battle because I was not strong enough. I felt that I could no longer wait idly for my life force to automatically increase. It was too slow, so I specially requested my sister to give me special training. I will improve as much as I can.” “Not bad, very hardworking.” Han Xiao smiled and praised her. He raised his hand and rubbed Aurora’s head.

Aurora enjoyed it and even raised her head slightly to approach Han Xiao’s palm.

This time, Hila floated over with an expressionless face. She slapped Han Xiao’s hand away and said, “Why are you looking for me? If there’s nothing else, leave. The special training is not over yet. Don’t disturb us.”

Han Xiao rubbed the back of his hand, which had turned red from the slap, and smiled. “I’m here to tell you some good news. Feidin has already become a Beyond Grade A.”

Hila’s eyes flickered, but she was not surprised. She nodded calmly.

“It’s indeed a good thing. Please congratulate him on my behalf. However, it was only a matter of time before he reached this level.”

“Other than that, there’s another surprise for you. Feidin has found the legendary place where souls return to the dust, the Soul Terminal. He knows that your ability can devour souls to strengthen yourself, so he wanted me to ask if you’re interested in taking a look.”

Hearing this, Hila’s expression changed, and her eyes widened slightly. She finally had an emotional reaction.

She also knew about the legends of the Soul Terminal. The power of the dead was nourished by the soul, and she also yearned for this legendary place. However, this was only a guess. There was no eyewitness report of the Soul Terminal in history. If what Black Star said was true, Feidin should be the first person to discover it.

“Of course I’m interested! When are we going over?!”

Without any hesitation, Hila blurted out and instantly threw the thought of Aurora’s special training out of the window.

“Let’s go now. Feidin is already waiting for you at the training base.” “Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up!” Without hesitation, Hila took out a King suit and quickly put it on, signaling Han Xiao to activate it with Mechanical Force.

Han Xiao could not help but laugh. He also changed into a King and activated his Mechanical Force.

With a flash of lightning, the two of them disappeared.

Ten minutes later, Feidin brought Han Xiao and Hila to the Soul Terminal.

Looking at the inexhaustible soul fragments here, Hila revealed a rare look of shock and surprise. For a moment, she forgot how to speak, staring at the enormous Soul Nebula Vortex in a daze.

“How is this place? Does it help you?” Feidin asked.

Hila regained her senses and nodded. Her voice trembled with emotion,

“These soul dregs are very beneficial to me. My intuition tells me that this is the best place for me to cultivate!”

“As long as it’s useful. Since there’s no one here, you can stay as long as you want,” Feidin said with a smile.

“Thanks.”

Hila patted Feidin’s shoulder and rubbed it, repeating what Han Xiao usually did. Her eyes were fixed on the countless soul fragments, her eyes were burning.

At this moment, she decided without hesitation.

Until the World Tree enters the mainland, I will stay here. No one can take me away!

It was rare for Hila to be excited, but she felt like she had forgotten something.

At this moment, a despondent voice sounded in her mind.

“Sis… what about my special training?”

Errr, I told you I forgot something…

Hila’s expression froze, and she coughed.

“Ahem, things have changed. I won’t be going back for a while. You can practice by yourself first.”

This tone was more or less like a parent who had no choice but to coax a child when they were busy with work. It gave off the feeling of ‘you go play by yourself’. “Humph! i’ll train myself!”

Aurora shut off her mental voice.

I was abandoned just like that?

You promised to help me cultivate, but you ran away. Stupid Sister, I’m ignoring you!

The mental communication was cut off, but Hila did not care. She could not wait to get out of the spaceship.

Crash!

The Power Of The Dead gushed out, forming a scarlet tornado. It swept over the soul residue in the surroundings, crushing and disintegrating them, turning everything into pure soul energy that was swallowed into the Power Of The Dead to strengthen her Esper Ability.

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

With such an opportunity, Hila will also be on the path of leveling up. I estimate that in ten years… no, in less than ten years, a new peak Beyond Grade A will appear. When she reaches this level, her combat strength will be greatly enhanced. With her strength, as long as she grows stronger, it won’t be a problem for her to resist two or three peak Beyond Grade As of the World Tree.

He rubbed his chin as he watched this scene. He secretly nodded and had high hopes for

Hila.

Hila and Feidin stayed behind to cultivate, while Han Xiao returned to the training base and continued to train everyone according to the original plan. He began to research more on the Sanctums to the point that he was unable to extricate himself from it.

Feidin would come back every few days to give the students a buff.

Everyone was immersed in training every day, and their sense of time had become dull. In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed in the intense training.

The battle at the frontline was still going on intensely. The World Tree Army continued to advance despite the harassment of the three Universal Civilizations.

For the past half a year, the forums had been flooded with relevant information, and countless players were enthusiastically exchanging combat intelligence.

As for Han Xiao and the other Beyond Grade As, they were training at the back and had withdrawn from the frontline. They made use of the calm before the storm to increase their strength. Because they were not in the players’ sights, there was not much to talk about the Beyond Grade As in the past half a year, hence they faded into the background.

The intensity of the war was equivalent to the frequency of combat missions. Many players in the frontline who were part of the suicide squad earned a fortune. Batch after batch of players reached the version limit of Lv180. Some of the extra experience was used to upgrade their skills, and some of it went to Han Xiao through consumption in the Black Star Army.

Thanks to the high rewards of the suicide mission, the players earned experience faster, which also indirectly shortened the time Han Xiao needed to accumulate experience.

It had not even been a year, but Han Xiao had already gathered enough experience to level up to 360. His efficiency was higher than expected.

After so many years, he finally had the chance to advance again. Han Xiao did not hesitate and chose a good day to come to an uninhabited planet in his territory. He was prepared to invest all his experience to level up and reach the threshold of a new Promotion.

Chapter 1382: The Difficulties of Promotion, The Universe’s Vastness

A meteor tore through the dark universe and landed on a dark brown planet, on a barren mountain peak.

Flowing flames scattered, revealing Han Xiao’s figure. He looked down at the endless dark brown land, then looked up at the sky with the mysterious aurora and nodded.

“Let’s level up here.”

Han Xiao focused, opened the interface, and poured all his hard-earned experience into leveling up. His level, which had been stagnant for a long time, finally shot up like a rocket. The interface notifications kept popping up. [Divine Throne Mechanic) leveled up to LV41. +500 Energy, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +18 END, +25 INT. You have received 20 Free Attribute Points, +1 Awakening Point.

[Divine Throne Mechanic] leveled up to Lv60 (max).+2,000 Energy, +5 STR, +5 DEX, +18 END, +25 INT. You have received 20 Free Attribute Points, +1 Awakening Point.

You have reached the upper limit of the main class. You have triggered the Class Advancement mission-[Godly Craftsman).

(Godly Craftsman): Have over 10000 blueprints. Accumulate 100 different Universal Treasure-level mechanical equipment.

You have reached level 360. You have triggered the Promotion Mission-[God Slayer’s Trial).

[God Slayer’s Trial]: Completely kill five Beyond Grade As who possess God’s Trait Transformation, one from each of the five major classes – Pugilist, Esper, Mechanic, Mage, and Psychic.

“Wow, so ruthless.”

Han Xiao clicked his tongue.

The difficulty of the mission this time was countless times more difficult than the previous Promotion and Class Advancement. The difficulty was on a completely different level. Just the requirement of (Godly Craftsman) to create 100 different types of Universal Treasures was enough to make normal Mechanics dumbfounded. Even Han Xiao was still a distance away from this number. Although the Sanctum provided enough blueprints, he had yet to create all of them.

In addition, [God Slayer’s Trial]’s requirement to kill five peak Beyond Grade As was extremely dangerous, and there was the word ‘completely’ in it. Han Xiao estimated that the individual lifeforms of the World Tree and the Underworld who could revive could not be counted. It was most likely that the deaths would not be counted if they did not enter the Sanctum, and the targets would probably have to be chosen from normal people.

Unfortunately… no matter how harsh the mission was, he had the Mission Completion Card!

Han Xiao had accumulated some Mission Completion Cards over the years to avoid this kind of Promotion Mission. Even if these two missions were more difficult, he would at most be surprised and not feel troubled.

“These two missions are too much. Luckily, I can skip them.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief and used the Mission Completion Card seriously. The two mission names turned into a ‘completed’ status with a golden font.

He originally thought that this would be like before, as soon as he completed the Promotion mission, it would be equivalent to a successful Promotion. However, the situation this time seemed to be different from the past, and the interface popped up with an unexpected message.

LV 360 Promotion Mission completed!

You can choose to advance at any time.

Remarks: This Promotion is extremely risky. There is a 90% to 96% chance that the Promotion will fail. If it fails, you will have to complete a new Promotion mission before you can advance again. At the same time, there is a chance that an unknown mutation will occur during the Promotion. There is a risk to your life.

Recommended to complete the conditions below before choosing to advance.

In this Promotion, your life form will be extremely unstable, and it will be extremely easy for you to mutate. What may happen will not be limited to infinite proliferation, gene collapse, cell independence, and cosmic assimilation. Therefore, you will need to use certain special items to stabilize your life form. This condition will be triggered during Promotion. Promotion success rate+33.3%, malignant mutation rate – 33.3%.

For this Promotion, you will need some external help. The strength of a single person will always be limited and one-sided. You will need four Supers of different classes as assistants, and they must activate the God’s Trait Transformation of their Super system. The higher the level of the God’s Trait Transformation, the better the support effect. This condition will be triggered during Promotion. Promotion success rate+33.3%, malignant mutation rate -33.3%.

For this Promotion, you need a Beyonder’s Vestige as a catalyst. When a Super who has completed the God’s Trait Transformation attempts to reach a higher level, they might die from a malignant mutation. The life essence, soul consciousness, and core energy that dissipates during the Promotion will condense into the Beyonder’s Vestige and cannot be observed by normal life forms. Only Supers who are currently in this state will be able to obtain the corresponding perception. This condition will be triggered during the Promotion. Promotion success rate+33.3%, malignant mutation rate -33.3%.

Remarks: If all the conditions are not met, even if the Promotion succeeds, the grade will not change. If three conditions are completely triggered during the Promotion, the Apotheosis Promotion will begin. “It’s actually like this…”

Han Xiao read the messages on the interface, and his eyes sparkled.

Before today, he did not know if he would be able to reach a new grade after the level 360 Promotion. Everything was just a guess. Now, he finally confirmed that he could indeed reach the new grade after this Promotion. Otherwise, there would not be so many changes.

This made him a little excited.

Han Xiao focused his mind on his body and could clearly feel that every cell was in a ‘critical’ state. As long as he wanted to, he could undergo his Promotion anytime. However, after looking at the warning notification on the interface, Han Xiao was also afraid that something would happen to his Promotion. He looked down at the content of the three conditions, and they were all in a gray ‘not triggered’ state.

He tried to use the Mission Completion Card on these three conditions but they did not complete like the Promotion Mission. The hint was that the Mission Completion Card was ineffective on the target.

“As expected, it won’t work. It seems like there’s no way to pull a fast one.”

Han Xiao frowned before letting go. He was not too surprised. When he saw the three conditions, he had already guessed that the Mission Completion Card might not be useful on them.

The Mission Completion Card was a special item used on the interface, and it did not have a physical body. Its function was to skip the mission content and obtain the most basic reward on the interface. It would not change the external environment or create something out of thin air.

These three prerequisites required physical objects to assist in advancement. The Mission Completion Card could not change them, and these three conditions did not exist in the form of a mission.

However, the Mission Completion Card had skipped the previous Promotion Mission and saved him a lot of time. Furthermore, if he failed the Promotion and triggered a new Promotion Mission, he could still use the Mission Completion Card to pass it without spending any energy. Of course, it was best to complete the Promotion in one go. Han Xiao naturally did not want to fail. Since he could not take a shortcut to break through to the new level, to increase the safety of his Promotion, he could only focus on studying the three conditions carefully. Very soon, he had some ideas.

The first requirement was a special ‘stabilizer’. It was probably because this Promotion would result in a life form reorganization, which was more intense than the past Promotions, which was why it was ‘extremely unstable’. It was like melting a piece of steel and casting it into another shape, requiring a mold.

Han Xiao had a few ideas about this. Special items in the Information Form could be used as ‘molds’, but they would most likely require Universal Treasures. Normal Information Form objects might not work.

The other choice was to obtain the enhancement of some Universal Treasures with the ‘Stable’ trait. Han Xiao knew of a ready-made one, which was the church’s National Treasure with the ‘Unbreakable’ trait. It should be able to achieve similar effects.

“However, this thing is on Wuornos, and it’s a precious treasure of the Arcane Church. I wonder if they’re willing to temporarily lend it.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

The second condition was that he needed the help of the other four peak Beyond Grade As to advance.

If it was a civilization with insufficient individual strength, they might not even be able to gather enough people. However, the three Universal Civilizations should be considered prosperous in the universe, so there were enough strong people to choose from.

With his connections and the Sanctum’s cohesiveness, it was not difficult to find four assistants. This should be the easiest of the three conditions.

However, the meaning of cooperation revealed by this condition made Han Xiao feel a little emotional.

Having grown to this stage alone, it seemed like this was the limit. Advancing seemed to no longer be a matter of one person. If one wanted to become a stronger individual, they needed more external help. The development of civilization also affected whether an individual could advance further.

In the vast universe, a person’s strength was ultimately limited. Without external help, it would be very difficult to continue moving forward.

“So there is a limit to individual life forms?”

Han Xiao shook his head.

In addition, the requirement of gathering the other four classes also reminded Han Xiao of a saying from his previous life, which was that the five Super systems represented the five aspects of the true ‘God’.

The Pugilist class represented the ‘divine body’, the Psychic class represented the ‘divine soul’, the Mage class represented the ‘divine authority’, the Esper class represented the ‘divine ability’, and the Mechanic class represented the ‘divine weapon’!

This kind of statement was widely spread, but there was no actual evidence. However, after seeing this condition, Han Xiao felt that this statement might not be entirely false, at least there was some connection.

“Could it be that the new level combines the five elements?”

This thought subconsciously flashed past Han Xiao’s mind, but he quickly shook his head and denied it. He felt that he was wrong.

The difference in the Energy Attributes of the five major systems was unlikely to be broken. Even if he broke through to the level of a ‘True God’, he would probably be a Specialist, so it should be impossible for him to be omnipotent.

Compared to the other four classes, he felt that the Mechanic class that represented the ‘divine weapon’ seemed to be special.

The development history of every civilization was the advancement history of tool evolution. This represented the fire of wisdom and the sprout of civilization. To a certain extent, knowing how to use tools was the biggest difference between intelligent life and wild beasts, and to the so-called ‘Gods’, it probably had a similar meaning.

If ‘God’ only used the power of the other four elements to fight, they would not be too different from fighting with their bare hands. At most, their moves would be different, and only magic and Esper abilities would have some special effects. However, using the so-called ‘divine weapon’ was equivalent to an ordinary person picking up a sword or firearm. The threat was completely different.

For example, if there were two max-level heroes-one unequipped, and the other fully equipped with ultimate equipment. Even if their skills were different, their strength would not be on the same level at all. In the many fairy tales that Han Xiao had read in his previous life, the status of ‘magical equipment’ was extremely high. It even represented one’s strength, especially when it came to the primitive worlds.

In his opinion, the ‘divine weapon’ represented by the Mechanic class was most likely such a concept. Otherwise, the advantages of the Mechanics in the later stages would not be so obvious in front of the other four classes.

Han Xiao calmed himself down and collected his thoughts.

He had some ideas about the first two conditions, but the last condition made him a little frustrated.

The Beyonder’s Vestige came from a peak Beyond Grade A who had failed to break through and died. In the explored universe where the three Universal Civilizations were located, the only Beyond Grade As who had similar experiences seemed to be the two sisters of life and death.

However, Onicelu had said that the two sisters of the previous generation were pursuing the true meaning of death, so they had actively died. Han Xiao did not know if that was an act of trying to break through to a new level.

Even if it was true, the bodies of the two sisters from the previous generation had already been burned by Onicelu like firewood, and the two Esper Abilities that held their Information Form were inherited by Hila and Aurora. He did not know if this was considered the so-called ‘Beyonder’s Vestige’. Even if it was, how should he use it? Could it be that he needed to extract their Esper Abilities?

Wait, if that was the case, if Hila and Aurora grew to this level in the future, wouldn’t the third condition be completed for them?

“Tsk. Comparisons are odious.”

Han Xiao’s eyelids twitched.

He had once tried to use the Mark of The Underworld as a medium to revive the two sisters through Sanctum Revival, but he had failed in the end. They might still be alive, or they might have held back the Information Form and integrated it into their Esper Abilities, causing them to lose the Sanctum Revival. Now, Han Xiao had another guesswhen a peak Beyond Grade A failed to break through the new level and died, would they be able to accept the Sanctum Revival?

Perhaps the information form records in the Sanctum had changed because of this, or the ones who failed to break through had survived in another unknown way, such as this so-called Beyonder’s Vestige…

No one had stepped into the next level, and everything was filled with mystery. Han Xiao could only guess blindly. “However, the introduction said that only peak Beyond Grade As in my current state can sense the Beyonder’s Vestige. I’ll go to the Underworld later to verify it. If it’s not, I’ll probably have to search the entire universe. If it’s the worst-case scenario…”

Han Xiao’s eyes darkened.

The worst-case scenario would be that there was no such thing as Beyonder’s Vestige in the current Iteration. No one died if they failed to break through to the next level. If that happened, he would have to think of another way.

In any case, he had already decided to trigger as many conditions as possible. He had to overcome all difficulties.

After all, the remark mentioned that as long as one condition was missing, it would only be a regular Promotion, and there would be no way to break through. According to his understanding, this meant that he would not be able to obtain the bonuses of a new grade, and he would not be able to pull apart the fundamental difference like a Beyond Grade A and Calamity Grade Super.

Han Xiao calmed himself down and exhaled.

“No matter what, I have to test my perception of the Beyonder’s Vestige.”

After saying that, he calmed his mind and searched for the Beyonder’s Vestige through the throbbing of his critical state.

Very soon, Han Xiao felt that his consciousness had fallen into an indescribable mystery. It was as if there was a thick fog in front of him, and blurry shadows could be seen in the fog.

After an unknown period of time, Han Xiao suddenly caught a flash of light. His eyes widened, and he finally found this feeling. The fog dissipated, and everything became clear.

Initially, he thought that his senses would be completely empty, and he would not be able to sense much of the Beyonder’s Vestige. However, the moment he entered this perception vision, Han Xiao was shocked, and he knew that he was wrong.

Buzz!

In an instant, dozens of sensory sources appeared in his perception and spread out in all directions. However, he only knew the direction and not the distance. They were all Beyonder’s Vestiges!

Han Xiao’s eyes widened in shock.

Did this mean that there were at least dozens of peak Beyond Grade As from the unknown regions in the entire universe who had reached his level before and died because they were trying to reach a new level ?

Han Xiao had mixed feelings.

The center of the story that I knew in my previous life was the three Universal Civilizations, but that did not mean that this was the center of the universe.

No matter how strong you were, there would always be someone stronger. At the places you could not see, how many more powerful civilizations were still thriving in the universe and how many things were happening?

No one in the explored universe had broken through to a new level. Was the vast unexplored universe the same?

Is this Iteration only at the early stage?

After a long time, he sighed.

“… The universe is really vast.”

Chapter 1383: Deal

Han Xiao sighed, calmed himself down, and shook his head.

No matter how vast the unexplored universe was, or how many powerful unknown civilizations there were, it had nothing to do with him for the time being. The most important thing was to deal with the current problem. The focus was still on the war between the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree.

As for the problem of Iteration, it was useless to think too much about it. He could not deal with it for the time being. “Although I can sense the existence of the Beyonder’s Vestige, I only know the direction and the distance is unknown. This is like finding a needle in a haystack.”

Han Xiao pondered.

However, the perception vision was dead, but the person was alive. It was not impossible to calculate distance. After all, the direction of the perception could barely be seen as a straight line. As long as one constantly changed their positioning, through the deviation of the perception line, one could still roughly estimate which one was closer.

However, at the scale of the universe, it was unknown how long it would take to shift the direction of one’s perception. It would most likely be based on Star Systems and Star Clusters. Although this method would take some time, it was still an effective method.

The only problem he had to worry about was that if the nearest Beyonder’s Vestige was not in the vicinity of the explored universe, it would take an unknown amount of time.

“No matter what, there are at least initial solutions for all three conditions. Let’s act according to this plan.”

Han Xiao was relieved.

The three conditions were of varying difficulties. The second condition was the easiest. He just had to communicate and activate the Face Fruit[1]. As for the third condition, he did not know how long it would take. He decided to start with the first condition and contact Wuornos.

Han Xiao immediately found Wuornos’ private number and called him. In the previous battle, the two of them had gotten to know each other through fighting. After the battle ended, they exchanged private numbers.

The bell rang twice, and Wuornos’ projection appeared on the screen. He was wearing a solemn robe as if his daily prayers had been interrupted.

“Black Star? What’s the matter?”

Wuornos asked with an emotionless tone. Han Xiao smiled but did not immediately get to the main topic. “It’s been a while since we last met, and I suddenly miss you.”

“Is that so?”

Wuornos’ expression was calm, and he was not swayed. He only looked at Han Xiao calmly and did not say anything, as if saying ‘is our relationship that good?’

Han Xiao stroked his chin and said with interest, “Speaking of which, I’ve been curious recently. As the strongest member of the Direct Line, why didn’t the church let you participate in the interception battle?”

“This is an internal secret. I can’t tell you. If you’re here to persuade me to join the battle, then forget it,” Wuornos’ tone was calm, “Do you have anything else?”

Tsk, so mysterious. Is the church worried that you will die in battle and lose their National Treasure?

Han Xiao thought to himself.

Seeing that Wuornos’ attitude was neither cold nor warm, he did not continue to beat around the bush and spoke of his main goal.

“I came to you this time because I have something to discuss with you… I want to borrow the church’s National Treasure.”

Hearing this, Wuornos’ eyes flashed, but he did not reject it immediately.

“What do you want to do with it?”

“I want to try to break through to the next grade. I feel like the church’s National Treasure will come in handy.” Han Xiao did not hide this goal.

“Oh? Are you going to try to take this step? As expected of the most talented Super in history…”

Wuornos’ eyes lit up. He was not surprised but delighted. He sized Han Xiao up and smiled.

He had always thought highly of Black Star and felt that Black Star was the most likely person to open a higher level.

As long as a pioneer took a path, future generations would be able to follow it. Whether they succeeded or failed, they would become important references for future generations. Therefore, Wuornos was very happy to know that Han Xiao was breaking through to a higher level.

“From my personal point of view, I’m very happy to help you. Maybe you can become a pioneer in the path of individual strength exploration, and I can also benefit from it. There’s no reason to reject you…”

Wuornos smiled.

However, before Han Xiao could reply, he changed the topic and shook his head. “However, the church’s National Treasure is not my private property. If you want to borrow it, you’ll have to seek the Arcane Church’s approval. If they don’t agree, I won’t be able to lend it to you.”

was

Hearing this, Han Xiao was not surprised and nodded.

“Of course, I understand. Help me tell the upper echelons of the church that the conditions can be negotiated. I need you to help me convince the upper echelons of the church.”

“…Alright, I’ll speak for you.”

Wuornos nodded and did not refuse.

Other than the upper echelons of the church, no one else could order someone like him to do things. However, seeing that Black Star was trying to reach a new level, he did not mind helping him. The two of them chatted for a while before Han Xiao hung up. The result of the initial negotiations was still acceptable, and Wuornos did not have any objections. In that case, he only needed to deal with the upper echelons of the Arcane Church.

Of course, the upper echelons of the church would not give in so easily. He had to take out some of the chips that they cared about. All he had to do now was wait for the church to come and negotiate.

On the other side, the Arcane Church, the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.

After Wuornos received Han Xiao’s call, he quickly contacted the Pope.

With his identity, he could speak to the Pope directly. Very soon, the projection of the Pope appeared on the screen.

“High Priest, what’s the matter?”

The Pope was a little surprised. Wuornos seldom took the initiative to look for him. Usually, he was the one who called and gave the order. He was a little surprised to suddenly receive the call.

Wuornos had no intention of chatting and went straight to the point. “Black Star contacted me just now to borrow the church’s National Treasure. I contacted you to discuss it.”

The Pope was slightly stunned. He looked at Wuornos in surprise and almost could not believe his ears.

“Lend the National Treasure to an outsider ? Do you know what you’re saying ?”

“Black Star said we can negotiate.”

Wuornos’ tone was calm.

The Pope suppressed his emotions and asked with a frown,

“…Why does he want to borrow the National Treasure?”

“Black Star said that he wants to borrow the power of the National Treasure and attempt to break through to a new grade of individual strength.” “New grade? You mean above Beyond Grade A

Hearing this, the Pope was shocked.

This was big news. As the leader of the current Beyond Grade As, if Black Star could successfully establish a new level of individual strength, it would have an unknown and profound impact on battle with the World Tree.

In truth, because of Black Star’s record-breaking growth speed, the three Universal Civilizations were all prepared for Black Star to reach a higher grade, but they did not expect it to happen so quickly. After all, no matter how strong Black Star was, he had only stepped into the Beyond Grade A realm for a few decades. When compared to the lifespan of a Beyond Grade A, he was too young, at the stage of a baby or a kid.

“…You want to help him?”

The Pope’s tone sank.

Even if he wanted to borrow the National Treasure, he had to seek Wuornos’ opinion. Since he had come to help Black Star pass the message, he had most likely already agreed. This made the Pope a little unhappy.

Wuornos looked straight ahead and said calmly, “Why not? Isn’t it beneficial for our side to have an expert that goes beyond the norm?”

“That may be the case, but you know the significance of the National Treasure and the threat that Black Star poses…”

The Pope paused. Although he did not finish his sentence, his meaning was clear enough.

Due to the revelation of the truth behind the Sanctum Revival, the three Universal Civilizations were even warier of Han Xiao. Although the war was the most important now, they did not want to see Black Star continue to become stronger, especially since it was an unprecedented new grade. No one knew how powerful the strength at that grade was.

Furthermore, he had more considerations. During the exploration era, after the first Primordial One successfully broke through, the other Beyond Grade As appeared one after another. No one knew if Black Star stepping into the higher level would stimulate the growth of the other Beyond Grade As, and the importance of individual strength would increase.

Wuornos did not take it to heart and slowly said, “Based on my experience, it’s not that easy to break through to a new grade. Black Star is still in the experimental stage, and he can’t succeed without failing a few times. It’s still unknown if the National Treasure will come in handy, and his chances of failing are very high.”

The Pope narrowed his eyes and did not speak.

Seeing this, Wuornos paused and continued,

“…So, I feel that lending out the National Treasure might not give Black Star any benefits, but we will definitely be able to benefit from him.”

“Then what do you think we should propose?” the Pope asked.

“What I mean is to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. It has been sealed for too long.” “Hmm… it’s not impossible.”

Hearing this, the Pope narrowed his eyes and pondered.

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter had long been frozen by Han Xiao using the Spacetime Amber. Originally, it had been snatched away by the Federation of Light and returned in a joint operation. However, the Arcane Church’s research department was also unable to unseal it. They could only see that it could not be used. Currently, only Black Star could unseal it.

Releasing this Universal Treasure was still a little tempting. This was a powerful weapon that could kill individual strengths. It was useful both internally and externally.

This time, Wuornos struck while the iron was hot and said slowly, “I know you’re worried about accidents, but the National Treasure has already fused with me. Even if Black Star has other intentions, he won’t be able to do anything. The risk is very low, and in the current situation, the chances of Black Star turning against us are very low.”

As a member of the Arcane Church, he had a lot of authority, but he rarely made suggestions and usually did not care about anything. However, at this moment, he took the initiative to speak up for Han Xiao. He really wanted to facilitate the cooperation between the two parties and observe Black Star’s method to break through to a new grade.

Wuornos was rather curious about why Black Star felt that the church’s National Treasure would be able to help him break through to the new grade. He had been in possession of the National Treasure for so many years, but he had yet to discover it had this use. Could it be that the church’s National Treasure had some other function that he did not understand?

In the Underworld Dimension, a light flashed, and Han Xiao teleported over.

At this time, the two sisters were not there. Hila was cultivating in Soul Terminal. At first, Aurora was still stubborn and focused on cultivating, but later, she could not help but go to the Soul Terminal and let Hila supervise her special training while cultivating.

Therefore, of the four Beyond Grade A officers of the army, three were in the Soul Terminal, and only Lothaire was outside, training Karlot.

Han Xiao activated the Beyonder’s Vestige vision and quickly scanned the Underworld.

“There’s no Beyonder’s Vestige here… Looks like I’m overthinking. I’ll check with Hila and the others later.”

Han Xiao shook his head and sighed.

After he finished chatting with Wuornos, he immediately came here to look for clues. He planned to start by looking around him. If the outstanding people around him did not have the Beyonder’s Vestige, he would then calculate the locations.

Beep beep beep

This time, the communicator rang again. It was Wuornos.

“He called back so quickly? It’s only been a few minutes?”

Han Xiao picked up the call.

Wuornos appeared on the screen and said, “Black Star, the Arcane Church wishes to make a deal with you. We can lend you the National Treasure once, but you have to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. Also, the Sanctum Revival will be free for the next three times.”

“Woah, three free times is way too much. I’m only borrowing the National Treasure once. This price is too high. I think unsealing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is enough.” Han Xiao did not mind the Sanctum Revival being free a few times, but since it was a negotiation, he had to fight for it.

The church’s request for the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was one of the few possibilities that he had come up with. Due to the war and other factors, he had already planned to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, so using it as a bargaining chip was just right.

The two of them negotiated for a while and quickly came to a consensus. The price would be unsealing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter and 30% off for the next three Sanctum Revivals.

“It’s settled then. Let me know when you need to borrow the National Treasure.”

“Alright. I might need your help with something else too. We’ll talk when the time comes.”

“Sure.”

Wuornos hung up immediately. Han Xiao put down the communicator and pondered.

“This guy is really efficient. He’s also very passionate about the higher levels, but he’s so enthusiastic about helping me break through to a new grade. Could it be that he wants me to be a lab rat… Heh, no matter what he thinks, as long as I confirm that the church’s National Treasure can be used as a ‘stabilizer’, the first request will be resolved. This is a good sign”. Han Xiao revealed a relaxed smile. Luckily, he had the bargaining chip of Ten Thousand Deity Scepter in his hands and never used it. Otherwise, it would not have been so easy. [1] This is a slang used in China, based on the anime One Piece that has a Devil Fruit for all kinds of skill. In this case, it’s for Face, since giving face is important to the Chinese

Chapter 1384: Beyonder’s Vestige, Remnant Consciousness Body

Chapter 1384 Beyonder’s Vestige, Remnant Consciousness Body

After finalizing the conditions for borrowing of the church’s National Treasure, Han Xiao spent a lot of time carefully calculating the distance of each Beyonder’s Vestige, but the result shocked him.

He had originally thought that all the Beyonder’s Vestige might be in the unexplored area of the universe. Because it was too far away, he could only estimate the distance. However, he did not expect to actually locate one of the sensory sources. It was very close, and surprisingly, it was in the Ancient Star Desert!

This surprised him greatly.

The most frightening thing was that all the Beyonder’s Vestige were too far away. If that was the case, who knew how long it would take. He was all prepared to go on a long journey, but he did not expect a surprise. In this case, it would be much easier to achieve this Promotion requirement.

However, on top of being happy, Han Xiao was also very curious about which brother had left this legacy.

After obtaining the location data, Han Xiao did not delay and immediately set off for the Ancient Star Desert to find his target.

Ancient Star Desert, a desolate universe belt.

This was a space zone without any celestial bodies. Suddenly, there was a flash of dazzling starlight in the distance. A stream of hyperdrive light shot over from afar and stopped in the area, revealing Han Xiao in his mechanical suit.

“The location is near here. Speaking of which, there doesn’t seem to be anything special here. Is there really no problem with the perception?”

Han Xiao thought to himself as he observed his surroundings. He only felt that this area was ordinary and did not have anything worth paying attention to. He did not notice anything unusual with normal Beyond Grade A perception as well. He calmed himself down and activated his Beyonder’s Vestige perception vision to sense his surroundings. The originally normal environment suddenly changed.

A white mist of light appeared out of thin air, slowly changing shape, floating and moving, looking very inconspicuous.

“This is Beyonder’s Vestige?”

Han Xiao was surprised.

If not for the fact that his senses were pointing at this ball of light, he would have thought that he was mistaken. The appearance of the Beyonder’s Vestige was very different from what he had imagined. He had thought that it would be more gorgeous.

He focused his eyes and looked carefully. Suddenly, his eyes moved, and he realized that the fog was actually made up of particles with a very strange microscopic form. He had mastered so many techniques, but he had never seen such a particle before. He felt a strange sense of harmony from it, which made him think of the word ‘perfect’.

“It’s said that the Beyonder’s Vestige condenses the life essence, soul consciousness, and core energy of the dead during their advancement. It’s equivalent to turning everything of a Super into this particle and retaining it in this form. This particle form might be the key to a higher level…”

Han Xiao murmured.

As a researcher, he did not touch this Beyonder’s Vestige immediately. Instead, he first recorded this particle form and stored it in an encrypted database. If anything happened during this trip, he could study it himself in the future.

After doing this, Han Xiao calmed down and let out a long breath.

“Done… Let me see what secrets the Beyonder’s Vestige has.”

As he spoke, Han Xiao reached out his hand and tried to touch the target. However, his hand passed through it as if the light was just a mirage.

He raised his brows and tried to use his energy to guide it again, but it was still ineffective. The Beyonder’s Vestige was still unaffected and continued to float.

With the attitude of experimenting, Han Xiao tried all kinds of methods, but the results were the same. Even (Bold Explorer) did not work. Only then did he finally confirm that there was no way to capture the Beyonder’s Vestige.

“It seems like even if the external environment changes, Beyonder’s Vestige will not be affected. Only living beings in my critical state can come into contact with it…”

Han Xiao recalled the experience of activating his perception vision back then. He felt the rhythm of the cells in his critical state, which was similar to meditation. His mind kept sinking into the deep sea of his consciousness.

After a while, Han Xiao suddenly felt a change. It was as if a ripple was spreading in his body, echoing throughout. It gave him a slight electric shock on the cell level, forming a resonance.

Han Xiao opened his eyes and touched the Beyonder’s Vestige once again. This time, he finally felt something solid. It felt like his palm was inserted into the core of a star, and it was extremely hot.

This Beyonder’s Vestige finally reacted. The light fog wrapped around Han Xiao’s arm and climbed up bit by bit. A suction force came from within, as though it wanted to slowly swallow him up. If it had been indifferent just now, it was now passionately surrounding him, not wanting Han Xiao to leave its body.

Just as Han Xiao was experiencing this feeling, this Beyonder’s Vestige seemed to have been stimulated. It suddenly shrank, then exploded with a loud bang. A dazzling light instantly gushed out and covered Han Xiao’s entire body.

His vision instantly turned into a white world.

“What is this?”

Han Xiao suddenly lost his sense of position and immediately tried to retreat. However, he realized that no matter how he moved, he could not walk out of this white world. The white light around him extended endlessly, as though there was no end to it.

“Was I brought to the alternate dimension?”

Han Xiao was shocked. He activated the King mechanical suit in his body and prepared to teleport.

However, at this moment, a spiritual body covered in blue light suddenly appeared from the void and floated not far in front of Han Xiao. Only its outline was visible, and the details of its appearance were covered by the dazzling blue light.

An ancient sigh followed.

“You’re finally here…”

A living person ?

Han Xiao was shocked. He stared at the blue spiritual entity and was shocked.

Just as he was about to ask about this person’s identity, a terrifying mental shockwave suddenly broke through the mental barrier and rushed into his brain!

At this moment, a sharp pain exploded from his brain and shook his soul.

Han Xiao pressed down on his head and clenched his teeth. He felt as if someone had thrown his brain into a blender.

He hurriedly opened the interface and saw that his health was depleting at an unbelievable speed. The damage notifications popped up and entered Han Xiao’s vision. He immediately understood the situation.

It was not that easy to obtain the Beyonder’s Vestige. If he wanted to absorb it into his body, he would have to endure an extremely high burden. While obtaining someone else’s inheritance, he would have to accept their ‘debt’.

According to the different causes of death of the Beyonder’s Vestige’s owner, the burden was also different. It was equivalent to the inheritor having to take the test and undergo a weakened version of the malignant mutation. It was the same type of danger as the Beyonder’s Vestige’s owner when he advanced.

This Beyonder’s Vestige’s owner died due to cosmic assimilation during his Promotion. The remaining soul consciousness had already partially fused with the universe consciousness, which resulted in a strong mental load. It contained the psychic impact of the universe consciousness, and its power was stronger than any Beyond Grade A mental attack that Han Xiao had ever experienced.

At this time, the spiritual entity finally spoke again.

“Since the impact has already begun, there’s no way to stop it. Either we succeed or we die.”

Han Xiao used all his strength to activate his recovery ability. Enduring the pain, he forced himself to focus and asked, “Who are you?”

“I’m just a product formed by my remaining soul consciousness. I’m no longer me. All that’s left is my incomplete memories and personality, as well as the obsession that supports my existence,” the spiritual entity said calmly.

“Are you the predecessor of this Beyonder’s Vestige?”

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.

He had thought that the original owner had completely disappeared, but he did not expect that there would still be a remnant consciousness. Could it be that the other Beyonder’s Vestiges were also the same? At this time, the spiritual entity shook its head and said,

“I died when I was trying to break through to a higher level, but for some reason, I did not die completely. I continued to exist in this form. So, this is called Beyonder’s Vestige…”

He did not have the interface like Han Xiao, and did not know the reason and could not explain what had happened to him, nor did he know the secrets of the Beyonder’s Vestige.

“What’s your name?” Han Xiao could not help but ask. He was still curious about which Beyond Grade A in history this person was.

“Tyrsius,” the spiritual entity replied.

Han Xiao quickly recalled and realized that there was no such person in history.

“Which era’s Beyond Grade A are you? The exploration era or the Galaxy Calendar?”

“Beyond Grade A?” Tyrsius was confused. “What’s that?”

Han Xiao was stunned for a moment before realizing something.

“Have you heard of the three Universal Civilizations? The Crimson Dynasty, the Federation of Light, and the Arcane Church…”

Tyrsius shook his head. “I’m from Planet Cree, a wanderer of the universe. I’ve never heard of the three Universal Civilizations.”

Han Xiao’s heart skipped a beat.

If this part of his memory was not incomplete, then this guy was not a Beyond Grade A from the explored universe, but a guest from the unexplored universe. The reason he appeared here was probably that the Beyonder’s Vestige had slowly drifted over after his death.

However, at this moment, Tyrsius suddenly paused and said thoughtfully, “Wait, I seem to have some impression of the Westsandling Civilization that you mentioned. I think I passed by a Star System civilization like this.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao was shocked.

Westsandling was the Federation of Light’s real name. If what this guy said was true, then he might have guessed wrong. This guy did not float over after his death, but he is an extremely ancient existence that had come to this region before the Federation of Light rose.

Han Xiao’s heart sank slightly. After receiving the Beyonder’s Vestige perception, he had a vague guess that this might not be the early stage of the Iteration, and the origin of Tyrsius seemed to confirm this guess.

Right at this moment, the mental shockwave passed its peak and finally subsided. Han Xiao immediately felt much better. Although it was very dangerous, he could still endure it with his tankiness.

Han Xiao felt much more relaxed. Just as he was about to ask Tyrsius more details, he suddenly realized that Tyrsius’ figure had become blurry. Tyrsius seemed to have expected this and took the initiative to explain.

“I died in the cosmic assimilation. If you can endure the burden, everything I left behind will be yours. When you succeed, it will be the day my remaining consciousness dies.”

“You…”

“I died a long time ago, and this is also a relief for me. The steps to a higher level are often forged by the deaths of the predecessors, so don’t worry about it.”

Tyrsius was rather open-minded.

Hearing this, Han Xiao had a strange expression.

To him, Tyrsius was just a stranger who had suddenly popped out of nowhere. He did not have any relationship with him, so he naturally did not feel anything. He just felt that this encounter was a little unexpected. He still had many things he wanted to ask this guy.

Furthermore, he doubted if this remnant consciousness would really disappear if he absorbed the Beyonder’s Vestige.

After all, one had to be wary of others. Han Xiao did not completely believe the other party’s words.

Chapter 1385: Coordinates

Chapter 1385 Coordinates

Just as he was about to say something, Han Xiao suddenly realized that a set of coordinates had appeared in his mind. It was a message from Tyrsius.

Han Xiao looked at Tyrsius in doubt.

“What coordinates did you give me?”

Tyrsius shook his head and sighed.

“My hometown is my lingering obsession. Although I was born on Planet Cree, I left very early. When I was young, I surpassed all my predecessors, broke all records, and became the strongest person in the entire civilization. My civilization could no longer provide me with any help. To pursue a higher level of individual strength, I left the galaxy alone. This journey lasted countless years.

There were no worthy opponents in my hometown. I tried to find someone of my standard in the entire universe, hoping to learn from them. In my life as a wanderer, I spent most of my time with the desolate universe. I rarely met people, but I had seen strong and weak civilizations come and go. I would only make an appearance when I met powerful Supers, other than that, I would not interfere with the normal development of these civilizations. During that time, I only focused on the road ahead of me and wanted to become stronger and stronger. Even till the day I died, I did not return to my hometown even once.

I’ve been dead for many years and have been trapped here. I did not have any perception of the outside world and have long accepted reality. However, the only thing I can’t let go of is my hometown. I have nothing to do here and the only thing I can comfort myself with is the incomplete memories of the past. It’s just that my initial firm pursuit of a higher level and the wonderful experience of wandering the universe has become fainter, yet, the childhood times spent in my hometown have become more and more clear.

Back then, I could have chosen to stay and help build my hometown, but I was unwilling to do so. I wandered for the sake of a higher goal. But now, I miss my hometown more and more. So many years have passed, and I don’t know how my hometown is now. You have inherited my Beyonder’s Vestige, so if it’s convenient for you, I request you to go over and take a look for me. The coordinates I gave you are the location of Planet Cree. I hope you can take care of them for my sake.”

After hearing his explanation, Han Xiao raised his brows with a strange expression. “Don’t you know that it’s best not to allow foreigners to come into contact with other civilizations? You don’t know anything about me. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll bring people to invade if you give me the coordinates of your hometown?”

Tyrsius smiled faintly.

“You’re the only person who has come in all these years. I’m about to die, so who else can I give it to if not you? Let’s take the risk. There’s nothing guaranteed in this world. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have fought against my sense of danger to pursue a higher level and end up dying… Also, I don’t think you’re an invader.”

“Making such a conclusion after only seeing me once is too hasty.” Han Xiao shook his head. “I can help you take a look, but I won’t promise anything. Also, I don’t think a powerful Universal Civilization needs my care.”

“You’re mistaken. My civilization isn’t particularly developed.”

Tyrus sighed.

“You can withstand the impact of the cosmic assimilation, and I can feel how strong you are. On the other hand, I’m sure you think I’m very strong, but in fact, when I left my hometown, I was far from this state. At that time, it was very difficult for me to destroy a planet, and all my strength came from constantly breaking through while wandering… The experience I accumulated should have been brought back to my hometown, giving birth to more experts, but unfortunately, I died, and all these plans came to an end.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao started to calculate.

It sounded like when Tyrsius first started wandering, his strength should have been between a high Calamity Grade and an ordinary Beyond Grade A. The latter was more likely, and he had ascended to the peak of the Beyond Grade A realm step by step during his long and lonely journey. He had felt the existence of a higher level, and he had reached this step without any experience.

Looking at it this way, Tyrsius is also an extremely talented individual, probably not inferior to me… ahem, not inferior to all the genius Supers in the history of the three Universal Civilizations.

If what the other party said was true, then their civilization should be like a remote village, not as strong as he had imagined. However, a genius had appeared there, just like how Planet Aquamarine had produced him.

If Tyrsius had managed to return to his hometown with his experience and insights, there might have been another civilization with a relatively advanced individual strength in the universe.

Thinking about it this way, the Supers born in the three Universal Civilizations were lucky. There were many strong people here, and there were many opponents that they could exchange pointers with. As for a small civilization like Tyrsius’, if they wanted to find opponents, they could only travel far away and be a lonely Pathfinder. While he was thinking, the interface suddenly pinged.

(You have triggered the mission: Shadow of the Past!)

[Mission Introduction: In order to explore the path ahead, Tyrsius wandered the universe alone and never returned to his hometown. He wants you to take a look on his behalf.) [Mission Requirements: Arrive at Planet Cree]

[Reward: 2,000,000,000 Experience, 1 Character Summon Card)

“I got a Mission…”

Han Xiao’s heart skipped a beat.

He did not know if his nature was so open and sincere, or if he felt liberated, or if he had special feelings for his successor.

Tyrsius’ figure was getting fainter and fainter, almost disappearing. He did not mind and only smiled.

“It seems like my time is almost up. After so many years of loneliness, I’m satisfied to have someone to talk to at the end of my journey…”

Han Xiao looked at him muttering to himself. Although it was an unexpected encounter, this first time was also the last. Originally, Tyrsius’ wandering knowledge was a precious channel to understand more unknown civilizations, but there was not enough time.

However, at this moment, Tyrsius seemed to have thought of something, before whispering,

“By the way, let me give you a piece of advice. If you meet a civilization called the World Tree one day, you’d better run as far as you can…”

Han Xiao was stunned, his face changing rapidly. However, before he could ask about the details, Tyrsius’ figure completely disappeared, leaving only a faint sigh. “I’ve never left anything for the civilization in my life. What a failure…”

The blue figure in front of Han Xiao turned into light particles and disappeared.

At the same time, the mental burden that was getting weaker and weaker finally stopped.

The white alternate space in front of him suddenly collapsed, and Han Xiao was left in a daze. He realized that his vision had returned to the main material universe, and he was still there, having not moved at all.

The Beyonder’s Vestige had already fused into his body and was fully assimilated, but it did not have any further reaction with him. Even though Han Xiao had gotten the Beyonder’s Vestige, he did not feel too excited about that, only secretly feeling a headache.

“To stop speaking halfway at the most crucial point, you really need to be beaten up. You should have told me about the World Tree Civilization earlier…”

Han Xiao was resigned, he had no choice and could only complain.

After all, Tyrsius did not know that they were fighting the World Tree Civilization. If not for the other party mentioning it, he would not have known that Tyrsius had met the World Tree Civilization before.

“It sounds like this guy has seen the aggressiveness of the World Tree. Maybe they have crossed paths before. Would the World Tree still remember this guy?”

Han Xiao pondered.

Very soon, he shook his head and put this matter aside for the time being. He turned around to study the Beyonder’s Vestige in his body. This was his main goal.

After absorbing the Beyonder’s Vestige, his strength did not change at all. He could only sense its existence at any time as if it was simply absorbed by his body. This vestige should only be activated during the Promotion and become a catalyst for his Promotion. He roughly guessed that regardless of whether the Promotion succeeded or not, the Beyonder’s Vestige would be consumed. This was a one-time use item.

“The higher levels require the skeletons of the predecessors… Tsk, turn into a salary and burn yourself to benefit the future generations. No matter what, I owe you a favor.”

Han Xiao exhaled.

Although he was dead, Han Xiao still remembered this favor. The next time he entered the Sanctum, he planned to see if he could revive this guy, but the chances were very low.

As someone who left a Beyonder’s Vestige, Han Xiao did not know if he had left an Information Form like the two sisters in the past. Even if he died now, he might not be able to benefit from the Sanctum Revival. Han Xiao only planned to do his best.

This time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something and smiled. “Speaking of which, in the explored universe, this is the only piece of the Beyonder’s Vestige that was the easiest to obtain. If Wuornos reaches this level one day, he can only search for other Beyonder’s Vestiges.”

Han Xiao was amused.

Since Wuornos was so willing to help him advance, he might have intended to use him as a guinea pig to explore the path, but he did not know that the only advanced material in the area was lost to him. Perhaps Wuornos did not have a notification on the interface, so he could not dig out the sensing of the Beyonder’s Vestige, or maybe he did not enter the critical state and was still stuck on the mission. Anyway, he had been practically camping below a treasure unawares. In the end, he lost that treasure to Han Xiao instead.

Feeling the Beyonder’s Vestige in his body, Han Xiao smiled. Although he was a little surprised, he still managed to obtain a Vestige in the end. It went better than he had expected. It was not in vain that he had gathered so many mascots in the army.

This way, out of the three advancement requirements, he would only have to find four pretty boys to help him.

Han Xiao’s nerves finally relaxed. He then started to think about the coordinates of Planet Cree sent by Tyrsius.

“There will definitely be risks if I rashly come into contact with an unknown civilization. Although Tyrsius said that his civilization isn’t strong, that’s all in the past. Now that so many years have passed, they might have become a powerful Universal Civilization. Furthermore, we can’t rule out the possibility of Tyrsius lying…”

After thinking for a while, Han Xiao still felt that he had to go and take a look. He could come and go as he pleased with the King, thus he planned to send out his Lord’s Avatar like a real Mechanic to take a look. He did not plan to take the risk himself.

On one hand, he wanted to complete the mission and see what would happen next. On the other hand, he felt that the civilization of Tyrsius might be a potential ally, and they might be able to fight the World Tree together. After all, the World Tree’s style and mechanism could be said to be the public enemy of most intelligent civilizations.

Two days later, in a certain Federation of Light military base in the Ancient Star Desert.

A Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was slowly heating up, and a Lord’s Avatar shell was waiting in the teleportation area. Han Xiao was watching from afar in the base with the respectful senior officer beside him.

Han Xiao’s Face Fruit had already reached the Large Success stage. There was no chance of being rejected if he borrowed the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device from the Federation of Light.

Looking at the two gigantic mechanical rings spinning rapidly and turning into a halo, Han Xiao could not help but sigh.

“Your Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device is truly a convenient invention. As long as you have the coordinates, you can go anywhere in the universe.”

“Indeed. This is the highest technological achievement of our Federation of Light.” The base commander straightened his back with pride.

“Impressive. Can I bring it back for research?”

“This… Please don’t make things difficult for me.” The senior officer was stunned and smiled bitterly.

Han Xiao smiled and did not tease this officer anymore. He activated his Lord’s Avatar.

At this time, the power of the teleportation device reached its peak. Suddenly, light exploded, and the Avatar disappeared.

wa

Han Xiao’s vision changed, and he arrived outside the atmosphere of a planet. Before him was a dark green planet. Satellites were floating in the orbit of the planet. They did not seem to have any problems on the surface, but with a quick glance, Han Xiao could tell that these satellites had not been repaired for many years. They had all been corroded and turned into scrap metal. Vegetation covered the entire surface of the planet, and with a rough glance, he could not see any signs of a civilization city. Furthermore, there were no signs of life. It gave off a desolate feeling of decline.

Only a single brown metal tower was eye-catching. Looking down from outer space, it looked like this planet was wearing a small pointy hat. Looking at the ratio, one would know that this metal tower was extremely huge when looking at it from surface level.

It looked very rough, like countless metal objects of different shapes stacked together. The structure was loose, like a huge garbage mountain.

“This is Planet Cree? Looks like something happened…”

As Han Xiao was pondering, his pupils suddenly constricted, and he quickly adjusted his vision mode. His sight expanded rapidly, and he locked onto a small black dot that was slowly moving halfway up the metal tower.

It was a robot covered in rust, carrying a metal fragment that was many times larger than itself on its back. It slowly climbed up the steep path toward the top of the metal tower. In Han Xiao’s vision, it was the only moving thing

Han Xiao controlled the Lord’s Avatar to descend in front of the robot and revealed himself.

However, this robot did not seem to notice him and walked past him. When he passed by, Han Xiao could still hear the robot repeating the same word over and over again.

“Bury it… Bury it…”

Chapter 1386: Calamity of Technology, Psionic Wave Transmitter

“It looks like a low-level artificial intelligence… no, it might also be a mechanical body without any artificial intelligence. Furthermore, its technology level is low, not exceeding the upper limit of a Star System civilization…”

Han Xiao watched as the robot passed by him. With his experience, he could tell the technology level of this robot with a single glance.

He raised his hand slightly and aimed at the back of the transport robot. A magnetic force was released from his palm.

Buzz!

The robot flew backward uncontrollably and attached itself to the Lord’s Avatar’s hand. It was unable to move, and only its hands and feet could still move. It was like a turtle whose shell had been grabbed.

A few tiny blue snake-like electric arcs followed the arm of the Lord’s Avatar and quickly swam to the surface of the robot’s body, entering its body through the gaps in the armor. He immediately read the current state of this robot. Only its basic functions were still operating with difficulty. Most of its parts were severely damaged, almost to the point of being scrap.

At the same time, the item introduction popped up on the interface, and Han Xiao took a look.

(7-5 Transport Robot]: Arthur Civilization’s common transport-type bionic robot. Low artificial intelligence, possesses strong biochemical tendons and engineering mechanical components. Has magnetic devices and simple self-defense weapons. Commonly used for land transportation.

Remark: This machine is manufactured in Meg Corporation’s Workshop No. 5 of Planet Cree. Product Number: TOV-2144687M—”Good machine, beauty pageant!” “An ordinary transport robot?”

Han Xiao was curious. He used his Mechanical Force to hack into the unprotected chip and quickly copied the logic code and memory log.

The basic codes that the other party used were not related to the explored universe, but they were not difficult for Han Xiao. He easily analyzed them and understood most of them.

A series of deciphered codes appeared in Han Xiao’s quantum network vision. He quickly browsed through them and realized that the basic logic was the transportation robot code format that had no abnormalities. It should have had low artificial intelligence, but because there was no one to maintain it for a long time, there were some malfunctions in the data, causing the artificial intelligence level to decrease. It could barely maintain the core logic and carry out a long-term order.

This order was to bury a special machine, but in the database of a low artificial intelligence transport robot, there was naturally no detailed explanation of the purpose of this machine and why it was buried.

From the data of this transport robot, Han Xiao could only see the appearance and position of this machine. It looked like the peaks of two pyramid-shaped objects were connected, like an hourglass placed horizontally. The location was below this metal tower.

The memory log, on the other hand, was intermittent. Due to the malfunction, there was a large number of gaps, and there were not even timestamps. He could only tell the time by the height of the metal tower in the transportation robot’s memory. The height in the earliest memory file was about a quarter of the current height of the metal tower. This robot was already alone at that time.

Most of the memories of the transport robot were of ‘building’ this metal tower. The other memories were of searching for spare parts in the warehouse of the abandoned factory, changing the heavily damaged parts of its body, and charging them.

“Why does this look so familiar…”

Han Xiao stroked his chin. He felt like he had seen something similar in an old movie in his previous life.

Other than these things, there was nothing else of value in this robot. Han Xiao turned off the magnetic device, and the robot fell back to the ground. The metal fragment on its back also fell to the side, following the metal tower.

The transport robot stayed on the spot for two seconds and did not bother about Han Xiao. It turned around and walked down the mountain as if it was looking for new ‘building material’, as though nothing had happened.

Han Xiao watched it disappear before looking at the interface.

At this time, the (Shadow of the Past] mission had been completed, and Han Xiao immediately calculated. There was a small amount of experience and a Tyrsius Character Summon Card. The ability was called ‘Mind Cleanse’, and its effect was to expel one’s negative status. It could only be used three times at most, which was quite useful.

At the same time, a new mission popped up.

You have triggered the mission (Secret of Extinction]!

Mission Introduction: You agreed to Tyrsius’ request and came to his home planet, Cree, but something seems to have happened here.

Mission Requirements: Find out the reason behind the extinction of Arthur Civilization.

Reward: 5 Billion EXP, 1 Awakening Point

“This civilization is extinct?”

Han Xiao was stunned.

He immediately felt that the destruction of the civilization was most likely related to the unknown mechanical device that was suppressed under the metal tower.

However, Han Xiao thought about it and did not bother. With a flash, he turned into a stream of light and escaped. Very soon, he stopped in front of an abandoned factory. It was the headquarters in the memory of the transport robot.

It looked like a large mechanical factory, but it was covered in vegetation. The surrounding ruined buildings were all covered by dense trees.

Han Xiao looked at it, and with a wave of his hand, a gale swept away the vegetation and dust on the factory door, revealing a sign written in unfamiliar words.

“This is probably the factory of that Meg Corporation, the place where that robot was produced…”

Han Xiao could not understand the language of this civilization and guessed.

He walked in with large strides and saw that the scrapped assembly lines were neatly arranged, with some unfinished transport robots hanging on them. It looked like they had suddenly stopped working.

Han Xiao looked around and realized that all the energy equipment in the factory had been destroyed. The damage seemed to have been caused by an electromagnetic pulse. The only thing that was still working was a charging station, but the wires buried underground had been dug out and connected to a small, crude generator.

He had originally wanted to see if the factory mainframe had a more detailed database, and it would be best if he could find the star map of this civilization’s territory. However, the chipset of the factory mainframe had also been destroyed and could not be turned on. Furthermore, all the data had been wiped out, and nothing could be found.

“From the looks of it, all the equipment in this factory seems to have been damaged by an impact that can destroy electrical and energy devices. They were instantly destroyed.”

Han Xiao summoned his mechanical army and searched the entire planet. Very soon, he found the remains of cities covered by plants. All the energy and electrical devices were in the same state.

Furthermore, not only were there no intelligent life forms on this planet, there were no beasts or insects to be seen either. It was as though all life forms other than plants were extinct.

In addition, in some city residences, there were bowls and plates of food on the table, and clusters of rotten clothes were scattered on the ground. All signs indicated that the life forms on the entire planet seemed to have disappeared at the same time. “What happened? Everyone disappeared overnight. It seems like that transport robot was the only survivor…”

Han Xiao was even more curious.

He turned around and returned to the metal tower. His entire body was wrapped in the repulsion force field, and he immediately entered the bottom of the tower. He walked forward with large strides, and the pile of metal waste in front of him was smoothly pushed to the side, creating a path.

Not long after, he walked to the central area and saw a pile of construction debris. It had been crushed by a mountain of trash, and there were all kinds of experimental equipment scattered around. It seemed to have once been a research base.

A scanning light shot out from the Lord’s Avatar’s eyes, and it immediately saw a large space underground. It looked like an underground base in the past, but it was also crushed by the huge weight above and filled with metal scraps.

After scanning for a while, he finally locked onto the target. The hourglass-like unknown device was pressed into the trash pile, making it difficult to distinguish it.

Han Xiao released his Mechanical Force, and this unknown device slowly floated up and into his hands. He then left the metal tower and returned to the outside world.

Mechanical Force seeped into the unknown device, and Han Xiao could feel the internal structure. He realized that he could not understand this technology, and many parts had been damaged and destroyed after being buried for a long time.

Han Xiao looked at the item introduction.

[Psionic Wave Transmitter-Prototype (Damaged)]: Function unknown.

“Psionic Wave?”

Han Xiao raised his brows and started to think.

He had a feeling that this concept of ‘psionic waves’ was not the same as the ‘psionic waves’ and ‘psionic impact’ of the explored universe. He did not know what was going on at the moment, but he could roughly guess how the Arthur Civilization went extinct. Research involving psionic energy had always been extremely dangerous, and many civilizations had been doomed because of it.

After pondering for a few seconds, Han Xiao used (Bold Explorer) on this thing. The last time he used it on Beyonder’s Vestige, the notification was that it was ineffective on the target and did not successfully cast it, so it did not enter a seven-day cooldown period.

Buzz!

Han Xiao’s vision suddenly changed, and he arrived at a research institute.

The psionic wave transmitter was suspended in midair, covered by a transparent container. There were tubes connected to it, and below it was a huge pile of equipment. Countless researchers in uniform were busy adjusting the parameters.

A senior officer who looked like the person in charge waved his hand and said something. The other researchers pushed the lever and activated the switch. Energy flowed into the psionic wave transmitter. Not long after, the space on both sides of this hourglass-shaped device began to vibrate. The air distorted like invisible ripples, but it was restrained within a small area.

All the researchers present were overjoyed.

However, the next moment, something happened!

The ripples on both sides of the device suddenly broke through the constraints, and a light blue ring-shaped shockwave spread out, passing through the inner wall of the container and quickly sweeping across the entire room. All the devices exploded, and the energy devices were instantly paralyzed. The entire room immediately turned black.

The researchers that were swept by the shockwave were all killed in the blink of an eye, turning into ashes without a sound, leaving only empty clothes on the ground. At this moment, Han Xiao’s vision suddenly zoomed out and arrived at the outer space of the planet that overlooked the entire planet. It turned into a macro perspective, and he saw a blue shockwave explode on the surface of Planet Cree, sweeping across the entire planet. The brightly lit cities instantly darkened, and countless unaware citizens turned into dust.

No one on the entire planet survived!

However, this was not the end. Han Xiao could clearly see that this light blue shockwave that destroyed all electrons, energy equipment, and life forms did not weaken. It spread far into the universe with Planet Cree as the center, quickly disappearing from his sight.

After seeing this, Han Xiao’s vision returned to normal, and the effect of the skill ended.

“As expected, it’s because of this thing. I thought that Tyrsius was lying to me, but his civilization really isn’t that advanced. They can even destroy themselves by researching psionic energy, but it doesn’t seem right to say that their technology isn’t good. The psionic wave transmitter they created is probably some kind of advanced technology…”

Han Xiao fiddled with the device in his hands in shock.

After watching the video, he had a rough idea of how this device worked.

The Primordial Psionic Energy itself could assimilate, devour, absorb, and transform various forms of energy. Once it exploded, it would expand endlessly, swallowing everything

However, the psionic wave transmitter created by the Arthur Civilization could destroy certain forms of energy without devouring any matter. It could also absorb some of the energy to maintain its own expansion. A normal psionic energy explosion was a solid energy cluster, but this ‘psionic wave’ was just a ripple.

However, there were also some things that Han Xiao did not understand. He did not understand why the other materials were not damaged, but the life forms were destroyed. In short, there were still many unknowns about this technology. “It seems to have a lot of research value. Maybe it can become an important combat technology for me.”

Han Xiao was in a good mood. He did not have any plans for this trip, but he did not expect to gain something unexpected.

He had a feeling that this psionic wave technology was more powerful than he had expected.

The (Secret of Extinction] on the interface also showed that it was completed. The normal way was to look for clues everywhere, but he had the [Bold Explorer) and completed the mission.

The experience reward did not matter. One Awakening Point was better than nothing. However, it was very easy and did not take much effort. The biggest reward was this special psionic wave technology. Just as Han Xiao was feeling happy, he suddenly heard a familiar voice beside him.

“Discovered a stranger approaching the mission target. Permission to use a stun gun!”

Han Xiao turned around and saw that the broken transport robot had returned to the foot of the mountain. It raised its mechanical arm toward him, and two firearms shot out from its wrist. Without saying a word, it pulled the trigger at Han Xiao.

Ka ka ka…

Han Xiao had long known that these two rusty firearms were useless, and they could not shoot anything at all. However, the transport robot did not seem to have noticed it, and it continued to pull the trigger in vain.

Han Xiao raised his brows, took a step to the left, and the muzzles of the transport robot followed him. He took another step to the right, and the muzzles turned around again, facing him.

Looking at the robot pulling the trigger, Han Xiao felt that it was a little cute.

“Forget it, I won’t dismantle you.” Seeing that it was not a threat at all, Han Xiao ignored it. He summoned more exploration-type mechanical soldiers and waved for them to leave, searching for other planets in this universe to see if there were any survivors of the Arthur Civilization. He wanted to find the history of this civilization as well as the records of Tyrsius’ deeds. After all, there were still many things that he had yet to understand. However, he could just let the mechanical soldiers do this for him. After all, he was a Mechanic and he did not have to do such troublesome things himself.

After doing all this, Han Xiao looked back at the transport robot. Seeing that it was still pulling the trigger, he could not help but smile.

“Speaking of which, I don’t know what kind of luck this little guy has to be able to survive the psionic waves. He might be the only survivor of the entire Arthur Civilization. Since I promised Tyrsius to take care of his hometown, I can’t ignore you…”

Han Xiao thought for a while and suddenly released a stream of Mechanical Force, which landed on the transport robot. The robot froze on the spot, and its appearance and structure changed rapidly. It gradually turned into the shape of a human, and the rust fell off.

At the same time, wave after wave of mechanical particles poured out from Han Xiao’s hands and landed on the other party’s body. The material of the mechanical suit was quickly strengthened.

Not long after, the transformation stopped. The appearance of this transport robot had changed drastically. It was covered in silver armor and had a streamlined shape. Its body was slender and long, and energy circuits that emitted a faint fluorescent light could be seen on its body. It was as if it had gone from a chibi to a realistic concept art.

“That’s enough.”

Han Xiao nodded and retracted his Mechanical Force.

He gave life to this transport robot, turning it into a mechanical life form. At the same time, he had greatly improved the other party’s body and added many new functions. He had also stored some knowledge of the Star System Civilization’s technology tree into the other party’s database. However, he did not rewrite the core logic of the other party. He only perfected the other party’s intelligence on the original basis and did not leave his mark on the other party.

With his current abilities, the first-generation Mechanical Life that he had personally modified had extremely high-performance bonuses.

Han Xiao did not plan to take this robot with him because he owed Tyrsius a favor. As for whether this robot would be able to grow a new flower of civilization on the ruins of Planet Cree after receiving his gift, that was not his concern.

Looking up at the soaring metal tower, Han Xiao had mixed feelings. After knowing the situation, this metal tower seemed to have a special meaning. In his eyes, this metal tower that looked like a building that had become the tombstone of a civilization.

“The advancement of technology is also a disaster…”

Han Xiao sighed. He then glanced at the transport robot before changing into King and disappearing with the psionic wave transmitter.

The transport robot did not seem to have noticed anything. It stood there in a daze for a long time before finally coming back to its senses. It looked down at its body, which had changed drastically, and seemed very confused.

The electric current on the motherboard seemed to have created sparks in its mind. It murmured to himself,

“What… am I?”

Chapter 1387: Race Evolution!

Chapter 1387 Race Evolution!

A few days later, in the Black Star Army territory. Five figures were floating above a desolate planet. Four of them were staring at a black-robed figure. “Black Star, are you kidding me? You want us to help you break through to a higher level?”

Kasuyi was surprised.

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

Han Xiao asked in return. After returning from the Arthur Civilization, he immediately contacted four peak Beyond Grade As and invited them to help him with his cultivation. Wuornos had agreed long ago to represent Espers. The other three classes were Kasuyi, the old dragon, and Sierron, who did not have a deep relationship with them. The Pugilist class was relatively weak at the high end, and there were not many strong people. Putting aside the Revivors, Sierron was already one of the rare cards. Although Han Xiao preferred Karlot at his peak, he had yet to grow fully, there was no need to wait for him. He just needed to find Sierron to make up for the loss.

In the past, during the Hila Rescue War, he and Sierron had some conflicts, but after experiencing all kinds of storms together with the association, their relationship had returned to normal. This guy was not a direct descendant of the Universal Civilizations and had always been on the side of the association. Now that he was also a vice president, he could be trusted.

“You can always do unexpected things.”

The three of them shook their heads helplessly.

When they received Han Xiao’s invitation a few days ago, they were all equally shocked. They did not expect Black Star to be able to reach a higher level without saying anything, opening up the path of individual strength.

At first, they thought that Black Star was joking with them, but after confirming it, again and again, they realized that Black Star was serious.

Because they had a good relationship with each other, although the three of them were surprised, they agreed to the invitation and prepared to help. What surprised them was Black Star’s method of advancement.

“Speaking of which, what can we help you with? Shouldn’t this sort of thing be done alone?” Milizaus was confused.

In his mind, breaking through to a higher level and ascending to the next level was something that one could only do by themselves. Since when did one need help?

“Of course, I have my reasons.” Han Xiao did not explain the reason, and it was difficult for him to explain.

Wuornos pondered.

“The five of us have different Super systems. Could it be that your idea is to combine the five elements…”

Han Xiao interrupted him and waved his hands.

“Why are you asking so many questions now? Since you’re already here, just follow the plan and wait for the final result.” Hearing this, Wuornos stopped talking. However, he kept thinking about it in his mind and was secretly surprised by Han Xiao’s performance.

He was very puzzled. The method to reach a higher level should be a mystery to everyone, and Black Star did not look like he had tried it many times. However, why did this guy look so confident? Why did he have such a thought? He borrowed the Church’s National Treasure and asked a few people for help…

Furthermore, attempting a promotion should be risky. Why was Black Star using such a bold method? Was he not afraid? Did he not sense the danger of this Promotion?

Various thoughts flashed through Wuornos’ mind. In the end, he shook his head and did not intend to remind Han Xiao.

In any case, this was Black Star’s Promotion. He looked very confident, so there was no need for Han Xiao to kindly remind him. He would just wait and see. Even if Black Star failed, the experience would still be able to broaden his horizons.

Thinking about this, Wuornos pressed his palm against his chest and phased through it. He took out a ball of soft white light and threw it at Han Xiao.

“This is what you want. I’ll lend it to you.”

Han Xiao reached out to take it. He looked down at this Arcane Church weapon. It was different from what he had expected. It was just a ball of light.

Its main user was beside him, so it was not convenient for him to study it closely. Han Xiao pressed the Arcane Church device on his chest, and the white light quickly fused into his body. A special energy immediately surged out and covered his entire body. He felt that his cells in his critical state immediately became much calmer.

Han Xiao glanced at the interface. The first Promotion requirement had turned golden, and it was now labeled as “Activation Triggered”.

“Then I shall begin.”

Han Xiao nodded at the others and floated a distance away before landing on the surface of the planet.

Watching his figure shrink into a black dot, Sierron turned to look at the people around him and asked,

“Do you think he will succeed?”

“If it was that easy, I would have entered a higher level long ago.” Wuornos shook his head and said calmly.

Buzz!

At this time, in everyone’s perception, space suddenly shook, and a shocking energy wave burst out from the planet!

In just an instant, the entire planet exploded into a huge hole, and the molten fluids in the core gushed out and scattered across the galaxy. Then, the planet suddenly exploded!

Bang!

Amidst the debris and light, Han Xiao’s voice did not move at all. It was continuously emitting shocking energy waves, and his aura was rising rapidly.

“It’s starting!”

The eyes of the four of them focused, and they immediately followed the plan. They released their energy. It passed through the fragments of the planet and entered Han Xiao’s body.

Han Xiao was bathed in the light, and the cells in his body started to go berserk. He felt like his body was going to separate and reform at any time.

However, the Church’s National Treasure floating in his chest released fluctuations at a fixed frequency, engulfing his entire body and allowing his body to maintain its original structure.

Strangely, though the different energies sent out from his four helpers should have been ejected, at this moment, they were not repelled. Instead, they seemed to have been absorbed and quickly merged into his cells.

At the same time, the Beyonder’s Vestige that had been dormant for many days suddenly glowed brightly and started burning fiercely, releasing all the energy. It immediately caused the speed of advancement to spike and soar rapidly. The feeling of pain and exhilaration assaulted Han Xiao’s mind time and time again. He struggled to control his vision and glanced at the interface, only to see that the notifications were flooding in.

(Level 360 Promotion has been activated!]

(You have reached the prerequisite for Promotion: 3/3]

(You have activated the Apotheosis Promotion!)

(The new Grade can be unlocked!)

(Due to the Apotheosis Promotion, +160 Basic END Bonus increased to +480! Current 1 END = 1170 Health = 1180 Stamina)

Your (God’s Trait Transformation.Machinery] has reached the maximum level. You have been awarded an additional Life Level Promotion!)

[Detecting your race: Black Star Race (Exclusive race, irreplaceable)] [Detected that your evolutionary route (Void) has reached the limit, there is no higher Life Level to promote to]

[Detected that you are undergoing Apotheosis, conventional optimization is cancelled — would you like to proceed with evolving your Exclusive Race?]

[….. Evolution confirmed, [Black Star Race) has now evolved to become (Black Star God Race), your life level has been promoted, your genes strengthened. You have obtained additional Attributes: +2140 STR, +1705 DEX, +2600 END, +3440 INT, +3052 MYS, +1024 CHA and +26200 Energy. The bonuses provided by your Energy Attribute Realm has been strengthened)

(Your Black Star God Race exclusive talent [Mechanical Genius) has been enhanced]

(Mechanical Genius: The bonus Machinery Affinity has been increased from x1.55 to X1.65, Machinery Creation Performance increased from 70% to 80%, all Mechanic related skill levels increased from +3 to +4] (Your God’s Trait Transformation.Void is at the maximum, you have received a bonus Life Level Promotion!]

[Your race has been detected: [Black Star God Race) (Exclusive race, irreplaceable)]

[Detected that your evolutionary route (Void) has reached the limit, there is no higher Life Level to promote to]

[Detected that you are undergoing Apotheosis, conventional optimization is cancelled — would you like to proceed with evolving your Exclusive Race?]

[….. Evolution confirmed, your (Black Star God Race] has now evolved to become (Black Star God Race Royal Bloodline). Your Life Level has been promoted and genes strengthened. You have obtained the additional Attributes: +2780 STR, +2410 DEX, +2600 END, +3440 INT, +3052 MYS, +1024 CHA and +26200 Energy. The bonuses provided by your Energy Attribute Realm has been strengthened] (Your Black Star God Race exclusive talent [Mechanical Genius] has been enhanced)

[Mechanical Genius: The bonus Machinery Affinity has been increased from x1.65 to x1.75, Machinery Creation Performance increased from 80% to 90%, all Mechanic related skill levels increased from +4 to +5]

Originally, there was no chance for a Race Evolution at level 360, but the two God’s Trait Transformation metamorphoses brought about two additional Life level promotion opportunities.

Boom!

The surging energy was so dense that it almost solidified. With Han Xiao as the center, it gushed out in all directions, spreading far and wide. It had already reached the level of a cosmic energy surge, and almost all the Black Star Army’s outposts in this area sounded an alarm.

Scorching energy flowed through his body, and all the cells in his body rapidly advanced toward a higher level of life. It was as if his cells had developed an independent consciousness, but it did not cause great changes under the support of the Church’s National Treasure.

An endless stream of energy gushed over from all directions, and Han Xiao almost turned into the core of a nebula. His entire body was filled with heatwaves, and he felt like he was swelling up like a balloon.

He tried his best to maintain his thoughts and stared at the notification on the interface.

The improvement he got this time was extremely powerful. If he did not have the special Race Evolution brought about by the Apotheosis, the simple genetic optimization he got during an Advancement would not have brought about such a high amount of attribute increase.

However, the notifications of his two Race Evolutions had yet to end.

(Your exclusive race has been upgraded to [Black Star God Race). You have received a new talent: Mechanical Divine Body!)

(Mechanical Divine Body: +1500% Machinery Affinity, your Mechanical Force Attribute has been enhanced. Your skills (Emperor’s Gift] has been upgraded to (Ode of the Gods), (Apostle Life Creation) has been upgraded to (God’s Emissary Creation], [Tinder Awakening] has been upgraded to [Allspark), and [Dimension Factory] has been upgraded to [Godly Stronghold). (TL Note: Appreciated that the author thought of putting the Allspark in a mechanic novel. 10/10)

(Your exclusive race has been upgraded to (Black Star God Race Royal Bloodline). You have received a new talent: Void Divine Body!]

(Void Divine Body: +1500 to Basic Attributes, you have been awarded 30 Awakening Points. All Void-related Racial Talents will be buffed, and you can open a second Void Dimension within your body to integrate with the original Void Dimension]

Han Xiao looked at the introduction of these two talents with a hard-to suppress glee in his eyes.

The four Mechanic abilities had undergone a special evolution. Among them, (Ode of the Gods] and [God’s Emissary Creation) were enhanced based on basic values. The exact effects did not change, only the name of his Apostle Weapons were renamed as Mechanical Oracles.

As for (Allspark] and [Godly Stronghold), they had some functional changes.

[Tinder Awakening] was originally an ability used to create mechanical lives, and it needed to be actively cast. However, after evolution, it now possessed a passive effect. So long as machinery was connected by Mechanical Force, it could temporarily become a mechanical life form and receive various enhancements attributed to mechanical life forms. The effect would disappear if the Mechanical Force was cut off, but prolonged usage could solidify its status permanently, changing it to become a mechanical life-form forever. This way, the efficiency and scale of creating mechanical life forms would be raised to a new level, and the consumption would also be much lower.

In addition, the function of (Godly Stronghold) was to open a secondary dimension in his body as a Dimension Factory. He did not need to summon the secondary dimension portal any longer. This was akin to having the late game skills of a Mechanical Pugilist, which removed all its previous skills’ side effects. Now, even if the environment outside was locked onto by the Space Stabilization Anchor, Han Xiao would still be able to launch a surprise attack.

(Void Divine Body] also had similar effects. It could open up a new Void Dimension within one’s body and even swallow parts of the original Void Dimension to improve one’s own Void Dimension.

The mechanisms revealed by these two talents seemed to indicate the formation of a universe within his body!

“Is this the difference between levels?”

Han Xiao was shocked. Even now, the evolution had yet to end, and notifications were still being sent out continuously. Intense waves of pain assaulted his mind.

The power released by the Beyonder’s Vestige was cleansing the cells over and over again, causing the cells to change time and time again. It gradually approached the special ‘flawless’ particle form, and the changes in his body became more and more intense, sometimes intense and sometimes mild.

At the same time, the four ‘pretty boys’ who were continuously supplying energy finally realized that something was wrong.

From Han Xiao’s body, there was an aura that made them tremble from the bottom of their souls. It was as if they had met with an existence of a higher level on the food chain.

“Am I seeing things? Is this the suppression pressure caused by a difference in life levels?!”

Kasuyi’s eyes widened in shock. “It can’t be wrong, this is the feeling…”

Milizaus’ dragon beard fluttered, and his huge dragon eyes flashed with disbelief. He secretly swallowed a dragon breath that was about to come out.

Wuornos, who was originally quite calm, could no longer remain unruffled. He stared at Han Xiao’s figure in shock.

Holy sh*t, could it be that this guy was so lucky, able to succeed in one go?!

Chapter 1388: Coexisting with the Heaven and Earth, All Things Are One with Me

No matter how shocked the four of them were, Han Xiao’s evolution continued to advance.

The surging golden Mechanical Force formed a huge energy whirlpool, spinning and expanding. Han Xiao’s figure was at the center, and he was already drowned by the endless light. As for this unlucky planet, it had been completely destroyed without a single trace left.

Boiling hot energy flowed through his body, and it was as if his cells and soul were burning intensely. He felt as if he had turned into a piece of steel, enduring the refinement time and time again.

Han Xiao endured the pain of the metamorphosis and stared at the notifications on the interface with his golden eyes.

(You have met the prerequisite: Activate the Apotheosis Promotion]

[Race Apotheosis activated!)

(Your life force has already reached the peak. You have opened a new world above the peak. The domain of True Gods is unfolding before you…]

(Your Racial Talent (Black Star God Race – Royal Bloodline) has received two exclusive Racial Talent slots.]

[Please select your preference for the exclusive Racial Talent]

Many options popped up on the interfaceAttack, Resistance, Machinery, Attribute Amplification, and so on. They were all options that could be chosen by the two new exclusive Racial Talents.

When Han Xiao advanced to the Beyond Grade A realm, he had created an exclusive racial talent, [Mechanical Genius). At this time, the Apotheosis of the race had given him two chances to create an exclusive talent, which was also a genetic talent that could be awakened in his descendants.

He thought about it and chose the ability strength increase and attribute enhancement. These two enhancements were more comprehensive.

As his new talents were not as enhanced as (Mechanical Genius), the effect would not be too strong After a few random draws, Han Xiao finally determined the effects of the two new exclusive racial talents.

[Divine Gene] : +10% Ability Power, +2% every Promotion

Current cumulative bonus: 46% [Natural Elite] : +10% All Attributes. From Level 1-100: 4 Free Attribute Points every level up. From Level 100-200: 8 Free Attribute Points every level up. From Level 200-300: 12 Free Attribute Points every level up. Above Level 300: 16 Free Attribute Points every level up.

Current cumulative Bonus: 3360 Free Attribute Points.

“These two new talents are not bad. They both have growth potential.”

Han Xiao was excited.

When he reached the later stages of his growth, he could receive all the accumulated bonuses at once. Therefore, these two new talents would be able to increase his strength.

Although his current attributes were almost all in the tens of thousands, 3,000 to 4,000 Free Attribute Points were still not a small number. Most importantly, he could freely allocate them, and the ability power was an important bonus that any class required. The increase was quite considerable.

(Mechanical Genius], [Divine Gene), and (Natural Elite) were the inherited talents of his race. Individuals with these three talents would undoubtedly have a higher growth rate. They would all be extremely talented Super seeds and could suppress Supers of the same grade. “If only I could make a bunch of alternate accounts…”

A thought flashed through Han Xiao’s mind.

I still don’t have a descendant race, I feel like I can start thinking about reproducing.

While he was thinking, a follow-up notification popped up on the interface.

Two new exclusive Racial Talents have been confirmed.

Life form evolution, molecular structure improved, organ structure strengthened, metabolism changed…

According to the preference of (Black Star God Race – Royal Bloodline), you have received bonus attributes.

+795 STR, +680 DEX, +1030 END, +1146 INT, +1050 MYS, +742 CHA, +11200 Energy.

Energy level attribute bonuses changed

[Race Apotheosis) completed. Your grade has increased to X.

Grade S Bonuses disappeared.

You have received Grade X Bonuses.

Grade X Bonuses: +240 END, +75% All Resistances,+50% Highest Attribute, +30% Other Attributes, +1,500 Free Attribute Points, +60 Awakening Points.

Please select 2 from the 7 options below as Grade Talents.

Physical Resistance

Psychological Resistance

Power Bonus

Health

Explosive Power

Energy

Status Enhancement

“There really are new Grade talents!” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

This was an important factor in dividing the strength between two grades. One could choose two options when advancing to Beyond Grade A, and it was the same now. However, the effect would be stronger, and it could even be stacked with one’s grade talents.

The power bonus was a must. As for the other option, Han Xiao preferred to increase his health. It seemed like he was the only one who had reached this level, so while the tankiness seemed to be enough, it was actually the basic bonus brought about by this Promotion. This END bonus could be gained just by completing Apotheosis Promotion, his current health was probably only at the intermediate level at this grade. He could not guarantee that there would not be anyone else who would rise in the future. Furthermore, there might already be someone at grade X in the universe. At the very least, there would not be any mistake if he continued to develop the strength of dealing damage and tanking.

You have received Grade Talent (Godly Strength)!

You have received Grade Talent (Divine Cosmos Body]!

(Godly Strength]: You possess the strength of Gods. All your abilities will receive a huge enhancement. The bonus effect depends on the character’s total Level. Below Level 300: +8% every 10 Levels.

Above Level 300: +12% every 10 Levels.

Current Ability Strength Increase: 312% (This increase can be stacked with (Superhuman) and (Supreme Power] bonuses)

[Divine Cosmos Body]: Your body is extremely strong and contains unbelievable life force. Your life span will continue till the end of the universe. +1 END Bonus every 1 level.

Current Effect: +360 END Bonus (This increase can be stacked with [Eternal Body] bonuses)

“Such great bonuses!”

Before Han Xiao could get excited, even more violent energy burst out from his body, and all his cells began a new round of transformation. Han Xiao felt that every cell was becoming more and more agitated, as though they were all going to escape from his body. However, as the Church’s National Treasure shook, the struggle of the cells was suppressed, but it also brought him more pain. However, even though he had completed the Race Apotheosis, the Promotion was not over yet. There was still the last transformation left.

Your Class Advancement Mission has been completed.

You have received a new class—[Legendary Mechanic]!

(Beyonder Mechanic] Lv.1 — +700 Energy, +8 STR, +8 DEX, +22 END, +30 INT. You have received 25 Free Attribute Points and 1 Awakening Point.

You have received talent (Transcendent Artifact]!

You have received the talent (Energy BaseGod of All Machines)!

You have received talent (Information Uniqueness—Conceptual Immortality]!

You have acquired the ability [Mechanical Deity – Supreme Heavenly Venerate]!

You have learned (Virtual Creation (Pseudo)]!

You have acquired the ability (Life Transformation-Virtual]!

You have acquired the ability (Life Transformation – Myriad Machine]! All your Virtual Technology skills or talents have been enhanced by 80%.

Han Xiao’s breathing stopped.

The new class was also unfamiliar to him, and (Legendary Mechanic) did not have the upper limit of the class. This proved that this was the last stage of the Mechanic class. He could continue to level up, but there was no Class Advancement after that.

He looked at the various new abilities obtained from this Class Advancement and could not help but narrow his eyes. The effects of the skills were as flashy as the name, but the bonuses were astonishing.

Han Xiao wanted to analyze his new abilities in detail, but the pain of evolution came one after another, almost freezing his thoughts. It was not a good time to study them.

Seeing that the notifications on the interface had finally stopped, Han Xiao knew that he had obtained all the bonuses from this Promotion. He quickly calmed down and silently felt his evolution. The sense of time quickly became blurry.

After a full two days, the huge energy whirlpool finally seemed to have expanded to its limit. It slowly shrank back toward the center and entered Han Xiao’s body.

On the other hand, Wuornos and the other three had been standing guard at the edge, watching Han Xiao’s advancement from start to finish. They did not dare blink at all, afraid that they would miss a second.

Because this was the territory of the Black Star Army, Han Xiao had already informed them that no one was allowed to disturb him. Thus, even though this place had become the source of the cosmic-level energy surge, triggering the radar alarms of many organizations, no one had come over to watch.

After a while, the energy whirlpool returned to Han Xiao’s body, and the dazzling light faded, revealing Han Xiao’s current appearance.

He was floating in the air with his eyes closed as if he was still in a meditative state and had yet to wake up. There was a special aura around him, and his skin was glowing. A few light golden particles were slowly flowing around his body. Seeing this, Wuornos and the others hesitated. They did not know what was going on with Han Xiao and did not approach him immediately.

This time, Han Xiao finally opened his eyes. The light on his body stopped, and he floated toward the three of them with a smile.

“My Promotion went very smoothly. Thank you, everyone.”

Hearing this, the four of them were shocked.

Although they had already guessed it in their hearts in the past two days, they still could not help but feel a strong sense of disbelief when Han Xiao admitted it personally.

“You really succeeded? You opened up a higher level of individual strength ?” Milizaus cried out.

“That should be the case.”

Han Xiao nodded and released some pressure.

The four people present were stunned. They instantly felt a vast pressure and could not help but feel their hearts palpitate.

However, it only lasted for an instant before Han Xiao retracted the pressure from the difference in the hierarchy of life, allowing them to heave a sigh of relief.

After the unbelievable shock, they were filled with excitement and respect.

They were all peak Beyond Grade As, including Wuornos and Kasuyi, who thought that they were half a step away from reaching a higher level. Now that they could see the entire process of Han Xiao’s advancement and see the successful case of him reaching a higher level, would this method work on them too?

Did Black Star specifically give them this benefit ?

“I didn’t expect you to succeed in one go… Congratulations.”

Wuornos was extremely envious. He had tried so many times, but in the end, he stopped because he was worried about the risk. However, Black Star had gone straight in and succeeded. Indeed, men and their constitutions could not be compared…

However, although Wuornos felt bitter, he was more excited and overjoyed. He felt that his insight was really good. He had indeed not misjudged Black Star. In fact, this guy was even more amazing than he had expected. He had rushed up to a higher level and pointed him in the right direction!

With Black Star scouting ahead, he would be able to replicate the success today.

The Church’s National Treasure was his, and the Arcane Church did not lack direct members of five classes. The other two Universal Civilizations would more or less provide help to contend with Black Star. Therefore, among the Beyond Grade As, he was the only one who could easily replicate the method Black Star used today. He undoubtedly profited the most!

Although Black Star did not fail, which was out of his expectations and caused his selfish thought to fail, he still did not come for nothing! Thinking about this, Wuornos felt extremely comfortable. He decided to prepare for his advancement when he returned.

However, at this moment, he suddenly remembered that the Church’s National Treasure was still in Han Xiao’s hands. He did not know how far Black Star’s strength had progressed. If he had any evil intentions…

Wuornos’ heart tightened, and he said slowly, “Black Star, can I have it back?”

“Oh, take it.”

Han Xiao glanced at him and saw that he was nervous. He shook his head and smiled. He took out the Church’s National Treasure and threw it back to Wuornos. He did not intend to take it for himself.

Since they did not cause any trouble and came to help him, he would not kick them to the curb after they outlived their usefulness. There was no need to offend them because of this. At most, he would just borrow it again. Furthermore, there was more than one ‘Stabilizer’. After his Promotion, Han Xiao had some new ideas.

Wuornos took the Church’s National Treasure and stuffed it back into his body. He secretly heaved a sigh of relief, but then he was overjoyed.

Kasuyi looked at the Church’s National Treasure with a burning gaze before looking back at Han Xiao.

“Your Promotion is a good thing for the entire Beyond Grade A group. I wonder if you plan to publicize this method?”

“Keep it a secret for now. Just keep this matter to yourselves. Don’t tell anyone about it for the time being to avoid disturbances. To be honest, this Promotion is quite dangerous. If it fails, you might not be able to revive with the Sanctum.”

Han Xiao waved his hands.

He did not care much about this matter. The four of them only saw the surface. Even if they imitated his method, they would not be able to trigger the Apotheosis Promotion. This was because they lacked an important factor, Beyonder’s Vestige.

Now that he had successfully advanced and was no longer in a critical state, he had also lost the ability to sense the Beyonder’s Vestige. As long as he did not specifically remind them, others might not be able to activate this perception. Furthermore, without a detailed interface notification, others might not know what this perception meant.

The most important thing was that he had already used up the last Beyonder’s Vestige that was left in the explored universe. Even if someone found out about the use of the Beyonder’s Vestige, they would have to go to the unexplored area to search for it. Who knew how long it would take?

Hearing this, apart from Wuornos, Kasuyi and the others were shocked and suppressed the impulse in their hearts.

Milizaus suddenly thought of something and asked, “By the way, the new grade has yet to be defined in the Galactic Society. Why don’t you give it a name?”

Sierron agreed. “Indeed, the title of Beyond Grade A is to commemorate the exploration era. Now that a new level has appeared, a new name is also needed. It will be recorded in history. You are the founder, and only you have the right to name it.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and did not reject. He immediately thought of the name of his class and raised his brows.

“How about… We call it the Transcendent Grade?”

“Sounds good.”

The few of them naturally did not have any objections to a name and nodded.

“Then it’s settled. The grade above Beyond Grade A will be called the Transcendent Grade.”

Han Xiao smiled and nodded.

This time, Kasuyi could not hold back his curiosity and sized Han Xiao up.

“Black Star, what is the strength of the new level? How strong is it?”

Han Xiao shook his head and smiled.

“I’m very, very strong…”

As he spoke, he looked at his attributes panel, and a strange look flashed in his eyes.

Level: 360

Main Class: Mechanic

Race: Black Star God Race – Royal Bloodline

Attributes: 33,810 STR, 29,423 DEX, 44,310 END, 81,744 INT, 26,854 MYS, 12,560 CHA, 1 LUK

Free Attribute Points: 5,105

Awakening Points: 101

Health: 122,694,490

Stamina: 98,274,600

Energy: 481,200

Energy Lv.29 Bonus: +12,480 STR, +13,640 DEX, +17,200 END, +22,845 INT, +13,590 MYS, +11,427,000 Stamina Limit, +14,670% Machinery Affinity

Energy Rank: 148,800 Ona

Grade: X

Grade X Bonuses: +240 END, +75% All Resistances, +50% Highest Attribute, +30% Other Attributes, +1,500 Free Attribute Points, +60 Awakening Points.

“You have cleared the fog in front of you. A brand new path extends under your feet. From now on, heaven and earth will exist side by side with you. All things are one with you… You are the universe!”

Chapter 1389: The Arcane Church: It Does Not Feel Like a Loss, We Might Have Even Profited

Retracting his gaze from the attribute interface, Han Xiao turned around and saw Kasuyi looking like he wanted to test out his Transcendent strength personally. He smiled and waved.

“There’s no need for a spar. I’ve just stepped into the Transcendent Grade, so I’m not familiar with my strength yet. If I don’t control it well, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold back and kill you. If that happens, I’ll have to revive you and give myself more trouble.”

Is this even human language?

Kasuyi tilted his head. Seeing that Han Xiao had no intention of showing it, Kasuyi did not insist and could only give up on this thought for the time being. After all, there was still a long way to go, he would see it sooner or later.

Glancing at the four of them, Han Xiao smiled and said,

“Everyone, I still need to familiarize myself with my strength, so I’ll take my leave first… By the way, Wuornos, just let me know when you’re ready to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.” With that said, he nodded and left. He disappeared from everyone’s sight in a flash. The remaining four looked at each other. The atmosphere was a little strange. Black Star had shown them the way to become a Transcendent. This kind of secret was most valuable only if they held it alone. None of the four of them were willing to leak it out. If it was in the past, they might even have thought of killing each other. However, the times had changed. Black Star was above them, and the association had united the Beyond Grade As. There were still enemies outside, so they could only endure others sharing this secret.

“Don’t forget Black Star’s instructions. It’s enough for us to know his method of advancement. Don’t tell anyone else without his approval,” Sierron said with a deep voice.

“Heh, do I look like someone who would spout nonsense?” Milizaus snorted. “Black Star is the president, and we’re also members of the association. Of course, we won’t say anything, but the direct descendants of the civilization might .” Kasuyi narrowed his eyes and stared at Wuornos. Hearing this, Milizaus and Sierron also turned to look at Wuornos with subtle expressions.

None of them had the motive to leak the secret, but Wuornos was a direct member of the church. If the upper echelons of the civilization asked him for this method, would he keep it a secret? As a member of the association, the three of them considered it from the perspective of the faction. If the association was the only one who knew how to advance to the Beyond Grade, it would be a new bargaining chip to attract Supers, and they would be able to suppress the three Universal Civilizations in terms of individual strength.

Wuornos’ face was calm, and he did not give in verbally. He said casually, “I will also try to advance. Even if I don’t say it, they will know when the time comes.”

“Tsk.” Sierron snorted but did not retort.

Seeing that the three of them had nothing else to say, Wuornos did not stay any longer. He turned around and left in a hurry.

He only wanted to return to the Arcane Church as soon as possible, unable to wait to study Black Star’s advancement method. Kasuyi and the other two watched him leave without moving. “The Church’s National Treasure is in this guy’s hands. With Black Star’s successful case, the Arcane Church probably won’t lend it to outsiders anymore…” Milizaus smacked his lips.

“Hmm, in that case, only Wuornos and the direct members of the church will be able to replicate the method that Black Star used. We can forget about it.” Sierron nodded. “Black Star is a Mechanic and has reached a higher level. Maybe he can find a replacement. We’ll know when we ask.”

Kasuyi’s expression was calm.

Considering that the Arcane Church National Weapon was an indispensable tool for Black Star’s advancement method, the few of them had the thought of snatching it. However, after thinking about it, they decided not to. Wuornos was not easy to deal with, and the three of them represented the association. They were not willing to create trouble for Black Star.

Now that Black Star had opened a new level, his position as the association’s leader was even more stable. Originally, they were all on the same level, so even if they listened to his orders temporarily, they would not treat themselves as Black Star’s subordinates.

However, as Black Star entered a new realm, their relationship subtly changed. It was just that the three of them had yet to feel the subtle change in their subconscious. At this time, Milizaus suddenly thought of something and asked, “By the way, although the method of advancement has to be kept a secret, there’s no need to hide the fact that Black Star has become a Transcendent, right?”

Kasuyi shook his head and said, “Since Black Star did not give any special instructions, then there’s no need to. Furthermore, there’s no need to hide such a good thing. However, it’s only limited to the upper echelons of the association. As for the three Universal Civilizations, they will most likely know about the situation through Wuornos, but they won’t spread it around.”

On the other side, the Arcane Church.

“What did you say? Black Star actually succeeded?!” The Pope’s eyes widened in shock. Wuornos, who had come to report, nodded calmly and slowly continued. “That’s right. Black Star has already stepped into a higher level of individual strength. He named it the Transcendent Grade. I witnessed it with my own eyes.” “Didn’t you say that stepping into the new tier is very difficult? You said that lending out the Void Spirit Kingdom’s weapon would be no big deal, because how many times Black Star would fail?” The Pope stared at Wuornos, both shocked and furious.

“Oh, I miscalculated,” Wuornos said with an expressionless face.

“That’s it?! Do you think you can get away with it with just this sentence?!”

The Pope glared at him, getting even more furious.

If not for the fact that you kept emphasizing that this deal would definitely be profitable, why would we lend the Void Spirit National Treasure to help Black Star advance? Are you hooking up with Black Star and speaking for him to trick me?! I really don’t believe you! “Then what do you want?” Wuornos glanced at him.

The Pope closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down. Only then did he speak. “No matter what, this has already happened. Think of a way to salvage the situation.”

Because of a wrong decision, he had helped Black Star reach a higher level of individual strength. He was filled with regret. If he had known, he would have rejected Black Star’s request! However, now was not the time to shift the blame. He was the one who had given the order, and he could not shirk the responsibility. The Pope quickly got rid of his anger, regret, and other emotions. “On the bright side, at least we got the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter back… provided Black Star doesn’t go back on his word.” The Pope shook his head. “There’s no need for him to go back on his word,” Wuornos said calmly. “This Universal Treasure is no longer a threat to him.”

“That’s true…”

Hearing this, the Pope felt even more upset. He only felt that the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was no longer that tempting.

This deal was a huge loss!

However, at this moment, Wuornos slowly said,

“However, it’s not like I didn’t gain anything this time. I watched the entire process of Black Star’s advancement and have already grasped his method. I won’t be as clueless as before. I can replicate this successful case and reach a higher level.” The Pope sat in silence for a moment before his eyes lit up. Although the advancement of Black Star was beneficial to the war against the outside world, it would not be a good thing for the three Universal Civilizations in the long term. However, his direct descendant had now learned the method of Black Star’s advancement. As long as they succeeded, he would have another Transcendent Grade Super on his side to fight Black Star, forming a new balance without having to worry about Black Star losing control! More importantly, the ones who could use this method were the people of the Church. Even if the three Universal Civilizations were linked together right now, there were still segregated as civilizations. With this method, the Church could also suppress the other two civilizations in terms of individual strength! The Pope was in a good mood. “How confident are you of success?”

Wuornos thought for a moment and nodded, “There’s a seventy percent chance that I can reach the Transcendent Grade like Black Star.” “Okay!”

The Pope perked up. The 70% chance was quite high! When they were chatting in the past, Wuornos had said that he was not confident at all. Now, the chance had increased countless times.

In that case, not only would helping Black Star not be a loss, but it would even be a small gain

Thinking deeper, it was fortunate that Black Star needed to borrow the Void Spirit Kingdom’s weapon this time. Otherwise, the direct descendants of the civilization would not have known about his secret advancement, and this advancement method would have been monopolized only by the association.

In that case, wouldn’t the future be even more disadvantageous for the three Universal Civilizations?!

Thinking of this, the Pope felt much better and finally smiled. “The Church will do its best to provide you with resources to help you reach the Transcendent Grade. If you need anything, just tell us. Don’t hesitate!” “Don’t worry, I won’t hold back.”

Wuornos nodded. The Pope thought for a moment and said, “Also, keep the matter of the Promotion method a secret for the time being. As for the success of Black Star’s Promotion, I’ll inform the leaders of the Federation of Light and the Crimson Dynasty. We have common interests in this, and we can’t hide it from them. We need to talk to Black Star.”

“Up to you. As long as it helps me.”

Wuornos did not care about these miscellaneous matters. All he wanted to do was copy Han Xiao’s advancement method. He could almost see the higher level that he had always dreamed of, waving at him.

A day later, in the territory of the Black Star Army, the exclusive machinery factory. Han Xiao looked at the cloud of Mechanical Force in his palm, and his pupils constricted as though he was observing the microscopic world.

After a while, he suddenly clenched his fingers and crushed it into pieces, creating a golden shockwave.

“The last advancement of the Mechanic class. Its strength is truly unique…”

Han Xiao murmured.

Throughout the day, he was mainly testing out the new abilities brought by his Class Advancement. By now, he had more or less figured it out, and he was speechless.

(Beyonder Artifact) was a core talent. It was similar to the advanced version of (Spirit Instrument]. The success rate of developing and creating golden blueprints would increase greatly, and there was also a small chance of creating a Space Wonder.

The most important thing was that this talent unlocked an even higher grade for equipment, which was the red ‘Divine Artifact’ grade. However, this grade was not achieved through crafting but through strengthening the original machinery, greatly enhancing its effect. Furthermore, there was a limit to the number of Divine Artifacts, so one could enhance up to three Divine Artifacts.

However, the targets that could enjoy the bonuses could be changed. The mechanism was similar to the Apostle Weapons. If he wanted to strengthen the fourth machine into a Divine Artifact equipment, he just had to take back the bonuses of his previous Divine Artifact equipment. (Energy Base—God of All Machines] was also a core talent, similar to Sorokin’s (Spiritual Energy Foundation). The effect of this skill was that the basic unit of energy production was no longer limited to one’s cells. Machinery and virtual data could also generate energy. If Han Xiao turned himself into a mechanical or Virtual Lifeform, or if he did any reproductive modifications to himself, there would be no difference from before, and his strength would not be affected. This meant that he could already exist without his physical body.

From this perspective, the fusion of Herberlon’s body with machinery was just an incomplete version of this ability. The (Energy Base-God of All Machines] was the final ideal state.

In addition, this talent also gave him a high Machinery Affinity bonus, which was very shocking In addition, his new skill (Information Uniqueness-Conceptual Immortality) was not an ability brought about by Class Advancement but a talent that had reached Grade X. Just as Han Xiao had guessed, after entering a new Grade, his information form had also changed drastically, giving him the ability to revive automatically.

Be it life form or network data, as long as there were information carriers in the entire universe that recorded his deeds, as long as he was not forgotten by everyone, as long as someone still recited his name, he would not completely perish. If he died, there would be no need for him to use the Sanctum to revive. He could automatically trigger an information state disturbance and revive in a certain region of the universe. This was close to eternal indestructibility.

Most importantly, the rebirth brought by this talent would not damage the integrity of his information. This meant that it was not like the Sanctum Revival, where every revival caused one to be weaker. The only thing that confused Han Xiao was that the Sanctum was also an information carrier. If (Information UniquenessConceptual Immortality) was usable for all situations, would he be able to survive through the later iterations? He did not know if there were any Transcendent Grade existences in the past. If this conjecture was true, then those Transcendents should have been left behind, which should have made a greater impact on the current universe.

“If only I could test it out.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

He felt that the Sanctum that was ‘outside of the Three Realms was not part of the Five Elements'[1] probably did not belong to the information carrier that allowed his [Information Uniqueness-Conceptual Immortality) to take effect. The range of effect of this talent should only be limited to his current universe iteration and the secondary dimensions.

However, even so, it was still powerful enough. Just like what the attribute interface said, everything in the world was one with him. The information state was the source of his existence. As long as nothing went wrong, he could live till the end of the universe. The three talents were all very useful, and the abilities were also extraordinary. Among them, [Mechanical Deity – Supreme Heavenly Venerate) was the advanced version of the Mechanical Deity… No, rather than saying that it was an advancement, it would be better to say that the original Mechanical Deity was just the prerequisite form of this skill. The Mechanical Deity could change its structure on its own. Similarly, it also had the concept of a blueprint. Some Mechanical Deity with certain forms would have additional bonuses.

[Mechanical Deity – Supreme Heavenly Venerate] was one of the final forms of the Mechanical Deity. It was much more powerful than the advanced version of the Mechanical Deity that Han Xiao created. The two were worlds apart.

The skill introduction showed that the skills obtained from the three Mechanic branches were all different. (Mechanical Deity – Supreme Heavenly Venerate] belonged to the Virtual Branch, while the Armed Branch and Energy Branch’s skills were respectively [Mechanical Deity – Universe Emperor) and [Mechanical Deity – Origin Divine Lord]. They corresponded to different final forms, all of which sounded extremely domineering.

Not only that, through his core talent (Energy Base-God of All Machines], he realized that when he transformed into a Mechanical Deity, he no longer needed a physical body as the core to provide Mechanical Force. He could directly turn the mechanical shell into his own!

This meant that if he truly became a Mechanical Deity, he would not even have to consume any energy. Even if he did not have the means to quickly recover his energy, he could still maintain his Mechanical Deity state indefinitely and live in this form!

In addition, (Life Transformation: Virtual] and [Life Transformation: Myriad Machine) had similar effects. These two abilities could change one’s life form, and with the blessing of [Energy Base-God of All Machines), the body was no longer a shackle. At the same time, these two skills could not only be used on oneself but also on others. As long as the judgment was successful, the target could be instantly transformed into a stream of virtual data or mechanical body, changing the form of the other party’s existence. It could make an entire planet turn into a mechanical or virtual life form. This ability was infinitesimally close to the power of a God. (Virtual Creation (Pseudo)] was even more unbelievable. According to the skill introduction, this ability was similar to the virtual transformation ability of the World Tree. It could turn the things created in the virtual world into physical objects, like a true god of creation. However, the reason why this ability had a ‘pseudo’ suffix was that there were many restrictions. Firstly, it was impossible to convert items that did not exist in reality, things that he did not know, and things that went against the natural laws. Secondly, the conversion would require an equivalent amount of resources. For example, the data of a mechanical army would have to be copied in the virtual world, and the corresponding materials would have to be prepared. However, using this skill meant that the process of manufacturing could be skipped, making it very suitable for mass production of soldiers.

Similarly, it was very useful in the manufacturing aspect. Even the Universal

Treasures that he knew of could be mass-produced using this method. The success rate was almost 100%. However, the third limitation was that the transformation was temporary. Once the time was up, it would disintegrate on its own and would not last permanently. “This ability can be considered a Space Wonder in the eyes of ordinary people. It’s called Virtual Technology, but it should be an information form ability. I need to study it more…”

Han Xiao exhaled.

Although (Virtual Creation (Pseudo)] was miraculous, because of these restrictions, it was not as powerful. But it still remained useful. Through (Godly Stronghold), it could also temporarily explode with a large number of soldiers, but it was still far from the true Space Wonder like the World Tree. “However, this ability is quite similar to the World Tree. Will there be any connection…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and he had a bold idea.

Maybe if the World Tree ate him, it would be able to make up for its deficiencies. On the other hand, if he rooted out the World Tree, he might be able to make up for the deficit of the skill…

[1] This is more of a wuxia/xianxia saying, that this object or person is an irregular and does not follow the natural laws of the world

Chapter 1390: Legacy Blueprints and the Showdown

Han Xiao shook his head and temporarily threw this thought out.

The location of the World Tree was still unknown, so it was best not to think too much.

He turned to look at the (Tyracles Mechanical Legacy) on his Talent interface. This ability would unlock new exclusive blueprints when he was level 360. Although he had a rich technological foundation, no Mechanic would complain about having too many golden blueprints.

Back when the (Tyracles Mechanical Legacy] was at Lv 320, it unlocked the King and the Emperor’s Cape. The former was still very useful.

This time, he unlocked three golden blueprints at level 360. Han Xiao opened the blueprint introduction and looked at it.

(Blueprint – Dark Energy Gold Furnace Beast): After the Saint Tyracles Race witnessed the greatness of the Mechanical Deity, they developed a series of special equipment specially designed for the Mechanical Deity. (Blueprint-Emperor Skysplitter Blade]: After the Saint Tyracles Race witnessed the greatness of the Mechanical Deity, they developed a series of special equipment specially designed for the Mechanical Deity.

(Blueprint-Space Constants Modifier (Incomplete)]: The Ultimate Technology of the Saint Tyracles Race has yet to be completed.

“This…”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

Of the five gold blueprints brought by (Tyracles Mechanical Legacy), three of them were equipment specially made for the Mechanical Deity. He finally saw how passionate this race was toward the Mechanical Deity. The Dark Gold Furnace Beast was an external special body. Its introduction was that it could share the power of the descent of the Mechanical Deity and had its own consciousness, serving as the mount of the Mechanical Deity. As for Emperor Skysplitter Blade, it was a large high-tech compound weapon. Its appearance was similar to a double-headed broadsword, and its blade was straight and wide. It had a lot of empty slots and could integrate different parts.

Han Xiao summoned the 3D model and briefly outlined the appearance of a Mechanical Deity. He then loaded the Emperor’s Robe, Dark Gold Furnace Beast, and Emperor Skysplitter Blade. Although the image was majestic, he felt that it was becoming more and more familiar.

“It looks more and more like Lord Guan Yu? It’s just that the weapon doesn’t match… Wait, why does it look a little like Thanos?”

Han Xiao mumbled softly, not knowing what to say.

These Saint Tyracles scientists, who were fanatical about the Mechanical Deity, spent all their time researching and changing equipment. Did they think they were making mecha skins ?

Furthermore, the names of these blueprints, these scientists from the Saint Tyracles Race more or less had eighth-grader syndrome…

Han Xiao had the technology foundation of Jayz’s treasure and the Sanctum, so he did not lack gold blueprints for the Mechanical Deity. While these two blueprints were quite powerful, they did not provide much help. However, he realized that the Emperor’s Cape, the Dark Gold Furnace Beast, and the Emperor Skysplitter Blade actually had set effects, which was rare.

When all three items were activated at the same time, they could trigger a special set effect called ‘Tyracles’ Frenzy’. With the enhancement of 1.1x in total Machinery Affinity, attack, defense, and physical performance, it was not bad.

What made Han Xiao excited was the last blueprint. The Saint Tyracles Race had a very deep understanding of space. This Space Constants Modifier, as its name suggested, could adjust the spatial structure of a region and change the universe constants.

The principle of this device involved the microscopic expansion of the universe and the collapse of the universe, as well as the technology of raising and lowering dimensions. According to the theory, it should have special effects such as extending or shrinking space, overlapping areas, intercepting or grafting spaces, and the changes to the area would be permanent. There was no time limit, and it was a strategic-level mechanical device.

For example, if the enemy was only three days away from him, this device could expand or shrink the strategic depth of the distance between the two sides. According to the limit of its effect, it could expand the three-day journey to more than ten days or even a few months, or it could even shorten the distance between them to an inch.

However, it was a pity that these were all theoretical conjectures. Before the Saint Tyracles Race could perfect this device, they were already destroyed by their enemies in the exploration era. If they could perfect this technology, the three Universal Civilizations might become the four Universal Civilizations or even the only civilization. However, there were no ifs in this world.

“Most of the technology left behind by the Saint Tyracles Race has been inherited by the Federation of Light. I wonder if they have this incomplete blueprint…”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and pondered.

The Space Constants Modifier was much more powerful than the World Tree’s Lerbo Space Protection Belt. If the Federation of Light had this technology, they would have used it back then. However, he could not rule out the possibility that it was incomplete.

After pondering for a while, Han Xiao shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

Regardless of whether the Federation of Light had it or not, he had it. If not for the talent (Tyracles Mechanical Legacy), he would not have had the chance to obtain it.

Beep beep beep… Just as Han Xiao was studying his new ability, his communicator suddenly rang. He received a message from the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations.

“Heh, it’s finally here.”

Han Xiao glanced at it and was not surprised.

The three Universal Civilizations would not be able to sit still after he opened up a new level of individual strength. They would come to talk to him sooner or later, but they did not come to him immediately after he advanced. They probably heard from Wuornos that he wanted to familiarize himself with his strength, so they did not dare disturb him.

After replying to a message, Han Xiao turned on his remote projection. His vision changed, and he was already in the conference room of the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders. He saw three people sitting side by side.

The three of them sized Han Xiao up carefully. Their faces were expressionless, and no one knew what they were thinking.

“Ahem, Black Star, I heard that you have broken through the upper limit of the Beyond Grade A realm and entered a new level of power. Congratulations, you have pioneered a new path.”

Marbruce forced a smile and nodded.

“It was just luck,” Han Xiao said humbly.

“Is that so…”

Marbruce froze.

You seem to be the least qualified to say that…

At this moment, Han Xiao suddenly smiled at the Pope and said, “By the way, I haven’t thanked you for your help. It’s all thanks to you guys agreeing to lend me the Church’s National Treasure. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to advance.”

IIII

The corners of the Pope’s eyes twitched.

Provocation, this was definitely provocation!

The moment he thought of this, he regretted
it.

In his eyes, Han Xiao was mocking him for making a loss deal!

The Pope looked at Han Xiao’s smile and felt extremely disgusted. He wished he could pick up the cup on the table and smash it on Han Xiao’s head.

At this moment, Marbruce and Louis turned to look at him with a strange look in their eyes. They seemed to be blaming him for betraying their plan.

However, the two of them did not expect to see the Pope furious. The Pope took a deep breath to calm down, revealed an unfathomable smile, and said righteously,

“You’re welcome. You’ve entered a higher level, which is beneficial to the battle. Of course, we won’t be stingy.”

Han Xiao raised his brows. It seemed that Wuornos had indeed reported this to the upper echelons of the church, and he was probably eager to copy his method to advance. The Pope’s behavior this time was obviously because he thought Wuornos would be able to step into the Transcendent Grade very soon, so he felt that it was not a loss and had some confidence.

“Tsk, don’t blame me then. You were the one who couldn’t help it…’

Han Xiao curled his lips.

Frankly speaking, when he invited Wuornos to help him advance, he really did not intend to trick him. At the very least, the Arcane Church’s National Treasure and the five elements combined were all real advancement conditions.

However, Han Xiao did not plan to tell anyone about the secret of the Beyonder’s Vestige. If Wuornos was determined to advance, he could only sit back and watch.

After all, Wuornos did not seem to want to participate in the battle. It did not matter to him whether he was dead or alive. In any case, even if he was dead, he could still display his use as Beyonder’s Vestige. Han Xiao did not mind at all…

However, after fulfilling two Promotion conditions, the success rate of the Promotion would increase by at least two-thirds. As long as Wuornos’ luck was not as bad as his, the Promotion would not be a problem… However, without the Beyonder’s Vestige, he could only trigger the regular Promotion. When he completed the Promotion excitedly, he would realize that he had not broken through the limit of the grade. Han Xiao wondered what expression he would have.

Han Xiao calmed himself down and casually asked, “You guys contacted me to congratulate?”

“This is a historical event, after all. We would like to ask if you want to make it public to the galactic society.”

Louis nodded and asked.

“There’s no need to publicize it. We’re still fighting. We don’t know if the World Tree will steal the intelligence on the Internet in the future. It’s enough for the upper echelons to know.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

Seeing that the three of them had no objections, he suddenly turned to Marbruce and said,

“Speaking of which, I still need the dynasty’s help.”

“What is it?”

“I plan to send EsGod into the Underworld after some time and make use of him on the battlefield.”

“This…”

Marbruce hesitated.

The dynasty had sealed EsGod for so long mainly because they wanted to study EsGod’s body after his soul was destroyed. Marbruce did not want to agree to this request, and he was also not willing to see the Underworld gain more experts. Seeing his hesitation, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

“In exchange, I can provide you with a very interesting piece of information.”

“What information?”

“Gaud’s whereabouts.” Han Xiao smiled.

Marbruce’s pupils constricted.

Although he had guessed that it was Black Star who had caused Gaud’s disappearance, he could not help but feel furious upon hearing him admit it.

Thinking about how they had been fooled by Black Star back then and caused a huge storm, Marbruce’s face sank. He endured his anger and shouted,

“…So it was you!”

Han Xiao did not mind. He waved his hand and said, “Don’t be angry. I have a reason for doing this. If you are willing to agree to this deal, I will tell you the reason and give you Gaud’s whereabouts.”

Marbruce clenched his fists.

Black Star only revealed his cards now, which was undoubtedly related to the recent advancement. There was only one reason for him to do so, and that was that the strength of a Transcendent was beyond imagination. He no longer had to worry about the revenge of the advanced civilizations, which was why Black Star could reveal this secret without a care!

The strength of a Transcendent was still a mystery. They only knew that it was higher than a Beyond Grade A but other than Black Star, no one knew how strong it was. The unknown was the most terrifying.

With Black Star’s current confidence, it was clear that the strength of a Transcendent was no small matter. In fact, he had even chosen to show his cards at this time to show his might!

Thinking up to this point, Marbruce suddenly felt a strong sense of fear. The current situation did not allow for internal conflict. He had no choice but to suppress the anger in his heart and think about Black Star’s suggestion.

After a while, he nodded expressionlessly and said coldly,

“EsGod can be given to you, but we have to exchange for Gaud. I only hope that your reason will satisfy us.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll definitely be satisfied.”

Han Xiao did not mind it.

He had chosen this moment to show his cards because he wanted to strike while the iron was hot. His strength had advanced, if he did not show anything and continued to maintain their original relationship, the three Universal Civilizations might feel that he did not have much confidence. It was time to take a step forward, to pressure them and squeeze more benefits out of them. At the same time, he would let the three Universal Civilizations see his ‘unbridled’ attitude, which would make them even more afraid of his strength after advancing

Of course, the reason he did this was that the three Universal Civilizations could not do without the help of the association and because he did not need to fear the three Universal Civilizations anymore.

Some of the ‘crimes’ left behind in history could be brought up to the public since the three Universal Civilizations could no longer flip the table.

Furthermore, it was not a good idea to keep Gaud locked up. The matter had to be resolved eventually. He had to tell the dynasty what had happened. In the future, if Evans obtained the Energy Control Esper Ability, he could use it openly. After glancing at the three of them, Han Xiao did not say anything. He deactivated the remote projection and disappeared from the room.

Only then did the three of them relax. They looked at each other with subtle expressions.

In this meeting, they mainly wanted to see if Black Star’s attitude had changed after his Promotion.

Back when the Beyond Grade As first appeared, they also had a huge impact on the structure of the universe. Although they did not know how large the gap in strength with the new level was this time, it would definitely not be too weak. Black Star was already recognized as the leader of the Beyond Grade As, and now that he had taken a step forward, the three of them had no choice but to reconsider how they should treat Black Star.

Before the meeting, the three of them had already come to a consensus to react according to the situation. If Black Star’s attitude did not change, they would treat him the same way they treated him in the past and treat him the same way in the future. They would pretend that the Promotion did not happen and not make any additional gestures.

However, Black Star’s attitude made their plans fall through. Seeing how fearless he was, the three of them felt their hearts sink. They knew that the scales of cooperation between the two sides were going to tip toward the association again.

However, they could not do without Black Star. The three of them did not dare to do anything anymore and were completely helpless.

Two days later, the Beyond Grade A Association.

There were no empty seats in the venue. All the association members had been summoned to attend this temporary meeting.

Everyone looked at Han Xiao with shock, excitement, and disbelief.

In the past few days, a rumor had spread among the upper echelons of the association, claiming that Black Star had broken through the Beyond Grade A realm and opened a new level.

At first, not many people believed it, but as more and more association members learned about it, many of them became skeptical.

Han Xiao looked at everyone’s expression and smiled.

“I gathered all of you today to announce something. From the looks of it, you should have heard about it in the past few days.”

Hearing this, many people’s eyes narrowed.

“Black Star, is that rumor true?” Manison frowned in disbelief.

Han Xiao looked at him, then at the others who were staring at him, nodded, and said with a sonorous tone,

“That’s right. I’ve already stepped into the realm above Beyond Grade A, and I’ve named it Transcendent Grade. From now on, Beyond Grade A is no longer the limit of individual strength… Everyone, there’s still a path ahead!”

Everyone was shocked! Everyone stared at Han Xiao in shock, unable to speak. The room fell into a strange silence.

Chapter 1391: Meeting and Promotion

Looking at the stunned expressions on everyone’s faces, Han Xiao knew that practicality was the most important thing. He released the pressure of his life level, and a solid aura gushed out. The air in the room seemed to have turned into a sticky gel, making it difficult for people to move.

A crushing pressure suddenly crashed into the hearts of the Beyond Grade As. Their expressions changed, and they instinctively became nervous. Their nerves tensed up, and the cells in their bodies began to pump out energy like wild cats facing their enemies.

Right at that moment, the pressure disappeared like a receding tide.

Only then did everyone come back to their senses. They could no longer sit still. “Black Star, how did you do it ?” Someone was extremely shocked.

“Quick, quick, tell us how to break through to the Transcendent Grade!” Someone could not wait.

“Who would have thought… who would have thought that there would really be a higher level? I thought that Beyond Grade A was the limit of individual strength…” someone mumbled.

The majority of the Beyond Grade As were in an uproar. This situation looked no different from when the Calamity Grade students pestered Feidin when he advanced to the Beyond Grade A realm.

Han Xiao waved his hand and casually said, “The failure rate of the Promotion is very high. I was just lucky.”

Hearing this, Secret Master wisely chose to shut his mouth, not daring to refute.

To everyone, Black Star’s Promotion was too sudden, and it was difficult for them to digest. Other than a few people who knew about it, most Beyond Grade As could not contain their panic and shock.

Throughout history, generations of geniuses had never been able to break through the limits of individual strength. Many people even thought that Beyond Grade A was the limit of individual strength. They did not expect Black Star to not only break through it but do it at such a young age.

Although they knew that Black Star was the most accomplished Super in history, the significance behind breaking this publicly recognized limit was completely different.

At this moment, in the eyes of everyone, Han Xiao was like a shining guide, a pioneer. His image had once again enlarged.

“You…” Manison hesitated. Black Star had opened a new level without showing himself, which made him feel very complicated.

Originally, although Black Star was powerful, they were still at the same level. Although Manison was much more benevolent now, he still had some unwillingness to admit defeat. If there was a chance, he would still chase after the competition.

But now, the gap between the two of them had completely widened.

Manison was watching how Black Star caught up to him step by step and left him far behind. Even now, he could not even see Black Star’s back. Even with his firm heart, he could not help but feel disappointed.

This time, Kant spoke.

“Black Star, you don’t have to be humble. If not for you, this limit would still be an insurmountable obstacle in the eyes of the entire Beyond Grade A group.”

His tone was filled with envy but also excitement.

The other Beyond Grade As were the same. Of course, some were envious and jealous, and many felt bitter. However, most of them still thought that they had a huge reliance now!

If an unfamiliar and neutral Beyond Grade A had reached the new level, they would be so envious that they would want to replace him. However, if this Pioneer was Black Star, they could accept it and be happy.

On one hand, Black Star’s reputation among the Beyond Grade As had already reached an unprecedented level. On the other hand, he was the leader of the association and had obtained so many benefits for the Beyond Grade As. He had long become one of them.

Due to Black Star’s methods and the temptation of the Sanctum, the Beyond Grade As had already formed a close community of interests. The stronger the leader, the more important their Beyond Grade A group would be in the universe.

ma

Furthermore, Black Star was the source of the Sanctum Revival. The stronger he was, the more guarantee their revivals would have, so it was naturally worth everyone’s happiness. Furthermore, many Beyond Grade As believed that Black Star, as the leader of the association, would more or less impart them with some experience of breaking through. No matter how they thought about it, there was nothing to lose.

After understanding all the details, most of the Beyond Grade As present became even more excited. They looked at Han Xiao with even more admiration.

Not only did Black Star bring the Sanctum Revival, but he also pointed out the direction of individual strength. Everyone felt that his leadership position had never been as legitimate as it was now. Han Xiao looked at everyone’s excited, respectful, and admiring expressions and smiled.

“It’s fine as long as only we know about this. Don’t spread it around. By the way, the upper echelons of the three Universal Civilizations already know about it, so don’t worry about them… As for the advancement method that everyone is concerned about, I just happened to succeed. I still need to familiarize myself with the power of the new grade. When I have a stable method of advancement, I’ll share it with you. Forget it for now.” Beyoni’s eyes lit up. “Will you tell us all for free?”

“…Guess?” Han Xiao glanced at him as though he was looking at a lifelong daydreamer.

“I guess not.” Beyoni smiled.

“You’re smart.”

Han Xiao rolled his eyes.

Hearing this, the Beyond Grade As present did not have any objections. The method to advance to the Transcendent Grade was so precious that even they would not easily reveal it, had it been them who had advanced.

Kasuyi, who was at the side, felt that Wuornos had already grasped the method to advance, so keeping this secret to the association did not seem to be of much use. However, he would not jump out to object.

With his current trust in Han Xiao, he felt that Han Xiao’s every action had a deeper meaning.

This time, Beiger could not help but ask out of curiosity, “I wonder if we can take a look at the strength of a Transcendent…”

Before he could finish, Han Xiao interrupted him.

“The war is not over yet. You will see it sooner or later. I won’t show it now.”

Hearing this, everyone could only nod.

Han Xiao looked around and saw that someone still wanted to speak. He immediately said, “Everyone, today is just to announce this matter and let everyone understand the situation. The meeting will end here. Everyone, please leave. I still have some things to arrange.”

Everyone was stunned. They originally had a belly full of questions to ask, but seeing that Han Xiao did not seem to want to answer, they could only swallow these questions.

The Beyond Grade As tactfully stood up and left the conference room with excitement that had yet to dissipate.

Now that they were no longer Supers of the same level, they subconsciously became more obedient to Han Xiao’s orders. Han Xiao watched as the Beyond Grade As left one after another, but there were still some who did not leave. Hila and the other army officers surrounded him with shock.

They had not received any conclusive news before this, so they were just as surprised as the others.

“Come, let’s have a few rounds. Let me experience the higher level of strength.” Hila went straight to the point. “Go away. I’m not in the mood to abuse you today.”

Han Xiao pushed her aside.

Feidin ignored this and sincerely congratulated, “Congratulations.”

After saying that, he could not help but sigh. He had originally thought that he had slightly caught up to Black Star after advancing to the Beyond Grade A realm, but in just a brief moment, the gap was greatly pulled apart.

Han Xiao smiled and nodded. He did not say anything and only patted his shoulder.

This time, Ames walked up and smiled. “What do you plan to do next?”.

“Plan? The same as before, continue to prepare for war,” Han Xiao replied. He suddenly thought of something and said while rubbing his chin, “But in terms of private matters, I do want to reproduce.” Ames raised her brows. “With who?”

“Are you willing?”

Ames hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

“Then I can only think of another way.” Han Xiao spread out his hands with a tinge of regret.

“What are you going to do?” Ames narrowed her eyes.

“Let me see if I can use my cells to cultivate some test-tube babies through gene modification.” Han Xiao turned to look at Aurora, who was a little confused, and said thoughtfully, “Also, if I use my blood and bones to fuse with her life energy, I should be able to mass-produce offspring.” “…Up to you then.” Ames regained her composure, shook her head, and laughed. “Your idea of reproducing is really like a Mechanic.”

“What do you mean ‘like a’? I am a Mechanic.” Han Xiao did not care. “Industrialization is the way to go.”

War was imminent, and it would be too late for him to give birth one by one. He needed a batch of high-quality Supers who had inherited his Racial Talents, so there was no point in having too few.

To obtain a large enough descendant race, the usual method was to turn into a breeding pig and mate with the opposite sex of the native race. Only males could do this. However, Han Xiao was not interested in this. He was simply going to use the Mechanic method to mass-produce offspring. He did not need to capture the females of other races like the Beast Ancestor. He could reproduce without any gender and be self-sufficient.

Although the offspring raised with this method were more standardized, it was worth a try. After all, it was kind of a waste of resources to have such great Racial Talents but not make use of them. Anyway, he did not lack money or manpower, so raising an entire race was not a problem.

Han Xiao did not mention this matter anymore. He turned to look at Hila and said, “Don’t return to Soul Terminal during this time. I am bringing you to do something.”

“What?” Hila was curious.

“Kill EsGod,” Han Xiao said.

Hila’s eyes flashed, and she immediately understood what he meant. She narrowed her eyes and said, “EsGod is a very powerful combatant. If he enters the Underworld, he should immediately become the strongest among the Hero Spirits. Furthermore, without the restriction of the genetic chain, he might be even stronger than when he was alive!”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao nodded.

He had never underestimated EsGod. Even among the peak Beyond Grade As, EsGod, who was in his complete form, was an extremely powerful individual. What Han Xiao paid the most attention to was EsGod’s Esper Ability[Esper Silence]!

This was the nemesis of almost all Espers. Back then, he had used this Character Summon Card to cause EsGod to fail miserably.

Now that the war with the World Tree was blazing, he felt that it was time to let this trump card see the light of day again.

Feidin blinked and said with doubt, “Strange, the dynasty should not be willing to see the Underworld continue to grow. They actually agreed to this request?” Han Xiao smiled and shrugged.

“That’s because I gave them an irresistible reason.”

Beep beep beep…

His communicator rang.

Han Xiao paused and took out his communicator. Suddenly, his eyes sparkled.

The few of them had been paying attention to his expression, and they could not help but lean their heads over to take a look.

“What happened? Why are you so happy?” Aurora was curious.

Han Xiao put away his communicator and laughed.

“My luck has changed in the past few days. I didn’t expect double happiness. The army is going to have a new Deputy Army Commander!”

Everyone’s spirits were lifted. “Hadavy, Jotina, or Lagi?” Feidin guessed. “None of them.” Han Xiao smiled and shook his head. “This guy’s name is Evans. Let’s go and meet him.”

Hearing this, everyone was shocked and looked at each other.

Evans? Among the Beyond Grade A seeds that joined later, there did not seem to be such a character. They did not know him. Could it be that he was secretly trained by the Army Commander ?

On the other side, on a desolate planet in the territory of the Black Star Army.

Streams of light flashed past and Han Xiao, Feidin, and the others had already arrived outside the atmosphere. They immediately discovered the source of the energy fluctuations on the planet. It was a Calamity Grade Super undergoing the final transformation to the Beyond Grade A realm. They had all experienced this stage before, so they were naturally familiar with it.

Han Xiao adjusted his vision and looked through the vortex-like energy. He could clearly see Evans, who was at the center, and he could not help but smile with satisfaction.

First, Feidin became a Beyond Grade A, followed closely by Evans. Thinking about it, the time it took for Evans to become a Super was not as long as Feidin’s, which meant that he had reached Beyond Grade A in an even shorter time.

The ‘Second EsGod Cultivation Plan’ that he had set up decades ago was now more than half complete. There was only one step left.

“I originally wanted to deal with Gaud after some time, but since Evans has already entered the Beyond Grade A realm, I can solve the problem with EsGod together.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Ancient Star Desert, Holy Accord Organization.

“What? Black Star has opened up a new level of strength ?”

Oathkeeper was stunned.

As an important partner, he was not an outsider. Under Han Xiao’s approval, Beiger had already sent the message to the Holy Accord.

Compared to the shock and excitement of the Holy Accord Beyond Grade As, Oathkeeper’s vision turned black.

F*ck, I’ve completely become someone else’s underling now. There’s no hope of turning the tables!

Chapter 1392: A Taste of His Own Medicine

Han Xiao and the others waited for a while until the energy storm gradually stopped.

Evans’ talent was too outstanding, and his advancement process was smooth. He successfully advanced to Beyond Grade A, and the energy in his body overflowed from his eyes. His eyes were like two small suns that slowly extinguished under his deliberate control. He let out a long breath. The sudden surge in strength caused the breath he exhaled to be like a shockwave, creating a hurricane on the ground. The ground that had already been corroded by the energy into a ring-shaped crater, shattered into pieces. After all, Evans had only advanced to Beyond Grade A, the power that he released during his Promotion would not be enough to blow up a planet. The only thing that would suffer was the surrounding area. It was as if the ground had been dug up by dogs.

Before he could familiarize himself with his new strength, Evans noticed Han Xiao and the others in outer space.

Without waiting for him to go up, Han Xiao landed in front of him with Hila and the others.

“Well done. I knew you would be able to reach this level easily. Your Promotion time is also earlier than I expected.” “This is all thanks to your nurturing. I originally planned to inform you after my Promotion and give you a surprise, but I didn’t expect you to come personally. However, nothing in the army can be hidden from you.”

Evans nodded and maintained his humble attitude, not affected by the sudden increase in strength.

Han Xiao squeezed his shoulder to show his appreciation, then turned around and saw Feidin and the others looking at Evans curiously. He could not help but smile and say,

“Come, let me introduce you guys. This is Evans. I’ve secretly trained him for decades… As for them, there’s no need for me to introduce them. You should recognize all of them. They’re all veterans in the army and my good friends.”

“Hello.” Evans nodded at everyone and bowed slightly.

Ames smiled and nodded. Hila nodded coldly, and Feidin and Aurora replied politely.

“Don’t underestimate this guy.” Han Xiao pressed on Evans’ shoulder and said with a smile, “A few decades ago, he was just an ordinary person. The time he took to advance to Beyond Grade A from zero almost caught up to my record. His talent should be second among the Calamity Grade officers in the army.”

“That powerful?” Aurora was shocked. “Then who’s first?”

“I’m not telling you. You guys will know when he becomes a Beyond Grade A.”

Han Xiao rubbed Aurora’s nose and smiled.

He was naturally referring to Karlot. If Karlot was guided correctly from the start, Karlot’s efficiency in becoming a Beyond Grade A might have even been faster than Evans’. However, he had wasted a long time in the dynasty before receiving his teachings, so he did not have the chance to break the record.

Aurora curled her lips, clearly dissatisfied with Han Xiao’s secrecy. However, she could not do anything about it. She looked at Evans, blinked, and said, “Brother, what ability user are you?”

Hearing this, Hila and the others also stared at Evans. They were all very curious about what kind of ability it was that made Black Star think so highly of him and even secretly groom him for decades.

Facing the attention of the upper echelons of the army, Evans was not nervous at all. He slowly said, “My ability is to absorb other people’s Esper Abilities for my own use.”

“Oh, so it’s absorbing… Hmm?”

Aurora subconsciously said half a sentence, but she was suddenly stunned.

Hila and the others were shocked and looked at Evans with a strange expression.

After a few seconds of silence, Ames said with uncertainty,

“Black Star… if I’m not mistaken, his ability is similar to EsGod’s?”

“Not really.” Han Xiao chuckled. “It’s exactly the same.”

Hearing this, the expressions of the group changed slightly. They quietly took a few steps back, not hiding their fear at all. At the same time, they looked at Evans and Black Star with even more strange eyes, finally understanding something.

This guy’s ability is the same as EsGod’s. Could he be EsGod’s illegitimate son ?

Where did Black Star find this guy?

No wonder they had to secretly groom him. If others knew that the Black Star Army was grooming a new ‘EsGod’, it would cause a huge backlash. The Army Commander was as bold as ever!

Everyone quickly thought about it.

Seeing the expressions of Hila and the others, Han Xiao knew what they were thinking. He shook his head and said,

“Don’t worry, Evans is different from EsGod. He’s a good guy, and he won’t casually absorb Esper Abilities.”

“Hehe.”

Aurora pulled the corners of her mouth and laughed stiffly.

Hila was not moved, and her expression remained solemn. In a sense, Evans was the nemesis of all Espers. Although the Esper Abilities of the two sisters were very powerful, they were still things that could be taken away by the other party. The purpose of this guy’s existence was more than his combat power. He was a trump card!

Evans did not mind the fear of the others. He had long accepted the fate brought about by this Esper Ability and acted as if he did not see their vigilance. He turned to Han Xiao and said with a smile that he was not used to, “Your Excellency Black Star, I have yet to congratulate you on stepping to a new level. This news stimulated me and helped me take the last step, which is how I completed the final transformation.”

“Is that so? Looks like you owe me another favor.” Han Xiao chuckled.

After he had advanced to the Transcendent Grade, he had asked Phillip to privately tell the two golden leeks, Karlot and Evans. Firstly, it was to stimulate them to work hard, and secondly, although the two of them were loyal enough, they still had to continue consolidating their position. It was naturally a good method to display their new strength.

Only these two people received such treatment. After all, they could not participate in the Beyond Grade A Conference. If he did not inform them, they would not know.

“You’re already a Beyond Grade A, do you have any plans?” Han Xiao asked as usual.

“You don’t have to ask me. I made my stand back then and stayed in the army to serve you. This is my only choice.” Evans did not hesitate at all.

Hearing this, Han Xiao smiled and nodded.

“That’s right… Speaking of which, the timing of your Promotion is quite coincidental. As I said, I’ll give you a gift when you become a Beyond Grade A Super. I’ll give it to you now.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Evans said calmly.

Han Xiao snapped his fingers, and a large number of mechanical soldiers appeared, placing a Spacetime Amber on the field.

Everyone looked over and saw a coffin-like mechanical device sealed in the Spacetime Amber. No one knew who was inside.

Sweeping his gaze across the curious faces of the crowd, Han Xiao’s lips curled up slightly, and he immediately removed the amber. The mechanical device slammed onto the ground, then quickly disintegrated, turning into tiny snake-like mechanical particles that swam back to Han Xiao.

The person locked up inside was revealed, falling onto the ground with a thud, still in the heavily injured state of being sealed.

With just one look, the faces of Hila, Ames, Feidin, and Aurora changed.

“This is… Gaud “.

“Why is he in your hands P”

For a moment, everyone was dumbfounded.

Back then, Gaud’s disappearance had caused the dynasty to be furious and caused a huge commotion in the universe. Black Star had even been invited to solve the case and acted as a detective. The few of them had always thought that this had nothing to do with Han Xiao.

From the looks of it now, could it be that Black Star was the one who had called the shots ?

Everyone looked at Han Xiao in shock. How many things did this guy do behind the scenes? He really was a mastermind!

“Don’t look at me like that. I did this for a reason. This kid has a lot of secrets on him.” Han Xiao clicked his tongue and pointed at Gaud, who was on the verge of death. “He’s a pure dynasty direct descendant. In fact, he’s the main consciousness that EsGod separated. He always wanted to communicate with the World Tree, so I killed him. Don’t think that I’m deliberately suppressing the dynasty’s potential direct descendant.” “Heh, keep making things up.” Aurora rolled her eyes.

Han Xiao glared at her and could not be bothered with her. He released a ball of Mechanical Force from his palm and turned it into a lightning chain, binding Gaud’s hands and feet, holding him in midair.

“EsGod, how does it feel to see the light of day again?”

“Hah… hah… I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Gaud panted heavily. He was still in a state of exhaustion. After being locked up for decades, he stubbornly guarded his thoughts and forced himself to remember the conversation between Han Xiao and him before he was sealed. Although he did not know why he was released at this moment, he remained cautious and did not want to give himself away.

Furthermore, he could sense that the people around him were all Beyond Grade As, and only Evans was a stranger. Furthermore, he had seen the information of Hila, Ames, and the others, so he could not take the risk.

Han Xiao shook his head.

“Hehe, I know you’re still counting on the dynasty to save you, but it’s been decades since you were captured, and the times have changed. Now that the World Tree has invaded, the three Universal Civilizations have reached an agreement with us to fight the foreign enemies together. Not to mention that you have ulterior motives, even if you’re a pure direct descendant, the dynasty will not fall out with us.”

Gaud’s pupils constricted. It had only been a few decades, and the World Tree had already invaded ?

What happened during the years I was sealed ?

Gaud clenched his teeth.

Currently, only the dynasty could save him. He would not give up his disguise just because of a few words. Even though he was shocked, he had no choice but to pretend that he knew nothing about the World Tree. However, after thinking about this, Gaud had a flash of insight. He suddenly had the wrong idea about Black Star unsealing him.

That’s right, Black Star knows that I have some information about the World Tree, and now that the war has broken out, maybe he wants to seek my help? And trying to force me to admit my identity as ‘EsGod’ is to find a reason for him to convince the dynasty?

It was a pity that he did not know if his main body had been released. Logically speaking, the first one that Black Star tried to unseal should be ‘EsGod’s’ main body…

Gaud’s eyes flickered. The effect of (Esper Ability-Rebirth] was complete division. Gaud had inherited the main consciousness, and EsGod’s main body was a new personality formed from the fusion of his remnant soul and memories. They were already two independent individuals, and the soul connection between them had been cut off long ago. Therefore, Gaud did not know the situation of EsGod’s main body at all.

“…I still don’t understand! What World Tree? I don’t even know what it is. Don’t think of getting information out of me!”

Gaud felt that he had guessed Han Xiao’s intentions. He felt that the safety of this ‘World Tree insider’ was at least guaranteed, and he immediately felt more confident. He did not plan to admit his identity with just a few words and was prepared to continue his disguise.

Han Xiao glanced at him and guessed that this guy was mistaken. He shook his head and laughed. “I think you misunderstood something. I don’t need the World Tree information that you have. The main reason I unsealed you this time is that I don’t want to waste your abilities.”

Oh? Is he trying to recruit me ?

Gaud’s heart skipped a beat.

It doesn’t seem impossible. The ‘Energy Control’ that I created with great difficulty will always be a Super High-Risk Esper Ability with unlimited potential no matter where it is. The chances of Black Star taking a fancy to my ability are quite high.

Gaud could not help but feel conflicted.

If Black Star really wants to recruit me, should I agree or reject him?

While he was hesitating, Han Xiao had already signaled Evans to come forward and smiled. “He’s my gift to you.”

“I see, I understand.”

Evans exhaled and placed his hand on Gaud’s chest.

Gaud was stunned. He looked at the person in front of him, not knowing what Han Xiao was planning

“What are you doing?”

“…Sorry.”

Before Gaud could continue asking, a strange suction force suddenly came from Evans’ hands. He could clearly feel his Esper genes being rapidly stripped away! “What?!”

Gaud’s expression changed drastically.

He was all too familiar with this situation. It was the situation when [Esper Ability – Copy) was activated!

The only difference was that he was once the person stealing other people’s Esper Abilities, but now, he was the target!

“This is… why do you have this ability ?

Gaud could no longer remain calm.

Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled and said with a teasing tone, “EsGod, you can’t be thinking that you’re the only one in the entire universe who has this ability, right? The world is very vast… I’ve nurtured him for decades to prevent him from following in your footsteps. Now that he has become a Beyond Grade A, he has the right to take away the ability that you created with countless evil deeds. How about it? Are you surprised?”

“N-no… Impossible!” Gaud could feel his Esper Ability disappearing rapidly. His eyes were bloodshot, and his mentality exploded!

He could be sealed and killed, but he could not accept the dream Esper Ability that he had spent countless years to create, becoming someone else’s!

Gaud did not want to wait for death and struggled with all his might. However, he could not move at all under Han Xiao’s restraint. Furthermore, he was already heavily injured and could not stop his Esper Ability from being absorbed by Evans, who was at the same level as him.

As the cells withered one after another, Gaud’s struggle became weaker and weaker. He did not even have the strength to speak. He could only watch himself weaken step by step, gradually losing his ability to sense Esper abilities. All that was left was hatred in his eyes as he stared at Evans in front of him as if wanting to carve his image in his heart.

Evans was not moved at all. After absorbing for a while, he suddenly raised his hand and finally turned the ‘Energy Control’ into his own. This also meant that Gaud had completely lost this ability. Gaud’s body suddenly shook, and his breath quickly weakened. He opened his mouth and looked at the two of them weakly. His eyes were empty and dull.

His plans, his ambitions, everything was destroyed by Black Star…

At this moment, Gaud had already lost all hope in life, as if he had become a walking corpse that had lost all his dreams.

Han Xiao looked at him indifferently and released his restraints, allowing him to fall to the ground. He said casually, “Don’t blame me. This is your retribution. You brought this upon yourself. You once took away the abilities of so many people. Today, I am just letting you have a taste of having your Esper Ability stolen.”

Gaud lay motionless on the ground, staring blankly at the sky. “Black Star, kill me.”

“That’s going too easy on you. You’re still useful. I still need you as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the dynasty.”

Han Xiao waved his hand, and mechanical particles shot out, turning back into an imprisonment device and enveloping Gaud. Gaud was unable to resist, and he was immediately locked up.

After doing all this, he turned to look at Evans, only to see that this guy’s eyes were slightly closed, and he was familiarizing himself with his new Esper Ability.

Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled and said, “How do you feel? Are you satisfied with this gift?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Evans slowly opened his eyes and clenched his fist. A ball of flames appeared out of thin air, constantly changing its energy form. Electricity, storm, nuclear energy, dark energy, and so on flashed past, finally turning into a dazzling psionic energy ball that was thrown out by him.

The dark blue light penetrated deep into the ground, and the group felt the ground swell up rapidly. The ground cracked, and the light from the lava escaped from the cracks, becoming more and more dazzling.

Boom!

The psionic energy that penetrated deep into the Earth Core suddenly exploded. Beams of light penetrated the Earth Core from the inside and turned the entire planet into a sieve. The next moment, the planet expanded and exploded into pieces!

Before the planet exploded, Han Xiao and the others had already flown into space and looked at the formation of a new asteroid belt.

Evans retracted his hand, turned around, and gave Han Xiao a deep bow.

“Your Excellency Black Star, this gift is too valuable. I will not let you down!”

He knew the value of this gift better than anyone else. With this Esper Ability, as long as he could grow, he would be invincible among Beyond Grade As!

This was a gift from Black Star, and it was also his hope. Evans felt extremely touched and wished he could sacrifice his life for Han Xiao.

Since you treat me like a state scholar, I’ll be sure to repay this country with my life!

Chapter 1393: Destroying The Spirit

“There’s no need for me to elaborate on the potential of this Esper Ability. Just this ability alone can match up to hundreds or thousands of Esper Abilities. Work hard and develop it.”

Han Xiao smiled at Evans.

“Understood.” Evans nodded, feeling the burden on his shoulders become heavier. Hila and the others sighed at how lucky Evans was. Not only was he talented, but he had also received Black Star’s nurturing and protection, so he did not have to grow like EsGod. He would definitely have a place among the Beyond Grade As in the future.

Everyone could not help but turn to look at Gaud, who was locked up, and pity flashed in their eyes.

Regardless of whether this guy had anything to do with EsGod or not, just this encounter alone was enough to make him miserable. He had thought that he would be free to do whatever he wanted after advancing to the Beyond Grade A realm, but he had been targeted by Black Star and had his abilities taken away. In the future, he could only watch others use his Esper Ability to soar in the universe and snatch away all the achievements that should have belonged to him… The few of them did not have a deep impression of Gaud. Now that they thought of him, they almost used the word ‘tragic’ to replace his facial features.

“What do you plan to do with him? Leave him to the dynasty?” Hila suddenly frowned.

“I’ll hand him over to the dynasty and explain his identity and origin. The dynasty will deal with the rest.” Han Xiao did not mind. Hila shook her head. “I don’t think it’s appropriate. If the dynasty executes Gaud, he might be able to regain his abilities through the Sanctum Revival. Since we’ve already become enemies, it’s better to put an end to future problems.” “Tsk tsk, if we’re talking about being ruthless, you’re the one who’s ruthless…” Han Xiao raised his brows and waved his hands.

“With the revival mechanism of the Sanctum, Gaud will most likely be able to regain his ability. However, the quota for the revival of the Sanctum is now up to me. Whether he can revive or not is up to me. Even if the three Universal Civilizations master the revival method on their own in the future, it won’t be a problem. Who knows what will happen in the future? If there’s a situation, I can just send him to the Underworld and have another fighter.”

Fortunately, Gaud was already locked up by the imprisonment device and could not hear anything from the outside. Otherwise, he would be even more hopeless. This time, Han Xiao changed the topic and smiled at everyone.

“Alright, everyone knows each other now. After some time, I will promote him to the Deputy Army Commander and let him join the association.” “Isn’t it a little too early?” Evans could not help but ask. “My ability is easily feared. Should I continue to hide my identity?”

“You’re already a Beyond Grade A, so it’s time for you to make a name for yourself. Besides, you’re going to participate in the battle, so practicing your cooperation with others in advance is also useful.” Han Xiao squeezed his shoulder and said, “Furthermore, with me around, you don’t have to worry about the hidden arrows behind your back. Other than enemies, no one can do anything to you.” “Alright.”

Evans nodded.

Training in secret for decades was naturally very difficult. Furthermore, he had just advanced to the Beyond Grade A realm, and it was time for him to make a name for himself. Although he felt that continuing to hide his identity was the best choice from Black Star’s perspective, he did not want to continue hiding. Knowing that he could finally debut made him happy.

The others naturally did not have any objections, but they were muttering in their hearts. With such a powerful person joining them, he would definitely be the strongest Deputy Army Commander in the future. They had to stand aside.

Even Hila strongly suspected that she would not be able to defeat Evans when he grew up. “This won’t do. If this goes on, my position will be compromised!”

Hila was alarmed, and a sense of motivation exploded in her heart. It was one thing to be under Black Star in the army, but she did not want to see anyone else standing on her head. If not for the fact that Black Star was looking for her, she would have gone into seclusion in Soul Terminal for a decade.

Central Galaxy, Arcane Church border. A large official fleet was stationed at the border outpost, welcoming a spaceship with the Black Star Army insignia. The spaceship stopped at the dock. Han Xiao walked down with Hila and Evans, only to see Wuornos waiting with a high-ranking official of the church beside him.

“I didn’t expect you to pick me up. Do they need to trouble you for such a small matter?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“After all, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter is a weapon given to me by the church. Since it is going to be unsealed, I have to be there,” Wuornos nodded slowly.

Han Xiao glanced at it, clicked his tongue, and joked, “Stop bullsh*tting. I think the church is obviously worried that I might do something to it, so they called you over. How sad. I said that I would fulfill the deal, so I will definitely return the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to you. Are you so suspicious of me?” Wuornos secretly rolled his eyes, too lazy to reply.

‘A few days ago, you exposed the matter of Gaud. How can we not worry?

Furthermore, your credibility has always been erratic. Who in the entire universe doesn’t know that your personality is unpredictable, sometimes good and sometimes bad? Who would dare to completely believe you before the truth comes to light?’ Wuornos cursed silently, waved his hand, and got the Arcane Church soldiers to bring over a piece of Spacetime Amber. It was the piece that sealed the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

“Your Excellency Black Star, please.” The Arcane Church official coughed and raised his hand in an inviting gesture.

Han Xiao glanced at him but did not say anything. He took out the Spacetime Amber and poked it lightly. The next moment, the Spacetime Amberwhich the Federation of Light and Arcane Church had been studying for many years but could not break-burst like a bubble. The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, which was fixed in midair, suddenly fell. Before it even landed, Wuornos grabbed it and quickly checked it. After confirming that there were no problems, he nodded at the Arcane Church official.

Seeing this, the Arcane Church official’s tensed body finally relaxed. He let out a breath and smiled. “Thank you, Your Excellency Black Star.”

“What are you thanking me for? It’s just a deal.” Han Xiao did not mind. Instead, he teased, “Why don’t you check for a while more? Don’t forget that I’m the Transcendent now. Who knows, I might have done something that you guys won’t be able to discover in a while?”

“…Cough, you really know how to joke.” The Arcane Church official’s expression froze. Although he had said that, he was not sure in his heart. He secretly gave Wuornos a look. The corners of Wuornos’ eyes twitched, and he had no choice but to lower his head and examine it carefully again. “There’s no hurry. Take your time to check, we have plenty. You have to be suspicious till the end.” Han Xiao chuckled.

“You’re exaggerating…”

The Arcane Church official smiled awkwardly.

After more than ten seconds, Wuornos raised his head again and glared at the Arcane Church official. “No problem.”

“That’s good. If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving.”

Han Xiao nodded and brought Hila and Evans onto the ship. They took off and headed toward the Crimson Dynasty. This trip was just to unseal the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.

After watching the spaceship leave, the Arcane Church official finally heaved a sigh of relief. He took the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter from Wuornos and solemnly placed it in a special container, letting the soldiers take it to the main ship to store it and wait to ship it back to their mother planet. Although this item was Wuornos’ weapon in name, it was actually something that belonged to the Arcane Church.

“After nearly a hundred years, the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter has finally returned to us…”

The Arcane Church official sighed, but he realized that he was not as excited as he had imagined.

The Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was a single-target trump card that targeted individual strength. In the past, it would indeed cause people to tremble in fear. However, the times had changed completely. Beyond Grade As had the benefits of the Sanctum Revival, so its effect was greatly weakened.

Furthermore, Black Star had also opened up a new level of power. The destructive power of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter would probably not be able to threaten him at all, not to mention that he had the Spacetime Amber as a defensive treasure…

The situation was so dire that he could not be happy!

The Arcane Church official had a complicated expression on his face. He turned to look at Wuornos and sighed. “You have to succeed. In terms of individual strength, the Arcane Church will have to rely on you to compete with Black Star.” “Don’t worry, I won’t fail again.”

Wuornos nodded slightly and replied casually, but his mind was not on that. He was thinking about Evans, who had followed Han Xiao just now.

He could also sense the aura of a Beyond Grade A from this stranger, and he even felt that this guy was not simple.

‘Strange, since when did Black Star have this unfamiliar Beyond Grade A beside him, and he seems to be his subordinate…’

Crimson Dynasty, a secret military base. This was the dynasty’s prison to imprison EsGod. At this moment, a group of dynasty fleets was gathered here, and the leader was Han Xiao’s old friend, Teny Amenos.

There was no need to fight in the frontline harassment battle. All they had to do was bombard the World Tree Army. Thus, most of the upper echelons did not have any missions and were all transferred back to the special military training classes that the three Universal Civilizations had opened.

The course that they were learning was a new type of battle strategy that was specially designed based on the tactical habits that the World Tree Civilization had displayed in the past two years of war. This kind of thing would be summarized as the understanding of the World Tree Civilization deepened, and it would continuously strengthen the tactical abilities of the upper echelons.

Today was the day to carry out the deal and let Black Star deal with EsGod. Thus, Teny, who had some free time, was pulled over to be in charge of the defense fleet to prevent any accidents.

“I really didn’t expect Black Star to open a new level of strength in the blink of an eye…” In the command room of the main ship, Teny was browsing through the intelligence data of the past few days. He could not help but let out a soft gasp of surprise as his thoughts drifted away. He recalled the first time he met Black Star. Back then, Black Star had just stepped into the Beyond Grade A realm, and he was only a colonel of the dynasty’s military. They had a good chat, and he had even asked Black Star about technology. When they parted, Black Star had even gifted him a mechanical weapon. At that time, how could he have known that a new Beyond Grade A who had joined the dynasty as usual would become such a bigshot in less than a hundred years? Not only was he a huge obstacle to the three Universal Civilizations, but he was also their reliance in the war.

In the beginning, the two of them would still occasionally send messages to each other. However, as their positions grew higher and higher, everyone became very busy, and their contact gradually decreased. Although he had now become an important upper echelon of the dynasty’s military and had been promoted many times, almost reaching the top of the dynasty’s system, his position was still worlds apart from Black Star.

Teny shook his head and pondered. “Strength that exceeds Beyond Grade As… I wonder how many troops it will take to kill a Transcendent individual…” The tactical deduction of using an army to kill an individual strength had always been an important lesson for the dynasty’s officers. Although large fleets could kill Beyond Grade As, they also paid attention to efficiency and success rate. After all, individual strength was extremely flexible, and only by using reasonable targeted tactics could they kill an individual strength at the lowest cost.

Teny had been studying these strategies all these years, using Beyond Grade As as imaginary enemies. He had created many targeted strategies based on different abilities, perfecting the dynasty’s tactical inventory. Deducing these strategies was almost his instinct. Even the direct descendants of the dynasty were his simulated opponents. This was a matter of position and profession, and it did not involve personal grudges.

Therefore, although the two of them were friends, other than admiration, the first thing Teny thought about was how to kill Black Star.

“It’s a pity that I don’t have enough information, so I can’t carry out a new simulation… However, this guy has advanced. He’s stronger than before, and the success rate is probably still zero.” After pondering for a while, Teny gave up on the deduction.

He had treated Black Star as an imaginary enemy more than once. Even before Han Xiao advanced, his thousands of simulations had all failed. Black Star was one of the few Beyond Grade As that he had a zero chance of killing. Even people as difficult to deal with as Manison and Kasuyi had a chance of death in the simulations.

I hope I can gather enough information this time… Teny shook his head. Other than to prevent any accidents, he also had the mission of collecting Black Star’s intelligence. Since Black Star wanted to kill EsGod, he would have to take action. This was a good opportunity to observe the strength of a Transcendent.

Just as he was thinking, the reconnaissance outpost sent a message. The fleet that had gone out to welcome them had already brought Han Xiao and the others in.

He looked up. At the edge of the military base, a few dynasty battleships were leading the way, followed by a Black Star Army spaceship. The radar showed that there were three powerful Supers. Very soon, the spaceship entered the main ship, and Han Xiao brought Hila and Evans to the command room. “Hello, Your Excellency Black Star. We meet again.” Teny took the initiative to step forward and extended his hand. “We’ve known each other for a long time. There’s no need to be so polite.” Han Xiao did not put on airs and shook hands with him.

“We have already opened EsGod’s prison. You can unseal him anytime.”

Teny nodded and glanced at the two people beside Han Xiao with a trace of doubt.

Black Star’s goal this time was to send EsGod into the Underworld. He could understand him bringing Hila, but who was this other Beyond Grade A?

Sensing Teny’s gaze, Han Xiao got Evans to come over and introduced,

“This is Evans, the new Deputy Army Commander of the Black Star Army, a Beyond Grade A Esper with a bright future. He has been training in the army for many years.”

Evans nodded politely.

Teny also returned the greeting, but he was surprised.

Why have I never seen this person’s information before? It seems like he appeared out of nowhere. He should have left some records when he was at the Calamity Grade. Could it be that this guy has never been active in the outside world and has been secretly raised by the army to become a Beyond Grade A?

Teny felt that the hidden strength of the Black Star Army was deeper than he had imagined.

However, he did not forget the goal of this transaction. He probed, “Your Excellency Black Star, it is said that you will use Gaud to exchange for EsGod’s life. Are you ready?” “Don’t worry, I brought him here.”

Han Xiao raised his finger, and a few mechanical assistants carried an imprisonment device into the room and placed it beside him.

With a move of his energy, the imprisonment device immediately turned into mechanical particles and was put away. Gaud, who was inside, fell to the ground. Hila expressionlessly took a few steps forward, grabbed Gaud by the back of his collar, and lifted him.

“Your Excellency Gaud!”

Teny’s expression changed, and he hurriedly went forward to observe. However, Evans was one step ahead of him. He reached out to stop him and said slowly, “The deal is not completed yet, we can’t give you the person.” Teny had no choice but to stop. Looking at Gaud’s extremely weak appearance, as though he had been abused, he could not help but be furious.

“Black Star, don’t forget that the dynasty is still waiting for your explanation!”

Back then, the dynasty was fooled and even made Black Star the team leader of the investigation team. This was a farce. Black Star might have even laughed at them behind their backs.

At the thought of this, Teny could not help but feel angry that his country had been humiliated, and his tone became impolite. Hearing this, Han Xiao smiled and ignored him. Instead, he walked in front of Gaud, his shadow covering his entire body.

“This is… the Crimson Dynasty? Why did you bring me here?”

Gaud’s dull eyes turned slightly, and he suddenly had some spirit.

“To return you to the dynasty, of course.” Gaud was stunned for a moment, and he was overjoyed. However, he suddenly realized what was going on, and his mood fell once again.

If it was in the past, he would still be happy, but now that his ability had been taken away, so what if he returned to the dynasty?

First, Black Star had taken away his hope, and now, Black Star had given him another meaningless hope. Gaud felt that Black Star was toying with him. “…Do you think you can fool the dynasty just because you gave me a strange identity? I’m a direct descendant of the dynasty. What you did to me will forever be a stain on your name. You will pay the price sooner or later!” Gaud pulled himself together and pretended to be furious.

In his mind, Han Xiao had sent him back to the dynasty to force him to admit EsGod’s identity and clear his name of attacking the dynasty’s direct descendant. He would definitely not let him do as he wished.

However, Han Xiao did not mind. “I know you won’t admit it. It doesn’t matter. I didn’t bring you here for your explanation. I brought you because I want you to see how I kill your main body.’

As soon as he said that, there was movement outside the window. A huge prison opened up, revealing EsGod who was locked in amber. Gaud subconsciously looked over, and his heart tightened. Not only did you take away my Esper Ability, you even want to ravage my original body in front of me ?

*cking have to go so far? I beg you, just kill me!

You call me a villain? You’re clearly more of a villain than me!

Chapter 1394: Crushed By Auto-Attacks

At this moment, on the Crimson Dynasty mother planet, in the Ruler’s office.

In the room, the remote surveillance was showing the scene of EsGod’s prison. Marbruce had his hands on his nose, his sharp eyes staring at Black Star in the image, paying attention to the development of the scene.

“Why did this guy take the risk to do this back then…”

Marbruce muttered to himself.

Back then, he had listened to Bekorodi’s suggestion and suspected that Black Star was behind Gaud’s disappearance. However, Urranrell was the one in charge back then, so it was not convenient for him to interfere.

After he became the next Ruler, it was not suitable for him to thoroughly investigate Black Star, so he kept the matter under control.

The only motive that Marbruce could think of was that Gaud had once tried to simulate the Evolution Cube’s ability, which was why Black Star had attacked. As for the idea of Black Star killing a talented rookie, from the series of events with the World Tree, he felt that the possibility of Black Star doing so was low.

“The problem with the Evolution Cube shouldn’t have made him take such a risk. Black Star rarely does anything unnecessary. He probably had other reasons for secretly capturing Gaud…”

Marbruce pondered about the excuses.

He glanced at Gaud, who looked like he had been abused, and was even more furious. For a direct descendant to be treated like this, it was a disgrace to their dynasty.

If Black Star used the excuse of Evolution Cube, he would not accept it.

‘However… even if I don’t accept his explanation, so what?’

Marbruce sighed in his heart.

Now that the situation was dire, and Black Star was fully grown, the three Universal Civilizations also needed the association’s strength to fight the enemies. Even if Black Star could not give him a satisfactory explanation, he helplessly realized that he could not do anything to the other party and did not dare retaliate.

From the perspective of benefits alone, the importance of a direct descendant of the dynasty who had yet to grow was naturally not as important as Black Star, their partner. Although the dynasty’s prestige was damaged this time, and it made Marbruce furious, venting his anger was not something someone in his position should do. Even if the dynasty wanted to, they had to look at the time and the occasion.

Marbruce even felt a little resentful toward Black Star for exposing this secret in front of the federation and the church. Wouldn’t it be better to tell him in private? At most, he would feel embarrassed and not let the other two leaders see him as a joke. It would be better if he dealt with it privately. Before the problem of the World Tree was resolved, the dynasty could not do anything to Black Star. Not only did they have to work together as usual, but after Gaud was returned, they also had to consider the bigger picture and not take revenge for the time being… The more Marbruce thought about it, the more frustrated he felt.

“I just hope that you can give me an acceptable explanation…”

Marbruce exhaled heavily and lowered his standards.

On the other side, the amber holding EsGod was already floating in front of everyone.

Han Xiao glanced at Gaud. Seeing that Gaud was still suppressing the emotions in his heart and maintaining a puzzled expression, he could not help but laugh.

Before his personality split, the real EsGod would not have done this. However, (Esper Ability-Rebirth) had already turned the two of them into independent individuals, and their personalities had changed. Gaud was Gaud, and his main body was his main body. Speaking of which, the ‘new EsGod’ that was currently imprisoned might have a more ‘true EsGod’ personality. “Teny, I’m ready to take action. Activate the space stabilization anchor.” Han Xiao nodded as he spoke out.

Teny turned around and gave the order. The fleets around him quickly surrounded the area and activated the space stabilization anchor to stabilize the area.

EsGod had a lot of abilities, and he was extremely slippery. He could teleport and escape if they were not careful. This was an essential environment modification.

This time, Han Xiao walked out of the cabin alone and slowly arrived in front of the EsGod Amber. Under everyone’s gaze, he unsealed it.

Buzz!

EsGod’s eyes sparkled, and he immediately saw what was going on. He quickly retreated.

It had been decades since the last time he was unsealed, and EsGod’s soul was even more dispirited. However, the wormhole data that Black Star had used to trick him into thinking about the World Tree had already been discovered. Waiting until the day he was released, he had endured the loneliness and struggled to maintain his thinking. Now that he had regained his freedom, he immediately reacted.

However, EsGod was in a very weak state. His wounds that had not healed from the last battle were still hurting, but he still made a defensive stance. His gaze swept across the entire battlefield and quickly locked onto Han Xiao.

“Black Star, I didn’t expect you to let me out again. Looks like I made the right bet.”

To figure out Gaud’s background, Han Xiao had let him out once. EsGod had resisted stubbornly and almost died, but after hearing Black Star’s words, he had decided to surrender and not resist. It seemed like he had won the bet.

“We meet again,” Han Xiao said calmly.

“Is the World Tree here?” EsGod narrowed his eyes and got straight to the point.

“They’re here.” Han Xiao nodded and said calmly, “I let you out this time to fulfill the promise I made back then. I’ll let you witness everything and borrow your strength.”

Hearing this, EsGod seemed to be relieved of a heavy burden and smiled.

“As I said, this day would come sooner or later. You will need my help one day.”

EsGod felt a sense of excitement.

After being locked up for so many years, he had finally made it through!

“I won’t refute you in this aspect. Although you are full of evil, you are still a powerful combatant. It’s too wasteful to lock you up here.” Han Xiao suddenly raised his brows. “However, the way you will help is probably different from what you think.”

“Hmm?”

EsGod was confused. “I don’t intend to let you live. I need to borrow your life. A dead EsGod is a good EsGod.” “…What do you mean? You want to kill me? Now?”

EsGod was stunned.

After sealing me for so long, you only released me to kill me now. What do you want?

This was completely different from what EsGod had expected. In his imagination, when the World Tree descended, the three Universal Civilizations would most likely ask him for help out of courtesy for the information that he had, giving him a chance to turn the situation around.

However, he did not expect that even though he had gotten what he wanted and waited for the day the World Tree descended, his life would also come to an end… He did not think that he would be able to escape from Black Star’s hands in his current weakened state. EsGod had realized this when they fought last time.

He did not know about the existence of the Underworld and did not know what benefits his death would bring to Han Xiao. However, this did not stop him from understanding the other party’s killing intent, and immediately reacted.

EsGod retreated rapidly, squeezing his cells to the limit and pumping out energy. His aura exploded, and a radar alarm sounded. He was prepared to risk his life.

At the same time, a resolute mental wave spread out from EsGod’s body into the minds of everyone present.

“Black Star! I won’t sit back and do nothing. If you want my life, come and get it yourself!” At the same time, Teny, who was watching the battle, shuddered. He secretly told the crew to turn on the video recording device.

“They’re about to start fighting. Remember to record the entire process. Don’t miss out on any of Black Star’s abilities!”

Beside him, Gaud looked at the scene of EsGod getting into his stance, and his emotions were complicated.

This was the first time he had seen his main body after splitting up. It had been almost a hundred years. Seeing his body, which he had once used to conquer the universe, now being controlled by a new personality, the feeling was indescribable.

After all, no matter what, he had always used that body to live in the past, familiarizing himself with every inch. He had spent a lot of effort nurturing the powerful abilities of his main body, but he was forced to leave it to the ‘newbie’. There was both nostalgia and unwillingness.

“If I hadn’t been captured back then, I wouldn’t have abandoned my main body so quickly…”

Gaud gritted his teeth.

Now that the ability of this new body had been taken away, the original body that was left behind became the only hope in his eyes.

Looking at the scene of Black Star confronting his main body outside the window, Gaud’s thoughts raced.

“With the ability of my main body, as long as he can last for some time, he will be able to break through the space stabilization and use Dimensional Hyperdrive to escape… There is still a chance!”

Although he had been locked up for decades and did not understand Black Star’s progress, Gaud was very clear about the strength of his main body. With Black Star’s strength when he defeated him, he felt that he would not be able to take down his main body anytime soon…

This was hope!

Gaud was energized.

However, just as he was about to focus on watching this fierce battle, the sudden change in the situation shocked him!

A circle of golden lightning spread out from Han Xiao’s body, and countless mechanical soldiers surged out. It was as though Han Xiao had become the gate of the secondary dimensional army box, completely ignoring the effects of the Space Stabilization Anchor!

(Godly Stronghold)

In the blink of an eye, the mechanical army far larger than the fleet present had arrived.

The next moment, a large number of machines gathered on Han Xiao’s body, quickly forming a Mechanical Deity with a strange appearance. Its structure was extremely complicated, as though it was covered in a dark gold armor. It had a crown on its head, and its facial features were similar to Han Xiao’s. Complicated silver-blue matrix patterns covered its entire body, flickering as if it was breathing.

Compared to the average Mechanical Deity, the energy fluctuations emitted by this group of machines were even more astonishing. They had a unique temperament and looked like they were one entity. They did not look like something that was synthesized but more like an independent being summoned.

(Mechanical Deity – Supreme Heavenly Venerate]!

A strong, mighty pressure suddenly swept out. Every life form present felt a huge pressure as if a true god had descended.

Teny and the others were not Beyond Grade As, so it was normal. However, EsGod and Gaud’s expressions changed drastically!

“Could it be that you’ve already…”

EsGod was stunned and horrified.

Why had he been moving around in the universe for so many years? It was all to step into a higher realm!

But now, without any mental preparation, he saw something that he had been dreaming of in Black Star. How could he not be shocked?

Without waiting for EsGod to recover from his shock, Han Xiao attacked. The shadow of the Emperor Skysplitter Blade quickly formed in the hands of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate. The next moment, the shadow materialized and slashed.

A suffocating thick psionic energy burst out, turning the visible area blue. Translucent energy engulfed all directions!

EsGod suddenly came back to his senses and hurriedly responded. Layers of energy shields shot out, but under the attack of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate, they shattered and exploded into fragments of light like fragile glass.

He wanted to dodge, but he felt that he was firmly locked onto and could not dodge. Due to the interference of the Space Stabilization Anchor, he could not teleport as well.

EsGod clenched his teeth and gathered what little energy he had left, activating his Esper Ability to fight head-on!

A black and red beam shot out and hit the edge of the Emperor Skysplitter Blade, but was split in half. The blade only paused for an instant before slashing down at an even faster speed. The light from the Getta Hadoken-flowed, compressed, and condensed on the blade – forming a huge light blade.

Bang!

A large blob of flesh and blood mixed with energy exploded, turning into ash halfway through.

EsGod’s body was sent flying, and half of his body was shattered!

The last time EsGod was sealed, he had just been beaten up by Han Xiao. His health was already low to begin with, and the power of this slash heavily injured him. EsGod would have been killed instantly had he not hurriedly activated recovery Esper Ability!

Before he could even adjust his state, Han Xiao struck the air, creating a blue shockwave that quickly caught up to EsGod and swept toward him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of explosions occurred on EsGod’s body. It was as if he had received tens of thousands of heavy blows at the same time. His body was covered in dense depressions, and he was almost beaten into a lump of flesh, unable to move at all.

EsGod still had a breath of life left, and he frantically activated his Esper Ability to recover.

However, at this moment, the thrusters on the back of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate spat out thick flames, and the explosion increased its speed. With a turn of the blade, a dazzling slash appeared. The gigantic body was unbelievably agile, and it brushed past EsGod!

Swish!

As the light streaked past EsGod’s body, his recovery stopped, and his life force disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He controlled his newly grown head with great difficulty and turned to look at the Supreme Heavenly Venerate. Complicated emotions flashed through his eyes. There was enlightenment, envy, relief…

“You didn’t disappoint me… You’ve indeed stepped into… the level of my dreams. At least before I die… I was able to see a higher level of power… It was worth it…”

The intermittent mental fluctuations drained the last of his energy. The next moment, EsGod’s body dissipated in front of everyone’s eyes, turning into starlight and disappearing.

With three auto-attacks, EsGod died!

Teny’s expression froze, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

Black Star had killed a Beyond Grade A in an instant before as well, but that was only due to tactics. Most of the time, he would use the method of mutual destruction, and this seemed to be the first time he had done something like instant-killing a peak Beyond Grade A head-on with auto attacks!

It was as easy as a Beyond Grade A fighting a Calamity Grade Super. This was the Transcendent Grade ?

It was impossible to gather much intelligence on Black Star’s abilities with just two or three moves, but the tip of the iceberg was already shocking enough.

Teny could not help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. He deeply doubted whether an individual strength at this level was something that a fleet could deal with…

“What…”

Gaud was also stunned.

He had thought that Black Star would have a fierce battle with his main body, but he did not expect Black Star to kill his main body so easily in the blink of an eye.

What shocked him the most was the fact that Black Star had already stepped into a higher realm!

A deep sense of powerlessness penetrated Gaud’s body.

He had wasted so many years, committed countless evil deeds, abandoned precious things one after another, and even changed his body, yet he still did not achieve this dream. However, Black Star had easily fulfilled his lifelong wish… How hateful!

Under normal circumstances, Gaud would still have the mentality to chase after his goal, but now that his ability was taken away and his main body was beaten to death, he did not have any more chances. For a moment, he felt as if his heart was dead. He felt that all his essence, energy, and spirit had been sucked away, leaving only an empty shell without a soul.

Gaud would rather be locked in the Spacetime Amber forever than experience this series of despairing blows.

At this moment, he had fallen into a negative state of mind.

Chapter 1395: Successor

Chapter 1395 Successor

Just as everyone was having different thoughts, the Supreme Heavenly Venerate shrank, and the mechanical soldiers returned to Han Xiao’s body, revealing his original figure. Han Xiao looked at the location where EsGod had died, and his eyes sparkled. Just when EsGod’s health was emptied with a single slash, a strong intuition suddenly appeared in his head. He thought that his attack might be able to cross dimensions and affect his opponent’s information form, but this feeling was fleeting and could not be captured ‘If I can destroy the enemy’s physical body along with the information form projection, I might be able to eliminate the enemy’s existence. This way, the Sanctum, the World Tree, and the Underworld might not be able to revive them.’

Han Xiao thought to himself.

He suddenly came up with this idea, mainly because of (Information UniquenessConceptual Immortality). If all Transcendents had this ability, then experts of the same level should have the means to counter it. If only a Transcendent could kill a Transcendent, then they should have the ability to use destructive power in information and conceptual levels. “I’ve just stepped into the Transcendent Grade. It seems like there are more abilities hidden at this level that have yet to be completely unlocked.” Han Xiao calmed himself down and flew back to the dynasty’s flagship. As soon as they returned to the command room, everyone turned to look at him with different expressions. Han Xiao ignored them and glanced at Gaud’s expression. “How is it? Are you happy to see your main body after so long?” Gaud remained silent. He was filled with hatred, but he did not dare speak. He was afraid that he would not be able to control the anger that he had accumulated and would confess.

Furthermore, Black Star’s strength had already made him despair.

At this moment, Teny walked over with a complicated look in his eyes. Then, his tone became firm again. “Your Excellency Black Star, you’ve killed him. EsGod will soon become your hired thug. It’s time for you to fulfill your promise.”

What hired thug?

Gaud was slightly stunned. However, no one answered his question at this moment. Han Xiao turned to look at Hila, and Hila understood. She showed the Mark of The Underworld, indicating that EsGod’s soul had been sent into the Underworld.

Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled casually and replied,

“Of course, we each take what we need. This person is now yours.”

Then, he lifted Gaud up and threw him in front of Teny as though he was throwing trash.

Teny could not be bothered with Han Xiao’s attitude. He got someone to help Gaud up. After sensing for a while, he suddenly realized that Gaud’s condition was not right. “Your Excellency Gaud, are you alright?” “I…” Gaud clenched his teeth. Without waiting for him to finish, Hila continued coldly, “His Esper Ability has already been taken away by us. He’s a cripple now.”

“What?”

Teny was shocked, and only after checking carefully did he confirm this point. Furthermore, from his injuries, it seemed like it had happened recently. Black Star had obviously done this, and he could not help but be shocked and furious. “Black Star! How dare you!” “Take a break. Tell Marbruce to come out and talk to me. He should be watching.” Han Xiao ignored him. Teny was stunned. He glared at Han Xiao and gave a few orders. Ten seconds later, a remote projection appeared. It was Marbruce, staring at Han Xiao with a dark expression. “Black Star, this is not the deal we agreed on!” “Is that so? But I remember that the deal was just to hand over the person. Isn’t he in your hands now?” Han Xiao did not mind. “Stop quibbling, you know what I mean!” Marbruce was furious. They had made a deal with Black Star because they wanted to exchange for a direct descent with the Super High-Risk Esper Ability, not a cripple. The current situation made him feel like he had eaten a fly. Energy Control was an ability with a bright future. As long as it was properly nurtured, it would be ranked among the top strengths. However, a Beyond Grade A direct descendant with unparalleled potential had been crippled just like that. Marbruce was so angry that his head was almost smoking.

He was not the only one. All the dynasty officers in the cabin had unfriendly looks on their faces as they glared at Han Xiao and the others. They felt the same hatred because of Gaud’s misfortune, who was a direct descendant of the dynasty. If they did not care about the overall situation, they would have opened fire. “Alright, don’t look so bitter. We’re not done yet.” Han Xiao waved his hand. “Didn’t you guys want an explanation?”

Marbruce suppressed his anger and said with a deep voice, “Speak. You better satisfy us.” “You guys think Gaud is a pure dynasty descendant, but his true identity is EsGod. When he was captured…”

Han Xiao could not be bothered to respond to him. He slowly explained the situation of the split personality caused by [Esper AbilityRebirth). “…So what you’re saying is that you ambushed Gaud and imprisoned him for so many years because he’s an unstable factor that might attract the World Tree in advance? However, EsGod did not know that this doppelganger existed, and only Gaud knew his identity… Don’t you think this is too ridiculous?” Marbruce frowned.

Han Xiao said with a calm expression, “I know you don’t believe me, but I’ve already given him to you. If you have the guts, you can dig out the evidence from him.” It was very difficult for him to use Gaud’s memories as evidence. The dynasty would only think that it was forged. As a direct descendant who had met with a catastrophe, Gaud would not be treated to a memory search just because of a random suspicion from an outsider. The three Universal Civilizations would never use such methods on the direct descendants, which would easily damage their loyalty. Furthermore, the direct descendants would also resist.

However, even if the dynasty was willing to search Gaud’s memories, they would also suspect that he had done something to plant fake evidence. There was no way to completely prove Gaud’s true identity, and Han Xiao did not care if the dynasty believed him or not. As expected, Marbruce did not believe in such a story that could not be verified. He only felt that it was Black Star’s excuse and said with a deep voice, “I’m not satisfied with this explanation. According to you, we still have to thank you?” “Indeed, you should thank me.”

Han Xiao did not mind at all. He could explain it properly, but there was no need to.

Using this matter, he planned to change his previous image. Because he had worked together with the three Universal Civilizations to fight against the foreign enemies, he had built a training base together with them and provided a lot of help, causing his image in the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations to become too righteous. Now that he had stepped into the Transcendent Grade, his details were filled with mystery. He could take this opportunity to create distance between him and the three Universal Civilizations, strengthening his unfathomable image in their eyes, and make them feel that the increase in strength had changed his personality. This was very common. This way, the three Universal Civilizations would be more cautious in dealing with the relationship between the two sides and re-establish their attitude toward him.

It was best not to be too sincere when interacting with these advanced civilizations. The upper echelons of both sides knew that they would be opposing each other sooner or later, so it was pointless to talk about making friends now.

Marbruce’s breathing quickened. After a few seconds, he calmed down and said coldly, “We will investigate this matter internally and find out the truth as soon as possible.” He wanted to turn hostile, but he did not dare. Even if the dynasty did that, the federation and church would not go crazy with them. “Up to you.” Han Xiao waved his hands. “…There’s one more thing. You destroyed Gaud’s Esper Ability, so you have to give me an explanation. Don’t tell me that it’s still an unstable factor.” “That’s it. If he continues to hold this power, there’s a high chance that he will participate in the war. With his special feelings for the World Tree, he might cause something we don’t want to see… I know you guys don’t have the courage to cripple a direct descendant, so I helped you solve this hidden danger. You guys still have to thank me.”

“Black Star!” Marbruce laughed in anger. “Can you be any more shameless ?” “I’m just telling the truth. Whether you accept it or not is your problem.” Han Xiao’s tone was calm.

Marbruce clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. After a while, he suppressed his anger and said with a deep voice, “No matter what reason you have, Energy Control is a unique Super High-Risk Esper Ability. It’s too wasteful! If you train it well, this ability will be a powerful method to deal with the World Tree.”

With Black Star’s strength, position, and influence, he could only look at it from a different perspective and blame Han Xiao for being wasteful. He was also very upset about the disappearance of his Super High-Risk Esper Ability. “I agree with you on this.” Han Xiao nodded. “But don’t worry, I did not destroy this ability. It can still be used on the battlefield.”

Marbruce was stunned. He subconsciously looked at Gaud, thinking that Han Xiao was referring to Gaud. However, this time, Han Xiao patted Evans’ shoulder and said, “I’ve already transferred this ability to Evans. Compared to Gaud, his potential is more worth nurturing.” Hearing this, everyone looked over with confusion. “He has the Energy Control Esper Ability?” Teny could not help but ask with a surprised tone. “How did he do that? What kind of ability user is he?” Marbruce had the same doubt as he stared at Han Xiao. “I have been secretly training Evans for decades.” Han Xiao looked at everyone and said, “His ability is the same as EsGod’s. He can absorb the Esper Abilities of others for his own use. It was through this method that he seized Gaud’s Esper Ability gene chain and obtained this Super High-Risk Ability.” As soon as he said that, everyone was shocked. EsGod was the nightmare of many organizations. Thankfully, he had already been killed, but now there was another guy with the same ability in the universe. Could this galactic society still be good ? Marbruce’s pupils constricted as he stared at Han Xiao. Great! Black Star had been trying to groom a second-generation Estod since a few decades ago. Maybe his other goal of killing Gaud was to obtain ‘Energy Control’!

Now that Black Star had an EsGod Hero Spirit and a second-generation EsGod that he had secretly groomed, even Marbruce could not help but be shaken. Han Xiao acted as though he did not see their expressions and said, “How is it? Evans’ potential is better than Gaud’s, right? Don’t worry, I will do my best to train him so that he can be useful on the battlefield. So, Marbruce, you don’t have to worry about this ability being wasted. I’m a very thrifty person.” “…I’m relieved,” Marbruce squeezed out the sound of chewing steel from between his teeth.

“That’s good. Looks like we have a deeper understanding of each other. Since the matter has been resolved, I shall take my leave.”

Han Xiao turned around and left with Hila and Evans. Teny looked at Han Xiao’s back and could not help but whisper, “Black Star, you’ve changed…” Han Xiao paused. … If I don’t change, should I just wait to be eaten by you guys? He did not say anything and continued walking away. Very soon, his spaceship left the main ship and disappeared from everyone’s sight. Watching Han Xiao and the others leave, the people in the command room remained silent with complicated feelings.

Marbruce was in a gloomy mood. This sudden turn of events made his stomach sour and nauseous.

He wanted to look down on Black Star, but on second thought, he felt a little dispirited. They did not have the right to look down on him. If not for Black Star, the World Tree would have already broken through the national borders. Despite the contradiction, he had no right to judge Black Star’s character. “…Take good care of Gaud. Treat his injuries first.”

Marbruce sighed and deactivated the remote projection. Gaud watched the entire process of Black Star negotiating with the dynasty, and his expression kept changing. Initially, he had a one-in-a-million hope that the dynasty would stand up for him and vent their anger on Black Star. However, the way the dynasty held back in front of Black Star completely shattered his fantasy and his desire for revenge. Not one of the three Universal Civilizations dared to provoke Black Star. Just what position had this guy climbed to in the past few decades? With my current state, touching Black Star’s bad luck again would be like throwing an egg at a rock.

Gaud lamented in his heart. It was as if his bones had been sucked out.

However, he had another question. He turned to Teny and whispered, “You guys just said that Black Star turned EsGod into a hired fighter. What’s going on? Isn’t that EsGod dead?” Teny looked at him with a complicated expression.

Although he did not believe Black Star saying that Gaud was EsGod, he could not help but be wary.

Teny thought for a moment before answering. “You’ve been locked up for decades, so you might not understand. Black Star has subdued a pair of sisters, and the Esper Abilities of these sisters are the same as the two sisters in history. They have also opened up the Underworld Dimension, and they can transform the souls into undying Hero Spirits and make them serve as their subordinates. Although EsGod was killed, his soul was thrown into the Underworld and it became their combat strength. There should be more than ten Beyond Grade A spirits in there now.” Gaud’s eyes widened.

In the Underworld Dimension. EsGod slowly opened his eyes, and a boundless black land appeared before him. “Am I dead…” EsGod looked down and saw that his body had turned into a semi-transparent spirit body. The scene before his death appeared once again. The overwhelming saber light had killed all the life force in his cells in one blow, causing him to tremble from the depths of his soul. He could not help but reminisce. However, it did not take long for him to realize that something was wrong. His soul was only a candle in the wind, but it showed no signs of dissipating. Instead, it was becoming more and more solid.

Swoosh!

At this moment, a few rays of light flashed, and Han Xiao and the others teleported to the surroundings with the King and arrived in front of EsGod.

“What did you do to me?”

EsGod frowned.

“Don’t worry, it’s a good thing for you. Did you think I would really kill you?” Han Xiao chuckled.

“…What are you going to do?” “Don’t worry, this is a good thing for you. This is the Underworld, and it can stabilize souls. It…”

Before Han Xiao could finish, EsGod interrupted him with his eyes wide open. “The legendary Underworld ” “Oh? You know?” Han Xiao paused and raised his brows.

“Of course I know.”

EsGod nodded. As a collector of Super High-Risk Esper Abilities, he had collected information about all the Beyond Grade A Espers in history. As for the two sisters, they were naturally the focus of attention, so he had seen all the records of the Underworld. “That makes things easier. It saved me the trouble of explaining.” Han Xiao smiled. “The life and death Esper Abilities of this generation have owners. They repaired the Underworld and restored its effects. You’re already a soul now. Are you willing to accept the Underworld transformation and become an undying Hero Spirit?” Hesitation flashed through EsGod’s eyes. If he could live, he did not want to die. However, joining the Underworld meant losing his freedom, and he would probably never be able to free himself. Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled and said, “I know what you’re worried about. Actually, this isn’t a bad thing. You should know your own lifespan better than I. You don’t have much longer to live anyway. As long as you give up a portion of your freedom, you can live forever in the Underworld. Furthermore, your physical form has changed, so you don’t have to worry about the genetic chain anymore. You will only be stronger than when you were alive. So, why
not?”

EsGod’s eyes sparkled, and he suddenly said with a deep voice, “Black Star, we’ve known each other for many years. Although you’ve reached a higher level first, my goal has not changed. If I join the Underworld, I won’t have the chance to advance any further.” “You didn’t have a chance in the first place. Even if I didn’t kill you, it’s impossible for you to advance. You don’t have to doubt my judgment. As someone who’s experienced, I know better than you what it takes to advance.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

This was not a lie. EsGod’s genetic chain was too overloaded, and his life form would become even more unstable during his Promotion. Furthermore, with his terrible popularity, no peak Beyond Grade A would be willing to help him with his Promotion. Seeing EsGod remain silent, Han Xiao thought for a while and smiled. “But you don’t have to be discouraged. Your dream can be fulfilled by your successor.”

“Successor?” EsGod was confused. Han Xiao beckoned for Evans to come over. “This guy’s name is Evans. He inherited your ability and can steal other people’s Esper Abilities. Can’t he inherit your will and help you see a higher scenery?” “The same ability as mine ?” EsGod was shocked and looked at Evans carefully. Evans also showed his abilities, proving that Han Xiao was not lying. Seeing this, EsGod was even more shocked. “Are you… my illegitimate son ” Evans’ face darkened, but he did not say anything. Han Xiao smiled and said, “How would I know?”

“Let me think…”

EsGod frowned as he recalled.

When he was wreaking havoc in the galaxy, he had naturally vented his desires on females of different species, but they were all left to fend for themselves after mating. He did not know if he had any offspring. The more EsGod thought about it, the more he felt like he had lost a portion of his memories.

At this time, Han Xiao said, “There’s no need to be so conflicted. The probability of having the same Esper Ability is much rarer than having a child, not to mention an extremely rare ability like yours. With my nurturing, Evans did not take the wrong path. Although he has fewer abilities now, his talent is not inferior to yours. Why don’t you nurture him and let him fulfill your wish?”

EsGod was silent for a while before suddenly laughing and jokingly saying, “To put it bluntly, you just want to trick me into helping you train your combat strength and work for you.”

Han Xiao said without hesitation, “Evans has too little combat experience, so he doesn’t know how to coordinate his various abilities. This is your strength, so I’ll have to trouble you to guide him.” “…I haven’t agreed yet.”

“You have a choice?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“Heh, that’s what I admire about you the most.”

EsGod laughed for some reason, looked at Evans, nodded, and slowly said, “Life is really unpredictable. This is the first time I’m teaching someone… Alright, I’ll teach you how to use this ability to fight. I only have one request… If one day you can reach a higher level, help me beat Black Star up.”

“Wow, so scary.” Han Xiao clicked his tongue.

Evans looked at Han Xiao, then at EsGod. Seeing both of them staring at him, he finally nodded hesitantly. Seeing this, EsGod opened his arms with a calm expression. “Come, turn me into a Hero Spirit. Let this world see what I look like without any mental load!”

Chapter 1396: Ranking Restructure, Eldest Brother

The Hero Spirit Modification Ceremony was currently underway, and on a black mountain peak far away, the Hero Spirits of the Underworld were standing, looking up at Han Xiao and the others in the sky. Their eyes were focused on EsGod, who was transforming.

“Hmph, Black Star kidnapped another newbie,” Old Nine Aegon Vardnadze crossed his arms and snorted.

“Why isn’t this newbie resisting? Did he come in voluntarily? I thought he would only accept his fate after being taught a lesson like Old Nine and Old Ten.” Old Four, who had no sense of existence, teased.

The corners of Old Ten Dylan’s eyes twitched, and he remained silent.

In the end, he was still forced to accept his fate. Instead of suffering endless torture, he might as well enjoy a limited freedom. He could only hope that Black Star would keep his promise in the future and remove his identity as a Hero Spirit, allowing him to revive normally.

“Humph, I don’t care if this newcomer is willing or not. Anyway, I want to teach him the rules.”

Aegon Vardnadze snorted.

After being taught a lesson, he finally relented. He was not willing to see the newcomers joining the Underworld so comfortably.

Sorokin adjusted his vision and saw the scene in the distance clearly. He could not help but raise his brows with a playful expression.

“I don’t think you can teach him a lesson. This time, there’s a powerful guy.”

“How strong is he? Can he be stronger than me?” Dylan interrupted.

“You?” Sorokin turned his head and looked at him from head to toe. “I’m afraid you can’t even match his one hand.”

Dylan was instantly unhappy. “We’re both peak Beyond Grade As, can he be stronger than Black Star? If he had that ability, why would he enter the Underworld?”

Sorokin smiled without saying anything.

He was from the same era as EsGod, but the others were different. They did not know EsGod, and he was the only one present who understood how powerful EsGod’s combat capability would be when combined with the mechanisms of the Underworld.

“However…” Sorokin changed the topic and said with a smile,” No matter how strong he is, his seniority is behind us. He is Old Eleven.

On the other side, Han Xiao also noticed the movements of the ten Hero Spirit Kings of the Underworld. He turned around and smiled.

The ten Guardian Deities of the Underworld had evolved into Inazuma Eleven. They had finally gathered enough to form a football team.

However, EsGod was easy to talk to because Han Xiao’s fists were big, but that did not mean that he had the same attitude toward others. He was not someone who would easily submit to others, and he would not obediently become Old Eleven.

After a while, the Hero Spirit modification was finally completed. EsGod opened his eyes again and felt the form of the Hero Spirit. He nodded in appreciation.

“The fusion of life and death forms a perfectly harmonious structure. This is the ultimate control of Esper Abilities. The Underworld can be called a Space Wonder. The two sisters in history are indeed amazing. Even if I were to develop these two abilities, I might not be able to do better than them.”

“Humph.”

Hila did not like it when others used such a tone to guide her, but since the other party was the ‘God of Esper Abilities’, an absolute master in the field of Esper Abilities, she did not say anything and only snorted to express her dissatisfaction.

At this time, the ten Guardian Deities of the Underworld saw that the ceremony was over and came over to get to know the newcomer. Sorokin greeted them first.

“Yo, look who this is. I thought you would be locked up in a dark prison forever. How did you get released and become a member of the Underworld?”

“Sorokin, you’re here too?”

EsGod looked over.

“Hehe, looks like you’ve been locked up for too long. You have no idea what happened in the past few years,” Sorokin shrugged and pointed at the Hero Spirits beside him. “Let me introduce them. These seven are Beyond Grade As who joined the Underworld in the exploration era. These two are Beyond Grade As in history. They were revived by Black Star and are both peak Beyond Grade As. We are the Hero Spirit Kings of the Underworld…”

“Revived?” A look of interest flashed through EsGod’s eyes. He turned to look at Han Xiao and said with a smile, “Looks like you’ve done a lot of things in the past hundred years.”

“What else? Do you think I’ve been doing nothing all these years?” Han Xiao shook his head. “In the past hundred years, there have been many changes in the galactic structure. You should ask Sorokin about these things. You guys know each other after all, he will definitely be happy to explain to you.”

“That’s right, as long as you owe me a promise coin… Don’t look so confused. Come, let me introduce you to the currency of the Underworld…”

Sorokin was extremely passionate. He could not wait to promote the financial system that he had created.

However, before he could say anything, Dylan interrupted him and sized EsGod up.

“I haven’t asked for your name. What’s yours?”

EsGod turned to look at him. “You don’t need to know my name. Just call me EsGod.”

“What do you mean?”

“God of Esper Abilities.”

Dylan laughed and said sarcastically, “Not even the most powerful Espers in history dared to call themselves that. Old Eleven, do you deserve this name?” “Old Eleven?” EsGod raised his brows and counted the people in front of him. He immediately understood the order of ranking.

“You’re not convinced?” Dylan snorted.

“If we were still alive, you would be dead by now.” EsGod’s tone was calm. As someone who made the galactic society tremble in fear, he was not a good-tempered person.

“Sure, let’s fight. Sorokin said you’re very strong, but I want to see how you kill me.”

Dylan sneered. He remembered Sorokin’s words and refused to believe them.

In any case, they were all Hero Spirits who would not die. If they were not convinced, they would fight. Han Xiao could not help but glance at him. He did not find it strange. Dylan had a foul mouth, and he also had the ability to taunt others. He had always liked to stir up trouble. Furthermore, after accepting Hero Spirit’s identity, this guy no longer had anything to worry about. It was as if he had released his nature. His foul mouth became worse, and his taunts became more and more casual. His personality was extremely unrestrained.

They were all Hero Spirits, and without Aurora giving them life force, no one would be able to do anything. It was likely that Dylan was just enjoying the feeling of the other side not being able to do anything to him.

“What do you say?” EsGod turned to look at Han Xiao.

“Since that’s the case, Aurora and I will temporarily give you a body. You guys can rearrange your positions, and strength is everything.” Hila’s eyes lit up. She was most willing to watch others fight a bloody battle, so she immediately decided.

“I agree.” Sorokin’s eyes lit up, and he immediately agreed.

Although he was not the strongest among the Hero Spirit Kings, he was definitely ranked at the top. At the very least, he did not have to continue being Old Eight.

“That’s right, I agree.” Dylan snorted and pointed at EsGod. “I hope you can let me enjoy myself.”

“I’m in a good mood today, so let’s celebrate my new life with you.”

EsGod paused and turned to look at Evans.

“This time, I’ll show you the combat style of this ability. Watch and learn.”

Evans immediately perked up.

Not long after, Aurora was called over by Hila to build a body for the numerous Hero Kings.

Han Xiao brought them to the main universe and found a desolate universe belt as the battlefield.

Three days later, the eleven of them returned to the Underworld in their Hero Spirit form. They did not mention the battle at all and only silently rearranged themselves.

EsGod became the eldest brother out of nowhere, Dylan became the second, Sorokin became the third, and Aegon Vardnadze became the fourth.

Although the first and second positions were only one position away from each other, there was a huge gap between their strengths. As a spectator, Han Xiao had finally witnessed the strength of EsGod when he was at his peak. He was much stronger than when he was alive, and it was a piece of cake for him to beat up Dylan.

In Han Xiao’s eyes, he was probably the only one in the entire universe who could easily take down EsGod. The others would at most fight to a draw, and EsGod with no mental load would not be afraid of anyone but him.

On the other hand, Wuornos’ chances of winning were even lower than that of Herberlon. Even if his Energy Rank was higher, he might not be EsGod’s match. After all, he was an Esper. As long as he was touched by [Esper Silence), he would basically be dead.

On the other side, in the conference room of the three Universal Civilizations.

The three leaders had just finished a meeting and were arranging the documents when Louis suddenly thought of something. He looked at Marbruce and asked curiously,

“How did your deal with Black Star go? I heard Gaud has returned?”

Marbruce paused and slowly nodded.

The Pope narrowed his eyes and slowly said, “So, Gaud was really captured by Black Star. How did your dynasty deal with him?”

“…I’m still investigating the inside story. You don’t have to worry about the details.”

Marbruce shook his head.

Seeing this, the two of them guessed that the dynasty had most likely been defeated by Black Star and could not help but laugh inwardly. The Pope coughed and said calmly, “Black Star is fully grown, so let’s not bother about him for now. No matter what, we have brought back a direct Beyond Grade A with extraordinary potential. In the future, he will definitely become an important pillar of our individual strength. Congratulations on obtaining a new National Pillar. Train Gaud well.”

Because he had Wuornos at home who was preparing to advance to the Transcendent Grade, the Pope was very open-minded and did not mind that the dynasty had regained Gaud. Furthermore, from the standpoint of the three Universal Civilizations, this was also a good thing

Marbruce’s heart skipped a beat.

Others thought that Gaud was still the Super High-Risk Esper Ability possessor with unparalleled potential, and they were congratulating him for obtaining the potential seed. It was a kind of mockery, and he did not feel good about it.

Marbruce did not want the two of them to know that the dynasty had made a loss this time and used EsGod to exchange for a cripple. He had no choice but to suppress his anger and smile.

At the border of the Flickering World.

Huge engineering spaceships cruised through space one after another. Planetary harvesting devices covered the planets one after another, carrying out destructive development, draining the planet’s core, crushing the planet, and disintegrating it into various substances that flowed into the enormous storage pods. It was like a swarm of locusts sweeping across the galaxy, leaving only barren land wherever it passed.

There were a few Star Clusters at the border of the Flickering World. Originally, it was a place with plenty of resources, but under the destructive development of the three Universal Civilizations, it was gradually turning into a desolate universe belt. It was currently transforming into a strategic deep region to face the World Tree’s attacks in the future. All the valuable resources were taken away, leaving nothing behind for the World Tree. At this moment, at the edge of the development zone, a small dynasty fleet was escorting an ordinary spaceship with the Black Star Army’s insignia. In the spaceship, Bun-Hit-Dog was arranging the materials he had collected for this trip. The players around him all had the ID prefix of Bun-Hit-Dog’s studio, and they were all his employees.

“It’s a pity that the dynasty did not allow us to go deep into the development zone. This time, we only managed to gather some scraps. It’s not enough to make a video of the three Universal Civilizations preparing for war…”

Bun-Hit-Dog sighed, not too satisfied with his gains.

“Be content. The three Universal Civilizations have already made an exception by allowing us to take a look at the periphery.” The assistant, Little Wheat, curled his lips.

Currently, most of the players were participating in the harassment battle at the frontline, but Bun-Hit-Dog did not stay at the frontline all the time. Because there were battle reports everywhere, it was not convenient for him to make videos. He keenly felt that the changes in the backlines would be more valuable, so he brought a group of studio employees back to the explored universe to search for news everywhere.

Not long after, Bun-Hit-Dog set his sights on the two news locations, the Black Star Training Base and the three Universal Civilizations’ war preparations. However, the training base did not allow outsiders to enter, so he could only observe the latter.

Bun-Hit-Dog was doing quite well in some of the departments of the three Universal Civilizations. Firstly, the accounts under his studio all prioritized optimizing charisma, and they specialized in building a good relationship with various characters. Secondly, Bun-Hit-Dog kept promoting himself and pulled many players to be his backers, letting the three Universal Civilizations know that he had a special influence among the Immortals and became the exclusive media of the Immortals. Thirdly, he had the special identity of a reporter from the Black Star Army, and his studio was attached to the intelligence department of the army. It was a branch that was officially recognized, and it had a news license.

Therefore, in the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations, Bun-Hit-Dog represented the special intelligence personnel of the immortals group of the Black Star Army. He had some face and was able to discuss business and cooperation with the various organizations as a player. This was also the way some guilds did things. With so many conveniences, Bun-Hit-Dog’s business flourished.

He submitted a visit request to the three Universal Civilizations, and after some negotiation, Bun-Hit-Dog and the others finally obtained permission to come to the edge of this border development zone to take a look. However, the results were not as expected, and they were now on their way
back.

“What should I do? Although I don’t lack material now, it’s all old talk. I need sensational news!”

Bun-Hit-Dog tugged at his hair with a troubled expression.

At this moment, a chat notification popped up on the forums. An employee had sent a private message. “Boss, I made a huge discovery. This material will definitely scare you to death!” Bun-Hit-Dog looked at his ID and remembered that he was the supervisor in charge of the dynasty’s news materials.

“Cut the crap. Tell me what you found!”

“This is what one of my subordinates heard from a dynasty logistics officer. It is said that not long ago, Black Star went to kill EsGod and showed his strength that surpasses Beyond Grade A. He even handed Gaud over…”

This small supervisor spoke with confidence. He did not know about the behind-the-scenes deal that Black Star made and only talked about what he did on the surface, but this was enough to shock Bun-Hit-Dog. “Is this information true ?” Bun-Hit-Dog felt his bladder tighten.

“I don’t know. That employee of mine has a very good relationship with that dynasty officer. Anyway, I found out from him that this officer was present at the scene!”

“Well done! All the money spent over the years was not wasted!” Bun-Hit-Dog slammed the table excitedly.

The size of his studio was not small. He had arranged for a regional branch in some large organizations and had his employees specially make friends with the people from the various departments of these large organizations. He had been investing money to form an intelligence network, and occasionally, he would get insider information from these people. Of course, with his personal assets, there was no way he could open such a huge business. There were also sponsors behind him.

As for the biggest sponsor, it was Black Star himself. Bun-Hit-Dog had thought that Han Xiao had a good impression of him, which was why he had received the funds.

The inside story this time was the biggest piece of news he had ever received. Although he did not know the reason, just the fact that Black Star had broken past Beyond Grade A and Gaud’s disappearance had something to do with Black Star was enough for him to make a video.

Even if it was just groundless speculation, the gimmick was enough to attract attention.

Bun-Hit-Dog immediately slammed the table.

“Hurry up and send me the material. The video has to be uploaded within three days. You guys have to work overnight. I’m going to be popular again!”

Chapter 1397: Group Battle’s Godly Artifact and Request

The rankings were rearranged in the Underworld, and Evans temporarily stayed behind to receive EsGod’s guidance. Han Xiao then returned to the training base to train in seclusion. He used the new level of strength to upgrade all the machines under him and also studied some profound blueprints.

The dynasty was tricked, but they did not make a move. They endured and remained silent. Gaud’s whereabouts were also sealed. Han Xiao did not know how the dynasty planned to deal with Gaud. Maybe they were thinking of ways to restore his ability. Anyway, it was impossible for this guy to appear in the outside world for a while.

The storm caused by his advancement to the Transcendent Grade slowly subsided. After the initial shock, the three Universal Civilizations also accepted reality and returned to their normal state.

A few days later, in the Black Star Army’s private machinery factory.

Han Xiao stood in front of an experiment table and stared at a floating hourglass-shaped device. A dense amount of Mechanical Force was emitted from his body and connected to this device like a chain. The space on both ends of the device started to tremble.

“So, this is the principle behind psionic waves. Tsk tsk, this technology’s destructive power is not simple. It is indeed advanced technology. If combined with a Universal Treasure-level transmitter, it would be a large-scale strategic killing weapon. I’ve really picked up a treasure this time…”

Excitement flashed in Han Xiao’s eyes.

After these few days of research, he finally understood the psionic wave technology. In his eyes, this thing was an absolute godly weapon for group battles. Firstly, it would absorb energy from the outside world and automatically increase its attack range. If given enough time, it could even cover the entire galactic battlefield, but it was more controllable and would not spread endlessly.

Secondly, it was just as difficult to block and clean up as the Primordial Psionic Energy. In fact, because the psionic wave’s explosive form was like a shockwave instead of a solid energy mass like Primordial Psionic Energy, the speed at which it expanded was much faster and harder to block. Furthermore, it could ignore matter to a large extent, and its penetrative power was astonishing.

The third was that it could eliminate different forms of energy. Any type of energy could activate the transmitter, and the energy input was the type of energy targeted by psionic waves. It could be mixed multiple times. If dark energy was injected, psionic waves would eat dark energy and destroy the shields, physical devices, and energy cores that were formed or maintained by dark energy. At the same time, it would not affect other forms of energy. The reason why psionic waves destroyed all the electrical devices in the Arthur Civilization was that the researchers injected electricity.

In addition, no matter what kind of energy the psionic waves targeted, it would be extremely fatal. If a life form not strong enough was swept by the psionic waves, they would be reduced to ashes. The entire Arthur Civilization was wiped out by this.

“The fleets of the advanced civilizations are basically powered by dark energy and psionic energy. If I target these two types of energy, no matter how large the fleet is, it will be paralyzed. The number of troops will lose its meaning in front of this technology, and it will be enough to serve as the main battle weapon.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The psionic wave technology was too powerful, just like an enhanced version of the omnipotent EMP. He did not plan to let others use it, or it would only end up threatening him.

Mechanics had many powerful weapons, but most of them were technologies owned by advanced civilizations. Therefore, most Mechanics did not seem to have any special killing methods, but psionic wave technology could be used as a trump card.

If this thing was installed on the Emperor Skysplitter Blade, Han Xiao believed that even without summoning his mechanical army, he would be able to fight the enemy fleet head-on in a one billion level galactic battlefield.

With one slash, millions of battleships would be paralyzed. How terrifying was that!

Han Xiao could not help but imagine this scene, and his mood instantly improved. Tyrsius was truly a great man. Not only did he provide the Beyonder’s Vestige to help him advance, but he also indirectly gave him such a powerful black technological weapon. What kind of generosity was this? It could move the whole Galaxy!

After a while, Han Xiao waved his hands, and the psionic wave transmitter in front of him disappeared. This was not a physical creation but a temporary product converted from (Virtual Creation (Pseudo)].

During this time, he had discovered a new method to use this ability for research.

Originally, Han Xiao only had an incomplete version of the psionic wave transmitter prototype that he had dug out from the Arthur Civilization. It was very difficult to reverse-engineer the technology. However, after dismantling the prototype and figuring out the rough structure and materials used, he used (Virtual Creation (Pseudo)] to create a temporary product and reverse-engineered the technology on the undamaged temporary product. This way, the efficiency was thousands of times higher than studying the prototype!

It was through this move that he was able to deduce and perfect the principles step by step, allowing him to understand all the tricks and reverse engineer the complete technology.

“Although this technology is powerful, it still needs to be tested. It’s not suitable for actual combat.” Han Xiao went through the information in his mind and nodded. Although the psionic wave mechanism was advanced technology, he still needed to look at its capacity and strength. Just because it was difficult to stop it did not mean that it was unresolvable. After all, it was not an unreasonable Space Wonder, and it could still be neutralized and countered. For example, even if the dark energy controlled by Clotti was targeted, it would at most be weakened and not directly disintegrated by psionic waves.

Therefore, in Han Xiao’s eyes, there was still room for improvement in the various parameters of this technology. He planned to strengthen it to the extreme and only use this trump card when the time was right. Han Xiao took a deep breath and moved his fingers. The experiment table floated away and returned to its original position.

With a wave of his hand, the fridge in the corner opened, and a bottle of iced beverage flew into his hand. He took a big gulp and relaxed slightly. He opened the forums to refresh his mood.

Currently, the battle at the frontlines was extremely intense, and eighty percent of the forums were filled with battle reports. Han Xiao quickly went through the posts one after another, and he suddenly noticed that a popular post had been pinned. It was Bun-Hit-Dog who had posted another new video.

He went in to take a look and saw that the post was being refreshed at a rate of a few hundred posts per second.

Han Xiao clicked on the video and realized that the duration of this episode was a little short. A lot of bullet comments quickly floated past.

“First!”

“It’s here!”

“That’s it? That’s way too short!”

“Can I free this video?”

“I just pooped, and the video ended.”

“Trash Bun-Hit-Dog, another average video. Hurry up and come out in female clothes to apologize for your mistake!” “There’s a saying, ‘Bun-Hit-Dog’s cross-dressing looks the best’. It makes me feel like the love between the elderly.”

“Thank you, brother, I’ve vomited. My stomach feels much better.”

Han Xiao looked at the comments and felt much happier. He then looked at the content of the video.

Bun-Hit-Dog made a series of dazzling video clips and said two pieces of news in a familiar video presentation style. One was that Black Star was suspected to have broken through the limit of Beyond Grade A, and he had secretly entered a higher level. The second was that Black Star was suspected to have kidnapped a direct descendant of the dynasty for reasons unknown.

These two pieces of news were very sensational. Bun-Hit-Dog did not waste any materials and added a lot of groundless rumors. It had a sense of déjà vu of ‘Approaching Science’ documentary film. There was even a short video of an interview with the dynasty officer who was the source of intelligence. He even thoughtfully gave the other party a mosaic. The video was not long, and it ended very quickly. Han Xiao scrolled through the replies and realized that many players were shocked by this, mainly because of the improvement in his strength.

“Has the Army Commander broken through the Beyond Grade A realm? Why isn’t there any news about it?”

“Could it be a secret?”

“Is there any warrior who wants to confirm the rumors with Black Star? We will pay our respects to you seven times.”

“I think it’s real. The Army Commander only used twenty to thirty years to become a Beyond Grade A Super. Now that he has stayed at this level for seventy to eighty years, it’s normal for him to break through another level.”

“A One look and I can tell that you have never studied the history of the development of the Supers in the Galaxy. Beyond Grade A and above Beyond Grade A are not the same concept. This is the first case. If it’s true, then it’s making history.”

“Speaking of which, the version this time is called the Age of Black Star. It’s actually referring to this. I definitely won’t be wrong this time!”

Although the players were shocked, Black Star had created too many miracles, and the players were already very resistant to it. The reactions had long changed from ‘he is actually so awesome’ to ‘he is still so awesome’.

Han Xiao did not pay too much attention to the reactions of the players. He was just a little surprised that Bun-Hit-Dog was able to obtain such news. The dynasty had locked down the news, and many large intelligence organizations did not know anything about it. It could only be said that Bun-Hit-Dog was indeed a player that poked into every nook and corner.

“Luckily, this news is only circulating among the players, and there’s no absolute evidence. It’s just some groundless speculation, so the impact is limited.”

Han Xiao shook his head. He did not want too many people to know about his Promotion for the time being, but he did not plan to seal or mask it. If the players knew of it, then so be it.

After scrolling through the forums for a while and looking at the army players’ bullshit, Han Xiao closed the interface with a smile and prepared to continue studying the technology. This time, Phillip suddenly appeared. “Master, hum, Risda wants to see you, hum!”

Han Xiao then remembered that he had this person under him.

“Oh, let him come over.”

After a while, a human-shaped light appeared in the room. Risda bowed and greeted Han Xiao.

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

“It’s been some time since we last met. As you know, I’ve been quite busy recently. How are your compatriots I saved last time?” Han Xiao asked.

“Thank you for your care. My compatriots have already given birth to many new members, and the AI civilization has been rebuilt. It has been recuperating for decades.”

“That’s good. What brings you here?”

“Your Excellency Black Star, although our civilization has been rebuilt, most of our compatriots are still controlled by the Mechanic Emperor and are in dire straits. You have a very high position now, so I would like to request your help again.” Hearing this, Han Xiao raised his eyebrows and remembered this mission that had been accumulating dust for many years. The requirement was to free the AI civilization members under Manison, and it was not completed yet. “This matter… Alright, it’s time to resolve it.”

Han Xiao thought about it and agreed. He felt a little bad about letting Risda wait for so many years. Risda’s compatriots had been transformed into Indestructible Mechanical Troops, and they were Manison’s trump cards. It was not easy for him to deal with this problem in the past, but now that he had become a Transcendent, he had a way to solve it.

In front of Risda, Han Xiao took out his communicator and called Manison.

After a while, the communication was connected, and Manison appeared on the virtual screen.

“…What’s the matter?”

Good lord, this d*mn guy doesn’t even bother greeting.

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. “I want to make a deal with you.”

“Speak.”

Why is this aloofness back again? Are you the Transcendent or me?

Han Xiao thought to himself but did not bother to argue. He slowly said, “I want an exchange for the artificial intelligence civilization that you captured.” “You want me to release the Indestructible Mechanical Troops?”

Manison narrowed his eyes.

If someone else had made this request, he would not have bothered, but Han Xiao was different.

Manison thought for a while but did not reject it immediately. He nodded and said, “Then let’s exchange it for the method to advance to the Transcendent Grade.” “…Are you still asleep?”

“There’s no harm in trying.” Manison’s tone was calm. “Then what do you plan to exchange for it? This is my blood, sweat, and tears.”

“Don’t count on the complete Promotion method. However, I can tell you one of the conditions for the Promotion. Also, I will give you another group of artificial intelligence lives to transform into the Indestructible Mechanic Empire.” “Sure, deal. Also, you have to help me pay for the Indestructible Mechanic Emperor.”

Manison nodded.

“Have you been very poor recently?” Han Xiao curled his lips.

“In any case, I’m not as rich as you. I’m just an ordinary peak Beyond Grade A Mechanic. How can I compare to the first Transcendent Mechanic in history?” Manison’s lips curled up.

Han Xiao:”…”

Oh my god, Manison has learned to be sarcastic. My youth… oh, it has long ended.

After finalizing the details, Han Xiao put away the communicator, looked at Risda, and nodded.

“He has already agreed. I will go to the Mechanical Race and bring your compatriots back.”

“Our entire race will forever remember your kindness.”

Risda was extremely grateful. He sighed that his investment back then had been too accurate. It was only because of a look he took, but he had already accurately latched onto the thickest thigh in the galactic society.

The problem that had troubled him for many years was solved with just a few words. Risda felt that it was indeed the right decision to wait for Black Star to grow.

An hour later, in the Mechanical Race territory.

Han Xiao left a Throne in the nearby base and quickly teleported over to the Mechanical Race’s territory. Manison’s Lord’s Avatar was already waiting on the landing platform.

“I’m here. Where are your Indestructible Mechanical Troops?”

Han Xiao looked around but did not see the target.

Manison shook his head. “Give me what I want first.”

He still remembered that the last time they fought, Black Star’s Virtual Purification had awakened a large number of artificial intelligence lives, causing him to fail miserably. Therefore, he did not dare call out the troops at this time, afraid that Black Star would attack him directly and take away the target with force, making the deal invalid. He did not have the ability to find trouble with Black Star now, so he could only suffer.

Han Xiao thought about it and understood Manison’s concerns.

“Why are you so guarded against me? With our relationship, can I cheat you?” Manison almost said that Han Xiao had cheated him so many times, but he did not dare to say it. “Tsk, alright. I’ll give it to you first.” Han Xiao did not mind. After all, Manison did not dare go back on his word.

“Let me take a look at the artificial intelligence lifeform you prepared for me.” Manison was still worried. Han Xiao rolled his eyes. “Alright, summon some mechanical lives.”

“What for?”

“Heh, did you think I would kidnap an artificial intelligence civilization and give it to you? Of course, you’re the one who will provide the raw materials. I’ll transform them for you. This time, I’ll show you the methods of a Transcendent. I’ll treat it as giving you benefits.”

Manison opened the secondary dimensional army camp and pulled out a large number of mechanical lives. These were all members of the Machinery Civilization that he had created.

Seeing this, Han Xiao raised his hand. Mechanical Force flashed and instantly swept across all the mechanical lives present.

The next moment, the bodies of all the mechanical lives changed at the same time, becoming transparent and illusory.

Manison’s expression changed. He could clearly sense that the Mechanical Lives were undergoing a miraculous change, gradually turning from a Mechanical Body to an artificial intelligence lifeform. “What ability is this P” Manison was shocked.

Although he could do something similar, that was by extracting the artificial intelligence of a mechanical life and carrying out a series of complicated operations.

However, Black Star had directly transformed a solid mechanical life into artificial intelligence data. Only a Mechanic would know how unbelievable this was!

“Don’t look so shocked. I can directly change a life form into a virtual soul. They will be my bargaining chip.” Han Xiao smiled. “Is this a Transcendent technique…”

Manison muttered to himself, his heart burning

“Tell me, what is one of the conditions to advance?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao smiled. “Then remember, one of the conditions to become a Transcendent is… to use the Church’s National Treasure!”

Manison’s eyes flashed. At this moment, seventeen to eighteen plans to deal with the Arcane Church flashed through his mind, and he almost wanted to resume his old job as a sh*t stirrer.

Chapter 1398: The Church’s Attempt

Chapter 1398 The Church’s Attempt

Seeing Manison deep in thought, Han Xiao smiled.

He was not lying. He had indeed used the Church’s National Treasure to advance, and it was effective. However, he did not intend to reveal the specific conditions of the ‘stabilizer’.

As for what Manison would do when he set his sights on the Arcane Church, Han Xiao did not care. After all, he had still not figured out what could replace the effect of the Church’s National Treasure. Therefore, the Church’s National Treasure was indeed the only choice at the moment, and he definitely was not inciting a fight on purpose. Han Xiao shrugged and interrupted Manison’s thoughts. “I can also give you a piece of advice. This is just one of the conditions. Don’t try to advance without absolute confidence.”

Manison regained his senses and nodded absent-mindedly.

Han Xiao did not say much and changed the topic.

“Alright, I’ve already told you the condition. It’s time for you to fulfill the deal.”

Hearing this, Manison calmed himself down and finally summoned the entire artificial intelligence civilization. He quickly removed the binding of the Indestructible Mechanical Troops and the main system. Just as he was about to modify the fundamental logic, he suddenly remembered that Han Xiao had Virtual Purification, so he stopped his action.

“The entire race is here. You can turn them back yourself. I won’t waste my energy.”

“You’re lazier than before.” Han Xiao shook his head and released Virtual Purification.

The ring of light spread out and quickly swept past the orderly rows of Indestructible Mechanical Troops. The next moment, these artificial intelligence lives immediately broke free from their controlled state and quickly regained their original consciousness. They were at a loss and started to panic.

Han Xiao did not say much to them. A suction force suddenly burst out from his body, like a black hole suddenly opening up. The Godly Stronghold took all the targets away, and he planned to explain it to Risda when he returned.

After absorbing the entire AI civilization, Han Xiao silently counted the names on the list. Suddenly, he paused and said, “There’s one less. Finette has to be returned as well.”

“I forgot.”

Manison remembered and summoned Finette. This was the ancestor of the AI civilization. He had not been transformed into an Indestructible Mechanical Troop and had always been his artificial intelligence assistant.

Han Xiao pointed, and a flash of lightning entered Finette’s body. Finette trembled, and the twisted logic quickly returned to normal. “I’ve recovered…”

Finette was stunned for a while before he sorted out his chaotic memories and understood what was going on. He was immediately moved and bowed toward Han Xiao according to the records in the database.

“Your Excellency Black Star, thank you for your help. I thank you on behalf of the entire
race!”

“If you want to thank someone, thank Risda. He has been pestering me for almost a hundred years because of this.” Han Xiao waved his hands and did not mind.

“That’s right, I really have to thank him…” Finette sighed. He then glared at Manison and said angrily,” Mechanic Emperor! You captured my race and tampered with my thoughts. You used me as a tool for so many years. I will get back at you for this sooner or later!”

Back then, when the AI civilization was invaded by Manison, he stood out and led his people to fight back. He suffered a crushing defeat and was almost wiped out by Manison. The Virtual Purification would not erase his memories from all these years. It could almost be filmed as ‘300 Years a Slave’. If not for the fact that he could not beat Manison, he would have killed Manison on the spot.

Manison glanced at him and ignored him.

Han Xiao did not mind. Without his help, this ancestor of the AI civilization basically had no chance of taking revenge on Manison. He casually said, “At least you’re free. Follow me, I’ll bring you back.”

Finette no longer bared his teeth at Manison and accepted Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force. He turned into a stream of light and attached himself to Han Xiao’s spaceship.

“Alright, nice deal. I’ll give you the funds to rebuild the Indestructible Mechanical Troops. I’ll be leaving first. You can continue staying at home.”

Han Xiao waved at Manison and boarded the spaceship. When he turned around, he saw Manison standing at the dock and watching him leave.

Ding!

This time, the interface suddenly moved. Han Xiao opened it and saw that it was the notification of the completion of the (Reboot] mission.

Tens of billions of experience points, 2 Awakening Points, and a milestone (Ally of Artificial Intelligence Lives). The introduction was that Virtual Technology would receive a certain level of improvement, and it would be easier to obtain the favor of artificial intelligence lives. The effect was basically an enhanced version of (Affable AI].

The more talents one had, the better. Of course, Han Xiao accepted it with a smile. This [Reboot) mission that had been on his list for many years also ended with the liberation of the AI civilization.

“Another mission cleared. Nice.”

Han Xiao raised his brows. Although he did not have OCD, he still felt satisfied when he saw that the mission list was getting cleaner.

After using King to teleport back to his base, Han Xiao then released Finette and the other artificial intelligence lives to reunite with their other family members led by Risda. After a series of explanations, the other artificial intelligence lives expressed their gratitude to Han Xiao.

Risda and Finette both expressed that if Han Xiao had any requests in the future, they would never refuse. Han Xiao’s interface now had the faction relationship with the AI civilization, which directly rose to (Reverence).

However, now that he had the skill (Life Transformation-Virtual], the AI civilization would not be of much use to him. He did not need these artificial intelligence lives to work for him.

After watching these artificial intelligence beings leave joyfully, Han Xiao finally stopped smiling

“With my current strength and position, some things have become convenient for me to do. Maybe I will have a chance to complete the ‘Ending the Darkness’ mission…”

[Ending the Darkness) was the most difficult mission he had ever encountered. The EXP reward was a trillion, and the requirement was to end the life form trading industry in the galactic society.

Under normal circumstances, such a requirement would have been impossible to complete. However, the galactic structure had been severely impacted, and it was currently in a tense period. It maintained its wartime state, and its freedom was restricted. Most of the galactic residents were focused on taking refuge, and the circulation had plummeted by more than ninety percent. Black market trade had also almost stopped, and this was a period suitable for shuffling cards.

Life form trading was difficult to deal with, mainly due to its decentralization and secrecy. In this period of centralization, these two difficulties were greatly reduced. Due to the decrease in demand and the increase in the difficulty of collecting ‘goods’, most traffickers had no choice but to stop their business. Attacking life form trading at this time was undoubtedly much convenient and efficient.

Han Xiao calculated. With his current position, it was enough to move millions of times his own resources. If he shouted out the slogan of terminating the life form trading, all the civilizations would respond, and the three Universal Civilizations would not object. After all, it was not a bad thing to maintain order before the war.

Actually, he knew that the three Universal Civilizations had always had the idea of attacking the life form trading, but they had never tried to do so. Most of the social ills were like this, and they would only be taken seriously when someone important like him spoke up. Otherwise, as long as the problem did not affect some core areas, the priority would be postponed. The management department would not be willing to take the initiative to cause trouble without the approval of their superiors, and this was something that was difficult to avoid even in the galactic era.

However, even if he stopped the life form trading now, it would only last for a while. When the situation in the galaxy stabilized, this kind of business would rise again, and it would be very difficult to ban it forever. However, that was in the future. As long as there was a period when there was no life form trading in the entire galactic society, Han Xiao felt that the mission would be completed. Whether it rebounded in the future or not, it would not affect a mission that had already been completed.

“Anyway, other than harassing the troops of the World Tree at the frontline, the troops of the other organizations have nothing to do. We might as well drag them out to maintain order.”

Han Xiao secretly recorded this matter on his plan and decided to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to complete this mission. After all, he did not have to supervise it personally, so it would not reduce his research time.

After solving the problem of the AI civilization, he focused his attention back on the upgrade of his machinery. Very soon, more than half a month had passed.

In the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods within the Arcane Church.

A large number of fleets protected the area where the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods was located, and a strict martial law was enforced. Above the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods, Wuornos’ figure was floating in space, surrounded by four direct Beyond Grade As with hesitation on their faces.

“God’s Chosen, are you sure this will help you advance to the Transcendent Grade?” a direct descendant could not help but ask.

Wuornos glanced at him and said calmly, “I’m not even nervous. Why are you nervous?”

The Arcane Church had prepared for almost a month and found helpers. They planned to help Wuornos advance today.

Wuornos was also constantly adjusting his state during this period. His stamina, spirit, and willpower had all reached their peak. In his opinion, the success rate of this Promotion was at least seventy percent.

“God’s Chosen, are you ready?”

The Pope’s voice came from the communicator.

It was worth paying attention to the matter of their pillar attempting to break through to a higher level. The Pope had already arranged the schedule a month in advance, freeing some time for the next few days to witness Wuornos’ Promotion.

Whether or not they could compete with Black Star in terms of individual strength would depend on this!

“I can advance at any time. Have you set up the surroundings?” Wuornos replied calmly, his tone containing the confidence that he had accumulated for many years. “All aura concealment devices have been activated. Try not to let the outside world sense the surge of cosmic energy. You can start now. I wish you success.”

The Pope nodded and secretly wiped his sweat. He felt more nervous than the person in question.

Hearing this, Wuornos let out a breath and suddenly activated his energy, charging toward the gate that had stopped him for many years.

Boom!

The next moment, a shocking energy storm erupted with him as the center. An incomparably dazzling white light shone out from his body as if it had stolen all the colors in the world.

“It’s here!”

The Pope widened his eyes in anticipation.

Chapter 1399: Stopping Losses

The four direct descendants looked at each other and followed Wuornos’ instructions. They raised their hands and released their energy to merge into his body.

The situation in the area was akin to fuel being added to the fire. The intensity of the energy storm increased, and Wuornos, who was in the center, could no longer be seen. All that was left was a blinding light.

Wuornos’ aura rose steadily, and the four of them could not help but be shaken.

“It seems to have worked!”

“As expected of the publicly acknowledged number one expert. Although Black Star beat him to it, he still managed to follow closely behind.”

The four direct descendants communicated telepathically, surprised and delighted. On the other side, the hearts of the Promotion and the other upper echelons, who were paying attention to this place, were in their throats. They felt as nervous as if their children were going to the examination venue. They stared at the scene without blinking, unwilling to miss a second.

They had all heard from Wuornos that there was a risk to this Promotion, so many of the upper echelons of the church were worried. Apart from anticipation, they were feeling anxious.

The existence of Wuornos was important for the Arcane Church to suppress the other two civilizations in terms of individual strength. If this pillar was sacrificed, it would be a heavy loss.

The radar of the fleet was buzzing nonstop, the energy detection value rapidly increasing.

This process lasted for a long time. Under everyone’s eyes, the energy storm finally began to slowly shrink and was absorbed back into his body. Wuornos’ aura rose to its peak and slowly became stable.

“Is he going to succeed?!”

Seeing this, the upper echelons of the church were overjoyed. They looked at this scene with hope.

“Looks like the first Transcendent Grade direct descendant is about to appear…”

The Pope was overjoyed, heaving a sigh of relief.

However, just as he thought that the Promotion was about to be completed, the shrinking energy storm suddenly stopped.

The next moment, with Wuornos at the center, violent energy exploded and the energy storm absorbed into his body was blown back, bursting out at an even faster speed.

The blinding light turned everyone’s vision into a vast expanse of white. The loud sound seemed to shake everyone’s hearts!

Boom!

The defense fleet around was forced to activate their shields and were filled with cracks not long after. The four Beyond Grade As closest to the center of the explosion were caught off guard and were blown away by the violent energy shockwave. They were like shrapnel shot out when a bomb explodes, tumbling far away in the universe. “What’s going on? Why did it suddenly explode?!

The Pope was present as a remote projection, so he was not affected. However, he was shocked and immediately became nervous.

Could it be that Wuornos failed his Promotion and was unfortunately sacrificed to be blown to smithereens?!

The church head immediately panicked and quickly ordered the four direct descendants and the surrounding fleets to prepare to save him.

Fortunately, the only wave of energy explosion did not cause any lasting damage to the surrounding fleets. When the energy was poured out, the bright light in the center slowly faded, and Wuornos was finally revealed.

He floated in midair, and golden blood continued to seep out from every pore of his body. When it landed in the freezing environment of the universe, it quickly solidified into golden crystals that were clear like snowflakes.

The energy reading of the radar dropped rapidly, and Wuornos’ aura turned dispirited. He looked like he was heavily injured and was on the verge of collapse.

The spaceships around quickly surrounded him to save him, but Wuornos waved his hand to indicate that there was no need. He extended his finger and tapped lightly on the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods in the distance, seizing the God Embodiment of a statue through the air. He summoned the incarnation of a god wearing a gorgeous dress and separated it from the statue.

The avatar of this deity was clearly a female, but it had his face. Although his facial features had softened, he still looked like a male dressed as a female.

As soon as the God Embodiment appeared, it poured out a light that filled the sky and fused into Wuornos’ body. Wuornos’ injuries were quickly suppressed and did not continue to worsen. Although his aura was still weak, it slowly calmed down. It was obvious that the original form of this God was one involved in healing

The Pope connected with Wuornos again and asked worriedly, “Are you alright?”

“It’s just that my life force has been greatly depleted, I won’t die.” Wuornos coughed weakly after spitting out a mouthful of golden blood.

“You… failed your Promotion?” The church leader’s tone was hesitant.

“Yes.” Wuornos nodded weakly.

“Didn’t you say there’s a 70% chance of success? Why…”

Before the Pope could finish, Wuornos interrupted him.

“I did it on purpose. I could have advanced smoothly, but I stopped it at the last minute.”

“What?!”

This answer was out of the church’s expectations.

They had thought that he had failed because of an obstacle in his advancement, but it turned out that Wuornos did it on purpose. No wonder he looked so badly injured.

Originally, his cells had all been successfully sublimated, but he had forcefully interrupted the transformation and forced his genes to return to their original state after the Promotion. It was just like undergoing a transgender surgery and asking for it to be reverted halfway. The ending would be anything but good, and in Wuornos’ case, it had greatly depleted his life force and damaged his cells.

“What do you mean?”

The Pope was extremely surprised. He knew that Wuornos would not do something like this for no reason.

“When I advanced, I realized that something was wrong. My life level did not undergo a huge transformation. It’s too different from when Black Star advanced. There must be something wrong with my method!” Wuornos said with a deep voice. “…So what you’re saying is that this method of Promotion isn’t right?” The Pope frowned.

“That’s right. It seems like the method to advance to the Transcendent Grade is not as simple as it seems. Black Star must have hidden some important conditions.”

Although Wuornos was heavily injured by the backlash, his eyes were still sharp.

In the beginning, he was very happy that his Promotion went smoothly, but the closer he got to the end, the more he felt that something was wrong.

Although he could indeed become stronger after this Promotion, the increase in his strength was far from what he had expected of a Transcendent. This made him suspicious.

He had a faint premonition that this Promotion would not allow him to step into the Transcendent Grade. If the Promotion was completed, he would have to wait until he had reached a new boundary in order to undergo the next Promotion. His potential had almost been squeezed dry, and he did not know how long it would take for him to obtain a new Promotion opportunity. He might not even have another chance.

If that was the case, his dream of reaching the Transcendent Grade would probably turn into smoke, and he would never be able to step into it.

After fighting for a while, Wuornos finally made up his mind. When he was halfway through his Promotion, he decided to cut his losses. He would rather risk his life to endure the backlash and end this Promotion.

Generally speaking, the advancement process of Supers was irreversible, but at Wuornos’ level, he could already control everything perfectly. Interrupting the advancement and reversing the transformation was possible. Of course, if a normal person did this, it might lead to the collapse of the genetic level, but the ‘stable’ property of the Void Spirit Kingdom’s weapon was one of the reasons why Wuornos dared to take the risk. Even if his cells were damaged, the risk would be greatly reduced.

This way, although he would be heavily injured, he would be able to recover after resting for a while. This precious opportunity to advance would not be wasted, since he failed to break through to a higher level. This was not the first time he had experienced this.

If Han Xiao was there, he would have immediately understood the meaning behind Wuornos’ actions. If Wuornos had succeeded in his normal Promotion, it would undoubtedly have been extremely difficult for him to reach the next Promotion at his current level.

If he took the initiative to fail the Promotion, the opportunity would not be wasted. According to the Promotion rules of this level, if he wanted to advance, he only needed to complete a new Promotion mission. However, those without the interface should not have the tough requirements of the Promotion mission. Maybe he just needed to train for some time and return to his peak state.

However, this method was very dangerous. If they were not careful and met with a malignant mutation, they would only end up harming future generations. However, just the failure of the Promotion was not fatal. The malignant mutation during the Promotion was the fatal one. The chances of the two were independent. Most Beyond Grade As were the lucky ones, and Wuornos was one of the best. With his deep accumulation and good luck, he did not encounter the malignant mutation this time and was not killed by his actions.

At this moment, another spectating upper echelon could not help but say angrily,

“Black Star knew that this was something crucial, so he deliberately hid it. He might be waiting for you to fail your Promotion and use it to trick us once again. He’s trying to indirectly kill an important member of the three Universal Civilizations so that we won’t have the strength of a Transcendent and won’t be able to threaten him!”

Wuornos shook his head. “It’s not his fault. I was too impatient.”

This was quite a close call, and he still had some lingering fear. He could not help but recall Black Star’s brief warning after his Promotion, but he did not take it to heart. He knew that he could not blame anyone. For Wuornos to be able to come this far, he had the resolution to not vent his anger on Han Xiao.

On the other side, the Pope was silent for a while before sighing.

“In that case, we still aren’t able to break through to the Transcendent Grade. In the short term, Black Star is the only one in the universe who has such power. This isn’t a good thing… Should we ask Black Star about the method to break through to the Beyond God level?”

“Forget it. Put yourself in his shoes and think about it. He either won’t say it or will lie about it. If we go over and try to get information from him, not only will he take away some benefits, but we will also be played by him again.” Wuornos waved his hand.

“You’re right… Never mind, it’s good to be alive. I’ll think about it in the future.”

The Pope had a helpless expression. He had high hopes for Wuornos, but now that his hopes had been dashed, he was naturally disappointed. However, it was not suitable for him to show it in front of Wuornos, who had escaped death.

This way, they would be on the same starting line as the other two civilizations, and their advantage of having intelligence would be gone.

“Sigh…”

The Pope of the Arcane Church sighed and did not say much. He only told Wuornos to have a good rest before deactivating the remote projection.

He had originally wanted to celebrate the birth of a Transcendent Grade direct descendant of the church. Since it was a failure, he had no interest in staying here. He still had to go back and attend to his multitude of daily matters.

The fleet of guards dispersed one after another, and the four direct descendants also took their leave. The military martial law in the area was lifted and it returned to being deserted.

Wuornos returned to the Temple of the Gods alone to lick his wounds. He recalled the process of Han Xiao’s Promotion over and over again in his mind, muttering to himself, “What am I missing…”

A few days later, in the head office of the three Universal Civilizations.

“… These are the specifics. I plan to invite the representatives of the various civilizations, including the three Universal Civilizations, as well as the various famous organizations, to hold a meeting regarding the peace in the galactic society. I want to discuss the elimination of human trade…”

In the room, Han Xiao’s remote projection spoke.

He had taken some time today to find the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations and prepare to complete his quest of [Ending of Darkness). The attitude of the three Universal Civilizations was very important.

“This is a good thing. In principle, we agree.” Louis nodded. “However, the enemy has yet to be dealt with. Is it too early to be concerned about this?”

“It will be too late by the time the war is over. There’s no harm in trying to maintain order before the war. Anyway, many troops are on standby now, so it’s good to pull them out,” Han Xiao said casually.

Louis pondered for a few seconds before turning to look at the other two. “What do you guys think?”

“I have no objections.”

“Me neither.”

Marbruce and the Pope nodded and exchanged looks.

They were rather curious as to why Black Star would do something so ‘unimportant’ at this time. After analyzing it, they all felt that this was most likely Black Star trying to gain public reputation. If this was done, his reputation would definitely increase greatly.

It was not that the three of them could not accept it. At the very least, Black Star had this requirement, which meant that he was confident in this war. Furthermore, due to many factors, they could not stop Black Star from increasing his reputation.

“Since that’s the case, I’ll send a unified invitation to the various large organizations in the name of the association and the three Universal Civilizations.”

Han Xiao nodded. This matter required many organizations to work together. He planned to hold a meeting this time and invite all the organizations in the universe to participate.

Having completed his mission, Han Xiao was in a much better mood. He turned to look at the Pope and suddenly thought of something.

“By the way, has Wuornos tried to advance?”

The corners of the Pope’s eyes twitched. “Why do you care?”

“From the looks of it, you must have tried.” Han Xiao raised his brows and said playfully, “He failed, right? Is he still there?” The Pope’s mood immediately turned sour. He only felt that this was a joke directed at him and did not want to speak.

“Well, it seems like he’s not dead. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so quiet. However, I did persuade Wuornos not to rush to advance. It’s his business if he doesn’t listen, not mine.”

Han Xiao did not mind and said with a mocking tone.

“…He’s still alive. He only stopped his Promotion and suffered some backlash. He’ll be fine after recovering for a while.” The Pope’s face darkened. This was not a secret at all. With Han Xiao’s intelligence network, it would not take long to find out about this. It might even be Wuornos who tells him the truth himself.

Seeing this, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

If Wuornos had gone through an ordinary Promotion, he would not have the qualifications to break through to the Transcendent Grade for a very long time. However, if he only failed the Promotion and did not die, there was still a chance. In fact, he did not care whether it was the former or the latter.

If it was the former, Wuornos would no longer be a threat to him. If it was the latter, it meant that Wuornos still had a chance to become a Transcendent. He would not lose anything anyway, since the method of advancement would still be monopolized by himself.

However, he actually took the initiative to stop his Promotion. That was quite bold… Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and nodded.

It seemed like such a small scheme would not allow Wuornos to fail so easily. After all, he was a big shot who had stood at the peak of his individual strength for so many years. He definitely had substance.

He did not have any enmity with Wuornos to begin with, and he had no intention of targeting him. However, he did not persuade Wuornos to temporarily give up his Promotion mission, so he did not care about this result.

However, seeing this guy suffer because he tried to imitate his actions left Han Xiao gloating.

Heh, trying to learn from me? You must be joking!

Chapter 1400: Issuing a Call for Action

The Arcane Church did not deliberately block the news. The news of Wuornos’ failure to advance quickly spread among the upper echelons. The Federation of Light, the Crimson Dynasty, and many Beyond Grade As all heard about this, and their reactions were all different. Some were surprised, some were regretful, and many were gloating. Originally, after Black Star opened up the Transcendent Grade, many Beyond Grade As also had thoughts of advancing, but with Wuornos’ example, many of them suppressed their desires.

Even Wuornos had failed. It was better to wait and see.

Because of this, many Beyond Grade As also confirmed that Black Star was the only Transcendent for the time being and no one else had the ability to charge at this level yet. His position could not be shaken, which made them even more interested in the Promotion method that Black Star had yet to reveal.

However, these things were only circulated in the upper echelons, and the people of the galactic society knew nothing about it. They were still living in a tight wartime life, filled with anxiety.

However, a few days later, a piece of news from the Black Star Army quickly spread throughout the galactic society and attracted the attention of countless galactic residents.

Black Star, who had kept a low profile for a period of time, suddenly made a big move. He publicly sent out an invitation in the name of the Beyond Grade A Association and the three Universal Civilizations, targeting the various organizations in the entire universe. There were civilizations and civil organizations, and their numbers were shocking, covering almost all areas.

Black Star said in the invitation that he was going to hold a meeting and was inviting the representatives of the various organizations to attend. They would discuss the development prospects of the explored universe and the disadvantages of life form trading.

Currently, Han Xiao’s every move was being paid attention to by the galactic residents and the various organizations. His actions immediately caused a wave of discussion. Countless people were puzzled by this and began to guess Black Star’s intentions.

The foreign enemies were closing in and the war situation was looking bad. Many people did not understand why Black Star would emphasize the problem of life form trading at this time.

Wasn’t war the most important thing right now? Even if they had to calm the internal state before dealing with external threats, it did not seem to have much to do with life form trading.

Furthermore, a conference of this level included almost all the famous organizations in the universe, so it should be led by the three Universal Civilizations. Why was Black Star the one leading it? Even the meeting location was in the Black Star Army’s territory.

Many people could not help but think… does this mean that Black Star has the same authority as the three Universal Civilizations ?

While they were puzzled, the various large organizations still gave face. All the civilizations responded publicly and expressed that they would accept the invitation to attend the meeting. Countless private organizations also expressed their honor to receive Black Star’s invitation.

For a moment, the galactic society that had been silent for a long time was in turmoil. It felt like Black Star was the leader of the galactic society.

With Han Xiao’s current position, the organizations that wanted to survive in the galactic society would not dare to not give him face.

Under everyone’s attention, the days passed, and the day of the meeting arrived.

Outside the Black Star Palace, a large venue floated in the middle of the fortress like a flat top. Its silver-gray exterior reflected the light of the Fixed Star.

Streams of light gathered from all directions and formed light dragons. Spaceships with the emblems of different organizations drove into the port one after another, and representatives of various shapes and sizes walked down.

The platform at the dock was already packed with people. Countless reception robots walked through the area, leading the way for the representatives of different organizations. Some organizations that were too far away used remote projections, and there were also quite a number of organizations that personally sent their members to give Black Star face.

“So many people have come…”.

The Purple Crystal Civilization’s diplomatic envoys alighted from the spaceship, and Ralph, who was in the lead, smiled as he looked at the crowded scene before him.

A young diplomat beside him curiously approached and whispered, “Old leader, I heard you had a good relationship with Black Star?”

“It’s not too bad, but I haven’t seen him in a long time… After so many years, he’s doing pretty well. We’re no longer on the same level.”

A complicated look flashed across Ralph’s eyes. He waved his hands and sighed.

During the secret war of the Crimson Tide, the Black Star Army, as one of the mercenaries, had accepted the Purple Crystal Civilization’s invitation to fight the Klent Kingdom and Bloodshed Land’s invasion together. Back then, he had been the commander of Section Zero of the Secret Service and had been in charge of contacting Black Star for many years.

Because of this, Purple Crystal had let Ralph lead the team to participate in this meeting. It had only been a few decades, but he was already old and about to retire. The power in his hands was about to end, but Black Star, who had worked with him back then, was becoming more and more active. He had gone from being a small mercenary to an existence that the Purple Crystal Civilization could not hope to reach. This difference made him feel complicated.

At this moment, a discordant voice suddenly sounded from the side.

“Isn’t this the representative of the Purple Crystal Civilization? To be able to meet all of you here.”

The Purple Crystal Civilization’s diplomatic envoys turned around and saw a group of people disembarking from a spaceship. It was the Klent Kingdom’s diplomatic envoys.

The two forces still did not get along after the secret war ended and there were many grudges between them. Now that the representatives of both sides had met, they immediately glared at each other as if they could not stand each other’s sight.

“Hmph, so you’re Klent’s emissary.” Ralph glanced at him and said calmly, “It’s been a few decades, but you guys are still the same. You guys hate Black Star, but you don’t dare refuse the invitation. I advise you to keep a low profile and be good kids in Black Star’s territory. Don’t cause trouble.”

Veins popped up on the Klent emissary’s forehead. Just as he was about to retaliate, he saw the reception robot of the Black Star Army fly over. He quickly shut his mouth and only dared to look at Ralph with hatred.

Ralph had been in a high position for many years and had interacted with Klent countless times. He did not care about a young emissary at all. He looked around at the different delegations.

Compared to the civilizations’ diplomatic envoys, the number of delegations from private organizations in the various industries was higher by tens of thousands of times. Most of them were representatives of various private organizations, and many of them had cautious expressions. Clearly, this was their first time participating in an event of this scale, so they pretended to be calm and did not want to show fear.

“With just an invitation, almost all the organizations in the entire universe have come… Black Star’s position is truly unparalleled.”

What is meant by dominating the universe? This is called dominating the universe…

Ralph sighed and followed the reception robot into the venue.

At this moment, countless representatives were already seated in the venue. They were whispering to each other, and their faces were all different. It was like a galactic species exhibition. The news media were also present, adjusting equipment and preparing to broadcast the meeting.

The Beyond Grade As that were rarely seen were all seated in the front, showing their backs and receiving the attention of the delegations. The emissaries of the various advanced civilizations and important private organizations were also waiting in the core area.

Almost all the famous organizations had arrived. It was a grand occasion!

After waiting for a while, all the representatives took their seats and the doors slowly closed.

The venue slowly fell silent.

At this moment, a figure walked out from the shadows on the stage. He appeared in everyone’s sight and immediately attracted everyone’s attention.

Han Xiao walked up to the podium and looked around at the endless seats. He smiled and said slowly,

“Thank you for accepting my invitation to participate in this meeting. On behalf of the Beyond Grade A Association and the three Universal Civilizations, I would like to welcome all of you here. The main purpose of this meeting is to discuss the future of the galactic society.” Pa pa pa!

Everyone clapped and perked up their ears, curious about Black Star’s intentions.

Han Xiao raised his hand and said solemnly,

“Since the galactic era began, our civilization has created countless glorious achievements in various fields. The galactic society is extremely prosperous, but at the same time, it has accumulated countless evils. Life form trading is a problem that runs through history.

The obedience of others is one of the core pillars of power, so enslaving them is an eternal desire. The demand brings the market, and no matter how hard we strike, the life form trading will never be destroyed. After failing again and again, we got used to it, tolerated it, and finally convinced ourselves that it was an unsolvable problem, giving up the idea of completely solving it. However, now that the situation in the galaxy has changed, our control over the various Star Fields has been highly focused. This is a chance for us to clean up the root. Therefore, I hope to obtain your help to solve the evil of the life form trading.”

Hearing this, the representatives were stunned and looked at each other.

They had thought that Black Star had other plans for the meeting and that the life form trading was just a reason. They did not expect Black Star to really want to solve this problem.

“This…”

Everyone was confused.

It seemed like the existence of the life form trading would not affect Black Star at all, right? Was there a need to call all of them over just for this?

What was Black Star planning? What benefit did such a thankless task bring him?

If it was just to increase his reputation, there were plenty of ways. Why did he have to choose this troublesome path?

On the stage, Han Xiao took in everyone’s confused expressions and let out a deep breath.

“I know. You might think that the interstellar life form trading has nothing to do with me, and you’re wondering what benefits I can get from it… To be honest, with my position, whether the life form trading exists or not doesn’t affect my interests, but why did I hold a meeting for this?

Everyone, although the progress of the era is mainly driven by a small number of people, the main body of the world is still the most ordinary galactic citizen. It is because of their existence that our universe is so prosperous and we have the name of civilization.

Over the years, the life form trading has caused countless tragedies. Although it cannot threaten us, we should not turn a blind eye to it. We are already used to standing on high ground, but no matter how high we stand, we have to lower our heads at the right time and look at the dark corners and the situation of ordinary people. The purpose of our existence is not only for ourselves, but also to promote the development of the world. We have the ability to make the galactic society better and create a better world.” The moment he said that, many of the people present trembled, as though they did not expect Black Star to say such a thing.

For a moment, everyone was stunned. They only felt that Han Xiao seemed to be emitting the light of humanity.

Some were overwhelmed with emotions, some admired, some scoffed, and some were suspicious.

Is Black Star serious?

Is this a noble act of love, or is he trying to leave his name in history?

After a moment of silence, an emissary of a Super Star Cluster Civilization suddenly spoke.

“The current war situation is still very serious. Isn’t it too early to mention this? If we can’t chase away the foreign enemies, everything will be wasted.” Han Xiao only glanced at him and said calmly, “It’s precisely because we have the confidence to win this war that we don’t want to let go of this opportunity to get rid of the evils. Everything is for the future.”

The moment he said that, everyone’s spirits were lifted.

Black Star’s tone was very calm, but it made most of the people present excited.

Currently, all the organizations in the universe were worried about where the war would end up. Now that a big shot like Black Star had come out to express his stand, whether it was the truth or consolation, it was a boost to their morale.

Especially when they thought of Black Star’s goal this time, they felt a strong sense of confidence. If he did not have hope for the future, why would he go through so much trouble to deal with the problems of the galactic society? Wasn’t this all to win the governing power after the war?

Various thoughts flashed through their minds.

Suddenly, a representative from a private organization stood up and said loudly, “Your Excellency Black Star, you cherish all living beings. We admire your character and are willing to serve you!”

All of a sudden, the representatives of the various organizations seemed to have woken up from a dream. They all expressed their opinions enthusiastically, and the venue instantly became lively.

Although Black Star’s words were nice, it was unrealistic for him to convince the people with vested interests with just a few words. However, many organizations agreed to cooperate because of Black Star. The reason for this was mainly because Black Star had used his reputation to gather everyone and had opened up the communication barrier between them. In addition, he had enough public appeal, so the matter was completed. Had this speech been given by someone else not important enough, these forces would not have taken action even if they were touched.

Everyone knew the truth. It did not matter if it was nice or not. What mattered was who said it.

Many organizations were willing to help Han Xiao achieve this goal. On one hand, it was politically correct, and on the other hand, it was a grand event. There was no need to let go of this opportunity to increase their reputation. Finally, they also did this due to some respect for Han Xiao.

The scene was also broadcasted by countless media outlets and was witnessed by countless galactic residents.

“Oh my god…”

“What is Black Star doing!”

Countless galactic residents were dumbfounded.

Black Star’s declaration completely exceeded the expectations of many people. They did not expect Black Star to have such a huge goal in mind.

They did not know what was going on behind the scenes. All they saw was the surface.

Seeing that Black Star was able to pull so many organizations to terminate the life form trading, his influence was comparable to the three Universal Civilizations.

In the eyes of the galactic residents, Han Xiao’s image became even larger, and his entire body was glowing. He had become the number one person in the entire explored universe.

“Creating a better galactic society… Black Star actually has such a spirit…” “Well said. This world should become more beautiful.”

While countless people were shocked, they could not help but feel touched. They did not expect Black Star to still care about ordinary people like them.

The life form trafficking was like a deep nightmare, enough to wake any ordinary person up in the middle of the night.

There were millions of races in the Galaxy, and the anomalies would always arouse curiosity. No one could guarantee that they would never become prey in the eyes of others.

In their eyes, regardless of whether Black Star’s motive was pure or not, as long as he stood up and did it, he would be a great man worthy of respect.

If not for Black Star, today’s event would have never happened.

The news kept broadcasting, leaving a deep impression in the hearts of more and more galactic residents. Han Xiao’s reputation was also brought to an unprecedented height.

“The existence of someone like Black Star might really make the world better…”

This thought appeared in the minds of the galactic residents one after another. Some even felt that letting Black Star rule the galactic society did not seem too bad…

Chapter 1401: You’ll have to pay for it sooner or later

Somewhere in the Sea of Star Spirits, a large starship slowly sailed through the universe. In the exquisitely decorated captain’s cabin, Carlozo was leaning lazily on the soft and comfortable captain’s chair, his legs crossed on the table. One arm was leaning on the armrest, holding an expensive bottle of fine hard liquor which he was swinging around, There was a thick cigar in his mouth, burning with green smoke while a virtual screen floated in front of him, playing an entertainment program.

Carlozo had rough brown skin like a lizard. His facial features were similar to a human’s, but the gap between his eyes was quite large and his jaw was protruding, similar to that of a beastman. In addition, one of his eyes was missing, and the empty eye socket was exposed as a black hole just like that. It was like a wound left by an energy gun, lending him a fierce aura.

He looked very rough on the outside, but he was wearing an exquisite and complicated noble-style dress that seemed to have been carefully ironed without many creases. This was accompanied by a small, noble-style round hat on his head, covering his sparse and messy yellow hair. Only a few locks of hair hung down from the gaps of the hat, giving people a strong visual contrast.

While the slave trade was mostly held in the galactic black market, there existed an independent ecosystem that formed a secret trade chain. Because this industry was unsuitable for the public’s eyes, any seller of a certain size rarely acted in the name of an organization. They usually gave themselves a code name and used this name to make friends with customers, forming a trade network around their identity.

As for Calozo, he was a reputable seller of this secret trade, nicknamed ‘Lord’. He had been in the industry for many years and had outstanding results. His business had even crossed several Star Clusters, so it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a slave-trading giant in the Sea of Star Spirits.

Gulp… Carlozo took a sip of the wine, and the bright red liquid flowed out from his lips and slid down his chin. He ignored the sounds of his subordinates playing outside the cabin, puffing on his cigar as he increased the volume of the virtual screen. He kept changing the channels with hand gestures, looking through one program after another with boredom.

At this moment, an encrypted communication interface suddenly popped up on the virtual screen, and a number marked ‘Buyer 178’ appeared. Carlozo’s eyes flashed. He paused the show and picked up the call. A black shadow with no specific appearance appeared on the screen and gave a string of code numbers. Carlozo also replied with a string of numbers and they conversed like this for a few sentences to confirm that there was no problem with their identities. After checking the code, Buyer 178 went straight to the point. “Lord, did you get the goods I ordered last time?”

Carlozo took out a notebook and flipped through it. “Sorry, we haven’t gotten the goods yet.”

“How long has it been? It’s just a batch of Silver Spirits. You weren’t this slow in the past. My master is already impatient from waiting,” Buyer 178 sounded unhappy. Carlozo shook his head. “The environment is different now. As you know, due to the war, the entire universe has been under martial law for the past three years. A large number of races have gathered in the Central Galaxy to take refuge, causing our business to reduce by ninety percent. It’s not as easy to obtain goods anymore.” All along, the slave trade black market hidden under the deep sea of the galactic society had been very prosperous, but with the outbreak of the World Tree War, this industry had fallen into winter. Generally speaking, war should be able to promote the slavery trade, but the current war did not break out on the mainland. In order to prepare for war, the three Universal Civilizations imposed high-pressure restrictions on the various Star Fields. With the large number of people taking refuge, the population of the galactic residents plummeted.

This was equivalent to cutting off the supply of many slave traffickers. The majority of the people captured by the slave traffickers were ordinary galactic residents. They were usually lone galactic travelers, either swindling tourists or buying captives from the galactic pirates. They rarely attacked passing spaceships and it was even harder for them to land on a colonial planet to capture people. They did not have such armed forces. Due to the restrictions of the three Universal Civilizations, it had been a long time since Carlozo had opened his ‘store’, and this business was getting more and more difficult. “Although I can’t get the Silvers here, there are still some other goods. Do you want to take a look at the list?” asked Carlozo. “Forget it, forget it. I’ll find someone else.”

Buyer 178 went offline.

Carlozo curled his lips and did not mind.

Although this deal fell through, he did not feel any regret. Because of the war, Calozo had already made up his mind not to purchase any more goods. He only wanted to clear his inventory and wash his hands off this business. As for whether or not he could completely free himself, Carlozo was not worried.

Sellers who had been operating for a long time all had a set of survival rules. They paid attention to their identity and kept it a secret. Most of the time, they only worked with regular customers and maintained good relationships with some armed organizations. Some powerful clients could even provide them with assistance, so they were able to survive in the underworld… As long as they kept a low profile and did not expose themselves or provoke any big shots, no one would care about them. They could leave after making a fortune. It was very safe. Carlozo closed the communication interface and continued to switch channels. He casually scrolled through the programs, but his mind was not in it. He was immersed in the excitement of looking forward to the future. “When this batch of stocks is cleared, I can retire…”

Carlozo was in a good mood.

The money he had earned over the years was enough for him to live a carefree life for a few lifetimes. As long as he could retire successfully, he would be able to change his appearance and enjoy his life with the wealth he had accumulated. There were too many such examples in this industry. It could be said that this was every slave trader’s dream, and it was Carlozo’s goal. The thought of his beautiful life finally waving at him after working so hard for so many years made him excited.

However, at this moment, he swiped to a news channel that was broadcasting Black Star’s conference.

Carlozo had also paid attention to the recent invitation issued, and he could not help but pause there.

His eyes grew wider and wider, and his body started to tremble uncontrollably. A thick sense of fear gradually filled his face, and a chill ran down his spine. Looking at the countless large organizations in the image responding to Han Xiao’s call, Carlozo panicked. His mind went blank, and he could not help but recall a sentence that he had once scoffed at…

If you come out to play, you have to pay the price sooner or later! Crack! The subordinates who were playing cards loudly in the cabin suddenly heard the sound of things being smashed frequently from the captain’s cabin. Just from the sound of it, they could almost imagine the hysterical look on his face, like a trapped beast in despair.

Endless Nebulae, a certain galactic free city. A luxurious mansion sat in a scenic area surrounded by green trees and a clear lake. Such a special area existed in the highly man-made galactic capital city. Clearly, the people living there had a lot of influence. In the spacious living room, a man in a sleeping robe was sitting on the sofa. A few female Elven creatures were lying on the floor beside him. Their heads were lowered, jaws on the ground, and they had a collar tied around their necks which was connected to a pillar, like leashed pets.

In front of them was a large virtual screen playing a show. The man was eating breakfast while looking up at the screen. He would stroke the back of the elven lady from time to time—which was covered in purple bruisesas if he was simply petting her.

The elven lady subconsciously shrank back, but her eyes were still like a pool of stagnant water. She lifelessly looked at the virtual screen in front of her, like a zombie whose soul had been sucked out.

At this time, the man changed channels and saw the news recording of the Black Star Conference.

After looking at it for a while, he sneered, his face appearing as though he did not give two hoots about it, “This Black Star, he’s always so busy. He should go fight the enemies if he’s bored. That’s his responsibility. What’s the point of worrying about population trade? Does he think he’s the leader of the galactic society? Pfft, what the hell.”

As soon as he said that, the bodies of a few elven women lying on the ground suddenly trembled, and their dead eyes suddenly regained a bit of life. Ever since they were captured by the slave traffickers and sold, their lives were only left with darkness. They were like stagnant water without any life, thinking that they would be like this for the rest of their lives. However, at this moment, Black Star was like a ray of light piercing through the darkness, piercing into their despairing hearts and waking up their shattered personalities.

The few of them looked at Black Star on the screen and could not help but feel hopeful.

Will someone really save us…

The man in the robe noticed the looks of his pets and frowned. “Hmm? What kind of look is that?”

As he spoke, the man in the robe glanced at Black Star on the screen and suddenly felt a surge of anger. He picked up a short prismatic whip from the side and threw it out. “It seems like I haven’t trained you guys enough. Are you still thinking of escaping? Why, did you think that Black Star can save you after seeing the news? If so, keep an eye on him and see if he can save you guys now.”

The few female elves were so frightened that their bodies stiffened. They lay on the ground and trembled nonstop, but they did not dare to dodge or beg for mercy. If these ‘pets’ opened their mouths to speak without the permission of the man, it would only lead to worse torture.

The man in the sleeping robe had a dark expression on his face. He raised his whip and looked like he was about to hit one of them.

However, at this moment, the mansion’s door exploded!

Bang!

Fragments flew everywhere, and the wall was covered in dust.

The man in the robe was shocked. He turned around and saw a group of people walking in. They were wearing familiar uniforms. It was the security patrol team of this galactic city. Upon seeing who it was, the man in the robe immediately relaxed. He then roared in rage.

“What are you doing?! How dare you barge into my house?! Do you want to die?!” The captain walked out and showed his electronic arrest warrant. He said coldly, “Your Excellency Anhuso, we have received a reliable report that you have broken the law by raising a galactic resident as a pet. Please come with us.”

The man in the robe opened his eyes wide in disbelief and pointed at himself in surprise. “Arrest me over such a small matter? Do you know who I am?”.

“You have violated the Planetary Universal Law’s life form trading prohibition.” The captain remained expressionless.

“If you capture me, can you bear the responsibility? Go back and ask the feudal lord of this free planet, does he still want the rights to operate his planet?” The man only found it ridiculous and did not know whether to laugh or cry. With his identity and background, such a crime was a joke. He had raised many galactic species as pets, and no one had ever dared to hold him responsible for it.

He did not expect such a low-level police officer to dare challenge him. Such a small character did not even have the right to talk to him in normal times.

“Please cooperate with us.” The captain frowned. “What’s your serial number? Do you believe that I will strip you of your clothes tomorrow?!” The man in the robe was so angry that he laughed. He walked up, grabbed the captain’s clothes, and looked down at the serial number on his badge.

Without any hesitation, the captain pushed the man away and said in a deep voice, “If you continue to refuse arrest, we will resort to violence.” The man in the sleeping robe staggered and widened his eyes in disbelief. He did not expect the person in front of him to attack him.

His expression immediately turned extremely gloomy. He picked up the communicator from the table and called the number of the city lord of the planet. He pointed at the captain of the security team and said angrily, “Alright, just you wait. I’ll see who can take me away today!”

Very soon, the call connected.

“Yo, isn’t this His Excellency Anhuso? Why are you suddenly in the mood to look for me?” The Planet Lord appeared on the screen with a polite smile.

The man in the robe immediately vented his anger on the planet’s feudal lord. He sneered and said, “Alright, your people have grown up. They dare to barge into my house, capture me, and even attack me. If you don’t give me a satisfactory answer today, your planet’s management rights will be invalidated!”

“Aiya, why are you so angry? What’s going on?” The planet lord was surprised. “Heh, ask your people.” The man in the robe stuffed the communicator into the captain’s hands and took two steps back with a look of anticipation.

The captain of the security team was not afraid at all. He picked up his communicator and reported the situation regarding the few elven ladies.

After hearing, the Planet Lord calmly spoke
out.

“I see… Captain, what’s your name?” “Bell,” the captain replied calmly.

“Is the tip reliable?”

“The evidence is all present.” Hearing this, the planet lord nodded and slowly said, “Then what are you waiting for? Capture this guy. If he refuses to be arrested, don’t bring him back. Just shoot him on the spot.”

As soon as he said that, the man in the robe was stunned. He thought he had heard incorrectly.

Under normal circumstances, shouldn’t he have ordered the police officers to retreat before firing them to appease his anger? This had always been the case in the past. Why was it different today?

“What do you mean?” The man was stunned.

The Planet Lord shrugged. “I should have expressed it very accurately. You broke the law, so of course you have to be arrested.” “…Are you crazy?” The man in the robe widened his eyes. “Have you forgotten who I am?”

“I know that you have a very strong background…” The feudal lord suddenly changed the topic and stopped pretending. “But so what? It is His Excellency Black Star’s will to not allow population trade. We are working for Black Star. Who do you think you
are?”

“You…”

The man in the nightgown was stunned, and his entire body began to tremble.

It was not fear, but uncontrollable rage.

Ever since he was born, no one had dared to speak to him like this! However, before he could throw a tantrum, Bell suddenly pulled out his gun and pulled the trigger. Bang! A laser beam flashed past, and the man’s head exploded, spilling burnt flesh all over the ground. The headless corpse seemed to be stunned on the spot. It swayed for a while before collapsing to the ground. Its nerves that were not completely dead were still twitching. Seeing this, the planet lord revealed an inexplicable smile. Without his secret instructions, the security team would not have acted so boldly.

“This person has been refused many times. Our team has received orders from our superiors to kill him on the spot!”

Bell put away the gun with a cold face and glanced at the headless corpse, his eyes filled with disdain

“Ptui, scum.”

It had been a few days since countless organizations expressed their stance in the conference held by Black Star. The chain reaction caused by this conference had already begun. The resources of more than half of the galactic society were activated by Han Xiao. The organizations of the various Star Fields followed the consensus of the meeting and began cleaning up the slave trade within the territory.

The Beyond Grade A Association controlled the galactic black market and started from the core. They pulled out many slave trade channels and uprooted them. It was not just the participating organizations, the other organizations that did not attend also joined in. They were not looking out for Han Xiao’s face, but seeing that so many large organizations had responded, some small organizations tried to make use of the opportunity of attacking the slave trade to connect with the large local organizations. The anti-slave trafficking operation in the entire universe was carried out in full swing. As a large number of organizations worked together, batch after batch of slaves was rescued, groups of human traffickers were killed, and buyers were captured one after another. This included ex-slave sellers who had retired and started anew. Their real identities were tracked through the black market by the intelligence department, and they were pursued again. The cooperation of so many organizations was a rare sight. It was like a highly efficient machine. The efficiency made countless galactic residents exclaim at Black Star’s terrifying appeal. This information was naturally transmitted to the many Calamity Grades in the training base.

Training base, dormitory lounge. The virtual screen was showing the results of regional attacks on slave trade. Jotina looked at the screen with excitement.

“You actually have the same dream as me…”

Jotina clenched her fists tightly.

As the daughter of the Beast Ancestor, she hated slave trafficking to the extreme. Her dream of ending the slave trafficking in the entire universe was hidden in her heart and she had never told anyone about it.

However, she did not expect Black Star to have the same thoughts as her!

The difference was that to her, it was just a distant dream; but to Black Star, this was a goal within reach. “Black Star… we are indeed destined partners!”

Jotina’s breathing was heavy, and her heart was in turmoil. At this moment, she only wanted to give birth to a nest of monkeys for Black Star.

Over the past few decades, her admiration for Han Xiao had always remained the same, and it was even stronger now. ‘The rumors kept saying that Black Star and the Dragon Emperor were a couple, but so what? I won’t give up!’ ‘So what if the Dragon Emperor is a Beyond Grade A? When I work hard to reach that level, I will be able to compete with you on equal grounds!’

Jotina’s eyes were filled with a fighting spirit.

“Black Star, wait for me! The Dragon Emperor is not worthy of you. I will definitely snatch you from her!”

Chapter 1402: Shadow of Arrival

Chapter 1402 Shadow of Arrival

The entire explored universe had never dealt such a heavy blow to the life form trading. Regardless of whether it was the underworld or the surface, the life form traffickers no longer had a place to stay. The protective umbrella that they once relied upon, avoided them. Be it the buyers or sellers, they were all silent. Many individuals or organizations that were once involved in the life form trading were investigated, and according to the severity and size of the organization, they were fined, imprisoned, or sentenced to death. The end of days had arrived for countless life form traffickers.

Of course, most people would not just stand there and do nothing. Resistance existed naturally, and the complicated situation of the life form trading ecosystem was thus exposed to the world. Sellers might have nowhere to run, but many buyers had power and influence and were scattered in various industries like stubborn stains in the cracks.

Many organizations were willing to exterminate the traffickers, but for a large number of buyers, it was impossible to clean up all of them, and many cooperative organizations would not agree. After all, the implications were too wide, and it would easily change the nature of the operation. Their own dark history could also be dug out, and there were many considerations.

Han Xiao did not insist on this. He only wanted to kill all the sellers. Even if there were still buyers who did not give up, they would not be able to find the supply for a long time. They could only think about it.

If any bold opportunists felt that the life form trading market would be emptied out because of this and took the risk to try to develop private customers in a one-on-one manner, the advanced civilizations that supervised the network were not just for show. The search program created by him, the Legendary Mechanic, was not to be trifled with.

The association and the advanced civilizations worked together to come up with a more detailed method of handling the matter. There were some new legal regulations, but Han Xiao did not need to involve himself in this.

As the chain links of life form trading were removed one after another, Han Xiao received more and more support from the galactic residents. However, although ending the life form trading gave him a huge reputation, he also offended many people.

Black Star Palace, private workshop.

Han Xiao looked through the feedback that the intelligence department had gathered over the past few days with a strange look on his face.

“Heh, the commotion is even bigger than I expected. This kind of thing really doesn’t benefit me much. These people with power and influence, no matter how respectful they appear on the surface, most of them think that I’m meddling in other people’s business. I don’t know how many of them secretly view me as an enemy.”

The buyers who had the ability to raise slaves and were not pursued were obviously not ordinary people. He had deprived them of their ‘hobbies’. Even if these people did not dare to express their dissatisfaction, they did not have a good impression of him. If there was a day when they could hit him when he was down, they would not mind stepping on him.

not for my individual strength, I would definitely not have a good ending…”

Han Xiao curled his lips.

It was a pity that his fist was big enough. Even if these people disliked him, they could not do anything to him.

Han Xiao did not mind if this created grievances.

He opened the interface and looked at the mission list. (Ending the Darkness) was already displayed as completed, which surprised him.

“It was completed just like that. The operation is not over yet.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Right now, no one dared to take the risk. The traffickers who had yet to be caught had no intention of doing business. They were all focused on fleeing, and their trade chain was broken.

In a sense, the interstellar life form trading had indeed been temporarily terminated. As long as the mission was completed before it re-emerged, it should be enough.

“If that’s the case, the mission evaluation is quite lenient. The difficulty is within an acceptable range.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.

If the mission was to ensure that there would never be any life form trafficking in the galaxy, then not to mention a trillion experience points, he felt that even ten trillion or one hundred trillion experience points might not be enough.

This request was also very difficult. The reason it seemed simple was that he had accumulated a sufficiently high position. There were very few organizations in the entire galactic society that had his appeal, and anyone else would not have been able to do it.

Han Xiao did not want to drag it out any longer and completed the mission.

(Ending the Darkness] Completed!

You have received 1 Trillion EXP, 15 Random Rewards, and 3 Blank Character Summon Cards.

You have received the milestone (Slave Liberator)!

Slave Liberator: Your relationship with all Lawful Factions will forever be fixed at (Reverence).

You have received 3 Universe Legendary Points.

Universe Legendary Point: (Light of Justice] – You tore up the darkness of life form trading and brought the light of justice to this Galaxy. Countless people worship you as their idol.

Universe Legendary Point: (Deeds of a Great Man]—Your actions to end the life form trading will become a monumental work of humanitarianism. It will be engraved in history and will be written in textbooks.

Universal Legendary Point: (Freedom Leader]

-You have saved countless despairing people and removed their shackles. Your existence represents noble freedom in the eyes of those who are saved.

“Heh, it’s done.”

Han Xiao relaxed and checked his gains.

The 1 trillion experience reward was mainly a reflection of the difficulty. To him, it was not a lot, but it was still quite a fortune.

Experience was still useful to him now. Although he had reached the Transcendent Grade, his total level still had not reached the upper limit. However, the cost of leveling up was even more ridiculous. He could not level up even with a trillion experience. It was simply a bottomless pit.

In his eyes, the most practical reward was still the fifteen Random Reward opportunities and five Blank Character Summon Cards… especially the latter, which allowed him to get other’s abilities again.

As for the effect of the (Slave Liberator] milestone, it would have been very useful in the past. However, with his current position, even without this milestone, he could have the same effect.

However, the merits this time could be considered as a stronger amulet, standing on the moral high ground. If the three Universal Civilizations wanted to target him again in the future, the backlash would be even worse.

Furthermore, this was also a huge Political Asset. If he had any thoughts about the position of the ruler of the galactic society one day, there might be some people who would welcome the great Black Star to Central Galaxy…

“Cough cough…”

Han Xiao coughed dryly and cleared his thoughts. He tapped on the table and pondered.

He made use of his influence to gather all the organizations in the universe to work together to end the life form trading. Of course, he could not stop this movement now, as that would damage his prestige. Although the mission was completed, it was not suitable for him to stop immediately. He had to continue.

“That’s good too. Anyway, it’s not a bad thing. I’ll see this to the end.”

Han Xiao calmed himself down and opened the forums. He realized that many players were also discussing this matter. Most of the posts were filled with admiration and praise.

This story was also added into”Galaxy Chronicles”by the players and seeing the excessive praises and compliments, he felt quite relaxed and did not feel embarrassed.

Han Xiao browsed the forums in a joyful mood. Suddenly, he saw a post that he was quite concerned about.

This was an announcement post, and the content was the time for the next version update. Han Xiao did some calculations, and about nine months later, the players would receive a new update.

The players’ event time in Version 5.0 was far from reaching the standard of the previous versions. Even the Pro League had not been held yet. However, the update this time was not a change in the larger version but a small update to Version 5.5.

In Han Xiao’s previous life, there had been a few mini version updates like this, but in Han Xiao’s memories, Version 5.0 did not have this update.

“Looks like it’s my butterfly effect again.”

Han Xiao was helpless.

Under his influence, the current storyline was completely different. Even the name of Version 5.0 had changed to (Age of Black Star), so it was not strange for the update time to change.

After all, every version update was based on some major event, which was automatically determined. Now, the World Tree would only arrive in the explored universe territory in ten years. He guessed that this was the reason for the mini update.

“It doesn’t feel like a good change. I still want to see if I can increase my level.”

Han Xiao rubbed his brows.

Although a mini version update could once again unlock the players’ level cap, it was also because of this that the players’ experience had an important consumption path, and he could not continue to harvest leeks with the highest efficiency.

Furthermore, the three Universal Civilizations were currently harassing the World Tree army, which was the time when they needed suicide squads the most. If the players went offline, there would be no more recyclable armed force.

“Looks like I have to make some preparations. I’ll harvest them before they go offline.”

The light of a scythe flashed in Han Xiao’s eyes.

He was already familiar with this. The main point was to give the players sufficient motivation to clear the shopping cart.

Compared to selling supplies and equipment, the knowledge and skills of various classes were the main sources of harvesting EXP.

So… God help us all!

Nine months passed by in the blink of an eye. During this period, Han Xiao used all his tricks and promoted the items every day as though every day was a double 11 festival. The players of the army were enjoying spending money, and their experience bars and wallets dried up at an unbelievable speed.

However, they were not sad at all. Instead, they were very happy. They felt that they had made a huge profit and it was worth it. They smiled like little flowers.

They spent money and even felt grateful…

After squeezing out a wave of players, Han Xiao’s experience storage was much richer. As long as he did not use it to level up, he could use it for a long time. In his eyes, it was enough to cover the cost of many years of research.

On the day of the version update, many players went offline and disappeared. This caught the three Universal Civilizations off guard, but they quickly adjusted themselves. Changing to other troops to stop the World Tree Army would undoubtedly raise the war casualties.

After resolving the problem of the life form trading, Han Xiao did not continue to make trouble. He cooperated with the three Universal Civilizations to prepare for war, and time passed quickly.

There were no more accidents during the preparation period. The renovation of the Flickering World border was successfully completed, and the secondary dimension expedition army used the territory of the Realmless King as a transit station to continue searching for the World Tree’s main body.

Under Han Xiao’s guidance, most Beyond Grade As had varying degrees of progress, and a new batch of Beyond Grade As had been born from the Calamity Grade students in the training base.

In addition, many Beyond Grade A organizations had also completed their migration. With Han Xiao’s signal, the Black Star Army moved away from the Flickering World, Shattered Star Ring territories, and temporarily withdrew from these two border areas to avoid additional losses in the war.

Year after year passed, and the distance between the World Tree and the Flickering World shortened day by day. The atmosphere of the explored universe became tenser and tenser.

Finally, on February 5, Galaxy Calendar Year 797, the shadow of the World Tree spread.

At the border of the Flickering World, which faced the unexplored universe, dense streams of light appeared and turned into an enormous World Tree fleet.

Countless soldiers of the World Tree looked at the galaxy outside the window, and what they saw was transmitted through the mind of the World Tree and into the mind of the Subduing Tree King who was guarding the base.

The Subduing Tree King sat on his throne with a cold glint in his eyes.

More than ten years had passed in the blink of an eye to him. The memory of him fighting Han Xiao felt like it was just yesterday.

Field battles were not the World Tree Civilization’s strong suit. Invading the enemy civilization’s territory was their biggest advantage. They could snowball through the World Tree’s devouring ability that could consume all resources, killing all enemies.

The war is finally going to enter the rhythm that we are good at!

The Subduing Tree King tightened his grip and crushed the armrest of the throne. His voice was low and hoarse.

“I’ve finally found your territory… It’s time for you to taste despair!”

Chapter 1403: Change and Situation

A huge space fortress floated in the universe, surrounded by wormhole hyperdrive base stations. From time to time, wormholes opened and closed, and fleet after fleet flew out.

The Siebert Fortress was located in the Carter Star Cluster at the border of the Flickering World. It was the headquarters of the Galactic Alliance Army in the Flickering World.

In order to fight against the World Tree Civilization, the three Universal Civilizations formed the Galactic Alliance Army during the preparation period and combined the forces of the explored universe. They also divided the explored universe’s various Star Fields into numbered military regions and modified them to varying degrees.

Over the past ten years, the Flickering World had been completely transformed. The five border Star Clusters were now only left with countless defensive lines and strongholds.

Not only the Flickering World which represented the first military region but even the Star Fields in the central region were also prepared for war.

After all, the situation of the World Tree invading the territory was different from the interception war. During the interception war, there was a large area behind them, so there was a limit to their worries. However, past the Flickering World was the territory, so there was no way to retreat. They had to guard against it, and the pressure was completely different.

At this moment, in the conference room on the top floor of the Siebert Fortress, countless people were gathered with solemn expressions. Not only were there the various commanders of the Galactic Alliance Army, but there were also some Beyond Grade A Association upper echelons.

A 3D star map of the Flickering World appeared on the table.

“According to the report from the frontline, the World Tree’s vanguard army is not far from the Flickering World border. It is estimated that they will arrive at the outermost defense circle in ten days. The various troops are already prepared for battle. What do you all think?”

Simon operated the star map as he spoke. He enlarged the area at the border and marked the areas that were most likely to be attacked by the World Tree.

Although the World Tree only had one set of coordinates, it would not take just one route. It would split into many vanguard teams and advance in different directions, eventually invading the Flickering World from those directions. However, the three Universal Civilizations had already expected this situation and had turned the Flickering World into a metal barrel. “We’ve been preparing for this day for more than ten years. Just fight.”

more

“That’s right. What needs to be prepared and discussed has been done for more than ten years. Now, it’s time to test our results.” “The World Tree’s current actions have not deviated from our predetermined situation. We just have to act according to the strategy. When they really attack, we will adjust accordingly.”

Many of the officers spoke, their fighting spirit overflowing. Simon nodded and turned to look at Han Xiao. “Your Excellency Black Star, what do you think?!

Han Xiao supported his face with his palm and said, “We have strengthened our defense and cleared the resources, the World Tree can’t snowball for the time being, so they won’t keep advancing blindly. They’ll most likely build a bridgehead base in the border area and stabilize the jump point, ready to fight a long battle with us.”

Compared to ten years ago, his appearance had not changed at all. With his extraordinary lifespan, this bit of time could not even leave a mark on him.

“That’s right,” Simon agreed.

“So, this is a test of endurance. A battle of attrition is inevitable. Let’s see who can endure it. Let’s see if we die first or if we find the World Tree’s main body first,” Han Xiao shrugged. Currently, the revival mechanism of the World Tree was still unsolvable. Han Xiao felt that the Transcendent Grade should have the power to attack the Information Form, but he could not unlock it. He could only attribute it to some prerequisites that had yet to be fulfilled.

In the past few years, the secondary dimension expeditionary army had made some progress. Although they did not find the World Tree’s main body, they had figured out the World Tree’s territory in the secondary dimension and had met the other party’s garrison many times.

Fortunately, with the protection of Harrison’s halo, they did not expose their coordinates and were safe. However, their actions were finally discovered by the World Tree Civilization. Currently, batches of Blessed Races were searching for the expedition army of the three Universal Civilizations in the secondary dimension.

However, this was unavoidable. The World Tree’s main body was protected by countless Blessed Race members and it was heavily guarded. The closer the expedition army got to the main body, the easier it was to trigger the alert. It was basically impossible to find the main body of the World Tree without alerting any guards. It was the same in his previous life. The team that actively searched for the main body of the World Tree was chased all over the world by the Blessed Race. In the end, it was Harrison’s luck that had exploded, and he passed through the security net and found the main body.

“When does the Beyond Grade A Association plan to participate in the battle?” Simon asked.

“They can participate in the battle at any time, excluding me.” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. “I won’t make a move before the World Tree sends out the Tree King again.”

His advancement to the Transcendent Grade was still a secret to the World Tree. He wanted to use this opportunity to launch a surprise attack and seal another Tree King. If he rashly appeared to fight a small army, he would most likely scare the Tree Kings so much that they would not dare to appear.

Before luring out the Tree King, he did not want his cannon to hit the mosquitoes. No one had any objections. After some discussion, they quickly finished the meeting and went offline to prepare. Han Xiao turned off the remote projection and looked back at the square of the training base. In front of him was a dense crowd. All the trainees were gathered there, looking at him.

“As all of you know, the World Tree is about to invade. The training will end today. It’s time for you to use what you’ve learned.”

As Han Xiao spoke, he scanned the crowd.

After more than ten years of high-pressure training and his guidance, a new batch of Beyond Grade As had been born. There were more than forty of them. Other than the exploration era, there had never been a time in history where Beyond Grade As were born so frequently. Almost half of the members of the Black Star Army were there. Jotina successfully advanced, Nero also advanced to Beyond Grade A half a year ago, and even Lagi successfully advanced. Karlot had also advanced to Beyond Grade A early on, but Han Xiao did not allow him to appear. He was still undergoing special training, accumulating insights, and trying to trigger (Everlasting Martial Path] again to quickly reach his peak combat strength.

The trainees were in an uproar for a while. Suddenly, as though they had made an agreement, they all bowed toward Han Xiao.

Regardless of whether they had advanced to the Beyond Grade A realm or not, everyone had a solemn expression on their faces as they said in unison,

“Thank you, Your Excellency Black Star, for teaching us for the past ten years. We will remember to engrave kindness in our hearts!”

No matter what Black Star’s motive was, at least they knew how much they had benefited in the past ten years. Their gratitude toward Han Xiao was sincere.

Han Xiao accepted it calmly and waved his hand. “Report to the army.”

Everyone bowed again and boarded the spaceships that were already prepared. The spaceships turned into streams of light and disappeared from everyone’s sight.

At this moment, Kasuyi walked up from behind and sighed.

“I wonder how many of these Calamity Grade seeds will survive till the next time we meet.”

“We’ve already given them the chance. You can’t blame others for not being able to obtain the Sanctum entrance ticket in more than ten years.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

Kasuyi nodded. “It’s time for us to report. Remember to bring Aurora back. If we can’t see her, we won’t feel confident.”

“Got it.”

Han Xiao nodded and watched the Beyond Grade A Association members leave.

In comparison, the Beyond Grade As were not too nervous. With Black Star’s Sanctum Revival, their lives were guaranteed.

After more than ten years of training, many Beyond Grade As had made some improvements. Han Xiao sparred with them from time to time, and he also obtained some abilities from some of them.

After sending everyone away, Han Xiao changed into King and teleported to the Soul Terminal.

The moment he arrived-Hila, Aurora, and Feidin, who were in seclusion-sensed him.

“You’re here?”

Hila stopped absorbing the soul fragments, and an indescribable aura emanated from her body.

“You’ve improved a lot over the years.” Han Xiao looked at her with a satisfied expression.

Soul Terminal was the training ground for Hila and Feidin. After ten years of seclusion, Hila had already stepped into the peak Beyond Grade A realm, and her strength had increased tremendously. Feidin had absorbed an unknown amount of soul energy through the Soul Swapper, and he had also steadily reached the level of an upper-tier Beyond Grade A.

As for Aurora, she was unable to use the resources of the Soul Terminal, but she had received special training from Hila, and her abilities had also improved. Although she was not as strong as the two freaks—Hila and Feidin, she was still quite good.

“You’re here to take us back, right? It’s about time for the World Tree to arrive.” Hila’s eyes flashed with a fighting spirit, “I can finally fight the Tree King.”

Han Xiao ignored this battle maniac and turned to Aurora. “You’re our core member. Are you ready?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t fail this time!”

Aurora clenched her fists with determination.

Although she still remembered that dream, she had already sworn not to fall for it again.

Han Xiao smiled and rubbed her head before looking at Feidin.

“You’re already an upper-tier Beyond Grade A Super. Using this power to activate the Soul Swapper is enough to cause a large area of damage to the members of the World Tree. You have a lot of freedom in this.”

The Soul Swapper was a mass killing machine, and its power was not inferior to psionic waves. It was also a treasured military tool, and when it was inconvenient for him to attack, Feidin would be able to replace him to deal large area damage to the fleet.

“I understand.” Feidin rubbed the surface of the Soul Swapper and nodded.

Although he did not like killing, he would not show mercy to invaders like the World Tree.

Han Xiao then changed into another King and teleported to the Underworld. He immediately saw Evans, and EsGod, who was teaching him combat skills.

As soon as he saw Han Xiao, Evans immediately stopped practicing and walked up to him.

Han Xiao cut to the chase and said, “The World Tree is coming. Come with me.” “Okay.” Evans nodded.

EsGod walked over with his hands behind his back and said, “Don’t die on the battlefield. I’m still waiting for you to fulfill my dream. Although the Sanctum Revival is good, as long as you die once, your ability will be lost, and you will never be able to reach the Transcendent Grade. Don’t blame me for giving up on you when that happens.”

“Don’t worry, Teacher. I won’t die so easily.”

Evans replied with confidence.

As the saying goes, having a senior is like having a treasure. EsGod had roamed the universe for many years, and he was extremely experienced. With his wholehearted guidance, Evans had already accumulated a lot of combat skills.

When he first advanced and obtained the (Energy Control] Esper Ability, Evans was at most an ordinary person with a firearm in his hands. Now that he had received EsGod’s teachings, he was like a soldier who had completed all the special force’s elite classes and was proficient in all weapons. His combat ability had increased many times.

After more than ten years of interaction, Evans already saw EsGod as his teacher. Although EsGod did not admit it, he did not reject this title. “Follow me.”

Han Xiao raised his brows and left with Evans without saying anything.

EsGod watched as the two of them disappeared, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

The three Universal Civilizations intensely prepared for battle. Ten days passed in the blink of an eye, and the World Tree Vanguard Army finally arrived at the border of the Flickering World.

Just as the Military Strategy Department had expected, the World Tree invaded from different directions, but they were all within the range of the defense circle. Battles broke out in many areas at the same time. In all the battlefields, the individual strengths on both sides restrained themselves. The Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations had only probed a few times, but the World Tree Civilization had never sent any Beyond Grade As to fight.

Having learned from the Heart Tree King’s case, the World Tree was extremely wary of Black Star and did not use any Beyond Grade As for the first wave of attacks.

In this first battle that occurred after a gap of ten years, the three Universal Civilizations, which had been preparing for a long time, successfully gave the World Tree Army a head-on blow. They did not allow the World Tree to step into their territory, and both sides were in a stalemate at the Flickering World border.

However, even after winning once, the three Universal Civilizations did not feel any joy, because this was only the first wave of probing attacks. The World Tree did not use much of its strength, and the situation was still dire.

Just as Han Xiao had said, the World Tree was prepared for a battle of attrition. The first thing it did was to build a large number of bridgeheads outside the Flickering World border.

Because of the World Tree’s continuous advancement, the jump points were all under their control. The three Universal Civilizations were currently unable to replicate the spatial anchoring orbits which were used during the interception war, and they could not chase away the enemy. They could only defend their territory and endure the waves of attacks from the World Tree. Going forward, this would be the situation of the war, and it was also a situation that the three Universal Civilizations had long been prepared for.

Chapter 1404: Confrontation

Chapter 1404 Confrontation

The intense battle between the World Tree Army and the Galactic Alliance Army lasted for two months, but the World Tree was still unable to break into the Flickering World territory. Although they had broken through the Galactic Alliance Army’s defenses several times, the defense circle that the three Universal Civilizations had used more than ten years to build, was far more complete than the temporary intercepting circle. The support network was extremely dense, like an extremely dense elastic net.

The deeper they sank, the stronger the rebound would be, and they would not be able to stand on their own. All the World Tree troops that had attacked the Flickering World were either beaten back or wiped out. Their best record did not even reach three days, not even passing through the Star System at the border.

The border battle reports of the Flickering World were constantly sent back to the Central Galaxy, spreading throughout the galactic society. Countless galactic residents had been in fear for more than ten years, and now that the enemies had truly invaded their territory, many of them were even more afraid. However, because the Galactic Alliance Army had always kept the enemies out of their territory, their outstanding performance gave some confidence to the galactic residents.

Siebert Fortress. Many Beyond Grade As were on standby here for two months.

“Heh, didn’t the World Tree like to use its individual strength against us? Why are they so cowardly now? They are getting rusty.”

In the lounge, Sun Hunter stepped on the table and said with disdain.

“Probably because they’re afraid of Black Star. He captured a tree king ten years ago, so it must have hurt them,” Kant smiled.

In the past two months, no matter how they provoked or enticed them, the World Tree did not send out their individual strengths to fight, calmly watching the Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations create trouble on the battlefield.

The Beyond Grade As were a little helpless. No matter how strong their fighting spirit was, there was nothing they could do if the others did not respond. They had even used their physical bodies to tempt the World Tree expert, but the World Tree experts still refused to come out.

“You’re thinking too much. The World Tree isn’t that afraid of me. They should be observing the number of individual strengths we have. They won’t give up on their Exchange tactic so easily. They’re probably going to attack soon.”

Han Xiao played with Ames’ hair and replied casually

He had been on standby with the others, waiting to catch a big fish.

In the past few days, the three Universal Civilizations had hidden the true size of their individual strength. Most of the new Beyond Grade As did not come out. Hila, Feidin, Evans, and the other powerful Beyond Grade As with special abilities or huge progress did not participate. At the same time, the Beyond Grade As who had ‘died’ during the last battle did not appear, allowing them to remain ‘dead’ in the eyes of the World Tree.

In the Holy Accord organization that was not yet revealed to others, there were still dozens of Revivors who were prepared to participate in the battle. The individual strengths displayed in front of the World Tree were just the tip of the iceberg. It was to make the World Tree think that the Exchange tactic was effective and fall into the trap.

After more than ten years of searching, Oathkeeper had accumulated quite a few Sanctum keys, but Han Xiao had never used them. He kept them as a strategic reserve.

Buzz

While everyone was chatting, the alarm suddenly sounded. The World Tree launched another attack on the outermost defense circle.

Everyone paused. Before they could move, a remote projection of an officer suddenly appeared in the room.

“Everyone, the Beyond Grade As of the World Tree have finally appeared. Please arrive at the battlefield as soon as possible.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. “It’s finally here… Is there any sign of the Tree King this time?”

“Yes!”

“Who?”

“Two. They are the Subduing Tree King and the Lord’s Avatar of the Fortitude Tree King.”

Kasuyi could not help but laugh and interrupted, “With the lesson from last time, the World Tree would not dare to let the Tree King go out alone. However, the arrangement this time is similar to the last. I’m afraid they feel that as long as they are careful, they will not fall for the same trick as the Heart Tree King.”

This time, a new Beyond Grade A asked curiously,

“The Tree King has already appeared. Does Your Excellency Black Star want to fight?”

“It’s only Subduing Tree King… Forget it, I’ll leave it to you guys.” Han Xiao stroked his chin, pondered, and clicked his tongue.

He hoped to catch a big fish. At the very least, it should be Fortitude Tree King. It would be best if it was the Ancestral Tree King. It did not seem worth it to expose his strength for a mere Subduing Tree King… He just disliked the Subduing Tree King, a Pugilist, because his abilities were too simple and he was not as important as the other Tree Kings.

Furthermore, there were plenty of Beyond Grade As in the Beyond Grade A Association, so there was no need for him to do anything. As long as they killed Subduing Tree King, he would not be able to revive in the short term. That should lure out the Ancestral Tree King and the Secret Tree King. They would be the better prey in Han Xiao’s eyes.

Hila’s eyes lit up, as though she was afraid that someone would snatch her opponent. “Leave this guy to me!”

Han Xiao raised his brows and dampened her enthusiasm mercilessly, “Although your improvement is not small, you are still far from killing a Tree King.”

“You won’t know till you try it.” Hila’s eyes flashed coldly.

“Alright, as long as you don’t let him escape.” Han Xiao curled his lips.

Originally, Wuornos was the most stable in dealing with the Tree King, but this guy had not left the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods for more than ten years, and he still had no intention of joining the battle. However, now that there was the eldest brother in the Underworld, they did not lack powerful experts.

Han Xiao noticed that Evans’ hands were trembling slightly, and he could not help but feel strange. “Are you afraid?”

“This is my first time on the battlefield, and it’s such a galactic war. I’m indeed a little afraid,” Evans said calmly.

Lagi mumbled, “What’s the use of being afraid? Could it be that I won’t die in battle if I am afraid? I didn’t expect to die so soon after becoming a Beyond Grade A for just a few years. Sigh, someone like me really doesn’t have the right to enjoy life…”

“Shut up.”

Han Xiao interrupted him.

If not for the fact that you have some combat power, I would have locked you in Amber today!

At this moment, on the border.

The enormous World Tree fleet was attacking the defensive perimeter, and the fleet of the Galactic Alliance Army cooperated with the various strongholds to counterattack. Countless terrifying rays of light shuttled back and forth in the vast battlefield of the universe, forming a bright but fatal rain of light that shot into each other’s formation, turning the spaceships into fireworks in space.

This was not the first time the two sides had fought, and the battle situation quickly heated up. The troops moved under the command of various military artificial intelligences. From a macro perspective, it looked like they were only shooting at each other on a large scale, but in fact, both sides were adjusting their tactics and carrying out minor operations.

On the battlefield, a group of Beyond Grade As of the World Tree were observing from afar under the protection of their starships.

The Subduing Tree King placed his hands behind his back and scanned the formation of the Galactic Alliance Army with his sharp eyes.

Not long after, the Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations also arrived on the battlefield one after another. The two sides faced each other from afar. Because only a portion of them had appeared, their numbers did not seem as large as the World Tree’s.

This batch of Beyond Grade As that had appeared was mainly those who had participated in the interception battle. The others were hiding in the dark and watching.

Seeing this, the Subduing Tree King narrowed his eyes and nodded.

“Humph, many of their experts died last time. They’re not our match this time.”

In the past two months, he had been observing the situation of the three Universal Civilizations’ Beyond Grade As. Most of them were old enemies. Although there were a few new faces, their numbers were limited. They were probably new Beyond Grade As.

He did not find this strange. The World Tree also had been nurturing Supers for more than ten years, and it had also given birth to some new Holy Tree Emissaries and ancestral spirits. The size of their individual strength had also increased.

A portion of the enemy’s individual strength had died in the battle more than ten years ago, and the dead of their World Tree had all been resurrected. The battle strength of both sides fluctuated, and the Subduing Tree King was

However, the Heart Tree King had already fallen. As a Pugilist, it was very difficult for him to instantly kill the enemy’s healer. He had tried it the last time, and he had fallen into Black Star’s trap. Thus, he did not plan to repeat the same mistake. The gathering of the World Tree’s powerhouses this time was just a test, and they did not have any intention of carrying out the Exchange tactic immediately.

Sweeping his gaze across the enemies, the Subduing Tree King suddenly realized that there was no trace of Black Star.

“That guy actually didn’t come out? No, he must have hidden himself to ambush us.”

The Subduing Tree King became alert.

The only person he was worried about was Black Star. The Heart Tree King had been sealed, and he did not want to follow in his footsteps. He was secretly on guard, afraid that Han Xiao would jump out and stab him.

As the saying goes, when enemies meet, their eyes will burn with hatred. The Beyond Grade As on both sides rushed toward each other without saying anything and immediately started fighting on the battlefield, forming a large area of chaos.

The Tree King activated his liberation mode, and his body glowed with green light. He had originally wanted to force Black Star out, but he did not expect to be stopped by a red-haired woman.

“Your opponent is me.”

Hila stood in front of the Subduing Tree King with a cold expression, her eyes filled with killing intent.

The Subduing Tree King’s eyes flickered. He had an impression of Hila.

“It’s you? Hmm, your self-healing ability is not bad, but you think you can stop me with your strength?”

Other than Black Star, the Subduing Tree King was not afraid of anyone. Thinking of Hila’s performance on the battlefield more than ten years ago, he did not even put her in his eyes. Hila did not have the habit of shooting her mouth off. Hearing this, she let out a cold snort, and a powerful aura burst out from her.

The Subduing Tree King suddenly felt threatened, and his expression changed. He looked at Hila with shock.

‘She has become so strong?’

Without a doubt, this red-haired woman had already stepped into the peak Beyond Grade A level, and her energy fluctuations were at the upper level of the peak Beyond Grade As. It had only been ten years since they last met, but she had already improved so much!

The Subduing Tree King’s expression turned grave. Although there was still a gap between the two of them, he had to admit that this woman in front of him was qualified to fight him.

He sensed the battle situation of his comrades and realized that the enemy Beyond Grade As were far stronger than the World Tree’s Beyond Grade As. Although they had lost in terms of numbers, they were not at a disadvantage. “How did they train ?” The Subduing Tree King was shocked. In just ten short years, they had made such an obvious improvement. How could Beyond Grade As increase their combat strength so easily? Could it be that the enemy’s territory was filled with geniuses ?

Chapter 1405: Hila’s New Form

Chapter 1405 Hila’s New Form

Without waiting for the Subduing Tree King to make a move, Hila had already attacked. A red light flashed in her eyes, and the death energy that had formed into an ocean shot out. It contained an aura of destruction, sealing all of the Tree King’s dodging angles. Suppressing the shock in his heart, the Subduing Tree King flashed with green light, and his powerful Pugilist flames burst out like a supernova. A thick green light wave burst out and the approaching death energy froze in midair and shattered one after another. However, more death energy surged down and filled up the gap almost instantly.

After being strengthened by the power of the undead, the corrosion was many times stronger. Although the Subduing Tree King’s protective flames blocked the death energy, there was still a portion of the death energy that stuck on it, constantly wearing down the thickness of the pugilist flames. The pugilist flames quickly lost their vitality, turning into stars before disappearing into the universe.

“This ability has the attacking properties of impact, erosion, decrease in activity, spirit, and so on. Furthermore, it seems to have some sort of superimposed killing technique. If my body is hit, it won’t be good…”

With a thought in his mind, the Subduing Tree King channeled more energy into his protective shield. He also used his authority as a Tree King to summon the World Tree Root. It spun rapidly like a tornado, shattering the incoming death energy.

Without stopping, he bent his knees and stomped hard. A shockwave exploded behind him, and he shot out like a cannonball, turning him into a stream of light as he charged straight towards Hila.

“Come!”

Hila’s eyes turned fierce, and a wave of red-black energy suddenly surged out from her body before quickly rolling back, covering her body, layer by layer. In an instant, it became solid and the death energy seemed to have solidified, turning her into a five to six-meter-tall red-black giant. At the same time, dense and complicated silver-gray lines covered the little giant’s body, looking rather mysterious.

The outline of the giant’s body was exactly the same as Hila’s, but there were no facial features on its face, only a pair of eyes burning with white light.

The next moment, the green meteor slammed into the abdomen of the little giant and flew out with her. Like a red and green ray, it penetrated dozens of starships, leaving a path filled with fireworks.

Dong dong dong

Green fist shadows descended from the sky and landed on the giant like a storm. However, her red and black body was extremely tough, and there were no signs of it being shattered.

Suddenly, the multitude of fist shadows disappeared. Everyone saw that the giant had caught the Subduing Tree King’s fist with both of its hands.

Bang!

The powerful force created a flowing ripple on the surface of the giant’s body, spreading from his palm to his back, and then out from his body. A green energy shockwave spread out in the universe behind it, shattering hundreds of battleships.

“A Pugilist is invincible in close combat? I don’t believe it!”

With a strong will to fight, the red and black giant suddenly smashed its head on the top of the Subduing Tree King’s head, shaking the two of them. With a loud clank, the iron-headed baby received a ‘friendly greeting’.

Immediately after, the giant let go of the Tree King and clenched his fist. In the blink of an eye, countless red flashes appeared, and hundreds of fist imprints burning with red flames appeared on the Tree King’s protective shield. A huge force burst out and instantly sent him flying.

In this form, Hila had actually managed to defeat the Subduing Tree King in close combat! “….. Interesting.”

The Subduing Tree King that was sent flying immediately stopped and rubbed his head. The rest of his body was unharmed, and he was surprised by Hila’s close combat skills.

After the previous fight, he realized that this giant’s physique was extremely tough and strong. If not for the lack of Pugilist flames, he would have thought that he was fighting a peak Beyond Grade A Pugilist.

“Again!”

Hila waved her hands, full of fighting spirit. Although her ability was good at attacking from mid to long distances, she still preferred engaging in fierce close combat.

After so many years of persistence in challenging Black Star, being pressed down on the ground time and time again, Hila had already gotten the thrill of being tortured. Not only did she like to get beaten up, but she also liked to beat others up just like Black Star did. In the past ten years, Aurora had suffered quite a few punches from her.

Because the Power Of The Dead contained the ability inheritance of her previous owner, Nerkese, Hila did not need to focus on developing her abilities to understand the usage of many Esper Abilities. After stepping into the peak Beyond Grade A realm, she had unlocked many new abilities, and transforming into a red and black giant was one of them.

Hila’s control of death energy was usually focused on the outside of her body. Now that she could condense and compress it in her body, she could transform herself into another form, called ‘Reaper Liberation’. This was one of the main battle methods of Nerkese.

This skill had many transformation stages, and the further one went, the stronger they became. However, each stronger stage required a sufficiently high energy level to unlock. The final requirement for unlocking the ultimate stage, ‘God of the Dead’ required an Energy Rank of more than 90,000 Ona. Hila had yet to meet the requirement, and she had only unlocked the ‘Departed Soul’ stage. It was the miniature red and black giant that she had currently transformed into.

After entering the ‘Reaper Liberation’ state, her body and the Underworld Dimension would fuse to a higher level, and she would be able to activate a new talent. The more Hero Spirits there were in the Underworld as well as the higher their quality, the more enhancements to her strength she would receive. The effect was similar to the [Proof of Leadership), which was also one of the reasons for Hila’s huge increase in combat strength.

At the same time, because the body after transformation was made up of highly condensed death energy, the characteristics of the original ability still existed. Even if physical attacks were used, they would still have the ability to cause Death’s Erosion, damaging and corroding the soul. Furthermore, just touching her body would cause the life force of an outsider to be lost.

The two of them looked at each other in midair, and the next moment, both of them moved at the same time. The red and green figures clashed once again, and their fists landed on flesh. The aftershock of their fists shot out and disrupted the battlefield.

“Tsk tsk, so scary.”

Han Xiao stayed in the base, clicking his tongue as he watched the battle.

He had experienced this form of Hila before and her close combat ability was indeed very strong. Combined with her recovery ability, she was extremely tanky, and her combat strength stood firmly in the first tier.

However, in his eyes, even with this move, Hila was still far from being able to defeat the battle form of the Tree King. Before he advanced, even if he could win against the Subduing Tree King alone, he would not be able to do anything to him in a short period of time. Hila’s strength was far weaker than before he advanced, so it was impossible for her to defeat the Tree King alone.

However, with her disgusting tankiness, she would not be beaten into a meat patty even by the Subduing Tree King anytime soon.

Han Xiao no longer looked at the two of them and looked at the other battlefields.

The Fortitude Tree King and Herberlon were old enemies, and their eyes were filled with hatred. The two Mechanical Deities’ huge bodies rolled across the battlefield and shattered starships. Other than the two of them, there were also quite a few Mechanical Deities on the battlefield. Due to the size of their bodies, they were all the most conspicuous people within the Beyond Grade A battlefield. As for Milizaus, after successfully “losing weight”, he had already escaped the fate of being a target. At this time, he was chasing after a World Tree Army leader and throwing magic spells. His improvement was huge, fully showing the benefits of getting to know an ancestor.

The rest, such as Manison, Kasuyi, and the others, found their opponents and fought non-stop. Furthermore, golden light would shoot out from the battlefield from time to time. That was Aurora healing people with precision. Her control was much more skillful than ten years ago, and her success rate was higher. It could be seen that the special training was quite effective.

After a few rounds of Sanctums’ resuscitation, the three Universal Civilizations had a lot more experts in the first tier. However, the ten executives of the World Tree, the high-level Holy Tree Emissary, the thirteen ancestral spirits, and the army commanders were not to be trifled with. However, not all of the first-tier experts had entered the battlefield. The World Tree did not allow all the experts to participate in this probing attack, and the three Universal Civilizations had also hidden a batch of Revivors and new Beyond Grade As. Although the three Universal Civilizations had a disadvantage in terms of numbers, their strength had increased, so they did not suffer any losses and were temporarily in a stalemate.

“Feidin is going to attack, right?”

Han Xiao looked at Feidin, who was hiding in the fleet, and narrowed his eyes. Although the souls of all the enemies were bound to the World Tree, causing the Soul Swapper to only be able to destroy them and not transfer the souls out, it was still very powerful.

As expected, after watching for a while, Feidin finally took out the Soul Swapper and activated this Universal Treasure.

The next moment, the souls of the crew members within the surrounding World Tree Spaceships were torn into pieces, and they died on the spot.

Tens of thousands of World Tree battleships faced such a situation, and the damage was still spreading further. “Hmm? What’s going on?”

The Subduing Tree King’s expression changed, as he sensed this abnormality from the Mind Sharing. The strange thing about the Soul Swapper was that it did not leave a trace. In the eyes of the Subduing Tree King, large batches of the World Tree crew had died without any warning. They could not find the source of the attack, but it was definitely the enemy’s doing.

Although they did not know what special weapons the enemy had used, it was not a coincidence that the sudden deaths were gathered in one area. The World Tree fleet immediately began to adjust and avoid this area.

Although this was a stupid method, it was indeed effective. The Soul Swapper did not have an unlimited range. Although it could cover the entire planet, under the scale of the galactic battlefield, this range was relatively small. Of course, Feidin was not a fixed cannon. As long as he swam around the battlefield, he would be able to kill more enemies.

The Subduing Tree King naturally did not know about this. After observing the sudden death of the soldiers, he then looked at the current battle between Beyond Grade As, with a heavy mood.

“It’s about time to retreat.”

Although Black Star, who was the most difficult to deal with, had yet to appear, the Tree King had already decided to retreat.

He had thought that this probing attack would allow him to gain the upper hand in terms of individual strength and did not expect the situation to turn so bad. This civilization that was viewed as prey was extremely tenacious. It seemed like even if he managed to land on their territory, he would not be able to defeat them easily.

This time, he was not the main attacker. If the situation was good, the Subduing Tree King would not mind sacrificing himself. However, the current situation was not as he had expected. He felt that there was no need to continue fighting.

The Tree King’s eyes narrowed, and his energy exploded. His fist glowed with the green light in the shape of a cross, and with lightning speed, it slammed into Hila’s abdomen.

Bang!

A halo of impact appeared!

The two of them were originally locked in a fierce battle, but this heavy punch suddenly broke the stalemate, and Hila was sent flying. At the same time, the World Tree Root beside the Subduing Tree King threw Hila further away, smashing a row of starships like a meteor.

The Subduing Tree King did not chase after her. Instead, he turned around and retreated. The other World Tree experts received the order and retreated simultaneously, leaving only the Lord’s Avatar of the Fortitude Tree King and the other Mechanic experts behind.

Although he was now unable to kill Hila, the difference in strength between them was not so easy to bridge. If he wanted to leave, Hila would not be able to stop him.

“Chase!”

Kasuyi shouted in the mental network, and the people still on the battlefield chased after him.

Hila finally managed to stop herself, and when she looked up, she realized that the Subduing Tree King was already far away. She immediately chased after him, but the distance between them was increasing instead of decreasing

She could not help but release her mental waves to shout:

“Don’t run! Keep fighting!”

The Subduing Tree King turned a deaf ear to her words and ignored her completely. He shuttled back and forth between the battles among the two fleets, getting closer and closer to his own formation, leaving her with only his back view.

At this moment, Dillon, who had already materialized, suddenly appeared on the battlefield. He looked at the figure of the Tree King from afar and sneered.

“Are you kidding me? How can you call yourself a King like this? You’re just a piece of trash that ran away. You don’t even deserve to be the most useless Pugilist.”

As soon as he finished speaking…

The Subduing Tree King momentum suddenly decreased, and a look of shock appeared on his face.

What’s going on… It’s just a simple taunt. With my personality, I actually stopped for no reason and wanted to beat this guy up?! Could this be some kind of mental control similar to that of the Voice Spirits?!

Chapter 1406: Dylan: I Am a Pro in Pulling Aggro

“What are you doing?”

The Fortitude Tree King, who was wrestling with Herberlon at the back, immediately noticed the abnormality of the Subduing Tree King and was shocked.

What the hell? Are you seriously stopping ?

Originally, many of the World Tree powerhouses had retreated at the same time and formed a battlefront to support each other, effectively blocking the pursuit of the enemy group. However, the moment the Subduing Tree King stopped, he was instantly at the back and left the team, exposing himself to the enemy Beyond Grade As. “I…”

The Subduing Tree King trembled as though he had just woken up from a dream. He suppressed the urge to turn around and took a deep look at Dylan before hurriedly following the rest.

However, before he could speed up, Dylan raised his brows.

“What are you looking at? What, you want to hit me? Do you have the guts?”

The Subduing Tree King paused, clenched his teeth, and continued to accelerate.

Seeing this, Dylan laughed and said with a judgmental tone, “That’s right. Keep running. A Pugilist who doesn’t even have this bit of courage doesn’t have the right to even look at me.”

The Subduing Tree King subconsciously stopped once again. He was shocked and furious… Usually, he would not be affected by such verbal conflict, but for some reason, when these words came out of this person’s mouth, he could not control his emotions.

Anger surged through his brain, and the Subduing Tree King suppressed it. Just as he was about to take another step forward, Dylan’s sarcastic voice sounded again.

“You really stopped? You can’t even stand two sentences? Ha, you don’t even have this little patience. You’re indeed a Pugilist. Other than ‘stupid’, there’s no other word suitable for you.”

It was as if an invisible hand had grabbed onto his body, and the Subduing Tree King froze. He wanted to continue retreating, but he could not move his legs no matter how hard he tried. A demonic murmur echoed in his heart.

“Kill him… kill him… kill him…”

The Subduing Tree King’s expression changed drastically. His expression was twisted, as though he was fighting with himself.

All of a sudden, the Fortitude Tree King’s roar sounded in his mind.

“Are you f*cking leaving or not ?”

The Fortitude Tree King could not take it anymore. He did not know what had gotten into the Subduing Tree King, but he was running intermittently. It was as if he was suffering from kidney damage, and he was getting left behind.

“There’s something strange about that guy. His words can anger me…” The Subduing Tree King’s tone was gloomy. “Can’t you block his mental transmission ?”

The Fortitude Tree King roared in rage.

He even had to remind him of such a simple matter. He was indeed a pugilist!

The Subduing Tree King was stunned for a moment before coming to a realization.

That’s right, I can still block him. Why didn’t I react just now? I must have lost my mind because of the anger!

He convinced himself. He was not willing to admit that although he was angered to the point of wanting to beat someone up, there seemed to be a magic in Dylan’s words that made him want to listen to the scoldings more…

He quickly solidified the mental barrier and blocked the outside mental fluctuations. At this moment, the Subduing Tree King finally felt that the world was peaceful.

He suppressed the inexplicable reluctance in his heart and continued to run.

“Go back and support the Subduing Tree King!”

The Fortitude Tree King took over the command. He suppressed his anger and ordered the World Tree powerhouses to turn around and receive the Subduing Tree King.

The battlefield was ever-changing. Although the Subduing Tree King had only been delayed for a short while, he had distanced himself from the retreating troops and was completely alone.

Originally, the many World Tree experts had already run far away, and they were able to shake off the Beyond Grade A pursuers of the three Universal Civilizations with a small number of casualties. However, because the Subduing Tree King was being held back by taunts, they had no choice but to turn back and reinforce him. They fell back into the swamp, and their retreat formation was completely messed up.

The Fortitude Tree King had no choice. If he did not send these World Tree experts to support, the lone Subduing Tree King would most likely die on the spot.

Black Star had yet to make a move and could launch a sneak attack at any time. He was afraid that the Subduing Tree King would share the same fate and be sealed like the Heart Tree King, causing another Tree King Crown to disappear. In addition, the Fortitude Tree King did not want the tool, the Subduing Tree King, to die in battle and go into hibernation. That would mean that he would have to take charge of the overall situation, how would he be able to idle away then? He would rather let the other World Tree experts die to save the Subduing Tree King

The World Tree’s retreat was interrupted, and the Beyond Grade As of both sides fought again.

On the other side, Sun Hunter flew past Dylan and laughed.

“Nicely done. Your mind game is quite good. You’ve pinned him down!”

“What mind game? I just want to scold him.”

Dylan had a look of disdain on his face, and his gaze toward the Subduing Tree King held some anger.

Hearing this, the Beyond Grade As flying around looked at him strangely.

Scolding the enemy is nothing. If it was a private chat, it would have been fine. However, you are scolding openly, and we can clearly hear you attacking all Pugilists. If you were not playing a mind game, then doesn’t your scolding involve our Pugilists as well?

At this moment, Sierron flew past them and said with a displeased expression, “Don’t involve us Pugilists even if you want to insult the enemy.”

Dylan glanced at him and said matter-of-factly, “You’re also trash.”

“…Don’t stop me, I’m going to kill him now!”

Sierron was furious.

“Mission is more important. Ignore him.” Sun Hunter quickly grabbed Sierron’s finger and dragged him away without much effort.

The current Dylan had already completely adapted to the identity of the Underworld Hero Spirit, and he no longer had any scruples when speaking. The Beyond Grade As were no longer willing to lower themselves to his level. After all, what was the point in bickering with a dead person?

On the battlefield, the Subduing Tree King retreated as he fought. His attacks were filled with rage, and the power of his attacks increased.

Hila caught up once again. The red and black giant’s fists continued to punch, and its arms pulled back and forth like rubber. However, the current Subduing Tree King did not have any interest in being in a stalemate with her. Every move he made exploded with all his strength, and they all landed on Hila’s body.

After a few rounds, Hila was beaten up badly and she was at a disadvantage.

Although she was also good at close combat in this form, there was still a gap between her and the Subduing Tree King, who was going all out. After all, the Pugilist class still had some meaning…

Bang! The fist, shining with the green light of the cross, landed deeply on the red-black giant’s body, and the surging Pugilist flames entered the giant’s body. The next moment, a green light suddenly lit up in the red-black giant’s body. It expanded in the blink of an eye and dyed its entire body a dazzling green color. It exploded from the inside out!

Like a balloon exploding, the highly concentrated death energy that formed the body directly exploded, turning into red light fragments that filled the sky, and Hila’s body was exposed.

Before Hila could retreat, the Subduing Tree King grabbed her neck and slammed his other hand into Hila’s face, sending blood and broken bones flying. “Powerful!”

With a flash of golden light, Hila’s heavily injured face instantly recovered. The pain did not affect her movements at all. She condensed her death energy and was about to deal damage to the Subduing Tree King.

However, the Subduing Tree King understood her intentions. He raised his leg and kicked her heavily on her abdomen, interrupting her movements. He kicked her body until it folded and flew backward. Her spine was already broken by the huge penetrative force. “Cough cough cough,” Hila spat out a mouthful of blood, controlled her muscles to adjust the position of her spine, connected the broken nerves and blood vessels, and absorbed a trace of life energy from her Soul Connection with Aurora, allowing her injuries to recover quickly.

The form of ‘Reaper Liberation’ was destroyed, and it was still on cooldown. Although Hila did not intend to admit defeat, she had no choice but to face the reality that she could not defeat the Subduing Tree King and analyzed the current situation.

“Although I can still continue fighting the Subduing Tree King, I can’t hold him back. This will allow him to escape…”

Hila’s eyes were still filled with the desire to fight, but she was afraid of ruining Han Xiao’s goal, so she could only suppress it.

“Does it hurt?”

Seeing that she did not continue to charge forward, the Subduing Tree King narrowed his eyes and did not pursue her.

Although he was left alone due to his carelessness, causing a large group of Beyond Grade As from the three Universal Civilizations to surround him, the many World Tree Supers returned in time and broke through the encirclement that had yet to take shape, dragging the situation back into a chaotic battle. Therefore, the Subduing Tree King was still in a good situation and was not surrounded.

The Subduing Tree King observed the situation and felt much more relaxed. Although Hila was not easy to deal with, she could not stop him at all. With his ability, as long as there was no Beyond Grade A like Black Star to hold him back, the chances of him escaping were still very high. The retreat was stopped because of him, but he was still safe. The negative outcome was only sacrificing more of his comrades… Although it was a bit of a loss, as long as he, the Tree King, returned, these losses could still be accepted. After all, his hibernation would be much longer than the average World Tree expert.

“I didn’t think that a simple probe would be so dangerous. I can’t act casually next time.”

The Subduing Tree King did not chase after Hila but retreated.

However, at this moment, a strong sense of danger suddenly appeared, as though a large hand had grabbed onto his heart.

The Subduing Tree King’s expression changed slightly as he looked toward the source of the sensation.

A figure appeared beside Hila out of thin air. He did not look special on the outside and looked very ordinary. His expression was calm, but he exuded an evil and crazy aura that could not be hidden.

EsGod tilted his head and looked at the World Tree Roots beside the Subduing Tree King. He smiled and sighed.

“How many years has it been? I’ve finally seen this thing with my own eyes… Heh, if I hadn’t seen it, I might not have been imprisoned for nearly a hundred years.”

The Subduing Tree King frowned. He felt a strong threat from this stranger.

He had already blocked the mental fluctuations of outsiders, so he had no idea what EsGod was talking about. He turned around and ran without hesitation.

This unfamiliar Beyond Grade A that had suddenly appeared was not a simple character, and it would be difficult to determine the victor in a short time. If he was dragged here, it would be dangerous. Thus, the Subduing Tree King did not want to continue fighting.

However, before he could fly far, the smiling EsGod had already teleported in front of him.

The Subduing Tree King’s eyes darkened, and a powerful flame condensed in his fist. He aimed at EsGod, planning to use the shockwave to force EsGod back.

A green Pugilist beam shot out with enough power to destroy an entire planet. However, EsGod only raised his hand casually and activated his Esper Ability, refracting the beam of light which then shattered a large number of starships like a laser.

“Esper?”

The Subduing Tree King’s eyes flashed, but he did not plan to stop. He quickly closed the distance between them and punched out with his fist.

Bang! The fist landed on EsGod’s chest without any resistance, but all the power disappeared without a trace.

The Subduing Tree King’s expression changed. Just as he was about to retract his fist, EsGod slapped him back. Green light gushed out and reflected the power of the Subduing Tree King’s previous attack.

Boom!

A huge shockwave exploded in an instant, and the Subduing Tree King was sent flying.

He immediately stopped moving and looked at EsGod in shock. He removed his mental shield and could not help but ask,

“What ability is this?”

“Guess.”

EsGod smiled.

Even with the support of his Esper Ability, he would still be injured if he took such a blow head-on. In the past, he would have to worry about the burden on his body, so he did not dare to do this. He rarely fought head-on. Now, his body was only temporary, and he did not have to care about any consequences at all.

EsGod had a rare feeling of having nothing to worry about. He hooked his finger at the Tree King

“Come, let me see the ability of a Tree King.”

“…Your ability is not bad. You can absorb my power and reflect it back, but you don’t have the right to show off in front of me.”

The Subduing Tree King quickly calmed down and looked at EsGod coldly.

In this short exchange, he had already realized how difficult EsGod was to deal with. He thought that EsGod’s Esper Ability was to reflect attacks and that he was good at defense. He must be stalling him, he thought.

However, EsGod smiled.

“Is that so?”

Buzz!

The next moment, sixty to seventy doppelgangers separated from EsGod’s main body. Each doppelganger had a different ability, and they all released the aura of a Beyond Grade A, instantly attracting the attention of everyone present. “This is…”

Alarm bells rang in the Subduing Tree King’s heart, and his expression changed drastically.

He had originally thought that this unknown expert would only be difficult to deal with and would only be able to stall him at most. The true danger came from the siege of the other Beyond Grade As… but at this moment, the sense of danger EsGod gave him was almost similar to Black Star’s.

“So this civilization actually has such strong experts hidden…”

The Subduing Tree King’s heart was heavy as he waited. Facing such an opponent, he did not dare to think about escaping.

The next second, EsGod and all his doppelgangers attacked at the same time. Various Esper Abilities formed a perfect combination.

In a direct confrontation, EsGod might not be the strongest among the Beyond Grade As, but due to his unparalleled abilities, he could be considered the peak among Beyond Grade As in techniques!

“Crap!”

An endless sense of oppression assaulted him, and the Subduing Tree King suddenly opened his eyes wide. He realized that he could not find any flaws, and he could not help but be shocked.

This powerful enemy in front of me has strength that exceeds my expectations. It seems like he has the strength to kill me alone

Chapter 1407: Subduing Tree King: This Is All a Conspiracy, You Can’t Fool Me!

Chapter 1407 Subduing Tree King: This Is All a Conspiracy, You Can’t Fool Me!

A battle between the two erupted.

Dozens of doppelgangers with different Esper Abilities worked together seamlessly. As soon as they clashed, EsGod suppressed the Subduing Tree King. The combination of various Esper Abilities and combo attacks was dazzling, and the Subduing Tree King could not find his bearings.

When EsGod had just summoned his doppelgangers, the attention of all the Beyond Grade As on both sides had been drawn over. Seeing how miserable the Subduing Tree King was, everyone could not help but have strange looks on their faces.

“What a strong Esper. With so many Beyond Grade A doppelgangers assisting him in battle, although the Subduing Tree King king has the advantage in terms of frontal explosive power, all his actions are disrupted by the large number of doppelgangers. He isn’t able to fight back at all and is completely passive…”

While wrestling with Herberlon, the Fortitude Tree King observed the battle situation on the Subduing Tree King’s side. The more he watched, the more fearful he became.

The Subduing Tree King was being held back by a large number of EsGod doppelgangers and could not take control of the situation. He was like a weak teenager who was forced into an alley by a group of strong men. He was getting further and further away from the main force.

This powerful enemy did not have the overwhelming strength as Black Star did, but the Fortitude Tree King felt that he was equally difficult to deal with. If a Super with only one ability faced such an opponent, and the strength of the two parties did not have an insurmountable gap, then the Super would be at a natural disadvantage. A Pugilist who only knew how to hammer people was an example.

‘Luckily, I’m a Mechanic…’

This thought appeared in the mind of the Fortitude Tree King.

On the other side, the Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations looked at EsGod with shock.

“EsGod is truly terrifying without any restraints. His true combat capability is so strong…”

Many people were shocked.

Most people knew EsGod’s name, and many had fought him personally. However, EsGod’s current combat strength was much stronger than they had imagined. He had never been this strong before. “Looks like the Underworld suits him very well.”

Manison’s eyes flickered, and his tone was complicated.

EsGod had been imprisoned for close to a hundred years and wasted so many years. However, he was like a fish in water the moment he entered the Underworld. His stubbornness was gone, and his combat strength increased tremendously. While Manison had been training hard for so many years, due to Black Star’s persistent attacks, his combat strength had actually regressed and was not as good as when he was at his peak. As one fell and another rose, he realized that he did not have the confidence to deal with the current EsGod.

This comparison made Manison feel sad for himself.

Seeing the battle between the two of them, everyone quickly took action after being shocked. The World Tree experts tried to provide support, and the morale of the three Universal Civilizations was greatly boosted. They became even more obstructive and did not allow the enemy to leave the team battle to help.

For the time being, the two of them could not be bothered with the actions of their teammates and focused on the battle.

The green meteor crashed through the battlefield, but it was like a bug that had fallen into a spider’s web. All of its attacks were neutralized by EsGod’s doppelgangers using all kinds of strange defensive Esper Abilities. The Subduing Tree King could not break out of EsGod’s encirclement at all and could only be dragged along

The Subduing Tree King launched another series of close-range attacks, but the fists glowing with green light easily passed through EsGod’s body and did not hit anything.

Before he could do anything else, an EsGod doppelganger suddenly appeared from the side and floated over like smoke, turning into a curse and attaching itself to his body. His body suddenly became sore, and he could not even use half of his strength.

Before the Subduing Tree King could get rid of the negative status, the EsGod doppelgangers around him released different types of energy attacks.

Some shot out high-energy lasers from their eyes, some shot out ‘X’ shaped silver beams from their hands, some spun electromagnetic field lightning chains, and some pushed out dark red energy waves from their hands.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Multicolored energy bombarded the Subduing Tree King’s body. The light in the field expanded and exploded, causing the Subduing Tree King to tumble and fly backward.

Before he could fly far, the Subduing Tree King felt something tighten around his waist. It turned out that an EsGod’s doppelganger was already waiting for him on the way and had grabbed him by the waist.

His reaction was fast, and he used a powerful elbow strike to hit the EsGod doppelganger’s head. However, he did not manage to push the EsGod doppelganger back. The EsGod doppelganger’s head suddenly became blurry, as if there was a high-frequency vibration, and all the kinetic energy was absorbed.

The next moment, this EsGod doppelganger pushed his hip, and the kinetic energy rebounded, not missing anything and rushing into the Subduing Tree King’s body. “Get lost!”

The Tree King’s expression was twisted, his aura erupted and broke free from the control. He threw this EsGod doppelganger away.

However, before he could take any further action, more than ten mental attacks from different Esper Abilities suddenly exploded in his brain. Blood immediately spurted out from the Subduing Tree King’s mouth and nose, and his soul was injured. A large number of mental debuffs appeared, making him dizzy.

He endured the pain and was just about to use the World Tree Roots to help him out when he realized that the World Tree Roots were already pinned down by another group of EsGod doppelgangers using space, force field, and other Esper Abilities. “How many Esper Abilities do you have p” The Subduing Tree King was completely shocked.

After fighting for such a long time, this opponent had already used more than a hundred Esper Abilities. Attack, defense, control, evasion… All sorts of abilities were present, like a bottomless abyss. There was simply no limit!

Since the start of the battle, EsGod had never used any big moves to inflict heavy injuries on him. However, this method was like eating away at his life, continuously inflicting light injuries on him time and time again. It was extremely disgusting.

“I never counted.”

EsGod’s tone was calm as he continued to attack.

His Esper Abilities were endless and could be said to be omnipotent. He completely controlled the tempo of the battle and did not give the Subduing Tree King any time to catch his breath. The lethality was secondary, but the strongest aspect was the almost perfect chain of control, almost playing the Subduing Tree King in his palms.

While enduring the concentrated attacks, the Subduing Tree King observed the situation with difficulty. Seeing that the main force was getting further and further away, his heart could not help but turn cold.

“My teammates are being held back, and it will be very difficult for them to rush over to support me. If I continue to fight him like this, my condition will continue to deteriorate, and the chances of me being able to escape will become increasingly slim…”

The Subduing Tree King’s expression changed, and he suddenly had a flash of insight.

That’s right, Black Star has yet to appear. How can he not participate in the battle? He must be secretly waiting for me!

‘The Heart Tree King was tricked. Black Star knows that the other tree kings will be more vigilant, so he is hiding for the time being and pretending not to participate in the battle. He wants to make me lower my guard. When this Esper depletes my strength to a certain extent, he will suddenly attack and seal me as well!’

At this moment, the Subduing Tree King felt his mind clearing up.

That must be it. This is a trap! “That was close. If I am not decisive enough, I will fall for his trick… I can’t fall for his trick!’

He believed that he had seen through Black Star’s plan and made up his mind.

EsGod did not know anything about the Subduing Tree King’s mental state. Just as he was about to order his doppelgangers to launch another wave of attacks, a frightening energy was suddenly released from the Subduing Tree King’s body.

“Hmm? This feeling is…”

EsGod’s eyes narrowed, and he retreated without hesitation.

The Subduing Tree King had a fierce expression on his face, and his body suddenly emitted a bright light.

“I’d rather self-destruct than let you guys succeed!”

Bang!

His entire body exploded, and an intense energy shockwave spread out. The EsGod doppelgangers around were all sent flying, and the World Tree Roots turned into light fragments and disappeared.

The Subduing Tree King had always thought of himself as a rational Pugilist. His choice now was based on his own interests. He was being held back by EsGod, and Black Star was watching him from the dark. His chances of escaping were slim, so he decided to self-destruct before his condition fell to a dangerous state.

On one hand, it would cause the enemy’s sneak attack to fail, and on the other hand, his teammates did not have to come to support, thus minimizing losses.

Two birds with one stone!

Just one word, amazing!

Swoosh!

EsGod’s figure flashed, avoiding the shockwave of the self-destruction.

He had finally met an opponent he wanted to fight to his heart’s content, but he did not expect his opponent to explode just like that.

In his opinion, although the Subduing Tree King was at a disadvantage, he was still a Tree King level combatant. Even if he had the advantage, it would be extremely difficult to kill the other party. The current situation was far from the time to self-destruct… “Forget it, at least the target is settled.”

EsGod suddenly shook his head and laughed.

The situation of the battle was ever-changing. If the Subduing Tree King fought to the end, he might still have a chance to escape. However, since he decided to self-destruct now, there was no need to worry about any accidents.

Black Star’s order was to kill this guy. Now that his opponent had killed himself, he would be saving his energy.

On the other side, the Fortitude Tree King sensed the self-destruction of the Subduing Tree King and was shocked.

He felt that although the situation was not good, there was still a chance. Why did he give up the hope of survival? He could still be saved…

The Fortitude Tree King immediately received the Subduing Tree King’s mental fluctuations and understood what had happened.

“So, he did this because he was worried about being ambushed by the enemy…”

The Fortitude Tree King was speechless.

Due to the revival mechanism, this method of self-destructing to prevent the enemy from capturing them was very common for the World Tree members. The last time, the Subduing Tree King had died by self-destructing, but it was surprisingly similar this time as well…

The Fortitude Tree King did not know if he should say that the Subduing Tree King was decisive or a stupid teammate for falling in the same place twice.

With just one probing, they had lost a Tree King. He felt exhausted.

“Sigh, I can’t say that it’s a bad thing. He did die a little quickly, but it guaranteed that he won’t be sealed like the Heart Tree King.”

The Fortitude Tree King sighed in his heart. He could only think on the bright side… At least, the Subduing Tree King’s sacrifice was not completely worthless. He managed to probe out the enemy’s cards.

This unknown Esper who was not inferior to Black Star and that large-scale instant killing device that did not leave any traces must be the enemy’s trump cards.

With this information, his side would be able to prepare in advance the next time they fought… He had finally gained some benefits from this battle. He felt that the Subduing Tree King’s death was not a big loss.

It was a pity that this errand boy was gone. He could not slack off anymore. With this in mind, the Fortitude Tree King no longer had any thoughts of fighting. He suppressed the annoyance in his heart and immediately ordered a retreat.

“Let’s go!”

The World Tree experts stopped fighting and retreated. After paying a price, they finally returned to the main formation and were protected by the fleet again.

The Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations did not pursue after seeing this and retreated into the defense circle.

Seeing this, the expressions of the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations who were watching from afar relaxed, and they were secretly surprised.

Even before Black Star made a move, a portion of the Beyond Grade As had already given the World Tree experts a head-on blow, causing the enemies to suffer. In their eyes, this was undoubtedly the result of Black Star’s training over the past ten years.

“Although Black Star is unpredictable, he is still reliable in this field.”

“There shouldn’t be anyone in the entire Galactic Society who knows how to cultivate Supers better than him. Black Star has contributed a lot to such a huge improvement. His ten years of hard work has given us an advantage in terms of individual strength.”

The three of them were somewhat relieved.

At the same time.

In the base, Han Xiao raised his brows when he saw the Subduing Tree King explode into the most beautiful fireworks.

“He chose to self-destruct at this time… Could it be that he’s afraid that I’ll ambush him? Ha, isn’t he being too smart for his own good? Among the Pugilists, your stupidity is quite unique.”

Han Xiao could not help but laugh.

та

He did not plan to make a move, but he did not expect this inaction to scare the Subduing Tree King so much that he gave up his life… It could only be said that he had left quite a shadow in the World Tree’s heart.

This time, without his help, the other teammates had caused the World Tree to suffer a loss. Without a doubt, they had improved tremendously, and Hila and the others could even hold their own. He was very satisfied.

Most importantly, a portion of the Revivors and new Beyond Grade As held back their urges until the end of the battle and did not appear to join the battle. This meant that the Holy Accord’s Revivors were still not exposed, which was a good thing for Han Xiao.

The World Tree’s attack was obviously just a test, while his side only revealed the tip of the iceberg and did not reveal all their cards. They killed the Subduing Tree King while holding back some of their trump cards. Sending this annoying guy back home to rest was quite worth it!

As such, the World Tree did not receive any more intelligence, and it still maintained the incorrect judgment of the Exchange tactic being effective.

Han Xiao rubbed his chin and smiled.

“It seems like you guys don’t even have the right to enjoy this gift that I’ve prepared… That’s good too. I’ll give this surprise to you guys when you send out a powerful Tree King.”

Chapter 1408: Fishing and Response

Chapter 1408 Fishing and Response

While Han Xiao was thinking, the individual forces of both sides had already retreated from the battlefield, but the fleets were still exchanging fire. The densely packed particle beams crisscrossed, shattering the shields and armor of countless battleships. All kinds of large war weapons took turns and the border defense circle blocked the World Tree vanguard team outside the territory with extreme firepower.

After beating the World Tree experts away, the Beyond Grade As temporarily retreated to the Siebert Fortress to rest. They returned to the resting room in high spirits and greeted Han Xiao who was watching the battle.

“Well done, everyone. This is a great victory!”

Han Xiao nodded with approval.

“Haha, I used to think that the World Tree experts were difficult to deal with, but now I feel they’re just so-so.” Sun Hunter jumped onto the table and laughed like a hero.

“Of course, you guys did not waste your time for nothing the past ten years. I’ve seen all your progress.” Han Xiao smiled.

Hearing this, everyone could not help but smile. They were in a good mood.

When facing the enemy again, everyone realized that they had relaxed quite a bit. The enemy’s improvement was limited, but their own improvement was huge. This was undoubtedly the result of His Excellency Black Star’s ten years of special training.

The Beyond Grade As deeply experienced the growth brought by the special training and their gratitude toward Han Xiao grew deeper. They looked at Han Xiao with admiration and respect.

More than ten years ago, the World Tree had given them a lot of psychological pressure, and they felt that the World Tree was extremely difficult to deal with after a few exchanges. However, with Black Star as their confidence, they no longer had any psychological trauma.

After more than ten years of fermenting, Han Xiao had gained more respect. Because there was an intrinsic difference between a Transcendent and the Beyond Grade As, he had subtly improved the attitudes of many Beyond Grade As toward him. The way the Beyond Grade As viewed him now was similar to how Calamity Grades respected and supported the Beyond Grade As. The concept of superiors and subordinates was more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and most Beyond Grade As had already accepted the changes in their relationship.

“It’s all thanks to Aurora that we were able to achieve such a great victory,” Beyoni said with admiration.

Hearing this, everyone started bootlicking.

There were no casualties in this victory and it was naturally Aurora’s contribution that forced the World Tree experts back. Her healing power was stronger and more accurate than ten years ago and many Beyond Grade As were eager to suck up to her.

“It’s alright. I just did my job.”

Aurora was used to being humble, expressing her fear of being the MVP. At the same time, she secretly glanced at Han Xiao, anticipating his praise.

Han Xiao did not see the look in her eyes. He smiled and said, “Speaking of contributions, EsGod’s killing this time… cough, forcing the Subduing Tree King to die is also a great contribution.”

Everyone was stunned and turned to look at the calm EsGod.

Although EsGod had performed a meritorious deed, he had a grudge with many of the people present. Now that they were fighting side by side, everyone had a complicated impression of him.

EsGod glanced at Han Xiao. “If the Subduing Tree King was not afraid of your ambush, he would not have self-destructed so easily. Tree Kings indeed live up to their name. He’s not that easy to deal with.”

Hmm… although you’re humble, when I think about how you played with the Subduing Tree King, I feel like you’re posturing…

Han Xiao thought to himself and waved his hand. “You still contributed.”

EsGod smiled and did not continue.

What was the use of contributions? He would not be allowed to revive. He did not care if he made any contributions. It was just a mission from the Underworld.

At this moment, Kasuyi rubbed his chin and said, “It’s a pity that the Subduing Tree King self-destructed too decisively, causing the enemy to retreat in time. We did not cause more casualties to the enemy, and we only managed to kill about ten enemy Beyond Grade As. Among them, only the Subduing Tree King was a powerful individual.”

“This isn’t a big problem. It might be a good thing if we look at it from another perspective.” Han Xiao waved his hand and smiled. “Think about it, since the Subduing Tree King died in battle, the ones in charge of the overall situation will have to be changed. If we had heavily injured their Beyond Grade As in this wave, then even if the next Tree King wants to fight, he probably won’t have enough force. Now that we have left the World Tree with a relatively intact high-level strength, the new Tree King will have the chips to fight again in a short period.” “There’s such an explanation?” Kasuyi was surprised. “What’s so strange about that? My goal is to seal a sufficiently powerful Tree King. If they shrink back, how am I going to attack? I hoped you guys wouldn’t seriously injure the enemy this time. This is called baiting the big fish. Killing the Subduing Tree King is enough for now.”

Han Xiao nodded.

Hearing this, one of the revivors laughed and said, “Haha, it’s a good thing we didn’t join the battle this time, or we would have ruined your plan.”

“Of course, we can’t just reveal all our trump cards in just a probing battle. We will catch them off guard next time.” Han Xiao smiled.

The Revivors and some of the new Beyond Grade As originally felt that it was a pity that they did not make a move this time, but they were relieved now and focused on the big picture.

They gathered together and analyzed the results of the battle for a while before dispersing to do their own things. From time to time, they would look up at the live broadcast of the battle. At this moment, they had the upper hand, so there was no need for them to attack again. Han Xiao chatted with Ames and browsed through the deployment of the Galactic Alliance Army. Suddenly, he felt a squeeze beside him. Jotina walked over and sat beside him.

Han Xiao turned around and saw Jotina staring at him with a burning gaze, as though she wanted to swallow him alive. “What are you doing now?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“I want to stay by your side.” Jotina licked her lips.

“Then sit properly. Don’t come close.”

Han Xiao was helpless.

He knew that Jotina had always been craving for his body and had rejected her many times. However, she had never given up and kept pestering him.

In the past, Jotina would restrain herself because of the huge gap between them, but ever since she became a Beyond Grade A, she became more and more unrestrained. Especially when everyone was on standby at the frontlines, this woman kept harassing him.

“No, I want to lean on you.” Jotina did not hide anything and hugged his arm boldly.

Han Xiao had no choice but to pull his arm out. However, Jotina leaned her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Don’t you think this is the wrong time? Can’t you be mindful of your image?”

Han Xiao’s mouth twitched. After all, Jotina was a Beyond Grade A who was willing to stay in the army, so it was not convenient for him to beat her up.

“It’s alright, you guys continue.” The Beyond Grade As glanced over, not surprised at all. They were already used to it.

“…Do you think I’m air?”

Ames looked at the two of them and could not take it anymore.

It would have been fine if Jotina had sat on Han Xiao’s other side, but this woman had snatched her seat and pushed her to the side. Wasn’t this a provocation?

“This is your exclusive seat? Can’t I sit here?” Jotina looked back at her with hostility.

Ames could not be bothered with her. This was not the first time Jotina had targeted her, and she was speechless.

She crossed her arms and looked at Han Xiao. “You look very comfortable.”

“Of course not.”

Han Xiao shook his head and pushed Jotina away. He then sat down on the other side of Ames and dragged Lagi to his side.

Seeing this, Jotina snorted and did not move closer. She turned around and sat at the side, glaring at him.

Ames patted Han Xiao’s chest and said with a smile that was not a smile, “You’re very popular now. Many people want to snatch you away from me. Are you going to have a new lover one day?” Han Xiao stroked his chin and pretended to tease. “I think that the reason why people are coveting me is because there are gaps in our relationship. If we form a family and have offspring, others will know better and give
up.”

“…We’ll see.”

Ames leaned her head on Han Xiao’s shoulder and replied softly.

Their relationship had long been made public, and this was not the first time Black Star had brought up the topic of having offspring. However, if she simply did not want to have children, how troublesome would that be? It was just that after more than ten years, Ames’ tone had also changed from firm rejection to hesitation. The ‘threat’ from Jotina made her waver more and more.

Han Xiao did not insist.

In the past few years, he had tried to cultivate his descendants with his life energy and bioengineering. However, he realized that there were many flaws in the life-form created by such gene cultivation. They could not inherit the three inherited talents and could not achieve the expected effect. Thus, his plan to quickly expand the race could only be put on hold.

Since he could not use the Mechanic method, he could only rely on fertilization.

Beep beep!

At this moment, his communicator rang.

Han Xiao took it out and took a look. It was a message from the person in charge of the secondary dimension expedition outpost.

The content was simple, but it made Han Xiao’s pupils contract.

“Your Excellency Black Star, the Abnormal Creature Egg that you told me to pay attention to has shown changes. Please come quickly.”

More than ten years ago, Han Xiao had reached a consensus with the Realmless King. He had borrowed part of the territory and transformed it into the outpost of the secondary dimension expeditionary army of the three Universal Civilizations. They had worked together for a long time.

The so-called Abnormal Creature Egg was the Pivotal Snake Egg. Han Xiao had specially instructed the person in charge of the expedition outpost to monitor it. It had not changed much in the past ten years and this was the first time something had happened.

“I have something to do, so I’ll be leaving for a while. Kasuyi will temporarily give the orders on my behalf.”

Han Xiao stood up without hesitation and left after changing into the King.

On the other side, World Tree Base, Tree King Palace. Fortitude Tree King was seated on the throne, two rays of light appeared on the other two empty seats, quickly turning into the figures of the Ancestral Tree King and Secret Tree King.

As soon as he regained his physical body, the Secret Tree King said impatiently,

“How are you guys fighting? Why is the Subduing Tree King dead again?”

“Just a small accident.” The Fortitude Tree King had always been at odds with him.

The Secret Tree King snorted. “Accident? Heh, don’t make excuses for your incompetence. Look at your results. You participated in the battle twice and lost the Heart Tree King and the Subduing Tree King respectively. You’re simply embarrassing us.” “It’s different this time. The enemy has revealed a new trump card. The reason the Subduing Tree King self-destructed so decisively is because of the Heart Tree King’s case,” the Fortitude Tree King retorted.

“As a Tree King, he died so easily. I don’t think he deserves the Tree King Crown. It would be better if we change to someone else,” the Secret Tree King mocked.

“Alright, stop arguing. There’s no problem with the Subduing Tree King’s choice. At least he was not sealed by the enemy…”

At this time, the Ancestral Tree King raised his hand and stopped the two of them from arguing Although his tone was calm, he was actually feeling depressed. The Subduing Tree King had died too quickly. He had practically self-destructed the moment he left the base. If not for the fact that replacing a Tree King was more troublesome, he really wanted to dismiss the Subduing Tree King.

Hearing this, the Fortitude Tree King did not argue and continued, “The Subduing Tree King’s sacrifice is worth it. He has probed out a new strong enemy for us…”

He shared the battle details with the two of them, emphasizing EsGod’s strength.

The Ancestral Tree King narrowed his eyes and said,

“To think that the enemy still has such a strong opponent… Including Herberlon, there are already three people who have the strength of a Tree King. There’s no lack of people among the other Supers who can fight against a Tree King. Their individual strengths are too developed, and we might not have the advantage.” “It’s mainly because the experts from the other races are unable to take action. Otherwise, it would be much easier.” The Fortitude Tree King was helpless.

Black Star’s existence had directly crippled a large group of their foreign experts, and they did not have all the high-level combatants that could enter the battlefield. Otherwise, they would not have been so passive.

The Ancestral Tree King nodded. “Yes, that’s true. Our only advantage right now is the endless revivals. However, the opponent’s recovery-type Esper is not simple. Although the Exchange tactic is effective, it’s not easy to use it… Comparatively, recovering on the spot is considered immediate combat power for them, but we’re only using it after the battle. It won’t help much in a head-on battle, so we’re at a disadvantage.” “Then what should we do?”

“Hmm, our advantage is that the cost of trial and error is close to zero. We can try a few more times like today, so we don’t have to care too much about the casualties. As long as we can obtain more information about the enemy, it will be worth it.” The Ancestral Tree King said.

The Fortitude Tree King coughed and said, “However, ordinary probing won’t make the enemy feel pressured. I think it’s better for us to attack together.”

The Ancestral Tree King did not doubt him. He thought for a while and said, “You’re right. Today, two Tree Kings were at a disadvantage. It seems like only the three of us together can force out the enemy’s strength. It would be best if we can kill that Esper.” “I think the descent of the Tree God is more reliable…” the Fortitude Tree King suggested. The Ancestral Tree King frowned slightly and shook his head. “The Heart Tree King’s Tree King Crown is gone. Even if we use the Tree God’s Descent, it won’t be complete. Furthermore… I don’t like that feeling.” If it was not necessary, he would not be willing to use the Tree God’s Descent. This was not a comfortable thing.

The Fortitude Tree King agreed and changed the topic.

“By the way, the enemy has built a defensive circle at the border, and it seems like they destroyed quite a few Star Clusters. What do you plan to do?”

The Ancestral Tree King did not mind and casually said,

“That’s normal. Since they know our advantage, they will naturally make such a choice… Think of a way to steal their intel and confirm the enemy’s territory. It’s best to obtain the coordinates of the other Star Fields and have our troops jump over to open up a new battlefront, avoiding their border defense circle.

Also, they seem to be looking for the main body of the mother tree. I don’t know where they got this information from, but we need to search for their traces in the secondary dimension. Also, find a way to confirm the entrance of the enemy civilization into the secondary dimension and open up the secondary dimension battlefront.”

Now was not the time to stop the war. Since they were near the enemy’s territory, there were more options to attack. Compared to attacking the Flickering World’s defense circle, the Ancestral Tree King was more inclined to gathering intelligence and opening up more battlefronts to amplify the World Tree’s advantage.

“Understood.”

The Fortitude Tree King nodded vigorously.

He had deliberately emphasized how difficult it was to deal with the enemy so that he could pull the other two Kings into the team. This way, he would not have to worry alone. Perfect!

Chapter 1409: Special Sense, Birth of a Pivotal Snake

Chapter 1409 Special Sense, Birth of a Pivotal Snake

While the three tree kings were discussing, they suddenly paused at the same time and fell silent. They all sensed a message from the mother tree’s consciousness.

A strange light flashed across the Ancestral Tree King’s eyes as he slowly said,

“Mother tree sensed that another natural enemy has appeared and told us to kill it.”

“Is it that strange creature again? It’s actually not extinct.” The Secret Tree King was a little interested.

The Ancestral Tree Dynasty nodded. “Hmm, the secondary dimension is suitable for you. Go and lead our kindred to resolve this matter. Try to find its location before the natural enemy enters adulthood.”

“I’ll try my best.” The Secret Tree King did not comment further.

This was not the first time the World Tree had discovered a natural enemy. In the early years of the civilization, there were records of natural enemies invading.

The restraining relationship between the two sides came from the abnormal entanglement at the information state level. There was a two-way connection, so the World Tree Civilization had always paid attention to the existence of natural enemies.

The World Tree’s ability to sense its natural enemy was divided into two phases. When the natural enemy was in its infancy, the World Tree would only know of its existence and would not be able to sense its exact location. As the natural enemy gradually matured, the sense towards it would also become stronger. When any natural enemy entered adulthood, the World Tree would be able to track their location accurately to kill them, eliminating a large number of natural enemies.

However, the World Tree could only sense its natural enemy after it was born, and it could not discover the embryo that the natural enemy had given birth to. Therefore, it had never been able to kill all of them. In the end, there were still some that managed to slip through the net, so it could only settle for the next best thing — taking the initiative to kill the infants.

In fact, the World Tree had always been focused on expanding in the secondary dimension, and part of the reason was that it was dedicated to exterminating its natural enemy. Once it sensed something, it would immediately inform the Tree Kings to kill the younglings of its natural enemy as soon as possible and not allow its natural enemy to enter adulthood. This was a very high priority, and only the Tree Kings knew of the details.

The Fortitude Tree King could not help but ask, “What about the frontline war?”

“Let’s first eliminate the mother tree’s natural enemy. It seems like our operation will have to be postponed.” The Ancestral Tree King glanced at him, thought for a moment, and added, “Don’t forget to water the Subduing Tree King.”

Secondary Dimension World, expeditionary army outpost.

A huge ring-shaped teleportation gate was suspended in the dimensional space. This was the gate that the three Universal Civilizations used to enter and exit from the main universe. There were many secondary dimension fortresses around it, and groups of exploration teams came and went.

With a flash of light, Han Xiao’s figure appeared on the special transportation platform.

The person in charge of the outpost was already waiting there. He immediately came forward.

“Your Excellency Black Star, you’re finally here.”

“How’s the situation now?” Han Xiao looked at him and asked.

“That embryo’s absorption rate of dimension energy suddenly increased by a million times. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. You should go take a look yourself. I’ve already prepared the vehicle for you.” “Alright… By the way, how did the Realmless King react?”

“He went there a step earlier. He should be observing the changes in the embryo at a close distance.”

“Alright, I’ll go too.”

Han Xiao nodded.

After more than ten years of development, the secondary dimension that the Realmless King had lent out had already been modified by the three Universal Civilizations. Currently, the three Universal Civilizations were using this outpost as a springboard to greatly increase the expeditionary army’s strength. Furthermore, the three Universal Civilizations used their tradition of being hooligans to convince the Realmless King to take out more territories for them to build their bases. Currently, this area had already become a ‘shallow dimension’, where the three Universal Civilizations could enter and leave to and from the main universe directly.

Even if the Realmless King was unwilling to provoke the World Tree, he was now tied to the same war chariot by the three Universal Civilizations.

Han Xiao sat on the carrier, set the coordinates of the dimension, and started the engine. The heavy particle thruster spewed out raging flames and quickly turned into an invisible tail stream. The conventional engine transitioned to the dimensional shuttle engine, accelerated to the critical point, and disappeared from the spot, performing a hyperdrive jump. The shuttle entered a colorful tunnel. Not long after, the carrier suddenly shook, and the light outside the window disappeared, turning into a black secondary dimension space. They had arrived at their destination.

A grayish-white embryo floated in the middle of the dimension, guarded by a large number of mechanical troops.

The projection of the Realmless King was right beside him. When it sensed the vehicle entering, it could not help but turn around. When it realized that it was Han Xiao, it approached him.

“Black Star, you’re here too.”

“Tell me about the situation.” Han Xiao flew to his side.

“The energy of this dimension is flowing into the embryo at an extremely high speed. If this continues, it will collapse very soon. I feel that this embryo is about to be born…” the Realmless King explained.

Han Xiao nodded and looked at the embryo.

The gray fog under the membrane was originally very stable, but at this time, it was like boiling water, and it was fluctuating wildly. The long black shadows inside were becoming more and more distinct, attacking the membrane from the inside, causing bumps to appear on the embryo.

In Han Xiao’s senses, this embryo seemed to have turned into an energy black hole. The quality, space, and energy of this secondary dimension were all collapsing toward the embryo and being devoured. When some eggs were born, they would eat the eggshells to replenish their nutrition. In Han Xiao’s opinion, the second dimension where the Pivotal Snake Egg drained its energy from, like a parasite, was similar.

Not long after, the secondary dimension became riddled with holes. The remaining debris was quickly eaten up by the Pivotal Snake Egg, and the embryo was directly exposed in the space storm.

Han Xiao had already retracted his mechanical army. He did not interfere with the changes of the Pivotal Snake Egg and watched from the side with the Realmless King.

Chi!

The membrane suddenly split open, and the grayish-white fog inside leaked out, spreading outwards. The surrounding chaotic space stream could not penetrate this layer of fog.

Han Xiao pulled over a cloud of fog and analyzed it. He realized that the substance formed by this fog was a special biological particle that could isolate space storms and seemed to have the ability to shatter through space, allowing one to travel through dimensions. The membrane quickly shriveled, but the fog was still increasing, covering the appearance of the Pivotal Snake. Only a black shadow could be seen in the gray fog, like a dragon hiding in the clouds.

Right at this moment, the Pivotal Snake suddenly flew in the opposite direction of the two of them.

“Is he trying to escape?”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled, and with a wave of his hand, the space device locked onto the Pivotal Snake, preventing it from moving. He slowly approached and flew into the gray fog. The interface immediately indicated that he had received continuous attacks. The surrounding gray fog was actively repelling outsiders, but the damage was too low and could not break through his defense. He did not lose any health at all.

Entering the center of the gray fog, Han Xiao finally saw the true appearance of the Pivotal Snake…

This was an enormous dark gold snake-shaped creature. It did not have an outer carapace, and its entire body was gleaming with a metallic luster. Its skin was constantly releasing more gray fog. This seemed to be something that was automatically generated by it, so it should be an external protective layer. It had two pairs of enormous membranous wings on its back and a pair of sharp claws on its abdomen. Its head looked like a snake’s head, but it did not have a mouth or nose, only a pair of cold golden vertical pupils.

Compared to the Space Louse, the Pivotal Snake looked much more beautiful.

“Although it’s called a snake, it looks more like a dragon…” Han Xiao thought to himself. He took out his psychic communication device and tried to communicate with the Pivotal Snake.

Han Xiao could feel the Pivotal Snake’s cold and aloof emotions, but it did not respond to his probing. ‘Eh, newborn animals treat the first creature they meet as their parents. Isn’t this how they act…

Even if it’s not like this, with my charisma and affinity, this little animal shouldn’t be so cold to me…’

Han Xiao was curious and tried a few more times. However, the Pivotal Snake only stared at him with its cold golden eyes and did not reply. It was as though it was extremely wary of the outside world.

Seeing this, he stopped communicating and directly poked the Pivotal Snake.

The next moment, the other party’s attributes popped up on the interface. Han Xiao quickly browsed through and was stunned. In the Pivotal Snake’s stats window, there was a talent ability that could sense the World Tree’s main body. However, it was currently in a gray frozen state, and the ability introduction stated that it would only be activated when it reached adulthood. At this time, the Pivotal Snake was still a hatchling.

“Such talent! As expected of the World Tree’s nemesis!”

Han Xiao was shocked and immediately became surprised.

This was a pleasant surprise. This meant that the three Universal Civilizations had a stable way of finding the World Tree’s main body. They no longer had to place all their hopes on luck!

Hmm, that doesn’t seem right. If not for Harrison, he wouldn’t have been able to touch the Realmless King, much less the Pivotal Snake Egg… In the end, it was all because of Harrison’s luck?!

“His Luck Glow is stronger than I thought…” Han Xiao was speechless, and his brain immediately started thinking.

He did not expect the Pivotal Snake to have such an ability, which meant that his plan could be changed. With such a trump card, the most important thing now was to nurture the Pivotal Snake infant and let it enter adulthood as soon as possible. This way, he could directly mess with the World Tree’s heart like a playboy.

“However, the expeditionary army cannot pause its actions. Who knows how long it will take for the Pivotal Snake to reach adulthood…”

Han Xiao made up his mind and continued trying to communicate with the Pivotal Snake. However, the Pivotal Snake hatchling still did not respond. It seemed like it would do whatever it wanted, and Han Xiao did not know what to do with it. After all, this was the first time he had come into contact with a Pivotal Snake. He wondered if all newborn Pivotal Snakes were like this.

He did not dare to deactivate his control over the Pivotal Snake hatchling either. Judging from how this thing ran away the moment it was born, it was most likely going to die if he let it go.

Han Xiao had no choice but to put the communication problem aside for the time being. He grabbed the Pivotal Snake and walked to the Realmless King’s side.

“It’s a very strange creature that’s very useful to me. It feeds on secondary dimensions. Since you’re called the Lord of a Million Dimensions, I’ll leave the feeding mission to you.”

The Realmless King’s face fell when he heard this.

Those secondary dimensions were all territories that he had collected. Lending them to the three Universal Civilizations was already very depressing, and now he even wanted to feed them to this creature? Do you really think I’m a dog that you can slaughter as you please?!

Seeing that he did not respond, Han Xiao raised his brows. “You’re not willing?”

“…I’m honored.” The Realmless King agreed to Han Xiao’s unreasonable request without hesitation.

Stop talking, I’m a coward.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you feed them for nothing. The three Universal Civilizations will give you some main universe materials in exchange.”

Han Xiao smiled and comforted him.

Since the Realmless King liked to collect trash, the three Universal Civilizations would definitely not be stingy with this cost. After all, what they did not lack the most was trash.

After successfully persuading the Realmless King to be generous, Han Xiao turned to look at the Pivotal Snake hatchling again. His eyes sparkled, as though he had seen the light of hope.

The Pivot Snake lowered its head and looked at him. Its golden eyes flashed with a human-like look of rejection as if it was a prisoner facing a guard.

Sensing this emotion, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

“My first impression of it isn’t too good. Could it be that the Pivotal Snake loves freedom? It seems like raising this creature won’t be that easy.”

Chapter 1410: Hidden Change

Chapter 1410 Hidden Change

Han Xiao did not continue to stare at the Pivotal Snake. He left an Observer’s Mark and summoned two apostles and a group of elite mechanical soldiers to act as bodyguards. Only then did he bring it back to the outpost to inform the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations.

The leaders of the three Universal Civilizations were overjoyed when they learned about the situation of the Pivotal Snake. They immediately told the expeditionary army to cooperate with the Realmless King to nurture the Pivotal Snake’s infant and provide strict protection. They also treated the Pivotal Snake’s abilities as top secret.

The Pivotal Snake’s infant was extremely wary of the outside world, but it was born with the desire to absorb more nutrients. The Pivotal Snake only calmed down a little when the Realmless King unwillingly took out a new secondary dimension to feed it. It started to absorb the dimension energy and ate obediently. Han Xiao did not leave immediately. Instead, he stayed there for a while and tried to communicate. However, the Pivotal Snake had always ignored the others, so he had no choice but to temporarily give up on the idea of gaining Favorability.

After staying in the secondary dimension world for seven to eight days, the battle on the frontlines also came to an end. The World Tree once again lost the battle, and the Flickering World border defense circle repelled the enemy. The two sides were still in a stalemate.

The results of this battle were announced by the three Universal Civilizations, and the victory at the individual strength aspect was emphasized. The galactic residents were overjoyed, and their sense of security increased greatly. Their confidence in the war increased to a certain extent.

The frontline battle report also spread to the Holy Accord Organization, causing many of the Holy Accord Revivors to exclaim.

“The strength of the Beyond Grade A Association is getting stronger. They don’t even need to use their full strength to kill a Tree King.” “I can tell that they’re much stronger than ten years ago. So remarkable. Sigh, I also wanted to participate in Black Star’s training.”

“It’s a pity we can’t expose ourselves easily…”

Many of the Holy Accord Revivors sighed with complicated expressions.

These revived individuals who lived in seclusion in the Holy Accord did not appear in the outside world, and they were still unregistered. Although they had already reached an agreement with Han Xiao to take action when the time came, they had not been summoned yet. They could only continue to hide their existence in the Holy Accord and not participate in the training.

Some of them originally wanted to participate, but Han Xiao did not allow them to be exposed, so they could only give up. Having lost this opportunity, they could not help but feel regretful. If they had known that they would have to participate in the war anyway, they would have chosen to leave their seclusion together with the rest of the revivors at the start.

“Hey, Oathkeeper, when can we join the battle?” someone could not help but ask.

Oathkeeper was expressionless as he said coldly, “Don’t ask me. My words don’t count.”

“Then hurry Black Star more. Otherwise, what’s the use of you?”

Oathkeeper took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

Ever since Black Star became a Transcendent, his leadership position in the Holy Accord organization existed in name only. He had no choice but to ask Black Star for his opinion in almost everything.

What was even more outrageous was that these snobbish Holy Accord Revivors used to be grateful to him when they just revived and respected him. Now that a new generation had replaced the old, these people had all become Black Star’s lackeys and did not give any regards to him, the leader of the organization in name. It was seriously infuriating.

However, Black Star was the only Transcendent in the current Galactic Society, so what else could he do? Oathkeeper had already given up on competing with Black Star. His subordinate position was becoming more stable, and he had to accept reality.

One of the Holy Accord Revivors rubbed his hands and said with a deep voice, “Black Star has given the three Universal Civilizations such a huge advantage. According to the current situation, we might not even have the chance to make a move. Just the association and the direct descendants of the civilizations are enough to deal with the high-level combatants of the enemy… With Black Star’s personality, he might continue to hide our existence as a trump card if he can suppress the enemy.”

“That makes sense. Doesn’t that mean we can enjoy the chance to revive in the Sanctum for free?”

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

Secondary dimension world, World Tree territory.

vuonovoy-von-au vervuacevonoy mocny –
cooperate with the Realmless King to nurture the Pivotal Snake’s infant and provide strict protection. They also treated the Pivotal Snake’s abilities as top secret. The Pivotal Snake’s infant was extremely wary of the outside world, but it was born with the desire to absorb more nutrients. The Pivotal Snake only calmed down a little when the Realmless King unwillingly took out a new secondary dimension to feed it. It started to absorb the dimension energy and ate obediently.

Han Xiao did not leave immediately. Instead, he stayed there for a while and tried to communicate. However, the Pivotal Snake had always ignored the others, so he had no choice but to temporarily give up on the idea of gaining Favorability. After staying in the secondary dimension world for seven to eight days, the battle on the frontlines also came to an end. The World Tree once again lost the battle, and the Flickering World border defense circle repelled the enemy. The two sides were still in a stalemate.

The results of this battle were announced by the three Universal Civilizations, and the victory at the individual strength aspect was emphasized. The galactic residents were overjoyed, and their sense of security increased greatly. Their confidence in the war increased to a certain extent.

The frontline battle report also spread to the Holy Accord Organization, causing many of the Holy Accord Revivors to exclaim.

“The strength of the Beyond Grade A Association is getting stronger. They don’t even need to use their full strength to kill a Tree King.”

“I can tell that they’re much stronger than ten years ago. So remarkable. Sigh, I also wanted to participate in Black Star’s training.”

“It’s a pity we can’t expose ourselves easily…”

Many of the Holy Accord Revivors sighed with complicated expressions.

These revived individuals who lived in seclusion in the Holy Accord did not appear in the outside world, and they were still unregistered. Although they had already reached an agreement with Han Xiao to take action when the time came, they had not been summoned yet. They could only continue to hide their existence in the Holy Accord and not participate in the training.

Some of them originally wanted to participate, but Han Xiao did not allow them to be exposed, so they could only give up. Having lost this opportunity, they could not help but feel regretful. If they had known that they would have to participate in the war anyway, they would have chosen to leave their seclusion together with the rest of the revivors at the start.

“Hey, Oathkeeper, when can we join the battle?” someone could not help but ask.

Oathkeeper was expressionless as he said coldly,

“Don’t ask me. My words don’t count.”

“Then hurry Black Star more. Otherwise, what’s the use of you?”

Oathkeeper took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

Ever since Black Star became a Transcendent, his leadership position in the Holy Accord organization existed in name only. He had no choice but to ask Black Star for his opinion in almost everything.

What was even more outrageous was that these snobbish Holy Accord Revivors used to be grateful to him when they just revived and respected him. Now that a new generation had replaced the old, these people had all become Black Star’s lackeys and did not give any regards to him, the leader of the organization in name. It was seriously infuriating.

However, Black Star was the only Transcendent in the current Galactic Society, so what else could he do? Oathkeeper had already given up on competing with Black Star. His subordinate position was becoming more stable, and he had to accept reality.

One of the Holy Accord Revivors rubbed his hands and said with a deep voice, “Black Star has given the three Universal Civilizations such a huge advantage. According to the current situation, we might not even have the chance to make a move. Just the association and the direct descendants of the civilizations are enough to deal with the high-level combatants of the enemy… With Black Star’s personality, he might continue to hide our existence as a trump card if he can suppress the enemy.”

“That makes sense. Doesn’t that mean we can enjoy the chance to revive in the Sanctum for free?”

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

Secondary dimension world, World Tree territory.

Numerous members of the World Tree were gathered there, and every spaceship was glowing with green light.

“The search force has been assembled. Please give instructions.”

In the bridge of the flagship, the Secret Tree King was inspecting the troops. An executive officer walked over quickly and reported in a low voice.

The Tree King nodded and said casually, “Since everyone is here, let’s go.”

In order to find the mother tree’s natural enemy, he had specially come to the secondary dimension world to manage the situation and spent a few days gathering a large number of Blessed Races.

Although the nemesis had not been born for long and Mother Tree’s perception was vague, the World Tree was extremely powerful in the secondary dimension. It had countless troops stationed there, and it was not afraid of spending time to find a needle in a haystack. At this time, the Secret Tree King thought of something and sneered.

“By the way, the enemy seems to have been searching for the main body of the mother tree. We can also solve this matter by capturing the enemy’s team and obtaining their intelligence.”

“Understood.”

The order was quickly passed down, and the search fleet formed by the World Tree’s Blessed Races started moving, turning into streams of light and scattering.

Seeing this, the Secret Tree King narrowed his eyes, raised his palm, and dense magic power flashed between his fingers.

He decided to take action personally this time. If he was lucky enough to meet the enemy’s fleet in the secondary dimension, he would not let any of them escape.

In a desolate universe belt in the explored universe.

A small spaceship slowly landed on a desolate planet. The ground cracked open automatically, revealing a parking orbit. The spaceship smoothly connected with the orbit, moved in, and disappeared into the dark hole. Very soon, the hole closed again, and the disguise was restored. After gliding in the darkness for a while, the spaceship finally stopped and arrived at a secret underground base. The hatch slid open, and a figure walked out. On the other side, another person was already waiting on the platform. When he saw the person, he said in a deep voice, “How’s the situation outside?”

“Another Tree King has been killed. The three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree are in a stalemate. According to this trend, the World Tree will not be able to break through the border defense circle for a very long time.”

“Is that so… it seems like the three Universal Civilizations are still very tenacious. With Black Star around, it’s still unknown who will win.”

“Right now, the World Tree’s biggest weakness is the lack of intelligence. If they get enough intelligence, the situation will change drastically… What did the superiors say?”

“Our superiors have already given orders for us to find a way to provide information about the galactic society to the World Tree while hiding ourselves. The most important thing is to provide the coordinates of the various Star Fields controlled by the three Universal Civilizations so that the World Tree can obtain a detailed strategic map… The Star Alliance has also agreed to this operation. They have always wanted to get rid of the threat of the three Universal Civilizations. After observing for so long, they have finally found a perfect opportunity to destroy them with a borrowed knife.”

“Phew, I can’t remember how many years I’ve been hiding here. I can finally take revenge… It’s time for the three Universal Civilizations to pay the price for what they did back then!”

The two of them had strong hostility toward the three Universal Civilizations.

Chapter 1411: Lurkers

Chapter 1411 Lurkers

In the unexplored universe, Star Alliance capital.

Savignes quickly walked into the office of the Star Alliance Leader.

The Star Alliance Leader was waiting for him. Seeing him walk into the room, he put down the report in his hand, looked up, and slowly said, “How’s the situation?”

“I’ve already sent out the instructions. The lurkers will take action soon,” Savignes said with a deep voice.

“Hmm, this chess piece has been set up for so many years. Now is the time for them to show their value.” The Star Alliance Leader paused for a moment before changing the topic “However, we have to pay attention to the method of providing intelligence. Everything needs to be done under the premise of our existence being hidden. The three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree are both huge threats. If our existence is exposed to them, the dark clouds of war will cover us too. With our strength, it would be beyond our capabilities no matter which side we fight head-on.”

“Don’t worry, we’re all in this together. We won’t joke about the safety of the Star Alliance,” Savignes said solemnly.

“Hmm, you guys have been with the Star Alliance for many years, and we are already one. This operation is not only to eliminate potential threats but also for your revenge.” The Star Alliance Leader nodded.

“That’s right. Back then, we were defeated by the three Universal Civilizations, and only a few of our people managed to escape. It was almost impossible for us to survive, and we became a wandering civilization in the universe. If not for encountering the Star Alliance’s team, our civilization might have died long ago. To this day, we are thankful to the Star Alliance for their help.”

Savignes lowered his head and said respectfully.

When the Lore Civilization had been defeated, his ancestors had gathered the remaining members of their race and united them. It had been difficult for them to survive. Now, Savignes had taken over the authority of his predecessors and was the current leader of the Lore Civilization.

The history of the Lore Civilization was quite ancient, it was once a member of the explored universe. It was one of the competitors in the exploration era war. Unfortunately, it lost the war, and the civilization was destroyed. Its homeland fell, and only a few survivors escaped on spaceships. Because they were worried about being eliminated, they decided to enter the unexplored universe and travel far away, becoming wanderers of the universe.

After many twists and turns in the wormhole, this group of wanderers happened to arrive in the Star Alliance’s territory.

The Star Alliance was a large joint civilization formed by forty-six civilizations. They lived quietly in a corner of the unexplored universe. By chance, they picked up this group of wanderers, and the intelligence brought by the Lore Civilization immediately attracted their attention.

This was the first time the Star Alliance had heard of the existence of a powerful civilization outside their territory. The intelligence provided by the Lore Civilization showed that the three Universal Civilizations were strong enough to destroy the entire Star Alliance, which made the Star Alliance extremely fearful and vigilant. In their eyes, the three Universal Civilizations could bring a calamity to the Star Alliance at any time, and swallowing them up was a huge hidden danger that made them unable to sleep or eat in peace.

Facing an unfamiliar and powerful civilization, the Star Alliance did not dare expose their existence to communicate with the other party. They could only observe silently. Under normal circumstances, even if the Star Alliance knew that there were strong enemies around, they would be helpless. However, the Lore Civilization provided them with a way.

When the wanderers escaped from their homeland, they had brought along a large number of coordinates. This was a priceless fortune, and the Star Alliance saw an opportunity.

Based on this information, the upper echelons of the Star Alliance finally decided on a strategic operation called the ‘Observer’s Plan’. They sent out lurkers to the explored universe through wormholes. They hid their identities, gathered intelligence, and waited for an opportunity while monitoring the actions of the three Universal Civilizations.

The three Universal Civilizations did not have an Information Form warning network like the World Tree. As their territory was extremely large, there would always be gaps in the screening and security mechanisms. As long as the outsiders operated properly, they would be able to successfully infiltrate the three Universal Civilizations. In Han Xiao’s previous life, the World Tree had been hiding like this for many years, gathering enough intelligence before launching a full-scale attack on the three Universal Civilizations.

The Star Alliance knew their limits, and they did not think that their small body would be able to withstand the three Universal Civilizations’ attacks. Thus, they only let the lurkers observe and not take part in any other actions. They were like the lowest level galactic hackers, completely inconspicuous. They only searched for public intelligence on the internet and did not try to obtain any secrets. They were extremely cautious, which was why they were able to remain hidden until now and watch the development of the three Universal Civilizations.

After receiving repeated checks from the Star Alliance, the Lore Civilization finally became a new member. They were able to procreate, but they never forgot their history, and always thought about revenge. They cooperated with the Observer’s Plan and helped the Star Alliance hide in the explored universe.

This time, the three Universal Civilizations were invaded by the World Tree, which gave the Star Alliance a hope of eliminating the threat. They could not defeat the three Universal Civilizations themselves, so they decided to add fuel to the fire.

The Star Alliance Leader rubbed the back of his hand and said, “We can use the World Tree to get rid of the three Universal Civilizations, but the World Tree itself is a new threat. The ideal situation is for both of them to suffer, so we can take advantage.” Savignes nodded heavily. “The three Universal Civilizations’ technology level is very high. If we can take over their achievements, we will be able to advance quickly.”

“However, this is very risky, and we might expose ourselves. We have to think about it carefully… If there’s really a chance, we can’t miss it.”

The eyes of the Star Alliance Leader flickered. He naturally coveted the technological achievements accumulated by the three Universal Civilizations. Although the risk was high, the benefits were equally tempting.

The three Universal Civilizations had stabilized the situation and blocked the World Tree outside. This was not what the Star Alliance wanted to see. Destroying the good situation of the three Universal Civilizations and bringing the flames of war into the entire galactic society to cause chaos was in line with this third party’s interests.

The Star Alliance Leader did not mind taking advantage of the situation. Under the premise of hiding their identity, they secretly participated in this feast.

Secondary dimension world.

A team of three Universal Civilizations’ expedition army was traveling in the secondary dimension, recording the coordinates.

“This place is not far from the base dimension of the World Tree, and Blessed Race members might appear. Keep your spirits up and prepare to retreat at any time.”

In the cockpit, the commander stared at the radar with a serious tone.

In the past few years, as the expedition army explored deeper and deeper, the encounters with the World Tree Blessed Races became more frequent. Fortunately, they ran fast enough, and most of the time, there were no accidents.

However, fleeing the danger was not always an option. The search network of the Blessed Race was extremely dense, and the expeditionary army did not wish to start a conflict. Thus, the exploration progress became slower and slower and there were not many loopholes to exploit.

“If this goes on, I don’t know when we will get results. The World Tree has already reached our territory. We don’t have much time left…”

The commander sighed.

“Wuwuwu-“

Suddenly, an ear-piercing alarm sounded on the radar. It was like a thunderclap, scaring everyone. Not far away, cracks suddenly appeared on the dimensional barrier, and green streams of light shot over.

“It’s the World Tree Blessed Races! Retreat!”

The commander’s expression changed.

The expedition team immediately turned around and locked onto the evacuation route. The shuttle engine buzzed and turned into a stream of light, escaping from this dimension into another.

However, before the expedition team could come to a stop, the alarm on the radar sounded again, and the space cracks opened. Another group of World Tree Blessed Race members was rushing over. “This is a premeditated attack!”

The commander immediately reacted. With a heavy expression, he commanded the fleet to continue fleeing.

The fleet passed through five secondary dimensions in a row, with the World Tree Blessed Races following closely behind them.

Suddenly, the commander stopped running. He took a deep breath and made up his mind.

“Prepare to self-destruct.”

Hearing this, the crew members in the bridge all felt a chill in their hearts. They did not speak or object, only silently activating the self-destruct sequence.

The soldiers of the three Universal Civilizations could not revive as they wished like the World Tree. Without the protection of the Underworld, they would truly die in battle if they died. All the expedition teams were mentally prepared to sacrifice their entire fleet if the situation turned bad.

The energy core stabilizer disintegrated, and the psionic energy that had lost control began to expand, emitting a strong light.

“I’m honored to have worked with all of you. Long live the Dynasty.”

The commander looked at the determined faces of the crew members, saluted, and then looked at the World Tree pursuers outside the porthole. He closed his eyes and prepared to die.

Buzz!

However, at this moment, everything froze in an instant. All the crew members could not move, and the self-destruction process stopped. The psionic energy that was about to go out of control stopped in an instant.

The Secret Tree King’s figure appeared in the cabin unknowingly. He sized up everyone’s determined faces and sneered.

“Quite unyielding. It’s a pity that I came personally. No matter how determined you are, it’s useless.”

The Secret Tree King maintained the effect of the spacetime freeze spell. He rubbed his palm lightly, and the green lustrous power of the Tree King spread out, turning into a space crack. From within, a snake-like World Tree Root extended out and penetrated all the battleships of the expedition team. More and more small tree roots were separated and inserted into the bodies of all the crew members.

Then, these roots absorbed their essence like straws. At the same time, they transformed the team into one of their own by reforming them in the Information Form layer. The expedition team slowly integrated into the World Tree Root and sank deeper.

This process lasted for a long time before the World Tree sucked the entire expedition team in. Then, with a flash of light, it vomited again. However, it was different from before. All the crew members were flowing with green light and transformed into the members of the World Tree.

“Your Excellency Tree King.” The soldiers from the Crimson Dynasty lowered their heads and bowed respectfully.

The Secret Tree King ignored them and focused on the mental network, sharing the memories of these people and the sailing log of the spaceship. After browsing for a while, the Secret Tree King’s eyes flashed, and he revealed a playful expression. “Heh, so it was here. I found your nest.”

At this moment, the Secret Tree King suddenly felt something and looked into the distance.

“Predicting me?”

A cold look appeared in the eyes of the Secret Tree King. His hand gestures changed, and his magic power surged out, following the mysterious sense of the source.

At the same time, somewhere on Floating Dragon Island.

“Pfft!”

Aesop, who was feeling the sudden premonition, was shocked. It was as if his brain had been hit by a hammer, and he collapsed to the ground with a shocked expression.

A cold magical power shattered the foresight in his mind and damaged his spirit.

Those who could cause a backlash to a Foreseer were basically all Mages. With different foresight abilities, the difficulty of the backlash would also change. Aesop’s foresight ability was not ordinary. In all these years, he had experienced countless passive foresight and had also foreseen many Beyond Grade A Mages. The worst-case scenario would be a failure, and this was the first time someone had caused him a backlash.

Chapter 1412: Change

Chapter 1412 Change

At the expeditionary army outpost.

An exploratory fleet was docked at the dock. Harrison and his teammates alighted from the spaceship, took off their life-preserving helmets before taking a deep breath.

“I’m dying of suffocation. The air in the base’s large ecological shield is still the best. In the past few days outside, the gas filters of the spaceships have all become smelly.”

“Really? Why don’t I feel anything?” “I wonder if it’s because us Gukates have a better sense of smell than most galactic species?”

“It’s a pity that I didn’t gain anything from this trip.”

Hearing his crewmates engage in idle chatter, Harrison rubbed his forehead in frustration.

Ever since he unearthed this ally, the Realmless King, the upper echelons had allowed him to lead an expedition team alone. From a follower to a team commander, he had a certain degree of freedom to make exploration plans.

Black Star had always said that Harrison was lucky, and Harrison was willing to believe that it was true. He secretly hoped that his luck would help him find the World Tree’s main body and end the war as soon as possible. However, after so many years, the luck that he had high hopes for seemed to have become dormant. Other than escaping from the pursuit of the World Tree’s Blessed Race a few times, he did not have any new achievements in exploring

Now that the expeditionary army’s exploration progress had come to a standstill, Harrison was both anxious and worried. As the saying went, if one walked by the river all the time, one’s shoes would inevitably get wet. The expeditionary army kept wandering around the territory of the World Tree, and they met their pursuers time and time again. He felt that there might come a time when they would fail.

At this moment, one of the team members patted Harrison on the shoulder and said, “Captain, how long do we rest this time before we start the next exploration?”.

“Ten days,” Harrison replied.

“Got it. Let’s go to the base cafeteria for lunch. Want to come?”

“No, I’ll report to the logistics department and have them repair and maintain the spaceship. I still have to write a routine report.” Harrison waved his hand.

“Alright, we’ll bring you some food. What do you want to eat?”

“Then I want…”

Harrison was just about to say something when he suddenly stopped. At that moment, a chilling feeling gripped his heart.

Without getting an answer, the team member blinked in confusion and asked again, “Why aren’t you saying anything? What do you want to eat?”

Harrison’s mind was in a mess, and he felt a strong sense of vigilance. He could not help but look up at the scenery outside the port. “What are you looking at?” The team member turned his head and followed Harrison’s gaze. The only thing he saw was the dim yellow light of the setting sun in the secondary dimension. It was like an oil painting with the aura of history, but he did not see anything unusual.

“Something’s not right…”

Harrison became warier.

The team member wanted to ask more, but at this moment, the dimension barrier in the distance suddenly lit up with a blue light and quickly turned into a huge space vortex. It was as if a hole had been torn open, and the green and lustrous World Tree Blessed Race swarmed out like locusts, covering the sky and covering the earth. They were like tiny green dots that quickly enlarged in everyone’s vision.

“Wuwuwu-Alert! The space barrier has been broken! Enemy attack!”

An ear-piercing alarm suddenly resounded throughout the base. All the expeditionary army members who were resting and waiting in the base jumped in shock. The sound of anxious shouts, anxious footsteps, and chaotic crashing sounds created a riotous symphony.

“Everyone, retreat at full speed! Prepare to self-destruct! The defense team will be staying behind to buy time!”

The roar of the person in charge of the outpost sounded in the communication channel. Half an hour ago, an expedition team had self-destructed and lost contact. He was still investigating this matter and was not sure if there had been any intelligence leaks. He did not expect the World Tree to arrive so quickly. The World Tree was extremely powerful in the secondary dimension, and the defense of this outpost was limited. The coordinates of the dimension had already been exposed, and if they fought head-on, it would attract more of the World Tree Blessed Race. In the preset plan that the three Universal Civilizations had planned, if this outpost was attacked, the first priority would be to self-destruct and clear the traces, while the expeditionary army would quickly retreat. Unless they had no choice, they would not choose to fight head-on.

“Let’s go!”

Harrison’s expression changed drastically, and he could not care less about anything else. He quickly called his teammates to board the dock and started the engine.

The outpost became chaotic all of a sudden, and the automatic defense team was hastily activated to fight against the endless stream of World Tree Blessed Race to buy time. Meanwhile, the expeditionary army members behind swarmed toward the warehouse and quickly found their vehicles to evacuate.

Streams of light shot out from the base and scattered to escape into different secondary dimensions.

Very soon, the vanguard troops of the World Tree Family started fighting head-on with the defense team of the outpost. In an instant, countless battleships exploded into fireworks.

At the same time, the fortresses in the outpost activated their self-destruct sequence and exploded. The gate that connected to the main material universe was also destroyed by the physical missiles fired by the base. Flames soared into the sky, black smoke filled the air, and countless debris rained down.

The defense team was quickly destroyed, and the outpost exploded violently. The same scene happened in multiple secondary dimensions. The World Tree obtained precise coordinates half an hour ago, quickly assembled, and located their destinations directly. A large-scale blitzkrieg was carried out, catching the three Universal Civilizations off guard. The bridgehead that the three Universal Civilizations had built in the territory of the Realmless King were destroyed one after another, and many expedition teams had to escape.

On the other side, the Realmless King’s residence.

A magic portal shining with green light suddenly opened, and the Secret Tree King slowly walked out. The first thing he saw was the black mountain range and the huge throne in the middle of the dimension.

However, there was no sign of the Realmless King on the throne. “Am I late? Or was it a coincidence that he’s not at home?”

Secret Tree King activated his perception magic and realized that the Realmless King was not hiding anywhere in the area. He could not help but feel a little regretful. The stabilization zone controlled by the Realmless King had some reputation in this secondary dimension area. The World Tree Blessed Race had also heard about it, but they had never paid attention to it.

When he found out from the expedition team that the three Universal Civilizations were working together with the Realmless King, the Secret Tree King had wanted to go straight to the Realmless King’s base camp and turn him into a member of the World Tree. However, he realized that the Realmless King was not at home, so he could only give up on this plan for the time being.

The Secret Tree King raised his hand and clenched his fist. Magical runes shot out and turned into a surveillance spell that took root in this secondary dimension. The moment the Realmless King returned to his base, he would come and attack again.

After casually setting up the spell, the Secret Tree King summoned the teleportation gate and stepped into it. The vortex quickly shrank and disappeared with him.

At the same time, in the secondary dimension at the edge of the Realmless King’s territory.

Space was slowly collapsing, and wave after wave of dimensional energy was being devoured by the Pivotal Snake hatchling. At the side, the Realmless King who was in charge of feeding it suddenly stopped, and his heart tightened.

He had a basic sense within the territory that he controlled. Just now, he had sensed that the World Tree Army had raided the secondary dimensions that were lent to the three Universal Civilizations one after another. Almost all the outposts had fallen, and the most terrifying thing was that an uninvited guest had arrived at his headquarters. It was obvious that their target was him.

“The World Tree still came!”

The Realmless King panicked.

Although he treated the intelligence of the three Universal Civilizations as a bargaining chip, he was not willing to reveal it to the World Tree unless he had no other choice. The risk was too high, and the World Tree was obviously targeting him now. Beyond Grade As had gone all the way to his base, and even if he expressed his willingness to cooperate, they would most likely kill him to ensure that the intelligence was reliable.

“Luckily, I came out. If I had stayed at home, I would have turned into the puppet of the World Tree…”

The Realmless King felt a sense of lingering fear, and he looked at the Pivotal Snake with a complicated expression.

When Black Star told him to take out his own territory to feed the Pivotal Snake, the Realmless King was very unhappy. Now that he looked at it, he only felt glad… If not for Black Star forcefully giving him this job, he would not have come out to walk the Pivotal Snake today, and would most likely have been trapped by the World Tree’s experts at his home.

Does that mean… Black Star saved my life?!

“Since I can’t go back, I can only walk this path to the end!”

The Realmless King quickly made up his mind.

He did not want to get involved in the war between two Universal Civilizations, but one of his trusted subordinates had already provoked the three Universal Civilizations and dragged him into it. Thus, he had no choice but to cooperate with the three Universal Civilizations. Right now, it was already too difficult for him to leave.

Since the World Tree had already set its sights on him, he had no choice but to take a stand. He had to suck up to the three Universal Civilizations and defeat the World Tree.

With this in mind, the Realmless King turned to the Mechanical Oracle monitoring the Pivotal Snake and reported the situation.

The battle did not last too long. The World Tree Family wiped out the expeditionary army outpost. The surprise attack ended very quickly, and a large number of expedition teams fled in all directions. A portion of the World Tree fleet chased after the fluctuations of the dimensional travel, while the rest of the troops had already begun cleaning the battlefield, summarizing the results of the battle, and finishing up the work.

The roots of the World Tree extended out from the spatial rift, and expeditionary army spaceships were hanging on them. The Secret Tree King was floating at the side, sharing his memories with his eyes closed.

Not long after, the Secret Tree King opened his eyes again. His originally relaxed expression was now extremely solemn.

“I didn’t expect the mother tree’s natural enemy to have fallen under the enemy’s control. The situation is dangerous…”

Eliminating the enemies that were searching for the mother tree was originally just a matter of convenience. He did not expect to find the mother tree’s natural enemy because of this. This was not good news.

If the mother tree’s natural enemy entered maturity, it would be able to sense the location of the mother tree’s main body. If it could only move independently, it would not be a big threat. However, if it was controlled by the enemy, the threat level would soar to the extreme, which meant that the enemy could find the mother tree’s main body.

The Secret Tree King knew the severity of the matter. This meant that the World Tree, which was supposed to fight a war of attrition without any pressure, had to seize whatever time they had. They had to either kill the Pivotal Snake before it reaches adulthood or completely defeat the three Universal Civilizations before then. The only good news was that the Pivotal Snake had just been born, and it would take a long time for it to reach adulthood.

He immediately sent this matter to the Ancestral Tree King. The next moment, the voice of the Ancestral Tree King sounded in his mind.

“Good job, or else we would still be kept in the dark. Summon a portion of your high-level combatants to hunt down the mother tree’s natural enemy. You must eliminate it!” “Alright, I happened to obtain the coordinates of the enemy’s territory in the secondary dimension from their memories. We have a new target.” “Hmm, the Fortitude Tree King and I will be ready to receive you at any time. I’ll leave the rest to you.” The Ancestral Tree King nodded.

“Just nice, I can successfully open up the secondary dimensional battlefield zone this time and solve both problems together.”

A cold light flickered in the Secret Tree King’s eyes. He was not satisfied with destroying the outposts of the three Universal Civilizations. What he had his eyes on was the base camp that the three Universal Civilizations had developed in the secondary dimension world for a long time. The two sides had fought for more than ten years, and only today did they grasp the general situation of the three Universal Civilizations. They were no longer led by the nose, and they finally had a breakthrough.

Exploration Universe, frontline base.

Han Xiao was listening to the battle conference when a report from the Mechanical Oracle suddenly appeared in his mind.

“Oh? The World Tree found the expeditionary army outpost and launched a surprise attack. Did they succeed?”

Han Xiao frowned. He was somewhat surprised by this, but not too surprised. As the expeditionary army’s exploration time increased, the risk of exposure also increased at the same time. He had long been mentally prepared for this, and the only thing that made him feel strange was the difference in time from his expectations.

It had only been a few days since he had returned from the expeditionary army outpost, and he was still thinking about the follow-up plan when the World Tree broke through the outpost. It seemed like a coincidence, but Han Xiao felt that there was something fishy about
it.

“The secondary dimension battlefield has in the end been established, and that is the World Tree’s home ground. Their attack this time probably allowed them to obtain the coordinates of the shallow dimensions, and this two-way battle is disadvantageous to the three Universal Civilizations… However, the three Universal Civilizations have also made preparations in the secondary dimension, so the situation will not be as bad as in my previous life.”

Han Xiao pondered. At this time, Simon, who was explaining the strategy, suddenly paused. A remote projection of a high-ranking military officer appeared on the conference table. His expression was extremely serious as he said in a deep voice,

“This is an emergency. The secondary dimension expeditionary army outpost has been raided by the World Tree, and it has almost completely fallen. Some of the intelligence has been leaked, and the World Tree has likely obtained the coordinates of the shallow dimension. It is estimated that a second front line will be opened, and we urgently need high-level combatants to help!”

The three Universal Civilizations’ notification was a step slower than the Mechanical Oracle’s. As soon as they finished speaking, all the officers present were shocked and turned to look at Han Xiao.

Hearing this, Han Xiao slowly nodded and asked,

“Who is leading the enemy?” “According to the information from the frontline, it’s a Super who has never appeared before.”

The image of the Secret Tree King appeared on the virtual screen. This was a photo taken before some bases self-destructed.

“Secret Tree King…” Han Xiao immediately recognized this person.” Alright, leave this to me.”

At this moment, Simon opened his mouth and said with a frown, “Warring on two fronts will restrict our high-level combatants. Aurora won’t be able to split herself up. At the same time, the enemy might even deliberately avoid Black Star, allowing them to use their foreign experts… I will definitely agree to assist the secondary dimensions, but the frontlines of the border are important battlefields. We have to maintain a sufficient number of advanced combatants.”

“This is not a big problem. I have enough The King mechanical suits to move quickly on both sides. Also… I have more manpower.”

Han Xiao nodded.

Compared to the terrifying scale of the galactic battlefield, the secondary dimension world was heavily divided due to its different specialties, which indirectly strengthened the importance of individual strength in the secondary dimension battlefield. It was time for the Holy Accord Organization’s hooligans, who had been idling around for decades, to come into play.

Furthermore, this Secret Tree King was worth him taking action.

Chapter 1413: Battle and Emergence

On the white desert ravaged by the radiation storm, a bright light suddenly flashed. An expedition starship that was emitting flames emerged from the crack and fell down as if it had lost all its power. It crashed onto the ground, shaking up the white sand in the sky. Its momentum did not decrease, and it plowed a deep ravine on the ground.

The azure particle shield, which was on the verge of shattering, endured the impact and flickered like a light bulb with a loose circuit. Then, it disappeared, and the spaceship suddenly sank. Its head was inserted into the desert, and its tail was raised up high. The distorted thrusters exploded with sparks, and it finally malfunctioned, spewing out black smoke.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The hatch of the spaceship was stuck, and there was a sound of collision coming from inside. The alloy door protruded out, and then it was sent flying with a bang. The deformed hatch smashed onto the sand and slid out more than ten meters.

Harrison and the others walked out while holding onto the injured parts of their bodies. Their bodies swayed as if they had drunk fake wine. The gravity stabilization device and gyroscope of the spaceship had failed, and it fell to the ground.

One of the team members looked at the paralyzed spaceship and said in a panic, “Oh no, the spaceship is damaged. We can’t run anymore!”

“Don’t panic. The enemy hasn’t caught up. Hurry up and repair it.”

Harrison held his dizzy head, gritted his teeth, and ordered his teammates to repair the spaceship.

The outpost was attacked, and a large number of expedition teams fled in all directions. The World Tree Blessed Races pursued them relentlessly, and they also met the enemy. The team was left with only one spaceship, and it was not easy for them to shake off the pursuers. The spaceship that had endured the fierce attacks was pushed to the limit and broke down.

“I wonder how the outpost is doing,” one of the team members muttered. “It is definitely destroyed. The World Tree came prepared. With the armed forces of the outpost, it’s impossible for them to survive.”

“While we were escaping, the commander was still giving orders in the main control room. I’m afraid he has already sacrificed himself by self-destructing, living and dying with the base…”

The atmosphere in the crowd was filled with sadness. Having worked together for more than ten years, many of the expeditionary army members were already familiar with each other. At this time, the future of so many of their comrades looked ominous, and they were all worried.

“The situation of the World Tree attack should have been sent back to the main universe. Before I evacuated, I had already sent a message to His Excellency Black Star using the quantum network base station at the outpost. He should have received it, but he has yet to come to the rescue. I wonder…”

Harrison’s tone was hesitant. The moment he was attacked, he had sent out a request for help. While escaping, he had been protecting the ‘Throne’ that Black Star had given him. He had been waiting for Han Xiao to arrive, but there had been no response.

“Can we contact him again?” someone quickly asked.

“Not at the moment. There’s no linkable base station, so I can’t contact the outside world for the time being…”

Before Harrison could finish his sentence, a spatial fluctuation suddenly appeared on the spaceship, and Han Xiao walked out from the damaged cabin door. The moment everyone saw him, they were immediately surprised.

“Your Excellency Black Star! You’re finally here!”

“We’re saved!” Han Xiao raised his hand and gestured for them to control their emotions. He then looked at Harrison and sized him up. “Looks like you’re in good shape. You’re not injured.”

Harrison greeted him with a disappointed expression. “You’re too late. The outpost has fallen. They…”

Han Xiao interrupted him, nodded, and said, “Alright, I already know about this. Since the outpost is gone, so be it. The three Universal Civilizations have already sent people to pick up the other expeditionary army soldiers. I’m here to pick you up… and your teammates.”

When the emergency notification from the three Universal Civilizations had reached the main base in the Siebert Fortress, Han Xiao had already received Harrison’s request for help. The reason he had only rushed over now was that he had spent some time deploying the high-level combatants of the association and made a trip to the Realmless King’s side to protect the Pivotal Snake. He had hidden the Pivotal Snake in a secret place and only came to pick up Harrison after doing all these important things. Han Xiao was not afraid of anything happening to Harrison. He had been using the Observer’s Mark to monitor Harrison’s situation. Seeing that he was safe, he did not teleport over immediately.

“What about the outposts? Aren’t you going to reinforce them?” Harrison asked.

“There’s no need. The dimensional coordinates of the outposts have been exposed, so it’s not suitable to rebuild the base. Even if we want to rebuild the outpost, it will have to be somewhere else. The losses this time are not too big. The outposts have served their purpose over the years.” Han Xiao waved his hands.

The purpose of the outpost was only to facilitate the expeditionary army’s exploration of the deep layer dimensions, and the coordinates of the various dimensions had already been recorded into the database over the years. The coordinates of the Realmless King’s territory and the areas around the World Tree had already been controlled by the three Universal Civilizations, which meant that these places had become ‘new shallow layer dimensions’. Thanks to the special structure of the secondary dimension world, and since they had the coordinates, the subsequent troops could quickly jump over even without the outpost. They did not have to travel for many years like in normal exploration. This was the most important result.

As for the outpost itself, it did not have any irreplaceable value. With these coordinates in hand, it could be rebuilt at any time. Therefore, this loss was nothing in the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations. They were more concerned about the degree of information leakage. Harrison nodded and asked, “What do we do next?”

“I’ll take you to the base camp of the three Universal Civilizations in the secondary dimension world. They have already gathered their troops there and are preparing to deal with the possible attacks from the World Tree. This time, the coordinates might have been leaked, and the World Tree opening up the secondary dimensional battlefront should be a foregone conclusion. The three Universal Civilizations will have to face a two-way battle from now on… After sending you off, I’ll have a short meeting with the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations to discuss this matter.”

Han Xiao said casually with a calm tone.

At this time, there was a high chance that the World Tree was still cleaning up the battlefield in the various outposts, but he did not have any intention of retaliating. Even if he went over, the Secret Tree King might not appear, and he would alert the enemy on top of making a wasted trip. He might as well wait for the Secret Tree King to start a two-way battle and then give him a big slap. If the World Tree had the coordinates of the shallow layer dimensions, it would not take much time to jump over, and they might even start another round of blitzkrieg. Therefore, Han Xiao guessed that the Secret Tree King would not take too long. Han Xiao gave a simple explanation and did not say anything else. He took out a new carrier, set the coordinates of the destination, and called everyone to board the ship.

Everyone obediently accepted the arrangement. Compared to the other expeditionary army soldiers, this group of people was lucky enough to be received by Han Xiao personally and escape from danger thanks to Harrison’s luck glow.

The Galactic Alliance Army was divided into many smaller armies. The border defense army guarded the frontlines of the Flickering World, while the secondary dimension garrison was responsible for guarding the base camp in the shallow layer dimensions. This was the foundation of the three Universal Civilizations in the secondary dimension world. If it was destroyed, they would lose most of their control over the secondary dimension.

A few hours after the outposts were attacked, the garrisons in all the war zones in the shallow layer dimension were fully prepared for battle.

At this moment, in one of the shallow layer dimensions.

While the blue energy was being replenished, the scene was like an ocean. A dynasty fleet that belonged to the secondary dimension garrison floated in the air and waited quietly. All the battleships were specially designed for the secondary dimension. Compared to the dynasty’s standard heavy military starships, they were much slender and more balanced.

“I’ve just received news that a war has broken out at the Flickering World’s frontline, and the World Tree Army has launched another attack. At this juncture, it’s very likely to be a double-layered tactic of the enemy, so the enemy can appear at any time. Everyone, focus!”

In the main ship, the commander spoke in the military channel.

The dynasty soldiers of the various fleets were extremely focused and did not dare to be distracted.

After waiting for a while, the fleet commander suddenly received the order from the other troops. His eyes narrowed, and he said with a deep voice, “The World Tree Army has already attacked. Thirty-four war zones have been invaded, and the other garrison troops are exchanging fire. The enemy will be here soon…”

As soon as he said that, the space wall suddenly opened up with jump points like beehives. The World Tree’s Blessed Races swarmed out like a green flood.

“Attack!”

The fleet commander roared.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The next moment, countless beams of energy lit up in the battlefield and formed a dense net, shattering a large group of battleships.

The two troops were fearless. It was as if they had turned into two giant beasts, one black and one green. They started to bite each other ferociously, not caring about their own injuries. They only cared about ripping off the flesh of the other party.

The same thing was happening in hundreds of shallow layer dimensions. War had broken out!

The warfare mode of the secondary dimensions was different from that of the main universe. Every war zone was a divided battlefield. With the help of the special ‘geographical’ structure, countless fleets fought as they traveled through the various secondary dimensions while carrying out operations like restraining, pulling, encircling, and counter encirclement. The situation changed rapidly, and the flames of war engulfed countless small worlds. The secondary dimensions were blasted into smithereens, and their remains were devoured by the space storms. The high-level combatants of both sides also started to fight each other, and the battlefield changed from one dimension to another.

In a shallow layer dimension war zone riddled with holes, a transportation door hung high up in the sky, spitting out a few injured Beyond Grade As from the three Universal Civilizations. Not far away, a green transportation door opened, and more Holy Tree Emissaries chased after them.

The few Beyond Grade As did not have time to recuperate and quickly turned around to fight. They were once again at a disadvantage, and the situation became worse. “Don’t even think about leaving the secondary dimension world alive!”

The Holy Tree Emissaries were filled with killing intent, and their attacks were ferocious. Their eyes were even flashing with joy.

In the past, when they fought with the Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations, due to the existence of the Healing Esper, all the high-level combatants of the enemy were like a death squad, making them feel extremely miserable. They could not even feel the joy of the World Tree’s infinite revival.

However, it was different now. In the secondary dimension battlefield, due to the special battlefield structure, the Healing Esper would be greatly restricted and would not be able to take care of every battlefield… Furthermore, the Healing Esper did not even have the time to come over. The troops in the main universe launched an attack, dragging many enemy high-level combatants to the frontlines, including the Healing Esper.

Now that they saw the enemy being restrained again, the Holy Tree Emissaries were finally overjoyed.

Austin was among the Beyond Grade As that were surrounded. Half of his magic treasures had been destroyed, and he was struggling to resist the attacks.

“The situation isn’t looking good. Without reinforcements, we will definitely suffer losses.”

Even with the Sanctum Revival, most people did not wish for themselves to end up in such a state. There was only one Aurora, and everyone wanted to stay on the front line and fight alongside the milkmaid. Therefore, there were very few high-level combatants who were willing to rush to reinforce the troops in the shallow layer dimensions. Other than the direct descendants, none of the others were willing. They were all ordered to come and help, and there was a huge difference in numbers with the enemy. The situation did not look good.

By the side, Beiger was fighting with a high-level Holy Tree Emissary, and they were locked in an intense battle. He whispered, “Don’t panic, we still have reinforcements.”

“What reinforcements?” Austin frowned.

At this moment, the space wall in the distance of the battlefield suddenly opened up, and an unmarked fleet charged into the battlefield, firing densely packed sharp missiles at the World Tree Blessed Races, which exploded on the shields.

The next moment, the area where the missiles exploded turned into chaotic space. A batch of World Tree Blessed Race members was sucked into it and disappeared without a trace. “This is…” Austin’s pupils constricted. “The Holy Accord’s Dimensional Exile Bullet,” Beiger continued. “Holy Accord? What is…”

Before Austin could ask further, waves of Beyond Grade A energy soared into the sky.

Boom!

A few unfamiliar Beyond Grade As flew out from this mysterious fleet, quickly closing in on the Holy Tree Emissaries.

Austin felt the pressure lessen, and he quickly backed away. He looked at the battle and was shocked.

“These are the reinforcements you mentioned? Who are they?”

“Don’t you find them familiar?” Beiger raised an eyebrow.

Austin looked over and immediately recognized a few people. They were all famous Primordial Ones in history.

Thinking about Beiger’s identity, he suddenly realized something. “They’re Revivors like you? I thought Black Star did not revive them. When did this happen ?”

“You will know the details later. Now is not the time to talk about it.”

Beiger did not explain further and dodged the enemy’s counterattack. A forbidden spell ray penetrated the enemy’s chest.

Austin’s heart skipped a beat. He looked at them deeply and did not ask any more questions.

Similar scenes were happening in many of the war zones. The dozens of revivors who had been hidden in the Holy Accord for many years finally joined the battle for the first time, helping the Beyond Grade As and quickly stabilizing the situation of the high-level combatants.

Not only was the World Tree surprised by this wave of reinforcements, but even the three Universal Civilizations were confused. They could not figure out the origins of these reinforcements.

At the same time.

The leaders of the three Universal Civilizations, who were monitoring the battle in the secondary dimension, all turned to look at Han Xiao, who was watching the battle together in the office. Their expressions were mixed with shock and complicated emotions.

“Black Star… aren’t you going to explain?’”

Chapter 1414: Ambush

Chapter 1414 Ambush

Without looking back, Han Xiao casually replied, “As you can see, these are all reinforcements that I’ve pulled over to fill the gap in our combat strength.”

The church head knocked on the table with his knuckles and said with a deep voice, “Don’t play dumb. I’m asking how they got here. When did you revive these people?”

Hearing this, Han Xiao then turned around and glanced at the three of them.

“Do you think all the revivors are willing to appear in public? I never said that the ones in the association are all the revivors there are. As for who exactly I revived, I have no obligation to tell others. Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask.”

The three of them choked and looked at him deeply.

They did not need to think too much to guess that this was Black Star’s backup plan. There was probably a group of revivors hidden in the dark, which was most likely arranged during the confrontation back then as a trump card against the three Universal Civilizations. If they had decided to carry out the purge back then, the result would have been hard to determine. Now that Han Xiao had just revealed this trump card, the three of them were shocked.

However, after knowing him for so many years, the three of them had a deep understanding of Black Star’s unfathomable habits. They were already used to Black Star setting up spies everywhere. Perhaps this group of revivors that had suddenly appeared was just the tip of the iceberg of his hidden force…

The three of them looked away with heavy hearts.

This was not the time to be bothered about such things, the three of them were still more respectful toward Han Xiao.

Now that Black Star was on the same level as them, the three of them saw that he did not want to explain and so they did not continue asking.

Furthermore, compared to the importance of Black Star himself, having another batch of revivors did not seem like a big deal. With Han Xiao, who was a Transcendent, the impact these hidden revivors had on the three of them was limited.

Of course, Han Xiao would not take the initiative to explain the origin of the Holy Accord. Looking at the three of them, he could not help but smile.

Back then, he had hidden the strength of the Holy Accord organization to leave a path of retreat for the association, allowing the Beyond Grade As to be divided into two parts —the open and the dark.

He had originally planned to reveal the tip of the iceberg of the Holy Accord at the right time and make the three Universal Civilizations wary. However, his plans could not keep up with the changes. Now that he had stepped into the Transcendent Grade, the deterrence of a single person was comparable to the entire Beyond Grade A group. The Holy Accord Revivors trump card was not as important as before. However, it was still useful. It was not a bad thing to make the three Universal Civilizations warier.

Han Xiao paid attention to the battle once again. After watching for a while, he suddenly locked onto the Secret Tree King and Clotti who were fighting on the surveillance screen. “My prey has appeared. Excuse me.” The remote projection disappeared.

Only at this moment did the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders relax. They looked at each other and saw the fear in each other’s eyes.

In a certain war zone in the shallow layer dimension battlefield.

Bang!

The rainbow-like magic light penetrated the surging dark energy and landed on Clotti’s body, leaving a new wound. The powerful annihilation force sent him flying, crashing into the dark brown ground and smashing through hundreds of layers.

“Cough cough…”

The cells in his body withered under the influence of the Annihilation spell. Clotti quickly used his energy to stabilize his injuries before looking up at the enemy in the sky with a grave expression.

The Secret Tree King was floating in the air, looking down at him from above. Forbidden Spells were brewing around him, rapidly taking shape and falling like a storm.

Clotti gritted his teeth to suppress his injuries and manipulated the dark energy to meet the attack. However, the stalemate only lasted for an instant before he was sent flying once again, with many new wounds on his body.

“This Tree King… is too strong…”

Clotti clutched his wound, his eyes shining with shock.

He had judged the strength of the Tree King from the Subduing Tree King, the Heart Tree King, and the Lord’s Avatar of the Fortitude Tree King. He had thought that even if he could not defeat this new Tree King, he would at least be able to hold on for a long time. However, Clotti did not expect that this guy who called himself the Secret Tree King was stronger than the other three. He was the National Pillar, but the other party beat him like beating a younger brother. It was easy and relaxed.

Among all the opponents that he had fought, only Black Star and Wuornos could deal with him so easily.

If the other Beyond Grade A Mages were just ordinary magic cannons, then this Secret Tree King was a rapid nuclear bomb. The strength, frequency, and speed of his casting far exceeded all the Mages that Clotti had ever
seen!

In the sky, the Secret Tree King temporarily stopped attacking. He moved his fingers and casually played with a ribbon made of magic power.

“You actually dared to fight me one on one. Should I say that your courage is commendable, or you are overestimating yourself? Unfortunately, only that Mechanic or that Esper has the qualifications to fight me. Your strength is a little too weak. If this continues, I won’t have any interest in killing
you…”

The only opponents that the Secret Tree King cared about were Han Xiao and EsGod. Although Clotti’s combat strength was not low, and his dark energy control Esper Ability was rather penetrative, it was not much of a threat to him, a Mage who grasped multidimensional energy. Feeling the other party’s contempt, Clotti’s face darkened. He silently gathered his energy and prepared to go all out.

However, right at this moment, a spatial fluctuation appeared in their senses. The space wall in the distance opened up, and a figure covered in a hooded black robe appeared. His clothes fluttered in the wind, and the edges of his clothes were like black flames. He was brimming with the aura of a peak Beyond Grade A, attracting their attention.

“Who are you?” Clotti turned around. He did not know if he was friend or foe, but he immediately became more alert.

“We’re on the same side.”

Oathkeeper glanced at him before staring at the Secret Tree King.

“Another one?” The Secret Tree King narrowed his eyes. “You’re in cahoots with those new reinforcements, right? You should be their leader. Interesting, you still have a group of high-level combatants hidden… Heh, so what? You can’t turn the situation around. Sooner or later, we’ll wipe out all your forces in the secondary dimension world!”

Through the mental network, he had already found out about the Holy Accord Revivors reinforcing the three Universal Civilizations’ Beyond Grade As.

In the eyes of the Secret Tree King, facing an opponent like the World Tree, the three Universal Civilizations should have felt immense pressure and gone all out long ago. However, the other party was still holding back even now. It was truly unfathomable.

Furthermore, with the Secret Tree King’s personality, he was a little unhappy about this… Why, is our World Tree not worthy of your full strength ?

Ignoring the Secret Tree King, Oathkeeper communicated with Clotti telepathically.

“Leave this to me. Go help the others.”

“Can you do it? This Tree King is very strong. We’d better work together to deal with him.” Clotti expressed his doubts. “This Tree King is a Mage, and I can see that his spells have bonuses in the secondary dimension world. I should not be his match, but I only need to stall him. In this aspect, I’m more suitable than you. There’s no need to waste combat power on him.”

Oathkeeper responded.

Not long ago, the expeditionary army outposts had been attacked, and Han Xiao had finally informed the Holy Accord Organization to take part in the battle. Many of the Holy Accord Revivors had already prepared themselves mentally. They did not need any mobilization and set off on their own. On one hand, it was for the sake of the Sanctum Revival qualifications, and on the other hand, it was also because they were in the same boat.

Other than that, Han Xiao also requested the Holy Accord to bring along Dimensional Exile Bullets, High-Level Lifeform Energy Disorder Shockwave, cross-dimensional detection radars, and other special technologies to provide support. Oathkeeper had no choice but to do as he was told. As the Holy Accord organization’s troops had always been on standby, they quickly came over.

Clotti did not respond, but at this moment, the Secret Tree King suddenly attacked. All kinds of powerful forbidden spells were cast continuously, firing at the two of them.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Magical lights flashed in the sky, beautiful and deadly. Oathkeeper and Clotti immediately reacted and moved around, dodging nonstop.

On the other side, the Secret Tree King was multitasking. While quickly constructing spell models and casting forbidden spells, he communicated with the Ancestral Tree King through the mental network.

“There’s no sign of that Mechanic in the frontline battlefield or the secondary dimension battlefield. He has that sealing ability, so there’s a high chance that he’s targeting a tree king. Therefore, his target should be me. Maybe he’s secretly observing. After I fight these two opponents for a while, he should jump out and ambush me.”

Hearing this, the Ancestral Tree King expressed his approval in the mental network and said with a deep voice, “Your judgment is very reasonable. Continue fighting. As long as that Mechanic is lured out, I will immediately descend and catch him off guard.”

“Okay.”

The two of them quickly came up with a plan. They planned to use the Secret Tree King as bait to lure the snake out of its hole.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Since it was very likely that Black Star had his eyes on the Secret Tree King, the Ancestral Tree King also chose to launch an ambush. He had two goals. One was to find an opportunity to kill Black Star, and the other was to think of a way to save the Heart Tree King. If he did not deal with Black Star, how could he talk about unsealing the Heart Tree King? At the very least, he had to snatch that Universal Treasure with the sealing ability.

It was not that he thought too highly of the Heart Tree King. Even the simple-minded Subduing Tree King had ‘decisively’ self-destructed twice to escape from being sealed. Only the Heart Tree King had been affected. The Ancestral Tree King only wanted to take back the sealed Tree King Crown. Otherwise, there would always be a gap in the five Tree Kings. With Oathkeeper joining the battle, the two of them were finally at a stalemate with the Secret Tree King. The three of them fought intensely, chasing each other non-stop. The battlefield changed again and again. One moment, it was an abyss-like blackish-purple space, then it was a holy land-like silver kingdom, then it was a nascent dimension born in the void, and the next moment, it was an unstable secondary dimension at its end. Without exception, every battlefield was shattered by the aftershock of their battle, and batches of fleets were devoured by the space storm.

The three of them arrived at a shadow dimension. Suddenly, the space wall in the distance opened, and another figure entered the battlefield. It was Han Xiao.

The Secret Tree King noticed Han Xiao at first glance and immediately ignored the other two opponents. He stared at Han Xiao with a strong battle intent and killing intent in his eyes.

“You’re finally willing to come out ?”

Han Xiao glanced at him, waved his hand, told Oathkeeper and Clotti to stop and retreat to the side, then spoke to the Secret Tree King in the public channel.

“There are three of us here. Aren’t you going to run?”

“Run? Who do you think I am ?”

The Secret Tree King suddenly waved his palm, and an invisible spatial fluctuation swept across this space. The entire secondary dimension instantly turned into a mirror-like space, as though it was trapped in a crystal. The images of the battlefield were flowing in the sections of the space, overlapping and dazzling. The spatial barrier suddenly formed, isolating Clotti and Oathkeeper in the outside world. They could only see what was going on inside the barrier, but they could not participate in it. It was as if the two of them were in parallel spaces that had no intersection.

Inside the barrier, only the Secret Tree King and Han Xiao were looking at each other. “You want to fight me one on one?” Han Xiao looked around at the barrier and smiled strangely.

“I’ve always wanted to fight you, so why would I run? I thought you would launch a sneak attack, but I didn’t expect you to appear so openly… However, this doesn’t matter. This barrier is our battleground. If you have the ability, don’t use that teleportation technique to escape. I’ll definitely kill you today!”

The eyes of the Secret Tree King flickered. He knew that Black Star had the teleportation technique that could ignore crowd control, so this barrier was only to prevent the other enemies from disrupting the battle and create the illusion of a one-on-one battle. As long as Black Star did not teleport away and stayed behind to fight him one-on-one, the plan would be half complete.

He did not hesitate and immediately cast all kinds of spells toward Han Xiao. On the surface, it seemed like he was going to fight Han Xiao one on one, but he had already secretly used spells to guide the Ancestral Tree King into the barrier, preparing to launch a pincer attack.

However, before the spell could hit its target, a powerful pressure swept out like a storm with Han Xiao at the center, shaking the Secret Tree King’s mind! Boom!

Countless machines surged out from the Godly Stronghold and instantly condensed on Han Xiao’s body. They combined into a gigantic Mechanical Divine Body, which was the Supreme Heavenly Venerate. Transcendent Grade’s energy fluctuations erupted without restraint!

The face of the Secret Tree King instantly changed, and the ferocity on his face turned into fear and disbelief. “This is the level of the Tree God ?”

He was not mentally prepared at all.

At this moment, all tactics and plans were thrown to the back of his mind.

The Secret Tree King did not hesitate to construct a transportation door and escape. He was no longer arrogant and only panic remained in his mind.

However, Han Xiao was faster than him. With a flash, his gigantic body teleported behind the Secret Tree King and tore the roots of the World Tree apart. Then, the Emperor Skysplitter Blade slashed down and invisible psionic energy waves exploded like a blade wave.

Crack!

The sound of a mirror shattering could be heard. Within the range of the psionic wave, the space barrier, various forbidden spells, transportation door, and everything else that was constructed by magic power rapidly collapsed like a sandcastle!

There was not the slightest bit of resistance!

“What?!”

The Ancestral Tree King, who had just teleported behind Han Xiao and was about to launch a sneak attack, froze on the spot. His expression changed drastically!

Chapter 1415: Overwhelming Combat Strength; Wrecking the Tree God

The Emperor Skysplitter Blade and the psionic wave launcher had already been enhanced by Han Xiao’s (Beyonder Artifact] to become a ‘Divine Artifact’. With just a simple press of the A button, its power was no different from a destructive ultimate move!

(TL Note: The author is probably expressing the huge damage caused by a normal attack, hence describing it as the press of an A button like a normal attack on a console.]

Facing the Secret Tree King’s terrified gaze, the Emperor Sky Splitter stabbed forward. The huge blade expanded rapidly in his eyes, and he could not react in time.

Boom!

The huge blade slammed into the dimensional wall of the secondary dimension, creating countless cracks like cracking porcelain. The power of the attack was transmitted to the entire secondary dimension, exceeding the upper limit. The entire shadow dimension exploded, and all the darkness dissipated.

However, the Secret Tree King was not sent flying. Instead, it was firmly stuck to the tip of the blade by an intense gravitational force field. At the same time, the Supreme Heavenly Venerate extended a finger and pressed it against the Secret Tree King’s body. The invisible power of the Spacetime Amber passed through his finger and began to make amber on the Secret Tree King’s body. The soul link of the Spacetime Amber had already reached the highest fifth level in the past decade. There was no need to touch the target with the original body of the Spacetime Amber, only physical contact was needed to activate the seal. This meant that the Spacetime Amber no longer needed to be carried around, and it could be placed anywhere.

At the same time, due to the [Energy BaseGod of All Machines] talent of the Super God Mechanic, the form of his basic existence was not limited to his physical body. The Mechanical Deity that he had fused with was also his main body. This meant that he could use the Mechanical Deity’s body to touch the target, which would also satisfy the judgment of the Spacetime Amber!

The Secret Tree King was rooted to the ground by a bunch of Universal Treasure-level control devices. The extremely destructive psionic energy waves flowed along the blade and entered his body, crushing large amounts of his cells. The energy in his body was suppressed by the Super God-level energy, and he could not even self-destruct. Furthermore, he did not dare to self-destruct in front of a Super God. That was truly ‘courting death’.

Black Star was too fast, exceeding the Beyond Grade A realm. He could not react much at all, as if he had fallen into such a state the moment he came back to his senses.

“How can someone break through this limit? This kind of power cannot be controlled by an individual!”

The Secret Tree King panicked, his face pale.

He did not expect a Tree God to appear in this civilization. How could there be such a huge change in just ten years?

The World Tree had been growing for countless years. Other than the Ancestral Tree King, the other four Kings had all changed positions before. Although the Ancestral Tree King had the authority to remove the other Kings, he rarely used them. Generally speaking, unless the Tree King was dead, he would not do any personnel changes.

However, the Tree Kings could revive, so why would they still die? This was the problem. Some of the Tree Kings had tried to reach a higher level, but all of them died without exception. They thought that they could revive through the World Tree, but after suffering from mutations and dying during the Promotion, the information form would directly leave the connection of the World Tree, unable to revive and be completely dead. After failing time and time again, they learned from the previous mistakes, and the later generations of Tree Kings did not try to advance anymore.

In their eyes, the Transcendent Domain was an insurmountable chasm that could not be crossed by an individual. It was the limit of a single life form. Only by using a different method could one temporarily step into a higher level. The Tree God advent was one of the methods.

This kind of thinking was not strange. Having a powerful Superpower system did not mean that one could become stronger indefinitely. Although many civilizations liked to confuse the differences between the two, these were two different concepts. Be it the World Tree experts or the Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations, they all were similar in that they recognized the existence of an individual limit… The difference lay in how both parties had determined the limits of their individual strength. Because up till now, no one had truly reached the absolute limit, thus there appeared many different boundaries of strength.

“I have to break free from his control, or else…”

The Secret Tree King made up his mind and activated his cell reactor crazily. Ignoring the damage to his cells, he squeezed out all his magic power and attacked the energy lock. After struggling without caring about the consequences, the control field finally loosened.

“There’s still a chance to escape!”

The Secret Tree King was overjoyed. Just as he was about to accumulate his strength to burst out and break through Han Xiao’s control, the power of the Tree King in his body suddenly leaked out like a flood and was sucked away by an invisible force. His body suddenly sagged, and his accumulation of strength was interrupted. A sense of weakness spread throughout his body.

“My Tree King Crown!”

He suddenly raised his eyes and looked in the direction of the Ancestral Tree King.

The Ancestral Tree King’s figure was already covered by a rapidly expanding ball of green light. It was like a gigantic egg, and a gigantic figure could be vaguely seen within. The energy fluctuations from within were rising rapidly.

How could the Secret Tree King not recognize this scene? The Ancestral Tree King had already activated the descent of the Tree God and instantly retracted his Tree King Crown as well as his strength. It was obvious that he had abandoned him to reduce the overall losses on their side. Not only did he not plan to save him, but he had even destroyed his hope of escaping! “No!”

The Secret Tree King’s eyes widened in shock.

Han Xiao noticed the change in the Ancestral Tree King and looked back. He then looked down at the Secret Tree King and said in a joking manner.

“We agreed to spend some alone time together. I didn’t expect you to secretly make it into a threesome… Alright, go to sleep. I’ll play with him first.”

As soon as he said that, he suddenly moved his finger, and the Spacetime Amber took shape!

Deng! The terror on the Secret Tree King’s face froze as if he could not believe that he was taken down so easily. His entire body was frozen in amber.

“Success!”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The Secret Tree King was extremely strong among the Beyond Grade As, but he could not do much damage to him. Although it was a sudden attack, it was mainly because of the huge difference in strength that the Secret Tree King did not have the time to use all sorts of methods before being defeated.

Compared to the various schemes he had used to seal the Heart Tree King before, sealing an even stronger Secret Tree King this time was much easier. His strength had exceeded an entire realm, and although it was not as simple as a Beyond Grade A fighting a Calamity Grade Super, it was still a crushing victory.

The next moment, a channel opened up on the fingertips of the mechanical finger, swallowing the ambered Secret Tree King.

After doing this, Han Xiao turned around and faced the rapidly expanding green light belonging to the Ancestral Tree King. Seeing this, Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled. He could roughly guess why the Secret Tree King had fled so decisively and was so afraid of him.

“So that’s how it is. The World Tree also has the power of a Beyond God. The reason why the Secret Tree King has no fighting spirit is that he has seen this power before… Maybe the Transcendent Grade of the World Tree has already unlocked the ability to kill using the information form state. Therefore, in his opinion, whether he self-destructs or not, I can directly attack him in the information state and kill him completely, since I can break the mechanism of the World Tree and strip him of his immortality. That’s why the Secret Tree King is so afraid of me…”

Han Xiao immediately became alert.

“If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean that the Transcendent Grade of the World Tree can also threaten me?”

Without another word, he opened fire at the green light. He had no habit of waiting for others to transform.

Right at this moment, the green light suddenly exploded, and a gigantic tree palm extended out from the light. Green light gushed out from the palm and turned into a barrier, blocking the torrential attacks of the mechanical army.

The figure of the Ancestral Tree King had already disappeared, and in its place was a gigantic treant. His entire body was glowing with green light, and countless World Tree Roots were wrapped around his body like woven vine armor. On every part of his body, many small roots grew out like dancing little snakes, tearing open space cracks one after another and absorbing the matter and energy on the other side of the tunnel.

“What f*ckery is this?”

Han Xiao glanced at the interface. The other party’s name was (Tree God (Incomplete)], and a large amount of information was filled with question marks. It was clear that its level was higher than his, and it was also at the Transcendent Grade.

“Interesting, the World Tree still has such a method hidden. Why have they never used it before…”

Han Xiao frowned, pondering in suspicion.

In the war in his previous life, the World Tree had never used this method. Logically speaking, since their nest had been destroyed, they should have used all their trump cards to stop the enemy. However, even when the three Universal Civilizations blew up the World Tree’s main body, the Tree God never descended.

He originally thought that the World Tree did not have the strength of a Transcendent, but it seemed like that was not the case. There were definitely secrets that he did not understand.

At this moment, a mental signal came from the Tree God. There was no clear content, only messy thoughts and intense hunger, much like a wild beast.

“Are you trying to eat me?”

Han Xiao could sense the meaning behind Tree God’s words, and his heart skipped a beat.

It seemed like the mind of this Tree God was very chaotic, and he did not have a rational leader controlling it?!

Before he could observe any longer, the Tree God pounced on him and started entangling with the Supreme Heavenly Venerate.

Countless roots of the World Tree shot out, glowing with a green light as they smashed toward Han Xiao’s body. They were continuously cut by the Emperor Skysplitter Blade, but new ones quickly grew out.

One was a machine, and the other was a tree. Two huge objects were brawling it out in the space storm. Dozens of Mechanical Oracles led their troops and fired at the Tree God. Every moment, countless attacks landed on the Tree God. However, its health seemed to have no limit. Not only did the body formed by the World Tree Root have high resistance, but it also possessed extraordinary regenerative power.

Oathkeeper and Clotti had already moved far away. The aftershock of the battle between the two Transcendents was too terrifying, and they had no room to interfere. They could only follow behind and watch from afar.

“I didn’t expect the World Tree to also have the combat power of a Transcendent Grade, to be able to fight Black Star head-on. If they had used it earlier…”

Clotti’s eyes widened in shock.

“Can’t you tell? This Beyond God level combatant doesn’t seem to be an individual. The World Tree Civilization must have paid some price to create a Transcendent Grade level combatant.” Oathkeeper shook his head and analyzed calmly. “Furthermore, he and Black Star aren’t evenly matched. Look, he’s already at a disadvantage.”

Due to the incomplete Tree King Crowns, the Tree God advent this time was not complete, and its combat capability was not at its peak. After fighting for a while, the Tree God gradually fell into a disadvantage under Han Xiao’s fierce attacks. It could only rely on its strong physical strength to resist the attacks, and the number of times it attacked decreased.

Han Xiao also felt the weakness of the Tree God, and he started to analyze.

Although he is at the Transcendent Grade, his combat power seems to be lacking. It should be because of that ‘incomplete’ title. This is not the complete form of the Tree God yet… Could I have been involved in this?

Han Xiao’s thoughts raced. Although he did not know the conditions for the Tree God’s Advent, when he thought about how one of his requirements was to find Supers from the other four classes as helpers when he advanced to the Transcendent Grade, he had a vague guess.

The composition of the five Tree Kings is similar to the requirement to advance to the Transcendent Grade. Could this be the birth condition of the Tree God? If that’s the case, I’ve sealed the Heart Tree King and the Secret Tree King, so the complete version of the Tree God cannot be activated?

The more Han Xiao thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Does this mean that I accidentally weakened the other party’s trump card?!

Amazing! Let’s see who dares to say that I’m unlucky in the future. I might be usually unlucky, but I’ve never failed at a critical moment!

Chapter 1416: Fight and Gap

Chapter 1416 Fight and Gap

Boom!

The battle between the two Transcendents became more and more intense. The battlefield was moving rapidly in the spatial storm as if it had split into two clusters of light, one black, and one green. They were entangled with each other and were crazily eroding each other’s space. The sound of the energy shockwave was constantly heard, and it burst out with strong light one after another. It was like Armageddon, or the birth of the world.

Countless mechanical soldiers flew out from Han Xiao’s Godly Stronghold. From afar, they looked like black smoke released by the Supreme Heavenly Venerate, turning into thousands of streams. Some were like whips, constantly clashing with the World Tree Roots, while others released billions of rays of light, bombarding the various parts of the Tree God.

Among them, there were dozens of specks of light, the size of dust, jumping around the Tree God’s body, tearing off roots one after another. These were the many Mechanical Oracles under Han Xiao. They all had different abilities, and under the enhancement of Mechanical Force, they had strength that far exceeded normal soldiers. They were all elite units.

Under the continuous accumulation of mechanical soldiers, the body of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate seemed to grow endlessly. On the other side, the speed at which the World Tree Roots was forming on the Tree God also became faster and faster. Under the layers of binding, its body also grew rapidly, and the two huge objects grew at a similar speed.

“Tsk, so big…”

Oathkeeper and Clotti looked at the two of them in shock.

The shockwaves of the battle between the two Transcendents became more and more intense. In order not to be implicated, the two of them had already retreated further away. However, Han Xiao and the Tree God’s bodies still occupied their entire field of vision, and they could not even see the entirety of the battle. It was as if they had no end.

At Oathkeeper and Clotti’s level, they naturally did not have megalophobia. However, at this moment, as they looked at the two gigantic creatures exuding a terrifying pressure with every movement, they could not help but feel an instinctive fear in their hearts. It was an indescribable fear that existed beyond their range of understanding!

A strong sense of danger surrounded the two of them. The more they looked, the more unstable the energy in their bodies became. Their hearts felt like they were going to jump out of their throats. It was as if they were bursting with the full strength of a Transcendent. It was a scene they could not look at directly!

Unknowingly, waves of terror assaulted their brains, making them want to look away. However, their eyes seemed to have separated from their bodies and were no longer under their control. Their gazes were fixed on the two Transcendents.

Swoosh!

At this time, the Emperor Skysplitter Blade burning with dark blue psionic energy tore apart a large area of the space storm and stabbed into the Tree God’s body. However, the roots in the Tree God’s body quickly tied up and sewed the wound like needles. At the same time, tiny roots that looked like meat sprouts grew out from the wound and intertwined with each other, healing the wound in the blink of an eye.

In addition, a portion of the psionic energy covered by the blade was absorbed by the Tree God. It also had the devouring ability of the World Tree, so it did not reject any energy.

At the same time, the slashes left by the Emperor Skysplitter Blade in the spatial storm spread rapidly, turning into a spatial rift that tore open a passage to a secondary dimension. However, not only did the two of them not get pulled in by the attraction force of the secondary dimension, the anti-gravity force on their bodies pulled this secondary dimension out instead. The internal matter gushed out along the space crack and sprayed onto the two of them.

This scene was like a fruit that had a hole in its skin. It was being held tightly, squeezing out all the juice and flesh from the hole, and turned into a mess.

Swoosh

Every slash of Han Xiao’s blade tore open a spatial rift that led to different secondary dimensions. Very soon, many colorful spatial tunnels appeared on the battlefield. Countless secondary dimensions sprayed out streams of matter, and all kinds of strange things were scattered all over the sky. There were also all kinds of strange creatures that were crushed into powder by the shockwaves and fused into the energy storm that the two of them were fighting in.

Looking at the interior of these spatial tunnels, one could see that these secondary dimensions were rapidly drying up, as though their bodies had been hollowed out. Such a battle had already exceeded the capabilities of a Beyond Grade A. Although the aftermath of their battle could shatter the secondary dimensions, Beyond Grade As were the ones absorbed by the secondary dimensions, destroying the secondary dimensions from the inside. However, the Transcendents could use their own gravitational force to stop the secondary dimensions from absorbing them, and even pull out the ‘intestines’ of the secondary dimensions.

The Tree God had been resisting Han Xiao’s attacks all along. As its roots moved, the almost endless power of the World Tree was released. It was like a green wave, attacking and defending at the same time. It had countless uses and dyed the area with a faint green light.

Ding!

With the Tree God as the center, a special spatial fluctuation was suddenly released. Immediately after, a layer of green world phantom seemed to overlap with the area, spreading out endless faint green light, quickly completing ‘taking root’. The next moment, Han Xiao suddenly felt a strong restraining force, and his strength was suppressed inexplicably. Not only did the Supreme Heavenly Venerate’s movements slow down, but the strength of all the mechanical troops also decreased. The power of the Tree God increased instead, and it could teleport freely in this area. Its mobility immediately increased.

“It seems to be a dimension projection…”

After taking a look, Han Xiao recognized what this green world phantom was.

Transcendent Grade had already formed an inner space and inner universe in their body, and a second Void Dimension had been born in their body. The Tree God should also have an inner dimension within its body.

The scene in front of him should be to open up his inner space and summon a dimension projection, turning a certain area outside his body into an inner dimension environment to form his own domain. This would allow him to gain the home-ground advantage and increase his strength and suppress his opponent.

Furthermore, this domain moved along with him, and even if the battlefield was constantly shifting, it would not be affected. With a thought, Han Xiao activated the Void Dimension consciousness in his body and summoned an inner space projection. A gray domain with blue electric arcs instantly opened up and squeezed out the green domain of the Tree God.

The debuffs brought by the Tree God Domain disappeared immediately. Not only did Han Xiao return to normal, but he also felt the huge buffs brought by the domain. Furthermore, the domain around his body moved according to his will, like a new sense organ.

In the space storm, the grayish-blue and green colors corroded each other, and the Void Domain and the Tree God Domain were separated. Before Han Xiao could even savor the sensation, he felt the pressure of the domain, and he could not help but increase his
energy.

Buzz!

The Void Domain immediately expanded outward, compressing the Tree God Domain to a smaller size. At the same time, Han Xiao keenly noticed that the enhancement of his Domain had become stronger, while the Tree God Domain had become weaker.

“Fighting by projecting the inner space? So this is the normal style of a Transcendent Grade battle…”

Han Xiao was overjoyed.

In the past few years, he had been exploring the strength of the Transcendent Grade. Although he had gained some benefits, he did not have any opponents of the same level, nor did he have anyone to learn from. Although the current Tree God was not complete, it was still quite familiar with the usage of the Transcendent’s methods. It was enough to give him quite a lot of inspiration and imitate the other party’s techniques.

Just fighting with a Transcendent brought him a lot of benefits.

Han Xiao activated Virtual Creation, and the various materials in the Godly Stronghold were consumed rapidly. In the blink of an eye, a super-large cannon appeared behind him. Its caliber was almost the size of a small planet, and its barrel was as deep as an abyss.

This type of giant cannon was already considered an interstellar mega machinery, and it would take quite some time to build. However, it could be built in an instant with (Virtual Creation (Pseudo)]. The efficiency was multiplied countless times.

In Han Xiao’s opinion, the biggest feature of this ability in a battle was to adapt to the situation and create different devices that he needed on the spot even if he had made no preparations.

No matter how strong a foundation a Mechanic had, they would not dare to say that their resources would be able to adapt to all situations. For example, he would not have the time to build a live ammunition cannon of this size. Now, he realized that the Tree God’s resistance to energy was a little abnormal. Now that he had a requirement, he could directly use Virtual Creation to create it, which was convenient and fast… Other than not returning the materials after it disappeared, there were no other shortcomings.

Buzz

Surging energy accumulated in the cannon barrel, and a bright light flashed. A planet-sized giant bullet shot out, carrying huge kinetic energy, and smashed into the Tree God’s chest, deeply embedding inside. Large pieces of shattered roots flew everywhere.

The bright light almost blinded Oathkeeper and Clotti. The bullet exploded, instantly splitting the Tree God in half. Countless shrapnels of the bomb with magnetic force burst out, cutting the two parts of the Tree God into pieces.

Han Xiao was about to give chase, but at this moment, the Tree God’s body suddenly shrunk rapidly, turning from solid to illusory, fusing into a World Tree Root and disappearing

“We were only halfway through the battle. Why did he run away?”

Han Xiao destroyed the root of the World Tree but did not sense the power of the Tree God. At the same time, the other party’s domain also disappeared. He immediately understood. The Tree God Domain was also equivalent to the World Tree’s ‘taking root’ area, so it had a connection with the World Tree territory, which meant that the Tree God could teleport to any corner of his hometown instantly. In this aspect, it had the style of the King.

“Not only is he tanky, but he can even run… Tsk, he must be imitating me!”

Han Xiao knew that he had beaten off the Tree God and shook his head.

The main reason was that the appearance of the Tree God was a little sudden for him, so he was not prepared. However, he had already completed his goal of sealing the Secret Tree King, and he had even accidentally exposed another trump card of the World Tree. He did not lose out.

Furthermore, with the Tree God’s tankiness, he might not be able to kill this guy before he mastered a way to attack the Information Form.

Speaking of which, why did this Tree God not attack him at the Information Form layer just now? Are there any conditions to use it, or could it be that the incomplete version of the Tree God could not use this move?

“Although this so-called Tree God doesn’t seem to be my match, it seems to have the ability to destroy Information Form, so I need to deal with it carefully… Also, after this battle, my combat power has been exposed, and I don’t know how the World Tree will react. I have to think about it carefully.”

Han Xiao pondered. He calmed himself down and opened the interface to take a look.

“However, I didn’t expect to trigger a mission like this. I thought that the challenge mission would only go as high as a Beyond Grade A. After all, it’s understandable to challenge Beyond Grade As. To let the players challenge Transcendents… So senseless? There’s no chance of success at all. To think that such a mission would be triggered.”

At this moment, Oathkeeper and Clotti finally relaxed. Their hands and feet were cold, and their hearts were still beating rapidly.

Although the battle had already ended, the terrifying pressure from the battle between the two Transcendents had already been deeply imprinted in their memories. It was like an ordinary person riding a small boat and being helpless in the storm. The indescribable terror that came from their instincts still lingered in their minds, leaving a deep impression that could not be erased.

“I didn’t expect that even a Super at my level would be so afraid. The difference between the life levels is too huge. Is this the Transcendent Grade…”

Oathkeeper wiped his non-existent cold sweat.

At this moment, he suddenly felt that being a follower seemed quite good…

Chapter 1417: The Behind-the-Scenes and the Truth

Chapter 1417 The Behind-the-Scenes and the Truth

Since his Luck Glow guinea pigs were not around at the moment, it was not a good time to complete the mission. Han Xiao closed the interface and looked at Oathkeeper and Clotti.

“Do you not have anything to do? Is the war over? Did the enemy retreat?”

“No…” Oathkeeper and Clotti regained their senses and shook their heads.

“Then what are you guys doing here? Aren’t you going to deal with the enemy?”

“I’ll go now.”

Oathkeeper immediately stepped into the spatial rift, searching for a shallow dimension battlefield to join.

Clotti looked at Han Xiao deeply before disappearing The three Universal Civilizations did not monitor the battle between the two Transcendent Grade Supers in the spatial storm, but he remembered everything. Be it Black Star’s terrifying combat strength or the fact that the World Tree had a Transcendent Grade trump card, he had to report this important information to the upper echelons.

Han Xiao did not retract his troops, only shrinking the body size of his Supreme Celestial Venerable. He tore open a spatial rift that led to a battlefield, before controlling the Mechanical Deity to walk in.

The battleships that filled the sky were shooting and killing each other. Their formations were interconnected, and the battle was intense. The three Universal Civilizations were in a dire situation, and they were being surrounded and destroyed.

When the World Tree Blessed Race saw a Mechanical Deity covered in black clouds descend, they immediately changed the direction of their attacks and fired at it.

The Supreme Heavenly Venerate however did not move at all. The mechanical soldiers that formed a black cloud beside him immediately split up and blocked in front of him. At the same time, they activated their shields, forming a gigantic psionic shield that protected the entire Supreme Heavenly Venerate. All of the fleet’s firepower was blocked and the surface of the shield was covered in bright lights and ripples.

Han Xiao raised the Emperor Skysplitter Blade and pointed it at this large World Tree fleet that covered the entire sky. He twisted his arm slightly and spun the blade in a semicircle. The next moment, an invisible psionic wave spread out from the tip of the sword and quickly engulfed most of the fleet.

The next moment, countless battleships exploded at the same time. Their shields shattered and disappeared, all of them malfunctioning and falling in different directions.

Wherever the psionic waves passed, battleships fell like raindrops!

As he was now, Han Xiao no longer needed to use the Human Wave Tactic to deal with a large number of troops. The Psionic Wave was a killing machine for group battles, and it was finally used on the official battlefield. The number of fleets was almost meaningless in front of this technology.

“This black technology is more useful than I expected. It was not in vain that I strengthened you into a Divine Artifact.”

Looking at the spectacular sight of the spaceships falling from the sky, Han Xiao could not help but feel happy.

This time, he had revealed his strength to seal the Secret Tree King. There was no need for him to continue hiding, so he naturally chose to join the battle.

“Lord, there are too many battlefields. Do you need us to attack?”

Psionic Prime asked respectfully as he stood on the shoulder of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate with the rest of the Mechanical Oracles. “Bring your children to help.” Han Xiao nodded.

As soon as he said that, the dozens of Mechanical Oracles immediately took action. They each brought a group of mechanical troops and headed to different shallow dimension battlefields to support the three Universal Civilizations.

With the support of Han Xiao’s Mechanical Force, the combat power of the mechanical army was extraordinary. With a huge leap, the mechanical army entered the battlefield one after another, giving the various World Tree Blessed Race members a huge blow.

Han Xiao, on the other hand, controlled the Supreme Heavenly Venerate to move alone. The huge Mechanical Lifeform strolled through the battlefields one after another, waving the enormous double-bladed sword, the Emperor Skysplitter Blade, and constantly activating its AOE. Psionic waves slashed out like light blades, sweeping through the World Tree fleets.

After fighting for an unknown period of time, Han Xiao could not remember how many of the World Tree Blessed Race he had wiped out. Suddenly, the World Tree fleet stopped firing at the same time in the various shallow dimensions.

Their blitzkrieg had started with great momentum, and they wanted to end the battle quickly. However, they had now kicked on an iron plate. Seeing that the situation was not going to work, the Blessed Race finally gave up on this invasion and chose to retreat.

“We finally repelled the World Tree.”

In the meeting room of the leader of the main universe, the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders looked at the scene of the World Tree Army retreating and finally relaxed. “It was not easy for the World Tree to find an opportunity to open up the second frontline. They will not give up so easily. After resting for some time, they might make a comeback.” Louis pondered.

The Pope nodded and added with a worried tone, “The opening of the second battlefront is extremely disadvantageous for us. The secondary dimension battlefield is a meat grinder that is even more terrifying than the main universe’s border. The main purpose of this battle is to fight head-on, and the losses will not be low. While their fleet can be constantly renewed, our losses are real. Although the Underworld can store the souls of most of the fallen warriors, Aurora’s current energy level cannot take care of all the losses of our soldiers in the interstellar battlefield…”

Marbruce clasped his hands together and suddenly said, “It’s not a big problem. The enemy has an army, and we have Black Star.”

Hearing this, the other two had complicated expressions. After receiving Clotti’s report, they finally knew the true strength of a Transcendent. They had already tried their best to raise their expectations, but they had still underestimated Han Xiao’s strength.

“Sigh, the combat power of a Transcendent is truly astonishing. However, I didn’t expect the World Tree to also have another Transcendent,” the Pope said with surprise.

“Luckily, Black Star has stepped into the same grade. Otherwise, no one on our side would be able to counter the World Tree’s trump card. We would definitely suffer heavy casualties…”

The three of them had mixed feelings and some lingering fear.

The Transcendent Grade Black Star made them extremely afraid, but he also gave them a sense of security. If Black Star did not break through this limit, the galactic society would be at an absolute disadvantage in terms of individual strength. Once the Tree God descended, they would be easily defeated.

The current situation was barely stable, and at least half of it was due to Black Star’s efforts. The contribution he had made was greater than all three of them combined. “However, after this battle, the World Tree should have been frightened by Black Star. The next time it wishes to attack the shallow dimensions, it will probably think twice before making such plans.”

The three of them nodded and heaved a sigh of relief.

World Tree Territory, Tree King Palace.

Green lights gathered on the throne and condensed into the bodies of the Ancestral Tree King and the Fortitude Tree King. Both of them had ugly expressions, not only because the Secret Tree King was sealed, but also because of the consequences of the Tree God’s advent.

“The Secret Tree King is also gone… I didn’t expect the Mechanic, who was still a peak Beyond Grade A ten years ago, to have stepped into the Transcendent Grade.”

The Ancestral Tree King rubbed his forehead, trying to alleviate the pain in his soul. He spoke with a hoarse voice that was filled with shock and anger.

The moment Black Star revealed his true strength and instantly captured the Secret Tree King, he was shocked. Knowing that the Secret Tree King probably could not be saved, he decisively gave up on the Secret Tree King and activated the Tree God’s Advent without hesitation.

The arrival of the Tree God was like mixing the bodies and souls of the five Tree Kings together. It was extremely painful, as it forcibly formed a new consciousness between them, fusing with the will of the mother tree. The aftereffects were very severe. After disintegrating, the Tree Kings would have cognitive disorders from time to time, and their minds would be in a mess for a long time before recovering.

If not for the fact that he had no other choice, the Ancestral Tree King would not have wanted to use it. It was not because he wanted to compete with Black Star, but because he was worried that if he did not summon the Tree God, he would not be able to escape from Black Star’s hands, inevitably following in the footsteps of the Secret Tree King.

In addition, every time the Tree God descended, it would severely deplete the power of the Tree King Crown, causing the powers of each Tree King to decrease. It would take time for the Crown to recover. The time taken for the Tree King Crown to return to its peak was also the cooldown period for the Tree God’s Advent. If the Tree Kings used the Tree God’s Advent consecutively, the Tree King Crowns would shatter and disappear after three times. It would take thousands of years for it to be reborn, which meant that the Tree Kings would no longer have any special bonuses during this time. It would be a mere title.

Furthermore, the descent of the Tree God required a special fuel. It was a material called the ‘Legacy of the King’. When a Tree King failed to advance to the Transcendent Grade and died, this special material would be produced. The mother tree could not convert this and could only store it. Although it had accumulated over the years, the number of Tree Kings who chose to advance in recent times was decreasing. Each ‘Legacy of the King’ used would mean one less… and only the Ancestral Tree King knew about this!

As the most experienced tree king, the Ancestral Tree King also knew another secret

-any member of the World Tree would die if they chose to advance to the Transcendent Grade. This had nothing to do with their talent but was rather a restriction of the mother tree.

In the beginning, the mother tree was not as strong as it was now. Instead, through the feedback provided by its civilization, it had devoured countless things to grow to its current state.

Only by devouring something new and possessing the information state of that thing would the World Tree be able to unlock the corresponding abilities. The World Tree had never devoured a Transcendent Grade Super before, so Beyond Grade As were the individual limits of the World Tree Supers. However, this did not mean that the members of the World Tree would not be able to advance. In fact, as long as a Tree King could step into the Transcendent Grade, they would be able to take back their information state that had been devoured by the mother tree. They would then be separated from the World Tree and gain their freedom.

However, the World Tree would not allow any member to escape its control. So long as someone tried to advance, not only would the mother tree not protect them, but it would also automatically interfere. This was because everyone’s Information Form was under its control, thus it could easily trigger a vicious mutation during their promotion. Therefore, in terms of strength, one would never reach the Transcendent Grade. All the Tree Kings that had tried to advance had died and turned into the ‘Legacy of the King’, which was the Beyonder’s Vestige, stored in the World Tree.

Therefore, the will of the Mother Tree had such a strong appetite after it descended as the Tree God Advent, and it could not wait to eat Black Star… So long as it devoured this true Transcendent Grade life form, it would be able to obtain the information form of the Transcendent Grade and unlock the upper limit of individual strength. Of course, there would be a price to be paid for the ability to revive indefinitely. Their upper limit was shackled, and only when the World Tree grew would their upper limit be increased… However, no one except the Ancestral Tree King knew about this.

The Ancestral Tree King never chose to advance because he did not want to benefit others. Furthermore, he kept this secret and did not tell the subsequent Tree Kings.

All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, and the Ancestral Tree King said with a deep voice,

“The timing of that Mechanic’s advancement is too coincidental. Our luck is not on our side. Luckily, I took back the crown of the Secret Tree King at the crucial moment. Otherwise, the power of the Tree God would have dropped even further.”

“The Secret Tree King can’t be saved now. Who are you planning to let inherit this title?”

The Fortitude Tree King clenched his teeth as he held his head in pain and asked.

“…Let’s think about it again.” The Ancestral Tree King’s expression was grave as he looked at the three empty thrones. His mood was extremely bad.

Of the five Great Tree Kings, one had died, two had been sealed, and only two were left. When had they ever been in such a sorry state during their battles in the universe?!

This was a truly miserable outcome…

Furthermore, the person who stayed behind to accompany him was the most annoying salted fish, the Fortitude Tree King. This caused the Ancestral Tree King to only feel more tired.

The one he wanted to eliminate the most was the Fortitude Tree King. It was not only because this guy liked to slack off, but also because he suspected that he might have guessed something. That was why he was so lazy and did not bother to advance anymore.

The Fortitude Tree King however did not notice the look in the Ancestral Tree King’s eyes and said worriedly, “The Tree God’s Advent is incomplete, and we are no match for that Mechanic. Our individual strengths are also completely suppressed. What should we do in the future?”

“We can only temporarily give up on the battle of individual strength. Don’t let the high-level combatants make a move, or we’ll be sealed one by one. Furthermore, we probably won’t be able to save the Heart Tree King. That Tree King Crown might be lost forever…”

The Ancestral Tree King was depressed.

“What about the mother tree’s natural enemy?” the Fortitude Tree King asked with a worried tone.

“…That is another time bomb. I have to think of something.”

The Ancestral Tree King’s expression darkened.

The World Tree was originally very calm about this war. It was in no hurry and was fearless like a fisherman.

However, the appearance of the Pivotal Snake had hit their weak spot, causing their advantageous situation to become precarious. They had no choice but to race against time, causing themselves to fall into a quagmire! If it was just the coordinates of the mother tree’s main body being exposed, the Ancestral Tree King would not panic. He had always emphasized that the main body could not be moved, but the main body of the mother tree was not fixed. Although the moving process was troublesome, it could indeed be transplanted into other secondary dimensions.

The reason he had revealed the fake information was to leave himself a way out. He was akin to a crafty rabbit with three burrows, and he could also use that as a trap… However, no civilization had forced him to reveal this trump card, so the Ancestral Tree King had kept it a secret until now.

However, a Pivotal Snake in its adulthood could sense the location of the mother tree’s main body at any time. It was equivalent to a radar that could locate the mother tree from an infinite distance. No matter how many times the main body was transplanted, it would be useless. This was a huge matter regarding the survival of the civilization, and the Ancestral Tree King had to take it seriously! However, even if the World Tree could sense its natural enemy, the Pivot Snake was protected by the Mechanic, and they had almost no chance at all. This was the biggest threat!

After thinking about it, he was still at a loss as to what he could do.

The only way he could think of now was to destroy the three Universal Civilizations without caring about the casualties. This way, even if Black Star had the Pivotal Snake, it would be difficult for him to gather enough strength to attack the mother tree.

“Even so, it will only treat the symptoms and not the root cause. That Mechanic will forever be a threat to the mother tree…

If there are no new variables, I’m afraid…”

The Ancestral Tree King clenched his fists. A layer of haze covered his heart, and his expression wavered.

Chapter 1418: Han Xiao: Thank You for Delivering a Trump Card

Chapter 1418 Han Xiao: Thank You for Delivering a Trump Card

The World Tree Blessed Races lost in the secondary dimension battlefield, and the alliance army that was originally fighting at the frontline of the Flickering World also stopped attacking and temporarily retreated. Compared to the danger of fighting in the shallow layer dimension, the defensive perimeter of the Flickering World border was impregnable. With this wave of attacks, many of the shallow layer dimensions were riddled with holes. Although they managed to repel the enemies, the damage was not small because the battlefield was in the territory controlled by the three Universal Civilizations. A portion of the territory was destroyed, and the three Universal Civilizations quickly cleaned up the battlefield and repaired all kinds of war facilities.

Han Xiao, on the other hand, withdrew his abilities and left a portion of his mechanical army to help clean up the battlefield. He then used remote projection to meet with the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations.

As soon as Han Xiao arrived, he heard a round of bootlicking.

“Black Star, you’ve worked hard!”

“Luckily, we repelled the World Tree Blessed Races. If we let the enemy destroy our territory in the secondary dimension, we would have been in a passive position and would have dragged down the battlefront of the main universe. This was all thanks to you. We thank you on behalf of the entire Galactic Society.”

“I didn’t expect the World Tree to also have Transcendent Grade combat power, but it’s still not as strong as you. We trusted the right person.”

Han Xiao raised his brows and looked at the three of them. They had friendly smiles on their faces, and their attitude was even friendlier than before. “Alright, alright, stop bootlicking.”

Han Xiao did not feel anything.

He knew the three of them too well. They were just afraid of his Transcendent Grade strength, so they were not stingy with the praises and wanted to gain favorability with him.

Hearing this, the three of them did not speak anymore. Marbruce asked curiously, “You fought with the World Tree’s Transcendent. How do you feel? Is there any pressure?”

Han Xiao shook his head and said,

“The World Tree’s Transcendent is called the Tree God, and it doesn’t seem to be a single life form. It might be an individual created through some form of fusion. I realized that its combat power wasn’t at its peak. I am guessing that the Tree God’s bad state is related to the two Tree Kings being sealed…”

He briefly explained his discovery.

“In that case, it seems like you did a good job sealing the Heart Tree King back then. You have foresight,” Louis praised.

Han Xiao waved his hand. “Don’t be too happy yet. Although I can deal with the Tree God, it will be very difficult to kill him. His regeneration ability is as amazing as mine, and he can turn illusory and return to the inside of the World Tree at any time, as agile as me.”

“It can’t be, doesn’t that mean he is just as disgusting as you… Ahem, I mean, tricky…” Marbruce quickly coughed and changed his words.

Han Xiao rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, the Tree God is not easy to deal with. However, I feel that this ability cannot be used casually. There should be a price to pay. Otherwise, they would have used the Tree God to kill everyone ten years ago.”

The three of them nodded and looked at each other as if they had come to an agreement.

“Black Star, we have an idea, or rather, a request. We hope that you can temporarily guard the secondary dimension alone.”

Han Xiao raised his brows. “You mean, other than the fleet, I will be the only high-level combatant in the entire shallow layer dimension? No matter how many Beyond Grade As the World Tree sends out, I’ll deal with them alone?”

“With your ability, one person is equivalent to hundreds of Beyond Grade As. There’s no need for the other combatants to stay here. We believe in your ability. You can guard the secondary dimensional battlefield alone!”

Marbruce’s tone was serious, and his words had the meaning of ‘we have high hopes for you’. Han Xiao curled his lips. “If I didn’t know that you guys don’t dare to have an internal conflict now, I would have thought that you guys are trying to trick me.”

“You must have misunderstood us. We’re not like that.” The three of them looked helpless.

“I think you guys misunderstood your own image. When did you become human?”

Han Xiao shrugged and said casually,

“Alright, since you guys want me to hold the fort alone, I will guard the secondary dimension alone. It’s not difficult anyway.”

Because the World Tree’s main body was rooted in the secondary dimension, this was the main battlefield to further resist the foreign enemies. Han Xiao had originally planned to wait here for the opportunity.

This time, Han Xiao suddenly thought of something, and his tone became serious. “Speaking of which, the time when the World Tree discovered the expeditionary army outposts was a little coincidental. It happened not long after the appearance of the Pivotal Snake. I suspect that the two are related.”

Hearing this, the three of them instantly perked up.

“What are your guesses? Share them.”

“I’ve told you about the Pivotal Snake’s ability. When it matures, it will be able to track the location of the World Tree’s main body. Therefore, I suspect that there is a two-way connection between the World Tree and it. With the World Tree’s maturity, it might be able to sense the Pivotal Snake’s location. Therefore, the outposts were exposed.”

“Then what do you plan to do?” The three of them were slightly shocked.

Since I’m guarding the secondary dimension, I can also protect this key trump card, the Pivotal Snake, and bring it with me. No matter how the World Tree attacks, they will have to get past me first.

Han Xiao paused before continuing.

As for how to prove this point, it will depend on what the World Tree does next. If they have the information about the Pivotal Snake, they will know that they are on the passive side, and they will definitely go crazy and strengthen their attacks, not caring about the losses, all for the sake of time… They don’t have to do this just because I have shown extraordinary combat strength, so once the World Tree shows signs of this, it would mean that my guess is correct.

“Good idea. Let’s do it your way.” The three of them relaxed and expressed their trust.

After discussing the follow-up plan for a while, Han Xiao deactivated the projection and returned to his room.

He first went to check on the status of the Pivotal Snake. The Pivotal Snake did not get involved in the battle and remained indifferent to him.

The Realmless King, who had already been promoted to a stockman from the trash station owner, was even more respectful, indicating that he would play with the snake seriously.

Leaving behind more Mechanical Oracles to protect the Pivotal Snake, Han Xiao then changed into the King and teleported back to the main universe, arriving at the Siebert Fortress at the border of the Flickering World.

He easily found a group of mascots, and without a word, used a combo attack ‘crouching dragon touch Feidin’. After getting enough luck, Han Xiao closed the door and opened the interface to complete the Tree God’s challenge mission.

The format of the mission was the same as the Beyond Grade A Challenge mission, with the duration as the rating, but the reward was many times higher.

The two of them had fought for a long time, and he had already unlocked all the levels of rewards. The experience reward that he had accumulated from this mission had replaced (Ending the Darkness) to become the highest experience gain mission that he had ever seen. It had reached a total of 2.4 Trillion Experience which was more than double the experience reward of (Ending the Darkness). In other words, it was equivalent to more than 20 Manison.

The other rewards also appeared. You have received [Character Summon Card – Tree God (Incomplete)]!

Character Summon Card – Tree God (Incomplete): (World Tree Devouring) – Devour materials or energy to convert into the power of the World Tree to replenish your energy. You can summon World Tree Roots. Usage: 0/4]

“Recovery ability? It’s so-so… However, if I used this Character Summon Card, would I be devouring things or helping the World Tree devour?”

Han Xiao scratched his head.

When he fought with the Tree God, if he used this move to summon the World Tree Roots, would the roots listen to him or the other party? Furthermore, if the World Tree saw that he could summon the roots of the World Tree, would it think that he was its half-brother ? You have received a reward: Draw one of Tree God’s Ability/Talent.

Note: Tree God is a special life form. Parts of abilities have been adjusted.

Randomizing… complete!

Please select one of the five options below as the reward.

1. (Tree King Crown – Liberation) — Ability: Merge Tree King Crowns to summon the Tree God. Liberating a Tree King Crown will increase the Tree God’s strength, but the price is the destruction of the Tree King Crown.

(Information Uniqueness—Conceptual Immortality] — Talent: As long as there are information carriers in the entire universe that record your deeds, as long as someone still recited your name, you will not completely perish. Even if your soul and body perish, you will be reborn in a certain time and space through information state disturbance.

[Mental Network — World Tree] — Ability: Enter the World Tree’s Symbiotic Mental Network. No delay in communication with any life form of the World Tree regardless of the distance.

(Inner Space Enhancement) — Talent: Your Inner Space is stronger and harder to break.

(Information Form Obliteration] – Talent: You can ignore space restrictions and damage the other party’s Information Form base, causing damage. At the same time… Individual memory, network data, book records, and other information carriers will also be affected.

Hiss…

Han Xiao took a deep breath. “As expected, the Transcendent Grade has the ability to attack Information Form and can be used against people of the same level.”

He carefully browsed through it a few times and roughly understood the mechanism of [Information Form Obliteration). To explain it simply, it was probably to eliminate all traces of the other party’s existence in the world. Not only would everyone forget about him, but even the internet data and text records would disappear. It was specifically used to restrain [Information Uniqueness-Conceptual Immortality). It was similar to the information form of the sub-body of the Destiny’s Child. It could not be observed or spread.

As for the revival mechanism of the World Tree and the Underworld Hero Spirit, there was a high chance that they would be broken, and those who were affected would die completely. As for the Sanctum Revival, he was not sure if it would be affected.

However, this talent could not be used casually. One of the most important factors was the state of the target… Even if there was a huge difference in strength, as long as the target could resist, (Information Form Obliteration) would not work.

The simplest trigger condition was for the target to be on the verge of death or be in a state of ‘death’, or be killed by the ability user. At this time, Han Xiao also realized that this was the reason why the Secret Tree King did not dare to self-destruct. Self-destructing in front of him was equivalent to giving up on resisting, exposing his belly and letting him do whatever he wanted. However, this guy did not expect that he did not have this ability before.

“I didn’t know how to do this, but you guys personally gave this ability to me. Thank you.”

Han Xiao laughed.

After pondering for a while, he finally decided to choose [Information Form Obliteration).

Perhaps he would be able to unlock this skill by himself later on, but he had no clue at the moment. Who knew what the conditions would be for him to comprehend it?

Han Xiao had always believed that only the benefits on hand were meaningful, and this ability was the trump card that he urgently needed in the current situation.

Furthermore, he had a worry.

Han Xiao had always thought that the three Universal Civilizations had won after blowing up the World Tree’s main body in his previous life, but now that he saw that the Tree God had the [Information Uniqueness—Conceptual Immortality], would it also be used on the World Tree’s main body?

Did the three Universal Civilizations’ victory in his previous life end the war once and for all, or was it temporary peace? Did the World Tree disappear, or was it reborn somewhere?

Even though the possibility of this speculation was not high, Han Xiao felt that he had to obtain the (Information Form Obliteration) as insurance.

You have received the new talent (Information Form Obliteration]!

The next moment, a mysterious feeling appeared in Han Xiao’s mind. He turned to look at the metal table beside him.

His vision changed. He seemed to be able to see fine threads extending from the table, penetrating the wall and extending into the distance. Following these threads, he seemed to see all the information carriers related to it. He seemed to be able to see the source of the materials of this table, where they were processed, assembled, and how they were transported to this place. How many people were in contact with it…

However, when he wanted to take a closer look, these images disappeared as though it was just an illusion.

“Interesting.”

Han Xiao looked around the room. Many threads extended from the objects, which meant that they were connected to various information carriers. He had a feeling that he could cut these threads.

“I can only see the connection, but I can’t see the exact situation… If this ability is improved further, won’t it mean that I will be omniscient? Could this be the development path of a Transcendent?”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Suddenly, he had an idea. He opened the interface, wanting to see the information connection of the interface. However, there were only two threads. One was connected to him, and the other extended indefinitely.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and suddenly had a bold idea.

“What will happen if I cut this… Forget it, I’d better not create trouble now.”

Chapter 1419: Super Star Cluster Frustrated, Version Update

Chapter 1419 Super Star Cluster Frustrated, Version Update

Han Xiao shook his head and retracted his (Information Form Obliteration] vision.

The ability that he drew this time was not too bad. In his mind, the Tree God was ranked third on the Good Guy List, and the second was the Germinal Organization leader.

The first place could only belong to Manison.

Speaking of which, the Tree God still has quite a lot of good stuff on it. It would be great if I could draw a few more times… However, the World Tree probably won’t use this trick on me so easily anymore. I don’t think the chances are high.

Han Xiao stroked his chin and pondered.

During this extraction, he had also seen a portion of the Tree God’s abilities from the options. Among them, (Tree King Crown – Liberation) confirmed his guess. The Tree God was indeed a product of the fusion of the various Tree Kings, and it seemed to consume a lot of energy. Since he had defeated the Tree God, the possibility of the other party using this move against him would not be high.

“However, based on the current situation, the three Universal Civilizations have turned from passive to active. They’re the ones who are on pins and needles.” Han Xiao smiled to himself.

The current situation was much better than in his previous life. Most of it came from his hard work-I am carrying the entire galactic society!

At this moment, black flames appeared in front of him and quickly formed Oathkeeper’s soul projection.

“Your Excellency Black Star, the three Universal Civilizations are cleaning up the battlefield, and our Holy Accord organization has already taken the opportunity to evacuate. We have not crossed paths much. What are your next instructions?”

Han Xiao glanced at Oathkeeper and saw how obedient he was. He could not help but laugh. “Your attitude changed very quickly. Are you afraid after seeing my heroic appearance?”

“…” Oathkeeper’s eyes twitched, but he did not speak.

There was no way he would admit it. Not in this life.

Seeing that he did not reply, Han Xiao clicked his tongue and said, “Don’t be so reserved. I still like your arrogant look.”

“… Stop joking.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore.” Han Xiao smiled. His expression then turned serious, and he said, “The Holy Accord has been exposed to the world this time, but I don’t plan to let you guys debut… cough, I’m talking about leaving the seclusion. Anyway, you guys can continue to return to the dark side. Without my call, you don’t have to take the initiative to participate in the battle, and you don’t have to have too much contact with the three Universal Civilizations. It’s best to communicate everything through me.”

“Then what will the association say? They will definitely ask when this batch of revivors appeared. If you keep hiding it, they might become suspicious…” Oathkeeper said.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I will explain it to them under the premise of hiding the details of the Holy Accord.”

Han Xiao waved his hands.

“Alright.” Oathkeeper nodded.

“By the way, there’s one more thing. Members of the Holy Accord can choose not to fight, but you have to contribute your technology in the secondary dimensions, such as Dimension Exile Bullets, Energy Disorder Shockwave, and so on to be used in war.”

“Alright, I’ll listen to you.”

Oathkeeper had already lost his anger from being tortured by Han Xiao, so he agreed expressionlessly.

At the same time, the Super Star Cluster Alliance was holding a meeting. The leaders of the various civilizations had complicated expressions on their faces.

“The three Universal Civilizations have repelled the secondary dimensional invasion of the World Tree… How fierce.”

“At this rate, the three Universal Civilizations will be able to stop the enemy outside the territory of the explored universe. The situation will not be chaotic.”

“If that’s the case, we won’t be able to carry out the plan…”

The leaders did not know what to say.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance had originally planned to leave the explored universe with their entire civilization while the three Universal Civilizations were busy fighting the World Tree Civilization.

However, from the looks of it, the three Universal Civilizations had not fallen into a hard battle at all. They were very stable!

It was all Black Star’s fault. He did not even give them a chance to start their plan! “Sigh, leaving the explored universe is one of the few opportunities for us to develop freely. Let’s continue watching and hope that the World Tree is more reliable.”

The Star Arc Leader sighed helplessly.

This plan was very important to the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Even if the current situation was disadvantageous, they would not give up easily, but it was inevitable for them to feel depressed. A civilization leader narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, “Maybe we can help the World Tree…”

However, before he could finish, the Star Arc Leader glared at him and scolded, “Don’t drag us down if you want to die! If we’re found out, we’re dead!”

He could not believe that someone would suggest such a suicidal idea.

No matter how much they wished for the World Tree to disrupt the situation, they could only silently cheer for the World Tree and passively wait for the situation to change. How could they give any substantial help? Wouldn’t that be colluding with the enemy? Speaking of this, the Star Arc leader was furious. Your World Tree is so impressive, I thought you could beat up the three Universal Civilizations, but you can’t even get past Black Star.

How could they even talk about invading?

What a joke!

A few days later, the victory in the shallow layer dimensions was quickly spread throughout the galactic society under the push of the three Universal Civilizations. Although they agreed to Han Xiao’s request and did not emphasize the battle between him and the Tree God, it still made the galactic residents very excited. Originally, when they heard the news of the World Tree invading from the secondary dimension, most of the galactic residents were filled with fear and panic. They only heaved a sigh of relief when they saw the three Universal Civilizations successfully defeating the enemy. They became even more excited, and their confidence in the three Universal Civilizations winning this war increased.

Because they felt that staying in the explored universe was much safer, the level of chaos on various planets had also been greatly reduced. Many galactic residents had settled down, and the frequency of demonstrations had decreased. There were also fewer people running away, making it easier for the administration.

The sudden appearance of the Holy Accord Revivors this time made them an important contributor to the war. However, they left after the battle and did not communicate with the three Universal Civilizations. Their actions were very mysterious and aroused the curiosity of the galactic residents.

On the internet, many galactic residents recognized some of the people based on the Wayne Card combination. They were all famous Beyond Grade As in history.

Thus, all the clues pointed to Black Star, who grasped the Sanctum Revival. Countless galactic residents were passionately thinking about it, and various versions of their speculations were circulating on the internet.

The main planet of the Beyond Grade A Association, conference hall.

All the Beyond Grade As gathered together and stared at Han Xiao.

“Black Star, you have to give us an explanation. Who are those revivors?”

“Exactly! You’ve been hiding it from us for too long.”

“This must have something to do with you. If you say you don’t know, I’ll ignore you for a month!”

Most of the people who questioned him were Beyond Grade As of the current era, but Beiger, who knew the truth, and the rest of the revivors did not say anything and just watched the show.

“Cough, that…” Kasuyi raised his hand slightly and coughed.” Actually, I also know a little about this.”

As soon as he said that, everyone’s eyes turned sharp and focused on him.

No way, you knew about it in advance when Black Star first revealed the Sanctum Revival. How did you know about this too? You even helped Black Star hide it from us?

In the past, when we saw your heavy facial features, we felt that you had a lot of experience, so we chose you to be the vice president. Now, it seems like you have already completely turned into Black Star’s image!

Sierron, who was standing at the side, was jealous and envious. We’re all vice presidents, so why do you know so many secrets? Why am I kept in the dark like a fool? You guys are treating me like a decoration!

Damn it, I can also be a trusted aide. I also want to be in the same boat as Black Star!

Han Xiao was surprised. He turned to Kasuyi and asked, “When did you know?”

“I guessed.”

Kasuyi smiled in embarrassment.

During the training period, Han Xiao once entered the Sanctum and got Oathkeeper to contact Kasuyi.

Although Oathkeeper did not reveal anything about the Holy Accord, Kasuyi’s first impression was that Oathkeeper was Han Xiao’s secret subordinate outside. After some deduction, he guessed that Han Xiao might have a backup plan and might have hidden a batch of revivors. Therefore, Kasuyi was not surprised that the Holy Accord organization had appeared. Instead, he felt that it was ‘as expected’.

Han Xiao thought about it for a while and guessed where Kasuyi had learned it from. He did not mind and turned around to look at everyone else.

“I originally planned to explain this to everyone. Back then, when the three Universal Civilizations clashed with the association, I specially got a group of revivors to hide and form a special group. If anything happened to us, we would have a way out and also have ways to counter the enemy, so don’t blame me for hiding it.

“You all know what happened after that. The World Tree suddenly invaded, and we made peace with the three Universal Civilizations and fought against the enemy together, so I kept this trump card hidden. Not long ago, the secondary dimensional battlefield was in danger, so I sent them out to help.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

However, Sun Hunter asked casually, “Since they’re exposed, why don’t they join the association?”

Han Xiao smiled. “This concerns our future development path. In my mind, a portion of the Beyond Grade As should form an organization in the dark, one in the open and one in the dark, guarding each other. Unless something big happens, they will remain in the dark. These mysterious revivors are the first batch of members. They are not simply obeying orders, they also have the idea of retiring, so this mission is very suitable for them.

I plan to keep this system as a place for Beyond Grade As to retire. Once everything stabilizes, if anyone gets tired of conflict and politics, they can choose to retire in this organization and regain their adventurer identity.”

As soon as he said that, everyone’s eyes flashed. They caught Han Xiao’s hidden meaning and could not help but look at him deeply.

It seemed like Black Star would no longer be satisfied with the association after becoming a Transcendent. When the war ended, he would most likely make use of the official position recognized by the three Universal Civilizations to do something big…

‘War is indeed the catalyst for ambition…’

Many Beyond Grade As felt this way.

However, from a personal point of view, they did not reject this point. Black Star was an ambitious leader, and it was a good thing for them.

“Then I have no objections.”

“Us too.”

“You sure have foresight.”

Everyone expressed their agreement and gave a round of praise.

Han Xiao smiled and was about to speak when the interface suddenly vibrated.

He was slightly stunned. He opened the interface and looked at the notification. His eyes lit up.

(Version 5.5 started!]

Data is being obtained… Data obtained!

Player forums have been opened.

Welcome to”Galaxy”Version 5.5 — (Age of Black Star- War of All Territories]

“Oh, this small update is finally over?”

Han Xiao immediately perked up.

The players had gone offline more than ten years ago due to a mini version update. He did not expect the cute leeks to come back at this time.

However, Han Xiao was not happy for long before his attention was attracted by the change in the name of the version.

“War of All Territories?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

According to his experience, the version update would usually be on the eve of some major event.

The situation of the three Universal Civilizations was great, and the World Tree had fallen into a passive state. However, the version had such a name. This made him feel that things were not simple.

“The name of this version refers to whose territory it is. Are we going to overthrow the World Tree, or will the World Tree attack the three Universal Civilizations like in my previous life? They are now blocked outside the border of the Flickering World, do they still have such an opportunity… Hmm, it’s best to take precautions and inspect it.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Chapter 1420: nline

In one of the Black Star Army bases, white light flashed, and countless army players appeared out of nowhere. Very soon, there was a veritable sea of people.

The players were already familiar with this. They opened the interface to look at the version number while opening the quantum network to look at the current time.

“Oh my, the time span for this version is only slightly more than ten years, much shorter than the last time.”

“It’s just a small version update, I guess.” “Didn’t the three Universal Civilizations say that the World Tree Civilization will enter the territory in ten years? The timing should be just right. It seems like Galaxy Times was right. This is the time for the update, right into the stage of the war.” “It’s not easy to finally get a universal war. As long as the version update doesn’t directly skip it, I’ll be satisfied.”

Many players browsed through the events of the past decade as they casually chatted.

There was nothing much worth paying attention to during the ten years of preparation. Only the changes in the Beyond Grade A population interested many players.

“No way, Lagi is already a Beyond Grade A Super?”

“The gambling dog Hadavy hasn’t advanced yet? Hahahaha, I knew it!”

“Nero’s life is really smooth-sailing. Is this what it means to be a part of the later generations…”

“F*ck! EsGod was already released, and he even killed a Tree King? Amazing!” “Tsk, there are too many new Beyond Grade As. The cost of collecting all the Wayne Cards has increased again.”

“F*ck, did Black Star and the Dragon Emperor announce their relationship? Damn it! There’s no hope for this old man anymore… My partner was born before I was, and they’ve already aged when I’m at my peak. Is this what a bitter life is like…”

“What are you thinking? Black Star is mine!” “They’re a perfect match, so how can a demon like me object? Boohoo…” Many army players flipped through the rumors of Beyond Grade As one after another, their gossipy hearts burning.

Initially, other than Han Xiao and a few other Beyond Grade As, the other top-notch experts did not have much contact with the players. The players did not have a deep impression of them, so they would not deliberately remember them. However, the existence of the Wayne Cards had become a bond between the two parties, which led to the players being extremely familiar with the names and deeds of every Beyond Grade A.

However, compared to the casual players, the professional players were more concerned about utilitarian matters. They were not in the mood to gossip and were mainly gathering useful information to discuss.

Maple Moon analyzed in a low voice. “The name of the version after this update has an additional ‘War of All Territories’. The World Tree will most likely be able to fight its way in. This should be the theme of the version.”

“Hmm, I did some research on the internet. The World Tree has already reached the border, but it is temporarily blocked by the Galactic Alliance Army. Furthermore, the World Tree invaded from the secondary dimension a few days ago and was forced to retreat. The current situation of the three Universal Civilizations isn’t too bad.”

Maple Moon looked at the interface and said, “The level cap has been unlocked for this version update. This way, the players in the top tiers should be able to enter the Calamity Grade.”

Frenzied Sword nodded in agreement and said, “As our overall strength increases, there will be more ways to increase our strength. Furthermore, some of our abilities will undergo a qualitative change. I think there will be a huge change in this Pro League.”

This mini version update did not take long, and the main storyline mission did not change. What the professional players cared about the most was that the level cap was unlocked from level 180 to level 200, and there was room for improvement.

“Let’s go to the frontline first and get to the command center to arrange a combat mission.”

“Let’s go. If we’re late, we’ll miss out on the good missions.”

The players were in an uproar for a while, before they finally understood the current situation. They all took their spaceships to the frontline, and streams of light left the base.

On the other side, the main planet of the Beyond Grade A Association.

Han Xiao had already announced the end of the meeting. When he returned to his room, he saw many players online through surveillance.

“Has his level been unlocked to level 200? As long as one doesn’t have too many subclasses, the players who grew themselves in the standard manner should be able to enter the Calamity Grade. The scale this time will be huge.”

If it was in the past, Han Xiao would have been afraid, but now, he had enough confidence. Even if a large number of players entered the Calamity Grade, they would not be able to cause him much trouble.

Although he had reached the Transcendent Grade, he had yet to reach the limit of that realm, thus he still had to harvest leeks. However, before the last update, he had already harvested a large number of players’ wealth. Now that the players had just come online, their wallets were dry. He had to wait for them to earn some money before he could reap the profits.

Furthermore, Han Xiao had found another way to farm EXP, and that was to use psionic waves to rampage on the battlefield. This speed was much faster than the mechanical army, and the cost was extremely low and convenient. Even if there was a level penalty, where the normal members of the World Tree could only provide the lowest 1 EXP, he took whatever he could get. The people of the World Tree revived continuously, thus they were perfect targets for gaining experience. Han Xiao decided that he had to have his cake and eat it too.

The players were already on track, so there was no need to worry too much. Han Xiao was more concerned about the meaning of the name of the version since he had no idea what the implications were behind it.

“No matter what, this is a clue…”

Han Xiao nodded to himself.

Under his influence, the direction of “Galaxy” was completely different from his previous life. He had also come into contact with many secrets that the players in his previous life could not touch. He did not dare say that he understood this universe completely. Even if the suspicion based on the name of the version was just groundless speculation, it was better to be cautious.

Han Xiao closed the interface and summoned Phillip to give some orders. He then changed into The King and teleported to Floating Dragon.

Currently, the entire Planet Aquamarine civilization had migrated, and Floating Dragon had followed them. They were currently taking refuge in the Central Galaxy.

In the huge palace of the Dragon Emperor, a light flashed, and Han Xiao’s figure appeared out of thin air. He turned around and walked toward Aesop’s residence.

Since there were no clues, he would ask the metaphysical.

He soon arrived at his destination and pressed the doorbell.

“You’re here?”

Aesop opened the door and invited Han Xiao
in.

Han Xiao did not stand on ceremony. He sat on the sofa and smiled. “How didn’t you foresee that I would come to find you?”

“Prophecy isn’t always effective. Ever since you became a Transcendent, prophecies regarding you have become more and more difficult…”

Aesop shook his head.

“That’s true.” Han Xiao nodded.

He had already done the test. As a Transcendent, his information projection state had undergone a sublimation, as if it had a certain level of information concealment property. It was difficult for outsiders to predict it.

“Why are you looking for me?” Aesop paused and said, “If it’s a prophecy, please forgive me for being powerless. I can’t use my ability for the time being.”

“Hmm? What happened?”

Han Xiao was slightly stunned. He looked at Aesop carefully and realized that Aesop’s face was dispirited, as though he had been seriously ill.

“When I received the passive prophecy the other time, I suffered a backlash. The target of my prophecy was an unprecedented mage who inflicted damage on me. My spirit still needs time to recover. Before that, I can’t help you…” Aesop coughed and said with a weak tone.

“You didn’t tell Ames?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“No, she was too impulsive. I don’t know how she would react if she knew about this.”

Aesop shook his head. He rarely revealed important prophecy information to Ames and would only discuss matters with Han Xiao.

“I was going to tell you, but you rushed to the battlefield before I could say anything.”

“When did this happen?” Han Xiao asked.

“Calculating the time, I should have triggered the prophecy just before the expeditionary army outpost was attacked.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes.

Such a coincidence… Could it be the Secret Tree King? That guy was indeed a very powerful mage.

“Do you have any other memories of that mage?”

“No, my foresight was shattered. I can’t even remember what he looked like.” “Is that so…” Han Xiao pondered.” I might have guessed who this person is. He should be an expert from the World Tree.”

“How is he? Did he cause you any danger?”.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already sealed him up. If you’re angry, you’re welcome to visit him anytime.”

“Forget it then. I don’t have your bad taste.” Aesop waved his hand.

Han Xiao smiled, stood up, and was about to leave when Aesop suddenly said, “By the way, when will you and Ames reproduce?”

Han Xiao paused and said helplessly, “How would I know? I can do it anytime, but she doesn’t agree. We’ll have to see when she changes her mind.”

“Heh, she’s just being stubborn. As long as the mood is right, everything will be fine.” Aesop was instantly energized. “Back then, I traveled around the galaxy and made countless females fall in love with me. If not for my unwillingness, my children would have already spread across the various Star Fields. Let me tell you, I have quite a lot of experience in this area. Come, come, let me teach you some moves…”

“You should keep it for yourself. I don’t need it.” Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. “Eh, why not? This is all the spiritual wealth left behind by our predecessors. Once you’ve learned all these tricks, you’ll be able to convince Ames. I’m not even willing to teach anyone else… Hey, don’t go, at least listen!”

“Get lost.”

Han Xiao did not want to bother with this old man who had a rich history of love. He changed into The King and left, leaving Aesop in the room, sighing with regret. Holy Accord Organization Base, Destiny’s Child Laboratory.

With a flash of light, Han Xiao teleported over. The experimenters of the Holy Accord looked up, before continuing with their work.

Han Xiao woke Destiny’s Child up with ease. After communicating for a while, he let Destiny’s Child predict his concerns.

cerns

After a while, Destiny’s Child shook his head, indicating that he could not foresee it.

Seeing this, Han Xiao knew that his predictions would most likely not work. The other party had most likely used some sort of information concealment.

“Looks like I can only increase the screening intensity and pay attention to any abnormalities…”

Han Xiao pondered.

Central Galaxy, desolate universe belt.

In the secret base of the Star Alliance, a group of observers was gathered in a large room, staring at the device in the middle of the room.

This device was a cylinder with a diameter of about ten meters and a height of about fifteen meters. It was silver-gray, and its surface was connected to many wires. The indicator lights were flashing crazily, and there was a buzzing sound. This was a long-distance material transmission device.

After a while, the material transmission device suddenly shook, separating from the top and bottom. The pillar above slowly rose, and the interior of the pillar was revealed empty. There was a space covered by a transparent cover, and a white suitcase was lying inside. “My hometown sent it over.”

The Observer Captain stepped forward and twisted the valve. He opened the cover of the material transmission device, picking up the white suitcase from within, and opened it on the spot. Inside the suitcase were three white cans without any labels.

He took a pistol-like device from one of the team members and scanned the three cans one by one. After reading the numbers, he nodded.

“Confirmed. They are all particles that have been enciphered.”

Everyone was overjoyed. The Star Alliance had ordered the Observer Team to secretly leak information about the three Universal Civilizations. They had thought of many ways, including using the energy released by the Supernova to transmit a wave-like information surge to the entire universe, as well as using the Star position transmission method to secretly send messages to the World Tree, but they were all rejected. In the end, the Star Alliance chose to encode the tiny particles. They used the technology of microscopic transcription to spread the particles in the lower dimensions and record a huge amount of information. They then returned to their original form and turned the tiny particles into information carriers, containing all the information they wanted to leak.

The Star Alliance mass-produced a pile of coded particles and prepared to throw them out of the border through the wormhole. This would cause the storage device to self-destruct at a certain time, attracting the attention of the World Tree and spreading the particles at the same time.

They believed that with the technology of the World Tree, they should be able to discover the abnormality of these encoded particles and intercept them.

The Star Alliance had been developing for a long time, and they had a high level of technology. They also had some knowledge of information forms, and they had always provided information cover for the Observer teams. They were not afraid of being discovered through any prophecy. They had secretly stolen the technological results of the galactic society for many years, and they were confident that they would not be discovered.

Chapter 1421: Suspicion

Since he was suspicious, he had to take action. This had always been Han Xiao’s style. He told Phillip to monitor the intelligence of the galactic society and report any abnormal movements immediately. However, after being cautious for a few months, he did not discover anything. The situation was still changing. Because of the Pivotal Snake, the World Tree Civilization could not wait to attack the border defense circle again and again. The other troops entered the battlefield like there was no end to them and did not care about the damage. However, the Galactic Alliance Army was not to be trifled with. How could their defense line be broken so easily?

Even in the secondary dimension battlefront, the World Tree Blessed Races did not believe it and invaded many times. However, with Han Xiao in the shallow layer dimension, it was like an immovable guardian deity. The Blessed Races invaded again and again, but they lost every time. They abandoned countless fleets and escaped many times, allowing Han Xiao to gain a lot of wealth.

The worst part was in the individual strength level. The World Tree realized that they were being completely crushed. The Flickering World had Aurora, the healer, as well as EsGod and Herberlon, who were top-tier combatants; the World Tree experts were exchanging their injuries for nothing. The secondary dimension protector was Han Xiao, who was at the Transcendent Grade. Even the Tree Kings did not dare show their faces, so the others were useless.

All of a sudden, the Holy Tree Emissaries, Ancestral Spirits, and Army Commanders realized that there was no use for them in both battlefronts.

If they had already invaded the territory, they would have been able to move around in the universe nimbly with their individual strength, just like special forces. This would have affected the energy of the enemy civilizations and caused all kinds of damage. However, in the current situation, they could only wait for orders.

After a few months of war, the tens of millions of players had once again integrated into the atmosphere of it. They could choose both fronts, and the missions were much richer. Their wallets also became thicker. Unfortunately, Version 5.5 had unlocked a new level cap, and the players’ main goal was to level up. They did not have much money to spend.

As more and more players stepped into the Calamity Grade, the qualitative change also appeared. The players became more prominent on the battlefield, and the three Universal Civilizations paid more attention to them.

From the perspective of the upper echelons, the explored universe was rich in resources. They were able to fight the battle of attrition with the World Tree Civilization for a long period of time because of their strong productivity. However, there was always an end to this path, and the World Tree Civilization was superior in this regard. As time passed, the three Universal Civilizations felt that they would start to weaken sooner or later, and the various hidden dangers of wartime policies would gradually appear.

Of course, this kind of situation would not happen anytime soon, and they were not the ones who were troubled. The three Universal Civilizations were currently sitting on the high platform, and they wished to fight a war of attrition more than the World Tree in exchange for time for the Pivotal Snake to grow. Therefore, the players who had the Calamity Grade potential and could not be killed were important strategic weapons in the eyes of the three Universal Civilizations, and they were not afraid of exhaustion.

The situation had been good for the past few months, and the galactic society was filled with confidence.

Although the players did not know about the Pivotal Snake, after analyzing the situation on the surface, they felt that the three Universal Civilizations were definitely going to win. After learning Black Star’s operation, the matter would be settled with F2A[1]. With such an overwhelming advantage, how could they lose?

At this point, Han Xiao noticed something.

“All the members of the Super Star Cluster Alliance have set up secret stargates in their territory and gathered a large number of civilians, resources, and long-distance battleships. They are suspected to be preparing an escape?” Han Xiao flipped through the information, his expression changing as he pondered.

Facing the invasion of the enemy, these advanced civilizations left themselves a way out. It was normal for them to make backup preparations. Even though the entire population was optimistic about the war and their confidence was boosted, the advanced civilizations still planned for the worst, which was understandable. Han Xiao had noticed the Super Star Cluster’s actions before, but he had not taken it seriously.

However, because of the suspicion of the ‘War of All Realms’, as well as the fact that everything had been peaceful for the past few months, Han Xiao’s skepticism had become more and more serious. Right now, he was a little suspicious about everyone. Even though the Super Star Cluster Alliance’s plan was reasonable, it was still a little glaring in his eyes.

Han Xiao recalled the performance of the Super Star Cluster Civilization’s troops on the battlefield. Although they had completed their mission, he felt like they had not used their full strength.

In the past, he had thought that the Super Star Cluster was afraid of being used as cannon fodder by the three Universal Civilizations, so they were being cautious. However, when added to his skepticism now, he felt that something else was going on. After all, the conflict between the Super Star Cluster Alliance and the three Universal Civilizations was deeply rooted. It would not be their style if the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not seize the opportunity to do something in this kind of power reshuffling invasion.

“I feel like they’re not just making a Plan B, they have other plans as well…”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and made up his mind to gather the secrets of the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

Anyway, regardless of whether there was a problem or not, it was not a bad thing to investigate. It would be best if he could find some evidence.

After sending a message to Phillip, telling him to pay attention to intelligence about them, Han Xiao exited the quantum network and walked out of the room. A huge cloud appeared in his eyes. Pivotal Snake was hiding inside, and beside it was the stockman Realmless King, as well as a group of mechanical soldiers acting as bodyguards.

Everyone was currently in a secondary dimension, allowing the Pivotal Snake to devour as much as it wanted. Han Xiao had been using the portable fortress to stay close to it, and while protecting it, he was also thinking about how to speed up the Pivotal Snake’s growth.

Because of this, he had no choice but to do a full-body check of the Pivotal Snake. Of course, the Pivotal Snake was unwilling, but under his forceful control, it could only stare at Han Xiao with its cold and unwilling eyes, allowing Han Xiao to move its body back and forth.

After checking its body, Han Xiao realized that there was no gender difference in the Pivotal Snake, it could be said to be a hermaphrodite.

After a more detailed examination, Han Xiao also figured out how the Pivotal Snake reproduced, which made him feel a little complicated.

The reproduction of the Pivotal Snake needed to be done in a mating-like manner through the secondary dimension that had given birth to a consciousness, absorbing the secondary dimension in another way and turning it into an embryo. This kind of behavior could be called self-reproducing, or it could be said to be hybrid breeding. It just did not need the ‘help’ of its own kind.

However, thinking about it, it was likely that the Pivotal Snake would not be able to meet another of its kind in its lifetime. Furthermore, it was being hunted by the World Tree. If it could not reproduce alone, it would probably have gone extinct long ago.

The problem was that the Pivotal Snake usually ate secondary dimensions… In other words, this snake would reproduce with its food…

Furthermore, after sleeping with him, you still want to eat him up as nutrition… Are you a female praying mantis?

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. He looked at the Pivotal Snake who did not even bother to look at him, and had some ideas.

“No matter how much the Pivotal Snake eats, it will at most gain weight and will not enter the mature stage quickly. The growth of a creature has to follow the rules… But if I change the foundation of its existence, I don’t know if it will be effective.”

Han Xiao had a bold idea. If the Pivotal Snake was allowed to develop properly, who knew how long it would take for it to reach adulthood. However, if he used (Life Transformation-Virtual] to turn it into an artificial intelligence life form, the difference in life forms would be like the difference between heaven and earth. Would he be able to instill a large amount of data into it to speed up its maturity? The only problem was that he did not know if the Pivotal Snake could still keep its perception of the World Tree after its existence transformation.

Logically speaking, if the perception came from the Information Form level, it should not have any effect no matter what life form the Pivotal Snake had changed into.

However, Han Xiao did not dare take the risk. There was only one Pivotal Snake, and he could not reverse its transformation.

“If only I could get one more, I could experiment…”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and looked at the Pivotal Snake.

Why not… let this snake give birth now?

Speaking of which, it’s still a cub, can it stick it up?…

Han Xiao fell into deep thought.

While Han Xiao was studying about breeding, the World Tree Civilization made some discoveries.

In the Tree King’s palace, the Ancestral Tree King listened to the report from the frontline with a subtle expression.

“Is it confirmed? The particles you intercepted contained a lot of information about the enemy civilization?”

“That’s right. These particles used microscopic recording technology that involves the transformation of dimensions. We’re still trying to decode them and restore the specific content, but we can’t be wrong. There are many spatial coordinates and star maps of the enemy’s territory.”

“There’s such a thing?”

The Ancestral Tree King’s eyes flickered.

The two armies were at a stalemate at the border, and the World Tree had also built a base and placed it at the entrance of the three Universal Civilizations. Not long ago, an urgent report came from the frontline. The radar of the frontline station had discovered that there were abnormal spatial reactions and weak signs of energy explosions somewhere a certain distance away. Thus, they sent out an exploration team to check, afraid that the three Universal Civilizations were not satisfied with defending and were creating problems.

However, after some testing, they discovered that it was a temporary wormhole that had disappeared by the time the exploration team had arrived. To be cautious, the exploration team searched along the traces of the energy explosion, and the microscopic vision scanner quickly discovered that some special particles were floating in the area that seemed to have been scattered in all directions by the explosion. Therefore, the exploration team collected a portion of them, but they unexpectedly discovered a large amount of information related to the three Universal Civilizations.

When he first found out about this, the Ancestral Tree King’s first reaction was that it was a misleading tactic. He thought that it was fake intelligence from the three Universal Civilizations who wanted to trick them with false information.

The second reaction was that there was a traitor within the three Universal Civilizations. For some reason, they wanted to collude with the enemy… This was not the first time the World Tree had encountered such a thing. In their journey to conquer the universe, as long as the enemy was a composite civilization alliance, the internal structure would not be as solid as iron.

His third thought was that there was a third party, hoping to add fuel to the fire and fish in troubled waters… The World Tree was equally experienced in this.

“The variable actually appeared here…”

These thoughts flashed through the Ancestral Tree King’s mind, and a strange expression appeared on his face. He seemed to heave a sigh of relief, but there was also a sneer on his face.

He had been at his wits’ end for the past few months, and he had been worrying about the war with the three Universal Civilizations. He did not expect someone to send him a pillow[2] just as he was about to doze off. The most important thing now was to confirm if the intelligence was real. As long as it was not fake intelligence that the three Universal Civilizations deliberately released, there would be a favorable turn in the battle.

“Decipher all the contents as soon as possible and sort them out. At the same time, try to deduce the origin of this wormhole.”

The Ancestral Tree King did not hesitate and told the research department to quickly produce results.

Whether it was a traitor or a third party, no matter what their motive was, no matter if they wanted to make use of the World Tree… it did not matter to him. What was important was to eliminate the three Universal Civilizations and remove the biggest threat to the mother tree!

As for the other problems, once the threat was eliminated, the World Tree would once again be invincible. There would be plenty of time to slowly resolve them. The Ancestral Tree King had always been able to focus on the main conflict.

On the other side, Flickering World, Siebert Fortress, strategic command room.

“Reporting, there is an abnormal spatial reaction outside the border. It is suspected to be the formation of a wormhole.” The military radar sent out a notification.

The military officers present moved closer and looked at the source. They realized that the abnormal signal was outside the border defense circle, not too far from the World Tree camp.

“Can we investigate and see what’s going on over there?” a staff sergeant asked.

“Insufficient information. Recommended field inspection,” the military artificial intelligence replied.

Hearing this, everyone looked at each other and muttered softly.

The border defense army was stationed at various posts in the defense circle. If they left this place, it would be difficult for them to deal with the World Tree fleet without the endless supply of defense mechanisms and fast support channels. Therefore, the border defense army had always focused on defense and would not take the initiative to attack.

The source of the anomaly was outside the defense circle. If they wanted to field investigate, they would have to move the fleet. Not only did they keep an eye on the World Tree, but the World Tree also kept an eye on the defense circle. Once the border defense army sent out a fleet, the World Tree would definitely send troops over to fight in the field and eat the fleet they sent out. Furthermore, from the distance, the World Tree was closer to the abnormal reaction source. Even if they sent troops over, they would most likely not gain anything

Generally speaking, border troops rarely sent people to carry out such risky missions of unknown value. However… the players were perfect for this job.

[1] A Starcraft 2 Macro Bot. The bot is so powerful that you just need to press F2 (select all armies) and A (attack) to win

[2] Timely help

Chapter 1422: Conspiracy

Chapter 1422 Conspiracy

“Our mission this time is to investigate the abnormal signal area outside the border defense circle. There’s a high chance that we will encounter a battle with the World Tree fleet. Everyone needs to be prepared to sacrifice themselves.”

In the cabin, the light blue projection of the commander floated on the tactical command platform, explaining the details of the mission to the players in the room. If it was a normal person, he would not mention ‘sacrifice’, but it did not matter to the Immortals. All the people participating in this mission were players.

Most of the time, this kind of scouting mission was a mistake and would not yield any results. If there was no players’ suicide squad, the command center might not even send people to investigate. Most of the people were listening attentively, but Black Tea was distracted. He stayed behind the crowd and opened the forum to flirt with the female players. As an old player who had been scammed in Version 1.0, Black Tea had seen everything and was now more interested in female players. These combat missions were more or less the same-charge, die, pay, and complete.

Anyway, no matter what the commander said, when the actual mission was carried out, they still had to adapt to the situation. Black Tea was already familiar with the process and had his own way of doing things. In his opinion, there was no need to listen to the details at all. It was better to spend this time flirting with a few girls.

Not long after, the hyperdrive lights covering the ships dissipated, and the reconnaissance team had already arrived at their destination. In the universe outside the window, there was a World Tree team that seemed to be searching for something in the area. The number of battleships was less than half of the reconnaissance team, and as soon as they saw the three Universal Civilizations’ reconnaissance team, they immediately turned around, as if they were trying to escape together.

“World Tree fleet detected, attack!”

The commander did not hesitate and immediately gave the order. This reconnaissance team fired at the World Tree exploration team without hesitation. The intercepting ship accelerated and chased after them with a group of players. Very soon, they caught a few World Tree exploration ships that could not escape in time.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The intercepting ships shot out charge cabins one after another, biting the bodies of the enemy ships, penetrating the exterior armor, and embedding themselves in. The players inside boarded the ships noisily, planning to control the spaceships.

High-temperature flames spewed out, and lasers shot out in all directions. The group of players immediately started a massacre in the exploration ships, fighting with the members of the World Tree. It could be said that they were unstoppable. The World Tree warriors were either burnt to ashes, beaten into meat pies, or shot into sieves. The ground was filled with tattered corpses.

Black Tea tilted his body slightly and avoided a laser beam. He pointed his sword with a backhand stance, and a stream of white Pugilist energy shot out. It was sharp and cold, like a qi sword, and penetrated the chests of three World Tree warriors, instantly killing them.

“How is it, pretty cool huh?” “Brother, you’re so strong. Can you bring me to dungeons in the future?” The female player in the video acted cutely.

“It depends on your performance.”

Black Tea had a smug smile on his face as he spoke in the private chat. Even on the battlefield, he was flirting with girls. He turned on the video call to let the girl see his heroic side.

In the past few months, he had already completed the level 180 Promotion Mission, successfully advanced, and entered the Calamity Grade. He was undoubtedly the leader among the current players. This kind of boarding battle was not a problem for him at all, and he could easily pick up girls while fighting

He chose the Pugilist class naturally because it was the most flashy of the five classes. Whether he was strong or not was a matter of one version, but whether he looked cool or not was a matter of life. While Black Tea was chatting, his teammates were already ploughing through the World Tree soldiers and getting further away.

WO

After watching the group of people leave happily, Black Tea did not follow them. He smiled and shook his head, showing the demeanor of a gentleman. He said, “You can’t get too excited when you’re doing missions. Look at these people. They’re classic negative examples. They’ve finally gotten the chance to be unparalleled, and they’re already so reckless. You have to use your brain when doing missions. Learn a little.”

After putting on a show, Black Tea did not follow the rest of the team. Instead, he turned around and walked into the corridor alone. He casually broke the walls and floors of the cabin and went straight into the belly of the ship.

Very soon, he arrived at a gate without any obstructions. On the gate were the words ‘Analysis Room’ and ‘Research Area’ written in the language of the World Tree Civilization. Due to the invasion of the spaceship, all the guards had gone to protect the energy core, engine, control center, bridge, and other key areas. There was no one there, only some simple defense facilities that were dismantled by Black Tea.

“Brother, what are you doing here alone?” The female player blinked and asked in confusion.

“Hehe, I told you to use your brain. Think about it. Our mission is to investigate the abnormal situation in this area, and the World Tree fleet is one step ahead of us, but they’re still here, seemingly looking for something. This proves that they’ve already discovered something. The World Tree exploration ship has a simple analysis lab, so there might be clues here. This is the main goal of our mission. If we can snatch the World Tree’s exploration results, we won’t have to risk staying here to investigate. We might even be able to complete this without dying.”

After taking care of all the defense facilities, Black Tea walked into the room and spoke. “Wow, you’re so experienced!” The female player was full of admiration.

“It’s alright, mainly because I’ve seen too much.”

Black Tea was secretly overjoyed.

Although he was indeed experienced, his words were just to show off. He wanted to show off his wisdom and that he was different from those pigs. As for whether he would gain anything here, it did not matter.

However, at this moment, Black Tea suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked up at one of the transparent experiment chambers. There was a ball of light floating inside. When he looked over, the interface suddenly jumped, and a notification popped up. You have triggered the hidden mission (Source of Change). Mission Introduction: You have discovered an important clue that can change the war. It has an immeasurable value. If you bring it back, it will greatly affect the direction of the war.

Mission Requirements: Use a container to store this clue and bring it back to the three Universal Civilizations to report.

Reward: Depends on the rating.

Black Tea was stunned.

No way, I was just bragging. It was really true

“See, I told you, there must be some clues here!”

Black Tea immediately became excited and shared the mission interface with the girl. Then, he immediately went to the experiment chamber, searched for a while, found the storage button, and pressed it.

Tiny electric arcs flashed in the experiment chamber, guiding the light into a palm-sized tube container. The two ends of the container automatically turned and closed, and intricate mechanical parts with strong magnetic force joined tightly. Then, this tube slid along the transparent pipe, and half of it popped out from one of the holes in the operating table, meaning that it could be taken away.

With a click, Black Tea opened the chest area of his mechanical suit and stuffed this round tube container into a storage groove. Then, he closed the armor and protected it. Without another word, he went back the way he came and reported the situation.

This battle did not last long. The reconnaissance team had defeated the World Tree exploration team, and the other party could only escape with their remaining troops. As this place was closer to the World Tree camp, the reconnaissance team did not want to chase after them.

Originally, they did not care about sacrificing themselves and planned to stay here for a while to investigate the abnormal situation. However, after obtaining the intelligence from Black Tea, the team changed their plan and directly retreated to avoid being chased by the World Tree’s follow-up troops.

As soon as the reconnaissance team left, the reinforcements from the World Tree arrived. They gave chase symbolically and gave up when they approached the border defense circle. They watched as the reconnaissance team-that had obtained the encrypted particles-returned to the three Universal Civilizations.

Not long after, at the research center of the frontline base, the container brought back by Black Tea was transported. Under the research of a group of scientists, it gradually revealed its true appearance.

“This… this is…”

The research team leader looked at the deciphered content and widened his eyes in shock. He took a few steps back in disbelief.

“Team leader, what did you find?” The officer who was waiting for the results felt his heart skip a beat and hurried forward. The research team leader came back to his senses and pounced in front of him. He grabbed the officer’s shoulder and said anxiously,

“Bad news! Quickly inform the three leaders and His Excellency Black Star! Our territorial star maps have been leaked!”

As soon as he said that, the expressions of all the officers and researchers changed.

On the other side, in the Tree King’s palace.

“Your Excellency Tree King, according to your orders, we have already handed a portion of the encrypted particles to the enemy. They will firmly believe that this information was intercepted by them.”

“Well done.”

The Ancestral Tree King narrowed his eyes and nodded.

At such a close distance, the frontline troops had long discovered the uniqueness of the encrypted particles, so how could such negligence appear? All of this was naturally intentional. It was only when the three Universal Civilizations’ reconnaissance troops repelled the World Tree exploration team that their reinforcements arrived and acted as though they could not catch up, but it was all fake.

Their true goal was to allow the three Universal Civilizations to obtain a set of encrypted particles in a less suspicious way.

“This is not a bad move. When they see the leaked information, they will most likely suspect that there is a spy. Things will become chaotic.” Fortitude Tree King nodded.

“A powerful fortress can be broken through from the inside. Suspicion is the best weapon,” the Ancestral Tree King said calmly.

No matter who leaked this information to him, in his opinion, it was most likely that they did not want to be discovered by the three Universal Civilizations.

The Ancestral Tree King did not mind being used, but he would not make the manipulator too happy. Since they wanted to use him, they had to bear the corresponding risk.

On the other hand, even if the manipulator did not care, the Ancestral Tree King wanted to use this method to make the three Universal Civilizations suspicious and even split up.

“That’s right. After all, not all civilizations can be as united as us. Everyone is connected to the mental network, and the mother tree will be in charge. There are no secrets,” the Fortitude Tree King agreed with a smile.

The Ancestral Tree King narrowed his eyes and glanced at him. He did not know if this was sincere or if there was a deeper meaning behind his words.

In the head office of the three Universal Civilizations, Marbruce, Louis, and the Pope received an urgent report on the coding particle at the frontline and immediately held a meeting.

Looking at the countless pieces of intel that had been deciphered, the three of them were furious.

“How bold, someone actually colluded with the enemy!”

The Pope slammed the table angrily.

“No matter who it is, we have to find them!”

Anger burned in Marbruce’s eyes.

Originally, the situation was very good. Relying on the border defense circle and Han Xiao, it was enough to resist the World Tree for many years. However, not long after they had gained the advantage, a traitor appeared in their family and leaked countless intelligence!

With these coordinates, the World Tree would be able to jump through space, avoid the border defense circle, and directly invade. Countless battlefronts would be opened, and the stalemate would be broken.

They had worked hard for so many years just to ensure that their territory would not be violated. Now, all their hard work had been wasted. The three of them were already beyond furious. They wanted nothing more than to tear the traitor to pieces!

At this time, Han Xiao received the invitation and appeared in the room. He frowned and went straight to the point.

“You said that the intelligence of the galactic society was leaked? What’s the exact situation?”

“See for yourself.”

Marbruce separated a section of the virtual screen and sent it to Han Xiao.

Han Xiao quickly understood the situation.

His first reaction was that the World Tree was trying to sow discord, using some kind of method to obtain information and then arousing suspicion within them… However, this information was so detailed that it was impossible to gather unless one had been in the explored universe for a long time. Therefore, it was more believable that someone leaked the information.

“It’s either a traitor colluding with the enemy or a third party taking advantage of the situation,” Han Xiao said.

“We think so too,” Marbruce said grimly. “But in comparison, the possibility of a traitor is higher!”

Han Xiao stroked his chin and said, “If it’s a traitor, their goal definitely isn’t survival. Based on the current situation, the entire galactic society believes that we can resist the World Tree, so the traitor has other goals, such as taking revenge on you or taking advantage of the situation…”

“We know that.”

Louis’ eyes flickered with a cold light. Before this, they had already discussed the suspects. Among them, the most suspicious ones were the Super Star Cluster Alliance and the lower level Star Cluster Civilizations. Even the Beyond Grade A Association was somewhat suspicious, so the three of them were wary of Han Xiao.

Although the current favorable situation was the work of Black Star, the position that the three of them were in made them suspect Han Xiao. Even though Black Star had made so many contributions, there was still a motive…

This time, Han Xiao’s eyes suddenly flashed.

“The World Tree might have leaked this information on purpose to cause internal strife…”

However, halfway through, Han Xiao stopped and shook his head helplessly. Even if the World Tree did it on purpose, the information leak was real. Even if they guessed that this was the World Tree’s plan, they could not let go of their suspicions. This was an open conspiracy. If the information was leaked by a third party, it might have been calculated in advance. Not only did they help the World Tree, but they also used the World Tree to raise suspicion in the galactic society.

Han Xiao paused for a moment, put away these speculations, changed the topic, and said, “No matter what, the battle situation has changed. Make preparations as soon as possible to deal with the World Tree’s full invasion. This is the most important task.”

The three of them nodded.

Although the three Universal Civilizations were prepared for war in the various Star Fields, compared to the border of the Flickering World, the defense of the other areas was naturally much weaker. There were still countless planets scattered around, allowing the enemy to enter their familiar battle rhythm of ‘sustaining war with war’.

“We have to find the traitor. Since they’ve done such a thing, they will definitely do something that benefits them at some point. Sooner or later, they will be exposed,” the Pope said coldly.

“The earlier we confirm the target, the better. I will immediately order a specialized team to investigate this matter,” Louis said.

Han Xiao thought about it and said, “I need to study these encrypted particles personally. Maybe I can find some clues.”

Hearing this, the three of them exchanged looks and finally nodded.

“We can give you a portion of the encrypted particles for research. I hope you find a clue soon.”

“Sure.”

Looking at the three of them, Han Xiao knew that he was one of their suspects. He could not help but shake his head. At this time, he did not care. If he was in their position, he would not have trusted anyone either.

‘I didn’t expect the name of the version to come true so quickly. Who is the one behind this… It can’t be them, right?’

Han Xiao thought to himself. The stealthy Super Star Cluster Alliance flashed past his mind, and the figures of the Avengers appeared.

Chapter 1423: Third Party And Paying One’s Debts

Chapter 1423 Third Party And Paying One’s Debts

After learning about the situation from the three leaders, Han Xiao did not continue to participate in the ‘Among Us’ brainstorming of the three of them. He deactivated the remote projection and went to the frontline research facility.

As soon as he walked into the laboratory hall, he could smell anxiety and panic in the air. Countless researchers were moving back and forth, deciphering the encrypted particles.

“Your Excellency Black Star, Ruler Marbruce has given me a secret order. Please follow me.”

An officer who had been waiting for a long time immediately came forward and led Han Xiao into the corridor.

Not long after, the two of them arrived at a private laboratory. There was an expert team doing decryption work, but it was different from simply decrypting the content of the encrypted particles outside. This place was also responsible for finding the technical characteristics of the encrypted particles. The moment the door opened, Han Xiao heard the endless argument inside.

“… The structural deviation of this particle is obviously too high, forming a typical three-direction ratio with Marvir’s readings. It has the characteristics of the Karpoke warped technology and the Siber space conversion. It’s definitely based on the third theoretical model of particle space!”

“It’s just similar! You ignored the characteristics of dimension change folds and the weakening of the nuclear force. This is a technology that the three Universal Civilizations have already eliminated!”

Han Xiao turned around and saw the group of experts gathered in front of the experiment table and arguing while pointing at the readings on the apparatus.

The same theory could extend to all kinds of applications and achieve the same goal through different means. However, although some techniques were similar in their performance and final results, there were many differences in the actual usage process. If one tried to understand it in a less correct but simpler way, it would be equivalent to the same character having different ways of writing, so there was naturally more than one way to modify the particles…

By studying the characteristics of these technologies, he could reverse engineer the specific technology used by the encrypted particles. This was also the focus of the research. They were trying to reduce the scope of suspicion by using the encrypted particles’ technology. Han Xiao did not conceal his footsteps and walked over in large strides. Only then did the experts realize that there was an outsider. Seeing that it was Han Xiao, they all bowed respectfully.

He looked up at the encrypted particles floating on the experiment table and waved his hand.

“Alright, stop arguing. Let me see what’s going on.”

“Please let us know if you need anything.”

The group of experts had no objections and retreated to the side, obediently giving up the experiment table behind them.

Black Star was not only the strongest individual strength in the Galaxy that was on the same level as the three leaders, he was also one of the best scientists. These researchers had always admired Black Star, and a small portion of the people present were his worshippers. These normally esteemed high-level researchers were all willing to be his assistants.

Han Xiao looked at the readings and studied the encrypted particles from head to toe. He quickly analyzed the data in his mind and locked onto a few technologies.

As far as he knew, these technologies seemed to be used by members of the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Of course, he could not rule out the possibility of other organizations imitating them.

‘According to normal judgment, the Super Star Cluster Alliance is now even more suspicious, but it could also be a deliberate framing… In this case, it’s more like a traitor in the galactic society.’

With a thought, Han Xiao released his Mechanical Force and connected it to the encrypted particles. He then activated (Bold Explorer).

Buzz!

Han Xiao’s vision suddenly changed, and he arrived at a research institute with different styles. Many researchers were working.

A huge device was spinning. Particles were opened in low dimensional space and recorded into information. Then, they were restored and turned into encrypted particles that were injected into three white cylindrical containers.

He could not control his vision and followed the three white tubes closely. The white tubes were placed into a suitcase and sent into a groove of a material transmission device.

The next moment, his vision turned once again, and he had already arrived at a secret underground base. He saw another material transmission device, and with a flash of light, the white suitcase was sent over. A few life forms walked up and opened it, revealing the white tubes inside.

This time, his vision changed again, and he came to a space in the universe. A blue and black wormhole opened up in front of him, and three white tubes were thrown in. They passed through the colorful space tunnel and flew out from the other end of the wormhole. Then, the three white tubes suddenly burst out with heat, releasing a wave of energy, and all the encrypted particles inside were thrown out.

In the last scene, a World Tree exploration team shrouded in green light appeared in the distance.

The illusion stopped, and Han Xiao’s vision returned to normal.

“It seems like these encrypted particles appeared from nowhere till they were intercepted by the World Tree…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

Although the illusion provided by (Bold Explorer) did not involve a specific location, Han Xiao was almost certain that this was a third party’s doing. There was no other reason other than the researchers in the illusion were all unfamiliar species that he had never seen before. Among the people who received the white suitcase, there was a race that should have disappeared long ago.

“The Lorese people, the intelligent species of the Lore Civilization… The Lore Civilization, the loser of the exploration era, was destroyed by the three Universal Civilizations. It should have been exterminated…”

Han Xiao took out the information and started to think

From the looks of it, the Lore Civilization had survived, and their goal should be revenge. They were not fighting alone and had even found helpers. Those intelligent species had never appeared in the history of the three Universal Civilizations, so they should be foreign civilizations.

According to the detailed information within the encrypted particles, this foreign civilization should have been lying in wait in the explored universe for many years without being discovered.

‘Tsk, another old enemy of the exploration era. The three Universal Civilizations are constantly paying their debts for their past deeds…’

Han Xiao subconsciously rubbed his fingers.

In the World Tree War in his previous life, this foreign civilization did not appear and did not seem to have interfered with the direction of the war. Now, however, they took the initiative to backstab the three Universal Civilizations. Maybe it was because this foreign civilization’s situation was different in different timelines, or maybe it was because the situation in his previous life did not require them to interfere… Of course, Han Xiao was not sure if this foreign civilization took action in his previous life. The players did not have the relevant information.

“Seeing that the three Universal Civilizations have the upper hand, they want to destroy our strategy, shatter our advantage, and help the World Tree invade us… They want to take revenge on us, but they also want to take advantage of the situation. They want to hide in the dark and watch the tigers fight each other while they snipe for profits. Tsk, quite malicious.”

Han Xiao guessed the motive of the foreign civilization while thinking of a solution.

Although he had confirmed that it was a third party, he did not know their location, so he could not follow the clues. If he searched with great fanfare, it was very likely that the foreign civilizations would withdraw all their spies and cut off all clues.

Furthermore, without evidence, it would not be easy to convince the three big hooligans. Although with his position, even without evidence, the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders would still take his words seriously, now that even he was suspected, the credibility would naturally be reduced. The three big leaders would at most be skeptical.

[Information Form Obliteration) could see the connection threads, but this was a destructive ability. It could not see the specific situation and could not trace the source. Even if this batch of encrypted particles was wiped out, the World Tree’s side most likely had others, and the situation could not be resolved. After all, this ability wiped out ‘individuals’, not ‘concepts’ and ‘collective body’. It would not be that if it killed one or two humans, the others would forget about the entire human race.

In fact, the effect of (Information Form Obliteration) was very ‘precise’, and it would not have much effect on the Information Form of anything else other than the target’s. Therefore, the effect of this move would be quite peculiar when it targeted the split parts of a whole body.

If he used (Information Form Obliteration] on this part of the encrypted particles, Han Xiao estimated that the three leaders would remember that he had taken some things to study, but they would forget that he was studying the encrypted particles. Furthermore, the experts present would not remember what they were studying, and these machine readings would also be erased.

If he ‘erased’ the other encrypted particles that the three Universal Civilizations had intercepted, Han Xiao felt that the result would probably be that the three Universal Civilizations had forgotten about the existence of the encrypted particles, but remembered that ‘something’ had exposed the presence of a spy leaking information. As for the World Tree, they would remember that they had given ‘something’ to the three Universal Civilizations, but they would forget that they had handed over the encrypted particles. However, they would not forget about the encrypted particles in their hands.

Han Xiao had made a hypothesis before. If he used (Information Form Obliteration) to deal with the entire World Tree Civilization, the reaction of the three Universal Civilizations would most likely not be ‘what have we been doing all these years’, but ‘we defeated a Universal Civilization with difficulty, but we can’t remember what that civilization is called’.

Therefore, (Information Form Obliteration] had a very good effect on individuals with different Information Form, such as living beings. However, when dealing with individuals with a large collective body (such as a grain of sand in a desert, a gun in a batch of standard firearms), the Information Form gap could be deduced by logic… For example, if the experts forgot what they were researching previously, but came to the experiment hall and saw others studying the encrypted particles, they could also deduce that they were probably researching this before.

However, even if you used logic to deduce that, (Information Form Obliteration) was still in effect, you would subtly have memory deviations, quickly forget, subconsciously ignore, common sense errors, and so on. It was just like when you thought of something, you would suddenly forget it and would not be able to recall it no matter what. This kind of situation was not uncommon. It was also like when you believed that the temperature of a normal person’s bath was eighty degrees instead of forty degrees, there would be a common-sense deviation that you would not be able to detect, or it would be like the legendary war of ’99…

‘In any case, I have to find a way to capture this group of lurkers. Currently, I can only use conventional methods to collect intelligence in secret. It’s best to monitor the artificial intelligence in the quantum network… They will most likely continue to observe the follow-up effects of this ‘borrowing knife to kill others’ tactic. Seeing that the three Universal Civilizations are suffering, they probably did not retreat.

Sigh, it would be great if we could retrieve the World Tree’s Information Form Warning Network. This thing is simply a black technology to prevent the territory from being infiltrated.’

Han Xiao shook his head helplessly. Compared to the World Tree, the territories of the three Universal Civilizations were like a sieve. Other people could enter and exit as they wished, even leaving something behind. The three Universal Civilizations would not be able to discover it in a short period. It was simply the standard model of a victim.

He stroked his chin and pondered.

The World Tree and the third party’s goal was to cause internal strife in the galactic society, so the most important thing now was to not let the enemy’s plan succeed. Since the infiltrators could not be found in a short time and the three Universal Civilizations’ suspicions could not be dispelled, it seemed like they could only start with the suspects.

“It seems like the three Universal Civilizations are most suspicious of the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and they happen to be cooking other plans in secret. However, I have yet to find out what’s going on… If this causes a misunderstanding between the two sides, I’m afraid both sides will suffer heavily.”

Han Xiao was helpless.

In the past, he had always cheated the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and it was not the first time they had suffered for no reason. However, it was the opposite now. He had to think of a way to reduce their suspicion so that they would not become scapegoats…

Indeed, one had to pay for everything they have done!

Chapter 1424: The Face of the Pugilist

In the next few days, the World Tree Army laid low and did not launch any attacks on the Flickering World border or the shallow layer dimensions. They did not exert any pressure, and the flames of war were briefly extinguished. However, the strategic command center of the three Universal Civilizations did not relax at all. The atmosphere was as though they were still fighting intensely, and they knew that this was only the calm before the storm.

The armies that were originally stationed in the various Star Fields for emergencies were put to use. They all entered war mode and patrolled the areas they were in charge of.

The encrypted particles had leaked the star maps of the entire explored universe, including countless spatial coordinates. There were too many routes that the enemy could choose, and they could invade from anywhere.

Han Xiao sent most of the Mechanical Oracles to the main universe to increase the number of high-level combatants. Originally, the three Universal Civilizations had the upper hand in terms of individual strength, but if the World Tree invaded all the territories, the effect of the high-level combatants would be completely different from a frontal battle. The high flexibility would bring about a powerful destructive force, and the battlefront would be split into countless sections. As the defending party that had no choice but to surround and intercept the enemy, their Beyond Grade As would not be enough.

In addition to dealing with the changes in the situation, Han Xiao had also been secretly searching for the spies of the foreign civilizations in the past few days. It was a pity that he was searching for a needle in a haystack and did not find anything. However, he did have some results from his investigation of the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

“So, they want to take advantage of the intense battle and escape from the control of the three Universal Civilizations when they have no time to deal with other matters. They want to head to the unexplored universe and find a place to develop freely…”

Han Xiao looked at the information on the virtual screen with a strange expression. How badly had they been bullied by the three Universal Civilizations that they wanted to leave their home?

He could roughly understand the thoughts of the Super Star Cluster Alliance. Staying in the explored universe would only result in endless suppression, and they would forever be constrained by the three Universal Civilizations. No matter how much they developed, they would never be able to exceed these three ceilings.

During the reshuffling of the structure due to the enemy invasion, the Super Star Cluster Alliance considered their future and made a decision. For their civilization to develop freely, they decided to take the risk and explore the unknown. This was understandable. After all, they were never on the same side as the three Universal Civilizations.

“This is bad. The World Tree’s invasion is their chance to escape. If they really do that, it would be the same as admitting the suspicion. This was akin to having mud on the back of one’s pants. Even if it was not sh*t, people would naturally assume it to be.”

Han Xiao massaged his brows.

He had already told the three leaders about the result of the third party causing trouble and even pointed out the existence of the Lore Civilization. However, as expected, the three of them did not say that they did not believe it, but only accepted that this was one of the reasons. Unless there was conclusive evidence, they still had to find traitors.

Only when the battle becomes chaotic would the three Universal Civilizations not be able to spare energy in this, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance would be able to carry out their plan. However, it just so happened that someone leaked the information at this time. Such a coincidence? To be honest, if Han Xiao did not know the truth, and looked from the perspective of the three Universal Civilizations, even he would have thought that the Super Star Cluster Alliance was resolute and fierce, and it was definitely because they wanted to escape that they lured the World Tree to invade all territories.

In his previous life, the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not do this but stood on the galactic society’s side and fought against the enemies together. This time, they made a completely different choice. Maybe it was because the time period was different, the upper echelons were different, and the logic of their decisions was different. Or maybe it was because their situation was slightly different from his previous life, most of it was because of the butterfly effect he brought. It was more likely that the Super Star Cluster Alliance had not seen the full power of the World Tree invasion like in his previous life and did not feel the true threat of this cosmic disaster, so they still felt that they could stay away from the flames of war and not die at the hands of the enemy…

In other words, they had not been beaten by the World Tree.

“I have to convince the Super Star Cluster to cancel the escape plan. Otherwise, the internal division will be right in front of us. However, no matter how great my reputation is, the Super Star Cluster will not be convinced by my words.”

Han Xiao pondered.

On one hand, he did not want the Super Star Cluster to take the blame and allow the third party to go unpunished. On the other hand, the galactic society needed the Super Star Cluster’s strength to resist the World Tree’s invasion. As long as they were determined to fight, their combined strength could not be underestimated. They were also an important part of the combat power of the explored universe.

“I have to think of a way…”

While he was pondering, an urgent internal message from the three Universal Civilizations popped up on the virtual screen. “Primeval Star River, Ancient Star Desert, Sea of Star Spirits, Blackhole Edge, Endless Nebula, Shattered Star Ring, and other Star Fields have all discovered traces of the World Tree fleet! Requesting reinforcements! Requesting reinforcements!”

Han Xiao sat up straight, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.

They’re here!

In the Ancient Star Desert, blue wormholes formed one after another, forming a huge oval-shaped space crack. It was like God had cut open the curtain of the universe, leaving behind a blue scar.

Immediately after, a green light appeared in the enormous space crack. It grew brighter and larger, and finally turned into an overwhelming green tide pouring out!

The seemingly endless fleet of the World Tree crossed the border of the Flickering World and descended directly along the wormhole. The dense streams of hyperdrive light condensed into pillars of light and shot in all directions like a plague virus in the enemy’s body, spreading in the blink of an eye.

Countless World Tree warriors revealed fanaticism on their faces as if they were holding a banquet. After being in a stalemate for so many years, they had finally made their way in and dismembered their prey! On the planets that the World Tree fleet passed by, there was a violent fluctuation in the space. The thick roots of the World Tree tore open space cracks like drilling through soil and extending out from the void into the planets like straws, drawing out dazzling energy visible to the naked eye.

The planet’s crust softened and flowed into the roots of the World Tree like a liquid. The material of the planet’s mantle and core was also swallowed in large mouthfuls. The planet slowly shriveled up and was rapidly approaching its end. Wherever the green tide passed, the stars slowly extinguished, and the planets gradually dissolved, leaving only death and desolation.

This reminded the World Tree warriors of the past. They roamed the endless universe, unrestrainedly tasting the delicious taste of the enemy’s territory. They cut off pieces of meat from their still struggling prey and ate everything. After all, they were the best hunters in the universe, or even the only predator!

The same thing happened in many Star Fields at the same time.

In a hurry, the Galactic Alliance Army launched a counterattack with the local Star Systems and Star Cluster Civilizations. The flames of war spread across the explored universe.

The battlefront was divided into countless areas, and the World Tree experts finally had a place to use their strength. They were scattered all over the place, fully displaying the flexibility of high-level combatants. The Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations could no longer stay together, so they could only leave Aurora and go to different areas.

The sudden change scared countless galactic residents, and the situation turned around instantly. The panic that was suppressed in their hearts was released, and it erupted like a volcano, burning away their remaining rationality.

The Ancestral Tree King looked into the distance. His vision seemed to have passed through the barriers of endless space and it locked onto the direction of the Central Galaxy. “Eat. Eat everything. Give us a feast, and we will give you despair.”

In a certain army base in the Shattered Star Ring, the Black Star Army’s guards were engaged in a fierce battle with the World Tree fleet. On the battlefield, there was a black tide formed by the mechanical soldiers, tearing apart the World Tree battleships one after another.

On a planet not far away, hundreds of World Tree Roots had already been inserted into the planet’s core, absorbing energy. In outer space, three Holy Tree Emissaries were chasing after two figures, and five streams of light collided time and time again.

Clang!

Lothaire held a dagger in each hand, and his slash was as fast as lightning. His body was agile, and he moved back and forth between the three Holy Tree Emissaries. They fought intensely, and the silver dagger clashed with the laser and magic. It looked like he was unstoppable, but in reality, his entire body was covered in wounds. In the intense battle, he had to divert his attention to take care of Karlot, who was slightly weaker. It was unavoidable for him to show flaws.

Lothaire crossed his daggers and slashed out a bright light blade, forcing back the Mechanical Pugilist Holy Tree Emissary. A flash of light appeared in the corner of his eyes, and he dodged without hesitation. In an instant, a gorgeous high-level Arcane Light penetrated his waist, leaving a burning mark. “Protected your vital point? Your reactions are quite fast.”

The Mage Holy Tree Emissary spoke with regret.

Among the three Holy Tree Emissaries, two of them had never appeared on the battlefield before. They were all experts from other races who had been restraining themselves. It was not until they entered the territory of the three Universal Civilizations and split countless battlefronts that the World Tree activated the foreign experts to increase the size of their high-level combatants.

On one hand, they were agile enough to move alone. Even if Black Star had the method to awaken the foreign experts, he would not be able to catch them all in one swoop. On the other hand, the World Tree was already desperate. As long as they could speed up their invasion, they did not care about losing some of their manpower. They were already mentally prepared for a portion of their experts to be wiped out by Black Star’s (Information Form Obliteration).

Lothaire’s expression was tense. He pressed on the wound and used his energy to quickly heal it. The wound quickly formed a scab. He looked at his three opponents and felt a chill.

His style of martial arts focused on dexterity, stealth, and assassination. He was not strong in a head-on battle, and it was even more disadvantageous when he was surrounded. At this point, he could not take it anymore.

“Are you alright?” Karlot, who was on the side, also came over. He was also covered in wounds, and he was leaning back to back with Lothaire, and staring at his enemies. It had only been a few years since he entered the Beyond Grade A realm, and he was still in the process of activating (Everlasting Martial Path). His combat strength was still at the level of a new Beyond Grade A, and it was extremely difficult for him to fight. He might not even be able to defeat any of the enemies in a one-on-one battle.

The two of them were originally training here, but the World Tree suddenly attacked and dragged them into the flames of war. “I can still hold on for a while.” Lothaire adjusted his breath, and the Pugilist flames climbed up his daggers again.

The five of them locked onto each other. Their bodies paused for a moment before suddenly bursting out at the same time. They charged forward and clashed again. Blade light, flames, and magic power shot out. The five streams of light were like five silk threads tangled together.

All of a sudden, Lothaire’s body paused, and he slashed out with his two daggers, shattering the Arcane Charge of the Mage Holy Tree Emissary. However, amidst the shattered light, the Mechanical Pugilist suddenly appeared, and he was thrown toward Lothaire by a hand formed from magic. Eight spider legs-like mechanical spears suddenly extended from the back of his mechanical suit, and the spears pierced through the protective flames and into Lothaire’s body.

Crack!

The silver daggers flashed, and the eight mechanical limbs were all cut off.

Lothaire retreated rapidly, controlling his muscles to squeeze out the broken spear tips in his body, leaving eight shallow wounds. These were nothing more than superficial wounds to him.

However, just as he was about to continue attacking, his body suddenly stiffened. A dark green color suddenly appeared on his wound, and the flesh that was originally recovering suddenly began to fester. “Biological toxin ?”

eco

Lothaire’s expression changed. He looked up and saw that the broken spear tips were leaking green liquid. He looked at it with his microscopic vision and realized that the green liquid was a group of dark green tiny molecular robots that carried powerful toxins.

Waves of intense pain exploded like a tsunami, and Lothaire’s senses were suddenly messed up. It was as though he had lost control of his body, and he began to tremble uncontrollably. The cells in his body were being eroded. With a flash, the last Pugilist Holy Tree Emissary took the opportunity to join the battle. He held a sharp blade made of anti-regeneration alloy and stabbed Lothaire’s neck from behind, wanting to remove his entire spine. Right at this moment, Karlot charged over from the side to stop this Pugilist Holy Tree Emissary. Unfortunately, he was a step too slow and could only throw a punch in an attempt to save him.

“A new Beyond Grade A wants to… hmm?!” The Pugilist Holy Tree Emissary originally wanted to kill Lothaire even at the cost of getting injured. However, just as Karlot’s fist approached, a strong sense of danger exploded in his heart!

The flames around Karlot’s body flowed like water, condensing at the tip of his fist. His strength was contained but not released, but the power of his fist rose steadily, like the Milky Way was turned upside down, the stars were shattered, and an intense sharpness burst out.

At this moment, a thunderous roar containing spiritual fluctuations exploded!

“Martial Deity Fist—Galaxy Severance!”

The fist suddenly landed on the Pugilist Holy Tree Emissary’s hastily raised arm, and a bright light burst forth, stealing everyone’s vision!

Time seemed to freeze for a moment before it started to flow again.

The other two Holy Tree Emissaries regained their vision and hurriedly looked over, only to see that Karlot had already retreated to the side with Lothaire in his arms. Meanwhile, the Pugilist Holy Tree Emissary remained in place, still in a parry position, but did not move.

However, the next moment, the body of the Pugilist Holy Tree Emissary cracked like porcelain and fell into pieces, eventually turning into dust and scattering in the galaxy.

Instant kill!

“What move is this ?”

The two remaining Holy Tree Emissaries were shocked. They could not believe their eyes. One of their comrades was killed just like that.

It would be understandable if the other was a peak Beyond Grade A, but was this the power of a new Beyond Grade A ? Lothaire had a chance to catch his breath, and he suppressed the poison with difficulty. Seeing this, he could not help but widen his eyes. “You’ve already created that kind of fist technique?”

“Phew… Phew… No, I only created two stances. I’m still far from perfecting the Martial Deity Fist.”

Karlot had expended a lot of energy. This punch contained all of his essence, energy, and spirit, and its power far exceeded his level. At this moment, his entire body was sore, and his stamina was almost depleted. He did not even have ten percent of his energy left.

When he stepped into the Beyond Grade A realm, Karlot had some special insights, and he had an idea. He wanted to create a Pugilist style suitable for himself and named it ‘Martial Deity Fist’. He did not use this name because it was arrogant, but because it contained his expectations for himself, hoping to create the most amazing Beyond Grade A Fist Style.

All these years, Karlot had been exploring and integrating all the knowledge he had, and he had only figured out two scattered stances. The power was extremely exaggerated, but the consumption was equally frightening. Even with his Beyond Grade A Pugilist foundation, he could only execute three to four moves. Lothaire looked at the enemy’s corpse and said, “What a terrifying move. You’ve already surpassed me.”

“Do you want to learn? I can teach you.”

Karlot smiled shyly.

The two of them thought that this Martial Deity Fist was very powerful, but if Han Xiao was here, he would be able to tell that although the Martial Deity Fist was very magical, it would not be able to unleash such great power when used by others. The truly powerful one was Karlot himself.

This was because the process of creating the Martial Deity Fist was also the stage where Karlot was able to master everything he had learned. During this process, he could almost comprehend a new talent every few days, three of which were extremely powerful.

[Martial Saint’s Strength]—When using any Pugilist skills, base power increased by 80% to 240%!

[Martial Deity Fist’s Ancestor]—When you use the “Martial Deity Fist” series, your base strength will increase by 100% to 300%!

[One Punch Martial Deity)–Every time you use the skills of the “Martial Deity Fist” series to hit your opponent, you will be able to trigger a severe injury judgment / instant death judgment (the success rate depends on the power of the skill, the difference in level, energy level, attributes, and so on). If the judgment fails, an additional 50% to 150% damage will be dealt!

With so many Pugilist talents, although Karlot was only a new Beyond Grade A, his explosive power was unbelievably strong. As long as he was lucky, it was even possible for him to instantly kill the enemy.

Bang! Bang!

Karlot clenched his fists and looked at the two Holy Tree Emissaries. He said to Lothaire, “I still have some strength left. Continue, don’t let them escape.”

“Alright.” Lothaire gripped his daggers tightly.

While many people were unaware, the face of the Pugilist was quietly forming.

Chapter 1425: Attack and Plan

Chapter 1425 Attack and Plan

Somewhere in the Sea of Star Spirits, a refugee planet had already been tightly bound by the roots of the World Tree. The soil, minerals, and forests all turned into streams of data, flowing into it. In the distance, the emergency refuge ship carrying the people of this planet was fleeing through the galaxy. A World Tree fleet was chasing after them, and the escort fleet of the Galactic Alliance Army was covering them as they escaped.

The two sides fought intensely, leaving traces of energy explosions everywhere they passed. The light reflected in the eyes of the fleeing citizens.

Ten figures with metallic luster dashed around in the escort fleet, firing psionic cannons and destroying spaceships one after another. They were the Machinery Apostles, and their master was in the main ship of the World Tree fleet. It was a Lord’s Avatar controlling the mechanical army from afar.

However, there was not a single Beyond Grade A in the escaping fleet. Thus, they could only use the battleship to block the advance of the mechanical apostles.

“The enemy has a Beyond Grade A Mechanic, and we urgently need high-level combatants to help!”

The commander of the escort fleet looked at the one-sided situation and had no choice but to order the fleet to retreat while asking for help in the military channel.

The World Tree ignored their losses to send out a large number of Beyond Grade As, and their total number of high-level combatants exceeded that of the three Universal Civilizations in an instant. The entire force was mobilized, causing the three Universal Civilizations to not have sufficient Beyond Grade As, and they were unable to stop any World Tree Super.

The fleet that was escorting the evacuation of the civilians did not have any high-level combatants. When they met the World Tree fleet that had a Beyond Grade A Mechanic commander, they were immediately beaten black and blue.

“Please continue to hold on for a while longer. We are sending out the available Beyond Grade As.” The military intelligence’s response immediately sounded in the channel.

The commander gritted his teeth and shouted loudly, ordering the fleet to continue attacking. However, the scale of their army was unable to change from quantitative to qualitative. The ten mechanical apostles led the army and devoured the starships like locusts.

Just as the number of casualties rose to a shocking number, a space on the battlefield opened up like a wave of ripples on water. Then, with a flash of light, a figure rushed out like a burning meteor and slammed into the nearest Mechanical Apostle, sending it flying.

“Reinforcements are here!”

The commander immediately looked at the Beyond Grade As who had come to reinforce them.

Upon seeing this person’s appearance, the joy on the commander’s face froze.

“Why is it you?!”

“Why do you sound so disappointed? I’m the only one who’s free now. If you don’t want to, I’m leaving!”

Kohler was furious.

What’s wrong with you, little brother? I came to support you, and you’re still looking down on me?!

“…I’ll leave the enemy’s Mechanic Super to you. My troops will support you from the side.” The commander smiled bitterly and could only express his cooperation. Kohler snorted and charged at the ten mechanical apostles.

The soldiers looked over with hope. However, within a few minutes, the imposing Kohler was crushed by the combined attacks of ten mechanical apostles.

II

II

The commander covered his face.

The internal rumors were not false. Kohler was indeed the weakest among the Beyond Grade As.

“I don’t want to despise you either, but you’re too much. I gave you a chance, but you can’t even take care of the apostles, let alone a real battle. I don’t even like to use you when playing Wayne Cards…” Kohler dodged a few psionic beams and managed to return a punch. He sent a mechanical apostle flying and shouted in the channel, “What are you waiting for? I’ve helped you stall the enemy. Continue asking for help!”

Your tactical role is only to stall…

The commander cursed silently.

Just as he was about to resume his call for reinforcements, a wormhole suddenly opened not far away.

A Mechanical Lifeform flew out from within. Heavy mechanical armor covered its body, and every part of its body was equipped with high-tech melee weapons. It was armed to the teeth, and there were two wing-shaped vector thrusters erected on its back like two chess pieces. It was one of the Black Star Mechanical Oracles who had received orders to reinforce the various battlefronts in the universe, Heaven-Suppressing Banner.

“Black Star’s elite troops are here!” Kohler was overjoyed and quickly waved. “Allies! Switch!”

Electric arcs flashed across the Heaven-Suppressing Banner’s eyes, and his thrusters shot out streams of light. He instantly accelerated and rushed into the battle.

The ten Mechanical Apostles detected a strong energy reaction. Immediately, eight of them set off to meet the Heaven-Suppressing Banner, leaving only two to hold Kohler back.

A dense psionic cannon beam shot out, and the arm of the Heaven-Suppressing Banner turned into a heavy shield. It suddenly pushed forward, and a bright complicated energy circuit appeared on the shield. A thick psionic shield popped out, blocking the concentrated
fire.

Amidst the bombardment, the distance between the two sides rapidly shortened. A mechanical apostle popped out a few wrist blades and headed straight for the energy core of the Heaven-Suppressing Banner. However, the Heaven-Suppressing Banner only turned around lightly and avoided the attack. The moment it passed by, he swiped at his waist, and a mechanical axe immediately unfolded, slashing out like a thunderbolt. The blade light instantly flashed past the mechanical apostle’s body.

The next moment, the two halves of the Mechanical Apostle flew out due to inertia. The cut was smooth, and countless precise parts could be seen. The energy core that had been accurately cut in the center jumped slightly, and then exploded!

A huge explosion lit up behind the Heaven-Suppressing Banner, reflecting on its cold alloy shell.

The Heaven-Suppressing Banner was the master of close combat weapons among the Mechanical Oracles. All kinds of weapons appeared like magic, constantly changing and dealing with the Mechanical Apostles with ease. Not long after, it killed more than half of the Mechanical Apostles like cutting vegetables. It was completely different from the scene Kohler showed. Suddenly, the Heaven-Suppressing Banner stomped on the ground, and an energy shockwave exploded behind him. He turned into a shooting star and rushed toward the World Tree fleet.

The axe slashed out beams of light, cutting the World Tree spaceship in half. In just a few blinks of the eye, the Heaven-Suppressing Banner had already arrived in front of the main ship, and the huge axe surrounded by golden lightning hacked down. A thick bolt of golden lightning shot out from the axe, instantly shattering the shield of the main ship and melting through the armor. The entire ship exploded, and dazzling light spread out!

Two figures, one chasing and one escaping, rushed out of the explosion. The Lord’s Avatar of the Mechanic Army Head was running in front, and the Heaven-Suppressing Banner was chasing after it. After exchanging a few blows, the Heaven-Suppressing Banner cleaved the enemy’s head in half with a swing of the axe. Electric arcs exploded, and the power contained in the body disappeared instantly. The Lord’s Descent had already been destroyed by him, and he looked like he had taken the head of an enemy general. With the current strength of the Mechanical Oracle, ordinary Beyond Grade As were no match for it at all. Their strength was on a completely different level from the Mechanical Apostle stage, and it would not be a problem for them to hold their own in battles against Beyond Grade As.

The high-level combatants of the enemy were eliminated, and the escort fleet immediately stopped their retreat.

The Heaven-Suppressing Banner did not continue to help. It reached out to remove the head of the enemy’s Lord’s Avatar, before hanging it on its waist as a trophy. Just as he was about to open the wormhole and leave, Kohler flew over and gave him a thumbs up.

“Not bad. We’ve finally defeated this powerful opponent.”

“When did we join forces? Were you fighting just now?”

The Heaven-Suppressing Banner tilted its head in confusion.

“I helped you restrain two mechanical apostles. Without me, you would have been in danger.” Kohler patted his chest and said, “Black Star and I are good friends after all. Protecting his mechanical apostles is just a matter of convenience. You don’t have to thank me.”

While the Heaven-Suppressing Banner was still calculating the logic behind this sentence, Han Xiao’s annoyed voice sounded in the channel.

“Shut up. You’re really a noob.”

“Oh, so you’re here.” Kohler laughed without any shame. “I was just joking.”

“Hehe.” Han Xiao curled his lips. “Heaven-Suppressing Banner, ignore him. Continue your mission.”

The Heaven-Suppressing Banner tilted its head, before ignoring Kohler. It opened the wormhole and went to reinforce the other battlefronts according to Han Xiao’s orders.

Primeval Star River, Mechanical Race territory.

The endless World Tree army was attacking the Mechanical Race’s defense line, and the two fleets were already locked in battle.

On the main planet of the Mechanical Race, Manison and Nilfgadi’s Lord’s Avatar stood at the highest point and looked up at the sky.

The Mechanical Race troops behind him did not panic at all. Instead, they looked at the backs of the two generations of Mechanical Race leaders with fanaticism.

“The Mechanical Race is the first target of the World Tree. Do they think we’re easy to deal with? We’re not easy to bully.” Nilfgadi stood with his arms crossed.

“You don’t have the right to say that. All these years, the Mechanical Race was able to develop to its current state because of me. It has nothing to do with you,” Manison said calmly.

Nilfgadi snorted but did not retort. He slowly said, “I didn’t expect us to fight together under such circumstances.”

“I know you don’t like me, but don’t worry, this battle won’t take long.”

Manison raised his hands slightly.

Boom!

All the planets in the Mechanical Race territory started buzzing, as though countless things were about to break out of the ground.

“After accumulating for so long, let the world see the strength of the Mechanical Race.”

Manison’s eyes flashed, and his tone was cold.

“Listen to my command, leave no one alive!”

Boom!

A seemingly endless mechanical army flew out from the planets one after another, covering the sky and earth as they welcomed the World Tree fleet.

“It’s starting, it’s starting…”

Many hidden Star Alliance observers looked at the chaos in the various Star Fields and could not help but smile.

“The World Tree invaded in one night. Clearly, our intelligence has come in handy. Very good! Very good!”

The Observer Captain clenched his fists with a ferocious expression on his face, gleeful at having gotten his revenge.

This time, the result of using someone else to do the dirty work was very obvious. It successfully turned the stalemate into a chaotic battle. This was what the Star Alliance wanted to see. It would be best if both sides were heavily injured.

“This way, even if the three Universal Civilizations can fight the World Tree Civilization, it would be difficult to stop their territories from being devoured step by step. If this continues, the three Universal Civilizations would be defeated sooner or later. It might just take decades, or maybe centuries,” someone said excitedly.

The Observer Captain sneered.

“Heh, this is only the first wave. In my opinion, the three Universal Civilizations won’t be able to last that long. According to the deductions of the upper echelons, it’s very likely that the World Tree will use the information we leaked to fan the internal suspicions of the three Universal Civilizations and disintegrate their fighting spirit. From the start of the war until now, the morale and faith of the three Universal Civilizations have been supported by belief. When this momentum is gone, it will be their defeat.”

As he spoke, a look of longing appeared in his eyes, as if he could see the future of the galactic society. “The three Universal Civilizations have been high and mighty for too long. It’s time for them to taste the feeling of their homeland and their nation being destroyed! Just like us back then!”

On the other side, the Super Star Cluster Alliance.

The sudden full-scale invasion of the World Tree gave the Super Star Cluster Alliance a shock.

Although the Super Star Cluster Alliance had received some news from the three Universal Civilizations over the past few days, they had only asked them to strengthen their internal defenses. They did not mention anything about the inside story, so the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not know anything about the situation of the information being leaked.

The various Star Fields were attacked, and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations were naturally targeted as well. However, compared to the intense battles in the other Star Fields, the size of the World Tree fleet that invaded the Super Star Cluster Civilization was very small, as though it was just a formality.

The Super Star Cluster Civilization thought that the World Tree did not want to bite them in the first wave of attacks, they were glad.

At this moment, an important meeting was being held in the conference room.

“…Everyone, the three Universal Civilizations have lost their border line of defense, and the World Tree has completely invaded. Let’s put this aside for now. The current situation is developing in the direction we’re looking forward to. A once in a lifetime opportunity has appeared in front of us, and we definitely can’t miss it. I think we can consider officially starting the ‘Great Relocation’ plan.” The leader of the Star Arc Civilization said with a deep voice. Everyone was whispering and discussing, their faces filled with joy.

Everyone felt that it was very magical. They could only passively wait for the right time, hoping for the chaotic battle to break out, but they did not expect the opportunity to come so suddenly. It was like the Goddess of Luck was on their side.

“Seconded.”

“I agree.” Everyone voted one after another. They had been waiting for this opportunity for too long, and there were very few objections. Now that the World Tree had successfully invaded, it was tearing apart the flesh and blood of the explored universe every second. With the three Universal Civilizations having failed, they would only be devoured if they stayed here.

No one wanted to lose everything, so they decided to give up the territory that would fall sooner or later and leave as soon as possible to preserve their strength.

Seeing this, the leader of the Star Arc nodded, took a deep breath, and said, “It seems like everyone’s opinion is rather unified. Then it’s decided. Let the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree drag it out for a while longer. After we officially enter a stalemate, we’ll start the plan immediately!”

As he spoke, he paused before continuing solemnly. “Everyone, once we take this path, there will be no turning back. For the future of our civilization, we can no longer live under someone else’s roof.”.

Everyone nodded slowly.

The experience of being bullied by the three Universal Civilizations over the years flashed through their minds, making them more determined.

However, just as the leader was about to give a speech to strengthen his resolve, a communication request from Han Xiao suddenly popped up on the virtual screen. “Black Star? He wants to see us at this time?”

The eyes of the upper echelons of the civilizations froze, and their nerves tightened.

As the saying went, they had a guilty conscience. Although their escape was a result of careful consideration, they were considered deserters in the war. Therefore, just seeing Han Xiao’s name made them feel an invisible pressure.

The leader raised his hand and gestured for everyone to calm down.

“Connect me to Black Star and hear what he has to say.”

Chapter 1426: Negotiation And Lobbyist

Chapter 1426 Negotiation And Lobbyist

Han Xiao’s remote projection landed in the conference room. He looked around and saw the expressions of all the Super Star Cluster Civilizations’ leaders. He could not help but smile and joke.

“Everyone, what were you talking about? The atmosphere is so tense.”

“We’re talking about how to deal with the World Tree’s invasion,” the Star Arc Leader said.

“Is that so? But from what I know, the World Tree Civilization’s army did not harass your territory much. Most of your troops are still on standby.” Han Xiao shrugged.

“The entire galactic society is united against a common enemy. If the other regions are attacked, it also affects our safety. As long as our homeland is safe, we will naturally help,” the Star Arc Leader said.

Han Xiao’s expression changed. “It’s really strange of you to say that.”

“The World Tree has invaded. We are already in the same boat,” The Star Arc Leader nodded and said with a solemn tone. “If that’s what you think, that would be best.”

Han Xiao raised his brows. He knew that the words the Star Arc Leader was saying were mostly empty and not sincere. A leader of the Super Star Cluster coughed and
said,

“Your Excellency Black Star, are you looking for us to discuss the World Tree invasion?”

Han Xiao looked at him and nodded. “You can say that, but I am here mainly for you guys.”

Everyone exchanged looks. The Star Arc Leader said, “I hope you can explain it clearly.”

Han Xiao raised his arms and said casually, “The World Tree invasion is already a fact. How much do you know about the cause of this?”

“We don’t know the inside story. The World Tree was originally separated from the Flickering World by the three Universal Civilizations, and the situation was very stable. However, the enemy suddenly launched a full-scale invasion. They must have used some method to obtain our intelligence, but we don’t understand how they did it.” The Star Arc leader frowned and shook his head.

“I can tell you the inside story. This is not the World Tree taking an initiative. Someone deliberately leaked the information about the explored universe, daringly colluding with the enemy. This kind of action is like opening the border, inviting the World Tree in to burn, kill, and loot!” Han Xiao’s tone was heavy.

As soon as he said that, the expressions of the Super Star Cluster upper echelons changed. Surprise, shock, disbelief, and other emotions appeared in their eyes.

The Star Arc leader’s eyes were filled with shock. He emphasized, “You mean there’s a traitor in the galactic society ?”

“That’s right.” Han Xiao nodded slowly and said softly, “We’re still investigating the identity of the traitor.”

There was a slight commotion in the room. Everyone was whispering and discussing.

The Star Arc Civilization was also confused.

“To be able to pass the intelligence to the World Tree, they must have quite good technical strength. They chose to betray us in such a dangerous situation. What are they after…”

However, halfway through his sentence, he suddenly paused and looked up at the expressionless Han Xiao.

The upper echelons also snapped back to reality. They had all realized Han Xiao’s true intentions, and their expressions changed.

Wait a minute, Black Star came to our door at this time and purposely brought up this topic. Does he think we’re the traitors who leaked the information ?

Of course, the Super Star Cluster Alliance had always been at odds with the three Universal Civilizations and was the biggest suspect, but this matter had nothing to do with them!

“Are you suspecting us !” The Star Arc Leader’s eyes widened.

Han Xiao looked around and did not reply directly. Instead, he summoned a virtual screen and said,

“According to the information I’ve found, you guys set up a plan called ‘Great Relocation Plan’ more than ten years ago. The specific content is probably to take all the people and resources and leave the explored universe while the war is still ongoing to find another territory. This plan needs an opportunity, and only when the three Universal Civilizations are at a stalemate with the World Tree will you have a chance…”

The upper echelons of the Super Star Cluster became even more solemn.

They had thought that this plan was rather secretive. Gathering the people and resources was for the sake of war in name only. On the surface, it seemed like they had a reasonable motive. At most, the others would think that they were leaving a way out if the war failed, and they would not think that they were planning to run away.

“You already know… It’s no wonder. With your ability, as long as you’re suspicious of us, it won’t be difficult for you to find these things.” The Star Arc Leader was shocked, but when he thought of Han Xiao’s ability, he accepted reality and said helplessly, “So, you think that we deliberately lured the World Tree into an all-out invasion to mess up the situation and make it easier to retreat?”

“What do you think?” Han Xiao tilted his head.

Hearing this, everyone knew that Han Xiao was probably here to condemn them. The Star Arc Leader gritted his teeth and said, “I know you think we have a motive, but we did not do this. We are not traitors!”

Although they wanted to escape, they did not want to become traitors. Otherwise, if they were targeted by the three Universal Civilizations, there would definitely be many twists and turns in the ‘Great Relocation Plan’. The three Universal Civilizations would not allow a ‘traitor’ like them to escape easily.

“What evidence do you have to prove that you didn’t do it?” Han Xiao said emotionlessly.

Hearing this, the Star Arc Leader’s thoughts raced, but his mind was in a mess. He could not think of any reason to prove that this matter had nothing to do with them. How much evidence did he need?!

However, before he could reply, Han Xiao continued.

“Maybe this wasn’t your idea, but can you guarantee that this wasn’t done by one of the civilizations present here?”

The Star Arc leader was stunned, and his expression changed. He knew that Han Xiao was right. He could only guarantee that he was not a traitor, but he could not guarantee that the other Super Star Cluster civilizations would not do anything in private.

He slowly turned his head and looked at the other members of the alliance with a questioning look in his eyes. Everyone understood what he meant and spoke.

“It’s not me, I didn’t do it!”

“It’s not me either. I don’t know anything about this!”

Very soon, the Star Arc Leader looked at the last person. He remembered that during the meeting some time ago, it was this leader of the Super Star Cluster who suggested helping the World Tree.

The leader of this civilization was furious. “What are you looking at me for ? I didn’t do it! We’re all in this together, I won’t ignore the collective interests of the alliance!”

The Star Arc Leader gritted his teeth and looked at Han Xiao. “As you can see, this has nothing to do with us…”

Han Xiao did not say anything. He only tilted his head and looked at the Star Arc Leader with a strange gaze as if saying ‘are you joking with me?’

Seeing this, the Star Arc Leader fell silent.

He also knew that no one would admit it if he asked this question. It was ridiculous for everyone to deny it together. It was not convincing at all. No one knew if the members of the alliance were lying.

However, the Star Arc Leader knew very well that no matter if it was done by a member of the Super Star Cluster, they definitely could not admit it. Otherwise, they would become ‘traitors’.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and said in a more serious tone, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’ll give you one more chance. Are you sure you didn’t do it?”

“Black Star, we can’t produce any evidence at the moment, but we really didn’t do it,” the Star Arc Leader said anxiously.

“Alright, I trust you guys.”

“I hope you won’t jump to conclusions. If you keep watching us, the real traitor will escape. I…” The Star Arc leader subconsciously trailed off before suddenly raising his voice.” Wait, you believe us ?”

He had just racked his brains to convince Han Xiao, but he did not expect Han Xiao to change his mind before he could even use his justifications.

However, at this moment, Han Xiao spoke again. “However, it’s useless for me to believe you. The three Universal Civilizations have to believe you. You have to find a way to prove your innocence.”

“You mean…”

“It is natural for you to stay and fight hard.” Han Xiao spread out his hands and said, “Think about it, the three Universal Civilizations are suspecting a traitor. The moment you leave, you’ll confirm your identity as a traitor. The only way is to give up on your so-called relocation plan and focus on fighting the World Tree. Only then can you clear the suspicion.”

Hearing this, the eyes of many Super Star Cluster Civilizations’ leaders narrowed.

The Star Arc Leader frowned and no longer panicked. He slowly said, “Your Excellency Black Star, I’m afraid this is your true purpose for coming, isn’t it?”

He was not an idiot, and he immediately realized Han Xiao’s true goal.

There were priorities in everything. The Super Star Cluster Alliance did not want to become traitors, but the relocation plan was more important. They would not give up the migration just to prove that they were not traitors.

The Star Arc Leader even suspected that the so-called traitor was just an excuse that Han Xiao came up with after discovering their relocation plan.

Han Xiao did not think much of it. He smiled and said casually, “Hehe, I know what you guys are thinking. Traitors really exist, and the three Universal Civilizations suspecting you guys is also true. However, I never thought that you guys were traitors.” “Why do you think so?” The Star Arc Leader was curious.

“We’ve known each other for decades. I know the style of your decision-makers quite well. In fact, given your situation, the possibility of you daring to collude with the enemy is quite low. However, because of your past history, you’re the most suspicious. This is very similar to framing someone. My intuition tells me that this has little to do with you… Of course, this doesn’t mean that you’re not suspicious. I can’t confirm if you’re doing the opposite.”

Han Xiao did not plan to eliminate all the pressure on the Super Star Cluster, so he did not reveal (Bold Explorer] to them.

Han Xiao knew that the Super Star Cluster Alliance would not give up on the relocation plan so easily. He planned to have this talk to use the suspicion of traitors as an excuse at the start. He only wanted to make the Super Star Cluster Alliance nervous and understand the situation.

“It seems like even though your big picture has been destroyed, you still have your rationality.” The Star Arc leader had mixed feelings. He nodded and said, “I really don’t know about the traitor, but we can’t give up on the relocation plan and stay behind to fight. Since you’ve found the information, you should know how important this plan is to
us.”

Han Xiao nodded and said, “The existence of the three Universal Civilizations has limited your development. For many years, they have been using all kinds of excuses to suppress you and prevent you from entering the era of technological explosion. The top talents and resources of the galactic society have all flowed to them, and as this continued to accumulate, the gap between the two of you became larger and larger…” “That’s right! Thinking back, when the exploration era war had just ended, the three Universal Civilizations set the order. They did not have the strength to dominate all the civilizations back then, but now? So many years have passed, and they are enjoying the best resources and the biggest development dividend in the entire galactic society. There is already a generational difference in our technologies… Now, we still have some ability to resist, but the longer we wait, the bigger the gap. Sooner or later, we will completely lose the qualifications to challenge the three Universal Civilizations, and we will only become servants.”

A Super Star Cluster leader said with a helpless tone.

The Star Arc Leader nodded and added, “It is precisely because we can see the distant future, that we have to constantly search for opportunities to change our fate while we can still resist. The Flickering World was an attempt, but it failed. The migration now is a better opportunity, and we will not give up.” “I understand your appeal, truly I do… but with all due respect, what you’re doing is just a slow death. What you’re thinking of being mutually tied down is only superficial, thinking that you’ll be safe once you leave the war zone. You have nowhere to run. After the World Tree destroys the three Universal Civilizations, they will definitely find you. They have extraordinary abilities in the Information Form aspect…”

Han Xiao explained the Information Form ability of the World Tree in detail, ensuring that everyone present knew the true situation. He then paused and continued,

“Therefore, your only way out is to stay and destroy the World Tree Civilization with us… This is a very simple choice. This way, your development might not be free, but at least your civilization can survive.”

The leaders of the Super Star Cluster looked at each other and discussed softly. The Star Arc leader pondered for a while before slowly saying, “For us to send our troops into the battlefield, you have put in a lot of effort. You even personally acted as a lobbyist… Let’s assume what you said is the truth, but I have a concern that needs your answer.”

“Speak.”

“Will the three Universal Civilizations let us go so easily?” The Star Arc leader leaned forward and asked, “Let me make myself clear. If we defeat the World Tree and win back peace, how can you guarantee that the three Universal Civilizations won’t settle the score afterward? How can you guarantee that they won’t give us the identity of ‘traitors’ and attack us rightfully?”.

Everyone stared at Han Xiao with a forceful gaze. This was not the first time the three Universal Civilizations had used ‘groundless’ tactics on them. Therefore, the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not have any hope of getting rid of the suspicion. Whether or not they were ‘traitors’ would still depend on what the three Universal Civilizations said. If they were to be labeled as ‘colluding with the enemy’ after this, they would not be able to turn the tables and might even face a disaster.

“Regarding that…” Han Xiao stroked his chin and said calmly,” If we win this war and you guys don’t leave, I can stand on your side and prevent the three Universal Civilizations from using this method. I will also try my best to help you break the development restrictions of the three Universal Civilizations so that you guys don’t have to abandon your homeland to have a chance to develop freely.”.

“You?” The Star Arc Leader narrowed his eyes. “You might have such an organization, but why are you doing this?”.

“Don’t forget, war is a huge reshuffle. The structure of the three Universal Civilizations will definitely be overturned after the war. It’s rare for the three Universal Civilizations to weaken, and they will lose their firm control. This is the best time to change things… Also, helping you guys is also helping myself. Without the invasion of foreign enemies, we will all be the eyesores of the three Universal Civilizations. We have a lot of room for cooperation.” Han Xiao said slowly.

The Star Arc Leader did not budge.

“Sounds good, but how can you guarantee that you won’t go back on your word like before? You have to know that your reputation isn’t too good.”

“I don’t need to promise anyone,” Han Xiao said casually. “I’m just telling you which path is of death and which path is of life. I helped you analyze the pros and cons and gave you a better choice, but I can’t make decisions for you.”

“What if we don’t accept your suggestion?” The Star Arc Leader said with a solemn tone.

“If you insist, I will express my regret. Without the armed forces of the Super Star Cluster, our pressure will be greater, and our losses will be more exaggerated. However, our chances of winning are still very high.”

Han Xiao stroked his chin, paused, and said softly, “As for you guys… do I need to explain what will happen to deserters? With me around, we will be able to find you no matter how far you run. Don’t blame me when the time comes. I’ve given you guys a chance.”

Everyone’s expression changed as they heard the blatant threat.

“Black Star!” one of the Modo Civilization’s leaders shouted. “We know that you’re very powerful. Perhaps no one is your match in individual strength level, but do you really think that you’re invincible after entering the Transcendent Grade? Do you think you can influence the decisions of so many civilizations ?”

However, Han Xiao shook his head and said calmly, “No, there’s no such thing as true invincibility in the world. The so-called invincibility is only invincible in the current technological level environment, and the development of the world is dynamic. As the times change and the civilizations progress, more new technologies will appear. Maybe one day, all the principles of the Space Wonders will be discovered, and the Transcendents will no longer be unbeatable. Maybe it would even be possible to mass-produce Beyond Grade As and Transcendents. Any individual achievements that feel unbelievable now will eventually be duplicated by the collective civilizations, resulting in fission.”

Everyone was stunned. They had thought that Han Xiao would refute, but they did not expect him to agree. They did not know how to respond. They thought that Han Xiao was trying to ease the atmosphere and take back his threat.

However, the next moment, they knew they were wrong.

Han Xiao looked at everyone and said coldly,

“However, those things will only happen in the future. At least in the foreseeable future, I am an unbeatable existence! You can see my words as a threat, or as an ultimatum. Anyway, do your best and don’t make a choice that disappoints me. Otherwise, I don’t mind destroying all the civilizations here. At that time, you will know that I’m more dangerous than the World Tree!”

Everyone in the room fell silent.

After a while, the Star Arc Leader seemed to have made a decision.

“If the situation is as you say, we can temporarily put aside the relocation plan and send more troops to participate in the war. However, if the losses are too great, we will definitely evacuate. No matter how much you threaten us, it will be useless.”

Han Xiao’s expression returned to normal, and he nodded.

“That’s enough. You will know in the future that this is a wise choice.”

Chapter 1427: Wuornos’ Sensation

Chapter 1427 Wuornos’ Sensation

In the shallow layer dimensional base.

Han Xiao turned off the communicator and deactivated the remote projection. He rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes for a while before opening them again. “The Super Star Cluster has reached a consensus that they will not cause any trouble for the time being.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.

He tried to reason with them, analyzed the situation for them, threatened them, and tempted them. In the end, he finally managed to persuade them back.

Of course, this was only a temporary consensus. The Super Star Cluster Alliance did not agree to give up on migrating and was only willing to stay and watch, and increase the support for a while longer. However, this was enough. If the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not give him face and ran away, even if he could make the Super Star Cluster Alliance pay the price afterward, he would not be able to stop the negative chain reaction in the war.

Currently, the armed forces of the explored universe were not lacking, and the internal division had temporarily disappeared before it even started. The Super Star Cluster Alliance would not become a ‘traitor’ for the time being

Damn it, the galactic society is indeed carried by me!

Han Xiao shook his head. He opened the real-time military star map of the explored universe, and areas appeared in front of him, blue in color. Inside the various Star Fields, green spots were appearing, expanding at an extremely slow speed. This represented the invasion range of the World Tree.

“The World Tree has great momentum, but the territory of the three Universal Civilizations is too large, and even if the World Tree blossoms more, its invasion will still be slow. Although the battle is intense, the threat in the short term is still low.”

Han Xiao analyzed.

A sudden change in the situation would more or less affect the mentality. The three Universal Civilizations were a little flustered when dealing with this, but Han Xiao still maintained his calm. He ignored the anxiety of the territories being continuously devoured and calmly judged the situation. After all, he had seen worse situations in his previous life, so this small situation could not scare him.

No matter how strong the World Tree was, it had to be eating slowly. It couldn’t become fat in one bite. Furthermore, the resistance of the Galactic Alliance Army made it very difficult for it to ‘feed’.

In comparison, Han Xiao felt that the biggest effect of the World Tree’s full invasion was firstly a blow to the people and morale of the galactic society, and secondly, it affected their resource production and productivity.

According to the information that was leaked, as well as his experience from his previous life, Han Xiao could guess the World Tree’s priority targets. The military factories and resource planets of the various organizations were definitely the first choices, which would reduce the speed of the three Universal Civilizations’ troops mobilization.

Second would be the mother planets of some Star System or Star Cluster civilizations, governance planets, and refuge planets with large populations. This way, they could cause panic and internal chaos in the galactic society. The World Tree had invaded many civilizations, so it was clear about this trick.

Then, there were the important bases of some Beyond Grade A races and private organizations. Destroying them would cut off the wings of the three Universal Civilizations.

Of course, as the core of the galactic society, the Central Galaxy was the most important target. However, Han Xiao guessed that the World Tree would most likely not attack it for the time being because the Central Galaxy would be heavily guarded. Once they invaded, a large group battle would break out, similar to the border war.

The World Tree now had many space coordinates, and with such an advantage, it should not be willing to continue fighting with the low-efficiency frontal attack method. Instead, it chose to strike the weakest areas and focus on continuous harassment, displaying its high mobility and advantage in sustaining war with war.

“These are all areas that need to be protected. After this battle, I wonder how many more desolate universe belts there will be… It’s a pity that the World Tree’s mechanism is too perverse. Otherwise, I could have given it a taste of its own medicine.’

Han Xiao was a little helpless.

With his individual strength, he could go to the World Tree territory and make a scene. However, more than ten years ago, he had learned a lot of information from the foreign experts of the World Tree. The World Tree’s base could be retracted into its body at any time, and it could pack up and run away. There was not much use in harassing them as they could just move to another place. This would not affect the enemy’s productivity much, because the World Tree itself was the largest military factory. It could directly convert resources inside, and there was no need to build countless factories like normal civilizations. Otherwise, Han Xiao would not think that it was a complementing target to (Virtual Creation (Pseudo)]. Furthermore, the Blessed Races of the World Tree were eyeing the Pivotal Snake. Han Xiao did not want to leave the shallow layer dimensions. Even if he had to reinforce the main universe, he would only send out a portion of the Mechanical Oracles. His main body would remain in the secondary dimensions to guard his ‘home’.

The World Tree was not willing to sit back and do nothing. Apart from invading the territory of the three Universal Civilizations, it would not give up on killing the Pivotal Snake. He did not know what the other party’s plan was, so he had to be careful. “However, although it’s not very useful, it’s not bad to be able to give them trouble. With my current strength, I don’t have to worry about being besieged on a large scale as I did in the past. Wouldn’t it be even greater if they get agitated and fight me head-on?” Han Xiao felt that it was worth a try.

Arcane Church, Temple of Ten Thousand Gods.

Wuornos walked slowly in the corridor formed by tall God sculptures of different shapes and sizes, holding a ball of spiritual light in his hand. Every time he walked in front of a God sculpture, he would use the corresponding simple ceremony to perform a ritual that was neither too fast nor too slow. He then flicked the spiritual light into the body of the statue, looking like he was feeding his pets or spreading bait to the fishes. This was his daily ritual. Usually, he was alone, but today, there was a bunch of ‘tails’ behind him. A group of senior members of the Arcane Church, who were wearing priest robes and officer uniforms, followed behind him. “High Priest, now that the World Tree has invaded, our high-level combatants are not enough. I hope you can help.” “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll die on the battlefield and drop the National Treasure?” Wuornos said casually without looking back.

“Of course, we don’t wish to take the risk. When the border wars occurred and secondary dimensions were invaded, we did not request you to take action. It’s just that the situation is urgent this time, and we need you to use some of the incarnations to help…” an officer said softly.

This was a very normal request. In the past, Wuornos would have agreed to it, but now, he was different.

“I refuse.” Wuornos shook his head.

“This… why?”

“I’m only one step away from the Transcendent Grade, and I can obtain the opportunity to advance at any time. I need to maintain my peak state at all times to prevent myself from missing the opportunity. As long as the enemies don’t attack the Arcane Church’s mother planet, don’t look at me for anything else. I don’t want to waste my energy elsewhere,” Wuornos said casually.

“But the other direct descendants are all fighting a bloody battle. Isn’t your refusal a little…”

“You don’t understand. Whether or not I can advance to the Transcendent Grade is more important than these battles. This is the independence granted to me by the Pope. I have the right to decide if I want to participate in the battle.” Wuornos waved his hand casually. “Stop pestering me here. Go back.”

The group of people looked at each other, clenched their teeth, and left with dissatisfaction.

Wuornos did not care.

His last advancement had failed, causing him to be heavily injured. However, there was also an unexpected benefit, which was that the Pope saw that he indeed had the possibility of advancing at any time, so he simply allowed him to decide when he wanted to join the battle.

Therefore, over the past ten years, Wuornos did not participate in the war, nor did he attempt to advance rashly. He had been recuperating and reflecting on why he had failed.

Wuornos always felt that he was missing some key elements. It was not as if he had gained nothing after searching for so long. He had vaguely discovered the mysterious ability hidden in his body, but it had yet to be fully activated. It seemed to be able to sense something unknown, and his intuition told him that this feeling was very important for Promotion.

“When I figure out what’s going on, I should be able to step into the Transcendent Grade. Maybe this is the secret of Black Star’s Promotion. I won’t fail again this time…”

Wuornos’ eyes flashed.

Somewhere in the Endless Nebulae, two fleets were engaged in an intense battle. One side was the World Tree invaders, and the other was the Black Star Army.

A large number of charge cabins latched onto the spaceships of the World Tree and sent out batches of army players to board the battleships. The World Tree battleships fell one after another from the inside. Many Calamity Grade players wore mechanical suits and swam around the battlefield.

Due to the sudden change in the situation, the combat missions of the players had also changed. From guarding the borders, they had gone to different areas to stop the World Tree invaders. The mission format was much more varied.

The border defense circle of the Flickering World almost transformed into a teleportation station, and the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device operated continuously, sending batches of players to the various Star Fields.

The new level cap was unlocked in Version 5.5, and many players had just entered the Calamity Grade. A Calamity Grade that did not fear death naturally could not be underestimated. Furthermore, there was a large group of them. Although there were many Calamity Grade Supers on the World Tree’s side, they were not as expendable as the players.

Everyone could revive, but the time interval between the revivals of the World Tree was longer, and the dead warriors appeared in the mother tree’s body. They could not be revived on the spot like the players, and their effectiveness could not be compared at all. It was equivalent to the players’ real strength being many times stronger than on the surface; one player was equal to many. There were Immortals on both sides, and the battle was extremely intense. However, it was clear who was stronger, and the World Tree warriors were forced to retreat.

“This group of Immortals is too terrifying. With so many Calamity Grades as a suicide squad, only the main elites can fight them. We can’t hold on at all.”

Inside this invading main ship of the World Tree, the commander was surprised.

Ever since the World Tree obtained the intelligence of the three Universal Civilizations, this information had been shared in the mental network. From the Tree King to the grassroots soldiers, they all understood the Super classification of the three Universal Civilizations, as well as the Immortals and other strange existences.

“There seems to be a limit to the revival of these Immortals. If we kill them multiple times in a short period, they won’t be able to revive for some time,” the aide-de-camp said.

The commander murmured, “I wonder what kind of existence this is. What kind of power did their revival come from…”

The aide-de-camp shrugged and said, “Maybe they have a World Tree too? Who knows?”

A few days later, somewhere in the World Tree territory.

A wormhole slowly opened, and a mechanical body came out. It was Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar.

Han Xiao twisted his neck and activated the self-inspection device. The outer armor opened and closed like scales, revealing fine cracks. He felt the exquisite feeling of the mechanical body and let out a comfortable groan. Due to the (Energy Base-God of All Machines), the Transcendent Grade Lord’s Descent had improved in perception aspect. With the Lord’s Descent of a Beyond Grade A, there was still a barrier between his senses and the Lord’s Avatar body. Although he could control it like his arm, he could clearly tell that it was not his body.

But at the Transcendent Grade, the feeling of the Lord’s Avatar was almost the same as the main body. It was not like a mechanical avatar but more like a main body. The control was fine and smooth.

If an example was to be given, a Beyond Grade A’s Lord’s Descent was like the remote control of a virtual reality. It was very real, but deep down, he knew it was fake. The feeling of a Transcendent Grade’s Lord’s Descent was like he had been reborn…

“This feels good. The avatar’s power capacity has reached more than 94%. Not bad.” Han Xiao clenched his fists. He could feel the rhythm of every alloy, every part, and every biochemical tendon in his body. He nodded with satisfaction, then looked up at the sky full of stars in the World Tree territory.

“More than ten years ago, I was heavily injured by you guys and almost died in your base camp. Now is the time to settle the score!”

Chapter 1428: Unexpected Discovery

Chapter 1428 Unexpected Discovery

The mechanical army swarmed out like a black tide and gathered together, covering the Lord’s Avatar. It quickly combined and turned into a huge Mechanical Deity that spanned across the galaxy.

Han Xiao controlled the gigantic Supreme Heavenly Venerate and cruised through the galaxy of the World Tree territory, heading toward the dazzling starlight.

Not long after, a planet wrapped in roots appeared in his sight, getting closer and closer.

Without saying a word, Han Xiao raised his palm, and a strong psionic light appeared in his palm. The next moment, a thick beam of light shot out and penetrated the planet like a spear.

A hole was left on the surface of the planet, and the internal structure of the planet was exposed through the hole. The crust, the mantle, and the core of the planet were clearly separated, like the layers of a cake.

After a moment of stagnation, the planet suddenly collapsed inward toward the opening. Its crust shattered and turned into a molten stream. The mantle surged violently, and the brightness of the planet’s core increased. Powerful light burst out from the center, and the next moment, the entire planet exploded, turning into an expanding ball of light.

Han Xiao’s body did not move at all, and his shield automatically blocked the strong shockwave of the planet’s explosion. The electric arcs were not damaged at all, as though there were layers of energy hurricanes surrounding him.

This time, he was here to cause trouble. He did not need to be as cautious as he had been more than ten years ago. What he wanted was to create a huge commotion. The next moment, the information state alarm was triggered. Not long after, the entire World Tree Civilization knew that Han Xiao had suddenly appeared and destroyed a planet.

Han Xiao had not gone far when the space around him fluctuated. Group after group of World Tree fleets passed through the World Tree Express and headed toward the area of the explosion. Without hesitation, they opened fire on the planet-sized Supreme Celestial Body.

A dense rain of light rained down on the Supreme Heavenly Venerate’s shield. However, while the thunder was loud, the resulting rain was small. It could only create large sparks of energy, unable to break through the seemingly indestructible shield. Han Xiao raised his hand and clenched his fist. Energy gushed out and crushed the battleships. Although he was surrounded by the fleet, he seemed to be the one surrounding all the enemies instead.

Very soon, more World Tree fleets arrived at the battlefield with the help of the World Tree territory’s rapid descent channel. They all joined the battle, and more and more battleships surrounded Han Xiao.

In the Tree King Palace on the other side, both the Ancestral Tree King and the Fortitude Tree King were paying attention to Han Xiao’s actions through the mental network.

“Why did this guy suddenly come here?” The Fortitude Tree King was shocked. “Is he planning to attack our territory alone?” “Looks like it.” The Ancestral Tree King narrowed his eyes.

“Should we stop him?

When the Ancestral Tree King heard this, he shook his head firmly. “There’s no need. He’s very difficult to deal with. Human wave tactics are very inefficient against him. We don’t know how many troops we’ll have to invest to stop him. We’ll also have to send a portion of the invading troops back. That’s exactly what he wants. He wants to divert our attention and obstruct our progress.”

“Then what should we do? Just watch him wreak havoc in our territory?”

“Since we can’t stop him, we won’t. Let the Mother Tree retract its territory and change its base. We’ll leave this place to him.”

The Ancestral Tree King spoke without hesitation.

There was another method, which was to use the Tree God’s Descent to fight a Transcendent Grade. However, after the last battle, the Ancestral Tree King felt that the incomplete Tree God’s Descent would not be able to defeat Black Star, so he decided not to waste the time and simply abandoned the
area.

Due to the connection of the mind network and the unique parent tree mechanism, the World Tree Civilization had a huge advantage, which was its astonishing executional ability. As soon as the Ancestral Tree King gave the order, the enormous World Tree territory immediately began to alter itself.

In the starry sky, the roots of the World Tree could be seen moving slowly, as though they were uprooting themselves. The ‘land’ that carried the World Tree was the universe of the territory. Usually, these roots were hidden, but now, they appeared one after another.

The planets turned into liquids and fused into the World Tree Root. The World Tree Root also retracted, and the space crack outside the planet disappeared.

For a time, the countless stars dimmed until they disappeared. The originally prosperous and bright galaxy slowly turned into a desolate universe. As the World Tree retrieved the planets, the Star Field was quickly recovering its original appearance. It was desolate, cold, and dark. Not a single blade of grass grew here.

Han Xiao, who was slaughtering the World Tree fleet, also noticed the abnormal changes in the universe space. This was also the first time he had seen the World Tree migrate its base. He gazed at the universe filled with tree roots, revealing their ‘uprooted’ state.

“You’re planning to move the moment you see me? How decisive.”

Han Xiao was surprised.

Without the ability of the roots, the World Tree fleet could not be deployed. The World Tree fleet present received the order and immediately ended the siege. They took advantage of the last moment to quickly teleport out, planning to retreat.

Han Xiao crushed another fleet. Suddenly, he activated the Tree God’s Character Summon Card.

Swoosh!

The next moment, space cracks suddenly appeared around the Supreme Heavenly Venerate. Roots shot out and swept across the fleet, swallowing the battleships.

The roots that he had summoned with his Character Summon Card flowed with blue light, completely different from the green World Tree itself!

“How can he use the power of the World Tree?!”

The Ancestral Tree King had been paying close attention the entire time, and he was stunned upon seeing this.

Could Black Star be a member of the World Tree?! Their kin?!!

That’s not right. How is this possible?

At the same time, the Mother Tree’s consciousness also reacted, and the Ancestral Tree King could sense the shock within.

The World Tree itself was also confused, wondering why a life form that was not controlled by it had the same power. Han Xiao was controlling the summoned roots to attack the fleet, and he was enjoying this novel feeling. Suddenly, he owned a bunch of ‘tentacles’, and he finally experienced the joy of being a Tree King. Right at this moment, a wave of mental fluctuations suddenly transmitted over, bringing along the Ancestral Tree King’s shocked voice.

“Black Star! How do you have the power of the World Tree?!”

”Guess?”

Han Xiao raised his brows.

He activated this Character Summon Card on a whim mainly to test if the root he summoned was connected to the World Tree.

After this attempt, he was certain that the roots of the Character Summon Card belonged to him and would not be controlled by the World Tree.

Even if he devoured the matter, he could only disassemble it into energy to replenish his own, unlike the World Tree, which preserved the information form and converted it. When the Character Summon Card’s effect ends, these temporarily summoned roots would automatically disperse, and the things he devoured during this period would vanish as well.

However, in the eyes of outsiders, these blue roots used him as the source. Their strength was extremely similar to the World Tree, but they were an independent entity. This made the Ancestral Tree King’s imagination run wild.

At this moment, information about the revivors and Immortals of the explored universe flashed through his mind. The Ancestral Tree King’s eyes widened, and he felt that he had found the truth.

“I understand! There’s actually another World Tree in the universe, and it’s on you!”

The information leaked by the Star Alliance included Han Xiao’s life. The Ancestral Tree King had always been surprised by how short Han Xiao’s rise had been. At this moment, he felt enlightened and found an explanation.

The undying characteristics of those Immortals were very similar to the members of the World Tree. If those Immortals were members of another World Tree, it would make sense. Black Star had been pretending that he had nothing to do with them, but he was secretly making a fortune. He was the one behind this!

“Two World Trees? You really dare to fantasize.”

Han Xiao could not help but laugh at the Ancestral Tree King’s imagination.

Just as he was about to say something, many spatial tunnels suddenly opened up around him, and green roots of the World Tree extended out, wrapping around Han Xiao’s blue roots. They twisted together like snakes, slowly wriggling, squeezing, pulling, and sticking. Seeing this, Han Xiao paused, and his expression suddenly became strange.

This scene, why does this look like a tongue kiss…

It was a little painful for the eyes to see…

The corner of Han Xiao’s eyes twitched. He could even feel the emotions of the World Tree from where the roots were intertwined. It was an extremely passionate and yearning thought that contained the desire to become one.

The power of the World Tree flowed along with the roots and into the blue roots. It was actively transferring its energy as if it could not wait to share the good stuff. The World Tree was also moving the power contained in the blue roots out of it as if it wanted to make a special ‘body fluid’ exchange.

“Is he treating the root I called out as a spouse?!?!”

Han Xiao’s eyes widened in shock, his body frozen stiff.

He had thought that when the original World Tree saw him, the blue version, they would be hostile to each other and would fight to the death. He did not expect that not only would they not fight, but the World Tree would take the initiative to ‘communicate’ with him. It did not have any hostility and was very passionate.

Could it be that… this was because the original World Tree had always been a unique existence that was lonely? Now that it had finally found someone of the same species, its mating habits were ignited, and its thirst unbearable. Its instincts claimed the upper hand?!

“The ancients did not lie to me. Two tigers cannot share one mountain unless it’s one male and one female.” Han Xiao’s interest was piqued.

On the other side, the Ancestral Tree King was completely dumbfounded. As the Tree King, he could feel the joy and excitement from the mother tree’s consciousness. Even his gaze toward Han Xiao was affected.

Han Xiao, who was supposed to be his enemy, suddenly became friendly in his eyes.

F*ck, we were about to fight to the death, why did Her Majesty surrender first?!

The Ancestral Tree King hurriedly shook his head to get rid of the influence of the Mother Tree’s consciousness. “What’s going on?”

Han Xiao came back to his senses, chuckled, and said with a teasing tone, “Didn’t you say there were two World Trees? I’m a male version, yours is a female, what do you think will happen?”

The Ancestral Tree King was furious. “Bullsh*t! Why is it that when a female sees a male, the female loses all will to fight? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?!” “Woah, I didn’t expect you to be so opinionated. To think you’re actually good at both fists and words.”

Black lines appeared on Han Xiao’s forehead. He turned around to look at the blue and green roots that were entangling him. Suddenly, he chuckled.

“This is too proactive. By the way, your mother tree is amazing!”

Although the Ancestral Tree King did not understand Han Xiao’s teasing, he knew that it was not a good thing. He felt a sense of sourness, and the green light on his body seemed to have become brighter.

He deactivated the telepathic communication, suppressed his anger, and ordered the troops to evacuate quickly.

Not long after, the World Tree finally returned to its base. The fleets that surrounded Han Xiao were either fleeing or dying and the World Tree Root, which was frantically looking for a mate, also reluctantly returned to the space channel. No matter how it teased, the blue root that Han Xiao had summoned with his Character Summon Card did not respond.

In reality, it was because the blue root was a temporarily generated rootless tree. It was akin to a castrated version of the World Tree. Since it was completely controlled by Han Xiao, it did not have any self-awareness, nor the ability to procreate. Not long after, the time for the Tree God Character Summon Card ended. The blue roots shattered inch by inch, turning into light fragments that dissipated. Only the Supreme Heavenly Venerate was left floating in the desolate universe.

The World Tree had already abandoned its territory, and all the planets and individuals had returned to the mother tree. They had completely evacuated. It was as if they had been frightened by Han Xiao alone and did not even want their base anymore. They had moved overnight… and that was the truth.

It was just two words, having face!

“Tsk, unknowingly, my deterrence is already so strong.”

Han Xiao shook his head and laughed.

If it was anyone else, they would most likely have run away because they would not want to lose face. A civilization as large as theirs would not be scared to the point of abandoning their homeland by him alone. At the very least, they would have to send enough troops to fight until they suffered heavy casualties and felt that they could not take it anymore. Only then would they have a reason to retreat. However, the World Tree did not care about such things and did not feel embarrassed at all. He had not even gone all out yet, and they had already retreated. Such enemies were the hardest to deal with.

“Although forcing the World Tree to move will give them some trouble, it won’t solve the root of the problem. However, this trip was worth it. I seem to have discovered something interesting.”

Han Xiao smiled. He did not expect the Tree God’s Character Summon Card to have such a miraculous effect.

“Now that I’ve used it for an experiment, this Character Summon Card has three more uses. It might be effective at the right time.”

Chapter 1429: Premeditated Assassination

The World Tree moved overnight, and the thought of causing a huge ruckus naturally fell through. Han Xiao left behind a group of mechanical troops in this Star Field that had once again become empty and lonely, then took back his Lord’s Avatar.

As long as the World Tree’s mechanism was not disturbed, its base could be built anywhere in the universe. They had wiped out many civilizations over the years and had the coordinates of many areas. They could just find a place that they had turned into a desolate universe belt and migrate there.

The migration process had a certain impact on their invasion at the frontlines, which caused a slight gap in support. Han Xiao told the three Universal Civilizations about this.

After learning that the World Tree had been frightened by Han Xiao alone, the three leaders were shocked and also ordered the strategic command center to make adjustments.

The flames of war raged across the entire explored universe, and a month passed very quickly. Under the Galactic Alliance Army’s attack, the World Tree’s first full-scale invasion finally stopped.

Although the World Tree’s aggressive arrival had caused quite a bit of panic in the galactic society, in terms of practical benefits, the World Tree’s first wave of invasion did not cause too much damage. Most of the invading teams were intercepted by the Galactic Alliance Army. Although they had devoured some planets, this number was just a drop in the ocean for the entire explored universe. Furthermore, they were scattered everywhere and did not have much development potential. Although the three Universal Civilizations did not have a powerful home defense system like the Information Form Warning Network and the World Tree Express, the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was just as amazing, allowing the galactic alliance army to have extremely strong military mobility. As long as an invader appeared, they would be able to send reinforcements in an instant.

If it were any other civilization, they would be extremely passive in the face of the World Tree’s unpredictable harassment and invasion. This was the battle of attrition that the World Tree was good at, but the technologies of the three Universal Civilizations countered the usual tactics of the World Tree, preventing it from achieving the best results. Of course, although the first wave of the World Tree fleet was repelled, there were still quite a few World Tree fleets left in the galactic society, hiding in the dark. This was the weakness of the three Universal Civilizations. Without sufficient monitoring devices, although the reinforcements were fast, as long as the World Tree fleet hid and did not appear, it would be difficult for them to lock onto the enemy within their territory.

After resolving the current emergency, the upper echelons of the Galactic Alliance Army invited the various officers and the Beyond Grade A Association upper echelons to hold a strategic meeting to analyze the current situation and discuss the subsequent actions. “…Although the traitor leaked the information and caused the World Tree to invade the entire realm, our current situation is not as bad as we thought. The vast territory and the rapid reinforcement speed are two of our greatest strengths in maintaining the situation. It has already shown a significant role in the war.”

Teny pointed at the 3D star map on the table and summarized the current situation.

The same star map model was floating in front of the participants, displaying the current strategic deployment.

“According to the statistics, most of the World Tree’s targets are military facilities, resource planets, civilizations’ mother planets, and Beyond Grade A race territories. From this, it can be seen that the World Tree’s main strategy is to destroy our productivity and social stability. However, at present, the World Tree has only succeeded a few times. We have already secretly relocated the important facilities in the early years, and part of the information leaked by the traitor is outdated.”

Teny spoke with confidence.

The way the Star Alliance Observers hid was too low-profile, causing them to only be able to obtain general information from the internet. As such, the information was lagging. Thus, the Star Alliance Observers naturally had no way of knowing some confidential information of the advanced civilizations. The most valuable information they leaked to the World Tree was the star map and spatial coordinates.

“Does this mean that the traitor’s position isn’t high?” an officer asked.

“Not necessarily. Maybe it’s just a disguise,” another person retorted.

Teny interrupted the two of them, coughed, and said, “Ahem, regarding the traitor, we have someone else to take care of them. We don’t need to discuss this matter, let’s get back to the main topic… Our intercepting efficiency is quite good, and it’s all thanks to the support of His Excellency Black Star and the Beyond Grade A Association. Otherwise, the high-level combatants of the World Tree would have been able to wreak havoc for a long time.”

Hearing this, the officers turned around and nodded at the representatives of the Beyond Grade A Association.

Han Xiao nodded and said, “We wiped out quite a number of World Tree experts this time. They will need at least a year or two to make a comeback.”

His Mechanical Oracles had worked together with the Beyond Grade As of the Association, direct descendants, and Holy Accord, eliminating a large number of high-level combatants of the World Tree. They had sent at least two to three hundred people back to be watered in the World Tree, so they would not be able to return anytime soon.

A portion of the experts from the other races encountered Han Xiao’s Lord’s Avatar and was hit by (Virtual Purification-Restore). They exploded on the spot and turned into fireworks.

Other than dying in a normal battle, some of the high-level combatants of the World Tree had been used by Han Xiao to test the effects of (Information Form Obliteration), or they had been sealed by the Spacetime Amber and turned into his collection. There were about thirty of them, and the World Tree had lost these powerful individuals forever.

Due to the division of the battlefront, some Beyond Grade As from the three Universal Civilizations also died. They were logged in the Soul Comfort Monument that the three Universal Civilizations had set up and had recorded a new number of deaths.

Teny then turned to look at Manison and said with a deep voice, “This time, the Mechanical Race’s territory was also the main focus of the invasion. We did not arrive in time. Luckily, His Excellency Mechanic Emperor defeated the enemy. We offer our apologies.”

“It’s just a small matter, not worth mentioning.” Manison waved his hand and said calmly.

Everyone was surprised.

Manison’s force was one of those which showed an astonishing performance against the invasion. He had hidden an astonishingly large mechanical army in the Mechanical Race’s territory and wiped out the World Tree invaders without the aid of the galactic alliance army. The military strength he displayed was shocking. Although Manison was no longer the authoritative figure of the Mechanic class, the foundation that he had built over the years was not just for show. Among the Beyond Grade As, he still had a lot of weight.

This time, an officer suddenly said thoughtfully, “Speaking of which, the Super Star Cluster Alliance had also sent out a lot of troops to provide support.”

“Now that you mention it, I thought of something unusual. The World Tree’s invasion seemed to have avoided the territory of the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and it was at most a small-scale harassment. That’s why the Super Star Cluster was able to help.”

“It is indeed a little strange…” All the officers had strange looks on their faces.

In their eyes, the World Tree did not treat the Super Star Cluster Alliance as an invasion target. It was a little strange, giving them the feeling that they were in cahoots with each other. The suspicion of them being the traitor was quite high. However, the Super Star Cluster Alliance did not just stand by and watch but took the initiative to send troops to support the Galactic Alliance Army. This was a good action, which confused many of the upper echelons of the military, reducing their suspicion. The Super Star Cluster Alliance did this to fulfill its agreement with Han Xiao. If they had not taken the initiative to provide support, the three Universal Civilizations would have been even more suspicious of them. But now, they were more confused than doubtful, and there were no signs of internal conflict for the time being.

Listening to everyone’s discussion, Han Xiao’s expression remained the same. He had convinced the Super Star Cluster Alliance, barely suppressing the suspicion within. However, he did not intend to speak of his contribution.

At this time, Commander-in-chief Simon took over the conversation and pulled it to the main topic.

“Currently, there are two things that we need to pay attention to. The first is to clean up the dormant World Tree invaders. Their main force has been chased away, but there are still a small number of troops within the borders. This is a hidden danger, and it has put quite a bit of mental pressure on the galactic society. What do you guys think?”

The three Universal Civilizations had neutralized the first wave of invasion, but the aftereffects were severe. Because their line of defense was suddenly breached by the World Tree, the people were panicking, and chaos broke out everywhere. The three Universal Civilizations had no choice but to take out more energy to deal with the refugees.

In this regard, the three Universal Civilizations were no different from normal civilizations. The World Tree was one of the few civilizations that did not have any internal conflicts.

After some discussion, the result was only to strengthen the strict military control. Now was not the time to talk about freedom.

Seeing this, Simon continued, “In addition, we have to figure out the World Tree’s next move and make some preparations in advance. They did not invade the Central Galaxy this time, but they will take action sooner or later. They are in a race against time, so they won’t be able to wait long.”

The upper echelons of the military began discussing this topic. Han Xiao and the others did not participate and listened quietly. After some discussion, the military finally came to a consensus. The meeting temporarily ended, and the participants passed down the order.

Secondary Dimension World, World Tree Blessed Race territory.

The roots of the trees formed a spiral-shaped pagoda that stood in the middle of the ground. Surrounding the pagoda were buildings formed by huge trees that formed a tree city. Countless members of the Blessed Race lived there.

Space cracks opened from time to time, and the battleships of the Blessed Race came and went.

Two figures floated in the blue-green sky, looking down at the tree city below. One was the Ancestral Tree King, and the other was a female figure in a gorgeous robe. Her skin was like tender leaves, glowing with jade green light. Her long white hair was spread behind her back, and there was a complicated and mysterious mark on her forehead. She was one of the 13 Ancestral Spirits, Hayleen.

“Your Excellency Tree King, why are you looking for me?” “I have a mission for you.”

“Please speak.”

“The Secret Tree King is not coming back. His crown needs a new master, and we also need a new Tree King. Are you interested?”

Hearing this, Hayleen could not help but look at the Ancestral Tree King with surprise in her eyes.

“Am I qualified to become the Tree King?”

“Of course, your magic strength has already reached the standard for this position.” The Ancestral Tree King nodded.

Hayleen narrowed her eyes. “I am indeed interested… but there are more powerful mages than me. Why me?”

“I only said that you are qualified, not chosen,” the Ancestral Tree King said calmly. “Under normal circumstances, the position of the Tree King will not be yours. What I mean is, if you want to become the Tree King, I can give you a chance. As long as you complete one objective, you will be able to inherit the crown of the Secret Tree King. The magic left behind by generations of Tree Kings is stored in there, and I believe you will be interested.”

“…What do you want me to do?”

“I know that your genes mutated in your early years, fusing with your own magic power, and you entered a rare ‘Warlock’ branch, forming some strange innate spells. You can use a very strange method to hide your existence, and you’re very good at stealth and assassination… Now that the civilization is facing an unprecedented threat, we need your ability to assassinate the Pivotal Snake’s infant protected by Black Star,” the Ancestral Tree King said with a deep voice.

“Are you asking me to die?” Hayleen frowned.

The Ancestral Tree King shook his head and raised his palm. A black-green liquid substance suddenly seeped out from his palm and floated in midair. Following that, the phantom of a golden leaf appeared beside him, and the two objects circled his palm.

“These are two key items to carry out the mission. One is a lethal poison that the mother tree specially synthesized to restrain her natural enemy. As long as you give it to the Pivotal Snake, it can quickly deprive the other party of their life force. Be it through injection or poisoning the food, it will be effective. This golden leaf is a child treasure derived from the mother tree, called the Leaf Concealment Robe. It can hide your tracks on all levels and enhance your stealth ability.”

Hayleen’s expression changed, and she took the two items hesitantly.

Seeing this, the Ancestral Tree King said indifferently, “The growth of the Pivotal Snake is very fast, and the mother tree’s perception of it is becoming clearer. Follow its guidance and you will be able to find its traces. As long as you can kill the Pivotal Snake, you will be the hero of the civilization. When you return, this tree crown will be yours!”

Hayleen played with the two items for a while and finally nodded.

“…I can try.”

Chapter 1430: Harrison’s Determination

Chapter 1430 Harrison’s Determination

In a desolate universe belt in the explored universe.

The lurkers of the Star Alliance were paying attention to the progress of the battle on the news and were somewhat dissatisfied with the current situation.

“The three Universal Civilizations managed to repel the World Tree’s first wave of invasion, and also managed to stabilize the situation despite the sudden chaos. As expected of the three Universal Civilizations, they’re not that easy to deal with.”

“The World Tree’s attacks are a little weak… No, I should say that the three Universal Civilizations’ resistance is too strong.” They had leaked the information because they wanted to see the World Tree invade and bring despair to the three Universal Civilizations. However, the current situation was far from their expectations.

“The good news is that although the progress of the World Tree devouring the territory is slow, it will eventually cause the three Universal Civilizations to fall into a hopeless situation with no chance of turning the tables.”

“That’s right. The resistance of the three Universal Civilizations will gradually weaken and die.”

“I hope to see that day before my life ends.”

The members of the Star Alliance calmed down and gathered their confidence.

In their eyes, this was a long-term war that might last for decades or even centuries. They decided to wait patiently. No matter how long it took, they had to witness the three Universal Civilizations’ defeat.

Under the harassment of the World Tree’s full invasion, the lives of the galactic residents were extremely tough. Half a year passed in the flames of war.

The World Tree had launched a large-scale invasion of the various Star Fields on more than one occasion, and the three Universal Civilizations had been resisting nonstop. Both sides had fought back and forth for more than half a year, and hundreds of thousands of battles of various sizes had erupted in the cold universe.

The strategic command center calculated the losses. The total area of the planets lost and swallowed by the World Tree was about three and a half Star Systems. Compared to the Star Fields that had hundreds of Star Systems, this loss was not much. There were more than ten Star Fields in the explored universe, and the planets that the World Tree had taken away were just a drop in the ocean. According to this trend, the World Tree theoretically needed hundreds or thousands of years to defeat the Galactic Alliance Army and devour the entire explored universe. However, the three Universal Civilizations would not relax because of this. They would fight for every inch of land. The players followed the fleets to fight the invaders, and their experience quickly accumulated. The number of players who stepped into the Calamity Grade increased.

On the other hand, Karlot, Evans, and the other new Beyond Grade As were also rushing around the battlefields. They did not usually have so many combat opportunities, so their strength was growing rapidly.

Han Xiao was always guarding the shallow layer dimensions alone. In the past half a year, the World Tree Blessed Races had invaded seventeen times, big and small. They all either got killed or fled, unable to shake the secondary dimension defense line that he was guarding.

Other than that, Han Xiao had been focused on cultivating the Pivotal Snake, trying to find a way to make it grow and mate with the secondary dimensions to produce an embryo.

Originally, he did not have much hope, the Pivotal Snake infant was a baby after all. Reproduction was a pressure that it should not bear at its age.

However, what Han Xiao did not expect was that this experiment actually succeeded. Not only did the Pivotal Snake infant stick it up, but it was also very strong. It eagerly destroyed three secondary dimensions that gave birth to ignorant consciousness, leaving behind three embryos. However, after studying the ‘snake p*rno’ that was specially recorded, Han Xiao also found the reason.

Due to the pursuit of the World Tree and the dangers of the secondary dimension environment, the life of the Pivotal Snake was extremely difficult. Therefore, mating as soon as possible and giving birth to offspring might be an instinct carved into their genes. Their reproductive ability was naturally mature, and they did not need to wait until they reached adulthood to give birth.

With the three embryos, he had finally opened the door to the breeder job. Han Xiao had spent most of his time on this, making the Stockman Realmless King bleed.

However, he did not turn the Pivotal Snake infant into a Virtual Life Form because of this. He planned to wait for the embryos to mature. After he had the second and third Pivotal Snake, he planned to try this.

On this day, Han Xiao received news from Oathkeeper and Kasuyi. They planned to visit him together, so he invited them to visit the base.

In the circular corridor of the observatory, three people walked slowly side by side, chatting. The dazzling aurora outside the window left mottled shadows on the three of them.

Han Xiao smiled and said, “How do you have time to visit me today? How’s the battle in the main universe?”

“The Galactic Alliance Army has repelled another wave of the World Tree invasion. We can take a break, so we came to see you.” Kasuyi smiled.

“What about him?” Han Xiao turned to Oathkeeper. “When did you guys get together?” “Are you even going to care about who I make friends with? Such a great superior,” Oathkeeper said with his hands behind his back.

“What are you talking about? I’m just afraid that you’ll be led astray by Kasuyi. He’s a veteran two-faced actor.” Han Xiao snorted.

“You have no right to say that about me.” Kasuyi inwardly rolled his eyes.

The three chatted for a while before getting down to business. “Speaking of which, some of the Beyond Grade As have died in this battle. When do you plan to revive them?”

Han Xiao shook his head. “Not at the moment. Although my authority is high, I will have to spend two to three months in the Sanctum. If I don’t stay here, it will be easy for accidents to happen. Protecting the Pivotal Snake is more important now, so I can’t leave yet.”

Oathkeeper nodded and suddenly changed the topic. “When the war is over, I will leave the explored universe. I will leave the Holy Accord to you.”

Han Xiao was stunned.

What are you doing? What enmity do we have? Why are you suddenly sticking a flag in my face? You are making me panic!

At this moment, Kasuyi smiled and said, “Me too. After this battle, I’ll leave with him.”

What? Are the two of you eloping?

Han Xiao had a strange expression. “This is what you came to talk to me about today? What are you doing? Why do you want to leave when everything is alright?”

Kasuyi shrugged. “It’s just a long journey. Although it’s convenient to stay in the galactic society, this is just a corner of the world. The universe is so big, I want to take a look.” …So capable? The Underworld is huge too. Do you want to take a look?

Han Xiao criticized inwardly.

“You can go if you want to. It’s not like I won’t let you go. Or do you want to see if I will make you stay?”

Oathkeeper said, “That’s not the case. The unexplored universe is filled with unknown dangers. We came to inform you in advance. We hope that every time you enter the Sanctum, you will use Revive on us. If we are still alive, there will naturally be no effect. If we unfortunately die and no news is sent back, you will be able to revive us.”

“That’s it? So, you guys are going out to have fun, and you want me to back you up at home?” Han Xiao said.

“That’s about it.” Kasuyi was not embarrassed at all.

Nc

Han Xiao was speechless. He waved his hand and said, “Alright, I’ll remember this… but aren’t you guys talking too early? The war is not over yet. Didn’t you hear the analysis of the Military Strategy Department? They predicted that this war would take another 200 to 500 years under normal circumstances.”

Kasuyi laughed. “That’s for the average person to see. How can we, the upper echelons, not know? As long as your Pivotal Snake matures, it will be time for us to officially counterattack. It won’t take that long.”

“That’s hard to say.” Han Xiao shook his head and said, “The Pivotal Snake is similar to most creatures. It has six stages of growth, namely the embryo stage, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. Although the Pivotal Snake infant is growing quickly, it has only been less than a year since it broke out of its shell. At most, it is still in the infant stage, and it is still too far from adulthood.” “No matter what, the Pivotal Snake won’t take a few hundred years to reach adulthood. I estimate that it will take at most ten to thirty years,” Oathkeeper concluded.

“That isn’t short.” Han Xiao spread out his hands. “Therefore, the expeditionary army still has to continue moving. We have to search for the World Tree’s main body together. Now that we know each other’s strengths, we don’t have to worry about leaking information. The expeditionary army doesn’t have to be as secretive as before.”

Kasuyi suddenly thought of something and said, “By the way, is there someone called Harrison among your subordinates?”

“You know him?” Han Xiao was surprised.

“I went to reinforce a battlefield not too far away from Planet Aquamarine’s refuge planet, so after the battle, I went to Floating Dragon to take a look. Ames was not at home, and her manager, Jenny, received me. She knows about our relationship and wanted me to pass you a message.” “What is it?” Han Xiao was curious.

“She said she’s pregnant.” Kasuyi’s tone was playful.

“F*ck!” Han Xiao was shocked. “It’s not mine! I’ve never mated with her! Don’t talk nonsense!”

“What are you thinking?” Kasuyi raised his brows. “She said the child’s father is Harrison, not you. Why are you so agitated?”

“Phew, that’s good… Can you finish your sentence in one breath next time?”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief.

If Ames misunderstood that he had something going on with her sister, things would get interesting…

Kasuyi sized him up from head to toe and laughed. “How can a Transcendent be afraid of a mere Ames?”

“What do you mean scared? What do you know? No matter how strong you are, strength is not used to intimidate your family. This is called protecting the harmony of your family.” Han Xiao said with disdain.

Kasuyi did not comment and continued, “Anyway, Jenny told me to tell you that she hopes you can persuade Harrison to give up his position in the expeditionary army and not take the risk again. She doesn’t want her child to lose his father the moment he’s born.”

Hearing this, Han Xiao also stopped joking and told Phillip to check on Harrison’s current situation.

He did not have the time to dig into his subordinates’ privacy, and he only found out about this today. In the past, he only knew that the two of them had some ambiguous relationship, but he did not confirm their relationship. After some investigation, he realized that the two of them had only officially gotten together half a year ago. In the past decade or so, Harrison had been participating in the expedition in the secondary dimension and rarely contacted Jenny. He had originally thought that he would not be able to take care of her feelings, but Jenny did not know if it was because no one wanted her or because she was old and did not want to be alone anymore. Not only did she not have any complaints about this, but her feelings for Harrison also grew deeper instead.

More than half a year ago, the expeditionary army outpost was breached by the World Tree Blessed Race, and the expeditionary army suffered heavy losses. Harrison escaped with his life, and when the expeditionary army reassembled, he finally had the time to return to the main universe. He had escaped death, and Jenny was burning with passion. The two of them finally did it, and the long-distance relationship had come to fruition. They seemed to have made up their mind to reproduce, and they did not take any safety measures.

A month ago, Harrison returned to the expeditionary army and left Jenny’s side.

Han Xiao looked at the file and said, “No one seems to have recruited him. He returned to the expedition army voluntarily.”

Because of the Pivotal Snake, Han Xiao did not continue to force Harrison to participate in the subsequent expedition. Now, he realized that it was Harrison’s own doing.

“Why is this guy so proactive?”

Han Xiao was curious. Using the Realmless King as a transit station, he contacted Harrison, who had been branded.

A few seconds later, the call connected.

“Your Excellency Black Star.”

Harrison’s remote projection appeared and greeted Han Xiao respectfully.

“There’s no need to be so polite. It’s like this. Jenny is pregnant, and she told me to persuade you not to take the risk with the expeditionary army. Furthermore, you’re not the only one in the army. How about it? Do you want to go back?” Han Xiao went straight to the point.

Harrison shook his head. “I appreciate her kindness, but I won’t go back.”

“I noticed that you joined the expedition willingly. What were you thinking?” Han Xiao asked.

Harrison was silent for a moment before slowly saying,

“When I was on Floating Dragon Island, I came into contact with many refugees. Do you know their current state? They live in panic every day. Many of them can’t take the pressure and choose to free themselves, while those who are alive fear the unknown tomorrow. No one knows if they will one day become the target of the World Tree invasion. New religions are popular, and countless people are looking for comfort. Everyone is praying for the war to end soon.

You said that my luck is very good, and it’s very suitable for me to find things. I don’t know if it’s true, but I hope you’re right. I hope that this illusory luck will be of use and contribute to the end of the war as soon as possible.”

Han Xiao raised his brows and chuckled.

“Not bad, you’ve made me feel a little respect for you… However, you should know that we have a very high chance of winning now that the Pivotal Snake is in our hands. The expeditionary army is no longer the only way, and it might not be of any use. You’re not the only one in the army, and your actions might just be a waste of effort and a risk to your life. Why not go back and accompany your unborn child?”

Harrison shook his head. “I don’t want to enjoy myself under your protection for these reasons. My colleagues are here, and I don’t want to run away. Please don’t persuade me anymore. I’ve made up my mind.” “Alright, I won’t persuade you then. Be careful.” Han Xiao nodded.

“… If possible, please tell Jenny that I love her.”

Little brother, do you know that the moment you say this, your death omen is flashing?

“Tell her yourself. Who do you think I am? Your mouthpiece?”

Han Xiao clicked his tongue and hung up before Harrison could reply.

Little brother, don’t thank me. I’m helping you pull out the flag to save your life!

Kasuyi listened to the whole conversation from the side and sighed. “You have a good officer.”

“He wasn’t like this in the past. He was at most a curious child, but now it seems like he’s already an adult.”

Han Xiao paused and smiled. “This person might be a little stupid, but the world needs some idiots like him. Maybe he can really give me a surprise.”

Chapter 1431: Rescue and Waiting For A Miracle

More than ten refugee transport ships were speeding in the planetary space, and there was a World Tree fleet chasing after them.

The atmosphere in the cabin of the carrier was tense. Many refugees were panicking, especially the ship that was the most heavily damaged, White Mountain. You could almost see the word ‘despair’ written on the refugees’ faces.

“The reinforcements haven’t arrived yet… If this continues, we’ll be caught.”

The captain of White Mountain was sweating profusely as he stared at the ship inspection report on the virtual screen. On the three-dimensional virtual model of White Mountain, the functional modules of the ship were all red, showing malfunction issues. The entire ship was on the verge of collapse, and one-quarter of the 28 propulsion engines were damaged. The power of the energy core had also decreased to 74%.

Because some areas were frequently invaded by the World Tree and became dangerous areas, some of the refugee planets were no longer safe. The galactic alliance army formed a transport team to migrate the refugees in these areas, and this small fleet carried this mission to transport some refugees.

However, halfway through the journey, they happened to meet the World Tree fleet that was hiding in their territory. An encounter broke out, and the smaller fleet was wiped out. Most of the transport ships were destroyed on the spot, and the remaining ships fled in panic, still being chased by the World Tree fleet.

As for the White Mountain transport ship, it was the most damaged among all the existing starships. Its modules were malfunctioning, and its speed gradually decreased, slowing down the entire fleet.

“At most, at most ten minutes, the engine will shut down. There’s a desolate planet with a serial number in front of us. Should we land?”

The vice commander’s trembling voice sounded. The captain of White Mountain clenched his fists and hesitated.

If they were forced to land, the people on the entire ship would have no way to escape. They could only let the guards on the ship hide on the planet with the refugees and wait for reinforcements.

The suggestions of the other captains came through the communication channel.

“White Mountain, land. Your ship is no longer able to keep up with the speed of the main fleet. We can’t slow down and wait for you.”

“You will be alone sooner or later. Instead of being paralyzed in space, it’s better to hide on the planet. At least there’s a chance of survival.”

“Leave the White Mountain behind and buy us some time to save more refugees.”

Some stood on the side of rational analysis, while others made blatant requests, trying to persuade the White Mountain to stay. “I understand…”

The captain of White Mountain had a helpless look on his face.

He understood that it would be better for them to stay behind and stall for time for the refugees on the other ships.

Even so, he felt very guilty. In the report, this batch of refugees was just a cold number, but they were all alive at the moment. Using his own ship of refugees to help more refugees might be in line with the calculation of benefits, but he could not bear to do it logically. These refugees were not soldiers, and they had no intention of sacrificing themselves. Furthermore, he could not possibly make this decision after discussing it with the refugees, or it would most likely cause a mutiny. He could only silently lead them to stay behind to cover their retreat while others still had hope and believed in the captain. This made him feel very uncomfortable.

Just as he was trapped in a dilemma, the desolate planet appeared in front of the transport fleet. The eyes of the many captains immediately lit up, and they saw a small armed fleet without a symbol docked on the surface of the planet. Only when they got close did the radar detect the presence of the other party. “There’s actually a fleet lying in ambush here? They don’t look like they’re from the World Tree.”

“Are they our reinforcements? Forget it, no matter who they are, they’re all part of the galactic society.”

“Quick, contact the other party and send a signal!”

All of a sudden, the captains were overjoyed. They thought that reinforcements had arrived and hurriedly sent out a request for help.

On the other side, Pangon and the others, who were resting on this desolate planet, started discussing.

“This seems to be an escaping refugee fleet. The World Tree fleet is chasing after them.”

“They’re asking us for help. What should we do? Should we help?”

“Don’t help. The lives of the galactic residents under the three Universal Civilizations have nothing to do with us. Let’s go, don’t involve ourselves in their affairs.”

Everyone quickly exchanged their opinions and reached a consensus.

This group of avengers was not on the side of the three Universal Civilizations. Even if the World Tree invaded completely, it would have nothing to do with them. It would be extremely benevolent of them not to add insult to injury.

Pangon was silent for a while before speaking. “In that case, reject all their contact requests and leave immediately.”

The captains of the transport fleet were looking forward to the reply of this unfamiliar armed fleet, but all their communication requests were useless.

The next moment, their expressions changed. This unfamiliar armed fleet rose into the sky and ignored the distress signal, heading in another direction. It was obvious that they were heading away, meaning they did not want to provide support.

“They’re gone, not our reinforcements.” “Looks like I can’t count on this group…”

The many captains’ hopes were dashed.

Seeing that there was no turning point, the captain of White Mountain gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind.

“Attention all units. Separate the ship’s cargo hold, load all the crew, and carry out orbital suppression. Set up the process of turning back to face the attack. Cover the departure of the brothers.”

Hearing this, everyone’s expression turned solemn. They knew that the White Mountain had chosen to sacrifice.

Although they hoped that would be the case, they were not too happy when it actually happened.

Very soon, the group split up. The majority of the troops continued to flee into the distance, while White Mountain slowed down and left the troops. It turned around and flew toward the desolate planet. It looked like a lone stream of light in a sea of shooting stars. In outer space, White Mountain quickly completed its transformation. The thick armor shell was no longer locked onto each other, and mechanical parts started moving one after another. The entire carrier arched like a shrimp, and the cabin on its abdomen separated, turning into an iron-gray escape ship. Its body shrunk a lot, and it had practically no armaments as it descended toward the planet.

As for the spaceships that remained in place, they were like a hollow armor shell that operated on its own. The cannons on the spaceships fired fiercely toward the back, trying to stop the World Tree fleet that was gradually approaching.

Bang!

The escape ship landed heavily on the planet’s surface, creating a crater. All the hatches opened simultaneously, and the refugees who had been forced to change their life support equipment rushed out of the cabin. They looked up at the sky with despair and panic in their eyes.

The World Tree fleet had already arrived in outer space, and a round of fire destroyed the armor shell that they had left in outer space. It slowly descended and expanded before everyone’s eyes like a shadow.

“Why did you stop?!”

“Why are you landing here? You’ve caused us to be surrounded!”

The refugees were in an uproar. They glared at the guards beside them with hatred and anger. Without their knowledge, the captain had ordered the spaceship to land, turning their chance of escape into zero.

“Everyone, listen up. Split up with the ship’s warriors.”

The captain of the White Mountain did not explain. Now was not the time to say more. He could only give the order with a stern face.

He knew that everyone’s chances of survival were close to zero after being forced to surrender, but he still wanted to make a final effort and hide with the refugees.

However, the next moment, when he saw the actions of the World Tree battleships clearly, he finally fell into despair. He saw that the cannons of the World Tree fleet were aimed at the planet’s surface. They were planning to save time and cleanse the planet.

“I’m dead for sure… However, letting the World Tree fleet shoot here for a few rounds would delay them. I’ve fulfilled my mission…”

The captain of the White Mountain clenched his fists tightly. His expression changed rapidly. He was both unwilling yet relieved.

However, just as the people raised their heads and looked at the Planetary Obliteration Cannon that destroyed them with fear, a bright light suddenly shot from another direction in the starry sky and penetrated several World Tree battleships, blowing them up like fireworks.

Everyone looked over in shock, only to see a shooting star covered in thick flames rapidly approaching. Powerful Pugilist flames shot out like heavy cannons, bombarding the World Tree fleet one after another, blowing the battleships into pieces.

Behind Pangon was the armed fleet that had just left. In the blink of an eye, they had destroyed the World Tree fleet.

The battle did not last long. Under the watchful eyes of the crew of the White Mountain, Pangon led the Avengers fleet and quickly wiped out all the enemy spaceships in the sky. The huge World Tree fleet was only left with wreckage and parts floating in outer space. This wave of escape from death made many refugees unable to control their emotions, and the crowd cheered wildly.

The captain of the White Mountain seemed to have woken up from a dream. He hurriedly asked someone to contact this armed fleet to express his gratitude. However, the other party did not reply to him even after they had finished fighting the World Tree fleet. It was as if they had only done him a small favor and did not even bother to clean up the battlefield.

“These obviously are not the people of the Galactic Alliance Army. What kind of army is this…”

The captain of White Mountain looked at the departing Avengers and mumbled to himself.

At this time, Pangon returned to the main ship. His other comrades surrounded him with strange expressions.

“You’re really something. You promised not to get involved in the war, but you suddenly made us turn around and fight.”

“If we are targeted by the World Tree because of this battle, it will be troublesome. It will not be beneficial for us to accumulate our strength.”

“Whose side are you on?”

The attitude of the few of them was as though they were interrogating him. Pangon did not mind and waved his hand expressionlessly. “I’ve changed my mind. Although we won’t take the initiative to participate in the war, if we encounter something like this again in the future, we’ll save them if we can. Our target of revenge is the regime of the three Universal Civilizations, and the ordinary galactic residents have no grudges with us.”

“This is exposing our existence,” one of his comrades said with dissatisfaction.

“To Black Star, our existence is not a secret to begin with. If we cause any adverse effects to the war, he can tell the three Universal Civilizations about us at any time. After all, we have never been on the same side.” Pangon paused for a moment before continuing, “Furthermore, more than half of the galactic society has guessed that the World Tree’s full invasion is because a traitor leaked the information. Do you think Black Star won’t suspect us?”

Everyone was stunned.

“In his eyes, we have sufficient motive to do so. If we don’t express our goodwill and let Black Star think that we did it, even if we don’t participate in the war, we can’t stay out of it,” Pangon explained.

Hearing this, the few of them looked at each other, slightly shaken.

“You’re clearly just a Pugilist, but why do we feel that what you say makes sense every time you trick us?”

In a certain place in the secondary dimension.

A spatial rift opened, and Hayleen flew out from within.

Under the enhancement of her special talent spell and the Leaf Cloak, her current state was almost ‘outside the Three Realms and not within the Five Elements’. She could not be observed normally.

“The whereabouts of the Pivotal Snake are mysterious. The mother tree only has a rough direction and range, and there’s no clear location. What should I do…”

Hayleen was troubled. After accepting the mission of the Ancestral Tree King, she had been searching for information about the appearance of the Pivotal Snake for the past half a year, but she had never found an opportunity to assassinate it.

Furthermore, it seemed like Black Star had always been by the side of the Pivotal Snake. To her, that was the most dangerous place in the universe. She held onto the principle of not taking risks if she could and never dared to go near it.

After thinking about it, the only feasible method that Hayleen could think of was to add a ‘snake-killing agent’ made by the mother tree to some secondary dimensions where the Pivotal Snake often appeared. Then, they would wait patiently. If the Hub Serpent ate one of the secondary dimensions, it would be poisoned.

Although this method was very random, she did not have a better idea for the time being. After all, she could not control the source of food for the Pivotal Snake, so she could only spread her net and try her luck.

The only advantage of this method was that it was safer, and she did not have to take the risk of being exposed to get close to Black Star, giving her a lot of opportunities to test her luck.

Hayleen raised her hand, and a dark green liquid appeared. It was the ‘Snake-killing agent’ that the Ancestral Tree King had given her.

With a flick of her finger, a small drop of dark green liquid separated and fused into the ground of this secondary dimension. “I hope this method works…”

Hayleen muttered to herself, not knowing how to proceed.

Chapter 1432: Reverse Halo

Chapter 1432 Reverse Halo

An expedition fleet cruised through the secondary dimensions, passing through space cracks.

The strange scenery outside the window flashed past Harrison’s eyes one after another. He focused on the star map, and the coordinates of the secondary dimensions lit up one after another, drawing the trajectory of the fleet. Behind him, the other crew members did their jobs.

The aide-de-camp stood at the side, pointed at the star map, and said softly, “Following this route, we will cut into the area controlled by the World Tree. Although His Excellency Black Star killed the World Tree’s Blessed Race and caused a gap in their internal defenses, it is still very dangerous for us to go deeper.”

“I know, but only by going deep into the enemy’s territory will we be able to find the World Tree’s main body. Without risking our lives, how can we possibly find anything?” Harrison replied without hesitation.

The aide-de-camp pursed his lips and could not help but say, “Sir, why are you working so hard? With your relationship with His Excellency Black Star…”

“Alright, don’t say such things anymore. You don’t have to persuade me.” Harrison did not even look up.

The aide-de-camp smiled bitterly.

Do you think I care about you? The main thing is that if you shrink back, we can use your relationship to go back and rest…

The aide-de-camp said with resignation, “I think we’ll give free kills.”

“If you have the time to worry, you might as well pray that we’re safe and sound,” Harrison replied casually. “If praying is useful, what’s the point of having an army?” The aide-de-camp muttered softly.

Harrison glanced at him and was about to say something when he suddenly frowned and looked out of the window.

So

“Something’s wrong…” “What’s wrong?” The aide-de-camp was curious.

“I feel uneasy,” Harrison whispered.

“…Quick! Weapon charge, prepare for battle!”

The aide-de-camp and the rest of the crew panicked. They immediately yelled and ordered the fleet to enter combat mode.

They had no choice but to take it seriously. Last time, when Harrison was feeling uneasy, the expeditionary army outpost was gone. In their eyes, Harrison was a jinx. If he had any headache or fever, it meant that they were going to suffer together. Harrison looked at the radar screen vigilantly, but there was no abnormal reaction. The uneasiness in his heart gradually disappeared, and his brows relaxed.

“Could it be an illusion…”

Harrison was a little confused, but he shook his head. Since he did not discover anything, he was not sure if his senses had gone wrong.

“Sir, don’t scare us!”

Hearing this, everyone secretly heaved a sigh of relief, their faces filled with helplessness. They thought it was his bad taste.

The expedition fleet quickly disappeared along the space crack. After they left, a translucent figure appeared in this secondary dimension. It was Hayleen.

“The exploration team of the three Universal Civilizations…”

Hayleen looked in the direction where the fleet disappeared. Her expression changed a few times, but she did not attack in the end.

During this time, she had been searching for suitable secondary dimensions to add the snake-killing agent. Occasionally, she would meet the troops of the three Universal Civilizations.

As the World Tree currently did not need to steal intelligence, she did not make a move. After all, there were other World Tree Blessed Races to deal with these people, and she did not want to alert them and expose herself. Her mission was more important.

However, the expeditionary army was also useful to her. According to the routes of some fleets, together with the mother tree’s reaction to the Pivotal Snake, Hayleen had screened out areas that might be frequented by the Pivotal Snake during this period, as well as some secondary dimensions that might be chosen by the Pivotal Snake as food. All of them were injected with the snake-killing agents. This time was no exception. Hayleen silently activated her space magic, found the traces of Harrison’s fleet, and flew toward their direction. Very soon, she arrived at a strange, rocky secondary dimension. The violent radiation dust storm turned into tornadoes, and there was no sign of life in the entire dimension. “This place isn’t bad.”

Hayleen nodded. As far as she knew, this type of secondary dimension that did not give birth to life but had different substances was the favorite food for the Pivotal Snake. The pure energy type secondary dimension was not liked by it. Maybe it was because of the texture, after all, those with substances were very crispy. She popped out the snake-killing agent and watched it integrate into the secondary dimension. Only then did she use a teleportation spell to leave and find her next target.

Half a month later.

The Realmless King led the Pivotal Snake through the secondary dimension world. The dense mechanical army protected them like a black cloud.

As they passed by the secondary dimensions, everyone would stop for a while to observe the reaction of the Pivotal Snake. If the Pivotal Snake did not start eating, they would continue to go to the next place.

Although all secondary dimensions were food, the Pivotal Snake would not stuff all of them into its mouth. After all, its appetite was limited, and it needed time to digest after eating. As long as it was not extremely hungry, the Pivotal Snake would only start to eat when it met a secondary dimension that suited its taste. As the saying went, it was easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but it was difficult to go from extravagant to frugal. It did not need to find its own food, so its taste was getting more and more picky.

After a while, they arrived at a strange, rocky secondary dimension. The Pivotal Snake immediately started twisting and turning. It took a fancy to this food, and without caring about the others, it started to feast on it. The white fog on its body spread out, and everywhere it passed, the matter was ground and swallowed.

Seeing this, the Realmless King and the mechanical army retreated to the side and did not disturb the Pivotal Snake’s meal.

Seeing that the Pivotal Snake was eating happily, the Realmless King sighed in his heart.

“It’s getting more and more troublesome.”

The Realmless King yielded to Han Xiao’s tyrannical power and unwillingly became the stockman of the Pivotal Snake. Even though his lifespan was almost infinite, he felt like his life had given him a heavy blow when he thought about the fact that he would still have to rear the Pivotal Snake for decades. His b*lls hurt so bad… although he did not have this part.

The most terrifying thing was that Black Star still had three embryos. When all of them were hatched, wouldn’t it be four times the happiness for this stockman?

Furthermore, Black Star would definitely force them to give birth to little snakes. One begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things; there would be unlimited offspring…

Damn it! When will these days end?!

The Realmless King felt as if he could see his own bitter future, and he shuddered.

Just as he was feeling sad for his fate, the Pivotal Snake that was eating suddenly stopped and twisted violently, collapsing mountains one after another. It looked in extreme pain as if someone had suddenly stuffed a spoon of mustard into its mouth while eating

“What’s going on?”

The Realmless King was shocked, and he hurriedly came forward to control the Pivotal Snake. The mechanical troops also quickly surrounded it.

However, the Pivotal Snake that was restrained by everyone was still struggling with all its might, like a lively fish being pressed onto a chopping board.

Psionic Prime quickly scanned the vital signs of the Pivotal Snake and said coldly, “Something’s not right. The life force of the Pivotal Snake is rapidly withering, and some unknown compound has already spread in its body. It seems to be a genetic toxin specifically targeted at it, and it has already caused irreversible damage. The damage is still increasing, so it should have been plotted against!”

“There are enemies nearby?” The Realmless King was shocked. He immediately released all his senses, but he did not discover anything.

“Our radar can’t find him either. I’ve already summoned the Lord. He’ll be here soon.”

The moment Psionic Prime finished speaking, a light appeared beside him. It was Han Xiao.

“What’s going on?”

Han Xiao immediately noticed the abnormal situation of the Pivotal Snake. His expression changed slightly, and without hesitation, he poked the Pivotal Snake. The combat information immediately popped up on the interface.

This time, Psionic Prime and the other Mechanical Oracles walked up to him and said with guilt, “We are sorry, we fell into the enemy’s trap unknowingly. This is our negligence. Please punish us…”

“Alright, take your leave.” Han Xiao did not have the time to care about them. He waved his hands and looked at the interface.

At this time, in the status bar of the Pivotal Snake, there was a negative status of (Heavy Poisoning). It was introduced as the genetic toxin specially concocted by the World Tree, and it was only targeted at the Pivotal Snake Race. Once it entered the body, it would cause the gene sequence to shatter. It was completely irreversible, causing the Pivotal Snake’s health to decrease at a rate of 1.5% per second, and its maximum health decreased at a rate of 0.5% per second. He released his senses and scanned the area, but he did not sense the presence of any outsiders. He asked about the situation just now and roughly guessed how the Pivotal Snake was affected.

“‘Damn, they tampered with the meal and happened to pick the correct target. What kind of luck was this…”

Han Xiao’s eyes twitched.

With so many secondary dimensions and the random selection of food by the Pivotal Snake, it just had to hit the jackpot. What kind of probability was this?

Could it be that so many mascots could not slightly dilute my Heavenly Execution Grade luck?

Han Xiao thought to himself. Seeing how much health the Pivotal Snake had lost, he took out a tube of Aurora Potion and injected it into the Pivotal Snake’s body. The effect was immediate, and its health immediately recovered.

However, the effect of being poisoned did not weaken. It still hung on its stats window. Although its health bar was full, the upper limit was still falling. Seeing this, Han Xiao injected a few more shots of Aurora Potion into the Pivotal Snake. The HP regeneration was the same, but it could not get rid of the poisoned status.

“This poison is quite powerful…” Han Xiao’s eyes narrowed. If he was given some time, he would be able to try and crack it. However, with the speed of losing HP in this poison state, it only needed 200 seconds to clear the upper limit of the Pivotal Snake’s health. This amount of time was not enough.

“Alright, let’s experiment with my previous idea.”

Han Xiao activated (Life TransformationVirtual] on the suffering Pivotal Snake.

Now that he had three embryos in his hands, with the cost of trial and error, he originally wanted to experiment on the newborn baby. He did not expect this Pivotal Snake to have an accident, so he might as well try this idea on it.

Streams of data flashed across the body of the Pivotal Snake, and it slowly began to turn incorporeal. Its pain also began to decrease rapidly. The World Tree’s toxin targeted the biological genes. At this moment, the life form of the Pivotal Snake began to change, and it gradually became immune to the toxin effect.

During this process, because the body of the Pivotal Snake was turning incorporeal, the toxins in its body automatically came out and condensed into a drop of black-green liquid that floated in midair.

Seeing that the situation had stabilized, Han Xiao raised his hand to collect this drop of poison. He narrowed his eyes and activated [Bold Explorer) without hesitation.

“Although I’m not afraid of such methods, since you dared to send people here to do something, I can’t let you escape so easily.”

Chapter 1433: Going for Wool and Coming Home Shorn

Chapter 1433 Going for Wool and Coming Home Shorn

At the same time, somewhere in the secondary dimension world, Hayleen was wandering around, choosing a new target.

Very soon, she arrived in a blue liquid world. She popped out the snake-killing agent and watched it dissolve in the liquid. As she worked, her thoughts drifted away.

“I wonder if the poison I planted earlier worked…”

Hayleen murmured.

She could only plant the poison everywhere, but she did not dare go back to check. If the Pivotal Snake was infected, Black Star would definitely be waiting nearby. If she went over, there might be some risk.

The only way to determine if the plan was successful was to determine the status of the Pivotal Snake based on the mother tree’s reaction. If the mother tree’s reaction to the Pivotal Snake weakened or disappeared, it would mean that the Pivotal Snake was dead. In that case, she would not have to check which trap the Pivotal Snake had fallen into.

Therefore, Hayleen felt that she was still in a safe situation. All she needed to do was to set up the traps. As long as the mother tree gave her feedback, she would be able to retreat.

After adding the snake-killing agent to the blue secondary dimension in front of her, Hayleen was about to turn around and leave. However, at this moment, the voice of the Ancestral Tree King suddenly came from the mental network, bringing good news.

“The mother tree’s connection to the Pivot Snake is rapidly weakening. Your method should have succeeded.”

“It really succeeded? So fast ” The chances are so low, I thought it would take at least a few years for the Pivotal Snake to choose the secondary dimension that I tampered with…”

Hayleen’s eyes lit up with joy. She had thought that she might need to spend two to three years planting snake-killing agents in enough secondary dimensions so that the Pivotal Snake would have a higher chance of falling for it. However, the plan had only started half a year ago. There were not many secondary dimensions that were injected with the poison, but the Pivotal Snake had chosen one so quickly. What kind of probability was this? What kind of luck was this ?

In less than a year, she had successfully resolved the biggest threat to the World Tree. It was a pleasant surprise!

The Ancestral Tree King was also in a good mood. He had planned to let Hayleen carry out this mission for a long time, and had not expected it to work so quickly.

Don’t ask why, but if you had to ask, it was God’s will!

This was definitely the blessing of the Goddess of Luck!

“Come back. When the Mother Tree confirms that the Pivotal Snake is dead, the position of the Tree King will be yours.”

“Alright, I’ll go back now!”

Suppressing her excitement, Hayleen was about to open the transportation door and return.

However, just as she was about to return with excitement, the Ancestral Tree King suddenly interrupted her.

“Wait a minute, the mother tree’s reaction has changed…”

“What now?”

“The mother tree’s connection with the Pivot Snake has stopped declining, and it’s becoming stronger instead… Strange, this is too abnormal. What happened?” The Ancestral Tree King’s tone became heavy.

The stronger the World Tree’s reaction to the Pivotal Snake, it signified the more mature the Pivotal Snake would be. Right now, it was only a rough perception range, and they could only accurately determine each other’s location when it reached adulthood.

Just a moment ago, after the signal of the Pivotal Snake weakened for a while, it suddenly rose in reverse and quickly exceeded its previous limit, still rising.

Hayleen paused in shock.

“Why is this happening ?”

“You didn’t do anything unnecessary, did
you?”

The intensity of the sense was still increasing. The Ancestral Tree King felt that something was wrong, and his tone was filled with doubt.

“Absolutely not! I’ve always been focused on setting traps. Even when I coincidentally met the three Universal Civilizations’ fleets, I never took action!”

Hayleen was so anxious that she almost swore an oath and shared the relevant memories on the mental network.

The Ancestral Tree King quickly scanned through her experiences over the past half a year, but he did not find anything out of the ordinary. With a grave expression, he said, “There’s only one explanation. Black Star used some method to save the Pivotal Snake, and he even sped up its growth…”

Before he finished his sentence, the mother tree’s consciousness suddenly became agitated, as if it was feeling intense panic.

However, the sensitivity of the Pivotal Snake seemed to have broken through some kind of restriction. A large area of its detection range suddenly disappeared, turning into a precise coordinate in the blink of an eye!

The Ancestral Tree King’s eyes widened in shock, and his mind went blank.

The connection between the World Tree and the Pivotal Snake was two-way. When the World Tree could accurately locate the Pivotal Snake, it meant that the Pivotal Snake had entered adulthood and could locate the precise coordinates of the World Tree.

This meant that… the mother tree’s location had been exposed!

If he had not confirmed that the mother tree would not lie to him, he would have suspected that the poison that the mother tree had concocted was actually the catalyst for the maturation of the Pivotal Snake.

The Ancestral Tree King was confused.

I sent people to assassinate the Pivotal Snake. Even if she failed, they would only lose one high-level combatant. Why did it cause the Pivotal Snake to mature?

Not only did we not solve this threat, we even shortened the time it took for this hidden danger to erupt… We originally had a few decades to deal with it, but now, this little bit of buffer time is gone. We are now facing imminent danger without any mental preparations.

What should I do?

“How could this be…”

Hayleen was stunned as well. Before the two of them could recover from their shock, a space crack suddenly opened in this secondary dimension. Han Xiao stepped into the void and slowly walked out.

Han Xiao looked around and quickly locked onto a seemingly empty area. It was actually where Hayleen was hiding.

“Do you want to come out yourself, or do you want me to invite you?”

Hayleen was shocked.

The series of unforeseen events had already thrown her into chaos. She did not expect Black Star to find her so quickly, and with just a glance, he had already seen through the stealth effect of the Leaf Concealment Robe and locked onto her location.

“Stop hiding. You can’t escape from my senses.”

Han Xiao did not wait. Beams of mechanical particles flowed along his arm and turned into a circular device, releasing an invisible force field toward Hayleen.

In the empty space, Hayleen’s figure suddenly appeared and rippled.

Seeing that her position was exposed, Hayleen was shocked and hurriedly opened the transportation door to retreat. However, at this moment, Han Xiao raised his hand and grabbed it. A mechanical disc rose from the back of his head like a crown of light, freezing the space and shattering her teleportation spell.

Following this, a bunch of Mechanical Oracles surged out from the Mechanical Force and surrounded Hayleen, but they did not attack immediately.

“Crap…”

Hayleen felt despair in her heart. The difference in strength was too great. She could not fight a Transcendent alone. She clenched her teeth and made up her mind to fight to the death. However, at this moment, the shocked voice of the Ancestral Tree King suddenly sounded in her mind.

“Wait a minute, why is the mother tree’s coordinates of the Pivot Snake on Black Star?”

Hayleen was stunned. She took a look and was shocked.

The mother tree had locked onto the Pivotal Snake coordinates, and it was Black Star… what was going on ? This time, Han Xiao did not make a move immediately. Instead, he looked at Hayleen with interest and said, “Your idea of ambushing the Pivotal Snake was quite good, but it’s useless. I know that you have the mental network to contact each other regardless of distance. Help me send a message to the Ancestral Tree King. I already know the location of your World Tree’s main body. You’ve already lost this battle.”

“What did you do…” Hayleen could not help but ask.

“Are you referring to how I got rid of the genetic toxin you guys released?”

Han Xiao smiled. He raised his hand, and a translucent snake appeared in his palm. It was the Pivotal Snake that had been transformed into a Virtual Life Form.

The Pivotal Snake had transformed into a Virtual Life Form, and Han Xiao had instilled a large amount of data into it, nurturing it through artificial intelligence.

The result made him overjoyed. His previous idea was correct. The Pivotal Snake in the Virtual Life Form had escaped the limit of normal growth, and it could mature quickly this way. The connection between the Pivotal Snake and the World Tree in the Information Form did not disappear because of the Pivotal Snake’s life form change. Both parties still had a two-way connection.

From (Bold Explorer), Han Xiao saw the World Tree’s assassination plan. He originally thought that he was unlucky, but after seeing the short interaction between Hayleen and Harrison, he was a little uncertain and had a bold guess.

Maybe it was the effect of Harrison’s Halo that made Hayleen choose the food of the Pivotal Snake, which indirectly led to the Pivotal Snake turning into a Virtual Life Form, maturing in advance and sensing the coordinates of the World Tree… Although it did not sound probable, Han Xiao felt that anything was possible to a protagonist-type character.

Because the Virtual Life Form was controlled by Han Xiao, he simply stored the Pivotal Snake in the Godly Stronghold and turned it into a tool. This way, even if the World Tree could lock onto the Pivotal Snake in reverse, the coordinates would only be his location. There was no way to avoid him no matter what they did.

Seeing this through the mental network, the Ancestral Tree King’s face turned ashen. He immediately understood the current situation.

I’m afraid we no longer have the chance to remove the threat of the Pivotal Snake…

At this time, Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and said to Hayleen,

“Although you’re here to assassinate the Pivotal Snake, you did me a favor. You could be considered a hero of the three Universal Civilizations. I’ll make an exception and give you a chance to live.”

“…What are you going to do?”

“I will seal you up. Maybe after we get rid of the World Tree, you would still have a chance to survive. You have nowhere to run now, so you might as well accept the seal. Don’t make me waste my energy.” Han Xiao raised his brows.

“I…”

Hayleen sounded hesitant as if she was conflicted.

However, the next moment, she suddenly jumped up and retreated. A series of instantaneous spells were thrown out, creating a path in the mechanical army.

However, before she could do anything, the Mechanical Oracles around her attacked together and suppressed Hayleen instantly. Han Xiao moved closer to Hayleen and grabbed her neck with one hand.

“Looks like you won’t give up until you see your coffin.”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and put strength in his hand to crush her protective spell, and threw her toward the Mechanical Oracles.

An intense battle immediately broke out, but there was no suspense in the battle. The one-sided battle did not last long. Hayleen, who was at the end of her rope, was crushed by the group of Mechanical Oracles until she was almost paralyzed.

Seeing this, Han Xiao floated in front of her, pressed down on her head, and activated his ability. Not long after, the Spacetime Amber took form, and Hayleen’s sorrowful and humiliated expression froze.

“Congratulations to the Lord for catching the culprit. Nothing in this world can hide from your eyes,” Psionic Prime said.

“Alright, you’re not suitable for flattery. Go back.”

Han Xiao waved his hands and felt relieved.

If not for the World Tree’s plot, he would not have been able to make up his mind to experiment on the Pivotal Snake so quickly. The World Tree was just throwing stones at its own feet.

“Since the coordinates are already in my hands, I’ll call Harrison back… Speaking of which, I think I’ve taken advantage of his halo.”

Han Xiao thought about it and called the Realmless King to act as a transit station to contact Harrison.

Before long, Harrison’s remote projection appeared.

“Your Excellency Black Star, what can I do for you?”

“Don’t participate in the expedition. Come back.”

Harrison was a little surprised. “Huh? Didn’t we talk about this before? I remember you promised not to persuade me. I’ve decided to contribute to the galactic society…”

Before he could finish, Han Xiao interrupted him and smiled.

“Things are different now. The situation has changed. I have already grasped the exact coordinates of the World Tree’s main body and no longer need the expeditionary army. You don’t have to take the unnecessary risk.”

Harrison was stunned. “Your Excellency Black Star, are you trying to trick me into going back? How long has it been?”

Han Xiao smiled and said, “It’s all thanks to your luck this time. If not for you, I might not have been able to determine the location of the World Tree so quickly. Strictly speaking, part of the credit belongs to you. You’ve already made a huge contribution to ending this war, so you can leave now. It’s decided. I’ll teleport over later and bring you back.”

With that, he hung up.

On the other side, Harrison scratched his head in confusion.

No, what did I do? How did I make such a huge contribution? Why don’t I know about it?

Chapter 1434: The Horn of Counterattack

Chapter 1434 The Horn of Counterattack

Secondary Dimension World, World Tree Civilization Control Area, Tree King Palace.

The moment his mental connection with Hayleen was cut off, and the Ancestral Tree King knew that she had been sealed by Black Star. He closed his eyes silently with a gloomy expression. “What should we do?” The Fortitude Tree King looked over and asked with a complicated tone.

The Ancestral Tree King pressed his brows as his expression changed. There was frustration, disappointment, and regret.

After a moment of silence, he opened his eyes again and spoke with a helpless and weak expression.

“… Retract all the troops outside and return to the secondary dimensional zone. All troops are to protect the mother tree.”

“Are we giving up on the invasion?” “Now is not the time to consider how to invade the enemy. It’s time to guard against the enemy’s counterattack.”

The Ancestral Tree King’s expression was grave, and a hint of unwillingness flashed through his eyes.

The coordinates of the mother tree’s main body had been exposed. If it had been an ordinary opponent, the World Tree Civilization would not have been so flustered. They could have sealed the dimension and deployed a large number of troops to guard it. Even if the enemy wanted to attack the mother tree’s main body, they would have to cross countless lines of defense.

However, the three Universal Civilizations happened to be able to counter this tactic. The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device could ignore any space blockade and pass through any defensive line. Once the coordinates of the mother tree were exposed, it would give the three Universal Civilizations a chance to raid their home.

The Ancestral Tree King did not dare take the risk and had no choice but to withdraw all his troops to protect the mother tree’s main body. The attack and defense had already changed, and now it was his turn to worry about the three Universal Civilizations’ invasion.

In the eyes of the Ancestral Tree King, this method was like quenching his thirst with poison. Even if he could defeat the armies of disappointment, and regret.

After a moment of silence, he opened his eyes again and spoke with a helpless and weak expression.

“…Retract all the troops outside and return to the secondary dimensional zone. All troops are to protect the mother tree.”

“Are we giving up on the invasion?” “Now is not the time to consider how to invade the enemy. It’s time to guard against the enemy’s counterattack.”

The Ancestral Tree King’s expression was grave, and a hint of unwillingness flashed through his eyes.

The coordinates of the mother tree’s main body had been exposed. If it had been an ordinary opponent, the World Tree Civilization would not have been so flustered. They could have sealed the dimension and deployed a large number of troops to guard it. Even if the enemy wanted to attack the mother tree’s main body, they would have to cross countless lines of defense.

However, the three Universal Civilizations happened to be able to counter this tactic. The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device could ignore any space blockade and pass through any defensive line. Once the coordinates of the mother tree were exposed, it would give the three Universal Civilizations a chance to raid their home.

The Ancestral Tree King did not dare take the risk and had no choice but to withdraw all his troops to protect the mother tree’s main body. The attack and defense had already changed, and now it was his turn to worry about the three Universal Civilizations’ invasion.

In the eyes of the Ancestral Tree King, this method was like quenching his thirst with poison. Even if he could defeat the armies of the three Universal Civilizations time and time again, the Pivotal Snake was completely controlled by Black Star and could locate the mother tree’s body at any time. It was equivalent to the World Tree never having a day of peace. The Ancestral Tree King could not think of a way to turn the tables. The civilization had been growing for so long, and he did not know how long it had been since they fell into such a desperate situation.

After hunting so many civilizations, they had finally met a tough opponent.

“Is there really no other way?” the Fortitude Tree King asked softly. “Yes, and it’s very simple. As long as we kill Black Star, everything will be solved.” The Ancestral Tree King was expressionless.

“…If I could kill him, I would have done so long ago.” Fortitude Tree King had a bitter expression.

“Therefore, the war is no longer in our hands. The long-term strategy has already lost its executional environment. The only thing we can do now is to react accordingly.”

The Ancestral Tree King’s tone was bitter. At this point, he did not know where his fate was going

The order of the Tree King was transmitted to all the officers through the mental network. Regardless of whether they were shocked, panicked, or unwilling, all the officers obediently followed the order.

The World Tree fleet that had stirred up trouble within the three Universal Civilizations retreated in batches, and the army stationed outside the Flickering World also abandoned their strongholds and left using wormholes.

The sudden withdrawal of the World Tree left many reinforcements of the Galactic Alliance Army in dismay. Many people were confused and did not know what the World Tree was doing

This information was quickly passed on and attracted the attention of the upper echelons.

In the Strategic Command of the Galactic Alliance Army, an emergency meeting was underway.

The remote projections of the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders were present. They received a report from the Adviser Department and were very surprised. They attended the meeting together and listened to the military analyze the reason for the World Tree’s withdrawal.

“The World Tree clearly had the initiative and could harass and devour our territory as much as they wanted, but now, it suddenly stopped invading. Not only that, even the armies outside the Flickering World border have been retracted. This situation is quite strange, and we don’t know the reason. What do you guys think?”

Commander Simon’s tone was grave.

Everyone present had a serious look on their faces as they stared at the virtual strategic sand table.

They would not be optimistic that the World Tree retreating was a good thing. From their perspective, there had to be a reason behind such an unreasonable action.

From the military’s perspective, the World Tree was most likely going to cause trouble, but they did not know the enemy’s target, so the atmosphere was rather tense, and the air was filled with anxiety.

Teny knocked on the table and said with a deep voice, “According to the calculations of the General Staff, the sudden withdrawal of the World Tree might be a ploy to mislead our judgment. An unknown large-scale military operation is brewing behind our backs, and the target is likely to be our Central Galaxy, the mother planet of the three Universal Civilizations!”

Hearing this, everyone’s expression became even more serious.

“In that case, we must continue to strengthen the defenses of our mother planet! The World Tree has retreated at the edge of the storm, and the plan they have is definitely not a simple formality. If we relax, they might really succeed!”

Simon’s expression was solemn, and his voice was firm.

This time, an Arcane Church’s officer hesitated for a moment before saying, “Does no one think that something might have happened within the World Tree?”

The Pope turned to look at him and solemnly replied, “We cannot place our hopes on the enemy’s own problems. We have to consider the worst-case scenario first.”

At this moment, the President of the Federation, Louis, pondered and said, “There must be a reason for the World Tree to retreat. Could it be that the traitor secretly leaked some information to the World Tree, causing them to make a new decision?”

As soon as he said that, the expressions of all the officers turned solemn.

In the past half a year, the three Universal Civilizations had been resisting the invasion of the World Tree while investigating the traitors internally. There were many suspects, but there was no way to confirm the culprit.

Under the pressure of the enemy, the three Universal Civilizations did not dare to wantonly engage in the senseless slaughter of those suspected. The cooperation between the Galactic Alliance Army was not easy to come by, and they were also afraid of causing internal unrest by wrongly accusing their innocent allies.

Marbruce agreed. “This is also a possibility. The existence of traitors is still an unstable factor, and it’s most likely to lead to all kinds of variables.”

“We still have to come up with an effective method to expose the traitor,” the Pope emphasized.

Just as everyone was discussing, another remote projection suddenly appeared in the conference room.

Everyone turned around and saw that it was Black Star.

“Yo, the meeting has already started. Looks like you guys didn’t wait for me.”

Han Xiao looked around and nodded in acknowledgement to everyone. They nodded back in return.

As one of the pillars of the war, he naturally received an invitation to the meeting. However, in order to confirm the coordinates of the mother tree that the Pivotal Snake sensed, he was delayed for a while.

“You’re late,” Marbruce said helplessly.

Han Xiao waved his hands.

“Don’t worry about the details. What were you guys talking about?”

Simon took the initiative to explain.

“The World Tree suddenly retreated and stopped the invasion. We’re guessing their motive for doing this… The most likely possibility is that the World Tree is preparing a large-scale military operation against the mother planet of the three Universal Civilizations. Also, the traitor might have leaked new information.” “Oh? Has the World Tree retreated?”

Han Xiao blinked. He only knew about this now.

He thought about it and understood the motive of the World Tree Civilization.

“Alright, don’t scare yourselves. The World Tree retreated because they were afraid.”

“Afraid?”

Everyone looked at each other, not understanding what Han Xiao meant.

The Pope coughed and said, “Black Star, stop joking. This is a very serious matter.”

“Who has the time to joke with you?” Han Xiao clicked his tongue. “I’ve managed to get the Pivotal Snake to mature, and now I’ve grasped the precise coordinates of the World Tree’s main body. The World Tree sensed this through a two-way connection. They retreated because they were afraid that we would attack them directly. They went back to defend. There’s no other possibility.”

“You found the location of the World Tree? Really?!”

The three of them were stunned. Suddenly, they were overjoyed but also a little terrified, afraid that this was fake news.

Everyone’s body trembled, and their expressions changed drastically. They stared at Han Xiao in disbelief.

It was not until Han Xiao gave an affirmative answer that the three leaders and the officers were truly excited.

“How did you do it?!”

Marbruce hurriedly asked, and everyone looked at Han Xiao.

Seeing this, Han Xiao did not hide anything and briefly told them about Hayleen’s assassination. He then emphasized that the Pivotal Snake had already unlocked its sensing ability, which made everyone excited.

Due to the existence of the Pivotal Snake, everyone had always been very confident in this war, but that was only with regards to their confidence in the long-term trend. They had originally thought that they would have to last for at least a few decades under the all-out invasion of the World Tree before the outcome could be decided, but they did not expect Black Star to solve the key problem at this stage.

This was equivalent to reducing the war losses for the galactic society for decades, allowing the officers to be freed in advance.

“Good job! This way, the initiative is in our hands!”

Marbruce clenched his fists and was overjoyed.

While he was overjoyed, he also felt a little ashamed. While they were still thinking about how to capture the traitor, Black Star had already found the key to ending the war and regained control. The two of them were on completely different levels.

Ever since the start of the war, Black Star had appeared almost every time, and now, he had given the three Universal Civilizations a chance to win. The three of them did not think it was an exaggeration to say that he was the one who led the war.

This time, Han Xiao waved his hand and said casually,

“There’s no need to say anything else. The World Tree’s weakness has been exposed, and it has completely fallen into a passive state. It’s time for us to gather a large force to attack and completely end this enemy… The World Tree is at the end of its rope in this war!”

Upon hearing this, Simon immediately stood up with a sharp look in his eyes.

“Your Excellency Black Star is right. It’s time for us to blow the horn of our counterattack!”

As soon as he said that, everyone stood up and looked at the three leaders with stern expressions.

“Please give the order!”

Seeing this, the expressions of Marbruce, Louis, and the Pope turned serious. They nodded heavily and declared solemnly,

“Good! From now on, we will make strategic adjustments. Our primary goal is no longer to defend our homeland, but to completely destroy the World Tree Civilization!” “Understood!”

The officers responded in unison with stern expressions.

Han Xiao, who was watching from the side, smirked.

Although he and the three Universal Civilizations had the same goal of defeating the World Tree Civilization, their specific needs were different.

From the perspective of the three Universal Civilizations, the destruction of the World Tree was the most reassuring.

However, from Han Xiao’s perspective… he could only say that their intentions of working together to defend against the enemies were sincere, and using each other was also sincere.

When the main conflict is resolved, the differences between me and the three Universal Civilizations will also surface. Even if these people thank me now, who knows what will happen after.

Han Xiao pondered, secretly calculating his odds.

As the World Tree retreated, the intense battle between the two sides stopped, causing the explored universe to suddenly become silent.

When the galactic residents were not mentally prepared, the flames of war suddenly extinguished, just like when the World Tree invaded.

The upper echelons of the three Universal Civilizations came to a consensus, and the changes in their strategy were quickly carried out. The Galactic Alliance Army no longer patrolled their territory but started to gather in the Central Galaxy.

Sensing the change in the situation, the countless galactic residents who were originally in a state of panic were stunned and confused, not knowing what to make of the situation.

There were many different opinions on the internet, and the Star Alliance Observer hiding in the desolate universe belt was confused by the withdrawal of the World Tree. They did not know the secret of the Pivotal Snake and were still in the dark. They could only access the public information on the network, thus at this moment, they were completely confused.

“Strange, the World Tree should have been devouring the three Universal Civilizations. Why did it suddenly leave?”

In the secret base, many of the Star Alliance observers were confused.

They had leaked the information because they wanted to lead the World Tree to destroy the three Universal Civilizations. In the past half a year, the World Tree’s actions had perfectly met their expectations, allowing them to watch from the side. Originally, things were going according to their plan, and they were just enjoying the show when the World Tree suddenly slipped away. The Star Alliance observers were caught off guard.

“The World Tree definitely has its reasons for doing this. They might not be satisfied with small skirmishes and are gathering their troops, preparing to make a big fuss!” The Observer captain analyzed for a while and concluded.

Hearing this, many members felt that it made sense, and the surprise in their hearts turned into anticipation.

At this moment, the Star Alliance’s spies did not know that the World Tree Civilization, which they had placed high hopes on, was already in a dire situation.

Chapter 1435: Counterattack

Chapter 1435 Counterattack

The news of the turn of the battle quickly spread to the upper echelons of the Galactic Alliance Army. The allied civilizations that were originally troubled by the World Tree’s invasion were pleasantly surprised. They worked together with the three Universal Civilizations to gather their forces, and the armies of the various Star Fields all flowed toward the Central Galaxy.

The fact that Han Xiao had matured the Pivotal Snake in advance was also made known to the various civilizations. Although Black Star had guided the war on more than one occasion, the impact it had on the upper echelons this time was still shocking. Everyone was originally prepared to fight hard for decades, but they suddenly realized that they did not need to suffer anymore and had the chance to achieve their task in one battle.

If the invasion of the World Tree was a disease, then Black Star had already developed a treatment to cure the illness before the health of the galactic society was greatly damaged, saving countless lives. With decades of wartime reduced, countless refugees and soldiers were saved.

Although it was a little corny, many upper echelons felt that using the word ‘hero’ to describe Black Star’s contributions to this war was not a problem at all.

As an important part of the Galactic Alliance Army, the upper echelons of the Super Star Cluster Alliance also received this information, and they could not help but be stunned.

“I didn’t expect the situation to change so quickly…”

In the conference room, the upper echelons of the Super Star Cluster gathered with complicated expressions. More than half a year ago, Black Star had forced them to terminate the relocation plan. Although the Super Star Cluster Alliance had lowered their heads, they naturally had some grievances in their hearts. Due to the agreement between the two sides, they could only stay for the time being, but they still did not plan to give up on the relocation plan. They originally wanted to use two to three years to observe the situation, and once the situation turned bad, they could restart the relocation plan at any time.

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However, they did not expect that in less than a year, the ‘great situation’ would be turned around by Han Xiao. The full invasion of the World Tree crumbled apart, causing the three Universal Civilizations to be free. This way, even if they wanted to migrate, they would lose the prerequisite. The current explored universe did not have a chaotic environment for them to carry out this plan. If they insisted, the three Universal Civilizations would have enough energy to deal with them.

“Sigh, we can’t leave even if we want to. It’s all because of Black Star. We didn’t seize the opportunity.” Someone was frustrated.

The Star Arc leader shook his head and said helplessly, “You’re wrong. This is a blessing in disguise. If not for Black Star stopping us from carrying out this plan, we would have been in trouble.”

Everyone thought about it and agreed.

No one had foreseen that in just half a year, the World Tree would be overwhelmed by Black Star. If they had really decided to migrate, they would have been screwed. This amount of time was not enough to complete the entire relocation plan, and they would not have been able to go far. At the same time, there would be no turning back for them, and they would be treated as traitors who leaked the information and become the target of public criticism. In that case, this was a blessing in disguise, and they had to thank Brother Black Star ?

Upon realizing this, everyone shivered.

At this moment, the Star Arc Leader said, “I feel that Black Star has already anticipated this change. After all, he has always been in control of the Pivotal Snake, and the current situation is in his grasp. Back then, he came to us and insisted that we give up on migrating. Other than taking into consideration the overall situation, he might have given us a subtle reminder and used his method to help us avoid this trap.”

Hearing this, the eyes of the Super Star Cluster upper echelons flickered.

The Star Arc Leader looked around, paused, and continued.

“Black Star did this not because he has any relationship with us, but because of the benefits. Just as he said, after the war ends, the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A Association still exists. He needs an ally with enough weight to help him expand further, so he helped us this time.”

“…What a dangerous guy.”

Many upper echelons of the Super Star Cluster shook their heads and sighed at Black Star’s farsightedness.

While they were still focused on the war, Black Star had already begun to plan for the post-war situation. What this revealed was Black Star’s firm confidence in this war. He believed more than anyone that the Galactic Society would be able to obtain the final victory… because the key to ending the war was in his hands.

On the other side, when the Galactic Alliance Army was gathering, the Beyond Grade A Association also heard about the change in the situation from Han Xiao and was shocked.

“Beautifully done, Black Star. You’ve captured the lifeblood of the World Tree!”

In the conference room on the main planet of the association, this piece of good news made many Beyond Grade As excited.

They had been rushing to reinforce everywhere for more than half a year, and they could only deal with the invaders passively. They had no room to fight back, and they were all holding their anger in.

Ever since the start of the war, only the World Tree had been able to invade, and now, they could finally counterattack. Most of the Beyond Grade As present were excited and eager to give it a try. They looked at Han Xiao with admiration and appreciation.

Han Xiao knocked on the table and said, “I have already provided the coordinates of the World Tree’s main body to the three Universal Civilizations. They are currently gathering a large force and preparing to achieve their goal in one go. Everyone has to contribute.”

“Don’t worry, even if you don’t say it, we will still give it our all. My cannon is already thirsty!”

Sun Hunter waved his hand, his tiny body exuding a grand aura.

Manison said calmly, “We can finally end this war once and for all. It’s earlier than I expected.”

The majority of the people were overjoyed. Although they had the Sanctum to back them up and were not afraid of casualties, it was better to deal with painful things quickly. No one wanted to die several times in the long-term war.

Han Xiao raised his hand and gestured for everyone to not be so excited. He slowly said, “In this war, our chances of winning are more than ninety percent. Defeating the World Tree Civilization is only one aspect. After the war, we have more things to deal with. To prevent the three Universal Civilizations from kicking us to the curb after we’ve outlived our usefulness, I need everyone’s support.”

Hearing this, everyone held back their excitement and waited.

“What do you plan to do?” Kasuyi asked for everyone. “I plan to use the aftermath of the war to change the organizational nature of the association, turn it into a civilization regime, and form a true Third Force. With our reputation and strength in the war, the three Universal Civilizations will have no choice but to accept it. I am letting you guys know first. When the time comes, and I give the signal, everyone will fully support me,” Han Xiao explained.

“Have we finally reached this step? Don’t worry, we will definitely cooperate.”

Everyone’s spirits were lifted.

This was a crucial step in the transformation of the Beyond Grade A group. Everyone had expected this, and there were no objections. At this moment, Manison suddenly said, “We have to be careful of a problem. The three Universal Civilizations might have other thoughts under the premise that victory is within their grasp, and they might be interested in the power of the World Tree… We can help the three Universal Civilizations defeat their enemies, but we can’t let them control or subdue the World Tree and turn it into a weapon to deal with us. This definitely won’t do!”

Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

The World Tree had already proved how terrifying it was. Originally, the combination of the Beyond Grade A Association and the Super Star Cluster Alliance could rival the three Universal Civilizations. If the three Universal Civilizations controlled the World Tree, their strength would expand to a new level and threaten the survival of the Beyond Grade As once again. This was an outcome that no one wanted to see.

Han Xiao’s eyes flickered, and he smiled. “So, when we fight, be careful and pay attention to the three Universal Civilizations. Don’t let them obstruct me.”

…

The three Universal Civilizations had designated a gathering area in the Central Galaxy. As the armies of the various Star Fields continuously arrived, the size of the fleet waiting there had reached an astronomical number.

The Federation of Light took out almost all the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices in their inventory and arranged them neatly.

Because the World Tree had retracted its troops to protect the mother tree, this battle could only be fought head-on. It was truly an all-out battle between both sides. The scale of the battle was the largest since the start of the war.

All the warriors on the ships had solemn expressions, and the atmosphere was filled with the air of a decisive battle.

On the players’ forums, the related threads were already being flooded.

The players naturally would not miss such a huge scene. Everyone had gathered and accepted the same mission to be the vanguard of the main army and find out the distribution of the World Tree Civilization’s troops in the main body’s dimension.

Regarding this, the players did not have any objections. In fact, they were even willing to do so. After all, no one was more suitable for this mission than them, and there was still room for them to perform on such a grand occasion.

However, most of the players were not mentally prepared for the sudden change in the war situation. They were all shocked. “Isn’t this version called War of All Territories? I thought the World Tree’s attack would last longer.”

“We might have made a mistake. Our invasion of the other side is the true meaning of the version name.”

“Speaking of which, with such a large-scale war, I feel that our influence is very limited… Damn it, are we going to watch CG again ?”.

“I don’t think so. I don’t think this battle will end anytime soon. I’m afraid it will become a meat grinder battlefield. It will probably be very tragic.”

“It’s hard to say. It’s not that the enemy isn’t working hard, but our army has Black Star.”

The players discussed endlessly on the forums. Although there were quite many complaints, they were still looking forward to the three Universal Civilizations’ counterattack.

On the other hand, the strategic command center was busy deducing the tactical arrangements of this battle and various possible scenarios.

Simon, Teny, and the other high-ranked officers were having a heated discussion, and Han Xiao and the others listened from the side.

“Our first wave of Immortals will be the vanguard and bring back more data. Then, we will use the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices to bombard the enemy with firepower. With 200,000 Keys of Destruction in a batch, we will send out 20 batches first. Then, we will cycle it a few times and try to damage the enemy’s strength.”

“After this, we will send out the main fleet in batches. Due to the limitation of the transmission device’s efficiency, we can only use the reinforced swarming tactic. It will take some time to ease the disadvantage of our troops, so this period will be the period with the highest casualties.”

“The enemy will guard the World Tree’s main body tightly. Our goal will be to break through the enemy’s defense zone, open a path to the World Tree’s main body, and destroy it. This requires the cooperation of high-level combatants.”

At this point, all the senior officers turned to look at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao knew what they meant, and he slowly said, “When the time comes, I will act as the arrowhead and lead the Beyond Grade As forward. You guys will be responsible for providing fire support.” “At that time, all the direct Beyond Grade As will listen to your commands,” Simon said with a solemn tone.

Beyond Grade As had strong individual combat strength and mobility, so they were the best choice to advance. According to the tactical deductions of the three Universal Civilizations, this battle would most likely be fought with high-level combatants. Thus, the importance of Black Star and the Beyond Grade As in this war was self-evident.

Han Xiao was already mentally prepared. What he wanted was the military strength of the three Universal Civilizations, which could help him reach the World Tree’s main body. Only then would he be able to carry out his real plan.

Although the three Universal Civilizations did not intend to engage in a blitzkrieg, with the speed of the World Tree’s troops production, there would be a large number of new troops every day. The three Universal Civilizations could not help but speed up their gathering.

A few days later, when the three Universal Civilizations saw that their forces were more or less gathered, they started the battle without hesitation.

In the vast universe, teams of fleets carrying the players drove into different Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices and disappeared.

At the same time, in the secondary dimension world, the World Tree main body’s dimension.

The area of this space was far larger than an ordinary dimension. A towering tree stood in the middle, its leaves lush and verdant. There were dense cracks in space around it, and countless roots extended out from the treethis giant tree was the World Tree’s main body.

At this time, layers of protective shields covered the World Tree’s main body, and the seemingly endless World Tree fleet had been waiting here for many days. They formed layers of tight defense and were installed with countless weapons.

Buzz

All of a sudden, the sky in the distance flashed with light, and the scout team formed by the players descended, appearing in the vision of the World Tree fleet.

“It’s here…”

On a branch at the top of the World Tree, the Ancestral Tree King opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the enemy.

Chapter 1436: Fight to Win or Die

Chapter 1436 Fight to Win or Die

The light of the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices faded, and the scenery outside the porthole of the players’ battleships turned into an incomparably vast green world. The huge World Tree’s main body stood in the distance, and the endless World Tree fleet surrounded it like a green sea of light.

The distribution of the World Tree troops appeared in their eyes. It seemed to cover every inch of space, and it was extremely packed. It was enough to trigger trypophobia in ordinary people and make one’s scalp tingle.

Countless spaceships adjusted their cannons at the same time and aimed in the direction of the players, ready to fire at any moment and smash them into pieces.

It was as if they could smell the strong scent of death. However, the players were not afraid at all. Instead, their blood was boiling, and they were trembling with passion.

“Hahahaha-Little saplings, to think that you would also have this day!”

“Brothers, charge!” “For the tribe!”

“The sacred forum is connected to us!”

“Watatata, die!”

The tens of millions of players shouted excitedly and dispersed!

Batch after batch of battleships split up without hesitation and charged in all directions. “Fire!”

As the Ancestral Tree King gave the order, countless cannons were fired, forming a tsunami of light cannons without any gaps. When the wave swept past, a large number of players, including the shields and hulls of the ships, were instantly crushed into powder!

In just one exchange, the players’ fleet suffered huge casualties!

However, a portion of the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices operated in different groups, forming a teleportation channel that could be activated at all times. New troops would be teleported out every moment, and the rest of the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices operated together. They were specifically responsible for large-scale deployment, and the combination of the two teleportation methods ensured that there would not be a vacuum at the frontline.

A large number of players died, and new players continued to enter the battlefield, bringing back detailed information about the main body’s dimension of the World Tree… Because the communication was restricted, it was difficult for normal scouting troops to send messages to the headquarters, and the players who could revive were the most unrestricted intelligence agents.

The World Tree Army’s firepower was endless, and the enemy ships exploded into fireworks. However, at this moment, the players suddenly stopped teleporting, and in their place were densely packed Keys of Destruction.

“Shield!”

The roars of the various commanders could be heard from the World Tree’s mental network. The outermost layer of defense immediately activated its response measures. Space expanded, lengthening the distance and turning into a deep region to cushion the bombardment. It was the Lerbo Space Protection Belt.

The next moment, batch after batch of Keys of Destruction emitted a blinding light, as though hundreds of thousands of suns were rising. Violent energy poured out like a floodgate!

Boom!

The high-density energy explosion caused the space to distort, and the source of the explosion seemed to have become a singularity. The surrounding space collapsed, showing the folds of the vortex-like space.

Immediately after, a world-rending light burst forth and spread out rapidly. It only slowed down after entering the Lerbo Space Protection Belt, like a wave on a beach. Its momentum gradually slowed down, and finally, it touched the outer layer of the defense circle’s anti-explosion shield. It exploded with powerful electric arcs, leaving large cracks on the shield.

The Keys of Destruction’s cleansing was repeated many times, but most of its power was reduced by the space protection belt. The remaining power shattered layers of protective shields, causing considerable damage to the World Tree fleet in the outermost layer of defense. However, the maintenance fleet was constantly repairing the shields, causing the Keys of Destruction’s bombardment to stop at the outer layer.

If it was an ordinary secondary dimension, it would have exploded from the inside under such an energy explosion. However, the toughness of the World Tree main body’s dimension far exceeded common sense, and its spatial strength was stronger than even the main universe. Furthermore, it was reinforced by the World Tree fleet with a large number of spacetime stabilization devices, making it extremely sturdy.

The players explored the battlefield and used the Keys of Destruction multiple times to wipe out the World Tree battleships. The rear battleships kept moving forward to replace the World Tree battleships, maintaining the protective shield. One side was acting like a bomb, while the other side was defending.

After another batch of Keys of Destruction exploded, the official troops of the Galactic Alliance Army finally arrived in groups.

Due to the limitations in the teleportation, the mission of the vanguard troops was to withstand the attacks of the World Tree and buy time for the follow-up troops, allowing the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices to continuously send troops over. Only when there were enough troops present would the first phase of the mission be considered a success. Only then would they be able to enter the next phase of the large-scale head-on battle.

The Galactic Alliance Army at the scene immediately took action. The division of labor was clear—the construction team constructed a base, built magic gates that connected straight to the main universe to add new channels for deploying troops. The guards surrounded the area, preparing to defend against the attacks of the World Tree, while the harassment mission was temporarily handed over to the Spacetime Splicing Technology suicide squad.

The Lerbo Space Protection Belt extended the distance between the two parties, causing the Galactic Alliance Army to have to travel for a long time to reach the outermost defense circle of the World Tree.

On the other hand, if the World Tree wanted to attack the Galactic Alliance Army, it did not need to travel in the Lerbo Space Protection Belt and could teleport directly. This was because this was the main dimension of the World Tree, and it had the ability of the ‘World Tree Express’. All the members of the World Tree had the ability to teleport quickly and could appear anywhere.

The World Tree Civilization had the home-ground advantage here.

The next moment, green lights flashed, and batches of World Tree fleet appeared, directly crossing the Lerbo Space Protection Belt.

Looking at the densely packed armies of the three Universal Civilizations outside the window, countless World Tree warriors revealed fearless expressions.

Although their thoughts were controlled by the World Tree, the members of the World Tree still had their own consciousness and treated the World Tree as a totem. Now, they only had one thought, and that was to repel the three Universal Civilizations at all costs. “For the mother tree! Kill all the enemies!” The World Tree soldiers let out a shrill battle cry and controlled the battleships to attack.

“Stop them!” The officers of the Galactic Alliance Army also roared and gave orders.

One side carried the flames of revenge for their compatriots, while the other side carried the determination to fight to the death. The strong collective consciousness clashed and tangled into a Psychic Current that wreaked havoc throughout the entire battlefield. Countless people could vaguely see two huge beasts biting each other.

Immediately after, the two armies clashed. In an instant, it was as if the sky was collapsing!

As soon as they started fighting, the situation became one-sided. Due to the large difference in strength, the World Tree fleet quickly gained the upper hand and broke through the Galactic Alliance Army’s formation on a large scale.

The vanguard of the Galactic Alliance Army struggled to hold on. The pressure did not only come from the large number of enemy troops stationed in the main dimension but also from the harassment of the World Tree itself.

Every time the Galactic Alliance Army’s forces were teleported to the battlefield, space cracks would appear all around them, and dense tree roots of the World Tree would extend out and smash the starships.

In the main body dimension, the Mother Tree’s consciousness could control the World Tree Roots to block the enemy. Its destructive power might not be strong, but it was definitely a powerful method to disrupt the battle.

The World Tree and the Universal Civilization Army’s special technological troops did not rest either. They used genetic bombs, dimensional weapons, and viruses at times. All kinds of technologies were being used.

Batch after batch of fleets was sacrificed, and more troops were teleported over. The number of troops increased and decreased like roller coasters, but the overall trend was still on the rise. The speed of the battle casualties was not as fast as the speed of the reinforcements sent by the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Devices.

The two armies clashed with each other, and the battlefield was extremely chaotic. The number of casualties increased at a terrifying speed.

“Attack, attack! We can’t let the enemy defile the mother tree!”

Frenzied fighting spirit spread through the mental network, infecting all the World Tree members.

However, no matter how agitated they were, they could not determine the direction of the battle. The two sides had been fighting for a long time, and the Galactic Alliance Army had already passed the most dangerous early stage. At this time, the number of troops present had already reached a large scale, and they gradually broke free from the disadvantage and began to fight against the World Tree fleet.

In the chaotic battlefield, one of the World Tree’s battleships nimbly shuttled between the curtains of bullets, dodging attacks from all angles. It continuously shot out beams of light energy bullets, shattering the enemy battleships like a whip. The pilot clenched his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.

When he neared a Galactic Alliance Army combat squad, the firepower covered his ship. The pilot immediately activated teleportation, and the entire spaceship disappeared from the spot, dodging a round of firepower.

The next moment, his spaceship appeared in the middle of this squad. The pilot did not hesitate to remove the limiter on the reactor, turning the entire spaceship into a large bomb, wanting to self-destruct and eliminate this enemy team. However, at this moment, an invisible force field suddenly pressed down, directly crushing his spaceship into dust, turning his roar into nothingness.

Hundreds of Beyond Grade As appeared in the growing army formation of the Galactic Alliance Army. Heavenly judgment descended, instantly destroying a large portion of the World Tree troops that were attacking.

A gigantic Mechanical Deity was also exposed in the vision of both parties. It was Han Xiao’s Supreme Heavenly Venerate, and its Transcendent Grade energy fluctuations instantly attracted the attention of all the soldiers and officers on both sides.

The members of the World Tree were already traumatized by Han Xiao.

The soldiers of the Galactic Alliance Army were the exact opposite. They were overjoyed.

“Attention, the Beyond Grade A Association is on the move! We are officially launching a counterattack!”

The entrance of the high-level combatants was a signal. It meant that their strategy had entered the second stage; from defense to offense.

The Galactic Alliance Army had accumulated enough troops and no longer focused on defense. They finally launched a ferocious counterattack and advanced toward the World Tree’s main body from all directions.

“The Lerbo Space Protection Belt will be able to stop them for a very long time. The enemy won’t be able to break into our official defense circle in a short period of time. We can use the strategic depth to deal more damage to them…”

Seeing this, many World Tree members had the same thought, but the next moment, their expressions changed.

Han Xiao’s Supreme Heavenly Venerate raised his arm and shook it in the direction of the World Tree fleet’s defense circle. A strange spatial fluctuation was released, covering the Lerbo Space Protection Belt in an instant. The next moment, the Lerbo Space Protection Belt quickly lost its effect, and the extended space shrank back to normal.

However, this was not the only change. Originally, even if the Lerbo Space Protection Belt lost its effectiveness, there was still some distance between the two armies. However, the sudden reversal shortened the distance. In the blink of an eye, the main force of the Galactic Alliance Army was right in front of the defense circle. There was no need to waste time on the road.

The Universal Treasure technologies provided by the Saint Tyracles Race, the ‘Space Constants Modifier’, had already been improved by Han Xiao. The moment it was used, it showed a brilliant effect, and the function of the Lerbo Spatial Protection Belt was directly neutralized.

The shortening of space was extremely helpful to the galactic alliance army. The World Tree Civilization’s expression changed.

“Charge!”

After doing this, Han Xiao spun the Emperor Skysplitter Blade, and the gigantic Supreme Heavenly Venerate advanced forward, tearing apart the World Tree fleet’s formation. Psionic waves shot out freely, paralyzing the enemy ships.

The Beyond Grade As followed closely behind with grim expressions. They seemed to have formed a sharp blade and stabbed into the World Tree’s defense circle.

Everywhere they passed, the World Tree battleships exploded!

Such an arrogant advance was immediately met with the large-scale focus fire of the World Tree fleet, but the Galactic Alliance Army was providing cover.

Just as Han Xiao was about to penetrate the outermost layer of defense, another Transcendent Grade aura suddenly descended, sweeping across the entire battlefield like a hurricane.

The Ancestral Tree King had already sacrificed himself, burning the remaining stock of the Beyonder’s Vestige and activating the descent of the Tree God.

If there was no Transcendent like Black Star among the enemies, the Ancestral Tree King would still have a chance. He could use the Information Form revival mechanism of the Tree God to let the World Tree look like they were defeated on the surface, but in reality, they could resurrect elsewhere and return to the dark to recuperate. However, in the face of a Transcendent’s Information Form Obliteration, this path was no longer possible. Furthermore, as long as the Pivotal Snake did not die, the World Tree would have nowhere to hide. The Ancestral Tree King had no way out.

At this moment, the Tree God, who was only driven by his instincts, led the remaining high-level combatants of the World Tree to face Han Xiao and the others head-on. All of them were filled with tragic battle intent. “Even if I die, I won’t let you pass!”

“Kill!”

They were enemies, there was no need for any unnecessary words.

Bang!

Without hesitation, Han Xiao charged into the Tree God’s arms and stabbed his blade into the Tree God’s chest.

Two enormous Transcendents tangled together and rolled in the battle formation, crushing the starships in the sky.

Chapter 1437: Liberation of the Crown

Chapter 1437 Liberation of the Crown

The Emperor Skysplitter Blade revolved in the hands of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate like a light wheel, shooting out countless blue high-density psionic energy blades, shattering all the starships and mechas in its path. It left a blank space in the dense defensive formation, akin to a searing streak of light that never dissipated.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! The blades of light landed on the Tree God’s body one after another. The roots of the tree were cleanly cut in half, but sprouts quickly grew from the broken parts, repairing and closing the wounds.

As the Mechanical Force surged, the mechanical army was like a black and gold thundercloud, colliding with the green energy tsunami created by the Tree God, causing explosions around the two giants.

Buzz

The two of them released their domains at the same time. The grayish-blue Void Domain and the green Tree God Domain collided and pressed toward each other. They rubbed against each other like tofu, creating dazzling electric arcs.

During this process, Han Xiao and the Tree God’s bodies expanded endlessly. They rolled and fought together, colliding more than a thousand times in an instant. The shockwave sent all the spaceships flying.

This was not the first time the two of them had fought. The Tree God was still in an irrational state, but Han Xiao could clearly feel that the power of the Tree God had increased a lot. It was not as easy to deal with as the last time, especially since the strength of the Tree God Domain had increased tremendously.

The closer he got to the main body of the mother tree, the stronger the power of the Tree God became. This was especially so when he was in the main body dimension of the World Tree. The ability of the Tree God was enhanced, and it also had the ability to teleport without any cooldowns. It was extremely agile, and the most disgusting thing was that its regeneration speed was also shocking. Even Han Xiao felt that it was troublesome.

Under the enhancement of various factors, the Tree God actually managed to restrain Han Xiao’s advancement for a while, even forcing Han Xiao to retreat far away from the mother tree.

“Looks like it won’t be that easy to deal with this fellow…”

Han Xiao had already expected this. He had suspected that the Tree God would be buffed in the main body dimension, so he was not surprised.

His advance was blocked, but he was in no hurry at all. He focused on fighting the Tree God, waiting for his various talents to take effect, which would continue to increase his combat strength. The last time he extracted the ability of the Tree God, he had obtained some obscure information. He guessed that the enemy had to pay a huge price to summon the Tree God, and it was not a long-term method.

Therefore, Han Xiao was not in a hurry to achieve anything. In his eyes, as long as he dragged this out, the Tree God would eventually weaken.

If not for the fact that he had attacked the World Tree’s old home, he reckoned that the Ancestral Tree King would not have been willing to stop him.

While the two Transcendent Grade Supers were fighting, the Beyond Grade As on both sides were also engaged in battles. All the Beyond Grade A Mechanics temporarily put aside their pin the strategic command center Allersonal grudges, and the mechanical army formed a formation, pouring out fierce firepower. The Mages summoned their respective Mage Pagodas and connected to each other, building large-scale magic circuits. They were like mobile formations, continuously releasing all kinds of large-scale attacks.

Mechanical Deities wreaked havoc on the battlefield one after another. Manison’s silver mechanical body waved its trident and swept across a large area. His Indestructible Mechanical Troops stood beside him in an awe-inspiring manner. Herberlon finally had the chance to take revenge, starting a massacre. He let out a soundless roar even as he tore apart the roots of the World Tree.

On the other side, EsGod and his dozens of doppelgangers were traversing the battlefield. Their various Esper Abilities toyed with many World Tree experts. Not far away, Evans activated his [Energy Control] Esper Ability with all his might, gathering all kinds of energy from the battlefield and smashing it toward the World Tree fleet.

Hila’s expression was solemn as she controlled the red tide of death, raising waves one after another and swallowing the enemy ships. Aurora, on the other hand, had a solemn expression and was emitting vitality. She continuously treated her injured teammates and summoned a large number of spirits to enter the battlefield from time to time.

Kasuyi was burning with an unlimited amount of mana, and his psychic energy was surging nonstop, shattering the thoughts of countless World Tree Blessings. In another area, Feidin held the Soul Swapper in his hands and strolled around the battlefield. The surrounding battlefield became a forbidden zone for life, and all the souls of the enemies were crushed.

The Pugilists no longer fought alone. Instead, they formed a battle formation. Sierron, Mercer, Heber, Viru, Jotina, Kohler, and the others launched a collective Iron Head Charge, turning the defenses of the World Tree fleet upside down. Their fists punched continuously, their voices of ‘OraOra!’ echoing in the dimension.

Karlot was among them. He drove Silver Shadow and crashed into enemy ships one after another.

‘Quantum Demon Spirit’ Judith, ‘Defender’ Romo, ‘Mechanical Queen’ Mornisa, and the others set off wave after wave of data attacks in the Virtual Network. ‘Army Flag’ Enid activated his ability, enveloped all of his allies in a buff halo, and together with Aurora, they increased the overall strength of the Beyond Grade As.

As they had not hesitated to invade the galactic society some time ago, many of the high-level combatants of the World Tree Civilization had died, and they had yet to revive. They did not expect to be counterattacked by the three Universal Civilizations so quickly, and this weakness had become a huge pit, causing the current high-level combatants to be far inferior to the three Universal Civilizations.

Thus, not long after the battle had started, the Beyond Grade As of the three Universal Civilizations displayed their abilities and beat the World Tree experts until they bled.

One after another, the Holy Tree Emissaries and ancestral spirits stared with bloodshot eyes. They were filled with unwillingness as they died in battle.

The high-level combatants were the sharpest blades, and they charged the deepest. In other directions, the armies of the three Universal Civilizations were also attacking the World Tree’s defense circle. The battlefronts were in a deadlock, shifting back and forth.

“The current situation is advantageous to us. The longer the battle lasts, the more troops we can send out, and the pressure on the World Tree will continue to increase. It’s impossible for them to maintain the frontline!”

In the strategic command center, all the upper echelons gathered together and looked at the real-time battle situation on the virtual strategy sand table. The atmosphere was tense.

Simon placed his hands on the table and said with a deep voice, “I’ve roughly divided the defense circle of the World Tree into five layers. Our main force is fighting on the outermost layer, and the Beyond Grade As have broken into the second layer. Black Star was about to break into the third layer, but he was forced back to the second.”

“The World Tree Civilization is also going all out. It seems like we won’t be able to penetrate the enemy’s defenses in the short term,” an officer commented.

Simon nodded in agreement. His tone was solemn as he continued: “If we exhaust the World Tree’s forces at the outermost perimeter, the troops inside will come out to reinforce our defenses. Furthermore, because the World Tree fleet can teleport indefinitely in this space, we will not be able to break out of the encirclement in a normal sense. We will either have to face the enemy head-on or defeat the enemy’s army… Therefore, before both sides’ forces are exhausted to a certain extent, our main force will not be able to open the situation.”

Everyone had a serious expression and understood what he meant.

This was a bloody battle, and the casualties would be astronomical.

“As the attacker, we have the upper hand in the short term, but in the longer term, our future in a protracted war is not good.”

Simon paused.

“The speed of our reinforcements is far slower than the World Tree. The World Tree is sending out troops every second from the roots, allowing them to immediately return to the battlefield… Although we can use the tactic of adding weight to increase the pressure on the World Tree, if the stalemate continues for a long time, the situation will probably turn around when all our troops are deployed.”

Everyone was shocked. This situation was not impossible. If the World Tree Civilization erupted with astonishing tenacity and withstood their continuous attacks, their attacks would decline at some point in time. No matter how many advantages they had accumulated before, they would be taken back.

This time, Simon changed the topic. Pointing at Black Star in the strategic sand table, he said with a deep voice, “We can’t count on the victory of the main force for now. The ones that are most likely to break the stalemate are the Beyond Grade As. With Black Star leading the way, as long as they can get rid of the obstruction of the enemy’s high-level combatants, they will be able to advance quickly. They are the breakthrough point of this battle, and they might be able to influence the outcome.”

All the officers and the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations nodded.

Although it seemed like Black Star would not be able to get rid of the Tree God anytime soon, after experiencing so much, everyone had strong confidence in him and had high hopes.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

One black and one green Transcendent clashed countless times. As his various talents were activated, Han Xiao’s attributes increased bit by bit. The more he fought, the stronger he became, and he gradually suppressed Tree God.

Because the Tree God had an extremely high absorption rate toward energy attacks, Han Xiao could only use physical attacks against him. The black torrent formed by mechanical particles transformed into all kinds of forms, leaving wounds on the Tree God’s body.

Very soon, Han Xiao started to push forward again with unstoppable momentum. The Tree God hurriedly released a series of World Tree Roots to wrap around the Supreme Heavenly Venerate, trying to stall him. However, these roots were all easily torn apart by Han Xiao and crushed into dust.

“Without the incomplete state of rationality, it can only rely on its instincts to fight, and cannot release its full strength. It’s a pity.”

Han Xiao spun his blade and chopped off the head of the Tree God. Seeing the head of the Tree God regenerate rapidly, he shook his head.

However, right at this moment, the Tree God suddenly jolted, and the chaotic emotions of the beast subsided. For the first time, a clear mental thought came to him. It was the consciousness of the Ancestral Tree King.

“Black Star! Don’t even think about getting
past me!”

“Eh, you regained consciousness?”

Han Xiao raised his brows. He was curious about what method the Ancestral Tree King had used to regain his rationality and take over the control of the Tree God.

Just as the Ancestral Tree King took over the body of the Tree God, its fighting style immediately changed. The fighting style was no longer rough and a lot of details were added.

Although his strength did not increase, the actual combat strength that the Tree God displayed had increased significantly. It was like a completely different person.

At this moment, in the inner space of the Tree God, the illusory figure of the Ancestral Tree King was floating. His senses were connected to the Tree God’s vision, and he looked at Han Xiao with a determined expression.

Until just now, the Ancestral Tree King was trapped in the consciousness of the Tree God and was in a state of chaos. However, the World Tree finally realized that it was facing a great calamity. The will of the Mother Tree descended, allowing the Ancestral Tree King to wake up alone. It also took back the crown positions of the Fortitude Tree King and the Subduing Tree King, handing them all to the Ancestral Tree King. Its meaning was very clear. It was to let the Ancestral Tree King fight alone.

This was something the World Tree had learned from the process of those previous tree kings who had attempted to break through to the Transcendent Grade. Burning the information state foundation of the Ancestral Tree King allowed him to enter a state similar to the advancement of the Transcendent Grade, but he was still controlled by the World Tree. This way, the consciousness of the Ancestral Tree King would be connected to the senses of the Tree God and could control the Tree God alone.

The price was to temporarily deprive the Ancestral Tree King of the chance to revive. If he could survive, he would be able to return to the mother tree’s embrace after exiting the tree god state. However, if he died in this state, the Ancestral Tree King would then end up like those tree kings who failed to advance to the Transcendent Grade, unable to revive. This was the disadvantage.

However, this was the will of the Mother Tree, and the Ancestral Tree King had no right to choose.

Han Xiao said with a calm tone, “With your control, the Tree God is indeed much stronger, but if you think that this small change can stop me, you’re overthinking it. Furthermore, how long can this state of yours last?”

“Do you think you’ve won?!”

The Ancestral Tree King’s expression was stern. Without saying a word, he activated [Tree King Crown – Liberation).

In the void, the Subduing Tree King Crown that represented the Pugilist class shattered!

The experience and skills accumulated by every generation of the Martial Tree King were all integrated into the Tree God. At the same time, the origin power of the crown seemed to have become a catalyst, instantly increasing the combat power of the Tree God!

A seemingly endless amount of energy suddenly surged out from deep within his body and spread throughout his entire body in the blink of an eye.

“Ahhh,”

The intense pain invaded the mind of the
low growl. However, his mental strength did not weaken. Instead, it was stimulated and quickly strengthened. The next moment, green muscles suddenly grew out of the Tree God’s body. The originally dry tree body suddenly became burly and round.

This feeling was as though the original Tree God was just a skeleton. Only now did the flesh and blood appear on the skeleton.The Tree God Domain that was originally at a disadvantage suddenly expanded, pushing Han Xiao’s Void Domain away.

[Tree King Crown – Liberation) could strengthen the combat power of the Tree God, and the corresponding Tree King Crown had to be sacrificed. Losing the right to be the Tree King for a long period of time would require thousands of years to recover, and the price was huge!

However, to reduce the losses, the Ancestral Tree King sacrificed the title of the Pugilist without hesitation!

Ancestral Tree King’s emotions were affected as if a pile of dry wood had been touched by a spark, and his battle intent soared.

“My strength is far from my limit! Black Star! Only when you die will we be at peace!”

Chapter 1438: Come on, Big Brother who plays with tree roots!

The Pugilist flames burned, and the Tree God’s movements became even faster. His strength increased tremendously, and he suddenly grabbed the Emperor Skysplitter Blade coming at him. He stopped the momentum of the blade in midair.

At the same time, roots shot out from the surface of the Tree God’s body. The ends of the roots curled up like a knot, forming thousands of fists that rained down on the body of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate.

Green fist shadows filled the sky, piercing through the combined shield of the mechanical army and bombarding the body of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate. Cracks appeared on the surface of its body.

Energy shot out from the back of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate one after another, forming a green shockwave that did not weaken in the slightest even after passing through it, destroying patches of battleships as collateral damage.

“His close combat ability has increased tremendously. This should be a sacrifice for the Tree King Crown, right?”

Han Xiao endured the impact and analyzed calmly. He had seen the (Tree Crown-Liberation] skill when he was extracting the Tree God’s ability. The Tree God did not use this skill the last time they fought. This time, he recognized it at a glance.

Seeing the actual effect, Han Xiao felt a sense of familiarity. He felt that this move was a bit like a Character Summon Card, used to obtain the Super system power stored in the different Tree King Crowns. “The World Tree has a total of five… Oh, no, it’s now four Tree King Crowns, which means that the Tree God can spawn at least four more times. Its strength will continue to stack, and its final battle strength will probably be very astonishing. Furthermore, this doesn’t even take into consideration if the Tree God has other explosive abilities.”

Han Xiao quickly calculated.

The moment the Tree God used his one-time explosive ability, the best way to counter it would be to avoid it, but the situation did not allow it. The Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device was one-way, and if he wanted to send a large group back, he would have to set up a new group of teleportation devices here. Now that the majority were already locked in battle with the World Tree, they naturally would not retreat halfway, or many warriors would have died for nothing.

Furthermore, Han Xiao also wanted to fight the Tree God head-on. After all, with his current strength, it was difficult to find an opponent. Now that he had finally met one, how could he not show the other party some love?

“Looks like I have to show you my true skills. Let me see how many tricks you have.”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

He had long known that the Tree God had an explosive ability, but the Ancestral Tree King thought that he did not know and wanted to give him an unexpected attack. However, he had long been prepared for it.

On the other side, the Ancestral Tree King held onto the Emperor Skysplitter Blade tightly, not allowing Han Xiao’s weapon to escape his control. Endless energy flowed out from his body, and he was able to gain the upper hand against the Supreme Heavenly Venerate, pushing Han Xiao back.

Taking advantage of the fact that Han Xiao could not move, the Ancestral Tree King controlled a large number of roots and attacked the chest of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate.

The mechanical army also reacted and began to block the attacks of the Tree God. At the same time, the mechanical particles flowing around the body of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate also transformed into streams, intercepting the roots halfway.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Looking from afar, countless blurry afterimages of light appeared around the two super gods and collided with each other. Metal and tree roots clashed at a high frequency, and continuous shockwaves exploded in midair.

“Your strength is already below mine!”

The Ancestral Tree King had a vicious expression on his face. He twisted the Emperor Skysplitter Blade as he channeled his energy into his arm. He was about to launch a follow-up attack.

However, at this moment, an irresistible force suddenly came from the blade and suppressed his strength!

Boom!

The next moment, the Emperor Skysplitter Blade, which was originally frozen in midair, suddenly broke through the Tree God’s stance and slashed down. In an instant, it slashed across the Tree God’s shoulder all the way to his waist, leaving a huge wound. The Tree God was almost cut into two.

“What?!”

The Ancestral Tree King was horrified. Instead of retreating, he rushed forward and hugged Han Xiao. He wanted to use the power of the crown to restrict Han Xiao’s movement and stop his follow-up attack.

However, the result was far from what he had imagined. The Tree God was crushed under the body of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate and almost dismembered as though he was suffering from the capital punishment of ‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’. The power brought by the sacrifice of the Pugilist Tree King Crown was still suppressed by Han Xiao! The Ancestral Tree King was horrified. He had barely escaped by igniting the Pugilist flames, but the body of the Tree God was already in tatters. Countless pieces of its newly born flesh had been cut off, and it was currently in the process of recovery.

Han Xiao casually cut off the World Tree Root that he was following before looking at the Tree God with dissatisfaction.

“You’re so arrogant at only this standard?”

“You…”

Feeling Han Xiao’s energy level rising, the Ancestral Tree King’s expression darkened.

He had thought that he would be able to gain the upper hand after liberating the Tree King Crown, but reality had given him a huge slap. He did not expect that he would still not be Han Xiao’s match after using his burst ability, and the other party was also increasing their combat capability. The Ancestral Tree King clenched his teeth before making a decision.

“Don’t celebrate too early. I haven’t reached my limit!”

The moment he said that the crown of the Secret Tree King shattered!

A new source of energy was released. It was like adding fuel to the core furnace of the Tree God. Its energy level broke through its limits once again! Countless magical knowledge flowed into his brain. At the same time, many complicated magic circuits appeared on the surface of the Tree God’s body, forming various enchantment runes.

In an instant, the power of the mages was also applied to the Tree God!

The Tree God Domain expanded once again, almost flattening the Void Domain! “Ahhh,”

An even stronger burden descended, and the mental strength of the Ancestral Tree King soared. However, at the same time, it brought him even more intense pain. His soul wailed uncontrollably, and his emotions became even more intense.

He endured the pain, mobilized his new strength, and launched an even stronger attack at Han Xiao.

Boom!

The surging magic power formed a densely packed Forbidden Technique that almost drained all the free energy particles in the nearby battlefield. It turned into bright rainbow light and submerged Han Xiao’s entire body. It was extremely deadly.

As the Tree God maintained the bombardment of magic, he charged into the light of the explosion and chased after the body of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate. The fists and roots that contained the shocking Pugilist flames landed on Han Xiao’s body continuously, creating loud explosions! The Ancestral Tree King stared with bloodshot eyes, tirelessly attacking again and again!

“Black Star! I will never let you destroy my civilization!”

The mental shockwave of the roar swept across the battlefield, instantly stirring the emotions of countless people!

However, right at this moment, an extremely dense aura of blood suddenly erupted in front of him.

Buzz!

Before the Ancestral Tree King could react, a cold light suddenly lit up. He felt a huge force coming from his chest. The Emperor Skysplitter Blade flew over and stabbed into his chest.

The next second, the Ancestral Tree King realized that his arm was firmly locked in place. Not only that, but all the roots that he was using to attack had also stopped moving.

The light of the magic explosion dissipated, revealing the appearance of the Supreme Celestial Venerable. Han Xiao’s entire body was covered in blood energy, and he grabbed the arm of the Tree God. The mechanical particles formed countless tentacles that extended out from his back, accurately wrapping around the roots of every World Tree. They were joined in midair like bridges.

The power of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate increased rapidly, and it soon exceeded the second stage liberated Tree God, making it impossible for the Ancestral Tree King to escape.

“You…”

The Ancestral Tree King’s eyes widened.

However, before he could do anything, Han Xiao suddenly smashed his head against him.

The next moment, the Supreme Heavenly Venerate grabbed the Tree God’s arm and pressed him down. At the same time, he bent his knee and raised his leg, smashing the Tree God’s head with a powerful knee strike, producing a green shockwave. Han Xiao extended his hand and stabbed into the hole on the Tree God’s head, all the way to his chest. He grabbed a bunch of messy roots and pulled them out, tearing out a large number of broken roots.

If it had been a normal life form, its spine and organs would have been pulled out. Even the Tree God, who had a special body structure, would not have felt good.

At this time, Han Xiao pulled out the Emperor Skysplitter Blade from the Tree God’s chest. He then used Virtual Creation to create countless huge cannons around the tree god.

Hong Long LongAfter a round of firing, countless physical bullets of planetary-sized mass blasted the Tree God into smithereens.

The terrifying kinetic energy pushed the Tree God and sent him flying, creating a blank space on the battlefield. Han Xiao followed closely behind and entered the middle of the third layer of defense.

Only then did the Ancestral Tree King manage to stop his uncontrolled retreat and teleport to avoid Han Xiao’s pursuit. He jumped a distance away and quickly summoned more World Tree Roots to heal his injuries.

Seeing this, Han Xiao swung his blade and said casually, “That’s it? Anything else?”

In terms of the quantity and quality of the attribute enhancement abilities, there were very few people who could beat him. The Tree God had buffed itself twice in a row, and his combat strength had increased by quite a lot, but it was still insufficient in front of him.

Although he had just stepped into the Transcendent Grade not too long ago, as long as he activated all the bonuses, his combat strength would increase to an astonishing level. Han Xiao was not sure what level he would be at after he unleashed his full strength.

Hearing this, the Ancestral Tree King became even more agitated. Anger, shock, and unwillingness filled his mind.

Even after sacrificing two Tree King Crowns and paying such a huge price, his combat capability was still no match for Black Star?!

The Ancestral Tree King was already caught between a rock and a hard place. To him, a stalemate was meaningless. If he could not kill Black Star, Black Star would be able to make a comeback countless times. There was only one path left, and that was to kill Black Star at all costs.

Various thoughts flashed through his mind. The Ancestral Tree King looked at the main body of the mother tree with determination.

Seeing that the Ancestral Tree King did not reply, Han Xiao was about to continue attacking, but at this moment, the World Tree fleet charged toward him as though they were insane.

“Protect the mother tree!”

“Go, give the Tree God some time to breathe!”

“Fight for our homeland!”

Countless World Tree warriors rushed over to engage in a fierce battle.

Seeing this, Han Xiao casually attacked, only to see the new troops constantly approaching to replenish those wiped out. Many World Tree soldiers were willing to die, using their lives to form a line of defense to stop him from chasing after the Tree God, just to give the heavily damaged Tree God more time to recover. However, in the face of the absolute difference in strength, the determination to face death was meaningless. No matter how many fleets there were, they would all be destroyed by the psionic waves.

Countless members of the World Tree Blessed Race swarmed over like moths to a flame, leaving behind a bunch of paralyzed battleship wreckages. There was only dead silence in the ship, as the crew had all died under the psionic waves.

Han Xiao was hardly obstructed at all. He stepped on the debris of the countless World Tree battleships and pointed at the heavily injured Tree God. The gigantic figure of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate gave off an aura of despair to his enemies.

Seeing this tragic scene, many players who were fighting were moved.

“They should be evenly matched, but why do I feel like it’s an adult bullying a child…”

“Look at Black Star’s style, I’m a little confused. Which one is the real villain boss?”

“Come on, big brother who plays with tree roots!”

Amidst the cheers of the players, Han Xiao slammed into the Tree God, who had yet to fully recover, and pushed him as he shot forward.

The Tree God seemed to have lost its ability to resist and could not stop Han Xiao at all. The two of them surrounded each other and broke through the third and fourth layers of defense. Not long after, they reached the fifth layer of defense. The World Tree’s main body that supported this dimension was now right in front of them.

The eyes of the Galactic Alliance Army and the World Tree fleet all focused on Black Star. Seeing that Black Star was approaching the World Tree’s main body, everyone’s hearts were in their throats.

However, right at this moment, the Tree God’s green domain suddenly expanded.

Buzz!

The green light exploded and enveloped the two of them. It then shrank into a light spot and disappeared. The two of them were swallowed up and disappeared from the battlefield under the eyes of everyone.

This scene was out of the Galactic Alliance Army’s expectations. Countless people’s hearts suddenly constricted, and they did not know what had happened.

At the same time, in the Strategic Command of the Allied Army.

Simon rushed to the table, his eyes wide with shock.

“Where’s Black Star? Where the f**k did the two of them go?!!”

Chapter 1439: Exhausted

Chapter 1439 Exhausted

This was a deep and vast space, like a real universe. The black velvet curtain was decorated with green stars, bright and dazzling

Suddenly, a green light appeared out of nowhere, spinning and expanding, turning into a wormhole-like vortex and spitting out Han Xiao’s figure.

Han Xiao quickly stabilized himself and looked around curiously.

“Where did you bring me?”

He glanced at the interface, and the combat information showed his current state. He had been ‘swallowed by the Tree God. This universe-like world was the inner space of the Tree God.

The next moment, Han Xiao immediately felt the repulsion of the entire world. Pressure came from all directions, suppressing his strength. The Void Domain was so compressed that it could only stick to the surface of the body, almost becoming a flat membrane.

At the same time, Han Xiao also discovered that an unknown corrosive force was continuously reducing his health. It was shown in his status bar as the ‘World Tree’s Digestive Function’.

“So, I’ve fallen into the stomach of the World Tree.”

Han Xiao thought to himself.

Buzz!

Right at this moment, the green light in front of Han Xiao’s eyes shrank and condensed into the body of the Tree God. Its injuries had already recovered, and it stood in the distance.

“Black Star, our battle is not over yet,” the Ancestral Tree King said with a deep voice.

Han Xiao sized him up and said, “This is your inner space, right? How dare you suck me in? You’re really not afraid of death.”

Releasing the Inner Spatial Domain did not have any side effects, because it was just a projection of power, just like the descent of a secondary dimension. However, absorbing the enemy into the Inner Spatial Domain was the opposite. This was a dangerous action. If the Inner Spatial Domain was destroyed, the Transcendent would be heavily injured, which was equivalent to exposing their vital points to the enemy.

However, in the inner space, the enemy’s strength would be greatly suppressed, and the user would receive a higher boost. Therefore, this was a double-edged sword.

No matter how tanky Han Xiao was, he was not willing to suck any enemy into his body. This would only increase the risk. In his eyes, the Ancestral Tree King was putting everything on the line without thinking. “If you don’t die, the mother tree will never have a day of peace. This will be where you die!”

The Ancestral Tree King’s tone was fierce, and he attacked without hesitation.

Countless green lights shot out toward Han Xiao like meteors.

Seeing this, Han Xiao lifted the Emperor’s Cape, and the thick psionic shield blocked the dense rain of light.

At the same time, he ordered his mechanical army to open fire, but they did not attack the Tree God. Instead, they exploded in all directions, triggering many energy bombs. Under normal circumstances, attacking the inner space was akin to turning the world upside down in the other party’s body. The damage would be reflected back to the Tree God.

However, the next moment, something that Han Xiao did not expect happened. The Tree God was not affected at all, and he even gave up all his defenses. His attacks were extremely fierce, as though he was not worried about his internal space being damaged at all.

Han Xiao was a little surprised. His Void Domain was suppressed, and the Tree God was like a fish in water in his internal space. His strength was decreasing, and he had no choice but to defend.

“Interesting. Your inner space won’t be damaged?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and observed the flow of energy while resisting the attacks of the Ancestral Tree King.

Not long after, Han Xiao’s eyes lit up, and he smiled.

“I see. I have roughly guessed it. Your inner space is connected to the World Tree and you transferred all the damage, right?”

The ancestral tree king’s heart tightened, but he did not reply. His attacks became more intense.

The things that the World Tree devoured formed a ‘Mother Tree World’ within its body. It also had planets and lives, and most of them operated according to the state when they were swallowed. They would not increase or decrease naturally, and it was equivalent to a special ‘gallery’. If the members of the World Tree were not willing to appear in the outside world, they would live in the Mother Tree World. The so-called transformation of the World Tree was like spitting something out from the body into the outside world.

The Tree God was closely connected to the World Tree’s main body, so there was a connection between its internal space and the mother tree world. Strictly speaking, the internal space of the Tree God was a clone and interlayer of the mother tree world, and the Ancestral Tree King was able to split the damage suffered by the internal space into the mother tree world.

This way, the World Tree’s main body would suffer some damage, and the Tree God would not be injured and could remain in peak condition… Under normal circumstances, the Ancestral Tree King would not let the World Tree’s main body take this risk, but now, increasing the Tree God’s combat strength was more important, so he could only make a temporary choice.

Therefore, in order to prevent the World Tree’s main body from suffering any further damage, the Ancestral Tree King chose to end the battle as soon as possible and deal with Han Xiao before he caused even more damage to the internal space!

Seeing that Han Xiao had discovered his weakness so quickly, the Ancestral Tree King clenched his teeth.

“Even if I have to gamble our future, I have to kill you!”

As soon as he said that, the Fortitude Tree King’s crown shattered!

The powerful Crown Origin Energy surged in, and the power of the Tree God soared once again!

Intensive mechanical armor rapidly spread across the surface of the Tree God’s body. At the same time, mechanical soldiers shining with green light appeared around the Tree God. This scene was like a Legendary Mechanic activating (Virtual Creation).

However, the Ancestral Tree King did not stop. He endured the rising pain and directly took over the allocation of ‘King’s Legacy’ from the Mother Tree Will.

Sacrificing the Tree King Crown was the way to strengthen the Tree God, but it was not the only way. Among the abilities that Han Xiao did not see, there were other ways to strengthen it, and investing more Beyonder’s Vestige was another way.

If the Beyonder’s Vestige was a ‘firewood’ that could ignite the power of the Tree God, then adding more ‘firewood’ would naturally make the flames burn even stronger.

After so many years, generations of tree kings had failed to break through to the Transcendent Grade, leaving behind some ‘King’s Legacy’, which were considered strategic resources.

Initially, he only needed to use one portion to summon the Tree God each time, but the Ancestral Tree King could not be bothered anymore and burned half of the inventory!

Bang!

A violent energy tide spread out, and the power level of the Tree God increased steadily. Thick green waves gushed out as if they were going to fill the entire space.

“Holy, another SEED activation[1] ?”

Han Xiao gritted his teeth.

This is too much. Are you a Saiyan… ahh, no, Saiyan Tree ?

After sacrificing three Crowns and burning half of the Beyonder’s Vestige stock, the Tree God’s combat capability soared to a higher level, and his combat style changed as well. Other than using the strength of the World Tree, the various magic, martial arts, and mechanical systems formed an exquisite combination. One person was like a powerhouse of three different classes, very flashy but also very powerful.

For a time, the violent attacks penetrated the shield, leaving all kinds of wounds on the body of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate. One device after another was destroyed.

“I still can’t underestimate this guy. With the World Tree Civilization’s many years of foundation, there’s a lot of room for his combat strength to fluctuate…”

Han Xiao felt immense pressure from the Ancestral Tree King’s continuous attacks, and he was slightly shocked.

If he had not sealed the Heart Tree Crown, the complete Tree God might have been able to completely suppress him after receiving so many enhancements.

However, the current Tree God was in an incomplete state. Its foundation had been weakened, so the SEED activation effect was also reduced, and it could not reach its peak.

“What a pity. If this is your full strength, the one dying today won’t be me.”

Han Xiao’s tone became serious.

Boom!

Without waiting for the Ancestral Tree King to react, the energy level of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate also increased tremendously. In the blink of an eye, he caught up to the level of the Tree God’s combat strength after the SEED activation!

All kinds of strange abilities exploded one after another, stopping the attack of the Ancestral Tree King in an instant. Han Xiao immediately took back the initiative and counterattacked, instantly turning the situation around.

The Ancestral Tree King’s eyes widened. “You…”

“Tsk, do you think that the SEED activation is your patent?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. A steady stream of new energy entered his body, bringing with it an incomparable sense of power. He almost felt like he could shatter the universe.

The reason for this instant change was because he had used the Character Summon Cards in his inventory.

Ever since stepping into the peak Beyond Grade A realm, Han Xiao had not used his Character Summon Cards that much. Because there was no need for that, he had a lot of stock.

Before this expedition, he had specially used all his blank Character Summon Cards to replicate the abilities of different Beyond Grade As and obtained a large number of resources.

After finally accumulating a huge amount of wealth, Han Xiao now activated the Character Summon Cards one after another without any heartache. He used whatever he had. He only felt carefree and happy!

After such a long time of careful planning, he could finally be extravagant!

Compared to Saint Seiya’s explosion of a little universe, I’m the expert!

Sensing that Black Star’s strength had caught up once again, the Ancestral Tree King was furious.

Every time the gap between them opened up, he would eventually catch up. Black Star’s unfathomable trump cards made the already unstable Ancestral Tree King go completely crazy!

“Black Star!”

Bang!

The last Tree King Crown exploded; the Ancestral Tree King decisively sacrificed his own crown!

He threw all his worries to the back of his mind and poured all the remaining Beyonder’s Vestige into the Tree God’s body.

He was going to push the power of the Tree God up regardless of the cost!

His strength increased at an astonishing speed, but at the same time, faint green cracks spread on the surface of the Tree God’s body. The huge burden was already at the limits of the Tree God.

The Tree God had its limits, like a container. When the accumulated power exceeded its maximum capacity, it would burst from the inside.

Perhaps in its perfect state, the capacity of the Tree God would be able to withstand its current power, but the incomplete Tree God was like a container that was one size smaller. It could not endure such a burden, and its injuries began to accumulate rapidly.

However, the Ancestral Tree King ignored the overload and charged toward Han Xiao with an unstoppable force.

At this moment, he only had one thought, and that was to kill Black Star!

“Come!”

Han Xiao was full of fighting spirit.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two of them were overflowing with terrifying power, only attacking but not defending. They bombarded each other countless times, and the energy clashed, forming an extremely high density explosive area. In this place, time and space twisted, almost condensing into singularities. The two of them abandoned all distracting thoughts, having only their opponents in their eyes. They fought tirelessly, and the battlefield spread across this universe.

Space trembled and shattered. The starlight dimmed and died!

It was unknown how long the battle lasted, but it felt like an eternity. Only then did the battle come to an end.

Only by burning the Beyonder’s Vestige could the existence of the Tree God be maintained. The Tree God had finally run out of energy, and the power obtained from the SEED activation quickly weakened. The Tree God’s body was already filled with cracks from the overload, like a piece of porcelain pieced together after being shattered.

Crack!

The Tree God’s chest suddenly split open, triggering a chain reaction. With its chest as the center, its entire body ‘collapsed’, turning into fragments of light that filled the sky.

This scene represented the death of the Tree God.

The Tree God also had life. Once it was killed, the fused Tree Kings would also be heavily damaged, and the Tree God’s Descent would enter a cooldown… In addition, because the four Tree King Crowns had been sacrificed, the World Tree could not summon the Tree God anymore.

In the sky full of light fragments, the Ancestral Tree King’s body floated. It was as if he had overdrawn all his lifespan, becoming old and wrinkled.

As the Tree God dissipated, the Ancestral Tree King also slowly turned into dust. His life was like a candle in the wind.

“I lost… I’m sorry Mother Tree, I failed you… I was so close, I can’t accept it…”

was

Ancestral Tree King’s consciousness gradually dissipated as he muttered to himself.

Han Xiao still did not relax. He received the Ancestral Tree King’s intermittent brainwaves, clicked his tongue, and said mercilessly, “What do you mean by almost? From the start to the end, you had no chance at all.”

The Ancestral Tree King turned around and glared at Han Xiao.

“…I did not protect my civilization, but one day, you will also taste my despair! I curse
you…”

“Don’t look so bitter. When you destroyed other civilizations, you should have been prepared to be destroyed as well.”

Han Xiao did not want to waste any more time talking to him. He stretched out his hand and grabbed the Ancestral Tree King.

Pu!

The Ancestral Tree King was crushed and turned into dust. His consciousness completely fell into darkness.

Han Xiao was not interested in waiting for him to die. He was not a villain who did not know how to deal the finishing blow.

Due to the manipulation of the World Tree, the Ancestral Tree King had already lost the ability to revive. If he died in this state, he would truly die and disappear.

“Finally got him. Damn, he almost squeezed me dry.”

Only at this moment did Han Xiao finally relax.

Although he had won this battle, Han Xiao was also exhausted. In the final stage, it was as though the Tree God had activated the Ultra Instinct Technique. It was so powerful that it almost shattered his Supreme Heavenly Venerate several times.

Strictly speaking, the one who killed the Tree God was not Han Xiao but the Ancestral Tree King himself. The damage caused by the overload and the burning of the Beyonder’s Vestige was the main reason the Tree God was so exhausted.

If the Tree God was in the perfect state where all five crowns were gathered, Han Xiao felt that he would not be a match for it.

Unfortunately, there were no ifs in this world.

Crack!

The moment the Tree God died completely, the space inside began to collapse rapidly, splitting open like a broken mirror. Dazzling light flowed through every crack, leading to the outside world.

Han Xiao calmed himself down and retrieved the heavily damaged mechanical army back into the Godly Stronghold. He then drove the Supreme Heavenly Venerate into one of the cracks and disappeared in the light.

[1] Gundam reference

Chapter 1440: Missing the Opportunity, Going All Out

Chapter 1440 Missing the Opportunity, Going All Out

In the main dimension of the World Tree, the war had reached its climax.

Black Star and the Tree God had disappeared together for a very long time. Due to the sudden change, the galactic allied forces did not know what was going on. Countless officers and soldiers could only endure their unease and fear and continue to fight.

Due to the lack of a sharp blade like Black Star, the advancement of the army was also slowed down considerably.

At this moment, the interstellar fleet had just arrived at the second layer of defense, and the World Tree Blessing Race did not care about the cost and reinforced the defense line. The battlefield was like a millstone, crushing the battleships and soldiers into powder. There were countless casualties, and it was a huge blow to both sides. Without Black Star’s support, the advancement of the Beyond Grade As was also blocked. However, the quality and scale of their combat strength still exceeded the current high-level combatants of the World Tree. After the protracted battles, the Beyond Grade As of the galactic society had already annihilated most of the high-level combatants on the World Tree’s side.

However, because the Beyond Grade As did not have the strength to ignore the large-scale galactic battlefield like Black Star, they could not enter even after killing many of the World Tree’s experts. On the contrary, due to the intense firepower of the World Tree’s Blessed Race, they did not dare to advance too far and be used as targets. They could only retreat to the vicinity of the main force to cooperate. Although there was not much danger with Aurora’s help, the Beyond Grade As were temporarily unable to turn the situation around. After all, the World Tree had too many troops. “I wonder where Black Star is. Can you contact him?”

Kasuyi placed his hand on his forehead and asked in the Beyond Grade A combat channel while controlling his psychic energy to shatter the enemies one by one.

“I can’t contact him. It’s most likely that the Tree God used some trump card to prevent Black Star from continuing his advance and brought him to some alternate dimension. I guess they can only come out after a victor is decided.” Hila casually replied. She manipulated the cold current of death and swept it across the fleet. Red ice crystals grew out of the battleships and broke through the hulls.

“Black Star won’t lose, right?” Oulou asked hesitantly.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. Whether Black Star wins or not, he can come and go as he wishes.” Hila was not worried about Han Xiao’s safety at all.

“It’s hard to say. The World Tree Civilization has developed to this point and is unfathomable. No one knows what other trump cards they have. Maybe Black Star will fall for it too…”

Although Hila, Aurora, and the others were not worried, many Beyond Grade As were.

It was not that they did not believe in Black Star’s strength, but no one could say for sure what would happen in a war of this scale. As the saying goes, ‘concern leads to confusion’. Black Star had the responsibility of leading the association, and he was the ruler of the Sanctum Revival. It was difficult for a portion of the Beyond Grade As not to feel nervous, especially when they knew nothing about Black Star’s current situation.

At the same time, in the strategic command center, Wuornos’ remote projection was also present, watching the battle.

Most of the Beyond Grade As in the galactic society were involved in this war, but Wuornos was not one of them.

When the church came to find him, he still refused to participate in this battle. The reason was the same as before-he needed to maintain a perfect state at all times and did not want to waste his energy in other areas, lest he missed the opportunity to step into the Transcendent Grade.

Because there was a true Transcendent like Black Star participating in the battle, the Arcane Church did not force Wuornos to take action. However, Wuornos did not reject the request to watch the battle.

On the side, the officers and staff officers discussed nonstop for the sake of the battle. Wuornos did not interrupt from the start to the end. He stood alone and watched the battlefield silently.

He did not have much interest in the battle and only requested to watch because he wanted to see a battle between Transcendent Grade Supers. He planned to use this to inspire himself, but this idea fell through. “Black Star and the Tree God should be fighting in the alternate dimension, but I can’t see them…”

Wuornos sighed.

He had only seen a small portion of the battle between the two of them on the main battlefield, and neither of them had used any of their trump cards. He could not help but feel that it was a pity that he could not see the rest of the battle. He only felt that he had yet to satisfy his curiosity, and his heart was
itching

If he could watch the entire battle between the two Transcendent Grades, his chances of entering the realm would be higher…

Just as he was secretly feeling regretful, a strange feeling suddenly surfaced in his heart. It was an indescribable feeling as if he had lost something

“Strange…”

This feeling came and went very quickly. Wuornos pressed on his chest, somewhat confused.

Before he could think about it, the officer beside him suddenly exclaimed.

Wuornos turned around and saw Black Star, who had disappeared for a long time, appearing on the battlefield once again. This immediately caused a change in the situation.

The fifth layer of the World Tree’s defense circle was right where the two of them had disappeared. A smattering of green light suddenly burst out, and a huge figure flew out. It was Han Xiao’s Supreme Heavenly Venerate.

“Black Star is back!”

The Galactic Alliance Army was overjoyed. They opened their eyes wide and waited for the Tree God to appear.

However, the next moment, the green light exploded and turned into light fragments. The Tree God did not come out. It was as if he had really disappeared. “Where’s the Tree God? Where did he go?”

Many of them were excited, beginning to come out with conjectures.

Before they could ask, Han Xiao connected to the combat channel again and confirmed their guess.

“I’ve already gotten rid of the Tree God. He won’t stop us anymore. Continue attacking!”

Han Xiao exhaled.

Seeing that the battlefield was still in a stalemate, he was relieved. He was afraid that if he was held back by the Tree God for too long, something might happen on the battlefield.

He did not waste any time. He continued to rush toward the World Tree’s main body without hesitation. He bore the brunt of the enemy’s attacks and entered the defense circle alone. Seeing that Han Xiao did not mention anything about the battle, although they were curious, they did not ask too much. To them, knowing the outcome was enough.

“Follow Black Star!”

“Victory belongs to us!” The Galactic Alliance Army was motivated. Their uneasiness was gone, and they followed closely behind, launching even more ferocious attacks.

Han Xiao had thought that after the Tree God died in battle, the morale of the World Tree Family would be low and they would be defeated. However, to his surprise, the result was the opposite.

Not only did the World Tree team not retreat, but their counterattack was even more intense. They abandoned all their worries and fought with their backs to the wall.

The casualties were extremely tragic, but the World Tree Blessed Race did not retreat even in the face of death. The fleets on the periphery abandoned their formation lines one after another and teleported to the fifth layer of defense. They charged toward Han Xiao like moths to a flame, using their lives to build a barrier to slow him down at all costs.

In fact, all the members of the World Tree saw the entire process of the Tree God resisting Black Star through the mental network.

Every time the Tree God exploded with power, everyone knew what price the Ancestral Tree King had paid. Seeing the Tree King, who usually only dwelled in the King City risking his life at all costs, countless members of the World Tree felt the same and encouraged him anxiously, hoping that the Tree God would defeat Black Star with his burst of strength.

However, the high hopes that they had all turned into disbelief. Seeing that the Ancestral Tree King had paid such a huge price only to be completely killed by Han Xiao, a huge sense of tragedy crashed into the hearts of all the World Tree members, leaving only despair.

All the members of the World Tree understood that there was no one who could stop Black Star. However, this triggered their final determination.

As the saying went, a cornered soldier will find all means to win. The morale of the World Tree Blessed Race did not decline but instead increased exponentially. No one gave up, and everyone was willing to die together with the enemy.

If they could not rely on the Tree God, they could only rely on themselves!

All the fear and confusion disappeared, leaving only the determination to die. This was the final counterattack of a civilization at its end!

Hong Long Long

The densely packed battleships blocked the path ahead. Han Xiao attacked time and time again. The flashes of his blades and artillery could shatter a large number of battleships with every attack. However, there were people filling up the gaps, and it was difficult to clear a path. Continuous high-density explosions surrounded him, and Han Xiao felt as though he was stuck in a swamp. The concentrated attacks coming from the front even exceeded the pressure that the Tree God gave him.

“What a stubborn civilization…”

Han Xiao was also slightly moved. Although they were opponents, he had to admit that the tenacity displayed by the World Tree Civilization exceeded his previous judgment.

In his previous life, even the galactic society that was united against the outside world was weaker than the World Tree fleet. In the final battle, the World Tree fleet did not show such determination either.

“Although the World Tree is a deformed civilization, in terms of unity and cohesion, they probably won’t find any similar opponent in the entire universe…”

Han Xiao shook his head.

He appreciated the World Tree’s desperate struggle, but unfortunately, without the Tree God, the World Tree could no longer stop him. All of this was futile.

Han Xiao turned around and looked at the large group of Beyond Grade As behind him.

This hint made all the Beyond Grade As understand. They spread out and formed a loose formation in front of the various armies.

If one did not look closely, they would not be able to notice that the formation was like a net, trapping the fleet at the front.

The victory was already decided. The problem now was to pick peaches… no, to prevent others from picking peaches.

Seeing this, Han Xiao turned around and activated a Character Summon Card.

“Golden Ring” Oulou Character Summon Card – [Golden Treasure Ship-Collision)!

Dense streams of light suddenly appeared on the body of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate. He adjusted his direction before suddenly taking a step forward and charging toward the World Tree’s main body! The World Tree fleet in front of them could not withstand it at all. Their shields shattered one after another, and debris flew everywhere!

The Supreme Heavenly Venerate was like a gigantic golden meteor that pierced through the final defensive perimeter and crashed heavily into the World Tree.

Bang!

Countless roots seemed to have been struck by lightning. With a sudden roll, the entire space of the dimension started to tremble!

“Let me see what exactly you are made of!”

Han Xiao hooked his finger and inserted it into the tree.

At this moment, the World Tree’s main body, which seemed to have been waiting for death, finally revealed its secret card!

Buzz!

In an instant, the consciousness of all the World Tree members turned into a terrifying mental impact that had never been seen before. It rushed toward Han Xiao’s brain through the energy link channel. The impact was so strong that even if all the Beyond Grade As in the galactic society joined forces to resist it, their minds would be shattered in a single breath!

The main body of the World Tree was not completely powerless. When both parties built a physical or energy connection, she would be able to launch a psychic attack on the target. This was because only by invading the world tree with energy could they form a soul connection with her and take the initiative to turn her into a controlled Universal Treasure. This was her trump card to protect herself from being enslaved by others!

However, at this moment, Han Xiao unveiled another Character Summon Card without hesitation.

“Underworld” Onicelu Character Summon Card—[Thousand Soul Stream)!

Immunity to all mental attacks! In his mind, the destructive Psychic Current bombarded Han Xiao’s spiritual body, but it was like a breeze, not causing any damage. Instead, it turned into pure energy and was absorbed by Han Xiao. “I’ve been waiting for this… Come and meet your natural enemy!”

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up. The next moment, a translucent snake shot out from between his brows, and its body expanded at an unbelievable speed.

The Pivotal Snake had already turned into a Virtual Life Form, and its size in the physical world could be shrunk at will. In the blink of an eye, it became the size of the World Tree. It coiled around the World Tree’s body, opened its mouth, and bit down without hesitation.

With this bite, the Pivotal Snake and the World Tree’s main body finally established a bridge of information, and countless information streams were exchanged rapidly.

Buzz

The entire World Tree trembled violently, as though a person was struggling in pain, causing the space to shake violently!

In order to subdue the World Tree, Han Xiao had naturally come prepared. Building a soul connection was only one of the reasons. The biggest problem was actually to destroy the resistance of the World Tree, and his trump card was the Pivotal Snake.

After the Pivot turned into a Virtual Life Form, it automatically awakened a new ability, which was why it was the World Tree’s natural enemy. The World Tree’s independent consciousness was its food!

Only then did Han Xiao understand the significance of the Pivotal Snake. It could turn the World Tree from a special life form into an unconscious Universal Treasure!

It was because of this trump card that Han Xiao finally made up his mind to carry out the plan to subdue the World Tree. He would not do anything that he was not confident of!

Chapter 1441: Uneven Distribution of the Spoils

Chapter 1441 Uneven Distribution of the Spoils

Crack!

The gigantic Pivotal Snake coiled around the World Tree and bit it.

Although it was only an illusory Virtual Life Form and could not harm physical objects, the Pivotal Snake’s method of harming the World Tree was an Information Form channel that only targeted the Mother Tree’s will. The World Tree’s main body struggled frantically, trying to break free from the Pivotal Snake. However, the waving roots could not touch the Pivotal Snake’s virtual body at all.

Although the World Tree was strong, the reason why the Pivotal Snake was its natural enemy was because of its unresolvable restraint. The will of the Mother Tree did not have the time to care about Han Xiao, and the mental shock was immediately silenced. It was held up by the Pivotal Snake and struggled non-stop, like a young girl anxiously grabbing her clothes and not letting anyone strip her naked.

An endless stream of machinery poured out from the Godly Stronghold and fused into the Supreme Heavenly Venerate, causing Han Xiao’s body to expand rapidly. His arms could gradually wrap around the trunk as though he was going to uproot the World Tree. While the mother tree’s will was in chaos, Han Xiao did not hesitate to use his energy to infiltrate the World Tree’s body and attempt to form a Soul Connection, dyeing the other party with his own color and turning it into his own shape. To the members of the World Tree Family, this feeling was akin to having their faith insulted. Countless people charged toward Han Xiao with bloodshot eyes, and batches of them were destroyed midway.

Because of Han Xiao’s actions, the World Tree fleet was inevitably thrown into chaos. The galactic alliance army naturally would not let go of such a good opportunity. The fleet quickly penetrated the defensive perimeter and reached the fourth layer very quickly, suffering an even more intense counterattack. The troops at the front were not far from Han Xiao, and they all provided firepower support to help him intercept the World Tree’s troops. Energy beams shot everywhere, detonating a series of battleships on the battlefield. On the other side, seeing that Black Star had successfully arrived beside the World Tree’s main body, the commanders in the strategic command center were excited. “Good! Black Star has already stepped on the World Tree Civilization’s weakness!”

“We’ll have to rely on him to destroy the World Tree’s main body. We have to protect him and let him focus on dealing with the World Tree.”

“Even at a conservative estimate, our chances of winning are more than 95%!”

“The World Tree has no chance of turning the tables!”

The officers were excited. The goal of the three Universal Civilizations in starting this battle was to eliminate the enemy in one fell swoop, hoping to finish everything. Thus, they had gathered most of the forces of the explored universe. Although it could not be said that it was to the extent of win or die trying, if they lost this war, the three Universal Civilizations would also suffer heavy losses, and the gains would not make up for the losses. Therefore, before going out to war, many officers had made a military pledge that they would only win and not lose. However, the officers did not want to lie to themselves.

Their confidence came from Black Star and the Pivotal Snake. If they did not have such a trump card, they would not have dared to say they would definitely win. Seeing that Black Star had killed the Tree God, broken through the encirclement, and was uprooting the mother tree, almost single-handedly pushing the battle forward, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. They felt that they trusted the right person… As expected, this war was still being carried by Black Star.

However, the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations were not happy at all. Instead, their expressions were solemn, as though they had some concerns.

The Pope hesitated for a moment before speaking “Why do I feel like Black Star isn’t destroying the main body of the World Tree?” Hearing this, the officers were stunned. They suppressed the joy in their hearts and carefully observed Han Xiao’s actions toward the World Tree. The more they looked, the stranger they felt. “That does seem to be the case… He is not continuing to attack, more like he is subduing the World Tree’s main body… Is he trying to control the World Tree “

Everyone was shocked and understood that the situation had become complicated.

The officers turned around, and as expected, the expressions of the three leaders became extremely ugly. “What a great Black Star! I knew he had other plans. Isn’t he afraid of dying from overeating

Louis was furious.

“Our worries were right. He used us to defeat the World Tree’s troops and create an opportunity for him to subdue the World Tree’s main body. We can’t let him achieve his goal!” The Pope was furious.

The World Tree was too powerful. No matter where it landed, it was a threat to the three Universal Civilizations. The three Universal Civilizations only wanted to destroy it, and they did not even dare to take the risk of capturing it. Black Star was already an existence beyond the norm, and the three Universal Civilizations could no longer control him. If Black Star was to obtain the World Tree, he would be a threat to them. It would be equivalent to him obtaining a Universal Civilization, and he would be able to rival the entire explored universe. In fact, he might even surpass them to a certain extent. It would be enough to shake the foundation of their rule!

Although the internal conflicts were temporarily suppressed by the invasion of the enemy, the three Universal Civilizations did not forget the fear of losing control over the individual strengths. They still had conflicts with Black Star that were difficult to reconcile. Once the war ended, these problems would surface again, so the three of them would not watch the Beyond Grade As control the World Tree.

Furthermore, the war had been going on for more than ten years, and the three Universal Civilizations were the main victims. They had wasted so much time in the war and lost countless resources. Now that they were finally going to reap the fruits of their labor, they naturally did not want to let Han Xiao steal their fruits.

We were the ones who mobilized the army to resist the World Tree, and we suffered the most losses. However, we created an opportunity for the other in the end. Who can tolerate this! Even if Black Star’s contribution was high, they could not allow him! In the eyes of the three of them, Black Star was showing his true intentions. Fighting against the enemy together was just an excuse on the surface. Black Star’s real goal was to use the galactic society’s troops to obtain the World Tree for himself! The three of them actually had some guesses about Han Xiao’s selfishness, but it was useless. The war still depended on Black Star, and it was almost certain that they would reach this stage.

“We can’t let Black Star succeed.”

“Then what should we do? Are we going to fire at Black Star?”

“Are you crazy? We haven’t even won yet, and you still dare to have internal strife in front of such a powerful enemy? What are you thinking ?”

The officers were agitated and started arguing. Simon made a prompt decision and shouted, “Inform the direct troops of the three Universal Civilizations to stop providing cover fire to Black Star and attack the World Tree’s main body. We must blow it up before Black Star succeeds!” They had to stop Han Xiao, but they could not turn against him. Thus, they could only change their tactics temporarily and race Black Star for time to destroy the target.

However, everyone knew that the World Tree fleet would definitely protect the mother tree and stop their firepower. Furthermore, it was impossible for Black Star to not be prepared, so he had definitely taken some measures to stop them. “It all depends on human effort…” This thought flashed through the minds of many of the officers. Their faces were stiff, and their attitudes were not optimistic. The order was quickly passed down. The direct troops of the three Universal Civilizations did not think too much about it and immediately fired at the World Tree itself. However, most of the attacks were stopped by the World Tree fleet halfway.

Just as the three Universal Civilizations’ fleets did this, the Black Star Army and all the other Beyond Grade A organizations also reacted. They immediately started to slack off and moved around to block the attacks of the three Universal Civilizations.

The members of the Beyond Grade A Association also started to move. Some of them deliberately guided the World Tree fleet to attack the direct troops of the three Universal Civilizations through various positions, while others activated their AOE fighting style that did not differentiate between friend and foe. They attacked the enemy and the three Universal Civilizations together, indirectly disrupting the three Universal Civilizations’ formation.

Because many of their ‘allies’ were causing trouble, the coordination of the Galactic Alliance Army was disrupted. Their attacks suddenly slowed down, and their advancement became stagnant. They were dragged into the chaotic battle by the berserk World Tree fleet and could not withdraw for a while. “Damn it!”

The Pope was furious. He wanted to punch the table, but the remote projection could not touch the real thing. His fist passed through the table.

“I told you Black Star was prepared.” Marbruce also had an unfriendly expression. The World Tree’s main body struggled frantically, trying to break free from the Pivotal Snake. However, the waving roots could not touch the Pivotal Snake’s virtual body at all.

Although the World Tree was strong, the reason why the Pivotal Snake was its natural enemy was because of its unresolvable restraint. The will of the Mother Tree did not have the time to care about Han Xiao, and the mental shock was immediately silenced. It was held up by the Pivotal Snake and struggled non-stop, like a young girl anxiously grabbing her clothes and not letting anyone strip her naked.

An endless stream of machinery poured out from the Godly Stronghold and fused into the Supreme Heavenly Venerate, causing Han Xiao’s body to expand rapidly. His arms could gradually wrap around the trunk as though he was going to uproot the World Tree. While the mother tree’s will was in chaos, Han Xiao did not hesitate to use his energy to infiltrate the World Tree’s body and attempt to form a Soul Connection, dyeing the other party with his own color and turning it into his own shape.

To the members of the World Tree Family, this feeling was akin to having their faith insulted. Countless people charged toward Han Xiao with bloodshot eyes, and batches of them were destroyed midway.

Because of Han Xiao’s actions, the World Tree fleet was inevitably thrown into chaos. The galactic alliance army naturally would not let go of such a good opportunity. The fleet quickly penetrated the defensive perimeter and reached the fourth layer very quickly, suffering an even more intense counterattack. The troops at the front were not far from Han Xiao, and they all provided firepower support to help him intercept the World Tree’s troops.

Energy beams shot everywhere, detonating a series of battleships on the battlefield. On the other side, seeing that Black Star had successfully arrived beside the World Tree’s main body, the commanders in the strategic command center were excited. “Good! Black Star has already stepped on the World Tree Civilization’s weakness!”

“We’ll have to rely on him to destroy the World Tree’s main body. We have to protect him and let him focus on dealing with the World Tree.” “Even at a conservative estimate, our chances of winning are more than 95%!” “The World Tree has no chance of turning the tables!”

The officers were excited.

The goal of the three Universal Civilizations in starting this battle was to eliminate the enemy in one fell swoop, hoping to finish everything. Thus, they had gathered most of the forces of the explored universe. Although it could not be said that it was to the extent of win or die trying, if they lost this war, the three Universal Civilizations would also suffer heavy losses, and the gains would not make up for the losses. Therefore, before going out to war, many officers had made a military pledge that they would only win and not lose. However, the officers did not want to lie to themselves.

Their confidence came from Black Star and the Pivotal Snake. If they did not have such a trump card, they would not have dared to say they would definitely win. Seeing that Black Star had killed the Tree God, broken through the encirclement, and was uprooting the mother tree, almost single-handedly pushing the battle forward, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. They felt that they trusted the right person… As expected, this war was still being carried by Black Star. However, the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations were not happy at all. Instead, their expressions were solemn, as though they had some concerns.

The Pope hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Why do I feel like Black Star isn’t destroying the main body of the World Tree?” Hearing this, the officers were stunned. They suppressed the joy in their hearts and carefully observed Han Xiao’s actions toward the World Tree. The more they looked, the stranger they felt. “That does seem to be the case…

He is not continuing to attack, more like he is subduing the World Tree’s main body…

Is he trying to control the World Tree P”. Everyone was shocked and understood that the situation had become complicated. The officers turned around, and as expected, the expressions of the three leaders became extremely ugly. “What a great Black Star! I knew he had other plans. Isn’t he afraid of dying from overeating

Louis was furious.

“Our worries were right. He used us to defeat the World Tree’s troops and create an opportunity for him to subdue the World Tree’s main body. We can’t let him achieve his
goal!”

The Pope was furious. The World Tree was too powerful. No matter where it landed, it was a threat to the three Universal Civilizations. The three Universal Civilizations only wanted to destroy it, and they did not even dare to take the risk of capturing it. Black Star was already an existence beyond the norm, and the three Universal Civilizations could no longer control him. If Black Star was to obtain the World Tree, he would be a threat to them. It would be equivalent to him obtaining a Universal Civilization, and he would be able to rival the entire explored universe. In fact, he might even surpass them to a certain extent. It would be enough to shake the foundation of their rule!

Although the internal conflicts were temporarily suppressed by the invasion of the enemy, the three Universal Civilizations did not forget the fear of losing control over the individual strengths. They still had conflicts with Black Star that were difficult to reconcile. Once the war ended, these problems would surface again, so the three of them would not watch the Beyond Grade As control the World Tree.

Furthermore, the war had been going on for more than ten years, and the three Universal Civilizations were the main victims. They had wasted so much time in the war and lost countless resources. Now that they were finally going to reap the fruits of their labor, they naturally did not want to let Han Xiao steal their fruits.

We were the ones who mobilized the army to resist the World Tree, and we suffered the most losses. However, we created an opportunity for the other in the end. Who can tolerate this!

Even if Black Star’s contribution was high, they could not allow him!

In the eyes of the three of them, Black Star was showing his true intentions. Fighting against the enemy together was just an excuse on the surface. Black Star’s real goal was to use the galactic society’s troops to obtain the World Tree for himself! The three of them actually had some guesses about Han Xiao’s selfishness, but it was useless. The war still depended on Black Star, and it was almost certain that they would reach this stage. “We can’t let Black Star succeed.” “Then what should we do? Are we going to fire at Black Star?” “Are you crazy? We haven’t even won yet, and you still dare to have internal strife in front of such a powerful enemy? What are you thinking ?”

The officers were agitated and started arguing. Simon made a prompt decision and shouted, “Inform the direct troops of the three Universal Civilizations to stop providing cover fire to Black Star and attack the World Tree’s main body. We must blow it up before Black Star succeeds!”

They had to stop Han Xiao, but they could not turn against him. Thus, they could only change their tactics temporarily and race Black Star for time to destroy the target. However, everyone knew that the World Tree fleet would definitely protect the mother tree and stop their firepower. Furthermore, it was impossible for Black Star to not be prepared, so he had definitely taken some measures to stop them. “It all depends on human effort…”

This thought flashed through the minds of many of the officers. Their faces were stiff, and their attitudes were not optimistic. The order was quickly passed down. The direct troops of the three Universal Civilizations did not think too much about it and immediately fired at the World Tree itself. However, most of the attacks were stopped by the World Tree fleet halfway. Just as the three Universal Civilizations’ fleets did this, the Black Star Army and all the other Beyond Grade A organizations also reacted.

They immediately started to slack off and moved around to block the attacks of the three Universal Civilizations.

The members of the Beyond Grade A Association also started to move. Some of them deliberately guided the World Tree fleet to attack the direct troops of the three Universal Civilizations through various positions, while others activated their AOE fighting style that did not differentiate between friend and foe. They attacked the enemy and the three Universal Civilizations together, indirectly disrupting the three Universal Civilizations’ formation.

Because many of their ‘allies’ were causing trouble, the coordination of the Galactic Alliance Army was disrupted. Their attacks suddenly slowed down, and their advancement became stagnant. They were dragged into the chaotic battle by the berserk World Tree fleet and could not withdraw for a while. “Damn it!”

The Pope was furious. He wanted to punch the table, but the remote projection could not touch the real thing. His fist passed through the table.

“I told you Black Star was prepared.” Marbruce also had an unfriendly expression. Both parties were aware of their respective goals and were obstructing each other, but on the surface, they still had to pretend to fight together as if all their actions were focused on attacking the World Tree. This situation could be said to be hiding different purposes behind the semblance of the accord. The three leaders did not want to go against the others and affect the war, but they felt that they had no choice.

Due to the conflict between the two sides, the galactic alliance army had split into three parties. One was the three Universal Civilizations’ direct troops that wanted to destroy World Tree’s main body, and the other was the Beyond Grade A forces who provided cover for Black Star and obstructed the three Universal Civilizations. The final party was the remaining allied forces who were fighting seriously and were shocked by the ‘chaos’ on the two sides.

They did not know what was going on. Why did the other two suddenly drag each other down? The galactic alliance army was in chaos, but the conflict between the three Universal Civilizations and the Beyond Grade A organizations did not affect Han Xiao’s process of subduing the World Tree.

Han Xiao’s energy continued to seep into the depths of the World Tree’s main body. The will of the Mother Tree had already been completely destroyed by the Pivotal Snake, and there was no way to stop his assault.

Amidst the spiritual entanglement, illusions flashed past Han Xiao’s eyes, and he saw the history of the World Tree’s growth.

When it was weak, it was worshiped by certain races and was offered all kinds of sacrifices. The will of the Mother Tree slowly took shape during this process, providing convenience to the races under them while guiding them to expand outward. After completing the accumulation, the World Tree then embarked on the bloody path of rising up, becoming a Universal Predator. One race after another became vassals, and civilizations became food. Gradually, it started to grow, and its abilities became richer and richer.

Countless memories appeared before Han Xiao’s eyes. In a daze, he seemed to see a small tree sprout growing rapidly, eventually covering the sun and standing on top of the starry sky. Countless wormholes appeared between the tree branches, each leading to a different world. Endless cosmic radiation storms swept past, but it was like a breeze, only able to make the lush leaves sway slightly. Trillions of Blessed Race and Believers were spread out on the roots, worshipping sincerely. This scene gave off a majestic and mysterious feeling. Buzz!

Suddenly, Han Xiao’s eyes cleared, and he stepped out of the illusion. A new existence had appeared in his senses. It was the World Tree that had successfully formed the Soul Connection.

At this moment, the will of the mother tree finally reached its limit, and it was completely devoured by the Pivotal Snake. The next moment, the World Tree’s main body stopped struggling and lost any ability to move independently, turning into a dead object. Han Xiao’s body trembled, and a stream of information flowed into his mind. It contained the various abilities of the World Tree, as well as the control rights. Although the authority of the Tree Kings was high, they were still the subordinates of the World Tree, while Han Xiao’s authority was above the Mother Tree and was not under any restrictions.

The surging new energy flowed into Han Xiao’s body through the soul connection, providing him with a new enhancement, pushing his energy level up.

Hiss…

Han Xiao could not help but take a deep breath. His entire body was filled with energy. Just as he was about to take back the Pivotal Snake, he realized that the Pivotal Snake did not stop. Instead, it dived into the World Tree and merged into it.

Han Xiao looked at the interface and saw a new suffix in the name of the World Tree.

(World Tree (Complete Form)]! “Hmm? Could it be that the Pivotal Snake was not only a natural enemy, but it could also fuse with the World Tree and complete it?”

Han Xiao was shocked.

This ability did not appear on the attribute panel of the Pivotal Snake. He had only seen it now.

Just as the Pivotal Snake fused into the World Tree, Han Xiao noticed a change. He had just formed a Soul Connection with the World Tree, and it was only the shallowest layer. It was still very weak, but at this moment, the Soul Connection was suddenly strengthened, and it became many times stronger.

If his previous invasion progress on the World Tree was 10%, it was now more than 80%!

“Could it be that the Pivotal Snake can help the controller better control the World Tree?”

Han Xiao’s heart skipped a beat.

Suppressing the surprise in his heart, Han Xiao felt the power of the World Tree. He could not be more satisfied. The World Tree’s independent will had been cleared, and it had become a tool without any thoughts. It was completely controlled by him and could be used at ease.

Due to the devouring and conversion characteristics, the World Tree could be regarded as a growth type of Universal Treasure. However, he did not need to start from zero because the World Tree had already matured. Controlling it was equivalent to gaining the loyalty of the entire World Tree Civilization!

The power of this thing was countless times more terrifying than the inheritance of the Underworld that Hila and Aurora had!

“Cannot blame the three Universal Civilizations for wanting to destroy my goal…” Han Xiao turned to look at the battlefield. His eyes flashed, and he suddenly activated the authority of the World Tree to recall all the World Tree fleets. The World Tree fleet, which had been fighting back fearlessly a second ago, suddenly stopped fighting. Without saying a word, they turned around and flew into the roots, turning back into their information form and entering the mother tree world.

For a moment, the battlefield was much emptier, and only the galactic alliance army was left.

Originally, the members of the World Tree were all filled with the desire to fight to the death. However, the moment the will of the mother tree disappeared and Han Xiao replaced the control, everyone’s hostility disappeared. Just as they were feeling lost, a new mission arrived. They would not disobey the orders of the World Tree and immediately ceased fire and retreated.

“No matter how tragic the counterattack was, they were just a bunch of puppets. With the owner changed, they have to listen obediently…”

Seeing this, Han Xiao sighed. However, sympathy was sympathy, and he would not foolishly let the World Tree Civilization go free. This was the World Tree’s own foundation.

Seeing that the enemies had left, the galactic alliance army was stunned. They then looked at Han Xiao beside the tree and were overjoyed.

“We won ?”

“We’re still alive!”

“Hahahaha-I knew I could trust Black Star!”

Countless soldiers were overjoyed, and the atmosphere of excitement and surprise quickly spread throughout the entire army. Every combat channel was filled with wild cheers, and even many players who had yet to spend all their revivals were affected and cheered along

However, when most of the fleets stopped firing, the direct troops of the three Universal Civilizations still did not stop firing at the World Tree itself.

Without the obstruction of the World Tree fleet, the direct troops of the three Universal Civilizations had a clear way. This scene immediately caused the cheers to stop, attracting the shocked gazes of countless comrades.

“Oh? You still haven’t given up. Do you want to pretend you know nothing and try to destroy the World Tree one last time while I haven’t notified you?”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. He knew what the three Universal Civilizations were thinking

He suddenly waved his hand, and a thick psionic barrier surrounded the World Tree to block the attacks of the fleet.

At the same time, Han Xiao shouted in the channel.

“You can stop the fire. I’ve controlled the World Tree.”

After waiting for a few seconds, the Pope’s solemn voice suddenly sounded in the channel.

“Since that’s the case, let’s destroy it. It’s still a threat to the world!”

“There’s no need. I’ve already subdued the World Tree.”

“It’s not enough! Only by destroying it will we be able to completely eliminate the hidden threat! Even if it’s you, we won’t be at ease!”

“Do you want to cast us aside so soon?” Han Xiao said with a smile that was not a smile.

“You’re mistaken. We’re only doing this to maintain the peace of the galaxy. No one in the galactic society wants to face such a disaster again!” the Pope said with a deep voice.

Han Xiao shook his head. “Stop it. Don’t make the situation too ugly. We just won. Do you want the other allies to see our internal strife?”

Before the Pope could reply, Marbruce interrupted.

“Black Star, this is the only thing we can’t compromise on! You’re the one who should stop. You’ve already made enough contributions, don’t be stubborn! Let go, you’re still the Universe’s Hero of the Final War!”

“Looks like you won’t regret it until things are too late…”

Han Xiao shook his head.

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the three leaders and the officers turned grave.

They knew that Black Star would not give up so easily, and they were already prepared for a conflict to break out. However, their goal was only to get rid of the World Tree’s main body. Although they were suspected of burning the bridge after crossing it, their goal to get rid of the hidden threat could be accepted by others. In their opinion, if Black Star went on a killing spree against them, it would definitely incur the wrath of the masses. The reputation that he had accumulated during the war would immediately collapse, and the allies of the other civilizations present would also stand on their side to resist Black Star together.

Thus, despite being nervous, the three of them were not afraid of Black Star fighting back. In fact, they were even looking forward to this development.

However, the next moment, the three of them widened their eyes.

Han Xiao did not make a move. Instead, he raised his hand and patted the World Tree. The huge World Tree shrank rapidly and turned into a green stream of light that flew into Han Xiao’s palm, disappearing in front of everyone.

“This…”

Marbruce and the other two were stunned.

The battle with the World Tree fleet previously had given them the impression that the mother tree could not move, so they felt that they had the upper hand. Thus, the three of them would rather take the risk of angering Black Star and gather their forces to destroy the World Tree.

However, the three of them did not expect Black Star to be able to store the World Tree and do something that the World Tree Blessed Race could not. They could not react in time. What was there to destroy now? In fact, Han Xiao could not do this in the beginning. It was all due to the Pivotal Snake strengthening his Soul Connection exponentially, crossing many stages. This allowed him to unlock more functions, including putting the World Tree into the Transcendent’s inner space.

Strictly speaking, the inner space was also a type of secondary dimension. It could also allow the World Tree to take root in it. This way, the inner space would receive a huge enhancement and become extremely tough. Furthermore, there was no need to care about the weakness of the enemy targeting the World Tree’s main body. It was equivalent to carrying the mother tree with him. It was very convenient.

Han Xiao had originally planned to use other methods to force the three Universal Civilizations to stop, but the direct conflict was unavoidable, and it would damage his reputation more or less. However, with this new ability, he changed his plan at the last minute and made the three Universal Civilizations lose their target. This would save him a lot of effort.

Just as the three leaders were at a loss, Han Xiao’s remote projection appeared in the strategic command center.

“What do the three of you say now?”

The faces of Marbruce and the other two flickered. They did not respond.

Only when the World Tree’s main body was exposed in front of the army would they have a chance. There was no chance now. As for letting Black Star take the initiative to hand it over… the three of them knew it. No matter how arrogant they were, they did not think that they had that much face.

“Black Star, you’ve succeeded. You must be very happy now…”

Marbruce had a complicated expression on his face. His tone was bitter, and there was a hint of unwillingness and mockery.

“Yes, I am indeed very happy. The war has finally ended, and everyone is cheering. Are you not happy about this?” Han Xiao raised his brows.

The three of them had solemn expressions.

It would be weird if we were happy. Who knows if we have just left the tiger’s den but entered the wolf’s den again…

Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled and did not continue teasing them.

Since he had already taken advantage of them, there was no need for him to pretend to be innocent. There would be plenty of time for him to settle scores in the future. He did not plan to argue with the three of them about what had happened just now. This was not the right time.

This time, Han Xiao changed the topic and said, “Alright, let’s not talk anymore. Let’s get down to business. I have a plan, and I hope you guys can cooperate.” “…What plan?”

The three of them were surprised.

We just won, what is Black Star planning?

“Don’t leak the news of us defeating the World Tree Civilization. This Galactic Alliance Army’s composition is complicated. It’s best to control them for the time being.”

“Er… What are you planning?” Marbruce was confused. Han Xiao smiled and said,

“Haven’t you guys been trying to find out who leaked the information? I said it was a third party, but you guys just don’t believe me. I just happened to obtain the Information Form Warning Network technology from the World Tree. I don’t have to explain the effects. You guys have already experienced it. This way, you might be able to find traces of a third party. What do you guys think?” The eyes of the trio lit up.

Chapter 1442: Further Scheme. The Things Are Still There, but Men Are No More the Same Ones.

Chapter 1442 Further Scheme. The Things Are Still There, but Men Are No More the Same Ones.

This proposal was very constructive, and the three leaders immediately took it seriously. After pondering for a while, they quickly came to a conclusion with Han Xiao and told the strategic command center to call back the three Universal Civilizations’ direct troops. Their goal was to destroy the World Tree, not to fall out with Black Star. Although they were not willing to let Han Xiao subdue the World Tree, there was nothing they could do.

Marbruce and the others could only suppress the fear in their hearts and wait for a targeted plan to be discussed in the future. In any case, there was nothing they could do now. They could not really start the second round of the war with Black Star… Who wins and who loses was secondary. There was a third party who might still be eyeing them from the dark.

Even if they were going to fall out with each other, they should at least wait until they had a direct descendant of the Transcendent Grade. Wuornos was their greatest hope, and he might advance one day.

The direct troops of the three Universal Civilizations stopped firing and silently withdrew from the encirclement. The tension on the battlefield quickly dissipated.

The brief confrontation between Han Xiao and the three Universal Civilizations had stunned the soldiers of the Galactic Alliance Army. They realized that the conflict between the two sides had reemerged, and they were extremely nervous. They were afraid that an internal conflict would break out as soon as they won. Seeing that both sides had stopped fighting, countless people heaved a sigh of relief. They only felt that their emotions were in turmoil, and their entire bodies felt a little weak. No matter what kind of conflict there was, the three Universal Civilizations were the main force in resisting the World Tree, and Black Star was the hero who changed the battle. They were all heroes in the war. They had just joined forces to defeat the foreign enemy, and now they were turning against each other in front of everyone. It was hard to accept. No one wished for their joy to turn into sorrow.

However, the World Tree was not destroyed but subdued by Black Star. This reality made many people feel strange.

Although Black Star had contributed too much to the war, this last wave made them feel like Black Star was using them to achieve his goal… Of course, there might be a reason for Black Star’s actions, but the impression he gave everyone was still rather complicated.

However, they did not think too much about it and quickly threw this thought into the back of their minds.

The conflict between Black Star and the three Universal Civilizations was a conflict between the big shots, and it was not their place to worry. At this moment, these front-line combatants only wanted to enjoy the joy of victory and the joy of surviving the calamity.

“We won!”

“Long Live the Dynasty!” For a moment, the cheers of countless soldiers echoed in the combat channels.

The officers did not stop them and allowed their soldiers to vent their emotions. In reality, they were also excited and could not help but celebrate with their subordinates.

On the other side, Han Xiao deactivated the Supreme Heavenly Venerate and retracted his troops. He passed through the direct troops of the three Universal Civilizations that had given up on stopping him and returned to the army formation of the Beyond Grade A organizations. Many Beyond Grade As immediately surrounded him.

“That was close. I thought the three Universal Civilizations were going to act arbitrarily and start a civil war.”

Sun Hunter wiped his non-existent cold sweat.

Kasuyi casually analyzed, “That won’t happen. They still have a very good understanding of the situation. We’re clearly on Black Star’s side, and Black Star has the World Tree Civilization’s troops. The three Universal Civilizations won’t dare act recklessly. They know what the outcome will be, and they won’t seek their own death.”

“Speaking of which, Your Excellency Black Star took too big of a risk this time. We didn’t know about your plans before this…”

Some of them mumbled softly, and many of the association members looked at Han Xiao with strange looks. These people did not know about this beforehand.

Because there were spies from the Super Star Cluster in the association, Han Xiao did not want to leak the news in advance. Therefore, he only told Kasuyi and his confidants about his plan to subdue the World Tree, and he told the entire association to prevent the three Universal Civilizations from trying to get the World Tree.

Therefore, not long ago, a portion of the association members was still in the dark. Even if they had doubts, they did not confirm it. They could only follow the original plan and work together with their teammates to create obstacles for the direct troops of the three Universal Civilizations, giving Han Xiao time and creating opportunities.

To be honest, if Han Xiao had stated his goal of subduing the World Tree from the start, many Beyond Grade As would not have been willing to help him. They would have been like the three Universal Civilizations, more inclined to completely destroy the World Tree. After all, the World Tree was quite similar to the Underworld, but its power was much higher. It could control an individual’s thoughts. Even if Black Star was ‘one of them’ for the time being, who knew what the future would be like?

If one day, Black Star’s ambition reached its peak and he wished to use the World Tree to devour everyone, what would they do? They did not think this was improbable, killing intent would rise when one held a sharp knife. Black Star had no such thoughts in the past because he did not have the World Tree. Many Beyond Grade As had to consider their own safety and were secretly afraid. Seeing the complicated expressions of many Beyond Grade As, Han Xiao did not mind. He smiled and said,

“Everyone, there’s no need to worry. I subdued the World Tree because of other considerations. One of my intentions is to make use of the World Tree’s power to make the three Universal Civilizations hesitate and consolidate the safety of our Beyond Grade A Association after the war. This way, we can completely make the three Universal Civilizations give up on suppressing us. Only then can we put down all our worries.”

Manison nodded slowly and agreed.

“This is similar to my original plan. However, we were not strong enough back then, and it was not the right time. My idea was too far ahead. Now that our forces are expanding rapidly through the war, the time is ripe. The strategic significance of the World Tree is actually the same as the Virtual Mutiny Virus, but it is more suitable as a strategic deterrence weapon so that the three Universal Civilizations will no longer dare to attack us.”

Manison then gave Han Xiao an appreciative look, as though saying ‘we are indeed the same type of people.’ He was also afraid of Han Xiao’s threat after obtaining the World Tree, but if he was in that position, Manison would have made the same choice. The situation now was similar to when he snatched the ‘Virtual Mutiny Virus’. However, he had failed, and Black Star had succeeded.

Upon hearing this, some of the association members could not say anything no matter how unhappy they were. It was mainly because what was done was done. There was no point in objecting.

Seeing this, Aurora changed the topic and said with a smile, “We won this war. Everyone, be happy.”

Hearing this, everyone relaxed and smiled… No matter what, now was the time to enjoy the victory, they still had to give face to the healer.

“We’ve finally dealt with this powerful enemy. We can take a break now.”

“Heh, I’ve been exhausted all these years. Don’t wake me up until I’ve slept for a month.”

“After enduring the tough times, a beautiful tomorrow is waiting for us.”

The Beyond Grade As were relieved of their burdens and chatted with each other.

At this moment, someone thought of something

“By the way, Black Star, when do you plan to revive the recently killed Beyond Grade As?”

In the past year of the war, a few more Beyond Grade As had died in battle. Han Xiao had yet to revive them, and their names were still on the Soul Comfort Monument.

“After some time, I still have some things to do, so I can’t leave for the time being, especially when it comes to the establishment of a civilization… The timing, location, and people are all in our hands. I’ve convinced the three Universal Civilizations to temporarily track down a third party. Taking advantage of this buffer time, we’ll let our people complete the final preparations for the transformation of the association. When the time comes, everything will be in place.”

Han Xiao replied casually.

He took out the technology of the Information Form Warning Network and convinced the three Universal Civilizations to search for a third party. On one hand, he did not want the enemy to continue hiding and benefit from it. On the other hand, he also temporarily shifted the focus of the three Universal Civilizations and bought time for the final stage of preparations for the transformation of the association into a Civilization.

The two plans were carried out side by side, killing two birds with one stone. This way, he would be busy, and he had to hurry up. For the time being, he did not have the time to study how to complete the Virtual Creation.

However, when talking about the Sanctum Revival, Han Xiao thought about the problem of the Iteration.

He had once planned to reveal the information about the Sanctum to the three Universal Civilizations when the time was right, and they would work together to figure out how to survive the Iteration. In the past, the time was not ripe, but now that the World Tree was in his hands, he truly had the foundation to work together as an equal. This plan could also be officially put on the agenda.

If he remembered correctly, there should still be a related mission in his interface.

Because of the World Tree’s alchemy-like material transformation ability, he did not have to bother collecting the materials for the Sanctum Key in the future and could create a new key at any time. To him, most of the Sanctums were a backyard that he could enter as he wished, so he was not afraid of the three Universal Civilizations studying the Sanctum together. The other party did not have such a unique condition.

“This is really the case of overwhelming advantage…”

Han Xiao was secretly overjoyed.

With the World Tree Mechanism working together with the Sanctum, the benefits were unimaginable.

He inwardly decided that once the situation stabilized after the war, he would show his cards to the three Universal Civilizations and pull them to study the Sanctum together.

Rather than letting these people spend their energy on how to deal with them, it would be better to let them figure out how to deal with the problem of Iteration, lest they waste resources for internal conflicts.

‘My actions will definitely move the Galaxy…!

Han Xiao shook his head.

For the sake of the peace of the universe, I am really giving it my all. It’s not right for me not to receive a few tons of medals.

This time, Ames came over with a strange expression. “You’ve made a huge profit this time. The entire galactic society suffered heavy losses in the war, and trillions died in the war. In the end, you became the biggest beneficiary. What do you think?”

“What? Are you trying to wake up my sense of shame? You’ve found the wrong person.” Han Xiao shrugged and said calmly, “I ended the war early and saved countless lives. The dead are gone, and the living are still alive. What do I think? I have a clear conscience.”

Ames spread out her hands. “Alright, there’s nothing wrong with thinking this way. After this war, you will be extremely respected, so you won’t be as busy as before, right? How about it, make some time to accompany me?”

Han Xiao was tempted.

But at this time, Jotina suddenly appeared and interrupted.

“Lord Dragon Emperor, the Army Commander doesn’t have that much free time. Don’t keep pestering him. It will only make him troubled.”

Hearing this, Ames raised her brows and looked over. Jotina did not back down and glared back. Their gazes met in midair, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder. Han Xiao felt a wave of killing intent, and his mouth could not help but twitch. He quickly flew to the side, not wanting to be involved in the battle between the two women.

The two of them glared at each other. One side was calm and dignified, while the other side was aggressive. There was a clear provocation in their eyes, and neither side backed down. No one cared about Han Xiao running away.

“Sigh, it’s all my fault for being too outstanding…”

Han Xiao sighed helplessly.

He flew to the side alone and thought for a while before taking out the Heart Tree King’s Spacetime Amber. After obtaining the World Tree, Han Xiao had completely understood the mechanisms of the Tree King and the Tree God. He realized that the Ancestral Tree King had left him a mess.

The Beyonder’s Vestiges were completely burned, the Crowns were completely destroyed, and their military strength was greatly depleted. The high-level combatants were almost completely wiped out, and the World Tree Civilization had suffered great losses. It would take many years for them to recover.

However, Han Xiao did not mind. After all, if he had not beaten the enemy into such a miserable state, he would not have had the chance to subdue the World Tree.

However, Han Xiao originally had an idea. If the timing and price were suitable, it was not impossible to sell Wuornos a Beyonder’s Vestige in the future.

Now, he had no way to give it to Wuornos even if he wanted to. Wuornos had once again missed the opportunity to advance to the Transcendent Grade. Han Xiao could only say that it was destiny…

“Right now, the only undamaged Tree King Crown is on the Heart Tree King. This guy has become my only heir…”

Han Xiao shook his head and laughed.

Although the members of the World Tree were brainwashed and loyal, they were not puppets without self-awareness. They had independent thoughts and had their own lives. His entry into the World Tree Civilization did not affect these things. In a way that was easy to understand, his control of the World Tree was equivalent to using his own will to replace the will of the mother tree. To the World Tree Civilization, the two had similar meanings.

Therefore, Han Xiao also needed to find someone to manage the World Tree Civilization. Due to the ‘waste’ of the Ancestral Tree King, for a very long time, the World Tree would only have one Tree King qualification. The Heart Tree King was the best choice.

With this in mind, Han Xiao did not hesitate and unsealed the Amber.

Pop!

The Heart Tree King broke free from the seal and retreated without another word. His body glowed, and he was about to self-destruct.

After being trapped in the Spacetime Amber for so many years, the Heart Tree King had always regretted not being decisive enough. He had told himself countless times that as long as there was a chance to unseal it, he would immediately free himself.

However, just as he was about to self-destruct, the mental network of the World Tree connected to him again. The message that came made the Heart Tree King suddenly stop moving, and his expression became extremely shocked.

“The World Tree Civilization… lost ””.

He quickly received the information in his mental network and finally understood how the war had progressed while he had been sealed for all these years. “The Ancestral Tree King, the Secret Tree King, the Fortitude Tree King, and the Subduing Tree King… They all died, along with the Tree King Crowns. I became the Tree King that survived in the end…”

Just like that, the World Tree Army, which was at its peak, was wiped out. His familiar comrades were all wiped out, and even the entire civilization belonged to someone else. They had a new master… After more than ten years, everything had changed. For a moment, the Heart Tree King was stunned on the spot. His heart was filled with complicated emotions.

Han Xiao did not interfere with the Heart Tree King’s acceptance of reality.

“I’m sure you already understand why I let you out. I need you to help me manage the World Tree Civilization. It might not be a bad thing for you. As long as you do a good job, you will be the only Tree King for a long period of time. I will not interfere too much with your management. You will only be below me and above all others.”

The Heart Tree King looked at Han Xiao with a complicated expression.

He did not expect that the moment he woke up, the culprit who had sealed him back then would become his boss. Due to the mind control of the World Tree, the Heart Tree King could not show any hostility toward Han Xiao. “…I understand. As you wish.”

The Heart Tree King sighed and lowered his head to agree. He had no right to refuse.

Han Xiao nodded and clapped his hands. The Heart Tree King turned into a green stream of light and entered his body, returning to the mother tree world.

After doing this, Han Xiao looked back at the excited crowd and smiled. He did not participate but changed into King and disappeared.

Chapter 1443: New Situation and Relief

While the Galactic Alliance Army was celebrating, the upper echelons of the Super Star Cluster Alliance were discussing the short confrontation between Han Xiao and the three Universal Civilizations, which gave them some excitement.

“External pressure was the adhesive for internal cracks. Now that the adhesive is gone, the rift between Black Star and the three Universal Civilizations will only grow larger. The conflict will happen sooner or later. However, unlike back then, the Beyond Grade A organizations are now like the sun in the sky, and they have also obtained the inheritance of the World Tree. The three Universal Civilizations can no longer restrain them.”

The leader of the Star Arc knocked on the table.

The upper echelons of the Super Star Cluster felt the same. They were gloating yet at the same time a little worried. “The galactic society might have won the war, but all the real benefits fell into Black Star’s hands. Although the war has ended, it is only the beginning of the reshuffling of the galactic structure. The new structure will be formed in the chaos. A character like Black Star will not miss this opportunity. He has the reputation of a war hero, and the three Universal Civilizations cannot stop him at all… This will be the trend!”

“Now that Black Star has the World Tree, his organization will rapidly expand. He doesn’t even need to form an alliance with us, and he can fight on par with the three Universal Civilizations. Will he still value our agreement?”

“It should still be the case. The World Tree has suffered a huge loss, and Black Star might not be willing to turn hostile in the short term. It’s definitely better to pull in external help than to do it alone. Furthermore, from his past actions, Black Star actually does not have the ambition to steal the ruling rights, nor does he have the intention to unite the entire Galaxy under him… Of course, the hearts of people are hard to predict, and this judgment might not be correct. It can only be used as a reference. On the other hand, the three Universal Civilizations have also suffered a huge loss, and they don’t want to fall out with Black Star.”

“Sigh, I feel a little pessimistic. If there are no new external conflicts, Black Star and the three Universal Civilizations might have a battle in the future. From the perspective of the entire galactic society, we defeated the World Tree and obtained the spoils of war. This is our strongest period in history, but internal conflicts cannot be resolved. Are we going to die by our own strength?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. The three Universal Civilizations aren’t really headstrong. As long as Black Star doesn’t have the intention to rule alone, the three Universal Civilizations will still give up their opposition under the threat of absolute strategic deterrence and accept Black Star as a member of the ruling circle. Having two supreme factions might be the new normal in the future.”

They carefully analyzed the possibilities of the future.

The leader of the Star Arc listened for a while and said, “Under such circumstances, we should find a new way to deal with ourselves. The original agreement was for us to work together with Black Star to fight against the three Universal Civilizations, but things are different now. The three Universal Civilizations need to rope us in to fight Black Star. It’s not suitable for us to side with Black Star.”

“You mean to cooperate with the three Universal Civilizations?”

“Of course not. What I mean is that we have to work together with both sides. The three Universal Civilizations will fight Black Star, and we will be a huge bargaining chip. The three Universal Civilizations won’t treat us the way they did in the past, so the suppression will naturally be nullified. The tables have turned, and they will lower their heads and beg us to work together. This time, we can really use the proper way to obtain a chance to develop freely. Maybe the three Universal Civilizations still wish for us to become stronger… However, we have to make the situation into a new balance, so we can’t easily side with either. Only competition can bring benefits. Monopolizing or dictatorship is not possible.”

“Hmm, that’s true. Not to mention the three Universal Civilizations, Black Star is also a dangerous individual who represents individualism. If he ascends, he will definitely give the Supers more privileges, which will allow him to lead the galactic society. He might not even be as good as the three Universal Civilizations. Furthermore, he has the World Tree, so he’s also a time bomb.”

Suddenly, someone sighed and muttered,

“Black Star, oh Black Star… such a person is really too difficult to deal with. He’s always seeking greater benefits and never relaxes. He’s really someone who does big things. If the person leading the Beyond Grade As was not the way he is, the three Universal Civilizations might have suppressed them long ago. How could they have developed to this
stage?”

Hearing this, everyone sighed. The image that Black Star had left for them was strong and ruthless, able to seize every opportunity to expand. Even if they did not consider his individual strength, they were still afraid of such a person. They could trust each other when they were teammates, but turning back into competitors was torture.

The news of the Galactic Alliance Army defeating the World Tree Civilization was temporarily locked down by the three Universal Civilizations and Han Xiao. They controlled the quantum network base station to filter out any information that might leak.

Since they were worried that it would be difficult to control the troops once they were disbanded, the victorious Galactic Alliance Army temporarily stayed in the secondary dimension to recuperate. Regarding this order, the various troops were still rather cooperative, but they could not stay on standby all the time. Thus, the plan to find the third party infiltrator required to be performed as quickly as possible. The players were not restricted at all. The ‘Galactic Alliance Army ending the war and Black Star subduing the World Tree’ incident had already been recorded in Galaxy Chronicles and was extremely popular.

Han Xiao’s heroic act of uprooting the World Tree spread across all the forums. Although many players could not help but complain that they had watched another round of CG, they were still very happy to be able to participate in such a large event.

However, the players were only active on the forums, and the news that was occasionally spread through the communicator had been intercepted. Therefore, the galactic society was completely unaware of the Galactic Alliance Army’s victory.

The situation that countless galactic residents were aware of was the moment when the World Tree evacuated the invaders. They were still uncertain about this, and there were many different opinions online. As for the Star Alliance spies who could only gather intelligence from the public network, they naturally did not know about the World Tree Civilization’s defeat. They were still patiently waiting for the World Tree Civilization’s ‘big move’, completely unaware of the impending disaster.

In the Central Galaxy, somewhere in the desolate universe belt, the secret base of the Star Alliance lurkers.

“I wonder what the World Tree is planning. It’s been a long time since there’s been any movement.”

“I see that the Galactic Alliance Army is gathering in the Central Galaxy. The World Tree Civilization is probably going to attack the Central Galaxy.”

“By the way, we are also in the Central Galaxy. Will we be affected? Should we evacuate?”

Inside the base, a group of observers gathered together and whispered.

The Observer Captain was a little hesitant and said, “The probability of the desolate universe belt being targeted by the World Tree is very low. No one has visited this place for many years, so it should be safe… However, the World Tree might also send people to infiltrate and build some strongholds. That way, we will also have the risk of being discovered by others…”

“If we act rashly, we might get exposed. Other places might be more dangerous. Let’s stay,” one of the team members suggested. “…Alright then. If our base is really discovered, we’ll start the self-destruct sequence and sacrifice ourselves.”

The Observer Captain’s tone became solemn.

These observers who had infiltrated the territories of the three Universal Civilizations were all carefully selected death warriors. In order to prevent any information leak about the Star Alliance if they got captured, they had long been prepared to commit suicide. The self-destruct device they buried was enough to blow up the entire planet and erase all traces.

“You guys continue to pay attention to the news. I’ll go sort out the intelligence for this week and send it to my hometown in a few days.”

The Observer Captain stood up and was about to leave the room.

Ding!

However, all of a sudden, everyone’s movements froze, as if time had stopped.

A certain area in the room rippled, and Han Xiao walked out.

“Hehe, it’s the Lorese. It’s exactly the same as the visions given in the Explorer. Looks like I found the right one.”

Han Xiao looked at the Observer Captain, and his eyes sparkled.

In order to prevent any accidents from happening, after he returned to the main universe, he directly consumed the materials and used the Virtual World to create a temporary Information Form Warning Network. He quickly completed the installation and set the parameters before activating it.

If he had not used that, he would still have been left in the dark. Once he used it, he received a shock. The information state alert network gave him a lot of abnormal signals. He had the impression that the entire explored universe was like a sieve being spied on by countless enemies, and he was shocked. After some adjustments, he finally understood that this technology was used in a normal civilization, and it was very easy to churn out false reports. Since the World Tree Civilization existed as a single entity, there was no such problem. This was the difference in technology. The World Tree Special Express was a perfect match for this Information Form Warning Network. Although the three Universal Civilizations did not have such mobility, the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device could be used as a replacement, so Han Xiao did not waste too much time traveling.

After some selection and adjustments, he removed most of the false reports and confirmed some real external signals, most of which were from secondary dimension life forms.

Han Xiao visited a few signal areas and only now arrived at the base of the Star Alliance’s infiltrators. He immediately confirmed that this was the real mastermind. The process was much smoother than he had expected. He had controlled the entire base and all the enemies before he even appeared.

“Let me see your background.”

Han Xiao’s eyes lit up, and the shadow of the World Tree appeared behind him.

As the World Tree merged into the space, it was stained with Han Xiao’s energy, and the entire tree turned into a bright blue electric arc. A few translucent roots shot out like electric whips and penetrated everyone’s chests.

The next moment, the figures of these observers turned illusory at a speed visible to the naked eye, and waves of energy entered Han Xiao’s body through the roots.

With the World Tree in his hands, Han Xiao had no intention of interrogating these people. As long as he could turn these spies into members of the World Tree, he would be able to obtain all the intelligence from their memories and turn them into ‘guides’, imitating the methods of the World Tree.

Not long after, these Star Alliance observers fused into the roots. Han Xiao snapped his fingers, and a few roots arched their bodies like snakes. With a puff, they spewed out a large number of lightning sparks, reforming their bodies.

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and received the memories of these people. There was a lot of information about the Star Alliance inside.

“So that’s what happened. The Star Alliance has been hiding for many years… Hmm, this civilization doesn’t seem to be that strong.”

Han Xiao pondered.

The third party had already been found, but they still had to discuss with the three Universal Civilizations how to deal with it. They had to see if they could destroy the Star Alliance or merge them into the explored universe. After all, although the Star Alliance was not strong, they had reached the standard of a Universal Civilization. The three Universal Civilizations had already suffered heavy losses, and they still had to consider the cost of starting another war. The three Universal Civilizations had been the targets of the invasion before, but now that they had the chance, they definitely did not mind changing their roles seamlessly and turning into the invaders. After all, the Star Alliance was the one who had plotted against them, so they could not be considered innocent. The damage caused by the World Tree’s full invasion could naturally be blamed on the Star Alliance.

Han Xiao withdrew his thoughts and sized up a Planetary Alliance spy. “Continue hiding and maintain contact with the Star Alliance. Don’t do anything without my orders.”

“Understood. We will do our best to help you steal the intelligence of the Star Alliance!”

Many of the lurkers turned into fanatics.

“…Sigh, with the World Tree mechanism, who would believe that the user is not a villain?”

Seeing how passionate these former Star Alliance loyalists were about dealing with the Star Alliance, Han Xiao felt strange. He shook his head and disappeared.

Not long after, in the joint office of the three Universal Civilizations, Han Xiao brought the news of the third party being captured. “You’re right. There really is a third party interfering, and they’ve been hiding for so long. If not for the Information Form Warning Network, we wouldn’t have found them…”

As Marbruce and the other two looked at the information that Han Xiao had brought, their expressions kept changing. Sometimes, they were angry, and sometimes, they were glad. With the evidence before them, they basically believed that the mole was not from the Super Star Cluster or any other ally. After browsing through the information of the Star Alliance, the three of them discussed for a while and came to a consensus.

“The Star Alliance is very far away from us, but once we obtain the spatial coordinates, we can use the Multi-Dimensional Sky Opening Transportation Device to send our troops over, just like how the World Tree Civilization was dealing with us. Therefore, we have the initiative… We are inclined to destroy the Star Alliance and take it as our vassal. However, we should hold back for now. We have just experienced war, and we still need some time to recuperate.” Han Xiao raised his brows. “How long are you planning to rest?”

Louis pondered and said, “It depends on the situation… However, time is on our side. Although the news of defeating the World Tree Civilization can’t be sealed forever, you have already controlled the spies of the Star Alliance. You can make use of them to send fake intelligence and fabricate the battle situation, making the Star Alliance think that we are still fighting the World Tree Civilization.”

“The prerequisite is that the Star Alliance does not have any other methods to monitor the galactic society…” Han Xiao paused for a moment and spread out his hands.” However, with the Information Form Warning Network, this possibility can be eliminated.”

“In any case, try not to alert the enemy,” Marbruce said with a deep voice. Han Xiao nodded and suddenly commented.

“The association and I will not accompany you in the battle of invading the Star Alliance. You can deal with them yourselves. I’m only responsible for these spies.”

The eyes of the three of them flashed, but they did not say anything immediately. They quickly analyzed the situation in their minds and felt that there were pros and cons.

In this World Tree War, the three Universal Civilizations did not gain anything in the first place. The World Tree Civilization had been taken away by Black Star, and they did not even have the slightest bit of technology or resources. If they could swallow the Star Alliance, they would be able to reap some benefits.

Since Black Star was not participating in the battle, he would not share the spoils of war. Han Xiao had the World Tree, and he was the best at snatching resources. The three of them had to be wary of him.

Without the help of the Beyond Grade A Association, the war would be a little more troublesome. However, the three Universal Civilizations were not to be trifled with. They could not defeat the World Tree, but the same could not be said for the Star Alliance.

However, the three of them were worried that Black Star or the Super Star Cluster would try to assassinate them while they were at war with the Star Alliance. It was very risky… Who knew if Black Star had such plans?

For a moment, the three of them were caught in a dilemma and did not know if this was a
trap.

Han Xiao glanced at them and guessed their thoughts. He pursed his lips. He had only helped the three Universal Civilizations because he had been thinking about the calamities in his previous life and wanted to resist the World Tree.

Do you still expect me to help the three Universal Civilizations expand their territory?

It’s already good enough that I didn’t replace you. Be content, little brother!

Now that the threat was finally resolved, the galactic society could enjoy many years of peace. Han Xiao was satisfied.

Ever since his arrival, the World Tree had been the sword of Damocles in Han Xiao’s eyes. It was the biggest psychological shadow and the source of his anxiety. For a very long time, he could only keep this secret alone and work hard to get rid of it. He did not dare relax, and the pressure was difficult to speak of to others.

After persevering for more than a hundred years, he had finally removed the threat of the galactic society. He no longer had to worry about the safety of his friends. He was relieved and wanted to retire and truly relax for some time.

Chapter 1444: Abyss of Misery

Chapter 1444 Abyss of Misery

The three Universal Civilizations were finally relieved after the Star Alliance’s infiltrators were captured. They quickly returned to the fleet and no longer blocked the news.

Very soon, the explosive news of the Galactic Alliance Army destroying the World Tree Civilization spread throughout the entire galactic society in the shortest time possible. Countless galactic residents on the refugee planets were shocked.

Not long ago, we were still in a passive state, enduring the full invasion of the enemy. Our future was filled with pessimism, and we were in a constant state of panic. However, before we were even mentally prepared, the tables turned in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, they told us that the war had ended, and everyone was safe… Brother, we just woke up, we haven’t even brushed our teeth!

The galactic residents were stunned.

However, as the official media of the three Universal Civilizations revealed the entire process of the war and confirmed that this was not a rumor, the entire galactic society finally recovered from the shock and only felt endless joy.

Under the shadow of the World Tree Civilization, the entire galactic society had been forced to change its way of operation, disrupting everyone’s lives. Countless people turned from free and casual galactic residents into refugees avoiding the flames of war. The wartime policies had tightened the resource supply and livelihood rights of the people, and the difference was huge. This change had lasted for almost twenty years. From the perspective of a civilization or a high-level Super, twenty years was just a short time. It was just a small wave in the river of time, but to ordinary galactic residents, this was almost a generation.

Any change in the era would be amplified on the individual. In the past, the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree Civilization were in a stalemate, and no one could see the bright future of the war. Countless galactic residents pessimistically thought that this kind of life would continue forever, and tomorrow would not be any better. At least two or three more generations would have to suffer in the flames of war.

However, at this moment, the light of dawn tore through the dense fog and shone into everyone’s lives. This beam of light came from the countless soldiers who had sacrificed themselves at the frontline, from Black Star, who had single-handedly turned the situation around.

On the 17th of April, year 799 of the Galaxy Calendar, different races on countless planets were cheering in different languages.

Countless galactic residents called this day the ‘turning point of time’, representing the end of the war and the destruction of the World Tree.

As the victors, the three Universal Civilizations received the praise of the entire galactic society. In the promotion, the three Universal Civilizations did not cover up Black Star’s achievements:

Before the war broke out, he had been maintaining internal checks and balances to reduce internal conflicts. In the early stages of the war, he had led a group of Beyond Grade As to defend against the foreign enemies without any hesitation, and he had also personally taken the risk to gather crucial intelligence about the World Tree. During the preparation stage, he had been training the seeds of potential and nurtured a new batch of Beyond Grade As. One man stood alone in the shallow layer dimension, preventing the World Tree Civilization from advancing and forcing them to give up the battlefront that was the most dangerous to the three Universal Civilizations. He had found the World Tree’s main body first, forcing the World Tree to give up the invasion, and single-handedly lifted the curtains of the final battle, turning the long-term war into the final battle…

With so many achievements, Black Star’s glory in the war could not be concealed at all. His presence was extremely strong, and countless galactic residents recounted Black Star’s contributions in detail. The reverence that gushed out from their hearts was like a warm current that warmed the hearts, and it was like an uncontrollable soul trembling, penetrating every bone and nerve.

Although this was a little unfair to the normal soldiers who had sacrificed themselves at the frontline, after seeing Black Star’s deeds from start to finish, many galactic residents felt that the pace of the entire war was controlled by Black Star. He adjusted the general direction of the war, and the Galactic Alliance Army was more like a ‘tool’ that only carried out his will.

Because of the huge contributions, Black Star became the recognized ‘Chief War Hero’ of the galactic society. His reputation skyrocketed, exceeding all the previous records. He was truly like the sun in the sky, gaining the respect of the entire galactic society and receiving fanatical support.

As for the Beyond Grade As, they also received a large amount of reputation and received countless praises. This was especially so for the ‘sacrificed victims’ on the Soul Comfort Monument, who received more respect and became more popular.

Before the World Tree War broke out, Beyond Grade As were regarded as the privileged class of the galactic society, and they had been hated by many galactic residents. However, these Beyond Grade As fought a bloody battle and protected their safety, and the galactic residents were sincerely grateful.

Due to the wartime policies, most of the population of the various Star Fields had been concentrated on different planets. Now that the flames of war had been extinguished, the three Universal Civilizations had also begun to relocate batches of refugees, slowly leaving the wartime state and returning to normal society.

Central Galaxy, Planet Aquamarine.

In the huge open-air landing field, teams of spaceships with the Black Star Army insignia were parked neatly. The doors of the spaceships opened, and the people of Planet Aquamarine lined up in a long line. Following the orders of the army members, they stepped onto the starships that were returning home one after another.

The constant fear and anxiety made everyone look haggard and tired, but it could not hide the smiles and relaxation on their faces. They were full of hope for a beautiful tomorrow.

In the office of the government building, the white-haired and wrinkly Bennett stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. He looked down at the dense crowd in the square and saw the tired and excited expressions of the Planet Aquamarine citizens.

“Only time can heal the wounds of war…”

As he spoke, Bennett turned around and looked at the statue of Black Star, which was the city’s landmark, with a gratified look in his eyes.

“Black Star… you really did it. I knew I could always trust you.”

Bennett smiled as though he was relieved of a burden.

He was already indifferent to many things, but he was still proud of having an old friend like Black Star.

At the same time, in the Floating Dragon Island above this planet.

A spaceship slowly entered the dock, and the hatch slowly opened.

Harrison walked out of the spaceship and stepped onto the platform. His eyes immediately locked onto Jenny, who was waiting for him.

As their gazes met, everything around them seemed to turn into nothingness. They only had each other in their eyes, as if a lifetime had passed since they met.

Harrison strode forward and kissed Jenny’s shiny forehead before pulling her into his arms.

Jenny only struggled for a moment before hugging Harrison’s back and whispering, “You still know to come back?”

“…Sorry, I had a reason to leave. I…”

“Alright, I’m not blaming you.” Jenny interrupted him and said, “I’m just thanking Black Star. If he had not found the World Tree’s main body and completed what you wanted to do, you would never have returned.”

“Indeed.” Harrison released Jenny and scratched his head in embarrassment.

Jenny glared at him and said, “Speaking of which, you’ve also reached the top in a single step. Now that you’ve got me, you’re in-laws with Black Star. Although I don’t get along with Black Star, I can’t deny that he’s already standing at the top of the universe. With him as your backer, you can do whatever you want in the future.”

“This…” Harrison was a little embarrassed.

Jenny snorted, lowered her head, and touched her lower abdomen. Then, she raised her fist and pretended to be fierce. “You have to treat me better in the future, okay? Otherwise, my sister and my brother-in-law will find you and beat you up. See if you can take it!” Harrison shuddered.

Although he was not dating Jenny because of her identity, he could not help but break out in cold sweat at the thought of the two Gods in Jenny’s family.

Harrison felt that the more he talked about this, the more dangerous it became. He quickly changed the topic, coughed, and asked, “Erm, I’ll be staying on Floating Dragon Island from now on.”

However, Jenny rejected it and shook her head. “There’s no need to stay on Floating Dragon Island. I plan to resign from the Chief Supervisor position of the Floating Dragon.” Harrison was shocked. “What’s the matter?”

“I’ve worked overtime for so many years, and I’m already tired. Ames won’t manage it, and I was worried before. Now that she’s together with Black Star, she doesn’t need my help anymore.”

Jenny’s tone was complicated. She was still dissatisfied with Han Xiao, who snatched her sister away, but it was not her turn to object.

As she spoke, Jenny paused for a moment, looked directly at Harrison, and said in a soft and shy tone, “Plus, I know that you like to explore. I hope that you and I will be happy together. I can’t stop you from pursuing your hobbies just because we’re together. So… can you take me out to explore in the future?” Harrison was stunned. Then, he was overjoyed.

“You’re so good to me…”

He looked at Jenny’s face, and his heart palpitated. He could not help but slowly move closer to her. Jenny’s face turned red, and she slowly closed her eyes.

Just as the two of them were about to touch each other, a deliberate cough sounded beside them.

“Ahem!”

Like a sudden clap of thunder, the ambiguous atmosphere was instantly broken. The two of them snapped out of it as if they had just woken up from a dream. Both their faces turned red, and they quickly looked in the direction of the sound. Aesop had appeared beside them at some point in time, and his eyes were on them.

“When did you arrive? You’re already so old, don’t you know not to disturb others!” Jenny was furious and embarrassed, so she fired first.

Aesop could not be bothered with her. He walked over to Harrison, sized him up, and smiled. He patted Harrison’s shoulder with great force, feeling extremely gratified.

“Good lad, you’re much more reliable than that bastard Black Star.”

Harrison, however, knew Aesop. He smiled bitterly and said, “Don’t make fun of me. How can I be compared to Lord Black Star?”

“Heh, why can’t you compete? At least in terms of reproduction, you’ve already beaten him by one step. If he had half your skills, I would have gotten a grandson a long time ago. Black Star is clearly a greenhorn himself, but he still acts like he’s very strong. I wanted to impart him some experience out of kindness, but he actually shunned me.” Aesop was furious when he said this.

Harrison did not know what to say, so he said helplessly, “Stop fooling around. Black Star is someone who does big things. Why would he waste his energy on such a small matter…”

“Hmm? Small matter?” Jenny’s ears twitched, and she caught the keyword.

“Oh no, that’s not what I meant. I…”

Before Harrison could finish, Aesop grabbed his neck and pulled him down.

“I think you’re much more pleasing to the eye than Black Star. Let’s go, I’ll teach you a few moves. I guarantee that you’ll be able to subdue Jenny…”

“Get out of here. Don’t disgust me.” Jenny gave Aesop a kick and dragged Harrison away.

In the unexplored universe, Star Alliance capital.

In the office, the leader of the Lore Civilization and the other leaders of the Star Alliance gathered together. A virtual screen was suspended in front of each of them, showing the same information.

“The Observer team has sent this period’s battle report. Have you all read it?”

The leader of the Star Alliance looked at everyone and asked.

Savignes nodded and said with a smile, “I finished reading it right away. It seems like the three Universal Civilizations won’t be able to hold on under our influence.”

Hearing this, many people smiled.

The leader of the Star Alliance smiled and lowered his head to read the information.

“The World Tree Army attacked the Central Galaxy and focused on destroying the refugee planets, causing all the refugees on the 1,783 planets to be sacrificed. The civilian casualties are estimated to be between 15 trillion and 25 trillion…”

“The Federation of Light’s mother planet was attacked by a large force of the World Tree, and the defense forces managed to repel the invaders. However, the mother planet was severely damaged. Although the upper echelons were unharmed, many of the middle-ranked officials and important people died.”

“The Galactic Alliance Army and the World Tree invaders fought a battle at Silver Arm but were ambushed. Eight Beyond Grade As died on the spot.”

“Due to the disadvantage of the battle and the suspicion of being spies, the Super Star Cluster Alliance carried out the evacuation plan and did not want to participate in the battle. The three Universal Civilizations strongly opposed it, causing internal unrest in the Galactic Alliance Army. It seems like they have broken
up…”

Although he had already read it once, after listening to the leader of the Star Alliance read it, he could not help but smile with joy, his heart filled with the joy of revenge.

Finally, the leader of the Star Alliance read through the ‘intense battle’ that Han Xiao had made up. He paused for a moment and said with a relaxed tone,

“It can be seen that the battle between the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree Civilization is extremely tragic. Furthermore, the Super Star Cluster Alliance was plotted against by us and was mistaken as a traitor who leaked the information. With both internal and external threats, the three Universal Civilizations will definitely lose if this continues!”

As soon as he said that, many of the people present smiled gloatingly.

Some of the Star Alliance members who did not support the plan were silent.

After reading this report, everyone came to a conclusion—the three Universal Civilizations were definitely living in the depths of hell and were heading to their end!

This was a sure win!

Chapter 1445: Establishment of the Supers Holy Land

Somewhere in the explored universe, the Avengers’ fleet was slowly moving.

Inside the cabin, Pangon and the others were watching the news of the three Universal Civilizations’ victory on the virtual screen.

Looking at the countless galactic races in the image, the Beyond Grade As present had complicated expressions.

“Humph, the three Universal Civilizations became the winners, and the galactic society escaped the calamity. Pangon, are you satisfied now?”

A Beyond Grade A stood with his arms crossed, his tone dissatisfied.

Pangon was expressionless. “There’s nothing to be happy about.”

“Is that so? But why do I feel like you don’t mean what you say? Don’t forget what our goal is! To be honest, if you have given up on revenge, you’d better disband early,” another person said coldly.

This group of people had been planning to take revenge on the three Universal Civilizations, and the galactic society was celebrating their victory. Of course, they could not be happy. They only felt frustrated.

Facing Pangon, who did not have a firm stand, everyone naturally did not have a good expression.

Pangon remained unmoved and said calmly, “If you have the time to talk nonsense, you might as well think about our next move.”

“You still have the face to say that? This war was clearly a very good opportunity for revenge. If not for you not allowing us to cause trouble, we would have long…” “We were beaten to death by Black Star long ago.” Pangon cut him off and slowly said, “Judging from the current situation, the conclusion is that even if we had caused trouble, we wouldn’t have been able to change the outcome of the three Universal Civilizations’ victory. This is because the key factor that determined the war wouldn’t have been affected by us at all… Therefore, if we had taken advantage of the war, the outcome now would have been our annihilation. You all should be glad that I saved our lives.”

Hearing this, everyone was frustrated. Every time they talked about this topic, Pangon would use similar reasons to convince them, and it was not easy to refute.

Right at this moment, Pangon suddenly changed the topic and said, “Don’t you guys think that this new internal conflict is the best environment for us to develop? The reason why I didn’t agree to create trouble in the war is because of this. If the three Universal Civilizations lose, we won’t have to do anything. But since they won, they will form a new balance with the Beyond Grade A Association and the Super Star Cluster Alliance, and we will have more room to maneuver…

That’s why I’ve always emphasized that we have to have the foresight to foresee the changes in the future. We can’t just look for a chance.”

Pangon spoke calmly.

Everyone had strange expressions.

This sentence sounded right, but coming from a Pugilist, it felt weird…

After taking one last look at the galactic refugees on the news, Pangon turned around and left the room.

When he turned around, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly but then disappeared. He said calmly,

“Stop looking. Let’s go. Their joy has nothing to do with us.”

The migration of refugees from the various Star Fields was going on like wildfire, but one day, explosive news once again caused a huge shock in the galactic society.

On this day, the Beyond Grade A Association officially announced the establishment of a civilization regime called the ‘Supers Holy Land’. The civil nature association was promoted to be the Civilization’s Elders Association. All the Beyond Grade As in the association were members of the Elders Association, and some of them with Black Star as the leader were the main decision-makers.

The nature of the civilization was the nation of immigrants that was common in the galactic society. It expressed that it would publicly accept all Supers with good credibility as citizens of the Supers Holy Land, regardless of race. Its slogan was ‘Building a Resplendent Nation Exclusively for Supers’. The Beyond Grade As were the leaders of the Supers, and like the wind vane, it was enough to guide a portion of the Supers to join the alliance. Furthermore, Black Star, the only Transcendent, had even more appeal to the Supers.

Of course, there were more substantial benefits. As long as one became a citizen of the Supers Holy Land, they could obtain the Super knowledge of the various classes through official channels and apply for customized training programs to help raise their level. In addition, official citizens could also choose to enjoy the protection of the Underworld. If they were unlucky and died or died of old age, they could choose to continue living as Hero Spirits. If they advanced to Beyond Grade A, they could directly enter the Elders Association and enjoy the Sanctum Revival for free.

Other than that, there were also various detailed rules and regulations, as well as terms of civil rights. They were jointly created by the professionals of the various Beyond Grade A organizations, and they referenced the systems of many galactic civilizations and made adaptive changes.

The location of the Supers Holy Land was in the Flickering World, occupying almost half of the territory. There were also some Star Clusters that had yet to be explored, located at the outermost edge of the explored universe. However, this was not the only territory. The desolate universe belt outside the Flickering World border was also included in the Supers Holy Land’s territory.

The World Tree’s ‘regurgitation ‘mechanism had to be mentioned here. It could transform countless planets, and the barren area could also be transformed into a prosperous Star Field. Therefore, the Supers Holy Land could be said to have obtained a territory that could continuously expand outward and was not restricted.

The first batch of citizens was from the various Beyond Grade A races or civilizations under their jurisdiction. They were currently migrating over, and the members of the various Beyond Grade A organizations were the first to enjoy the benefits. As long as they were willing, they could obtain the identity of a Supers Holy Land citizen. If they were not willing, they would not be forced. These people built the framework of the Supers Holy Land.

This was clearly taking advantage of the entire universe, and any civilization would face the risk of losing their Supers. However, the three Universal Civilizations did not stand out to oppose it. Instead, they sent a congratulatory message, congratulating the establishment of the Supers Holy Land in the name of the Galaxy Central Civilization Court and accepting the Supers Holy Land as a new member of the Civilization Council.

Both sides had reached an agreement a long time ago-the Beyond Grade A Association would obtain the status of civilization after the war. The three Universal Civilizations had already contacted Han Xiao during this period of time, and even if they were unwilling, they had no choice but to fulfill the agreement. Among them, half of the Flickering World and many Beyond Grade A races had successfully migrated, which was all the benefits that Han Xiao had obtained. The three Universal Civilizations had many concerns, but they still agreed.

Before the joy of winning the war faded, the galactic residents had a new topic. The birth of the Supers Holy Land attracted the heated discussion of the entire galactic society.

Although many galactic residents had guessed that the Beyond Grade A Association would make a big move after the battle, due to the lack of information, they had not expected the Beyond Grade A Association to make a move so quickly.

Not only the ordinary people, but the entire Super class was shocked!

The attraction of the Supers Holy Land to the Super classes far exceeded that of any civilization. Just the benefits of the Underworld and the Sanctum Revival alone were enough to move countless people. In addition, there was also free public knowledge and free training

After enjoying the taste of superpowers, it was basically impossible for them to be satisfied with the current situation. Most Supers had the ambition to improve their own level. The treatment of the Supers Holy Land was enviable, and they did not have obligations like when joining a Beyond Grade A organization. Although the Supers had special privileges in the galactic society, they also had all kinds of concerns. Under the tacit understanding of the advanced civilizations, many low and middle-grade Supers had to sell their lives for all kinds of resources and knowledge. This was one of the ways for the advanced civilizations to maintain the balance so that the Supers would not become unstable factors of Galactic Society.

Now that the Supers Holy Land had shouted the slogan of ‘building the holy land of Supers’, it caused a huge commotion. The Supers no longer hesitated and immediately joined the alliance.

Before the World Tree War, they might have been afraid of the authority of the three Universal Civilizations, afraid that they would no longer be able to live in the galactic society. Just like how the three Universal Civilizations had suppressed the Beyond Grade A Association back then, many people did not dare join the Beyond Grade A organizations. Now that the political position of the Beyond Grade A Supers Holy Land had been recognized, Black Star was no longer the ordinary Beyond Grade A Super.

Everyone could see that the Supers Holy Land and the three Universal Civilizations had reached the same level, and it was impossible for the same thing to happen again. Therefore, many Supers no longer had any concerns. Even if the galactic society banned them, they could just live in the Supers Holy Land in the future, what was there to be afraid of!

At the border of the Flickering World.

Han Xiao was floating in the desolate universe belt, and the power of the World Tree was flickering with electric arcs all over his body. Facing the dark space, he waved his hands rhythmically, as if he was playing a symphony.

Under his command, roots tore through space and slowly took root. At the same time, the ends of the roots seemed to spout bubbles as they scattered the transformed planets in the galaxy to expand the territory of the Supers Holy Land. Behind him, a group of Beyond Grade As were watching the scene of changing stars with shock.

No matter how many times they watched this scene, they were still shocked and awed.

After a while, Han Xiao finally finished modifying this area. He retrieved the power of the World Tree, turned around, and flew in front of everyone.

“Maintain this large territory for now. It should be enough.”

“As long as you’re happy…” Everyone had mixed feelings and did not know what to say.

Han Xiao turned to look at Aurora and asked, “What does the galactic society think of the Supers Holy Land?”.

“About one hundred and twenty billion Supers have applied to become a Supers Holy Land citizen, and this number is still rising rapidly,” Aurora said. “It’s a little small, but it’s just the beginning. Many people are still hesitating. When we completely stabilize, the population will skyrocket.”

Han Xiao nodded casually.

During this period of time, he had been going everywhere, meeting with the leaders of the various organizations, reaching a consensus, and finally establishing the Supers Holy Land.

Establishing a civilization was very cumbersome, and all kinds of structures needed to be perfected. However, Han Xiao only needed to control the general direction and simple diplomacy. The details were filled in by the professional subordinates of the various Beyond Grade A organizations.

Because of the general trend, even the three Universal Civilizations did not make things difficult for him anymore. The creation of the Supers Holy Land was even smoother than Han Xiao had expected.

From now on, the Beyond Grade As were officially united, and they would be able to move around in the universe under the banner of the Supers Holy Land. The structure of the galactic society had truly become three-way. Han Xiao had fulfilled his promise to the Beyond Grade A Association.

Many Beyond Grade As became the upper echelons of the Elders Association in the Supers Holy Land. Among them, Aurora was promoted to be Han Xiao’s assistant and replaced Kasuyi’s position. This personnel change received everyone’s approval. In the entire Beyond Grade A group, only Aurora could convince the masses.

This was also Kasuyi’s intention. He had originally planned to explore the unknown universe after the battle, and Han Xiao had also changed his position according to his request. Because Oathkeeper was traveling with Kasuyi, the Holy Accord was also empty, so Han Xiao made Beiger the acting leader of the Holy Accord and took over the job from Oathkeeper.

Beiger, on the other hand, did not mind being a mascot-like acting leader. However, Han Xiao did not really care about the Holy Accord anymore.

Now that he had obtained the World Tree that could convert resources, he no longer needed the Holy Accord organization to help him collect the Sanctum Keys. His main goal was to fulfill his previous promise and leave a place for the Beyond Grade As who wanted to retire.

Han Xiao turned around and looked at Psyker who was hiding in the crowd.

“The one with seven eyes. Haven’t you always wanted to relocate your race? Move your Star Pupil Civilization to the Supers Holy Land. No one will suppress you here.”

“Really? I don’t believe it.”

Psyker had strong doubts.

Even today, his Black Star PTSD had yet to be cured, and he felt that Han Xiao was up to no good.

Han Xiao rolled his eyes and ignored him.

At this moment, Hilbert walked out of the crowd with a group of revivors and said with a smile,

“Black Star, I wonder if the Supers Holy Land-realm welcomes our joining?”

Hilbert had always had the thought of leaving the three Universal Civilizations to join the Beyond Grade A Association. Now that the war was over and the Beyond Grade A Civilization was established, he had finally made up his mind. He brought along some of the direct descent Revivors who also felt that they did not owe the three Universal Civilizations anything; their motive was naturally the unlimited Sanctum Revival guarantee.

Seeing this, Han Xiao smiled.

“The three Universal Civilizations are even more furious now. If you make such a choice, it might invalidate the ‘retirement benefits’ that you gave up your lives for. Are you sure you want to do that?” “It doesn’t matter. We’ve all died for the three Universal Civilizations. We don’t owe them anything anymore. It’s time to live for ourselves.” Hilbert smiled.

“In that case, the Supers Holy Land welcomes all of you.”

Han Xiao nodded.

According to this trend, the future Supers Holy Land might really be able to get all the individual strengths in the universe.

At that time, the Supers Holy Land would become the sanctuary that all the Super classes yearned for. Almost all the civilian Supers who had awakened naturally would gather there, and the other civilizations would only have the Supers that were cultivated by the direct descendants. From another perspective, this would also increase the security of the galactic society, helping the various civilizations to consolidate their rule, and creating a more stable environment for the galactic residents.

Sigh, as expected, I still have peace in my heart. The three Universal Civilizations don’t understand me.

Han Xiao shook his head and sighed.

Chapter 1446: Handing Over Positions and Farming Authority

Chapter 1446 Handing Over Positions and Farming Authority

There were only a few direct descent Revivors who chose to join the Supers Holy Land, and most of them chose to stay in the three Universal Civilizations. Even so, the difference between the high-level combatants on both sides was still quite large.

However, Han Xiao was no longer afraid of openly poaching from the three Universal Civilizations. Ever since he subdued the World Tree to end the war, many problems that he had been facing had been solved. For example, the three Universal Civilizations had never given in to the Ultimate Knowledge Transmission right.

“The three Universal Civilizations knew that they would not be able to stop the Supers Holy Land from becoming a sanctuary of individual strength, so they compromised with me in the end…”

Han Xiao’s eyes swept past everyone and suddenly locked onto Karlot, Evans, and the other new Beyond Grade As.

Karlot and Evans’ potential did not need to be strengthened, and their futures were naturally limitless. However, because the World Tree War broke out many years earlier than in his previous life, they did not have enough time to grow. Even with his nurturing, it was not easy to make up for the lost time, and they were far from reaching the theoretical peak of their ability.

Therefore, in this war, the two of them did not perform too well, but it was undeniable that they would still be extremely valuable in the future.

In Han Xiao’s opinion, since the Beyond Grade As had shouted the slogan of ‘Holy Land of the Supers’, they had to have new injections of Supers, and they could not let the production of Supers stop. Although the current peak Beyond Grade As had a long lifespan and were distinguished, it would not do if there were no new generations of experts. They had to let the galactic society see the ‘individual strength nurturing ability’ of the Supers Holy Land that exceeded any organization.

Although there might not be any chance for Han Xiao to make a move in the future, he still needed a new generation to hold the fort for the Supers Holy Land. Han Xiao had already treated Karlot and Evans as his right-hand men and the future pillars of the Supers Holy Land.

The construction of the territory was completed. Secret Master and the other Mages summoned the transportation door and sent everyone back to the main planet of the Supers Holy Land.

The main planet of the Supers Holy Land was called ‘Planet of the Deities’. It was located at the back of the Flickering World and had statues of all the Beyond Grade As of the Civilization’s Elders Association. Black Star’s statue was the most eye-catching and was the landmark of the entire planet.

Countless spaceships gathered on this planet from all directions, leaving behind streams of light like a bright galaxy. These were the various Supers who had chosen to join the Supers Holy Land and came to pay their respects to the statues of the various Beyond Grade As.

This area was originally a defensive area built by the Galactic Alliance Army, but after the war, all the troops stationed here left, and this area had a new owner. Every Beyond Grade A had their own residence here. After returning, they left to do their own things. Now was the time to migrate their forces to the Supers Holy Land, and most Beyond Grade As were very busy. Han Xiao returned to his office. Aurora, Hila, Feidin, and the others from the Black Star Army followed him for a small meeting.

“The framework of the Supers Holy Land has already been built. All that’s left is to fill it up. There are some personnel changes that I need to explain to everyone.” As he spoke, Han Xiao looked at everyone, his gaze landing on Nero.

“As the highest leader of the Supers Holy Land, it’s not suitable for me to continue leading the Black Star Army. Nero, I’ll leave the army to you for the time being.”

Hearing this, everyone turned to look at Nero with different expressions.

“Ah, this isn’t appropriate. I’m not mentally prepared.” Nero was shocked, stammering, “You, you built this organization from scratch, and now you’re handing it over to me. I’m afraid I can’t bear such a responsibility…”

Han Xiao raised his brows and scolded, “What are you thinking? I only want you to be the acting Army Commander. I will be the Army Commander in name only and will not interfere with the daily affairs of the army, but you still have to report to me.”

Now that he had become the Supreme Leader of the Supers Holy Land, he needed to avoid the outside world. If he continued to lead the Black Star Army, it would be easy for others to have ideas, and it would also increase the army’s ego. Although Han Xiao was not afraid, he would avoid it if he could. It just so happened that he also wanted to relieve some of his burdens and make himself more relaxed.

After all, with his Transcendent Grade and the power of the World Tree, he no longer needed external organizations to support his position.

“Then I’m relieved.” Nero heaved a sigh of relief.

He could not be blamed for being cowardly. There were too many Beyond Grade As in the army. Although he was Black Star’s godson, he still could not hold on.

Furthermore, the name ‘Black Star Army’ was already renowned throughout the universe. Nero was afraid that he would ruin its reputation if he stood too high. However, it would be much easier if he only worked.

Han Xiao turned to look at Aurora and said, “The same goes for you. Now that you’re the second-in-command of the Supers Holy Land, you don’t have to continue being the Deputy Army Commander of the Black Star Army. You can hand over your position later.” Aurora was unwilling. “What happened to the promise of staying in the army as long as I’m willing to stay?”

Han Xiao shook his head and laughed. “Your identity is no longer suitable. You don’t have to carry everything on your shoulders. Even if you’re not in the army, our relationship won’t change. As the saying goes, a person will always strive for greater things. The Black Star Army was just a phase of your life. It’s already over.”

“Humph, big liar.”

Aurora turned her head to the side.

Helpless, Han Xiao turned to look at Hila and asked, “What about you? Have you thought about what I told you? Do you want to take on the position of the Supers Holy Land’s Esper Department’s Chief?” “Sure.”

Hila nodded.

“Alright, then hand over your positions in the army with Aurora.”

Han Xiao nodded as he spoke out.

The Supers Holy Land was divided into five important departments, led by the corresponding Beyond Grade As.

Hila’s performance in this war was clear to all. Coupled with the characteristics of the Underworld, no one had any objections to her taking over the Esper Department.

Originally, Han Xiao wanted Manison to be in charge of the Mechanic Department, but since Manison had rejected him, he had no choice but to give up and let Kant manage the Mechanic Department. The Mage Department was managed by Milizaus, and the assistant was Secret Master. The head of the Pugilist Department was Sierron, and Han Xiao planned to replace him with Karlot in the future. The best candidate for the Psychic Department was Kasuyi, but he was traveling far away, so he replaced him with a peak Beyond Grade A Psychic who had been following the association for a long time, with Feidin as the assistant.

After a series of changes, the high positions of the Supers Holy Land were given to the various contributors.

Many of them were ‘former members of the Black Star Army’. Han Xiao told them to hand over their positions in the army and did not force them to be tied up with the army. Although these people did not mind following him, he still had to give them face. As upper echelons of the Supers Holy Land, it would not be good to keep the title of Deputy Army Commanders. It would also make it seem like the Black Star Army controlled the decision-making power of the civilization. Although he had the qualifications to be a dictator, he did not need to show it.

On the surface, a batch of Beyond Grade As leaving would make it seem like the upper echelons of the Black Star Army had lost their strength, but in reality, it was not much different to Han Xiao. In the past, he had wanted to gather a large number of experts to strengthen the Black Star Army, but now he had to do a reduction. His position had changed greatly, and just because these Beyond Grade As were not in the army did not mean that they would not listen to him.

This time, Hila crossed her arms and said straightforwardly, “You have to teach me how to enter the Transcendent Grade.”

“I can’t teach you now. Wait till you reach the bottleneck.”

Han Xiao waved his hands.

He arranged many army Beyond Grade As’ positions. After dealing with the last person, he thought for a while and looked at Aurora.

“Right, let Sorokin out. I have something to talk to him about.”

Aurora curled her lips, but still did as she was told. Balls of gentle golden energy condensed into a physical body, gradually turning into Sorokin.

Sorokin opened his eyes and looked around before looking at Han Xiao. “Hmm? Isn’t the war over? Why did you call me out?”

Han Xiao rubbed his knuckles and said, “I have a good deal for you. As long as you’re willing to agree to a few rules and not cause trouble or mess around, I will allow you out of the Underworld and to keep moving outside.”

Hearing this, Sorokin was suspicious.

“Since when do you treat me so well? Tell me, what do you want me to do?”

“The Beyond Grade A Association has established a civilization called the Supers Holy Land. I’ll tell you the details later. I hope you can be an upper echelon in terms of economy or business and display your strengths. How about it? Are you interested?” “There’s such a good thing.” Sorokin’s eyes lit up. “Just tell me if you’re willing.”

Han Xiao said casually.

Of course, there was no shortage of professionals in the Supers Holy Land, but Sorokin was the one who knew how to make money the best among the Beyond Grade As. Han Xiao felt that throwing him in the Underworld would be a waste of his talent, so he might as well get Sorokin out and make use of him.

Anyway, with his current position, he was no longer afraid of Sorokin stirring up any trouble.

“No problem, you don’t have to worry. With me around, I will definitely make this Supers Holy Land’s economy flourish, become stronger, and create glory!” Sorokin immediately agreed.

Since he had nothing to do in the Underworld, he naturally would not reject such a rare opportunity to ‘relax’.

As for the enmity between him and Black Star, Sorokin had already accepted his fate over the years. He was a smart person and would not take it to heart.

Han Xiao nodded with satisfaction. Just as he was about to say something, his communicator suddenly rang.

Beep beep beep…

He took a look. It was a call from the Dynasty Ruler, Marbruce.

Han Xiao waved his hand and signaled for everyone to leave. After everyone left, he picked up the call.

“What have you called for?”

“Black Star, we plan to hold a grand ceremony on January 1 of the 800th year of the Galaxy Calendar to celebrate this victory, to commemorate the lives sacrificed in the war, and to honor the heroes. Your Supers Holy Land should participate as well, especially you. The entire Galactic Society sees you as a hero, so don’t be absent.”

“I’ll be there.”

Han Xiao nodded in agreement.

This war was indeed worthy for the three Universal Civilizations to hold a grand ceremony, and the date they chose was also very meaningful. The first day of the New Era… It was probably not for the convenience of the students to memorize that they chose
this date.

After chatting casually for a while, Han Xiao told them about the choice of Hilbert and the others. However, Marbruce’s reaction was very calm, as though he had expected it. It was a pity that Han Xiao did not see how furious he was. After hanging up, Han Xiao calculated the date.

“There’s still half a year left before the ceremony. This period of time is enough for the Supers Holy Land to gain a firm foothold. After the ceremony, I’ll have a lot of free time. I’ll then enter the Sanctum and revive those unlucky people who died in battle… I’ll also find out all the information on the message board.”

Because the World Tree had solved the problem of the Sanctum Key, Han Xiao naturally thought of a plan, which was to use it to enter and exit the Sanctum and unlock all the information on the message board.

In theory, this was completely possible.

However, this would require a lot of time, so Han Xiao decided to wait for the situation to stabilize before implementing it.

“Speaking of which, I wonder what the players have been doing recently…”

Han Xiao opened the interface and looked at the players’ forums. Most of the topics discussed in the posts were related to the victory of the war and the Supers Holy Land.

Now that the war had ended, the players had nothing to do. Although Han Xiao had put up the Dungeon Crystals of the ‘World Tree War’ series, most of them still had nothing to do. They had just experienced the end of a main storyline mission, so many of them could not be bothered to do side missions for the time being

In addition, the fifth Pro League was already in the preparation stage, attracting the attention of the players. Therefore, Han Xiao did not have to worry about the players having nothing better to do.

“The universe is peaceful and society is stable. Everything is improving… Tsk tsk, I haven’t had such an easy time in a long time.”

Han Xiao heaved a sigh of relief and felt a sense of satisfaction.

On the other side of the Planet of the Deities Manison’s mansion.

Manison casually played with the pile of cards and looked at Kasuyi who was deep in thought. “You’ve already decided to travel far and found a new life goal. I haven’t congratulated you yet.”

“After living for so long, I have to find something to do. There are no secrets in the explored universe to me. Finding the unknown is more fun.” Kasuyi casually threw out a card and smiled. “Speaking of which, I didn’t expect you to reject Black Star’s invitation and give up this position.”

“Aren’t you the same?” Manison did not comment.

“I don’t want to work because I have to travel far away, but why don’t you want this authority if you are staying here? This isn’t like you.” Kasuyi raised his brows.

“I have other plans.” Manison glanced at the cards, took out a card, and pretended to play it. However, after thinking for a while, he stuffed this card back in and changed to another card. He did not stop talking and said, “I plan to study in seclusion for decades. I don’t want to be distracted elsewhere… Furthermore, with Black Star around, I will never be able to surpass him in the eyes of Mechanics.”

“Indeed.” Kasuyi sighed. “Being in the same era as him is the misfortune of all Mechanics.”

Manison looked up at him and knocked on the table. “You’re not a Mechanic, why are you so emotional?”

“To be honest, if I were you, I would have directly taken Black Star as my teacher. Learning is not embarrassing.” Kasuyi shrugged.

“You talk too much. Hurry up and play.”

Manison snorted. Although his relationship with Han Xiao had improved quite a bit, and he was willing to listen to the other party’s orders to a certain extent, asking him to lower his head again? Impossible!

Supers Holy Land established a new structure after the war. After preliminary observation, a large number of Supers from different civilizations entered the territory of the Supers Holy Land from various Star Fields. After approval, they received official citizenship. The work efficiency of a Beyond Grade A organization was known to be very high. As the various projects were quickly completed, the Supers Holy Land that had only been established for a few months started operating efficiently. On the other hand, the entire galactic society was still in a daze and needed a lot of time to adapt to the new situation.

The Super Star Cluster Alliance also made use of the birth of the Supers Holy Land to get rid of the suppression they had always been in and finally enjoyed the treatment of normal advanced civilization, obtaining a certain degree of freedom to develop.

After the war, the situation gradually stabilized. The entire galactic society was trying to adapt to the changes after the war, and in the blink of an eye, it reached the end of year 799 of the Galaxy Calendar. The three Universal Civilizations held a celebration ceremony as scheduled.

Chapter 1447: Support and Entry

Chapter 1447 Support and Entry

Year 800 of the Galaxy Calendar, 1st January.

Central Galaxy, New Era Planet.

A few months ago, in order to hold this celebration, the three Universal Civilizations started manually modifying this planet, turning the desolate and dying planet into a celebration planet. They named it ‘New Era Planet’ to commemorate their hundred years of experience, especially the victory of the World Tree War.

Looking down from space, there was a huge building that looked like a tower on the New Era planet. At the top was an open-air square platform. This was the venue of the celebration, and there were rows of floating seats around it.

Countless spaceships were hovering in the air, covering the sky. Countless galactic media outlets had arrived to broadcast the scene. This time, it was also a full broadcast of the various Star Fields. However, the number of viewers could not create a new record. Because of the war, many people had lost their lives. However, the viewership ratings had reached a new high, and almost every family stayed in front of the television to watch the broadcast.

Anti-gravity hovering cars rose from the ground and flew to the venue. The invited guests took their seats one after another. The representatives of the various civilizations, the military, the Beyond Grade As, and so on were all important people in the galactic society. As the guests entered and waited for the ceremony to start, the venue quickly became lively.

The Beyond Grade As beside him chatted casually, but Han Xiao did not participate in the conversation. He took out his communicator and looked at it. The galactic media had already started broadcasting, and the cameras swept across the venue. It seemed like they knew what the audience wanted to see, and they would pull it to his face from time to time, capturing every masculine detail.

“Tsk, always taking pictures of me. Am I that pleasing to the eye?”.

Han Xiao smacked his lips without any shame.

Kasuyi, who was sitting at the side, nudged his waist with his elbow and chuckled. “It’s a pity that you haven’t revived those Beyond Grade As who died in battle. They’re going to miss this celebration.”

“I did it on purpose. In a while, when we pay our respects to the dead, if we see those victims alive, it would spoil the atmosphere.” Han Xiao paused for a moment, and with a strange expression, he added, “Besides, you don’t want to see Dillon speak on such an occasion, right?”

“… That’s true.” Kasuyi shivered.

Han Xiao shook his head and stopped talking.

In the past half a year, his Supers Holy Land had stabilized, and he had a rare holiday. His mental state was pretty good, and he was enjoying himself.

Although the ceremony this time was just a formality for Han Xiao, it was quite meaningful for the galactic society. They wanted to comfort the wounds left by the galactic residents in the war so that they would have the courage to look forward to the future. After all, a normal person’s life required a sense of ceremony.

Not long after, the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations personally arrived. The venue gradually quietened down, and the audience watching the broadcast held their breath.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Marbruce slowly walked up to the podium. His expression was solemn as he scanned the audience.

“The universe is vast and boundless. Countless unknown civilizations are like stars in the sky, bringing life to this world that should have been dead. We are also one of them, living in a corner of the universe, constantly reproducing… In the past hundred years, we have experienced many hardships, internal conflicts, technological disasters, and foreign enemies…”

Marbruce explained everything in detail, including the Crimson Tide, the Flickering World, the Intelligent Plague, the World Tree War, and so on.

The past hundred years could be said to have been like a storm, and Black Star is a character that could not be avoided talking about. He had an extremely strong presence on the galactic stage as he was part of most galactic events. The past hundred years were like the history of Black Star’s rise.

Many players who were watching the broadcast listened with great interest. When they thought of Bun-Hit-Dog’s ‘Black Star Army’ series, they could not help but feel honored. It was as if they were there on scene the whole time. No matter how great Black Star’s achievements were, the image of Black Phantom still lingered in the minds of many of the hardcore players. With their support and witness, he grew up step by step like a child. “…We’ve survived through all the tough times in the past. Today, we’ve finally entered a peaceful New Era. This can’t do without the contributions and sacrifices of the pioneers. They used their lives to exchange for a stable new life for us…”

Marbruce’s expression was solemn. He took out a speech and slowly read it. “The 31st Galactic Alliance Army Fleet No. 31, the original ‘Iron Flag’ fleet of the Crimson Dynasty, blocked the World Tree Civilization. A total of 8.8 million people were wiped out.”

“Galactic Alliance Army Fleet No. 477, former Federation of Light ‘Glimmer’ fleet, met the World Tree Vanguard troops at the Flickering World’s defense frontline. They had 11.2 million people, and only 403 are left.”

“Galactic Alliance Army…”

Marbruce’s tone was solemn as he read the shocking death statistics.

As the numbers of the sacrificed troops appeared one after another, everyone present and the galactic residents in front of the screen became solemn.

Many people only knew that there were many casualties in this war, but they did not know the details. Only now did they get a clear idea.

Everyone mourned for a few minutes before Marbruce continued to speak. The atmosphere was solemn as he conferred the honors to the victims who died in battle. After all the sacrifices were conferred, it was time to reward the surviving war heroes. Only then did the atmosphere become more relaxed and lively.

One by one, the war contributors took to the stage, and the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations consecutively awarded honors. Most of them were military officers, and all the Beyond Grade As had a share. The previous Revivors who had transferred to the Supers Holy Land also received different Medals of Honor. Even the Super Star Cluster Alliance, which normally could only be bystanders, also received different medals.

The three Universal Civilizations had expressed their sincerity. They did not talk about factions today, only about merits.

Lagi actually wanted to express himself freely, but when he felt Han Xiao’s gaze on him from where the latter sat, he obediently followed the speech prepared for him.

This segment lasted for a long time, and it was finally Han Xiao’s turn.

Marbruce coughed and said brightly, “In the World Tree War, Black Star made too many contributions and provided us with a large amount of intelligence. In the end, he turned the tables and gave us the opportunity to end the war in advance. His contributions are irreplaceable. All the members of the Galaxy Civilization General Council unanimously decided to award Black Star the Galaxy Medal!”

Pa pa pa!

Everyone applauded loudly. Black Star’s reputation in the Lawful Faction was already off the charts, and almost everyone was sincerely congratulating him.

When dealing with the Intelligent Plague, Black Star had already received a Galaxy Medal, and now he had received a second Galaxy Medal. The Galaxy Medal was the highest honor in the galactic society, and it would not be given a second time. However, Black Star was the only person who had received it twice, and he had already created history. However, they were not surprised at all. Black Star deserved this honor. Other than the Galaxy Medal, there was no other award that could match his contribution.

Amidst the applause, Han Xiao stood up calmly and walked onto the stage.

“Thank you for your contribution to the galactic society,” Marbruce said sincerely.

On the other hand, Louis and the Pope patted Han Xiao’s arms to show their closeness. Han Xiao would not refuse to give them face in such a situation. He nodded and received the Galaxy Medal from the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders.

According to the usual practice, the person who was awarded the award had to give a speech. Han Xiao had prepared a speech long ago, and it was all just for show.

He walked to the podium and was about to speak when he suddenly paused.

Countless lights flashed in front of his eyes, and countless galactic residents were looking at him from behind the screen. The guests around him quietened down and stretched their necks. The faces of the different races were filled with the same anticipation and hope. They held their breaths and waited for him to give a long speech.

Seeing this, Han Xiao was a little dazed. He looked down at the medal on his chest and subconsciously rubbed it.

He hesitated for a few seconds and gave up on the long speech. He shook his head and said in a solemn voice.

“…I hope that there will be no more wars in this universe. I hope for universal peace.”

The venue hesitated for a moment, waiting for Han Xiao to continue. However, Han Xiao nodded at the crowd after he finished speaking. Seeing this, the people present all applauded.

The process was carried out step by step. After Marbruce’s impassioned speech about ‘looking to the future’, the ceremony finally ended smoothly.

The entire galactic society was jubilant. It was as if their souls had been baptized, and they were filled with new motivation for the future. A few days later, in the conference room of the three Universal Civilizations.

“The Star Alliance is still the same as before. According to the spies that were instigated by Black Star, the upper echelons of the Star Alliance believe in their intelligence and are very excited.”

“However, we still have to be careful in case the Star Alliance sends out new spies. If that happens, we’ll be exposed.” “That’s right. Black Star has already informed us. He said that he will disappear for a period of time to revive a batch of Beyond Grade As in the Sanctum. We have to be careful during this period. Don’t let the Star Alliance see through our trick.”

The three of them discussed softly. Black Star would not be able to helm the Supers Holy Land for the time being if he went to the Sanctum, but the three of them did not have any other thoughts about him. They were only worried that the Star Alliance would see through their plan if Black Star was not around.

“After more than half a year of recuperation, the army has recovered a little, but the loss of Supers is quite severe. There’s no way to compete with the Supers Holy Land. Sigh…”

“However, Black Star said a few days ago that he was willing to develop the Sanctum with us in the future. I wonder if he’s lying.”

The three of them were confused.

Now that Black Star had the upper hand and his position was stable, there was no need for him to share the information about the Sanctum with them. They did not know what Black Star was planning.

“I don’t think so,” Marbruce said hesitantly. “The Sanctum Revival is an important trump card of Black Star’s, so how can he share it with us? If he really did that, he definitely has a bigger plan.”

Louis shook his head. “Let’s not talk about him for now. It’s more important to deal with the Star Alliance. Although they have fallen into our trap, we can’t hide it forever. The more time passes, the more suspicious they will be. When do you think it’s better to take action?”

The Pope pondered for a moment before saying, “The galactic society can’t take another round of war. If we act rashly, the praise we have now might turn into criticism… I think we should at least wait for the galactic society to stabilize for three to five years before we act. Anyway, time is on our side, so there’s no need to rush. Let’s wait until we recover.” The three of them discussed plans on when to start a new war.

Half a month later, somewhere in the Supers Holy Land.

Han Xiao floated in the universe without anyone around him.

He had already spoken to the three Universal Civilizations and the Supers Holy Land. He would enter the Sanctum today and begin his plan to increase his authority.

In the inner space, the World Tree moved slightly, materializing a Sanctum Key and quickly burning it. The next moment, a ray of light shot out from his palm and turned into the light door of the Sanctum in the universe before him.

“I hope this plan works…” Han Xiao calmed himself down and flew in. His body was gradually engulfed by the light.

Chapter 1448: New Secret and Different Paths

Chapter 1448 New Secret and Different Paths

It was the familiar tunnel of light again, and the familiar blur…

After some time, Han Xiao regained clarity.

Han Xiao’s vision suddenly became clear. Looking around, he could still see the familiar scene of the First Sanctum. The white world was endless, and countless light spheres floated in it, these were the Information Form collective body that recorded information of Iterations.

“It’s still blurry, but it’s a little lighter than before…”

Han Xiao was no stranger to this feeling. After all, he had been here many times and was already a frequent visitor. He looked down at the back of his hand. The Sanctum mark was shining brightly, one level higher than last time.

“Let’s revive those unlucky fools first.”

Han Xiao did not waste any time. He skillfully sacrificed the mediums of the Beyond Grade As that died and activated the Sanctum Revival function.

Very soon, rays of light appeared out of nowhere and gathered from all directions, forming a Sanctum revival mark that floated in front of Han Xiao.

Han Xiao pointed with his finger, and the Sanctum revival mark seemed to turn into liquid. It flowed along with his finger and stopped on the back of his hand, turning into a complicated tattoo. He extended his consciousness into it and checked on the reviving targets. He confirmed that all the people on the Soul Comfort Monument were inside.

After doing this, Han Xiao let out a sigh of relief. He calmed himself down, brought out the Sanctum’s message board, and looked at it.

His authority in the First Sanctum had increased once again, and more content appeared on the message board compared to the last time. Han Xiao compared it according to his memory and saw the records of Celestial Star Alliance in the fifth last paragraph. Only then did he focus and look at the last paragraphs carefully.

The last four paragraphs were the ones with the most empty content. He had read them twice in the past, but he had only obtained two pieces of valuable information. One was the ‘Information Form Stripping Plan’ mentioned in the fourth last paragraph, and the other was the last paragraph which indicated the continuation of the previous Iteration’s plan. It mentioned some ‘unknown device’ and ‘control terminal’.

This time, Han Xiao realized that some of the content in the last four messages had been filled up. There were some messages that he was concerned about in the second last and last paragraph. [… transformation plan failed, but the principle has been proved to be feasible. The reason for the failure is that there is no crucial true-state medium to establish connection with
needs to be improved next time. The Information Form Materialization device has been manufactured and loaded into the template, which may cause information alienation in the process of and present in the following in the form of ‘distorted’ unknown…) — was the message in the second last paragraph.

[… The existing true-state mediums are not enough to complete the transformation plan of the previous iteration. We need deeper
connection to build a stable bridge… We decided to add a control terminal in the Information Form Materialization device to reduce the processing cost of the Information Form Materialization device…] — was the message in the last paragraph.

“Hmm, this…”

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The second last message was from the ‘previous Iteration’ written in the last message. Looking at the content, the latter had inherited the former’s plan.

The ‘unknown device’ and ‘control terminal’ mentioned in the last paragraph had also been unlocked. They were the ‘Information Form Materialization device’ created by the Iteration who left the second last message.

In addition, these two pieces of information threw out a new concept, ‘True State’. Han Xiao was secretly surprised. With his current level, there were very few things that he did not understand at the technological level. It was actually his first time seeing this term.

Han Xiao tried to use the term ‘index function’ with the Sanctum authority, but the Sanctum mark did not respond. Generally speaking, the index function could only be activated by a precise search of a single Iteration or the civilization’s name.

“Looks like I have to continue to farm for more authority and unlock the civilization names of the last four messages.” Han Xiao nodded to himself. The name of the civilization mentioned in the last four messages was still empty, and he did not have the authority to check it.

After memorizing this information, Han Xiao closed the message board and began to search for technological information in the First Sanctum.

Although he had yet to finish researching his gathered resources and was not lacking in technology, he was already here… After his clearance to the Sanctum increased, the upper limit of his memory capacity also increased. After quite some time, Han Xiao finally filled up the capacity and returned with a full load. He did not stay any longer and opened the Sanctum channel to leave.

After passing through the tunnel of light again, Han Xiao’s body suddenly felt lighter, and he had already returned to the main universe. The Sanctum’s light gate behind him disappeared.

Han Xiao opened his communicator. Only thirty days had passed.

“The flow of time is getting closer. The next time will probably only take twenty days.” Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

The message board of the Sanctum seemed to be universal, and it was the same no matter which Sanctum it was. Therefore, he only needed to focus his firepower on gaining authority in one Sanctum. If he increased authority in all the Sanctums together, it would take many years. Han Xiao thought about it, changed into King, and teleported to the main planet of the Supers Holy Land. He flew to the huge square where all the Beyond Grade A statues were placed.

At this time, the square was bustling with activity, and there was an endless stream of people. They were all Supers from all over the world. Upon seeing Han Xiao arrive, they were stunned for a moment before being pleasantly surprised.

“Look, it’s Black Star!”

“It’s the real deal!”

“I’m your admirer. Can you give me an autograph…” The pedestrians were excited, and they swarmed over like crazy fans. Among the Supers, Black Star was almost everyone’s idol. At least eight out of ten Supers were his worshippers, no different from a great personage. Han Xiao smiled at them and waved his hand. A gentle breeze blew, and an invisible force field spread out, covering an area like a transparent barrier, blocking all the pedestrians.

The pedestrians who were further away also heard the commotion and came over. There was a sea of people outside the barrier, and very soon, they formed layers after layers. They looked at Han Xiao curiously and guessed the reason for his appearance.

Han Xiao did not explain anything and activated the Sanctum revival mark. Rays of light surged and condensed into balls of light, gradually turning into the bodies of the Beyond Grade As that had died.

The reason why he displayed it in front of the public was to let the public see the actual scene of the Sanctum Revival and increase the attractiveness of the Supers Holy Land. This was a plan that he had come up with during the meeting a few months ago. In the future, the Sanctum Revival would be carried out publicly. Before farming the Sanctum authority, Han Xiao planned to revive these unlucky fools first. On one hand, he wanted them to return as soon as possible, fulfilling his promise.

On the other hand, he wanted the three Universal Civilizations and the other organizations to see that his time in the Sanctum was shortened, telling them that he could return at any time. Although those annoying people might not have other intentions, Han Xiao felt that it was best to avoid this possibility, lest these advanced civilizations felt that he had disappeared for too long and wanted to cause trouble again.

Very soon, the light in the square solidified, and under everyone’s gaze, this batch of dead Beyond Grade As revived with confusion on their faces.

“Haha, I’m alive again. Praise Black Star!”

“Where is this? Why haven’t I seen it before?”

“What era is it now? Has the World Tree War ended?”

The group of revivors looked around curiously before their eyes landed on Han Xiao.

“Alright, the war is over. We won. Ask Aurora and others about the details.”

Han Xiao waved his hands casually. This was not the first time these people had revived. The advantage was that he did not have to explain the situation from the start.

He turned to look at Dylan and said, “I’ve fulfilled my promise and allowed you to regain your freedom. You’d better keep a low profile in the future. Otherwise, if others want to kill you again, I won’t stop them.”

Dylan’s face twitched.

Restoring his freedom should have been a happy thing, but Dylan felt a little weak.

When he was the Hero Spirit of the Underworld, he did not have to worry about anything, so he was even more unrestrained in his words. He let himself loose and scolded whoever he wanted, and he offended many people.

Other people could not be bothered to argue with a ‘dead person’ like him, but now that he was alive, if they came to settle the score, he would suffer heavy losses…

For some reason, Dillon felt a little reluctant to part with the feeling of being an Underworld Spirit…

Han Xiao did not say much to the others. He turned around, teleported, and disappeared. Without the force field barrier, countless pedestrians swarmed over. These revivors did not understand the situation and almost drowned in the sea of people. They quickly rose into the sky and left.

Halfway through the flight, Aurora, who had already noticed the commotion, arrived with a group of Beyond Grade As on the main planet to welcome the revivors.

“Congratulations on reviving. Come with us to understand the situation,” Aurora said. Ever since she was elected as the second-in-command of the Supers Holy Land, she had been maintaining a big sister attitude, as if this would give her some ‘prestige’ bonuses. However, in the eyes of the Beyond Grade As who had the first impression of her, she was still cute and adorable. Even if Aurora deliberately put on an elegant and dignified appearance, it did not have any deterrence at all.

The revivors nodded and followed Aurora toward the core building of the Supers Holy Land.

Just as Dylan was about to follow, he suddenly felt a hot and vigorous bloody intent coming from the side. Two thick, firm, and flexible muscles clamped his arm like a huge mouth. At the same time, his shoulder was grabbed by someone, and waves of enormous strength were transmitted, grabbing him tightly and not letting him move.

Dylan turned around and saw Sierron appearing beside him. Sierron put his arm around his shoulders and leaned over with a wicked smile on his face. “Yo, you’re finally alive. Come over here. We have a bunch of guys who want to have a good chat with you.”

Dylan turned around stiffly, only to see a group of Beyond Grade As staring at him with a teasing look in their eyes.

Gulp…

Dylan swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and cold sweat appeared on his back.

As the saying went, it was easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but it was difficult to go from extravagant to frugal. At this moment, Dylan realized that being a Hero Spirit was indeed more ‘comfortable’…

Han Xiao only appeared for a short period of time. After completing the Sanctum Revival, he immediately opened the Sanctum again and started the process of farming his authority.

Currently, the matters of the Supers Holy Land were all being managed by Aurora and the Elders Association. The external environment was very stable, so his disappearance did not have much of an impact.

As the days passed, it was finally time for Kasuyi to set off. Most of the Beyond Grade As respected this comrade of theirs and they all came to see him off on the day he left.

After the battle with the World Tree, most of them had become comrades and their relationship was much better than before. As for Kasuyi, who was kind to others, he was quite popular. At the dock of the Supers Holy Land, a long-distance spaceship with the highest technologies was docked. The hatch opened. Kasuyi and Oathkeeper had already packed their things. They stood in front of the gangway and said their goodbyes.

“The unexplored universe is filled with unknown dangers. The two of you must be careful,” Aurora said on behalf of everyone.

Kasuyi smiled and said, “It’s alright, we have Black Star to back us up anyway… Haha, it’s just a joke. With our abilities, we won’t fall into danger so easily.”

“If you guys go, you probably won’t come back for a long time. There will be no news of you. Sigh… I won’t be able to find you to play cards anymore.” Kant was a little sad. “It’s fine. Our Supers Holy Land may not have much of anything else, but we do have many card players.” Kasuyi shook his head and smiled.

At this moment, Manison walked forward and patted Kasuyi’s shoulder. He did not say much and simply said, “Goodbye, old friend. Have a good journey.”

“Thanks. I also wish you success in your seclusion.” Kasuyi stopped smiling and nodded.

Not counting Black Star, his relationship with Manison was actually the best among everyone. The two of them had known each other for hundreds of years, and they were old acquaintances.

Most of the people who saw off Kasuyi were Beyond Grade As of the current era. On the other side, Oathkeeper was surrounded by the first batch of revived Primordial Ones of the Holy Accord.

“Back then, we made the Holy Accord together, and our comrades died one after another. You are the only one who has lasted till now. None of us expected you to really complete this work.” “It’s been hard on you all these years. If not for you, we would still be sleeping.”

“Although you did not reveal yourself in our active era, we now know that you might be the best among us.”

Many Primordial Ones sighed.

Oathkeeper was expressionless. He waved his hand and said, “Let’s not talk about the past. I’m just fulfilling the promise I made back then. There’s nothing worthy of praise… Unfortunately, although we’ve really achieved our wish and successfully revived in the future, the era no longer belongs to us.”

Beiger sighed and said with a reluctant tone, “Sigh, no matter what, we are still grateful for your actions. When you miss us, take a look at the Primordial Ones card set that we gave you. This is the first-generation discontinued card set that we ‘kindly’ requested from the Wayne Card distribution group headquarters…”

“I will keep it well.” Oathkeeper was speechless, but his usually serious face still revealed a smile that was hard to notice.

After bidding farewell for a while, Kasuyi and Oathkeeper looked at each other.

“Let’s go.”

The two of them nodded at everyone before boarding the spaceship.

Buzz

Everyone watched as the spaceship slowly began to move. It glided along the orbit and took off into space. With a sudden acceleration, it disappeared into the depths of space, leaving only a trail of flames behind.

Manison retracted his gaze and left without saying goodbye.

He decided to enter a long period of seclusion from today onwards. He would isolate himself from the rest of the world and focus on his research.

Compared to taking shortcuts, he preferred to rely on his own intelligence, and this had never changed.

At the same time, in the Temple of Ten Thousand Gods. A fleet was already ready.

“Your Excellency Wuornos, have you decided? Are you really going to the unexplored universe?”

The priests surrounded him with complicated expressions.

“I’ve already discovered that the key to the path ahead is hidden in the depths of space.”

Wuornos looked at the galaxy with deep eyes.

Just a few months ago, he finally dug out his hidden perception and sensed the location of the Beyonder’s Vestige in the galaxy. Like the bright Venus, it guided him from afar.

In the end, he decided to follow his intuition and leave the explored universe, heading to the unknown area to search for the opportunity to enter the Transcendent Grade. “In that case, we will respect your choice… The Pope told us to specially send a message. He said that he hopes when you return, you can become the first direct descendant to become a Transcendent.”

“Tell him that he will get what he wants.”

Wuornos replied calmly and walked into the spaceship.

The next moment, the Arcane Church fleet slowly set off, heading toward the unknown.

Chapter 1449: We Are People Who Have Experienced Tumultuous Times

Chapter 1449 We Are People Who Have Experienced Tumultuous Times

Supers Holy Land, in a certain lifeless sector.

A ball of colorful energy floated in space, its shape changing unpredictably, like a cloud being kneaded by an invisible force. All kinds of high-energy particles flowed through it, like electrical signals being released during neuron activity. The entire energy ball was like a small nebula-shaped energy field brain.

Evans floated in the middle with a serious expression, carefully controlling all kinds of energy to perfect this nebula brain.

However, all of a sudden, the energy nebula started to expand uncontrollably, and the neural bridge that was built from all kinds of energy collapsed.

Just as the energy nebula was about to explode, Evans’ Esper Ability Domain opened up. The violent energy suddenly stabilized and quickly shrank, turning into a dazzling light sphere the size of a human head before being absorbed into Evans’ body.

“Sigh, I failed again…”

Evans sighed in helplessness.

Ever since he witnessed the battle between Transcendent Grade Supers, he had always felt that his strength was insufficient. He had been driven ever since to pursue that unbelievable power.

Originally, after the war ended, everyone had started to take a break, but Evans was one of the few people who did not relax and had been busy developing his Esper Abilities.

On one hand, his motivation was his own pursuit, and on the other hand, Evans still remembered Black Star’s high hopes for him. He was not willing to waste his hard-earned potential and wanted to reach Black Star’s level.

On the other hand, EsGod was very glad about this. He thought that Evans was keeping his promise to help him beat Black Star up and always taught him things to guide Evans in his cultivation.

“I hope to increase my strength as soon as possible. His Excellency Black Star told me that he hopes I will be the main pillar of the Supers Holy Land in the future. I cannot disappoint him…”

Evans clenched his fists and encouraged himself.

Just as he was about to give it another try, he suddenly sensed something and looked in a direction.

The stream of light approached, and a spaceship arrived in hyperdrive, hovering not far away. A burly figure flew out. It was Karlot. “Eh, so it’s you. I was wondering why there was another high-energy reaction zone in our territory.”

Karlot was surprised to see Evans and took the initiative to talk to him. “Er, hello.” Evans hesitated for a moment before nodding

Although the two of them were both members of the Black Star Army, they did not interact much with each other. They only knew each other’s basic situation and could only be considered as colleagues.

“What are you doing here?” Evans was curious.

“I was looking for an extreme environment to temper my body. The spaceship sensed a high-energy reaction, so I came over. So, you were training. No wonder.”

“Oh, I see…”

The two of them were not familiar with each other, so they bit the bullet and chatted for a while. When they realized that there was nothing to talk about, they gradually fell silent.

However, neither of them left. The atmosphere slowly became strange.

When the two of them were in seclusion, they had always thought that they were the only seeded players who had received special treatment from Black Star. However, after leaving the mountain, they were surprised to find out that they were not the only ones. Such a relationship made the two of them have strange thoughts about each other. On one hand, they were curious about the other party’s background, and on the other hand, they were curious about what Black Star saw in the other party… This mentality was akin to two top students in a class receiving special treatment from their teacher, and they subconsciously felt competitive…

After a long time, Karlot coughed and broke the silence.

“How about… We spar?”

“…Sounds good.”

Evans and Karlot’s eyes met in midair, and sparks seemed to fly.

Black Star Army headquarters, Fleet Commander’s Office.

Herlous sat on the sofa with his legs crossed. He looked at the Sunilian in front of him and pushed the wine glass on the table.

“Drink some?”

“No need, Your Excellency Herlous.”

Herlous did not mind. He sized up the Sunilian and nodded.

“You must be the Sunil leader of this generation. Not bad, not bad. The previous leader mentioned you to me before. He said you’re very smart and capable.”

“You flatter me.” The leader nodded.

The Sunilians were Herlous’ race. Ever since the rise of the Black Star Army, Herlous, as the earliest elder, had a lot of authority, and he provided many resources to the race.

Therefore, every generation of Sunil leaders would come to visit him. This generation was no different.

“Since you’ve become the leader, do your best.”

Herlous encouraged and looked at the young Sunilians behind him. He raised his brows.

“These are…”

“Your Excellency Herlous, these are a few young men with potential among my immediate family. They wish to enter the Black Star Army to train. Please take care of them,” the Sunil leader said respectfully.

Herlous sized up the few of them, and the youths immediately stuck out their chests and raised their heads nervously.

Seeing this, Herlous shook his head and said, “The army has changed its leader, and Nero is now in charge. However, the standards are still as strict as ever. I can make them official members, but whether they can climb up will depend on their own abilities.”

“Thank you, Your Excellency.” The Sunil leader bowed. Herlous waved his hand, indicating that there was no need for formalities. After a pause, he suddenly changed the topic. “From now on, leaders of your generation should stop visiting me. You should be more independent. You should leave me out from now.”

The Sunil leader’s body trembled slightly, and his expression was complicated. However, he did not say anything, lowered his head, and left with his men.

After the group left, another person walked in. It was Sylvia. She had been eavesdropping outside for quite some time. “Not bad. You’ve finally decided not to use your position for personal gain,” Sylvia teased.

“Nonsense. I’ve always been thinking about the army.” Herlous rolled his eyes.

“I was just joking. However, I’m very curious. Why aren’t you helping the race anymore?” Sylvia blinked.

“They can’t always rely on me, or else they will become dependent sooner or later. After close to a hundred years, the habits that have been cultivated from generation to generation have already started to show signs of this. I can’t just ignore it.” Herlous shook his head and said with a deep voice, “Furthermore… Black Star was able to tolerate me in the past, but now that the authority has changed hands, I have to be sensible in the future.”

Sylvia curled her lips and did not speak. She stood in front of the window with her hands behind her back and looked at the bright galaxy outside. Suddenly, she sighed and muttered,

“In the blink of an eye, it’s been a hundred years…”

Herlous also turned to look out the window and sighed. “That’s right, it’s been a hundred years… We actually followed Black Star to this point. Sometimes, it feels like a dream. If Black Star had not invited me back then, I might have spent the rest of my life in my own little pub.”

“If I hadn’t met him…” Sylvia’s tone paused, and she shook her head. “Maybe I would have died in some corner of the universe long ago. The life we have now is not something we can hope for…”

The two of them looked out of the window quietly and did not speak anymore. They quietly savored their memories.

In this peaceful era, time passed even more silently. In the blink of an eye, another few months passed.

On this day, in the conference room of the three Universal Civilizations.

“Recently, the direct Beyond Grade As have been restless. The expansion of the Beyond Grade As is too shocking.” “Thankfully, Clotti, Oulou, and the others have stabilized the situation. Otherwise, the direct line of descent might have turned to the Supers Holy Land.” The leaders of the three Universal Civilizations sighed.

The Supers Holy Land had broken the old structure. As the original beneficiaries of Supers, they naturally could not feel comfortable, but they could only silently endure the waves of impact.

“Speaking of which, Black Star did not appear during this period of time. Hasn’t he already completed the Sanctum Revival? What has he been busy with recently?” The Pope was curious.

“Who knows? Anyway, I can’t get any information.” Marbruce was helpless.

“It’s not a good idea for him to disappear for so long. If the Star Alliance sends in a new infiltrator, and Black Star happens to not be around, we might get exposed.” “Speaking of which, if Black Star is willing to help, as long as he controls the leader of the Star Alliance, we will be able to win easily. It’s a pity that he doesn’t want to help.”

“Heh, with Black Star’s personality, there’s no such thing as an absolute deal. I think the price is not enough. As long as some conditions are made, he should still agree.”

“That makes sense, but he has a huge appetite now. We have to think of a way to convince him…”

Just as the three of them were discussing how to pull Han Xiao to help with the Star Alliance a remote projection suddenly appeared in the room. It was Han Xiao. The three of them were shocked. “Black Star? You… you’re back. Why didn’t you inform me…” Marbruce was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly realized something. He frowned and said with dissatisfaction,” Hey! Did you hack into the Dynasty’s database again?”.

Han Xiao ignored Marbruce’s dissatisfaction and looked at the three of them with a strange gaze.

“I’m here to share the information of the Sanctum. We can develop it together. If you’re not happy, I’ll leave.”

The three of them were stunned.

“Are you serious? Are you really taking us to develop the Sanctum?”

Louis’ tone was filled with doubt and disbelief. He had thought that Black Star was joking.

Han Xiao nodded but suddenly changed the topic.

“But before we work together, I have something to tell you… Don’t be afraid of what I’m about to say…”

“Afraid?”

The Pope found it funny and did not think much of it.

“We’ve even experienced an enemy like the World Tree. What else can we be afraid of? Just tell us. We’ve seen all kinds of storms. We won’t be scared.”

Han Xiao raised his brows with a playful expression.

Chapter 1450: I gradually understand everything

Chapter 1450 I gradually understand everything

“Alright, what I’m going to say next is the truth about the transition of the entire universe. It’s more important than anything you’ve experienced in the past and present. I’ll say this in advance. If you have any schedule later, clear it all.”

Han Xiao saw the look of disapproval on their faces and shook his head.

“The truth of the universe?”

The three of them looked at each other. Seeing that Han Xiao did not seem to be joking, they could not help but be skeptical.

Han Xiao snapped his fingers and summoned a virtual screen that was playing the virtual image of the birth and death of the universe. He then explained, “When the universe comes to an end, everything will return to nothingness. The phenomena like the heat death of the universe and the Big Crunch are the result of many scientists’ guesses or foreseeing of the universe. All kinds of signs and experiments show that these are all very likely to be the correct doomsday models, but this is only under normal circumstances… The direction of our universe does not follow the most primitive laws of nature. Long ago, our universe was modified by a final civilization, and the fundamental laws of the Information Form changed. On the day of the end of our universe, what awaits us is not the heat death of the universe or the Big Crunch, but a phenomenon called the Great Reboot.”

“The Great Reboot?”

The three of them were confused.

It was not that the scientific research community did not have similar speculations, but it was not the mainstream theory. Without conclusive sources, most of the evidence came from unknown items created by the information state disturbance. For example, the Virtual Mutiny Virus from back then was suspected to be from a civilization before the Great Reboot. However, it was not enough to be ironclad evidence, because it was not certain if it was an earlier civilization or a civilization from the unexplored universe. Thus, Marbruce and the other two were not unfamiliar with this term. They were only confused as to why Han Xiao was so certain of the existence of the Great Reboot. Han Xiao looked at the three of them and said slowly,

“The ‘Great Reboot’ I’m talking about is different from what you guys understand… The final civilization’s modification of the underlying laws of the universe has caused the universe to deviate from the laws of the natural end. Therefore, the time of the end has been brought forward by a lot, and every Great Reboot is a brand new Iteration. New civilizations reproduce in the universe that has returned to zero. However, due to the shortening of development time, the strength of each of the iteration civilizations is infinitely lower than the Final Civilization that had initially established the Great Reboot.” “So, this is bad news?” Marbruce pondered. “If that’s the case, all civilizations will develop from the beginning, and no one will be able to survive the end of the universe and reach the so-called… what did that popular phrase say, transcend worldliness?”

Han Xiao shook his head and said, “This is the main point I want to talk about. Although the Great Reboot causes the universe to return to zero, things from different Iterations will be passed down to the new Iteration through special means, and this medium is the Sanctum that all of you are longing for.”

The three of them were stunned.

Han Xiao continued, “The initial goal of the final civilization to modify the universe was to continue their civilization through a reboot. They failed, but it was not a waste of effort. The Sanctum was their legacy. It was originally a reserve storage for life tinders, but a special Information Form Mutation appeared during the changes of the Iterations and became the Sanctum today. This is the only thing that is known to not disappear during the Great Reboot.

“The purpose of the Sanctum is to store the Information Form state of the development of every Iteration, and during each Great Reboot, a portion of Information Form will be randomly integrated into the new iteration of the universe. Therefore, when the universe is rebooted, it will not be completely zero. Instead, its underlying laws will constantly undergo changes in the Iterations. In this way, the achievements of each iteration will be passed down to the later iterations. For example, the current secondary dimension world is the inheritance of a past Iteration and not a natural phenomenon.”

“So, you’re saying that… the universe we’re living in now is not the most primitive universe but a world that has been changed countless times? The Sanctum is equivalent to a… uh, processor?” Louis probed.

Han Xiao nodded. “More or less. Generations of civilizations treated the Sanctum as a way to get through the Great Reboot, so the Sanctum continued to develop all kinds of new functions. The Sanctum Revival is just one of them. The most important thing about the Sanctum is that it stored all the information of the Civilizations of the earlier Iterations, as well as their last words before the end of the world, all for future generations to refer to. This is a long relay that spanned countless Iterations, just for someone to break this cycle one day.” Hearing this, the three of them were shocked. Although Han Xiao’s tone was very calm, when they thought of the scene of generations of civilizations working together toward the same goal, they could not help but be stunned by such a grand undertaking. However, two seconds later, the three of them came to their senses, and their breathing suddenly became heavy.

At this moment, they suddenly realized that if what Black Star said was true, the information stored in the Sanctum would be an immeasurable amount of wealth.

As for Black Star, he could have held onto this wealth alone. If he did not say it, they would never have been able to get a share of it. However, he chose to say it instead of developing it himself. Was he that selfless?

It was precisely because they had thought this through that the three of them were even more shocked. For a moment, they fell silent, silently digesting the shock in their hearts.

After a while, the Pope said hesitantly, “You want to work with us to develop the Sanctum, is it because you want to get through the Great Reboot? Although what you just said is indeed quite shocking, let me be direct. The so-called Great Reboot should be very far away from us, right? Isn’t it too early to worry about this…”

Hearing this, Han Xiao smiled faintly. “You think it’s early?”

“Hmm…” Seeing this, the Pope could not help but widen his eyes in shock.” Could it be that the end of our universe is coming, and the Great Reboot is here?”.

The other two trembled in shock and disbelief.

“It wasn’t easy for us to defeat the World Tree Civilization, and we enjoyed a rare moment of relaxation. I didn’t expect…” Marbruce had mixed feelings.

However, Han Xiao shook his head and said, “You’re mistaken. It’s still too early for us to reach the end of this Iteration.”

The three of them heaved a sigh of relief.

However, before they could completely relax, Han Xiao suddenly said something shocking, stunning them.

“But you’ve already been rebooted.”

As soon as he finished speaking…

The Pope was stunned.

“What do you mean?”

“Four times.” Han Xiao raised four fingers and said slowly, “Our universe has been rebooted four times… In the previous Iteration, you guys were the final civilizations. You guys used an Information Form Stripping Plan and successfully passed the Great Reboot, but you did not really enter the new universe of the next iteration. Instead, you guys became a sealed dark universe that cycled and restarted on its own… In other words, you guys have died a few times, but you don’t know it yet!”

The three of them were dumbfounded.

During this period of time, Han Xiao had been trying to gain access to the First Sanctum. Every time he went in and out, the time he spent became shorter and shorter. When his access reached level fifteen, the flow of time finally converged. The time ratio of the main universe to the Sanctum was one to one, and the contents of the message board were finally unlocked

At this point, Han Xiao finally understood everything. The messages from the bottom fourth to the last paragraph of the Sanctum were all left by the ‘three Universal Civilizations!

The Celestial Star Alliance was located in the fifth last paragraph, and it was the Iteration just before the three Universal Civilizations. The fourth last section was the new Iteration after the Great Reboot, and the three Universal Civilizations were the final civilizations developed by the new Iteration. During that period, there was no such thing as the World Tree. The three Universal Civilizations slowly multiplied, and they finally discovered the Sanctum and learned all the information about Iteration.

Because the previous Celestial Star Alliance’s plan was very desirable, the three Universal Civilizations inherited it and improved it, forming the ‘Information Form stripping plan’.

However, the three Universal Civilizations at that time knew very well that with their accumulation, they did not have the absolute confidence to survive the Great Reboot and did not want to risk it all. Therefore, the true goal of this plan was not to completely overcome the Great Reboot but to buy more time for themselves. They wanted to strip away the Information Form state of the entire universe and try to imitate the operation of the Celestial Star Alliance. They wanted to exist in the secondary dimensions and the dark side of the universe in the New Iteration era and continuously reboot.

However, the difference was that the three Universal Civilizations followed the mindset of the Celestial Star Alliance and made almost perfect improvements. Thus, they successfully peeled out the ‘Information Form state’ of the entire Iteration and formed a closed dark side universe in the next Iteration. It existed based on the Information Form state and was like a ‘virtual’ world, ‘developing side by side’ at a faster time flow. It was like a parallel line, difficult to intersect with the ‘real’ Iteration’s main universe and difficult to interfere with each other.

After Han Xiao found out about the contents of the message board, he sorted out the time relationship. If the Celestial Star Alliance was the first iteration, then the three Universal Civilizations would be the final civilizations of the second iteration. They would activate the information form stripping plan and turn into the dark side universe of the third iteration, and the third iteration would be the true current iteration.

It was also at this point that Han Xiao realized that the Sanctum would not leave any information form empty shells for the current Iteration, and there was no such thing as a ‘tombstone’. The three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree Civilization that he saw in the Sanctum were actually the second iteration remains. There was no content inside because they had been ‘stripped’ and became the dark side universe of the third Iteration.

However, the cycle of the dark side universe was not the same as the Celestial Star Alliance. Instead, it formed a ‘small reboot’ pattern. The three Universal Civilizations of the Second Iteration used the characteristics of the Sanctum to add new patterns every time the universe was rebooted, allowing the dark side universe to be included in the influence of the Sanctum.

What was different from the ‘Great Reboot’ was that every ‘small reboot’ in the dark universe did not return to zero but was formed based on a fixed Information Form state template, which meant that there would definitely be organizations like the three Universal Civilizations. Before the three Universal Civilizations came into contact with the Sanctum, their development trajectories were the same. Han Xiao called this situation ‘dark side Iteration’.

Therefore, every time the dark side universe went through a small reboot, there would be an improved version of the dark side Iteration. It was just that there was a chance for ‘Information Form Mutation’ to occur. The three Universal Civilizations used this method to buy themselves more time, and they obtained more opportunities to test their luck.

However, this plan could not bring about eternity. After some calculations, there was an upper limit to the information form stripping plan. Their dark side universe would only exist in the third iteration at most. If they were to go through the Great Reboot and enter the fourth iteration, then their dark side universe would disappear… unless they could enter the real iteration main universe from the dark side universe and turn from ‘virtual’ to ‘real’.

Therefore, after the three Universal Civilizations successfully entered the dark side universe, their goal was to break the seal of the dark side universe and return to the real main universe of the third Iteration.

The third last to last messages on the Sanctum’s message board represented the three dark side Iterations of the dark side universe. Currently, Han Xiao was in the fourth dark side Iteration, and these four dark side Iterations had all happened during the third Iteration.

Since the Sanctum was not affected by the Iterations, the three Universal Civilizations used the message board of the Sanctum to record the experience of each trial and error. They made ‘themselves’ of the next dark side Iteration improve the path according to the previous experience, as well as create some key devices to improve the situation of the next dark side Iteration. This was the origin of the World Tree.

The three Universal Civilizations had added an Information Form Materialization device when they were in the second dark side Iteration (second last message), but in the third dark side Iteration, an information form mutation occurred. From a mechanical device, it turned into the World Tree with life force and went berserk… This was what Han Xiao experienced when he was a player in his previous life.

In the end, the three Universal Civilizations of the third dark side Iteration still opened the Sanctum and understood everything. Thus, they left behind the control terminal of the Information Form Materialization device. In the current fourth dark side Iteration, the Information Form mutation occurred and inherited the nature of restraint. But there was a change in its manifestation which became the World Tree’s natural enemy, which was also the Pivotal Snake.

On the other hand, in the second dark side Iteration, the three Universal Civilizations had used the Information Form Materialization device that had yet to mutate and failed in the end. They had discovered that the reason was that there was a bridge that lacked the ‘True State’. Han Xiao had also figured out the concept of the ‘True State’, which was actually the Information Form carrier that existed in the true universe.

In other words, the dark side universe had to form an Information Form connection with the true universe. Only by being able to interfere with each other would the Information Form Materialization device work. Therefore, the three Universal Civilizations of the second dark side Iteration launched a plan, trying to change the underlying laws of the next dark side Iteration, causing the two ‘parallel lines’ of the dark side universe and the true universe to deviate and finally intersect.

In the end, when the third dark side Iteration arrived, the underlying laws of the dark side universe changed, and they successfully projected themselves into ‘reality’. They successfully obtained a part of the Information Form carrier of the true universe, which was the existence of ‘players’. Through ‘log in’, these individuals who lived in the true universe turned their ‘True State’ into ‘information form state’ and were pulled into the dark side universe to form the Information Form interface. This was everything that Han Xiao and countless players had experienced in his previous life.

However, the World Tree went berserk in the third dark side Iteration. After the World Tree War in his previous life, the three Universal Civilizations obtained the Sanctum pathway from the Holy Accord Organization and learned everything. They inherited the heritage of countless civilizations, and their technology improved by leaps and bounds. At a level that the players could not come into contact with, the three Universal Civilizations came up with a new plan. They gathered the power of civilizations and built the ‘control terminal’ of the World Tree. At the same time, they lowered the cost of the World Tree going berserk in the fourth dark side Iteration. Other than that, due to the players’ version updates, the three Universal Civilizations of the third dark side Iteration felt that the True State’ bridge was not stable enough, so they decided to spend a lot of resources strengthening the ‘True State’ connection with the next dark side Iteration.

Because the dark side universe and the true universe had already formed a preliminary Information Form interference, the three Universal Civilizations decided to build a stable interference bridge instead of intermittent bridge-like logins. The only targets they could choose were these individual Information Form records that had already been logged into the dark side universe, so they randomly selected a target to enter the dark side universe completely, forming a stable connection.

As long as this idea was correct, the dark side universe would be able to reverse-transform the ‘Information Form state’ to the ‘True State’ through this interference bridge, break free from the seal, and return to the true universe… In a more understandable way, it would be like installing a carrier bag for the so-called ‘reality’, which contained the entire dark side universe and the entire Galaxy World.

This was the truth that Han Xiao had learned from the Sanctum, and what happened after that was not recorded on the message board.

After knowing all of this, he had a rough guess about what happened after that. He suspected that the reason why he had ‘transmigrated’ was actually because he had been randomly selected as the ‘stable interference bridge’ that strengthened the Information Form entanglement between the dark side universe and the true universe.

His own Information Form state had been completely captured, and he had come to this dark universe from the ‘reality’. Therefore, his ‘real’ self had disappeared, and he no longer had any information about himself. He had never seen his other self, who should be a ‘player’, all these years. Han Xiao suspected that this was the reason.

As for the dark side universe of the fourth dark side Iteration, it caused the time of the true universe to regress by ten years. Han Xiao did not know the reason, but he guessed that it was because the third dark side Iteration had more Information Form interference with the true universe when it was ‘capturing’ him, which affected the other party’s time. However, he did not know if this was a reversal of time across the entire universe or only across a small area. However, from another point of view, this was also proof that the dark side universe used the ‘True State’ to create Information Form entanglements that could already cause a substantial change to the true universe.

Now, Han Xiao had roughly pieced together all the reasons from the Sanctum records and his own guesses. In his opinion, this series of guesses was more than seventy percent reliable.

Han Xiao hid part of his speculations and explained the secret.

After hearing all of this, only shock and disbelief could be seen on the faces of Marbruce, Louis, and the Pope. They looked at Han Xiao with their mouths slightly open, completely dumbfounded.

“This, this…”

The Pope was dumbfounded.

Although they were the rulers of the three Universal Civilizations and had seen countless storms, the information that Han Xiao had just given them had already exceeded their acceptance range. After a long time, Marbruce turned to Louis and said with hesitation,

“Um… did you understand?”

“I didn’t either…” Marbruce replied blankly.

Chapter 1451: Speculation and Conjecture

Chapter 1451 Speculation and Conjecture

The three of them took a while to digest the information that Han Xiao had given them.

Louis hesitated.

“Black Star, are you trying to trick us…”

“Unfortunately, not this time.” Han Xiao shrugged.

Marbruce had a strange expression on his face. “In other words, we are all people who died and reincarnated a few times. This is equivalent to being trapped in a sealed secondary dimension. Our final goal is to break through this secondary dimension and return to the main universe?” “Hmm, although the difference is quite big you can understand it that way.” Han Xiao blinked.

“It means that everything our civilization has experienced from the beginning is a predestined development trajectory. It has already happened a few times, and it was ‘personally’ built by us?”

“Something like that.” Han Xiao nodded.

“Let me recover…”

The Pope pressed his forehead and felt his blood pressure rising.

All of a sudden, the three of them felt as though the values that they had formed in their lives had been shattered. In the face of such a situation, they realized that all the political and military problems that they usually considered became insignificant.

“So, we’re that powerful…”

Marbruce was still in shock.

Han Xiao ruthlessly interrupted his imagination. “It’s not that you guys are strong, but the final three Universal Civilizations are. Compared to the ‘you’ of the past, you guys are like three little brothers. Don’t flatter the three Universal Civilizations of now. Without me, you guys would still not have known anything.”

The three of them felt a little hurt.

Although this is the truth, can’t you let us indulge a little?

However, no matter what, the three of them still felt like they had been blessed by their ancestors after learning about these secrets.

“Black Star, you really gave us a scare…” Marbruce smiled bitterly.” My mind is in a mess right now. I don’t even know what to do.

Han Xiao raised his brows and joked, “Didn’t you say you’ve seen all kinds of storms? Have you seen this before?”

“Ahem, I think we should talk about how to break the seal of the dark side universe and return to the true universe…”

The Pope’s face darkened, and he quickly changed the topic, not wanting to admit that he was too careless.

However, Han Xiao did not give a direct answer. Instead, he slowly said,

“I know you guys still have some doubts in your hearts, thinking that I made this up. When you guys enter the Sanctum and confirm that the information I’m talking about is correct, we’ll talk about what to do next… By the way, let me remind you guys, the Sanctum requires authorization to access the Iteration messages. You guys will only know the basic information when you enter the Sanctum for the first time, which is information like Iteration and Great Reboot. As for information like dark side Iteration and continuous reboot, you guys won’t be able to see it for the time being. I only learned about these things after completely unlocking the authorization.” “Oh, so it was like that…”

The three of them had not witnessed the functions of the Sanctum with their own eyes, so they could only listen to Han Xiao’s explanation. However, they believed most of it, because there was no need for Black Star to lie to them about something that could be so easily verified.

However, Marbruce and the other two felt an itch in their hearts. This feeling was like watching a suspense movie. They had only seen the beginning, but Black Star knew all the details and did not tell them who the killer was. This made them very curious. However, the three of them did have some concerns, and they did not dare completely believe what Han Xiao said. They would only be at ease if they entered the Sanctum to take a look.

“I will send you the method to enter the Sanctum in a while. Also, I will give you three more sets of Sanctum keys. You can enter by yourselves, lest you say that I did something.”

Han Xiao said casually.

He was the only one who could quickly create the Sanctum Keys. Even the three Universal Civilizations, which had plenty of resources, needed time to collect materials. Therefore, without his help, the three Universal Civilizations could not enter the Sanctum frequently. This was also the reason why he had the confidence to control the Sanctum and did not mind letting the three Universal Civilizations enter the Sanctum.

“That is the best.”

The three of them hurriedly nodded like obedient children.

“Alright, then you guys digest the truth of the universe and Iterations. I won’t disturb you guys any longer. I’ll send you the materials later.”

Han Xiao nodded and hung up.

The remote projection disappeared, and the three of them looked at each other with different expressions.

“I didn’t expect Black Star to bring such intelligence… If what he said is true, then our future plans will have to be reorganized.”

“That’s right. If the situation is true, then there’s no point in us developing peacefully here. We have to break through fate and fulfill the wishes of our past lives, entering the so-called true universe.”

“Let’s not talk about this for now. Let’s start from the beginning…”

The three of them gathered their heads together and started discussing.

Supers Holy Land, Leader’s Office.

Han Xiao’s eyes flashed, and he returned to his room. Complicated emotions appeared in his eyes.

He had pretended to be confident and calm in front of the three Universal Civilizations. In fact, when he found out about the truth from the Sanctum, he was also shocked, but it also solved many of his doubts.

In fact, Han Xiao still had many of his own secrets that he had not told the heads of the three Universal Civilizations just now. For example, the existence of the interface meant that there were three possibilities.

The first was that the interface was a special product formed when the true state of the true universe was transformed into the Information Form state of the dark side universe. It was like when a high-dimensional object descended into a low dimension, it had a special advantage. It was like how a piece of paper hid no secrets to humans, providing information that low-dimensional objects could not contain. The second possibility was that it was the product of Information Form mutation.

The third guess was that the three Universal Civilizations of the second dark side Iteration had projected the ‘information cluster’ of the dark side universe into the true universe through ‘login’, and the interface was the necessary medium to complete this step. It could be considered a special ‘retractor’ or ‘recorder’. Therefore, it might have been specially created by the three Universal Civilizations to ensure that the True State would remain in the dark side universe for a long time.

However, no matter which one it was, the interface was something unique to the dark side universe and could not enter the true universe. The evidence that made Han Xiao speculate this was that when he entered the Sanctum, the interface would disappear. Because the Sanctum did not only exist in the dark side universe, the interface lost its effect.

As for his ‘special’ interface, Han Xiao had a guess.

In his opinion, this was either because the three Universal Civilizations of the third dark side Iteration wanted to build a stable interference bridge and deliberately created life support for the ‘Information Form Individual’ who had completely entered the dark side universe, ensuring that he could live ‘stably’ in the dark side universe and reduce the chances of him dying due to various accidents, or it was the result of the Information Form mutation on the normal interface in the dark side Iteration.

According to the various performances of the interface, Han Xiao was more inclined toward the former. When the interface triggered a mission, more information would usually be revealed in the mission introduction. Because the development trajectory of the dark universe was almost fixed, the three Universal Civilizations of the third dark side Iteration could modify the interface into something similar to a ‘Prophet’. Of course, this did not exclude the fact that their interface had the hidden principle of monitoring the entire dark universe.

In addition, when the players went online (the True States Interference), he would be able to enter the players’ forums through the interface and spy on the communication between the ‘True States’. During the version update period, the forums were also frozen for him. From this perspective, the special interface on him was indeed like an important medium and channel to communicate with the True States.

This reminded Han Xiao of the two Information Form threads he had seen on the interface when he used the Information Form Obliteration vision. One was connected to him, while the other extended infinitely. Now that he thought about it, the connection on this end probably represented the entire dark side universe. This seemed to support the idea.

On the other hand, Han Xiao also speculated about the theory behind the flow of time in the version update. In the mainstream scientific theories of the Galaxy, time was relative, not absolute. From this point of view, based on the content of the message board in the Sanctum, he felt that the time of the dark universe and the true universe did not have any connection, only the difference in relative speed.

The true universe was the foundation of the third Iteration. The dark side universe had to depend on it to exist, but the relative time flow of the dark side universe was faster and went through reboots again and again without affecting the other side. However, when the players came online and caused the dark side universe and the true universe to become entangled in Information Form, the flow of time between the two sides was locked. The time flow of the dark side universe and the true universe passed at a stable ratio, which was one to six… The reason behind this was that the true universe still occupied the dominant position, and the players whose ‘foundation’ existed in the true universe would not be affected.

When the True State of the players’ temporary logins disappeared, the level of Information Form interference plummeted, and the flow of time in the dark side universe would be disconnected from the true universe… This conjecture showed that the version update would only take one or two days for the players while many years would have passed in the Galaxy World. Han Xiao felt that this was quite possible. He even suspected that starting from the second dark side Iteration, the frequency of the Information Form mutation in the dark side universe was very likely the change brought about by the third dark side Iteration’s introduction of the True States… If the true universe and Sanctum were seen as existences of a higher dimension, then the projected projection would produce distortions, and a ‘surreal’ phenomenon would occur, causing the third dark side Iteration’s Information Form Materialization device to become the World Tree, and the fourth dark side Iteration’s control terminal to become the Pivotal Snake.

“Other than this reason, perhaps the dark side universe is the same as the Celestial Star Alliance Dimension. Only an external Information Form carrier can greatly change its development trajectory, bringing new variables and accidents… Even if the dark side universe is not a rigid cycle, such variables might still be needed.”

Han Xiao’s expression changed.

Although many of these theories were speculations based on the truth revealed by the Sanctum messages, he felt that they were very likely.

“Even if this is a relay across Iterations, every civilization wants to be the last one. As long as there’s a glimmer of hope, every civilization wants to continue surviving, and no one wants to go extinct. It’s understandable for the three Universal Civilizations to do this, but…”

Han Xiao shook his head with mixed feelings.

If all his deductions were correct, then he would be the hope of the entire dark side universe…

But to him, this was a multiple-choice question.

Chapter 1452: Choice and Entry

Chapter 1452 Choice and Entry

Crack…

Han Xiao opened the cabinet and took out a box of unopened cigarettes from it. He tore open the packaging and took out a black cigarette wrapped in gold patterns. He swiped at it with his finger, and an electric spark lit it up. He held it in his mouth and slowly took a puff. Green smoke rose and covered his complicated expression, and his disappointed eyes could be seen through the smoke. Ever since he entered the galaxy, Han Xiao had basically quit smoking. It had been almost a hundred years since he had last tasted a smoke, but today, he lit up a cigarette.

This was not an easy choice. If his hometown was the real universe of the current dynasty, then once the dark side universe returned, it would be like a dove taking over a magpie’s nest, and countless powerful civilizations would sweep through the galaxy. Han Xiao did not know if there were any advanced civilizations in the real universe of the current dynasty because his hometown was only a surface-level civilization and could not explore the entire universe. However, his hometown was an information interface, so it would definitely be the first to face a change.

To his hometown, this was either a good thing or a bad thing. The only thing he was certain of was that his hometown would never develop freely again. It would definitely be interfered with by the advanced civilizations, just like the various small civilizations and surface civilizations in the galactic society.

However, the three Universal Civilizations, which had already gone through four dark side changes, were already half a step into the real universe. They were only one step away from the real universe and they had a chance to truly get through the Reboot. This was the ultimate dream passed down by the Final Civilizations after countless generations. Now that he had the ability to help them succeed… should he watch the efforts of the three Universal Civilizations go to waste? Or should he give them the final push?

ISV

Although Han Xiao was conflicted, he knew that he already had an answer in his heart. Revealing the Sanctum information to the three Universal Civilizations was to help him make up his mind not to turn back.

This was a great achievement that was supported by countless generations. It was also a great honor for him to be one of them. Furthermore, it was also related to the survival of the universe. The time he had spent in the galactic society had long exceeded the length of his life in the real universe. It was impossible for him to not have any feelings for the galactic society.

Furthermore, with Han Xiao’s current experience, he felt that the possibility of his hometown becoming the current Final Civilization of this iteration was extremely low. Perhaps even becoming a Star System Civilization would be an extravagant hope.

In the middle of the 21st century, before he entered the dark side universe, the societal problems in his hometown were already very acute. It was like a train that had been overloaded for many years, with all kinds of failures coming one after another.

Due to the complex geopolitical situation, the entire civilization was wasting precious’ birthplace resources’, and the efficiency of resources was low. There were many problems that could only be solved before entering the interstellar era, and only then would the cost be minimized. Their hometown did not have an efficient collective will when their technology was low, and once such an opportunity was missed, it would be difficult to see it again. As the saying goes, a small boat is easy to turn around. The larger the body, the harder it is to turn back, and it would be difficult to make any changes. Any slight movement might trigger an internal crisis that could destroy the entire civilization.

Although his hometown might have a chance to turn around in the future, according to the trend before Han Xiao entered the dark side universe, the development of his hometown, if analyzed on the scale of civilization and the universe, was truly in a precarious situation. Therefore, after the birth of the virtual network in his previous life, it quickly became a haven for countless people to escape from reality.

According to this trend, the final outcome of his hometown might be natural death or being destroyed or captured by an unknown foreign civilization. In his eyes, most of the areas around his hometown did not have the qualifications to become the overlord of the universe… unless there were no competitors.

However, due to the existence of the Sanctum, this was clearly impossible.

Therefore, Han Xiao felt that since it would be difficult for his hometown to become the ‘winner’ of a single era, when the conversion of the dark universe was completed—while it might bring about risks—it would also bring along the successful plan to get through the Great Reboot. This would mean unlimited resources and techniques. The current final Civilizations might not have matured yet, and the three Universal Civilizations would most likely replace it and rule it for a long time. This would be somewhat unfair to the current Iterated Civilizations, but in this regard, no civilization would not give in to be the leader of the universe. It was very difficult for the weak to choose their own fate… Of course, there was also the possibility of a powerful civilization existing in the real universe, but the civilization level of their hometown was too low for him to be aware of it.

In addition, Han Xiao felt that he had come to the Dark Side Universe because of the three Universal Civilizations. Perhaps he should return the favor.

“In the end, I still have my own selfish motives…”

Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and suddenly shook his head.

He had never thought of himself as a selfless person. Apart from these concerns that involved the big picture, there were also reasons for him to choose to convert the Dark Side Universe.

He seemed to have used up all his luck to become the ‘Stable Interference Bridge’ that was randomly selected. If he did not do anything, the Dark Side Universe would only experience another round of reboot and might not have much of an impact on this place. However, in the next Dark Side, the Dark Side Universe would pull in a new True Form carrier and become a new ‘Stable Interference Bridge’ to replace him.

Due to the uniqueness of his identity, Han Xiao could not guarantee that he would become a member of the Dark Side Universe’s development trajectory after the Dark Side underwent another iteration. Becoming a Transcendent might not mean that he could literally transcend an iteration. The ‘Small Reboot’ of the Dark Side Universe might still cause him to disappear… Rather than saying that his choice was to save the Dark Side Universe, it would be more accurate to say that it was to save himself. Therefore, this might be his only chance. Han Xiao did not want to gamble. “Phew… so this is an all-out invasion?”

With this in mind, Han Xiao calmed himself down and stopped smoking. He extinguished the cigarette roll that was only one-third burnt in the ashtray without hesitation.

A few days later, in a certain military-restricted area in the Central Galaxy.

Three small spaceships hovered outside the space fortress, ready to go.

In the military command tower on the side, the remote projection of the three Universal Civilizations’ Ruler stood in front of the window, staring at the three spaceships outside with a nervous and expectant expression. The operators in the room were adjusting the parameters in front of the instruments.

This time, Han Xiao’s remote projection appeared in the room, attracting the attention of three people. “How’s the preparation going?” “We have already filled up the Sanctum key in the synthesis device according to the method you provided,” Marbruce replied immediately.

Han Xiao nodded. “What about the candidates to enter the Sanctum?”

Louis said with a deep voice, “We have all chosen a spaceship full of elites, and their loyalty is reliable. Our side will be led by Oulou, and the Crimson Dynasty will be led by Clotti.”

Han Xiao looked at the Pope and said, “What about you? Are you going to let Wuornos take the lead?”

“I originally planned to let Wuornos enter the Sanctum, but he happened to have left some time ago, so I found another direct descendant.” The Pope shook his head.

“…Is that so? What a twist of events.”

Han Xiao’s expression was complicated.

Due to the fact that he needed to accumulate the authority of the Sanctum, he did not know if the Arcane Church would allow Wuornos to become the Sanctum Explorer even after he returned…

Great, he had missed out on another huge benefit. He always felt that Wuornos seemed to miss out on everything good. This guy was really unlucky.

Seeing that Han Xiao did not speak, Louis said, “If there’s no problem, shall we begin?”

“Go ahead, I’ll watch from here.” Han Xiao nodded.

Marbruce nodded and gave the order.

Very soon, a few rays of light shot out from the military fortress and gathered in midair, slowly turning into three Sanctums. The Sanctums Key that Han Xiao had provided each led to different Sanctums, and they were all opened at the same time.

Han Xiao had seen this scene many times and did not have much of a reaction. However, the heads of the three Universal Civilizations stared with their eyes wide open, staring at the changes in the scenery outside the window. It was as though they wanted to memorize all the details of the Sanctum passageway.

The next moment, the three spaceships started moving and entered different passages of the Sanctum. The Sanctum’s light then spun and contracted before disappearing from everyone’s sight.

Only at this moment did the three Universal Civilizations’ leaders relax. They heaved a sigh of relief and were filled with anticipation and anxiety. They were afraid that something would happen during their trip to the Sanctum, or they might not bring back the information they wanted. “This is their first time entering the Sanctum. Their authority is very low, and the time flow is very different. It will take them a very long time to return.”

Han Xiao explained.

Marbruce nodded absent-mindedly. Suddenly, he thought of something and turned to look at Han Xiao.

“Since it will take a long time for them to return, let’s not just blindly wait for them. We might as well use the time to solve some important problems.” Han Xiao raised his brows. “What do you want?”

“Initially, we wanted to wait until the galactic society recovered more than half of its strength before launching a military operation against the Star Alliance. However, the intelligence you brought disrupted our strategic plans, so I think it’s better to solve this hidden danger as soon as possible… However, we alone cannot proceed with the highest efficiency, so…”

SOO

“So, you want my help?” Han Xiao narrowed his eyes and continued.

“That’s what I meant.” Marbruce nodded quickly. Han Xiao turned to look at the other two. “You guys have the same idea?”

“I hope Your Excellency Black Star can help.”

Louis and the Pope nodded as well.

Ever since they knew the truth about the Universe Iterations, they had become more relaxed. They were all in the same boat now, so helping the other party meant helping themselves, and they were no longer as reserved as before. They were just short of hugging Han Xiao’s thigh and calling him daddy.

“…You guys are really impolite. Let me do some research then.”

Looking at the three of them, Han Xiao’s mouth twitched.

Originally, he did not want to interfere in this matter. However, given the current situation, if he did not settle the Star Alliance as soon as possible, there would be more variables in the plan of converting the dark universe. It was indeed not good.

Han Xiao thought about it and said slowly,

“If I can solve this problem with less bloodshed, that would be the best. I hope that my interference will allow them to accept reality faster…”

Chapter 1453: What? The World Tree Called?!

Chapter 1453 What? The World Tree Called?!

“What? Black Star and the three Universal Civilizations have privately agreed to open the Sanctum?!”

The surprised voice of the leader of the Star Arc sounded in the conference room of the Super Star Cluster Alliance. A civilization leader nodded with a solemn expression. “I received some news. Black Star seems to have really shared the Sanctum information with the three Universal Civilizations.”

“Is the news accurate?” The Star Arc Leader’s expression turned solemn.

“Very reliable.”

Hearing this, the expressions of all the Super Star Cluster leaders changed.

The three Universal Civilizations did not cover up Black Star’s actions of sharing the Sanctum. This was not a secret that no one could not find out, but they did not disclose it to the outside world either. After knowing about their current situation, they did not have such thoughts for the time being. If not, they would have advertised it in the past to increase their reputation.

The composition of the three Sanctum keys that Han Xiao had given them, as well as the method of entering the Sanctum, were the three Universal Civilizations’ top-secret information. Outsiders would not be able to find out about it, so the Super Star Cluster Alliance only knew about the appearance of the two sides cooperating to open the Sanctum. They did not know the exact reason and details.

“This is really strange. Now, the three Universal Civilizations, the Supers Holy Land, and we are already in a tripartite situation. The Sanctum is the core strength of the Supers Holy Land. Isn’t Black Star helping the enemy? What does he mean by this?”

The leader was confused. “Indeed, I don’t understand either. Why does Black Star need to share the Sanctuary with the three Universal Civilizations?” Another civilization leader was puzzled. “In the past, when Beyond Grade As still existed as organizations, they did not share the Sanctum’s information even when facing the suppression of the three Universal Civilizations. Now, the Supers Holy Land is already a huge force, comparable to the three Universal Civilizations. Why did they give out the Sanctum’s information instead? Could it be that some chip has fallen into the hands of the three Universal Civilizations?” “I feel that it’s impossible for Black Star to be threatened by the three Universal Civilizations. There must be other reasons. Black Star might have other plans… We can’t even rule out the possibility of them forming deep strategic cooperation.”

“The World Tree has already been dealt with, what other strategic cooperation can they have? Could it be that they are fighting that third-party infiltrator? But is there a need for that? Both the three Universal Civilizations and Black Star can deal with the Star Alliance alone.”

At this moment, one of the leaders hesitated for a moment and said carefully,

“…Have you ever thought that they might be working together against us?”

The room fell silent.

After a long time, the leader of the Star Arc swallowed his saliva and said, “Um… I don’t think that’s possible. We’re lubricants between them. They probably won’t gang up on us…”

“I don’t think so…” Someone was worriedly singing the opposite tune.” Could it be that our attitude of waiting for a good price was too blatant and angered both sides?”

Hearing that, everyone panicked. After the structure of the war was established, they would circle around the three Universal Civilizations and the Supers Holy Land, jumping around to maintain balance. According to their initial analysis, the three Universal Civilizations needed to form an alliance with them to suppress the Supers Holy Land. Therefore, they would definitely ‘change their ways’ and use a lot of benefits to rope them in. This was also the case in the early stages. Finally, they were no longer suppressed and had the space to develop freely. Using a different method, they achieved what they initially wanted to achieve through migration. Logically speaking, if not for the rise of the Supers Holy Land, the Super Star Cluster would not have been able to do as they wished. Black Star had contributed to this, but because of the balance, they could not stay as close as they wanted to the Supers Holy Land. Otherwise, the three Universal Civilizations would definitely explode. Thus, they could only temporarily put aside the alliance agreement with Black Star and turn it into superficial cooperation.

The Supers Holy Land did not say anything about this. The Super Star Cluster Alliance had even specially called Black Star to apologize, and the other party did not seem to mind. Thus, the Super Star Cluster alliance had always been at ease and felt that this route was not a problem. They hoped to maintain a good cooperative relationship with both sides… But now that Black Star and the three Universal Civilizations had played such a card, they immediately felt uncertain.

It felt as if there were two enemies who were not on good terms with each other, and he had maintained a good relationship with both of them. Like a sticker for the three of them, he let everyone play together. However, one day, the two enemies suddenly made up for no reason. They put their arms around each other’s shoulders and did not bring him along to play. Instead, he became the third person, isolated. This was very uncomfortable.

“I think we need to analyze it, but we can’t rule out the possibility that such a factor is involved. We need to consider our attitude towards the Supers Holy Land and the three Universal Civilizations. We can’t be too cold,” the leader of the Star Arc said with a heavy tone.

The higher-ups of the Super Star Cluster felt their hearts turn weak the more they thought about it. They were too suspicious and scared themselves.

In the unexplored universe, Star Alliance capital. “Ever since the World Tree fully invaded, the three Universal Civilizations have been in an increasingly difficult situation. In the past two years, they have lost almost six percent of their territory. I thought that they would be able to hold on for a few decades, but it seems like I’ve overestimated them. The three Universal Civilizations will not be able to withstand the attack of the World Tree at all. At this rate, the three Universal Civilizations will definitely be defeated in five to six years, the longest in thirteen to fourteen years!”

In the meeting room, the leader of the Star Alliance and the leaders of the various civilizations had smiles on their faces. The room was filled with happiness.

For more than a year since the World Tree invaded the interstellar society, they had been living a very happy life. Even their footsteps were light. Every time they read the “battle report” sent by the spies, they would look forward to the next episode because they were always full of surprises.

The more miserable the galactic society was, the happier they would be!

The leader of the Star Alliance knocked on the table and said with a smile, “Over the past year, the three Universal Civilizations were almost completely defeated by the World Tree. Black Star was heavily injured by the ambush and had exceeded the limits of his Indestructible Body. He had no choice but to fall into a deep sleep and slowly recuperate. Thus, the Sanctum Revival was temporarily terminated. The intel says that he is now the spiritual pillar of the galactic society to resist the external enemies. Once Black Star falls, the morale of the Galactic Alliance Army will collapse, and they will be forced to retreat on the battlefield… Therefore, it is obvious that without Black Star, the galactic allied forces are just a motley crew.”

“Hehe, not bad, not bad.” The leader of the Lore Civilization, Savignes, chuckled. “Furthermore, the reports from the first two episodes said that the mother planets of the three Universal Civilizations were attacked frequently and had no choice but to let many of the upper echelons take refuge. During the voyage, the Crimson Dynasty’s spaceship was ambushed on a large scale, and the current leader, Marbruce, was cut in half at the waist, dying without a complete corpse. The previous Dynasty Ruler, Urranrell, was captured by the members of the World Tree, and it was said that the pillar of the nation, Clotti, went alone to save her. In the end, he was captured, but his will was firm. Thus, the World Tree gathered the members and violated Urranrell repeatedly in front of him, destroying Clotti’s will before the World Tree devoured him and turned him into a slave…”

“Speaking of which, the peak Beyond Grade As of the galactic society either died or were injured. Manison’s true body was exposed, and he was turned into a slave by the World Tree. All of his assets were used to support the enemy. Kasuyi’s mind was shattered, and he became a fool. Wuornos was forced to participate in the battle, and the Church’s National Treasure was almost shattered…”

These battle reports were all fabricated by Han Xiao’s order to the lurkers who had already jumped out of hiding. He even added quite a number of personal gossips into them, which made it quite “exciting”. As for the people involved in the battle report, they did not know that Han Xiao was making things up about them.

The members of the Star Alliance talked about the good news in the previous war reports with great interest. They wanted to see the suffering of the people of the galactic society and laugh. After chatting for a while, the leader of the Star Alliance calmed down and knocked on the table.

“Although the defeat of the three Universal Civilizations is set in stone, and we have finally gotten rid of a huge threat, the World Tree is a new threat. When the war ends, we still need to pay attention to the World Tree.”

“That’s right. The failure of the three Universal Civilizations has proven how terrifying they are. Even if we reach the height of the three Universal Civilizations, we still won’t be their match.”

“Yeah, but time stands with us. As long as we keep developing, sooner or later—”.

The leader of the Star Alliance was about to look forward to the future to cheer everyone on when the meeting room was suddenly pushed open.

Bang!

A secretary rushed in anxiously with an anxious look on his face. His eyes were filled with fear.

“Leaders, something bad has happened. We found traces of the World Tree army. The World Tree is attacking!”

“What?!”

Crash

The expressions of all the Star Alliance’s upper echelons changed drastically as they stood up!

Chapter 1454: Give Them a Taste of Their Own Medicine

Chapter 1454 Give Them a Taste of Their Own Medicine

Within the Star Alliance, the Margus Star System.

A long and narrow spatial rift cut through the starry sky like a knife cutting open the belly of the universe, splattering out endless green tides.

Countless World Tree battleships flew out from the wormhole and formed an army. They turned into dense streams of light and dispersed in all directions, attacking the planets on the star map.

The World Tree fleet was traveling at an extremely fast speed. Before long, a prosperous planet was in sight. The defense troops of this planet had already taken off and were distributed in outer space, ready to fight against the invasion.

Buzz!

At this moment, there was a flash of light in the distance. A huge wave of starships covered in starlight approached rapidly. The outer armor of the starships was engraved with the Star Alliance’s insignia. This was the military’s rapid support unit. They were stationed at the nearby military fortress and were in charge of the daily security in the area.

In the main starship of the Star Alliance’s rapid support troops, the middle-aged commander with a strong temperament gripped the edge of the table tightly with both hands. He gritted his teeth and looked at the enemy troops outside the window, countless times more numerous than his own. His heart was in agony as he let out a hoarse roar:

“Unit 17 and 18, fall down. Immediately organize the people to board the ship and escape. The rest… attack! Stall for time!” As soon as the order was given, the rapid support troops immediately charged towards the incoming World Tree.

Facing an unrivaled opponent, the Star Alliance’s fleet still chose to counterattack. This scene was very tragic. It was like an isolated and helpless troop enduring the endless encirclement of countless enemies.

However, the difference in strength would not be reduced because of this. Their fearlessness could not stop the spreading of the green tide. The world-destroying green tide did not stop and easily drowned the armed fleet. The Star Alliance fleet’s counterattack only caused a small ripple before disappearing into the endless green tide.

Roots tore through the sky and pierced into the flourishing planet like straws, devouring the matter and energy inside and turning them into their own nourishment.

In the flagship of the World Tree fleet, the Heart Tree King looked down at the planet with a glimmer in his eyes. Vast psychic energy had already covered the entire planet, hypnotizing all living beings to give up on escaping and voluntarily enter the roots to become a member of the World Tree.

The Heart Tree King shook his head as he watched the last few Star Alliance battleships explode into pieces under the concentrated fire of the World Tree fleet.

“It’s just a futile struggle…”

He turned to look at the countless soldiers in the cabin and saw a feverish look on each of their faces. War was their specialty.

Sensing the Heart Tree King’s gaze, everyone raised their arms and shouted.

“For the mother tree! For Father God!”

After Black Star subdued the World Tree, he became the ‘Father God’ in the hearts of all the members of the World Tree. His will was above the Mother Tree’s.

The Heart Tree King muttered to himself before retracting his gaze and looking at the starry sky. His gaze seemed to be able to penetrate the endless distance and lock onto the mother planet of the Star Alliance.

In the conference room in the Star Alliance’s capital.

Unlike the joyous atmosphere a few days ago, the room was filled with gloom, fear, despair, anxiety, and other negative emotions. In the past few days, news of the World Tree’s invasion broke out in various parts of their territory. It was as if the entire Star Alliance was in danger overnight and countless planets had fallen.

The upper echelons of the Star Alliance were no longer as high-spirited as they were a few days ago. At this moment, they looked haggard and their clothes were in a mess. They had not slept or rested for the past few days as they argued intensely.

“Isn’t the World Tree Civilization still fighting with the three Universal Civilizations? Why did they invade us?”

The Star Alliance Leader frowned and looked exhausted. His eyes were bloodshot and his voice was extremely hoarse. Savignes trembled slightly and said with a shaking voice, “Could it be that the World Tree Civilization feels that they have already crippled the three civilizations and wants to fight on two fronts? What should we do?”

The upper echelons of the Star Alliance frowned.

They thought that the three Universal Civilizations were still fighting the World Tree to the death, but because they had discovered their location, they had deployed a portion of their forces to fight with them. This feeling was like they were enjoying the sufferings of others, but the sufferings suddenly appeared on their own head.

“What else can we do? Since the World Tree is here, we can only resist!” Someone slammed the table to hide the fear in his heart.

Just as he said that, someone immediately objected and said loudly,

“What fight! Even the three Universal Civilizations were no match for the World Tree, they were crippled in a few years. We can’t defend our own territories at all. We should quickly migrate the refugees, preserve our tinders, and abandon our territories!” “How can we do that? At least we still have the strength to fight! The World Tree is wreaking havoc in my territory. As long as everyone sends out reinforcements, we will definitely be able to defeat the World Tree!” someone else said in a low voice. “Bullsh*t! We don’t even have enough troops, how can we help you?!” Another person shouted.

This argument instantly ignited the fuse. Everyone’s emotions had been like a spring that had been pushed to the limit these past few days. With this, all the accumulated dissatisfaction in their hearts erupted. They directly split into two groups. One group was advocating war while the other was in favor of escaping. The argument was extremely intense.

If not for the fact that most of them were projections, everyone would have rolled up their sleeves and started fighting.

The Star Alliance was formed by the alliance of more than forty civilizations. They were not united in the first place and each had their own standpoints for benefits. Usually, they could be gathered together, but when faced with the pressure of a powerful foreign invasion, internal conflicts immediately erupted.

Some of the upper echelons of the civilizations who had been against causing trouble couldn’t restrain themselves anymore and started complaining loudly.

“Everyone, calm down! Calm down… We still have other paths. We can’t resist the World Tree on our own, but since the three Universal Civilizations are in the same situation as us, perhaps we can take the initiative to communicate with them and join forces against the enemy… As for our previous plans, we can put them aside for now. The most important thing is to defeat the World Tree together. They will definitely know the severity of the matter. We will settle the score with the three Universal Civilizations later in the future. We have to protect ourselves first before we can talk about the future…”

The Star Alliance Leader raised his suggestion loudly and tried his best to ease the atmosphere. However, it was useless. Everyone was speechless at his suggestion and turned a deaf ear to it. They continued arguing and the situation was getting out of control. In the past, many members of the Star Alliance would not have been so disrespectful to him. However, now that their own civilizations were on the brink of death, no one cared about him anymore.

Everyone had a big fight. Many people were furious. They stopped talking and directly went offline. They did not want to listen to the unified dispatch of the Star Alliance anymore. They decided to fly off on their own when disaster struck.

Not long after, there was no one left in the meeting room. The Star Alliance Leader sat alone in his seat, his heart filled with bitterness.

After the quarrel, the leaders of a few civilizations gave out orders without any hesitation. They did not listen to the Star Alliance’s orders at all and packed up their resources and population. They started to escape hurriedly, preparing to escape from the Star Alliance’s territory and enter the unexplored universe.

Initially, although most civilizations were angry and panicked, they had not decided to abandon their homes. However, when they saw someone running away decisively, they immediately became anxious. Since the others had already run away, if they did not keep up, wouldn’t they be staying behind to help others cover their retreat? How could this do!

The chain reaction happened very quickly. One after another, the members of the Star Alliance didn’t dare to delay any longer. They also started to migrate and escape, no longer caring about the Star Alliance’s agreement.

When these member countries refused to listen to the orders, the Star Alliance’s mechanism was quickly paralyzed. The huge Star Alliance seemed to have broken up overnight, and the fleets of various civilizations began to escape and part ways.

In the past, many members would not easily go against the unified order of the Star Alliance, or else they would be isolated by others. But now, they could not care so much. When the World Tree attacked, the Star Alliance immediately had a disagreement of opinion. This joint Universal Civilization was destined to fall apart. No one planned to wait for death in a group. They only wanted others to stall the enemy so they could escape.

This was Han Xiao’s intention. The weakness of the Star Alliance’s structure was too obvious, which was that they had too many interests and did not have the strength of a dominant civilization. They could barely coalesce, and their opinions could not be completely unified.

Usually, the members of the Star Alliance had their reservations, but once they were in a life and death crisis, it would definitely be difficult for them to unite. There was an 80% chance that they would split up. As long as this collective will was disassembled, the Star Alliance’s small giant would be dismembered. Its resistance would drop by several levels, and it would lose most of its fighting spirit.

Back then, the Star Alliance had secretly leaked the information, wanting to cause internal conflict in the galactic society. Han Xiao’s action was also to give them a taste of their own medicine, using a different method to cause internal conflict.

The port on the mother planet of the Lore Civilization was already packed with people. Anti-gravity transport vehicles loaded the supplies onto the fleet one by one. Countless frightened citizens lined up to board the ships under the orders of armed soldiers. No matter how anxious they were, they could only suppress their emotions and listen to the orders obediently.

Not long ago, there was a group of people who wanted to rebel, but they were suppressed cruelly, killed on the spot. Their blood had not even dried yet. That was why no one dared to act recklessly right now.

Not long after, the first fleet was finally filled up. Without waiting for the subsequent spaceships, they took to the sky and fled into the depths of space.

Savignes was already in the main ship. As the leader of the civilization, he did not dare stay on the mother planet any longer. The fleets of refugees had split into several batches. In order to escort him, more than half of the armed forces were moving together with the first fleet with the least population load.

“We’ve finally set off…”

Savignes let out a small sigh of relief.

He still remembered that in the “battle report”, the two Dynasty Rulers were tortured to death by the World Tree. It could be seen that the World Tree Civilization liked to carry out the tactic of killing the leader very much. He was worried that he would follow in their footsteps and be “trampled to death”. Therefore, he only wanted to run away quickly and did not dare to stay on the mother planet as a target… As far as he knew, the other heads of civilizations had the same idea and had all fled from the mother planet.

As the spaceship slowly accelerated, Savignes was no longer so worried. He muttered to himself,

“It should be safe for now…”

However, before he could finish his sentence, the spaceship’s radar suddenly exploded with an ear-piercing hum. It pointed straight at the front of the spaceship, and an energy reaction appeared out of nowhere, blocking the way.

The next moment, a Mechanical Deity suddenly expanded in size, surpassing the size of the entire fleet stacked on each other. It covered the sun and the stars, and a huge hand suddenly came down.

Hong Long Long

Psionic energy burst out like ripples, and the entire fleet began to explode like firecrackers. In the blink of an eye, the armed escort fleet was almost completely annihilated. They could not even make a splash and turned into a large patch of fireworks in the starry sky. It was very beautiful.

“This is Black Star Þ”.

Savignes turned pale with fright and hastily shouted,

“Run, run…”

However, before he could finish speaking, many of the spaceship operators were already sweating profusely.

“This won’t do. The fleet’s intelligence matrix is completely locked. We can’t control it at all. The spaceship is already paralyzed!” “No…”

Savignes’ eyes widened in horror as his pupils reflected the enlarged palm of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate. The mechanical lines on the palm became clearer. Crack!

Han Xiao directly grabbed the flagship and sucked it into his body, capturing Savignes and the upper echelons of the ship.

Immediately after, he suddenly raised his hand and punched. Energy burst out like a gamma-ray burst, spreading in a large area and instantly vaporizing a large group of warships that were about to counterattack.

“The first.”

Han Xiao turned around and disappeared as though he had never been there.

His goal was to capture the leaders of all the civilizations in the Star Alliance and display the advantage of individual strength.

With his current combat strength, the success rate of the targeting the leader tactic was almost 100% against a civilization like the Star Alliance. No one could stop him.

“His Excellency Savignes has been captured by the enemy!”

Because Han Xiao’s execution efficiency was too great, the remaining defense troops on the mother planet did not have the time to rush over to support Savignes when he was captured.

The guards on the ground base stared blankly at the place where Han Xiao had disappeared. Listening to the busy tone in the command channel, they fell into a state of chaos.

Chapter 1455: Crushing Dry Weeds and Smashing Rotten Wood

Chapter 1455 Crushing Dry Weeds and Smashing Rotten Wood

The Star Alliance also had individual strengths, but compared to the three Universal Civilizations, they had too few top-tier combatants and were too weak. With Han Xiao’s abilities, he could do whatever he wanted here.

In addition, the entire virtual network of the Star Alliance was under the surveillance of Han Xiao, a Legendary Mechanic. The whereabouts of the upper echelons of the Star Alliance could not be hidden at all. Han Xiao was like an eagle pouncing on a chicken, constantly teleporting and flashing, accurately intercepting the fleets of the upper echelons of the Star Alliance. Not once did he fail. Even the Star Alliance Leader was captured by him. Within a few days, the leaders of the forty-six civilizations and the upper echelons of the Star Alliance were all captured by Han Xiao.

One civilization after another lost its command from the upper echelons. Some civilizations had a good system and continued to maintain the implementation of the migration plan through the base chain of command. Some civilizations were quite decisive, and there were some who took the position of the upper echelons, but most of them fell into different degrees of chaos.

The intelligence of the World Tree and the three Universal Civilizations was a secret of the upper echelons of the Star Alliance. The citizens and the officers did not know anything about it. They did not know what the World Tree fleet represented, nor did they have the strong fear of the World Tree Civilization like the upper echelons had developed over the years of war reports. Therefore, after the upper echelons of the various civilizations disappeared, many civilizations launched an intense counterattack.

However, due to the collective vacancy of the upper echelons, the internal secrets were leaked out under the influence of a certain force, and it quickly spread throughout the Star Alliance base. Most people understood the source of the disaster and knew how terrifying the World Tree Civilization was, as well as how the World Tree Civilization was currently at war with the three Universal Civilizations.

As for the actions of the upper echelons of the Star Alliance, trying to reap benefits but inviting trouble instead, they were not announced under Han Xiao’s control.

Because the World Tree’s mechanism was too terrifying, the morale of many civilizations was immediately reduced by half.

What completely destroyed the will of the Star Alliance civilizations was the invasion of another armed force. This time, it was the three Universal Civilizations army that was supposed to fight the World Tree in the news! They had also become the attackers!

The morale of the Star Alliance completely collapsed. Facing the pincer attack of two Universal Civilizations, they no longer had the courage to resist and could only flee in panic.

The entire Star Alliance’s battle situation slid into the abyss at lightning speed. All the resistance forces were paralyzed and wiped out by the three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree. Countless spaceships escaped from the Star Alliance’s territory, and it was a complete mess. Only a month had passed since the World Tree Civilization and the three Universal Civilizations invaded the Star Alliance.

In reality, if the Star Alliance could unite all their forces, they would at least be at the Universe Grade, and would not be so weak. They could still work together to resist for a period of time. However, the situation was too sudden, and there were too many internal conflicts, so they could not form an effective counterattack… The current situation of the Star Alliance was like the three Universal Civilizations that were attacked by the World Tree in his previous life, and the situation was even worse. They were caught completely off guard.

If the Star Alliance was given some time, they might be able to recover from the chaos after suffering heavy losses and form various scattered civil resistance forces. However, they had no chance now.

All the upper echelons of the Star Alliance civilization that were captured by Han Xiao were not executed, nor were they immediately devoured and transformed by the World Tree. Instead, they were locked in the same cage without any physical torture.

There were only virtual screens floating in the cage, showing the tragic situation of their various civilizations under the attack of the World Tree all day long. All the upper echelons of the Star Alliance could not rest peacefully and were suffering from psychological torture.

Every day, as they watched the World Tree fleet destroy the Star Alliance, they were furious, terrified, and desperate.

After the scene of the three Universal Civilizations attacking the Star Alliance was shown on the screen, all the upper echelons of the Star Alliance were stunned.

They had originally thought that the World Tree was fighting on two fronts, but they did not expect the three Universal Civilizations to attack them too. In an instant, their previous guesses were overturned, and everyone was horrified.

“Why would the three Universal Civilizations invade our territory together with the World Tree Civilization? Aren’t they still fighting ?” The Star Alliance Leader said with a hoarse voice, unable to hide his shock and confusion.

“Could it be that they’ve stopped the war and reconciled? No, how is that possible? One should not have stopped until the other died. Isn’t the World Tree unable to coexist with any civilization P” someone murmured in disbelief.

Savignes’ eyes were bloodshot and his voice hoarse, “There’s only one possibility. The three Universal Civilizations have been devoured by the World Tree and turned into slaves of the World Tree. They have lost their freedom… In other words, their civilization has been destroyed! Hahaha… Wuu wuu…”

As he said that, a twisted expression appeared on his face. It was as if he was laughing and crying at the same time. There was an indescribable sense of viciousness and joy.

Among all the Star Alliance civilizations that were attacked, the Lore Civilization was the most miserable. They were targeted by the World Tree and the three Universal Civilizations. Savignes watched the tragic scenes of his race every day, and his mental state was on the verge of collapse. In his eyes… although he was about to die, at least the three Universal Civilizations were gone. His revenge had succeeded, and he had already dragged his enemies along with him to die, destroying the prosperous world of the three Universal Civilizations.

Hearing this, everyone nodded silently. They all agreed that the three Universal Civilizations had become the World Tree Civilization’s vassal.

However, unlike Savignes, the other upper echelons of the Star Alliance did not feel any joy, only fear.

Originally, one World Tree Civilization was enough to destroy the Star Alliance. Now, they had even ‘absorbed the forces of the three Universal Civilizations. It was equivalent to two Universal Civilizations attacking from both sides.

No matter how they thought about it, they felt that there was no chance that the Star Alliance would survive. They had already lost all hope in their hearts. Their expressions were numb, and they were like walking corpses.

Swoosh!

At this time, the cell door opened, and everyone turned around to look. A figure walked in against the light from the corridor outside, revealing an expressionless face. It was Han Xiao.

“Everyone, how have you been?”

Han Xiao said emotionlessly.

“Black Star!”

Everyone subconsciously shrank back with fear on their faces.

Savignes was the only one who did not retreat. Instead, he took a few steps forward with a ferocious smile on his face. He stretched out his hands as though he wanted to grab Han Xiao’s shoulders.

Pa!

Before he could even take a few steps, an invisible force sent him flying, and he slammed into the prison wall.

However, Savignes did not seem to feel any pain at all. Instead, he started laughing like a maniac.

“Hahaha— Black Star! Your three Universal Civilizations have also suffered a crushing defeat and become the slaves of the World Tree. We will also become a member of the World Tree. We are equals with you, and we all have the same ending. Don’t think that anyone has won! Haha… cough… haha…”

The upper echelons of the Star Alliance looked at the crazy Savignes and remained silent. There was only disappointment on their faces, and they even looked at Han Xiao with sympathy. Although they were destined to become a member of the World Tree and would not die, they would lose their sense of self. In their eyes, it was no different from death.

Seeing this, Han Xiao knew what they were thinking. He shook his head and laughed.

“Do you think the three Universal Civilizations have become the slaves of the World Tree? A reasonable deduction, an interesting conjecture… Unfortunately, it’s a completely wrong conclusion.”

Without waiting for the others to react, he raised his palm, and a small World Tree phantom appeared in his palm. It spun around and exuded an astonishing high-level pressure, causing everyone present to feel weak all over. They could not even stand, and collapsed onto the ground one after another.

“Our war has ended, but you guys guessed wrongly. The World Tree was captured by me and has now become my Universal Treasure. In other words… I’m the master of the World Tree Civilization.”

As soon as he said that, Savignes’ crazy, hoarse laughter stopped, like a screaming chicken that had its throat pinched.

He stared at Han Xiao with his eyes wide open.

“Impossible! I don’t believe it! The intelligence said that the World Tree Civilization had the upper hand and almost destroyed your side…”

“Oh? You’re talking about the intelligence sent back by the spies you left in the desolate universe belt?”

Han Xiao interrupted him and said with a teasing tone, “I got someone to make up those battle reports. Isn’t that great?” As soon as he said that, it was as if he had pressed the mute button. Savignes’ anger froze on his face, and the others’ eyes widened.

The room fell silent.

Han Xiao blinked and slowly said, “Your spies have long been discovered by us and transformed into the servants of the World Tree. We have been sending fake intelligence to you all, making you think that we are still in the midst of war. In fact, we had already dealt with the World Tree more than a year ago. What you all saw was just an illusion we made
up.”

At this moment, everyone’s expression was extremely interesting. Thinking about how they had been surprised every time they saw the ‘battle report’ in the past year, everyone felt as if they had eaten a piece of incense.

It turned out that they had been laughing at the fake intelligence that others had fabricated. They had been complacent, proud, and had been toyed with!

At this moment, everyone wished they could tear off their faces and throw them somewhere they could no longer see.

At the same time, an even deeper sense of despair rose in everyone’s hearts. Knowing that this was a mixed attack, they had no hope at all. Their faces were extremely gloomy, knowing that the Star Alliance was finished.

Seeing this, Han Xiao shook his head.

In fact, he felt that the Star Alliance was quite unlucky. Even if these people did not take advantage of the situation to give trouble to the three Universal Civilizations, when he defeated the World Tree, he would still use the Information Form Warning Network to cover all the Star Fields in his territory. This way, the Star Alliance would still have nowhere to hide and would be exposed.

At that time, the Star Alliance would still receive the attention and vigilance of the three Universal Civilizations, and their outcome would probably not be any better. Therefore, the moment the Star Alliance sent their spies to gather information about the galactic society, their outcome was almost certain.

The Star Alliance Leader clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. “What are you going to do to us if you don’t want to devour us?”

Han Xiao glanced at them and said, “I need everyone’s cooperation. As you can see, we have the ability to destroy all the civilizations in the Star Alliance, but I will give your race a chance. Stop resisting, choose to submit, and become our subsidiary… Only then will we give you the right to continue surviving.”

“You could have swallowed us all, why would you do this!” The Star Alliance Leader was furious.

“I want to.” Han Xiao raised his brows, paused, looked at everyone, and continued, “Think about it first. You only have one chance…”

This time, Savignes suddenly roared and interrupted him.

“We will never give up our freedom to become the World Tree’s vassal! You will never be able to enslave us…”

However, before he could finish speaking, Han Xiao flicked his finger, and mechanical particles flew out, forming a sealed mechanical device that covered the lower half of Savignes’ face, blocking all of his roars.

Han Xiao retracted his gaze and said with a calm expression, “It seems like he has already made his choice. Before the destruction of the Lore Civilization, he will not be executed. He will stand here and watch the outcome of his choice… Everyone, it’s your turn. Because I was interrupted just now, I will repeat myself. The three Universal Civilizations won’t even need to put in the effort to destroy you all. If you reject me, you all won’t even have the chance to reproduce under the jurisdiction of the World Tree. Destruction or continuation, think carefully before you speak.”

Everyone’s expression was uncertain, and they fell into a dilemma.

They knew that this was a warning, but it was still very effective. They really wanted to say that they would never become slaves out of spite, but looking at the tragic state of their race on the virtual screen, they only felt the heavy burden on their shoulders become heavier, so heavy that they could not even speak.

At this time, mechanical particles flowed out from under Han Xiao’s robe and turned into a fixed cabin, locking Savignes up.

“There’s no need to hurry. You have plenty of time. Before our fleet destroys your civilization, you can hesitate as much as you want. After all, you’re not the ones who are dying.”

Han Xiao then turned around and left.

The cell door closed behind him, cutting off the sound of Savignes struggling.

Han Xiao did not stop, and the officers of the three Universal Civilizations were already waiting at the door. Seeing this, they quickly followed.

“Your Excellency Black Star, thank you.” Teny nodded.

“It’s nothing. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Han Xiao waved his hands.

He had already helped them to this extent, and the Star Alliance had already lost the ability to resist. The three Universal Civilizations would be more than enough to take care of the rest of the work. With the World Tree Civilization cooperating, he did not need to do anything anymore. The three Universal Civilizations still had the ability to handle such a simple concluding job.

I didn’t expect things to go so smoothly… A civilization that has stepped into the threshold of the Universe Grade was easily destroyed in such a short period of time. My force has already expanded to this level. Han Xiao sighed in his heart before walking away.

Chapter 1456: Logging Out and Returning

Chapter 1456 Logging Out and Returning

After settling the upper echelons of the Star Alliance, Han Xiao had nothing to do and could focus on his own work. The three Universal Civilizations and the World Tree Civilization were both in charge of cleaning up the Star Alliance.

Because the resistance of the Star Alliance had collapsed, it was a piece of cake for the three Universal Civilizations to clean up the migrating troops within the Star Alliance. Originally, the rare war mission was a large-scale event that the players were passionate about, but this time, the three Universal Civilizations did not issue a large-scale gathering order. Only a few players were summoned to deal with the Star Alliance, and most of the players were focused on their own Pro League.

After a long period of preparation, the qualifiers had already begun, and it was already at its climax. Therefore, most of the players were not interested in the Star Alliance war at the moment. They only wanted to hurt each other and participate in the upcoming Pro League.

As Han Xiao had been farming the Sanctum authority for the truth of the universe and Iterations, he did not pay much attention to the players’ Pro League. He took some time to check it out, and he realized that the biggest special feature of this Pro League was a significant increase in the level of combat. The mainstream competitive level had gone from Grade B to Calamity Grade, and the destructive power had increased tremendously.

It was now Version 5.5. Compared to Version 4.0, the level cap had increased from level 150 to level 200. The series of missions in the World Tree War had made the players extremely rich. Although they had watched CGs during the final battle, the results of the battle had brought them a shocking profit.

In the fourth Pro League, the mainstream players were basically Grade Bs. Although they were considered the backbone of the universe, they were still considered weak in the eyes of the top combatants. However, in the fifth Pro League, the gap between the players had grown even wider. Now, the main players of the Pro League had to be at the Calamity Grade.

In the Supers Holy Land, on an uninhabited planet. Qualifiers round, Arena 24.

The battleships of the guilds floated in the air and watched the battle on the ground. They saw two ‘yellow dragons’ that were covered in dust colliding with each other, creating shockwaves from time to time, creating spiderweb-like cracks on the ground.

Two players in heavy armor were moving rapidly on the surface of the planet, fighting each other continuously. They were like walking natural disasters, but their IDs were unfamiliar. They were not professional players from any guild but ordinary players.

These were just two unknown players, but their destructive power was already very outstanding. The players in the sky could not take their eyes off them.

As the players stepped into the Calamity Grade batch by batch, their strength increased collectively, and many of them experienced a qualitative change. In order to ensure the viewership ratings and prevent some professional players from the large guilds from really failing in the qualifiers, many large guilds obtained direct access cards to the official league, so they did not need to take risks in the qualifiers. Although this decreased the excitement of the qualifiers, because there were many dark horses, the players were still very excited. ‘The overall destructive power of the players is getting stronger…’

Outside the atmosphere, Han Xiao’s virtual projection looked down at the planet and took in the scene of the players fighting. He was in stealth mode, and the other players could not see his projection. They were still looking down at the competition, not looking up at the sky.

“Let the players grow a few more versions, and the level cap will be unlocked more and more. They will definitely become the new source of chaos.”

Han Xiao pondered.

Now that the galactic society had formed a new stable structure, it would be peaceful for a long time. It was good for the galactic residents but bad for the players.

After experiencing several versions of events, the players had already eaten big fish and meat, and they had seen big scenes. If they were asked to go back and do the daily side missions, it would definitely be unbearable. If there were no new disasters or big events, the players who were unwilling to remain out of the limelight would definitely become ‘big events’. As their strength increased, they would definitely become more restless, and they would not be satisfied with a leisurely life, which would lead to chaos.

All kinds of thoughts flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. He took a deep look at the players’ spaceships, turned around, and disappeared. On the other side, in the cabins of the players’ spaceships, countless people were staring at the feedback of the competition on the ground on the satellite screen.

The officers of the guilds and clubs were also paying attention to the situation of the qualifiers, noting down the dark horses and discussing softly.

“This year’s competition is really amazing. There are too many strong players.” “I don’t think it’s good. I’ve already seen more than thirty top-notch non-professional players. If our team’s players are really defeated by the normal players, we’ll lose a lot of face.”

“I really hope that the next version is released as soon as possible. The guild’s plans can also be implemented then.” Many guild officers were secretly excited.

As the level cap was unlocked further, the Calamity Grade players of the various guilds experienced a huge increase in size, and the operational capability of the guild organizations also increased.

Currently, many guilds had a large number of Calamity Grade players on their hands, and their strength was enough to dominate a region in the galactic society. In order to maintain the gap between their own pro players and ordinary players, many professional guilds privately created detailed plans for the guild’s operations for the next version, deciding to expand in the universe in the next version.

Although they were watching the Pro League, the thoughts of many guild officers had already drifted away. They could not wait to go all out in the next version.

Han Xiao did not have the time to pay attention to the pro league of the players. To him, this was just a distraction. He buried his head in the machinery factory and almost left all his chores behind. He checked over and over again the feasibility of the World Tree’s Information Form Materialization function breaking through the dark side universe.

As the days flew by, the three Universal Civilizations’ invasion of Star Alliance also gradually came to an end. They had long received the battle reports that Han Xiao had fabricated from the upper echelons of the Star Alliance, and they were speechless at Han Xiao’s bad taste. This guy was f*cking irregular.

However, the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations would not disturb Han Xiao, who was studying how to break the seal on the dark side universe, over such a small matter. They could only pretend that nothing had happened and silently order their people to destroy this ‘dark history’.

In the blink of an eye, more than a year had passed. The three Universal Civilizations had more or less completed dismantling and clearing the Star Alliance, digesting most of the spoils of war, and destroyed this enemy that was lurking behind them.

The fifth Pro League also came to an end during this period. This time, Dynasty Club finally returned to first place and won the championship of the fifth Pro League. Second Prince inherited King Admiral’s position and led the team to win the championship, instantly raising his historical status by a level. He was praised by the club as the ‘cornerstone of the next dynasty’.

Dynasty was the only team that had won the championship twice in the past five Pro Leagues. Their popularity, which had originally fallen slightly, soared like a rocket. The former Dynasty champion captain King Admiral, who was the team’s coach, publicly congratulated Second Prince, expressing his relief. Bun-Hit-Dog called it ‘King’s Baton Pass’, which was accepted by the players and spread on the forums.

This time, the first and second runner-ups were America’s Devil team and Russia’s White Vodka team. Although the Chinese team was not as dominant as before and could not occupy two places in the top three, their performance was still not bad. They had achieved outstanding results in the individual and group competitions.

As the Pro League came to an end, Version 5.5 also came to an end.

In the guild bases of the players on the various planets of the Supers Holy Land, groups of players were gathered, waiting to go offline. They chatted casually, and it was as noisy as a market.

“It’s finally going to be updated again. I wonder how many years it will be this time.” “It should be the main version update now. We should be able to unlock at least 20 levels!”

“I wonder what will happen in the next version. Since even the World Tree has been dealt with, I don’t think anything will be able to shake the current situation of the galactic society.”

“Didn’t you see the Galaxy Times’ deduction? There’s a high chance that internal conflicts will intensify, and Black Star might turn black and become a new boss, fighting against the three Universal Civilizations.”

“Yo, does this mean that we can finally start a massacre? I’m going to turn the world upside down!”

“It would feel so refreshing. I’ve been unhappy with those three old b*stards for a long time. When the time comes, I’ll chop them up to vent my anger.”

“You guys are so disappointing! Compared to this, shouldn’t we be more concerned about whether we can repair the BUG that we can’t get naked in the next version?”

“Yes, yes, yes! If I can’t run around naked in the next version, I’ll definitely complain!”

Hearing the players around her yelling, Maple Moon had a look of disgust on her face. She felt that these people were hopeless.

As they chatted, time slowly passed. When they went offline, a large white light flashed, and batches of players disappeared one after another. The hall became empty.

At the same time, in the private research room of the Supers Holy Land, Han Xiao, who was studying, paused and looked up.

“Hmm, has the version update started again?”

Han Xiao stopped what he was doing and opened the interface to take a look. The forums were closed once again. This meant that the time flow between the dark side universe and the true universe was disconnected once again, turning into two independent systems. He was the only stable information interference bridge left.

During this period of time, he had repeatedly studied the feasibility of the conversion plan, and he was now more than seventy percent confident. Although he had made some technical contributions, most of it was thanks to the tests and improvements of the previous dark side Iterations.

Han Xiao shook his head and closed the interface. Just as he was about to enter the research again, Phillip suddenly appeared.

“Master, hum, Her Excellency Ames is in your office. She wants to see you, hum.”

“Oh, I got it. I’ll be right there.”

Han Xiao rubbed the space between his brows. He had no choice but to put down his research and head to his office.

The moment he entered, he saw Ames sitting in his seat with her back facing the door.

Hearing the noise, Ames turned her chair around, and her long legs extended out from under her black dress. She sat down and looked at Han Xiao with a smile that was not a smile. “Busy man, it’s not easy to see you.” “I’ve been very busy recently. You know that.” Han Xiao walked around the table and came to the back of the chair. He placed his hands on both sides of Ames’ forehead and gently massaged it.

Ames closed her eyes comfortably, but her mouth did not stop. She chuckled and said, “That’s right, there’s no time when you’re not busy. If I didn’t come to find you occasionally, I would have suspected that you had forgotten about me.”

“What are you saying? You’re just spouting nonsense. You deserve to be punished.” Han Xiao curled his lips, and a faint electric current appeared on his finger, causing Ames’ eyelashes to tremble.

Ames avoided Han Xiao’s finger and slapped his hand away. She then stood up and said seriously,

“I don’t understand. The World Tree has been dealt with, and the three Universal Civilizations have given in. We don’t have any safety concerns now, so why are you still so busy? Where did you get the pressure P”.

“… This is a secret that I can’t tell you yet. In any case, it’s very tricky.” Han Xiao shook his head. It would be useless to tell the Beyond Grade As about the secrets of the Iterations, so he did not tell anyone other than the heads of the three Universal Civilizations.

“Do you still remember what I said back then? Ambition is never-ending. When are you willing to stop? Do you really want to replace the three Universal Civilizations?” Ames frowned. “What is it that you have to hide so closely? Can’t you just say it out loud and let everyone bear the consequences?” “You can’t help…”

Han Xiao hesitated for a moment before touching Ames’ cheek. “This should be the last time. I will keep us all alive.”

Hearing this, Ames’ eyes changed. Although she did not know what Han Xiao was hiding, she could hear the seriousness in Han Xiao’s tone. A situation which even a Transcendent found difficult to deal with, had to be some kind of problem that she could not imagine.

Just as Ames was about to ask, the communicator in the room suddenly beeped.

It was a message from Marbruce. There was only one content…

The Sanctum exploration team was finally back!

Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.

“I have something to do, so I’ll leave first. I’ll accompany you next time.”

Han Xiao quickly changed into King.

Ames opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but the next moment, Han Xiao activated teleportation and disappeared from the room.

Looking at the empty room, Ames clenched and unclenched her fists. She repeated this a few times before taking a deep breath and suppressing the complicated emotions in her heart.

The subordinate that once needed her protection was now an existence that she could only look up to. She was increasingly feeling that it was harder for her to keep up with Han Xiao.

Although Ames had a cold personality and rarely bothered herself with such matters, she would still feel a sense of loss after so many years. Even though Han Xiao’s attitude toward her remained the same, Ames knew that she could no longer share Han Xiao’s worries.

Chapter 1457: Plan

Chapter 1457 Plan

In a certain military-restricted area in the Central Galaxy, the location of the Sanctum channel that had once been summoned had already been tightly sealed. There were densely packed space armed fortresses and large fleet troops scattered all around, and the security was tight.

Suddenly, a beam of light lit up in the darkness and slowly expanded, turning into three Sanctum channels that led to the white world. They floated quietly in space like three miniature white holes. In the dazzling light door, three black shadows gradually grew larger and larger. They were the spaceships that the three Universal Civilizations had sent to explore the Sanctum.

A group of soldiers immediately flew out from the military base and led the three spaceships back to the fortress. The members of the ship walked out under the support of their comrades. Most of them looked dazed, as though they were out of their mind. Their eyes were dull and their reactions slow.

Only Clotti, Oulou, and the Beyond Grade A from the Arcane Church seemed to be in a better state. However, their faces were still filled with shock, and their legs were trembling.

Right at this moment, a faint light flashed, and the remote projection of the three Universal Civilizations’ Rulers appeared. They immediately surrounded the group with a nervous expression.

“How’s the situation? Did you guys get the information from the Sanctum?”

Clotti’s eyes were focused, and he was stunned for a few seconds before he seemed to come back to his senses. He nodded with a serious expression.

“The scene in the Sanctum is exactly the same as what Black Star said. We have already seen the records on the Sanctum’s message board. The truth about the Alterations of the Universe is indeed on it. In addition, we also obtained some information about the Alterations of the past from the Sanctum. Although it’s not much, it’s still a piece of evidence.”

Hearing this, the heads of the three Universal Civilizations took a deep breath. Although they knew that Han Xiao was not lying, they were still shocked.

At this moment, Louis suddenly lowered his voice and said, “Has the Sanctum Revival experiment succeeded?”.

“It’s true.” Clotti raised his palm and showed the Sanctum Revival mark on the back of his hand. It was exactly the same as in the records.

The three of them finally relaxed and nodded silently. In order to prove the authenticity of the Sanctum and prevent themselves from being tricked by Black Star again, the three Universal Civilizations took out a few mediums of their late direct descendants and gave them to Clotti and the others to test if the Sanctum Revival was feasible. If it failed, it would mean that the Sanctum that they had entered was full of tricks. It could be that Black Star had deliberately built this alternate dimension to trick them. If they succeeded, they would be able to prove that it was the real Sanctum.

Back then, when he asked Black Star to help revive the direct Beyond Grade As, the three Universal Civilizations’ Ruler had said that he had taken out all the mediums of the late direct descendants, but he had actually hidden a small portion of the late direct descendants, claiming that he did not have these mediums, so as to guard against Black Star and prevent any accidents. Even when Black Star proved that the Sanctum Revival was reliable, the three Universal Civilizations did not reveal this. They planned to use it as test material when they researched the Sanctum in the future, and it was now useful.

Ta ta ta…

At this time, the sound of footsteps could be heard from afar. Han Xiao, who had teleported over, walked over in large strides. Before anyone could say anything, he grabbed Clotti’s hand and raised it in front of his eyes.

“What are you doing?” Clotti was shocked. He subconsciously wanted to break free, but he realized that he could not move Han Xiao’s fingers at all.

The heads of the three Universal Civilizations thought that Han Xiao was concerned about the Sanctum Revival Mark, and their hearts tightened. They were worried that Black Star would hold a grudge against them for trying the Sanctum Revival in private.

However, they were wrong. Now that things had come to this, Han Xiao would not pay attention to these details. He revealed his Sanctum authority mark, and Clotti’s palm immediately produced feedback, showing his own Sanctum authority mark as well.

One of the symbols was complicated and exquisite, while the other was simple and plain. This was the difference between a max-level authority and a level-one authority.

Seeing this, Han Xiao then let go of Clotti and said,

“How is it? How does it feel to enter and exit the Sanctum? Does it feel like you were hallucinating?”

Clotti rubbed his painful wrist and hesitated for a moment before saying, “Indeed, I feel like I’m sleepwalking. Although I can still control my body, my senses seem to be separated by a layer. It’s not like I can move freely under normal circumstances. It’s more like I’m controlling my body through a third-person perspective. My brain and body are no longer one…” “This was your first time in there, so it’s normal for you to feel this way… although I’ve never experienced the feeling of having a low authority.” Han Xiao patted his shoulder. “Your authority is too low, and you spent a lot of time. We’ve been waiting for you in the main universe for a long time.”

Clotti and the others looked at the time and were shocked. It had been a year or two since they left. They had only stayed in the Sanctum for a few hours.

“Just get used to it. When your authority gets higher, the flow of time in the Sanctum will slowly converge with the main universe.”

Han Xiao casually explained before turning to look at the heads of the three Universal Civilizations.

“How is it? Did you guys get the information you wanted? Do you believe me now?”

Marbruce nodded. “We’ve confirmed the truth about the Universe Iterations. It’s exactly as you said.”

At this time, the Pope said, “It’s just that our authority is too low, so we can’t see all the information on the Sanctum’s message board. Therefore, we still can’t investigate the secrets of the Final Three Universal Civilizations and the Dark Side Universe that you mentioned…”

Hearing this, Han Xiao opened his eyes wide and found it funny.

“Why? Don’t tell me you want me to help you access the Sanctum until you unlock all the messages on the boards?”.

“If you don’t mind, we would be honored…”

“Get lost.”

“Ahem, we can understand why you’re not willing…”

The three of them looked embarrassed.

“It’s true that I can help you complete the great deeds that you have done for many generations, but don’t push your luck.” Han Xiao crossed his arms and said with a frown, “I have already done enough for the galactic society. I have already given you enough sincerity, but you guys are still skeptical of me. It was like this when we dealt with the World Tree, and it is still the same now. To be honest, if you guys still doubt me, we can just dissolve this partnership.”

“Don’t, don’t, don’t. We just need to think about it because of the big picture. We don’t suspect you… Let’s go to the office and have a chat.”

The three of them quickly surrounded Han Xiao and explained, leading him to the private conference room.

After closing the door and confirming that there were no outsiders, Marbruce coughed and said,

“Black Star, we believe in the intelligence of the Dark Side Universe. Now that we’ve verified that the Sanctum’s intelligence is not fake, let’s talk about the topic we didn’t finish last time. How do you plan to break the seal of the Dark Side Universe and let us return to the real universe?”

“Two ways.” Han Xiao raised two fingers.

“What are they?” The three of them perked up and listened carefully.

Han Xiao paused to gather these thoughts before explaining slowly.

“The first is to follow the route of the three Universal Civilizations in the first two dark sides and use the Information Form Materialization device normally. Although the World Tree has mutated and changed its nature, it still has the core function of being an Information Form Materialization device. I’ve already dug it out.”

“What about the second one?”

“Secondly, I still have to use the Information Form Materialization device, but it has to be combined with my Virtual Creation ability.” The three of them looked at each other in confusion.

Marbruce said with a puzzled tone, “Aren’t both of them using Information Form Materialization devices? What’s the difference?”

“The difference is in my position. In the first plan, the success rate depends entirely on whether the information interference bridge has met the prerequisite requirement for conversion, which means that this predetermined route may still fail. As for the second plan, I can use my own abilities. The principle is… well, let’s not talk about the principle. Anyway, none of you can understand it. In any case, I feel that it can increase the success rate of conversion… The only concern is that the two previous dark side iterations have never tried my new method before, so there might be some uncertain factors.”

Han Xiao shook his head.

The first plan was to use him as a tool, a ‘medium’ to activate the Information Form Materialization device. In the second plan, he was the executor of the device… The difference between the two was the leader.

After fusing with the World Tree, Han Xiao studied it carefully and finally allowed his (Virtual Creation) skill to transform. After removing the ‘Pseudo’ part, the effect of the skill had changed drastically. It had the same function as the core ability found in the Information Form Materialization device and could resonate with each other.

The three of them hesitated and discussed softly. Han Xiao did not rush them.

After a few minutes, Marbruce looked up and asked, “What is the estimated success rate of these two plans?”

Han Xiao shrugged. “The first plan has a fifty percent success rate, and the second plan has a seventy percent success rate, but the risk is unknown.”

Louis pondered and said, “Why don’t we try the first plan? If it doesn’t work, we can try the second one.”

“Hmm, it can be done, but the stable interference bridge might be damaged in the case of a failure. At that time, even if you want to regret it, you won’t have the chance to do so. Therefore, I personally suggest that it’s best to do it in one go.” Han Xiao shrugged.

“…We need to think about it.”

“Alright, you have plenty of time, but the preparations for the two proposals are more or less the same. During this time, mobilize the galactic society and get ready.” “Okay.”

The three of them nodded and disconnected from the remote projection. They could not wait to go back and discuss it.

Han Xiao was the only one left in the conference room. He looked at where the three of them disappeared and curled his lips.

In fact, he had hidden a third plan, which was to use the World Tree to swallow the entire universe and “compress” it in his body, forming a complete and independent “information assembly”. This way, it would reduce the difficulty of the actualization of information. In his opinion, the success rate of this plan could exceed eighty percent.

However, even if he used his chest muscles to think, he knew that the three Universal Civilizations would definitely not agree to this plan. They might even start to doubt his motives for helping. In addition, this process was truly too long. Who knew how long it would take for the World Tree to devour the entire dark side universe? Just the journey alone would take countless years, and he did not really want to utilize this plan. Therefore, Han Xiao decided not to say anything and kept it to himself.

“I hope the three Universal Civilizations choose the second plan… Hmm, but even if they don’t choose the second plan, I’ll still do it.”

Han Xiao clicked his tongue.

Letting the three Universal Civilizations choose was mainly to give them a feeling of ‘participation’… When the galactic society was ready to officially begin the transformation, it would still be up to him.

Chapter 1458: Information Form Anchor (1)

Chapter 1458 Information Form Anchor (1)

Han Xiao teleported back to the office in the Supers Holy Land’s main planet. The meeting with the three Universal Civilizations went much faster than expected, but Ames did not wait. She had already left, and the room was empty. “Where did she go?”

“Her Excellency Ames has gone to look for Aurora. Should I inform her to come over?”

“There’s no need. I’ll look for her later.”

Han Xiao casually expressed his concern and did not ask further. His expression was not as relaxed as when he was talking to the three Universal Civilizations’ rulers, but rather, he had a lot on his mind.

He told the leaders of the three Universal Civilizations that he was worried that the stable interference bridge would be damaged during the conversion. This was not a lie, but a real concern.

After this period of testing, he realized that as a medium for conversion, when he officially activated the Information Form Materialization device, he would suffer a large amount of information impact and temporarily form a connection with the universe consciousness. During the process of reverse conversion to the True State, the interface, as a specialty of the dark side universe, would gradually lose its effect, so the Character Summon Cards could not be used continuously during the conversion process. If he wanted to maintain his consciousness and maintain the effect of (Virtual CreationTrue], he would need to strengthen his Information Form base and add some ‘Information Form Anchors’ to prevent himself from being unable to hold on and cause the information interference channel to break.

He did not disclose these details, and no one else could help him. It would only add to his troubles.

“The so-called Information Form Anchor should be my understanding of myself, my connection with the World Tree, and my past memories…”

Han Xiao pondered.

This was a rather mysterious perception. If one did not reach the Transcendent Grade, they would not be able to have such an intuition-tracing back to the past and commemorating the past might be the way to deepen the Information Form Anchor.

“The three Universal Civilizations are about to start preparing. I have to start preparing too…”

Han Xiao then changed into another King and disappeared from the room.

lore

Shattered Star Ring, Planet Aquamarine. The planet that had been abandoned for more than ten years was rebuilt after the people of Planet Aquamarine relocated. The old buildings covered by nature were demolished and rebuilt. The entire planet looked completely new.

ve

There was only one place that had not been renovated. The large ruins were already covered in wild green vegetation, and the large number of building wreckage stuck in the ground had already rusted. These were the ruins of the Germinal Organization. It laid quietly on the wasteland, as silent as ever. Only the traces left behind by time seemed to be telling the past.

Three people were strolling around the ruins, stopping from time to time to observe. “…Back then, your godfather and I fought side by side and destroyed the Germinal Organization. He infiltrated this place alone and stole countless key secrets. He even saved Hila and Aurora, who were still young at that time. He fought for thousands of miles before giving the information to us. In the end, the war was decided in one fell swoop, and the Six Nations no longer had anything to worry about. The Germinal Organization was destroyed with a nuclear explosion. It was also on that day that Planet Aquamarine was reborn.”

Bennett caressed the remains of a huge metal plate. He wiped off the rust on it with his palm, revealing a blurry Germinal Organization insignia. A complicated look appeared in his eyes, as though he was reminiscing about the war years ago.

Nero, who was standing behind him, took a few steps forward and placed his hand on the metal wreckage as well. “I’ve seen these things in my textbooks, but every time I come to the Germinal Organization ruins, I always feel as though I’m there, as though I’ve experienced a battle that changed the fate of this planet.”

Bennett turned to look at him, shook his head, and laughed. He then took back his hand and sighed. “Thinking about it carefully, Black Star’s appearance when he was young is like a completely different person compared to the current him. Sigh, when one is old, one loves to reminisce about the past.” “You’re not old yet,” Mia, who was holding a baby, said with a smile.

Bennett laughed out loud and walked to Mia. He bent down and looked at the baby in Mia’s arms. At this moment, he was staring at him with his eyes wide open. He chuckled and extended his short arms.

“Yo, my good grandson, let grandpa carry
you.”

Bennett’s face was filled with kindness, and his arm, which could easily crush steel, carefully took over his grandson. He held his grandson in his arms and shook him gently.

Nero also came over with a face full of envy.

Although he was the child’s father, the moment he hugged his son, the child would cry nonstop. Instead, his son would only be able to sleep peacefully in his grandfather Bennett’s arms.

After the war ended, Nero and Mia had a baby, which made Bennett feel very happy.

Considering that Nero had become the acting Army Commander and that Planet Aquamarine was on the right track, Bennett decided to give up his position as the leader of the Aquamarine Federation after much consideration. Originally, many of the upper echelons did not agree and wished for Bennett to be re-elected. However, he had already made up his mind and was determined to give up his position. He was no longer in charge of any duties and had retired to enjoy the happiness of a family.

Bennett played with the baby for a while before asking Nero, “Have you tested his Super-Gene?”

“I did. The report said that his Super-Gene is extremely active and rare. He might be an extremely talented Esper in the future.” Nero was overjoyed.

“Is that so? That’s not too bad.” Bennett nodded and stroked the baby’s sparse hair. The three of them played with the baby and walked away slowly.

Suddenly, the space around the area fluctuated slightly, and Han Xiao’s figure walked out. He stood still and watched as the three left.

“How beautiful…”

Han Xiao muttered to himself and turned to look at the Germinal Organization ruins. His path was already very far, but when he looked back, his past on this planet seemed to be right before his eyes, just yesterday.

Old memories flooded in like a tidal wave, and in a daze, images flashed past his eyes. He had transmigrated to the Germinal Organization base, spent half a year in darkness, escaped with great difficulty, drove an off-road vehicle under the moonlight, left Stardragon and transformed into Black Phantom, walked alone in the Wasteland, infiltrated the Germinal Organization to steal intelligence, and was chased for thousands of miles. The headquarters of the Germinal Organization had been reduced to ashes in the dazzling nuclear explosion…

Similarly, human figures flashed in his eyes. The young Hila who was determined to enter the Abyss but was eventually dragged back by him, the young Aurora who was still optimistic about being saved by him despite being tortured, Bennett who worked hard to end the battle, the Germinal Organization leader who did not regret even after reaching the end of the road…

The tragedy of the Mutation Disaster that followed also appeared before his eyes. The chaotic world, the crazy crowd, the endless beast tide, the spaceships that fell from the sky, the blazing cannons… everything came from DarkStar.

“Two full versions of disasters. This place is really full of trouble and misfortune…”

Han Xiao closed his eyes. The storyline of Version 1.0 and Version 2.0 flashed through his mind.

After a long time, he opened his eyes. He felt that his mind was calm, and there seemed to be some subtle changes in his body.

Somehow, the foundation of his Information Form seemed to have become thicker. It seemed like he had already set the first Information Form Anchor and connected it to Planet Aquamarine.

“Planet Aquamarine…”

Han Xiao slowly rose into the air. He looked down at the ruins of the Germinal Organization, then at the bustling city at the end of the horizon. He turned around and disappeared.

Chapter 1459: Information Form Anchor (2)

Chapter 1459 Information Form Anchor (2)

The dark and deep universe seemed to be decorated with a curtain of diamonds. A silvery-white planet was rotating quietly. The surface of the planet was made of metal, and there were mechanical towers with sharp edges. They were connected to each other in the air, forming matrix-like patterns. The neat layout had an exquisite mechanical aesthetic.

This was the new main planet of Han Xiao’s machinery civilization. It was located in the Supers Holy Land and was completely created by the Mechanical Lives. The size of the planet was extremely large, and it was integrated with the matter of several planets. The former Planet Apostle was also broken down and integrated into this planet.

Originally, Psionic Prime and the other Mechanical Oracles wanted to name this new main planet ‘Black Star Planet’ as a sign of respect for the Lord God Black Star, but they were firmly rejected by Han Xiao. In the end, Psionic Prime and the other Oracles changed their minds and named this planet ‘Holy Planet’.

On the bustling alloy path, mechanical lives of all shapes and sizes were bustling about. Some mechanical life’s feet clashed with the ground as they walked, and some mechanical life’s tires rubbed against the ground as they drove. Some mechanical life’s engine tanks were constantly rumbling, and some mechanical life’s exhaust pipes would spurt out gas from time to time, forming a strange tune with a strong mechanical feeling.

Han Xiao walked among the mechanical army. His entire body was covered in camouflage, and he looked like an ordinary mechanical life form. All the nearby mechanical lives could not detect his presence. “This place is becoming more and more prosperous…”

Han Xiao was glad.

After taking in the World Tree, he no longer needed the machinery civilization to produce mechanical soldiers all day. Thus, he stopped the basic command of troop production and allowed the machinery civilization to develop on its own. This was the first time he had carefully observed the changes of the machinery civilization after the war.

Han Xiao’s walking speed was slow, as though he was taking a stroll. His eyes kept looking left and right, sizing up the machines on the street.

Although the Mechanical Lives were produced in batches, and many of them had the same model, there were almost no identical Mechanical Lives on the streets. Even if they were Mechanical Lives of the same model, they added all kinds of personalized structures to themselves through self-modification. Some liked guns, some liked sharp blades, some liked heavy equipment, and some liked to run around naked… From the perspective of a normal life, it would be like the difference in clothes, hairstyle, makeup, and accessories.

In the shops along the street, Han Xiao also saw all kinds of products. Most of them were modification shops and parts malls. There were all kinds of mechanical parts and even different colored paints. The customer flow was huge, and there were mechanical lives coming in and out every second, ‘trying on clothes’.

Other than that, he also saw the specialty snack shop. The chef robot inside was cooking oil, lubricant maintenance gel, energy blocks, and other items. It placed them in a large pot to stir and cook, making all kinds of strange foods. Han Xiao took one and tried it. It tasted so bad that it almost broke his defenses.

However, the other Mechanical Lives that came to purchase left in satisfaction and enjoyed their meal. In their eyes, it was a rare delicacy. There were also a few pairs of couple-like Mechanical Lives feeding each other.

Han Xiao also saw the sensory stimulation shop. To mechanical lives, it was like an entertainment venue. Inside, it was connected to all kinds of senses and emotions, directly stimulating the artificial intelligence core. At the cost of a large sum, the mechanical lives could even directly upgrade their own emotion module through the shop’s main system.

In a small alley at the side, Han Xiao saw a few small robots surrounding the alloy wall and doodling. Seeing that someone was coming, they quickly dispersed and flew away on electromagnetic wheels, like a bunch of rebellious street kids. The doodling on the wall was extremely wild, filled with a large amount of twisted bright colors. One could vaguely see that it was a portrait of the Supreme Heavenly Venerate.

In the originally cold and strict mechanical group, there was a strong personalization. A free culture was popular, and Han Xiao could see worldly customs from a group of mechanical bodies.

“The life of a Mechanical Life is quite similar…’

Han Xiao smiled.

All along, he had mainly treated the machinery civilization as a weapon factory and did not pay much attention to the changes in the life of the machinery civilization. It was only when he allowed the machinery civilization to reproduce freely that he finally saw the cultural trend.

As the Creator, he could guide the culture of the machinery civilization, but he did not do so. Instead, he allowed it to take shape naturally.

Only now did he feel that the machinery civilization was a little ‘civilized’.

As he walked, Han Xiao realized that he had arrived at a huge mechanical square. There were two statues standing in the middle of the square, both of which were him. One was his normal self, and the other was his body in the Supreme Heavenly Venerate mechanical body.

The mechanical lives in the square were endless, and no one paid any attention to the statues. At most, they would stop and look at them for a second before walking away to continue their own lives. Their respect for Han Xiao was no longer as rigid as before but rather placed in their ‘hearts’. Han Xiao came to the foot of the statue and looked up. Suddenly, he saw a tall mechanical life carrying a small mechanical body that looked similar.

He turned around and saw that it seemed to be a harmonious father and son pair. The father let the child ride on his neck and kept teasing him.

Han Xiao silently watched this scene. Images of the machinery civilization following him for the past few decades appeared in his mind. Countless mechanical lives were sent to the battlefield under his orders and used as cannon fodder. Countless unique sparks of consciousness were born in the AI chip circuit, disappearing into the cold universe together with the broken body.

Although he treated the Mechanical Lives as tools, due to the restrictions of the basic logic, they did not have any complaints. They buried their hobbies and interests and fought for him with their lives, still respecting him as the Creator.

“I don’t need you guys to fight for me anymore. Enjoy your new life…”

Han Xiao shook his head. He would not cancel the base logic of the Mechanical Civilization’s reverence for him, but he did not plan to order the Mechanical Civilization to fight either. He had already mastered the World Tree and (Virtual Creation-True), so he no longer needed these mechanical lives to work for him.

He took one last look at his statues, and memories flowed in his mind. He felt another Information Form Anchor being set up, and only then did he turn around and disappear into the bustling crowd.

In the new headquarters of the Black Star Army in Supers Holy Land.

Han Xiao strolled around the base and hid himself. No one noticed his presence.

The huge base was very lively. Countless members of the Black Star Army were working there. People came and went, and from time to time, there would be people talking and laughing as they walked past Han Xiao.

He strolled around slowly and arrived at the area where the upper echelons were working. He saw Herlous, who was working on the desk, Sylvia, who was still trying to break through to Beyond Grade A, Aroshia, who was staring at the starry sky outside the window, Lagi, who was slacking, and Reynold, who had been maintaining the logistics department for decades…

Looking at the current state of the Black Star Army, Han Xiao was a little dazed. The difficult memories from when he first started his force surfaced in his mind.

He remembered that he had just entered the galaxy back then, and he was still a ‘country bumpkin’ who had come from a surface civilization. He was completely broke, and the only thing he could rely on was the cannon in his hand.

These old comrades had followed him to build the army’s current foundation and grew to where it was today with a third-rate mercenary group.

Everything seemed to have happened yesterday, and his memories were still fresh. The scenes of Herlous, Aroshia, Sylvia, and the others becoming mercenaries with him appeared in his mind. At that time, everyone was very young and fought with their lives on the line. Now, almost a hundred years had passed, and everyone had become important figures in the galaxy. They no longer needed to do things by themselves, and they had already achieved success. They now had a different life.

Thinking back, Han Xiao could not help but sigh at the passing of time. Everyone, including himself, had more or less changed. Perhaps they all missed their old selves even more… At the start, they were always the freshest, and in the future, they would always look at each other with disgust. As their careers progressed, their viewpoints changed, giving them the feeling of ‘if time could stop at the moment when we first started’.

However, even though he was emotional, he still preferred the spiraling trend of things, allowing the path ahead to continue expanding and welcoming all kinds of changes.

Memories of the rise and expansion of the Black Star Army flashed through Han Xiao’s mind. Suddenly, he felt another Information Form Anchor being generated. He nodded and disappeared.

At the same time, Herlous, Sylvia, Lagi, and the others, who were doing their own things, suddenly had a thought. For some reason, Han Xiao’s figure suddenly appeared in their minds, and they could not get rid of it. They subconsciously thought of the dusty memories when they first fought with Han Xiao, and they stopped what they were doing and remained silent.

“What’s wrong with me… Why do I suddenly miss Black Star so much?”

Chapter 1460: Information Form Anchor (3)

Chapter 1460 Information Form Anchor (3)

Holy Accord’s headquarters.

Han Xiao teleported over. Under everyone’s surprised gazes, he passed through the complicated corridor and arrived at the confinement room of Destiny’s Child.

Destiny’s Child, who was soaking in the solution, woke up. He leaned closer and placed his hand on the inner wall of the container. Han Xiao smiled and placed his palm on the container.

This time, an experimenter walked over and asked curiously, “Your Excellency Black Star, what are your orders this time?” “Release Destiny’s Child.” Han Xiao pursed his mouth.

The experimenter was stunned and said with uncertainty, “Are you kidding? If we let it go, it will be very difficult to catch it again…”

“Let it go.” Han Xiao shook his head.

“Er… although you’re also the leader of the Holy Accord, it’s best if His Excellency Beiger gives the order personally…”

“It’s alright. I’ve already told him.”

Han Xiao showed Beiger’s message and patted the researcher’s shoulder.

“…I understand.”

The experimenter did not understand, but he still did as he was told. He terminated the operation of the information stabilization device and put away the storage container, removing all restrictions on Destiny’s Child.

Destiny’s Child was finally exposed to the outside world, but he did not immediately enter the high-dimensional information form to escape. Instead, he floated beside Han Xiao and looked around curiously, as though surprised that he was released.

“You’ve helped me quite a bit. I believe that freedom is a pretty good reward.” Han Xiao smiled and raised his hand to show the Destiny’s Child mark on the back of his hand. “Also, we’ve already formed a connection. I just hope that you can help me one last time…”

With a slight exchange of consciousness, Destiny’s Child understood what Han Xiao meant. He nodded lightly, and his body slowly turned into a high-dimensional information form, disappearing without a trace.

“Will this really not be a problem? If we don’t control Destiny’s Child, and allow him to trigger the information state disturbances again, many more children will be born…” the experimenter could not help but say.

“It’s alright, that’s what I’m hoping.”

Han Xiao waved his hands.

He had formed a connection with Destiny’s Child, and their consciousness could communicate at any time. He hoped to use the information connection between Destiny’s Child and many of his children to form a large net, forming a new information anchor point.

In addition, he suspected that Destiny’s Child was not simple. Ever since he entered the dark side universe, he seemed to have been indirectly entangled with Destiny’s Child… He had a feeling that Destiny’s Child might not be a pure Primal Esper Ability Entity.

“If I’m not wrong, Destiny’s Child has a special ability mechanism. He might have some kind of special connection with the Dark Side Universal Consciousness. He might even be one of the unconscious incarnations of the Dark Side Universal Consciousness.”

Han Xiao thought to himself. He put on the King and disappeared.

One day later, in the conference room of the upper echelons of the Supers Holy Land.

There were more than ten Beyond Grade As in the room, and Aurora sat in the main seat, maintaining her sisterly posture. Her long hair was tied up, and her slightly round and exquisite face tried to maintain a serious expression. “…I have already reviewed the recent reports. I discovered that the results of your work did not meet the expectations of the previous quarter. Although the Supers Holy Land has a stable position now, we are a force that has been established for just a few years. It is not the time to be lazy. I hope that everyone can take their jobs seriously…”

Aurora kept a straight face and criticized the people present.

This meeting had already been going on for some time. She had initiated this small-scale meeting to encourage some of the upper echelons so that they would not slack off. Black Star had not been in charge recently, and Aurora had been acting as the leader for a long time. Now, she had also built up some prestige. The dozen or so people present gave her face and silently received the criticisms.

After talking for a while, Aurora finally stopped and said in a gentler tone, “Alright, that’s all for today. I hope everyone can go back and supervise their respective departments and relay my message. Meeting dismissed.”

Everyone nodded and left the room.

Only then did Aurora relax her body, no longer maintaining her smart and capable attitude. She grumbled at Han Xiao for not doing anything and left through another door.

After everyone left, Han Xiao’s virtual figure appeared in the room. He looked in the direction where Aurora had left and smiled with relief.

Although Aurora liked to act young in front of him, they were actually around the same age. Han Xiao was quite happy to see Aurora acting dignified and serious. Now, she had more or less the aura of a leader, and she no longer needed someone else to protect her.

“She’s no longer the little girl who needs protection…”

Han Xiao shook his head and smiled before walking around.

A weak song suddenly sounded, and Han Xiao followed the sound to the rooftop.

Feidin was holding onto Chen Xing, and the two of them were on a date. They were sticking to each other as though superglued together.

The Soul Swapper had separated their souls a long time ago, but the experience of existing as one had allowed the two of them to know each other’s personalities even if they were separated. They only needed one look to guess what the other was thinking. There was no wall of hearts that could not be understood by the two, only the tacit understanding of soul mates.

Han Xiao still remembered the reason Feidin and Chen Xing had coexisted as one. It was as if they had met by fate, and in the end, it became a puzzle that fit into their lives.

All these years, his life had been smooth sailing, and it was also because of Feidin’s good luck. His military medals, a small part of them was due to Feidin. “Tsk, a winner in life…”

Han Xiao looked at them from afar and left the rooftop quietly.

He could not help but think of Hila. Speaking of which, he and Hila had met each other by fate as well. On the first day he came to the dark side of the universe, he had already formed a bond with Hila. Back then, they were still enemies. He did not expect that they would support each other and travel together to this day.

With a thought, Han Xiao arrived at Hila’s residence. She had built the house beside the advanced cultivation room. Even though it was peaceful now, she did not slack off.

Hila had just finished her first round of training, so she left the training room. She returned to her room and a strange skeleton beast resembling a dog and a cat pounced on her.

Hila’s usually indifferent face revealed a doting smile. She bent down and picked up the little skeleton beast, stroking its smooth and white bones. The little beast stretched comfortably in her arms.

Han Xiao tilted his head, surprised. This was the first time he had seen Hila raise a pet.

Although this pet looked a little scary in his eyes, in the eyes of Hila, who controlled the power of death, this little skeleton beast was probably quite cute. As the saying went, beauty lay in the eyes of the beholder.

Seeing Hila slowly play with her pet, Han Xiao felt a little strange.

“Raising a pet doesn’t seem like something she would do…”

In his eyes, Hila’s personality had always been strong and cold. She pursued greater strength and would not waste her energy on unnecessary things, making people stay away from her. Now that she had a hobby… well, having a hobby made her more of a normal person.

“This is good. She finally found some interest in life…”

Han Xiao turned around and left.

He strolled around the Supers Holy Land and observed the lives of the various Beyond Grade As. He saw many Beyond Grade As who no longer needed to fight with others and focused on their careers. It was as if most of them had found the peace and quiet that they had not felt in a long time. Very soon, Han Xiao arrived at the business department and saw it bustling. In the office, a group of executives was queuing up to receive Sorokin’s instructions.

He took a closer look and saw that Sorokin’s body was emitting a faint light, and he was in the revival state. His face was full of energy, and he was in high spirits as he arranged the business plans in an orderly manner.

Under Sorokin’s leadership, the economic development of the Supers Holy Land had been booming. Sorokin felt as though he had met a second spring in his career, and he had finally found a stage to showcase his strength.

Not long after, Han Xiao walked past all the departments and finally arrived at the square. There were statues of all the Beyond Grade As there.

His gaze swept across everyone’s statues, and the experiences he had with the Beyond Grade As over the past few decades surfaced in his mind. Under the hard work of himself and a few pinnacle Beyond Grade As, the Beyond Grade As had gone from a pile of loose sand to a tightly-knit collective of benefits. The creation of the Supers Holy Land gave everyone a place of refuge, bearing witness to the fruits of their decades of hard work.

Although there was some animosity between them, in the end, these hundreds of statues represented the Beyond Grade As who had fought alongside him for decades. They could be considered comrades who had fought together.

“We can be considered partners…”

Han Xiao closed his eyes and vaguely felt a new information anchor being generated. He then turned around and left.

At the same time, all the Beyond Grade As in the Supers Holy Land suddenly felt something and looked up in the direction where Han Xiao had disappeared.

Half a day later, Han Xiao, as an uninvited guest, arrived in the Mechanical Race territory.

The Mechanical Race was no stranger to a big shot like Han Xiao, and they welcomed him.

A young Mechanic came out to receive them and brought Han Xiao to the guest room.

“Your Excellency Black Star, may I ask why you’re here?” As soon as he sat down, the young Mechanic asked curiously.

“I want to meet Manison and catch up with him.”

Han Xiao smiled.

Among the many Beyond Grade A comrades, Manison was the most special one.

The two of them had been ‘in love’ for decades, and Han Xiao had even ‘inherited’ many of Manison’s abilities. Therefore, Manison had a special position in Han Xiao’s heart. He felt that Manison might be able to bring him a new Information Form Anchor, so he came to visit.

However, this young Mechanic shook his head and rejected his request.

“I’m sorry, Your Excellency Black Star. His Excellency Mechanic Emperor is going to conduct a long period of closed-door research. No visitor is to be allowed.”

“Me too?”

“My teacher has already instructed me, especially you…” the young Mechanic replied carefully. “Heh, this guy really doesn’t hide it at all. I thought our relationship had eased up a lot.”

Han Xiao then sized up the young man before him and asked,

“You’re Manison’s student? What’s your name?”

“Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am a new student that my teacher accepted two years ago. My name is Marigo Morgan, and I am temporarily in charge of the Mechanical Race’s affairs for him. Greetings, Your Excellency Black Star.” This person nodded politely.

“He actually accepted a new student and didn’t even inform me.” Han Xiao was amazed.

Seeing that Manison was not willing to reminisce, Han Xiao did not hesitate and expressed his intention to leave.

Arriving at the Moon Platform, Han Xiao was about to board the ship and leave when he suddenly realized that a new Information Form Anchor had been created.

He looked back at the depths of the Mechanical Race territory and smiled mysteriously. He then closed the hatch, activated the spaceship, and escaped into space. At the same time, deep within the Mechanical Race’s territory.

Manison, who was in seclusion studying the technology, raised his head and looked in the direction that Han Xiao left through the wall. He did not say much and lowered his head to continue his research.

“Humph, annoying fellow…

Chapter 1461: Information Form Anchor (4)

Ancient Star Desert, a certain dead planet.

Green moonlight hung in the sky, and the cracked black earth was in perpetual silence. Not a single blade of grass could be seen, and there was not even a hint of green. Occasionally, broken buildings could be seen stuck in the ground, and the parts that emerged were filled with mottled traces of wind erosion. The exquisite carvings were already blurry, and there were also shattered statues of people lying on the ground. Some only had half a head, while others only had half a body.

This area seemed to be the ruins of some abandoned city buried by time.

A small spaceship was hovering one meter above the ground, emitting a light blue field that covered dozens of kilometers, providing remote energy and life support functions. The silver-gold spaceship had a narrow front and wide back, forming a triangular shape. Its exterior armor was also engraved with the insignias of the Supers Holy Land, Black Star Army, and Floating Dragon Island. This was a special high-end spaceship that had yet to be mass-produced by the army’s logistics department. It was equipped with all kinds of cutting-edge technology and could break through the speed limit of level five warp speed to reach level 17.7. It was quite expensive.

At this moment, under the spaceship’s life support field, about five hundred meters underground, two figures were slowly trekking through a maze-like ruin.

“These are the ruins of the capital of the Fifth Dynasty, and also the last remains of the people of Tersrand. Their civilization perished at the end of the exploration era, and the scavengers later dug out some ancient objects, which allowed the ruins of this civilization to see the light of day again. Speaking of which, they were unlucky. Who would have thought that their mother planet was once the resting place of a group of giant galactic beasts countless years ago? The awakening of the ancient beasts brought about a disaster to their civilization…”

Harrison stroked the blurry engravings on the wall of the underground palace as he spoke. Jenny hugged the child and listened with interest.

Jenny had already given birth to a child. After recuperating on Floating Dragon for a few months, Harrison’s desire for adventure grew, and Jenny could not stay idle either. The two of them set off immediately. Using their connections, they took a cutting-edge spaceship from the army logistics department for free and explored everywhere.

Because they were carrying a child, it was not suitable for them to go to places that were too dangerous. Thus, Harrison decided to take Jenny to tour archaeological sites. For this reason, he specially joined the Spacetime Research Council and read the records of a large number of lost civilizations. He was determined to be a ‘good tour guide’.

The three of them were currently wearing the new generation interstellar exploration mechanical suits produced by the army. It could withstand all kinds of extreme environments, and the baby’s mechanical suit was specially made, and even had a series of functions such as mental stability, sleeping, and automatic diaper changing… Harrison stopped in front of a row of broken statues, pointed at them, and smiled.

“This is the underground palace that the last King of Tersrand built for the past kings when he was young. In the eyes of ordinary people, he built it to honor the previous kings, but in fact, according to the records in some books, he built this underground palace to cover up a natural tunnel that goes deep underground. There was a young Ancient Beast inside, and he wanted to tame it secretly. He wanted to use this external force to break the grip that the Prince Regent had on his authority… It sounds boring, right? It’s also a boring political struggle in the palace, but you definitely won’t be able to guess what happened.”

“He accidentally awakened more ancient beasts and destroyed the civilization?” Jenny was curious.

“Haha, you guessed wrong. He awakened this ancient beast, but he fell in love with it. Due to the special genes of the ancient beast, the closer the last Tersrand King got to the ancient beast, the more his bloodline mutated. In the end, he transformed into a new ancient beast at the court assembly and personally led the ancient beast to destroy the capital…”

“Is this love that transcends species? Or is this a mental hint from the ancient beast?”

Jenny’s eyes widened. Although interspecies dating was very common, it was still quite impactful to hear of it.

Harrison shook his head. “I’m not sure. Only the person involved knows.”

“What happened then?”

“After that, the slumbering ancient beasts woke up one after another and escaped into the starry sky. The last Tersrand King was nowhere to be found. Some said that he disappeared into the starry sky with the ancient beasts. Some said that he stayed with his partner in the ruins of his mother planet and wandered in this dead land forever…”

“Sounds a little romantic,” Jenny said.

“Haha, we might even be able to find their corpses here. This is the purpose of our exploration.”

Harrison laughed.

The two of them chatted casually as they went deeper into the underground palace. Most of the time, Harrison was the one talking, while Jenny was the one listening. Not long after, they finally arrived at the end of the underground palace. There was a tunnel blocked by rocks.

Harrison casually shattered the rocks with a punch, revealing a broken staircase that descended diagonally. He walked in with Jenny, and after walking for a long time, they finally arrived at the end. It was a cave-like space. Two beast skeletons were hugging each other as if they were lying dead in each other’s arms.

“Could this be the last Tersrand King and his partner?” Jenny was curious.

“I think so… Looks like they decided to stay here to accompany each other and sleep together forever.”

Harrison’s eyes sparkled. He recorded a series of videos, picked up a few bones, and stored them. He planned to bring them back for research.

However, right at this moment, the ground suddenly shook. The two of them felt the cave shaking, and the tremors gradually grew larger. Soon, the ground began to shake.

Boom!

The sound of the earth veins moving could be heard. It was getting louder and louder, like the earth was roaring.

“Is it collapsing?”.

Harrison’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately flew back with Jenny.

However, halfway through, the entire underground palace collapsed.

Hong Long LongCountless rocks fell, filling up all the gaps. Looking down from above, the ground had instantly collapsed, turning into a huge crater.

However, right at this moment, a force field with a faint green glow suddenly descended from the sky, tearing the surface of the planet apart. Under the guidance of the force field, a round ball of soil broke out from the ground and flew for a distance before finally landing beside the spaceship.

The ball shook, and the dirt and rocks on it fell off, revealing a round blue shield. The armors of Harrison and the other two could sense the impact of the outside world, so they automatically opened their shields. This small scene could not cause any damage to them, and the three of them were completely unharmed

This time, Ames, who was wearing a black dress, landed from the sky and floated in front of the three of them. With a helpless expression, she said with dissatisfaction,

“How could you be so careless? I saw that you were buried alive the moment I arrived. Since you’re carrying a child, don’t go to such a dangerous place.”

“Ahem, an accident, an accident.” Harrison was embarrassed. Although they would not be injured in the collapse, it would still take some time for them to climb out. He did not expect Ames to see them, which made him very embarrassed.

Jenny, on the other hand, did not have much of a reaction. She had been out with Harrison for more than a year, and they had been buried alive seven or eight times. Anyway, she would not get hurt, and she was used to it.

With extraordinary strength, her definition of danger was definitely different from ordinary people. Jenny was not afraid of taking a small risk with her child, so she asked curiously, “Sis, how did you find us?”

Phillip suddenly appeared and sat on Ames’ shoulder, giving her a thumbs up.

“Of course it’s because of me, hum… I can locate all the spaceships produced by the army, hum…”

“Alright, I almost forgot that Black Star gave you the authority to mobilize the army’s artificial intelligence… Then why are you looking for us personally? Can’t we talk through the communicator? Why are you disturbing our time together?”

Jenny curled her lips.

Ames turned to look at the sleeping child in Jenny’s arms, a gentle smile on her face. “I missed my nephew. Can’t I come and take a look? Quick, let me play with the child.”

“Don’t even think about it! Don’t you know how heavy your hand is? Every time I give him to you, you don’t know how to cherish him at all. You don’t care if it’s not your child, right?”

Jenny immediately objected and turned around to protect the child in her arms.

However, Ames did not listen to her. Ignoring her objections, she controlled her force field and took the child from her arms. Then, she opened the mechanical suit and used her fingers to rub the child’s chubby face, waking the child up. “Hey! Be gentler!” Jenny grabbed Ames’ arm and yelled at Harrison, “What are you still doing there? Come and help!”

Harrison smiled bitterly.

The sisters were having a fight, so he did not dare to meddle.

“What do you know? I’m using my energy to clear his body and build a good foundation for him.”

Ames ignored Jenny and continued to rub the baby’s face. Although she controlled her strength, she did not have any parenting knowledge, so she still made the baby cry.

Jenny could not win against Ames’ strength, so she had no choice but to coax the child.

“Don’t you dislike children? Why are you always pestering me?” “Just because I didn’t like them before doesn’t mean I still don’t like them.”

Ames did not even turn around and continued to tease the child, finally making him laugh.

Jenny said unhappily, “If you like them, you can have them yourself. Why are you always playing with my child?” “What’s the point of spending so much effort? Don’t you have one here?” Ames blinked.

Jenny’s mouth twitched. Sometimes, she really could not stand Ames’ straightforward style.

She was speechless for a while before asking curiously,

“Speaking of which, have you thought about whether or not you want to have a child with Black Star? He mentioned it more than once, but you never responded to him.”

“…I haven’t thought about it yet. Let’s think about it again.” Ames was a little hesitant.

“My good sister, how long have you been thinking about this?” Jenny was speechless. “Although you guys have a long lifespan, there still has to be a result from all the thinking about, right? Only Black Star spoils you. If it were someone else, they might have even created a race at this age.”

Hearing this, Ames glanced at her and clicked her tongue in wonder. “Weren’t you always unhappy about me accepting Black Star? Why are you now urging me to reproduce with him?”

Jenny pursed her lips and did not speak.

In the past, she was indeed unhappy that Han Xiao was together with Ames, but now that she had a child, she wished that Han Xiao could make Ames unable to get out of bed every day so that she could have a happy life. This way, she and her child would not be harassed by Ames.

Buzz!

Space rippled slightly, and Han Xiao stepped out from the void.

“Hmm? Why are you here too?” Ames looked over and was surprised. “You borrowed Phillip’s authority. Of course, I received the news.” Han Xiao shrugged.

“Then what are you doing here?” Ames narrowed her eyes and said with a strange tone. She still remembered what happened the last time and still had some emotions in her heart.

“My business is done for the time being. I came to accompany you.” Han Xiao smiled.

“Do you think I need you to accompany me now?” Ames raised Jenny’s child and snorted.

Han Xiao looked down at the child and saw Jenny giving him a look. He immediately walked forward, grabbed the child’s clothes, and placed him in Jenny’s hands. He smiled and said, “Since you like children so much, let’s have one too.”

“You are on that again?” Ames looked around. “Didn’t I reject you?”

Han Xiao hugged Ames’ waist as though there was no one else around. He smiled and said, “No matter how many times you reject, I will ask you again and again until you agree.”

“Hmph, shameless… I thought a bigshot like you wouldn’t have any obsession with your descendants. I didn’t expect you to still be so vulgar.” Ames did not break free from Han Xiao’s embrace. She only placed her hands on Han Xiao’s chest and leaned back slightly, not letting him get close.

Han Xiao pondered for a few seconds before speaking from the bottom of his heart, “The world is filled with ups and downs. No matter who we are, we need something to anchor our existence, be it ideals, beliefs, or feelings… I have already made a choice. Let everything enter a new era, turning us into unique existences. There will no longer be a cycle, so I don’t know what will happen in the future. I just hope that I have another place in this world that I will never forget.”

“Oh, how rare. You actually know how to coax me… Don’t you remember me well enough?”

“Isn’t it better to go deeper?”.

“…Are you teasing me?”

“What else? What do you think my hand is doing?” The two of them had been intimate with each other countless times, so they were not shy at all. As they exchanged glances, their words became more and more explicit.

Seeing that the situation was not looking good, Harrison and Jenny quietly boarded the spaceship. They quickly started the engine, and the thrusters shot out flames as they quickly took off.

Very soon, the spaceship left outer space, and the planet became further and further away.

However, before Harrison could catch his breath, the planet behind him suddenly shook violently, and the surface of the planet shattered. A huge crater that could be seen from outer space exploded, and the shockwave swept out, sending countless sand and stones flying. It was as if the planet had suffered an unbearable impact.

Immediately after, the planet seemed to have suffered an invisible blow. The surface of the planet caved in, and the entire crust shattered like an eggshell. All the matter caved in at the center, and the surface became riddled with holes.

“These two adulterers really think we don’t exist…”

Jenny was both angry and excited, as though she wanted to see the world burn. Her face was red, and she cheered them on in her heart.

The next moment, a blinding light burst forth, and the planet exploded!

Boom!

An intense wave of energy spread out and caught up to the tail of the spaceship. It even activated the protective shield and sent the spaceship flying. After a while, the spaceship stabilized.

Harrison wiped off his cold sweat and looked back at the scene of the planet’s explosion. He swallowed his saliva with a complicated expression.

“Luckily, we ran fast enough… It’s a pity that these ruins…”

Chapter 1462: Information Form Anchor (

Chapter 1462 Information Form Anchor (5)

A few days later, on a residential planet in the Ancient Star Desert.

“Gasp, this woman…”

Han Xiao walked on the bustling streets and passed through the crowd. He activated the invisibility function and was not discovered by the passersby. He rubbed his waist from time to time and mumbled softly.

It was not easy for him to appease Ames and leave an Information Form Anchor. He was finally able to leave the crime scene and go to the other metropolitan planets. He planned to take a stroll and find a new Information Form Anchor.

“I already have quite a few Information Form Anchors on me. I can feel that my Information Form base has become much stronger, but I feel like I’m still lacking something…”

Han Xiao looked around as he pondered.

After walking for a while, he suddenly stopped and looked ahead.

Not far in front was a Wayne Cards store. There was a huge crowd at the entrance, and there was a long queue. On the side was a poster of himself, on which were written the names of various stores and offers. Today was the day of the release of the Black Star series.

In front of the shop, a shop assistant was shouting.

“This set of ‘Black Star’ series has a total of twenty-four cards, including the Black Star cards from different time periods. There are also thirteen new cards, all equipped with holographic effects. The appearance, attack, defense, and activation of special effects all have different holographic images. The collection value is extremely high, and this is a new product that Wayne Card’s fanatics absolutely cannot miss. There are only eight thousand sets in our store, and each person can only buy two at most. It’s a limited sale…” In front of the shop, a long line of people was rubbing their fists and palms. Their faces were full of anticipation, like a group of lively leeks waiting to be harvested.

vas

“This is a single-player set for me?”

Han Xiao blinked and did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Although Wayne Cards included most of the famous people in the galaxy, there was only a handful of them who had a whole set for themselves, which showed how shocking his popularity was in the galactic society. Speaking of which, shouldn’t his portrait usage fees be increased this year?

Right at this moment, Han Xiao suddenly felt a jolt in his intuition. He sensed a new Information Form Anchor, and his expression changed slightly. Wait, could Wayne Cards also be an Information Form Anchor…

an

He quickly narrowed his eyes and sensed for a while before heaving a sigh of relief.

The next moment, he opened his Virtual Vision and instantly covered the entire planet. The lives of the galactic residents jumped into his eyes.

Han Xiao saw that some people had posted his posters at home, some had bought his figurines, some were watching movies and series based on him… All the galactic residents who were related to him were marked and lit up in his vision.

“This Information Form Anchor is from the galactic society itself…”

Han Xiao pondered.

He had brought countless changes to the galactic society which deviated from the trajectory of his previous life. These were all signs that he had been there. The changes he brought to this world were all Information Form Anchors.

After experiencing all kinds of storms, the galactic society finally had the long-lost peace. Behind every galactic citizen’s peaceful and happy life was his image. The respect and memories of everyone in the galactic society were the biggest Information Form Anchor. As the galactic residents lit up one after another in his Virtual Vision, Han Xiao felt that this Information Form Anchor was getting stronger and stronger along with his Information Form base.

Han Xiao understood.

Perhaps this was the most important Information Form Anchor, to personally witness the changes he had brought to this world, to see the new life he had brought to countless people… to walk through the mortal world, to see all living things, to anchor himself to the entire world.

“Come to think of it, is this the scene of Immortal Cultivation or Cthulhu…”

Han Xiao laughed to himself before retracting his smile. He stood still and fully activated his Virtual Ability. The next moment, countless Virtual Souls split up and spread out along the quantum network, taking in the lives of countless people.

The citizens of the planets were lit up one after another, and the Virtual Vision seemed to see a bright galaxy. The Information Form Anchor seemed to have absorbed endless nutrients and was continuously growing.

Central Galaxy, three Universal Civilizations’ conference room.

The remote projections of Marbruce and the other two sat behind the table, whispering to each other from time to time, their eyes fixed on the door.

“Strange, why isn’t Black Star here yet?”

“I’ve already sent him a message, but he hasn’t replied. I wonder if he received any news from today’s meeting?”

“He must have received it. He probably just can’t be bothered to reply. Recently, he’s been busy preparing for the Information Form conversion…”

“Speaking of which, what does he need to prepare? I saw that the intelligence department recently reported that Black Star has been visiting various civilizations and constantly releasing and receiving data on the quantum network. I wonder what use this has for our plan?”

c

“I don’t understand, but he’s the user of the Information Form Materialization device. He definitely knows what he’s doing…”

The three of them discussed softly.

During this period, they had also been preparing for the conversion and had completed a series of preparations.

Although Han Xiao was in control of the Information Form Materialization device, it was not something that could be activated immediately. According to the messages in the Sanctum, there were many more supporting facilities required to transform the entire dark side universe. What the three Universal Civilizations were doing was creating a large number of supporting facilities for the Information Form Materialization device and installing them in different areas. The blueprints were provided by Han Xiao, and they were all supplementary devices used to enhance the transformation of the Information Form state.

The three Universal Civilizations had spent a lot of manpower and resources to install these parts, and the hardware had already been settled. Now, they only had the problem of overall planning, which could only be carried out after the official implementation of the conversion was finalized. Many of these were trivial matters, but the three Universal Civilizations handled them well, so Han Xiao gave them all these miscellaneous tasks.

While the three of them were chatting, the door suddenly opened, and the secretary led Han Xiao in. He then left and closed the door, leaving the room for a few big shots.

“Black Star, you’re late. We thought you wouldn’t be coming today.” Marbruce heaved a sigh of relief.

“I was preparing for the conversion and was delayed.”

Han Xiao casually explained. The three of them wanted to say something, but suddenly, their expressions became strange.

Although Han Xiao’s appearance did not change, for some reason, they felt that the feeling Han Xiao gave them was completely different from the last time they met.

Black Star’s aura gave them an indescribable feeling, as though they were staring at a black hole.

“You seem a little different…” Marbruce said hesitantly, suspecting that it was his imagination.

“I’ve deepened my connection with the dark side universe. This is normal.”

Han Xiao waved his hands casually.

During this period of time, he had visited most of the civilizations in the galactic society and integrated all beings into his heart, perfecting the last Information Form Anchor. At this point, his Information Form base had become extremely solid, making him give off the presence of everything returning to one.

Han Xiao did not elaborate further. He paused for a moment before asking,

“I’m almost done preparing. What about you
guys?”

“We’re more inclined to spend some time to verify all the information in the Sanctum… but in principle, we’re all willing to cooperate with your actions to carry out the conversion plan. We’re just short of time.”

“Alright, the transformation won’t happen overnight. It might take a few years, or it might take dozens or even hundreds of years. Therefore, the earlier we start, the better.”

“Yes, we’re having a meeting with you now to discuss the exact date.”

The three of them nodded.

“Alright, let’s have a chat.”

After Han Xiao finished speaking, he exhaled lightly.

I’ve finally come this far…

Chapter 1463: Final Relay, Destination Point (End)

Chapter 1463 Final Relay, Destination Point (End)

The meeting between the two parties did not last long. In the end, the date was set to be after nine years. Without the entire galactic society knowing, the fate of the dark universe they were in was decided. Countless galactic residents were still immersed in a peaceful and happy life. In places that they could not see, the three Universal Civilizations and Han Xiao were silently preparing for the transformation of the dark side universe into the true universe.

The days were approaching the official implementation of the plan. In the long-lost era of peace, the days flew by. The sun rose and the moon set, and time flowed like water, never to return. Nine years passed quietly as the various large organizations rested.

The affairs of the galactic society had changed, and a new generation of young people had grown up, but nothing seemed to have changed. The three Universal Civilizations, the Supers Holy Land, and the Super Star Cluster Alliance still occupied one side of the explored universe. Today was the appointed date, and also the starting point for the fate of the Dark Side Universe. In the Central Galaxy, the military forbidden zone that the three Universal Civilizations had specially built for this day. Countless Information Form reaction strengthening devices formed a dense and neat formation in the galaxy.

They were distributed layer by layer and formed a spherical shape. Han Xiao was at the center of all the support device formations, floating alone in space. Far away, the fleets of the three Universal Civilizations were surrounded by layers of guards to prevent any accidents from disturbing Han Xiao’s transformation.

In the main ship, the remote projections of the three Rulers looked at Han Xiao outside the porthole with a solemn expression.

“Your Excellency Black Star, we are all prepared. Please…” Marbruce paused, took a deep breath, and spoke in the communication channel.

“… begin.” “…Okay.” Han Xiao replied with a calm expression. A complicated look was seen in his eyes. Although he had rehearsed for this day more than once in the past nine years, he could not help but feel emotional when it actually happened. The plan for the conversion of the dark universe was still a top secret of the upper echelons.

The three Universal Civilizations hoped to quietly solve this ultimate problem that involved the truth of the universe when countless galactic residents were asleep. It would be best if the dark universe could be merged with the real universe without anyone noticing. Therefore, Han Xiao only told Ames and a few other trustworthy people about this information. The others continued to live their normal lives up to this day. Han Xiao sank his consciousness into his body, and his chest slowly lit up. It was as if he had turned into a white spatial tunnel, where space folded and contracted.

Very soon, in dazzling white light, the World Tree that was rooted in his inner space appeared in the outside world, emitting a green light that was full of vitality. Han Xiao lowered his head and looked at the miniature World Tree. His mind was already connected, and he could activate the Information Form solidification function at any time.

However, at this moment, he stopped, and his eyes turned dreamy. Information Form Anchors flashed in his mind one after another, and his eyes seemed to be filled with a rippling illusion. It was as if he was using the perspective of a third party to relive his hundreds of years of strange and magnificent life. The final scene was fixed on countless familiar figures. There were old acquaintances, deceased enemies, present friends…

“I hope that everything that happened here will be able to anchor my existence. Don’t let me forget… I’ve been here before.” The next moment, Han Xiao no longer hesitated and activated the Information Form solidification function of the World Tree.

Buzz!

Han Xiao’s figure was instantly drowned by the light akin to the Big Bang of the universe. It was as if endless light was spraying out, filling everyone’s vision. At this moment, everyone in the galactic society felt something and subconsciously thought of Black Star.

Floating Dragon Island, top floor of the palace. Ames stood on the balcony with her hands behind her back, looking up at the bright galaxy. Her long hair and black dress fluttered in the wind like black flames.

“Mom, I just thought of Dad…” A childish voice sounded behind her, and a little girl in a dress ran out of the room. She tripped and almost fell along the way. This little girl was about seven or eight years old. She looked like she was carved from jade, and her face was a little chubby. Her eyes were as black as gems, and she looked lively.

She looked very cute and festive. She was the only offspring that Ames and Han Xiao had. Ames turned around with a doting expression. She hugged her daughter and rubbed her nose. “I miss Daddy too.” The little girl hugged Ames’ arm and stayed comfortably in her embrace. She blinked her big eyes and said with a little grievance,

“Daddy hasn’t come to see me for a long time. Where did he go?”. “He’s doing a huge job outside right now.”

Ames smiled.

“When will Daddy be back?” The little girl’s eyes widened with curiosity.

“I don’t know either…”

Ames shook her head. She hugged her daughter with one hand and pointed at the deep starry sky with the other. “However, no matter where he is, he will definitely watch over you. When you grow up, he will return.”

The real universe, the Solar System, behind Neptune. A small exploration space station covered in black and blue paint floated quietly in outer space, disguised as a meteorite. It looked inconspicuous. At this moment, in the observation room of the space station, a few intelligent creatures wearing heavy spacesuits were adjusting their equipment.

Their bodies were shaped like humans, but they had hard skin covered in spikes. They were short, about 1.3 meters on average. Most of these instruments were remote observation devices. Above the instruments was a dense screen, showing scenes of cities on Earth.

At this time, one of the spiked humanoids in the room turned on the video recorder, cleared his throat, and spoke in his unique language. “The 27,081st Planetary Year, Information Record. The observed target’s behavior is the same as before. There are no abnormalities. We have yet to be discovered. Over.”

“Another boring day!”

A thin, spiked humanoid beside him interrupted and stretched lazily in his seat. The hard shell and bones in his body made crackling sounds. The person recording the video seemed to be the captain. Without turning his head, he replied seriously, “The best news is that there are no abnormalities. Our job is to ensure that there is no technological boom on the observation target before the main force arrives, in the event that they develop a galactic weapon that can threaten us.”

“Yes, yes, yes. I’m just complaining. I really hope that the next shift will come soon. I’d rather freeze and sleep than stare at this weak surface civilization every day… Sigh, I really want to go home.”

The thin humanoid who had spoken earlier sounded helpless.

This group of intelligent creatures did not belong to this region. They were distant visitors from another Star System, from the Kabang Civilization. In order to find any extraterrestrial civilizations, the Kabang Civilization sent out exploration squads to the galaxy. They took the exploration spaceships with the stealth function constantly activated and drifted in the universe for a long period of time. All the crew members were put in cryostasis. When the traces of civilization were discovered, the artificial intelligence system of the spaceships would automatically wake up the dormant crew members.

This group of Kabangs was one of the galactic explorers. Many years ago, when they came to the Solar System, the spaceship discovered the detector that the Earth Civilization had sent out into outer space, thus awakening the team. This team locked onto the Earth Civilization through the detection equipment of the spaceship, then chose a remote location, expanded their spaceship into a small space station, completed their disguise, and hid there.

This Kabang exploration team held the principle of not interfering, not communicating, and not exposing themselves. They quietly waited in the Solar System and used the galactic observation equipment provided by the spaceship to monitor Earth for a long time without being discovered. “Stop complaining and pay more attention to your mission.”

The captain of the Kabang Explorer turned off the video recorder, paused, and said, “The main force is only five hundred and eighty Planetary Years away from us. We won’t need to monitor them for too long and will be free.”

“That’s true. I really want to end the mission as soon as possible. I really can’t stand eating these nutrition ointments every day. I really want to go back and eat something good…”

The skinny Kabang member said with longing. This team of explorers had long sent the news of the existence of Earth civilization back to their mother planet. The large fleet of the Kabang Civilization had already set off from their hometown, but they had not developed to the level of the stargate technology. The large fleet had been traveling in the universe near the speed of light for a very long time, and they were not far from them now.

The many explorers present had been hiding in the Solar System for many years and were only outposts. Although their technology was far ahead, they still did not dare to rashly come into contact with the Earth Civilization. Their mission was to monitor the Earth Civilization all day long and guide the subsequent main force…

Only when their main forces arrived would they have sufficient confidence. Whether it was invading the colonies or destroying them, it would be a piece of cake. They would then think about how to deal with this surface civilization.

The Kabang Explorer captain was about to say something, but at that moment, the space station’s surveillance radar suddenly sounded with an urgent notification. Beep! Beep! Beep!

uup

Everyone was stunned. They quickly moved closer to the screen and were shocked. They saw that the readings on the screen were all messed up.

“What’s going on?”

This group of Kabang explorers quickly adjusted the instrument, but there were no problems with it. The various parameters of the outside world were showing more and more abnormalities, especially the curvature of space. At the same time, with the Earth civilization as the center, a large number of spatial folds appeared, spreading outward at an astonishing speed.

“What is this? There are no similar events in the database!”

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock.

At this time, an invisible energy wave suddenly erupted and spread toward the universe. It instantly swept across the various planets and the space station they were in. The energy reading instantly exceeded the power limit of the radar and caused it to burn. Everyone was shocked and quickly touched their bodies, but they did not suffer any damage from this energy. “This level of energy surge is unprecedented. What happened…”

Just as the group of them was feeling extremely surprised, the spatial folds had already spread to the vicinity of the space station. Through the porthole, they discovered that all the space within their sights was in ripples, like that of blanket folds. From their point of view, it was as if the entire universe had turned into a quagmire.

The torrent formed by starlight and dark matter was constantly spinning. Amidst the layers of wrinkles, they seemed to see a strange illusion. Countless civilizations and planets that they had never seen before were floating and vanishing. Suddenly, they had a sort of premonition. This universe seemed to be changing.

“Attention, everyone! The new version will be released in five minutes. Everyone, work overtime today and log in immediately. I’m going to check on you, do you hear me?” Zhu Xiaohua ordered loudly. Seeing that the dozens of employees in the workshop all responded, he nodded with satisfaction, turned around, walked into his private office, closed the door, and looked at the new Galaxy game cabin in the middle of the room. He rubbed his hands excitedly.

Ever since the Black Star Army video series made with the ID ‘Bun-Hit-Dog’ became popular, Zhu Xiaohua’s career was on track. He rented a floor to use as a studio and expanded his business, making a brand.

Currently, Galaxy’s popularity had reached its peak in history, and he was paying more attention to this main business. Galaxy had entered the version update two days ago, and today was the day the update would be completed. Version 6.0 would be officially released, so he took it very seriously and was prepared to log in as soon as possible. The thought of the new version unlocking a higher level made Zhu Xiaohua’s heart itch.

Although the storyline of “Galaxy” seemed to be heading toward peace, and it would be very difficult to find any more explosive points, he believed that the players would be the main characters of the stage after “Galaxy”.

Now that they had been unlocked to the Calamity Grade, as their level continued to increase, the players who wished for the world to be in chaos would definitely not be able to hold themselves back. They would definitely cause chaos in the game, which would lead to countless conflicts and interesting exciting stories. This way, there would definitely be no lack of materials to make videos…

Zhu Xiaohua already had an idea, and he planned to adjust the focus of the video.

He would no longer focus on the Black Star Army but on the various experiences of the players and NPC organizations, making it into various series and interview records.

Just thinking about the endless supply of materials and the possibility of a huge sale made him extremely excited. “I’m going to be rich again!” Zhu Xiaohua was in an excited mood as he skillfully lay down in the game cabin.

The hatch closed, and the countdown timer for the update was displayed on the screen. He stared with his eyes wide open at the time passing by in seconds. He could not help but shake his legs as he felt that time was passing too slowly.

“There are only a few seconds left… Five, four, three, two, one! Alright!”

At the last second, the countdown on the built-in screen turned into a login interface, and it finally became version 6.0.

Zhu Xiaohua was overjoyed and could not wait to start the game cabin. He quickly closed his eyes and prepared to enter the game. However, after waiting for more than a minute with his eyes closed, he did not enter the Galaxy like before. Zhu Xiaohua could not help but open his eyes. “Strange, why can’t I log in? Is the game cabin malfunctioning? It can’t be, this was changed two days ago…”

Zhu Xiaohua opened the game cabin in confusion and climbed out again.

He squatted down to see if there was a problem with the lid of the game cabin. However, at this moment, there was a knock on the door. A few employees walked in with helpless expressions. “Boss, there’s a problem. None of us can log
in.”

“Hmm? So I’m not the only one. Looks like it’s not about the game cabin. Have you seen the official website?”

“I did. It seems like no one can log in.” Hearing this, Zhu Xiaohua was stunned for a moment. He walked to the computer, opened the “Galaxy” official website, and entered the forums. He realized that there were a lot of players posting, but none of them could log in. “It seems like there’s a bug in the new version.

Maybe the photon processor itself is malfunctioning… But that’s strange too. No one can log in. The officials will probably send a notice to explain such a huge matter. Why is there no response?” Zhu Xiaohua browsed through the post, puzzled. “Why don’t you ask?” an employee suggested. “Hmm, okay. I’ll ask the officials.”

Zhu Xiaohua nodded.

He had been invited to attend a few Pro League seasons as a guest, so he had an internal channel to contact the officials and ask about the situation.

Zhu Xiaohua picked up his phone from the table and opened his social media app. He found an official he knew and was about to send a message to ask. However, at this moment, there was a commotion outside the office. “What’s going on outside? Why is it so noisy?” Zhu Xiaohua frowned, paused his message, and walked out of the office. He saw all the employees gathered by the window, looking up as though they were looking at something.

“What are you guys looking at? Go back to your posts… Hmm?”

Zhu Xiaohua was a little dissatisfied. He walked over with large strides and also leaned close to the window. He subconsciously looked outside and suddenly paused.

On the road outside the window, all the pedestrians stopped and looked up at the sky. All the balconies and windows of the surrounding buildings had people sticking their heads out, looking up at the sky, their faces filled with shock. Seeing this strange scene, Zhu Xiaohua’s heart tightened. He slowly looked up at the sky.

The evening had just passed, and night had just fallen. A bright galaxy had already appeared in the sky, and more stars were shining in the night sky. The stars were like waterfalls, hanging upside down in the Milky Way, swaying and spinning. The sky seemed to have become a whirlpool, completely distorted as if someone was stirring the sky.

“This, this is…”

Zhu Xiaohua stared blankly at this scene, completely unaware that his mouth was wide open.

Just as everyone was dumbfounded, a spatial ripple suddenly appeared in the sky, and galactic fleets appeared out of thin air, attracting everyone’s attention. Zhu Xiaohua also looked over, but his eyes suddenly widened. He stared blankly at the identical emblems on the exterior armor of these battleships… This emblem was too familiar, he recognized it at a glance.

Before the crowd could react, an even more familiar figure suddenly appeared in the air. It was as if he had woken up from a deep sleep, as he opened his eyes blearily. The expression of this figure slowly turned from a blank look to pleasant surprise before finally turning into nostalgia.

“My hometown, I’m back…”

Although he was far away, for some reason, his voice seemed to ignore the distance and sounded in everyone’s hearts. At this moment, Zhu Xiaohua, like all the employees around him, felt like he had fallen into an icehouse. Their faces were filled with confusion, and their minds blank. At this moment, the figure in the sky seemed to have sensed the presence of someone familiar. He looked down and looked at Zhu Xiaohua from afar.

Zhu Xiaohua seemed to have woken up from a dream. He took a few steps back in disbelief, tripped over a table, and fell to the ground. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and his face was filled with disbelief. His mouth trembled, and his voice involuntarily rose. “Black Black Black Black… Black Star?!”

On this day, the world experienced a huge change. Countless phantoms that should have disappeared long ago reappeared. Some called it an ‘Invasion of the Realms’, while others called it a ‘Turning Point of Fate’.

Some felt that this was a case of a dove occupying a magpie’s nest, while others felt that this was a case of a tree spreading its branches. Some believed that this was the beginning of the end, while others believed that this was the continuation of life. But no matter what they thought, everything that happened on this day was remembered by countless people, and a new era was born.

— END —

Translators’ Thoughts: Hi guys, Chuchutrain here. I took over as the translator midway in the novel, ~Ch 400. It feels pretty surreal that this book is now completed, considering that the author was still writing it even when I took over. I hope you enjoyed this journey with our thick-skinned (figuratively and literally) MC, the Great Mechanic Han, and hope that my translations were bearable for you guys (if they aren’t, just pretend that they are :P)

Table of Contents

1: Rebirth
2: Mechanic
3: Life Is All About Acting
4: 600,000 experience points!
5: Lightweight Mechanical Arm
6: Taking Action!
7: Panic
8: I Have the Trashtalk to Back Me Up
9: Fierce Battle
10: Night Owl
11: Crunch Time
12: Original Identity
13: Wanderers
14: The Old Era and the New
15: Burglary
16: Misfortune
17: Kill
18: Bigger Than You Imagined

19: chapterlist:chaptername ,000,000 Bounty! Class A Mission!

20: Illegal Entry
21: The Old Man Who Plays Chess
22: Prosthetic Limb
23: You Set Me Up!
24: What Is Weak?
25: New Talent!
26: Blueprint: Robot (Type: Rover)
27: The Final Tes
28: Jealousy
29: Fall Ou
30: The Mighty Rover
31: Silenced
32: A Load of Crap
33: His Worth
34: Covert Operation
35: Han Xiao
36: New Blueprints and New Terms
37: Dirty Mind
38: Covert-Ops Squad
39: First Operation Part 1
40: First Operation Part 2
41: First Operation Part 3
42: The Research Department's Greed
43: Stealing Credit Part 1
44: Stealing Credit Part 2
45: The Last Laugh
46: Settlemen
47: Sore Loser
48: Advancement!
49: Squad Leader's Return
50: Rescue Mission Part 1
51: Rescue Mission Part 2
52: Gains
53: Undercurrents
54: Beta Test?
55: Our First Day Together
56: Encounter
57: Quest Reward Settings
58: Greatest Scam Ever
59: B-Class Mission Triggered?
60: Sudden Assassination!
61: Thanks for the Gift!
62: Interception
63: End of the Beta Tes
64: Accelerated Learning!
65: Smart Meta-Optical Mask
66: Upgrades Part 1
67: Upgrades Part 2
68: Upgrades Part 3
69: Before Move Ou
70: On the Train
71: Burn the Damn Creature
72: The Camp-Destroyer Mission
73: Acing the Tes
74: Separate Operations
75: Hacker
76: Abnormalities and Assassinations
77: Forest Assassin
78: Multiple Hideouts
79: Suspicion
80: Bold Move
81: A Bug Named Giggs
82: The Unexpected Betrayal
83: The Superhumans of Aquamarine
84: Self-Detonation
85: Interception!
86: A Strike of Philosophy
87: The Real Plan!
88: Influence
89: Three Months to Open Beta
90: First Assignmen
91: Scorpion-level Assassin
92: Pilgrims
93: Ambush
94: Asking for help
95: Reverse Psychology
96: Surprised and Shocked
97: Swoop In
98: Secret Passageway
99: Felonia
100: Battle
101: Believe in Science
102: The Serum
103: Ahead of Us
104: Strengthened Life
105: Rothschild
106: Second-Generation Rover Robo
107: A Strange Protection Assignmen
108: Round Three
109: Turning the Tide
110: The Main of Planet Aquamarine
111: Flaming Will
112: LV 60
113: The Unexpected Appearance of Division 13
114: The Surprising Hidden Reques
115: The Prize-Pool Mission
116: Head Full of Crazy Methods
117: The Invisible Demon Strikes
118: Electromagnetic Weapon
119: Raging Bolt!
120: Three Shots!

121: Did Too Much Work, So I Couldn't Think of a Title

122: Let's Create Some Trouble!

123: Germinal, There Is Something I Have to Say!

124: Open Beta
125: What Have We Missed!
126: What a Scam
127: The Fangs of Capitalism
128: All Linked
129: Uproar in the Esports Circle

130: The First Step in Building a Large Network

131: Bloodshed
132: A Death God
133: Mechanics Are So Powerful
134: Finally Found You
135: Ah, What A Familiar Taste
136: On the Verge of a Battle
137: A Wild Black Phantom 1
138: A Wild Black Phantom 2
139: A Wild Black Phantom 3
140: Backup
141: Duel
142: Teleportation Is a Double-edged Sword

143: I Will Recognize You Even If You Turn into Ash

144: Reward and Impac
145: The Road to BOSS
146: Skyrocketed!
147: Inspiration for Lightweight Mecha
148: The Wind Rises
149: Galaxy Times 1
150: 2
151: A Small-scale Beast Attack
152: A Melee Mechanic Is the Bes
153: Controlling Behind the Scenes
154: Alumera's Searcher
155: Fruit of Face
156: One More in the Support Team
157: Nemesis!
158: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
159: Family
160: Xiao Jin
161: Order Born of Violence
162: Grouper Plague and the Grinding
163: Exchange
164: Endoskeleton materials
165: As Unlucky as Usual
166: Alien 1
167: Alien 2
168: Novice Guides?

169: First Episode of Galaxy's Exploration Journal

170: Trading Storm 1
171: Trading Storm 2
172: One of My Men
173: You Can't See Me
174: Viper
175: Beast King
176: Actual Combat with Mechanical Sui
177: The Start of the 'Inhuman' Inciden
178: Fermentation
179: The Research Institution
180: Robbery

181: The Wicked Will Be Dealt With By The Wicked

182: Shaken

183: Drugs

184: It's More Torturous to Think of a Title Than to Write a

185: But Not Having a Title Is More Torturous
186: Accident 1
187: Accident 2
188: Enemies everywhere
189: Fearsome Assassination
190: Hidden Main Storyline 1
191: Hidden Main Storyline 2
192: Hidden Main Storyline 3
193: Tease

194: If You Are Going to Scam People, Scam Them for as Much as You Can.

195: Bundled Sales Are So Damn Great. I Should Always Use Them.

196: It's the Tanabata Festival Tomorrow. I'm upset.

197: Responses from All Sides 1
198: Responses from All Sides 2
199: Aurora
200: More Than 100,000,000!
201: Northern Continen
202: Alumera 1
203: Alumera 2
204: Alumera 3
205: Assassination!
206: The Real Killer One
207: The Real Killer Two
208: The Real Killer Three
209: The Real Killer 4
210: The Real Killer 5
211: The Real Killer 6
212: The New Successor

213: The Fight Between the Sandpiper and the Clam

214: Leaving
215: Flow of the Main Storyline
216: Dark Net Director, Third Sanctuary
217: Class Advancement of the Players

218: Didn't Know You Are This Kind of Black Phantom

219: The Brutal Force of Mechanic!
220: Arrival
221: Gathered Players
222: Arrival of People from Everywhere! 1
223: Arrival of People From Everywhere! Two
224: Shadow Stalker Viper
225: Radiation Crystals
226: Demolition?
227: Profit from the Nes
228: The Exchange
229: The First Time Is Always Hardes
230: Pharmacist Emerald Grass
231: Expedition of the Six Nations!
232: Planet Aquamarine War!
233: Level 60!
234: Hiring Path
235: Infiltration 1
236: Infiltration 2
237: Infiltration 3
238: Nerve Connection 1
239: Nerve Connection 2
240: Shock
241: Accident?
242: The Unmatched Assassin 1
243: The Unmatched Assassin 2
244: The Other Hidden Card
245: Predicamen
246: I Am Black Phantom!
247: The Real Deal
248: Shocking the World 1
249: Shocking the World 2
250: Eye of the Storm
251: Eye of the Storm 2
252: Eye of the Storm 3
253: A Love Story
254: Separation
255: The Hidden Tactic
256: Breaking Out 1
257: Breaking Out 2
258: Breaking out 3
259: Reinforcements and Traps
260: Unexpected Helpers
261: Evolution
262: The Sound of Hammering
263: An Unfamiliar Face
264: The Historical Momen
265: The Next Class Change Requiremen
266: The Origins of the Germinal Organization
267: Exposed Intel, Turning Point of The War
268: Will You Love Me If I Am the Title...
269: The Players Here Are Super Welcoming
270: Main City Action Plan
271: New Mechanical Suit—Amphiptere!
272: Unknown Potential
273: Our Belief Is... Create Trouble!
274: The Battle
275: Society
276: Black Phantom's Machinery Box 1
277: Black Phantom's Machinery Box 2
278: Black Phantom's Machinery Box 3
279: Luck Is the Ultimate Path

280: Galaxy Times: Other Possibilities of the Main Storyline

281: The Limitations of Being a Main
282: The Fall of the Germinal Organization
283: Disagreemen
284: The Finale 1
285: The Finale 2
286: Dungeon Creation
287: Stable Period in Planet Aquamarine
288: The New Round of Business 1
289: The New Round of Business 2
290: Sucker
291: Four Blueprints
292: Sonic Sphere
293: Galaxy Pro League Season One, Commence!
294: Competition Festival 1
295: Competition Festival 2
296: Sensation!
297: Hao Tian's First Battle!
298: The Battle
299: A Simpleton
300: Frenzied Sword's First Figh
301: Regular Season, The Group of Death
302: The Hidden Main Storyline
303: List of Finalists, Advancement of Plans
304: The Visitor from Above
305: The Crash
306: Explosion!
307: Alien Captive
308: Deal
309: All Ready
310: Raylen's Message
311: Could It Be That I'm Not Charming?
312: Inhuman and The Space Wonder
313: The Selection
314: As Expected of the Great Mechanic Han!
315: Prelude to an Age of Strife 1
316: Prelude to an Age of Strife 2
317: Lift Off
318: The Clueless Six Nations
319: The Short Horn Star
320: Development Plan and Scavengers
321: The Green Knight, Boneless Bird
322: Attack!
323: Danger and Splitting Up
324: Expanding Profit, Initiatives
325: This Was Completely on Purpose
326: The Secret Buyer
327: Enemy Slain
328: The First Job and the Reputation System
329: The Juberly Hub!
330: Happiness of the Poor
331: Black Star: The Beginning 1
332: Black Star: The Beginning 2
333: Black Star: The Beginning 3
334: Black Star: The Beginning 4
335: Cheap Bai
336: A Mechanic's Paradise

337: Green Knight, the Warrior who Had Returned Home

338: The Ordnance Engineer
339: The Rush Stra
340: The Catastrophe Has Arrived
341: Battlefield Repairs, Target Blueprin
342: Hidden Thoughts
343: The Split in the Dark
344: Meeting the Liar Again 1
345: Meeting the Liar Again 2

346: Contradictions and Splitting Up, Last Stage of the Catastrophe

347: Raising Reward
348: Must Be In Love
349: Shocking the Entire Race! 1
349.1: Shocking the Entire Race! (2)
350: Shocking the Entire Race! 2
351: Settlemen
352: The Black Star Will Bless You
353: Dropping a Chess Piece in the Galaxy
354: Abducting a Man
355: Speeding! 1
356: Speeding! 2
357: Breaking News, Universe Royalty's Reward
358: New Gear, New Objectives
359: Sky Ring's Invitation

360: I’m a Professional at Planting Flags (Edited)

361: Spar
362: Invisible Corner 1
363: Invisible Corner 2
364: Floating Dragon Island
365: Don’t Wimp, Just Do It
366: Slave Market
367: Aroshia
368: Scrimmage
369: Dropped Bead
370: Sudden Change
371: Differential Treatment
372: Getting Employed (1)
373: Getting Employed (2)
374: Your Friend DarkStar Is Now Online
375: Customers First
376: Steel Body!
377: Seize the Opportunity!

378: Confidentiality Failure, DarkStar Exposed

379: Slaves? I Don’t See It
380: Released
381: One Step Ahead (1)
382: One Step Ahead (2)

383: Excellent as Always, But Don’t Touch the Trophy

384: DarkStar Mother Ship
385: Murder and Turn Point
386: Talent Upgrade, Raid
387: Familiar, Witness!
388: Amphiptere, Shattered!
389: What Monster Are You‽
390: Aroshia, Grade A Chain Mission (1)
391: Aroshia, Grade A Chain Mission (2)
392: The Sudden Arrival of a Fleet
393: Power of the Experienced
394: Speed and Motion Sickness
395: The Battle of Pursuit (1)
396: The Battle of Pursuit (2)
397: Arrival of the Fleet
398: Conflict and Attention
399: Broken Arm and Awakening
400: The Arrival of Dragon Emperor!
401: New Dungeon
402: Question

403: Rocketing Renown, Transferring to Godora.

404: Triple Trigger, Origins of Large Events!
405: Throwing the Blame (1)
406: Throwing the Blame (2)
407: Thoughts About A New Style
408: Expansion
409: Black Star Series: Episode 3
410: The Beginning of Suffering

411: Level-Jumping Is Not Something You Can Just Do

412: Survivor
413: New Combat Style (1)
414: New Combat Style (2)
415: New Combat Style (3)

416: Conclusion and the Next Stage of the Plan

417: Nine Months later, Planet Dawn.
418: The Unobtainable Is Always Tempting (1)
419: The Unobtainable Is Always Tempting (2)
420: Surprise Deal

421: Super-Gene Extractor and Temporary Character Summon Card

422: Sign of Mutation and Beginning of the Finals

423: Debut
424: First Showcase, Overwhelming Opening
425: Black Star's Ability Potion
426: BOSS Type Player! (1)
427: BOSS Type Player! (2)
428: Trump Cards Out
429: The Finals
430: Poison Assassination
431: Revenge from the Past (1)
432: Revenge from the Past (2)
433: Revenge from the Past (3)
434: Father (1)
435: Father (2)
436: The Start of Ten Years
437: Conclusion of the Pro League
438: Goddess of Luck
439: Version 1.0 Update (1)
440: Version 1.0 Update (2)
441: Version 1.0 Update (3)
442: Radical Promotion Idea
443: Backdoor
444: Chen Xing and Statue Mission (1)
445: Chen Xing and Statue Mission (2)
446: City of Runes

447: Even We Will Have the Day When We Are Seen as Aliens

448: The Siege
449: One Against the World!
450: Golden but Poor!
451: Superstitions Cannot Save the World
452: Sudden Attack!
453: The Real Owner
454: Helping Hand
455: Hidden Mission, Choice.
456: Power of the Main Character Aura
457: The Second Grade B Officer
458: Attention from a Distant Star Field

459: Low Attribute Does Not Mean That I Am Not Handsome

460: Interstellar Beast (1)
461: [Interstellar Beast] (2)
462: Pet (1)
463: Pet (2)

464: If Godora Was More Conservative, DarkStar Would Never Have Been Created.

465: Life Span Potion
466: Two Months
467: Go Create Miracles, Young Teen
468: The Four Consecutive Draws of Glory

469: [Gene Liberation] and High-End Knowledge!

470: Experience Fully Digested!
471: Shattered Light (1)
472: Shattered Light (2)
473: Shattered Light (3)
474: Shattered Star Ring’s Door—Noriosse!
475: Strange Godoran
476: Attack
477: DarkStar Traitor

478: There Is One Type of Book That Will Never Be Obsolete in Any Era

479: Blink
480: : Eternal Oracle, Aesop Hurricane
481: Thank You
482: Trap
483: Seeking Aid and Recruitment
484: Chaotic Entry
485: The Gangster Mechanic
486: Fierce Battle

487: I Do Not Believe Heroes Cannot Fall to Their Deaths!

488: Retreat
489: Anur
490: Sharp Contradiction
491: Welcome Back
492: Aroshia’s Origins (1)
493: Aroshia's Origins (2)
494: Emergency Plan
495: : Battle of Noriosse (1)
496: Battle of Noriosse (2)
497: Battle of Noriosse (3)
498: Battle of Noriosse (4)
499: Battle of Noriosse (5)
500: Return
501: I Have Lost the Ability to Be Fooled
502: DarkStar’s Shock
503: Effect and Plan
504: Getting Investments
505: Location of the Base

506: Mass Production Design, Onset of the Disaster

507: The Arrangement Comes into Effect

508: New Version, New Phase

509: The Players Return, Eruption of the Mutation Disaster

510: Black Star’s Return!
511: Acting Cool
512: Reunion
513: The Truth of the Mutation Disaster
514: Time to Harvest

515: With a Single Slash, Your Wallet Will Be Dried Up

516: Feelings Are Not Enough—One Has to Employ a Routine

517: Six Nations Seek Aid
518: The Bargaining Chip Is the Future
519: Bell of Death Island (1)
520: Bell of Death Island (2)
521: Tracing Back to Origins, One Final Link
522: New Combat Mode (1)
523: New Combat Mode (2)
524: Hila
525: Aurora
526: Godoran Rescue Team
527: Tense Atmosphere
528: New Clue
529: Ridiculous Truth (1)
530: Ridiculous Truth (2)
531: Advancement, Virtual Mechanic!
532: Openly Poaching
533: Not Angry, Not Angry At All
534: Operation Begins
535: Impending Crisis
536: Raid (1)
537: Raid (2)
538: Choosing to Pursuit
539: Virtual Intrusion (1)
540: Virtual Intrusion (2)

541: Escaping After Provoking Me? Not Going to Happen!

542: I’ll Give You Another Chance to Repeat Yourself

543: Butterfly Effect
544: Second Phase of the Mutation Disaster
545: Sensory Organs
546: DarkStar’s Next Move
547: The Time Has Arrived
548: Greed
549: Seeking Death
550: It’s Time to Take out the Dusty Juicer
551: Ames’ Curiosity
552: Hang in There, We Will Win!
553: Negotiations
554: It Is Time to Show My True Imagination
555: Reactions from All Sides
556: An Experienced Individual Indeed

557: Successful Research. Taking the Initiative.

558: Fight for Time
559: Storm. Lock On.
560: Boss Mission
561: Mechanical Beast Guards Army!
562: Destruction
563: Feidin, Son of Luck
564: The Beginning of the Storm
565: Unexpected Reinforcements

566: Your Mothership Isn’t Bad. It’s Now Mine.

567: The Endless Potential of Selling Intelligence

568: Imminent Danger!
569: Army Appear!
570: Siege
571: Is This Guy a Cockroach
572: Tanking the Main Cannon (1)
573: Tanking the Main Cannon (2)
574: Tanking the Main Cannon (3)
575: Mission Reward, Plan Preparations
576: Always Causing Sensational News

577: Attention from Everywhere, Black Star Army

578: Stepping into the Calamity Grade!
579: It’s Time
580: Depart
581: Refreshing Everyone’s Understanding
582: The Counterattack Begins

583: The Ending Is Usually Decided Before the Battle Even Starts

584: Escaped Fish
585: Mastermind
586: Payment in Hand
587: Berserk Ape
588: Award Ceremony
589: Recorded in History
590: Influence
591: Chapter Main Cities
592: The Investment from Noriosse
593: Sudden Emergency
594: Malekith’s Ambush! (1)
595: Malekith’s Ambush! (2)
596: Stalling and Luring
597: Behind Enemy Lines Alone
598: Man vs. Fleet

599: Stepping onto the Right Path and Expanding Blueprints

600: DarkStar Remnants
601: No Reason Not To
602: Perfect Mechanical Sense
603: Machinery Innovation!
604: Bad Feelings Most Likely Will Turn True

605: The Tyrant’s Invitation, Shattered Star Ring Territories

606: Bloodshed Land
607: Provoke
608: Probing
609: New Territory, Empire Envoy
610: Openly Poaching
611: The Battle
612: Resource Battle?
613: Turned Table
614: Official Party
615: Austin’s Gift
616: The Party Ends, Trip to Sunil.
617: Planet Sunil’s Natives!
618: Class Advancement!
619: Sunil’s Grade A Main Storyline
620: Budding Civilization
621: The Race with the Highest Potential
622: Plan B, Migration
623: One Batch at a Time (1)
624: One Batch at a Time (2)

625: The Strongest Tribe, Launching of Biochemical Weapons

626: Victory
627: Black Spirit Race
628: Two Years Later
629: Mysterious Killer
630: Development Status and Bottleneck

631: : Prologue of the Crimson Tide, Request From a Star Cluster Civilization

632: Gundam Is a Man’s Romance

633: Formation of the Organization, an Assault Invitation

634: The Calamity Battle

635: After I Plant a Ward on You, You Will Be My Teammate

636: How Can One Draw a Prize Without Touching Feidin?

637: In the Chaotic Crimson Tide, Storms Are Forming (1)

638: In the Chaotic Crimson Tide, Storms Are Forming (2)

639: This Talent Is Wonderful to the Point I Don’t Want to Upgrade It

640: Ambush

641: Mid Lane High Ground, Come for a Team Fight.

642: Counterattack
643: Crushed
644: The Ancient Ones
645: Galaxy Pro League Season Two
646: Training Soldiers
647: Advanced Strengthened Life
648: Divisions
649: Group Taunt
650: Milestone
651: The End of Season Two
652: Version Update, the Start of Ten Years
653: Ten Year Plan
654: The War Begins
655: The First Battle
656: Danger Is Equal to Opportunity
657: Gloat When Winning, Hide When Losing
658: Fighting Eight People Alone!
659: Beyond Grade A Level Attack!
660: Legendary Point: Indestructible Body.
661: A New Level
662: Multiplied Strength
663: Psionic Core, War Situation
664: Lagi’s Past, Creeping Evil
665: Thrashed
666: Round Three
667: Sudden Situation
668: My Network Is Beyond Your Imagination
669: Ambush and Counter-Ambush
670: Child’s Play
671: I Recognize You!
672: Suddenly Clear
673: Are You Surprised? Are You Shocked?
674: Intense Battle and Disasters
675: Promotion!
676: Broken Balance
677: Class Advancement Requirement
678: Hail Feidin!
679: Saving the World with Normal Attacks
680: End of Slacking Off
681: Black Star’s Weakness
682: Hope of the Village
683: One Combo!
684: Deciding Victory
685: Postwar Conference
686: Tyrant’s Plan
687: DarkStar Leader and the Fallen Ark
688: Leeks Coming from Everywhere! (1)
689: Leeks Coming from Everywhere! (2)
690: Three Years
691: Successor

692: Any Day That No One Attempts to Assassinate Me, I Feel Uncomfortable

693: Are You Eloping with Me!
694: Steady as Always
695: Army State and Holiday Target
696: Handover
697: Another Familiar Face
698: Rejected
699: This Leek Is Bleeding Internally
700: Rossellin Compound Fertilizer
701: Fangs
702: Lord of Fallen Ark
703: Surprise, I m Back
704: Scapegoat
705: Transfer
706: I ve Become Black Star’s Shape

707: Planetary Obliteration Grade Weapon and Apostilization

708: Spending Money Brings Me Joy

709: The Crimson Dynasty: What the Hell, Klent?

710: Confused DarkStar Leader
711: Discrimination Transformation Movement
712: DarkStar’s End, the Leader’s Sacrifice
713: Grade’s Mission Reward!
714: Dried Experience
715: Seven Years
716: New Version-Crimson Tide!
717: Chapter in a Blink
718: Defensive Measures Against Thieves
719: Fertilization
720: Players, I m Gonna Earn Till I Explode!
721: The World Doesn’t Lack Smart People
722: Going to War
723: Money Is the Most Terrifying Weapon
724: Fertilizer
725: Hidden Scheme
726: Psyker
727: Psychic Toxin
728: Enchantment and Leaving Tutelage
729: Wanted
730: Universal Treasure
731: Return
732: Cultivation Plan
733: Protecting the Law
734: Mislead
735: Evolve! Advancing on the Path of a Tank!
736: Plans of Expansion
737: Changes
738: Purple Crystal’s Thoughts
739: Guests
740: Swaggering through the Novice Village
741: Hidden Talen
742: One Cannon Is Enough
743: News from Harrofal
744: EsGod’s Intention The
745: 745 Tomar

746: 746 Planet Macipher and the Cornerstone Summit Corporation

747: 747 Eternal Light and Sardeem’s Attention

748: 748 Target: Evolution Cube!
749: 749 It Will Not Be So Easy!
750: Unexpected Invitation
751: 751 Arrival
752: Emperor Mechanic!
753: Striking Firs
754: Did I Become Blind?
755: Preparing for a Hot Potato
756: Genetic Optimization and Ambitions

757: This Is Not Personal; It’s Just Too Tempting.

758: Like Rain Pouring on a Field

759: Born!

760: Exclusive Race!

761: Negotiations

762: Apologies, I Won’t Let You Support My Ass

763: Intense Battle
764: The Impending Storm
765: Prelude to Change
766: Setting Up the Black Star Guards Regimen
767: 767 Announcement 1
768: 768 Announcement 2
769: Huge Sensation!
770: Independence
771: You d Better Not Run
772: Negotiations and Hidden Currents
773: Star Field Trend

774: Spending Potential Points Sure Is Comfortable

775: The Battle Begins!
776: The Battle
777: Sudden
778: Counter
779: 779 Your Ally Is Not Bad...
780: Heber Stellar Furnace Cultivation
781: EsGod’s Suggestion
782: Interlude, an Unexpected Gues
783: Celebrities of the Future
784: Voluntary Retreat!
785: Forums Response and Themed Episode
786: Everything Comes at the End of Fawning
787: Showing One’s Face for the Mission
788: Migration and Negotiation
789: Meeting and Goal
790: Main Storyline Flickering World
791: Star Field Profit Blueprin
792: Teny Amenos
793: Golden Leek!
794: The True Protagonist
795: Goal
796: Plan
797: Inter-Star Field Stargate
798: Dynasty Mother Plane

799: Dynasty Ruler Urranrell and Dark Lord Clotti

800: Pressure
801: Spar
802: Eat and Sleep Before Fighting EsGod
803: No Coincidence
804: Main Body
805: Overwhelming
806: Clue
807: EsGod Chapter Summon Card: Esper Silence
808: Harvesting Wild Leeks
809: Decision and Guilds Stand

810: Ultimate Knowledge Mechanical Life Tinder!

811: Chapter 811
812: Stealing Leeks Makes Me Happy
813: Ames Reques

814: Players: I Don’t Want To Socialize. Han Xiao: No, You Do.

815: Socializing Mad Genius
816: Mechanic Class Top Mentor
817: Pioneering
818: Black-sheep-wall!
819: Special Exploration Route

820: 820 The Star of the Main Storyline and Stowaways

821: 821 Aesop’s Fully Automated Enemy Radar
822: 822 Handle
823: Natives
824: Homeland
825: 825 Unexpected Hidden Mission
826: 826 Great Cosmos Corps
827: Black Star Army? Never Heard of I
828: 828 Player Military Operation
829: Black Star Army, Not Bad
830: Surrounding Calamity Grade
831: 831 First Kill
832: 832 Merit Seeker

833: Shattered Star Ring Civilization Conference

834: Arcane Church’s Trace
835: Four Months
836: Spacetime Amber
837: The Last Witness
838: Inheritance of a Primordial One and Tes
839: Change and Superstition
840: 840 The Biggest Butterfly Effect!
841: The Approaching Storm
842: 842 Enemy Whereabouts
843: 843 Showing themselves!
844: 844 Shocking Change!
845: The Battle Begins!
846: External Reinforcements!
847: 847 Ten Thousand Deity Scepter
848: 848 Appearance of the Spacetime Amber!
849: The Scheme Deepens as EsGod Appears!
850: The Key to Victory!
851: New Talent!
852: Forced Retrea
853: Repor
854: Lord Mechanic
855: 855 Time to Counterattack!
856: Fakisen’s Plan
857: Apostle Weapon and Ultimate Knowledge
858: Ames Actions
859: 859 Return Gift!
860: Invitation and Announcemen
861: Changes and Spies
862: A Devastating Number
863: Red-Named Monster, Please Stop!
864: Whereabouts Exposed
865: Falling into the Trap
866: The Curtains Close
867: Demonstration
868: Lock On Removed

869: Federation of Light, Do You Think I m Invisible?

870: Manison’s Interes
871: Business Snatching Mid-Version
872: Banquet and Reques
873: S Grade War Hire
874: Isolation
875: Unable to crack The

876: Great Mechanic Han in Seclusion, Do Not Disturb

877: The Mysterious Individual Watching the Players

878: Suspicion
879: End of the Penalty
880: Thanks, Arcane Church
881: Whereabouts
882: Meeting, Second Chain Mission Completed
883: Breaking the Ice and Setting Conditions
884: Probing and Surprise
885: Brewing Influence, Rising Waves
886: Borrowing Strength
887: Troops Established
888: Future Dynasty Ruler
889: EsGod’s Preparation
890: Mission Triggered
891: Plan and Meeting
892: Upgraded EsGod
893: Appearance
894: Key Variable in the Operation
895: Success, Return
896: Talent Upgrade
897: The Fall of EsGod Even
898: Impac
899: Popularity and Recognition
900: Eternal Power Source
901: Clue on Primal Chaos Mysterious Energy
902: Evolutionary Totem
903: Transformation
904: Ames Invitation
905: Floating Dragon’s Warning
906: Exchanging Blows
907: Interes
908: Old Friend
909: Half a Year
910: Ultimate Mechanical Engineering
911: Opening of the Pro League
912: Warning
913: Entrapmen
914: Top Eigh
915: Surging Currents
916: High Grade Mechanical Sense
917: Indestructible Body !
918: Finals
919: Prospect and Version Update 1
920: Prospect and Version Update 2
921: Level 300
922: Meeting
923: Old Fox and Lobbyists
924: True Colors
925: Hila’s Farewell
926: First Phase of Development

927: Flickering World First Chain Mission Completed

928: Required Knowledges Gathered!

929: Preparations Complete, Construction Begins

930: The Prototype Plan of Three Great Calamities

931: Trouble Surfaces
932: The Capacity of a Beyond Grade A
933: Black Star’s Tour
934: You Are Truly Bold

935: I Will Harvest Crops with a Sickle in My Hands

936: Dealing with Sorokin

937: Feidin, Being Lucky Is So Troublesome

938: Meeting an Opportunity Even When Shopping

939: Scheme in the Dark
940: Chaos
941: Interference, Suppression

942: Want to Escape? Do You Think That’s Possible?

943: Favor and Attitude
944: Box of Enticemen
945: Heart Sucking Demon
946: Level 300 Promotion!
947: Divine Throne Mechanic
948: Causing Trouble
949: High Profile Action
950: Showing Oneself, Entering the Scene!
951: Mechanical Deity!
952: Crazy Beating
953: Shattered Mentality

954: Behind Every Tank Is the Willingness to Sacrifice

955: Undercurrents Move Once Again
956: Education Plan
957: The Mechanic Emperor“s Counter
958: Nero“s Campus Lifestyle
959: Forceful Infiltration
960: You Know Everything That I Know?
961: Manison Is Truly A Good Man
962: Gains and Losses
963: I Won“t Suffer a Loss
964: Theme of the Era
965: Perfect Mechanical Sense
966: The Second Exploration Phase
967: Chapter the Tracks of Destiny
968: Shadow of the Exploration Era
969: Familiar Face and Exchanging Fire
970: Taking Out Unknown Technology
971: Spacetime Splicing Technology

972: Nero, a Non-Tanky Mechanic Doesn“t Have a Soul

973: Master Thief
974: Arranging It Clearly
975: Mission Generated
976: Great Director Han

977: The Concept of Superimposed Mechanical Senses

978: No Retrea
979: Certainties and Uncertainties
980: Settlemen
981: Interrogation and Wish
982: Proof of Leadership
983: Mastermind
984: Punishmen
985: Migration and Clue
986: Deity Assassinator, Gold Grade Par
987: Primeval Star River Mechanic Emperor
988: Decisive Action.
989: Record It in the Little Book
990: Go for Wool and Come Back Shorn
991: Galaxy Calendar: Year 729
992: Incoming Storm 1
993: Incoming Storm 2
994: The “Whore“ of the Beyond Grade As
995: Exchange Three for One?
996: Tricky Question
997: A Simpleton“s Killing Move
998: Storm Rises and Falls
999: Return, Accepting the Battle
1000: Goddess of Death
1001: First Battle Victory
1002: Spectate
1003: Double Beyond Grade As
1004: Face
1005: Trounce
1006: The Hidden Bloody Rule
1007: Meeting
1008: Version Star
1009: Online
1010: World Server, Start of Revenge

1011: I“m Going to Beat You Up. What Are You Going to Do About It?

1012: The First Shot in the Flickering World
1013: What a Good Man!
1014: Picking Up the Old Profession

1015: The Great Mechanic Han“s Control from Behind the Curtain

1016: Gorutan“s Provocation
1017: Pinnacle Tier Pugilis
1018: Confrontation
1019: Shortened Lifespan, Dark Clouds

1020: Don“t Blame Your Brother for Not Having Values; Blame Your Wife for Being Too Alluring

1021: The Rise of the Players
1022: Demons
1023: The Burning Soul of a Whistle-blower
1024: Jumping Ship
1025: Milkmaid“s Promotion—Life Replenishmen
1026: Leek Field Expansion
1027: God“s Trait Transformation
1028: The King and the Emperor“s Cape
1029: The Dynasty“s Plans
1030: Movements of the Competitors
1031: Tough Path of Evolution and Appearance
1032: The Oriole

1033: Secret Master, I Have Never Seen Someone This Unlucky

1034: Duel
1035: Beat Up My Teammate
1036: Buy One Get One Free?
1037: Gaud“s Headache
1038: Recruitmen
1039: EsGod“s Destined Arch Enemy!

1040: EsGod Raising Plan and Universal Treasure Creator

1041: Targeting

1042: Reappeared Shady Trick

1043: I“ll put up a strong front and make you cry

1044: Exposing One“s Fangs
1045: Undercurrents
1046: Enemy Spotted
1047: Forced Attack and Acting
1048: Movements
1049: Cultural Talen
1050: Oscar Winner
1051: Main Body“s Arrival
1052: Explosion
1053: I, Black Star, Am Not Cheating!
1054: Retrea
1055: Silver Shadow Uber
1056: The Roo
1057: A VIP
1058: Dust Settled
1059: Impac
1060: The Godlike Battle
1061: Reward
1062: Plan and Birthday

1063: In Order to Save the Universe, I Have Decided to Become...

1064: An Overly Difficult Mission

1065: The Wolf Is Besieged and Annihilated

1066: Concession from the dynasty, the Universe Celebrates

1067: An Offer You Can“t Refuse
1068: Extortion
1069: Confession
1070: The Dark Lord“s Targe
1071: The World of Secondary Dimensions
1072: Milestone: Void Conqueror
1073: Encounter
1074: New System from the Holy Light Particle

1075: Escaping from the Tiger“s Den into the Wolf“s Nes

1076: An Organization That Should Not Have Appeared in This Era

1077: Holy Accord and Primordial Ones
1078: Underworld and Heritage
1079: Rich Reward
1080: Are You Here to Steal My Harvest?
1081: Milestone and Representative
1082: Return
1083: Exchange and Formation
1084: Association“s Impact and Holy Light Hos
1085: Perfect Host and Bait

1086: The Definition of a Qualified Second in Command

1087: Made Friends
1088: Holy Accord“s Pain
1089: Black Star Cup
1090: Announcemen
1091: Making It Clear
1092: Opening
1093: Tide from Afar
1094: Pandora“s Box

1095: Fifth stage of the God’s Trait Transformation and the butterfly effect

1096: Disturbing one’s Fate
1097: Sorry, part does whate…
1098: there must be a traitor
1099: Interfering with Reality, Latent Crisis
1100: Prematurely Triggered Disaster Even
1101: Accumulation

1102: The Undercurrents within different Parties

1103: The sickle is accurate, a leek every slice

1104: Cancer of the Universe, the Catalyst of Disaster

1105: Conspiracy?

1106: Intimidation

1107: Filling the Flaws of Science with Superstition

1108: Great Machinery Sage
1109: A Secret Only One Person Knows
1110: Countermeasures
1111: Manison: I Lack a Sense of Security
1112: Trap and Pursuit
1113: Confrontation and Negotiation
1114: The Choice of the Era
1115: Twin Gods Advent

1116: The Full Firepower of the Strongest Mechanic

1117: You Pay to Win, I Cheat, We All Have a Bright Future

1118: A Just Cause Enjoys Abundant Support
1119: Poaching People
1120: Snatching Manison’s Treasure
1121: Special Consultant
1122: Changes and Announcements
1123: Damaged Blueprint
1124: Spy
1125: Information About the Sanctum
1126: Stuarts Peace Prize
1127: Prophecy
1128: No Such Person Found
1129: High Dimensional Information Form
1130: Questioning and Information
1131: I’m Leaving Her to You
1132: Plenary Meeting and Provocation
1133: Confrontation
1134: That Must Be a Fake Black Star

1135: People, It Is Our Turn to Save the Army!

1136: This Is Love

1137: Die! Mechanic Emperor!

1138: Players Not Causing Trouble Have No Soul

1139: Compliments from the Big Boss
1140: This B*stard Has No Virtue
1141: New Blueprint and World Tree Progress
1142: Flawless Deduction
1143: Purpose and Partnership

1144: Butterfly: Can You Not Make Me Flap My Wings Every Day?

1145: The Third Sanctum and Awakening Project

1146: Presenting Honors and Difficulties

1147: Only Interested in Causing Sensational News

1148: The Participation Requirements of the Three Universal Civilizations

1149: Eve of the Incident

1150: Anti-Trust Regulations, Main Storyline of Counterfeiting

1151: Little Kid Soro, You’ve Revealed Yourself!

1152: The Worrying Cancer of the Universe
1153: Arrangements
1154: Dilemma of the Silver Revolutionary
1155: Chess Player
1156: Nation Saving Plan
1157: Soul Swapper
1158: Parasitism and Sudden Change
1159: Destiny’s Child’s Prophecy
1160: Dragon Emperor’s Inverted Scale

1161: Finding a Needle in a Haystack Is Where We Excel

1162: Unlucky Modo
1163: Clues
1164: Lockdown and One Step Ahead
1165: Encounter and Confrontation
1166: Shaken Manison
1167: 7 Felon
1168: Crushed!

1169: I Might Not Have Earned a Lot, But You Definitely Lost a Ton

1170: Anyone Can Be the Mechanic Emperor
1171: This Cannot Be Called a Betrayal
1172: Origin of the Soul Swapper
1173: Triple Provocation
1174: Arriving at the Frontlines
1175: Overwhelming Army
1176: This Is the Technology You Have Missed
1177: Infiltration
1178: Objectors
1179: Impeachment
1180: Assassination
1181: What a F*cking Genius You Are

1182: You Are Only at the First Layer, But I Am Already at the Fifth Layer

1183: Disqualified
1184: A Wise Assassin Is Not a Good Assassin
1185: National War

1186: The Tears Pugilists Are Shedding Are All the Water Damage Their Brains Suffered When They Choose Their Class

1187: Black Star, I Have Mastered Your Ways!

1188: That’s Not How the Script Was Written!

1189: Thanks, Little Soro, for the Assist!

1190: Promotion!

1191: Skyrocketing Attributes

1192: God’s Trait Transformation’s Secrets, an Extreme Mission

1193: A Strange Dimension

1194: Mobile War System

1195: Unbelievable Discovery, S Ranked Hidden Mission

1196: The Pursuing Soldiers
1197: Cosmic Treasure Loses Effectiveness
1198: Secret News (1)
1199: Secret News (2)
1200: Problem
1201: Technology Treasure, Start of Operation
1202: Sanctum Revivals and Misdirection
1203: Assault
1204: Successor
1205: A New Calling
1206: Return
1207: Finals and Reorganization
1208: Birth of a Reign
1209: Interviews and Predictions
1210: Oathkeeper Returns
1211: Revived Primordial Ones
1212: Oathkeeper: I“m Stunned!
1213: Intention to Cooperate
1214: Times Have Changed
1215: Old Trick
1216: Confidence Destruction Lesson
1217: Elderly Killer
1218: Flames of War, Gaud“s Movements
1219: Esper Ability-Rebirth
1220: Speculation
1221: Release
1222: Deception Is the Way of Wars
1223: Choice
1224: Muddy the Waters
1225: Speculation and Attack
1226: Stop Acting. I Know Who You Are

1227: I Am Starting to Feel More and More Like a Villain

1228: Sorokin“s Confusion
1229: The Thief Calling the Cops
1230: Werewolf Becoming the Detective
1231: Werewolf Detective
1232: Master of Tempo
1233: Dust Settled
1234: The New Ruler
1235: Inheritors of the Underworld
1236: A Path Never Thought of Before
1237: Sorokin“s Big Plan
1238: Inspection and Conclusion
1239: Sorokin“s Senses
1240: Sorokins Bizarre Adventure 1
1241: Sorokins Bizarre Adventure 2
1242: Sorokins Bizarre Adventure 3

1243: Holy Accord: We Are Serious About Acting!

1244: Suppressed
1245: Welcome to the Underworld
1246: Confession and Doubts
1247: Consumed
1248: Galaxy Calendar Year 780
1249: Forty Years
1250: Headstrong
1251: ge of Black Star
1252: Enter
1253: The Third Sanctum 1
1254: The Third Sanctum 2
1255: Fourth Round Mission and Second Revival
1256: Provocation
1257: Intimidation
1258: Test and Welcome
1259: Youngsters, Times Have Changed!
1260: Times Have Changed

1261: Response of the Three Universal Civilizations

1262: Mechanical Divinity
1263: Undercurrents move once again
1264: Feidins Card, Adventure Trigger
1265: Snatched
1266: Travelling Feidin
1267: Pre-Judgmen
1268: All Heroes in the World Enter My Squad
1269: Activation
1270: Black Stars Era !
1271: The Art of Managing Leeks
1272: Progress and Acciden
1273: Traitor
1274: Negotiations
1275: Im the True Mechanic Emperor
1276: Achieving Nirvana

1277: Continuous Benefits, Leek Harvesting Skill

1278: Sanctions
1279: Meetings and Backups
1280: Withdrawal and Conditions
1281: Gains Without Risks
1282: Entering the Black Marke
1283: Would You Like Another Brother-in-Law?
1284: Aurora… No, Feidin’s Adventure Records
1285: Shocking Origins
1286: World Tree’s Shadow
1287: One Arrow
1288: Guild Crusade
1289: Lawless
1290: Traitor?
1291: Impact and Stand
1292: Villain and Background

1293: Black Star Decides How Peaceful the Galaxy Is

1294: Memory File and First Unique Talent
1295: The Second Key and Invasion Operation
1296: Siege
1297: Change
1298: Argument
1299: Arriving Storm
1300: Storm
1301: Negotiation
1302: Challenge
1303: Thrashing
1304: Something New
1305: Intense Battle

1306: God’s Chosen and the Incredible Church National Treasure

1307: Defeat
1308: Change
1309: A Gamble
1310: Truth
1311: Negotiation and the New Stage
1312: Awaken
1313: Ahead
1314: Reaction
1315: Movement
1316: Destiny’s Child’s Prophecy
1317: Dispute
1318: Establishment and Setting Off
1319: Nothing to Hide
1320: Determined
1321: Secret and Pursuit
1322: Guerrilla Warfare
1323: Using Force to Break Tactic
1324: Escape and Fear
1325: Cause and Effect
1326: Interlude
1327: Navigation
1328: Discovered
1329: Interception
1330: Public Announcement and Response
1331: Scheming Against the Enemy
1332: Encounter and Adjustment
1333: Assemble
1334: Intelligence Advantage
1335: The World Tree’s Strongest
1336: Battle
1337: Battle (2)
1338: Battle (3)
1339: Advanced Mutually Assured Destruction
1340: Troublesome
1341: Victory
1342: If You Have Milk, You’re a Mother
1343: Fertile Underworld
1344: Balance and Entry
1345: Plunder and Thoughts
1346: Lerbo Space Protection Belt
1347: Deadlock
1348: Return and Technology Treasure
1349: Revival and Declaration
1350: Conflict
1351: No One Believes
1352: Ancestor-Descendent and Detected
1353: Migration and Invitation to Fight

1354: The Trouble of the Strong Is the Increase in Difficulty of Harvesting Benefits

1355: Pangon’s Choice, New Offensive
1356: Fortitude Tree King
1357: Battle of Attrition; Disadvantage

1358: The Second Collision, The Unknown Tree King

1359: Thought Seal, Herberlon Moves

1360: Heart Tree King’s Bullsh*tting and Sealing Plan

1361: Facing Death and Gamble

1362: Fortitude Tree King: I’ll Take Over Your Water Pot!

1363: Spring Dream Vanishes Without a Trace and The Final Preparation

1364: Determination and Shadow
1365: Training and Abnormality
1366: Realmless King
1367: Unexpected Deal
1368: trange Encounter and Lies
1369: Lucky Halo, Forever God!

1370: Current State of the Potential Individuals

1371: Suspicion and Reaction
1372: Persuasion and Return
1373: So, We Were the Ones Lied To!
1374: The Game With Confirmed Victory
1375: Your Feud Has Nothing to Do with Me.
1376: Violent Beating and Establishing Power
1377: Shaken; A Ridiculous Ability

1378: For The Lucky, Even Their Advanced Missions Are Different

1379: Opportunity for Sublimation, Soul Terminal

1380: Beyond Grade A Feidin

1381: Hila’s Hidden Cultivation, Experience Filled Up

1382: The Difficulties of Promotion, The Universe’s Vastness

1383: Deal

1384: Beyonder’s Vestige, Remnant Consciousness Body

1385: Coordinates

1386: Calamity of Technology, Psionic Wave Transmitter

1387: Race Evolution!

1388: Coexisting with the Heaven and Earth, All Things Are One with Me

1389: The Arcane Church: It Does Not Feel Like a Loss, We Might Have Even Profited

1390: Legacy Blueprints and the Showdown
1391: Meeting and Promotion
1392: A Taste of His Own Medicine
1393: Destroying The Spirit
1394: Crushed By Auto-Attacks
1395: Successor
1396: Ranking Restructure, Eldest Brother

1397: Group Battle’s Godly Artifact and Request

1398: The Church’s Attempt
1399: Stopping Losses
1400: Issuing a Call for Action

1401: You’ll have to pay for it sooner or later

1402: Shadow of Arrival
1403: Change and Situation
1404: Confrontation
1405: Hila’s New Form
1406: Dylan: I Am a Pro in Pulling Aggro

1407: Subduing Tree King: This Is All a Conspiracy, You Can’t Fool Me!

1408: Fishing and Response
1409: Special Sense, Birth of a Pivotal Snake
1410: Hidden Change
1411: Lurkers
1412: Change
1413: Battle and Emergence
1414: Ambush

1415: Overwhelming Combat Strength; Wrecking the Tree God

1416: Fight and Gap

1417: The Behind-the-Scenes and the Truth

1418: Han Xiao: Thank You for Delivering a Trump Card

1419: Super Star Cluster Frustrated, Version Update

1420: nline
1421: Suspicion
1422: Conspiracy
1423: Third Party And Paying One’s Debts
1424: The Face of the Pugilist
1425: Attack and Plan
1426: Negotiation And Lobbyist
1427: Wuornos’ Sensation
1428: Unexpected Discovery
1429: Premeditated Assassination
1430: Harrison’s Determination
1431: Rescue and Waiting For A Miracle
1432: Reverse Halo
1433: Going for Wool and Coming Home Shorn
1434: The Horn of Counterattack
1435: Counterattack
1436: Fight to Win or Die
1437: Liberation of the Crown

1438: Come on, Big Brother who plays with tree roots!

1439: Exhausted
1440: Missing the Opportunity, Going All Out
1441: Uneven Distribution of the Spoils

1442: Further Scheme. The Things Are Still There, but Men Are No More the Same Ones.

1443: New Situation and Relief
1444: Abyss of Misery
1445: Establishment of the Supers Holy Land

1446: Handing Over Positions and Farming Authority

1447: Support and Entry

1448: New Secret and Different Paths

1449: We Are People Who Have Experienced Tumultuous Times

1450: I gradually understand everything
1451: Speculation and Conjecture
1452: Choice and Entry
1453: What? The World Tree Called?!
1454: Give Them a Taste of Their Own Medicine

1455: Crushing Dry Weeds and Smashing Rotten Wood

1456: Logging Out and Returning
1457: Plan
1458: Information Form Anchor (1)
1459: Information Form Anchor (2)
1460: Information Form Anchor (3)
1461: Information Form Anchor (4)
1462: Information Form Anchor (
1463: Final Relay, Destination Point (End)